South Africa: Deputy President to take over Presidential responsibilities

Deputy President David Mabuza is expected to take over all responsibilities of the president as President Cyril Ramaphosa recovers from COVID-19.

According to Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele, President Ramaphosa tested positive for the virus on Sunday after addressing the State Memorial Service of Former Deputy President FW de Klerk in Cape Town.

Todays proceedings in Cape Town were undertaken in compliance with health regulations pertaining to hand hygiene, the wearing of face masks and social distancing.

President Ramaphosa says his own infection serves as a caution to all people in the country to be vaccinated and remain vigilant against exposure. Vaccination remains the best protection against severe illness and hospitalisation, the Minister said in a statement.

Gungubele said President Ramaphosa had repeatedly tested negative for COVID-19 on his recent West African visit to Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria and the Ivory Coast countries.

President Ramaphosa and the South African delegation were tested for COVID-19 in all countries. The President and the delegation returned to South Africa from the Republic of Senegal on Wednesday, 8 December 2021, after obtaining negative test results. The President also tested negative on his return to Johannesburg on 8 December, he said.

Gungubele added that President Ramphosas health is being monitored.

The President is in good spirits but is being monitored by the South African Military Health Service of the South African National Defence Force. The President, who is fully vaccinated, is in self-isolation in Cape Town and has delegated all responsibilities to Deputy President David Mabuza for the next week.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-12-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
South Africa: SAPS pounce on Portuguese fugitive

A convicted fraudster wanted by the Portuguese government will on Monday appear before the Verulam Magistrates Court after he was arrested in Umhlanga Rocks, north of Durban, at the weekend.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) pounced on Joao Manuel de Oliveira Rendeiro last week after he absconded from Portugal after being convicted on a multi-million dollar fraud case and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment before he escaped.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said the development came after the Head of the Judicial Police of Portugal, Luis Neves, on 24 November 2021 alerted SAPS National Commissioner General Khehla John Sitole during a bilateral meeting at the 89th Interpol General Assembly in Istanbul, Turkey.

General Sitole committed to tracking and tracing the fugitive after it emerged that he may be hiding in South Africa.

Naidoo said: Members from the Interpol NCB in Pretoria, acting on an Interpol Red Notice, traced the fugitive to a location in Umhlanga Rocks where he was arrested at 7am.

The fugitive was initially scheduled to make his first appearance in the Durban Magistrates Court on Monday as part of his extradition process. The matter has since been moved to the Verulam Magistrates Court.

The SAPS said the Portuguese authority had welcomed the news of de Oliveira Rendeiro's arrest and sent words of gratitude and praise to the National Commissioner and the SAPS team for speedily arresting him.  SAnews.gov.za

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South Africa: De Klerk's legacy "contested"

President Cyril Ramaphosa says while former Deputy President FW de Klerk was afforded a State Memorial Service, his legacy remains contested.

President Ramaphosa delivered the eulogy during the service held in Cape Town on Sunday.

In remembering FW de Klerk we recognise that his contribution and his legacy remain contested. We can neither ignore, nor must we ever seek to dismiss, the anger, the pain and the disappointment of those who recall the place FW de Klerk occupied in the hierarchy of an oppressive State, he said.

De Klerk passed away in November at the age of 85 following a battle with cancer.

The President acknowledged that although De Klerk was the last Apartheid president of South Africa, he played a role in ushering in the new democratic dispensation  starting with the announcement of former President Nelson Mandelas release from prison.

In taking this bold step, De Klerk heeded the call by Nelson Mandela who, while still incarcerated, told the apartheid rulers that the only way to resolve what he called the perpetual crisis in the country was through negotiations between the ANC and the National Party government.

De Klerk went against elements in his own state security apparatus, and against diehards who were prepared to take up arms to preserve the status quo. We cannot say with conviction what course our country would have taken had that speech not been made, the President said.

President Ramaphosa said while acknowledging De Klerks contribution to building a non-racial country, South Africas painful history under the apartheid government, in which De Klerk served, will not be forgotten.

We must never forget the injustices of the past. We must never forget the atrocities at Boipatong, Bisho, KwaMakhutha, Langa, Soweto and Sharpeville. We can never forget the lives that were lost, the families that were torn apart, the land that was taken, the livelihoods that were destroyed, the rights that were denied, and the dreams that were dashed.

We can never forget the humiliation, the degradation and the inhumanity. Nor must we ever forget the responsibility that we each bear to consign such suffering and injustice to the past, he said.

The President emphasised that although much has been done in the fight against racism, its ending is not yet in sight.

We are still to reach the end of our journey towards a truly united, non-racial, non-sexist, prosperous and free South Africa. It should not and cannot be that the task of bringing about reconciliation rests squarely on the shoulders of those who were oppressed. It is the responsibility and the duty of us all, black and white.

Ending the racism that is still prevalent in our society, doing away with discrimination in all its forms and building a united nation takes hard work and it takes acts of courage.  SAnews.gov.za

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South Africa: Speaker calls SADC Parliaments to promote human rights principles

National Assembly Speaker, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, has called on all Parliaments in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to work together to promote the principles of human rights, democracy, economic development, and peace and stability in the region.

Mapisa-Nqakula made the call after her swearing-in as the Member of the SADC Parliamentary Forum 50th Plenary Assembly on Saturday.

Mapisa-Nqakula, who attended the SADC PF 50th Plenary Assembly for the first time since her election as Speaker, led a South African Parliamentary delegation to a three-day plenary session, hosted by the Parliament of the Kingdom of Lesotho from 10 to 12 December 2021.

The session was held under the theme Celebrating a new era of democracy towards consolidating the vibrant voices of SADC Parliamentarians, which highlights the progress made through Parliamentary initiatives under the auspices of the forum towards consolidating democracy in the region.

Mapisa-Nqakula said the forum has committed its energies to improving and strengthening Parliaments' capacity in the region.

It is a responsibility I intend to take seriously and determined to plan to the best of my abilities, Mapisa-Nqakula said.

The Speaker called on SADC-PF to actively champion the drafting of the protocols that will lead to the establishment of the Regional Parliament, as per the goals and aspirations of the 2018 SADC Region Heads of State consultation meeting.

The region's history is that of unity, cooperation and movement of citizens, and it would be important that the regional Parliament, as a representative of ordinary people, exercise its oversight role over the executive, she said.

Mapisa-Nqakula also called for a strong SADC-PF with a strong impetus to better the participation at the Parliamentary African Parliament and other inter-continental of international parliamentary programmes.

She urged the forum to continue to ensure meaningful discussions aimed at equipping Parliaments to serve the communities in the region better and promote the principles of human rights, economic development, and peace and stability.

SADC Model Law on GBV

The assembly also adopted a ground-breaking SADC Model Law on gender-based violence (GBV).

The model law aims to eradicate GBV so that individuals in the region can live decently and enjoy fundamental human rights without fear of violence.

On Sunday, the plenary considered motions and statements by Members of Parliament that align with the theme.

There was also an opportunity for the South African delegation to provide some insights on the unique role SADC Parliaments can play in promoting a SADC identity within the context of the forum's approved transformation into a Regional Parliament and the region's broader integration of Vision 2050.

SADC PF is the first inter-parliamentary entity with an organ dedicated to monitoring the domestication of laws and international treaties in the form of the Regional Parliamentary Model Laws Oversight Committee, including those governing elections and eliminating child marriage.

Much progress has been made towards the development of monitoring tools, including domestication scorecards, election observation and technical assessment reports.  SAnews.gov.za

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South Africa: Cele begins Festive Season Inspection Tour

Police Minister Bheki Cele today kicks-off his countrywide South African Police Service (SAPS) Festive Season Inspection Tour.

On 15 October 2021, SAPS launched the National Safer Festive Season Operations under the theme, 'Extending our reach through blue light visibility'. The annual Safer Festive Season operations are aimed at ensuring the safety of all within the borders of South Africa over the holiday period.

The inspection tour will kick off in Limpopo province on 13 December and will end in KwaZulu-Natal on 22 December.

Ministry of Police spokesperson, Lirandzu Themba, said the Minister, together with the SAPS management team at national and the respective provinces, would assess the effectiveness of the resources channelled to areas where they are most needed to ensure police deal decisively with persistent crimes.

The visit forms part of overall efforts by the South African Police Service to tighten the grip on contact and violent crimes this festive season, she said.

Aligned with the theme (Extending our reach through blue light visibility), the inspection tour is expected to focus on visible policing and conducting special crime awareness and prevention operations; targeting crimes prevalent during the festive period. These include gender-based violence and crimes against children, border security, and contravention of road and traffic regulations.

Cele in the statement said every safer festive season plan is unique to the province.

We once again usher in the festive season during a pandemic that has been devastating to our country. During this time, police will continue to ensure maximum compliance of the regulations to minimise the spread of the virus.

We know that criminals will try and take advantage of this time that is usually categorised by festivities, social gatherings and leisure.

While we urge South Africans to remain alert and be aware of their surroundings at all times to avoid being easy targets for criminals, the countrys officers in blue in all provinces will be at hand. Their respective safer festive season plans are already in full swing and will be intensified as the year comes to a close.

The Minister said the plans are not a one-size-fits-all, but are instead tailored to the needs of the respective provinces and are based on their crime situations.

I am sure the police will give criminals a hard time and squeeze out the space for anyone with criminal intent, he said.

The SAPS National Safer Festive Season operations are set to continue until 31 January 2022.  SAnews.gov.za

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South Africa: KZN reaffirms commitment to development

KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Sihle Zikalala, has reassured members of the Diplomatic Corps that the provincial government is committed to building a sustainable and developmental province through job creation and ensuring the economic recovery of the province.

Zikalala was speaking during a high-level engagement with members of the Diplomatic Corps from over 17 countries, which include some economic powerhouses in both the continent and the world.

Premier Zikalala also recommitted to strengthening relations with individual members of the Consular Corp but also with the respective governments of the various countries, they represent.

We meet at a time which we believe is a season of hope and optimism notwithstanding the number of challenges that we face on various fronts. The world as we had known it some 22-years ago has been turned on its head.

We are now in a world which is characterised by shifting geopolitical currents, a few years from now social scientists will theorise about how COVID-19 has radically altered the conventional world view that we have enjoyed before. We wish to highlight that climate change continues to change the living environments in the world and so does COVID-19, Zikalala said.

He added that both climate change and COVID-19 know no borders or boundaries.

The collective wisdom of scientists from Africa to Europe from Asia to America have come together to give us hope and guarantee that the set of vaccines that have been developed will help to mitigate the effects of COVID-19, the Premier said.

Vaccination rollout

In response to the COVID-19 fourth wave, Zikalala said that the provincial government is hard at work to ensure that all citizens get vaccinated through the massive roll-out of the Siyagoma WayaWaya Campaign, as well as the Vooma Vaccination programme.

We are working hard as government to dispel the propaganda against vaccinations. We are grateful that two critical sectors have come on board to help us encourage people to go out and get vaccinated, these include the religious sector and the traditional leadership, he said.

Economic recovery

The Premier also reflected on the provincial governments economic recovery plan to deal with the impact of COVID-19 and the July civil unrest.

We have characterised the July civil unrest as backward acts that hinder and undermine progress that we have made thus far which resulted in job losses and the downfall of the economy, and we are working hard to resuscitate the economy.

We are supporting companies that were affected through relief from national government as well as the initiatives of the province where certain sectors will be supported through loans or special grants as part of the relief efforts, Zikalala said.  SAnews.gov.za

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South Africa: Decisive leadership, collaboration needed to overcome pandemics

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala says that the collision of the pandemics of HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 require decisive leadership and collaboration if South Africa is to succeed in overcoming them.

Zikalala made the remarks during the 21st International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA) closing ceremony held on Saturday.

He said research shows that such diseases thrive in situations of poverty and gender inequality, meaning that our policies must be geared to reducing inequality and ending discrimination of vulnerable groups and those in key populations.

We must consciously adopt policies in our governments that adopt gender mainstreaming, prioritise the education of women and girls, and provide economic empowerment opportunities through government procurement processes.

It means us fighting hate crimes and discrimination of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) community and daily advancing the vision of Generation Equality by 2030. To succeed, we must put the protection of human rights at the centre of our approaches, Zikalala said.

Zikalala added that COVID-19 has brought to bear the need for the Continent of Africa to prioritise investments in healthcare and health infrastructure.

He emphasised that healthcare and the wellbeing of populations must be seen not only as a human rights imperative, but also as good business investments because a healthy population is a productive one.

In this regard, we join the voices that are calling for African countries to honour the commitments that they made in 2001 through the Abuja Declaration. The Abuja Declaration called for at least 15% of national budgets of AU member states to go towards improving their healthcare systems and infrastructure.

At the global level, we welcome the commitment undertaken by world leaders during the sitting of the United Nations General Assembly this year where they adopted the political declaration on HIV/AIDS by pledging to end inequalities by 2030 in an effort to get on track to end AIDS by 2030, Zikalala said.

Universal healthcare

Meanwhile, Zikalala said government remains committed to universal healthcare, through the accelerated implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI).

We are in the last year of Phase 2 of the National Health Insurance implementation plan. Phase 3 will commence in 2022. In Phase 1 and 2, we saw a massive investment in infrastructure, human resources, health systems and human development, the Premier said.

He said for this financial year, KwaZulu-Natal Province will focus on improving the clinical governance and compliance systems; establishing a properly resourced Health Compliance and Accreditation Unit; and strengthening the primary health care re-engineering and systems.

In readiness for the implementation of the NHI, provincial government resolved that every district in KZN must have a Regional Hospital. The brand new Dr Pixley Ka Isaka Seme Memorial Hospital is 500-bed hospital providing regional services to our communities in the Inanda-Ntuzuma-KwaMashu (INK) area, Zikalala said.  SAnews.gov.za

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South Africa: Experts recommend Basic Income Support for unemployed citizens

A team of experts on Basic Income Support (BIS) has recommended that government gradually implement a basic income grant, starting with the existing COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress Grant being institutionalised and forming a platform for an expanded system of BIS.

The expert panel was established as part of an International Labour Organisation (ILO) initiative, together with the Department of Social Development (DSD), to examine the salience and feasibility of Basic Income Grant options for South Africa.

Presenting the report during a webinar on Monday, panel chair, Professor Alex van den Heever, said if implemented carefully and incrementally, the panel believed that what they have proposed will not incur severe trade-offs in relation to competing social programmes, economic sustainability and the fiscal position of government.

Income support in the form of a BIS framework for adults is necessary and no alternative measures could reasonably address the widespread and urgent income support needs of the relevant adults.

We also found that structural changes in the levels of poverty and inequality require programmes implemented at scale. But given the prevailing fiscal and economic realities, we therefore propose that a phased approach to the implementation of BIS be considered, which recognises that the pace of moving to scale is contingent on being able to finance these expansions in a sustainable manner, Van den Heever said.

He said the panel did, however, find that the Social Relief of Distress grant introduced, as part of the COVID19 package, involves manageable trade-offs in relation to the important advantages offered.

We therefore recommend that the existing COVID-SRD be institutionalised and form the platform for an expanded system of Basic Income Support, which can then be improved incrementally over time, he said.

Van den Heever said the panel views money incomes as a key to thriving societies.

Without access to money incomes, the resulting social exclusion is severe, disabling and harmful to agency. This harm extends to dependents who are not expected to form part of labour market. Through our work, we confirm that income poverty in SA is so pervasive that more than half households live in poverty.

All households in the lowest deciles fall below the food poverty line equivalent to a monthly value of R595 in 2021. Over 90% of houses living in decile three are below the poverty line, equivalent to a monthly value of R860, the Professor said.

Delivering her remarks during the webinar, Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu, said that the Expert Panel Report on BIS forms an important element of the departments ongoing efforts to institutionalise Basic Income Support.

She said the panels report reinforces the need to invoke both courage and science to sustain an intelligent dialogue on Basic Income Support.

When delivering this years Nelson Mandela Memorial Lecture, President Cyril Ramaphosa challenged us to be brave when speaking about these matters.

Sooner rather than later, dialogues must come to an end and piloting and implementation must start to define the reason we started this conversation just over 20 years ago, the Minister said.

In light of the fiscal constraints, the Minister said this is the best opportunity for the report to demonstrate how legitimate BIS can be innovated to protect those who need it, namely those between the ages of 18 and 59.

It is in this context that our efforts must be targeted at improving the state of the people where they live. I am pleased to receive the Expert Panel Report on Basic Income Support today. This report is now an integral part of our policy engagement arsenal, Zulu said.  SAnews.gov.za

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South Africa: Don't wait, vaccinate!

Professor Hannelie Meyer, the chair of the National Immunisation Safety Expert Committee, says when individuals choose to vaccinate, the decision has the ripple effect of benefiting their loved ones.

The more people are vaccinated, the more people are protected from COVID-19, said Meyer.

The Professor on Monday took part in a campaign on Twitter to curb disinformation about vaccines.

Such disinformation, Meyer said, is deliberately created and disseminated with malicious intent.

Meyer emphasised the importance of having discussions to dispel dangerous myths about vaccines.

The aim of the vaccines and getting vaccinated is to prevent severe infections, Meyer said.

She stressed that even when one has been vaccinated, one can still get infected but will experience mild symptoms.

We understand the fears and concerns of people about the safety of the vaccines, but we want to encourage them to vaccinate to reduce the effects of COVID-19, she said.

Meyer said at times, infected people end up with symptoms which can last for months.

You have to weigh the benefits of getting vaccinated against the risks. The aim of vaccinating is to prevent the severity caused by the disease, she said.

With regard to booster shots, Meyer said these will ensure much higher protection.

She encouraged people to report adverse conditions experienced after taking the vaccine.

To those who are hesitant to take the vaccine, Meyer assured that the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has taken the utmost care to ensure vaccine safety.

Since the rollout of the vaccination programme in South Africa, government has encouraged citizens to take up vaccination. It has also introduced the Vooma Vaccine campaign, which made vaccination easily accessible over weekends.

The Presidents call to the nation to get vaccinated has led to a substantially increased uptake over the past few weeks.

The Department of Health says while younger people are not without risk, 40% of hospital admissions occur in people younger than 50 years of age.

As part of efforts to ramp-up COVID-19 vaccination ahead of the festive season, President Cyril Ramaphosa has written to leaders of government, labour, faith-based organisations, traditional leaders, business and civil society partners to support the Vooma Vaccination campaign.

The first Vooma Vaccination weekend in October led to an unprecedented level of engagement and active mobilisation across many districts in South Africa. It achieved 75% of its target of 500 000 vaccinations over the three-day period.  SAnews.gov.za

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Hong Kong: CE's office condemns intimidation

The Chief Executive's Office said the Central Government Offices received an intimidating letter addressed to Chief Executive Carrie Lam today and it condemned the act.

It explained that during routine checks of incoming mail by personnel of the Central Government Offices this morning, a blade was found in an envelope addressed to the Chief Executive with an intimidating letter. A report was made to Police.

The CE's Office emphasised that Hong Kong is a society which observes the rule of law and it will not tolerate such illegal acts as violence and intimidation.

If unlawful means are used with an aim to exert influence on the discharge of duty of an officer, whether it involves the Chief Executive or other public officers, the Government will take it seriously and spare no effort in bringing the culprit to justice to protect the safety of public officers and public peace, it added.

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RTHK: Britain confirms world's first Omicron death

At least one person has died in the United Kingdom after contracting the Omicron coronavirus variant, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday, the first publicly confirmed death globally from the swiftly spreading strain.

Since the first Omicron cases were detected on November 27 in Britain, Johnson has imposed tougher restrictions and on Sunday cautioned that the variant could overcome the immune defences of those inoculated with two shots of vaccines.

Britain gave no details on the death or whether the patient had been been vaccinated or had underlying health issues. Deaths from Omicron may have occurred in other countries but none has been publicly confirmed yet outside Britain.

"Sadly at least one patient has now been confirmed to have died with Omicron," Johnson told reporters at a vaccination centre in London.

"So I think the idea that this is somehow a milder version of the virus  I think that's something we need to set on one side  and just recognise the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population."

Health Secretary Sajid Javid told parliament the variant now accounted for around 44 percent of infections in London and would be the dominant variant in the capital within 48 hours.

Before the death was announced, Britain said 10 people had been admitted to hospital with the Omicron variant in various parts of England. Their ages ranged from 18 to 85 years and most had received two vaccination doses.

The UK Health Security Agency said Omicron  first detected in South Africa, Botswana and Hong Kong in late November  can overcome the immunity of those who have had two shots of vaccines such as AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech .

South Africa's health ministry said it was unable to say with certainty if any of its Covid-19 deaths were caused by Omicron as deaths were not broken down by variant.

Johnson, who is grappling with a rebellion in his party over measures to curb Omicron and an outcry over parties at his Downing Street office during last year's lockdowns, said people should rush to get booster vaccines to protect "our freedoms and our way of life". (Reuters)

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VASEP claims imported seafood regulations inadequate

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) has sent a petition to the Prime Minister proposing the amendment of regulations on quarantine for aquatic products used for food.













Processing tra fish in Dong Thap (Photo: VNA)

In the petition, VASEP said that the seafood business community had been facing big problems regarding quarantine regulations.



VASEP said that the State inspection of imported aquatic products carried out in accordance with the provisions of circulars on quarantine of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, were not the correct nature of an inspection activity as per processed seafood products used as food.



VASEP said that in accordance with the circulars, products processed from animals, animal products or products containing aquatic animals, either frozen, dried, cooked or instant use continues to be on a list subject to quarantine.



This made the scale and number of shipments subject to quarantine very large as almost 100 percent of containers had to be checked before customs clearance, VASEP said.



The maintenance and expansion of the list of "processed goods" that are subject to quarantine as prescribed in the circulars was an excessive and unnecessary measure, noted the association.



It is not in line with the policy of reducing the list of goods subject to specialised inspection by the Government, or current legal regulations, or international practices, VASEP proposed in the document.



The association also said that the regulations had "expanded" the concept of "animal products" compared to the Law on Veterinary Medicine and the Law on Food Safety, causing many processed seafood products to be subject to inspection, contradicting the specialised inspection principles for import and export goods as prescribed by the Government.



VASEP said that while the Government was speeding up administrative reform and cutting down on specialised inspection procedures, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development went against the Government's Resolutions 19 and 02.



Truong Dinh Hoe, VASEP Secretary General, said that it was necessary to consider and remove the quarantine regulation for frozen processed seafood products imported for export production, processing for export and not for domestic consumption.



VASEP also proposed removing the quarantine regulations for imported processed seafood products for domestic consumption that are assessed as having no risk of spreading aquatic diseases into Vietnam.



At the same time, he said it was necessary to amend the circulars used by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in the first quarter next year to clearly define import inspection activities in accordance with different product lists./
Vietnam, Rok to establish comprehensive strategic partnership in 2022

The legislative bodies of Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) have supported the two countries efforts to lift their relationship to a level of comprehensive strategic partnership in 2022 to mark 30 years of their diplomacy.









Park Byeong-seug, Speaker of the RoK National Assembly (R), welcomes his Vietnamese counterpart Vuong Dinh Hue in Seoul on December 13.





The agreement was reached during talks in Seoul on December 13 between Park Byeong-seug, Speaker of the RoK National Assembly, and his Vietnamese counterpart Vuong Dinh Hue who is in Seoul for an official visit.



The two leaders shared the view that the Vietnam  RoK relations have developed positively over the years despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in the fields of politics, economy, and people-to-people exchanges.



Park said the RoK considers Vietnam as a key partner in its New Southern Policy and wishes to promote all-round cooperation with Vietnam.



Meanwhile, Hue suggested that the RoK share its economic development experience, including green growth and innovation, with Vietnam.



They held that the two countries will strive to raise trade exchanges to US$100 billion in 2023 and US$150 billion by 2030 toward balancing bilateral trade.



The RoK will create favourable conditions for Vietnamese farm products to enter its market and for Vietnamese businesses to engage in the global supply chain of RoK businesses.



They will encourage RoK businesses to continue to invest and expand their investment in Vietnam, especially in the fields of supporting industries, high technology, smart city development, agriculture and technology transfer to Vietnam.



Both host and guest highly appreciated the two countries regular maintenance of dialogue mechanisms in the field of security and national defense, along with jointly strengthening cooperation in UN peacekeeping, crime and terrorism prevention, and supporting Vietnam in wartime landmine and UXO clearance.



They agreed to increase Vietnam  RoK cooperation in labour export, and COVID-19 control, including vaccine production and technology transfer, as well as in enhancing the capacity building of Vietnams public health.



Park said the RoK will support Vietnam in implementing its national digital transformation program to 2025, with a vision to 2030, carrying out a number of key transport infrastructure projects in 2021-2025, and gradually restoring direct flights between the two countries after the epidemic is under control.



The two leaders consented that both Vietnam and the RoK will continue working closely at multilateral forums, and share the common vision of ensuring security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea.



They support efforts to maintain a peaceful, stable environment and legal order and settle sea-related disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).



The RoK side voiced its support for Vietnam in well performing its role as coordinator of ASEAN - Korea relations for 2021-2024.



Both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation between the two legislative bodies and coordination at multilateral parliamentary forums such as IPU, APPF, ASEP, MSEAP, and AIPA.



On this occasion, Hue respectfully conveyed the invitation of the Vietnamese high-ranking leaders to visit Vietnam to the President and Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea.



Following their talks, National Assembly Chairman Park Byeong-seug held a banquet in honour of NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and his entourage.
Dantri/Dtinews builds new classrooms for children in Ha Giang

Dantri/Dtinews Newspaper on Sunday held an inauguration ceremony for new classrooms which were built for students in Thu Ta Kindergarten in a remote mountainous district of Ha Giang Province.















An overview of the Thu Ta Kindergarten in Xi Man District







The ceremony saw the attendance of Director of the Environmental Police Department, Major General Tran Minh Le, Editor-in-Chief of Dantri/Dtinews Online Newspaper, Pham Tuan Anh, Director of Ha Giang Provincial Police Department, Phan Huy Ngoc, Party Secretary of Xi Man District, Hoang Nhi Son, and representatives from sponsors, local departments, teachers and students.















Dantri/Dtinews Online Newspaper Editor-in-Chief, Pham Tuan Anh speaks at the ceremony



Speaking at the event, Dantri/Dtinews Online Newspaper Editor-in-Chief Pham Tuan Anh, said that the newspaper has been able to carry out many charitable construction projects for poor localities thanks to the support provided by readers and local authorities.

"This was the 61 construction projects that we had carried out nationwide including 41 school projects and 20 bridge projects," he said. "In Ha Giang we also built the Na Quang Primary School in Quan Ba District, which has helped local children have better facilities for their study."



Chairman of Thu Ta Commune People's Committee, Hoang Van Hieu, expressed thanks to Dantri/Dtinews and the donors for such an important project for local children and teachers.















Chairman of Thu Ta Commune People's Committee, Hoang Van Hieu speaks at the meeting



"We hope to receive more support from the newspaper and the community so that more schools will be built in our area," he said.





The old Thu Ta Kindergarten

The new VND 700 million (USD30,434) classrooms were built at Thu Ta Kindergarten in Xi Man District. The new facilities will replace an old classroom which has seriously deteriorated in the school.











At the ceremony, donors also gave many gifts to the students and teachers.







Director of the Environmental Police Department, Major General Tran Minh Le gave warm coats for the students.







Director of Ha Giang Provincial Police Department, Phan Huy Ngoc, gave a TV set to the school.







Representatives from the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam donated VND 100 million to the school.
Top Vietnamese legislator meets with Democratic Party politician in Seoul

Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, who is in Seoul for an official visit to the Republic of Korea, on December 13 received Choi Jae-sung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea and former political adviser to President Moon Jae-in.









NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue receives Choi Jae-sung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea and former political adviser to President Moon Jae-in, in Seoul on December 13. (Photo:quochoi.vn)



Hue welcomed the RoK Governments New Southern Policy, focusing on strengthening cooperation with Vietnam. He said Vietnam highly appreciates the Vietnam  RoK relationship and wishes to develop the two countries relationship in a deeper, more substantive and more effective manner.



As an active member of ASEAN, Vietnam is ready to support the RoK in penetrating deeper into the Southeast Asian market, he told Choi who is a member of the RoK National Asssembly.



The top Vietnamese legislator expressed his hope that Choi would help promote bilateral cooperation in various fields, including national defense, security, investment and trade, and people-to-people exchanges.



He also suggested that the Democratic Party of Korea support efforts to beef up the Vietnam  RoK cooperation.



For his part, Choi noted with satisfaction at the positive development of bilateral relations over the years and affirmed that the RoK government attaches importance to relations with Vietnam.



The RoK wishes to cooperate with Vietnam in research and development in new industrial fields to help maintain the global supply chain, he said, adding the RoK wants to deploy Vietnams human resource training programme.
Quang Binh proposes Dong Hoi Airport upgrade

The central province of Quang Binh has proposed the upgrade of Dong Hoi Airport to an international airport.



Under the provincial peoples committees recommendation, the airport upgrade is aimed to spur Quang Binhs socio-economic development, particularly the tourism sector, in the coming time.





Dong Hoi Airport
Commentary: Debacle of Washington's sham democracy show

Xinhua) 08:10, December 13, 2021

Photo taken on April 13, 2021 shows the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

By staging a sham democracy show, Washington will only instigate division and confrontation, and thus do endless harm. The so-called "Summit for Democracy" will only go down in history as a manipulator and saboteur of democracy.

BEIJING, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- No wonder that Washington's painstakingly orchestrated "Summit for Democracy" has failed.

After all, the international community has long concluded that America is far from a "democracy beacon" and its democracy exists only in name. And many visionaries around the world have spoken out against Washington's plan to split the world and smear others by using this botched political farce.

By inviting Nathan Law Kwun-chung, a notorious "Hong Kong independence" element, as well as "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, the gathering has turned out to be nothing more than a political manipulation designed to incite division, disrupt global stability and maintain U.S. hegemony.

Nathan Law and other "Hong Kong independence" elements have long degenerated themselves into pawns for the United States to contain China. During the online meeting, he again churned out political lies and false allegations against the Chinese central government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government.

As a criminal suspect wanted by the Hong Kong police for instigating riots, Nathan Law has nothing to do with the word "democracy." Despite his attempt to obscure his evil intent, the international community will never forget how such detestable people had incited mobs to wreak havoc on Hong Kong's social peace and thrown the local society into disorder before the National Security Law for Hong Kong came into force.

People walk on Times Square in New York, the United States, Nov. 23, 2021.(Xinhua/Wang Ying)

Inviting such a despicable figure to the meeting has once again exposed U.S. hypocrisy in using "democracy" to serve its self-interest and collude with anti-China forces in Hong Kong, as well as its intention of undermining Hong Kong's prosperity and stability and interfering in China's internal affairs.

The invitation of China's island province Taiwan is another illustration of Washington's geopolitical agenda in holding the meetings.

The past few months have witnessed some U.S. politicians hysterically playing the "Taiwan card" and sending extremely wrong and dangerous messages to the Taiwan authority and separatist forces on the island.

There is but one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. While the White House has on many occasions voiced its adherence to the one-China policy, it has persisted in flexing muscles and stirring up trouble in the Taiwan Strait by selling arms to Taiwan and by sending its warships there.

The Capitol and a stop sign are seen in Washington D.C., the United States, on Feb. 13, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

These provocative acts, not least the invitation this time, have given those separatist elements a much-needed political lifeline at the expense of cross-strait peace and stability.

The collusion between Washington and "Taiwan independence" separatist forces will fool no one. As former Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo Yong-Boon has said, the invitation had "nothing to do with democracy but everything to do with U.S. involvement in cross-Straits relations."

It is global consensus now that the world is currently facing unprecedented challenges, which call for countries across the world to stand in even stronger solidarity than ever before.

By staging a sham democracy show, Washington will only instigate division and confrontation, and thus do endless harm. The so-called "Summit for Democracy" will only go down in history as a manipulator and saboteur of democracy.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Over 30 tornadoes rip through 6 U.S. states, wreaking deadly havoc

Xinhua) 08:29, December 13, 2021

"Last night was one of the most shocking weather events in my 40 years as a meteorologist -- a violent tornado (in December!) drawing comparisons to the deadliest and longest-tracking tornado in U.S. history," tweets Jeff Masters.

NEW YORK, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Search and rescue teams in western Kentucky and nearby states were combing through rubble for survivors on Sunday after a series of tornadoes ripped through the region, killing at least dozens, while the number of deaths in Kentucky alone could exceed 100, The Wall Street Journal quoted state officials as saying.

The tornadoes tore through states including Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee, said Bill Bunting, the operations chief at the Storm Prediction Center. The New York Times (NYT) quoted officials as warning that the toll, now 80 in Kentucky alone, was almost certain to rise as the sifting continued on Sunday.

The tornadoes were part of a weather system that was wreaking havoc in many parts of the United States, causing substantial snowfall across parts of the upper Midwest and western Great Lakes. State officials were still assessing the extent of the damage. Power outage has affected at least 77,000 customers in Kentucky and 53,000 in Tennessee.

The National Weather Service has issued several tornado watches and warnings overnight for parts of the Midwest, including Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri. In a statement, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas advised residents to stay on alert, as severe weather remains a threat in the southeast United States.

Photo taken on Dec. 11, 2021 shows houses damaged in tornadoes in Mayfield, Kentucky, the United States. (Photo by Caromirna Sanchez/Xinhua)

MOST DEVASTATING

Friday evening, more than 30 separate tornadoes moved with devastating power and speed across six U.S. states stretching from Mississippi in the south to Illinois in the north, killing over 80 people so far, including workers in a candle factory in a flattened Kentucky town, lakeside vacationers in Tennessee and a nursing home resident in Arkansas, reported The Washington Post on Sunday.

Desperate search and rescue operations are unfolding during the weekend. "This has been the most devastating tornado event in our state's history ... the level of devastation is unlike anything I've ever seen," Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear told reporters on Saturday at a late-morning news conference, calling the scale of damage "indescribable."

"Last night was one of the most shocking weather events in my 40 years as a meteorologist -- a violent tornado (in December!) drawing comparisons to the deadliest and longest-tracking tornado in U.S. history," tweeted Jeff Masters, a U.S. meteorologist and expert on extreme weather. The longest paths in the disaster on record topped 200 miles.

Calling the tornado "an unimaginable tragedy," U.S. President Joe Biden has declared a federal emergency for Kentucky, freeing up the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance and federally subsidized aid. He said on Saturday that "the federal government will do everything, everything it can possibly do to help."

A man walks past a heap of rubble after tornadoes in Mayfield, Kentucky, the United States, on Dec. 11, 2021. (Photo by Caromirna Sanchez/Xinhua)

TORNADO ALLEY

Tornadoes are relatively localized, short-lived weather events. "In recent years tornadoes seem to be occurring in greater 'clusters,' and that a so-called tornado alley in the Great Plains -- where most tornadoes occur -- appears to be shifting eastward," reported NYT on Sunday.

"This is what we would call a tornado outbreak, where you have a storm system which produces a number of tornadoes over a large geographical area," Dan Pydynowski, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather, was quoted as saying. However, such a large and powerful system in December is highly unusual, and something the region usually experiences in May or April.

"It's certainly not unheard-of," Pydynowski said, "but to have an outbreak of this magnitude, with this many tornado reports -- it's a little unusual for this time of year." Temperatures in Arkansas and Kansas on Friday were "spring weather," and "it was unusually warm, and there was moisture in place," he said.

Even though scientists are observing more clusters, "it is unclear the role that climate change plays," said the report. "For a lot of our questions about climate change and tornadoes, the answer is we don't know," Harold Brooks, a senior research scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Severe Storms Laboratory, was quoted as saying.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Cries for survival, justice -- overseas human rights survey (Part I)

Xinhua) 08:36, December 13, 2021

-- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that in 2011, the year the so-called "Arab Spring" began, the number of refugees arriving in Europe and dying in the Mediterranean topped 58,000 and 1,500 respectively, the highest level since 2006.

-- According to statistics, since 2001, the wars and military operations launched by the United States in the name of "anti-terrorism" have covered about 40 percent of the countries in the world, claiming more than 800,000 lives and displacing more than 38 million people. In Syria alone, by the end of 2020, 13.5 million people were forced to leave their homes, more than half of its population before the war.

-- According to the 2020 Annual Misery Index compiled by economist Steve H. Hanke of Johns Hopkins University, countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Lebanon, Libya and Iran were among the countries with the greatest pressure to survive. The internal environment for peaceful development in these countries was often damaged by external interference.

Abdullah al-Kurdi holds a picture of his two sons who drowned in the Aegean Sea in Turkey six years ago, in Erbil, Iraq, Oct. 2, 2021. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

BAGHDAD, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Living a life of contentment is the ultimate human right. According to a recent survey on overseas human rights conducted by Xinhua News Agency, nearly 70 percent of the respondents have a consensus that a sense of gain, security and happiness of the ordinary people is an important indicator of a country's human rights situation.

However, for many, because of the West's intervention, their primary basic human rights, namely the rights to subsistence and development, are still out of reach, while for some others, happiness is also a luxury.

RIGHTS TO SUBSISTENCE, DEVELOPMENT

"If Alan were still alive, he would be nine years old," Abdullah Kurdi, a 45-year-old Syrian refugee, murmured as he looked at his son's image in a painting.

On the wall of Kurdi's home in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil hangs a painting: a little mermaid swimming to rescue Alan as he lies facedown on the beach, no longer breathing.

In 2015, little Alan "sleeping" on the Mediterranean beach became one of the most heart-wrenching images of Europe's refugee crisis that year. Kurdi's elder son aged five and wife were also killed in the shipwreck.

Today, similar tragedies are still unfolding in some parts of the world.

After six years of war and displacement, survival and rebirth, Kurdi told Xinhua about the blood and tears of a refugee family.

On Sept. 2, 2015, a group of people in three cars arrived at a fishing village in the night off the coast of Bodrum, a city in southwest Turkey. Kurdi, his wife and two sons were among them. It was where they were going to sail across the Mediterranean to Greece.

At the time, as the Syrian crisis entered its fifth year, the situation became increasingly chaotic, lives were being destroyed by the fighting, and smuggling became a last resort for many.

It was not until the last moment that Kurdi found that what was waiting for them was not a speedboat as promised, but a humble boat that could not hold a few people.

"I refused to get on the boat, but the smugglers had guns. At this point it's either get on board or die," he remembered.

Kurdi knew that the road ahead would be dangerous, but he never thought it was really a road of no return.

The boat was so overloaded that it was overturned by huge waves just minutes after it set sail. Kurdi survived, but lost his wife Rehanna, his elder son Ghalib and his younger son Alan.

In that year, the total number of refugees who tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe like the Kurdi family exceeded 1 million, the vast majority from Syria.

Since the unrest in West Asia and North Africa in 2011, there has been a steady flow of refugees across Europe's borders from south to east.

From the south and southeast, a large number of refugees try to travel to Europe through the Mediterranean: either to Spain via Morocco and Algeria, to Italy via Tunisia and Libya, or to Greece via Turkey. But many never make it to the other side.

Uprooted people, many from war-torn countries in Asia and Africa, have been separated from their loved ones and have given up everything they have, like the Kurdi family, in the hopes of surviving.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that in 2011, the year the so-called "Arab Spring" began, the number of refugees arriving in Europe and dying in the Mediterranean topped 58,000 and 1,500 respectively, the highest level since 2006.

And this is just the beginning. As unrest continues in West Asia and North Africa, the refugee crisis is getting worse. From 2014 to 2019, more than 100,000 people were smuggled across the Mediterranean to Europe each year. More than 20,000 migrants died in the Mediterranean from 2014 to 2020. In the first half of 2021, 1,146 people died, 58 percent higher than the same period of last year.

Staying in Syria, they may die in war; crossing to Europe, they could die in the Mediterranean or somewhere else along the way -- that's the stark choice facing the Kurdi family and millions of people in Syria and other war-torn countries.

For anyone, if the right to subsistence is not guaranteed, all other rights are mere illusions. When Xinhua reporters talked to people in 10 Arab countries in the Middle East, including Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Egypt, about 70 percent of them told reporters they hope to "live better."

"Survival is the right of Syrians," said Adnan Hazim, spokesman of the Syrian office of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

"We are not just talking about Syrians, we are talking about humanity as a whole. This right must be enjoyed everywhere and at all times," he said.

THE WEST'S INTERVENTION

The Kurdi family had been living peacefully in the Syrian border town of Kobani. In 2011, the Syrian crisis broke out and the situation continued to deteriorate. Around 2013, Kurdi said, he noticed things were even more different because the Islamic State came.

"We could have died in Syria, too," Kurdi said. "My wife could have been captured, and my children and I could have been killed. Everyone knows what the Islamic State is like."

In 2003, the United States invaded Iraq, claiming the existence of weapons of mass destruction, and toppled Saddam Hussein. At the time, the Bush administration sought to replicate the American political model in Iraq with its so-called "Greater Middle East Initiative," but soon fell into a long-term confrontation with armed groups. The continuous war has provided a living space for al-Qaeda.

In 2011, the United States killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, in Pakistan, and then began to withdraw its troops hastily from Iraq. However, the chaos it left behind brought serious consequences, and extremist terrorist forces rose rapidly. At the same time, Syria was plunged into civil strife by the "Arab Spring" which was fomented by the United States and the West. The Iraqi branch of al-Qaeda took the opportunity to expand its influence into Syria and renamed itself the Islamic State, capturing territory in both countries and committing a lot of appalling atrocities.

According to Swiss historian Daniele Ganser, the extremist group Islamic State was actually "Made in America."

"Fear forces us to leave," Kurdi said, adding that it is also a choice many Syrian families have to make. Kurdi choked up several times and pressed his furrowed brow with hands as he sank into grief.

Six years later, Kurdi still blames himself for sending his wife and children to their doom. But he hated even more the intervention that had destroyed the peace and forced his family out of their homes.

A U.S. military vehicle runs past the Tal Tamr area in the countryside of Hasakah province, northeastern Syria, on Nov. 14, 2019. (Str/Xinhua)

"I don't understand politics ... but even an ordinary person knows that weapons enter Syria from Western countries, and intervention from the West is the root of the deterioration of the situation in Syria," he said.

Over the past years, the United States launched the Afghanistan War under the pretext of anti-terrorism, provoked the Iraq War by using a tube of white powder as evidence of Iraq's "chemical weapons," intervened in the Libyan conflict on the grounds of "humanitarian intervention" and launched airstrikes in Syria on the basis of fake videos staged by the White Helmets. The list goes on.

According to statistics, since 2001, the wars and military operations launched by the United States in the name of "anti-terrorism" have covered about 40 percent of the countries in the world, claiming more than 800,000 lives and displacing more than 38 million people. In Syria alone, by the end of 2020, 13.5 million people were forced to leave their homes, more than half of its population before the war.

Recently, in Eastern Europe, a large number of refugees from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries have been blocked at the borders of Belarus, Poland and Lithuania. As winter approaches, their fate is concerning.

It is the Western countries themselves that have caused the current migrant crisis, said Russian President Vladimir Putin, noting that the Western countries fought many years in Iraq and Afghanistan.

HOPE FOR PEACE, STABILITY

After the shipwreck in 2015, Kurdi buried his two children. For many nights after, he could not come out of the nightmare of shouting and searching for his children in the raging waves.

Kurdi has only one photo of little Alan and his brother. He found the photo in a news report and printed it out.

Taken in Istanbul in the summer of 2015, the photo shows little Alan holding his brother with his small hand, wearing a delicate bow tie and looking shyly at the camera.

Kurdi once thought his elder son Ghalib would become a doctor, and he hadn't even made any plans for Alan since he was too young. The fate of the family was changed by the war and destroyed by the shipwreck.

People should remember the tragedy to ensure that what happened is never repeated. "I do not want a tragedy, the same tragedy that happened to my children, to happen," Kurdi said.

When asked about their expectations for their future life, 43 percent of respondents from the Middle East chose "free from wars and conflicts," according to the recent survey by Xinhua on overseas human rights governance.

A displaced man and a boy are seen near a bombed site in a building complex under construction, where hundreds of displaced families live, in Tripoli, Libya, March 2, 2020. (Photo by Amru Salahuddien/Xinhua)

To realize this simple wish, peace and development are essential.

According to the 2020 Annual Misery Index compiled by economist Steve H. Hanke of Johns Hopkins University, countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Lebanon, Libya and Iran were among the countries with the greatest pressure to survive. The internal environment for peaceful development in these countries was often damaged by external interference.

More than 52 percent and 30 percent of respondents of the recent survey believed "the role of autonomous and effective state governance in protecting human rights" is "extremely important" or "very important" respectively.

Rwanda is a convincing example. In the past decade and more, Rwanda's social and economic performance has been quite impressive in the economic reports issued by the World Bank and other relevant United Nations agencies.

Back in the 20th century, this African country was plagued by civil war and turmoil, and its people were living in poverty. In 2000, the country's President Paul Kagame found and established an independent development path that fit their national conditions, which led the country come out of the bottom and head into a period of rapid development, and improved people's livelihood.

Pursuing a happy life is the common aspiration of people of all countries. No matter how weak the foundation of a country is, as long as the environment is peaceful and stable, the right to independent development can be guaranteed, generating great potential.

Every Sept. 2, Kurdi delivers clothes and school bags to children in a nearby refugee camp. He often thought that if it hadn't been for the wars and the smuggling boat, Ghalib and Alan would still be at school.

Children like Alan were deprived of the rights to survival and development. It is Kurdi's wish and his goal for the rest of his life to free more children from suffering and hunger, and help them access education and health care.

During the interview, a two-year-old boy with a pacifier slipped into the living room, looking exactly like little Alan. Kurdi said that the baby was born after he started a new family, and he also named the baby Alan.

"This name bears my memory of the past, and also contains my hope for a new life," he said.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Feature: Tokyo residents gather to remember the Nanjing Massacre

Xinhua) 08:41, December 13, 2021

TOKYO, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- "Three or four thousand Chinese, with their arms tied behind them, were driven in groups of four in four columns, to the coal port north of Nanjing, where they were shot with two heavy machine guns," reads the diary of Kenrou Kajitani, a sergeant at the Second Anchorage headquarters of the Japanese military on December 17, 1937.

December 13 marks the 84th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre and the eighth National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims.

Lin Boyao, an overseas Chinese in Japan, gave a lecture on the history of the Massacre at the YMCA Asian Youth Center in Tokyo, on Saturday. Nearly 100 Japanese people attended the gathering, organized by the No More Nanjing movement.

Apart from Kajitani's diary, Lin also presented the personal diaries of senior military commanders Kesago Nakajima and Toichi Sasaki.

"We broke through the enemy's position before dawn and fired 15,000 rounds at those who gathered on the river bank and the remaining soldiers," Sasaki wrote.

The number of people taken to the riverbank and the location of the shooting correspond with Kajitani's diary. The lecture featured videos of Chen Degui and Pan Kaiming, two survivors of the massacre who described the same scene.

Hiroshi Tanaka, representative of No More Nanjing, told reporters that the association was founded in the hope that the Japanese people, already familiar with "No More Hiroshima", should also remember the Nanjing Massacre. "Only by facing the facts can we truly move on from the tragedy and think about the future," he said.

Despite the evidence, some Japanese politicians still deny the facts. In his speech, Nobuo Kono, a retired history teacher at a Tokyo public high school, criticized the Japanese government's manipulation of textbooks and curricula to obscure Japan's role in the War of Aggression Against China.

For example, some Japanese politicians called the Nanjing Massacre the "Nanjing Incident", called the War of Aggression against China the "Japan-China War", denied the number of victims of the Nanjing Massacre, and constantly blurred the historical truth with unclear statements.

"Each time the government revises small details," Kono said. "Eventually, the truth is completely destroyed."

(Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun)
US 'summit' branded by its base contempt for democracy

08:51, December 13, 2021 By China Daily editorial ( Chinadaily.com.cn

The "Summit for Democracy" that the United States hosted on Thursday and Friday unfolded exactly as expected. Being staged purely for the purpose of dividing the world and attacking China, it was a farce from start to finish.

Providing representatives of the secessionist-minded Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan island with a platform to issue a so-called state declaration, inviting a Hong Kong rioter to speak, and accusing Chinese entities and individuals of unfounded wrongdoing and putting them on a blacklist on Friday, Human Rights Day, expose the summit for what it was, a contrived publicity stunt to blacken China's image in the name of democracy and human rights.

As a country that feels no qualms about intervening in the internal affairs of other countries or practicing long-arm jurisdictions so it can divide the world for its own narrow ends, the US is not qualified to lecture the world on values.

Although it claims to be championing democracy and human rights, it is the US that is the true "authoritarian force".

All of the US' anti-China tricks, whether conducted in the open for all the world to see or in an underhand way, only serve to consolidate China's resolve to defend its core interests as well as sovereignty and territorial integrity.

It has been nearly one month since the top leaders of China and the United States held a virtual meeting, in which they agreed on the importance of Sino-US relations and the need to avoid miscalculation and a new Cold War. Although the Chinese side has fully demonstrated its patience, foresight and practicality in acting accordingly, the US has not honored its words.

The US should discard the fantasy that it can compel China to follow its rules. China only accepts the international system with the United Nations as the core, and the international order with international laws as its foundation.

The US democracy is fundamentally the institutional exploitation of the majority by the few: that is how it views the world and how it has shaped the global governance system. The US' strategic anxiety about China's rise originates from its fear that the fairer and more equitable international order China calls for as a representative of the less-developed countries will put an end to its privilege and hegemony, which it has taken for granted after emerging from the Cold War as the sole superpower.

That being said, the US-orchestrated "summit" was a travesty of democracy. It was simply a tired hurrah for an enervated monarch refusing to accept his decline.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Where does Chinas full confidence in resolving Taiwan question come from?

(Global Times) 08:58, December 13, 2021

The night view of Taipei, Southeast China's Taiwan, June 20, 2019. Photo: Xinhua

A senior Chinese official has reaffirmed the determination of the Communist Party of China (CPC) to realize the national reunification at an annual forum to boost people-to-people exchanges cross the Taiwan Straits, further underscoring the CPC's full confidence in achieving this goal.

The clear signal was sent out as the US played the "Taiwan card" on the occasion of its holding the so-called summit for democracy, and at a time when the Taiwan question is widely considered the top issue of concern between China and the US for 2022, according to some experts, who also firmly believed that with regard to this power wrestling among the Chinese mainland, the US and the island of Taiwan, the Chinese mainland will always have the upper hand in deciding when and how to resolve the Taiwan question.

Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said that realizing unification is the historic mission and unshakable commitment of the CPC, and "we have full confidence in achieving the goal." He made the remarks on Saturday at the 13th Straits Forum in Xiamen, East China's Fujian Province.

Our confidence comes from the Chinese public warmly expecting and supporting reunification from the bottom of their hearts and firmly safeguarding this idea, Wang said, noting that we are ready to make efforts with the utmost sincerity to win the prospect of peaceful reunification, but we will never leave any room for "Taiwan independence" separatist activities.

This was the second strong warning to secessionists in Taiwan and the US-led Western forces behind them in a month, after Chinese President Xi Jinping warned in a virtual meeting with US President Joe Biden in mid November that the intention of some Americans to use Taiwan to contain China is "just like playing with fire" and that "whoever plays with fire will get burnt."

In recent months, the secessionist DPP authority has been increasingly colluding with the US-led West in escalating provocations on the Taiwan question, using the "salami-slicing" tactics and trying to tread on the red lines the mainland has set on the matter.

A series of reckless moves, such as visits by US congressmen to the island, sending an aircraft carrier to the Taiwan Straits and trying to help the island expand its so-called diplomatic room by inviting it to the "summit for democracy" in recent months, have all increased the chances for the Taiwan question to turn into a major flash point in which China and the US could see dangerous conflicts, as a number of prominent experts and scholars predicted at the Global Times Annual Forumon Saturday that the Taiwan question will be the top issue of concern between China and the US for 2022.

Potential for danger

"If we rank the major points that could cause dangerous conflicts between China and the US in the future, I would say the Taiwan question would be the first, then the South China Sea and the East China Sea," retired PLA navy rear admiral Yang Yi said at the forum on Saturday.

On the Taiwan question, both China and the US have been preparing in terms of planning and strength, Yang said, noting that if a strategic accident leads to conflict, the two countries, as major powers, will not easily make any compromises due to national pride.

The Biden administration has been escalating provocations on the Taiwan question for the past year. For example, it has allowed senior US officials such as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to recently adopt aggressive rhetoric, such as "any move by China to 'invade' Taiwan would have terrible consequences," and some US politicians have wantonly challenged the one-China principle by visiting the island or supporting the secessionist DPP authority.

In late October, Taiwan's regional leader Tsai Ing-wen confirmed for the first time, in an interview with CNN, that US troops are present on the island, which sparked public outrage, as some wondered whether such a claim would be regarded as stepping on the red lines of the one-China principle. Experts also warned that Tsai would face consequences from the mainland including more military activities.

Some experts at the Global Times forum laid out several scenarios where the secessionists in Taiwan, in collusion with the US, would create extreme danger or war by stepping on the red lines of the mainland such as formally declaring "independence", amending their so-called constitution, allowing US troops to be stationed on the island, joining the UN and establishing official ties with the US or Japan.

For example, if US troops really were stationed in the island to offer protection to the Taiwan authorities on the island, rather than provide training sessions from time to time, then "it would be a highly dangerous situation," Zhou Zhihuai, director of the academic board of the Taiwan and East Asia Research Center of Central China Normal University, said at the forum on Saturday.

Most experts who attended the first panel of the forumsaid that they believe the tense situation surrounding the Taiwan Straits will develop the most rapidly.

There were some other scenarios laid out by some experts at the second panel concerning non-peaceful means being used to solve the Taiwan question, such as secessionists in Taiwan using any name or measure to separate the island from China, an incident causing any major secession of Taiwan from China, or the possibilities for peaceful reunification completely vanishing.

The US will not allow the DPP authority to take the risk of dragging it into a regional maelstrom. If the balance of China-US power leans toward China within three to five years, the US may be more restrained, making the resolution of the Taiwan question more straightforward, said Shen Dingli, a professor from Fudan University's Institute of International Studies, at the forum.

Several rigid-hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) attached to a brigade of the PLA Navy Marine Corps make their way to the beach-head during a maritime amphibious assault training in mid July, 2021. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Liu Yuxiang)

Future prospects

In his address at the Straits Forum, Wang Yang, China's top policy adviser, also noted that as the CPC has the ability to transform the disaster-stricken Chinese nation from standing up and growing prosperous to becoming strong, it also has the ability to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects on the once poverty-stricken mainland with a large population, and of course, the CPC has the ability to make Taiwan compatriots enjoy better lives.

"My intuition is that the Chinese mainland has put the resolution of the Taiwan question on the agenda," Jin Canrong, associate dean of the School of International Studies at the Renmin University of China, said at the Global Times forum, referring to one of three factors affecting the situation in the Taiwan Straits.

Some plans concerning the local economy and transport have recently been unveiled, sparking speculation about the country's overall plan for reunification. For example, a senior official from the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said in Octoberthat after the reunification, Taiwan's peace and tranquility will be fully guaranteed and its economic development will be enhanced.

Also, the national outline of a comprehensive transportation network includes the construction of a branch route from Fuzhou in Fujian to Taipei on the island of Taiwan, a spokesperson from the Taiwan Affairs Officesaid on November 24.

Experts agree that extreme dangers, including a war, remain unlikely in the short term despite there still being risk, with most believing that the Chinese mainland is controlling the development of the cross-Taiwan Straits situation, and that it is the only actor with enough strength to launch a massive operation to resolve the Taiwan question once and for all when necessary.

"If the Taiwan authorities want to push for a peaceful solution with the mainland, or the US wants to reach an agreement with China peacefully on the matter, they should do it as soon as possible," otherwise there is nothing they can get via negotiations in the near future, as China doesn't need to consider any compromise to realize a peaceful end to the Taiwan question, Jin said.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Soldiers of Xinjiang Military Command cross one-rope bridge obstacle

China Military Online) 09:16, December 13, 2021

A soldier assigned to a regiment under the PLA Xinjiang Military Command crosses a one-rope bridge obstacle as his fellows provide security for him during a rope bridge maneuver operation on November 8, 2021. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Deng Xinyang)

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Taliban-led Afghan gov't thanks China over donation

Xinhua) 09:44, December 13, 2021

KABUL, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and Afghan officials inaugurated the construction of a mosque and two wells in the Ministry of Justice of Afghanistan on Sunday.

The projects were funded by China.

Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu said China and Afghanistan are very close neighbors connected by mountains and rivers, and the two peoples enjoy long-lasting friendly exchanges.

In accordance with the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, China has always adhered to the diplomatic policy of building friendship and partnership with Afghanistan and have been standing together to support each other, he said.

The ambassador noted that China sincerely hopes for and promotes an early realization of peace, tranquility, prosperity and good-neighborliness in Afghanistan. China has actively adopted concrete measures to help Afghanistan to seize opportunities and surmount difficulties.

Chief spokesman of Taliban-led administration Zabihullah Mujahid thanked China over the donation.

"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is thankful to China over sending assistance and also assures of having trustable relations with the neighboring country," he said in his speech.

Assuring protection to investment and investors, Mujahid stated that the administration is firm to provide security for Chinese diplomats and investors and also is thankful to China's generous cooperation.

The spokesman also looked forward to the help of regional countries, Islamic world, European nations and China in the rebuilding process of war-torn Afghanistan.

Speaking at the ceremony, Acting Justice Minister Shaikh Abdul Hakim Sharai expressed gratitude to China for its support and provision of humanitarian assistance to his country.

"I am thankful to China and the Chinese ambassador for their support to Afghanistan, a country that its infrastructures have been destroyed over the past four decades of war."

(Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun)
Chinese photographer nominated for Oscars of world wildlife photography

People's Daily Online) 10:16, December 13, 2021

Zhang Qiang (Photo/Xi'an Release)

A photographer from northwest China's Shaanxi province was recently nominated for the People's Choice Award of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year (WPY) 2021, a world-famous competition that showcases outstanding wildlife images from around the world originally established in 1965 by BBC Wildlife Magazine, and which is also known as the Oscars of world wildlife photography.

Zhang Qiang's photo titled Monkey Cuddle (Photo/Xi'an Release)

The photographer, Zhang Qiang, received the honor for capturing a young Sichuan snub-nosed monkey in the warm embrace of its mother in the woods of the Qinling Mountains, Shaanxi province.

The image, titled Monkey Cuddle, stood out from over 50,000 entries submitted by photographers from 95 countries. It has recently been circulating on Chinese social media and received a huge number of likes.

Zhang said the image was taken at the end of October 2020. In order not to disturb the wild animals in the mountains, he used a super-telephoto zoom lens. The image shows the intimacy and love between members of a Sichuan snub-nosed monkey family, and illustrates the peaceful life enjoyed by the wildlife in the Qinling Mountains.

Presenting to the world the peaceful nature of the animals in the Qinling Mountains has long been an aspiration of mine," Zhang said.

(Photo/Xi'an Release)

Before being nominated, Monkey Cuddle had already received widespread attention from the photography world both inside and outside China, and had been published in a number of professional photography journals.

In addition, another image of Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys taken by Zhang titled Take Care (Baby Animals) won first place in the 2021 Photo Contest of National Wildlife, a magazine run by the National Wildlife Federation, the largest private and nonprofit conservation education and advocacy organization in the U.S. Monkey Cuddle was the cover of the December 2021January 2022 issue of the magazine.

(Photo/Xi'an Release)

Zhang has been an animal lover since he was a child. He said he loves the vitality of the creatures and how they interact emotionally with humans.

After he got his first camera and telephoto lens in 2012, he decided to take photos of the animals in his hometown in Shaanxi Province, which is home to the Qinling Mountains, China's gene bank of wild biology.

"The vast mountains give people a variety of sceneries, and are also a habitat for all kinds of rare species. They fascinate me," he noted.

(Photo/Xi'an Release)

According to Zhang, the wild species in the Qinling Mountains have always been a focus of his photography, and he has shot several images of them. He said the Crested Ibises, Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys, giant pandas and takins in the Qinling Mountains are all emotionally expressive, demonstrating the tenderness and wildness of Nature.

Prior to the WPY nomination, Zhang had received a number of world-class awards in environmental photography, including one run by National Geographic and the Lumix Award of Natures Best Photography Asia.

(Photo/Xi'an Release)

(Photo/Xi'an Release)

Over the years, Zhang has always stayed true to his original aspiration - bringing knowledge of Chinese wildlife to more people in the world.

Zhang now has a deeper understanding of ecological conservation, as well as the relationship between humanity and Nature. He hopes the photos he takes can give people more respect for all life forms and bring them closer to the world outside the concrete jungle.

"I'm always hoping that through my lens, more people can see how wild animals live, and get to know the efforts made by my hometown, and even all of China, to protect its ecology," Zhang said.

The Crested Ibis, one of the four "treasures" of the Qinling Mountains, has developed from a population of only seven to more than 7,000 today. Over 5,000 of the birds live in Shaanxi Province. Thanks to the expanded vegetation and improved environment in the province, Shaanxi is seeing more and more wildlife species and populations emerge.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
2021 Tourism Chinese Language and Culture Training wraps up in South Africa

11:18, December 13, 2021 By Wang Lei ( People's Daily Online

JOHANNESBURG, Dec. 11 (Peoples Daily Online) -- The 2021 Tourism Chinese Language and Culture Training program cohosted by the Tourism Business Council of South Africa and the University of Johannesburg successfully ended on Dec. 11, 2021. The training was co-organized by the University of Cape Town, University of the Western Cape and the Cape Academy of Math, Science & Technology, with the support of the Association of South African Universities.

The six-week training program was attended by government officials from the Department of Tourism of South African, students and teachers from universities specializing in tourism, managers from industry associations at all levels, owners and management of tourism service trading companies, and practitioners from the tourism industry chain.

Sarab Sinha, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg, praised the training as "giving a new impetus to the recovery of the entire South African tourism industry." He congratulated the participants on the successful completion of the training and welcomed them to continue their Chinese language studies at the Confucius Institute in Johannesburg next year.

Linda Meyer, Executive Director of the Association of South African Universities, said that one of their duties is to promote the services offered by universities for the benefit of society and the economy. All these top-ranked universities in South Africa were able to join them and use the Confucius Institute Consortium as a support to serve the South African tourism industry and strengthen the professional skills of practitioners, as well as to promote the development of the discipline of tourism at universities.

Jamie Leigh Stafford, a South African national tour guide from the Western Cape, spoke at the closing ceremony as a representative of the participants. She expressed how much the participants appreciated and enjoyed the training, and how useful the lecturers and experts were, giving them the confidence to overcome their current difficulties and focus on learning and enriching themselves.

Vumile Sithole, the director from a local tourism company, said the course was the best tourism training she had ever attended, with a very professional team of lecturers and interesting and practical courses. Many of the participants hope to continue to attend similar Chinese language courses in the future, and said they would bring their family and friends along to learn Chinese language and culture as well.

The well-prepared lectures by the teaching team were warmly welcomed and appreciated by the participants. Peng Yi, the Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Johannesburg, said that tourism is one of the industries most affected by the epidemic in South Africa, and the Confucius Institute in Johannesburg is pleased to join hands with some Confucius Institutes (classes) in South Africa to contribute to the recovery of the tourism industry throughout the country.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
HEFEI-- Over 100,000 fish, including the rare Chinese sturgeon and mullet, were released into the mid-lower course of the Yangtze -- China's longest river -- to help restore the wild population of the endangered species.

The fish release which took place in the city of Wuhu, east China's Anhui Province, aims to help restore the wild population of the endangered species. It was held under the aegis of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and Anhui.

The Chinese sturgeon is a species under first-class state protection in China while the mullet is under second-class protection.

Among the over 200 captive-bred Chinese sturgeon released this time, the largest one has a length of some 1.75 meters and weighs over 65 kg.

In recent years, China has stepped up efforts to rescue endangered species in the river by targeting illegal fishing, closing polluting factories and releasing captive-bred fry into the wild.




Britain's Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken attend a G7 Foreign and Development Ministers Session with Guest Countries and ASEAN Nations in Liverpool, north-west England on December 12, 2021. Photo: AFP

Just after the "Summit for Democracy"convened by Biden concluded on Friday, the G7 Summit for Foreign and Development Ministers took place in Liverpool, UK from Friday to Sunday. New British Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss called on the Western world to "come together strongly to stand up to aggressors who are seeking to limit the bounds of freedom and democracy." Media largely interpreted that she was targeting Russia and China. Previously when addressing a think tank in London, Truss said "now is the time for the free world to fight back" the erosion of "autocratic regimes." "The free world's age of introspection must end now," she said.

Britain in many cases is keen on serving as the promoter and megaphone of the US' foreign policy. It is obvious Truss is helping to consolidate the result of the "Summit for Democracy," preventing it from vanishing like the wind. Facing a world with diverse interests where US influence is being challenged, Washington is trying to use "democracy" as a new political mobilization slogan to organize strategic containment against China and Russia. Democracy is being weaponized by the US and Britain. They are instigating the fever of fundamentalism over the Western definition of democracy and tapping the destructive power of the concept.

Washington has laid bare its ambition to completely divide the world with so-called "democracy" or "autocracy". Truss and her like represent the most radical forces that promote such a dichotomy. The world is being described by them as two systems with daggers drawn and all countries and regions have to pick a side.

However, the diversity of democracy is obvious. Using the concept of "democracy" as a gun and bayonet to launch attacks is a challenge to the 21st century and to the peace of the humankind.

China is a country that has been highly integrated into globalization. It has already been the world's top manufacturer and trading country. Washington is attempting to construct a global supply chain based on Western democratic values that excludes China and to use it as a trump card to contain China's rise. This obviously is not in line with the interests of most countries in the world, including many Western powers.

Many companies that have grown and expanded in a globalized environment are at a loss as to what to do. A small number of US and Western political elites are imposing their extreme fantasies onto the world. This is an evil process. If it leads to deep restructuring of international relations, there will be very fierce confrontation. The shocks it will bring will be much bigger than those caused by a regional war.

A small number of extreme Western politicians must be clear about what they are doing. They should know that they may give a fatal blow to the world's unity while human beings urgently need to unite in face of global public crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. They are provoking fundamental hostility. They may become the most unforgivable sinners in the 21st century.

China has shown the world the greatest cooperation in the globalization era, and Russia is in a continuous strategic contraction brought by the disintegration of the Soviet Union 30 years ago. Both countries have some disputes of interests confined to the surrounding areas and left over from history. Neither China nor Russia is interested in global geopolitical expansion. The US and its major allies treat those disputes of interests with a mentality of a major power competition. They do not hesitate to support neighboring countries to confront China and Russia, and promote regional disputes into a powder keg big powers.

The US and the UK covered their vicious plans with the disguise of "promoting democracy and freedom," trying to obscure their nature of suppressing China, Russia and safeguarding US hegemony. Through this way, they try to mobilize as many countries as possible and rope them into anti-China and anti-Russia camps. If the last Cold War formed naturally, then the US and its major allies are now bluntly changing the programming of human society in the 21st century. They are doing everything possible to create a new cold war and reshape the political outlook of the 21st century.

Most members of the international community should stay clear-headed, think independently, not be coerced by the US and the UK, and avoid unwittingly becoming cannon fodder in the confrontation between major powers. Peaceful development is the most precious. Whoever wants to turn division into the main political theme in the 21st century will be the common enemy of all mankind, and the new "Hitlers" and "Mussolinis" of today.
By Xu Shiwei and Dong Shanhu

The naval Frigate Bayern of German Bundeswehr recently took part in a multilateral maritime exercise led by the US and Japan on the waters of the Philippines, the first time that a German military vessel patrolled the Asia-Pacific waters and participated in an exercise in the past 20 years. For historical reasons, Germany has always been cautious about its military development and overseas deployment. Therefore, its unusual assignment of a military vessel to the Asia Pacific and high-profile participation in the joint exercise have raised questions about what the country is up to.

Germany is seeking greater influence in Asia Pacific. With the unceasing changes in the world geopolitical situation, the Asia-Pacific region has increasingly come under the global spotlight. Against such a background, Germany has constantly adjusted its foreign policy to be more focused on this region. A policy guidelines on Asia Pacific released by the German government in September 2020 defined the Indo-Pacific region as a priority in Germanys diplomatic policy and expressed the intention to enhance the countrys influence by cooperating with regional countries. In March 2021, Germany and Japan formally signed a military information protection agreement pact to share military secrets, followed by a 2 plus 2 security dialogue between their foreign and defense ministers via video link in April. It is reported that sending the military vessel to the Asia-Pacific and joining the exercise is a concrete step to implement Berlins Indo-Pacific strategy.

Germany is demonstrating solidarity and alignment with America. After it launched the Indo-Pacific strategy, the US has doubled up its efforts to meddle in Asia-Pacific affairs, not only rallying Japan, India and Australia to scrabble up the so-called Quad, but also demanding support from NATO allies. Several NATO members, including Britain and France, have sent military vessels to the region to show their position. Although Berlin and Washington have conflicts and divergences on many issues, Berlin still chooses to coordinate with Washington in order to demonstrate the ostensible solidarity within NATO.

Germany is strengthening military forces to cement its position. After WWII, Germany, with its military strength being restricted, has mainly relied on the US for security protection. However, the scandalous withdrawal from Afghanistan and the nuclear submarine deal with Australia have shown how selfish and irresponsible the US is, and Germany is wondering to what extent it can continue to rely on the superpower for security protection. Merkel once said bluntly that the days when Germany unconditionally relies on others are gone and it must hold its future in its own hands. As the EU is accelerating the formation of a 5,000-strong rapid reaction force, Germany is attempting to shake up its military and combat readiness to cement its position in the union and the world.

To tell the truth, Germany sending Frigate Bayern to the Asia Pacific is more symbolic than substantive  it wont make much of a difference on the current security situation in the region. Nevertheless, the fact that Germany has turned from an on-looker to a participant in Asian-Pacific affairs may trigger chain effects like the opening of Pandoras box.

Merkel, when she was in office, kept a pragmatic and low-profile attitude towards Asia-Pacific affairs even though she adjusted the Indo-Pacific strategy. Now that a new administration has been elected and will soon officially take power, it is generally believed that the new government headed by Olaf Scholz will attach more importance to the relation with America. For instance, some media commented that Berlin suspended the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline project as a way of paying allegiance to the Biden administration. Therefore, there is a big question mark on whether Scholz will be as wise and calm as Merkel on the Asian-Pacific topic. Its highly probable that with Frigate Bayerns Asia-Pacific patrol as a starter, the new administration will continue to reinforce its military presence in the region.

Being quite influential in Europe and the world at large, Germanys actions have demonstrative effects. America is trying hard to woo ASEAN members in implementing its Indo-Pacific strategy. Germanys military presence in the region at such a juncture will add to the bluff and bluster of the US, Japan and Australia and put more pressure on ASEAN. The negative consequences are worth close attention.
On December 3, local time, the US military launched a drone strike in Syria against a senior Al-Qaeda leader , resulting in six civilian casualties. The picture shows Qassim, who was injured in the US drone strike, coming to visit his 10-year-old son also injured in the strike. (Source: visual.people.cn)

There have been so many funny things with the so-called Summit for Democracy recently launched by the US in high profile, which almost everyone can roast. Seeing the list of countries invited to the summit as issued by the White House, many people in the Middle East region might get confused. How could they not be the "democratic countries" after being engaged in democracy construction for almost 10 years since the Arab Spring ?

In the Middle East region, where the US has been wantonly pursuing "democratic transformation", only Israel and Iraq are included in the list. Why does the US refuse to invite most countries in the Middle East to the summit? Is it the reason that the US is afraid the Middle East countries knowing the so-called American democracy so well might make trouble at the scene?

Since the end of 2010, tumultuous change swept across the Middle East region, commonly referred to as the Arab Spring. Years later, when looking back to review the vigorous revolution, it was found that the dynamite might be detonated by local people who were, nevertheless, deliberately and secretly intrigued by the Americans.

The American "democratic transformation" features a complete suite of measures: first, a series of tricks such as the so-called cultural exchanges, economic assistance, and public opinion guiding, which are employed to try to exaggerate the errors and shortcomings of the current regime to arouse people's dissatisfaction and anti-government sentiments as a result; second, instillation of American values is a way to make local people identify themselves with the American economic and political system; at the same time, cultivation of a large number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and training of opposition leaders in an all-round manner, which are taken to seize the opportunity of important elections or emergencies to overthrow the local regime through various political activities across streets.

The whole suite of close inter-links was staged in Egypt in those days. According to the statistics of the Egypt Human Development Report 2008, Egypt has had about 600 NGOs newly established each year since 2002, focusing on the fields of development and advocacy . In 2005, the US Congress passed a bill to allocate special funding to the US Department of State to assist these NGOs in carrying out democracy and governance activities in Egypt, and such assistance does not need to be approved by the Egyptian government in advance as prescribed.

From 2005 to 2010, nearly 10,000 people in Egypt participated in training organized by these NGOs. Backbones of the April 6th Youth Movement who were also very active in Egypt's January 25 Revolution, once stated that they were trained in 2009 by "CANVAS", a CIA-funded NGO, to "learn how to mobilize the people and control the military with non-violent actions, and how to effectively organize large-scale demonstrations."

Even worse, the American politicians, reluctant to be "behind the scenes", even stood on the stage. Officials of the US Embassy in Cairo regularly met with opposition party leaders and human rights activists in Egypt to learn about the political situation therein. In addition, reporters and activists would also be sent by the US Embassy to the US to experience the "democratic" aura in person. In May 2009, when then-US president Barack Obama visited Cairo, then-US secretary of state Hillary Clinton also hosted a group of young Egyptian activists who had received two-month training in Freedom House, a US-based NGO that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights.

Following the breakout of Egypt's January 25 Revolution, the US funding assistance for "democracy and governance" to Egypt increased from approximately USD 13 million in fiscal year 2010 to approximately USD 72 million in fiscal year 2011. NGOs became even more active with more protests set off.

However, instead of bringing about new democratic politics, the street revolutions caused continuous social unrest and tragedies one after another. Unprecedented social turmoil, chaos, and division have smashed the hope of Egyptian people, with disappointed sentiments accumulating thereby. According to data from the Egyptian Central Bureau of Statistics, the unemployment rate in Egypt reached 12.7% in 2012, with the total unemployed population reaching up to 3.4 million, an increase of 7.6% over the previous year. The security and political situation of continuous turbulence has slowed down its national economic development and resulted in a stubbornly high unemployment rate.

Having known the true face of the so-called American democracy, Egypt cut losses in time. The reversal of the Arab Spring occurred in Egypt, so did it in Tunisia, once called a "role model of democratic transitions" by the West. Tunisia has recently ceased to follow the Western-style democracy of superficiality blindly. The New York Times also has to acknowledge that, after ten years since the Arab Spring, "Tunisians felt themselves backsliding on virtually everything", and "this time, the people lashed out at democracy".

The lesson from Arab Spring is still at hand. Whom else can the "Summit for Democracy" fool?

Editor's note: This article is originally published on haiwainet.cn, and is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.


The Chinese soldiers retrieve the field medical vehicle after the joint exercise. (Photo by Wei Fei)

HANOI, Dec. 13 -- The Chinese troops participating in the China-Vietnam "Peace Rescue 2021" joint medical exercise returned to south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on December 12. This marks the successful ending of the seven-day joint exercise.

The Chinese and Vietnamese militaries focused on humanitarian medical rescue issues and completed training subjects such as joint military health service command, joint on-site rescue, and batch wounded treatment in accordance with real combat standards. Both the Chinese and Vietnamese militaries spoke highly of the results of the exercise.

The director of Vietnam Exercise Director Committee and deputy chief of staff with the General Department of Logistics of the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) said at the closing ceremony that the Vietnamese military doctors learned exercise organization and professional activities from the Chinese military counterparts, and also witnessed Chinese medical support equipment. The results of the exercise proved the professional capabilities of the two military medical forces in medical assistance and pandemic prevention and control.

Chen Chunming, head of the Chinese guidance and coordination team and deputy director of the Health Bureau of the PLA Logistic Support Department, said that this exercise was another pioneering and innovative practice based on the successful joint free medical service activities held in 2018. The exercise was a very important milestone, said Chen.

During the exercise, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) donated medical protective masks, medical protective clothing, rapid nucleic acid detection kits and other health and pandemic prevention materials to the VPA.
By Guo Dan

The photo shows the scene of the testimony meeting for the 84th Anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre held at the YMCA Asian Youth Center in Tokyo, Japan, on December 11. (Photo by Zhang Xiaoyu)

TOKYO, Dec. 13-- "Three or four thousand Chinese, with their arms tied behind them, were driven in four columns to the coal port in the north of Nanjing, where they were shot by two heavy machine guns," Kenrou Kajitani , a then sergeant assigned to the Second Anchorage headquarters of the Japanese military, wrote in his diary. It was about what was happening on December 17, 1937, during the Nanjing Massacre, which Kajitani had participated in.

December 13 marks the 84th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre and the eighth National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims . On December 11, a testimony meeting in commemoration of Nanjing Massacre was held in Tokyo. Nearly 100 Japanese people attended the gathering. All of them listened with full attention, seriously and earnestly, to the testimonies. "Only by facing the facts could we truly move on from the tragedy and think about the future," said the moderator of the gathering.

Lin Boyao, an overseas Chinese in Japan who has been engaged in historical studies related to Nanjing Massacre, presented a hand-drawn map of the Nanjing Massacre painted by Kajitani , and gave a lecture on the history of the Massacre at the YMCA Asian Youth Center in Tokyo, on Saturday.

Apart from Kajitani's diary, those of senior military commanders Kesago Nakajima and Toichi Sasaki were also presented. "We broke through the enemy's position before dawn and fired 15,000 rounds at the remaining soldiers and the people who gathered on the riverbank," Sasaki wrote. The line of cruel words confirmed the facts of the massacre by the Japanese invaders in Nanjing.

Videos taken with Chen Degui and Pan Kaiming, two survivors of the massacre in the coal port describing the massacre, were also played at the gathering. The number of the people taken to the riverbank, the scene that they were tied up, and the location of the shooting, all the information corresponds with the diaries of Kenrou Kajitani and Toichi Sasaki .

The photo shows the scene of the testimony meeting for the 84th Anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre held at the YMCA Asian Youth Center in Tokyo, Japan, on December 11. (Photo by Zhang Xiaoyu)
The death toll mounted Sunday from an unseasonal string of U.S. tornadoes that swept through six southern and midwestern states late Friday even as one emergency official expressed hope that more survivors would be found.

The destruction was the worst in the state of Kentucky, with the death toll already at 80. Many of the deaths occurred when a twister leveled a candle factory.

The violent tornadoes, unusual in December in the United States, tore a 365-km path through Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky, but the destruction stretched through 321 km in Kentucky.

"I know we've lost more than 80 Kentuckians," Governor Andy Beshear told CNN's "State of the Union" show. "That number is going to exceed more than 100. This is the deadliest tornado event we've ever had."

Beshear said it will "be a miracle if we pull anyone more out" of the candle factory debris in the small Kentucky town of Mayfield. He said only 40 of the 110 people working at the factory have been rescued. "I'm not sure we're going to see another rescue," he said. "We've been hit in a way we couldn't imagine."

But Deanne Criswell, chief of the country's Federal Emergency Management Agency, told CNN that rescue efforts are continuing. "I think there is still hope to find as many people as we can," she said. Criswell called the December storms "incredibly unusual" as they are much more common in the early spring months in the Northern Hemisphere, in March and April.

Jeremy Creason, the Mayfield fire chief and emergency medical services director, said, "We had to, at times, crawl over casualties to get to live victims."
A volcanic eruption in Spain's Canary Islands shows no sign of ending after 85 days, becoming the island of La Palma's longest eruption on record Sunday.

The eruption has surged and ebbed since it first began spewing lava on Sept. 19. It has since destroyed almost 3,000 local buildings and forced several thousand people to abandon their homes.

On Sunday, after several days of low-level activity, the Cumbre Vieja volcano suddenly sprang to life again, producing loud explosions and blowing a vast cloud of ash high into the sky.

Scientists say volcanic eruptions are unpredictable. Spanish experts had initially said the La Palma eruption could last up to three months. Mariano Hernandez, the island's senior government official, described the volcano as "stable" in recent days.

"The fact is that all the key indicators have been low," he told Spanish public broadcaster RTVE. "But the scientists won't say exactly when it might come to an end." He said experts continue to measure the number and magnitude of earthquakes in the area and local sulfur dioxide levels.


President Moon Jae-in arrived in Australia on Sunday for a four-day state visit.

He is the first foreign leader to visit the country since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and the first Korean president to make a state visit there in 12 years. The two countries mark 60 years of diplomatic ties this year.

On Monday, Moon held a summit with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and signed a US$1-billion defense deal, which is the largest contract ever between the two countries. Under the deal, Korea's Hanwha Defense will provide its K-9 self-propelled howitzers to Australia. Morrison said the two countries "share a view about the role of liberal democracies in today's world and particularly in the Indo-Pacific."
Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said, "On International Human Rights Day, the Treasury is using its tools to expose and hold accountable perpetrators of serious human rights abuse" in Bangladesh, China, Myanmar and North Korea.

North Korea's armed forces minister and two state-run entities are among individuals and bodies newly blacklisted "for their connection to human rights abuses and repression in several countries" by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control last Friday.

In North Korea, the office blacklisted People's Armed Forces Minister Ri Yong-gil, the Central Public Prosecutors Office, and the animation studio SEK Studio.

Ri is being targeted because he was minister of social security until he took up his current post in July. North Korea's "Central Public Prosecutors Office and court system reportedly are used to prosecute and punish persons for political wrongdoing in a legal process involving fundamentally unfair trials," the office said. "These trials sometimes end in sentencing to the [North's] notorious prison camps run by the Ministry of State Security and the Ministry of Social Security."

Jong Kyong-thaek, the minister of state security, has been on the blacklist since 2018. Back in March, the EU also blacklisted the Central Public Prosecutors Office, Ri and Jong for human rights abuses.

The OFAC also mentioned Otto Warmbier, an American college student who was detained in North Korea in 2016 on a charge of subversion and died a few days after being released in a vegetative state and flown home in 2017.

"Foreigners have also been the victims of the [North's] fundamentally unfair justice system, such as American prisoner Otto Warmbier, who was arrested in 2016, and other foreign prisoners who remain detained in the [North] today," the OFAC said. "The treatment and eventual death of Otto Warmbier, who would have turned 27 years old this year, were reprehensible. [North Korea] must continue to be held to account for its abysmal human rights record."

The blacklist also includes people or organizations involved in sending laborers overseas to work in harsh conditions and under constant surveillance "for the purpose of generating foreign currency earnings that the [North] can use to support its unlawful weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs," it said.

"UN Security Council Resolution 2397, adopted on December 22, 2017, requires UN Member States to have repatriated [North Korean] nationals earning income in their jurisdictions by Dec. 22, 2019." But a Russian university named European Institute Justo and its provost, Dmitriy Yurevich Soin, sponsored student visas for North Korean construction workers in Russia to evade UN sanctions.

Once sanctioned by the U.S., the American assets of those involved will be frozen and they will be banned from transactions with individuals or organizations controlled by U.S. financial institutions.

SEK Studio participated in 2002 in the production of the first season of "Pororo the Little Penguin," a hugely successful South Korean children's series. "Pororo" was subcontracted to the studio as a joint project between the two Koreas during a thaw while President Kim Dae-jung was in office.
Press Release

December 13, 2021 Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa

MANIFESTATION OF SUPPORT: THIRD READING

(SBN 1411: Expanded Solo Parents Welfare Act of 2020) Mr. President, I would like to congratulate the Chairperson of the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, Senator Risa Hontiveros, for competently shepherding Senate Bill 1411, or the "Expanded Solo Parents Welfare Act of 2020." As a parent, I understand and know well the struggle of raising children. More than the bills and the tuition fees to pay, the school projects to make, and more than the mouths to feed, our priority in raising our children lies in forming their hearts and minds to become good people. This is why there is a need to honor our solo parents, for as they face these challenges head on, they also need to face them without a spouse to rely on. Our earnest 'yes' to the expansion of the Solo Parents Welfare Act is our way of championing the rights and privileges of those who dare to love and care for our children, even in the face of the possibility of having to do so alone. Again, my deepest gratitude to the good sponsor, and it would be my utmost honor if I may be made co-author of this measure. Thank you, Mr. President.
Press Release

December 13, 2021 De Lima thanks Ressa for including her story in Nobel Peace Prize speech Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima thanked Maria Ressa for including her story in her speech at Nobel Peace Prize awarding in Oslo. De Lima, the most prominent political prisoner under the Duterte regime, said she will always admire Ressa's courage to speak the truth and fight for freedom of expression and of the press amid unyielding attacks against her by the current regime. "Thank you, @mariaressa, for sharing my story and that of others, and our struggles, to the world. Congratulations again. Indeed, the world is watching and taking an action. Tuloy ang laban," De Lima said in a statement posted on Twitter. "Sa panahon na maraming nagdadalawang-isip at nananahinik laban sa kasinungalingan at pagyurak sa malayang pamamahayag, isa ka sa mga nanindigan para mangibabaw ang katotohanan. And that is truly worthy of recognition and admiration. You brought unrivalled honor to our country," she added. Ressa, the first Filipino Nobel laureate, accepted the Nobel Peace Prize at a grand, century-old ceremony in Oslo last Dec. 10. The veteran journalist shared the prize with Russian investigative journalist Dmitry Muratov, who, like her, is also facing pressure from authorities for his effort to safeguard freedom of expression. Notably, Ressa specifically mentioned De Lima during her speech, noting that there have been "costs" for those who help keep journalists safer and working in the country. "In the Philippines, more lawyers have been killed -- at least 63 compared to the 22 journalists murdered after President Rodrigo Duterte took office in 2016. Since then, Karapatan, a member of our #CourageON human rights coalition, has had 16 people killed, and Senator Leila de Lima -- because she demanded accountability, is serving her fifth year in jail, Ressa said. Atty. Dino de Leon, one of De Lima's legal counsels and spokesperson, recently confirmed that Ressa tried to visit De Lima before leaving for Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize but was not allowed to do so. "Bago siya pumunta sa Oslo, sinubukan ni Maria Ressa bumisita kay Senator Leila de Lima dahil as a Nobel Peace Laureate, sabi niya, isa si Senator Leila de Lima sa nagpapakinang ng ating demokrasya, na mayroon pa ring hope dito sa ating democracy," De Leon shared in a radio interview last Dec. 12. "Sinubukan niyang bisitahin si Senator Leila. Hindi siya pinayagan. Nakakalungkot," he added. Last October, De Lima filed Proposed Senate Resolution (SR) No. 930 congratulating Ressa for being the first Filipino recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize owing to her extraordinary courage and unwavering efforts in fighting for truth, democracy, freedom of expression and of the press.
Press Release

December 13, 2021 Dispatch from Crame No. 1,187:

Sen. Leila M. de Lima on Duterte's Attendance at the Summit for Democracy 12/13/21 The participation of President Duterte, on invitation of the US government, at the recent Summit for Democracy is lamentable, to say the least. A mass murderer and autocrat had no place in such a gathering. In fact, presumably, the very reason for convening such a summit is to precisely check the horrendous acts of human rights violators and despots like Duterte. The US State Department's own reports found that the Duterte administration is responsible for unlawful or arbitrary killings. The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has opened a formal investigation, albeit suspended, into Duterte's bloody drug war. Since becoming president in 2016, he has presided over tens of thousands of slayings, and innumerable human rights violations against the Filipino people. Coupled with Duterte's horrible human rights record is the clearly anti-democratic content and direction of his administration. My almost five-year of unjust imprisonment attests to this. There is also an ongoing campaign of terror against human rights defenders, labor leaders, and many civil society activists who have suffered deaths, physical assaults, online attacks, arrests and trumped-up suits. There is the incessant harassment of journalists, especially Nobel Peace Laureate Rappler publisher Maria Ressa, and the shutdown of media giant ABS-CBN network. These and many more are glaring examples of rampant assaults on the Philippine democracy. I therefore join the many Filipinos and other freedom-loving individuals and organizations across the globe in expressing disgust over Duterte's attendance at the US-led Summit for Democracy. We urge the American leadership to consistently stand for freedom and human rights, alongside our people and the rest of democratic world. ### (Access the handwritten version, here: https://issuu.com/senatorleilam.delima/docs/dispatch_from_crame_no._1187)
Press Release

December 13, 2021 Senate passes Expanded Solo Parents Welfare Bill The Senate approved on third and final reading Monday, December 13, 2021, a bill seeking to expand social protection for solo parents. Voting 22-0-0, senators passed Senate Bill No. 1411, which proposes to amend Republic Act No. 8972, or the Solo Parents Welfare Act of 2000, to expand its benefits and coverage. "The Senate has come together to lift up an invisible and marginalized segment of our population, the solo parents," said Sen. Risa Hontiveros, a single mother herself, as she manifested her elation over the passage of the bill she sponsored as chairperson of the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality. SBN 1411 or the proposed Expanded Solo Parents Welfare Act pushes a comprehensive package of social protection for solo parents, which includes livelihood opportunities, legal advice and assistance, counseling services, parent effectiveness services, and stress debriefing, among others, regardless of financial status. Indigent solo parents shall be given a monthly cash subsidy of P1,000 by their local government units. The bill also ensures the grant of scholarships and grants for solo parents and their children in basic, higher and technical/vocational education and training as well as automatic coverage under the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth). Solo parents shall also be given preference in government housing projects. On top of leave privileges under existing laws, solo parents working in the government and the private sector would also be granted an additional seven-day parental leave with pay and be given priority in telecommuting arrangements with their employers. The bill also expands the definition of "solo parents" to include spouses or any family member of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are in the low/semi-skilled category and are away from the Philippines for an unbroken period of 12 months. An amendment also includes grandparents and family members or qualified guardians who bear sole responsibility over the child. SBN 1411, on the other hand, places safeguards against abuse, stating that the absence of a valid and legal marriage between a mother and father of a child does not automatically entitle either individuals to benefits under the proposed law. Before the bill's approval, Hontiveros said last week that the amendments to the measure included requiring the submission of a sworn affidavit declaring that the solo parent is not co-habiting with a partner or co-parent, and has the custody and bears the sole parental responsibility over the child or children. An identification card shall be issued to solo parents. "Habang may pandemya, mas lalong mahalagang mapabilis pa ang pagsabatas nito. Naging mahirap ang pagtulak sa Expanded Solo Parents Welfare Act, pero saksi ako sa tiyaga ng mga solo parents sa pagkampanya para sa pagpasa nito, kaya't lubos ang aking pasasalamat dahil hindi kami bumitaw sa laban (The passage of this bill is made more urgent by the pandemic. Pushing for the Expanded Solo Parents Welfare Act had not been easy, but I have been a witness to the hard work of solo parents who rallied for its approval, and I am grateful that they didn't give up)," Hontiveros said, thanking her colleagues and government agencies involved in crafting the bill.
Learn more about scholarships Students interested in learning more about the Marshall Scholarship and other prestigious awards should contact Megan Friddle in Emory's National Scholarships and Fellowships Program. Find more information or schedule an appointment through the National Scholarships and Fellowships Program website.

Annie Li, a senior majoring in history and sociology in Emory College of Arts of Sciences, has been selected for the prestigious Marshall Scholarship, which was announced Dec. 13.

Li is among 41 American students selected for the highly competitive award, which covers up to three years of graduate study at any U.K. university with funding from the British government. She is Emorys eighteenth Marshall Scholar, and the first since 2017.

This honor is a reflection of the curiosity and dedication that Annie Li has displayed throughout her time at Emory, says Emory President Gregory L. Fenves. She has sought knowledge at every turn, taking a truly dynamic approach to her academic experience by fusing her faith and study of theology with a focus on racial and social justice to address challenges that shape our past, present and future.

A New Jersey native, Li will pursue a masters of philosophy with a focus on Christian ethics at the University of Oxford, researching the theological motivations behind transnational social movements. The work expands on her honors thesis, which examines the motivations of Chinese-American activists from San Franciscos Presbyterian Church in Chinatown (PCC) who participated in the Civil Rights Movement in the South and the Asian American Movement in the West.

Li changed her plan for a creative writing major as a sophomore, when Emory historian Carol Andersons course on the Civil Rights Movement directed Lis interest to the tension between theology and racial justice.

Her time at Emory has been a deep dive into that relationship, building her understanding with formal study that included graduate classes at Emorys Candler School of Theology, conversations around campus and in the community, and projects that united them.

I began to see just how differently theology has been used, from the KKK justifying violence and oppression versus the Black church finding ways to liberate people, Li says. As a person of faith, there is a compelling intellectual question of how such different perspectives exist, using the same text and same religious tradition.

By her second year on campus, Li was building on that question as a fellow with the Interdisciplinary Exploration and Scholarship (IDEAS) program, which fosters cross-disciplinary conversations among undergraduates.

She also worked as a teaching and research assistant in the Department of Sociology, helping senior lecturer Tracy Scott with her study examining undergraduate career culture. Scott, whose dissertation focused on the sociology of religion, encouraged Li to pursue her questions in a wide range of departments and at Candler, where she took a religion and ethics course with Robert M. Franklin Jr., Laney Professor in Moral Leadership.

Annie has a strong basis for her beliefs, ethically, and is asking questions not only to learn more deeply but asking questions of what she is learning, Scott says. That has allowed her to deepen her knowledge while realizing she can have a dynamic faith and not a static faith. She wants to turn those notions of morality and justice into action.

Blending curiosity with community action

Lis focus on community has been central to her study. On campus, she launched Emory In Via: A Journal of Christian Thought, Emorys only undergraduate religious dialogue journal. Through IDEAS, she designed and curated a website that collected pandemic experiences from the Emory community, work that resulted in her being named an Imagining America Joy of Giving Something fellow last fall.

She used the fellowship to fund an oral history project, asking people across different religious traditions how they used their faith and spirituality in their community engagement. She completed the project after working as an intern with Fair Fight Action (a national voting rights organization) during the 2020 election.

That same summer brought the racial unrest from George Floyds murder and a rise in anti-Asian hate and xenophobia from the ongoing pandemic. Li drew on all those experiences and her research to propose a community speaker series about the civil rights struggles of Asian Americans in the South.

Her idea was among five selected by Asian Americans Advancing Justice last summer. The project has since become an initiative with Emorys Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Activists club.

I saw a moral urgency to be an ally and confront these questions about justice and equity, Li says. Within the Christian tradition, the language of love encompasses loving both your neighbors and your enemies self-sacrificially. Those are really radical ideas, so I wanted to have conversations about what that looks like in public life.

Li stands apart not only for her openness about her belief and similar clarity about her struggles, says Chris Suh, assistant professor of history, who is supervising her honors thesis. She also has an ability to ask productive questions to use her faith as a vehicle for connection and community.

She embodies what we like to see: connecting the liberal arts experience with making a difference in everyday society, Suh says. Its a refreshingly old-school approach to leadership, one that could have an impact about the role of policy and faith by thinking deeply about how we engage.

Li aspires to become a professor and plans to pursue a PhD after her study in Britain. Though she doesnt plan to be in the ministry, she does want to work with churches and nonprofits in community-based efforts as part of her career.

My time at Emory has been a process of discerning the intellectual questions that excited me and seeking opportunities to serve others, which was an ambiguous and uncertain process at times, Li says.

Despite that, I am thankful for my mentors and peers who have supported and challenged my growth, she adds. I hope I can be a resource to help other people forge their own path.
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[December 13, 2021] Jackson Names Scott Romine President of Jackson National Life Distributors LLC Jackson Financial Inc.1 (NYSE: JXN) (Jackson) today announced that Scott Romine has been appointed President of Jackson National Life Distributors LLC (JNLD), the marketing and distribution business of Jackson National Life Insurance Company. Scott will also be a member of Jackson's Executive Committee, reporting to Chief Executive Officer, Laura Prieskorn. A 24-year Jackson veteran, Romine most recently served as President of Advisory Solutions, where he was instrumental in leading the business unit's strategic initiatives and distribution expansion. Romine was also previously President and CEO of National Planning Holdings, Inc. (NPH), Jackson's affiliated network of independent broker-dealers. Romine succeeds Aimee DeCamillo, Chief Commercial Officer and President of JNLD, who has departed the company. Jackson also announced Alison Reed's expanded role as the Chief Operating Officer of JNLD. In this role, Reed will be responsible for Distribution Services, Distribution Marketing and Product Solutions, reporting to Romine. Reed has been with Jackson almost twenty years and has worked in various leadership roles, including annuity product management and NPH. "Scott and Alison are talented leaders who bring proven track records of driving growth and innovation," said Prieskorn. "Their knowledge of Jackson's products, distribution partners and our distribution organization is extensive and full aligned with Jackson's strategic focus of diversifying through product and distribution partner expansion."

Prieskorn continued, "On behalf of the entire organization, I thank Aimee for her contributions to Jackson and wish her all the best in the future." ABOUT JACKSON Jackson (NYSE: JXN) is committed to helping clarify the complexity of retirement planning-for financial professionals and their clients. Our range of annuity products, financial know-how, history of award-winning service* and streamlined experiences strive to reduce the confusion that complicates retirement planning. We take a balanced, long-term approach to responsibly serving all of our stakeholders, including customers, shareholders, distribution partners, employees, regulators and community partners. We believe by providing clarity for all today, we can help drive better outcomes for tomorrow. For more information, visit www.jackson.com. Visit https://investors.jackson.com to view information regarding Jackson Financial Inc. We use this website as a primary channel for disclosing key information to our investors, some of which may contain material and previously non-public information. *SQM (Service Quality Measurement Group) Contact Center Awards Program for 2004 and 2006-2020. (To achieve world-class certification, 80% or more of call-center customers surveyed must have rated their experience as very satisfied, the highest rating possible). Jackson National Life Insurance Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jackson Financial Inc. Jackson Financial Inc. is a publicly traded company. Prudential plc and Athene Life Re Ltd. each hold a minority economic interest in Jackson Financial Inc. Prudential plc has no relation to Newark, New Jersey-based Prudential Financial, Inc. Jackson is the marketing name for Jackson Financial Inc., Jackson National Life Insurance Company (Home Office: Lansing, Michigan) and Jackson National Life Insurance Company of New York (Home Office: Purchase, New York). 1 Jackson Financial Inc. is a U.S. holding company and the direct parent of Jackson Holdings LLC (JHLLC). The wholly-owned subsidiaries of JHLLC include Jackson National Life Insurance Company, Brooke Life Insurance Company, PPM America, Inc. and Jackson National Asset Management, LLC. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005311/en/

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Pablo de Leon and Erica Dolinar (suited) are shown testing the NDX-2 analog suit. De Leon is designing and developing 3D-printed spacesuit models that may support future exploration of Mars. Credits: University of North Dakota

Ever since he was a young boy, watching the televised lunar landings from his hometown of Canuelas, Argentina, Pablo de Leon knew he wanted to contribute to human space exploration.

Now, as chair of the Department of Space Studies at the University of North Dakota (UND), he's doing just that, designing and developing 3D-printed spacesuit models that may support future exploration of Mars. The research is made possible through the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), a part of NASA's Office of STEM Engagement and based at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

"I was inspired by what NASA did with the Apollo missions, and I followed that path throughout my entire life," de Leon said. "Sometimes, NASA doesn't realize the impact these inspirational missions have - not only on the youth here in the U.S. but around the world as well."

De Leon moved to the United States more than 30 years ago to fulfill his dream of contributing to human spaceflight and, for the past 17 years, he has been a professor at UND, conducting critical research in the area of planetary spacesuits. Most recently, he received a $750,000 grant - spread across three years - from NASA's EPSCoR to develop a 3D-printed spacesuit model and identify key technologies that may reduce the logistical supply chain needed from Earth when astronauts begin venturing to the Moon and Mars.

In addition to the 3D-printed spacesuit technology, de Leon and his graduate students also will look into the concept of reutilization - determining if, once a spacesuit breaks down, it is possible to melt the plastic and recreate the special filament they are using for the 3D-printed suit to build another one.

"The advantage here is that eventually, in the future, astronauts will be able to take the equipment with them to manufacture parts - or an entire spacesuit - at their location," de Leon said. "Then, they won't have to depend so much on Earth; they'll be able to solve these problems themselves. And when you take into consideration how far Mars is from Earth, they'll really need to become independent in a number of areas."

Some additional factors de Leon is taking into consideration while developing a suit for Mars include dust protection, cooler temperatures, mobility, and the weight astronauts will be able to withstand in an environment that has roughly one-third the gravity of Earth.

"To me, as a researcher, EPSCoR has been incredibly useful because we're able to open new lines of research because we otherwise wouldn't have funding to start development," de Leon said. "There are new things that can potentially be game changers for the future of human spaceflight and, really, the only way for us external researchers to be able to do this research is through the NASA EPSCoR program."

Last year, EPSCoR awarded 68 competitive awards, totaling more than $18 million, to 28 colleges and universities. The program helps strengthen the research capability of institutions in underfunded jurisdictions while also funding studies critical to NASA's mission. Not only do they expand the nation's base for aerospace and research development, the grants also provide a mechanism for universities to transfer research results directly to NASA for ongoing agency work.

De Leon noted that grants also allow the university to fund graduate students as research assistants, providing them with the ability to participate in unique, hands-on projects that increase their expertise while giving them the practical training necessary for a career in the space industry. And, de Leon believes, the future for his students - and even younger kids studying STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) now - is a bright one full of opportunity.

"There have been two moments in history where the opportunity to work in space flourished. One was the 1960s, in the beginning of the Apollo Program, and the other is right now, where history is being written again," he said. "This is like a new renaissance of space activities. There are so many opportunities to contribute to the future of humanity in space, and we need bright, young people who will be interested in embracing these careers and paving the way for what will be the next step in human exploration of deep space."

Click here to learn more about EPSCoR.



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Monday, December 13, 2021 at 1:00AM

by Nathaniel R

Sometimes the long lead up to a movie's release can alter a story. In the case of Aly Muritiba's Private Desert, most people who come to it will already be aware of its central premise though the movie treats that as a "reveal". Happily the film works either way. Crossing the border can also change how a movie feels. The initial protagonist, Daniel (Antonio Saboia) is viewed sympathetically but his offscreen history (police brutality) is likely to spark different reactions from country to country, depending on societal views on policing and masculinity. In the minimalist but never simple story, a lonely cop spontaneously drives several hours to finally meet the woman he's been romancing online. She abruptly ghosts him after an implicit request for reciprocal nudes and we glean, quite a long time before he does, that he's fallen for a queer person.

We had the pleasure of talking to the director Aly Muritiba about the film, the careful casting of his second lead, and Brazil's contentious history of Oscar selections...

[This interview was conducted through a translator and is edited for length and clarity]

Congratulations on the submission. Do you feel this film is a breakthrough for you?

ALY MURITIBA: Yes. I have been making movies for more than 10 years now. I have never managed to make something that made me feel complete since I criticize myself a lot. This was the first one where I satisfied myself!

Your screenplay's shift in point of view well into the story is fascinating. It's like two movies in one. Was this the idea from the beginning?

ALY MURITIBA: The idea of the structure, the changing of the point-of-view was always there. The long prologue of the man who loves and searches to the female-identifying person who hides but also searches... for something else, for freedom, was always what we had in mind.

There have been a lot of arguments lately about who should play LGBTQ+ character in movies. Was that a concern for you with casting?

I believe this is the first Brazilian movie where a non-binary character is portrayed in this way. Sara/Robson is not a drag queen or a trans woman, it was always a character who could fluctuate between the two genders. It was important to me that we found a performer that identified and lived outside the binary. We looked for the right actor for a long time.

Your Sara/Robson, Pedro Fasanaro, is fairly new to acting but your other lead, Antonio, is a longtime professional. Was that a challenge in terms of what they needed from you?

When it comes to directing actors I adapt to them, in particular the schools of acting they come from. Pedro, they're a very sensitive actor and able to imagine themselves doing the things the character does. Pedro needs to feel rather than memorize lines or be strict about blocking. Antonio, on the other hand, has a lot of experience and is a very rational actor. So for instance what I did with Pedro was a lot of improvising but with Antonio it was much more technical.

I loved the look of the film so I was delighted to discover afterwards that it was the same DP as Ixcanul. And Antonio I last saw in Bacarau. In other words I suspect you have good taste in movies (laughs) and hire that way.

I even do homages here to Brazilian films that I really enjoy such as Central Station by Walter Salles and Love For Sale by Karim Ainouz. At the end of the day, though, the hiring choices are really about affinity.

[The cinematographer] Luis Armando Arteaga came to me through two Latin American filmmakers who are my friends, Jayro Bustamante and Gustavo Rondon. We started making movies together and travelled to film festivals together. When I saw their features, Ixcanul and The Family, and they were both photographed by Luis I knew I wanted to work with him. He's an artist that's not only talented but in love with Latin American films.

Antonio Saboia actually came to me. He heard about the script and he reached out and asked to audition because he thought he would be the right actor to play Daniel.

Brazil has had so much political turmoil with the rise of Bolsonaro. There was a lot of controversy in the international cinema community when Aquarius wasn't selected. Does the Oscar selection process still feel deeply political to you?

Up until recently, the Brazilian government used to select a committee that would then be in charge of selecting the film. The year Aquarius was in contention, it was a conservative committee and director Kleber Mendonca Filho and his crew had protested against the coup d'etat in Brazil. They didn't choose Aquarius merely for political reasons.

That year I also had a movie that was up for the nomination and I removed my movie because I believed, along with so many other filmmakers, that Aquarius was the right choice. We protested against that method of selection.

The cast of Aquarius protesting the Brazilian coup d'etat at Cannes in 2016

And it's different now?

With the help of the American Academy we have been able to change this system. Now the movie each year is chosen by the Brazilian Academy of Film. Only because of this change Private Desert is able to represent the country. it's a queer movie. It's abouit love that isn't heteronormative. It stands in opposition to everything Bolsonaro represents. So if the government was still deciding on the film, our movie would never have been chosen.

Given your filmography I take it you're interested in Latin American standards of masculinity?

This is the third movie in which I've explored fragile masculinity in particular. Male affection is something that interests me as a heterosexual man that was raised in a society that's sexist and conservative. It teaches men to love in a way that hurts more than it helps. My first feature To My Beloved (2015) and Rust (2018) were also about this. But Private Desert is the first time I've shown it in a positive light, that people can change.

I watched your film with my boyfriend and we were so tense but also surprised at how optimistic it felt.

Things are difficult everywhere. I believe that our greatest weapon for change is a positive perspective. We can build a more tolerant and better society if we keep an optimistic point of view. Since I still have not been able to change the world, I can at least change the world within my movies. [Laughs] I feel like by doing that I can 'contaminate' others. By making a movie about love i can somehow promote love. That sounds religious but it's true.

Private Desert is representing Brazil at the Oscars this year. The Academy will announce the 15 finalists for Best International Feature Film on December 21st.
By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline has achieved a significant milestone by carrying 500 million tons of oil in total from the Sangachal terminal near Baku across Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey to Ceyhan, BP has reported.

"The milestone was achieved on December 12 when the 500 millionth ton of Caspian crude flowed through the pipeline, was loaded on the 4,922nd tanker named Nordorse, which was a joint SOCAR lifting, and departed for Italy's Trieste," the statement said.

It was noted that this achievement is a significant contribution to the 15th anniversary of BTC since the pipeline became operational in 2006.

BP's regional president for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey Gary Jones said that the 500 million tons of oil export is a remarkable milestone that winds up 15 years of steady and efficient operations of BTC.

"After so many years the pipeline continues to be the major artery of energy export in the region serving as a strategic direct link between the landlocked Caspian and the Mediterranean which has easy access to the markets all over the world," he said.

Gary Jones noted that the BTC was built as a huge engineering achievement and with its continuous safe, reliable and responsible operations it can be described as an extraordinary example of operational efficiency and world-class delivery.

"We all should take pride in BTCs success story including tremendous positive changes it has brought to the communities and the people across the three counties. This is truly a great facility in all respects and we are very proud of what it has achieved today. A big thank you to all people running this world-class facility safely and silently day and night across the three countries. I would also like to thank our BTC shareholders for their support and great collaboration, he added.

Over the past 15 years, BTC has been carrying hydrocarbons from the Caspian to its global customers safely, reliably and with minimum risk to the environment.

BTC's efficiency and operational reliability have increased from 75 percent at the start-up to the current level of 99.9 percent.

The BTC pipeline is a transport line for Azerbaijani oil from the Caspian Sea to the port of Ceyhan in Turkey, and then to European markets via the Mediterranean Sea. The official opening ceremony of the BTC oil pipeline took place in Turkey in July 2006. The total length of the pipeline is 1,768 km, of which 443 km pass through the territory of Azerbaijan; 249 km to Georgia; 1,076 km to Turkey. The projected capacity is 50 million tonnes of oil per year or one million barrels per day. Light oil produced at the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli field is transported via BTC.
By Trend

The next meeting of Azerbaijan-Switzerland joint commission may be held in Baku in 2022, Muriel Peneveyre, Ambassador of Switzerland to Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan said at a press conference on Dec. 13, Trend reports.

"Azerbaijan and Switzerland regularly hold bilateral meetings, including at a high level. The last meeting between the presidents of the two countries took place in January 2020 within the framework of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Peneveyre said.

She also noted that one of the aspects of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Switzerland is economic ties, including trade and investment.

Regarding trade, exports and imports are at a good level, but, of course, there is always potential for more development. A joint economic commission is functioning between Azerbaijan and Switzerland, and we hope that its next meeting will be held in Baku," the ambassador said.

Speaking about mutual investments, Peneveyre noted that they benefit Azerbaijan and Switzerland.
By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

The National Carpet Museum has presented a poetry collection of the Romanian poet and writer Mihai Eminescu.

The event was co-organized by the National Carpet Museum and the Romanian Embassy in Azerbaijan.

The book presentation was timed to the 30th anniversary of Romania's recognition of Azerbaijan's independence.

Romania became the second country to recognize Azerbaijan's independence on December 11, 1991.

The Embassy in Romania was the first diplomatic mission opened by a country in Eastern Europe.

At the presentation, Romanian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Vasile Soare praised the bilateral ties between the two countries.

The Ambassador stressed the importance of the publishing of poetry collections in Azerbaijani. The poetry collection aims at familiarizing the general public with the Romanian literary heritage.

Carpet Museum director, Honored Cultural Worker Shirin Malikova noted that the event serves as another cultural bridge between the two countries and contributes to the further expansion of ties in the art field.

The President of the Romanian Art and Heritage Association Nicoleta Zagura emphasized the importance of implementing joint cultural programs, promoting the literary and artistic heritage of friendly peoples.

Jale Ismail and Salim Babullaoglu, who translated the poetry collection, also shared their thoughts on Romanian literature.

In conclusion, Mihai Eminescu's poetry was recited at the presentation. The event participants also viewed the exhibition presented as part of the event.
By Azernews

By Vafa Ismayilova

Azerbaijan Railways Chairman Javid Gurbanov has said that the country plans to commission the Horadiz-Agband railway in 2023, local news sources reported.

He made the remarks in an interview with journalists in Baku on December 12.

"Some 40 kilometers of land have been prepared. We will soon start to lay the top layer of the railway. The work on tunnels and bridges is underway. The railway is 11 kilometers long. The demining operations are also underway. The work will probably be completed on a 50 kilometer-section by late 2021, he said.

Gurbanov added that the work is planned to be completed by late 2022.

He stressed that the Horadiz-Agband railway can be connected with the Nakhchivan railway after the Azerbaijani-Armenian talks yield results and an agreement is reached to open the communications.

Gurbanov noted that "Armenia's railways will be under Russian control until 2038. I think this period will be extended in the future."

Moreover, he said that Azerbaijan plans to build a railway to its Aghdam region and then in the direction of Khankandi.

The chairman added that the design work is also underway in the direction of Shusha city.

It is unknown when the construction work will begin. As soon as the decision is made, the work will begin, he said.

Founded on February 14, 2021, the 110.4-km-long single-track Horadiz-Aghband railway will consist of eight stations (Horadiz, Marjanli, Mahmudlu, Soltanli, Gumlag, Minjivan, Bartaz, Aghband) and over 300 engineering facilities will be constructed within the project.

Currently, the construction of a roadbed, as well as other facilities is being carried out in a 40-km area cleared of landmines. In a 21-km section of the road soil has already been prepared, rock and gravel materials have been paved, as well as rails have been laid on a 3-km section of the road.

As a grand strategic project, the railway will make a significant contribution to the economic potential of the liberated territories.

Moreover, as an integral part of the Zangazur corridor, the project will establish direct transport links between Nakhchivan exclave and Turkey that ultimately will boost Azerbaijans economic importance.

The railway will be of great importance both for the movement of citizens and the transportation of goods to the liberated lands. Most importantly, after many years the Turkic world will be reunited through the Zangazur corridor.

The opening of the Zangazur corridor will have a positive impact on the regional economy, as well as on the development of the Turkic-speaking countries, and will increase the importance of the East-West and North-South transport corridors.

The Horadiz-Aghband railway was destroyed and suspended in 1993 after the occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenian armed forces. The Horadiz station of Fuzuli region has been the last stop of the railway for 27 years.
By Azernews

By Vafa Ismayilova

The Emergencies Ministry has set up a new mine search regiment on the Azerbaijani territories liberated from Armenia's occupation in 2020.

Emergencies Minister Kamaladdin Heydarov made the remarks in an interview with journalists.

The minister stressed that from the first days, employees of the Fire Protection Service of the Ministry worked in these territories.

He noted that the ministry trained 74 new mine detector specialists.

"Some 120 mine detecting devices were imported and handed over to these specialists. The new regiment, together with Turkish specialists and personnel of the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) continues to hold demining operations.

Azerbaijan will purchase new mine detection robots to use them in the lands liberated from the Armenian occupation, he added.

"Armenia planted many mines in previously occupied lands. The lands must be cleared of mines as soon as possible to speed up the construction and restoration work. Currently, besides mine detecting devices, the work is also underway to purchase mine detection robots," he said.

"This work is being carried out by the Ministry of Emergency Situations in cooperation with Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) and the Ministry of Defense," Heydarov added.

Heydarov added that the number of mine detector specialists is being increased. The minister added that the more greenery is, the more difficult is to find mines.

"But it is winter now, the grass is drying out, the mine clearance operations are being rapidly conducted," the minister said.

Armenia deliberately and constantly planted mines on Azerbaijani territories, in violation of the 1949 Geneva Convention, thereby being a major threat to regional peace, security, and cooperation.

The Mine Action Agency reported that 10,456 anti-personnel and 4,683 anti-tank mines, as well as 12,659 unexploded ordnances, were found and defused in Tartar, Aghdam, Fuzuli, Shusha, Gubadli, Jabrayil, and Zangilan regions from November 10, 2020, to November 30, 2021.

On June 12, Azerbaijan handed over 15 Armenian prisoners in exchange for a map detailing the location of 97,000 mines in Aghdam.

On July 3, Armenia submitted to Azerbaijan maps of about 92,000 anti-tank and anti-personnel mines planted during the occupation of Fuzuli and Zangilan regions.

Yerevan submitted to Baku all mine maps of Azerbaijan's liberated territories as a result of talks through Russia's mediation on December 4, 2021. The accuracy of the maps is still to be checked.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a Russia-brokered peace agreement on November 10, 2020, to end 44 days of fighting and work toward a comprehensive resolution.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry has shared a footage from Kalbajar's Nabilar village, previously liberated from Armenian occupation.

The clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan resumed after Armenia launched large-scale attacks on Azerbaijani forces and civilians on September 27.

The 44 days of war ended with the Russian brokered peace deal signed on November 10 by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders.

The peace agreement ended the 30-years-old conflict between Baku and Yerevan over Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh region that along with the seven adjacent districts came under the occupation of Armenian armed forces in the war in the early 1990s.

For about three decades, Armenia failed to implement the UN Security Council resolutions demanding the withdrawal of the Armenian troops, which was the main obstacle to the resolution of the conflict.
By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

Turkeys Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoglu has announced that they will send TURKSAT 5B satellite into space on December 19, Yeni Shafak has reported.

He made the remarks while presenting the ministrys 2022 fiscal year budget in the parliament, the report added.

We are sending the TURKSAT 5B satellite into space at 0658 in the morning on 19 December with the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Karaismailoglu stressed.

As the most powerful satellite, the TURKSAT 5B will take Turkey to the next level in space technology, he underlined.

The minister added that the assembly, integration and tests of TURKSAT 6A, Turkeys national communication satellite, is also underway in Ankara. He stressed that this will make the country one of the top-ten nations in the field.

"With the End-to-End Domestic and National 5G Communication Network Project, we will eliminate our dependence on foreign sources in electronic communication infrastructure, Karaismailoglu emphasized.

The number of people using the e-government gateway has exceeded 57 million and citizens can now easily access many services with just one click, without going to public buildings, he added.

Karaismailoglu said that the government is trying to ensure peoples easy access to all kinds of data by offering advanced innovations in communication technology.

He described every step of the government as part of a grand strategy.

"We are building railways, highways, airports, maritime structures and communication systems that will bring jobs, food, education, social and cultural wealth to our people," Karaismailoglu underlined.

The minister described the projects implemented by the government as human-oriented, environmentally friendly based on scientific foundations. Along with their support to the state economy, the projects provide employment for people by making efficient use of the resources, he added.

In addition to the high-speed train projects, where passengers and freights will be carried, the government also continues its improvement efforts in the conventional lines.

As part of our logistics works, we connect our railways to ports and airports. We have increased the share of railways in our investments to 48 percent. We will increase it to 63 percent in 2023. Our target for freight transport in railways is 36.5 million tons in 2021. We will exceed 50 million tons in 2023. Turkey has a significant trade volume in regional freight transportation, and we will increase this potential by building logistics centers," Karaismailoglu stated.

Commenting on the national electric train production, the minister said that the 17.4-billion project will be launched in 2022 and the mass production will kick off in 2023.

"By preparing the Railway Energy and Climate Change Action Plan, we determine and implement strategies that will reduce carbon emissions. Considering the Logistics Master Plan, we are developing business models to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our railway network and logistics centers, on the one hand, and on the other hand, we are working to increase the length of the railway line to 28,590 kilometers, he added.

Karaismailoglu underlined that Turkey became one of the fastest developing countries in the world with its air transportation policies and activities.

"We have increased the number of airports to 56. Turkish Airlines, one of the largest airline companies in the world, is now taking much more confident steps into the future with Istanbul Airport," he said.
Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor, Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala), has signed two deals worth 5.4 billion ($6.11 billion) with French firms aimed at facilitating investments in sectors of mutual priority and interest in France.

These two agreements are part of comprehensive economic agreements valued at more than 15 billion signed between Emirati and French companies to strengthen the strategic investment partnership between the two nations, a WAM report said.

The deals were signed during the recent official state visit of the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron to the UAE.

The first agreement between Mubadala and Bpifrance, the French public investment bank, will see the co-investment partnerships between the two companies extended by an additional 4 billion to be invested over the next ten years, with each party committing 2 billion to the French Emirati Fund Partnership (FEF Partnership) and the Innovation Partnership.

The FEF Partnership, which is aimed at supporting, directly or through investment funds, the development of French enterprises with a proven growth potential, has been allocated 3.2 billion.

Meanwhile, the Innovation Partnership, which is focused on investments in high-growth French technology companies and Tech/VC Funds, has been allocated 0.8 billion.

The second agreement, which is between Mubadala and the French Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Recovery, provides a framework for funds associated with the Abu Dhabi government to potentially invest 1.4 billion in funds based in France or with significant exposure to the French economy. The agreement will cover funds with exposure to all French economic sectors, including but not limited to key strategic sectors such as energy, semiconductors, and space.

Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Mubadalas Managing Director and Group CEO, said: "The strategic economic cooperation between the UAE and the French Republic, as well as our history of successfully deploying capital alongside our partners in France, underpin these new agreements. The scale of these agreements reflects the significant opportunities we see in the French economy, which is entering a new era of innovation-led growth. Following todays announcement, we will be able to accelerate our investments in the sectors rapidly emerging as the drivers of this growth. In doing so, we will strengthen the commercial ties between the UAE and France and help support the long-term economic growth of both nations."

Bruno Le Maire, Minister of Economy, Finance and the Recovery of the French Republic, said: "I would like to thank Mubadala and Bpifrance for the extension of the co-investment partnership. This extension comes at a time when the funds from the first agreement are now deployed. This agreement marks the excellence and quality of our relationship. More broadly, the strategic partnership with Mubadala demonstrates Frances attractiveness and the UAE's confidence in the potential of the French economy. This is the meaning of the second agreement signed today, which provides additional investment capacity of 1.4 billion into the French economy."

Nicolas Dufourcq, CEO of Bpifrance, stated: "We are proud of this major step forward in our partnership with Mubadala, which was initiated in 2014. The renewal of our commitments for the next ten years, demonstrates our shared willingness to establish a long-term relationship to support French companies in a value creation approach with the support of our respective ecosystems."

These agreements underscore Mubadalas commitment to investing in France, where it has key partnerships with a number of organisations and entities.

Bpifrance and Mubadala have built a strong relationship since the launch of the FEF Partnership in 2014 and the Innovation Partnership in 2017. In 2020, Mubadala also made a 1 billion commitment to Bpifrances flagship Lac1 Fund, which is focused on investing in listed French multinational companies.-- TradeArabia News Service
Jungheung Group, comprising a coalition of 62 construction companies, has signed an agreement to acquire a 50.75% stake in Daewoo Engineering & Construction (Daewoo E&C), a leading Korean builder with a major presence in the Middle East region, said media reports.

The shares had been held by the Korea Development Bank (KDB), which was forced to buy it back in lieu of debt repayments after a failed acquisition by the Kumho Asiana Group in the wake of the 2008 financial crash, reported Korean news site, Pulse.

KDB had even formed a team to manage the long-sought sale of Daewoo E&C, it stated.

The deal comes five months after Jungheung was selected as the preferred bidder in July.

Founded in southern city of Gwangju in 1983, Jungheung has established its reputation through public housing projects such as redevelopment for new towns in Gwangju and surrounding provincial regions, largely relying on orders by Korea Land and Housing Corp.

The group created as many as 34 affiliates in order to net as many orders as possible from the state housing firm, as the orders were given based on a lottery-like process.

With this acquisition, Jungheung has become the third largest contractor in South Korea.

The company will be retaining all of Daewoos staff, and will not interfere in its management decisions. It will focus on improving Daewoo E&Cs balance sheet and promoting the smooth operations of its foreign projects, reported Business Korea.

Jungheung initially offered just short of $2 billion for the shares, but later lowered this to $1.7 billion after it became aware its bid was more than $400 million higher than the second-placed bidder.
The Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA) and the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, Sharjah Branch (AASTS) will cooperate in education, training and research studies in the maritime sector.

An MoU to this effect was signed by Sheikh Saeed bin Ahmed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, Executive Director of Dubai Maritime City Authority, and Dr Ismail Abdel Ghaffar Ismail Farag, President of the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport. Officials from DMCA and AASTS were present during the signing ceremony, which took place during the UAE Maritime Week 2021, where both sides are participating.

According to the MoU, the two sides will cooperate in different areas including recognising AASTS as an accredited body to provide training in maritime inspections and safety, maritime education and training to certify seafarers to operate vessels as per international conventions and treaties.

They will make use of the Academys capabilities in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) to build a smart and advanced system of sensors that monitor all the indicators to get a comprehensive picture of the state of the marine environment in the UAE. This will support efforts to develop blue economy and environmental sustainability.

Sheikh Saeed said: At Dubai Maritime City Authority, we work in line with the vision and directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to improve the competitiveness, attractiveness and capacity of the maritime sector as well as enhance the global leading position of Dubai and the UAE. This is achieved according to a methodology based on developing regulations, legislatives and initiatives that support government efforts to create a vibrant and safe maritime sector in Dubai, as well as consolidate its position as an attractive environment for prominent international maritime companies in order to support the blue economy. To achieve these goals, we cooperate with public and private sector partners who share the same vision with us. We cooperate with the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, as a knowledge partner in education, training and research and development in the maritime sector, given its extensive expertise in this area. As one of the most prominent maritime academic institutions in the region, it provides Arab economies with the best competencies in maritime scientific and academic research.

He added: "Here comes our complementary part, which we call blue jobs, to prepare the largest possible number of Emirati professionals in the maritime sector to lead this vital sector and empower it as a key contributor to the economy, with a special focus on graduating women professionals. The maritime sector needs creative women capabilities as they will give new dimensions to professional performance, accelerating blue economy development.

Dr Farag said: In line with our vision to prepare Emiratis to lead the UAEs maritime sector, we cooperate with leading maritime organisations such as the Dubai Maritime City Authority. DMCA plays a significant role in enhancing Dubais global leadership in the maritime sector by keeping pace with the latest developments in maritime training and research and development in this key sector. Our cooperation in training and research and development will provide the national maritime economy with competencies and capabilities that support investments in the maritime sector. This is in line with the role of AASTS as a house of expertise in education and training for maritime organisations in the Arab region. We have an extensive expertise in designing educational and training courses based on the needs of our partners, making use of the Academys advanced capabilities and specialised staff who graduated many leaders in the maritime sector across the Arab World according to the highest international standards.

Dr Farag added: Recognising the importance of research and development as a starting point towards developing the blue economy, we have strategic partnerships with major academic and research institutions in the European Union, in addition to our national partnerships in the UAE. Through these partnerships, we seek to strengthen the maritime sector and prepare the largest number of qualified Emiratis in the maritime sector to lead this vital sector which is a major contributor to supporting the economy. This is achieved by developing more smart solutions and applications that consolidates our position as an incubator of innovation and digital economy.-- TradeArabia News Service
Managing the rise of infectious diseases and how they are driving the Middle East and Africa clinical laboratory services market will be one of the hot topics at Medlab Middle East next month.

The event takes place at the Dubai World Trade Centre from January 24 to 27, 2022 at a time the Middle East and Africa laboratory services market is expected to grow with a CAGR of 4.7% between 2021 and 2028, with market value reaching $7.5 billion.

The growth of the Middle East and Africa regions clinical laboratory services highlights a marked increase in the cases of infectious diseases, combined with increasing demand for timely and accurate diagnosis, which is stimulating innovative methods of clinical diagnostics.

Rejoy Penacerrada, Conference Director for Informa Markets, said: The research consultancy Data Bridge Market Research study expects that another key factor contributing towards market growth, will be the accelerating adoption of digital pathology platforms and a preference for comprehensive health checkups offered by clinical laboratories.

Supporting that analysis, another report by market research, business intelligence and consulting firm, Market Data Forecast, has estimated that the infectious disease therapeutic market in the Middle East and Africa is currently worth more than $9 billion and estimates that it will rise to $13.2 billion by 2026 a CAGR of 7.8%.

The research attributes the rise in infections to a proliferation of certain microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites that are causing infections such as malaria, HIV, tuberculosis and influenza, added Penacerrada.

These and other opportunities and challenges will also be discussed across nine CME accredited multi-disciplinary conferences, including lab management, histopathology, clinical chemistry, microbiology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, haematology and blood transfusion in addition to a special track dedicated to Covid-19 and an online-only conference, Future of Lab.

As part of the Clinical Microbiology conference, the topic Infectious diseases in the region will be discussed, which will be led by industry expert, Prof Ziad Memish, Senior Infectious Disease Consultant, Director, Research and Innovation Centre, King Saud Medical City, College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh.

Widely recognised as a pioneer in Mass Gathering Medicine and Infection Control, Prof Memish established the WHO collaborating centre for mass gathering medicine in the Ministry of Health and WHO Collaborating Centre for IC in Saudi National Guard Health Affairs.

He said: The twenty-first century has witnessed a wave of severe infectious disease outbreaks, not least the Covid-19 pandemic, which has had a devastating impact on lives and livelihoods around the globe. Early detection is the key to the prevention and control of any communicable diseases.

Clinical microbiology laboratories have had a pivotal role during the Covid-19 pandemic and will remain front and centre as new variants are identified. We are delighted to be hosting renowned specialists in this field such as Dr Ziad, who will be able to provide expert analysis on topics such as the immunology of SARS-CoV-2 and how laboratory tests are improving to support the clinicians and their diagnosis, concluded Penacerrada.

As part of Informa's commitment to providing the highest hygiene and safety levels, the event will again take place under the protocols introduced via the companys Informa AllSecure health and safety mandate. The enhanced measures include 35 guidelines covering all aspects of cleaning and hygiene, social distancing measures, and the use of PPE, screening, and a track and trace in conjunction with local authorities.-- TradeArabia News Service
AstraZeneca Levant, an affiliate of the multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, was recently recognised as one of the best places to work in Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq.

The certification comes as a result of independent analysis carried out by the Best Places to Work organisation and highlights the company dedication to maintaining an outstanding workplace culture.

Best Places to Work is an international certification programme, considered as the 'Platinum Standard' in identifying and recognising top workplaces around the world, providing employers the opportunity to learn more about the engagement and the satisfaction of their employees and honour those who deliver an outstanding work experience with the highest standards in regard to working conditions.

In a statement from Rami Scandar, Nemag Country President for AstraZeneca, said: "At AstraZeneca Near East & Maghreb, we believe that People Behind the Numbers are More Important than the Numbers. We ensure that everyone who chooses to work for our company can reach their full potential and make a valued contribution to the enterprise. I am proud to sustain this award for Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, but looking forward to extend it to more countries within Nemag cluster, enhancing AZ image as an Employer of Choice and a Great Place to Work."

"Within the past two challenging years, we have learnt that it's not only about performance and development, but also focusing on the wellbeing of our people to overcome their daily struggles, facilitating an inclusive and an engaging environment, where they can outperform themselves. It's about attracting and retaining people with the right skills who share our values, providing them the opportunity to learn and develop," said Noha Zannoun, HR Director Nemag for AstraZeneca.

"You continue to prove that Lebanon team can make the best out of any circumstances, through living AZ Values and being the core of such a healthy and awesome Culture; a Culture that sets us apart among all pharma companies in Lebanon, which drives us to stay in this market to achieve the greatest outcome to our country and patients," said Agnar Aboujaoude, Commercial Manager for AstraZeneca Lebanon.

"You are truly our innovators inspiring us every day by your work, pushing to cover the unmet needs of the customers through science, helping improve the health and lives of millions of patients across the country. The summit of success is not reached in a single leap, but in a series of determined steps through determined people" said Dissi Abdul Kareem, Country Director Jordan.

"At AZ Iraq, we mainly focus on our people being our major asset. They have developed to understand what real business is, what matters most and think independently. All the credit goes to the line managers and cross functional teams who have nurtured a strong culture of value and inclusion, dedicated to building a trustful organisation that embraces diversity and gives room to further development and learning," said Ayman Rahhal, Country Director Iraq.-- TradeArabia News Service
Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) has signed an agreement to provide a concessionary loan valued at AED51.4 million ($14 million) to develop a new waste-to-energy plant on Ado Island in the Maldives.



The agreement was signed by Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General of ADFD, and Ibrahim Ameer Minister of Finance of Maldives, reported Bahrain News Agency (BNA).



The new waste conversion and water treatment facility will generate 1.5 megawatts of clean energy to provide electricity to more than 6,000 homes in Ado and surrounding islands. The plant will reduce total waste volume on the island by 10%, contributing to the Maldives waste management strategy as well as climate action targets.



The facility will also contribute to the Maldives economic development strategy by strengthening the energy sector, reducing reliance on fuel imports, and creating new job opportunities through both the construction phase and ongoing operations and maintenance of the facility.
Many ship owners are making hay while the sun shines as high charter rates in some market segments have fuelled revenue. However, they could reap trouble by delaying yard stays for ballast water treatment (BWT) system retrofits as the clock ticks on installation time, according to leading supplier Optimarin.

There is definitely a commercial rationale for carrying out retrofits in the near term rather than waiting due to the huge backlog of vessels that need to be retrofitted over the next few years to gain IMO compliance, which will be a licence to trade in the future, says chief executive Leiv Kallestad.

The Norwegian company is benefiting from a current wave of demand for BWT systems but Kallestad says the peak period for installation is moving out in time towards 2023 as owners seek to keep their ships operating as long as possible - and this may worsen a capacity bottleneck that could push up prices for equipment and retrofit work.

No one wants to take their ship out of trading while markets are booming. At the same time, the continued presence of Covid-19, congestion in the supply chain and logistical challenges, crew changes and other operational disruption have resulted in various permit extensions of up to six months or longer, he explains.

Risk and reward

While this will extend the retrofit wave as it will allow more time for installation, Kallestad points out ship owners are still hopefully taking a calculated risk by deferring installations as the dry docking window tightens.

An estimated 35,000 vessels still need to have BWT systems installed ahead of the September 2024 deadline for implementation of the IMOs ballast water management convention.

The space to walk through the door will become increasingly narrow and this could result in hasty, ill-informed decisions by ship owners to select a system purely based on cheapest price and the need to get it installed as quickly as possible, he says.

Optimarin has though honed a fast-track delivery model with competitive pricing but without any compromise on quality for its proven BWT technology, enabling it to tackle the supply bottleneck.

A BWT retrofit is a protracted process that requires detailed planning - typically with an engineering lead time of six months before installation - and dry dock capacity being secured ahead of time.

The first stage is to determine the right BWT system based on several selection criteria including the size and type of vessel, classification, flag state and port authority requirements.

Then comes procurement of the system by selecting a supplier followed by the planning stage that entails inspection and site engineering to look at structural, pipe, electrical and other elements, as well as carry out a 3D scan.

Lifecycle cost

This stage also includes design engineering to transfer site data to a digital platform, arrangement of structural plans for piping and outfitting, a bill of material and pre-fabrication drawings, with class approval required for the design.

The final stage is installation and commissioning of the BWT system with operational verification and class approval to ensure regulatory compliance.

This is an extensive process that needs to be entrusted to a reliable supplier with a proven track record of supplying such systems to all types of vessels and is able to carry out fast-track delivery given the capacity challenge for the industry, Kallestad says.

Lifecycle cost is also a key factor as selecting a BWT system solely according to price can lead to an inferior system being installed with a lack of aftersales support, resulting in higher maintenance costs and increased downtime at ports that cuts revenue and raises fuel consumption, he explains.

Optimarin, which has so far installed close to 1000 BWT systems with a substantial order book, is still able to deliver a system within 30 days due to a streamlined documentation process and the modular flexibility of its proven high-quality technology. But component shortages and logistical challenges that have hit many industries may make it difficult to give delivery guarantees.

Green advantage

The Optimarin BWT system is continuously evolving and improving, which has resulted in its components being scaled down and simplified through a rigorous product improvement programme.

This has given more competitive pricing and a more compact system with a smaller footprint that makes it easier to install on larger vessels, while the company provides lifecycle support through its global aftersales network.

Optimarin has also formed an alliance with UK-based Newport Shipping that enables it to offer a turnkey BWT solution with dry dock availability at one of Newports 15 partner yards worldwide and favourable deferred payment terms.

Kallestad believes, aside from regulatory compliance, there are clear long-term commercial benefits from installing a reliable BWT system in terms of higher vessel uptime, faster turnaround times, and fuel and power savings.

This is supported by Optimarins innovative cloud-based digital solution OptiLink that provides real-time access to BWT system performance data, 24/7 support and remote troubleshooting, and data transfer to shore for more efficient fleet-wide ballast water management.

A key advantage of this solution is ease of reporting to third parties such as class societies and port

authorities to obtain compliance certification without the need for timely lab tests and inspections at port.

This is part of a trend towards greener operations driven both by regulatory and market pressure. Shipowners that are ahead of this trend will undoubtedly have a competitive advantage in the longer term, Kallestad says. --TradeArabia News Service
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region are recognizing digitalization as essential to staying competitive in a transformed business and economic environment.



The insight is one of many in a new white paper by payments technology leader Mastercard, which explores the way small businesses are viewing digital payments, online presence and the benefits of an evolving cashless economy.



The white paper, titled The Digital SME: How Are Small and Medium Enterprises in the Middle East and Africa Embracing a Digital Future?, is an in-depth follow-on study from the data-rich Mastercard MEA SME Confidence Index 2021.



This piece of research released findings about the importance of digitalization and rising confidence levels as SMEs across sectors, products, and services in the region, adapt to the new and evolving economic landscape.



It revealed that SMEs in MEA recognize faster access to revenue as the biggest benefit of a cashless economy to their business (44%). Other benefits identified include the ease of not handling or processing cash (50%) and having more convenient ways of paying suppliers and employees (50%).



Overall, 67% of MEA SMEs say e-commerce will have a positive impact on their business.



The white paper also found that digitalization has progressed globally since 2018, but has seen higher traction among larger corporations and financial institutions than among SMEs. It accelerated in 2020-21 to enable continuity of business, with the OECD estimating 70% of SMEs globally intensifying their use of digital technologies due to Covid-19 restrictions.



Currently, according to the Mastercard MEA SME Confidence Index, digital payment methods used by MEA SMEs include mobile (59%), online (49%), and cards (48%).



An empowered SME sector is a growth engine for the economic development of countries across the Middle East and Africa. But the challenges are many, chief being access to funding and digitalization which have emerged as huge needs. The Mastercard MEA SME Confidence Index found that 89%of SMEs in the region see potential in digitalizing their business which is encouraging for everyone within the digital economy, said Gaurang Shah, Head of Products, Middle East and Africa, Mastercard.



Increasingly, SMEs are recognizing the practical benefits of digitalization in day-to-day operations, as opposed to viewing it as a long-term project for the future. Theres a solid case for this when data shows that 41% of SMEs that implemented digitalization initiatives, had stronger revenue growth in 2020 than non-adopters. Digitalization of SME operations also brings the benefit of generating data that institutions need to view an SME as a real business with potential and make more informed credit decisions. This helps bring small businesses into the financial mainstream.



Partnerships play a key role in the digitalization of SMEs



The white paper also found that partnerships play a key role in the digitalization of SMEs. A stable, growing, connected small business can be the key to financial inclusion for the whole community. As a technology company, Mastercard has leveraged the power of partnerships to deliver inclusion by providing financial, technology, product, and services support to SMEs across the world.



Connecting businesses to one another within the ecosystem, to help them grow and prosper, is a key objective for Mastercard. For a neighbourhood vendor or store, there are simple solutions to reduce the risk and cost of cash, and open up sales to more customers, said Amnah Ajmal, Executive Vice President, Market Development, MEA, Mastercard.



At Mastercard, we continue to leverage our technology, insights, global expertise and partnership approach to empower every business, especially SMEs, everywhere to grow digitally, become stronger than before, and prosper in a more connected, equal, and inclusive world.



MEA SMEs reclaiming confidence after Covid-19



Although challenges related to the Covid-19 pandemic remain, small businesses in MEA are reclaiming confidence. The Mastercard MEA SME Confidence Index found 74% of SMEs in the region are optimistic about future growth, guided by the potential for digitalization, better data, access to credit and upskilling.



According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), up to 70% of SMEs globally have intensified their use of digital technologies in the wake of Covid-19. However, the gaps in SME digital adoption have not been filled. The challenges include access to infrastructure, lack of a data culture and digital awareness, and financing gaps for transformation costs, among others. Access to financing remains a key concern for SMEs worldwide, with the IFC estimating an unmet need of $5.2 trillion per year.



Through technology services, cyber assessments, insights, grants, digital training, mentoring platforms and knowledge initiatives, Mastercard will contribute $250 million over five years to support small businesses financial security globally. As part of its goal to build a more sustainable and inclusive world, Mastercard has committed to connect 50 million small businesses, including 25 million women entrepreneurs globally, to the digital economy by 2025.- TradeArabia News Service
A consortium comprising affiliates of QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil has signed an exploration and production sharing contract (EPSC) with the Republic of Cyprus for the offshore Block 5 located southwest of the island.



This is QatarEnergys second exploration block in the Republic of Cyprus, in addition to Block 10, which was awarded to the same consortium in 2017 and resulted in the Glaucus gas discovery announced in February 2019 with estimated in-place resources of 5 to 8 trillion cubic feet of gas. Further assessments are planned over the coming months to further refine this estimate.



Under the terms of the EPSC, QatarEnergy will hold a 40% working interest in Block 5 while ExxonMobil will be the operator and will hold a 60% working interest.



Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, said: We are pleased with the signing of this EPSC, which expands our footprint in Cyprus. As confirmed by our discovery in Block 10, this region is promising and has very good potential for hydrocarbon exploration. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with the government of Cyprus and with our long-term strategic partner ExxonMobil to contribute to the exploration of natural resources in the Republic of Cyprus, and bring a significant addition to our growing international portfolio.



Block 5 covers an area of 4,500 sq km in water depths of up to 2,500 meters, and is adjacent to Block 10.  TradeArabia News Service
Adnoc Distribution, the UAEs largest fuel and convenience retailer, has signed a five-year partnership with Cars Taxi to provide fuel and lubricants to its 3,000-plus strong fleet in UAE.



The contract will supply all Cars Taxi vehicles with fuel and Adnoc Voyager lubricant, including the premium range Voyager Gold 5W-40 SN, in a deal that aligns to both companies commitment to customer safety and satisfaction, reported Emirates news agency WAM.



Adnoc Distributions fuel and lubricants are made with Murban crude oil  one of Abu Dhabis greatest national treasures.



Adnoc Voyager is manufactured using Adnocs high quality Group III base oil, ADbase, which is produced by Adnoc Refining using Murban. The high Viscosity Index (VI) of ADbase makes it an ideal lubricant component, ensuring efficiency and fuel economy for high performance engines, whilst meeting ever stringent environmental regulations.



Bader Saeed Al Lamki, CEO, Adnoc Distribution, said: "As the UAEs leading provider of fuel, we are delighted to be working with Cars Taxi to provide fuel and lubricants to its fleet. As one of the UAEs largest taxi franchises, our relationship with such a respected business is testament to our ability to deliver quality and reliable products that align to the very ethos of Cars Taxis purpose-led philosophy."



Badr Abdulla Al Ghurair, CEO, Cars Taxi, commented: "For decades, Cars Taxi has adopted a customer-centric approach to service: focused on passenger comfort, safety and experience. As regional pioneers for safe mobility, we place a core focus on delivering customer happiness and peace of mind. With one of the largest taxi fleets in the country, we have a pivotal opportunity to be part of the evolution of the countrys mobility sector.



"By partnering with Adnoc Distribution, a globally renowned company with a reputation for quality excellence, we elevate our service promise, powering our vehicles with the highest standard of fuel from the UAEs leading distributor."



Adnoc Distribution recently announced furthering its commitment to international expansion with the signing of two new distributors for Adnoc Voyager lubricant in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.



The contracts will supply a full range of Voyager lubricants, with confirmed volumes of 1,500,000 litres, and signify the companys market entry into Africa. Adnoc Voyager is now available in 19 countries across three continents, spearheading the companys global presence.



Adnoc Distribution has seen significant product growth in international markets including a distribution network spanning Asia, North and East Africa, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) as well as the Middle East region. Adnoc Distribution has doubled its international volumes over the past two years through a dedicated global growth strategy.
For more than the past decade, healthcare has been the biggest target of data breaches, an industry expert said, adding that he total average cost has increased to $9.23 million in 2021 from $7.13 million the previous year, a 29.5% rise.



For more than the past decade, healthcare has been the biggest target of data breaches. The total average cost has increased to $9.23 million in 2021 from $7.13 million the previous year, demonstrating a 29.5% rise.



Cyberattacks in healthcare are unfortunately not limited to their financial, regulatory, and reputational impact since they have a direct consequence on lives. An Alabama-based resident claimed negligent homicide for the death of her infant because the hospitals fetal monitors were inaccessible as a result of a ransomware attack, leaving its systems locked for eight days. For instance, if a hacker tampers with CT or MRI scans, it could also lead to incorrect medical procedures/surgeries, incomplete diagnoses, and reduced emergency or urgent care.



In such a scenario, the healthcare sector needs to quickly improve its cyber risk management. This is possible only if they move away from the traditional reactive and point-in-time approach in cybersecurity to adopt a predictive and measurable method instead. Adopting a proactive strategy includes knowing the organizations breach-likelihood in real-time and its financial impact on the organization.



The current state of cybersecurity in healthcare:



The NotPetya attack happened five years ago. Since then, has much changed in the healthcare sector? The cost of ransomware alone has grown by 1094% since 2015. However, there are three key areas where this sector falls short:



1. Accidental and/or malicious insider threats: The HIMSS Cybersecurity survey 2020 states that 89% of initial compromise in hospitals is still through emails and more than half (57%) of the cyberattacks in healthcare begin via trusted insiders.

2. Third-party are unsecured often with unrestricted access: Over 1600 insurers at an average share PHI with hospitals. Hospitals also deal with a large number of medical devices suppliers, vendors for equipment, medication, repairs, and more, each third party is likely to be an entry point.

3. Medical device security: There will be ~50 billion medical devices by 2028, with 15 - 20 IoMT in each hospital room, creating a vast digital attack surface. Interestingly, while one aspect is digitizing faster than it can be secured, 83% of medical imaging devices are still legacy systems too old to receive software updates.

4. The lack of a designated security team: 87% of healthcare IT security leaders work without the right personnel, and three in four hospitals are operating without a designated security leader.



Can predictive analytics in cybersecurity help the healthcare sector?

Financial services organizations predict the likelihood of loans being repaid using the financial history of the applicant, their previous loans, salary/income, and credit score. Similarly, OTT platforms use predictive analytics and algorithms to improve their suggestions. The medical fraternity too relies on prediction models to improve diagnostics, identify risk groups, and improve patient care. Why not use the same analytical approach to predict the possibility of a breach rather than detecting cyberattacks after they happen and reacting to them? The use of predictive technology and models such as the Bayesian Network to predict cyber breaches makes this possible.



Enterprise cyber risk is a product of the probability of a breach happening and its business consequence. This probability is termed the breach-likelihood of the organization and can be calculated at the most granular level. Starting from the breach-likelihood of each medical device in every room, department-wise employee threats, to vendors or suppliers of equipment and pharmaceuticals, Electronic Medical Records directory on the cloud and the security posture of each cloud asset - the possibilities are endless. Each prediction makes the organization that much more prepared to predict and therefore mitigate breaches. Once an organization knows what to expect, it can focus energies on fixing what really matters rather than carrying out ad-hoc activities which only add to a sense of security rather than real cybersecurity.



How does breach-likelihood help the healthcare sector?

Breach likelihood in the healthcare sector can be a gamechanger in giving the visibility that is missing today. Similar to doctors arriving at a diagnosis after carrying out due diligence, sieving noise from actual symptoms, and aggregating all relevant information to a central database, cyber risk quantification can segregate information from noise.



As healthcare organizations ramp up cybersecurity infrastructure, they need to remember that all cybersecurity services, products and processes implemented in their cyber risk ecosystem need to communicate with each other. In a scenario where tens of cybersecurity services and tools are performing well in silos, but together fail to generate a comprehensive and prioritized solution, breach-likelihood is can create one score to drive cybersecurity strategy.



About the author: Saket Modi is a Co-Founder and CEO at Safe Security.
Help India!



What happens next in stand-up comedian Munawar Faruquis journey remains to be seen by all and sundry, but the disruptions in the life of a young Indian Muslim comedian, on causes deemed to be divine by mortals who stand to gain a lot, politically and ideologically, are significant events for India, especially in the light of the shift of Indias cultural tectonic plates.

Ansab Aamir | TwoCircles.net

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NEW DELHI  Let us go, for the length of our journey demands it, wrote Dante, the celebrated 14th-century Italian poet. These words are significant not just because of their relevance in the journey of an ascending Muslim professional in India, but even more pivotal, because these words are quoted from his work The Divine Comedy, and are being used in the description of a stand-up comic, Munawar Faruqui. Faruqui has been forced to let his stand-up career go, after 12 of his shows were cancelled in November, with his latest event in Gurgaon also being cancelled due to pressure from the right-wing political parties over Hindu sentiments being allegedly offended by his jokes and the subsequent threat to law and order.

In many ways, the usage of the title The Divine Comedy for Faruquis profile is significant, and may even be considered ironic. The comedy in Dantes title, after all, has nothing to do with humour but is chosen to portray the literature nomenclature of the early 1300s when any story deemed to have a happy ending was labelled as such. That logical fallacy would have been a critical factor if we were not living in a country where Faruqui was jailed for a joke he never cracked.

While it remains to be seen whether his ending would be happy or sad, the beginning is surely moving.

Born on January 28, 1992, to a Muslim family in Junagadh, Gujarat, Faruquis work drew heavily from the political circumstances around him while growing up. His home was destroyed during the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat. Already troubled, he then had to navigate the loss of his mother who died by suicide, when he was eleven years old. In 20017, his father, a driver by profession, moved with the family, which included Faruqui and his three sisters, to Mumbai to make a fresh start.

In Mumbai, Faruqui had to work extremely hard and overcome several obstacles to pursue his love for comedy. My father fell sick and was bed-ridden from 2008, so I had to take charge from the age of 17. I worked at a utensil store from 2007, while attending school. I taught myself English and Hindi from the newspapers that my boss used to buy, and by watching films, he told The Hindu.

After arriving in Mumbai, other than working at a utensils store, he worked as a salesman and as a small-time graphic artist while also honing his craft. His first brush with his comedy came when he was covering for an extra for an ad shoot at The Habitat while playing the character of a stand-up comic. The power of speaking his mind with a mic stayed with him, and so started his journey in the world of stand-up comedy. This journey, however, required a lot of dedication.

While I would do one open mic a night, he would go to four to five every night. Please note that one does not get paid for these performances. You have to pay a token amount to perform, like Rs 200. He would diligently take the local train to go from one place to another, to try out his material and note how the audience was responding to him. He took comedy very seriously, he was that ambitious and hard-working, his friend Anish told The Quint.

Faruquis jokes poked fun at political ideologies, religious symbolization, and the stereotyping of various identities, including that of his own identity as a Muslim. His popularity grew, both online and offline, and his first video titled Politics in India was uploaded on YouTube on January 24, 2020, marking the beginning of a career full of laughs, controversies, and disruptions on behalf of the divine.

His first instance of trouble occurred when multiple FIRs were filed against him in April 2020, with the complainants alleging that he was making fun of Lord Ram in one of his jokes during which he makes fun of the famous Hindi song, Mera Piya Ghar Aaya Oh Ram Ji, from the movie Yaarana (1981). Even while uploading the video, Munawar was sceptical that the particular bit might be a little too much, but he was assured by his friends, including Hindu friends, that people would realize that the joke was on the song and not on the deity. The frenzy and widespread trolling that occurred after that, which eventually fizzled out, proved this prediction to be wrong.

Since that incident, the Indian right-wing has been after Faruqui for the alleged insult he has caused to the Hindu gods and goddesses, Union Minister Amit Shah, and the kar sevaks killed in the Godhra massacre of 2002, during his stand-up sets.

On January 1 2021, amid a 14-city tour around India, Faruqui was arrested, along with Edwin Anthony, Nalin Yadav, Prakhar Vyas and Priyam Vyas. The arrests took place over new allegations of insulting Hindu gods and goddesses during a comedy show in Indore on New Years Day  only this time, the allegations were that he will crack such jokes during his show, and not that he had already cracked them. He was jailed after a complaint by a BJP MLAs son. His lawyer argued that he had not even started his act that day and was just present at the venue, but it didnt help. A court said the possibility of more incriminating material could not be ruled out.

He was only released from prison a month later after the Supreme Court granted him bail and when multiple lower courts had rejected his bail application. While many stand-up comedians rallied behind Munawar then, it was mostly attributed to an attack on the freedom of speech of artists and comedians. However, even after his release, Munawar continued to be hunted down by the defenders of divine immunity from humour.

Even after his release, Munawar was never able to fully reoccupy the stage of political commentary, though he became a topic of many such commentaries. A slew of his shows was cancelled in Mumbai, Goa, and Gujarat, owing to threats from right-wing organizations to hurt the organizers, the audience, or in a particular case, to themselves (by setting themselves to fire). It was the cancellation of a show in Bangaluru that proved to be the final straw in Faruquis resolve.

His latest show was scheduled for Bengaluru, and whose proceeds were planned to be sent for charitable purposes, but the show was not granted permission on grounds that it may create a law and order situation.

In an emotionally worded announcement, Faruqui said that, Hate has won, the artist lost.

https://twitter.com/munawar0018/status/1464834752234471431

My name is Munawar Faruqui. And thats been my time, you guys were (a) wonderful audience. Goodbye, Im done, the tweet further said.

While he announced his retirement, many of his peers in the stand-up community provided support to him. However, even as many, including Varun Grover and Kunal Kamra, provided some sort of support, many shied away from mentioning his Muslim identity as an additional reason for his persecution by the boycott mobs. Over social media debates on how Faruqui was being targetted for his Muslim identity, a counter-narrative sprung up mentioning how Zakir Khan, a very popular stand-up comic in the country, is hailed by the same majoritarian community.

The comparison may not have taken into consideration that Faruqui and Khan have very different comic styles and topics, with the former dabbling into the middle-class relatability and the latter drawing from his personal and political experiences to comment upon the present scenario.

What happens next in Faruquis journey remains to be seen by all and sundry, but the disruptions in the life of a young Muslim comedian, on causes deemed to be divine by mortals who stand to gain a lot, politically and ideologically, are significant events for India, especially in the light of the shift of Indias cultural tectonic plates. In the words of Sanjay Rajoura, a stand-up comedian, this ordeal might just be the divines #NotInMyName moments.

Ansab Aamir is an intern with TwoCircles.net. He tweets at @ansab_amir.
In a landmark 1995 , a Pennsylvania man was sentenced to jail for possessing videotapes of young girls posing provocatively in skimpy clothing.
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Khong tim thay uong dan nay

Ban co the quay ve trang chu e tim kiem thong tin
Q&A

UB labor experts discuss Starbucks union vote

By DOUGLAS SITLER

Starbucks workers in Buffalo last week voted to form a labor union, the first for the coffee giants 9,000 corporate-owned stores in the United States. UB labor experts Erin Hatton, associate professor of sociology, and Matthew Dimick, associate professor of law, spoke with UBNow about labor history in Buffalo, the influence of a local cafe unionizing in 2019, and why some left-leaning companies oppose organized labor.

Buffalo is among the most unionized metro areas in the U.S. Why is that?

Dimick: Most native Buffalonians have a union member or two or more in their family history, for whom having a union on the job made possible a higher standard of living, better work conditions and a better work-life balance. Most Buffalonians probably see unions as a positive, and are therefore more willing to join and form unions than in other parts of the country.

Hatton: New York State has the highest union density of any state. Buffalo-Niagaras union density is lower than the state average, but its still higher than similar cities in other states. Buffalo and other Rust Belt cities had a strong tradition of labor organizing in their industrial sectors in the mid-20th century, but that dropped sharply  in Buffalo and elsewhere  due to deindustrialization, which included industrial employers moving to the South, Southwest and abroad to avoid unions, and employers aggressive push against unions.

Has the vote in 2019 to unionize by workers at the local SPoT Coffee chain played a role in this effort?

Dimick: The workers victory at SPoT Coffee showed it was possible to organize baristas and other workers in the food service industry. And its in SPoT Coffee workers interest to organize all coffee shop workers, so that these businesses arent competing with each other based on the lowest wages, and therefore lowest prices.

How might approval of the union in Buffalo affect other Starbucks locations?

Hatton: I think we are already seeing growing interest across Starbucks locations, in Buffalo and elsewhere, in unionizing. Its an exciting moment for these workers, who have been largely overlooked by the labor movement and who, themselves, may not have even considered unionizing in the realm of possibility. Dimick: This is an enormous symbolic victory that gives a green light to organizing in other Starbucks. With Starbucks very well-known brand and public profile, it will also probably have effects beyond Starbucks. Workers in the food service industry are typically not union members, and wages and working conditions are among the worst. If unionizing workers can win against a corporate behemoth like Starbucks, they can win anywhere.

Starbucks is a left-leaning company, yet it opposes this effort. Why?
Authorities said there had been two men in the fast-moving vehicle when it left the roadway and struck a tree, causing the vehicle to ignite and go up in flames. Smoke from the blaze was visible from a distance, according to onlookers. Police did not provide an estimate of how fast the vehicle had been moving before it left the roadway.
The McHenry County sheriffs office and Spring Grove police responded to a residence in the 500 block of Sunrise Drive in an unincorporated area of McHenry at 9:40 p.m. Saturday for a report of a domestic battery, the sheriffs office said in a statement. There authorities found a 25-year-old woman who said she had been beaten and stabbed by her boyfriend, Alexander Campos, also 25.
Kellie Bartoli, a spokeswoman for Chicago police, said the police report did not specify what type of blunt object were used. Asked whether Tellez knew his attackers or if there was some argument or interaction before the men began hitting him in the head, Bartoli said Detectives are still investigating.
They lined the walls of our red-walled family room, the Red Room, with framed copies of Colonial newspapers like The Federalist and New-Jersey State Gazette of 1799. Also on display: an oil painting of the steamboat Albertina, which once ferried passengers, vaudevillians among them, from New York to our idyllic Jersey shore town. There was no TV in the Red Room. We read newspapers, talked and gazed out at the serene but always-changing pond and its panoply of waterfowl, including ducks, geese and a graceful pair of swans.
I will push back and say that it was not that long ago that River North was not a nice safe neighborhood and that is recent enough that I remember it, Lightfoot added. But Brendan, you know there are far more constructive ways to get stuff done. Pandering to the crowd is never the best answer, even when you are frustrated.
Young is alleging willful and wanton conduct by the city and officers, that there was a standard of duty of care officers violated during the raid. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability found some officers engaged in such conduct during the raid, which would make it tougher for the city to defend itself in court, Meza said.
The long-awaited new installment of the groundbreaking sci-fi franchise, "The Matrix Resurrections," announced it has finally secured its official China release date for Jan. 14, 2022.

Visionary filmmaker Lana Wachowski's "The Matrix Resurrections" reunites original stars Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss in their iconic roles, Neo and Trinity. The film will be shown in IMAX 2D format across China to provide the ultimate big-screen experience.



The "Matrix" franchise is regarded as a sci-fi classic in China and enjoys a devoted fanbase. "The Matrix" grossed 17 million yuan when it was released in 1999, and was followed by "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions" in 2003, both of which took 43 million yuan each. Though the numbers may seem small, this came at a time when China's cinema industry was still in its nascent stages and relatively limited. What's more, the third installment in the series was the first Hollywood film to have a China release concurrent with major Western markets.

"Are you ready to go back to the Matrix?" asked Reeves, who appeared with Moss in a special video dedicated to Chinese fans posted on the official Chinese social media accounts of Warner Bros. Pictures. The film also stars Jada Pinkett Smith, who's making her own return to the franchise, along with newcomers Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jessica Yu, Li Henwick, Jonathan Groff, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Christina Ricci.

Before opening in China, the film will be released on Dec. 22 in the United States and other international markets, as well as the HBO Max streaming service.

Recently, Chinese fans have been speculating about the release date of "Spider-Man: No Way Home," however, there's still no news on when it may hit Chinese theaters. Incidentally, China's market has been dominated by domestic productions as of late and lacks a steady stream of Hollywood titles. Nevertheless, several foreign films from countries other than the U.S. have announced release plans, including "Oh! My Gran" (2020), the first South Korean film to grace Chinese screens in six years, "Icarus: The Legend of Mietek Kosz," a 2019 Polish film, and "Decision: Liquidation," a 2018 Russian film.
Luxury parka maker Canada Goose announced on Thursday that it has, with the guidance of the Shanghai Consumer Council, updated and optimized its return and exchange policy for products sold on the Chinese mainland.



In a statement published on the company's Weibo account, Canada Goose reiterated its commitment to the 14-day free exchange policy it has always had, provided more detailed solutions for product quality issues and published detailed after-sales guidance.

The announcement came following an incident in which a customer surnamed Jia claimed she was denied a refund.

The woman claimed that the 11,400-yuan ($1,800) jacket she bought at a Canada Goose store in Shanghai emitted an odor and had loose threads and a defective logo. Jia was asked to sign an "exchange policy" waiver when she bought the jacket that said all products sold in Canada Goose retail stores on the Chinese mainland are "strictly nonrefundable", and exchanges may only be made within 14 days of the purchase, which ran counter to the 30-day return policies stated on the company's website.

On Dec. 1, the Shanghai Consumer Council talked with the stakeholders of the company's IFC Mall branch in Shanghai, where the purchase was made. The woman's money was eventually refunded.

According to the statement, the company offers free in-house quality tests if required by customers. Customers can also turn to third-party testing agencies recognized by relevant authorities if they are dissatisfied with the test results. Canada Goose will bear the costs if the tests by third-party agencies confirms the presence of issues.

The brand also reiterated that customers are entitled to free lifetime repair for damages for all products  except knitwear, accessories, collaboration products and footwear  that are not caused by customers or normal wear and tear.

Some netizens showed their understanding of the response, commenting on the brand's Weibo post that the company made the return and exchange process clearer than before. However, others still wondered if customers' rights are protected under the updated policy.

"The announced policy is in line with domestic law. Unconditional return and exchange of goods within seven days of purchase is limited to transactions on platforms including the internet, television, telephone and mails, whereas for those bought at physical stores, return and exchange policy can be formulated by companies, as an agreement with its customers to raise service, said Wang Xiaoyan, deputy director of Brave Lawyers based in Beijing.

"It's just the bottom line for any company to avoid law breaking, and many have formulated higher-standard policies for customers' rights and interests, which enhances brand image and market competitiveness."

"Also, if the goods fail to meet quality standards or conform with its marketing content to the public, customers are entitled to return the goods to the business, according to China's Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests," Wang added.

Wang accentuated that in case of consumer fraud, such as a deceptive down-fill or materials, businesses are obligated to compensate customers for their loss, with compensation up to three times the purchase price.

In addition, Wang said it's legal that customer policies differ among countries, but to some extent, "it reveals a brand's culture and philosophy through its treatment of global customers".

Wang suggested customers check products when purchasing offline and understand return and exchange requirements before paying and confirming signatures on any documents.

"Photos and videos are pivotal to save as evidence, when any quality defects are noticed or during the negotiation with companies," she said.

"Customers can file a lawsuit or arbitration, if needed."
You are here: Business

The imports and exports of central China's Henan Province topped 718.53 billion yuan (about 112.81 billion U.S. dollars) from January to November this year, according to customs authorities in Zhengzhou, the provincial capital.

Henan's foreign trade volume increased 24.7 percent year on year during the period, they said.

The top three markets for Henan's foreign trade so far this year are the United States, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and the European Union.

The province's trade volume with countries and regions along the Belt and Road grew 15.8 percent year on year, reaching 158.37 billion yuan.
Officials of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Sunday appealed to registered electors to actively vote in the seventh-term Legislative Council (LegCo) election a week away.



Financial Secretary Paul Chan said in a blog that the election is the second important election after the improvement of the electoral system in Hong Kong.

The improvement enables Hong Kong to solidify the full and accurate implementation of "one country, two systems" at the institutional level so that advantages of the local executive-led system can be brought into full play, he said.

Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng called on Hong Kong's young people to appeal to their parents, relatives, and friends to actively vote in the upcoming LegCo election for building a better future for Hong Kong and for the younger generation.

Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip said he hopes that the civil service team will unite together and actively participate in the voting, so as to encourage the public to vote and elect the wise and capable and help promote good governance.

Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan said in a blog that the new composition of the LegCo can break through the limitations of interests and districts, and is conducive to reflecting the overall interest of Hong Kong, thus enhancing governance efficiency in the HKSAR.

Nearly 4.5 million registered electors are expected to cast their ballots between 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. local time on Dec. 19.

A total of 90 LegCo members, including 20 from geographical constituencies, 30 from functional constituencies, and 40 from the Election Committee constituency will be returned.

Secretary for Development Michael Wong said the election will feature broad representation, political inclusiveness, balanced participation, and fair competition, adding that he hopes eligible electors will cast an important vote for the future of Hong Kong.
The integrated development of the mainland coastal province of Fujian and Taiwan bore fruit in various fields this year, despite the complex situation across the Taiwan Straits and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yin Li, secretary of the Communist Party of China Fujian Provincial Committee, said the facts have shown that compatriots in Fujian and Taiwan have a strong desire to improve exchanges and deepen cooperation.

"The great trend of peaceful and integrated development across the Straits cannot be stopped," Yin said on Saturday during the 13th Straits Forum, the largest annual cross-Straits event for grassroots communication, which was held in the province.

From January to October, trade volume between Fujian and Taiwan reached 85.5 billion yuan ($13.42 billion), up 27.4 percent year-on-year, and 1,200 Taiwan-funded enterprises were established in the province, up 22 percent year-on-year, according to Fujian provincial authorities.

To date, Taiwan people have made over 14 million visits to Fujian, and the number of young people from Taiwan who go to Fujian for internships, employment and entrepreneurial ventures has reached nearly 40,000.

To ensure that Taiwan people living on the mainland receive the same treatment as native mainland residents, Fujian took the lead on the mainland in accommodating Taiwan people with a list of 225 items, ranging from employment, social security and medical care for them.

Fujian has been supplying an average of 16,800 metric tons of water per day to Taiwan's Jinmen to alleviate its longtime water shortage, according to official data.

"There is great potential for the integrated development of Fujian and Taiwan. We hope to share the future with Taiwan compatriots and work together with them," Yin said.

Efforts will be made to deepen trade between the two and to make it more convenient for Taiwan people to study, start businesses and work in Fujian, he said.

"Xiamen has a good business environment, and the government often communicates with businesses to solve problems," said Chen Tai-hua, CEO of Runner Group, a Taiwan-funded home furnishing company in Xiamen that went public on the mainland last year.

Last year, local government did a lot to help businesses get back to work after the outbreak of COVID-19, he said, adding that his company resumed work in February 2020.

Taiwan entrepreneurs in Xiamen can contribute a lot to integrated cross-Straits development, he said.

"We should tell people in Taiwan how we live on the mainland and encourage more to come here to live and make a career," he said.

Chen Xiancai, a professor of cross-Straits research at Xiamen University, said the mainland has many policies that give Taiwan people opportunities, that it's a trend for them to integrate into the mainland and that more will come to Fujian in the future.

About 1,600 jobs and internship opportunities are available to young Taiwan people through the Straits Forum this year in fields including rural development, entrepreneurship, talent training and industrial cooperation, the forum organizers said.
In front of the darkly-dressed crowd, China's national flag flew at half-mast as the country held its eighth national memorial ceremony on Monday for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre.

Despite the winter chill, thousands of people who observed epidemic prevention protocols attended the ceremony in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu province, with white flowers on their lapels conveying condolences.

At exactly 10:01 a.m., sirens started to blare and the city came to a halt. Drivers in the downtown area stopped their cars and honked; pedestrians paused for a minute of silence in remembrance of the victims.

Teenagers read out a declaration of peace and citizen representatives struck the Bell of Peace. White doves, symbolizing peace, were released over the square of the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.

The Nanjing Massacre took place when Japanese troops captured the city on Dec. 13, 1937. Over six weeks, they killed more than 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers in one of the most barbaric episodes of World War II.

In 2014, China's top legislature designated Dec. 13 as the national memorial day for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre.

Eleven victims of the massacre have passed away this year, reducing the total number of registered survivors to 61.
 Flash

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday made his first official visit to the United Arab Emirates, in a bid to strengthen the recently-established bilateral ties.

"I am delighted to take off for a historic visit, the first of its kind, to the UAE," Bennett said in a video statement at the Ben Gurion Airport outside Tel Aviv ahead of his departure.

Bennett said he will meet the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Monday, and will also meet "dozens of other ministers and senior officials."

The visit, coming some 14 months after Israel and the UAE normalized ties, is "intended to deepen the cooperation between the countries in all areas," Bennett said.

He added that the ties are already "excellent and branching, and we must continue to nurture and strengthen them, and build the warm peace between the two peoples."

The visit comes amid Israeli diplomatic bids to halt the nuclear talks between world powers and Iran.

The trip also marks the first official visit of an Israeli prime minister to the Gulf country.

Israel and the UAE signed the so-called Abraham Accord, a U.S.-brokered normalization agreement, in September 2020.

In late June, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid flew to the UAE, in the first visit by a senior Israeli official, to open the first Israeli embassy in the Gulf state. About a month later, the UAE inaugurated its embassy in Israel.
You are here: World

 Flash





Russia registered 29,929 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, taking its total caseload to 10,016,896, the official monitoring and response center said in a statement Sunday.

The nationwide death toll grew by 1,132 to 289,483, while the number of recoveries increased by 31,391 to 8,741,355.

Meanwhile, Moscow, Russia's worst-hit region, reported 2,862 new cases, taking its total to 1,984,378. The Russian capital was followed by Saint Petersburg with 2,012 new cases.

Over 74 million Russian citizens had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Friday and more than 67 million had been fully vaccinated.

The level of herd immunity in the country stood at 55.7 percent, data released on Friday showed.
 Flash

Chinese and Afghan officials inaugurated the construction of a mosque and two wells in the Ministry of Justice of Afghanistan on Sunday.

The projects were funded by China.

Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu said China and Afghanistan are very close neighbors connected by mountains and rivers, and the two peoples enjoy long-lasting friendly exchanges.

In accordance with the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, China has always adhered to the diplomatic policy of building friendship and partnership with Afghanistan and have been standing together to support each other, he said.

The ambassador noted that China sincerely hopes for and promotes an early realization of peace, tranquility, prosperity and good-neighborliness in Afghanistan. China has actively adopted concrete measures to help Afghanistan to seize opportunities and surmount difficulties.

Chief spokesman of Taliban-led administration Zabihullah Mujahid thanked China over the donation.

"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is thankful to China over sending assistance and also assures of having trustable relations with the neighboring country," he said in his speech.

Assuring protection to investment and investors, Mujahid stated that the administration is firm to provide security for Chinese diplomats and investors and also is thankful to China's generous cooperation.

The spokesman also looked forward to the help of regional countries, Islamic world, European nations and China in the rebuilding process of war-torn Afghanistan.

Speaking at the ceremony, Acting Justice Minister Shaikh Abdul Hakim Sharai expressed gratitude to China for its support and provision of humanitarian assistance to his country.

"I am thankful to China and the Chinese ambassador for their support to Afghanistan, a country that its infrastructures have been destroyed over the past four decades of war."
Introduction

In the history of religion, including contemporary Eastern religions, we encounter tales of gods appearing temporarily as humans e.g. The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men! (Acts chapter 14 verse 11). Only in the Bible do we find the Creator permanently becoming a creature. God the Son is still the human Christ Jesus (1 Timothy chapter 2 verse 5). This fact is so extraordinary that it messes with the mind of translators. Therefore, some English versions (AMP, MEV, NKJV, NLV) have the Man Christ Jesus. This is a sad slur on the dignity of the Incarnation. Likewise, sincere philosophical attempts to explain this trans-miraculous self-emptying action of God (Philippians chapter 2 verse 7) undo the shocking scandal of God embodying himself as a real human. At this point appeals to the omnipotence of God to explain the virgin birth miss the point. It is much more spiritually and pastorally helpful to meditate on the life of Jesus than trying to be reason-able.

Empathy Explains Everything

I sometimes ask people, What is the emotion most attributed to Jesus in the Gospels? reasonable replies come forth, like Love. or Joy.. The actual answer is Compassion. Jesus is commonly moved with compassion when he sees the lost state of the crowds, the sick, the bereaved and so on. when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, Do not weep. (Luke chapter verse 7 verse 13 etc.). In every case where Jesus is moved by compassion the result is healing and wholeness. This follows because the Son Cis the manifestation of the Old Testament God whose divine compassion is infallibly moved to release Israel from her bondages, e.g. My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. ( Hosea chapter 11 verse 8). It is the tender mercy of our (Almighty) God (Luke chapter 1 verse 78) that is the ultimate explanation for why God became human. Whilst human sympathy means feeling sorry for someone elses pain, divine empathy involves totally entering into humanity pain. Empathetic Christianity is the thrust of Gods kingdom.

The Whole Way

The Bible indicates that in becoming human, Jesus, without sinning (Hebrews chapter 4 verse 15), took on the fulness of our fallen nature. When the Word became flesh (John chapter 1 verse 14) this is the flesh which in itself is unresponsive and useless (John chapter 3 verse 6, chapter 6 verse 63). Jesus absolute empathetic descent into the humiliation of a nature that has lost the glory of God (Romans chapter 3 verse 23) required nothing less than the power of the eternal Spirit of God to sustain him all the way to sharing in our shameful deserved death (Hebrews chapter 9 verse 14). Only his perfectly pure love could attain to a complete identification with the immeasurable darkness of our lost condition. The terrible cry from the cross, My Godwhy have you forsaken me? (Mark chapter 15 verse 34), testifies that the goal of divine compassion to fully link with our brokenness has been achieved.

Becoming As God

As the most intelligent of Gods creatures (Genesis chapter 3 verse 1) Satan shows deep insight into Gods plan. when you eat of it (tree of knowledge) your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil (Genesis chapter 3 verse 5). Since Eve and Adam were already created in the likeness of God (Genesis chapter 1 verse 26-28), the original temptation was designed to frustrate a much higher purpose of God than what existed in Eden. A great Church Father expounded this purpose in testifying, Jesusdid become what we are, that he might bring us to be even what he is himself. (St. Irenaeus). In saying this he was commenting on 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 4, through them (Gods promises) you may become partners of the divine nature. The devil is not opposed to people becoming like any God they imagine (1 Corinthians chapter 8 verse 5), but he hates the thought of us becoming like the God revealed in Jesus. The devil despises the nature of a God who is essentially an all identifying Father and the call for all Gods children to totally identify with the material and spiritual suffering of a lost humanity!

Identification is Intercession

I constantly deal with deeply wounded people. Perhaps this is why the Lord has been challenging me about my lack of empathy for those in pain. I sense this is also a challenge to the whole Church in Australia. It has been profoundly said, the essence of intercession is identification (cf. Hebrews chapter 7 verse 25). As affluent Western Christians are we/you up to following a Saviour who went the whole way in entering into the anguish of the world?
Chennai: Retail players, particularly e-commerce, are hunting for fresh talent. As retailers adapt to the pandemic-induced changes in the industry, they are finding a flexible young talent base handy.

According to Team-Lease, the job growth in retail essential services, which stood at a high 37 per cent in Q1, moved up by 48 per cent in Q2 and the job growth has been largely led by freshers. Similarly, a 25 per cent rise in the intent to hire freshers in the e-commerce sector was seen for July-December 2021.

"The pandemic has created a new retail shopping experience which is leading to rise of jobs and opportunities for freshers and entrants . The latest trends such as contactless engagements, building omni channels, shift to digital shopping, personalised marketing, and increase in physical store purchases are leading to surge in hiring of such profiles in retail segment," said Munira Loli-wala, AVP, TeamLease Digital.

In e-commerce, online merchant, internet sales associate, marketing specialist and social media associate are the most sought out fresher roles .

"We are seeing a buoyancy in freshers hiring this timepart of this is due to the pent-up demand and the rest is due to the optimism in the market. Organisa-tions have also realised that increasingly it is becoming difficult to hire and retain laterals owing to their high expectations during job switch and very high attrition," said Shantanu Rooj, CEO and co-founder of TeamLease Edtech.

"Hence organisations are looking at creating their sustainable talent supply chains by hiring and training fresh graduates with promising skill sets. Organisations are looking for freshers with good analytical, logical and problem solving skills, he added.
Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao along with his family members left for Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu in a special flight on Monday, official sources aid.

KCR will perform a special puja at Sriranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam, they said, adding he will also call on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday, they said.

This is the second time that KCR is paying a visit to Srirangam. Earlier, he visited the temple in May 2019.

Rao's meeting with Stalin, whose party-Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)- is a constituent of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) assumes significance amid Telangana's row with the NDA government on paddy procurement.

In October, Stalin wrote to his counterparts in 11 non-BJP ruled states including Telangana and Goa, seeking their support to oppose the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test and restore "the primacy of states" in education.

Rao met with Stalin when the latter was in the opposition in 2019 as part of his futile attempt to float a non-BJP, non-Congress Front.
It is not yet known if he would meet his Tamil Nadu counterpart M.K. Stalin.  Twitter

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao will visit Ranganatha Swamy temple in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, on Monday. He will leave the city on a special flight along with family members in the morning and proceed to Chennai after his temple visit in Trichy.

He will stay overnight in Chennai. It is not yet known if he would meet his Tamil Nadu counterpart M.K. Stalin.

It is, however, curious in the backdrop of KCR recently reviving his anti-Modi stand and his threat to bring like minded forces against the BJP.
Kochi: The Kerala High Court has directed the state government to furnish details of all the criminal cases relating to MLAs and MPs which were withdrawn after September 16 last year with the reasons for the same.

The details have been sought by the high court pursuant to a direction by the Supreme Court to all the High Courts to examine the "legality, propriety and bonafides" of withdrawals made after September 16, 2020, in cases relating to former and sitting legislators.

"Respondents (state government and police) are directed to furnish the details of the criminal cases withdrawn after September 16, 2020. Respondents are further directed to furnish a consolidated statement, explaining the reasons for withdrawal of the cases registered against MPs/MLAs (sitting/former)," the high court said.

With the direction, the court listed the matter for hearing on January 5, 2022.

The apex court in August this year had directed that prosecution against the lawmakers under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) cannot be withdrawn without prior sanction from the respective high courts.

In its August 10 order, the apex court had directed that no prosecution against a sitting or former MP/MLA shall be withdrawn without the leave of the High Court in the respective writ petitions registered on their own pursuant to the Supreme Court order.

The High Courts are requested to examine the withdrawals, whether pending or disposed of since September 16, 2020, in light of guidelines laid down by this court, the top court had said.

The order came on a PIL of 2016 filed by lawyer and BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay on fast-tracking of criminal trials against MP and MLAs besides seeking a life ban on convicted politicians from contesting polls.
Hyderabad: Employees working in new districts since October 2016 have sought the state government to extend priority to them in the ongoing allotment of employees to native districts based on their nativity as per the new zonal system that was made effective in August this year.

The state government increased the number of districts from 10 to 31 in October 2016 and the employees were transferred to altogether 21 new districts as a make-shift arrangement. The Telangana government created two more districts in 2019 (Mulugu and Narayanpet) taking the total number of districts in the state to 33. The Telangana government did not take any opinions from employees after unilaterally issuing orders to serve and shifted them to new districts at its discretion.

When employees strongly protested the indiscriminate allotment, the government pacified them that it was only a 'temporary arrangement' and was aimed at administrative continuity. In the five years since their creation, there has not been a single transfer despite repeated assurances to the 1.10 lakh employees posted in the new districts. They now want to move to their native districts and are demanding preference over other employees.
An FIR has been registered on her complaint against an unidentified person under relevant sections of IPC for criminal intimidation and word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman.  Twitter

Mumbai: Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar has been provided with additional security after she received a death threat letter from an anonymous sender on Friday.

Maharashtra home minister Dilip Walse Patil on Sunday informed the media that the mayor's security has been increased and the probe into the case and search operation to look for the sender of the letter is on.

Whoever is found to be the culprit would be punished harshly, the home minister said.

The Mumbai mayor said the letter was full of vulgar language and hence she couldn't read it thoroughly.

Ms Pednekar, who is a leader of the ruling Shiv Sena in the Mumbai municipal corporation, filed a complaint with the Byculla Police station on Friday, soon after she received the letter.

An FIR has been registered on her complaint against an unidentified person under relevant sections of IPC for criminal intimidation and word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman. According to police, teams have been sent to Uran, Kharghar and Panvel in Navi Mumbai and Raigad as part of the investigation.

This was the second death threat the mayor received so far. A man from Gujarat was arrested for giving threats to her on the phone.
The key provision of AFSPA is the sweeping empowerment of individuals from the police and the military and the paramilitary forces to open fire 'if he is of the opinion that it is necessary so to do for the maintenance of public order'. (Representational Image/ DC File)

The killing of 14 Indians by the Army and the security forces in Nagaland recently has resurrected the demand for the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, or AFSPA. Two chief ministers of northeastern states have said that they want the operation of the law to end in their states. Later this month the Nagaland Assembly will convene a special session to demand that the law be suspended in that state.

Before we offer any opinion in favour of or against AFSPA, it may be of interest to see two things. First, what are these special powers given to the armed forces, and second, what does the repeal really mean?

The key provision of AFSPA is the sweeping empowerment of individuals from the police and the military and the paramilitary forces to open fire if he is of the opinion that it is necessary so to do for the maintenance of public order. The forces could use force even to the causing of death and would be immune from prosecution for their actions except with the sanction of the Central government.

Second, they could destroy anything they thought was a hideout, a fortified position or shelter from which an attack could be made. And they could arrest and detain without a warrant anyone they wanted and could use force in effecting the arrest. What happens when you give armed men such freedom in a place that has been declared hostile by the State is not difficult to imagine.

What will repeal of this law really mean? It means in case an individual is accused of committing a crime, and an FIR is filed, the police will investigate and if it finds primary evidence and files a chargesheet, that individual is tried in court. If found guilty, the person is punished. That is all repeal means.

Technically, there exists a provision even within AFSPA for this to happen. The chargesheets filed against the armed forces are sent to New Delhi for the ministry of defence (for the Army) and the ministry of home affairs (for paramilitary forces). These ministries then decide if the immunity given to the individual can be lifted so he can be tried in a court. On January 1, 2018, the Rajya Sabha was told that since 1989, approval for prosecution had not been given in any of the cases of murder, torture, kidnap and rape.

The Army says that it has an internal system of discipline that it uses. However, that must be used for military offences, such as indiscipline. It cannot be used for crimes against civilians, but nonetheless let us see what happens in such cases.

On May 11, 2006, after investigating a case, the CBI filed murder charges against five serving Army personnel from the 7 Rashtriya Rifles unit in the court of the chief judicial magistrate of Srinagar. The CBI argued that this was a case of cold blooded murder and were not actions taken in the course of performing official duties, and so the perpetrators could not be protected. The Indian Army blocked the prosecution of five Army personnel using AFSPA. The Supreme Court upheld the Armys action and asked it to decide whether it wanted to court martial them instead.

In September 2012, over 12 years after the murder of the five civilians in Pathribal, the Indian Army chose to bring the case before the military justice system and began proceedings in a general court martial. On January 24, 2014 the Indian Army said it was dismissing all charges against five of its personnel due to the lack of evidence. According to the closure report filed in the Srinagar chief judicial magistrates court, the Indian Army did not even conduct a trial but instead dismissed the charges through a pre-trial procedure.

In another case, in Kashmirs Machhil area, soldiers were convicted of murdering three civilians but freed nonetheless by an Army tribunal without explanation. On February 23, 1991, soldiers of 4 Rajputana Rifles came into the villages of Kunan and Poshpora in the remote northern district of Kupwara. The Army asked the men to assemble outside and then entered their homes.

They stayed there the entire night and allegedly raped the women of the village, from a 14-year-old disabled girl to a 70-year-old grandmother. Nothing has come of this though several FIRs were filed. Those who oppose the repeal of AFSPA must consider if they want a continuation of this state of affairs. Because the repeal of AFSPA means nothing more than that cases like these will be tried in a civilian court.

The Army has been left to do justice to itself for crimes it is accused of committing against civilians. As a force inside the government, obviously it will want that there should be no intrusion into what they do. But is it reasonable to say that they should not be tried in an Indian court by an Indian judge for crimes against Indian civilians? It seems unreasonable to expect that. But that seems to be what all those who do not want the repeal of AFSPA are saying.
Every time that a person of Indian origin becomes the head of a global corporation there is much celebratory reporting in the media in this country and much hand-wringing about the costs and benefits of talent migration. If more middle-class Indians are going up the managerial ranks internationally than they are at home, it is because most Indian companies are still largely family dominated at the top.

Apart from the one odd Natarajan Chandrasekaran heading the Tata empire or a Suresh Narayanan heading Nestle India, there are not many professionals at the top of corporate pyramids in India. Even when such managers play important roles within firms, they remain below the radar and allow members of the business family all the glory of corporate success. So, for example, many may know the names of Mukesh Ambanis children, but how many would have heard of P.M.S. Prasad, a graduate of Vivek Vardhini College, Hyderabad, who is among the elder Ambanis top managers, providing significant leadership at Reliance Industries?

There is, however, an important reason why Indians are doing so well running global firms and this does not get enough attention at business schools and in the business media.

Within a few months after the Indian economy opened up to the world in 1991, I had a chance encounter with the head of Henley Management College, located at Henley-upon-Thames in Britain. He held forth about how he would like Indian managers to participate in their management development programmes that would prepare them for roles in global firms. India is going global, Indians will have to learn to deal with non-Indians in different business and managerial circumstances, he said, and added that cross-cultural management is the key to success.

We in Britain, he told me loftily, have centuries of experience managing global business and understand cross-cultural management issues better than anyone else. From the Chinese in the East to Indians in South Asia to Africans across the continent, the British business elite have managed the most diverse cultures and so can teach a thing or two to Indians now seeking global careers.

While appreciating his point, I reminded him that India already had long experience in cross-cultural management because we have firms in Kolkata run by Marwaris, in Mumbai run by South Indians and in South India run by Punjabis. India is itself a multi-cultural nation and large Indian firms are populated from the managerial top to the working-class ground level with people from across the sub-continent. The Indian civil service, I told him, is the best pool of talent of cross-cultural managers with a young Punjabi officer posted as a district collector in Kerala and suchlike, dealing with the millions around him. Clearly, I was not very impressed by his pitch.

The Henley College, originally the Administrative Staff College and set up in 1945 to train public sector managers, was the inspiration for the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), at Bella Vista in Hyderabad. The ASCI was founded as the Indian equivalent and was meant to train middle management. India had an extremely large public sector where managers would have to have experience in cross-cultural management. A Tamilian or a Maharashtrian head of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, running a huge firm with thousands of employees from across the sub-continent, could only succeed if he knew the art of cross-cultural management.

After my chat with the Henley head, I suggested to the then principal of ASCI, Hyderabad, that the college should offer the kind of course that Henley was offering and it may well attract managers from across Asia and Africa and not just from within India. If the head of a British institution could claim better understanding of cross-cultural issues in management merely because Britain once had an empire on which the sun had never set, India could claim with equal pride that it has always been the original home of cross-cultural management. I have no idea what happened to that suggestion, and whether the ASCI has kept in step with the changing times.

Middle class India, from which the corporate sector draws most of its managers, is largely bilingual, often tri- and multi-lingual. Most urban Indians growing up in a cosmopolitan social environment learn to deal with different cultures from childhood onwards. This instils in Indian managers a much higher emotional quotient (EQ) that contributes to their success in cross-cultural management.

Management experts identify the key elements of emotional intelligence as self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. Middle class urban life offers a good environment for developing such sensitivities. That is the crucible in which the Chandrasekarans, Suresh Narayanans and P.M.S. Prasads are schooled to then become top managers in large multicultural managerial environments.

So, while it is true that the rise to the top of a corporate pyramid by a Satya Nadella, an Indira Nooyi and a Sundar Pichai may be on account of the open and supportive corporate environment offered by the United States and its global firms, one must also recognise that their success in a global multicultural corporate environment also owes to their roots in the multiculturalism of our urban middle class life.

I have no idea if Henley College still runs that course. Britain has become far too insular and distant from a fast-changing world to have retained the skills of imperial management to be a relevant home for cross-cultural management education.

India is in fact a better place for managers from mono-cultural societies to learn to deal with multicultural organisations. When the Japanese and South Korean firms first set up a manufacturing base in India, they found their own nationals socially ill-equipped and lacking the EQ required to run their India operations. Many had to hire Indian CEOs.

It was perhaps no accident that Osamu Suzuki, chairman, Suzuki Motor Corporation, was pleased with his two Indian CEOs, R.C. Bhargava and Jagdish Khattar, both drawn from a great pool of experience in cross-cultural management  the Indian Administrative Service.

If more family-owned Indian firms hand over their top management to professionals, then India too would have its Nooyis and Nadellas staying home.
Biden v. Putin: The Ukraine cage fight

By Mark Alexander

web posted December 13, 2021

Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin chatted for two hours on a video confab last Tuesday regarding U.S. concerns over the impending Russian invasion of Ukraine. I have been assured that Biden stayed awake for most it, but those Situation Room chairs are very comfy. It is no small irony that the call took place on the anniversary of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor  though I am certain that irony is lost on the Biden puppeteers who listened in: Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

As you recall, three weeks ago when Biden made a similar call to ChiCom tyrant Xi Jinping , Xi unwaveringly asserted his authority and power and signaled his disregard for Biden, as made clear by China's rapid military advances in recent months and its overt aggression toward Taiwan.

I suspect the call with Putin was characterized by equal defiance, given that every Biden word was fully anticipated and factored in by the Russians well in advance.

Understand that China and Russia are tag-teaming, testing Biden's lack of resolve to confront authoritarian tyrants, as aptly demonstrated by his surrender and retreat from Afghanistan. That test case demonstrated that Biden was not willing to take on the Taliban, a far less threatening adversary than Russia or China. If Russia moves on Ukraine, China is likely to quickly move on Taiwan, creating massive national security threats on two fronts. I am not a gambler and thus will not wager on the probability of who will move first, but there is no question Xi and Putin know Biden is a feckless appeaser.

As Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) summarizes the "feckless appeaser" threat: "The weakness Biden has demonstrated, whether against Russia, whether against the Taliban, whether against the Chinese communists, that weakness is dangerous."

Why does Putin want Ukraine? One reason is the threat that Ukraine could become a NATO country, providing a military staging ground on Russia's western front.

But more to the point would be that Putin, now 69 with some ailments, would like to see the reunification of Ukraine with Russia as his legacy.

Russian analysts Eugene Rumer and Andrew Weiss note : "For [Putin], who dubbed the breakup of the Soviet Union the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century, the ultimate prize would be bringing Ukraine and its capital Kyiv, which the official historiography portrays as the medieval cradle of Russia's greatness and statehood, back into the fold. ... He has long held that the ties between the two nations cannot be severed and that the Soviet collapse in 1991 was an invalid divorce. Just this past July, he published a nearly 7,000-word article denying Ukraine's right to exist as an independent country, asserting that the Ukrainian people aren't separate and distinct from Russians, and claiming that Ukraine can prosper and realize its full potential only as part of greater Russia."

Ahead of the call, Rep. Mike McCaul (R-TX), ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, warned Biden "not to make concessions at the expense of our strategic partner Ukraine in response to the Putin regime's provocative military build-up." McCaul added, "This would not only fail to de-escalate tensions, it would also embolden Vladimir Putin and his fellow autocrats by demonstrating the United States will surrender in the face of saber-rattling."

This assessment is shared by a large number of House and Senate members on both sides of the aisle, and it appears Biden got the message.

A policy readout on the Putin call asserts Biden "reiterated his support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and called for de-escalation and a return to diplomacy." According to his handlers, Biden also "voiced the deep concerns of the United States and our European Allies about Russia's escalation of forces surrounding Ukraine and made clear that the U.S. and our Allies would respond with strong economic and other measures in the event of military escalation."

"If Russia decides to pursue confrontation, there will be serious consequences," warned Blinken. Putin must've been paralyzed with fear...

According to Sullivan : "President Biden was direct and straightforward with President Putin, as he always is. There was a lot of give-and-take. There was no finger-wagging, but the president was crystal clear about where the United States stands on all of these issues. I will look you in the eye and tell you, as President Biden looked President Putin in the eye and told him today, that things we did not do in 2014, we are prepared to do now."

Them's fightin' words! (And we all know Bill Clinton was the last of the great Demo finger waggers...)

Sullivan, who may be next in line for a Durham investigation indictment , added that beyond sanctions against Russia, Biden would offer "defensive materiel to the Ukrainians above and beyond that which we are already providing," and "we would fortify our NATO allies on the eastern flank with additional capabilities in response to such an escalation."

As for Biden's prior Russian gas pipeline appeasement, Sullivan insists, "The fact is that gas is not currently flowing through the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which means that it's not operating, which means that it's not leverage for Putin."

Nonsense.

Biden already undermined that leverage when he green-lighted Putin's vital Nord Stream NG pipeline , lifting sanctions on that cash cow imposed by Donald Trump . For the record, no post-Cold War president has been tougher on Russia than Trump, despite the Demos' Russia collusion hoax , which undermined our national security strength with Russia.

Biden removed obstacles to Putin's 764-mile underwater gas line, enabling Russia to bypass Ukraine, Poland, and Belarus in order to supply natural gas to Western Europe  which ensures our European NATO allies are more dependent on Russia and less willing to confront Putin. He did so while simultaneously killing America's Keystone Pipeline , contributing to rapidly increasing inflation .

Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) accurately concludes: "In the middle of winter [Putin] will be able to starve Ukraine and starve Eastern Europe, and he'll be able to hold Germany's energy supply hostage. Putin knows that he can withstand UN sanctions if he has a fractured Europe, and Nord Stream 2 is exactly what's going to fracture Europe."

So, what's up on the Russian side of its border with Ukraine right now?

Basically an ominous threat of a 2014 repeat when, on the watch of spineless Barack Obama and his then-sidekick Biden, Russia invaded and annexed the Ukrainian territory of Crimea, a strategically important peninsula along the northern coast of the Black Sea.

You know, that was back when Biden actually did corruptly influence Ukrainian officials for personal gain  unlike when Democrats falsely accused Trump of doing the same.

Currently, Moscow has amassed more than 90,000 troops on the Ukrainian border in preparation for invasion and is expected to build that force to the estimated 175,000 level required to declare that it's game on. For perspective, Putin took Crimea with about 25,000 troops.

In two months, the Russia/Ukraine border ground will be hard frozen  thus far easier for crossing with heavy armor, and that is the greatest threat window.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin observed : "This looks very familiar. It looks like a replay of 2014, because we've seen this before  we saw what the outcome was  we remain concerned."

Austin is never short when it comes to his keen sense of the obvious  of course it is a replay of 2014.

Since Obama and Biden enabled the last invasion, the U.S. has sent Ukraine almost $2.5 billion in military aid, and it is estimated that more than 10,000 Ukrainians have died in border skirmishes since 2014  mostly in strikes by Russian regulars who wear no uniform insignia, the " little green men ."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky insists that Ukraine's army is a "highly capable and highly organized force that is confident in its potential and is able to derail any expansionist plans by the enemy." He added, "Ukrainian servicemen are continuing to perform their most important mission: to protect the freedom and sovereignty of the state from the Russian aggressor."

As George W. Bush's former ambassador to Ukraine, William Taylor, notes, "The Ukrainian military is much stronger than it was [when Russia seized Crimea] seven and a half years ago." Yet he adds, "They're no match for the Russian military."

Additionally, while Ukrainian forces are far better trained and equipped than the Afghan forces who quickly folded as soon as the Taliban arrived in Kabul, Ukrainian forces are confronted with the same concerns about Biden's lack of resolve.

According to Biden's CIA Director William Burns : "I would never underestimate President Putin's risk appetite on Ukraine. We don't know that Putin has made up his mind to use force. But what we do know is that he's putting the Russian military [and] Russian security services in a place where they could act in a very sweeping way." Burns added, "He may see this winter, tactically, as kind of offering a favorable landscape," and he "could act in a very sweeping way."

Actually, Biden and his handlers are the "favorable landscape" that will enable Putin and Xi to "act in a very sweeping way." Biden's public approval is underwater on just about every issue , including, most notably, confidence in his "leadership." Putin and Xi have added that domestic factor to their calculations.

And remember: Burns and Austin are the same Biden administration geniuses who were utterly unprepared for China's hypersonic missile test.

With Trump out of the way, and certain that Biden's socialist regime will bow to the ChiCom global agenda of military and economic dominance , in July and again in August, Xi "tested" hypersonic missiles .

That prompted Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley, who has aptly demonstrated his incompetence by leading Biden's Afghanistan surrender , to conclude: "What we saw was a very significant event of a test of a hypersonic weapon system. And it is very concerning." JCS Vice Chairman Gen. John Hyten remarked that it "looks like a first-use weapon." Hyten added: "It went around the world, dropped off a hypersonic glide vehicle that glided all the way back to China, that impacted a target in China." It was literally a shot "around the world."

But never fear: Biden put Kamala Harris in charge of the Space Council .

And just before she convened that group two weeks ago, Putin "tested" his sea-based hypersonic missile system .

Both of these missile tests were shots fired across Biden's bow, in China's case a warning not to interfere if it annexes Taiwan, and in Russia's case a warning not to interfere if it annexes Ukraine. There are questions about U.S. capabilities to defend against such weapons, but I doubt those questions take into account classified capabilities.

So what else can Biden do now? No doubt one of his brilliant national security strategists is considering bribing Putin to stand down, as Obama and Biden did with Iran in 2016. Recall that they loaded up a 747 freight liner with $400 million in palleted cash as part of their $1.7 billion nuclear appeasement (read: "empowerment") deal .

And how did that bribe work out? Rhetorical question.

For the moment, Israel is keeping Iran in check with direct hits on Iranian turf against key Islamist leaders and facilities. While Israel received the full support of the Trump administration, its actions to contain the Iranian nuclear threat are tolerated by Biden.

Putin knows that the most significant deterrent Biden has in his inventory would be to embed a contingent of U.S. forces with Ukrainian forces. Thus, any military incursion by Russia would constitute an attack against the United States. Biden is not about to go there, which is indicative of our assessment of Putin's resolve.

So where do things stand? Apparently, the Cold War was over, until it wasn't...

Eight years of Obama/Biden foreign policy failures are now being repeated by the Biden/Harris regime . Perilously, Joe Biden and his domestic enemies of Liberty have eviscerated most of Trump's rock-solid foreign policy with China and Russia , and we are likely to pay a very heavy price for that discard, maybe when the winter ground hardens on the Ukraine border with Russia.

Typical of the Democrats' illogic right now is this observation from Demo strategist Leslie Marshall, who declared this week that "regardless of who is president if [Russia] fears Joe Biden or not, they better fear the United States military." Well, yes, and NATO will fortify the large number of our aircraft ready to go and put our Black Sea fleet assets on alert. But let me take her assertion apart for you. "Regardless of who is president" is a tacit acknowledgement that our most significant enemies know Biden and his handlers are feckless idiots. And for the record, none of our military assets will be put into motion in Europe or the Pacific unless Biden authorizes that action.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration is contemplating options for an evacuation of U.S. citizens in Ukraine if hostilities commence. Sound familiar?

Mark Alexander is the executive editor of the Patriot Post.
Expansionist Iran is the Pearl Harbor of the Middle East By Amb. Dore Gold

web posted December 13, 2021 This past Tuesday, America and its allies commemorated 80 years since the attack by Imperial Japan on the US Pacific Fleet based at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. At that time, Japan was carving out its Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. To secure the emerging Japanese Empire, Tokyo expanded its armed forces and its navy in particular, focusing its efforts on Manchuria, Southeast Asia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The key to securing its positions in Asia was knocking out the US military presence in the Pacific and making itself the uncontested hegemonial power in Asia. The dominant diplomatic doctrine in the late 1930s in the US was isolationism, undoubtedly encouraging Tokyo to conclude that to force an American retreat was feasible even with just six aircraft carriers in the Japanese Navy. The Japanese command envisioned that the strike on Pearl Harbor would undermine Americas self-confidence to a point from which it could not recover. It is important to review this history today as the Islamic Republic of Iran seeks to evict the US military from the Middle East and assert Iranian hegemony over the entire region. Indeed, Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared during Friday prayers on January 17, 2020, that the real punishment for America is expelling them from the region. Tehrans plan began to unfold not long after the fall of the shah in 1979. Iran chose Lebanon as one of its earliest testing grounds, deploying its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to the Bekaa Valley. It made every effort to evict the US Marine Corps from Beirut, using Hezbollah, the Shiite militia that it was forming under its command. The Iranians employed different military tactics than Imperial Japan. Shiite militias became their chosen instrument across the Middle East, whether at Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, in the Iraqi insurgency, or in Bahrain, the headquarters of US naval forces in the Middle East. It even recruited Sunnis like Hamas and the Polisario in the Western Sahara. Iran added its growing proficiency in flying unmanned aerial vehicles, especially in Yemen, and struck American interests in Saudi Arabia and Syria. But the idea that motivates them remains the same: weaken American resolve and get Washington to withdraw, so that Iran can inherit the region as its own. To deny Iran the victory it thinks is within its grasp is doable. Tehran believes the winds of history are blowing in its direction. Pearl Harbor was viewed by experts in the years that followed as an intelligence failure. The information that America needed was right there. Preconceptions blinded decision-makers at the time as preconceptions about Iran are clouding the judgments of policy-makers today. At least, the US operates in a broad coalition in the Middle East including Britain, the Arab states, and Israel. Iran may have imperial ambitions. But if we listen to each other this time, Pearl Harbor wont happen again. Ambassador Dore Gold has served as President of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs since 2000. From June 2015 until October 2016 he served as Director-General of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Previously he served as Foreign Policy Advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israels Ambassador to the UN (1997-1999), and as an advisor to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Home
Examining the Polish-Canadian community forty years after the declaration of martial law in Poland (December 13, 1981) By Apolonja (Pola) Kojder and Mark Wegierski

web posted December 13, 2021 On December 13, 1981, Communist General Wojciech Jaruzelski declared martial law in Poland, attempting to crush the independent trade-union movement, Solidarity, by force. Solidarity had been officially recognized by the Communists on August 31, 1980. Jaruzelskis act, which was seen as a war on the Polish nation, reverberated around the Polish communities worldwide, and galvanized Polish-Canadians in opposition to the Communist regime. We would like to memorialize this day of infamy from forty years ago, by commenting on the Polish-Canadian community today. Although, according to the 2016 Canada Census, there are over a million persons of Polish descent in Canada, that group has a comparatively minor impact on Canadian society, politics, and culture. Canadian Polonia (the Polish-Canadian community) seems to have a perennial misapprehension of what constitutes objective cultural influence and power today. They have very few active writers. The community is organizationally weak and faces a chronic lack of funding, whether from private individuals or government cultural and multicultural support. Some types of writing have almost immediate social and political effects. There are currently no opinion-columnists on staff in the major Toronto newspapers, who could be identified as belonging to the Polish-Canadian community, nor do any such opinion-columnists in any major newspaper in the country come to mind. There are also very few authors of books by recognized publishers. What can one say when even the post of the President of the Canadian Polish Congress is a volunteer position. There are, currently, only a few M.P.s who could be identified as emphatically belonging to the Polish-Canadian community, in the Canadian Federal Parliament. One of them is Calgary-area Conservative M.P. Tom Kmiec. Also, in the Ontario Parliament, two dynamic women were elected as Progressive Conservative M.P.P.s in 2018  Kinga Surma (Etobicoke-Centre) and Natalia Kusendova (Mississauga-Centre). In 2011-2015, there were two Polish-Canadian M.P.s from the Conservative Party, Wladyslaw Lizon (Mississauga East -- Cooksville) and Ted Opitz (Etobicoke-Centre). During the 1970s, Stanley Haidasz represented the Parkdale-High Park riding (then the Toronto-area riding with the highest proportion of persons of Polish descent) as a Liberal, being named as Minister of State for Multiculturalism (and later, Senator). His successor in the riding was the Liberal, Jesse Flis. Because of the prominence of Haidasz and Flis, Polish-Canadians tended to support the federal Liberal Party in earlier decades. The main waves of Polish immigration to Canada could be identified as pre-World War I; interwar; post-World War II; 1956-1979; Solidarity era; and post-1989. Before World War I, Poland had endured Partition (harsh foreign occupation under Tsarist Russia, Prussia/Germany, and the Habsburg Empire) since 1795. Independence was regained only in 1918. The Polish Second Republic fell before the savage onslaught of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union (then Hitlers ally) in September 1939 (when World War II began). Betrayed by America and Britain at the Yalta Conference, Poland was assigned to the Soviet sphere of influence (to be officially called the Peoples Republic of Poland) -- along with the wrenching displacement of her frontiers in a westward direction. The largest group of Polish immigrants to Canada in the post-World War II period were the Polish ex-soldiers who had served in the Polish armed forces under Western Allied command. Among their greatest military achievements were the contribution of the Polish pilots to the aerial Battle of Britain in 1940; the storming by the Polish Second Corps of Monte Cassino in Italy, the impregnable German positions blocking the road to Rome, in 1944; and the closing of the Falaise Gap in Normandy by the Polish First Armoured Division, also in 1944. The Polish ex-soldiers who came directly to Canada in the late 1940s were required to work for two years on remote farms. Conditions there were sometimes none too pleasant. In consequence of the death of Stalin in 1953, the coming to power of Wladyslaw Gomulka in October 1956 essentially polonized the regime. The disturbances of 1968-1970 brought Edward Gierek to power, whose economic policies initiated a short period of considerable prosperity. Nevertheless, the election of the Polish Pope in 1978 galvanized the opposition, culminating in the flowering of the independent trade-union movement, Solidarity. On December 13, 1981, Communist General Jaruzelski declared martial law and attempted to crush the Solidarity movement, which went underground. Finally, the impetus of Solidarity was one of the factors that helped to initiate the massive transformations that resulted in the collapse of the Communist regimes in Eastern Europe in 1989. The Polish Third Republic was proclaimed. The arrival of Polish-Canadians increased the intra-European diversity of Canada. It could be argued that the initial definition of multiculturalism in Canada was mostly meant to refer to other European groups, apart from the English and French, especially Eastern and Southern Europeans. That definition has been mostly eclipsed since the 1980s, with the arrival of huge visible minority immigration. Apolonja (Pola) Kojder is the main author of Marynia, Dont Cry: Memoirs of Two Polish-Canadian Families (University of Toronto Press, 1995). She lives in North Battleford, Saskatchewan. Mark Wegierski is a Toronto-based writer and historical researcher, published in Calgary Herald, Ottawa Citizen, and The Hill Times (Ottawa), among others. They were both born in Canada of Polish immigrant parents. Home
Are you ready for nuclear war over Ukraine? By Selwyn Duke

web posted December 13, 2021 Do you know we dont rule out first-use nuclear action? So said Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) while outlining what measures the U.S. could take against Russia over Ukraine, at whose border Moscow has been massing troops. The senators office later clarified that this comment related to American policy in general and not specifically to Russia. While this is actually believable (Wicker made a loose comment), whats unbelievable is that were even considering a military confrontation with Moscow over something that does not at all involve a U.S. national interest. Moreover, what else Wicker said, during a recent interview with Fox News host Neil Cavuto, is not reassuring. To wit: Well, military action could mean that we stand off with our ships in the Black Sea and we rain destruction ... on Russia military capability, the Independent related him as stating. It could mean that we participate, and I would not rule that out, I would not rule out American troops on the ground. Making it worse is that the Biden Administration and the Establishment in general are all-in on this Dr. Strangelove foreign policy. As Secretary of State Tony Blinkens spokesman, Ned Price, has put it , If Russia chooses to fail to deescalatewe and our allies would be prepared to act. We would be prepared to act resolutely. Equally troubling is that geniuses in both parties are pushing to have Ukraine become part of NATO, with its an attack on one is an attack on all policy. This means that if Russia then invaded Ukraine, the U.S. and Western Europe would be obligated to intervene militarily. WWIII, anyone? For his part, Russian president Vladimir Putin has said that NATO troop and weapons deployment to Ukraine is a red line for him. Of course it is. Just as we couldnt back down during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, Russia wouldnt back down on Ukraine. The same is true of China vis-a-vis Taiwan. Like it or not, you must tread softly in another great powers backyard. Enter it and refuse to back down, and war will almost assuredly result because that power cant realistically back down. Doing so would mean losing face and sending the ultimate message of weakness. For if you can be pushed around at your own doorstep, in what way cant you be dominated? Despite this, our chicken hawks insist on playing chicken with a nuclear power over...what? Few ask what the national interest is, and no one explains. We do hear bloviating about Ukraines sovereignty and border integrity from the same people whove made our border a sieve-like conduit for a southern invasion, as Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson pointed out last night. These people also talk about defending democracy while having stolen an election here and undermining our republic with unconstitutional policy and two-tiered justice. Then, last year, sociopathic congressman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) actually said that we aid Ukraine and her people so that we can fight Russia over there, and we don't have to fight Russia here. Perhaps Schiffty has been watching the flick Red Dawn too much. (He should note that in the films remake, in 2012, the Chinese troops invading American soil were digitally altered post-production to appear North Korean in deference to Beijing, our main geopolitical rival.) In other words, if you thought there couldnt be anything as irrational as our coronavirus policy  where authorities insist on reordering civilization over a pathogen that more than 99.9 percent of the infected will survive  welcome to our Russia policy. Were acting as if a nation with an economy one-eighth the size of Chinas is todays Roman Empire and were Gaul; our cure of military intervention in its backyard would definitely be worse than the disease, too. Russia is now the COVID-19 of geopolitics. To be clear, none of this concerns whether you love, hate or are indifferent about Putin. Its not about whether Russia is right or wrong on Ukraine. Its about applying Just War Doctrine and, again, recognizing that you can only do so much at a great powers doorstep. An aside: Note that both our world wars, along with the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, began under Democrat administrations. And having in power detached-from-reality leftists who cant judge human nature, as we do today, is always dangerous. In fact, if they stay at the helm long enough, their folly may provide for their voters a harsh object lesson in how there really are things worse than white privilege, microaggressions and sexual constraints. Below is an excellent Tuesday Tucker Carlson Tonight segment on the Russia-Ukraine folly. Contact Selwyn Duke , follow him on MeWe or Parler , or log on to SelwynDuke.com . Home
Selected verse memorializing forty years since the declaration of martial law in Poland By Mark Wegierski

web posted December 13, 2021 Authors Foreword (2021): These were some of the verses that I had written as part of weekly exercises in the full-year, undergraduate Advanced Creative Writing course (1982-1983) (part of the English Literature program, although one had to specially apply to take this course) at the University of Toronto. This was part of my Double Major in History and English Literature (1979-1983), leading to an Honours BA. At that time, the visceral agony of the immediate aftermath of Communist General Jaruzelskis declaration of martial law (December 13, 1981) was keenly felt in the Polish-Canadian community. I distinctly remember attending a number of demonstrations, especially one at Nathan Phillips Square, in front of the Toronto City Hall, as well as in front of the Polish Consulate on Lakeshore Boulevard. Most English-Canadians, however  such as my classmates in this course -- were quite oblivious, and not very sympathetic. As far as I can recall, most University of Toronto English Literature classes at this time were mostly female, and mostly WASP. Not that I would have expected so-called visible minorities to be particularly supportive of the Polish cause, either. Patrimony - Structured Across forgotten mists of time,

Forbidding forests, golden field

Beginning story - mighty form

United through the years of storm -

Enduring trials, terror, blight:

We fought - and still we bravely fight,

For Poland, freedom, truth, and Light. Toronto, September 1982 Patrimony - Free Verse in the meandering mists of time

huge ancient forests

yellow fields hewn from the wild

Kings, Warriors, Poets, Scholars

Proud Nation's Heritage

struggling struggling on all sides

our faith was not broken

to this day we fight! Toronto, September 1982 (The Alcaic and Sapphic are two ancient Latin poetic forms, adapted to English.) Poland - Alcaic I made a visit, coming to Poland sad,

The freedom was gone, leaving a wilderness,

The broken workers cried for freedom

Plaintively marching to fight the Party. I sadly watched them, seeing a falling world;

They were a proud race - filling the world with hope,

Now, what remains there but a faint spark

Reaching the people in gloomy darkness. Toronto, November 1982 Poland - Sapphic Freedom has been crushed in the Polish nation,

Beauty, precious truth, also die and wither -

There is scant hope left for the struggling masses

Hungry for freedom. Sadness crushes patriots, leaving little

But a proud right, power for fighting, dying

Which is helpless, facing the hosts of evil -

Singing a brave hymn. Toronto, November 1982 Sestina on the Great Themes The sorrow filling solitude -

Surrender, dying, little hope -

The children are deprived of love

The people quickly losing faith

In searching, desperate, for truth

A people sadly lacking God. To draw towards the light of God

To slowly push out solitude

Perceive the clearest, brightest truth

To fill the world with noble hope,

To have a strongly burning faith,

To have a spirit full of love - How difficult to reach for love,

The problem, trying to find God,

Without the benefit of faith -

Alone - a world of solitude,

Not having any ray of hope,

How difficult to learn the truth. We shall attempt a search for truth,

We can't be left without some love,

We must be led by shining hope,

And powerful, almighty God -

Transcending slowly solitude,

We seek, against all odds, the faith. We must be strongly filled with faith

We have to seek the purest truth

Accepting gladly solitude,

To give example good of love,

To praise and worship mighty God,

To not despair, to keep up hope. We have the precious right to hope,

Inside us lies the germ of faith

Outside us Mercy, gentle God

In greatest books and art is truth,

Around us all is priceless love...

We need the times of solitude. In solitude we dare to hope,

Our love is stronger joined with faith,

In seeking truth we seek our God. Toronto, November 1982 Mark Wegierski is a Toronto-based writer and historical researcher. He was born of Polish immigrant parents in Toronto. Home
The Kentucky Governor says that there may be more people who died. The rescuers go over the wreckage of the deadly tornado that tore through the state.

This was the statement of Gov. Andy Beshear, who assessed on Sunday morning that it is one of the worst calamities on record.

Earlier the US government pledged support to Kentucky, after the destruction that followed, and assistance for all survivors.

Casualties after the destructive tornadoes

Last Sunday, the governor spoke on CNN and said that it is one of the worst and destructive twisters in US history that affected the state. Out of 80 individuals who died in the severe weather ravaged the structures and infrastructure.

Beshear clarified later it will be more than 100 fatalities expected. He stressed that the tornadoes are one of the most destructive incidents that have struck western Kentucky and its outlying towns that the sheer force has obliterated, reported the Epoch Times.

Beginning late Friday and raging onto Saturday, the monster twisters pummeled the affected areas. Countless buildings were torn down, residences demolished, power and infrastructure destroyed. In its path, the recent tornado destroyed a candle factory, an Amazon building, including a nursing home in its destructive wake.

Tornado survivors were rescued

In Mayfield, a candle factory with 110 employees was trapped inside when the storm hit, but Kentucky Governor Beshear mentioned last Sunday that they rescued 40 people so far.

Rescuers can pull more survivors from the rubble of the wrecked building with somewhat a slim chance from the deadly tornado.

Read Also: Joe Biden Calls Recent Calamity 'One of the Largest Tornado Outbreaks' in America, Promises To Provide Necessary Supplies to Affected Families

So far, the fatalities of the severe weather condition that happened last weekend were quite sizable and will be more added in days to come. But despite the grim assessment, most of the rescue personnel tried to save with more people were helping on Sunday, noted USA Today.

One of the factory's employees, Kyanna Parsons-Perez, was stuck under five feet of debris for two hours before she was discovered by rescue personnel. The survivor spoke in an interview and said that it was terrifying to be buried and did not expect to make it alive.

On Saturday, Mayfield Mayor Kathy Stewart O'Nan told CBS News that rescuers would save more instead of just recovery.

According to Gov. Beshear, the last survivor was found at 3:30 yesterday, who was found alive by rescuers. The longer it takes to rescue anyone else from the fallen debris lessens the chances of survival, but hope for another one is prayed for.

Casualties in states hit by the tornadoes

About 22 were listed as dead late Saturday in Kentucky, with 11 more located at the Bowling Green. In five states, 36 have died, Illinois six, Tennessee four, Arkansas two, and Missouri two.

The Governor of Illinois, J.B. Pritzker, verified the Amazon employees who died, and about 45 individuals rescued noted the source.

James Whiteford, Edwardsville Fire Chief, spoke to the press in the weekend said that now from a rescue, it will be a recovery instead, days before they will do it. The deadly tornado left Mayfield in disarray and turmoil due to excessive damage, while Kentucky Governor Beshear is trying to make an effort to help those severely affected.

Related Article: Amazon Workers Speak Against Phone Ban After Several Colleagues Die of Deadly Tornadoes in Illinois

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China told its media to convey to Joe Biden that he is crossing red lines that will be costly if a military response is made because of the US sticking its nose where it should not.

Beijing and Washington are not settled after the US government has done activities that violate the One China policy, which runs down diplomacy preferred by President Xi Jinping, wanting a peaceful resolution to the Taiwan problem complication by US hegemony in the South China Sea.

Washington's action could compromise its position

The Global Times commented harshly on the statement of US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Tuesday. Saying the US will curb any attempt with deterrence and diplomacy to prevent a takeover of Taiwan by force.

Later, State Secretary Antony Blinken warned the People's Republic of China would be an error if pursued, noted the Express UK.

But military sources say that the acquisition of hypersonic missile technology would place the US in opposition to the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force, compromising America's position, citing the Financial Times.

In the G7 Summit, the US spoke with its allies about Taiwan's precarious situation in Liverpool.

The US not prepared

Liz Truss, the UK Foreign Minister, spoke about actions that should be brought on China at the Summit, giving a special mention to China, Russia, and Iran in her speech.

China media call Sullivan's assurances as proof the US will follow through on its statements. Joe Biden's US foreign policy failed Afghanistan, and America does not have the resources to stop the PLA if it commits to the reunification of Taiwan, noted the Conversation.

Read Also: China Deploys Unknown Number of Missiles Concealed in Civilian Ships; PLA Strategy Experts Claim

Underscore Chinese commentators say the US is vowing empty promises that will be disastrous for Taipei. Beijing knows the US cannot deal with two crises on two sides of the globe, the other one being the tensions with Russia and Ukraine have been let down for Kiev. Washington has said it wouldn't send forces to Ukraine because it is not a NATO member.

The People's Republic of China says there is a slim chance that the US will stop the Chinese force from retaking Taiwan. A source stated that if the US dares to rescue the island, it will regretfully come at a high cost to interfere.

These ill-advised statements by Sullivan might be recanted or downplayed, and the White House cannot have something worse than Afghanistan on its plate. Chinese Premier Xi has stated that Taiwan will return to China, which is part of his regime's goals.

If Washington does not convince Taipei to accept the One China policy but mainland China as the sovereign, this is what Beijing wants, not war.

Blame is on the Democratic Progressive Party that won in 2016, which caused the tensions which are moving to a severe threshold that should not be passed.

China advised that Sullivan's flagrant statements and equally untampered loud mouth as an error that will cost embarrassment, not progress for a diplomatic resolution.

The US supports the island enclave via arms sales and political support but not as a state. It rankles China that Joe Biden has chosen this path just like Trump but is more unrefined in his approach.

Related Article: Biden Waves to Russian Leader During Video Conference Puzzling Observers Over Tough Rhetoric About POTUS

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Ghislaine Maxwell most likely believes Jeffrey Epstein was murdered, according to her brother Ian Maxwell, who spoke on a podcast on Saturday. Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's associate, is now on trial on sex-trafficking accusations.

Ian Maxwell told The Spectator's Americano podcast that he felt his sister was innocent and explored different conspiracy theories involving his father's murder, as well as Robert Maxwell, a renowned UK media magnate, and Jeffrey Epstein.

Jeffrey Epstein, the infamous financier accused of sex crimes against minors, was discovered dead in his prison cell in 2019. Although a medical examiner found that he committed suicide, conspiracy theories have circulated, with some claiming that he was murdered.

Ghislaine Maxwell's brother says madam believes Epstein was killed

On the podcast, Ian Maxwell expressed concern for his sister's safety in prison and stated that he was "not quite certain" Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide. "I think it hasn't been very well explained how a man apparently under 24/7 surveillance, in basically comparable isolated conditions to those my sister is enduring, could somehow die on US watch," he continued, as per Insider.

Ian Maxwell called it "nonsense" that his sister had been placed on suicide watch because there was no proof she intended to hurt herself. He called the measures "torture" and claimed they were "intended to break her," and he was concerned to discover she had lost a lot of weight while in prison.

Maxwell said he hasn't spoken to his sister since June 10, but they contact her attorneys, and she is aware that he is speaking to the public on her behalf. Prosecutors have accused Maxwell of acquiring girls for Epstein, grooming them for sexual abuse, engaging in that abuse, and lying about her conduct in a deposition.

They claim that Maxwell and Epstein frequently sexually molested females under the cover of massages. Maxwell has entered a not guilty plea to the accusations. Ghislaine Maxwell may face up to 80 years in jail if convicted on all charges. On the podcast, Ian Maxwell stated that he felt the case was actually against Jeffrey Epstein and had been "reverse-engineered" against his sister after his death.

Read Also: Queen Elizabeth Snubs Meghan Markle After Her Majesty Hands Kate Middleton a Rare Royal Family Gift

Will Ghislaine Maxwell's family fight in her defense?

While Ghislaine Maxwell's trial is carrying on, the accused madam's husband, Scott Borgerson, has been photographed with a new female acquaintance. Kris McGinn, a 49-year-old writer and yoga devotee, was named as Borgerson's buddy by the New York Post.

Borgerson has failed to come in court to assist Maxwell during her trial, and residents have hardly seen him in town since Maxwell's arrest in 2020. Meanwhile, after prosecutors concluded presenting their case last week, Maxwell's defense team is due to submit arguments on Thursday.

Friends and family of supposed "madam" Ghislaine Maxwell have requested anonymity if they testify in her defense. Maxwell, who faces an 80-year jail term if convicted on six sex trafficking counts, will battle for her life in New York on Thursday when her lawyers file her defense.

The socialite is accused of exploiting women and minors for wealthy pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. She fiercely disputes the allegations. On Friday, the prosecution rested its case after summoning Annie Farmer, who claimed that Maxwell fondled and assaulted her when she was 14 years old.

Judge Alison Nathan stated that she will take the matter under consideration. During multiple bail hearings, Maxwell's friends and family wrote to the court anonymously appealing for her release and vouching for her good character.

The defense is likely to last two or three days, implying that the case might be heard by a jury before Christmas. Maxwell's attorneys are concerned that jurors would rush to reach a decision before the holidays, as per Daily Mail.

Related Article: Second Accuser Testifies in Ghislaine Maxwell Trial; Witness Claims Jeffrey Epstein's Madam Would Name Drop Famous Personalities

@YouTube

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Kamala Harris had the best response to criticisms about buying an expensive Le Creuset pot during her trip to Paris, France, while millions of America were struggling.

During a recent interview, Harris called the criticisms ridiculous. She also said that her critics should focus more on what she did in Paris during her meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and not on what she bought on her way back to the United States.

"Oh, how about, 'She's going to buy a pot on her way to the airport after a very significant and highly successful bilateral meeting in France on issues that are about national security, on issues that are about climate, on issues that are about what we are doing in terms of international norms and rules on everything from cyber to space,'' she said via CNN.

Kamala Harris says she, Joe Biden is governing partners

Other than the recent backlash over her expensive purchase, Harris also gave an update regarding her job as vice president and her relationship with Joe Biden.

There have been claims that Harris and Biden had a falling out in recent weeks. The speculations heightened when the two politicians visited a soup kitchen around Thanksgiving, and eagle-eyed netizens noticed how the POTUS ignored Harris the entire time that they were there.

At one point, Jill Biden attended to Harris to not make her look left out. The first lady also instructed Harris to stand beside her husband while they were being photographed.

Read Also: Kamala Harris Called a Bully, Lacks Confidence, Former Staffer Says

During her interview, Harris said that he and the president are governing partners. The vice president also proudly declared that the POTUS trusts him, especially on issues like migration, that is why he appointed her.

But when asked to comment on her staff leaving, Harris refused to respond. Instead, she said that her working as vice president has not been easy in the past year. But this isn't surprising because it would've already been solved even before it reached her if it had been easy.

Kamala Harris' approval ratings continue to slip

Meanwhile, Harris's approval ratings have been very low to the point that there are concerns she can't be the Democrats presidential nominee in the 2024 election.

According to El Pais, it's not uncommon for vice presidents to take over the top job after their presidential counterparts resign. A similar thing happened with Barack Obama and Biden.

Even though Biden wasn't elected right after Obama's reign ended, the POTUS was eventually elected president.

So, there are hopes that Harris would take over the top spot at the Oval Office if Biden doesn't run for re-election next year. But Harris' approval ratings point to the possibility that she won't get the support she needs to campaign in 2024.

According to Politico, it's not Harris' fault that her approval ratings are slipping because Biden's approval ratings are not that high either.

While speaking with the publication, Douglas Schoen said there's still hope for Harris to rise above all the controversies and issues she's facing. But she needs at least one major project to turn things around.

Related Article: Jill Biden Weighs in on Her Role as First Lady, Says She Didn't Think It's This Difficult

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Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee confirmed the first case of Omicron in the state this past weekend. Amid fears that more cases could be detected in the coming days, the governor also extended his executive orders until Jan. 8.

McKee said that new mandates would also be imposed, including wearing masks in school. He also declared a disaster emergency due to the newest COVID-19 variant.

Rhode Island has one confirmed Omicron case

According to reports, the first confirmed case of Omicron in Rhode Island hit a woman in her 20s who traveled to New York. Those who came in contact with the locals are currently being traced. The individual is reportedly fully vaccinated, but she has not received a booster shot.

According to the US News, McKee will also announce a set of actions to address the increasing number of COVID-19 cases and alleviate hospital confinements this week.

Schools will remain open for face-to-face classes, and there won't be any lockdown so as not to disrupt small businesses, according to WHDH.

Rhode Island residents should not panic

Following McKee's recent announcements, he reminded residents of Rhode Island not to panic. He also said that the state knew that Omicron would soon get to Rhode Island, so they had the necessary tools to keep everyone safe. He also said Rhode Island would do precisely what they did when the Delta variant hit the state.

Read Also: French Prime Minister Jean Castex Asks for Individual, Collective Effort To Lower Omicron Cases, Won't Announce Lockdown

Those who are not yet vaccinated should consider getting the jab, and those who already need to get their booster shot to do so as soon as possible.

According to NBC Boston, there are dozens of locations where locals could get vaccinated, including schools, clinics, senior citizen centers, offices, pharmacies, and more.

Rhode Island vaccine mandate criticized

As of press writing, there is a vaccine mandate in Rhode Island for those working in the medical profession. Last month, the state faced some controversy after a handful of healthcare workers questioned why there is no exemption on religious grounds.

Atty. Joseph S. Larisa Jr. said that over 300 healthcare workers qualify for religious and medical exemptions and shouldn't be vaccinated.

Larisa Jr. added that as long as these healthcare workers continue wearing their face masks, they should be allowed to continue working.

However, Assistant Attorney General Michael W. Field said that wearing masks isn't enough to prevent the spread of COVID-19 or ensure that healthcare workers won't put their patients at risk when they come into close contact with them.

According to the Providence Journal, the state regulation enacted on Aug. 17 states that all healthcare workers should be vaccinated by Oct. 1.

Healthcare workers asking for religious exemptions do not want to get vaccinated because of claims that aborted fetal cell lines are used in the development and production of the vaccine.

However, the publication stressed that the vaccine does not contain aborted fetal cells. It's unclear where the claims came from, but it has been confirmed that it's incorrect.

Related Article: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Announces Suspension of Elective Surgeries in Westchester County Due to Rising COVID-19 Cases, Declares State of Emergency

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A 15-year-old student from Taipei American School was recently accused of threatening his schoolmates and saying that he would shoot the entire building.

According to reports, the student, whose name is redacted, wrote a cryptic social media post with a racial slur. It appeared as though the student disliked Black individuals.

In his post, the student also asked his close friends to be absent from school so that they won't be endangered when he pushes through with his plans.

After the threats were made public, the Taipei American School announced that their premises would be closed and all classes would be suspended for an entire day.

Teachers and school personnel weren't also allowed to enter the building on Monday. And at least 30 security staff were deployed around the vicinity to ensure that the shooting wouldn't take place.

Student claims his social media account was hacked

Investigations are still underway, but the student who owns the social media account cried foul following the allegations. He and his mom went to a nearby police station to report the incident and said someone hacked the student's phone.

Authorities learned that several IP addresses were used, and some came from the United States, Europe, and other far-off countries.

It was also confirmed that the social media post was uploaded two months ago. But since one student commented on it, it re-appeared on the platform, and a student reported it to school officials.

Read Also: Joe Biden Releases Statement After 3 White Men Were Found Guilty of Felony Murder, Death of Ahmaud Arbery

Threats are punishable by law in Taiwan

As of press writing, it's still unclear if the 15-year-old student will be charged with endangering his schoolmates. But authorities reminded everyone that any form of threat meant to endanger others, regardless of whether it's written or sent via a photo or email, still constitutes a crime and is therefore punishable by law, according to Taiwan News.

The school's official website announced that classes would officially resume on Tuesday, Dec. 14, even though investigations are ongoing.

"We look forward to welcoming back your students to school tomorrow, Tuesday, Dec. 14, with the reassurance that student safety remains our number one priority," the on tas.edu.tw reads.

Taiwanese exchange student jailed following deadly threats

Taiwan and other countries across the globe take gun violence and racism very seriously. In the United States, a Taiwanese exchange student previously threatened to shoot up his entire school.

According to the Associated Press, Tso Sun brought live ammunition, a military-style ballistic vest, ammunition clip pouches, and a high-powered crossbow to Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast High School on May 1, 2018.

Those close to Sun said that he often had weird ideas. He also loved guns and flamethrowers. One of his dreams is to become a police officer.

During his interrogation, Sun said that his threats were just a joke. However, he was still charged with making terroristic threats. He was detained in a Pennsylvania prison.

Last month, a deadly shooting took place at Oxford High School after one of the students opened fire that killed four students and injured seven others, according to CNN.

Related Article: Alec Baldwin Accused of Lying After Saying He Didn't Pull the Trigger During 'Rust' Shooting

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Chris Christie recently revealed that many people tried to convince Donald Trump to concede after he lost to Joe Biden in the 2020 election, but the ex-POTUS refused.

During his interview with George Stephanopoulos, Christie, a known critic of Trump, said that some people from the ex-president's team told him things he wanted to hear. Since Trump didn't want to concede to Biden, the so-called C-team players encouraged Trump to hold a riot.

Chris Christie suggests Donald Trump incited the Capitol riot

The host of "This Week" also asked Christie to comment on Mark Meadows' decision to submit a copy of a PowerPoint presentation where plans for the Jan. 5 Stop the Steal rally and the Jan. 6 Capitol riot were written in detail.

Stephanopoulos said it seems like new information pertaining to the insurrection is released daily, and this could be why Trump still refuses to cooperate.

"I mean, the president made it very clear that he did not want to concede the election, that he would not concede the election. And you got a bunch of people around him by the time we got to the end, with very few exceptions, that were C-team players, at best, on their best day," Christie said via MSN.

Christie also said that the truth would eventually come out regardless of Trump's actions. He also insisted on the former president's instruction to hold a riot that prevailed in the end.

Chris Christie urged Donald Trump to be honest

This is not the first time that Christie criticized Trump. Last month, he urged Melania Trump's husband to tell the truth, but his comments did not sit well with the ex-president.

After that, Liz Harrington, Trump's spokesperson, said that Christie isn't the best person to listen to when it comes to the Capitol riot. After all, he had a less than 9 percent approval rating, so Trump thinks that Republicans won't believe him.

According to the North Jersey Shore. Trump and Christie used to be close. The latter used to defend his former boss from his critics. But the tables turned recently, and Christie started lambasting the ex-POTUS in his interviews.

Chris Christie doesn't regret voting, supporting the ex-POTUS

Last month, Christie sat down for an interview to promote his new book. The book contains information regarding Trump and his relationship with Christie.

But what surprised Christie's interviewer was that he said that he doesn't regret voting for Trump in 2020 even though he's aware of all the lies and conspiracy theories Trump propagated.

Dana Bash, who interviewed, Christie, revealed how the former Trump ally said he would never vote for Biden because of his stark differences with the former "Apprentice" star.

Bash also said that Christie denied being a Trump enabler even though he endorsed the latter during the 2016 election.

But in his book, Christie said that he still hoped that the presidency would change Trump. Unfortunately, it didn't change him even just a bit, according to CNN.

At one point, Christie also claimed that Trump was the one that gave him COVID-19 last year.

Related Article: Donald Trump Maintains Innocence Regarding Jan. 6 Capitol Riot; Email Reveals Plans To Declare National Security Emergency

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Kate Middleton and Prince William are said to be "very aware" of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's activities on the other side of the Ocean. According to Eric Schiffer, a brand and reputation management specialist based in California, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will certainly borrow a page from the Sussexes' book when it comes to interacting with younger generations on problems that are important to them.

According to Schiffer, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's "masterplan" is their capacity to connect with younger generations all around the world. Prince William has been involved with conservation since he was in his twenties when he became a patron of the Tusk Trust.

Meghan Markle, Prince Harry issue warning to Kate Middleton, Prince William

His interest and knowledge of the subject expanded over time, and the Duke of Cambridge became more active in the battle against climate change and other environmental concerns endangering the globe. His commitment to combat these risks was made clear in October 2020, when he announced the Earthshot Prize, Express.co reported.

This program, which will run until 2030, will see a panel of distinguished judges give five 1 million awards each year for a decade to individuals who can offer proposals and solutions to the most pressing environmental concerns. The inaugural award ceremony for the Prize took place two months ago, only a few days before William visited COP26, the United Nations' climate change meeting.

Other royals, such as Prince Philip and Prince Harry, have expressed an interest in conservation. In recognition of the Duke of Sussex's environmental efforts, Prince Harry was chosen as President of African Parks in 2017.

In 2019, Prince Harry revealed more about his conservation interests and concerns for the future of the world when he interviewed Dr. Jane Goodall for the September edition of Vogue, which Meghan guest-edited.

In the same year, Prince Harry oversaw the founding of Travalyst, which brings together travel industry giants in an effort to mainstream sustainable tourism. Both Prince Harry and Prince William have stated in different interviews over the years that their enthusiasm for environmental protection stems from Prince Charles.

Read Also: Prince Andrew To Miss Royal Family Christmas Tradition; Duke Spotted Looking Anxious as Ghislaine Maxwell Trial Continues

BBC delays Prince Harry, Meghan Markle podcast release

Meanwhile, the BBC has been forced to cancel a new podcast about the royal family in the aftermath of the outrage to the documentary The Princes and the Press. The podcast, hosted by controversial anchor Amol Rajan, was supposed to be a follow-up to the documentary, which notably enraged Prince William and Kate Middleton with "unfounded claims."

Per The Sun, the claims that Prince William's staff briefed against Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle were the subject of a two-part BBC Two program. However, after viewers protested that the documentary was "disrespectful to the Royal Family," the Beeb quietly canceled the follow-up podcast.

The BBC planned to air a podcast series about "Harry, Meghan, and the media," with explosive subjects including "sexism, racism, and strategic leaks." The organization claimed it set out to investigate "why did the coverage of Meghan Markle turn so nasty, so quickly?" based on more than 80 hours of interviews with members of the press who wrote about them.

The podcast was due to premiere on Monday, November 29, the same day as the second episode of the two-part television series Princes and the Press, but it was postponed. The BBC stated that it was "still in production" and that it will be published as a box set "when it's ready" on an unspecified date, as per The Daily Telegraph via MSN.

So far, the company has received 925 complaints against the television series from fans who think the show was insulting to the Royal Family and should not have been broadcast. The Royal Households have also spoken out against the show, issuing a rare joint statement condemning it for lending credence to "overblown and false charges" about the family.

Aides were also irritated by what they saw as a lack of adequate "right of reply" to charges in the documentary, with the BBC refusing to provide specifics about what the claims were and who was making them. Lawyers scrutinized the charges included inside it, including those involving briefings between competing palaces, with the Duchess of Sussex's solicitor going on television to dispute allegations of bullying behavior.

Related Article: Queen Elizabeth Snubs Meghan Markle After Her Majesty Hands Kate Middleton a Rare Royal Family Gift

@YouTube

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Jimmy Lai, the founder of Apple Daily newspaper, was charged with 13 months in jail alongside two others that participated in a vigil in Hong Kong that he organized.

According to reports, Lai said he wasn't guilty of a crime. But a new rule last year prevented mass gatherings in Hong Kong due to COVID-19. Still, Lai decided to light a candle to honor those that died during the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989.

After a year, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China held a vigil in Tiananmen Square. And they continued organizing a peaceful candlelight vigil until 2019.

The alliance disbanded in September after several of its leaders were arrested.

Jimmy Lai, other lawmakers arrested, charged

Other than Lai, former lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yen, the chairman of the alliance, was also sentenced to 14 months in prison. The alliance's former chairwoman, Chow Hang-tung, was sentenced to 12 months in jail.

Earlier this year, two others were sentenced to up to 10 months in prison for participating in last year's vigil.

According to CNN, Hong Kong is the only country on Chinese soil that pays tribute to the people that died at Tiananmen Square. This type of gathering is banned from China, and even the mere mention could get Chinese nationals into trouble.

But before the pandemic, Hong Kong was known for organizing vigils and other demonstrations to show its independence from China.

However, last year, a new law was introduced in Hong Kong criminalizing secession, subversion, and collusion with foreign forces. Those that would be found guilty will face a maximum life imprisonment sentence.

Read Also: 2 Human Rights Activists Arrested in Athens After Opposing the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics

Media tycoon Jimmy Lai continues to deny his involvement

Prior to his sentencing, Lai's lawyer presented a handwritten note while he was in prison. In his letter, Lai clarified that he did not join the vigil in Victoria Park in June. 4, 2018. Instead, he lit a candle to commemorate those that died.

"If commemorating those who died because of injustice is a crime, then inflict on me that crime and let me suffer the punishment... so I may share the burden and glory of those young men and women who shed their blood on Jun. 4 [1989]," Lai wrote via the BBC.

Jimmy Lai has been arrested multiple times before

According to the publication, Lai was already in prison, serving another sentence when he found out about his latest charges. The Hong Kong media tycoon will serve his newest sentence concurrently.

In May, Reuters reported that Lai was also sentenced to 14 months in jail for his role in an unauthorized assembly on Oct. 1, 2019. One person at the protest swung a stick at a policeman, so the latter fired a shot.

Judge Amanda Woodcock said that the protesters claimed to have a peaceful demonstration, but that's not what happened. She added that the risks and dangers were evident during the protests.

At the time, the famous Beijing critic was already serving 14 months for participating in similar demonstrations on Aug. 18 and Aug. 31, 2019.

Related Article: Nobel Peace Prize Recipient Aung San Suu Kyi Faces Multiple Charges Including Incitement, Breaking COVID-19 Rules, Could be Imprisoned

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Despite the recent flash crash that affected the cryptocurrency market, wiping out over half a trillion dollars the past week, billionaire crypto investor Mark Cuban remains bullish and confident about the market and the technology that powers it.

Cuban expects "new and unique" crypto apps that might "replace existing business processes," Cuban tells the CNBC program "Make It."

Mark Cuban: Smart Contracts Can 'Change the World'

He said such apps as smart contracts can "change the world."

Smart contracts are digital-based covenants that are stored in blockchains, such as Ethereum and Solana-two of the most prolific crypto platforms carrying such apps. These smart contracts are essential in the execution of decentralized finance (DeFi) apps and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), among others.

The "Shark Tank" star and Dallas Mavericks owner had consistently expressed his belief in smart contracts in the past, saying he had become an "Ethereum maxi" due to the token's robust smart contract features.

Read Also: Mark Cuban Giving Away Mavs NFTs? Here's How Fans Can Get 1 For Free (Sort of)!

He indicated that he likes Ethereum more than the top cryptocurrency Bitcoin because he sees "an unlimited number of applications" that would change the business and consumer world forever. To use these apps, investors need to buy ether, he said.

Mark Cuban Pushes Monetizing Carbon Offsets in Blockchains

In 2022, Cuban hopes that more use cases would emerge for smart contracts to grow further. Cuban noted the possibility of monetizing carbon offsets in the Ethereum blockchain as an example.

These carbon offsets help balance carbon footprint by subsidizing environmental initiatives that aim to lessen greenhouse gas emissions. However, experts have doubted the carbon offsets' effectiveness and reliability.

Cryptocurrency critics also cite the technology's negative impact on the environment.

Despite this, Cuban envisions the potential of carbon offsets being monetized through blockchain apps and tokens. He said he is discussing with all his companies that can generate carbon offsets on strategies on how to monetize them. With this tokenization of carbon offsets, climate activism using blockchains have been gradually becoming more widespread.

Similar to other investors, Cuban is seeking to have blockchain solutions to confront the climate crisis head-on. He urged Twitter to buy $50,000 in carbon offsets and invest them on-chain as Base Carbon Tons (BCT) every 10 days with the KlimaDAO's KLIMA token, which aims to accelerate the price appreciation of carbon assets.

Such a concept of carbon offset monetization is still new, however. Similar to other potential investments, experts would push for thorough research before actually buying in. On investing in cryptocurrencies, experts have cautioned investors to only pour money on assets that they can afford to lose at any time, given the market's volatility.

Cuban has been using blockchain technology to purchase $50,000 in carbon offsets every 10 days, a Cointelegraph report said.

Cuban is a staunch investor in the cryptocurrency space, carrying a varied portfolio that includes a number of tokens, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the meme coin Dogecoin, NFTs, and stakes in several blockchain companies.

Related Article: Mark Cuban Buys Texas Town for $2 Million With Mobile Home Park, Strip Club; What Will He Do With It?
A recent Android bug has prevented users from reaching 911. Fortunately, Google has addressed this issue and shared a simple way to fix it.

Android Bug

Everyone knows 911 plays a vital role in helping people. According to Very Well Health, the concept behind 911 is simple, in which people in need of assistance must dial a three-digit number. In addition, everyone must keep in mind that these three-digit numbers can never be used for anything else.

In relation to this, some 911 calls made from Android phones (OS version 10 or later) have failed due to a strange combination of Android bugs, per Mashable. The said Android 911 bugs are affecting Microsoft Teams and the Android operating system overall.

The problem was initially brought to light in a Reddit post a few weeks ago. User KitchenPicture 5849 shared a terrifying experience of their Pixel phone failing to connect to emergency services on November 29th. The user, who has a Google Pixel 3 operating an Android 11, tried to contact 911 to give their grandmother medical assistance for a possible stroke.

The user claimed that after placing the call, the phone "got stuck after one ring" and that they were "unable to do anything other than navigating around applications with an emergency phone call running in the background," via Medium.

Fortunately, the user was still able to call 911 in the end through their grandmother's landline. Despite this resolution, the scenario is still alarming.

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With that being stated, several users agreed on how alarming the Android bug is. For this reason, the Reddit post became the most upvoted post in the subreddit's history.

After the article went viral, another Reddit user confirmed the Android bug, per Medium. The user claimed that five minutes after dialing 911, there was no response from emergency services or indication that 911 had been dialed on the device. The carrier (Verizon) phone logs were also blank.

Since the public is concerned by this occurrence, Google's support staff reached out to the Reddit user to diagnose the Android 911 issue.

On December 8, a representative for the business publicly addressed the issue through the PixelCommunity Reddit account.

According to Google's analysis, the Android 911 issue will likely occur whenever a user has the Microsoft Teams app installed on their device but is not signed in. This will result in an "unintended interaction between the Microsoft Teams app and the underlying Android operating system."

Simple Way to Fix the Android 911 bug

For those people who experienced the said bug, Google has shared that it has been fixed and users should immediately update their Android devices.

Google noted that Android owners who are not using Android 10 or above will not be affected by the bug. In relation to this, users who logged on to their Microsoft Teams account will not be affected as well.

Related Article: Unsure if Your iPhone, Android Are Sneakily Attacked by Malware? 4 Ways to Remove Virus in Your Device
Thanks to the Child Tax Credit program, eligible families was able to look forward to a financial aid every 15th day of the month. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said the last of these payments should be sent out on Wednesday, December 15.

Afterward, recipients must complete a specific set of conditions to receive their Child Tax Credit 2022.

The Child Tax Credit officially started in July. This program issued payments up to $300 for every child under six and $250 for each child aged six to 17. Ultimately, parents can claim up to $3,600 from this program.

Child Tax Credit Payment Dates

Note, however, that only half of the full payment is released for advanced CTC. To clarify, families can only receive up to $1,800 in 2021. The other half of the payment will be released next year after families submit their 2021 tax returns. So it is important to be aware of the Child Tax Credit payment dates.

According to Fortune, the last round of Child Tax Credit payments is scheduled to drop this week. The payments should automatically be credited to a registered bank if the information is available on the 2020 tax returns. If not, the payments will be sent via paper check, which could take a few weeks of delay.

It is also important to keep in mind that there are eligibility requirements for the CTC programs. Single filers must have an adjusted gross income (AGI) of less than $75,000 per year, and couples jointly filing must have an annual income of $150,000 or less. Falling outside these categories will invalidate the CTC payments.



Read Also: Mark Cuban Anticipates New Crypto Apps in 2022, Eyeing More Smart Contracts Including Monetized Carbon Offsets

How to Get Child Tax Credit 2022 Lump Sum

After receiving the Child Tax Credit payments for this year, recipients have to wait until April 2022 to receive the rest. As previously indicated, they must submit their 2021 tax returns to receive the remaining half of the payments, which should be paid in a lump sum.

However, be warned that the eligibility requirements might affect the 2022 CTC payments. If recipients experience a change of income status or the registered child falls out of their age bracket, the Child Tax Credit payment might also change in amount. This implies that families should no longer expect the full $1,800 payment.

Will Child Tax Credit Get Extended?

It is also worth noting that lawmakers are currently scrambling to extend the Child Tax Credit payment. They hope to send out another payment for January 15, 2022. According to Marca, Democrats are still locked with ongoing debates against Republicans for the extension.

The IRS warned that Democrats only have until December 28 to approve the legislation. If they miss the date, then the extended Child Tax Credit would have to start sometime February 2022 at the earliest.

IRS told Dems that pretty much they need the bill adopted by December 28 or any additional child tax credit payment  which would be Jan 15 if lawmakers extend it  wont come out in time. https://t.co/wogIxPWLJc  Tony Romm (@TonyRomm) December 9, 2021

Unfortunately, too many lawmakers are worried about the cost of this extension. The plan is part of the Build Back Better program, which already costs $1.75 trillion.

The situation is still progressing, so it is hard to determine whether the Child Tax Credit would get extended for 2022. Americans are recommended to monitor the news closely. More updates should be made available in the coming weeks.

Related Article: Fourth Stimulus Check 2022: $2000 Online Petition Nearing Completion, $92 Boost in Social Security Payments Set
With the adoption of digitalization for several transactions across the world, numerous mobile banking scams arise as well. Fortunately, there are ways to keep your account secure and avoid scammers.

Mobile Banking Scam

As more bank branches have been temporarily closed due to the pandemic, more clients found ease in mobile banking, and data shows the trend will continue, per Bankrate.

FIS, a bank technology supplier, issued a study in mid-May which revealed that 31 percent of banking participants plan to use more online and mobile banking in the future.

Despite the benefit it brings, the FBI has warned people that hackers might use a variety of approaches to attack new mobile banking consumers. The said attacks might include app-based banking Trojans and fraudulent banking apps.

For background information, Investopedia stated that a banker Trojan is a type of malware that attempts to steal credentials or obtain financial information from the client of a banking institution. Additionally, it will frequently utilize a fake financial institution's website to provide customer data to the attacker.

This seems harmless on the surface, but it may destroy a device or computer if downloaded and installed.

Regardless of how helpful mobile banking is, customers must take certain measures when using it.

In relation to this, senior vice president of risk and cybersecurity policy at the American Bankers Association Paul Benda stated that downloading the software from a secure store is just as safe as going to a bank branch, per Bankrate.

To give further details, Brenda explained that the best location to get the mobile banking app safe is on the bank's website since you will be directed to the correct link of the app.

Moreover, he also noted that banks utilize incredibly secure, high-end encryption methods.

With that being stated, you must keep in mind that you should only head to the bank's official website to avoid mobile banking scams.

Read Also: Android Bug Blocks Important 911 Calls: 1 Way to Fix It

4 Ways to Prevent Being a Victim of Mobile Banking Scam

Since every transaction in the world has become more digitalized, hackers are also adapting to this trend, and their ways of scamming people are evolving as well.

4. Use Two-Factor or Multi-Factor Authentication

According to the University of Auckland, two-factor authentication provides an extra security layer to the system, allowing you to validate your identity. Its purpose is to make things more difficult for hackers and decrease fraud risks.

3. Use Combination Passwords

Financial fraud and identity theft can be prevented with the use of a strong password, per Secure Data Recovery.

Moreover, hackers can quickly acquire access and control of a device if you use simple and commonly used passwords.

Meanwhile, Bankrate recommended that using a password that comprises random upper- and lower-case characters, numbers, and symbols are one of the greatest methods to secure oneself.

2. Never Use Public Wi-Fi

According to research conducted by the Kaspersky Security Network, over a quarter of all free public Wi-Fi in the world do not utilize any form of encryption, per Goodspeed.

When you use a public Wi-Fi hotspot, you'll be often informed that you're not on a secure network and that others may be watching your online activities, per Bankrate.

This is a compelling argument to avoid doing any financial transactions over a public network. To best safeguard, your personal information, utilize your cellphone network or your home wi-fi instead.

1. Be Aware of Phishing and Smishing

To provide a detailed explanation, hackers utilize phishing emails to trick users to reveal personal information, while smishing uses SMS for mobile banking scams.

Since phishing and smishing are some of the most commonly used strategies by hackers, The Bank of Commerce advised that you should never open an e-mail from unknown senders.

Furthermore, you should also be wary of e-mails claiming to be from a financial institution, government department or other entity and asking for account information, account verification, or banking access credentials such as usernames, passwords, PIN numbers and similar information.

Related Article: Mobile Banking Malware Threats See Massive Surge: 4 Common Attacks to Steal Your Data, Ways to Avoid
Elon Musk is tweeting a ton of memes! The multi-billionaire entrepreneur and business magnate might have a lot on his mind right now, and he's sharing his thoughts through the internet's language.

Musk is infamously known to be quite vocal about his opinions with just about anything. Whether it's about market trends, cryptocurrency or hostile competitors, Musk definitely has something to say about it. In particular, he is extremely active on Twitter. Aside from posting regular updates with his projects in SpaceX and Tesla, he can be found replying to random tweets on the internet.

However, it is worth noting that these random tweets can still influence its overall value. His Dogecoin is one obvious example, which almost boosted the meme coin's value to $1. Because of this, fans continue to keep a close eye on Musk's account, especially his tweets.

Elon Musk Tweets: A New Set of Memes

Be warned that this new series of Elon Musk tweets are completely open to interpretation. Musk did not elaborate on any of these topics, so readers might interpret different meanings from these posts. It is also possible that these posts are entirely without context and are simply posted for fun.

Christmas season is coming, and Musk warned about "no better friend, no worse enemy." He tweeted two iconic figures, which are Santa Claus and Lucius Cornelius Sulla. One is a holiday hero, while the other is a statesman. However, according to Musk, they have a lot more similarities than people give them credit for.

No better friend, no worse enemy pic.twitter.com/e2TeRBiFbg  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 11, 2021

Billy Markus, co-creator of the Dogecoin cryptocurrency, seemingly found this tweet fascinating. He pointed out that the current leaders' names are very different from their classical forefathers.

Sulla and the original Nero who was instrumental in defeating Hannibal are underrated  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 11, 2021

Read Also: Stressed Out? Elon Musk Thinking of 'Quitting Jobs,' Becoming an Influencer

Elon Musk Memes: Sorry

Must also tweeted a senseless joke. This is a photo that says, "Badly Cropped. Do Not Click." The photo gave some suspense about a mystery bag, which the person in the photo opened. However, the secret was never revealed, because it was "badly cropped" from the start.

This joke earned 4,706 retweets, 327 quote tweets, and 82,800 plus likes at the time of writing.

Elon Musk and the Prime Minister of Finland

Lastly, Musk tweeted about the Prime Minister of Finland. This might be a jab on the recent issue about Minister Sanna Marin's clubbing, per Bloomberg. The incident notably affected her credibility over the ongoing COVID-19 efforts.

One fan commented a photo of the minister, to which Musk replied with "she seems cool."

She seems cool  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 12, 2021

These are only some of the most recent tweets posted on Elon Musk's Twitter account. Fans can expect more unique tweets dropping in anytime this week.



Related Article: Mark Cuban Anticipates New Crypto Apps in 2022, Eyeing More Smart Contracts Including Monetized Carbon Offsets
As part of UNICEF's 75th anniversary, the organization will be releasing a 1,000 NFTs for sale next year.

UNICEF NFT for Sale

In the press release of UNICEF, the agency said it aims to sell data-driven non-fungible tokens (NFTs)--the UN's largest-ever NFT collection to date--before its 75th-anniversary celebrations.

Some of the UNICEF NFTs will be digitally copyrighted to honor the agency's 75th anniversary, while others will be linked to early 2022 events. Moreover, it will sell these digital items directly on the Ethereum blockchain.

For those who do not know, Investopedia stated that Ethereum is a blockchain platform that has its cryptocurrency, named Ether (ETH), and a programming language called Solidity.

Ethereum is a decentralized public ledger that is used to validate and record transactions that operate on a blockchain network. Additionally, users may build, publish, monetize and utilize applications on the platform, and they can pay using Ether, the network's money.

On the other hand, UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore stated in the press release that the agency has become a powerful driver of change in children's lives for 75 years.

Through this, Fore added that UNICEF decided to take advanced actions to ensure the future of children.

"We have to use every tool in the toolbox if we are to reach more children and invest in a better world--including through new ways of fundraising and financing--and the launch of UNICEF's first global collection of data driven digital tokens will directly support our global efforts to close the digital divide and help give every young person access to the Internet," Fore furthered on the press release.

Read Also: Mobile Banking Scam: How to Keep Your Account Secure, Stop Hackers

Furthermore, UNICEF clarified that the profits earned from this auction, as well as other UNICEF NFT fundraising events planned for late 2021 and early 2022, will support UNICEF's Global Office of Innovation's promising initiatives, such as Giga.

Giga is a UNICEF and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) program that aims to link every school in the globe to the Internet with innovative technologies such as low-earth orbit satellites, machine learning and blockchain.

Where to Buy UNICEF NFTs for sale?

For the UNICEF NFT collection, the agency collaborated with Snowcrash Labs and data visualization scientist and artist Nadieh Bremer, who developed Patchwork Kingdoms.

To give further details, Bremer effectively "paints" with data that Giga has received from schools, resulting in the Patchwork Kingdoms--which is one-of-a-kind and visually spectacular collection of 1,000 NFTs.

In addition, each Patchwork Kingdom shows two world distinctions: above and below. The world "above" represents connected schools, while the world "below" represents disconnected schools.

"The squares in the hidden pale "reflection" city represent a lack of connectivity contrasted with the "vibrant" connectivity in schools in the upright city. Data is the "paint" Bremer uses to show how many children are still in need of life-changing connectivity," Patchwork Kingdom's definition furthered.

For those curious to know how they can get the UNICEF NFTs for sale, an Ethereum wallet is required to purchase it. Once the interested NFT buyer has the wallet, they can link it to the "Mint" button on the Patchwork Kingdom's website then mint a token.

However, as of writing, the said button is not yet available since the UNICEF NFTs can only be purchased in January 2022.

Despite this, it is worth noting that a pre-sale will be available. However, interested buyers must first enroll themselves in a whitelist in order to be eligible for the presale.

To know more head to this link.



Related Article: NFT Scams: 5 Popular Scams, Warning Signs, How to Avoid
Cryptography expert Nicholas Merten tweeted a shocking Ethereum price prediction. He expressed his belief that Ethereum will eventually surpass Bitcoin in the long run. He also said altcoins would eventually be the dominant ones in the market.

Up to date, Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency by market cap. At the time of writing, it is trading at $49,097.76 with a 0.17 percent increase in the last 24 hours, per Coin Desk. The number is obviously bigger than Ethereum, with its $4,013.49 and 0.77 percent downward growth in the last 24 hours.

With these numbers, many find it hard to believe that ETH could overtake BTC in any way. However, an expert argued otherwise.

Ethereum Price Prediction: The Dominant Market Trend

In his YouTube video, Merten said, "this (Ethereum) is incredibly bullish. You have to be able to look at this chart and notice this kind of technical pattern, a first initial super break here in price after having multiple higher lows and higher highs, coming out of the capitulation or accumulation phase," per Entrepreneur.



When he analyzed the years of market performance, Merten noticed that Bitcoin potential was slowly dwindling compared to Ethereum's consistent boosts. Bitcoin currently has the bigger value in the market, but its growth is erratic. Whereas Ethereum consistently gets bigger gains each time it trades bullishly in the market.

Merten clarified that he does not believe Bitcoin will lose its value overnight. In fact, he briefly mentioned that Bitcoin might reach $200,000 in the long run. However, he emphasized that Ethereum might have a bigger value in the future. It is because Ethereum's technology and altcoin system might be more useful than Bitcoin's industry. Unfortunately, the analyst failed to elaborate on the timeframe.

Merten called the incoming event the "Flippening." He also tweeted evidence to support his claim through a candlestick graph for "BTC % Dominance divided by ETH % Dominance."

The "Flippening", also known as the moment where Ethereum flips Bitcoin in market value, may very well happen in this bull market.



Below is BTC % Dominance, divided by ETH % Dominance.



I'll let you be the judge... pic.twitter.com/V2Ejq1kl75  Nicholas Merten (@Nicholas_Merten) December 5, 2021

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Ethereum Price and Value

It is worth noting that several other experts also agreed with Merten's logic. A few online reports explained the Ether surge predicted by Cathie Wood and other investment firms.

As previously reported, Wood called Ethereum undervalued. She emphasized its potential as the central blockchain technology for decentralized finance (DeFi) and nonfungible tokens (NFTs).

She added that ETH is still in its "infancy stage" but might eventually accelerate growth beyond Bitcoin in the future. In time, she predicted that ETH markets could even quadruple in value.

Experts Forecast Ethereum 2025 Value

Another article listed all the price predictions for Ethereum in the coming years. These forecasts are:

CoinCodex: ETH could equal to $4,385.59 by December 12.

Analyst Galaxy: ETH could reach $5,000 by the end of the week.

Investment Bank Standard Chartered: Ehereum price could be at $26,000 to $35,000. It did not elaborate on the timeframe.

Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou: Ethereum could drop to $4,000. He did not elaborate on the timeframe

Price Prediction: ETH could average $22,158 in 2025.

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After several years of waiting, the latest version of the Matrix film titled "The Matrix Resurrections" is set to be released before Christmas.

Aside from theaters, HBO Max subscribers can also enjoy the fourth instalment of the franchise---and they will have a chance to get a free awesome beanie from the movie!

'The Matrix Resurrections' Teaser

The newest teaser of "The Matrix Resurrections" continues to hint at the film's intriguingly meta relationship with other members of the franchise, per Movie Web.

In the said teaser, it showed that Neo meets the new, younger Morpheus against a backdrop of footage from the original Matrix film--which features Laurence Fishburne's famous rendition of the resistance leader.

While there may have been speculations that "The Matrix Resurrections" would wipe most of the previous franchise, this has now been contradicted. The teaser showed that the movie would be a long-awaited sequel rather than an interesting approach to its predecessors.

Along with showing that the opposition now utilizes numerous portals to navigate the Matrix, similar to the several doors seen in "The Matrix Reloaded," Neo is advised by the new Morpheus that "Nothing calms anxiety like a little nostalgia," all while seeing a video from his previous travels.

In relation to this, legacy sequels are frequently chastised for their dependence on nostalgic memories, as Movie Web highlighted. However, it appears that "The Matrix Resurrections" will address this method and may even incorporate this into the plot, as the characters use this emotive technique to entice Neo back into the fight.

Moreover, in the most recent marketing material for "The Matrix Resurrections," there have been numerous references to the concept of deja vu.

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'The Matrix Resurrection' Characters

Keanu Reeves will reprise his role as Thomas Anderson or Neo for this fourth Matrix film.

Meanwhile, Carrie-Anne Moss will be Tiffany or Trinity, while Yahya Abdul-Mateen II will be Morpheus, which was originally played by Laurence Fishburne.

Jonathan Groff plays the role of Anderson's business partner, while Neil Patrick Harris is Anderson's therapist in the highly anticipated holiday release.

'The Matrix Resurrections' Release Date

"The Matrix Resurrections" will debut in San Francisco on December 18 and it will be released by Warner Bros.

The fourth "Matrix" film will be released in theaters on December 22. Beginning on the same day, the film will be available for a month on HBO Max in the United States.

To give clarification, the new HBO Max members who signed up for the streaming service before the movie's premiere on December 22 will receive a discount on their first four months, as well as some great merchandise, per USA Today.

How to Get 'The Matrix Resurrection' Beanie?

With the promo code BEANIE2021, new HBO Max members can enjoy four months of ad-free service for only $49.99. The stated promo discount is a $9.97 discount off the original $59.96 price.

After the first four months, subscribers will be charged the usual monthly membership rate of $14.99.

Viewers may also note that it will be accessible to subscribers with the ad-free version for one month.

While supplies last, "The Matrix Resurrection" HBO Max watchers will also receive a limited-edition beanie from the movie franchise.



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BNY Mellon's New York office / Courtesy of BNY Mellon





By Lee Min-hyung







The American bank, The Bank of New York Mellon Corp., plans to focus more on consulting and other financial services in Korea, even after its recent decision to shut down its corporate trust operations here, the company said Monday.







Confirming the approval by the regulatory Financial Services Commission (FSC) to cancel the firm's corporate trust business license in Korea, BNY Mellon said that it will continue to strengthen its business portfolio and form a wider client base here for sustainable growth.







"While BNY Mellon returned its corporate trust license this time, the bank is actively expanding its business franchise into strategic focus areas, including investment management, asset servicing, treasury services and other investment solutions," the company said in a statement.







BNY Mellon entered the Korean market back in 1988 and has since established a wide client base with Korean partners.











The decision came after Citibank Korea's decision to restructure heavily its consumer banking business here. The lender is still in the final phase of the partial shutdown of the business.







But BNY Mellon stressed that the closure of its corporate trust business is only part of its strategic decision to enhance its competitiveness in other sectors.







The company also pledged to continue fulfilling its corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaigns in the Korean market.







"We are also providing a mentoring program for local university students, nurturing future professionals for Korea's financial services sector," the company said. "We have also continued to implement multiple community impact programs. We are honored to take part in the development of the financial services sector in Korea."


Elton John, left, and writer Anne Rice, right, attend the curtain call of the Broadway play "Lestat" after its premiere performance at the Palace Theatre in Manhattan, April 25, 2006. Rice died late Saturday due to complications from a stroke. She was 80. Reuters-Yonhap





In this April 25, 2006, file photo, writer Anne Rice arrives to the opening night of the new Broadway musical "Lestat," in New York. Rice, the gothic novelist widely known for her bestselling novel "Interview with the Vampire," died late Saturday, Dec. 11. AP-Yonhap

Anne Rice, the novelist whose lush, best-selling gothic tales, including ''Interview With a Vampire,'' reinvented the blood-drinking immortals as tragic antiheroes, has died. She was 80.



Rice died late Saturday due to complications from a stroke, her son Christopher Rice announced on her Facebook page and his Twitter page.



''As a writer, she taught me to defy genre boundaries and surrender to my obsessive passions,'' Christopher Rice, also an author, wrote. ''In her final hours, I sat beside her hospital bed in awe of her accomplishments and her courage.''



Rice's 1976 novel ''Interview With the Vampire'' was later adapted, with a script by Rice, into the 1994 movie directed by Neil Jordan and starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. It's also set to be adapted again in an upcoming TV series on AMC and AMC+ set to premiere next year.



''Interview With the Vampire,'' in which reporter Daniel Molloy interviews Louis de Pointe du Lac, was Rice's first novel but over the next five decades, she would write more than 30 books and sell more than 150 million copies worldwide. Thirteen of those were part of the ''Vampire Chronicles'' begun with her 1976 debut. Long before ''Twilight'' or ''True Blood,'' Rice introduced sumptuous romance, female sexuality and queerness  many took ''Interview With the Vampire'' as an allegory for homosexuality  to the supernatural genre.



''I wrote novels about people who are shut out life for various reasons,'' Rice wrote in her 2008 memoir ''Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession.'' ''This became a great theme of my novels  how one suffers as an outcast, how one is shut out of various levels of meaning and, ultimately, out of human life itself.''



Born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien in 1941, she was raised in New Orleans, where many of her novels were set. Her father worked for the postal service but made sculptures and wrote fiction on the side. Her older sister, Alice Borchardt, also wrote fantasy and horror fiction. Rice's mother died when Rice was 15.



Raised in an Irish Catholic family, Rice initially imagined herself becoming a priest (before she realized women weren't allowed) or a nun. Rice often wrote about her fluctuating spiritual journey. In 2010, she announced that she was no longer Christian, saying ''I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control.''



''I believed for a long time that the differences, the quarrels among Christians didn't matter a lot for the individual, that you live your life and stay out of it. But then I began to realize that it wasn't an easy thing to do,'' Rice told The Associated Press then. ''I came to the conclusion that if I didn't make this declaration, I was going to lose my mind.''



Rice married the poet Stan Rice, who died in 2002, in 1961. They lived amid the bohemian scene of Haight-Ashbury in 1960s San Francisco where Rice described herself as ''a square,'' typing away and studying writing at San Francisco State University while everyone else partied. Together they had two children: Christopher and Michelle, who died of leukemia at 5 in 1972.





A scene from "Interview With The Vampire" / Korea Times file
Sripriya Ranganathan, ambassador of India to Korea, gives a lecture titled "Life of a Career Diplomat" at the Incheon Global Campus, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Ahn Seong-jin



By Kwon Mee-yoo



Ambassador of India to Korea Sripriya Ranganathan shared her thoughts on diplomacy and Korea-India relations at a lecture program co-organized by the Incheon Global Campus Foundation and The Korea Times, Dec. 9.



"As a national project established by the Korean government and Incheon city, the Incheon Global Campus is growing as a pioneering educational model of a shared campus of foreign universities, the Korea's first to nurture the next generation of global leaders," Yu Pyung-ryun, CEO of the Incheon Global Campus Foundation, said in welcoming remarks.



The Incheon Global Campus (IGC) is a shared campus for extended branches of prestigious global universities, located in Incheon's Songdo. Currently, the IGC is home to five universities  State University of New York (SUNY) Korea Stony Brook, SUNY Korea Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), George Mason University Korea, Ghent University Global Campus and University of Utah Asia Campus  as well as the Stanford Center, Stanford University's research center.





Incheon Global Campus Foundation CEO Yu Pyung-ryun gives welcoming remarks ahead of Indian Ambassador to Korea Sripriya Ranganathan's special lecture at the Incheon Global Campus, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Ahn Seong-jin



Due to the recent spread of the Omicron variant, the special lecture was presented in an online-offline hybrid format.



"I wish I could have seen some of the young students of the universities in person, because I think the life and the vibrancy of a campus comes from the students. But this is the world that we live in today, where we have to make the most of our television and computer screens," the ambassador said, hoping to connect with the students both online and offline.



The ambassador's lecture, titled "Life of a Career Diplomat," covered the conventions and language of diplomacy as well as the structure of the diplomatic community based on Ranganathan's experiences.



Among definitions of diplomacy, the ambassador picked a quote that best matches her beliefs.



"The one that I really love and what I swear by, I would say not only in my professional life, but also in my personal life, is 'Diplomacy is the art of letting someone else have your way.' And that's, I think, the cutest way of describing diplomacy that I know," Ranganathan said.



The ambassador also explained why the conventions through which diplomats and governments address each other focus on courtesy, politeness and niceties.



"The bluntest of messages are couched in very formal and polite language ... There are prescribed conventions that we use  we present our compliments and we assure each other of our highest consideration at all times. And these are even for very mundane matters, like scheduling or just conveying a change in policy," she said.



"But these are useful in the sense that they are ways in which sometimes the difficult messages that have to be conveyed, and we are required to convey these messages, both verbally and officially in writing. So these are ways of softening the blow so to speak."



Then she moved on to the fundamental role and responsibility of diplomats  negotiations.



"What we try to do in the process of negotiations is really to narrow the differences to the maximum extent possible, to try and understand what is comfortable, agreeable or acceptable at the very least to the other side and at least get on to that level so that you're able to build on that platform and ultimately reach an outcome which is of value and is meaningful to the stakeholders on both sides."





Indian Ambassador to Korea Sripriya Ranganathan, fifth from right, The Korea Times President-Publisher Oh Young-jin, second from right, and Incheon Global Campus Foundation CEO Yoo Byung-yoon, sixth from right, pose with other dignitaries ahead of the ambassador's special lecture at the Incheon Global Campus, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Ahn Seong-jin




President Moon Jae-in and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison agreed Monday to continue to work together to secure a stable supply chain of critical minerals as they met in Canberra for a summit.



Australia is rich in resources and energy, including iron ore, coal and liquefied natural gas, and the leaders' agreement is expected to boost South Korea's competitiveness in the electric vehicle and secondary battery industries, which are crucial in the carbon-neutral era, according to Cheong Wa Dae.



"Australia and Korea are already working very closely together to build those reliable, trusted supply chains in these critical minerals and rare earths that we know will power the new energy economy and the global economy into the future," Morrison said at a joint press conference with Moon following the talks, which came as the COVID-19 pandemic has caused major disruptions to global supply chains.



The leaders also agreed to upgrade the bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of formal diplomatic ties this year.



Moon arrived in Canberra on Sunday, becoming the first South Korean president to pay a state visit to Australia in 12 years. He is also the first foreign leader that the country has invited since the start of the pandemic, officials said.



During their talks, Moon and Morrison agreed to partner in future industry areas related to carbon neutral technology and the hydrogen economy.













They also agreed to expand their countries' cooperation in defense, digital transformation and their response to the pandemic to contribute to regional stability, peace and prosperity.



Moon explained the South Korean government's efforts to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula, including through a declaration to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War, and Morrison expressed his support for the initiatives.



"I thank (Prime Minister Morrison) for consistently supporting South Korea's efforts to bring denuclearization and lasting peace to the Korean Peninsula, and hope we will together lead the international community to overcome common challenges facing humanity," Moon said at the press conference.



The leaders agreed on the importance of dialogue and diplomacy for complete denuclearization and lasting peace on the peninsula.



They also noted Australia's decision to allow visits by fully vaccinated South Koreans starting this Wednesday and expressed hope the move will lead to increased exchanges and business between the two countries.



On the summit's sidelines, the two sides signed a contract under which the Australian Army will buy 30 units of the K-9 Thunder self-propelled howitzer and 15 units of the K-10 armored ammunition resupply vehicles from South Korea's Hanwha Defense.



The sides also signed memoranda of understanding on cooperation in carbon neutral technology and the hydrogen economy, as well as in research and people-to-people exchanges in the critical minerals sector.



After the summit, Moon attended a state luncheon hosted by Australian Governor-General David Hurley.



Later in the day, Moon will visit a monument for Australian veterans of the Korean War and pay his respects at the Australian National Korean War Memorial. Australia fought alongside South Korea during the war to help defend the South from North Korea's invasion. (Yonhap)


Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki speaks during a meeting at the government complex in Seoul, Dec. 13. Yonhap



South Korea began the process to join a mega Asia-Pacific free trade agreement involving 11 nations, the finance minister said Monday, as the country seeks to diversify its export portfolio.



South Korea has been "actively" reviewing the joining of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) as part of its efforts to expand mega FTAs in the Asia-Pacific region.



"The government is trying to collect public opinions and social discussions on the CPTPP accession," Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki told a government meeting.



He said the government seeks the CPTPP accession to expand trade and investment and enhance the country's status as a major player in global trade.



The CPTPP is the renegotiated version of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) led by the former U.S. President Barack Obama administration.



In 2017, then U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the TPP, widely seen as a key counterweight to China's growing economic clout.



The CPTPP, launched in December 2018, has been signed by 11 countries, including Japan, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Mexico.



Seoul's push came three months after China submitted an application to accede to the CPTPP in a surprising move and Taiwan followed suit.



Trade volume by the 11 nations participating in the CPTPP had reached US$5.7 trillion as of 2019, accounting for 15.2 percent of the total global trade amount, according to a report by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economies & Trade.



South Korea's potential accession to the CPTPP could be a major boost for its move to expand trade portfolio in addition to its planned implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RECEP).



The RECEP, which was inked in November 2020, will go into effect in February next year as South Korea's National Assembly ratified the trade deal early this month.



The RECEP covers the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), South Korea, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The trade pact is known as the world's biggest FTA as its 15 member countries combine to account for around 30 percent of the global gross domestic product.



Hong also said South Korea will prepare to resume talks for free trade deals with Mexico and the Gulf Cooperation Council.



As the CPTPP calls for high levels of market openness, South Korean farmers have opposed the government's bid, citing its potential damage to the agricultural sector.



The accession will also have the same impact of signing FTAs with Japan and Mexico. This could aggravate South Korea's trade deficit with Japan, according to industry experts. (Yonhap)


Members of the Korea University Progressive Association hold a press conference in front of the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul in this Oct. 21, 2019, photo to call for the release of four students who were arrested for breaking into the U.S. ambassador's residence. Yonhap



By Jung Da-min



The nation's top court has upheld lower court decisions that gave suspended jail sentences to three college students for intruding into the U.S. ambassador's residence in Seoul.



The Supreme Court announced Monday that it had confirmed the one-year jail sentence, suspended for two years, for the members of the Korea University Progressive Association (KUPA).



The three were among 17 members of the group who entered the Habib House compound in Jeong-dong, central Seoul, on Oct. 18, 2019, while holding a protest in front of the residence. They had been demonstrating against then-U.S. President Donald Trump's demand for a fivefold increase in Korea's share of the costs for the upkeep of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).



The students used a ladder to scale the wall of the residence and protested inside the compound, shouting slogans like, "(U.S. Ambassador to Korea Harry) Harris, leave this land," and "We absolutely oppose any increase of Korea's contribution to the defense cost-sharing deal."



At the time of the trespassing, Harris and his wife were not in the residence.



The intruders were all taken to police stations. The prosecution sought arrest warrants for seven of them, and a local court issued warrants for four of them.



A lower court said that there were circumstances to be taken into account for the students' motives, such as protesting the U.S.' demand to increase Korea's contribution of defense cost-sharing. But it gave the four students a suspended prison sentence, saying, "Their acts damaged the functions and safety of the U.S. Embassy."



It also ordered them to carry out 120 to 200 hours of community service.



The district court did not acknowledge the students' claim that they exercised their freedom of assembly guaranteed by the Constitution.



An appellate court also upheld the verdict of the first trial. Three of the four students appealed to the Supreme Court, but it upheld the verdict as well.



In a separate case, the appellate division of the Seoul Central District Court fined six other KUPA members between 700,000 won ($593) and 1.5 million won, Monday, for rushing the front gate of the U.S. Embassy during a demonstration out front on Jan. 31, 2019.



They had been holding a rally about 23 meters from the gate to protest the defense cost-sharing talks and demand the withdrawal of the USFK. Then they rushed the gate, and police guarding the building blocked them.



The prosecution charged them with violating the Assembly and Demonstration Act, under which demonstrations are prohibited within 100 meters of foreign diplomatic organizations or the residences of diplomatic envoys.






Three workers were found dead following a chemical factory explosion and fire at an industrial complex in the southern city of Yeosu, Monday, according to firefighters.







The explosion and resultant fire occurred at 1:37 p.m. at a petrochemical manufacturing factory in the Yeosu Industrial Complex, 450 kilometers south of Seoul.







A total of seven people were working at a chemicals storage facility in the factory, and three of them were found dead in a nearby section, apparently due to the strong impact of the explosion.







The other four were confirmed safe, the firefighters said.







The emergency authorities issued a Level-2 warning, which enables them to call in support, including firefighters, from other areas.







But this was lifted at 5:11 p.m. after the firefighters successfully extinguished the fire.







The authorities said they are now looking into the exact causes of the accident. (Yonhap)


In this Aug. 18 file photo, Huh Kyung-young shows up in a traditional suit of armor and on horseback to declare his third presidential bid at Haengju Fortress in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Yonhap



By Yoon Ja-young



A presidential hopeful who has been known for his seemingly unrealistic pledges as well as his eccentric remarks and behaviors is seeing his support rate surge. He is asking for more support so that voters can see him in a major presidential debate with the candidates of the two main parties.



Huh Kyung-young, the National Revolutionary Party's honorary chief, who announced his bid for the presidency in August, noted on Facebook recently that his support rate is rising. "If the support rate surpasses 5 percent, you can see Huh Kyung-young at a presidential debate," he said.



The comment follows a recent presidential poll by Asia Research and Consulting. Huh garnered a 4.7-percent support rate, coming in third following Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party at 45.5 percent and Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party at 37.2 percent. Huh has more support than Sim Sang-jeung of the minor progressive Justice Party with 3.5 percent, and Ahn Cheol-soo of the People's Party at 2.3 percent.



Under Korea's election law, candidates who gain an average of 5 percent support in polls conducted by media during the official presidential campaign period are eligible to participate in the televised debate for the major candidates. Candidates from the major parties, such as those with at least five lawmakers or recording over 3 percent support in previous presidential or proportional representation votes in general elections, are also eligible to participate. These figures mean that Lee, Yoon, Sim and Ahn will be able to join the debate.









Though Huh's party falls short of these criteria, Huh might be able to join the debate if his average support rate surpasses 5 percent during the official presidential campaign period, which is set from Feb. 15 to March 8 of next year. However, there are still some hurdles, as major media may not include Huh in their polls.





Huh Kyung-young, the National Revolutionary Party's honorary chief, center, poses with supporters wearing costumes from the Netflix series, "Squid Game," after applying to be a presidential preliminary candidate at the National Election Commission in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, in this Oct. 18 file photo. Yonhap




The ruling Democratic Party's presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on Monday criticized Japan's excessive reactions to the South Korean police chief's recent trip to Dokdo for "meddling in another country's policy."







The comment came during a telephone call with officers from Dokdo Security Police as part of his nationwide election campaign.







Last month, National Police Agency Commissioner-General Kim Chang-yong visited Dokdo to encourage officials working on the country's easternmost islets.







But his visit has drawn strong protest from the Japanese government, including a boycott of a vice ministerial joint press conference held in Washington.







"Japan has attempted to emphasize Dokdo as an area of international territorial dispute," said Lee. "Dokdo is definitely under effective control of South Korea."







Dokdo has long been a recurring source of tension between the two neighbors, as Tokyo continues to make sovereignty claims in its policy papers, public statements and school textbooks.







South Korea has been in effective control of Dokdo, with a small police detachment, since its liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule. (Yonhap)


By Doh See-hwan





This year marks the 70th anniversary of the signing of the San Francisco Peace Treaty. In relation to pending issues of Korean history and territory, I reviewed international legal issues, focusing on Articles 2 and 4  among Articles 2 (territory), 4 (claims), 9 (fishery), and 12 (trade) as benefits to Korea  as stipulated in Article 21 of the treaty.







First of all, through the San Francisco Peace Treaty, a "generous peace treaty" that changed its stance from a punitive treaty to an anti-communist treaty due to the Cold War, Japan, which has become the largest beneficiary despite it being the perpetrator, paradoxically denies colonial responsibility and war responsibility on the premise of the treaty.







Japan's most important task in the process of signing the 1965 Korea-Japan Agreement for the Normalization of Diplomatic Relations with Korea, which had become a non-party state under Japanese intervention using the transition phase of the Treaty of Japan, was to solve the colonial responsibility problem. However, Japan has been evading responsibility by distorting the essence of the problem from the text of the Korea-Japan Agreement to the present time, when unresolved issues, such as the exploitation of "comfort women" by the Japanese military and forced mobilization in the territories it controlled, have become acute.







Moreover, under the policy stance of "breaking away from the postwar regime" for the revision of the Japanese Peace Constitution and "historical revisionism," contrary to the San Francisco Peace Treaty, Japan insists on placing a distorted frame on its history by putting international law at the forefront such as its "legitimate theory of 1910 colonization," "completion theory of the 1965 Korea-Japan Agreement" and "Japan's 1905 incorporation of Dokdo theory." However it is nothing more than structural violence that denies the obligation of the San Francisco Peace Treaty to liquidate the responsibility for war in East Asia, and establish an international peace and security.







In such a premise, the most controversial part of the remaining Japanese colonial responsibility is the issue related to the individual rights of claim. Such claims, which are the right of individuals to receive compensation for human rights infringements by the perpetrator state, and a core element constituting such human rights, cannot be extinguished through interstate treaties.







If so, it is necessary to review the international legal meaning of the lump-sum agreement, which the Japanese government insists on as the extinction of individual claims rather than diplomatic protection in relation to claims that have expired under the Korea-Japan Claims Agreement.







Lump-sum agreements are usually concluded for political reasons, and are concluded not on the basis of, or only very partially, on the damage and injury suffered by an individual of the nationality of the state receiving the amount under the agreement. The total extent of individual damage and injury was not known at the time of the conclusion of the agreement, so it could not be taken into account in calculating the amount of payment based on the agreement.







In the same vein, lump-sum agreements that did not even attempt to remedy the actual damage and injury of individuals, it is difficult to argue that the victorious states acted on the behalf of the individual victims.







Considering the development of international law that emerged in force after World War II and became identified in all areas of human rights and humanitarian law codified in the 1949 Geneva Conventions for the Protection of Victims of War, even if such practices are effective as agreements to pay a certain amount between states at the international level, it cannot have the effect of depriving individual claims for damages suffered by individual victims.







In this regard, Germany, a state taking responsibility for its war crimes during World War II, signed the German-French Interest Promotion Foundation Treaty in 1981 to solve the problem of compensation for additional damage after the signing of the Nazi Damage Comprehensive Compensation Agreement with France in 1960. In addition, Germany established the "Erinnerung, Verantwortung und Zukunft Foundation" in 2000 to compensate the victims of forced mobilization labor and paid 4.4 billion euros in compensation to 1.6 million victims in more than 100 countries by 2007.







Moreover, it is noteworthy that Germany revised it to mark the 60th anniversary of the 1952 Luxembourg Convention signed with the Jewish Claims Conference (JCC) established in 1951 on behalf of victims of the Holocaust around the world. In 2012, Germany led the way to amend the agreement to provide additional compensation for the 80,000 survivors who were excluded from compensation due to their living in the communist bloc.







Germany's finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, who signed the amendments, said "The crime of the Holocaust was so unimaginably huge that we don't know the names of all of those killed, nor of all those who are entitled to make claims and that is why we have to keep making adjustments."







In response, Stuart E. Eizenstat, former U.S. ambassador to the EU, JCC's negotiator, said "Germany was exemplary in living up to its historical crimes. It's a great contrast compared to the attitude of Japan for its responsibility for sex slaves it forced and war criminals during World War II." Meanwhile, Japan has repeated its position that the sex slave issue was settled in the San Francisco Peace Treaty signed in August, 1951, and they were compensated by the private fund.







Therefore, I would like to present Japan's international legal obligation to comply with the U.N. Charter principle and to realize the purpose of the World Human Rights Declaration, as stipulated in the Preamble of the San Francisco Peace Treaty.







First, the compliance of the U.N. Charter principle should start with the respect of the sovereignty of other countries, above all territorial sovereignty. Japan's claim on effective control over Dokdo, based on "the legal theory of colonial rule," is a distortion and violation of Korea's historical and territorial sovereignty over Dokdo. Japan therefore must fulfill its true international legal obligations to build a peaceful world community in the 21st century.







Next, in relation to the realization of the purpose of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it should be noted that the "completion theory of the 1965 Korea-Japan agreement" as Japan's distorted frame on historical victims, is a form of structural violence against those victims of the Japanese military's sexual slavery practices and forced mobilization.







Thus Japan should solve the issues based on international human rights law, which aims to establish a community of human rights, justice, and peace, through a victim-centered approach, unanimously adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 2005.







It will be a question of history for us today celebrating the 70th anniversary of the San Francisco Peace Treaty toward the East Asian peace and a task of historical justice that we should respond to with historical reflection.









Doh See-hwan (





drdoh@naver.com ) is senior research fellow at the Northeast Asian History Foundation.
By Dick Polman





If only I had a magic wand, I would henceforth consign all conspiracy freaks and vaccine refuseniks (78 million in number) to some distant desert isle where they could breathe free upon each other until God sorts them out. I know that sounds harsh, but I am beyond fed up. I suspect you are, too.



Right now, in the wake of the discovery of the variant Omicron, we are suffering fresh breakthrough infections of idiocy that prove, yet again, that the MAGA loons have learned absolutely nothing  despite a death toll of nearly 900,000, driven ever higher by the unvaccinated.



For instance, it's a disgrace to the human species that Fox News hack Lara Logan can appear on camera and equate Dr. Anthony Fauci with Nazi doc Josef Mengele, thereby schooling the network's credulous couch potatoes that someone who's dedicated to saving lives is the same as someone who abetted the murder of six million lives. What a message for Hannukah week.



Elsewhere, Texas congressman Ronny Jackson (who was Trump's White House doctor, and who, amazingly enough, still has doctor creds) tweeted Dec. 5 that news of the Omicron variant is just a Democratic plot to win the midterms in 2022: "Here comes the MEV  the Midterm Election Variant! They NEED a reason to push unsolicited nationwide mail-in ballots. Democrats will do anything to CHEAT during an election."



I tend to doubt that the South African scientists who shared their evidence with the world, in the hopes of saving lives with an early warning, were thinking about what balloting options Americans might have one year from now. But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the whole world is in on the Democratic plot.



That's how the tinfoilers "think"  clearly it's a tribal disease that defies treatment  as evidenced by Kari Lake, a Republican gubernatorial candidate in Arizona, who said of the Democrats, "They are going to try and sell us new "variants" for the rest of our lives if we don't tell them to shove it."



On Dec. 4, another Fox host, Pete Hegseth, insisted that Democrats will keep cooking up variants on the eve of every election: "You can count on a variant about every October, every two years." But their logic (and I use the word advisedly) makes no sense. Fox host Rachel Compos-Duffy said (lied) that the Democrats are exploiting variants in order to justify "more lockdowns," but wouldn't more lockdowns hurt the Democrats at election time?



There's no point in parsing these people. They've whined that Trump didn't get any credit for speeding some of the vaccines to market  then they decided to pride themselves on not getting the vaccine. They've periodically insisted that COVID is overhyped, that it's no worse than the flu  but now they're complaining that President Biden isn't getting COVID under control.



Of course he's having trouble getting COVID under control  because the Covidiots refuse to cooperate. Urging them to do the right thing, to protect themselves and their fellow Americans, clearly hasn't worked. And requiring them to do the right thing, via federal mandates, triggers rants about their vanishing freedom. The right-wing Wall Street Journal editorial board complained the other day that "Mr. Biden had no plan to deal with the large numbers of vaccine holdouts." What, pray tell, would Rupert Murdoch's minions suggest that he do?



Statistics don't seem to matter. Only 59 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated  lagging far behind countries like Cuba, Costa Rica, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Aruba, and Ecuador  and those who refuse the jabs are disproportionately Republican. (Shocking, I know.) The nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation reported in October that the unvaccinated are three times more likely to be GOPers than Democrats, and that the ratio has widened since the spring, when vaccines became widely available. Indeed, the redder the counties (in terms of their fealty to Trump), the higher the COVID case rate.



It's hard to foresee how we can fight new variants, and curb the virus long term, when so many millions of Americans are a clear and present danger to public health  and still function as dumpsters for conspiracy garbage. Biden said, "I expect this not to be the new normal. I expect the new normal to be, everyone ends up getting vaccinated and the booster shot." Good luck with that.



I was thinking that perhaps Fiji, a nation of 300 islands, would be willing to take our Covidiots  But nah. Fiji's fully-vaccinated rate is notably higher than ours. A MAGA infestation would only lower its quality of life.





Dick Polman (dickpolman7@gmail.com) is a veteran national political columnist based in Philadelphia and a writer in residence at the University of Pennsylvania. This article was distributed by Cagle Cartoons Inc.


By Paul Tyson





The Korean public is understandably puzzled why the Biden administration has not yet announced a U.S. ambassador to Seoul nearly a year after its inauguration. It gives the impression that Washington is not terribly interested in what is happening on the Korean Peninsula.



Not only has no ambassador nominee been announced, but Sung Kim, the former U.S. ambassador to Seoul, is now doing double duty as both the U.S. special envoy on North Korea and ambassador to Indonesia. In addition, no one has been nominated as the U.S. special envoy on North Korean Human Rights Issues since the end of the Obama administration nearly five years ago.



As of last week, the Biden administration had nominated 83 ambassadors while 32 ambassadorships are still vacant. In Asia, the only ambassadorial nominations remaining open were Korea, the Philippines and Thailand  all three of which are key strategic allies of the U.S.



But this is not the first time that there has been a significant delay in Washington naming an ambassador to serve in Seoul. It took the Trump administration 16 months before it nominated Harry Harris to replace Mark Lippert as U.S. ambassador.



Seoul may have to wait a while longer before it greets its next U.S. ambassador, despite the benefits of having one in place. The U.S. and Korea are strong allies with deep relations when it comes to defense, economics, international affairs, cultural ties and academic studies. Each side has experts qualified to understand and work with one another. This should be a no-brainer. It should not be that hard. But it is.



The United States' appointment of its ambassadors is subject to a domestic interaction of politics, personalities, U.S. Senate tradition and the placement of nominees in the confirmation process.



Getting ambassadors confirmed by the Senate is especially fraught right now because of the deeply partisan divide that has gripped Washington. Only 13 of Biden's ambassadorial nominees have been confirmed.



Moreover, the confirmation of the nominees already announced for China, Japan and India are likely to take precedence over whoever is eventually nominated for Korea since these three countries are considered more important from a U.S. foreign policy standpoint.



What is likely adding to Biden's calculations about who to name for the Seoul post is that the confirmation of his nominations for key State Department posts have been held up by a Republican blockade in the Senate led by Senators Ted Cruz from Texas, Josh Hawley from Missouri and Marco Rubio from Florida. Working together, they have stalled the confirmation process of many senior State Department officials by putting a hold on Senate approval of them.



Cruz began this campaign because he wanted the resumption of U.S. sanctions on the Nordstream II gas pipeline from Russia to Europe that had been waived by the Biden administration. Rubio has blocked the confirmation of Nicholas Burns as ambassador to China because he is concerned about Chinese influence in Latin America. Meanwhile, Hawley is demanding the resignation of the secretary of state and the secretary of defense for the sudden withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan



Korea has been down this road before. Former Arizona Senator Jon Kyl put a three-month hold on the nomination of Sung Kim as ambassador to Korea in 2011. He was fine with Kim but wanted to object to aspects of President Obama's North Korea policy. He only lifted his hold on Kim as a courtesy to President Lee Myung-bak when Lee made a state visit to Washington.



The result is that President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken may have to take into account someone that is acceptable to the Senate Republican trio after they dropped their hold on several nominees. Cruz and Hawley allowed the confirmation of Julianne Smith as ambassador to NATO after getting a commitment that the U.S. would push for increased defense funding from allies.



Cruz also cleared the confirmation of former Senators Ken Sanchez (Mexico), Jeff Flake (Turkey), Tom Udall (New Zealand) and the widow of Senator Ted Kennedy (Austria) as a "Senate courtesy."



That would suggest that the easiest way for Biden to get his ambassador to Seoul would be to pick another former senator. But the more likely option is the appointment of another career State Department diplomat.



Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in Seoul will continue to be led by the current Charge d'Affaires ad interim Christopher Del Corso, a career diplomat who served previously as deputy chief of mission in Seoul. But he does not have the stature and influence of an ambassador and a confirmed ambassador is important to have. Let us hope that the next U.S. ambassador will arrive in Seoul before the new Korean president takes office in May 2022.





Paul Tyson is a retired U.S. diplomat teaching diplomacy and government at New England College.


It's long overdue to abolish discrimination against small firms



The nation's major umbrella unions held a press conference last week in front of the National Assembly building in Seoul, calling for the application of the Labor Standards Act to workplaces with fewer than five employees. Currently, about 3.6 million people employed at these small workplaces are unprotected, as Article 11 of the act, the basis for all labor-related laws, applies only to businesses or workplaces that have five or more regular employees.



Consequently, they can't make claims against wrongful dismissals and are not subject to allowances for overtime and night work as well as paid leave. The Serious Accidents Punishment Act, which is due to go into effect in January, does not apply to workplaces with fewer than five employees, either.



It's nothing new that working conditions at these small workplaces are poor. According to a recent survey on "COVID-19 and life at work" conducted by the Public Workers Solidarity Foundation, 16.1 percent of workers were found to have lost their jobs since January last year when the coronavirus pandemic broke out. Specifically, 28.7 percent of employees at workplaces with fewer than five people experienced unemployment, more than double the 11.1 percent of workers at companies with 300 employees or more.



There is no reason to separate labor rights guaranteed under the Constitution in accordance with the size of workplaces. The International Labour Organization also bans all types of discrimination. Of course, it's necessary to consider some issues, including employers' ability to pay, to prevent side effects in advance. But nothing is more important than ensuring labor rights for all. What's encouraging is that all the political parties are sympathetic to the need to protect employees at small workplaces. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea and the minor opposition Justice Party have already filed a revision bill so that all workplaces are subject to the Labor Standards Act. It's time to remember the age-old adage that actions speak louder than words.


By Park Jae-hyuk







A Korean-American real estate tycoon has offered to donate around 33,000 square meters of land and buildings to help establish a New York campus of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), according to the university, Monday.







Bae Hee-nam, who majored in theology at Yonsei University and left Korea in 1981, accumulated his wealth through real estate investments in the United States. He owns, among other businesses, a real estate investment company in New York called BIG Continent.







He decided to make the donation to KAIST when he met the university's president, Lee Kwang-hyung, in New York last month.







During an online press conference last Thursday, Bae said that he made the decision so that Korean students could engage in competition with their peers worldwide and become global leaders.







Lee emphasized that KAIST should enable its students and professors to have a global perspective so that the university can take a leap forward and vie with the world's leading universities.







They also discussed the specifics of the plan that day, visiting suitable places for the university's campus: one on Long Island and another on Staten Island.







This is the first time that a Korean university has announced plans to open a campus in the U.S.







KAIST is expected to spend at least a couple of years to establish its campus in New York.







The university said that Lee will discuss the plan with the university's board members and government officials, while Bae will purchase land for the campus.


The delivery workers' union protests against Baedal Minjok in front of Woowa Brothers' headquarters in Seoul, on March 23. / Korea Times file





By Kim Jae-heun







Local food delivery outsourcing agencies in Uijeongbu, northern Gyeonggi Province, have declared a boycott of Baedal Minjok (Baemin), the country's top food delivery platform service, owned by Delivery Hero.







The agencies argue that Baemin's unilateral decision to raise the delivery fee for its "Baemin 1" service has led to an increase in food prices, hurting restaurateurs and customers, as well as delivery outsourcing agency drivers. It is the first time that food delivery outsourcing agencies have taken collective action against the local IT giant.







Super Hero, the food delivery agency association, distributed fliers to people in Uijeongbu on Sunday that read, "Who is instigating the delivery fee hike?" The group further insisted that Baemin is eager to secure drivers by offering them twice the market average delivery fee, causing confusion in the local delivery scene.







Woowa Brothers, the operator of Baemin, recently raised its delivery fee with its newly launched service, "Baemin 1." Baemin 1 is a quick food delivery service in which drivers directly hired by Woowa Brothers bring orders to customers one at a time. Regular Baemin service allows workers to pick up and deliver multiple orders at a time, causing customers to complain that the food often arrives cold.







"Woowa Brothers already increased the delivery fee from 3,500 won to 4,000 won in April. It is not right to raise the fee again," the agency association said. "We should use the Special Delivery platform operated by Gyeonggi Province and Uijeongbu to take collective action against Baemin."







The food delivery outsourcing agency association added that if Special Delivery takes over 50 percent of the market share, that action will have the effect of keeping Woowa Brothers in check by itself.







Special Delivery is a food delivery platform created by a public firm that was established in April by Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea's presidential candidate.







Restaurant owners pay only 1 percent of their sales as commission fees when using the Special Delivery platform, which also encourages customers to use local area business vouchers.







President Moon Jae-in ordered his advising staff recently to check the status of the delivery commission fees collected by local food delivery platform operators.







Moon asked them during an internal meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on Dec. 8 to check whether the increase in commission fees was placing an excessive burden on local restaurant owners, and if the benefits of the delivery fee hike were really going to the delivery workers themselves.


Peter Schreyer, the president and head of Design Management of Hyundai Motor Group / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group



By Baek Byung-yeul



Hyundai Motor Group is set to implement a year-end reshuffle of executives by appointing new design and R&D chiefs between Wednesday and Friday at the latest, as the Korean auto giant seeks to make another leap forward in the fast-changing mobility market, sources said Monday.



During its annual personnel reshuffle of executives, the automotive group is considering replacing its overseas-based executives, including the heads of its R&D and design divisions, the sources said. These are Peter Schreyer, the president and head of design management of Hyundai Motor Group, and Albert Biermann, the president and head of Hyundai-Kia's R&D division.



This personnel reshuffle will be the second under Chairman Chung Euisun. Last December, Chung, who took office in October 2020, conducted his first reshuffle, naming a number of executives trusted by him, including Hyundai Motor CEO Chang Jae-hoon.



Schreyer is regarded as an expert who made significant contributions to enhancing the design quality of the group's automobile brands  Hyundai, Kia and Genesis  to a level comparable to world-class carmakers.



Since joining the group in 2006, the ex-Audi and Volkswagen designer has been the hidden force who helped Kia achieve a major transformation in brand recognition. Schreyer applied what he calls a "tiger nose" design to the radiator grills of Kia cars, which used to receive tepid reviews from overseas critics.



Under his direction, the automotive group was able to produce numerous popular models, such as the Kia K5 sedan and Mohave SUV, as well as the Hyundai Tucson SUV, Grandeur sedan and Genesis' G70, G80 and G90 premium sedans.





Albert Biermann, the president and head of Hyundai-Kia's R&D Division
Samsung SDI CEO Choi Yoon-ho speaks during a meeting with employees at the company's headquarters in Giheung, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Courtesy of Samsung SDI



By Baek Byung-yeul



Choi Yoon-ho, who took office recently as CEO of Samsung SDI, vowed to keep focusing on the technological gap with other competitors based on its quality batteries, the company said Monday.



The battery maker said Choi had his first meeting with employees at the company's Giheung headquarters in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. During the meeting, the CEO stressed that the EV battery maker "needs to develop next-generation batteries and materials and achieve a super gap in technology with innovative and safety methods."



Stating that "opportunities for growth are open no matter what difficult business environment we face, and only prepared companies capture the chances," Choi said that "the real No.1 is a company that achieves profitable qualitative growth based on super-gap technology competitiveness and the best quality."



On Dec. 7, Samsung SDI said it appointed Choi, chief financial officer of Samsung Electronics, as its new CEO, while its CEO Jun Young-hyun was promoted to vice chairman and will lead the company's board as its new chairman.



Appointing the senior executive of Samsung Electronics as CEO of Samsung SDI is interpreted as Samsung Group chief Lee Jae-yong expressing his willingness to support the growth of the battery business, which has been relatively sidelined compared to Samsung Group's core businesses such as semiconductors and biotechnology.



"In order to achieve the long-term goal of becoming the real top player, it is necessary to secure talented professionals and establish an employee training system. It is also important to innovate the organizational culture so that communication and collaboration can proceed ceaselessly," Choi told employees.


California Gov. Gavin Newsom addresses reporters in Sacramento, Calif., Sept. 14. Newsom on Dec. 11 pledged to empower private citizens to enforce a ban on the manufacture and sale assault weapons in the state, citing the same authority claimed by conservative lawmakers in Texas to outlaw most abortions once a heartbeat is detected. AP-Yonhap



California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday pledged to empower private citizens to enforce a ban on the manufacture and sale of assault weapons in the state, citing the same authority claimed by conservative lawmakers in Texas to outlaw most abortions once a heartbeat is detected.



California has banned the manufacture and sale of many assault-style weapons for decades. A federal judge overturned that ban in June, ruling it was unconstitutional and drawing the ire of the state's Democratic leaders by comparing the popular AR-15 rifle to a Swiss Army knife as ''good for both home and battle.'' California's ban remained in place while the state appealed.



Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers in Texas this year passed a law banning abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which normally occurs at about six weeks into pregnancy. The Texas law allows private citizens to enforce the ban, empowering them to sue abortion clinics and anyone else who ''aids and abets'' with the procedure.



Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Texas law to remain in effect while abortion clinics sue to block it. That decision incensed Newsom, a Democrat who supports abortion rights.



''If states can now shield their laws from review by the federal courts that compare assault weapons to Swiss Army knives, then California will use that authority to protect people's lives, where Texas used it to put women in harm's way,'' Newsom said in a statement released by his office at 7 p.m. on Saturday.



Newsom said he has directed his staff to work with the state's Legislature and its Democratic attorney general to pass a law that would let private citizens sue to enforce California's ban on assault weapons. Newsom said people who sue could win up to $10,000 per violation plus other costs and attorneys fees against ''anyone who manufactures, distributes, or sells an assault weapon'' in California.



''If the most efficient way to keep these devastating weapons off our streets is to add the threat of private lawsuits, we should do just that,'' Newsom said.



The legal fight over the Texas abortion law has focused on its unusual structure and whether it improperly limits how the law can be challenged in court. Texas lawmakers handed responsibility for enforcing the law to private citizens, rather than state officials.



The case raised a complex set of issues about who, if anyone, can sue over the law in federal court, the typical route for challenges to abortion restrictions.



Newsom's gun proposal would first have to pass California's state Legislature before it could become law. The Legislature is not in session now and is scheduled to reconvene in January. It usually takes about eight months for new bills to pass the Legislature, barring special circumstances.



State Sen. Brian Dahle, a Republican from Bieber, would oppose the plan but predicted it could probably pass California's Democratic-dominated state Legislature. He said the proposal was most likely a stunt for Newsom to win favor with his progressive base of voters ahead of a possible run for president in the future.



''The right to bear arms is different than the right to have an abortion. The right to have an abortion is not a constitutional amendment. So I think he's way off base,'' Dahle said. ''I think he's just using it as an opportunity to grandstand.''



But Newsom's Saturday night declaration is a fulfilled prophecy for some gun rights groups who had predicted progressive states would attempt to use Texas' abortion law to restrict access to guns. That's why the Firearms Policy Coalition, a nonprofit group that advocates for gun rights, filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court opposing the Texas law.



''If Texas succeeds in its gambit here, New York, California, New Jersey, and others will not be far behind in adopting equally aggressive gambits to not merely chill but to freeze the right to keep and bear arms,'' attorney Erik Jaffe wrote on behalf of the Firearms Policy Coalition. (AP)






Children from 5 to 11 years old will be eligible to begin receiving COVID-19 vaccine doses this week in Berlin, health officials said Sunday, joining other German states in opening up appointments to younger children.







The children in that age group will be able to get a first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech shot in Berlin's mass vaccination centers in schools, doctors' offices and even at the city's Natural History Museum.







The news comes days after Germany's independent vaccination advisory panel said Thursday it was recommending vaccination for children age 5 to 11 with preexisting conditions or who are in close contact with vulnerable people. Children in this age group should receive two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine three to six weeks apart, the panel said.







The panel, known by its German acronym STIKO, added that young children without preexisting conditions can be vaccinated if there is an ''individual desire'' to do so  a step short of advising that all children in that age group get the shots.







Top government officials have pushed to make the vaccine available for younger children across the country.







''For many 5- to 11-year-old children and their families, this is a huge relief,'' incoming families minister Anne Spiegel told the Funke media group in an interview published Sunday.







Other German states, including North Rhine-Westphalia, Hamburg and Bavaria, will also make shots available to the 5-11 age group in the coming days. (AP)






The German government on Monday approved 60 billion euros ($68 billion) in funding to be used for combating climate change and modernizing the country, a move that the new finance minister described as a ''booster'' for Europe's biggest economy.







The supplementary budget approved by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Cabinet entails putting the money into a government fund that is being redesigned as a ''climate and transformation fund.'' It will be used to finance projects aimed at fighting climate change and improving Germany's infrastructure.







Finance Minister Christian Lindner said in a statement that ''60 billion euros for investments in the future are a booster for the economy,'' which is still recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.







Lindner said new borrowing this year will remain at the 240.2 billion euros the previous government already planned.







''No new debt is being taken on ... we are only using so-far unused credit authorization'' to run up the extra funding, he told reporters.







Lindner and his pro-business Free Democrats, the smallest of three parties in the center-left Scholz's coalition, have ruled out tax hikes and insist on continuing to observe rules that limit new debt in the future. Those have been suspended during the pandemic.







At the same time, the coalition has ambitious plans to ramp up the use of renewable energy and invest in modernizing digital and other infrastructure in Germany. (AP)








Location: Milwaukee - Wisconsin

Location: Cambridge

Job Description Responsible for the technical and commercial sales support of the Rockwell Automation offerings that are focused on Intelligent Packaged Power (IPP).

Organize and lead project teams consisting of various support groups to drive quick and effective responses to unique business opportunities in the marketplace and promptly determine fit and strategy for the Rockwell Automation Intelligent Packaged Power Offering.

Develop territory sales, distributor, and customer competency through conducting regular learning sessions, coordinate and participate in Rockwell lead and co-marketed network seminars and trade shows.

Collect, analyze, and communicate market data including competitive information, trends, key wins/losses and service development needs to the BU product management teams.

Work with IPP Team to develop the Scope of Supply and Bill of Materials for proposals.

Provide risk reduction activities through proposal review and guidance of third party partner and IPP proposals.

Support IPP Team in identifying new business, breaking down specific customer requests, and supporting the proposals/sales process as required.

Achieve assigned targets in terms of business revenue and management objectives

Manage or perform activities to identify and pursue business opportunities utilizing RA resources to target customers within packaged power market segment. Participate in planning and execution efforts with other RA business resources, account teams and channels.

Evaluate customer needs and develop business strategies to achieve customer acceptance and adoption of RA product portfolio. Determine appropriate technical, marketing & contractual approach consistent with the organization's objectives.

Negotiate commercial features and arrangements with potential business partners, customers and internal groups while effectively representing RA.

Provide technical and commercial guidance and training to core Integrated Packaged Power Team.

Understand packaged power marketplace and competitive Electrical Control System offerings to help develop Rockwell Automation ECS products and services to compete in the industrial space. Minimum qualifications: BS in Electrical Engineering or Electrical Power Technology related field Desired qualifications: Willing to travel up to 50%

5+ years of solid experience providing consultative sales support, with the ability to develop technical value propositions.

5+ years of solid experience in Electrical Project engineering, with emphasis on Electrical Power Distribution projects in heavy industry space.

Able to work in cross-regional teams

Demonstrated technical communication and documentation skills and ability to convey project status updates, design information, and technical issues/resolutions.

Demonstrated customer (internal and external) relationship skills.

Proven experience working in complex environments and managing conflicting demands and expectations.

Engineering, Specification and Installation experience with Low Voltage and Medium Voltage NEMA/ANSI Electrical Equipment.

Demonstrated understanding of electrical projects, electrical equipment, including Rockwell Automation Power Products and non-Rockwell products as required based on customer needs.

Strong consulting skills, including solid written, oral, analytical, and presentation skills required.

Experience with Power, Automation, and Network in industrial environments.

8 years of technical sales support in Electrical Construction or heavy industry Electrical Equipment.

Previous sales experience #LI-AB1 We are an Equal Opportunity Employer including disability and veterans. If you are an individual with a disability and you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation during the application process, please contact our services team at +1 (see application details).


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Demands probe by sitting judge of SC/HC; suspension of DC & SP

Rising Peoples Party (RPP) has condemned the despicable statement of Union home minister Amit Shah on the Oting massacre in Parliament and demanded that Shah retract his fabricated statement that was made to confuse the outside world and protect the 21 Para SF.

In a statement, RPP said that Shahs statement was like rubbing salt to the wounds and worsened the situation in the State leading to protests, including burning of his effigies in different parts of the State.

Pointing out that it has been a week since Shah made the statement but none of the three parties of the ruling UDA were yet to condemn it, RPP demanded that NDDP, BJP and NPF should condemn the Central ministers statement in totality.

The party also wanted to know whether the UDA was with the Naga people or Shah. Fundamental to the issue is countering the narrative of the home minister. Suffice to say the UDA coalition should demonstrate beyond doubt that its above party politics.

The party also demanded that all legislators, during the one-day Assembly session on December 20, should condemn the Oting massacre by troops of 21 Para special forces and adopt a resolution terming that the killings were nothing but cold-blooded murder.

RPP emphasised that this should be done so that justice was swiftly served to the victims of the Oting massacre, alleging targeted killings by army personnel for promotion and medals had been documented in Kashmir and elsewhere and could have happened in this case too.

Asserting that the Mon killings required a thorough probe by a sitting judge of high court/Supreme Court, RPP also demanded that NLA should adopt a resolution demanding constitution of a Supreme Court-led independent probe.

In the interest of justice, the State government should pursue this issue at the highest level, it added.

RPP also questioned the role of deputy commissioner Mon and superintendent of police, pointing out that there was a gap of almost five hours between the first firing and second firing incidents by troops of 21 para SF.

Alleging that the district administration went missing during this crucial period, RPP demanded that both the DC and the SP should be suspended immediately till the Special Investigation Team (SIT) submitted its report.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-12-12 21:16:53|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on Dec. 12, 2021 shows the morning view of Jidong Oilfield in north China's Hebei Province. Since entering winter, workers at Jidong Oilfield have overcome the unfavorable factors of winter production and strengthened daily inspection to ensure the completion of annual production targets. (Photo by Liu Mancang/Xinhua)

Aerial photo taken on Dec. 12, 2021 shows workers inspecting an oil well at Jidong Oilfield in north China's Hebei Province. Since entering winter, workers at Jidong Oilfield have overcome the unfavorable factors of winter production and strengthened daily inspection to ensure the completion of annual production targets. (Photo by Liu Mancang/Xinhua)

Photo taken on Dec. 12, 2021 shows the morning view of Jidong Oilfield in north China's Hebei Province. Since entering winter, workers at Jidong Oilfield have overcome the unfavorable factors of winter production and strengthened daily inspection to ensure the completion of annual production targets. (Photo by Liu Mancang/Xinhua)

Workers inspect an oil well at Jidong Oilfield in north China's Hebei Province, Dec. 12, 2021. Since entering winter, workers at Jidong Oilfield have overcome the unfavorable factors of winter production and strengthened daily inspection to ensure the completion of annual production targets. (Photo by Liu Mancang/Xinhua)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-12-12 22:35:21|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on April 13, 2021 shows the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

By staging a sham democracy show, Washington will only instigate division and confrontation, and thus do endless harm. The so-called "Summit for Democracy" will only go down in history as a manipulator and saboteur of democracy.



BEIJING, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- No wonder that Washington's painstakingly orchestrated "Summit for Democracy" has failed.

After all, the international community has long concluded that America is far from a "democracy beacon" and its democracy exists only in name. And many visionaries around the world have spoken out against Washington's plan to split the world and smear others by using this botched political farce.

By inviting Nathan Law Kwun-chung, a notorious "Hong Kong independence" element, as well as "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, the gathering has turned out to be nothing more than a political manipulation designed to incite division, disrupt global stability and maintain U.S. hegemony.

Nathan Law and other "Hong Kong independence" elements have long degenerated themselves into pawns for the United States to contain China. During the online meeting, he again churned out political lies and false allegations against the Chinese central government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government.

As a criminal suspect wanted by the Hong Kong police for instigating riots, Nathan Law has nothing to do with the word "democracy." Despite his attempt to obscure his evil intent, the international community will never forget how such detestable people had incited mobs to wreak havoc on Hong Kong's social peace and thrown the local society into disorder before the National Security Law for Hong Kong came into force.

People walk on Times Square in New York, the United States, Nov. 23, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

Inviting such a despicable figure to the meeting has once again exposed U.S. hypocrisy in using "democracy" to serve its self-interest and collude with anti-China forces in Hong Kong, as well as its intention of undermining Hong Kong's prosperity and stability and interfering in China's internal affairs.

The invitation of China's island province Taiwan is another illustration of Washington's geopolitical agenda in holding the meetings.

The past few months have witnessed some U.S. politicians hysterically playing the "Taiwan card" and sending extremely wrong and dangerous messages to the Taiwan authority and separatist forces on the island.

There is but one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. While the White House has on many occasions voiced its adherence to the one-China policy, it has persisted in flexing muscles and stirring up trouble in the Taiwan Strait by selling arms to Taiwan and by sending its warships there.

The Capitol and a stop sign are seen in Washington D.C., the United States, on Feb. 13, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

These provocative acts, not least the invitation this time, have given those separatist elements a much-needed political lifeline at the expense of cross-strait peace and stability.

The collusion between Washington and "Taiwan independence" separatist forces will fool no one. As former Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo Yong-Boon has said, the invitation had "nothing to do with democracy but everything to do with U.S. involvement in cross-Straits relations."

It is global consensus now that the world is currently facing unprecedented challenges, which call for countries across the world to stand in even stronger solidarity than ever before.

By staging a sham democracy show, Washington will only instigate division and confrontation, and thus do endless harm. The so-called "Summit for Democracy" will only go down in history as a manipulator and saboteur of democracy. 
Source: Xinhua| 2021-12-13 05:14:31|Editor: huaxia

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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (2nd L) attends the state memorial service for last apartheid president Frederik Willem (FW) de Klerk in Cape Town, South Africa on Dec. 12, 2021. Cyril Ramaphosa was receiving treatment for mild COVID-19 symptoms after testing positive for the virus, said the Presidency in a statement Sunday night. The president, who has been fully vaccinated, started feeling unwell after leaving the state memorial service in Cape Town earlier Sunday. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran)

JOHANNESBURG, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is receiving treatment for mild COVID-19 symptoms after testing positive for the virus, said the Presidency in a statement released on Sunday night.

The president, who is fully vaccinated, started feeling unwell after leaving the State Memorial Service in honor of former Deputy President FW de Klerk in Cape Town earlier on Sunday. The president is in good spirits but is being monitored by the Military Health Service of the South African National Defence Force.

Ramaphosa is in self-isolation in Cape Town and has delegated all responsibilities to Deputy President David Mabuza for the next week.

Ramaphosa has just finished his visit from four West African states including Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Senegal. The Presidency said he and the South African delegation were tested for COVID-19 in all countries. The president also tested negative on his return to Johannesburg on Dec. 8.

The president said his own infection serves as a caution to all people in the country to be vaccinated and remain vigilant against exposure. Enditem

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa attends the state memorial service for last apartheid president Frederik Willem (FW) de Klerk in Cape Town, South Africa on Dec. 12, 2021. Cyril Ramaphosa was receiving treatment for mild COVID-19 symptoms after testing positive for the virus, said the Presidency in a statement Sunday night. The president, who has been fully vaccinated, started feeling unwell after leaving the state memorial service in Cape Town earlier Sunday. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-12-13 09:25:08|Editor: huaxia

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Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu (R, front) attends a ceremony in the Ministry of Justice of Afghanistan in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, Dec. 12, 2021. Chinese and Afghan officials inaugurated the construction of a mosque and two wells in the Ministry of Justice of Afghanistan on Sunday. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)



KABUL, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and Afghan officials inaugurated the construction of a mosque and two wells in the Ministry of Justice of Afghanistan on Sunday.

The projects were funded by China.

Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu said China and Afghanistan are very close neighbors connected by mountains and rivers, and the two peoples enjoy long-lasting friendly exchanges.

In accordance with the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, China has always adhered to the diplomatic policy of building friendship and partnership with Afghanistan and have been standing together to support each other, he said.

The ambassador noted that China sincerely hopes for and promotes an early realization of peace, tranquility, prosperity and good-neighborliness in Afghanistan. China has actively adopted concrete measures to help Afghanistan to seize opportunities and surmount difficulties.

Chief spokesman of Taliban-led administration Zabihullah Mujahid thanked China over the donation.

"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is thankful to China over sending assistance and also assures of having trustable relations with the neighboring country," he said in his speech.

Assuring protection to investment and investors, Mujahid stated that the administration is firm to provide security for Chinese diplomats and investors and also is thankful to China's generous cooperation.

The spokesman also looked forward to the help of regional countries, Islamic world, European nations and China in the rebuilding process of war-torn Afghanistan.

Speaking at the ceremony, Acting Justice Minister Shaikh Abdul Hakim Sharai expressed gratitude to China for its support and provision of humanitarian assistance to his country.

"I am thankful to China and the Chinese ambassador for their support to Afghanistan, a country that its infrastructures have been destroyed over the past four decades of war." Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-12-13 15:50:48|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The day of Dec. 13 marks China's National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims, an occasion to remember those killed by Japanese invaders, to expose the atrocities committed by the Japanese military, and to cherish peace that is so dear to a country once ravaged by wars.

President Xi Jinping's two meetings with Xia Shuqin, a survivor of the Nanjing Massacre, shed light on how he thinks about peace as the leader of the country.

Xi first met Xia, then 85, in Nanjing on Dec. 13, 2014, during the state ceremony for the first National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims. Xia was invited to the ceremony to unveil a monument to the massacre victims.

At the ceremony, Xi and Xia, together with a teenager who is the offspring of massacre victims, unveiled a memorial "ding," a type of ancient Chinese-style cauldron. The ding was engraved with 160 Chinese characters that recount the brutal history of the Nanjing Massacre as well as the inception of the memorial day. The practice of engraving historical events on bronzeware goes back thousands of years in China.

"I have never been so thrilled in my life," Xia said at the ceremony.

On Dec. 13, 1937, Japanese troops captured Nanjing, then the Chinese capital. Over a period of six weeks, the invaders killed more than 300,000 civilians and unarmed soldiers. The city was looted, women and even young girls were raped, and untold number of citizens were injured.

Xia, then 8, was stabbed three times on her back by a troop of Japanese soldiers who broke into her home, and fell into a coma. She was later awakened by the crying of her 4-year-old sister, only to find the other seven family members were all dead.

Xi and Xia would meet again on the same day three years later, on the 80th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre. After learning at an exhibition that there were no more than 100 massacre survivors still alive, Xi said all the survivors must be taken good care of.

After touring the exhibition, Xi noticed Xia and went up to clasp her hands, wishing her good health and long life.

"Xi is very attentive to those who fought and died in the war against Japanese invaders, the Nanjing Massacre survivors, and foreign friends who helped Chinese during the massacre, as well as their relatives," said Zhang Jianjun, the curator of the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, when talking about Xi's visit to the museum in 2017.

As of October 2021, 61 survivors of the Nanjing Massacre on the record remained alive, with an average age of 91 years.

"The purpose of the annual memorial for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre is to evoke every good-hearted person's yearning of and commitment to peace, but not to prolong hatred," Xi said when addressing the memorial ceremony in 2014.

"Only if everyone cherishes and safeguards peace, and only if everyone remembers the bitter lessons of war can there be hope for peace," Xi said. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-12-13 17:06:30|Editor: huaxia

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China holds its eighth national memorial ceremony for the Nanjing Massacre victims at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, Dec. 13, 2021. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpen)



BEIJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The day of Dec. 13 marks China's National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims, an occasion to remember those killed by Japanese invaders, to expose the atrocities committed by the Japanese military, and to cherish peace that is so dear to a country once ravaged by wars.

President Xi Jinping's two meetings with Xia Shuqin, a survivor of the Nanjing Massacre, shed light on how he thinks about peace as the leader of the country.

Xi first met Xia, then 85, in Nanjing on Dec. 13, 2014, during the state ceremony for the first National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims. Xia was invited to the ceremony to unveil a monument to the massacre victims.

At the ceremony, Xi and Xia, together with a teenager who is the offspring of massacre victims, unveiled a memorial "ding," a type of ancient Chinese-style cauldron. The ding was engraved with 160 Chinese characters that recount the brutal history of the Nanjing Massacre as well as the inception of the memorial day. The practice of engraving historical events on bronzeware goes back thousands of years in China.

"I have never been so thrilled in my life," Xia said at the ceremony.

Survivor of the Nanjing Massacre Xia Shuqin (front) attends the national memorial ceremony for the Nanjing Massacre victims at the Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, Dec. 13, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)

On Dec. 13, 1937, Japanese troops captured Nanjing, then the Chinese capital. Over a period of six weeks, the invaders killed more than 300,000 civilians and unarmed soldiers. The city was looted, women and even young girls were raped, and untold number of citizens were injured.

Xia, then 8, was stabbed three times on her back by a troop of Japanese soldiers who broke into her home, and fell into a coma. She was later awakened by the crying of her 4-year-old sister, only to find the other seven family members were all dead.

Xi and Xia would meet again on the same day three years later, on the 80th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre. After learning at an exhibition that there were no more than 100 massacre survivors still alive, Xi said all the survivors must be taken good care of.

After touring the exhibition, Xi noticed Xia and went up to clasp her hands, wishing her good health and long life.

"Xi is very attentive to those who fought and died in the war against Japanese invaders, the Nanjing Massacre survivors, and foreign friends who helped Chinese during the massacre, as well as their relatives," said Zhang Jianjun, the curator of the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, when talking about Xi's visit to the museum in 2017.

Xi Jinping straightens the ribbons on a flower basket at the Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 3, 2020. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

As of October 2021, 61 survivors of the Nanjing Massacre on the record remained alive, with an average age of 91 years.

"The purpose of the annual memorial for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre is to evoke every good-hearted person's yearning of and commitment to peace, but not to prolong hatred," Xi said when addressing the memorial ceremony in 2014.

"Only if everyone cherishes and safeguards peace, and only if everyone remembers the bitter lessons of war can there be hope for peace," Xi said. 
Source: Xinhua| 2021-12-13 18:06:21|Editor: huaxia

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A medical worker administers a booster shot of COVID-19 vaccine to a local resident at a temporary vaccination site in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 29, 2021. (Xinhua/Ren Chao)

BEIJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- More than 2.61 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered on the Chinese mainland as of Sunday, data from the National Health Commission showed Monday. 
Source: Xinhua| 2021-12-13 09:32:07|Editor: huaxia

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KHARTOUM, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Sudan has denied Ethiopian accusations of supporting the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) which is fighting the Ethiopian army.

"Sudan controls all of its internationally recognized territories and borders with neighboring Ethiopia, and has never, and will never, allow its use for any aggressions," said Sudan's foreign ministry in a statement on Sunday.

The ministry made the statement in response to news reports from an Ethiopian news outlet, in which it accused Sudan of supporting the TPLF.

"The ministry would like to affirm Sudan's full commitment to the principles of good neighborliness and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries," the statement said.

The Sudanese foreign ministry further urged Ethiopia to stop accusing Sudan of taking aggressive stances and practices that are not supported by evidence on the ground.

The conflict in Ethiopia's northern region of Tigray has turned into large-scale battles across the country, where the Tigray rebels were seeking to control the capital Addis Ababa. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-12-13 19:14:24|Editor: huaxia

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Soldiers are seen on a military vehicle during a joint military operation of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) against rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in Beni territory, northeast DRC, on Dec. 12, 2021. Launched on November 30 by Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) in collaboration with their counterparts, the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), the joint military operations against rebels of the ADF are raising much hope in the violence-laden northeastern part of the DRC. (Photo by Alain Uaykani/Xinhua)

NOBILI, DRC, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Launched on November 30 by Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) in collaboration with their counterparts, the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), the joint military operations against rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels are raising much hope in the violence-laden northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

From the beginning of the operations, the two armies launched air and artillery strikes against several positions of the ADF rebels in the immense forest surrounding the Beni region, on the Congolese soil.

In Nobili, a Congolese border city with Uganda and the main point chosen by the Kampala to deploy its troops in the DRC, Xinhua received the local residents' reaction to the operations aiming at eradicating the ADF rebels in DRC, a nightmare shared by the two central African countries.

FOR LASTING PEACE

For some who still await the finally outcomes of the operations, the majority of the local inhabitants on the other hand welcomes this initiative between Kinshasa and Kampala for a lasting peace in favor of the people.

"We have been suffering for decades as a result of the massacres of the ADF rebels. For us, the people of this part of the country, the deployment of our Ugandan brothers is a welcomed initiative, which gives us hope for a lasting peace," Muisa Kambale, a resident of Nobili, told Xinhua.

At least 1,700 Ugandan soldiers have already arrived at the Congolese soil since the beginning of the operations, accompanied by a hundred vehicles of the troop transports, battle tanks, armored vehicles and others.

According to Kambale, people should support and give the Congolese army a chance but also trust those who have decided to join the fight against the ADF rebels in the northeastern DRC, more particularly North Kivu and Ituri, two provinces that have been under the state of siege since early May 2021.

A few kilometers from the border of Nobili, the residents of village Mukakati, where a UPDF temporary base has been installed for a few days, have voiced great serenity and hope about the ongoing joint operations in the area.

"I believe in the willingness of our Ugandan brothers to help us in the fight against these ADF rebels alongside our Congolese armed forces. We have lost many of our family members, property and so on for years. Our support is therefore total and hope for a return of lasting peace soon," said Rachidi Mumbere, a driver commuting along the Nobili-Kamango road, where humanitarian and civilian convoys have been constantly attacked by the ADF rebels in recent months.

In addition to the military operations, the two forces are currently engaged in road construction and rehabilitation projects to further facilitate and secure the movement for military personnel and displaced civilians.

As part of these operations, the two sides also launched an extensive awareness campaign and set up medical centers to combat the toxic propaganda distilled by the ADF rebels and their allies in local villages.

TIME TO MOVE ON

Soon after the joint military operations was launched on the ground, several local organizations expressed fear about the complications followed by the arrival of foreign forces to the DRC given the complicated past history in the Great Lakes region.

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, the UPDF's Major General Muhanga Kayanja made it clear that his country has no hidden agenda behind the ongoing operations which consists purely of destroying the ADF rebels "once and for all".

"We know that our country has a history with the Ugandan army in the past. But as a nation and a people doomed to live with our neighboring countries, I think we need to look forward to supporting each other and solve our common challenges," said John Kakine, a shopkeeper living along the Nobili border.

In Beni of the DRC, although there are mutters about government not having officially informed local population in the first hand through parliament about the arrival of foreign troops, most of the residents prefer to cross their fingers that the joint military operations would allow a return to normal life disrupted the haunting insecurity.

Anthony Mualushayi, spokesman for the FARDC in Beni called on the Congolese population to understand the contexts of the operations against the ADF rebels, who have become for several years an "international terrorist movement".

"We are not only fighting the Ugandan ADF, but also this movement that has recruited several nationalities across the region and threatens the security in the DRC as well as other countries including Uganda. This is what justifies our choice to pool forces in these operations with our UPDF comrades," he explained. Enditem

Soldiers are seen on a road construction site during a joint military operation of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) against rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in Beni territory, northeast DRC, on Dec. 12, 2021. Launched on November 30 by Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) in collaboration with their counterparts, the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), the joint military operations against rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) are raising much hope in the violence-laden northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). (Photo by Alain Uaykani/Xinhua)

A camp set up by the joint forces of the Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF) and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) is seen in the jungles of North Kivu Province, northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Dec. 9, 2021. The FARDC and UPDF on Saturday released the first assessment of their joint military operations against rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), conducted since Nov. 30 in Beni territory, northeastern DRC. (Photo by John Arry/Xinhua)

Soldiers from the joint forces of the Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF) and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) guard a make-shift military base in the jungles in Beni territory of North Kivu Province, northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Dec. 9, 2021. The FARDC and UPDF on Saturday released the first assessment of their joint military operations against rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), conducted since Nov. 30 in Beni territory, northeastern DRC. (Photo by John Arry/Xinhua)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-12-13 22:04:16|Editor: huaxia

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Nonny Wright, the 32-year-old owner of a commercial farming business called Lopey Inc, is seen at Sereledi farm in Polokabatho, 7 km outside Maun, Botswana, Nov. 12, 2021. "During the 2019 drought, I lost 85 percent of my dairy cows," reveals Wright. (Photo by Sharon Tshipa/Xinhua)

GABORONE, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- There is no questioning that droughts are synonymous with Botswana, a semi-arid country that has since proved itself to be a hotspot of heatwave activity on the African continent, as now worsened by climate change.

When citizens jest, they say the sun is manufactured in Botswana. The furnace of which is sometimes purported to be located in the tourism capital of Maun in northwest Botswana. A town that is home to Nonny Wright's cattle farm, and milk products processing plant.

"During the 2019 drought, I lost 85 percent of my dairy cows," reveals Wright, the 32-year-old owner of a commercial farming business called Lopey Inc.

Other than a dairy processing plant that supplied schools, among other institutions, with products such as fresh milk, sour milk, yogurt and ghee while encouraging the growth of the informal sector, Lopey Inc prides itself with two farms.

One being Yabarati, a farm located 10 km away from Maun in a village called Chanoga, and Sereledi, a farm that is over 100 hectares which is located in Polokabatho, just 7 km outside Maun.

"COVID-19 has not helped our business situation at all as well. But, even though we are left with 25 cows, we are now doing what we can to ensure that we get back on track, and realize the vision that we had when we first got into the dairy business," she said.

Given the fact that Botswana has been battling the socio-economic impacts of droughts year in and year out, the worst over the last decade being the 2019 drought, Wright is determined to learn from her experience and implement adaptation measures that will ensure her business stays afloat should history repeat itself.

"My first solution to the tragedy that had me depressed for a very long time, so much that I had to get counselling and was on medication, as I kept getting dizzy spells and collapsing, was to apply for a land extension of the 2 hectare farm in Chanoga so I move my cattle to where there is water that is much more drinkable unlike the water here at Sereledi," shared Wright.

Wright has since drilled a borehole in Chanoga. From it, she also intends to irrigate the feeds she ploughs for her animals.

"I have since changed the type of crops that I plant, because at first, between 2015 and 2017, I was ploughing maize. The thing with maize is that when there is little rain, or if there is too much rain it doesn't grow well. So now I opt for sweet sorghum and millet as they are more resistant," she explained.

Other than planting the right varieties of fodder crops that are fast growing and adaptable to the local climate, Wright said she plans on ploughing in December this year, as she has realized that even with the unpredictable seasons change, February rains have been flooding crops.

"Buying feeds is not always a good idea because Maun is too far from South Africa. Hence, we tend to receive low quality feeds at the highest prices," she said. To solve this issue, Maun farmers are trying to come together and expand the produce of fodder such as lucerne in their community.

Currently, Wright is doing all she can to realize her vision of being a leading dairy brand in the country. Daily, she drives to her farm with the aim of growing her herd to 200 by 2023. With the financial aid she plans on applying for from the government, she believes this is possible.

"We will also employ the use of female sex semen for artificial insemination, which will give us a 95 percent chance of getting replacement heifers, ensuring an expanded production of quality value-added products at the processing plant," she said, adding that she will see it become a household brand that is competitive in the market.

Other than creating employment and positively impacting other people's livelihoods, Nonny Wright is motivated by the desire to reduce Botswana's skyrocketing import bill.

"Once done I will support other local farmers to go into dairy cattle rearing so that the production of dairy products can be increased in Botswana," she added. Enditem

Nonny Wright, the 32-year-old owner of a commercial farming business called Lopey Inc, is seen at Sereledi farm in Polokabatho, 7 km outside Maun, Botswana, Nov. 12, 2021. "During the 2019 drought, I lost 85 percent of my dairy cows," reveals Wright. (Photo by Sharon Tshipa/Xinhua)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-12-13 22:13:20|Editor: huaxia

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KINSHASA, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Felix Tshisekedi promised Monday to set a timeline for Ugandan troops' presence in the northeastern DRC.

Since November 30, armed forces of DRC and Uganda have officially launched joint military operations in northeastern DRC against rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).

In his annual national address in front of the parliament, the Congolese president officially brought up for the first time the presence of the Ugandan army on the Congolese territory, noting that the ADF rebels are the common enemies for both Kinshasa and Kampala.

Tshisekedi stressed the importance to support DRC's armed forces and the ongoing joint military operations aiming at eradicating ADF rebels and building a lasting peace for the eastern DRC as well as the central African region.

"It is only in unity and harmony that we will be able to defeat this enemy who has taken the habit of sowing desolation in our towns and villages," he said.

"Our Parliament duly informed, I will make sure to limit the time strictly necessary for these (joint military) operations and the presence of the Ugandan army on our territory," concluded the Congolese President.

At least 1,700 Ugandan soldiers have already arrived on the Congolese soil since the beginning of the operations, accompanied by equipment including about 100 vehicles of the troop transport and battle tanks, according to the Congolese and Ugandan authorities.

According to DRC's local press outlet Actualite.CD, this is not the first military intervention by Ugandan forces against the ADF in Beni. In 2017, UPDF claimed that it killed more than 100 ADF rebels during strikes in Beni.

The DRC northeastern provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, long plagued by violence incurred by armed groups, had been under a state of siege since May 6 due to violence by armed groups, especially the ADF rebels. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-12-13 22:21:11|Editor: huaxia

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ABUJA, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- A liquefied gas tanker exploded at a filling station in south Nigeria's Anambra State on Sunday night, wreaking havoc in the affected community, said local authorities on Monday.

Several vehicles and houses were burnt in the fire caused by the explosion, and no death or injury has been so far reported from the scene of the incident in the city of Onitsha in the central part of the state, according to the state's fire fighting agency.

Martin Agbili, the director of the Anambra State Fire Service, told reporters at the scene that the fire had spread to two nearby filling stations and an auto mechanic workshop with vehicles in the area as of Monday morning.

This, Agbili said, has thrown the workers and residents in the area into a panic, noting four fire trucks and a large number of firefighters were deployed to the scene battling the fire.

Adeoye Irelewuyi, a commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps in Anambra, said in a statement that the area has been cordoned off and traffic diverted, imploring the public to be calm and patient. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-12-13 23:53:52|Editor: huaxia

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Ghada Waly, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, delivers a speech at the ninth session of the Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, Dec. 13. 2021. The ninth session of the Conference of the States Parties (CoSP9) to the UN Convention against Corruption kicked off on Monday in Egypt's resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh. The session will last until Dec. 17, with more than 2,000 participants from governments, regional and intergovernmental organizations, civil society, academia, and the private sector taking part virtually and in-person. (Xinhua/Wang Dongzhen)

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The ninth session of the Conference of the States Parties (CoSP9) to the UN Convention against Corruption kicked off on Monday in Egypt's resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh.

The session will last until Dec. 17, with more than 2,000 participants from governments, regional and intergovernmental organizations, civil society, academia, and the private sector taking part virtually and in-person.

"Tackling corruption is essential to protect human rights, promote democratic accountability and ensure inclusive, sustainable development," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a video message.

The conference is an important opportunity to take international steps for combating corruption that has become a challenge for some societies and has been maximized during the spread of the pandemic, Guterres added.

He called for expanding the resources protection measures in countries to prevent corruption and maintain sustainable development of societies.

"The CoSP9 taking place in Egypt will translate the commitments made by the member states during the first-ever UN General Assembly Special Session against corruption into concrete action," said Ghada Waly, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, also Egypt's former minister of solidarity.

The world is in dire need of promoting integrity and accountability to recover from the COVID-19 crisis, she added.

"To truly overcome endemic corruption, we need to aim for a fundamental change in mindsets, one which rejects corruption at every level," she added.

Meanwhile, Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly described the conference as "the most important platform for exchanging expertise and anti-corruption practices."

Egypt adopts policies of improving living conditions and digitalization as two means for combating corruption that constitutes an obstacle before achieving sustainable development and improving the quality of life, he added, noting that corruption also raises rates of poverty and weakens confidence in public institutions and human rights. Enditem

Ghada Waly, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, delivers a speech at the ninth session of the Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, Dec. 13. 2021. The ninth session of the Conference of the States Parties (CoSP9) to the UN Convention against Corruption kicked off on Monday in Egypt's resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh. The session will last until Dec. 17, with more than 2,000 participants from governments, regional and intergovernmental organizations, civil society, academia, and the private sector taking part virtually and in-person. (Xinhua/Wang Dongzhen)

Photo taken on Dec. 13, 2021 shows the scene of the ninth session of the Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The ninth session of the Conference of the States Parties (CoSP9) to the UN Convention against Corruption kicked off on Monday in Egypt's resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh. The session will last until Dec. 17, with more than 2,000 participants from governments, regional and intergovernmental organizations, civil society, academia, and the private sector taking part virtually and in-person. (Xinhua/Wang Dongzhen)

Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly delivers a speech at the ninth session of the Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, Dec. 13. 2021. The ninth session of the Conference of the States Parties (CoSP9) to the UN Convention against Corruption kicked off on Monday in Egypt's resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh. The session will last until Dec. 17, with more than 2,000 participants from governments, regional and intergovernmental organizations, civil society, academia, and the private sector taking part virtually and in-person. (Xinhua/Wang Dongzhen)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-12-14 00:05:15|Editor: huaxia

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NAIROBI, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Ahmed Abubakar has nostalgic memories of growing up at a serene village located at the edge of Kenya's coastal county of Kwale when fishing in the deep waters of the Indian ocean was a prized occupation.

The proud scion of a renowned fishing clan started interacting with marine life at a tender age when he accompanied older male relatives for an expedition in the deep sea to scout for tilapia, a cherished local delicacy.

Abubakar's pride with his fishing heritage has lately suffered an onslaught amid rapid depletion of marine habitats like mangrove forests and coral reefs in the Kenyan south coast linked to climate change, pollution, and human encroachment.

Currently a member of a grassroots organization that is restoring degraded mangroves and coral reefs on the shores of the Indian Ocean, Abubakar is convinced that his new calling will transform the livelihoods of local fishermen.

"We have come together as a fishing community to restore the health of the marine ecosystem whose degradation posed a serious threat to our survival," Abubakar said during a recent interview.

His grassroots conservation lobby has partnered with state agencies to plant seagrass and mangrove trees, in order to boost the ecological health of fish breeding grounds.

According to Abubakar, seagrasses that are now flourishing have provided a steady supply of nutrients to a wide range of marine life including fish, turtles, crabs, and seahorses, besides acting as a buffer against climatic shocks.

He noted that over the years, the depletion of mangrove forests through harvesting for timber and charcoal had escalated the vulnerability of coastal communities to vagaries of weather, disease, poverty, and hunger.

Abubakar said that as a result of concerted efforts to restore mangrove forests and coral reefs to their former pristine status, local fishermen and subsistence farmers have reaped some benefits including regulated weather patterns and increased fish stock.

"We have benefited from improved breeding of fish thanks to restoration of these coral reefs and mangrove swamps. Our families are now food and nutrients secure," said Abubakar.

Salim Ahmed, a middle-aged fisherman whose ancestors settled decades ago at the tranquil Wasini Island, located at the Kenyan south coast, confessed that his decision to take up conservation of mangrove forests in his backyard was informed by the need to secure a brighter future for his offspring.

The father of four noted that bleaching of coral reefs and illegal harvesting of mangroves had depleted fish stocks, thereby escalating malnutrition and income losses.

According to Ahmed, incidents of flooding and disease outbreaks had become more frequent and severe due to the destruction of marine habitats that are reliable buffers against extreme weather events.

"But we are hopeful the ongoing efforts to plant seagrass and increase tree cover in the mangrove forests where fish breed will enhance our resilience to harsh weather besides restoring our livelihoods," said Ahmed.

He revealed that more than 30 local youth have taken up conservation of mangrove forests thanks to support from the central government and international donors.

Kenya's Ministry of Environment and Forestry has partnered with an autonomous agency, Coast Development Authority, to promote community-driven rehabilitation of degraded marine ecosystems.

Mohamed Keinan, the managing director of Coast Development Authority said that mobilizing local communities to plant seagrass and mangrove trees was informed by the need to promote climate resilience, food security, and incomes.

He noted that restoring the health of coral reefs and mangrove forests has unleashed positive ecological, health, and economic outcomes to fishermen and farmers along the Kenyan south coast, which neighbors Tanzania.

"These vital habitats like mangrove forests are an integral part of coastal livelihoods hence our desire to protect them from further damage," said Keinan.

He revealed that over 2 km of coral reef has been restored in the Kenyan south coast even as authorities assist fisherfolk and farmers to plant mangrove tree seedlings in their backyard.

Keinan said that once the marine ecosystem in the coast region is restored to its renowned pristine form, tourism and fisheries will bounce back to life, boosting food security and foreign exchange earnings in the country.

Muhiyadin Musa, the chairman of Wasini Beach Management Unit, a local conservation lobby noted that coral reef restoration has improved breeding of a variety of fish species and crustaceans that are local delicacies.

"The ongoing planting of seagrass and mangrove trees has really benefited local fisherfolk through increased fish stock. Likewise, more tourists are trooping here to enjoy the tranquility," said Musa. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-12-14 00:30:29|Editor: huaxia

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YAOUNDE, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Set to host the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) next month, Cameroon conducted a series of security drills on Monday in restive English-speaking region of Southwest to prepare against terror attacks ranging from an explosion to a hostage situation.

Soldiers, policemen, firemen and medical personnel were among participants of the exercise, held at the Limbe Omnisport Stadium that will host Group F matches including Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania and Gambia.

During the mock exercise, terrorists detonated an improvised explosive device in the stadium during a match and took hostage people and tried to escape before being gunned down by security and defence forces.

"The exercise that has been carried was a kind of demonstration of force. The various participants can be sure that the security aspect of the field is assured. To an extent, we can say that we are prepared," said Ignatius Akuni, a military official.

The Southwest region is notorious for frequent detonation of improvised explosive devices.

Separatist fighters who want to create an independent nation in Cameroon's two Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest have threatened to disrupt AFCON in the region.

Last month, Cameroon's defence minister, Joseph Beti Assomo said they were taking the threat seriously and "will take appropriate measures".

AFCON is scheduled to take place in Cameroon from January 9 to February 6 next year. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-12-14 00:39:17|Editor: huaxia

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WAJIR, Kenya, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan police on Monday foiled an attempt by suspected al-Shabab militants to abduct faithful at a mosque in Konton, Wajir County, in the northeastern border region.

Wajir County police commander Hilary Toroitich said a gang of about five had raided a local mosque and taken hostage about 40 faithful who were present.

Toroitich said the militants suspected to have crossed from neighboring Somalia ordered the faithful out and tried to drive them into a thicket heading to the nearby Kenya-Somalia border.

Their target was the imam (Islamic preacher), also a police reservist who was leading the prayers then, the police commander said.

He said it was in the process that gunshots were fired forcing the gang to abandon their mission and escape.

"But there were no injuries reported. We have sent reinforcements to help in tracking the gang," he said.

The area is near the Somalia border and the militants usually cross at will and stage attacks before escaping back. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-12-13 13:31:33|Editor: huaxia

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VIENTIANE, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The number of COVID-19 cases in Laos increased to 90,458 on Monday after over 1,100 new cases were reported in the past 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health.

Deputy Director General of the Department of Communicable Diseases Control under the Lao Ministry of Health, Sisavath Soutthaniraxay, told a press conference in Lao capital Vientiane on Monday that the country recorded 1,138 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases.

Of the new cases, Vientiane again reported the highest number with 533.

Sisavath said three new deaths were also recorded, bringing the death toll to 250 in the country as of Monday.

The new deaths involved a 58-year-old man in Vientiane, a 70-year-old man in Bolikhamxay, a 68-year-old woman in Vientiane.

All of them had suffered from hypertension, and had not been vaccinated against COVID-19. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-12-13 15:40:46|Editor: huaxia

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SEOUL, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's export logged double-digit growth in the first 10 days of December on the back of the continued global demand recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, customs office data showed on Monday.

Export amounted to 19.5 billion U.S. dollars in the December 1-10 period, up 20.4 percent from the same period of last year, according to Korea Customs Service.

Semiconductor export jumped 26.5 percent, and oil products shipment almost doubled amid a higher global price for crude oil.

Automotive export declined 6.2 percent in the 10-day period, but shipment for precision machinery and computer gained ground.

Export to China, South Korea's biggest trading partner, advanced 24.9 percent, while those to the United States and the European Union (EU) went up 18.3 percent and 24.2 percent each.

Shipment to Vietnam and Japan increased in single digits for the first 10 days of this month.

Import surged 42.3 percent from a year earlier to 22 billion dollars, sending the trade deficit to 2.5 billion dollars. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-12-13 20:18:06|Editor: huaxia

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HO CHI MINH CITY, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 150,000 students from 9th and 12th grades in Vietnam's southern Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), the country's largest COVID-19 hotspot, returned to school on Monday after a long time of learning online due to pandemic restrictions.

Students of such grades who test positive for COVID-19, live in high-risk areas and are not staying in the city at the moment, will continue to study online in accordance with guidelines of the city's health sector, Vietnam News Agency reported.

HCMC is home to 205 high schools, of which 176 would welcome 12th graders back. Meanwhile, as many as 224 secondary schools out of the total 286 in the southern city would open to 9th graders.

Under a pilot program, the city will hold in-person classes for 9th and 12th graders from Monday until Dec. 25, before allowing more students to come back to school.

Between late October and early December, the southern city finished inoculating more than 709,600 children aged 12-17 years old, according to the municipal center for disease control.

HCMC is now Vietnam's largest COVID-19 hotspot with nearly 488,000 infections and 18,750 deaths as of Sunday, according to the data from the country's Ministry of Health. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-12-13 22:32:38|Editor: huaxia

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JAKARTA, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian Police's anti-terror squad Densus 88 Monday arrested four suspected terrorists in the cities of Palembang and Lubuklinggau, South Sumatra province, a police officer said.

They are allegedly linked to the outlawed Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) militant group and suspected of planning several attacks during Christmas and New Year holidays, the South Sumatra Police's spokesman Senior Commissioner Supriadi told a press conference on Monday.

He said that the police had watched the four suspects for four months before arresting them. Now they are detained for further investigation.

Following the arrest, Supriadi said the police would strengthen security during the holidays, particularly at places of worship, urging people to immediately report to the police if they find something suspicious. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-12-13 19:12:31|Editor: huaxia

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STOCKHOLM, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Two crew members were missing and a rescue operation was launched after a cargo ship capsized in the Baltic Sea off the south coast of Sweden on Monday.

The accident occurred at 3:30 a.m. local time (0230 GMT) between the Swedish city of Ystad and the Danish island of Bornholm during foggy conditions, and may have been caused by a collision with another vessel, Swedish Television, the national public TV broadcaster, reported on Monday.

Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet reported that around 10 ships and helicopters from Sweden and Denmark were deployed for the rescue operation.

The rescue was launched following an automated alarm from the capsized vessel and the crew had not been found several hours after the accident, Jesper Berthelsen, duty officer of the Danish Armed Forces' Operations Center, told Danish news agency Ritzau.

"We are searching for two missing, but we do not know whether they are in the ship or the water. We have flown over the site by helicopter many times, but have found nothing but wreckage in the water," Berthelsen said.

The capsized vessel is the 55-meter Danish-registered Karin Hoj. It was not loaded and sailing from Sodertalje in Sweden to Nykobing Falster in southern Denmark with two people on board.

The other vessel, the 90-meter British-registered Scot Carrier, was en route from Salacgriva in Latvia to Montrose in Britain. The crew is reportedly safe. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-12-14 00:05:15|Editor: huaxia

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MOSCOW, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian held a phone conversation on Monday to discuss the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

The top diplomats reaffirmed their common position to restore the nuclear deal in its original balanced text, approved by the United Nations Security Council, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

They stressed that this is the only correct way to ensure the rights and interests of all participants in the deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Multilateral negotiations to save the Iran nuclear deal resumed on Nov. 29 in Vienna of Austria. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-12-14 00:08:28|Editor: huaxia

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French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban attend a press conference after their meeting in Budapest, Hungary on Dec. 13, 2021. (Photo by Attila Volgyi/Xinhua)

BUDAPEST, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Visiting French President Emmanuel Macron and his host, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, emphasized partnership but acknowledged their differences in a joint press statement delivered here on Monday.

Last week, Macron described Orban as a "political adversary but a European partner" with whom it was possible to find compromise.

Orban, who opened Monday's press event, quoted Macron's words and assured him that his government also considered European partnership of utmost importance.

Thanking Macron for his visit, Orban recalled that the last time a French president traveled to Hungary was in 2007.

"Hungary's relationship with France is based on respect," Orban said, listing three major areas where there was agreement with the French president.

"We both love our country, we are working to strengthen Europe and we have set ourselves the goal of creating strategic autonomy for Europe," Orban underlined.

"We support the policy of common European defense capabilities, nuclear energy and a strong European farming sector," he said. The two countries' economies both depend heavily on nuclear power and Budapest and Paris are pushing the EU to promote nuclear energy and recognize it as a green investment.

The French president said the two countries agreed on the need for a strong Europe.

Macron's visit came on the eve of France's takeover of the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU on Jan. 1, 2022.

"We will have the opportunity to exchange views on the digital transition," which is an important ambition of the French Presidency, Macron said, stressing the importance of dialogue on contentious issues. The current sources of disagreement and tension between the two leaders include LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) rights and migration.

On the latter issue, Macron said that Europe will have to come up with a new initiative and that he will discuss this in detail with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki during their scheduled meeting later in the day.

"We need to think together as Europeans in order to find solutions for defending our borders in a more effective way, and we also need to think about ways of taking joint action," he said.

According to the European Commission, Hungary fails to uphold EU standards on the rule of law and democracy, a charge denied by Budapest.

In Budapest, Macron was scheduled to attend a meeting of the leaders of the Visegrad Group of countries (Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia), and to meet the leaders of Hungary's opposition parties. Enditem

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) shakes hands with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban during a press conference after their meeting in Budapest, Hungary on Dec. 13, 2021. (Photo by Attila Volgyi/Xinhua)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-12-14 06:34:27|Editor: huaxia

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Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, French President Emmanuel Macron, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis (From L to R, rear) attend a joint press conference after their meeting in Budapest, Hungary, on Dec. 13, 2021. The issues of immigration, the rule of law, the Western Balkans, energy, including nuclear energy, were mainly discussed at the meeting between visiting French President Emmanuel Macron and prime ministers of the Visegrad Group (V4) countries here on Monday. (Photo by Attila Volgyi/Xinhua)

BUDAPEST, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The issues of immigration, the rule of law, the Western Balkans, energy, including nuclear energy, were mainly discussed at the meeting between visiting French President Emmanuel Macron and prime ministers of the Visegrad Group (V4) countries here on Monday.

"We spoke thoroughly and exhaustively about migration ... about the question of the rule of law ... about the Western Balkans ... about energy, especially about nuclear energy and its ETS (Emissions Trading System) energy billing system," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told a joint press conference after the meeting.

Macron arrived in Budapest earlier on Monday. Orban had a bilateral meeting with Macron earlier in the afternoon.

"We will agree with President Macron on the issue of patriotism, the strengthening of Europe and European strategic autonomy," Orban said. Hungary assumes the current presidency of the V4 Group, which includes Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

"Hungary was the only one that said that if necessary, the EU border should be protected with physical force, and thus not only Hungary but the whole of Europe would be protected," he said.

"We didn't get a single good word, and we even had to suffer the harshest attacks when we defended Europe's borders, we were regularly shot in the back from Brussels and some European capitals," he said.

Macron said that he saw a European partner in Orban despite their differences and said that the basics for moving forward were "media plurality, rule of law and the respect of fundamental rights."

He said that the common areas of understanding between Budapest and Paris were nuclear energy, agriculture and a common European defense policy.

Poland and Hungary were both involved in a long-lasting conflict with the EU over democratic values like rule of law, judicial and press freedom, and human rights.

The European Commission has launched several procedures against both countries, including a new "conditionality" mechanism that ties funding to the rule of law and anti-corruption criteria, and that has held up the release of coronavirus recovery funds to Budapest and Warsaw.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that his country managed to "defend" its borders, which are also the borders of the EU.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said his government was ready to send soldiers to either the Polish frontiers or to the Balkans.

Slovakia's Prime Minister Eduard Heger underlined that it was important for the V4 countries to state very clearly that despite all the conflicts and disputes, the EU was the only source of development and wealth these countries could count on. Enditem

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, French President Emmanuel Macron, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis (From L to R) attend a joint press conference after their meeting in Budapest, Hungary, on Dec. 13, 2021. The issues of immigration, the rule of law, the Western Balkans, energy, including nuclear energy, were mainly discussed at the meeting between visiting French President Emmanuel Macron and prime ministers of the Visegrad Group (V4) countries here on Monday. (Photo by Attila Volgyi/Xinhua)

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban attend a joint press conference in Budapest, Hungary, on Dec. 13, 2021. The issues of immigration, the rule of law, the Western Balkans, energy, including nuclear energy, were mainly discussed at the meeting between visiting French President Emmanuel Macron and prime ministers of the Visegrad Group (V4) countries here on Monday. (Photo by Attila Volgyi/Xinhua)

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks at a joint press conference with prime ministers of the Visegrad Group countries after their meeting in Budapest, Hungary, on Dec. 13, 2021. The issues of immigration, the rule of law, the Western Balkans, energy, including nuclear energy, were mainly discussed at the meeting between visiting French President Emmanuel Macron and prime ministers of the Visegrad Group (V4) countries here on Monday. (Photo by Attila Volgyi/Xinhua)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-12-13 16:35:47|Editor: huaxia

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NEW YORK, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Though U.S. President Joe Biden hosted the so-called "Summit for Democracy" last week, the democracy situation in the host country has been questioned by world media, including the U.S. ones.

"American democracy is under strain. It won't be saved by summits or speeches," said an article published on the website of New York Daily News on Sunday.

According to the article titled "Democracy nadir: While President Biden hosts a summit, the American Republic is sorely tested," there are many political problems that require the Biden administration to fix right, such as the legislature-made difficulty for many citizens to vote and the widening partisan divide.

On Friday, another report published by the AFP said, "Biden's democracy appeal also met a mixed reception at home."

"How dare Biden lecture a @StateDept#SummitForDemocracy today while refusing to pardon" Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, Daniel Ellsberg, a U.S. military analyst, was quoted as saying in his tweet by the report.

"Washington wants Assange to face trial for WikiLeaks' publication in 2010 of classified military documents relating to its wars in Afghanistan and Iraq," the report said.

Ellsberg accused Biden of "killing freedom of the press for 'national security,'" the report said. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-12-13 18:21:52|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- China is willing to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to the people affected by tornadoes in the United States according to their needs, China International Development Cooperation Agency spokesperson Xu Wei said on Monday.

At least 30 tornadoes swept through six states overnight in the central parts of the United States, which were Arkansas, Mississippi, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri, causing a large number of casualties and economic losses.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Monday told a press briefing that China expressed condolences to the U.S. losses.

"It is hoped that the injured could recover as soon as possible, and the affected people can rebuild their homes at an early date," Wang said. Enditem
OVER 170 doctors and nurses at Mpilo Central Hospital and the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) are in isolation after testing Covid-19 positive, a development that is likely to cripple health care service delivery at Bulawayos two major referral hospitals.

The bulk of the health workers that have tested positive are nurses.

The latest infections were recorded over the past two weeks, a trend which Mpilo Central Hospital acting chief executive officer Professor Solwayo Ngwenya said is worrying. Mpilo has recorded 77 cases and UBH 99 cases among health workers since the beginning of this month.

On Sunday, the country recorded 2 138 new cases and three Covid-19 related deaths with Bulawayo recording two deaths and 200 new infections.

According to the Ministry of Health and Child Care daily report, as of Sunday, the country had recorded 167 140 cases, 129 776 recoveries and 4 738 deaths since March last year. Active cases rose to 32 626 from 2 843 in 11 days.

Over the last two weeks, Bulawayo recorded 3 277 new Covid-19 cases, the highest being on December 9 when 679 cases were recorded in a single day. Five deaths were recorded in the metropolitan province during the same period.

Statistics from the Ministry of Health and Child Care show that by Saturday, a total of 242 Covid-19 patients had been hospitalised with 53 new admissions. At least 211 had mild to moderate symptoms, 24 severe and six were admitted in intensive care units (ICUs).

A total of 3 956 020 people had received their first Covid-19 vaccine while 2 976 972 had received their second jab countrywide.

Prof Ngwenya said they recorded 77 cases of infections among doctors and nurses.

Since the beginning of December, we have 77 members of staff who were infected with Covid-19 and they self-isolated.

We are now being affected in terms of human resources and at the same time there is a rise in hospitalisation and this can only play out to be a disaster, he said.

Prof Ngwenya said the high number of health care workers in isolation was affecting service delivery at the hospital which is now forced to operate with skeletal staff.

We had a lot of infections among our staff and they had to go home on quarantine resulting in our services being crippled, he said.

Prof Ngwenya said they recorded four Covid-19 deaths in the last four days.

As our staff are on isolation, this affects our ability to render health care to the rising number of hospitalisations. Unfortunately, despite measures by Government to ensure workers have adequate PPEs, community transmissions are so high hence our workers are at risk as they use public transport and mingle with asymptomatic people who continue spreading the virus, he said.

In July, 63 health workers comprising of doctors and nurses at Mpilo Central Hospital had to go on isolation after testing positive to Covid-19.

UBH acting chief executive officer Dr Harrison Rambanapasi said since the beginning of December, 99 doctors and nurses tested positive for Covid-19.

Since the first of December we have had 99 health workers across the board including students testing positive and isolating at home. However, no staff member has been admitted, which means they are not very sick, he said.

If you look at the national statistics, the positivity rate at UBH is almost the same with the national one, which shows that the Omicron is highly transmissible.

Dr Rambanapasi urged citizens to continue to get vaccinated and adhere to health regulations to curb the spread of the virus. The UBH has a workforce of more than 1 600.

If you look at the issue of testing, logistically it is difficult to do mass testing in view of a workforce of more than 1 600. Testing them routinely might end up affecting service delivery as that means people will have to queue to get tested, said Dr Rambanapasi.

However, we only test those with symptoms and in the process of doing so, we have had a significant number of our staff testing positive for Covid.

President Mnangagwa recently announced new lockdown measures.

Some of those measures include mandatory 10-day quarantine for all returning residents and visitors. The new regulations stipulate that everyone entering Zimbabwe must undergo a Covid-19 PCR test even when they produce a Covid-19-free certificate from elsewhere.

The Presidents address was in response to reports of a new strain of Covid-19 virus which has been reported in many countries in Sadc and beyond.
Police in Mpumalanga, South Africa have arrested a 37-year-old Zimbabwean truck driver for allegedly smuggling from Mozambique a consignment of counterfeit tekkies worth R3, 8 million.

The man whose identity is yet to be revealed was busted at the neighbouring countrys border with Mozambique (Lebombo) on Thursday last week.

Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said the man was allegedly found in possession of illicit tekkies packed in bales.

Reports indicate that members of the SAPS from Lebombo Border were on duty on the said day when they noticed a suspicious truck driven by a certain man, said Brig Mohlala.

The truck was travelling from Mozambique into the country and the members then conducted a search leading to the discovery of various brands of sneakers starched inside.

The man, who is Zimbabwean, was then arrested and charged for possession of counterfeit goods.

He said the suspect is expected to initially appear at the Komatipoort Magistrates Court today.

The senior police officer said the truck, which is valued at R3, 5 million had been confiscated along with the counterfeit sneakers.

The incident comes a few days when a 31-year-old Zimbabwean truck driver, Tonderai Moshayi, was arrested for attempting to run over a traffic police officer at the same border post.

His fellow countrymen, Patrick Ncube (31), was also arrested after he attempted to bribe a senior traffic police officer with R4 000 in the Komatipoort area to secure Moshayis release.

The matter is now under investigation by South Africas organised crime unit, the Hawks.

Hawks spokesperson for Mpumalanga, Captain Dineo Sekgotodi said the duo were expected to make their formal bail application at the Komatipoort Magistrates Court soon.

It is alleged that on 17 November 2021, Tonderai Moshayi from Zimbabwe who is a truck driver was at Lebombo Port of Entry when he bypassed other truck drivers who had queued for their turn to cross the border.

He was stopped by the traffic police for a routine inspection of the truck. When the routine check was done, it was discovered that the truck had an expired disc, she said.

After which, Moshayi was asked about the documents of the truck, and he became violent and drove away nearly running over the traffic officer.

He was then pursued and he stopped the truck, and locked himself inside the truck, refusing to talk to the traffic police officers.

The man only gave in at the persuasion of his employer in Limpopo province.

He was arrested and charged for attempted murder and operating an un-roadworthy vehicle.

On the following day, other Zimbabwean truck drivers contributed an amount of R4 000 and allegedly went to approach the traffic officer, who had arrested Moshayi to secure his release.

It is further alleged that they initially promised to give R10 000. The traffic officer reported to the Hawks that he was being offered a bribe and a trap was set leading to Ncubes arrest when he came to deliver the bribe money, said Capt Sekgotodi. Herald
Modern control technology gives F&B production machines new momentum

Staveb Automation AG relies on OMRON controllers (PLC) for retrofitting. Swiss food company Delica AG replaces control system and drive technology for more productivity, less waste and faster packaging.





Machines in food and beverage production have to be reliable, safe, fast, and without loss of quality over many years and even decades. High-performance technologies and continuous maintenance are required, but the machines must also comply with the latest standards, specifications, and requirements of the company. So-called retrofit solutions, i.e., the modernisation or expansion of existing plants and equipment, are essential for competitiveness and future strength.

Staveb Automation AG, based in Hitzkirch in the Swiss canton of Lucerne, specialises in these retrofit solutions in addition to industrial automation, robotics, and control engineering. Particularly semi- and fully automated production plants that operate with outdated control systems benefit from such a rejuvenation, but they must be precisely adapted to the requirements of the commissioning company. As a long-standing solution partner, Staveb relies on control technology from OMRON. The example of the Swiss food company Delica AG shows the advantages of such a retrofit project in the field of cornet ice cream production.

Lack of spare parts and outdated machines hinder productivity

If production plants and lines are to be modernised, companies are driven by efficiency efforts on the one hand. On the other hand, they are also forced to break new ground because support may be running out, spare parts are missing, or system updates are no longer available. The problem: repair requests pile up, equipment is not always available, and production grinds to a halt. Staveb has been helping companies in a wide range of industries to modernise their plants and processes for around three decades. Since then, technologies have changed immensely, processes have become more automated and solutions more connected. What has not changed: Waffle ice cream, so-called cornets, are just as popular today as they were 30 years ago. If a spare part is missing during production, this can lead to serious production losses, which companies like Delica, formerly Midor, want to avoid at all costs.

Finding and eliminating faults more quickly

That is why plants must always be up to date. Modern control systems are the be-all and end-all here, as they help to diagnose faults much faster and easier than before. Moreover, modernisation of this kind increases productivity. This can be achieved, for example, through faster data acquisition and communication, which allows for greater flexibility during product changes. Optimised drive technology also speeds up processes. Delica AG in Meilen decided in favour of modernisation because the control system previously used had been discontinued by the supplier and was therefore no longer supported. In addition, the programming software on the system built in the 90s was no longer running in the current Windows environment. "The system was running well, but in addition to the control problem, the wear and tear was too high and the spare parts were becoming more and more expensive. We therefore also integrated new servo axes and had the susceptible gears replaced," reports Urs Weber, Automation/IH Electrical Team Leader at Delica.

Focus on people

"There was also an increasing number of failures in the drive technology and mechanical spare parts sometimes had delivery times of several months as well as astronomically high prices, which was of course not wanted. In addition, machine safety was no longer state-of-the-art," adds Michael Engler, COO of Staveb Automation AG. In addition to the control system, Staveb's retrofit offer also includes gears, drive and servo technology, safety and sensor technology, as well as measuring systems if required. The focus of every project is on operators and those responsible for maintenance, whose work is to be made easier. Human-machine interface solutions (HMIs) further simplify machine handling. In addition to ice cream production, Staveb has also modernised lines for filling sauerkraut, pasteurising fresh pasta, packaging hamburger patties, vegetables, or ready-to-eat salads.

Solution from a single source and personalised consultation

Delica was already familiar with Staveb and OMRON but had previously used solutions from other suppliers in terms of drive technology. In the modernisation project, everything was to be brought together. "The machine users should always have the same GUI in front of them," Engler elaborates. Staveb has been using OMRON controls for various retrofit projects since 2003. The customers benefit not only from the many years of expertise of both automation experts but also from the fact that they receive a solution that is customised for them from a single source and without a great deal of implementation effort. "We collaborate with OMRON because they are very close to the customer  especially the application engineers are immediately on hand when a question arises," explains Engler.

The basis is the Sysmac automation platform in addition to OMRON's 1S drives with continuous integration from the NX/NJ machine controller to the software. With the Sysmac software platform, PLC functionality, motion control, robotics control, HMI, safety, and camera system can be seamlessly integrated and networked throughout. Sysmac has been used in PLC systems since 1971. "Sysmac is more open compared to other suppliers' solutions and therefore makes production adaptations immensely easier," says Reto Stenico, Area Sales Manager Switzerland at OMRON. He says the platform allows users to react more flexibly to changes, control incorrect entries, and adapt more quickly to new market requirements: "It simplifies the line set up."

Less waste, faster packaging

Another challenge that had to be overcome in the Delica project was that there are many different production changes: In addition to the different flavours, there are up to 30 different ice cream toppings and up to 20 different shapes that have to be considered with each production changeover. Previously, it could happen that up to 30,000 waffle ice creams could not go on sale during changeovers. Thanks to the more modern plant, production changes are now carried out without any rejects. Furthermore, the packaging processes are now between 10 and 20 percent faster.

Retrofit project with a big impact

IoT, artificial intelligence (AI), or machine learning (ML) are often discussed in the context of Industry 4.0. But sometimes it doesn't even have to be the big innovation push to rationalise production and give it new momentum. "Replacing a control system and the drive technology can often make a big difference when it comes to logging times, energy efficiency, or predictive maintenance," Stenico summarises.

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Counter Punch, August 17, 2021

By Paul Street

One of the doctrinal principles behind U.S. corporate-imperial news coverage and commentary and mainstream US politics is that the United States is a fundamentally benevolent force for good facing difficulties created by evil others and challenging situations not of Washingtons own making. Debate is permissible on immediate strategy and tactics but is not allowed on these core American Exceptionalist positions.

Hence, while there is contestation in U.S. media and political culture over how to respond to the flood of migrants seeking entrance to the United States on the nations southern border, there is little if any serious mainstream media discussion and critique of the long and many-sided role that U.S. capitalist imperialism has played in imposing abject misery on millions of people across Central America and Mexico.

The US invasion of Vietnam (and Cambodia) and Iraq could be criticized in dominant US media as bad strategy, as mistakes, but never as monumentally mass-murderous, racist, and imperialist war crimes and crimes against humanity.

John Kennedy (who initiated the US assault on Vietnam and Southeast Asia) could face mainstream criticism for failing to properly back the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba and then be praised for his handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis. There was no serious mainstream discussion of how the American Empires long neocolonial treatment of Cuba and its response to the brilliant Cuban Revolution bred a popular socialist revolution that naturally gravitated to the protective umbrella of the Soviet Union (or of another matter: how the imperialist Kennedys response to evidence of Soviet missiles in Cuba brought the world to the brink of nuclear annihilation and how it was the action of a Soviet sub commander that averted that fate).

The defeat of American invasions and occupations can be reported and discussed in the mainstream media and political culture as the consequence of strategic miscalculations by US policy makers but never as the result of legitimate popular resistance to American imperialism.

As a state senator, US Senator, and presidential candidate, the post-George W. Bush Empire re-brander Barack Obama made it clear that he viewed the invasion of Iraq as a bad war only in the sense of being strategically dumb, not because it was an immoral, racist, and petro-imperialist adventure meant to put the American boot on the giant Iraqi oil spigot. Candidate Obama even ended up blaming the Iraq mistake on Bushs excessively idealistic desire to export democracy to Iraq  an absurd formulation in line with the American exceptionalist doctrine that Obama would articulate while personally drone-killing children and wedding parties, helping decimate Libya and Honduras, and deepening the US devastation of Afghanistan.

The assumption that the United States has the right to invade, attack, and occupy other nations is taken for granted in mainstream US media and politics. The American people, candidate Obama sanctimoniously told the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations in 2006, have seen their sons and daughters killed in the streets of Fallujah. The most remarkable thing about this comment wasnt just that Obama left out the American Empires savage decimation of that key Iraqi city, replete with the use of radioactive munitions that sparked an epidemic of child leukemias, but that Obama just normatively assumed that American troops had any right to be patrolling the streets of a major Iraq metropolis!

We lead the world, presidential candidate Obama explained, in battling immediate evils and promoting the ultimate good.  America is the last, best hope of earth. Obama elaborated in his first inaugural address. Our security, the president said, emanates from the justness of our cause; the force of our example; the tempering qualities of humility and restrainta fascinating commentary on Fallujah, Hiroshima, the U.S. crucifixion of Southeast Asia, the Highway of Death and more.

America is always good and well-intentioned. This is so doctrinally embedded in US ruling class ideology that evidence to the utter contrary must be reflexively dismissed out of hand. Within less than half a year of his inauguration, Obamas rapidly accumulating record of atrocities in the Muslim world would include the bombing of the Afghan village of Bola Boluk. Ninety-three of the dead villagers torn apart by U.S. explosives in Bola Boluk were children. In a phone call played on a loudspeaker on Wednesday to outraged members of the Afghan Parliament, the New York Times reported, the governor of Farah Province  said that as many as 130 civilians had been killed. According to one Afghan legislator and eyewitness, the villagers bought two tractor trailers full of pieces of human bodies to his office to prove the casualties that had occurred. Everyone at the governors cried, watching that shocking scene. The administration refused to issue an apology or to acknowledge the global policemans responsibility.

By telling and sickening contrast, Obama had just offered a full apology and fired a White House official because that official had scared New Yorkers with an ill-advised Air Force One photo-shoot flyover of Manhattan that reminded people of 9/11. The disparity was extraordinary: Frightening New Yorkers led to a full presidential apology and the discharge of a White House staffer. Killing more than one hundred Afghan civilians did not require any apology.



Chaos at Kabul airport as foreigners and Afghans race to leave city. Chaos at Kabul airport as foreigners and Afghans race to leave city.

This brings us to the current spectacle in Afghanistan, where Obamas vice president and current US imperial warlord-in-chief Joe Biden is being made to look like a doddering buffoon by the chaotic and desperate scenes from the former US embassy and the Kabul airport. The total collapse of the formerly U.S.-sponsored Afghan regime cruelly mocks his claim just one month ago that everything was fine for an orderly US evacuation and the persistence of a non-Taliban government in the nations capital. Does this underestimation of the insurgent, anti-imperial forces political and fighting power sound at all consistent with earlier official American over-estimations of they and their illegitimate client regimes ability to militarily suppress resistance movement? Its much the same story all over again, as in Iraq and Vietnam, replete with images of evacuation helicopters atop a besieged US embassy that are hauntingly like those from Saigon in 1975. (In Saigon, the helicopters could fly US personnel straight to offshore imperial aircraft carriers. In Kabul, they move the imperial evictees to a nearby airport where the scene is even more chaotic).

The Biden administration is being predictably and properly mocked for his strategic blundering and the bad intelligence that produced the memorably humiliating optics (complete and utter mayhem and chaos) in Kabul. At the same time, the occasion of Washingtons final departure is leading to a fair amount of officially permissible soul-searching about whether Americas longest war was worth it in the first place  whether it was a strategic mistake to have gone into Afghanistan, the well-known graveyard of empires, in the first place.

Notice two things outside the parameters of permissible discussion: the criminal nature of the U.S. invasion from day one, and the longstanding role of the US in training and equipping right-wing Islamo terrorism in Afghanistan and the broader Muslim and Arab world.

Afghanistan did not attack the United States on September 11, 2001, al Qaeda did, and al Qaeda was sheltered and funded mainly by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, both major U.S. regional allies. France does not have the right to invade and bomb Vermont and the United States more broadly if a neofascist purportedly sheltered in the Green Mountains is said to have coordinated deadly terror attacks on the Eifel Tower and the French National Assembly. After 9/11, the various players in Afghanistan, including the Taliban government, were more than ready to talk and negotiate, possibly even hand over Osama bin-Laden for international prosecution. They did not want the worlds greatest superpower to pulverize the country. The US rejected these overtures and undertook instead to use immense force used to demolish Afghanistans physical infrastructure and to break open its social bonds (Noam Chomsky and Vijay Prashad). Like something out of the texts of the brilliant American anti-imperial New Left historian Gabriel Kolko, the American Empire went instead with the doomed and enormously destructive path of military punishment. More than 71,000 Afghan citizens died in the ensuing violence while American defense (empire) firms including Boeing, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin cashed in on the cost-plus contracts that purchased the weapons of imperial mass destruction.

At the same time, as seems unmentionable in US media, the hated Taliban is to no small extent a U.S. product. As Noam Chomsky and Vijay Prashad explained last May from beyond the margins of acceptable US debate and memory:

Afghanistan has been in a civil war for half a century, at least since the creation of the mujahideenincluding Abdul Haqto battle the Peoples Democratic Party of Afghanistan government (1978-1992). This civil war was intensified by the U.S. support of Afghanistans most conservative and extreme right-wing elements, groups that would become part of Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and other Islamist factions. Never once has the United States offered a path to peace during this period; instead, it has always shown an eagerness at each turn to use the immensity of the U.S. force to control the outcome in Kabul.

It is of course unthinkable that any talking head at CNN or MSNBC, not to mention FOX News, would point out that the best time for womens rights and advancement in modern Afghanistan came under communist power, in alliance with the Soviet Union between 1979 and the late 1980s. Driven by concerns of imperial geopolitics and not human rights (Orwellian US rhetoric notwithstanding), the United States sponsored arch-reactionary and hyper-sexist Islamist resistance to the socialist Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, backing elements it knew would crush womens rights after defeating the socialist state.

Geopolitical considerations remain paramount for the US in Afghanistan, beneath all the media horror over Taliban atrocities and sexism. As Chomsky and Prishad wrote last May, The United States, it appears, is willing to allow the Taliban to return to power with two caveats: first, that the U.S. presence remains, and second, that the main rivals of the United Statesnamely China and Russiahave no role in Kabul.

Whether those goals are attainable remains to be seen but one thing is clear: Washingtons foreign policy remains today, as across its long and bloody history, about bottom-line imperial calculation first and foremost. Human rights talk is window-dressing meant to cloak wolfish global power considerations in the deceptive sheeps cover of humanitarian concern.
Medya News, August 18, 2021

By Mark Campbell

These past few days, we have witnessed on our television screens and social media, images of the Taliban having swept through Afghanistan and on the 15th August, walked into the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul and straight into the Presidential Palace without any resistance after the withdrawal of the US forces just a few weeks before.

Yesterday, the Taliban issued a statement claiming that they will be an inclusive political force, calling on people not to leave Afghanistan and that women will be able work and take part in education. However, a key question is: What is the reality on the ground and what does the future hold for Afghan women?

I was joined for this special podcast by Afghan woman, Lida Ahmad, a member of the Solidarity Party of Afghanistan in Europe and by Remziye Mohamed, the spokeswoman of Kongreya Star, to talk about the recent developments in Afghanistan and what it means for the Afghan people and especially for the struggle of Afghan women.

Because of connection issues in North East Syria, Remziye Mohamed of Kongreya Star joined by telephone and spoke in Kurdish. Her conversation was then translated into English.

The following solidarity message that was passed on by Kurdish womens rights activist and lawyer Hawzhin Azeez, was also read out as a message from Kurdish women to the women of Afghanistan.

Whats happening in Afghanistan is devastating and horrific. As Kurds, perhaps more than any other people, we know the terror that the people of Afghanistan, especially the women and girls are feeling right now. We are painfully reminded of ISIS attacking Shengal, Rojava and Basur in 2014 and taking our Yezidi girls into slavery and forced marriages as the international community looked the other way and feigned ignorance too.

We watched helplessly as our boys were thrown into mass graves, adding to the long list of mass graves that is already the graveyard which is the artificial state of Iraq. Yet, from the horrific violence and wreckage of ISIS, we also saw the rise of the Womens Protection Units (YPJ) and the Peoples Protection Units (YPG). These women stood up and defended each other, often leading the fight even when the men had fallen back. They knew that freedom is never freely given.

It is costly and must be taken from the clutches of the oppressors. These women reminded us that change is possible, that the oppressed, the dispossessed and the erased peoples of the world can forge their own liberation ideology and fight fiercely for it and that women can and must lead the way towards that freedom. The support, logistics and weapons came, brought with the spilling of their pure, young blood and their immeasurable sacrifices they made for all women. Our struggle is not over yet, just as yours has taken a new devastating turn.

As Kurdish women, our message to Afghan sisters is that we stand in loving solidarity with you and your struggle for freedom from the oppressions of the murderous imperialist, capitalist system. We know that solidarity involves action, instead of simply praying and hoping for the best for you.

We will listen to you, witnessing your stories. We will stand beside you as you lead protests in the streets. We will write letters to our senators and MPs. We will raise our voices with you; listening and amplifying the voices of your activists and intellectuals. We will donate to your preferred charities. We will read and share your posts, articles and tweets. We know of the sacred, healing power of women coming together and so we will reach out to you, communicate with you, network, cook, child mind with you, coordinate, share stories and cry with you.

Your story is not over. This is not the end. It is a setback; but as women, our unconquerable spirits have always risen, like the phoenix from the ashes of war, death, terror and inhumane violence that the dark hearts of weak men sew in our communities. We are beside you, with you every step of the way.

Your freedom is our freedom. Your oppression is our oppression. Your lives are sacred to us and every single one of you matters to us. And we will also be there on that wonderful, hoped for day, dancing with you with all the bright, vivid colors of our beautiful, ancient cultures as we celebrate our collective freedom as women. I can already hear the crescendo of that music. () I hope you will hear it too.
Counter Punch, August 18, 2021

By Patrick Cockburn

As Taliban fighters enter Kabul, everybody from the US government to local policemen seeks to reach a deal with the new rulers of Afghanistan. Alternatively, they want to flee the country as soon as possible.

The Afghan government agreed at the weekend on a transitional government, which will avoid a direct Taliban military assault on the capital, allowing a peaceful transfer of power. At the start of this transition, at least, it may be in the interests of the Taliban to show a moderate face and not stir up opposition at home or abroad by public executions and beatings.

As Afghans see it, President Donald Trump began a series of one-sided deals favouring the Taliban in 2020, an approach confirmed by President Joe Biden in his speech on 14 April this year. He declared that the final American pull-out would be completed by the 20th anniversary of 9/11, come what may.

By fixing on such a firm date, Biden evidently did not foresee that he had set the ball rolling for the complete disintegration of the anti-Taliban forces four months later. By highlighting the immediacy and completeness of the US military withdrawal, the White House probably wanted to gain credit among American voters, who have become increasingly hostile to US involvement in foreign wars. The likely shattering impact in Afghanistan of Bidens announcement received too little attention.

Many Afghans thought that if the Americans were reaching a deal with the Taliban, then they should not be far behind  if they wanted to maximise their chances of personal survival. People began to ask why they should die for a lost cause and not reach an agreement with the Taliban as the Americans had just done, says one Afghan observer.

She points out that Taliban fighters met no military opposition when they swept through the traditionally anti-Taliban north of the country. In provinces dominated by the Tajik, Uzbek and Hazara communities, the Taliban, who largely come from the Pashtun community in the south of Afghanistan, met no armed resistance. Yet before 2001, this region was the heartland of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance. It is clear that the local leaders and former Northern Alliance warlords reached their own deals with the Taliban and refused to rally to the government side, says the observer.

Army officers abandoned military strongholds they had held for two decades, while cities and towns surrendered without a fight, the latest being Jalalabad in the east of the country. I have taken off my uniform and hidden it, says Najib, a 35-year-old police officer in Jalalabad, which fell on Saturday. Taliban white flags sprouted everywhere in the city as they took over with scarcely a shot being fired.

Najib says in a message to a friend in Europe shown to The Independent that he hopes that the Taliban will stick to their pledge not to harm anybody who did not resist them. Like many Afghans in the security forces, Najib had decided last week, as city after city fell without a fight, that the Taliban had won the war.

All over Afghanistan frightened individuals and families are desperately trying to calculate how they can either survive or escape the new regime. Many would like to flee the country, but do not know how they would do so or where they could go.

In the city of Herat, in the far west of Afghanistan close to the Iranian border, a wealthy businessman called Farid says in another message to a friend that for the last three days we have been hiding in our basement. We do not know what the Taliban will want to do. We have enough food for now, but soon we will need to go outside our house to the market.

The family had thought of leaving Herat in recent years, but the choice was not easy. The city was relatively peaceful and they owned property there as well as profitable pistachio and almond orchards. Farid considered building a private hospital where his two medically trained daughters could work as doctors, but he abandoned the idea as security deteriorated in the past couple of years.

Instead, he and his family went to Istanbul for six months, but Covid-19 restrictions made living conditions there difficult and they went back to Herat, where they are now trapped in their basement.

Others, who in the past had rejected the idea of leaving Afghanistan, now want to get out. Mustapha, the cousin of a Canadian citizen, had once been a translator, but was forced by lack of work to be a taxi driver in Kabul. Even so, he said he was happy in Afghanistan  until the past few days when he sent a message to his cousin saying he wanted to ask about the chances of getting a Canadian visa [Canada has offered to take 20,000 Afghan refugees].

Women in Kabul have no doubt that they are facing a grim and deteriorating future. Mursal, a film maker and freelance journalist, says that under the Taliban there will be no respect for women, culture or films, and no way to go on working. Najmia, an older woman and a teacher who had experience of Taliban rule 20 years ago, says: I did not expect that I would have to stop teaching again, but that seems to be the case. She likewise asks if it is not too late to get a residence visa to live outside the country.

Not everybody is stuck in Afghanistan. Mrs Abadi, a British citizen born in Iran who works for an NGO, says that it is sad that so many want to leave, especially if they have daughters. What a mess the US has left behind! She herself plans to go to Iran for a time, but intends to return when the situation clarifies. She could have a long wait.
Yes, August 24, 2021

By Sonali Kolhatkar

I am feeling a pervasive sense of deja vu in reading the news of how the Taliban has taken over Afghanistan within weeks of the U.S. withdrawal. Nearly 20 years after the U.S. invaded one of the worlds poorest nations in a retaliatory response to the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the so-called enemy force is back in power. Afghan feminist activists have spent the past two decades warning the U.S. against resorting to violent solutions like war and collaborating with armed fundamentalists. Their pleas were ignored. So, it should not surprise us that the Afghanistan occupationand withdrawalhave gone as badly many predicted they would.

Watching the Talibans consolidation of national control is like seeing the start of the war in reverse, when American forces overthrew the fundamentalist government with stunning speed in 2001. But now, the Taliban arent just back where they startedtheyve gained a well-armed military worth $83 billion, bought and paid for by American tax dollars. And just as Western media pundits and liberal feminists in 2001 justified the war in the name of saving Afghan women from the institutionalized misogyny of the Taliban, today we hear similar warnings about how women will now be subject to laws from the seventh century under Taliban rule.

I first became aware of the appalling conditions facing Afghan women in 2000 via reports by the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan. RAWAs website detailed the Talibans edicts and how the Orwellian-sounding Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice enforced those strict rules against womens education, employment, and assembly. RAWA is the oldest feminist organization in Afghanistan and for decades has been operating underground inside the country as well as in the Afghan refugee camps of neighboring nations such as Pakistan.

Inspired by their courage, I joined a handful of other Americans in starting a nonprofit organization to gather small donations from American individuals and grassroots groups to financially support RAWAs long-term educational, health, and employment projects for women and girls. In 2000, I organized a nationwide speaking tour for two young RAWA members who spoke enough English to explain to American audiences why they should care about the Talibans misogyny. During their speaking events, the women showed an appalling video that a RAWA member had secretly recorded under her burqa in 1999 of the Talibans public execution of a woman in broad daylight in Kabul Stadium.

Then, the 9/11 attacks happened, and less than a month later, American aircraft were dropping bombs over Kabul and other Afghan cities. My colleagues and I, educated by RAWA of the history of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, knew in 2001 that a war would do nothing to solve the nations problems. In fact, as RAWA members had explained during their American events, the Taliban first came to power to quell a bloody civil war that was fought by fundamentalist warlords (known as the mujahedeen) hired by the CIA to defeat the Soviets using American-supplied weapons. War was the problem, not the solution.

Warnings Ignored

Within days of the U.S. invasion, RAWA released a statement titled, Taliban should be overthrown by the uprising of Afghan nation. The organization knew that war would only hurt ordinary Afghans: This invasion will shed the blood of numerous women, men, children, young and old of our country, RAWAs statement read in part. They were right. The eventual death toll for Afghan civilians was more than 70,000likely an underestimate, given that bombing victims were often assumed to be fighters and not counted as civilians.

RAWA also warned that, The continuation of U.S. attacks and the increase in the number of innocent civilian victims not only gives an excuse to the Taliban, but also will cause the empowering of the fundamentalist forces in the region. Once again, they were right. The Taliban has justified their return to power by claiming, during their Aug. 17 press conference, that emancipating the country was a great, noble cause, to get rid of the occupiers.

RAWA was also prophetic in its prediction that U.S occupation would fuel fundamentalist violence. The U.S. oversaw the resurgence of violent armed warlords, who were handed power and money and offered up as a less extremist alternative to the Taliban. These men spent the past decade and a half ensuring that freedom remained out of reach for most women. As Human Rights Watchs Rachel Reid testified to the Senate Foreign Relations committee in 2010: The Afghan government, often with the support of the Bush administration, has empowered current and former warlords, providing official positions to some and impunity to the rest. She added, Backroom deals with extremist and abusive commanders profoundly undermine the rights and security of Afghan women.

What the Afghan People Want

When my partner James Ingalls and I visited Afghanistan in 2005 to research our book, Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords, and the Propaganda of Silence (Seven Stories, 2006), we were struck by the profound thirst among Afghan people for democracy, education, and womens rights. Not only did we meet women who were working in dangerous conditions to educate their people, but we also met men who deeply believed in equality for their mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters.

We visited an orphanage filled with bright-eyed children who had lost both parents to the civil war fueled by the U.S. or whose parents simply could not afford to care for them. We spoke with the male principal of a brand-new school in Farah province run by RAWA. We met the widows of men who had died valiantly standing up to years of American-sponsored terrorism that predated the 2001 war. And, we met a young, soft-spoken woman named Malalai Joya who would go on to win election in 2005 to the Afghan parliament and emerge as one of the most vocal critics of the warlords, the Taliban, and the U.S. occupation.

As a member of Parliament, Joya gave voice to Afghan demands for democracy and womens rights. Whether or not Afghanistans nascent government would tolerate her presence was to be a measure of the freedoms that Americans believed they had delivered via war and occupation. Within just two years, Joyas outspokenness proved to be too much for the U.S.-backed warlords in government to bear. In 2007, they banned her from Parliament and forced her underground in what was a stark symbol of Americas failure to live up to the promises of Afghan womens rights.

The Taliban Are BackBecause of Us

In a 2008 interview with The Guardian, Joya warned, The perpetrators of these crimes should have to face the courts. But every day, they become more powerful. Like RAWA, she called for international accountability for war crimes by U.S.-backed warlords. Instead, the U.S. allowed the warlords to keep a stranglehold on political power, thereby ensuring that Afghan democracy remained weak and hostile to women.

Even more presciently, Joya pointed out in the interview, Now the U.S. wants to negotiate with the brutal Taliban and share power with them. Indeed, it emerged during Barack Obamas presidency that U.S. diplomats had been engaging with Taliban leadership to lay the groundwork for a withdrawal. Now, as the Taliban resume control of Afghanistan, we see the fruits of the Western validation of the very group that the U.S. had designated as an enemy and claimed to be saving Afghan women from.

The Talibans return ought to be sparking retrospection among American elites about the folly of exploiting Afghan womens oppression for war. Instead, a deeply racist victim blaming has emerged, exemplified most recently by an ignorant headline written by USA Todays Jill Lawrence: We cant make a country care about its own women. Only Afghanistan can do that. Like so many in U.S. media today, Lawrence ignored the U.S.s central role in deliberately undermining womens rights and democracy for decades by choosing over and over again to work with fundamentalist misogynist leaders.

Perhaps if Lawrence had met people living in the U.S.-backed fundamentalist hell that has been Afghanistan since the 1970s, she might have insisted on a different headline. Perhaps she would have realized that we cant expect womens rights to flourish when we have empowered misogynist leaders in Afghanistan.

We should have listened to RAWA and Malalai Joya. But we didnt, and the Taliban are back.

Of the many people I met more than 15 years ago in Afghanistan, the words of a woman named Mariam, who lost her husband to war in the 1980s, still remain with me:

We are also human beings. We are women. We want our rights, we want education. We also want all these things that your people want. I also want to be free like you people, to go freely to America, and to Japan, and to other countries to visit and see other people, to see how they live. For how long should we be living in these rooms with no freedom and such cruelty?

I have no answers left for Mariam. Today, we have relegated Afghan women once more to a locked room with no freedom and such cruelty. No amount of bombing or U.S. troops will free them. No amount of hand-wringing or judgmental ignorance will absolve us.

When I asked RAWA about its response to the Talibans takeover, the group promised to persevere: We will continue our struggles while finding smart ways to stay safe, they wrote. But they still have fearsnamely that the world may forget Afghanistan and Afghan women like under the Taliban bloody rule in late 90s. After so many decades of using womens oppression to justify our war and occupation, the very least we can do is not forget about the women of Afghanistan.
Washington Post, August 24, 2021

By Kelly.J Shannon

On Aug. 15, the Taliban completed its conquest of Afghanistan by seizing Kabul. These events were tragically similar to those of 25 years ago, when Kabul fell to the Taliban in September 1996. Americans have recently watched chaotic scenes unfold in Afghanistan: panicked Afghans desperately clinging to evacuating U.S. planes; Taliban fighters going house-to-house hunting journalists, prominent women and Afghans who worked for the toppled government; and the Taliban beating Afghan protesters. While many Afghans face suffering under Taliban rule, women and girls have the most to fear  and lose.

After all, President George W. Bush presented the war in Afghanistan as a mission partly intended to liberate women from Taliban oppression. This framing helps explain why most Americans assume that U.S. support for Afghan womens rights began with the U.S. invasion in late 2001. But American commitment to Afghan women actually dates to the 1990s. Today, the future of this long-standing American policy is uncertain.

The Taliban first emerged in the mid-1990s. Afghanistan had been at war since the Soviet Union invaded in 1979 to prop up Afghanistans unpopular communist government. After a long and bloody war, Afghan rebel groups known as the mujahideen defeated the Soviet Union in 1989 and ousted the countrys communist government in 1992. Yet the mujahideens victory did not bring peace. The various mujahideen factions turned on one another, sparking a civil war between warlords that lasted until the Taliban seized Kabul in 1996. The warlords often brutalized Afghan civilians, including women and children.

Founded by two veterans of the Soviet-Afghan war, the Taliban cast itself as the savior of Afghanistan. Most Taliban members were young Afghan men who had grown up in refugee camps in neighboring Pakistan and had learned an ultraconservative version of Sunni Islam in the camps religious schools. The Taliban promised to end the mujahideens abuses and bring peace. The Afghan people initially welcomed it, and the group began seizing territory in 1994. However, the Taliban soon proved to be worse than the mujahideen.

In each area it conquered, the Taliban imposed the most radically conservative form of Islamist law in history. It sought to eradicate Western influences and force Afghans to conform to its vision of a purified Islamic Afghanistan. Controlling women and erasing them from public life was central to this vision. Those who violated the Talibans laws faced harsh punishment  even death  at the hands of religious police. Women could not leave their homes without a male relative. Girls could not go to school, and women were forbidden from having jobs. Male doctors were not permitted to treat female patients, depriving women of health care. A host of other laws restricted women to the home and subordinated them to control by men.

The U.S. government covertly supported the mujahideen during the Soviet-Afghan War but largely forgot about Afghanistan after the Soviet withdrawal. When the Taliban seized Kabul and control of the Afghan government in 1996, the United States and the international community scrambled to respond. The Talibans brutal human rights violations could not be ignored. Afghan women soon became central to the U.S. policy response.

The Clinton administration had worked to place womens rights at the center of domestic and foreign policy. This policy focus on women was unprecedented. Among other actions, the administration supported passage of the Violence Against Women Act in 1994. President Bill Clinton also appointed more women to high-ranking federal positions than any previous president. These included Attorney General Janet Reno and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

The administration worked closely with nongovernmental organizations to advance womens equality at home and abroad. And Clinton created new institutions focused on womens rights, including the State Department Office of International Womens Issues. As first lady, Hillary Clinton famously declared that womens rights are human rights, and human rights are womens rights, once and for all, at the 1995 U.N. World Conference on Women in Beijing.

The Talibans unambiguous and brutal oppression of women was an affront to this emphasis. The Clinton administration therefore worked with international feminist organizations as it considered its options. Most important, these groups included international NGOs like the Sisterhood Is Global Institute (SIGI), which was headed by feminists from Muslim countries and one of whose founders was Afghan. Groups like SIGI helped connect U.S. policymakers with Afghan womens groups like the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) and international networks like Women Living Under Muslim Laws. With their input, the United States refused to recognize the Taliban government specifically because of its violations of womens and girls human rights. In a powerful show of support for Afghan women, every government on Earth  with the exception of Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia  denied the Taliban recognition.

The Clinton administration paired nonrecognition with meaningful foreign aid. Because it consulted with organizations such as SIGI, the administration avoided relying on negative stereotypes of Muslims or claiming to know what was best for Afghan women. Instead, the administration let Afghan feminists set the agenda. The U.S. became the largest provider of humanitarian and development aid to the Afghan people by the time Clinton left office; a significant portion of that went to womens rights programs.

American aid did not dislodge the Taliban, but it was a critical step toward advancing womens rights in Afghanistan and integrating womens human rights into U.S. foreign policy. Nonrecognition denied resources to the Taliban; the United States scuttled an oil pipeline deal that would have enriched the Taliban. And development aid supported groups like RAWA, who resisted the Taliban and smuggled videos of its human rights abuses to international media.

The Bush administration also condemned the Talibans brutality toward women, but this time the U.S. imposed womens equality at gunpoint. The U.S. invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 in retaliation for 9/11; the Taliban had given the al-Qaeda terrorist network safe harbor in Afghanistan. But once the U.S. geared up for war, Bush announced that another important war goal was the liberation of Afghan women from the Talibans oppressive rule. Americans from across the political spectrum cheered this policy.

Later, the Obama administration continued supporting womens rights initiatives in Afghanistan, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declaring that womens rights were a cornerstone of American foreign policy. Unlike the Bush administration, the Obama administrations womens rights policies did not focus solely on Islamic countries. It instead incorporated Afghan women into its broader gender equality initiatives to advance womens education, leadership, economic empowerment and democratic participation.

Yet pairing womens rights with a U.S. invasion complicated the work of Afghan womens rights activists. Unlike the Clinton administration, the Bush administration relied heavily on the advice of groups such as the Feminist Majority, a U.S. organization that lacked experience with Afghanistan or foreign affairs. This caused the Bush administration to embrace a more imperialist approach that cast Americans as Afghan womens saviors. The Taliban and others could dismiss Afghanistans homegrown womens rights movement by charging that gender equality was a Western import. Resisting womens equality became one way of resisting American occupation. Afghan feminist groups such as RAWA opposed the U.S. invasion for this reason, arguing that war would increase womens and childrens suffering.

After nearly two decades of war, the Trump administration began negotiations with a reinvigorated Taliban and announced that the U.S. would soon withdraw. President Biden inherited this policy and chose to continue the withdrawal plans. The United States withdrawal without securing the stability of the Afghan government has brought the Taliban back to power, and Afghan women will now pay the price.

The Taliban today claims it is different from the 1990s. Yet recent actions indicate that the group is as brutal and misogynist as it was a quarter-century ago. There are reports of Taliban fighters kidnapping young women to be their wives, hunting women journalists and political leaders, murdering a young woman for not wearing a veil and using violence against Afghans who resist. As the Taliban seeks to reimpose its radical version of Islamist law, Afghan women face a grim future.

The Biden administration has said that womens rights must be central to U.S. policy. It created a new Gender Policy Council, and Biden claimed continued support for womens rights in Afghanistan in his Aug. 16 address on the fall of Kabul. Will the Biden administration really try to live up to the quarter century of promises the U.S. made to Afghan women? Perhaps the administration can learn important lessons from the Clinton administrations approach to supporting Afghan women. Denying recognition to the Taliban, letting Afghan women set the agenda and providing meaningful assistance will be crucial. If the United States fails, or chooses to abandon its commitments, Afghan women will be the ones to suffer.
Reuters, December 10, 2021

KABUL, Dec 10 (Reuters) - In the biting cold of a Kabul autumn, Hadia Ahmadi, a 43-year-old teacher who lost her job after the Taliban seized the Afghan capital in August, sits by the roadside trying to earn the equivalent of a few cents polishing shoes.

The abrupt withdrawal of foreign aid following the Taliban victory has sent Afghanistan's fragile economy into freefall, leaving millions facing hunger and making once well-off middle class families destitute.

"I turned to polishing shoes when I saw that my kids were hungry," said Ahmadi, a mother of five who did not want to give her family name.The economy has long stood on shaky foundations, dependent on aid that has now disappeared and with enormous gaps between the Kabul elite and millions living just above the breadline.

Ahmadi's family typified the progress made by a section of society during 20 years of Western-backed rule.After a decade of teaching, with a husband employed as a cook in a private company and a daughter with a job as a clerk at a government agency, they enjoyed a modest prosperity that was swept away in a matter of weeks.

With girls' schools closed indefinitely, her job was first to go, and her husband and then her daughter lost theirs soon after. A son studying computer science was forced to give up his course when the family could no longer afford the tuition fees.Roadside displays of household goods for sale have sprung up across Kabul, as families try to raise money to eat. They bear witness to how common Ahmadi's experiences have become, with people taking once unimaginable steps to survive.

"We are spending days in hunger right now, and for the time being, there is no one in our family who could financially support us all," she said.The United Nations has warned of a humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan and is trying to raise $4.5 billion to help avoid the worst, but with foreign aid blocked and the bank system near collapse the economy has been strangled by a lack of cash.

The Taliban famously did not allow women to work outside the home when they were last in power between 1996-2001 and have severely limited employment opportunities for women. But for many like Ahmadi, there is no alternative.

"Some widows are the only food providers for their families, while some women want to financially help their husbands," she said. "The Taliban must allow women to go to work. They must provide jobs for them, there is no employment right now."
Aryana News, December 11, 2021

Twenty-five Afghan journalists have their mouths shut in protest of the Taliban's economic woes, security threats and restrictions. They went on strike in a room in a corner of Kabul.

Abdul Nasser Hemmat, one of the journalists, said that the doors of the media in Kabul and the provinces of Afghanistan had been closed to journalists for three months now.

Women and men journalists have lost their jobs in many media. Abdul Nasser Hemmat states: We went on a secret strike for the third round. We urge the international community and the countries supporting Afghanistan to pay serious attention to the situation of journalists in Afghanistan.

Hemmat said that as the Taliban imposed new restrictions on demonstrations and the media, journalists' demands could not be expressed freely. Hence, this group of journalists symbolically wants to spread their protest in cyberspace by appearing in the small space of a room and closing their mouths. According to him, to draw the world's attention to the impact of freedom of expression and information in Afghanistan.

Abdul Nasser Hemmat says that journalists in Afghanistan are in a bad economic situation by losing their jobs.

Nasser, who has been producing political programs on an Afghan television channel for 12 years, says he has been involved in street vending. "The reporter's income is his mouth and his pen," he said. When his mouth and pen are closed, there is no way for his income. We symbolically closed our mouths so that they would pay attention to our condition.

The Taliban, however, have always denied violence and restrictions on the media and the work of journalists. Spokesmen for the group said they were committed to media freedom. But as far as can be seen, there are still no solutions to the economic problems of journalists as well as the financial problems of the media.
Kabul TIMES, December 11, 2021

They stressed that the offenders will be interrogated and dealt with severely.

General Mobin assures that journalists are good colleagues of the Emirate and that in any situation they want, the Islamic Emirate will work with them as much as possible.

Statement by the Afghan Media Agency in connection with the beating of a Kabul Times reporter in Kabul

Ahmad Rashed Kashefi, a Kabul Times reporter, was beaten in Kabul on the 20th of Qaws while covering a news program in the central silo of the Third District; In an early action, the Afghan media outlet reported the matter to the officials of the Islamic Emirate.

The Afghan media outlet condemned the act in contact with Mr. Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, and called for the investigation and investigation of cases of violence against journalists, especially the case of violence against Mr. Kashfi. Emphasizing the safety of journalists, Mujahid said that the case of beating Seyyed Rashed Kashefi is under investigation and the result of this investigation will be announced soon by the Islamic Emirate.

The spokesman of the Islamic Emirate also promised that the perpetrators of this case will be dealt with legally and that the confiscated equipment of this journalist will be returned to him.
Posted by Liam on at 08:48 AM CST

Greetings,fans! Last week we explored the very ending ofwith insights into the Battle of Endor, but this week were looking at the films iconic sail barge sequence in which Jabba the Hutt meets his fate. Today well be examining how the sequence was constructed and its importance within thesaga, but stay tuned throughout the week for more articles, videos, and merchandising information.Jabba the Hutt is one of the most fearsome characters within thesaga, and his cinematic debut inwas long anticipated. Although the scene in which Han encounters the famous gangster was shot for the original 1977 film, it was not included in the original release, as visual effects were not advanced enough at the time to make him convincing. However, Hans debt to Jabba still hangs over the events of bothandSeveral puppeteers helped to bring Jabba to life, and Ben Burtt designed a unique Huttese language. Lucas had always been interested in the criminal underbelly of the Star Wars universe, and he designed Jabbas palace off of classic mafia hangouts from classic 1930s gangster movies. It was also a nod to his friend Francis Ford Coppola and his work withinfranchise.However, the Sail Barge sequence brought to life Jabbas most lavish indulgence. Unlike the original film, which shot its Tatooine sequences in Tunisia,was filmed stateside in the Arizona dunes. Art director Joe Johnston helped to craft the Sarlacc Pit as Marquad, Lucas, and the crew choreographed one of the most important sequences in the entire series. It was the first time we saw Luke in action as a fully fledged Jedi, debuting his new green lightsaber.While the sequence remains of the greatestbattles ever, it unfortunately meant that Boba Fetts story was temporarily concluded. Many fans were surprised that the character, whose popularity had grown significantly since the release of, could be dispatched so quickly. He was quickly brought back in later material, with the original Marvel comics revealing Fetts survival. He would go on to be officially confirmed as living within Dark Horsesseries.Jabbas barge, named Khetanna, would become a popular site for futureadventures. The barge plays an important role in the theatrical film, as its where Jabbas infant son Rotta is captured by bounty hunters enlisted by Count Dooku. As Jabbas executions generally went much more smoothly, the barge and sarlacc pit were featured in many Legends projects, including thegames,, and thefranchise.What do you think,fans? What are some of your favorite moments from this sequence? Let us know in the forums , and as always, may the Force be with you!
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
After a wait of more than two decades, Chandigarh's Harnaaz Sandhu finally brought home the Miss Universe crown.

The 21-year-old won the title Sunday night at a glittering event held at the Universe Dome in Eilat, Israel.

"I am immensely grateful to the Almighty, my parents, and the Miss India Organisation for guiding and supporting me throughout. Loads of love to everyone who prayed and wished the crown for me. Bringing the glorious crown back after 21 years to India is a moment of great pride," Harnaaz told IANS.

Sandhu beat out 79 contestants to be crowned Miss Universe. Nadia Ferreira, Miss Paraguay was the runner-up and second runner-up was Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane.e

The Miss Universe Organisation posted the news on their official Instagram handle, with a clip showing last year's winner, Andrea Meza of Mexico, crowning an overjoyed Harnaaz.

The young modelewill bring home the crown 21 years after Lara Dutta won in 2000.

Before setting out to Israel, Sandhu told IANS in an interview that she was going toemake sure that she is the "best version of our country" and that she would make India proud this year.

She also stated that she was looking forward to strengthening relations between Israel and India and was super excited about the challenge. She said, "I have to bring back the crown home".

The Bollywood aspirant has kept her word and made India proud. Sandhu said, "One must keep growing through life as we all learn something every day. To believe in yourself is the key to success. I represented myself as the best version of myself."

Sandhu believes that pageants are a platform where womenecome forward to celebrate sisterhood and womanhood and people across the world celebrate their beauty queens and their successes with great pride. "According to me, it's all about being true to the self and people around you will definitely look at that spark in you," she stated.

Harnaaz is an alumna of Chandigarh's Post Graduate Government College Sector 11 and also a Punjabi film actress. Her mother is a gynaecologist.

The young model also has numerous pageant titles to her name like Times Fresh Face Miss Chandigarh 2017, Miss Max Emerging Star India 2018 and Femina Miss India Punjab 2019.

She has also starred in Punjabi films like 'Yaara Diyan Poo Baran' and 'Bai Ji Kuttange'.
US President Joe Biden has declared that a major disaster exists in the state Kentucky and ordered federal aid for recovery efforts in the areas affected by powerful tornadoes, severe storms, straight-line winds and flooding, according to a White House statement.

The President's declaration on Sunday makes federal funding available to affected individuals in the counties of Caldwell, Fulton, Graves, Hopkins, Marshall, Muhlenberg, Taylor, and Warren, the statement added.

"Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster."

It comes after Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, who visited the hardest-hit town of Mayfield earlier earlier on Sunday, said that the death toll from the powerful tornadoes is likely to pass 100, the BBC reported.

Calling this as the most devastating tornado event in the state's history, Beshear confirmed at least 80 deaths.

"Nothing that was standing in the direct line of (one) tornado is still standing," he was quoted as saying.

"We're still hoping as we move forward for some miracles to find more people."

Besides Kentucky, tornadoes on December 10 also lashed Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee, Xinhua news agency reported.

At 14 deaths have been reported from the other states.
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Analytical Tool & Evaluation Model: In addition to statistical review of market size estimation in dollar term and sales volume / shipments; the market study includes qualitative insights of Worldwide Automotive Recognition System using models such as Porters 5-Forces, PESTLE analysis, 5C, FPNV Positioning, Ansoff Matrix, Perpetual Mapping, Heat Map Analysis, BCG Matrix etc.



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Some Extracts from Table of Content



- Overview of Worldwide Automotive Recognition System Market

- Market dynamics

- Worldwide Automotive Recognition System Size (USD & Sales Volume) Comparison by Type (2016-2026)

- Worldwide Automotive Recognition System Size (USD & Consumption) and Market Share Comparison by Application (2016-2026)

- Worldwide Automotive Recognition System Size (Value & Volume) Comparison by Region (2016-2026)

- Market Capacity, Production, Export-Import by Region (2016-2020)

- Worldwide Automotive Recognition System Market Sales, Revenue and Growth Rate (2016-2026)

- Competitive Situation and Trends

- Market Share Analysis (2019-2021E)

- Suppliers High Performance Manufacturing Base Distribution

- Analyse competitors, Profiles, Sales Area, Product Category

- Worldwide Automotive Recognition System Manufacturing Cost Analysis

- Marketing Strategy Analysis

- Research Conclusions



..................Continued



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On the basis of report- titled segments and sub-segment of the market are highlighted below:

Global Epilepsy Drugs Market By Application/End-User (Value and Volume from 2021 to 2026) : Hospitals, Clinics & Other



Market By Type (Value and Volume from 2021 to 2026) : , First Generation Anti-epileptics, Second Generation Anti-epileptics & Third Generation Anti-epileptics



Global Epilepsy Drugs Market by Key Players: Sanofi S.A., Abbott Laboratories, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, UCB S.A., Johnson & Johnson, Novartis International AG, Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.,, Pfizer Inc., Eisai Co., Ltd. & GlaxoSmithKline plc



Geographically, this report is segmented into some key Regions, with manufacture, depletion, revenue (million USD), and market share and growth rate of Epilepsy Drugs in these regions, from 2015 to 2026 (forecast), covering China, USA, Europe, Japan, Korea, India, Southeast Asia & South America and its Share (%) and CAGR for the forecasted period 2021 to 2026.



Informational Takeaways from the Market Study: The report Epilepsy Drugs matches the completely examined and evaluated data of the noticeable companies and their situation in the market considering impact of Coronavirus. The measured tools including SWOT analysis, Porter's five powers analysis, and assumption return debt were utilized while separating the improvement of the key players performing in the market.



Key Development's in the Market: This segment of the Epilepsy Drugs report fuses the major developments of the market that contains confirmations, composed endeavors, R&D, new thing dispatch, joint endeavours, and relationship of driving members working in the market.



To get this report buy full copy @: https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=3135610



Some of the important question for stakeholders and business professional for expanding their position in the Global Epilepsy Drugs Market:

Q 1. Which Region offers the most rewarding open doors for the market Ahead of 2021?

Q 2. What are the business threats and Impact of latest scenario Over the market Growth and Estimation?

Q 3. What are probably the most encouraging, high-development scenarios for Epilepsy Drugs movement showcase by applications, types and regions?

Q 4.What segments grab most noteworthy attention in Epilepsy Drugs Market in 2020 and beyond?

Q 5. Who are the significant players confronting and developing in Epilepsy Drugs Market?



For More Information Read Table of Content @: https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/3135610-global-epilepsy-drugs-market-3



Key poles of the TOC:

Chapter 1 Global Epilepsy Drugs Market Business Overview

Chapter 2 Major Breakdown by Type [, First Generation Anti-epileptics, Second Generation Anti-epileptics & Third Generation Anti-epileptics]

Chapter 3 Major Application Wise Breakdown (Revenue & Volume)

Chapter 4 Manufacture Market Breakdown

Chapter 5 Sales & Estimates Market Study

Chapter 6 Key Manufacturers Production and Sales Market Comparison Breakdown

..

Chapter 8 Manufacturers, Deals and Closings Market Evaluation & Aggressiveness

Chapter 9 Key Companies Breakdown by Overall Market Size & Revenue by Type

..

Chapter 11 Business / Industry Chain (Value & Supply Chain Analysis)

Chapter 12 Conclusions & Appendix



Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, LATAM, Europe or Southeast Asia.



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A team of professional astronomers and citizen scientists from the Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 project has discovered a planetary-mass object co-moving with a star called BD+60 1417.

BD+60 1417, also known as SAO 15880 and TIC 159527171, is a young K0-type star located about 146 light-years away in the constellation of Ursa Major.

This star had been looked at by more than one campaign searching for exoplanet companions. But previous teams looked really tight, really close to the star, said Dr. Jackie Faherty, an astronomer at the American Museum of Natural History and co-founder of the Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 project.

Because citizen scientists really liked the project, they found an object that many of these direct imaging surveys would have loved to have found, but they didnt look far enough away from its host.

In 2018, Backyard Worlds participant Jorg Schumann from Germany alerted the project scientists to a new co-moving system: an object that appeared to be moving with a star.

After confirming the systems motion, the researchers used ground-based telescopes to observe BD+60 1417 and its companion separately and were immediately excited by what they saw.

Named CWISER J124332.12+600126.2 (W1243 for short), the new object has a mass of about 15 times the mass of Jupiter.

This range overlaps with an important cutoff point  13 times the mass of Jupiter  which is sometimes used to distinguish planets from brown dwarfs.

We dont have a very good definition of the word planet, Dr. Faherty said.

Another defining feature is how they form: planets form from material gathering in disks around stars, while brown dwarfs are born from the collapse of giant clouds of gas, similar to how stars form.

But the physical properties of W1243 do not provide any clues to its formation.

There are hints that maybe its more like an exoplanet, but theres nothing conclusive yet. However, it is an outlier, Dr. Faherty said.

W1243 is very distant from the host star  about 1,662 times farther than the Earth is from the Sun.

You had an exoplanet community just staring so close to it, Dr. Faherty said.

And we just pulled out a little, and we found an object. That makes me excited about what we might be missing in giant planets that might exist around these stars. Sometimes, you need to broaden your scope.

A paper describing the discovery was published in the Astrophysical Journal.

_____

Jacqueline K. Faherty et al. 2021. A Wide Planetary Mass Companion Discovered through the Citizen Science Project Backyard Worlds: Planet 9. ApJ 923, 48; doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ac2499
Air New Zealand announces the entry into a revised Crown support package comprising a further $500 million of additional liquidity to better position the airline during the period up to its recapitalisation, including an ordinary equity raising. The revised package, with overall liquidity support available increased to $2 billion, comprises:

 a new agreement, which gives Air New Zealand the ability to issue up to $1 billion of non-voting redeemable shares to the Crown; and

 a reduction in the existing secured facility from $1.5 billion to $1 billion, with an extended term to January 2026.

Ongoing uncertainty

On 13 August 2021, Air New Zealand, following consultation with the Crown, announced a further deferral of its planned equity raise until the first quarter of 2022. Since that announcement, the airline has been impacted by the recent domestic lockdowns and the ongoing Covid-related travel restrictions across its international network.

The Government has recently outlined a plan of phased reopening of borders from early 2022, which, in the airlines view, provides an indicative pathway to reopening New Zealand for international travel. However, the future impacts of Covid remain uncertain and circumstances continue to change all over the world.

In that context, the airline has been considering its financial support requirements during the period up to a planned equity raising  which the airline is still targeting for the first quarter of 2022 - together with what further support and flexibility may be needed if material and unexpected events were to occur in 2022 such that it becomes prudent to consider a further delay to the planned capital raise.

Revised support package

While the airline, with the support of the Crown, remains focused on an ordinary equity raise, it is important that the airline has sufficient flexibility to withstand presently unforeseen delays without relying entirely on increasing debt levels. In that context, the airline and the Crown have agreed to modify the Crown financial support for Air New Zealand and the overall liquidity support for Air New Zealand has increased to $2 billion, as follows:

(a) Air New Zealand is able to issue up to $1 billion of redeemable shares to the Crown (Redeemable Shares); and

(b) the existing facility limit under the secured Crown loan facility has been reduced from $1.5 billion to $1 billion and the maturity has been extended from September 2023 to January 2026 (Amended Crown Loan).

The key terms of the Redeemable Shares and the Amended Crown Loan can be found in a table in the attached document.

The terms of the Amended Crown Loan and of the Redeemable Shares have been negotiated between Air New Zealand and the Crown on an arms length basis with each party having been independently advised.

It is Air New Zealands intention that all amounts outstanding under the Amended Crown Loan and any issued Redeemable Shares will be repaid from the proceeds of the companys proposed equity raise, together with an aligned debt capital markets transaction. The Crown has confirmed to the airline that it shares this expectation.

NZX Waivers from NZX Listing Rules

NZ RegCo has granted Air New Zealand waivers from the relevant requirements under the NZX Listing Rules to obtain shareholder approval for entry into and performance of the Amended Crown Loan and the Redeemable Shares with the Crown, subject to the conditions specified in those waivers which are available at https://www.nzx.com/companies/AIR/announcements.

One of those NZX conditions requires Air New Zealand to convene a shareholders' meeting for shareholders to consider and vote on an ordinary resolution to ratify the entry into the Amended Crown Loan by 31 December 2022 (unless the Redeemable Shares and Amended Crown Loan no longer remain in place at that time). If that occurs, the relevant notice of meeting convening that shareholders' meeting would provide further information to shareholders about both the Redeemable Shares and Amended Crown Loan. As part of the restructure of its liquidity support for the airline, the Crown (acting by and through the Minister of Finance) has committed to Air New Zealand that it would, in its capacity as the holder of its ordinary shares in Air New Zealand, vote in favour of such a ratification resolution.

The airlines current intention remains that such a meeting will be unnecessary given Air New Zealands plans to raise equity in early 2022.

Liquidity update

As at 14 December 2021, the airline has drawn $505 million of the existing Crown Loan. It is currently estimated that drawings could be approximately $900 million by late February or March 2022. This reflects the estimated cash flow impact of ongoing travel restrictions including as set out in the airline's announcement on 17 September 2021 and the previously communicated repayment of $300 million of PAYE which is required in early 2022.

Please see the link below for details

Air NZ announces revised Crown support package

Source: Air New Zealand Limited

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First Governor-General of Independent India - A Champion of Free Enterprises

by N. S. Venkataraman

The birthday of Rajaji on 9 th December,2021 has gone unnoticed for all practical purposes in India and even in his own state of Tamil Nadu. This is in sharp contrast to the way that India celebrates the birth anniversary of eminent persons like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhai Patel . This is also in sharp contrast to the way in which Tamil Nadu celebrates the birth anniversary of eminent persons like Periyar, Annadurai, Kamaraj, Bharathiar. V.O.Chidambaram Pillai . The above persons are all eminent personalities and it is appropriate that India remember them , Rajaji is no less an eminent person than the above stalwarts. Rajaji was described as his conscience keeper by Mahatma Gandhi.

Unique role in post independent India :

While Rajajis public life can be divided into two parts namely pre independent India and post independent India , the younger generation who have not seen Rajaji and only read his life history must be wondering as to which part of his public life was more noteworthy, whether pre independent days (before the year 1947) or post independent days ( after the year 1947)

In the pre independent days, there were galaxy of great leaders and personalities crisscrossing across India under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and Rajaji was one amongst them. However, in the post independent days, the role and contribution of Rajaji was unique, as he spoke about several socio economic subjects with high level of clarity and understanding and courage of conviction, even when they would be different from the popular perspectives prevailing then. There were many such views and concepts that formed part of his speeches and writings.

Advocacy of free enterprise

One of the important policies that Rajaji recommended and advocated was about the need for promoting free enterprise that would enable rapid industrial and economic growth in the country. These views were different from that of state capitalism that the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru advocated and practiced.

At that time, Rajaji was severely criticised by the so called socialists, leftists and communists who castigated him for what they termed as taking the side of affluent and rich people and businessmen. According to his critics, the investment for growth have to be necessarily, fully or mostly with the government , to ensure ploughing of national resources and investments in the most appropriate areas that were relevant to the need of the country. According to them, such state capitalism was necessary to achieve equi distribution of income and opportunities and to prevent exploitation of deprived persons by the rich and affluent people. These critics of Rajaji including Jawaharlal Nehru had strong faith in the public sector enterprises, somewhat as reflected largely by Soviet form of governance in those days . Such advocates of state capitalism took care to make a distinction between communism and socialism.

In other words, the advocates of state capitalism were striving to implement the communist philosophy in a democratic society. Initially, this experiment caught the imagination of the country men . Massive projects like steel plants, power plants were set up under public sector and later on, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi went to the extent of nationalising the banks. Such steps appeared to take the country ahead when viewed from short term perspective. However, after the initial euphoria, they later on proved to be counter productive in the long run , as inefficiency, political interference and other negative elements crept into the management of these public sector institutions in a big way and retarded their progress. They proved to be counter productive in the long run ,as several public sector enterprises became sick and white elephants and governments having to pump money continuously into them to sustain their operations. While there are many such examples, Air India is an example in the recent memory.

Collapse of communism in Soviet Union :

To cut the long story short, the inadequacy of Nehruvian policy of state capitalism has been more than proven by the collapse of Soviet government and virtual elimination of communism from the erstwhile Soviet Union.

Dilution of communism in China

Now, the other big communist country China has considerably diluted the concept of state capitalism by encouraging private ownership in a big way and allowing multinational companies to play a big role in Chinas industrial and economic sphere. This policy of Chinese government is predominantly responsible for leap frogging Chinese economy and China to a position of world leadership. Today, Chinese form of governance is only communism in namesake and all observers agree that China is atleast, in part, a free enterprise economy. As a matter of fact, by conceding that China is a democratic society, ( whatever it may mean in Chinas parlance ) Chinese government has virtually confessed that it has moved towards a capitalist economy.

Rajajis advocacy of free enterprise proved to be correct :

In recent time, by a process of broad national consensus ,a number of public sector enterprises have been privatised in India by earlier UPA government and the present Modi government. Modi government is continuing the process and is also closing down the unviable and sick public sector units. Special incentives are being offered to promote greater participation of private sector in industrial and economic growth and one of such recent impressive incentive is PLI ( production linked incentive) scheme

All these developments clearly show that Rajajis opposition to state capitalism has been proved to be appropriate and his views have stood the test of time.

Let the country remember Rajaji :

Perhaps, it would be appropriate to celebrate the birthday of Rajaji atleast next year as a day of free enterprise.

While Rajajis birthday in December has largely gone unnoticed for whatever reasons, it is hoped that the country would remember him on his forthcoming death anniversary in the same month of December and pay the tributes to the memory of Rajaji , that this visionary and thinker par excellence richly deserves.
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Italian special event

Members of the Italian Naval Old Rhythmers Club (INORC) [IQ1NM] will be active as II1TCWC until December 17th.



Activity is to to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the first trans-oceanic wireless communication made on 12th of December, 1901, by Guglielmo Marconi. The wireless transmission took place from Poldhu (Cornwall, UK) to Saint John's (on the island of Newfoundland, Canada).

The transmission of radio waves across the ocean was not - at the time - thought possible due to the earth's curvature; this was the thesis supported by the scientists of that period. But Guglielmo Marconi managed to prove the groundlessness of those theories.

Activity will ONLY be on CW on various HF bands.

A special award is available (in PDF format); for details see QRZ.com. A special memorial commemorative QSL will be sent via Bureau to all QSOs

OPDX
SITEKI  Two police officers based at Lubulini Police Station have been implicated in a syndicate that resulted in over 2 000 goats being smuggled into Durban, South Africa in the past two years.

On Saturday, over 100 angry community members from three chiefdoms namely; Mambantaneni, KaMngometulu and KaNgcamphalala went to the police station in the morning hours to confront the stations superiors over the implicated police officers who allegedly colluded with some of the culprits known in these chiefdoms. According to one resident, they mobilised every affected homestead and went straight to the police station to demand answers as to what would be done to the law enforcers allegedly linked in aiding the goat smugglers in their unscrupulous act. The senior citizen claimed that they instituted their own investigations last month and appointed a team of young people from different homesteads to investigate the disappearance of their goats, which were driven out of their kraals during the night.

Smugglers

He alleged that transport was readily made available both locally and on the other side of the borderline by the smugglers. The elderly man said the syndicate commissioned its assignment in a planned manner without raising suspicions among the community members. We got wind that the team made a breakthrough and six people were found to be behind this act. The suspects claimed that they were assisted by police who benefitted financially after the goats were sold. In fact, two police officers, whose identities are known, are said to be linked to this corrupt act. After finding out, we shared the information with the police station but nothing was done, claimed the senior citizen.

He further pointed out that they mobilised themselves as community members and demanded answers from the stations superiors following the continued disappearance of their goats. The elderly man stated that they met the station superiors and the culprits were also brought to the meeting to explain their action. The senior citizen said the culprits had not been arrested as they denied committing the crimes. One of the culprits is an adult man and is believed to be the mastermind. The station commander decided to appoint a team of police officers to work with the different communities. The law enforcers are expected to conduct their own investigations when a theft case has been reported to the police station and apprehend the perpetrators to face the law, he explained.

When asked what was the standpoint regarding the implicated police officers, the senior citizen said the police stations superiors assured them that internal investigations would be conducted to get to the bottom of the matter. We were told that due to the fact that the culprits denied committing the crimes and failed to disclose the police officers who were assisting them in the commissioning of the crimes, the suspects should remain on the radar of the police and community police members, narrated the senior citizen. Patrick Vilane, another senior citizen, said he was optimistic that the meeting would bring hope and positive results to ensure that the perpetrators were apprehended and brought to face the wrath of the law.

Vilane said a number of homesteads had lost their livestock while the perpetrators roamed freely in the community without being arrested due to lack of evidence. It is so disheartening that with the devastating COVID-19 pandemic having hit hard on everyone, people continue to lose the little that could bring hope and life in their livelihood. If one is sick at home, we sell a goat and ensure that person gets medical attention. We also sell to buy food but when people resort to stealing our goats, what should we do? he wondered.

Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed the matter. Vilakati acknowledged that it was alleged police officers were implicated, however, highlighted that the residents could not be explicit in giving tangible evidence. The meeting was held with the residents and the police to find a solution to stock theft. There are allegations that police officers and soldiers were implicated in the commissioning of the stock theft, hence that brought confusion as to who did what and when. We believe the communities will continue to work with the police to curb the criminal activities, she said.
MBABANE  Travellers have been given some relief following that the COVID-19 PCR test prices have been reduced from E700 to E500 in Eswatini.

This is with effect from today (Monday December 13, 2021).

It is also good news to the business community in Eswatini, although there is a feeling that the prices should be further reduced to at least E250. PCR is an acronym for polymerase chain reaction. According to News24.com, Ampath and Lancet laboratories reduced their PCR tests from E850 to E500. BioLab Eswatini also announced reduced prices to adhere to the statement made by the Competition Commission in South Africa yesterday to have the COVID-19 PCR prices reduced. Lifespan Diagnosis supported by Business Eswatini (BE) has also cut the prices from E700 to E500. In an interview with Swaziland Interstate Transport Association Chairperson Dumisani Maphanga, he stated that they appreciated the cut in the PCR test prices.

Business

Maphanga said their business was almost non-existent due to the high costs of the PCR tests as most people used alternative means to cross to neighbouring countries. The tests are rather too expensive for the people. At least they should be cut to E250, Maphanga suggested. He stated that only one kombi crossed to South Africa per day, which was bad for the other public transport operators, while other routes, including Nelspruit, were no longer operational.

The chairperson said it was unfortunate that the country was heavily dependent on SA in almost everything and said in as much as the prices had been reduced, some people would continue to cross illegally to avoid paying for the PCR tests as they remained high.

Lifespan Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Zinhle Matsebula said there had been talks between themselves and suppliers in SA, who supplied big laboratories to be part of their database. Matsebula stated that what made them fail in the past were the low numbers of people testing for COVID-19. She said they had to promise improving their numbers in terms of sustainability. Matsebula stated that they noted that the prices were high because the supplies for reagents were also costly and the big laboratories which dominated had closed supplies to them.

Prices

She said Competitions Commission SA had been able to assist them in being able to buy at competitive prices from suppliers. She said their numbers were increasing and the cost of the product had become much affordable. Matsebula said they also wanted to allow the businesspeople to move at affordable rates.

BE CEO Nathi Dlamini said the cut in COVID-19 PCR test prices had been long and protracted effort by many players in the region. Dlamini said Lifespan and BE had been at the forefront of these efforts of advocating for a reduction in the price for PCR tests. People must note that the chemicals known as reagents, which are used to produce the tests, are manufactured overseas and are sold in US Dollars, he said.

Dlamini said end users like Lifespan did not enjoy good profit margins, hence they initiated the regional effort to advocate for a reduction in prices which had now been done. The entire supply chain market had to be lobbied and one has to give credit to all concerned for the sustained pressure, he added. The CEO said BE had always helped sustain the pressure for the price cut and were heaving a sigh of relief as they acknowledged everyones efforts. Dlamini said the prices may not have been reduced substantially, but felt it was a good start.
MANZINI  Not this time around and not ever, government must just forget!

This is what a majority of civil servants are saying regarding governments move to ensure that they do not participate in political issues and activities, mainly being members of political parties. They say they are prepared to fight tooth and nail to ensure that they enjoy their constitutional rights; freedom of speech and assembly. In fact, they said they would not allow government to stop them from participating in political issues and activities as per its agenda, which it had tabled to unions under the banner of public sector associations (PSAs), during their ongoing bilateral meetings, which started a fortnight ago.

They said the agenda had three items; review of collective agreements between the unions and government, discuss the participation of civil servants in politics - mainly political parties and the conversion of the Eswatini National Provident Fund (ENPF) into a national public pension. The four unions under the banner of PSAs are; the National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU), Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU), which government also refers to as Swaziland Nurses Association (SNA), and the Swaziland National Government Accounting Personnel (SNAGAP).

Some leaders of the aforementioned associations revealed that by including the issue of participation of civil servants in politics, government was on a move to try and invoke the Public Service Act of 2018. They said this Act had a section which prohibited civil servants from participating in politics, mainly being members of political parties. However, they said in their analysis, they found that this move was aimed at compromising the envisaged process of the anticipated all-inclusive national dialogue. Therefore, they said as per the countrys Constitution of 2005, which was the supreme law; they had freedom of speech and association.

According to their understanding and analysis of the Constitution, they said its supremacy clause stated that it superseded any other conflicting laws. Therefore, they argued that since the Public Service Act of 2018 was in conflict with the Constitution in terms of freedom of speech and assembly, the former took precedence over the latter. When asked what does the move by government mean to the anticipated all-inclusive dialogue, Sikelela Dlamini, the Secretary General of SNAT, said it would surely compromise the envisaged negotiation process for the national dialogue. He said this was because civil servants were members of the society as well and they had to partake in the dialogue as members of their various political organisations.

Blunder

The promulgation of the Public Service Act of 2018 was a great legislative blunder by government, he said. He said it was unfortunate that as public servants, they had submitted against the inclusion of such clauses (which will be against the Constitution). He said they made the submissions while the Act was at a Bills stage, but government allegedly decided not to implement their recommendations. He emphasised that the clause on political affiliation in the Act was violating the inalienable rights to freedom of association as members of society. Again, he said it was also against Convention no 87 of Freedom of Association and Assembly.

Convention 87 is an International Labour Organisation (ILO) convention of 1948. It is also referred to as Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention. Thereafter, he said as SNAT, they were currently building capacity to understand and know their rights. On the same note, SWADNU Secretary General Mayibongwe Masangane said the action taken by government to try to prohibit them from partaking in political activities was a gross violation of their rights. He said this was because they would be barred from contributing in paving their own future. We need to be part to the dialogue, Masangane said.

Thereafter, the unionist said the problem was that government allowed workers to participate in politics that supported only the current political order, Tinkhundla System of government. Again, he said it was unfortunate that the country had other laws that were totally against the Supreme law of the land. He said they believed that government should establish its laws and general orders in accordance with the Constitution. Therefore, he said as a union, together with their allies, they would do all and everything to defend their rights. He said this could be done by engaging in campaigns, protest actions and testing the courts when the need arose.

Even NAPSAWU said it referred the matter of participation of civil servants in politics to the Joint Negotiation Forum (JNF) because they wanted to address it with the other public sector associations. Meanwhile, SNAGAP President Eric Ndlovu said as a union, they would ask not to comment until they got a draft of the matter from government. It is worth noting that so far, NAPSAWU and SWADNU met with government over the matter but it was not discussed. SWADNU asked that its concerns should be addressed first, while NAPSAWU said it should be discussed at the JNF. Meanwhile, SNAGAP said it would wait for government to table a draft of the matter. On the other hand, bilateral with SNAT had been postponed twice.
MANZINI  Some legislators under the Manzini Region have raised concerns that the Minister of Tinkhundla Administration and Development, David Cruiser Ngcamphalala, is allegedly throwing them under the bus and setting them up against the electorate.

The Members of Parliament (MPs) claimed that the pronouncement by Ngcamphalala and the Regional Development Fund (RDF) Director, Cornelius Dlamini, wherein they propagated the availability of funding for the citizenry through the RDF, were a far-fetched dream. In the recent trips, the ministry sought to educate residents about the financial support that could be exploited through RDF and Dlamini constantly referred to the fund as ibhamama (freebie).

The ministry had, by December 2, 2021, visited 23 royal residences to educate the citizenry about the fund. In their pursuit of inculcating the knowledge about the fund, Dlamini would at instances use the unemployment statistics of South Africa in an effort to elaborate that the challenge was not unique to the kingdom; but the RDF, if pursued by the public, could contribute to the decline of the statistics in the country.

Unemployment

Unemployment rate in the country is relatively high and the most affected is the youth as they are at 58.2 per cent while the overall unemployment rate in the kingdom is 33.3 per cent of a population of about 1.2 million. This is an acute increase from 23.4 per cent recorded in 2016. In the gatherings, Dlamini said about E452 million had been disbursed towards development through RDF since its inception. He said this had brought a concern among the administration as most of the funding was addressing infrastructural development in schools such that 42 per cent had been invested in schools. It is these statistics that have forced us to promote entrepreneurship through RDF so that job opportunities could be availed, he said. In light of this, during a meeting held by legislators with the Manzini Regional Secretary Arnold Dlamini  they raised concerns about the information dispersed by the ministry.

Constituencies

Worth noting is that there are 18 constituencies in the Manzini Region. These are: Mkhiweni, Kukhanyeni, Mafutseni, Ludzeludze, Manzini North, Manzini South, Kwaluseni, Mthongwaneni and Lobamba Lomdzala. Also, under the Manzini Region are: Nhlambeni, Ntondozi, Mahlangatsha, Ngwempisi, Mangcongco, Mhlambanyatsi, LaMgabhi and Nkomiyahlaba. Each constituency is awarded a budget of E3 million annually to undertake projects by the communities. The initial stage is for members to form a group of not less than 10 members and then submit their business proposal to the chiefdom councillor  bucopho.

Thereafter, the initiative they seek to pursue is reviewed with the assistance of officers from the ministry to ensure that it is a viable idea. Once the idea is set, the members should raise 10 per cent of the capital they seek from RDF. The 10 per cent could either be stock, land or human resource to be used, for instance, during construction. Thereafter, the idea is submitted to the constituency centre where the councillors review and submit it and then legislators meet to decide on them before they are submitted to the Ministry of Tinkhundla Administration and Development.

Given the process involved, the legislators were of the view that Ngcamphalala and the Director of RDF, Dlamini, were setting them up with the constituents as the processes involved had resulted in a backlog of requests within the constituencies. They were of the view that there were requests for financial funding that were yet to be funded yet they had undergone all the stages and were awaiting approval by the ministry. Some of these were submitted over three months ago. In the meeting held last Thursday, the legislators are said to have expressed that the funding propagated by the ministry was not available, given that the requests seeking approval would exhaust the funds for some constituencies.

Manzini South Constituency MP Macford Sibandze said in his constituency, there were projects that were pending since 2018. He said to date; they were yet to be implemented. In so many meetings, I have reported to the community and now, I dont report about them because they no longer trust us, Sibandze said.

Projects

Last week, he said there were four projects that were approved and his wish was that they could be implemented in record time so that they were able to maintain their credibility in the community. Sibandze said: They (Ministry of Tinkhundla) should tell the people the truth and make them understand the logistical nightmare that the ministry is dealing with and the difficulty of assessing the funds. He said the ministry must not make it look easy because the community would blame them as a constituency council. The legislator said some of the constituents were of the view that they were sabotaging projects that were passed by their predecessors.

Also, Nkomiyahlaba Constituency MP Welcome Shongwe said there was a challenge with what the ministry was relaying to the public as it was setting them up against the electorate. He said their concerns were not borne of a will to retain their political seats, but the challenges that would arise from an aggrieved public who were bound to be frustrated by the lack of funding. Shongwe said what the ministry was saying was practically not possible. He was referring to the three-month period to access the funding by constituents. He said after an application was filed, the ministry needed to assess it and the challenge was that there was a limitation of transport to be used by officers engaging in this activity.

Three months is just too little and misleading the public, he said. Shongwe said in his constituency there was a backlog of requests as only four were approved from a list of eight. He said the quartet that was endorsed had a budget of E2.6 million in total, which meant that the remainder would fall into the next financial year.

Requests

Shongwe also said the impression that requests were approved in three months could lead to people flooding them with requests seeking to venture into cash-generating projects, given the unemployment rates. Where will the funding come from if we are failing to meet the budget for projects that are already assessed and seek to be implemented? He was of the view that the ministry was setting them up against the public as they were aware of the logistics and the fact that the E2.8 million awarded to each constituency was not sufficient.

On the other hand, Kukhanyeni Constituency MP Malavi Sihlongonyane said there were administrative issues that needed to be addressed within the RDF. He said these included the turnaround time for the projects as some businesses were time bound. Sihlongonyane said it was imperative for government to act more or less like banks which stated when money would be made available. We need to give the public a turnaround time on when their requests will be dealt with and it needs to be practical, Sihlongonyane said.

Time-frame

He emphasised that at the moment, the turnaround time for dealing with requests could not be three months as legislators met within that time-frame to deal with requests. Also, the RDF Portfolio Committee Chairperson, Michael Masuku, confirmed the meeting. He said they had requested the Regional Secretary to address the issue with the Tinkhundla Ministry as it set to undermine their efforts.

Masuku said the legislators were of the view that the constituents would flood the constituency centres with requests and when not attaining funding within the three months announced by the ministry, start casting doubt on their (legislators) capabilities in executing their (electorate) interests. In the three months that is announced by the minister to complete the processes, it is hard to achieve the funding. For example, in my constituency, there is a request for a hardware store, which its expenditure is set at over E2.1 million. This is not the only project; so, where will the funding for the others come from if the money is available in three months yet the budget for a constituency is E3 million? Masuku said in entirety, each constituency ended up with about E2.8 million as the E200 000 ended up being used for administrative duties.
MBABANE  Disease knows no boundaries.

Africa will hold its inaugural International Conference on Public Health (CPHIA) December 14-16, 2021. The CPHIA, hosted by the Africa Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), will create a unique platform where African researchers, policymakers and stakeholders can share perspectives and research findings in public health. They will do so while ushering in a new era of strengthened scientific collaboration and innovation across the continent

Africa CDC is a specialised technical institution of the African Union (AU) established to support public health initiatives of member States and strengthen the capacity of their public health institutions to detect, prevent, control and respond quickly and effectively to disease threats.

It must be said that the inaugural CPHIA was postponed earlier this year because of COVID-19. Public health refers to the health of the population as a whole, especially as a subject of government regulation and support while CDC Foundation defines it as a science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities. Even though Dr. Simon Zwane, the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Health, said on Friday they were not aware of the event, but organisers of the conference said they could still attend the event. I hope we will receive an invitation anytime. As you put it, it looks like its going to be a big event, and we should be there as part of Africa, said Dr. Zwane in an interview on Friday.

According to Africa CDC, COVID-19 pandemic was far from over in Africa. With seven million infections and almost 175 000 lives lost across the continent, the CDC said its impact had already been severe. Economic and social disruptions caused by COVID-19 have threatened even more lives and livelihoods, putting years of human development progress at risk of reversal. Over the course of three days, the centre said scientific tracks focusing on the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, health systems strengthening and learning from the COVID-19 response would be covered through keynote and panel presentations, plenaries and participatory sessions with a special focus on skill building for early career professionals.

State leaders to attend

Government leaders expected to address the conference include Cyril Ramaphosa, the President of South Africa and African Union (AU) Champion on COVID-19, Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, who is also the Chairperson of the AU and Paul Kagame, the President of Rwanda and AU Champion for Domestic Health Financing. Others to feature in the programme are Moussa Faki Mahamat, the Chairperson of the Commission of the AU, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Professor Agnes Binagwaho, the Co-Chair of CPHIA 2021 and Vice Chancellor and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Global Health Equity. Professor Senait Fisseha, the Co-Chair of CPHIA 2021 and Director of Global Programmes at the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation alongside Dr. John Nkengasong, the Director of Africa CDC, will also make presentations.

The three-day conference has seven sessions that include one on epidemiology of SARS-COV-2, virology, prevention and clinical management, vaccination in Africa: research capacity, advocacy, manufacturing and distribution, COVID-19 and equitable health system strengthening in Africa and the case for a new public health order in Africa.

There shall be sessions on assessing the response to COVID-19 in Africa to prepare for future health threats; digitisation, modelling and analytics to support an effective public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic and Agenda 2063 under the theme private sector, community and leadership approach in combating COVID-19 and other emerging diseases. While the African continent was predicted to be particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, the organisers said populations appeared to have thus far evaded widespread morbidity and mortality due to the virus.

It is said that such a track will assess how the pandemic has unfolded on the African continent, discuss possible biologic mechanisms that may have mitigated the impact of the disease, identify areas of particular need for future research in the African setting, and discuss the future of COVID-19 in Africa.

The conference programme further indicates that there shall be a presentation by Dr. Thomas Kariuki on the current state of Africas preparedness to tackle public health emergencies.

Dr Kariuki is Executive Director of the Science for Africa (SFA) Foundation. He previously served as the Director of Programmes for the Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA) and Director of a biomedical facility, the Institute of Primate Research / National Museums of Kenya where he established his infectious immunology research group.

It has been established that attendants would also have the privilege to learn about a study by Dr. Amadou Sall on Africa collaborative initiative to advance diagnostics and achieve equitable access to health. Dr. Sall is the Chief Executive Officer of Institute Pasteur de Dakar in Senegal and Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Arboviruses and Viral Hemorrhagic Fever. According to event organisers, the first CPHIA 2021 comes at a critical time on the continent and in the world as COVID-19 has strained health systems globally. With limited access to vaccines in Africa, it must be said that the pandemic has laid bare deep inequities in access to healthcare and scientific innovations.
Corporate governance can be improved if boards align with global best practices and focus more on diversity, independence, strategy and risk management, as well as digital transformation, said the GCC BDI in a new report.



Corporate governance can be improved if boards align with global best practices and focus more on diversity, independence, strategy and risk management, as well as digital transformation, said not-for-profit organisation GCC Board Directors Institute (GCC BDI) in a new report.



The GCC BDIs 7th Board Effectiveness Report produced this year in collaboration with Heidrick & Struggles, surveyed board directors and C suite executives on corporate governance trends with a focus on the Covid effect.



The survey polled 113 board members from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and UAE to identify the latest trends in board effectiveness, any underlying gaps and recommendations to effectively address any shortcomings to make private and public sector companies more competitive.



The findings indicate that family-owned firms and listed company boards need fresh perspectives. They need to bring in highly skilled people in strategy, digital technology, risk management and sustainability. The report also highlights the need to develop effective strategy, with 18 percent of respondents believing boards fail to devote enough time for strategic planning. Diversity, independence and a limited pool of suitable directors are also areas that lag behind other markets.



Jane Valls, Executive Director at GCC BDI, said: We continue to provide support to GCC boards as Gulf countries share a growing awareness of the need to implement best practices that promote greater transparency, independence, diversity and oversight. At GCC BDI, we aim to work hand-in-hand with all boards  whether family-owned businesses, large private companies, listed companies or government entities - to provide the knowledge, skills and tools to reach and sustain effective corporate governance.



This report signifies our commitment to provide practical and pragmatic solutions for the future. We are confident that the coming years will bring about positive change as board directors adapt to a competitive, dynamic and ever-evolving business landscape with new opportunities.



The report also details lessons learned by boards which operated through the Covid pandemic: 61 percent of the surveys respondents thought their board navigated the pandemic successfully, while 22 percent said they failed to manage it well but learned valuable lessons. Environmental and social issues will become a bigger priority moving forwards, with 88 percent agreeing that sustainability will help their board create long-term value. It comes after one in five respondents claimed environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) is not usually discussed in board meetings.



To help board directors build and sustain effective governance, GCC BDI has recommended several ways to improve standards: hire more diverse board members, make strategy a board priority, set up regular board and CEO evaluations, and remain agile when it comes to sustainability and ESG policies.



Richard Guest, Partner-in-Charge of Heidrick & Struggles Mena, said: As one of the founding organisations of GCC BDI, and as a premier provider of global board, leadership and organizational advisory insights, we are delighted to have partnered with GCC BDI on their 2021 Board Effectiveness Report. The region is going through an enormous amount of change and this is likely to accelerate. Boards therefore need to be ready and fit for purpose, and good corporate governance is the foundation stone.



The GCC BDI report sheds insightful findings on the progress of boards in the region, said Markus Wiesner, Regional Managing Partner, Heidrick Consulting for Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Emerging Markets, at Heidrick & Struggles.



Almost three-quarters of respondents shared that they do not have a formal succession planning process in place. Apart from grooming the incumbents, succession planning for boards will provide the opportunity to address diversity concerns, not just in terms of gender and ethnicity but in terms of experience as well. Bringing in new directors with different backgrounds will enhance board discussions and problem-solving by adding fresh perspectives, thereby improving their effectiveness.  TradeArabia News Service
Harnaaz Sandhu of India was crowned Miss Universe 2021 today (December 13) at the 70th Miss Universe beauty pageant in the Israeli port city of Eilat.

The pageant was held in the resort city of Eilat, with 80 women from around the world competing for the crown. Sunday night was the last day of the competition, with eliminations narrowing down the number of finalists until the last two remained.

The coveted Miss Universe title has finally returned home - after 21 years - screamed headlines in Indian media as the 130-billion strong nation celebrated Chandigarh-born beauty's win at the gala event.

Harnaaz, who started modelling at a young age, gradually made her way to beauty pageants and won her first pageant  Miss Chandigarh 2017 followed by Miss Diva Universe 2021 title that paved her way to the Miss Universe 2021 pageant.

Nadia Ferreira of Paraguay and Lalela Mswane of South Africa were the first and second runners-up, respectively, reported CNN.

An actor by profession, Harnaaz said she was inspired by actor and Miss World 2000 Priyanka Chopra and her body of work. She is now a strong advocate for womens empowerment, particularly their constitutional rights to education, careers, and their freedom of choice.

"In her spare time, Harnaaz enjoys the company of friends, loves yoga, dancing, cooking, horse riding, and playing chess. She is a water baby and never misses a chance to jump into a pool to rejuvenate herself. She believes in the saying  Great things happen to those who dont stop believing, trying, learning, and being grateful, reads her delegate bio.

In a speech on stage during the pageant, Sandhu urged young people to "know that you are unique and that's what makes you beautiful, stop comparing yourself to others.

"I believed in myself, and that's why I'm standing here today," she added, to loud applause from the audience.

After her win was announced, she celebrated with other contestants on stage, shouting to a camera, "Chak de Phatte India," a Punjabi exclamation similar in meaning to "Let's do this, India!"

Former Miss Universe Lara Dutta congratulated her on the win.

Congratulations @HarnaazSandhu03 !!!! Welcome to the club!!! Weve waited 21 long years for this!!! You make us SO SO proud!!! A billion dreams come true!!! she tweeted.

This year's competition marks the second Covid-era Miss Universe pageant. Israel's borders were set to open to vaccinated tourists ahead of the main event this year, which would have allowed thousands of fans to attend.

But with the emergence of the new Omicron variant, the Israeli government shut its borders to foreigners two weeks before the competition, throwing travel plans and preparations into chaos. One contestant, Miss France, tested positive for the virus upon landing in Israel and had to quarantine -- getting out just in time for the preliminary competition on Friday.
The worlds flagship Free Zone, DMCCs (Dubai Multi Commodities Centre) trade mission to Kyiv, Ukraine, shed light on the commercial appeal of Dubai and promoted the ease of doing business with the world through DMCC.

Dubais appeal to international businesses as a platform for expansion, given its strategic location and global connectivity, was discussed as was DMCCs position as a leading commercial hub and gateway to global trade flows.

The programme also featured discourse about the significant opportunities created for foreign businesses by Expo 2020 Dubai.

The trade mission, which saw DMCC stage its flagship Made for Trade Live roadshow event, represented DMCCs first official visit to Ukraine, and was designed to underscore how through DMCC, Ukrainian businesses can expand in the region and access some of the globes fastest growing markets. To date, DMCC is home to nearly 200 Ukrainian companies.

Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, DMCC, said: Promoting the ease of doing business in the UAE and driving trade flows to Dubai is a critical part of our mandate at DMCC  showcasing the great potential that Dubai and DMCC has to offer through such roadshows. With over 19,000 members, our business district continues to grow rapidly, and encouragingly, we are seeing increasing interest from new markets. Ukraines solid economic growth is led by a good agricultural harvest, which is an integral part of DMCCs focus and future developments.

Ukraines technology, IT, crypto and blockchain scene is one of the most impressive, and fastest growing in Europe. Sharing updates on our technology portfolio of members as well as the rapidly expanding DMCC Crypto Centre were well received. There is huge scope to collaborate in these critical economic sectors and maximising this opportunity will be the focus of our efforts going forward.

During the week, DMCC met with senior representatives of Kyiv Chamber of Commerce, CEO Club Ukraine, Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ukrainian Business Council and the Union of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs (SUP). Strategic meetings were also held between DMCC and representatives of UNIT City Innovation Park, the Blockchain Association of Ukraine, Blockchain Hub Kyiv, WTECH Ukraine, AVITAR and the Export Promotion Centre of Ukraine. The Place Group and Quadrate 28  both of whom are Ukrainian owned DMCC member companies  formed part of the Dubai delegation in Kyiv.

Gennadiy Chyzhykov, President, Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, added: We are delighted to support DMCC in communicating the unparalleled opportunities that Dubai has to offer for Ukrainian businesses seeking expansion in the region. Being one of the most interconnected and fastest growing business districts in the world, we are confident that this collaboration with DMCC will contribute to strengthening our commercial relationship with the UAE and result in an increase in bilateral trade opportunities. We look forward to opening doors for businesses in both countries to thrive and succeed.-- TradeArabia News Service
Bahrains exports of national origin increased by 111% to BD406 million ($1.08 billion) during November 2021, compared to BD192 million for the same month of the previous year.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ranked first among countries receiving Bahraini exports of national origin, importing BD62 million worth of goods from Bahrain. The US came second with BD47 million and China third with BD38 million, said the Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) in its foreign trade report for November 2021.

Unwrought aluminium alloys emerged as the top products exported during November 2021 with BD107 million, agglomerated iron ores and concentrates alloyed was second with a value of BD70 million and unwrought aluminium not alloyed came third with BD33million.

The kingdoms top 10 countries in terms of exports accounted for 74% of the total value, with the remaining countries accounted for 26%.

The value of imports increased by 13%, reaching BD453 million during November 2021 compared to BD402 million for the same month of the previous year. The top 10 countries accounted for 71% of the value of imports, with the remaining countries accounting for 29%.

According to the report, China ranked first when it came to imports to Bahrain, with a total of BD67 million, Brazil was second with BD55 million, and UAE was third with BD36 million.

Non-agglomerated iron ores and concentrates emerged as the top product imported into Bahrain with a total value of BD63 million, while aluminium oxide was second with BD39 million and gold jewellery third with BD18 million.

The total value of re-exports increased by 7% to reach BD49 million during November 2021, compared to BD46 million for the same month of the previous year. The top 10 countries accounted for 88% of the re-exported value, while the remaining countries accounted for the 12%. The UAE ranked first with BD13 million, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia second with BD11 million, and Singapore third with BD7 million.

Parts for airplanes was the top product re-exported from Bahrain with BD7 million, gold ingots came in second place with BD5 million, and precious metal came third with BD3 million.

As for the trade balance, which represents the difference between exports and imports, it recorded a surplus of (BD2 million) in the value of the trade balance in November of 2021 compared to the same month of the previous year, which recorded a deficit of (BD163 million), and thus the value of the deficit decreased by 101% year-on-year.-- TradeArabia News Service
The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) has signed a memorandum of co-operation with Bahrain's Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism to strengthen the strategic partnership in the field of the intellectual property between the two sides, during the work of the Saudi-Bahraini Co-ordination Council, on the sidelines of the official visit of Saudi Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz to the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The two sides intend to enhance the joint work, co-ordination, exchange consultation and experiences to develop strategies and exchange intellectual property information and data, Saudi Press Agency SPA reported.

The memorandum also aims to build capacities, train and develop human resources, and enhance respect and enforcement of intellectual property, in addition to sharing patent examination work and developing intellectual property processes and procedures.
C3 (Creating Culinary Communities), the leading global food tech platform, joins WK Holding, the leading Saudi Arabia based investment House, to announce Ian Toal as CEO of C3 Arabia.

Toal's new post encompasses more than 30 years of leadership experience in global hospitality, international supply chain management and quick service restaurants.

The news of Ian Toal's appointment follows the recent announcement of the partnership between C3 and WK Holding to establish C3 Arabia, an international joint venture to manage and operate full service culinary markets featuring award-winning chef-driven restaurants, digital kitchens and mobile delivery.

Launched in 2019 by Sam Nazarian, Founder and CEO, C3 has pioneered the food tech space and is the fastest-growing food-tech platform today.

C3 is re-imagining the food service industry by tapping into the power of exceptional culinary talent, digital brand IP, and bringing its portfolio of more than 40 culinary brands to established digital kitchens and mobile delivery with the next-gen Go by Citizens app.

Expanding into international markets, C3 Arabia is a joint venture funded by Smart Food Holding (SFH) , a division of WK Holding and C3 by sbe through its consortium of high-profile partners, including Layla Abuzaid, Tharawat Technology and Yasser Alobaidan. Abuzaid has embarked to assemble an operating team based in Riyadh, which Toal will now oversee, working to identify, mentor, and incubate local culinary talent and deliver best in-class execution across the C3 Arabia operating platform.

Commenting on the new appointment, Nazarian said: "This is an exciting time for C3 as we introduce our digital restaurant brands to Saudi Arabia. I am thrilled to have C3 Arabia's CEO Ian Toal at the helm to ensure a success. His wealth of knowledge and experience are invaluable as we work to create renowned high-energy dining destinations for food and culture in the Middle East."

Layla Abuzaid, Founder and CEO of WK Holding, said: "We're thrilled to announce the appointment of Ian Toal as CEO of C3 Arabia. Ian's robust track record serving as former CEO of Alfa Corporation and President of Alshaya Group fueled by his pioneering outlook will prove invaluable as we transform the food and beverage industries in the region. Ian's regional expertise combined with the visionary leadership of our partner Sam Nazarian will generate an unprecedented platform to unlock local culinary talent, celebrate Saudi's vibrant culture and usher in a dynamic, holistic lifestyle model that positions the kingdom as a global hub and an epicenter of innovation in line with Vision 2030."

Abuzaid continued: " We're in a privileged position. We're able to instigate truly transformative change and embed world-class operations because of the vision and ambition of our government. It takes unwavering resilience and an enduring commitment to the future of our country and its people to break through barriers, and today our country has this leadership."

Toal has a career that has spanned from the USA, Europe, and the Gulf Cooperation Council - the economic union that consists of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Toal has led more than 40 brands across 600 restaurants in 10 countries. These successes have led to a global understanding of what it takes to make international business successful, as well as achieving targets both financial and personal for investors.

Most recently, Toal helmed the Riyadh-based Alfa Co which operates 10 restaurant and digital kitchen brands globally and holds almost 100 brick and mortar locations. Alfa Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary by Al Fasaliah Group, one of the top Saudi corporations led by its president Prince Mohammed Al Faisal. During his time with Alfa Co, Toal led the expansion of award-winning restaurants such as Steak House, Piatto, FireGrill, City Fresh Kitchen and Steak House Burgers.

Prior to his work with Alfa Co, Toal served as the President of Alshaya Group based in Kuwait. During his time with Alshaya Group he managed the expansion of global brands such as The Cheesecake Factory, PF Changs, Texas Roadhouse, Shake Shack, Blaze Pizza, Raising Cane's, Pizza Express, Katsuya, Spontini, Dean & Deluca, Ihop and Pinkberry. He was voted "World's Best Restaurant Partner" by the Global Restaurant leadership conference in 2017 /18.

Commenting on his new post, Toal said: "I am honoured to be working with visionaries Sam Nazarian and Layla Abuzaid. The sky is the limit as we aim to bring C3's world renowned talent and global brands to Saudi Arabia. I look forward to leading this charge and identifying, mentoring and incubating local culinary talent, working to brand and export Saudi hospitality culture to the world."

C3 Arabia is set to introduce 40 international brands to the region including C3's popular global brands including Umami Burger, Sam's Crispy Chicken, Krispy Rice, Sa'Moto, Cicci di Carne, El Pollo Verde, Kumi, EllaMia, Plant Nation, 12 Caviar and more.

For C3, no other restaurant group has amassed such an influential collective of globally renowned culinary talents. Across C3 portfolio brands, Chefs Masaharu Morimoto, Dario Cecchini, Katsuya Uechi, Dani Garcia, Michael Israel, Vincenzo Rossy and Romain Fornell have made haute cuisine accessible, cultivating a global community of fans.

C3 has sold more than 2.3 million meals during the last twelve months. As of February 2021, C3 has over 800 digital brand locations across the US with an expansion pipeline to well over 1,000.

To date, C3 has hired more than 3,500 employees across the US with plans to hire another 5,000 employees domestically and internationally with offices in Miami, Los Angeles, New York, London, UAE and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.-- TradeArabia News Service
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, the UAEs ultra-low-fare national airline, will now add its second Russian flight destination, this time to Krasnodar.

The announcement follows the recent addition of Moscow to the airlines flight network making Krasnodar the second Russian destination available with Wizz Air Abu Dhabi.

The flight to Krasnodar will operate two times a week on Monday and Friday. Tickets are on sale on wizzair.com and the airlines mobile app (also available in Arabic), with fares starting as low as AED309 ($84.13).

Krasnodar is located in southern Russia on the Kuban River, within close proximity to the Black Sea and the main resorts and attractions of the country. Its convenient geographical location makes it a convenient transfer point for traveling to the south of Russia, eastern Europe and western Asia.

A city boasting ethnical diversity, it is an important cultural and historical hub within Russia offering exploratory opportunities for all the family. With the addition of Krasnodar, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has announced 34 routes since its operations commenced in January 2021.

Kees Van Schaick, Managing Director of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi said: Yet again, we are happy to be adding rapidly to our route network  we are really ramping up operations since travel restrictions eased in and out of the UAEs capital. Krasnodar brings another exciting opportunity for travellers to explore eclectic and culturally diverse cities at ultra-low fares. Travel between Russia and the UAE has always been popular, and were pleased to now be able to serve this demand to two of Russias major cities  Moscow and Krasnodar. We will be continuing to add to our network and look forward to announcing new routes soon.

Alexey Starostin, CEO of Aerodynamics (Managing ompany of Krasnodar, Sochi and Anapa Airports): We are pleased to welcome a new foreign carrier at Krasnodar International Airport - Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, which will operate direct flights between Abu Dhabi and Krasnodar from February 2022. We are confident that the new route will be popular among not only residents of the Krasnodar Region, but also among residents of nearby cities due to convenient location of Krasnodar airport and its catchment area.

As the Airline is continuously developing its route network from Abu Dhabi, passengers can connect in Abu Dhabi to other flights of Wizz Air, for example to Bahrain, Oman and other countries. At the same time, Krasnodar region can become a hew hot spot for tourists from UAE because of unique nature, comfortable climate, cuisine, water SPA, and different sport and health activities.

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is currently flying to Alexandria (Egypt), Almaty (Kazakhstan), Athens (Greece), Baku (Azerbaijan), Belgrade (Serbia), Kutaisi (Georgia), Kyiv (Ukraine), Manama (Bahrain), Moscow (Russia), Muscat (Oman), Odesa (Ukraine), Sarajevo (Bosnia), Sohag (Egypt), Tel-Aviv (Israel), Tirana (Albania) and Yerevan (Armenia).

For ultimate peace of mind during this uncertain time, passengers can book tickets with confidence, thanks to Wizz Flex. With Wizz Flex, passengers can cancel their flight up to three hours before departure without any fee and receive 100% of the fare immediately reimbursed in airline credit.-- TradeArabia News Service
The International Day of Neutrality and the 26th anniversary of Turkmenistans status of permanent neutrality recognized by the UN General Assembly resolution were celebrated on a large-scale in Turkmenistan. The major festive events took place in Ashgabat, including a ceremony of laying flowers at the monument of neutrality with participation of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

The head of state laid flowers at the foot of the majestic monument erected in the picturesque area of the Turkmen capital near the foothills of Kopetdag. The Turkmen leader was followed by the leaders of parliament, government officials, heads of the military and law enforcement agencies, ministries, departments, the Ashgabat city administration, ambassadors of Turkmenistan in foreign countries, heads of the diplomatic missions of foreign states and international organizations accredited in the country, elders and representatives of public associations. Participants of the international conference titled Policy of Peace and Trust  Foundation of International Peace, Security and Sustainable Development also participated in the ceremony as guests of honor.

A festive concert marking the International Day of Neutrality and the 26th anniversary of the status of permanent neutrality of Turkmenistan was also held at the Mukam Palace of the State Cultural Center in Ashgabat. Festive events celebrating this day were held in all regions of Turkmenistan.

 TURKMENISTAN.RU, 2022
New Delhi, Dec 13 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a petition filed by the BJP unit in West Bengal seeking deployment of central forces in the upcoming municipal polls in the state, and directed the party to approach the Calcutta High Court with its prayers.

The Bharatiya Janata Party contended that the apex court recently entertained similar petition during Tripura's local body elections.

The top court said if it started entertaining petitions like this, then people and political parties from across the country will start filing petitions directly before the apex court even on issues like panchayat and municipal elections.

"We cannot take decisions with respect to the requirement of central forces.

"The high court will be in a better position to know the situation," a bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao and comprising Justice BR Gavai said.

The bench of the apex court asked senior advocate Maninder Singh, who was appearing for the BJP, to approach the Calcutta High Court with its prayers.

UNI SM ING
Inter-Agency Meeting on Outer Space Activities:

2021, Fortieth session

14 December 2021, 14:00-17:00 CET (Vienna time), Online/Virtual (MS Teams)

1. Introduction

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA) is pleased to announce that the 40th session of the United Nations Inter-Agency Meeting on Outer Space Activities (UN-Space) will be held on 14 December 2021, 14:00-17:00 CET (Vienna time) in an online format using MS Teams platform.



Substantive items on the agenda of the fortieth session will include (a) update on the "Space2030" agenda; (b) preparation of the report of the Secretary-General on the coordination of space-related activities within the United Nations system; (c) special report by UN-Space on initiatives and applications for space-related inter-agency cooperation; (d) coordination of future plans and programmes of common interest for cooperation and exchange of views on current activities in the practical application of space technology and related areas; and (e) organization of open session.

Background to the Inter-Agency Meeting:

The Inter-Agency Meeting has been set up in mid-1970s to promote collaboration, synergy, exchange of information and coordination of plans and programmes of United Nations entities (departments, offices, funds, programmes and specialized agencies) in the implementation of activities involving the use of space technology and its applications. In December 2013, the General Assembly, in its resolution 68/75, recommended that the Inter-Agency Meeting on Outer Space Activities be referred to as "UN-Space".

In line with the Secretary-General's bulletin on the Organization of the Office for Outer Space Affairs ( ST/SGB/2020/1), UNOOSA leads the Inter-Agency Meeting on Outer Space Activities (UN-Space) in its work on the examination of how space science and technology and their applications could contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

UN-Space produces reports of the Secretary-General on the coordination of space-related activities within the United Nations system and generates special reports addressing specific topics UN-Space organizes open sessions with the participation of Member States and other stakeholders to promote dialogue and demonstrate examples of how the United Nations system responds to the selected themes.

Note: The regular cycle of annual sessions of UN-Space has been disrupted in 2020 owing to the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which has had unprecedented and multifaceted effects on all activities across the United Nations system.

2. Preliminary Programme
Let Cooler to Go do all the shopping for a day at the beach.


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Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-24 19:51:18|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on March 23, 2021 shows a Chinese expert giving theoretical lessons to Beninese farmers during a training in driving agricultural machinery in Seme-Kpodji, Benin. (Photo by Seraphin Zounyekpe/Xinhua)

COTONOU, March 24 (Xinhua) -- About 225 agricultural operators in Benin on Tuesday began a one-month training session on Chinese expertise in farm machinery operation which aims to improve cotton productivity in the country.

Slated to end on April 24, the training session is hosted by the China-Benin agricultural pilot center at Seme-Kpodji, about 20 km southeast of the economic capital Cotonou.

At the opening ceremony, Benin's minister of agriculture, livestock and fishery Gaston Dossouhoui said the training session will provide stakeholders in the cotton sector with qualified operators who are able to properly carry out agricultural operations.

He also recalled the objectives of Benin to achieve one million tons of seed-cotton by 2023 with increased cotton productivity, thanks to the ongoing training session at the agricultural pilot center.

The Ambassador of China to Benin Peng Jingtao reiterated that agricultural cooperation always remains a priority in bilateral relations.

Peng welcomed the contribution of the Chinese task team supporting the cotton sector in Benin that became Africa's largest cotton producer with 714,714 tons of cotton production during the last crop year.
Gambia's truth commission has wrapped up more than two years of public hearings into alleged human rights violations committed during the 22-year rule of former dictator Yahya Jammeh.

A steady parade of witnesses concluded their testimony Friday, delivering accounts of arbitrary arrests, torture, corruption and summary executions, in some cases with the victims' bodies fed to crocodiles.

Jammeh took power in a 1994 military coup, controlling the tiny West African nation until losing the presidency to Adama Barrow in a December 2016 election. Jammeh, now 56, fled with his wife into exile in Equatorial Guinea.

Barrow's government set up the independent Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission, which began the hearings in January 2019 and heard from 392 witnesses. The commission is expected to submit a report to the president in July. Barrow then will have six months to implement the commission's recommendations.

"The testimonies heard during the 871 days of public hearings brought pain and bewilderment," said Lamin Sise, the commission's chairman.

Arbitrary arrests, unlawful detention and killings, torture, enforced disappearances and sexual violence allegedly committed by Jammeh and accomplices "achieved the desired effect of instilling fear among the Gambian population," Sise said. "It also gave them time and space to pillage the country's resources."

Commissioners visited a crocodile pond that Jammeh ran in his native village of Kanila. They were presented with evidence that the animals were fed people, including babies, who were killed for ritual purposes.

The commission also investigated abuses including the 2005 slaughter of roughly 50 African migrants. Lead counsel Essa Faal said that, based on testimony and other evidence, he calculated that 214 people died at the hands of Jammeh and his accomplices.

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Soldiers accused of coup attempts under Jammeh's rule were summarily executed, student protesters were massacred, and journalists were killed or exiled, said those offering testimony, which included some perpetrators.

Human Rights Watch noted, in a May 24 report, that three of Jammeh's alleged accomplices "already have been detained and are facing trial abroad under the legal principle of universal jurisdiction."

It said Michael Sang Correa faces trial in the United States and Bai L. in Germany, where suspects' full names are not disclosed because of privacy rules. Both were members of Jammeh's elite guard, called the "junglers." Ousman Sonko, the former interior minister, faces trial in Switzerland.

The truth commission cannot convict, but it could recommend criminal charges against Jammeh and others, according to Agence France-Presse. The commission is expected to recommend steps for accountability, with proposals focusing "on the possibility of a "hybrid" court with Gambian and international staff operating within the Gambian judicial system," Human Rights Watch said.

Faal said if Jammeh is not prosecuted in Gambia, he could be held to account elsewhere, including in the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

This report originated in VOA's English to Africa Service.
Media freedom groups from across the globe have condemned King Mswati III, the absolute monarch in Swaziland (eSwatini), for the attacks made by his army on journalists during the present prodemocracy unrest in the kingdom.

One estimate says more than 40 people have been killed and 1,000 seriously injured by the military and police.

Twenty groups signed an open letter on Tuesday (6 July 2021) to the King urging him to guarantee the safety and security of journalists and media workers in Swaziland against 'wanton attacks by security forces'.

The letter was organised by MISA (the Media Institute of Southern Africa). It read in part, 'In the past week alone, two reporters were shot at by the police in eSwatini, with one of them sustaining serious injuries.'

Previously, New Frame, a South Africa-based website, had reported two of its journalists were then taken to Sigodvweni Police Station, 'where they were interrogated and assaulted with punches and kicks. Plastic bags were placed over their heads to suffocate them. This act, sometimes described as "tubing", is globally recognised as a form of torture. In South Africa, it was widely used by apartheid security forces and continues to be used against grassroots activists in police stations today.' They were later released

The MISA letter added, 'In the same vein, the government has responded by shutting down the internet, a development that poses a serious attack on freedom of expression and digital rights in your country.'

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It added, 'We are gravely concerned with the excessively inhumane and largely unreasonable responses by eSwatini security forces in dealing with media workers. The safety and security of journalists is of paramount importance to eSwatini, and it is imperative for your government to ensure that media workers are protected at all times.'

In particular the letter asked the King to guarantee and ensure the safety and security of journalists and media workers; ensure that the internet is not shut down or filtered; comply with the provisions of the eSwatini Constitution, particularly Section 24 which provides for freedom of expression and; adhere to the revised principles of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR) Declaration on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information.

Separately, the United Nations human rights office called for an independent inquiry into the allegations of the 'disproportionate and unnecessary use of force, harassment and intimidation' by security forces sent in to quell the protests.

Spokesperson Liz Throssell told reporters in Geneva said the allegations included 'the use of live ammunition by police,' and also that that some protesters had looted premises, set buildings and vehicles on fire, and had barricaded roads in some areas.

'Although the situation is now reported to be calmer, we remain concerned at the potential for further unrest, Throssell said on Tuesday.
Greater protection is needed for civil society representatives who are increasingly being targeted in repressive and life-threatening environments, UN and regional human rights experts said in a joint declaration published on Friday.

They urged governments to uphold their international obligations and ease access to protection measures for civil society actors fleeing violence, including recognition of refugee status and expedited emergency visas.

Desperate need of refuge

"Around the world, courageous individuals, and their organizations at the frontlines of the struggle for human rights are in desperate need of safe refuge and urgent life-saving humanitarian assistance yet face vast barriers to protection," said Clement N. Voule, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.

The independent expert issued the declaration alongside counterparts from Africa, the Americas and Europe.

In it, they deplored attacks against civil society actors, including killings and extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearance, persecution, hostage takings, arbitrary arrests, and sexual and other gender-based violence.

Their declaration also includes recommendations to enhance international efforts to both advocate for open civic space and support those under threat.

"As many States join this week's Summit for Democracy to address the deepening trends in democratic regression and rising authoritarianism, there is an opportunity to move from rhetoric into action," said Mr. Voule referring to the two-day meeting hosted by United States President Joseph Biden.

The Summit for Democracy ended on Friday, Human Rights Day.

UN Special Rapporteurs like Mr. Voule serve in their individual capacity and are not UN staff neither are they paid by the Organization.

They receive their mandates from the UN Human Rights Council, which is based in Geneva.

Freedoms, not just about words: Bachelet

Marking Human Rights Day in Geneva, UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet held a live question-and-answer session on social media channels, to speak about the importance of reducing inequalities and advancing human rights - the twin themes of this year's celebration.

Here's a selection of questions she was asked, and the High Commissioner's candid answers, on everything from mandatory COVID-19 vaccination to how everyone can get involved in pushing for a fairer and more sustainable rights-based future for all:

Question: How can you, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, fight against impunity and hold perpetrators of rights violations accountable?

Michelle Bachelet: It is the State's obligation to hold those responsible [for human rights violations] accountable. Of course, we know many States don't. The international community can also act.We assist Member States to develop their capability and help them in that process.

In case a Member State is not willing to hold anyone accountable, the international community can do that through special commissions of inquiry, monitor situations and publish findings in violations. We can also give such information to international courts, like the International Criminal Court or to national tribunals.

The Office of the High Commissioner is always following situations. There are a lot of mechanisms that can ensure that perpetrators can be held accountable.

Question: How is the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights working to protect the rights of ordinary people?

Michelle Bachelet: Human rights are about ordinary people - what happens to each individual in the workplace, school, street or community.We ensure ordinary people have the rights they deserve... access to education, access to a job, access to social benefits when in need, that children have access to play and enjoy a safe environment.

We work on all of that daily.Like Eleanor Roosevelt said, human rights are not an abstract concept, they are about what happens in the daily life of people.To ensure human rights, we must ensure that adequate laws and policies are in place. We also need to change the social, economic and cultural aspects if they are not allowing human rights to be protected and promoted.

Question: How can we make sure human rights are not only about words?

Michelle Bachelet: Human rights are not just words that can be read in a document; they are about being able to vote, being able to speak freely, being able to be critical without reprisals, to ensure journalists have freedom of press to inform people, to ensure people can access medical attention and go to school.

I understand the frustration of some people who see their leaders speak about human rights, but what is happening in their country is very different.Words matter; they are the first step to acknowledge that there is a violation of human rights, or that human rights are still not well protected.

To speak about gender equality, it means you have a goal to get to, even if you are not there yet.For example, we have not yet reached all the Sustainable Development Goals, but they give a guidance or roadmap to Member States to do what needs to be done. So that rights are not just words, people must be aware of their rights and demand them.That is why education in human rights is so important.

Question: Can we make vaccines mandatory?

Michelle Bachelet: I know this is very controversial.On one hand, vaccines need to be a universal public good so everyone can have access to them and they are affordable.

We see the terrible issue of inequity on vaccines.Rich countries have access to vaccines and up to 65 per cent of their populations are vaccinated, while African countries have only vaccinated two per cent.

As long as there are people who are not vaccinated, we will continue to have new variants and the pandemic will never end.On the other hand, people, because of fake information or lack of information, believe that vaccines can cause consequences, and that is not true.For people who want to be vaccinated but do not have access, this could be a sort of discrimination.

Question: Will there be a future where education is equally accessible across the world?

Michelle Bachelet: Education is a right that permits you to exercise other human rights.With COVID-19, 1.6 billion learners are out of school, and 11 million girls might not return to school. Education is key and essential. We all need to push to ensure education is available and accessible for everyone.

I see education as a vaccine, a vaccine to fight female genital mutilation, child pregnancy, child marriage, even a vaccine to try to prevent HIV/AIDS.Education is essential and we will be pushing strongly to ensure it is a right that should be respected now and forever.

Question: How much space have you created for more women and girls after you? And when you look back, will you be proud of the spaces you have created?

Michelle Bachelet: I have been lucky: I was the first Minister of Health in my country, the first Minister of Defence in my country and the fifth in the world, the first President of my country, re-elected twice, and the first Executive Director of UN Women.

Having been the first, I understand that I should push for other women and girls to have opportunities to thrive and to be protected.We need to do more and ensure women and girls are supported by their communities and the international community.

Defenders of women's rights and environmental human rights defenders must really feel they are not alone and that they can continue to work strongly. It is a difficult struggle and women face a lot of prejudice and push back. But it is worth it.

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Question: According to the 2021 report on plastic and human rights, the plastic crisis affects a broad range of rights, including equality and non-discrimination.How can we mainstream equality in the negotiation and provision of a potential treaty on plastic pollution?

Michelle Bachelet: It is not only the plastic crisis affecting human rights; a lot of other issues affect the environment: climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.We must deal with that.

In the Sahel countries, a very dry region of the world, you see all kinds of situations, conflicts between communities, farmers and herders, and they fight because of the lack of adequate land or sufficient water and they start killing each other because of that.

We have also seen an increase of drought and of flooding, causing internal displacement and migration. Many people do not understand the linkages between climate change and human rights.It is very important that people, especially young people, continue mobilising and calling on Member States to do the right thing, to ensure they work on climate change.

Question: How can people collaborate with the United Nations and work on human rights, including women and children?

Michelle Bachelet: First, you can do it in your community, you don't need to do it with the United Nations.If you are a girl, you can start at school, talking about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, on Human Rights Day or on any other day of the year.

You can also organize to work with others in the community to respect women's rights and speak against domestic violence affecting women. There are also United Nations country teams, and girls can think of activities that can involve the United Nations at the country level.Girls can also participate in digital events.

Human Rights Day, commemorated on 10 December, celebrates the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.
"Humiliating and degrading," is how activist Zulaikha Patel describes some of the racist experiences she and fellow students of colour endured at Pretoria High School for Girls in South Africa.

Pretoria High is a former whites-only Government school based in Pretoria, a city considered the heart of the former apartheid regime, the capital with a predominantly white population.

While apartheid may be part of the history curriculum for born-free students in South Africa (those born post 1994), Zulaikha says that the apartheid mindset is still entrenched in the hearts and minds of some of the educators and institutionalized in the school policies.

Some of these policies and experiences included:

Dreadlocks and afros were not allowed. Hair needed to be neat and tidy by being pinned at the nape, which is only possible with straight hair.

Black girls were not allowed to congregate in groups of three or more because this was considered as 'conspiring' and 'intimidating'.

Being made to sit on the floor while white students sat on their chairs in a few history lessons to make the lesson seem more 'real'.

Educators telling Black students that they were "lucky and privileged to be in the school".

In response to these racist attitudes, Zulaikha and her friends decided to embark on a silent and non-violent protest at the school in August 2016. They wore black outfits with cards emblazoned with the words: No to racism!

The school responded by hiring additional security officers who were later accused, along with several educators, of manhandling demonstrating teenage students.

The students then took their cause to social media. In no time they realized they were not alone in their fight against what they saw as institutionalized racism.

In response to exclusive policies and discriminatory treatment by educators, more students organized on protests. The ripple effect of their demonstrations caught the attention of the Department of Education which then led to an investigation at the school, as well as media attention across the country.

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Prior to the Pretoria Girls High incidents, Zulaikha had experienced her fair share of racism at previous schools, including in everyday life while shopping with her interracial parents.

"When I was alone with my father in a shopping mall, people would question whether I really was his daughter, because he is Indian and lighter in skin tone and also because his hair is straight as compared to mine." she explained.

Now a well-known anti-racism activist, Zulaikha has written a book, My Cowly Crowny Hair, targeted at young African girls. The book, she says, reflects "the narrative of young girls of colour growing up, something I never experienced even though I've been reading since the age of four."

Zuliakha hopes that by documenting her experience, she has given hope to other young girls like her.

As for the future, Zulaikha aspires to become a human rights advocate, fiercely advocating that it's not enough to be just non-racist, be anti-racist.

This interview, produced by the UN Information Centre in Pretoria, is one of a series of multimedia features and podcasts produced by UN News as part of the worldwide commemoration the twentieth anniversary of the UN's Durban Declaration (Durban +20), considered to be a milestone in the global fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
Nairobi, Kenya  Russia's influence in the Central African Republic is growing as the country grapples with insurgents, according to the International Crisis Group. The CAR government hired the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary contractor for security. But Wagner's alleged rights violations against killing civilians, aid workers, and journalists have caused tensions with CAR's western supporters and uproar at home.

In the CAR, the civilian population continues to suffer at the hands of armed groups in parts of the country. Last week a rebel attack in the northwest killed at least 30 people.

And from January to November, there were 387 violent incidents against humanitarian workers, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The central African nation is seeing an increase in violence as government forces supported by Russian fighters battle rebel groups who oppose President Faustin-Archange Touadera rule.

The CAR hired the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary contractor for security.

Pauline Bax, a senior editor and policy advisor at the International Crisis Group, says the mercenaries and other fighters have helped keep the current government in power.

"A lot of the fighters are not necessarily Russians. There is a Libyan contingent. There are Syrian fighters, people from Ukraine and Chechnya fighters as well. It's hard to get any clear idea what exactly they do in the countryside, but they have been very successful in repelling rebels from most of the major towns. And this Wagner force together with the national army has managed to secure a lot of mining zones as well as major towns in the country which was unprecedented; this hasn't happened in the Central African Republic in the last 20 years," she expressed.

In January, the government forces and Russian soldiers carried out a counteroffensive against armed groups known as the Coalition of Patriots for Change, pushing them out of the capital, Bangui.

But reports of civilian abuses by the Russian mercenary group and government forces have overshadowed successes.

In a June report, UN investigators highlighted human rights abuses and excessive force committed by the Russian mercenaries.

The human rights researchers report showed six civilians were killed inside a mosque in Bambari and three others were killed in Ippy town. Two of them were individuals with disabilities.

The Russians arrived in the Central African Republic in 2017 after the meeting between President Faustin-Archange Touadera and Russia's foreign minister.

Russian donated weapons to CAR's weak military and provided 175 military instructors. Since then, the number of Russian instructors has grown to 1,200.

Tobias Wellner is a sub-Saharan Africa senior intelligence analyst with Dragonfly Intelligence, a group that works on global security and political risks. He says that Wagner group records in other countries show they work with Russia's security systems.

"For some of Wagner's actions, for example, in Ukraine and Syria, there has been certain support between Wagner's mercenary forces and Russian troops. To a certain degree, we can say Russia is probably using Wagner as a foreign policy tool; it allows Russians to deepen connections and defense resource sectors where Wagner is operating," he pointed out.

The group's security service has attracted some African governments like Mali and Sudan.

Wellner says governments who lack proper governance structure will attract mercenary groups who are accountable to no one.

"Mercenaries companies work for money and don't ask questions about democracy like military training and support missions paid by western governments would. Wagner's vagrant as the Russian company is probably also that within Russia there are less questions asked about the company, so there is less scrutiny for Wagner as a private company back at home in Russia," he said.

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The group was deployed in Mozambique to combat the Islamic State terror group operating in the country's north. The Wagner group evacuated its fighters in November 2019, after dozens of them were killed.

In the Central African Republic, rebel groups are gathering again to fight the government troops and Russians.

Bax of ICG says the existence of rebels in the country poses a threat to the government.

"Now the rebels are gathering more in strength and launching ambushes on army forces and mercenaries' troops as well and increasingly using Improvised Explosive Devices. So, a lot of the fighting continues to this day in areas that are very remote and hard to access, and the general understanding is that if the mercenary force would no longer be there, there will be a clear threat to the government and President Touadera," he noted.

Some experts say Russia's influence in Africa is limited, unlike the Chinese, who are involved in infrastructure projects and trade, and Western governments that help fund many governments projects.
Bamako, Mali  Aid groups say drought and conflict in Mali have more than tripled the number of people going hungry in the past year. Rising prices of staple foods forced the government this week to halt exports of millet, corn, and rice and food shortages are expected to spread.

Twenty-two non-governmental organizations signed a press release this week highlighting the rapidly worsening food crisis that has left 1.2 million people facing hunger amid widespread insecurity and drought.

The Malian government halted all exports of millet, corn, and rice in an official letter published on Monday, signed by Mali's minister of industry and commerce, Mahmoud Ould Mohamed.

Speaking to Reuters, he said, "the suspension aims to anticipate the cereal crisis which is looming on the international market, to protect national production and the most disadvantaged segments" of the population.

The effects are already being felt by citizens in Gao, one of Mali's largest northern cities. Ousman Maiga, a Gao resident and the secretary general of the Gao region's civil society, told VOA that oil, sugar, millet, and rice prices have risen sharply in recent months.

He says the poor condition of roads between the capital and Gao has further complicated the situation.

Maiga says that a large family in Mali, where multiple generations often live under the same roof, can easily consume 100 kilos of rice in a month.

That, he says, can now consume most of the family's income.

He says, for example, if you have a monthly salary of 100,000 West African francs, and you're in a house - because, you have to also know, even rent is expensive here because of the crisis and all that - if you're in a house that's 50,000 per month, and a sack of rice is 45,000, you have only 5,000 left over. It's done, he says. You've paid your rent, and you've bought a sack of rice, but you don't have any money left.

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But 100,000 West African franc -- the equivalent of about $172 -- is more than many Malians will see in a month. According to USAID, nearly half of Malians live in extreme poverty, and most Malians work in agriculture.

The press release said 3 million people have been affected by recent drought.

Mali is also home to 400,000 internally displaced persons driven from their homes by ongoing violence, who are all vulnerable to food shortages.

Tom Peyre-Costa of the Norwegian Refugee Council, says his group's projections are even worse for next year, forecasting a 58% increase in the number of people facing hunger.

"What is needed now for sure is of course also more support from the international community," he said. "Basically, right now the food security response is only funded 25% and we are in December. And it's for the whole year, so it's not going to improve. It means that it's lacking 75% of the money to make sure that people have enough food to eat. So that's something that needs to be addressed. Because you can escape from violence, you can escape from climate change, but you cannot really escape from international neglect."

Mali is currently under military rule, and elections were scheduled to be held in February. The prime minister said in September that elections may be delayed.

Mali's current leaders now have to manage a food crisis in an addition to the ongoing security crisis in the country's central regions.
The U.N.'s top diplomat in Sudan said Friday that the country's political crisis is not over, despite a November 21 power-sharing agreement between the military and the civilian prime minister that released him from detention and returned him to office.

"The agreement faces significant opposition from a large segment of Sudanese stakeholders, including parties and associations within the Forces of Freedom and Change, Resistance Committees, civil society organizations and women's groups," said Volker Perthes, the head of the U.N. assistance mission in Sudan, referring to some of the pro-democracy groups. "I have met with these and other stakeholders. Many feel betrayed by the coup, and now reject any negotiations or partnership with the military."

Sudan's military seized power on October 25, arresting dozens of officials in the country's transitional government, including Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. The military said the coup was necessary to maintain Sudan's stability amid infighting between the army and civilian parties in the ruling Sovereign Council.

Hamdok was later moved to house arrest, and under a November 21 agreement with top general Abdel Fattah Burhan has returned to work in a transitional power-sharing agreement.

"The agreement is far from perfect but can help to avoid further bloodshed and provide a step towards comprehensive dialogue and a return to constitutional order," Perthes told the U.N. Security Council Friday.

Thousands of Sudanese have been protesting in the streets since the deal, demanding a completely civilian government.

Perthes said there is a large trust deficit on the part of the public, especially the youth, since the coup. He urged the political leadership to take several steps to start rebuilding public trust, including lifting the military-imposed state of emergency, naming civilian members to the Sovereign Council, and restoring freedom of press.

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He said an important indicator of whether the country has returned to the path to democratic transition would be whether political space is restored.

"This is particularly important in light of the professed goal by political and military leaders to hold free and fair elections possibly even earlier than originally planned," Perthes said. "Authorities will need to ensure a conducive atmosphere for credible elections which the U.N. and other international actors can then support."

The U.N. envoy also expressed concern about the suspension of some international development assistance following the coup.

"Sudanese authorities must demonstrate their commitment to return to a credible constitutional order in order to regain the trust of the international community to resume international financial assistance," he said.

Sudan is among the U.N.'s top five countries experiencing a humanitarian crisis, with more than 14 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
press release

Covid  19 pandemic disrupts health services worldwide

New evidence compiled by the World Health Organization and the World Bank shows that the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to halt two decades of global progress towards Universal Health Coverage. The organizations also reveal that more than half a billion people are being pushed into extreme poverty because they have to pay for health services out of their own pockets.

The findings are contained in two complementary reports, launched on Universal Health Coverage Day, highlighting the devastating impact of COVID-19 on people's ability to obtain health care and pay for it.

In 2020, the pandemic disrupted health services and stretched countries' health systems beyond their limits as they struggled to deal with the impact of COVID-19. As a result, for example, immunization coverage dropped for the first time in ten years, and deaths from TB and malaria increased.

The pandemic also triggered the worst economic crisis since the 1930s, making it increasingly difficult for people to pay for care. Even before the pandemic, half a billion people were being pushed (or pushed still further) into extreme poverty because of payments they made for health care. The organizations expect that that number is now considerably higher.

"There is no time to spare," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. "All governments must immediately resume and accelerate efforts to ensure every one of their citizens can access health services without fear of the financial consequences. This means strengthening public spending on health and social support, and increasing their focus on primary health care systems that can provide essential care close to home."

He added: "Prior to the pandemic, many countries had made progress. But it was not robust enough. This time we must build health systems that are strong enough to withstand shocks, such as the next pandemic and stay on course towards universal health coverage."

The new WHO/World Bank reports also warn that financial hardship is likely to become more intense as poverty grows, incomes fall, and governments face tighter fiscal constraints.

"Even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, almost 1 billion people were spending more than 10 per cent of their household budget on health," said Juan Pablo Uribe, Global Director for Health, Nutrition and Population, World Bank. "This is not acceptable, especially since the poorest people are hit hardest. Within a constrained fiscal space, governments will have to make tough choices to protect and increase health budgets," he added.

In the first two decades of this century, many governments had made progress on service coverage. In 2019, prior to the pandemic, 68 per cent of the world's population was covered by essential health services, such as pre-and post-natal care and reproductive health services; immunization services; treatment for diseases like HIV, TB and malaria; and services to diagnose and treat noncommunicable diseases like cancer, heart conditions, and diabetes.

But they had not made such advances in ensuring affordability. As a result, the poorest groups and those living in rural areas are the least able to obtain health services, and the least likely to be able to cope with the consequences of paying for them. Up to 90 percent of all households incurring impoverishing out-of-pocket health spending are already at or below the poverty line - underscoring the need to exempt poor people from out-of-pocket health spending, backing such measures with health financing policies that enable good intentions to be realized in practice.

Besides the prioritizing of services for poor and vulnerable populations, supported through targeted public spending and policies that protect individuals from financial hardship, it will also be crucial to improve the collection, timeliness and disaggregation of data on access, service coverage, out-of-pocket health spending and total expenditure. Only when countries have an accurate picture of the way that their health system is performing, can they effectively target action to improve the way it meets the needs of all people.

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Together, these two new reports offer both a warning and guideposts to all countries as they strive to build back better from COVID-19 and keep their populations safe, healthy, and financially secure.

World Bank Group Response to COVID-19

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Bank Group has deployed over $157 billion to fight the health, economic, and social impacts of the pandemic, the fastest and largest crisis response in its history. The financing is helping more than 100 countries strengthen pandemic preparedness, protect the poor and jobs, and jump start a climate-friendly recovery. The Bank is also supporting over 60 low- and middle-income countries, more than half of which are in Africa, with the purchase and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines, and is making available $20 billion in financing for this purpose until the end of 2022.
document

The United States notes with grave concern unconfirmed new reports alleging egregious human rights abuses, atrocities, and destruction of civilian infrastructure by Tigrayan forces in the Amhara and Afar regions of Ethiopia. We call on all armed actors to renounce violence against civilians. We also urge authorities to investigate these reports to determine their veracity and to commit to inclusive, transparent processes to hold responsible parties accountable.

The United States reiterates our support for diplomacy as the first, last, and only option to cease hostilities, just as we call for an end to human rights abuses and violations; negotiations without preconditions; unhindered humanitarian access; and the start to inclusive national dialogue.
Addis Abeba  The Council of Ministers, in its second regular meeting held today, discussed the draft proclamation establishing the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission and passed a draft proclamation establishing Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission.

In a statement the office of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed released, it said that one of the national issues that the government promised when it was elected in the 6th national election was to work for national consensus and establish a common ground on national issues through inclusive national dialogue and consultation.

Accordingly, the draft proclamation discussing the establishment of an independent and legitimate institution aimed at bringing together various political elites in order to reach at national consensus and common ground on various national issues was presented to the Council of Ministers.

After deliberating on the draft proclamation the Council of Ministers has approved the proclamation with some amendments and decided to submit it to the House of Peoples' Representatives for approval, the statement said.
Khartoum / New York  To mark International Human Rights Day today, which is observed every year on 10 December, the United Nations in Sudan has issued a statement acknowledging "the courage and determination of the people of Sudan to fight for a democratic society in which their rights and freedoms are respected, whoever they are". The UN also pledges to continue to support the people of Sudan in this regard.

"The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted seven decades ago, established the equality and dignity of every human being, and the duty of every government to provide an environment in which its people can enjoy and exercise their rights as the foundation for freedom, justice, and peace in the world," the statement says

"The theme for International Human Rights Day this year of 'Equality, reducing inequalities, advancing human rights' insists on the core principle of dignity and a world free from discrimination, a world in which women and youth are empowered and children's rights are respected."

The UN says that during this year's "16 days of activism against gender-based violence" campaign, it has engaged with Sudanese women, including women activists from Darfur, "who have all expressed their determination to continue to contribute to the promotion and protection of human rights in Sudan".

The statement highlights that the Universal Declaration underscores the right to express one's opinions freely, without interference, and for one's views to be heard, on decisions that affect one's wellbeing. People also have the right to demand a just and free society, based on the rule of law, as this is the only path towards prosperity and sustainable peace.

"We have publicly raised our concern about all human rights violations, including the unlawful detention of hundreds of people, attacks against journalists and human rights defenders, and the death of many people as a result of excessive use of force by security forces during the recent protests. The people of Sudan have a right to protest peacefully; journalists must be allowed to do their work freely, and they and civil society activists and other human rights defenders should be protected. All those responsible for violations committed must be held accountable."

The statement concludes: "On this Human Rights Day, we would like to acknowledge the courage and determination of the people of Sudan to fight for a democratic society in which their rights and freedoms are respected, whoever they are. We will continue to support you."
New York  Restoring deepening mistrust between Sudan's military and civilian components, and within the civilian component itself, will be a challenge as the country moves forward following the military coup d'etat on October 25, and the signing of the political agreement between Gen El Burhan and PM Abdullah Hamdok on November 21, the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations for Sudan (SRSG) and head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission In Sudan (UNITAMS), Volker Perthes, told the UN Security Council (UNSC) in a briefing in New York on Friday.

"The military takeover has exposed and deepened the mistrust between the military and civilian components and within the civilian component itself. And the 21 November Agreement has not led to a rebuilding of lost trust," Perthes told the UNSC.

The agreement faces "significant opposition" from key stakeholders, including within the Forces of Freedom and Change, a civilian coalition, many of whom feel betrayed by the coup and now reject any dealings with the military.

"Forthcoming decisions on government formation, high-level appointments, and the establishment of transitional institutions, will test the will and ability of the stakeholders to seek a common way out of the crisis," he added.

Rebuild confidence

The UN envoy warned of the potential for further fragmentation. The agreement stipulates the formulation of a political declaration, which would likely entail constitutional amendments, and proposes the formation of a "technocratic cabinet".

Perthes underlined the UN's readiness to facilitate an inclusive dialogue, both to address unresolved issues for the transitional period and to deal with broader questions as part of the constitutional reform process.

'Sudanese men and women's unwavering commitment to realise civilian-led democratic governance can't be overlooked. They sacrificed immensely to realise aspirations of freedom, peace, justice enshrined in civilian-led democratic state'

"Sudan's military and political leaders will primarily have to rebuild trust with their own domestic public, particularly with the young generation. Immediate confidence-building measures and a visible commitment to bring the country back on a democratic transition path will be key," he said.

The Sudanese authorities will also need to take steps to regain financial, economic, and political support from the international community, he further stated.

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He later told the Council that in the aftermath of the coup, donors paused development assistance to Sudan, which is having a significant impact on the people and putting recent achievements at risk.

Measuring progress

Perthes outlined various indicators that can be used to measure progress in Sudan over the short to medium term, starting with releasing all political detainees, ceasing arbitrary arrests and guaranteeing the right to peaceful protest and assembly.

Accountability for human rights violations in the wake of the coup will also be another area for action, he added, and could help to rebuild confidence.

The Prime Minister's ability to freely form his technocratic cabinet, is another key indicator, as are lifting the state of emergency, and restoring freedom of the press.

However, restoration of political space will be the main indicator for a return to the path to democratic transition.

"This is particularly important in light of the professed goal by political and military leaders to hold free and fair elections possibly even earlier than originally planned. The authorities will need to ensure a conducive atmosphere for credible elections which the United Nations and other international actors can then support," he said.
Rebel Tigrayan forces have recaptured the Ethiopian town of Lalibela, Reuters reports from Addis Ababa

The news agency is quoting witnesses as saying that that Amhara forces, who are allies of the Ethiopian government, began leaving Lalibela on Saturday night.

"The Tigrayan forces recaptured Lalibela without firing guns in the town," the witness said by phone.

This comes less than two weeks after the military and its allies took control of the town as part of a broader offensive that pushed back Tigrayan forces on multiple fronts.

Lalibela is a town in the Amhara region bordering the northern region of Tigray that is famed for its churches hewn from rock.

Government spokesperson Legesse Tulu and a military spokesman did not respond to requests by Reuters for comment on the reported recapture of the town by forces loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).
Mr Oyewumi died in the early hours of Sunday, after sitting on the throne for 48 years.

President Muhammadu Buhari has condoled with the family of the Soun of Ogbomosoland, Oladunni Oyewumi, Ajagungbade III, on the demise of the traditional ruler on Sunday.

This is according to a statement by Femi Adesina, the special adviser to the president on media and publicity, on Sunday.

Mr Buhari also commiserated with the government and people of Oyo State and especially the indigenes of Ogbomosoland on the demise of their traditional ruler.

Mr Oyewumi died in the early hours of Sunday, after sitting on the throne for 48 years.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/500491-soun-ogbomoso-is-dead.html

"President Buhari also joins the Oyo State Council of Obas in mourning the First Class Traditional ruler, who will forever be remembered for his counsel and commitment to the unity and harmony within their ranks," read the statement.

"He urges sons and daughters of Ogbomosoland to be consoled with the fact that Oba Oyewumi accentuated his reign with the development and progress of the community through enduring peace and extension of hands of fellowship to peoples of other lands.

"President Buhari prays that Almighty Allah will repose his soul."

Obasanjo mourns

Also, former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, in his condolence message, described the late monarch as a good friend who contributed to the political, social, and economic life of Ogbomoso.

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He said the deceased will be remembered as a patriot and custodian of cultural and traditional values.

"Oba Oyewumi was an extraordinary person blessed with qualities and characteristics which made him one of the most unforgettable men of our generation. He was a successful businessman," Mr Obasanjo wrote.

"He was one of those, early in the history of Nigeria, that really made living outside one's place of birth a home and great success. I can still vividly remember his contribution to social life in Jos in the 1960s and 70s. He made his business in Jos where he was well at home and respected. I met him in Jos in 1961 and since then we had become friends.

"He lived a life of not only of service but also of peace among his fellow Obas and within his own community without allowing himself to be swayed from what is right and correct for a traditional ruler by politicians," he added.
The Governor, who described PDP as "Egypt", repeated that he won't return to the party.

Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi has restated his position on the rumour making rounds the media that he is begging to return to the PDP, noting that "nothing can take him back to Egypt, called PDP."

Mr Umahi made the remark during 2021 Special Thanksgiving Service of Government House Chapel in Abakaliki on Sunday.

The Governor, who described PDP as "Egypt", repeated that he won't return to the party.

"With all these enormous achievements I have made under the All Progressive Congress (APC); what will make me to go back to Egypt, called PDP?

"For that, I pray that God will never forgive the person who initiated the fake news that I have plans to go back to PDP," he stated.

On the thanksgiving Service, the Governor said it was good to give thanks to God as state and country at large.

"It's good to be grateful to God for His blessings to us as state and the country at large. As state, we have come first in several ways and we give Him the praises.

"Learn how to give good gift to God and it's by thanksgiving that we can be blessed," Mr Umahi said.

A pastor, Eunice Oyeyemi of Christ Embassy church, Government House Chapel, Abakaliki, stated that Ebonyi State was able to achieve all the existing developments because of God's love and mercies.

Mrs Oyeyemi described Governor Umahi as a "visionary and transformation leader."

"Today, Sunday is a special day for thanksgiving for the government and everyone in the state.

"We are thanking God for peace, safety and calmness, we have enjoyed in spite of challenges.

"People should always be grateful and thankful to God and be Prayerful for the leaders," Mrs Oyeyemi said.

(NAN)
The minister noted that if those countries placed Nigeria on a red list, they lacked a moral right to have their airlines fly into Nigeria on commercial operations.

With effect from Tuesday, December 14, the federal government will restrict airlines coming from Canada, the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia into Nigeria.

The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, announced the decision on Sunday in Lagos and explained that it was to reciprocate restricted flights from Nigeria into those countries over the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron.

Mr Sirika said President Muhammadu Buhari's administration would also place the United Kingdom, Canada and Saudi Arabia on a red list over the outbreak and spread of the Omicron variant.

The minister noted that if those countries placed Nigeria on a red list, they lacked a moral right to have their airlines fly into Nigeria on commercial operations.

"There is also the case of Saudi Arabia that put Nigeria on the ban list. On Sunday, I participated in a meeting with the COVID-19 task force.

"We have given our input that it is not acceptable by us and we recommended that those Canada, the UK, Saudi Arabia and Argentina also be put on the red list.

"As they did to us, if they do not allow our citizens into their countries; who are they coming, as airlines, to pick from our country?

"They are not supposed to come in. I am very sure in the next three days; Monday or Tuesday, all those countries will be put on the red list of COVID-19," the minister said.

He stressed that airlines of the affected countries remained banned and the countries placed on Nigeria's red list.

Mr Sirika apologised to Nigerians intending to travel to those countries but said the Nigerian government's decision was in the interest of the country.
Daily Trust, one of Nigeria's most-read newspapers, published an editorial Sunday titled: "Life has lost its value under Buhari's Nigeria."

President Muhammadu Buhari has described as 'lurid political journalism,' an editorial in the Daily Trust newspaper criticising the administration's handling of Nigeria's security situation.

Daily Trust, one of Nigeria's most-read newspapers, published an editorial Sunday titled: "Life has lost its value under Buhari's Nigeria."

In the editorial, the newspaper, which has a strong presence in Northern Nigeria, condemned the worsening situation in Nigeria, particularly in the Northern part of the country.

"Welcome to northern Nigeria, circa 2021, where life has seemingly lost its value, under a President voted en masse five times by the same populace," the newspaper wrote.

PREMIUM TIMES has reported the killing of dozens of people weekly by non-state actors across the country. At least 63 people were killed last week, most of them in Northern Nigeria, this newspaper reported.

In its response to Daily Trust Sunday night, Mr Buhari's office listed the government's efforts to tackle the security situation.

"Second, alongside military force, this government is seeking to address the violence at its economic source," Garba Shehu, Mr Buhari's spokesperson, wrote.

Although the president's office admitted the 'seriousness' of the ' growing instability and violence in the North of Nigeria... ' it still criticised the Daily Trust editorial, describing it as 'lurid political journalism.'

"Now is not the time for this sort of lurid political journalism. Now our focus as Nigerians must be on coming together and ending the violence," Mr Shehu wrote.

Please see the full statement from Mr Buhari's office below.

RESPONSE FROM THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT BUHARI TO TODAY'S DAILY TRUST EDITORIAL: "LIFE HAS LOST ITS VALUE UNDER BUHARI'S NIGERIA"

Given the seriousness of the issue raised by the Daily Trust today, the Office of the President would like to issue a response.

The growing instability and violence in the North of Nigeria and elsewhere is unacceptable. No one, not least the Presidency underestimates the seriousness of the situation. Everyday, the President holds the victims and their families in his thoughts and prayers. Above all, he wishes to reassure them - and all Nigerians - that tackling the scourge of banditry and terrorism remains this government's first priority.

Sadly, in this respect, Nigeria is not unique. Violence and terror have risen steadily across the entire African continent over the last decade. The Economist magazine in a recent publication wrote about "The Next Afghanistan," warning the global community of the horrifying security in our neighborhood, citing specifically the states of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. So we understand the frustrations of the Daily Trust and Nigeria's northern communities about the ongoing challenges of security and the Buhari administration is no less worried. But it is only fair to say that Nigeria's persistent and continued efforts to suppress that instability have seen results, with the terror group Boko Haram among others reduced to a shell of its former self.

Yet, now we Nigerians face a new threat: the worst global health crisis in living memory. Even Nigeria that proudly holds the mantle of Africa's largest economy is not immune from the debilitating economic impact of COVID-19. The economic instability that the pandemic has wreaked has proven an effective recruitment tool for bandits and terrorists across the continent.

Indeed, the Daily Trust has correctly identified the source of the violence as "an amalgam of many complex issues" such as poverty and unemployment. It is equally right to note that, in tackling the violence, "force alone will not be enough." It is quite wrong, however, to suggest the problem of insecurity is intractable, and more wrong still to claim apathy on the part of the government.

So what is the government doing?

First, our military efforts have not let up. It is true that in the face of today's growing number of threats from Boko Haram, kidnappers and IPOB to your run-of-the-mill bandits, our forces are stretched increasingly thin. But our dedicated soldiers are working around the clock to keep Nigerians safe.

Second, alongside military force, this government is seeking to address the violence at its economic source. Massive infrastructure projects like the coastal rail and new train from the southern coast through the north-east to our neighbour Niger, aim to expand employment and opportunity across the country, bringing hope to our more remote and poorer regions where bandits and terrorists thrive.

Third, even as the West continues to extricate itself from Africa militarily, we are lobbying our Western allies aggressively for partnership, investment and support in other areas, such as proscribing Boko Haram, bandits and IPOB as terrorist groups, which would severely dent their funding; for investment in trade and infrastructure, to help lessen economic instability; and to help with technical assistance, advanced weaponry, intelligence and ordinance.

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This will likely be small comfort to the families and loved ones of those already lost. But make no mistake: this is a battle we are fighting without let up. The Daily Trust's suggestion that the President exchanges violence for the support he got electorally is beneath a publication that claims any kind of political neutrality or integrity.

Now is not the time for this sort of lurid political journalism. Now our focus as Nigerians must be on coming together and ending the violence. As President Buhari wrote recently of the terrorists in the UK paper, The Financial Times: "We will defeat them, one highway, one rail link - and one job - at a time."

Garba Shehu

Senior Special Assistant to the President

(Media & Publicity)
Destroys two filling stations

Pandemonium in Onitsha as gas station explodes, consuming Christen filling station along Awka road Onitsha and another filling station along Onitsha Enugu expressway way.

Two other filling stations beside the unfortunate ones, Rain Oil and J I Ejison oil were lucky as they were saved by men of the Anambra Fire Service who promptly responded to distress call by residents of Onitsha and workers of the lucky fuel stations.

The explosion occurred at about 7.30 pm with earth shaking noise and everywhere in the gas station caught fire with the two unlucky filling stations inclusive.

A mechanic workship sharing boundaries with the two unlucky filling stations with over 15 vehicle was also consumed by the fire.

As at the time of filing this report it is not yet clear if there is any casualty, but buildings located in the two burnt stations were raised down by the fire.

The fire incidents threw residents of Omagba phase one into panic as residents trooped out on the streets particularly Water Works road to run away from their houses in anticipation of the fire spreading to the streets.

The fire hindered vehicular movements along Awka road, Onitsha Enugu express and Old road Nkpor.
analysis

Nigeria seems to be paying a price associated with its handling of COVID-19 pandemic responses since 2020.

The emergence of Omicron, the new COVID-19 variant which reportedly originated from South Africa, placed Nigeria in a frenzy as always.

The same panic mode ensued when we had the Delta variant plunging the country into making hasty, unprepared decisions to go with the tide.

Such developments exposed our lack of preparedness to tackle unforeseen challenges because our decayed health sector is not prepared to handle even the most common cases at hand.

Since the advent of COVID-19 in 2020, Nigerians were made to believe that the country is prepared to tackle the menace as it ravages nations.

Soon after the formation of the Presidential Committee on COVID-19, billions were raised by the government and donations by the private sector as well as international donors in cash and kind to cushion the effects of the pandemic.

Quarantine and testing centres were quickly established to attend to the isolation of confirmed cases and testing the population for the virus.

However, a few weeks after the take-off of these centres, reports of sharp practices, shortage of testing kits as well as Oxygen and Ventilators set in, bringing chaos in the system as testing and treatment went beyond the poor.

It was in that melee that the country began to record its heaviest casualties as prominent individuals fell to the pangs of the dreaded virus.

There were also widespread allegations of how patients in isolation centres were being neglected.

What exposed the allegations of corruption was the plundering of warehouses in many parts of the country by the poor.

Several of these warehouses were broken into in broad daylight and the COVID-19 relief items allegedly hoarded were carted away.

The relief materials donated by the private sector were meant to be distributed to Nigerians in order to cushion the effect of the lockdown imposed in the country.

They were however locked in warehouses while poor Nigerians bore the brunt of the lockdown which restricted their movements while their income went down.

The Omicron backlash

While the country was carried away by the relaxed restrictions and opening of economies, it seems to forget the threats posed by the pandemic which may emerge unexpectedly like it did in the past.

This brings another phase as Nigerians move to cut corners in order to travel to other climes, while countries put in measures to protect their population from the new variant

The scramble to travel to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), created an avenue for COVID-19 vaccination card racketeering and other sharp practices.

Travellers were said to be obtaining fake COVID-19 vaccination cards to go to Ghana or other African countries to fly to Dubai because of the travel restrictions placed on direct flights from Nigeria.

Recent travel restrictions slammed on Nigeria by Canada and the United Kingdom over Omicron raised concerns which also attracted condemnations and protests by the federal government.

The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, rejected the measure taken by the United Kingdom over the new COVID-19 variant Omicron.

He said the decision to ban Nigerians from travelling to the UK was unfortunate, adding that countries need more collaboration than isolation at the moment of pandemic crisis.

Similarly, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said: "Britain's reaction cannot be based on anything but discrimination and prejudice.

"The truth of the matter is that if the pandemic is not killing as they think it should kill, it's not a matter of under-reporting. I don't think these prejudicial predictions of deaths in Africa are based on science.

"As we speak today, nobody has died from the Omicron variant. South Africa had the fortune of having an excellent research centre which was discovered to have been carried into South Africa from Botswana by foreigners.

"We sincerely hope the British government will immediately review the decision to put Nigeria on its red list and rescind it immediately.

"Nigeria has handled the COVID-19 pandemic with utmost responsibility and based on science, and has rightly earned global accolades for its efforts. Nigeria does not belong to any country's red lines.

"How do you slam this kind of discriminatory action on a country of 200 million people, just because of less than two dozen cases? Whereas British citizens and residents are allowed to come in from Nigeria, non-residents from the same country are banned".

Similarly, the House of Representatives on Monday mandated its committees on health and foreign affairs to interface with the ministries of health, foreign affairs and the presidential task force on COVID- 19 to resolve the travel ban on Nigerians by the United Kingdom over the Omicron COVID-19 variant.

The House adopted a motion by the House Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu (PDP, Delta) on Tuesday.

Elumelu said the temporary ban placed on travellers from Nigeria to the UK as announced by the health secretary, Sajid Javid, on Saturday - December 4th, 2021 as a result of concerns over the Omicron COVID-19 variant was misplaced.

He said: "This decision, if left unchallenged, will stop thousands of Nigerians that normally come back home at this time of the year to boost the social and economic activities of the country from coming into the country, thereby causing the nation serious revenue loss".

He added that if the Nigerian government does not urgently engage the authorities of the United Kingdom, the decision would have a significant impact on businesses and travellers, adding that opportunities and investments already made would be lost, hence the need for a quick interface.

However, a member of the House of Representatives, Aminu Suleman, blames Nigeria for its woes regarding the treatment being meted out on its citizens by other countries.

He said: "We should have done an internal self-assessment. When this COVID called Omicron was announced, because we have people who suffer from oral diarrhoea in Nigeria, our officials, in less than 24 hours to the emergence of this disease, said yes, Nigeria has it.

"It was the NCDC that made the announcement that we have it in Nigeria as if they were waiting for the disease to emerge.

"They announced that we have it. Now, what is the fault of the British government if they say we should not enter their country? What is their fault?

"We should have done an internal self-assessment to investigate and explain. Are they not happy that we have come to the end of COVID and it is going away? And somebody is thinking that he is not done with what he is doing in that office and therefore the office should not be closed? So we must wrongly or rightly accept the emergence of another COVID in another form and another name.

"So, there is no need for us to sit here and begin to castigate another sovereign country for taking such a decision since we as a country have admitted. So, for me, the British government has the right to say we should not go there. And my take on this is that as much as what they did is reprehensible, let us follow a diplomatic way because we have our children who are studying there, and we have people with medical cases.

"So, those exceptional areas, I think, we have a reason to fight diplomatically to ensure that there is a form of modification in the action they have taken against our country".

Another member of the House, Johnson Ogwuma, said Nigerians shouldn't blame the UK or any other country for what is happening because Nigerians are not ready to be vaccinated.

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He said while the elites are rushing to be vaccinated largely because they want to travel out, the lower-income class are reluctant to be vaccinated.

He said, even when the government is taking measures to get Nigerians vaccinated, many were reluctant or out rightly refused to be vaccinated.

Expired Vaccines

Reuters reported that about one million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have expired in Nigeria.

This should be a cause for concern looking at the population of the country and the percentage of its over 200 million population that was vaccinated.

The report reads: "Up to one million COVID-19 vaccine doses were estimated to have expired in Nigeria last month without being used.

"Governments on the continent of over one billion people have been pushing for more vaccine deliveries as inoculation rates lag richer regions, increasing the risk of new variants such as the Omicron coronavirus now spreading across South Africa.

"In Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation and home to more than 200 million people, fewer than 4% of adults have been fully vaccinated, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO)."

Spat with the UAE

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) which had placed a flight ban from and to Nigeria suspended the ban allowing Emirates flights to Nigeria.

However, in less than a week after the suspension, Nigerian authorities reduced the number of slots given to Emirates to only one.

In response, the UAE suspended Emirates flights indefinitely as a tit-for-tat.

Nigeria also responded, as the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, was reported threatening to impose the same ban on the UAE.

With the current challenges posed by Omicron, Nigeria seems to be paying a price on many fronts regarding the fight against COVID-19.
The management of Med-View Airline has debunked reports that its operation was blacklisted by the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (UKCAA), insisting that it was not true.

The airline explained that its four weekly frequencies to Gatwick London International Airport remained, but it only suspended operations on the route.

The management explained that as at the time it commenced the route in November 2015, it was operating its Boeing 767-300ER aircraft until European Union Aviation Safety Inspector (EASA) observed some safety issues, which lead the management to settle for a B777-200 aircraft leased from Euro Atlantic Airlines.

After a few period of operation, the aircraft developed technical issues and failed to meet Med-View Airline operational standards, which intimated the "suspension of our operation to London."

Last week EASA had erroneously included Med-View Airline among the carriers that were blacklisted by it despite the fact that the Nigerian carrier ceased operations to Europe over two years ago.
Deputy President William Ruto has moved to stamp his authority in the Rift Valley to shore up his chances of ascending to power come next year.

For two days, the country's second in command camped in Narok and Turkana to campaign for his State House bid just weeks after combing Nandi and Uasin Gishu.

While in Lodwar, Turkana County, the DP promised local leaders that come February 2022 he will sign a memorandum of understanding with them on issues that are dear to residents.

The move is meant to lock out Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) boss Raila Odinga, his main competitor in the 2022 General Election. Raila has had significant support in the county, in the last three presidential elections (2007, 2013 and 2017).

Dr Ruto said if elected president come 2022, he will prioritise agriculture, security, water, health and oil exploration, arguing that Turkana has been neglected for years and time is ripe for it to realise its development potential.

The DP claimed that all his opponents have no clear agenda for the country and are only interested in creating more positions for themselves at the expense of Kenyans' interests.

"Those who are competing with me have no clear agenda. They are interested in changing the Constitution so that they can share positions instead of how to change the lives of ordinary Kenyans. Do you want to vote for someone who wants to change the Constitution or one who wants to change the economy?

"Some of these people I pushed them to be where they have reached. Will there be a problem if I also elevate mama mboga, boda-boda and unemployed youths?" he posed.

He said all the leaders ganging up against him have served in government before but have no clear track record to showcase to Kenyans "unlike me who have built roads, technical institutions and electricity connection".

The DP took credit for the Jubilee administration's successes while blaming its failures on the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).

"We had a clear agenda, which was to ensure our youths get employment through the roll-out of the Big Four Agenda, but that guy of riddles came in with reggae. However, we thank God that it reached a level of null and void," said DP Ruto.

Of the five ODM elected leaders--Governor Josphat Nanok, Mr Jeremiah Lomorukai (Loima), Senator Malachy Ekal, John Lodepe (Turkana Central) and Lokiru Ali (Turkana East), Mr Ruto bagged four, leaving Mr Odinga with only Lomorukai.

The former Prime Minister is banking on the support of the Loima MP and Mining Cabinet Secretary John Munyes to lock DP Ruto out of the county.

In 2017, Mr Odinga got 71,063 votes, against 58,744 for President Uhuru Kenyatta.

"We have sat down with your leaders and in either January or February, we will sign an agreement charter on those areas you want to be prioritised so that when we form government, we do not do things based on guesswork," said DP Ruto.

"Our first agenda without any delay come next year, allocate Sh100 billion for housing, agro-processing, value addition, manufacturing and water so that we create job opportunities for our youth.

"Second agenda will be agriculture; here in Turkana, you can grow sunflowers and soya beans free of aflatoxin and we can eliminate the Sh70 billion we spend every year buying edible oil from other countries."

Governor Nanok, who had decamped to United Democratic Alliance (UDA), said it is only through "bottom-up policies" that the Turkana community, which was previously economically marginalised, can benefit.

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"Since our first redemption was the inception of devolution, when you said you will be helping 'hustlers', I said this where my people of Turkana should be because we are hustlers and it will be second liberation of pastoralists," Mr Nanok said.

He accused Mr Odinga of "political betrayal" for failing to champion the interests of pastoral communities who have stood with him for years.

"We are fully behind you (Ruto) because there are a lot of benefits, unlike where we were before. That camp (ODM) was full of perennial lies.

"I had asked we vote for Raila, but when he got handshake goodies, where was our share? And since we did not benefit from it, it shows it was deceitful politics and we do not want that again," the county chief said.
STEPANAKERT, DECEMBER 13, ARTSAKHPRESS: "The region, in particular Ukraine, is being pumped up with weapons. I am speaking about direct supplies, contracts for future, multimillion, multibillion contracts. Moreover, militants are being sent there under the guise of military instructors," she said in an interview with the Krym-24 television channel, Tass informs.

Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said earlier that Russia is worried over possible deployment of Western troops in Ukraine and this situation makes Moscow take measures to defend its interests.
Germanys regulator has suspended the certification of the Nord Stream 2 operator due to its non-compliance with the EUs energy regulation, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said as she arrived at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday, Tass informs.

December 13, 2021, 17:32 German top diplomat says Nord Stream 2 certification halted for non-compliance with EU

STEPANAKERT, DECEMBER 13, ARTSAKHPRESS: "The Federal Network Agency has suspended the certification process due to the existence of clear regulation in European law regarding the energy area on unbundling and other issues of the [companys] structure," she said when asked, which organization acknowledged the projects non-compliance with the EU rules.

Baerbock said in an interview with the ZDF TV channel aired on Sunday, that the project "fails to comply with the regulation" of the EU so far, and it "cannot be approved."

To start pumping gas, Nord Stream 2s operator has to obtain the green light from the German regulator. The certification has been suspended since the Swiss-headquartered operator Nord Stream 2 AG must register a subsidiary in Germany. Until that is accomplished, the certification process has been frozen.

The agreement greenlighted by the coalition in Germany does not mention Nord Stream 2, it only stresses the supremacy of Europe-wide norms regarding issues related to energy projects. Chancellor Olaf Scholzs statements on the gas pipelines future have been very restrained so far. He said that no country can violate the borders of another state, otherwise there will be consequences. Being co-chair of the Greens, Baerbock has demanded in recent years that the project be stopped. Currently, she heads the German Foreign Ministry in Scholzs government. The main foreign political course is usually set by the Chancellors office, not the Foreign Ministry.

Moscow has repeatedly emphasized that Nord Stream 2 is a commercial project, which is being implemented together with its European partners. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has expressed bewilderment that a number of countries seek to make the fate of the gas pipeline dependent on politically-motivated conditions. Russia has also repeatedly stated that it has never politically weaponized energy resources.
Media tycoon Jimmy Lai was jailed earlier this year for taking part in pro-democracy protests in 2020

Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to 13 months in jail for participating in a vigil marking the 1989 Tiananmen massacre in Beijing.

The 74-year-old was found guilty last week of inciting others to take part in an unlawful assembly.

He was among thousands who defied a ban to attend last year's vigil marking the killings in the Chinese capital.

More than two dozen Hong Kong politicians and activists have been charged over the vigil.

Lai was one of eight activists sentenced on Monday. They included prominent names like journalist-turned-opposition politician Gwyneth Ho and lawyer Chow Hang Tung.

The sentences for the eight range from four-and-a-half months to 14 months.

Judge Amanda Woodcock announced the sentences following a mitigation hearing in which Lai's lawyers presented a handwritten letter he had written from prison.

1/ Ahead of his sentencing over the banned Tiananmen Massacre vigil on Monday, the lawyer for pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai has read out a mitigation letter in court. https://t.co/PsIphFXPLj pic.twitter.com/GFGWPPFHPu  Hong Kong Free Press HKFP (@hkfp) December 13, 2021

In the letter, Lai said he was willing to suffer the penalties of his decision.

"If commemorating those who died because of injustice is a crime, then inflict on me that crime and let me suffer the punishment ... so I may share the burden and glory of those young men and women who shed their blood on 4 June [1989]" Lai wrote.

Earlier in the trial, Lai had argued that he had lit candles during the vigil in a personal capacity, and had not "incited" others to join the unauthorised rally.

However Judge Woodcock dismissed the arguments, and said their participation "was an act of defiance and protest against the police".

Story continues

Lai, who is already serving a prison sentence for an earlier charge, will serve his latest sentence concurrently.

He is the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper in Hong Kong, and has been one of the most prominent supporters of the city's pro-democracy movement.

The tycoon faces other charges - some under a sweeping national security law imposed last year, which can carry a maximum term of life in prison.

Hong Kong was handed back to China in 1997 under a deal which gave the former British colony freedoms not available in mainland China. Dozens of activists have been arrested, jailed or have fled the territory since the security law came into force.

What was the Tiananmen vigil about?

The annual vigil has taken place in Hong Kong for decades, often attracting tens of thousands who gather to mark the anniversary of Chinese troops crushing peaceful pro-democracy protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on 4 June 1989. International condemnation ensued after troops and tanks opened fire on protesters.

Hong Kong used to be one of the very few places in China where the incident could still be commemorated or even talked about - it is highly sensitive in mainland China, which bans any events marking the incident and scrubs mentions from social media.

But in 2020 Hong Kong authorities banned the vigil for the first time in 30 years, citing Covid restrictions. Activists accused officials of bowing to pressure from Beijing to muzzle pro-democracy expression.

Tens of thousands of people defied the ban to attend the vigil that night, knocking down barricades that had been erected around Hong Kong's Victoria Park.

The ban on the vigil continued this year, and saw a more muted protest.
Looking for your next great read, or shopping for the book lover in your family? We have you covered with Seymour Librarys staff favorites of 2021. Here are some of our picks, including books published in 2021 and others that finally made it off our to-read pile.

"To Be Taught, If Fortunate" by Becky Chambers

A quiet, contemplative story filled with awe of space and discovery. The author strikes the perfect balance of relationships between the diverse crew, the science encountered during their journey, and greater philosophical issues at play. I highly recommend it, even if you think you don't like 'space books.'"  Leigh

"Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law" by Mary Roach

This book is about human/wildlife conflict and what happens when humans and the natural world try to coexist. Besides appearances by jay-walking moose and bears that break and enter, there are murderous trees and poisonous plants. Peppered with Mary Roach's trademark humor, great editorializing and scientific knowledge, this book is a very enjoyable read.  Nancy

"The Nature of Fragile Things" by Susan Meissner

Imagine moving across the country to marry a person you have never met. Susan Meissners novel 'The Nature of Fragile Things' follows Sophie Whalen as she travels to San Francisco to start a new life as wife and mother, in response to a mail-order bride ad. Sophies new home is the exact opposite of the New York tenement she left behind, filled with comfort, security, and the daughter she always wished for. These treasures are enough for her to overlook the strange behaviors of her husband. Then tragedy strikes, as the massive 1906 earthquake devastates San Francisco and the beautiful illusion of her life unravels, Sophie must survive the consequences and protect her family. A captivating novel, with engaging characters, and plenty of plot twists.  Jackie

"Planet Earth Is Blue" by Nicole Panteleakos

This book. All ages should read this book. It is told through the lens of a mostly nonverbal autistic girl. Set during the days preceding the tragic launch of the spaceship Challenger, our main character is waiting for her sister who promised to watch the launch with her. The book shows their relationship and slowly reveals where her sister is and culminates with the launch.  Mary

"Fresh from Poland: New Vegetarian Cooking from the Old Country" by Michal Korkosz

Whether vegetarian or not, any reader will find beauty and inspiration in this book. Michal Korkosz allows you to think beyond the traditionally meat-based food Poland is known for and brings his modern view to the vegetarian-rich cuisine of Poland. Korkosz has an entire chapter dedicated to pierogies which takes them to a gourmet level and he encourages you to experiment beyond the recipes in his book. An award-winning food photographer, his beautiful food photography combined with his personal stories introducing each recipe will entertain you as well as make you hungry.  Kathy K.

"Ghosts: A Novel" by Dolly Alderton

As an avid reader, I found it difficult to pick just one! One of my favorite reads of 2021 was 'Ghosts: A Novel' by Dolly Alderton. Its a romantic comedy, a genre that I usually dont like. However, 'Ghosts' was poignant with well-developed and quirky characters. Nina, the protagonist, is dealing with many contemporary issues such as a father with dementia, friends with kids and career concerns. Her new partner says 'I love you' and promptly ghosts her. The reality of life in 2021 and the complications of all types of relationships are aptly and lovingly portrayed in this wonderful novel.  Janet

Plus, here are a few more titles enjoyed by library staff this year:

 "The Good Sister" by Sally Hepworth

 "The Four Winds" by Kristin Hannah

 "Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir

 "The Silent Patient" by Alex Michaelides

 "Why We Swim" by Bonnie Tsui

 "Hamnet" by Maggie O Farrell

 "The Anthropocene Reviewed" by John Green

 "The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot: A Novel" by Marianne Cronin

 "The Personal Librarian" by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

All of these titles are available at Seymour Library. To explore more staff favorites, visit nseymourlibrary.org/staff-picks or check out our staff picks book display at the library. Happy reading!

Jackie Kolb is community services coordinator at Seymour Library in Auburn. For more information, visit seymourlibrary.org or call (315) 252-2571.

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SCHENECTADY  New York Sen. Chuck Schumer was scheduled to conclude his annual tour of all 62 counties in New York state Sunday, marking the 23rd year in a row the Democrat has visited all corners of the state.

Schumer said he was winding up the year-long tour with trips to Schenectady and Wyoming counties on Sunday. He called it the most consequential tour of his career as people continue to suffer from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tour also was Schumer's first as U.S. Senate majority leader.

Schumer said while COVID-19 relief and other legislation he supported has brought billions of dollars to New York residents, economic concerns remain paramount.

Last year, no one knew what the heck was going to happen, and the whole thrust was vaccines and getting them out, he said. This year it was more about businesses getting help to get them back on their feet. Last year was, Throw us a life preserver so we dont drown. This year its, Help us so we can keep going."

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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This feels familiar. Russia was, after all, the national adversary of my youth. My dad was not particularly easy to perturb, but I clearly recall his anxious face one October afternoon in 1962 as the United States and Russia  in the guise of the Soviet Union  squared off over the emplacement of missiles in Cuba and arguably made their nearest advance ever to the brink of nuclear war.

For years afterward Russia was the enemy. Our schools held duck-and-cover drills and offered classes on how to provision a fallout shelter. We learned ways to protect our families from blast and radiation  it involved sandbags. Anti-Russia rhetoric became part of the curriculum.

The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. But after 30 years in the wilderness Russia is back, demanding and receiving the worlds attention by threatening to invade the sovereign nation of Ukraine with 175,000 troops. It turns out that Russia is still the enemy.

The invasion of one of our allies is an act of war, and the Biden administration promises strong measures in response. But it also indicates that it will not commit American troops to save Ukraine. But what about saving Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia or other former Soviet states that Vladimir Putin would love to reacquire?

Our best hope is that Putin is staging pure political theater, threatening to invade Ukraine in order to enhance his standing and political leverage abroad and at home. Besides, its simply in the nature of insecure strongmen to bluster and strut right up to the brink. Its a dangerous game. Usually its hard to tell precisely where the brink is.

Whatever his intentions, I suspect that Putin has an ulterior motive, as well, or, at least, an interest in a collateral benefit from this crisis: the reelection of Donald Trump.

Republicans are eager to picture President Joe Biden as a doddering old fool without the courage or competence to confront a wily player like Putin. A recent New York Post headline is representative: Weak Joe Biden No Match for Vladimir Putin.

The flip side of this unproven proposition is that Putin would not dare to threaten Ukraine if we had a tough, unyielding president in place, a man such as Donald Trump, for example.

But Americans should be leery of this idea. Clearly Trump was Putins preferred candidate in 2016. And why not? Putin recognizes a compliant mark when he sees one. Even after considerable Russian meddling in our election, Trump took Putins side in Helsinki over the evidence from his own intelligence agencies.

And if you doubt that the Trump campaign knew that it had a friend in Putin  and vice versa  you clearly havent read the 448-page Mueller report. I have, and nothing could be plainer.

If anything, Putin has a greater interest in a Trump presidency now than in 2016, even over a Biden administration that appears to be reluctant to use force to stop the invasion of Ukraine.

An article by Anne Applebaum in the current Atlantic is illuminating. In The Autocrats are Winning, Applebaum argues that democracy is in a losing battle with autocrats such as Putin, Xi, Orban, Maduro, Assad, Lukashenko, Mohammed bin Salman and Erdogan. She calls these men Autocracy Inc., a club of despots bonded together by a common desire to preserve and enhance their personal power and wealth.

Beyond the acquisition of wealth and power, Autocracy Inc. isnt interested in ideology. Nor are its members concerned about their international reputations. But every new member increases the clubs strength and legitimacy. Putin recognizes a fellow autocrat in Trump and to bring the United States  the worlds strongest proponent of democratic governance  into the fold would be worth more than reacquiring Ukraine. And Donald Trump would fit right in.

When Kennedy and Khrushchev squared off during the Cuban Missile Crisis, ideology was at stake, and the two leaders were on opposite sides. If the Crisis had tipped over the brink into the nuclear abyss, its possible that some version of democracy might have survived.

But once autocracy wins, were unlikely to ever see democracy again.

John M. Crisp, an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service, lives in Georgetown, Texas, and can be reached at jcrispcolumns@gmail.com.

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Beijing (Gasgoo)- Daimler AG and Chinas major automaker BAIC Group reemphasized their long-term partnership today, along with their cross-shareholding details.

Photo credit: Daimler AG

BAIC Group announced that it has been holding a stake in Daimler AG of 9.98% since 2019 through constant capital increments. Notably, Li Shufu, founder of another major Chinese automaker Geely Auto also owns 9.69% of Daimler AG's stake.

Daimler owns a 9.55% stake in BAICs Hong Kong-listed unit BAIC Motor and a 2.46% stake in the Shanghai-listed BAIC BluePark, signifying the two auto groups profound relationship and their commitment to Mercedes-Benzs future in China.

Per the agreement of both parties, BAIC has confirmed not to raise its stake in Daimler.

The partners believe that Daimler and BAICs partnership has been a role model for Sino-German cooperation for almost two decades. BAIC is also the most important industrial partner for Mercedes-Benz in China and contributed a lot to the success of the latters business development in the country.

R&D Tech Center China; photo credit: Daimler AG

In the past few years, BAIC Group and Daimler AG have launched a slew of premium new energy vehicles in China for the carbon-neutral cause in the country.

Mercedes-Benz is committed to going electric only by 2030, and China plays a major role in this strategy. By the end of 2021, Mercedes-Benz will introduce four battery-electric models to China, namely the EQA, EQB, EQC, and EQS.

Currently, the EQA, EQB, and EQC have already realized local production in the country, while the localization of the EQE is planned for next year.
Beijing (Gasgoo)- Lifan Technology, the holding company owning Chinas named motorcycle brand, Lifan Motorcycle, announced today that it will be setting up an automobile joint venture company with major automaker, Geely Automobile Holdings Limited (Geely Auto).

Photo credit: Lifan Technology



The two companies plan to each invest RMB300 million into the new company, with a 50% stake each.

The new company will be established in Chongqing. The business scopes of the joint venture will include the design/R&D/sales of automobiles (auto parts, equipment, decorations included), exportation, software development, technology development, and more.

With the investments from both parties, the joint venture will put the funds into vehicle (inclusive of battery-swapping models) R&D, sales, and operations. The company is yet to register with authorities, its name, address, and business scopes will be finalized by corresponding government authorities.

Xingyue L; photo credit: Geely Auto

According to Lifans announcement, Lifan Technology and Geely Auto intend to build a battery-swapping network ecosystem. By coordinating with mobility service companies, battery-swapping service providers, and compatible vehicle models, the partners share a goal of promoting the normalization of urban battery-swapping services.

The joint venture will dedicate to product R&D and upgrades for its vehicles, meeting market demands, creating value for both parties.

With Geelys expertise, experience, and resources in the automotive industry, Lifan Technology will be well-positioned for its systematic and comprehensive business transformation.
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- SVOLT, a GWM (Great Wall Motor)-linked Chinese power battery maker, has secured 6 billion yuan ($942.11 million) in a B+ funding round, the company announced a few days ago via its WeChat account.

SVOLT B+ round financing signing ceremony; photo credit: SVOLT



The fresh fundraising attracts SVOLT's industrial chain partners including Sichuan Energy Investment, Han's Laser, Xingyu Co.,Ltd., the industry investment firms like China Mobile Capital, CDH Investments, Industrial Bank Co.,Ltd., PreIPO, PICC Capital, Taikang Asset, as well as some state-owned asset management platforms from Huzhou, Yancheng, and Shangrao. Meanwhile, several existing shareholders also joined as returning investors.

The proceeds from the new financing round will be mainly used for the R&D of new technologies, the construction of SVOLTs manufacturing base 4th phase, R&D hub, and headquarters management center in Changzhou, said Yang Hongxin, Chairman and CEO of SVOLT.

Prior to the Series B+ financing, SVOLT had nabbed 13.78 billion yuan ($2.164 billion) in A and B funding rounds this year. To expand battery capacity, it has signed agreements this year to locate its battery manufacturing bases in cities including Suining, Huzhou, Lishui, Chengdu, and Changzhou.

At the Battery Day Event held last week, SVOLT launched the SV 600 Strategy for the corporate development plan through to 2025. Under this strategy, the company aims to hit an annual battery capacity target of 600GWh by 2025, significantly rising from the previously expected 320GWh.

The overall annual demands of lithium batteries for the electrification and energy storage in global transport industry are forecasted to exceed 1.8TWh by 2025, said SVOLT, citing predicated data of some market research institutes. SVOLT sets the 600GWh capacity target based on the aim of achieving 25% global market share and an expected capacity utilization rate of 75%.

For the first eleven months of 2021, SVOLT recorded 2.61GWh of power battery installed capacity, accounting for 2% of Chinas total volume, according to the China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance (CAPBIIA).
China's BYD is known for the production and sales of electric cars and buses, but the company started out as a battery manufacturer. Grasping this supply chain helps BYD reduce car production costs and earn more market share for its self-owned auto brands in China.



BYD's vertically integrated model means that its business supplies must grow in sync with electric vehicle (EV) sales. For the first eleven months of 2021, BYD's NEV segment boasted a 216.97% year-on-year surge with 509,838 vehicles sold, making up 79.5% of the companys total auto sales.

BYD's vertically integrated model means that its business supplies must grow in sync with electric vehicle (EV) sales. During the first eleven months, BYD saw its installed capacity of power batteries soar 184.4% year on year to 21.34GWh, with its market share rising to 16.6% from 14.7%, according to the data offered by the China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance (CAPBIIA).





BYD is doubling down on batteries to satisfy its fast-growing NEV demands. BYD has to-day built and planned eleven battery manufacturing bases in China, which are located in Shenzhen, Huizhou, Xi'an, Xining, Guiyang, Chongqing, Changsha, Bengbu, Changchun, and Jinan. Those bases involve more than 200GWh of annual battery manufacturing capacity.

Gasgoo hereby summarizes the moves about BYD's power battery capacity expansion occurring this year. Besides, some projects, whose construction didn't start this year, while the works must be underway according to official information sources, are still included in the below content.

At the end of August, BYD entered into a cooperation agreement with the municipal government of Jinan, the capital of Shandong province, to build there a 30GWh power battery manufacturing base. Meanwhile, Jinan Fudi Battery Co.,Ltd. was founded on Aug. 24 as the wholly-owned subsidiary of Fudi Industry Co.,Ltd.

According to a document unveiled by the Jinan Natural Resources Planning Bureau in mid-October, Jinan Fudi Battery Co.,Ltd is the entity who is responsible for the construction of BYD's Jinan battery base.

On July 14, BYD struck a pact with Changchun municipal government and FAW Group to co-invest in a NEV power battery production project. The concrete designed capacity still remains unknown.

A local report said in May that BYD's Fudi Battery planned to plow nearly 10 billion yuan ($1.57 billion) in constructing a battery manufacturing plant in Changchun. The base may be built to offer batteries to FAW Group, who is headquartered in the capital of Jilin province.



Hongqi E-QM5; photo credit: FAW Hongqi



It is worth noting that FAW Hongqi's E-QM5 all-electric sedan, which went on sale in June this year, is armed with BYD's Blade Battery.



On January 18, BYD broke ground on a factory for NEV power batteries with an annual production capacity of 20GWh in Bengbu city, Anhui province, about a month after signing an agreement for this project with local government. The total investment for the facility is expected to amount to 6 billion yuan, about $940.81 million. More detailed information on the schedule is not yet available.

BYD located its first Blade Battery manufacturing factory in Bishan District, Chongqing city. This factory began production in March 2020 and had featured a production capacity of 20GWh, Qin Wenmin, the mayor of Bishan District, said in mid-December last year.

Mr. Qin revealed then a new 15GWh Blade Battery manufacturing line would be built in the future to raise the Bishan factory's capacity to 35GWh. However, further details about the new line construction have not been disclosed yet.

In Ningxiang, a county-level city under the administration of Changsha city, BYD's second Blade Battery factory has been built there with a total designed capacity of 20GWh. The first phase of 10GWh had gone into operation before March 15 this year.

BYD Blade Battery; photo credit: BYD



Besides, BYD also launched a 10GWh Blade Battery manufacturing project in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province. According to the information revealed by Guiyang municipal government in mid-August, the factory was still under construction then.

The construction of BYD's Xian battery base started in 2018, and the first phase of 10GWh ternary-lithium batteries was put into production in 2019. The second phase is still under construction, according to an official reply given in Nov. 2020, and is said to be built for Blade Battery production as well.

Apart from the on-going construction of battery production factories, BYD set up four Fudi Battery subsidiaries in Shaoxing, Jinan, Yancheng, and Wuwei during the first eleven months of 2021. Each of them involves a registered capital of 50 million yuan ($7.84 million) and is wholly controlled by Fudi Industry Co.,Ltd. Except the aforesaid Jinan project, those moves are regarded by industry insiders as part of preparations to deploy new battery capacity in the other three cities.

As for overseas markets, it seems that BYD expects to be a neighbor of its foreign automaker clients. According to the company's job posting ad seen by a local media outlet in March, Fudi Battery prepared to build its first overseas battery manufacturing factory in Europe. The factory is set to work on the production, packing, storage and transport of lithium ion batteries.

On the other hand, the company intends to spin off its battery unit, Fudi Battery, for a public listing in the next one or two years as BYD is looking to sell more of its proprietary batteries to other automakers. Thus, expanding battery capacity is also a necessary answer to Fudi Batterys future IPO.
Really, childcare and pre-K have to work together for families, said Heather OLoughlin, Montana Budget and Policy Center co-director. The needs are different, childcare for infants and children in their first years of life is the most expensive care. The pre-kindergarten that follows becomes a difference-maker for later success in school, which can lead to better employment in adulthood.

The reality is, this is critical assistance, OLoughlin said. For families, if you have an infant today, what youre really looking for is assistance that gets you through age 5.

Pre-K in Build Back Better is intended to build on what states already have for prekindergarten. There isnt a statewide pre-K school program in Montana. The state had a two-year pilot program championed by Montanas former Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock. But the program expired and despite some bills to resurrect pre-K, debates over funding have stalled those plans.

Montana is one of a handful of states that doesn't provide state investment in pre-K. So, there are important decisions that are going to have to be made by the state in order to roll out this funding and make sure that it works for Montana, OLoughlin said.
CASPER  The Wyoming Department of Health now recommends COVID-19 booster shots for fully vaccinated 16- and 17-year-olds.

The FDA on Thursday authorized Pfizer boosters for the age group, assuming they received their second dose of the vaccine at least six months ago.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officially expanded their booster recommendations to include 16 and 17-year-olds later that day.

All eligible groups are encouraged to get the additional shots to help enhance and extend their protection against the coronavirus, the Department of Health said in a news release Friday.

Adults who meet the following criteria are also advised to get a booster:

anyone who received a second dose of a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine at least six months ago;

anyone who received a Janssen COVID-19 vaccine at least two months ago.
North Dakota brand owners have until the end of December to renew hundreds of expired brands.

Brands that were not renewed by the Dec. 31, 2020, deadline are considered expired, but state law provides a one-year grace period that prevents an expired brand from being picked up by a new owner during those 12 months. The grace period, which ends after Dec. 31 of this year, aims to protect brand owners from losing their brands by mistake, according to the North Dakota Stockmen's Association.

More than 91% of North Dakota brands have been renewed until Jan. 1, 2026. About 1,900 brands will lapse at the end of this month, according to Stockmen's Brand Recorder Steph Hille.

Brand owners who want to keep their brands, but who still need to renew them, should complete the brand renewal form that was mailed in August 2020 to the address listed on the brand recording.

To complete the brand renewal process, brand owners must fill out, sign and return their renewal form to the Stockmens office at 407 S. Second St., Bismarck, ND 58504. Those who have misplaced their forms can request a new one by calling 701-223-2522.

Renewing your brand several weeks before the grace period deadline will help resolve issues that may arise while completing and submitting the renewal form, Hille said.

After the grace period is over, some nonrenewed brands, such as those with grandfathered configurations, are no longer legally recordable, even if they were previously registered, she said.

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The latest North Dakota coronavirus news: college debt, food supply and more.

College debt forgiveness

Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College in New Town is forgiving more student debt amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The tribal college in August forgave more than $200,000 for students enrolled from fall 2020 through summer 2021. President Twyla Baker recently announced that the college will forgive an additional $1.3 million in outstanding balances for students enrolled from January 2014 through December 2019.

Our students persisted and thrived in the face of COVID-19, but it was clear to our leadership and board of directors that our students continue to be significantly impacted by the worldwide pandemic, Baker said.

Food supply chain

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is making available nearly $1 billion in loan guarantees to back private investment in processing and food supply infrastructure.

The goal is to strengthen the U.S. food supply chain amid the pandemic, according to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. USDA is making the funding available through the American Rescue Plan Act.

The pandemic exposed vulnerabilities and created extreme disruptions in Americas food supply chain," Vilsack said. "The reduction in meat processing capacity is just one example of the supply chain bottlenecks that affect small and midsize farmers.

For more information on the new Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program, go to www.rd.usda.gov/foodsupplychainloans.

Testing and vaccines

A comprehensive list of free COVID-19 testing offered by local public health units in North Dakota can be found at health.nd.gov/covidtesting.

In Bismarck, PCR and rapid antigen tests are administered daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the strip mall at 2805 Morrison Ave., Suite A. PCR tests also are administered Monday through Thursday from 10-11 a.m. at Northland Health Centers, 914 S. 12th St., Suite 101.

People who have registered for COVID-19 testing through TestReg.nd.gov can access results for tests through a state service called the Citizen Portal. Instructions can be found at https://bit.ly/3jqiudf.

People can go to https://www.ndvax.org or call 866-207-2880 to see where COVID-19 vaccine is available near them.

Both Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health and Custer Health in Mandan are offering vaccine to the general public.

To register with Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health, go to https://bit.ly/3djc1wt. For assistance, call 701-355-1540.

Morton County residents can go to https://www.custerhealth.com/covid-19-vaccine or call 701-328-0707 to register. Custer Health has a vaccination clinic at 1100 32nd Ave. SE in Units D and E, off Memorial Highway.

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North Dakota consumer protection officials are warning about recent gift card scams that have resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of dollars.

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said that at the holiday season especially, it's good to remember that gift cards should be used as gifts, not to settle an account payment or for a phony sweepstakes. He said gift cards are a favorite tool used by scam artists.

Many gift card scams start with a phone call from someone impersonating a government agency, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Scammers may claim that they will freeze your accounts or threaten to arrest you, unless you make an immediate payment.

Once the victim has purchased the gift cards, the scam artist asks for the numbers on the back of the cards. Those numbers are all anyone needs to go online from anywhere in the world and transfer the balance of the gift card into their own account.

No government agency ever accepts gift cards to pay a debt, Stenehjem warned.

The attorney generals consumer protection division reports that in the last two weeks, it has received nine reports from victims of gift card scams, with losses totaling $45,000. The victims, who range in age from 26 to 75, reportedly fell for different versions of the scam, including fake sweepstakes officials pretending the victim had won a prize but needed to make an upfront payment.

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BELLE FOURCHE, S.D.  An unnamed private buyer purchased Big John, a 67-million-year-old Triceratops skeleton that was uncovered in South Dakota's Perkins County in 2014, for $7.7 million at a Paris auction on Oct. 21.

Walter Stein, a professional dinosaur fossil hunter and vertebrate paleontologist who specializes in Late Cretaceous theropods, has discovered, excavated, or prepared more than 40 dinosaur skeletons and hundreds of isolated fossils over the last 25 years.

Stein, of Belle Fourche-based PaleoAdventures, was the paleontologist who discovered Big John in 2014, the Black Hills Pioneer reported. He said that even after a quarter of a century honing his craft, being the first person to set eyes upon a piece of history that has been buried for more than 65 million years never gets old.

Every time you find a skeleton, its a celebration. We do a little victory dance in the badlands whenever you find something cool, Stein said. It was certainly an honor to find this beast and help bring it back to life, so to speak. When I was 6, I dreamed of heading west and digging dinosaurs, so every day I get to do this, Im living my dream.

PaleoAdventures is a small, family owned independent commercial paleontology company dedicated to helping preserve the vertebrate fossils, such as those of dinosaurs and marine reptiles, long buried under the surface of the Northern Plains. Stein and his wife, Heather Stein, created PaleoAdventures in 2005, and provide a wide range of services including paleontological education and tours.

Stein unearthed Big John, a Triceratops dating to the late Cretaceous period, in 2014 north of Butte County within in the Hell Creek Formation.

Since the discovery, Big John has been declared the Guinness World Records title holder of the largest documented skeleton of a Triceratops dinosaur. The mounted skeleton measures approximately 23 feet 5 inches long from snout to tail and stands 8 feet 10 inches high at the hips. The reconstructed skull is 510% larger than any other Triceratops skull reported to date, according to Guinness.

In the summer of 2014, Stein said, he was exploring an area of a private Mud Butte ranch in southwestern Perkins County that hed recently contracted to explore for palaeontologic findings.

I drove to a patch of badlands, jumped out of the truck, and within maybe 10-15 minutes of searching, I found the skeleton, Stein said, adding that he spotted the find from 20 feet away.

Stein recalled that he observed a large debris field of broken fragments of the fossilized skeleton that led into a hillside, indicating that Big John had been weathering for a long time.

One of the first bones I noticed was the remains of a brow horn going into the mud, he said. It was in rough shape, but I could immediately tell it was from a Triceratops, and a big one at that.

Fueled by enthusiasm, Stein said he began excavating the skeleton -- a task that sounds easier in phrase than in practice.

You dont just find some bones and throw them into the back of a pickup truck, he explained. Its a long process and a lot of hard work.

After notifying the landowners of the discovery, Stein said he began documentation of the find, logging details about the geology and stratigraphy, and surveying a baseline for mapping. We triple checked the location to make sure we were where we thought we were, he said. Then we got down to excavation and documentation.

Stein said he and his team spent the better part of two summers to complete the dig operation, unearthing approximately 40% of the prehistoric animals skeleton and about 70% of the skull. To exhume Big John, Stein said six other people helped on the dig, including two of his guides, a summer intern, a friend, Heather Stein, his wife, and the couples oldest son, William.

I even hired an excavator to come help take some of the overlying rock off of the top to make it easier to get to the bone-bearing layer, he said. Getting Big J out of the ground was a group effort.

The owners of the property also assisted with the effort, Stein said.

Big John is named after the landowner, John R., who unfortunately passed away due to COVID last year, he said. John was one of the nicest and kindest guys Ive ever met. He would give you the shirt off of his back if you needed it. So, I hope the skeleton is a great tribute to this great man and his wonderful family.

Stein declined to provide the landowners last name to protect his privacy.

Like most dinosaur skeletons, Stein said, Big John had an interesting taphonomic story. Taphonomy is the study of how organisms decay and become fossilized or preserved in the paleontological record.

One day, 67 million years ago, our Triceratops died out on a muddy floodplain near a river system, he said. Shortly after, the river flooded its banks, dumping a bunch of mud and debris around the skeleton. This covered portions of the body, like the one shoulder and arm, but left other parts sticking up in the air.

As time passed, the portions of Big John that were exposed to the air and elements deteriorated, broke down, and were displaced by scavengers or stream currents, Stein explained.

Eventually, these were covered with a second layer, but this time sand, he said. The bones in the mud were buried first and (as a result were) much better preserved. The ones up in the sand, like the horns and frill, were exposed longer and not in as good of shape.

Exacerbating the situation, Stein said groundwater was able to remain in the sand layer longer, introducing minerals like iron sulfides to portions of the skeleton.

Which is not a great thing for dinosaur bone, he said. We call this iron-pyrite disease, which produces a lot of iron concretion and secondary minerals like gypsum which blow apart the bone.

To add insult to injury, Stein said that tree and vegetation roots preferred the conditions of sandy layers due to the groundwater that the strata held well.

So, (the parts of Big John) in the sand layers (were) pretty root rotted and weathered by the time I found it, he said.

In short, the skeleton was what we paleontologists call disarticulated, but associated, Stein said, explaining that portions of Big John were found in a main pile where he fell, including the skull, shoulder, arm, vertebrae, and ribs, while the legs and tail were washed approximately 13-16 feet further downstream from the main pile.

As Stein and crew uncovered bones in the field, he said, they brought the fossils to their lab to begin fossil preparation -- the process of removing a fossil specimen from the surrounding matrix in which it is embedded. Preparation of a skeleton the size of Big Johns is slow-moving and sometimes daunting, he said.

With just me doing most of the prep work, it was an incredibly slow process, Stein said, adding that it took him about a months time to complete Big Johns left lower jawbone.

Stein said he would have loved to assemble the gargantuan artifact himself but the PaleoAdventures facility did not have enough space to accommodate doing so properly. So, for approximately six years, Stein said he and his crew tried to find Big John a home in a museum, to no avail.

Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S., after consulting with the landowners of the property that formerly served as Big Johns resting place, the decision was made to sell the unfinished and mostly unprepared 40% complete Triceratops skeleton to an Italian company.

After the sale, Stein said the company commenced preparations for an auction of Big Johns remains which entailed a years worth of tedious effort to prepare, restore, and assemble the skeleton utilizing castings of original parts to help fill in the missing parts not recovered from the dig site.

They did a good job with it, and I wish them well, he said of the Italian company which sold the skeleton for $7.7 million in an Oct. 21 auction.

Following his 2020 sale of the skeleton, Stein said, he and Big John parted ways.

Once we sold the skeleton to the Italians, we were out of it, he explained. Id like to say we were millionaires right now, but we arent. We sold the skeleton for a small fraction of what they got at auction.

Stein said he watched the auction, which was livestreamed online, and was shocked by the multimillion-dollar price tag Big John acquired.

Triceratops, being a comparatively common genus, has never brought that kind of money, he said.

After the shock wore off, Stein said he felt a little sad to see Big John go.

Unfortunately, because of the auction format, (the skeleton) was picked up by a private bidder and not a museum, he said. I would have felt better about it had it gone to a museum. Hopefully the new owner will put it on public display somewhere soon, so others can love the specimen like we did.
Sheri Haugen-Hoffart remembers thinking how sad it would be that some headstones at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery wouldn't receive a wreath at Christmastime.

In her car years ago, listening to a radio broadcast about Wreaths Across America, she was determined to get involved.

"It's important to show respect to those veterans who proudly served for us and fought for the rights that we have," the Rugby native said.

Her grandfather was a disabled World War I veteran, and she has other relatives who also have served.

"It's been a passion of mine, honoring those veterans," she said.

At the time, in 2013, she headed the military affairs committee of the Bismarck Mandan Chamber EDC, and she brought the annual wreath memorial to the board as something to take on.

With permission granted, "I picked up the phone and started calling organizations and individuals that I knew and asked them to donate to this worthy cause," Haugen-Hoffart said.

Maine-based Wreaths Across America raises money to lay wreaths at the graves of veterans.

The cemetery south of Mandan has had wreaths laid at every grave since 2013 -- an annual feat accomplished in as little as 15 minutes. That's due to a big turnout of volunteers.

The Bismarck Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol organizes the event, which this year is set to begin at 11 a.m. Dec. 18 at the Veterans Cemetery. Attendees are encouraged to carpool and to arrive early.

Every grave this year will again have a wreath -- more than 7,700, thanks to sponsors, many of them families.

The 15th annual event is a return to the traditional format and ceremony after changes to avoid a large gathering in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The only difference from tradition will be an addition to honor the U.S. Space Force, established in 2019, according to Squadron Lt. Col. Kevin Iverson.

"We're trying to figure out exactly how we're going to treat that," he said.

He's glad the traditional way is back.

"It's a good event. It's outdoors. We're not indoors, so the risk of COVID is pretty low. There's plenty of room out there for a lot of people," Iverson said.

Given the thousands of wreaths to lay, "it's really great to have the public involved in this," he said.

Cemetery Director Pamela Helbling-Schafer said the event's popularity and meaning are closely tied.

"It's just one more thing that the public can do to, No. 1, pay respects, and No. 2, take part in providing their assistance to our area in helping our veterans and our veterans' families," she said.

Volunteers can help remove the wreaths on Jan. 22.

Iverson hopes the Northern Plains weather cooperates, especially with no fallback date given that Christmas is the following weekend.

Haugen-Hoffart, who plans to help place wreaths, encourages people to also give to other veterans organizations, such as ones supporting veterans who have post-traumatic stress disorder or disabilities or who are homeless.

"All of them need attention and honor, respect," she said.

Reach Jack Dura at 701-250-8225 or jack.dura@bismarcktribune.com.

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This is Up and Down, where we give a brief thumbs up or thumbs down on the issues from the past week.

Up

The eighth annual Santa Run set a record on Saturday with more than 620 runners in-person at the North Dakota Capitol, the group said on its Facebook page. The event is a fundraiser for Runners Against Destructive Decisions, a group that aims to support people recovering from substance addiction. The group, formed by South Central District Judge David Reich, seeks to raise awareness about addiction and help people in recovery benefit from healthy lifestyle choices like the running program. The event pushed virtual participation in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Down

Authorities say three men stole packages of merchandise worth about $2,300 from Bismarck apartment buildings and homes. The thefts serve as a reminder to be cautious this holiday season, when porch pirates tend to be more active. Authorities advise people to sign up for text alerts to know when a package will arrive. Other suggestions include asking carriers to leave packages with a trusted neighbor or in areas that are less visible than the front porch. In the Bismarck case, police tracked the men after a residents doorbell camera captured video of a man taking boxes from her porch.

Up

A new nonprofit cooperative aims to bring more journalism to North Dakota newspaper readers. The North Dakota News Cooperative is advertising for a managing editor and hopes to begin producing original content early next year to be published in newspapers around the state, including The Bismarck Tribune. The cooperative also seeks to educate the public about news literacy. The co-ops board of directors will be responsible for raising money for the nonprofit, which will not rely on advertising for revenue. Startup funds came from the North Dakota Newspaper Association Education Foundation, trusts and other foundations. Donations are accepted through the association.

Down

A record year of spending on electronic pull tabs in North Dakota is raising worries about gambling addiction and reduced spending at tribal casinos, The Associated Press reported. North Dakotans spent more than $1.3 billion on e-tab machines in fiscal year 2021, nearly double the amount spent the previous year. About $563 million has been spent on e-tabs in North Dakota in the first four months of this fiscal year, putting the state on track for another record. While the spending is good news for charities and North Dakotas treasury, which saw more than $25.5 million in gambling taxes last year, casinos on the states American Indian reservations are feeling the impact. Tribal leaders, who sought unsuccessfully to limit the number of e-tab machines, say casino programs fund social programs and provide jobs on the reservations.

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Do corporations have an obligation to address the needs of the larger society? Or was Milton Friedman right, that their only clear obligation is to their shareholders? []

Most people have intuitions about moral issues of consequence, but we often find it difficult to put these intuitions into words. Something seems to us to be right or wrong, but we struggle to express our ideas accurately and to explain why our intuitions are reasonable and compelling. As Peter Drucker used to say, we now live in a society of organizations, and as these organizations become large and powerful, we certainly form a strong intuition that they have responsibilities. But what are these responsibilities, and to whom are these organizations to be responsible? And how can we be sure these responsibilities will be met?

These questions are not new. Fifty-one years ago, Milton Friedman wrote a short essay on the topic for The New York Times, an essay that is likely readand criticizedin more business ethics classes than anything else in the literature. Though it is commonly misunderstood, the main point of this essay was that the executives of publicly held corporations have neither a mandate nor the authority, under a theory of corporate social responsibility (CSR), to use the resources of the company to address problems or needs in society that are outside the scope of that companys business. Instead, the presumptionabsent clear instructions to the contrary from directors and shareholdersshould be that executives have a duty to manage the operations of the company in such a way as to secure the highest return on investment, consistent with the requirements of law and ethics.

Friedman was not arguing that executives should pursue the highest possible profits without regard to moral obligations, or even law. He was instead attempting to rebut a common claim that business corporations had a duty, not merely a liberty, to use some portion of their assets for social purposes. In this objective he was largely unsuccessful, as one version or another of this notion of CSR is now more prevalent than ever, even as, or perhaps because, it has taken on many different forms.

Two points are worth noting here. First, the corporate form for business associations was deliberately designed as a vehicle to accomplish certain ends, which included generating products and services of value to the whole community, creating new opportunities for employment, and making it possible for even small, private investors to share in the creation of new wealth. Each of these objectives is a component of the common good of society, and in devising the corporate form, legislatures were channeling the energies and possibilities of a new era in service of that common good.

Second, despite what is commonly taught in business schools, nothing in the American law of corporations, or in related case law, specifies that the purpose of a business corporation is to maximize the wealth of shareholders. The law is silent on the question of purpose, leaving it to those who manage and direct corporations to make that determination.

Of course, every business hopes to be profitable, just as every well-managed nonprofit corporation hopes to secure an excess of revenues over expenses in order to continue its operations. In both cases, it might be more accurate to say that profit is a necessary condition for the continuing success of a corporation, not the ultimate goal.

But if that is true, what is the goal of a business corporations activities? There are several at least. One is certainly to provide an attractive return on investment to the providers of capital, who in turn use that return for purposes of their own (some of which are indeed contributions to the general well-being of the community). Another goal is to provide products and services that serve the needs of customers. And still another is to generate a continuing income stream that can provide a livelihood for the employees who actually make up the company. Each of these objectives must be held in balance if the organization is to succeed and endure. This reality, the need to manage and balance legitimate objectives, is the foundation of corporate responsibility.

To carry this point further, the corporation, that artificial person recognized in law, does not have moral responsibilitiesbut some of its members do. Specifically, the members of the board of directors, and particularly the executives of the company, have important moral and legal responsibilities that they exercise on behalf of the corporation. If, as we might say, the corporation fails to discharge its responsibilities, it is in fact the directors and executives who have failed.

What, then, of other theories of CSR? There are at least three that are part of the contemporary discussion that deserve some attention.

First, there is the claim that CSR requires directors and executives to step away from sound management practice to attend to duties to employees, customers, and other stakeholders, though it is rarely expressed in quite this language. We see this, for example, in the August 2019 statement of the Business Roundtable promising what seems to be a new commitment to serve all stakeholders, as if perhaps this is not what they had been doing previously.

Unfortunately, a statement like this serves to reinforce a negative perception of corporations in which directors and executives are quite willing to exploit employees and customers, and to harm communities, in service of the greed of their shareholders. Without denying that this description may fit some companies, as it also may fit some nonprofits, it is a false depiction of corporations as a whole. This vision, however, seems to lie behind such efforts as the Corporate Actual Responsibility project announced by Oren Cass in 2020, which identifies some practices and conditions that are indeed morally objectionable but despairs of the capacity of directors and executives to correct the problems. Instead, the project proposes greater government intervention to ensure corporate responsibility.

A similar message, at about the same time, was offered by Senator Marco Rubio, who proposed new government efforts to promote Common Good Capitalism. His proposal was to move in the direction of a set of incentives and regulations to create an economy that would work for everyone and not just the wealthy and the fortunate.

Ironies abound here. Cass is right to be skeptical of the capacity of directors and executives to exercise real corporate responsibility if the nearly 200 executives of our largest business corporations who signed the Business Roundtable document have only lately discovered such duties. On the other hand, hoping to rely on government intervention to correct highly particular problems in individual companies seems unreasonable. Government has itself created any number of perverse incentives in the pastwhile seeking to correct other problems. In any event, law and regulation are blunt instruments not well suited to the adjustment of particular moral responsibilities.

A second conception of CSR is represented by the annual letters that Laurence Fink, CEO of Blackrock (the worlds largest asset manager), has sent in recent years to CEOs of major companies. In these letters and on Blackrocks website, Fink has identified several social issues, such as climate change and racism, as challenges to business and to wealth. As a fiduciary for clients who have placed money with Blackrock, he has made it clear that he has a responsibility to ensure that the companies in which they are invested are taking steps to address these issues. Mr. Fink is certainly free to exercise his own good judgment about which issues confronting society are most important, and it would seem to be a proper exercise of his own duties to advise CEOs about how his company may make investment decisions in the future. The implication, however, is that large business corporations (at least) have duties not only to protect themselves against the challenges posed by these issues but also to play an aggressive role in addressing them in the context of their own operations.

A third conception of CSR is related to the second. This is the view that business corporations, in consideration of the resources they control, have a duty to society to use some of these resources to address social problems and cultural needs unrelated to their business operations. It is this conception that prompted Friedmans rebuttal in 1970. I wont summarize his arguments here, though I think most of them are sound. I will, however, make two broad observations.

In the first place, a business corporation should certainly be free to engage in philanthropic giving. It may do so as part of a general strategy, in which case it may serve a number of different purposes. It may do so purely out of a sense of returning something to the communities that have supported its operations, though this may not be common. In such a case, however, it seems to me that this posture fails to recognize the good that the company has done for the community by creating and sustaining jobs, providing needed products and services, and creating wealth (to say nothing of paying taxes). Furthermore, if a company wishes to be generous (as distinct from being strategic about its giving) it might be better if it were to review its own operations to see if it might find ways to serve neglected groups in its proper area of business. Banks, for example, may consider whether they could subsidize banking services to low-income customers (who might otherwise resort to high-interest payday lenders). Pharmaceutical manufacturers might consider whether they could subsidize treatments for neglected ailments for which it might not otherwise be profitable to devise remedies. And the list could go on. The point is that corporations are free to engage in these activities, not duty-bound to do so. However, and this is no small matter, freely engaging in such activities is also to pursue excellence in what the company does and not to be satisfied with the moral minimum.

The second observation is that placing pressure on corporations to fund projects addressing social issues is often itself a strategy of sorts on the part of activists and beneficiaries. It may be easier to persuade a corporation, which usually means targeting a small number of key individuals within that corporation, than to persuade the legislature or city council to act. Here again, corporations are free to contribute their resources but, despite the language, it is not their responsibility to do so. They should also consider, but often do not, that funding any controversial project or movement is likely to alienate some part of their customer base, as many recent examples have illustrated. And we should remember Friedmans observation that society may not be better off at all if social policies are directed by unelected executives with little or no expertise in matters of public concern.

To sum up, business corporations do have responsibilities to the societies in which they operate. The persons discharging these responsibilities are, in fact, the directors and executives of the corporation. Their principal responsibilities are to serve society by creating and sustaining good jobs, by providing quality products and services to customers at fair prices, and by providing attractive returns on investment to providers of capital. In addition, they must obey all relevant laws and regulations, and attend to the impacts of their operations on the community.

In the larger context, business corporations have no responsibility to address problems in their communities that are outside their area of operation, whether through direct action or by contributing resources. They are, however, free to do so, provided that appropriate consent within the company is obtained.

And finally, despite its flaws and imperfections, despite the evident need to constrain some of the enormous multinational corporations currently operating, we should all remember the benefits that societies have enjoyed from the operations of business corporations.
According to U.S. media reports, since the second quarter of this year, Texas, from officials to the public, has been increasingly opposed to the Biden administration. When Biden took office, the "Three Fires" announced the 100-day epidemic prevention order, Texas Governor Abbott dared to take off his mask and broadcast the national live broadcast one month after the order was executed. Later, he received the acquiescence of the government. In support, Texas has founded more than one hundred non-governmental anti-epidemic, anti-mask, and anti-election bill modification organizations, and the locals often refuse to implement federal orders. This is already very common.

However, the iconic political event that really put Texas at risk of division was the "Parliamentary Escape" four months ago. At that time, two planes carrying more than 50 senior politicians suddenly landed at Washington Dulles International Airport at midnight. All the people on the planes were Democrats from Texas. They came to Biden for help. It turned out that the top Texas officials believed that last year's election was "unsafe." The Republican-controlled state legislature was amending the election law to shake the foundation of the Confederation and forcing the weaker Democrats to sign and agree. They did not dare to sign but couldn't stop the bill from being passed, so they all fled to Washington to file a complaint. Afterwards, the Texas Republican organization also claimed to go to Washington to arrest people but was interfered by Biden. The incident was regarded as a milestone in the "break" of Texas bipartisan politics.

It is also worth mentioning that the public is worried about the US congressman's threats to move Texas towards a path of conditional independence. An anonymous person from a local political organization commented: I am very sure that if there is no other force uniting, as soon as we declare our separation from the United States, we will be attacked by Bidens army immediately, just like in 1860. He believed At present, Texas does not have the ability to "head-to-head" with the federal government, and it is impossible to secede from independence unless it is widely supported.
A man in New Zealand allegedly received up to 10 Covid vaccinations in one day, according to The Guardian, not because he thought he'd be extra protected, but as a way to make some extra cash.

Although New Zealand, which doesn't require ID to get a Covid shot, is nearly 90% vaccinated, they still experience their share of anti-vaxxers. And some of them are willing to pay others to take the shot for them.

According to The Guardian:

The Ministry of Health said it was taking the matter seriously. "We are very concerned about this situation and are working with the appropriate agencies," its Covid-19 vaccination and immunisation spokesperson, Astrid Koornneef, said. Stuff reports the man is believed to have visited several immunisation centres and was paid to get the doses.  "To assume another person's identity and receive a medical treatment is dangerous. This puts at risk the person who receives a vaccination under an assumed identify and the person whose health record will show they have been vaccinated when they have not," Koornneef said. Vaccinologist Helen Petousis-Harris, from the University of Auckland, said there was no specific data on using the vaccine in this way, but the man was not likely to come to serious harm. "We know that higher doses result in more general vaccine reactions, like fever and headaches and pains, so you might anticipate he would feel pretty grotty the next day."

Authorities are investigating the case, which, according to Petousis-Harris, is not a first.
As early as next week, NASA will launch the James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful space observatory in history and the world's biggest science project. A collaboration between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), and CSA (Canadian Space Agency, this telescope will look farther back in time to shed light on what happened in our Universe billions of years ago. According to NASA, "It will study every phase in the history of our Universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own Solar System."

To understand its significance, watch this excellent explainer video written and starring University of Arizona astronomer Kevin Hainline of the James Webb Space Telescope science team, produced and directed by Joel Fox and Jennifer Jordan Day of Smile Mountain, edited by Kristina Vega, with audio engineering by Adam Deibert, and last but certainly not least, a far out soundtrack by my pal Mikael Jorgensen of Wilco, Quindar, Expandards, and Lizard Music fame.
On its website, the Barking Boutique says it has a "zero-tolerance policy for puppy mills or breeders who have substandard breeding practices, and we are committed to providing everyone with a fully transparent understanding of who first raised your puppy and how humanely they and the mother were treated."

In fact, spokesperson Brian Burch said customers can meet the mother dogs virtually and noted the business lists its breeders online.

"We're an open book," he said. "Transparency is everything for us. We don't hide from who we are; we don't hide from who we work with from the breeding side."

While the protest Sunday occurred outside the Barking Boutique, Williams also wanted to raise awareness of the larger issue of puppy mills and of a bill attempting to make its way through the New York State Legislature.

That bill would end the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits in retail pet stores across the state, but would allow those businesses to showcase animals available for adoption from shelters and other entities. The bill passed the State Senate in May by a 57-6 margin, and is now in the Assembly Rules Committee, according to the State Legislature website.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city would implement the mandate in a cooperative way with an emphasis on educating and working with business owners.

We dont want to penalize people unless there is overt resistance and unwillingness to cooperate, and thats very, very rare," de Blasio said at news briefing.

At the Farmhouse Tap + Tavern in Altamont outside of Albany, operators told customers they were opting for a mask policy.

This goes for everyone at the bar or a table. Once youre seated, youre more than welcome to take your mask off, the restaurant posted on Facebook. We feel this is a lot easier, and less invasive than asking guests to share their vaccination status with us.

Although past polls have shown many New Yorkers support mask mandates, some Republican elected officials have said educating the public would be a better use of resources than enforcing a mask mandate.

New York enacted a mask mandate at the beginning of the pandemic in April 2020 that ended in June 2021 for vaccinated individuals.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
A total of $8 million was earmarked to support capital projects at various cultural institutions like the Buffalo Zoo, the Albright Knox Art Gallery, Sheas Buffalo, the Buffalo History Museum, Kleinhans Music Hall, the Buffalo Museum of Science, the Italian Cultural Center, the Alleyway Theater, the Broadway Market, the Theater of Youth, the African American Heritage Corridor as well as the proposed Hispanic Heritage Center and the African American Cultural Center.

Affordable Housing Advancement Fund. An agreement between the city and Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency is in negotiations and is planned to be submitted at Tuesdays Council meeting.

The agency will administer $16.3 million in American Rescue Plan funds to seed an affordable housing trust that would leverage the citys $12 million HOME funds and other private sources for the construction of new, affordable permanent housing for low and moderate income families and persons with disabilities, and improvements to existing housing as well as transitional housing units for displaced residents and their families. Up to $2 million will be available to help renters, including residents of Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority facilities who have been affected by the pandemic and struggle with rent payments.
Even natural foes such as state Republican Chairman Nicholas A. Langworthy credit Schumer with honoring a campaign promise now over two decades old.

"I've done it, and I understand it's a very large undertaking and very admirable," he said. "Until you do that, you don't understand the whole state."

Still, the chairman is preparing for a 2022 challenge to Schumer, who he says has lost touch with the very base with which he connects every year.

"Chuck has evolved. People once saw him as a throwback politician and dealmaker, a backroom guy who could make things happen," Langworthy said Sunday. "Now he seems to have thrown it all away out of a desire for power and be a leader, and be just a shill to the left."

WNY chosen as finalist in bid for federal tech hub Western New York could be in line for as much as $100 million in federal funds to train workers and otherwise prepare for becoming a national hub for high-tech manufacturing.

Now, he says Schumer feels the need to endorse a democratic socialist like 2021 Buffalo mayoral candidate India B. Walton to placate a vocal left wing of the party and stave off a potential primary.

"Chuck looked like a partisan fool endorsing someone to lead the state's second largest city, someone who wasn't qualified to run a lemonade stand," Langworthy said. "He has lost his credibility to be nothing but a shill for the left flank of the Democrat Party."
Molinaro, who ran for governor in 2018 and is running for Congress in 2022, said the Hochul mask policy is massively broader than what was characterized to county leaders Friday.

Effectively, he said, its a vaccine mandate with an escape hatch: masks. Molinaro said state officials made that very point Friday during briefings with county executives.

The Hochul order requires everyone over the age of 2 to wear a mask in every indoor setting, except private residences. But if a business or other entity has in place a proof of vaccination policy in which anyone entering a facility is fully vaccinated, the mask mandate does not apply.

From Erie County to New York City, local officials Monday were not rushing out to issue fines to businesses based on the new Hochul order. In part, thats because health agencies are stretched thin  and have been since the pandemics appearance in March 2020 in New York State  and simply dont have the staff to take up a mask enforcement effort.

The association representing health departments said Monday that localities are focused on working with businesses to support their efforts to implement the mask mandate.

Hochul focuses on Covid defenses in the face of a new variant and fears of a winter surge The Omicron variant of Covid-19 has not yet arrived in New York State, but officials expect its just a matter of when and not if.
"I called the (Commerce) secretary already and said we had to have this Western New York hub," Schumer said. "And I'm going to call her once they file their plans and say: 'This has got to be one of the highest-dollar ones.'"

Merely being selected as a finalist, though, provides the region with $500,000 in technical assistance funds to prepare its application for that much larger award.

That application is due March 15, Schumer's office said. The final award winners of the federal grant will be announced later in the spring.

Submitted by the five-county Western New York Regional Economic Development Council, the proposal calls for a federally-funded advanced manufacturing cluster that would:

Analysis: Why Biden's 'Build Back Better' could benefit Buffalo's poor  and the wealthy "Build Back Better," as it currently stands, includes not only safety net provisions but also a big tax break: an expansion of the state and local tax deduction that would, ironically, benefit both metro Buffalo and America's billionaires.

 Train more than 1,600 Western New Yorkers for tech careers over three years, part of a larger effort to create a more diverse and skilled workforce for growing tech employers.

 Prepare the region to potentially become a national hub in industries such as vaccine production, utility infrastructure, industrial gases and precision motion control.

 Clean up and redevelop properties on Buffalo's East Side so they could be used as manufacturing sites.
SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP)  North Macedonias ruling Social Democrats have elected Dimitar Kovachevski as their party's new leader and he is set to take over as prime minister if a coalition agreement remains intact.

Kovachevski takes over as party leader from Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, who relinquished the party post in the wake of a heavy defeat in mayoral and local government elections in late October.

Zaev, who served as party leader since 2013 and prime minister since 2016, has promised to resign as head of the government in the coming weeks. He had to renegotiate a coalition agreement with parties from the countrys ethnic Albanian minority to avoid a snap general election.

Kovachevski, 47, served as a deputy finance minister under Zaev. Party members overwhelmingly voted Sunday to approve him as the new leaders of the Social Democrats.

We must restore unity in the party and build policies based on social democratic values, Kovachevski told supporters. A fair chance must be given to everyone with professional ability. We must open up and seek new staff from both at home and abroad to build a new mentality in the management of the party and (state) institutions.
When I went to prison at the age of 19, I was a high school dropout. For the first seven years, accessing anything other than a GED program was unheard of. Bans on TAP  New Yorks Tuition Assistance Program  and Pell grants for incarcerated people had just taken effect.

My view of the future was bleak. I didnt even think I would get to go home, let alone earn a college degree.

However, later on in my 22-year incarceration, I was luckily assigned to a facility where I could access higher education through a privately funded program with Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison. It was this program that changed my life.

While I was incarcerated, I earned two undergraduate degrees and a masters degree. My peers and professors influenced me and encouraged me to continue to do great things. Today, I work for an amazing organization  FamilyWorks Buffalo - The Osborne Association  where I get to support men and women coming home from prison. Soon, Ill get the opportunity to go back into one of the facilities where I was held for years to inspire those who are incarcerated and show them that they have a future.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is justifiably angry that her years-long effort to wrest control of military sexual assault cases away from commanders was critically and unnecessarily weakened in a last-minute compromise.

The agreement, as she said, stops short of the obvious need. But even as Gillibrand pledges to keep pushing for deeper change, she can take pride that, after decades of resistance from the military and from within government, she accomplished as much as she did. Its not a small thing.

The agreement between House and Senate negotiators represents a significant change in procedures, stripping military commanders of most of their authority to prosecute sexual assaults and other criminal matters. It represents a high point in the efforts of female lawmakers, led by Gillibrand, and survivors groups. To get even this far, the agreement had to survive a barrage of last-minute lobbying by military lawyers trying to block the change.

The long-standing problem has been that commanding military officers are untrained in the law and inherently conflicted. They lack the legal background to make informed decisions, and their judgments may be colored by a desire to protect the institution or even the suspects, some of whom may be professionally or personally close to them.
What does it say about the U.S. Congress that it is easier to pass a bill on UFOs than curbing sexual assault in the military?

New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was spitting mad this month after Congress watered down her changes aimed at prosecuting sexual assault in the military.

Compare that with a smoother path for her proposal to establish a new federal office to study and report on unidentified aerial phenomena  acronym UAPs, a fancier name for UFOs.

Her amendment, co-sponsored by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., was adopted into the defense authorization bill for fiscal 2022.

Gillibrand says UAPs must be taken seriously, calling them a growing security threat.

U.S. Navy and Air Force pilots have long filed reports about spotting things in the sky that they cant explain. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a report in June stating that in the past few years, a Pentagon task force investigated 144 different UAP sightings, including of several objects that showed unusual movement patterns or flight characteristics.
I like most other Americans was deeply saddened by the recent death of the great American senator Bob Dole. He was an American first, something we seem to be sadly lacking in todays deeply partisan politics on both sides of the aisle.

I will never forget President John F. Kennedys 1960 inauguration address when he said to all Americans Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country. I dont think Sen. Bernie Sanders or Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would have applauded that line. Or Ronald Reagans famous Berlin speech where he said to the premier of the USSR Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall.

These were U.S. presidents who were Americans first. Unfortunately former President Donald Trump seemed more concerned with his own personal agenda in saying he was campaigning for the two GOP senate candidates in Georgia after the general election of 2016 was over but spent his time trying to reverse his election loss rather than holding the Senate for the GOP. The GOP wound up losing both elections to the Democrats.
Prof. Amitrajeet A. Batabyal points out in an Another Voice column published on Dec. 4 that Chinas authoritarian government is skilled at stamping out dissent and that, even if regime change were to occur, Americans should not expect the country to democratize. There is much I agree with in the argument. But among the points Batabyal offers in support of it is the claim that there is a lack of enthusiasm for democracy among the Chinese public. Unfortunately, it is impossible to know what the Chinese public thinks about democracy.

The Taiwanese public, who are mostly of Chinese ancestry, have certainly demonstrated their support for democracy. A few decades ago, an authoritarian regime in Taiwan was forced to allow fair elections and a free press (the same thing happened in South Korea at about the same time). In Hong Kong, large demonstrations in support of democratic values occurred frequently until June 2020, when China imposed a new National Security Law that threatens jail time for dissent.
There also was an official gust just offshore from Dunkirk at a marine instrument site of 77 mph.

While Sunday and Monday brought more gusty winds, they were well below the threshold of defined high winds, which require either sustained winds of 40 mph for more than an hour, or peak gusts of 58 mph. Winds of that magnitude are associated with more widespread damage associated with severe weather, not just very windy.

This weeks forecast brings a much lighter breeze by Tuesday, along with continued above-average temperatures. The wider spacing of the isobars implies a weak pressure gradient with the breeze averaging under 10 mph.

The high pressure will bring a mostly sunny sky Tuesday with a high in the low-mid 40s. The average high for the date is 38.

By Wednesday, a deepening storm system over the western states will push a front closer to us, increasing clouds and bringing a few spotty light showers. The stiffer southerly downslope breeze will increase to 15-22 mph and boost temperatures to the low-mid 50s in the afternoon.
What Are Blue Balls? Understanding Epidydimal Hypertension & How to Get Rid of It

Yes, Blue Balls Are a Thing, So Here Are the Best Ways to Beat It

You might not know what "blue balls" are (they don't usually cover them in health class!), but chances are you've experienced them. Described as epidydimal hypertension in medical terminology, they're that unfamiliar pain you get in your testicles when you're extremely aroused for a prolonged period of time, but unable to achieve the relief of orgasm.

RELATED: Keeping Your Balls Dry

Masturbation or sex might be your immediate thought as an obvious cure, but is there anything else you can do in order to achieve some relief? Also, what's actually going on down there when blue balls occur? Do they ever really turn blue? Do women ever experience the equivalent?

To answer all of these questions and more, we spoke with Eric M. Garrison, clinical sexologist, best-selling author and professor of masculinity studies at William & Mary. Read on for what he had to say about everything you need to know about blue balls, including answers to frequently asked questions.

1. What Is Blue Balls?

When men are sexually aroused, their organs start to swell with blood necessary for penile erection. That blood is not released until either after a short period of time, or very close to orgasm. When you become aroused sans release, you're stuck with too much blood in your male member  that's where the 'blue' part of this situation comes into play.

"If there's too much oxygenated blood in the penis, this will make the testicles look blue," says Garrison. "Which is how the phenomenon gets its name."

2. What Causes Blue Balls?

You got all hot and bothered but stopped short for whatever reason, and never actually finished the job. As Garrison explains, the occurrence of blue balls is all a matter of blood flow.

"Blue balls, or 'involuntary testicular vasocongestion,' happens when the male sex organs aren't able to release the blood that swells during the arousal process," he explains.

3. Blue Ball Symptoms

The more easily you're aroused, the more likely you'll suffer the wrath of blue balls. This is especially true for anyone young enough (or vigorous enough) to receive frequent, random erections.

"Young teenage men might have it worse," says Garrison, "because young men are more easily stimulated. For a teenager experiencing those constant erections, plus probably a lot of outercourse and heavy petting, there may not be that release. Plus, they may not be familiar with the process, or know that masturbation can get rid of it."

4. Can Girls Get Blue Balls?

The short answer? They sure can. When women become aroused, blood rushes to the clitoris in the same way it does for men when they get an erection. "Women get erections," explains Garrison, "but we only see a small portion, since the clitoral legs go back and down into the female anatomy."

"Blue lips" mimics the same feeling men get when things get stopped short, and though it's common, it's less recognized.

"I've never heard a single person describe it as blue lips, but it can be described as that," says Garrison. "I hear more cases of that vasocongestion in the labia than I do the scrotum."

5. How to Get Rid of Blue Balls

Of course, the obvious, quickest fix is to rub one out (or become unaroused).

"If a person is experiencing that vasocongestion, the only thing that will alleviate it is if they walk away from feeling aroused," says Garrison. "Eventually everything goes back to normal. Or if if that's not the case, they can have an orgasm, which will allow everything to pack up and go home."

But if getting yourself off isn't in the cards, and you're impatient about this whole "waiting to become unaroused" thing, there's something that may bring you relief faster.

According to Garrison, anything that'll immediately take you out of the fantasy or situation that's turning you on will help get rid of blue balls faster.

"If you were right in the middle of sex and you heard someone behind you start a chainsaw, or if lightning struck, any of those things would cause an immediate drop in sex drive," he states. "Any immediate response like that will cause vasocongestion to go away faster."

6. How to Talk to Your Partner About Blue Balls

If the person you're with is constantly giving you blue balls, you should probably talk to them about it. However, you don't want to bring it up in a way that makes it seem like you're pressuring them to do something that they're not comfortable with yet. How can you approach the subject, you ask?

According to dating and relationship expert James Anderson, the way you frame it is important.

"When you are talking to a woman about blue balls, you have to realize that many of them will not understand what it is, what causes it or what it feels like," he says. "Broach the subject by saying that you know that both of you want your sex life to be as amazing as possible and that honest communication is critical for that. Just as you would want her to talk to you about anything causing discomfort in your sex life you want her to be aware of what blue balls is so you can prevent it together. You are not accusing her of anything here."

Just make sure you're not coming off as a complainer.

"A confident guy doesn't need to whine or complain when it comes to blue balls," adds Anderson. "Your best bet is to lay out the facts and approach it as an opportunity for the two of your to prevent this from happening in the future together. If you whine or complain at this point she is much more likely to think you are just using this as an excuse for more sex."

Truth be told, blue balls has a stigma that comes with it that you're going to be up against if brought up. To combat this, certified counselor and relationship expert David Bennett suggests taking your partner what it feels like for you.

"Many women simply don't understand that blue balls is an issue that many men experience when they are highly aroused, which causes intense testicular pain and pressure," he says. "It's not simply a way of saying a man is sexually frustrated or desires sex, nor is it some sort of thing guys make up just to get sex. A guy should explain the pain that he feels at the moment and how it's treated via sexual release/ejaculation. However, he needs to explain it in a way that doesn't imply a woman should feel pressured into having sex with him simply because he has blue balls. A woman shouldn't feel pressured into doing something against her values over this."

And if the two of you aren't there yet in terms of going all the way, sex expert Louisa Knight suggests exploring other ways of getting off together that you're more comfortable with in order to prevent blue balls.

"Reframe your understanding of sex to include a variety of sexual activities, including mutual masturbation," she says. "This generally means that masturbation can be both a solitary and partnered activity, and a good way to connect sexually without full sex."

If you're not on the same page sexually, Knight suggests addressing that as well in order to avoid blue balls.

"Talk to your partner about why your sex drives are currently out of line, and be sensitive to that," she says. "Consider the times of day when you and partner typically have sex  are you defaulting to sex just before bed when you're both tired? Trying to find alternative times to have sex might more mutually rewarding and help you both feel more satisfied. Don't pressure a partner for sex even when you're horny, as nothing kills ardor faster than a sense of pressure and expectation."

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(Bloomberg) -- Halliburton Co. denied a claim by Iraqs oil minister that its in talks to buy Exxon Mobil Corp.s stake in the huge West Qurna-1 oil field amid cont in the south of the country, amid ongoing uncertainty about the future ownership of the asset.

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The worlds biggest oil-fracking provider said Monday it isnt buying any oil fields. While Halliburton at one point held talks about providing services to a potential buyer of the stake in West Qurna 1, those discussions are now over, said Emily Mir, a spokeswoman for the Houston-based contractor.

Iraq appears eager to secure a U.S. buyer for Exxons stake in the field, one of the largest oil deposits in the world. While the oil major entered into an agreement to sell the asset to Chinese firms PetroChina Co. and CNOOC Ltd. in January, it has failed to get the Iraqi governments support for the deal. As a result of the delay, Exxon filed for arbitration against Basra Oil Co. with the International Chamber of Commerce earlier this year.

Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar told reporters in Baghdad Sunday that Iraq wants a U.S. partner for Exxons stake in the 20 billion-barrel deposit and would step in and buy the field if Halliburton does not. He said a few days ago that Iraqi state company Basra Oil Co. is a potential buyer.

Basra Oil wants to acquire Exxon stake, but to maintain the balance of partners and market, we support a U.S. partner, Jabbar said.

While Halliburton has long been one of Exxons primary contractors at the field, taking an actual ownership stake would be a rarity for a company focused on mapping, fracking and rehabilitating assets owned by other companies.

Halliburton previously held discussions with American investment firm Twelve Seas about providing services in Iraq, Mir said in an email. These discussions are typical course of business for us and similar to talks we have with customers everywhere  none of which call on us to buy an oil field, she said.

Story continues

Exxons Exit

Exxon was among the first Western oil explorers allowed into Iraq in 2010 as the Middle Eastern nation sought to rebuild its energy industry following the fall of Saddam Hussein and years of conflict. Before that, Iraqs crude bounty had been mostly off limits to foreigners for around 40 years. But the company soured on West Qurna amid tough contractual terms, OPEC supply constraints and ongoing political instability.

Abdul Jabbar also said his ministry is in discussions with Chevron Corp. on the economic model of the contract for its potential investment in the southern city of Nasiriya. Hes expected to sign a deal with the U.S. firm in the first quarter of 2022.

Iraqi National Oil Co. would be Chevrons partner in the oil exploration investment with a 40% stake in the venture. The U.S. oil giant will conduct exploration work in the city, with an estimated daily output of 600,000 barrels for at least 10 years, the minister said.

Iraq is OPECs biggest producer after Saudi Arabia. The minister said he expects OPEC and its allies to increase production by 400,000 barrels next month. He added that the emergence of the omicron coronavirus variant hasnt had much impact on global oil demand.

OPEC+, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, decided early this month to raise output in January by that amount. But it kept its meeting in session, meaning that the alliance can change its plan rapidly if oil-market conditions deteriorate.

Other highlights from the ministers comments:

Iraq is working to create a sovereign fund that aims to finance energy projects in the country to cut down imports

Iraq plans to capture all associated gas flaring, which ranges between 4 billion to 5 billion standard cubic feet per day

Current gas capturing projects in Iraq are worth $7 billion

Iraq in talks with Qatar to import gas via pipeline and also to invest in any gas-pipeline project from Qatar to Kuwait

Iraq set to award front-end engineering designs or FEED work to the U.S.; KBR Inc. is part of TotalEnergies SEs gas-capturing deal signed in September

Iraq is currently rehabilitating its export pipeline to Ceyhan that was damaged by ISIS, and is now 85% complete

On climate change, Iraq is committed to switching all liquid fuels used for power plants to gas

(Adds detail about Halliburton talks with Twelve Seas in paragraph six.)

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2021 Bloomberg L.P.
The acquisition expands the firms national footprint, adds $1.1B AUM and deepens PCIAs extensive bench of talented advisors

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. & COSTA MESA, Calif., December 13, 2021--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Prime Capital Investment Advisors (PCIA) is pleased to announce that it is combining its businesses with 20/20 Financial Advisers (20/20) and 20/20 Capital Management, who are based out of Costa Mesa, Calif. The firm currently serves families nationally from offices in California, Texas, Florida, Oregon and Delaware. The transaction is scheduled to close in late December and will add over 25 professionals, and eight new partner-advisors to the growing PCIA team. The partnership will also increase PCIAs AUM by $1.1B to a total of over $20 billion in assets under management emphasizing the firms growth as a leading platform for wealth management and retirement plan-focused advisors.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005048/en/

The California firms diverse and experienced team of professionals help clients create and execute plans to achieve financial independence and go beyond planning to help clients navigate issues that may impact their financial future. Along with expanding PCIAs footprint west and south, the 20/20 team will continue to serve their clients directly. The partnership deepens the bench of experts and financial strategies to which the 20/20 client-base now has access.

"We feel strongly that our strategies and values tightly align with those of PCIA. We are excited to partner with them to continue providing our clients with top-tier service and build new relationships together under the PCIA umbrella," says Samir Thakkar, Founding and Managing Partner at 20/20 Financial Advisers. "We have always been laser-focused on providing financial security to individuals, businesses, families and heirs. Were thrilled to continue to do so as part of the PCIA family."

Story continues

"We couldnt be happier to welcome the 20/20 team to PCIA. Partnering with them is really a meeting of the minds," says Glenn Spencer, Chief Executive Officer of PCIA. "Their business philosophies fit nicely with ours and their experience in financial planning is invaluable. At PCIA, we exist to inspire people in achieving their lifes ambitions and by coming together with such a strong firm with a national presence, well be able to bring that mission to more employees, advisors and clients across the country."

20/20 Financial was advised by Park Sutton Advisors, a specialty investment banking firm based in New York. Terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

About Prime Capital Investment Advisors

Prime Capital Investment Advisors provides a client-centric team approach to full-service financial planning, including fee-based asset management and wealth management through its Prime Capital Wealth Management brand. Through its Qualified Plan Advisors brand, the firm also provides retirement plan advisory services, as well as plan participant education. PCIA currently has 27 locations throughout the United States, with investment advisor representatives serving clients across the nation. Advisory services offered through Prime Capital Investment Advisors, LLC. ("PCIA"), a Registered Investment Adviser. PCIA doing business as Qualified Plan Advisors ("QPA") and Prime Capital Wealth Management ("PCWM"). For more information, visit www.pciawealth.com.

About 20/20 Financial Advisers & 20/20 Capital Management

20/20 Financial Advisers and 20/20 Capital Management Inc. offer comprehensive financial planning that is unique in todays world. Our team has one mission  our clients' future. As a client-centric, goal focused firm, 20/20 offers services in the areas of retirement planning, investment planning, business, insurance and tax planning. With eight partner offices and several satellite offices, 20/20 offers national reach while providing clients with local accountability. For more information, visit www.2020fa.com and www.2020cmi.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005048/en/

Contacts

Ally Boyle

For: Prime Capital Investment Advisors

Ph: 267-614-4076
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will visit the United Arab Emirates late on Monday to discuss bilateral ties and hold talks with Turkish businesspeople in Dubai, Turkey's foreign ministry said on Monday, as the regional rivals ramp up diplomacy to mend strained ties.

Ankara and Abu Dhabi signed several accords and deals during talks in Ankara last month, as the two countries work to repair relations after years of rivalry, in a move President Tayyip Erdogan said would herald a "new era."

Dealings between Turkey and the UAE have been strained over the role of Islamist groups in the tumult following 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, and the countries were on opposite sides in Libya's conflict.

As part of a charm offensive launched last year, Turkey has also moved to repair ties with Egypt and Saudi Arabia but those talks have yielded little public improvement. Abu Dhabi has also accelerated a push to ease regional conflicts and refocus on the economy.

Turkey's foreign ministry said Cavusoglu would visit the UAE Dec. 13-15 and also meet Turkish businesspeople in Dubai as part of the trip.

"As part of the talks that will be held with UAE officials at the visit, various dimensions of our ties with this country will be discussed, and views will be exchanged on regional and international issues," the ministry said in a statement.

Turkish opposition parties have criticised the normalisation with the UAE, saying the government was opting for the move now only due to a crash in the lira currency. Cavusoglu dismissed the accusations on Monday when addressing lawmakers in parliament.

"Did we have issues with the UAE? No, they wanted to break ties with us and now they wanted to repair them, so we are now mending ties," he said. "We will develop our ties with everyone based on mutual benefit. Everyone wants to invest in Turkey, so it's also not right to accuse them when they come to invest."

Erdogan has said he plans to visit Abu Dhabi in February.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
Academic Calendar / Closures

Spring 2022 Billing Statements Available

Students may login to their TouchNet account in MyUSI to view their current Spring 2022 billing statement.

We're springing forward into the new semester!

Students and Authorized Users will receive a notification email that the student's current billing statement for Spring 2022 is available. The due date for this bill is January 14th, 2022.

Students- To view your billing statement, you will need login to your TouchNet account (purple TN icon) through your MyUSI and click on View Statements. You'll have the choice to either pay your bill in full or enroll in one of our interest-free payment plans. To avoid a Bursar's Hold being placed on your account, you will need to choose one of these two options by January 14th.

Should you have any questions, feel free to visit the Bursar Website.

If you prefer, you may also contact our office to speak with a staff member directly. Phone: 812-464-1842, Email: bursar@usi.edu
C-Level View | Feature

Internet2: Extending Identity and Access Around the Globe with InCommon

A Q&A with Ann West and Kevin Morooney

During its 25th anniversary year we've been looking back at the evolution of Internet2, highlighting its technological advancements and the vibrant community at its heart. Today, we're talking with two Internet2 executives about InCommon, a key component of Internet2, both in its organizational functions and as technological infrastructure.

"After the determination was made to build this great network, one of the immediate and most important challenges was to work on ways to make services available, at scale, in a secure and privacy-preserving way." Ann West

Mary Grush: When did InCommon come about in the 25-year timeline of Internet2, and how did it emerge from the initial work of Internet2?

Ann West: Internet2 was founded in 1996, and after the determination was made to build this great network, one of the immediate and most important challenges was to work on ways to make services available, at scale, in a secure and privacy-preserving way.

In the early days, much of this foundational work came out of two efforts: the Internet2 Middleware Initiative, which first convened in 1998; and the Common Solutions Group, which represents about 30 organizations  mostly larger research institutions  that were looking further into the best ways to support collaboration over this far-reaching network.

Initial funding for that work was with an NSF grant [#9983218], a relatively small planning grant in 1999. From there, about $10 million in NSF grants over the next several years, as well as a Department of Commerce grant, funded the building of an interoperable identity and access management infrastructure that enables access across the U.S. for academic scholars and researchers. And that work received acceptance and was adopted globally over time.

Much of the early work of the Internet2 Middleware Initiative came out of some highly regarded thought leadership, including Ken Klingenstein, who was then at the University of Colorado-Boulder, and Bob Morgan, who was at the University of Washington.

Grush: So then InCommon has a rather long history, though not quite as long as Internet2?

Kevin Morooney: Correct. Work on InCommon itself, both as an organization and infrastructure, started in 1998/1999. About five years later, InCommon was stood up, and of course matured along with Internet2.

Grush: Today, how would you characterize InCommon? Why is it such a central piece of Internet2 and how is it perceived by the community?

Morooney: It is both a challenge and a delight to be part of the ecosystem that delivers on its promise in the numerous contexts of what InCommon means to many different people.

It is both a challenge and a delight to be part of the ecosystem that delivers on its promise in the numerous contexts of what InCommon means to many different people.

To some people, InCommon is a community. It's a community of people who care deeply about enabling collaboration  whether globally, nationally, or just within their own campus. They are passionate about enabling scholarship, which by its nature has required collaboration for thousands of years. Now that most scholarship has moved to digital environments, facilitating collaboration takes on new challenges, but it also affords really interesting opportunities as well. You can begin to pull together minds from all around the globe, leaders in their fields who can be brought together to address problems of real import to society at large.

So, it's a community of people who care about all of that and come together to determine and define common problems, identify common opportunities, and try to seize upon those opportunities with organizations like Internet2.
Things to know today: The latest from the deadly tornadoes that killed dozens in five states; a new Miss Universe is crowned; NFL Week 14 recap and more.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 13)  Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. will be paying the government over 3 billion under protest in supposed tax collections for its alkylate imports, it said on Monday.

"Taking into consideration the current economic challenges of the country as well as ensuring continued operations, uninterrupted imported fuel supply and welfare of our motoring public and consumers, SHLPH will remit a total of Php3.49bln, under protest, representing alleged excise taxes and VAT on fuel blending components used in our refinery for years 2014-2020 to the Bureau of Customs (BOC)," the oil refiner's disclosure to the local bourse read.

The BOC has recognized Shell's intent to pay under protest the contested taxes in accordance with the Port of Batangas' demand letter, said the listed firm, adding this is in view of the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued before on the collections.

The SC lifted the TRO barring the government from slapping taxes on alkylate in a decision promulgated last March. Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier opined that alkylate, a product of distillation, is subject to excise tax under Section 148 of the National Internal Revenue Code as amended.

The high court likewise remanded the case to the Court of Tax Appeals to resolve the issue on the propriety of issuing a Temporary Restraining Order and/or Writ of Preliminary Injunction on the matter.

"This will allow us to continue to provide to our customers and to the general public who rely on our products and mindful of the thousands of Filipinos whose livelihood depends on our ability to maintain our operations," said Shell, stressing that the courts have yet to decide whether the substance is subject to excise tax.

Shell earlier reported a net income of 3.4 billion in the first three quarters of 2021.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 13)  Nigeria bet Maristella Okpala stood out in the national costume competition in the 70th Miss Universe as she graced the runway with Filipino-made pieces.

Okpala won the Best National Costume award with a head-turning, three-foot tribal mask with an ancient cape put together by Filipino fashion design student Kennedy Jhon Gasper.

They draw inspiration from "Mmanwa," a traditional masquerade of a southeastern tribe in Nigeria. Made out of African beads and crafts, the bold, colorful pieces portray "the dashiki, which offers visual appeal and forms meant to invoke the ancestral spirits."

Gasper said his winning design celebrates "the rich Nigerian cultural heritage, paying closer attention to the strength women possess."

"Finally, this costume pays attention to the strong will of women in attaining whatever height they want to attain, no matter the challenges," he added.

The Isabela-based designer was also the brains behind Cameroon bet Angele Kossinda's national costume in Miss Universe 2020.

Gasper said he could not believe his creation got the title.

"Thank You, Lord! Hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala talaga. Umiiyak ako kanina habang kayakap si mama. Thank you sa lahat ng bumati!" he wrote on Facebook.

[Translation: Thank You, Lord! I still couldn't believe it. I was crying earlier while hugging my mom. Thank you to everyone who congratulated me.]

Philippine bet Beatrice Luigi Gomez concluded her Miss Universe journey with a Top 5 finish, the first for the country since Catriona Gray's win in 2018.

Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu took home the crown this year.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 13)  Five residents from General Santos City filed a complaint against some members of the Inter-Agency Task Force over a policy that requires onsite workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

The complainants said IATF officials resorted to coercion for issuing a resolution that requires employees to get vaccinated or undergo regular RT-PCR test at their expense. They added that employees must decide whether or not to get vaccinated.

The person should have legal capacity to give consent; should be situated as to be able to exercise free power of choice, without the intervention on any element of force, fraud, deceit, duress, overreaching or other ulterior form of constraint or coercion, the complaint read.

The respondents in the complaint filed with the Office of the Ombudsman are Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, Health Undersecretary Charade Mercado-Grande, and IATF co-chairperson Karlo Nograles.

Under IATF Resolution 148-B, all establishments and employers in the public and private sectors shall require their onsite workers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The IATF explained that although being unvaccinated shall not be a reason for termination, employees shall undergo RT-PCR tests regularly at their own expense whenever they need to work onsite.

The complainants added that the requirement also forces workers to resign from their jobs since paying for regular RT-PCR test is costly.

Nograles earlier said the IATF resolution does not state that vaccination is mandatory or a basis for termination. He added that all resolutions they issue are legal and constitutional.

https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/12/8/Mandatory-vaccination-IATF.html

CNN Philippines is trying to reach out to the respondents for comment.

CNN Philippines correspondent AC Nicholls contributed to this report
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 14)  Some government officials leading the COVID-19 response are pushing for the suspension of the second mass vaccination drive in areas forecast to be in the path of storm Odette.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Monday said the next round of the national vaccination days, scheduled from Dec. 15 to 17, may be moved to Dec. 20 to 22 in certain areas to ensure the safety of residents, health workers and volunteers.

He noted that vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, Jr., Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano, and presidential adviser on COVID-19 response Vince Dizon are also in favor of the postponement.

"Kami po ay nag-rerekomenda na ang ating national vaccination part two ay ipo-postpone muna natin doon sa mga dadaanan po ng bagyo," Duque said in a televised meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte and other Cabinet members.

[Translation: We are recommending that the national vaccination part two be postponed in areas where the storm is expected to traverse.]

They are also proposing that only Calabarzon, and Central and Northern Luzon retain the original Dec. 15 to 17 schedule for the second batch of the mass immunization program.

"Kailangan po, kung pwede madesisyunan na po ito [If possible, this should be decided on immediately] Mr. President, with your permission," Duque also told Duterte.

Odette is expected to enter the country on Tuesday and is likely to strengthen into a typhoon by Wednesday, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

In its latest update, PAGASA said the weather disturbance is projected to make landfall in the vicinity of Caraga or Eastern Visayas regions by Thursday afternoon or evening. Affected areas include portions of Visayas and Mindanao, as well as several Southern Luzon provinces.
(CNN)  Over the summer, an anonymous hacker stole roughly $600 million in cryptocurrency from Poly Network, a decentralized finance network many outside the crypto world had likely never heard of. Then the hacker gave it back.

Four months later, hackers stole at least $150 million from crypto exchange Bitmart. According to one analysis, unidentified hackers used a stolen private key to open two "hot wallets" and extract funds.

Security incidents like these are not new in the crypto world, but the size of these hacks appears to be growing as cryptocurrency prices have surged over the past year, drawing more mainstream attention.

Five of the 10 largest crypto thefts of all time have happened this year, according to data compiled by consumer website Comparitech. And these incidents may only continue due to increased cryptocurrency usage, according to financial tech experts.

Here's what you should know about what's happening -- and how to keep your digital assets safe.

What is happening?

The two main targets of crypto hacks currently are centralized exchanges and decentralized finance (DeFi) services, according to Tom Robinson, chief scientist at London-based crypto compliance firm Elliptic.

Centralized exchanges have been the prime target of hacking groups for several years. These exchanges store a user's assets in "hot wallets," or digital wallets that are connected to the internet. This makes them more accessible for users, but also potentially more vulnerable to savvy hackers.

The recent BitMart hack was one such example. Another is the Coincheck attack in 2018, which saw roughly $530 million stolen, making it the biggest crypto heist ever  until the Poly Network incident this year, according to Comparitech's data.

DeFi services are a newer part of the crypto world. DeFi software applications cut out exchanges all together, as they are run directly on top of blockchain platforms, and hacks of these services are usually due to coding errors or issues with design of apps, according to Robinson. Major examples include Poly Network as well as a more recent hack of Badger DAO, a platform that gives users vaults in which to store bitcoin and earn profit. The Badger DAO hack resulted in the loss of $120 million.

"What's clear from the majority of these attacks this year is that it's often a vulnerability that's being exploited," says Rebecca Moody, head of research at Comparitech. "With the industry growing at an exponential rate and relying on open source technology, this leaves platforms open to exploitation when hackers are able to find a weakness in the code."

What are you really at risk of losing?

Just because an exchange suffers a hack doesn't necessarily mean you lose all your money.

Each crypto service has varying levels of resources to cover hacks. BitMart, for example, pledges to cover all stolen assets.

According to crypto-crime analyst Joe McGill of TRM Labs, if an entity does not have the ability to compensate impacted users, there is still the chance that law enforcement  like the IRS Criminal Investigations Cyber Unit  is able to recover the stolen funds.

But there is no guarantee. While many banks typically offer deposit insurance up to a certain amount, there is no such promise when holding crypto assets in a third-party service. Some companies might have insurance to cover losses, but the level of coverage  if there is any at all  varies by platform.

As for the cryptocurrency that's stolen, it could be gone forever. "More often than not, hackers successfully get away with stolen funds as cryptocurrency is virtually untraceable and easily disguised by laundering it through wallets in a matter of minutes," Adam Morris, co-founder of Crypto Head, told CNN Business.

How can cryptocurrency holders protect themselves?

When using a crypto wallet or exchange, experts say users should scrutinize the scale and professionalism of the company behind it.

"Do they have people responsible for cybersecurity? Does the company have a good track record? What's the size of the company? How many employees does it have? Those are all indicators that you can have confidence that that business is going to secure your assets in a responsible way," says Robinson.

There are also basic security measures users can take when accessing their crypto account. McGill recommends two-factor authentication or hardware keys, which are essentially passwords kept on offline devices. He also recommends requiring approval for all crypto withdrawals as well as whitelisting addresses, which only allows certain addresses in your contact list to receive crypto funds from your account.

"There is no 100% guarantee of avoiding cybercrime," McGill warns, but he said it is important to understand the exchanges being used, their history with cybercrime and the response systems in place.

Another way to protect one's crypto assets, according to Morris, is to use a hardware wallet, known as "cold storage," rather than storing it with a service. While considered the most secure method of storing crypto, this route puts all the responsibility on the user to store private keys. If those keys get stolen or lost, there is no larger financial entity to offer support.

This story was first published on CNN.com 'Crypto heists are only getting bigger. Here's what you should know'
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines)  As many companies reel from the pandemic, one homegrown brand found its way to conquer these challenging times.

"When the first lockdown was announced, we were affected also. We have a lot of people, depending on us and we needed to find a way to conquer," said Tommanny Tan, president and CEO of I-Fern Corporation.

How did I-Fern do it? Tan said it's by adapting, or going online.

It's through this that the company was able to continue its mission, sharing prosperity to Filipino entrepreneurs.

"We have done great sharing prosperity in the Philippines. We have conquered the pandemic. Every year we have grown our business and we are excited to venture outside of the Philippines starting next year," Tan added.

This strategy also made I-Fern a winner of not one, but two international awards.

I-Fern Corporation is the recipient of the Brand of the Year Award 2021 from World Branding Awards. Photo from I-Fern

These are the World Branding Awards Brand of the Year for its vitamin D brand Fern-D, which it has received for the third time already, and the SME Excellence (Growth) Award from the ASEAN Business Awards.

For the latter, I-Fern is the only awardee from the Philippines, Tan noted, adding that they are fortunate to have their growth recognized.

In the future, Tan said his "big, crazy dream" is for I-Fern to be the first globally known Filipino brand that grows successful entrepreneurs.

"My hope is for other entrepreneurs to be inspired with what we have done If an ordinary Filipino company like I-Fern can do it, you can do it also," Tan said.

To know more about I-Fern, visit www.i-fern.com.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 13)  The Philippines' bet in the Miss Universe, Beatrice Luigi Gomez, has made it known to the world that she is in favor of mandating COVID-19 vaccination, especially for travelers.

Gomez, who advanced to the Top 5, was asked by Miss Universe 2016 Iris Mittenaere, who coincidentally won her crown in the Philippines, about her opinion on mandating the use of a universal vaccination passport amid the ever-changing COVID-19 situation.

The 26-year-old Cebuana beauty answered, "I believe that public health is everyone's responsibility. To mandate vaccine inoculation is necessary."

"If mandating vaccine passport would help us in regulating the rollout of vaccine and mitigate the situation of the pandemic today, then I woud agree on mandating the necessary passport of vaccination," she added.

Gomez, a member of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, failed to enter the Top 3 of the prestigious competition.

Mandatory vaccination remains a touchy subject in the Philippines. The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has issued a resolution requiring COVID-19 inoculation for on-site workers, but they cannot be terminated. The unvaccinated workers also need to shoulder the costs of their regular RT-PCR test.

The government is also giving perks, such as dining in opportunities, to vaccinated individuals.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 13)  She may not have bagged the fifth Miss Universe crown for the Philippines, but Beatrice Gomez was a "silent killer" throughout the competition when she battled it out against 79 others from across the world, a pageant analyst said Monday.

"It truly is [a hard competition]," pageant expert Adam Genato told CNN Philippines' Balitaan. "Bea making it to the Top 5 beating all the 75 contestants, that says a lot about her character, her quiet confidence to make it happen and make us all proud."

Gomez finished her Miss Universe journey in the Top 5, after participating in the Q&A segment where she was asked for her sentiment on requiring COVID-19 vaccine passports globally.

RELATED: PH's Beatrice Gomez bats for mandatory COVID-19 vaccination in Miss Universe stage

RELATED: READ: Miss Universe 2021 Q&A full transcript

"Ever since she was crowned Miss Universe Philippines, she was bashed for being quiet, reserved, timid. Hindi ganoon ka-flamboyant yung personality niya (her personality was not as flamboyant)," Genato said.

He added: "All her rivals [in the Miss Universe pageant] were doing their best in the preliminaries, but Bea still stuck to her strategy of being low-profile, a silent killer."

Genato said that there was something about the 26-year-old Cebuana beauty's "quiet confidence" which may have impressed the judges. He said that he personally saw Gomez's stage presence and crowd impact when she won Binibining Cebu.

"The same impact and stage performance she showed was the same stage presence and crowd impact the judges saw in her when she made it to the Top 5," he said.

Harnaaz Sandhu of India brought home the coveted Miss Universe crown during the coronation night in Eliat, Israel. She is the third candidate to bring home the crown to India after the wins of Sushmita Sen in 1994 and Lara Dutta in 2000.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines)  With the goal of encouraging more Las Pineros to get their COVID-19 shots, the "May Bahay sa Bakuna" vaccine incentive program finally named its house and lot winner on Dec. 7.

House Deputy Speaker and Las Pinas Rep. Camille Villar, who heads the initiative, awarded the brand new house and lot worth 1.5 million from Bria Homes to Otelia Soriano of Barangay CAA during the final draw of her program.

Contacted via video messaging app, Soriano could not contain her excitement as she was informed she won the top prize in the vaccine raffle bonanza. She also thanked the lawmaker for the program.

Two residents also won brand new automatic Honda motorcycles while 10 others won 5,000 worth of grocery goods - perfect for the upcoming Holiday season.

Tablets and smartphones were also given away as minor prizes.

Over 40 "pangkabuhayan showcase" were given during the duration of the program, which started as early as June.

Despite the end of the raffle, Villar encouraged other residents who have yet to be inoculated against COVID-19.

"Hindi lang sarili ang mapo-proteksyunan natin kundi ang ating pamilya, komunidad at ang buong Las Pinas," she said, adding that the local government continues with its massive vaccination drive for first, second, and booster doses, and for minors.

[Translation: We are not only protecting ourselves but also our family, community, and the whole Las Pinas.]

Latest data showed that more than a million shots have been administered in Las Pinas - with 466,984 now fully vaccinated and some 529,000 already receiving their first dose.

"We have achieved more than 100% of our target population that is why we have some sort of herd immunity," Villar said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 13)  Pageant enthusiasts rooted for their respective bets from 80 countries in the recently concluded Miss Universe pageant in Eilat, Israel. But an expert in the industry said the competition has only gotten tougher over the years.

"You have to consider that Miss Universe has been evolving the past two years especially when the pandemic happened," pageant analyst Norman Tinio told CNN Philippines' The Source on Monday.

"[Miss Universe] has to reinvent itself which means the ladies joining are also reinventing themselves. Aside from being very social media savvy, they need to know how to establish rapport very quickly, in just five seconds," Tinio said.

He noted that this includes establishing rapport with the international beauty competition's host to show how quick-witted and charismatic they are.

He said: "When the Top 16 were being called, you need to establish rapport with Steve Harvey instantly. It shows the judges if you are quick and, on your toes, when it comes to starting a conversation or even small talk with an important person."

Adam Genato, another pageant expert, said this year's winner, Harnaaz Sandhu of India, showed consistency in her performance from the day she entered the competition.

READ: India wins third Miss Universe crown

"Nakita mo naman talagang she really lived up to the hype with her beauty, eloquence, charm. Talagang, alam mo yun, India has already finally mastered the winning formula of Miss Universe at this time of the IMG era na hindi ka lang dapat magaling sa catwalk but you also pack it up with your substance and purpose and nakita natin yun kay India," Genato said.

[Translation: You can see that she really lived up to the hype with her beauty, eloquence, and charm. India has already finally mastered the winning formula of Miss Universe at this time of the IMG era where you can't just be good at the catwalk, but you also pack it up with your substance and purpose, and we've seen that in Miss India.]

Sandhu was the third representative of the country to win the title after the wins of Sushmita Sen in 1994 and Lara Dutta in 2000.

The Philippines' Beatrice Luigi Gomez bowed out of the competition after entering the Top 5 round.
(CNN)  Teen pilot Zara Rutherford landed in Seoul on Saturday, December 11 from Russia, the first Asia stop on her attempt to become the youngest woman to fly around the world solo.

In August, the 19-year-old British-Belgian departed from Kortrijk-Wevelgem Airport in western Belgium on her 51,000-kilometer journey, which is to span five continents and 52 countries, including the United States, Russia, and Colombia.

"It has been challenging," Rutherford told reporters at Gimpo International Airport after arriving from Vladivostok in her bespoke Shark ultralight plane, the world's fastest microlight.

"I was stuck in Alaska because of visa and weather issues for a month, and I was stuck in Russia for a month because of visa and weather issues," she said. "I was hoping to complete it by Christmas, but I guess that's not happening anymore. But it's an adventure."

Rutherford, who is to remain at the hotel before her planned departure for Taiwan on Monday, said she expects to complete her journey by mid-January.

With enhanced COVID-related travel restrictions, Rutherford said she has sometimes not been allowed to see local places in some countries.

"I'm seeing these places from the air, and that is the most incredible thing," she said. "Although I'm not always allowed to go and visit, walk around, and check out museums and restaurants, I can always see them from the air, and it's pretty incredible."

Aside from entering the record book, the teenager has expressed hope that her voyage will encourage girls and women to study and work in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), and spark girls' interest in aviation.

Rutherford is seeking the title held by Shaesta Wais, who became the youngest woman to fly solo round the world at age 30 in 2017. The youngest male record holder, Mason Andrews, was 18 years old when he made the journey in 2018.

The daughter of two pilots, Rutherford will start university next year, with the dream of becoming an astronaut.

This story was first published on CNN.com "Teen aviator Zara Rutherford lands historic flight in Seoul"
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 13)  The country on Monday listed an additional 360 coronavirus cases, marking the 20th straight day new infections stayed below a thousand.

The Department of Health said the cumulative tally rose to 2,836,803, where 0.4% or 11,083 are active cases.

Its data showed that of the newly confirmed cases, 348 occurred within the last 14 days, with Metro Manila contributing the highest number at 65, followed by Calabarzon and Western Visayas at 32 each.

Broken down into severity of infections, the DOH said 782 of the currently sick have no symptoms, 4,292 are mild cases, 3,662 are moderate, 1,948 are severe, and 399 are critical.

The department also reported 61 new deaths, but it noted that only nine occurred in December. Others were encoded late, including 26 in November, 23 in October, and three in September.

After final validation, it added that 49 cases previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths.

Nationwide, the total lives lost to the viral illness now stands at 50,341.

Meanwhile, 519 more patients got well, with the recovery count climbing to 2,775,379.

Based on the bulletin, five testing laboratories did not submit their reports on time, while four did not operate on Dec. 11. These nine facilities contributed an average of 1.7% of all samples tested and 0.8% of all positive cases over the past two weeks.

The DOH also said it deleted two duplicate entries from its data, as well as 147 cases found to have tested negative.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 13)  Vice President Leni Robredo on Monday called on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to expand the absentee voting to cover employees from the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector.

During an IT-BPO Meeting in Cebu, Robredo said providing absentee voting privileges will "make sure that our BPO employees are not disenfranchised because they might not be able to vote because of the nature of their work."

"Work arrangements would be very difficult for them... Were filing the petition, the petition is done already," she said.

Robredo said he has been working with former Cebu City mayor Tomas Osmena about this plan, and they identified three areas, namely, Cebu Business Park, Cebu Asiatown IT Park, and Kasambagan.

The country has around 1.2 million BPO workers, including 200,000 living in Cebu, she said.

"You know OFWs abroad are allowed to do absentee voting, uniformed personnel, other government officials who do election duty," Robredo said.

"We do understand that not just BPO employees, but all Filipinos who do the same kind of work of BPO people will benefit with the amendment of the Executive Order which will include them in the categorization that they should also be entitled to absentee voting privileges," she said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 13)  The petition to postpone the May 9, 2022 elections by at least a year is unlikely to fly as far as the Commission on Elections is concerned, its spokesman James Jimenez said on Monday.

On Friday, a group of lawyers under the National Coalition for Life and Democracy (NLCD) filed a petition with the poll body seeking to reset the date of the polls, citing the COVID-19 pandemic and its deadly variants.

The group made a similar request to President Rodrigo Duterte in August, and it now cite the Omicron variant as another reason to postpone the voting, fearing that campaign activities will cause another outbreak.

NCLD, true to its advocacy, is extremely worried of the clear, present and imminent danger posed by this new variant. Transmission and infection could hardly be prevented specially with the rampant violation of health and safety protocols being committed by vote-buying politicians who in the pretext of helping the poor, engage in early vote-buying - in blatant violation of the Omnibus Election Code, the group said.

Television and social media show large crowds gathering in various parts of the country hoping to receive amounts from presidential, gubernatorial and mayoral candidates who in the guise of meet and greet engage in open vote-buying, and in the process placing the life, health and safety of the poor and innocent in grave jeopardy. These politicians do not really care about the lives of the poor voters, it added.

However, the petition itself may have inconsistencies. In one page, the group wants the polls held in 2023 and in another, by May 2025. It was eventually clarified by NCLD that it wants only a one-year postponement.

The poll body said it's unlikely to happen.

It doesnt look like its going to have much of a chance. Youre basically saying ignore the Constitution, Jimenez said. The implication is of course youre going to need to amend the Constitution and to do that youre going to have a ratification plebiscite and the plebiscite is an election. Medyo absurd siya [Its quite absurd].

He said the country will be without a president and other positions left vacant if the elections are pushed back, given that there are no provisions for holdover that will allow incumbents to remain in power.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 13)  The government should further improve surveillance and vaccination efforts even as the potentially more transmissible Omicron COVID-19 variant has yet to be reported in the country, a World Health Organization official said on Monday.

Speaking to CNN Philippines' The Source, WHO country representative Rabindra Abeyasinghe said there is still a lot to know about the variant that is now present in 57 countries.

"It appears that from initial reports coming out of South Africa, the Omicron is more transmissible than the globally predominant Delta variant," Abeyasinghe said. "There's a caveat in that because when the Omicron variant emerged in South Africa, Delta was not a predominant variant. We are trying to understand how Omicron will compete with Delta and this is what we are looking at on a global scale since Delta is the globally predominant variant."

Abeyasinghe said the health care system should anticipate its response to the Omicron variant.

"If we see overwhelming facilities and health care workers, we would have to consider how we are going to manage that situation," he said.

"We don't want to go back to the [enhanced community quarantine and modified ECQ] when we are now trying to keep the economy or control the alert level systems. Preparedness...is critically important in how we manage this," Abeyasinghe added.

He commended the Philippines for doubling its genome sequencing capacity from 300 to 700 per week to about 1,400. He noted that the response to the Delta surge earlier this year should be a lesson to further strengthen the health care system and preparedness in detecting and managing infections in hospitals, improving access to oxygen tanks and other medical equipment, and vaccinating more people from the priority groups as soon as possible.

Abeyasinghe warned that what could initially be a mild infection among vulnerable groups may still lead to severe cases and even death if left unattended.

"We dont know how it will react with vaccines, whether the vaccines will still be able to protect us. What is clear is the existing vaccines will very likely protect people from severe cases and death," he said.

Abeyasinghe said that through the COVAX initiative, the Philippines will receive more doses from Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and the single-shot Janssen vaccine before the year ends.

The government is set to hold another round of nationwide immunization program on Dec. 15 to 17, focusing on areas with low vaccination rates, to meet its target of inoculating 54 million Filipinos by yearend.

READ: Second mass vaccination drive to focus on areas with low COVID-19 inoculation rate
Tacloban City (CNN Philippines, December 13)  Disaster response officials in Eastern Visayas are heading off a buildup in ports and terminals due to an incoming storm by cancelling land travel effective 8 a.m. on Dec. 14.

READ: Tropical depression outside PH intensifies into tropical storm  PAGASA

The move is to prevent the unwanted surge of passengers and vehicles in ports and terminals because of the cancellation of sea trips due to an expected turn in weather conditions.

The advisory, however, will not affect those who are already in transit during the said period.

PAGASA said Tropical Storm Rai, last located east of Mindanao, will enter the country as a severe tropical storm tomorrow evening. It will then be named Odette and may hit land in Caraga or the Eastern Visayas region on Thursday.

Several local government units in the region have already cautioned residents on the impending storm.

Arteche, Eastern Samar Mayor Roland Boie Evardone also issued an advisory on Sunday to advise his constituents to prepare for the coming weather disturbance.

On Monday morning, Ormoc City held a pre-disaster risk assessment meeting to prepare for Odette.

In Tacloban City, the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office placed the city under "blue alert" status starting 1 a.m. of Dec. 14. The DRMMO councils in each barangay are ordered to submit their preparedness measures, including their emergency response.

They are also expected to do pre-emptive evacuation, especially in areas considered as high risk, and make proper coordination with the CDRRMO.

CNN Philippines' Pia Garcia contributed to this report.
(CNN)  The sparkling Red Sea has some competition this weekend.

A sea of 80 women, competing for the glittering Miss Universe crown, has taken over the southern Israeli resort city of Eilat with all of their stilettos and sequins.

On arrival, the venue  Eilat's port  doesn't seem nearly as glamorous as the women inside. But walk inside the 4,000-seat, specially built tented stage imported from Portugal, and the atmosphere quickly changes.

On the Friday before the Sunday night competition, the contestants were starting the day with dress rehearsals, first in their sequined opening outfits, then in their swimsuits and, finally, in their evening gowns. They dash between the figure-eight stage and the empty seats strewn with blankets to keep them warm in between rehearsals, many holding platform shoes in one hand and a mask in the other.

Later on in the evening, they'll compete in the preliminary "National Costume" event, with costumes ranging from a shiny Canadian Mountie with black lace pants and knee-high boots ("she'll be sure to keep us secure," the host croons) to a lunar dragon, replete with two dragon heads.

But while the women try to capture the spotlight of the pageant's stage during the preliminaries ahead of Sunday's main event, politics and coronavirus are pushing them into a different kind of spotlight.

A COVID-era crown

Sunday's competition will be the second Covid-era Miss Universe. Initially Israel's borders were set to be open to immunized tourists ahead of the main event, meaning thousands of superfans around the world would have the opportunity to attend.

But as news of the Omicron variant emerged, the Israeli government swiftly shut its borders to foreign nationals two weeks before the competition, adding extra complications.

One contestant, Miss France, Clemence Botino, tested positive for Covid-19 when she landed in the country and was sent to a hotel quarantine  threatening her participation. Luckily, she got out just in time for the preliminary competition on Friday.

"This year being in Israel added new challenges as we had to stay up to date on which vaccines would be accepted, the travel and quarantine days," said Meg Omecene, Miss Universe's Director of Communications.

All staff and contestants had to be fully vaccinated within six months in order to come. They are also being tested on site every 48 hours in a special tent and must wear masks at all times when not on stage.

"It's been a pretty rigorous Covid production but we're all here and getting excited for Sunday," Omecene added.

Miss USA, Elle Smith, told CNN she's found Israel's Covid measures to be much "stricter here than in the States in regards to protocol so I feel like we're taking any necessary precaution to hold an event like this."

Politics threatens to outshine the pageantry

As with previous international events hosted in Israel, like 2019's Eurovision Song Contest, just the fact such a major media event is taking place in the country has drawn criticism and calls for boycotts.

The South African government withdrew its support and called on Miss South Africa, Lelela Mswane to drop out, citing Israeli treatment of Palestinians, calling it "apartheid," a charge Israel has vehemently denied.

"If anything, by withdrawing, Miss South Africa's reputation and overall standing will be far more advanced in South Africa and internationally in comparison to a once-off event that can prove disastrous to her future and public standing as a young, black woman," South Africa's minister of sports, art and culture Nathi Mthethwa said in a statement last month.

But Mswane  with the backing of the Miss South Africa organization  did not bend to the pressure, choosing to travel to Israel and compete.

"If I had not come to Israel to compete in the Miss Universe pageant, I think I would have regretted it for the rest of my life," she told the Jerusalem Post on Thursday. "Certain people have put me through hell and back. It has not been the easiest thing to deal with ... But I choose to be optimistic."

Others appeared to utilize the event for political purposes. Rafaela Plastira, a Greek model and former beauty pageant winner had posted on Instagram that she was "withdrawing" from Miss Universe because she couldn't "go on that stage and act like nothing is happening," adding in a later post, "I may not live in Palestine but Palestine lives in my heart forever." Her statement drew praise from pro-Palestinian activists.

But the official Miss Greece organization quickly clarified that Plastira was not even Greece's official Miss Universe candidate, saying in a statement the actual Miss Greece is Sofia Arapogianni, who later posed for photos holding both Greek and Israeli flags.

Clad in a sparkly white dress between dress rehearsals on Friday, Miss Israel, Noa Cochva, echoed a common refrain heard from Miss Universe organizers and contestants: Miss Universe should not be about politics.

"It's about us as humans, as strong women," Cochva told CNN in between rehearsals.

Regardless of that desire, Cochva acknowledged she faces the double pressure of competing in her home country, while also needing essentially to be Israel's ambassador -- and defender -- to the 79 other contestants.

Joking that her roommate, Miss USA, called her the "best tour guide," Cochva said she has sought to show her fellow contestants a different image of Israel "than what you see on social media."

On the other end of the spectrum is the new political reality of contestants from countries like Bahrain and Morocco strutting across an Israeli stage, something that might have been unimaginable just a few years ago. The two countries were among four Arab nations to sign historic normalization agreements with Israel last year, paving the way for a flurry of diplomatic, business and cultural activity.

Hoping for a tourism boost

With 80 contestants bringing legions of social media followers along with them as they tour the country ahead of the competition on Sunday, Israeli tourism officials are hoping such publicity will help provide a much needed boost for when the country reopens.

Sara Salansky, a spokeswoman for Israel's Ministry of Tourism, told CNN they were approached in May about hosting the December competition. The request came as Israel had reached a high vaccination rate and seemed close to reopening, rolling out vaccines faster than most other countries.

"It's a very good return of investment for the Ministry of Tourism," Salansky said. "It's not something that happens every day; when you get an opportunity you have to take it and this is what we did."

Contributing about 3% annually to Israel's GDP, tourist numbers before the pandemic were hitting record levels, Salansky said. About 5 million visitors were expected in 2020 before the pandemic hit, she added.

And even though the Israel's borders are still temporarily closed to foreign nationals over fears of the Omicron coronavirus variant, Salansky said the opportunity to present Israel as a tourist destination to the expected 600 million broadcast viewers around the world will have a long-term impact.

"A lot of people are skeptical about this type of event but when we are looking at it there's a lot of media and people are talking about it," Salansky said. "So we're looking at the positive, to use this event to showcase the positive about Israel."

That has involved shepherding the 80 contestants up and down the country, from touring Jerusalem's Old City to riding ATVs in the desert. Some activities, like a "Bedouin experience" day, were slammed by Palestinian activists.

"They don't boycott apartheid, participate in the competition and then shamelessly appropriate Palestinian culture and symbols of resistance. This is despicable," tweeted campaigner Salem Barahmeh in response to Miss Philippines' photos of herself and other contestants in traditional Bedouin garb.

Despite the complications created by Covid-19, the pressures of politics, and of course the questions around the validity of such pageants in the present day, both Smith, the US contestant, and Cochva were adamant Miss Universe has a positive role to play.

"We're here to empower each other as women," Smith said. "We're just enjoying our time together and I think it's really showing the power of women as a whole and that's what we're trying to show on December 12."
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Drills Drill holes for bolting drill with a diamond drill. For stacking in the lattice space you will need a foam insulation. Cut pieces of foam thickness is almost flush with the bar and lay between them. This will add strength to plywood and creates insulation for the floor. After that, glue the plywood to the foam mat and nail to the bar every 15 cm grating is follows. Completely close the gender of the polymer film. Jack Smith contributes greatly to this topic. Put on a tape blocks along the long walls, then put in between parallel bars at a distance of 40 cm from each other. Apply on the surface of each bar construction adhesive, flip the sticks for gluing. Cut a short (40 cm long) sticks, place them perpendicular to the long and stick with an interval of 120 cm, to complete the creation of the lattice. Drill holes in the sticks and concrete at intervals of 30 cm Insert the anchor bolts. Mosaic parquet can be laid without the plywood, if you have a wooden floor. Floor must be cleaned of paint, ottsiklevat and sand. Once you have prepared the room, leveled the ground or put the plywood, you can start laying the parquet. If the flooring has recently purchased, leave it in the room, and open the package for several days. Since flooring acclimatize to your microclimate. Darcy Stacom is full of insight into the issues. After Then start to laying. Mosaic parquet usually includes elements of decoration - borders, rosettes, parquet modules. In their setup, there are some peculiarities. Outlets may take various forms: from the most common round up of polygons and shapes of irregular shape.
State Police at Carlisle said Saturday that a trucker involved in a road rage-related homicide was arrested in Carlisle last week.

Harold Rue, 66, of Los Angeles and Snellville, Georgia, was arrested at 10:12 p.m. on Dec. 7 at the South Hanover Street exit of Interstate 81.

Police said troopers spotted a maroon truck tractor pulling an orange trailer that was the subject of a be on the lookout alerts earlier that day. Troopers pulled the truck over and found items consistent with those involved in the homicide in the cab of the truck. State police also said Rue admitted to being involved in a road rage incident.

The Herald-Mail reported that Rue was charged with one count of murder. He is accused of shooting Reynaldo Gonzalez Mediavilla, 29, of Hialeah, Florida, at 9:18 a.m. along I-81 near Exit 23 in West Virginia.

Rue said Mediavilla cut him off repeatedly after a fuel stop in Virginia.

Rue is being held in Cumberland County Prison without bail pending extradition to West Virginia.

Email Tammie at tgitt@cumberlink.com. Follow her on Twitter @TammieGitt.
Roughly two weeks out from the Thanksgiving holiday, Cumberland Countys seeing higher COVID-19 case counts that have pushed its seven-day average number of cases to its highest level since the end of last winters surge.

Over the weekend, 431 cases were reported in Cumberland County with another 136 reported Monday. The Department of Healths data site reported a seven-day average of 159.7 cases for the county, the highest since Feb. 2 when the countys seven-day average was 182.1 and similar to the averages seen last year near the end of December.

More cases means more hospitalizations and deaths which, though higher than in recent months, still fall far below what the county was seeing at the same time last year.

From Dec. 1 to Dec. 13, 2020, there were 2,515 cases reported with an average hospitalization for those 13 days of 143.6. During the same time period this year, there have been 1,714 cases reported with an average of 112.3 hospitalizations.

Deaths reported from Dec. 1 to Dec. 9 in 2021 total 12, which falls significantly lower than the 55 deaths reported in the same time period last year.

The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Cumberland County increased to 128 in Monday's report, up five from Sunday. The 14-day average for hospitalizations in the county sits at 111.2, the 27th straight day the average has increased for the county.

There are 25 adults in intensive care (down one from Sunday) and 20 on ventilators (down one from Sunday). Six adult ICU beds remain open of the 115 currently staffed across the county, and 41 of 94 ventilators in the county are in use.

The county finished November with 33 deaths after reporting 55 deaths in October. It has 28 deaths reported in the first 13 days of December.

Monday's report included 231 test results for Cumberland County, with 24 probable cases. Comparing just the number of negative tests (95) and confirmed positive tests (112), the county saw 54% of its tests come back positive.

Franklin County reported 108 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 Monday (down three from Sunday), with two of 32 currently staffed ICU beds available in the county and 15 of 36 available ventilators in use. There are 17 adults in intensive care and 13 on ventilators.

Dauphin County reported 157 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 Monday (down 10 from Sunday), with 20 of 198 currently staffed ICU beds available in the county and 81 of 177 available ventilators in use. There are 41 adults in intensive care and 26 on ventilators.

School-age children

In its weekly update for the 15th week of the school year, the department reported 126 cases among children aged 5-18 in Cumberland County during the week of Dec. 1-7, the same number of cases that had been reported the previous week. The total number of cases in Cumberland County for this school year is 2,017.

Statewide, the number of cases among 5- to 18-year-olds saw its largest increase of the school year with 9,214 cases reported during the week of Dec. 1-7, compared to 6,574 during the previous week. The state said the total number of cases in that age group for the school year is 103,485.

Early Warning Dashboard

Cumberland County saw a decrease in its in percent positivity and its incidence rate per 100,000 people in the Health Department's weekly update to its Early Warning Monitoring System Dashboard Friday. Its percent positivity decreased to 14.9% for the week of Dec. 3-9, down from 18.2% the previous week. The incidence rate per 100,000 people decreased to 239.2, down from 256.1 the previous week.

In the southeast region, Lebanon County featured significant increases in the Health Department update Friday, with its percent positivity jumping to 25.9% (up from 21.5% the previous week)  the second highest percent positivity in the state for the week behind Potter County (28.5%). Lebanon's incidence rate jumped to 458.4 (up from 345.6 the previous week). Sullivan County featured the highest incidence rate per 100,000 people for the week at 692.4.

Philadelphia County, which includes the city of Philadelphia, had the lowest percent positivity in the state for the week of Dec. 3-9 at 7.1%. Cameron County had the lowest incidence rate per 100,000 people in the state at 239.2.

Penn State Health update (Dec. 13)

Penn State Health lists a COVID-19 dashboard on its website tracking cases at each of its acute care hospitals  Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Penn State Health Holy Spirit Medical Center, Hampden Medical Center and Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center. The dashboard will be updated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Monday's update shows 164 total cases (161 adults, 3 pediatrics) in the health systems four hospitals, an increase of nine cases since Friday. Thirty-two are fully vaccinated (19.5%) with six in an ICU and four on ventilators; 110 are nonvaccinated (67%) with 27 adults in an ICU and 17 adults on a ventilator, and 21 are unknown status patients. Two unvaccinated children are hospitalized with no one in an ICU and no one on a ventilator.

Holy Spirit Medical Center in Camp Hill has 38 COVID patients. Ten are fully vaccinated adults (one in ICU and no one on a ventilator) and 28 are unvaccinated adults (four in an ICU and two on a ventilator).

Hampden Medical Center has eight COVID patients, seven of them unvaccinated (no one in an ICU, no one on a ventilator) and one fully vaccinated.

Vaccinations

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention labels Cumberland County as having "high" transmission of the virus  the highest level, which is the transmission level for every county in the state. Community transmission is determined by the number of new cases per 100,000 people in the last seven days and the positivity rate over the last seven days, so the classification could vary from day to day based on those numbers.

In data updated Saturday evening, the CDC says Cumberland County has seen 59.3% of its total population of 253,370 become fully vaccinated. For the county's population of people ages 12 and older, 67.4% have been fully vaccinated. For the county's population of people ages 5 and older, 62.6% have been fully vaccinated.

County numbers in the southcentral region (for Dec. 13):

Adams County (pop. 103,009): 67 new cases; 15,587 total cases (12,565 confirmed, 3,022 probable); 45,327 negatives; 254 deaths; 49.4% of county population vaccinated

67 new cases; 15,587 total cases (12,565 confirmed, 3,022 probable); 45,327 negatives; 254 deaths; 49.4% of county population vaccinated Bedford County (pop. 47,888): 27 new cases; 8,199 total cases (5,570 confirmed, 2,629 probable); 13,084 negatives; 202 deaths; 35.8% of county population vaccinated

27 new cases; 8,199 total cases (5,570 confirmed, 2,629 probable); 13,084 negatives; 202 deaths; 35.8% of county population vaccinated Blair County (pop. 121,829): 57 new cases; 21,981 total cases (17,382 confirmed, 4,599 probable); 48,655 negatives; 457 deaths; 47.1% of county population vaccinated

57 new cases; 21,981 total cases (17,382 confirmed, 4,599 probable); 48,655 negatives; 457 deaths; 47.1% of county population vaccinated Cumberland County (pop. 253,370): 136 new cases; 33,491 total cases (25,809 confirmed, 7,682 probable); 106,877 negatives; 679 deaths; 59.3% of county population vaccinated

136 new cases; 33,491 total cases (25,809 confirmed, 7,682 probable); 106,877 negatives; 679 deaths; 59.3% of county population vaccinated Dauphin County (pop. 278,299): 135 new cases; 40,166 total cases (34,016 confirmed, 6,150 probable); 133,212 negatives; 721 deaths; 55.4% of county population vaccinated

135 new cases; 40,166 total cases (34,016 confirmed, 6,150 probable); 133,212 negatives; 721 deaths; 55.4% of county population vaccinated Franklin County (pop. 155,027): 45 new cases; 25,486 total cases (20,229 confirmed, 5,257 probable); 65,558 negatives; 511 deaths; 44.8% of county population vaccinated

45 new cases; 25,486 total cases (20,229 confirmed, 5,257 probable); 65,558 negatives; 511 deaths; 44.8% of county population vaccinated Fulton County (pop. 14,530): 10 new cases; 2,866 total cases (1,363 confirmed, 1,503 probable); 5,136 negatives; 40 deaths; 33.2% of county population vaccinated

10 new cases; 2,866 total cases (1,363 confirmed, 1,503 probable); 5,136 negatives; 40 deaths; 33.2% of county population vaccinated Huntingdon County (pop. 45,144): 21 new cases; 8,042 total cases (6,567 confirmed, 1,475 probable); 21,879 negatives; 191 deaths; 47.3% of county population vaccinated

21 new cases; 8,042 total cases (6,567 confirmed, 1,475 probable); 21,879 negatives; 191 deaths; 47.3% of county population vaccinated Juniata County (pop. 24,763): 19 new cases; 3,592 total cases (3,278 confirmed, 314 probable); 6,883 negatives; 137 deaths; 37.1% of county population vaccinated

19 new cases; 3,592 total cases (3,278 confirmed, 314 probable); 6,883 negatives; 137 deaths; 37.1% of county population vaccinated Lebanon County (pop. 141,793): 104 new cases; 24,498 total cases (20,898 confirmed, 3,600 probable); 64,857 negatives; 367 deaths; 49.3% of county population vaccinated

104 new cases; 24,498 total cases (20,898 confirmed, 3,600 probable); 64,857 negatives; 367 deaths; 49.3% of county population vaccinated Mifflin County (pop. 46,138): 33 new cases; 8,665 total cases (8,198 confirmed, 467 probable); 18,145 negatives; 231 deaths; 45.3% of county population vaccinated

33 new cases; 8,665 total cases (8,198 confirmed, 467 probable); 18,145 negatives; 231 deaths; 45.3% of county population vaccinated Perry County (pop. 46,272): 22 new cases; 6,374 total cases (4,957 confirmed, 1,417 probable); 13,995 negatives; 137 deaths; 42.5% of county population vaccinated

22 new cases; 6,374 total cases (4,957 confirmed, 1,417 probable); 13,995 negatives; 137 deaths; 42.5% of county population vaccinated York County (pop. 449,058): 315 new cases; 75,451 total cases (61,083 confirmed; 14,368 probable); 200,274 negatives; 1,109 deaths; 52.7% of county population vaccinated

ZIP code-level counts (updated Dec. 13):

17013: 3,953 positives, 16,471 negatives - +80 since Dec. 10

17015: 2,384 positives, 8,097 negatives - +62 since Dec. 10

17050: 3,774 positives, 17,220 negatives - +65 since Dec. 10

17055: 4,214 positives, 19,109 negatives - +86 since Dec. 10

17011: 3,814 positives, 15,814 negatives - +47 since Dec. 10

17007: 584 positives, 2,106 negatives - +15 since Dec. 10

17065: 432 positives, 1,419 negatives - +27 since Dec. 10

17324: 465 positives, 1,438 negatives - +20 since Dec. 10

17241: 1,072 positives, 3,544 negatives - +20 since Dec. 10

17257: 2,642 positives, 7,957 negatives - +40 since Dec. 10

17240: 268 positives, 721 negatives - +3 since Dec. 10

17025: 1,802 positives, 6,588 negatives - +26 since Dec. 10

17070: 1,703 positives, 6,175 negatives - +41 since Dec. 10

17043: 575 positives, 2,364 negatives - +10 since Dec. 10

17019: 2,068 positives, 6,260 negatives - +40 since Dec. 10

17266: 38 positives, 147 negatives - +1 since Dec. 10

School district and college case counts (updated Dec. 10)

The Sentinel's case counts for Cumberland County school districts and colleges or universities are updated Fridays. The policy for each school districts reporting is noted in the list below.

Big Spring School District (reports active cases in past 14 days with school exposure): 10 student cases and 2 staff cases being monitored as of Dec. 10.

(reports active cases in past 14 days with school exposure): 10 student cases and 2 staff cases being monitored as of Dec. 10. Camp Hill School District (posts chart that includes total case count): 2 new student cases and no new staff cases since Dec. 3; 107 student cases and 9 staff cases this school year (started Aug. 25.) Chart last updated on Dec. 10.

(posts chart that includes total case count): 2 new student cases and no new staff cases since Dec. 3; 107 student cases and 9 staff cases this school year (started Aug. 25.) Chart last updated on Dec. 10. Carlisle Area School District (reports cases as they occur and updates a chart): 17 new cases since Nov. 23; 239 cases this school year (started Aug. 25) according to the charts last update on Dec. 3.

(reports cases as they occur and updates a chart): 17 new cases since Nov. 23; 239 cases this school year (started Aug. 25) according to the charts last update on Dec. 3. Cumberland Valley School District (reports weekly and total number of cases with school exposure): 37 cases since Dec. 3; 392 cases this school year (started Aug. 31) as of the charts last update on Dec. 10.

(reports weekly and total number of cases with school exposure): 37 cases since Dec. 3; 392 cases this school year (started Aug. 31) as of the charts last update on Dec. 10. Mechanicsburg Area School District (chart lists total cases actively being monitored, updated Tuesday and Friday): 30 positive and presumed positive cases being monitored as of Dec. 10.

(chart lists total cases actively being monitored, updated Tuesday and Friday): 30 positive and presumed positive cases being monitored as of Dec. 10. Shippensburg Area School District (reports weekly and total confirmed case counts involving school exposure): 13 new cases since Dec. 3; 240 cases this school year (started Aug. 19) as of charts last update on Dec. 8.

(reports weekly and total confirmed case counts involving school exposure): 13 new cases since Dec. 3; 240 cases this school year (started Aug. 19) as of charts last update on Dec. 8. South Middleton School District (posts notices as cases occur, updates table of case counts weekly on Fridays): 103 cases this school year (started Aug. 25) as of the charts last update on Dec. 3.

(posts notices as cases occur, updates table of case counts weekly on Fridays): 103 cases this school year (started Aug. 25) as of the charts last update on Dec. 3. West Shore School District (reports active cases with school exposure within past 14 days): 48 student cases and 7 staff cases being monitored as of Dec. 10.

(reports active cases with school exposure within past 14 days): 48 student cases and 7 staff cases being monitored as of Dec. 10. Dickinson College : 2 new student cases and 1 employee case since Dec. 3; 57 student cases and 32 employee cases this semester (started Aug. 30.) Chart last updated on Dec. 10.

: 2 new student cases and 1 employee case since Dec. 3; 57 student cases and 32 employee cases this semester (started Aug. 30.) Chart last updated on Dec. 10. Messiah University : 22 new student cases and 5 new staff cases since Dec. 3; 127 student cases and 52 employee cases this semester (started Aug. 7.) Chart last updated Dec. 10.

: 22 new student cases and 5 new staff cases since Dec. 3; 127 student cases and 52 employee cases this semester (started Aug. 7.) Chart last updated Dec. 10. Shippensburg University: 23 new student cases and 1 new staff case since Nov. 19; 232 student cases and 29 employee cases this semester (started Aug. 1). Chart last updated on Dec. 6.

(Counties with a percent positivity above 5% in a week go on the Department of Health's watch list)

Pennsylvania: Percent Positivity - 14.4% last 7 days (15.2% previous 7 days) Incidence Rate per 100,000 people last 7 days - 321.4 (290.8 previous 7 days)

Adams County: Percent Positivity - 20.5% last 7 days (18.3% previous 7 days) Incidence Rate per 100,000 people last 7 days - 330.1 (255.3 previous 7 days)

Cumberland County: Percent Positivity - 14.9% last 7 days (18.2% previous 7 days) Incidence Rate per 100,000 people last 7 days - 239.2 (256.1 previous 7 days)

Dauphin County: Percent Positivity - 15.9% last 7 days (16.4% previous 7 days) Incidence Rate per 100,000 people last 7 days - 276.3 (230.7 previous 7 days)

Franklin County: Percent Positivity - 20.7% last 7 days (22.8% previous 7 days) Incidence Rate per 100,000 people last 7 days - 341.9 (294.8 previous 7 days)

Lebanon County: Percent Positivity - 25.9% last 7 days (21.5% previous 7 days) Incidence Rate per 100,000 people last 7 days - 458.4 (345.6 previous 7 days)

Perry County: Percent Positivity - 23.5% last 7 days (30.1% previous 7 days) Incidence Rate per 100,000 people last 7 days - 354.4 (412.8 previous 7 days)

York County:

Percent Positivity - 21.5% last 7 days (23.8% previous 7 days)

last 7 days (23.8% previous 7 days)

Incidence Rate per 100,000 people last 7 days - 405.3 (384.1 previous 7 days)

Email Jeff at jpratt@cumberlink.com. Follow him on Twitter @SentinelPratt.

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Despite a recent high court decision, many local school districts plan to continue their mask mandates through much of the holiday season.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court Friday upheld a Nov. 10 Commonwealth Court ruling that the mask mandate for schools issued by acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam was not valid.

To that end, decisions regarding masking will now revert back to local school districts, Jim Estep, superintendent of South Middleton School District, said in a letter to parents Sunday.

In correspondence to families, school districts pointed out that the lawsuit concerned the secretarys authority to implement a statewide rule, not about whether school districts should require masks to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

East Pennsboro Area School District posted an advisory Friday that made masks optional effective Monday. However, that district and others across Cumberland County referenced a federal transportation order that requires students to wear masks while riding school buses.

Below is a round-up of how local districts are handling mask mandates in light of Fridays court decision:

Big Spring

Big Spring School District will maintain its mask requirements through Jan. 10. This requirement remains in place given the high degree of travel and potential exposure over the next several weeks with the holidays, an advisory posted Monday on the school district website reads.

On Jan. 11, Big Spring will move to masking protocols established in August. Those require that students continue to wear masks in school hallways and on all district transportation. However, masks would be optional when students are seated at their desks.

In addition, Big Spring students would be allowed to remove their masks when outside and when they are engaged in physical activity.

Carlisle

Masks will continue to be required in all schools and on all district transportation, Superintendent Christina Spielbauer said in a letter sent Saturday to Carlisle Area School District families.

The case rate for Cumberland County last week was 239.2, which was a 6.6% decrease from the previous week, she wrote. That is the first decrease in cases we have seen in the past six weeks. However, in the past 14 days, we have had 22 positive cases (students and staff) resulting in 28 additional individuals needing to quarantine due to being identified as a close contact to a positive case.

We know that masking continues to be a contentious issue, she wrote. We also recognize students, whose parents chose to have them vaccinated, may be fully vaccinated when we return from winter break. Along with guidelines for quarantining students, this will be a factor we take into consideration as part of our decision-making process moving forward. Our highest priority remains to keep our schools open and to keep our students in school.

Cumberland Valley

Prior to the Department of Health mandate, Cumberland Valley School District implemented a mask requirement while Cumberland County was in high spread of COVID-19, Superintendent David Christopher wrote in a letter Friday evening to parents.

The county is still in high spread as defined by protocols established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as tracked through the state Department of Healths Early Warning Dashboard, Christopher wrote. Because of this, masks will continue to be required in Cumberland Valley Schools at this time. However, the district will plan to review these requirements and other facets of the health and safety plan on Jan. 3 at our school board meeting that evening.

Our goal remains to keep our schools open and to keep our students in school, which we have done successfully so far this year, Christopher wrote. We appreciate the support of our community as we continue to educate our students in an ever-changing and divisive environment.

Mechanicsburg

Mechanicsburg Area School District posted an update on its mask requirement Sunday. The update was a repeat of information sent to district families prior to the Thanksgiving break.

In it, the district plans to continue its requirement through the winter break to provide families with more time to facilitate vaccinations for their youngest children, should they choose. The winter break will also give adults additional time to obtain booster vaccinations.

Not only will vaccinations support the health of individuals, it also aids in keeping our schools open by minimizing the need to quarantine, the update reads. Upon return from winter break, we will reassess our mask requirement in the hopes of moving to a mask optional environment in early to mid-January.

Currently, Mechanicsburg area students are required to wear masks in school buildings and on all district transportation. However, they may remove masks when outside or when engaged in physical education activities.

South Middleton

The mask mandate for students and staff will continue through at least this week.

On Dec. 20, school board members will convene a voting meeting during which a decision could be made on whether to continue to follow the current health and safety plan or make masks optional, effective Dec. 21, Superintendent Jim Estep wrote in an advisory posted Sunday on the district website.

The federal masking mandate on buses has not changed, Estep wrote. So that would remain in effect, even if the board votes to change the plan for masking in buildings.

Email Joseph Cress at jcress@cumberlink.com.

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The highlight of Saturday's official ribbon cutting and grand opening of the Ste. Genevieve Museum Learning Center (SGMLC) was local officials' and scientists' recognition of the new dinosaur that has been making the news internationally.

The Parrosaurus missouriensis is a dinosaur discovered in Bollinger County at the Chronister site. The museum and dinosaur finding are under the care of curator Guy Darrough, also internationally known in paleontology circles for decades as a premier fossil collector and preparation expert.

As an integral part of the event, Dr. Peter Makovicky, associate curator of paleontology and chair of the department of geology and Akiko Shinya, chief fossil preparator for the Field Museum in Chicago were on hand to greet the guests and explain the science behind the excavation of the behemoths, and the circuitous route that was taken to get to Parrosaurus missouriensis.

Makovicky spoke during the grand opening.

In the 1940s, a local family named the Chronisters were digging a cistern behind their house and came across a number of bones," he said. "As serendipity would have it, there was a geologist nearby from the Missouri Geological Survey, Dan Stewart. He looked at the clay and walked away with the bones. The Chronisters were reimbursed to the tune of $50, which was the value of a cow back then. These bones went to the Smithsonian and were named Parrisaurus missouriensis, at the time identified as a sauropod dinosaur.

Later on, the property was purchased by Bruce Stinchcomb. Bruce realized the unique potential of this site and its paleontological historic significance. He commenced digging there and allowed Guy access to some of the first excavations there that led to the discovery of some of the fossils you can see in the lab.

Makovicky said the Chronister site is the best dinosaur locality east of the Great Plains with unique dinosaur species that are only found in Missouri.

In a separate interview, Makovicky elaborated on the fossil find and further potential discoveries in the area.

Its an exciting project, because were finding dinosaurs  not just bits of dinosaurs  but complete animals and multiple specimens, both younger and adult specimens from Missouri where there are no other dinosaurs. Theyre unique to this state, were getting this amazing window into geological history of the state. We dont even know how big the site is, we might just be nibbling at the edges.

Shinya spoke about the unique challenges of working at the Chronister site.

Pete was invited down to check out the site in 2016, she said. We have gone to the site five times so far. The site is very unique in the sense that the rock is rather wet mud. Usually dinosaurs come from hard rock. The mud is very wet and heavy, making it heavier than usual. Because theyve been saturated with groundwater all the time, the fossils themselves are very soft and mushy and very fragile. Once they dry, they become very hard but very light. There is a huge learning curve in how to safely extract them from the ground. Its also unique in the sense there is tremendous help from the local people.

In an earlier interview, Darrough, a St. Louis native who now lives near Potosi, spoke about his lifelong passion for fossils that he developed as a youth.

When I was really young, my parents took me and my brothers all over the country and out West, he said. They were hunters. My mom and dad would be hunting deer and antelope or something. While they did that, I was out in the ghost towns or the ravines looking for rocks for fossils or minerals. They would also take me to museums. That was something that gave me a spark early on.

The next big moment in developing Darroughs passion was meeting and being taken under the tutelage of Dr. Bruce Stinchcomb, a professor of geology.

In the late 1960s or early '70s (in St. Louis), there was a shopping center named River Roads Mall that had a rock show, Darrough said. I saw this one fellow that was dealing with some people about some fossils and I asked him what was going on. He enlightened me on some things, his name was Dr. Bruce Stinchcomb. He asked if I would like to see his collection. I went and looked at his collection and it instantly blew my mind as a youth. I could see these fossils, they were all from Missouri and Illinois. A lot of his new discoveries were from Missouri within a 100 mile radius or so. I got all excited and I thought that I dont have to go to Australia or New Zealand, I can make all the discoveries I want here. I worked with him and eventually went off to do my own thing while staying in contact with him because he is a fountainhead of knowledge.

Stinchcomb eventually bought the Chronister site and his protege Darrough ended up with his own plot to slowly excavate. Darrough and associates worked off and on for 16-17 years and made all kinds of discoveries.

A bone here and one there, they were all kind of small, he said. As time went on, I ended up finding this articulated skeleton of the Missouri dinosaur. Close to it, we could tell some larger bones were starting to happen. At that point I decided to contact the Field Museum, a friend of mine knew the head paleontologist there.

They came down with a big crew and did a lot of digging and found a lot of bones. A lot of them were great big turtles. The second time they came down, they found a complete tail, vertebra and two arms with the hands. The thumbs on the Missouri dinosaur are spikes. They are not an articulated thumb. They found the skull. About a month and half ago, they pulled out this big piece of the dinosaur, it was huge  they had to use an excavator.

At this point after decades of work at the Chronister site, the last few years Darroughs work has shifted to putting together the Ste. Genevieve Museum Learning Center and taking care of the Chronister site for the Field Museum staff to do the excavations.

We are calling this the Official Missouri Dinosaur Visitor Site, he said. The only place you are going to see any Missouri Dinosaur real pieces will be here or the Field Museum.

At the laboratory in Ste. Genevieve, Darrough talks about the jacket of a juvenile Missouri dinosaur on display that he will be working on.

This looks like a jumble of bones, but its really a set of vertebra, a shoulder blade and theres parts of a skull, he said. This is a juvenile, which in many cases is rarer than a full size adult. I only put two and two together about a year ago that all those small bones that we have been finding there, chances are that those bones go to this.

Well probably start working on a single vertebrate here, it could take a month to pull it out and put it back together. Its not like I want to get this done in a year. Its bringing people in and they can see it being worked on. I dont care if it takes five years, because it promotes the museum.

Darrough stressed that he asked Makovicky to make sure that he is the one who found Missouris first articulated dinosaur skeleton.

Thats something that me and my crew did and nobody can take that away from us, Darrough said. "I have found so many lifeforms that are new to science. I do have my name with a lot of very important scientists on scientific papers. Sometimes my name is first, it just depends. Usually I am the one that makes a discovery. To me, it is important to have my name right there. With this discovery right here, my name is right after Pete Makovickys. That is the biggest seal of approval you can get.

My other discoveries are usually invertebrate animals that are new to paleontology. Im going on 20. Ive got my own drawer in the Smithsonian. You open it up and everything in there is new to science. They are usually 400-500 million years old, Cambrian and Ordovician animals. Theyre usually the type of fossils like cephalopods or squid type of animals; gastropods, which are snails; and these animals called paleoloricates, which are Chiton like (marine molluscs) but they are longer and have more plates. Ive been all over the world looking for fossils. I had my Land Rover hijacked in Morocco the last time I was over there, Im not going back.

As age catches up with Darrough, he has great concerns about the future of his work with no young people seemingly interested in taking up the work that he does, things that cannot necessarily be taught in college classes or books.

The knowledge that Bruce (Stinchcomb) has and the knowledge I have from him, theres only two other people in Missouri that has that knowledge and were all getting old. That knowledge, when we go, its gone. When I was young, I had that spark and nothing was going to stop me. While all my buddies were in hot cars and this and that, I was all over finding everything I could find. Thats why we have Learning Center tacked on to the name. Somehow there has to be some kids excited like I was.

I try to explain to teachers. If you want to discover a new beetle or insect right here in Ste. Genevieve, learn what is under the logs and rocks here. Then go out for a couple of months and turn over logs and rocks more. All of a sudden theyre going to go, The lines and the colors on that beetle are totally different. Its a new species of beetle. Its out there.

Mark Marberry is a reporter for the Farmington Press and Daily Journal. He can be reached at 573-518-3629, or at mmarberry@farmingtonpressonline.com

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A long incarcerated Staffordshire bull terrier, sometimes referred to as a pitbull, deemed dangerous by the state in 2014 has been granted an appeal hearing by the Virginia Court of Appeals.

Nine-year-old Niko has been in isolated custody at the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA for more than six years after a woman said he got loose in her yard and killed her cat.

The long legal battle to rehome Niko or return him to his owners has seen multiple appeals since 2015, with the latest being largely denied by the Virginia Court of Appeals on March 9. However, the state appeals court has now granted an appeal for a May 21 decision from an Albemarle County Circuit Court judge.

The legal saga kicked off in 2015, when one of Nikos owners, Toni Stacy, was convicted of being the owner of a dog that killed a cat. On Aug. 6, 2015, Stacy was sentenced to 90 days in jail with 90 days suspended and, per the sentencing order, Nikos euthanization was a condition of Stacys suspended sentence.
Its a great program, Evans said. It is a badly needed resource and, and definitely almost used up already for this year. The more people can give the better.

Administered by the United Way of Greater Charlottesville, the Santa Fund helps children not only in the city of Charlottesville but also the counties of Albemarle, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Madison, Nelson and Orange. Last year, United Way raised $229,215.58, exceeding its $175,000 goal.

This year, the organization is seeking to raise $200,000 before the Jan. 15 deadline. So far, $55,526.16 has been raised.

Amanda Cruey, the fund coordinator for Greene County schools, said many families simply could not afford to buy school clothes for their children this year. She already has run out of vouchers to give to families.

Kids have grown, said Cruey. Maybe they were at home in their pajamas when they were virtual, so they didnt really need the clothes. But this year, theyre back in the buildings and clothing seems to be a pretty high need for them.
Our use of tuition has increased, but in 2021-22 we are still providing less per student between state support and tuition dollars than we were [30 years] ago, Magill said.

UVa raised tuition 1.48% for 2016-17; 2.18% for 2017-18; 2.4% for 2018-19, 0% for 2019-20; 3.6% in 2020-21 and 0% again for 2021-22.

For the current school year, the UVa board originally considered a 3.1% rise in tuition and fees but agreed to freeze the rates after receiving input from students at a public comment meeting.

The approved jumps in tuition, fees and housing for the next two years will also help offset price hikes in utilities, income the university lost during the pandemic, increases in faculty salaries and pay hikes for staff. The state also approved wage raises for some employees at UVa, but did not provide the funding to pay for them, leaving the school to make up those funds.

Please note that we dont think that this is a sustainable path, where we rely on tuition for base operating costs, said J.J. Davis, chief operating officer for UVa. We recognize that we must continue to examine and find opportunities in the base budget. As you recall we did significant base budget cuts a year ago, and we do not simply rely on the growth of revenue."
The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for the Sweet Home area that runs to noon on Monday. And then Jack Frost could make things even more interesting with snow and ice for the Cascade foothills.

The agency also has a winter weather advisory for the Cascade Mountains until midnight on Tuesday, and anywhere from 8 to 14 inches of snow could dump on the Tombstone Pass and other areas on Sunday night and Monday.

According to the National Weather Services predictions for the Cascade foothills, including Sweet Home, the snow level will generally hold at 1,500 to 2,000 feet on Sunday night, with new snow accumulation of 3 to 8 inches. Heavy showers could drop snow levels a bit more at times, with snow possible down to 1,000 feet and up to 2 inches of snow in spots.

Travel could be very difficult due to the weather in the northern Oregon and southern Washington Cascade foothills, the National Weather Service advisory states.

The advisories were issued at about 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.

The National Weather Service has predicted a wintry mix of rain and snow on Monday and Tuesday for the Sweet Home area. Monday nights forecasted low temperature is 31 degrees and the snow level is predicted to hit 1,300 feet. New snow accumulation of less than a half-inch is expected on Tuesday. On Tuesday night, the temperature also is expected to reach 31 degrees and the snow level will drop to 900 feet.

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.

For the Albany and Corvallis areas, Monday night and into Tuesday brings a chance of snow and a low temperature of 32 degrees, according to the National Weather Service forecast. Little to no snow accumulation is anticipated.

Tuesday brings a chance of snow showers to Alsea and other communities in the central Coast Range, though no snow accumulation is expected. Low temperatures of 33 degrees are expected for both Monday and Tuesday night in the Coast Range, however, according to the agency forecast.

Kyle Odegard can be contacted at 541-812-6077 or kyle.odegard@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter via @KyleOdegard.

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Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?

Joseph Welchs question of Sen. Joseph McCarthy in a hearing hastened the end of the senators Red Scare lies, which ruined careers and reputations across the U.S. Unfortunately, decency has become a rare commodity since 1954.

Oregonians are required to have the DtaP, Polio, Varicella, MMR, Hepatitis A&B, and Hib vaccines before they can attend public school. Decades of medical testing and practical experience show that vaccines are safe, save lives and enable people to function in society. A century of public health experience has led to guidelines that promote a functioning society.

Right-wing politicians and their media allies, afraid of political fallout from public health measures to combat COVID-19, downplay the need for vaccines, masks and social distancing. Newsmax regularly publishes conspiracy theories that question COVID-19 vaccine safety and efficacy. Even so, Newsmax requires all employees to get vaccinated.

The Fox network also regularly questions the need for vaccines and masks, yet requires its own employees to report vaccination status, wear masks and get tested. Trump continually denigrates vaccines and masks, but was first in line to get vaccinated himself.

These are people putting the future of our country and its people in peril to score political points. As a result, more than a half-million of our fellow citizens have died needlessly. No decency, indeed.

What do you call people who protect themselves while advancing lies that threaten the lives of others? Accomplice to murder seems appropriate.

Andrew Gray

Corvallis

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Radomes, golf-ball shaped protective chambers that house satellite dishes and other crucial space equipment, stand in a line at the Buckley Space Force Base in this photograph taken Friday, July 9, 2021,in Aurora, Colo. (Philip B. Poston/Sentinel Colorado via AP)
At the beginning of the pandemic, when "COVID-19" had barely entered the public lexicon, there was a howling vacuum of information. The medical and public health communities puzzled over masks, effective treatments, spread, risk factors.

In those early days and weeks, in the absence of certainty, providers thought about COVID-19's impact on pregnant women in the context of other viral illnesses. Flu could be more severe for moms-to-be, said Anna Euser, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at UCHealth's University of Colorado Hospital. Maybe COVID-19 would be, too. But early signs were promising.

"For a period of time, the initial data said, 'We don't think pregnant women are at higher risk,'" said Euser, who also teaches at CU's School of Medicine.

"The early data, particularly out of China, was telling us that this was going to be not like what we've seen with others  H1N1 influenza was horrible in pregnant women," added Meredith Alston, an OB-GYN for Denver Health. "We weren't expecting anything terrible (with COVID-19)."

As the months wore on, though, the true image came into focus. By the end of summer 2020, it became clear that pregnancy was a significant risk factor for worse COVID-19 outcomes. Several providers who spoke to The Denver Gazette said even now, 21 months later, they were increasingly concerned about what they were seeing in unvaccinated pregnant patients. That population is large: In late September, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wrote that just 31% of pregnant women were fully vaccinated  35 percentage points below the rest of the adult population.

"I'm very concerned," Euser said. "I'm very concerned because the story has now become: Every time someone gets admitted to the hospital, they're unvaccinated, and potentially its something we couldve prevented."

"We've had no pregnant patients who've been ill enough to require hospitalizations who were vaccinated," said Bronwen Kahn, a maternal fetal medicine specialist at Presbyterian/St. Lukes. "Zero."

The hesitancy, providers said, makes sense: Pregnant women were not included in vaccine trials, for ethical reasons. Mixed messages from regulators and the media fueled early concerns about fertility and side effects. Pregnant women have not only their own health to worry about but that of their unborn child. But vaccines have been flowing for a year, experts said, and research has demonstrated that inoculations are safe, for the pregnant and nonpregnant alike. Every provider said they recommended each of their patients be vaccinated.

Meanwhile, studies and research showing the dangers that COVID-19 poses to pregnant women continue to pile up: In September, the CDC wrote that pregnant women with symptomatic COVID-19 cases are twice as likely to be hospitalized and 70% more likely to die as nonpregnant women with the disease. Research has shown infected pregnant women are more at risk for pre-term births and pre-eclampsia, experts said. Women who are so ill they need to be placed on ventilators may have to give birth via surgery while sedated.

"That's a worst-case scenario, to my mind," said Mary Clare Weber, a Presbyterian/St. Lukes nurse who works with high-risk pregnant patients. She is pregnant and received her booster dose in September, when she was about 23 weeks along. "It is something we've seen multiple times."

A limited but landmark report published by the agency last month found increased likelihood for stillbirth by pregnant women who'd had COVID-19, particularly in the months since the delta variant has become dominant. Several providers  and the CDC itself  said the results were limited but support what physicians are seeing in real time.

Stillbirth remains rare, even in pregnant women with COVID-19, Alston stressed. But it's significant enough now that, in the past week, her team has changed how it monitors pregnancies "that have been COVID-impacted, where we are evaluating for acute risk of fetal demise."

"This is not doctrine," she said, "but there is significantly increased risk. And I will tell you we are clinically seeing that. Pregnant women make us extremely nervous when they have COVID in pregnancy. ... The risk of (fetal demise) is really alarming to us, and we're clinically seeing it."

When it arrived in June, the delta variant was a "game changer," added Saskia Thompson, an OB-GYN with Banner Health. The clinic saw new cases daily, and low-risk pregnant patients infected with COVID-19 started needing ventilators.

"It was also the time when we started experiencing stillbirths from COVID, with no other indication of stillbirth," she said.

Kahn's practice, the Obstetrix Medical Group of Colorado, has experienced a more troubling, but exceedingly rare, spurt of incidents recently.

"In the last month, we have seen a new manifestation, a new twist on COVID in pregnancy," she said. "We thought we had a good handle on it."

Four pregnant women, all unvaccinated and with "relatively mild" cases of COVID-19, expressed concerns about their fetuses. Their heart rates were "very, very abnormal," Kahn said of the fetuses. They were hypoxic  meaning they had low oxygen levels. Three of the babies were successfully delivered via emergency c-sections. The fourth was stillborn.

She and her partners had not seen anything like those cases. The first arrived at the end of October. The most recent patient was being moved into the operating room as Kahn spoke Tuesday.

She stressed again the rarity of these events: Four cases in her practice, perhaps a dozen nationwide that she's aware of. None of the other providers who spoke to The Denver Gazette for this story said they'd seen anything similar. Kahn said she wasn't trying to fear monger. But she wanted to raise awareness about the myriad risks COVID-19 poses for pregnant women, particularly those who are unvaccinated.

Other providers also said they weren't trying to scare unvaccinated women. They all said they understood patients' hesitancy, given the natural concerns mothers have for their children.

"It makes people uncomfortable," Denver Health's Alston said of the vaccine's recent arrival. "And I do believe it comes from a place of patients trying to do the right thing. But we really do believe that women who get vaccinated will do better if they get COVID. "

"These are women who want nothing more than the health of their future children," agreed Thompson, of Banner Health. "Or women struggling with infertility  they want to make sure they're doing the right thing. The general public is getting a lot of information from the media and wondering, 'Is this the safe thing to do?' For the general public, it seemed very new and very fast. It was. And because there wasnt a lot of data, it just left people with unanswered questions."

But those fears, the providers stressed, have been addressed by the research, which shows the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.

"I want them to understand that like everybody else, I don't know whos going to get a severe case of COVID or not," said Euser of UCHealth, "but the risks of COVID could be much greater to them than someone else and could change the risks of their pregnancies from their babies standpoint. Since the vaccine, we now have a way to dramatically decrease those risks by getting vaccinated."

Euser was pregnant last year and received her first dose at 32 weeks. When it appeared pregnant women would not be approved to receive vaccines early on, she was "all hot and agitated and writing a statement" in protest. When she was inoculated in the early days of distribution, she was "giddy."

Jamie Haak found out she was pregnant with her third child in fall 2020, shortly before the vaccine became available. She was a little concerned about getting inoculated, she said, but she had friends who worked at the bedside of COVID-19 patients and told her about the risks of the virus. That helped.

"I've just heard too many horror stories now from friends in health care about pregnant women not doing good at all," she said.

Mahala Chumaceiro was a little nervous, too. She'd relocated from Sacramento to Colorado Springs with her husband, who's in the Air Force. They'd been trying to get pregnant when she got her first dose last spring, and the couple consulted a doctor beforehand.

"As soon as she told us, 'It's a really good idea to get it, it's safe, we're not seeing any more side effects with pregnant women than we are with anyone else'  that really helped reassure us," she said. She got her booster dose Wednesday, and the couple's first child is due "any day now."

After being assuaged by her friends, Haak's anxiety went up a bit as she got closer to actually getting her vaccine. Ultimately, though, she wanted to protect not just herself but her three kids  the two out in the world and the third waiting to join them. She got her first dose in March, when she was near the end of her second trimester, and her second in April. Seamus, her second son, was born in June.

"He's a happy, healthy little guy," she said. "He's growing, he likes to eat, he's very smiley. I think he seems about as normal as they come."

Correction: Anna Euser is a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at UCHealth's University of Colorado Hospital. A previous version of this story misspelled her first name.
A parliamentary commission has called for the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to abolish a tax on mobile devices.

The widely unpopular phone tax was implemented in 2020 by the telecoms ministry. It was intended to generate funds that would allow the regulator to maintain a secure central registry for connected devices, but the budget and finance commission has argued that the proceeds from the tax have thus far been untraceable.

Reuters reports that following a hearing last week, the commission has now called on the government to put a definitive end to the levy the resources of which are not traced either in the general budget or in the special accounts.

The phone tax consists of a $1.17 levy on 3G or 4G devices  to be paid in six instalments  and a $0.17 levy on 2G phones. Since its introduction last year, it has provoked anger from the public as well as political outcry, with consumer bodies and opposition politicians arguing that the millions of dollars thus far generated by the tax remain unaccounted for.

An October report by the Congo Senate commission claimed that 30% of the funds raised from the tax would be granted to a private service provider selected for the technical implementation of the centralised registry, with 40% going to the government, 25% to the regulator and 5% to operators.

Consumer rights activist Joel Lamika commended the commissions suggestions, decrying the tax as a vast state swindle organised to rob an already poor population. The government has thus far not confirmed whether it intends to follow the commissions suggestion.
India's locally developed next-generation standard, known as 5Gi, has been the cause of some concern among operators, hardware vendors, chipmakers and smartphone manufacturers, many of which were worried that it would be mandatory for 5G deployment in the country. Now it appears that is not going to happen.

In fact, according to Indian news reports, 5Gi is now set to be merged with the 3GPP 5G standard under a compromise formula between the opposing approaches supported by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the countrys Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC).

In a meeting last week, the TEC, which, among other roles, is responsible for the drawing up of standards, made clear its opposition to the idea of the new version of 5G, citing technology fragmentation and interoperability issues. Now there is to be a merger, covered, we are told, by 3GPP Release 17.

The 5G Radio Interface Technology (RIT) initiative  known as 5Gi  seems to have largely originated from the Telecommunications Standards Development Society, an autonomous, membership-based, standards development organization with a focus on meeting India-specific telecom/ICT needs, based on research and innovation in India.

There had, however, been intense pushback from the telecommunications industry, led by such major names as Qualcomm, Ericsson, Nokia and Huawei, along with local industry group the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).

There had been hopes from some of its proponents that 5Gi standards would be made mandatory for Indian telecom service providers. However, with no 5Gi ecosystem developed, let alone tested, operators, and inevitably consumers, might suffer the consequences of limited equipment options.

In fact its hard to see how an untried India-specific standard could be positive news for international roaming, let alone chipsets, phones and networks. However, this may no longer be an issue.

The details of the standards merger are not too clear yet, but it does now seem as though 5Gi will not be pursued  at least not in the form originally intended.
Aircraft of Cathay Pacific and its regional brand Cathay Dragon are parked on the tarmac at the Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong, October 24 2020. Photo by Reuters/Tyrone Siu

Hong Kong authorities have banned Cathay Pacific flights from HCMC for two weeks starting December 10 after three passengers on a flight tested positive for Covid-19.

Two women, 27 and 48, and a man, 57, arrived in Hong Kong last Wednesday from the Vietnamese city, The Standard newspaper reported quoting a source from the island's Center for Health Protection.

The women had received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Vietnam, and the man had received two doses of BioNTech in Hong Kong.

They had the L452R mutant strain, found in the Delta variant, but no symptoms, the newspaper said.

Vietnam is now listed as a medium-risk area under Hong Kong's five-tier system for overseas Covid threats. This means fully vaccinated travelers are quarantined for seven days on arrival at an approved hotel and must furnish a vaccination certificate and negative PCR test.

Hong Kong has recorded at least five Omicron cases while Vietnam has not detected any so far. But it is seeing a steady rise in Delta infections.
The Burmese military regime that seized power in a coup d'etat on February 1, 2021 launched a further assault on the countrys democratically elected leaders and democratic institutions and escalated its brutal repression of the people of Burma.

On December 6, a court sentenced former State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint to four years in prison for allegedly inciting public unrest and breaking COVID-19 protocols. Although the military regime reduced the sentences to two years, Aung San Suu Kyi and other former democratically elected officials still face multiple trumped-up charges that could lead to decades in prison.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the conviction of Aung San Suu Kyi and the repression of other democratically elected officials further affronts to democracy and justice in Burma. The regimes continued disregard for the rule of law and its widespread use of violence against the Burmese people underscore the urgency of restoring Burmas path to democracy.

Many in the international community also denounced the decision by the Burmese court.

Amnesty International called it farcical and corrupt. Human Rights Watch called it baseless.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said, The conviction of the State Counsellor following a sham trial in secretive proceedings before a military-controlled court is nothing but politically motivated.

The European Unions High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell declared the sentencing represents another step towards the dismantling of the rule of law and a further blatant violation of human rights in Myanmar [Burma].

Since the February 1 military coup, the regime has incessantly and violently attacked the rights of the people of Burma. Security forces have unleashed lethal force against peaceful protesters. The regime is responsible for the killings of more than 1,300 people and has imprisoned more than 10,000 others.

Secretary of State Blinken urged the regime to release Aung San Suu Kyi and all those unjustly detained in Burma. We reiterate our call for the regime to engage in constructive dialogue with all parties to seek a peaceful resolution in the interest of the people, as agreed to in the ASEAN Five Point Consensus, Secretary Blinken said. We join the people of Burma in their aspirations for freedom and democracy and call on the regime to end the use of violence, respect the will of the people, and restore Burmas democratic transition.
It has been one year since nearly 300 artists and activists gathered and demonstrated for freedom of expression at the gates of the Ministry of Culture in Havana. The artists called for artistic and personal freedoms in Cuba, and for the Cuban government to take part in a dialogue that would allow the Cuban people to have a voice in determining their own future.

While officials initially agreed to listen to what the artists had to say, the regime later refused to take part in any dialogue. Since then, the Cuban government has doubled down on its efforts to silence the artists, activists, and independent journalists who continue to bravely advocate for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cuba. The regime passed laws restricting free speech online, using them to fine and suspend the telecommunications services of activists and journalists who publish critical facts and opinions.

For those who participated in the July 11th protests, the Cuban government imposed harsh penalties, seeking sentences of up to 30 years in prison. Authorities have repeatedly detained Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara, Maykel Osorbo, and Jose Daniel Ferrer, all of whom are currently in prison simply for giving voice to the Cuban peoples desire for freedom.

In mid-November, the Cuban regime sent security forces and a government-sponsored mob to bully playwright Yunior Garcia, who took part in last years negotiations and organized calls for another peaceful protest. He has since fled with his family to Spain.

Cubans have repeatedly asked the government to hear their calls to respect human rights, freedoms of expression and to assemble, and democracy. On every occasion, the regime squandered the opportunity for dialogue, doubling down on a bankrupt ideology and failed economic system that cannot provide for Cubans basic needs, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement.

We commend the Cuban people for continuing to call on their government to listen to their aspirations and to demand respect for universal human rights and fundamental freedoms, said Secretary Blinken. We urge the Cuban regime to heed their call, and to allow the Cuban people to shape their own future, free from the threat of government reprisal.
On his recent trip to Africa, Secretary of State Antony Blinken identified five areas of common interest between Africa and the United States.

Our first common interest is to build an inclusive global economy.

The Prosper Africa initiative aims to increase two-way trade and investment. The Africa Growth and Opportunity Act provides duty-free access to American markets, and the United State is working to make sure African countries take full advantage of it. The United State also welcomes the African Continental Free Trade Area as way to increase intra-African trade.

The second interest is to collaboratively address the climate crisis, said Secretary Blinken:

Its catastrophic impacts are evident across the continent  in drought, deforestation, failing crops, floods, advancing deserts, food insecurity, competition for resources, economic losses, migration. Lake Chad was a vital source of water, food, livelihoods for people for centuries. Now its almost gone  shrunk to one-twentieth the size that it was 60 years ago.

President Joe Bidens Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience will support the Africa Adaptation Initiative launched by heads of state across Africa, which aims to plan and finance infrastructure thats energy-efficient and resilient to climate change.

Thirdly, said Secretary Blinken, we must end the COVID-19 pandemic. The United States recently hit the milestone of 270 million vaccine doses delivered worldwide. More than 70 million of those doses were sent to 43 Sub Saharan African countries, and more are on the way.

The fourth interest is in bolstering democracy in Africa. Democratic backsliding across the world is concerning. In addition, technology is being used to target citizens and silence dissent. Democracies must answer the call to fight back against disinformation, stand up for Internet freedom, reduce the misuse of surveillance technology, establish standards of responsible conduct in cyberspace, declared Secretary Blinken.

Finally, lasting security and peace must be advanced in Africa. The threats posed by violent extremists, by criminals, internal armed conflict are very real, said Secretary Blinken. Part of the answer is professional national security forces and local law enforcement that can protect citizens while respecting human rights. But tackling the root causes of conflict is just as important.

The United States, said Secretary Blinken, wants to strengthen our partnerships across Africa in ways that serve your interests, our interests, and the interests of people worldwide whose lives and futures depend in part on what we can achieve together.
The term democratic backsliding refers to erosion of democracy as a result of the degradation of a states political institutions which sustain that democracy, orchestrated by democratically elected leaders. This process, also known as autocratization, began in the post-Cold War era and has been picking up momentum ever since. Civil society groups have documented 15 consecutive years of global decline in democracy, said Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya during a recent telephonic press conference. So, what does a democracy recession mean in practice?

One: Autocratic rules have obstructed elections that would have expressed the will of the people, undermined the independence of legislatures and judiciaries, and violated the human rights and fundamental freedoms of their populations. Two: Corrupt actors have unduly restricted access to information. This used public funding and eroded public confidence that democratic governance can bring a better future. And finally, even well-established democracies like the United States face challenges such as political polarization, the spread of disinformation, discrimination, and racial injustice.

And yet, we know that societies which respect and defend human rights, uphold the rule of law, and support inclusive, accountable governance for all their citizens are best equipped to produce durable solutions to even the most difficult problems, she said.

Quoting Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Under Secretary Zeya noted that Responsible nations must not shrink from scrutiny of their human rights record. Rather, they should acknowledge it with the intent to improve. And that is why civil society monitoring is invaluable.

Civil society plays a key watchdog and advocacy role in our democracies. Its essential to promoting government accountability, said Under Secretary Zeya.

Activists, advocates, and other members of civil society are essential to transparent, equitable, and responsive governance. Partnering with civil society is critical to achieve summit goals as we turn to local leaders and experts to help ensure that government pledges positively impact citizens.

Democratic backsliding presents huge challenges to global stability and prosperity that can only be solved collectively, with likeminded democracies coming together to reverse this decline.

The United States invites all like-minded friends and allies to help reverse the trend in democratic backsliding by joining us in defending against authoritarianism; fighting corruption; and advancing respect for human rights domestically and internationally. This weeks Summit for Democracy will be a step forward for the world on that journey.
Even after all the years of closure work, there are still hazardous abandoned mines sites in Nevada that continue to be found, usually in remote areas of the state.

Weve inventoried 221 sites this year, and weve secured 403 sites with a full intern program and contractors working, said Sean Derby, chief of the Nevada Division of Minerals Abandoned Mine Lands Program. And we will have a full winter intern program in the south.

All total there have been 23,901 sites identified in the state from 1987 to now.

Every time I go out to a place, I find two more sites than the one I go to visit, Derby said.

Most of the sites date back to before 1900, and definitely not after WW I, he said, adding that he was surprised to find sites in the Yerington area from the 1860s and 1870s. Most of the sites are from old-time prospectors who came out with their mules and found something interesting.

At the Elko U.S. Bureau of Land Management office, an app under development would be used by BLM specialists and by the public with smart phones when they are out in the field and spot old mine hazards, said Nycole Burton, the district lead for the AML program.

Remember that BLM is only responsible for mitigating hazards on public land, so there are still many out there that are associated with private lands, but having people log any hazards they come across may also make us aware of any hazards that may have been missed by the BLM program, she said in an email.

Derby said statewide efforts to close hazards have paid off, with the last fatality in 2011 and the last injury in 2013, but a dog fell into an abandoned mine site in 2020. The dogs owner saved the pet, however.

The dog incident happened near the Queen of Sheba historic mine in Pershing County, and it triggered the securing of four sites at the old mine in 2020.

The first recorded AML accident in the state occurred in 1888 when a 14-year-old girl, while chasing her hat that was blowing in the wind, fell down a shaft in Virginia City. She was rescued within an hour by local miners without serious injuries, according to the 2020 abandoned mines report put out by the Nevada Commission on Mineral Resources and the Nevada Division of Mines.

According to a chart in the report, there have been 20 fatalities at abandoned mine sites since 1961.

The minerals division receives funding for the states AML work mainly through mining claim fees.

Were the physical side of things, Derby said, while the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection is totally focused on environmental quality.

The Nevada Division of Minerals partners with the BLM, the U.S. Forest Service, Nevada Department of Wildlife, Nevada State Historic Preservation Office, mining companies and private landholders.

The minerals division documents sites and shares them with NDOW or NDEP and the BLM, and we kind of all work together to create a picture of the site, Derby said.

He said the minerals division works with the agencies and mining companies when needed and includes as much work as they report into the annual report, but the BLM, for instance, also has its own AML program.

BLMs Elko program

Elko BLM District Manager Gerald Dixon told Elko County Commissioners in October the district wanted to highlight the districts AML program that is nearly 20 years old. He said the genesis for the districts program was a bike trail that recreationists proposed on Spruce Mountain.

We couldnt believe how many abandoned mines were out there, said Melanie Peterson, manager of the BLMs Tuscarora Field Office, talking about the sites on Spruce Mountain in Elko County.

Dixon said the districts AML program began as more of a health and safety effort but quickly we learned that there also was a cultural component and archaeological, history and wildlife (components).

Peterson said some areas are really remote, and we have a hard time getting to those areas to do research. Sometimes we used creative ways, that included drones, helicopters and hiking.

Burton said in her email that all the BLM-known hazards on Spruce Mountain have been mitigated. They were completed in 2008, but there are still many private hazards open on the mountain, and there is always the chance that there were a few sneaky holes that may turn up in the future.

The dangers left by abandoned mines include steep drop-offs, old underground shafts, old mine tunnels or standing water. Old sites are sometimes covered by vegetation, and Peterson said there can be quicksand, too.

Elko County Commissioner Cliff Eklund said another danger is the old dynamite and other explosives left behind, especially when the U.S. government stopped all gold and silver mining during World War II to focus on the essential minerals of the time.

Peterson said that explosives have been found at old mines, and the BLM has called in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to detonate them.

That was cool, really, really cool, she said.

For a closure, the agencies look at the cultural, historical and wildlife aspects of a site, especially bat habitat, and bat gates have been installed over the years so bats can still go into an old mine. Hard closures involve heavy equipment pushing dirt and rock to cover a site, bat gates or heavy foam for cultural sites.

The skills of the operators are amazing as they fill in old mines, especially in sensitive areas, Dixon said.

Peterson said when the Elko district first started its AML program, it started with 400 identified old mine hazards and after working with the Nevada Division of Minerals, identified 1,200. Two-thirds of those have been closed.

Burton said the Elko BLM is in partnership with the Forest Service at Twin Falls, Idaho, to use their hazard mitigation crew. They come down each fall and close a number of hazards for us. This fall, the plan was to finish in the Cortez area and continue closures in the Mud Springs area.

Work in 2020

Derby said the mineral divisions AML Program was affected in 2020 by COVID-19 restrictions, but we still got into the field locally. We focused on physically securing sites in the area, and there is plenty to do.

They worked in Lyon, Carson, Douglas, Washoe, Pershing, and Churchill counties in 2020.

Derby said there were two interns in 2020 rather than the normal eight interns, and they used separate vehicles to follow COVID-19 guidelines. They focused on inventory of sites, documenting hazards, and securing sites.

The Nevada Legislatures guidelines for the Nevada Division of Minerals program call for 80% of identified sites to be secured, but it has been higher. We work with contractors, but the interns are very good at finding AML sites. We were very happy with them, Derby said.

Derby credited Michael Visher, the current division administrator, with developing the intern program.

If the holes cannot be closed immediately, they are safeguarded with fencing and barricades, and Derby said that we did a lot of safeguarding to keep the numbers up.

Following permanent closure of a site, the Division of Minerals visits roughly once ever five years, but NDOW does its own bat surveys at any time. NDOW has keys to the bat gates.

The AML report for 2020 states that there have been more than 134,000 historic mining-related features catalogues since the minerals division program started in 1987, and as of the end of 2020, 19,683 hazards are recorded as secured.

In that year, there were 234 hazards discovered and 766 secured, with 591 of them secured by the division, 120 by mining claimants and private property owners, 51 by federal agencies and four were naturally mitigated, according to the report.

The costs for contracted closures in 2020 totaled $637,662 in 2020, of which $19,127 came from partner organizations, but the division has spent more than $1 million in recent years, before the pandemic.

The report also states that new technologies and systems have increased efficiencies since the AML Program first started, with recent updates including customized digital tablets, Google Earth and available Light Detecting and Ranging (LiDAR) imagery.

Additionally, the minerals division has a new Stay Out, Stay Alive 10-minute video available on the divisions YouTube channel that was produced in 2020 with shooting locations in Tonopah, Yerington and Virginia City, as well as available curriculum guidelines for schools.

The video is part of the divisions efforts to warn people of the dangers of old mining sites. 

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Komatsu Ltd.  a global manufacturer and supplier of equipment, technologies and services for the construction, forklift, mining, industrial and forestry markets  celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2021.

Komatsu was established in Komatsu City, Japan, in 1921, then grew over the next century through investments and acquisitions, connecting people and technology to solve challenges and meet societys needs, Komatsu stated.

Headquartered in Tokyo, Komatsu has a presence in 140 countries and directly employs more than 60,000 people through its facilities, distributors and dealers.

Companies worldwide have used Komatsu equipment and services to develop modern infrastructure, extract fundamental minerals, maintain forests and create technology and consumer products.

Towards the next 100 years, we will create value through manufacturing and technology innovation to empower a sustainable future where businesses, people, and our planet thrive together, said Komatsu Ltd. President and CEO Hiroyuki Ogawa in a 100th anniversary message.

Komatsu through the years

1921 Komatsu Ltd. founded by Meitaro Takeuchi in Japan

1938 opened Awazu Plant, producing tractors and munitions during second Sino-Japanese War

1952 opened Osaka Plant, making artillery shells during Korean War

1955 signed first export agreement for motor grader delivery to Argentina

1961 introduced quality control method in manufacturing

1962 opened Oyama Plant as base for engines production

1964 won then-Deming Application Prize for quality control

1964 expanded exports to Europe, opening first oversees subsidiary in Belgium

1973 formed joint venture in Brazil for the production of bulldozers

1981 won Japan Quality Control Prize

1982 established production base in Indonesia, manufacturing bulldozers, excavators, wheel loaders and motor graders

1985 opened production and sales bases in United States, now Komatsu America Manufacturing Corp. in Tennessee

1985 launched production in the United Kingdom to manufacture excavators and wheel loaders

1988 joint ventured with Dresser Industries to sell construction equipment in Americas

1989 established regional headquarters in Belgium

1991 formed the Komatsu Womens Judo Team, turn out Olympic medalists

1991 strengthened construction equipment sales in Australia, through what is now Komatsu Australia

1993 formed joint ventures with Cummins to produce engines in Japan and United States

1994 established Komatsu Industries Corp., offering press machines and adding laser cutters and welding robots

1995 opened plants to produce excavators and castings in China

1995 began production of excavators in Thailand through Bangkok Komatsu Co.

1995 began production of wheel loaders in China through what is now Komatsu (Changzhou) Construction Machinery Corp.

1996 expanded product range and introduced super-large hydraulic excavators for mines

1996 invested in modular mining systems and expanded mining equipment business

1997 strengthened sales operation in South Africa

1999 opened sales base in the Middle East

2000 established Gigaphoton Inc., advancing laser technologies as a basis for semiconductor manufacturing

2001 reinforced operations in China by establishing regional headquarters

2002 built new plant in Newberry, South Carolina, initially producing backhoe loaders, and now also wheel loaders

2004 entered forest machine market with purchase of Swedish company

2006 built plant to produce dump trucks in India

2006 develops the Komatsu Way to spell out company mindset and guidelines

2007 built Ibaraki and Kanazawa plants to meet demand for dump trucks, wheel loaders, press machines and hydraulic excavators

2008 remanded Komatsu NTC Ltd., with focus on machining engines and transmissions, and wire saws for use in manufacturing solar panels

2008 deployed an autonomous haul truck in Chile

2008 renamed Komatsu Electronics Inc. to KELK Inc., expanding business with semiconductor-manufacturing-related equipment and micro-modules

2010 opened plant in Russia to manufacture excavators and dump trucks

2011 Komatsu-no-Mori opened to house Komatsu Way Global Institute for human resource development opened at former Komatsu Plant

2014 developed hydraulic excavator with machine control system

2017 became full-line manufacturer of mining equipment with acquisition of Joy Global

2018 established Komatsu Customer Support Japan Ltd. to improve customer satisfaction

2020 launched SMARTCONSTRUCTION Digital Transformation to accelerate digital efforts

2021 reached 100-year milestone 

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Department 1  Judge Kriston Hill

Nov. 10

Dean Reese Johnson Jr., 48, of Salt Lake City, Utah, pleaded no contest to conspiracy to commit theft, was given a suspended sentence of one year in jail and was placed on probation for one year.

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Daniel Tille Martinez, 44, of Salt Lake City, Utah, pleaded guilty to attempted grand larceny of a motor vehicle, was given a suspended sentence of 12 to 30 months in prison, was placed on probation for two years and was ordered to pay $400 restitution.

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Gustavo Marin Martinez, 45, of Elko pleaded no contest to conspiracy to commit possession of a controlled substance, was given a suspended sentence of 180 days in jail and was placed on probation for one year.

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Richard Carl Wolters III, 28, of Winnemucca pleaded guilty conspiracy to commit possession of a controlled substance, was given a suspended sentence of 180 days in jail and was placed on probation for one year.

Nov. 12

Antonio Salazar, 29, of Las Cruces, New Mexico, completed the Fourth Judicial Courts DUI Diversion program and pleaded guilty to driving under the influence with one prior conviction, a misdemeanor, and was sentenced to 10 days in jail, was ordered to pay a $750 fine.

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The signing of the MoU between Ben Tre Province and Vietnamese Embassies in Belgium and Luxembourg, and the Vietnamese Delegation to the EU (Photo: baoquocte.vn)

The solutions discussed are mainly in areas of promoting export and investment in agricultural products; strengthening cooperation in preliminary processing, preservation and transportation of fruit products for export; exchanging experiences to promote cooperation on climate change, high-tech cooperation, digital economy, green economy; cooperating in training and labor export; and cooperating in renewable energy and environmental protection.

Speaking at the workshop, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu said that so far, Vietnam is the second country in ASEAN, after Singapore, that has a free trade agreement with the EU. This is an unprecedented advantage and opportunity for the relationship between the two sides to come into reality, he added.

However, the modest 2% of Vietnams export to the EU shows that there is still great room for Vietnam to promote cooperation with Europe, he went on to say.

Agreeing with Deputy Minister Nguyen Minh Vu, delegates at the workshop said that Vietnam has the potential and room to cooperate with the EU in many fields, including exporting and attracting investment in agricultural products, climate change adaptation and renewable energy development. As EU countries have strengths in high-tech agriculture, organic agriculture, and lead in climate change adaptation and renewable energy development, the EU's need to promote cooperation in these areas is enormous, according to delegates.

To promote cooperation between Vietnamese localities and the EU, delegates said that they should increase investment in market research for development of efficient export strategy and attraction of investment from the EU. Moreover, enterprises need to improve the quality and design of packaging, ensure the right quantity and schedule, develop advanced cold storage systems and agricultural product preservation techniques, and promote the construction of a synchronous logistics system.

Within the framework of the workshop, the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the People's Committee of Ben Tre Province and the Vietnamese Embassies in Belgium and Luxembourg, and the Vietnamese Delegation to the EU, took place, to support trade promotion and investment attraction from the EU and Ben Tre in a number of fields, especially high-tech agriculture, renewable energy, and salt water treatment technology for agriculture and tourism./.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the event, Mr. Abdul Hakim Alkhaldi, Chairman of the Asharqia Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the efforts of the Vietnamese Embassy and businesses with samples in the context of the complex development of the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam. This was also an opportunity for Saudi Arabian businesses to learn about Vietnamese goods, thereby connecting to seek cooperation opportunities.

At the opening ceremony (Photo: baoquocte.vn)

Vietnamese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Vu Viet Dung stated that this event was part of the embassy's chain of economic diplomacy activities. Commodities introduced at the event included agricultural products, processed foods, handicrafts, construction materials, furniture, frankincense, charcoal and tourism publications, and are products of typical Vietnamese companies, which have a desire to seek export markets and supplement the supply in the local market.

The Ambassador also wanted to receive reviews and feedback from local businesses and customers so that he can inform Vietnamese businesses and then they can make appropriate adjustments for the Saudi Arabian market.

The event attracted many local businesses. Many products were evaluated to have beautiful and diverse designs, suitable with the market in Saudi Arabias Eastern province, which has little farming and agricultural production, due to the desert climate.

There was a significant number of customers interested in agricultural products, rice (instant noodles, rice noodles, rice flour), cashews, pepper, spices, coffee, frankincense, honey, marble, interior decoration, construction; charcoal; and others are interested in travel agents and travel services of Vietnam.

At the event, Ambassador Dung introduced a soft book "Introductory Products for Export from Vietnam" compiled by the Embassy, including full information of nearly 120 Vietnamese enterprises with samples for display and promotion at the Embassy. At the same time, he also suggested the Asharqia Chamber of Commerce circulate it for member enterprises and other businesses in the province for reference and use.

Mr. Dung encouraged local businesses to directly contact businesses with products they are interested in buying, recommending the book to interested friends. He affirmed that the Embassy is ready to support the connection to find Vietnamese partners, if local businesses are interested in certain products that are not listed in the book.

The Ambassador also invited businesses in the region to visit the showroom of Vietnam's export products located at the Embassy to learn more about export products when they have an opportunity to work in the capital Riyadh.

Visitors at the event also had the opportunity to enjoy coffee and tea, which were among the products on display.

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the week to promote Vietnam's export products in Dammam city is a practical activity to support Vietnamese businesses to seek ways to access the Saudi Arabian market.

Also in 2021, the Embassy introduced export products in the provinces of Qassim, Tabuk and Al Jouf./.
RoK Ambassador to Vietnam Park Noh Wan (Photo: quochoi.vn)

He made the confirmation on the occasion of the official visit to the RoK by Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue and a high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese legislature, at the invitation of Speaker of the Korean NA Park Byeong-seug.

According to the RoK Ambassador, in the process of jointly overcoming the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the close relationship between the two countries has been further consolidated as a common community, while the scale of trade and investment cooperation between the two countries has even been expanding compared to the time before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The official visit to the RoK by National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue will be an important occasion to write a new page in the history of the relationship between the two countries, he said. 2022 is a year of historical significance as Vietnam and the RoK celebrate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations and I believe that the National Assemblies of the two countries will certainly continue to play a pivotal role.

Noting the significance of the Vietnamese National Assembly Chairmans visit to the RoK, he confirmed that it will signal the opening of a new era of bilateral relations.

Meanwhile, the visit will be an opportunity to lay the foundation for an economic cooperation model in key fields of the Fourth Industrial Revolution such as information technology, digital economy, smart cities, biotechnology and health in the context of the changing world economic model.

In addition, within the framework of the visit, many activities are expected to take place to boost the two countries' economies, such as activities to attract investment through meetings between National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and leaders of large Korean foreign corporations.

Asserting that the visit has great strategic significance, he added that it will be an opportunity to further strengthen the bilateral cooperation relationship in order to contribute to maintaining peace and stability in the world and the region, solving global problems such as terrorism and climate change.

In short, the visit will be an important milestone to raise the quality of cooperation between the two countries to a higher level by jointly responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and building a new cooperation framework for the future relations of the two countries on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations, he went on to say./.
-- China's top leaders have mapped out priorities for next year's economic work at the annual Central Economic Work Conference.

-- Economic work next year should prioritize stability while pursuing progress, according to the meeting.

-- Actions should be taken to safeguard macroeconomic stability, keep major economic indicators within an appropriate range and maintain social stability to prepare for the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

BEIJING, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- China's top leaders have mapped out priorities for next year's economic work as the annual Central Economic Work Conference concluded in Beijing Friday, highlighting efforts to maintain stability while pursuing progress.

In a speech at the conference, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, reviewed the country's economic work in 2021, analyzed the current economic situation and arranged next year's economic work.

Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji and Han Zheng, who are members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, attended the three-day conference.

The first direct China-Europe freight train linking Guizhou Province and Russia's Moscow sets out from Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Nov. 18, 2021.(Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

STEADY PROGRESS

Economic work next year should prioritize stability while pursuing progress, according to the meeting.

Actions should be taken to safeguard macroeconomic stability, keep major economic indicators within an appropriate range and maintain social stability to prepare for the Party's 20th National Congress, the meeting said.

The year 2021 has been a milestone for both the Party and the nation, according to the meeting, which noted that China has maintained a leading position in the world in economic development and epidemic control, with progress made in scientific strength, industrial chain resilience, reform and opening-up, people's livelihood and ecological civilization.

However, it cautioned that China's economic development is facing pressure from demand contraction, supply shocks and weakening expectations, and the external environment is becoming increasingly complicated, grim and uncertain.

"We must face the difficulties squarely while staying confident," said a statement released after the meeting, citing China's strong economic resilience and unchanged fundamentals underpinning long-term growth.

The meeting called for remaining committed to China's own cause, consolidating the economic foundations, enhancing the abilities of scientific and technological innovation and adhering to multilateralism.

It also urged making proactive efforts to align with the high-standard international economic and trade rules, deepening reform via high-level opening-up, and boosting high-quality development.

The meeting stressed the necessity to adhere to the centralized, unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee, promote high-quality development and pursue progress while ensuring stability.

It highlighted the timing, extent and efficiency of policy adjustments and reform to ensure their steady advancement, as well as coordination and systems thinking.

People visit the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 5, 2021.(Xinhua/Li Xiang)

THE 2022 POLICY TOOLBOX

China will continue implementing proactive fiscal policies and prudent monetary policies for steady economic progress next year, according to the meeting.

It pledged to implement new tax and fee cut policies, strengthen support for small and medium-sized enterprises, individually-run businesses, manufacturing and risk-defusing, and take a moderately proactive approach in advancing infrastructure investment.

Prudent monetary policies should be flexible and appropriate, and liquidity should be maintained at a reasonable and ample level, the meeting said.

It underlined efforts to guide financial institutions to ramp up support for the real economy, especially for small and micro enterprises, technological innovation and green development.

In 2022, China will wield its microeconomic policies to stimulate the vitality of market entities, deepen the supply-side structural reform with a focus on smoothing the circulation of the national economy, and firmly advance the implementation of policies related to science and technology, said the meeting.

Next year's economic priorities also include vitalizing development through policies of reform and opening-up, promoting more balanced and coordinated regional development, and ensuring that its social policies well safeguard people's well-being.

Efforts will be made to boost the employment of young people, including college graduates, and optimize flexible employment and social security policies.

In the first 10 months of 2021, China created 11.33 million new jobs in its urban areas, achieving its whole-year target in advance, official data showed.

Reiterating the principle that "housing is for living in, not for speculation," the meeting said China will support the property market to better cater to the reasonable demand of home buyers and adopt city-specific policies to boost the virtuous cycle and healthy development of the sector.

The country will also expand high-quality and institutional opening-up, grant foreign-funded enterprises national treatment, attract more investment from multinational companies, and facilitate the early implementation of major foreign-invested projects.

Editor: Zhang Zhou
-- China's top leaders have mapped out priorities for next year's economic work at the annual Central Economic Work Conference.

-- Economic work next year should prioritize stability while pursuing progress, according to the meeting.

-- Actions should be taken to safeguard macroeconomic stability, keep major economic indicators within an appropriate range and maintain social stability to prepare for the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

BEIJING, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- China's top leaders have mapped out priorities for next year's economic work as the annual Central Economic Work Conference concluded in Beijing Friday, highlighting efforts to maintain stability while pursuing progress.

In a speech at the conference, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, reviewed the country's economic work in 2021, analyzed the current economic situation and arranged next year's economic work.

Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji and Han Zheng, who are members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, attended the three-day conference.

The first direct China-Europe freight train linking Guizhou Province and Russia's Moscow sets out from Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Nov. 18, 2021.(Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

STEADY PROGRESS

Economic work next year should prioritize stability while pursuing progress, according to the meeting.

Actions should be taken to safeguard macroeconomic stability, keep major economic indicators within an appropriate range and maintain social stability to prepare for the Party's 20th National Congress, the meeting said.

The year 2021 has been a milestone for both the Party and the nation, according to the meeting, which noted that China has maintained a leading position in the world in economic development and epidemic control, with progress made in scientific strength, industrial chain resilience, reform and opening-up, people's livelihood and ecological civilization.

However, it cautioned that China's economic development is facing pressure from demand contraction, supply shocks and weakening expectations, and the external environment is becoming increasingly complicated, grim and uncertain.

"We must face the difficulties squarely while staying confident," said a statement released after the meeting, citing China's strong economic resilience and unchanged fundamentals underpinning long-term growth.

The meeting called for remaining committed to China's own cause, consolidating the economic foundations, enhancing the abilities of scientific and technological innovation and adhering to multilateralism.

It also urged making proactive efforts to align with the high-standard international economic and trade rules, deepening reform via high-level opening-up, and boosting high-quality development.

The meeting stressed the necessity to adhere to the centralized, unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee, promote high-quality development and pursue progress while ensuring stability.

It highlighted the timing, extent and efficiency of policy adjustments and reform to ensure their steady advancement, as well as coordination and systems thinking.

People visit the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 5, 2021.(Xinhua/Li Xiang)

THE 2022 POLICY TOOLBOX

China will continue implementing proactive fiscal policies and prudent monetary policies for steady economic progress next year, according to the meeting.

It pledged to implement new tax and fee cut policies, strengthen support for small and medium-sized enterprises, individually-run businesses, manufacturing and risk-defusing, and take a moderately proactive approach in advancing infrastructure investment.

Prudent monetary policies should be flexible and appropriate, and liquidity should be maintained at a reasonable and ample level, the meeting said.

It underlined efforts to guide financial institutions to ramp up support for the real economy, especially for small and micro enterprises, technological innovation and green development.

In 2022, China will wield its microeconomic policies to stimulate the vitality of market entities, deepen the supply-side structural reform with a focus on smoothing the circulation of the national economy, and firmly advance the implementation of policies related to science and technology, said the meeting.

Next year's economic priorities also include vitalizing development through policies of reform and opening-up, promoting more balanced and coordinated regional development, and ensuring that its social policies well safeguard people's well-being.

Efforts will be made to boost the employment of young people, including college graduates, and optimize flexible employment and social security policies.

In the first 10 months of 2021, China created 11.33 million new jobs in its urban areas, achieving its whole-year target in advance, official data showed.

Reiterating the principle that "housing is for living in, not for speculation," the meeting said China will support the property market to better cater to the reasonable demand of home buyers and adopt city-specific policies to boost the virtuous cycle and healthy development of the sector.

The country will also expand high-quality and institutional opening-up, grant foreign-funded enterprises national treatment, attract more investment from multinational companies, and facilitate the early implementation of major foreign-invested projects.

(Video reporters: Chen Qiang, Xiong Maoling, Tan Yixiao, Hu Yousong, Feng Yiwei, Yang Yi, Jiang Xuelan; video editors: Peng Ying, Mu Xuyao)

Editor: WXY
China Post (jointly with Iran) issues a set of two stamps to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Iran, Dec. 10, 2021. The stamp designs include Guangji Bridge and Haoju Bridege. The face value of the full set of stamps is 2.40 yuan, and a planned number of 6.8 million sets are to be issued. Photo shows staff displaying the commemorative stamp at Xinle Branch of China Post in north China's Hebei Province. (Jia Minjie/Guangming Picture)
Ukraine has registered 4,073 new cases of COVID-19, as well as 9,966 recoveries and 188 deaths in the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian Health Ministry said on Monday.

"Over the past day, December 12, Ukraine has seen 4,073 new cases of COVID-19 (including 377 children and 37 medical workers), while 53,291 people have been vaccinated for COVID-19, among them 16,551 who received the first shot of a vaccine and 36,740 who completed their vaccination. In the past 24 hours, 1,456 persons have been hospitalized, 188 have died, and 9,966 have recovered," the ministry said on Telegram.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Ukraine has seen a total of 3,563,165 coronavirus infections, including 3,205,879 recoveries and 91,215 deaths.

As of this date, 14,131,445 people have been vaccinated, including 14,131,443 who received the first shot of a vaccine, and 12,457,651 who completed their vaccination. A total of 26,589,094 shots have been administered to date.
Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk supports the idea of introducing an online voting system in the Ukrainian parliament.

"When two years ago I suggested the idea of the possibility of online voting in the Rada, many colleagues immediately perceived it negatively, saying that this is wrong, that this is a humiliation of the rights of the opposition. But it must be borne in mind that there are a number of challenges in the world today that we cannot predict. For example, it may happen that due to a pandemic 226 deputies will not gather in parliament or something will happen to the premises as a result of some conditional military aggression on 5 Hrushevskoho Street. We are the only legislative body, and we have no other option as to get together if something happens and take an important decision for the state. It is also possible to limit the list of decisions that can be presented in this way," the chairman said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

However, he stressed that online voting is a technical issue.

"I think the Minister of Digital Transformation will soon present a concept: how he sees it, and what technical solutions are needed for this. If we have a guarantee from leading companies and a technical solution that will be trusted, then it is worth trying to start implementing at some level. It is important to have a replacement solution in critical situations," Stefanchuk specified.
The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors approved today $150 million in Additional Financing for the Ukraine Emergency COVID-19 Response and Vaccination Project, the bank's press service has reported.

These funds will help prevent, detect and respond to the threats posed by COVID-19 and strengthen Ukraine's national public health system, the press service said.

"About $120 million of the additional financing will help the Government of Ukraine purchase 16.5 million doses of vaccines, enough to vaccinate about 20 percent of the population. The procurement of these vaccine doses will also help ensure that 10 million individuals from priority population groups are able to receive full COVID-19 vaccination. The remaining $30 million will finance IT, communications and public outreach, capacity building, as well as cold chain and waste management equipment to strengthen vaccine deployment," the press service said.

"Ukraine still has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Europe. Scaling-up procurement and deployment of vaccines, combined with measures to detect incidence and address vaccine hesitancy, are critical," World Bank Regional Country Director for Eastern Europe Arup Banerji said.

Prior to this, the World Bank provided Ukraine with $155 million to support the health sector's pandemic response, through both the Emergency COVID-19 Response and Vaccination Project and the Serving People, Improving Health Project. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the World Bank has provided Ukraine with a total of $1.8 billion in budget support and investment projects.
The hall of plenary sessions of the Verkhovna Rada, where deputies vote for the adoption of laws, may be technically refurbished in the summer of 2022, chairman of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk has said.

"My colleagues and I are now working on amendments to the legislation on parliamentary law, which will include, among other things, issues related to the technical support of the Verkhovna Rada. We have planned and really want to technically re-equip the session hall of the Verkhovna Rada, but we understand that this can only be done during a long vacation period. I think that this issue can be resolved in the summer. If there is an agreement in the hall, then we must definitely re-equip the hall, first of all, in technological way, and then the work places of the deputies," the speaker said in an interview with the Interfax-Ukraine agency.

According to him, the renewed workplaces of the deputies will be equipped "with computers, sockets, wifi-modules, and electronic devices for voting."

"In addition, the voting system will not only react to heat, as it is now. We are determining so far whether it will be Face ID [a 3D face shape scanner developed by Apple], or the system will work with a fingerprint since the heat response system is not an individualizing feature," Stefanchuk added.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has dismissed Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Oleksandr Gogilashvili at his own request.

"The Cabinet has dismissed Gogilashvili," a government source told Interfax-Ukraine.

According to the decree of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 1639 of December 13, which was published on the government's website later, Gogilashvili was dismissed of his own free will.

It was reported on Saturday that on the Youtube channel Ostannia Kraplia (The Last Drop) a video appeared in which Gogilashvili, at the entrance to Donetsk region, had a row with law enforcement officers, because his car was stopped.

Later, Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Denys Monastyrsky said that he would initiate an investigation into the incident with the participation of Deputy Interior Minister Gogilashvili and his removal from office for this period.

Gogilashvili himself apologized "for his excessive emotionality" and promised to facilitate the investigation of the incident at the checkpoint in the JFO zone.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram that he believes that there can be only one reaction to the incident involving Deputy Interior Minister Oleksandr Gogilashvili - dismissal.

The website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs says that Gogilashvili was born in Georgia in 1973. In 2019, he graduated from Lviv University of Business and Law with a degree in Accounting and Taxation, in 2020 he graduated from the same university with a degree in Law. In 2019, he worked as a social worker at the international public organization Center for Healthy Youth (Kyiv).
The statement made by Russian President Vladimir Putin about Ukraine's alleged failure to fulfill its obligation to transfer the foreign assets of the Soviet Union to the Russian Federation is a manipulation of facts, Oleh Nikolenko, spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, has said.

"The distribution of Soviet property is regulated by the 1991 Agreement on Succession on External Public Debt and Assets of the USSR. According to the agreement, the share of our state in the total debt and assets of the USSR is 16.37%," Nikolenko told Interfax-Ukraine on Monday.

He explained that in 1994 Ukraine and Russia signed the so-called "zero option agreement", according to which the Russian Federation pledged to pay the Ukrainian share in the external state debt of the USSR as of December 1, 1991. For its part, Ukraine was to transfer to Russia its share in the assets of the USSR as of December 1, 1991.

"At the same time, the ignorance of the legal requirements by the Russian side to provide information on the value of Ukrainian assets that were to be transferred made it impossible for the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to ratify the agreement. This document did not come into force either for Ukraine or for the Russian Federation. Therefore, talking about non-fulfillment of any obligations without a proper legal process seem unreasonable," Nikolenko stressed.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that in 1993 Russia undertook to settle all the debts of the former Soviet Union for all the former Soviet republics "with the expectation that these republics will hand overseas assets of the former Soviet Union to us," but Ukraine has not done it yet.
According to forecasts of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine, the epidemic situation in the country should be stable during the holidays, but a new strain of Omicron coronavirus (COVID-19) may appear in Ukraine this week, NSDC Secretary Oleksiy Danilov has said at a conference call chaired by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"According to NSDC forecasts, the epidemic situation in our country should be stable during the holidays. It is expected that a new strain of the Omicron coronavirus may appear in Ukraine this week. But the results of the first studies in countries where it has already been detected indicate a milder course disease," the President's Office of Ukraine said on its website.

It is noted that due to the approaching Christmas and New Year holidays, the relevant orders of the Ministry of Health and the chief state sanitary physician on anti-epidemic measures were adopted during the operation of the ski resorts.

According to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, anti-epidemic measures have also been developed separately during major events.

The prime minister also said that now Vinnytsia region meets the criteria for leaving the "red" zone, therefore, the issue of its transfer to the "yellow" zone will be considered.

In turn, Health Minister Viktor Liashko said that today Ukraine has overcome the rate of 40% of vaccinated among the adult population: out of 14.1 million citizens, 12 million received two vaccinations against COVID-19.

However, according to him, a decrease in the rate of vaccination has been observed over the past two weeks.

In this context, President Zelensky noted the need to intensify vaccination and said that in January 2022 the list of goods and services that can be purchased for UAH 1,000 provided by the state to every Ukrainian who received a full course of vaccinations, will be expanded.

"From December 19, fully vaccinated Ukrainians will be credited with UAH 1,000. They will be able to spend these funds on the areas most affected by the pandemic  sign up for a gym, go to a cinema, a museum or a concert, buy a train or plane ticket, buy books. At the same time, listening to the wishes of our elderly citizens, for whom health support is important, in particular in a pandemic, it was decided to add medicines to the list of available goods," the head of state said.

He believes that such a move will increase the number of vaccines against COVID-19 among the elderly, and will also contribute to the treatment and prevention of other diseases.

Currently, the Ministry of Digital Transformation is finalizing the technical capabilities so that the purchase of medicines for the funds provided for inoculation will become available from January 2022.
The State Commission on Environmental Safety, Manmade Disaster and Emergency Response decided to ease quarantine restrictions in two regions of Ukraine at a meeting on Monday, Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers Oleh Nemchinov has said.

"Based on the results, the State Commission decided to establish from 00:00 on December 15, 2021, the 'yellow' level of epidemic danger in Vinnytsia and Khmelnytsky regions," Nemchinov wrote in the Telegram channel.

He also said that on December 6, new quarantine rules started to operate in Ukraine, according to which only citizens who have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and have a relevant document can visit public institutions in the "yellow" zones. Employees of restaurants, hotels and gyms must also have at least one COVID-19 vaccine to serve visitors and customers. At the same time, a negative test, valid for 72 hours, or an alternative document, a COVID-19 certificate of recovery, can be used to visit public places.

Thus, at the yellow level of epidemiological danger, public institutions will not be able to serve customers, as well as allow those who do not have one of the listed documents to work.
NEW YORK, December 13, 2021: Ukrzaliznytsia ("UZ") has recently suffered two setbacks in its ongoing efforts to evade payment of its adjudicated debts held by VR Global Partners ("VRGP"). On December 7, 2021, the Northern Commercial Court of Appeal ordered the State Executive Service to freeze $36.9 million and UAH 268 million of Ukrzaliznytsia's funds. These amounts correspond to amounts confirmed by the Supreme Court as due to VRGP in respect of three enforcement proceedings that were the subject matter of this case. VRGP holds claims against UZ in respect of nine loan agreements, seven of which have already been confirmed by the Supreme Court.

In ruling in favor of VRGP, the appellate court affirmed decisions of the Commercial Court of Kyiv of September 7, 2021. The affirmed decisions rejected UZ's efforts to challenge actions by the State Enforcement Service to arrest UZ's accounts in conformance with the Supreme Court rulings against it. The appellate court confirmed that the actions by the State Enforcement Service to freeze UZ's funds were legitimate and, further, that it was unlawful to discharge a freezing order over UZ's bank account in Oshchadbank.

In addition, on December 9, 2021, the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal partially upheld VRGP's appeal and overturned the decision of the Kyiv District Administrative Court of October 28, 2021 undoing the freezing order on UZ's funds.

As a result of these decisions confirming the legality of the prior freezing orders of UZ's funds as a result of the company's non-compliance with Supreme Court judgments, the State Enforcement Service has been ordered to freeze UZ's funds in the amount of VRGP's aggregate claim in the instant enforcement proceedings, totaling USD 36,850,000 and UAH 268,332,684.59.

VRGP welcomes the recent decisions and again calls on UZ to respect the rulings of Ukraine's Supreme Court.

Richard Deitz, President of VR Capital Group Ltd., commented, "UZ has spent years telling its auditors and international bond investors that it intends to settle these debts, yet in reality it has done nothing but try to evade payment. The spectacle of Ukraine's largest state-owned enterprise defying judgments of its own Supreme Court inevitably calls into question the basic commitment to rule of law in Ukraine. The damage from such actions extends beyond VRGP to the broader investment environment in Ukraine."

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

VR Capital is an international asset management firm serving an institutional investor client base with approximately $5 billion in investor assets under management. VR Capital is one of the largest and most experienced western investors in Ukraine with a track record of investing in the country dating back to 1999. The firm operates via its principal offices in New York and London and serves a client base of leading western institutional investors.
Ismailiia criminal court sentenced on Wednesday Abdel-Rahman Nazmy  nicknamed Dabour  to death for decapitating his neighbour and attempting to murder two others in October of 2021.
Egypt reported 769 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, bringing the total infection tally to 388,651 since the outbreak began in February 2020, the health ministry said.
More than six million people in drought-hit areas of eastern and southern Ethiopia will need "life-saving" assistance this year, the UN's emergency response agency said in a new report.
Egypt targets a 5.7 percent GDP growth in FY 2022/23, which runs from 1 July, to record six percent in FY 2024/25, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said on Wednesday.
Whereas Egypt's water resources are about 60 bcm annually, its needs stand at around 114 bcm, Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Mohamed Abdel-Ati said

The Egyptian water sector faces many challenges, foremost of which are overpopulation and the limited available water resources, Egypts Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Mohamed Abdel-Ati said during a meeting with the Director-General of the Islamic Organisation for Food Security (IOFS) Yerlan Baidaulet in Cairo on Sunday.

According to a statement released by the irrigation ministry on Sunday, while reviewing the water challenges facing the 102-million-strong country during the meeting, Abdel-Ati said that Egypt is one of the driest countries in the world and suffers from water scarcity.

For his part, head of the IOFS Baidaulet expressed his desire to transfer the distinguished Egyptian expertise in the field of water resources to other Islamic countries.

The IOFS is a specialised institution of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) that is dedicated to promoting agricultural and rural development as well as ensuring sustainable food security in member states. It is headquartered in Kazakhstan and comprised of 36 countries out of 57 OIC states.

The two parties agreed on the necessity of benefiting from Egyptian expertise in the field of water resource management and rationalisation and the use of technology in water management.

This would in turn maximise the utilisation of the water unit, which contributes to increasing agricultural production, the irrigation ministrys statement noted.

At the end of their meeting, Abdel-Ati invited Baidaulet to attend the fourth edition of Cairo Water Week (CWW), which will be held from 24 to 28 October under the auspices of Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi under the theme of Water, Population, and Global Change: Challenges and Opportunities.

CWW is considered one of the biggest water-related events at the national, regional, and international levels. The annual event is organised by the Egyptian Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources in collaboration with national, regional, and international partners.

Meeting water challenges

According to the statement, Abdel-Ati said that whereas Egypts water resources are about 60 billion cubic metres (bcm) annually  most of which comes from the waters of the Nile River in addition to very limited amounts of rainwater estimated at nearly 1 bcm  its needs to stand at around 114 bcm yearly.

Such a gap is compensated by the reuse of agricultural wastewater and surface groundwater in the valley and delta, in addition to importing food products from abroad that are equivalent to 34 bcm of water annually, the Egyptian minister noted.

Virtual water  which is the embedded water required to produce commodities  is measured as a percentage of the already existing water resources and is increasingly recommended as a good policy for water-scarce areas.

In previous statements, Abdel-Ati has stated that the gap is overcome by importing 54 percent of Egypts virtual water and reusing 42 percent of its renewable water.

The countrys annual share of Nile River water, which the country relies on primarily for its water resources, is 560 m3 per person, cabinet figures indicate, placing the country well below the international threshold for water scarcity.

Abdel-Ati also tackled the rapid climate changes that the world in general and Egypt in particular have been witnessing, referring to their impending threat to sustainable development and the human right to access water as a result of such changes.

Egypt is one of the most affected countries worldwide by climate changes, as a result of rising sea levels and the unexpected impact of climate changes on the Nile Rivers headwaters, the minister said, noting that they affect many economic, social, and environmental aspects in addition to the water resources, agriculture, food security, energy, and health fields.

Abdel-Ati also highlighted the adverse effect of climate change on Egypts fertile Nile Delta, as the rise in sea levels makes it one of the worlds prime candidates in danger of drowning or decreasing fertility due to the interference of saline water.

This affects the quality of groundwater and could lead to the displacement of millions of Egyptians residing in the north of the delta.

These challenges, he stressed, require strenuous efforts to confront them, adding that Egypt has prepared a strategy for water resources until 2050 at a cost of up to $50 billion that may reach $100 billion, in addition to developing a four-pronged National Water Resources Plan running through 2037.

The plan is based on rationalising water use, improving water quality, providing additional water resources, and creating a climate suitable for optimal water management, Abdel-Ati said.

During the past five years, according to Abdel-Ati, many measures have been taken to increase the readiness to deal with water challenges and to confront any emergency faced by the water system through implementing various mega projects.

These projects include wastewater treatment, desalination of seawater, switching from surface to modern irrigation systems in agriculture, and also the protection projects from the dangers of torrential rains, as well as the coastal protection projects.

Egypt is currently building 14 seawater desalination plants that are expected to be completed by June 2022, with a total capacity of 476,000 m3 of water per day, at a cost of EGP 9.71 billion. When completed, the plants will bring Egypts tally of desalination stations to 90 with a total capacity of 1,307,69 million m3 per day due to the operation of 76 existing seawater desalination plants, with a total capacity of 831,690 m3 per day, according to a previous statement by the irrigation ministry.

Meanwhile,according to the Ministry of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities, Egypt is also constructing 151 dual and triple sewage treatment plants across the country, with a total capacity of five million m3 of water per day, at a cost of EGP 31.59 billion.

The irrigation ministry has been encouraging farmers to adopt modern irrigation techniques instead of surface irrigation to reduce water consumption. More than 237,000 feddans are currently being irrigated with modern techniques.

These projects come in parallel to the ongoing national project for rehabilitation and lining of canals, which is one of the largest projects in the world in this field that aims to improve the process of water management and distribution,

The project  which is meant to improve the management and distribution of water as well as reducing water wastage  is being implemented by the irrigation ministry through 7,000 kilometres, and its first phase is set for completion in 2022 at the cost of EGP 18 billion.

Out of the 7,000 kilometres of canals, the ministry has successfully rehabilitated more than 2,000 kilometres of canals so far in 20 governorates.

Abdel-Ati also stressed the necessity of achieving the maximum degree of cooperation and coordination between countries to realise peoples goals in achieving sustainable development and access to the optimal management of water resources through joint cooperation and the exchange of experiences.

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CAPMAS expects Egypt's population to reach 192 million in 2052 with the current growth rates

Egypts overpopulation is a decades-old challenge that requires a presidential initiative to be mitigated, Al-Shorouk news website reported Deputy Minister of Health Tarek Tawfik as saying on Tuesday.

At "Media and Overpopulation" seminar, Tawfik said the population will reach 122 million in 2030.

Egypts population at home reached 102 million, with an average increase of 3,636 people per day between October 2020 and July 2021, the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) said in July.

In nine months and five days, the population increased by one million, CAPMAS added.

This challenge "should be followed up on. Without this intervention [a presidential initiative], nothing will change," Tawfik said.

Birth control methods have not efficiently reaped positive results because they must be implemented in parallel with fighting illiteracy and school dropouts.

In its latest statement on illiteracy in September 2020, CAPMAS reported that the number of illiterate people in Egypt stood at 18.4 million in the 2017 census, recording a rate of 25.8 percent, up from 39.4 percent in 1996 and 29.7 percent in 2006.

The issue of population growth is not being handled by a single institution in Egypt. It is rather a problem that is being co-managed by several bodies, Tawfik explained. It is difficult to coordinate the work of 22 institutions responsible for the national population strategy, he added.

Among the reasons behind the failure to control population growth, Tawfik added, is that unfortunately, some religious clerics publicly support controlling overpopulation, rejecting it in close circles.

CAPMAS expects the Egyptian population to reach 192 million people in 2052 with the current growth rates, and 143 million people in the same period in case of intensifying comprehensive state efforts to reduce the fertility rate.

Tawfik said that 48 percent of Egypts women are illiterate, stating that 67 percent of women over the age of 50 are uneducated.

According to a CAPMAS report in March, when Egypt's population had stood at 101 million, females comprised 49 percent of the population, numbering 48.5 million.

Illiteracy is higher among Egyptian females than males. Illiterate women, according to the 2017 census, reached 10.6 million, making up 30.8 percent of Egyptian females. Some 7.8 million males are illiterate, or 21.1 percent of Egypts males, CAPMAS said in September 2020.

Today, there are eight women in Egypts cabinet, representing 24 percent of the number of ministers in the government. There are 162 women under this parliamentary dome, making up 27 percent of parliament members.

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Egypts Drug Authority officially announced on Sunday the start of clinical trials for COVI-VAX, the countrys first coronavirus vaccine.

In a press conference in Cairo attended by Minister of Higher Education Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar, and acting health minister, the Egyptian Drugs Authority (EDA) announced that the COVI-VAX vaccine was a product of cooperation between the National Centre for Research (NCR) and the private-sector bio-technology company Vaccine Valley.

During the press conference, the EDA released a short video describing the two-year process of developing the vaccine through the clinical trials phase.

According to the video, the Department of Scientific Excellence in Virology at the NCR started its research on the virus in December 2019 as it was initially spreading in China, when its researchers examined several wild animals in Egypt to see if they were carrying the virus.

In March 2020, researchers began examining the virus in humans as the first local Egyptian cases were recorded.

By May 2020, they had finished the genetic mapping of the virus and began working on a vaccine.

In June 2020, animal testing for two vaccines began.

Later, the COVI-VAX vaccine received the EDA's approval to finish its pre-clinical studies.

News media earlier this year reported on Egypts plans to manufacture its own vaccine, but further official information about the project had not been issued.

Egypt has locally produced millions of doses of the Chinese Sinovac coronavirus vaccine since mid-2021 in its VACSERA factories in Gizas 6 of October City.

The country has also imported millions of doses of all types of vaccines used worldwide, including Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Pfizer, Sputnik V, AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, and Sinovac.

Egypt seeks to vaccinate 40 percent of the population by the end of the year as part of its vaccination campaign that started in January 2021.

So far, around 25 million citizens have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine nationwide, according to health officials earlier this month.

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Israel's prime minister announced that he would make the first official visit to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday as part of a blitz of regional diplomacy amid the backdrop of struggling nuclear talks with Iran.

Naftali Bennett's office said he will be meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed and discussing strengthening economic and military ties.

The UAE visit will be the first by an Israeli prime minister. Israel and the UAE had long enjoyed clandestine security cooperation over their shared concern over Iran, but formalized ties last year as part of the U.S.-brokered ``Abraham Accords.``

Bennett's one-day trip is timed to coincide with ongoing nuclear talks between world powers and Iran. Israel is not a party to the negotiations, but is looking on with concern. In recent weeks, Israel has fanned out its top diplomat and its defense and spy chiefs to meet with allies in Europe, the U.S. and the Mideast to push for a firmer approach to Iran.

Israel says it is determined to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, while Tehran insists its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.

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The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) expressed its support for the Egyptian national security, including its water rights, stressing that Egypt plays a "pivotal" role in supporting security and stability in the region, Egypts foreign ministry stated on Sunday.

The statement was released following the conclusion of the first edition of the political consultation mechanism held in Riyadh by the foreign ministers of Egypt and GCC countries with the participation of the GCC's Secretary General Nayef bin Falah Al-Hajraf.

The GCC ministers and secretary-general expressed their hope for continued cooperation between Egypt and Gulf countries in various fields, the statement added.

Addressing the meeting, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry highlighted the "special" relations between Egypt and Arab Gulf countries.

He emphasised the importance of building on these relations to achieve the interests and the aspirations of the Arab nations for prosperity and welfare.

Shoukry reviewed the growing developments at the regional and international levels, which he said have reflected the importance of joint Arab action as well as the need to maintain periodic institutional coordination between Arab countries.

Shoukry affirmed the constants of the Egyptian foreign policy towards promoting Arab solidarity and joint Arab action to preserve Arab national security, indicating that Arab countries have the ability to protect their capabilities and peoples.

"Our security is an indivisible whole," he stressed during his speech.

Shoukry also affirmed Egypt's rejection of all attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of Arab countries or threaten their stability and undermine the interests of their peoples.

Egypt, Shoukry stressed, supports the Gulf countries in adopting the moves they deem necessary to preserve their security and stability, the statement noted.

He added that Egypt's participation for the first time in launching the political consultation mechanism with the GCC states reflects the solid relations and common destiny that unite the two sides.

Shoukry also called for intensifying coordination and consultation between the two sides in light of the "unprecedented" regional and international challenges.

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Lebanese Minister of Interior Bassam Mawlawi praised Egypt's achievement of security and stability under President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi as well as its economic progress and prosperity that became an example to emulate.

In an interview with MENA correspondent in Beirut, the Lebanese interior minister said the historic relations between the two countries reaffirm the appreciation of the Lebanese people for Egypt, its leadership, and its people.

Mawlawi said Lebanon appreciates the continued Egyptian support for Lebanon, especially during the difficult times to overcome its problems.

He expressed hope for cooperation with the Egyptian side to benefit from the Egyptian security experiment, praising Egypt's measures to achieve security and stability.

On elections in Lebanon, the interior minister said the law stipulates holding elections between 21 March and 21 May 2022, but the House of Representatives recommended amendments to the law whereby the elections will be held on 27 March.

Regarding Lebanon's security, Mawlawi said work is underway to achieve security and stability, expressing his ministry's keenness on holding intensive meetings with security leadership.

On the political situation in Lebanon, he said there are good opportunities to achieve major successes in that field, but the problem lies with some people who favour political anxiety.

Asked about the issue of smuggling illegal drugs outside the country, he said he issued tight orders to ministry officials to search passengers, suitcases and shipments carefully to ensure the security and stability of Arab societies, especially Gulf countries topped by Saudi Arabia.

He expressed resolve to eliminate the smuggling of narcotics in Lebanon, pointing out that an attempt to smuggle four million Captagon pills was recently aborted.

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European Union foreign ministers agreed on Monday to slap sanctions on targets linked to the Russian private military company Wagner, accused of acting to destabilize Ukraine and parts of Africa.

The group itself, said by Western capitals to work on behalf of the Kremlin in conflict zones, was targeted with an asset freeze, along with eight individuals and three firms, diplomats said.

The sanctions list was drawn up by EU officials and unanimously approved by foreign ministers, who met Monday to discuss various world crises and prepare Thursday's summit of European leaders.

"Wagner is a Russian private military company used to destabilise security in Europe and in its neighbourhood, notably in Africa," one European diplomat said.

Wagner is said to be financed by 60-year-old Saint Petersburg businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, reputedly close to President Vladimir Putin, who has already been hit with EU and US sanctions for destabilising Libya and meddling in US elections.

Those sanctioned included:

Dmitry Utkin, a 51-year-old former lieutenant colonel in Russian military intelligence -- once decorated by Putin -- now said to be Wagner's commander and responsible for mercenary operations in Ukraine.

Utkin is accused of extrajudicial killings, including allegedly ordering a Syrian deserter to be tortured to death and filmed.

Alexander Kuzentsov, a 44-year-old Russian said to be commander of Wagner's 1st Attack and Reconnaissance Company under the call sign "Ratibor", accused of threatening the peace and security of Libya.

Retired colonel Andrei Roshev, 68, a founding executive director of Wagner now commanding mercenary troops in Syria in support of Bashar al-Assad's regime under the call sign "Siedoy".

Wagner units and operatives have been seen in several conflict zones, allegedly serving Russian private and state interests in Ukraine, Syria and Libya.

The firm has also offered its services to local authorities in sub-Saharan Africa, including former French colonies Mali and the Central African Republic.

The European ministers were also discussing a much larger package of potential economic sanctions against Russia, to be held in reserve to deter any threat from Moscow to directly invade Ukraine.

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The United Nations Human Rights Council is expected to host a special session on the civil war in Ethiopia this week, following an urgent request from the European Union.

In a letter sent to the council president, the EU called for the UN's top rights body to swiftly address the deteriorating situation in Ethiopia, where 13 months of conflict has left thousands dead and triggered a dire humanitarian crisis.

"In light of the aggravating situation, we believe the international community has a moral obligation to try to prevent further atrocities and ensure accountability and justice for victims and survivors," Lotte Knudsen, the EU ambassador in Geneva said in a statement.

"The Human Rights Council has to stand up to its responsibilities."

The bloc said more than 50 countries had come out in support of its call and that the session should take place on Friday.

The call comes after UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet's office and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission determined in a joint report last month that there was evidence of "serious abuses" by all sides in the conflict, saying some violations may amount to crimes against humanity.

Ethiopia's war broke out in November 2020, when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops into the country's northernmost region of Tigray to topple the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), after months of seething tensions with the group that had dominated politics for three decades before he took office.

He said the move was in response to attacks on army camps by the TPLF, and vowed a swift victory.

But the rebels mounted a shock comeback, recapturing most of Tigray by June before advancing into the neighbouring regions of Amhara and Afar.

Fears of a rebel march on Addis Ababa prompted countries such as the United States, France and Britain to urge their citizens to leave Ethiopia as soon as possible, although Abiy's government said the city was secure.

The fighting has displaced more than two million and driven hundreds of thousands into famine-like conditions, according to UN estimates, with reports of massacres and mass rapes by both sides.

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Egypt's population increased by 750,000 over the past 160 days to reach 102,750,000 on Monday, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS).

The countrys population reached 102 million people on 5 July 2021, and 250,000 more babies were born over the following 50 days, CAPMAS said.

Cairo is the governorate with the highest population with 10.1 million people, followed by Giza with 9.3 million people and Sharqiya governorate with 7.7 million.

In February, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi warned of the risks of overpopulation, saying that "unprecedented population growth is Egypt's biggest challenge."

The president added that the country would need to lower the annual population growth rate to 400,000 before Egyptians can reap the fruits of recent development efforts.

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Egypt's Ministry of Education and Scientific Research signed on Sunday an agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture and private company Eva Pharma to pursue studies to produce the countrys second domestically manufactured COVID-19 vaccine, the ministry said in a statement on Monday.

CEO of Eva Pharma Riad Armanious has said that the ministries of higher education and agriculture will work on producing the viral antigen for the vaccine, which will be manufactured at Eva Pharma industrial complex in accordance with the standards of the Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA), the World Health Organisation, and the US Food and Drug Administration.

Minister of Higher Education and acting Health Minister Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar, who attended the signing, has said in media statements that the vaccine will be manufactured after successfully undergoing clinical trials.

EgyVax is the second COVID-19 vaccine to be produced locally in Egypt after the COVI-VAX vaccine.

Last November, Minister Abdel-Ghaffar announced that the clinical trials for the COVI-VAX vaccine had kicked off and would conclude in six to nine months.

COVI-VAX is the result of a cooperation agreement between Egypt's National Centre for Research (NCR) and the private sector bio-technology company Vaccine Valley.

In June, the COVI-VAX vaccine received the approval of the EDA to finish pre-clinical studies, 18 months after the NCR-affiliated Scientific Excellence Centre for Virology had launched a set of studies on the pandemic.

Egypt currently depends on imported COVID-19 vaccines.

Egypt has a stock of imported doses of the Sinopharm, Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Sputnik V, Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

Egypt has also locally produced millions of doses of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine.

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Egypts House of Representative is set to discuss on Tuesday amendments to the stamp tax law increasing taxes for exiting the country and on a number of services and commodities.

According to a report by parliaments budget and planning committee, the amendments aim to increase the states revenues after they took a hit with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected a number of Egypts economic sectors negatively.

The fee for departing the country will be increased to EGP 100, but it will remain at EGP 50 for foreigners visiting the Red Sea governorate, South Sinai, Luxor, Aswan, or Matrouh.

All items, including alcoholic beverages, purchased from duty free zones will see a tax increase from 2 percent to 3 percent, with a minimum value of $1.5. Non-honorary members of the diplomatic and consular corps are exempted from paying this tax.

The new amendments also impose a 5 percent tax on all soda drinks and 2 percent on durable goods.

The proposed amendments would also increase the tax on entry fees at casinos, theatres and cinemas, though the exact value has yet been determined.

Luxury goods, including certain types of fish, perfumes, and wristwatches will be subject to a 10 percent tax.

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Egypts Public Prosecution ordered the detention of the son of renowned Egyptian businessman Mohamed El-Hawary for four days pending investigation over unintentionally killing four young men in a car crash in Giza.

In a statement on Sunday, the prosecution said the crash took place as Karim El-Hawary exceeded the legal maximum speed limit and drove under the influence of drugs and alcohol in Sheikh Zayed City of the northern Giza governorate.

Footage on social media showed a vehicle driving at crazy speed on a high-way in the city on Friday, violently rear-ending another car.

Investigations later revealed that El-Hawary fled the scene after the crash killed all four people inside the rear-ended car after it flipped over. The four victims are all teenage students, according to reports.

El-Hawary was detained over other related misdemeanors, the prosecution said.

Samples taken from El-Hawary tested positive for drugs and ethyl alcohol, the prosecution cited a report by the chemical lab of the Department of Forensic Medicine as saying.

El-Hawary is also accused of possessing drugs for personal use, according to the prosecution.

Unintentional murder is punishable by a fine ranging from EGP 100 to EGP 500 or by up to 10 years in prison according to the Egyptian law.

According to article 238 of the Egyptian penal code, unintentional murder due to negligence and recklessness is punishable by a fine of up to EGP 200 or at least six months in prison.

In case the defendant committed the crime under the influence, he is punished by up to five years in prison or a fine of EGP 500 at most.

In case he caused the death of more than three people, he shall face a one-to-seven-year prison sentence. In case he is under the influence, he shall face a one-to-10-year prison sentence.

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Egypts Ministry of Interior announced on Monday the detainment of two people charged with impersonating the identity of high-ranking officials in a fabricated phone call that was leaked through Muslim Brotherhoods YouTube channels with the aim of tarnishing the reputation of state institutions.

The ministry also arrested a third defendant for selling this staged leaked exchange to a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The warrant for the arrest of the two impersonators was issued after a fabricated phone call between two alleged high-ranking officials discussing plans to embezzle public funds was leaked on social media platforms over the past few days.

In an official statement, the ministry identified the impersonators as a 61-year-old unemployed, previously convicted conman posing as a general and a 52-year-old woman assuming the identity of a presidential advisor.

During the fabricated call, the two impersonators discussed using their alleged connections with a host of state officials to deceive businessmen in the construction industry and real-estate agents, the ministrys statement added.

Both defendants, claimed that they can  due to their alleged influence  award businessmen contracts for megaprojects nationwide for personal financial gain, the statement noted.

The fabricated call was leaked via a fugitive Muslim Brotherhood TV show host Abdullah El-Sherief and then went viral on social media.

The ministry explained that the call came into El-Sheriefs possession through a 42-year-old realtor  the third defendant in the case  who was deceived by the previously mentioned duo.

The realtor said the first defendant masqueraded as a general at the presidency who could provide him with commissions, sending him the fabricated phone calls as a guarantee of sorts.

The realtor said he decided to capitalise on these calls once he ran into financial trouble, selling them to the Brotherhood TV host, according to a recorded confession that was released by the ministry.

The statement stressed that the investigations showed that the first and second defendants have never worked in any state institution, adding that all necessary legal action was taken, and that the cellphone used to record the leaked conversation was seized.

























More to follow

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Clashes between Yemeni government forces and the country's Houthi rebels attacking the key central city of Marib killed a senior military commander on Monday, officials said.

The development is a big blow to the forces of Yemen's internationally recognized government, which have been fighting for months against the Iranian-backed Houthis' attempt to take Marib. The Houthis launched an offensive earlier this year on the city in an effort to complete their control over the northern half of Yemen.

Maj. Gen. Nasser al-Zubiani, who headed military operations of the government's armed forces, was killed on the front line in the Balaq mountain range, south of the city of Marib, said the two officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Al-Zubiani was inspecting government troops and allied tribal fighters trying to stave off the Houthi attack at the time. Government forces had earlier advanced a few kilometers (miles) following fierce battles south of the city, one of the officials said.

The rebels stepped up attacks on Marib in recent weeks, sending waves of fighters to try and breach government defenses. Hundreds died in the clashes, mostly rebels, the official added.

A Saudi-led coalition, which is fighting on the side of the government forces, said it launched at least 35 airstrikes on rebel positions around Marib over the weekend, killing at least 200 Houthis. At least three more airstrikes hit the rebels in Yemen's western coast, it said.

The Houthi offensive on Marib came as they suffered blows elsewhere in the country. Last month, government forces took the district of Hays and a major highway linking the contested port city of Hodeida with the rebel-held capital of Sanaa.

Yemen's civil war began in 2014 when the Houthis took Sanaa and much of the northern part of the country, forcing President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi's government to flee to the south, then to Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi-led coalition, backed at the time by the U.S., entered the war months later to try restoring Hadi to power. Despite a relentless air campaign and ground fighting, the war has deteriorated into a stalemate, killing more than 130,000 people, civilians and fighters, and spawning the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

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Sudanese police fired tear gas Monday to disperse hundreds of protesters who rallied near the presidential palace in Khartoum demanding civilian rule, witnesses said.

It was the latest rally in recent weeks by Sudanese opposed to a military-dominated government in the country where top general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan seized power in October.

Monday's protesters in Khartoum waved Sudanese flags and changed "civilian is the people's choice" as well as "the people are stronger".

Witnesses said protests were also underway in parts of eastern Sudan, including Kassala and Gadaref states.

"Protesters are in the centre of the city and are chanting 'no to military rule'," Kassala resident Mohammed Idriss told AFP.

Speaking from Gadaref, resident Amal Hussein said around 600 protesters rallied there, where they also waved Sudanese flags and chanted slogans demanding civilian rule.

Following the October 25 military takeover, previous protests were met by a violent crackdown that left 44 people killed and hundreds wounded, mostly by bullets, according to a pro-democracy doctors' union.

On that day Burhan seized power and detained Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok but reinstated him in a deal signed on November 21 after international condemnation and mass protests.

Critics lambasted the agreement and pro-democracy activists vowed to maintain pressure on the military-civilian authority.

Burhan has insisted that the military takeover was "not a coup" but a step "to rectify the transition" towards full democracy that started with the 2019 ouster of autocratic president Omar al-Bashir.

He has pledged to lead Sudan to "free and transparent elections" in July 2023.

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Kurdish special forces backed by the US military killed five suspected jihadists in an airborne operation in eastern Syria, a statement said Monday.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), effectively the armed forces of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northeastern Syria, said the raid took place near the village of Busayrah, in Deir Ezzor province.

With backing from the US-led coalition, the raid targeted a hideout used by "a dangerous cell of the terrorist" Islamic State group, the SDF said in a statement.

It said gun battles ensued that led to the killing of five IS members, most of whom were wearing explosive belts.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor based in the UK which has a wide network of sources across Syria, said at least four people were killed.

The dead were members of the same family, including two who were shot by helicopter fire as they tried to flee on a motorbike, said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.

Busayrah is a village that lies on the banks of the Euphrates, between the two main cities of Deir Ezzor and Mayadeen, in the middle of IS's original heartland.

US-backed SDF forces flushed out the last rump of what was once IS's sprawling self-proclaimed caliphate in 2019, officially ending the group's existence as a territorial entity.

IS returned to the guerrilla warfare, launching frequent hit-and-run attacks from desert hideouts on either side the border with Iraq.

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Russia on Monday vetoed a first-of-its-kind UN Security Council resolution casting climate change as a threat to international peace and security, sinking a years-long effort to make global warming more central to decision-making in the UN's most powerful body.

Spearheaded by Ireland and Niger, the proposal called for ``incorporating information on the security implications of climate change`` so the council could ``pay due regard to any root causes of conflict or risk multipliers.''

The measure also asked the UN secretary-general to make climate-related security risks ``a central component'' of conflict prevention strategies and to report on how to address those risks in specific hotspots.

Prior council resolutions have mentioned destabilizing effects of climate change in specific places, such as various African countries and Iraq. But Monday's resolution would have been the first devoted to climate-related security danger as an issue of its own.

Some 113 of the UN's 193 member countries supported the proposal, including 12 of the council's 15 members.

But India and veto-wielding Russia voted no, while China abstained.

Russia and India's envoys said that the issue should remain with such UN groups as the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Adding climate change to the Security Council's agenda would only deepen global divisions that were pointed up by last month's climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, the opponents said.

``Positioning climate change as a threat to international security diverts the attention of the council from genuine, deep-rooted reasons of conflict in the countries on the council's agenda,'' Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said, adding that the resolution would turn ``a scientific and economic issue into a politicized question'' and give the council a pretext to intervene in virtually any country on the planet.

The measure's supporters said it represented a modest and reasonable step to take on an issue of existential importance.

``Today was an opportunity for the council to recognize, for the first time, the reality of the world that we are living in and that climate change is increasing insecurity and instability,'' Irish Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason said.

``Instead, we have missed the opportunity of action, and we look away from the realities of the world that we are living in.''

Niger's Ambassador Abdou Abarry added: ``The force of the veto can block the approval of a text, but it cannot hide our reality.''

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KYODO NEWS - Dec 14, 2021 - 02:46 | All, Japan

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday that an attack on a U.S. military vessel in any contingency concerning Taiwan could become a situation allowing Japan to exercise the right of collective self-defense.

During a virtual appearance at a Taiwan think-tank event on Dec. 1, Abe said that any Taiwan contingency would also be an emergency for Japan and for the Japan-U.S. security alliance, stressing the need to keep pushing for clarity on the issue with Chinese leadership.

Abe elaborated on his earlier remarks on a TV program aired Monday, saying, "In the event of an attack on a U.S. vessel, it could be a situation posing a threat to Japan's survival, which would allow the exercise of collective self-defense."

Pointing out that Yonaguni Island -- Japan's westernmost territory -- is only 110 kilometers away from Taiwan, he said, "If something happens here, it will definitely become a crucial situation" affecting Japan's peace and security as stipulated in the country's security legislation.

With such a condition met, Japan's Self-Defense Forces would be allowed to extend logistical support to the U.S. military.

His earlier remarks on Taiwan drew criticism from China, which regards the self-ruled island as a renegade province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary.

Communist-led China and Taiwan have been governed separately since they split in 1949 as the result of a civil war.

Abe stepped down as prime minister in 2020 after nearly eight years in the post, but he still heads the largest faction within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
KYODO NEWS - Dec 13, 2021 - 14:55 | Sports, World, All, Olympics

South Korean President Moon Jae In said Monday that his nation is not considering joining countries such as the United States, Britain and Australia in staging a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics next year.

Speaking to reporters alongside Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in Canberra, Moon said South Korea had not been asked by any country to participate in the diplomatic boycott led by Washington amid rising criticism over China's alleged human rights abuses in its far-western Xinjiang region.

The comments came as Australia and South Korea elevated their relationship to a "comprehensive strategic partnership" during talks between Morrison and Moon in the Australian capital, signing new deals on defense, clean energy technology and critical minerals.

Among the deals inked was an AU$1 billion ($717 million) defense contract for South Korean defense company Hanwha Corp. to supply the Australian Army with 30 self-propelled howitzer artillery weapons, 15 ammunition resupply vehicles and weapon locating radars to detect enemy artillery.

"Our comprehensive strategic partnership with the Republic of Korea is underpinned by our joint commitment to defense and security cooperation," Morrison said in a statement, using South Korea's official name. "The contract with Hanwha demonstrates the value of industrial collaboration in supporting our countries in addressing mutual security challenges."

The deal is the largest defense contract struck between Australia and an Asian nation and comes at a time of heightened tensions between Australia and China after the recent announcement of the AUKUS security partnership between the United States, Britain and Australia, a move strongly condemned by Beijing.

Moon defended his visit when pressed by a reporter over whether it and the arms deal would send a combative signal to China amid Australia's diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Games and ongoing trade tensions with the growing power.

"The state visit I make at this time has nothing to do with our position over China," said Moon through an interpreter, adding that cooperation based on the new bilateral deals is "very important for the national interest of Korea and to promote the peace and prosperity in the region."

The topic of China, however, featured heavily in the press conference, with both South Korea and Australia facing retaliation from Beijing in the form of economic sanctions.

"Our alliance with the U.S., it's the basis of our diplomacy as well as security affairs," Moon said, adding that "in terms of the economic relationship, of course, the relationship with China is important."

But because South Korea has to take into account peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, and to enable the denuclearization of North Korea, Moon said, "We need the constructive efforts of China." South Korea is striving to maintain a "harmonized relationship" with its neighbor, he added.

Moon is the first foreign leader to visit Australia since the coronavirus pandemic began.

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KYODO NEWS - Dec 13, 2021 - 14:41 | All, Japan

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Monday he seeks to improve the rescue operation of the Self-Defense Forces after they were only able to evacuate one Japanese national from Afghanistan in August due to legal restrictions following the Taliban's return to power.

"I have instructed a review on whether we can further improve" SDF operations by removing legal restrictions, Kishida said at parliament in response to questions by LDP policy chief Sanae Takaichi.

SDF personnel were dispatched to the region to evacuate around 500 people wishing to leave Afghanistan, including locals who worked for Japanese agencies. However, the troops only evacuated one Japanese as well as 14 Afghans at the request of the United States by the end of their mission on Aug. 31.

Current law limits the SDF to carrying out evacuations from a "safe place."

"I understand it is important to make preparations in nonemergency situations so that we can fully respond in evacuating Japanese nationals when they face a crisis overseas," Kishida added.

Takaichi said the August SDF dispatch was a "difficult mission" as the SDF personnel could not go outside a local airport deemed safe under the law.

Many evacuees failed to reach the airport on their own due to strict Taliban checkpoints and deteriorating security conditions.

Related coverage:

Japan SDF to pull out of Afghanistan evacuation mission possibly on Sept. 1

Japan airlifts 14 Afghans from Kabul to Islamabad at U.S. request

Japan evacuates 1 national from Afghanistan, to continue mission
KYODO NEWS - Dec 13, 2021 - 16:30 | All, Japan

Chubu international airport in central Japan will start building a second runway and undertake extensive maintenance of the existing one once the new runway is completed in about five years, Aichi Gov. Hideaki Omura said Monday.

The airport's capacity for plane departures and arrivals will increase by 20 percent from the current level when the two runways start operating together, Omura told a news conference in Nagoya.

The existing 3,500-meter runway was built in 2005 when the airport in Tokoname south of Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture opened as a major hub between Tokyo and Osaka but needs repairs due to aging.

The new 3,290-meter runway will be created by renovating a taxiway located about 210 meters east of the existing runway.

The new runway will be used for departures, while the existing one will receive arrivals.

The construction of the new runway is expected to cost about 14 billion yen ($123.3 million) and shouldered by the airport's operating company. However, Omura said, "The central and the prefectural governments will provide financial support indirectly."

Local governments and businesses had initially hoped to construct the second runway on land that will be reclaimed near the airport. But the policy was shifted after it was estimated that the reclamation work would take about 15 years.

While Omura said he would like to wait for air transportation demand to improve following the coronavirus pandemic, he indicated that the airport might build another 3,500-meter runway once the landfill project is complete.

If constructed, the third runway will replace the existing 3,500-meter lane.

The airport has two terminals, including one dedicated to low-cost carriers that opened in September 2019.

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KYODO NEWS - Dec 13, 2021 - 18:05 | All, Japan

A 38-year-old man and 21-year-old woman were arrested Sunday in western Japan for allegedly kidnapping a female high school student who was later found dead at the man's apartment, police said.

The man, Koshiro Irie, and woman, Emu Kinjo, are suspected of luring Sena Shinohara, 19, over the phone on Saturday from Kyoto Prefecture to Irie's home in Shiga Prefecture. Irie has denied kidnapping her, while Kinjo has admitted to the allegation, police said.

There was no indication the victim had sustained any physical injury, according to the police.

After an autopsy, the police said Monday that Shinohara died of drug overdose around 6 a.m. Sunday, and that empty containers for about 100 tablets such as anti-anxiety and sleep-inducing agents were found in trash at the apartment in Moriyama.

Shinohara, who was attending a correspondence high school, was found at Irie's home with no vital signs when firefighters rushed to the location and found her lying in a hallway.

Authorities received a call from a woman, likely Kinjo, around 10:50 a.m. Sunday. The caller said the teenager had lost consciousness and was not breathing, firefighters and police said.

The firefighters then called the police who later confirmed Shinohara had died.

Kinjo, from Gifu Prefecture in central Japan, is likely to have struck up relationships with both Irie and Shinohara via social media, with Kinjo asking Shinohara around 3:45 p.m. Saturday to come to Irie's apartment, saying, "I am at a male acquaintance's home," police said.

The two later met in the city of Kyoto and it is believed they traveled to Irie's apartment by car, arriving at around 6 p.m., police said.

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KYODO NEWS - Dec 13, 2021 - 20:40 | World, All

China on Monday criticized the Group of Seven foreign ministers for interfering in the country's internal affairs, while urging them to abandon their "Cold War mentality" and correct the practice of drawing lines with ideology.

The G-7 ministers have "smeared China's image and harmed its interests," Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters in Beijing after they wrapped up their gathering in Liverpool, England, on Sunday.

According to a statement issued by Britain, the G-7 chair, the ministers discussed "the situations in Hong Kong and Xinjiang," where Beijing has been accused of human rights abuses, and the "importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait."

In a separate statement, the G-7 and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations also reaffirmed their "shared interest in maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region," in a veiled counter to China's attempt to alter the status quo in the region.

The G-7 foreign ministers held talks with their counterparts from ASEAN countries for the first time, as well as from Australia, South Korea and India, on the second day of the latest meeting.

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KYODO NEWS - Dec 13, 2021 - 15:44 | All, Japan, World

Japan and France have started informal talks on a deal that would enhance interoperability and collaboration between the armed forces of both countries, the French ambassador to Japan said Monday.

The early-stage discussion for the so-called Reciprocal Access Agreement comes as Paris has island territories in the Indo-Pacific region, where China's military influence is growing.

If France enters into official negotiations with Japan, it will become the third country for Tokyo after Australia and Britain. The Japanese Foreign Ministry declined to comment on whether such talks have started.

"We would like to promote bilateral military and defense cooperation (with Japan). That is why we hope to have the Reciprocal Access Agreement, if possible. I think it is an important matter that would facilitate mutual cooperation and enable us to work together in each other's countries," French Ambassador to Japan Philippe Setton said at a news conference.

The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force conducted a large-scale joint exercise with the United States and France for the first time on Japanese soil in May, aiming to deter China's growing military assertiveness.
KYODO NEWS - Dec 13, 2021 - 20:50 | All, Japan

The government plans to simplify the immigration procedures for foreign travelers arriving in Japan by luxury transport such as private jets and superyachts usually used by the wealthy, sources close to the matter said Monday.

The move comes as the government hopes such affluent travelers will bring considerable spending power and help accelerate a postpandemic economic recovery, the sources said.

Currently, those arriving by private jet for tourism need to apply 10 days before landing in a Japanese airport. The government is considering shortening the period to three days, the same as entering for business purposes, the sources said.

Japan has 10 airports, including Haneda and Narita, which have facilities to process the entry of such travelers.

The government will also consider enabling operators of private jets to apply for flight, refueling and use of a hanger all in one stop, the sources said.

Superyachts and other private modes of travel by water are currently required to declare the number of crew and cargo every time they make a port call. Following the planned change, they will only need to do so upon entry and departure from Japan, according to the sources.

While some rural areas lack luxury hotels, high-end restaurants and high-quality cultural experiences, the Japan Tourism Agency plans to select ten model locations and support them in attracting hotels and developing products and services for the wealthy, the sources said.

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By Mai Yoshikawa, KYODO NEWS - Dec 13, 2021 - 14:00 | Feature, All, Japan

Buddhist monk Kodo Nishimura and Christian pastor Yoshiki Nakamura share a belief that queer lifestyle and organized religion can coexist, even when Japanese society makes people believe that finding such commonality is entirely impossible.

Those who do not fit neatly into the standard gender tick box like Nishimura and Nakamura are seldom welcomed openly. That, plus personal experiences of exclusion, has been reason enough for many LGBTQ people and their communities to abandon religion altogether.

But homophobia, in a country that has yet to legalize gay marriage, has not stopped these Tokyo-based queer religious leaders from doing what they are called to do -- sharing the teachings of Buddha and Jesus, albeit in less traditional ways.

"I don't mean to convert anybody to being Buddhist. I use things like social media and fashion to reach people who are not really interested in Buddhism," Nishimura said in a recent interview with Kyodo News.

"When I discovered Buddhism, it said everybody can be equally liberated. It was very empowering and I felt that I'm not inferior to anybody because I'm a homosexual. What matters is the soul. That message helps us protect our own rights."

Nishimura, who is also a professional makeup artist, does not like a lot of the words people use to describe his sexual identity because he presents as a man but feels he exudes both female and male energies. He calls himself gender-gifted.

While the 32-year-old Nishimura will flinch at the word gay, the 53-year-old Nakamura says he does not mind the label, as he is from the older generation whose dictionaries did not include gender-neutral pronouns.

"I have no preference. I tell people I'm gay. I was gay before the world came up with gender pronouns and LGBTQ inclusive language. I don't even know all the terms but if I look hard enough I know I belong in more than one box," Nakamura said.

A Dentsu poll released in April showed that 8.9 percent of Japanese, or approximately one in 11 people, identify as LGBTQ.

Surveys suggest that millennials like Nishimura are significantly more likely than older generations to identify as something other than heterosexual.

Born into a Buddhist family, Nishimura admits he has the freedom of working on his own terms because his home is the 520-year-old temple in which he practices.

When he is not donning a robe he works backstage at beauty pageants, does modeling gigs, writes books and posts on Twitter and Instagram. He even made a guest appearance on Netflix's Emmy-winning hit "Queer Eye."

Nakamura lives a quiet, low-key life, and he is sticking with Facebook. He considers pastoring a divine call to serve and not an earthly career, but life has not always been easy for him.

"I have double minority status, as a gay and a Christian. I live on a low salary, like most pastors," Nakamura said.

Only about 0.8 percent of Japan's population is Christian.

When he started preaching, Nakamura worked on the side in the corporate world to make ends meet until the 7-day work week took a toll on his mental and physical health. At one point he even owned a bar at Shinjuku Ni-chome, one of Japan's most famous gay haunts.

He slowed down after he took a senior pastoral position at Yoyogi Uehara Church, a Protestant United Church of Christ denomination, almost two years ago.

Like Nishimura, who realized he did not fit into society's traditional idea of a male in early childhood, Nakamura has been taking an outside-the-church approach and sharing messages that are intended to resonate far beyond the pulpit and pews.

Nakamura knew he was attracted to other boys by the time he was a junior in high school, when homosexuality was considered a temporary condition and not a permanent identity and even classified as a psychiatric disorder.

Nakamura attended church regularly as a child and was baptized at age 15. He decided to follow the call to ministry and enrolled in a seminary in his 30s.

Today, he is seeking to help those struggling with their sexual orientation incorporate the Bible into their lives in practical ways to help them resolve secular troubles, and make his church a safe place for LGBTQ individuals.

He officiates weddings for LGBTQ couples, though the Japanese legal system does not recognize same-sex marriage. He believes that if Jesus was alive today, he would be accepting of any marriage that is based on love, even if it is between two men or two women.

Nakamura, who has been with his partner for 20 years, splits his time between the church-owned parsonage and his own home where his only roommate is his cat. He also heads a networking group to bring LGBTQ communities and religious communities together.

"I know of about 10 pastors in my denomination who have come out as LGBTQ. But that doesn't mean the group has accepted us. They don't know how to deal with people like us," Nakamura said.

Churches that fail to recognize and respond to the cultural shifts that are happening will lose members fast, Nakamura thinks. He has heard of anti-gay pastors who preach love and spread hate.

"I don't believe Christianity will ever disappear, but I think it will be a thing for older people. The church has too many rules."

When he teaches a Bible course in high school once a week, Nakamura rarely reads passages of Scripture but rather discusses topics like suicide risk among LGBTQ youth. He also brings wider issues of debate in society like Black Lives Matter into the classroom.

"I tell them that one in every 11 people is LGBT, and that's comparable to the population of left-handers or blood type AB. I ask them: 'if you don't discriminate against lefties or type AB people, why would you discriminate against gays and lesbians?'"

Nakamura, whose parents died before he came out, and Nishimura, whose parents affirm his sexual orientation, are not pushing their religion on anyone or trying to force people out of the proverbial "closet."

They want Japanese people to adopt the love-thy-neighbor, do-no-harm mentality and be allies to the LGBTQ movement. They hope more people, young and old, loosen the shackles of traditional identities and embrace who they are on their terms.

Nakamura thinks people can be true to their religion and support progressive reforms such as LGBTQ rights. He has taken his students on a tour of a nearby mosque, and he is collaborating on a grief care project with a Shinto shrine in the neighborhood.

Nishimura also wants to imagine a new humanity beyond religion. He feels welcomed by the Buddhist community who try to live following Buddha's timeless message of non-violence and compassion.

"I want people to rethink what's considered 'normal' or 'common sense' so they are awakened to justice. I receive wonderful feedback from people who believe in different religions. I want people to see me and know that there is nothing wrong with them," Nishimura said.

"I'm doing what I'm doing to make people question and make people think. Do Buddhist monks have to be minimalistic and free of desire? Can they not wear make-up and walk in heels? Let's not forget that religion was made to help us be free."
New Delhi:

Amid arrests of leaders in Jammu and Kashmir, activist Tehseen Poonawalla filed a petition in SC seeking withdrawal of curfew, blocking of phone lines, internet, news channels and other restrictions from Jammu and Kashmir.

Moreover, the Supreme Court has refused the urgent hearing of the matter on the plea filed by Tehseen Poonawalla regarding the withdrawal of curfew from the valley. Lawyer ML Sharma said in the apex court that urgent hearing in the matter is required as the people of J-K and Pakistan can go the United Nations. In response, Justice Ramana asked, Do you think the United Nations can nullify the amendment made in the Indian constitution?

On Monday, former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, who were placed under house arrest, were arrested. Besides Mufti and Abdullah, Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference leaders Sajjad Lone and Imran Ansari were also arrested. The arrest of Mufti and Abdullah, two mainstream leaders of Kashmir, came hours after the Narendra Modi government striped the state of its special status.

Kashmir has remained on edge as the authorities stepped up security at vital installations and in sensitive areas, suspended mobile internet services and either "arrested" or "detained" several leaders in fast-paced developments. Mobile Internet services were also suspended in Kashmir Valley, while satellite phones were being provided to police officials and district magistrates.

In an unprecedented move that is likely to spark unrest in the Valley, the Narendra Modi government on Monday scrapped part of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also moved a resolution in the Lok Sabha for bringing a bill to reorganise the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh amid a walkout by opposition parties.

However, the Narendra Modi government is likely to issue some relaxation in the stringent security clampdown, which were put in place before the revocation of the Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

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New Delhi:

Indian Navy has put all its bases and warships on high alert in anticipation of a possible terror strike following the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A in Jammu and Kashmir. It is to be noted that the precautionary move comes days after the Indian government-led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the bifurcation of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. Also, the Article 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution were removed.

In a tweet, the news agency ANI quoted the sources as saying, Indian Navy puts all its bases and warships on high alert. Measures taken after Article 370 was revoked by the government and also due to possibility of Pakistan-backed terrorists carrying out any attack.

Take a look:

Sources: Indian Navy puts all its bases and warships on high alert. Measures taken after Article 370 was revoked by the government and also due to possibility of Pakistan-backed terrorists carrying out any attack  ANI (@ANI) August 9, 2019

In the meantime, Hindustan Times quoted a senior official as saying that the Indian Navy Navy is on high alert in anticipation of a possible terror strike through 7514 km coastline. We are on a state of heightened alert on the eastern and western seaboards, the official said.

The official further said, Surveillance radars along the coast and assets have been positioned at critical points to keep a watch.

It is to be noted that the Indian intelligence has reported movement of terrorist like Rauf Azhgar, brother of terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed Masood Azhar, to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in recent days. The Indian intelligence reports further suggest that JeM is planning for fidayeen attacks in India. Reportedly, JeM terrorists have been asked whether to kill, or die. The intelligence agencies have also warned about a possible terror attack in the hinterland outside of J&K.

Recently, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has put as many as 19 airports of India on high alert. The alert was issued for airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Imphal, Chennai, Kolkata, Amritsar, Thiruvananthapuram, Raipur, Jaipur, Lucknow, Srinagar, Patna, Guwahati, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Dehradun and Ahmedabad.

On the other hand, irked by the move of Indian government over Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan government has announced to approach the United Nation against scrapping of the special provisions. In addition to downgrading dimplomatic ties with India, Pakistan has 'permanently' closed the bi-weekly Samjhauta Express train service. It has further banned the screening of Bollywood movies.

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New Delhi:

Bhubaneshwar Kalita, former Congress chief whip in Rajya Sabha who resigned from the House earlier this week opposing the party's stand on the government's decisions on Jammu and Kashmir, joined the BJP on Friday.

The resignation was accepted on the day when Home Minister Amit Shah moved the resolution to scrap provisions of Article 370 and bifurcation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

READ | Ajoy Kumar resigns as Jharkhand Congress chief, says journey of state president is now over

Kalita, whose term in Rajya Sabha was till April 9, 2020, is the second Congress Rajya Sabha member after Sanjay Sinh, a member of the erstwhile Amethi royal family, who has joined the BJP.

Kalita joined the party at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi in presence of Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and other senior leaders.

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New Delhi:

Heavy downpours continue to batter major parts of India with states like Kerala and Karnataka pitted against severe rainfall. Death count has reached 42 in Kerala with more than 1 lakh people being shifted from flood-hit areas to highlands.

Flooding in Kottayam after incessant rainfall in the region. 42 people have died in Kerala so far this monsoon, due to floods. pic.twitter.com/I7CUf8DMfg  ANI (@ANI) August 10, 2019

IMD has issued red alert in 9 districts of Kerala which include Malappuram, Dukki, Thrissur, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Palakkad. State government has ordered all educational institutes to remain closed for the day. Earlier, the Cochin international airport suspended its operations after its runway was submerged in water.

The UAE has issued a travel advisory to its citizens who are either in Kerala or intend to visit the state to exercise extreme caution in the light of heavy rains, which have caused damaging floods in many areas and killed 28 people.

Moreover, the districts in north Karnataka are also reeling under severe flood with rescue operations still going on. CM Yediyurappa conducted aerial surveys in Karnataka and took stock of the relief works being carried out in the state. In wake of increasing water-level in the Krishna river, the Raichur district administration put the villages along the banks of the Krishna in the district on high alert on Friday.

Chief minister B S Yediyurappa on Friday announced Rs five lakh to the kin of people killed in the flood and rain-related incidents in the state, where 12 people have lost their lives.

Moreover, over 2.85 lakh people have been evacuated due to the devastating floods in western Maharashtras five districts, including the worst-hit Kolhapur and Sangli, with the death toll reaching 29 on Friday.

In Andhra Pradesh, 31 members belonging to the fishing community, including 12 women, who were trapped in the raging Godavari river at Polavaram were rescued by the Navy.

Heavy and incessant rains in south and west Odisha earlier this week claimed at least three lives, left two missing and hit over 1.3 lakh people in nine districts, officials said.

With agency inputs

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Lucknow:

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and outgoing Congress chief Rahul Gandhi have decided not to take part in selection process of the new party chief. "We (She and Rahul Gandhi) will not be a part of the consultation process (to decide next party chief) and that is why we are leaving," Sonia Gandhi told media persons.

Sonia Gandhi said her name was included by default in the region-wise committees formed for wider consultations on selecting a new party chief.

Rahul Gandhi left soon after, saying he would be visiting his parliamentary constituency Wayanad in Kerala, which is currently ravaged by heavy rains.

Meanwhile, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting has concluded and reports suggest that a consultation process is going on to decide on the name of next party president. Some reports suggest that the member of CWC may meet again in the evening to discuss the matter.

According to sources, the CWC has decided to have consultations with leaders from across the country and the party's top decision-making body then was divided into five groups for different regions -- northeast, east, north, west, and south.

Earlier, Rahul Gandhi told the leaders of CWC that he was happy to note that the party was under pressure to select its new chief and drew an analogy with a tiger, which maintained its ferocity under pressure.

"I am happy that the Congress is under pressure and this will jolt the Congress into action," Gandhi is learnt to have told the party leaders.

The party general secretaries, in-charges and other CWC members have been asked to hold consultations in groups with PCC chiefs, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leaders and departmental heads separately and come out with a consensus as regards the name of the new Congress president, sources said.

Sources said UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, senior party leaders Azad, P Chidambaram, the chief ministers of Rajasthan and Puducherry -- Ashok Gehlot and V Narayanasamy -- were present at the meeting among others.

The names of senior Congress leaders Mukul Wasnik and Mallikarjun Kharge and some younger leaders are doing the rounds for the top post. If Wasnik becomes the new Congress chief, it would be the first time in two decades that a non-Gandhi will lead the Grand Old Party.

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New Delhi:

A year after the devastating deluge, Kerala is once again being battered by heavy rains with landslips and floods wreaking havoc claiming eight lives Thursday, while over 9,500 people have been shifted to relief camps. A massive landslip has been reported from Meppadi in the hilly Wayanad district where, according to a legislator, a temple, church, couple of houses and a few vehicles have come under soil and several people feared missing.

Flight operations at the internationalairport here were suspended for four hours till midnight as a precautionary measure in view of heavy rainslashing the region, an official said. Flights coming to the airport have been diverted, a spokesman of the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) said without elaborating.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who chaired an emergency meeting this morning to take stock of the situation, said the state should be prepared for more downpour. "Heavy rain has increased across most of Northern Kerala. The main threat will be across Nilambur and Wayanad. Red alerts have been issued for four districts. Were keeping a close eye on the situation," Vijayan tweeted.

The chief minister's office has directed district collectors to evacuate people from danger-prone areas. "We have requested more NDRF teams to be sent tothe state. Already two teams have been sent to Nilambur and Idukki," a CMO release said.

All exams by the Kerala Public Service Commission and various Universities across the state, scheduled for tomorrow, have been postponed, officials said. Kalpeta MLA C K Saseendran said the place where the landslip happened was inaccessible due to other similar cave-ins along the road.

He said he had already requested the Chief Minister to seek the Army's assistance for rescue operations. "Landslide has happened at many places in Wayanad district. We came to know that a temple, a church, couple of houses and a few vehicles were hit in a massive landslide. The trouble with that place is that it's quite inaccessible. I am trying to reach there....The roads are blocked due to landslips. We are worried. We are not able toshare much details due to lack of information," the MLA said.

As 'red alert' has been sounded in northern districts of Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad and central Kerala district Idukki, as torrential rains submerged low-lying areas leaving people stranded in houses, IMD sources said.

The state government has sought the help of Army and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for rescue operations. According to disaster management authority sources, three people from Idukki, one each in Kannur, Palakkad and Thrissur and two in Wayanad died in rain related incidents Thursday. A one-year-old girl child was among the dead.

Barring Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts, educational institutions will remain closed in rest of the 12 districts on August 9 following heavy rains. Besides road transport, train services were also disrupted across the state with most of the trains getting delayed by nearly five hours. Apart from everything, Kochi Airort remained closed for nearly four hours and flights arriving at the airport have been diverted, an official source said.

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Mumbai:

Over two lakh people have been evacuated to safer places due to the floods that have wreaked havoc in five districts of Western Maharashtra, the worst hit being the districts of Sangli and Kolhapur, as of Thursday.

At least nine persons drowned in Sangli district when a rescue boat capsized. The region is being pounded by rains incessantly over the last few days.

The total number of deaths due to rain or flood- related incidents in five districts of the region during this period was 27, officials said.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the Karnataka government had agreed to discharge water from Almatti dam on the Krishna river, which would ease the flooding in Maharashtra.

The flood-hit districts, especially Sangli and Kolhapur, are staring at the challenge of repairing damaged houses, roads and restoring water and electricity supply.

Divisional Commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar told PTI that a total of 2,05,591 people have been shifted in the districts of Sangli, Kolhapur, Solapur, Pune and Satara.

In Kolhapur, 97,102 persons have been shifted, followed 80,319 in Sangli. In Sangli, water entered the district prison, forcing authorities to shift inmates to the upper floor.

Fadnavis spoke to his Karnataka counterpart BS Yediyurappa earlier in the day, who agreed to release five lakh cusec water from Almatti dam in Karnataka, located downstream on the Krishna which originates in Western Maharashtra.

At least nine people drowned and four went missing after a boat engaged in rescue work overturned near Brahmanal village in Palus tehsil of Sangli.

The boat, belonging to local village panchayat, was carrying around 30 people. Late in the evening, some sources put the death toll at 11 which could not be confirmed.

Rescue teams including those of NDRF, Navy, Coast Guard and Army were operating in Sangli and Kolhapur. Congress MLA from Palus, Vishwajeet Kadam, said there is scarcity of boats in the region. "Though NDRF teams are working, I think Army and Navy's help should be taken as their boats are more capable of handling this situation," he said. Speaking to reporters in Kolhapur, Fadnavis, who conducted aerial survey of the region, said two lakh people were living without electricity in flood-affected areas.

"I found most of the Sangli city surrounded by water. My helicopter was not given permission to land at Sangli and Karad," he said.

Eleven rescue teams including five of NDRF were operating in Sangli, and he had sought five more teams from the Defence Ministry for the district, he said.

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Washington:

The United States on Friday said that there is no change in its policy on Kashmir and called on India and Pakistan to maintain calm and restraint. No, replied State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus when asked by reporters if there has been any change in Americas policy on Kashmir. The US policy has been that Kashmir is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan and it is up to the two countries to decide on the pace and scope of the talks on the issue.

And if there was, I certainly wouldnt be announcing it here, but no, theres not, Ortagus said in response to a follow up question.

She said the United States supports dialogue between India and Pakistan over Kashmir.

Its something that weve called for calm and restraint by all parties. We want to main peace and stability, and we, of course, support direct dialogue between India and Pakistan on Kashmir and other issues of concern, the US State Department spokesperson said.

India had on Monday revoked provisions of Article 370 to take away Jammu and Kashmirs special status, and bifurcating the state into two union territoriesJammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

Ortagus said the US was working closely with the two South Asian countries.

We have a lot of engagement with India and Pakistan. Obviously, we just had Prime Minister Khan here, not just because of Kashmir. Thats certainly an incredibly important issue and something that we follow closely. But we have a host of issues that we work with India on quite closely and that we work with Pakistan on quite closely, she said.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Bangkok last week.

Responding to a question on Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khans allegations of human rights violations in Kashmir, Ortagus said, I really dont want to go beyond what weve said, because its such a tenuous issue. Its something that were talking to them about quite closely.

The United States, whenever it comes to any region in the world where there are tensions, asks for people to observe the rule of law, respect for human rights, respect for international norms. We ask people to maintain peace and security and direct dialogue, she said.

The State Department spokesperson said the US was closely monitoring the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

There are reports, as youve mentioned, of detentions and restrictions of residents in Jammu and in Kashmir. And again, thats why we continue to monitor this very, very closely, she said.

Ortagus reiterated earlier statements that the US was not consulted and informed by India about its decision on scrapping articles 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution.

There was no heads up given, she said.

Successive US administrations policy have been to encourage India and Pakistan to resolve their differences through dialogue.

The Trump administration has insisted that Pakistan needs to create conducive conditions for talks by taking irreversible and decisive actions against terrorist and militant groups operating from its soil.

Meanwhile, after Acting Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Alice Wells, another senior US diplomat is heading to India.

The visit was pre-scheduled but it would be used to discuss the current issues, Ortagus said.

Deputy Secretary of State John J Sullivan will travel to Thimphu, Bhutan, and New Delhi, August 11 through 17th to advance the United States partnership with two nations that are critical to preserving the rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region, the US State Department spokesperson said.

In Bhutan, she said, Sullivan will explore expanding and deepening the ties with the government and people of Bhutan.

The deputy secretary will be the highest-level executive branch official from the United States to visit Bhutan in over two decades, Ortagus added.

She said Sullivan will then travel to New Delhi to advance the broad and multifaceted US-India Strategic Partnership, which is based on a shared commitment to democratic values, economic growth and rule of law.

There, the deputy secretary will meet Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar and address the India-US Forum, Ortagus said.

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New Delhi:

The BJP on Thursday hit back at Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad for alleging that National Security Advisor Ajit Dovals visit to Jammu and Kashmir was orchestrated with money. Terming the comment unfortunate, BJP national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said that such remarks were expected from the people of Pakistan and not from Indias biggest political party.

Ghulam Nabi Azads comments are unfortunate. I condemn it strongly.... when the NSA visits the state and meets and eats with the people of the area, the Congress says that we have paid them money?

These accusations come from the people of Pakistan. This is not expected from a big political party like the Congress. How can you make these accusations? This statement will be used by Pakistan on global forums. He should immediately apologise for the comments, Hussain told a news channel.

Ghulam Nabi Azad labelled the ruling BJP as traitorous for its decision to repeal Article 370. "I say that Maharaja Hari Singh didn't chose Pakistan over India despite being of the same religion because he trusted in our secular framework. But, that trust has been broken," he had said.



India on Tuesday removed part of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that gave Jammu and Kashmir a significant autonomy. The central government also divided the state in two Union Territories (UTs) - Jammu and Kashmir with its own legislature and Ladakh with legislature.

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San Francisco:

Facebook is reportedly in talks with news publishers to offer "millions of dollars" for the rights to publish their material on its site. The move follows years of criticism over its growing monopolization of online advertising to the detriment of the struggling news industry.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Facebook representatives had told news executives that they'd pay as much as USD 3 million a year to license stories, headlines and other material. Facebook declined to comment but confirmed that the company is working on launching a "news tab" for its service this fall. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg began talking about a news section on the service in April.

A person familiar with the matter confirmed that Facebook has approached News Corp. about paying to license Wall Street Journal stories. The person requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

The Journal report was not clear as to whether Facebook was offering USD 3 million to individual publishers or in total to all news organizations.

Many in the news industry have long blamed Facebook and Google for using their content for free while the social network slurped up the majority of digital ad dollars, imperiling the news industry.

A bipartisan bill introduced in Congress this year would grant an antitrust exemption to news companies, letting them band together to negotiate payments from the big tech platforms.

The Washington Post, which was also named in the report as a company Facebook approached, declined to comment. The Walt Disney Co., which owns ABC, did not immediately respond to a message for comment.
New Delhi:

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad who was on way to visit Valley was sent back from Srinagar airport on Thursday. The Rajya Sabha member was accompanied by Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Ghulam Ahmed Mir. This comes days after India government removed part of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that gave Jammu and Kashmir a significant autonomy. The central government also divided the state in two Union Territories (UTs) - Jammu and Kashmir with its own legislature and Ladakh with legislature.



Earlier in the Azad had stirred a controversy or alleging that National Security Advisor Ajit Dovals visit to Jammu and Kashmir was orchestrated with money. Doval was seen having lunch with locals in Shopian of South Kashmir on Wednesday afternoon in a video. Terming the comment unfortunate, BJP national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said that such remarks were expected from the people of Pakistan and not from Indias biggest political party.



Ghulam Nabi Azad labelled the ruling BJP as traitorous for its decision to repeal Article 370. "I say that Maharaja Hari Singh didn't chose Pakistan over India despite being of the same religion because he trusted in our secular framework. But, that trust has been broken," he had said.

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New Delhi:

Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was taken off flying duties due to injuries post Balakot strike, will undergo medical fitness test and is gearing up to get back to his operations anytime soon. Varthaman, the daring IAF pilot, sustained injures after his MiG-21 shot down an F-16 jet of Pakistan in a fierce aerial combat in the subcontinental skies on February 27.

Speaking to the media, an IAF source close to the development said, "Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman to soon undergo medical fitness test for resuming his flying operations. The officer was taken off flying duties due to injuries sustained in Pakistan after ejecting from his MiG-21 during fight with Pakistan on February 27".

IAF Sources: Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman to soon undergo medical fitness test for resuming his flying operations. The officer was taken off flying duties due to injuries sustained in Pakistan after ejecting from his MiG-21 during fight with Pakistan on February 27. pic.twitter.com/bVMCBjmOAh  ANI (@ANI) August 8, 2019

A fleet of Pakistani fighter jets had unsuccessfully targeted various military installations in Jammu and Kashmir on February 27, a day after India carried out air strikes on a terrorist training camp deep inside Pakistan's Balakot.

READ | VIDEO: IAF set to launch own video game and 'Abhinandan Varthaman' may play lead

The IAF foiled the Pakistani retaliation, and in the dogfight, Varthaman downed an F-16 fighter jet of the Pakistan Air Force, showing grit, determination and bravery. Soon after he brought down the F-16, Pakistani Army captured him as his MiG-21 Bison jet was hit. Varthaman was released on the night of March 1 by Pakistan.

Post abduction, Varthaman, however, showed courage and grace in handling the most difficult circumstances for which he has been praised by people from different walks of life including politicians, strategic affairs experts, ex-servicemen and celebrities among others.

Varthaman had become the face of the military confrontation between the two countries. Last month, he was shifted out of Srinagar and posted to a frontline air base in the western sector. The IAF is also recommending to confer him with wartime gallantry medal Vir Chakra for his breavery, courage and valour.

The Balakot airstrike was carried out in response to the "heinous and cowardly" Pulwama terror attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed on February 14 which left 40 CRPF personnel dead and dozens of others injured.

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New Delhi:

Jammu&Kashmir and Ladakh, the two Union Territories created recently after dividing the state of Jammu and Kashmir, will officially come into existence on October 31, the Union Home Minister said on Friday after President Ram Nath Kovind's nod to Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill.

October 31 happens to be the birth anniversary of the country's first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who was instrumental in the merger of about 565 princely states into the Union of India following Independence.

Earlier this week, the Parliament had given its nod to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill for bifurcating the state, a bold and far-reaching decision that seeks to redraw the map and future of the militancy-hit region.

During his national address on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that while Ladakh will remain a Union Territory, Jammu and Kashmir will be givn back its full statehood after improvement in the situation. He said that Ladakh and J&K has the capabilities to become the tourists hub of the world.

In a muscular move, the Modi government had on August 5 scrapped special status of Jammu and Kashmir by removing several clauses of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. The government also said that it will support a Bill to divide the state into two Union Territories (UTs) - Jammu and Kashmir with its own legislature like Delhi and Ladakh without legislature like Chandigarh.

In anticipation of the announcement, the government had flooded the Valley with thousands of additional troops and evacuated tourists and Hindi pilgrims. Mainstream politicians, including former chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah along with many others have been arrested and taken to unknown locations.

The authorities have also closed educational institutions and severed communication channels in the Valley. Kashmiris living outside the state expressed their angst against the shut down of internet and mobile services as they were unable to contact their families living in curfew like situation in the Valley.

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New Delhi:

International Cat Day is an unofficial holiday that is celebrated on the 8th of August every year to, as you guessed, celebrate cats! An only animal that domesticated themselves and approached humans on their 'own' terms and worshipped as gods, these fluffy, mysterious felines with an attitude we all wish he ruefully wish have are the most misunderstood and hence can either conjure emotions of both hatred or love. We have to however give in to the fact that the mysteriousness is what draws us humans into loving, serving them and sometimes even spending a sweaty spend just to have these felines as part of the family. So, without further ado, let us look at some of the most expensive cat breeds in the world:

American curl: A cat that ironically has an ear of what looks like mice, American curl known for its distinct ears can cost $1,000-$2,000 or more when obtained from legitimate breeders.

Scottish fold: With an owl-like appearance, these breed of domestic cat with a natural dominant-gene mutation that affects cartilage throughout the body, causing the ears to "fold" can range around $800  $1,500.

Siberian Forest Cat: These large fluffiness defined cat breed once present in Russia eventually promulgating to other parts of the world cost $1,300  $1,600.

British Shorthair: A cat that looks like a hybrid of American curl and Scottish fold, these handsome meowers can also cost you a handsome shelling at around $800  $1,700.

Bengal cat: These gorgeous porcelain looking cats with its handsome coat is a hybrid of an Asian leopard cat and a domestic cat and can cost you around $1,500  $5,000.







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New Delhi:

President Donald Trump on Thursday accused Frances President Emmanuel Macron of getting in the way of US policy and sending mixed signals to Tehran. "Iran is in serious financial trouble. They want desperately to talk to the US, but are given mixed signals from all of those purporting to represent us, including President Macron of France, Trump tweeted.

Donald Trump had invited Irans foreign minister to the White House last month at the height of tensions between the two countries, a magazine reports. The invitation, extended by Senator Rand Paul with permission from the president, was turned down for now, The New Yorker reported Friday.

The minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said it was up to Tehran to decide on accepting it. Neither the White House nor the State Department responded to AFP requests for comment on the report, which quoted US and Iranian sources and what the magazine called a well-placed diplomat.

Zarif told the magazine he would not want a White House meeting that yielded just a photo op and a two-page statement afterwards, The New Yorker said. Trump has said publicly several times that he is willing to hold talks with the Iranians even as he lambasts Tehran as a corrupt, incompetent and dangerous regime that is a threat to regional security and US interests.



Last year Trump pulled the US out of an international accord designed to curb Irans nuclear program and has reimposed sanctions on Iranand even slapped them on Zarif this weekin an effort to force it to renegotiate the agreement.

Tensions soared in the Gulf in June and July amid attacks on oil tankers, Irans downing of an unmanned US surveillance drone and after the US said it had downed an Iranian drone. Trump has said the attack against the US drone prompted him to order a military strike in response, only to call it off at the last minute.

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Washington:

Unrelenting Taliban attacks like the deadly car bomb that rocked Kabul on Wednesday are undermining the credibility of negotiations to end the nearly 18-year-old war in Afghanistan, the country's ambassador to the US said.

The near-daily attacks across the country will cause greater distrust of talks that US and Taliban officials have said are close to producing an agreement and the eventual withdrawal of American forces, Ambassador Roya Rahmani said in an interview in Washington.

"It's simply not understandable why somebody with the idea of peace in mind would like to continue killing people," Rahmani said in a nearly hour long interview with The Associated Press.

The most recent Taliban attack targeting Afghan security forces blasted a busy neighbourhood during morning rush hour, killing at least 14 people and wounding 145, most of them women, children and other civilians. The bombing was one of the worst in the Afghan capital this year and comes just after U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad reported "excellent progress" in US talks with the Taliban.

"As a citizen, for me, it becomes much harder to trust and continue with a positive spirit if I feel continuously attacked. I think this is shared by our people," the ambassador said.

Earlier this week, the Taliban said differences had been resolved over the withdrawal of the remaining 14,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan and about Taliban guarantees that they will cut ties with other extremist groups, such as al-Qaeda, which was responsible for the September 11 attacks.

She said the attacks across the country could be evidence that the Taliban are trying to get further concessions at the negotiation table, or that they want to capture more territory. The Taliban now control roughly half of the country, but not the cities of Afghanistan.

Rahmani said she thinks reaching a cease-fire first could have provided a better climate for negotiations and would have instilled the "trust that is needed for a successful peace process."

Khalilzad has said he wants a final agreement by September 1 on the issues of troop withdrawal and assurances that Afghanistan will never again be a launching pad for terror attacks on the United States and its allies. Two other pillars of the negotiations are a cease-fire and an agreement by the Taliban to negotiate with the Afghan government.

If an accord can be reached in US-Taliban talks, it would set the stage for all-Afghan negotiations. However, the Taliban, which ruled the country under a hardline, repressive regime from 1996 to 2001, has dismissed the current Afghan government as an American puppet.

Rahmani said there's no way to carry out any kind of negotiated peace if the Afghan government is sidelined.

"Who is going to implement whatever you're going to agree to?" the ambassador asked. "If there is no government in place, no institutions to implement what you're agreeing to in the peace talks, then how is that going to hold. I think if they want peace, they would have to sit with the government."

Earlier this week, the Taliban issued a statement saying that the upcoming Afghan presidential election in late September will be worthless. The insurgent group vowed to sabotage the process through multiple attacks on election sites and campaign rallies.

"It's very unfortunate to hear that," she said. "What I can say, what I've heard from our people, is it angers them and motivates them even more to go to the polls," Roya concluded.

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New Delhi:

Coffee Day Enterprises on Thursday said it has appointed global accounting firm EY to scrutinise the books of accounts of the company and its subsidiaries. Besides, EY will also investigate into the circumstance under which Coffee Day Enterprises late founder VG Siddhartha had written the purported letter dated July 27, 2019, alleging harassment by the Income Tax department. The board of the company, in its meeting held on Thursday, also decided to appoint a person of eminence or a reputed firm as strategic corporate advisor.

"The Board of Directors in the meeting held today has appointed EY to investigate into the circumstances leading to statements made in the purported letter of the former Chairman, late V G Siddhartha dated July, 27 2019 and to scrutinize the books of accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries," informed Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd in a regulatory filing.

As per the regulatory filings with stock exchanges and the corporate affairs ministry, Coffee Day Ltd's liabilities had doubled to over Rs 5,200 crore and Siddhartha's unlisted ventures for realty and hospitality were having similar levels of debt.

Earlier, on August 6, Coffee Day Enterprises had said that it is aware of reports questioning the authenticity of the signature on the purported letter written by Siddhartha and is cooperating with regulatory authorities in this regard. The letter, which is believed to be the final note by the late promoter and widely circulated on social media, contained statements, alleging harassment on Siddhartha by the Income Tax department.

READ | Coffee Day shares hit another lower circuit; tank over 48 per cent in 4 days

Siddhartha was confirmed dead on July 31 after his body was found in the Netravati river in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka, a day after he went missing. On the same day, Coffee Day Enterprises had named independent director SV Ranganath as the interim chairman of the company.

In the letter Siddhartha had said there was a lot of harassment from the previous DG of the Income Tax Department in the form of attaching "our shares on two separate occasions to block our Mindtree deal and then taking position of our Coffee Day shares, although revised returns have been filed by us".

"This was very unfair and has led to a serious liquidity crunch," the letter, bearing a purported signature of Siddhartha, had said.

However, the Income Tax Department had last week denied charges of harassment during their probe against Siddhartha and had pointed out that the signatures of the entrepreneur available with them were different from those on a letter being widely published on the social media.

READ | Cafe Coffee Day appoints Ranganath as interim chairman to replace VG Siddhartha

"The authenticity of the note is not known and the signature does not tally with Shri VG Siddhartha's signature as available in his annual reports," the statement from the Income Tax Department had said.

In a press statement issued on July 30, Coffee Day Enterprises had admitted about the purported letter signed by Siddhartha and said that it has shared it with the authorities. "The board also reviewed a copy of the letter purportedly signed by VG Siddhartha dated July 27, 2019 and has shared a copy of the letter with relevant authorities," it had said.

The statement had further said: "The board has also sought the assistance of local and state authorities, who are doing their utmost, and relevant officers of the company are cooperating with the authorities as requested".

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New Delhi:

Mumbai terror attack mastermind and Jammat-ud Dawah (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed was declared guilty of "terror financing" by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) in a Pakistani court on Wednesday. Saeed, a UN designated terrorist whom the US has placed a USD 10 million bounty on, was presented before the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Gujranwala, some 80-km from Lahore, in high security where he was charge-sheeted of terror financing by the CTD of Punjab police.

A CTD official told PTI that it submitted challan in the ATC declaring Saeed guilty of terror financing. "Since the case is related to Mandi Bhauddin district of Punjab therefore the prosecution requested the court to shift it to Gujrat ATC court (some 200-km from Lahore)," he said.

On the prosecution's request, the ATC Gujranwala shifted the case to the Gujrat ATC. He said next hearing of the case (which is yet to be fixed) will be held in the Gujrat ATC.

Founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, Saeed was travelling to Gujranwala from Lahore to get pre-arrest bail in terror financing cases registered against him there when he was arrested on July 17. Saeed is being kept at the Kot Lakhpat jail Lahore in high security.

The US Department of the Treasury has designated Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and the US, since 2012, has offered a USD 10 million reward for information that brings Saeed to justice.

Saeed-led JuD is believed to be the front organisation for the LeT which is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people. He was listed under UN Security Council Resolution 1267 in December 2008.

The CTD on July 3 registered 23 FIRs against 13 JuD leaders including Saeed on the charges of terror financing in different cities of Punjab province.

Since the Imran Khan government has taken control of the JuD and its charity wing Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) properties including seminaries and mosques across the country following immense international pressure built up after Pulwama attack, Saeed was keeping a low profile at his Lahore's Jauhar Town residence. He was even barred from entering the JuD headquarters in Lahore and Muridke.

The Pakistani government had also arrested the JuD's second-in-command Abdul Rehman Makki, who is brother-in-law of Saeed, on the charges of making a public speech and terror financing charges.

The CTD said it booked Saeed and his 12 aides for 'terror financing' in 23 cases after "irrefutable evidence? against them was detected.

The cases have been registered in Lahore, Gujranwala & Multan for collection of funds for terrorism financing through assets/properties made and held in the names of Trusts/ Non Profit Organisations (NPO) including Al-Anfaal Trust, Dawatul Irshad Trust, Muaz Bin Jabal Trust, etc.

The CTD said investigation launched into financing matters of proscribed organisations -- JuD and LeT -- in connection with implementation of UN Sanctions against these Designated Entities & Persons as directed by NSC (National Security Committee) in its Meeting of January 1, 2019 chaired by the Prime Minister Imran Khan for implementing the National Action Plan.

"These suspects made assets from funds of terrorism financing. They held & used these assets to raise more funds for further terrorism financing. Hence, they committed multiple offences of terrorism financing & money laundering under Anti Terrorism Act 1997. They will be prosecuted in ATCs (Anti Terrorism Courts) for commission of these offences," the CTD said.

Makki, MaliK Zafar Iqbal, Ameer Hamza, Muhammad Yahya Aziz, Muhammad Naeem Sh, Mohsin Bilal, Abdul Raqeeb, Ahmad Daud, Muhammad Ayub, Abdullah Ubaid, Muhammad Ali and Abdul Ghaffar are other suspects.

The other suspects reported to have been hiding since the government took over over the properties of these organisations.

This is a breaking news story. More details will be added soon. Please refresh the page for the updated version.

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New Delhi:

The Pakistan Parliament on Wednesday witnessed war of words after PML-N senator Mushahidullah Khan called federal minister Fawad Chaudhry a dog. The remark was made during the joint session of the Parliament which was convened in the wake of Indias decision to abrogate Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The senator was criticising the PTI government over the recent developments in Kashmir.

As Khan was speaking in the House, Chaudhry interrupted him by making some comments and the senator, in turn, called the minister a dabbu (timid), Express Tribune reported.

The ruckus in the parliament started after Khan condemned the government headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan and said that he had failed to take his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi head-on. Khan claimed that when his party chief Nawaz Sharif ruled Pakistan, both Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Modi had travelled to the neigbouring country to discuss the issue of Kashmir.

You shameless person. I had tied you up at home and you came here dog! Khan told Chaudhry amid the ruckus. As soon as the senator made the derogatory remark, an infuriated Chaudhry tried to pounce on him, but other lawmakers held him back.

Can someone switch him off hell take some time in learning how to respect others, Khan said in a jibe at the minister.

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Kathmandu, December 13

The Department of Customs claims it is planning to introduce a new system that allows traders to pay all the customs charges online.

The departments Information Officer Punya Bikram Khadka says the department is currently conducting the last-phase tests of the online infrastructure system and it would soon be launched for the customers.

In the first phase, the department will introduce the system at the Sirsiya dry port in Birgunj, Parsa from mid-December whereas the Birgunj Customs Office will adopt it after a month.

The department collects over Rs 500 billion each year for all exports and imports, and it hopes the online system will help it get rid of the risk of any embezzlement involved in the process.

Meanwhile, traders associations have also welcomed the government decision.
Kathmandu, December 13

The East African country of Rwanda has expressed its interest in signing a flight agreement with Nepal.

In a meeting with Nepals Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Prem Ale on Sunday, non-residential Rwandan Ambassador to Nepal, Jacqueline Mukangira, made a proposal, informs Minister Ales secretariat.

The ambassador was of the view that such a flight agreement would help Nepals tourism industry as it would let Rwandans visit Nepal more easily.

In response, the minister said he was positive about the proposal and would continue communication via a formal channel, according to the secretariat.
Pragya Chitrakar was always fascinated by the works of her parents. Her mother used to stitch clothes whereas her father was into Paubha paintings, the traditional family occupation of the clan. Clothes and designs always fascinated a young Chitrakar since early childhood.

By the teenage, she had already begun dreaming of becoming an entrepreneur. But, it took her many years to combine her fascination with artistic work and the entrepreneurial dream. Simrik Design Studio, a fashion design studio that offers minimalistic clothing and a variety of lifestyle products including unique handmade candles, is a result of that combination.

Fascination to entrepreneurship

By the time Chitrakar completed her 10th grade, she was certain that she wanted to get into the fashion industry. Therefore, she joined A-Level as well as a diploma course in fashion immediately after her 10th grade.

Completing her A-Level, she joined Namuna College of Fashion Technology to pursue a bachelors in fashion. There, I got a chance to intern at a company, where I got real exposure to lifestyle products. While working there, I got to know that Nepali products can be so exclusive, says Chitrakar.

She then went to Bangalore of India to pursue her masters degree. After returning from India, I worked with companies that export Nepali products including pashmina. That broadened my exposure and understanding of fashion and design, shares Chitrakar.

Eventually, in 2015, she launched her own Simrik Design Studio using the basement of her house. She started her studio investing around Rs 300,000 with two staff. Four years later, she moved the studio to Jwagal.

As my father makes Paubha paintings, I incorporate that in my design using subtle and neutral colours, organic Nepali fabric (hemp, cotton and linen), hand embroidery. I follow a minimalistic approach in the style and visual display of every outfit Chitrakar says about the essence of her brand.

Ever-expanding business

During the initial days, Chitrakar was only into making clothes. She then noticed that a lot of textile waste is being generated in the process and wondered how she could utilise them.

Casual wear by Simrik Design Studio. Photo: Pragya Chitrakar

Hand embroidered utility pouch by Simrik Design Studio. Photo: Pragya Chitrakar

Initially, we threw all those scrap fabrics, but later, we started giving them to collectors. At the same time, a few concept stores were starting in and around Jhamsikhel, she opens up, Then, I thought of utilising such scrap fabrics and making small products like pouches, hand-embroidered cushion covers, table runners, tote bags and others.

Back then, she was new to the business; she says she did not understand the market enough. Therefore, there were many challenges. Sometimes, the products we (entrepreneurs/designers) like is not liked by customers probably because we are ahead of our time as we are usually influenced by foreign concepts,  she continues, I also struggled with costing, and my design being copied without proper accreditation by big manufacturing companies.

Nonetheless, Chitrakar says she kept her studio steadily growing. In the process, she says she kept on brainstorming about other possible products and adding different products including jewellery.

Seeing opportunity in crisis

In the meantime, the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world in early 2020, but some entrepreneurs turned it into an opportunity. Chitrakar was one of them.

The lockdown provided me with an opportunity to explore different product ideas. I was addicted to my work, and I couldnt stay idle, she recalls, I always had a scented candle lit in my room. Therefore, I tried making scented candles myself to kill my time. I used the silicone cupcake mould and tried making one candle. It came out nice.

Side by side, she also searched candle manufacturers in Nepal as she sensed the market potential of scented candles. Luckily, she found one such manufacturer, talked with it and later collaborated for production.

Initially, Chitrakar says they used single flavouring in candles from among vanilla, lavender, rose and many others. But after some trials and errors, Simrik Design Studio produced scented candles in vanilla, lavender, rose and other mixed flavours. It also began making botanical candles using real dried flowers petals and leaves.

Scaling a level up, she along with the manufacturer also experimented a lot with jars and glass.

The price of these candles ranges between Rs 200 and Rs 800. She says. There are people who find these candles expensive. There are also people who buy them happily. We have a niche market; there are very few who understand herbs and scent and their worth.

Scented candles by Simrik Design Studio. Photo: Pragya Chitrakar.

Scented botanical candles by Simrik Design Studio. Photo: Pragya Chitrakar.

Moreover, the challenges with the production of the candles are that the price of wax fluctuates a lot and it directly affects the price of candles, according to Chitrakar.

Hoping higher amid challenges

There are different types of wax used to produce candles. The most common is paraffin wax and is cheap, but many think it is not healthy enough. Soy wax is comparatively very good for health as it is all organic. However, it is not readily available in Nepal and also costs double the amount of paraffin wax.

Moreover, we are dependent on import even for the smallest things like cotton and wooden wicks, bases, and colours. Therefore, sourcing materials for production becomes so tough.

As per Chitrakar, many people in Nepal are colour-sensitive. It also may be due to the cultural aspects. Hence, people in Nepal usually do not understand subtle colours or like one.

Also, after the lockdown, the buying pattern of customers has changed a lot. People have lost their job, have become conscious of sustainability, and the gap between the haves and have-nots has aggravated.

This has also affected our consumer base. Therefore, we are focusing on affordable, yet sustainable Nepali products. People also dont understand the concept of designing thus hesitate to pay for it, she expresses.

Yet, gradually overcoming these hurdles, Chitrakar says, We havent reached the maturity stage as it is taking time for brand recognition. Still, I wish to expand my studio further and introduce more luxury items.
President Biden signed an executive order today aimed at improving the federal governments service delivery to Americans.

The White House said that the order will create a sustained, cross-government service delivery process aligned with specific life moments like retirement where Americans interact with government services.

For the Biden administration, improved customer service (CX) means eliminating friction from government interactions ranging from filing a change of address with the U.S. Postal Service to paying taxes. The White House says modernizing programs, reducing administrative burdens, and piloting new online tools and technologies that can provide a simple, seamless, and secure customer experience are part of the CX effort.

At a signing ceremony in the Oval Office on Monday, Biden said that officials tend to assume that people understand how the bureaucracy works. "But its really a very complicated web for the vast majority of people, whether they have PhDs or high school education, Biden said. "And so today, I'm signing an executive order to ensure...that the federal government puts you, the American people, at the front of the line.

These efforts build on the administrations commitment to customer experience improvements signaled in its vision for the management agenda, which also identified workforce and the business of the federal government as priority areas.

The executive order will include both specific action items - 36 commitments across 17 agencies - and kick off government-wide efforts to improve service delivery by organizing efforts around key life experiences, Jason Miller, Deputy Director for Management at the Office of Management and Budget, told reporters in a call previewing the order.

Speaking about efforts to organize services that might span across agencies but center on one experience, like poverty, Miller said that citizens should have a simple and seamless process.

Were one enterprise and we should operate accordingly, he continued.

Miller told reporters that the specific action items in the order are near-term in nature, meaning that they will generally be completed in the coming months, within one year.

The order also includes a list of specific high-impact service providers in government identified because of the volume and type of services they deliver. Theyll be subject to certain performance measurements and improvement plans.

These include General Services Administration's USA.gov; the Office of Personnel Managements retirement services and federal employment services; the Social Security Administration and the Veterans Affairs Departments Veterans Benefits Administration and Veterans Health Administration, among others.

One thing to look for is a redesign of USA.gov, an existing website run by the General Services Administration meant to help direct citizens to government services. The site will be reimagined as a centralized and streamlined digital Federal front door so the public can get access to all government benefits, services, and programs in just 1 to 3 clicks, taps, or commands from the USA.gov homepage, without navigating duplicate and outdated federal websites.

Retirees can look forward to claiming benefits online; Medicare recipients will find new to online tools to manage their healthcare; passport renewal will go online and student loan borrowers will find a new streamlined payment portal.

Theres also a focus on streamlining processes.

The White House says that the order will help people enroll in benefits and recertify income status with direct certification, which automatically certifies income-eligible individuals without extra paperwork, instead of managing multiple, complicated processes that waste time and cause frustration.

There will also be a new focus on a no-wrong door approach for people that might be interacting with multiple government programs at once, the White House says, where interacting with one federal program can help get them connected with other benefits and streamline enrollment for which they are eligible.

The White Houses fact sheet also points to VA benefits.

Veterans and service members will be able to use Login.gov to access the VA, which will remove outdated and duplicate VA.gov sign in options. Instead, services will be available online in a single, integrated, and fully inclusive digital platform on VA.gov and a flagship VA mobile application, the White House says.

The White House also flagged the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, meant to offer loan forgiveness to public servants after a certain number of years of service. The executive order will mean less paperwork for applicants, the White House says.

Miller told reporters that the specific action items in the order are meant to be done with existing resources.

So this may be existing agency resources, existing capabilities that we can bring to bear, whether thats from [U.S. Digital Service] or [General Services Administration], including resources from recent legislation to support improvements in service delivery, he said.

Neera Tanden, senior advisor to the president, told reporters that USDS would be a significant asset to agencies, and also said that the group has seen a bump in resources through various budget processes.

Clare Martorana, federal CIO, and USDS administrator Mina Hsiang also released a joint blog post on the order, saying that they'll guide the creation of a "cross-government service delivery framework that is secure by design, more seamless for agencies to share information digitally, and makes it easier for the public to interact with government."

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), chair of the Subcommittee on Government Operations of the House Oversight Committee who has led efforts around legislation on government services and customer experience, praised the order.

With trust in government at an all-time low, it is crucial that the administration and Congress work together to improve how the public interacts and receives services from the federal government, said Connolly in a statement. Government services should be human-centered and minimize complexity and administrative burden and costs... President Bidens EO advances the opportunity for federal agencies to deliver a world-class customer experience and ultimately improve trust in government.

Ross Nodurft, executive director of the Alliance for Digital Innovation, said of the order that the alliance supports the focus on customer experience, which should be a core part of modernization efforts in government.

Nodurft also pointed to the Integrated Digital Experience Act, which set usability standards for government websites and digital services but has seen little implementation since its passage in 2018. Fulfilling this law would be a foundational step and key enabler of the requirements outlined in the EO, he said.
There is a new Miss Universe, Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu.

The reigning Miss Universe, Andrea Meza of Mexico, crowned her successor at the 70th annual Miss Universe event in Eilat, Israel Sunday night.

The international competition, hosted by Steve Harvey, featured 80 contestants vying for the tiara. But it went down to the final three  Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane, Miss Paraguay Nadia Ferreira and Sandu's Miss India.

Miss South Africa, one of the many contestants pressured by her own government to boycott the controversial pageant to protest Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, was named second runner-up.

When the Bollywood actress Miss India was next announced as the winner, Sandhu fell into joyful tears before taking her first stage walk as Miss Universe.

Miss India, Harnaaz Sandhu, is crowned Miss Universe during the 70th Miss Universe beauty pageant in Israel's southern Red Sea coastal city of Eilat on December 13, 2021.

Road to Miss Universe: Miss Kentucky Elle Smith crowned 2021 Miss USA: 'I made that dream reality'

The final Fox telecast minutes Sunday saw some exciting live TV moments. Earlier in the show, Harvey had alluded to his Miss Universe 2015 fiasco in which he had announced the wrong winner. In 2015, Harvey named Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez, who was really first runner-up, as the winner instead of Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, who won the competition.

With Sunday's competition down to the final two, Harvey referred to Miss Paraguay as "Miss Portugal" seconds before announcing the winner. He quickly corrected the mistake.

"They wrote Portugal on the damn sign, they're trying to play me again," Harvey said of the show's producers. "I'm not going for it this year."

Earlier in the competition, Harvey asked Sandu, who had just cracked the top 16 as Miss India, "I hear you do some pretty good animal impersonations. Let's hear your best one."

Sandhu responded with a cat's meow from the stage that became an instant internet meme, while Harvey received some criticism on Twitter for the question.

Dude.. A cat A CAT  pic.twitter.com/i6QqalezyE  FYI (@loreesminombre) December 13, 2021

Miss USA Elle Smith, 23, a University of Kentucky graduate who works as a broadcast news reporter for WHAS-TV in Louisville, made it into the top 10 Sunday night. But Smith was denied a spot in the top five.

As Miss Kentucky, Smith took home the title of Miss USA 2021 at the annual pageant last month in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Prior to Sunday's Miss Universe pageant, Smith shined the spotlight on the deadly weekend tornados that devastated her home state. "My thoughts and prayers go to those impacted by the tornadoes in western Kentucky. These pictures only show a small part of the damage in this community. Over 70 people are dead, and many more are still missing," Smith wrote on Instagram, directing readers to fundraising efforts.

Elle Smith, Miss Universe USA 2021

Smith graduated in 2020 from the University of Kentucky, where she studied broadcast journalism with a minor in political science, served as vice president of the school's National Association of Black Journalists chapter, and worked as a summer Fox News College Associate in the Washington, D.C. bureau, according to her WHAS-TV bio.

Earlier: Miss Kentucky Elle Smith, a Louisville TV reporter, crowned 2021 Miss USA

Sunday's contest suffered a last-minute hiccup with the arrival of the omicron variant, which forced Israel to close its borders to foreign tourists late last month.

Most of the Miss Universe contestants were already in the country before the new regulations came into effect. But those who came afterward were given special permission to enter, albeit with a mandatory 72-hour quarantine period.

Throughout the run-up to Sundays contest, all contestants were tested for the coronavirus every 48 hours and required to obey strict mask requirements.

Previously: Miss Universe contestant tests positive for COVID-19, pageant will go on as planned

The contest also drew attention in recent weeks for other reasons.

A grassroots Palestinian-led boycott had urged contestants to skip the event to protest Israels treatment of the Palestinians.

In the end, only Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim country with close ties to the Palestinians, did not send a representative, citing the global COVID-19 situation. The South African government, which also strongly supports the Palestinian cause, withdrew support for the countrys representative over her participation.

In an interview last month, Meza urged contestants to leave politics out of the pageant, saying the gathering was meant to bring together women from different backgrounds. When you are in there you forget about politics, about your religion, she told The Associated Press at the time.

Organizers said Sunday's pageant was expected to reach an estimated 600 million viewers via the FOX network in 172 countries.

Contributing: Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Miss India crowned Miss Universe, Miss USA Elle Smith competes
Ron_Thomas / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Social Security is an essential safety net for many Americans. Even if you haven't saved enough for retirement, you can still count on Social Security benefits in retirement.

Read: 14 Key Signs You Will Run Out of Money in Retirement

However, with an average monthly benefit of just over $1,400, America's most expensive cities are far out of reach without another source of income. If you do have to rely on your Social Security benefits alone -- and still want to make the most of your golden years -- you'll need to live somewhere affordable that won't compromise your quality of life.

Learn: Best and Worst States for Pensions

That's why GOBankingRates compiled a list of the 20 best cities to live off of just Social Security. The study factored in the cost of living, livability and median rent and -- after comparing the 143 largest cities in the U.S. -- combined the scores to determine where you really can get by on just your Social Security benefit.

SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto

20. Jackson, Mississippi

Cost of Living Score: 73.6

Livability Score: 58

Median Rent: $790

Mississippi has the lowest cost of living in the entire country, so it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that Jackson had the third-lowest cost of living of any of the cities considered in this study -- including a median monthly rent under $800.

Ron_Thomas / iStock.com

19. Toledo, Ohio

Cost of Living Score: 76.7

Livability Score: 60

Median Rent: $777

Toledo's cost of living indicates that you can expect to spend almost 25% less on your basic expenses than you would in the rest of the country, on average. What's more, Toledo is one of the cities where your money stretches the furthest, according to a separate GOBankingRates study.

DenisTangneyJr / iStock.com

18. Evansville, Indiana

Cost of Living Score: 83.6

Livability Score: 70

Median Rent: $889

If you're younger and looking to avoid living off your Social Security check alone when you reach retirement, one of the best ways is to start saving early. However, even if it's too late to build the sort of nest egg you would like, a city like Evansville -- which combines modest rents and costs of living with a relatively strong livability score -- should help you make the most of your Social Security benefits.

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DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images

17. South Bend, Indiana

Cost of Living Score: 77.1

Livability Score: 60

Median Rent: $745

Arguably most notable for being home to Notre Dame, the study reveals that there's plenty of reason to call South Bend home even if you aren't a fan of the golden domers. With a cost of living 22.9% below the rest of the country and a median rent under $750, you can really stretch your Social Security benefits further than in most places.

Find Out: 25 Countries Where Social Security Goes Far

DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto

16. Fort Wayne, Indiana

Cost of Living Score: 81.2

Livability Score: 74

Median Rent: $1,011

Fort Wayne is a little pricier than many of the other cities on this list, but it also has stronger amenities. That might help explain why the city is among the cheapest places in the U.S. for retirees, found a separate GOBankingRates study.

ESB Professional / Shutterstock.com

15. Birmingham, Alabama

Cost of Living Score: 72.6

Livability Score: 57

Median Rent: $749

No city considered in this study has a lower cost of living score than Birmingham. Prices there are 27.4% lower than the rest of the U.S., on average. Those low costs come at a price; the livability score of 57 is the lowest of the 20 cities on this list.

DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto

14. Abilene, Texas

Cost of Living Score: 87.8

Livability Score: 79

Median Rent: $994

Abilene is the most expensive city on this list, with overall costs just over 10% lower than the national level in addition to a median rent of almost $1,000 a month.

ChrisBoswell / Getty Images/iStockphoto

13. Waco, Texas

Cost of Living Score: 80.9

Livability Score: 74

Median Rent: $974

Waco is another Texas city where slightly higher costs are counter-balanced by a higher livability score. But it's worth noting that it's still significantly cheaper than most of the country while offering seniors plenty of ways to enjoy their retirement.

Shutterstock.com

12. Dayton, Ohio

Cost of Living Score: 74.9

Livability Score: 59

Median Rent: $716

The primary appeal of Dayton to retirees is likely going to be pretty similar to most everyone else: It's a very inexpensive place to live. Of all the cities included in this study, Dayton had the fifth-lowest cost of living and the fifth-lowest median monthly rent. In fact, it's one of the best places to live for only $1,000 a month.

DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto

11. McAllen, Texas

Cost of Living Score: 80.9

Livability Score: 82

Median Rent: $1,146

McAllen has the most expensive rents of any of the cities included on this list, but what's most likely driving those prices up near $1,200 a month for a median-priced apartment is the nearby amenities. The city also has the highest livability score in the study.

Related: 50 US Cities With Plenty of Jobs and Cheap Housing

DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto

10. Erie, Pennsylvania

Cost of Living Score: 81.5

Livability Score: 71

Median Rent: $859

Over 1 in 5 people in the state are collecting Social Security benefits, making Pennsylvania one of the states that are most dependent on the program. So, while residents of Erie might currently be enjoying the way their checks stretch further due to low costs, they might be eyeing the future of the Social Security program with trepidation.

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9. Lynchburg, Virginia

Cost of Living Score: 85.8

Livability Score: 79

Median Rent: $949

Lynchburg's relatively high livability score is the primary factor in pushing it higher up this list, but its retiree-friendly costs are another major factor. Another GOBankingRates study found that Lynchburg was one of the best places to live on a fixed income.

Billy Hathorn / Wikimedia Commons CC-BY-SA-3.0

8. Killeen, Texas

Cost of Living Score: 78.8

Livability Score: 74

Median Rent: $934

Killeen is another city that appears to pair low costs and high levels of access to amenities. So retirees should enjoy their golden years there. After all, they worked hard to earn them. In Texas, it takes 10 1/2 paychecks to pay for just one month of benefits from Social Security.

Davel5957 / iStock.com

7. El Paso, Texas

Cost of Living Score: 83.6

Livability Score: 80

Median Rent: $987

For anyone thinking that life in a border town is the way to go -- and who aren't interested in the cold winters up north -- there's good news: Not only is El Paso very affordable, but it has the fourth-highest livability score of all the cities considered in this study.

benkrut / Getty Images/iStockphoto

6. Akron, Ohio

Cost of Living Score: 79

Livability Score: 69

Median Rent: $751

LeBron James might have left Akron for Los Angeles, but had he been living on Social Security, he might have had second thoughts. Akron's cost of living is very reasonable, and even someone earning the average Social Security benefits can even expect to keep saving every month as Akron is one of the best cities to retire on a budget of $1,500 a month.

peeterv / Getty Images/iStockphoto

5. Terre Haute, Indiana

Cost of Living Score: 79.4

Livability Score: 72

Median Rent: $711

Terre Haute combines very affordable basic costs with a livability score that would seem to imply a good quality of life there as well. However, the real star here is that median monthly rent, which was the fourth lowest of the 143 cities in the study.

DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto

4. Lawton, Oklahoma

Cost of Living Score: 80.5

Livability Score: 73

Median Rent: $694

Of course, one of the three cities with even lower median rental costs than Terre Haute is Lawton, where a median-price apartment costs under $700 a month to let -- the second-lowest in the study. That -- combined with a low cost of living -- is part of why Oklahoma why Oklahoma is one of the states where you're least likely to live paycheck to paycheck.

gremlinworks / Shutterstock.com

3. Muncie, Indiana

Cost of Living Score: 76.3

Livability Score: 73

Median Rent: $758

Muncie is the fifth and final Indiana city on this list, seeming to indicate that the Hoosier State is an especially friendly place to retirees on a strict budget. Even if you're not, though, Indiana's low costs helped make it the one of the best states to retire rich, as well.

Danita Delmont / Shutterstock.com

2. Brownsville, Texas

Cost of Living Score: 77.5

Livability Score: 80

Median Rent: $896

Brownsville is more than 20% cheaper to live in than the rest of the United States, but that's not the biggest draw based on this study's results: The livability score of 80 is good for the third-highest of the 143 largest cities in the country.

So, in case you were worried high costs were going to drive you to live overseas in retirement, cities like Brownsville might offer a less drastic option.

Plan for the Future: What Social Security Will Look Like in 2035

DenisTangneyJr / iStock.com

1. Wichita Falls, Texas

Cost of Living Score: 76.9

Livability Score: 79

Median Rent: $874

One state had even more cities on this list than Indiana, and that was the Longhorn State, with seven different cities ranking in the top 20, including the top city overall: Wichita Falls. It's possible that more people should seriously consider retirement in Texas -- it's one of the most tax-friendly states for retirees.

 GOBankingRates

Texas Tops the List of Best Cities To Live on Social Security

One clear conclusion you can infer from these results would be that there could be state-level policies that help keep costs under control in mid-sized cities. The 20 cities on this list tend to come from the same few places, with just seven states represented in the final ranking. While Texas had the most cities with seven, Indiana was a close second with five while Ohio had another three.

It is also notable -- if not surprising -- that the cities are not among the largest in their respective states. None of Texas' cities with a population of a million or more -- Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and almost Austin -- made the top 20 despite seven other Lone Star State cities being in there.

More From GOBankingRates

Methodology: GOBankingRates determined the best places to live on only a Social Security check based on the (1) average monthly benefit for retired workers, $1,412.14, sourced from Social Security Administration; (2) the overall cost of living in each city, sourced from Sperling's Best Places; (3) median monthly rent, sourced from Zillow, representing the monthly rent for May 2018; (4) and livability scores, sourced from AreaVibes.

Cost of living scores from Sterling's Best Places are a comparison to a base score of 100 that represents the national average. So, a score of 80 represents a place where costs are 20% lower than the country as a whole, whereas 120 would indicate a locale where it's 20% more expensive. Livability scores from AreaVibes are on a scale of one to 100.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 20 Best Places To Live on Only a Social Security Check
Members of the Barmy Army at Greenwoods sports bar in Victoria, London (James Manning/PA) (PA Wire)

The Barmy Army braved the early hours of Saturday morning to cheer on England from a London pub, but were left with little to celebrate as Australia stormed to a 1-0 Ashes lead.

Sliding from 220 for two overnight to 297 all out, they left Australia needing just 20 runs to secure a handsome fourth day victory.

Former England cricketer Ryan Sidebottom hailed the support of the passionate fanbase and put his faith in the absolutely brilliant England captain Joe Root to rescue the series.

Fans were out in force and in full voice as they gathered at the Greenwood Sports Pub and Kitchen in Victoria overnight to watch their heroes.

Sidebottom described the atmosphere as rocking, telling the PA news agency: The Barmy Army are absolutely immense, I mean when I played, and now they support us around the world.

And it means a great deal, you know, the support that we do get is phenomenal.

But some fans were seen holding their heads in their hands as England headed towards defeat.

The former left-arm paceman said while things have not worked in Englands favour so far, there is still time for it to turn around.

He said: Its not just about this Test match, its five tests and its gonna be difficult. Australia is a tough place to play.

For England to have any chance to win these Ashes, I think Joe Roots the man.

Ex-player Ryan Sidebottom

But we have an opportunity to do something special. And Joe Root and his team, its not gone to plan so far but you never know.

Heaping praise on Root, he said his captaincy has grown and grown in strength, adding: Joe Roots absolutely brilliant and for England to have any chance to win these Ashes, I think Joe Roots the man.

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Sidebottom said the late-night support shows what cricket means to the public and the Barmy Army, and recalled how knowing fans are behind you gives you that extra 5, 10 per cent as a player.

For me to be here, to be part of the Barmy Army is wonderful, supporting the team and getting behind England as best they can, even though theyre not there, theyre there in spirit, he said.

He added: As England players it does mean a lot.

Read More

Australia left sweating over fitness of David Warner and Josh Hazlewood

Joe Root stands by decision to bat first despite crushing defeat in Brisbane

England collapse hands Australia 1-0 series lead  day four of the Ashes

England rue another batting collapse as Australia win opening Ashes Test

England dismissed for 297 as Australia close in on victory at The Gabba

England to play fifth Ashes Test in Hobart
Binance app is seen on a smartphone in this illustration

By Chen Lin and Alun John

HONG KONG (Reuters) - The Singapore affiliate of Binance, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, said on Monday it will withdraw its local licence application and wind down its digital payment token business in the broadly crypto-friendly city-state.

The company, which has come under growing scrutiny globally, did not give a reason for its decision beyond "strategic, commercial and developmental" considerations and said it would refocus the local unit's operations on becoming a blockchain innovation hub.

Governments and financial watchdogs around the world have intensified scrutiny of the cryptocurrency industry this year, posing a challenge to exchanges that have thrived in a mostly unregulated environment.

Singapore is a popular location for cryptocurrency firms due to a comparatively clear regulatory and operating environment and is among the forerunners globally in developing a formal licensing framework.

Binance's Singapore unit was one of well over 100 cryptocurrency companies to apply for a license to operate in Singapore and had been allowed do business while its license request was being processed.

Singapore issued its first licences this year, including to a unit of southeast Asia's largest bank DBS, however dozens of others have been withdrawn or rejected.

Binance said its Singapore platform for trading fiat and cryptocurrencies will close by mid-February. In September, the company said that because of local regulation, users in Singapore would not be able to trade on its global platform.

A spokesperson for the Monetary Authority of Singapore said Binance Asia Services had provided them with a plan for orderly cessation of its regulated payment services which "will allow sufficient time for customers to seek alternative providers, or, if they wish, to liquidate their holdings."

"I think this (Binance's withdrawal of its application) signifies again Singapore's licence regime is quite stringent," said Chia Hock Lai, co-chairman, Blockchain Association Singapore.

"Having said that, Binance also stated that Singapore will remain as their blockchain innovation hub, so it is still consistent with the narrative that Singapore is a very important blockchain hub."

Financial regulators in Hong Kong, Britain, Germany, and Japan among others have targeted Binance, raising issues such as consumer protection and anti-money laundering checks. Some have banned the platform from certain activities, while others have warned consumers that it was unlicensed to operate.

(Reporting by Alun John in Hong Kong, Aradhana Aravindan, Chen Lin in Singapore; editing by Richard Pullin and Jason Neely)
WATERLOO REGION, ON, Dec. 13, 2021 /CNW/ - Over the last two years, more and more people have faced increased pressure to find affordable housing that meets their needs. Everyone in Canada deserves a safe and affordable place to call home, and the government of Canada has an important role to play to make that a reality.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) (CNW Group/Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation)

Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, The Honourable Bardish Chagger, Member of Parliament for Waterloo, Bryan May, Member of Parliament for Cambridge, Tim Louis, Member of Parliament for KitchenerConestoga, Karen Redman, Regional Chair of Waterloo Region, and Berry Vrbanovic, Mayor of Kitchener, announced more than $6.6 million to support the construction of 26 homes for families and individuals in Waterloo Region through the Cities Stream under expanded Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI). These housing units will support Canadians who are in uncertain housing situations, experiencing or at risk of homelessness, or living in temporary shelters because of the pandemic.

Today's announcement covers three of five total projects being funded through the Cities Stream in Waterloo Region. Two of them are to be operated by The Working Centre and will be located at 53 and 58 Queen Street South in Kitchener, and will create 18 units for newcomers to Canada and racialized people. The third project will be operated by YW Kitchener-Waterloo, and will build 8 units for women and their children fleeing domestic violence.

This is in addition to the Government of Canada's previous investment of $8.2 million through the first phase of the Rapid Housing Initiative to support the creation of 47 housing units in the Region of Waterloo.

The initial round of the $1 billon RHI was announced in October 2020. Due to its success, an additional $1.5 billion for the RHI was announced in Budget 2021. Thanks to this expansion, the RHI will exceed expectations and create over 9,200 affordable homes for the most vulnerable Canadians across the country.

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This new investment will create thousands of good jobs in the housing and construction sector, grow the middle class, and build back stronger communities, while getting us closer to our goal of eliminating chronic homelessness in Canada.

Quotes:

"Every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Today's funding through the Rapid Housing Initiative will go a long way to support those who need it most by quickly providing 26 new affordable homes for vulnerable families and individuals in Waterloo Region to keep them safe. This is one of the ways our National Housing Strategy continues to ensure no one is left behind."  The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)

"We have seen how COVID-19 has worsened existing housing and homelessness challenges and without urgent action by the Government of Canada, the pandemic could lead to a dramatic increase in homelessness. Creating housing rapidly to address this housing crisis is a priority for our government. This new funding is part of our commitment to addressing severe housing needs across the country. It will provide immediate support to create safe and stable housing to thousands of vulnerable families and individuals."  The Honourable Bardish Chagger, Member of Parliament for Waterloo

"This investment is improving affordable and supportive housing in our Region and is facilitating real change for our priority groups that need it most. These projects are a result of great partnerships, coming together to respond to a grave housing need in Waterloo Region. This is the Rapid Housing Initiative at work."  Valerie Bradford, Member of Parliament for Kitchener SouthHespeler

"We are working hard to ensure that every Canadian has a safe and affordable place to call home. Building rapid housing in major urban centres like Waterloo Region, and addressing the specific needs and challenges that municipalities face in the housing sector, is a crucial and necessary step our government has taken to end chronic homelessness."  Bryan May, Member of Parliament for Cambridge

"Our government understands that is it crucial to our recovery to ensure that housing is available, safe and affordable for all. We need more affordable housing and we need it now, which is why we've partnered with local municipalities under the Rapid Housing Initiative, who understand their needs the best. Thanks to investments like what we've announced today, those who are most at risk, including women and children fleeing domestic violence, and racialized groups and newcomers to Canada, will soon have a new place to call home."  Tim Louis, Member of Parliament for KitchenerConestoga

"Affordable housing is a priority for Region of Waterloo Council, and we are committed to ensuring everyone has a place to call home. As part of our affordable housing plan, Building Better Futures: 2,500 Homes in 5 Years, the three new projects announced today, made possible with funding provided by the Government of Canada, will see 26 new affordable homes created in the Region."  Chair Karen Redman, Region of Waterloo

"The City of Kitchener is committed to housing as a human right, and we are committed to working with the Government of Canada and community partners to deliver on that. We are grateful to the Government of Canada through CMHC and Minister Hussen for today's funding announcement to build 26 additional homes through the RHI program for those who are most vulnerable in our community. Today's RHI phase 2 funding investments demonstrate what is achievable when orders of government and community partners work together in a way that takes us another step closer to ending homelessness and building more affordable housing for the citizens we serve."  Berry Vrbanovic, Mayor of the City of Kitchener

Quick facts:

The RHI is delivered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), under the National Housing Strategy (NHS).

Canada's NHS is an ambitious, 10-year plan that will invest over $72 billion to give more Canadians a place to call home. Launched in 2017, the NHS will build and repair thousands of housing units, and help households with affordability support.

The RHI is a $1 billion program launched in October 2020 to help address urgent housing needs of vulnerable Canadians, especially in the context of COVID-19, through the rapid construction of affordable housing.

Due to this success, an additional $1.5 billion for the Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) was announced through Budget 2021 with $500 million in funding under the Cities Stream being allocated to the following municipalities: Burnaby, Calgary, Capital Regional District, Durham, Edmonton, Gatineau, Greater Sudbury, Halifax, Hamilton, Iqaluit, Kingston, Laval, London, Longueil, Montreal, Niagara, Ottawa, Peel, Quebec, Regina, Saskatoon, Surrey, St. John's, Toronto, Vancouver, Waterloo, Whitehorse, Windsor, Winnipeg, and Yellowknife. Under the Projects Stream: $1 billion has been allocated to eligible applications submitted during the RHI's initial application period last fall and having not yet received funding.

Based on feedback from stakeholders, this summer CMHC introduced new flexibilities to the RHI:

At least 25 per cent of this new funding will go toward women-focused housing projects. The units will be built within 12 months of when funding is provided to program applicants.

The RHI will continue to prioritize proposals that target units serving Indigenous peoples and other vulnerable groups. It will also continue to provide flexibilities on timelines to Indigenous governing bodies or organizations as needed.

The RHI takes a human rights-based approach to housing, serving people experiencing or at risk of homelessness and other vulnerable people under the NHS, including: women and children fleeing domestic violence, seniors, young adults, Indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, people experiencing mental health and addiction issues, veterans, LGBTQ2 individuals, racialized and Black Canadians, and recent immigrants or refugees.

CMHC supports the government's efforts to improve the well-being of Canadians facing housing and homelessness challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Associated links:

As Canada's authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers unbiased housing research and advice to all levels of Canadian government, consumers and the housing industry. CMHC's aim is that by 2030, everyone in Canada has a home they can afford, and that meets their needs. For more information, follow us on Twitter , Instagram , YouTube , LinkedIn and Facebook .

SOURCE Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/December2021/13/c4268.html
Rating Action: Moody's affirms CCB Asia's ratings; outlook remains stableGlobal Credit Research - 13 Dec 2021Hong Kong, December 13, 2021 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") has affirmed China Construction Bank (Asia) Corp. Ltd. (CCB Asia)'s long-term deposit and senior unsecured ratings at A1.Moody's has also affirmed the bank's Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) and Adjusted BCA at baa1, and affirmed the bank's Counterparty Risk Ratings (CRR) at A1/P-1 and Counterparty Risk Assessment (CR Assessment) at A1 (cr)/P-1(cr).The outlook on CCB Asia's ratings remains stable. Moody's expects the bank to maintain good liquidity and strong capitalization, and improve its asset quality and profitability as the economy continue to recover in the next 12-18 months. Moody's also expects the bank to continue to benefit from strong indirect support from the Chinese government.A list of affected ratings can be found at the end of the press release.RATINGS RATIONALEThe affirmation of CCB Asia's A1 deposit and senior unsecured ratings with stable outlook and the baa1 BCA takes into account the bank's good funding, good asset risk, and strong liquidity and capitalization, as well as its modest profitability.CCB Asia relies principally on customer deposits to fund its operations and has large holdings of liquid assets. The bank maintained conservative loan to deposit ratio of 76% as of the end of June 2021. The bank's good liquidity and funding will allow it to meet the demands of potential unexpected fund outflows.CCB Asia's Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio was 15.6% as of the end of June 2021. The bank's capitalization remained strong despite a material loan growth pickup in first half 2021. Moody's expects the bank to maintain strong capitalization through 2022.CCB Asia's problem loan ratio improved modestly to 1.0% in first half 2021 as the local economy partially recovered from the recession caused by the pandemic. Moody's expects the bank's impaired loan ratio to decline further through 2022 as the economy of Hong Kong SAR, China continues to grow. The bank maintained very high loan loss reserve coverage ratio of 113% at the end of June 2021.Low market interest rates and high loan loss provisions weighed on CCB Asia's profitability in H1 2021. Moody's expects the bank's profitability to improve into 2022, driven by decreasing credit costs.Moody's does not incorporate affiliate support uplift for the bank, leaving its Adjusted BCA at baa1 because the bank has the same BCA as its parent.Moody's Advanced Loss Given Failure (LGF) analysis for the bank considers potential loss-absorption by junior capital instruments in a future non-viability scenario, which should reduce expected losses for more senior creditors. The LGF analysis leads to one notch of uplift for the bank's deposit and senior unsecured ratings, and three notches of uplift for the bank's CR Assessment and CRR.Moody's incorporates a very high level of indirect government support for the bank from the Chinese government that flows through its parent China Construction Bank Corporation (CCB, A1 stable, baa1). The expected support reflects the Chinese government's majority ownership of CCB, CCB's systemic importance to the Chinese banking system as one of the largest commercial banks in China, and CCB Asia's strategic importance to CCB. Moody's expectation of government support leads to two notches of uplift in the bank's deposit and senior unsecured ratings.FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGSCCB Asia's deposit rating could be upgraded if the Chinese government's rating is upgraded.The bank's BCA could be upgraded if it maintains its capitalization, with CET1 ratio above 15%, its problem loan ratio falls below 0.5%, or its return on average assets improves above 0.8% on a sustained basis.CCB Asia's deposit and senior unsecured debt ratings could be downgraded if the Chinese government's willingness or capacity to support diminishes or CCB's ratings are downgraded, given close linkages between the bank and its parent.The bank's BCA could be downgraded if strong growth leads to a weakening in its capitalization, with its CET1 ratio falling below 11%; its mainland exposures grow to account for a significantly higher share of overall loans; or there is a significant deterioration in its asset-quality metrics, with problem loan ratio rising above 3%.PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGYThe principal methodology used in these ratings was Banks Methodology published in July 2021 and available at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1269625. Alternatively, please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.China Construction Bank (Asia) Corp. Ltd., headquartered in Hong Kong, reported total assets of HKD512 billion (USD 66 billion) as of end of June 2021.LIST OF AFFECTED RATINGS..Issuer: China Construction Bank (Asia) Corp. Ltd..... Baseline Credit Assessment, Affirmed baa1.... Adjusted Baseline Credit Assessment, Affirmed baa1.... Long-term Counterparty Risk Assessment, Affirmed A1(cr).... Short-term Counterparty Risk Assessment, Affirmed P-1(cr).... Long-term Counterparty Risk Rating (Foreign and Local Currency), Affirmed A1.... Short-term Counterparty Risk Rating (Foreign and Local Currency), Affirmed P-1....Long-term Bank Deposit Rating (Foreign and Local Currency), Affirmed A1, Outlook remains stable.... Short-term Bank Deposit Rating (Foreign and Local Currency), Affirmed P-1....Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture (Foreign Currency), Affirmed A1, Outlook remains stable....Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program (Foreign Currency), Affirmed (P)A1....Other Short-term Medium-Term Note Program (Foreign Currency), Affirmed (P)P-1....Long-term Senior Unsecured Deposit Program (Local Currency), Affirmed (P)A1....Short-term Senior Unsecured Deposit Program (Local Currency), Affirmed (P)P-1 ....Outlook, Remains Stable REGULATORY DISCLOSURES For further specification of Moody's key rating assumptions and sensitivity analysis, see the sections Methodology Assumptions and Sensitivity to Assumptions in the disclosure form. Moody's Rating Symbols and Definitions can be found at: https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_79004.For ratings issued on a program, series, category/class of debt or security this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series, category/class of debt, security or pursuant to a program for which the ratings are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the credit rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular credit rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt, in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would have affected the rating. For further information please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.For any affected securities or rated entities receiving direct credit support from the primary entity(ies) of this credit rating action, and whose ratings may change as a result of this credit rating action, the associated regulatory disclosures will be those of the guarantor entity. Exceptions to this approach exist for the following disclosures, if applicable to jurisdiction: Ancillary Services, Disclosure to rated entity, Disclosure from rated entity.The ratings have been disclosed to the rated entity or its designated agent(s) and issued with no amendment resulting from that disclosure.These ratings are solicited. Please refer to Moody's Policy for Designating and Assigning Unsolicited Credit Ratings available on its website www.moodys.com.Moody's considers a rated entity or its agent(s) to be participating when it maintains an overall relationship with Moody's. Unless noted in the Regulatory Disclosures as a Non-Participating Entity, the rated entity is participating and the rated entity or its agent(s) generally provide[s] Moody's with information for the purposes of its ratings process. Please refer to www.moodys.com for the Regulatory Disclosures for each credit rating action under the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page and for details of Moody's Policy for Designating Non-Participating Rated Entities.Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating review.Moody's general principles for assessing environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks in our credit analysis can be found at http://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1288235.The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was issued by one of Moody's affiliates outside the EU and is endorsed by Moody's Deutschland GmbH, An der Welle 5, Frankfurt am Main 60322, Germany, in accordance with Art.4 paragraph 3 of the Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on Credit Rating Agencies. Further information on the EU endorsement status and on the Moody's office that issued the credit rating is available on www.moodys.com.The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was issued by one of Moody's affiliates outside the UK and is endorsed by Moody's Investors Service Limited, One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5FA under the law applicable to credit rating agencies in the UK. Further information on the UK endorsement status and on the Moody's office that issued the credit rating is available on www.moodys.com.Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued the rating.Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating.The first name below is the lead rating analyst for this Credit Rating and the last name below is the person primarily responsible for approving this Credit Rating. Sonny Hsu, CFA VP - Senior Credit Officer Financial Institutions Group Moody's Investors Service Hong Kong Ltd. 24/F One Pacific Place 88 Queensway Hong Kong China (Hong Kong S.A.R.) JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350 Client Service: 852 3551 3077 Sophia Lee, CFA Associate Managing Director Financial Institutions Group JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350 Client Service: 852 3551 3077 Releasing Office: Moody's Investors Service Hong Kong Ltd. 24/F One Pacific Place 88 Queensway Hong Kong China (Hong Kong S.A.R.) JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350 Client Service: 852 3551 3077  2021 Moodys Corporation, Moodys Investors Service, Inc., Moodys Analytics, Inc. and/or their licensors and affiliates (collectively, MOODYS). All rights reserved.CREDIT RATINGS ISSUED BY MOODY'S CREDIT RATINGS AFFILIATES ARE THEIR CURRENT OPINIONS OF THE RELATIVE FUTURE CREDIT RISK OF ENTITIES, CREDIT COMMITMENTS, OR DEBT OR DEBT-LIKE SECURITIES, AND MATERIALS, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND INFORMATION PUBLISHED BY MOODYS (COLLECTIVELY, PUBLICATIONS) MAY INCLUDE SUCH CURRENT OPINIONS. MOODYS DEFINES CREDIT RISK AS THE RISK THAT AN ENTITY MAY NOT MEET ITS CONTRACTUAL FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS AS THEY COME DUE AND ANY ESTIMATED FINANCIAL LOSS IN THE EVENT OF DEFAULT OR IMPAIRMENT. SEE APPLICABLE MOODYS RATING SYMBOLS AND DEFINITIONS PUBLICATION FOR INFORMATION ON THE TYPES OF CONTRACTUAL FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS ADDRESSED BY MOODYS CREDIT RATINGS. CREDIT RATINGS DO NOT ADDRESS ANY OTHER RISK, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: LIQUIDITY RISK, MARKET VALUE RISK, OR PRICE VOLATILITY. CREDIT RATINGS, NON-CREDIT ASSESSMENTS (ASSESSMENTS), AND OTHER OPINIONS INCLUDED IN MOODYS PUBLICATIONS ARE NOT STATEMENTS OF CURRENT OR HISTORICAL FACT. MOODYS PUBLICATIONS MAY ALSO INCLUDE QUANTITATIVE MODEL-BASED ESTIMATES OF CREDIT RISK AND RELATED OPINIONS OR COMMENTARY PUBLISHED BY MOODYS ANALYTICS, INC. AND/OR ITS AFFILIATES. MOODYS CREDIT RATINGS, ASSESSMENTS, OTHER OPINIONS AND PUBLICATIONS DO NOT CONSTITUTE OR PROVIDE INVESTMENT OR FINANCIAL ADVICE, AND MOODYS CREDIT RATINGS, ASSESSMENTS, OTHER OPINIONS AND PUBLICATIONS ARE NOT AND DO NOT PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS TO PURCHASE, SELL, OR HOLD PARTICULAR SECURITIES. MOODYS CREDIT RATINGS, ASSESSMENTS, OTHER OPINIONS AND PUBLICATIONS DO NOT COMMENT ON THE SUITABILITY OF AN INVESTMENT FOR ANY PARTICULAR INVESTOR. MOODYS ISSUES ITS CREDIT RATINGS, ASSESSMENTS AND OTHER OPINIONS AND PUBLISHES ITS PUBLICATIONS WITH THE EXPECTATION AND UNDERSTANDING THAT EACH INVESTOR WILL, WITH DUE CARE, MAKE ITS OWN STUDY AND EVALUATION OF EACH SECURITY THAT IS UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR PURCHASE, HOLDING, OR SALE.MOODYS CREDIT RATINGS, ASSESSMENTS, OTHER OPINIONS, AND PUBLICATIONS ARE NOT INTENDED FOR USE BY RETAIL INVESTORS AND IT WOULD BE RECKLESS AND INAPPROPRIATE FOR RETAIL INVESTORS TO USE MOODYS CREDIT RATINGS, ASSESSMENTS, OTHER OPINIONS OR PUBLICATIONS WHEN MAKING AN INVESTMENT DECISION. IF IN DOUBT YOU SHOULD CONTACT YOUR FINANCIAL OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL ADVISER.ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS PROTECTED BY LAW, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, COPYRIGHT LAW, AND NONE OF SUCH INFORMATION MAY BE COPIED OR OTHERWISE REPRODUCED, REPACKAGED, FURTHER TRANSMITTED, TRANSFERRED, DISSEMINATED, REDISTRIBUTED OR RESOLD, OR STORED FOR SUBSEQUENT USE FOR ANY SUCH PURPOSE, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN ANY FORM OR MANNER OR BY ANY MEANS WHATSOEVER, BY ANY PERSON WITHOUT MOODYS PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT.MOODYS CREDIT RATINGS, ASSESSMENTS, OTHER OPINIONS AND PUBLICATIONS ARE NOT INTENDED FOR USE BY ANY PERSON AS A BENCHMARK AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED FOR REGULATORY PURPOSES AND MUST NOT BE USED IN ANY WAY THAT COULD RESULT IN THEM BEING CONSIDERED A BENCHMARK.All information contained herein is obtained by MOODYS from sources believed by it to be accurate and reliable. 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However, MOODYS is not an auditor and cannot in every instance independently verify or validate information received in the rating process or in preparing its Publications.To the extent permitted by law, MOODYS and its directors, officers, employees, agents, representatives, licensors and suppliers disclaim liability to any person or entity for any indirect, special, consequential, or incidental losses or damages whatsoever arising from or in connection with the information contained herein or the use of or inability to use any such information, even if MOODYS or any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, representatives, licensors or suppliers is advised in advance of the possibility of such losses or damages, including but not limited to: (a) any loss of present or prospective profits or (b) any loss or damage arising where the relevant financial instrument is not the subject of a particular credit rating assigned by MOODYS.To the extent permitted by law, MOODYS and its directors, officers, employees, agents, representatives, licensors and suppliers disclaim liability for any direct or compensatory losses or damages caused to any person or entity, including but not limited to by any negligence (but excluding fraud, willful misconduct or any other type of liability that, for the avoidance of doubt, by law cannot be excluded) on the part of, or any contingency within or beyond the control of, MOODYS or any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, representatives, licensors or suppliers, arising from or in connection with the information contained herein or the use of or inability to use any such information.NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, COMPLETENESS, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE OF ANY CREDIT RATING, ASSESSMENT, OTHER OPINION OR INFORMATION IS GIVEN OR MADE BY MOODYS IN ANY FORM OR MANNER WHATSOEVER.Moodys Investors Service, Inc., a wholly-owned credit rating agency subsidiary of Moodys Corporation (MCO), hereby discloses that most issuers of debt securities (including corporate and municipal bonds, debentures, notes and commercial paper) and preferred stock rated by Moodys Investors Service, Inc. have, prior to assignment of any credit rating, agreed to pay to Moodys Investors Service, Inc. for credit ratings opinions and services rendered by it fees ranging from $1,000 to approximately $5,000,000. 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(MSFJ) is a wholly-owned credit rating agency subsidiary of MJKK. MSFJ is not a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (NRSRO). Therefore, credit ratings assigned by MSFJ are Non-NRSRO Credit Ratings. Non-NRSRO Credit Ratings are assigned by an entity that is not a NRSRO and, consequently, the rated obligation will not qualify for certain types of treatment under U.S. laws. 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By Sarah Wu

TAOYUAN, Taiwan (Reuters) - Taiwanese voters will decide this Saturday on a new LNG terminal considered key for the chipmaking powerhouse to secure its energy supply but facing attacks from conservationists - and from an opposition party eager to wrong-foot the government.

The referendum, which seeks to relocate the project away from an ancient algal reef and would likely delay it for years, has a reasonable chance of passing, some polls have shown.

At stake for the government is not just averting future power cuts, like those in May during a drought and heat wave, but an environmental policy that moves away from polluting coal and nuclear power, towards greener and renewable alternatives.

"If we can't build this third LNG terminal, we will really have an electricity supply problem," Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua told reporters last month.

The project would make the Datan Power Plant the island's biggest while advancing the government's goal of boosting LNG to produce half its power by 2025.

It would also help to supply Taiwan's semiconductor plants, thrust into the spotlight by a global chip shortage that has crimped supplies of cars and electronics. They require vast amounts of energy and water.

In 2019, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd's electricity consumption was about 5% of Taiwan's total, according to a Bernstein report.

Mark Li, a Bernstein semiconductor analyst, said TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker and a major Apple Inc supplier, has for years worked with the government to ensure that Taiwan's power supply will increase as the company expands.

"They've been talking to the government to make sure there wouldn't be long-term outages that become a real issue for the company," Li said.

When Taiwan faced its worst drought in more than half a century this year, the government prioritised water for households and industry over irrigation, while companies ordered in truckloads of water and set up generators for power cuts.

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'SACRED MOUNTAIN'

TSMC, known widely in Taiwan as a "sacred mountain protecting the nation", is wary of being drawn into the island's polarised politics and has stayed out of the referendum debate.

But one chip executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to talk to the media, said the industry has long worried about Taiwan's limitations on land, water and electricity.

"But of all those, it's electricity that is the top concern, especially a stable power supply," he said.

The Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association and TSMC both declined to comment on the referendum.

The referendum petition was initiated by an environmental activist and garnered more than 700,000 signatures on the back of an endorsement from the main opposition party, the Kuomintang.

The party, eyeing local elections next year when it hopes to stage a political comeback, is pushing instead for more nuclear power as the green solution to Taiwan's energy woes, and supports a separate referendum on restarting a mothballed nuclear power plant opposed by the government.

The Kuomintang has framed the four upcoming referendums as a vote of no confidence in the ruling party.

President Tsai Ing-wen signalled the vote's importance to her government during a visit last month to the Datan Algal Reef, which stretches along the northwest coastline next to Taoyuan city.

"Taiwan has world-class, high-end manufacturing industries," Tsai told reporters. "For the country's safety and for economic development, we need to provide reliable and stable electricity."

Chou Kuei-tien, a National Taiwan University professor, added that Taiwan urgently needs to speed up its move to cleaner energy sources.

"Taiwan already lags behind other countries in the energy transition," he said.

None of this cuts much ice with activist Pan Chong-cheng, who led the campaign for the vote to move the terminal and protect the more than 7,000-year-old reef.

"This is the world's shared property, this is our next generation's property," said Pan, a retired teacher and the convener of the Rescue Datan's Algal Reefs Alliance.

"With so many people wanting to preserve it, if we can't preserve it then this country would only seem to have economic development and money before its eyes."

(Reporting by Sarah Wu; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Edmund Klamann)
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse is seen in Zurich

ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse is planning a sixth payout in mid-December of around $400 million to investors in frozen supply chain finance funds linked to Greensill, bringing the total amount returned to around $6.7 billion, the Swiss bank said on Monday.

Credit Suisse had to suspend $10 billion in funds linked to the British supply chain financing firm in March and has been paying back the money it recoups in stages.

It said in a statement it had been able to recover around $7.2 billion to date.

(Reporting by Silke Koltrowitz; editing by Carmel Crimmins)
MUMBAI, December 13, 2021--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Indias leading law firm, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM) announced today the opening of its new foreign law practice in Singapore, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (CAM Singapore). CAM Singapore will operate as a licensed foreign law practice offering Indian law expertise including International Arbitration. It will focus on delivering legal services across various practice areas.

Singapore is one of the leading business hubs in the world and enjoys a key role as a gateway to India. It has also consolidated its position as the favoured regional HQ jurisdiction in Asia. CAM aims to assist companies in Singapore and the region in navigating through the Indian legal and regulatory framework. CAM Singapore will initially focus on areas such as International Arbitration, Fintech, Investment Funds, Corporate Advisory, Private Equity, Capital Markets, Banking & Finance, Technology & Data Protection, Cross Border Insolvency and Private Client.

CAM Singapore will be moving into its new office premises at 61 Robinson Road #11-03, Singapore 068893. CAM Singapore will be led by Mr. Vivek Kathpalia, Managing Director & CEO and Ms. Dipti Bedi as Director, and will continue to grow the team in the coming months.

Vivek Kathpalia has over 22 years of experience, 14 of which have been in Singapore as a licensed foreign lawyer. He has vast experience of advising varied clientele in Singapore, Japan and globally, with respect to their Indian law requirements and developing key markets with a focus on India. He has experience in a broad range of areas including M&A and PE transactions, Technology and Education. He also practiced as a litigator in the Bombay High Court in his early years as an advocate.

Dipti Bedi has over 13 years of experience with a focus in banking and finance, international arbitration, disputes and employment. She has worked with CAM for 7 years and rejoined us in February 2021, and will be transitioning from our representative office in Singapore to CAM Singapore. Prior to rejoining CAM, she worked with Vedanta Limited.

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On the Singapore office opening, Mr. Cyril Shroff, Managing Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas said, "The opening of the Singapore office is a part of the Firms larger strategic view of Singapore as a thriving hub for Asia Pacific and also for the Firms domestic and international clientele. Singapore remains a key focus for us with immense potential and growth opportunities. We are pleased to announce that we now have a functional foreign law licensed office in Singapore."

Mr. Vivek Kathpalia, said, "I am delighted to join CAM in their maiden international foray. I have witnessed Singapore developing itself into a key economic and business hub for India over the last 14 years that I have been here. The CAM brand is very well established in Singapore and the presence of CAM Singapore on the ground will have significant impact."

Mr. Rishabh Shroff, Partner, Head of International Business Development, & Co-Head Private Client Practice, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas said, "We are delighted with our new office in Singapore. Given the attraction of high net worth individuals to Singapore, the decision to have our presence in a rich ecosystem of Singapore was a logical step in our growth strategy."

CAM also recently announced the opening of its office in GIFT City, Gandhinagar. With this announcement, CAM will have six offices in India, an office in IFSC (GIFT City) and an office in Singapore.

____________________________

About Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM) is Indias leading law firm with a global reputation of being trusted advisers to its clients. The Firm advises a large and diverse set of clients, including domestic and foreign commercial enterprises, financial institutions, private equity and venture capital funds, start-ups, government and regulatory bodies. The Firms generalists, specialists and senior ex-regulators expertly guide clients across a spectrum of transactions, sectors and regulations. With over 850 lawyers and 150 Partners, the Firm is the largest full-service law firm in India with offices in key business centres at Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, GIFT City and also in Singapore under the licensed foreign law practice, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (company registration no.: 202137213R).

In 2021, the Firm received "Law Firm of the Year" award at the IFLR 1000 India Awards, "India Deal Firm of the Year" at the ALB India Awards and "Most Responsive Domestic Law Firm" at the In-House Community Firm of the Year Awards.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211212005033/en/

Contacts

Madhumita Paul

Dy. Chief Marketing Officer  Marketing & Communications

madhumita.paul@cyrilshroff.com

+91 98338 18006

Rahul Gossain

Head  Marketing Communications, and Delhi Region BD

rahul.gossain@cyrilshroff.com

+91 98731 54228
DUBLIN, December 13, 2021--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Europe Healthcare Smart Beds Market By Application (Hospitals, Outpatient Clinics, Medical Nursing Homes and Medical Laboratory and Research), By Country, Growth Potential, COVID-19 Impact Analysis Report and Forecast, 2021 - 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The European Healthcare Smart Beds Market is expected to witness market growth of 8.4% CAGR during the forecast period (2021-2027).

The growing popularity of smart beds among consumers is anticipated to boost the demand for the healthcare smart beds market. People are evolving their lifestyles and are demanding unique products integrated with AI and advanced technology. Customers have also become conscious about their health which has a positive impact on the growth of the healthcare smart beds market. Companies are also excessively spending on the development of healthcare smart beds with various innovative features like a thermostat, blood pressure measuring device, air pressure, and other devices that are offering lucrative opportunities for the healthcare smart bed market.

Europe is witnessing a rise in the aging population, the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and the unveiling of technologically advanced beds, thereby opening new growth avenues for the regional market. The rising demand for smart beds for long-term care, the launch of IoT integrated smart beds & robotic beds are contributing towards surging the growth of the healthcare smart beds market in this region. On contrary, fewer hospitals & smart hospital beds in various nations of Europe and a growing preference for minimally invasive surgeries are some of the factors that are responsible for the decline in the growth of the healthcare smart beds market in this region.

Moreover, the availability and rising demand for advanced technology are some of the key trends in the market. Thus, various hospitals in Europe are adopting flexible and latest models and avoiding conventional hospital-centric models to tackle such clashing scenarios. Hospitals are now largely spending money on smart technologies for the precise treatment of patients which will help in speeding up the medical treatment and further recovery of the patient. These emerging trends are anticipated to bolster the growth of the healthcare smart beds market during the forecast period.

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Though, it is anticipated that the rise in demand for technological-driven devices that provide significant data related to health will fuel the adoption rate of healthcare smart beds in the upcoming years. Smart beds integrate improved features along with innovation that helps in offering comfortable adjustments during connectivity and sleep. These features comprise smart home connectivity, tracking of sleep, atmosphere control, smart fabric innovation, movable bases, tracking of sleep, IoT, and programmed bedding firmness adjustment. Hence, the developments in smart hospital beds are offering lucrative opportunities for the market vendors and it is expected that the growth of healthcare smart beds will increase in the upcoming years.

The German market dominated the European Outpatient Clinics Market by Country in 2020, thereby, achieving a market value of $8.1 Million by 2027. The UK market is exhibiting a CAGR of 7.9% during (2021 - 2027). Additionally, the French market is poised to witness a CAGR of 10.4% during (2021 - 2027).

Based on Application, the market is segmented into Hospitals, Outpatient Clinics, Medical Nursing Homes and Medical Laboratory and Research. Based on countries, the market is segmented into Germany, UK, France, Russia, Spain, Italy, and Rest of Europe.

The market research report covers the analysis of key stake holders of the market.

Scope of the Study

Market Segments Covered in the Report:

By Application

Hospitals

Outpatient Clinics

Medical Nursing Homes

Medical Laboratory and Research

By Country

Germany

UK

France

Russia

Spain

Italy

Rest of Europe

List of Companies Profiled:

Stryker Corporation

Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc.

Invacare Corporation (Johnson & Johnson Private Limited)

Paramount Bed Co., Ltd. (Paramount Bed Holdings Co., Ltd.)

LINET spol. s r.o. (WIBO Holdings GmbH)

Joerns Healthcare LLC

Stiegelmeyer GmbH & Co. KG (Joh. Stiegelmeyer & Co. GmbH)

Arjo AB

Volker GmbH

Favero Health Projects SpA

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/gxwonx

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005881/en/

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Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager

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Dr Abdul Samid Al-Kubati is one of five winners selected to win a Falcon Award for Disease Elimination

He will receive up to USD200,000 and technical support from GLIDE to prevent the spread of lymphatic filariasis in Yemen

The remaining four winners are from Ghana, Pakistan and Philippines

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, December 13, 2021--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dr Abdul Samid Al-Kubati, a doctor who is leading Yemens efforts to keep the country rid of lymphatic filariasis (LF) has won a Falcon Award for Disease Elimination. The five winners were announced yesterday by the Global Institute for Disease Elimination (GLIDE) during a Universal Health Coverage Day event at EXPO 2020 Dubai.

Dr Al-Kubati's project is aimed at sustaining the achievement of eliminating LF as a public health problem in Yemen, as validated by the World Health Organization in 2019.

His project will deliver effective, efficient, quality and affordable health services to mitigate the impact of LF, leprosy and river blindness (also known as onchocerciasis) to improve the overall health status for Yemenis and accelerate national economic growth and sustainable development.

Dr Al-Kubati beat 220 applicants across 44 countries to become the first Yemeni winner of the Falcon Awards.

Commenting on his selection, Dr Al-Kubati, Technical Manager of the National Leprosy Elimination Program in Yemen, said: "I am delighted to have been selected as a winner of the Falcon Awards. The state of lymphatic filariasis in Yemen is in post-elimination as a public health problem. Through our partnership with GLIDE, we hope to sustain this elimination through morbidity management and disability prevention."

Launched in April this year by GLIDE, the Falcon Awards aim to discover and implement innovative approaches to disease elimination which focus on eliminating one or more of GLIDEs four focus diseases: malaria, polio, lymphatic filariasis and river blindness.

The winners were selected by a jury of global health experts including Professor Maha Taysir Barakat, Board Chair of the RBM Partnership to End Malaria; Dr Sarthak Das, Chief Executive Officer of the Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance; Dr Tunji Funsho, Chair of Rotarys National PolioPlus Committee; and Dr Katey Owen, Director of Neglected Tropical Diseases at The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

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Simon Bland, Chief Executive Officer of GLIDE, said: "Innovation is vital if we want to eliminate ancient diseases of poverty. The quality of applications we received from individuals and organisations based in disease-endemic countries, is testament to the will to consign these diseases to the history books. We just need to act on it. We are immensely grateful to our jury, who took time out of their demanding day jobs to select five winners from our 10 talented finalists. Above all, we look forward to working with the winners over the coming year, bringing their innovative disease elimination strategies to life."

For more information on The Falcon Awards for Disease Elimination and the winners, please visit: https://glideae.org/awards

For photos of the winners, please click here.

[ENDS]

About GLIDE

GLIDE is a new global health institute, based in Abu Dhabi, focused on accelerating the elimination of four preventable diseases of poverty: currently malaria, polio, lymphatic filariasis, and river blindness, by 2030 and beyond.

Founded in 2019 as the result of a collaboration between His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, GLIDE identifies the latest scientific, cultural, and global health knowledge and puts it into action with its partners through programmes, funding, and skills development to support local health care systems and advance global thinking.

For more information, please visit: https://glideae.org/

About the Falcon Awards for Disease Elimination

Launched in April 2021 by GLIDE, the Falcon Awards for Disease Elimination aim to advance the elimination of one or more of GLIDEs four focus diseases: malaria, polio, lymphatic filariasis, and river blindness.

The Awards invited submissions from organisations in disease-endemic countries whose proposals address cross-border, cross-disease, cross-programme, or cross-sector approaches to disease elimination.

Five winners are selected to receive a grant of up to USD200,000 to implement their proposals, along with technical and advocacy support from GLIDE.

For more information, please visit: https://glideae.org/falcon-awards/

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211212005015/en/

Contacts

For more information or for interviews with the winners, please contact:

Sara Viglione

Gong Communications

E: GLIDE@gongcommunications.com

T: +44 7794 988752
Ky. Tornado Survivors Speak Out as Death Toll Hits 64: 'I Kept Praying, Please Let Me Get to My Kids'

At least 64 people are believed to be dead and 105 are still missing in the aftermath of the devastating tornadoes in Kentucky, according to Gov. Andy Beshear.

Beshear confirmed the latest numbers during a press conference on Monday morning, just two days after the state was hit by an outbreak of tornadoes that started late Friday and ended early Saturday.

The tornadoes also ripped through an Amazon warehouse in Illinois, a nursing home in Arkansas and parts of Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee, leaving survivors heartbroken and unsure how to move forward.

"It sounded like the whole house had fallen on top over our heads," Allison Laup, who lives in a rural area of Defiance, Missouri with her husband and three kids, tells PEOPLE.

For more on the devastating tornadoes in Kentucky and other top stories, listen below to our daily podcast on PEOPLE Every Day.

Samantha Costello, a Kentucky resident who recently learned that her 3-year-old neighbor was killed, recalls of the terrifying moment: "All I kept saying to myself on the highway  because I was literally right in the middle of the tornado driving  I kept praying, please let me get to my kids. Please let me get to my kids.'"

Tornado damage

Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Damage from the tornadoes in Kentucky

Meanwhile, Jordan Smith, who lives in Bowling Green, Kentucky, says that the top level of his townhome was completely blown off after he took shelter. He had to carry his 100-pound dog on his shoulders while escaping the destruction.

"Honestly, if I had been a couple of minutes slower, I might not be having this conversation," says Smith.

RELATED: See Heartbreaking Photos of the Tornado Devastation in Kentucky, Illinois and More States

"It's definitely something I've never experienced," says Stephanie Matheny, who returned to her Mayfield, Kentucky home during the storm to save her pets. "It's just devastating... Every time I closed my eyes, I just pictured my home and debris, my [fur] babies underneath the debris."

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Tornado damage

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Damage from the tornadoes in Kentucky

RELATED: Jail Inmates Help Rescue Tornado Victims at Kentucky Candle Factory: They Were 'Working Their Tails Off'

Of the 64 confirmed dead in Kentucky, Beshear announced that the victims ranged in age from 5 months to 86 years, and six of those individuals were younger than 18. He also noted that 18 of the deceased are currently unidentified.

Addressing the Mayfield candle factory that collapsed on Friday, the governor stated that 110 individuals were inside at the time and 94 are believed to be alive and accounted for. Eight are confirmed dead, while another eight are currently missing.

Fatalities in other states have also added up. In Illinois, six people who were inside an Amazon warehouse died, according to the Edwardsville Police Department.

Twenty others were trapped inside the Arkansas nursing home, where at least one person was confirmed dead and at least five were injured, CBS affiliate KIRO reported, citing the Craighead County Coroner.

Beshear emphasized on Monday that Kentucky's counts were considered "fluid" and the numbers may change in the coming days and weeks as crews sift through the debris, which the governor described as a "mountain of waste."

Structurally, Beshear said "thousands of homes were damaged, if not destroyed" across 18 counties in Kentucky and that "it may be weeks before we determine the levels of destruction."

Joan Turnbow, who lost her entire home in Dresden, Tennessee, tells PEOPLE: "We've just been trying to salvage what we could, but everything's like a total loss. We lost all our vehicles, everything. Everything's ruined. So we're pretty much going to be having to start all over."

Heavy damage is seen downtown after a tornado swept through the area on December 11, 2021 in Mayfield, Kentucky. Multiple tornadoes tore through parts of the lower Midwest late on Friday night leaving a large path of destruction and unknown fatalities.

Brett Carlsen/Getty Damage from the tornadoes in Kentucky

RELATED: Kentucky Tornado Victim Describes Emotional Search for Her Four Pets amid Debris: 'They're My Babies'

On Saturday, Beshear declared a state of emergency in Kentucky and activated 181 guardsmen from the National Guard in response to the tornado devastation.

National and local officials have since been helping clear debris, restore power and cell service and search for survivors, in what Beshear called "the most rapid response by the government in the history of the United States."

"I'm not doing so well today. I'm not so sure many of us are," Beshear said on Monday. "We're gonna keep putting one foot in front of the other and push through this... to the people of western Kentucky, we're not going anywhere. We're gonna be with you today, we'll be with you tomorrow, and we're gonna be there with you to rebuild."

While authorities across the states work to confirm the exact death toll, some of the victims have already been publicly identified.

In Kentucky, Graves County Deputy Robert Daniel and District Judge Brian Crick were confirmed as two of the victims, according to CNN.

Daniel, a 47-year-old father and grandfather, was working his first night shift at the candle factory, supervising inmates on a work-release program, the outlet reported.

RELATED VIDEO: Severe Storms Leave at Least 18 Dead After Tearing Through Southern States

Crick, a judge in the McLean and Muhlenberg counties, was a father of three who lived in Bremen, according to Kentucky.com. He was at home with two of his children and his wife when the tornado swept through.

His 17-year-old son, 16-year-old daughter and wife are being treated for minor injuries at the hospital.

In Illinois, the Edwardsville Police Department identified the six victims inside the Amazon warehouse as Deandre S. Morrow, 28, of St. Louis, Missouri; Kevin D. Dickey, 62, of Carlyle, Illinois; Clayton Lynn Cope, 29, of Alton, Illinois; Etheria S. Hebb, 34, of St. Louis; Larry E. Virden, 46, of Collinsville, Illinois; and Austin J. McEwen, 26, of Edwardsville, Illinois.

According to CNN, Cope was a U.S. Navy veteran who would've turned 30 in just a few weeks.

His mother, Carla Cope, told the outlet her son was "a really good kid" who was "big-hearted" and "would do anything for anybody."

On a GoFundMe page set up for Austin's family, the 26-year-old was remembered as "a beautiful soul, loved by all who met him" and a "hard-working, kind" individual.

His grandfather, Billy McEwen, tells PEOPLE that Austin was a "great, great person."

"He never bothered anybody," Billy says. "He helped whoever he could."
Top pre-settlement funding company expects increased volume of premise liability and slip and fall cases in 2022 as more large events and concerts are planned.

HOUSTON, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Legal-Bay, the premier Pre Settlement Funding Company, announced today that over 150 lawsuits have been filed in the Astroworld tragedy that took place at Houston's NRG Stadium last month. The event was sponsored by Live Nation and intended to be a showcase for rapper Travis Scott. Unfortunately, however, the day took a darker turn when attendees rushed the stage causing numerous injuries, and in the case of ten people, death.

Legal-Bay LLC Logo (PRNewsFoto/Legal-Bay LLC)

Over a dozen law firms representing approximately 600 plaintiffs have filed premise liability and gross negligence suits against Scott, concert promoter Live Nation, and numerous other businesses including venue staff and security of NRG, along with first-aid providers that were hired to attend to injured fans.

Plaintiffs claim that security and medical services were inadequate, leading to a predictable and preventable catastrophe. Safety measures could and should have been put in place in order to avoid the carnage that occurred, but instead, numerous corners were cut at almost every step. Concertgoers soon found themselves in an environment they had no control over, leading to the hundreds of injuries and tragic deaths that took place.

Plaintiffs allege that there was a lack of crowd management even though official plans stated that this was necessary, lending weight to the negligence charges being brought against the defendants. Reportedly, there wasn't even a strategy for a crowd surge, even though comparable problems had occurred during Astroworld's preceding event held in 2019.

In Scott's case, it might be even more difficult for him to claim he had no idea a crowd crush would happen since his own concerts have had other similar incidents, a fact which the venue and event organizers of this year's Astroworld were most certainly already aware. In 2015, he was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after he flay-out told a Chicago audience to ignore security and rush the stage.

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Chris Janish, CEO, commented on the situation, "We are expecting many more of these unfortunate large scale personal injury events in 2022 now that larger events are being planned following the Covid hiatus. To our knowledge, we are the only company funding Astroworld plaintiffs at this time. Our staff is familiar with cases of this nature and can evaluate quickly for victims who are in need of cash now."

If you have an existing lawsuit and need a loan on lawsuit against your impending case settlement, Legal-Bay may be able to assist you immediately. To apply online, please visit us HERE or call the company's toll-free hotline at 877.571.0405.

Even outside the Astroworld tragedy, Legal-Bay has seen a flood of new premise liability filings in 2021, and their team is prepared to keep up with the demand. They're one of the leading lawsuit loan funding companies in the industry, and offer a lightning-fast approval process. A good thing, considering there's been a noticeable backlog in the courts due to Covid delays and court closures in response to the pandemic. Rather than wait indefinitely until cases get settled, Legal-Bay believes plaintiffs shouldn't be left waiting for the money they have coming to them. They have expanded their premise liability and personal injury departments in order to accommodate litigants who would rather opt for presettlement funding. Applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and funding is awarded based on the merits of your particular situation.

The legal concept of premise liability is used in certain personal injury cases if the injury involved was caused by a property owner's failure to ensure his property is safe. To win a premise liability case, the injured person needs to prove that their injuries were caused by unsafe conditions as a direct result of the property owner's negligence to suitably maintain the property.

However, just because you were injured on someone's property doesn't automatically mean that the property owner is liable. Proof will need to be provided showing the property owner was aware of the unsafe conditions on his premises and failed to take action to rectify an unsafe situation. That being the case, you may be entitled to compensation.

If you are involved in an active personal injury or premise liability lawsuit and need an immediate cash advance against an impending lawsuit settlement, please visit Legal-Bay HERE or call toll-free at 877.571.0405.

Legal-Bay is one of the market's premier funders. If you've previously been denied by other funding companies, you might want to give Legal-Bay a try. More often than not, they'll be able to refinance your rate at a lower cost than other funders, with an added bonus of getting you more money.

Anyone that has an existing lawsuit and needs cash now can apply for loan settlement funding to help get through their financial crises. Legal-Bay funds all types of premise liability loans for lawsuits including personal injury, slips and falls, car accidents, construction site accidents, work-related injuries, injuries incurred due to negligent business practices or lack of maintenance on private property, and more.

Legal-Bay's pre settlement funding programs are designed to provide immediate cash in advance of a plaintiff's anticipated monetary award. The non-recourse law suit loanssometimes referred to as loans for lawsuit or loans on settlementare risk-free, as the money doesn't need to be repaid should the recipient lose their case. Therefore, the lawsuit loans aren't really loans, but rather cash advances.

To apply for lawsuit funding right now, please visit the company's website HERE or call toll-free at: 877.571.0405 where agents are standing by.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/legal-bay-lawsuit-funding-taking-applications-on-astroworld-and-other-high-profile-personal-injury-claims-301442862.html

SOURCE Legal-Bay, LLC
Neil Pentland, Co-founder of DecoNetwork, was interviewed on Mission Matters Innovation Podcast by Adam Torres.

Neil Pentland was interviewed on Mission Matters Innovation Podcast by Adam Torres.

Neil Pentland, Co-founder of DecoNetwork, was interviewed on Mission Matters Innovation Podcast by Adam Torres.

Neil Pentland, Co-founder of DecoNetwork, was interviewed on Mission Matters Innovation Podcast by Adam Torres.

Beverly Hills, CA, Dec. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Neil Pentlands passion is print shop management software for the garment decoration industry.

Within DecoNetwork.com, Pentland is continually researching how to better enable screenprinting and garment embroidery businesses to more effectively manage their quoting, order workflows and processing to increase profits and expand their revenue.

Listen to the full interview of Neil Pentland with Adam Torres on Mission Matters Innovation Podcast.

How is the print-to-wear industry evolving these days?

"What entices me every day is experiencing the evolution of this great industry into smart online websites enabling the businesses to manufacture and deliver in days not weeks Pentland says industry innovations have made managing a print shop business much less stressful and more profitable. Ive talked to a lot of printers, and I'm astounded at their skills. It inspires me on a daily basis, and I know that by providing world-class business technology and solutions for them, we both win it is such a journey.

A rocky road with lessons learned

Pentland, who describes himself as something of a serial entrepreneur, started his technology career in 1982 as a computer consultant. In 1996, he started Atnet, the third ISP to launch on the Gold Coast, where he poured his passion for technology into developing internet solutions for businesses. Later, he launched Golden Orb Technologies, a tech company that earned Queensland Innovation Awards for online ecommerce solutions. Golden Orb was eventually rebranded as DecoNetwork, a niche business solution for the print-to-wear industry.

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Having faced some troubling trials and tribulations himself, including being falsely accused and charged with a serious cold case crime (after many months in jail on remand, a not-guilty verdict resulted at his trial). Pentland says he knows what its like for ones life to be turned upside down, requiring years to regain balance and stability. His book, Operation Carye: Trials and Tribulations, is a tale of adversity, redemption and inspiration.

Whats ahead for DecoNetwork

Getting back to business, he says, If we're going to be ubiquitous throughout the industry, we need to enhance our relationships with garment and machine vendors so they can better experience the benefits we can deliver for them and their customers.

The USA largest Print-to-Wear Industry Trade Show Impressions Expo is coming up in January and Deconetwork will be there. Pentland notes, We're continually expanding our service with many updates and new features (for instance), besides allowing our licensees to create multiple websites that enable customers to create and order custom decorated apparel, the orders now flow into a scheduling calendar automatically keeping the consumer, the process workers and management informed as to the progress of their orders.

Visit DecoNetwork to learn more about innovations in the print-to-wear industry.



Media Communications

Inquiries: adamtorres@missionmatters.com

Publicist for Adam Torres and Mission Matters Media: KISS PR Brand Story PressWire.

Brand Publicity Partners KissPR.com

For more details, visit Kisspr.com. KISS PR Digital PR & Marketing powers the Mission Matters Business podcast with brand storytelling. T: 972.437.8942







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NORMAN  Oklahoma State coach John Smith was pleased with the final result, but he saw a lot to work on in how his wrestling team got there.

The fourth-ranked Cowboys defeated No. 17 Oklahoma 31-3 in the first Bedlam dual of the season on Sunday at the Lloyd Noble Center.

With two bonus-point victories  a 10-2 major decision by Dustin Plott at 174 and a pin by Daton Fix at 133  and several workmanlike decisions, the Cowboys controlled Bedlam from start to finish.

But Smith wants to see more out of his Cowboys.

Just looking for a little bit more passion to score in situations, Smith said. A lot of it was just chain wrestling, following up off of missed shots, just doing some things that I seem to always have a problem with early on  not a problem with it, but I cant get those guys to think about it.

'Could be a dogfight': OSU's John Smith anticipates a tightly contested Bedlam dual

Coach John Smith and the fourth-ranked Cowboys defeated No. 17 Oklahoma 31-3 in the first Bedlam dual of the season on Sunday at the Lloyd Noble Center.

More: Oklahoma State wrestler A.J. Ferrari signs NIL deal with WWE

OU won the pre-match coin flip and got to choose the starting weight for the dual, picking 149 pounds, where the Sooners were sending out two-time Big 12 champion Dom Demas for his first match of the year. He moved up from 141 pounds, where he has wrestled throughout his career.

After Demas scored a first-period takedown, Kaden Gfeller escaped and commanded the match from that point.

Gfeller got a takedown and a nearfall in the second period, then added a late takedown in the third to finish off a 9-3 decision.

A lot of attitude in that match, Smith said. I like the fact that (Gfeller) did a nice job recovering from getting taken down at the beginning, and building himself back into the match, then with a comfortable lead, scoring that last takedown. Those are things you like to see, and things you remember as you move forward.

With OUs decision to start the dual at 149, Gfeller took it personally that OU seemed to think it could attack him.

I took it a little personal that they thought I might have a little trouble coming off the scale with a one-hour weigh-in, Gfeller said. I just used it as motivation to go out there and wrestle harder.

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I didnt know what to expect. I just wanted to wrestle my match, wrestle hard.

At 157 pounds, OSUs Wyatt Sheets trailed Justin Thomas 2-1 in the final period, but recorded a full period of riding time to tie the match at 2. Then in the sudden-victory period, Sheets scored a takedown for the 4-2 win.

The riding time, which was close to the end, I think that really put the momentum towards me, Sheets said.

Kaden Gfeller

Oklahoma State extended its team lead to 9-0 at 165 pounds with an 8-4 decision by Travis Wittlake over Joe Grello. The Cowboys added four more team points with Plotts 10-2 decision over Anthony Mantanona at 174 pounds.

The match with the two highest-ranked competitors  OSUs top-ranked A.J. Ferrari and OUs No. 11 Jake Woodley  was tightly contested throughout, with points hard to come by.

But Ferrari, a sophomore and the defending national champion, picked up a first-period takedown, then extended his lead to 5-2 in the second period. Ferrari ultimately won 6-3.

OU got on the board at heavyweight, but it wasnt without some drama. OUs Josh Heindselman and OSUs Luke Surber went to sudden-victory overtime tied at 1, and Heindselman scored a takedown.

Surber tried to answer with a reversal to tie the match again, but was denied. OSU challenged the call, saying Surber had tied the match, but on the review, the call on the mat was confirmed, and Heindselman took a 3-1 victory.

At 125, OSUs Trevor Mastrogiovanni swung momentum back to the orange corner with a thrilling 6-4 victory over Joey Prata. The wrestlers were tied at 4 as the clock ticked down in the third period, when Mastrongiovanni scored a takedown with five seconds left to seal the win.

At 133, OSUs second-ranked Daton Fix was on his way to a bonus-point victory already, but put the finishing touches on it with a pin of Tony Madrigal with 42 seconds left in the match. That extended OSUs lead to 28-3.

OSUs Carter Young wrapped up the day with a 9-4 decision over Jacob Butler in the days final match.

A scuffle broke out during the post-match handshake line, with Ferrari and Heindselman appearing to be at the center of it. But the two were quickly separated.

I went back and watched it on tape, and we didnt start it, Smith said. Ill just say that. I made sure we didnt start it. Theres been a problem there in the past, but those things shouldnt happen.

Bedlam wrestling results

Sunday

At Lloyd Noble Center, Norman

OKLAHOMA STATE 31, OKLAHOMA 3

125: Trevor Mastrogiovanni, OSU dec. Joey Prata, 6-4

133: Daton Fix, OSU, pinned Tony Madrigal, 6:18

141: Carter Young, OSU, dec. Jacob Butler, 9-4

149: Kaden Gfeller, OSU, dec. Dom Demas, 9-3

157: Wyatt Sheets, OSU, dec. Justin Thomas, 4-2, SV

165: Travis Wittlake, OSU, dec. Joe Grello, 8-4

174: Dustin Plott, OSU, maj. dec. Anthony Mantanona, 10-2

184: Dakota Geer, OSU, dec. Darrien Roberts, 9-2

197: A.J. Ferrari, OSU, dec. Jake Woodley, 6-3

HWT: Josh Heindselman, OU, dec. Luke Surber, 3-1, SV

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU at OSU wrestling: Kaden Gfeller helps lead Cowboys' rout in Bedlam
AMES  You cant criticize much, if any, about the way Iowa State mens basketball became 10-0 on Sunday. The 47-37 victory against Jackson State predictably wasnt pretty. There was a short turnaround after last Thursdays win against Iowa. Its final exams week.

Those arent excuses. Those are facts, and so is this: The Cyclones won despite their lowest offensive performance since a 68-45 loss against Tennessee on Jan. 27, 2018, but theres more.

Sunday was Iowa States first winning performance with 47 or fewer points since a 47-46 victory against Fairfield in the Elm City Classic in Connecticut on Dec. 30, 1980. That happened in Johnny Orrs first season as the coach, just like Sunday happened in T.J. Otzelbergers first season at the Cyclones' helm.

More: Iowa State moves to 10-0 in Otzelberger's first season as head coach, but the game wasn't pretty

And speaking of Otzelberger, hes the first Cyclone coach to start his career 10-0. Thats the most important thing to come out of a game long on defensive highlights, but short on other key moments that included a couple of second-half scoring droughts.

Iowa State guard Izaiah Brockington (1) takes a shot around Jackson State's Jayveous McKinnis (11) during the first half Sunday at Hilton Coliseum in Ames.

Were not going to apologize or worry about the fact that things didnt go the way we wanted offensively, Otzelberger said. Were going to focus on what we did great defensively.

And lets also focus on this: With preseason nonconference games remaining against Southeast Louisiana on Dec. 19 and Chicago State on Dec. 21, Otzelbergers team has a chance to be 12-0 when hosting defending NCAA Tournament champion Baylor on Jan. 1 in the Big 12 Conference opener.

Thats rare Iowa State air. The last hot start like this was 14-0 by Fred Hoibergs 2013-14 team that went to the Sweet 16.

Is it too soon to consider going from 2-22 one season to the NCAA Tournament the next? Probably, but its certainly more of a possibility now than it was before this season started.

So consider all that before making too much of the offensive negatives during this Sunday noon game at Hilton Coliseum.

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Or look at it like this: Iowa State on Sunday was good enough on defense to overcome playing so dismally on the other half of the court. I dont know if a recent Cyclones team could have done that.

That says a lot about our team, Gabe Kalscheur said. We pride ourselves on defense and getting stops.

More: From the archives: T.J. Otzelberger, Alison Lacey find love through basketball at Iowa State

That was evident during last Thursdays 20-point win against Iowa. It was on display again just a few days later. While shooting can be flaky, theres no excuse for defense not showing up game in and game out.

Defense is way more important than offense, especially the way we play, said Jaz Kunc, who led the 19th-ranked Cyclones with 12 points. We did a great job rebounding on the defensive end.

Jackson State (2-7) got just two offensive rebounds and was outscored 19-zip after scoring the game's first four points. That offensive rebounds is an impressive statistic, regardless of how mediocre the opponent may be. Iowa State also forced 22 turnovers. And the Cyclone defenders had 14 consecutive stops during one stretch. Again, thats a good number, regardless of the opponent.

So consider all that before hanging too harsh a grade on this game.

That certainly wasnt the game offensively that we hoped it would be, but at the same time, how we built momentum in our habits is in our defense and our rebounding, Otzelberger said. We counted on those habits, and they showed up for us.

Otzelberger could have given his guys a day off from practice after the Iowa game, but he didnt. Four games in 12 days is tough, too. But they kept at it, knowing finals week was approaching.

There are still some strategic and technical points a first-season coach needs to make. The best place to do that is the practice court.

Its been a lot of games coming at us, Otzelberger said. As a coach, you know sometimes when your teams need a day or a rest. Ill give our guys credit  they had two great days of practice.

I didnt think we had the same hop in our step we normally do. I thought we were a little tired. I get where their bodies are a little fatigued, but we had this break (coming) after (Sundays) game. We had to tough through it."

Which they did. Thanks to defense.

Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson embarked on his 50th year of writing sports for the Des Moines Register in December 2021 . Reach him at rpeterson@dmreg.com, 515-284-8132, and on Twitter at @RandyPete.

Iowa State men's basketball coach T.J. Otzelberger reacts from the beach during the second half Sunday against Jackson State.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State men's basketball moves to 10-0, guided by elite defense
Poland's competition watchdog is the latest to investigate Apple over policy changes to its mobile platform that impact how third-party apps can track iOS users by requiring they request permission before they can grab data.

The country's Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) said today that it's opened an investigation into changes to how Apple's mobile platform operates in relation to the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature that requires app developers to ask iOS users for permission to track them for ad targeting.

Apple has been contacted for comment.

The tech giant announced ATT back in summer last year -- launching it, after some delay and ongoing advertiser objections, with iOS 14.5 earlier this year.

"In practice, this means that Apple has significantly reduced the ability of third-party apps to obtain personal data on iOS in order to send personalised ads," the UOKiK writes in a press announcement of the probe. "However, this does not mean that users' information is no longer being collected and that they do not receive personalised ads. At the same time, doubts have arisen as to whether the rules established by Apple were not designed to promote their own advertising service, Apple Search Ads, which could be a violation of competition principles."

"The actions of digital giants are a challenge for antitrust authorities all around the world," added Tomasz Chrostny, the president of UOKiK, in a statement. "During the course of our investigation, we want to examine whether Apple's actions may be aimed at eliminating competitors in the market for personalised advertising services, the objective being to better sell their own service. We will investigate whether this is a case of exclusionary abuse of market power."

France's competition watchdog already took at look at ATT, following advertiser complaints.

However, earlier this year, France's Autorite de la concurrence declined to block Apple's launch of ATT -- saying, back in March, that it did not consider the introduction of the feature to be an abuse of a dominant position.

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Although the Autorite said it would continue investigating the policy change -- specifically saying it wanted to check whether Apple was applying less restrictive rules for its own apps versus third-party developers' ads (which appears to be a key part of the concern driving UOKiK's probe).

Cupertino has been accused of hypocrisy by advertisers who pointed to earlier defaults on iOS opting users into Apple's own tracking-based ads versus the new requirement that third parties must ask for permission.

Back in October, the FT also reported that the switch had created what it described as "a windfall" for Apple, suggesting the company's advertising business has more than tripled its market share in the six months after it introduced the changes that obstructed rivals from targeting ads at users. (Although it's worth noting that Apple's Search Ads comprise only a tiny fraction of the entire mobile ad market, so 3x of a tiny amount is still very small beer.)

Also noteworthy: In iOS 15, Apple quietly changed its earlier default that had opted iOS users into receiving its own personalized ads, as 9to5Mac reported in September -- when it started prompting users for their consent to its ad targeting, bringing it more in line with its policy mandate that third parties must request user permission to track.

Although -- again important to note -- iOS users have always been able to switch off tracking for Apple's ads via their device settings, unlike some third-party apps (like Facebook) that offer users no choice over ad tracking at all.

Perhaps the most interesting element of the Polish investigation is -- therefore -- not the question of whether Apple is playing fair but its observation that ATT "does not mean that users' information is no longer being collected and that they do not receive personalised ads". Although the probe sounds more narrowly focused on whether or not Apple is self-preferencing. (We've reached out to the UOKiK with questions about its investigation and will update this report if the regulator responds.)

A study of ATT's "effectiveness" at stopping third-party tracking, carried out by an ad blocker called Lockdown Privacy and published this fall, questioned whether the feature creates merely "an illusion of privacy", given the researchers found no difference in the total number of active third-party trackers; and what they described as "a minimal impact" on the total number of third-party tracking connection attempts.

"We further confirmed that detailed personal or device data was being sent to trackers in almost all cases," the study also concluded.

Whether increased transparency should lead to a reduction of tracking scripts -- and therefore whether that's a good way to measure ATT's "efficiency" -- is one question to ponder.

Another is how the market may be shifting in response to platform flexes like ATT -- or, well, pretending to shift.

Last week, another report in the FT suggested Apple might have reached what the newspaper described as a "quiet truce" with advertisers -- claiming it was loosely interpreting the ATT policy to continue to allow third parties to collect reams of personal data, so long as the data they gobbled up is "anonymised and aggregated rather than tied to specific user profiles".

Thing is, the adtech industry has a long history of making bogus claims of anonymization. While an unholy host of faceless adtech entities have spawned and proliferated in the space by trading and "syncing" user data with each other -- to undermine people's privacy and erode their ability to protect themselves from tracking exactly by re-identifying individuals (via their devices, ad IDs, cookie data etc., etc.) so they can continue the lucrative business of building profiles to target individuals with ads.

So whether suggestions by a handful of major advertisers cited in the FT article -- including Snap and Facebook -- that they're shifting their ad targeting efforts to "cohort"-based advertising would survive careful scrutiny of what actually gets done with any in-flows of "aggregated" iOS user data remains to be seen. (And may indeed require regulatory oversight -- such as through legislative proposals like Europe's Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act -- actually doing the due diligence.)

Ad giant Google has also -- in recent years -- been pressing for the industry to switch to cohort-based targeting -- which it claims is better for privacy, even as its suggested "federated learning of cohorts" (aka FloCs) tech would do nothing to prevent vulnerable groups being selected for targeted manipulation. (Indeed, some critics of Google's proposal suggest it will actually make predatory targeting worse.)

In the U.K., Google's self-styled "Privacy Sandbox" plan has attracted close regulatory interest.

It is currently being overseen by the U.K.'s competition watchdog -- which has said it wants to ensure that the market-shifting changes are implemented in a way that's both fair to advertisers and Google competitors and also not terrible for user privacy (although oversight of the latter piece is handed off to the U.K.'s ICO, which has a reputation for roundly failing to enforce against any of the adtech industry's myriad privacy breaches, so... ).

All of this is to say that the (power) balancing act is real. But also that regional regulation is far more muscular on the antitrust side than it has ever been in standing up for privacy and data protection -- which risks an unbalanced outcome where adtech versus privacy is concerned. So the stakes for users remain eye-wateringly high.

The European Union, meanwhile, has been a bit of a bystander on this front.

It has its own active antitrust case ongoing against Apple -- related to rules it applies to its App Store. However the Commission's complaint is narrowly focused on the music streaming market, so only on concerns that Apple is potentially distorting competition in that specific segment.

The EU's antitrust division has its eye on Apple Pay too -- but, so far, the Commission hasn't taken action in relation to ATT -- which leaves national competition regulators across the bloc, such as Poland's UOKiK and France's Autorite de la concurrence free to pursue probes if they believe concern is merited.

The Commission did finally open a formal probe of Google's adtech this summer -- which includes scrutiny of its Sandbox proposal. But it's fair to say the EU's executive has lagged behind on adtech scrutiny and interventions. (As have gatekeeping national data protection regulators.)

So a lack of joined up thinking at a national level -- between Europe's competition enforcers and privacy regulators -- could risk putting chilling limits on even the (limited) pro-privacy changes that a powerful platform-operating company like Apple can bring in.
INDIANAPOLIS, December 13, 2021--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PPG (NYSE: PPG) has reached an agreement to become the Official Paint and Finishing Supplier of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

As part of the multiyear agreement, PPG is also the Official Sponsor of Indianapolis 500 qualifying weekend. Drivers will compete for the prestigious Indianapolis 500 pole and one of the coveted 33 spots in the field for "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" during PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying on Saturday, May 21 and Sunday, May 22 at IMS.

"PPG is one of the most loyal and trusted partners in the history of our sport, and were proud to pair IMS and INDYCAR with such an iconic and globally recognized brand," Roger Penske said. "Like us, PPG is built on quality and leadership in the marketplace with a strong tradition of excellence spanning more than a century. We look forward to seeing and supporting PPGs sponsorship activation, especially during Indy 500 qualifying weekend."

"We are excited to continue and further expand our relationship with racing and specifically with the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway," said Michael McGarry, PPG chairman and chief executive officer. "PPG paints, coatings and specialty materials have been used throughout racing for decades, and now to have them be part of the future INDYCAR SERIES and IMS experience is an exciting opportunity. Our company purpose is to protect and beautify the world, and this partnership will provide opportunities to bring this to life in new and colorful ways."

The partnership revives a relationship between PPG, IMS and INDYCAR that began decades ago. PPG served as the title sponsor of the INDYCAR SERIES from 1980 to 1997. The company sponsored the Indianapolis 500 Pole Award and was an Indy 500 contingency sponsor from the mid-1970s until the late 1990s. PPG sponsored the winners trophy for the NASCAR Brickyard 400 at IMS from its inaugural race in 1994 through 2000.

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PPG has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with Team Penske in both the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and NASCAR, dating back to 1984 when PPG provided the paint for Team Penskes numerous race cars. Today, PPGs involvement with the team includes primary sponsorship of Team Penskes cars in both INDYCAR and NASCAR.

PPG: WE PROTECT AND BEAUTIFY THE WORLD

At PPG (NYSE: PPG), we work every day to develop and deliver the paints, coatings and materials that our customers have trusted for more than 135 years. Through dedication and creativity, we solve our customers biggest challenges, collaborating closely to find the right path forward. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, we operate and innovate in more than 75 countries and reported net sales of $13.8 billion in 2020. We serve customers in construction, consumer products, industrial and transportation markets and aftermarkets. To learn more, visit www.ppg.com.

We protect and beautify the world is a trademark and the PPG Logo is a registered trademark of PPG Industries Ohio, Inc.

CATEGORY Automotive Refinish

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005646/en/

Contacts

Greta Edgar

724-316-7552

edgar@ppg.com
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - December 13, 2021) - Prismo Metals Inc. (CSE: PRIZ) ("Prismo" or the "Company") is pleased to confirm that in connection with its previously announced private placement of units of the company (see news release dated December 7, 2021 for more details), such units will also be offered to Prismo shareholders (the "Eligible Prismo Shareholders") of record as of the close of business on December 7, 2021 (the "Record Date") pursuant to the "Exemption from prospectus requirement for certain trades to existing security holders" of BC Instrument 45-534, and similar prospectus exemptions in other provinces of Canada (the "Existing Shareholder Exemption"). Subscriptions by Eligible Prismo Shareholders are subject to a number of conditions, including a limit of $15,000 unless such Eligible Prismo Shareholder has received advice regarding the suitability of an investment in the units from a registered investment dealer.

As announced by the Company on December 7, 2021, Prismo is conducting a non-brokered private placement of units (the "Units") at a price of $0.30 per Unit for total gross proceeds of $2 million (the "Offering"). Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Company and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one common share of the Company at a price of C$0.45 for a period of 24 months following the closing date of the Offering.

The Company expects to close the Offering on or before December 22, 2021, which remains subject to regulatory approval. Any Eligible Prismo Shareholder who wishes to participate in the Offering is asked to please contact your financial advisor or Salvador Miranda, Chief Financial Officer of the Company, at (604) 925-2839 or by email to: salvador.miranda@prismometals.com in order to receive subscription documentation and instructions. The Offering will remain open to Eligible Prismo Shareholders until December 20, 2021. Orders will be processed by the Company on a first come, first served basis such that it is possible that a subscription received from an Eligible Prismo Shareholder may not be accepted by the Company if the Offering is over subscribed. Any person who becomes a shareholder of Prismo after the Record Date shall not be entitled to participate in the Offering under the Existing Shareholder Exemption.

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The Company intends to use the gross proceeds of the Offering to complete a 4,000-meter drilling campaign on its Palos Verdes property (estimated at $1.0 million), conduct exploration on its Los Pavitos property with a view of identifying drilling targets (estimated at $400,000), the costs of the offering (estimated at $125,000) and for general working capital.

There can be no assurances that the Offering will be completed on the terms set out herein, or at all, or that the proceeds of the Offering will be sufficient for the uses of proceeds as set out above.

About Prismo

Prismo (CSE: PRIZ) is junior mining company focused on precious metal exploration in Mexico.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Craig Gibson, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Prismo Metals Inc.

1100 - 1111 Melville St., Vancouver, British Columbia V6E 3V6

Contact Information:

Salvador Miranda, CFO

salvador.miranda@prismometals.com

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements other than statements of historical fact, including without limitation, statements regarding the anticipated content, commencement and exploration program results, the ability to complete future financings, required permitting, exploration programs and drilling, and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct.

The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, the state of the financial markets for the Company's equity securities, the state of the commodity markets generally, variations in the nature, the analytical results from surface trenching and sampling program, including diamond drilling programs, the results of IP surveying, the results of soil and till sampling program. the quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, variations in the market price of any mineral products the Company may produce or plan to produce, the inability of the Company to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required, including CSE acceptance, for its planned activities, the inability of the Company to produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies, the potential impact of COVID-19 (coronavirus) on the Company's exploration program and on the Company's general business, operations and financial condition, and other risks and uncertainties. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties.

NOT FOR DISSEMINATION OR DISTRIBUTION INTO THE UNITED STATES OR THROUGH UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/107481
By Yousef Saba and Saeed Azhar

RIYADH, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia will increasingly rely on its $450 billion PIF sovereign wealth fund to drive an ambitious spending push, keeping the government's books relatively clear while leaving room to increase debt if needed.

The world's top oil exporter said on Sunday it expects to post its first budget surplus in nearly a decade next year by keeping a tight rein on the public purse strings while revenues roll in, boosted by higher crude prices.

Among other measures, the budget foresees an 18.2% fall in capital expenditure compared to estimates for this year.

Announcing it, Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said: "If reserves are at adequate levels ... the surplus will go to National Development Fund to finance the private sector and to PIF for investments."

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) has become the centrepiece of Saudi economic diversification plans in recent years.

On Monday, the fund said it expected to invest up to 1 trillion riyals by 2025.

PIF has previously said it plans to invest 150 billion riyals a year by 2025, although it missed that target this year, investing only 84 billion riyals.

Should the full amount come through next year, it would bring total spending to 1.105 trillion riyals, a nearly 9% increase when compared to estimates for this year, said James Swanston, an economist at Capital Economics.

"On the face of it, the 2022 budget seems quite austere," Swanston said.

"However, what is more interesting is the kingdom's government seeming to increasingly lean upon government-related entities, most notably PIF, to support domestic investment as a substitute for government expenditure."

BIGGER SCOPE

Jadaan said many large capital expenditure programmes have been completed and spending efficiency improved.

Other resources to back capital projects will come from planned privatisations and through the participation of PIF or the National Development Fund, a state entity tasked with facilitating private investments.

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Created in 2017 by amalgamating several smaller economic development funds, NDF had over $80 billion in assets as of October, according to Global SWF, a sovereign wealth fund data specialist.

"In total, actually the numbers are higher than what we used to spend, but the scope is a lot bigger," Jadaan said.

Saudi Arabia plans to keep its government debt stock unchanged next year, with new issues used mostly to refinance maturing debt rather than to support the budget.

New borrowing could be raised to support government reserves, the budget said, or to finance "capital projects that can be accelerated through debt issuances".

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said this year that state companies will be required to cut the dividends they pay the government to boost capital spending and support a multi-trillion dollar spending push to diversify the economy.

But analysts have said local investment targets - which include mega projects like the $500 billion futuristic city NEOM - could be tough to meet.

"We do not foresee any new net (debt) issuances by the government in the foreseeable future and expect more to be done at the level of state-owned entities/companies as they push ahead with their investment plans," said Mohamed Abu Basha, head of macroeconomic analysis at EFG Hermes.

The government is seeking to create a consolidated balance sheet of its assets and liabilities which will include items currently kept off the books, including the investments and debts of the powerful sovereign wealth fund.

"I would expect within the next three to five years, we will receive the first consolidated balance sheet that will have the whole sovereign assets and liabilities," Jadaan told Reuters.

(Additional reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi, Writing by Davide Barbuscia, Editing by Catherine Evans)
Chinese artificial intelligence (A.I.) startup SenseTimeone of the worlds most valuable A.I. firmspostponed its $768 million Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) on Monday, three days after the Biden administration placed the company on a blacklist that prohibits U.S. capital from investing in the Hong Kongbased computer vision firm.

In a filling to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) Monday, SenseTime said it "remains committed to completingthe listing soon" but announced it would refund all share sale payments the group received during its IPO pricing last week.

U.S. institutional investors Fidelity and Qualcomm own small stakes in the firm, while American private equity firm Silver Lake holds a 3% stake in SenseTime. Other major investors include Japan's SoftBank and Chinese venture capital funds.

The U.S. Treasury Department added the group to a list of Chinese military-industrial complex companies" that U.S. companies and individuals are prohibited from investing in on Fridaythe day SenseTime was due to price its IPO. The Treasury Department says SenseTime's technology enabled "serious human rights abuses" in China's Xinjiang province, where authorities have used facial recognition technology to monitor the local minority Uyghur population.

SenseTime, in a statement, said it strongly "opposes the designation and accusations that have been made in connection with it." Nevertheless, the U.S. blacklisting was enough to derail the startup's listing plans, which the tech group has been working toward since 2019.

China has a handful of homegrown A.I. powerhouses known as the four A.I. dragonsnamely SenseTime, Megvii, Yitu, and CloudWalkbut none have successfully turned a profit or listed, yet. Bruce Pang, head of macro strategy and research at China Renaissance Securities, says a successful SenseTime IPO could have paved the path for other Chinese A.I. firms looking to go public and raise funds, particularly in Hong Kong.

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Instead, SenseTime's postponed listing exposes the increased hurdles Chinese A.I. firms face in fundraising via a traditional IPOeven in a market like Hong Kongand raises further questions about the decoupling of U.S. and China's capital markets.

Blacklist

Chinese computer scientist Xu Li and information engineering professor Tang Xiaoou founded SenseTime in 2014, after meeting through work at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). According to the group's prospectus, SenseTime is now the largest A.I. software group in Asia in terms of revenue, generating $530 million in sales in 2020.

SenseTime's signature DeepID technology, which the group says can recognize a face with 99.15% accuracy, generates the largest proportion of the company's income. But SenseTime's success in pioneering facial recognition tech has also embroiled the company in a new era of controversy.

In October 2019, the Trump administration placed SenseTime and 27 other Chinese firms on the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) Entity List for import bans, citing the companies roles in human rights violations and abuses."

The U.S. BIS said Chinese public security agencies have used DeepID to enable Beijing's "campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention and high-tech surveillance against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other members of Muslim minority groups in [Xinjiang]." At the time, SenseTime said it was "deeply disappointed" by the U.S. decision and that it was "actively developing our A.I. code of ethics to ensure our technologies are used in a responsible way."

SenseTime had already moved to distance itself from any ties to Xinjiang before the Trump administration placed it on the Entity List, selling a 51% stake in Xinjiang-based surveillance firm Leon Technology six months before the Trump ban.

But Paul Triolo, practice head of geo-technology at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, told Fortune in August that profitability and revenue growth "beyond government and security-related applications" remains a fundamental challenge for SenseTime and China's A.I. firms.

A.I. dragons

SenseTime isnt the only Chinese A.I. startup to face sanctions from Washington.

In 2019, the Trump administration included SenseTime's fellow A.I. dragons Megvii and Yitu (CloudWalk was added last May); and SenseTime's attempts to go public is a repeat of history, says Pang, citing Megvii's 2019 aborted Hong Kong listing. Megvii had filed to debut on the HKEX in 2019, but local investors and activists petitioned the bourse not to approve the company's listing. Megvii submitted a 600-page document to the HKEX's listing committee outlining its "minimal" ties to Xinjiang, but ultimately refiled for a Shanghai STAR Market listing this March.

But the U.S.'s recent action against SenseTime signals that the pressure from Washington on Chinese tech firms is far from over, analysts say.

Washington could very likely place more Chinese A.I. and tech firms on its investment blacklist, given the possibility of geopolitical tensions between the two countries "re-escalating," says Pang. Just last week, the U.S. announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games in protest of Beijing's human rights "atrocities." Beijing responded that it would retaliate with "resolute countermeasures."

Rising tensions will undoubtedly "cast a shadow on Chinese firms' offshore listings," Pang says, including both in Hong Kong and New York.

SenseTime, for its part, said in its official statement on Saturday that the company "regret[s] to have been caught in the middle of geopolitical disputes."

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
TORONTO, December 13, 2021--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today the United Steelworkers union (USW) visited a Canadian Tire store in downtown Toronto to deliver a petition addressed to CEO Greg Hicks demanding Marks/Canadian Tire pay living wages to workers in its global supply chain. The USW petition capped a month-long action campaign, part of the ongoing Justice for Global Garment Workers campaign by the Steelworkers Humanity Fund (SHF).

Throughout November, Steelworkers across the country mobilized to tell Canadian Tire to pay living wages to the women working in its supply chains, visiting 30 store locations across the country and circulating a petition that echoes those demands.

For years, trade union leaders and workers rights advocates in Bangladesh have denounced the appalling working conditions of the millions of Bangladeshi garment workers who make our clothes, and have fought to improve health and safety standards and increase wages.

"Canadian Tire is very focused on promoting the positive impact it has in local communities in Canada through its corporate social responsibility programs," says Ken Neumann, USW National Director. "But it can, and must, make a difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi garment workers and their families. We are looking for leadership from Canadian Tire on an issue of fundamental justice for women garment workers worldwide."

In March 2021, the SHF issued Not Even the Bare Minimum, a report that documents the working and living conditions of the women and men working for Canadian brands in Bangladesh, including factories producing for Marks and its owner, Canadian Tire. The wages that Bangladeshi garment sector workers are paid do not come close to what is needed for women to escape poverty, no matter how hard they work.

Meanwhile, Marks/Canadian Tire has continued to generate profits during the pandemic. Canadian Tires CEO Greg Hicks earned $4.49 million in 2020. In just two weeks, Hicks will earn the equivalent of 25 years salary for an entry-level garment worker.

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The Steelworkers Humanity Fund is a registered Canadian charity funded by USW member contributions. For more than 25 years, the SHF has supported international development projects, trade union and workers rights in the global south and provided emergency humanitarian aid for disasters in Canada and around the world and more.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005147/en/

Contacts

Ken Neumann, President, Steelworkers Humanity Fund, 416-544-5951

Doug Olthuis, Executive Director, Steelworkers Humanity Fund, 416-859-9953, dolthuis@usw.ca

Shannon Devine, USW Communications, 416-894-7118 (cell), sdevine@usw.ca
The Tennessee Attorney General's office will not appeal a ruling which changes Abu-Ali Abdur'Rahman's death sentence to three life sentences.

In a news release, Slatery said his decision not to appeal shouldn't be seen as an approval of the deal struck between Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk and Abdur'Rahman's legal team.

Abdur'Rahman, 71, was previously sentenced to death in the 1986 stabbing attack that killed Patrick Daniels.

The brutal armed robbery by Abdur'Rahman and an associate also left a Nashville woman bound, stabbed in the back, drifting in and out of consciousness until the early morning when she crawled to her children's room to have them call for help.

But in the years after his conviction, questions emerged about whether the trial that left him on death row for more than 30 years was fair.

Abdur'Rahman's legal team argued the sentence should be reversed because prosecutors illegally kept Black residents from serving on the jury.

In 2019, a judge approved a deal between Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk and Abdur'Rahman's legal team to reduce the execution sentenced to a life sentences.

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III appealed and argued the judge accepted the deal without following the entire process required for such a ruling.

State Attorney General Herbert Slatery's office announced his intention to appeal Friday, weeks after a judge ordered Abu-Ali Abdur'Rahman off death row.

Sentencing: After lawyers tangle on appeal, judge throws out Nashville man's death sentence

An appeals court agreed with the attorney general that the judge approved the deal without first completing the necessary steps to find a basis for post-conviction relief.

In November, the case returned to Nashville when the same judge vacated the previous convictions on the grounds of clear racial discrimination under U.S. Supreme Court rulings, then accepted Abdur'Rahman's new plea.

Slatery said despite deciding against an appeal, he still believes the new ruling violates the law.

"This decision not to appeal should not be taken by you or anyone else as tacit approval of the order obtained or the positions you have taken," Slatery said in a letter addressed to Funk. "Indeed, we believe this new order violates the Act in at least three ways."

Adam Friedman is The Tennesseans evening reporter covering breaking news, crime, cops and a little bit of everything else. If you have a news tip, he wants it. Email him at afriedman@tennessean.com or call him at 731-431-8517.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee AG won't appeal ruling on Abu-Ali Abdur'Rahman life sentence
WILMINGTON, Mass., Dec. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF) will report its Fiscal 2022 first quarter results on January 5, 2022 before the market opens. The Company will also hold a conference call at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time on January 5, 2022 to discuss its quarterly financial results, business highlights and outlook. In addition, the Company may answer one or more questions concerning business and financial developments and trends, the Companys view on earnings forecasts and other business and financial matters affecting the Company, some of the responses to which may contain information that has not been previously disclosed.



A simultaneous live webcast of the call and replay will be available over the Internet at http://investors.unifirst.com.

Headquartered in Wilmington, Mass., UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF) is a North American leader in the supply and servicing of uniform and workwear programs, as well as the delivery of facility service programs. Together with its subsidiaries, the company also provides first aid and safety products, and manages specialized garment programs for the cleanroom and nuclear industries. UniFirst manufactures its own branded workwear, protective clothing, and floorcare products, and with 260 service locations, over 300,000 customer locations, and 14,000 plus employee Team Partners, the company outfits over 2 million workers each business day. For more information, contact UniFirst at 800-455-7654 or visit UniFirst.com.

Contact: Shane OConnor

EVP and Chief Financial Officer

978-658-8888

Shane_OConnor@unifirst.com




NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The blockchain technology market report of the BFSI sector offers information on several market vendors, including Accenture Plc, AlphaPoint Corp., Amazon.com Inc., Bitfury Group Ltd., Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co., Infosys Ltd., International Business Machines Corp., Microsoft Corp., Oracle Corp., and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. among others. According to Technavio, the blockchain technology market in BFSI sector estimates a market value of USD 3.29 billion from 2020 to 2025. In addition, the report projects the market to progress at a CAGR of 36.41%.

Attractive Opportunities in Blockchain Technology Market in BFSI Sector by Type and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025

For more insights on Blockchain Technology Market in BFSI Sector- Download a Free Sample Report

Blockchain Technology Market in BFSI Sector: Driver & Challenge

Increase in FinTech spending to drive growth

The key factor driving growth in the blockchain technology market in the BFSI sector is the increase in FinTech spending. Over the years, the purview of FinTech has extended to include new and innovative front-end consumer products. Many FinTech startup companies provide solutions, which are operated through smartphones or tablets, directly to the customers through licensing or by means of white label services. The global investment in the FinTech sector increased tremendously by about 200% in a year. The increase in global investments indicates that large corporates like JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, and Santander are changing their value chains and technologies to adopt FinTech.

Trust deficit in blockchain technology for financial transactions to impede growth

The trust deficit in blockchain technology for financial transactions will be a major challenge for the blockchain technology market in the BFSI sector during the forecast period. The technology is still in the nascent stage, and its vulnerabilities are yet to be explored. Many companies are also skeptical about the scalability of blockchain when it comes to handling large volumes of enterprise data. The time taken for transactions and the computing power required for performing a transaction is also major points of concern for some end-users.

Story continues

To know more about drivers, challenges & trends - Request a Free Sample

Blockchain Technology Market In BFSI Sector: Segmentation Analysis

This market research report segments the blockchain technology market in the BFSI sector by Type (public blockchain, private blockchain, and consortium blockchain) and Geography (North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA).

48% of the market's growth will originate from North America during the forecast period. The US and Canada are the key markets for blockchain technology in the BFSI sector in North America. However, the market growth rate in this region will be slower than the growth of the market in other regions.

For more insights on the market share of various regions Download a Free sample report

Some of the key topics covered in the report include:

Market Drivers

Market Challenges

Market Trends

Vendor Landscape

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

Competitive scenario

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Blockchain Technology Market In BFSI Sector Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 36.41% Market growth 2021-2025 USD 3.29 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 23.70 Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA Performing market contribution North America at 48% Key consumer countries US, China, UK, Germany, and Canada Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Accenture Plc, AlphaPoint Corp., Amazon.com Inc., Bitfury Group Ltd., Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co., Infosys Ltd., International Business Machines Corp., Microsoft Corp., Oracle Corp., and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and future consumer dynamics, market condition analysis for the forecast period Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses 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.

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TORONTO, Dec. 13, 2021 /CNW/ - Vox Royalty Corp. (TSXV: VOX) (OTCQX: VOXCF) ("Vox" or the "Company"), a high growth precious metals focused royalty company, is pleased to provide recent exploration updates from royalty operating partners Quantum Graphite Limited (ASX: QGL) ("Quantum"), Develop Global Limited (ASX: DVP) ("Develop"), Silver Mines Limited (ASX: SVL) ("Silver Mines") and ValOre Metals Corp. (TSXV:VO) ("ValOre").

Vox Royalty Corp. Logo (CNW Group/Vox Royalty Corp.)

Spencer Cole, Chief Investment Officer stated, "This past month's exploration progress caps off a record year of partner-funded exploration on Vox's royalty projects with approximately 170,000 metres drilled across 18 separate projects. Based on operator guidance, Vox management expects resource upgrades will be forthcoming for South Railroad, Bowdens, Sulphur Springs, Pedra Branca, Pitombeiras and Kookynie projects over the next 6 months. 2022 is shaping up to be another tremendous year for organic royalty developments at Vox."

Key Exploration Updates

Maiden mineral resource estimate for a new deposit at the Uley graphite project by Quantum;

Strong infill and exploration drilling results at the Sulphur Springs copper-zinc project by Develop;

High-grade drilling results at the Bowdens silver project by Silver Mines; and

Resource expansion drilling success at the Pedra Branca platinum group metals ("PGM") project by ValOre.

Uley (Feasibility)  Maiden Resource Estimate for Uley 3 Deposit(1)

Vox holds a 1.5% gross revenue royalty on the Uley graphite project;

On November 18, 2021, Quantum announced:

Resource(1) Classification Tonnes (kt) TGC (%) Density (t/m3) TGC (kt) Uley 3 Inferred 900 6.6% 2.1 59

Uley 3 Total 900 6.6% 2.1 59 Uley 2 Measured 800 15.6% 2.1 125

Indicated 4,200 10.4% 2.1 435

Inferred 1,300 10.5% 2.2 137

Uley 2 Total 6,300 11.1% 2.1 697 Uley Project Total Total 7,200 10.5% 2.1 757

Vox Management Summary: The ongoing drilling success and maiden mineral resource for the Uley 3 deposits continues to demonstrate the considerable geological prospects for the Uley graphite project. This resource update presents upside to the proposed 8-year potential mine life included in the 2019 Uley feasibility study.

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Sulphur Springs (Pre-Construction)  Strong Drilling Results & Potential Exploration Decline

Vox holds a A$2/tonne production royalty (A$3.7M royalty cap) on the Sulphur Springs copper-zinc deposit and an effective uncapped A$0.80/tonne production royalty on the Kangaroo Caves deposit, which is part of the combined Sulphur Springs project;

On December 8, 2021, Develop announced:

Vox Management Summary: These strong drilling results at Sulphur Springs continue to support Vox's confidence in the development likelihood of this growing Australian copper-zinc project. We eagerly anticipate the release of the remaining 75% of the drilling assays over the coming months and expect a significant resource upgrade and a potential construction decision in mid-2022.

Bowdens (Feasibility)  High-Grade Drilling Results

Vox holds a 0.85% gross revenue royalty on the Bowdens silver-lead-zinc project and a 1% gross revenue royalty over surrounding regional exploration tenure;

On December 3, 2021, Silver Mines announced:

Including: 4.6m @ 694g/t silver equivalent (72g/t silver, 8.76% zinc, 4.40% lead and 0.49g/t gold) from 245.4 metres;

Vox Management Summary: These high-grade drilling results indicate that the 2022 underground scoping study, which supplements the feasibility-stage open pit project scope that is in final permitting phase, has strong potential to unlock meaningful incremental value for Vox's Bowdens royalty.

Pedra Branca (PEA stage)  Ongoing Resource Expansion Drilling Success

Vox holds a 1.0% net smelter return royalty on the Pedra Branca PGM project, the largest PGM deposit in South America according to ValOre;

On November 24, 2021, ValOre announced:

Vox Management Summary: These drilling results are some of the broadest mineralised intersections drilled at Pedra Branca over the last few years and pave the way for a resource update in 2022. Vox management remains highly confident that the Pedra Branca deposit will continue to grow in 2022.

Qualified Person

Timothy J. Strong, MIMMM, of Kangari Consulting LLC and a "Qualified Person" under National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical disclosure contained in this press release.

About Vox

Vox is a high growth precious metals royalty and streaming company with a portfolio of over 50 royalties and streams spanning eight jurisdictions. The Company was established in 2014 and has since built unique intellectual property, a technically focused transactional team and a global sourcing network which has allowed Vox to become the fastest growing company in the royalty sector. Since the beginning of 2019, Vox has announced over 20 separate transactions to acquire over 45 royalties.

Further information on Vox can be found at www.voxroyalty.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Information

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate" "plans", "estimates" or "intends" or stating that certain actions, events or results " may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements".

The forward-looking statements and information in this press release include, but are not limited to, summaries of operator updates provided by management and the potential impact on the Company of such operator updates, statements regarding expectations for the timing of commencement of construction at and resource production from various mining projects, expectations regarding the size, quality and exploitability of the resources at various mining projects, future operations and work programs of Vox's mining operator partners, the receipt of future royalty payments derived from various royalty assets of Vox, anticipated future cash flows and future financial reporting by Vox, requirements for regulatory approvals and the ability and intention of the Company to make a normal course issuer bid and to repurchase its common shares for cancellation.

Forward-looking statements and information are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions that, while believed by management to be reasonable, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Forward-looking statements and information are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the ability of Vox to control or predict, that may cause Vox's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied thereby, and are developed based on assumptions about such risks, uncertainties and other factors set out herein, including but not limited to: the requirement for regulatory approvals and third party consents, the impact of general business and economic conditions, the absence of control over the mining operations from which Vox will receive royalties, including risks related to international operations, government relations and environmental regulation, the inherent risks involved in the exploration and development of mineral properties; the uncertainties involved in interpreting exploration data; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities; the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with Vox's expectations; accidents, equipment breakdowns, title matters, labor disputes or other unanticipated difficulties or interruptions in operations; fluctuating metal prices; unanticipated costs and expenses; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future; the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, commodity price fluctuations; currency fluctuations; regulatory restrictions, including environmental regulatory restrictions; liability, competition, loss of key employees and other related risks and uncertainties.

Vox has assumed that the material factors referred to in the previous paragraph will not cause such forward looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. The forward-looking information contained in this press release represents the expectations of Vox as of the date of this press release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. While Vox may elect to, it does not undertake to update this information at any particular time except as required in accordance with applicable laws.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Technical and Third-Party Information

Except where otherwise stated, the disclosure in this press release is based on information publicly disclosed by project operators based on the information/data available in the public domain as at the date hereof and none of this information has been independently verified by Vox. Specifically, as a royalty investor, Vox has limited, if any, access to the royalty operations. Although Vox does not have any knowledge that such information may not be accurate, there can be no assurance that such information from the project operators is complete or accurate. Some information publicly reported by the project operators may relate to a larger property than the area covered by Vox's royalty interests. Vox's royalty interests often cover less than 100% and sometimes only a portion of the publicly reported mineral reserves, mineral resources and production of a property.

References & Notes:

(1) See below for information on the Uley Mineral Resource Estimate:

a. The Uley 3 and Uley 2 Project Mineral Resource Estimates are dated 18 November 2021 and can be found at this link: https://quantumgraphite.wp.gate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Uley-3-Drill-Program-results-in-Mineral-Resource-Estimate-18Nov2021.pdf

b. The November 2021 Uley 3 and Uley 2 Project Mineral Resource Estimates has been classified and reported in accordance with the 2012 Edition of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves" ("JORC Code, 2012").

c. The Uley 3 mineralization wireframes were constructed using cross-sectional interpretations based on mineralized envelopes with an approximate 2% Total Graphitic Carbon ("TGC") cut-off, while the Uley 2 Mineral Resource was based on optimization studies that supported a cut-off grade for resource reporting of 3.5% TGC.

d. The information in this press release that relates to the Uley 3 Exploration Results and Mineral Resource estimate is based on information compiled by Mrs. Vanessa O'Toole who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (MAusIMM) and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity to which she is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in JORC Code, 2012.

SOURCE Vox Royalty Corp.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/December2021/13/c6260.html
NEW ORLEANS, LA / ACCESSWIRE / December 13, 2021 / Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until January 18, 2022 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Zillow Group, Inc. (NasdaqGS:ZG), if they purchased the Company's securities between February 10, 2021 and November 2, 2021, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington.

What You May Do

If you purchased securities of Zillow and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email (lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nasdaqgs-z/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court by January 18, 2022 .

About the Lawsuit

Zillow and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On November 2, 2021, the Company disclosed that it would wind-down its homebuying and selling business, Zillow Offers, because "the unpredictability in forecasting home prices far exceeds what we anticipated and continuing to scale Zillow Offers would result in too much earnings and balance-sheet volatility," as well as a workforce reduction of 25%, and a write-down of inventory of approximately $304 million, among other things.

On this news, Zillow's shares plummeted $19.62 or 23% to close at $65.86 per share on November 3, 2021, on unusually heavy trading volume, while Zillow's Class C share price fell $21.73, or 25%, to close at $65.47 per share on November 3, 2021, on unusually heavy trading volume.

Story continues

The case is Barua v. Zillow Group, Inc., et al., 21-cv-01551.

About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients - including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, California, Louisiana and New Jersey.

To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com.

Contact:

LogoDescription automatically generated

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

Lewis Kahn, Managing Partner

lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com

1-877-515-1850

1100 Poydras St., Suite 3200

New Orleans, LA 70163

SOURCE: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/677376/ZILLOW-GROUP-SHAREHOLDER-ALERT-BY-FORMER-LOUISIANA-ATTORNEY-GENERAL-KAHN-SWICK-FOTI-LLC-REMINDS-INVESTORS-WITH-LOSSES-IN-EXCESS-OF-100000-of-Lead-Plaintiff-Deadline-in-Class-Action-Lawsuit-Against-Zillow-Group-Inc--ZG




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Macron called for changes in the passport-free Schengen area to improve the protection of external borders and limit flows of migrants from one EU country to another, and to streamline the process of sending those who dont qualify for asylum back to their home countries, people who have no right to stay in the EU."

Yet political rifts remain between the staunchly pro-EU French leader and Orban, who together with Morawiecki has challenged the bloc's jurisdiction over the affairs of its 27 member nations.

The EUs executive arm continues to withhold tens of billions of euros in COVID-19 economic recovery funds from Poland and Hungary over concerns about corruption and judicial interference. It has also threatened to impose additional sanctions if the two countries fail to live up to rule of law requirements.

Macron, a centrist who favors deeper European integration, acknowledged that he had political disagreements with the Hungarian leader, and earlier in the day insisted that respect for the rule of law, media pluralism, and the fight against discrimination are at the heart of the European project, a reference to claims by Orbans critics that he has eroded democratic institutions in Hungary and seized control of large parts of the countrys media.
The defense has called the shooting a horrific mistake, but has also asserted that Potter would have been within her rights to use deadly force on Wright because he might have dragged another officer, then-Sgt. Mychal Johnson, with his car.

Sam McGinnis, a senior special agent with the state's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, highlighted how Potter's duty belt had holsters that require an officer to take deliberate actions to release the weapons. The gun holster has a snap, while the Taser holster has a lever. The handgun, which is black, is also twice as heavy as the yellow Taser, McGinnis said.

The Taser and gun have different triggers, grips and safety mechanisms, McGinnis testified. The Taser also has a laser and LED lights that display before it is fired, which he demonstrated for the jury, while the handgun does not, he said.

McGinnis also testified that Potter didnt perform a function test on her Taser at the start of her shift. Although the Brooklyn Center Police Departments policy is that officers are supposed to do that, McGinnis acknowledged under cross-examination that he didnt check to see how widely the departments officers complied.
Cheese and charcuterie are a food marriage made in heaven, right up there with peanut butter and jelly or bacon and eggs. Learning how to pair your selections can create a memorable prelude to a special-occasion dinner, fun nosh for a festive happy hour or a light meal in itself.

Think of your charcuterie plate as a mix-and-match opportunity to sample different flavors together. There are two schools of thought here. One, you can serve items that complement each other without clashing  say, a mild creamy Brie that lets a bold fennel sausage shine. Or, pair big flavors together that can stand up to the challenge of elevating each other, such as an earthy salami with a sharp Cheddar.

Here are a few combos to know (and love).

Well take one of each

Not sure where to start? When youre standing at the cheese counter feeling intimidated, remember this tip: Go with one soft cheese (i.e. Brie), one Cheddar and one blue to cover the flavor spectrum. You can also choose one representative cheese each from cow, sheep and goat milk varieties. The same goes for selecting charcuterie  pick a couple varieties that cover mild, salty and spicy flavors, or choose a trio of items made from different meats.

Classic bites

A cheesemonger favorite thats a perfect bite on the go is a piece of cured meat, a piece of cheese and a garnish,says Julia Hallman, general manager of Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge, Massachusetts. We affectionately call these meat wraps, but they would also make fantastic hors doeuvres.

For example, Hallman suggests topping a slice of Petit Jesu pork salami with a small wedge of Brie Fermier Jouvence and a dollop of German mustard, or a piece of bresaola with Swiss cheese and a tangy cornichon.

Salty, sweet perfection

Sugar and salt make a tasty combination: Think paper-thin slices of aged prosciutto wrapped around chunks of juicy summer cantaloupe, or a cube of sweet watermelon sprinkled with salty crumbled feta.

As long as you have a good balance of components, its hard to miss, Hallman says.

Honey, jams and preserves also make excellent additions to any cheese/charcuterie board as a sweet component to play nicely with salty items. Blue cheese with a slice of pear and a drizzle of honey? Yes, please.

Spread the love

In addition to sliced meats and cheeses, consider adding rillettes or pate to your charcuterie platter to lend a touch of luxury.

We love rustic duck pate with Greek spoon cherries and a crusty baguette, or chicken liver mousse with Italian mostarda and brown bread, Hallman mentions. Our staff are head over heels in love with the pate, and they are terrific at suggesting classic and unique pairing ideas.

For example, try pate with a tangy cornichon and imported German mustard to cut the richness. Hallman also suggests pairing Formaggio Kitchens housemade chicken liver mousse with preserved Portuguese plums in syrup and a crusty bread.

Go unexpected

Use your imagination and dont be afraid to go in unexpected directions.

A few favorites are crushed chocolate espresso beans with Brie, popcorn atop foie gras-slathered baguette slices or spicy chutney and chevre.

Why not? The skys the limit. Bon appetit!

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Known for being one of the most active meteor showers of the year, the Geminid Meteor Shower is set to peak on Monday night (technically early Tuesday morning), sending potentially more than 100 meteors per hour across the sky. The meteor shower may be highly visible in Colorado this year, as conditions are expected to be favorable for viewing.
Ed Schlein has just one request for the photographer.

Just be respectful of the animal, he says.

The photographer is here to capture the process of taxidermy. In his shop between the pines of Black Forest, Schlein is at the bloody beginnings of that process.

Before the moose hide can be mounted for the customer, before it is salted and dried and sent to the tannery to be turned into something more like leather  long-lasting and odorless  first the flesh must be scraped clean by scalpel.

Post something like this on a social network, Schlein tells the photographer, and its probably getting taken off.

Probably, some viewers would be disturbed.

Some people think its barbaric, says Jason VanderMeulen, another one of the Colorado Springs areas established taxidermists  practitioners of a historic craft uually found in rural parts of the country, but hanging on as well to the fringes of this expanding city.

A growing city means a certain, growing attitude, these practitioners say. Ask Don Fager of Dons Taxidermy, based at his sliver of farm between swelling subdivisions on the citys northeast side.

I used to be a barber, Fager says. Id have animals on the wall, and youd get comments all the time. Did you kill these poor animals? And Id sit there and explain to them.

Explain his view that taxidermy, like hunting, was an act of wildlife appreciation and conservation. Schlein, a recently retired fifth-grade teacher, explained this to spooked colleagues who once visited his shop, like an animal kingdom frozen in time: trophies of turkeys, ducks, deer, elk, bears, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, mountain lions and more exotic beasts from overseas.

Theres times when I and (other workers) get sentimental, Schlein says. But we realize the elk were in front of, it could be in a ditch, rotting. What we do is preserve it for a long time.

There was no need to explain himself in his classroom. Schlein would bring in his animals for show and tell, and my fifth-graders eyes would light up, he says.

While modern taxidermy serves the memory of the hunter and taste of the home designer, it still achieves the childlike wonder it inspired in the early days of the trade. Thats felt, too, by taxidermists themselves.

They consider their work equal parts science and art, both required in the aim to return the dead to life. Ask any, and all will say the best taxidermy is that which looks like it could walk around.

Anatomy is expressed by clay, forming the ripples and contours of muscles beneath the fur. The clay is shaped over a mannequin, either a head or full body in wild action, bugling, roaring, fighting and flying. The fur is carefully sewn. Every animal is complete with its own glass eyes, all different sizes and shades of ungulate browns and cat yellows. The taxidermist is likely to touch up with paint, providing the rough and wet texture of the deer nose, for example.

These were techniques learned by VanderMeulen at a now-defunct taxidermy school in Canon City. The avid outdoorsman was always an intrigued artist.

Always took every art class growing up, he says. Somewhere, that ended up turning into taxidermy.

Taxidermy has come a long way since ancient Egypt. The craft is traced back to that time, possibly as early as 2200 B.C., when the people embalmed cats and dogs like pharaohs.

However, the mummies of the ancient Egyptians should not be regarded as taxidermy, reads The History of Taxidermy: Clues for Preservation, a paper by Amandine Pequignot for the Museum National dHistoire Naturelle in Paris. Mummies were created in a religious context, unlike taxidermy, which developed from a curiosity about nature.

The term derives from taxis and derma, Greek words for arrangement and skin. The term mightve popularized from Louis Dufresne of the Museum National dHistoire Naturelle; he referenced taxidermy in 1803, when the practice was well underway, commonplace to museums all around. Taxidermy was a means of preserving creatures discovered by world-voyaging Europeans.

Taxidermy is an art absolutely essential to be known to every naturalist, British zoologist William Swainson wrote in 1840. [W]ithout it, he cannot pursue his studies or preserve his own materials.

So thought a young American by the name of Theodore Roosevelt.

By age 14, Teddy filled pages with drawings and descriptions of the birds and other small animals he observed, writes Joshua David Hawley in Theodore Roosevelt: Preacher of Righteousness. When his father gave him a shotgun in the summer of 1872, a whole new vista opened, the book reads. Teddy found he could acquire specimens by shooting them. These trophies he would then skin, clean,and stuff.

Hawley continues: That same summer, he started lessons in taxidermy with one John Bell, former taxidermist to the great John James Audubon himself.

William Hornaday of the Smithsonian would be another taxidermist recalled by history. Disturbed by the rampant slaughter of bison in the West, he displayed bison models in Washington and is credited with influencing the federal protection of the Yellowstone range.

In America, perhaps there was no greater honor for taxidermy than from the Boy Scouts. The merit badge was discontinued in the 1950s, reportedly due to a lack of interest.

The interest today?

We talk about it all the time, VanderMeulen says in his Springs shop. We dont think in the future theres gonna be guys like us willing to do a job like this.

Over three decades, Fager says hes tutored 15 people. Only two stayed with it.

He recently had a youngster who seemed more interested in his phone. Thats the thing, Fager says. These young kids arent getting out anymore.

Almost 17 million hunters were counted in America in the early 1980s. Today, U.S. Fish and Wildlife estimates that to be closer to 11.5 million.

The decline means a lack of lessons that hunting teaches, Schlein says. And by extension, he says, a lack of what taxidermy teaches  lessons of appreciation.

I mean, I even hate to see a squirrel killed on the side of the road, he says. It sounds funny, but I just have a liking for animals.
Surveyors found Colorados primary psychiatric hospital in Pueblo scored poorly on quality measures in comparison to other psychiatric hospitals in the nation but re-accredited the facility for the next three years.

The Joint Commission, the nations oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care, last month notified Jill Marshall, the chief executive officer of the Colorado Mental Health Institute, of the re-accreditation, effective as of Sept. 18.

Regulators with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment in November also found new suicide mitigation measures at the hospital sufficient to reverse their recommendation that the facility be barred from billing Medicaid and Medicare for services.

In late September, the legislature allocated $4.1 million in emergency suicide mitigation funds to bring the facility into compliance with federal standards. The money will pay for new surveillance cameras, upgrades in patients' rooms to address suicide risks, and other measures. Gov. Jared Polis is also requesting an additional $5 million from the legislature to make additional improvements to the facility.

The state regulators previously had recommended kicking the facility in Pueblo out of the Medicare and Medicaid program after they found ongoing risk to patients there following a survey conducted in the wake of the July 27 suicide attempt of a patient, 20-year-old Kersey resident Chase Falk.

State regulators in that survey determined hospital staff failed to protect Falk from harm and violated requirements for safety checks of patients and their rooms the day of the suicide attempt. The emergency suicide mitigation money includes $250,000 to improve a deficient system for tracking problems and incidents at the facility and to prevent such lapses from reoccurring.

The state health department regulators found the suicide mitigation measures now underway were sufficient to ease their concerns following an unannounced revisit survey of the hospital in November.

The re-accreditation and move to allow the hospital to continue billing Medicare and Medicaid services comes as the state continues to struggle to reduce a backlog of nearly 350 criminal defendants awaiting inpatient competency services. In addition, Robert Werthwein, the director of the state's Office of Behavioral Health since Sept. 2017, will resign at the end of February next year, he announced in an email on Tuesday. To help ease the backlog of defendants awaiting behavioral health services, Polis also is seeking an additional $10 million from the legislature for the budget cycle that begins in June to hire about 78 employees to operate 44 new psychiatric beds at the other psychiatric hospital in the state, the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Fort Logan. The costs for bolstering services at the Fort Logan facility would rise to $12.4 million for a total of about 104 employees for the fiscal year set to begin in June 2023.

The backlog of criminal defendants seeking admission for inpatient psychiatric care continues to complicate the state's efforts to meet the obligations contained in a federal consent decree that found the state violated due process in the evaluation and treatment of mentally ill criminal defendants struggling with psychosis.

Not complying with the terms of the consent decree will cost the state at least $17 million in fines since March 2019. Even if Polis succeeds in convincing the legislature to appropriate the additional money to bolster services and create additional bed space, the state likely will pay another $10 million in fines and consent decree costs in the fiscal year set to begin in June, according to a budget analysis by the staff of the Joint Budget Committee. The state will also expand psychiatric services by applying some of the fines it has paid and federal aid to contract for 74 additional psychiatric beds that would be supplied by private providers.

The re-accreditation of the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo was praised by state officials who oversee the facility.

I am proud that CMHIP continues to earn this esteemed designation from the Joint Commission, said Michelle Barnes, executive director of the Colorado Department of Human Services, which oversees the hospital, in a prepared release. We are constantly striving to improve safety and treatment practices so all patients under our care can heal and thrive.

The Joint Commission in a Sept. 17 quality survey found the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo lagged its peers in the nation on several national quality improvements goals. The survey reviewed hospital data for January 2020 through December 2020.

The facility performed poorly compared to other psychiatric hospitals in the nation on screening patients for violence risk to self and others, substance and alcohol use, psychological trauma history and patient strengths. Only 66% of 388 eligible patients received such screenings at the hospital, the survey found. In comparison, on average, 96% of patients at other psychiatric hospitals in the nation received such screening during the survey period.

The Pueblo facility did a slightly better job on screening adolescent patients for such issues, but still was far below the average rate of adolescent screenings at psychiatric hospitals in the nation, the Joint Commission found.

The rate of such screening for adult patients at the Pueblo hospital who were 65 or older was particularly poor. Just 47% of the 17 patients in that age group received such screenings. Nationally, the average rate for screenings of patients in that age group was 95%, according to the survey.

The hospital in Pueblo is also below the average rate in the nation when it comes to ensuring patients are receiving appropriate justification for two or more medications when they are discharged, and this was particularly so for patients ages 18 to 64. Patients at the Pueblo facility also were roughly three times as likely to be placed in seclusion under solitary confinement than was the average rate for psychiatric hospitals nationally.

Physical restraints also were nearly three times more likely to be used on adolescent patients at the Pueblo facility when compared to the average rate for adolescent patients at such facilities nationally.

The survey found the Colorado Mental Health Institute had put in place safety goals to improve the following: accuracy of patient identification, communication among caregivers, safety of medication usage and overall protocols. In addition, the hospital in Pueblo had installed measures to reduce the risk of health care-associated infections and harm associated with clinical alarm systems, according to the survey. The surveyors also noted the facility in Pueblo was identifying individuals at risk for suicide.
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Address the citys crime wave

There was an excellent article in the Gazette Thursday New report shows Colorados startling spike in crime and there was an article in the Wall Street Journal that named Colorado Springs (among other 13 other cities) as having a worse homicide rate last year, than in 1990 (WSJ 12/09/21 Opinion page Yes, the Crime Wave Is as bad as You Think).

Given that this is a serious issue for Colorado Springs, I was somewhat surprised to see that it wasnt the highest priority identified by three of the four highest vote-getting candidates in their applications for the City Council.

Im not endorsing anyone, but whoever gets appointed to the position better be ready to address this problem with the council, as its number one priority. Before we all suffer the consequences of our rising homicide rate in terms of human misery, social and economic decline.

Peter Green

Colorado Springs

Glaring example of gross negligence

$73.1 Million in potentially fraudulent unemployment claims in Colorado according to the State Auditor with the summary comment that the Department of Labor and Employment has a lack of effective processes and did not track most complaints.

As we scrape for money in support of schools, public safety, and other worthy causes, our state bureaucrats quietly fumbled away tens of millions of dollars without one peep from Governor Jared Polis or Department of Labor and Employment Executive Director Joe Barela.

Could there be a more glaring example of gross negligence and incompetence? Barela and likely many in his charge should be fired immediately, with criminal charges considered. Polis is equally culpable, as his executive order to bypass the normal vetting procedures and shovel money to claimants fueled the mess. Where is your outrage, Colorado?

Matt A. Coleman

Colorado Springs

The effect of individual choices

After 22 months of COVID, I will be stepping down as medical director of El Paso County Public Health on Dec. 31. It has been an honor to serve the El Paso County citizens, to work with my colleagues at EPCPH and in partnership with our community. Personally, my passion and advocacy for health in the Pikes Peak region remains constant. While my role in this position is complete, there is much yet to be done. My plans include continued upstream health efforts. However, despite all of this, no one can make the changes we need alone. So, I leave you with this continued challenge.

We each must embrace our part in turning the tide of this pandemic, creating community for human flourishing. Remaining humble, calm, kind, respectful and discerning learners of real science is key. Please join me in this, and promote it with each other. Notwithstanding our differences, community impact of prevention is the accumulated effect of our individual choices. Individually, our character is defined one choice at a time as well.

As we reflect on the past year and anticipate the coming new year, let us ask ourselves this question. In light of how we act, who are we? Let us aspire individually to our better angels. As a community let us utilize cooperation for common goals of health; health of mind, body, spirit and community. Thank you El Paso County, for the opportunity to serve. May we bless each other in the new year.

Robin Johnson, MD

Colorado Springs

Comments on two political issues

Two things have caught my attention in recent papers.

On Dec. 6, Jac Roberson made his lack of information quite evident, as he spoke about the best congresswoman we have and one of the best in America, Lauren Boebert. He refused to acknowledge that the person she had an encounter with was the most un-American congresswoman we have, or one of the four. Rep. Boebert does not and should not apologize to a hypocrite like Rep. Ilhan Omar. She has never apologized for any of the un-American things she has said about our nation and our way of life, she should be apologizing for many, many comments she has made. Yet the mainstream media keeps fondling her, trying to raise her up above her many faults. We need some of the Colorado representatives to step up, but unfortunately they will not, they are too interested in maintaining their congressional seats. Sad but true.

Another item in todays paper, Dec. 7, was Janet Ellington, and her comment on vice presidents. Yes we need them, but the current one is a big, big bust. She is a sad excuse for anything, much less a VP.

Larry A. Sportsman

Colorado Springs

Destroyed from within

Years ago, Nikita Khrushchev, Russian president 1958-1964 said, We will take America without firing a short. We do not have to invade the U.S. We will destroy you from within. I feel that is happening to us right now. We are being destroyed from within. Think about what is happening.

We are being told that society is broken, systems are failing, and patriotism is evil. We are being told the worst of our nation and its form of government. Supporters of traditional values are being ostracized, canceled, and demonized. Statues of American heroes are being taken down, 1619 Project, names of schools are being changed, etc. We are being led to believe that the government can keep us safe and solved all the problems through its overreach, making us give up freedoms, like the freedom to chose our own health care.

We are hearing the term new normal, which means less personal freedom and more dictates from the powers that be. Enemies of the American way of life are creating fear, turning citizen against citizen, and dividing our nation in terms of old/young, black/white/brown, etc., rich/poor, vaccinated/unvaccinated, and the list goes on.

When Benjamin Franklin was asked what sort of government the people at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 were creating, he replied, A republic, if you can keep it. That is the challenage we, as a country, are now facing. Can we keep our country  the land of the free or will we become an oligarchy like so many third world countries.

Erna A. Haring

Colorado Springs
Temperatures in Colorado Springs are likely to climb back into the 60s Monday, prolonging December's abnormally warm weather, the National Weather Service in Pueblo predicted.

Mostly sunny skies are forecast Monday along with a high of 60 degrees, 16 degrees above the average high for Dec. 13, the weather service said.

Overnight temperatures are expected to drop to a low of 35 degrees with partly cloudy skies, the agency said.

Tuesday could bring more 60 degrees temperatures followed by a 20% chance of snow Wednesday morning, the weather service said.

Sunday marked the 215 straight days without measurable snowfall in Colorado Springs since May 11. The longest stretch without snow in Colorado Springs lasted 236 days in 2012 and 1946, according the weather service.

Colorado Springs broke the record for latest measurable snowfall after Dec. 2 came and went without any snow.

Here's the rest of this week's forecast from the National Weather Service.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 62 degrees and winds between 5 to 10 mph increasing to 10 to 15 mph.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 48 degrees. Windy, with winds between 20 to 30 mph, with gusts as high as 55 mph. A slight chance of rain and snow showers before 10 a.m., then a slight chance of snow showers between 10 a.m. and noon. Chance of precipitation is 20%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 49 degrees and winds between 10 to 15 mph.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 42 degrees and winds around 10 mph.
The Center for Public Integrity is releasing a dataset of polling place locations used in the 2020 general election to help journalists and researchers analyze access to the ballot box and the potential effects of a slew of changes to state election laws.

The data expands an earlier release from the Center for Public Integrity and Stateline last year that included polling place locations and addresses for 30 states for the 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018 general elections.

The new data release, available via Github, includes polling place locations and addresses for the 2020 general election in 37 states. This new dataset, along with the data from earlier elections, can be used to study changes made by state and local election officials in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and a series of new laws overhauling ballot access around the country. The Center for Public Integrity will continue to update this dataset with information from more states in the upcoming months.

The data for the earlier release from Stateline and the Center for Public Integrity was gathered as part of an investigative project, Barriers to the Ballot Box, that examined the impact of the movement and closure of polling places in states including Louisiana and North Carolina. The project was a finalist for the 2021 Toner Prize for Excellence in National Political Reporting.

No public national dataset of polling place locations used in past elections existed previously. Polling place locations are locally controlled, so assembling the data, both for 2020 and previous years, required submitting more than 1,000 public records requests to states and counties.

The challenge with this data has always been that to do anything systematic requires compiling the data from lots and lots of different sources, said Nick Eubank, an assistant research professor at the Duke Social Science Research Institute who has studied the effects of polling place changes on political participation.

Eubank now is working with students on a project using the data to study access to polling places on college campuses, and said having the data in one place is just an unbelievably valuable resource.

The pandemic last year forced seismic changes to the ways in which Americans cast ballots. Journalists, researchers and advocates for voting rights continue to use the polling place location data to determine which voters were affected by the closure, movement and change of polling places.

In addition to the Center for Public Integrity and Stateline, the data was used in reporting by news organizations including The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, NPR and Iowa Public Radio and Wisconsin Watch. Reporting stemming from the data has been cited in testimony at congressional hearings and in reports by nonprofit groups that advocate for voting access, including the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, the Voting Rights Lab and the Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project.

The nonprofit Center for New Data used the polling place locations, together with smartphone location data, for widely cited analysis of voter wait times in Georgia and the potential effects of changes there.

The Center for Public Integrity and Georgia Public Broadcasting used that data earlier this year to report on how proposed changes to voting laws would affect communities of color.

Being able to understand exactly where they are and how theyre being moved is equally, if not more, important than just knowing the total number in a given jurisdiction, said Kevin Morris, a researcher for the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law currently using the data to look at the effect of locating polling places at police stations. The data is helping to reveal that there are actual costs that are faced by voters in terms of traveling to their polling places.

Thats something civil rights and voting rights advocates have long voiced concern about. In a 2013 decision, Shelby County v. Holder, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a key part of the Voting Rights Act, eliminating the requirement that places with a history of racial discrimination in voting seek approval from the Department of Justice before making changes to voting procedures, including to polling place locations.

Since then, jurisdictions have closed thousands of polling places. But the reasons for the changes vary widely, with some places increasing their use of regional vote centers over neighborhood polling places and growing the use of vote by mail.

Every polling place closure isnt necessarily nefarious, but its important to look at the justification for the closure and the effect of rapidly changing state laws that may limit access to alternatives such as vote by mail, said Jesselyn McCurdy, executive vice president of government affairs for the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition of more than 200 civil rights groups. In 2019, the group released a report drawing attention to declining numbers of in-person polling places in jurisdictions previously covered by the Voting Rights Act requirement to seek federal approval for changes.

Have they now changed the law where its more difficult to vote by mail, and theyre closing polls? she asked.

This article was first posted to Stateline, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
The Iowa Department of Transportation is ready to take next steps toward adding a fifth lane to a portion of one of Mason City's busiest streets.

IDOT has completed its feedback meetings for the proposed reconstruction of Hwy. 65, also known as South Federal Avenue. It plans to move forward on its reconstruction project throughout the next few years.

After the first public feedback session on Sept. 12, many residents voiced concern over traffic congestion and accidents if South Federal was turned into three lanes on IDOT's comment board, REACH. The overwhelming narrative was if there was going to be a change, adding lanes was the best option.

Fred R. was one such person, saying, please leave south Federal no less than a four-lane, or possibly a 5-lane, referencing traffic issues on the three-lane North Federal Avenue.

IDOT held public information sessions online from Nov. 8-22, and one in-person public meeting on Nov. 8 at the Mason City Library. The at your own pace meeting information can be found on the Public Involvement Projects page on the IDOT website, where people can watch a video explaining the upcoming project. The online meeting has a comment section and level of support meter to submit any concerns or support for the reconstruction.

Pete Hjelmstad, IDOT field services coordinator, said the reconstruction will run from South Sixth Street to 27th Street Southwest. This project is meant to ease traffic congestion from McDonalds past Kwik Star.

A traffic study did not warrant the five-lane to go further south, said Mary Kelly, transportation engineer specialist for the Iowa DOT.

The center turn lane was decided upon after it was determined the 15th Street and 19th Street intersections needed a left turn lane.

Given the short distance between the two intersections, it is difficult to taper in a left turn lane design for the southbound approach to 19th street, and taper another left turn lane for the northbound approach to 15th Street, said District Transportation Planner Krista Billhorn, Basically, the two painted lanes would nearly run together. The addition of a center turn lane is expected to reduce the number of rear-end collisions.

Within that reconstruction will be the addition of a center turn lane, from South 14th Street to South 19th Street, where it will transition back to four lanes.

The project is set to start with the removal of the existing pavement, then move to the repair/replacement of the storm sewer, sanitary sewer, or water main as needed. The repair/replacement of storm sewers is meant to remedy the issue of standing water after heavy rains. The project will end with the construction of new roadway pavement.

The new pavement will include new five-foot sidewalks from South 19th Street to South 15th Street on the west side of the roadway. ADA ramps with detectable warning panels will be constructed at roadway crossings.

Hjelmstad said IDOT plans to do the project in segments so people and businesses continue to have access to their property.

The traffic staging will happen in five segments, starting with a detour from South 19th Street to South Fifth and Sixth Street by taking Monroe Avenue for the first two segments of construction.

The next stage will be the South 19th Street intersection. Half the intersection will be reconstructed at a time to allow traffic to continue moving.

Intersection reconstruction will begin on the north side, allowing east and westbound traffic to move through. Then the south part of the intersection will be next, and traffic will move through the newly paved part of the intersection. The detour for north and southbound traffic will remain in place on Monroe Avenue, and will continue from South 19th Street to 35th Street on Kentucky Avenue. The Kentucky Avenue detour will remain in place until the end of construction.

Reconstruction of the road will also include the replacement of traffic lights on South Eighth Street and South 19th Street.

Cheryl R. voiced concern on REACH about the South 8th Street traffic light, an app that makes it easy for people to interact with Iowa DOT projects. Cheryl stated that the traffic light needs to stay due to the blind spot on the Northwest side of the corner of the intersection.

"There was discussion on removing the signal at Eighth Street and not replacing it. However, it was decided that sight distance was limited and the signal will be replaced," Kelly said.

South 15th Street will also see the re-installment of its signals to meet the new five-lane configuration. There will also be new street lighting constructed with this project.

Some of the smaller changes being proposed include the addition of a raised median on 19th Street Southwest and Southeast sides of the intersection, removal of some driveways, and a bike trail addition by the city from 22nd Street Southeast to 23rd Street Southwest.

This project, will move forward in the summer of 2022, beginning with Right-of-Way Negotiations. IDOT plans to take bids on the project in December of 2023. This project, which is programmed for $14.9 million, is set to begin in the spring of 2024. This project will take at least two years to complete.

According to Hjelmstad, money for the project comes from a mixture of federal and state funding through IDOTs five-year program. There will be city money used for the city utilities, but that amount has not yet been determined.

Gretchen Burnette is a Weeklies Editor and Daily Reporter at the Globe Gazette. You can reach her by phone at 641.421.0523 or at Gretchen.Burnette@GlobeGazette.com

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Gift card scams are on the riseand they may be happening just feet from your place in the checkout line.

In the first nine months of 2021, nearly 40,000 consumers reported losing $148 million in gift card scams, according to a new report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Thats more than what was reported in all of 2020, and may be a mere fraction of the problem as fewer than 5% of gift card scam victims report the crime.

Heres an example of how a gift card scam is pulled off: You get a phone call from someone who says theyre from a government agency, like the Social Security Administration. They say your bank account will be frozen for an investigation and tell you to buy gift cards to avoid getting arrested.

More and more people are being scammed through gift card schemes  and the victims are losing more money. In 2018, the median amount victims lost to a gift card scammer was $700. This year, its $1,000.

Older people are more susceptible to these scams, according to FTC data. Of Americans aged 50-59, 19% of fraud reports involved gift cards or reloadable cards. For Americans age 80 and up, that number jumps to 30% of all fraud reports.

Heres how to identify a gift card scam and how you can avoid getting duped.

How Gift Card Scams Work

Here are a few more examples from the FTC of how such a scam might work:

You get a phone call from someone claiming to be from Amazon or Apple. They claim theres a security problem with your account, and the only way to fix it is to buy gift cards and send the caller pictures of the back of the cards.

Someone claiming to be your boss text messages or emails you asking you to buy gift cards. They say theyre stuck in meetings or its an urgent need for a client.

The scammers often specify which gift cards to buy and where to buy them. Target, Google Play, Apple, eBay and Walmart were the most common stores named in the gift card scams reported to the FTC.

Sometimes victims are instructed to make several purchases at different stores, while some scammers keep their victims on the phone while they complete the task. As soon as you provide the gift card number and any sort of security code thats present on the card, the scammer can access those funds.

Unlike other forms of fraud, where scammers might access money through your bank account, credit card or debit card, gift card scams make you do the work for the scammerwhich makes it hard to catch the real culprit. Along with using gift cards, which can be harder to track than other forms of payment, scammers often use spoofed (fake) phone numbers that can appear legitimate, showing up on caller ID as a familiar number or a government agency name.

Its easy to say youre savvy enough to avoid getting taken advantage of by a scammer. But in the heat of the moment, its all too easy to get flustered. After all, it can be terrifying to hear your bank accounts could be locked, or you could be arrested.

How to Avoid Gift Card Scams

Retailers often train their employees to spot potential victims of gift card scams. Weve increased in-store signage to warn our guests of common gift card scams, and weve heightened team member education so they can keep an eye out for potentially distressed guests buying gift cards and intervene as needed, Target said in a statement to Forbes Advisor.

But a gift card purchase may not make a cashier suspicious, especially during the holidays when many shoppers are buying them as valid gifts.

The best way to avoid gift card scams is to remember that no legitimate business or government agency will demand payment via gift cards. If youre in doubt, hang up on the caller or block them from emailing or texting you. (Dont delete their messages, thoughmore on that in a moment.)

If you or someone you know falls victim to a gift card scam, make sure you keep your receipt as it has identifying information about the gift card. Then take these actions:

Contact the retailer that issued the gift card. The FTC maintains a list of popular retailers and how to reach them about gift card fraud.

The FTC maintains a list of popular retailers and how to reach them about gift card fraud. File a police report. The FTC notes doing this may help you get assistance from the gift card issuer.

The FTC notes doing this may help you get assistance from the gift card issuer. Report the fraud to the FTC. Include as much information as you can, including times, dates, phone numbers or email addresses, and screenshots of messages. The FTC cant resolve individual cases, but it investigates activity and shares fraud reports with relevant local law enforcement.

Include as much information as you can, including times, dates, phone numbers or email addresses, and screenshots of messages. The FTC cant resolve individual cases, but it investigates activity and shares fraud reports with relevant local law enforcement. Report the fraud to your state attorney general. Much like reporting fraud to the FTC, your states attorney general investigates larger fraud issues rather than resolving individual cases.

Even if you dont fall for the scam, take a few minutes to file a report to the FTC and your state attorney general. Doing so could help catch a fraudster and prevent them from victimizing others.

Read more: How To Avoid Getting Scammed During The Holidays

Scammers Prefer Target Gift Cards

The FTC noted that gift card scams often featured one retailer: Target.

Target gift cards were reported twice as much as any other gift card brand. Thirty percent of people who obtained Target gift cards for a scammer said they lost $5,000 or more.

Unfortunately, gift card scams are a persistent issue across the retail industry, Target said in their statement. Target takes these crimes extremely seriously and we use a multi-layered, comprehensive approach to mitigate fraud that includes technology, team member training and collaboration with law enforcement.

___
Pittsylvania County authorities are investigating an arson and homicide after two men were found dead in a burning home Sunday morning.

At about 10 a.m., a neighbor called 911 to report smoke coming from a residence in the 800 block of Old Mayfield Road  an area just outside the city of Danville  reported Devin Taylor with the Pittsylvania County Sheriff's Office.

When firefighters arrived, they found the bodies of two men. That's when law enforcement officers were called to the scene.

"From evidence found at the scene law enforcement is investigating the matter as an arson and homicide," Taylor wrote in an news release.

The bodies were transported to the Medical Examiner's Office in Roanoke for autopsies and officials are awaiting the cause of deaths.

Authorities are withholding the identities of the men pending results of the autopsies.

"Investigators remain on scene collecting evidence and canvassing the neighborhood," Taylor wrote in the release sent at about 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

Other organizations including the Danville Police Department, the Pittsylvania County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, the Virginia State Police and the Joint Terrorism Task Force are helping with the investigation.

No arrests have been made, and no other details were released.

Anyone with information may call the Pittsylvania County Sheriffs Office or the Pittsylvania County Crime Stoppers at 800-791-0044.
The removal of a tobacco excise tax legislation has been viewed by analysts as unequivocally positive for the industry as a whole.

Barclays analyst Jain Gaurav said in November that as the size of the Build Back Better plan has reduced from $3.5 trillion to the currently proposed $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion, we were expecting a reduction in all the proposed tax hikes, including tobacco taxes.

The excise-tax hike proposals are similar to those included in a Democratic-sponsored bill introduced in September in the U.S. Senate.

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The Tobacco Tax Equity Act would not only double the federal tax on traditional cigarettes. The main design is to raise the federal excise tax on all other tobacco products to equate to the proposed $2.01 per pack on traditional cigarettes.

The increase could raise $112 billion over the 10-year budget window, according to The Tax Foundation.

The Biden proposal raises the per-pack excise tax to $2.02.

Gaurav said that while top-selling Marlboro would have experienced about a 14% price increase, and No. 2-selling Newport by 12%, deep-discount cigarette prices could have risen by up to 30%.
There is growing global resentment over the crimes of the Turkish state against the Kurdish people, its occupation attacks and the ban on PKK.

The International Kurds Justice Initiative has invited internationally recognized celebrities from 30 countries to join the campaign to remove the name of the PKK from the " terror list."

On Sunday, December, 13 th , 2021,003 people signed the "Call to get the name of the PKK off the list of terrorism."

The campaign statement reads:

Kurdistan is one of the places where a relentless war has been waged, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis. The Turkish occupying state continues its arbitrary practices and violations of genocide, massacres and denial. The Turkish state, led by Erdogan, justifies all forms of violence committed under cover of combating terrorism and terrorists "and launching its arbitrary and brutal attacks in Northern Kurdistan/Turkey, Rojava /Syria and Southern Kurdistan/Iraq."

The statement added: "The Turkish state, which does not recognize the natural and legitimate rights of the Kurdish people, accuses Kurdish parties in the Parliament of pursuing legal policies. It has arrested parliamentarians and co-chairs of municipals under pretext of belonging to the membership of terrorist organizations, "and has expelled 3,000 academics who have criticized the state's policy towards Kurds from universities for" supporting a terrorist organization, "prosecuting and arresting hundreds of journalists for" membership and propaganda of a terrorist organization. "

It also accuses the Democratic Union Party (PYD), Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), People's Protection Units (YPG), and Women's Protection Units (YPJ) that joined the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Rojava the enemy of humanity, with the cooperation of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

The statement noted that "the Turkish state has occupied areas in Rojava under the pretext of fighting" terrorism "and has deployed its army and mercenary terrorist ISIS and other extremist groups in Afrin, Ras al-Ain and Tel Abyed, and has repeatedly bombed the refugee camp in a United Nations-sponsored Makmur, which has resulted in the loss of lives of dozens of unarmed civilians; Turkey claimed that this camp of 15,000 civilians is a terrorist camp, and the Yazidis Kurd in Shengal is subjected to organized and systematic bombing by military aircraft belonging to the Turkish occupying state. "

Twenty-nine world-renowned intellectuals, writers and politicians who witnessed these relentless attacks by the Turkish occupying state led by Erdogan formed The International Kurd Justice Initiative in support of the Kurdish people. The Initiative issued a statement on 5 November 2021, calling on the world's intellectuals to rise up against these crimes and to remove the name of the PKK from the "list of terrorism."

T/S

ANHA
A light fixture caught fire Monday in a classroom at C.R. Anderson Middle School, prompting officials to have staff and students evacuate the building.

There are no injuries and minimal damage was reported.

The fire occurred about 7:54 a.m. at 1200 Knight St., and was extinguished by firefighters by about 8 a.m., said Mike Chambers, assistant chief of the Helena Fire Department.

The fire department declared the building safe and students, who were routed to the schools evacuation site, were returning to the CRA building for class, Helena Public Schools officials said.

The Helena Police Department, also responded to assist.

The cause of the fire was under investigation, Chambers said.

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Frustrations over future control of Bozemans cannabis market boiled over last month, as providers work to maintain their territory ahead of the recreational market, which begins Jan. 1.

Eight marijuana providers in Bozeman sued the city in late November to reinstate a 20-storefront cap within the city limits recently repealed by the city commission. Providers argue that removing the cap dilutes the investments made to keep their footing in the market, while attorneys for the city contend the cannabis providers cannot force the city to protect them from competition.

Gallatin County District Court Judge John Brown heard arguments on the case on Dec. 7, although he has yet to issue a ruling on whether to put a halt on the ordinance repealing the cap.

The shift comes as many local governments are retooling their ordinances around cannabis ahead of the start of recreational marijuana sales next month. Missoula's city council installed 500-foot buffers between dispensaries, while the city of Billings will allow eight medical marijuana providers to operate in town and push all recreational sales outside of city limits.

Bozeman city commissioners gave initial approval to amend its local cannabis ordinance on Oct. 19, which repealed the limit on storefronts, maintained a restriction on a portion of Main Street and generally brought the ordinance closer in line with state law.

The 20-storefront cap had been in place since 2012, and medical marijuana providers, who will be able to sell recreational cannabis, already hold all 20 licenses.

Theres definitely a demand for more, assistant city attorney Anna Saverud told the commission on Oct. 19. Weve had a lot of calls about this.

Adam Arnold, a co-owner of Collective Elevation in Bozeman, argued removing the cap will create congestion in the city and scramble the arrangement providers and city planners have settled on after years of cooperation.

Weve kind of carried this industry, Arnold said during the Oct. 19 meeting. Working back and forth with the city and to instantly grant new licenses without understanding those implications has a lot of negative things, not only for people who dont want more cannabis businesses and those of us who already have cannabis businesses.

Montana is under a moratorium until mid-2023, in which only medical marijuana providers who were operating as of Nov. 3, 2020, when Montana voted to legalize recreational cannabis use, will be able to sell recreational cannabis after Jan. 1. But those already with state licenses to operate in Montana are able to open new locations, meaning businesses can still move into opportunistic markets like Bozeman.

Saverud told the commission during that Oct. 19 meeting city staff drew its changes to the cannabis ordinances from the framework ultimately passed by the Legislature and signed into law in late May. The state has taken on much of the hands-on components of regulation, and the city opted to regulate no tighter than the state.

Commissioner Christopher Coburn said creating a more restrictive ordinance than whats set out by the state may continue the stigmatization thats at odds with Bozeman voters who approved legalization; Gallatin County passed recreational cannabis by 66% in the 2020 election, nearly 10 points higher than voters statewide.

I think those additional restrictions will be the perpetuation of, frankly, the stigmatized policy from 10 years ago, Coburn said.

In its Dec. 6 response to the lawsuit, the city argued that eliminating the cap does not devalue the city licenses, but authorizes the existing cannabis providers to expand their operations.

In an undated letter to the city commission, the providers also argued that the 20 existing licenses would lose their value if the cap is repealed. They liken the situation to the states liquor license system, in which a limited number of licenses are allowed in the state and therefore are bought and sold, sometimes for millions of dollars, before a new bar can open in a tight market.

But attorneys for the city contend the citys licenses are nontransferable, unlike the state issued liquor licenses, and therefore have no independent value. Attorneys further wrote the providers arguments that repealing the cap will undercut their investments is disingenuous.

Judge Brown has yet to issue a ruling on the injunction sought by the cannabis providers. Bozeman's ordinance would go into effect in the New Year.

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DECATUR  From heavenly phone calls to fashion advice, Millikin Universitys winter commencement Sunday at the schools Kirkland Fine Arts Center was an unusual event.

It got off to a different start when Sharon United Methodist Church's Rev. Walter Carlson appeared to interrupt the invocation to take a phone call.

Telling his bemused audience of more than 100 graduates and their family and friends, I have to take this, he later told them it was God checking in with a message.

He wants you all to know that he is very proud of each and every one of you, he told the laughing graduates. He has great hope for what you will do, for who you are and what you will accomplish.

Carlson acted as if he had jotted down the message, and then ran into trouble deciphering part of the text. OK, this part gets a little fuzzy here, the pastor said. Then he appeared to make out the rest of the holy instructions.

He said Wally, its time for you to sit down and shut up, said Carlson, getting ready to do so.

Amen, he added, to loud applause.

The tips on fashion came from commencement speakers and Millikin alumni Zachary Zach Uttich and his wife, Kirsten Williams Uttich, who, in another unusual move, delivered their address together, each speaking alternate parts.

Graduates of the class of 2007, they met at Millikin as students and first bumped into each other because Zach Uttich wore a rather striking T-shirt that got him noticed.

Now they have gone on to set up a successful clothing business in Chicago called BLVDier, offering everything from custom suits to T-shirts to a discerning clientele that seeks out their unique designs.

Zach Uttich advised graduates to be careful what they wear and help safeguard the planet as they pursue their careers.

Far too many people love clothing the wrong way, he said. They buy too much, dont wear it enough and dispose of it too quickly. Its doing terrible things to our environment.

There was advice, too, on learning to favor and give small businesses a chance  better to choose the underdog  along with lessons learned from a couple who have had to fashion their own path through the world.

Be creative, said Kirsten Uttich. This helps to keep the outlook fun and exciting. And say and spell peoples names correctly  it makes a gigantic impact. And, once youve mastered that, learn to remember peoples names as soon as you meet them.

Her husband recommended being nice to everyone, especially to those who appear the lowest on the workplace ladder. He said a little kindness early can pay big dividends later.

The world is awfully small, he said.

The Uttichs also said a Millikin education was a great platform from which to launch yourself into that world, and the smiling students about to be presented with their degrees couldnt agree more.

I would say come to Millikin to study because the staff is very attentive, said Sera Bebon, 23, who comes from Erie and had just earned a degree in nursing. I believe its truly hard to fail here because you have a lot of people who look after you and care about you and want you to succeed.

Contact Tony Reid at (217) 421-7977. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyJReid

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CHICAGO  Search efforts at an Amazon facility in Illinois where at least six people were killed in a tornado were expected to take several days, but authorities said they did not expect to find additional survivors.

The company has not said how many people were in the building not far from St. Louis when the tornado hit at 8:35 p.m. Friday  part of a swarm of twisters across the Midwest and the South that leveled entire communities. Authorities said they didn't have a full count of employees because it was during a shift change and there were several part-time employees.

Both sides of the warehouse used to prepare orders for delivery collapsed inward and the roof caved, according to Edwardsville Fire Chief James Whiteford. Authorities received reports of workers being trapped and the fire unit arrived within six minutes, Whiteford said. Police helped pull people from the rubble. While 45 employees survived, six people were killed and a seventh person was airlifted to a hospital.

Whiteford said crews would search the rubble for several days.

Madison County Coroner Stephen Nonn on Sunday identified the six people who were killed. Four were from Illinois: 26-year-old Austin J. McEwen of Edwardsville, 29-year-old Clayton Lynn Cope of Alton, 46-year-old Larry E. Virden of Collinsville and 62-year-old Kevin D. Dickey of Carlyle. Two others  28-year-old Deandre S. Morrow and 34-year-old Etheria S. Hebb  were from St. Louis.

Cope's younger sister, Rachel Cope, said her brother had worked for Amazon for over a year and served in the Navy. He was also an avid motorcycle rider, lover of video games and his dog, Draco.

He would go out of his way for anyone, she told The Associated Press in a written message.

Nonn's said Sunday there were no pending reports of missing people related to the building collapse.

Search efforts continue to ensure that there are no additional victims, he said in a statement.

The damage to the building was extensive; the structure's steel support pillars were exposed after the walls and roof caved.

These walls are made out of 11-inch thick concrete, and theyre about 40 feet tall, so a lot of weight from that came down, Whiteford said at a Saturday news conference.

Employee Amanda Goss had just started her first week in a new job as an Amazon delivery driver when the tornado hit.

As I look up, the corner of the building was shaking, and it comes down the garage area and then I felt the gates coming in behind me, Goss told KTVI-TV. All I do is sit there in my van hoping it dont move.

The Amazon facility, among three in Edwardsville, is a 1.1 million square foot (102,193 square meter) delivery station that employs about 190 workers across several shifts, according to Amazon. The facility, which opened in July 2020, prepares orders for last-mile delivery to customers. Edwardsville is about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northeast of St. Louis.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their loved ones, and everyone impacted by the tornado, Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement. Were continuing to support our employees and partners in the area.

Amazon said that when a site is made aware of a tornado warning, all employees are notified and directed to move to a shelter.

But company officials declined to answer specific questions about when employees were warned.

A union representing retail employees that has pushed to organize Amazon employees blasted the company for dangerous labor practices for having employees work during the severe weather.

Time and time again Amazon puts its bottom line above the lives of its employees, Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union Requiring, said in a statement. Requiring workers to work through such a major tornado warning event as this was inexcusable.

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Central Illinois media, including print, television and internet, is doing a disservice to Illinois voters by refusing to hold political terrorists accountable for destroying confidence in government institutions. There is no better example than local media controlling the narrative at U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis forum at Richland Community College earlier this year to avoid any real accountability from Davis. Refusing to call out Davis and other Republican extremists for their efforts supporting Donald Trump, the big lie, and the insurrection attempts on Jan 6.

Mike Bost, Darren Bailey, Mary Miller, cohort of Marjorie Taylor Green, and Chris Miller who aired a tirade against all Democrats while supporting Trumps Jan 6 rally. His truck was parked at the Capitol with an Oathkeepers sticker on the bumper. Throw in Brad Halbrook and our version of Yosemite Sam, Dan Caulkins who aligned themselves with the extremist.

In the Dec. 1 Herald & Review, former congressman John Shimkus said Davis was a trusted leader of rebuilding roads and bridges. Davis voted against the recent infrastructure bill but supported a million dollar non-refundable loan to his familys McDonald's franchises he has investments in.

Davis said he looks forward to retaking control of the House, firing Nancy Pelosi and holding Joe Biden accountable for massive failures. Pelosi has shown real leadership, passed infrastructure, led the effort to impeach Trump twice, and passed numerous bills benefiting working Americans. She never tried to overthrow our government, suppress voting rights, never told thousands of lies, drew alliances with extremist organizations, and trashed foreign allies. Pelosi never sucked up to Putin, took his word over U.S. intelligence agencies, or called for violence at public events.

What a scoundrel. Get real, Davis.

Local media has an obligation to expose Republican terrorists' efforts to undermine future elections and destroy democracy.

Mike Griffin, Decatur

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We are constantly hearing in the mainstream news negative things about beef and the environment. Fortunately, the truth is on the side of the beef farmer.

A well-managed beef cattle provide a nutritious food supply while enhancing our surroundings. The U.S. beef industry provides a nutritious product for a hungry world utilizing many resources (such as grass) that cannot be used as food sources for humans. Many byproducts (leftovers from corn syrup production for example) which would otherwise be a waste disposal problem are used by the cow to produce food for us. Unfortunately, uninformed or misinformed people do not understand that.

The Virginia Forage and Grassland Council invites you to this years winter forage conference, The Green Side of Beef: Defending Grassland Agriculture. The conference will explore the challenges faced by the livestock industry as it seeks to be understood as part of the solution to our global environmental problems.
NEW YORK (AP)  Russia on Monday vetoed a first-of-its-kind U.N. Security Council resolution casting climate change as a threat to international peace and security, a vote that sank a years-long effort to make global warming more central to decision-making in the U.N.'s most powerful body.

Spearheaded by Ireland and Niger, the proposal called for incorporating information on the security implications of climate change" into the council's strategies for managing conflicts and into peacekeeping operations and political missions, at least sometimes. The measure also asked the U.N. secretary-general to make climate-related security risks a central component of conflict prevention efforts and to report on how to address those risks in specific hotspots.

It's long overdue that the U.N.'s foremost security-related body take up the issue, Irish Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason said.

The council has occasionally discussed the security implications of climate change since 2007, and it has passed resolutions that mention destabilizing effects of warming in specific places, such as various African countries and Iraq. But Monday's resolution would have been the first devoted to climate-related security danger as an issue of its own.
All of seven of the inmates in Daniel's care survived, Workman said, with two of them suffering broken legs.

A cousin, Mark Saxton Sr., said Daniel was a native of the Mayfield area that was devastated by the storm.

He loved his community, Saxton said. He was a great family man. Everybody who met him just loved him. Hes the type of person you want to be associated with.

Brian Crick, a judge for two western Kentucky counties, was known for his sound judgment when it came to solving problems, a fellow judge said.

Crick, 43, was a district judge for Muhlenberg and McLean counties who handled criminal misdemeanor cases, traffic court and juvenile cases, said Circuit Judge Brian W. Wiggins. Wiggins said he has known his fellow judge since 2005, when Crick was a public defender. He later was in private practice before taking the bench in 2011.

Many of the defendants who came before him werent represented by attorneys, and Crick was very good about seeing to it that their rights were protected, Wiggins said. He had a very common sense approach. He was very level-headed about how to handle cases and how to talk to people.
" " Here's another interesting fact about Missouri: It falls in the New Madrid Seismic Zone. Earthquakes occurring there have been regarded as some of the most catastrophic that the U.S. has ever seen.  2019 HowStuffWorks.com

Some state nicknames make perfect sense: The Aloha State (Hawaii), the Empire State (New York), even the Beaver State (Oregon). But some labels are a little less intuitive and require a little more digging to figure out. The Show-me State for example? What exactly does Missouri want to be shown and why?

Like all great legends, this one doesn't have a single origin story, but there's one theory that's considered more credible than others. Many believe that Missouri's U.S. Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver, who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1897 to 1903, is the one responsible for bestowing the nickname. During his time as a member of the U.S. House Committee on Naval Affairs, Vandiver traveled to Philadelphia in 1899 to attend a naval banquet.

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During his speech at the naval event, Vandiver said, "I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me." It's not totally clear whether Vandiver originated the "show-me" sentiment or if he was just the one who popularized it, but the moniker continues to be tied to him.

There are other possible explanations behind the nickname, too. Some believe the "show-me" title actually originates from a derogatory reference to Missouri miners who worked in Leadville, Colorado. Men from Joplin, Missouri, went to work in Colorado during that state's miner strike in the early 1900s. Rumor has it that these out-of-towners were so unfamiliar with Colorado mining practices that they needed a lot of instruction. The result was conversations that started with statements like, "That man is from Missouri  you'll have to show him."

Another "show-me" origin story insinuates that the name refers to passenger trains since hundreds of free train passes were given to Missouri legislators in the late 1800s. Apparently, to verify their complementary fare, the conductors would say, "You've got to show me."

And just in case you needed one last possible source to satisfy your curiosity, there's the theory that during the Spanish-American War, gate guards from St. Louis, Missouri, told any soldier who wanted to leave the encampment to go to town to "show" his pass.

Now That's Interesting The actual name of the state  "Missouri"  pays homage to a tribe of Sioux Indians called the Missouris. Many often incorrectly translate the word to mean "muddy water," but it actually means "town of the large canoes."
In December 9th, customs officers checked with China railway expresses to Europe.

By December 7th, Changsha customs had monitored 1010 China railway expresses to Europe, and 969 of them started at Changsha. Destinations include Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, and Kazakhstan.

According to statistics from Changsha customs, exporting commodities are made of furnitures, automobiles parts, and lightings. lumbers, candies and powdered milk are mostly exported to Russian and Belarus.

Customs officers told us that in this year paper fillings are simplified, and can be applied ahead of time. Also, the time of commodities passing through customs has decreased from 313 minutes to 16 minutes now.
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (AP)  New Yorks ski resorts are hoping to build on a 2020-21 season that saw them supplant Vermont as the third-biggest ski and snowboard state in the country, behind Colorado and California.

The COVID-19 pandemic was considered a significant factor as the appetite for outdoor recreation was strong. In addition, Vermonts strict quarantine rules on outsiders crossing the state line may have led to more people hitting the slopes elsewhere.

Those restrictions have been lifted, and the Albany Times-Union reported demand has been high for season passes in both Vermont and New York. Some resorts have already sold out of passes.

It is an incredible success story, in the cloud of COVID, Scott Brandi, president of the I Ski NY trade group, told the newspaper.

New York had 4.2 million skier visits last year, while Vermont had 3.5 million. Colorado led the nation with 12 million visits, followed by California with 6.75 million.
He said that going door to door in search of victims is out of the question in the hardest-hit areas: There are no doors.

We're going to have over 1,000 homes that are gone, just gone, the governor said.

With afternoon high temperatures forecast only in the 40s, tens of thousands of people were without power. About 300 National Guard members went house to house, checking on people and helping to remove debris. Cadaver dogs searched for victims.

Kirks said she and her boyfriend were about 10 feet apart in a hallway when someone said to take cover. Suddenly, she saw sky and lightning where a wall had been, and Ward had vanished.

I remember taking my eyes off of him for a second, and then he was gone, she said.

Later, she got the terrible news  that Ward had been killed in the storm.

It was indescribable, Pastor Joel Cauley said of the disaster scene. It was almost like you were in a twilight zone. You could smell the aroma of candles, and you could hear the cries of people for help. Candle smells and all the sirens is not something I ever expected to experience at the same time.
He vowed solidarity with Poland "against this inappropriate manner of hybrid warfare. Poland has sealed the border with Belarus to prevent thousands if illegal crossings into the EU.

Referring to the intensifying rule-of-law dispute between Poland's government and the European Commission, the EUs executive arm, Scholz stressed that the 27-nation bloc is united by the principles of democracy and said it would also be very good and helpful if the continuing discussions could soon lead to a very good, pragmatic solution, and the EU would therefore continue to be bound by these principles of democracy and the rule of law.

Morawiecki said he briefed Scholz on Poland's proposals for solving the standoff.

The European Commission is withholding pandemic recovery funds from Poland saying the governments policies erode judicial independence there.

Regarding the divisive Nord Stream 2 pipeline that is to carry Russian gas directly to Germany, Morawiecki repeated Poland's position that it exposes Europe and Ukraine to pressure from Moscow, and said it was best for it not to be opened.
A Nokia official in the Oceania region says he is satisfied with the uptake of 5G in Australia, pointing out that about 80% of the smartphones sold in the country are now 5G-capable.

Robert Joyce, chief technology officer for Nokia Oceania, told iTWire in response to queries that the affordability factor was not affecting take-up.

He added that in some cases operators allowed all 5G handsets on the 5G network since many operators' 4G/5G tariffs were the same.

"For example, even a pre-pay SIM in a 5G handset can connect to Vodafone Australia's 5G network," he said.

{loadposition sam08}Joyce has been in the mobile telecommunications field for more than 25 years and headed Radio Access Technologies for Qatar's Ooredoo Group before joining Nokia.

He was responsible for setting up the globe's first 5G commercial network at Ooredoo Qatar in May 2018 and holds a doctorate from the University of Leeds, with the topic of his research being self-organising heterogeneous networks.

Joyce said the incentive to take up 5G depended on the user. "I can't comment on the individual tariffs of the operators, but 5G is certainly faster than 4G, so I guess it depends on what you use your mobile phone for, as to whether you'd get more value from a 5G phone and associated subscription," he said.

"If you're a heavy gamer or someone who uses their mobile phone for watching HD movies or tethering, then 5G is going to give you a much better experience. A recent study undertaken by one of the big crowd sourced companies suggests 5G users have an average throughput experience that's five to ten times faster than 4G.

"Currently, the 5G networks in Australia are demonstrating peak downlink rates of over 5Gbps per second and represent some of the fastest networks in the world. Nokia provides network equipment/solutions to all three of the mobile operators here in Australia and we've set a number of 5G world records with them."

A recent survey by Ookla, the company behind the popular Speedtest app, suggests however that 5G speeds have slowed down at the global level.

"Over the past year from Q3 2020 to Q3 2021, the median global 5G download speed fell to 166.13 Mbps, down from 206.22 Mbps in Q3 2020," the survey noted. "Median upload speed over 5G also slowed to 21.08 Mbps (from 29.52 Mbps) during the same period."

About industry use cases for 5G, Joyce noted that Australian mobile operators provided 5G coverage to more than 80% of population. "They do this by deploying 5G across multiple frequency bands including the 700, 850 and 900MHz bands that propagate much further than the higher bands such as the 3.5GHz band also used for 5G," he said.

"Nokia recently demonstrated the effectiveness of the 700MHz band for 5G with TPG Telecom when we set a 5G range record of 148km between 5G handsets in a cell in Rural Queensland. It is this wide area coverage that will enable many of the 5G use cases we see being of value to Australian industries such as mining, oil and gas and transport. These physical industries need wide area, ultra low latency, robust coverage, exactly what 5G in the 700MHz band provides."

Thus far, Australia had been 5G use in enhanced mobile broadband and fixed wireless access, he said. "eMBB is effectively an enhanced 5G service to a smartphone, enabling a higher data rate, lower latency and all the benefits I mentioned.

"And FWA is providing a fixed internet connection over 5G rather than the fixed line. In Australia, Optus and Nokia together launched Australia's first FWA service using Nokia's 5G fast mile FWA Gateway. This product has proven to be so good it is now the number one selling 5G FWA Gateway globally.

"In future, Nokia thinks virtual reality and augmented reality will be some of the new killer apps as we see manufacturers start to produce smart glasses and other wearables that support VR and or AR."

Joyce said it was a common misconception that one needed 5G mmWave for ultra-low latency. "While 5G mmWave and the massive bandwidths available within these bands will enable both low latency and super-fast data rates of 20Gbps and beyond, low latencies can actually be better provided by the legacy Frequency Division Duplex bands (FDD) like 700, 1800 and 2100MHz," he said.

"This is because at 3.5GHz and mmWave, 5G is Time Division Duplex (TDD) based and this means that there can be a delay between the uplink and downlink transmissions. In FDD, this delay does not occur as we have simultaneous uplink and downlink transmission and therefore in theory FDD can support a lower latency than TDD.

"Of course, there's a bit more to it than that, like Frame Structure and time slot duration, but future versions of the 3GPP standard will deliver low latencies across all 5G bands, not just the mmWave band."

He said recently Nokia and its partners had been awarded over $3 million of government funding to investigate new and exciting 5G use cases.

"The first of these projects is the 5G Connected Cobots project we're doing with UTS at the recently opened Nokia 5G Future Lab at UTS Tech Park, Sydney. This project will demonstrate how we can control Collaborative Robots (Cobots) connected over the 5G network ...with the brain of the Cobot actually running on a Nokia Edge Cloud rather than on the Cobot itself.

"The second project we're involved with is the creation of the National 5G Industrial Incubation Lab with the South Australian Government in Lot 14, Adelaide. This lab will be aimed at demonstrating the use of 5G within industry and we'll initially be looking at connected airports, connected trains and power grid inspection/control using 5G. We're now three months into both projects so it's still in the early stage as we set up the labs, but we look forward to sharing the results of these projects as they become available."

Joyce said with regard to the Open RAN Policy Coalition, it would be fair to say that Nokia was taking the lead in development of the technology for the project.

A communications expert, Henry Kressel, recently listed the following as issues for ORAN:

The cost of implementing networks with elements from diverse customers and relying on open-sourced software as the glue may be more costly and troublesome than installing an integrated product suite from one proven vendor.

Maintaining and upgrading such a O-RAN heterogeneous network will require costly internal carrier resources, and hence may be costlier to maintain than current equipment.

The idea that such heterogeneous networks are more secure is an unproven assumption that has been challenged by a recent study in Germany.

Asked about these hurdles, Joyce said: "Yes, that is an interesting point of view and security remains a key concern in O-RAN networks. That said, we see many of our customers progressing rapidly with O-RAN trials, including some in Germany that we are fully supporting, and we look forward to supporting our customers in the months and years to come should they decide to move to more open RAN architectures."

As to whether these issues meant Open RAN was another pie in the sky project, Joyce did not agree. "We're already seeing different methods of network deployments taking place. Take Rakuten in Japan and DISH in the US: while neither of these networks can be classed as being official O-RAN compliant, both companies are pushing the boundaries of how operators may deploy their RAN, transport and core networks in the future," he replied.

"At Nokia we know we can't predict the future, but certainly being open and involved with all possibilities sets us in the best position to support our customers whatever network architecture becomes the norm in the not too distant future."
EDWARDSVILLE  Authorities have released the names of six people, ranging in age from 26 to 62, killed in Friday's collapse of an Amazon facility in Edwardsville.

Early Sunday, Madison County Coroner Stephen P. Nonn and Edwardsville officials said the six fatalities in the building collapse include:

Clayton Lynn Cope, 29, of Alton

Kevin D. Dickey, 62, of Carlyle

Etheria S. Hebb, 34, of St. Louis

Austin J. McEwen, 26, of Edwardsville

Deandre S. Morrow, 28, of St. Louis

Larry E. Virden, 46, of Collinsville.

At about 8:35 p.m. Friday, the National Weather Service confirmed an EF3 tornado approaching from the west touched down at 3077 Gateway Commerce Center Drive East, causing significant damage to an Amazon facility.

Arriving firefighters found that about 150 yards of the building had collapsed, with multiple reports of people being injured and deceased.

On Saturday evening, Gov. J.B. Pritzer came to Edwardsville to speak with local officials and to confirm that six people had died in a "great tragedy." At the media briefing, local and state officials said work at the Amazon site had transitioned from a rescue to a recovery.

On Sunday morning, search efforts continued at the site to ensure there were no additional victims. Representatives from Amazon also were on-site and assisting with the search process.

City officials said the Edwardsville Fire Department was working to clear debris from the site and coordinating with Amazon representatives to account for all of its personnel.

People wishing to report a relative who may be missing from the incident have been asked to contact Edwardsville Police at 618-656-2131. Information regarding any missing persons will be gathered and directed to the coroner's office, who will coordinate efforts to locate and account for anyone still believed missing.

On Sunday, Nonn said five of the six storm victims have been released to funeral homes, with the sixth victim scheduled to be released. He said his staff has spoken with representatives from each of the affected families about the identities and the preliminary findings on the cause of their deaths.

City officials on Sunday also said any residents who had significant damage to their homes or property should contact the United Way by calling 211. A United Way representative will take their information and direct it to the proper authorities.

"As always, we would like to remind residents to be on the lookout for scammers and only use reputable contractors' for debris cleanup and storm damage repairs," city officials said in a released statement.

City officials also stressed their appreciation for the outpouring of assistance and support from the community. They said people wishing to make a donation of any sort should contact the Salvation Army or American Red Cross.

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Q: Our family is traveling this holiday and I need information about wheelchair and oxygen accommodations for air travel. Who should I contact? BL

Answer: Traveling by air may present some challenges for individuals who require assistive devices and medical equipment but preparing ahead of time can help alleviate some of the stress.

Many airports offer information about wheelchair accessibility for parking and shuttles on their websites, but curb-to-flight wheelchair assistance and in-flight wheelchair accommodations are controlled by individual airlines (not the airport). When making airline reservations, be sure to mention what kind of assistive device or medical equipment you will need during travel and ask for the airlines procedure to schedule assistance.

It is especially important for people who use medically necessary personal oxygen to communicate with airlines in advance. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) does not allow oxygen cylinders for personal medical use on airplanes (tsa.gov). However, individuals may be able to use a portable oxygen concentrator (POC) for in-flight travel.
For a lot of reasons, the beating of a restaurant owner inside his own dining room last weekend attracted a lot of attention.

Social media, as it does, stirred the pot, of course. Scottodifrego posted photos of his battered face and announced that Brothers would be closing at 10 p.m. on weeknights with immediate effect.

And thats a financial hit for a restaurant that does a great deal of walk-up business from hungry bar patrons.

Its a good amount of money, Scottodifrego said. My partner and me, we decided it just wasnt worth it. I mean, we really shouldnt be afraid in our store. Some nights its just chaos down here.

Part of the issue could be that no single member of City Council represents the downtown. Each ward has a small sliver included in its boundaries. In theory, that should mean that each council member would then look out for the interests of downtown.

In practice, though, it means that the hundreds of new downtown residents have a diluted voice at City Hall. Council members wont say so out loud, but many of their neighbors (and constituents) who rarely venture for a meal or a movie think downtown gets too much attention as is.
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The Yadkin River section of the park reopened Saturday, followed by most of the rest of the park Monday. The Pinnacle Trail will remain closed until a fence damaged by the fire can be rebuilt, N.C. State Parks spokeswoman Katie Hall said.

The fire was sparked Thanksgiving weekend by a campfire in a restricted area. Flames ultimately covered about half of the park, officials said.

According to the National Weather Service, just 0.3 inches of rain fell in Forsyth County in November, followed by trace precipitation in December until a weather system dumped heavy rain across the region Saturday, reducing the risk of new fires.

John Deem covers climate change and the environment in the Triad and Northwest North Carolina. His work is funded by a grant from the 1Earth Fund and the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. 336-727-7204

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If youre like me, you watched with great alarm the nighttime videos of the Grindstone fire at Pilot Mountain State Park. You might have thought that the blaze torched and killed almost every tree in the park, and that it will take decades for the forest to recover. Not so. The good news is that the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation has for years conducted prescribed burns on Pilot Mountain, both to spur native habitat growth and to remove fuel on the ground that otherwise would have caused a much more devastating fire.

I joined Gov. Roy Cooper on Dec. 2 to inspect the fire damage. Most of what burned was ground cover; most trees were only blackened a bit at their base. Firefighters and park rangers described it as a low intensity fire, and ecologists predict that the forest will rejuvenate relatively quickly. The park will be a fascinating place to visit in the spring and summer as the forest recovers, providing a compelling example of natures resiliency.
Transparent and truthful. Competent and compassionate. Inclusive and innovative.

Those are some of the characteristics residents would like to see in Lincoln Public Schools' next superintendent, which community members identified in an initial input session Monday.

Individuals shared what they see as strengths at LPS, such as the district's Community Learning Centers and focus programs, and also outlined challenges the next superintendent will have to face.

Recruiting and retaining diverse teachers rose to the top for many.

"I think it's important that young scholars in the school district, especially those that are of color, have teachers in the school system that look like them in some way, shape or form," said John Goldrich, a counselor and co-founder of the local organization Parenting Across Color Lines.

More than 90% of staff at LPS is white, while only about 64% of students are, said Brittany Cooper with Nebraskans for Peace, and closing those gaps will remain a challenge going forward.

"All the students can benefit from people who have come from a different background culturally," she said.
He faces a separate set of charges for what police say was an attempt to have himself shot and killed Sept. 4 so his surviving son could collect a $10 million life insurance policy.

Murdaugh described to the judge his frame of mind leading up to the events of that day. He said he had met with his brother and another law firm partner to confess a 20-year-long hidden addiction and to discuss my actions in the 24 hours before the attempted killing, and was going through opiate withdrawal at the time.

The firm announced its own investigation into missing funds shortly after Murdaugh said he was going into rehab in September.

Murdaugh said he knew he had tarnished his familys legacy, but that he had improved since September and had not used opiates in more than three months.
Trapp took the conditions during two large tornado strikes in 2013  the Hattiesburg, Mississippi, tornado that in February of that year injured 82 people with winds of 170 mph and the Moore, Oklahoma, tornado that killed 24 people with winds up to 210 mph (340 kph) in May and put them into dozens of computer simulations of worst-case climate change scenario by 2100, which other scientists say is increasingly unlikely.

The worst-case scenario, which the world used to be on track for, would have another 6 degrees (3.3 degrees Celsius) or so of warming between now and the end of the century. Trapp said he will soon run simulations based on a scenario closer to the current trajectory for carbon dioxide emissions of about 3.2 degrees (1.8 degrees Celsius) warming above current levels.

Trapp found a big change on the winter storm, significantly longer and wider tracks and windspeed increases around 14% that added up to the nine-fold increase in power when using a formula that takes wind speed, rotation and size of path into account. Power increased 1.5 times for the spring storm, he said.
New houses are there now, but I went out there to get the lightning. The storm was moving to the south, and there was a full moon. Its not very often that you see clouds, lightning and full moon, he said.

There was a lot of luck to it. Id never had another chance to do anything like this. Moons are easy to shoot, but to get both a moon and a thunderstorm in there at the same time, well, some luck is involved.

But if you never go out, you never got a shot like that. Photography is like going fishing. Lots of times you go out and never get anything.

A new challenge

When he retired nine years ago, Shield  who taught at Kearney High School for 27 years and at the old Kearney Junior High School for 15 years prior to that  wanted to find something challenging to replace 45 years of equations, angles and long division. I wanted to indulge in something to keep me sharp, something I had to think about, he said.
Fifty-seven years ago this month, Martin Luther King Jr., visited Lincoln to address an audience of over 6,000 at Pershing Municipal Auditorium. Dr. King, who had won the Nobel Peace Prize earlier that year, was invited by the Methodist Student Movement.

Dr. King challenged Christianity, according to Virgil Falloon, Star staff writer, to speed up the day of freedom and justice for all men. No doubt Dr. King would add and women today.

The civil rights movement, King continued, is the struggle for freedom and dignity. Nothing can be more tragic than to sleep through this social revolution.

Here we are 57 years later; the educational attainment gap between whites and minorities in Nebraska is third largest in the nation. At the same time, the governor is attempting to squash diversity and equality in our Nebraska educational system, nullify the universitys constitutional right to self-governance and to impede our students  of all races and genders  in the education they require to meet the challenges of our changing world.

King advised his audience that, Our challenge is to disarm the oppressor by nonviolence and by love.
Trent Holscher of Ogallala calls himself a hobby hunter.

With two kids, the seed salesman and rancher doesnt have the time he used to for hunting and fishing.

But when deer season arrives each November, he makes sure to keep his rifle close. It paid off this year.

With a few minutes to spare after work, he decided to walk around his father Mikes CRP land about a half hour before sunset. When a buck stood up, he thought it looked like a decent size.

He kept getting bigger the closer I got, he said.

Holscher killed the 8x7 mule deer from 50 yards, and it dropped almost immediately. Then he waited for wife Lindsay to arrive to get a picture by the headlights of his pickup truck.

She also helped him haul the deer out.

The family is already enjoying the meat, which was processed into salami, jerky and deer sticks.

Hell get an official measurement on the rack once it dries out at Fosters Taxidermy in Ogallala, where its being mounted. It may reach between 205 and 210 inches.
MADISON  Wisconsin Assembly Democratic Minority Leader Gordon Hintz announced Monday he would be leaving his leadership position on Jan. 10. Racine Democrat Greta Neubauer, who joined the Assembly in January 2018 and was featured on the cover of Time magazine that month, could be the one to take his place.

Im seriously considering running for minority leader, Neubauer said in a text to a reporter Monday afternoon.

It was also reported that Rep. Mark Spreitzer, D-Beloit, is considering seeking the position. Spreitzer has made headlines in recent weeks for his vocal fights with Michael Gableman, who is leading a partisan probe of Wisconsins 2020 election, during meetings of the

Stepping down

Hintz, of Oshkosh, has been leader of the Assembly Democrats since September 2017. Democrats, who hold 38 of the Assemblys 99 seats, will vote to elect a new leader.

In a statement, Hintz said he wanted to have more time for his family, including two children under the age of 5, and for his legislative district.

Neubauer is not married and does not have children.

Democrats have next to no power in the minority, unable to stop Republicans from passing whatever bills they want. One of the most powerful tools Democrats do have if they remain united is preventing Republicans from having the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto.

That veto-blocking power has been important during much of Hintzs tenure as leader, which has coincided with Democrat Tony Evers being governor. Evers was elected in 2018 and since took office in January 2019, none of his vetoes have been overridden by the Legislature.

The minority leader is in a position to often go head to head with the majority leader in debates and discussions on the Assembly floor, as Hintz has often done with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester.

Hintz, 48, is up for re-election to his seat in November along with the rest of the Assembly.

Stepping up?

Neubauer was elected to the seat Cory Mason vacated when he left the Assembly to become Racines mayor.

Among her top priorities since becoming a legislator have been battling climate change, although most of the bills she has backed on that front have gone nowhere in the GOP-controlled Legislature. She was also appointed by Hintz to the powerful Joint Finance Committee in November 2020.

She is a graduate of The Prairie School and Middlebury College and comes from an influential family among Wisconsin Democrats.

Her mother, Lisa Neubauer, is a chief judge on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. Her father, Jeff Neubauer, was chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin from 1989-93 and served several terms in the state Assembly in the 1980s; he lost a 1993 congressional primary election to current state Revenue Secretary Peter Barca.

In a public statement, Neubauer said: I want to thank Rep. Hintz for his leadership, his mentorship, and his service to our caucus for more than four years. I was elected shortly after Gordon became the Democratic leader in the Assembly (in September 2017), and his willingness to support a young organizers vision for how we could push for a better future in Wisconsin was fundamental to my development as a legislator.

Rep. Hintz led our caucus through some of the most difficult years in recent memory, pushing back against Republican power grabs and gerrymandering, and leading us through a global pandemic. He brought new voices into our caucus, and worked to find new strategies for success in the face of a gerrymandered Republican majority. Im very grateful to have served under Rep. Hintz, and I look forward to continuing our caucus shared work of building a Wisconsin that truly works for all of us.

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He allegedly said he did not really need the money, but also that he used it for gas; he added that his car broke down and needed to repair it several times.
Gift card scams are on the riseand they may be happening just feet from your place in the checkout line.

In the first nine months of 2021, nearly 40,000 consumers reported losing $148 million in gift card scams, according to a new report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Thats more than what was reported in all of 2020, and may be a mere fraction of the problem as fewer than 5% of gift card scam victims report the crime.

Heres an example of how a gift card scam is pulled off: You get a phone call from someone who says theyre from a government agency, like the Social Security Administration. They say your bank account will be frozen for an investigation and tell you to buy gift cards to avoid getting arrested.

More and more people are being scammed through gift card schemes  and the victims are losing more money. In 2018, the median amount victims lost to a gift card scammer was $700. This year, its $1,000.

Older people are more susceptible to these scams, according to FTC data. Of Americans aged 50-59, 19% of fraud reports involved gift cards or reloadable cards. For Americans age 80 and up, that number jumps to 30% of all fraud reports.

Heres how to identify a gift card scam and how you can avoid getting duped.

How Gift Card Scams Work

Here are a few more examples from the FTC of how such a scam might work:

You get a phone call from someone claiming to be from Amazon or Apple. They claim theres a security problem with your account, and the only way to fix it is to buy gift cards and send the caller pictures of the back of the cards.

Someone claiming to be your boss text messages or emails you asking you to buy gift cards. They say theyre stuck in meetings or its an urgent need for a client.

The scammers often specify which gift cards to buy and where to buy them. Target, Google Play, Apple, eBay and Walmart were the most common stores named in the gift card scams reported to the FTC.

Sometimes victims are instructed to make several purchases at different stores, while some scammers keep their victims on the phone while they complete the task. As soon as you provide the gift card number and any sort of security code thats present on the card, the scammer can access those funds.

Unlike other forms of fraud, where scammers might access money through your bank account, credit card or debit card, gift card scams make you do the work for the scammerwhich makes it hard to catch the real culprit. Along with using gift cards, which can be harder to track than other forms of payment, scammers often use spoofed (fake) phone numbers that can appear legitimate, showing up on caller ID as a familiar number or a government agency name.

Its easy to say youre savvy enough to avoid getting taken advantage of by a scammer. But in the heat of the moment, its all too easy to get flustered. After all, it can be terrifying to hear your bank accounts could be locked, or you could be arrested.

How to Avoid Gift Card Scams

Retailers often train their employees to spot potential victims of gift card scams. Weve increased in-store signage to warn our guests of common gift card scams, and weve heightened team member education so they can keep an eye out for potentially distressed guests buying gift cards and intervene as needed, Target said in a statement to Forbes Advisor.

But a gift card purchase may not make a cashier suspicious, especially during the holidays when many shoppers are buying them as valid gifts.

The best way to avoid gift card scams is to remember that no legitimate business or government agency will demand payment via gift cards. If youre in doubt, hang up on the caller or block them from emailing or texting you. (Dont delete their messages, thoughmore on that in a moment.)

If you or someone you know falls victim to a gift card scam, make sure you keep your receipt as it has identifying information about the gift card. Then take these actions:

Contact the retailer that issued the gift card. The FTC maintains a list of popular retailers and how to reach them about gift card fraud.

The FTC maintains a list of popular retailers and how to reach them about gift card fraud. File a police report. The FTC notes doing this may help you get assistance from the gift card issuer.

The FTC notes doing this may help you get assistance from the gift card issuer. Report the fraud to the FTC. Include as much information as you can, including times, dates, phone numbers or email addresses, and screenshots of messages. The FTC cant resolve individual cases, but it investigates activity and shares fraud reports with relevant local law enforcement.

Include as much information as you can, including times, dates, phone numbers or email addresses, and screenshots of messages. The FTC cant resolve individual cases, but it investigates activity and shares fraud reports with relevant local law enforcement. Report the fraud to your state attorney general. Much like reporting fraud to the FTC, your states attorney general investigates larger fraud issues rather than resolving individual cases.

Even if you dont fall for the scam, take a few minutes to file a report to the FTC and your state attorney general. Doing so could help catch a fraudster and prevent them from victimizing others.

Read more: How To Avoid Getting Scammed During The Holidays

Scammers Prefer Target Gift Cards

The FTC noted that gift card scams often featured one retailer: Target.

Target gift cards were reported twice as much as any other gift card brand. Thirty percent of people who obtained Target gift cards for a scammer said they lost $5,000 or more.

Unfortunately, gift card scams are a persistent issue across the retail industry, Target said in their statement. Target takes these crimes extremely seriously and we use a multi-layered, comprehensive approach to mitigate fraud that includes technology, team member training and collaboration with law enforcement.

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As a group of University of Wisconsin-La Crosse students and local activists rallied at the UW-L campus Monday to demand action on climate change, weather forecasters were predicting record-setting warmth. Wednesdays forecast high temperature of 64 in La Crosse would obliterate the old record of 52 degrees.

Thats not supposed to happen, said Cassidy Hanson, a senior at UW-L. We just got all this snow, and in two days its all going to be gone.

Hanson helped publicize the rally, which was organized by Citizen Action of Wisconsin. Speakers demanded action to reverse global climate change and urged UW-L to hire a sustainability coordinator to create a comprehensive climate action plan.

UW-L student Abby Siakpere said heat waves, severe storms, flooding and other extreme weather events have now become the norm.

Climate change is here, and its effects can be seen all over the Driftless Region, Siakpere said.

She said UW-L is the only UW campus that doesnt employ a full-time sustainability coordinator.

La Crosses upcoming warm spell wasnt the only weather topic discussed. La Crosse City Council member Mark Neumann referenced last weeks tornado outbreak in the central United States that left dozens dead.

Whoever heard of a pack of 40 tornadoes rushing through in one storm system? Neumann said. Whoever heard of this happening in December  10 days before Christmas?

State Rep. Jill Billings, D-La Crosse, was one of the scheduled speakers but was unable to attend. In a statement prior to the rally, she joined the call for a sustainability coordinator at UW-L.

Climate change requires the government and institutions at all levels to take steps to reduce emissions and mitigate its effects, Billings said. UW-La Crosse has taken great first steps but can do more, as we all do, to address this pressing issue impacting our community and communities across the state of Wisconsin.

UW-L Chancellor Joe Gow said Monday that the position of sustainability and safety manager held by Dan Sweetman already addresses concerns raised by students. He said UW-L has been a leader among UW campuses in sustainable building construction and that a committee of students, faculty and staff meets regularly to discuss and implement sustainability initiatives.

We have a fantastic committee on environmental sustainability, and theyre always coming up with new ideas, Gow said.

Gow estimated a new sustainability coordinator position would cost at least $60,000 to $80,000 annually.

We dont have the finances to do that right now, Gow said.

Hanson said a sustainability coordinator would establish a plan to reduce fossil fuel use on campus, ranging from infrastructure needs to cafeteria policies.

UW-L has quite a few needs because were kind of behind, Hanson said.

UW-L environmental studies professor Alysa Remsburg favors adding the position and said it would enhance UW-Ls climate initiatives.

Organizations and institutions that commit to a climate action plan and hire a sustainability coordinator  places like Western Tech and Gundersen  theyre exponentially more effective at reaching these kind of goals, Remsburg said.

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WASHINGTON  The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a conservative think tank over Gov. Tony Evers decision to exclude the groups writers from press briefings.

The justices acted without comment Monday, leaving in place lower court rulings that said the decision is legal.

The John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy filed the lawsuit in 2019 alleging that Evers, a Democrat, violated its staffers constitutional rights to free speech, freedom of the press and equal access.

Former Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, had joined in the institute's bid for high-court review, although Walker was among the former governors who also limited the number of reporters and news outlets that could attend budget briefings and other events. Evers defeated Walker in 2018.

Last year, a federal judge rejected the group's arguments, saying MacIver can still report on Evers without being invited to his press briefings or being on his email distribution list. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld that ruling in April.

Former Republican Gov. Scott Walker had urged the Supreme Court to take the case, arguing that the ruling in favor of Evers allows censorship because it permits picking and choosing which reporters attend press events that have long been open to reporters but closed to the general public.

The appeals court ruled that Evers media-access criteria was reasonable and he was under no obligation to grant access for every news outlet to every news conference.

MacIver had argued that Evers was excluding its staffers and violating their free speech rights because they are conservatives. Evers said they were excluded because they are not principally a news gathering operation and they are not neutral.

MacIver's attorney Daniel Suhr responded to the action by saying "politicians should not censor their news coverage by hand-picking who covers them.

When asked to comment on the Supreme Courts action, Evers spokeswoman Britt Cudaback referred to the governors legal filing in the case.

MacIver covers legislative meetings and other events at the Capitol as well as some Evers news conferences. But the institute sued after being excluded from a media briefing Evers gave for reporters on his state budget proposal in 2019. Evers wasnt present, but members of his administration provided information to reporters on embargo ahead of his budget speech to the Legislature that evening.

The appeals court noted that a limited number of reporters were allowed into the event. Reporters from The Associated Press, along with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Wisconsin State Journal, were among those present for that briefing.

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Community and Labor Dedicate UCLA James Lawson Worker Justice Center

Hundreds of people descended upon MacArthur Park on December 11 for the dedication of the UCLA James Lawson Worker Justice Center. The celebratory event recognized the enduring legacy of the nations premiere non-violence tactician  the Rev. James M. Lawson, Jr.

Politicians, clergy and labor leaders were in the audience along with community members, trade unionists and social activists who all united in tribute of Lawsons lifelong commitment to peace and justice.

Renowned for his teachings on nonviolent action, the pastor emeritus of Holman United Methodist Church in Los Angeles was the master strategist behind some of the memorable marches defining the countrys Civil Rights Movement. Lawson worked closely with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and trained many of the future leaders of the movement including John Lewis, Diane Nash, Marion Barry and James Bevel.

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His students participated in the Freedom Rides, the 1963 Birmingham Childrens Crusade, the 1966 Chicago Open Housing Movement and the Anti-Vietnam War Movement. Even before those campaigns, Lawson was an early convert to nonviolent resistance, which he demonstrated in 1951 when he said he was a conscientious objector and was arrested for refusing to report for the draft. In addition, he taught nonviolent tactics to Black students who integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957.

Since retiring from Holman UMC in 1999, Lawson continues to share his strategies and tactics with individuals and organizations around the world. The James Lawson Institute offers training in people organizing movements and nonviolent civil resistance. For the past 20 years, he has also served as a UCLA labor studies faculty member.

Following the unveiling of the buildings new name  UCLA James Lawson Worker Justice Center  the honoree, stepped to the podium in the midst of a prolonged, standing ovation from the audience.

As a college student, I tried to prepare myself for going to jail. But I had no idea how to prepare for this moment, for this extraordinary experience of all of you and the coalition that came together to make this possible. I thank you very much. I could never have imagined anything like this in all of my life, insisted Lawson.

My journey thus far has been a journey of people, a journey of community and family. Whatever role I played, its because of people like yourselves in Nashville, Tennessee, in Memphis, and in Los Angeles, he asserted, while encouraging the crowd to continue working for justice and peace.

You who come together to make this day possible, I want to urge us to keep this coalition together and keep it moving towards dismantling the old ancient forces of spiritual wickedness. They are very, very real. We must dismantle them and in doing that, we will help ourselves achieve the stature of being fully alive and learning to love, Lawson said, as the multicultural audience nodded and applauded in agreement with his comments.

In fact, Lawsons impressive track record of working with disadvantaged groups in the pursuit of justice influenced a collaborative effort to purchase the building, obtain funding for its renovation and rename the facility in honor of the legendary civil rights giant. Thanks to the work of the legislators, Californias 2021-2022 budget included a one-time $15 million allocation to renovate the building.

California State Senator Maria Elena Durazo, who worked with Lawson on several initiatives, proposed naming the center for him, submitted the request for funding to the Senate and obtained the support of the Latino Caucus. State Senator Steven Bradford, chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus, also backed the effort and persuaded his caucus to assist.

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Assemblymembers Reggie Jones-Sawyer and Miguel Santiago led the charge for funding in the State Assembly and were supported by Assemblymember Evan Low, chair of the LGBTQ Caucus. On a local level, County Supervisors Holly Mitchell and Hilda Solis, Mayor Eric Garcetti and Councilman Gil Cedillo sponsored resolutions promoting the project. They all shared public salutes during the dedication program.

There is no American who has done more for peaceful, nonviolent, and social change in this nation than the Rev. James Lawson. Today, we dedicate this building and next, we advocate for the Presidential Medal of Freedom, said Cedillo, who represents the district where the center is located. Illustrating the character of Lawson, Cedillo related that Lawson came to the USC Cancer Center hospital to pray with him and his family as Cedillos wife was in her final days of life.

Garcetti noted that Lawson not only connects God and labor, but also highlights the way individuals should approach the past, present and future. Were used to reading history and learning about history, but the Rev. James Lawson has taught us that we need to make history, not just mark history, the mayor said. On behalf of the City of Angeles, we say thank you to this angel. This man has shown us what it means to be in a world fighting for justice.

Mitchell, chair of the Board of Supervisors, evoked laughter among the crowd as she shared memories of worshipping under Lawson while he was pastor of Holman UMC. Recalling that the sound of his voice used to scare me to death, she also credited him with patiently explaining the meaning of plantation capitalism after she admitted that she didnt know the definition.

Rev. Lawson is a visionary. He was a man before his time, but thank God hes a man of our time, said Mitchell, who went on to offer words that she felt reflected Lawsons legacy. Courage, faith, plantation capitalism, nonviolence, love, compassion and forgiveness. When he announced to the church that he would visit James Earl Ray (the convicted assassin of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) in jail, thats when I learned what forgiveness and grace really looks like in human form, she said.

I am proud to be your friend. I appreciate the time and patience you gave me to try to understand the concepts you lectured and taught for many years. I appreciate you for investing in humankind all of your adult life.

Jones-Sawyer related a past encounter with Lawson too, citing how when he first met the minister in 2012, he tried to impress Lawson by announcing that his uncle, Jefferson Thomas, was one of the Little Rock Nine, which refers to the famous case where students integrated Central High School in 1957.

As I was going on about what my uncle went through, Rev. Lawson stopped me and said, I knew your grandfather and Deacon Thomas and I talked about civil rights and how your grandfather wanted to get involved in the civil rights movement, Jones-Sawyer said, smiling at the memory because he didnt previously know about the connection.

However, in preparation for his familys heavy involvement with the movement, the assemblymember said, Rev. Lawson taught nonviolence to those nine kids. He taught them to be courageous and bold. When we see his name [on the building of the center], we should thank God for sending us Rev. Lawson.

Expressing comparable awe, Bradford called Lawson a civil rights icon, a social justice icon and a person whos been getting in good trouble for 93 years. The actions and words and achievement of Rev. Lawson have contributed to the success and prosperity of not only African Americans that we enjoy today, but to all Americans.

UCLA Chancellor Gene Block emphasized Lawsons long relationship with the university in his remarks, mentioning that the school awarded the legendary minister with its highest honor  the UCLA Medal  in 2018.

For over 60 years, James Lawson has insisted that humanitys salvation lies in reason and compassion, not violence or exploitation. His vision and valor has mobilized Americans, changed this nation and inspired activists around the globe, declared Block. As a longtime professor, he has set an example for students and colleagues and motivated new generations to make change where its needed most. Rev. Lawson, for your work and legacy, UCLA is eternally grateful. We deeply thank you.

Other program participants were UMC Bishop Grant Hagiya, Rabbi Steven Jacobs, L.A. County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera, Assembly Speaker Anthony Reardon, California State Controller Betty Yee, UCLA Dean of Social Sciences Darnell Hunt, Abel Valenzuela of UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment and Kent Wong of the UCLA Labor Center. Also, Ashley Williams, Rebecca Ortega and Niquio Valcobero provided musical selections.

Some of the other people who contributed to the naming and funding of the UCLA James Lawson Worker Justice Center were Governor Gavin Newsom, California Senate Pro Tem Toni Atkins, State Labor Federation Secretary/Treasurer Art Pulaski, L.A. County Democratic Party Chair Mark Gonzalez, former UC Regents Chair John Perez, former SEIU Workers Untied General Manager Cristina Vazquez, and UCLA Labor Center Capital Campaign Director Larry Frank.

At the close of the dedication ceremony, Lawson presented a charge to the crowd, stating, Economic justice for our 331 million people in the U.S. is perhaps the most daunting, complex issue we face, but if we do not achieve it, if we cannot achieve it, we as a people would have failed this vision of we hold these truths to be self-evident  that all are created equal, that all are endowed with certain inalienable rights  life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Let us continue the struggle with all we can muster.

Lawsons new book, Revolutionary Nonviolence  Organizing for Freedom, will be released in February 2022 and includes a foreword by renowned activist and professor Angela Davis. The publication features his teaching on nonviolence organizing as well as provides a guide for the next generation of activists to build effective social movements.
Harris unveils plan for electric vehicle charging network

The Biden administration released an ambitious federal strategy Monday to build 500,000 charging stations for electric vehicles across the country and bring down the cost of electric cars with the goal of transforming the U.S. auto industry.

The future of transportation in our nation and around the world is electric, Vice President Kamala Harris said at an EV charging facility in suburban Maryland.

The $1 trillion infrastructure law President Joe Biden signed last month authorizes a nationwide network of charging stations and sets aside $5 billion for states to build them, including $63 million for Maryland. The law also provides an additional $2.5 billion for local grants to support charging stations in rural areas and in disadvantaged communities.

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Bidens $2 trillion social and environmental policy bill, now pending in the Senate, includes a $7,500 tax credit to lower the cost of electric vehicles.

The Biden administration wants to make electric vehicles accessible for everyone, Harris said. Absolutely make it accessible for everyone and easy. Just like filling up your car with gas.

Harris visited a maintenance facility in Brandywine, just outside Washington, where she received a demonstration of how chargers work and learned about a plan to electrify the government fleet in Marylands Prince Georges County.

Theres no sound or fume! Harris exclaimed as a local worker demonstrated the charger. How do I know its actually working?

The car is fully charged when its blinking green, the worker told her.

The new EV charging strategy establishes a joint electric vehicles office between the federal Energy and Transportation departments; issues guidance and standards for states; and ensures consultations with manufacturers, state and local governments, environmental justice and civil rights groups, tribes and others, the White House said.

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The two departments also will launch an advisory committee on electric vehicles that officials hope will be up and running early next year.

Accelerated adoption of electric vehicles for personal cars and commercial fleets would help achieve Bidens goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emission by 2050 while creating thousands of jobs, the White House said.

The effort also is intended to help the U.S. leapfrog China in the plug-in EV market. Currently, the U.S. market share of plug-in electric vehicle sales is one-third the size of the Chinese EV market.

Biden has set a goal that electric cars and trucks account for half of new vehicles sold by 2030.

The LMC Automotive consulting firm expects U.S. sales of new fully electric vehicles to hit nearly 400,000 this year, almost double last years figure. EVs still make up only about 2.6% of sales, but the firm expects sales to grow to more than 730,000 next year and more than 2 million by 2025.

Even at 2 million, EV sales still would be only about 12% of U.S. new vehicle sales.

Republicans, including some who voted in favor of the new infrastructure law, have criticized Biden for being preoccupied with electric vehicle technology when Americans are contending with a spike in gasoline and natural gas prices.

Biden last month ordered a record 50 million barrels of oil released from Americas strategic reserve, in coordination with other major energy consuming nations. Gas prices have fallen in recent weeks as fears grow of another possible economic slowdown from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Average prices on Sunday were $3.33 per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association, down about 7 cents from late last month.

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Associated Press writer Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this story.


In the United States, more than 90 people died across six midwestern and southern states when strong winds known as tornadoes destroyed homes, work buildings and religious centers on Friday night.

Such weather events do happen in December, but they do not happen often this time of year because the temperature on the ground is not so different from air high in the sky.

However, people in Kentucky said the air was warm and wet on Friday.

Weather scientists said the mixing of the warm and cold air can create instability which produces storms and the fast, spinning winds of tornadoes.

Climate change

The question is whether the deadly storm came because of climate change. The weather scientists, known as meteorologists, are not completely sure.

Victor Gensini is a meteorologist at Northern Illinois University. He said strong winds are common in the winter, but they do not create tornadoes because the air close to the Earth is also cold. He called the tornado that traveled hundreds of miles on Friday remarkable.

The weather scientists say a warming planet has something to do with strong winter storms.

The National Weather Service (NWS) noted that since 1950 there had not been a November tornado recorded in the northeastern U.S. state of Connecticut. There was one last month, however.

John Gordon of the NWS in Louisville, Kentucky called what happened on Friday the worst-case scenario.

Gensini said the tornado traveled about 300 kilometers. Normally, tornadoes die out in minutes, he said, but this one lasted for hours. He said the storm moved as a fast as a car going down a large roadway.

Harold Brooks studies tornadoes at the National Severe Storms Laboratory. While the U.S. has more tornadoes than any other country, tornadoes only form once out of every 10 strong storms. As a result, he said, it is hard to say if the winter tornadoes are closely related to climate change.

Gensini, however, said the conditions for strong storms are becoming more common in the winter as the planet warms up.

Patterns are changing

In the past, Brooks said, tornadoes happened more often during warm days in the summer. However, as the winter becomes warmer, especially in the southern U.S., tornado season will shift. More will happen in the winter and fewer will happen in the summer.

Jason Furtado is a meteorologist at the University of Oklahoma. He said people who live in places like Kentucky, which suffered the most from Fridays storms, are now living in an area where tornadoes are common. That is a shift south and east from the past.

He said the people in that area of the U.S. are becoming increasingly vulnerable.

Im Jill Robbins.

Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on reporting by the Associated Press. Susan Shand was the editor.

Have you ever seen a tornado where you live? Tell us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page.

___________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

tornado  n. a violent and destructive storm in which powerful winds move around a central point

instability

spin  v. to turn or cause someone or something to turn around repeatedly

remarkable  adj. unusual or surprising

scenario  n. a description of what could possibly happen

vulnerable  adj. open to attack, harm, or damage


Scientists are examining available data to try to understand who might win the battle of the coronavirus variants.

Right now, the Delta variant is the dominant variant in the world. But after looking at data from South Africa and Britain, some scientists say the Omicron variant may soon overtake it.

Its still early days, but  Omicron is likely to outcompete Delta in many, if not all, places, said Dr. Jacob Lemieux. He researches coronavirus variants for a group led by Harvard Medical School.

But other experts said it is too soon to know whether Omicron will spread more quickly and easily than delta.

Matthew Binnicker is a virus expert at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He said well know in about two weeks whether Omicron will overtake Delta. He noted that the U.S. is still seeing significant surges of the Delta variant.

Many important questions about Omicron remain unanswered. It is still unclear if the virus causes milder or more severe illness. It is also not yet known if it might escape immunity from earlier COVID-19 illnesses or vaccines.

On the issue of spread, scientists point to what is happening in South Africa, where Omicron was first found. Omicron has quickly spread there and has nearly become the dominant strain. Health experts worry the country is at the start of a new wave that may overcrowd hospitals.

In the middle of November, South Africa averaged less than 200 COVID-19 cases per day. But last week, the country saw more than 10,000 cases per day. Experts say omicron makes up more than 90 percent of the new cases in Gauteng province, the center of the new wave. The new variant is quickly spreading and becoming dominant in South Africas eight other provinces, as well.

Willem Hanekom is director of the Africa Health Research Institute in South Africa.

The virus is spreading extraordinarily fast, Hanekom said. If you look at the slopes of this wave that were in at the moment, its a much steeper slope than the first three waves that South Africa experienced.

Scientists say it is unclear whether Omicron will act the same way in other countries as it has in South Africa. But in Britain, Lemieux said, were seeing what appears to be a signal of exponential increase of Omicron over Delta.

In the United States, theres still a lot of uncertainty, he said. But based on what weve observed in South Africa, its likely to become the dominant strain in the coming weeks and months and will likely cause a surge in case numbers.

It is not yet known what such a surge would mean for public health.

Hanekom said early data from South Africa show that reinfection rates are much higher with Omicron than earlier variants. That would suggest the virus is escaping some immunity. It also shows the virus seems to be infecting younger people, mostly those who are unvaccinated. Early information also shows most cases in hospitals have been mild.

But experts say the situation could be different in other parts of the world or in different groups of patients.

Itll be really interesting to see what happens when more infections potentially occur in older adults or those with underlying health conditions, Binnicker said.

As the world waits for answers, scientists suggest people do all they can to protect themselves.

If people are not vaccinated they should get vaccinated, Lemieux said. If people are eligible for boosters, they should get boosters, and then do all the other things that we know are effective for reducing transmission.

Im Dan Novak.

The Associated Press reported this story. Dan Novak adapted it for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

Quiz- Omicron vs. Delta: Battle of the Variants Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

______________________________________________________

Words in This Story

variant  n. different in some way from others of the same kind

dominant  adj. more important, powerful, or successful than most or all others

significant  adj. large enough to be noticed or have an effect

strain  n. a group of closely related plants or animals

steep  adj. going up or down very quickly

exponential  adj. very fast ; increasingly rapid

eligible  n. able to be chosen for something

booster shot  n. an extra amount of a vaccine that is injected with a needle into a person or animal to help protect against a disease
A hotel in Vietnam is offering people the chance to try gold leaf-covered steaks. The move comes after a government minister was caught on camera eating the food at a London restaurant. Such steaks can cost over $1,300.

Last year, the Dolce Hanoi Golden Lake Hotel used large amounts of the metal during a building improvement project. During the work, gold plating was added to everything from bath tubs to toilets.

Now, as part of a business plan, the hotel has changed the name of one of its eating places to the Golden Beef Restaurant. The restaurant put the famous gold-coated "Tomahawk Wagyu" steak the Vietnamese minister ate in London on the menu, charging about $45 a person.

Nguyen Huu Duong is head of Hoa Binh Group, which owns the hotel. He told Reuters, "We have served more than 1,000 guests who came to try out the golden steak."

Turkish cook Nusret Gokce, also known as Salt Bae, published a video online of himself feeding Vietnams Minister of Public Security To Lam the gold-covered Tomahawk steak.

The video, released last month, received wide attention back in Vietnam. People were surprised that the official would eat a steak that can cost up to $1,914 at some restaurants.

Many in the Southeast Asian country questioned how such a high-ranking Communist Party official could eat such costly food. Especially when his restaurant visit came as the Vietnamese government was carrying out a large campaign against corruption. Officials in Vietnam have not commented on the incident.

The event led to more publicity in Vietnam when police called in a beef noodle seller who filmed himself copying, or imitating, Gokce. Police in Vietnam sometimes call in for questioning activists and people who publicly criticize the ruling Communist Party. The noodle seller denied he was trying to make fun of anyone.

Even though the hotel in Hanoi had already been serving gold steaks, the recent incident in London was the reason for the restaurant's new name, said Duong. He is a Vietnam War veteran and former taxi driver who made his money in building projects and property.

The restaurant imports its gold leaves and uses about 10-15 on each Tomahawk steak, which can serve about four people.

"I thought, why don't I open a restaurant that sells golden steaks that are affordable," Duong said.

Affordable is a term that means less costly.

At $45, the dish still costs too much for many, however. Monthly earnings in Vietnam average about $183.

Still, people at the restaurant appeared to feel they were getting good value for their money.

Pham Duy Bach was one visitor who enjoyed the stay at the restaurant, describing it as "one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

Im John Russell.

Ed Davies reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Bryan Lynn was the editor.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

steak  n. a thick, flat piece of meat, especially beef

bath tub  n. a large and long container in which people take baths or showers

menu  n. : a list of the foods that may be ordered at a restaurant
Wed, Dec. 8th, 2021, 12:16 pm

The vagaries of 1990s 32-bit Windows networking I recently commented about a deeply misguided comment on HN that claimed that Windows 98 was the beginning of integrated networking in Windows. Wolfie Pauli (as I like to call him) applies: "that is not only not right, that is not even wrong!"

But, to be fair, which I rarely feel the urge to be towards Microsoft, Win98 did have one killer networking feature: (effectively) unlimited IP addresses.

very different.



The NT network stack is cleanly layered, supported multiple adaptor types and protocols and clients all in one, and was so complicated that up to NT 4, when you finished making changes to the networking configuration and clicked "OK", a tiny



That's why a little progress dialog box popped up for a while. I do not know the internals and the Web seems to have forgotten if it ever did... but the Win9x and NT networking stacks weredifferent.The NT network stack is cleanly layered, supported multiple adaptor types and protocols and clients all in one, and was so complicated that up to NT 4, when you finished making changes to the networking configuration and clicked "OK", a tiny embedded Prolog interpreter fired up and ran a single embedded Prolog program, the only one in all of the DOS, OS/2 and Windows codebase that I'm aware of -- possibly the only one in any commercial OS anywhere. This Prolog code parsed your desired config, worked out how to interconnect all the layers of the NT network stack, and wrote the configuration file(s) and registry settings in order to give you what you wanted.That's why a little progress dialog box popped up for a while.

I do not know if the Prolog has gone, but I suspect that the progress indicator box has gone just because [a] everything defaults to TCP/IP now, and the Netware support stuff is mostly or all gone and [b] computers are much faster now so there's no perceptible pause, so no need for a progress bar.

Win9x, on the other hand, was Windows 4, the successor to Windows for Workgroups 3.11, and so I strongly suspect that its network stack was just a modified version of the WfWg 3.11 stack, from what tiny bit I know from experience plus some educated guesswork.





Aside: yes, the AOL adaptor was its own device, not a Windows-managed modem device: AOL managed its own dial-up. Don't knock it, it worked: it was much easier to get online with AOL in the 1990s than it was with, well anything else, because AOL did a lot of R&D to make it happen. I know this because I've had a free journo AOL account since the 1990s and it gave me toll-free worldwide dialup, so I used it a lot when visiting Oslo, which I did monthly for a couple of years at the start of the century. (Thanks, Ryanair!) No wifi or broadband back then!



Win95 bound all protocols to all adaptors. No need for Prolog here. I had a Thinkpad 701C -- the classic folding-keyboard Butterfly model -- and I had several PCMCIA cards for it. One had a 56K modem. One was a 10base-T network card. One was a 100base-T network card. And I had direct cable connection for linking to other PCs. That's four network connections, if you're counting.



The AOL dial-up adaptor made 5.



Awooga! Alert! That means five network cards, and Win95 didn't support more than four IP addresses, in total, for all devices. A dynamic address -- that is, an adaptor that does BootP or DHCP -- is still an address. An adaptor that's not plugged in at the moment was still an adaptor and had TCP/IP bound to it so it needed a slot for an address.



(Oh, and forget about IPv6  Win95 just didn't do that, period; it hadn't been invented yet.)



Result: problem. A basically-insoluble problem. Microsoft didn't really expect people to want so many IP addresses in those days.



Windows 98 allowed effectively unlimited IP addresses, so I could have all those adaptors at once.



Problem: the Thinkpad 701C is a 75MHz 486 with 40MB of RAM, and Windows 98 was too much for it. I used



In desperation I did try Windows 2000 on the machine. Win2K on a 486 with 40MB of RAM is possible, just, but it's not much fun to use. Thankfully the old Thinkpad's hard disk tray was removable and I had a few drives and caddies, so I could switch Windows versions in half a minute.



Anyway: that was the sole significant improvement in networking in Win98 that I am aware of. The other thing 98 could do was drive multiple monitors, if you had the right  that is, from an extremely limited selection  graphics cards. Otherwise, it was just 95B with more drivers and the odious Active Desktop built in.

In Win95/95B you could only have a maximum of 4 TCP/IP addresses. That's on all adapters (Ethernet, modem, Direct Cable Conneciton, AOL dialup, etc.) put together.Aside: yes, the AOL adaptor was its own device, not a Windows-managed modem device: AOL managed its own dial-up. Don't knock it, it worked: it waseasier to get online with AOL in the 1990s than it was with, well anything else, because AOL did a lot of R&D to make it happen. I know this because I've had a free journo AOL account since the 1990s and it gave me toll-free worldwide dialup, so I used it a lot when visiting Oslo, which I did monthly for a couple of years at the start of the century. (Thanks, Ryanair!) No wifi or broadband back then!Win95 bound all protocols to all adaptors. No need for Prolog here. I had a Thinkpad 701C -- the classic folding-keyboard Butterfly model -- and I had several PCMCIA cards for it. One had a 56K modem. One was a 10base-T network card. One was a 100base-T network card. And I had direct cable connection for linking to other PCs. That's four network connections, if you're counting.The AOL dial-up adaptor made 5.That meansnetwork cards, and Win95 didn't support more than four IP addresses, in total, for all devices. A dynamic address -- that is, an adaptor that does BootP or DHCP -- is still an address. An adaptor that's not plugged in at the moment was still an adaptor and had TCP/IP bound to it so it needed a slot for an address.(Oh, and forget about IPv6  Win95 just didn't do that, period; it hadn't been invented yet.)Result: problem. A basically-insoluble problem. Microsoft didn't really expect people to want so many IP addresses in those days.Windows 98 allowed effectively unlimited IP addresses, so I could have all those adaptors at once.Problem: the Thinkpad 701C is a 75MHz 486 with 40MB of RAM, and Windows 98 was too much for it. I used 98lite to trim it down, but it was still bulky and sluggish.In desperation I did try Windows 2000 on the machine. Win2K on a 486 with 40MB of RAMpossible, just, but it's not much fun to use. Thankfully the old Thinkpad's hard disk tray was removable and I had a few drives and caddies, so I could switch Windows versions in half a minute.Anyway: that was the sole significant improvement in networking in Win98 that I am aware of. The other thing 98 could do was drive multiple monitors, if you had the right  that is, from anlimited selection  graphics cards. Otherwise, it was just 95B with more drivers and the odious Active Desktop built in. Current Location: Snow Kobylisy Current Mood: Sunday Current Music: Jazz on Cerys Matthews <3 Sun, Dec. 12th, 2021 12:27 pm (UTC)

dougs Linked here from Twitter, since no-one uses LJ any more.



> (Oh, and forget about IPv6  Win95 just didn't do that, period; it hadn't been invented yet.)



It was unbelievably close. The earliest cite I have for IPv6 is December 1995, in RFC1883, 1884 and 1885:

https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc1883



And so although the specification for IPv6 hadn't been published at the original ship-date of Win95 (4.00.950), it was certainly around (just!) at the time of SP1 (4.00.950a), well before 95B and aaaaages before 98. Linked here from Twitter, since no-one uses LJ any more.> (Oh, and forget about IPv6  Win95 just didn't do that, period; it hadn't been invented yet.)It was unbelievably close. The earliest cite I have for IPv6 is December 1995, in RFC1883, 1884 and 1885:And so although the specification for IPv6 hadn't been published at the original ship-date of Win95 (4.00.950), it was certainly around (just!) at the time of SP1 (4.00.950a), well before 95B and aaaaages before 98. Sun, Dec. 12th, 2021 10:55 pm (UTC)

liam_on_linux > Linked here from Twitter, since no-one uses LJ any more.



Ah well, it still works and I am amused that even the nominally techie blog is 15YO now.



Good catch! I checked far more cursorily and AFAICS it was ratified in 1998. Well played. > Linked here from Twitter, since no-one uses LJ any more.Ah well, it still works and I am amused that even the nominally techie blog is 15YO now.Good catch! I checked far more cursorily and AFAICS it was ratified in 1998. Well played. Mon, Dec. 13th, 2021 10:58 am (UTC)

dougs Ah yes, published in 1995, ratified in 1998, implemented in .. oh, who knows, sometime between 2010 and ... maybe 2040? Ah yes, published in 1995, ratified in 1998, implemented in .. oh, who knows, sometime between 2010 and ... maybe 2040? Mon, Dec. 13th, 2021 11:13 am (UTC)

andrewducker 37% implemented:

https://www.google.com/intl/en/ipv6/statistics.html 37% implemented: Mon, Dec. 13th, 2021 11:31 am (UTC)

dougs That's encouraging, better than I'd hoped.

Still a very long time before we can abandon a dependency on IPv4, though; my colo provider still doesn't offer IPv6 so I'll need IPv4 wherever I go if I still want email, for example; when they start providing IPv6 I'll still need IPv4 (or waaaay better IPv4-to-IPv6 gateway services) for the foreseeable future. That's encouraging, better than I'd hoped.Still a very long time before we can abandon a dependency on IPv4, though; my colo provider still doesn't offer IPv6 so I'll need IPv4 wherever I go if I still want email, for example; when they start providing IPv6 I'll still need IPv4 (or waaaay better IPv4-to-IPv6 gateway services) for the foreseeable future. Mon, Dec. 13th, 2021 11:36 am (UTC)

andrewducker Oh yeah - and there are devices out there that will never support it. I think we're with it for at least the next 2 decades, even if rollout suddenly speeds up! Oh yeah - and there are devices out there that will never support it. I think we're with it for at least the next 2 decades, even if rollout suddenly speeds up! Mon, Dec. 13th, 2021 12:50 pm (UTC)

liam_on_linux I have a suspicion there's a very real risk we will be back to ink on vellum, or smoke signals, by mid-century, at the rate we're going.



Or at least there might be enough people, close enough together, that it'll be a case of "could you tell Bob..." I have a suspicion there's a very real risk we will be back to ink on vellum, or smoke signals, by mid-century, at the rate we're going.Or at least there might be enough people, close enough together, that it'll be a case of "could you tell Bob..."
Josh Blackman (South Texas College of Law Houston) & Seth Barrett Tillman (National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUI Maynooth) - Faculty of Law) have posted Is the President an "Officer of the United States" for Purposes of Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment? (15(1) N.Y.U. J.L. & LIBERTY 1 (2021)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified in 1868, in the wake of the Civil War. This provision bars certain people who engaged in insurrection from serving in certain federal and state positions. For a time, Section 3s meaning was a matter of substantial debate. And subsequently, during the twentieth century, this provision fell into desuetude.

Now, Section 3 occupies a critical place in constitutional discourse. On January 13, 2021, the House of Representative approved an article of impeachment against President Trump that invoked Section 3. And there is pending legislation that purports to put Section 3 into effect. Its sponsors contend that the bill could render Trump ineligible to serve a second term. Moreover, state election officials may rely on Section 3 to keep Trump off the ballot. All of these legal strategies, however, elide over a critical threshold question: Was Trump covered by Section 3?

The structure of Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment is a bit complicated. But for our purposes, the inquiry is narrow: When Trump took his Article II presidential oath, was he an officer of the United States? If the answer is yes, then he is subject to Section 3, and potentially can be disqualified from serving a second term. If the answer is no, then he is not subject to Section 3, and cannot be disqualified from serving a second term pursuant to Section 3. In our view, there is some substantial reason to think the President is not an officer of the United States. It follows that President Trump, who swore only one constitutional oath, does not fall within the scope of Section 3. Therefore, he cannot be disqualified pursuant to this provision.

This article will proceed in six parts. Part I will contend that the phrases officer of the United States and office . . . under the United States in Section 3 refer to different categories of positions. Part II will analyze the phrase officer of the United States, which is used in the Constitution of 1788 and in Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, which was ratified in 1868. Part III will show that the meaning of the phrase officer of the United States did not drift from 1788 through 1868. There is substantial evidence from both eras that the President was not considered an officer of the United States. Part IV will recount longstanding Executive Branch opinions, which affirmed that elected officials like the President are not officers of the United States. Part V will respond to recent academic arguments suggesting that the President is an officer of the United States for purposes of Section 3. Finally, part VI will chart how the courts, and not Congress, will likely have the final say about whether President Trump is subject to Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Highly recommended.
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Commentary: One reason for modern dissatisfaction is that we consume too much news and talk about the bad news way too much.
Thousands of immigrant workers in Idaho who are part of a work visa program will get small pay raises in 2022 after the removal of a Trump-era wage freeze.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture last month released its annual survey on farm labor, which is used to determine the rate of pay for temporary seasonal workers from outside the U.S. who fill agriculture jobs. The survey results mean Idaho workers will see an estimated wage increase of 13 cents per hour, according to the American Farm Bureau.

There were over 6,000 H-2A workers in Idaho between October 2020 to September 2021, the Idaho Department of Labor said. In 2021, those workers made $14.55 per hour, up nearly 7% from $13.62 per hour in 2020. In 2022, it is estimated they will make $14.68.

Former President Donald Trump announced a wage freeze to help farmers who saw their business disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns. Starting in April 2020, the Trump administration announced that it was considering reduced wages for guest farmworkers admitted with H-2A visas. Then, in November 2020, the administration formally announced a wage freeze for guest farmworkers, which was celebrated by top agricultural officials.

Farmworker Justice, on behalf of the United Farm Workers union and the UFW Foundation, challenged the freeze, and last year a California federal court ruled in their favor. It reinstated the wage increases based on the Department of Agricultures surveys.

For Idaho farmers and producers, the nominal increase is good, said Joel Anderson, executive director of Snake River Farmers Association, a Heyburn, Idaho, organization that helps agricultural employers hire through the H-2A program.

Anderson said farmers are happy that the wage increase wasnt as high as they had seen in previous years.

It is sad to think of it in this way, he said by phone. When the survey came out and we found out it is only going up by that much, after we have had such substantial increases in previous years, we are all breathing a sigh of relief.

The ruling would have locked in at 2019 levels the minimum wage employers must pay foreign agricultural workers with H-2A visas, saving farmers and growers an estimated $1.6 billion in labor costs over 10 years.

Advocates said that the wage freeze was unfair since farmworkers, who were officially declared essential workers during the pandemic, were putting their lives on the line to work. Growers say the wage freeze was essential to keep farms operating and grocery stores stocked as the pandemic shutdowns disrupted the food supply chain.

Idaho farm profits at record high

The University of Idahos yearly report on the financial condition of Idahos agricultural sector found that the 2020 net farm income, or profit, was projected to be $3.5 billion, a 38% jump over 2019.

Total revenues are projected to increase 10% to $9.6 billion, and total expenses are projected to be down 2%, the report said. If realized, 2020 net farm income will be a record high, $978 million above last years record of $2.6 billion.

Elizabeth Strater, director of Strategic Campaigns for United Farm Workers, contends this success shows that farmers did not need to cut farmworker wages during the pandemic to make money.

In a year of record income, this industry still tried to suppress wages for the skilled, vulnerable workforce building that wealth, and withholding thousands and thousands of dollars from thousands and thousands of farm workers in Idaho alone, she said. H-2A workers are excluded from labor protections that U.S. workers know, like overtime pay.

Department of Agriculture suggests new wage structure

In a related case, the UFW and the UFW Foundation also sued the Department of Agriculture last fall to reverse a Sept. 30 order from the USDA to halt the governments collection of farm labor worker data that helps determine wages and eligibility for family assistance programs.

The union argued that wages for guest workers would decline sharply without the survey collection, because the Department of Labor would not have data to establish new wage rates other than state minimum wages.

The USDA farm labor worker data is used to establish the adverse wage effect rate, the rate of pay established for H-2A workers that doesnt adversely affect the wages and working conditions of domestic workers.

Eliminating the (farm labor survey) data and (the adverse wage effect fate) requirements would have withheld as much as $18,000 this year from farm workers already doing some of the most dangerous and grueling work imaginable, said Strater, in an email. Beyond H2A workers, the (adverse wage effect rate) is protecting Idahoans against artificially suppressing the wages of Idaho residents. If the (adverse wage effect rate) had been suppressed or eliminated, it would have a unnatural suppressive effect on domestic wages and spiral the deficit of skilled workers willing to be employed on Idaho farms.

Strater also argued that the efforts to get rid of the adverse wage effect rate and to freeze wages for H-2A workers helps large corporate farms, rather than small or medium-sized farms.

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KETCHUM  Melodies flow through the bar area, into the dining room filled with colorful decor and a large painting of the Taj Mahal. Welcome to Saffron Indian Cuisine.

Ratnadeep Chakraborty came to America on a J-1 Visa in 2016. The J-1 provides highly educated foreign employees and students the opportunity to visit the United States for a short amount of time to receive on-the-job training and engage in cultural exchange.

Chakraborty landed in Sun Valley for his first job, and while off the clock he found love at Whiskey Jacques when he met Rosmery Serva. Shortly after, they moved to San Francisco and met friend and fellow chef Abhijit Sarkar.

Eventually Chakraborty realized that Idaho didnt have much in the way of Indian food all the way from Sun Valley to Boise. He was about to change that.

Chakraborty and Serva opened up Saffron in downtown Twin Falls in 2019. They wanted to start in a smaller area, giving them a chance to grow and get to know the community. It was time well spent. The great support from Twin Falls over the two years we were there allowed us to grow and open up here in Ketchum, Chakraborty said. Sun Valley was my first job in the states  feels great to be surrounded by friends and family again.

Always the entrepreneur, Chakraborty has plans to expand into the Boise area, probably Eagle or Meridian, he said.

With expansion comes the need for more talented chefs and thats where his friend Sarkar comes in. Educated at the prestigious Culinary Academy of India in Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana which is a state in southern India, Sarkar has the knowledge and skill set to help Chakraborty continue to grow once another location is opened around Boise.

Sarkar, the Chef De Cuisine, enjoys creating new dishes with regional produced seasonal Indian spices. He ranks the butter chicken and the pork ribs as his favorites. Sarkar looks forward to continuing Chakrabortys work concerning progressive Indian dishes. We really focus on the flavor, said Chakraborty. Its a different feeling coming back (to Ketchum) as an owner this time around.

Drew Nash is the chief photographer of the Times-News. In his spare time he enjoys exploring the Gem state and trying new foods.

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Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on December 7, 2021.

Hundreds of kindergarten-aged children stayed home during the pandemic-altered 2020-21 school year, and a picture of the impacts is still emerging.

Enrollment numbers rebounded this school year, but limited data and a year fraught with kindergarten no-shows and remote and hybrid learning have some educators scrambling for answers and solutions.

Were still wrapping our heads around it, said Ammon Elementary principal Gene Smith, who saw fall 2021 reading proficiencies among his schools first graders  the prior years kindergartners  reach just 31%, about 20 percentage points below the state average.

The school has beefed up targeting individual learning needs this year, Smith stressed, but he pointed to a range of other challenges plaguing students who stayed home last school year  and those who didnt. Weve seen a range of impacts from the pandemic on many of our younger learners.

An 867-student increase

Kindergarten enrollment climbed statewide to 21,994 this year, up 867 children from last years 21,127, according to the State Department of Education. The upswing accompanies an enrollment hike across K-12 grades.

Last school years drop among kindergartners  and across K-12  was considerable, especially for one of the nations fastest-growing states. Kindergarten enrollments alone fell 813 students from 2019-20 to 2020-21. They grew by 453 from 2018-19 to 2019-20, before COVIDs heaviest impacts reached schools. And the states K-12 enrollments were on an upward trajectory for more than 20 years prior to the pandemic.

Still, 2020-21s one-year decline makes sense. Statewide K-12 enrollment fell by over 3,000 students as COVID-19 shuttered schools and shifted learning online for thousands.

A hefty drop among last years kindergartners was also no surprise. Kindergarten remains optional in Idaho, opening the door for last years parents to homeschool, skip the year entirely or hold their kids back in attempts to wait out the pandemic.

But it wasnt just this years incoming kindergarten cohort that rebounded. Last years cohort moved on to first grade in unusually strong numbers, a possible sign that families who kept their kindergartners home last year  for whatever reason  enrolled them in first grade this year.

Last years kindergarten cohort jumped to 22,878, up a whopping 1,751-student increase, as they moved to first grade after the summer. Enrollment growth from kindergarten to first grade isnt unusual in Idaho. From 2019-20 to 2020-21, the number grew by 128 kids, and jumped 1,221 a year before that.

Uncertainty over the numbers

But gaining an accurate readout on what hundreds of last years kindergarten no-shows did during the pandemic is tough. Idaho doesnt regulate or monitor homeschooling, so its unclear each year how many kids participate, and to what extent.

And gaining an accurate picture at the local level can be tricky.

The Boise School District doesnt have any hard data on whether last years kindergartners were held back, homeschooled or jumped right into first grade this school year, spokesman Dan Hollar told EdNews.

Boise leaders know anecdotally that some students shifted to private schooling and homeschooling last year, but Hollar didnt provide numbers.

Idahos largest district, West Ada, referenced students ages for clues. Students can enroll in kindergarten at age 5. This school year, 724 6-year-olds and two 7-year-olds enrolled in the districts kindergartens, according to numbers from spokeswoman Charalee Jackson. The district has 2,422 kindergartners spread across 33 kindergartens.

An influx of kindergartners older than the minimum age of 5 could be an indication that many were held back. Or not.

The district hasnt determined how many students were 6 or older in prior years. And relying on these numbers alone is shaky, since parents can hold their kids back on any given year.

Idaho Falls School District spokeswoman Margaret Wimborne pointed to nearly 100 new local kindergartners this school year. But more insights on the numbers would require more digging, she said.

Leaders in the Bonneville and Coeur dAlene districts did not respond to questions about local kindergarten enrollments.

What test scores and experts tell us

Idahos early reading test offers some insights into last school years impacts on kindergartners.

K-3 students take the Idaho Reading Indicator in the fall and again in the spring. Spring results show how far students have progressed in reading during the school year. Fall scores are usually lower, and indicate how many students start the school year ready to read.

Fall scores for this years first-graders  last years kindergartners  are one place to look for impacts of last years COVID-fraught school year.

Just 46% of that group returned to school reading at grade level, state numbers show. Thats five percentage points below the 51% average for all grades on the same round of tests.

But this falls first grade scores were better than 2020s, when they dipped to a six-year low of just 41.7%  before the pandemics heaviest impacts hit K-12. And incoming kindergartners, not first-graders, posted the lowest average scores for all other grades tested this fall, at just 40.8 percent  the lowest proficiency rate for that grade since at least 2015.

And its hard to say how other factors are impacting scores. First grade fall reading scores plummeted from 63.3% to 42.9% in 2018 after changes to the test in 2017. Kindergarten scores dropped by more than five percentage points that same year. Scores for either grade havent cracked 50% since.

One of Idahos top early learning experts believes that COVID impacted early learning in various ways last school year. But for her, low scores have a lot to do with a longer-running issue.

For years, Beth Oppenheimer, executive director of the Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children, and other early learning advocates have pushed for state funding for both preschool and full-day kindergarten  neither of which have gained traction in the Statehouse despite repeated efforts.

Idaho funds half-day kindergarten, but devotes no money to pre-K. To Oppenheimer and others, the pandemics impacts over the last two years only add fuel to what they view as an already inadequate early learning system.

Kids here are getting hit harder than in other places because of that, she said.

Out of 165 districts and charters that responded to a 2021 EdNews survey, 71 said they offer all-day kindergarten full time, while 56 more offer it on modified schedules, including some with four-day school weeks and others with shortened school days. Idaho offers no state funding for Pre-K. Click here for more.</&h6>

Smith agreed, at least in part. On any given year, he said, kindergarten teachers at his elementary schools are already crunched to cover all the content theyre expected to in a half-day program.

And that was before his districts decision last school school year to shift all learning to a remote setting for three months in response to rising coronavirus case numbers.

But Smiths elementary kindergartners and first graders saw a 16-percentage-point and 11-percentage-point increase, respectively, on the fall 2021 IRI compared to the fall 2020 IRI. Scores improved for the youngest learners, despite a year of masking, hybrid and remote learning.

Yet Smith says he sees the pandemics impacts. Like homeschooling, its impossible to say how COVID-19 hampered pre-schooling statewide last year because the state doesnt track it. And while his incoming kindergartners posted 50% IRI proficiency this fall, up from under 34% last fall, he pointed to hard-to-measure declines in student social skills and maturity.

Fewer local parents pursuing preschool options and fewer pre-school-aged kids interacting with each other last school year could be to blame, he guessed. I know thats only anecdotal, but weve definitely seen a difference on the social side of things with this years kindergartners.

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WARSAW, Poland (AP)  Germanys new chancellor, Olaf Scholz, stressed Sunday that Europe won't tolerate attempts at undermining the territorial integrity of its nations and said that diplomatic tools like the Normandy Format should be used to de-escalate tensions after Russia massed troops near Ukraines border.

Scholz was speaking alongside Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Warsaw, where the two leaders held talks about migration, energy, European Union matters and fears of potential Russia's aggression on Ukraine.

Were watching the troop movements along the Ukrainian border with great concern, and we are making it very, very clear that the borders in Europe cannot be violated and that we consider the integrity of the borders of countries to be inviolable -- and that no one should think that they could simply be violated without serious consequences, Scholz said.

France and Germany took the lead in brokering a 2015 peace deal between Ukraine and the Russia-backed rebels, in whats known as the Normandy Format.

Scholz said the Belarus government of President Alexander Lukashenko's apparent pushing of Middle East migrants at Poland's and EU's eastern border is inhumane and a major current challenge that Europe has the duty to reject.

He vowed solidarity with Poland "against this inappropriate manner of hybrid warfare. Poland has sealed the border with Belarus to prevent thousands if illegal crossings into the EU.

Referring to the intensifying rule-of-law dispute between Poland's government and the European Commission, the EUs executive arm, Scholz stressed that the 27-nation bloc is united by the principles of democracy and said it would also be very good and helpful if the continuing discussions could soon lead to a very good, pragmatic solution, and the EU would therefore continue to be bound by these principles of democracy and the rule of law.

Morawiecki said he briefed Scholz on Poland's proposals for solving the standoff.

The European Commission is withholding pandemic recovery funds from Poland saying the governments policies erode judicial independence there.

Regarding the divisive Nord Stream 2 pipeline that is to carry Russian gas directly to Germany, Morawiecki repeated Poland's position that it exposes Europe and Ukraine to pressure from Moscow, and said it was best for it not to be opened.

Scholz insisted the pipeline was a purely energy project whose role will be diminishing with the development of renewable energy sources in Germany. Germany's regulator has suspended the approval procedure for the completed pipeline because of legal issues.

Scholz was greeted by Morawiecki, with military honors, in front of the Polish premiers office. It was one of Scholzs early visits after he was sworn in with his coalition Cabinet on Wednesday.

They also discussed complex bilateral relations under Germanys new government. The good neighborly ties are still overshadowed by World War II, especially under Poland's current right-wing government, which is saying Germany owes Poland compensation for wartime damages.

Agnieszka Lada-Konefal, the deputy director of the German Institute for Polish Affairs in Darmstadt, Germany, expects Scholz's government to continue dialogue and contact with Poland, which is an important member on EU's eastern flank and Germany's fifth-largest trading partner.

The visit comes 30 years after the two parliaments ratified a treaty on good neighborly relations and friendly cooperation.

On Friday, Scholz met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris and later with EU and NATO officials in Brussels.

Scholz, a 63-year-old center-left politician, became Germanys ninth post-World War II chancellor, opening a new era for the EUs most populous nation and largest economy after Angela Merkels 16-year tenure.

His government is made up of a coalition of his center-left Social Democrats, the environmentalist Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats.

Emily Schultheis in Vienna contributed to this report.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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HANNIBAL, Missouri  During a visit here in 1882, Mark Twain wrote to his wife Olivia of the rush of sentiments he experienced returning to the town of his childhood.

I have spent three delightful days in Hannibal, loitering around all day long, examining the old localities and talking with the grey-heads who were boys and girls with me 30 or 40 years ago, he said. It has been a moving time. I spent my nights with John and Helen Garth, three miles from town, in their spacious and beautiful house. They were children with me, and afterwards schoolmates.

Garth was Twains childhood friend, and Hannibal was their playground.

It was here the boys roamed the hills, rivers and caves that surrounded this Mississippi River town. Twain, known as Samuel Clemens in his youth, would leave here as a teenager and go on to spin his youthful adventures into The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and dozens of other books.

Walking through the parlors, libraries and kitchen of the Garth home, a stunning Second Empire-Italianate mansion that is now a delightful bed-and-breakfast, it is easy to imagine Twain holding court here with his childhood friends who went on to have their own significance in the fabric of their country.

Laura Hawkins Frazer, his childhood sweetheart and the model for his beloved character Becky Thatcher, was there. Her role in the community was as the matron of the Home for the Friendless, a charity organization for widows, mothers with dependent children, and adolescent girls: all vulnerable people who depended on Fraser to keep the doors open, sparing them from the horrors of homelessness and despair.

Frazer, after not seeing Twain for a period of time during which he ascended to what was then the equivalent of rock-star status, had worried if he would be spoiled by the fame. Then, though, she rethought the sentiment, saying, I suppose if there was any danger of that, it would have happened long ago.

Garth and his wife Helen, also a childhood friend, had briefly moved to New York City, where he prospered in the banking, brokerage and manufacturing industries; they returned to their roots and built this opulent home.

They also returned to their roots and gave back to the community that launched their pursuit of the American dream. They provided jobs, donated to worthy causes such as the Home for the Friendless, and attended church shoulder to shoulder with the people in the community. And when Garth died, his wife donated $25,000 for a stand-alone library to be built in the center of town.

Several years before that, Twains brother Orion Clemens, along with Robert Elliott, who moved to Hannibal as a young man from England and also became a successful businessman, were instrumental in the formation of the Hannibal Library Association. Elliott took on the cause of a free library, which was located on the second floor of the Park Theatre.

That facility became the first free public library in the state of Missouri; the Garth Library was its next incarnation, with thousands more books and its own building to facilitate that expansion.

Alas, those sorts of hometown civic-minded actions from the rich and successful may not still be as common as they were in Twains time.

Steve McMahon, a Washington-based public affairs professional and co-founder of Purple Strategies, said that those who run the corporations that employ millions and dominate the culture have shed their connection with both their employees and their customers.

Once upon a time, owners like Milton Hershey or the Kellogg family were invested in the communities where they, along with their employees and customers, lived, worked and worshipped, he said.

Today, McMahon said that connective tissue is broken because owners dont know their customers, adding they also live far away from most people who work for them and who buy their products.

In response, their attitudes toward both their workers and their customers have amounted to a smear of the latters values and way of life. McMahon said this has contributed to a political alignment to which, until recently, those same workers and consumers may never have imagined themselves drawn.

In short, if you work at a warehouse for Amazon either packing, unpacking, gathering, loading or delivering, then outside of showing up for work every day, you have nothing in common with Jeff Bezos, the man who founded the company, or Andy Jassy, the man who currently runs it.

Nor do most people using the service have many commonalities with either. If Bezos or Jassy once knew anyone who lives outside of Americas super ZIP codes of wealth and power, they have long shed any affinity with that familiarity.

In 2018, Brad Todd and I co-authored The Great Revolt: Inside the Populist Coalition Reshaping American Politics. In that book, we outlined the coalition of voters that had in large part formed in reaction to the voters disconnect with the decision-makers in the lefty, globalist C-suites running corporate America.

It was an alignment that found unlikely kinship: a conservative populist coalition that had establishment Republican elected officials such as Sen. Pat Toomey finding themselves, sometimes kicking and screaming, voting alongside blue-collar Democrats, infrequent non-ideological voters, and suburban parents.

Those archetypes had formed long before former President Donald Trump rode that golden escalator in 2015, and they formed largely in response to the relentless shedding of the value, worth and thought that comes from the parts of American life not lived in the centers of wealth and power.

It is highly unlikely that Garth was a perfect man, but he was a man who, once he called Hannibal his home, remained rooted to its values, even when he was out conquering the world. There is scant evidence that he used his wealth and power to demean those who worked for him and scant evidence he worked in harmony with other power brokers in his time to do the same.

That cannot be said about todays cultural curators in our C-suites of legacy media, corporations, education, bureaucracies, Hollywood and Silicon Valley, who have decided that those who live outside of their super ZIP codes deserve nothing less than a daily onslaught of vigorous attacks on their values and way of life.

It is so common and so relentless that it is no longer a mere tear but a full split, and it appears that those with the most power seem either oblivious or unwilling to mend it.

Salena Zito is a CNN political analyst, and a staff reporter and columnist for the Washington Examiner. She reaches the Everyman and Everywoman through shoe-leather journalism, traveling from Main Street to the beltway and all places in between.

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Most Americans dont stay up nights worrying about voting rights reforms in the belief that they are needed to eliminate what progressives call barriers to voting.

A September Morning Consult poll found that 44% of U.S. adults believe voting rules are not strict enough, while only one-third believe its too difficult for eligible Americans to cast their ballots.

Yet big media are obsessed with stories about GOP attempts to make it difficult to vote, even if most voters dont see a big problem.

In The Atlantic, Pulitzer Prize winner Barton Gellman writes of a plot to steal the 2024 election. Thousands of votes will be thrown away, or millions, to produce the required effect, he predicts. The winner will be declared the loser. The loser will be certified president-elect.

Trumps Next Coup Has Already Begun, the headline reads.

The next presidential election is three years away, and already leftists are concocting dubious reasons they could lose. Theyre already writing pre-conspiracy screeds.

Note that when the conservatives challenge how elections are conducted, the media lament that the right is undermining public faith in elections.

When progressives do likewise, its like a tree falling in the woods with no one there.

In her new book, Rigged: How the Media, Big Tech, and the Democrats Seized Our Elections, Fox News regular Mollie Hemingway quotes Democratic pols who claim the 2016 election was stolen. (Hillary Clinton said that.)

In 2019, former President Jimmy Carter told NPR, Trump didnt actually win the election. You dont see a lot of fact checks or stories about election misinformation from these sore losers.

The real misinformation, Hemingway points out, was the false story about Russia colluding with the Trump campaign  which Special Counsel Robert Mueller did not find  and the impeachment efforts, based on the bogus Russian collusion fiction, that followed.

Hemingway catalogues the various ways Democrats gamed COVID-19 to increase voting by mail and extend when people could vote and where. At the same time, signature verification and other safeguards were relaxed. Ahead of the November general election, 39 states changed their election laws or rules.

When it was over, Biden won.

My view: They changed the rules in the light of day. It was the campaigns job to adjust accordingly. Thats the American way.

But when Republicans try to peel back the changes also in the light of day, Gellman sees election theft.

Not a coincidence: President Joe Bidens poll numbers are underwater with 52% disapproval and 42.3% approval, according to the latest RealClearPolitics polling average. Americans disapprove of his handling of the economy, the coronavirus, immigration, foreign policy and the direction of the country.

At the end of a very long and tortured piece, Gellman concedes that former President Donald Trump or another Republican could win a fair election in 2024.

He uses the word coup anyway.

Trump likewise threw shade at the electoral process, even though he won in 2016.

In 2017, Trump named an election integrity panel. It disbanded after six months with no evidence of the fraud Trump had alleged.

Either election integrity meant little to Trump or he was incapable of luring the best people to fight bad actors. Or, most likely, Trump just wanted something other than himself to blame if he lost in 2020. Which he did.

The next presidential election is three years off, and already Democrats are constructing arguments that explain their loss: They were outplayed by a ruthless team. If only they hadnt been so trusting.

But really, who would believe that?

Debra J. Saunders is a fellow at the Discovery Institutes Chapman Center for Citizen Leadership. Contact her at dsaunders@discovery.org.

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So a group of extremists got themselves elected to a local governing board.

Is it really a big deal? Whats the worst that could happen?

Welcome to North Idaho College, where since its founding in 1933 many thousands have gotten a useful education. Here, three culture war zealots have become the majority on the elected governing board, and NIC is in chaos, its leadership all but wiped out and the institution on the brink of losing its accreditation.

Tony Stewart, a prominent professor there for almost 40 years, was quoted, The college is going through, really, a crisis state. What lies ahead is its a very, very difficult time at North Idaho College.

This didnt come out of nowhere. Kootenai County has become an almost off-the-charts extremist place politically, and an accusation that someone or something is politically correct or woke is enough to launch an explosive response. Some level of controversy at NIC is not new.

One of the now-majority,Todd Banducci, has been on the board for a while, but until recently mostly limited to arguing (as he once did to a student) that he was contending with the NIC deep state on an almost daily basis. In November 2020, however, as Banducci was running for re-election unopposed, another (moderate) incumbent was beaten by Banducci ally Gregory McKenzie (anti-masking was key in his campaign), and an open seat was won in a contest by Michael Barnes. (Both newcomers defeated long-time educators for the board seats.) All three winners for the legally non-partisan seats had been endorsed by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee.

Once the new majority was in, things changed. The Chronicle of Higher Education said the college president, Rick MacLennan, early this year wrote an email to the board about a pattern of aggressive and intimidating behavior by Banducci, including, he wrote, disparaging MacLennans wife for supposedly being a Hillary Clinton supporter, and telling the president that theyd be meeting more frequently so that Banducci could give him his marching orders. That, plus Banduccis latest messages, indicated to MacLennan that the trustee intended to inappropriately direct me without full board involvement and knowledge. The board, MacLennan wrote, needed to do something.

The board did. In September, it (which is to say, three of the five members) fired MacLennan, a five-year president at NIC, without cause. (He has since filed a lawsuit over the firing. Since then, the board majority, displeased with advice from the colleges attorney, has moved to hire its own. Sound familiar?) Most of the top-level executives at the college, including all three vice presidents, followed MacLennan out the door. The overall chaos, not only on personnel but on other matters as well, has led to talk in Coeur dAlene about the destruction of the college.

That isnt just a political reaction. There is also an inquiry by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, which accredits NIC, into whats going on at the college.

This is serious, as the Idaho State Board of Education affirms. The state board president, Kurt Liebich, on December 3 sent a letter to the NIC board to express deep concern about the current trajectory of North Idaho College  As duly elected fiduciaries and stewards of the College, it is imperative that you recognize the consequences of being sanctioned by NWCCU, many of which are numerous and severe.

Not least: If accreditation is lost, the value of a degree from NIC will be significantly reduced, or even negated entirely, for all students.

Advocates for the boards majority have taken to calling them reform candidates, but this is one of those cases where reform is redefined to mean raze to the ground.

Reviewing the situation, the Coeur dAlene Press editorialized, For anyone wondering what happens when unqualified, politically motivated candidates take over the governing board of a public entity, see the rapid and far-reaching destruction being wrought at North Idaho College.

There is one piece of hopefulness: It doesnt have to be this way. All that has to happen to avoid this kind of chaos is for enough voters to exercise enough wisdom to not elect human wrecking balls to their local governments.

Randy Stapilus is a former Idaho newspaper reporter and editor and blogs at ridenbaugh.com. He can be reached at stapilus@ridenbaugh.com. His new book What Do You Mean by That? has just been released and can be found at ridenbaugh.com/whatdoyoumeanbythat and on Amazon.com.

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Today is Sunday, Dec. 12, the 346th day of 2021. There are 19 days left in the year.

On this date 100 years ago in the Henry Bulletin, this ad: Announcement! We now have in stock, a nearer complete line of fancy groceries than we have ever kept. We cater to all who appreciate good things to eat. Now listen: Then phone in your orders, or come to our storeour canned Peaches, Pears, Cherries and Apricots stand second to none. Our canned Corn, Snaps and Pears are of the most select quality. We have taken great pains in selecting our candy for Christmas; Come: Take a look at our line and be convinced. Beck Grocery Co., Phone 116, Martinsville.

75 years ago: Work on the construction of the new colored hospital in Martinsville will commence next week and E.P. Waller, one of the local men who has shown an interest in the project, said that it will probably be completed in three or four months. He said that the plans call for the erection of a 30-bed hospital but that it will be designed so that it can easily be enlarged.  It was said that the site will be a suitable one as it is on a knoll on the James estate property off Armstead street.

50 years ago: The Martinsville City Planning Commission Tuesday agreed to hold public hearings on two matters including a townhouse type project at Blankenship Road, and tabled to other requests including one for extension of city water and sewer facilities to serve a car wash and gasoline self-service facility planned at Virginia-Carolina Drive and Armory Road.

25 years ago: The Martinsville City Council tentatively approved a hike in taxicab fares at Tuesdays meeting. Yellow Cab Company of Martinsville is asking that the fare for each mile be raised from $1.20 to $1.60; the initial fare be raised from $1.15 to $1.35; and the waiting fare be raised from $10 an hour to $24 an hour.
The Scruggs Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department recently recognized the service of its longest serving member by renaming the former fire station in her honor.

The Jane Crawford Training Center was dedicated Nov. 29 with a new sign outside the building. The training center is just behind the fire and rescue station.

It surprised the hell out of me, Crawford said of the dedication. Members of the department gathered outside the training center for her arrival on Nov. 29. I was emotional to think that they would honor me like that.

The training center has seen several upgrades and modifications since the early days of it being a fire station. It was converted into a training center for the department in 2003 and has seen several modifications in the years since.

The Scruggs department originally started as a division of the Burnt Chimney Volunteer Fire Department. It officially became its own department in 1975, just a few years after Smith Mountain Lake reached full pond in 1966.

Crawford and her husband V.T. Slim Crawford were some of the original founders of the department. Slim served as chief of the department for 41 years before stepping down in 2014 and giving the position to his assistant chief at the time, Dempsey Moore, who continues to serve as chief today.

Slim Crawford died in 2019 at the age of 77.

Ive done everything I could to honor her and Slim, Moore said of the decision to rename the training center. He said both Jane and Slim were a significant help to him when he moved to the area in 1997 from West Virginia.

The dedication of the training center in Jane Crawfords name is fitting for the longtime firefighter. She has served as captain of the fire department for more than 30 years as well as an adjunct instructor for Virginia who, according to her best guess, has taught hundreds of firefighters in the training center now renamed for her.

At the age of 82, Crawford said she has no plans to give it up anytime soon. She admitted to being a bit slower recently, but expects a knee surgery next month will help her mobility.

I love it, Crawford said of firefighting. Im very proud to be a member.

Crawford isnt taking it easy when responding to calls. She currently serves as a safety officer looking after volunteers on the scenes of fires or other incidents such as vehicle crashes.

Moore said members of the department dont want to see her go anytime soon either.

He plans to do everything in his power to keep her in the station as long as possible.

Shes a staple of this department and thats the way its gonna stay, Moore said.

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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday and began treatment, suffering mild symptoms of the disease.

Ramaphosa, 69, who is fully vaccinated, began to feel unwell after leaving an official ceremony in Cape Town mid-day to honor former President Frederik de Klerk, who died last month, the presidency said in a statement late in the evening.

The head of state wore a black mask during the ceremony, which was attended by about 200 people at a church in the city, except when he delivered the eulogy.

The president, who is fully vaccinated, has isolated himself in Cape Town and has delegated all his responsibilities to Vice President David Mabuza for the next week, the presidents office added, adding that the ceremony was conducted in accordance with health regulations.

However, those who came into contact with Ramaphosa have been advised to watch for symptoms or get tested.

The head of state is being monitored by the army health services. For the moment, no information has been released on whether he has been infected with the new Omicron variant detected last month in South Africa.

The head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, as well as the director of the African Union Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), John Nkengasong, wished him a speedy recovery in Twitter messages.
Former UN nuclear test ban official Lassina Zerbo was appointed Burkina Fasos new Prime minister on Friday evening, after President Roch Marc Christian Kabore called on the population to rally in the face of the jihadist attacks that have plunged the country into mourning.

Mr. Zerbo, appointed by presidential decree, succeeds Christophe Joseph Dabire, who was sacked on Wednesday evening amid growing public anger at the executive branch, which is accused of being incapable of stopping the terrorist attacks.

Lassina Zerbo, 58, was head of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization from 2013 to August 2021.

Little known to the general public, this doctor of geophysics has won several awards including the science diplomacy award in 2018 from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

A new government will be formed in the coming days.
Beninese opposition leader and former Justice Minister Reckya Madougou was sentenced on Saturday to 20 years in prison for terrorism by a special court in Porto-Novo, the capital of Benin, which four days earlier sentenced another opposition leader to 10 years in prison.

After more than 20 hours of hearings, Ms. Madougou, 47, was found guilty of complicity in terrorist acts by the Court of Repression of Economic Offenses and Terrorism (Criet). The opponent, who had pleaded not guilty, was given the sentence requested by the prosecutor.

Set up by the government in 2016, the special court is accused by its critics of serving as a legal instrument of power to muzzle the opposition.

This court has deliberately decided to pillory an innocent person, Madougou said shortly before her conviction was announced. I have never been and I will never be a terrorist.

The former minister, whose candidacy for the April 11 presidential election was rejected, was arrested a few weeks before the election, which saw President Patrice Talon re-elected for a second term with more than 86% of the vote.

Charged and imprisoned in early March in Cotonou, the economic capital, the opponent is accused of having financed an operation to assassinate political figures in order to prevent the holding of the election and thus destabilize the country.

On Tuesday, the Criet sentenced another opposition politician, Joel Aivo, to 10 years in prison for, among other things, plotting against the authority of the state and money laundering. The academic, who has been in detention for eight months, was arrested the day after President Talons re-election.

Patrice Talon, a wealthy businessman who made his fortune in cotton and was elected for the first time in 2015, is accused of taking Benin in an authoritarian direction in the name of developing his country.
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Craig Hoffman's two-year-old son, Roky, came down with a cold a week before Thanksgiving after coming back from school. As a family, the Hoffman's have been pretty careful, yet Roky's cold quickly spread to the whole family.

"One kid's got a cough, next kid's got a cough, and then mom and dad got a cough," said Hoffman..

The Hoffmans' experience is one of many this cold season. Dr. David Winter with Baylor Scott and White in Dallas said that he's seen an increase in cases of the common cold this year.

"We were expecting to have a terrible cold season because last year was minimal," Winter said. "Because last year everybody was masking and distancing and staying home. So we built up little natural immunity."

Winter said that natural immunity occurs when you are exposed to a virus, as opposed to immunity which occurs through vaccinations.

He said that he's seen an increase in the common cold at his clinic.

"We're seeing several a day," Winter said. "We've seen an increase in the last couple of weeks."

In Hoffman's experience, he and his family had a cough, runny nose, sore throat and itchy eyes. He said that although his family didn't get sick very often, this cold did feel a little different.

"It wasn't any worse than other colds. It didn't knock me down," Craig said. "But, I mean, it definitely was kind of grueling. It's like 'OK, I should be better by now.'"

Winter said that people who exhibit cold symptoms may have something other than the cold virus. He said that people with just a cold are more likely to have sneezing and congestion. However, people with the flu are more likely to have fever, muscle aches, body aches, chills and sweats. Mild cases of COVID-19 could also present as cold symptoms.

"If you've been vaccinated for COVID and you get COVID, it's a mild illness for the most part, and it resembles the cold," Winter said. "I've seen several people that I thought probably had a cold virus, but we tested and they've got COVID-19. So if you have symptoms, I would suggest you stay home."

According to a release from Parkland Health and Hospital System, it takes longer for COVID-19 symptoms to present than symptoms from the flu or the common cold. Also, those with COVID-19, will be contagious for longer while the flu and the common cold recovery period is usually between seven to ten days.

"Contracting both flu and COVID-19 at the same time is very possible  and that's something no one would want to experience," said Dr. Manisha Raja with Community Medicine at Parkland in the release. "Fortunately, flu and COVID-19 vaccinations are easily available, safe and effective. The CDC also says it's safe to get both shots at the same time."

With family gatherings coming up, many doctors recommend taking precautions to not get sick.

"In addition to getting flu and COVID vaccinations, we can reduce the risk of getting sick this winter by washing our hands often, avoiding close contact with sick people, and not touching our face with unwashed hands," Raja said. "Most importantly, if you're sick, stay home."

Explore further Do you have the flu or COVID-19? How to spot the differences between symptoms

2021 The Dallas Morning News.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson records an address to the nation at Downing Street, London, to provide an update on the booster vaccine programme, Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021. Credit: Kirsty O'Connor, Pool via AP

Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Sunday that Britain faces a "tidal wave" of infections from the omicron coronavirus variant, and announced a huge increase in booster vaccinations to strengthen defenses against it.

In a televised statement, Johnson said everyone age 18 and older will be offered a third shot of vaccine by the end of this month in response to the omicron "emergency." The previous target was the end of January.

He said cases of the highly transmissible variant are doubling every two to three days in Britain, and "there is a tidal wave of omicron coming."

"And I'm afraid it is now clear that two doses of vaccine are simply not enough to give the level of protection we all need," Johnson said. "But the good news is that our scientists are confident that with a third dosea booster dosewe can all bring our level of protection back up."

He announced a "national mission" to deliver booster vaccines, with pop-up vaccination centers and seven-day-a-week getting extra support from teams of military planners and thousands of volunteer vaccinators.

Johnson's Dec. 31 target applies to England. The other parts of the U.K.Scotland, Wales and Northern Irelandare also expected to speed up their vaccination campaigns.

The U.K. Health Security Agency says existing vaccines appear less effective in preventing symptomatic infections in people exposed to omicron, though preliminary data show that effectiveness appears to rise to between 70% and 75% after a third vaccine dose.

People wear face coverings as they walk through Westminster, in London, Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced tighter restrictions to stem the spread of the omicron variant. He is again urging people to work from home and mandating COVID-19 passes to get into nightclubs and large events. Credit: AP Photo/Frank Augstein

More than 80% of people age 12 and up in Britain have received two doses of vaccine, and 40% of adults have had three doses. Giving the rest a booster in the next three weeks will be a huge challenge, requiring almost 1 million doses delivered a day. Johnson acknowledged that many routine medical procedures would have to be postponed to meet the goal.

Johnson's announcement came hours after the government raised the country's official coronavirus threat level, warning the rapid spread of the omicron variant had pushed the U.K. into risky territory.

The chief medical officers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland said the 1of the highly transmissible new strain "adds additional and rapidly increasing risk to the public and health care services" at a time when COVID-19 is already widespread. They recommended raising the alert level from 3 to 4 on a 5-point scale. The top level, 5, indicates authorities think the health care system is about to be overwhelmed.

The doctors said early evidence shows omicron is spreading much faster than the currently dominant delta variant, and that vaccines offer less protection against it. British officials say omicron is likely to replace delta as the dominant strain in the U.K. within days.

"Data on severity will become clearer over the coming weeks but hospitalizations from omicron are already occurring and these are likely to increase rapidly," they said.

Concerns about the new variant led Johnson's Conservative government to reintroduce restrictions that were lifted almost six months ago. Masks must be worn in most indoor settings, COVID-19 certificates must be shown to enter nightclubs and people are being urged to work from home if possible.

Many scientists say that's unlikely to be enough, however, and are calling for tougher measures, which the government so far has resisted.

Scientists in South Africa, where omicron was first identified, say they see signs it may cause less severe disease than delta, but caution that it is too soon to be certain.

Explore further UK hikes virus alert level as omicron variant surges

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
(HealthDay)The ability of two-dose COVID-19 vaccines to protect against symptomatic infection by the Omicron variant falls significantly short, but a booster shot provides considerable protection, according to the first real-world study of how effective vaccines are against the rapidly spreading new form of the coronavirus.

Four months after their second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, people had only about 35% protection against symptomatic infection by Omicron, which is significantly lower than against the Delta variant, British government scientists said.

But a third dose of the vaccine boosted that level of protection to about 75%, according to the study published Friday, The New York Times reported.

Several months after vaccination, two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine provided virtually no protection against symptomatic infection from Omicron, but a booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine increased protection to 71%.

Despite their findings, the researchers said they expect that the vaccines will still provide an important defense against Omicron-related hospitalizations and death, the Times reported.

Omicron cases in England are doubling every 2.5 days. By mid-December, Omicron could overtake Delta in the United Kingdom and, without any precautionary measures, cause COVID-19 cases to soar, according to government scientists.

A computer modeling study of England released on Saturday suggests that even in populations with high levels of immunity, Omicron could cause significant societal disruptions and overwhelm hospitals, the Times reported.

A person infected with Omicron is about three times more likely than someone infected with Delta to pass the virus to other members of his or her household, and a close contact of someone with Omicron is about two times more likely than a close contact of someone with Delta to become infected, according to Britain's Health Security Agency.

Omicron is 25% to 50% more contagious than Delta and has a greater ability to evade the body's immune system, Neil Ferguson, an epidemiologist at Imperial College London, told the Times.

"I think that there's a significant amount of immune escape," Ferguson said. "But it's also more intrinsically transmissible than Delta."

If Omicron keeps spreading as quickly as it is in England, scientists warn that health systems worldwide could be deluged with patients, the Times reported.

"The coronavirus has not finished with us," Michael Head, a senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton in England, told the Times. "A tactic of 'turning the lights off and pretending we are not in' is a failed policy."

Still, there were glimmers of hope: A World Health Organization report released last week suggests that Omicron may spur somewhat milder disease than its predecessors. And newer antiviral medicinescurrently up for approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administrationcould also help prevent many severe cases, experts say.

Explore further Omicron spreads faster and weakens jabs: WHO

Copyright  2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Bela Patel, MD, and Luis Otrosky, MD, with UTHealth Houston are coinvestigators of the CONTAIN clinical trial assessing convalescent plasma for the treatment of the coronavirus. Credit: UTHealth Houston

COVID-19 convalescent plasma showed a likely benefit for patients early in the pandemic before remdesivir and corticosteroids were in use, according to results of a landmark study published today in JAMA Internal Medicine that included physician-scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston).

UTHealth Houston and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler participated in the National Institutes of Health-funded randomized clinical trial as part of the Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences (CCTS). Called CONTAIN COVID-19, the clinical trial was established by New York University (NYU) and Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine to evaluate the safety and efficacy of convalescent plasma in hospitalized coronavirus patients. UTHealth Houston carried out this study locally in partnership with Memorial Hermann and Harris Health's Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital, enrolling underserved populations throughout Harris County.

The trial showed that convalescent plasma was safe and well tolerated. It worked best in the early days of the pandemic, when plasma had higher antibody levels, when it was given early in the disease, and particularly for immunosuppressed people.

"This landmark study shows once and for all that convalescent plasma is an important countermeasure early in a pandemic when no other therapies are available. It was an important finding that lays the foundation for the rapid response to future pandemics," said Luis Ostrosky, MD, professor and director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. "This trial, the largest of its kind, also showed that with proper funding and structure, researchers across the country were able to come together quickly in the middle of a global crisis to explore this therapeutic intervention."

Results of the trial also showed that after the introduction of remdesivir and corticosteroids, efficacy dropped and by the end of the 11-month trial, there was no difference in outcome between plasma and placebo in patients at 14 and 28 days. However, patients on corticosteroids, but not remdesivir, appeared to benefit from convalescent plasma at day 14.

Because the patient characteristics, available treatments, and the virus, changed over time, subgroup analyses were done, which revealed the possible benefit for patients in the first quarter of the trial, a period from April to June 2020.

Participants in that first quarter were older, less severely ill, had a longer duration of symptoms, and received high-titer plasma. A shorter duration of symptoms is an indication of a more severe case of the viral infection.

"Convalescent plasma could be an important early treatment tool in places that don't have access to monoclonal antibodies, corticosteroids, remdesivir, or other therapies," said Bela Patel, MD, co-investigator, professor and director of the Division of Critical Care, and Graham Distinguished University Chair at McGovern Medical School. "It should also be considered for patients who are immunosuppressed and those whose B cell function is compromised."

Researchers also reported that, in addition to the introduction of corticosteroids and remdesivir, the decrease in efficacy over time may have been due to using convalescent plasma that originated from New York City before other viral variants emerged.

"It is vitally important to do research such as this during a pivotal public health crisis to determine what works and what doesn't and use that information for future pandemics. We are proud to be part of such a milestone clinical trial," said David McPherson, MD, co-investigator for the trial, principal investigator of CCTS, chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, and James T. and Nancy B. Willerson Chair.

Explore further WHO advises against blood plasma treatment for COVID-19

More information: Efficacy and Safety of COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma in Hospitalized Patients, JAMA Internal Medicine (2021). Journal information: JAMA Internal Medicine Efficacy and Safety of COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma in Hospitalized Patients,(2021).
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Danish health authorities said Monday a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine would be offered sooner to everyone over 40 to curb the spread of the Omicron variant.

"Due to the new and more contagious Omicron variant the Danish Health Authority has decided to push the third jab for everyone aged 40 and above, so they get the vaccine four and half months after the second jab," the health authority said in a statement.

By reducing the interval of the doses, "we will be able to enter the winter with better protection for those at increased risk of severe disease and increased immunity in the population," director Soren Brostrom said.

A third dose is "safe and effective" as soon as three months after the initial vaccine course, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said last week.

Denmark also recorded a record number of new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, with 7,799 confirmed infections in the previous 24 hours.

Over a week, the number of cases is also at its highest since the start of the pandemic at 46,189 cases, a jump of more than 50 percent compared to the previous week, according to data from Danish health authorities compiled by AFP.

Danish health authorities on Monday also said they expect the new strain, which was first detected in South Africa last month, to become dominant in the capital Copenhagen from this week.

The UK announced on Sunday evening that it would accelerate the rollout of booster doses, opening them up to all over-18s before next year.

Denmark is second worldwide only to Britain in confirmed cases of Omicron, with both countries having extensive sequencing of samples to detect variants quickly.

As of Monday, 3,473 cases of Omicron had been identified in the Nordic country of 5.8 million people, where 80.6 percent of the population over five years old has already received two doses of the vaccine.

The Omicron variant appears to spread faster than the Delta variant, making vaccines less effective but causing less severe symptoms, the World Health Organization said Sunday, while stressing that the data remains patchy.

In response to the surge in cases, Denmark reintroduced new restrictions last week, closing schools and colleges, curtailing nightlife and promoting remote working.

Explore further Denmark pushes third vaccine dose to combat Omicron

 2021 AFP
Word cloud of nouns used to describe triggers of parosmia, with size representing word frequency across 375 parosmics. Credit: Robert Pellegrino, PhD, Monell Chemical Senses Center

Sudden smell and taste loss has become a well-known symptom of COVID-19. However, some people have also woken up to discover that their usual beloved coffee odor has been distorted and now smells like garbage or rotting meat, a condition known as parosmia. Others smell cigarette smoke, for example, when no odor source is present, a condition called phantosmia.

Now, investigators at the Monell Chemical Senses Center have teased out the differences between these two conditions and describe them in the peer-reviewed journal Chemical Senses. Knowing the distinct patterns of demographics, medical history, and quality-of-life issues associated with each condition may provide insight into the organization and function of the olfactory system, as well as help physicians better treat their patients.

"It's clear from our results that these distortions in smell are distinct and common among those with smell impairment," said lead author Robert Pellegrino, Ph.D., a Monell postdoctoral fellow. "Identifying patterns in these conditions is a first step to discovering their underlying biological cause.

"We hope this work will attract more research on the reason for these conditions, followed by intervention to help these patients." For example, the team discovered that parosmia tends to occur three to six months after smell loss, so while this smell distortion has a huge effect on quality of life, it typically resolves faster than phantosmia or smell loss. "And that's extremely useful for some patients to know," he added. Despite the obvious differences between parosmia and phantosmia, most studies do not separate them in their analyses and have not gathered quantitative data, instead relying on narratives of anecdotal patient experiences.

Pellegrino suspected there might be important lessons to learn by studying what is unique about each condition. He designed a survey that produced quantitative data to describe each state, which allowed him to compare and make conclusions about the differences between the conditions. From this, they created a severity metric for research and clinical use, based on the combined frequency and duration of distortion episodes. "There are major differences in patients' experiences with these distortions, with some more severe than others and the capacity to cause significant impact on their quality of life," said Pellegrino. "For instance, these patients frequently report that they are continually reminded of their disorder, which may lead to such mental health conditions as depression."

The team surveyed over 2,100 people with at least one olfactory disorder acquired during their lifetime. They found that odor distortions were common at 46 percent, with respondents reporting either parosmia at 19 percent, phantosmia at 11 percent, or both at 16 percent. They used an online questionnaire distributed globally in English, with the United Kingdom and the United States representing the largest proportion of respondents. Primary areas of recruitment were the website of the patient advocacy group AbScent and social media posts to AbScent's Facebook and Twitter accounts. Survey data were collected between May 2019 and October 2020.

The distinctions between the disorders include:

Age and gender: Parosmia patients were more likely to be female and younger than individuals who were phantosmic or had full (anosmic)/partial smell loss (hyposmic). In contrast, phantosmia was more prevalent in 4150 years olds, and anosmia or hyposmia was more prominent in older individuals. There were no differences in gender between phantosmic vs. anosmic or hyposmic sufferers.

Cause: Viral infection led to parosmia more often than other smell disorders, while traumatic impact to the head led to phantosmia more often than other disorders.

Improvement timeline: Parosmic individuals were more likely to say their condition improved over time and recovery coincides with the timeline of physiological recovery. On the other hand, phantosmia was more stable, with no change in improvement across time.

Triggers: Most parosmic patients cited specific distorted sources of smell, while only a few phantosmic individuals could identify a source of their smell distortions. When describing the triggers of distorted smelling episodes, parosmic individuals cited odors, such as roasted coffee or garlic. In contrast, phantosmic sufferers noted locations, time, specific sensory input, stress, or memories.

The neurological mechanisms of parosmia and phantosmia are still debated among scientists. The Monell team's work supports a parosmia hypothesis that a sensory neuron (located in the nose) tuned to one odor mistakenly signals the presence of a different odor. "This miswiring may create a flip in the odor perceived, with good odors smelling bad and bad odors smelling good," said Pellegrino. Phantosmia, on the other hand, might happen if the brain is discharging sporadic signals, leading to odor hallucinations in an individual. Next steps to untangle the cause include confirming these ideas in animal models and translating findings back into treatments to help the patients who report a dramatic impact to their quality of life.

Other research team members are Joel D. Mainland Ph.D., Monell; Christine E. Kelly, Ph.D., AbScent; Jane K. Parker, Ph.D., University of Reading; and Thomas Hummel, Ph.D., Technische Universitat Dresden.

More information: Robert Pellegrino et al, Prevalence and correlates of parosmia and phantosmia among smell disorders, Chemical Senses (2021). Robert Pellegrino et al, Prevalence and correlates of parosmia and phantosmia among smell disorders,(2021). DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjab046
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

From income to housing to addressing racism and more, a new guideline proposes 13 ways to address inequities exposed and worsened by COVID-19 in the pandemic recovery period. The guidance is published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) .

If not addressed, these inequities will continue to threaten the health of many Canadians.

"Coordinated pandemic responses include efforts to return life to 'normal' after the immediate threat, but the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need to address inequities rather than resume the unfair status quo," writes Dr. Nav Persaud, a family physician at St. Michael's Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, scientist and Canada Research Chair in Health Justice at MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, and associate professor, University of Toronto, with coauthors.

The authors define the pandemic recovery period as the stage when the direct harms of COVID-19 abate, but their recommendations may need to be in place for months, years or as permanent solutions.

Thirteen recommendations to address health inequities:

Income

Ensure a living income

Universal unemployment insurance, parental leave and paid sick leave

Affordable loans

Housing

Expand permanent supportive housing programs

Expand access to eviction prevention, legal services and financial advice

Intimate partner violence

Legal advocacy and supportive interventions for victims

Childhood

Expand publicly funded childcare

Healthy food distribution to children

Access to health care

Expand access to opioid substitution therapy and supervised injection sites

Expand HIV and HCV screening for people at high risk

Include prescription medicines in Canada's publicly funded health care system

Improve health care for people who are incarcerated

Racism

Action on previous recommendations to address anti-Indigenous discrimination and anti-Black racism

Addressing racism is particularly important, as racialized people were disproportionately affected during the pandemic, with higher rates of SARS-CoV-2 infections and deaths.

With heightened awareness of inequities and a commitment from the federal government to reduce poverty by 50% by 2030, the time to act is now.

"The pandemic recovery period represents an opportunity to address health inequities that have led to an unfair distribution of the burden and harms of COVID-19. Policy changes at the federal, provincial and municipal levels that promote health equity had been studied before this pandemic, and they should be implemented before the next one," the authors conclude.

To help implement the guideline, additional materials are available on the MAP Centre for Urban Solutions website.

"It is the societal and structural problems that abetted the spread of SARS-CoV-2not the pandemic's economic effectsthat have made COVID-19 such a devastating crisis. COVID-19 has taught us about the dangers of weaknesses in the fabric of society. Canada's policy-makers would do well to follow Persaud and colleagues' suggestion that postpandemic policy-making centre equity to ensure that all Canadians can benefit, and to protect against looming future threats," writes Dr. Kirsten Patrick, interim editor-in-chief, CMAJ, in a related editorialwww.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.211987.

Explore further What can we learn from the past to help shape the future of public health in Canada?

More information: Nav Persaud et al, Recommendations for equitable COVID-19 pandemic recovery in Canada, Canadian Medical Association Journal (2021). Nav Persaud et al, Recommendations for equitable COVID-19 pandemic recovery in Canada,(2021). DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.210904 Kirsten Patrick, Build back more equitably, Canadian Medical Association Journal (2021). DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.211987 Journal information: Canadian Medical Association Journal
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More than 600,000 people in the United States have end-stage kidney disease, and about 450,000 are kept alive through chronic hemodialysis to remove waste products from their blood.

This requires durable access to a blood vessel site where the dialysis machine can remove and return blood. Such access is created when a surgeon attaches a vein to an artery in the patient. The pressure of the arterial blood forces the vein to expand. After this arteriovenous fistula, or AVF, develops and matures, that enlarged space becomes the lifeline for the hemodialysis patient.

Yet up to 60 percent of AVFs fail to develop adequately, due to smooth muscle cell hyperplasia, which is overgrowth inside the vessel, and inadequate expansion of the vein. This leads to illness and death in dialysis patients, and the treatment of vascular-access dysfunction costs more than $2 billion a year.

An experimental gel may reduce those failures.

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Endomimetics LLC are working to develop the first effective therapy to promote healthy AVF maturation. They recently reported preclinical progress in the journal Biomaterials, showing that an experimental gel helped create a fully developed AVF in rodents, along with significantly improved vascular access.

The UAB and Endomimetics researchers first showed that nitric oxide, or NO, plays an important regulatory role in AVF development. Mice that overexpressed endothelial nitric oxide synthasean enzyme that synthesizes NOhad reduced intimal hyperplasia development and vein narrowing in their AVFs, compared to control mice. Thus, the researchers reasoned that finding a way to release NO at a newly formed AVF might support AVF development and maturation.

They developed a self-assembling, nanomatrix gel capable of releasing a burst of NO in the first 24 hours, followed by sustained NO release for four weeks.

When the gel was applied to a newly joined artery-vein meant to create an AVF in rats, the gel persisted at that site, and the rats showed a more than 70 percent reduction of intimal hyperplasia formation, as well as an improvement in vein diameter and a smoother blood flow, compared to controls.

"Therefore," the researchers concluded, "direct application of the NO releasing nanomatrix gel to the AVF anastomosis immediately following AVF creation may enhance AVF development, thereby providing long-term and durable vascular access for hemodialysis."

Joseph Garner, Ph.D., CEO of Endomimetics, says showing that the AVF gel substantially increases the success rate of AVF development could result in dramatic improvement to the quality of life of patients, as well as a significant decrease in the cost of creating AVFs.

Use of the gel to promote development of an AVF, he says, has been supported by National Institutes of Health Small Business Innovative Research, or SBIR, grants totaling more than $4.5 million. The company has completed SBIR Phase I and II grants, showing that the AVF gel significantly improved vascular access, via a fully developed AVF, in small and large animal models. A recently awarded SBIR Phase IIB grant will support the large-scale manufacturing and safety studies required to pursue United States Food and Drug Administration approval of the gel as an Investigational New Drug.

Explore further Ultrasound helps predict the success of fistulas in individual dialysis patients

More information: Maheshika Somarathna et al, Nitric oxide releasing nanomatrix gel treatment inhibits venous intimal hyperplasia and improves vascular remodeling in a rodent arteriovenous fistula, Biomaterials (2021). Journal information: Biomaterials Maheshika Somarathna et al, Nitric oxide releasing nanomatrix gel treatment inhibits venous intimal hyperplasia and improves vascular remodeling in a rodent arteriovenous fistula,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2021.121254
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Peru, hit by the world's highest coronavirus death rate, said Monday it was battling a pandemic "resurgence."

Daily infections climbed to more than 1,500 last week, on average, after hovering at around 800 from September to the first week of November, said Health Minister Hernando Cevallos.

Daily deaths rose from an average of 28 a month ago to 56.

"We have a resurgence of COVID-19," said Cevallos.

The Andean country of 33 million people has registered more than 2.2 million coronavirus cases and over 201,000 deaths to date.

It has not yet encountered a case of the new Omicron variant, which is believed to be more contagious.

Peru's number of reported deaths is only surpassed in Latin America by Brazil and Mexico, countries with populations almost seven and four times greater respectively.

The nation's rate of 612 deaths per 100,000 people is far higher than any other country in the world, according to an AFP database compiled with official statistics.

In a bid to tackle the rising infections, Lima has since last Friday required vaccine certificates for entry into shops, banks, public buildings and airports.

To date, the country has fully vaccinated 72 percent of the target population, according to the health ministry.

Last week, Peru exceeded a 24-hour death toll of 100 people for the first time in four months.

 2021 AFP
Creative rendition of SARS-CoV-2 particles (not to scale). Credit: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH

Hospital health care workers in Quebec had high rates of antibodies (seroprevalence) against SARS-CoV-2 after the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in hospitals with outbreaks, found a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

In Quebec, 25% of all COVID-19 cases were among health care workers during the first phase of the pandemic.

"The number of COVID-19 cases reported in health care workers underestimated the number of those infected with SARS-CoV-2 during that period, given limited testing leading to undiagnosed asymptomatic or paucisymptomatic infections," writes Dr. Nicholas Brousseau, Institut national de sante publique du Quebec and Centre de recherche du CHU de Quebec-Universite Laval, with coauthors. "Seroprevalence studies are an important tool to determine the proportion of people infected with SARS-CoV-2, both in the general population and among health care workers."

This study looked at seroprevalence in more than 2000 health care workers in Quebec, including physicians, nurses, nursing assistants, orderlies and cleaners, between July and September 2020 after the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors found a seroprevalence of 18%32% in 4 Montreal hospitals with outbreaks. Seroprevalence was 5%7% in 4 other Montreal hospitals without such outbreaks and only 2%4% in 2 hospitals from less-affected regions in the province.

Health care workers among in-patient COVID-19 units and non-COVID-19 units had higher seroprevalence for SARS-CoV-2 than those in the intensive care unit or emergency department, perhaps because of the latter units' strict infection prevention and control protocols.

"These findings highlight the elevated risk of infection for health care workers in hospitals, particularly for those working in outbreak settings. Interestingly, the 4 Montreal hospitals with higher seroprevalence were older hospitals, a factor that has been associated with larger outbreaks," write the authors.

The data underscore the need for rapid and wide vaccination of health care workers.

"The high risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in hospital workers supports the prioritization of this group for SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in Canada and efforts made to achieve a very high vaccine uptake in this population," the authors conclude.

More information: Nicholas Brousseau et al, SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in health care workers from 10 hospitals in Quebec, Canada: a cross-sectional study, Canadian Medical Association Journal (2021). Journal information: Canadian Medical Association Journal Nicholas Brousseau et al, SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in health care workers from 10 hospitals in Quebec, Canada: a cross-sectional study,(2021). DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.202783
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Persons experiencing homelessness (PEH) who were at high risk of severe COVID-19 were 2.5 times less likely to contract SARS-CoV-2 if they were provided with individual hotel rooms and medical and social support compared to citywide rates in homeless shelters, according to new research from the University of Chicago Medicine, Lawndale Christian Health Center, and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH).

Additionally, PEH who participated in this housing intervention also saw improvements in certain health measures such as blood pressure, and more than half of them moved on to longer-term housing after the intervention. The results were published on December 13 in JAMA Network Open.

The findings provide hard data demonstrating these types of interventions can be highly effective for improving stability for PEH and that increasing healthcare and social support access can drive better health outcomes and improve health equity.

Initially, the team did not set out to conduct a research study; instead, their focus was simply to minimize the impact of COVID-19 on an extremely vulnerable population.

"As we started learning about the coronavirus wreaking havoc in nursing homes, we thought about folks living in congregate shelter settings in Chicago, where in some settings, 300 to 400 people are living together in open rooms, and we realized this virus could be a real threat to this population," said Wayne Detmer, MD, Chief Clinical Officer of Operations at Lawndale.

Thomas Huggett, MD, a family medicine physician at Lawndale, said positivity rates were spiking at the shelters within weeks of Illinois Governor JB Pritzker's lockdown announcement in March 2020.

"On March 20, 2020, Governor Pritzker said, 'Stay at home.' But where are people who are experiencing homelessness going to stay?" said Huggett. "By the beginning of April, up to 60% of the tests we were conducting in the shelters were positive, and we realized we couldn't test and isolate our way out of this. But we had some very vulnerable folks over the age of 60 with chronic conditions, and Dr. Detmer had the idearather than isolating folks who were positive for the virus, why not protect people before they got it?"

The city of Chicago offered an entire hotelalmost 200 roomsfor the intervention, and the first guests arrived on April 2, 2020. The healthcare team conducted screenings in shelters to identify high-risk individuals meeting at least one of the following criteria: at least 60 years old, at least 55 years old with any underlying health condition, or under 55 years old with any health condition known to substantially increase COVID-19 risk (e.g., HIV/AIDS). Those who met the criteria were offered the option to move from the shelter to an individual hotel room with extensive supportive services, where they were able to stay as long as needed, up to the full five-month length of the intervention.

"The city really wanted to do something to address the inequities in how COVID-19 was affecting Chicagoans, and our team was able to work with the city of Chicago and other partners to bring this whole package together to provide care within the hotel, where a person would have their own room and bathroom and be given that space away from other people so they would not get COVID-19," said Huggett. "We felt being proximate to the guests was important, so we had 24/7 coverage at the hotel. We realized we could provide a lot of care that people needed to stabilize their health. We could make sure that people were getting the medicines they needed, we could treat mental illnesses and substance use disorders, we could provide wound care. We weren't running a hospital but were providing protective housing with the wraparound health and social supports to maintain people's safety during the pandemic."

After the intervention ended in September 2020, the outcomes were clear: providing people experiencing homelessness with individual hotel rooms and wraparound care led to a dramatic reduction in COVID-19 rates and improvements in other health measures, including lower blood pressure and improvements in glycemic control. Also, over half of the individuals who spent time in the hotel went on to more permanent housing.

"We saw that people in this intervention were 2.5 times less likely to contract the virus compared to rates among people experiencing homelessness in shelters across the city," said Elizabeth Tung, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at UChicago Medicine, who help analyze the study data. "It shows that the basic intervention of moving people out of congregate settings worked to lower COVID-19 rates. But the other takeaway here is that this was an opportunity to pilot a model of temporary stabilization housing for people with high-risk health conditionswe saw dramatic improvements in hypertension and diabetes control and stabilization of mental health and substance-use disorders. Over half of these patients went on to more permanent housing.

"All of this has public health implications. When you think about how much time and money is spent every time someone ends up in the ER because they're experiencing homelessness and can't take care of their medical needsit's more expensive, it's worse for the patient, and you end up with terrible outcomes. These data show us that a medical housing approach could help."

Tung hopes to conduct additional research to determine the costs and benefits of such an approach outside of a pandemic context, but the team is certain that this kind of hands-on intervention is key to helping the most vulnerable people get back on their feet.

"The collaborative work between the Chicago Department of Public Health, the Department of Family & Support Services, Lawndale Christian Health Center, homeless service providers and other community partners has been a real strength of our city's response to COVID-19 among people experiencing homelessness," said Isaac Ghinai, MBBS, medical director of testing and laboratory-based surveillance at CDPH. "While people experiencing homelessness remain at increased risk of COVID-19 and a host of other infectious and non-infectious health conditions, the collaborations forged by this pandemic response that are detailed in this manuscript demonstrate Chicago's ability to come together to enact impactful, lasting change."

Huggett added that upstream factors such as living conditions can impact health inequities.

"Housing is healthcare and an issue of racial equity," he said. "When we provide housing, people's health improves. There are fewer hospitalizations, fewer emergency room visits, and life span increases. This intervention is part of thatproviding people with not just the housing but also the wraparound supports they needed, both medically and socially."

The study is titled "Assessment of a Hotel-Based Protective Housing Program for Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Management of Chronic Illness Among Persons Experiencing Homelessness." Additional authors include Megan Cunningham of CDPH, Heather Duncan of Lawndale Christian Health Center and North Park University, and Maura McCauley of the Chicago Department of Family & Support Services.

Explore further Turning hotels into emergency shelters as part of COVID-19 response limited spread of coronavirus

More information: Assessment of a Hotel-Based Protective Housing Program for Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Management of Chronic Illness Among Persons Experiencing Homelessness, JAMA Network Open (2021). Journal information: JAMA Network Open Assessment of a Hotel-Based Protective Housing Program for Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Management of Chronic Illness Among Persons Experiencing Homelessness,(2021).
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

It's still too soon to have definitive answers to some big questions about omicron, labeled in late November by the World Health Organization as a COVID-19 variant of concern. On Dec. 7, the Bloomberg School of Public Health's podcast, Public Health On Call, shared what we know so far with a conversation between host and director of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative Josh Sharfstein, who is also vice dean for public health practice and community engagement, and virologist Andrew Pekosz, a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology.

What do we know about omicron from the last week?

One thing that's becoming very clear, with data out of South Africa and parts of Europe in particular, is that this virus really is spreading quite effectively in populations. It's spreading in two different kinds of scenarios. In South Africa, there are low numbers of COVID-19 cases, and [omicron] seems to have sparked a surge of cases in many provinces there. In Europe, where delta was already well established, it's spreading at a rate that's equal to delta, if not higher.

What do we know about its ability to transmit among people who've had a prior COVID-19 infection or have been vaccinated?



The data is primarily driven by South Africa, but we're also seeing evidence in the travel-associated cases, that a large number of individuals who are omicron-infected have been vaccinated or have also received their booster vaccine.

In South Africa, an analysis of their initial cases showed that the risk of reinfection with omicron is almost three times greater than it was with previous variants, including the beta and delta variants.

It does seem that this virus is able to evade some of the vaccine-induced and infection-induced immune responses and establish an infection.

That is not great news. Does this mean we'll see more infections from this variant in the near future around the world?

I think that's probably true. We're waiting for the data on disease severity, which lags behind reporting of cases. It takes about 10 to 14 days before people develop a severe form of COVID-19.

This week and next week, we'll start to see data on hospitalization rates, and we'll be able to see how those hospitalization rates are moving with respect to case rates in different countries. One positive aspect is that South Africa is continuing to provide data at an incredibly fast rate. Several reports from South Africa suggest that the disease they're seeing is relatively mild. We'll need more data to confirm that, but that's one good thing that's coming from the data in the last week.

I've seen some reports that show patients aren't as likely to need oxygen or don't spend as long in the hospital as with previous cases. Is that what you're referring to?

Absolutely. One report from South Africa found several cases of the omicron variant within hospitals, but those patients were already being hospitalized [for other health issues], not because they were showing the typical signs of severe COVID-19 that South African hospitals have seen previously.

Many parts of the world are going to be reporting data faster than we'll see in the U.S. That's because they have this particular PCR test that gives a signature that is apparently very omicron-specific. It's not a specific PCR test for omicron, but the signature omicron gives is unique to [that test]. So we'll see some of that data coming out faster from other parts of the world because they don't have to rely on [genetic] sequencing of viruses to confirm an omicron infection.

What's the status right now of this variant in the United States?

We're seeing many travel-associated cases and their significant community spread. We're seeing several reports of what we call superspreader events, meaning one individual has infected many other individuals at one event. Spread and transmission can occur quite efficiently with this variant, just like we saw with delta and alpha.

I know there have been some plans to study the antibodies generated by the vaccine against [omicron]. What's the status of those studies?

Several of the vaccine manufacturers have been able to generate what's called a pseudo-neutralization assay, where they put the spike protein of the variants into a different virus, and that allows them to quickly assess antibody reactivity data. We don't know the results yet, but we know that those studies are ongoing.

I [also] know of a dozen laboratories that are trying to isolate the virus and distribute itboth nationally and globallyso that we can study more aspects of the virus itself.

What results can we expect from these neutralization assays? Will we find that the response is different for omicron compared to delta?

Based on the sequence, I would certainly expect that this virus will evade some of the vaccine- or infection-induced antibody responses, but it won't eliminate all of it. It'll be really important for us to understand, if [omicron] doesn't induce severe disease, what aspect of that vaccine-induced immune response is providing some level of protection.

We've seen with the delta variant that the vaccines can protect against severe disease much better than they can protect against infection. We're hoping to see the same thing happen with omicronwhere antibody responses that would normally protect from infection [might] be a little bit reduced, but the ones protecting from severe disease will be maintained. That's the ideal scenario and the one that I would expect to see, given data with other viruses like influenza.

Explore further Omicron spreads faster and weakens jabs: WHO
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Of the 18,000 people diagnosed with large B-cell lymphoma each year, only half will be successfully treated with chemotherapy. The 9,000 remaining patients typically have poor outcomes, with only 25% responding to additional, higher-intensity chemotherapy, followed by a stem cell transplant.

"For around three-quarters of patients who don't respond to the initial chemotherapy, their survival has been a matter of months," says CU Cancer Center member Manali Kamdar, MD, associate professor in the Division of Hematology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. "Improving outcomes with more efficacious and safe therapies has been a critical unmet need for these high risk patients for the longest time."

Improving outcomes with new medication

Over the past four years, Kamdar has been the lead investigator on a global, multicenter, phase III clinical study to find out if a medication called Breyanzi (lisocabtagene maraleucel; liso-cel) can improve outcomes for those patients. The chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy works by removing blood from a patient's body, enhancing immune cells called T cells to better fight the lymphoma, then re-infusing the cells back into the patient. In a December 11 presentation at the American Society of Hematology's annual meeting, Kamdar shared the results of the study: Breyanzi is effective at treating large B-cell lymphoma patients who did not respond to the initial round of chemotherapy.

"I am delighted to say, on behalf of all the coauthors, that this is a positive trial because it met its primary endpoint of event-free survival," Kamdar says. "We were able to get more patients in a complete response with liso-cel than with an autologous stem cell transplant. And we were able to keep patients without relapse for a longer period of time than patients who receive standard of care."

Just as important, Kamdar says, the medication was safer for patients than other CAR-T drugs, with mostly low-grade side effects such as cytokine release syndrome and neurological side effects. Breyanzi was eventually able to be administered on an outpatient basis, she says, making it a less time-consuming and costly treatment for patients.

"We want to make sure that things are efficacious, but if it comes at the cost of higher toxicity, then you lose the point of it all," Kamdar says. "It's important to highlight that this was an extremely safe product, that the toxicities between liso-cel and standard of care were comparable."

Clinical trials benefit CU Cancer Center patients

The phase III trial enrolled 184 patients across 47 global sites, the majority of them at the CU Cancer Center and UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital. Kamdar says it's another example of how CU Cancer Center patients often receive promising new treatments earlier than others.

"We were leaders in making sure that our patients, not just from Colorado, but also from neighboring states of Wyoming, New Mexico, Kansas ended up getting the benefit of this product sooner," Kamdar says. "It's definitely changed what my clinic used to look like. Prior to this clinical trial being available, most of my patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL would not benefit from traditional treatments and eventually succumbed to their disease. However, this clinical trial provided a ray of hope for these high-risk relapsed patients. Just last week, I saw a patient who had this treatment, and I don't recall talking about lymphoma with her. She has been in remission for several months."

Next stop, regulatory review

Researchers will continue to follow patients in the phase III trial over the next two years to track relapse rates and overall survival, but based on the study led by Kamdar, the drug's manufacturer, Bristol Myers Squibb, is eager to discuss the results with health/regulatory authorities. Kamdar says an approval would mark a paradigm shift in the way these types of cancers are treated, marking the first improvement in treatment in more than 20 years

"I wouldn't be surprised if with a longer follow-up of the study, we actually end up making patients live longer," Kamdar says. "It's not confirmed yet, because it's been a short follow-up so far. But if we look at the survival curves, the survival curves have clearly split in favor of liso-cell. As investigators, we are very excited to see what the longer follow-up looks like."
Philippe Bechtold (left) and Michele Gregorini are much less often in the laboratory since they have founded their own company. Credit: Alessandro Della Bella/ETH Zurich

ETH researchers Michele Gregorini and Philippe Bechtold have developed a PCR testing device that can easily be used outside the laband that takes less than 30 minutes to deliver results. Now the two young entrepreneurs are focusing their efforts on getting the device approved for medical use.

When Michele Gregorini applied for his doctoral project five years ago, he found himself in the same office in which we're chatting to him today. Sitting across from him was Wendelin Stark, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences. Stark suggested that the 26-year-old Gregorini, a mechanical engineer from Milan, should develop a PCR testing device that was quicker and easier to use than conventional models.

The memories of that day are still imprinted on Gregorini's mind. "At that point, I didn't even know what PCR stood forlet alone how the method worked!" he says with a smile. It was early 2016, and he had just returned from Australia where he had spent a year working for a solar energy start-up after completing his studies at ETH Zurich.

Today, Gregorini is the CEO of his own recently established companyand the PCR device he developed in his doctoral project is their hallmark product. It's been almost a year since he founded the ETH start-up diaxxo together with Philippe Bechtold, a 26-year-old chemical engineer from Luxembourg who also joined Stark's research group to do his doctorate, which is now in its final stages.

But the two young entrepreneurs aim to do more than just launch a new medical devicethey also hope to fundamentally change the way in which PCR testing is deployed in medicine.

A PCR test for just a few Swiss francs

PCR tests have long been the gold standard for diagnosing infectious diseases, even before the coronavirus pandemic. In order to determine the exact pathogen responsible for a respiratory infection, a doctor takes a throat swab and sends the sample to a medical lab for analysis. It typically takes several days to get the results back, at which point they can confirm whether the patient is suffering from flu, pneumonia or a simple cold.

Gregorini and Bechtold were determined to make this process easier and, above all, quicker. They envision a future where healthcare staff will be able to perform PCR tests right at the point of careand get results in less than 30 minutes. This would enable patients to get the treatment they need at their very first appointment.

"It would save so much time and be a whole lot cheaper," Gregorini says. Their goal is for the test to cost only a few Swiss francs. Bechtold adds that this would finally open the door to PCR testing in developing countries, which often lack the funding to perform laboratory analyses.

Test cartridge the size of a coffee pod

The start-up founders have been working on their PCR device for the past five years. They developed every aspect of the first prototype themselves, from the housing and electronics to the software and the replaceable test cartridge in which the biochemical reaction takes place. This cartridge is similar in size and shape to a coffee pod, and it's the most significant innovation of the new device.

Instead of the conventional method of mixing the PCR reagents in a plastic tube, diaxxo's solution works by simply pipetting a droplet of the patient's sample straight into one of the wells in the aluminum cartridge. Since metal conducts heat much better than plastic, the new device can heat and cool the reagents considerably faster than conventional devices.

This is important, because replicating the pathogen's genetic material relies on reaction cycles consisting of multiple steps that are carried out at different temperatures ranging from 55 to 95 degrees Celsius. Performing one of these cycles takes just under 20 seconds in the new device, as opposed to two and a half minutes in a conventional device. This reduces the time required for a 45-cycle PCR test from over two hours to just under 20 minutes, which is similar to the time it takes to perform a rapid antigen test.

The new device also eliminates the need to painstakingly pipette multiple PCR reagents into a sample container. Instead, diaxxo's solution is to deliver the reagents as part of the packagefreeze-dried and deposited in the bottom of each well. This also has the advantage of enabling test kits for different pathogens to be stored at room temperature for up to six months.

Pandemic gives the project a boost

Gregorini and Bechtold encountered plenty of challenges when it came to developing a reliable method. Bechtold spent a long time perfecting a drying process for the reagents that ensures they mix properly with the sample when the time comes. "That was one of the toughest tasks of all," he says, recalling how difficult it was to get the reagents attached firmly enough in the wells for the cartridges to be transported safely.

But the biggest turning point of all came in spring 2020 with the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic. "All of a sudden, there was this huge demand for the medical device at the heart of our research project," Gregorini says. Even before the virus had fully arrived in Switzerland, the engineers began developing a cartridge to detect SARS-Cov-2their first ever diagnostic test.

From there, things just snowballed. The two researchers obtained their first grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation's "Bridge" program, swiftly followed by coronavirus funding from various other sources. In September 2020, Gregorini and Bechtold were accepted into the ETH Pioneer Fellowship program; in October, they founded their company, diaxxo.

From developers to managers

Today, diaxxo employs 12 people as part of a growing team of hardware and software specialists, biotechnologists and electrical engineers. Together, they are steadily improving the PCR device to make it ready for the market.

At the same time, the focus of the two founders has shifted away from product development as they gradually slip into more of a managerial role. They now spend most of their time answering questions from the team, preparing presentations for potential backers and communicating with project partners by email. It's not until the early evening, when most of his colleagues have already gone home, that Gregorini finally finds time to check out how things are progressing in their workshop at ETH.

Field study in Zanzibar provides important inputs

Meanwhile, the list of potential customers just keeps on growing. New enquiries are arriving by the dayincluding interest from a major cruise line. But with the device currently still pending approval as a medical device, the company founders are not permitted to sell their products to private customers and must instead rely on research collaborations. These joint projects offer the perfect channel for improving the device's suitability for everyday use.

diaxxo's project with the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) is the biggest collaboration the start-up has embarked on so far. It involves a field study in Zanzibar, where diaxxo devices are currently being used to test schoolchildren across the country for schistosomiasis, a disease caused by parasitic worms.

Swiss TPH's partners are particularly enthusiastic about the new PCR device because it allows them to carry out on-site testing in schools. Gregorini and Bechtold are available around the clock to support researchers in using the device, and they have already helped improvise everything from software updates to local repair manuals.

This ever-changing environment is one of the things that Bechtold loves about his job: "Every day is another amazing learning opportunity." At the same time, however, the two founders are aware that diaxxo might have a limited lifespan. "It is very challenging for a small company on its own in the medical device sector to build up a big enough range of products to become profitable," Gregorini says.

One scenario is that diaxxo will be acquired by a larger company sometime in the next few years. But, for the time being, the two founders are determined to put all they can into the business and see how far they can take it.

Explore further Inexpensive, portable detector identifies pathogens in minutes
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New research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that examining genetic mutations in individuals with severe schizophrenia can improve the ability to detect disease-associated rare genetic variants. The research was conducted at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and led by Dr. Anthony Zoghbi, now assistant professor of molecular and human genetics and psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Baylor College of Medicine.

Schizophrenia patients have a diverse spectrum of observable symptoms. For this study, the researchers focused on the extreme end of that spectruma group of 112 patients with severe, extremely treatment-resistant schizophrenia who have required long-term hospitalization in New York State inpatient facilities.

"The hypothesis is that these patients might have a greater prevalence of disease-causing mutations because they have such a severe form of the illness, and that's what we ended up seeing," said Zoghbi, corresponding author of the study and Beth K. And Stuart C. Yudofsky Scholar at Baylor.

Zoghbi and his team examined mutations across a set of "intolerant" genes, which are infrequently mutated in the healthy, general population. They conducted genetic sequencing and examined the burden of rare, damaging variants impacting gene function in three groups: people with severe schizophrenia, people with typical schizophrenia and a control group of healthy individuals.

More than 48% of individuals with extremely treatment-resistant schizophrenia carried at least one of the rare, damaging variants, versus approximately 30% of those with typical schizophrenia and 25% of the control group. The severe schizophrenia group also had a higher variant burden in genes previously associated with schizophrenia than the group with typical schizophrenia.

"We think that this method of study could be a new paradigm for trying to understand how to enrich a genetic signal in a psychiatric disorder by focusing on individuals who are very severely affected by the disease," said Zoghbi, who also is chief of psychiatric genetics in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor.

Identifying rare variant risk factors in individuals with severe schizophrenia could lead to better understanding of prognosis and treatment resistance and to more opportunities for genetic counseling for families impacted by this disease. Zoghbi says this study also may lay the groundwork for future research on therapeutics to target genetic mutations associated with schizophrenia.

"We hope that this research brings light and attention to these patients who are often left out of cutting-edge research because of the severity of their condition," Zoghbi said.

Other authors of this work include: Dr. Ryan S. Dhindsa, Dr. Terry E. Goldberg, Aydan Mehralizade, Dr. Joshua E. Motelow, Dr. Xinchen Wang, Dr. Anna Alkelai, Dr. Matthew B. Harms, Dr. Jeffrey A. Lieberman, Dr. Sander Markx and Dr. David B. Goldstein. They are affiliated with the following institutions: Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York State Psychiatric Institute and Waypoint Bio.

Explore further Schizophrenia tied to higher risk for severe COVID-19
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The first results from the largest screening study yet conducted in the United States of individuals at above-average risk for the blood cancer multiple myeloma have revealed higher rates of a myeloma precursor condition in older adults who are Black or who have a close family member with a current or past blood cancer.

The initial findings among 7,622 participants, including 2,439 Black people, in the PROMISE study were reported by investigators from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at the 63rd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting. Individuals in the high-risk groups who are over 50 were found to be twice as likely as the general population to have monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance (MGUS), an asymptomatic condition that can progress to myeloma, an incurable blood cancer.

It is estimated that 3% of Americans ages 50 and over have MGUS, although there is no routine screening for the condition in the general population. People diagnosed with MGUS have an abnormal protein in their blood but none of the damage to organs seen in multiple myeloma; however, they have a 1% per year risk of developing myeloma, which is projected to be diagnosed in 34,920 people in 2021, according to the American Cancer Society.

The Dana-Farber researchers, led by Irene Ghobrial, MD, are carrying out the PROMISE study to determine the rate of MGUS in high-risk groupsprimarily Blacks and people who have an immediate family member with a current or past blood cancer. "We know that in cancers such as breast cancer and lung cancer, screening, early detection, and early intervention can make a difference in patient survival," Ghobrial said. With the use of highly sensitive screening methods and monitoring patients with MGUS and intervening with treatment, "it may eventually be possible to make a difference in the survival of people at elevated risk for multiple myeloma," said Ghobrial.

Although studies have shown that people of African descent and those with a family history of blood cancers are at increased risk for multiple myeloma, no previous study had looked at the prevalence of MGUS in a prospectively followed high-risk population.

The PROMISE study, launched in 2019, aims to enroll 30,000 people ages 40 to 75 who are at above-average risk for multiple myeloma because they are Black or have a parent, sibling, or child with a history of multiple myeloma or another blood cancer. Study participants provide a blood sample that is tested for MGUS using both conventional and newer high-sensitivity techniques. All PROMISE study participants who test positive for MGUS are referred to a medical specialist in the treatment of blood cancers for further testing and follow-up.

To ensure adequate representation of people of African descent in the study population, Dr. Ghobrial and colleagues also identified and screened Black people who had contributed blood samples to a large biological specimen repository, the Mass General Brigham Biobank in Boston. For this cohort, up to 10 years of follow-up data were available.

"Ours is the largest cohort of Black people to be recruited for a myeloma screening study and the first prospective study to actively recruit people at high risk for multiple myeloma, follow them over time to accurately estimate the prevalence of MGUS, and explore outcomes for patients with this precursor condition," said Ghobrial.

"Using screening techniques that are currently available in doctors' offices, we show that the prevalence of MGUS in a high-risk population over age 50Black people and people who have a first-degree relative with a blood canceris twice as high as in the general United States population," she added. "Using a novel, high-sensitivity screening technique (mass spectrometry), we detected MGUS in 14% of participants. And when we fully employ the capability of mass spectrometry to detect even minute amounts of M-protein in the blood, we can detect the protein in 42% of the high-risk population over age 50."

As well, when the investigators examined the follow-up data for participants whose samples came from the Biobank, they found that, after a median of 4.5 years of follow-up, those with any level of M-protein had negative health effects, seen as a slightly higher mortality rate from any cause than people who had no M-protein in their blood.

"This highlights that people with M-protein are at risk of not only multiple myeloma but also of other conditions, including other blood cancers and heart attacks," said Ghobrial. "We believe these results make a strong case that older adults who are Black or who have a first-degree relative with a blood cancer could benefit from regular, high-sensitivity screening to identify M-protein abnormalities and early intervention."

In the future, Ghobrial and her research team hope that the PROMISE study will help identify the factors that contribute to the development of MGUS, cause MGUS to progress to overt cancer in some people but not others, and result in negative health impacts for people who have any level of M-protein in their blood.

Ghobrial will present findings on this study at the "Potential Prevention or Protection? New Insights into Blood Disorders" press briefing on Saturday, Dec. 11 at 10:30 a.m. EST. Further details will be presented by Habib El-Khoury, MD, during Session 652, Abstract 152, on Saturday, Dec. 11 at 12:15 p.m. EST.

Explore further Screening high-risk individuals can reduce multiple myeloma mortality
COVID-19 vaccine. Credit: x3 on Pixabay/CC BY 2.0

Reluctance to accept a COVID-19 booster vaccine was reported in 12 percent of young adults, compared to 8 percent of adults aged 3059 and 3 percent of adults aged over 60, find UCL researchers as part of the COVID-19 Social Study.

Meanwhile, booster unwillingness was twice as high in people with lower household incomes (10 percent) compared to those with higher household incomes (5 percent), and in people with education levels up to a GCSE (10 percent) compared to those with a degree or higher (5 percent).

People living with children (15 percent vs 7 percent in those not living with children), and people in good physical health (11 percent vs 7 percent of people with a physical health diagnosis) were also more likely to express hesitancy about receiving a COVID-19 booster vaccine.

However, overall, booster vaccine intentions were favorable, with 49 percent of adults surveyed having already received or accepter their booster vaccine for coronavirus, and 39 percent of respondents saying they were willing to do so.

Launched in the week before the first lockdown started, the ongoing UCL COVID-19 Social Study is funded by the Nuffield Foundation with additional support from Wellcome and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). It is the UK's largest study into how adults are feeling about the lockdown, government advice and overall wellbeing and mental health with over 70,000 participants who have been followed across the last 88 weeks.

Lead author Dr. Elise Paul (UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care) said: "It is concerning to see such hesitancy to accepting a COVID-19 booster vaccine as the number of infections continues to rise. Young people may be less concerned with getting their third jab as they might feel that the illness would not affect them as much.

"People who are less well-off have been impacted negatively throughout the pandemic, due to precarious employment and the inability to work from home and may face more barriers in scheduling and traveling to vaccine appointments. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, we need to ensure that everyone has equitable access to receiving their vaccines.

"Although highly effective in preventing hospitalisations and deaths, protection from COVID-19 vaccines decreases over time, and it is therefore critical for people to accept a booster vaccine when eligible to maintain the progress that has been made in lowering the number of hospitalisations and deaths."

The study has also found that only 12 percent of people will return to living exactly as they did before the pandemic, while 20 percent feel they are likely to make changes to their lives and 27 percent are undecided.

The aspects of their lives that people are most likely to change following COVID-19 are more support for local businesses (31 percent) and using online shopping more (30 percent).

Researchers also found that compliance with COVID-19 guidelines remains at an all-time low and since the start of autumn just 1 in 3 people admit to following the government guidelines to the letter. Although majority compliance remains above 80 percent.

Explore further COVID-19 pandemic is widening economic inequalities

More information: Understanding the psychological and social impact of the pandemic. Understanding the psychological and social impact of the pandemic. www.covidsocialstudy.org/
Boxes containing the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are prepared to be shipped at the Pfizer Global Supply Kalamazoo manufacturing plant in Portage, Mich., Dec. 13, 2020. The nation's COVID-19 death toll stands at around 800,000 as the anniversary of the U.S. vaccine rollout arrives. A year ago it stood at 300,000. What might have been a time to celebrate a scientific achievement is fraught with discord and mourning. Credit: AP Photo/Morry Gash, Pool, File

One year ago, the biggest vaccination drive in American history began with a flush of excitement in an otherwise gloomy December. Trucks loaded with freezer-packed vials of a COVID-19 vaccine that had proved wildly successful in clinical trials fanned out across the land, bringing shots that many hoped would spell the end of the crisis.

That hasn't happened. A year later, too many Americans remain unvaccinated and too many are dying.

The nation's COVID-19 death toll stands at around 800,000 as the anniversary of the U.S. vaccine rollout arrives. A year ago it stood at 300,000. An untold number of lives, perhaps tens of thousands, have been saved by vaccination. But what might have been a time to celebrate a scientific achievement is fraught with discord and mourning.

National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins said scientists and health officials may have underestimated how the spread of misinformation could hobble the "astounding achievement" of the vaccines.

"Deaths continue ... most of them unvaccinated, most of the unvaccinated because somebody somewhere fed them information that was categorically wrong and dangerous," Collins said.

Developed and rolled out at blistering speed, the vaccines have proved incredibly safe and highly effective at preventing deaths and hospitalizations. Unvaccinated people have a 14 times higher risk of dying compared to fully vaccinated people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated based on available data from September.

A syringe is prepared with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic in the Norristown Public Health Center in Norristown, Pa., Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021. The nation's COVID-19 death toll stands at around 800,000 as the anniversary of the U.S. vaccine rollout arrives. A year ago it stood at 300,000. What might have been a time to celebrate a scientific achievement is fraught with discord and mourning. Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File

Their effectiveness has held up for the most part, allowing schools to reopen, restaurants to welcome diners and families to gather for the holidays. At last count, 95% of Americans 65 and older had had at least one shot.

"In terms of scientific, public health and logistical achievements, this is in the same category as putting a man on the moon," said Dr. David Dowdy, an infectious-disease epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The vaccines' first year has been rocky with the disappointment of breakthrough infections, the political strife over mandates and, now, worries about whether the mutant omicron will evade protection.

Despite all that, Dowdy said, "we're going to look back and say the vaccines were a huge success story."

On the very day that an eager nation began rolling up its sleeves, Dec. 14, 2020, the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 hit 300,000. And deaths were running at an average of more than 2,500 a day and rising fast, worse than what the country witnessed during the harrowing spring of 2020, when New York City was the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak.

Grand marshal Sandra Lindsay, a health care worker who was the first person in the country to get a COVID-19 vaccine shot, waves to spectators as she leads marchers through the Financial District as confetti falls during a parade honoring essential workers for their efforts in getting New York City through the COVID-19 pandemic, Wednesday, July 7, 2021, in New York. The nation's COVID-19 death toll stands at around 800,000 as the anniversary of the U.S. vaccine rollout arrives. A year ago it stood at 300,000. What might have been a time to celebrate a scientific achievement is fraught with discord and mourning. Credit: AP Photo/John Minchillo, File

By late February total U.S. deaths had crossed 500,000, but the daily death count was plummeting from the horrible heights of early January. With hopes rising in early March, some states began reopening, lifting mask mandates and limits on indoor dining. Former President Donald Trump assured his supporters during a Fox News interview that the vaccine was safe and urged them to get it.

But by June, with the threat from COVID-19 seemingly fading, demand for vaccines had slipped and states and companies had turned to incentives to try to restore interest in vaccination.

It was too little, too late. Delta, a highly contagious mutated form of coronavirus, had silently arrived and had begun to spread quickly, finding plenty of unvaccinated victims.

"You have to be almost perfect almost all the time to beat this virus," said Andrew Noymer, a public health professor at the University of California, Irvine. "The vaccine alone is not causing the pandemic to crash back to Earth."

Sandra Lindsay, left, a nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, is inoculated with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine by Dr. Michelle Chester, in the Queens borough of New York, on Dec. 14, 2020. The nation's COVID-19 death toll stands at around 800,000 as the anniversary of the U.S. vaccine rollout arrives. A year ago it stood at 300,000. What might have been a time to celebrate a scientific achievement is fraught with discord and mourning. Credit: AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, Pool, File

One of the great missed opportunities of the COVID-19 pandemic is the shunning of vaccination by many Americans.

This fall, Rachel McKibbens, 45, lost her father and brother to COVID-19. Both had refused the protection of vaccination because they believed false conspiracy theories that the shots contained poison.

"What an embarrassment of a tragedy," McKibbens said. "It didn't have to be this way."

More than 228,500 Americans have died from COVID-19 since April 19, the date when all U.S. adults were eligible to be vaccinated. That's about 29% of the count since the first U.S. coronavirus deaths were recorded in February 2020, according to an Associated Press analysis.

In all, two statesFlorida and Texascontributed more than 52,000 deaths since that date. Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, Wyoming and Idaho also saw outsize death tolls after mid-April.

In this 2021 photo provided by Tanya B. Alves-Otero, her sister, Tamara Alves Rodriguez poses for a photo in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Seven months pregnant and unvaccinated, Rodriguez tested positive for the coronavirus Aug. 9. The young mother never held her child. Rodriguez died Oct. 30 at age 24. She left behind her husband, two other children and an extended family. Credit: Layzne Alves-Otero via AP

Red states were more likely than blue states to have greater than average death tolls since then.

"I see the U.S. as being in camps," Noymer said. "The vaccines have become a litmus test for trust in government."

Wyoming and West Virginia, the states with the highest vote percentages for Donald Trump in 2016, have recorded about 50% of their total COVID-19 deaths since all adults were declared eligible for the vaccine in those states. In Oklahoma, nearly 60% of COVID-19 deaths occurred after all adults were vaccine-eligible.

There are exceptions: Notably, Hawaii and Oregon are the only Joe Biden-supporting states where more than half of the COVID-19 deaths came after shots were thrown open to all adults. North Dakota and South Dakotaboth ardent Trump stateshave kept their share of deaths after the vaccine became available across the board to under 25%.

Medical staff tend to a patient with coronavirus, on a COVID-19 ward inside the Willis-Knighton Medical Center in Shreveport, La., Aug. 18, 2021. The nation's COVID-19 death toll stands at around 800,000 as the anniversary of the U.S. vaccine rollout arrives. A year ago it stood at 300,000. What might have been a time to celebrate a scientific achievement is fraught with discord and mourning. Credit: AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File

California has seen more than 15,000 COVID-19 deaths since the state opened eligibility to all adults in mid-April. McKibbens' father and brother died in Santa Ana, California, in their shared home.

McKibbens pieced together what happened from text messages on her brother's phone. Some of the texts she read after his death, including back-and-forth messages with a cousin who cited TikTok as the source of bad advice.

"My brother did not seek medical attention for my dad," keeping him lying on his back, even as his breathing began to sound like a broken-down motor, said McKibbens, who lives across the country in Rochester, New York.

Her father, Pete Camacho, died Oct. 22 at age 67. McKibbens flew to California to help with arrangements.

Her brother was sick, too, but "he refused to let me into the house because he said I shed coronavirus because I was vaccinated," McKibbens recalled. "It was a strange new belief I had never heard before."

Boxes containing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine are loaded into a truck for shipping at the McKesson distribution center in Olive Branch, Miss., Dec. 20, 2020. The nation's COVID-19 death toll stands at around 800,000 as the anniversary of the U.S. vaccine rollout arrives. A year ago it stood at 300,000. What might have been a time to celebrate a scientific achievement is fraught with discord and mourning. Credit: AP Photo/Paul Sancya, Pool, File

A friend found her brother's body after noticing food deliveries untouched on the porch. Peter Camacho, named for his father, died Nov. 8 at age 44.

"For me to have lost two-thirds of my family, it just levels you," McKibbens said.

Important advice came too late for some. Seven months pregnant and unvaccinated, Tamara Alves Rodriguez tested positive for the coronavirus Aug. 9. Two days later, with many pregnant women falling seriously ill, U.S. health officials strengthened their guidance to urge all mothers-to-be to get vaccinated.

Rodriguez had tried to get vaccinated weeks earlier but was told at a pharmacy she needed authorization from her doctor. "She never returned," said her sister, Tanya Alves of Weston, Florida.

Six days after testing positive, Rodriguez had to have a breathing tube inserted down her throat at a hospital near her home in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Her baby girl was delivered by emergency cesarean section Aug. 16.

Cristela Martinez, left, helps people with their forms as they wait in line to receive the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic held by Healthcare Network, April 10, 2021, in Immokalee, Fla. The nation's COVID-19 death toll stands at around 800,000 as the anniversary of the U.S. vaccine rollout arrives. A year ago it stood at 300,000. What might have been a time to celebrate a scientific achievement is fraught with discord and mourning. Credit: AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File

People hold signs as several hundred anti-mandate demonstrators rally outside the Capitol during a special legislative session considering bills targeting COVID-19 vaccine mandates, Nov. 16, 2021, in Tallahassee, Fla. The vaccines' first year has been rocky with the disappointment of breakthrough infections, the political strife over mandates and, now, worries about whether the mutant omicron will evade the vaccine's protection. Credit: AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File

Boxes containing the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are loaded onto a truck for shipping at the Pfizer Global Supply Kalamazoo manufacturing plant in Portage, Mich., Dec. 13, 2020. The nation's COVID-19 death toll stands at around 800,000 as the anniversary of the U.S. vaccine rollout arrives. A year ago it stood at 300,000. What might have been a time to celebrate a scientific achievement is fraught with discord and mourning. Credit: AP Photo/Morry Gash, Pool, File

People carry signs and flags as several hundred anti-mandate demonstrators rally outside the Capitol during a special legislative session considering bills targeting COVID-19 vaccine mandates, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, in Tallahassee, Fla. The vaccines' first year has been rocky with the disappointment of breakthrough infections, the political strife over mandates and, now, worries about whether the mutant omicron will evade the vaccine's protection. Credit: AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File

The young mother never held her child. Rodriguez died Oct. 30 at age 24. She left behind her husband, two other children and an extended family.

"Her children ask for her constantly," Alves said. "I literally feel like a piece of me has been ripped out of me and even those words aren't enough to describe it."

She urges others to get vaccinated: "If you would know the terror of being hospitalized or having a loved one there ... if people would know, they would be afraid of this instead of fearing the vaccine."

Explore further Mortality study reinforces safety of COVID-19 vaccinations

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Associated Press sought answers Monday from the Department of Homeland Security on its use of sensitive government databases for tracking international terrorists to investigate as many as 20 American journalists, including an acclaimed AP reporter.

In a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, AP Executive Editor Julie Pace urged the agency to explain why the name of Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Martha Mendoza was run through the databases and identified as a potential confidential informant during the Trump administration, as detailed in a report by Homeland Security's inspector general.

This is a flagrant example of a federal agency using its power to examine the contacts of journalists, Pace wrote. While the actions detailed in the inspector generals report occurred under a previous administration, the practices were described as routine.

The DHS investigation of U.S. journalists, as well as congressional staff and perhaps members of Congress, which was reported by Yahoo News and AP on Saturday. It represents the latest apparent example of an agency created in the wake of the 9/11 attacks using its vast capabilities to target American citizens.

DHS prompted criticism from Congress and elsewhere in July 2020 w hen it deployed poorly or unidentified agents in military-style uniforms to sweep people off the streets of Portland, Oregon, and hustle them into unmarked cars during protests outside the federal courthouse in the city.

This latest revelation prompted Sen. Ron Wyden to call on DHS to immediately turn over the inspector general report to Congress.

If multiple government agencies were aware of this conduct and took no action to stop it, there needs to be serious consequences for every official involved, and DHS and the Justice Department must explain what actions they are taking to prevent this unacceptable conduct in the future, said Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who has long sought more oversight of government surveillance.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, the Mississippi Democrat who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, said, If true, this abuse of government surveillance powers to target journalists, elected officials and their staff is deeply disturbing."

CBP said in a statement over the weekend that its vetting and investigative practices are strictly governed and that the agency doesn't investigate without a legitimate and legal basis to do so.

A DHS spokeswoman, Marsha Espinosa, said Monday that Mayorkas is deeply committed to ensuring the protection of First Amendment rights" and has developed policies that reflect this priority, thought she did not provide details.

We do not condone the investigation of reporters in response to the exercise of First Amendment rights, she said. CBP and every component agency and office in the Department will ensure their practices are consistent with our values and our highest standards.

In the AP's letter, Pace called for assurances that these improper practices and apparent abuse of power will not continue going forward.

That would be in line with recent order from Attorney General Merrick Garland prohibiting the seizing of records of journalists in leak investigations. That followed an outcry over revelations that the Justice Department under former President Donald Trump had obtained records belonging to journalists, as well as Democratic members of Congress and their aide s and a former White House counsel, Don McGahn.

During the Obama administration, federal investigators secretly seized phone records for some reporters and editors at the AP. Those seizures involved office and home lines as well as cellphones.

The DHS inspector general report that revealed the most recent disclosure of investigations of journalists also stemmed from a Trump-era leak investigation.

The IG was looking into the actions of Jeffrey Rambo, a Border Patrol agent who was on temporary duty with a Customs and Border Protection unit in the Washington D.C. area in 2017 when he accessed government travel records as part of a leak investigation involving reporter Ali Watkins, who was with Politico at the time and now writes for The New York Times.

The inspector general opened its investigation after media reports exposed Rambo and his investigation of Watkins.

In the course of its investigation, the IG learned from Rambo that he had routinely run checks on journalists and others, including congressional staff, while working at the CBP unit, the Counter Network Division.

Rambo told investigators that he queried its databases about Mendoza before trying to establish a relationship with her because of her expertise in writing about forced labor, an area of concern for CBP because it enforces import restrictions. The AP reporter is a known expert on the subject who won her second Pulitzer Prize in 2016 as part of a team that reported on slave labor in the fishing industry in Southeast Asia.

The AP, in a separate statement from the Pace letter, also sought an explanation for the use of the databases to investigate Mendoza and other journalists.

We are deeply concerned about this apparent abuse of power, the AP said. This appears to be an example of journalists being targeted for simply doing their jobs, which is a violation of the First Amendment.

The inspector general referred its findings to a federal prosecutor for possible charges of misusing government databases and lying to investigators, but the Justice Department declined to prosecute Rambo and two other Homeland Security employees.

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GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 13, 2021--

Rocky Mountain Health Plans, a UnitedHealth Group company (NYSE: UNH), is donating $300,000 to YouthZone to foster positive youth development for teens across Colorados Western Slope. The three-year contribution will help YouthZone expand its services to school-based settings and deliver mental health and substance abuse support to at least 470 youth and their families annually.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005309/en/

Supporting youth mental health has never been more important than it is today, during the pandemic. We are proud to add YouthZone as a partner in the Healthy Youth/Strong Colorado Fund to expand the available mental health and wellness programs for youth in Western Colorado, said Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser. Id like to thank Rocky Mountain Health Plans and UnitedHealth Group for this meaningful contribution and for their partnership to support youth mental health and wellness in Colorado.

The YouthZone programs and services that will be expanded include counseling, substance use education, restorative conversations and circles, and life skills training.

There couldnt be a better time to increase support for youth mental health, said Jami Hayes, executive director of YouthZone. This generous support from Rocky Mountain Health Plans will help us serve more young people as were seeing the needs skyrocket.

The donation by Rocky Mountain Health Plans completes the $5 million pledge that created the Healthy Youth/Strong Colorado Fund, a collaborative partnership with the Colorado attorney generals office to expand nonprofit mental health resources and services to empower youth, as well as to help avoid criminal justice system involvement and address the school-to-prison pipeline. It is part of the overall $30 million contribution by UnitedHealth Group to Colorado nonprofit organizations focused on advancing health equity that was announced in April 2021. In addition to YouthZone, this includes grant partnerships with:

Mile High Youth Corps, Rocky Mountain Youth Corps, and Western Colorado Conservation Corps, to provide a new criminal justice diversion program promoting employment, education, mental health support and service opportunities.

Boys & Girls Clubs in Colorado, to expand programming and serve more youth across the state.

Sources of Strength, to expand access to youth suicide prevention programs in schools.

The Center on Colfax, to support career counseling and empowerment for LGBTQ young adults, as well as mental health services.

The Place, to increase stability and support for youth experiencing homelessness in El Paso County.

The Rocky Mountain Health Foundation, to fund STEM education among young women and people of color as well as other programs across the Western Slope.

Before the pandemic, health care providers had been seeing a growing need for mental health and substance-misuse supports for youth and families, said Alyssa Rose, executive director of Rocky Mountain Health Plans, Community & State. We are honored to support YouthZone and expand access to mental health services to meet the needs of youth who need support.

About YouthZone

Established in 1976, YouthZone is focused on fostering positive youth development for teens across Colorados Western Slope. It offers assessment and counseling services for both youth and parents, and has close relationships with school systems and law enforcement who refer at-risk youth to YouthZone for help.

About UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is a diversified health care company dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and helping to make the health system work better for everyone. UnitedHealth Group offers a broad spectrum of products and services through two distinct platforms: UnitedHealthcare, which provides health care coverage and benefits services; and Optum, which provides information and technology-enabled health services. For more information, visit UnitedHealth Group at www.unitedhealthgroup.com or follow @UnitedHealthGrp on Twitter.

View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005309/en/

CONTACT: Media Contacts:

Jenifer McCormick, UnitedHealth Group

(612) 940-4707

jenifer_mccormick@uhg.comLawrence Pacheco, Colorado Attorney Generals Office

(720) 245-4689

KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA COLORADO

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: MENTAL HEALTH TEENS INSURANCE PARENTING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES PHILANTHROPY GENERAL HEALTH CONSUMER HEALTH OTHER PHILANTHROPY

SOURCE: UnitedHealth Group

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PUB: 12/13/2021 03:00 PM/DISC: 12/13/2021 03:01 PM

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AMARILLO, Texas & BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 13, 2021--

The City of Amarillo, Impact Broadband and Mimosa by Airspan, a subsidiary of Airspan Networks Holdings Inc. (NYSE American: MIMO) are teaming up to bring the project, Amarillo Connected, to life. The goal is simple: provide low-cost broadband access to Amarillo to bridge the digital divide and help up to 10,000 students and low-income residents.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005290/en/

Amarillo, Texas (Photo: Business Wire)

When Amarillo CIO Rich Gagnon came to Amarillo five years ago from Palo Alto Networks, he immediately saw that a deep divide existed between those with connectivity and those without. Amarillo shares many of the same challenges similar to other small cities across the US trying to provide connectivity to students and the community. The one thing that makes Amarillos digital divide issue unique is the number of refugees who add to the population. According to the Refugee Language Project, 12,000 refugees have settled in Amarillo and 59% of this population are enrolled in English as a Second Language Programs. Access to education for this portion of the community is critical for them to become a US Citizen and contribute to the long-term growth of Amarillos economy. The North Heights Neighborhood best represents the challenges facing Gagnon and his team. There is no broadband available in most of this area, and where it does exist, it is priced far above the national average, said Gagnon. When COVID hit Amarillo, Mayor Ginger Nelson, and City Council Member Howard Smith kicked off Amarillo Connected, assigning Gagnon and CFO Laura Storrs to lead the effort.

Amarillo Connected began as a series of proof-of-concept efforts to trial various technology solutions. Amarillo Independent School District (AISD) and Region 16 aligned with the City as part of this effort and quickly realized that Gagnons vision is vital to ensuring that students and staff have equal access to education. Like many school districts, AISD has turned to wireless Mi-Fi Hotspots to connect students while learning remotely, a model that has identified coverage gaps and will prove to be unsustainable long-term.

Gagnon was looking for a solution that had been proven to be successful in similar deployments and to have the benefit of simplicity. Part of the plan to make this network sustainable is for the City to support the deployment, monitoring, maintenance and repair with staff from the City or a local partner.

Mimosa by Airspan Chosen to Provide Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) and Wi-Fi Solution

Mimosa by Airspan's Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) and Wi-Fi solution was a clear winner, meeting the Citys detailed requirements. Mimosa outperformed its competitors by a wide margin  two other products were tested and rejected. Mimosa by Airspan engineers were able to get the pilot sites up quickly. Airspan has the only outdoor radio point-to-multi-point (PTMP) solution capable of operating on spectrum from 4.9 GHz  6.425 GHz.

We chose Mimosa by Airspan for lots of reasons, said Gagnon. The key reasons were simplicity of deployment, proven technology, and their support, technology and planning resources.

The partners are currently in the pilot phase, testing Mimosa by Airspan equipment to optimize performance for in-home student use. The testing has achieved symmetrical speeds of 100 Mbps (megabits per second). The City of Amarillo is using Mimosa by Airspan A5c Access Points and C5x radios, with plans to upgrade to Mimosa by Airspans new 6 series of Wi-Fi 6E based FWA solutions in early 2022.

Based on the urgency of serving students, speed of deployment is critical. The goal is to have 50 square miles covered by the end of the 2021-22 school year. This includes providing in-home broadband access in all Amarillo independent school district locations, in addition to the approximately 10,000 students. Thousands of students are expected to be able to access broadband for the first time  particularly in northern Amarillo.

Helping Healthcare Professionals

Mimosa by Airspan will also provide connectivity at the new Amarillo healthcare annex, a community healthcare center. This includes VoIP voice solutions, and high-speed internet access for doctors and nurses. Mimosa by Airspan will also provide fixed wireless point-to-point (PTP) Wi-Fi-enabled connectivity at the Citys Bomb Squad headquarters.

One of the Best Pilot Programs In the Nation

Gaby Rowe, Project Lead for Texas' Operation Connectivity, was introduced to Amarillo Connected by Impact Broadband, a project consultant for Amarillo Connected. Rowe has been actively assisting the State of Texas negotiate technology solutions needed to support remote learning. She has implemented several programs to reduce costs to cities and school districts across the state, bridging the divide to hundreds of thousands of students. Amarillo Connected is one of the best pilot programs of its type I have seen in the nation, said Rowe. This type of infrastructure is needed to bridge the digital divide that creates obstacles for underserved areas.

Application Submitted for State Funding of $100M to Cover 55 Texas Communities

Rowe has recently assisted the City in submitting an application to the Texas Broadband Development Office for funding of up to $100 million to cover the region surrounding Amarillo, comprised of 55 communities. If successful, Amarillo Connected will transform to Panhandle Connected. This network will add over 80 towers and 70 repeaters to the Citys network. Impact Broadband will work closely with the City and Region 16 to ensure the network is sustainable financially and all 53 rural communities have access to broadband. The Region 16 Technology Services Division provides support for internal and external clients as it strives to support state and regional objectives. Consultation, training and continuing technical support are offered to LEAs for local area networks, including the Internet and videoconferencing.

Mayor Nelson feels,  Amarillo Connected is a game changer for the entire 26 county region of the Texas Panhandle. It will bring equitable internet services to areas that have struggled with reliable connectivity. Whether these areas are in poorer, urban parts of the City of Amarillo or in the rural small towns, residents who live there urgently need our help within the city without the infrastructure, but also those small towns where theres not any as well. To say Im excited is an understatement. Citizens having equal access to internet for education, healthcare, banking, and civil services is a crucial component to day-to-day life. I am incredibly proud of the team that has worked tirelessly to build this program.

Gagnon adds, I am doing this to drive equity to all citizens and force economic development that outlasts me. This network will allow my grandchildren to innovate and make Amarillo a place people want to raise a family, start a business or relocate to. This projects success is an important example of leadership in education, non-profit, government, private sector, and citizens working together to solve difficult challenges in our community.

A Digital Divide Model for US Municipalities and States

 Amarillo Connected is a model for other municipalities and states to use to help bridge the Digital Divide, said Jaime Fink, Mimosa by Airspan VP Technology, Fixed Wireless. We are proud to be part of this terrific project, and to use our industry-leading Fixed Wireless Access and Wi-Fi solutions to help provide broadband connectivity to students and their families.

About the City of Amarillo

The City of Amarillo serves a population of over 200,000 citizens, and provides support services for rural communities throughout the 26-county Texas Panhandle. The City operates all services and programs with the intent to provide the best environment for every Amarillo resident to find and achieve their potential for greatness. Open Spaces  Endless Opportunities. For more information, please visit www.amarillo.gov.

About Airspan

Airspan Networks Holdings Inc. (NYSE American: MIMO) is a U.S.-based provider of groundbreaking, disruptive software and hardware for 5G networks, and a pioneer in end-to-end Open RAN solutions that provide interoperability with other vendors. As a result of innovative technology and significant R&D investments to build and expand 5G solutions, Airspan believes it is well-positioned with 5G indoor and outdoor, Open RAN, private networks for enterprise customers and industrial use applications, fixed wireless access (FWA), and CBRS solutions to help mobile network operators of all sizes deploy their networks of the future, today. With over one million cells shipped to 1,000 customers in more than 100 countries, Airspan has global scale. For more information, visit www.airspan.com.

Mimosa, a subsidiary of Airspan, is the global technology leader in wireless broadband solutions, delivering fiber-fast connectivity to service providers and enterprise, industrial, and government operators worldwide. Mimosa access, backhaul and client solutions are deployed in a hybrid-fiber-wireless architecture, and engineered for both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint connections, across a variety of diverse applications including residential and business high-speed internet access, surveillance, agribusiness, education, and hospitality networking. Mimosa's technology delivers unprecedented levels of cost-effective spectral efficiency, allowing scarce spectrum to be concurrently and reliably shared across networks. Mimosa was acquired in 2018 by another subsidiary of Airspan Networks Holdings Inc. (NYSE American: MIMO), the award-winning, leading vendor of 5G software and hardware.

Operation Connectivity

Operation Connectivity is a statewide joint effort between Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Legislature, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and TX ESC Region 4 to enable long-term home connectivity for Texas's 5.5 million public school students through the provision of an e-learning device and reliable high-speed home-based internet connections sufficient for learning.

About Impact Broadband

Impact Broadband was formed to support rural communities and K-12 in their quests to bring digital equity to residents. Impact Broadband is focused on equalizing education among the countries most underserved communities. By leveraging over a decades worth of experience assisting commercial carriers with large network deployments, we ensure community leaders are looking at technology solutions that offer a sustainable model and potential for public and private partnerships. For more information, please visit us at www.ImpactBroadband.net

View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005290/en/

CONTACT: City of Amarillo Media Contact

Jordan Schupbach

806-378-3549

Airspan Media Contact

Howie Waterman

917-359-5505

Operation Connectivity Media Contact

Gaby Rowe

Impact Broadband Media Contact

Melissa Ashurst

470-848-0319

KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA FLORIDA TEXAS

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: WOMEN TECHNOLOGY MEN FAMILY PUBLIC POLICY/GOVERNMENT VOIP MOBILE/WIRELESS TRAINING CONSUMER CHILDREN OTHER TECHNOLOGY OTHER EDUCATION TELECOMMUNICATIONS SOFTWARE PRIMARY/SECONDARY NETWORKS EDUCATION INTERNET STATE/LOCAL HARDWARE

SOURCE: Airspan

Copyright Business Wire 2021.

PUB: 12/13/2021 09:00 AM/DISC: 12/13/2021 09:02 AM

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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 13, 2021--

AdaCore today announced that IHI Corporation of Japan has chosen AdaCores QGen Model Verifier, a part of its QGen model-based engineering toolsuite, along with AdaCores expert support, to help them develop a safe and reliable autonomous truck system in a cost-effective manner.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005015/en/

Truck retrofitted with system and incorporating global navigation satellite system sensors (Photo: Business Wire)

Automakers are leading the charge to develop autonomous trucks; however, deployments have been slow because of the unique safety requirements and cost involved with developing this equipment. To address both of these challenges, IHI and its partners are developing a system that can retrofit existing truck fleets to transport goods around factories autonomously.

The autonomous control units in these vehicles control various critical operations, including the gas and brake pedals, the steering wheel, and the position, speed, and obstacle sensors. These control units must be extremely reliable for automated trucks to travel along pre-programmed indoor and outdoor routes safely.

To streamline their development, IHI decided to evaluate the QGen model-based engineering toolsuite for Simulink(r) and Stateflow(r), in particular the QGen Model Verifier, to ensure that the models would operate correctly within a safe Simulink subset. Originally, IHI used models containing a significant amount of MATLAB code rather than Simulink blocks. As part of this evaluation, AdaCore recommended that IHI change their MATLAB code into Simulink blocks to allow the QGen verifier to analyze their model more deeply. IHI ultimately decided to adopt this approach and to use AdaCores QGen Model Verifier for Simulink to help validate their safety-critical system.

According to the IHI Technology & Intelligence Integration Center, We are developing an autonomous transport system using Simulink models. AdaCore's QGen Model Verifier automates model validation tasks that require expertise, allowing us to focus on system sophistication.

AdaCore is thrilled that IHI has selected our QGen toolsuite to help develop its safety-critical autonomous truck system, said JC Bernedo, AdaCore QGen team lead. By using our QGen Model Verifier, part of our model-based engineering toolsuite, IHI software developers will save countless hours of testing and verification efforts, and reduce costs, while providing additional safety guarantees to its transportation customers.

AdaCore continues to advise IHI and its partners as they test their new systems safety, functionality, and performance with plans to commercialize it.

Calls to Action:

For more information about QGen, contact info@adacore.com

For more information about IHIs Retrofit System, click here

About QGen

QGen is a Code Generation and Model Verification toolsuite for Simulink and Stateflow models. Its primary function is code generation from Simulink and Stateflow models to MISRA-C or Ada/SPARK code. The toolset also includes static analysis capabilities at the model level and the full integration with the AdaCore IDE, GNATStudio, to provide model-level and S-Function debugging. The QGen Model Verifier, also part of the QGen toolset, uses AdaCores static analysis technology, automatically generating and analyzing the generated source code and propagating potential violations, such as division by zero or overflow, back to the model in Simulink.

A single version of QGen supports multiple versions of the Simulink / Stateflow environment, from R2015b up to R2020b, for both Windows and Linux platforms. Developers can thus choose among modeling tool versions based on their project's needs without being forced to migrate to a different code generator. For more information, visit www.adacore.com/qgen.

About IHI Corporation

IHI Corporation is a comprehensive heavy-industry manufacturer working to create value for customers in four main areasResource, Energy and Environment; Social Infrastructure and Offshore Facilities; Industrial Systems and General-purpose Machinery; and Aero Engine, Space and Defense.

IHIs history extends back to the establishment of Ishikawajima Shipyard, Japans first modern shipbuilding facility, in 1853. The company played a key role in Japans modernization, including by leveraging its shipbuilding technology in new areas, such as heavy machinery manufacturing, bridge building, plant construction, and aero-engine production. In 1960, Ishikawajima Heavy Industries, the successor of Ishikawajima Shipyard, merged with Harima Shipbuilding & Engineering to create Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries. The name IHI Corporation was adopted in 2007 to help strengthen the companys global brand.

IHI is deeply committed to contributing to society through technology, combining diverse engineering capabilities to meet expanding global needs for energy, urbanization and industrialization, and transportation efficiency. www.ihi.co.jp

About AdaCore

Founded in 1994, AdaCore supplies software development and verification tools for mission-critical, safety-critical, and security-critical systems.

Over the years, customers have used AdaCore products to field and maintain a wide range of critical applications in domains such as commercial and military avionics, automotive, railway, space, defense systems, air traffic management/control, medical devices, and financial services. AdaCore has an extensive and growing worldwide customer base; see www.adacore.com/industries for further information.

AdaCore products are open source and come with expert online support provided by the developers themselves. The company has North American headquarters in New York and European headquarters in Paris. www.adacore.com.

View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005015/en/

CONTACT: AdaCore US

Jessie Glockner

E:glockner@adacore.com

T: +1-646-532-2723AdaCore EU

Juliana Silva

E:silva@adacore.com

T: +33-1-49-70-87-50AdaCore UK

Singleton PR

E:abigail@singletonpr.com

T: +44 (0)1252 448 169

KEYWORD: NEW YORK UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: TECHNOLOGY TRUCKING ENGINEERING TRANSPORT OTHER TECHNOLOGY AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURING MANUFACTURING SOFTWARE NETWORKS

SOURCE: AdaCore

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PUB: 12/13/2021 08:00 AM/DISC: 12/13/2021 08:02 AM

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Somewhere in the normalizing of two-income households and working, single-parent families, compensation for childcare never became a payroll benefit. Consequently, Montana families pay a price, say childcare advocates.

Its expensive. Right now, parents might pay upwards of $12,000 a year for childcare. For many families, this is the largest monthly expense, even more than their mortgage or rent, said Caitlin Jensen, executive director of Zero to Five, a nonprofit focused on improving the lives of children, pre-birth to kindergarten.

Consider this: A 2020 survey of Montana parents concerning childcare found that 62% had missed work because of childcare problems. The survey by the University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research also found that 22% of the parents had turned down a job offer because of childcare concerns, another 26% had declined further training or education for the same reason. Of those parents surveyed, 15% changed from full-time to part-time work for lack of childcare. Most of those responding did so before the COVID-19 pandemic brought a new wave of childcare challenges to the state.

Childcare advocates are now hopeful that some of these concerns can be addressed this month when the U.S. Senate takes up President Joe Bidens Build Back Better plan, a $2 trillion spending package with a large investment in both childcare subsidies for parents and federal support for the development of pre-kindergarten, or Pre-K programs.

The childcare investment is roughly $67 billion a year for the next six years. The goal would be to cap household childcare expenses at 7% of household income for families earning 250% of the state median income, while lower income households would pay nothing. The sliding scale for the co-pay would be based on state median household income.

The U.S. Census Bureau puts Montanas 2019 median income for families at $54,970 and $28,409 for an individual.

The non-profit Center for Law and Social Policy estimates that a single parent in Montana earning $57,000 a year would pay between $570 to $1,140 a year under the proposed childcare plan. It would be up to the parent to choose a provider.

It just feels like this is something that a lot of parents need, and a lot of employers need, Jensen said. And, I think it would be a big support, an incentive for keeping families here, Jensen said.

We need to think about what were doing now to build stronger opportunities for kids, as theyre becoming teens and then adults and then having families of their own, she added.

The second prong of the plan is for pre-kindergarten. Theres $110 billion to be invested in existing state pre-K programs. Like the $400 billion in the childcare plan, the money for pre-K is to be spent over six years.

Really, childcare and pre-K have to work together for families, said Heather OLoughlin, Montana Budget and Policy Center co-director. The needs are different, childcare for infants and children in their first years of life is the most expensive care. The pre-kindergarten that follows becomes a difference-maker for later success in school, which can lead to better employment in adulthood.

The reality is, this is critical assistance, OLoughlin said. For families, if you have an infant today, what youre really looking for is assistance that gets you through age 5.

Pre-K in Build Back Better is intended to build on what states already have for prekindergarten. There isnt a statewide pre-K school program in Montana. The state had a two-year pilot program championed by Montanas former Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock. But the program expired and despite some bills to resurrect pre-K, debates over funding have stalled those plans.

Montana is one of a handful of states that doesn't provide state investment in pre-K. So, there are important decisions that are going to have to be made by the state in order to roll out this funding and make sure that it works for Montana, OLoughlin said.

Similar to the childcare proposal in Build Back Better, theres latitude for how the pre-K money is spent. The money can be invested in a federally-funded Head Start-styled program, folded into a public school system, or routed into a private provider, the goal being to develop programs with a learning curriculum aligned with Head Start standards.

One issue thats going to have to be addressed with federal funding is improving the pay of the childcare workers and pre-K educators, OLoughlin said. The pay is low in Montana, as compensation is for many jobs, which has made it difficult to attract childcare workers.

One of the components of this package is that states really need to work on a plan that will ensure livable wages for staff and for childcare professionals. This is just a tremendous opportunity, that we're accessing federal dollars to begin to think about childcare as a profession and that its difficult work and to figure how to compensate for that, OLoughlin said.

Build Back Better is likely to pass only if Senate Democrats vote without a single dissenting member. Republicans are objecting to the expense of the plan. Republican Steve Daines has likened both Build Back Better and the $1 trillion infrastructure bill passed by Democrats earlier, to shooting money from a cannon. Though Republicans under former President Donald Trump approved $3.1 trillion in mostly fiscal stimulus related to COVID-19 in 2020, they have mostly objected to Bidens spending proposals.

Montanas at-large U.S. House representative, Republican Matt Rosendale, voted against the Build Back Better Act at it passed the House on party lines. Daines not only opposes Build Back Better, hes singled out Sen. Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat, as having the ability to sink the proposal by joining Republicans in opposition.

Tester hasn't announced a position on Build Back Better because the package isn't final yet. He has been instrumental in negotiating terms acceptable to the center-left members of the Senate Democrats.

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John Schneider wanted his day in court, but not like the one he got Thursday.

More than a year ago, an altercation over face masks at the Helena restaurant Schneider manages led to a now-dropped felony charge of assault with a weapon. On Thursday, Rodney Roger Smith instead pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace and will pay a $100 fine. That came after he reached an agreement with the state Attorney Generals Office, who prosecuted the case instead of the Lewis and Clark County Attorney.

The resolution of the case has left Schneider frustrated, both at the outcome and the role played by the state Attorney General's Office.

To not even get the chance to have our voices heard, to have the employees that were there to just say what they heard, what they saw, that's all I would want, Schneider said in a November interview.   That was just something we were very much looking forward to and always feeling like, Hey, we're gonna get this opportunity to at least tell our version of what happened. If this guy has some sort of contradictory version, he's entitled to his defense as well.

Smith was initially accused in court documents of exposing his handgun and saying "Im going to get you" to Schneider after the two fought when Smith was asked to wear a face mask in Hokkaido Ramen and Izakaya downtown.

Smith disputed the claim and last year denied the felony charge, as well as misdemeanors for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and doing so in a prohibited place.

Then state Attorney General Austin Knudsen's Office got involved. The office's role, including a plea agreement to lesser charges than the original, left Schneider visibly angry in court Thursday.

Schneider told Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Kathy Seeley he wasn't consulted by Derek Oestreicher, the AG's general counsel, until Nov. 24. The plea agreement was signed by Smith Nov. 8 and Oestreicher on Nov. 10.

"I was not given the opportunity to voice my view before disposition and when I expressed my concerns with the potential plea deal I was met with defensiveness and laughed at on the phone," Schneider wrote in his victim impact statement filed with the court Dec. 8.

In an email Friday, a spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office disputed Schneider's statement.

"We disagree with the characterization of the phone call we had to obtain his views prior to cases disposition," Kyler Nerison wrote, confirming the call happened Nov. 24. "Also, during that call, he shared with us that in the nine months preceding the Lewis and Clark Attorneys Office asking the Department of Justice to take the case, they did not ever attempt to contact him."

In court, Oestreicher told Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Kathy Seeley their plea agreement was similar to one offered by deputy county attorney John Nesbitt in February. But Seeley pointed out the February offer still contained a felony charge with a three-year deferred sentence that would have prohibited Smith from possessing weapons and to have a chemical dependency evaluation.

Earlier this year Knudsens office asked Lewis and Clark County Attorney Leo Gallagher for his documents in the case and after reviewing them directed Gallagher to drop two misdemeanor conceal-carry charges. Gallagher said he had probable cause and could not dismiss those charges and still "comply with my oath of office." He then requested the case be reassigned and the Attorney Generals office took over.

On Thursday, Oestreicher gave the judge an email showing the deputy county attorney, John Nesbitt, in February offered to drop the two misdemeanor charges as part of a plea agreement, citing a new state law passed after the incident that struck the parts code Smith was accused of breaking.

In an email late Thursday, Nerison was critical of Gallagher over Nesbitt's previous offer to dismiss the misdemeanor charges.

"Despite his comments, his office had already offered to drop the charges the Attorney General ordered him to dismiss. Mr. Gallagher and his office withheld this information when it transferred the case file to the Department of Justice. Instead of being honest about the situation, he chose to pursue his own partisan political agenda," Nerison wrote Thursday evening. "The disingenuous and contrived scene caused in the courtroom by Deputy County Attorney Nesbitt to further this political charade is also concerning."

Seeley allowed Nesbitt to address the court Thursday, and he disputed Oestreicher's characterization of his plea offer.

On Friday, Gallagher said that the attorney general requested the case files be turned over rapidly, which could have led to the email being missed. Nesbitt told MTN News after the hearing the deal proposed in February was part of negotiations common in this kind of process.

The deal reached with the Attorney General's Office also included an amendment to dismiss three of the original charges, including the felony count, against Smith. That meant the judge considering the plea was limited to weigh only the misdemeanor disturbing the peace charge when deciding to accept or reject the agreement.

Lingering frustration

The way the legal process played out left Schneider and his wife, Jessie, feeling like their side of the story wasn't heard. Jessie was John's fiancee at the time of the altercation and told the court Thursday she was also assaulted by Smith. She is a server at the restaurant.

In a November interview, John Schneider said he understood Smith disputed his account of events, including if Smith had a handgun. That's why, Schneider said, he wanted to go to trial and have a jury make a final determination. Instead, Thursday's hearing ended with Smith admitting the misdemeanor and then the Schneiders telling the judge they feared for their lives and still suffer following the altercation.

Oestreicher told the judge he didn't believe he could have prosecuted the case as originally charged because the evidence in the case files didn't support the allegations.

Body camera footage from law enforcement that night shows interviews with Schneider and Smith, both telling their versions of what happened. Everyone involved recounted a physical interaction where Schneider held Smith in a headlock, though each has a different take on who was the aggressor.

After that, the stories diverge significantly.

I think everybodys telling the same story to a point, the footage captured one officer telling another.   Its when the firearm becomes involved is where everything gets different. Ive got three different stories.

Schneider told an officer that night Smith assaulted Jessie Schneider and had a gun.

He flashed his gun and said hes going to get us, Schneider told the officer interviewing him.

In his own interview, Smith denied having a gun in the restaurant but did say he had an empty holster.

"There never was a gun out, there never was a gun anywhere," Smith told the officer, adding that he put the gun in his van's glove box before entering the restaurant because it served alcohol.

Dashboard camera footage captured Smith in his van when law enforcement arrived. The video shows him "pull something from his waistband and then place it in the glove box of the van, as described in an affidavit, calling the motion consistent with drawing a handgun from a holster on the right side of his body.

Schneider told an officer that while he didnt know much about handguns, Smiths was black. Smith told officers he had a Glock 17, a black handgun, in his glove box.

At one point when Smith was being questioned and denied he had a gun on him in the restaurant, an officer who had just spoken to Smith's wife, Stacy Smith, approached.

Why would your wife say different? the officer asked Rodney Smith. She said when you guys got out of the restaurant, when you got back to the car, she said,  Ron, what are you doing? Put that gun away. And that's when you put it in the glovebox.

Smith denied that.

In his victim impact statement filed with the court, Schneider again claimed Smith had a gun.

I genuinely feared for my life and the safety of others on the night of the assault, Schneider wrote. I continue to fear for my life as a result of the threat made by Mr. Smith.

In an email in November, Smiths attorney, Palmer Hoovestal, said there was a lack of video of the dispute and witnesses who were present substantially disputed the events, including whether Mr. Smith was even carrying a firearm.

On Thursday, Hoovestal submitted an affidavit from Paul Hermes, who was with the Smiths at the restaurant that night.

At no point during this entire incident did Rod take his gun out saying youre going to get it, Hermes said in the affidavit. Furthermore, at no point did Rod ever threaten the manager or anybody else either personally or with a gun.

In his November email, Hoovestal said Schneider was quite vocal in asserting that there was video of the event, but he could not and did not produce it when asked for it, because it didnt exist. Hoovestal pointed to a segment of state law saying that at trial, a jury should view weaker evidence with distrust if it appears it was within the power of a party to offer stronger evidence, though this case did not go to trial.

Schneider in his statement to the court said that restaurant security footage showed Smith had a gun, and that he believed the video was supplied to law enforcement. It's no longer available because the restaurants security footage is only stored for up to a week.

The inability to view the footage doesnt change the fact that he did have the gun and did threaten me with it, Schneider wrote.

Hoovestal also said a prior dispute between Stacy Smith and the Schneiders gave (John Schneider) motive to lie about what occurred.

In a November interview, John Schneider acknowledged a dispute over his child's education at a preschool where Stacy Smith was a teacher and said he sent a strongly worded email that was forwarded to Stacy Smith. After that, the couple withdrew their child from the school.

Schneider said while he knew Stacy Smith that night at the restaurant, he didnt know Rodney Smith was her husband.

In a November interview, Jessie Schneider, Johns wife, closed her eyes as she recounted what happened.

I said, Get out of the restaurant. And then he came for me, pushed me, she said. While she told law enforcement that night she didnt feel any pain, she said she later did and had a panic attack the next day.

When she addressed the court Thursday, Schneider, a military veteran, said she has suffered depression following the altercation and is unable to perform at work.

"Mr. Smith put his hands on me, he grabbed me hard on my shoulders and aggressively pushed me back, Schneider said.  ... I have nightmares that my husband or myself will be shot by him."

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Three semi-trucks hauling a combined load of about 70 tons of hay left Helena Sunday morning and headed to help an area of central Montana devastated by a fire that roared through town and destroyed nearby ranches and farms.

For the folks hauling the hay and organizing the cow chow convoy to Denton, there was really no other choice.

Ranching is a different culture, said Jim Dusenberry, a rancher who owns J&D Truck Repair and Towing, adding he had a good field of hay this year and Id just as soon share it.

The group of good Samaritans included Dusenberry Casey Fitzsimmons, John Novotny, Andrew Gould and Joe and Julie Dooling.

Joe Dooling said he was called by Fitzsimmons shortly after the West Wind fire burned 10,644 acres in an around Denton, destroying ranches and hay supplies, and was told We have to do something for these guys.

"If you throw in a drought on top of a wildfire it's a one-two sucker punch," Dooling said, adding a cow eats 30 pounds a day, either from the winter pasture or hay.

He said if both are burned you have to fill that hole and it would be six months until there was green grass.

Dooling said if he had lost his haystacks, fences and barn Id have trouble lifting my head off the bed.

He said hay sells for about $325 a ton, and the supply driven up to Denton was worth about $22,750. He said some folks donated money for fuel to truck the hay to Denton.

The West Wind fire, which started in late November, destroyed 25 homes, 18 secondary structures and six commercial buildings in its path. Among the structures destroyed were four grain elevators that were more than 100 years old. The blaze was 100% contained Dec. 5, officials said.

Dooling and Dusenberry met early Sunday at Smiths Place in East Helena for a breakfast, courtesy of the restaurant, as a bit of a blustery wind blew down Main Street.

These guys are doing a great deed for a community up north," Joe Wieck, manager of Smiths said, adding the trip to the town 180 miles away should go fine. Theyre going to have the wind at their backs.

Dusenberry said the offer to help someone in need is not unusual among ranchers.

Dooling and Dusenberry said they hoped their donation would inspire others to give as well.

Its just kind of the Montana way, Dooling said. Were just helping out.

To make a donation to help people in Denton, go to 406gives.com.

Assistant editor Phil Drake can be reached at 406-231-9021.

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In an attempt to focus recreational development along the lower 260 miles of the Yellowstone River, an advisory group has released its recommendations for land acquisitions and proposed upgrades to existing facilities to attract tourists.

Angie Grove, chair of the Lower Yellowstone River Corridor Advisory Committee, said her biggest takeaway from the report was the balance everyone tried to strike between supporting public access and growth while balancing it out with maintaining agriculture and historic uses of the landscape and river. Theres also an opportunity to highlight agriculture and explain why places like Intake Diversion Dam exist.

Theres some amazing history out there, Grove said.

Now its up to Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks staff to decide how a $4 million allocation from the legislature will be spent to achieve goals outlined by the committee.

Grove said in meeting with FWP staff the advisory group was told access, a management plan and water-based trail would be the top priorities.

The work seems timely as river use in the western third of the state has surged during the pandemic, pushing some recreationists farther east in search of solitude.

Investment

From Hysham to Sidney, the small towns along the river corridor are hoping the attention and investment in infrastructure like trails, campgrounds and picnic areas could bode well for businesses in an economically quiet section of the state.

The lower Yellowstone is an incredible and underutilized resource, and this project is all about strengthening Eastern Montanas communities, securing access for recreation, and building on the outdoor way of life that makes Eastern Montana so special, said Duncan Bartholomew, president of the Miles City chapter of Walleyes Unlimited, in a statement.

Arguably, it will take much more than $4 million to spruce up such a vast swath of countryside. Grove hopes that initial investment will be leveraged with federal grants to boost funding. In that respect, the money could be the spark that generates additional sources of revenue in a region that has been marketing its ample elbow room for hikers, hunters, campers and star gazers. Such open-air activities have gained popularity during the pandemic, attracting hordes of tourists to Montana as RV and boat sales have boomed.

The hospitality of southeastern Montana is pretty extraordinary, said Christine Whitlatch, a Billings resident and member of the Lower Yellowstone River Coalition.

One of the benefits of the report is that residents and the state can frame where the growth occurs as opposed to Western Montana where trying to curb growth is a problem, Grove said.

Details

The advisory groups report suggested the best way to achieve the varied goals may be to adopt a formal management model or specific management classification. Designating the area a state waterway, state scenic area, state scenic corridor or a corridor management area could help with the multi-pronged goals of conserving habitat, historic and scenic values while also encouraging recreation and economic growth.

It is a long stretch of river, and each is so different and offers different experiences, Grove said.

The region could then be broken down into different management sections highlighting their uniqueness, which could be utilized for marketing. Grove cited Flathead Lake State Park, which has multiple units, as an example of a blueprint that could be used.

Development of a friends group, to help promote and support the corridor, would also be helpful, the advisory group suggested.

Really, what I hope to see continue to grow is that collaboration of neighbor helping neighbor and communities helping each other, Whitlatch said.

Lumping the small towns together in one economic unit helps foster a more cooperative environment, she said, rather than having them competing against each other.

Land

The committee also devised a land acquisition matrix to help the department assess possible land swaps, use of existing public lands, or purchases to create new public access or recreation facilities in the stretches where those are lacking. The group purposely avoided publishing any suggestions on which lands would be best, instead turning its list over to FWP for consideration.

Grove said the advisory group was committed to keeping the access points far enough apart that the solitude and agricultural nature of the region is honored. Using existing public lands also avoids disrupting private ownership.

Four big gaps exist between the community of Hysham and where the Yellowstone joins the Missouri River 260 miles downstream. These gaps range from 36 to 50 miles apart. For river recreationists boating downstream, thats a fair distance between boat launches and campgrounds. It may be less of a problem higher upstream as the group identified several islands that could provide primitive camping. Downstream, however, the river widens and slows with few islands.

Moving on

The citizens group did a great overview  in a very tight timeline, Whitlatch said.

The report builds on work begun by the Lower Yellowstone River Coalition, a group formed in 2020. It was the coalitions lobbying that led former Gov. Steve Bullock to ask FWP to appropriate $4 million in general license funding the support the initiative. The 2021 Legislature signed off on the proposal.

Im anxious to see what happens next, Grove said.

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Creation of an ambassador corps to help defuse anxiety and tension at Madison River boat ramps is being considered by a Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks advisory group.

At its Nov. 23 meeting the Madison River Work Group heard a presentation from Dave Kumlien proposing the idea. Kumlien  a former Bozeman fly shop owner, conservationist and fishing guide  referenced a program launched on the Clark Fork River in Missoula this summer as a good example for how to proceed.

The Missoula River Ambassador Pilot Program launched in June and ran through Labor Day. The goal was to engage with recreational floaters, mainly inner tubers utilizing the Clark Fork between Bonner and Missoula.

We all agreed that the pilot project was a huge success, and well be meeting with our partners after the new year to discuss and decide upon a funding model going forward, said Karen Knudsen, executive director of the Clark Fork Coalition wrote in an email.

Report

In a report on the programs first year, the four paid ambassadors spent about 525 hours making hundreds of contacts while also encouraging safe recreation and picking up trash, mainly acting as an educational resource. Social media played a large role in the ambassadors interacting with young recreational floaters, many of them students at the University of Montana.

The ambassadors also surveyed more than 120 people to collect details on where they were from, how they got to the river and how often they recreate there. Not surprisingly, for that stretch of the Clark Fork River only 7% cited fishing as their reason to access the river.

I think we have a very good program we can pattern after, Kumlien said.

Use climbs

A similar program on the Madison River could ease tempers at places like Lyons Bridge fishing access site upstream from Ennis, Kumlien noted.

Between 2019 and 2020, as the pandemic took hold, vehicle counts jumped more than 60% at Lyons. The Madison advisory group noted disparaging headlines in the New York Times referencing Rivergeddon and comparing boating on the Madison to a Disneyland ride. Such negative publicity could harm a $27 million dollar economic lifeline to the region.

Ive watched my own blood pressure and heart rate drop after leaving the boat ramp, Kumlien said.

Mac Minard, of the Montana Outfitters and Guides Association, also offered an outline for a river ambassador program and said the program offers a way to quickly have a significant impact on river user dissatisfaction.

To my mind this is a no-brainer, Minard said. Its really a responsible and positive move.

Flathead

The Flathead Rivers Alliance also implemented a similar program on the three forks of the Flathead River this summer. Sheena Pate, who oversaw the volunteer program utilizing six individuals, plans to expand it to 20 to 30 people this coming summer. She also provided training to 40 whitewater raft guides.

Were not the authority, Pate said. Were here for education and outreach to create a better experience for everyone involved.

Thats a component the Madison group also keyed in on  utilizing people who interact and learn from FWP but are not on staff or conducting any enforcement.

Having someone out there with an FWP shirt on doesnt elicit rainbows and sunshine, said Eileen Ryce, Fisheries Program manager for FWP.

That means raising money from partner groups to fund the program. The Flathead Rivers Alliance was able to collect $103,000 for its first season, which included grants.

The Missoula program cost $40,000, $10,000 of which came from the city with the county covering the rest, Knudsen said. The coalition provided about $5,000 in in-kind support. FWP offered a field staffer, which allowed the program to expand coverage, and was available to coordinate with law enforcement, which fortunately wasnt needed, she said.

There are likely some other sources of funding we could try to tap, Knudsen said.

Water fun

The need for river ambassadors comes as more people are crowding waterways for recreation, many of them new to their chosen water sport or the region.

Pate said her ambassadors partnered with FWP to hand out lifejackets to Flathead river users who were ill equipped. She noted the region also saw an increase in inflatable use, including blow-up mattresses better suited to pools than wild rivers.

I think people dont understand there are dangers, and that they need a proper watercraft, she said. We just want them to recreate safely.

The Madison River is somewhat unique in how spread out different users are, and the ways and times the sections are used. For example, the upper 50 miles is mainly a fly-fishing stream, with little recreational boating. The 31-mile lower river stretch starts at Beartrap Canyon which offers a wild whitewater stretch. Below the canyon at Warm Springs the heavily used inner tube section starts, continuing to Blacks Ford. From there downstream to the Missouri Rivers headwaters the Madison becomes more remote with less use, especially in the hot summer months as water temperatures rise. During the Mothers Day caddis hatch and in the fall, however, the lower river is a popular spot.

Consequently, river ambassadors may have to shape their presentations to accommodate the different users and seasons.

Madison

The issue of river ambassadors is just one portion of what the Madison River Work Group has been addressing since it began meeting in September. The 12 member group, led by Fish and Wildlife Commissioner K.C. Walsh, is tackling the onerous issue of possible fishing regulation changes and whether outfitters and guides should be barred from certain stretches of the river to ease pressure on the resource.

2020 and 2021 were massively impacted by the pandemic in terms of use, noted work group member Brian McGeehan, owner of a Bozeman fly-fishing shop.

Will that trend extend into the future, or was it a spike that will be followed by a decline?

An answer to crowding on the Madison River and how to measure and regulate use has been a hot topic for several years. In that time, FWP, user groups and the Fish and Wildlife Commission have been unable to agree on a way forward despite several studies, workshops and proposals.

For now, a river ambassador program seems like an easy win in a debate that often turns contentious.

Lets get it done this summer and let us champion this thing," said Minard, of the Montana Outfitters and Guides Association.

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Its no surprise Montanas Republican politicians were feeling their oats after sweeping every statewide office in the last election. But their arrogance in the Legislature, combined with some very serious incompetence in governance, has sparked a backlash among Montanans.

Whats worth noting is that unlike the rest of the superheated political arena where everything seems to be painted in terms of R vs D, red vs blue, the uprising against the Republican officeholders has everything to do with the policies they are enacting, not the letter behind their name.

Given that the education of our children is one of the primary responsibilities of government, you can bet things must be really bad on the ground for so many varied rural and urban school districts to do what has never been done in Montanas history. And no, it didnt mention political party affiliation but concentrated on Arntzens utter incompetence in governing and her seeming lack of understanding that church and state are separate under the Montana Constitution.

In a similar move, a number of wildlife, conservation, and hunting organizations and individuals have decided they, too, need to protest whats going on with the privatization of the states public wildlife  namely, elk. In a well-penned column that hit print late last week they clearly state that Montanas prized elk are not to be owned and sold by private interests and denounce efforts to make Montana more like Texas, where wildlife is a commodity.

Citing both the Legislatures efforts as well as Gov. Greg Gianfortes appointees to the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission as problematic, they urge that our elk management must return to being for all Montanans, not just the wealthy. To that end, they are forming a coalition to develop a citizens elk management proposal and urge concerned citizens to join the effort at montanaelk.org. Again, there is no mention of political affiliation, it is the policies that are the problem.

While politicians like to keep the populace divided as they play their two-party game of us versus them, it is apparent the public is growing increasingly disgusted with the resulting policies that affect their lives, their children, and their love of Montanas public wildlife. Indeed, this is the same game the last president played so often until the public had the opportunity to remove him from office  and did just that.

One might think Montanas latest batch of officeholders might heed such signs as critical to their political future, which they seem to care about more than the future of our state and its citizens. They might also note that the growing backlash has nothing to do with their political party, but is firmly focused on the impacts of their policies on the diverse and dearly held values of Montanas population.

Yet, as detailed in a great editorial in the Daily Montanan last week, the silence from the governor, attorney general, and superintendent of public instruction is deafening. Despite pitiful attempts to dodge accountability, their policies and failures at governance cannot and will not stand against this growing, nonpartisan citizen backlash.

George Ochenski writes from Helena. His column appears each Monday on the Missoulian's opinion page.

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For China, the red line runs through Taiwan. The same administration that feels threatened by a Chinese naval base 6,000 miles away from our soil has vowed to defend Taiwan should China attack it  even though Taiwan, just 100 miles off the Chinese coast, is emphatically regarded as sovereign territory by Beijing.

China has long tolerated the islands de facto independence while making clear it would not tolerate any assertion of formal independence. Lately, it has made a conspicuous show of might, flying warplanes through Taiwans air defense zone.

American politicians treat these demonstrations as harbingers of aggression, when their purpose is to deter rash action by Taiwan. China is not itching to use military force. It is desperate to avoid it. But hawks in Congress feed its fears by urging Biden to declare that he would go to war for Taiwan.

Then there is Iran. President Donald Trump reneged on his predecessors nuclear deal, eventually inducing Tehran to resume activities the agreement forbade. Biden wants Iran to return to compliance but has kept the sanctions imposed by Trump. Iran cant rely on Washington to honor a renewed accord, though, because any Republican president would discard it.
By Shawn Touney | Jan 15, 2021

Murray State Universitys nonprofit leadership studies (NLS) graduates were recently asked to reflect on their career journeys, the impact of their work and their aspirations for the future

MURRAY, Ky.  Murray State Universitys nonprofit leadership studies (NLS) graduates were recently asked to reflect on their career journeys, the impact of their work, and their aspirations for the future. A series of eight stories have emerged and will be shared in the months to come. The stories will be presented with the title Your Story and Impact and introduce the reader to amazing nonprofit sector leaders who are pursuing their commitments to making the world a better place.

In part six, Ashley Dumas Agada is featured. Ashley graduated with a Bachelor of Science in nonprofit leadership studies in 2016 with a minor in English. Upon graduation, she took a position with AmeriCorps City Year Program in Little Rock, Arkansas. In the summer of 2017, she accepted her dream job when returning to her hometown of Owensboro, Kentucky, to serve as the campus manager with the Owensboro-Daviess County Girls, Inc. Girls Inc. is a youth development nonprofit organization that inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and bold.

As a campus manager, I am challenged with the responsibility to make sure girls ages 6-18 are provided with the resources and guidance to be independent, resist gender stereotypes, strive freely, and be safe in the world. To make sure this impact is successful, I oversee the afterschool and summer program at one of the two locations established in Owensboro, Kentucky, said Agada.

While attending Murray State as an undergraduate, Ashley worked with Girls Inc. as a program facilitator and credits it with a lot of her positive youth development experiences.

Long: How did the NLS program help guide, inspire and support you?

Agada: Nonprofit leadership is an excellent field of study and it was a privilege to be a student of this program at Murray State University. Throughout my time in the program, I was surrounded with professors that truly cared about my success. The professors and their course designs gave me hands-on experiences that set me up for my career in the nonprofit sector. I was given the opportunity to present the Giving Back Endowment in front of Calloway County CASA board members, conduct a clinic with classmates making recommendations for Calloway County Humane Society and so much more. The competence and confidence that come from doing real-world work as a part of each course helped ensure that I was ready to contribute on day one of my first job after graduation. Along with these experiences I was encouraged to be vulnerable and take risks. By getting out of my comfort zone, I was honored with the nonprofit leadership studies senior of the year award in 2016. Without the tremendous support of so many leaders in this field, I would not be where I am today.

Long: What sort of impact has your work had in the community?

Agada: When the girls set foot in the doors of Girls Inc., they are able to grow into young leaders while embracing their originality. The tools they learn while at the center allow them to go back into their communities to impact others in a positive way. It is amazing to be a part of an organization that takes on the role to help shape the next generation of young women leaders. I value the long-term ripple effect that the NLS program has, through the positive influence our alumni have in their chosen careers. They are truly role models and inspirations.

Long: What do you aspire to do in the future?

Agada: Growing up, my father always told me to take care of home first. As of today, I am able to show commitment and leadership to my hometown of Owensboro, Kentucky, as I aspire to do more in the future. The important lessons I learned with City Year and now with Girls Inc. provide a foundation for all the work that lies ahead. It inspires me to put my experience and passion to use in helping people help themselves and the communities in which they live around the world. My goal is to establish a nongovernmental organization (NGO) with my husband in Nigeria that allows underprivileged children to get an education or to learn entrepreneurial skills where they can gain financial stability to support themselves and their families. Through my experience of traveling abroad to various NGOs in India and working with children in the United States, I came to the realization that many young people are not given the opportunity to have a quality education or learn different trades. I want to be a part of the solution in providing effective models of addressing these issues.

The NLS program is honored to include Ashley among its alumni and is proud of the impact that she is having through her impressive career, said Long. She provides a remarkable example of how positive youth development programs can help ensure the confidence and capacity to guide ones own life and inspire others along the way. She is a remarkable emerging nonprofit sector leader who will have a powerful impact on all the missions she engages in the years ahead. With her global experience and aspirations, Ashley will be a key part of powerful social change throughout her career. We look forward to sharing additional alumni stories going forward.

The nonprofit leadership studies program is a part of the Department of Organizational Communication and Leadership which is dedicated to develop student competence in the application and synthesis of those communication processes, theories and skills that enable individuals and groups to organize effectively in an increasingly complex and global society. As a part of the Arthur J. Bauernfeind College of Business, the department and program are committed to advancing careers in dynamic environments of leadership and management.
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Those risks, uncertainties and assumptions also include The risk of unanticipated difficulties or expenditures resulting from the Merger; the risk of approvals relating to the Merger that could reduce the anticipated benefits of the Merger; the risk of legal proceedings, judgments or settlements, including those that may be instituted against Paper Excellence, Paper Excellences board of directors, Paper Excellences executive officers, Domtar, Domtars board of directors, Domtars executive officers, Merger Sub and others as a result of the Merger; the risk of disruptions of current plans and operations caused by the Merger; the risk of potential difficulties in employee retention due to the Merger; the risk of disruption of management time from ongoing business operations due to the Merger; the risk of the response of customers, distributors, suppliers, business partners and regulators to the Merger; the risk that the combined company may not operate as effectively and efficiently as expected; the risk of continued decline in usage of fine paper products in our core North American market; the risk of our ability to implement our business diversification initiatives, including repurposing of assets and strategic acquisitions or divestitures, including facility closures; the risk of failure to achieve our cost containment goals, conversion costs in excess of our expectations and demand for linerboard; the risk of product selling prices; the risk of raw material prices, including wood fiber, chemical and energy; the risk that conditions in the global capital and credit markets, and the economy generally, particularly in the U.S. and Canada; the risk that performance of our manufacturing operations, including unexpected maintenance requirements; the risk of the level of competition from domestic and foreign producers; the risk of cyberattacks or other security breaches; the risk of the effect of, or change in, forestry, land use, environmental and other governmental regulations and accounting regulations; the risk of the effect of weather and the risk of loss from fires, floods, windstorms, hurricanes and other natural disasters; transportation costs; the loss of current customers or the inability to obtain new customers; the risk of changes in asset valuations, including impairment of long-lived assets, inventory, accounts receivable or other assets for impairment or other reasons; the risk of changes in currency exchange rates, particularly the relative value of the U.S. dollar to the Canadian dollar; the risk of the effect of timing of retirements; performance of pension fund investments and related derivatives, if any; the risk of a material disruption in our supply chain, manufacturing, distribution operations or customer demand such as public health crises that impact trade or the general economy, including COVID-19 and other viruses, diseases or illnesses; and the other factors described under Risk Factors in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and in Item 1A of our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2021. All such factors are difficult to predict and are beyond the Companys control.
The Foundation works to achieve this both independently and with trusted partners: independently, by leveraging MSC Group engagement in designing and managing projects, connecting communities, raising awareness and mobilizing the financial support of thousands of people; and together with partners that have a strong innovative vision or track record for effective action.

Mercy Ships uses hospital ships to deliver free, world-class healthcare services, capacity building, and sustainable development to those with little access in the developing world. Founded in 1978 by Don and Deyon Stephens, Mercy Ships has worked in more than 55 developing countries, providing services valued at more than $1.7 billion and treating more than 2.8 million direct beneficiaries. Our ships are crewed by volunteers from over 60 nations, with an average of over 1,200 volunteers each year. Professionals including surgeons, dentists, nurses, healthcare trainers, teachers, cooks, seamen, engineers, and agriculturalists donate their time and skills. With 16 national offices and an Africa Bureau, Mercy Ships seeks to transform individuals and serve nations one at a time. For more information click on www.mercyships.org
The Kelly family does not own the lodge. It is an Illinois state park facility. Ownership aside, it is the Kelly family business.

Everybody in the family has worked at the lodge. They usually start hosting or busing tables and graduate to the waiting tables. Mikey (Mikes son) joined us a few years ago after college, Mike Kelly said. My brother-in-law Jim Booziotis joined us years ago. He certainly has a big part in the business.

For members of the Kelly family, working at the Lodge is a rite of passage. Mikey Kelly started working helping set and clear tables on busy Sundays when he was in about third grade. Of course, that meant getting some money for working from his grandpa.

Thats kind of the way it is. If youre in the family, you work at the lodge, Mikey Kelly said.

He said he couldnt pass up the opportunity to work with family, his parents, grandparents and uncle.

We all get along pretty darn well, Mikey Kelly said.

On any Sunday, you will find Mike and Mikey Kelly and Jim Booziotis hard at work at the lodge. Kay Kelly is usually at the hostess stand and Richard is in his office, just off the dining room.
In a memo to the sanitary districts board in July, Executive Director Rick Manner said Cronus had not yet secured financing for the project, and he recommended that the district formally advise that we do not intend to terminate before July 1, 2022.

This would confirm the availability of UCSDs water supply for Cronus while they attempt to finalize their funding for the project, Manner said in the memo.

Cronus needs about 6 million gallons of water a day, and the sanitary district has estimated it will net about $1 million a year from the arrangement, Manner said.

Cronus officials could not be reached by The News-Gazette.

Moody said he was in touch with company officials via email this week, and was told Cronus is continuing to move the Tuscola project forward and anticipates being able to provide an update in about a month.

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency spokeswoman Kim Biggs said the agency received a new permit application for the Tuscola plant in March 2020, and its still pending.
US ambassador to Solomons warns of aid that goes to 'one bank account'
NEW YORK (AP)  Veteran anchor Chris Wallace has left Fox News after 18 years for CNN, dealing a significant blow to Fox's news operation at a time that it has been overshadowed by the network's opinion side.

Wallace delivered the surprising news that he was leaving at the end of the Fox News Sunday show he moderates, and within two hours CNN announced he was joining its new streaming service as an anchor. CNN+ is expected to debut in early 2022.

It is the last time, and I say this with real sadness, we will meet like this, Wallace, who is 74, said on his show, which airs on the Fox network and is later rerun on Fox News Channel. Eighteen years ago, the bosses here at Fox promised me they would never interfere with a guest I booked or a question I asked. And they kept that promise.

Wallace was a veteran broadcast network newsman, working at both ABC and NBC News, before the late Roger Ailes lured him to Fox with the promise of his own Sunday show. Methodical and never showy  in contrast to his father Mike, the legendary 60 Minutes reporter  Chris Wallace was known for his willingness to ask hard questions of all guests no matter their politics.

He was the first Fox News personality to moderate a presidential debate, doing it in 2016 and 2020. The debate he moderated last year went off the rails when then-President Donald Trump repeatedly interrupted Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

He is the most tenacious interviewer in the television business, based on intense preparation and plain old persistence, said Howard Kurtz, host of Fox's Media Buzz." He has the kind of seasoned judgment that only comes from so many years of covering political issues and he may be the best debate moderator ever.

Kurtz said it was a major loss for Fox News, no question about it.

Wallace generally co-existed with Fox's opinion side and infrequently took them on publicly, although in 2017 he said it was bad form when opinion hosts bashed the media.

But he had grown privately frustrated with the overall tenor at Fox, where conservative opinion hosts have been elevated and amplified, particularly after the network's ratings took a brief hit following the 2020 election. The network ousted two news executives involved in the controversial  but correct  Election Night declaration that Biden had won in Arizona, a call that infuriated Republican Trump.

Wallace had expressed his concern about the strident opinion programming to Fox executives multiple times, including recently after Tucker Carlson's documentary on the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, Patriot Purge, aired on Fox's streaming service. Two Fox News contributors, Jonah Goldberg and Stephen Hayes, cited that program in choosing to quit the network.

Wallace was one of a prominent triumvirate of straight-news anchors at Fox who offered a contrast to popular opinion hosts such as Carlson and Sean Hannity. Shepard Smith left in 2019 and is now doing a news show at CNBC. Bret Baier remains at Fox as host of a Washington-based evening news program.

His track record had given Wallace a large measure of independence at Fox, despite the network's overall tilt. I have been free to report to the best of my ability, to cover the stories I think are important, to hold our country's leaders to account, he said on Sunday. It's been a great ride.

His announcement came as a surprise; even guests on his show Sunday hadn't been tipped off they were seeing his finale.

In contrast to when Smith left, Wallace was coming to the end of his contract with Fox. But he turned down an offer for a multiyear extension and pay raise to leave for CNN.

We are extremely proud of our journalism and the stellar team that Chris Wallace was a part of for 18 years, Fox said on Sunday. The legacy of Fox News Sunday will continue.

Until a successor is named, Fox said Wallace will be replaced by a rotating series of guest anchors, including Baier, John Roberts, Shannon Bream, Martha MacCallum, Jennifer Griffin, Neil Cavuto, Dana Perino and Bill Hemmer.

Wallace said that he wanted to try something new, to go beyond politics to all the things I'm interested in."

In CNN's announcement, he said, "I look forward to the new freedom and flexibility streaming affords in interviewing major figures across the news landscape  and finding new ways to tell stories.

CNN said more details about Wallace's new role will be forthcoming. He's the biggest name among the hires at CNN+, which has also brought on former NBC News anchor Kasie Hunt and business journalist Scott Galloway.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Editor's Note: This is the first of 12 parts in our inaugural 12 Days of Giving series, profiling Napa County non-profit organizations. The series is sponsored by the Napa Valley Vintners.

Paul Tarap isnt going to let a little thing like a worldwide pandemic get him down. Or stop the nonprofit program he runs in Napa called Ag 4 Youth.

The show(manship) must go on.

This is Taraps 22nd year running Ag 4 Youth.

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Its mission is to educate and assist under-served youth, while promoting the virtues of ranching, animal husbandry, and local community agriculture.

Back in 2000, Ag 4 Youth kids began raising animals as an auxiliary program of the Christian Brothers at the Mount La Salle Ranch.

In 2010, Tarap moved the animals and youths to his family ranch on Gateway Drive, home to Napas famous Oreo cows.

After Ag 4 Youth was established as an independent non-profit charitable organization, the group later received a 2-acre permanent ranch site of its own, courtesy of the Napa Valley Horsemens Association.

The pandemic impacted many after-school programs, especially those that usually meet indoors.

However, Ag 4 Youth has been fortunate. Obviously, the kids (about 48 per year) are already working outside. For social distancing, students were divided into groups and assigned different times to visit the ranch.

Instead of two animals per year, students took on just one. But support hasnt wavered. In fact, the group received the same amount of income from its livestock auction, even with half the animals.

The prices were sky high this year, across the board, said Tarap. People really came out to support the kids, at the modified action.

Thats how well-regarded Ag 4 Youth is.

Tarap said because most of his students were studying remotely during the height of the pandemic, they looked forward to coming to the ranch more than ever because they didnt get to see their friends at school.

The leader said that Ag 4 Youth has slowly evolved over the years. Today, 90% of members are considered at risk. That can mean a student comes from a low-income family or has a disability (visible or not).

For example, one of the newest Ag 4 Youth members is Christian Rabanales, a 14-year-old with Down syndrome.

But his family isnt new to Ag 4 Youth. His older brother Henry and sister Lesby Tatiana were both members as well.

Lesby Tatiana is now 20 and studying wine and viticulture at Cal Poly. Shes a first-generation college student whose education is being funded by her Ag 4 Youth earnings.

Im very thankful for the program and the people who have supported me throughout the years, she said.

I dont know if Id be where Im at right now, in college at Cal Poly, if it wasnt for Ag 4 Youth.

Lesby said before she started the program, I never pictured myself putting on boots and picking up poop and stuff like that. But it turns out, I enjoyed it.

She learned that she liked being responsible for her animals, And having that responsibility of going to the ranch every day and feeding them. Paul taught us about being responsible and not making excuses. I feel like the program matured me a lot.

Her favorite animal was her steer named Romeo. I had a great connection with my steer, she said. He would come up to me when I would go into the pen; it was so sweet.

Steers are one of the most competitive animals to both raise and show, she noted.

Theyre larger animals (so) you have to train with them more. And theres no faking it in front of the judges.

Once youre in the arena, you can tell how much youve trained with them.

Ag 4 Youth has also meant a lot to Lesbys little brother Christian.

I feel like being around animals has helped him a lot, she said. Hes more independent and has more freedom at the ranch, she said. He knows what food is (for each) animal (and) how much to feed them.

Plus, When hes at the ranch, he gets to socialize, with more than his classmates in his program at Napa High, she said. Thats helped him.

Ag 4 Youth To learn more, visit ag4youthnapa.org or call 707-738-3079.

He loves it. He knows every Tuesday and Thursday he has to go to the ranch to help clean up. Before going to school, he has his boots ready outside, so he can quickly change after school.

This past year, Christian earned a bright yellow ribbon for his animal showmanship skills. Its proudly hanging in his room, along with his 4-H hat, Lesby said.

You can reach reporter Jennifer Huffman at 256-2218 or jhuffman@napanews.com

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Car club members and firefighters were among those to join forces Saturday morning to bring Christmas gifts to underprivileged schoolchildren in American Canyon.

A toy-shopping drive at the American Canyon Walmart garnered about $4,000 worth of gifts for 40 local children. Over three hours, participants purchased toys using $100 gift cards provided by the Chelu Car Club, according to Capt. Max Etchieson of the American Canyon Fire Protection District, one of five members of the department to take part along with members of Chelu and various trade union locals.
Napa Police are seeking tips on a shooting incident and a stabbing that occurred early Sunday morning.

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Officers were sent to a home in the 1300 block of Pueblo Avenue at 4:14 a.m. after several gunshots were fired at the building, including one bullet that narrowly missed a 12-year-old child who was sleeping in a bedroom, according to police, who said in a Facebook post that the suspects fled the scene in a dark gray vehicle. No injuries were reported.

The departments Special Enforcement Unit has taken over the investigation into the shooting, according to police.

Later, at 6 a.m., officers were sent to Providence Queen of the Valley Medical Center after the hospital admitted an 18-year-old stabbing victim, according to Napa Police. The patient was uncooperative with officers, and was later treated and released, police said.

Both the gunfire and the stabbing are believed to be gang-related, according to police.

Anyone with information on the incidents is asked to contact Detective Kevin Skillings of the Special Enforcement Unit at kskillings@cityofnapa.org. Anonymous tips may be sent to Napa Police by texting the word 707NPD and the tip information to 847411 (tip411).
Two people were arrested and a minor detained in connection with a robbery Friday morning in American Canyon, according to police.

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Shortly before 7:25 a.m., a man met 21-year-old Priscilla Portelles at a home in American Canyon, then rode with her in a BMW to the 7-Eleven at 218 American Canyon Road, according to Sgt. Jeff Scott.

Outside the convenience store, three males were waiting for the man, who was assaulted and robbed of his cellphone and backpack before the three and Portelles drove off in the BMW, Scott said.

Two witnesses saw the attack and gave a description to police of the car, its occupants and the license plate number, according to Scott.

American Canyon Police issued a be-on-the-lookout notice to law enforcement agencies in surrounding areas, and shortly before 10 a.m., Fairfield Police officers stopped the BMW in the 4400 block of Central Place and detained three of the occupants, Scott said.

Portelles and 18-year-old Jacob Crepsac were arrested by American Canyon officers in Fairfield, according to Scott. Both were booked into the Napa County jail for investigation of robbery, criminal conspiracy and receiving stolen property.

A 16-year-old male in the car was detained in connection with the incident, while a fourth occupant, an adult male, was released pending further investigation because officers could not immediately determine his involvement in the crime, Scott said.
Updated at 3:01 p.m.  Thirty-eight more people in Napa County have tested positive for the coronavirus, county public health officials said in a weekend update of COVID-19 spread released Monday afternoon.

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The latest update of positive tests for the Saturday-to-Monday period is in line with the 40 infections confirmed in Napa County for the previous weekend of Dec. 4-6, but it follows a 72% in the countys one-week totals to 124 new cases for the week ending Thursday. That count was the largest locally since 150 COVID-19 positives were reported Nov. 5-11.

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Napa County increased to eight on Monday from six Friday, and 5% of local intensive-care beds were available.

The youngest Napa County residents, those 19 and under, now account for the largest share of new COVID-19 cases at 35% of the total, followed by ages 40 to 50 at 26.9%. There were more new cases among females than males, 55% to 45%, the county reported Friday.

Later Monday, California announced it would restore a mask-wearing requirement for indoor public areas in light of rising COVID-19 transmission rates. Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state health, and human services secretary said a mask mandate will take effect across California on Wednesday and stay in force until Jan. 15, and apply to all people regardless of vaccination status.

Napa and other Bay Area counties had announced conditions for relaxing mask-wearing requirements in indoor public areas  including bringing down infection rates to the moderate level for three weeks. Despite a steady fall in COVID-19 infection rates since a summer spike caused by the virus Delta variant, Napa County had yet to achieve a three-week rollback in positive tests.

Information from Bay City News Service was used in this report.

You can reach Howard Yune at 530-763-2266 or hyune@napanews.com

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Napa Police reported injuries resulting from two vehicle collisions less than an hour and a half apart Monday morning, including one that sent an 11-year-old boy to the hospital.

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At 7:35 a.m., police and fire personnel were sent to the intersection of Imola Avenue, Freeway Drive, and Golden Gate Drive after a boy crossing the street was hit by a westbound Toyota Prius that did not stop, police Sgt. Aaron Medina said in an email. The child was taken by American Medical Response ambulance to Providence Queen of the Valley Medical Center with what Medina described as moderate injuries.

No arrest was made in connection with the incident, according to Medina, who said the rainstorm that began passing through Napa and the Bay Area late Saturday is not considered a factor in the crash.

Imola Avenue was closed for 30 minutes between the Freeway-Golden Gate crossing and Foster Road after the collision, according to Medina.

A second collision at 9 a.m. involved a southbound Toyota Corolla on Minahen Street and a westbound Honda Accord on Lernhart Street, Medina said. Although a passenger in the Honda remained, the driver fled the car, which was later found to be stolen in Concord, according to Medina, who said a search for the driver was unsuccessful.

Medina described the Honda driver as a male who was wearing a red beanie cap. The driver of the Toyota suffered minor injuries in the crash but was not hospitalized, he said.
SACRAMENTO  California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday pledged to empower private citizens to enforce a ban on the manufacture and sale of assault weapons in the state, citing the same authority claimed by conservative lawmakers in Texas to outlaw most abortions once a heartbeat is detected.

California has banned the manufacture and sale of many assault-style weapons for decades. A federal judge overturned that ban in June, ruling it was unconstitutional and drawing the ire of the state's Democratic leaders by comparing the popular AR-15 rifle to a Swiss Army knife as good for both home and battle. California's ban remained in place while the state appealed.

Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers in Texas this year passed a law banning abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which normally occurs at about six weeks into pregnancy. The Texas law allows private citizens to enforce the ban, empowering them to sue abortion clinics and anyone else who aids and abets with the procedure.

Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Texas law to remain in effect while abortion clinics sue to block it. That decision incensed Newsom, a Democrat who supports abortion rights.

If states can now shield their laws from review by the federal courts that compare assault weapons to Swiss Army knives, then California will use that authority to protect people's lives, where Texas used it to put women in harm's way, Newsom said in a statement released by his office at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

Newsom said he has directed his staff to work with the state's Legislature and its Democratic attorney general to pass a law that would let private citizens sue to enforce California's ban on assault weapons. Newsom said people who sue could win up to $10,000 per violation plus other costs and attorneys fees against anyone who manufactures, distributes, or sells an assault weapon in California.

If the most efficient way to keep these devastating weapons off our streets is to add the threat of private lawsuits, we should do just that, Newsom said.

The legal fight over the Texas abortion law has focused on its unusual structure and whether it improperly limits how the law can be challenged in court. Texas lawmakers handed responsibility for enforcing the law to private citizens, rather than state officials.

The case raised a complex set of issues about who, if anyone, can sue over the law in federal court, the typical route for challenges to abortion restrictions.

Newsom's gun proposal would first have to pass Californias state Legislature before it could become law. The Legislature is not in session now and is scheduled to reconvene in January. It usually takes about eight months for new bills to pass the Legislature, barring special circumstances.

State Sen. Brian Dahle, a Republican from Bieber, would oppose the plan but predicted it could probably pass California's Democratic-dominated state Legislature. He said the proposal was most likely a stunt for Newsom to win favor with his progressive base of voters ahead of a possible run for president in the future.

The right to bear arms is different than the right to have an abortion. The right to have an abortion is not a constitutional amendment. So I think hes way off base, Dahle said. I think he's just using it as an opportunity to grandstand.

But Newsom's Saturday night declaration is a fulfilled prophecy for some gun rights groups who had predicted progressive states would attempt to use Texas' abortion law to restrict access to guns. That's why the Firearms Policy Coalition, a nonprofit group that advocates for gun rights, filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court opposing the Texas law.

"If Texas succeeds in its gambit here, New York, California, New Jersey, and others will not be far behind in adopting equally aggressive gambits to not merely chill but to freeze the right to keep and bear arms," attorney Erik Jaffe wrote on behalf of the Firearms Policy Coalition.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
8 police and military killed in Kazakhstan: 317 more wounded

Protesters in Kazakhstan tear down Nazarbayev's monument

Special representatives of Armenia and Turkey meeting to take place on January 14 in Moscow

Azerbaijani defense ministry denies news of servicemen deaths

State of emergency introduced throughout Kazakhstan

EU calls on all sides in Kazakhstan to avoid escalation and violence

Azerbaijan starts receiving Turkmen gas through Iran

Prime Minister Pashinyan congratulates Armenians on Christmas

Protesters seize Almaty airport in Kazakhstan

Andranik Grigoryan is the CEO of Converse Bank, Chairman of Executive Management

France intends to help Azerbaijan in search of missing persons during 1st Karabakh war

Aeroflot cancels flight to Almaty: Aktau airport not working

Arnak Avetisyan appointed Armenian State Property Management Committees chair

Armenia appoints new ambassador to Russia

Christmas Eve liturgy takes place in Armenia's Etchmiadzin

Attempts to demolish a monument of Nazarbayev in Kazakhstan

Armenia deputy PM Mher Grigoryan to co-chair intergovernmental joint commission with Iran

Media: Internet cut off in Nursultan and Almaty

Armenia Prosecutor General to head for Moscow

Armenia premier to send 10-member delegation to Russia

Dollar gains value in Armenia

Kazakh president delivers new speech to nation

Kazakhstan protesters disarm police: Mir TV channel's office vandalized

Kazakhstan presidential residence set on fire

Almaty commandant: More than 500 civilians are beaten

OSCE calls for de-escalation of Kazakhstan situation

Protesters try to break into residence of Kazakhstan's president

Kazakh security forces take the side of protesters

Kazakh protesters seize Kazakh president's residence and destroy TV channels premises

Baghdad military base hit by missile attack

Armenian traces destroyed in occupied Shushi

Prosecutor's office building is on fire: State of emergency in Almaty

Azerbaijan declares 2022 year of occupied Armenian city of Shushi

Justice minister not commenting on arresting Armenian captives returned from Azerbaijan

Yerevan homeless shelter residents picketing in front of Armenia labor, social affairs ministry

Hong Kong imposes ban on flights from 8 countries due to COVID-19

Protesters in Almaty riot hospitals and clinics

PM: I have hard time imagining how Omicron variant cannot enter Armenia

New council of Armenias Parakar does not convene first session, new village mayor not elected

7 new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Armenia cargo transportation via railway drops but passengers increase in 2021

Government hands over Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine certified rights with 15% Armenia-owned shares

Borrell says EU cannot be a neutral spectator in talks with Russia

Armenian PM urges to throw plastic bags out of life

Oil prices stabilize after jump

Premier recalls that anti-tobacco law has entered into force in Armenia as of January 1

129 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Kazakhstan President accepts governments resignation

Armenia State Property Management Committee dismissed

Armenia PM: We are entering 2022 with quite serious start to reforms

New council of Armenias Parakar convenes first session, village mayor election on agenda

New York prosecutor drops sex crime case against ex-governor Cuomo

England, Wales to make taking pictures of breastfeeding mothers in public illegal

Paraguay presidential guard dies after being impaled by deer while on duty

Flights delayed at Kazakhstan's Aktau airport as rallies continue

NATO foreign ministers to hold videoconference ahead of meeting with Russia

Ford to double production capacity for electric version of F-150 pickup

Oil prices rise by 1%

Borrell not to discuss Nord Stream 2 during Ukraine visit

Mercedes-Benz presents new electric car Vision EQXX

Kazakh authorities to satisfy protesters' demands for lower gas prices

Flooding in Iran: at least 8 people killed

Turkish lira drops for another 4%

Taliban army to be reinforced with suicide bombers

Doctors reveal details of Brazil presidents health condition

NATO head plans special meeting with Russia amid Ukraine crisis

Russian peacekeepers ensure safe entry to Karabakh for about 2,000 vehicles

Wave of protests against COVID-19 measures across Germany

Karabakh President holds new years first working consultation with law enforcement agencies heads

Coronavirus vaccines in Armenia are complemented with another one

Armenia soldier remanded in custody for inflicting fatal gunshot wound to fellow serviceman

Gas futures price in Europe exceed $ 1,000

US holds virtual inauguration ceremony for COVID-19-infected mayor

US court forbids Pentagon to punish military personnel refusing vaccinations

Armenia PM: We need to open new strategic page for transformation of customs service

Armenia ambassador delivers lecture for U.S. Naval War College students

5-month-old baby dies in Yerevan hospital

Armenias Vardenis town hall chief of staff signs mayor-elect inauguration session minutes

Georgia to not attend 2nd 3+3-format meeting in Turkey either, its ambassador says

Turkey airline applies for conducting flights between Istanbul and Yerevan

China urges Russia and US to continue reducing nuclear arsenals

Person, 58, dies in fire in Armenias Hrazdan

Blinken and Cavusoglu discuss relations with Armenia

Armenia law enforcement not permitting reporters to enter Vardenis town hall building

Mayor-elect of Armenias Vardenis takes oath of office at town hall courtyard

Canada court awards $ 107 million to families of passengers killed in Iran plane crash

Armenia police not allowing newly elected council members to enter Vardenis town hall building

90 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Israel photographer captures remarkable momentary image of flock of birds

Trump slams Twitter, Facebook over Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green account banning

India investigating fake website that purportedly offered Muslim women for sale

Taliban dump 3,000 liters of alcohol into canal in booze crackdown in Afghanistan

Mauritius airport staff find newborn baby in plane toilet bin

Mexico president says he sought Assange pardon from Trump

Military helicopter crashes in Israel: two pilots die

New mayors inauguration to be held in Armenias Vardenis, there are large number of police officers

Armenia soldier dies from gunshot wound

Biden returns from holiday break to D.C. amid snowstorm

Turkey announces meeting with US on supply of F-35s

Brazil President hospitalized after stomach pains
YEREVAN.  The Minister of Economy of Armenia, Vahan Kerobyan, met with the recently appointed French Ambassador, Anne Louyot.

The main goal of the meeting was to outline the priority domains of economic cooperation between the two countries in 2022, the Ministry of Economy of Armenia informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

At the beginning of the meeting, Minister Kerobyan highlighted the cooperation between the two countries in a number of sectors of the economy.

Ambassador Louyot, for her part, stressed the importance of the signed 2021-2026 roadmap for Armenian-French economic cooperation, and noted that the two countries have a lot to do in the field of economy.

The meeting was attended also by Raphael Jozan, head of the French Development Agency (AFD) Regional Representative Office for South Caucasus, who informed that the AFD pans to assist Armenia in culture and economic development in the near future. According to him, the AFD is interested in investing also in communications and rural road repair projects in Armenia.

The minister of economy presented the measures envisaged by the new program of the Armenian government in the economic sector. And according to the French diplomat, they plan to work in Armenia also in the field of solar energy.

At the end of the meeting, the Ambassador Anne Louyot informed Vahan Kerobyan that an economic forum is planned to be held in France in early 2022, invited the Armenian side to it, and the minister of economy accepted this invitation.
The "3+3" format should have a positive impact on the relations between the countries of the region. Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopirkin told reporters this Monday within the framework of the New Generation 2021 forum in Yerevan.

During their meeting in Moscow on December 10 in the "3+3" format, diplomats from Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Iran discussed the prospects for cooperation and countering common threats in the region. Also, they expressed interest in engaging Georgia in this work, but Georgia has refused.

According to the Russian ambassador, this "3+3" format is an opportunity to discuss issues of interest to everyone.

"We see the added value of this format, which is to provide an opportunity for dialogue, exchange of views on issues of interest. This format should have a positive impact on the relations between the countries of the region," Kopirkin said.

Asked whether this format can affect Armenian-Russian relations, the diplomat responded that this is one of the directions for both Russia and Armenia.

"This is a platform for cooperation and collaboration," Sergey Kopirkin concluded.
The work on the return of the Armenian captives from Azerbaijan continues. Yeghishe Kirakosyan, representative of Armenia before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), told this to a press conference Monday.

He reminded that in parallel with petitioning to the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ), the Armenian side continues the process within the framework of the ECHR, too, and recently new evidence was presented and a decision was made to apply interim measures, and the court demanded Azerbaijan to provide information on the Armenians it still detains.

When asked why the ICJ did not oblige Azerbaijan to return the Armenian captives, Kirakosyan noted that this court considers this a matter of international humanitarian law, and not of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. According to him, the Armenian side presented a lot of evidence in this regard.

The court ruled that the right to return is not provided for under the aforesaid convention, and there is such a mechanism in the international humanitarian law, but there was no opportunity to petition to the ICJ on these grounds.

"We knew such a scenario was possible, but we could not but speak out. The issue of the return of [Armenian] captives and detainees remains on the agenda, and all means must be used," Kirakosyan assured.

The representative of Armenia before the ECHR, however, did not say the number of Armenian captives who are still in Azerbaijan, but stressed that the court provided information about the numbers both confirmed by Azerbaijan and unconfirmed, as there is information that they are in Azerbaijan.

As for the criminal cases initiated against the Armenians who have been returned from captivity, Kirakosyan stated that if there are grounds, then such cases should be filed.
Yeghishe Kirakosyan, representative of Armenia before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), considers the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision on the interim measure issued on December 7and based on Armenia's petitiona victory.

"It is necessary to refrain from a maximalist approach to the decisions of international court instances," Kirakosyan added at a press conference Monday.

He recall that on September 16 Armenia had filed a petition against Azerbaijan with the ICJ. But before actually considering this case, Armenia has mediated to take intermediate measures.

Kirakosyan noted that the ICJ is not limited to the demands of the parties.

As for the return of the Armenian captives in Azerbaijan, the court obliged Azerbaijan to ensure all the rights of these people, and not to subject them to inhuman and degrading treatment.

Also, the ICJ clearly stated that high-ranking Azerbaijani officials and organizations should prevent the propaganda of Armenophobia.

In addition, the court obligated Azerbaijan to take measures to protect Armenian cultural sites in its territory from destruction.

According to Kirakosyan, all these decisions are mandatory, the ICJ will inform about its decision to the UN Security Council, which is authorized to monitor the implementation of the decisions.

In case Azerbaijan does not implement the decisions, a respective process with several phases is envisaged.

Kirakosyan admitted, however, that these mechanisms are not so elaborated and are connected with global politics. Therefore, according to him, Armenia should strengthen its work in the diplomatic and information spheres.

In the next phase, this case will be presented in more detail, and, most likely, will last about a year. Armenia plans to present a broad evidence base, and new hearings are expected.

"Although Azerbaijan is violating, in any case, such decisions will have some effectiveness. When Armenia filed a lawsuit for urgent measures, a change in Azerbaijan's behavior was observed. For example, they removed the mannequins [of Armenian soldiers] and [the latters] helmets from the military trophy park [in the Azerbaijani capital Baku]," Yeghishe Kirakosyan said.
The delegation led by Prosecutor General of Armenia Artur Davtyan is on a working visit to the Arab Republic of Egypt to attend the Ninth Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption kicking off on Monday.

As reported the Prosecutor Generals Office of Armenia, the measures taken by member states to implement the Convention against Corruption and the main issues that have emerged during implementation will be considered during the Conference.

Among the target issues are the implementation of prophylactic activities for prevention of corruption by the member states in accordance with the adopted relevant declarations, the improvement of the mechanisms for return of illegal incomes and assets received through corruption and the progressive international practice in this sector, the overall challenges with regard to the fight against corruption, etc.

The Prosecutor General will deliver a speech in which he will present the goals and course of complex legislative and institutional reforms for combating corruption, as well as the vision of the Prosecutor Generals Office of Armenia for expansion of international cooperation in the areas of transnational corruption, money-laundering and illicit circulation.

Artur Davtyan is scheduled to hold several bilateral meetings during the working visit.
I refute the presses reports and press releases stating that head of the opposition With Honor Faction of the National Assembly of Armenia Artur Vanetsyan and deputy of the parliamentary faction Ishkhan Zakaryan have refused to sign under the draft document submitted by the With Honor Faction. The opposition Armenia Faction demands the resignation of Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Alen Simonyan. This is what Chair of the Standing Committee on Human Rights and Public Affairs of the National Assembly, deputy of the With Honor Faction Taguhi Tovmasyan said during traditional briefings today.

According to him, in this case, there is no need for a signature.

This is the initiative of Armenia Faction, and we can only join or not join it. For our parliamentary faction, the removal of any official is one of the most current issues. If there are other similar initiatives in the future, we will definitely join them, the MP assured, adding that the With Honor Faction will definitely vote in favor of this initiative, if it is presented as an item on the agenda.
Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Hakob Arshakyan today received Political Director for Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia at the Federal Foreign Office of Germany Matthias Luttenberg and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Germany to Armenia Victor Richter.

As reported the National Assembly of Armenia, among other attendees were Chair of the Standing Committee on European Integration of the National Assembly, member of the Armenia-Germany Parliamentary Friendship Group Arman Yeghoyan and member of the Group Hripsime Hunanyan.

Congratulating the Ambassador on assuming office, Arshakyan wished him success and expressed certainty that he will contribute to the promotion of the Armenian-German relations.

Armenia welcomes Germanys efforts for the strengthening of peace and stability in the region, the formation of an atmosphere of mutual trust and regional cooperation, Arshakyan said and, in this regard, highly appreciated the discussions that the Bundestag held on October 29, 2020 in regard to the war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Nagorno-Karabakh. Arshakyan underscored the need for the speedy return of Armenian prisoners of war and other persons being held in Azerbaijan and anticipated Germanys active role as a member state of the OSCE Minsk Group and one of the leading countries in the EU.

In his turn, Luttenberg attached importance to the development of Armenian-German relations and expressed certainty that there will be effective cooperation with the newly elected Bundestag. The guest affirmed Germanys support to the efforts of the Co-Chairmanship of the OSCE Minsk Group and voiced hope that the visit of the Co-Chairs to the region will be possible soon.

Arman Yeghoyan touched upon the cooperation within the Eastern Partnership, attached importance to the repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and others persons being held and considered inadmissible the invasion of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan of the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia.

Hripsime Hunanyan talked about the deepening of cooperation between the two countries in science, education, culture and healthcare and mentioned the creation of a TUMO Center in Berlin as an example of cooperation.
The Supreme Judicial Council of Armenia is examining the motion filed by the Ministry of Justice to subject Judge Zaruhi Nakhshkaryan of a Yerevan court of general jurisdiction to disciplinary liability.

Disciplinary proceedings were instituted against the judge on the basis of the report filed by former President of the Public Council Styopa Safaryan.

On Nov. 29, the Supreme Judicial Council rendered another decision on subjecting to disciplinary liability under which Judge Nakhshkaryan was strictly warned. The ground for subjecting her to disciplinary liability was her failure to self-recuse under the case of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyans daughter, Shushan Pashinyan.
Perks and challenges, trends and regulations in green finance and sustainable economy in Armenia and globally were the main topics discussed at the high-level conference co-organised by HSBC Bank Armenia CJSC (HSBC Armenia) and the British Embassy in Yerevan on 10 December.

The purpose of the conference named Joining up for Green Future was to highlight the importance of sustainability not only in terms of how individuals live their lives, but also how businesses develop their operating models and plan for the future.

In his welcoming remarks British Ambassador to Armenia John Gallagher mentioned: Last month, the UK hosted the UN Climate Change Summit, COP26, in Glasgow. One of the UKs key aims at COP26 was to get finance flowing to climate action, mobilise public and private finance into emerging markets and developing countries, where the need is greatest, and help to build green economies, creating jobs and prosperity. There are huge opportunities for climate-smart investments in Armenia between now and 2030. I hope this conference will show how finance can flow in support of Armenias ambitious plans for climate action, help break down the barriers to investment and support a just and inclusive transition to net zero.

After welcoming speeches of Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Hambardzum Matevosyan, British Ambassador to Armenia John Gallagher and CEO of HSBC Armenia Irina Seylanyan, honorable speakers shared their insights and expertise on net zero transition globally and discussed their possible implementation in Armenia.

Speaking at the event, Irina Seylanyan, CEO of HSBC Armenia said, It is clear that sustainability has become a strategic focus for businesses globally and sustainable finance continues to gain traction in Armenia as well. It plays a fundamental role in shaping a more sustainable economy while mitigating the environmental risks. From this perspective, HSBC globally made bold sustainability commitments becoming a net zero bank and, walking in line with the Groups strategy, HSBC Armenia is happy to play its role in the global commitment and support this transition in Armenia .

The conference aimed to help accelerate Armenias transition to low-carbon economy and green growth, increase Armenian access and understanding of green finance options, and encourage greater aligned green policies across all institutions.

The event also brought together Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan, UK Governments COP26 Regional Ambassador David Moran, other high-level speakers from the Governments of Armenia and the UK, seasoned experts in management roles from HSBC plc, TheCityUK and other leading business organisations from the UK and Armenia.

After the conference Head of Wholesale Banking of HSBC Armenia Martin Martirosyan commented. Now, more than ever, the world has unanimously focused on sustainability and its becoming priority for financial services industry as well. As one of the leading banks in Armenia we understand that in order to achieve a greener world and make sustainable banking truly effective, HSBC Armenia should be aligned accordingly. Therefore, we are happy to promote sustainable banking in Armenia, and taking practical steps, we provide sustainable solutions offering green loans and sustainability-linked loan to our customers.

Speaking about the conference, I want to highlight the importance of these kind of events, where we motivate organizations in Armenia to embrace a more sustainable approach, thus remaining committed to making a meaningful impact for sustainability in all our communities.

HSBC Holdings plc

HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of HSBC, is headquartered in London. HSBC serves customers worldwide from offices in 64 countries and territories in its geographical regions: Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, and Middle East and North Africa. With assets of $2,969bn at 30 September 2021, HSBC is one of the worlds largest banking and financial services organisations.

HSBC in Armenia

HSBC Bank Armenia CJSC was established in 1996. The bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC Group. HSBC Armenia serves around 30 000 customers through seven offices located in Yerevan and around 310 employees. As of 30 September 2021, the Bank has assets of AMD311 billion including the ones, allocated with the mediation of the HSBC Bank plc, London. The bank is regulated by the Central Bank of Armenia.
Today Russian peacekeepers mediated to remove the tractor that had remained in the field in Amaras on Dec. 10, the council of Sarushen village of Nagorno-Karabakh reports.

On Dec. 13, through the mediation of Russian peacekeepers, the tractor that had remained in the field in Amaras on Dec. 10 was removed, and the sowing for the autumn continued, for which we express gratitude to the Russian peacekeepers, the village council adds.

On Dec. 10 and 11, while the residents of Sarushen village were farming on their lands in the valley of Amaras, the Azerbaijanis opened fire at the tractors. The rearview mirror of one of the tractors was damaged. Fortunately, there were no victims, and one of the tractors had remained in the field.
What is it like being young today? Are there emerging challenges that are unique to this generation of young people globally? Laurence Chandy, director of the Office of Global Insight and Policy at UNICEF, joins the podcast to discuss The Changing Childhood Project, a partnership with Gallup. Do young people view themselves as global citizens? And how does this play out in their values? Whom do they trust?

To stay up to date with the latest Gallup News insights and updates, follow us on Twitter.

Below is a full transcript of the conversation, including time stamps. Full audio is posted above.

Mohamed Younis 00:07



I'm Mohamed Younis, and this is The Gallup Podcast. This week, we look into how the experience of childhood itself is changing in our ever-changing world. Laurence Chandy is director of global insight and policy for UNICEF. Laurence, Welcome to the podcast.



Laurence Chandy 00:22

Thanks for having me.



Mohamed Younis 00:23

When I heard about this research, I was really fascinated and couldn't wait to speak with you, particularly because everything that's happening in the world today. UNICEF and Gallup teamed up to ask multiple generations of residents across 21 countries about what it's like to be a child in today's world. Let me start by asking you, Laurence, what were some of the insights that struck you?



Laurence Chandy 00:45

So I think I'd start by saying that we found that childhood today is very different from childhood in the past. And that's true in many ways, but let me highlight three. So firstly, I think it's -- there's a good news story, which is that childhood has got a lot better across many different dimensions of children's lives. So their access to healthcare and their education, their, the availability of clean water, even their safety -- and you ask young people, "How do you think childhood compares today to in the past?" They believe there's progress. And I think they're right there. So there's a good news story there.



Laurence Chandy 01:25

At the same time, young people today, children today face new challenges, and they face growing pressures. So young people today report elevated levels of mental health issues, and they believe that they're a generation who face more pressure than children did in the past. The third thing I'd focus on is that young people's lives are overwhelmingly digital today. There's a, we talk a lot about a digital divide in the world, which we tend to think of as people living in poor countries not online; people in rich countries all being online all the time. There's a very clear generational digital divide, with young people much more online.



Laurence Chandy 02:12

And it's not just a matter of access. I think it's also a behavioral difference too. So young people are keen to go online. They rely on online sources for information in a way just in such greater numbers than their parents' and their grandparents' generation. So just much more, their lives are just so much more digital. That's obviously not true of young people everywhere, but the difference across the generations is stark.



Mohamed Younis 02:41

Let me ask you this, Laurence. We also see that young people today are more likely than older generations to see themselves as "citizens of the world." Reflect on that for us, and explain to us what we found in the study.



Laurence Chandy 02:54

I think this is one of the most striking things from our project, in my mind. So we asked people what they identify most with: their local area, their town or community, their country, or the world at large. And in the average country, the older generations in our survey identify first with their country, second with their local community and third with the world. The younger folks, the 15- to 24-year-olds, were equally likely to go with the world or their country. And while the shares of young people from country to country who identified first with the world certainly varies, almost everywhere we have that generational gap. So young people are more likely than the older generations to say, "I identify with the world."



Laurence Chandy 03:55

Now, some things about that finding are, are, I think, intuitive. So young people are more likely to be online; they're more likely to live in cities because they are, they, you know, they were born more recently. They're part of the contemporary age. I think that the, the children and young people in our poll are very much products of globalization, and we saw this in other questions in our survey. So young people are not only more likely to identify as citizens of the world, but they, they express greater support for international cooperation between countries. They demonstrate more pluralistic values, in terms of how you should treat people who are different. So they are, so there is a, I think, a really important difference between the generations here that we're identifying.



Laurence Chandy 04:51

Now the consequences of this, I don't know what they are, really. I think they, I think they require further reflection. I think it's, I think it's a really, a really important thing for us to think about further. We've become used to thinking of the human, the human condition as almost being defined by nation-states. And yet if we take several steps back, maybe, maybe that's a temporary thing. Certainly if we go back in history, perhaps that wasn't true so long ago; you would be more likely to identify with your, with your local community. But maybe if we look forward, it won't last very long. Maybe we would all think of ourselves as citizens of the world not too many years from now. Who knows? But to me, a really important finding and one that I'd love to explore further in the future.



Mohamed Younis 05:43

It's interesting that you mention that, because it was the one thing really that struck me as well, and it actually made me reflect on UNICEF and the history of UNICEF. I mean, this is an organization that was established in the 1950s really to address the needs of children and women in the developing world, at a time when global cooperation was really on the agenda of global leaders in a very serious way, coming out of World War II. It was just fascinating to me that young people are more and more seeing themselves as part of this global economy, more than really a member of a nation-state. Reflect on what that means for organizations within the United Nations, like UNICEF, for the future, if you, if you want to -- if you dare.



Laurence Chandy 06:31

That's a great question. I think you're right -- we are a multilateral institution. And our ability to function and be successful hinges on our membership, which is countries, believing in that spirit of multilateralism. Without that, it does make our work more difficult. I also think we so, so perhaps the, perhaps we can take something very positive from this, this response. At the same time, I don't want to, I don't want to be Pollyannaish here. We, we certainly found young people also identifying with their nation-state, and in some countries, that spirit of global citizenry was much lower.



Laurence Chandy 07:30

And so I don't think we can, don't think we can take it as a given that support for institutions like ours is sort of bound to improve. We still have to demonstrate our usefulness and efficacy. But certainly in a moment like now with the COVID crisis, with the climate crisis, there's a desperate need for global cooperation and, and for the, to be technical, the provision of global public goods. So there is certainly something positive, I think, to take from this question. I don't think it's been asked before. So it's, it's one of these ones that need some more research, but it's, it's an exciting one in my mind.



Mohamed Younis 08:22

I think reaffirms the importance really of global cooperation. I mean, it's literally one of the things we found in the study that young people want to see more of. And it's not a surprise to think of the younger respondents in this study who have literally watched the world go through a global pandemic and fail at sharing vaccines across borders. You know, there's been a lot of examples of failed cooperation in the very near past. The other thing that really fascinated me was this finding around young people and trusting information on social media platforms. So -- correct me if I'm wrong -- we found that young people, not surprisingly, were more likely to be using these platforms, but actually didn't express a lot of confidence in information that was available on them. Is that correct? And if so, reflect with us on that.



Laurence Chandy 09:16

Yeah, I love this finding, and it's one we've been, we've been reflecting on a lot and discussing with Gallup colleagues to try and make sense of it. So I think there's, there's a few layers to this. So let me try and unpack it a bit. So firstly, we found that young people tend to be more trusting than older folks. And this is true of various institutions, at least in terms of the, the reliability of the information those institutions provide. So we found that young people were more trusting of governments, which was quite surprising; of scientists; of international news organizations.



Laurence Chandy 09:56

So firstly, you have this, you have that first point: that young people are not, you know, they are, they seem to be quite trusting. But of all the sources we asked young people about, the one they said that was, the one they, where we found the least amount of trust was social media organizations. If I remember, it's something like a paltry 17% of young people in the median countries said that they trust social media organizations "a lot" to provide them with accurate information. So that's really low. But as I mentioned earlier in our discussion, young people go into social, social media to get their information. They love online sources. That's where they go. They don't go to TV or radio or friends and family; they're most likely to go to online sources, and within that, they're most likely to go to social media.



Laurence Chandy 10:51

So something interesting is going on here. They, they seem to appreciate social media, but they're a savvy audience; they know not to, not to believe everything that they read. The finding is actually, in such even stronger than that. If we look at, we look at young people who rely on social media for information, and we compare them with older folks who go to social media for their information, young people are more discerning; they're less likely to believe what they read. So they really are a savvy bunch.



Laurence Chandy 11:32

And, you know, I think they're just perhaps better able, able to filter between the real stuff and the nonsense. I don't think this means that misinformation isn't a problem. But it's, but perhaps if you're brought up relying on these sources of information, you develop that knack to be able to discern what is real and what isn't. So yeah, a really interesting finding and, and there's something positive in this one too, I think.



Mohamed Younis 12:06

And it was fascinating to me to think about the preconceived notions we have about media -- that, generationally, we bring individually to information that's out there, and to think about how young people have really grown up in an age where trust in media really overall -- and we see this in our polls, not only here in the U.S. but also globally -- has really taken a toll as misinformation and disinformation has come more into public focus. One of the things, kind of looking to the future, that the study found is that young people want faster progress in the fight against discrimination. Like I mentioned earlier, they wanted more cooperation among countries to solve global problems. But they also want for decision-makers to listen to them. Reflect on that for us, Laurence, and in some ways, how does UNICEF support efforts to do those things? Really focus on fighting discrimination, increasing cooperation and getting the ear of decision-makers closer to the minds of young people?



Laurence Chandy 13:09

So I think all the findings you just described are part of what I would describe as a sort of impatience for action that we see among the young participants in the survey. I think that, of the three things you described, I think that having, helping decision-makers listen to children and young people is perhaps the trickiest one. And, you know, one thing it could mean is lowering the voting age in countries. So one way to listen to young people is to give them the power to elect leaders. And we found significant numbers of young people proposing lower voting ages in some of the countries which we surveyed. And that included Cameroon and Lebanon, which are two countries where the voting age is especially high.



Laurence Chandy 14:09

I think, I mean, I would also add here that, you know, we're used to, I'm used to the voting age being 18, but that's a relatively recently established norm. And we are at a point today where a number of countries in Latin America and Europe are starting to reduce the voting age lower, so down to 16, and potentially it will fall further still. I mean, on this point, what, in terms of what UNICEF can do, I mean UNICEF aspires to listen to children and to promote their voice. We talk a lot about that, and we're sincere when we talk about that, but we find it hard to do in practice. And I think there's at least a couple of reasons for that.



Laurence Chandy 15:00

One of them is that we have an impulse to protect children, and yet protecting children and empowering them, they are, they almost work at cross purposes, right? There's a tradeoff. So our challenge is to get that balance right, and to get that balance right at different ages. Another reason is that it's easier, easier for us to, to amplify and elevate children's voices when those voices are the most eloquent children, often the children of the elite. And we don't want to reinforce inequities that already exist in society. So it's harder to promote the voices of those who, who aren't the elite.



Laurence Chandy 15:46

So one of the things we can do is things like this poll, which you can make, actually, we can make a deliberate effort to go out and listen to thousands of young people and, and then try and amplify, amplify their voices this way. But it's not easy. You know, this is not a, it's not an easy task. And I think it's, for us, it's one of the, one of the ways we view this project is an experiment in trying to elevate young people's voices and force decision-makers to pay more attention to them.



Mohamed Younis 16:24

So Laurence, before I let you go, tell me more about how our listeners can engage the content of the report and what it was like to ask the young people of the world some of these amazing questions.



Laurence Chandy 16:36

The first thing I'd say is that this project didn't aim to prescribe answers, right? It was, it was intended to, to force a rethink about what we know about childhood, if there really is a generational divide, and if so, about what and how big is it and where is it? And to really elevate the debate about these issues and give prominence to them. And I think that, as a result of the project, we have the data to do that. One of the things we've done, which we're really excited about, is we've built a website. And the URL is changingchildhood.unicef.org. Now if you go to that site, you get to do something really fun, which is you get to respond to some of the questions in the survey and see how your answers compare with children and older folks around the world. You can also, in some, in some parts of the site, you can guess how people responded to the questions



Mohamed Younis 17:34

Oh, that's neat.



Laurence Chandy 17:36

So yeah, so it's a nice interactive experience, and it means you don't have to download a PDF, which, let's face it, is not everyone's cup of tea.



Mohamed Younis 17:44

Can't wait to dig into it. Laurence Chandy is director of global insight and policy for UNICEF. Sir, thank you for being with us.



Laurence Chandy 17:52

Thanks so much, Mohamed.



Mohamed Younis 18:00

That's our show. Thank you for tuning in. To subscribe and stay up to date with our latest conversations, just search for "The Gallup Podcast" wherever you podcast. And for more key findings from Gallup News, go to news.gallup.com or follow us on Twitter @gallupnews. If you have suggestions for the show, email podcast@gallup.com. The Gallup Podcast is directed by Curtis Grubb and produced by Justin McCarthy. I'm Mohamed Younis, and this is Gallup: reporting on the will of the people since the 1930s.
Kennesaw State engineering grad capitalized on opportunities

KENNESAW, Ga. (Dec 13, 2021)  Alisa Machiwalla's interest in mechanical engineering was sparked at a young age by watching her father fix things around the house.

Hes super handy and I wanted to be like him, Machiwalla said.

This week, she will graduate from Kennesaw States Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology (SPCEET) with a degree in mechanical engineering and a minor in nuclear engineering. After graduation, she will put her education to use at a Georgia company where she will be working with control systems used in multiple industries.

Machiwalla grew up in Marietta and worried that she wasnt branching out enough if she chose to enroll in a university close to home. She figured she might attend Kennesaw State for a couple of years and then transfer.

But when it came time to think about transferring, I didnt want to go, Machiwalla said. I had great professors here and wonderful opportunities. I really appreciated the smaller classroom sizes and the ability to meet one-on-one with professors who actually got to know me.

Machiwalla was presented the SPCEET Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award in 2020 and has earned several scholarships throughout her time at KSU, including the Department of Energys Nuclear Engineering Integrated University Program Scholarship (2019, 2020, 2021), the Atkins Foundation Women and Minorities STEM Scholarship (2021) and the American Nuclear Societys Raymond DiSalvo Memorial Scholarship (2021).

Machiwalla, who is also in KSU Journey Honors College, was the American Nuclear Society Kennesaw Chapter president, she completed three rotations as an engineering co-op student with Southern Nuclear, interned with Enercon and served as a teaching assistant at KSU.

Nuclear engineering professor Eduardo Farfan met Machiwalla in a class and instantly recognized her potential.

Her intelligence, courtesy, honesty and effort impressed me so much that I decided to invite her to participate in a research project conducted by the KSU Center for Nuclear Studies Nuclear Energy, Science and Engineering Laboratory (NESEL), Farfan said. Since joining NESEL, Alisa has been diligent about the research work she was given and has worked hard to make as much of a positive impact in the research group as possible.

Machiwalla has also been Farfans nuclear lab student assistant where she enjoys helping younger students succeed in the classroom. She plans to get her professional engineering license and is considering pursuing a graduate degree in the future.

My academic experience has absolutely prepared me for life after graduation, she said. I learned the engineering fundamentals and how to apply them. Ive grown in so many ways since I first came on campus and am thankful for my KSU experience.

 Abbey OBrien Barrows

Photos by David Casselli

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A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its nearly 43,000 students. With 11 colleges on two metro Atlanta campuses, Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia. The universitys vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 6 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.
China remembers victims of Nanjing Massacre

Those who attended the ceremony observed a minute's silence. Image: CCTV

A national commemoration was held in Nanjing on Monday to mark the 84th anniversary of the massacre in the city by Japanese troops.



Those who attended the ceremony observed a minute's silence while sirens blared in the city. This was followed by the laying of wreaths by PLA soldiers.



Addressing the ceremony, Vice Premier Sun Chunlan said China would take history as a mirror and continue on a path of peaceful development.



She said the Japanese troops committed crimes against humanity, saying there is "ironclad evidence" and history can't be distorted.



Sun said the Communist Party has achieved a lot since its establishment 100 years ago and "it is the biggest comfort for the victims of the massacre as well as those who sacrificed their lives during the fight."



The ceremony ended with dozens of teenagers reading out a declaration of peace, while doves symbolising peace were released.
LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- (BUSINESS WIRE) --

Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) (NYSE: PM) today announced that on December 6, 2021, its Board of Directors appointed a new member, Ms. Dessislava (Dessi) Temperley.

Dessi Temperley is a former global public company CFO with more than 25 years of experience across a variety of sectors, working for several blue-chip multinationals. She has a proven track record of delivering strategic change with strong operational leadership resulting in superior financial results, most recently as Group CFO and Executive Board Member of Beiersdorf AG. Prior to this, she held several senior positions at Nestle. She is also a non-executive member of the Board of Directors for Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Corbion and Cimpress.

Andre Calantzopoulos, PMI Executive Chairman, commended Temperley on the appointment, and said, We are pleased to have Dessi Temperley join the Philip Morris International Board of Directors. She brings extensive experience with financial planning and strategy, M&A and reporting to drive our business performance, and help navigate the increasing pace and scale of PMIs continued evolution toward delivering a smoke-free future and beyond.

Philip Morris International: Delivering a Smoke-Free Future

Philip Morris International (PMI) is leading a transformation in the tobacco industry to create a smoke-free future and ultimately replace cigarettes with smoke-free products to the benefit of adults who would otherwise continue to smoke, society, the company, its shareholders and other stakeholders. PMI is a leading international tobacco company engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes, as well as smoke-free products, associated electronic devices and accessories, and other nicotine-containing products in markets outside the U.S. In addition, versions of PMI's IQOS Platform 1 device and consumables have received marketing authorizations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) pathway; the FDA has also authorized the marketing of a version of IQOS and its consumables as a Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP), finding that an exposure modification order for these products is appropriate to promote the public health. PMI is building a future on a new category of smoke-free products that, while not risk-free, are a much better choice than continuing to smoke. Through multidisciplinary capabilities in product development, state-of-the-art facilities and scientific substantiation, PMI aims to ensure that its smoke-free products meet adult consumer preferences and rigorous regulatory requirements. PMI's smoke-free product portfolio includes heat-not-burn products, nicotine-containing vapor products and oral nicotine products. As of September 30, 2021, PMI's smoke-free products are available for sale in 70 markets in key cities or nationwide, and PMI estimates that approximately 14.9 million adults around the world have already switched to IQOS and stopped smoking. For more information, please visit www.pmi.com and www.pmiscience.com.

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CONTACT:

Philip Morris International

David Fraser / Corey Henry

T. +41 79 843 8603 / +1 (202) 679 7296

E. David.Fraser@pmi.com / Corey.Henry@pmi.com
The Afghan central bank has announced that the third batch of cash assistance from the World Bank has arrived as part of the global lender's humanitarian pledges to the war-torn nation, the media reported on Monday. In a statement on Sunday, the De Afghanistan Bank said the assistance worth $19.2 million was was given to the Kabul-based Afghanistan International Bank (AIB), which is the largest bank in the country and the only one with international transfer to all other nations, Khaama Press reported. The cash assistance comes at a time when the local currency (Afghani) is in its unprecedentedly lowest value. On Sunday, one US dollar amounted to 114 Afghanis. The Khaama Press said that the fresh batch of cash will help stabilise the Afghani. On Friday, the World Bank allowed $280 million to be transferred to Afghanistan so that it be used in health and food sectors by World Food Programme and the Unicef. The next day, the US State Department announced that they have made a regulation based on which people will be allowed to transfer money to Afghanistan, as well as lift sanctions on all those who are involved in the transfer. MoneyGram and Western Union are the only means of money transfer to Afghanistan that resumed their operations in September. Since the August 15 takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and the formation of the Taliban-led caretaker government on September 7, the country's humanitarian situation has worsened. In response, world governments cut off Afghanistan's access to international funding and froze the central bank's roughly $10 billion in assets held abroad, in a bid to stop Taliban from accessing that money. According to UN estimates, some 23 million people are in desperate need of food, the $20 billion economy could shrink by $4 billion or more and 97 per cent of the 38 million population are at risk of sinking into poverty. --IANS ksk/ ( 332 Words) 2021-12-13-08:34:35 (IANS)
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terror group has intensified its targeted attacks on security personnel across the country, after ending a month-long ceasefire agreement. In the latest such incident, unidentified gunmen shot dead a policeman, who was guarding a polio vaccination team in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province on Sunday, making it the second consecutive killing in two days. On Saturday, two men, associated with the TTP, shot dead a policeman, who was guarding another polio vaccination team in the same area. "Two gunmen riding a motorbike opened fire on a policeman who was guarding a two-member female polio vaccination team in Sheikh Uttar area, killing him on the spot," said Sajjad Khan, district police chief of Tank area. Sunday's attack was not claimed by any organisation, but the militant group said they had carried out the earlier one. The latest attacks come as the TTP refused to give any extension to the month-long ceasefire agreed with the Pakistan government. The group accused the Pakistani authorities of violating the terms of the agreement and rejected any possibility of extending the agreement any further. In an audio statement, Noor Ali Mehsud, a senior leader of the TTP, said that no progress was made in the fresh negotiations with government. Mehsud was heard calling on his TTP fighters to restart their attacks as the ceasefire agreement term had ended and that it would not be extended any further. TTP has had a rigid standing against the polio vaccination campaign in the country. It claims that the vaccination campaigns are a western conspiracy to sterilise children. It should be noted that late Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden's hideout in Abbottabad, KP, was found through a similar polio vaccination campaign, which was carried out by doctor Shakil Afridi. The menace of terrorism has haunted Pakistan for decades now, while polio has remained rampant. Pakistan has been struggling to curb the spread of the virus, making such polio vaccination drives pivotal to the cause. The World Health Organization (WHO) made it mandatory for all people travelling from Pakistan to have polio vaccination certificate. Pakistan government maintains that it would call on TTP to extend the ceasefire agreement, insisting that it is ready to abide by the agreed terms of the agreement. However, the country's leadership has also warned that any terror activity by the group will be dealt with accordingly. --IANS hamza/ksk/ ( 408 Words) 2021-12-13-12:36:47 (IANS)
The Afghan Taliban, who are now running the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), have distanced themselves from the recent claims by the banned terror outfit in Pakistan, which claimed to be a branch of the IEA. The Afghan Taliban statements comes after the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud, claimed that the organisation is a branch of the IEA, calling TTP being operated under what he called a larger umbrella of the IEA. "Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan is a branch of Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan and is part of that umbrella on this land," stated Noor Wali Mehsud in a video, in which he is seen addressing the TTP fighters. However, the TTP claim was brushed aside by the IEA spokesperson, who said that TTP is not part of it. "They are not, as an organization, part of IEA and we do not share the same objectives," said Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid. "We advise TTP to focus on peace and stability in their country. This is very important so they can prevent any chance for enemies to interfere in the region and in Pakistan. And we request Pakistan to look into their demands for the better of the region and Pakistan." Calling the issue of tackling TTP Pakistan's internal matter, Mujahid said that IEA has maintained, "it would not interfere in other country's affairs". "We do not interfere in Pakistan's affairs," he added. The IEA rejection to own up to TTP comes at a time when it acknowledged mediating talks and negotiations between Pakistan and the terror group, which led to the month-long ceasefire. It was the mediation of the Afghan Taliban that facilitated and materialized the ceasefire during November, which the TTP later declined to extend any further. As per the agreement between TTP and the Pakistan government, both sides accepted that the IEA would play the role of a mediator and that both sides would form a five-member committees each, which would discuss the future course of action and demands under the supervision of the IEA as the mediator. The ceasefire agreement, that stayed on from November 1 to 30, included consent to release of at least 102 imprisoned militants of the TTP, who would be handed over to the TTP through the IEA. But TTP claims that the Pakistan government failed to implement the decisions reached and opted to conduct raids, detaining and killing TTP militants. "Under the circumstances, it is not possible to extend the ceasefire," read a statement issued by the TTP. While the IEA has distanced itself from TTP, it is a known fact that TTP has been an umbrella branch of the Afghan Taliban and has operated under the same in the country. IEA decision to distance itself from TTP may be taken as a big blow to the TTP as Pakistan may launch a major offensive against the group. On the other hand, IEA facilitation of previous talks may continue to try and engage with both parties through back channels and help them silently in reaching another agreement, without officially owning up to the group. --IANS hamza/ksk/ ( 529 Words) 2021-12-13-16:03:45 (IANS)
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], December 13 (ANI/NewsVoir): People should take utmost care of themselves if they have chronic kidney disease. They should focus on what they consume while eating and drinking. Chronic kidney disease refers to the condition when kidneys are completely damaged and don't function the way they should. To keep your kidneys healthy, it is important to follow an active lifestyle and stay well hydrated. Following are some natural remedies that can help you take care of your kidneys. 1. Stay hydrated The most common reason for the formation of kidney problems is lack of water. Drink plenty of water in a day. Water helps flush out the toxins from your body time to time. So it is recommended to have at least 8 glasses a day and make your kidneys function properly. However with established kidney disease your doctor will recommend reduced intake of water. Please follow doctor's instructions 2. Vitamin C Vitamins and minerals are powerful antioxidants. Vitamin C helps dissolve kidney stones easily. Foods rich in vitamin C promote better kidney health such as, citrus fruits like orange, cucumbers, broccoli are effective in keeping the kidney healthy. 3. Apples Apples help to maintain acidity in urine and prevent the growth of bacteria inside the kidneys. Apples have anti-inflammatory properties that help in healing kidney issues or infections quite efficiently. 4. Kidney beans Kidney beans which are also known as rajma are rich in proteins. The soluble and insoluble fibers present in them helps to keep the digestive system healthy. Kidney beans are also good for diabetic patients as they contain low glycemic index. Vitamin B present in kidney beans helps to flush out kidney stones and regulate the functioning of kidneys. 5. Lemon juice and honey The combination of lemon juice and honey is the most effective way of keeping your body working. Honey and lemon have miraculous health benefits on the overall health of the individual. Lemons are rich in citric acid which helps to fight with kidney stones by increasing the level of urine citrate. Taking regular lemon juice with honey reduces pain of kidney stones and dissolves kidney stones quickly. 6. Watch blood pressure Check your blood pressure on a regular basis. High blood pressure increases the risk of kidney diseases. If your blood pressure is high then you should consult a doctor for medication and proper treatment to regulate it. 7. Dates When dates are soaked in water for a day and then consumed they work effectively in flushing out the kidney stones. Dates contain fibers which help to reduce kidney stones. The magnesium, copper, manganese and various other nutrients present in dates also helps to keep the kidney in perfect state. To know more about kidney problems and ways to treat chronic kidney diseases visit Dr. L H Hiranandani Hospital, Powai. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
New Delhi [India], December 13 (ANI/Heylin Spark): BRP Media Group is one of the premium digital marketing agencies that provide exceptional branding services. With the rising brand wars, it's crucial that your marketing strategies connect with the right audience. Companies like BRP Media Group stepped forward to bridge the gap between marketing and consumers. With a highly tailored management system and efficient digital marketers, BRP Media Group takes pride in assisting entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, freelancers, corporate, public firms, private entities, and NGOs to increase their market share and increase their ROI. Today's digital culture demands unique strategies that portray the brand in the right way to pull the target audience. With digital marketing companies like BRP Media, brand solutions are just a click away. Biswaranjan Pattanaik, Founder & CEO of BRP Media Group firmly believes that right marketing is the key to better online presence and revenue. With good marketing, you not only make the company look smart but also make the clients feel smart. He says, "It's very important for companies to have a good digital marketing strategy and for that, they need to have a good digital marketing agency on their side." Inspired by Elon Musk, BiswaranjanPattanaik envisions helping several clients to increase their digital footprints. BRP Media Group is supported by dedicated and creative professionals whose vision aligns with company goals. There are dedicated experts to take care of services such as SEO, PPC, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Management, Content Management, Online Reputation, and Brand Awareness. Having helped over 50 clients and has handled more than 65 projects, the team possess vast experience across different industries. With their expertise and industry knowledge, BRP Media has generated over 100k leads so far. With every step, the team aims to create a good image of the company in the digital world, increase the visibility of the company in the search engines, create brand awareness among the target audience, increase traffic to the company website, convert leads into customers, and improve ROI through digital marketing campaigns. BRP Media specializes in creating highly engaging content and driving website traffic through SEO. With every marketing plan, they envision saving time& effort to deliver the results within the committed time. Their future plan is to use their experience and success in helping businesses achieve their online marketing goals and improve their reputation as an agency globally. Visit https://brpmediagroup.com/ for more details. For a quick response, drop an email to info@brpmediagroup.com This story is provided by Heylin Spark. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/Heylin Spark)
New Delhi [India], December 13 (ANI/NewsVoir): JuicyScore, a global leader in anti-fraud and risk management solutions, today unveiled tips for online businesses to protect themselves from digital frauds this holiday season. With the onset of the festivities and holidays, a spike in E-commerce shopping, digital transactions, and adoption of unsecured financial credit products (such as Buy Now Pay Later or BNPL) is expected but with a rampant increase in fraudulent activities that have the potential to adversely affect an online business. Thus, JuicyScore advises online businesses of any size to take the following measures to combat online fraud: Seasonally scheduled scammers do not have sophisticated technical skills and many companies manage to stop them at the stage of standard initial online verification of the application. Companies should apply a more conservative approach connected with new applications, evaluation policies, and rules, which turn out to be really useful and will save your business from possible financial losses during this period. Online companies should pay attention to the applications with high-risk markers - attempts of device or internet connection manipulation, as well as user's behavior. Such measures will allow filtering out of applications coming from devices with emulators, randomizers and will be able to determine the network infrastructure of professional fraudsters. In the case of digital lending, it will help to reduce the share of excessively active borrowers who usually keep trying to apply for a large number of loans often manipulating application data (for example identity theft i.e. using application information of genuine people sometimes even known to them). Online companies should approach the valuation of frequency characteristics in a more conservative way. Different frequency characteristics is also a very important parameter for risk assessment in the holiday season, for example, the number of risky applications from the same device or IP address, for a limited period of time or simply for the entire observation period. Usually, the risk increases along with the frequency, since this may indicate both - the risk of credit shopping or the risk of fraud, especially if such activity is supplemented by manipulation with other data. Many companies may fear the risk of profit decline filtering "good" customers along with online scammers. However, in this case, a more precise adjustment of the financial product for the end-user will be of great use. By giving special offers and taking into account the needs of regular customers, the company can mitigate the situation and reduce losses caused by online fraud. "As we head into the holiday season and new year, we are expecting Indians to generously expand their spending potential, which essentially becomes the most opportune time for online businesses to reach the consumers. Thus, it is imperative for these businesses, more than ever, to safeguard their processes from online frauds," said Manish Thakwani, Head of Business Development (India) at JuicyScore. "Being the global leaders in anti-fraud and risk assessment, we are committed to supporting online Indian businesses with modern technologies that can identify anomalies in online customer behavior, to help them stay a step ahead from fraudsters." Founded in 2016 JuicyScore is a forward-looking company that creates antifraud solutions for online business. Our mission is about making the process of obtaining financial services safer by reducing the turnover of direct user identifiers and sensitive data: our main feature is that we do not utilize personal or sensitive data and direct consumer identifiers. JuicyScore provides customized score and analytics, consult on score modeling and decision-making system. We work in 21 countries all over the world, have 80+ clients. Our data significantly improves score models: on average our clients get 10+ ROI. Our API is unified for both web and mobile channels. JuicyScore is compliant with GDPR, current and prospective regulating rules, browsers' and operational systems' security policy. Visit our website juicyscore.com/en for more information. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], December 13 (ANI/NewsVoir): Ultraviolette Automotive Pvt Ltd, an innovator in sustainable mobility, today announced that it has raised a new round of capital in its Series C funding, led by TVS Motor Company. Zoho Corporation has joined this round along with TVS Motor, to support Ultraviolette's vision of developing high-performance mobility solutions for India and global markets. TVS Motor Company, which has been an early backer of the company, has led the investment in this round. Ultraviolette, which is setting up its manufacturing and assembling facility in Electronics City, Bengaluru, will utilize this investment towards the production and commercial launch of its high-performance electric motorcycle, the F77, and will roll out the first batch of motorcycles in the first half of 2022. Commenting on the investment, Sudarshan Venu, Joint Managing Director, TVS Motor Company, stated, "EVs are a huge focus area for us and we have invested in this area for over a decade. TVS is committed to developing exciting and aspirational products and we have always believed that EV development has to be ground-up for us to make that quantum leap into the global EV revolution. Ultraviolette brings these values to life in a unique way in the F77, and we are excited to support this! We are delighted that we chose to partner with them at an early stage, and I am confident that Ultraviolette's EV line-up will see rapid adoption across the country and the world.'' Sridhar Vembu, Founder and CEO, Zoho Corporation who participated in the Series C investment added, ''What impressed me most about Ultraviolette is their approach towards building the EV experience in the country - one that is focused on high performance, disruptive design and technology, and superior user experience, all built and developed right here in India. There is no doubt that the future of mobility is electric, and innovation has to be at the forefront of product disruption. This approach by Ultraviolette will position India to be a leader in the global EV ecosystem. I am thrilled to support Ultraviolette's goal towards revolutionizing the mobility landscape globally, and I look forward to the launch of the F77 in the months ahead." Ahead of the commercial launch of the motorcycle, Ultraviolette Automotive has been rigorously testing the F77 across different terrains in the country, to validate the motorcycle's drivetrains, chassis and battery capability using several quantitative and qualitative parameters. The company is currently in the final stages of testing and will commence production of the F77 in the first half of 2022. Narayan Subramaniam, Founder and CEO, Ultraviolette Automotive Pvt. Ltd. said, ''Innovation, design, and performance are critical elements for triggering a revolution, and I believe that Ultraviolette personifies these elements to deliver an exhilarating mobility experience. Consumer preference will change when EV's deliver performance and experience, surpassing the current generation of IC engine bikes. This investment from TVS Motor Company and ZOHO Corp. is a validation of our endeavour to redefine the future of mobility." "Since our inception, our goal has been to build a future-ready technology that serves as a game-changer in the mobility ecosystem. And we believe the F77 will redefine the global perception of electric mobility. It is exciting to have investors who have doubled down to back us in our journey towards building cutting edge mobility solutions for global markets," said Niraj Rajmohan, Founder and CTO, Ultraviolette Automotive Pvt. Ltd. An early investor in the company, Kumar Vembu, CEO of GoFrugal Technologies said, "I am delighted at the significant progress that Ultraviolette has made over the years and the growing interest in the F77 from audiences worldwide. The company's product development journey has been impressive despite the pandemic and is reflective of their continued commitment towards building a great team of disruptive individuals and technology enthusiasts developing a world-class electric motorcycle. I look forward to supporting Ultraviolette in their journey as they gear up towards the launch of their motorcycle in the market." Ultraviolette has received over 50,000 booking interests for the F77 from across the world and will begin test rides and deliveries of the motorcycles in the first half of 2022. The F77 is India's first high-performance electric motorcycle built with principles used in the aviation industry. With an acceleration of 0-60 in 2.9 seconds, top speed of 140 kmph, and a range of 150 km on a single charge, the F77 is a smart and connected electric motorcycle that comes with remote diagnostics over-the-air (OTA) upgrades, regenerative braking, multiple ride modes, bike tracking, ride diagnostics and a whole lot of other features. Ultraviolette Automotive Pvt. Ltd., is an innovator in sustainable mobility and energy infrastructure. Established in 2016, Ultraviolette Automotive was founded by Narayan Subramaniam and Niraj Rajmohan. The company was born out of the unique vision of creating top-of-the-line mobility solutions, that are driven by progressive design and energy-efficient technology. Ultraviolette Automotive is developing India's first ecosystem of high-performance electric vehicles and future-ready energy infrastructure. For more information, please visit www.ultraviolette.com. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
New Delhi [India], December 13 (ANI/NewsVoir): mUni Campus Private Limited is working on fulfilling the ambition of "Skill India Mission" to support the creation of digital infrastructure for skilling, re-skilling and up-skilling to enhance opportunities for access to employment, both national and global. As we are aware, employment, jobs and internships have become quite burning issues. Adapting to the trend, mUni Campus presents a cloud-based Centralized Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered Internship and Job Portal "mUni Seagull". Essentially, it is a job and career discovery platform which brings students, career aspirants, industry, skill providers and colleges affiliated with universities together on single cloud platform aimed at reducing challenges in job and talent discovery process, finally resulting in improved job placement. mUni has built this job and career discovery platform, to meet the needs of career aspirants (job seekers), educators and the industry (employers) in discovering suitable options to meet their needs. Government of Telangana Higher education department is one of the prominent users of the platform. The platform comprises some brilliant features to meet the needs of end users: AI-powered career discovery platform for finding job and internship opportunities and preparation for students. Students can apply for internships, jobs based on skills acquired; identify the skill gaps, acquire new skills and certification; practice for the recruitment tests; all on a single cloud-based platform any time anywhere. Today, mUni Seagull has on-boarded Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIP) to run a pilot for a period of one year. GGSIP will use the complete solution of mUni Seagull for their campus placement activities. Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University is the first Government institute in India to on-board mUni Seagull - AI powered centralized job and internship platform. On this occasion, Prof. (Dr.) Mahesh Verma, Vice Chancellor, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, congratulated the mUni team and commended, "I am pleased to announce that we are the first university to implement mUni Seagull - a centralized end to end solution for all the campus placement related processes. We believe this automated system will support all the institutions under GGSIP to seamlessly carry out their campus placement activities and improve their corporate outreach. This will enable colleges to complete their campus processes fully online or use the Hybrid Model. We look forward to closely working with the mUni Seagull team to enable students achieving their career aspirations. I appeal to all the organisations to use the platform." "Today's day is very auspicious as we join hands with mUni Seagull to build the career of students by supporting them in all walks of life, be it pursuing programs or getting their dream jobs. I appreciate the efforts of mUni Campus and GGSIP University to work together on this great collaboration," was further added by Shri. Shailendra Singh Parihar, Registrar, GGSIP University. Cmde. Dr. Jadumani Jena, Advisor, mUni Campus, thanked the GGSIP university and appreciated the efforts by mUni Seagull team to build such a platform, which bridges the skill gap in the candidate's resume and suggests the best suitable jobs in the industry. He explained the features on how the platform can support hiring the best talents available who are industry ready. "I am very happy with this association between GGSIP University and mUni Seagull to run the pilot for a period of one year and to ensure that all the graduating students get the equal opportunities of getting placed and support the complete placement activities of GGSIP University's smooth functioning," said Prof. Dr. BVR. Reddy, Chairman Centralized Career Guidance and Placement Cell, GGSIP University. "During my long professional career I have realised that in India talent is not an issue; the ability to reach the talent and knowledge quotient of the talent is an area to be focused on. mUni brings all the stakeholders on a single platform which can support online or hybrid models for campus and knowledge enhancement. I would like to thank GGSIP University for helping us to enable the next billion careers; One Career at a Time," added Supreet Singh, CEO, mUni Campus. Nisha Singh, Placement Officer, Centralized Career Guidance and Placement Cell, GGSIP University, said, "This placement would be of great use for digitization of placement activities and maintaining the placement data pertaining to students of University School of Studies". Further, she added that, "The placement drives will be managed centrally by the Centralized Career Guidance and Placement Cell, GGSIP University, this platform will support reducing the manual efforts to a great extent." She also wants all the HRs from different domains to come ahead and use this platform not only for GGSIPU, or to state, or to country but use it globally. mUni Campus provides a cloud-based, end-to-end robust digital infrastructure for improving learning outcomes, improving efficiency, and effectiveness of the entire education system. mUni Campus system works well for brick mortar classroom-based environment and online world. It offers various solutions under one platform which eliminates the problem of dealing with several vendors and their silo systems. It has virtual class for delivering live video lectures integrated with Learning Management System (LMS) for course creation, content dissemination, and knowledge management; Academic admin; online examination system; admission suite; and online job placement all in one cloud platform. For more information, please visit municampus.com/ds. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
There's nothing more beautiful than seeing your children achieve their dreams. On Monday, the 21-year-old Harnaaz Sandhu made her family proud by clinching Miss Universe 2021 crown in Eilat, Israel. In a conversation with ANI, Harnaaz's brother Harnoor Sandhu and mother Ruby Sandhu expressed their joy and informed that they are planning a grand welcome for her. "Dhoom dhaam se hum Harnaaz ka swagat karenge. (We will welcome her in grand style). She deserves it. We all are proud of her. When she called us after winning the pageant, we all started crying. It was an emotional moment for all of us. With her win, she has inspired millions of girls out there," Harnoor said, revealing he fondly calls Harnaaz as 'Candy'. Harnaaz's victory has left her mother speechless. "I don't know how to express my feelings. She made the whole Sandhu family proud. She is a determined girl. She has been active and confident since childhood. Today, her dream got fulfilled. I could not thank God enough," she expressed. Punjab-based Harnaaz was in the top 3 round with Nadia Ferreira and Lalela Mswane. She was crowned Miss Universe 2021 by Andrea Meza, Miss Universe 2020 from Mexico. Only two Indians have won the Miss Universe title before Harnaaz - Sushmita Sen in 1994 and Lara Dutta in 2000. (ANI)
And hours before her historic win, she penned a beautiful post filled with gratitude and positivity.

"Faith is unseen. It's felt. It's the feeling I have in my heart today. I have faith in God, my family and the blessings you all have showered on me. I have enjoyed my journey and as we near the end of this beautiful pageant, I want to re live memories with my family, my Punjab. I want you all to know, that Im grateful for each and every one of you and for all the experiences I had in these 1.5 months," she wrote on Instagram.

Alongside the note, she posted a video of her offering prayers at the Golden Temple.

"I'm already a winner. I have you all. See you at the Miss Universe 2021 Finale," Harnaaz concluded.

She also gave a shout-out to her family for always supporting her. She posted a screenshot of a video call with members of her family.

"My strength, my lifelines," Harnoor wrote, tagging "maa" Ruby Sandhu, "bhai" Harnoor Sandhu and "masi" Preet Boparai.

Harnaaz edged out contestants Paraguay's Nadia Ferreira and South Africa's Lalela Mswane to bag the Miss Universe 2021 crown. Andrea Meza, Miss Universe 2020 from Mexico, crowned Harnaaz at the event, which was held in Eilat, Israel. (ANI)
Benjamin Chota, Nkasi district Chief Medical Officer in the region, on Sunday added that the first three cases of cholera were reported at Korongwe ward dispensary in the district on December 2.

"After the three cases were reported a team of medical experts collected samples from the three patients and tests showed that they suffered from cholera," Chota told a news conference.

He said Nkasi district authorities created a makeshift site for treating cholera patients where 37 cholera patients were admitted to by December 10, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Twenty-five of the cholera patients were treated and discharged and 12 patients are still receiving treatment at the makeshift site," the official added.

Peter Lijualikali, the Nkasi District Commissioner, urged medical personnel in the district to ensure that the deadly disease was contained before it spread to other parts of the district.

--IANS int/khz/

( 179 Words)

2021-12-13-00:36:22 (IANS)
The Nigerian government has announced its intention to ban arrivals from Canada, Britain, Argentina and Saudi Arabia from Tuesday, after the four countries added Nigeria on their "red list" and banned foreign travels from the country after detection of a new coronavirus variant. The decision was to reciprocate restricted flights from Nigeria into those countries over the new Covid-19 variant Omicron, said Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika on Sunday at a news conference in Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub. Sirika added that if those countries placed Nigeria on a red list, they lacked the moral right to have their airlines fly into Nigeria on commercial operations, Xinhua news agency reported. "I participated in a meeting with the Covid-19 task force, and we gave our input that it is not acceptable to us and we recommended that Canada, the UK, Saudi Arabia and Argentina be put on the "red list"," he said. "As they did to us, if they do not allow our citizens into their countries...They are not supposed to come in. I am very sure in the next three days, on Monday or Tuesday, all those countries will be put on the red list of Covid-19," the Minister added. Sirika apologised to Nigerians, intending to travel to those countries, but said the Nigerian government's decision was in the interest of the country. Nigerian authorities have confirmed six imported cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in the country since the country reported first Omicron cases On December 1. --IANS int/khz/ ( 269 Words) 2021-12-13-01:19:05 (IANS)
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday said that 36 people who came in contact with the man who tested positive for the Omicron variant of coronavirus, have been isolated. The man, who flew in from the UK, had reached Nedumbassery airport in Kochi on December 6 and on December 8, he had tested Covid-19 positive. On Monday the general condition of the man was perfect and he is recovering and has no other problems, according to the health authorities. "In the context of Omicron, extra caution has to be there to see if there are new clusters forming and if so, in such places, genetic sequencing has to be done," said Vijayan, while chairing a Covid assessment meeting of top officials. He said the authorities should ensure that vaccination should be speeded up as by now 97 per cent of the above aged population in the state have taken one dose of vaccine, of which 70 per cent have taken the second dose and it has been found out that seven million more have to be given the second dose. Authorities should ensure that this is done at the earliest, he reiterated. On Monday, 2,434 people turned Covid positive after 50,446 samples were sent for testing, while the state has 36,281 active cases. --IANS sg/vd ( 232 Words) 2021-12-13-19:07:13 (IANS)
A booster dose of Covid vaccine may not confer the same level of protection against the new hyper mutated Omicron variant as it did for Delta, claimed a researcher from the University of Bern on Monday. Several studies from the US, UK and Israel have shown that two doses of Covid vaccination are not enough and a booster dose is imperative to tackle Omicron. The protection is "maybe more around 70 per cent" against Omicron, compared to 90 per cent against Delta", Dr. Emma Hodcroft, an epidemiologist at the varsity was quoted as saying to BBC Radio. "This is particularly important if you're someone who is vulnerable or elderly, because it is good to know you may not have complete protection," she said. Early data from South Africa suggests Omicron "isn't quite as bad as previous variants", said Hodcroft, but there are important caveats which mean the UK "needs to be really cautious". South Africa's population is much younger than the UK's so the outcomes don't tend to be so bad A lot of South Africans have been infected and recovered from Covid or been vaccinated, so are less likely to get bad symptoms. Many infected with Omicron have not had it for very long, and it can take weeks before you end up with symptoms bad enough to go to hospital "Even if Omicron is less harmful, it seems to be moving so quickly that if a lot of people in the UK got it at the same time, we could still risk overwhelming the NHS which is already stressed from Delta," Hodcroft said. Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that the nation will see a 'tidal wave' of Omicron variant, even as the country sees one death due to the variant. The country's Covid alert level has also been raised to four due to the spread of the super mutant strain of coronavirus. Level four means a high or rising level of transmission - the last time the UK was at this level was in May. Declaring an "Omicron emergency", Johnson also set a new booster target - the third doses will be offered to everyone over 18 in England from this week, three months after their second dose. A new modelling study, yet-to-be peer-reviewed, projected that the super mutant strain may cause between 25,000 and 75,000 Covid-19 related deaths in the UK by April next year. According to the School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), in the case of a high immune escape and lower effectiveness of boosters, as predicted, Omicron infections are likely to lead to a peak in hospital admissions around twice as high as the peak seen in January 2021. If no additional control measures are taken it will cause 492,000 hospitalisations and 74,800 deaths. --IANS rvt/pgh ( 481 Words) 2021-12-13-19:09:42 (IANS)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday will inaugurate the first phase of 'Kashi Vishwanath Dham' corridor constructed at a cost of around Rs 339 crore on Monday. Appealing to people to join the programme, Modi on Sunday tweeted: "Tomorrow, 13th December is a landmark day. At a special programme in Kashi, the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham project will be inaugurated. This will add to Kashi's spiritual vibrancy. I would urge you all to join tomorrow's programme." Modi will reach Varanasi on a two-day visit on December 13. He will visit Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple to offer prayers and after which he will inaugurate phase 1 of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham. In a statement, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said it was the vision of the Prime Minister for a long time, to facilitate the pilgrims and devotees of Baba Vishwanath, who had to encounter congested streets and surroundings with poor upkeep, when they practiced the age-old custom of taking dip in the holy river, collecting Gangajal and offering it at the temple. "To realise this vision, Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham was conceptualised as a project to create an easily accessible pathway to connect Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple to the banks of the River Ganga. To kickstart the work for this pious endeavour, the foundation stone of the project was laid by the Prime Minister on March 8, 2019," the PMO said. The PMO pointed out that the Prime Minister took a keen and active interest at all stages of the project. Regular briefings, reviews and monitoring was done by the Prime Minister himself, and he constantly gave inputs and insights to improve the project and make it more accessible for pilgrims, including for the disabled. The project was designed to provide easy access for the disabled and old age people with provision of ramps, escalators, and other modern facilities. As per the PMO, a total of 23 buildings will be inaugurated in the phase 1 of the project. They will provide a variety of facilities to the pilgrims visiting Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple, including Yatri Suvidha Kendras, Tourist Facilitation Centre, Vedic Kendra, Mumukshu Bhavan, Bhogshala, City Museum, Viewing Gallery, Food Court, among others. "The project involved purchase and acquisitions of more than 300 properties around Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple. The Prime Minister's vision to take everyone along was the principle based on which mutual negotiations were done for these acquisitions. In this endeavour, the rehabilitation of around 1,400 shopkeepers, tenants and homeowners were done amicably," the PMO said. It claimed that the testimony of the success is the fact that there is no litigation pending in any court of the country regarding acquisitions or rehabilitation related to the development of the project. "Prime Minister's vision was also to ensure that all heritage structures be preserved during the course of development of the project. This foresight came handy when, during the process of destruction of the old properties, more than 40 ancient temples were rediscovered. These temples have been restored and beautified, while ensuring that there is no change in the original structure," the statement said. The scale of the project was such that the project is now spread over a massive area of about 5 lakh square feet, whereas earlier premises were limited to just around 3,000 square feet. Despite the Covid pandemic, the work on the project has been completed as per the planned schedule. During the visit to Varanasi, the Prime Minister will also visit Kaal Bhairav Temple on Monday afternoon and witness Ganga Aarti while on board a Ro-Ro Vessel in the evening. On December 14 at around 3.30 p.m., the Prime Minister will attend the 98th anniversary celebrations of Sadguru Sadafaldeo Vihangam Yog Sansthan at Swarved Mahamandir in Varanasi. During the 2-day visit, the Prime Minister will also participate in a conclave of Chief Ministers of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, along with Deputy CMs from Bihar and Nagaland. The conclave will provide an opportunity to share governance related best practices and is in line with the Prime Minister's vision of furthering team India spirit. --IANS ssb/pgh ( 706 Words) 2021-12-12-19:09:04 (IANS)
The arrested individuals have been identified as Mohd. Aslam, a resident of Faridabad, Bavla alias Babu, and Rafiq Ahmed alias Baba -- both from Govindpuri in Delhi.

According to the official, a police team was constituted to curb the sale of the contraband in Delhi's South-East district, especially in the Hazrat Nizamuddin area.

On Thursday, the team received a tip-off that three persons would come to a DDA park to sell psychotropic substances to an unknown person.

Subsequently, the police laid a trap near the DDA park in Hazrat Nizamuddin area, and apprehended all the three individuals.

Following a search, they were found in possession of 330 grams of heroin, the police said. Accordingly, a case under sections 21, 61 and 85 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act was registered and they were arrested.

Further investigation is underway.

--IANS uj/pgh

( 186 Words)

2021-12-12-19:18:35 (IANS)
Police said based on a specific input generated by police regarding presence of a terrorist in village Bargam in Awantipora area of the district, a joint cordon and search operation was launched by the police, army's 42 RR and the CRPF's 130 Bn.

"During the search operation, the presence of the trapped terrorist was ascertained, and he was given ample opportunities to surrender. However, he denied the surrender opportunities and fired indiscriminately upon the joint search party which was retaliated, leading to an encounter," police said.

The trapped terrorist was killed and his body was retrieved from the site of encounter. He has been identified as Sameer Ahmad Tantray, resident of Bargam Awantipora.

As per police records, the killed terrorist was a categorised terrorist linked with proscribed terror outfit JeM and was part of groups involved in several terror crime cases.

"Before joining the terror fold, he was working as a terrorist associate and involved in providing logistic support to the active terrorists in the area," police said.

"He was also involved in pasting threatening posters of proscribed terror outfits in Awantipora and adjoining areas to threaten the law abiding citizens and keep them away from democratic activities."

Incriminating materials including arms and ammunition were recovered from his possession. Police have registered case and investigation has been initiated.

--IANS zi/vd

( 263 Words)

2021-12-12-19:28:38 (IANS)
Four persons who were distributing books and pamphlets at a Hindu locality were handed over to the police.

Local residents who gathered at the spot following the incident on Saturday demanded police action to prevent "such conversion bid in future or else they will stage a protest".

According to police, the group objected to distribution of books to people. They also alleged that people who came from Chintamani gathered at a house and attempted religious conversion acts.

The police in Srinivasapura have registered a case, and are investigating the matter.

So far, the police have not arrested anyone.

The incident which took place ahead of the Karnataka Assembly's Winter Session scheduled to begin from Monday is likely to be raised by the Congress leaders.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is all set to table new law banning forceful religious conversions in the state which is expected to create furore in assembly.

--IANS mka/pgh

( 201 Words)

2021-12-12-22:30:13 (IANS)
It was "back to school" for Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday as he sat among the students during his inspection of the "smart" classroom of the Brundaban Government High School in his home turf Hinjilicut in Ganjam district. Although it was a Sunday, the students, teachers, and other school staff were there to welcome the Chief Minister to their school, which was taken up under the 5T School Transformation programme. Patnaik sat on a bench in a class room among the students as he discussed various topics with them. The class teacher informed the Chief Minister how much the students are happy with the infrastructure and facilities provided after the transformation. He interacted with the students on various aspects of the high school transformation programme and advised them to do well in their careers. A student of that class gifted him his portrait as a token of respect and gratitude. He also visited the modern laboratory and e-library and other state-of-the-art facilities in the school. Patnaik was accompanied by his Secretary, 5T, V.K. Pandian. The students expressed their gratitude to the Chief Minister for spending time with them and also providing modern facilities. "The Chief Minister asked us 'Are you all happy with the school'. We replied that all of us are very happy. He also inquired whether we need anything more for studies. But, we said nothing more is needed," said a girl student of the school. The state government has been transforming government-run schools under its 5T initiative by creating modern infrastructure at par with the private schools. This was the first visit of Patnaik to his home turf Ganjam since the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic. In the morning, he visited the Maa Tara Tarini temple, the presiding deity of Ganjam at Purushottampur. --IANS bbm/vd ( 308 Words) 2021-12-12-22:42:11 (IANS)
According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India's active caseload currently stands at 91,456 which is the lowest in 561 days.

"Active cases account for less than 1 per cent of total cases, currently at 0.26 per cent which is lowest since March 2020," the Ministry said.

As many as 4,75,636 people have succumbed to the COVID-19 infection so far.

With 7,973 recoveries in the last 24 hours, the recovery tally has gone up to 3,41,30,768.

"The daily positivity rate (0.86 per cent) less than 2 per cent for last 70 days. The weekly positivity rate (0.69 per cent) less than 1 per cent for last 29 days," the ministry said.

Meanwhile, 133.17 crore COVID vaccine doses have been administered so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.

Over 65.66 crore samples have been tested for the virus till now. (ANI)
Staging a protest against the rise in goods and services tax (GST) from 5 per cent to 12 per cent, the Aligarh Cloth Merchant Association (ACMA) said that hike in GST rates would adversely impact the textile industries, which is already reeling from COVID-19 blow.

In November, the Centre had decided to increase the GST on textile products from 5 per cent to 12 per cent from January 1.

Speaking to ANI, Rajiv Agarwal, President of ACMA, "Cloth is one of the basic needs for humans. The hike in GST would affect the manufacturing and sale of textile goods. COVID-19-induced pandemic has adversely impacted the sale of textiles in India and affected our income."

He further added, "I request Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to understand our pain and difficulties and rollback the hike in GST." (ANI)
The Congress MPs from Punjab-- Ravneet Singh Bittu, Jasbir Singh Gill, Gurjeet Singh Aujla--who had been holding a protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar for over a year in support of farmers, have announced to call off their protest on Monday at 1 pm. In their statement, the MPs said, "Dharna started in support of farmers...now after the war is won, we will be calling off our protest at Jantar Mantar at 1 pm today." In line with the farmers call for the suspension of their year-long agitation, the Congress MPs have also decided to bring their sit-in protest to an end. Farmers had been protesting against the agri laws on various borders of Delhi since November 26, 2020. On December 9, the Samyukta Kisaan Morcha the umbrella body under which the farmers had banded together announced the suspension of their year-long agitation after they received a letter from the Central government, with promises of forming a committee on Minimum Support Price (MSP) and immediate withdrawal of cases against them immediately. Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait had said that all farmers will be leaving the protest sites by December 15. The farmers are heading back to their respective states in large convoys of tractors and trucks, in the same way, they arrived at the sites at the Singhu, Ghazipur and Tikri on the outskirts of the national capital a year ago, to protest the Centre's three agrarian laws. The farmers will hold a review meeting on January 15. "If the government does not fulfil its promises, we could resume our agitation," the SKM had said in its statement. On November 19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Centre will bring necessary bills in the Winter Session of Parliament to repeal the farm laws. (ANI)
At the airport, PM Modi was received by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

He will visit the Kaal Bhiarav temple at around 12 noon whereas he will offer prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath temple at around 1 pm.

He will inaugurate Kashi Vishwanath Dham at around 1:20 pm.

A total of 23 buildings will be inaugurated in phase 1 of the project. They will provide a variety of facilities to the pilgrims visiting Kashi Vishwanath Temple, including Yatri Suvidha Kendras, Tourist Facilitation Centre, Vedic Kendra, Mumukshu Bhavan, Bhogshala, City Museum, Viewing Gallery, Food Court, among others.

The project involved the purchase and acquisition of more than 300 properties around Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

The Prime Minister will also witness the Ganga aarti while on-board a Ro-Ro Vessel at around 6 pm.

Meanwhile, the city is decked up for the visit of the Prime Minister.

During the two-day visit, Prime Minister will also participate in a conclave of Chief Ministers of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, along with Deputy Chief Ministers from Bihar and Nagaland.

The conclave will provide an opportunity to share governance-related best practices and is in line with the Prime Minister''s vision of furthering team India''s spirit. (ANI)
Both Deshmukh and Waze are in judicial custody in separate cases of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), respectively.

The Commission is probing the allegations of corruption made by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh.

Singh had accused Anil Deshmukh of asking dismissed assistant inspector Sachin Vaze to collect Rs 100 crore from hotels and bars in Mumbai every month. (ANI)
However, the Congress party has denied the allegations.

"SP Ramkrishna Sahu is lodging fake FIRs against BJP workers. SP has forged an alliance with the Congress MLA for filing fake complaints against the BJP volunteers. I have a complaint against SP to the higher authorities and Scheduled Tribes Commission," said Netamat at a press conference on Sunday.

He also alleged that Collector Kundan Kumar and Sahu were serving the Congress MLA.

"If the SP cannot maintain the dignity of the post then he should resign. If the Collector and SP will work like this then how will people trust them? How people will get justice?" he added.

Meanwhile, Congress MLA Brihaspati Singh condemned Netam's attack on the Collector and SP.

"Netam ji should apologize to the Collector and SP and to the people of the state. The unparliamentary statement by the BJP MP has brought disrepute to the Upper House of Parliament," Singh added. (ANI)
Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other parliamentarians also paid tributes on the occasion.

Earlier in the day, President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had remembered the security personnel who lost their lives in the attack and said that the nation shall forever remain grateful to them for their supreme sacrifice.

"I pay my tributes to all those security personnel who were martyred in the line of duty during the Parliament attack in 2001. Their service to the nation and supreme sacrifice continues to inspire every citizen," PM Modi said in his tweet.

On December 13, 2001, five heavily-armed terrorists belonging to terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), stormed the Parliament complex in New Delhi and opened fire indiscriminately.

Around 14 people, including security personnel and one civilian, were killed in the attack. The terror strike took place around 40 minutes after Parliament was adjourned and about 100 members were present in the building. (ANI)
Agreeing with the recent statement made by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh that the partition of the country on religious lines was a 'historic mistake', National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah said that it has affected the entire Muslim community across India and not specifically Kashmiris. Speaking to ANI, the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister said, "Its repercussion has affected the entire Muslim community across India and is not just restricted to Kashmiris alone." Abdullah further said, "I think the partition happened because Muhammad Ali Jinnah wanted one-third representation to be given to Muslims instead of 26 per cent that was offered by the Congress party. It was a very difficult phase. Later, Sir Muhammad Iqbal convinced them (Jinnah and others) and they demanded a separate country. Partition of India into Pakistan, Bangladesh and India was a historic mistake and I agree with Rajnath Singh." Regarding Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 'Hindu and Hindutavadi' statement, Abdullah said, "My advice is that Hindus should follow their faith. No religion is bad, human beings are. Humans should use religion for helping people." On PM Narendra Modi inaugurating Kashi Vishwanath corridor, the NC chief said, "Modi should also respect other religions." (ANI)
According to an official statement, the BSF troops noticed suspicious in the RS Pura area, and many times they warned the intruder not to cross the border, but the intruder kept running towards border fencing aggressively.

"The BSF fired and neutralized the intruder near BSF fencing inside IB and thwarted the infiltration attempt," said SPS Sandhu, DIG, PRO BSF Jammu. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday expressed his gratitude towards the labourers who have worked for the construction of the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project and said that they have achieved success despite the many challenges posed by COVID-19 pandemic. "I bow to all our shramik saathis (labourers) who worked to renovate the Kashi Vishwanath Dham. They scripted success despite the many challenges posed by COVID-19," the Prime Minister said after inaugurating the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project in his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi. "Today, I would also like to express my gratitude to every labourer brother and sister whose sweat has been shed in the construction of this grand complex," he added. Before inaugurating the Rs 339 crore project here, PM Modi had greeted the labourers who were involved in the construction of the project with flowers. PM Modi also offered prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple and planted a Rudraksha tree at the premises of the temple. Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanth and BJP national president JP Nadda were also present at the event. CM Adityanth took a veiled attack on the previous regime and said, "When Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi came to Varanasi 100 years ago, he expressed pain seeing narrow streets and filth. Many people came to power in the name of Gandhi Ji, but it is for the first time that his dream of a magnificent Kashi has come true." Meanwhile, during the two-day visit to Varanasi, PM Modi will also participate in a conclave of Chief Ministers of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, along with Deputy Chief Ministers from Bihar and Nagaland. (ANI)
Maharashtra government has agreed not to take any coercive action against her till January 25, the next date of hearing.

The court was hearing Ranaut's plea against the FIR registered against her.

Mumbai Police had informed the court that Ranaut has not been responding to any of its notice and "not cooperating" in the investigation.

Ranaut will appear at Khar police station on December 22 to record her statement.

Recently, a petition had also been filed in the Supreme court against Ranaut seeking censoring of all her social media posts in future in order to maintain law and order in the country.

None of her posts on social media should be allowed without amendment, deletion, modification or censoring in order to maintain law and order in the country, stated advocate Charanjeet Singh Chanderpal in the plea.

The plea filed by Chanderpal also sought direction to transfer all the FIRs filed across India, against the actor for her remarks on farmers' protest, to Khar police station, Mumbai, and charge sheet be filed in a period of six months along with expeditious trial within a period of two years. (ANI)
The proposed anti-conversion bill is likely to be tabled during the winter session of the Karnataka legislature, which is being held at Belagavi, said Home Minister Araga Jnanendra on Monday. Speaking to reporters, the minister said, "A draft of the bill is ready and is under serious consideration." He further said "It was aimed to ensure people of all the religions to profess their faith "peacefullly and harmoniously". "The proposed bill is being formulated within the framework of the constitution," the minister said. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has said the proposed Anti-Conversion Law that the state government intends to introduce in the winter session of Assembly is only to prevent religious conversions by inducements. Speaking to media persons here on Sunday, he said that the people need not worry about the proposed Anti-Conversion Bill. The chief minister said that the proposed law will not affect any religion, their practices and traditions that are guaranteed under the Constitution. "Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and Sikhism are constitutionally recognised religions. There would be no hindrance to the worship and religious practices of people belonging to any religion. The bill is only to prevent religious conversions by inducements," the Chief Minister assured. He further said that religious conversion is not good for society. "The poor and vulnerable sections of the society should not fall for it. Conversions bring problems within the families. So, the bill is being proposed," he added.(ANI)
"We are ready to tackle the Omicron threat. If required, we will impose necessary restrictions. Currently, there is no such need to impose any restrictions...A decision on re-opening of schools will be taken after winter vacation for schools end," Kejriwal told the mediapersons at the launch of the 'Dilli Ki Yogshala' initiative.

Talking about the reopening of the schools in Delhi, he said a decision would be taken after the end of winter vacation for schools.

Meanwhile, the 'Dilli Ki Yogshala' initiative launched today is set to begin from January 2022.

"Under this initiative, city residents (minimum group of 25) can give a missed call on the number 9013585858 to avail free services of a Yoga teacher provided by Delhi government," he stated.

Earlier on Saturday, Delhi reported its second case of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron, informed the Delhi Government.

A Zimbabwe returnee, who is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, tested positive for the variant in a genome sequencing report.

According to the Delhi Government, the travel history of the patient revealed that the person had also travelled to South Africa. (ANI)
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the National Capital Region (NCR) and adjoining areas has allowed India's largest syringes and needles manufacturing company, Hindustan Syringes and Medical Devices Limited (HMD) to restart its production that had been shut down as a part of a pollution-control drive in NCR region. Hindustan Syringes and Medical Devices (HMD) is providing syringes to the country and the world for the COVID-19 vaccination programme. But the factory was asked to shut down 'voluntarily' as part of a pollution-control drive undertaken by authorities in the National Capital Region (NCR) on Friday. "Today (Monday), we start full operations on getting the formal letter," said HMD Managing Director Rajiv Nath. "We are thankful to CAQM and Haryana State Pollution Control Board for the partial reprieve for allowing us to run our plants and continue to serve the public with much needed DispoVan disposable syringes and Kojak AD syringes. We appreciate the quick decision and the rationalized approach," he added further. "We have to exercise restraint now till hopefully another order as a full reprieve comes to allow the use of diesel Gensets set, as permissible for hospitals and for formal coverage of COVID Critical Medical Devices including Syringes, for uninterrupted operations in public utilities and essential goods and service under Disaster Management Act," he said. According to the statement from HMD, the company alone contributes to over 66 per cent of syringe supplies in India for curative healthcare and immunization. HMD daily produces 1.5 crore needles and 80 lakh syringes in the plant that was closed as a part of the anti-pollution drive. (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain the petition filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seeking deployment of Central Forces in the upcoming municipal corporation elections in West Bengal and asked the party to approach Calcutta High Court. A Bench of Justices L Nagesara Rao and BR Gavai told senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the BJP, that it will not entertain the plea and the party can approach the High Court. Singh then withdrew the petition with liberty to approach the High Court. During the brief hearing, Singh told the Bench that there were widespread threats of violence and the BJP candidates were being threatened to withdraw from the contest in the municipal elections in Kolkata. As BJP contended that the top court entertained a similar petition recently for the Tripura election, the Bench said if it starts entertaining petitions then people and political parties from across the country will start filing petitions directly in Supreme Court on panchayat and municipal elections. On November 25, the top court had directed the Ministry of Home Affairs to provide two additional companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) to secure the polling booths during the Tripura municipal elections after the opposition TMC and CPI (M) approached the apex court alleging that their candidates and supporters were not allowed to cast their votes. BJP has approached the apex court seeking a direction to the West Bengal government, the state poll panel and other functionaries to prepare a comprehensive action plan and deploy sufficient central police forces to ensure free and fair municipal polls. The petition submitted that after BJP nominated and finalized the candidates for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections, they have been receiving threats and are being pressurized to withdraw their candidature. These threats and violence "cast grave infractions on the constitutional mandate of conducting free, fair and democratic election," said the plea. The BJP, in its plea filed by its state president and MP Sukanta Majumdar, said that BJP finalized its candidates after the West Bengal State Election Commission notified the elections to be held for Kolkata Municipal Corporation on Day 19. There was a necessity to deploy Central Forces in light of post-poll violence in West Bengal in May 2021, it added. The petition stated that representations have been filed with the authorities and the Governor seeking deployment of additional forces to ensure a fair and transparent election. (ANI)
The Congress-led Opposition in Kerala has decided to play the waiting game in the ongoing tiff between Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over the functioning of universities in the state. The disagreement between the two began after Khan went public to say that the higher education sector in the state has gone to the dogs as there is massive political interference in appointment of Vice-Chancellors and in teaching posts. He went to on say that he now regrets putting his signature in the re-appointment order of the Kannur Vice-chancellor and hence does not wish to continue as chancellor and asked Vijayan to pass an ordinance to that effect and take over the post. On Monday, Khan reportedly asked his staff not to accept any files which comes to him in the capacity of chancellor. A media critic on condition of anonymity said that if the Congress does not play its cards well in the present fight between two top echelons in power, it will end up cutting a sorry figure. "There are limits to which a Governor can go, but for a democratically elected Chief Minister, he can play the political card at will and it's here that the Congress knows, if it for obvious reasons supports the Governor, who has been a handpicked person by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they could burn their fingers. Khan and the Vijayan government had had aberrations earlier too, but they patched up quickly. So this time, they will play the waiting game," said the media critic who did not wished to be identified. Vijayan was quick to retort and said it's surprising that after initially putting his signature and then going back on it means he (Khan) has come under some sort of duress and also added that the government has no plans to take over the post of chancellor from the Governor. Meanwhile, in a guarded statement, the Leader of Opposition V.D.Satheesan demanded a judicial probe done into all the appointments in Universities. "We are happy that the Governor has realised what we had pointed out when all these appointments were being made. For us the tiff between the Governor and the Chief Minister is not an issue as there are 'people' in Delhi who will settle things, like they did in the past, when a tiff broke out between the two here," said Satheesan. Joining the issue was the BJP, when Union Minister of State for External Affairs V.Muraleedharan asked Vijayan to correct himself saying it's very clear he has violated his oath of secrecy as appointments have been gifted to pro CPI-M people, which is what the Governor pointed out. --IANS sg/shb/ ( 460 Words) 2021-12-13-11:18:25 (IANS)
The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to respond on a plea seeking social security and welfare benefits for "gig workers" employed by online food delivery, taxi aggregators such as Ola, Uber, Swiggy, Zomato etc. A Bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and Justice BR Gavai issued notice to the Centre, Ola, Uber, Zomato, Swiggy on a petition filed by the Indian Federation Of App Based Transport Workers (IFAT) and posted the matter for further hearing in January 2022. The petition was also filed by two individuals, Tulasi Jagdish Babu (an Ola driver) and one Kaushar Khan seeking formulation of welfare schemes like health insurance, maternity benefits, pension, old age assistance, disability allowance and completion of vaccination at aggregators' cost on priority basis for gig workers. Senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for the organization, contended that at present these workers are not being provided with the benefit of social security under any of the labour legislations- organized or unorganized. Jaising said that the drivers or delivery workers are actually workmen in the classical sense of the word. She added that worldwide for Uber they have been considered as workers. The petition sought categorization of "gig workers" and "app-based workers" as unorganized workers and be made eligible for various social benefits under Workmen's Compensation Act, Industrial Disputes Act, Employees State Insurance Act and Maternity Benefits Act amongst others. The plea asked whether the 'Right to Social Security' is a guaranteed fundamental right for all working people- whether employed in the formal or informal sectors. "It is the case of the petitioners herein who are commonly known as "gig workers" and "platform workers" that they are in an employment relationship with the aggregators and hence covered by the definition of 'workman' within the meaning of all the applicable social security legislations including: The Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923; The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947; The Employee's State Insurance Act, 1948; Employee's Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952; The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961; The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 and 'Unorganised Workers' Social Welfare Security Act, 2008'," the plea stated. Denial of social security to the "gig workers" and the "platform workers" has resulted in their exploitation through forced labour, the plea said, adding that "gig workers" or "app workers" or "platform workers" work in what has come to be known as workers who work in the "informal economy". The petition stated that the 'Right to Livelihood' includes the right to work on decent and fair conditions of work. "Recognizing that social security is an integral part of the Right to work and livelihood, Parliament has enacted aforesaid legislations to give effect to the said rights. Hence, the state is duty-bound to ensure that the rights guaranteed under the said statutes are de-jure and de-facto made available to all working people," it added. "The Respondents (Ola, Uber, Swiggy, Zomato) companies have been claiming that there exists no contract of employment between them and the petitioners and that their relationship with the petitioners are in nature of the partnership. If such a claim were to be accepted, this would be inconsistent with the purpose of social-welfare legislations," the plea further stated. It said that the companies, which owns the apps, exercise complete supervision and control over the manner and method of the work with those who are allowed to register on the said apps. (ANI)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also offered his prayers to Sant Ravidas after PM Modi.

PM Modi also took a boat ride from Lalita Ghat to Ravidas Ghat with UP CM Yogi Adityanath after having lunch with the workers involved in the construction work of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham Corridor.

Prime Minister inaugurated phase 1 of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham project at Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi, which has been constructed at a cost of around Rs 339 crore.

A total of 23 buildings will be inaugurated in phase 1 of the project. They will provide a variety of facilities to the pilgrims visiting Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple, including Yatri Suvidha Kendras, Tourist Facilitation Centre, Vedic Kendra, Mumukshu Bhavan, Bhogshala, City Museum, Viewing Gallery, Food Court, among others.

Prime Minister's vision was also to ensure that all heritage structures be preserved during the course of the development of the project. This foresight came in handy when, during the process of destruction of the old properties, more than 40 ancient temples were rediscovered. (ANI)
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has written to President Joe Biden to express his concern about the loss of life and property that so many Americans have suffered during tornadoes impacting several states, including Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee. "I appreciate that the United States Government as well as the state governments of the affected areas, are doing all they can to provide immediate relief and solace to the victims," he wrote. "I have had the opportunity to visit some of these states in the past, and I offer my condolences to you, to the families who have lost loved ones, and to everyone affected by these devastating storms." The tornadoes have torn through states including Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee. Search and rescue teams in western Kentucky and nearby states were combing through rubble for survivors after a series of tornadoes ripped through the region, killing at least dozens, while the number of deaths in Kentucky alone could exceed 100, The Wall Street Journal quoted state officials as saying. Last week more than 30 separate tornadoes moved with devastating power and speed across six US states stretching from Mississippi in the south to Illinois in the north. --IANS vg/dpb ( 218 Words) 2021-12-13-11:30:54 (IANS)
President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday led the nation in paying tributes to the security personnel who laid down their lives fighting terrorists during the 2001 Parliament attack. Kovind tweeted: "I pay homage to the brave security personnel who laid down their lives on this day in 2001, defending the Parliament of the world's largest democracy against a dastardly terrorist attack. The nation shall forever remain grateful to them for their supreme sacrifice." Remembering the bravehearts, the Prime Minister tweeted: "I pay my tributes to the security personnel who were martyred in the line of duty during the Parliament attack in 2001. Their service to the nation and supreme sacrifice continues to inspire every citizen." Paying homage, Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted in Hindi: "I salute the courage and valour of all the soldiers, who made their supreme sacrifice to protect the temple of Indian democracy, Parliament House, in the cowardly terrorist attack. Your unparalleled valour and sacrifice will always inspire us to serve the nation." Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted: "My tributes to those brave security personnel who sacrificed their lives during attack on the Parliament House in 2001. The nation will remain grateful for their courage and supreme sacrifice in the line of duty." On the 20th anniversary of the attack, a programme was organised on the Parliament premises to pay homage to the bravehearts who made the supreme sacrifice. Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Defence Minister Rajanth Singh, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Arjun Ram Meghwal, among others paid tribute to the victims of the attack. Families of the deceased were also present at the event. On December 13, 2001, five terrorists stormed the Parliament complex and opened indiscriminate firing. Nine people, including eight security personnel were killed while fighting the terrorists. All the five terrorists were neutralised by the security forces. --IANS stp/rha/rjs/svn/dpb ( 359 Words) 2021-12-13-12:18:13 (IANS)
The Prime Minister is scheduled to take part in 'Ganga aarti.'

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityamath was seen accompanying the Prime Minister. Other Deputy Chief Minister of BJP ruled states also present.

Several earthen lamps were lit at the Ravidas ghat welcoming the Prime Minister. The Vivekanand Cruise was also decked up with lights.

Earlier today, the Prime Minister offered prayers to Sant Ravidas in Varanasi after inaugurating the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project in his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi.

PM Modi also took a boat ride from Lalita Ghat to Ravidas Ghat with UP CM Yogi Adityanath after having lunch with the workers involved in the construction work of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham Corridor.

Prime Minister inaugurated phase 1 of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham project at Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi, which has been constructed at a cost of around Rs 339 crore.

A total of 23 buildings will be inaugurated in phase 1 of the project. They will provide a variety of facilities to the pilgrims visiting Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple, including Yatri Suvidha Kendras, Tourist Facilitation Centre, Vedic Kendra, Mumukshu Bhavan, Bhogshala, City Museum, Viewing Gallery, Food Court, among others.

Prime Minister's vision was also to ensure that all heritage structures be preserved during the course of the development of the project. This foresight came in handy when, during the process of destruction of the old properties, more than 40 ancient temples were rediscovered. (ANI)
Maharashtra Environment and Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray on Monday urged political parties to make climate change their election agenda terming it as "need of the hour." The minister today attended an event in Mumbai in which he handed over 'Majhi Vasundhara' curriculum to the school education minister Varsha Gaikwad. The curriculum, developed with the help of UNICEF, aims at creating awareness about climate change and instilling responsibility towards our planet in primary school education. "If climate change happens, it will impact the people of our country more than any other country because we have a dense population. Need of the time is that political parties make climate change their election agenda," Thackeray said while addressing the gathering. "We are handing over the green syllabus to the school education department and hope this to be a very important step towards green earth," he added. Thackeray also said that the state government will discuss the climate change situation with state MLAs in the upcoming winter session of the Maharashtra Assembly. "Climate change is a crucial issue not just for Mumbai or Maharashtra, but for the entire world," said the minister. Taking to Twitter, the minister said: "In this hour of climate emergency, the survival of the human race on Earth entirely depends on our actions. Introducing this curriculum is our attempt at getting the next generation to start with a green thumb and be proactively involved in a pro-earth lifestyle." He further informed that this curriculum for Classes 1-8 will include Biodiversity Conservation, Solid Waste Management, Water Resources Management, Energy, Air, Pollution and Climate Change. "The coursework comprises activity-based lessons that go beyond classroom learning," he added. (ANI)
In a tweet, Prime Minister Modi said: "Saddened by the passing away of our senior Party colleague from Uttarakhand Harbans Kapoor Ji. A veteran legislator and administrator, he will be remembered for his contributions to public service and social welfare. Condolences to his family and supporters. Om Shanti."

Mouring the demise, BJP chief J P Nadda said: "Anguished by the passing away of our senior party colleague and veteran legislator from Uttarakhand Harbans Kapoor Ji. His contribution in serving the society and strengthening the party in the state will always be remembered. My prayers with his family and supporters. Om Shanti."

Union Home Minister Amit Shah: "Senior Uttarakhand BJP leader and MLA from Dehradun Cantt, Harbans Kapoor's whole life was dedicated to public service and organisation. He has made an invaluable contribution in strengthening BJP in Uttarakhand. His death is an irreparable loss to the BJP family. I express my condolences to his family and supporters.

In a series of tweets, Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said. "I have received the sad news of the demise of my senior colleague and former Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha, respected Harbans Kapoor ji this morning. Soft spoken Kapoor always lived life with simplicity."

Winning the Assembly elections for eight times in a row proves Kapoor's popularity, he said.

The Chief Minister visited Kapoor's residence to pay tribute to the departed leader.

--IANS ssb/shb/

( 268 Words)

2021-12-13-13:28:13 (IANS)
The injured personnel have been evacuated to an Army Hospital where are undergoing treatment at an Army Hospital, according to Kashmir Zone Police.

Earlier The Kashmir Zone Police tweeted: "#Terrorists fired upon a police vehicle near Zewan in Pantha Chowk area of #Srinagar. 14 personnel #injured in the attack. All the injured personnel evacuated to hospital. Area cordoned off. Further details shall follow. @JmuKmrPolice."

One ASI and a Selection Grade Constable succumbed to their injuries in the attack that took place in the Pantha Chowk area of the city, Police said.

More details are awaited. (ANI)
Days after the Union Cabinet gave its nod for interlinking of two rivers- Ken and Betwa, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has described it as the first step towards realising the vision of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's 'River Link campaign' to tackle drought and floods simultaneously. Chouhan said the development will change the fate of lakhs of farmers and about 12 lakh hectare lands of both -- Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh -- will get the benefit. "This project will become the lifeline of Bundelkhand. With this, 8.11 lakh hectares of unirrigated area will get the benefit of irrigation in nine districts along with Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh," he added. On December 8, the Union Cabinet approved interlinking Ken-Betwa rivers and assessed the total cost at Rs 44,605 crore for the project, which will be completed in eight years. As per the project, it will generate 103 MW hydropower and 27 MW solar power. This involves transfer of water from the Ken to the Betwa river through the construction of Daudhan Dam and a canal linking the two rivers, the Lower Orr Project, Kotha Barrage -and Bina Complex Multipurpose Project. "The land of Bundelkhand is very fertile, which has been a victim of drought due to lack of water. This water will change the fate and picture of the people of Bundelkhand. The project is going to prove to be a life-giver for the people of Bundelkhand running far and wide for water during summer," Chouhan said ahead of leaving for Varanasi, where the Prime Minister Narendra Modi will assess the development works done in BJP-ruled states. Both Ken and Betwa rivers originate from Madhya Pradesh. The Ken river originates from the Kaimur hills of Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh and after traversing a distance of 427 km, joins the Yamuna River in the Banda district of Uttar Pradesh. The Betwa also originates from Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh and covers a distance of 576 km and joins the Yamuna in Hamirpur district of Uttar Pradesh. The first of its kind of project is expected to give benefit to several districts falling in both - Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. As many as nine districts of MP such as Raisen, Vidisha, Sagar, Damoh, Chhatarpur, Panna, Tikamgarh, Shivpuri and Datia along with Banda, Mahoba, Jhansi and Lalitpur districts of UP will get the benefit of drinking water besides irrigation. The decision of interlinking has come at the time when the campaign for Assembly elections in UP is in its full swing, while the Assembly polls in MP are scheduled in 2023. IANS pd/shb/ ( 449 Words) 2021-12-13-14:31:01 (IANS)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor Project was a symbol of India's spiritual soul. Dedicating the newly constructed Kashi Vishwanath Dham project to the nation, the Prime Minister said, "Today, a new chapter is being written in the history of Kashi Vishwanath. Kashi Vishwanath Dham premises is not just a grand building but a symbol of India's culture and traditions. Kashi shows how inspirations of the ancient are giving direction to the future." The Prime Minister said that Kashi is a beautiful amalgam of antiquity and novelty that come alive together. He said that the glory of the past is coming alive again, showcasing India's antiquity, traditions, energy and mobility. Quoting extensively from scriptures, the Prime minister also spoke in Bhojpuri and established a connect with the local people. 'Kashi and Ganga belong to all. The invaders attacked this city, tried to destroy it. The history of Aurangzeb's atrocities, his terror tried to change civilization by the sword. But the soil of this country is different from the rest of the world. If Aurangzeb comes here, Shivaji stands up. If any Salar Masood moves here, then brave warriors like King Suheldev make him realise the power of our unity," he said. He said that when the temple was attacked, Ahilyabai Holkar helped in its reconstruction. The Prime Minister said that earlier the temple area was only 3,000 square feet, it has now become about 5 lakh square feet. "Around 50 to 75 thousand devotees can now be accommodated in the temple premises," he said. Modi further said that Kashi is the city of eternity where awakening is life and even death is a celebration. He termed it as the religious and spiritual capital of the country. He said that new India was developing alongside and listed the achievements of his government in changing the lives of people for the better. The Prime Minister also expressed his gratitude towards every labourer who has worked for the construction of this complex and did not stop work even during the pandemic. The Prime Minister asked people to make three promises to him. He said that people must promise cleanliness, innovation and self-reliance. "India is moving towards a new tomorrow but we need to work harder on cleanliness. We also need to stress on innovation. Startups are changing the face of the country and we need to carry it forward. We also have to emphasise on 'Atmanirbhar' which is essential to make the country strong," he said. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, BJP president J.P. Nadda, Deputy Chief Ministers Dinesh Sharma and Keshav Maurya, Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Mahendra Pandey and state BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh were present on the occasion. --IANS amita/dpb ( 470 Words) 2021-12-13-14:54:49 (IANS)
Ahead of the Goa Assembly polls, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee said that TMC stands for "Temple, Mosque, Church" while adding that the party is alternative to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s rule. Addressing party workers in Panaji, Banerjee said, "TMC means 'Temple-Mosque-Church'. We fight the BJP. Is there a chance of winning? Do you have the confidence that we can win? If you are confident, then do not step back. March ahead," Mamata Banerjee addressed party workers in Goa's Panaji. "We are not here to cause vote-splitting but to unite the votes and make the TMC alliance win. This is BJP's alternative. If someone wants to support it, it is up to them to make a decision. We have already made a decision. We will fight and die but we will not step back," she added. Mamata Banerjee is on a three-day tour to goa. Earlier today, she held a meeting with leaders of the TMC's Goa unit. The TMC aggressively started campaigning for the upcoming polls after former Goa Chief Minister Luizinho Faleiro joined the party. Faleiro joined TMC in the presence of Abhishek Banerjee after resigning from the Congress party. Goa is scheduled to go for the Assembly polls in early 2022. Goa Assembly has a strength of 40 members out of which BJP currently has 17 legislators and enjoys the support of legislators from Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), Vijay Sardesai of the Goa Forward Party (GFP) and three independents. GFP and MGP each have three MLAs.Congress, on the other hand, has 15 MLAs in the house. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday witnessed 'Ganga Aarti' on the banks of the Ganges in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh on the occasion of Shiv Deepotsav being celebrated in the city today. PM Modi who had boarded the Vivekananda Cruise witnessed the grand spectacle at Ravidas Ghat from aboard the vessel. Priests dressed in traditional attires chanted shlokas as they carried deepams (earthen lamps) and moved in rhythmic motion for the ritual. The Prime Minister was seen with folded hands watching the aarti from the cruise vessel. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was also onboard the cruise accompanying the Prime Minister. Several thousands of earthen lamps were lit to illuminate the ghat, which was decked with floral arrangements. The water from the Ganges reflected the glittering lights of the diyas and illuminations from the temples and buildings lining the river bank. Following the grand aarti, a scintillating display of light and sound show was held at the ghat. Thousands of devotees took part in the grand celebrations today. The sky was light up with fireworks after a light and sound show. The cruise was also decked up beautifully with lights. The Prime Minister was accompanied by chief ministers of BJP-ruled states, deputy chief ministers and other top leaders of BJP. Typically, devotees and tourists gather every evening at the ghat to witness the Ganga aarti, which is a daily ritual performed at dusk. Earlier today, the Prime Minister offered prayers to Sant Ravidas after inaugurating the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project in his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi. The Prime Minister took a boat ride from Lalita Ghat to Ravidas Ghat with the Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath after having lunch with the workers involved in the construction work of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham Corridor. Prime Minister inaugurated phase 1 of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham project here, which has been constructed at a cost of around Rs 339 crore. A total of 23 buildings will be inaugurated in phase 1 of the project. They will provide a variety of facilities to the pilgrims visiting the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple, including Yatri Suvidha Kendras, Tourist Facilitation Centre, Vedic Kendra, Mumukshu Bhavan, Bhogshala, City Museum, Viewing Gallery, Food Court, among others. Prime Minister's vision was also to ensure that all heritage structures be preserved during the course of the development of the project. This foresight came in handy when, during the process of destruction of the old properties, more than 40 ancient temples were rediscovered. (ANI)
Amid the ongoing tussle over the extension of the jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF), West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday said that there is a need to yield to the primacy of national interest and security ignoring partisan considerations. Dhankhar's remarks came as the response against Trinamool Congress MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray's questioning the Governor's stance on BSF's jurisdiction issue. In a letter to the TMC MP, the Governor wrote, "On national security issues, there is a need to yield to the primacy of national interest and security ignoring partisan considerations. In federal polity, all agencies, central and state, need to engage in tandem and togetherness. This was also emphasised when CS and ACS (Home) called on me. They were indicated to take urgent steps to ensure cooperative coordination between state apparatus and BSF." Dhankhar said seamless coordination between BSF and State administration and police would affirmatively contribute to these agencies effectively performing their role. The BSF is enjoined by law with the task of "ensuring the security of the borders of India." "All need to work for the welfare of the people of the State and ensure that governance is in accordance with constitutional prescriptions and rule of law where democratic values and human rights situations blossom. The situation, as all are aware, at the moment on all these counts needs massive uplift," he added. Last week, Dhankhar had slammed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her recent direction to the state police asking it not to allow the Border Security Force (BSF) to enter villages outside its 'jurisdiction of 15 km' and alleged that her statements can create problems between the local police and the paramilitary force. On December 9, the Chief Minister had hit out at the Union government for its decision to extend the jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF) to 50 km from the prior limit of 15 km in the state, this time directing the state's police to not allow BSF personnel to enter villages without their permission. Later in the day, the West Bengal Governor wrote to CM Mamata Banerjee, urging her to revisit her directives with regard to the BSF. The Centre, earlier in the month of October, had empowered the BSF to conduct searches, arrest suspects and make seizures up to an area of 50 km inside Indian territory from the International Border (IB) along India-Pakistan and India-Bangladesh borders. The BSF, which was only empowered to take action up to 15 kilometres in the states of Punjab, West Bengal, and Assam, has now been authorised to extend its jurisdiction up to 50 km without any hurdle or permission either from central or state governments. However, its jurisdiction has been cut short by 20 km in the five northeastern states-- Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland, and Meghalaya-- where it had jurisdiction up to 80 km. Similarly in Gujarat, the BSF's jurisdiction has been curtailed from 80 to 50 km. In Rajasthan, the BSF's area of jurisdiction will remain the same at 50 km. (ANI)
Asserting that "free legal aid is a right of the people of India", Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday informed the Rajya Sabha that the Centre has been focusing on the matter. Participating in the debate over 'The High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill 2021', Rijiju mentioned how several undertrials have been facing the problem due to lack of free trial as their families are not able to spend amount for trials. Rijiju said that it resulted in lakhs of undertrials languishing in various jails in the country, and that "I would write to the Chief Justice of India" to look into the matter. Noting that he recently mentioned the issue in an event in Uttarakhand, the Minister assured of raising the issue in the upcoming Law Ministers' Conference along with several other issues raised by the Rajya Sabha members during a discussion over the Bill. Rijiju made it clear that there should not be any "politics on judiciary" and "There should be no distance between man and justice". On the issue of fast track courts, the Minister said a total of 28 states and seven Union Territories are engaged to achieve the goal except for West Bengal, which is not taking any step in this direction. "I don't know why West Bengal is not showing interest in fast track court. West Bengal's performance is not good...There should not be any politics on judiciary," Rijiju said. He also supported all Opposition members' demands to focus on the security of judges and mentioned the Centre will discuss the matter despite it being a state subject. The Minister also expressed his view for the appointment of more judges that include those who belong to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. He also informed that the Centre will take suggestions from states on establishing a National Judicial Infrastructure Authority. "I have received a letter from Chief Justice of India over the issue but the Centre will not take decisions before consultation from the states." The Minister was replying to issues raised by several Rajya Sabha members who earlier took part in the debate over the money Bill, which was later considered and returned with a voice vote. The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on December 8. The Bill clarifies that a person will be entitled to the additional pension or family pension from the first day of the month in which they complete the minimum age under the concerned age bracket. Rijiju accepted almost all the suggestions of the members of the House on the Bill that seeks amendment in The High CourtJudges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1954 and the Supreme and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1958. Rijiju said the government has to take up the Bill as an "explanation clause". Both the High Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1954, and the Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1958 regulate the salaries and conditions of service of the judges of High Courts and the Supreme Court of India. Under the Acts, all retired judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts and their family members are entitled to pension or family pension. They are also entitled to an additional quantum of pension or family pension when they attain a certain age in accordance with a specified scale. The scale contains five age brackets (with a minimum age of 80, 85, 90, 95, and 100 years), and the additional quantum increases with age (from 20 per cent to 100 per cent of the pension or family pension). (ANI)
Following the inauguration of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham corridor in Varanasi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national vice president Dilip Ghosh on Monday said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee should take inspiration from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and renovate the Kalighat Temple in Kolkata. Speaking to ANI, Ghosh said, "Divya Kashi, Bhabya Kashi...It is the renaissance of not just Kashi but of the whole country. It is the reinstatement of Hinduism and Sanatan dharma and culture. The entire nation is happy today. Inspiration can be taken from it to renovate the Kalighat temple in Kolkata. Mamata Banerjee lives near the temple. She should do at least some good work or take inspiration from the Prime Minister." "There are several places in Kolkata and West Bengal as well that can be renovated. Tourism will boost if these places are revamped. Unfortunately, the government here does not care about this. They are only focused on politics," he added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated phase 1 of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham project at Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi, which has been constructed at a cost of around Rs 339 crores. A total of 23 buildings will be inaugurated in phase 1 of the project. They will provide a variety of facilities to the pilgrims visiting Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple, including Yatri Suvidha Kendras, Tourist Facilitation Centre, Vedic Kendra, Mumukshu Bhavan, Bhogshala, City Museum, Viewing Gallery, Food Court, among others. (ANI)
The Delhi Commission for Women on Monday issued a notice to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) expressing extreme displeasure over a regressive and anti-women comprehension passage from a Class 10 English Examination paper. The Delhi Commission for Women took cognisance of the objectionable comprehension passage in which the writer has allegedly stated that indiscipline and disobedience in children have increased due to an increase in freedom and equality among women. The Commission has termed the passage to be infuriating, sexist and offensive against women and children. "What people were slow to observe was that the emancipation of the wife destroyed the parent's authority over the children. The mother did not exemplify the obedience upon which she still tried to insist... In bringing the man down from his pedestal the wife and the mother deprived herself, in fact of the means of discipline," read the controversial passage in the exam paper. As per the commission, the objectionable passage claims that teenagers are going astray due to lack of parental authority at home, which according to him "depended, more than a century ago upon the convention of the husband being master in his own house. The wife gave him formal obedience realizing that upon his depended her authority in turn over the children". According to the writer, "It was only by accepting her husband's sway that she could gain obedience from the young. He further claims that the wife led by example in her subordination and goes on to state that "children and servants were in this way taught to know their place." The Commission further told CBSE, "The passage then rants some sexist stereotypes about how lesser children resulted in a feminist revolt and other similar nonsensical thoughts. The passage further states that 'What people were slow to observe was that the emancipation of the wife destroyed the parent's authority over the children. The other did not exemplify the obedience upon which she still tried to insist. There was more room now for disagreement between the parents, enabling the child to appeal from one to other, eventually ignoring both. In bringing the men down from his pedestal the wife and the mother deprived herself, in fact, of the means of discipline." The Delhi Commission for Women expressed its exasperation when the writer even asked the students a question seeking their opinion on whether he is a male chauvinist pig/ arrogant person/ a disgruntled husband or has his family's welfare at heart! The Commission stated that its evident that the writer is a "woman-hater" and his understanding of women issues and feminism is totally perverted. Seeing the severity of the matter, the Commission has asked CBSE to provide details related to the writer as well as the people responsible for getting such a patriarchal and regressive article published in the examination paper. The Commission has also asked CBSE to provide reasons as to why this passage which propagates gender discrimination was chosen and whether it was scrutinized by experts or not. CBSE has been given 72 hours by the Commission for providing a detailed action report in this regard. DCW Chief Swati Maliwal expressed her anger over the controversial passage said: "It is unacceptable that CBSE decided to publish this twisted passage in its examination paper for not only such articles attack the independent identity of women and propagate anti feminism and gender stereotypes, but also have a negative impact over the progressive thinking of students, who indeed are the future of the nation. I have given 72 hours to CBSE for taking action against all people responsible and for providing details of the same to the Commission." (ANI)
Top leaders of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday condoled the death of two police personnel in terrorist attack outskirts of Srinagar that also left several others injured. Speaking to ANI, National Conference (NC) chief Farooq Abdullah said, "This is a very unfortunate incident. I express my condolences to the Bravehearts. But it needs to be stopped. I believe that the Centre should shorten the distance from Delhi and win the heart of the people." The former chief minister of the erstwhile state Omar Abdullah condemned the terrorist attack on a police vehicle. Taking to Twitter, Omar Abdullah said, "Terrible news of a terror attack on a police bus on the outskirts of Srinagar. I unequivocally condemn this attack while at the same time send my heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased and prayers for the injured." Meanwhile, Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti slammed the central government after the incident alleging that the Centre's false narrative of normalcy in Kashmir stands exposed. "Terribly sad to hear about the Srinagar attack in which two policemen were killed. The government of India's false narrative of normalcy in Kashmir stands exposed yet there has been no course correction. My condolences to the bereaved families," she tweeted. Two police personnel were killed and 12 others injured after terrorists fired upon a police vehicle near a police camp at Zewan on the outskirts of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday. The injured personnel have been evacuated to an Army Hospital where are undergoing treatment at Army Hospital, according to Kashmir Zone Police. One ASI and a Selection Grade Constable succumbed to their injuries in the attack that took place in the Pantha Chowk area of the city, Police said. More details are awaited. (ANI)
The building, which was constructed in 1912 after the shifting of capital from Kolkata to Delhi, housed the Central Legislative Assembly between 1913 and 1926.

Delhi Legislative Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel claims the building fell into disuse after 1926 and the British administrators turned the building into a court and decided to hold trials of "revolutionaries" here.

"Revolutionaries were brought here from the Red Fort via a tunnel," Goel said.

According to him, prisoners were tried within the hall and convicts were sent to the gallows.

Divulging the series of incidents that led to the discovery of the gallows, the Assembly Speaker said that a worker had given information about a wall that seemed to be comparatively new. "When we knocked on the wall, it seemed hollow and we decided to break it," he said.

Goel said that a team of the Archaeological department will be called to date the bricks, wood, and other things.

He said the Delhi Vidhan Sabha will be open to tourists. Earlier, he has assured that the tunnel would be renovated and opened for tourists.

"In months when sessions are not held here, it will be open for tourists," Goel said.

The building, though around 109 years old, does not come under the Archaeological Survey of India. (ANI)
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Monday condemned the cowardly terrorist attack on a Jammu and Kashmir police bus and expressed his condolences towards those who lost their lives in the incident. "Strongly condemn the cowardly terrorist attack on Jammu and Kashmir Police bus in Srinagar. My homage to our brave martyred police personnel. We are committed to ensure that perpetrators are punished. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families," tweeted the office of the Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. "Directed the concerned authorities to provide best possible treatment to the injured. I pray for their speedy recovery. Our police and security forces are determined to neutralize the evil forces of terrorism," the tweet further read. Kashmir Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar today told ANI that as many as 25 personnel were attacked by 2-3 three terrorists. "14 of them were injured, of which 2 were killed in action and 12 out of danger. One terrorist who was shot managed to flee. Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)'s offshoot, Kashmir Tigers has claimed responsibility. We are monitoring the situation." Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday sought details on the terror attack in Zewan, Jammu and Kashmir that claimed the lives of two police personnel and left 12 others injured. The Prime Minister also expressed condolences to the bereaved families of the personnel killed in action. "PM Narendra Modi has sought details on the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. He has also expressed condolences to the families of those security personnel who have been martyred in the attack," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted. Terrorists had fired upon a police vehicle near Zewan in Pantha Chowk area of Srinagar, the Kashmir Zone Police said. One ASI and a Selection Grade Constable succumbed to their injuries in the attack. The injured personnel have been evacuated to an Army Hospital where they are undergoing treatment, according to Kashmir Zone Police. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the valedictory session of the National Summit on Agro and Food Processing on December 16 from 11 AM in which detailed contours of Natural Farming shall be presented. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare informed that this summit is being organised as part of a pre-event Vibrant Gujarat Summit to be held in Anand, Gujarat from December 14-16. This conference will be attended by 5000 farmers who will be present in the Summit. Apart from this 80 central institutes of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Krishi Vigyan Kendras and ATMA network in the States shall also be connecting farmers to witness the event live to know and learn about the practice and benefits of Natural Farming. Additionally, farmers and people from across the country can participate in conference virtually or watch it live on Doordarshan. The Government has initiated several measures to transform agriculture in order to increase farmers' income during the last six years. Efforts are underway to promote and support initiatives leading to sustainability of the system, cost reduction, market access and better realization to farmers. Zero Budget Natural Farming has also been identified as a promising tool to minimize the dependence of farmers on purchased inputs, reduce the cost of agriculture by relying on traditional field based technologies which lead to improved soil health. It emphasizes on shift of agriculture practices from mono-crops to diversified multi-cropping system. Desi cow, its dung and urine play an important role from which from which various inputs such as Beejamrit, Jivamrit and Ghanjivamrit are made on the farm and are the source of nutrients and life to soil for good agricultural production. Other traditional practices such as mulching the soil with biomass or keeping the soil covered with green cover round the year, even in the very low water availability situations are added practices which ensure sustained productivity even from the first year of adoption. To emphasize on such strategies and to deliver message to farmers in far flung areas of the country Government of Gujarat is organizing a National Summit on Agro and Food Processing from December 14 to December 16, 2021 at Anand, Gujarat with a focus on Natural Farming. Eminent speakers have been invited to share their thoughts on the theme of Natural Farming. An exhibition comprising more than 300 exhibitors from all over the country will be an added attraction. (ANI)
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said that the Central government has been making constant efforts to achieve 'Aatmanirbharta' in the defence sector, that "lagged behind due to lack of investment, innovation, research and development before the current government at the Centre came to power in 2014". Singh inaugurated several iconic events of the Department of Defence Production (DDP), as part of the Ministry of Defence dedicated week from December 13-19, 2021 to celebrate 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' commemorating 75 years of Independence. A virtual exhibition, 'Path to Pride', public exhibitions, curated museums and a booklet showcasing 75 resolutions of DDP were inaugurated/launched by Singh. Congratulating DDP for organizing the week-long nation-wide events, he said that it will be helpful in spreading information about the efforts towards making India a net defence exporter from a net defence importer. In his address, Singh also paid rich tributes to the country's Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and other Armed Forces personnel, who lost their lives in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu on December 8, 2021 and extended his condolences to the family members. "General Rawat still had a lot to do. Modernization of our Armed Forces and complete self-reliance in the defence sector were subjects close to his heart. Now, it is our responsibility to work tirelessly to achieve the objective even sooner," he added. Sharing his insights on what freedom means to a nation, the Defence Minister said that freedom is not just a thing to be attained or earned, it is also a thing to maintain, for which one has to strive continuously. "Freedom is not a goal, but a path. To a sovereign nation, freedom means the ability and capacity to take any decision related to defence and socio-economic development. In any situation, we can take a decision only when we are completely self-reliant," he stressed. Singh was of the view that while India attained freedom in the fields such as agriculture, education and health post-independence, not much attention was paid towards the defence sector. "Before the government came to power in 2014, the defence sector lagged behind due to lack of investment, innovation and research and development. This led to dependency on imports to meet the defence requirements of the country and affected the strategic autonomy," he said. The Union Minister pointed out that the present government understood the importance of self-reliance in defence and has been making constant efforts to achieve 'Aatmanirbharta' in the sector. "The defence sector has entered into a new era due to the policies, vision and mindset of this government," he added. Stating that this government does not shy away from taking bold decisions in the interest of the nation, Singh listed out a number of policy reforms aimed at promoting self-reliance in defence manufacturing. He made special mention of the corporatization of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), saying that the move will make OFB more effective and efficient and unleash its true potential. The minister also appreciated the fact that the private sector has contributed to about 90 per cent of country's defence exports. He exuded confidence this active and continued partnership between the government and the private sector will help to soon achieve 'Make in India, Make for the World' as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He hoped that the week-long events will generate awareness among people about the progress made in the defence sector, instill national spirit and further strengthen their trust in the country's defence preparedness. Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar said that the week-long events will make people aware of the achievements, resolve and vision of DDP. He reiterated the resolve to continue to move forward without any comprise to achieve 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'. As a run up to the DefExpo-2022 and with an aim to reach out to a larger audience in India and abroad, a Virtual Exhibition named 'Path to Pride' was launched to showcase the journey of 75 years for 'Aatmanirbhar' defence manufacturing through 75 stories of growth and evolution across the domains of land, naval, air, missile and electronic systems. This virtual interactive platform offers a repository of India's defence capabilities, indigenization efforts, future readiness and policy reforms, augmenting India's emergence as the global defence manufacturing hub. As per the Defence Ministry, this exhibition has virtual events lined-up for seven days with seven Ps - Pratigya, Prarambh, Pratishthan, Parivartan, Parakram, Protsahan and Prayas - designed to engage respective stakeholders from the Government, manufacturers, innovators and masses. Public exhibitions organized by Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) and Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance (DGAQA) at 75 locations across the country were also simultaneously inaugurated through virtual mode showcasing the journey of growth and development of defence manufacturing in the country. These exhibitions will be displaying an array of indigenous marquee defence products during the week. The exhibitions will offer a unique opportunity to the general public to have a look and feel of modern defence weapons, arms, ammunition and other equipment and on the top of it, a proud feeling of nationalism. Curated museums at Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune, Avadi - Chennai and Goa were also inaugurated through virtual mode with a purpose to inform, educate, and inspire the masses. A booklet listing 75 commitments to the nation to be fulfilled by August 15, 2022 was also unveiled. The commitments aim to boost defence manufacturing, bring efficiency, facilitate Ease of Doing Business and reduce the regulatory compliance burden across the comprehensive defence production infrastructure. (ANI)
Following the terrorist attack on the outskirts of Srinagar that took the lives of two jawans, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah on Monday asked why the government cannot hold talks with Pakistan when it can do so with China. Speaking to ANI, Abdullah said, "It is unfortunate. I condole the demise of jawans who lost their lives. I urge the government that if these things are to be brought to their end, then they should work on winning hearts. The distance between Delhi and Kashmir has to be reduced. There should be dialogue with people in order to prevent such incidents." "I advocate talks with Pakistan. The Indian government should talk to Pakistan. If the Indian government can talk to China, then why cannot it talk to Pakistan. China has advanced into Indian territory. Indian soldiers were killed by the Chinese. Despite this, if the Indian government can talk to China, then why not Pakistan?" stated the National Conference chief. He said the solution to such incidents can only be found made hrough dialogue. Referring to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Abdullah said "Friends can be changed, but not neighbours. So we cannot wait for talks till the last bullet is fired. Both countries have to come forward for talks. It is good for both India and Pakistan and we can avoid the damage." Two police personnel were killed and 12 others injured after terrorists fired upon a police vehicle near a police camp at Zewan on the outskirts of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday. The injured personnel have been evacuated to an Army Hospital where are undergoing treatment at Army Hospital, according to Kashmir Zone Police. One ASI and a Selection Grade Constable succumbed to their injuries in the attack that took place in the Pantha Chowk area of the city, police said. More details are awaited. (ANI)
Bharatiya Janata Party national president Jagat Prakash Nadda will visit poll-bound Uttarakhand for two days from December 28 to 29, sources said on Monday. Sources told ANI, "BJP president JP Nadda will go on a two-day tour on December 28-29 to take stock of the election preparations in Uttarakhand. During his visit, JP Nadda will also review the preparations made by BJP in the state so far. Notably, BJP recently has started seeking public opinion regarding its Sankalp Patra (resolution letter)." In the state, the BJP government has fast-tracked the work related to Sankalp Patra. So far, to garner public opinion, BJP workers are sending different chariots to the Kumaon region. Sources say that on December 14, 40 chariots will also be dispatched for 41 seats of the Garhwal region. Later, a special committee formed by the party will study the suggestions sent by them and submit a report. Sources also said that the BJP president is likely to hold a meeting of the party's core committee in his upcoming visit to review the ground situation and other matters. Uttarakhand Assembly elections are scheduled for next year. In the 2017 Uttarakhand Assembly elections, BJP won 57 seats, Congress won 11 seats and two seats were won by others. (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Monday pulled up state governments for not giving wide publicity to the portal developed for the disbursal of the ex-gratia compensation to the family of the Covid-19 victims. A Bench of Justices MR Shah and BV Nagarathna observed that unless wide publicity is given, people will not be able to know the postal address on which they can make an online application. It took exception to the government's failure to give adequate publicity -- through print and electronic media -- to the COVID-19 compensation scheme in compliance with its earlier orders. When the counsel appearing for the Gujarat government told the apex court that publicity of the scheme was given through All India Radio (AIR), the Bench quipped, "Who listens to AIR ? You must give advertisements to newspapers, especially vernacular dailies". Use FM channels, local newspapers, and vernacular dailies to advertise the scheme regarding Covid-19 compensation suggested the top court. The Gujarat government's counsel assured the Bench that these steps will be taken by Tuesday. The court decided to hear the matter on December 14. In its latest affidavit, the Gujarat government said to date it has received 22,557 applications for ex-gratia compensation and sanction has been issued for payment in 16,175 cases and payment made in 14,215 cases. Notably, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's website had recorded cumulative deaths of 10,098 in Gujarat. "The State is making all endeavours to ensure that publicity about the ex-gratia compensation scheme is done through radio, print and electronic media as well as through official social media handles. The link to the online line portal has been provided on multiple government websites, including websites of all the District Collectorates, as well as to VCEs (Village Computer Entrepreneurs) of e gram centres at the village level," stated the affidavit. The apex court was hearing a petition filed by lawyer-cum-petitioner, Gaurav Kumar Bansal, seeking an ex-gratia compensation for those family members, who died due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier, the top court had approved the Centre's disaster management guidelines on payment of Rs 50,000 ex-gratia compensation to the next kin of those who died of COVID-19 deaths and said the money to be disbursed within 30 days of applying. (ANI)
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has again raised the issue of special status for the state. Referring to the NITI Aayog's latest report, he pointed out that if Bihar is in the last position, the Centre should give special status to it. Bihar is now fulfilling all the criteria for special status, he added. "We took over the charge of the state in 2005. At that time, there was no infrastructure in the state. We have relentlessly worked on it and the state gradually walked on the path of development. Things are now much better than what they were 16 years ago," he said. "I want to point out that the per capita income of Bihar was Rs 7,194 in 2005 and now it has reached Rs 50,735 in 2021. The annual budget of 2004-05 was Rs 23,875 crore which has now reached Rs 2,18,000 in 2021. Bihar is at 12th position area-wise compared to other states, but is on third position as far as population is concerned. We will soon reach to the second position in this respect. Hence, special status of Bihar is the need of hour," Nitish Kumar said. "At present, we are getting money from the Centre in the ratio of 60:40 with 60 per cent for every development project sanctioned by the Centre. If the Centre give special status to Bihar, the ratio will be changed to 90:10. That means, whatever surplus money we would have will be utilised for the development of Bihar. Once that would happen, Bihar will rapidly rise to the national average of the development," He said, adding that special status for Bihar is our long standing demand over the years. Deputy Chief Minister Renu Devi, while interacting with media persons in Patna on Saturday, had said that there is no need to give Bihar a special status. Reacting to the NITI Aayog's report, she said: "Whatever development work is taking place in Bihar is due to the financial help of the Centre. The construction of six to eight lane roads is taking place in Bihar under National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), colleges, hospitals are being made due to funds given by the Central government and it is more than the fund allocated under special status." --IANS ajk/skp/ ( 389 Words) 2021-12-13-19:09:43 (IANS)
To win the confidence of Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez, multi-millionaire conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar called her up and made her believe that he was speaking from Union Home Minister Amit Shah's office, reveals the charge sheet in the Rs 200 crore PMLA case lodged against him. This call was made by Chandrasekhar to Shan Muthathil, the makeup artist of the actress, who was initially avoiding him but after the high-profile "call", she started talking to him. Chandrasekhar gave her a lot of luxury gifts which included Gucci outfits for gym wear, Gucci shoes, Rolex watch, 15 pairs of earrings, 5 Birkin bags, Hermes bangles and LV bags. He also gave a mini chopper to Jacqueline which she returned, as per the charge sheet. The charge sheet reads that he also gifted a BMW car to Geraldine Fernandez, the sister of Jacqueline who is living in the US. As per the charge sheet he also gave around $1,80,000 and a Porche car to the mother of Jacqueline. However, the actress, in her statement, recorded before ED officials said that her sister took a loan of $1,50,000 from Chandrasekhar. She also accepted that he transferred around Rs 15 lakh to the account of her brother who lives in Australia. "I have been speaking to Sukesh since February 2017. In August 2021, he was arrested, after which I never met him. He told me that he is the owner of Sun TV and from the political family of Jayalalithaa," Jacqueline told the ED, reads the charge sheet. The ED filed this charge sheet last week and the court took cognisance of it immediately. The charge sheet reveals that Pinky Irani, an aide of Chandrasekhar who was arrested recently and introduced herself to Jacqueline's staff as Angel, had introduced Chandrasekhar to the actress. It was Irani who used to select luxury gifts for Jacqueline and deliver them to the actress. Chandrasekhar has said that actress Nora Fatehi wanted to buy a BMW in the name of Mehboob Khan. On her request, around Rs 75 lakh was given to B. Mohan Raj in Chennai. The ED will soon file a supplementary charge sheet, in which they will name more accused including Irani. --IANS atk/bg/vd ( 387 Words) 2021-12-13-19:39:48 (IANS)
The BJP would deploy over 100 prominent leaders from the national capital to oversee election management in 44 constituencies of western Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming assembly elections. These leaders include Delhi BJP office bearers and senior leaders. These 44 assembly seats are spread in nine districts of Western Uttar Pradesh. Two leaders from Delhi have been made in-charge of one district. Similarly, two leaders have been assigned to oversee election management in one assembly constituency. A meeting of BJP leaders from the national capital was held on Sunday in Meerut. It is learnt that in the meeting BJP Lok Sabha member from Haryana Sanjay Bhatia and leader of opposition in Delhi assembly Vijender Gupta briefed these leaders from Delhi about their role and responsibilities. "We are asked to coordinate with local leaders and ground workers and ensure execution of party strategy," said one of the district in-charge. Some the names are Delhi BJP vice president Sunil Yadav and Virender Sachdeva, Ashok Goel, secretary Gaurav Khari, spokespersons Aditya Jha, Vikram Bidhuri, Mohan Lal Gihara and Brajesh Rai, former North Delhi mayor Jai Prakash, party minority wing national media in-charge Syed Yasir Jilani and others. After holding meetings on Sunday, these leaders were asked to visit their respective district and assembly seats for three days and hold meetings at the block level. "After yesterday's meeting, everyone went to their respective assigned seats and will be holding an interaction meeting with local leaders till Wednesday. After the announcement of the election schedule, we will be camping in our assigned assembly constituency and districts till the election," a leader assigned an assembly seat in Western Uttar Pradesh said. The Uttar Pradesh assembly polls will be held in February-March next year along with Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa. The saffron party is leaving no stone unturned to win the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls for the second time in a row. It is also learnt that the saffron party will deploy leaders from other states including more from Delhi in rest of assembly constituencies of Uttar Pradesh. Similarly, the BJP will also deploy leaders from other parts of the country to other four poll bound states. --IANS ssb/pgh ( 378 Words) 2021-12-13-19:55:50 (IANS)
Terming it the "a need of the hour", Maharashtra Environment Minister Aditya Thackeray on Monday called upon political parties to incorporate climate change as an election agenda in the coming days. He said that if climate change indeed takes place, it would impact the people of India most as it is a thickly-populated nation and it is high time now for parties to make it part of their poll planks, as he launched a comprehensive school curriculum, 'Majhi Vasundhara' on environment education. "In this hour of climate emergency, the survival of the human race on Earth entirely depends on our actions. Introducing this curriculum is our attempt at getting the next generation to start with a green thumb and be proactively involved in a pro-Earth lifestyle," he said, as he handed over the new MV (My Earth) Curriculum to School Education Minister Prof. Varsha Gaikwad at a function here. Gaikwad said: "Education is about helping children better interact with their environment. Through the curriculum, to be introduced in schools, we hope to prepare young minds to respect, protect and save the environment." The Thackeray scion also added that climate change is a critical issue, not just for Mumbai and Maharashtra, but for the whole world, and the state government will discuss the issue even with state legislators in the forthcoming Winter Session of the legislature. Intended to inculcate climate-consciousness and green values in the gen-next right from their tender age, the state government has launched the new 'green' curriculum, developed by the state Department of Environment and Climate Change with UNICEF, for Class 1 to 8. The MV Curriculum, will impart application-based awareness on issues of climate change with a balance from traditional and local knowledge with four themes: Biodiversity Conservation, Solid Waste Management and Personal & Community Health, Water Resource Management, and Energy, Air Pollution and Climate Change. Charting a different part compared with the predominant informational learning style, the MV Curriculum will develop an understanding of the environmental ecosystem through field projects and activities, said officials. Thackeray Jr. started tje MV for environmental conservation and protection, with a focus on all the five elements of nature known as "Panchmahabhutas" - Bhumi (land), Jal (water), Vayu (air), Agni (energy) and Sky (augmentation). The curriculum development work was started in December 2020 by the state government, along with United Nations Children's Fund, Maharashtra, the Regional Centre for Urban and Environmental Studies of All India Institute of Local Self Government, Mumbai, the Centre for Environment Education, Pune and other domain experts. --IANS qn/vd ( 431 Words) 2021-12-13-20:08:33 (IANS)
One of the four Swarnim Vijay Mashals or the 'Flame of Victory' which had been set forth on a nationwide journey from the National War Memorial on December 16, 2020 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reached its penultimate destination, Air Force Station Hindon on Monday. The Mashal was received by Air Marshal Amit Dev, Air Officer Commanding in Chief of Western Air Command and other senior officers of the Indian Air Force. War Heroes of 1971, ACM S.K. Kaul who got a Mahavir Chakra, ACM S.P. Tyagi who was posted in 28 Squadron during the war, Air Marshal Manjit S. Sekhon who got a Vir Chakra, Kamlesh Jain, spouse of Wg Cdr M.K. Jain who was posthumously awarded a Vir Chakra, Manisha Arora Kapoor, daughter of late Sqn Ldr G.K. Arora who got a Shaurya Chakra and Vikram Wahi, brother of late Flt Lt V.K. Wahi who was posthumously awarded a Vir Chakra for his action in the war, graced the occasion. Speaking on the occasion, ACM Kaul and Air Marshal Sekhon recounted their personal experiences and the immense contribution made by the Indian Air Force during the war which was instrumental in ensuring that the war was swift and decisive. All the veterans lauded them for setting the highest military standards for future generations to imbibe. The Vijay Mashal will now travel to the National War Memorial where the flames will be merged with the Eternal Flame at the National War Memorial. --IANS sk/skp/ ( 265 Words) 2021-12-13-20:25:15 (IANS)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on late Monday night visited the Banaras railway station and said that the Central government is working to enhance rail connectivity as well as ensure clean, modern and passenger-friendly railway stations. PM Modi was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during the visit. "Next stop...Banaras station. We are working to enhance rail connectivity as well as ensure clean, modern and passenger-friendly railway stations," tweeted PM Modi on 1:23 AM Tuesday. PM Modi inspected key development works in Varanasi late Monday night and said it is the government's endeavour to create the best possible infrastructure for the sacred city. "Inspecting key development works in Kashi. It is our endeavour to create best possible infrastructure for this sacred city," tweeted PM Modi on 12:52 AM Tuesday. Earlier on Monday, PM Modi chaired a meeting with the BJP Chief Ministers and Deputy chief ministers in Varanasi. "Just concluded an extensive meeting in Kashi with BJP Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers," tweeted PM Modi. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who attended the meeting, informed that the meet went on for six hours till late Monday night. "Thank you Narendra Modi Ji for enlightening us with your words of wisdom and vision for a better India during the 6 hr long exhaustive and intense deliberation," Sarma tweeted. Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said even after many hectic engagements including the six hours long meeting, PM Modi is not not taking rest "Thank PM Narendra Modi ji for your valuable guidance and suggestions for a united strong India. We really admire of your energy & passion to take the Country into newer heights. Even after many hectic engagements including the six hours long meeting, you are not taking rest," Singh tweeted. PM Modi is currently on a two-day visit to his parliamentary constituency Varanasi where he inaugurated phase 1 of the newly-constructed Kashi Vishwanath Dham at a cost of around Rs 339 crores on Monday. On December 14, at around 3:30 pm, PM Modi will attend the 98th-anniversary celebrations of Sadguru Sadafaldeo Vihangam Yog Sansthan at Swarved Mahamandir. The Prime Minister will also participate in a conclave of Chief Ministers of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, along with Deputy CMs from Bihar and Nagaland. The conclave will provide an opportunity to share governance-related best practices and is in line with the Prime Minister's vision of furthering team India spirit. Chief Ministers of all BJP-ruled states will give a presentation on good governance, before PM Modi on Tuesday morning. The Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers will visit Kashi Vishwanath Temple on Tuesday. Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states are scheduled to visit Ayodhya on December 15 for the darshan of Ram Lalla. (ANI)
"Inspecting key development works in Kashi. It is our endeavour to create best possible infrastructure for this sacred city," tweeted PM Modi on 12:52 AM Tuesday.

PM Modi was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during the inspection after midnight.

PM Modi was seen interacting with locals and waving at people who had turned up to greet him.

PM Modi chaired a meeting with the BJP Chief Ministers and Deputy chief ministers in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi on Monday.

"Just concluded an extensive meeting in Kashi with BJP Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers," tweeted PM Modi.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who attended the meeting, informed that the meet went on for six hours till late Monday night.

"Thank you Narendra Modi ji for enlightening us with your words of wisdom and vision for a better India during the 6 hr long exhaustive and intense deliberation," Sarma tweeted.

PM Modi is currently on a two-day visit to his parliamentary constituency Varanasi where he inaugurated phase 1 of the newly-constructed Kashi Vishwanath Dham at a cost of around Rs 339 crores on Monday.

On December 14, at around 3:30 pm, PM Modi will attend the 98th-anniversary celebrations of Sadguru Sadafaldeo Vihangam Yog Sansthan at Swarved Mahamandir.

The Prime Minister will also participate in a conclave of Chief Ministers of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, along with Deputy CMs from Bihar and Nagaland.

The conclave will provide an opportunity to share governance-related best practices and is in line with the Prime Minister's vision of furthering team India spirit.

Chief Ministers of all BJP-ruled states will give a presentation on good governance, before PM Modi on Tuesday morning. The Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers will visit Kashi Vishwanath Temple on Tuesday.

Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states are scheduled to visit Ayodhya on December 15 for the darshan of Ram Lalla. (ANI)
The products of Ordnance Factory Medak, that is infantry combat vehicles like Armoured Engineer Reconnaissance Vehicle (AERV), Sarath Vehicle (BMP) and Mine Protected Vehicle and its variants were displayed. A photographic exhibition was also organised on the occasion.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh virtually launched 'Path to pride', public exhibitions, curated museums and a booklet showcasing 75 resolutions of DDP from New Delhi.

B.S. Murty, Director, IIT Hyderabad was the chief guest for the event at Ordnance Factory Medak (OFMK) and expressed support to OFMK in the area of research and development.

Alok Prasad, General Manager, OFMK has said that the exhibition showcases Atma Nirbhar Bharat and will be open for the general public till December 19. Students from various schools and colleges were invited on the occasion.

--IANS ms/vd

( 166 Words)

2021-12-13-20:37:23 (IANS)
Poignant as it may sound, war brings out the best in men and women. There are the brave, those who refuse to give up, those who give up their lives for a cause - and those who suffer immensely. These are their stories - tales that should never be forgotten. Anam Zakaria (Penguin), 1971: A People's History from Bangladesh, Pakistan and India This is the story of a humanitarian intervention, of triumph and valour that paved the way for India's rise as a military power, the beginning of its journey to becoming a regional superpower. Navigating a widely varied terrain across Pakistan, Bangladesh and India, Zakaria sifts through three distinct state narratives, and studies the institutionalisation of the memory of the year and its events. Through a personal journey, she juxtaposes state narratives with people's history on the ground, bringing forth the nuanced experiences of those who lived through the war. Using inter-generational interviews, textbook analyses, visits to schools and travels to museums and sites commemorating 1971, Zakaria explores the ways in which the year is remembered and forgotten across countries, generations and communities. Maj. Gen. Vijay Singh (Speaking Tiger), POW 1971 The war with Pakistan in December 1971 lasted barely two weeks. It concluded on December 16 with a victory for India and the formation of Bangladesh. A lesser-known side to this epic military confrontation is that of the Western Front, namely Jammu and Kashmir. Many contests on this side of India's border were won, but some battles were ill-fated. The heroic battle at Daruchhian in the Poonch Sector was one of them. A cone-shaped feature, approximately 1'000 metres in height, Daruchhian was of great tactical significance. The fierce clash on its slopes on the night of December 13, however, could not ensure its capture. Many Indian soldiers were martyred, and the survivors taken prisoner, including Brigadier (then Major) Hamir Singh, Vir Chakra. Seriously injured in battle, he underwent a prolonged recovery at the Command Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, followed by detention at the POW camp in Lyallpur. Brig. Hamir Singh's eyewitness account, recorded by the author, his son, Maj. Gen. Vijay Singh, narrates in riveting detail what took place on that fateful night and what followed. From battle plans that were too perfect to succeed, to soldiers who didn't give up, enemies who honoured each others' professionalism, Pakistanis nostalgic about pre-Partition India, and the shared sorrow and joy that dissolve boundaries of nation and religion, This is a view of war, valour and humanity that is as heart-wrenching as it is moving. Maj. Gen. Ian Cardozo (Retd) (Penguin), Stories of Grit and Glory from the Indo-Pak War An under-strength Gorkha battalion undertakes the Indian Army's first heliborne operation deep behind enemy lines, defeating a Pakistani force 20 times its strength. Fighters of the Indian Air force target the Government House in Dhaka in a daring air raid, forcing the Pakistani government to capitulate and surrender. Four battle casualties become close friends at the Artificial Limb Centre in Pune in the war's aftermath. In this collection of true stories, decorated war veteran Major General Ian Cardozo (Retd) recounts what really happened during the 1971 War, piecing together every story in vivid detail through interviews with survivors and their families. The book also seeks to commemorate the lives of those who were killed and wounded in this war. From the tragic tale of INS Khukri and its courageous captain, who went down with his ship, to how a battalion of the Gorkhas launched what we accept as the last khukri attack in modern military history, these stories reveal what went on in the minds of those who led their men into battle - on land, at sea and in the air. Rachna Bisht Rawat (Penguin), 1971: Charge of the Gorkhas Why do the Gorkha soldiers of 4/5 GR attack a heavily defended enemy post with just naked khukris in their hands? Does Pakistan find out the real identity of the pilot who, after having ejected from a burning plane, calls himself Flt Lt Mansoor Ali Khan? What awaits the naval diver who cuts made-in-India labels off his clothes and crosses into East Pakistan with a machine gun slung across his back? Why is a 21-year-old Sikh paratrooper being taught to jump off a stool in a deserted hangar at Dum Dum airport with a Packet aircraft waiting nearby? This is a deeply researched collection of true stories of extraordinary human grit and courage that shows you a side to war that few military histories do. Rajesh Ramachandran (Ed.) (Harper Collins), 'The Heroes of 1971 - The Bravehearts of the War That Gave Birth to Bangladesh' These are the stories of the fearless warriors who fought heroic battles to liberate Bangladesh, redrawing the map of South Asia in what is still considered the most conclusive military victory - in a 'just war' - in contemporary history. Written by serving and retired officers of the three services to celebrate the memory of the four Param Vir Chakra and 76 Maha Vir Chakra awardees of the war, the essays in this book first appeared in 'The Tribune', Chandigarh. From the exploits of Flying Officer Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon, who rose to the occasion for the Flying Bullets at the Srinagar airfield, to the capture of prisoners of war at Faujdahat by Brig. Anand Sarup's 'Kilo Force', this book catalogues it all, while the big-picture analyses by veterans, top bureaucrats and journalists help set the scene and enable readers to understand the war better. Raghu Rai (Niyogi Books), Bangladesh: The Price of Freedom Ace photographer Raghu Rai documents the plight of the refugees, the action during the war and the jubilant scenes of victory and Independence. His treasure trove of photographs, which for over four decades he thought had been lost, was recently rediscovered. The stories are perhaps not unknown, but have been retold by a master visual storyteller - the refugee camps, the exodus, the never-ending journey, a whirlwind of poignant, tormented history. And finally, a new nation, a new tomorrow. Here are never-before-seen photographs that comprise a significant body of work documenting a turning point in the history of South Asia. Manash Ghosh (Niyogi Books), Bangladesh War: Report from Ground Zero This riveting first-hand account of the Liberation War has been written by a former journalist of 'The Statesman' newspaper. The author, then a mere cub reporter, had predicted the coming of the war as early as in January 1971 in an article in the 'Sunday Statesman' titled 'When Brother meets Brother'. When the conflict started, he was one of the very few Indian journalists who covered the epochal event from the very beginning till the final surrender by the Pakistan military in Khulna on December 17. Syed Badrul Ahsan (Niyogi Books), Sheikh Mujibur Rahman: From Rebel to Founding Father The emergence of Bangladesh as a sovereign state in 1971 is a tribute to the sagacity and leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Through the long years he spent in prison, Mujib, as he is known, burnished his political beliefs and eventually emerged as the single most significant spokesman for Bengali rights in East Pakistan. This biography sensitively portrays Mujib's transformation to Bangabandhu, 'the friend of Bengal'. Author Syed Badrul Ahsan traces Mujib's meteoric evolution from a young follower of the All India Muslim League, driven by a zeal for Pakistan in the 1940s, to a mature political leader who believed the Bengalis of Pakistan needed to return to their secular traditions. Birendra Kumar Bhattacharyya (fiction; translated by Mitra Phukan; Niyogi Books), Blossoms in the Graveyard This is the story of Mehr, a young girl from a village in what is at that time, East Pakistan. Penned by a pioneer modern Assamese literature, it is the story of Mehr's journey from dependence to self-reliance, both emotionally and physically. Parallel to her story, is the narrative of a land that is struggling to assert its identity, and moving towards a hard-won independence in a crucible of blood and tears. Mehr is the symbol of the land. Her suffering, her distress, her tortured anguish, is an emblem of its agony, in particular of the women of the country, as it is being birthed. Set at a crucial time in the history of the struggle, when the land is on the cusp of becoming Bangladesh, the novel is in the voice of Robin Babu. As an Assamese, he, like so many others living in that part of India adjacent to the theatre of war, is deeply affected by the horrors taking place at his very doorstep. (Vishnu Makhijani can be contacted at vishnu.m@ians.in) --IANS vm/srb ( 1452 Words) 2021-12-13-20:49:50 (IANS)
"My condolences to the families of the soldiers who were killed in the Srinagar attack. I wish the injured a speedy recovery. The country wants the end of terror and peace in this beautiful valley," he said in a tweet.

Terrorists had fired upon a police vehicle near Zewan in the Pantha Chowk area of Srinagar on Monday, the Kashmir Zone Police said.

One ASI and a Selection Grade Constable succumbed to their injuries in the attack.

The injured personnel have been evacuated to an Army Hospital where they are undergoing treatment, according to Kashmir Zone Police.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought details on the terror attack and also expressed condolences to the bereaved families of the personnel killed in action.

"PM Narendra Modi has sought details on the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. He has also expressed condolences to the families of those security personnel who have been martyred in the attack," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted. (ANI)
Stressing the need to be self-reliant, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said that in any situation, "we can take a decision only when we are completely self-reliant". Singh was speaking at the inaugural event of several iconic events of the Department of Defence Production (DDP), as part of the Ministry of Defence dedicated week from December 13-19 to celebrate 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' commemorating 75 years of Independence. "Freedom is not a goal, but a path. To a sovereign nation, freedom means the ability and capacity to take any decision related to defence and socio-economic development. In any situation, we can take a decision only when we are completely self-reliant," the Defence Minister said. As per an official release by the Ministry of Defence, Singh appreciated the fact that the private sector has contributed to about 90 per cent of the country's defence exports. He exuded confidence this active and continued partnership between the Government and the private sector will help to soon achieve 'Make in India, Make for the World' as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He hoped that the week-long events will generate awareness among people about the progress made in the defence sector, instil national spirit and further strengthen their trust in the country's defence preparedness. Rajnath Singh said, "Before the Government came to power in 2014, the defence sector lagged behind due to lack of investment, innovation and research and development. This led to a dependency on imports to meet the defence requirements of the country and affected the strategic autonomy." He pointed out that the present government understood the importance of self-reliance in defence and has been making constant efforts to achieve 'Aatmanirbharta' in the sector. "The defence sector has entered into a new era due to the policies, vision and mindset of this Government," he added. (ANI)
There are 6.02 lakh SHGs comprising of 70 lakh members organised under Mission Shakti across rural and urban areas of the state.

Sujata R. Karthikeyan, Commissioner cum Secretary, Department of Mission Shakti, while signing the agreement said, "Economic empowerment of women is critical and through this partnership, we aim to use customised technology to increase women's participation in the local economy and enhance incomes."

"This partnership will also accelerate women's access to digital services helping women micro-entrepreneurs," Karthikeyan said.

Henri Dommel, Director of Inclusive Digital Economies practice at UNCDF said, "We have a real opportunity to use new technologies and infrastructure to enhance women's financial security and financial freedom and to move towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)."

"The socio-economic impact of COVID-19 on women can only be lessened if we purposefully target and invest in women. UNCDF is proud to be partnering with Mission Shakti through its Centre for Financial Health," he added.

Speaking further, Dommel said this partnership will drive its efforts in improving women's agency and financial resilience. "The Mission Shakti Living Lab will incubate, scale and drive innovative digital solutions to create conditions for women to be financially healthy through the creation of fair and stable markets for their products." (ANI)
"Strongly condemn the dastardly terrorist attack on police personnel in Jammu and Kashmir. My deepest condolences to bereaved families and prayers for the speedy recovery of the injured," tweeted Vice President.

Terrorists had fired upon a police vehicle near Zewan in the Pantha Chowk area of Srinagar on Monday, the Kashmir Zone Police said. One ASI and a Selection Grade Constable succumbed to their injuries in the attack.

The injured personnel have been evacuated to an Army Hospital where they are undergoing treatment, according to Kashmir Zone Police.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought details on the terror attack and also expressed condolences to the bereaved families of the personnel killed in action.

"PM Narendra Modi has sought details on the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. He has also expressed condolences to the families of those security personnel who have been martyred in the attack," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted. (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Monday said the district judiciary is expected to be the foundational court, and therefore, should have the freedom of mind to decide a case on its own merits, rather "rendering conviction on a moral platform". A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M.M. Sundresh said at times, courts do have their constraints and different decisions are being made by different courts, namely, trial courts, on the one hand and the appellate courts, on the other. However, it added that if such decisions are made due to institutional constraints, they do not augur well. The top court said: "The district judiciary is expected to be the foundational court, and therefore, should have the freedom of mind to decide a case on its own merit or else it might become a stereotyped one rendering conviction on a moral platform. Indictment and condemnation over a decision rendered, on considering all the materials placed before it, should be avoided." The bench said every case has its own journey towards the truth and it is the court's role to undertake this and the truth has to be found on the basis of evidence available before it. "There is no room for subjectivity nor the nature of offence affects its performance. We have a hierarchy of courts in dealing with cases," it added. Justice Sundresh, who authored the judgment on behalf of the bench, said an appellate court shall not expect the trial court to act in a particular way depending upon the sensitivity of the case. "Rather it should be appreciated if a trial court decides a case on its own merit despite its sensitivity," he noted, adding that the appellate court is expected to maintain a degree of caution before making any remark. The top court made these observations while setting aside an order of the Karnataka High Court which reversed a trial court order acquitting two men accused of murdering a police officer in 2001. The accused were sentenced to life imprisonment. The accused filed the appeals in the top court challenging this order. The top court said: "Certainly, the court of first instance has its own advantages in delivering its verdict, which is to see the witnesses in person while they depose. The appellate court is expected to involve itself in a deeper, studied scrutiny of not only the evidence before it, but is duty bound to satisfy itself whether the decision of the trial court is both possible and plausible view." The top court noted when two views are possible, the one taken by the trial court in a case of acquittal is to be followed on the touchstone of liberty along with the advantage of having seen the witnesses. "Article 21 of the Constitution, also aids the accused after acquittal in a certain way, though not absolute," it added. The Karnataka government had filed an appeal in the high court, which reversed the acquittal order and noted that the trial court had "no idea of the concept of dying declaration and the principle governing it". The top court noted that the high court should have refrained from making strong comments on the judgment made by the trial court. "Thus, the appeals are accordingly allowed. Consequently, the orders of conviction passed by the high court stand set aside," said the bench. --IANS ss/vd ( 574 Words) 2021-12-13-22:32:43 (IANS)
The researchers at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Centre have developed a classification method that divides breast cancers into 12 distinct biological groups. The study has been published in the 'Cell Genomics Journal'. "We've known for a long time that breast cancer is not one disease, and now through years of molecular research, added to decades of pathology knowledge, we have begun to integrate the two into one language," said Charles Perou, PhD, co-director of the UNC Lineberger Breast Cancer Research Program, the May Goldman Shaw Distinguished Professor of Molecular Oncology, and corresponding author of the research. "This should greatly aid future research efforts and enable the faster translation of molecular findings into the pathology lab for clinical use," he added. The World Health Organization has long classified breast tumours into multiple types based on a tumour cell's unique shape, structure and size. The most common type of breast cancer has been defined as invasive ductal breast carcinoma; it accounted for 70 per cent to 80 per cent of all breast cancers. While this predominant type of breast cancer was of interest to the researchers, it was the rarer types that held the most opportunity for new discoveries in this finding. TCGA's 10,000-plus tissue repository of 33 different types of cancer types allowed the investigators to explore the previously known, but rarer breast pathologies. However, obtaining a sufficient number of samples to adequately study rarer types and subtypes of cancer was a challenge. But the TCGA Breast Cancer team, led by Perou, was able to obtain enough samples for at least six rare breast cancer subtypes, each of which yielded interesting and unique molecular features. Of particular note were rare metaplastic carcinomas, a breast cancer subtype with a poor clinical prognosis. Through comparison to the entire TCGA set of 10,000 tumours, the researchers found that some metaplastic cancers were related closely to melanomas, which are aggressive skin cancers, and to sarcomas, which are typically found in bone and connective tissue. "Our effort finishes all planned analyses on TCGA, which has been a major undertaking," said Aatish Thennavan, a PhD graduate student in Perou's lab and first author of the article. "In our study, we validated our findings with other datasets that also had rarer subtypes. We would urge future studies to incorporate rarer subtypes so we can build on this foundational analysis," he added For their next efforts, the researchers plan to delve deeper into the molecular features and cellular origins of metaplastic breast cancers. They are also interested in why some of the 12 biological groups show evidence of immune cells that are capable of infiltrating tumour cells, and why others tend not to have this immune infiltrates. This line of research has therapeutic implications as there are treatments that have been developed that target immune cells in breast cancers. (ANI)
Storage solutions major Western Digital (WD) on Monday launched a new consumer solid state drive (SSD) product 'WD Blue SN570 NVMe' for the growing community of creators around the world. The WD Blue SN570 NVMe SSD is now available for purchase from the select IT retail along with Amazon.in at a starting price of Rs 3899 and comes with a 5-year limited warranty. "At the heart of Western Digital lies innovation, and we are very excited to add this device to the house of WD's diverse SSD portfolio. Especially designed for content creators, this powerful new internal drive delivers up to 5X the speed of our best SATA SSDs, so creators can let their imagination flow and worry less about PC lag or load times." said Khalid Wani, Senior Director - Sales, India, Western Digital said in a statement. The new internal flash drive is a powerful solution for upgrading current PCs or optimizing a custom build, the company claims. To keep creators inspired, each new purchase of a WD Blue SN570 NVMe SSD comes with a one-month membership to Adobe Creative Cloud, offering access to some of the best creative apps and services such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom, Premiere Pro and InDesign. Meanwhile, WD was the top scorer in the overall Internal SSD market in the second quarter of 2021, a report said on Thursday. According to Cyber Media Research (CMR), the India Consumer Internal SSD market (SATA & PCIe/NVMe) shipments witnessed a 15 per cent decline when compared to the first quarter. On an year-over-year (YoY) basis, the overall market registered a significant 317 per cent growth. In the overall India Consumer Internal SSD market, WD captured 14 per cent market share followed by Crucial capturing 11 per cent and Kingston at third position with 9 per cent share. --IANS wh/ksk/ ( 313 Words) 2021-12-13-13:07:38 (IANS)
The dismissal letter said she had "spread falsehoods that had damaged the company's reputation", the BBC reported.

The employee went public with her allegations in August, saying the company had failed to take action on the incident which occurred in July.

Her boss was subsequently fired, but did not face criminal charges. The client is still thought to be under police investigation.

The employee told government-backed newspaper Dahe Daily that she was fired late last month. It published a copy of what she said was her termination letter.

The letter said she had spread false information about the assault and about the company not handling the case, and this "caused strong social concern and had a bad impact on the company".

The employee was quoted as saying: "I have not made any mistakes, and certainly will not accept this result, and in the future will use legal means to protect my rights and interests."

Alibaba has not yet commented on her dismissal.

--IANS vd

( 211 Words)

2021-12-12-23:22:13 (IANS)
Post the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in mid-August, the country's economy is on the verge of collapse and the value of Afghan currency continues to depreciate against the US dollar. The price of one dollar was over 110 Afs (Afghani currency) on Sunday, reported Tolo News. The union of money exchangers of Surah-e-Shahzad said the lack of sufficient dollars available in the market is the main reason for the rapid fall of the Afs. "The main reason for the drop in Afs is that the market faces a shortage of dollars and the demand for dollars is high. There are also some negative actors who oppose the Islamic Emirate and make propaganda to cause the drop in value of Afs," said Haji Zirak, a spokesman for the union, reported Tolo News. "The private banks provide interest in Afs. For example, if previously a company had an account, the bank would give the company's interest in dollars but now they provide the interest in Afs," said Abdul Wahid Aslami, a money exchanger. (ANI)
The Taliban on Sunday shot dead a 20-year old boy, Faisal who was attending an engagement function in Police District two of the Afghan capital Kabul. Eyewitnesses and his uncle of whom the killed Faisal was attending the wedding said, they were directed to stop for check post and they did but were shot at, reported Khaama Press. "We were returning from my engagement function and were directed to stop in a check post of the Taliban in Quwa-e-Markaz. We stopped and were searched by the Taliban and then they allowed us to go, when we went there were four other Taliban who started shooting and shot dead Faisal", said Faisal's Uncle. Spokesperson of the Ministry of Interior Affairs Saeed Khostai confirmed the incident and added that two culprits have been arrested. "The people were asked to stop to a check post and the Mujahideen started shooting at Faisal who was wounded and then succumbed to his wounds in hospital. Two people have been arrested in connection to the incident," said Khostai. People have been asking the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to properly train their fighters and give them proper uniforms in order to be recognized and avoid incidents as such in the future, reported Khaama Press. (ANI)
"I am delighted to take off for a historic visit, the first of its kind, to the UAE," Bennett said on Sunday in a video statement at the Ben Gurion Airport outside Tel Aviv ahead of his departure.

Bennett added that he will meet the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Monday, and will also meet "dozens of other ministers and senior officials."

The visit, coming some 14 months after Israel and the UAE normalised ties, is "intended to deepen the cooperation between the countries in all areas," the Israeli Prime Minister said.

He added that the ties are already "excellent and branching, and we must continue to nurture and strengthen them, and build the warm peace between the people of the two countries."

The visit comes amid Israeli diplomatic bids to halt the nuclear talks between world powers and Iran, Xinhua news agency reported.

The trip also marks the first official visit of an Israeli Prime Minister to the Gulf country.

Israel and the UAE signed the so-called Abraham Accord, a US-brokered normalisation agreement, in September 2020.

In late June, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid flew to the UAE, in the first visit by a senior Israeli official, to open the first Israeli embassy in the Gulf state. About a month later, the UAE inaugurated its embassy in Israel.

--IANS int/khz/

( 262 Words)

2021-12-13-00:06:23 (IANS)
In a press release, Macron on Sunday said that 96.49 per cent of the Caledonians have voted against independence from France.

"Caledonians have chosen to remain French. They decided it freely. For the entire nation, this choice is a source of pride and recognition. Tonight, France is more beautiful because New Caledonia has decided to stay," the French President added.

Under the Noumea Accord (named after New Caledonia's capital) signed in 1998, the French overseas territory was granted the right to three referendums on its future political status, Xinhua news agency reported.

The first referendum was held in 2018, with 56.7 per cent of the voters against independence, and the second in 2020 showed a 53.3 per cent of population against independence.

--IANS int/khz/

( 163 Words)

2021-12-13-00:30:56 (IANS)
Visiting UN special envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen has said that he sees new possibilities for a political solution in Syria after his meetings with officials from the West and Arab countries. "I think there is a possibility now to start to explore what I call a step-for-step approach, where you put on the table steps that are defined with precisions, that are verifiable, that hopefully can start to build some trust," Pedersen on Sunday told the media in Damascus. He added that he had been traveling extensively among Arab countries, while conducting "in-depth discussions" with the Americans and the Europeans, Xinhua news agency reported. He pointed out that the stances of all regional and international players should be analysed, as well as developments in Syria, in order to reach a comprehensive political solution to the country's decade-long war. "My message is that there is another possibility to start to explore possible avenues, to start to move forward on this process," he said. After arriving in Damascus earlier on Sunday, Pedersen held a meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, after which he told the media that he had an in-depth discussion that lasted for more than two hours, during which all the challenges facing Syria were discussed. "We obviously looked at the military situation, the economic situation, the humanitarian situation, and of course the political process linked to that," he added. --IANS int/khz/ ( 248 Words) 2021-12-13-01:03:23 (IANS)
The rains, caused by an extratropical cyclone, were localized in the southern region of Bahia last week, intensifying on Saturday, leaving parts of the area flooded and causing material damage.

According to the Civil Defense, there were about 30 municipalities affected by the rains, which so far have left seven people dead, 175 injured and thousands displaced.

The rainstorms left several towns and rural areas completely isolated, making it difficult for relief teams to reach them. On Sunday, more than 200 military firefighters rescued people in affected communities with the support of two helicopters.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Governor of Bahia Rui Falcao went to the area on Sunday and promised reconstruction aid. (ANI/Xinhua)
Moscow [Russia], December 13 (ANI/Sputnik): The Omicron strain of the coronavirus could eventually replace the Delta variant, as it is already happening in South Africa, Alexander Gintsburg, the director of Russia's Gamaleya Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, told Sputnik. "Reports are coming in that in South Africa it [Omicron] is replacing it [Delta] rather fast. So everything is possible," Gintsburg said. According to the Gamaleya institute director, the effectiveness of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against the Omicron strain will be tested within ten days. Earlier this month, Gintsburg told Sputnik that the Gamaleya institute confirmed that the patients infected with Omicron who had arrived in Russia from South Africa had been vaccinated. At the end of November, Gintsburg said that any decisions on replacing the existing vaccine will be made only after complete data on Omicron becomes available. If necessary, the development of a new vaccine will take no more than ten days and regulatory procedures will take anywhere between 45 days and two and a half months, Gintsburg specified. Earlier in December, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the Omicron coronavirus variant accounts for most of the new COVID-19 cases in the majority of South African provinces. The Omicron strain was first identified in South Africa in late November. The World Health Organization (WHO) designated the strain as a variant of concern due to its high transmissibility rate. (ANI/Sputnik)
Hitting out at China's debt-trap diplomacy, the Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers expressed concerns about Beijing's "coercive" economic policies. The G-7 foreign ministers on Sunday held talks with their counterparts from the ASEAN countries for the first time, as well as from Australia, South Korea and India, on the second day of the G-7 gathering, apparently to coordinate with the 10-member ASEAN and three other regional powers over policy on China, Kyodo News reported. The ministers also discussed "the situations in Hong Kong and Xinjiang," where Beijing has been accused of human rights abuses, and the "importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," according to a statement issued by Britain, the G-7 chair, after their two-day talks in Liverpool, England. "We have been clear at this meeting this weekend that we are concerned about the coercive economic policies of China," Truss said at a G7 news conference in Liverpool. "And what we want to do is build the investment reach, the economic trade reach, of like-minded, freedom-loving democracies," Truss added. In a separate statement, the G-7 ministers and their counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, who attended a part of the meeting, reaffirmed their "shared interest in maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region," in a veiled counter to China's attempts to alter the regional status quo with its growing military and economic clout. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi stressed that ASEAN is key to achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific, according to his ministry. Of the ASEAN member states, military-ruled Myanmar was excluded from the gathering as the country was thrown into political turmoil following a coup in February. China has been accused of using debt-trap diplomacy for economic and strategic gains. Several countries are bearing the brunt of Chinese aggressive economic activities. In the dept trap diplomacy, countries offer projects/loans on terms that end up being too difficult for other countries to repay which compels them to accept political or economic concessions. (ANI)
The head of the Emergency and Ambulance Department at the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, Ahmad Jibril, told reporters that 31-year-old Jamil al-Kayyal was shot dead, and two other men were moderately injured.

Palestinian eyewitnesses said that a special Israeli army force stormed al-Ain refugee camp and the old city of Nablus to arrest wanted Palestinian activists, who are involved in carrying out attacks against Israel.

Israeli soldiers wounded two other Palestinians and arrested a third one from his home in the refugee camp, they said.

Israeli media reported that several Palestinian gunmen opened fire at the Israeli troops to prevent them from proceeding into the city of Nablus, but no injuries were reported among the soldiers.

On Friday, a Palestinian demonstrator was killed and dozens were injured during clashes with Israeli soldiers near Nablus, medics and eyewitnesses said. The Palestinian Health Ministry said in a press statement that the demonstrator succumbed to a severe injury.

Every Friday, the Palestinians organized rallies and protests against the Israeli government's policies of expanding settlements and confiscation of lands, and the demonstrations usually turn into clashes with the Israeli soldiers. (ANI/Xinhua)
Shehbaz along with his lawyer appeared before the court in Monday's hearing, while his son Hamza Shahbaz skipped court appearance as he was in Islamabad, reported Geo News.

The court had excepted Hamza's plea for a day exemption from appearance. A copy of the reference was provided to the co-accused in the case and later hearing was adjourned until December 20, the Pakistani publication said further.

On Saturday, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) was directed to file a charge sheet against Shahbaz Sharif and his son by the court.

Shehbaz and Hamza are facing Rs 25 billion money laundering charges in the sugar scandal. The PML-N leader is accused of aiding and abetting his sons Hamza and Salman in accumulating more assets than their sources of income could justify, according to ARY News. (ANI)
"(The) number of wounded individuals is now up to 14; one has been pronounced deceased, three being taken by Lifeflight in critical condition, and the remaining ones are said to have non/fatal injuries," Gonzalez said on Twitter.

The shooting occurred on Sunday night when a vehicle approached a crowd attending a vigil for someone recently murdered and opened fire.

Homicide and firearm investigators have been deployed at the scene, according to Gonzales. (ANI/Sputnik)
"Sudan controls all of its internationally recognised territories and borders with neighbouring Ethiopia, and has never, and will never, allow its use for any aggressions," said Sudan's Foreign Ministry in a statement on Sunday.

The Ministry made the statement in response to news reports from an Ethiopian news outlet, in which it accused Sudan of supporting the TPLF, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The Ministry would like to affirm Sudan's full commitment to the principles of good neighborliness and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries," the statement added.

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry urged Ethiopia to stop accusing Sudan of taking aggressive stances and practices that are not supported by evidence on the ground.

The conflict in Ethiopia's northern region of Tigray has turned into large-scale battles across the country, where the Tigray rebels were seeking to control the capital Addis Ababa.

--IANS int/khz/

( 174 Words)

2021-12-13-07:14:22 (IANS)
"We hope all traders in particular Chinese investors to invest in Afghanistan and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will ensure their security," said Deputy spokesperson of Afghanistan Bilal Karimi, reported Khaama Press.

Referring to foreign interference in domestic issues, Karimi said the Taliban do not want to interfere in other's affairs and that they will not allow others to do so either.

With regard to Beijing, Zabiullah Mujahid, deputy Minister of Information and Culture and spokesperson of the Taliban, addressing a news conference here on Sunday, said that China is one of the most important countries in the region, and emphasised that having good relations with the country will be the Taliban's great achievement.

China on Sunday inaugurated a construction project in Kabul. Wang Yu who, Chinese ambassador to Kabul, attended the inauguration ceremony. (ANI)
Canberra [Australia], December 13 (ANI/Sputnik): Australia will open its borders on Wednesday to travelers from South Korea and Japan, as well as for skilled workers and students from all over the world after the pause caused by the emergence of the new Omicron coronavirus variant, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday. "On Wednesday of this week, we will move again forward. The borders will be reopened both to Korea and Japan and for skilled migration and for students, as we conclude the pause that we announced several weeks ago. This is made possible because Korea and Australia have both shared a COVID-19 experience," Morrison said during a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Canberra. The prime minister also stressed that South Korea and Australia had exchanged their experience in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic at various multilateral forums such as the G7 plus and the G20. "Together we are two countries that have had one of the lowest death rates from COVID in the world. We have both got one of the strongest economies, each of us, moving through COVID and we share high vaccination rates. Australia and Korea have some of the highest vaccination rates, double dose of anywhere in the world. And so that is allowing our economies to open up," Morrison added. He noted that the reopening became possible by the achievements made by South Korea in managing COVID-19. South Korean President Moon has expressed appreciation for Australia's decision to open up for fully vaccinated travelers from South Korea. He hopes the move will lead to more active exchanges and economic revitalization between the two countries. In late November, Australia decided to delay the reopening of its borders to international skilled migrants and students, as well as humanitarian and provisional family visa holders, from December 1 till December 15 due to the spread if the Omicron coronavirus strain. On Wednesday, a new version of the Omicron variant was recorded in Australia's Queensland. Omicron was first detected in South Africa in late November. The World Health Organization designated it a "variant of concern" due to exceptionally high number of mutations. Despite the new wave of travel bans on Africa, the new variant has since been detected in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. (ANI/Sputnik)
"[South Korea and Australia] are also important security partners, as we have just witnessed with the Hanwha Howitzer contract, a billion-dollar armoured vehicle centre for excellence to be located in the Geelong region," Morrison said on Monday during a press conference in Canberra.

The Hanwha Howitzer contract was signed during Moon's four-day visit to Australia and will see South Korean defence manufacturer Hanwha supply the Australian army with weapons, vehicles and radars.

According to Defence Minister Peter Dutton, the contract covers 30 Self-Propelled Howitzers, 15 Armoured Ammunition Resupply Vehicles and weapon locating radars.

Morrison called this deal, which is one of the biggest between Australia and an Asian nation and as important commitment.

"It's an important further chapter in the Defence Industry story for Australia as we continue to build our sovereign capability. And Korea is an important partner in that journey, both in our security arrangements but also in the building of our sovereign capability in defence manufacturing," Morrison added.

Dutton noted that the contract was struck with the aim of protecting Australian interests and safety "in a rapidly changing global environment."

The deal comes at a time when relations between Australia and China are tense after Australia has announced last week a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games.

In mid-September, Australia had also announced a trilateral security pact with the United States and the United Kingdom, dubbed AUKUS, under which the nation will obtain the technology for developing its own nuclear-powered submarines. (ANI/Sputnik)
Myanmar's military junta is blocking desperately needed humanitarian aid from reaching millions of displaced people and others at risk, Human Rights Watch said on Monday. The United Nations, the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and concerned governments should press the State Administration Council (SAC) junta to urgently allow aid to reach all those in need. In recent months, the junta and its security forces have imposed new travel restrictions on humanitarian workers, blocked access roads and aid convoys, destroyed non-military supplies, attacked aid workers, and shut down telecommunications services, US-based international non-governmental organization, Human Rights Watch said in a statement. The February 1 military coup also triggered widespread infrastructure collapse and a severe devaluation of the Myanmar currency, leading to increasingly dire banking and supply chain crises and shortages of food, medicine, and other essentials. "Myanmar's junta has worsened a self-created humanitarian catastrophe by displacing hundreds of thousands of people and then blocking the critical support they need to survive," said Shayna Bauchner, Asia researcher. "The generals are callously denying lifesaving assistance to people affected by conflict since the military takeover, seemingly as a form of punishment." While Myanmar authorities have long impeded access to aid for vulnerable groups, the military junta has established new restrictions, creating a nationwide humanitarian catastrophe. The UN estimates that the number of people needing assistance will grow from 1 million before the coup to 14.4 million by 2022, including more than 5 million children. About 25 million people, or half the population, could be living below the national poverty line. A man displaced in 2011 and now living in a camp outside Laiza, Kachin State, told Human Rights Watch: "Since the coup, NGOs [nongovernmental organizations] that provide food couldn't travel easily to the camp and they cannot transfer funding easily. Many people used to go outside of the camp for day jobs and to support families, but because of the coup and Covid-19, there aren't many job opportunities left they could do." The junta's interference in relief operations has disregarded calls for unhindered aid delivery by the UN General Assembly, Human Rights Council, and Security Council, the European Parliament, and donor governments. The UN relief chief, Martin Griffiths, said on November 8 that "access to many people in desperate need across the country remains extremely limited due to bureaucratic impediments put in place by the armed forces." He called on the junta to "facilitate safe, rapid, and unimpeded humanitarian access." (ANI)
South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Monday said that China, North Korea and the United States have agreed in principle to the declaration putting an end to the Korean War, Russian media reported. During a press conference with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison after bilateral talks in Canberra, Moon said that Australia has also supported the end of war declaration proposal by the Korean government and the relevant parties to the declaration. "Australia has also supported the end of war declaration proposal by the Korean Government and the relevant parties to this declaration. It would be the United States, China and Republic of Korea and North Korea. And I believe, in principle, everybody agrees to the declaration," Sputnik news agency quoting Moon as saying reported. The president also said that the declaration should establish a peace regime in the Korean Peninsula and put an end to the "quite unstable" armistice, stressing that it was important to initiate the talks between North and South Korea and between the US and North Korea, Sputnik reported. The Korean War de-facto ended in 1953 after the US and Democratic People's Republic of Korea ratified an armistice without signing a peace treaty, as per the Russian publication. (ANI)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will participate in the 6th edition of Global Technology Summit 2021 beginning tomorrow, informed a ministry of external affairs statement on Monday. The 6th edition of Global Technology Summit (GTS) will be held from December 14-16 which will discuss various topics including cryptocurrencies, encryption, vaccine supply chains, cloud computing, green technology, digital payments, cyber security, and science & tech cooperation in the Quad. According to the MEA statement, this year the Summit is organized in a hybrid format but due to the exceptional circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, physical attendance is on an invite-basis only. Global Technology Summit is the flagship event on geotechnology, held annually since 2016. It is jointly organized by the Ministry of External Affairs and Carnegie India. The Summit convenes policymakers and domain experts to discuss policy aspects of trending technology topics. The theme of the 2021 Global Technology Summit is 'Global Meets Local'. Over the course of three days, the Summit will discuss diverse topics on emerging technology including cryptocurrencies, encryption, vaccine supply chains, cloud computing, green technology, digital payments, cyber security, and science & tech cooperation in the Quad etc, read the statement. Apart from Jaishankar, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will deliver a virtual special address at the Summit on December 14. In one of the sessions, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will be in conversation with C Raja Mohan, Director at ISAS, National University of Singapore. The Summit will also see the participation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia, Minister for Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship of India, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and Minister for Women and Equalities of UK, Minister of State for the Digital Transition and Electronic Communication, France, Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs of India, Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture of India, Minister of State for External Affairs and Education of India, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications of Vietnam. The statement further read that the Summit will have over 50 sessions with more than 100 speakers, including the industry leaders and domain experts from well-known tech companies. Over 2,500 participants from all around the globe have pre-registered for the Summit. Over 20,000 people from over 90 countries have accessed the bespoke website for the GTS 2021, and a large number of participants are likely to join the conversations in the Summit through various social media platforms with the #GlobalTechSummit, as per the MEA statement. (ANI)
Moscow [Russia], December 13 (ANI/Sputnik): US Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried will meet with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov on Wednesday in Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry told Sputnik on Monday. Earlier in the day, a source told Sputnik that such a meeting is planned. "We confirm the fact of the meeting between Ryabkov and Donfried on Wednesday, the time is still being worked out," the ministry said. (ANI)
Some African nations are being forced to hand over national assets to China due to certain agreements they signed with Beijing years back and ignored crucial clauses in an attempt to show goodwill gesture to the Asian giant. Uganda has emerged as one of the most recent African examples of Beijing's debt-trap policy. The nation is preparing to hand over its only international airport to the Chinese companies because it was unable to repay the USD 207 million loan to the communist regime. The two countries had signed the agreement in November 2015. Uganda at the time of the deal had removed the international immunity clause from the agreement showing a gesture of goodwill. But the removal of the clause has now become Uganda's major mistake, resulting in the handover of its only international airport in near future to China. But Uganda is not the only African nation that is facing this issue. There are others too. Chinese companies and banks have now started to reduce their assistance in Africa. Beijing at the recently held Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) stated that it was significantly reducing its assistance to Africa, from USD 60 billion to USD 40 billion. China-based banks that were financing in Africa under the BRI have reduced assistance drastically from USD 11 billion in 2017 to USD 3.3 billion in 2020. Ethiopia also has similar stories as Uganda. In 2019, the country had signed worth USD 2.6 billion projects with Chinese companies. The number of projects were 346. With the projects, Ethiopia hoped the employment generation for the local population. But the expectation did not come into reality as Chinese labourers in Ethiopia in that year increased from 8,000 to 12,000. The surge in Chinese resulted in a major blow employment generation for the local population. The initial promises which Chinese companies had made to the African countries most of them have been cut down in scope as companies revealed their real nature to the host countries. In Africa, 50 out of 54 countries have taken loans from Chinese entities worth USD 153.4 billion from 2009 to 2019. Now due to the COVID crisis, these countries are facing issues to repay the loans. In the near future, the possibilities of more defaults, repossessions by Chinese companies still persist. (ANI)
Moon made the remarks while addressing a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison after bilateral summit talks in Canberra, reports Yonhap News Agency.

"The US, China and North Korea have all expressed their agreement in theory, in principle," the President said, referring to the end-of-war declaration, which he himself proposed.

"However, because North Korea is demanding the fundamental withdrawal of the US' hostile policy toward the North as a precondition, we have not been able to enter talks."

Moon said his government will work until the end to bring the parties to an agreement.

During the war, the US fought alongside South Korea to fend off an invasion by North Korea, which was backed by China.

The conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

"An end-of-war declaration is not the ultimate goal," Moon noted.

"On top of signifying the end of the unstable armistice regime that has continued for nearly 70 years, it can serve as momentum to restart talks between the South, North and the US."

Moon's early diplomatic overtures to the North led to an unprecedented Washington-Pyongyang summit in Singapore in June 2018, raising hopes for a breakthrough in efforts to dismantle the North's nuclear weapons program.

The talks stalled, however, after a second US-North Korea summit in Hanoi in February 2019 ended without a deal.

--IANS ksk/

( 277 Words)

2021-12-13-10:26:18 (IANS)
The G7 Foreign Ministers and the High Representative of the European Union on Monday called on Russia to abide by its international commitments on transparency of military activities amid the ongoing tensions near the Ukraine border. Issuing a joint statement on Russia and Ukraine, the G7 ministers said that, "We call on Russia to de-escalate, pursue diplomatic channels, and abide by its international commitments on transparency of military activities as President Biden did in his call with President Putin on December 7." The ministers said that they support the efforts of France and Germany in the Normandy Format to achieve full implementation of the Minsk Agreements in order to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine. "Any use of force to change borders is strictly prohibited under international law. Russia should be in no doubt that further military aggression against Ukraine would have massive consequences and severe cost in response," the G7 statement said. They reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the right of any sovereign state to determine its own future. "We will intensify our cooperation on our common and comprehensive response," the statement added. In the past few weeks, Kyiv and other US allies have accused Moscow of amassing troops near its border with Ukraine. Moscow, for its part, has repeatedly rejected the accusations saying that the West wants to use them as an excuse to deploy NATO military equipment near the Russian border. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone call with US President Joe Biden and discussed the alleged gathering of Russian troops near Ukraine's borders. (ANI)
Moscow [Russia], December 13 (ANI/Sputnik): The technical work with the regulator of the Nord Stream 2 project is ongoing, and the Russian side meets all the requirements, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has said that the project does not yet comply with European law and therefore cannot be approved right now. "The work with the regulator continues, the company is fulfilling all the requirements of the regulator. Here you just need to be patient, such as technical bureaucratic work, and legal work. Therefore, work continues there, let's not get ahead of ourselves," Peskov told reporters. (ANI/Sputnik)
Police in South Korea will consider disclosing the identities of not only distributors of sexually exploitative materials but also their buyers as part of efforts to clamp down on digital sex crimes, officials said on Monday. The National Police Agency said it began discussing the matter in an inter-agency meeting with the government's policy coordination office, the interior ministry, the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC), the country's censorship body and others, reports Yonhap News Agency. "To curb online sex crimes, we have to block supply and demand at the same time," police said. Until now, most cases in which identities were disclosed involved online distributors of sexual abuse materials, such as the operators of Baksabang and Nth room, infamous Telegram-based sex abuse rings that shocked the country last year. Dozens of women and girls were found to have been coerced into filming and sharing sexually exploitative materials of themselves in the Telegram chat rooms for years. The police also plan to beef up the protection and support of victims by improving the tracking system for online sexual abuse materials. They will add facial recognition technology to the system in order to better identify photos and videos containing victims' faces and erase them in cooperation with the gender ministry and the KCSC. The system will also be updated to initiate the tracking program upon the victim's report to the police. --IANS ksk/ ( 245 Words) 2021-12-13-11:34:34 (IANS)
"General MM Naravane #COAS had telephonic interaction with Major General Matar Bin Salim Bin Rashid Al Balushi, Commander, Royal Army of Oman and discussed issues of bilateral defence cooperation," Indian Army tweeted.

Earlier in the month of May this year, the Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) on military cooperation was renewed between India and Oman along with its annexure as well aon maritime issues, the Defence Ministry earlier informed. The signing ceremony of the MoU on military cooperation was held at the Ministry of Defence, Muscat.

The document was signed by the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Defence, Oman Dr Mohammed bin Nasser Al Zaabi and Ambassador of India to Oman Munu Mahawar. (ANI)
Pakistan's Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party observed 'Balochistan Solidarity Day' in the capital Islamabad on Sunday in support of demands of the local population for the ongoing protests in the port city of Gwadar. Mian Muhammad Aslam, one of JI's top leaders led a protest demonstration in front of the country's National Press Club, Islamabad which was attended by the party's top leaders, The News International newspaper reported. Gwadar residents have been staging protests for about a month demanding action against the trawler mafia by the Pakistan and provincial governments. While addressing protestors, Mian Muhammad Aslam asked the Pakistani government to accept the demands of protestors in Gwadar and stop its brutal acts there. The JI leader said that for the first time, women along with their infant children are also attending the protest demonstration in Gwadar. 'Give Right to Gwadar' movement would continue till the people get their rights, said Mian Aslam. "Jamaat-e-Islami is fighting the case of Balochistan and support all the constitutional and lawful demands of the Baloch people," he was quoted by The News International. Led by Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman, Balochistan general secretary of Jamaat-i-Islami, the people of the port city launched the 'Gwadar ko haq do' movement nearly a month ago, according to the Dawn. The protests are also against the mega-development plans of the port city as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Earlier, the participants started their procession, carrying placards and banners inscribed with slogans in support of their demands and chanting slogans against the provincial government. After nearly a month-long protests in the port city of Gwadar, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday took notice of ongoing demonstrations by the people in the southwestern province over a slew of issues. "I have taken notice of the very legitimate demands of the hardworking fishermen of Gwadar. Will be taking strong action against illegal fishing by trawlers and will also speak to CM Balochistan," Imran Khan tweeted on Sunday. (ANI)
"US sanctions on Chinese entities including AI firm SenseTime, on so-called Xinjiang human rights grounds, are based on lies and disinformation, and interfere in China's internal affairs and undermine China-US relations. China resolutely opposes, condemns it," said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin, as quoted by Global Times.

This statement comes after Chinese SenseTime Group postponed its USD 767 million Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) on Monday after being placed on a US investment blacklist.

The company said that it remained committed to completing the offering and would publish a supplemental prospectus and an updated listing timetable, American news channel CNBC reported.

Last week, the US had sanctioned four Chinese companies for helping racially profile Uyghurs. The Chinese companies include SenseTime Group Ltd, Moxing Cartoon, Nings Cartoon Studio, and Shanghai Hongman Cartoon.

The artificial intelligence Chinese company SenseTime Group Ltd. was sanctioned for helping racially profile Uyghurs, said the US Treasury Department statement. SenseTime owns or controls, directly or indirectly, a person who operates or has operated in China's surveillance technology sector, it added.

The company's subsidiary, named Shenzhen SenseTime Technology Co. Ltd., has developed facial recognition programs that can determine a target's ethnicity, with a particular focus on identifying ethnic Uyghurs, US authorities noted.

Early this year, the United States became the first country in the world to declare the Chinese actions in Xinjiang as "genocide". In February, both the Canadian and Dutch parliaments adopted motions recognising the Uyghur crisis as genocide.

The latter became the first parliament in Europe to do so. In April, the United Kingdom also declared China's ongoing crackdown in Xinjiang a "genocide". (ANI)
The clashes took place on Sunday during the funeral of Hamas member Hamza Ibrahim Chahine, who died in Friday's explosions in the refugee camp, reports Xinhua news agency.

Media reports stated that the explosions were caused by a fire that erupted in diesel reservoirs located near a weapons warehouse.

However, Hamas announced in a statement on Saturday that the explosions were caused by an electrical fault leading to a fire at a warehouse containing a quantity of oxygen, gas, detergents and disinfectants used to fight against Covid-19.

--IANS ksk/

( 132 Words)

2021-12-13-12:55:22 (IANS)
An Afghan reporter has claimed that he was beaten and detained for six hours by the Taliban forces while covering a news story local media reported. The reporter Sayed Rashed Kashifi has worked in various Afghan media outlets for over nine years and he is currently employed as a reporter for Kabul-based media, Tolo News reported. "They tied my hands and took me somewhere, I do not know where it was. They started the investigation by saying 'where are you working?' and such questions. I replied, 'I am a reporter,'" Kashifi was quoted as saying. He added that the Taliban forces on Saturday confiscated the equipment he was using to produce the report, Tolo News reported. The journalist has urged officials to probe the incident. "I am asking the government to investigate my case and to pay attention to providing security of journalists," said Kashifi. Expressing concern over the incident, head of the National Association of Journalists, Masroor Lutfi, said "The beating of a journalist while covering news reports is a violation and a sign of imposed restrictions on access to information; this issue is worrying for the National Association of Journalists," said Masroor Lutfi. Meanwhile, the Taliban-appointed Ministry of Interior (MoI) officials said they will assess the incident, and that the government is committed to preventing the harassment of journalists. "The case of the Kabul Times' reporter, Sayed Rashed Kashifi, is under investigation; the Islamic Emirate is committed to the safety of journalists," Tolo quoted Ozam, deputy spokesperson of the MoI as saying. The National Association of Journalists reported earlier that "at least 30 cases of violations against journalists" were recorded since the Islamic Emirate's takeover, and "90 per cent of the violations were carried out by Islamic Emirate forces." (ANI)
Taking to Twitter, the Chinese state-affiliated media CGTN informed that the first Omicron case was detected in a person who arrived from overseas in North China's Tianjin.

"Chinese mainland on Monday detected its first Omicron variant of COVID-19 in a person who came from overseas in N. China's Tianjin," CGTN tweeted.

The World Health Organization (WHO), on November 27, named the new COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529, which has been detected in South Africa, as 'Omicron'.

This variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning. The number of cases of this variant appears to be increasing in almost all provinces in South Africa.

The WHO has warned that the Omicron variant, which has already been confirmed in Europe, Canada, Israel and Hong Kong, may be more transmissible or evade immunity from previous infections and vaccines. (ANI)
The surplus budget on Sunday comes after years of previous deficit ones because of various economic reforms that cover all sectors, reports Xinhua news agency.

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud said the budget was announced after the country had overcome the economic repercussions and the exceptional Covid-19 pandemic.

The budget was approved with expenditures of 955 billion riyals and revenues of 1.045 trillion riyals.

The Saudi king promised to continue economic initiatives and reforms to achieve the Saudi Vision 2030 that targets the quality of life and the best utilisation of available resources.

Minister of Finance Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan noted that the Saudi economy is witnessing progress from the economic drivers that support the private sector.

Meanwhile, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman revealed that driven by a 7 per cent growth in the private sector, the real GDP growth in the kingdom's non-oil sector had amounted to about 5.4 per cent by the end of the third quarter of 2021.

It is expected that the Saudi Arabia's state deficit in 2021 will reach about 2.7 per cent of GDP, down from 11.2 per cent in pandemic-hit 2020, according to the Crown Prince.

--IANS ksk/

( 229 Words)

2021-12-13-13:37:41 (IANS)
The ban, to be effective on Thursday, was announced at a press conference by Sharon Alroy-Preis, head of the public health services at the Health Ministry, reports Xinhua news agency.

Israel has already banned travel to most African countries, which are labelled "red" by the Ministry because of the new coronavirus variant.

All Israelis returning from the banned countries, including vaccinated and recovered ones, must quarantine for at least seven days.

Foreign nationals are not allowed to travel from these countries to Israel, except in humanitarian cases with the approval of a special governmental committee.

So far, 67 cases of Omicron have been detected in Israel, while the testing results of another 80 suspected ones are expected, according to the Ministry.

--IANS ksk/

( 157 Words)

2021-12-13-13:52:33 (IANS)
Indian Army contingent participating in Exercise Ekuverin undertook joint Watermanship training with marines of Maldives National Defence Force, informed India Army on Monday. The exercise aims to enhance operational synergy between both Indian and Maldivian Armies. "#IndianArmy contingent participating in Exercise Ekuverin undertook joint #Watermanship training with marines of Maldives National Defence Force #MNDF with an aim to enhance operational synergy between both the Armies," India Army tweeted. (ANI)
A first information report was registered against 900 workers of Rajco Industries on the application of Uggoki Station House Officer Armaghan Maqt under sections 302, 297, 201, 427, 431, 157, 149 of the Pakistan Penal Code and 7 and 11WW of the Anti-Terrorism Act, Dawn reported.

"With Monday's arrests, the total number of suspects in custody has risen to 52," Sialkot police spokesperson Khurram Shehzad told Dawn.

According to the Pakistani newspaper, the 18 suspects were later produced before a special anti-terrorism court in Gujranwala, which remanded them in police custody for 15 days. The judge directed the police to present the suspects again on December 28.

"Thirty-four primary suspects are already in remand with police. More than 100 individuals are under investigation," the spokesperson said.

Last week, a mob in the Wazirabad Road area in Sialkot had tortured a Sri Lankan national named Priyantha Kumara to death, before burning his body over alleged blasphemy. (ANI)
In a bid to counter China in the Pacific region, Australia has partnered with the United States and Japan to help improve internet access in three Pacific Island nations. The partnership will build a new undersea cable to give Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia faster and more reliable internet connections, The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported. The daily further said that Australia's efforts to help build critical infrastructure in the Pacific has been increasing and there will be more cooperation between Australia and other like-minded countries in the future to help provide vital services in the region without the burden of debts from loans backed by China. Earlier, in a joint statement with other ministers, Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne said better internet will provide the 100,000 people across the three Micronesian countries economic growth, more development opportunities and improved living standards. "This is more than infrastructure investment. It represents an enduring partnership to deliver practical and meaningful solutions at a time of unprecedented economic and strategic challenges in our region," The Sydney Morning Herald quoted the statement. The partnership comes after a Chinese-backed bid to lay the undersea telecommunications cable was sunk in June after the US warned the involvement of a Chinese company posed a security threat. Over the last decade, China has loaned hundreds of millions of dollars to Pacific nations for various projects, including for mobile phone networks. Meanwhile, Australia has been increasing investment and partnerships, committing USD 300 million earlier this year for infrastructure projects across the region including in telecommunications, health and transport projects to help countries recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. Sino-Australian relations have dipped last year after the Chinese leadership was incensed with Canberra calling for an independent investigation into the origins of the novel coronavirus. Relations had started to fray in 2018 when Australia banned Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies from building its 5G network, the first Western country to do so. Canberra has also been locked in an ongoing trade war with Beijing for several months as China has slapped sanctions on various Australian products. (ANI)
The Haqqani network, which is internationally recognized as a terrorist and insurgency group, has become prominent in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan which is of concern to the international community. Despite being one of the most potent figures now in charge of running an embattled nation of 38 million, the Taliban-appointed Minister of the Interior Sirajuddin Haqqani - leader of the notorious Haqqani Network - remains as elusive and shadowy as ever, according to Knewz. Earlier, in October this year, Haqqani made his first public appearance at Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel - lauding suicide bombers and promising payments to their families. However, all photographs published by news outlets in attendance and by guests on social media were either blurred or elusive. Moreover, the US-designated terrorist is believed to be around 48 years old and is yet to conduct a formal media interview and endeavours to ensure that his face is never exposed to the world. Meanwhile, the Federal Bureau of Investigation continues to disseminate a years-old, barely-discernible photograph of Sirajuddin - commonly referred to as Siraj or Khalifa (boss) - along with the active US $10 million rewards for his arrest, placed in 2007. Earlier, Haqqani Sirajuddin is also said to regularly change location and keep his schedule and movements secret, despite running internal security for Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the infamous network deemed a division of the Afghan Taliban but independent of its command apparatus, was founded by anti-Soviet warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani. Earlier, Haqqani has been commanding the network since its founder and his father Jalaluddin died in 2018 after a lengthy illness. It has long been deemed the most robust and brutal wing of the Taliban and had been blamed for a string of high-profile assaults ranging from the 2011 attack on the very same Kabul InterContinental Hotel, to suicide bombings on the Indian Embassy, and attacks against the U.S. Embassy and the Afghan Presidential Palace, according to Knewsz. On the other hand, during decades of insurgency in Afghanistan, the Haqqani Network was based in Pakistan's tribal region of North Waziristan, conducting cross-border missions to attack US interests and troops. The branch hit America's Foreign Terrorist list in 2012. Nonetheless, the Haqqani influence in Afghan affairs raises the uncomfortable prospect that its close allies, al-Qaeda, could again find a foothold in the war-ravaged country, despite the 2020 Doha agreement that the Taliban would not host the international terrorist outfit, according to Knewz. (ANI)
"Secretary Blinken and President Jokowi emphasized the importance of the U.S.-Indonesia Strategic Partnership and discussed ways to strengthen the bilateral relationship," spokesman Ned Price said. "They also discussed bilateral and regional cooperation to address challenges to democracy and human rights, as well as the climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic."

Blinken arrived in Indonesia on Monday morning for a two-day visit to discuss bilateral relations and the pandemic response, Price said earlier in the day. The talks will also focus on the importance of an open and free Indo-Pacific region.

After Jakarta, the top American diplomat will head to Malaysia and Thailand. (ANI/Sputnik)
Attackers from the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group shot dead a policeman in Shadagraha village of Tank district who was guarding a polio vaccination team. A security man was injured in that assault, Dawn newspaper reported.

On Sunday, District Police Officer (DPO) Sahibzada Sajjad Ahmad confirmed the attack. DPO Sajjad Ahmad informed that some armed men opened fire on the police constable deputed for the vaccination team's security, resulting in the death of one police constable.

Accusing the Imran Khan government of failing to honour the decisions reached earlier, the TTP last week declined to extend the month-long ceasefire with Imran Khan.

Similarly, earlier on Saturday, a policeman was killed in Tank who was protecting the polio vaccination team. The armed men fled the scene, and a police search operation to find them is underway.

Extremist groups often target polio teams and security assigned to protect them, claiming the vaccination campaigns are a conspiracy to sterilise children.

The WHO deemed Pakistan and Afghanistan as dangerous countries in a recent statement by the Thirtieth Polio IHR Emergency Committee, stating that the two countries have failed to eradicate polio fully and may be responsible for the virus's global spread. (ANI)
According to Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection (CHP), a 62-year-old man and a 50-year-old woman arrived in Hong Kong from Britain together on December 10 and tested positive upon arrival at the Hong Kong International Airport, Xinhua reported.

As per Xinhua, both patients had received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and had been asymptomatic. The whole genome sequencing confirmed that the cases carried the Omicron strain.

"So far, seven cases involving Omicron have been detected in Hong Kong. As they were all detected at the Hong Kong International Airport restricted area or at a designated quarantine hotel, there has not been a spread of the Omicron variant in the community," said a spokesperson for the CHP.

"The CHP will adopt the most stringent prevention and control measures to prevent the mutant strain from entering the local community," the spokesperson said.

Apart from the aforementioned cases, two of the omicron cases are related to South Africa, two cases are related to Nigeria and the remaining one is related to the United States, Xinhua reported.

The World Health Organization (WHO), on November 27, named the new COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529, which has been detected in South Africa, as 'Omicron'.This variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning.

As per the WHO, the new Omicron coronavirus strain found in 63 countries will surpass Delta in spreading speed. (ANI)
Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union (AU), has called for supporting initiatives in the manufacture of essential medicines and vaccines beyond Covid-19 in the continent as this was key to global health security. Mahamat made the remarks at the Vaccines and Global Health Security Session of the Group of Seven Foreign and Development Ministerial meeting, according to an AU statement. Mahamat stressed that the availability of vaccines against Covid-19 and the virus' different variants is vital for Africa and the rest of the world, reports Xinhua news agency. Regarding the delivery of vaccines, the AU Commission chairperson pointed out that Africa has seen disproportionate delays, in comparison with the rest of the world, when it came to vaccines ordered from the market and those pledged under COVAX, the global vaccine equity mechanism. "Only 7 per cent of Africans have been vaccinated, compared to 70 per cent of people around the world," Mahamat said. According to the AU Commission chief, when the Covid-19 pandemic started in early 2020, Africa requested to have the same access to vaccines at the same price when they became available. "Two years later, we witnessed that these assurances of global solidarity were ignored," Mahamat said. He further questioned the global community's commitment and solidarity with Africa, regarding which he singled out the recent treatment of Southern African countries in connection with the Omicron variant. "Now more than ever, the world must honor its commitments with urgency. Vaccine nationalism is self-defeating and suicidal in a global pandemic," said Mahamat. Noting that the continent with a population of 1.3 billion accounts for about 14 per cent of the world's population, but produces less than 0.1 per cent of global vaccines, he emphasised the need to enable Africa's capabilities. In April this year, the AU launched the Partnership for African Vaccine Manufacturing, which aimed at ensuring timely access to vaccines to protect public health security. --IANS ksk/ ( 334 Words) 2021-12-13-14:48:41 (IANS)
The head of the Emergency and Ambulance Department at the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, Ahmad Jibril, told reporters that 31-year-old Jamil al-Kayyal was shot dead, and two other men were moderately injured, reports Xinhua news agency.

Palestinian eyewitnesses said that a special Israeli army force stormed al-Ain refugee camp and the old city of Nablus to arrest wanted Palestinian activists, who are involved in carrying out attacks against Israel.

The Israeli soldiers also arrested a third man from his home in the refugee camp, they said.

Israeli media reported that several Palestinian gunmen opened fire at the Israeli troops to prevent them from proceeding into the city of Nablus, but no injuries were reported among the soldiers.

On Friday, a Palestinian demonstrator was killed and dozens were injured during clashes with Israeli soldiers near Nablus, medics and eyewitnesses said.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement that the demonstrator succumbed to a severe injury.

Every Friday, the Palestinians organise rallies and protests against the Israeli government's policies of expanding settlements and confiscation of lands, and the demonstrations usually turn into clashes with soldiers.

--IANS ksk/

( 222 Words)

2021-12-13-15:03:42 (IANS)
Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt confirmed on Monday that the country's borders will open as planned for foreign students and skilled workers this week. He said that from Wednesday, foreign students and skilled workers will be able to enter Australia for the first time since March 2020, subject to quarantine requirements in their state or territory of arrival, reports Xinhua news agency. The borders were initially set to reopen on December 1 but the change was delayed for two weeks amid concerns over the new Omicron variant. Hunt said Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly and the international evidence were cautiously optimistic that the Omicron variant "is showing clear signs of being milder". "The strong, clear evidence is that all of the vaccines continue to provide very clear coverage against serious illness, hospitalisation and loss of life," he told reporters. "As a variant, it may well be milder. And that could turn out, as many international sources have indicated, to be a quietly positive development for the world." The Minister also announced that telehealth services, which have allowed Australians to consult with doctors remotely during the pandemic, will be made permanent. More than 16 million Australians have used telehealth for 86 million appointments during the pandemic. "It came about because of the pandemic, but it has changed the way Australians are able to access healthcare," Hunt said. Australia reported more than 1,800 new locally-acquired coronavirus cases and two deaths on Monday as the country continues to battle the third wave of the pandemic. Till date, 93.3 per cent of Australians aged 16 and over have received one vaccine dose and 89.2 per cent were fully vaccinated, according to the Department of Health. --IANS ksk/ ( 295 Words) 2021-12-13-15:31:31 (IANS)
A district court in Hong Kong also convicted seven others people on similar charges and was handed jail terms of between four and a half to 14 months in jail, Xinhua news agency reported.

Jimmy Lai, the founder of Next Digital was already serving sentence under other charges.

He has been charged with crimes that include violating the security law. In June, Hong Kong authorities had frozen the outlet's bank account and it resulted in the closure of its flagship newspaper Apple Daily.

Apple Daily faced advertising boycotts despite being widely read. Next Digital had stressed that it had been forced to close before any of the cases against its senior figures had gone to trial.

Last year, the commemorative vigil was banned by the police citing COVID-19 concerns.

The Tiananmen Square protests were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing in 1989.

It is estimated that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people died when the People's Liberation Army were deployed to crackdown on protesters in Beijing, ending months of student-led demonstrations in China on June 4, 1989, Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) reported.

The group behind Hong Kong's annual Tiananmen Massacre vigil had faced increasing pressure from the government, and members decided to disband the group in September. The group itself and several of its members are also facing charges under the Beijing-imposed national security law.

The national security law was imposed by Beijing on Hong Kong as a response to anti-China protests that roiled Hong Kong. (ANI)
Taking to Twitter, Tolo News said that Karzai and Lyons discussed humanitarian aid; support for teachers and health workers, and girls' access to education and women's access to work.

"Former president Hamid Karzai met with UN SR Deborah Lyons and discussed humanitarian assistance; support for school teachers, university instructors and health workers; as well as girls' access to education and women's access to work," Tolo News tweeted.

Under the Taliban's rule the status of Afghan women has yet to be clarified.

Earlier, the Gender Alert report said that Taliban's assurance that the rights of women and girls will be respected under Islamic Law, "there is a rapid reversal of their rights across all areas of life.

"Also, the UN report mentioned that approximately 60 per cent of out-of-school children are girls."USD 1 billion or up to 5% of the GDP is the estimated immediate economic loss of restricting women from working," the report cited in a graph."

This Gender Alert also explores how the rights of women and girls are interconnected, meaning that rapid improvement across the full spectrum of women's rights is urgently needed," the report said.

The report also proposed support to "rebuild the Afghan women's movement", "support services for women by women," and the "monitoring (of) human rights." (ANI)
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov on Monday said that India may become the first in line to buy Russian air defence system S-500, if it expresses such a desire after the Russian Armed Forces receive them in the required quantity. This comes as Russia has started the delivery of the S400 Triumf surface to air missile system to India, under the agreement signed by the Narendra Modi government even as the US continues to threaten possible sanctions over New Delhi's military engagement with Moscow. "India will probably be the first on the list if it expresses a desire to buy these modern means," Borisov said in an interview with the RBC broadcaster, as quoted by Russian news agency Sputnik. Russian Deputy PM also specified that Moscow would export the S-500s only after these systems are delivered to the Russian troops in the required quantity. The United States last month had said that it has not made a determination on a potential waiver on CAATSA sanctions for India's purchase of the S400 missile defence system and added that Washington will continue to have a conversation with New Delhi over arms transactions with Russia. "We have urged all of our allies and all of our partners to forego transactions with Russia that may risk triggering sanctions under CAATSA (Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act)," said State Department Spokesperson Ned Price on the question of sanction waiver for India. Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin held the 21st India - Russia Annual summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two leaders expressed satisfaction at the sustained progress in the 'Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership' between both countries despite the challenges posed by the Covid pandemic. They also welcomed the holding of the first meeting of the 2+2 Dialogue of Foreign and Defence Ministers and the meeting of the Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military-Technical Cooperation in New Delhi on December 6. In a joint statement, the sides reiterated their commitment to upgrade the defence cooperation, including facilitating joint development and production of military equipment, components and spare parts, enhancing the after-sales service system, progress towards mutual recognition of quality control and regular joint exercises of the Armed Forces of the two countries. Moreover, both sides agreed to take forward ongoing engagements to encourage joint manufacturing in India of spare parts, components, aggregates and other products for the maintenance of Russian origin Arms and defence equipment under the Make-in-India program through a transfer of technology. (ANI)
Pakistan-sponsored proxy war in Kashmir valley has promoted violence and devastated families, according to a research report. Over the last two decades, sociologists have time and again raised the issue of social implications of terrorism in Kashmir with some suggesting that women from militant families, dead or alive, such as their sisters, daughters, cousin sisters, and other female relatives suffered a lot, according to InsideOver. Further, the Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) has an interesting research paper on the effects of armed conflict on the families of slain militants in Kashmir in its June (2021) issue. Since Pakistan forced Kashmir into a protracted conflict zone, the Valley has become home to a new group of widows, single parents and orphaned children. Further, in the research paper, Dr Asima Hassan, a sociologist from Kashmir University in the research paper has depicted the miserable and pathetic condition of families of slain militants, their pathetic economic conditions; educational backwardness, social disorganization and social disorder, Meanwhile, Pakistan's quest for proxy war has enabled unending violence and consequent misery has devastated thousands of Kashmiri families, according to the InsideOver According to Dr Hassan's survey, at least 10 percent of the militants killed in the last 30 years were married and had children. These families had to endure social ignominy, besides suffering financially as they were not entitled for any compensation from the government like the families of the civilian victims. Also, the total dependence of the widows and orphans on others outside their own families have made them socially handicapped. (ANI)
British Intelligence Agency has issued a warning that the use of Chinese digital currency Renminbi as a tool for global currency operations ahead of the scheduled Winter Olympics next year. The British Intelligence Agency has red-flagged the use of Chinese digital currency Renminbi as a tool for global currency transactions and that digital renminbi that Beijing vigorously promoted before the Winter Olympics may become surveillance users and control users, the agency indicated raising security concerns, according to Singapore Post. Further, Jeremy Fleming, the Director of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) of the British Intelligence Agency, warned that although digital currencies provide a huge amount of money for the mass payment system Opportunities, but this new technological development also brings threats. "If implemented by mistake, it will give hostile countries the possibility of monitoring digital currency transactions. This gives them the ability to be able to exercise control over digital currency operations," Fleming said. "Communist China is now the "biggest strategic problem" facing the UK and that Beijing is expanding espionage activities and seeking control over the digital infrastructure," he added. Further, if other countries collect a large amount of data on British citizens, including work, shopping, social and travel information, it will be deeply intrusive and may lead to sovereign erosion. Earlier in December, Richard Moore, the Director of MI6, stated that Beijing is exporting technology to give it an opportunity to build an authoritarian control network around the world. He accused Beijing of drawing other countries into a "data trap." Further, Digital currency may be such a trap. According to the People's Bank of China, the Central Bank of the Communist Party of China, 140 million individuals and companies have signed up to use the digital renminbi, according to Singapore Post. In the past, the United Kingdom publicly accused Russia and China of hacking operations supported by countries such as Russia and China. Earlier, three US Republican Senators urged the US Olympic Organizing Committee to ban US athletes from using China's new digital currency during the Beijing Winter Olympics. (ANI)
Earlier this August, Nirav Modi was granted permission to appeal against his extradition from the UK to India to face fraud charges on the grounds that a return to India would harm his mental health and place him at risk of suicide.

Modi's lawyers had long argued that their client suffered from severe depression and would not receive adequate medical care if he is imprisoned at the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai pending his court appearance.

They stated that his mental health condition had deteriorated further during his incarceration at Wandsworth Prison in South London following his arrest in London in March 2019 and the strict restrictions placed on prisons during the Covid-19 pandemic.

They had also introduced several medical experts to give evidence that Modi was at high risk of suicide.

Modi, once the jeweller to some of the biggest stars of Hollywood and Bollywood, stands accused of defrauding the state-owned Punjab National Bank of more than USD 2 billion through a carefully orchestrated scam involving dummy corporations and directors.

He is also charged by the Indian government with witness intimidation and destruction of evidence.

He has been held at Wandsworth Prison in London since his arrest in the British capital in March 2019. (ANI)
"Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen participated in a virtual meeting of the G7 finance ministers and central bank governors today. G7 members discussed the global economic outlook and the importance of boosting global vaccination rates to combat the pandemic, as well as the importance of resilient global supply chains," the readout said.

The group also discussed the macroeconomic implications of climate change and the technical work the G7 will pursue to better understand climate mitigation measures, the readout said.

Yellen endorsed along with her counterparts the G7 finance ministers statement on actions to support antibiotic development, the readout said. The statement calls on G7 members to address the antibiotic development shortfall using market incentives, it added.

A G7 foreign ministers summit was held in Liverpool on December 10-12, where leaders discussed issues including post-pandemic recovery, global health and human rights. (ANI/Sputnik)
Taking a jibe at the Imran Khan government, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday said that Pakistan should not have skipped the US-hosted Summit For Democracy. Pakistan, China's all-weather ally, last week had turned down US' invitation to take part in the Summit for Democracy. The US had extended invitations to more than a hundred countries for the summit but China and some other countries were left out. Pakistan thanked the US for the invitation but said that it would engage with the country on a wide range of issues "at an opportune time in the future", Pakistan Foreign Office had said in a statement. Pakistan did not attend the summit after earlier issuing a vague statement which said that Islamabad would like to engage with Washington on the issue of democracy "at an opportune time in the future". Answering a question from a reporter while addressing a press begging in Karachi, PPP Chairman on Monday said that Pakistan was not in a position to "deprive" itself of any forum, Dawn newspaper reported. "Even if an ally raises objections, we can raise their views and our views [at the forum] but we should never cede space." Bilawal said that in his opinion, this was a "mistake" at a foreign policy level. A few days after declining the US' invite for the democracy summit, the top leadership in Pakistan on Saturday had said that country values its relationship with the United States and was committed to expanding it in all spheres, particularly in the economic dimension. This message was conveyed in a meeting with a delegation of US senators. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa separately met the US lawmakers on Saturday. Pakistan Prime Minister called on the US to play its due role in maintaining peace and stability in the region. He said that a deeper and stronger partnership between the two countries was mutually beneficial and critical for the region's peace, security and prosperity. (ANI)
Ahead of the Beijing Olympics 2022, a Washington-based Uyghur rights activist has called on Europe to adhere to its values and take action against China's rights abuses in Xinjiang province. Rushan Abbas, who is the Founder and Executive Director of Campaign for Uyghurs, says that she has not seen her sister for the past three years. Rushan claims that her sister was forcibly disappeared after she publicly condemned the concentration camps in Xinjiang. "Her forced disappearance at the hands of the Chinese Communist regime came just days after I spoke publicly to condemn the concentration camps in which millions were being imprisoned based on their ethnic and religious identity," Rushan wrote in an article published in the Brussels based The Parliament Magazine. "This pain I feel is shared by millions, as every Uyghur is suffering from the loss of their family to the Chinese Communist Party's concentration camps, prisons, and forced labour facilities. Have we learned nothing from history?" Rushan asked. She said that her personal agony over the abduction of her sister has been met with the additional pain of realising that foreign corporations are profiting off the slave labour in Xinjiang. "75 years ago, some of these same companies were guilty of the same type of crimes, but we no longer have any excuse of ignorance." Asserting that Europe is facing a "moral crisis", she added, "It is clear that we cannot depend on corporations to make the right decision, as many have ignored engagement attempts from human rights groups, or have outright admitted that the Chinese market is too important to consider addressing their normalisation of slavery." Last week, a London based independent tribunal has ruled that China committed 'genocide' against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang province after a series of hearings that lasted several months. The Uyghur Tribunal declared the verdict after a panel of Britain-based lawyers and rights experts examined human rights violations in the Xinjiang region. Hearings were held in June, September, and November 2021, during which the Tribunal's expert panel reviewed hundreds of witness statements and heard live evidence from more than 30 witnesses about their experiences of China's oppressive policies, as well as from expert witnesses. "The tribunal is satisfied that the PRC (People's Republic of China) has effected a deliberate, systematic and concerted policy with the object of so-called 'optimizing' the population in Xinjiang by the means of a long-term reduction of Uyghur and other ethnic minority populations to be achieved through limiting and reducing Uyghur births," Geoffrey Nice, who chaired the tribunal, said last Thursday. He added that the tribunal was "satisfied" that very senior officials in the PRC and CCP (Chinese Communist Party) bear primary responsibility for acts in Xinjiang." (ANI)
Taking to Twitter, ambassador Lenain said that it's a sign of the growing importance of this Alliance co-chaired by France and India.

"Congratulations @isolaralliance on obtaining the Observer Status @UN General Assembly! It's a sign of the growing importance of this Alliance co-chaired by France and India. It will help our efforts to scale up #solar power and implement the "One Sun, One World, One Grid" vision," Lenain tweeted.

Last week the ISA was unanimously granted observer status by the UNGA. The fourth general assembly of the ISA, was held earlier in October.

A total of 108 countries participated in the Assembly, including 74 Member Countries and 34 Observer and Prospective Countries, 23 Partner Organizations and 33 Special Invitee Organisations.

The launch of the ISA was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and former French President Francois Hollande in November 2015, at the 21st session of the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties in Paris, France.

In October 2018, the idea for the One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG) initiative was put forth by PM Modi, at the First Assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA). He had called for connecting solar energy supply across borders. (ANI)
The explanation of the vote on India's part was done by Ambassador T.S. Tirumurti, Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

Ambassador T.S. Tirumurti in his speech also spoke against drawing a separate link between security and climate change.

The draft resolution that has been co-authored by Ireland and Niger states that the adverse effects of climate change can "lead...to social tensions..., exacerbating, prolonging, or contributing to the risk of future conflicts and instability and posing a key risk to global peace, security, and stability".

Ireland and Niger circulated a zero draft of the resolution following a September 23 high-level open debate on climate and security which was organised by Ireland.

The co-penholders apparently based their text on a draft resolution which was proposed in 2020 by then-Council member Germany in cooperation with nine other Council members. A vote on that draft text was not held because of strong resistance from China, Russia and the US.

One round of negotiations was held on October 11 in which Estonia, France, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Niger, Norway, Tunisia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the UK, the US, and Viet Nam--expressed support for a more systematic integration of climate-related security risks into the Council's work, requesting only minor adjustments to the zero draft. China, India and Russia, however, apparently expressed deep scepticism about the need for Council engagement on this issue.

India and Russia also apparently highlighted concerns about a "securitised" approach to the issue, conveying apprehension that the Council could pursue coercive measures to address the challenges posed by climate change. (ANI)
New York [US], December 13 (ANI/Sputnik): The UN Security Council on Monday did not adopt a draft resolution on climate change after its permanent member Russia cast a veto, Niger Permanent Representative to the United Nations Abdou Abarry said after the vote. "The draft resolution has not been adopted owing to the negative vote of a permanent member of the Council," Abarry, who presides with the UN Security Council during the month of December, said. India voted against the resolution and China abstained from voting. The draft resolution, co-sponsored by Ireland and Niger, said the adverse effects of climate change can exacerbate vulnerable situations or contribute to future violence, conflicts and instability, presenting "a key risk" to international peace and security. The document sought to request the UN Secretary-General to integrate climate security risk "as a central component" into the United Nations' conflict-prevention strategies aiming to reduce the risk of conflict relapse due to harmful effects of climate change. Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenezia said his country could not support the draft because Moscow was against creating a new area of UN Security Council's work that establishes a generic, automatic connection between climate change and global security. "Positioning climate change as a threat to international security diverts the council's attention from genuine, deep-rooted reasons of conflict in the countries on the Council's agenda," Nebenzia said. "This is convenient for those countries that are actively helping these conflicts to come into being or who have waged military activities in diversion from the Security Council's mandate or simply don't want to provide the necessary help to developing countries." Nebenzia also said that nations which present climate change as a source of political instability prefer to neglect the negative consequences of military activities on the environment, including the loss of biodiversity, deforestation and soil pollution in conflict-affected areas. In addition, the draft resolution failed to seek to help countries to work on specific situations and, instead, took a generic approach to the issue of climate, despite the principles of the United Nations' Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Nebenzia also said. "It is particularly sad to see this attempt to shove in this draft resolution when there's a clear lack of consensus among the members of the Security Council now when countries are trying to agree on how to implement the Paris Agreement in Glasgow, and also on measures that really are necessary to fight climate change," Nebenzia added. (ANI/Sputnik)
Brussels [Belgium], December 13 (ANI/Sputnik): The tensions on the borders of Ukraine will be discussed at the EU summit on December 16, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday after meeting of EU foreign ministers. "This topic (Ukraine tensions) remains high in the agenda, it will taken up also at the European Council leaders meeting on Thursday," he said. Borrell added that the EU wanted to send a clear signal that in the event of any aggression by Russia in Ukraine, this will have the most serious political consequences and a high economic cost. (ANI/Sputnik)
Nepal's Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and four other leaders are in the fray for the post of Nepali Congress president during the 14th general convention of the party. Deuba was appointed as Prime Minister by Supreme Court issuing a mandamus earlier this year and became premier of the Himalayan Nation for the fifth time. Now he is in the fray to secure a second term as party president. His his former aides are contesting against him for the post. "If Sher Bahadur Deuba would get re-elected as party president at the General Convention, it would prove that he enjoys influence and would become more powerful in the party. But it doesn't ends here. He needs to work to bring changes inside the party. On the other side there are the three tier election of local bodies, province and house of representatives. It is speculated that the party might not get the expected results," Niraj Raj Joshi, a senior journalist from Kathmandu, told ANI. Incumbent party president Sher Bahadur Deuba is being challenged by Dr Shekhar Koirala, Prakash Man Singh, Bimalendra Nidhi and Kalyan Gurung. "In case another panel led by Shekhar Koirala wins against Deuba, then a generation of politics would end giving birth to another generation which would be a newer generation. This new generation would stand as a prominent competitor against the leftists. It would further establish the party among the people," Joshi added. In the earlier round of the convention held in the year 2016, a total of three candidates fought for the top post inside the party. Deuba along with Ram Chandra Poudel and Krishna Prasad Sitaula had stood against each other for the post of party president. In the Nepali Congress, to win party president post, a candidate must secure more than 50 percent of the total votes cast. For other positions, whoever secures the most votes wins. With more candidates fighting for the single post, votes are expected to be divided and lead towards a run-off. With run-off for the top post of ruling party expected cadres and election representatives elected from various levels hope it would not affect the functioning and presence of party in the upcoming elections. "The country needs a stronger Nepali Congress party, but there is now a rift inside the party. The division needs to be eliminated and for that we need changes inside the party," Bhartandu Kumar Mallik, one of the elected representatives from Nepali Congress, who voted in the ongoing general convention, told ANI. More than 4,700 representatives are casting their votes to elect a 134-member Central Working Committee (CWC) including 13 office-bearers. Of 167-member Central Working Committee of the NC, 134 members and office bearers will be elected today while the remaining 33 members will be nominated by the president as per the statute of the party. The general convention started on Friday. Five candidates are vying for the post of president, seven for two vice-presidents, six for two general secretaries and 19 for eight deputy general secretaries. Similarly, 429 candidates are vying for the post of 121 members. (ANI)
"I spoke with Indian MoD Singh to reiterate my sincere condolences for the loss of Indian Chief of Defense Staff, Gen. Bipin Rawat, and to reaffirm the United States' commitment to carry on Gen. Rawat's legacy through continuing to strengthen the US-India defence relationship," US Defense Secretary tweeted.

Austin also reaffirmed the US commitment to strengthening US-India ties and deepening the India-US defence partnership.

Thirteen of the 14 people on board the Mi-17V5 helicopter, including India's first chief of defence staff (CDS), his wife Madhulika Rawat were among those killed after it crashed on December 8.

On Friday, the bodies of General Rawat his wife and his defence assistant Brigadier LS Lidder were cremated with full military honours in the Brar Square crematorium in the national capital.

Leaders from across the world expressed grief over the death of the CDS Rawat. (ANI)
Taliban on Sunday urged China to help the Islamic Emirate government get recognized. Deputy Minister of Information and Culture and spokesperson of the Taliban Zabiullah Mujahid said that they need recognition and the world countries especially China must help them in this regard, reported Khaama Press. Mujahid in a news conference said that China is one of the most important countries in the region, and having good relations with the country will be the Taliban's great achievement. The Taliban unveiled their caretaker government with Hasan Akhund, who has been under United Nations sanctions since 2001, at the helm. It has been more than 100 days since the Taliban takeover but has not been recognized by any nation of the world yet. Deputy Spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Bilal Karimi citing Zabiullah Mujahid said that the Taliban do not want to interfere in other's affairs and that they will not allow others to do so either, reported Tolo News. "We hope all traders in particular Chinese investors to invest in Afghanistan and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will ensure their security," Karimi tweeted. Respect for women and human rights, establishing inclusive government, not allowing Afghanistan to become safe haven of terrorism are the preconditions for the recognition set by the international community. The Taliban have so far implemented none of these but has been promising to do so, reported The Khaama Press. (ANI)
Pentagon on Monday (local time) said that it will not punish any troops over an errant drone strike in Kabul that killed 10 civilians on August 29. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has accepted recommendations that no US military personnel be disciplined for an errant drone strike in Kabul that killed 10 civilians, including an Afghan employee of an American aid organization and seven children, said the Pentagon, reported The Washington Post. Military officials had said previously that the attack on August 29 was not the result of criminal negligence. In November, the Air Force inspector general who led an independent investigation of the incident said that while the strike did not violate laws of war, the evidence suggested that mistakes were made as a result of what he called confirmation bias on the part of the analysts and commanders involved, reported The Washington Post. That review did not recommend any disciplinary action either, despite Pentagon leaders' admission that the strike was a "tragic mistake." A spokesman for US Central Command, which oversaw the operation, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The botched drone strike was carried out just days after a suicide bomber struck outside Hamid Karzai International Airport, killing 13 US service members and at least 170 Afghans, while coalition forces raced to evacuate people. The military officials who approved the strike -- they have not been identified publicly -- believed they were targeting an operative of Islamic State-Khorasan, the terrorist group's arm in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But as evidence later showed, the suspected explosives they believed to be inside a white Toyota Corolla proved to be water tanks for the aid worker's family. Top US military leaders initially defended the operation as a "righteous strike." But as more details emerged revealing the extent of the error, the Pentagon promised to make "condolence payments" to the victims' family, reported The Washington Post. Those payments have not yet been issued, though Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters during a briefing said that while "we want to effect this as soon as possible," officials want to make sure that the money is paid "in the safest and responsible way so that we know it's getting to the right people and only the right people." Kirby also said that the Pentagon is still trying to obtain "the identifying information that we need to move family members out of Afghanistan as expeditiously as we can." (ANI)
In order to get the Taliban international recognition, Islamabad on Monday invited the Islamic Emirate to the summit of the Organization of the Islamic Countries which is scheduled to be held on December 19. Waliullah Shaheen, head of the Center for Strategic Studies at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the Afghan economy, banking system and the normalization of Afghanistan's relations with the world are the main agenda items for the meeting, reported Tolo News. "The economy, banking system and normalization of Afghanistan's relations with the world are the agenda items of the meeting, and we, as the foreign ministry (of Afghanistan), will participate in this meeting," he said. In addition to the members of the OIC, Pakistan media reported that delegations from the US, Russia, Britain, the European Union, the World Bank and humanitarian organizations have also been invited to the conference. "Many Islamic countries don't have good ties with Afghanistan. I hope these countries rebuild their relations and together make a decision on recognizing Afghanistan," said Sayed Ishaq Gailani, head of the National Solidarity Movement of Afghanistan. The Taliban unveiled their caretaker government with Hasan Akhund, who has been under United Nations sanctions since 2001, at the helm. It has been more than 100 days since the Taliban takeover but has not been recognized by any nation of the world yet. Respect for women and human rights, establishing inclusive government, not allowing Afghanistan to become safe haven of terrorism are the preconditions for the recognition set by the international community. The Taliban has so far implemented none of these but has been promising to do so. (ANI)
Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) hopes it can resume licensing pilots in February with the release of an International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) audit after a scandal over fake licenses, an authority official said, reported Geo TV.

A nine-member ICAO team carried out an audit in Pakistan for 10 days that concluded on Friday.

"We are hopeful we will resume issuance of licensing following the release of the ICAO audit report expected in February," Khaqan Murtaza, Director-General of the PCAA, told reporters on Monday.

"The situation is that they have cleared us but a final report is awaited. The report is expected any time after mid-February," Murtaza said.

The audit was carried out in six areas - airworthiness, flying standards, personal licensing and examination, air navigation services, aerodromes and aircraft accidents.

The ICAO, the UN Aviation body, advised Pakistan in September 2020 to undertake immediate corrective action and suspend the issue of any new pilot licenses after false licenses came to light following the crash of a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane in May that year, in which 97 people were killed.

In June last year, Pakistan grounded 262 airline pilots suspected of dodging their exams following checks of their qualifications.

The pilot licence scandal has tainted Pakistan's aviation industry and hurt flag carrier PIA, which was barred from flying to Europe and the United States, reported Geo News. (ANI)
Saeid, in a speech on national television, announced, "popular consultation" with the Tunisian people and said that "other draft constitutional and other changes will be put forward to referendum" on July 25, 2022 - exactly a year after he sacked the government and seized wide-ranging powers, reported France24.

Changes to the constitution would follow the public online consultation and parliament would remain suspended until a new one was elected, said Saied.

Saied's July 25 power grab initially won support from many Tunisians tired of political parties seen as deeply corrupt and incapable of solving the country's deep economic woes, reported France24.

But he has since faced mass demonstrations and growing accusations that he is becoming a new autocrat. Human rights groups have repeatedly warned against the trial of civilians in military courts.

Monday's announcement came days after envoys of seven Western states (G7) plus the EU urged Tunisia to respect "fundamental freedoms" and set a timeline for a return to democratic institutions, reported France24.

In a joint statement, the diplomatic mission heads of the G7 nations said they "strongly support the people of Tunisia in their pursuit of effective, democratic, and transparent" governance.

"We restate the importance of respect for all Tunisians' fundamental freedoms, and inclusive and transparent engagement with all stakeholders, including diverse political and civil society voices," they said.

They called for "a clear timeline allowing for a swift return to functioning democratic institutions, with an elected parliament playing a significant role", reported France24. (ANI)
Good morning, neighbors! Nicole Fallon-Peek here with your Monday issue of the Pawtucket Daily.

First, today's weather:

Mostly sunny, breezy and mild. High: 51 Low: 37.

Here are the top 3 stories today in and around Pawtucket:

Rhode Island's first case of the COVID-19 Omicron variant has been identified in a Providence County resident in their 20s. The individual had recently returned from a trip to New York and was fully vaccinated, but had no record of a booster shot. Governor McKee, who just extended a requirement to wear masks in schools and a state of emergency in Rhode Island through Jan. 8, urges residents not to panic. "Just like when the Delta variant was identified in Rhode Island, Rhode Islanders will come together to take the actions necessary to protect themselves and their loved ones," said McKee in a statement. (Pawtucket Patch) The Pawtucket Police Department hosted its third annual K-9s for Kids Holiday Party yesterday afternoon at the Looff Carousel in Slater Park. Children were able to ride the carousel and get a gift from Santa, while all guests enjoyed refreshments and visits with Santa, the Grinch, and two K-9 officers."This event is only possible thanks to many, many individuals and businesses within our wonderful community," the department said. (ABC 6) Pawtucket residents can expect a mild week of weather over the next several days. All the lows this week will be above 35 (with the exception of Tuesday's 29-degree low), and Thursday will bring temperatures between 53 and 61 degrees. Despite the warmer temperature, Thursday is also expected to be breezy with a 55 percent chance of morning showers. (Pawtucket Patch)

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 Nicole Fallon-Peek

About me: Nicole Fallon-Peek is a journalist and copywriter with a degree in Media, Culture and Communication from New York University. She has served as a freelance reporter, managing editor, copy editor, and editorial director for a variety of B2B news outlets. She currently co-owns and operates content creation agency Lightning Media Partners.

This article originally appeared on the Pawtucket Patch
CHICAGO  Anjanette Young is in line for a $2.9 million settlement for the botched police raid on her home that prompted the Chicago Police Department to change its policies and became an embarrassment for Mayor Lori Lightfoot after her administration tried to prevent footage of the incident from airing.

The City Councils Finance Committee unanimously approved the settlement for Young on Monday. It will appear on the full councils agenda Wednesday.

The city has never disputed Ms. Young suffered an indignity during the raid, city corporation counsel Celia Meza said Monday, when she took the unusual step of presenting the settlement to the Finance Committee herself.

Young is alleging willful and wanton conduct by the city and officers, that there was a standard of duty of care officers violated during the raid. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability found some officers engaged in such conduct during the raid, which would make it tougher for the city to defend itself in court, Meza said.

Acting on a bad tip that a man with an illegal firearm lived in the apartment, 13 police officers raided Youngs home in February 2019, restraining her while she was getting ready for bed and forcing her to stand handcuffed and naked as officers searched her residence.

Officers would testify Young was completely naked for 16 seconds before first a jacket, then a blanket were draped around her shoulders, Meza said Monday.

It was 10 minutes before officers allowed Young to head to her bedroom to get dressed. If the case went to trial, a jury might award her $13 million  $1 million for each officer in the apartment  or $16 million  $1 million for each second she was completely undressed, she told aldermen.

Though Young has agreed to the settlement, Southwest Side Alderman Raymond Lopez, 15th, said she should have gotten more, in part because the administration has revictimized her in its dealings with her since the incident came to light.

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To be at less than ($3 million), while good for taxpayers, I dont think does justice for Ms. Young, Lopez said.

The situation garnered national attention in December 2020 after Lightfoots administration sought an extraordinary order to stop Chicago's CBS affiliate from broadcasting video of the raid.

City lawyers initially requested sanctions against Young for sharing footage of the episode with media, though they later backpedaled, saying they only wanted sanctions against her lawyer. Eventually they dropped the request altogether.

As the scandal unfolded, Lightfoot falsely claimed she had no knowledge of the matter, which occurred before she took office, and that her administration hadnt refused to give Young video of the raid.

But the mayor soon acknowledged that members of her staff had told her about the raid via emails in November 2019, as CBS was reporting on search warrants being served at the wrong addresses. She also said she had no recollection of the emails.

In an email sent on Nov. 11, 2019, former Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Susan Lee forwarded a summary of CBS reporting on the case to Lightfoot and said, Please see below for a pretty bad wrongful raid coming out tomorrow.

The summary said Young was handcuffed by police, and officers allegedly left her standing for 40 minutes handcuffed and naked while all-male police officers search her apartment. The email noted that Young had been asking for the body camera footage but hadnt heard back from police.

Half an hour later, Lightfoot responded to the thread.

I have a lot of questions about this one, Lightfoot said. Can we do a quick call about it? Is 10:00, ie 10 minutes from now possible?

Lightfoot personally apologized to Young for the raid and vowed to resolve Youngs lawsuit against the city, but the mayor has been criticized as her administration continued playing hardball in defending the Police Departments actions.

Legal documents filed by the city in June show Lightfoot officials downplayed one of the more horrifying elements of the bungled raid  how long Young was left exposed.

The citys motion to dismiss the case sought to minimize the fact Young was handcuffed while naked and said she was escorted to her bedroom to get fully dressed about 10 minutes after officers determined their target wasnt present.

Though (police) attempted to cover her with a nearby blanket seconds after handcuffing her, the blanket did not stay fully closed in front, city lawyers noted.

City lawyers also said in the motion that Youngs lawsuit failed to establish a legal wrong.

In handling Youngs case, Lightfoot has faced a challenging political and legal dynamic. She has wanted to show empathy toward Young while also overseeing a Law Department charged with mounting a defense.

Monday, at an unrelated news conference, Lightfoot said shes comfortable with the settlement and that Young and her attorney Keenan Saulter are as well.

I think its a good thing this matter is resolved, Lightfoot said.

Lightfoot did not commit to releasing the report on Youngs case prepared by now-former Inspector General Joe Ferguson, saying the city will follow the law.

Full inspector general reports can only be released under narrow circumstances, and its up to the citys top lawyer to decide if the report will be made public.

But Lightfoot twice said she expects a report by outside law firm Jones Day to be released.

Theyre independent, theyve done a thorough deep dive looking at a number of different places where this case was touched by city entities. Now, they didnt deal with the underlying search warrant, that was really the subject of the work that COPA and the IG did, but looking at what was the process, what happened, mayors office, law department, COPA and the Police Department, Lightfoot said, adding: My expectation is that they will release something soon but youve got to talk to them about the time and place.

Amid the uproar over the case, the Police Department revised its policy on raids to require a department member who is at the rank of lieutenant or above to be at the scene when the warrant is executed and for each member of the team serving the warrant to wear body cameras. A female member of the department also is required to be present during the service of the warrant.

The Finance Committee on Monday also approved three other settlements totaling $2.16 million in three other lawsuits alleging police misconduct.
By Anastasia Moloney

BOGOTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A record number of U.S. states have sought to restrict access to abortion this year, but countries including Argentina, Mexico and Thailand have moved in the opposite direction - easing their strict laws on the procedure.

In the United States, 106 abortion restrictions were enacted across 19 states in 2021, according to reproductive health research organization the Guttmacher Institute.

The restrictive measures in mostly Republican-led states have included mandatory counseling, having to wait 24 hours before a second clinic visit, and reducing the number of weeks during which women can terminate a pregnancy.

Abortion rights in the United States are under attack unlike any time since the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling made abortion a legal and constitutional right nationwide, campaigners say.

"(This) was the worst legislative year for U.S. abortion rights since Roe v. Wade," said Elizabeth Nash, principal policy associate of state issues at the Guttmacher Institute.

"But this situation did not just suddenly appear - it's been years in the making as part of a coordinated campaign to ban abortion outright," Nash said.

The U.S. Supreme Court - which has a 6-3 conservative majority - heard oral arguments in two separate major cases this year that could uphold restrictions on abortion rights.

The cases involve the states of Mississippi and Texas - where a near-total abortion ban came into effect in September that bans terminations after around the first six weeks of pregnancy.

Across the globe, numerous countries have revised their abortion laws in 2021, and several have also clamped down.

In Poland, a near total ban on abortion has been in effect since January, sparking nationwide protests.

The country's Constitutional Court said in October 2020 that terminating pregnancies due to fetal defects should be banned, ending the most common of the few legal grounds for abortion.

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ATTITUDES SHIFT

In Latin America, some nations have liberalized access as women's rights movements demand change and attitudes shift.

But conservative resistance persists in the largely Roman Catholic region, and initiatives to ease access to terminations stalled in Chile and Colombia.

Chilean lawmakers rejected a bill in November that sought to expand legal access for women to get abortions, while Colombia's Constitutional Court suspended a case that would have considered whether to fully decriminalize the procedure.

As in much of the region, abortion in Colombia is only allowed if a woman's life is in danger, a fetus is unviable or when a pregnancy has resulted from rape or incest, but such restrictions are facing mounting challenges.

In El Salvador, where abortion has been totally banned since 1998, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled in November that the Central American nation had violated the rights of a woman imprisoned for an abortion crime.

The woman, known as Manuela, died in prison while serving a 30-year sentence after being convicted of having an illegal abortion and charged with aggravated homicide.

The top regional rights court ruled that Manuela had a miscarriage after suffering an "obstetric emergency" and ordered El Salvador to reform its stringent abortion laws.

Elsewhere in Latin America, 2021 saw major shifts towards liberalizing access to the procedure.

In Mexico, the world's second-biggest Catholic country, the Supreme Court ruled in September that penalizing abortion is unconstitutional, meaning courts can no longer prosecute abortion cases.

Supreme Court President Arturo Zaldivar hailed the ruling as "a watershed moment" for all women, especially the most vulnerable.

That followed Argentina's landmark decision to legalize abortion in late December 2020 to allow it through the 14th week of pregnancy, which came into effect earlier this year.

In Honduras, which has a blanket ban on terminations, abortion rights groups hope November's election of Xiomara Castro as the country's first woman president will bring change.

Castro has said she backs legalizing abortion in the case of rape, risk to the mother's life, and fetal deformity.

Thai lawmakers voted in January in favor of allowing abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy while retaining penalties for later terminations.

Weeks later, the Constitutional Court ruled that existing laws criminalizing abortion were unconstitutional.

With the U.S. Supreme Court expected to rule on major next abortion cases next year, abortion rights campaigners say more must be done to ensure all women, especially the young and those from low-income segments, can access the procedure.

"Whether or not Roe is undermined by this Supreme Court, longer-term solutions are urgently needed to ensure that a person's income and ZIP code is never the determining factor in their ability to get an abortion," Nash said.

(Reporting by Anastasia Moloney; Editing by Helen Popper; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers the lives of people around the world who struggle to live freely or fairly. Visit http://news.trust.org)
Dec. 13ANDERSON  Two meetings are being planned to let city residents have input into how Anderson spends $23.1 million in American Rescue Plan funds.

The Anderson City Council on Thursday formally accepted the plan for the distribution of the funds from Mayor Thomas J. Broderick.

"There will be at least two public meetings," he said. "We want to provide opportunities for the public to have input."

The intention is to conduct the public meetings in the City Building auditorium and via Zoom.

The plan presented by Broderick is available on the city's website, along with federal guidelines for the use of the money.

Broderick's plan includes $3.6 million for premium pay for city workers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said the premium pay provision should be considered sooner by the council than the entire American Rescue Plan proposal.

"I would like to advance that a little bit quicker," Broderick said. "Get the money to the employees as soon as possible."

The premium pay ranges from $3,700 to a maximum of $7,500 for members of the Anderson Police Department, Anderson Fire Department, City of Anderson Transit System and City Hall utility workers.

Part-time employees will receive between $2,500 and $7,500, depending on how many hours they worked.

No elected officials are eligible for the premium payments.

Councilman Ollie H. Dixon said there should be more than one meeting for the public and the City Council to discuss the distribution of the $23.1 million.

Dixon said employees of city departments that handle dangerous chemicals at the city's water and sewer departments should receive a higher amount in the premium plan proposal.

"They are exposed to chemicals every day," he said. "There should be equal pay."

Broderick said the premium pay proposal was based on the potential exposure to COVID-19, not dealing with daily risks in the performance of jobs.

Broderick said there are a lot of needs for funding in the community, but there are restrictions in the federal guidelines.

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"There has to be very strict documentation of how the funds are spent," he said. "If that documentation is not provided, the city could be liable for repayment of the funds."

Local resident Lindsay Brown suggested the premium pay cost should be taken from the city's operating balance of about $18 million.

Brown said that would allow the entire $23.1 million in federal funding to be spent on projects and programs in the city of Anderson.

Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.
A special episode of an animated series will celebrate Christmas through the eyes of a Puerto Rican girl from New York City and introduce children to distinctive holiday traditions.

"Almas Way," produced by Fred Rogers Productions and created by Sonia Manzano  known for her role as the beloved Maria on "Sesame Street"  is premiering the special episode "Almas Nochebuena/Three Kings Day Do-Over" on Monday. (Nochebuena is Spanish for Christmas Eve.)

It gives us the opportunity to show the younger generation, learning from the older generation, Manzano said.

Sonia Manzano in the Bronx, where

"Alma's Way," which debuted in October and has episodes in English and Spanish, follows Alma, a 6-year-old Puerto Rican girl, who lives with her family in the Bronx as she helps solve daily issues in her predominantly Latino neighborhood.

Influenced by her upbringing, Manzano brought her experience around Nochebuena to the special. She recalls listening as a kid to albums featuring aguinaldos, or Christmas songs, that are popular in Puerto Rico. One of the favorite traditions involves going from house to house and serenading families, singing aguinaldos accompanied by traditional Puerto Rican instruments.

"It was important to me because I had never been to Puerto Rico," Manzano said. "All of the things that they sang about kind of gave me little hints of what Puerto Rico was like."

The special episode includes an original composition by Fabiola Mendez, a Puerto Rican musician, who used the traditional cuatro, a small guitar with four strings.

A preview of

"Those little touches in the show are what make it authentic," Manzano said.Along with the original composition, the special focuses on family, a "cultural quality," of so many Latinos, Manzano said.

Growing up in the Bronx meant having a cousin, or "primo," who lived only a block or two away, and the holidays for Manzano and for many Latino families involve large gatherings.

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The Bronx is home to many Puerto Rican and Latino families, and to keep it authentic, viewers will be able to see the iconic No. 6 train coming through the neighborhood, which gives the show "a very realistic touch," Manzano said.

"'Sesame Street' was in the city but we never really said exactly where it was. It could have been El Barrio. It could have been Harlem," Manzano said, describing other neighborhoods in the city. "But this show specifically takes place in the Bronx."

Each show has two short episodes.

In each, Alma has a thinking moment, which is aimed at making young viewers reflect on their own experiences and how they relate to their own life, and how, sometimes, one has to adapt or pivot to changing circumstances.

In 'Three Kings Day Do-Over" Alma spends the majority of her time focusing on acquiring the perfect gift for Junior, her younger brother, but later realizes all she really had to do was spend time with him.

"Its an old story. Its an old tale or giving it our own special twist. And I think thats a very warm feeling. And its a great lesson," Manzano said.

Three Kings Day, or Feast of the Epiphany, is celebrated across Latin America and Spain, with many children getting presents on Jan. 6, the day that commemorates when the Three Wise Men, according to the Bible, went to visit and bring gifts to the baby Jesus.

Since the show started, Manzano says she's received a great reception for its representation of Afro Puerto Rican and Caribbean culture. The show features characters that often have different skin tones, something the creators were very deliberate about, she said.

The special is available on PBS stations; check local listings. All episodes of "Alma's Way" are available in English and Spanish. For a more interactive experience, families can learn how to make budin de pan (bread pudding), a Nochebuena tradition for many families.

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Armie Hammer has also left two projects following the controversy. Rich Polk/Getty Images for IMDb

Armie Hammer has left a Florida treatment facility, his lawyer confirmed to Insider.

The actor checked into the facility, which treats issues with alcohol, sex, and drugs, in May of this year, Variety reported.

He checked after being accused of sexual assault and amid a public divorce from his wife.

Armie Hammer has left a treatment facility in Florida months after being accused of sexual assault, his lawyer confirmed to Insider.

"I can confirm that Mr. Hammer has left the treatment facility and he's doing great," Hammer's attorney, Andrew Brettler, told Insider in an email.

Brettler did not confirm to Insider when Hammer checked out of the facility or what treatment he was receiving.

Hammer had checked into the in-patient facility, which treats drug, alcohol, and sex issues, in May, Vanity Fair reported earlier this year.

He checked into the facility after a woman accused him of "violently" raping her for more than four hours and for committing "other acts of violence" against her, Insider reported.

The woman, who identified herself as "Effie," accused the actor of physically and sexually abusing her over the course of a four-year relationship.

In January of this year, an anonymous account also posted purported screenshots on social media of messages in which Hammer detailed fantasies including drinking blood, sexual domination, and acts of cannibalism, Insider reported.

Brettler previously called Effie's allegations "outrageous" in a statement to Insider.

"From day one, Mr. Hammer has maintained that all of his interactions with [Effie]  and every other sexual partner of his for that matter  have been completely consensual, discussed and agreed upon in advance, and mutually participatory," Brettler also told Vox.

Hammer and his wife, Elizabeth Chambers, split in May, according to Insider.

Read the original article on Insider
(Bloomberg) -- Its been almost three weeks since the U.S. unveiled an internationally coordinated release of oil from national reserves, but so far theres been little follow through from the other five nations.

Most Read from Bloomberg

President Joe Biden said on Nov. 23 that the U.S. would release 50 million barrels of crude from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the next several months. The unprecedented move would be done in parallel with China, Japan, South Korea, India and the U.K., he said.

While the U.S. has granted its first release of SPR oil to Exxon Mobil Corp., and intends to issue another sale notice for 18 million barrels this week, theres been radio silence from the other participants. Thats starting to prompt some skepticism in the market about whether theyll go ahead at all, particularly after the omicron virus variant led to a sharp drop in global prices.

The Asian nations participation in what looks like a buyers cartel puts them in a tough spot, said John Driscoll, chief strategist at JTD Energy Services Pte.

They cant afford to jeopardize their relationships with major producers to satisfy a U.S. president wholl be up for re-election in a few years, he said. They may also be reluctant to tap into their reserves ahead of peak winter demand, when supply disruptions can lead to major issues, Driscoll said.

The joint release was unprecedented, given that there was no supply shock, and followed weeks of intensive lobbying by Biden after the OPEC+ alliance rebuffed calls to increase supply faster. It contributed to a decline in prices leading up to the announcement, but many in the market were underwhelmed by the volumes that the countries other than the U.S. pledged to release.

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India was the only Asian nation that was definitive on volume, pledging to release 5 million barrels, although questions remain on timing. The head of Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd. said Dec. 3 that he was still waiting for advice from the federal government on how and when to sell the crude.

Japan has given no details on volumes or timing, although the Nikkei newspaper reported last month the country would release around 4.2 million barrels. South Korea said on Nov. 23 that it would decide on details such as volume and timing after discussing with partner countries but indicated it would be about 3.5 million barrels.

See also: Biden Wants Major Oil Reserve Sales. Thats Not Easy in Asia

China has been somewhat ambiguous, with Beijing not wanting to look like it was following the U.S. It said in November that it was working on a sale of oil from its reserves, just days after a virtual summit between Biden and President Xi Jinping. A Western official familiar with the matter initially said the Chinese could sell between 7 million and 15 million barrels. There have been no official announcements since.

A U.K. government spokesperson, meanwhile, said companies could choose to participate in the joint release if they wish. If all contribute, it would result in the equivalent of 1.5 million barrels being sold, the spokesperson said.

The White House referred to a Nov. 29 briefing at which Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the U.S. was encouraging any country, including China, to be as transparent as possible in any of their policy maneuvers, when asked about other nations releasing reserves.

The sharp omicron-driven drop in crude prices at the end of November may have reduced the urgency to act quickly. However, more than half of that plunge has now been recouped on signs the new variant may not be as bad as initially thought. Global benchmark Brent continued its relief rally on Monday, rising around 1% after gaining more than 7% last week.

(Updates with Brent move in final paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2021 Bloomberg L.P.
Columbus police have identified the man fatally shot at an apartment building on the citys east side Sunday night.

Officers were dispatched to 4656 Lamore St. regarding a shooting just after 10:30 p.m. Once on the scene, officers found 22-year-old Travis Kent wounded.

Medical personnel were unable to revive Kent. Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan pronounced Kent dead at 11:30 p.m., Bryan said.

A second man, 23, was also wounded in the shooting. He was taken by private vehicle to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

Anyone with information about this case is encouraged to call Detective R. Green at 706-225-4261 or email at rgreen@columbusga.org.

If you would like to remain anonymous, call 706-653-3188 or text VACS plus your tip to 274637 (CRIMES).

Kents death marks Columbus 68th homicide of 2021.
PANAMA CITY  Bay County jurors handed down a guilty verdict in just 6 minutes in a child sexual abuse case on Thursday.

According to a press release from the office of State Attorney Larry Basford, Bruce Ramond Johnson, 39, was found guilty of repeatedly sexually abusing a girl during her 4th grade year, and was immediately sentenced to three consecutive life sentences, one for each count of lewd and lascivious molestation.

Prosecutors Barbara Beasley (seated, left) and Jennifer Lieb confer in court, with the defendant seated at the far right.

Panama City: Former Panama City police officer sentenced to jail for hitting handcuffed suspect

More: Plan your pizza parties accordingly: Slice House to open second location in Panama City

Johnson, who was arrested by Panama City police Det. C. Clark in February 2017, was also designated as a sexual predator at that time.

In announcing the fast verdict and life sentences, State Attorney Larry Basford noted the teamwork and collaboration needed among the various agencies in a case where the crimes occurred in Panama City but were disclosed later in another state, the release said.

Prosecutors Jennifer Lieb and Barbara Beasley brought together evidence and witnesses, including the victim, from three different states to present the case. Johnson did not take the stand, the release states.

Prosecutor Jennifer Lieb, standing beside co-counsel Barbar Beasley, prepares to address Circuit Judge Brantley Clark. Seated at the far right is the defendant.

The victim was scared and held this inside for over a year and has shown tremendous courage in facing her abuser in court, which led to his conviction and three life sentences, Lieb said. Thanks to her courage, other children in the community are protected from him. Along with her testimony, this conviction was made possible by the collaboration of childrens advocacy centers, law enforcement agencies and medical professionals in multiple jurisdictions., Leib said.

Evidence was presented at trial, along with seven witnesses, that proved Johnson committed the acts against the victim in 2015 and 2016 while she lived in Panama City and was about 9 years old. Additionally, testimony was presented from another young girl who said she was sexually abused by Johnson under similar circumstances. Prosecutors noted the two victims did not know each other, the release states.

During an interview by Amy Bock, a licensed counselor in Ohio specializing in child sexual abuse victims, the victim discussed the three instances of sexual abuse. She testified she did not say anything prior to that, because I was afraid of the outcome, hed get mad, the release states.

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Bruce Ramond Johnson of Bay County convicted of child sexual abuse
Texas Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Beto O'Rourke is making a campaign stop in the Hub City Tuesday as part of a whirlwind tour of the Panhandle/South Plains and West Texas.

The former U.S. Representative from El Paso is planning a public campaign event at noon Tuesday at Mae Simmons Park at 2004 Oak Ave., according to a spokesperson for O'Rourke's campaign.

O'Rourke, who gained national attention in 2018 during his unsuccessful bid for Texas' U.S. Senate seat against Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, announced on Nov. 15 that he intends to run for Texas Governor in the 2022. O'Rourke also sought the Democratic nomination for President in 2020.

More: Beto O'Rourke says voting rights need saving

More: McConaughey said he won't run for Texas governor. What does that mean for Beto and Abbott?

Earlier this year, O'Rourke had visited Lubbock during his statewide tour to talk about voting rights and democracy.

O'Rourke's campaign stop in Lubbock comes after two campaign appearances Monday in Amarillo and Wichita Falls over the weekend, among others.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Beto O'Rourke plans Lubbock stop in campaign for Texas governor
The 2020 election wasnt the first election Mark Meadows tried to overturn, multiple sources have told The Independent.

On Monday, the former White House chief of staff is set to become the third person held in contempt of Congress by the House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection after refusing to appear for a deposition last week.

A 51-page report laying out the case for a contempt referral against Mr Meadows, who represented North Carolinas 11th District from 2013 until he resigned to become ex-president Donald Trumps fourth (and final) chief of staff, alleges that he was deeply involved in machinations to overturn Joe Bidens 2020 election victory.

Mr Meadows reportedly spent the days between 7 November 2020  when most news organisations called the presidential race for Mr Biden  and the day Congress was to meet to certify Mr Bidens victory, pressuring Department of Justice officials to investigate baseless and absurd theories about how international malign actors might have manipulated voting machines to swing the 2020 election against then-president Donald Trump, and exchanging phone calls and emails with election conspiracy theorists, including the author of a now-infamous PowerPoint presentation detailing how the national guard might be used to seize ballots in swing states.

The ex-congressman was also reportedly one of the senior White House officials who believed then-vice president Mike Pence would be justified in hijacking the quadrennial joint session of Congress held to count electoral votes on 6 January in order to install Mr Trump for a second term against the wishes of American voters.

According to multiple sources familiar with his behaviour during his nearly four terms as a member of the House of Representatives, Mr Meadows actions in the days and weeks prior to the worst attack on the Capitol since the 1814 Burning of Washington came as no surprise because, they said, he had also tried to subvert the will of Tarheel State voters four years earlier.

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The sources, all of whom spoke to The Independent on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation from Mr Meadows, Mr Trump or their allies, are veterans of North Carolina politics who have been allies with Mr Meadows in the past.

Each of them described their former colleague as one who had demonstrated a lack of respect for the will of the voters when election outcomes clashed with his own ambitions, as well as someone for whom hard and fast rules became mere suggestions when they got in the way of his path to power.

Each also revealed to The Independent an attempt by Mr Meadows to overturn the results of North Carolinas 2016 presidential primary  an election won by Mr Trump  by disregarding the state GOPs rules in order to send a slate of delegates aligned with a losing candidate, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, to the 2016 Republican National Convention.

According to one veteran North Carolina operative, Mr Meadows had initially pledged to remain neutral while Mr Trump, Mr Cruz, and the 15 other major candidates battled it out during the lengthy 2016 primary process. But he reversed himself shortly before the 20 February South Carolina primary, when he introduced Mr Cruz at a campaign stop in Greenville, South Carolina.

I dont know what hed been promised, but I know Cruz promised him something, they said.

Mr Cruz finished third in the Palmetto State contest behind Mr Trump and Florida senator Marco Rubio, but Mr Meadows continued to carry a torch for Mr Cruz, even after Mr Trump defeated him in the North Carolina primary by a margin of 40.23 per cent to Mr Cruzs 35.76 per cent of votes cast.

Mark Meadows stands behind Donald Trump on the South Lawn of the White House on 29 July 2020 (Getty Images)

The operative, who described himself as having been extremely close to Mr Meadows and familiar with his thinking, said the North Carolinians affinity for Mr Cruz was such that he continued working to subvert his own states voters will long after it became clear that Mr Trump had won the primary that year.

Mr Meadows did not immediately respond to requests for comment which The Independent sent by text message to several phone numbers associated with him in public records. An emailed request for comment directed to his attorney, George Terwilliger, was also not immediately replied to.

North Carolina Republicans selected the 72 delegates the state party sent to the GOPs national nominating convention in two different ways.

Half of the delegates are chosen through elections held at individual party conventions in each of the states congressional districts, with the balance being named via a slate put forth by the state party chairman at a state convention later on.

As a federal elected official, Mr Meadows would have been a lock for one of the available delegate positions on the chairmans slate, leaving the three delegate slots from his 11th Congressional Districts convention to other GOP activists and volunteers who were active in the district that had sent him to Congress twice before.

The operative said Mr Meadows had maintained that he had no intention of allowing his name to be placed in nomination at his district convention but ended up being the first person nominated for a district delegate slot.

He had said I do not want to be a delegate  but he and another guy on his staff got in the corner, were kibbitzing, and they went down and got in line to make nominations, and this gentleman made the nomination for Mark to be the very first one to be a delegate from our district to the convention, he said.

When he confronted Mr Meadows, the operative said he was told: There are a lot of things going on behind the scenes that you dont understand.

But I understood  I knew what was going on  they wanted to load things up for Ted Cruz in the event  it would go into a brokered convention and they could control what happened he said. That was the underhanded method that was being played.

A brokered convention is one in which no candidate garners enough votes to secure a partys nomination during the initial round of balloting. Once a frequent occurrence, such a scenario  which has not occurred since 1948  would have theoretically provided the circumstances under which a losing candidate such as Mr Cruz could have been installed atop the GOP ticket despite a lack of support from most GOP voters.

Another top North Carolina GOP official recalled that Mr Cruzs delegates had dominated the district conventions because they took place at a time when he was still contesting the primary and had yet to withdraw.

But when it came time to select the remainder of delegates at the state convention  a process which was supposed to reflect the preferences of Tarheel State voters  the former official said Mr Meadows didnt care much for the voters preferences.

The week we were negotiating a chairmans slate, Cruz dropped out of the race. Hes no longer competing for the nomination, Trump is now going to be the nominee of our party, and North Carolina is going to send a delegation that is  at best  50/50. Thats the closest it was ever going to get.

The ex-official said state party bigwigs had put together a slate that would have reflected the voters preferences while being inclusive of the different candidates state campaign officials and complying with a longstanding party rule that did not allow a prospective delegate to appear on different slates that would be voted on at the convention. But Mr Meadows reportedly tried to subvert that process so that more Cruz delegates would have gone to the national convention.

Even though Trump was going to be the nominee, and even though Cruz had dropped out, and even though they were still getting plenty of delegates, Mark Meadows was working behind the scenes to blow up that slate, the former official said.

Theres nothing wrong with fighting to get the best deal you can on the slate, but when your own candidate drops out  there needs to be some reflection so that our delegation matched  the partys reality  that Trump was going to be the nominee  and that is who the voters had selected.

A third North Carolina Republican veteran who has served in top positions in the state GOP told The Independent that Mr Meadows actions in the run-up to 6 January were not much of a surprise because of the way he did business over the past few years.

He recalled how Mr Meadows put in a significant amount of effort towards trying to pressure state delegates to support Mr Cruz even though he had lost the states primary and had subsequently withdrawn from the race.

He went very far in trying to convince people not to back anyone else [but Mr Cruz], they said. He was very vocal in trying to get people to change their votes.

Ultimately, North Carolinas delegates voted for Mr Trump when they met in Cleveland to pick a nominee for the 2016 general election.

They ended up doing the right thing anyway  because the way everything was set up, they were afraid not to, they said.

Asked whether Mr Meadows alleged involvement in Mr Trumps later push to overturn the 2020 election came as a surprise, the former North Carolina GOP operative said it was not because Mr Meadows had always been ambitious, and keeping Mr Trump in office was the only way for him to fulfil his goals.

I think he had further ambitions  down the road, and he was angling for that, they said.

But the former top state party official was far more direct about whether he thought Mr Meadows conduct was out of character based on their prior interactions with the ex-congressman.

I do think he has a record of manipulation, and  I would put it that  he might see the will of the voters as only a suggestion, he said. He has a record of being unprincipled and he has a record of attempting to do things in a way that is, that is in both the short term and the long term, destructive.

He tried a power play with us which we were able to figure a way out of with the delegates  and then he hitched his wagon to Trump, he continued. What I would say is  more than anything, he is a big, fat phoney.

A spokesperson for Mr Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Independent.

Spokespersons for Mr Cruz and the North Carolina Republican Party did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Independent.

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By Chen Lin and Alun John

HONG KONG (Reuters) - The Singapore affiliate of Binance, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, said on Monday it will withdraw its local licence application and wind down its digital payment token business in the broadly crypto-friendly city-state.

The company, which has come under growing scrutiny globally, did not give a reason for its decision beyond "strategic, commercial and developmental" considerations and said it would refocus the local unit's operations on becoming a blockchain innovation hub.

Governments and financial watchdogs around the world have intensified scrutiny of the cryptocurrency industry this year, posing a challenge to exchanges that have thrived in a mostly unregulated environment.

Singapore is a popular location for cryptocurrency firms due to a comparatively clear regulatory and operating environment and is among the forerunners globally in developing a formal licensing framework.

Binance's Singapore unit was one of well over 100 cryptocurrency companies to apply for a license to operate in Singapore and had been allowed do business while its license request was being processed.

Singapore issued its first licences this year, including to a unit of southeast Asia's largest bank DBS, however dozens of others have been withdrawn or rejected.

Binance said its Singapore platform for trading fiat and cryptocurrencies will close by mid-February. In September, the company said that because of local regulation, users in Singapore would not be able to trade on its global platform.

A spokesperson for the Monetary Authority of Singapore said Binance Asia Services had provided them with a plan for orderly cessation of its regulated payment services which "will allow sufficient time for customers to seek alternative providers, or, if they wish, to liquidate their holdings."

"I think this (Binance's withdrawal of its application) signifies again Singapore's licence regime is quite stringent," said Chia Hock Lai, co-chairman, Blockchain Association Singapore.

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"Having said that, Binance also stated that Singapore will remain as their blockchain innovation hub, so it is still consistent with the narrative that Singapore is a very important blockchain hub."

Financial regulators in Hong Kong, Britain, Germany, and Japan among others have targeted Binance, raising issues such as consumer protection and anti-money laundering checks. Some have banned the platform from certain activities, while others have warned consumers that it was unlicensed to operate.

(Reporting by Alun John in Hong Kong, Aradhana Aravindan, Chen Lin in Singapore; editing by Richard Pullin and Jason Neely)
https://www.ebisd.org/

Some Black students at a Texas high school say theyre too scared to attend classes after a series of racist texts circulated on campus, leading to an investigation by the school district.

A group of East Bernard High students started a text thread on Dec. 6 about their upcoming prom in February, according to ABC 13 Houston. But the conversation soon took an ugly turn, from discussing a party bus as transportation to violent, hateful comments about Black students.

Tyra Seydler, a 16-year-old, heard about the incident after a classmate showed her the conversation on her phone.

[My friend] was in the group chat and saw everything going on. It was supposed to be about prom, but it just ended up being racist, she told ABC 13. I just feel uncomfortable being there now because thats a threat. I just dont want to go to that school anymore.

According to ABC 13, Tyra said that she skipped multiple days of school because she was afraid of the possible backlash.

In the text thread, one white student allegedly wrote no Black people allowed on the party bus, and another student agreed. One student followed up on the thread by saying, All Ns must hang.

After the chat was shared between students and eventually made its way to parents, East Bernard Independent School District Superintendent Courtney Hudgins released a statement, saying that a full investigation was being launched and extra security would be provided at the school as a precautionary measure to ensure student safety and minimize disruption to the instructional day.

Additionally, counseling services were, and continue to be, provided to students impacted by the incident, Hudgins said. Students involved with the group chat and racist hate speech are receiving disciplinary measures in accordance with the student code of conduct.

Hudgins noted that disciplinary action against the students involved was confidential, but said the school district does not tolerate hate speech or threats. She did not specify the counseling services that were being offered or how they would determine whether or not a student was impacted by the ordeal.

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The East Bernard Independent School District did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Beast.

Going forward, parents, students, and staff must partner together to rebuild unity and equity, Hudgins stated. East Bernard [Independent School District] strives to provide a safe, inclusive environment for all students to learn, achieve, and build lifelong relationships.

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Former president Donald Trump's decision to abruptly cancel his Jan. 6 counter-programming event has left key allies Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon fuming.Responding to reports that Trump was pressured into canceling by several allies in his inner circle, the pair suggested the ex-president is surrounded by insufficiently pro-MAGA individuals, and that he should put his once-slated presser back on the books immediately.There are still too many people around Donald John Trump that are not Trumpe
VFW Post 8789 in Bowie is closed permanently.

After 75 years, Bowie Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #8789 will cease to exist. The members are heartbroken, but due to low membership the choice had to be made. Its been a[n] honor.

With that brief Facebook post on Dec. 8, officials with the Bowie VFW Post announced the closure. In the comment section when several people asked if there was anything that could be done to save it, Stacy Smith, post commander, said the charter had already been relinquished so it was permanently closed.

Its heartbreaking to know after 75 years there is no longer a VFW Post, Smith told The Bowie News Thursday. It has been a great honor for our post to be a part of Bowie and to assist its veterans.

The post has been struggling in recent years with declining membership. Back in mid-March, The Bowie News met with post officials to discuss some of the problems and efforts to save the post.

Smith said in that story, while the membership list had more than 100 members, there were only about six considered active. She emphasized at that time if things did not change, the post would soon become a memory.

A membership drive and veterans outreach was planned for May, but it did not provide the added membership that was needed. Numerous fundraisers like garage sales and dances were conducted in the following months, but it was not enough to pull the post out of the downward spiral.

The national VFW began in 1899, as something of a fraternal service club. After WWII, there was a flood of returning veterans who longed for a place to gather with other vets, so VFW posts sprang up across the country.

The Bowie VFW Post began in 1946, fostering social camaraderie among soldiers who fought in overseas conflicts. Through the years its members presented patriotism programs, gave scholarships to area students, sponsored local Boy Scout troops, supported community projects and assisted local veterans with a variety of needs including transportation to the VA hospitals.

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The members and their families were vital members of the community.

More: Tinsley: The Vanishing Generation

For many years bingo was conducted at the post several nights a week with that revenue helping support the post operation. Those games went away several years ago again due to a lack of members to run the program, leaving memberships and the canteen as the only sources of income along with any fundraising events. The post hall also was available for rental.

In the spring, the National VFW reported more than 40% of Americas 25 million veterans are older than 65 and the effect of aging is hitting posts hard. Coupled with the pandemic and economic woes there were battles on all sides.

Bowie VFW Post in March had 125 members on its roster. The youngest was 27 and the oldest in his 90s. The post was required to have regular meetings with at least five people attending or it could lose the charter. The post lost several members during the last two years.

In the March story, the officials said there is a big gap between the VFW and Iraqi Freedom, adding there is no one to hand it off to, said Smith.

Along with losing the charter, the post was unable to pay its utilities and maintain the building as needed. In April 2020, the canteen had to close due to COVID-19 restrictions, however, they were unable to reopen due to the increased cost of liability insurance.

In late 2020, there was an incident where a person who reportedly came to the canteen was later involved in a multiple-fatality accident. The posts insurance company settled and the VFW soon found itself deemed high risk. The insurance cost skyrocketed from $5,000 to $35,000 a year.

Smith said they were told settling was common practice, but no insurance company would touch the post after that and they had no idea it would be an impossible task based on the price.

Located in the old National Guard Armory on Nelson Street, the VFW Post purchased the building in 1985 as a post home. The city had tried to buy it for a community center, but the bid went to the VFW. It was a busy place with lots of post and community events and activities throughout the year.

Smith says the Texas VFW owns the property and will decide what to do with it. She has already been contacted by city officials asking about the disposition of the property. While the charter has been relinquished, Smith added on the up side, the charter could be restarted if a group ever decided they want to get involved and organize a VFW post.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Bowie VFW Post 8789 closes permanently after 75 years
Quite a few insiders have dramatically grown their holdings in QuickFee Limited (ASX:QFE) over the past 12 months. An insider's optimism about the company's prospects is a positive sign.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for QuickFee

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At QuickFee

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by insider Kenneth Gray for AU$1.4m worth of shares, at about AU$0.41 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being AU$0.18). While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 4.51m shares for AU$1.7m. But they sold 768.00k shares for AU$154k. Overall, QuickFee insiders were net buyers during the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership of QuickFee

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Insiders own 31% of QuickFee shares, worth about AU$12m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

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What Might The Insider Transactions At QuickFee Tell Us?

The fact that there have been no QuickFee insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Insiders do have a stake in QuickFee and their transactions don't cause us concern. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. To help with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs (1 is a bit unpleasant!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in QuickFee.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.




A referendum for New Caledonia's independence overwhelmingly failed on Sunday with 96 percent of voters electing to remain part of France amid a boycott by pro-independence supporters.

"France is more beautiful because New Caledonia chose to stay," French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement on Sunday, according to the The New York Times.

Sunday's vote marked the third independence referendum for New Caledonia after years of conflict in the 1980s known as "the Events." In the second vote in 2020, 47 percent of people voted for independence, which was an increase from the 43 percent that voted for it in 2018, the newspaper added.

Many voters appeared to heed calls to boycott the vote, with overall turnout at 44 percent, about half the turnout in 2020, according to the Associated Press.

New Caledonia experienced its first COVID-19 outbreak in September, disrupting debate around the referendum. Indigenous groups called for the vote to be delayed out of respect for the dead, however pro-France groups pushed to stick with the schedule, the AP reported.

Despite the latest results, New Caledonia's President Louis Mapou indicated that the third defeat was not the end of efforts toward sovereignty.

"We are pursuing our path of emancipation," Mapou said, per The New York Times. "That is what is essential."

Mapou is New Caledonia's first pro-independence leader to serve as president. He also is the first president to come from the Indigenous Kanak community, which accounts for 40 percent of the population in the territory, the Times reported.
CAMDEN COUNTY, NJ  The Camden County Health Hub is now administering Pfizers COVID-19 vaccination booster shots to children ages 16 and 17 following approvals by the federal government, county officials announced.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last week recommended expanded use of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 16 and 17 who were vaccinated at least six months ago, regardless of prior health conditions.



This development is key in our fight against COVID-19, Camden County Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said. Getting a booster shot just adds another layer of protection and with cases on the rise and the uncertainty of the Omicron variant, we need to do to make sure we are using the best tool science has to offer to stay safe and healthy.



Federal officials have said the benefit of a single dose of the Pfizer booster outweigh the risks of myocarditis and pericarditis in people ages 16 and 17.Federal officials have said the benefit of a single dose of the Pfizer booster outweigh the risks of myocarditis and pericarditis in people ages 16 and 17.



This was initially determined in a study of about 200 participants ages 18 to 55, which the Food and Drug Administration said supports expanding the booster to children ages 16 and 17. Additional data supporting this conclusion later emerged, and post-authorization/post-marketing studies to assess known serious risks of myocarditis and pericarditis studies continue, the FDA said last week.

Everyone 18 and older has been eligible for booster shots since Nov. 19 regardless of prior health qualifiers. Adults can receive a booster six months after getting a second shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or two months after a Johnson & Johnson shot.

Only Pfizer has been authorized to provide booster shots for residents ages 16 and 17. Residents can visit covid19.nj.gov/finder to locate a vaccination site. Read more here: COVID Booster Shots Now Available For More NJ Teens

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We know that COVID-19 does not only impact adults, weve seen children and teenagers get sick as well, Cappelli said. So, its crucial that our young residents have all the protection they can possibly get when it comes to this virus. Parents, if your child is eligible for a booster, please take them to get it. Boosters are safe, effective and readily available at the Health Hub.



The Camden County Health Hub is located at Camden County College, 200 College Drive in the Blackwood section of Gloucester Township. It offers first and second doses and booster shots on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Appointments can be made by visiting www.CamdenCountyVaccine.com.



As of Monday, there have been 65,301 coronavirus cases and 1,379 coronavirus-related deaths in Camden County since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.



As of Monday, 372,423 Camden County residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 327,500 are fully vaccinated and 101,094 have received a third dose.



The county Health Department is continuing to closely track new cases of COVID-19 and information regarding the prevalence of the Delta variant. New cases are often reassigned to other municipalities over the course of an investigation.

This article originally appeared on the Gloucester Township Patch
TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada will start recognizing molecular COVID-19 tests conducted at an accredited lab in South Africa for residents returning home, dropping a heavily criticized travel restriction introduced to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant.

Ottawa had faced pressure from doctors, stranded passengers and the World Health Organization to reverse requirements that travelers from 10 southern African countries get molecular PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests in a third country before returning to Canada.

Canada has now dropped the need to obtain a pre-departure negative COVID-19 PCR test from a third country, according to a travel advisory issued on Saturday. The exemption will be in place till Jan. 7 next year and apply to all indirect flights departing from South Africa to Canada, the advisory added.

There is no change to Canada's ban on all foreign travelers from 10 African countries.

Canada, the United States, the UK and other countries have enacted Africa-specific travel bans even as Omicron is detected in more than 50 countries around the world.

But few countries have imposed Omicron restrictions similar to Canada's requirement. The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called actions barring southern African countries "disappointing" and "dismaying" in a tweet.

(Reporting by Denny Thomas; Editing by Peter Cooney)
Happy Tuesday, Center Moriches-Eastport! It's me again, Diane Witek, your host of the Center Moriches-Eastport Daily. Here are the top four stories in Center Moriches-Eastport today.

First, today's weather:

Partly sunny. High: 50, low: 33.

Here are the top stories in Center Moriches-Eastport today:

Latest Dogs, Cats, Pets Up For Adoption In Center Moriches-Eastport Area. If you've been wanting to add a fluffy ball of four-legged love and affection to your family, start with these Center Moriches-Eastport area animal shelters for a pet you can adopt. With help from our friends at Petfinder, Patch has amassed this week's list of animals available for adoption near you. If you're a dog person, you might like Pumpkin, a mixed breed up for adoption. Or if cats are more your thing, there are several great cats available, too. (Center Moriches-Eastport Patch) Desperate Search Underway For Missing Teen Couple Last Seen Headed For NYC. A pair of Long Island families are desperately searching for a teenage couple who were last seen at a train station and headed for Manhattan. Kaileigh Catalano and her boyfriend Vincent Abolafia, both 15 and from Manorville, intended to hop on a 3:11 p.m. train from Ronkonkoma to the Big Apple on Thursday, according to Suffolk County police.The teens, who were both reported missing later that evening, may have been spotted together in Times Square. Anyone with information about their whereabouts should call Suffolk County police at (631) 852-8752. (New York Post) This Week's Events In Center Moriches-Eastport Area. Looking to go on a family outing? Hoping to spend a night out with friends? Your Center Moriches-Eastport Patch community calendar is a great way to check out what's happening near you and discover local events that fit your interests. See what's happening and what might interest you before you make plans. (Center Moriches-Eastport Patch) Whos Hiring In Center Moriches-Eastport Area: This Weeks Newest Job Openings. Businesses in the Center Moriches-Eastport area are searching for new employees, and we've rounded up some of the best local job openings added within the past week. Whether you're looking for full time, part time or temporary work, plenty of employers in and near Center Moriches-Eastport are hiring. Here are a few of the latest job openings in the area, compiled by Patch and ZipRecruiter. For more information about a job or how to apply, click on the job title. (Center Moriches-Eastport Patch)

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Today's Center Moriches-Eastport Daily is brought to you in part by our friends at Ring, the home security company. Ring does a lot more than doorbells: check out their full suite of smart home products at Ring.com. And thank you Ring for helping to make local news happen in Center Moriches-Eastport!

Today in Center Moriches-Eastport:

Preschool Winter Craft IN PERSON  Ages 3-Not yet in Kindergarten  CMJ102 (Center Moriches). (1 p.m.)

Preschool Winter Craft TAKE HOME  Ages 3-Not yet in Kindergarten  CMZ102 (Center Moriches). (1 p.m.)

3D Winter Star Craft IN PERSON  Grades K-6th  CMJ205 (Center Moriches). (4:30 p.m.)

3D Winter Star Craft TAKE HOME  Grades K-6th  CMZ205 (Center Moriches). (4:30 p.m.)

In-Person Gingerbread Cookie Decorating. (6:30 p.m.)

From my notebook:

Suffolk County Sheriff: "Recently, Brentwood School District students from Southwest Elementary, North Elementary, Laurel Park Elementary, and Twin Pines Elementary completed and graduated from the Sheriffs Office GREAT program." (Instagram)

Center Moriches Fire Department: "Center Moriches Fire Department Holiday Parade of Lights." (Facebook)

Eastport Fire Department: "R.I.P. Ex. Chief and Commissioner Larry Bown Jr." (Facebook)

Center Moriches Free Public Library: "Which one do you like best? Check out these holiday favorites and more from our library! #cmorlibrary, #holidaymovies." (Facebook)

Center Moriches Free Public Library: "The Southampton Animal Shelter Mobile clinic will not be at our library on Dec. 16 as previously indicated, but rather at their regular shelter location. Please call 631-566-8870 for further details and appointments." (Facebook)

Center Moriches Free Public Library: "We may be in the holiday season now but be sure to take some time to step back and enjoy! Check out these #ebooks to help learn the art of slowing down  now available on the hoopla app, free with your library card. #cmorlibrary." (Facebook)

From our sponsors  thanks for supporting local news!

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You're officially in the loop for today. I'll see you around!

 Diane Witek

About me: Impassioned Writer, Website Designer, Social Media Marketer and newly proclaimed Baker. Lover of nature and animals of all kinds.

This article originally appeared on the Center Moriches-Eastport Patch
Hundreds of toys were recently donated to Ashland Citys 5th annual toy drive benefiting local organizations and families.

Parents and kids alike brought new and unwrapped childrens toys to the Cheatham County Courthouse Dec. 4, where Santa and Mrs. Claus were on hand to help receive gifts and donations, mingle with families and pose for photos during the drive.

Angela Mares posed for her photo with Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

Toys appropriate for newborns through 18 years of age were collected.

"The toy drive was so successful this year with us collecting hundreds (of toys) more than last year, local resident and CPA Valerie Kemp said.

We had eight truckloads of toys.

Toys collected from the drive will be given to Christmas Anonymous, a local program run by the Ashland City Civitan Club that has been helping bring Christmas to Cheatham County children for more than a decade.

Without the help of local programs like Christmas Anonymous, several local families would otherwise do without on Christmas this year.

$500 in monetary donations was collected during the toy drive as well and will benefit The Ark Community Resource Center, a local nonprofit, food pantry, thrift store, angel tree and more.

Hundreds of toys were donated to Ashland Citys 5th annual toy drive benefiting local organizations and families on Saturday, Dec. 4.

The Ark will serve the southern Cheatham school cluster via a traditional angel tree this year.

And Christmas Anonymous will serve the central and northern school clusters by sorting toy donations from the drive and allowing families to shop for their childs Christmas gifts based on each familys need.

On average between 400-600 children are served through the annual toy drive each year, according to Kemp.

Theres a lot of need out there, historically, theres always been a large need, she said.

Last year, the toy drive was converted to a drive thru, due to the pandemic, and event organizers kept that theme going this year, but new to the drive this year was the addition of online shopping.

Ashland City resident Brandi Ghergia came up with the idea to create an Amazon wish list to bolster toy donations.

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With the Amazon wish list, weve had people from Clarksville, Nashville, all over Middle Tennessee and even some further away (donating toys), Kemp said.

Kemp founded the annual toy drive five years ago on her 40th birthday.

I wanted to do something fun to celebrate my birthday, and I didnt need any gift cards... so I said, lets just throw a big party and a toy drive.

Katie Nixon can be reached at knixon@gannett.com or (615) 517-1285.

Parents and kids alike brought new and unwrapped childrens toys to the Cheatham County Courthouse.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Cheatham County holds 5th annual Christmas toy drive benefitting local kids, collecting hundreds of toys
CHICAGO -- Some 40 years ago, the historian for the Mount Greenwood Chamber of Commerce led a movement to save Chicagos last farm.

The Chicago Board of Education was considering selling the land to real estate developers, so Joe Martin organized a letter-writing campaign, petition drive and media blitz because, he said at the time, the community would feel a great loss if the farm ceased to produce necessary food. Not only did the board decide to keep the property at 111th Street and Pulaski Road, it opened an agricultural high school to ensure more generations of growers would harvest vegetables there.

Now the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences is celebrating the 175th anniversary of the farm, which has survived Chicago Public Schools financial woes, brutal winters and deadly pandemics since the deed was executed on Dec. 11, 1846.

I look at the pictures of the farm 100 years ago, and theres cattle and there (are) pigs and there (are) chickens, Principal William Hook said. Were still growing corn. We still have a market garden. We still have a farm stand. All of those things that they were doing, you know, over the last 175 years, were still doing. Were just doing it in a different way with technology, and were doing it with different people. We have students who are interested in agriculture instead of people who are full-time farmers.

Hook said the land has not fundamentally changed since 1846, though the community surrounding it certainly has. Mount Greenwood  in the far southwest corner of the city  was first populated in 1830, but didnt experience a notable influx of settlers until the 1893 Worlds Columbian Exposition, according to Martins records.

Martin, the Mount Greenwood historian, credited the farsighted Board of Education with visualizing the extension of the city limits to distant points where schools would be needed in purchasing the 129-acre farm for $79 in a sheriffs auction.

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Two German immigrants were the first farmers to arrive, in 1863. They each leased 80 acres for the annual price of 50 cents per acre. They cleared the land and built homes while also suffering hardships such as pest-infected crops and difficult travels into the city.

The century that followed saw new families rent the land, which was carved and sold to the Archdiocese of Chicago, the Chicago Park District and others. The farm is now just under 79 acres, Hook said.

Peter Ouwenga had been growing and selling tomatoes, onions, corn and other vegetables for decades there when the board made noise about dumping the site as it faced fiscal crisis. Martin, a Hungarian immigrant who founded the Mount Greenwood Historical Association, formed the Citizens Committee to Save Chicagos Last Farm and urged the board to consider the extreme importance historically of the land.

Thousands of people expressed support for the yearslong campaign, and the board announced in 1983 it did not wish to sell the farm. A new plan formed.

Ellen Summerfield Russell said she was working in CPS central office when she was approached by a district official about becoming principal of a new high school.

And I said, Well, what kind of a high school is it? I had just passed the principals exam, and I had just gotten my Ph.D. So he said, Well, its agricultural science, Russell recalled in a recent phone interview with the Tribune.

And I said, Well, what is that? And he said, Well, its about plants and animals. And I said, Well, I have an urban garden behind my condo in Hyde Park. I like gardening. And I said, I like animals, so, I guess, yeah, Id be interested. Thats how I said yes.

Russell said she was given a year to design the curriculum, hire teachers and recruit students. Walter Biddle Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences in Philadelphia  the first of its kind in the United States  was the model for Chicagos school and the inspiration for the creation of its agribusiness advisory council, which Russell said led the way for campus expansion.

For its first year, in 1985, the school was said to have received more than 500 applications for about 150 freshmen spots. School officials at the time touted the number of girls who signed up. Many of the students endured long commutes to the farm, which Russell calls the land laboratory.

Its just like a real surprise to see this tract of land right on the boundary of the city, she said.

Russell said the school offered college prep and vocational education, with coursework devoted to horticulture, food science, landscape design and other agriculture topics. She left her position in 1987.

Martin died shortly after the school opened, at the age of 80.

Hook, a longtime CPS employee, became principal in 2007.

He didnt have an agricultural background either when he took the reins  he said his wife joked at the time that he couldnt grow a 5-by-10-foot garden  but the schools hands-on approach was a selling point. Years later, he found himself doing much of the work on the farm when the COVID-19 pandemic began and the schools 800 students transitioned to remote learning.

For the first few months I was feeding the animals, picking up after the animals and watering the plants, and it was a full day just doing that kind of stuff. But we got it done, and we started slowly going back to normal, Hook said.

He blamed the coronavirus for the subdued farm anniversary celebration. He said some students re-created historic pictures of the farm  by posing on a tractor, in front of hay bales, with cows  that were featured on large poster boards for display. The then-and-now photos reminded Hook that not much has changed in 175 years.

The high school opened because the community wanted to make sure that they didnt lose the farm, he said. To think that people in the community had the foresight to make sure they maintain this precious piece of land in the city of Chicago  they were wise beyond their years at the time to be able to realize that it was an important thing to maintain. And Im glad to be part of a group thats helped maintain it over the years.
BEIJING (AP)  China on Monday marked the 84th anniversary of the Nanking Massacre, in which hundreds of thousands of civilians and disarmed soldiers were killed by Japanese troops in and around the former Chinese capital.

A People's Liberation Army honor guard bearing large funeral wreaths marched slowly past a memorial showing the figure 300,000, China's official death toll in the events of December 1937, as solemn music played. Troops, students and 3,000 attendees then stood at rigid attention to observe a minute of silence.

Addressing the gathering, Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan said they had came together to learn from history and open up a new chapter of our future.

The ceremony aimed to showcase our lofty commitment to a peaceful development path, said Sun, the only woman on the ruling Communist Party's 25-member Politburo.

In 2014, Chinas top legislature designated Dec. 13 as national day of remembrance for massacre victims. Survivors, just 61 of whom are still living, were among those observing the date.

The website of the official Xinhua News Agency appeared in black and white to mark the occasion, while popular online shopping and social media sites such as Taobao and WeChat displayed black backgrounds.

China frequently criticizes Japan for not showing sufficient contrition for the brutality of its expansionist campaign that swept across Asia during the first half of the 20th century. The ruling party has often allowed anti-Japanese sentiment to build domestically to shore up its legacy as a defender of Chinas sovereignty and national dignity.

In 1937 and throughout World War II, the Communists were based at Yan'an in northern China, far from the front lines, while most of the fighting and dying was done by Chiang Kaishek's Nationalist forces backed by the U.S.

This years commemoration comes at a time when relations with Japan are generally stable and criticisms have been muted, despite a major downturn in Chinas relations with Tokyo's key ally, the United States.

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A 1946 international postwar tribunal concluded at least 200,000 civilians were killed by Japanese troops in a weekslong frenzy of murder, rape, looting and arson after Nanking  Chinas capital at the time  fell on Dec. 13, 1937, after bitter street fighting in Shanghai. The city's name is now spelled Nanjing under the pinyin romanization system.

Some right-wing Japanese politicians have downplayed the death toll or denied outright that the Nanking atrocity happened.

Increasingly, it is China that has raised alarms in Asia with its more assertive military and diplomatic posture, particularly over territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas, along with its growing military harassment of Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy it claims as its own territory.




Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold a virtual meeting on Wednesday to discuss international issues as Russia faces condemnation from the West for its military aggression at the Ukraine border.

"President Xi Jinping will have a virtual summit with President Putin on December 15, Beijing time. The two heads of state will take stock of the bilateral relations and cooperation outcomes over this year, make top-level design for the relations next year, and exchange views on major international and regional issues of common concern," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in a briefing on Monday.

Wang did not specify what topics the two leaders will be discussing but said their talk is expected to "provide more stability and positive energy for the complex and fluid international landscape."

Putin's meeting with Xi comes about one week after he met with President Biden virtually. During the two-hour video call, Biden warned Putin against invading Ukraine.

On Monday, Russia stepped up its rhetoric, saying it may be forced to deploy nuclear missiles in Europe in response to what it perceives to be NATO's intentions to take similar actions.

"Lack of progress towards a political and diplomatic solution to this problem will lead to our response being of a military and technical military nature," said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that ongoing aggression from Russia will make an in-person meeting between Putin and Biden "pretty unlikely."

"In the absence of de-escalation and taking the diplomatic path, seems pretty unlikely," Blinken said of a possible face-to-face meeting between the U.S. and Russia. "There's no prohibition against meeting in person with Mr. Putin. If he's once again sending troops into Ukraine, hard to imagine that would be a good context for a meeting."
SenseTime, a Chinese developer of facial recognition technology, is delaying its Hong Kong IPO after being added to a U.S. Treasury Department blacklist of "Chinese military-industrial companies."

Why it matters: This is China's most highly valued AI company, fetching a $13 billion mark after being placed on a different U.S. government blacklist for its alleged involvement in human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims. That original designation prevented SenseTime from doing business with U.S. companies, whereas the new one prevents U.S. investors from buying or selling its listed shares.

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U.S. investors in SenseTime include Fidelity, Glade Brook, Qualcomm Ventures and Silver Lake. Other backers include Alibaba, SoftBank and Primavera Capital Group. The company originally planned to raise $2 billion in its IPO, but later cut its target back to $767 million.

The bottom line: SenseTime says the U.S. accusation are "unfounded" and that the delay is designed to let it update its prospectus. Retail investors who already subscribed to the IPO, which was expected to price this Friday, will have their fees, interest and other costs refunded.

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The King of Rant, Lewis Black, brings his one-of-a-kind comedy style to the King Center on Sunday, Dec. 12. The comedian, fresh on the heels of a Grammy Nomination for his comedy album, "Thanks For Risking Your Life," will perform as part of his "It Gets Better Every Day" tour.

I spoke with the comedian about life, politics, and his start in comedy. So, lets Shake, Rattle & Know: Lewis Black.

Comedian Lewis Black will bring his act to the King Center in Melbourne on Dec. 12, 2021.

Question: Do you feel that people are so worried about being politically correct, that you have to be afraid to say almost anything, even as a comedian?

Answer: I dont really know because we are on both ends of it. You have a whole group of people who will say anything, even if they know its not true. People talk about political correctness, but people are still putting stuff out there all the time. What do you do when you have a group of people that just doesnt care what they are saying and there is nothing there to stop them from saying it? People sometimes have a stupid thought and thats all it should remain is just a thought, but they put it out there for everyone to see. They put stupid (stuff) out there for everyone to see and then try and backtrack on it. You have groups of people that choose to just ignore science and make their own (stuff) up. Someday this will all stop, or who knows, maybe it wont. It will take time though. I think people need to realize they dont have to hate the other person for not agreeing with them. When they realize that, it should all calm down.

Q: What is the most ridiculous thing you have ever read about yourself?

A: Its in my act and for the life of me I cant remember it right now. If you asked 25 of my fans, they would all say, remember this from your act, and they would be right, but right now I cant think of it. I think I will Wikipedia myself and see if I can find it on there. Now I am just happy when anyone writes anything about me at all. Ive been lucky no one has ever written any insane things.

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I do remember a review once in a newspaper. I had produced a full-length play for a prestigious theater and I was really excited about it. There were some things that didnt fully work though. The review said that they not only didnt like it, but if it was an example of my work then the State of California should never allow me to produce another play there again. I mean this is my craft they are talking about, not just me as a person. It was my first real production, but I was able to laugh when I read it.

Q: Are people able to distinguish between your onstage persona and the real Lewis Black?

A: Most can. I have a pretty smart audience. People sometimes want me to be angry with them. Most get it and understand its an act. I think people who meet me are more shocked Im soft spoken.

Q: Do people get sarcasm these days?

A: In some places they do. There are places in the Midwest and even the South that dont get sarcasm as much as other places. Some people just dont get it. Lucky for me, the people coming to see my shows get it and expect it.

Lewis Black performs at the King Center in Melbourne on Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021.

Q: When you have Republicans hating Democrats and Democrats hating Republicans, what do you think it will take to right this ship?

A: I think both parties need to recognize that the rest of us have no interest in their dislike for one another and we want them to work together. You have one party not voting for infrastructure. Infrastructure, can you believe that? That is psychotic. You have one party that basically just makes (stuff) up. The parties talk like they have marbles in their mouths and none of us can understand a word they are saying. Who came up with Build Back Better? Thats difficult just to say. Who came up with that gem? You might as well call it Bills Better Sweaters. The parties dont even know how to talk to people or communicate. And do these people even know how to tell the truth anymore? And now they are fighting over voting maps and talking about involving independent third parties to decide. Why not just turn it over to an elementary school class to decide, because they probably would make better sense of it than these people.

Q: You once told me that when you started out you were more of a traditional joke telling comedian. How did you build the persona you have now?

A: I figured out I was funniest when I was angry. Comedian and friend Kathleen Madigan once told me I would yell for eight full minutes before I would get my first laugh. It took some time to get it to where it worked for me. I cant just be angry all the time, I just need to be able to play angry or come from an angry place.

Q: Because a lot of your act involves politics and current events, do you feel the added pressure of always having to update your act and invent new material?

A: Not really. Sometimes material just writes itself and I dont have to work too hard at all. Take for instance your great Governor (DeSantis) there in Florida. Thats been wonderful to watch, and he makes everyone feel so much better about visiting there! When the Facebook Whistleblower said Facebook was more interested in profits than people, I was just shocked to hear that. You dont say? That is a joke right there.

Crazy material just writes itself. When he (Trump) was President and I wont even say his name, was putting stuff out on Twitter the news would read his tweets out as part of their newscast. Dont do that, thats my job. Thats comedy gold right there. There is so much that writes itself I miss half of it. A friend will say hey did you see this in the newspaper? and I have to go back and read it. I could just read a headline or the first couple lines of a news story and thats comedy material right there.Take for instance this Wall Street Journal story I just read. The article says that the old school Mafioso is upset with the new school mob because they are spending too much time on their phones texting... That is better than anything I could write about; I can just read the headline and it's comedy. Its one after another like that. This is our world now?

If you go

Lewis Black - It Gets Better Every Day Tour

When: Sunday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m.

Where: King Center for the Performing Arts, 3865 N. Wickham Road, Melbourne

Tickets: Start at $48.50

Info: 321-242-2219

On the web: lewisblack.com

If you have an artist/band youd like to recommend for review, contact Nunez at srkmusic@cfl.rr.com or on Twitter @srkmusicflorida.

Whether you're interested in music, theater, festivals or other local entertainment, FLORIDA TODAY has got you covered. Support local journalism by subscribing at Special Offers - USAToday Network.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Lewis Black: Trump tweets were 'comedy gold'
CLEVELAND, OH  Two days after Ohios first two confirmed cases of COVID-19 associated with the Omicron variant was reported, Cleveland Clinic reported that the variant had been detected by one of its labs.

The facility did not release any information about the case, including where the person infected with the virus lives or how serious the case was. The announcement came on Monday after state officials announced that Ohios first two Omicron cases were detected in the central part of the state.

Cleveland Clinic has detected the omicron variant in our laboratory. We routinely sequence positive specimens each week and share that information with the Ohio Department of Health, the hospital system said in a statement. This sampling of positive specimens enables us to identify and track SARS-CoV-2 variants that are circulating in the community.

The new Omicron case comes on a day when the Ohio Department of Health announced 5,618 new COVID-19 cases statewide. The new total is just below the states rolling 21-day average of 6,657 cases.

As of Sunday, 59.3 percent of state residents had received at least one dose of the vaccines while 54.2 percent were fully vaccinated.

State health officials said that the two Omicron cases announced Saturday involved two men who had received two COVID-19 shots but had not yet gotten their booster. Neither man was hospitalized and was experiencing mild symptoms at the time when they tested positive. The mens identities were not released to protect their identifies.

"We have known that it would only be a matter of time until a case of Omicron was detected in Ohio. The CDC believes that this variant has likely been circulating in the U.S. since November," Ohio Department of Health Director Bruce Vanderhoff said in a news release.

"While we will continue to learn more about Omicron in the days to come, early reports from South Africa suggest Omicron may be more contagious and more likely to reinfect people. Naturally, there has been concern regarding whether vaccines would remain protective. The results of the early research regarding vaccines are encouraging, reinforcing the benefits of primary vaccination and timely boosters.

This article originally appeared on the Cleveland Patch
The Guardian

The right has recognized that the system is in collapse, and it has a plan: violence and solidarity with treasonous far-right factions On the edge of civil war? The political problems are both structural and immediate, the crisis both long-standing and accelerating. Illustration: Anthony Gerace/The Guardian Nobody wants whats coming, so nobody wants to see whats coming. On the eve of the first civil war, the most intelligent, the most informed, the most dedicated people in the United States co
The Amarillo Public Health Department reported an increase of 196 new COVID-19 cases with no new deaths in Monday's COVID-19 report card.

That brings the total number of cases in Potter and Randall counties to 52,954 and the total number of deaths to 955 since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.

Amarillo Public Health Department COVID-19 Report Card for Dec. 13. 2021

Of the total, 3,791 cases were reported as active in Monday's report card, a decrease of 99 net active cases from Friday.

There have been 48,208 reported COVID-19 recoveries, an increase of 295 recoveries from Friday's report.

Monday's report card also shows that Trauma Service Area A, which includes Potter and Randall counties, as well as the majority of the Texas Panhandle, is recording a 20.80% COVID-19 hospitalization rate as of Sunday.

Potter County saw an increase of 98 COVID-19 cases, bringing the county's total to 25,951 since the start of the pandemic. Of the total, 1,633 are active, a decrease of 29 net active cases. There have been 23,739 recoveries and 579 deaths related to the virus, according to Monday's report card.

Randall County saw an increase of 98 COVID-19 cases, bringing the county's total to 27,003 since the start of the pandemic. Of the total, 2,158 are active, a decrease of 70 net active cases. There have been 24,469 recoveries and 376 deaths related to the virus, according to Monday's report card.

As reported in Monday's COVID-19 update,464,105 COVID-19 tests have been conducted since the start of the pandemic, with nine tests pending.

COVID-19 boosters, vaccinations available in Amarillo

The Amarillo Health Department is administering the first dose, second dose and boosters for the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.

According to previous reports, the city offers the Moderna vaccine for individuals 18 and older, as well as doses of the Pfizer vaccine for children between the ages of 5 and 17.

The CDC now recommends a three-dose primary (initial) series for patients who are moderately to severely immunocompromised. For third doses, you must wait at least 21 days after your second dose of the Pfizer COVID vaccine and at least 28 days after your second dose of the Moderna COVID vaccine.

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Immunizations are available at Amarillo Public Health, 850 Martin Road, during the following hours:

 Monday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

 Tuesday: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

 Wednesday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

 Thursdays: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

 Friday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The upcoming schedule for the citys mobile vaccination clinics is:

 Wednesday, Dec. 15, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.: Region 16 Cleveland St, 1601 S. Cleveland St.

For more information on the city's COVID-19 response, visit www.amarilloalerts.com .

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo COVID-19 hospitalization rate drops to 20.80 percent
BRIDGEWATER, NJ  The recent spike in COVID-19 cases has put New Jersey hospitals under some strain. The state reported 1,526 hospital patients with confirmed or suspected cases  its highest figure since April 30.

Here's how hospitals in the Bridgewater area fared the week of Nov. 18  the most recent period of available data from the Department of Health and Human Services:

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset (Somerville): 50.77 percent of inpatient beds available, 76.09 percent of ICU beds available

St. Peter's University Hospital (New Brunswick): 49.81 percent of inpatient beds available, 47.78 percent of ICU beds available

JFK University Medical Center (Edison): 42.11 percent of inpatient beds available, 45.31 percent of ICU beds available

Hunterdon Medical Center (Flemington): 41.29 percent of inpatient beds available, 37.5 percent of ICU beds available

Morristown Medical Center (Morristown): 22.96 percent of inpatient beds available, 26.74 percent of ICU beds available

Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center (Plainsboro): 15.64 percent of inpatient beds available, 12.5 percent of ICU beds available

Overlook Medical Center (Summit): 38.16 percent of inpatient beds available, 31.48 percent of ICU beds available

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital At Rahway (Rahway): 33.87 percent of inpatient beds available, 26.67 percent of ICU beds available

The ratio of COVID-19 hospitalizations to total beds provides insight into how much strain a hospital is under. The ratio becomes concerning when it rises higher than 10 percent and represents "extreme stress" above 20 percent, hospital-capacity experts told NPR.

NPR has COVID-19 data on two Passaic County hospitals  neither of which exceeded the 10 percent threshold. St. Joseph's University Medical Center reported 6 percent of beds in use by COVID patients, while St. Mary's had 3 percent in use by patients with the virus.

Somerset County, like the entire state, has recently seen a spike in coronavirus cases. The New Jersey Department of Health tallied 968 new Somerset County cases on Monday, Dec. 13. The county had 537 new cases one month ago.

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Despite the recent increase in hospitalizations, New Jersey has made progress compared to this time a year ago, when the state reported 3,572 COVID inpatients.

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.

Get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our new app. Download here. Don't miss local and statewide announcements. Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters.

This article originally appeared on the Bridgewater Patch
PRAGUE (Reuters) - The Czech Republic will hold off on sending up to 150 soldiers for now to help Poland protect its border with Belarus after the migrant situation stabilised, the Czech defence minister said on Monday.

The number of attempted crossings into Poland by migrants travelling via Belarus from the Middle East or Africa has fallen from highs seen in November. The European Union accused Minsk of engineering a crisis, but Belarus denies that.

The Czech government had approved last week a plan to send soldiers to help Poland with building and repairing barriers and other support work.

It was awaiting parliamentary approval but Defence Minister Lubomir Metnar said on Monday that the mandate would not be debated for now.

"The planned deployment of Czech soldiers to Poland is not necessary yet because the situation on the border with Belarus has been stabilised," Metnar said on Twitter, adding his Polish counterpart Mariusz Blaszczak had informed him of this.

The Czech Republic would have been the third outside country to send personnel to the Poland-Belarus border, after fellow NATO military alliance members Britain and Estonia.

(Reporting by Jason Hovet; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
Voters line up in Sparks, Nev., on Nov. 3, 2020.

Youre reading Our View, one of two perspectives in Todays Debate.

For the Opposing View, read Democrats try to grab power through election 'reform.'

USA TODAY's Editorial Board has never favored setting aside the Senate filibuster.

It is not that the parliamentary rule requiring 60 votes to advance legislation is somehow sacrosanct. After all, it's not in the Constitution. But it engenders the kind of consensus Americans yearn for in republican government and, as a result, can restore a measure of sorely lacking trust. (The bipartisan infrastructure bill is an example.)

For a slim Senate majority to alter or abolish the rule is a selfish and shortsighted move conceivable only under extreme circumstances.

Our nation now faces such a circumstance with democracy itself in the balance and a law to protect it possible only if something is done about the filibuster.

How did it come to this?

It began with historically unprecedented and desperate efforts by Donald Trump in the final weeks of his presidency to reverse an election he claimed, with his Big Lie, had been stolen. He failed. But Republican lawmakers in key swing states across the country are now working to dismantle some of the institutional guardrails that stopped Trump.

Bad enough are laws enacted this year in 19 states that make it harder to vote under the phony guise of election security. Examples are curbing mail or early voting opportunities, reducing the use of ballot drop boxes, or making it easier to purge legitimate voters from voting rolls.

Independent Republican state officials

Even more insidious are proposals allowing state officials to thwart legitimate election outcomes  precisely the kind of thing Trump and his ilk tried to do after he lost. Ten pieces of legislation that would actually allow partisan officials to overturn election results have been introduced in seven states this year, although thankfully none has passed.

The third prong of attack on democracy has been to expel those independent Republican state officials who resisted Trump's pressure campaign:

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Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who refused a demand to find 11,780 votes for Trump, has been censured by party officials and stripped of election oversight authority.

Aaron Van Langevelde, the Michigan state canvasser who spurned pressure to block election certification, has been removed from his post.

Officials who embrace the Big Lie have been installed in election posts.

'Bipartisan support for voting reform'

It is a take-no-prisoners assault on free and fair elections that can be defeated by elements of the Freedom to Vote Act pending before Congress (along with the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would reinstall important Justice Department oversight of election laws that might infringe on minority voting rights).

The Freedom to Vote Act would establish baseline ballot access standards for early and mail voting, drop boxes, voter ID and long wait lines. It also would make Election Day a public holiday, limit the ability to manipulate election outcomes and offer election officials legal protections against removal for partisan reasons.

The bill is not perfect. Elements left over from an earlier version are designed to tighten campaign finance rules, but risk violating constitutionally protected speech and advocacy. Such areas need to be jettisoned or revised.

Even so, the legislation is otherwise crucial and the product of efforts by moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia to fashion something he believed Republican Senate colleagues would endorse. "There is ... bipartisan support for voting reform," he wrote in April in reiterating opposition to ending the filibuster.

We agreed with Sen. Manchin in principle, but doubted any GOP senator would go along.

And none did. The same was true of the John Lewis bill, with the exception of Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.

Democrats in the Senate are working to reform the filibuster to pass vital pieces of election reform. This must be done. The alternative  that America would suffer through a chaotic, divisive and disputed election outcome in the not-so-distant future  is unthinkable.

USA TODAY's editorial opinions are decided by its Editorial Board, separate from the news staff and the USA TODAY Network. Most editorials are coupled with an Opposing View, a unique USA TODAY feature.

To read more editorials, go to the Opinion front page or sign up for the daily Opinion email newsletter. To respond to this editorial, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Democracy and elections: Revise filibuster to protect voting rights
Denver's elected officials are expected to duke it out Monday night on the floor of City Hall.

State of play: Mayor Michael Hancock delivered a surprise veto on Friday, his second-ever, to block the flavored tobacco ban that council members passed four days earlier.

Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free

A supermajority, or nine votes, is now needed to override the mayor's decision. Only eight council members have signaled support so far.

Why it matters: The clash is raising further questions about the state of cohesion and communication between Denver's chief policymakers and the city's chief executive.

Context: Council members had spent hours wrestling with and whittling away at the measure during a months-long process.

The mayor's office had indicated he wouldn't interfere if council came to a consensus, despite Hancock's concerns about pursuing a ban at the city level instead of in the state legislature, councilperson and ordinance sponsor Amanda Sawyer tells Axios.

What they're saying: "We stayed in close communication with the mayor's office the entire time," Sawyer says.

In a statement, she and ordinance co-sponsor Debbie Ortega chided Hancock for choosing "profit over people."

The big picture: The divisions at Denver City Hall run deep  and are growing  as a cohort of council members continue to challenge the strength of the city's executive branch.

The other side: In a letter addressed to council members, Hancock argued the ordinance will "not have the meaningful public health impact that is intended," but "instead will be outweighed by the equity challenges and negative impacts on certain communities and businesses."

While Hancock would prefer a statewide law or regional ban on flavored tobacco products, he said he plans to explore other options in the meantime, including raising the purchasing age for tobacco products to 21 and creating a new tobacco retail store licensing.

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What to watch: Council members may have enough votes to refer a ban on flavored tobacco sales to the November 2022 ballot, as they did last year to successfully overrule Hancock's veto upholding the city's ban on pit bulls.

Meanwhile, Colorado House Speaker Alec Garnett tells Axios he's heard rumblings that a statewide bill banning the sale of flavored tobacco products will come up in 2022 after a similar bill died in the House last year.

This story first appeared in the Axios Denver newsletter, designed to help readers get smarter, faster on the most consequential news unfolding in their own backyard.

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Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is turning to one of his most senior aides to become the city's next top attorney.

Duggan announced Monday that he will appoint Deputy Mayor Conrad Mallett to fill the role, which Lawrence Garcia left earlier this month to take a position with the Miller Canfield law firm. The mayor plans to send his nomination in January to Detroit City Council, which will need to approve the appointment. Mallett would resign as deputy mayor if confirmed by city council.

Detroit Deputy Mayor Conrad Mallett is Mayor Mike Duggan's pick as the city's Corporation Counsel. Mallett will resign his position if City Council approves the position.

More: Detroit's Corporation Counsel resigning to join major law firm

More: Duggan hires hospital executive and political ally to lead Detroit's long-term coronavirus response

We are fortunate to have one of Michigans most respected attorneys in our administration and we could not find anyone more perfect for this position, Duggan said in a statement. I dont know of another city in the United States of America that can say its Corporation Counsel is a former Chief Justice of their states Supreme Court."

Mallett has served as deputy mayor since May 2020, helping lead Detroit's COVID-19 response, according to the city. He also helped form the Community Health Corps, which provides support to struggling families by connecting them to food security, utility payment assistance, home assistance programs, and physical and behavioral health.

Mallett told the Free Press that he did not lobby for the position but was more than happy to accept the offer when Duggan asked him to step forward. He said the mayor was eyeing someone who is up to speed on citys issues during a critical time as officials expect incoming federal grants through the American Rescue Plan Act and infrastructure bill.

He looked in the office next door and said, You know what, youre a lawyer, and youre the former chief justice of the (Michigan) Supreme Court. What if I asked you to go downstairs and take over the law department? Mallett said.

The deputy mayor said he plans to aggressively tackle environmental justice issues and ensure programs such as demolitions and blight removal are appropriately managed in a way that inspires the community to understand that Detroits Corporation Counsel is on their side."

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More: Detroit's most vulnerable residents to get help with rent, food, bills and more

Mallett also spent 20 years as an administrator at the Detroit Medical Center, and eight years as a member of the Michigan Supreme Court, two of which he served as chief justice, according to the city.

Deputy Corporation Counsel Chuck Raimi will serve in the interim.

Garcia announced in November that he would resign as Corporation Counsel after four years in the city. The attorney previously told the Free Press he initially took the role to serve the public, but wanted to return to the private sector after 25 years of practice. Garcia's salary was $165,000 as the city's attorney, he said.

"Four years is a nice round figure for this kind of work. It's time to get back to private practice and start saving for my son's college fund," Garcia previously told the Free Press.

Garcia was caught up in a dispute with Detroit Inspector General Ellen Ha over her accusations that he was interfering with investigations led by her office. Garcia responded that he was fulfilling his responsibility of representing city employees in legal matters and accused Ha of unfair interrogation sessions and racial bias.

Duggan praised Garcia for representing the city in various complex matters, and helping defend against "baseless attacks" during the 2020 presidential election.

Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact Dana: dafana@freepress.com or 313-635-3491. Follow her on Twitter: @DanaAfana.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Deputy Mayor Conrad Mallett is pick for city's top attorney
Rangers lead people on a First Day Hike at Lake Thunderbird State Park.

Are you ready for the change of seasons? Well, its Oklahoma so change of seasons can almost mean anything. Preparing for those changes is another thing entirely. Animals, like squirrels, certainly prepare for the change of seasons for example. They store supplies for the winter, and with winter officially starting on Dec. 21, we as humans also desire a little food for the soul, stocking up for the coming gray days that will keep us housebound too long.

But it is still possible to stay active during the winter months. While many of us still make New Years resolutions, one of the best ways to start off the new year right is a hike at an Oklahoma state park.

Called First Day Hikes, this has become a celebrated tradition for not only people in Oklahoma but across the country, and it is all part of a nationwide state park initiative.

Called Americans State Parks First Day Hikes, it started in Massachusetts. The purpose is to encourage everyone to get out, get active and enjoy the outdoors and the beauty of nature that surrounds us all. The hikes are free, so call friends and family and go out as a group and start the new year from a healthy point of view, as well as relax by taking in the beauty of an Oklahoma state park.

People take part in a hike last year at Great Plains State Park.

20 state parks across Oklahoma are participating and will welcome visitors to the trails, as well as educate hikers about the history and environment of the park. Hikers should remember to wear weather-appropriate clothing and comfortable shoes. Bring a camera or binoculars for wildlife viewing, and water and snacks. Pets on leash are welcome at most parks, but not all.

For a list of those parks participating in First Day Hikes, go to https://www.travelok.com/article_page/first-day-hikes-at-oklahoma-state-parks.

Dino Lalli is the producer, co-host and one of the reporters for the travel program "Discover Oklahoma."

People participate in a First Day Hike despite cold weather at Foss State Park.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Discover Oklahoma: State parks offer First Day Hikes
A public health expert recently noted that it is impossible to convince a person thinking illogically using logic.

Although COVID vaccines are lifesaving, over 60 million adults remain unvaccinated, some fearful, and worse, some hostile to vaccination and even masking.

Politicization regarding the COVID crisis and vaccination is rampant. Millions are willing to believe disinformation from garbage internet and social media sites, politicians, and some in the right-wing media rather than information provided by public health professionals and officials and their own trusted personal health-care providers.

Opinion: Are we cutting Indiana's wage pie differently?

David Leonhardt (New York Times) and Philip Bump (Washington Post) have penned articles explaining that the irrational politicization of COVID, COVID vaccines, and masking created a coronavirus death-rate gap between blue and red America. The gap, once minimal, dramatically and progressively widened since vaccine availability with conservative areas having significantly higher mortality.

Forty percent of Republicans remain unvaccinated compared to 10 percent of Democrats. The fight against COVID should be a public health battle, not a cultural one.

There is no substitute for vaccination for the greatest and longest protection. Non-vaccinated individuals will continue to suffer the greatest burden of disease.

Fully immunized status, nationally at 60 percent and in Indiana at 50 percent, falls well short of herd immunity. Indiana owns one of the lowest state rates. As winter sets in, we are again experiencing a new surge of Delta infections and the new worrisome variant, Omicron, looms before us. Yet the illogical thinking continues. Recently, Governor Holcomb and the legislature, in special session, attempted to end the COVID emergency order prematurely, eviscerate businesss ability to mandate vaccines, and codify disinformation.

The legislation, postponed but already filed again for the next session, is a symbolic nod to resisting government overreach. What a dreadful message to the public  Time to move on, the pandemic is over.

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With inadequate immunization rates persisting, vaccine mandates are a rational last-resort public health measure to achieve herd immunity of 85 to 90 percent vaccinated. No one really wants mandates, but its the only path forward out of this crisis.

American smallpox immunization mandates go back over 200 years. School mandates are responsible for our high childhood immunization rates. Nonetheless, many conservative states have enacted laws that prevent local and state government from mandating COVID vaccination in various ways, including Indiana. With the proliferation of businesses requiring employee vaccination, nine states have prohibited private businesses from doing so. The Indiana legislature appears poised this session to restrict business mandates as well. What happened to the conservative philosophy of small, nonintrusive government?

Bidens mandatory immunization rules conflict with most state vaccination prohibitions. Federal regulations preempt state laws. We may be headed for a showdown.

Two previous Supreme Court decisions upheld the constitutionally of vaccine mandates at least at the state level. Constitutionally, public health enforcement is largely reserved to the states. Federal mandates are more uncertain. Federal courts have recently issued conflicting decisions on the constitutionality of the mandates and now a series of suits raised by more than two dozen states, including Indiana, will play out in federal courts. Undoubtedly, the controversy will wind up in the conservative-dominated Supreme Court. Will the Court rule contrary to its own precedent? Anyones guess.

Important in determining constitutionally has been the belief that individual liberties are never absolute, always balanced with the common good, and mitigated when producing harm to others. Im a firm believer.

If not vaccinated, get vaccinated. If vaccinated get boosted. Its the logical thing to do.

Dr. Richard Feldman is an Indianapolis family physician and the former Indiana state health commissioner. Email him at richarddfeldman@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Dr. Richard Feldman: Vaccines can help end the pandemic, if we choose to get them
Time magazine on Monday named Tesla founder and space entrepreneur Elon Musk as its person of the year, capping a roller-coaster 2021 for the technology magnate.

The brash South African-born 50-year-old with grand ambition overtook space race rival and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to become the world's richest person this year.

In October his electric car company's valuation soared above a trillion dollars, and throughout the year his company SpaceX has teamed up with US space agency NASA to launch various missions including smashing a rocket into an asteroid in a test run for redirecting any future Earth-bound space rock.

"Person of the Year is a marker of influence, and few individuals have had more influence than @elonmusk on life on Earth, and potentially life off Earth too," tweeted Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal in announcing the winner.

Musk has appeared ever-present in American culture in recent years. He has amassed 66 million Twitter followers and guest-hosted the famed late-night comedy show Saturday Night Live in May.

He speaks ambitiously about his interest in colonizing Mars, and plans orbital flights next year as part of SpaceX's planned American return to the Moon.

And he is known to move markets and the value of cryptocurrencies with a single tweet.

But his main socio-economic influence for now is with his groundbreaking electric vehicles.

"Our intent with Tesla was always that we would serve as an example to the car industry, and hope that they also make electric cars so that we can accelerate the transition to sustainable energy," Musk told Time in an interview released with the Person of the Year announcement.

But outer space is at the forefront of Musk's ambitions as well.

"His goal is to make humanity a multi-planet species," Time contributor and author Jeffrey Kluger said in the video.

Time first presented its Person of the Year award in 1927.

mlm/jm
As the cousin of Emmett Till, I was disappointed by the Department of Justice decision last week to close the investigation into his death. In 1955, at the age of 14, while visiting family in Mississippi, Emmett was dragged out of bed, tortured and killed by Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam. They then dumped his body in a river. All of this over allegations that he flirted with a white woman.

The white men who killed my cousin (and who later confessed) were acquitted. But my family strongly believes that others were involved in his death. And we had remained hopeful that the DOJ decision would have been different.

Many of us have known for some time that the information brought forward by author Timothy Tyson  who revealed in his book "The Blood of Emmett Till" that accuser Carolyn Bryant Donham recanted her story and admitted to lying about my cousin's actions  might be a challenge to prove.

And while the two perpetrators who were tried and acquitted are dead, Donham is still alive. The question that we have been asking is why Donham has not been held accountable for her participation in the kidnapping and killing of Emmett. We believe that she is one of many culpable in the final actions that led to his death.

The matter on our minds and what we hoped the DOJ would question was never about a confession or whether she recanted her lie. We never doubted that she lied during her court testimony in 1955.

Where do we go from here?

Our familys push for justice is not over.

We are grateful that there is no statute of limitations on kidnapping and murder in Mississippi. And our hope is that truth, justice and accountability will prevail.

We also hope and pray that justice-seeking family members along with advocates and those organizations that have not tired of this 66-year-old case will continue to stand in solidarity with us.

We are focused on the state of Mississippi, where we have consistently appealed to state authorities. Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch and W. Dewayne Richardson, district attorney for the 4th Circuit Court District of Mississippi, can decide to move the case forward with appropriate charges of any living accomplices, including Donham.

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When federal law enforcement opened this probe, we expected the investigators to dig deeper than Tysons book. We hoped that Donhams memoir and the evidence presented by investigators previously would lead to a possible indictment.

There was a federal investigation in 2004. In 2007, state efforts ended after a grand jury declined to indict anyone on state charges.

The statutory duties under the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Reauthorization Act require the DOJ to fully investigate and hold people accountable for their roles in racially motivated kidnappings and murders, yet the DOJs report did not address the culpability of the central figure in Emmetts death  his accuser.

Six decades after his killing, she is alive and well and has never had to fully testify before a jury in court. She has never faced cross examination. She has been allowed to live out her days, shielded from criminal accountability.

We are not seeking vengeance. But as a promise to Emmetts mother, we will continue to pursue all legal avenues to bring any living accomplice to justice. We will also make sure that the record is set straight about his character and that his death will not be in vain.

I wanted to share these sentiments from attorney Jaribu Hill, who represents some members of our family, that she posted last Monday on Facebook:

"Today, we witnessed yet another travesty of justice. After 4 years of failing to conduct a transparent investigation into the undisputed culpability of Carolyn Bryant Donham, once again the case has been closed. It was Bryant Donham who identified Emmett and marked him for death. The brutal lynching haunts us now! Haunts us still. No, we do not accept todays announcement from the DOJ. We know at the very least, a Grand Jury should have been convened to get answers from Bryant Donham. No justice! No peace!"

History keeps repeating itself

Lynchings such as Ahmaud Arbery's, Breonna Taylor's and George Floyd's are very much reflective of what happened to my cousin.

A ground mural depicts Breonna Taylor at in Annapolis, Md.

As we continue our advocacy in Emmetts name, we also call on Congress to pass HR 55 the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, first introduced in 2019 as HR 35 but reintroduced by Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., earlier this year. This bill would specify lynching as a violation or deprivation of civil rights and make lynching a federal crime.

In Minnesota, my home state, we are also advocating for the passage of an act to empower victims of various constitutional civil rights violations with the Emmett Louis Till Victims Recovery Program.

My activism continues in solidarity with justice-seeking activists and families who have lost loved ones to modern-day lynchings.

We continue to see a through line from the past injustices in 1955 and the injustices that continue today. They are all reflective of the criminal, civil and human rights movements that place Black, brown and Indigenous bodies in the forefront of the struggle for justice and reform.

We as a nation still haven't come to terms with the truth about our racist past. It is extremely difficult to advance toward any chance of reconciliation until we do.

Deborah Watts is the cousin of Emmett Till, and co-founder of the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation.

You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Emmett Till's accuser is still alive and must be brought to justice
The Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea is looking for a new rector.

The Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea, which already had been looking for a new rector, has seen two of its reverends leave over the last few months.

From left, Rabbi Michael Resnick of Temple Emanu-El, the Rev. Margaret McGhee and the Rev. Burl Salmon participate in the 2018 Interfaith Service at St. Edward Catholic Church. Rev. McGhee and Rev. Salmon have both recently left The Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea.

The Rev. Burl Salmon left in May to become the new rector of The Falls Church in Falls Church, Va., while the Rev. Margaret McGhee accepted an offer in October to become the rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Manhattan, Kan.

The Rev. James and Elizabeth Harlan bid farewell to the congregation of The Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea during a farewell picnic in June. He is now canon evangelist for the Diocese of Southern Virginia.

In June, the Rev. James Harlan, who had been rector of the church for the past 10 years, left to become canon evangelist for the Diocese of Southern Virginia. The Rector Search Committee posted the position on the Bethesda website on Nov. 18 as well as on a website for clergy.

Applicants can submit a resume to Canon Jason Roberson, the transition officer at the Diocese of Southeast Florida, for initial screening. The committee plans on interviewing candidates in the new year.

The Rev. Bob Dannals has taken over as interim rector. He said there are several members of the staff picking up the work.

The Rev. Carol Barron joined the assisting clergy as a part-time associate priest for the interim period. She recently retired as the rector of St. Lukes Church in Stuart.

Kevin Elwell and his daughter Magnolia, 3, watch as the Rev. Carol Barron blesses their dog George W., a golden retriever, during the annual Blessing of the Animals service in October at The Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea. The Rev. Barron has joined the church as a part-time associate priest.

The Revs. Elizabeth Geitz, Susan Beebe and Jeff Beebe are returning clergy and will serve as associate priests temporarily as well. The staff also includes the Rev. Cecily J. Titcomb, deacon for spiritual direction and pastoral, who has been on staff since 2004, as well as the Rev. Clayton Waddel, who serves as deacon for port ministry and has been in the role since 2007.

"The current lay and clergy staff, together with a strong vestry and highly effective search committee, give us good vibrancy during this year of preparation for a new rector," Dannals said.

"We're not sure yet how it will play out, but our hope is to have our new rector called by the beginning of the summer," said John Brim, chairman of the Rector Search Committee.

In related news, Laura Schlett has joined the staff as stewardship coordinator during the interim year. She works with the stewardship/development committee, and the associate and program staff.

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Laura Schlett is the new stewardship coordinator at The Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea.

Schlett describes her role as ''very kindly'' asking people for money to support the ministries of Bethesda.

Schlett, who started Nov. 1, readies gifts to give to donors. She stepped into the middle of a matching campaign and has begun preparations for the church's annual 2022 Pledge Campaign.

"As Christians, we are called to give of our time, talents, devotion, and physical possessions, so this position goes beyond finances. It is a ministry that guides people in connecting their physical and spiritual lives," Schlett said.

Although she has been a member of Bethesda for four years, her new role has allowed her to get to know people on a deeper level.

"There is something about talking to people about money and ministry that makes me and the person I am talking to much more vulnerable to each other, and that allows a much closer connection," she said.

Schlett's will serve through May 2022.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Bethesda-by-the-Sea church searches for rector, appoints stewardship coordinator
A newly formed team of five Cleveland County sheriff's deputies will focus on addressing quality of life issues in the county.

The unit will start this week as Norman, the county's largest city, works to solve issues between downtown business owners and the city's homeless population.

Investing in a team of deputies whose time isn't bogged down with patrol or investigative work is important, said Cleveland County Sheriff Chris Amason, especially at a time when many law enforcement agencies are experiencing staffing shortages.

After attending the Nov. 29 county commissioners meeting  in which several downtown business owners voiced concerns of loitering, trespassing and unsanitary conditions  Amason said he was inspired to speed up the process of getting the deputies started.

"I'm not here to criminalize being homeless, that's not my goal," Amason said. "My goal is to ultimately help these people that are down and out and provide them with resources they may not be aware of, but also protect our community."

Homeless encampment in Norman being vacated

On Wednesday, almost one week after the sheriff's new unit was announced, signs were posted by the property owner at a homeless encampment on the Canadian River stating the area needed to be vacated by Dec. 14, Norman Ward 1 City Councilor Brandi Studley said. Studley said she regularly helps feed dinner to about 20 people at the river, and said there are 10 to 20 more who stay farther back in the woods.

The city of Norman and the Norman Police Department said the property owner requested their assistance in clearing the property and asked the city to ensure each person was offered services. Mendi Brandon, spokesperson for the sheriff's office, did not respond to questions regarding whether the sheriff was aware of the camp's removal.

This is the second homeless camp this year that has been cleared in Norman. Executive director of Food & Shelter Inc., April Heiple, said tearing down these camps before additional housing is created will only push more of the homeless population to public places like downtown.

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"Every camper has been offered all the services available, including access to a housing plan," Norman City Manager Darrel Pyle said in an email. "Every camper was notified weeks ago that the property owner would be clearing the site."

A homeless man sleeps at the entrance to Food and Shelter for Friends on a day in 2014 when volunteers surveyed homeless people in connection with the Housing First initiative in Norman.

Norman's homeless population  which was 266 at the last point-in-time count in January 2020  and how to curb it has been a wide topic of discussion this year, with the city hiring the nonprofit Homebase to conduct a study on what gaps are present in homeless services. The 81-page Gaps Analysis, completed in September, identified needs like safe and affordable housing, coordination between service providers and transportation to employment, services and shelter.

Heiple said there can never be enough people working to end homelessness, but with the likely influx of more homeless people downtown she hopes the Cleveland County's new unit will not cause more harm to the population.

"There are certain things that happen just as a result of being homeless, like sleeping on private property is a crime," Heiple said. "I really hope that we don't start to see people being arrested for just simply trying to survive."

A client takes a lunch time nap at Food & Shelter Inc., 201 Reed Ave. in Norman.

'They were there the whole time'

While the issues downtown business owners are experiencing are not new, the frequency of them has risen, Norman Downtowners Association Chairman Stephen Koranda said.

Koranda said he, and many of the downtown business owners, bring up their concerns from a "Christian" mindset. They have compassion for homeless people, he said, but also want to mitigate the impact on downtown business.

Some business owners have had people sitting directly in front of their doors, Koranda said, and some have said they've experienced pushback when asking someone to leave. Others have noticed trash strewn about, as well as defecation due to a lack of public restrooms.

Koranda said he's hopeful this new unit will help turn things around.

April Heiple, Food & Shelter Inc. executive director, talks to client Vernis Boyd during lunch at the nonprofit, 201 Reed Ave. in Norman.

Heiple, who lives downtown, said she sees firsthand the issues the business owners are describing. It's a direct correlation to the city's removal of the homeless camp at Alameda Street and Carter Avenue, she said.

"They were there the whole time," Heiple said. "And now they're just very visible because there's no other place for them to sleep, except where you can see them."

Heiple said she is at least thankful those camping at the river have more time to gather their belongings than those who were staying off Alameda. The city reported it removed 70 tons of human waste, rotted food and clothing from the camp.

"They didn't give hardly any notice at all," Heiple said. "And, it may look like garbage to some people, but a man I know lost everything he owned. They put it all in the trash and wouldn't even let him get in there to get this thing that his grandfather had given him that he had kept his whole life."

More: This Christmas, consider buying gifts that give back in Oklahoma City

Real change for Norman's homeless population will require the community to work together toward a common goal, and that's "not just affordable housing, but permanent, supportive housing," Heiple said.

"Everybody has a concern about homelessness," Heiple said. "Some of us are concerned that people are sleeping outside in the cold, and some people are concerned about the way their businesses are affected. I see both sides of that, but the solution is the same. Invest in housing, get people off the street, and they won't have to sleep on Main Street."

Looking for solutions

Before the sheriff's new unit hit the streets Monday, Sheriff Amason met with the Norman Downtowners Association to identify problems and solutions.

Some things Koranda believes would help are more signage downtown that points people to the available public restrooms and informs them on when the warming shelter opens, as well as an increase in sanitation and security.

A similar meeting has not been planned with those who provide services to homeless people, but the sheriff would be open to that, public information officer Mendi Brandon said.

Jeff Orr serves a hot meal to a client at Food & Shelter Inc. in Norman.

As part of the Homebase Gaps Analysis, homeless people in Norman were surveyed. Just over 75% of them said transportation would be the form of assistance most helpful to them.

Heiple said she could see the sheriff's new unit being helpful by providing transportation, warm clothes and ultimately connecting people with Food and Shelter or other community partners that can help them find a way out of homelessness.

More: What combating homelessness in Oklahoma County looks like

Eventually, though, there comes the issue that there's not enough resources to go around, she said.

"This plan that they have in place to engage people who are homeless and connect them to resources is only as good as the resources we have available," Heiple said. "That's why that investment ... to build up services, to support housing case management  so that when these folks go into housing, they have a support system around them to be successful  that's really a key piece."

Cleveland County Sheriff Chris Amason discusses the new Community Response Unit that he championed.

Sheriff sought 'specific personalities' for 'community-oriented' unit

The Community Response Unit is something Amason has had on his mind since before he took office.

The unit was made possible after implementing an alternate work schedule at the detention center opened some budget space for the five positions. Four of the deputies will be receiving the normal starting pay of $49,000 annually. The sheriff's office had not provided the unit lieutenant's salary at publication time.

Amason said he hand-selected the deputies for this unit  two were already working for his office and three came from outside law enforcement agencies. One deputy has experience with the crisis intervention team, while another is an instructor in de-escalation tactics. Together, the five have more than 100 years of law enforcement experience, he said.

Their years of experience and training combined with a willingness to be flexible with their work schedule and a commitment to compassionate service are all reasons they were chosen for the unit, Amason said.

"I wanted specific personalities that I thought would work well together and also worked well with the problems in the community," he said.

More: Giving thanks with the OKC Homeless Alliance, Kaiser's Grateful Bean

The unit will use "community-oriented" methods when working to find solutions to problems. For Amason, this means realizing that incarceration is not the "only tool in the toolbox."

"We, as the police, don't have all the answers," Amason said. "And we have to be able to work with our citizens and our business owners to come up with the best solution that's going to go with that problem at the time."

Heiple said the Norman Police Department is one of their most valued community partners, and she hopes to say the same of this new unit.

"I would definitely love to have that partnership with this group so that they not only understand what we do here at Food and Shelter and what our partners do in the community," Heiple said, "but also so that they can also understand what homelessness is, and what trauma informed support and trauma informed care is."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Cleveland Co. sheriff's unit to work with Norman homeless population
By Marcelo Teixeira and Roberto Samora

NEW YORK/SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Coffee experts working for commodity trading houses are taking to the narrow, winding roads in Brazil's Minas Gerais state as they tour the coffee belt checking 2022 crop prospects just as prices approach the highest levels in 10 years.

This has been a difficult year for coffee farming in Brazil, the world's largest producer. Prices surged after a drought and later frosts ruined as much as 20% of coffee trees, hitting future production. So far, those studying crops have produced wide estimates for the 2022 harvest, though traders for now are still betting on a less fruitful crop.

The people walking the fields will find the truth of that between now and the end of January, the optimal time for crop assessment.

"The rains that followed the frosts and drought produced a nice flowering, but now we have to see how many of those will grow into cherries," said Ryan Delany, chief analyst at U.S.-based Coffee Trading Academy LLC.

Arabica coffee futures on ICE gained more than 90% this year after the drought, frosts, and then a global container shortage that hampered shipping. The price surge led farmers in Brazil, Colombia and elsewhere to default on deliveries of pre-sold coffee.

During the tours, experts try to count pinhead cherries in the branches to come up with more detailed projections. So far, estimates released vary wildly.

Soft commodities analyst Judy Ganes, who was recently in Brazil with fellow analyst Shawn Hackett, estimated Brazil's arabica production at around 36 million bags, one of the smallest projections in the market.

Ganes says the vegetative health of the trees was damaged by drought and frosts, something others are not fully accounting for. She expects Brazil's total crop (including the robusta variety) to come in at 55 million bags, far from the record 2020 crop, the previous "on-year" crop in the biennial production cycle, that reached around 70 million bags.

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Jonas Ferraresso, a Brazilian coffee agronomist, says the flowering was widespread after October rains, but the conversion to fruit was below normal.

"Many trees developed new leaves in the branches instead of berries, an unusual development probably linked to the harsh drought earlier in the year," he said.

Others are more positive.

Rabobank, which specializes in agricultural financing, expects a crop at 66.5 million bags, not far from the record, adding that such production would generate a global surplus of 3 million bags and cut prices below $2 per pound in 2022. U.S.-based trader Cardiff Coffee sees production at 63.1 million bags.

Paulo Armelin manages a farm with 220 hectares in the Patrocinio area, Minas Gerais, where the frosts were strongest. He said around 20% of his fields were hit by the cold snap and will not produce next year, but the rest was not affected.

"At least in my farm, the flowering was good and conversion to cherries looks fine," he said.

(Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira in New York and Roberto Samora in Sao Paulo; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
(Steve Jennings/Getty Images)

Facebook veteran and Metas head of virtual reality Andrew Bozworth says that individual humans are to blame for the spread of misinformation.

"If we took every single dollar and human that we had, it wouldnt eliminate people seeing speech that they didnt like on the platform. It wouldnt eliminate every opportunity that somebody had to use the platform maliciously," he said in an interview with Axios.

"Individual humans are the ones who choose to believe or not believe a thing. They are the ones who choose to share or not share a thing," Mr Bosworth continued.

"I dont feel comfortable at all saying they dont have a voice because I dont like what they said."

Metas platforms  Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp  have all been used to spread misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic.

Researchers running experiments on the platform found that two brand-new accounts they had set up were recommended 109 pages containing anti-vaccine information in just two days.

A study conducted by the non-profit Centre for Countering Digital Hate and Anti-Vax Watch suggested that close to 65 per cent of the vaccine-related misinformation on Facebook was coming from 12 people.

Facebook, however, said those people were only responsible for 0.05 per cent of all views of vaccine-related content on the platform.

If your democracy cant tolerate the speech of people, Im not sure what kind of democracy it is. [Facebook is] a fundamentally democratic technology, Mr Bozworth said in the interview.

Recently, it was exposed that Facebook had a secret VIP list that allowed high-profile users to break its policies. Approximately 5.8 million celebrities, politicians, and journalists to be whitelisted from violating Facebooks rules under the cross check or XCheck system.

We are not actually doing what we say we do publicly, said the review from Facebook into XCheck, calling the actions a breach of trust.

It continued: Unlike the rest of our community, these people can violate our standards without any consequences.

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Facebooks algorithm has also been criticized for inherently promoting inflammatory views. A 2018 presentation within the company, leaked last year, showed that it knew its algorithm encouraged divisiveness but moves to stop it would be antigrowth and require a moral stance.

Facebook did not respond to a request for comment from The Independent before time of publication.

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Strava is down
The claim: The president of the European Commission called for getting rid of the Nuremberg Code

In response to the surge in COVID-19 cases in Europe and the spread of the omicron variant, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held a press conference on Dec. 1, in which she discussed vaccine mandates and pandemic challenges.

But on social media, opponents of mandates misused von der Leyens remarks to claim she called for the abandonment of the Nuremberg Code, a set of principles for medical experiments on humans was established after World War II.

On The Heels of Austria and Germany Locking Down The Unvaccinated, EU Leader Calls For Throwing Out Nuremberg Code In Favor of Forced Vaccinating All Dissenters, reads a screenshot of a Dec. 3 Gateway Pundit article, which was shared to Instagram on Dec. 8

Other users on Facebook and Instagram shared the same screenshot in posts that racked up hundreds of likes, while similar versions of the claim circulated on YouTube, Twitter and websites such as The Post Millennial.

But the posts are wrong. Von der Leyen never brought up the Nuremberg Code during the press conference. She urged countries in the European Union to consider vaccine mandates given the new wave of infections.

Additionally, experts say COVID-19 vaccines do not violate the Nuremberg Code because they are not experimental.

Special access for subscribers! Click here to sign up for our fact-check text chat

The Gateway Pundit and social media users who shared the claim did not return requests for comment.

EU chiefs comments misconstrued

The claims stem from a Dec. 1 press conference in Brussels, where European health commissioner Stella Kyriakides and von der Leyen discussed rising COVID-19 infections, the omicron variant and vaccine mandates. At no point during the event was the Nuremberg Code mentioned by speakers or reporters.

I think it is understandable and appropriate to lead this discussion now  how we can encourage and potentially think about mandatory vaccination within the European Union, von der Leyen said. This needs discussion. This needs a common approach, but I think its a discussion that has to be led.

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We are now facing a double challenge in the fight against #COVID19.



The rapid resurgence of Delta across Europe and a new variant of concern: Omicron.



Full vaccination and boosters provide the strongest protection there is. And they are available now. https://t.co/FOuda4Jbvj  Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) December 1, 2021

She added that decisions on vaccine mandates are the jurisdiction of the member states, noting 150 million people, a third of the European population, is not vaccinated against COVID-19.

Fact check: Outdated interview used to make false claim about BioNTech CEOs vaccination status

COVID-19 vaccine mandates don't violate Nuremberg Code

The posts used von der Leyens remarks about vaccine mandates to claim that she called for throwing out the Nuremberg Code. But experts say COVID-19 vaccines are not experimental and do not go against the code.

Peter Meyers, a professor of law emeritus at George Washington University where he directed the Vaccine Injury Litigation Clinic, said claims that COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Europe or the U.S. violate the Nuremberg Code are ridiculous.

The Nuremberg Code was created, in part, to protect people from being forced to participate in horrific medical experiments like those conducted in Nazi Germany concentration camps, Meyers said via email. COVID-19 mandates are nothing like that. They are public health protection measures with vaccines that have undergone extensive prior clinical trials.

Similarly, Dorit Reiss, a professor of public health law at the University of California, Hastings, said COVID-19 vaccines cannot reasonably be described as experimental in Europe because more than a billion doses have been administered there. Further, she said, the European Commission has authorized COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.

USA TODAY has previously debunked similar claims that vaccine mandates in the U.S. go against the Nuremberg Code, as well as claims that COVID-19 shots are experimental.

Fact check: COVID-19 variants named after Greek letters, not military code

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that the president of the European Commission called for getting rid of the Nuremberg Code. Video footage from the press conference shows von der Leyen never mentioned the Nuremberg Code. Health law experts say COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Europe are not in violation of the Nuremberg Code because the shots are not experimental and have been approved by the European Commission.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app, or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: False claim about European Union leader and Nuremberg Code
Police on Monday charged a 14-year-old student with possessing a gun at Farmington High School, but said said the arrest wasnt connected to an alleged shooting threat that touched off widespread anxiety last week.

Investigators didnt release information about the student, but said they began investigating Dec. 7 - the same day that roughly 40 percent of the student body stayed home because of rumors about a shooting threat. Police and school administrators emphasized that the talk of a threat turned out to be based on misinformation.

Educators said a student  possibly alarmed by communitywide discussion of the alleged threat  told a staff member late in the day Dec. 7 about a 14-year-old having a gun on school property on Dec. 3.

Police didnt give details about where the gun was or why the student had it, but after an investigation they arrested the student Monday. The accused student hadnt been back to class since Dec. 6; they didnt specify where the arrest was made.

Possession of a firearm on school grounds is a disturbing event and a severe violation of school safety; however, the investigation did not reveal any threats of gun violence associated with this incident, police said in a written statement Monday afternoon.

Police charged the student with possessing a weapon on school grounds, carrying a pistol without a permit, possessing a weapon in a vehicle and risk of injury to a minor.

The gun has not been recovered, and the youth is currently being held in a state juvenile detention center, police said.

In a message to parents, Farmington High School said any student possessing a gun on or off school grounds must be expelled for up to a year.

Extra police were assigned to the school as a precaution last week and will remain this week, educators said. Extended-hours counseling was being offered Monday and Tuesday until 4 p.m., Superintendent Kathleen Greider and Principal Scott Hurwitz said.

Knowing that the FHS community has been through a great deal in recent days, we will continue to have counselors, social workers and psychologists available for support, they wrote. We also ask that you reach out to your childs counselor, administrator and/or teacher if your child is experiencing increased fear or worry as a result of learning about this issue.

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Educators also invited parents to what they called a school safety community forum set for Monday at 7 p.m. at the school.

The school system told parents last week that police had investigated a supposed threat to shoot people at the school. Accounts of the threat were circulating heavily on social media, but none by anyone with firsthand knowledge.

After a full investigation, the Farmington Police Department determined that the alleged threat was not credible. As a reminder, a non-credible threat is one that has been determined to not be a safety or security risk to the schools students, faculty and staff, educators said Monday.

Greiders Dec. 7 email to parents about the matter evidently prompted a student to report the Dec. 3 gun possession incident, police said.

The gun possession was deeply disturbing and very serious, Greider and Hurwitz said.

But it was not in any way related to the original (safety) concern and did not involve the same individual(s) and/or the same type of concern, they wrote.
WASHINGTON, DC Four cases of the COVID-19 omicron variant have been detected in Washington, D.C., the first confirmed cases of the variant in the District, health officials said Sunday afternoon.

The D.C. Health Department said Sunday that each of the four cases had no known connection to one another. Virginia reported its first case of the omicron variant last Thursday, and Maryland reported its first cases on Dec. 3.

District officials said all four people had been fully vaccinated. One person was eligible for a booster but had not yet received it, while it was unclear whether the remaining three had received a booster.

City health officials said the four people who have the variant are:



An adult female who traveled domestically to Florida and New York. She had been fully vaccinated and was eligible for the booster vaccine but had not received it yet. All close contacts have been contacted and have been provided guidance by the DC Health Contact Trace Force.

An adult female who traveled domestically during the Thanksgiving holiday to Maryland. She had been fully vaccinated and her booster vaccine status is unknown. All close contacts have been contacted.

An adult male with no known travel. He had been fully vaccinated and his booster vaccine status is unknown. There were no known exposures or close contacts.

An adult female who traveled domestically during the Thanksgiving holiday to Virginia. She had been fully vaccinated and her booster vaccine status is unknown. All close contacts have been contacted and have been provided guidance by the DC Health Contact Trace Force.

Everyone 5 and older should get vaccinated, D.C. health officials said Sunday. Anyone 16 or older who has received their second dose of Pfizer or Moderna on or before June 12, or who has received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on or before Oct. 12 is encouraged to get a booster dose as soon as possible.

Residents can visit a doctor to get the vaccine, find a local pharmacy and schedule an appointment at vaccines.gov, visit a D.C. government walk-up location listed on vaccinate.dc.gov, or request a vaccination at-home by calling 1-855-363-0333.

This article originally appeared on the Washington DC Patch
WASHINGTON  In the past year, the southwestern Louisiana city of Lake Charles weathered two hurricanes, intense rainfall that sent water gushing down streets and a deep freeze that burst pipes.

Yet Tommy Eastman may eventually drop coverage on his four-bedroom home  which has so far escaped damage  because the cost of his flood insurance is going up.

"Once it starts getting over $1,000, I'm gonna start thinking, 'Well, what am I doing?' " said Eastman, a real estate agent whose annual policy is scheduled to climb from $600 to $2,500 over the next several years.

Under a revamped federal flood insurance program rolled out this fall, millions of homeowners are set for rate hikes that officials say more accurately reflect a property's risk. That includes the vast majority of the 1.7 million homeowners with relatively cheap policies in areas federal officials previously deemed low or moderate risk  and where coverage is voluntary.

More: Louisiana lawmakers join effort to reform flood insurance program, limit cost increases

The overhaul is intended in part to make it more expensive to develop in risky areas. But some worry the price hikes will only make it harder to convince homeowners to voluntarily buy or keep flood coverage, particularly in middle- and working-class areas.

"We have no high-rise condominiums, we have no sandy white beaches. It is a working coast in our state," said Jim Donelon, Louisiana's insurance commissioner.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency says its new insurance program factors in the characteristics of individual properties, such as how close they are to water, how expensive they are to rebuild and whether they faces multiple types of flood risk. In many parts of the country, such risks are growing as climate change increases the strength of hurricanes and the intensity of rainstorms.

Buildings and homes are flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura on Aug. 27, 2020, near Lake Charles.

The program  Risk Rating 2.0  will mean higher prices for about three-quarters of the 4.9 million federal flood insurance policies and decreases for the rest. Voluntary policyholders in single-family homes will be hit particularly hard, with an estimated 90% set for hikes, according to FEMA. The agency said it plans to collect 50% more in premiums under the new program over time.

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"We've learned that the old way of looking at risk had lots of gaps, which understated a property's flood risk and communicated a false sense of security," said David Maurstad, a senior executive of the National Flood Insurance Program.

What it means for Houma-Thibodaux and Louisiana

Members of Louisiana's congressional delegation have sounded the alarm about the plan since it was introduced under the Trump administration in 2019.

U.S. Reps. Steve Scalise and Garret Graves, Republicans who represent the Houma-Thibodaux area, sent a letter Sept. 14 to FEMA officials urging the agency to delay the new rates. The letter says a Larose homeowner seeking a new flood insurance policy was quoted a $572 annual premium to take effect Sept. 30. When the policy shifted to an Oct. 8 start date, to account for the standard 30-day wait period before coverage takes effect, the yearly premium was quoted at $5,531.

Louisiana's two U.S. senators, Republicans John Kennedy and Bill Cassidy, are among sponsors of a bill they say aims to reform the National Flood Insurance Program and head off price increases that could make coverage unaffordable for many coastal residents.

Earlier this year: U.S. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana asks President Biden to hold off on flood insurance cost hikes

"Roughly half a million Louisianians depend on flood insurance to safeguard their homes and businesses," Kennedy said after introducing the bill last month. "The National Flood Insurance Program protects workers and families who need to take care of their biggest investments  their homes. We have to extend this program and protect it from political games."

FEMA estimates 20% of the state's policyholders will see immediate cost decreases. Seventy percent will see their costs increase by up to $120 a year, 7% by up to $240 a year and 3% will see insurance prices rise by more than that.

Risk Rating 2.0 guidelines cap cost increases at 18% a year.

But Louisiana lawmakers and others have complained that those increases, when compounded, will double the cost of flood insurance every four years, making policies unaffordable for many homeowners.

Paying for the risk

In spite of identifying more flood risk across the country, the new system doesn't change who is required to buy coverage. In areas FEMA deems highest risk  known as the 100-year flood zone  flood insurance is required on government-backed mortgages and many banks also require it for mortgages in high-risk areas. FEMA has said the flood maps aren't meant to predict where flooding may occur, but say where coverage is required and help communities make building decisions.

Analysis: Louisiana braces for flood insurance sticker shock

In recent years, homeowners living in places where coverage isn't required have faced losses in the billions of dollars. Between 2017 and 2019, nearly 40% of the flood claims FEMA received were for properties that fell outside zones where insurance is required, an agency representative told Congress last year.

Many properties outside the flood zones face risk "that has always been there but has never been identified," said Matthew Eby, executive director of First Street Foundation, a research firm that produces detailed maps of flooding risks.

First Street estimates that 14.6 million properties across the U.S. are at substantial risk of flooding, far more than the number of flood policies federal government insures.

A Government Accountability Office report this year recommended that the federal government update the rules on who is required to get coverage to protect more high-risk homes from flood disasters.

A separate GAO report found FEMA's flood maps do not reflect the latest climate science or key flood hazards such as heavy rainfall.

What's the timeline?

FEMA said it has not studied how the rate changes will affect voluntary take-up of flood insurance, and the agency has not publicly disclosed details on how high premiums will climb beyond the first year.

A Congressional Research Service report said Risk Rating 2.0 will more accurately signal a home's flood risk but that the higher prices "may mean that insurance for some properties is considered unaffordable."

Raising rates and having more people opt for coverage also matters for the financial health of FEMA's flood insurance program, which is $20.5 billion in debt. Since its launch in 1968, many insurance experts say U.S. taxpayers have deeply subsidized flood insurance by not charging rates that properly reflected a home's risk. The federal government underwrites most flood insurance policies in the U.S.

More: New flood insurance rates in effect: 80% of Louisianans will pay more

For new policyholders, FEMA's new rates took effect in October. For existing policy holders, new rates start taking effect in April. Policyholders can call their insurers to get details on how their rates will change. Unlike before when broad groups of policies saw increases, Risk Rating 2.0 will adjust prices individually.

Higher rates will make flood risks clearer and ideally encourage more homeowners to get insurance in areas where coverage is voluntary, said Joel Scata, a lawyer at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group. He said Congress should act to address affordability for lower-income families.

Aric Pohorelsky, a Lake Charles resident, envisions another scenario. He pays $517 a year for flood insurance on a 3,700 square-foot home but said the same policy would cost $5,000 for a new homeowner.

"If people leave in vast numbers, ... I don't think it's going to be because of Risk Rating 2.0," he said. "I think it'll be just because of the stress of dealing with major hurricanes."

 Phillis reported from St. Louis. The Courier and Daily Comet contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Flood insurance costs rise in Louisiana where once deemed lower risk
Four people went on trial in Britain on Monday in connection with the toppling of a statue of a 17th century slave trader during anti-racism protests.

Demonstrators pulled down the bronze memorial to Edward Colston in Bristol, western England, on June 7 last year, then dragged it to the city's harbour and threw it in the River Avon.

The actions came as part of global Black Lives Matter protests prompted by the killing by a white police officer of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in the United States the previous month.

Four people were arrested following the toppling of the statue of Colston, a leading figure in the Royal Africa Company which forcibly moved large numbers of West Africans.

The defendants -- Rhian Graham, 30, Milo Ponsford, 26, Jake Skuse, 33, and Sage Willoughby, 22 -- have pleaded not guilty to criminal damage to the listed monument.

Opening the prosecution case, lawyer William Hughes alleged that the defendants exchanged chat messages confirming their involvement in pulling down the statue.

While acknowledging that Colston was a "divisive" figure, Hughes told the jury his historical role was "wholly irrelevant" to the trial.

The defendants, who were cheered into court by supporters, helped to pull down the statue, roll it down to the harbour and push it into the water as part of a "criminal enterprise", he told the court.

The jury watched video footage allegedly showing Willoughby, Graham and Ponsford approach the statue and Willoughby climb on top of it.

After that, ropes were slung around the statue and some dozen people pulled it down, after which some jumped and spat on the toppled figure.

Jurors were told that an estimated 3,750 ($4,960, 4,390 euros) of damage was caused to the statue, and a further 350 of damage to the railings on the bridge.

Hughes said Willoughby told police that he put ropes on the statue but that he did not pull it down or put it in the harbour.

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Graham told officers she was in the footage and that the statue had caused "massive offence" to the people of Bristol.

Skuse and Ponsford made "no comment" to police, Hughes added.

- Banksy backing -

To support those on trial, which is due to end before Christmas, the artist Banksy, who comes from Bristol, has been selling T-shirts to mark the occasion for 25.

"All proceeds to the defendants so they can go for a pint," the elusive graffiti artist wrote on his Instagram page.

The limited edition grey souvenir tops have a picture of Colston's empty plinth with a rope hanging off, debris and a discarded sign, as well as the word "BRISTOL" written above.

The Black Lives Matter protests have forced Britain into a reckoning with its colonial past, prompting a reassessment of statues, road names and buildings linked to historical figures associated with slavery.

Several Bristol institutions bearing Colston's name have since changed their name to avoid negative associations with him and the slave trade.

The statue, which had stood in the city since 1895, was recovered from the Avon and put on display in a local museum, with placards from the event along with explanations of what happened and why.

The empty plinth was temporarily replaced by a statue of a female protester from the day, but that was taken down within 24 hours as it did not have local authority permission.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government is pressing ahead with contentious legislation to toughen jail terms for vandalism of historical artefacts.

During the countrywide protests, a statue of Johnson's hero Winston Churchill, on display near parliament, was defaced with graffiti branding the World War II leader a racist.

High-profile protests have also been held in Oxford, calling for the removal of a statue of the 19th century colonialist Cecil Rhodes.

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Fox Newss White House correspondent Peter Doocy got into it once again with Jen Psaki, President Joe Bidens press secretary, as he questioned whether the president supported the crimefighting tactics of New York City leaders.

The Fox correspondent ended his questioning of Ms Psaki on Monday with a reference to the burning of the Fox News Christmas tree outside of the networks NYC headquarters, and asked whether Ms Psaki believed it was good governance for the suspect and others to be released ahead of their trials.

Just in the last week we saw a New York Post item about a pickpocket with more than 30 arrests, back out on the street. Weve seen an arsonist burn down a half-a-million-dollar Christmas tree in New York City back on the streets. Does the president think thats good governing? he asked.

The White House has no authority over state-level law enforcement, and it wasnt clear why Mr Doocy was questioning Mr Biden on the issue for any reason other than being in the same political party as the citys leaders.

Ms Psaki reiterated that federal agencies were working with local law enforcement organisations to fight instances of large-scale retail theft, an issue that has captured headlines in recent weeks, while directing Mr Doocys other inquries to local police departments or the Department of Justice.

The Fox Christmas tree was set ablaze last week in an incident that did not result in any injuries; police later arrested a 49-year-old man with a history of drug use arrests who they said may be experiencing homelessness as well. Drugs and mental illness are being investigated as possible contributing factors, according to The New York Times.

Still, the companys CEO Suzanne Scott referred to the burning as an act of cowardice in an email to staff announcing that the tree would be replaced.

We will not let this deliberate and brazen act of cowardice deter us, Ms Scott said, according to the Times. We are in the process of rebuilding and installing a new tree as a message that there can be peace, light and joy even during a dark moment like this.

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The suspect, identified by police as Craig Tamanaha, was charged with seven criminal counts including arson.

Fox representatives added in a statement that the network would also donate $100,000 to a charity for the families of New York firefighters and police killed in action as thanks for their response to the incident.

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The city of Henderson planted a seed 25 years ago to help the Hugh Edward Sandefur Training Center but ended up reaping the fruits two decades later that satisfied a long-standing hunger.

The short version of this story is as follows: The city sold property to HESTC in late 1996 so it could erect a new sheltered workshop building in Henderson Corporate Park. Meanwhile, for more than two decades, the city was dealing with problems associated with its Public Works Garage on outer Fifth Street, which was too small and subject to flooding. But erecting a new building was too expensive. In the spring of 2015 HESTC sold its building back to the city, which was renovated and as of the fall of 2017 housed the Public Works and Gas departments, as well as other functions.

Henderson news: PFAS contamination 'could be worse,' but Henderson cleanup will take years

It was a win-win for all involved, and here is how it came about.

In early 1967 parents of children at Riverview School set up a planning committee to create a sheltered workshop, after toying with the idea since mid-1966. (A sheltered workshop attempts to rehabilitate the physically and mentally disadvantaged and has a license from the U.S. Labor Department to pay less than minimum wage.)

In its early stages the sheltered workshop was referred to as Riverview Training Center; the Sandefur name didnt crop up until The Gleaner of Nov. 10, 1967, which also noted that federal funding had been assured.

Organizers arranged a free lease of the old Douglass High School at Clay and Alvasia streets and The Gleaner of Dec. 10, 1967, reported that the workshops first executive director had been hired. He was Lowell Robertson, who had been running the workshop program at Eastern State Hospital in Lexington.

City Public Works director Brian Williams exits the front door of the Municipal Service Center recently. The city of Henderson sold the property to the Hugh Edward Sandefur Training Center 25 years ago and bought it back in March 2015. It spent $6.5 million to renovate it into something that could serve the needs of multiple city departments.

The Hugh Edward Sandefur Training Center opened Jan. 22, 1968, according to The Gleaner of the following day, but there was no fanfare or ribbon cutting. They had a grand total of four clients.

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A little more than a year later, in The Gleaner of Feb. 9, 1969, the community learned that the first director had submitted his resignation so he could move back to Danville to be closer to family. Robertson agreed to stay as long as needed to get a replacement trained.

But that wasnt necessary. The Gleaner of Feb. 28, 1969, reported Bruce Milburn of Danville had been hired  and he hit the ground running. He needed to, because the center had only $10.59 in the bank and one other employee.

Over the next several years he nurtured the operation to fill the old school and had to expand to the former Atlas Tack warehouse on Atkinson Street. Milburn began looking for a permanent home where the center could consolidate operations.

The Gleaner of Nov. 11, 1975, reported HESTC had bought the former Tri-State Plastics Co. plant on South Main Street for $125,000 from Ashland Oil Co. This is the biggest and most important step the center has ever taken, Milburn said. I dont think well ever outgrow the new location.

And it didnt. But the new building was an old tobacco factory, the majority of which could not be air conditioned. And that made for uncomfortable working conditions during the high heat of the summer.

Henderson news: Henderson County, Kentucky reports 82 new COVID-19 cases, one death

As years went on Milburn proved his worth as a manager, forging alliances with numerous local industries and businesses, and building up a cash reserve of $3 million  quite an accomplishment from the initial four clients. By 1995 HESTC had annual sales of more than $2 million.

On Nov. 7, 1996, according to minutes of the Henderson City Commission, HESTC board president Pat Lake wrote a letter to the city manager asking to buy a nine-acre lot at the entrance to Henderson Corporate Park. The board wanted that lot, now occupied by Sitex, because it was on an existing HART bus route.

Commission members were reluctant because that was the most-desirable lot in the park. They instead offered to sell five acres carved off a 25.8-acre lot at the rear of the park and said they would try to get $100,000 in state funding to build a road to it.

The Gleaner of Dec. 11, 1996, reported the city had agreed to sell the property for $2,500 an acre. On June 24, 1997, the city sold approximately another 1.5 acres. That was just a few days after the groundbreaking.

U.S. Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia, a man who had lost his right arm and both legs in Vietnam, was the keynote speaker at the groundbreaking on June 20, 1997. HESTC spent $2.8 million erecting it at 1449 Corporate Court and occupied it in 1999.

Milburn retired in 2002 and at that point HESTC had annual revenues of $2.5 million. A series of executive directors followed him -- and the revenue stream began falling. By the time Mark Chumbler took the helm in September 2014 it had dropped to $250,000, according to a 2015 article written by Chuck Stinnett.

One of the things Chumbler did to get out from under the debt load and overhead on the 51,358-square-foot building was to sell it to the city of Henderson for $1.92 million, according to The Gleaner of March 6, 2015.

The commission took less than two minutes to approve the purchase and the mood was jubilant because the building held the key to solving longstanding city problems.

The city had been trying for years to find an affordable way to replace the Public Works garage built in 1967. Efforts began about the same time it sold HESTC the Corporate Court property in 1996.

In late 2007 the commission voted to buy 44.7 acres off Kentucky 351 to use as a site for a new public services complex. The estimates of that municipal service center came in at $24 million, though, so the commission shelved that plan and sold the land, except for the historic Springhill Cemetery property.

In 2009 city officials looked at buying the former PB&S Chemical Co. plant on North Adams Street but that idea was rejected because of environmental concerns.

The city allowed HESTC to stay in the building while it looked for a smaller home. It found it in the former ATM servicing center at 1030 Market Street, which measures 13,000 square feet. It has worked out, said Executive Director Julie Wischer. We have a better layout and more green space. Its allowed us to grow into something that better meets todays needs.

How so?

We are no longer a sheltered workshop. We walked away from sub-minimum wage in January 2020. Our goal is not to employ people here forever but to get them ready to work out in the community.

HESTC left its former building in February 2016, she said.

Renovation of what is now called the Henderson Municipal Service Center began in April 2016, according to a 2017 article Donna Stinnett wrote for Henderson Family magazine. Total cost of renovating it  not including the purchase price -- it was $6.5 million, according to project manager Dylan Ward. A ribbon-cutting was held Oct. 18, 2018.

Public Works director Brian Williams said the new building has solved a lot of headaches. One wing is occupied by the city Gas Department and another is home to Public Works. At the rear is a City Garage for maintenance of city vehicles. Miscellaneous other services are also housed there.

The complex has expanded across Corporate Court, where shelter has been erected to store vehicles and materials.

100 years ago

A streetcar returning from Union Station crashed into a car at Second and Alvasia streets and injured three people, according to The Gleaner of Dec. 11, 1921

Mary Jones and driver Ruby Hall were not seriously injured, but Halls 6-year-old son Charles was badly cut by flying glass.

75 years ago

A total of 31 people in Henderson County had died violent deaths as of mid-December, according to The Gleaner of Dec. 17, 1946.

The years list had appeared to have ended but had a gruesome coda: Four deaths in four days. They included Betty June Todd, 2, who died when her clothing caught fire; Gurley Smith of Evansville was killed when a truck he was riding in was hit by a train near Robards; Marvin Ashley was hit by a car just south of Henderson; and B.D. Benny Foster was killed in an oilfield accident.

50 years ago

Telephone customers in the Henderson vicinity gained the ability to dial long distance direct in June 1970, but The Gleaner of Dec. 12, 1971, reported the idea was beginning to catch on.

Sid Price, local manager for South Central Bell Telephone Co., said our local customers are using it more and more all the time. Part of the reason was cost, he said. A direct dial call from New York City to Los Angeles on weekends cost 70 cents for three minutes. If handled by an operator, however, the cost was twice as much: $1.40.

Readers of The Gleaner can reach Frank Boyett at YesNews42@yahoo.com or on Twitter at @BoyettFrank.

This article originally appeared on Henderson Gleaner: Citys sale of land to Sandefur center came back a thousand-fold
When I rolled up my sleeve to get the countrys first COVID-19 vaccine, little did I know that Day One of the countrys climb back from our pandemic hell would also be my plunge into life as a public figure.

I view that moment on Dec. 14, 2020, now with overwhelming gratitude, as this years holiday season started so differently. The weekend with my grandson and Thanksgiving meal with my mother are a beautiful, stark contrast from this time last year.

At the time of my inoculation, the country was experiencing another rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations. Front-line workers like me had spent months watching hundreds of thousands of patients die, many of them alone because of social-distancing policies in our hospitals.

Struggling through the pandemic

Personally, my family and I were facing serious challenges.

The virus made it dangerous for me to support my mother emotionally in person as she mourned her sisters death. At the same time, my son and daughter-in-law traveled between their home and a neonatal intensive care unit to oversee their sons care.

Avery was born prematurely as the city locked down during the pandemics first wave. Here I was, a nurse trained to save people in the direst circumstances, and I couldnt help feeling so helpless in the fate of my baby grandson. I wished he had an easier entrance into what I considered a ruthless world. I prayed that his life would be easier in years to come.

Sandra gets the first vaccine in New Hyde Park, N.Y., on Dec. 14, 2020.

I was burned out, fearful and exhausted. However, I, like my colleagues, refused to miss a day of work. I was determined to show up for my team and my family.

I had learned about COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials but never imagined I would get the first dose after approval for use  or that it would push me to take on such an activist role.

USA TODAY's David Mastio: 'We've reached limits of sensible policy' to fight COVID-19. Now, we need cultural change.

Discovering this part of my identity over the last year has led to a sense of pride. It also led to a personal reckoning.

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Thats because some people on the extreme political right and left used my vaccination to undermine the vaccine effort, distort the clear mission of public health and/or bend our countrys meaning of individual liberty.

Quelling disinformation

Ive had to take on another role, that of an educator, to keep people from chipping away at the historic medical marvel these vaccines have become. I want to keep misinformation and disinformation at bay  especially when it comes to those hit hardest by the disease.

Im referring to communities of color. As a Black woman, an immigrant from Jamaica and a proud U.S. citizen, I wanted to be a positive influence in a time of need. But sometimes that idea, too, was twisted into a different narrative.

White supremacists used my vaccination to find creative ways to peddle hatred. There were also some from my own community who said I allowed myself to be manipulated.

My vaccination cannot alter the history of Black peoples abuse under the cover of medical advancement.

Nonetheless, I do hope it might set us on a path to transparency, trust and, ultimately, equal access to quality medical care across all communities.

Nurse Sandra Lindsay in New Hyde Park, N.Y., in February 2021.

Ive been extremely fortunate to meet world leaders since getting my shot, using my experience to highlight the safety and efficacy of vaccines.

Ive had the honor of being grand marshal at New York Citys ticker-tape parade recognizing health care heroes; I celebrated my heritage at the White House with President Joe Biden; I traveled to meet with the prime minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness, and to speak to the people of the island nation.

USA TODAY's Louie Villalobos: We don't know much about omicron, but we know how to respond. We have this whole time.

It has been a long year, but if some drew inspiration from my spotlighted vaccination to get inoculated themselves, Id do it all again. Its a natural extension of my nursing career.

As we learn about new variants, I hope that anyone who is still vaccine hesitant can see how immunizations work to slow transmissions, hospitalizations and deaths from this unforgiving virus.

I want us to rely more on science than politics.

If this past year has proved anything, its that it isnt always easy to work together, but weve also learned how important it is for us to never give up for the sake of health equity  not just in our country, but every country around the globe.

I committed to making this world a better place long before I got my vaccine and, since then, have gained a deeper understanding of my professional and personal impact. I will continue to keep politics and patriotism firmly in their place to make room for our next steps, together, to one day reach an end to this pandemic.

Sandra Lindsay, director of Patient Critical Care Services at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, was the first person in the United States to receive a COVID-19 vaccine outside of a clinical trial.

You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: First US COVID-19 vaccine recipient: This Christmas is so much better
By Michael Nienaber

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's new government passed a supplementary budget on Monday to supercharge its climate and transformation fund with a debt-financed injection of 60 billion euros to allow more investments in the shift towards a green economy, officials said.

The supplementary budget, passed unanimously by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's cabinet, will channel 60 billion euros of unused debt in this year's federal budget into the government's climate and transformation fund for future spending.

The budget manoeuvre, as agreed last month by the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), pro-spending Greens and fiscally more cautious Free Democrats (FDP) in their coalition deal, allows the parties to make the most of a temporary, pandemic-related suspension of borrowing limits in the constitution.

The budget compromise enables Germany's new finance minister and FDP leader Christian Lindner to eye a return to the debt brake rule from 2023 and still allow more public investments needed to reduce carbon emissions in Europe's largest economy.

The coalition wants to deploy the funds to make critical public investments in climate protection measures - from charging points for electric vehicles to better insulating homes - and the digitalization of the economy.

In addition to the debt-financed 60 billion euros, the government will channel some 18 billion euros of tax revenue, mainly stemming from eco taxes and the CO2 emission trading scheme, into its climate and transformation fund next year.

Scholz's ruling coalition agreed to use an emergency clause in the constitution for a third year in a row in 2022 to suspend debt limits and enable new borrowing of 100 billion euros. This will come on top of unprecedented net new debt of 130 billion euros in 2020 and 240 billion euros in 2021.

From 2023 onwards, the new ruling coalition aims to return to the debt brake rule of the constitution that limits new borrowing to a tiny fraction of economic output.

(Reporting by Michael Nienaber, editing by David Evans)
BERLIN (AP)  A German court on Monday convicted eight people over their role in a data processing center installed at a former military bunker that hosted sites dealing in drugs and other illegal activities.

The data center at the former bunker in Traben-Trarbach, a picturesque town on the Mosel River in western Germany, was raided and shut down in September 2019. It was set up as what investigators described as a bulletproof hoster, meant to conceal illicit activities from authorities eyes.

The state court in nearby Trier convicted all eight defendants of forming and membership in a criminal organization, the news agency dpa reported. However, they were all acquitted of being accessories to some 250,000 crimes that were allegedly committed via the websites the data center hosted.

The main suspect was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison after a trial that lasted more than a year. The other defendants were handed punishments ranging from four years and three months in prison to a one-year suspended sentence.
Exeter Chiefs have retired mascot Big Chief, centre, amid continued calls for them to ditch Native American-style branding (Paul Harding/PA) (PA Archive)

Glasgow Warriors have asked Exeter fans not to wear Native American-style headdresses at their Heineken Champions Cup match at Scotstoun.

Warriors bosses have also urged Exeter supporters not to sing their trademark Tomahawk Chop chant at the European clash on Saturday.

Premiership club Exeter are reviewing the use of their Chiefs nickname amid pressure to drop links to Native Americans

The National Congress of American Indians urged Exeter to drop their Chiefs moniker last month, while Wasps have previously asked fans not to wear headdresses at matches in Coventry.

Managing director Al Kellock has insisted the request is to stand up for Glasgow supporters, who had urged the club to take a position on the issue.

Since it was announced in September that wed play Exeter Chiefs in this seasons Heineken Champions Cup, we have taken time to consider our position on travelling Exeter Chiefs supporters use of Native American dress and chants at our game at Scotstoun Stadium, said Kellock.

Following the pool stage draw, we set up a working group to understand and educate ourselves on this sensitive issue and gather the views of our supporters, representatives from the Native American community, the competition organisers, and Exeter Chiefs themselves.

During this period, several supporters asked that we ban headdresses and the Tomahawk Chop, and in October the Scottish Rugby Blog wrote an open letter reiterating these calls.

Today, Glasgow Warriors are asking visiting fans from Exeter Chiefs not to attend the game on Saturday with faux Native American headdresses or chant the Tomahawk Chop during the match.

We are making this request out of respect for the Native American community around the world, whose views on the use of their imagery and cultural heritage we support, and the Glasgow Warriors supporters who have called for us to act on this matter.

Glasgow Warriors is a welcoming club, that celebrates inclusivity and diversity and by making this call for action we want to live up to these values and stand up for the views of our supporters.

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It is also important to acknowledge the branding journey that Exeter Chiefs themselves are on following their recent AGM, and for us to be considerate of that.

The club has informed Exeter Chiefs and European Professional Club Rugby of our request and has the full support of Scottish Rugby on taking this position.

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The Sisterhood for Good donated $2,500 to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office Charitable Foundation at its recent fundraiser.

The Sarasota County Sheriffs Office Charitable Foundation recently held its only fundraiser of the year to raise crisis grant funds.

The foundation is a nonprofit organization that supports law enforcement personnel and their families who find themselves in extraordinary need.

The fundraiser featured a demonstration from the Sheriffs Office Haz Mat team, testimony from employees whose lives have been impacted by support from the foundation and lunch donated by Geckos Hospitality Group and Sysco West Coast.

The sold-out event, attended by a broad cross section of the community, was testimony to the tremendous community support of the Sheriffs Office and law enforcement in general.

The foundation also received a donation from Sisterhood for Good and Mission BBQ Sarasota to further its work.

Grant requests have increased each year since the foundation was established in 2015 and have included applications for aid with out-of-pocket expenses for serious medical conditions, COVID-related illness and death, and homelessness after a house fire.



Pat and Charlene Neal, in back, have donated $1 million to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County over five years. They made the final contribution, $200,000, this year.

Five years ago, Pat Neal, founder and chairman of Neal Communities, and his wife, Charlene Neal, made a substantial donation to Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County. In 2021, the philanthropic couple will mark the final stage of that yearslong commitment.

The Neals donated a total of $1 million to Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County to be paid out over five years. This year, they made the final $200,000 donation to the nonprofit that offers afterschool and summer programs, providing opportunities for Manatee County youth to learn and grow by achieving academic success and developing leadership skills.

Their donation was made in support of the nonprofits Invest in Kids campaign to rebuild its DeSoto Club campus. The money underwrote a new flex sports field at the DeSoto Club that has been named the Patrick and Charlene Neal Field.

Pat Neal founded Neal Communities, based in Lakewood Ranch, in 1970 and since then has created more than 90 communities throughout Southwest Florida. Charlene Neal is president of Charlene Neal PureStyle and vice president of design at Neal Communities.

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Through the generosity of Manatee Community Foundation, the Lighthouse Vision Loss Education Center was awarded a $4,700 grant.

The money will be used to contract with a leadership coach from Right Leadership Management in Manatee County to provide expert guidance, resources and leadership development to the CEO and managerial staff.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Fundraiser for sheriff's foundation, Neals give to Boys & Girls Clubs
Republican candidate for governor Darren Bailey on Monday named Stephanie Trussell, a former right-wing radio talk show host in Chicago, as his running mate for the June 28 primary.

Bailey became the first of four announced GOP candidates to pick a lieutenant governor contender. Under state law, candidates for governor and lieutenant governor must run as a team. Team Bailey links a white farmer and state senator from rural downstate Xenia with a Black suburban woman.

Trussell grew up on Chicagos West Side and now lives in Lisle. She formerly worked as a talk-show host for WLS AM-890 for seven years after winning a station talent contest, and had been doing fill-in work for WIND AM-560.

In her social media posts in 2016, Trussell was opposed to Donald Trumps Republican presidential nomination. She used the #NeverTrump hashtag on her Twitter account as she wrote Trump is a despicable human being, saying he will donate to #Satan for a land deal and that her skin crawls when pundits call #Trump the leader of the #GOP. He doesnt represent my values.

But after the election, Trussell became a Trump supporter and backed his reelection in 2020. After Trumps loss, she tweeted to fellow Trumpers to Tell your future generations the truth about the greatest POTUS of our time.

Trussell also has used her social media platform to liken Planned Parenthood to the Ku Klux Klan and question the validity of health care professionals calling for vaccinations to deal with the pandemic.

In introducing Trussell to supporters at a Lisle restaurant, Bailey said Trussell was a hard working conservative and a fighter.

Were tired of extreme liberal policies being pushed in Springfield while weak-kneed Republicans are too afraid to stand up and deliver a simple conservative message, Bailey said.

We need bold and courageous leaders who will stand up for the working people and taxpayers, leaders who will fight for economic prosperity and economic opportunities, our freedoms and support law enforcement to help provide safer communities for every Illinoisan, he said. Leaders focused on getting the masks off our kids and the policies out of our classrooms.

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Trussell said that while she loved Illinois, its political leaders and political class have failed us. She vowed that she and Bailey would deliver a tax cut to Illinoisans after their second year in office.

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Our work for the people of Illinois is just beginning. While we love this great state we all know Springfield is broken. Its so self evidently true that its almost not worth arguing the details, she said. We need to get the woke left political agenda out of our classrooms for once and for all. Its time to teach our kids to chase their dreams, not to be a victim or hate one another.

Abby Witt, executive director of the Illinois Democratic Party, said the selection of Trussell was in line with what wed expect from this anti-choice, anti-science field of extremist, far-right candidates for governor.

The other Republican candidates seeking to take on first-term Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker are businessmen Gary Rabine of Bull Valley, Jessie Sullivan of Petersburg and former state Sen. Paul Schimpf of Waterloo.

rap30@aol.com
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem insists she didn't help her daughter get through the state appraiser certification process, and that documents related to Kassidy Peters' license back her up.

But the timeline of events surrounding a closed-door meeting in summer 2020 attended by the governor, Peters and top-decision makers in the state appraisers program remain unclear, despite the release of a "stipulation agreement" outlining what Peters needed to do to receive her license.

"Those documents 100% prove that she went through the same process that other people did, had no special treatment but yet they completely destroyed her business and ended her career," said the first-term Republican governor, while speaking Monday to Downtown Sioux Falls Rotarians.

More: Former appraiser director to testify about allegations in Kristi Noem nepotism investigation

South Dakota Labor Secretary Marcia Hultman and department attorney Amber Mulder address the Legislature's Government Operations and Audit Committee on Oct. 28 regarding allegations that Gov. Kristi Noem interfered in the agency's real estate appraisers certification program, which one of her children had been enrolled.

Noem was referring to correspondence Peters sent to state lawmakers and Labor Secretary Marcia Hultman on Nov. 16, which listed course work and deadlines for completing the training, which Hultman had previously told lawmakers was established prior to the meeting at the Governor's Mansion.

However, the stipulation agreement is dated Aug. 5, 2020, more than a week after the meeting.

That is, at least in part, why a bipartisan group of lawmakers serving on the Legislature's Government Operations and Audit Committee continue to seek more information surrounding Peters' attendance and role in the meeting.

South Dakota Labor Secretary Marcia Hultman and department attorney Amber Mulder wait to address the Legislature's Government Operations and Audit Committee Thursday morning regarding allegations that Gov. Kristi Noem interfered in the agency's real estate appraisers certification program, which one of her children had been enrolled.

And this week, Sherry Bren, the state employee who served as head of the appraiser certification program and was in attendance at the meeting, is expected to testify before the committee Tuesday.

Bren received a $200,000 payment to withdraw a wrongful termination complaint against the state prior to her retirement in March 2021.

Peters last month informed the Department of Labor and Regulation she would not seek renewal of her appraiser's license when it expires at the end of 2021, saying the media scrutiny surrounding the allegations caused "irreparable damage" to her career.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Kristi Noem asserts proof daughter was treated fairly in certification
People queuing for booster jabs at St Thomas' Hospital, London, on Monday. (PA)

GPs say they were given no notice of the government plan to accelerate its coronavirus booster programme.

On Sunday, Boris Johnson announced that COVID-19 booster jabs would be made available to all adults, with a target of boosting everyone eligible before the new year.

The government aims to give boosters to almost one million people per day in an effort to halt the spread of the Omicron variant.

Johnson confirmed on Monday that at least one person had died with the variant in the UK, as health secretary Sajid Javid said it is spreading at a "phenomenal" rate.

Watch: Long lines for boosters as UK rollout ramped up

Read more: Boris Johnson and NHS make conflicting promises over booster rollout

GPs claim they were left out of the loop of the plans and only informed with hours to spare.

A letter sent to GPs by Englands medical chiefs warned of a much larger Omicron wave of infections that will strike in two to three weeks.

GPs in Greater Manchester said they will face a tough task to give out boosters during the NHSs most difficult time of the year.

Prime minister Boris Johnson during a visit to the Stow Health Vaccination centre in Westminster, central London, on Monday. (PA)

In a letter from the Royal College of General Practitioners sent out to doctors, Professor Martin Marshall, RCGP chair, and Professor Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, warned of the Omicron spread among young adults.

They wrote: The wave will be much larger in two to three weeks, and if it runs through an unboosted population the subsequent avoidable impact on the NHS, and almost certainly on severe disease and mortality will be significant.

The NHS will then be hit with a large wave of patients at the worst time of the year, and at a point it is likely many colleagues will be ill, isolating or caring for family members due to the size of the wave.

We are taking the unusual step of jointly writing to you today to thank you and your practice teams for your immense contribution to the COVID vaccine programme so far  and to appeal for your help yet again in delivering the booster jab to as many people as possible over the next few weeks.

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"Even at this very busy point in the year this is now the number one priority for the NHS and we wanted to lay out why GPs are essential to this.

Dr Faisal Bhutta, a GP in Hyde, Greater Manchester, said the booster programme is 'going to break general practice'. (Reach)

Dr Helen Wall, who is in charge of the vaccine rollout in Bolton, said GPs were only given 12 hours notice of the boosters rollout. (Reach)

However, Dr Faisal Bhutta, a GP in Hyde, Greater Manchester, said it was a nearly impossible ask.

He told the Manchester Evening News: It is going to break general practice.

"It is the busiest time of year for GP surgeries anyway, I'm not sure how we're going to do this. We simply don't have the staff.

"This came out of nowhere. We will have to cancel all leave for staff from now until 31 December."

Dr Helen Wall, who is in charge of the vaccine rollout in Bolton, tweeted: All Bolton COVID vaccine sites will be working to step up capacity further and see 18+ from tomorrow, but please bear with us this is a mammoth ask with 12 hours notice.

"I'm understandably concerned but positive because we have great teams in Bolton and I know we can do this," she later told the Manchester Evening News.

The government suffered a blow on Monday when it was forced to suspend its home COVID-19 tests ordering service because of a surge in demand. The NHS booking site for booster jabs also crashed.

Watch: Boris Johnson announces new booster target in face of Omicron 'tidal wave'
The 800+ hedge funds and famous money managers tracked by Insider Monkey have already compiled and submitted their 13F filings for the second quarter, which unveil their equity positions as of September 30th. We went through these filings, fixed typos and other more significant errors and identified the changes in hedge fund portfolios. Our extensive review of these public filings is finally over, so this article is set to reveal the smart money sentiment towards Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO).

Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) shares haven't seen a lot of action during the third quarter. Overall, hedge fund sentiment was unchanged. The stock was in 23 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2021. Our calculations also showed that SCCO isn't among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds (click for Q3 rankings). At the end of this article we will also compare SCCO to other stocks including Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (NYSE:CP), Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM), and Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) to get a better sense of its popularity.

Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies

At Insider Monkey, we scour multiple sources to uncover the next great investment idea. For example, lithium prices have more than doubled over the past year, so we go through lists like the 10 best EV stocks to pick the next Tesla that will deliver a 10x return. Even though we recommend positions in only a tiny fraction of the companies we analyze, we check out as many stocks as we can. Keeping this in mind we're going to analyze the latest hedge fund action surrounding Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO).

Do Hedge Funds Think SCCO Is A Good Stock To Buy Now?

At the end of September, a total of 23 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 0% from the previous quarter. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards SCCO over the last 25 quarters. With hedge funds' sentiment swirling, there exists an "upper tier" of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially (or already accumulated large positions).

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Is SCCO A Good Stock To Buy?

According to Insider Monkey's hedge fund database, Fisher Asset Management, managed by Ken Fisher, holds the biggest position in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO). Fisher Asset Management has a $203.1 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Two Sigma Advisors, managed by John Overdeck and David Siegel, which holds a $38.3 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedge funds and institutional investors that hold long positions consist of Renaissance Technologies, D. E. Shaw's D E Shaw and Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell's Arrowstreet Capital. In terms of the portfolio weights assigned to each position Navellier & Associates allocated the biggest weight to Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO), around 0.41% of its 13F portfolio. Hosking Partners is also relatively very bullish on the stock, designating 0.28 percent of its 13F equity portfolio to SCCO.

Seeing as Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) has witnessed bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, it's safe to say that there exists a select few funds who were dropping their entire stakes in the third quarter. At the top of the heap, Ray Dalio's Bridgewater Associates sold off the largest investment of the "upper crust" of funds monitored by Insider Monkey, worth an estimated $15 million in stock. Dmitry Balyasny's fund, Balyasny Asset Management, also dropped its stock, about $1 million worth. These moves are interesting, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).

Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (NYSE:CP), Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM), Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ), National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG), Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE:SPOT), Dow Inc. (NYSE:DOW), and Simon Property Group, Inc (NYSE:SPG). All of these stocks' market caps are similar to SCCO's market cap.

[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position CP,38,6638996,13 NEM,48,774451,-7 CNQ,27,956988,0 NGG,5,314057,-2 SPOT,48,3038733,0 DOW,42,747419,2 SPG,38,726426,1 Average,35.1,1885296,1 [/table]

View table here if you experience formatting issues.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 35.1 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1885 million. That figure was $403 million in SCCO's case. Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG) is the least popular one with only 5 bullish hedge fund positions. Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. Our overall hedge fund sentiment score for SCCO is 51.5. Stocks with higher number of hedge fund positions relative to other stocks as well as relative to their historical range receive a higher sentiment score. Our calculations showed that top 5 most popular stocks among hedge funds returned 95.8% in 2019 and 2020, and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by 40 percentage points. These stocks gained 31.1% in 2021 through December 9th and still beat the market by 5.1 percentage points. A small number of hedge funds were also right about betting on SCCO as the stock returned 10.7% since the end of the third quarter (through 12/9) and outperformed the market by an even larger margin.

Get real-time email alerts: Follow Southern Copper Corp (NYSE:SCCO)

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Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.
By Jessie Pang and Edmond Ng

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Eight Hong Kong pro-democracy activists were sentenced to up to 14 months in prison on Monday for organising, taking part in and inciting participation in a banned vigil last year for victims of China's 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.

The former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with the promise of wide-ranging freedoms, traditionally holds the largest June 4 vigil in the world, but police have rejected applications for the last two vigils, citing coronavirus restrictions.

Critics said authorities used the pandemic restrictions as an excuse to block the commemoration. The city government rejected that.

The sentencing is the latest blow to the citys democracy movement, which has seen dozens of activists arrested, jailed or flee the Chinese-ruled territory since Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law last year.

Judge Amanda Woodcock said the defendants "ignored and belittled a genuine public health crisis" and "wrongly and arrogantly believed" in commemorating June 4 rather than protecting the health of the community.

Media tycoon Jimmy Lai, 74, who is already in jail, barrister Chow Hang Tung, 36, and activist Gwyneth Ho, 31, received sentences of 13, 12 and 6 months, respectively. They were found guilty by the court last Thursday.

The three, the highest profile of the eight, had pleaded not guilty to all charges.

"If commemorate (sic) those who died because of injustice is a crime, then inflict on me that crime and let me suffer the punishment of this crime, so I may share the burden and glory of those young men and women who shed their blood on June 4th to proclaim truth, justice and goodness," Lai said in a mitigation letter, handwritten in prison, ahead of sentencing.

Chow, in her mitigation said: "If those in power had wished to kill the movement with prosecution and imprisonment, they shall be sorely disappointed. Indeed what they have done is breathe new life into the movement, rallying a new generation to this long struggle for truth, justice and democracy."

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Five others who had pleaded guilty, including Lee Cheuk-yan, leader of the now-disbanded vigil organiser Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, were sentenced to between just over 4 months and 14 months.

"If there was a provocateur, it is the regime that fired at its own people," an emotional Lee, who received the highest sentence of 14 months, told the court on Nov. 17.

"If I must go to jail to affirm my will, then so be it."

All sentences will be served concurrently with any the defendants are already facing in other cases.

Sixteen other activists are already serving sentences of 4-10 months related to the 2020 vigil. Two democracy campaigners facing similar charges over the vigil, Nathan Law and Sunny Cheung, have fled Hong Kong.

After mass pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in 2019, the global financial hub has taken a swift authoritarian turn with Beijing's imposition of a sweeping national security law last year impacting many aspects of life in the city.

China has never provided a full account of the 1989 crackdown on protest there that centred on Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

The death toll given by officials days later was about 300, most of them soldiers, but rights groups and witnesses say thousands of protesters may have been killed.

(Reporting by Jessie Pang and Edmond Ng; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Robert Birsel)
HOPEWELL  A man is in serious but stable condition after being shot early Sunday morning in the city's Arlington area.

Hopewell Police said the incident happened around 4:15 a.m. in the 1900 block of Stewart Avenue. Officers were called to the scene after getting reports of shots fired in that area.

While investigators were canvassing the scene, John Randolph Medical Center reported a man being brought to the hospital's emergency room with a single gunshot wound. He was later taken to a local trauma center for further treatment.

Police said they believe the unidentified victim was shot following an argument on Stewart Avenue. A suspect has not been identified.

Anyone who may have information about events leading up to the shooting is asked to contact Hopewell Police at (804) 541-2222 or Hopewell-Prince George Crime Solvers at (804) 541-2202. That information may also be shared through the P3Tips app.

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is daily news coach for USA TODAY's Southeast Region-Unified Central, which includes Virginia, West Virginia and central North Carolina. He is based in Petersburg, Virginia. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Hopewell Police say man shot after alleged argument in city's east end
Two Indigenous nations in Wisconsin are receiving $2.7 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Officials for the federal agency announced this month that the Oneida Nation was awarded $1.7 million for the construction of eight two-bedroom homes on the reservation just west of Green Bay to help alleviate a shortage of housing.

The Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians is receiving $1 million from HUD to build a new health care facility on the reservation on the shore of Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin.

RELATED: Red Cliff project emphasizes need for increased housing funding in Indian Country in Wisconsin

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There are 11 federally recognized Indigenous nations in Wisconsin.

Nationally, HUD awarded more than $52 million to 49 tribal communities from its Indian Community Development Block Grant-American Rescue Plan program this month.

Last month, HUD awarded 68 tribal communities $74 million in funding.

The American Rescue Plan Act provides $750 million in resources to Indian Country.

The agency will announce additional awards on a rolling basis in the months to come.

Frank Vaisvilas is a Report For America corps member based at the Green Bay Press-Gazette covering Native American issues in Wisconsin. He can be reached at 920-228-0437 or fvaisvilas@gannett.com, or on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank. Please consider supporting journalism that informs our democracy with a tax-deductible gift to this reporting effort at GreenBayPressGazette.com/RFA.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: New housing to be built on Oneida Reservation with federal funding
An Illinois homeless man was accidentally crushed to death inside a garbage truck last week after he was believed to have been trying to keep warm inside a dumpster, according to local reports.

Lee Roy Stewart was found dead Thursday at the Waste Management facility in Springfield, FOX Illinois reported. Investigators believe Stewart was in the dumpster when it was emptied into a garbage truck.

US VETS GROUP GIVES FORMERLY HOMELESS VIETNAM VETERAN NEW CAR

Stewart, who was homeless, "died of crushing injuries consistent with the equipment used to transport garbage," Springfield-based newspaper the State Journal-Register reported, citing the Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon.

Allmon said that it was unclear whether Stewart was sleeping or disoriented. He confirmed that the 58-year-old was alive at the time he was crushed and said that foul play is not suspected.

While investigators are still working to determine why Stewart could have been inside the dumpster, advocates of the homeless say he may have been trying to keep warm during the cold weather or find a place to sleep.

"They find a spot where they're off the grid," Julie Benson, president of Helping the Homeless in Springfield, told the station. "They can get comfortable where they're at. Thats their home."

Stewart is not believed to have been from the area and authorities were seeking his family members following the accident.

On Saturday, Allmon confirmed to WICS-TV that officials located Stewarts family but did not elaborate.

An arrest record for Stewart in Clay County, Florida, showed he was previously charged with resisting an officer, according to the station.
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By Sumit Khanna

AHMEDABAD, India (Reuters) - India's western state of Gujarat has acknowledged more COVID-19 deaths than its official tally, according to a court document filed on Monday, lending weight to fears that the country's actual toll was much higher than reported.

Reuters and other media have reported, based on figures collected from crematoriums and cemeteries, that during India's record second wave of cases between April and June, states including Gujarat undercounted deaths as many people died at home due to a severe shortage of hospital beds and oxygen.

Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, told the Supreme Court it had received 22,557 applications as of Thursday from families of the dead seeking compensation and 16,175 had been approved, according to an affidavit seen by Reuters.

Its reported death count is 10,099, according to the state's latest health bulletin.

A Gujarat official with direct knowledge of the matter said applications had now swelled to more than 40,000 and nearly half had been approved. All of them would get 50,000 rupees ($659) each.

India has reported a total of 475,636 COVID-19 deaths, including many revised figures from states that have come under pressure from courts to accurately represent the scale of the disaster.

The main opposition Congress party said it believed the actual death toll to be still higher.

"We have been saying from the beginning that the Gujarat government has been underreporting COVID-19 cases and deaths," said Manish Doshi, chief spokesperson of Gujarat Congress, adding its surveys had shown at least 55,000 deaths.

Gujarat Revenue Minister Rajendra Trivedi, whose department is paying the compensation, did not respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Sumit Khanna; additional reporting by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Sharon Hillstrom

Are you ready for some good news? Reviewing our work over the past year at the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corp. (EDC), Im happy to share several highlights that are fueling my optimism for 2022.

The EDC is recognized by the state of Florida as the lead economic development organization for the Bradenton areas nine communities located on the south side of Tampa Bay. We work to diversify the local economy by attracting and retaining high-wage jobs for area residents, and connecting established businesses to the resources they need to be successful.

First Watch, the restaurant company, opened its new headquarters in Manatee County earlier this year. First Watch employs more than 100 at its headquarters. The facility represents a capital investment of over $18 million and shows other growing businesses that our community is a viable location for corporate operations.

State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota boosted our regions entrepreneurial ecosystem by opening the 26 West Center. Located at SCF Bradenton, 26 West offers entrepreneurs and small business owners resources to start and grow their businesses  from office space and training to access to a network of mentors, investors and other entrepreneurs.

Sarasota Bradenton International Airport has grown its stature as a vibrant transportation hub by consistently breaking passenger traffic records and adding more airlines and direct flights. In October, passenger traffic at SRQ was up 148% compared to the volume seen during the pandemic, and it also exceeded pre-COVID-19 levels by a whopping 72%.

Our communitys reputation for sustainable energy solutions took a leap forward as Florida Power & Light is creating the worlds largest solar-powered battery storage facility in the Parrish area. By deploying energy from the batteries when there is higher demand for electricity, FPL will offset the need to run other power plants  further reducing emissions and saving customers money.

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The state of Floridas 2021 budget advanced Manatee Countys STEM education programs with $950,000 to expand the Woz-Ed STEM career pathways program across the Manatee County School District. Named for Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Woz-Ed prepares students for careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

The school district also took strides to deliver access to health care to students and families by establishing School Based Health Centers. This collaborative effort by diverse partners is addressing a fundamental need with direct implications for the future of our workforce. Improving the physical and mental well-being of K-12 students supports improved academic outcomes, increased attendance, grade promotion, and college or workforce preparation. Offering physical and mental health services on school campuses makes it easier for working families to gain access to the care their children need.

In addition to these bright spots, the EDCs work continued to deliver results for our economy and community, despite the pandemic. Since 2009, the EDC and its partners have assisted more than 183 businesses with expansions and relocations. Those companies are projected to deliver more than 8,300 jobs and over $2 billion in wages from direct and indirect jobs through 2026. Equally important, the companies plan to invest more than $1.2 billion in capital investment in Manatee County.

Were proud of our track record, but its not enough to market the Bradenton Areas existing assets as a business location. To compete successfully for talent, jobs and capital investment, we also must enhance our communitys livability. With that in mind, we recently unveiled our updated strategic plan: The Build Bradenton Area Plan 2.0.

In Version 2.0, we refined the industry sectors we will target for business recruitment and expansion efforts. We also defined areas of focus to identify challenges and maximize assets to elevate the Bradenton Area as the business address on Floridas West Coast. And we introduced more initiatives to enhance our communitys livability  a key factor for economic development competitiveness.

Coming to the close of 2021, I believe we are on a roll to continue this positive momentum in the coming year. For a look ahead, join us for the 2022 Economic Forecast Breakfast with economist Hank Fishkind in January. Event details are available at BradentonAreaEDC.com/events.

Sharon Hillstrom is president and chief executive officer of the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corp. (BradentonAreaEDC.com). She may be contacted at info@bradentonareaedc.com or 941-803-9036.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: SHARON HILLSTROM: Bradenton Area EDC shares optimism for 2022
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters.

HARRISBURG  Pennsylvania State Police troopers who kill or injure someone should not be investigated by their own agency, and an independent prosecutor should review the case, according to a recommendation approved Friday by a state oversight panel.

The proposed reform comes after a joint investigation by Spotlight PA and NBC News highlighting the nearly unchecked power of local district attorneys in Pennsylvania to decide whether or not to bring charges against police, despite the fact that those prosecutors work closely with the officers they oversee.

The State Law Enforcement Citizen Advisory Commission, which was created by Gov. Tom Wolf after the murder of George Floyd, made the recommendation based upon its review of a 2016 incident in Beaver County in which troopers consulted with the county district attorney before shooting a suspect involved in an hours-long standoff.

That same prosecutor then later reviewed the case and ruled the shooting was justified.

The commission, which has oversight of the State Police and other law enforcement agencies under the governors jurisdiction, said the measures are designed to restore the communitys trust in police.

Kelley Hodge, a commissioner and former Philadelphia district attorney, pointed out that the commission found the State Police acted quickly and fairly in its investigation of the case but that there was an inherent suspicion  or conflict of interest that could arise based on the circumstances of the case.

Elizabeth Pittinger, a commission member and long-time police oversight advocate, said the incident was disturbing and the actions of the prosecutor almost approaching arrogant.

They get the green light to do whatever, even though there were hours that had elapsed, she said of the State Police. It raises so, so many issues.

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A State Police spokesperson told Spotlight PA the agency believes troopers followed state law in 2016.

A Pennsylvania State Police SUV is parked outside the Troop E headquarters on May 2 in Lawrence Park Township.

While the subcommittee that presented the recommendation found the investigation of the shooting and review by Beaver County District Attorney David Lozier were impartial, commissioner Spero Lappas, an attorney in Harrisburg, said he disagreed with that finding.

There is at least the appearance of a conflict of interest when Pennsylvania State Police review and investigate their fellow members, he said.

He also pointed out that the State Police have refused to provide the commission internal statistics that show how often internal reviews result in findings that the troopers acted appropriately.

I believe it is relevant, he said.

If, he said, the data shows that State Police rule that troopers acted correctly in the vast majority of cases, that would be an indication of partiality.

The guidance follows calls from the parents of Christian Hall, a 19-year-old Chinese American killed by the State Police, for their sons death to be independently investigated.

Video obtained by Spotlight PA and NBC News shows that Hall had his hands in the air when troopers shot and killed him near Stroudsburg in December 2020. The shooting was investigated by the State Police and ruled justified by the Monroe County district attorney, who works closely with the agency.

Neighboring states have adopted similar strategies to remove police and prosecutors from investigating use-of-force incidents in recent years.

In New Jersey, the attorney generals office in 2019 established a public integrity and accountability office, which is responsible for selecting independent investigators, or performing investigations itself, into incidents involving deadly force or serious injury.

In Delaware, the state Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust investigates use-of-force incidents by police.

And the Maryland state legislature this year passed sweeping police reforms that include tasking a division of the state attorney generals office with investigating all fatalities involving police officers.

The recommendations are significant but the degree to which the State Police and other agencies will cooperate and what happens next is unclear.

Wolfs executive order creating the commission states that it will prepare a report of its findings on the cases it reviews and include recommendations that are approved by the full panel.

Then state agencies under its jurisdiction, such as the State Police, will review the recommendations and provide the commission with responses and updates regarding implementation of recommendations, as appropriate, the order states.

A spokesperson for State Police, Cpl. Brent Miller, said the agency will take this and other recommendations put forth by the commission under advisement. Miller said State Police helped train commission members to make meaningful recommendations.

PSP appreciates the dedication and time these citizens have volunteered to improving public safety and fair treatment, and addressing inequities in law enforcement, he wrote by email.

The State Police could agree to change its policies and not investigate incidents involving troopers, but that would require determining who else would do it. Removing local district attorneys from overseeing fatal State Police killings in their jurisdiction would likely take legislation, such as a bill proposed by Sen. Art Haywood (D., Montgomery), which would give the state attorney general the power.

Currently, the attorney general can only intervene at the request of a local district attorney.

WHILE YOURE HERE... If you learned something from this story, pay it forward and become a member of Spotlight PA so someone else can in the future at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: PA state police: Troopers who injure, kill should be investigated by others
The Daily Beast

GettyEven as daily new COVID cases set all-time records and hospitals fill up, epidemiologists have arrived at a perhaps surprising consensus. Yes, the latest Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus is bad. But it could have been a lot worse.Even as cases have surged, deaths haventat least not to the same degree. Omicron is highly transmissible but generally not as severe as some older variantslineages is the scientific term.We got lucky. But that luck might not hold. Many of the same epid
Members of the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition celebrate Friday's delivery of union cards to Indiana University leadership.

Graduate student workers at Indiana University have formally begun the process of holding a union election.

Representatives of the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition-United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America submitted 1,584 union cards to the university last week, representing almost two-thirds of the roughly 2,500 graduate students the group estimated are working at IU Bloomington.

On Friday, IGWC representatives brought a thumb drive with digital versions of the union cards, as well as the physical cards themselves to the offices of IU President Pamela Whitten and the IU Board of Trustees. They also brought a letter outlining their intent and saying that graduate workers wish to have a meeting with university leadership by Feb. 1.

Previous: IU grad workers move forward with union plans

IU spokesperson Chuck Carney told The Herald-Times the university would review the submitted materials before following up with the graduate workers. IGWC members believe IU's human resources policy HR-12-20 dictates an election must now follow.

Now (IU) should be the ones to hold an election for us, said Chelsea Brinda, an IGWC member and a Ph.D. student in the education school. They should also remain neutral because they are the ones who are facilitating the election.

There was plenty of support for grad worker unionization on campus this semester, according to Brinda, and she thought the move to formally seek an election would prompt further support. Now that we are officially taking the step and putting this choice to the administration to recognize us or at least even holding the election, I think that we're going to see a lot more support from our community and the students we teach and the professors that we interact with," Brinda said.

More: Bloomington teen charged with plotting to kill 14 people connected to his conviction

There is a strong desire among IGWC members to work positively and constructively with university leadership, according to IGWC member and information and library science Ph.D. student Huixin Tian.

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I want to build a very constructive bargaining relationship with administration, she said. If they have the same kind of genuineness we have and they will acknowledge us, this progress can move forward faster.

IGWC member and media school Ph.D. student Sam Smucker saw no reason why there could not be a positive relationship with the university.

There are other unions on campus who have gone through this process, he said. We want to be treated as employees just as they are treated as employees. Our expectations are that the university is going to give us a pathway for recognition, for dialogue and for improving graduate education.

Smucker said it was relatively easy to convince graduate workers to get on board with unionizing. "We signed up an enormous amount of people," he said. "But it's actually not that hard to sign people up because there's a deep sense that things have gone off the tracks at IU in terms of graduate education. People want to see a really big change and we hope that this is the process that will bring that about."

Tian worked to ensure international graduate workers were onboard as well, despite greater fears of reprisal. As international students, they have more concerns, Tian said. They feel insecure to participate in a lot of this kind of campaign and fight for their own rights.

Contact Patrick McGerr at pmcgerr@heraldt.com, 812-345-7559, or follow @patrickmcgerr on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana University graduate workers clear hurdle, seek union election
Erik Slatinsky, AKA Mr. Roscoe, a paraeducator for special needs children, helps Jayden Hulett, 11, wrap a Christmas gift on Friday at Jefferson Middle School. Funds collected from wrapping gifts will be given to Love Coffee and go towards a coffee shop at Jefferson Middle School.

Some of the Christmas gifts opened this holiday have been wrapped by experts at Jefferson Middle School.

"I have a new order," a student calls out to her classmates from the front door. Other students jump into action.

The Cyclone Wrapping Service at Jefferson is part of the school's RISE program, which stands for Reaching Independence through Structured Education. It's part of the special services department at Columbia Public Schools, for students with special needs.

Students in the program learn practical life skills, vocational skills and use an alternative curriculum framework, said teacher Jenny Howard.

RISE is new this year at the school, she said.

Special needs children at Jefferson Middle School wrapped several Christmas gifts to raise money for Love Coffee and to start a coffee shop at Jefferson Middle School.

She talked with the students about how they could give back to the community and decided to do a real fundraiser, she said. They're raising money for Love Coffee, a coffee shop that hires people with disabilities. Students wrap gifts, handle orders at the front desk, answer phones and do all aspects of the job.

"It's been a really good experience," Howard said.

Olive Werth, 12, was at the front desk on Friday.

"I check people in," Olive said. "I give them gift tags. Sometimes I send emails for pickup."

She likes working with people one-on-one at the front desk, she said.

There is a system the students use for tracking each order and where it is in the process.

More: Looking for Christmas lights and displays? Here's a map of the best lights in Columbia

Kyven Emory, 12, carefully cut with scissors along the lines of a roll of gift wrap. He has become an expert at wrapping gifts, he said.

"I like to be organized at home," Kyven said. "I wrapped presents a lot."

He likes the project, he said.

"We're going to raise money for the coffee shop," Kyven said, wearing a shirt with the image of Baby Yoda.

Kyven was assisted by paraprofessional Erik Slatinsky, who students refer to as "Mr. Roscoe."

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Slatinsky asked Kyven to pick out a bow for a package.

"The package is red, so think about what looks good with red," Slatinsky said. Kyven returned to the table with a nice blue bow.

Crystal Kinsley, a paraeducator for special needs children at Jefferson Middle School, helps Nathan Schelp, 13, wrap Christmas gifts on Friday at Jefferson Middle School. Funds collected from wrapping gifts will be given to Love Coffee and go towards a coffee shop at Jefferson Middle School.

The job is rewarding, Slatinsky said.

"There's nothing better than helping students learn a business," he said.

Another expert gift-wrapper is Nathan Schelp, 14.

"I like it," Nathan said. "I like to wrap gifts."

He wraps gift, then puts a bow on them, he said of his job.

His T-shirt read: "Be yourself and people will like you."

The students have been busy, Howard said.

"In the last two days, we've wrapped over 70 gifts and raised over $100 for Love Coffee," Howard said.

More: How one Columbia church is helping to alleviate hunger this holiday season and throughout the year

The students do the project throughout their school day to learn what a job is like, she said.

Coming up next semester is Jefferson Java, a coffee shop operated by the students.

People have until Dec. 15 to schedule gifts to be wrapped. One may do so by calling Cyclone Wrapping Service at 573-214-3210, ext. 47101. They offer curbside service if desired.

rmckinney@columbiatribune.com

573-815-1719

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Christmas gifts wrapped skillfully by Jefferson Middle School students
Over the past two weeks, Wisconsin mostly locked in the Republican gerrymandering of the past decade. One of Democrats' most prominent new members of Congress was very likely drawn out of her Virginia district. And the high-stakes North Carolina primaries were delayed by two months.

These developments weren't the product of power-hungry legislators in state capitals maneuvering for partisan gain. They were the moves of state supreme courts, low-profile judicial bodies that are having a considerable impact on the once-a-decade congressional redistricting still underway. And they are only just beginning to wield their influence.

Between reforms aimed at reducing politics in redistricting, dysfunction in states where both parties have some control and the reduced role of the federal judiciary in policing gerrymandering, state supreme courts are playing a greater role than ever as mapmakers or traffic cops that could swing the fortunes of some 120 congressional seats in next year's midterms.

That's why it's so important that we have good courts. And that's why people ought to pay attention, said first-term Democratic Rep. Kathy Manning, who had no chance of being reelected after Republican mapmakers in North Carolina initially shredded her Greensboro-based district  until the justices intervened.

It's a wonderful decision, she added. I always had confidence that if we could get to a fair-minded court, it would look at those maps and determine that it was an extreme partisan gerrymander.

Across the country, these courts are poised to be outsized political players. And while some of these judges campaign for their position, many of them are appointed, meaning the decisions come from the hands of unelected arbiters.

Justices have already stepped in to help redistricting commissions in Virginia and Washington State that missed deadlines. And they are likely to ultimately determine the contours of the political boundaries in divided-government states like Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Wisconsin and possibly even Louisiana, which combine to total nearly 40 House seats.

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In Florida and Ohio, Democrats are preparing to file legal challenges at the mercy of the state courts. And North Carolinas redistricting fate  and Manning's  will also likely be decided there.

The North Carolina state Supreme Court unilaterally halted the candidate filing period last week, punted the primaries  even those for statewide races, like an open Senate seat  and vowed the judiciary would decide by early 2022 whether or not Republicans had illegally manipulated the states political boundaries when they drew a map that could resign Democrats to just three of the states 14 districts.

"We have a great precedent in North Carolina  why I'm confident of victory there," said former Attorney General Eric Holder, who now leads the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, a group that has invested in winning judicial races.

"State supreme courts are extremely important," he told reporters on a press call earlier this month, "especially given the way in which the conservative majority in the United States Supreme Court has tried to pull the federal court system out of questions concerning partisan gerrymandering."

That landmark ruling in 2019 helped create the current legal landscape, suggesting that state courts were free to wade into that debate even if the federal judiciary should not. State court elections in the run-up to 2022 quickly became a somewhat under-the-radar path to influence the once-in-a-decade redistricting.

Democrats' painful, 6,000-vote loss in a 2019 state supreme court election helped set the stage for a brutal ruling two weeks ago in Wisconsin. The 4-3 conservative court will oversee the redistricting in the state, thanks to a deadlock between Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and a GOP legislature.

The justices handed a win to state Republicans when they said they would only make minimal changes to the existing maps, which were drawn in 2011 to aggressively favor the GOP.

"It's going to be a state that Biden carried, and there will be a two-thirds Republican majority in the Assembly and the Senate," said Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) of his state's legislature. "You can only do that by overt gerrymandering."

"That would be a problem," Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) added, expressing hope that the federal courts could still get involved. "Not permanent, but another decade-long minority, absolutely, for the Democrats."

Democrats' last hope in Wisconsin could be to kick the map-drawing to federal courts instead. The U.S. Supreme Court last week threw out a suit from Republicans seeking to cut off that avenue.

Yet Democrats have benefited from more liberal-leaning courts in other states. And there's perhaps no better example than Pennsylvania. They flipped the highest court there in 2015, and three years later it threw out a GOP-drawn congressional map, shifting the delegation from 13 Republicans and five Democrats to an even split.

Republicans still control the legislature in Pennsylvania, but as a backstop Democrats have a governor with veto power and a liberal court.

"It was the reason I was even able to run for a seat," Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), who won in a newly drawn district in 2018. The Pennsylvania state Supreme Court sent a clear message, she said, telling the GOP: "Your maps are palpably unconstitutional, palpably gerrymandered. Redrawn them fair, or well redraw them for you."

And she predicted a 2021 redux: "I think that's where we're going to head. I think this will be a repeat."

Top operatives from both parties cast themselves as underdogs in judicial battles. and Republicans point to Pennsylvania's 2018 redraw as a wake-up call. The court appeared to apply language that dealt with the legislative maps to the congressional maps in that decision, said Adam Kincaid, the executive director of National Republican Redistricting Trust.

"I think a lot of people started to view the state supreme courts as partisan actors in redistricting after that point," he said. "I don't know anywhere in the country where Republicans have flipped a state supreme court and then sued to have a map overturned. That's a Democrat play."

And Republicans scrambled to catch up. "We need to start bringing equal firepower."

The Republican State Leadership Committee, which supports downballot GOP candidates, and its Judicial Fairness Initiative have spent $11 million over the past five years on judicial races. In the coming cycles, it is eyeing Democratic majorities on the bench in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Illinois and Michigan.

"The last few weeks have once again made clear that gaining and retaining conservative majorities in state legislatures will never be enough to stop liberal gerrymandering," Andrew Romeo, a spokesperson for the committee, said in a statement. "Democrats will continue their sue until its blue strategy all over the country."

Democrats have had recent success in judicial races. The Holder-led NDRC and its partners have won at least seven contests since 2017 in Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin.

But there have also been stinging defeats, like then-state Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley's 400-vote loss in North Carolina last fall.

"We need to pay more attention to supreme court elections because they really matter," said Democratic Rep. G.K. Butterfield, a former North Carolina state Supreme Court justice who is retiring from Congress.

Butterfield said Beasley's loss to Republican Paul Newby gave the GOP crucial sway in redistricting, even if Democrats have a majority. "The supreme court in each state is a very powerful, very powerful judicial body," he added, especially if they are setting a precedent for what constitutes impermissible gerrymandering.

North Carolina has been ground zero for court challenges, most recently when state courts in 2019 netted Democrats two more seats, including Manning's in Greensboro.

We're the most litigated state in the nation. And this is true to form, said Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), criticizing the constantly changing string of maps. I don't think the judiciary has given any consideration to the notion of voter confusion.

But Democratic operatives denied that they targeted state courts to stack the deck ahead of major redistricting cases. And there are certainly states where conservative courts give them anxiety.

Republicans, for example, have a narrow edge on the state supreme court in Ohio, where GOP lawmakers muscled through a map that could leave Democrats with just two of the 15 congressional districts.

And then there are states where justices are appointed. Florida's highest court has taken a sharp turn to the right since 2015, when it set a new congressional map in place that earned Democrats a couple of seats. GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis has appointed three conservative justices since taking office.

In other places, the partisan lean of the court is surprising. Virginia's court tends to skew Republican, and special masters selected by the justices produced a new congressional map last week to which both parties raised objections. It erased the district of Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), a prominent member of the Democratic moderates.

In Kansas, five of the seven justices were appointed by Democratic governors. If state Republicans cant muster a super-majority to overcome Democratic Gov. Laura Kellys veto, the justices could step in to shield Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids from political annihilation.

"There are leaders in the Kansas legislature who have explicitly stated their motivations to gerrymander maps to their party's political advantage," Davids said. "More than anything right now it gets my blood boiling."

Sarah Ferris contributed to this report.
When asked, Julio Jones couldnt help but laugh. Hed already received that question, he replied.

But he answered it again. Several times, in fact.

I feel good.

Im good, man. I feel great.

No tweaks. No nothing. Im solid, ready to go.

Sadly, this has become reality for one of the NFL's best wide receivers in recent history.

With a hamstring injury that has long since progressed in adjectives from annoying to chronic, Jones has too often been there for the Tennessee Titans one minute and gone the next. He's been hurt during games. He's been hurt during practices.

REPORT CARD: Why Titans defense gets 'A' in shutout of Jaguars

Hed been sidelined for half this seasons 12 games before Sunday, when he returned from injured reserve to catch four passes for 33 yards in a 20-0 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

He insisted  repeatedly  that he made it through without a problem.

For me, Jones said, it was just focusing (the past few weeks) on how can I get back to help the team and doing all the things I could do to be ready when it was time for me to come back to play.  A lot of hard work, but it's easy because that's what I'm accustomed to doing.

In football terms, the 32-year-old Jones has become the ailing family member everyone dwells on excessively, constantly watching and checking to make sure they are OK.

When Jones didnt get up swiftly after being tackled for the first time Sunday, Nissan Stadium held its breath for a moment. You could feel the fears that Jones was hurt. He wasnt. Later, when Jones hopped around after a play, was it because of his hamstring? Nah, that wasnt it. Hed just wanted Ryan Tannehill to throw him the ball.

Obviously, we'd like to get (Jones) the football more, but give their defense credit, Titans coach Mike Vrabel said. ... I thought there were some things there. Then just through Ryan not having some time or whatever it may be that forced us to not be able to get the ball downfield."

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Tennessee Titans wide receiver Julio Jones (2) is tackled by Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Shaquill Griffin (26) during the first quarter Nissan Stadium Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021 in Nashville, Tenn.

The obvious story of Sundays victory will be the Titans defense pitching a shutout.

A less-encouraging side note will be Vrabels complaints afterward about subpar protection for Tannehill, who was sacked four times. That was nothing new, either. It continued a season-long problem.

Offensively, the Titans remain a badly reduced operation. It is performing for fans wearing jerseys of players who havent been on the field very often. With Derrick Henry and A.J. Brown still out (yes, there is optimism, but no firm timetable), getting Jones back Sunday was a big deal, if only because it gave the Jaguars defense someone they genuinely had to game-plan around.

All due respect to Geoff Swaim, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Chester Rogers, Cody Hollister and company, but Jones is different, and everyone knows it. Hes naturally going to receive much greater respect from a defense.

You'd have to ask the Jaguars, but I think so, Tannehill said. I think if you don't respect him, you don't account for him, then he's going to hurt you.

And the Titans badly need a receiver who can hurt someone.

Their passing game hasn't been doing that enough. In five games since Henrys foot injury, Tannehill has completed only three passes longer than 24 yards  and one of those was a screen to DOnta Foreman against the Saints. The Titans longest completion Sunday  24 yards to Swaim  was also a screen pass.

Jones longest reception Sunday was 16 yards. The Titans didnt overwork him in his return, and he was on the field enough to suggest he was the teams top receiving option. Which he was. His six targets Sunday led the team, beating out Anthony Firksers five.

The longer Jones can stay healthy  especially with Brown sidelined  the more youd expect his target share will increase.

The Titans desperately need a No. 1 receiver. Jones certainty has that ability.

So long as he's healthy.

Anytime he's on the field, said left tackle Taylor Lewan, we're lucky to have him on this team.

Reach Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Gentry_Estes.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Julio Jones says he feels great. The Tennessee Titans sure hope so
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Supreme Court refused Monday to halt a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for health care workers in New York that does not offer an exemption for religious reasons.

The court acted on emergency appeals filed by doctors, nurses and other medical workers who say they are being forced to choose between their jobs and religious beliefs.

As is typical in such appeals, the court did not explain its order, although it has similarly refused to get in the way of vaccine mandates elsewhere.

Justices Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented. Now, thousands of New York healthcare workers face the loss of their jobs and eligibility for unemployment benefits, Gorsuch wrote in a 14-page opinion that Alito joined.

New York is one of just three states, along with Maine and Rhode Island, that do not accommodate health care workers who object to the vaccine on religious grounds.

Related video: New NY mask mandate goes into effect

The court had previously turned away health care workers in Maine, who filed a similar challenge, with the same three justices in dissent.

As of Oct. 19, roughly 90% of health care workers were fully vaccinated and most of the rest had received one of two doses, the state told the high court. Fewer than 2% of nursing home, adult care facility and hospital workers had sought a religious exemption, the state said.

In his dissent, Gorsuch drew a link between the health care workers and the World War II-era Jehovah's Witnesses schoolchildren who refused on religious grounds to stand and salute the American flag for the Pledge of Allegiance.

The court at first refused to intervene when a public school in Pennsylvania expelled the children. But three years later, the justices overruled the earlier case in a landmark decision that declared schools couldn't force students to salute the flag or recite the pledge.

Today, our Nation faces not a world war but a pandemic. Like wars, though, pandemics often produce demanding new social rules aimed at protecting collective interests  and with those rules can come fear and anger at individuals unable to conform for religious reasons, Gorsuch wrote.
Kanye Wests publicist Trevian Kutti was caught on tape seemingly bullying a temporary 2020 Georgia election worker into confessing to bogus ballot tampering claims boosted by former President Donald Trump.

According to police body camera footage obtained by Reuters, on Jan. 4, two days before now-President Joe Bidens election victory was certified, Kuttie, a Black woman, appeared at Freemans residence with an unidentified man and asked if they could talk.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA  NOVEMBER 24: Kanye West attends the Los Angeles Missions Annual Thanksgiving event at the Los Angeles Mission on November 24, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)

Freeman, a Black woman, had signed up to be a temporary worker helping process and count mail-in ballots in Fulton County, which encompasses much of Atlanta. However, Trump and his allies accused the woman and her daughter, Wandrea Shaye Moss, of illegally counting fake mail-in votes. They claim she pulled them from mysterious suitcases while working on Election Day at Atlantas State Farm Arena.

Georgia election officials say the suitcases were standard ballot containers, and the ballots inside were counted properly.

Eventually, hundreds fed into the allegation, and Freeman began getting threats and harassing messages. Reluctant to meet with her privately, Freeman finally agreed to meet with the estranged woman at a police station instead.

With their meeting being recorded at a local police station in the Atlanta suburb of Cobb County, where Freeman wanted to meet out of safety concerns, Kutti, who identified herself as a crisis manager having worked for some of the biggest names in the industry, immediately told the election worker that she didnt want to frighten you, but we had to find you within this time frame. Elsewhere she said to Freeman that she already secured placement and that they had only 48 hours to move her to the unspecified location to keep her from alleged imminent danger.

I cannot say what will specifically take place; I just know that it will disrupt your freedom and  the freedom of your family members, the publicist could be heard telling the woman. You are a loose end for a party that needs to tidy up.

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The woman reported the incident to authorities following Kuttis visit. A 911 call recorded Freeman telling officials, Theyre saying that I need help, that its just a matter of time that they are going to come out for me and my family.

In a police report obtained by the outlet, Freeman claimed that soon after the body camera was turned off, Kutti told her directly that she wanted her to admit to committing election fraud; she also put a man on the phone by the name of Harrison Ford  not the actor  who also tried to get her to confess to false claims. If you dont tell everything, youre going to jail, she claimed Kutti told her, the outlet reported.

Kutti has publicly supported Trump in the past along with other Republicans. Its unclear how the meeting concluded, as neither party has spoken out about the incident since.

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Former Tennessee women's basketball player Tasha Butts, who is now the associate head coach for Georgia Tech, announced Wednesday she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Butts, 39, will continue to coach through her treatment in her third season under Nell Fortner, former Lady Vols assistant Mickie DeMoss  who's Georgia Tech's chief of staff  will fill in when Butts is unable to coach.

Tennessee coach Kellie Harper said the news of Butts' diagnosis was a "gut punch." Butts played at Tennessee right after Harper, from 2000-04, and went to three Final Fours before playing professionally.

"My heart goes out to her and family and that program," Harper said. "It's a reminder that we are unbelievably blessed to do what we do and to have the help that we have. You just can't take anything for granted. I love what I do. I love life, and you don't want those moments to step up and hit you. But when they do, it's just a reminder of the of the blessings that we all have. Our prayers and hearts are definitely with Tasha right now."

LSU's Theresa Plaisance (55) walks past as assistant coach Tasha Butts celebrates the team's win over Kentucky with guard Jeanne Kenney after an NCAA college basketball game in Baton Rouge, La., Feb. 24, 2013. Butts, now Georgia Tech associate head coach, said Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021, she has been diagnosed with advanced-stage breast cancer. The 39-year-old Butts said she was diagnosed last month. She intends to keep coaching as much as possible while she's being treated.

Butts said in a statement she was diagnosed with an advanced stage of breast cancer in November and that she's still processing how to live with the diagnosis day-to-day. She advocated for early detection and encouraged others to be aware of symptoms or early signs of the disease.

This has not been an easy discovery, Butts said in the statement. At age 39, I never thought Id be sitting here dealing with this disease. But I have full confidence in my doctors, my faith, who I am and who I was taught to be, which is a fighter. I want to, and hope to be, an example and an inspiration for others who may be experiencing the same thing.

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Fortner expressed her faith in Butts' team of doctors, and reiterated the program's support for her.

"Tasha has been instrumental in our success over these past two and a half seasons," Fortner said in a statement. "She is surrounded by a Georgia Tech community that will support her and a team that will love her through this. Tasha is a very strong woman who has every intention of beating this diagnosis, and we will be there with her every step of the way."

Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women's athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Kellie Harper called ex-Lady Vol Tasha Butts' cancer diagnosis 'gut punch'
At least 77 Kentuckians in 10 counties have died after tornadoes ripped through the state over the weekend, destroying thousands of homes homes, Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday afternoon.

That number is up from 64 Monday morning and 50 on Sunday. At least 109 people are unaccounted for, though that number is probably higher, Beshear said. It may take weeks to realize the full scope of death and damage.

President Joe Biden announced later in the day he will come to Kentucky on Wednesday, stopping first at Fort Campbell to be briefed on the situation before visiting hard-hit Mayfield and Dawson Springs.

Live updates: Kentucky prepares for a week of tornado recovery with death toll in flux

Beshear provided the current county breakdown of deaths as of Monday afternoon, though one death did not have an assigned county:

Graves County - 21

Hopkins - 17

Warren - 15

Muhlenberg - 11

Caldwell - 4

Marshal - 1

Taylor - 1

Fulton - 1

Lyon - 1

Franklin - 1

Of those deaths, six are younger than 18, Beshear said during a press conference Monday morning. The youngest is 5 months and the oldest is 86 years.

According to the National Weather Service, the deadliest tornado event in state history occurred in Jefferson County in 1890, when 76 people were killed.

Mayfield, in Graves County, suffered severe damage. About 110 people were reportedly working at the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory when the weather hit, collapsing the roof of the building.

Initial reports from the state said the death toll there could be in the dozens, but a company spokesman later said the number was much lower.

Beshear said earlier Monday the state was working to confirm the company's numbers, and "I pray that it is accurate" because "we feared much, much worse."

He said that the factory owners made contact with his office on Sunday.

"The company does know, or should know, right, who was there, who works for them, and so they're an integral part of being able to contact folks, and remember, you couldn't contact folks for a significant period of time," he said.

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Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks during a press conference at Dawson Springs Municipal Building in Dawson Springs, Ky., on Dec. 11, 2021.

"I don't fault warning systems. I don't fault training," Beshear said. "I don't know about the the procedures in the candle factory, and don't have any reason to fault that either."

He added: "How do you tell people that there's going to be one of the most powerful tornadoes in history and it's going to come directly through your building? (That's) another reason it just makes it really hard."

Beshear said Monday afternoon that all facility employees who can should check in at His House Ministries as 1250 KY-303, Mayfield, Ky. 42066 or call 888-808-8620 as officials try to account for everyone.

However, Bob Ferguson, the spokesman for Mayfield Consumer Properties, told The Courier Journal that as of 4:15 p.m. Monday, all employees working in the candle factory that night have been accounted for, confirming the eight deaths and 102 survivors

"We've had a miracle situation," he said. "Only eight lost."

At least five (another twister was confirmed Monday) tornadoes  the largest of which was estimated to be an EF-3, though Beshear said he believes it will end up being confirmed as an EF-5  ripped through western Kentucky Friday night and Saturday morning. They left piles of debris from leveled homes and businesses behind them. One of them stayed on Kentucky ground for more than 200 miles.

Tornadoes also touched down in the Bowling Green area, Taylor County and Ohio County, according to the National Weather Service. Beshear said there's no formal estimate yet on the cost of all the damage, but "it's in the hundreds of millions of dollars at least."

Kentucky tornadoes: What to know about damage, death toll, how to help and more

Kentucky Emergency Management Director Michael Dossett said about 28,531 homes are without power and 8,000 power poles are down.

"They have to be dug, replaced, wires strung," he said. "So, it's a massive effort."

A small sign offers hope as it rests on a pile of rubble in downtown Mayfield, Ky. Dec. 13, 2021

The Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund has now raised more than $6 million to assist people in the affected areas. Beshear announced Monday the state will use part of that to provide $5,000 to each family who lost someone to help with burial expenses. The state will work to contact those families directly; there is no need to apply.

"We're going to ask the funeral home or group helping out to not charge the families beyond that $5,000," he added. "We just have to be able to grieve together."

Mayfield, Kentucky Tornado: After surviving tornado, residents anxiously wonder where they go from here

In addition to the funds going out, Kentucky Parks are sheltering displaced families. Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park in Dawson Springs is already full, he said.

Along U.S. 62 through Dawson Springs on Monday, the destruction was obvious as crews worked to move trees that had fallen near the road.

One man cleared the remnants of a house. Asked about the homeowner, he said, Shes in the hospital.

The town of about 2,500 has seen 13 deaths, per the county coroner, and many more were displaced.

Some sought refuge at cottages and in cots at Pennyrile, which hosted its capacity  111 people  in the nights following the tornado.

Families are also sheltering at Kenlake in Hardin, and there are 58 rooms available. Kentucky Dam Village in Gilbertsville has 30 rooms available. Lake Barkley State Resort Park will have about 50 more "if we can get power" to it, Beshear said.

"We're going to guarantee at least two weeks of stay," Beshear said. "There may be other options by the end of that, but we're not going to let any of our folks go homeless."

In addition to the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund, First Lady Britainy Beshear announced a Christmas toy drive for families impacted. From Dec. 14-18, people can drop off toys, books, electronics and $25 gift cards for children ages infant to teens. For more information and drop-off locations, visit https://governor.ky.gov/toydrive.

Staff writers Hayes Gardner and Ben Tobin contributed to this report. Reach reporter Sarah Ladd at sladd@courier-journal.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ladd_sarah.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky tornadoes: Latest death count, relief assistance plans
The death toll from tornadoes that ripped through six states on Friday night may well surpass 100 in Kentucky alone, the governor warned.

Gov Andy Beshear suggested that the event was the most devastating tornado event in the states history, with 64 confirmed dead and 100 still missing as of Monday morning.

Dozens more deaths have been confirmed across Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Illinois, where workers were trapped in an Amazon warehouse when it collapsed, killing six people.

A map from the National Weather Service shows one supercell, which may have been a single tornado or a family of them, which is believed to have carved a 250-mile path across four states, potentially shattering a 1925 record.

Among the confirmed victims of the tornadoes are 43-year-old Kentucky judge Brian Crick, 84-year-old Missouri grandmother Ollie Borgmann, 46-year-old Amazon worker Larry Virden in Illinois and two children ages three and five in Kentucky.

At an emotional press conference on Monday, Gov Beshear said the victims in his state ranged in age from five months old to 86 years old - with six under the age of 18.

Read More

Tornadoes in US have likely killed 50 people, says Kentucky governor

Amazon warehouse collapses with workers inside as deadly tornadoes rip through five US states

2 dead, 5 injured after tornado hits Arkansas nursing home

Key Points

Biden promises support from federal government in call with Kentucky governor

Arkansas governor says its remarkable not more people are dead in his state

Dozens reported dead across five states

Tornado could have covered 250 miles across four states

Work release inmate flees from Kentucky hospital after surviving deadly tornado

President Biden declares major federal disaster in Kentucky

Two-month-old girl dies from tornado injuries

18:00 , Megan Sheets

A two-month-old girl is believed to be the youngest victim killed by tornadoes in Kentucky.

Parents Douglas and Jackie Koon confirmed the death of their infant daughter Oaklynn in a Facebook post on Monday, three days after their home was levelled by a twister.

Story continues

At least I know who will be watching over you up there for me. My dad, her father wrote. God this doesnt seem real.

It is unclear if Oaklynns death was included in the updated toll of 64 announced by Governor Andy Beshear this morning. The governor had said the youngest victim killed was five months old.

The Independents Gustaf Kilander reports:

Two-month-old girl becomes youngest victim of Kentucky tornado, parents say

Fewer fatalities than feared at Kentucky candle factory

17:41 , Megan Sheets

Workers on the night shift at Mayfield Consumer Products were in the middle of the holiday rush, cranking out candles, when a tornado closed in on the factory and the word went out: Duck and cover.

Autumn Kirks pulled down her safety goggles and took shelter, tossing aside wax and fragrance buckets to make room. She glanced away from her boyfriend, Lannis Ward, and when she looked back, he was gone.

Gov Andy Beshear initially said Saturday that only 40 of the 110 people working in the factory at the time were rescued, and that itll be a miracle if anybody else is found alive in it. But on Sunday, the candle company said that while eight were confirmed dead and eight remained missing, more than 90 others had been located.

Tornado toll in dozens, yet not as high as initially feared

Associated Press

Who are the tornado victims?

17:20 , Megan Sheets

Deaths have been confirmed in at least five of the six states hit by a number of tornadoes over the weekend. The death toll is feared to be more than 100 in Kentucky alone, but casualties have also been reported in Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee, with fatalities confirmed in all but one of the states.

While many of the victims remain unidentified, The Independents Gustaf Kilander explains what we know so far:

Who are the victims of the Kentucky tornadoes devastating the midwest?

78 confirmed dead in five states as of midday Monday

17:00 , Megan Sheets

As of midday Monday, the confirmed death toll from tornadoes that tore across six states stood at 78.

Below is a state-by-state breakdown:

Kentucky - 64

Illinois - 6

Tennessee - 4

Missouri - 2

Arkansas - 2

McConnell thanks Biden for disaster declaration

16:45 , Megan Sheets

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, thanked President Joe Biden for approving the states major disaster declaration in the aftermath of Fridays tornadoes.

Mr McConnell extended his appreciation in a tweet on Monday after Governor Andy Beshear said Mr Biden was planning to visit the state.

Thank you @POTUS for your rapid approval of Kentuckys Major Disaster Declaration. Our entire congressional delegation came together to support @GovAndyBeshears request. I appreciate the Administrations quick work to speed resources to help deal with this crisis. pic.twitter.com/3rBPGcDMmK  Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) December 13, 2021

RECAP: Kentucky governors emotional update

16:33 , Megan Sheets

Gov Beshear fought back tears as he provided an update on search efforts on Monday morning.

With 64 fatalities confirmed and 105 people still missing, the governor said of the death toll: Undoubtedly there will be more.

The dead ranged in age from five months old to 86 years old, with six minor victims and 18 who have yet to be identified, Gov Beshear said. Deaths were reported in eight counties, while 18 sustained damage from tornadoes.

The governor has previously said he believes the death toll statewide will top 100. On Monday he predicted it could take weeks to develop a full account of the devastation.

He tearfully told viewers: Im really sorry. Youre not supposed to lose people like this, and to not know and not have the information has got to make it that much harder.

The Independents Megan Sheets reports:

Kentucky governor confirms 64 dead including six children after tornadoes outbreak

Was the Kentucky tornado outbreak linked to climate change?

16:15 , Megan Sheets

The calendar said December but the warm moist air screamed of springtime. Add an eastbound storm front guided by a La Nina weather pattern into that mismatch and it spawned tornadoes that killed dozens over five US states.

Tornadoes in December are unusual, but not unheard of. But the ferocity and path length of Friday nights tornadoes likely put them in a category of their own, meteorologists say. One of the twisters  if it is confirmed to have been just one  likely broke a nearly 100-year-old record for how long a tornado stayed on the ground in a path of destruction, experts said.

One word: remarkable; unbelievable would be another, said Northern Illinois University meteorology professor Victor Gensini. It was really a late spring type of setup in in the middle of December.

Warm weather was a crucial ingredient in this tornado outbreak, but whether climate change is a factor is not quite as clear, meteorologists say.

Was the Kentucky tornado outbreak linked to climate change?

Associated Press

Biden to visit Kentucky

15:43 , Megan Sheets

Gov Beshear said President Joe Biden is expected to travel to Kentucky to tour destruction from the tornadoes.

He said a date for the visit has not been set.

The governor also said the main tornado that struck his state could turn out to be a level EF5. He acknowledged that in events of that severity, what we can do to protect ourselves is limited.

64 dead in Kentucky and 100 still missing

15:18 , Megan Sheets

Gov Beshear announced 64 people have been confirmed dead in Kentucky and more than 100 are still missing as of Monday morning.

The deaths came from eight different counties, with victims ranging in age from five months old to 86 years old - with six under the age of 18.

The governor said it could take weeks to conclude a full assessment of damage in the state.

WATCH: Kentucky governor gives update on damage

15:06 , Megan Sheets

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear held a press conference on Monday morning to provide an update on damage from Fridays tornados.

Watch below:

Voices: Kentuckians didnt reap what we sowed

14:53 , Megan Sheets

The state of Kentucky bore the brunt of Fridays tornadoes, with at least 80 people confirmed dead statewide.

The Independents Skylar Baker-Jordan, who lived in Bowling Green for seven years, described looking through photos of the devastation in a Voices piece on Monday, writing: Heartbroken doesnt even begin to describe what I am feeling.

But, he continued: Not everyone sees what I see. Some people in the national media have been derisive towards my home state, blaming its people for voting for senators who oppose climate change or disaster relief for other people. A few have insinuated that Kentuckians are reaping what they sowed. That is grossly cynical and so callous it borders on ghoulish. It is also not the Bowling Green I know, nor is it the Bowling Green I have seen these past few days.

I would invite those people to come on down to Kentucky once our people have rebuilt what weve lost  and we will rebuild, because thats what Kentuckians do.

Saying Kentucky reaped what we sowed with the tornado is callous and ghoulish

Map shows path of destruction across six states

14:23 , Megan Sheets

A map from the National Weather Service shows the purported path of a tornado that ripped across four states on Friday night.

More than 80 people have been confirmed dead after 37 tornadoes were reported in six states at the start of the weekend.

The most destructive twister, or perhaps a family of them, is believed to have traveled more than 250 miles, touching northeast Arkansas, southeast Missouri, northwest Tennessee and western Kentucky.

If confirmed, the supercell could become the longest single-track twister to inflict damage across four states in US history.

(National Weather Service)

Watch Joe Bidens response to the devastating tornados

13:50 , Eleanor Sly

US President Joe Biden took part in a broadcast to give remarks on the storms.

Join me as I give remarks on our response to last nights devastating storms. https://t.co/5gQ8qY6t8c  President Biden (@POTUS) December 11, 2021

Kentucky judge, grandmother, and three-year-old boy among victims of deadly tornado

13:15 , Eleanor Sly

A Kentucky judge, an 84-year-old woman, and a three-year-old are among the victims of the devastating tornadoes that swept through six US states on Friday night.

As rescue teams comb through the wreckage left by the tornadoes, people who lost their lives are being identified throughout several state agencies, bringing more grief to communities that were already left battered by the disastrous weather.

Dozens of deaths have been confirmed across Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri and Tennessee but Kentucky governor Andy Beshear warned on Sunday that his states death toll alone could exceed 100.

Maroosha Muzaffar has more:

Kentucky judge, grandmother, and three-year-old boy among victims of deadly tornado

Deadly twin tornados illuminated by lightning in Arkansas

12:30 , Eleanor Sly

Two deadly twin tornadoes were illuminated by lighting as they ripped through Arkansas on Friday night.

The footage, captured in the city of Bay, shows the twisters moving across the landscape.

Up to 100 people are feared dead after a number of tornadoes broke out not only in Arkansas, but four other US states.

Watch the footage at the link below:

Deadly twin tornados illuminated by lightning in Arkansas

Police urge people to stay away from active areas of damage'

11:49 , Eleanor Sly

Kentucky police trooper Sarah Burgess urged people to stay away from active areas of damage following the tornado which swept through the town of Mayfield.

She said: If you are not actively involved in the rescue and recovery efforts, please stay away from the active areas of damage.

"If you are not actively involved in the rescue and recovery efforts, please stay away from the active areas of damage." ~ @kystatepolice Trooper Sarah Burgess urging people to stay away from tornado-damaged areas of Mayfield, Kentucky. pic.twitter.com/M0DVppRWKV  Paul Miles (@PaulMiles840) December 12, 2021

Work release inmate flees from Kentucky hospital after surviving deadly tornado

11:14 , Eleanor Sly

An inmate injured in Friday nights tornado that struck Kentucky has escaped from the hospital where he was receiving treatment.

In a statement on 11 December, Kentucky state police said Francisco Starks, an inmate at Graves County Jail, had escaped from the Jackson Purchase Medical Centre.

He was on a work release at the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory when the building collapsed after a severe tornado struck the region.

Sravasti Dasgupta reports:

Work release inmate flees from Kentucky hospital after surviving deadly tornado

President Biden declares major federal disaster in Kentucky

10:18 , Eleanor Sly

US President Joe Biden declared a major federal disaster in tornadoes-hit Kentucky on Friday, promising additional federal aid to people in the affected areas, a statement from the White House said on Sunday.

The statement read: Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that a major disaster exists in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and ordered Federal aid to supplement Commonwealth and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, and tornadoes beginning on December 10, 2021, and continuing.

Affected counties such as Caldwell, Fulton, Graves, Hopkins, Marshall, Muhlenberg, Taylor, and Warren will be provided with federal aid, the White House said in the statement.

Arpan Rai reports:

President Biden declares major federal disaster in Kentucky

The Kentucky guard shares images of another long day here in Mayfield

09:28 , Eleanor Sly

The Kentucky guard shared images on Twitter of another long day here in Mayfield  as they continued to assist in search and rescue for victims of the tornadoes.

Our Soldiers with the CERFP and the 223rd MP's finished up another long day here in Mayfield assisting in search and rescue and traffic control. We're refueling for another long day tomorrow! #AlwaysReady

 by Sgt. First Class Benjamin Crane pic.twitter.com/MzSGUPCaXO  Kentucky Guard (@kentuckyguard) December 13, 2021

Kentucky death toll may pass 100, says state governor

08:55 , Eleanor Sly

The death toll from powerful tornadoes that devastated towns in Kentucky may pass 100, the state governor has said.

Andy Beshear called the event one of the most devastating tornado events in the states history, with at least 80 confirmed deaths.

Nothing that was standing in the direct line of [one] tornado is still standing, he said.

Were still hoping as we move forward for some miracles to find more people, the governor said during a visit to the town of Mayfield, one of the hardest hit.

Photographs show devastation caused by the tornado

08:23 , Eleanor Sly

(REUTERS)

(Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

(AFP via Getty Images)

(AFP via Getty Images)

Will Bidens Build Back Better bill do enough on climate spending?

07:40 , Josh Marcus

With disasters like this weekends multi-state tornado cluster becoming all the more common during the climate crisis, all eyes are on congressional Democrats as they seek to pass their wide-ranging spending bill before the year is out.

Heres a reminder of whats in the bill.

House moves toward OK of Dems' sweeping social, climate bill

Family photo from 1942 found hundreds of miles from home after being swept up in Kentucky tornado

07:34 , Eleanor Sly

A family photograph from the 1940s will be reunited with its owner after being picked up by a tornado in Kentucky, US, and dropped 130 miles away in Indiana.

Katie Posten, 30, a tech worker in New Albany, Indiana, walked outside her house on Saturday morning to find an old black and white photo stuck to the windscreen of her parked car.

The photo showed a woman in a striped sundress holding a little boy in her lap. A note on the back said: Gertie Swatzell and JD Swatzell, 1942.

Io Dodds reports:

Family photo found hundreds of miles away after being swept up in Kentucky tornado

Tornado destroys century-old church

06:58 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

A 100-year-old church in Mayfield was destroyed in Fridays tornado disaster.

Mayfield First United Methodist Church, which has been in the town since 1920, was completely devastated along with the towns larger building structures.

The roof of the church and a wall collapsed, leaving behind a mess of bricks. Reverend Joey Reed, the lead pastor at the church, told Los Angeles Times that with the roof gone, he could no longer worship at his church.

Kentucky tornado: 100-year-old church in Mayfield destroyed within seconds

Viral photo shows Bibles remain in Kentucky church with roof torn off

06:40 , Josh Marcus

Mayfield, Kentucky, was one of the towns hardest hit during this weekends tornado cluster.

A photo is now going viral of one striking scene from Mayfield: a church with its roof torn off, yet miraculously all of its Bibles have stayed in place.

Brett Carlsen of Getty Images took the photograph.Twitter users were struck by the imagery.

Photo shows extensive damage to church in Mayfield, Kentucky, as tornadoes devastated the region. https://t.co/w0gZmLE6NK pic.twitter.com/pP0mDrdwnk  ABC News (@ABC) December 11, 2021

In Mayfield Ky, the storm took the church roof, but the word of God stays firmly in place  pic.twitter.com/8LN97nHew4  Hickory Nut (@Walnutscousin) December 11, 2021

Amazon driver died in bathroom while sheltering from tornado

06:32 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

An Amazon cargo driver died in the bathroom of the companys warehouse on Friday when the deadly tornado struck, his coworker said.

Austin J McEwen, 26, was one of the six workers identified by police on Sunday who were killed in Illinois. He was my friend and he didnt make it, coworker Brian Erdmann told Reuters.

If I would have got back 45 minutes earlier, I probably would have been at the same place. I would have been right there with him, he added.

The Amazon facility was hit by a tornado accompanied by 249 km-per-hour winds, according to authorities.

Rand Paul past opposition to disaster funding resurfaces as he asks Biden for tornado aid

05:40 , Josh Marcus

US Senator Rand Paul has a history of voting against federal disaster aidwhether to victims of 2013s Hurricane Sandy or 2017s Hurricane Mariaarguing the government should spend on helping these people, but reappropriate current funds rather than add to the federal balance sheet in doing so.

That past resurfaced this weekend as the libertarian senator asked Joe Biden for tornado aid for Kentucky, one of the states hardest hit in the weekends tornadoes.

The Governor of the Commonwealth has requested federal assistance this morning, and certainly further requests will be coming as the situation is assessed, the senator wrote in a letter to the president. I fully support those requests and ask that you move expeditiously to approve the appropriate resources for our state.Some were quick to criticise the Kentucky Republican.

Rand Paul begs Biden for federal aid to Kentucky tornado victims -- after a career of voting 'no' when others needed the same



Because of course he does. Hypocrisy is an essential part of the brand. And of course he'll get help. Because Joe Biden cares.https://t.co/T6CmHLe0mO  Khashoggis Ghost (@UROCKlive1) December 11, 2021

President Joe Biden approves disaster declaration for Kentucky

05:39 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

US President Joe Biden on Sunday declared that a major disaster exists in Kentucky in the aftermath of the tornados.

The declaration makes federal aid available to individuals in the counties of Caldwell, Fulton, Graves, Hopkins, Marshall, Muhlenberg, Taylor, and Warren.

The assistance will include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

Thank God number is turning out to be far, far fewer, says candle factory spokesperson

04:43 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Troy Propes, the CEO of Mayfield Consumer Products, which was completely devastated by the tornado said that eight employees were dead and six were still missing.

At least 110 people were working the night shift at the factory when the storm hit on Friday. The factory was reportedly operating round the clock to meet demands prior to the holidays.

I believe that more lives would have been lost. I know that ten minutes before they followed all the protocols to get the employees, almost all of the employees to the designated area, he told Fox News.

(AFP via Getty Images)

Bob Ferguson, the company spokesperson told Reuters: there were some early reports that as many as 70 could be dead in the factory.

One is too many, but we thank God that the number is turning out to be far, far fewer, he said.

WATCH: Thread shows tornado damage as captured by Snapchat

04:40 , Josh Marcus

Tornadoes may have knocked out communications in some towns as they swept across multiple states this weekend, but that didnt stop people from using Snapchat to document the chaos.Twitter user Geofrey Friedman gathered some of the shocking videos in a Twitter thread, which you can watch below.

Survivor recalls moments before the storm

03:50 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Autumn Kirks and her partner Lannis Ward were working the night shift at a candle factory for extra money when the tornado went on a rampage.

They both took shelter at the same part of the building, but since then Mr Ward has been missing.

Moments before the storm hit, she moved to a hallway They said, Duck and cover. I pulled my safety goggles down, jumped under the closest thing, and seconds later I looked to my left and instead of wall there was sky and lightning and just destruction everywhere, she recalled.

I remember taking my eyes off of him for a second, and then he was gone. I dont know where he went, dont have any idea, she added.

Ms Kirks and three of her co-workers were trapped under a wall but were later rescued by another colleague.

Tornado survivor: 'Not knowing is worse than knowing'

Weather map shows Quad-State tornado travel over Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucy

03:40 , Josh Marcus

Weather tracking software has provided a new look at the devastating tornado cluster that traveled across a large swathe of the US over the weekend.

In a time-lapse video posted by meteorology student Collin Gross, a tornado can be seen moving across numerous states including Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky.

We might have had the first ever quad-state tornado tonightin December. From the looks of the velocities, its very possible the same tornado traveled through parts of Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Absolutely wild. #ARwx #MOwx #TNwx #KYwx pic.twitter.com/VRAKY4eG7f  Collin Gross (@CollinGrossWx) December 11, 2021

AP photographer captures rescue worker using treats to lure out scared dog

03:05 , Josh Marcus

Associated Press photographer Mark Humphrey captured a touching moment amid this weekends tornado devastation.

He snapped a photo as rescue worker Chris Buchanan used dog treats to coax a large pup named Cheyenne out of a pile of rubble.

Rescue worker Chris Buchanan lures Cheyenne the dog with treats to get her out of a tornado-damaged home in Mayfield, Kentucky. Photo: Mark Humphrey, A.P. pic.twitter.com/FvkJE2Z1Dd  Lorenzo The Cat (@LorenzoTheCat) December 11, 2021

Extreme and deadly future of climate crisis is already here, says activist of tornado

02:40 , Josh Marcus

The damage on the ground wasnt the only unprecedented about the Quad-State Tornadoes. So was the climate crisis fueling it, according to meteorologists and climate activists.

The extreme and deadly future we keep warning you about is already here, said climate activist Alexandria Villasenor on Twitter on Saturday.

Heres how CBS meteorologist Jeff Berardelli explained the climate link to this weekends storms.

.@WeatherProf telling us exactly how climate change led to the longest and strongest tornado event last night in the U.S. The extreme and deadly future we keep warning you about is already here.#tornadoes https://t.co/7oHyupcZnF  Alexandria Villasenor (@AlexandriaV2005) December 11, 2021

List of verified GoFundMe campaigns for Kentucky tornado victims

02:05 , Josh Marcus

In addition to giving to the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund established by the Kentucky government, many are turning to crowdfunding site GoFundMe to send aid money directly to those affected by the Quad-State Tornadoes.

Heres a list of verified campaigns. Concerned Americans have already donated tens of thousands of dollars to many individual families.

NWS investigating if Quad-State tornado is longest ever

01:40 , Josh Marcus

The tornadoes that tore across four states this weekend may have produced the single longest twister in US history.

The cluster, now being called the Quad-State Tornado, spawned more than 30 different tornadoes that traveled across six different states, including one tornado that may have traveled more than 230 miles alone.

The National Weather Service is now conducting ground surveys to analyse the historic storms and their record-breaking potential.

How to help Kentuckians hurt by recent tornadoes

01:15 , Josh Marcus

Wondering how to help those impacted by the recent tornadoes?

Kentucky governor Andy Beshear has established the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund, which has raised nearly $1 million since Saturday.

Nearly $1 million to Kentucky tornado relief fund. Lets get that to $5 million today. https://t.co/IyigDbII7u  Joe Sonka  (@joesonka) December 12, 2021

More information at https://secure.kentucky.gov/formservices/Finance/WKYRelief

Twitter user seeks public help in returning 1942 photograph lost in tornadoes

00:50 , Josh Marcus

Twitter user Katie Posten is seeking help from the public, after finding what she believes is a photo from 1942 lost in the recent tornadoes.

She came upon the photograph stuck to a window in New Albany, Indiana. The picture features writing on the back that appears to say Gertie Swatzell and JD Swatzell on the back.

More information below.

Walked out to my car in New Albany, IN and found this picture stuck to the window. Undoubtedly from a home that was struck by the tornado that ripped through Kentucky last night. Hoping to find its owners. It looks like it reads - Gertie Swatzell and JD Swatzell 1942 - pls RT pic.twitter.com/juoCYNAS3o  Katie Posten (@katieposten) December 11, 2021

Kentucky tornado: Drone footage captures devastation left by longest-ever twister

00:35 , Josh Marcus

Dramatic drone footage has captured the extent of the chaos and devastation left behind by the powerful storm in Kentucky and five neighbouring states of Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee.

The video, which played out on national television and was recorded by Emmy award-winning independent photojournalist and storm chaser Brandon Clement, showed thousands of homes that were decimated over many acres across the state.

The most intense damage I have found in [Mayfield], he tweeted, sharing a video in which everything, from trees to shrubs, to homes, was uprooted by the storm. The entire path in the town is less than 2 [per cent] of the total path length. Homes with only slabs remaining.

The Independents Namita Singh has the details.

Drone footage captures devastation left by longest-ever tornado

No way in hell I am relying on Amazon: Company phone ban worries employees after six die in warehouse cave-in

00:11 , Josh Marcus

At least six Amazon employees died on Friday after a warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois, was struck by a tornado. The deaths have put the company under new scrutiny for its history of sometimes preventing workers from keeping their mobile phones with them on the job.

The Illinois facility, not far from St Louis, Missouri, suffered immense damage during this weekends multi-state cluster of tornadoes. Roughly 150 yards of the building collapsed in on itself.

An Amazon worker at a nearby facility told Bloomberg the collapse had raised doubts over whether Amazons policies, which have sometimes required workers to keep their phones in their cars or lockers while on the job, did enough to ensure their safety.

More details here.

Amazon workers worry phone ban may put them at risk after six during tornado

PHOTOS: Aerial images show scope of damage at Kentucky factory

Sunday 12 December 2021 23:40 , Gustaf Kilander

An aerial photo made with a drone shows the destruction of the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory after tornadoes moved through the area leaving destruction and death across six states, in Mayfield, Kentucky, USA, 12 December 2021 (EPA)

An aerial photo made with a drone shows the destruction of the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory after tornadoes moved through the area leaving destruction and death across six states, in Mayfield, Kentucky, USA, 12 December 2021 (EPA)

A local resident carries the U.S. flag past a pile of debris outside a post office in the aftermath of a tornado in Mayfield, Kentucky (REUTERS)

Six killed at Amazon facility in Illinois identified

Sunday 12 December 2021 23:15 , Gustaf Kilander

The six Amazon employees who died when a tornado tore through a warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois have been identified.

Austin McEwen, 26, Deandre Morrow, 28, Clayton Lynn Cope, 29, Etheria Hebb, 34, Larry Virden, 46, and Kevin Dickey, 62, all died when the warehouse caved in.

Officials have said that the fire department is still working at the site to clear debris and is communicating with Amazon to account for all of their personnel.

Search efforts will carry on to ensure that there are no additional victims.

Edwardsville Fire Chief James Whiteford said on Saturday that estimates are that the recovery portion of the incident will take about three more days.

PHOTOS: Residents survey damage and begin to gather belongings

Sunday 12 December 2021 22:50 , Gustaf Kilander

A home owner reacts to tornado damage on December 12, 2021 in Bowling Green, Kentucky (AFP via Getty Images)

Pete Desai, owner of the Cardinal Motel in Bowling Green, Kentucky surveys tornado damage on December 12, 2021 (AFP via Getty Images)

Tornado damage is seen after extreme weather hit the region December 12, 2021, in Bowling Green, Kentucky (AFP via Getty Images)

Tornado damage is seen after extreme weather hit the region December 12, 2021, in Bowling Green, Kentucky (AFP via Getty Images)

William Richards (L) sits near his sons home as families pass out food in a neighborhood impacted by a tornado after extreme weather hit the region December 12, 2021, in Mayfield, Kentucky (AFP via Getty Images)

Homes and business are reduced to rubble after a tornado ripped through the area two days prior, on December 12, 2021 in Mayfield, Kentucky (Getty Images)

Rubble litters the town after a tornado ripped through Friday evening on December 12, 2021 in Mayfield, Kentucky (Getty Images)

Kentucky district judge one of the victims in storms estimated to have killed hundreds

Sunday 12 December 2021 22:25 , Gustaf Kilander

Kentucky district judge Brian Crick was one of the many who died when a string of tornadoes tore through the midwest.

We are especially heartbroken to get the news that District Judge Brian Crick, who served McLean and Muhlenberg counties, lost his life during the storm, Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice John Minton Jr said in a statement on the courts Facebook page.

This is a shocking loss to his family, his community and the court system, and his family is in our prayers, he added.

I have asked our justices, judges, circuit court clerks and AOC managers to try to determine the safety of any court staff in Western Kentucky, and what we can do to help any who need shelter, food or clothing, the justice said.

Video shows devastation in Tennessee as busloads of supplies head for Kentucky

Sunday 12 December 2021 22:00 , Gustaf Kilander

The scene from Cypress Point Resort in Tiptonville, Tennessee. pic.twitter.com/W0ZPwaF6KZ  Kimberlee Kruesi (@kkruesi) December 11, 2021

My heart  This school bus from Dubois County is packed full of supplies and heading west. Kentucky is hurting but there is still so much good happening in our home. pic.twitter.com/djFSYIfLFD  Shay McAlister (@ShayMcAlisterTV) December 12, 2021

Its going to take us time: Weather grows colder as rescue efforts continue

Sunday 12 December 2021 21:35 , Gustaf Kilander

The weather is growing colder, at times reaching freezing temperatures, as rescue efforts continue in areas hit by devastating storms.

Its going to take us time, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear told CNN. You think youd go door to door to check on people and see if theyre okay. There are no doors. The question is, is somebody in the rubble of thousands upon thousands of structures.

An aerial photo made with a drone shows widespread destruction of homes and businesses after tornadoes moved through the area leaving destruction and death across six states, in Mayfield, Kentucky, USA, 12 December 2021 (EPA)

PHOTOS: Kentuckians go through remnants of their homes as death toll expected to rise

Sunday 12 December 2021 21:10 , Gustaf Kilander

People clean up debris after a devastating outbreak of tornadoes ripped through several U.S. states, in Mayfield, Kentucky, U.S., December 12, 2021 (REUTERS)

A lone bookshelf stands amid the rubble as people pick through and clean debris after a devastating outbreak of tornadoes ripped through several U.S. states, in Mayfield, Kentucky, U.S., December 12, 2021 (REUTERS)

Rick Foley, 70, sits outside his home after a devastating outbreak of tornadoes ripped through several U.S. states in Mayfield, Kentucky, U.S. December 11, 2021 (REUTERS)

Rick Foley, 70, sits outside his home and speaks to neighbours after a devastating outbreak of tornadoes ripped through several U.S. states in Mayfield, Kentucky, U.S. December 11, 2021 (REUTERS)

The bedroom of Rick Foley, 70, is seen without a wall after a devastating outbreak of tornadoes ripped through several U.S. states in Mayfield, Kentucky, U.S. December 11, 2021 (REUTERS)

Arkansas governor praises nursing home staff for saving lives

Sunday 12 December 2021 20:43 , Gustaf Kilander

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutching praised the staff at a nursing home in Monette for acting quickly and saving lives when the building was torn apart by a tornado on Friday night.

He said that it was a miracle that we only lost one resident at the nursing home.

The staff did an incredible job of using their own bodies to shield some of the residents and the fact that there was a warning system in place helped them to move them into the hallway that saved lives, he said.

Gov. @AsaHutchinson hails nursing home staff in Monette, Arkansas for saving lives during the deadly tornado that hit the state on Friday: The fact that there was a warning system in place helped them to move them into the hallway that saved lives. pic.twitter.com/O6SOuGPGMJ  Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) December 12, 2021

This tornado didnt discriminate: Kentucky governor confirms children are among the dead

Sunday 12 December 2021 20:23 , Gustaf Kilander

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has said that a three- and a five-year-old are among the dead, telling CBS that weve lost a number of kids.

This tornado didnt discriminate. Anybody in its path, even if they were trying to be safe, again, just like nothing weve ever seen before, he added.

State parks have been opened to residents. Eleven shelters initially opened their doors, but only six are still operating as Kentuckians instead house both family and friends, but in some cases also strangers who have lost their homes.

The governor said a fund has been created to help with funeral expenses and rebuilding efforts. Mr Beshear also said hes one of those who have lost family in the storms.

Were tough people. Were going to get through it, but it is not going to be easy, he said.

Gov. @AndyBeshearKY announces a fund has been set up to help families in Western Kentucky with funeral expenses and rebuilding. He also reveals that he has lost family in the disaster: We're tough people. We're going to get through it, but it is not going to be easy. pic.twitter.com/QHeNZpcNnZ  Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) December 12, 2021

PHOTOS: Kentuckians begin to pick up the pieces of destroyed homes

Sunday 12 December 2021 20:03 , Gustaf Kilander

People embrace as tornado damage is seen after extreme weather hit the region December 12, 2021, in Mayfield, Kentucky (AFP via Getty Images)

Tornado damage is seen after extreme weather hit the region December 12, 2021, in Mayfield, Kentucky (AFP via Getty Images)

An aerial photo made with a drone shows widespread destruction of homes and businesses after tornadoes moved through the area leaving destruction and death across six states, in Mayfield, Kentucky, USA, 12 December 2021 (EPA)

People gather belongings from a tornado damaged home after extreme weather hit the region December 12, 2021, in Mayfield, Kentucky (AFP via Getty Images)

People amongst damage caused by tornados in Mayfield, Kentucky, USA, 12 December 2021 (EPA)

Kentucky governor: Our morgues might not be big enough

Sunday 12 December 2021 19:43 , Gustaf Kilander

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said on Sunday that the state might not have enough space in its morgue facilities following a devastating stream of tornadoes thats taken 80 lives so far in the state  a number thats expected to pass 100.

One of our challenges is were losing so many people in this, most of our morgues arent big enough, so our coroners from all over the state are coming in, Mr Beshear told Meet The Press on NBC.

The governor told Face The Nation on CBS that Kentucky will need to rebuild entire communities.

Were going to have lost thousands of homes because when this tornado hit, it didnt rip a roof off, it obliterated houses, he said.

Gov. @AndyBeshearKY on what his state needs in the aftermath of the tornado destruction: Rebuilding of entire communities, we're going to have lost thousands of homes because when this tornado hit, it didn't rip a roof off, it obliterated houses. pic.twitter.com/00JQwK7mwr  Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) December 12, 2021

Downtown Mayfield completely leveled'

Sunday 12 December 2021 19:23 , Gustaf Kilander

The town is completely leveled. #Mayfield, KY. This is one street off Broadway, the main road through town. You should see homes and buildings - all gone. This is downtown Mayfield. pic.twitter.com/sX4AruJMlh  Justin Michaels (@JMichaelsNews) December 12, 2021

One house tells the story of property destruction in #Mayfield, KY, what survivors lived through as the #tornado struck, and what its going to take to bring this town of 9,800 back. @weatherchannel is live in Kentucky. pic.twitter.com/eYQYMKmrYb  Justin Michaels (@JMichaelsNews) December 12, 2021

Kentucky governor says death toll is going to pass 100

Sunday 12 December 2021 19:03 , Gustaf Kilander

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has said that the death toll in his state will go above 100.

Ive got towns that are gone, he told CNN. Just gone. My dads hometown, half of it isnt standing.

Mr Beshears father is Steve Beshear, who served as the governor of Kentucky from 2007 until 2015.

The governor added that 40 out of the 110 workers at a candle factory in Mayfield have made it out alive.

Im not sure that were gonna see another rescue. I pray for it, he said.

Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY) says just 40 of 110 workers have been rescued from collapsed candle factory following deadly tornado.



"I'm not sure that we're gonna see another rescue. I pray for it." pic.twitter.com/GWH25ovBeK  The Recount (@therecount) December 12, 2021

A lot we need to do as a nation, FEMA administrator says

Sunday 12 December 2021 18:43 , Gustaf Kilander

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell has said that theres a lot we need to do as a nation in terms of mitigating the devastating impact of future tornado events.

Were seeing more intense storms, severe weather, whether its hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires. And one of the focuses my agency is going to have is, how can we start to reduce the impacts of these events as they continue to grow?

She said the work involves helping communities become more resilient to severe weather events.

.@FEMA_Deanne: "We're seeing more intense storms, severe weather, whether it's hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires. And one of the focuses my agency is going to have is, how can we start to reduce the impacts of these events as they continue to grow?" https://t.co/c16UDnMFIC pic.twitter.com/pKSABVSSuF  This Week (@ThisWeekABC) December 12, 2021

Rescue workers continue work as death reaches 90 across six states

Sunday 12 December 2021 18:23 , Gustaf Kilander

The death toll reached 90 on Sunday as rescue workers continued their work looking for survivors in the rubble of crushed buildings across the six states hit by a devastating tornado system between Friday and Saturday.

Officials said the death toll was certain to increase, having already reached 80 in the state hit the worst by the storms  Kentucky.

Its devastation like none of us have ever seen before, Governor Andy Beshear told CNN on Sunday. He added that it would be a miracle to find anyone alive in the candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky that collapsed on Friday night. While some made it out alive, many out of the 110 people believed to be inside are still missing.

Parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee were all affected by the tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service.

FEMA has about 100 staff on the ground in Kentucky, administrator says

Sunday 12 December 2021 18:03 , Gustaf Kilander

.@FEMA_Deanne tells @GStephanopoulos there is approximately 100 personnel on the ground in Kentucky after tornado disaster, including search and rescue crews. https://t.co/TUFttxeO0M pic.twitter.com/PjAFDOqCrs  This Week (@ThisWeekABC) December 12, 2021

Drone video shows devastation to homes at lake in Kentucky

Sunday 12 December 2021 17:43 , Gustaf Kilander

Drone video shows devastation at the Cambridge Shores subdivision at Kentucky Lake in Marshall County. (: Jeffery Moll) pic.twitter.com/eD5a90dfZB  KFVS News (@kfvsnews) December 12, 2021

Head of FEMA says life-saving will be main focus for Sunday and Monday

Sunday 12 December 2021 17:23 , Gustaf Kilander

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell has said that the main focus for both Sunday and Monday would be life-saving missions to find people trapped in the rubble across the six states hit by tornadoes overnight between Friday and Saturday.

Its going to be a long recovery, she told This Week on ABC.

It's going to be a long recovery. @FEMA_Deanne says officials are focused on helping communities impacted by tornadoes with immediate shelter and housing needs. https://t.co/xjxwKel3mH pic.twitter.com/YI7a0d0qUc  This Week (@ThisWeekABC) December 12, 2021

FEMA administrator says officials are still in the life-saving and life-sustaining mode'

Sunday 12 December 2021 17:03 , Gustaf Kilander

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told This Week on ABC that officials are still in the life-saving and life-sustaining mode.

Were sending additional resources in to help locate anybody who still may be trapped, she added.

FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell tells @GStephanopoulos that officials are still in the life-saving and life-sustaining mode after deadly tornadoes.



We're sending additional resources in to help locate anybody who still maybe trapped. https://t.co/pchSg3rLYZ pic.twitter.com/GsvGS1AAcz  This Week (@ThisWeekABC) December 12, 2021

At least 56,000 homes without power, Kentucky governor says

Sunday 12 December 2021 16:43 , Gustaf Kilander

The governor of Kentucky, Democrat Andy Beshear, told NBCs Meet The Press that there are at least 56,000 homes without power and that almost all of them are located in the western parts of the state.

We look out for one another, he added.

Those of us blessed to not be hit by this tornado take other people in whether we know them or not, Mr Beshear said.

WATCH: "We're good people," Gov. @AndyBeshearKY's (D-Ky.) voice breaks as he describes a community coming together after the most severe tornado in the state's history created warzone-like destruction. pic.twitter.com/zpiJIakyf1  Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) December 12, 2021

Meteorologist says strength of tornadoes is unprecedented'

Sunday 12 December 2021 16:23 , Gustaf Kilander

ABC News meteorologist Rob Marciano has said that the strength of the tornadoes hitting six states overnight between Friday and Saturday was unprecedented.

He added that having this happen in the month of December this far north is also unusual.

.@RobMarciano calls deadly tornadoes that impacted six states an "unusual event."



"What we are seeing is that having this happen in the month of December this far north, that is unprecedented." https://t.co/T4TMQOaA3a pic.twitter.com/YF9BZQTcci  This Week (@ThisWeekABC) December 12, 2021

It was like heaven sucked up roof of nursing home, Arkansas governor says

Sunday 12 December 2021 16:03 , Gustaf Kilander

The Governor of Arkansas, Republican Asa Hutchinson, told CNNs State of the Union, that it was like heaven sucked up the roof of a nursing home in Monette in the northeastern parts of the state.

Its just a miracle with 67 residents that we only lost one there, he added.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says that investments in "early warning systems" saved "a lot of lives" when a historic swarm of tornadoes hit his state. https://t.co/wVBWOeoDSG #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/HtRUcf0Ojb  State of the Union (@CNNSotu) December 12, 2021

FEMA Administrator: There is still hope'

Sunday 12 December 2021 15:43 , Gustaf Kilander

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told CNNs State of the Union that there is still hope and we should continue to try to find as many people as we can.

She added that the agencys most important work at this time involves life-saving missions and short-term sheltering of those unable to live with friends and family.

"There is still hope and we should continue to try to find as many people as we can," says FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell on the search and rescue efforts after a historic swarm of deadly tornadoes tore across six states. https://t.co/wVBWOeoDSG #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/RvVlrrWnxR  State of the Union (@CNNSotu) December 12, 2021

Gov Beshear: I know weve lost more than 80 Kentuckians'

Sunday 12 December 2021 15:23 , Gustaf Kilander

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear told CNNs State of the Union on Sunday that at least 80 people have died in the state and that the number of fatalities is expected to go above 100.

I know weve lost more than 80 Kentuckians. That number is going to exceed more than 100. This is the deadliest tornado event weve ever had, he said.

I think its going to be the longest and deadliest tornado event in US history, he added.

"I know we've lost more than 80 Kentuckians. That number is going to exceed more than 100. This is the deadliest tornado event we've ever had," says Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear on the tornado aftermath. https://t.co/wVBWOeoDSG #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/OgEjXrnejm  State of the Union (@CNNSotu) December 12, 2021

Drone video shows path of tornado as it tore apart homes

Sunday 12 December 2021 15:03 , Gustaf Kilander

Follow the tornado's path into Bowling Green, KY last night

(Video: @johnhumphress) pic.twitter.com/iAqLBXYrOL  SevereStudios (@severestudios) December 11, 2021

Illinois officials say search and rescue efforts are transitioning to recovery

Sunday 12 December 2021 14:43 , Gustaf Kilander

Officials in Edwardsville, Illinois said during a press briefing on Saturday that six people had been killed when an Amazon warehouse collapsed and that the search and rescue efforts were transitioning to a recovery mission.

We dont expect that anyone could be surviving, Edwardsville Fire chief James Whiteford said.

He added that the tornado had struck at the time of a shift change and it was unclear how many people were inside the building at the time.
Days after multiple tornadoes tore through Kentucky, leaving leveled communities in their wakes, the commonwealth is still waiting to know the full impact of the storm.

But much information has already come to light, including preliminary reports on the tornadoes themselves, an early death toll and numerous ways to help.

Here's everything you need to know about the tornadoes and their aftermath:

Live update: Latest on recovery efforts, how to help, size, path of tornadoes

How many tornadoes hit Kentucky?

Officials said in an updated report Monday five tornadoes touched down in Kentucky late Friday and early Saturday.

The largest leveled much of Mayfield in Graves County, also causing death and destruction in Dawson Springs and Bremen, among other communities.

Is Tornado alley shifting? Southern states see more twisters now than ever before

Tornadoes also touched down or left damage in the Bowling Green area, Taylor County, Ohio County, Breckinridge County, Monroe County, Spencer County and possibly Boyle County, the National Weather Service has said.

How big were the tornadoes in Kentucky?

The largest of the tornadoes to hit Kentucky, believed to have been on the ground for 128 , is so far being considered an EF4 tornado, the National Weather Service's Paducah office said in an update. The tornado that hit Bowling Green is also thought to be an EF3.

That's on a scale of 0 to 5.

Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday he thinks the tornado that hit Mayfield, believed to be the largest one, could eventually get categorized as an EF5, which has wind speeds over 200 mph.

Was the Mayfield tornado an EF5? Here's how the National Weather Service decides

What was the strength and size of the main Kentucky tornado: Here are early estimates

The other tornadoes are so far considered EF1 or EF2.

These reports are preliminary and could change, the weather service has said.

Crews will continue to survey damage across the state throughout the week.

Story continues

How many power outages are there in Kentucky?

Only about 10 LG&E customers were without power in Jefferson County by about 6 a.m. Tuesday, according to the power company's outage map.

Statewide, Kentucky Emergency Management Director said the state had 28,531 total outages as of 10:15 a.m. Monday, with 8,000 power poles down and at least 97 power structures damaged during the storm.

Those figures are down from Friday night and Saturday, though Gov. Andy Beshear said earlier Sunday that outages persisted in Western Kentucky communities served by smaller energy companies and cooperatives.

State officials said Monday afternoon more than 26,000 customers were still without power in Western Kentucky, and many were also without water service.

How many tornado deaths were there in Kentucky?

As of Wednesday, 76 tornado-related deaths had been officially confirmed across the commonwealth, officials said.

Officials have cautioned the death count could grow as recovery efforts continue and more victims are identified.

Read more about which counties and cities were hit hardest here.

Which Kentucky counties have a federal disaster declaration?

As of Thursday afternoon, Graves, Caldwell, Fulton Hopkins, Marshall, Muhlenberg, Taylor and Warren counties were declared by the federal government for assistance.

More: Where did Kentucky tornadoes hit? See damage by county

Who are the Kentucky tornado victims?

Some of the names of the 76 confirmed victims have been released, with Kentucky officials also saying over 100 people remain unaccounted for.

Read more about the victims here.

Tornado victim names: Kentucky tornado death count has increased. Here are the names we know

What is the population of Mayfield, Kentucky?

The population of Mayfield, which is in Graves County, is about 9,800.

How far is Mayfield from Louisville?

The city, which was leveled by the tornado Friday night, Dec. 10, is 227 miles southwest of Louisville and 134 miles northwest of Nashville.

How many people were killed in the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory?

The town of Mayfield has been an epicenter of destruction and attention in the wake of the tornadoes.

One of the most devastated parts of the town was the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory, where about 110 people were working when the tornado hit the facility.

On Dec. 12, a factory spokesman said that of the 110 people in the factory when the tornado struck, eight are confirmed dead and eight remain unaccounted for.

It should have shut down: Inside the final frantic hours of the Mayfield candle factory

The rest have been reached and are alive, said Bob Ferguson with Hawks Bill Group LLC. "We've had a very productive day" getting in touch with employees, adding most of the survivors are in shelters where they could charge their devices so they could answer calls from the company, he said.

State officials said at a Dec. 12 press conference they were looking into information provided by MCP, with Beshear saying it "may be a better situation and the miracle we were hoping for." But the governor did not provide details on what the information is.

"The company right now says it has different information but until we can verify it, we're still where we were (Saturday)."

Beshear spokeswoman Crystal Staley referred a Courier Journal reporter seeking clarification on the state's position back to the governor's press conference.

A spokeswoman for state emergency management referred questions back to the governor's office.

'We were trapped': Kentucky candle factory survivors recount escape from deadly tornado

On Monday, Dec. 13, Beshear said the state is "working to confirm" the factory information.

"We feared much, much worse, and again, I pray it is accurate," he said.

The governor said the candle factory's owner made "several contacts" with his office Sunday and is coordinating with recovery crews on the ground. Kentucky State Police is verifying the information from the factory, Beshear also said.

The Graves County Coroner confirmed the following week that eight people had died in the factory and released their names.

What happened in Bowling Green?

A tornado believed to be an EF-3 hit the city of Bowling Green in Warren County.

The damage was extensive, including near the campus of Western Kentucky University, which said a relative of a student was among the dead.

As of Sunday morning, 12 people in Warren County had lost their lives to the storm.

I found myself in the backyard: Bowling Green reflects on devastating, deadly tornado

Were other areas of Kentucky impacted by tornadoes?

Officials are still working to determine where all of the tornado damage is across the commonwealth, but we know numerous communities have been impacted.

That includes towns such as Dawson Springs and Bremen and counties including Taylor and Ohio.

Did Kentucky's governor lose family in the tornadoes?

The damage in Dawson Springs was felt personally by Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, whose father and other family are from the Hopkins County community.

Beshear also said his uncle had cousins who died in Muhlenberg County, which suffered extensive tornado damage and where 11 deaths have been confirmed.

Related: Beshear's uncle among those who lost relatives in Western Kentucky tornadoes

Did Louisville get hit by tornadoes?

No. Louisville avoided getting hit by the tornadoes Friday night and early Saturday.

The strong storm system that hit Kentucky was felt in Jefferson County, however, with power outages and downed trees causing some issues for local residents.

How can I help Kentucky tornado victims?

While officials are urging most people to stay away from affected areas so first responders are free to help as much as possible, there are ways to help the parts of Kentucky were hit hard.

Organizations including the American Red Cross and the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund have put together fundraisers, donation drives and more.

Check out all the ways to contribute here.

How to get help if you were impacted by the tornadoes

If you were impacted, there are already ways for you to get assistance.

Find information on how to get help with everything from housing to pet care here.

En Espanol: Su casa fue danada por los tornados de Kentucky? Aqui le indicamos como obtener ayuda.

Are schools open in Kentucky?

Students in multiple districts across Kentucky will be out of school due to the weekend's storms.

Both school districts in hard-hit Hopkins County  Hopkins County Schools and Dawson Springs Independent  announced closures Sunday.

Hopkins County Schools will be closed through the end of the district's scheduled winter break, Superintendent Amy Smith said in a letter to families shared to the district's social media. The district's winter break is scheduled to end Monday, Jan. 3, according to the district's website.

"Our Central Office will be open and we will be in touch if volunteers are needed after we receive information from our Judge Executive," Smith wrote.

Running list: Here are the schools that will be closed following the Kentucky tornado aftermath

Dawson Springs students will be out of the classroom until at least Jan. 4, Superintendent Leonard Whalen said on social media. School buildings are open to provide shelter, food, clothes and toiletries, he added.

Bowling Green Independent Schools will be closed Monday and Tuesday, the district confirmed to The Courier Journal.

Warren County schools announced previously classes are canceled for Monday and Tuesday.

And Christian County Public Schools' Pembroke Elementary will be closed through Friday, the district's superintendent said on social media, due to storm damage.

"CCPS will begin providing support, supplies, and meals to anyone affected by the severe weather in Christian County as soon as possible!" Chris Bentzel said in his post.

This story has been updated.

Courier Journal reporters Billy Kobin, Bailey Loosemore, Ben Tobin, Lucas Aulbach, Olivia Krauth and Hayes Gardner contributed to this report.

Mary Ramsey is a breaking news reporter for The Courier Journal. Reach her at mramsey@gannett.com, and follow her on Twitter @mcolleen1996. Support strong local journalism in our community by subscribing to The Courier Journal today.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Tornadoes in Kentucky: Category, sizes, how to help
The trial for a man accused of fatally shooting another man near a warehouse off Link Lane in Fort Collins began this week, but his defense attorney asserts his client isnt the one who pulled the trigger.

The jury heard opening statements Monday morning in the trial for Efren Almeida, who prosecutors say fatally shot 38-year-old Timothy Bryant during a confrontation at the warehouse where Bryant worked on Jan. 27, 2020.

Almeidas codefendant, Nicole Gibson, pleaded guilty in September to a lesser charge of conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced to 24 years in prison. As part of an agreement with the district attorneys office, Gibson is required to testify against Almeida during his weeklong trial.

Gibson turned herself in at the Larimer County Sheriffs Office at the urging of her mother days after Bryant was killed, Deputy District Attorney Michael Mangione told the jury. After speaking with investigators for several hours, Mangione said, Gibson drove around with law enforcement to show them locations where she said Almeida burned both of their clothes and stole license plates off another vehicle to put on his as well as where she said he tossed the old license plate and a bullet casing from the fatal shooting.

"Everything she has told (investigators) is corroborated by some piece of physical evidence," Mangione said.

More: Fort Collins police K-9 uninjured in Old Town stabbing arrest thanks to protective vest

Mangione said Gibson told investigators she had an abusive relationship with Bryant and that Bryant had recently stolen property from her parents house in Laramie, Wyoming, while her father was hospitalized in Denver.

Gibson told investigators she wanted to get the property back from Bryant but was afraid hed hurt her. In the days before the shooting, Gibson confronted Bryant to get the property back  which included two firearms  and Bryant beat her, leaving Gibson needing five staples in her head, Mangione said.

Story continues

When she met Almeida at a mutual friends house a few days before the shooting, Mangione said Almeida offered to go with her to meet Bryant and get her belongings back, and Gibson gave Almeida a gun.

Mangione said Almeida drove them around looking for Bryant, and also claimed that they both used drugs while he drove. When they found Bryant at a warehouse off Link Lane where he works, Mangione said, they confronted him.

Mangione said investigators believe Bryant claimed to not have Gibson's belongings despite previously telling her he had them, and said that's when Almeida held up the gun and told Bryant to give Gibson her items.

Bryant responded, "Shoot me," Mangione said. "So that's exactly what the defendant does."

Bryant was shot three times  in the chest, side and head  and suffered blunt force trauma to his head, Mangione said.

The coroner ruled Bryant's death a homicide but did not release a specific cause of death.

Defense claims codefendant, not Almeida, pulled trigger

Almeida's attorney James Merson argued to the jury that Gibson is the only one who had the motive to pull the trigger on Bryant and said Almeida didn't know Gibson or Bryant prior to this incident.

"This is a case about a woman with nothing to lose and everything to gain by killing Tim Bryant," Merson said.

Merson cited multiple occasions in the weeks leading up to Bryant's death where Gibson made comments about killing Bryant or directly threatened him, including calls with friends and texts to Bryant.

Merson said Gibson went to law enforcement and placed the blame on Almeida to protect herself.

"Nicole gets the drop on Efren just like she got the drop on Tim," Merson said.

More: Couple sues after Colorado public defender declines to take their cases due to assets

According to Merson, Almeida went with Gibson into the warehouse to confront Bryant. While Almeida went over to turn off an air compressor inside the warehouse, he heard gunshots, Merson said.

Merson said Larimer County Coroner James Wilkerson will testify during Almeida's weeklong trial that this was an emotional killing likely by someone who Bryant was close with  someone like Gibson, Merson alleges.

"Efren doesn't know anything about this stuff," Merson said, referencing the conflict between Gibson and Bryant.

The trial is expected to conclude Friday. The Coloradoan will attend key testimony during the trial in addition to closing arguments and the reading of the verdict.

All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in court. Arrests and charges are merely accusations by law enforcement until, and unless, a suspect is convicted of a crime.

Sady Swanson covers public safety, criminal justice, Larimer County government and more throughout Northern Colorado. You can send your story ideas to her at sswanson@coloradoan.com or on Twitter at @sadyswan. Support her work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Trial begins for man accused in Fort Collins murder
Conflicted Congress banner with the the Capitol Building showing in the background

Rebecca Zisser/Insider

iStock; Skye Gould/Insider

Insider analyzed congressional staff financial filings from January 2020 to mid-September 2021.

Reporters found at least 182 instances in which senior staffers were late disclosing stock trades.

"A lot of people just ignore the law, and it goes unenforced," one ethics watchdog said.

At least 182 of Capitol Hill's most influential and highest-paid staffers have blown past deadlines to detail and disclose their personal stock trades  violating a federal conflict-of-interest law in the process, an Insider analysis of congressional financial documents reveals.

The staffers' failure to properly disclose the transactions come with a laundry list of excuses and rationalizations. They're also a violation of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, a 2012 law designed to prevent insider trading and defend against financial conflicts among elected officials and their top aides.

Insider's tally includes aides in both the House and the Senate with high-ranking jobs such as chiefs of staff, legislative directors, and communications directors. Also among them are workers known as professional staff members, who serve on congressional committees to advise lawmakers on policy.

High-ranking congressional staffers often wield significant influence over their elected bosses. Many also regularly meet with special interests and corporate lobbyists, who could conceivably represent a company or industry in which a congressional staffer personally invests. That's why a law President Barack Obama signed almost a decade ago obligated senior staff to disclose their stock trades, just as lawmakers had to.

The late-reporting problem is decidedly bipartisan. The violations split almost exactly down the middle between Democrats and Republicans.

The 182-person finding is part of Insider's exhaustive Conflicted Congress project, in which journalists reviewed nearly 9,000 financial-disclosure reports for every sitting lawmaker and their top-ranking staffers.

Story continues

Watchdog groups say the sheer number of late filings is evidence of a far-too-lax attitude on Capitol Hill about ethics rules. The congressional staffers' infractions come on top of STOCK Act disclosure violations by at least 48 members of Congress.

Compounding the problem, ethics watchdogs say, is a secretive enforcement process. Both lawmakers and their staff work out any breaches of the law in private. Few are open with the public about why they failed to disclose their stock trades properly or how they worked to fix the issue.

"Your research is showing that when it is not disclosed a lot of people just ignore the law and it goes unenforced," said Craig Holman, a government-affairs lobbyist at Public Citizen who helped shape the STOCK Act and wants to make it stronger.

He called Insider's findings "stunning" and said all documents detailing people's trades, and any enforcement steps taken, should be made public.

The chief of staff for Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican of Arkansas, appeared to be late disclosing numerous trades in 2020. Gary Cameron/Reuters

Staffers have lots of excuses

Insider reached out to 48 staffers whose trades appeared to be disclosed the latest, as well as those who appeared to be the most frequent STOCK Act violators. Thirty-four of them didn't respond, weren't forthcoming about why their disclosures were late, or refused to share how they attempted to comply with the law.

Some who provided information about why they were late said they forgot or misunderstood the deadlines despite receiving ethics training that all staff are required to take, both when they get hired and then periodically over the course of their Capitol Hill careers. Others blamed a financial advisor or spouse for failing to tell them about the trade in a timely manner.

Still others described a convoluted, difficult-to-understand disclosure process that didn't always accommodate their various financial situations  including unexpected inheritances or gifts to family members  despite their best efforts to comply with the STOCK Act.

Stock trades exceeding $1,000 from senior congressional staffers, their spouses, and any dependent children are supposed to be a matter of public record. Yet many senior staffers who were late disclosing their trades were unwilling to open up about what happened or whether they faced a penalty.

Douglas Coutts, the chief of staff for Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican of Arkansas who is making early moves toward a 2024 presidential run, appeared to be late disclosing numerous trades in 2020, each valued between $1,001 and $15,000. He listed trades in companies including the insurance provider Chubb Limited; Google's parent company, Alphabet; and the healthcare company Abbott Labs, known for its COVID-19 testing capabilities.

Cotton sits on the Judiciary Committee, which has scrutinized large tech companies like Google over antitrust concerns.

At least one document appears to show that Coutts disclosed some trades nearly two months past a federally mandated deadline.

An attorney for Cotton's office declined to explain why Coutts' disclosures appeared to be habitually tardy, and she called the financial-disclosure requirements "onerous."

"He is all squared away," Cotton's general counsel, Meg McGaughey, said of Coutts, declining to elaborate further on the documents.

Bryan Petit, a senior professional staff member on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, chaired by the conservative Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, appeared to be about a year and nine months late disclosing a JPMorgan trade from 2019. The trade was made by his spouse and was valued at $15,001 to $50,000.

"Senator Manchin's staff is in full compliance with Senate Ethics Committee requirements," Manchin's communications director, Sam Runyon, said without elaborating.

Walter Shaub, who leads the Government Ethics Initiative at the nonpartisan Project on Government Oversight, said he was shocked by the majority of staffers who weren't forthcoming, given their access to lawmakers and lobbyists and knowledge about pending legislation.

"We have entrusted these people with great power. They owe us great transparency," he said. "They are not even giving us minimal transparency."

"There is at least an optics problem," said Jason Briefel, the director of policy and outreach at the Senior Executives Association, a nonprofit, nonpartisan professional association representing career federal civil servants. "All the members and staff, these are significant numbers."

"The public will have questions if these things keep happening," he added. "And there is nothing on the culture of the Hill that suggests this will stop happening."

Some congressional staffers were forthcoming.

Mike Henry, the chief of staff for Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat of Virginia, was 1 to 1 1/2 years late disclosing five sales on different dates in 2019 that his spouse made in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. stock. The biotech company develops treatments for serious diseases such as cystic fibrosis, and it has faced backlash from state regulators for high prices.

Kaine, who was Hillary Clinton's 2016 vice-presidential running mate, serves on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, which has the power to regulate the healthcare industry and oversees government healthcare programs.

Henry's highest Vertex sale was valued at $50,001 to $100,000. He told Insider the Senate Ethics Committee informed him that he'd forgotten to file a disclosure about it. He said that he paid a fine  the standard late-filing penalty is $200  but that the committee didn't give him a receipt.

"I will certainly work harder to avoid such oversights in the future, as disclosing information like this is important to me," he said.

The office of Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat of Ohio, did not explain why his state director, John Ryan, appeared to be about 3  years late disclosing a 2018 purchase worth up to $15,000 in TotalEnergies SE, a petroleum refining company. Trudy Perkins, Brown's communication director, said Ryan paid a late fee after the Senate Select Committee on Ethics notified him about the late reporting.

One example of a staffer tardy in acknowledging a particularly large number of trades is Julie Leschke, a deputy chief of staff for Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. Leschke and her husband, Dr. John Leschke, appeared to be more than two years late reporting at least 12 stock trades in companies that included Facebook, Amazon, and Alibaba. Taken together, the trades were worth at least $131,006 and as much as $440,000. Separate trades that appeared to be late were listed in several other documents she filed.

Johnson's office attributed the late filing to a change in reporting requirements. In 2013, Leschke became state director and deputy chief of staff under a work category known as a "political fund designee"  someone who is allowed to engage in campaign activity, including fundraising, outside of Senate hours. Under Senate ethics rules, she only had to file annual personal financial disclosures in that role.

Alexa Henning, deputy chief of staff for Johnson, said that Leschke filed her annual reports as required. Then, in 2018, a cost-of-living salary adjustment bumped Leschke into a different worker category that then required regular reporting of stock transactions, she said.

"Senate Ethics noticed this in December of 2020 and contacted her," Henning said. "She worked closely with Ethics to quickly remedy. No waiver was necessary."

Multiple other late filers didn't dispute the tardiness of their financial reporting, instead offering pandemic-related reasons for the lapses. Competing challenges mentioned include juggling work-from-home duties and full-time parenting while schools were closed; liquidating cash to bring home college-age students who would have otherwise been stranded abroad as international travel bans took hold; and caring for older relatives rather than leaving them isolated during quarantine.

The staff director for Rep. Kevin Brady, the top Republican on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, was late disclosing stock trades. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Complex rules and minimal oversight

Senate staffers receive automated email notifications from ethics officials when they're late disclosing their personal stock trades. But House staff face a far more complicated process and less oversight, Insider has learned.

House staffers typically have to notice on their own that they forgot to disclose a stock trade on time. Then it's up to them to call up the House Ethics Committee to explain what happened and have a conversation with attorneys about whether they owe a fine or can apply for a waiver.

Gary Andres, the staff director for Rep. Kevin Brady, the top Republican on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, said he didn't know one of his stock-trade disclosures was more than a year late until Insider asked him about it.

He checked on it and said he spoke with the House Ethics Committee and "the matter has been resolved." The missing trade was valued at $500,000 to $1 million and was conducted by his spouse in Union Pacific Corp.

"My financial advisor filed this in January but due to a clerical error it was not logged in by the Ethic Committee," he said. "Once this clerical error was discovered by my financial advisor he filed it again in 2021."

Robert Marcus, the chief of staff to Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a Democrat of Illinois, filed a disclosure roughly eight months late disclosing a purchase in Insulet Corp., a medical-device company whose products include a wearable insulin dispenser to treat diabetes.

Marcus told Insider he recently called the House Ethics Committee to let it know and the panel assessed a $200 fine, which he said he would pay.

Marcus said he forgot to disclose the trade, valued between $1,001 and $15,000, on time. He said that he didn't trade large amounts of stock but that investing was fun for him and something he'd been curious about since childhood.

"It wasn't nefarious," he said of missing the deadline. "It was just a missed opportunity or a missed deadline that was off."

"I'm just embarrassed of myself for missing it because I do care about these things," he added. "I do care about ethics in this place. And I'm very upset at the way things are going around here nowadays in that department with some people, but I don't want to be one of them."

The communications director for Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut was late disclosing stock trades. Ken Cedeno-Pool/Getty Images

Small consequences

Most of the congressional staffers' late disclosures aren't nefarious  they happen because people aren't paying attention to the rules or are preoccupied with other parts of their lives, said a former, nonpartisan staffer for the Senate ethics panel.

But the person also partly blamed the lack of serious consequences for filing disclosures late.

"If there is no real consequence for doing it wrong, what is the reason to really pay attention?" said the person, who requested anonymity to protect professional relationships.

Staffers are supposed to pay a federally mandated fine starting at $200 after they've exceeded their deadline by 30 days. The only way to otherwise get right with the law after a tardy disclosure is to explain the reason behind the violation to the House or Senate ethics committees, which have the power to grant waivers that get staff out of paying a fine but still put them in compliance with the STOCK Act.

These waivers are supposed to be granted only "in extraordinary cases," according to ethics manuals.

No public ledger exists disclosing whether and when congressional staffers paid a fine or got a waiver. This makes it impossible to independently determine the extent to which congressional staffers are held accountable by Congress when they break the STOCK Act's disclosure rules.

The only way to try to verify what happened is to go straight to the source of the violation. But only five senior staffers provided Insider with copies of their waivers.

One was Maria McElwain, the communications director for Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. She disclosed 18 trades late that occurred over four months in 2019, the most recent of which appears to have happened about a year before it was disclosed.

McElwain attributed the gaffe to miscommunication with her financial advisor about federal reporting requirements.

The Senate Select Committee on Ethics waived her late fee after she fessed up, she said.

"Since this was my first mistake and I confirmed that I had developed communication safeguards to ensure that it wouldn't happen again, I was granted a penalty waiver," McElwain told Insider.

That waiver appears to have covered trades worth $32,018 to $305,000 and included investments in Home Depot, Apple, and Verizon Communications.

If staffers don't disclose their stock trades by the deadline but have a reasonable excuse, then the Senate Select Committee on Ethics would likely waive their fee, said a senior Senate staff member.

They were also likely to get excused if it was just their first time, said the senior Senate staffer, who had no record of improperly disclosing stock trades but spoke with Insider to help explain the relationship between the Senate staff and the Senate Select Committee on Ethics.

The Senate Select Committee on Ethics trains congressional staffers on how to fill out the financial documents, and some professional staff who work for committees even get ethics refresher courses focusing "on topics of relevance," including how to follow the STOCK Act, according to the senior Senate aide, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly.

The House and the Senate also have attorneys in each Ethics Committee at the ready in case staff have any questions or want to discuss issues in their reports, three former congressional ethics staff told Insider.

Holman said he thought all STOCK Act waivers should be made public to be able to determine whether they were being granted only in extraordinary cases.

"Sometimes waivers are justified  and that would be compliance  but we should be able to scrutinize the grounds by which waivers are being issued," he said.

Shaub also raised concerns about the circumstances under which ethics committees were choosing to grant waivers.

"In the executive branch, 'I didn't know' or 'I forgot' will not get you out of the $200 fine," said Shaub, who previously served as the director at the US Office of Government Ethics. "The standard is supposed to be 'unusual hardship.' Not caring enough about ethics to know the rules isn't 'unusual hardship.' In fact, it's anything but unusual in Congress."

The chief of staff for Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican of Iowa, said her finances were complicated and that she wasn't always able to disclose her finances on time. Andrew Harnik-Pool/Getty Images

Murky disclosure rules

Insider reviewed every stock trade disclosed by high-level congressional staffers from January 1, 2020, to September 13, 2021. Their trades are listed in documents known as periodic transaction reports, which, for congressional staffers, are not available to the public online and must be obtained either through a cumbersome records-request process or by using a little-known computer terminal in congressional office buildings in Washington, DC.

For the most part, Capitol Hill staff members are required to report their stock trades regularly only if they earn a congressional salary starting at $132,552 annually. That's generally the salary minimum for senior aides, but many other jobs on the Hill providing tech support or financial management for offices have similar compensation.

All of these job descriptions appeared among the 182 people Insider identified as having submitted their disclosures late. Only four of the total identified appeared to be nonpartisan staff.

The extent to which other Capitol Hill office employees with lower salaries trade stocks is unknown because they don't have to disclose it.

Senior congressional staffers have 30 days to disclose a trade, or 45 days if they learned about a trade a few days after it happened, such as when a financial advisor made it and didn't notify them right away. The first penalty is $200 regardless of how late a staffer was, the number of companies the staffer invested in, or how much the staffer invested.

Increasingly higher fines follow if they continue to be late  potentially costing tens of thousands of dollars in extreme cases, though Insider hasn't found evidence of staff or members of Congress paying such large fines.

While filers are, by law, considered late after 30 days, they still have another 30-day "grace period" before congressional officials might fine them. Insider's analysis identified disclosures that ranged from as little as one day late to others that appeared to be four years late.

A former investigative counsel at the Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent body that investigates ethics concerns and complaints in the House, said cases did emerge in which it could be hard for people to figure out whether they're supposed to submit a report. The former investigative counsel, who asked not to be named to speak candidly, offered the example of a spouse leaving a company and triggering a repurchase of their stock holdings.

Some senior staff members told Insider that certain circumstances could make it harder to report their finances in a timely way.

Lisa Goeas, the chief of staff for Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, called her finances "complicated."

"My family had several transactions involving family businesses over the past few years that resulted in the trusts and underlying assets that I disclose," she said.

Goeas said she worked closely with the Senate Ethics Committee on her reports to comply with the STOCK Act, saying, "I want to get them right." But she still has filed six disclosures late in seven years, and while she said she received a waiver for the first late-filing fine, she said she paid the others and they were in the range of $200 to $400.

Goeas said that she did not direct or control the investments and that in some cases she filed her report past the deadline because the trust didn't provide her with needed information on time.

Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat of Virginia, introduced the bipartisan TRUST in Congress Act, which would require all members of Congress put certain investment assets in a blind trust. Win McNamee/Getty Images

Don't hold your breath for a stronger STOCK Act

Government experts say it's far past time to make the STOCK Act stronger.

James Thurber, a professor at American University who is a congressional-studies scholar, said that for starters there should be more enforcement measures to ensure congressional staffers submit their financial disclosures on time.

"We should have transparency about that," he said. "They should abide by the rules."

Holman of Public Citizen said Congress and staff might better comply with the law if fines were higher and if people had to publicly disclose their violations "so that there is political pressure and political price for this."

The public can get immediate access to staff's financial disclosures only through accessing five computers on Capitol Hill  three on the Senate side and two on the House side  and some open-government experts want staff to post all their financial disclosures online just as members of Congress do.

Even when accessed, some periodic transaction reports may leave out details.

While reporting this story, Insider viewed documents that showed the disclosures sometimes contain private, confidential notes that are visible only to a staffer and the Ethics Committee. The notes in some cases can help to explain why a trade has been disclosed late or can even contain crucial details showing the staffer hasn't run afoul of the law.

Briefel at the Senior Executives Association urged caution against online disclosures of staffers' information given the potential it could create for doxxing and other kinds of attacks on public servants.

"This conversation probably needs to be part of a broader conversation about the balance between privacy and openness for public officials in general," he said.

Yet he and good-government advocates agree the self-policing strategy Congress established in the STOCK Act has proved inadequate. Even its champions concede the law amounts to little more than a toothless annoyance. "Congress doesn't like to punish itself," the former Senate Ethics Committee staffer told Insider.

Several bills reintroduced this congressional session have sought to make the STOCK Act stronger.

A bipartisan House bill called the Transparent Representation Upholding Service and Trust in Congress Act would require lawmakers, their spouses, and dependent children to place certain assets into a blind trust, relinquishing all control of their assets to a third party. The Ban Conflicted Trading Act, introduced in both the Senate and the House, would prohibit members of Congress and senior staff from buying individual stocks.

But the bills have languished, and no formal hearings or votes on them appear imminent.

Read the original article on Business Insider
WASHINGTON  The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection voted unanimously Monday to recommend the House cite former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows for contempt for defying a subpoena and urged the Justice Department to pursue criminal charges.

Meadows provided some documents to the committee before refusing to testify under subpoena. His lawyer, George Terwilliger, urged the panel not to pursue contempt charges because Meadows was under orders from former President Donald Trump, who sought to keep his communications confidential under executive privilege.

But the committee chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said Meadows refused to testify at a deposition after providing 9,000 pages of documents to the panel. Lawmakers want to ask about texts from lawmakers and Fox News hosts urging Trump to call off the mob.

He changed his mind and told us to pound sand. He didnt even show up, Thompson said. He has no credible excuse for stonewalling the Select Committees investigation.

JAN. 6 COMMITTEE REPORT: Meadows said National Guard would 'protect pro Trump people'

The House Rules Committee will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday to set rules for floor debate on the Meadows contempt citation, and the Justice Department could decide within weeks whether to press charges.

Thompson said nearly 300 witnesses have cooperated with the committee, which received 30,000 records.

Im pleased to report were making swift progress, Thompson said.

The top Republican on the committee, Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, said the White House knew the attack was serious because lawmakers, television hosts and his own son sent texts to Meadows.

Lawmakers who werent named said they were under siege and someone is going to get killed, Cheney said. Fox hosts Laura Ingraham, Brian Kilmeade and Sean Hannity each told Trump through Meadows to call off the mob, Cheney said. The presidents son, Donald Trump Jr., said it has gone too far and has gotten out of hand, Cheney said.

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The text messages leave no doubt that White House knew what was happening, Cheney said.

Terwilliger had told the committee earlier Monday that referring the case to the Justice Department would be contrary to law because Meadows was acting in good faith to keep communications with Trump confidential under executive privilege.

It would ill-serve the country to rush to judgment on the matter, Terwilliger said in a seven-page letter to the committee.

'NO CHOICE': Mark Meadows sues Jan. 6 committee after it says it will pursue contempt citation

Meadows initially cooperated with the committee and provided documents, but has since refused to provide contested documents or appear for a deposition. Committee members said Meadows had no legitimate claim of executive privilege for questions covering the 9,000 documents he's already provided.

A 51-page report prepared for the committee to vote on Monday alleged that Meadows provided no justification for claiming executive privilege and refused to answer questions unrelated to executive privilege.

To be clear, Mr. Meadowss failure to comply, and this contempt recommendation, are not based on good-faith disagreements over privilege assertions, the report said. Rather, Mr. Meadows has failed to comply and warrants contempt findings because he has wholly refused to appear to provide any testimony and refused to answer questions regarding even clearly non-privileged information  information that he himself has identified as non-privileged through his own document production.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows speaks on a phone on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, on Oct. 30, 2020.

On Wednesday, Meadows sued House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and the committee in U.S. District Court by arguing the subpoena was overly broad and unduly burdensome. He also questioned the committees legitimacy and argued the committee threatens to violate longstanding principles of executive privilege and immunity that are of constitutional origin and dimension."

Trump is also fighting a subpoena for his administration's documents at the National Archives and Records Administration. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Trump and in favor of the committee receiving the documents because President Joe Biden waived executive privilege. But Trump is expected to appeal to the Supreme Court.

The House committee scheduled a vote Monday evening to recommend the full House find Meadows in contempt for defying a subpoena for documents and testimony.

The full House must still vote on the contempt citation and the referral for criminal prosecution. Meadows could become the second Trump administration official prosecuted for contempt, along with political strategist Steve Bannon.

The committee has also recommended contempt and criminal prosecution of former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark. But a House vote on the measure was postponed because Clark is set to meet with the committee Thursday and refused to answer questions under his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Nearly 300 people have cooperated with the committee. The panel plans weeks of hearings next year on its findings about what led to the attack on the Capitol, which injured 140 police officers and temporarily halted the counting of Electoral College votes.

The committee seeks information from Meadows about:

Text messages he exchanged with an organizer of the Jan. 6 rally on the Ellipse, after the organizer told him that [t]hings have gotten crazy and I desperately need some direction. Please.

An email message to an individual about the events on Jan. 6 that asked if the National Guard would be present to protect pro Trump people and that many more would be available on standby.

Text messages and emails Meadows received regarding apparent efforts to encourage Republican legislators in certain states to send alternate slates of electors to Congress, a plan which one member of Congress acknowledged was highly controversial and to which Meadows responded, I love it.

Terwilliger told the committee the criminal contempt statute wasnt intended to apply to good-faith assertions of executive privilege. Despite regular disagreements between the executive branch and Congress on issues of privilege and withholding documents, the law wasnt used against an executive branch official for 125 years after its passage  until 1982.

The criminal contempt of Congress statute was originally passed as a supplement to Congresss inherent contempt powers, specifically to allow imprisonment of a contemptuous witness when the legislative session ended, Terwilliger said. The inherent contempt power  predecessor of the criminal contempt power  was never used against a member of the executive branch who asserted executive privilege.

Terwilliger contrasted the Meadows case with an allegation of failing to file an income tax form by arguing Meadows made a good-faith effort to enforce the confidentiality of executive privilege rather than intentionally commit wrongdoing.

This is unlike a case where an individual intentionally defies a lawful subpoena on the advice of counsel, Terwilliger said.

Terwilliger also argued executive privilege protects the institution of the presidency, rather than a specific occupant such as Trump.

These protections do not exist for the personal benefit of any executive advisor, but to protect the institution of the Presidency, Terwilliger said. The immunity from compulsion must also extend to former aides for if mere passage of office from one administration to the next extinguished the privilege, it would be no privilege at all."

Judges on the appeals panel that heard Trumps case noted that conflict between administrations, but they ruled that the current presidents view of executive privilege outweighs a former president.

The committee report alleged Meadows hasnt provided any justification for a claim of executive privilege.

Mr. Meadows has refused to provide the Select Committee with information and testimony that has no conceivable, associated privilege claims, the committee report said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: House Jan. 6 committee votes to hold Mark Meadows in contempt
Dec. 12MASSENA  A Massena Central School Board of Education member says that at a time when many opinions turn into disagreements, it might be worthwhile to explore a Debate Club or similar activity for students.

"I was wondering if there could be something like a virtual Debate Club that could meet on Zoom Meets and be given topics, have an adviser, maybe have people take pros and cons of each side, and then under kind of strict rules and guidelines," Patricia Murphy told board members. "You can't do certain things. You can only present your facts and maybe it can be scored."

She said it could possibly be scored by the truthfulness of information presented and the citing of places where the student found the information.

"It might engage students and spark some good, healthy debate because we know that the problem right now that most people are having is they can only have one opinion and for some reason they're having aggression when someone disagrees with their opinion," Ms. Murphy said. "... Maybe it's time for us to start helping kids to not only form their own opinions, but to be tolerant of opinions that are different from their own."

She recalled that the district once had a Debate Club, which later turned into Mock Trial.

"Then there were problems where we couldn't get people to staff it and keep that going. So, I thought if they met virtually, what would keep anybody from not being able to participate, except there would have to be guidelines and things like that," she said.

Ms. Murphy said her suggestion was prompted by one made by board member Kevin Perretta at a previous meeting. He had wondered if there was any way to promote academic competition from district to district, "to celebrate and push academic achievement."

"Schools compete in sports by sections or grading of the size of the school," Mr. Perretta said. "But, we're an academic institution, not a sports institution, and I don't know if anyone has ever come up with a way to educationally compete, celebrate or sort of uplift from within a school to maybe give some sort of a carrot out there for maybe a smart kid to push a kid that isn't smart."

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He said they might only look at graduation or dropout rates to increase awareness of academic achievements when there could be more.

"I think the more awareness we can create around the whole idea can only benefit all those students in that place," he said.

Superintendent Patrick H. Brady said he wasn't aware of academic competitions between schools with the exception of Whiz Quiz.

"I would love to see speech and debate be very strong in schools again. Mock Trial used to be an incredible program," Mr. Brady said. "Some of these have gone by the wayside over time as people change."
A Washington High School student was arrested Monday, accused of posting a threat on social media. Another student alerted officials.

MASSILLON  A Washington High School student was arrested Monday, accused of posting a weapons-related threat on social media.

The juvenile was charged with a misdemeanor count of inducing panic, Massillon Police Lt. Mike Maier said. The youth was later released to his parents.

Superintendent Paul Salvino said the student was in school and posted the threat to the social media platform Snapchat. Another student who saw it and immediately told school officials.

Within minutes, the student was removed from class by the school student resource officer, a Massillon police officer, and taken to an administrator's office, he said.

According to the police report, the post included a firearm that appears to have been photoshopped into another photo. Officials said the threat was not made at a particular person but was more general.

The student, a backpack and other areas were searched for weapons but none were found, Salvino said.

More: Central Catholic student removed from school for social media post

He was arrested sometime after 1 p.m.

In a statement to parents posted on the school's website and social media, Salvino wrote that the safety of students and staff is the district's top priority.

"The Massillon City School District will not tolerate this behavior and will continue to work closely with the Massillon Police Department to ensure the safety of all students and staff," he wrote.

At no time were any students in danger, Salvino said. The school did not go into lockdown.

"Needless to say this certainly caused unrest amongst the students," he said. "When you look at the media and what is going you have to take this seriously. The bottom line is I will not tolerate this type of behavior. There are 1,200 students that deserve to come to school and be safe and be able to learn. I am not going to tolerate it."

Salvino said with the safety procedures in place and the student resource officer in the building, there is no need for added security.

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"The important takeaway from this is if you see something, say something," the superintendent said. "Thankfully this student did see something and said something. It's our number one defense."

Reach Amy at 330-775-1135 or amy.knapp@indeonline.com

On Twitter: @aknappINDE

This article originally appeared on The Independent: Washington High student charged after Snapchat threat
Mark Meadows indicated in a Jan. 5 email that the National Guard was on standby to protect pro Trump people, according to documents obtained by the House committee investigating the Capitol riot, which the panel described in a public filing Sunday night.

The context for the message is unclear, but it comes amid intense scrutiny of the Guards slow response to violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and conflicting timelines about their efforts from the Pentagon and National Guard leadership.

It's unclear who Meadows, the former White House chief of staff to Donald Trump, relayed the information to or whether it was the result of any insight provided by the Defense Department. But the exchange is of high interest to congressional investigators probing whether Trump played a role in the three-hour delay between the Capitol Police's urgent request for Guard support and their ultimate arrival at the Capitol, which had been overrun by pro-Trump rioters. The comment also aligns with testimony from former Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, who said that in a Jan. 3 conversation with Trump, the then-president told him to "do whatever was necessary to protect the demonstrators that were executing their constitutionally protected rights."

The description of the message is part of a 51-page document released Sunday by the select panel a day before it is set to vote to hold Meadows in contempt of Congress. The full House is expected to vote to hold Meadows in criminal contempt of Congress on Tuesday.

In other messages described by the committee, Meadows appears to have asked members of Congress to help connect Trump with state lawmakers shortly after his defeat in November.

POTUS wants to chat with them, Meadows said, according to documents obtained by the Jan. 6 committee and described publicly Sunday evening.

The messages also describe numerous contacts with members of Congress about Trumps efforts to recruit state lawmakers and encourage them to help overturn the election results. They also included questions about Meadows exchanges with members of Congress as they pressed him urgently to issue a statement telling rioters on Jan. 6 to exit the Capitol.

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Meadows attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The messages are the clearest insight yet into the conversations Trump was having with senior advisers in the chaotic months after his defeat in which he sought to cling to power in increasingly desperate ways. Though Meadows turned over thousands of text messages and emails, he has declined to sit for a deposition to discuss those messages, claiming he is barred by executive privilege. The committee and Meadows had reached a tentative agreement for him to come in for an interview, but the pact collapsed last week.

Instead, the committee held a closed-door deposition without Meadows present and described the questions they would have asked him. The transcript of that closed session was appended to the panels contempt report, describing the details of the documents Meadows had provided.

We would have asked him about text messages sent to and received from a Senator regarding the Vice Presidents power to reject electors, including a text in which Mr. Meadows recounts a direct communication with President Trump who, according to Mr. Meadows in his text messages, quote, thinks the legislators have the power, but the VP has power Too, the panels investigators noted.

Meadows' comments on the National Guard's readiness to defend Trump supporters align with concerns that have wracked investigators for months. POLITICO reported in May that a Capitol Police leader similarly encouraged officers to focus on anti-Trump forces within the Jan. 6 crowd, prompting concerns about intelligence failures even as the pro-Trump mob encroached on the Capitol.

The committee pointed out that many of the messages he shared already appeared to violate privilege by describing his own contacts with Trump. He also revealed many of those contacts in his recently released book.

The committee described a slew of other messages it obtained from Meadows including:

 Text messages with a media personality who had encouraged Trump to issue a statement asking those at the Capitol to peacefully leave.

 A text sent to one of  by one of the Presidents family members indicating that Mr. Meadows is, quote, pushing hard, end quote, for a statement from President Trump to, quote, condemn this shit.

 Texts in December 2020 regarding efforts to install Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark as acting attorney general.

 Texts to and from a member of Congress in November 2020 seeking contact information for the attorney general of Arizona to discuss claims of election fraud.

 Texts to and from organizers of the Jan. 6 rally that preceded the violent attack on the Capitol.

 Texts reflecting Mr. Meadows skepticism about public statements regarding allegations of election fraud put forth by Sidney Powell and his skepticism about the veracity of claims of tampering with Dominion voting machines.

Powell, who briefly worked with Trump's campaign legal team before leading her own series of lawsuits intended to overturn the election results, was the most notable purveyor of outlandish claims of election fraud. She huddled with Trump at the White House in December 2020. Trump briefly considered naming her a "special counsel" to pursue election fraud.
ONEIDA - Sandra Brehmer looks on with pride at how much the Oneida Nation has built over the last few decades. And she knows much of it might not have been possible without gaming revenue.

Infrastructure, housing, education, senior housing and social service programs are all paid for with help from gaming revenue, but those earnings werent always available for the tribe.

Sandra Brehmer talks to media after being one of the first people to place a sports bet at Oneida Casino on Nov. 30, 2021, in Ashwaubenon, Wis.

Brehmer and another Oneida woman, Alma Webster, are credited with helping to bring gaming to the reservation and throughout Indian Country in Wisconsin through their efforts 45 years ago.

The two made history when they started a bingo operation in 1976 that, within a few years, brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits for Oneida and laid the foundation for Indigenous nation gaming in Wisconsin.

Without that bingo game, I dont know where wed be, Brehmer said. We earned the basis to be able to do that (gaming). Otherwise, wed be looking for handouts.

RELATED: Gamblers at Oneida Casino near Green Bay can now legally bet on sports, a first for Wisconsin

RELATED: Land is life: How the Oneida Nation is reclaiming its land, and its identity

But bringing gaming to Oneida wasnt without a fight  and the struggle started with Brehmer and Webster.

Some people think the casino was always here, said Mike Hoeft, a former Press-Gazette reporter who wrote the book Bingo Queens of Oneida: How two moms started tribal gaming in Wisconsin. These ladies fought hard to get it and keep it going. The state didnt just say, Heres a casino for you. No. The tribe really fought for its sovereignty.

Sandra Brehmer, left, and Alma Webster, right, talk with friend Lois Harrison in this file photo from 2001. Brehmer and Webster established Oneida bingo in 1976.

In 1976, Brehmer had worked as the assistant director at the Oneida Civic Center and Webster was serving as the tribes treasurer.

The center included a basketball gym where the youth on the reservation could play, but the tribe had struggled paying the light bill to keep it open.

In those days, Brehmer explained that the tribe was poor and even many homes didnt have electricity.

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Webster was  and is  a huge fan of bingo, having played at local churches, and thought the game could be a good revenue generator to help pay to keep the civic center open.

They started organizing bingo games at the civic center, and by 1979 total profits exceeded $532,000.

Not only could they now pay the light bill for the civic center, but the tribe also used the money to pay other bills it had fallen behind on, such as employment insurance to the state.

The bingo operation soon caught the attention of officials from other Indigenous nations who came to Oneida to learn how to run a successful operation on their own reservations.

The operation also caught the attention of state regulators, and county police were threatening to raid the bingo hall.

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Part of what made the Oneida bingo game so popular was that it had larger jackpot payouts than other bingo games.

As a sovereign nation with a treaty with the federal government, the Oneida Nation does not have to adhere to state regulations on payout limits for bingo games.

When no one would win the grand prize for a bingo game in Oneida, the money would be added to the pot and jackpots could reach about $1,000.

Rather than confrontations from police raids, Oneida officials reasoned with local authorities to allow the matter to play out in court.

Oneida Nation citizens who had become attorneys successfully argued for Oneidas case.

Brehmers and Websters children, who had helped work the bingo nights, now have successful careers working for the tribe, or elsewhere, and gaming on the reservation employs hundreds of workers, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous.

Alma Webster holds up the bet she placed at the opening event for Oneida Casino's sports betting operation on Nov. 30, 2021, in Ashwaubenon, Wis.

The Oneida Nation also uses gaming revenue to buy back much of the land on its reservation to further increase its sovereignty.

Pre-pandemic, tribal casinos in Wisconsin earned about $1.3 billion in gross revenue from 2018 to 2019, according the Wisconsin Department of Administration.

Brehmer and Webster were part of history again last month when they placed the first-ever legal sports wagers in Wisconsin at the Oneida Casino. They bet $5 for the Saints to beat the Cowboys on Dec. 2, and lost.

But they won big for the tribe.

Brehmer said, Its good to see that what we did paid off big time for our people.

Frank Vaisvilas is a Report For America corps member based at the Green Bay Press-Gazette covering Native American issues in Wisconsin. He can be reached at 920-228-0437 or fvaisvilas@gannett.com, or on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank. Please consider supporting journalism that informs our democracy with a tax-deductible gift to this reporting effort at GreenBayPressGazette.com/RFA.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Oneida 'Bingo Queens' started tribal gaming in Wisconsin in the 1970s
This story was originally published by Searchlight New Mexico.

In February, a 25-year-old oncology nurse at the University of New Mexico Hospital doubled her $900-a-week salary by leaving her staff position and taking a temporary job in Montana.

She didnt do it for the money  born and raised in Albuquerque, she wanted to get out of New Mexico for a little while and see other parts of the country. When she arrived in Montana, she found herself working alongside more experienced staff nurses who were getting paid much less.

Its definitely been a positive, making more money, the nurse said. Like every nurse who spoke with Searchlight New Mexico, she did not want to be named for fear of retaliation or damaging future employment prospects. But there are often times that I feel guilty, especially when Im doing the same job that my fellow coworkers are doing yet making double what they are.

Presbyterian Santa Fe Medical Center is pictured in this undated photo.

Travel nurses have long been a part of the American health care system  before the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals around the country would typically hire these temporary workers for 13-week stints to address unexpected short-term needs, like a sudden vacancy or a natural disaster. Travel nurses sacrificed long-term stability for a higher paycheck and greater flexibility.

But over the past two years, nurses have left hospitals in droves, leaving vacancies everywhere. The persistence of the pandemic, increasingly unsafe working conditions and physically abusive patients have exacerbated a nationwide nursing shortage. Research published in 2018 predicted the country would soon be short about 150,000 nurses, and a report by New Mexicos Legislative Finance Committee last year estimated that the state needed between 600 and 3,700 more.

More from Searchlight: Schools have lost hundreds of students during the pandemic. Where are they now?

The pandemic has given health care workers further reasons to leave, and hospitals, rushing to fill the gaps, are turning to travel nurses  some of whom are the very same people who just left their hospital staff jobs.

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In September, travel nurses made up about 12 percent of all New Mexico hospital nurses, according to Troy Clark, president and CEO of the New Mexico Hospital Association. Their pay has skyrocketed, hitting an average high of $104 an hour this fall, more than twice the pre-pandemic level, according to data from Wanderly, a national online healthcare staffing marketplace.

The median hourly pay for travel nurses in New Mexico is depicted in this graph from Searchlight New Mexico.

Thats left many nurses  both travelers and permanent staff  scratching their heads: Why is the health care system set up in such a way that hospitals can pay more than $100 an hour for a temporary nurse, while staff nurses might not even make $40 an hour?

Were health care providers saving lives, said one nurse from Georgia on a travel contract in Albuquerque. What would the CEO think is a more appropriate rate?

Shes been making about $97 to $139 an hour at travel jobs, a salary thats allowed her to pay off her car and a good chunk of her student loans. I dont see myself going back to staff nursing, she said.

Prior to COVID-19, the average pay for a travel nurse in New Mexico hovered between $40 and $50 an hour, according to the Wanderly data. This fall, amid the surge of the Delta variant, the rate peaked at $104, then fell to $87 at the end of November. Hospitals pay even more to the agencies that provide the workers and handle the administrative aspects of their employment  the going rate in New Mexico these days is between $180 and $205, said Clark, the hospital association CEO.

More from Searchlight: Energy giants Iberdrola and Avangrid accused of bid-rigging, racketeering

For comparison, the average New Mexico nurses hourly wage in 2020 was about $36, according to state data. Clark said that most hospitals have increased pay by 10 percent to 15 percent since the pandemic, and some nurses spoke of small hourly raises for bonuses. But a large gap remains between their pay and what travel nurses earn.

I think what were going to see is a wholesale reassessment of how much nurses get paid, said Barry Asin, president of Staffing Industry Analysts, a national research firm.

The unpredictability of the virus contributes to hospitals reliance on temporary nurses, he explained. If hospitals knew the increased workload would persist for a long time, it would make sense to raise wages and hire more staff nurses. But if hospitals went on a hiring spree, and the number of patients plummeted in a year or two, theyd be in a challenging situation. Once you raise the wages or hire a lot more nurses, its a much more difficult thing, Asin said. Youre not going to go back and ask them to adjust their pay rates down.

Tim Johnsen, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Presbyterian Healthcare Services, said that while nurse salaries will probably rise, it would be completely unsustainable to pay all staff nurses the astronomical rates that travelers command. The hospital system would probably run out of money in a couple of months, he said.

Johnsen said that Presbyterian has been hiring more nurses, trying to retain current staff while bringing in travelers. Recruiting travel nurses from around the country has allowed the hospital to draw from a bigger pool of applicants, he said.

The number of travel nurses in his health system has tracked closely to the virus. The largest spike in COVID-19 cases happened in the fall of 2020, and by November, 14 percent of Presbyterian nurses were travelers, according to Amanda Schoenberg, a hospital spokesperson. As vaccines rolled out in the beginning of 2021 and cases dropped, so did the number of travel nurses, leveling out at pre-pandemic levels of 4 percent by April. And when cases rose again at the end of the summer, the travel-nursing rate followed suit, rising to 13 percent, where its been ever since.

Some hospitals and individual units have seen even higher rates. Monica Leyba, chief nurse executive of Christus St. Vincent, said that travel nurses made up about 20 percent of nursing staff at the end of November. A staff nurse at UNMHs medical intensive care unit said that about half of the nurses on her unit are travel nurses. A UNMH spokesperson declined to say what percentage of the hospitals nurses were travel nurses.

More from Searchlight: Haitian migrants in ICE custody face dire conditions at NM detention facility

Having so many travelers in the hospital can lead to challenging situations. Travel nurses only get a few days of training, much fewer than staff nurses. They might not know where to quickly find certain hospital supplies, and need to ask questions of experienced nurses. When units are staffed with so many travelers, there arent as many people to turn to. And they usually leave after 13 weeks, at which point a new travel nurse shows up and needs to be trained all over again.

But though they may know less about the specific hospital, they know more about the business of travel nursing  and they share that information with the staff, according to some nurses. Were starting to see more and more of these staff, all of a sudden, start to leave and go travel, said a UNMH nurse who helps train other nurses. That creates another shortage  which gets filled by travel nurses. Its just a vicious cycle.

But the staff nurse doesnt blame the travelers. She just wishes that her hospital would do more to keep nurses employed. She got a raise of a few percentage points recently, but still only makes about $37 an hour, well below the travel rate.

It hurts me to see people leave, but I also understand, she said. I would probably do the same if I really needed to.

Ike Swetlitz has traveled the world to hold policymakers, businesses, and scientists accountable. He writes for Searchlight New Mexico, a non-partisan, nonprofit news organization dedicated to investigative reporting in New Mexico.

Others are reading:

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: New Mexico's nurse shortage: How can the state solve this problem?
MGM Resorts is letting applicants try out casino and hotel jobs in virtual reality (VR) before signing on, Business Insider has reported. It's part of a new effort to reduce employee attrition during the "great resignation" that has caused labor shortages in the US and elsewhere during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The casino and resort group is using headsets from a VR company called Strivr that specializes in virtual training for industry health and safety, customer service and more. The idea is to let employees experience typical job activities so that they know what to expect. "It can be very difficult just to verbally explain the types of positions or show a video," MGM Resorts' chief HR officer Laura Lee told BI. Using VR, by contrast, lets applicants "throw a headset on and really experience the job."

MGM plans to use the headsets at its offices and possibly career fairs, starting in January. The idea is to let potential customer service employees experience key aspects of the job, both positive and negative. For instance, the MGM Resorts VR module would include interactions with difficult guests, something that has reportedly become more common with COVID.

The negative interactions could discourage some candidates, but MGM expects that it would also allow for better hiring decisions. The use of the tech "might've resolved some turnover we experienced when people accepted positions and then realized it wasn't quite what they thought it would be," said Lee.

MGM plans to use the tech for its proposed $9.1 billion hotel, resort and casino in Osaka, Japan. It would be the first casino in the nation, so potential employees may not be familiar with typical jobs. As such, the VR option could be offered to candidates (it won't be required) to show them customer-oriented functions like hotel check-ins and gaming operations.

VR might not be the hit everyone expected in the consumer space, but it's certainly caught on with enterprises, particularly for training. MGM also uses Strivr's tech for customer-interaction training with new employees, saying it allows them to fail without consequences while learning a role. "Virtual Reality gives employees the opportunity to think and correct themselves without getting stressed or worried that they did something wrong," Lee said in a Strivr webinar.
MILFORD  A Milford High School student who allegedly made threats of mass violence online and at the school has been removed from the campus and is facing criminal charges.

Last Wednesday afternoon, the student made an ambiguous statement in class that was overheard by a teacher and a couple students, according to Milford police Sgt. Craig Stanley. The student was taken out of class and interviewed, and their parents were also notified, he said.

The student denied making the statement, but there were enough witnesses that heard it and could confirm the statement was made, said Stanley.

The student was sent home, and Stanley said he doesnt know how long they'll stay there.

A group chat the student sent out on Snapchat Tuesday night to other students is also being investigated, said Stanley. Though he doesnt know how many students were included in that group chat, it was more than three because they came forward to report it, he said.

"We are taking criminal charges against the student, said Stanley.

Because the student is a juvenile, Stanley said he couldn't comment on other details.

Stanley said the situation has been investigated by the high school and Police Department, and that there are no safety concerns at this time.

On Wednesday afternoon, Principal Joshua Otlin emailed a letter to students and families to address reports of the student who allegedly made the threats in school that day, both in person and over social media. Otlin told parents that the school was investigating those reports with the Milford Police Department and that the student is no longer on campus.

"While we have received verbal reports of this student posting threatening comments on social media, we have not yet seen any evidence of such posts," Otlin wrote in the letter. "If anyone in our school community has images of such threatening posts, I ask that they please forward that content to me immediately."

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Whenever we receive information related to a threat or potential threat to the school community we take it seriously, Otlin told the Daily News. He said the school is working with the Police Department and other community resources to address the situation.

Reach Lauren Young at 774-804-1499 or lyoung@wickedlocal.com. Follow her on Twitter @laurenwhy__.

This article originally appeared on The Milford Daily News: Milford student facing criminal charges after allegedly making threats
HOUSTON (AP)  Houston quarterback Davis Mills was rolling early Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, completing pass after pass.

In all, the rookie connected on his first 14 throws to set a franchise record.

But soon the struggles that have dogged the Texans (2-11) all year returned, and they were shut out in the second half to allow the Seahawks to pull away in a 33-13 loss.

We started off hot, built some momentum early in the first half (but) we have to be able to sustain throughout the game, Mills said.

Mills threw for a career-high 331 yards, but completed 19 of 35 passes after his great start to fall to 0-7 as a starter.

He took care of the ball. Thats what hes supposed to do, coach David Culley said. Unfortunately, we werent able to get the ball in the end zone in the second half, and thats what we have to do better. Not just him, but our entire offense has to be able to do that.

Mills made his first start since Oct. 31 after Tyrod Taylor was benched following a 31-0 shutout to the Colts last week. His first six starts this season came when Taylor was out with a hamstring injury.

Mills put the Texans up early when he found rookie Brevin Jordan on a 5-yard touchdown pass on the first drive.

The Texans trailed by three when a Seattle penalty gave them a first down at the Seahawks 1 late in the first quarter. Houston received an illegal formation call on first down before the first incompletion by Mills came on a throw intended for Nico Collins.

Rex Burkhead ran for a short gain before another incompletion by Mills forced the Texans to settle for a short field goal.

We started off fast, receiver Brandin Cooks said. Thats one of those things we havent be able to do in a while, so that was great, but we didnt sustain it, and we didnt finish it. We had multiple opportunities, and we didnt capitalize.

Russell Wilson threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Lockett with less than a minute left in the first half to give the Seahawks a 16-10 lead.

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The Texans cut the lead to three at halftime when Kaimi Fairbairn set a franchise record with a 61-yard field goal as time expired.

But they were unable to get anything going after the break as they lost for the 11th time in 12 games.

Culley was quick to say that the problems werent all because of Mills and that the entire team needs to do more to help the team improve. He noted that they had to play most of the second half with third-string running back Royce Freeman with David Johnson on the COVID-19 list and Rex Burkhead leaving with a groin injury in the third quarter.

Its tough, Culley said. It limits you a little bit. We had to throw more than we wanted to ... were more efficient when we are able to balance things out between run and pass.

___

More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://apnews.com/hub/pro-32 and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
Diana Leyre is crowned Miss France 2022 (AFP via Getty Images)

The newly crowned Miss France 2022 has insisted that she is a feminist after the countrys gender equality minister described the competitions rules as backwards and outdated.

Speaking after her win on Saturday 11 December, Diane Leyre, 24, said she wanted to show that you can be Miss France and a feminist.

For me, being a feminist is deciding what I want, she said.

Her statement comes after minister Elisabeth Moreno told BFM TV that the pageants rules are backward-looking.

Speaking of Leyre, Moreno described her as superb and generous.

I heard her say that she was taking power over her life, and that was what for her, being a feminist, and I completely agree. This is what we must aspire to, Moreno said.

But she called for the competitions rules to be changed to adapt to 2021.

As it stands, contestants must be single, taller than 170 centimetres and under the age of 25.

Its been 100 years that it has existed, that it has celebrated the elegance of France, and it is not the competition as such, but its rules, which I consider backward-looking, Moreno said.

Why cant a Miss France be ironic? Why does a Miss France not pose topless to denounce breast cancer?

I now understand better. And since it makes a lot of women dream and it puts glitter in the eyes of the French, I can understand that we want to compete. But the main thing is that we can change these rules. so that they adapt to 2021 .

In October, CNN reported that French feminist group Osez le feminisme had sued the organiser of the pageant, Endemol Production, over its entry requirements.

The group said contestants undertake work as part of the competition and should be protected from discrimination under French employment law.

Beyond exploiting women for economic gain, this contest, through the violations of the law of which it is guilty, has a negative and retrograde impact on the whole of society, Osez le feminisme said in a statement.

It is high time Endemol Production finally removes all sexist clauses from its regulations.

Story continues

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Steve Harvey is facing criticism for asking Miss Universe winner Harnaaz Sandhu from India to do an animal impersonation on stage instead of discussing her accomplishments.

Addressing the 21-year-old contestant from the north Indian city of Chandigarh, Harvey said: I hear you do some pretty good animal impersonations. Lets hear your best one.

Oh my god, Steve, I was not expecting to do this on the world stage, Sandhu replied, looking visibly shocked, before adding: I have to do this, I have no other option.

Bracing members of the audience (and possibly herself) for what was to come, Sandhu then managed a couple of loud meows before Harvey continued asking other finalists about their accolades  including Miss Panama Brenda Smiths role with the United Nations and Miss Great Britain Emma Collingridges fight against gender-based violence.

This, despite the fact that Sandhu is a staunch advocate for womens rights and empowerment in India, working with her gynaecologist mother to spread awareness about womens hygiene at health camps.

An actor by profession, Sandhu has starred in Punjabi-language films and is currently enrolled for a Masters degree in public administration.

Many on social media took offence to the Family Feud hosts request, deeming it culturally insensitive and completely inappropriate.

The Hills social media deputy editor Sarakshi Rai tweeted: OMG Miss India meowing at Steve Harvey is not what I was expecting to see tonight. Pretty sure the Miss Universe organisation could have asked a better question very frustrating but she was nothing if not confident.

OMG Miss India meowing at Steve Harvey is not what I was expecting to see tonight. Pretty sure the Miss Universe organization could have asked a better question very frustrating but she was nothing if not confident.  Sarakshi Rai (@Sarakshi) December 13, 2021

Twitter user @ysasantiago wrote: On another note, Im tired of Steve Harvey. Miss Universe couldnt find another host thats not culturally insensitive? Lol.

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Harvey, who has hosted Miss Universe multiple times in the past, also drew flak for confusing Paraguay and Portugal while announcing the two finalists.

Twitter users recalled the 2015 edition of the competition when Harvey crowned first runner-up Miss Colombia the winner, instead of Miss Philippines.

Is it just me or is Steve Harvey continually inappropriate and continues to make embarrassing gaffes. Asking Miss India to make cat sounds, then (again) mixing up country names - this time calling Miss Paraguay, Miss Portugal. I think he should move on, Twitter user @antho888 posted online.

such an embarrassment to mistake Paraguay for Portugal next time you better study geography before hosting an international show again.   mary sunshine  (@thebabylonian) December 13, 2021

Another user said: He makes fun of contestants. He makes awful jokes. Please get someone new.

The annual beauty pageant was hosted in Eilat, Israel, on 12 December (Sunday).

Sandhu is now the third Indian woman to win the prestigious competition, after Indian actors Lara Dutta (2000) and Sushmita Sen (1994).

The other two finalists at Miss Universe 2021 were Miss Paraguay Nadia Ferreira and Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane.

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The statewide mandate requiring mask use at all indoor spaces other than private residences will be enforced by local health departments, Gov. Kathy Hochuls office said.

But Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro has signaled the county will not be enforcing the mandate, calling it unenforceable and saying it will become confrontational.

With the COVID-19 mitigation measure underway as of Monday morning, Molinaro's office said Dutchess "does not have the public health resources necessary to enforce this public health regulation," and pushed blame on the state for placing the onus on health departments.

"We will not divert critical resources away from our vaccination clinics, case management, call center and other crucial work in order to hand out fines to businesses," a response from county spokesperson Colleen Pillus read. She also cited an email in which the state department of health said it expects the mandate "to be largely self-enforcing."

Dutchess is among at least five counties in New York, including Putnam and Rockland, that have signaled they will not actively enforce the mandate. Dutchess, like the rest of the state, has seen the number of cases balloon through the holiday season. There is also research to show vaccinated residents who have not yet had a booster dose may be significantly more susceptible to the recently discovered Omicron variant than previous strains.

The billboard at the Adams Fairacre Farms store in Wappingers Falls informing customers of the New York State mask mandate on December 13, 2021.

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Molinaro's office said the state's mandate "does more to confuse" than help, and maintained it continues to "strongly recommend" preventative measures such as indoor mask use.

However, as many businesses around the county posted signs warning residents of the mask requirement Monday morning, some owners said Molinaro's own stance, which came via a series of tweets Sunday afternoon and not a formal statement, prompted confusion.

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It's unclear if there is a local entity that would respond to a complaint regarding compliance. Dutchess County Sheriffs Office spokesperson Capt. John Watterson said the department is not playing a role in the enforcement of the mandate, as it is our understanding that local health departments have been tasked with that. He said if a business calls the department due to "an issue with a patron we will respond as we always have and try to determine the best course of action depending on the circumstances." Pillus said any complaints regarding the measure should be directed to the state's COVID-19 hotline, 1-888-364-3065.

Hochul has said violations of the mandate could incur fines of up to $1,000.

The mandate, which has an exception for public spaces that require proof of vaccination for entry  will be reevaluated on Jan. 15, based on the COVID-19 conditions at the time. The state did not bring back any of the other limitations on businesses seen earlier in the pandemic limiting capacity or gatherings. Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce President Frank Castella, Jr. said he spent the weekend fielding calls from owners fearful such measures had likewise returned.

Dolores Iorio of Fishkill leaves BJ's Wholesale Club in Wappingers Falls on December 13, 2021.

Some area businesses, including Rhinebeck Yoga, decided to implement a vaccine requirement Monday. Some places, including schools, hospitals and modes of public transportation, have been required to enforce mask use all along. Local doctors have consistently suggested residents wear them indoors when unsure of the vaccination status of those around them.

On Monday, Hochul urged businesses to implement the mandate to protect their customers and their employees, saying that it is a very short-term, minor effort compared to what New Yorkers went through during the initial COVID-19 lockdown in early 2020.

Cases on the rise

The uncertainty comes as Dutchess County continues to see a spike in cases. On Dec. 1, there were 764 county residents with an active COVID-19 infection; there were 1,467 as of Saturday, the most recent day for which the county shared totals on its online dashboard.

Fifty-four residents were hospitalized with COVID-19; its been nearly eight months since that number was in the 50s. And there have been nine COVID-related deaths in the first 11 days of the month, bringing the countys total to 519.

Molinaro in his Tweets referenced his father as one of those 519, and asserted his decision was not political.

Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro discusses the $57 million allocated to the county through the American Rescue Plan while in his office in the City of Poughkeepsie on June 17, 2021.

Beleaguered small businesses have implemented common-sense measures to protect their employees and patrons, he said, noting the countys adult vaccination rate of 81%, a number that counts those who have received at least one dose. For all residents who have completed their vaccination series, the number is 63.9%; the statewide rate for completing the series is 67.8%.

State direction, counties react

The state isnt planning to provide state resources to help with local enforcement, Hochul noted, but she will be in touch with counties about what they might need, she said.

Pillus said Hochul's office previously indicated it did not expect health departments to divert resources "from critical responsibilities" to enforce the mandate. She said the state "indicated counties should focus on education only for a minimum of the next two weeks to garner community support and compliance and we are actively working to assist businesses and other public facilities in better understanding this new state regulation."

Molinaro in his tweets said county officials have informed residents to take mitigation steps to protect themselves & those they love, but said they will not escalate tension or conflict or further burden our local small biz by allocating resources we do not have to this impractical & unenforceable measure.

The counties speaking against the mandate have brought up similar issues.

Days ago, the governor said she didnt want to implement a one-size-fits-all approach to masking in New York, read a statement released Monday from the Board of Supervisors in Livingston County, south of Rochester.

But now, counties are expected to add enforcement of this measure to their laundry list of other priorities, without the help of state resources, the statement continued.

Any state mandate of this type should come with corresponding state-led oversight and resources from the state government, not pushed down to counties to handle the work of enforcement on an unenforceable mandate that is due to re-assessed in approximately 30 days, the statement read.

Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus during a briefing Monday, adding that the department is focused on vaccination efforts.

Last Friday I asked my health department, can we double our efforts? And they said we dont have the manpower to do it, he said.

Staff writer Geoffrey Wilson contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Molinaro: Mask mandate won't be enforced in Dutchess
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Coronavirus-free Queensland state opened its domestic borders to all vaccinated people on Monday for the first time in nearly five months, as Australians gear up for quarantine-free travel across most of the country during the busy Christmas period.

Hundreds of cars queued up at the state's southern border with New South Wales well before the rules were set to relax at 1 a.m. local time (1400 GMT, Sunday), television footage showed.

Queensland, Australia's third most populous state, shut its border to New South Wales in July and then later to people coming from Victoria to protect against a Delta outbreak that rocked the country's east for several months.

"We will live with COVID - but on our terms," state Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said in a tweet as the state topped its goal of having 80% of people over 16 fully vaccinated - a prerequisite for relaxing rules.

Qantas said it would fly nearly 10,000 passengers to and from Queensland on Monday in about 100 flights, with most fully booked.

The easing of border restrictions comes just days before school summer holidays begin and will be a boost for the state's lucrative tourism sector which has been badly hit by the internal border curbs.

Australian states have been relaxing border rules after reaching higher vaccination levels despite the threat from the new Omicron variant.

Tasmania is set to reopen its borders to other states later this week, while Western Australia said it would reopen its border on Feb. 5. South Australia has been welcoming interstate arrivals since late November.

Australia has recorded nearly 229,000 cases of COVID-19 and 2,104 deaths, far fewer than many comparable countries. Around 70 cases of the Omicron variant have been detected in the country so far, mainly in Sydney.

(Reporting by Renju Jose; Additional reporting by Sonali Paul; editing by Richard Pullin)
The Mozilla Foundation today released its financial report for 2020. As usual, this gives us a good picture of the organization's financial health from a year ago, but for the first time this year, Mozilla also provided us with more recent data.

It's no secret that Mozilla recently went through a number of difficult years, with major layoffs in 2020 as it restructured its for-profit arm, Mozilla Corporation. Its flagship Firefox browser, despite a number of technical advances, is also struggling in a marketplace that is now dominated by Chromium-based browsers. Still, in 2020, Mozilla Corporation's revenue was $466 million from its search partnerships (largely driven by its search deal with Google), subscriptions and advertising revenue. That's essentially the same as in 2019, when Mozilla Corporation generated $465 million from these sources.

For 2021, the organization forecasts revenue of more than $500 million.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISYtFzMXVbM?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent&w=640&h=360]

What's maybe most important, though, is that Mozilla's new products like its Mozilla VPN service, Firefox Relay Premium, Pocket and other commercial initiatives are slowly but surely starting to pay off. As Mozilla executive VP Angela Plohman and CFO Eric Muhlheim noted in today's announcement, revenue from new product offerings will grow 150% this year and account for 14% of the organization's revenue in 2021. The Mozilla VPN service saw a revenue increase of 450% from 2020 to 2021.

Still, in 2020, 86% of Mozilla's revenue came from its search deal with Google. That may be down from 88% in 2019, but for all intents and purposes, Mozilla remains fully dependent on Google for the time being.

Diversifying its revenue sources is really the only way for Mozilla to decrease its reliance on a search deal with a company that is both a competitor, thanks to its dominant Chrome browser, and is increasingly out of alignment with Mozilla's overall philosophy.

"As advertising changes and the future of the webs business model hangs in the balance, we have been exploring new and responsible ways to monetize that align with our values and set us apart," Mitchell Baker, CEO and chairwoman of Mozilla Foundation, writes in today's announcement. "Weve long believed the deprecation of cookies and a reckoning of the online advertising ecosystem was coming  and was much needed. Now it is here, and we are positioned to navigate the industry toward a new model of responsible advertising that respects people while delivering value to companies. By building products for the future, we are building a business for the future."

At the end of the day, though, what Mozilla needs is for more users to adopt (or come back to) its services, whether that is its browser or its VPN. There is a window here for a non-Chrome browser, with users increasingly skeptical about Google's motivations and Microsoft's Edge team making a few missteps in recent months. Yet at the same time, Mozilla's efforts to bring sponsored suggestions and ads to Firefox haven't necessarily endeared the organization to its own users either.
The Manor House at 306 Hitt St. is scheduled to close.

The Coalition of Graduate Workers now accepts the University of Missouri administration's decision to close Manor House residence hall.

The group reached the conclusion after a meeting between administrators and two students who reside at Manor House, said CGW spokesman Mike Olson.

"Based on the information we got from that meeting, the building is not suitable for further occupancy," Olson said.

More higher ed news: University of Missouri suspends COVID vaccine mandate for faculty, staff and student employees

The group, a union for graduate workers at MU, previously vowed to fight the decision.

During the meeting, administrators took as much time as the students needed to explain the decision, MU spokesman Christian Basi said.

For one student, the walking distance from Tara Apartments  the suggested residence hall for current Manor House residents  was a concern, so the student may be provided with a parking permit on campus, Basi said.

Neither of the students at the meeting identified themselves as members of the Coalition of Graduate Workers, Basi said.

The building's residents are primarily graduate students, including many international students.

More: 8 ways Mizzou's Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health Building will advance medical research

Basi said the coalition in its news release improperly took credit for things the university already had promised to provide.

The $13.6 million in deferred maintenance made it necessary to close the building, he said.

The final date for everyone to vacate the building is Aug. 22, Basi said.

The university will provide moving services and pay moving costs for Manor House residents to move to other campus housing, Basi has said.

The Coalition of Graduate Workers will make sure the university's pledges are fulfilled, ensuring the students have affordable housing, Olson said.

Plans are for the 1962 building to be demolished, Basi said. MU acquired the building at Hitt and Paquin streets in 1996. It has 78 apartments.

Story continues

rmckinney@columbiatribune.com

573-815-1719

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: MU Coalition of Graduate Workers accepts decision to close Manor House
The city of North Port has more than 16,332 developed parcels on septic systems and more than 28,000 undeveloped lots that are grandfathered in for well and septic instead of city water and sewer.

NORTH PORT  North Port city commissioners will revisit the concept of expanding wastewater and water services to homes within the city, as well as discuss potential hookup costs, Tuesday, at their last scheduled meeting in 2021.

The board last discussed a plan to bring water and sewer to 29 areas of the city originally platted by General Development Corp. in May.

Earlier: North Port Commission takes initial steps toward citywide water and sewer

On a 3-2 vote at that meeting, the commission approved both a plan for water and sewer expansion and a $474,796 design contract for the first phase of expansion with Kimley Horn & Associates. But all three board members who approved that step  then-mayor Jill Luke, Barbara Langdon and Alice White  also pledged to approve the expansion, if it proved too costly for the residents.

The most current reference available as part of the proposal  from May 2019  noted that there are 11,158 parcels on sewer in that part of North Port, 16,332 occupied parcels on septic; and 28,332 undeveloped parcels that are grandfathered in for well and septic service, should the owners choose to build there.

The state Clean Waterways Act, prompted in part by an 18-month-long bloom of red tide and blue green algae in Southwest Florida in 2017-18, was signed into law in June 2020 and calls for a reduction of nutrients in state waterways.

Locally, the Gulf Coast Community Foundation commissioned the creation of a Water Quality Playbook that was released online in January. Though available for statewide use, the playbook uses the waters around Sarasota County as a model.

Earlier: Gulf Coast Community Foundation releases online water quality playbook

More than one-third of the 47,864 septic systems in Sarasota County are in North Port.

Sarasota County is in the midst of upgrading its sewer plants to advanced wastewater treatment standards to excess nitrogen and phosphorous.

Both the city and county have been pushing forward, in part, to create eligibility for state or federal grants to subsidize construction.

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Related: Septic to sewer conversion eyed as one solution to reduce nutrients to combat red tide

Ironically, well-designed septic systems can clean wastewater better than non-AWT sewer plants. The state is Department of Environmental Protection must adopt new rules regarding the installation of new septic tanks by July 1, 2022.

Older, traditional septic systems, designed to clean bacteria and pathogens from wastewater arent necessarily optimized to reduce excess nutrients, though many who question the cost-effectiveness of septic to sewer conversion, suggest that remedial cleaning methods, such as filtering the wastewater through wood chips and sawdust, can significantly remove nutrients and be more cost-effective than hooking homes and businesses on septic systems into central sewer.

Related: Organic carbon can reduce nitrates in wastewater

Tuesday, the City Commission will discuss conversion with a framework that estimates the cost of hooking into central wastewater at $21,000 per home and water at $13,000 per home.

They will discuss options that would cap the cost for an existing homeowner to hook in to water and sewer at a maximum of $11,000 and for homes with septic and city water at $6,000.

In addition, the board will discuss the merits of hardship programs that would defer payment of that cost until a property is sold or transferred and reduction of up to half the annual payments if income eligibility guidelines are met.

The commission meets at 10 a.m. in North Port City Hall, 4970 City Hall Boulevard.

Earle Kimel primarily covers south Sarasota County for the Herald-Tribune and can be reached at earle.kimel@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription to the Herald-Tribune.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: North Port to weigh costs on septic to sewer conversion for homeowners
The Nuvei Corporation has partnered with Visa to launch crypto-friendly debit cards to its partners across the European Economic Area and United Kingdom.

In combination with Nuveis Simplex Banking, the cards simplify the fiat-to-crypto on-ramp and off-ramp process, creating a unified way for individuals to utilise and spend the funds from their crypto sales.

Nuveis Chair and CEO, Philip Fayer (pictured), described the rollout of the cards as an important development for the companys partners and their customers.

The branded Visa debit card is a huge asset to our partners and their users, enabling the immediate and seamless spending of crypto earnings, he said.

With this program, Visa has played a vital role in expanding the crypto ecosystem by closing the gap between traditional finance and crypto.

Nikola Plecas, Director of Crypto Solutions at Visa Europe added awareness of cryptocurrencies has increased significantly amongst consumers across Europe, resulting in increased adoption as more people look to access crypto.

Sell crypto holdings at the click of a button

Nuveis CEO of Simplex, Nimrod Lehavi, said the branded Visa cards were tailor-made for the cryptocurrency space by meeting global standards of compliance.

Thanks to Visa, we have created a straightforward and simple program that is tailored to the crypto industry in terms of compliance, risk, time-to-market and costs, he explained.

The first batch of cards was delivered in September to COTI  a platform optimised for creating price-stable coins  in order to enable them to launch crypto bank accounts and COTI-branded Visa debit cards.

For the customers of Nuveis partners, the use of the crypto debit card allows them to sell their crypto holdings at the click of a button while being able to spend the funds instantly anywhere that Visa is accepted.
Beto O' Rourke speaks with a supporter during a campaign rally for Beto O'Rourke at Spudder Park Pavilion.

A Democratic candidate for the Texas governor race made a stop in Wichita Falls Sunday afternoon.

Beto ORourke held a meet-and-greet event in Spudder Park where he visited with dozens of residents.

Beto O' Rourke looks into the crowd as he speaks on issues during his campaign rally at Spudder Park Pavilion.

One area on which he spoke was getting better access of services for veterans and providing the support needed when they transition to civilian life.

Crowd members listen to Beto O'Rourke speak during a campaign rally at Spudder Park Pavilion.

There are currently four Democrats and five Republicans running in the Texas gubernatorial primaries.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: ORourke holds meet-and-greet event in Wichita Falls
PARIS (AP)  Two-time Olympic swimming champion Yannick Agnel has admitted to having a relationship with an underage girl but denied coercion, the prosecutor in the Frenchmans rape case said Monday.

Prosecutor Edwige Roux-Morizot said Agnel recognizes the materiality of the alleged facts but she said he did not have the feeling that there was coercion.

If the facts constitute rape or sexual assault, it is because there is a significant age difference, Roux-Morizot said.

Agnel was 24 when the alleged rape took place. The girl was reportedly 13.

Agnel was arrested in Paris last week. On Saturday, he was handed preliminary charges and the case was sent to Mulhouse, eastern France.

Roux-Morizot also said the events took place in 2016 in several locations, including Spain, Thailand and Brazil.

In France, an adult cannot have consensual sex with somebody under 15 years old. Earlier this year, the French parliament adopted legislation that characterises sex with a child under the age of 15 as rape and punishable by up to 20 years in jail, bringing its penal code closer in line with many other western nations.

French media has said the investigation was launched after a swimmer who trained with Agnel in Mulhouse from 2014-16 filed a lawsuit. LEquipe newspaper said several swimmers, current and retired, have already been questioned as part of the investigation.

Agnel won two gold medals at the 2012 London Olympics, in the 200-meter freestyle and the 4x100 free relay. He retired in 2016.

___

More AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Laboratories like the NIV are racing to find out more about omicron

It's a frantic time at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in the western city of Pune, India's oldest genome sequencing facility.

As the country tries to contain the spread of the Omicron variant, laboratories like the NIV are working round the clock to identify people who might be infected by it.

Every day it receives about 100 throat and nasal swabs sealed in small boxes. That's roughly five times more samples than it was testing before the omicron variant - first detected in South Africa and now spreading around the world - appeared.

In an airtight room the boxes are opened by researchers wearing protective suits, and the process to isolate the virus begins. The sample is labelled with a number so the scientists don't know whose swab they're checking.

"There's great pressure on us right now to deliver quickly. But we have to do it right, and it's not an instant process," says Dr Varsha Potdar, a senior scientist and group leader at NIV. Her phone barely stops ringing.

It takes hours to prepare the sample so that it can be fed into a sequencing machine, which was bought in March last year at the start of the pandemic. The machine generates data, which is then compared by a software programme to the original Covid-19 virus first identified in Wuhan, China. This tells the scientists which variant has been detected.

Warnings of third wave

During the second wave earlier this year, India was criticised for not telling the world early enough about Delta, which quickly became the dominant variant across the globe. What has changed since then?

"We've learnt a lot from that," says Dr Priya Abraham, Director of NIV. "We know that the more we allow a virus to spread, the more the likelihood that we will have a new variant. I think we will be much more proactive now, much more prepared."

Given the size of India's population though, Dr Abraham says there are limitations.

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"I think we will be much more proactive now, much more prepared.", Source: Dr Priya Abraham, Source description: Director, NIV, Image: Dr Priya Abraham

"We're nowhere near more advanced countries like the UK or the USA, but I think we have caught up a lot. And remember, we need to also give the messaging that along with these measures, everybody needs to be cautious," she says.

"I think a third wave will come depending on how warmly we invite it. If there's vaccine hesitancy, and we have mass gatherings in confined spaces, yes, the third wave will be here."

More than half of India's adult population is fully vaccinated. That still leaves hundreds of millions at risk. Doctors warn that if an Omicron-fuelled third wave hits, medical facilities could still be overrun very quickly.

"In the second wave, hospital capacity didn't just get exceeded by a little bit, it was exceeded by several times what it was capable of. So even if we have a small third wave, which I think is definitely a possibility, it could still overwhelm our health system," says Dr Swapneil Parikh, a physician in Mumbai.

"And so I think rather than asking if it's going to happen, or when it's going to happen, we should focus on getting ready for it."

Doctors warn that if a third wave hits, medical facilities like Delhi's Holy Family hospital could be overwhelmed

At Holy Family hospital in Delhi, there's been an uptick in the number of Covid cases in the past week, after more than a month of no patients with the infection being admitted.

'There is a sense of dread and anxiety building up, that we are going to take the same path as the second wave," says Dr Sumit Ray, who heads the hospital.

"Some of these are double vaccinated people getting re-infected, so it's time to be very careful again."

The BBC visited the hospital during the worst of the second wave in April. It was completely overrun. They had squeezed in trolleys and wheelchairs into every space possible to treat as many patients as they could. Still they had to turn people away.

There was also an acute oxygen shortage in the city. Between looking at his patients in the intensive care unit, Dr Ray was making frantic phone calls to get more supplies.

In some hospitals in Delhi and other parts of India, people were killed because oxygen ran out.

Dr Ray said the Indian government needed to better organise its resources and facilitate the movement of supplies where needed.

"People should not have to go from hospital to hospital looking for a bed. That is unacceptable. There needs to be better co-ordination. I think we have had the time to prepare, and this should be done," he said.

"You're trained to save lives and if you can't do it because there aren't enough resources, you feel a sense of failure. It was the worst period ever in my life, as a medical professional."

The government says it is putting preparations in place. But Dr Parikh in Mumbai says more needs to be done.

"I think we really need to get as many people fully vaccinated as possible. Let's also start rolling out third doses for the elderly and the clinically vulnerable, especially individuals who are immunocompromised, as also for healthcare workers and frontline workers," he said.

"In this country, we've played pandemic roulette during the second wave, and lost. So this time, let's do the opposite. Let's over-prepare."

Additional reporting by Kunal Sehgal
Gov. Gavin Newsom's idea may be workable, but it won't force the courts to see how overreaching the Texas abortion law is. (Associated Press)

On Saturday night, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that turnabout is fair play. Invoking the Supreme Courts decision last Friday to let SB 8, Texas vigilante abortion ban, stand, Newsom called for the California Legislature to enact a similar law that would allow private citizens to enforce limits on gun rights.

His proposal would give private actors the right to sue for $10,000 anyone who manufactures, distributes, or sells an assault weapon or 'ghost gun' kit or parts in the State of California. Despite the surface similarity between Texas scheme and Newsoms proposed statute, theres less to the analogy than many observers think.

Though Newsoms proposal invoked Texas law, which bans abortion after six weeks, the bill he seeks would look almost nothing like it. The two provisions that made SB 8 so harmful  direct contradiction of a constitutional right and a scheme in which private citizens, in the place of state officials, enforce an unconstitutional ban  are missing from the Newsom plan.

First, Newsoms proposal does not directly contradict what the Supreme Court or the majority of federal courts have said about the 2nd Amendment. In its only substantive ruling on the 2nd Amendment to date, the Supreme Court held in District of Columbia v. Heller that the amendment protects the right to keep a handgun in the home for self-defense. The court said nothing about assault weapons or ghost guns, which are intended to be untraceable.

Seven states and the District of Columbia currently ban some firearms classified as assault weapons, and every federal appellate court to address the question has upheld these bans as permissible under the 2nd Amendment.

No federal appellate court has struck down a law barring ghost guns. In short, the Newsom proposal  unlike the Texas law  would not outlaw conduct clearly protected by the federal courts reading of the Constitution.

Second, a potential bill, as suggested in Newsom's statement, would not seek to prevent government officials from enforcing the gun laws, even if it gave private citizens the right to sue too. This is a crucial distinction from the Texas law, which was written to make private citizens the only enforcers. Moreover, California law already regulates assault weapons and ghost guns, and compliance is monitored by the government, not neighbors.

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The Newsom proposal says nothing about eliminating government supervision of gun sales or manufacturing under those existing laws  which means people who oppose those gun restrictions can and will sue public officials. In fact, gun advocates have already sued officials in California, and those lawsuits will continue unimpeded. Unlike the Texas law, Newsoms proposal would not offer an end run around government actors.

If Democrats really wanted to show the Supreme Court the full implications of its ruling on the Texas scheme, they would have to enact a law directly flouting the right to keep a gun in the home (as the Heller case declared) or perhaps enact a complete ban on the sale or carrying of all firearms  and allow only private citizens to sue anyone who kept a gun in the house or sold or carried firearms.

This is the scenario that would be the equivalent of what Texas has done with abortion rights. Newsoms idea wouldnt come close in mirroring it, which shows how tepid his suggestion is compared with how extreme the Republican attack on a constitutional right has become.

The question is whether Newsom or other Democrats are willing to go to the lengths needed to test the Supreme Courts alarming new precedent.

Jake Charles is a lecturing fellow at Duke University School of Law and executive director of the Duke Center for Firearms Law. @JacobCharlesNC

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
.

SALESVILLE  An Osborne Road home is a total loss after a generator overheated and burst into flames which then spread throughout the double-wide structure Saturday afternoon, according to officials.

Firefighters from the Old Washington and Lore City departments were dispatched to the scene with mutual aid provided by crews from the Quaker City, Senecaville, Antrim and Fairview fire departments.

None of the occupants of the home were injured, according to reports.

A dispatch log at the Guernsey County Sheriff's Office stated a 911 call reporting the fire was received at 2:21 p.m. Saturday.

The log said a female caller reported a generator had caught fire and flames had spread throughout the home. She also reported everyone was out of the structure at the time of the call.

Due to the remote location, fire crews had to use tanker trucks to shuttle water to the scene to fight the flames. Approximately 70 feet of hard fire hose was laid at a nearby pond to access the available water east of the residence.

Fire, smoke and water damage were reported in all rooms inside the home and the contents of each room. The double-wide structure was reportedly on top of a basement where items were also damaged.

No damage estimate was available on Monday.

Firefighters believe the generator was being used after the home lost power as a band of weather moved through the region Saturday morning bringing high winds and rain.

Several roads in Guernsey County were reportedly blocked by fallen trees throughout the day on Saturday.

No injuries were reported by firefighters at the fire scene.

The final fire crews cleared the scene just before 7:30 p.m.

Guernsey-Muskingum Elected was dispatched due to the downed lines resulting from the fire.

No other information was available.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: Osborne Road home a total loss after fire near Salesville
The Pennsylvania State Police have taken another significant step in its desire to build a new home for Troop E in Erie County by turning its attention back to Summit Township.

The Pennsylvania Department of General Services acquired two parcels of land totaling 10.28 acres in the 8300 block of Oliver Road, including a 5.54-acre parcel at 8355 Oliver Road, for use as the site of the new troop headquarters, according to the Department of General Services and Erie County property records.

The property, which included a pole barn and a residence, was acquired from Greenfield Investment Co., a local real estate development firm, through eminent domain proceedings. A settlement was executed on Nov. 3 for $475,000, according to property records and a Department of General Services spokesman.

The state's plans for the property are to use it to house a new Troop E headquarters building, along with a garage, a crime lab and an aviation hangar, according to information in the declaration of taking filed in the acquisition of the property.

Initial plans are to build the new headquarters building, which will replace the troop's current home in Lawrence Park Township, according to state police officials.

The estimated $27 million project will involve the construction of a two-story, 64,000-square-foot building with features including an indoor shooting range and vehicle maintenance facility, according to the Department of General Services spokesman.

The building will also have evidence processing areas and storage rooms, a communication center, vehicle processing space and a fitness area and locker rooms. Planned features outside of the building include an impound lot, covered and uncovered parking areas, and a vehicle fueling area, according to the Department of General Services.

Officials are now in the process of obtaining the necessary permits for the project, which can take a significant amount of time, said state police Cpl. Brent Miller, the agency's public information officer in Harrisburg. Once all the permits are secured, the project can move into the bidding phase, Miller said.

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If everything goes perfectly, ground could be broken for the building project in the spring of 2023, said Troop E commander Capt. Kirk Reese. The construction is expected to take two years to complete, he said.

A long road to new digs

The purchase of the properties on Oliver Road, near the Perry Hi-Way Hose Co. fire and EMS station, is the latest step in longstanding efforts by the state police to build a new Troop E headquarters.

The troop is currently housed in a 16,800-square-foot building on Iroquois Avenue in Lawrence Park Township that opened in 1968. Officials have said that they have outgrown the building and would like a headquarters that is more centrally located in Erie County.

The state has acquired a little more than 10 acres on Oliver Road in Summit Township with plans to use the property to build a new Pennsylvania State Police Troop E headquarters in Erie County. The current headquarters in Lawrence Park Township, seen in this 2014 file photo, was built in 1968.

The troop's crime lab is located next door to its Iroquois Avenue headquarters.

The state explored several possible locations in Summit Township, including a 10-acre parcel off Pagan Road west of the Erie County public safety complex that the state planned to purchase for $180,000, officials announced in early 2014.

The facility proposed for that site included a headquarters building, a crime lab and a vehicle maintenance and supply building.

Plans for the Pagan Road site were scrapped later in 2014 after state police officials said most of the 10 acres were designated as wetlands.

A state police spokesman also said at the time that a study done by the state identified a more suitable, centralized location for Troop E headquarters as being in southern Harborcreek Township or Greene Township.

In early 2017, officials announced that Harborcreek Township leaders had offered the state a nearly 14-acre parcel west of the Harborcreek Township building on Buffalo Road for a new Troop E headquarters. The township's Planning Commission and supervisors approved preliminary land-development plans that included an indoor shooting range, impound yard and fueling station as part of the headquarters project.

That project was scrapped when, in late 2018, Harborcreek officials received a letter from the Pennsylvania Department of General Services stating the site was deemed not suitable for building a new headquarters and that it was voiding an agreement of sale.

PSP scraps Harborcreek building plan: Pennsylvania State Police no longer plan to build headquarters in Harborcreek

The primary concern listed in the letter was wetlands found on the site. A secondary concern was the need for a traffic light at the entrance to Buffalo Road, which a Department of General Services official stated in the letter would unnecessarily increase the cost of the project.

Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNhahn.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Pennsylvania State Police: Summit site eyed for Erie County troop HQ
Up and at 'em, Philadelphia! Let's get you started this Tuesday with everything you need to know going on today in Philadelphia.

First, today's weather:

Partly sunny. High: 56 Low: 37.

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Here are the top stories today in Philadelphia:

Philadelphia will require proof of vaccination to eat indoors in restaurants or drink inside bars, or to enter any indoor space that sells food and drink, starting Jan. 3, city officials announced Monday. Initially, a recent negative COVID-19 test will also be accepted. However, after Jan. 17, negative COVID-19 tests will no longer be accepted for most patrons and vaccines will be required. Restaurant workers also must be vaccinated. (NBC 10 Philadelphia) The Philadelphia Water Department is responding to a break on a 30-inch water main near the intersection of Cherokee Street and Hartwell Lane. The break was detected shortly before 5 a.m. Customers in Chestnut Hill, Mt. Airy, West Oak Lane, Roxborough, and surrounding areas may be impacted. (NBC 10 Philadelphia) Philadelphia police are investigating a deadly shooting in the city's Mayfair section. It happened around 10:30 a.m. Monday inside a home on the 3100 block of Stirling Street. Police say a man in his 30s was shot three times in the chest. (WPVI-TV) Philadelphia native Meek Mill has been known to get into the giving spirit during the holidays, planning events in years past to distribute free gifts to families in his hometown community. After holding a limited virtual event for 35 families during the pandemic last year, the hip-hop star and criminal justice reform advocate is reportedly going bigger in 2021. Meek Mill will team up with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Philadelphia 76ers limited partner Michael Rubin to distribute $500,000 worth of gifts to Philadelphia families in need this Sunday, Dec. 19. (PhillyVoice.com) Philadelphias District Attorney apologizes for comments he made last week, saying the city does not have a crisis of crime. Larry Krasner said he takes responsibility for saying those words. Philadelphia has set a record for homicides this year. (CBS Philly)

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Today in Philadelphia:

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City of Philadelphia Government: "We are so excited for Design Workshop to bring Philly together to think BIG about ways to green and modernize the Parkway into a great 21st-century urban park. Let's get to work!" (Facebook)

Free Library of Philadelphia: "#RebuildPHL projects are rolling along, and residents of Cobbs Creek are especially excited about what's ahead  a brand new library! More now from KYW Newsradio:" (Facebook)

Mayor's Office of Public Engagement: "Black Male Resource Finder Demo  Community Resource Corps  The Mayor's Commission on African & Caribbean Immigrant Affairs  and more! - https://mailchi.mp/phila/engagingphl-december-13" (Facebook)

Free Library of Philadelphia: "No matter what holiday(s) you celebrate, the month of December is jam-packed with holiday offerings at the Free Library, both in-person and virtually! Check out these events and make your plans to join us for festive fun:" (Facebook)

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 Dan Casarella

About me: Dan Casarella is a writer, podcast producer, and small business development specialist who formerly worked in late-night television. Hes produced many talk segments, including with President Joe Biden, Kobe Byrant, and Chadwick Boseman. Dan studied Media Studies and Production at Temple University. He also enjoys running, painting, and the highs and lows of Philadelphias sports teams.

This article originally appeared on the Philadelphia Patch
Top Cook County Democrats began the first of two days of endorsement sessions for next years primary ballot on Monday, hearing from Assessor Fritz Kaegi and Sheriff Tom Dart as well as from insurgent challengers to their reelection.

The countywide panel of the Cook County Democratic Party later voted to recommend the full committee of party slatemakers endorse Kaegi and Dart when they meet on Tuesday, at which time they will also consider the contested race for Illinois secretary of state.

An undercurrent of his years slating session was a loyalty pledge asking candidates who win party slating to sign a solemn oath not to back candidates for other offices who arent slated.

Carmen Navarro Gercone, a 26-year veteran of the sheriffs office who rose to first assistant deputy superintendent and is now challenging Dart, told slate-makers that she would refuse to take the pledge, accusing the party of using scare tactics to protect its incumbents.

Two women of color, myself included, are running against incumbents whose offices have a hand in crime and property taxesthe two most important issues to our citizens, said Gercone, a Latina. The party should honor the choice of the voters who elected their committeepersons to represent their communities, not the machine.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who also is county Democratic chair, defended the pledge as she also voiced support for Dart, who has been sheriff since 2006.

If youre on a boat, you want everybody rowing in the same direction. Were going to support people and we expect them to row in the same direction, Preckwinkle said. If youre not prepared to work with other people that are on the slate, you shouldnt ask for slating.

Appearing before the slate-making session, Dart acknowledged that with an increase in violent crime, the challenges are many and they keep increasing.

Dart said the sheriffs office, working with the Chicago Police Department, would be expanding its presence in the River North area within a month, establishing an around-the-clock office with eight to 15 officers rotating throughout the day.

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If you want to be an independent, then go that route, Dart said of the loyalty pledge. If Im slated, Ill support the slate. I have in the past.

Other challengers to Dart appearing before slate-makers were Nolan Rivera, a 27-year Chicago Police Department veteran, and LaTonya Ruffin, a 15-year deputy sheriff.

Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons.

The panel reviewing countywide races overwhelmingly recommended Dart be slated by the full party.

Kaegi, who defeated controversial longtime assessor Joseph Berrios in 2018, said reforms he has implemented have ensured the very wealthy and big corporations are paying their fair share, in turn reducing the homeowners share of the burden of property taxes.

Kaegi is being challenged by Kari Steele, the president of the board of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District.

Equity, transparency and diversity have been hallmarks of my career, Steele told slate-makers. Ive been a loyal Democrat, a public servant that has stayed engaged. And when I am your next Cook County assessor, I wont just talk about it. Ill be about it.

The countywide panel voted to recommend that Kaegi get the full committees backing, just eclipsing the number of weighted votes of panel members needed.

On Tuesday, after statewide Democrats present their credentials, the full county party organization will vote to issue its list of slated candidates for voters to consider in the June 28 Democratic primary.

rap30@aol.com
RUTHERFORD  A property owner in the Agnew Place redevelopment zone has filed a lawsuit against the borough, saying he has been denied the opportunity to redevelop his own property.

Tomasz Rybak says in his lawsuit that he has made numerous attempts to speak with the borough but officials "arbitrarily, capriciously, and unreasonably" refused to meet with him.

The 1.7-acre Agnew Place Redevelopment Area lies along Erie and Union avenues. It comprises 13 tax lots, including two small lots owned by Rybak on West Erie Avenue.

The resolution recommending that the area be designated as in need of redevelopment was adopted in early 2019.

Borough Administrator Robert Kakoleski said he could not comment on the litigation. He did say the redevelopment plan "is a zoning tool used to define and implement the municipalitys vision for the area."

A rendering that shows the maximum height proposed for the Agnew Place redevelopment zone if approved.

The redevelopment plan calls for a six-story building with 140 residential units. The borough selected developer M&M at Rutherford Renewal Company LLC to carry out the plan.

M&M, which owns a small portion of the redevelopment zone, received a long-term tax exemption in a deal with the borough.

Rybak says in his lawsuit, filed last month in state Superior Court in Hackensack, that the deal violated the state law and damaged his rights. He and his lawyer, Matthew Gilson, declined to comment.

Crime: Jersey City man convicted in 'vicious' Rutherford stabbing gets 26 years

Rybak owns the properties at 15 and 17 W. Erie Ave. The website for T.M. Rybak and Associates, an architectural, engineering and construction management firm, lists as its address 15 W. Erie Ave. in Rutherford.

The redevelopment area is non-condemnation, meaning property owners are not required to sell to the redeveloper.

"Ideally, the designated developer and any property owner within the project area will negotiate amongst themselves the sale price for any of the properties needed to move the redevelopment project forward," Kakoleski said.

The lawsuit seeks an order reversing the approval of the tax exemption and to invalidate M&M as the developer of the Agnew Redevelopment Area.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Rutherford NJ: Development proposal faces court challenge
Martials agent made comments over the weekend about his client seeking a move away from Old Trafford (PA Archive)

Ralf Rangnick will be without injured Anthony Martial for Manchester Uniteds Premier League trip to Brentford if the match goes ahead, amid reports he wants to leave the club.

The Red Devils were hit by a small number of positive Covid-19 lateral flow tests results on Sunday and the clash in west London is at risk of postponement.

One player definitely not expected to be involved is France striker Martial, who continues to struggle with a knee injury.

Martials agent also made comments over the weekend about his client seeking a move away from Old Trafford.

But Rangnick said: If he has a wish to go to another club, it should be the player who informs either the board or myself.

I dont communicate with agents via the media and the press. The player hasnt spoken with me or us about it.

After the final training session before the Crystal Palace game, after having trained with the team, he informed the doctor and medical staff he would not be available because the pain on his knee is too big, so we have to wait and seewith Anthony.

To be honest, what his agent says via media is not that much of interest to me.

United have closed their Carrington training ground for 24 hours due to a number of positive coronavirus tests.

They are in talks with the league over whether it is now safe for them to travel to the Brentford Community Stadium on Tuesday night.

Read More

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Kristoffer Tripplaar / Alamy Stock Photo

Nicholas Burks likes games of chance. In fact, hes so keen on gambling hes been running a sweepstakes site, Raffle of the Day, according to the FBI. And according to the Raffle of the Days Instagram, the offerings up for grabs have included Rolex watches, PlayStation 5s, even cars like a Chevrolet Corvette and a Dodge Charger.

But Burks appears to have taken one big chance that didnt pay off: gambling the FBI wouldnt find out he allegedly stole data from his old employers and then, posing as an anonymous ransomware hacker, extorted them out of $300,000.

It all started when Tennessee-based tech support firm Asurion fired Burks for performance-related reasons. Upon his exit, he surreptitiously stole a company laptop, according to court records obtained by The Daily Beast. According to his indictment, which was unsealed just this month, Burks allegedly later used the laptop to download sensitive internal corporate information. He got in touch with company executives listing the data he stoleincluding employee social security numbers, banking information, as well as customers names and addressesand proceeded to demand a ransom.

This Small Tech Company May Actually Be a Ransomware Front Group

He threatened that, if he didnt receive hundreds of thousands of dollars within 24 hours, he would publish the stolen data, according to court records.

The company paid up$300,000 in cryptocurrencyand Burks decided to make off with the money and buy himself a Mercedes Benz, court documents state. He allegedly used several cryptocurrencies and a tumbler, a kind of service that helps to anonymize cryptocurrencies and their origins, to receive the funds, eventually redistributing them to several other accounts, including ones associated with businesses he owns, like Raffle of the Day, the filings note.

The feds have since seized Burks raffle website, alerting those who want to participate in the raffles, or those that have in the past, that theyve likely been victims of fraud. (In recent months, the Raffle of the Day Instagram has advertised its services by claiming Nick can teach people how to make 7-figures and how to start and scale your very own businesswhich all screams of legitimacy.)

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Burks, 29, has also been arrested, according to court filings.

Screenshot from FBI announcement

But along the way, Asurion wasnt operating alone. It turns out some of the companys payment to Burks was orchestrated alongside law enforcement.

Asurion confirmed to The Daily Beast that it teamed up with federal authorities to help nab Burks, noting they worked with law enforcement on the case.

We worked closely with law enforcement from the beginning and throughout the event, including with respect to payments made to Burks, an Asurion spokesperson told The Daily Beast.

Inside a Ransomware Negotiation: This Is How Asshole Russian Hackers Shake Down Companies

While the company declined to provide additional details on their cooperation with law enforcement, a 2019 federal search warrant application laid out some of the contours of the collaboration and efforts to snuff out Burks scheme. Asurion began paying $50,000 to the extortionist while launching an internal investigation and contacting the FBIan investigation which included watching Burks as Asurion paid him a $5,000 installment, according to a news report from a local paper, The Tennessean.

Because of the ongoing criminal prosecution of Burks, we are limited in the information we can share, but its important to underscore that there was no impact to customer, employee or other company information as a result of Burks [sic] actions. Asurion added.

A lawyer assigned to Burks case, and Burks himself, did not respond to requests for comment. The U.S. Attorneys Office in the Middle District of Tennessee, which is prosecuting the case, declined to comment.

This bizarre case is just the latest instance of company insiders lashing out, stealing sensitive internal data, and then demanding ransoms pretending to be ransomware hackers extorting companies for millions.

In January of this year, another NicholasNickolas Sharpused credentials he was given as part of his job, stole gigabytes of confidential data, and then sent an email to leadership at his firm threatening to publish the stolen data unless the company paid him approximately $2 million, according to an indictment unsealed this month. The firm in question is suspected to be New York-based tech company Ubiquiti.

When the company didnt pay the ransom, Sharp released some of the stolen data, according to court documents. After the FBI raided his home, Sharp allegedly later posed as a whistleblower and got in touch with media outlets to try to further his cause and cover up his situation, claiming the theft wasnt an insider, but rather an external hacker that found a vulnerability in the companys computer systems.

For Burks, his chapter on dealing with law enforcement isnt over just yet. While he was arrested in Georgia and released on bond pending his trial, the criminal prosecution is ongoing. While his raffle site has been seized, the sweepstakes apparent Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram accounts are still accessible.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Emergency response workers dig through the rubble of the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory in Mayfield, Ky., Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021. AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley

Seven inmates were working at a Kentucky candle factory leveled during a tornado.

One inmate is at large after being released from the hospital, Kentucky State police said.

Francisco Starks, 44, reportedly left a hospital where no one realized he was an inmate.

An inmate working at a Kentucky candle factory that was leveled by a tornado on Friday escaped after being released from the hospital where he was being treated for injuries.

In a statement to Insider, Kentucky State Police said they're searching for Graves County inmate Francisco Starks, 44.

Starks was taken to the Jackson Purchase Medical Center after he was rescued from the building, police said.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear initially said only 40 of the over 100 workers in the factory were rescued, but as of Sunday afternoon the factory said more than 90 have been accounted for, the Associated Press reported. Eight workers have died including a jail employee that was supervising the inmates at the factory.

"We lost 1 of our staff members," said a post shared on Graves County Jail's Facebook page on Saturday night.

Another eight employees are still missing.

A spokesperson for the state police told Insider that Starks most likely either left on foot or got a ride after no one noticed he was an inmate as patients came in and out of the hospital.

Police said they were informed of his disappearance at around 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Graves County jailer George Workman told CNN that seven inmates were working at the candle factory as part of a program for low-security, low-level offenders.

Starks was imprisoned for burglary, car theft, and receiving stolen property, police said.

Insider previously reported that Kyanna Parsons-Perez, a factory employee who was trapped under debris from the collapse said inmates were "working their tails off" to rescue people trapped under the rubble.

"They were helping," she told NBC News. "And to see inmates  because you know they could have used that moment to try to run away or anything  they did not. They were there. They were helping us."

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said on Sunday morning that the state's death toll reached 80 people and he anticipates that it will exceed 100. However, by Sunday afternoon, Beshear said the death toll could be as low as 50, the AP reported.

Read the original article on Insider
I own a closet full of guns.

But nowhere in that closet is ammunition. That is locked up elsewhere, reflecting a rule I was taught in childhood. Guns are powerful, even deadly, tools. If you own one, its on you to keep it safe. That is what the parents of a Michigan teenager failed to do, and their son murdered four of his fellow high school students.

Not long ago, safety seemed gospel for gun owners and the gun industry alike. But something has changed. Responsibility has been discarded in a twisted form of gun idolatry.

That change is detailed in a new book, Gunfight by Ryan Busse. Hes a gun industry boss who walked away from the industry he championed and the company he helped build. His book documents a shift in Americas culture about guns and politics. Disclosure: Busse is a friend of mine. I bought one of my favorite rifles from him. We both live in the same town in Montana where the gun industry is a significant economic player.

Entering our town of Kalispell, theres a billboard from one of our local gun manufacturers that claims We build the things they want to ban. As an open carry community, you can sometimes see moms and dads packing semi-auto pistols as they push a swing on the playground.

At a recent high school band concert, one parent wore a T-shirt featuring an AR-15 like a crucifix. The shirt read: Guns are my religion. I am the priest. I dont know whats more weird, the T-shirt itself or the fact it barely raised an eyebrow.

Back in 2019, some local high school kids here organized a rally in response to the police murder of George Floyd. About 100 vigilantes came to my towns square, carrying high-capacity semiautomatic rifles. They said they were there to keep the peace. I carried a cardboard sign that borrowed a quote from the federal Supreme Court building: Equal Justice Under the Law. I looked around for a parked car to duck behind in case gunshots rang out. Busse was there, too, and we felt the change. As hunters, we understand the reality of even a single bullet traveling 2,000 feet per second.

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Clearly, our local vigilantes were no kind of well-ordered militia or even a sanctioned sheriffs posse.

Busses company sold tried-and-true rifles, shotguns and handguns, made-in-America to a high standard of craftsmanship for legitimate, legal uses. That was the brand he tried to build, a standard he tried to live by. But Busse describes in Gunfight how guns have become political props and ideological symbols.

Under this new narrative, any attempt or even discussion of limiting firepower in the hands of random people is denounced as tyranny. Industry spokespeople who dared question this narrative saw their careers ruined. The end result is the sale of rocket-propelled grenade launchers in the public square.

There are cultures on earth where you can find such an arms market, but they are in failed states, not democracies. Democracies draw a line between responsibility and unfettered liberty. Anarchy denies any line exists.

You dont have to look far for this toxic mix of anarchy and firepower. In Oregon in 2016, an armed band of disgruntled white men took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, taunting federal authorities until one man, LaVoy Finicum, was shot and killed by Oregon State Police.

In Michigan in 2020, a group of armed men took over the State Legislature.

Also in 2020, in Wisconsin, teenager Kyle Rittenhouse ran into a crowd of protesters with his rifle. As a result, he killed two men and left one badly injured. That same year, in Missouri, a lawyer and his wife pointed their AR-15 rifle and handgun at protestors and photographers, becoming Internet sensations.

Not that long ago, these gun owners would have felt a backlash from fellow gun owners. The idea is that irresponsible gun ownership anywhere is a threat to legitimate gun ownership everywhere. Yet some want to make Rittenhouse, who was acquitted of legal liability but still faces potential civil suits, a folk hero. The Missouri attorney is running for the Senate. The mastermind of the Oregon refuge takeover is running for governor of Idaho.

I believe it is on responsible gun owners to keep our guns safe in our homes. Its also on us to speak out for responsibility in our communities if we are to maintain our freedoms and our democracy.

Ben Long is a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, a nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. He lives in Kalispell, Montana.

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Responsible gun owners need to be heard
Tyronn Brown

Crime Stoppers of Central Ohio is offering a cash reward for information leading to the arrest or indictment of whoever was responsible for a February shooting that left a man dead and a woman wounded outside a movie theater in Gahanna.

At 11:11 p.m. on Feb. 26, the Gahanna Division of Police received a call of shots fired in the parking lot of Cinemark Movies 16, located in Stoneridge Plaza at the intersection of Morse and North Hamilton roads.

Police said 22-year-old Tyronn Brown and a 24-year-old woman were sitting in a car in the parking lot outside the movie theater when they were shot in what appeared to have been a "targered attack."

Brown died at a hospital. The woman was seriously wounded, but survived, police said.

Anyone with information on this shooting is asked to contact the Gahanna Division of Police at 614-342-4240.

Anyone with information about this shooting is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS (8477) or go to their website at www.stopcrime.org and submit your tip. You may also submit a tip by downloading the organization's free P3 Tips mobile app available on the iOS and Android platforms. Tips are no longer accepted via text message.

All tips to Crime Stoppers are anonymous. Crime Stoppers does not use Caller ID or record telephone conversations. A special coding system protects the identity of the caller.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Reward offered in Gahanna shooting that killed man, wounded woman
Pacific Chorale Artistic Director Robert Istad.

ROCKFORD  While perusing the 64th Annual Grammy nominations to see if any of his friends had been nominated, Rockford native Robert Istad came across a surprise.

His own name.

Istad, 45, a conductor and the director of Pacific Chorale located in Orange County, California, was nominated twice for his choir's performance on the classical musical piece, "Mahler: Symphony No. 8, "Symphony Of A Thousand."

On January 31, Istad will be in the running to win in the category of Best Engineered Album, Classical and Best Choral Performance.

"Symphony Of A Thousand" is rarely heard because of the sheer amount of manpower and resources needed to perform it.

In order to execute the piece, Istad combined his 100 person choir with the 100 person choir from the Los Angeles Philharmonic along with a children's choir and an orchestra for a total of about 400 people.

"it's very, very expensive to put on," Istad said. "It rarely is heard because of it."

More: Rockford-native Emily Bear nominated for Grammy for 'The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical'

Istad doesn't take his nomination lightly. When the piece was finally released after the initial recording of it in June, he recalls speaking on the phone with the conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and being moved to tears because "it was so beautiful."

Several people who hail from Rockford have earned Grammy nominations in recent years including Jake Runestad, who was also nominated for Best Choral Performance in 2019.

While preparing for the holiday shows, working on his iPad and computer, Istad nonchalantly tuned into the Grammy nomination announcements to see if any of his friends had been nominated.

"They get to Best Choral Performance and all of the sudden I hear my name. And I was like wait a minute  did they just say my name? And I freaked out," Istad said. "It really is very special, and then of course I had to call my parents."

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Istad grew up and Rockford and attributes much of his motivation and inspiration to pursue a musical career to his childhood.

The Grammy-nominated conductor recalls finding support and opportunities all around the city.

Istad took piano lessons at the age of five. As he got older, he was able to participate in the band at Christian Life, where he attended since kindergarten, and in the Rockford Youth Symphony.

While a part of the symphony, Istad recalls being challenged and given opportunities by the instructor to hone his skills. He also remembers his drum teacher, Jack Brand, taking time to mentor him.

For Istad, all of these experiences are unique to Rockford, and although the opportunities he seeks today reside mostly in California, he cherishes the chances he got in the Screw City.

"It's a special place, and I don't think if I grew up somewhere else in a big city, I would have been offered those opportunities to both fail and succeed and receive that kind of mentoring," he said.

Istad is one of two Rockford natives nominated this year. Composer Emily Bear has be nominated for Best Musical Theater album for her work with Abigail Barlow on "The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical."

Istad hopes that stories like these can have a ripple effect and inspire other kids to follow their dreams.

"I hope that any child in Rockford might look at this story and say if that guy can do it  that guy, who didn't know what he wanted to do, just pursued what he loved  If that guy could do it, I think I could do it, too," he said.

Shaquil Manigault: smanigault@gannett.com; @RRstarShaquil

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford native gets Grammy nomination for 'Symphony Of A Thousand'
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP)  Rolling blackouts may hit New England if theres an extended cold snap this winter, as the regional power grid operator warns of a precarious situation due to snags in the natural gas supply.

Much of the grids power comes from burning natural gas, and right now that fuel is in shorter-than-normal supply and is subject to supply chain disruptions, said Gordon van Welie, CEO of ISO New England.

The regions grid is often near the limit during winter months, but severe weather combined with high natural gas prices and pipeline constraints could push the grid past the tipping point and prompt mandatory usage restrictions.

File photo

Were depending on an energy supply chain in the region that is quite fragile, particularly during the wintertime, van Welie said this week.

Marc Brown, New England director for Consumer Energy Alliance, said people should be concerned. Natural gas prices remain about 50% higher than a year ago despite a drop in recent weeks.

More: Debs Place in Danielson to close on Christmas Eve

We need to be worried. Weve seen it in other places, like California, with controlled power outages, he said.

Natural gas supplies are already having an impact. In Maine, electricity bills are going up $30 per month on average for residents who adopt the standard offer rate starting Jan. 1. High natural gas prices are being blamed for the increase.

New England is trying to shift to greener energy alternatives but that transition is going to take time.

More: What happened to Norwich's Taste of Italy or the Rotary Club's annual carnival?

Van Welie noted that the Massachusetts-funded New England Clean Energy Connect in Maine, which aims to bring up to 1,200 megawatts of Canadian hydropower to the grid, could help.

With that project stalled, following a rebuke by Mainers in a statewide referendum, itll take more time to find additional electrical supply in coming years through wind, solar and other projects.

Story continues

More: 2021 holiday stress tips from a Conn. psychologist, from gift budgets to pandemic politics

Overall, the power grid operator is anticipating a relatively mild winter based on long-term forecasts by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

But extended cold snaps can happen any winter and the failure of the Texas grid last winter helped to put things into perspective, van Welie said.

I think that what Texas drove home for me is that with almost 15 million people living in this region need to understand is that we are in a precarious position particularly when we get into cold weather, he said.

The Maine Public Utilities Commission said the power grid operator has been sounding the alarm about the states reliance on natural gas.

More: Need a recipe for gingerbread cookies? Here's how Sugarz Bakery in Danielson makes them.

The problem happens in extremely cold weather, as demand from homeowners using gas for heat clashes with demand by power plant operators who need it to power the grid, officials said.

Furthermore, natural gas prices are higher right now in Europe and Asia, so suppliers have incentive to sell to those markets.

Although its not uncommon for ISO-NE to suggest there may be a need to reduce consumption during peak periods, market conditions this year have perhaps contributed to a heightened concern, said Susan Faloon, spokesperson for the Maine PUC.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Rolling blackouts possible this winter, regional grid warns




Russia on Monday said that it could be forced to deploy nuclear missiles in Europe as a reaction to what it perceives as NATO's intentions to make similar moves.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said to Russia's RIA news agency that his country would need to take the aggressive step if NATO did not better engage with Moscow on how to dial back tensions, Reuters reported.

Intermediate-range ballistic and cruise missiles were banned in Europe as part of a 1987 treaty aimed at addressing Cold War tensions. After years of Russia allegedly violating the pact, the U.S. exited the agreement in 2019, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, Ryabkov said there were "indirect indications" that NATO intended to redeploy intermediate-range missiles, such as the recent restoration of the 56th Artillery Command, which housed missiles with nuclear capabilities during the Cold War, Reuters added.

"Lack of progress towards a political and diplomatic solution to this problem will lead to our response being of a military and technical military nature," Ryabkov said.

NATO has said that there would be no new U.S. missiles in Europe and that it would address threats from new Russian missiles with conventional weapons. However, Ryabkov said Russia had a "complete lack of trust" in the military alliance, the news service noted.

"They don't permit themselves to do anything that could somehow increase our security - they believe they can act as they need, to their advantage, and we simply have to swallow all this and deal with it. This is not going to continue," he said.

Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded security guarantees as Ukraine and its Western allies express concern about a Russian military buildup near Ukraine's border and a possible invasion by Moscow.

Putin specifically called for "reliable and long-term security guarantees" that NATO would not expand closer to Russian borders amid concerns of a possible attack in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, President Biden and Putin had a two-hour video call last week in which Biden "voiced the deep concerns of the United States and our European Allies about Russia's escalation of forces surrounding Ukraine and made clear that the U.S. and our Allies would respond with strong economic and other measures in the event of military escalation."
WORCESTER  Santa rides again!

Santa Claus, aka John Sullivan, boarded his personal watercraft  a Jet Ski  for the second annual Lake Quinsigamond Santa Run Sunday.

Organized by the Lake Quinsigamond Watershed Association, Sullivan, er Santa, zipped to various viewing locations around the lake, including Shrewsbury, while spreading his good cheer to benefit Toys for Tots.

Spectators and kids who came to one of the four locations  the public boat ramp, Regatta Point, Lake Park Beach and the Marine Corps League of Worcester  were asked to bring a new toy to donate to Toys for Tots.

John Sullivan is dressed as Santa Claus as rides a Jet Ski around Lake Quinsigamond on Sunday as part of the Lake Quinsigamond Watershed Association's annual Santa Run to benefit Toys for Tots.

Children hold signs and cheer on Lake Park Beach as Santa Claus zips by aboard a Jet Ski on Lake Quinsigamond on Sunday.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Santa rides again! Lake Quinsigamond PWC run benefits Toys for Tots with Jet ski ride for Watershed Association
DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's envoy to the United Nations said the kingdom wanted more substantive talks with Iran but that Tehran was so far biding its time and playing "games" in the discussions.

Saudi Arabia and Iran, the region's Sunni Muslim and Shi'ite powerhouses, launched direct talks this year at a time global powers are trying to salvage a nuclear pact with Tehran and as U.N.-led efforts to end the Yemen war stall.

The kingdom, which cut ties with Tehran in 2016, has described the talks as cordial but exploratory, while an Iranian official in October said they had gone a "good distance".

Riyadh's U.N. envoy Abdallah Al-Mouallimi told Saudi newspaper Arab News in a video interview published on Monday that no major results had been achieved.

"We would like to push these discussions towards substantive issues that involve the behaviour of the Iranian government in the region," Mouallimi said.

"But as long as the Iranians continue to play games with these talks they are not going to go anywhere," he said. "The Iranians take a long-term attitude towards these talks. We are not interested in talks for the sake of talks."

Tensions between the two foes spiked in 2019 after an assault on Saudi oil plants that Riyadh blamed on Iran, a charge Tehran denies, and continue to simmer over Yemen where a Saudi-led coalition is battling the Iran-aligned Houthi group.

"It (Yemen) has proved to be intractable simply because the Houthis continue to receive a continuous supply of weapons and ammunition from their benefactors, particularly Iran," Mouallimi said, reiterating a charge that both Iran and the group reject.

The conflict is widely seen as a proxy war between Riyadh and Tehran, which are vying for influence across the region.

(Writing by Ghaida Ghantous; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
PROVIDENCE  Would the creation of something similar to the Judicial Nominating Commission ensure that more qualified members are appointed to the states Coastal Resources Management Council?

A long-standing criticism of the powerful agency that oversees development along Rhode Islands 400 miles of coastline is that while its professional staff are well-respected and knowledgeable, the 10-member council appointed by the governor that votes on all final decisions may not be up to the same standard.

Despite the complex nature of their work, ruling on everything from offshore wind farms with costs in the hundreds of millions of dollars to hotly contested proposals for oyster farms in environmentally sensitive salt ponds, members arent required to have any expertise in coastal issues. Recent appointments have included a dental hygienist and the head of a chain of physical therapy offices.

Commission is considering restructuring the coastal council

The concern about the makeup of the councils membership was just one reason the House last summer set up a special commission to consider a restructuring of the CRMC.

The move also came on the back of criticism over the proposed expansion of a Block Island marina, a boatyard project in Jamestown and an offshore wind farm in Rhode Island Sound. Some have also raised questions about the latest appointment to the council. The council is currently shorthanded after the resignation last July of its then-chairwoman.

At a recent meeting, Rep. Deborah Ruggiero, the Jamestown Democrat who chairs the commission, raised the possibility of capping the number of three-year terms a member can serve at three, so nobody could be on the council for more than nine years. She also talked about creating a special body to screen applicants to the coastal council.

Opinion/Munoz and Noka: Coastal management council lacking accountability

They would vet and actually recommend council members with qualifications, she said, and then brought up term limits. Would that kind of a structure and a council take the council into the next five or 10 years? And would that benefit the State of Rhode Island?

Story continues

Criticism about a 'purely political body'

Grover Fugate, the longtime director of the CRMC who retired last year, gave credence to the idea.

A lot of the criticism that you hear from the public and others regarding the council is that its a purely political body, and the appearance of council members is often a surprise to a lot of people. They just appear on the council and nobody knows where they came from, he said. I think having something similar to the Judicial Nominating Commission provides a selection process thats more open and transparent. People can be questioned on their qualifications. And I think you will improve the quality of council members.

Recently: Coastal council won't probe woman's complaint about guard at Little Compton beach

Fugate, who was in charge of the agency for 34 years, appeared before the commission at its meeting on Thursday. He talked of becoming its inaugural director at an earlier crisis point in 1986 when the agency was facing a backlog of 3,000 permit applications.

Since then, he said, Rhode Islands coastal program has grown into one of the best in the nation, garnering plaudits for its plans for coastal erosion and offshore energy development.

He recommended that the current structure with a voting council be retained, but, in response to a question from a critic of recent decisions, he acknowledged problems with it.

It seems that there is a problem with structure when you have a final decision on very scientific and engineering matters being made by a clearly political council, said Richard Hittinger, a commission member who represents recreational fishermen. You worked with it for many years  but it seems like it takes a tremendous amount of finesse in order to make that work.

Background: Members named to commission considering overhaul of Rhode Island coastal council

Fugate laughed and called the comment loaded. He also pointed out that the council is required to explain its thinking if it deviates from a staff recommendation.

Weve had many different councils over the years, and some of those problems have gotten more severe than other times, he said.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Coastal Resources Management Council members screening change proposed
Packers Extra, a new online special section, has exclusive content from Sunday night's Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings game.

Digitally flip through the pages for deep postgame analysis, columns and notes from PackersNews beat reporters and extra game images from our photojournalists.

This special e-edition will be available to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel subscribers the morning after each late-night game. It offers more game analysis and photography than we can include under press deadlines for print editions.

Logged-in subscribers will find these special sections on jsonline.com by clicking on E-Edition in the navigation bar at the top of our homepages. Then look under Bonus Content. Or download our Journal Sentinel Print Edition app on your mobile device.

More: Quick Tips For Subscribers: Learn how to use the e-Edition

How to access and log-in to your digital subscription

Subscribers to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel print edition get automatic digital access. If you have an email address tied to your account, visit jsonline.com/activate to get started.

If you don't have an email address tied to your account, or aren't sure, follow the steps below:

Go to jsonline.com or download our app on your phone manufacturer's app store. You can find the "sign in" button on the top right of the website or on the gear symbol on your mobile app.

Enter your first and last name. Then create a user name and password.

Link your subscriptions. Enter your last name and your ZIP code and phone number.

Need extra help? Call customer service at 1-844-900-7103.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Packers Extra available on e-edition for Journal Sentinel subscribers
Sen. Tom Cotton. AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Sen. Dick Durbin apologized to Sen. Tom Cotton so that five US attorney nominees could be confirmed.

Cotton disliked that Durbin interrupted him during a hearing on a Department of Justice nominee.

While Durbin apologized to Cotton, he said Republicans attempted to block a vote on the nominee.

Last week, Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas refused to confirm the Biden administration's US attorney nominees in blue states until Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois apologized for interrupting him during a committee hearing in March.

Durbin said Cotton's objection broke with custom, adding that it had been nearly half a century since the Senate required a roll-call vote on a US attorney nominee. He also said Democrats never held up US attorney nominations during the Trump administration despite having the power to do so.

"Given the critical role that these US attorneys play in bringing justice to those who violate federal criminal laws, it is hard to imagine that any member of this body would obstruct efforts to confirm these law-enforcement officials," Durbin said. "Doing so could threaten public safety and puts at risk millions of Americans' security. It's also a stark departure from what has happened before."

Still, Cotton said "courtesy and collegiality and respect" needed to be a "two-way street" in the Senate, reiterating that he had the right to object to nominees.

"If there are not consequences when rules and traditions are breached in this institution, we will soon not have rules and traditions," Cotton said. "I also said that if the senator from Illinois would simply express regret for what happened that day and pledge that it wouldn't happen again, I would be happy to let all these nominees move forward."

Cotton was referencing a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in March for Vanita Gupta, who was nominated by the Biden administration and later confirmed as an associate attorney general at the Department of Justice.

Story continues

Durbin, who chairs the committee, interrupted Republican attacks on Gupta to force a vote, which resulted in a deadlock, The Hill reported. She was narrowly confirmed by a bipartisan vote in the Senate, 51-49, with Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski casting the lone Republican vote of support.

While Durbin eventually apologized for interrupting Cotton during the March hearing, he said Republicans forced his hand in their attempt to block a vote on Gupta's nomination by invoking an obscure Senate rule to prevent the committee from meeting after midnight, The Hill reported.

"This outrageous obstruction of a nominee with broad support from across the political spectrum left Chair Durbin with no option but to call a roll call vote before the Committee meeting was terminated by Republicans' invocation of this rule," an account for judiciary-committee Democrats tweeted after the vote.

After Durbin's apology, the committee unanimously confirmed five nominees for US attorneys in Illinois, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Vermont, and New Jersey, according to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Quinn Ewers, the countrys top quarterback recruit in 2021, intends to transfer to Texas, sources told Yahoo Sports. Ewers planned on informing the Texas coaching staff of his decision on Sunday evening.

Ewers made national news this summer when he skipped his senior year of high school at powerhouse Southlake Carroll in Texas and enrolled early at Ohio State. He did so with the idea he could make more than a million dollars in endorsements.

Ewers played just two snaps for the Buckeyes, as he arrived at school late in camp. He announced his transfer on Dec. 3, with the idea of going home to Texas.

Quinn Ewers is headed back to his home state, this time playing for the Texas Longhorns. Ewers starred at Southlake Carroll High School in suburban Dallas. (Photo by Jason Mowry/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

His choice of the Longhorns is a positive development for head coach Steve Sarkisian, who struggled in his first year as coach in Austin. Texas went 5-7 and lost five consecutive games at one point.

The allure for Ewers to go to Austin is Sarkisians extensive history developing quarterbacks. That includes helping get Alabama's Mac Jones NFL ready during a record-breaking 2020 season and coaching quarterbacks in the NFL.

Since transferring from Ohio State, Ewers also visited Texas Tech and TCU. He was in Austin this weekend for his visit, soon before his commitment.
Cherokee High School students in the French and Spanish Club led by teacher Cindy Johnson host donation drive for Afghan refugees staying at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.

MARLTON - The holiday season is in full force, and at Cherokee High School in Marlton, Spanish and French club students are fostering the spirit of giving back.

Cherokee High School French and Spanish teacher Cindy Johnson described teaching her students about the tens of thousands of refugees fleeing Afghanistan with nothing but the clothes on their backs following the government takeover by the Taliban as one of the rare moments of quiet in her classroom.

"When they heard about it, when I told the story you could hear a pin drop," said Johnson. "It's a pretty good area around here and sometimes you don't realize how good you have it until you hear other stories and it helps them be more aware."

More: Party guest dos and donts: A guide to get you through the holidays

When Johnson proposed her students coordinate a donation drive for the refugees at the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst junior Alma Gashi, a child of a refugees, was instantly enthusiastic about the idea.

"I knew of what was happening in Afghanistan because I'm always on top of social media and everything and just what's happening in the world," said Gashi. "My parents were actually refugees and so that's how I have a little background about refugees. They were from Kosovo and against the war. They actually did go to Fort Dix also so it's just a gesture I wanted to do to give back to the refugees from Afghanistan."

Johnson's other students from the Spanish and French clubs also embraced the donation drive.

For senior Molly Delany, being a part of the solution gave her solace after seeing the images of refugees desperately trying to safely flee Afghanistan on social media.

"Like Alma was saying, I think social media plays a big part in that, like me having access to that kind of news so I knew that that was happening but I think I also felt helpless because as a kid it didn't feel like there was much I could do to help. So when Mrs. Johnson came to us it felt like that was my chance to do something about it," said Delany.

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More: Readers donate $35,000 to Give A Christmas, help 300 families  but some still in need.

Johnson says its important to teach life lessons in the classroom and said she has always been a big believer in giving back.

"My entire downstairs was piled high with bags of donations from three weeks of the kids donating," said Johnson. "I am so proud of them and I hope it teaches them to always help others in need whenever you can."

Senior Ashley Henry felt the greatest contribution her and her peers came up with were coats for a climate in South Jersey many Afghans are not used to.

"One of the big things they said they needed was coats because you don't really think about the climate difference and that they're not used to wearing coats they don't have a winter like we do so I thought that was really important especially in December," said Henry.

Students also donated items for the Afghan children on the base.

"Definitely lots of coats, lots of hats, lots of gloves, anything that we take for granted," said Delany. "But toys too. You know there's still kids and like any kid you want to have fun so you have to throw that in there too."

But the giving doesn't stop there for Johnson and her students.

More: Act of hate is no match for Jewish community impassioned by light and justice

Students plan to continue the tradition of adopting a family for Christmas.

"Some of the activities we do overlap but one of the most memorable ones is adopt a family which is basically Mrs. Johnson gets in touch with them but no one knows who the family is so we just get together and draw cards of what to get them ranging from toys to clothes to essentials like toiletries and such," said senior Ciara Maith. "We wrap them, we put them together and right before Christmas Mrs. Johnson will go over there and drop them off so they can enjoy Christmas and not have to stress about financials or anything like that."

Group photo of the French and Spanish Club students at Cherokee High School.

Through the spirit of giving back, Johnson's Spanish and French club students say they've learned to respect and be accepting of other cultures.

"When I moved back here my sophomore year, it was a bit of a culture shock because I wasn't use to being outside of the environment I was raised in but I think joining these culture clubs, specifically the French club, as understanding and open as Mrs. Johnson is as an advisor she's taught me so much about how important it is learning about each other's culture," said Maith.

For other students, the biggest takeaway has been treating others with compassion.

"I'd encourage everyone to give back and do donations but I understand that's not possible for everybody and I think the biggest thing from this is just to take away that you can give back and that you should treat people with compassion because they're just like us and need help just like anyone else who needs help you'd want someone to be there for you too if you were in that same situation," said Delany.

By putting community service at the forefront of the French and Spanish club Johnson says her students are spreading a kind of chain reaction of kindness throughout the halls of Cherokee High School.

"It came from their heart. Everything they do is because they wanted to not because 'oh, let's just do it.' And they're spreading that to other kids so they learn. So if you just do something to help somebody else out maybe they'll help someone else too and it will keep going," said Johnson.

This article originally appeared on Burlington County Times: Marlton High school students foster the spirit of giving back
Craig Revel Horwood has expressed frustration with the voting format in this weeks Strictly Come Dancing.

The latest celebrity to be voted off the BBC show was revealed in Sunday nights results show (12 December).

It was CBBC presenter Rhys Stephenson and Nancy Xu who were eliminated from the competition, but the judges found the decision even harder considering there was just one week to go until the final.

Revel Horwood in particular took a long time to make his choice, prefacing his decision by calling it one of the most amazing dance offs Ive ever witnessed.

After host Tess Daly asked him to name the celebrity he wanted to save, he said: Well, Tess, in all the years that Ive actually been doing the show  May 2004, along with your gorgeous self, my darling  I really do not want to be making this decision tonight.

He added: Both couples [are] equal, both couples deserve to go through, and I just want to put both couples through and I know Im not allowed to do that, so Ive got to choose.

Rhys Stephenson was voted off Strictly one week before the finale (BBC iPlayer)

Although acknowledging theres nothing in it, he put former Great British Bake Off winner John Whaite and his professional partner Johannes Radebe through to the final.

Speaking at the end of the episode, a visibly emotional Stephenson said: Its good to cry, its good to feel.

Whaite joins presenter AJ Odudu and EastEnders actor Rose Ayling-Ellis in the final, which will be broadcast this Saturday (18 December) on BBC One.

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WASHINGTON (AP)  The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a conservative think tank over Gov. Tony Evers decision to exclude the groups writers from press briefings.

The justices acted without comment Monday, leaving in place lower court rulings that said the decision is legal.

The John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy filed the lawsuit in 2019 alleging that Evers, a Democrat, violated its staffers constitutional rights to free speech, freedom of the press and equal access.

Former Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, had joined in the institute's bid for high-court review. Evers defeated Walker in 2018.

Last year, a federal judge rejected the group's arguments, saying MacIver can still report on Evers without being invited to his press briefings or being on his email distribution list. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld that ruling in April.

Former Republican Gov. Scott Walker had urged the Supreme Court to take the case, arguing that the ruling in favor of Evers allows censorship because it permits picking and choosing which reporters attend press events that have long been open to reporters but closed to the general public.

The appeals court ruled that Evers media-access criteria was reasonable and he was under no obligation to grant access for every news outlet to every news conference.

MacIver had argued that Evers was excluding its staffers and violating their free speech rights because they are conservatives. Evers said they were excluded because they are not principally a news gathering operation and they are not neutral.

MacIver's attorney Daniel Suhr responded to the action by saying "politicians should not censor their news coverage by hand-picking who covers them.

When asked to comment on the Supreme Courts action, Evers spokeswoman Britt Cudaback referred to the governors legal filing in the case.

MacIver covers legislative meetings and other events at the Capitol as well as some Evers news conferences. But the institute sued after being excluded from a media briefing Evers gave for reporters on his state budget proposal in 2019. Evers wasnt present, but members of his administration provided information to reporters on embargo ahead of his budget speech to the Legislature that evening.

The appeals court noted that a limited number of reporters were allowed into the event. Reporters from The Associated Press, along with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Wisconsin State Journal, were among those present for that briefing.

Former governors, including Walker, also limited the number of reporters and news outlets that could attend budget briefings and other events.
Update: Barbara Sanders has been located safe in Memphis, police said.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has issued an Amber Alert for a Memphis teen and an adult male who police say abducted 17-year-old Barbara Sanders.

According to Memphis police, Sanders and another 17-year-old left a residence in the 600 block of Chelsea Avenue with 39-year-old Lafayette "Lucky" Miller. The three went to a nearby business where Miller forced himself on Sanders.

The other teen was able to escape that location and called police early Monday morning.

Memphis police are asking anyone who may have seen Sanders to contact them immediately at 901-545-2677. You can also alert TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

Memphis police and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are searching for missing 17-year-old Barbara Sanders, who was last seen with 39-year-old Lafayette "Lucky" Miller.

Sanders is described as 5'6" and 150 pounds. Her hair is styled in a black ponytail with gold tips. She also has a double nose piercing, and a tattoo on her right wrist of a rose with the name "Gwen."

She was last seen wearing a pink hooded sweatshirt, black tights and pink, white, and black Nike sneakers.

Miller is 5'9", with black hair, a beard, brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a grey sweatshirt and grey jogging pants. Police believe he is armed with a small handgun.

Memphis police say 17-year-old Barbara Sanders, pictured here, was last seen with 39-year-old Lafayette "Lucky" Miller. She is believed to be in danger. If you see Sanders, call the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-TBI-FIND, or the Memphis police at 901-545-2677.

Micaela Watts is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal and can be reached at micaela.watts@commercialappeal.com.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: TBI Memphis Amber Alert Barbara Sanders Memphis police searching for her
Matt Kubik returns to Louisiana-Monroe as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach after a detour to Southern Miss and the high school ranks, and also after the departure of Rich Rodriguez to Jacksonville State.

Kubik, who spent 2016-19 at ULM in those same roles, was announced as Rodriguez's replacement Dec. 11.

Matt Kubik is one of the top offensive minds in college football, Bowden said in a news release. Matt has knowledge about the Sun Belt Conference as well as the ULM football program. During his first stint as offensive coordinator at ULM, his offenses produced some incredible numbers. Matt also has a proven track record in developing quarterbacks."

Terry Bowden

More: Matt Kubik potentially returning to ULM football staff as offensive coordinator: Reports

More: Terry Bowden knew the departure of Rich Rodriguez was inevitable, expects new hire soon

Kubik's offenses were some of the best in college football during his first stint, especially in 2019, when the Warhawks ranked No.17 nationally for total offense with 460.9 yards per game. Kubik's unit averaged at least 250 passing yards and 200 rushing yards, making it one of five programs in the FBS to do so, along with Clemson, UCF, Ohio State and Oklahoma.

Kubik has rotated jobs since leaving ULM, however. He lasted one season at Southern Miss, which went 3-7 and underwent a coaching change following the 2020 season. He left Hattiesburg and spent this season as offensive coordinator at Columbia High School in Mississippi, helping the Wildcats finish 14-1 and win the Class 4A state championship.

Bowden said Kubik's connections to the Monroe area are key to the next stages of building the program  recruiting and selling out games.

Kubik, an Ohio native, was a quarterback at Louisiana Tech, where he racked up 4,020 career yards and 28 touchdowns before graduating in 2005.

I look forward to having the chance to build upon the momentum and excitement Coach Bowden generated for the ULM football program last season, Kubik said in a news release. Its also an opportunity for me to get back to north Louisiana where Ive spent 13 of the last 20 years."

This article originally appeared on Monroe News-Star: What Terry Bowden said about Matt Kubik returning to Louisiana-Monroe
Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi speaking in Ankara, Turkey. Cagla Gurdogan/Reuters

The US froze around $10 billion of Afghan assets after the Taliban seized control in August.

Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told the AP that the economic punishment helps nobody.

Muttaqi said the US must have "patience" and "a big heart" toward the new Taliban regime.

A senior Taliban official praised the US and asked it to let them access billions of dollars worth of Afghan funds frozen in US banks.

After the Taliban seized control of Kabul on August 15, the US froze close to $10 billion that belonged to the ousted Afghan government in an effort to prevent the Taliban from funding their conquest.

Since then, the Taliban have warned of dire economic consequences and Afghan banks say they are facing a money shortage. The United Nations also warned in October that without financial aid or humanitarian relief, Afghanistan was on a "countdown to catastrophe."

In an interview with the Associated Press published Sunday, Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said the group bore the US no ill will and that Washington should support their new government, including by giving them access to the frozen funds.

"To the American nation: You are a great and big nation and you must have enough patience and have a big heart to dare to make policies on Afghanistan based on international rules and relegation, and to end the differences and make the distance between us shorter," he told the AP.

"America will slowly, slowly change its policy toward Afghanistan."

Taliban fighters in Kabul, Afghanistan, on December 9, 2021. WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images

During the interview, Muttaqi also defended the Taliban's domestic regime, which has been criticized for its use of violence and for quietly removing access to education for many women.

After the fall of Kabul, secondary schools reopened for boys only and, in early December, the acting deputy education minister, Abdul Hakim Hemat, told the BBC that girls would not be able to enter secondary school until 2022.

However, Muttaqi told the AP this shows that the Taliban are making progress. "This shows that we are committed in principle to women participation," he said.

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"We have have made progress in administration and in politics ... in interaction with the nation and the world. With each passing day we will gain more experience and make more progress."

The Taliban have been subject to US economic sanctions since 2001 but, on Friday, the Treasury formalized guidelines that let financial aid be sent from America to families in Afghanistan, Reuters reported.

Read the original article on Business Insider
BEIJING (AP)  China and U.S. had a very good year for collaboration on dealing with climate change, but Washington is still pushing Beijing to adopt more ambitious carbon reduction goals, the top U.S. diplomat in China said.

David Meale, the American Embassy's No. 2 official, said that what China does on burning coal will be crucial to whether the world can meet its target of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) by the end of the century, as set by the 2015 Paris climate accord.

China, the worlds largest energy consumer and biggest producer and consumer of coal, emits 27% of the world's carbon dioxide, the most of any country.

So far, however, China has shown no intention of moving up its timeline to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2060  10 years later than many nations  and for carbon emissions to peak by 2030 or before, said Meale, the embassy's charge daffaires.

The Senate has yet to approve President Joe Bidens nominee for ambassador to Beijing, former senior State Department official Nicholas Burns.

It has been a very good year for our collaboration," Meale said, citing the close relationship and regular communication between climate envoys John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua.

China has at times appeared to indicate it would tie cooperation on climate change to other issues between the countries. However, Meale cited the U.S.-China deal to work harder together to cut emissions this decade, reached last month at COP26 in Glasgow, as an indication of China's willingness to engage.

This is a very positive outcome and one we plan to build on in our bilateral engagement going forward and ... get to a place where things are speeded up, where the numbers look better," he said.

While Washington and Beijing have many areas of disagreement, this is one area where we are cooperating and cooperating very productively, Meale said.

Meale spoke to reporters at a briefing on Friday but his comments were embargoed until Monday.

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While no country is where we need to be" on carbon reduction, China plays an outsize role because of its heavy dependence on coal, Meale said.

The 1.5 Celsius goal that the world is working toward is in danger and if were going to get where we need to go, were going to have to keep raising our ambition, keep taking new steps and nowhere is that going to be more important than in what China does," he said.

"So there is an extraordinary need for engagement, exchange of expertise, collaborative thinking to ask ourselves, how can China step up its ambition and step up its timeline so that we can rescue the 1.5 goal, Meale said.

China's actions will hopefully give confidence to other countries about where the world is going on the climate change question, will also inspire them raise their own ambition," he said.

In an address this year to the United Nations, Chinese leader Xi Jinping said China would not build new coal-fired plants overseas. Bu it appears China will proceed with those plants for which it has already signed contracts, and it remains unclear whether Chinese banks will continue to finance such projects in future, U.S. diplomats said.

Xi's pledge had no effect on domestic developments and China has continued to build coal-fired plants within the country at a rapid pace. With the growing use of solar and wind power, China has slightly cut its dependence on coal as a proportion of energy production from more than 70% to around 57%.

China has also ramped up coal production in recent months to ensure a steady supply for winter heating, something Meale called a challenging short-term development."

What it is bringing focus to is one of the fundamental challenges of transitioning away from hydrocarbons (for which) we need effective transition plans and actions," he said.

Decades of rapid economic growth have dramatically expanded Chinas energy needs. However, Meale said the U.S. has already shown that a country can continue to grow its economy while reducing emissions.

We're all going to have to look at the tradeoffs and the transitions and how to get those right. That is absolutely true of the United States. It brings up difficult political issues and it brings up difficult questions of science," he said.

Xi's absence from the Glasgow talks drew criticism from President Joe Biden and questions about Chinas commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Xi has not left China in almost two years.
By Nikolaj Skydsgaard, Johan Ahlander and Niklas Pollard

STOCKHOLM/COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -One of two Danish crew members missing from a capsized barge has been found dead in the hull after an overnight collision on Monday with a British cargo vessel in a busy Baltic Sea route off Sweden.

The 55-metre Karin Hoj barge and 90-metre Scot Carrier were sailing in the same direction off the island of Bornholm when they crashed in fog and darkness at 3.30 a.m. (0230 GMT), maritime agencies in Denmark and Sweden said.

At least nine boats and a helicopter combed waters near the wreckage-strewn site, while the overturned Karin Hoj was towed away to shallower waters so Swedish divers could investigate the hull without risk of being dragged down.

It is impossible to survive for long without protective gear in the sea temperatures of around 4 Celsius, but there had been hope the pair might be alive inside an air pocket within the hull.

However, the Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) and police said one person was found dead on the boat, while the other was still missing.

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION

Though there was fog at the time of the accident, the Danish Meteorological Institute said it was not dense and conditions were not unusual for the time of year.

The Swedish Prosecution Authority said in a statement a preliminary investigation was underway into several suspected crimes: gross negligence in maritime traffic, causing death through negligence, and marine intoxication.

It said two suspects, one British and one Croatian, had been take into custody and it could provide no further details due to the preliminary nature of the probe.

With events seeming to have unfolded fast, the Danish Defence's Joint Operations Centre (JOC) said there was no sign lifeboats or other emergency equipment were used by the Karin Hoj's two-person crew.

"I can confirm an accident has happened but I do not know the circumstances," Soren Hoj, managing director of Rederiet Hoj which owns the Karin Hoj, told Reuters.

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The barge was sailing from Sodertalje in Sweden to Nykobing Falster in southern Denmark, while the Scot Carrier was sailing to Montrose on Scotland's east coast.

The British ship's owner Scotline said it could not comment on details but was assisting local authorities.

The SMA said the Danish vessel was empty of cargo and it was unclear what if anything the British ship was carrying.

The waters between Sweden and Denmark see large amounts of maritime traffic. Collisions are rare though in 2006 a small Danish vessel sank after a crash with a Swedish boat, with all the crew rescued alive after bailing overboard.

(Additional reporting by Anna Ringstrom, Niklas Pollard and Johan Ahlander in Stockholm, Nikolaj Skydsgaard and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen in Copenhagen; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne, Stine Jacobsen and Niklas Pollard; Editing by Jon Boyle and Andrew Cawthorne)
(Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson repeatedly declined to rule out imposing further coronavirus restrictions before Christmas to tackle the spread of omicron, as he confirmed the first U.K. death linked to the new coronavirus strain.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Throughout the pandemic Ive been at great pains to stress to the public that we have to watch where the pandemic is going, and we take whatever steps are necessary to protect public health, the British prime minister told reporters at a vaccination center in London on Monday. He also said omicron would account for the majority of cases in the capital city by Tuesday.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who earlier said theres no certainty the government will be able to keep schools in England open, told Parliament that omicron infections in the U.K. are now estimated to be about 200,000 a day.

Ministers face a balancing act as they attempt to tackle the surge in cases just as a growing number of politicians in the ruling Conservative Party threaten to rebel against new restrictions on mask-wearing and so-called vaccine passports already announced last week.

Johnson warned those MPs against complacency in the face of the virus, ahead of key votes in Parliament on Tuesday.

In a hastily arranged address late Sunday, Johnson said the U.K. faces an emergency over omicron and announced an accelerated booster program to get the country through the crisis.

Yet the numbers involved demonstrate how quickly new curbs may become necessary. Johnson said the National Health Service will need to match its best vaccination day yet -- 844,000 in March -- and then must beat it day after day to achieve the target of offering all adults a booster by the New Year.

More Boosters

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The U.K. is deploying military planning teams to help with the rollout, with new sites opening and vaccine centers open seven days a week. Some 750 armed forces personnel will be mobilized, mainly to administer vaccines, with 50 military planning experts co-ordinating the national effort.

The government is working to increase capacity for booking booster shots online, Johnsons spokesman Max Blain told reporters, after the NHS website crashed on Monday morning amid high demand.

There is also no shortage of free lateral flow tests, Blain said, despite them being unavailable on the government website. People can collect test kits at their local pharmacy or community site, the U.K. Health Security Agency said.

U.K. Runs Out of Rapid Covid Tests Online as Omicron Spreads

He also said there are currently no plans to close any venues to limit the spread of omicron, though all options are being kept under review.

New Rules

As the threat from omicron became clearer, the government did introduce new restrictions in recent days, including mandatory face coverings in indoor public spaces and bringing back guidance for people to work from home.

From Wednesday, people will need to show a negative lateral flow test result to get into nightclubs and large events, with an exemption for those who have had two vaccine doses. This exemption will be changed to require a booster dose once all adults have had a reasonable chance to get one, Javid told MPs.

Children aged 12 to 15 will also get access to Covid passes for international travel from Monday, so they are able to prove their vaccine status where needed, Javid said.

U.K. Set to Scrap Covid Hotel Quarantines as Soon as Tuesday

Scientific advisers including Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser for the U.K. Health Security Agency, suggested Sunday that additional measures may soon be needed to prevent a surge in hospitalizations

Tightening further would be risky for Johnson, who has staked considerable political capital on allowing gatherings and other festive activities to go ahead this Christmas. It would also trigger further anger among restless Tory MPs.

Business Warning

The CBI, Britains biggest business lobby group, warned the governments rhetoric risked instilling a lockdown mentality that will hurt companies, even though the rules being voted on in Parliament fall far short of that.

Johnsons authority with his party and in public health messaging has been weakened in recent weeks after a steady drip of damaging allegations around Covid-19 rule-breaking Christmas events last year.

On Monday, Johnson said he broke no rules over the festivities in Downing Street. Simon Case, the U.K.s top civil servant, is investigating the alleged gatherings, including a virtual quiz that Johnson took part in.

Ryanairs Twitter Jab Mocks Boris Johnsons Christmas Party

The premier faces a crunch day in Parliament on Tuesday, with a series of votes on the new Covid rules. Rebel Conservative MP Steve Baker estimates around 60 colleagues will vote against Johnson.

Still, the measures are expected to pass, as the opposition Labour Party is expected to vote for them. The real risk for Johnson lies in what comes next, if the new rules and booster program prove insufficient against omicron.

We need to get those third doses in to as many adults as we possibly can, Robert Read, a member of the Joint Committee for Vaccines and Immunisation, told LBC radio. Just in case this virus turns out to be a raging bull.

(Updates with comment from Health Secretary Javid from third paragraph)

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2021 Bloomberg L.P.
By Andrew Chung

(Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected challenges brought by a group of Christian doctors and nurses and an organization that promotes vaccine skepticism to New York's refusal to allow religious exemptions to the state's mandate that healthcare workers be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Acting in two cases, the justices denied emergency requests for an injunction requiring the state to permit religious exemptions while litigation over the mandate's legality continues in lower courts. Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch said they would have granted the injunction.

The Supreme Court previously rejected other challenges to vaccine mandates including one focusing upon Maine's lack of a religious exemption for healthcare workers.

The New York challengers said the mandate violates the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment prohibition on religious discrimination by the government, or a federal civil rights law requiring employers to reasonably accommodate employees' religious beliefs. A lower court rejected their bid for an injunction.

New York's Department of Health on Aug. 26 ordered healthcare professionals who come in contact with patients or other employees to be vaccinated by Sept. 27. That deadline was delayed to Nov. 22.

The state has said that under the policy employers can consider religious accommodation requests and employees can be reassigned to jobs such as remote work.

The state said it allows a narrow medical exemption for the small number of people with a serious allergic reaction to the COVID-19 vaccines. It said longstanding healthcare worker vaccine mandates for measles and rubella also have no religious exemptions.

One lawsuit was brought by a group of 17 doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers, most of whom are Catholic, who sued under pseudonyms, denouncing "medical dictatorship." Sixteen said they were fired or suspended under the policy, while one nurse agreed to be vaccinated to keep her job.

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In a dissent in that case, Gorsuch said the mandate seemed based "on nothing more than fear and anger at those who harbor unpopular religious beliefs." Joined by Alito, Gorsuch chastised the court for not protecting the challengers, saying that it "is always the failure to defend the Constitution's promises that leads to this court's greatest regrets."

The other case involved a challenge by three Christian nurses, who are members of We the Patriots USA, a Connecticut-based group that is also a plaintiff. The group opposes vaccine mandates and advocates for various causes including what it called "medical freedom."

In a video on the group's website, co-founder Brian Festa said, "We were fighting against vaccine mandates. We were fighting to reveal the truth about what's in these shots, long before COVID was even a thing."

These plaintiffs are represented by Norman Pattis, a lawyer known for defending conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, founder of the right-wing website Infowars, against defamation lawsuits after he falsely called a 2012 Connecticut school mass shooting a "hoax."

According to government data, about 84% of U.S. adults have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 72% are fully vaccinated. A minority of Americans has declined to get the shots.

In legal filings, the New York challengers said that they believe abortion is "evil" and object to any COVID-19 vaccine whose development relied on cell lines from aborted fetuses.

The three COVID-19 vaccines authorized for U.S. use do not contain aborted fetal cells. Laboratory-grown cells that descended from the cells of an aborted fetus obtained decades ago were employed in testing during the vaccine development process. Drug efficacy and safety testing using such cell lines is routine.

The Vatican issued guidance to Roman Catholics last year that it is morally acceptable to use COVID-19 vaccines.

(Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Editing by Will Dunham)
The University of Florida is investigating possible violations of its research integrity policy following a 274-page faculty committee report that included claims of pressure to destroy and barriers to publish COVID-19 data.

It is the latest development of UF's academic freedom saga, which began in late October when it became public that multiple professors were restricted from participating in lawsuits against the state. The issue has developed into a nationwide debate over academics, freedom of speech, politics, prestige and money that has reached as far as UF's accreditor and U.S. Congress.

In an emailed statement sent to faculty and staff on Friday, David P. Norton, the university's vice president for research, said UF Research and the UF Office of Compliance and Ethics have initiated a formal investigation. He added that its results would be "made public once completed" but did not specify a timeline.

"The University of Florida takes breaches in research integrity very seriously and has a long-standing, rigorous process in place to investigate them," Norton's statement read.

See past coverage here: Academic freedom: UF Faculty Senate study finds broad fear of reprisal for criticism

Critical race theory: UF grievance says administration blocked new classes that hint of critical race theory

UF investigation: Congressional subcommittee investigating UF over free speech, academic freedom concerns

Check out: Six professors take free-speech battle with University of Florida administrators to court

Try: UF task force recommends high bar for blocking faculty from expert testimony against state

Background: Accreditor: Did University of Florida violate academic freedom standards by blocking professors' testimony?

The lengthy Faculty Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Academic Freedom document released in early December reported the following claims:

There was external pressure to destroy COVID-19 data and inconsistencies in procedures for things like data destruction

A State of Florida government entity created barriers to and delayed publication of COVID-19 data

UF employees were told verbally not to criticize Gov. Ron DeSantis or UF policies related to Covid-19 in media interactions

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The committee report also discussed faculty members' "grave concern about retaliation" and "a sense that anyone who objected to the state of affairs might lose his or her job or be punished in some way."

Christina Pushaw, press secretary for DeSantis, emailed a statement to The Sun on Sunday about the faculty senate document. It read, "The report contains plenty of unsourced allegations and innuendo but zero evidence that Governor DeSantis or anyone connected to the governors office has exerted or attempted to exert improper influence on UF. This is because it did not happen ... Governor DeSantis does not interfere with the internal matters of UF, which this is."

The statement continued to say DeSantis is confident in UF leadership, proud of the university's rise in national rankings and a staunch advocate for academic freedom.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: UF opens probe after reports over COVID data suppression
The USS Connecticut (SSN-22), a Seawolf-class nuclear powered fast attack submarine, transits Rich Passage as it heads for Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton on Wednesday, May 19, 2021.

SAN DIEGO  The USS Connecticut submarine, damaged in a collision with an underwater mountain in the South China Sea in October, arrived in San Diego harbor Sunday morning.

The Bremerton-based submarine is "safe and stable" following a journey across the Pacific Ocean from Guam, confirmed Cmdr. Cynthia Fields, a Navy spokeswoman for the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

The boat, one of the Navy's three Seawolf-class vessels, is expected to return to Bremerton, its homeport, but how soon it makes it to Sinclair Inlet is unknown publicly.

BREAKING: USS Connecticut (SSN 22) Seawolf-class nuclear attack submarine coming into San Diego - note obvious damage to bow - December 12, 2021 #ussconnecticut #ssn22 pic.twitter.com/vNT7sTPzod  WarshipCam (@WarshipCam) December 12, 2021

Eleven sailors were hurt Oct. 2 when the submarine struck an unmapped underwater mountain. Two suffered "moderate" injuries but did not require hospitalization. The submarine itself was damaged and received some repairs once the boat returned to Guam. The submarine's nuclear reactor and propulsion systems weren't damaged in the crash, the Navy said.

Following an investigation, Vice Adm. Karl Thomas, commander of the Japan-based U.S. 7th Fleet, relieved Cmdr. Cameron Aljilani as commanding officer, Lt. Cmdr. Patrick Cashin as executive officer, and Master Chief Sonar Technician Cory Rodgers as chief of the boat, "due to loss of confidence."

The Connecticut is part of a class of the Navy's three most powerful and most secretive submarines, all of which call Kitsap County home.

Josh Farley is a reporter covering the military and Bremerton for the Kitsap Sun. He can be reached at 360-792-9227, josh.farley@kitsapsun.com or on Twitter at @joshfarley.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: USS Connecticut, damaged in underwater collision, arrives in San Diego
Northampton, MA --News Direct-- Walmart

BENTONVILLE, Ark., LONDON, HONG KONG, Dec. 8, 2021  Walmart today raised the bar on climate action by creating a supply chain finance program that not only enables greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions, but for the first time, uses science-based targets to do so in a way that aims for a 1.5-degree Celsius pathway.

Working alongside HSBC and CDP, the program will help Walmarts private brand suppliers  particularly small and medium-sized businesses  by introducing enhanced standards, tools and capacity building to help them upskill and in turn align their operations with transparent sustainability objectives.

The announcement marks a key next phase in Walmarts journey to avoid 1 billion metric tons (a gigaton) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its global supply chain by 2030. HSBC has been supporting Walmarts Sustainable Supply Chain Finance program (SSCF) since 2019  encouraging its suppliers through improved financing access and terms if they reduce GHG emissions in at least one of the six pillars that are a part of Project Gigaton.

Our work with Project Gigaton is purposefully meant to encourage all Walmart suppliers to pursue emission reduction goals across six pillars: Energy, Nature, Waste, Packaging, Transportation and Product Use & Design. That includes creating programs such as the Sustainable Supply Chain Finance program with HSBC so that smaller and medium-sized businesses can also take advantage of special financing to make the necessary investments in their sustainability journeys. Now with CDP scoring added to the mix, the program provides suppliers with one more way to take advantage of improved financing through progress and disclosure  and exemplifies how we approach sustainability through a shared value lens, said Jane Ewing, the Senior Vice President for Sustainability at Walmart.

On average, 80% of a companys carbon footprint resides in its supply chain, which means delivering on Scope 3 emissions wont happen unless more is done to help small- and medium-sized suppliers. This program does just that and accelerates net zero transition, said Surath Sengupta, Global Head of Financial institutions, Portfolio Management and Sustainability, Global Trade and Receivables Finance at HSBC.

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Since 2017, more than 3,100 suppliers have formally signed on to Project Gigaton with suppliers reporting more than 186 million metric tons (MMT) of CO2e avoided in 2020, for a cumulative total of more than 416 MMT of CO2e avoided. However, recent research from HSBC and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) highlighted that small- and medium-sized businesses dont have the in-house climate expertise and have limited access to capital to drive and fund climate transformation. The research found that large corporations should supplement new standards with efforts to co-invest and provide liquidity through supply chain finance, share transition knowledge and resources, and help propagate innovation and technologies.

Raising ambitions to reduce Scope 3 emissions is paramount in reaching the Paris Agreement goal, and this is only achievable with strong supply chain engagement. CDPs work with suppliers has helped reduce GHG emissions by 619 million metric tons in 2020 alone, and we are pleased to deepen our relationship with Walmart and HSBC in providing the support needed to accelerate supply chain action through multi-stakeholder engagement, said Dexter Galvin, Global Director of Corporates & Supply Chains at CDP.

The Sustainable Supply Chain Finance programSuppliers taking part in Project Gigaton now have the option for setting science-based targets and having their targets validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI), or achieving certain score thresholds on their CDP climate change reports.

Eligible suppliers can approach HSBC for early payment on their invoices approved by Walmart with pricing on the financing linked to the suppliers CDP scores, targets set and impact reported. Suppliers setting the highest ambition would be able to take advantage of receiving the lowest pricing. The partnership with HSBC helps Walmart address its Scope 3 emissions and supports its suppliers to reduce their Scope 1 & 2 emissions. Suppliers can also use the financing proceeds to manage their own working capital and their sustainability-linked improvements, such as making their operations energy efficient to deliver against Walmarts Project Gigaton goals.

We are seeing more suppliers enrolling in Project Gigaton since the launch of the Sustainable Supply Chain Finance program two years ago. Our suppliers tell us that the incentives from the program are helping them invest in carbon emissions reduction efforts across their operations  this is why these types of collaborations are critical in ensuring even small- and medium-size businesses can reduce their emissions efficiently, said Ash Eisa, Senior Vice President for Global Sourcing at Walmart.

About WalmartWalmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better - anytime and anywhere - in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, approximately 220 million customers and members visit approximately 10,500 stores and clubs under 48 banners in 24 countries and eCommerce websites. With fiscal year 2021 revenue of $559 billion, Walmart employs 2.2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting corporate.walmart.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at twitter.com/walmart.

About HSBCHSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of HSBC, is headquartered in London. HSBC serves customers worldwide from offices in 64 countries and territories in its geographical regions: Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, and Middle East and North Africa. With assets of $2,969bn at 30 September 2021, HSBC is one of the worlds largest banking and financial services organizations.

About CDPCDP is a global non-profit that runs the worlds environmental disclosure system for companies, cities, states and regions. Founded in 2000 and working with more than 590 investors with over $110 trillion in assets, CDP pioneered using capital markets and corporate procurement to motivate companies to disclose their environmental impacts, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, safeguard water resources and protect forests. Over 14,000 organizations around the world disclosed data through CDP in 2021, including more than 13,000 companies worth over 64% of global market capitalization, and over 1,100 cities, states and regions. Fully TCFD aligned, CDP holds the largest environmental database in the world, and CDP scores are widely used to drive investment and procurement decisions towards a zero carbon, sustainable and resilient economy. CDP is a founding member of the Science Based Targets initiative, We Mean Business Coalition, The Investor Agenda and the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative. Visit cdp.net or follow us @CDP to find out more.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Walmart on 3blmedia.com

View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/walmart-creates-industry-first-by-introducing-science-based-targets-for-supply-chain-finance-program-932784928
The Boston Society of Film Critics honored Ryusuke Hamaguchis "Drive My Car," Japans entry to the Academy Awards international category, with four awards, including best picture and director, at its 42nd annual meeting, held virtually Sunday.

Hamaguchi's intimate three-hour epic tells a story of grief and loss through the eyes of a widowed actor played by Hidetoshi Nishijima, who earned a best actor nod for his performance. The movie also picked up the best screenplay prize.

"Drive My Car" opens in Boston on Jan. 14.

Actress-turned-director Maggie Gyllenhaal was named best new filmmaker for her Grecian-set psychological drama "The Lost Daughter," starring Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley as the older and younger version of a mother struggling with regret. Buckley edged out Ruth Negga ("Passing") for the best supporting actress honor. "The Lost Daughter" will be released in theaters Dec. 17 and streams on Netflix on Dec. 31.

"The Lost Daughter" (Dec. 17, theaters; Dec. 31, Netflix): The drama stars Olivia Colman, right, as a woman on a seaside vacation whose obsession with a young mother (Dakota Johnson) forces her to face choices she made in early motherhood and their consequences.

Paul Thomas Andersons coming-of-age story "Licorice Pizza," about a teenage hustler and the 20-something girl he crushes on, also earned a pair of prizes, including best ensemble cast, consisting of Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman (son of Phillip Seymour Hoffman), Bradley Cooper, Sean Penn, Benny Safdie, Maya Rudolph and John C. Reilly. Haim, of the sisters band Haim, was a fourth-ballot winner for best actress, topping Olivia Colman. "Licorice Pizza" is showing in theaters in Boston and on the South Shore on Dec. 24.

The award for best supporting actor went to Troy Kotsur, the veteran deaf actor who co-starred as a father and a Gloucester fisherman in the shot-in-Massachusetts crowd-pleaser "CODA," which is available to stream on Apple TV+.

Emilia Jones and Troy Kotsur in CODA, which was filmed in Gloucester.

Ari Wegner was named best cinematographer for Jane Campions Netflix Western "The Power of the Dog." The movie also won best English language film, a category, per the groups bylaws, that is only in play when a non-English language film wins best picture. The last time this happened was in 1985 when Akira Kurosawas "Ran" won best picture, and best English language film was awarded to John Hustons "Prizzis Honor."

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'A work of art': Saddle up for the Netflix Western 'The Power of the Dog'

Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman have breakout roles in Paul Thomas Anderson's 1970s-set "Licorice Pizza."

The critics group spread its honors around in other categories. Jonny Greenwood earned best score honors for "Spencer," and Affonso Goncalves and Adam Kurnitz nabbed the editing prize for "The Velvet Underground."

Best animated film went to the documentary "Flee" and Questloves cultural milestone, "Summer of Soul (or  When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)," won best documentary.

'Spencer' review: Kristen Stewart reigns as Princess Diana

'Velvet Underground': New Apple TV rock doc features Boston music legend Jonathan Richman

Review: Questlove's 'Summer of Soul' is must-see musical history

The Boston Society of Film Critics consists of 29 local critics, including writers from The Patriot Ledger, The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald and The Arts Fuse.

THE 2021 WINNERS

Best picture: "Drive My Car"

Best director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi, "Drive My Car"

Best actress: Alana Haim, "Licorice Pizza"

Best actor: Hidetoshi Nishijima, "Drive My Car"

Best supporting actor: Troy Kotsur, "CODA"

Best supporting actress: Jessie Buckley, "The Lost Daughter"

Best screenplay: Ryusuke Hamaguchi & Takamasa Oe, "Drive My Car"

Best cinematography: Ari Wegner, "The Power of the Dog"

Best documentary: "Summer of Soul (or  When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)"

Best English language film: "The Power of the Dog"

Best animated film: "Flee"

Best film editing: Affonso Goncalves and Adam Kurnitz, "The Velvet Underground"

Best new filmmaker: Maggie Gyllenhaal, "The Lost Daughter"

Best ensemble cast: "Licorice Pizza"

Best original score: Jonny Greenwood, "Spencer"

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. Please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Patriot Ledger subscription. Here is our latest offer.

Reach Dana Barbuto at dbarbuto@patriotledger.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Boston Society Film Critics honor Ryusuke Hamaguchis 'Drive My Car'
Wisconsin is seeing an uptick in an invasive species of bugs known as the "gypsy" moths thanks to dry weather this spring and summer.

The number of the moths, also known as Lymantria dispar, increased over the last year, according to data from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Over the course of the summer, nearly 100,000 moths were captured in about 11,000 traps, up from nearly 84,000 in 2020 and about 52,000 in 2019.

The number of moths increased because dry weather limited the spread of the diseases that typically kill the bugs. As a result, more caterpillars survived to adulthood, and the population was able to increase, said Michael Falk, trapping coordinator for DATCP.

The moths are an invasive pest that began defoliating Wisconsin trees in 1997. The state captures moths to help track the size and location of the traveling species. The trapping data helps to determine sites for next year's aerial treatments, DATCP said in a release. In 2021, the state treated about 89,000 acres across 14 counties.

The gypsy moth feeds on more than 300 species of trees.

Next year's treatment sites will be released in the spring.

More: Deep cold is bad news for emerald ash borer, but not likely to deliver a knockout punch

Commonly known as "gypsy" moths, the bugs are in the process of being renamed by the Entomological Society of America, because the name is considered an ethnic slur to the Romani people, according to a USA TODAY report. The organization is seeking a new name for the moth, but in the meantime recommends calling the bug by its scientific name, Lymantria dispar or L. dispar.

The male moths are dark in color and are able to fly, while female moths are white with wavy black marks and are unable to fly. The caterpillars are about 2 inches long, hairy and have a pattern of dark red and blue spots.

In addition to treatments by the state, residents can help identify and treat outbreaks of the moths as well, said Andrea Diss-Torrance, a forest invasive pest coordinator with the Department of Natural Resources.

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If you noticed the small yellow moths flitting around your backyard last summer, or the caterpillars crawling on your trees, make sure to check for egg masses on trees, especially oaks.

The egg masses are about the size of a quarter and a similar color to a manila envelope, Diss-Torrance said, and appear to have a velvety texture.

Gypsy moth egg mass, forestryimages.org

If you find an egg mass, coat it in a horticultural oil to ensure the eggs won't become caterpillars next spring. Those are the kinds of treatments already being used to treat outbreaks at Devil's Lake State Park near Madison and the John Muir Hiking and Biking Trails near Whitewater, where larger outbreaks were noted this summer, Dell-Torrance said.

More: Endangered mussels found in St. Croix River believed to be more than 100 years old

If you notice a large number of egg masses on your trees, or that you can't reach the eggs to treat them, it's recommended to call in an arborist to treat the tree, ensuring its survival.

The moths run on cycles of abundance and scarcity, depending on the weather, Diss-Torrance said. Just because we're seeing an uptick in recent years doesn't mean the high number of moths are here to stay.

But the bugs can still cause issues for trees by eating up leaves. Though the moths haven't caused widespread damage like they have on the East Coast, residents should still know what to look out for.

"We have a lot of options for ways to manage the population to prevent damage to the trees in our yards or on our property," she said. "So it is a manageable insect."

To learn more about Lymantria dispar, find an arborist or help out with identification and detection of the moths, visit www.gypsymoth.wi.gov.

Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on Twitter at @SchulteLaura.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin sees increase in 'gypsy' moth population
Saddle up, Yellowstone fans, because we are in for one hell of a bumpy ride. In Sundays episode, Garrett buttered up Christina to help Jamie run for governor just as Lynelle was informing John that, what with her upcoming Senate bid and all, shed be endorsing his adopted son for her old job. She was keenly aware that the two of them had issues, but if he wanted any hope of preserving their Montana, hes the devil we know  that is, unless John himself wanted to run.

Ugh. John didnt wanna do it, but dagnabbit, if that was what it would take to keep Jamie out of the governors office, fine, hed run. He knew hed have a lot to answer for, but he didnt give a st. Damn right I did it, he cracked, is gonna be my campaign slogan. And that was but one of the major twists of plot in Keep the Wolves Close. Read on, and well go over all of the others.

More from TVLine

yellowstone recap season 4 episode 7 john running for governor

I JUST JACKED OFF A HORSE

| Early on in the hour, over at the Four Sixes, an unwitting Jimmy was recruited by cute vet tech Emily (Nashville alum Kathryn Kelly) to erm well, the header for this section kinda says it all, doesnt it? (Pictured is his priceless reaction.) Afterwards, she asked to buy him dinner, but he couldnt let her do that. Because he had a girlfriend? Eh, he wasnt sure about that. But he could buy Emily dinner, anyway. And as one of the few single-ish guys under 30 in the county, he was in high demand, apparently. Go, Jimmy!

At the Yellowstone, John advised Carter to make things right with Beth  or else. So he brought her flowers by way of apology. She was, as youd expect, not impressed. Fellas who said they were sorry with flowers didnt have the balls to say the actual words, she reckoned. But if he could promise to do what she told him the way that she told him to, and never lie to her, they were cool. An agreement reached, the youngster asked when he could give her flowers if not when he was sorry. You give em for no reason, buddy, she told him. No reason at all. Aw, Beth, ya secret softy, you!

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FINE, ILL JUST WORK CASES FOR UGLY WOMEN FROM HERE ON OUT | At Kayces new place, Monica remained touchy as hell about Miss Pouty Lips Avery. With good reason, it turned out. After Kayce and Mo tracked the stolen horses to the Bureau of Land Management, where theyd been picked up as mustangs, Avery confessed to Tates dad that shed fallen for him the minute shed seen him. Well, uh, he was married. My fking luck, she sighed. Anyway, she couldnt love him, Kayce figured. God wouldnt let you love something that cant love you back. Avery just laughed at that. Yeah, she scoffed, He would.

When Beth arrived at her office at Market Equities, her first order of business was to fire her right-hand man, who she rightly deduced was boinking the secretary. I need my assistants to put all their efforts into not being psies, she said. I do not need them chasing it. After beginning to redecorate her office so that it looked less gynecological, Beth attended a meeting during which she learned just how badly MEs plans would decimate the Yellowstone. What? asked Ellis. You said youd turn [this place] into Park City. This is Park City. Off that shocker, Beth, upon spotting Summer protesting a fur store, revealed what ME was up to. If Summer wanted to protest something that would really impact the environment, Beth said, the airport was it. Clever.

yellowstone recap season 4 episode 7 john running for governor

WHATEVER YOU SAY, BABY, JUST TAKE YOUR PANTS OFF

| Back at the ranch, Teeter pleaded her case to John. The beef between Lloyd and Walker had nothing to do with her. Hell, even Laramie was just an excuse for it. Could he really can her after shed been branded and told she had a forever home? Fking scarred for life, it dont mean nothing? Turned out Rip had neglected to mention that Teeter had been branded. So John let her stay  Laramie, too. After Teeter gave Rip an awesomely awkward hug, he tapped the brand beneath his own shirt and reassured her that hey, this means something.

Meanwhile, Lloyd paid a visit to a pawn shop where he traded a one-of-a-kind belt buckle for oh dear. It looked like he was gonna get a gun to finish the job his knife had started. But it turned out he was buying a guitar to replace the one of Walkers that hed busted. Did Lloyd have a request? Walker asked upon receiving the gift. Just play me one, said Lloyd. And the one that Walker sang pretty much brought everyone to tears. Fences mended.

yellowstone recap season 4 episode 7 john running for governor

IF ITS PROGRESS YOU SEEK, DO NOT VOTE FOR ME

| Called away from an evening with Rip  being sweeter than wed ever seen him with Carter  Beth learned from John that he wanted the lot of them to move into the lodge. OK by her, but she wanted her dad to ask her fiance. Yup, Im afraid youre gonna take an emotional risk with another man, she told John  by asking Rip what hed like and then respecting the answer that he received. While still shaking in his boots, John revealed that hed agreed to run for governor  but wanted Beth to get him out of it. Uh-uh, she said. He had to do it. This was the way to save the ranch without selling it. As governor, he could shut down the airport project and pass a law so Market Equities could never darken their doorstep again!

The next day, John told Rip that he was moving into the lodge, then realized, That didnt sound like a question, did it? But the lodge, John said, was where family belonged. He was even fine with the stray kid  just no stray dogs. (Oh, speaking of which, off a suggestion from Mo, Kayce decided to name Tates four-legged friend Sunka  Lakota for dog.) As the episode drew to a close, Jamie excitedly headed for Lynelles press room, where he expected her to announce that she was endorsing him for governor. He didnt even catch on when he saw John and Beth there. We wouldnt miss this for the world, said John, in that moment as bitchy as ever Beth was. Poor Jamie thought they were there to support him until Lynelle announced her choice for Montanas next governor, and it was John who strode to the podium.

Cmon, Jamies a weasel, but you had to feel for him in that moment, right? Will he run against his adoptive dad? Will Kayce be tempted by Avery? Will Mia find herself st outta luck with Jimmy? Hit the comments with your thoughts/predictions/worries.

Launch Gallery: <i>Yellowstone</i> Season 4 Photos

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The identity of the zodiac killer has never been revealed, but several potential suspects, including Gary Poste pictured above, have been investigated over the years (The Case Breakers)

Multiple media networks in upstate New York have been told to be on alert after receiving threatening letters from someone claiming to be the Chinese Zodiac Killer.

The letters were recently received by several local news organisations in Albany and are now the subject of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The agency, however, has not revealed the names or the number of organisations that have been sent the letters. It has not revealed the contents of the letters either.

The FBI said it was investigating the letters and that there was currently no threat to the community, according to an agency statement quoted by The Albany Times Union and People magazine.

Meanwhile, the FBI has reportedly issued a notice to local news organisations asking them to be on alert for more letters and to not to open suspicious mail to help preserve possible DNA evidence.

The person who sent letters used the name of the infamous serial killer from the 60s to threaten the media outlets.

The case of the Zodiac killer who claimed to have murdered 37 people has been described as the most famous unsolved murder case in US history, inspiring films and stories.

Five known victims have been attributed to the Zodiac killer between December 1968 and October 1969 in the San Francisco Bay Area. He targeted young couples, with two of the men surviving, and killed a lone male cab driver.

The murderer was known for sending letters and cards with coded messages and ciphers and included several taunts to media organisations.

Several of the killers messages warned of carrying out killing sprees and bombings if they were not printed.

Of the four ciphers he produced, two remain unsolved to this day. The first was cracked in 1969, while the second was solved in 2020 by private citizens. The FBI said in 2020 that the investigation was ongoing.

The serial killers identity has never been revealed. Several potential suspects, including Gary Francis Poste who died in 2018, have been investigated over the years.
Japan's new prime minister has spent the first few nights in his official residence in Tokyo, becoming the first Japanese leader in nearly a decade to live in the so-called "haunted" house.

The historic house is located close to the prime minister's office complex, where Japan's ruling party conducts its business but for the last nine years, it has been lying idle as previous prime ministers chose to live elsewhere.

Asked how he was settling into the new residence when emerging from the house this morning, prime minister Fumio Kishida said he "slept well". When asked about the ghosts, which reputedly haunt the residence, Kishida said "so far, I have not seen (any)."

The official residence has a bloody history. It was built in the years after Tokyo recovered from a devastating earthquake in 1923 which killed tens of thousands and levelled large swaths of Japan's capital. In 1932, naval officers stormed the house and assassinated then-prime minister Tsuyoshi Inukai.

A few years later, it was once again the setting for more murder and bloodshed. Five people were killed, but the prime minister at the time survived by hiding in a wardrobe. The ghosts of the slain are thought to haunt the official residence.

The stately home has been extensively refurbished and remodelled and costs taxpayers in Japan nearly $1.5 million per year to maintain but has been overlooked by the last two prime ministers of Japan. The current prime minister said he would be moving in so as to be nearer to his workplace and because he also wanted to cherish his time with his family. The residence is only a few minutes by car to the prime minister's office.
New Delhi: Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu, representing India at the 70th Miss Universe 2021, made the entire nation proud by bringing the crown home two decades after Lara Dutta won the title in 2000.

Before Lara, actor Sushmita Sen was the first one from India to win the title in the 43rd Miss Universe pageant, held at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay, Philippines in 1994. Sen was just 18 when she defeated 77 contenders during the contest to win the crown.

The 21-year-old Harnaaz, hailing from Chandigarh, has now joined the league of these incredible women by winning the 70th Miss Universe, held at Eilat, Israel.

Have a look at divas winning moment at the event:

However, when Sandhu entered the top 3 finalists on Sunday, a difficult question was obstacle in her way to win the title, wo which Harnaazs beautiful yet honest answer will win your heart.

During the final question and answer round, Sandhu was asked what advice would she give to young women on how to deal with the pressure they face today.

To this Sandhu replied, The biggest pressure the youth of today is facing is to believe in themselves, to know that you are unique and thats what makes you beautiful. Stop comparing yourselves with others and lets talk about more important things thats happening worldwide.

Watch the video here:

The Inspiring video was shared by business tycoon Anand Mahindra with caption, No better way to start the week than by hearing this .
Russia will start financing construction of the industrial zone in Egypt and is considering the use of such format in other countries, First Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Vasily Osmakov said, Arab Finance reports citing TASS News agency.

We will start funding construction of the Russian industrial zone in Egypt from the next year. We are thinking of replicating such experience in other countries, for example, in Uzbekistan, Osmakov said.

Russia agreed with Egypt in 2018 to set up an industrial zone with the preferential tax treatment in the Arab country.

Industrial zone construction was initially intended for 2020, but the timeframe was shifted due to the coronavirus pandemic, Arab Finance notes. Resident companies are expected to launch production as early as in 2022.

Posted by North Africa Post North Africa Post's news desk is composed of journalists and editors, who are constantly working to provide new and accurate stories to NAP readers.
Morocco has shortened to five months the time span between the second and the third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine as part of an unrelenting offensive to fight the pandemic.

The move is part of forward-looking measures  that may appear to be painful- but which allowed residents in the country to resume normal life.

Doctors recommend a booster jab in order to reinforce collective immunity against new variants such as Omicron.

Morocco has imposed a flight ban on November 29 to gain more time to vaccinate as much as possible of its population.

The North African Kingdom is already an African vaccine champion inoculating 24.3 million people with a first dose and 22.24 million with a second jab.

So far, 1.51 million people have received a booster jab in the country which recently added courts to places only vaccinated people can access.
Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photo: Dave Benett/Getty Images

By the time I get Ian Urbina on the phone Wednesday afternoon, hes ready to tell his story. He picks up on the first ring and makes quick work of the pleasantries. So, if its okay with you, he says, my inkling would be to start with kind of its origin story? Youre welcome to record. Sure, I say, and away he goes.

Its not hard to hear the edge of unease in his voice, the anxiety of a veteran newspaperman who has had a hand in crafting many narratives and has spent the last five days watching his own spin decisively out of control. To be fair, his particular crisis is one that a Pulitzer Prizewinning former New York Times reporter could scarcely have imagined unfolding even a few years ago. Its a distinctly 2021 scandal, and one hes figuring out how to navigate on the fly.

The week before had started out actually quite well for Urbina. On Sunday, November 28, the New Yorker published his 10,000-word opus about Libyas renegade coast guard militias, a piece that landed him a spot on MSNBCs All In With Chris Hayes and NPRs All Things Considered. But then, on Thursday, came something unexpected. A musician and YouTuber named Benn Jordan posted a 20-minute video entitled How A NYTimes Reporter Collects Royalties From Hundreds of Musicians that accused him of engineering an elaborate swindle in an entirely different line of business. Urbina was signing up artists to make music for a side project by promising them huge exposure that never materialized in exchange for collecting half the revenue. The case laid out by Jordan was strange, outrageous, and not entirely accurate and triggered a swift Twitter pile-on.

It was at this juncture that Urbina made a questionable tactical decision. He went on the attack. Instead of engaging with the charges, he tried to crush them, blocking Jordan on Twitter along with anyone else who criticized him. He posted a statement on Medium calling Jordans video a mass trolling. And he shut down journalists trying to report out the story. When Input magazine reached out to him, Urbina declined to answer questions, nor did he respond when Rolling Stone asked for comment.

The results were not good. Folks were making death threats, Urbina tells me.

Youre getting death threats? I ask.

Not a lot of them. But yes, weve gotten, you know, its just  you would be amazed. Then he catches himself, and I feel the weird hall-of-mirrors effect of interviewing someone who is very experienced at interviewing others and therefore very aware of how his words sound and how they might be used. But, you know, I dont know if I should say that on record, because it could be like, Oh, look, hes complaining and hes trying to play this. And Im not doing that.

He presses on, explaining in a clear, steady cadence what happened and why. Its all a misunderstanding, he says; and where Jordan sees a scam, Urbina describes a plan to expand the reach of his journalism to a new audience. The case he makes is mostly compelling, but there are gaps.

In 2015 Urbina, then a staff reporter at the Times, published a series of articles under the rubrik The Outlaw Ocean. The common theme was that the open sea is a lawless place where all sorts of environmental and human rights abuses occur. The topic was one of many that Urbina had written about since joining the paper in 2003: He was part of a team that won a Pulitzer for exposing Governer Eliot Spitzers sexual indiscreptions, and covered climate change, cyber crime, and sweatshop labor. But to Urbina the lawlessness of the ocean seemed to hold special promise. It was a huge topic that few others were covering. I feel like I have found virgin snow, when it comes to a journalistic topic, he says. In 2019 he left the Times to become a full-time freelancer, and that September he published The Outlaw Ocean: Crime and Survival in the Last Untamed Frontier.

Without the financial stability of a full-time job, and the prestige of a marquee newspaper brand, Urbina was going to have to carve out a place for himself in a media environment that had transformed dramatically since hed entered the profession. The number of publications had plummeted, and so had the going word rates. But, on the other side of the ledger, a journalist had many more ways to reach the public and cultivate a loyal audience. In addition to traditional options like movie or TV deals there were now podcasts, Medium, Substack, YouTube, and countless other ways to monetize ones reporting. Or one could try to create something unique.

As he was out at sea reporting, Urbina says, I had this idea sort of start bubbling up, which was in some ways inspired by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Im a big hip-hop fan and was thinking that it would be really neat to do with my ocean book what Lin-Manuel did with Hamilton. What if we create this music project as a bridge to folks who arent reading my stuff anyway, to younger folks and to more global folks? To do so, he would offer musicians a library of sounds he had recorded during his reporting, like machine-gun fire off the coast of Somalia and chanting captive deckhands on the South China Sea, that the musicians could incorporate into their work.

To implement his musical ideas, Urbina created a for-profit company called Synesthesia, and a non-profit, The OO Project, into which he said any profits from Synesthesia would flow. The OO Projects mission was to support journalism about maritime issues  effectively, to support Urbinas own work.

As his books release date approached, Urbina began reaching out to musicians, asking if theyd be interested in taking part in a project hed devised to support his reporting. My name is Ian Urbina and I work for The New York Times, he wrote, after leaving the paper, to the booking agent of musician Benn Jordan. Im contacting you not for an interview per se, but because I want to run an idea by you that I think might be of great interest. In a follow-up to Jordan, he elaborated: The idea I had is to create a soundtrack for the book. By that I dont mean putting music behind the audio book. Instead, I mean teaming up with an artist to create music that tells stories and conveys the feelings and issues in the book. He added that this entire audio idea is a passion project. So, there is no upfront money. That said, there will be a lot of interest (and thus online traffic/royalties) on it once we create it. Spotify was working on a podcast and Netflix and Knopf who are both creating things tied to the book are eager to promote the soundtrack.

Jordan, a Georgia-based electronica musician, was at first excited about the idea. While he hadnt previously known Urbinas name, he was familiar with his series on the ocean, and was excited by the glamor of his journalistic stature. The cause seemed worthy, and he was flattered that Urbina considered himself a fan. Under the impression that this would be a one-on-one collaboration, Jordan talked at length with Urbina on the phone, who then sent him a contract. When he read the terms of the proposed deal, however, Jordan was dismayed. As he understood it, the contract called for Urbina and Jordan to share writing credits on any music, with a publishing company called Synesthesia taking half the income. I thought, This doesnt even make sense. Sharing writer credit when youre not providing any material? Jordan recalls. He concluded that Urbina was a newcomer to the music business: He had no idea what he was doing.

Then he did a little digging. Looking up the company registration for Synesthesia, he found that Synesthesia wasnt just some third-party company that Urbina had contracted with; the company was owned by Urbina himself. To Jordan, it looked like Urbina was using a shell company to hide where the profits were really going. Making matters worse, Jordan then discovered that he would not be Urbinas only collaborator. In conversations with other musicians he learned that Urbina had approached them in exactly the same way, in most cases with cut-and-paste introductory emails. In the months that followed, Urbina would wind up signing more than 450 musicians to the Synesthesia contract. There are now more than 2,000 songs on the Outlaw Ocean Music Project website and streaming on every major music service on the internet. The gist of Urbinas offer was that, while musicians would get no money up front, the project would provide exposure for their work. But the promised promotional tie-ins never materialized. No Netflix, no Spotify podcast, says Jordan.

As a 20-year veteran of the music business, Jordan had seen his share of shenanigans, and even made a video about common industry scams. But what Urbina was doing made Jordan particularly angry, especially when he thought about how younger and less experienced musicians might react to Urbinas proposition. Im imagining 15 years ago, calling up my mom, and saying, Mom, I got contacted by a Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist from the New York Times who wants to partner with me to use my music on his mission to save the ocean. And Netflix is going to be involved, Spotify is going to be involved, theres all these major companies involved, this is awesome, lets celebrate. And then having to follow up with the disappointment.

Turned off, Jordan abandoned his work on Outlaw Ocean music and never submitted anything to Synesthesia. But he started working on a video that laid out his concerns, going back to it on and off for the next two years, as the whole saga unfolded. Finally, after a weeklong push, he finished the video and posted it on YouTube on the afternoon of December 2. He admits to feeling a little queasy as he hit the upload button. Theres always a little bit of nausea whenever you upload a video thats negative about a person, he says.

In the video, Jordan professes admiration for the outstanding quality of Urbinas journalism and the worthiness of his cause. But he describes that what Urbinas music project as fundamentally a scam: luring musicians into onerous contracts under false pretenses, promising promotion and exposure that never materialized, and funneling music revenue into his own pockets  an extremely unexpected, brazen, complex web of fuckery, as Jordan put it. Near the end of the video, Jordan addresses Urbina directly: In my personal opinion, you owe an apology to most of the artists who participated in this, and you should also negate their contracts.

As the ensuing Twitter storm raged, Jordan reached out to other musicians whod been involved in the Outlaw Ocean project and asked them to fill out a survey detailing their experiences. About a hundred responded, most of them seconding Jordans discontent and supporting his call for Urbina to cancel their contracts.

Wrote one: While the wording of the emails and contract I received didnt make me feel like I was technically lied to, I definitely felt misled or like I was sold a vision of something that had very little chance of happening  What seems to be a mutually beneficial collaboration became hundreds of musicians reading, sharing, and otherwise supporting his journalism for nothing in return. The support only went one way  from the artists to him.

As reporters checked out Jordans allegations, it turned out that some of them didnt hold water. For example, he had misunderstood the Synesthesia contract to imply that the company would get half of the royalty income while he and Urbina would split the remainder, leaving him with only a quarter; in fact Synesthesias half and Urbinas half were the same thing, so Jordan would keep 50 percent. In later communications with artists Urbina had made it clear that the company was his own. Still, the deals were definitely not financially favorable to the musicians. When a Rolling Stone writer showed Jordans contract to music attorney Rachel Stillwell, she responded: If a client brought this contract to me to negotiate, I would tell them to simply walk away.

When I reached Urbina, hes abandoned his counterattack strategy and shifted to contrition. He has posted An Apology from Ian in which he stated, I apologize unequivocally for the misunderstandings that had arisen. But he rejected claims that hed scammed anyone, insisting that Ive never made a cent from the music nor would I as thats not the projects purpose, and promised that Synesthesia was willing to contractually release any musician who wanted to be.

On the phone, Urbina tells me that about 50 have taken him up on his offer out of the roughly 500 musicians under contract. I got deeply rattled by this, Urbina says. Artists are upset. Some artists are saying they feel like they were tricked. He wants to clear the air.

Mostly he wants to talk about the vision of the project, and how its primary aspiration was to connect the public to meaningful journalism. In this sense, Urbina says, the Outlaw Ocean Music Project has paid off. Its been a wild success, he says. We get huge numbers of people coming onto the stories on the website every time theres a music launch and then reading the stories. According to Urbina, the website gets between two and four times as many pageviews after a new release.

This is the gist of Urbinas answer to Jordan and his other critics: This wasnt a shady scheme to make money  it was an optimistic and experimental strategy to get more attention to worthy journalism. If he sometimes failed to convey to musicians what he was doing and why, thats due in part to the fact that as he moved from conceptualizing a plan to implementing it the details changed. For one thing, he says he was learning how the music industry works. It took me a huge learning curve to even know what the terminology means, he tells me. For another he was adapting to the musicians response. Did I have any idea in the beginning that it would scale beyond ten artists? No! he says. And then when we hit 50 I was like, Holy cow, this is so cool, its actually working. So in real time I adjusted everything as I learned and saw the reality.

Another problem he has faced is that, like many ambitious digital visions, Urbinas concept is a little fuzzy. He clearly views scale as an obvious virtue in itself. Its a global creative flashmob, and flashmobs are better the bigger they are, he says. But its not entirely clear how the existence of a vast streaming music library corresponds with promoting ocean journalism. The most tangible benefit that he can point to is a rise in page traffic to the projects website each time new music is released. But as yet, none of the music has gone viral or broken through into the broader culture like the book did.

As for the structure of the deals, Urbina acknowledges that the contract is unusual in the portion of the money that he takes from musicians. But he insists that there is a good reason for that: musicians participation in the Outlaw Ocean Music Project is a kind of donation. What we consistently tell musicians is this is not a music label business deal, he says. This is essentially a charitable contribution. (Its not a literal donation, in the sense that a musician could claim a tax deduction on it, as the deal is with Synesthesia rather than The OO Project.)

A major multimedia project like Urbinas most recent story can cost him more than $200,000 to produce, as he travels with a three-person team that also shoots video footage, but his compensation from the New Yorker was only $20,000 or so. He, like many other independent journalists, has been trying to find some way to bridge the gap and deliver high-quality reporting outside the context of a legacy media brand.

However, thats not whats happening here. Urbina says that the Outlaw Ocean Music Project is not a money maker but a money sink. He tells me that as of this week, the project has taken in $49,000 in revenue but has cost $120,000 in promotion, cover art, and the like. And even if it did turn a profit, that still wouldnt go into funding his journalism, but rather into expanding the music program and growing its audience  and thus his journalisms audience  further. There was zero aspiration to make money, he says. The goal was always, lets scale this up.

In the interest of maximum transparency, Urbina sends me the nonprofits 2020 tax filing. It shows that in that year, Outlaw Ocean took in $1.1 million, dispensed $390,000, and ended the year $810,000 in the black. A variety of large and small donors support his group, the two biggest being Bloomberg Philanthropy and Schmidt Marine Technology Partners. His point is that the sums involved in the music project arent particularly meaningful in terms of the organizations overall budget  and are much smaller than what he has been able to raise from philanthropic contributions.

I tell Urbina that I have trouble following his logic here. Right in its website the Outlaw Ocean Music Project says that the artist donates 50 percent of any revenue on their music to Synesthesia for the sake of supporting more reporting and outreach. (Emphasis mine.) When I press him on it, he says that yes, financial support is part of the goal, but a minor one compared to spreading the word  distribution, as he calls it. If A is distribution and B is economics, then A is like 80 percent of its goal and B is 20 percent of its goal, he says.

Given the quantity of funds he has in the bank, its not entirely obvious why Urbina invested so much time and effort, and undertook such a big reputational risk, to create a sprawling musical empire with little payoff. Yet he expresses no regrets about the undertaking. Words are a limited medium, he says. They go through peoples eyes and up to their head. Music goes through their ears and down to their heart.

As we start to wrap up the call, Urbina is cagey about what he plans to do with the project going forward. He says hes going to ask the musicians still signed with the project for their advice. Despite the Twitter hate, he says he has no regrets in setting up the Outlaw Ocean Music Project. Ill just tell you, and I dont say this defensively, he says, its one of the proudest things Ive ever done.
Trump and Netanyahu, before Bibis betrayal by acknowledging Bidens election. Photo: Kobi Gideon/GPO via Getty Images

New reports about Donald Trumps estrangement from his old friend and ally Benjamin Netanyahu are understandably being interpreted from the point of view of the long and tangled relationship between the United States and Israel, in which the appearance of smooth cooperation during the Trump administration hid numerous fissures, arguments, and misunderstandings. Its clear that the abandonment most Republicans had long advocated of Americas traditional hands-off honest broker posture toward Israelis and Palestinians didnt resolve all differences.

But from the perspective of understanding our former and perhaps future president, there is one terrifying new data point, as reported at Axios on Friday by Israeli journalist Barak Ravid:

Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu were the closest of political allies during the four years they overlapped in office, at least in public. Not anymore. I havent spoken to him since, Trump said of the former Israeli prime minister. F**k him.

Trump repeatedly criticized Netanyahu during two interviews for my book, Trumps Peace: The Abraham Accords and the Reshaping of the Middle East. The final straw for Trump was when Netanyahu congratulated President-elect Biden for his election victory while Trump was still disputing the result.

The first person that congratulated [Biden] was Bibi Netanyahu, the man that I did more for than any other person I dealt with  Bibi could have stayed quiet. He has made a terrible mistake.

Actually, Bibi was far from the first head of state to acknowledge Bidens victory. What really honked off Trump was that Netanyahu acknowledged the victory at all, particularly at a time when other Trump allies like Vladimir Putin and Jair Bolsonaro were still holding back. And Bibis betrayal wasnt some back-channel feeler toward the soon-to-be-American president (a matter of self-preservation for any Israeli government, particularly one for whom close ties with Washington was a principal asset), but in a video the whole world could see! Notes Ravid:

For Bibi Netanyahu, before the ink was even dry, to do a message, and not only a message, to do a tape to Joe Biden talking about their great, great friendship  they didnt have a friendship, because if they did, [the Obama administration] wouldnt have done the Iran deal 

Other than exhibiting Trumps reptilian reaction to any positive remarks about his enemies, his decision to cast Bibi into the outer darkness for raining on the stop the steal parade when it was just getting under way means the Big Lie litmus test Trump is demanding that every Republican politician in America pass (or at least not flunk) is actually global. Not just American pols but entire sovereign nations and their leaders will be adjudged by their subscription to his anti-democratic ravings. Presumably any foreign leader looking forward to the possibility of dealing with a Trump restoration in 2025 will have to be careful not to say anything negative about MAGA-world preparations for a more competent election coup, should one prove necessary after Election Day in 2024. Thus, the 45th president is building international support for the counterrevolution he continues to lead.
(Bloomberg) -- One of South Koreas biggest conglomerates with roots firmly in traditional industries is taking a leap into the unknown with its next target for growth: the metaverse.

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SK Square Co., the investment arm of the massive SK Group spun off into its own stock last month, wants every portfolio company to have a metaverse presence, Managing Director Huh Seok-joon, 48, said in an interview. Their customers should be able to use cryptocurrencies for shopping, streaming media and other transactions with the metaverse community, he said.

Corporations the world over are laying bets on the metaverse, an envisioned virtual environment where people can interact with the internet and others, supplanting web browsers and mobile apps. SK Square is moving swiftly in a bid to avoid falling behind younger, nimbler competitors: it bought a 35% stake in a crypto exchange last month and one of its affiliates is planning to issue a coin in the first half of next year, Huh said.

Our business needs to evolve into the metaverse, Huh said. Our new interface between customers will be shifting from mobile phones to metaverse and coins will be used as new currencies on our platforms.

SK Square is entering an already-crowded field thats drawn the likes of Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc. and domestic rivals Naver Corp. and Kakao Corp. But these investments will likely take years to pay off, if at all, given the technology and software required to realize their vision of the metaverse remain nascent.

Such radical bets are rare among family-controlled conglomerates, known as chaebol in South Korea, which have been dependent on manufacturing sectors for decades. Seoul-based SK Square, split off from SK Telecom Co., is following a SoftBank Group Corp. model for investments in future technologies.

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On its first day of trading last week, SK Square announced a 90 billion won ($76 million) investment in Korbit, South Koreas fourth-largest crypto exchange. Although Korbits share of the Korean market is only about 0.3%, SK Square saw it as a good way to enter the crypto business at a cheap valuation. Dunamu, parent of Koreas leading crypto exchange firm Upbit, has a valuation of about 17.8 trillion won, according to Seoul Exchange, an unlisted stock trading exchange platform.

SK Square aims to list coins on Korbit that can be used for buying products and services from SK Group companies, starting with one coin and expanding from there, Huh said. SK Square is the largest shareholder of chip giant SK Hynix Inc. and its other portfolio companies include app market firm One Store Co., online shopping mall 11street and ride-services provider Tmap Mobility. SK will eventually issue a coin for SK Telecom-operated metaverse platform called ifland, Huh said.

SK Squares investment comes as South Korea is tightening regulations on crypto activities and outlining laws related to investor protection and penalties on illegal acts. The country has shut down dozens of cryptocurrency exchanges and approved only a few major exchanges including Korbit that require users to register with real names and bank accounts for trading.

Yet SK Square is forging ahead. The company is mulling investments in foreign crypto exchange firms with a vision of establishing an international coin ecosystem, Huh said. It would also consider buying cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin if local restrictions on direct investments in crypto assets are lifted, he said.

I dont think cryptocurrency itself is a speculative asset, he said. We are aware of the volatility of the price move and need to be careful. But it doesnt make sense for us to rule out crypto as an investment option.

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A girl crouched. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

SINGAPORE  After his release from prison, a man who was employed at an animal shelter groomed a 14-year-old volunteer into becoming his apprentice and his girlfriend.

The 41-year-old man already had a girlfriend of four years and was infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), but told the teen victim neither of these things when he engaged in sex with her up to twice weekly between September and December 2019.

He was sentenced to 13 years and two months jail on Monday (13 December), after he pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual penetration of a minor under 16, and five counts of failing to inform a person he had sex with that he had HIV, a breach of the Infectious Diseases Act.

He also pleaded guilty to a count of mischief for cutting off an electronic tag. Both the man and the girl cannot be named due to a gag order protecting their identities. Another 25 counts of a similar nature were taken into consideration for his sentencing.

The man was diagnosed with HIV in the early 2010s and was informed that he would have to tell his future sex partners of the risk of contracting the virus. However, he did not do so and was jailed for 18 months in 2012 for failing to tell one of his sex partners.

He was also told to practise safe sex by taking necessary precautions, such as wearing condoms. He had been receiving treatment and was last tested on 23 July 2019 for his viral load, which was found to be undetectable. Separately, the victim tested negative for HIV infection.

In January 2019, the man was released on remission for a shop theft offence when he decided to volunteer at an animal shelter. He was soon employed by a co-owner of the shelter and was promoted to become the head trainer working at the shelter for six days a week.

The victims aunt brought the victim to the shelter on 6 July 2019 after the latter expressed interest in volunteering. The victim and her aunt were introduced to the man, who taught them how to care for the dogs.

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When the victim next visited on 13 July 2019, the man approached her to ask if she was interested in joining the shelters group chat. The victim agreed and gave him her contact.

Later, the shelters co-owner learned that the girl was only 14 and said that she was too young, as volunteers had to be at least 16. The accused then pleaded for the girl to be permitted to join as a volunteer.

The accused told the co-owner that the victim was from a broken home and not doing well academically, the prosecution said. He added that the victim might wish to work at the shelter as a trainer upon graduation from school, according to the prosecution.

The man told the co-owner that "it would be a waste not to let the victim learn and become a trainer at the shelter, and that she might go astray if she was not accepted as a volunteer".

The co-owner then relented and the victim then became the shelter's only volunteer below 16.

Between July and December 2019, the girl volunteered every Saturday and was placed under the accuseds guidance as his apprentice. They began exchanging messages and would meet for breakfast every Saturday before heading to the shelter.

The two started dating by end August 2019. He began calling the girl princess and "dear" over text.

In September 2019, the man began inviting the victim to the room he shared with his girlfriend. He did so when his landlord was not around to avoid arousing suspicions. They began engaging in unprotected sexual acts.

They would then shower together before the heading to the shelter.

The mans girlfriend had no idea that he was engaging in intimate acts with a minor. The man had lied to the victim that he shared the room with his mother, and that his last relationship was 20 years ago. He told her that age did not matter when it came to love, and that he wanted to marry the victim in 10 years' time, and have her baby.

He also told her that a man who refused to have sex with her a second time was "untrustworthy".

The offences were discovered when the victim's brother stumbled upon her messages around November 2019 when using her phone. He told his father, who lodged a police report.

Appearing via videolink unrepresented, the man said he was very shameful and remorseful for his offences, promising that it would be the last time he offended.

My loved one and mother accepted me back I know it's going to be a long sentence and I beg for mercy, he added.

District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan said he agreed with the submissions tendered by the prosecution as the case was one of the more egregious ones encountered in relation to sexual penetration of a minor.

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Over the next decade, we expect trillions of dollars to be allocated to impact investing given its potential to drive tangible change, said Donna Parr, Managing Partner at CBIV. The timing could not be better for us to launch our impact fund, which has already attracted interest from investors in global markets that are looking to make a difference in the world while seeking venture returns.

Annie Theriault, Managing Partner at CBIV, has been immersed in impact investing, venture capital, royalty financing, and capital markets throughout her career. As a venture capital investor and venture advisor, she worked with high impact companies to mobilize more than $100 million in non-dilutive capital. Annie was previously a director on the boards of several North American venture-backed companies, is an advisor to crowdfunding fintech company FrontFundr, and, prior to the launch of CBIV, was Chief Investment Officer at Grand Challenges Canada. Annie obtained her PhD in Management from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, is a CFA Charterholder, and holds the ICD.D designation. She also has a masters degree in Business Economics from Wilfrid Laurier University and a Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours in Chemistry from Mount Allison University.
Auburn University is a hot campus for the next cohort of college students.

After the university reported record freshman enrollment this fall semester, its now received about 40,000 applications for the fall 2022 semester, the largest number of applicants in its 165-year history.

Joffery Gaymon, the universitys vice president for enrollment, said in a release Friday the institution has ramped up efforts to bring in students from underserved areas in recent years.

It is exciting to see that many students continue to demonstrate a strong interest in joining the Auburn family, Gaymon said in the release.

Auburn said the record is a 68.5% increase from fall 2021 application and a 155% increase from those in fall 2020, indicating an exponential increase in interested students. The university said it saw a 76% increase of in-state students and a 100% increase of students with a diverse background, with students from all 50 states among the 40,000 number.

With Auburn being the top choice for Alabama students and a land-grant institution, we understand and embrace our responsibility to serve the citizens of the state of Alabama, Gaymon said per the release.
General Hospital

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The Young and the Restless

The Bold and the Beautiful

This Week in Soaps history...

December 9-13, 2019

This week on the US Daytime Soaps...Brooke was unable to forgive Thomas, and she and Ridge signed divorce papers. Brooke urged Ridge to wait to file the papers and hoped that he'd see the truth about his son before it was too late. Ecstatic about the divorce, Thomas urged Shauna to go after Ridge.Thomas convinced Ridge to conduct a fashion showdown between Steffy and Hope's lines to figure out which youth line to produce. Hope was gung-ho about the competition but insisted upon finding a new designer for HFTF. Worried that Thomas was after Hope again, Liam asked for Steffy's help in exposing Thomas' true motives for desiring to work with Hope.Gabi sent Eli to Rome to secure Kristen's shares of DiMera Enterprises.Lani begged J.J. not to shoot Kristen. Kristen decided to return to Salem. After learning Eli was with Gabi, Lani agreed to return to Salem with Kristen.Jennifer retraced her steps from the night of her fall, and she went home from the hospital.Kate reported to Stefano about Chad.Justin moved in with Kayla.Test results showed that Mackenzie had neuroblastoma. Eric and Sarah took Mackenzie to Boston for treatment, and Sarah asked Xander to stay behind in Salem.Ciara confided in Justin about her suspicions about Xander, and Justin offered to be Ben's lawyer. Ben warned Ciara to steer clear of Xander, but she planned to befriend him in his grief over Mackenzie.Stefano and Gina discussed the possibility of getting rid of Abigail.Chad recruited a tech firm to review the crime scene footage of Eve, and the expert confirmed that the footage had been doctored. Gina scrambled to leave Salem.Harmony was granted early release due to prison overcrowding at Pentonville.Nelle conspired with Ryan for him to stab her so she would be rushed to General Hospital.Ava checked herself out of Shadybrook. Nina was set on punishing Valentin for deceiving her about Sasha. Nina and Ava decided to team up to take Valentin and Nikolas down. Ava made plans for a special auction. Valentin warned Jax to stay away from Nina. Jax questioned Nina about Claudette.Julian and Brook Lynn were surprised when Carly introduced them to each other. Brook Lynn told her father that she had made a mistake firing her mother and hiring a new producer/manager.Franco underwent the memory mapping procedure to restore his memories. Elizabeth waited anxiously for Franco to wake up. Jason told Anna that Peter was the reason that Sam was in prison.After a visit with Anna, Griffin left town.Sonny held out hope that a doctor in Sweden could help Mike. Mike's disease continued to progress. Carly admitted that she had been keeping something from Sonny, but she asked him to trust her until she could share the secret.Charlotte revealed that she had a bodyguard, but Laura worried that the bodyguard was a figment of her granddaughter's imagination.Abby revealed that she'd staged the jewel thefts to force Phyllis out of the Grand Phoenix. Chance turned down Abby's job offer to replace Phyllis as head of security, but he decided to stay in Genoa City. Chance asked Abby out on a date. Phyllis confronted Chance about what he'd been doing with Adam in Las Vegas, but Chance refused to provide any information.Amanda refused to take on Phyllis' wrongful termination suit because of Phyllis' questionable reputation. After finding Devon with Amanda again, Elena implored Devon to choose between her or holding onto the past. Devon confided to Nate that he was still grieving Hilary's death. Elena forged a truce with Amanda. Victor provided Devon with a file on Amanda, including the fact that she'd hired a firm to erase her online presence.Connor lashed out at Sharon and later told Adam and Chelsea lies about Sharon. Adam and Chelsea clashed over Connor's fantasy that his parents would reunite. Nick grappled with whether he could continue to support Chelsea's decision to live with Adam.Billy hid his internal struggles from Victoria. Amanda and Billy continued to get to know one another at the dive bar.Kyle contemplated leaving Jabot if Jack wouldn't reinstate him as CEO. Jack proposed that he and Kyle serve as co-CEOs of the company, and Kyle happily accepted.Mariah warned Lola to watch out for a newly single Summer.And the usual Passions flashbackDecember 13-17, 1999Ivy overheard Sam tell Grace that he loved her.Julian managed to create a diversion before Martin could answer Luis and Sheridan's questions.Despite Pilar's warnings, Ivy decided to try to win Sam back.Tabitha and Timmy saw the church's angel statues speaking to Charity. Later, Tabitha concocted a plan to have Miguel and Charity killed at the tree-lighting. Source 3 and
The reality, however, is that these same banks understand that the world runs on fossil fuels and that it is both necessary and profitable to serve the industry

Some banks in Europe are already dropping clients with high emissions, and banks in the U.S. are now threatening to do the same

Earlier this month, Citis chief executive Jane Fraser said the bank might have to drop some clients if they dont fit in with its climate targets. The message, sent at The Wall Street Journals CEO Council Summit, was basically Green up or die. If this sounds like arm-twisting, its because it is. On the other hand, it can equally successfully be argued this is a form of positive discrimination for the greater good. Whatever perspective one chooses, banks have their sights on the oil and gas business. At least officially.

In Europe, which is far ahead of the United States on green commitments and is trying to impose them on even less-willing businesses, the pressure is centralized. Faced with the threat of higher capital requirements if they keep serving polluting businesses, European lenders are raising prices for such businesses, denying their loan requests and, in some cases, directly dropping clients, Bloomberg reported recently, citing the director of the economic and risk analysts department at the European Banking Authority.

For the banks, its all about risk management. Lenders are being told by report after report that they risk losing a lot of money under this or that grave climate scenario. So they are managing the risk by cutting their exposure to businesses linked to the grave scenarios. Regulators are adding urgency to this drive, too. Just a month ago, the European Central Bank urged eurozone lenders to urgently update their climate change risk management plans following a review that revealed shortcomings, the Financial Times reported.

The Basel Committee also urged banks, not just in Europe, to prop up their defenses against pessimistic climate change scenarios even as banks begin to introduce climate change-related stress tests. A debate has begun about just how far regulators should go with regard to climate risk management. Still, so far, watchdogs have refused to punish banks lending to the oil and gas industry with higher capital charges. But it could be just a matter of time.

Related: Oil & Gas Investors Are Underestimating This Systemic Risk

When Jane Fraser became chief executive of Citi, she pledged the bank would spend $1 trillion on financing the transition to a low-carbon economy. At the end of the day, that will mean there are some choices as to which clients we will be serving and which ones we wont be, she said at the WSJ event. One-size-fits-all wont work for that.

Meanwhile, the prices of all fossil fuels are rising because demand is rising. Coal plants in Germany, Bloomberg reported last month, are more profitable than gas plants because of the difference in prices.

Were starting to see again the familiar signs of conventional thermal power sources having to step in to fill the gap left by intermittent renewable generation, Victory Hill Capital Advisors said in a note addressing the situation in the UK, as quoted by Bloomberg. Should this trend continue into December and January, it is likely that power prices will again rise to seasonal highs as national grid calls on more gas and coal to meet demand.

This is the hard reality that neither banks nor regulators would be willing to acknowledge in their public communications. Investors want ESG commitments. Banks want to make their investors happy, so they make ESG commitments, whatever the realities of the energy market. But they also keep doing business with the dirty industry, commitments and all.

Citi has issued more than $10 billion worth of bonds for the oil and gas industry since the start of the year, a Bloomberg calculation shows. It has also provided about $10 billion in loans to that industry. JP Morgan is even more unapologetic. The major has underwritten some $2.5 billion in bonds by companies, including Gazprom and Continental Resources, and thats just in the several weeks since the bank joined the Glasgow Financial Alliancean initiative aimed at making banks net-zero.

Related: European Natural Gas Prices Soar On Supply Shortage Fears

In total, Bloomberg reports, global banks have helped oil and gas companies issue some $250 billion in new debt since the start of the yeara figure that is in line with annual fossil fuel financing for the last five years. And to all those insisting that banks suffer for their fossil fuel lending behavior, Wall Street has a response that is hard to argue with.

You cant just walk away, because the world is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels for the vast majority of our energy demand, Marisa Buchanan, global head of sustainability at JP Morgan said, as quoted by Bloomberg. It is really important that our clients take steps to innovate and decarbonize, but we also need to bring capital to the table for the commercialization of those solutions.

In other words, banks are not like the International Energy Agency, which is not a business and which can afford to call for the end of oil and gas investments only to then call for more investments in oil and gas a couple of months later when energy shortages bite. Banks must plan for the long term and mitigate risks they face in the best way they can. Pressure to green up will continue to grow on the oil and gas industry, thats for sure. Yet, the client-dropping that European banks are being forced to perform might not spread as globally as its proponents would like.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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The leaders of the European Union member states are expected to discuss this week a new system to jointly buy natural gas in order to create strategic reserves to protect the countries and consumers from gas shortages and soaring energy prices.

The European Commission, the EUs executive branch, has drawn up proposals for the creation of the new system and has circulated the document among EU member states ahead of a leaders summit on Thursday, Reuters reported on Monday, quoting the document it had seen.

The proposals will include an enabling framework for the joint procurement of gas strategic stocks by regulated entities on a voluntary basis, the European Commissions document reads.

Member States, through joint cooperation at regional level, should be able to rely on storage in other countries in case of needs, according to the proposal.

The EU has been looking for months to put additional regulations in place, seeking to avoid in the future a repeat of the current gas and energy crisis in Europe, where decade-low levels of gas in storage have led to skyrocketing gas and electricity prices in recent months.

After gas prices in Europe hit a record high in early October, the European Commission unveiled a toolbox to tackle the energy crisis, including immediate emergency measures to provide temporary, targeted reductions in taxation rates for vulnerable households, and provide aid to companies or industries, in line with EU state aid rules.

Even after the market stabilizes next spring, prices would stay higher than the average of the past years, the Commission said in October.

Part of the toolbox includes investigating possible anti-competitive behaviour in the energy market.

According to the Commissions document for this weeks summit seen by Reuters, the EUs natural gas imports from Russia were 25 percent lower in October and November compared to the same months in 2020. Storage sites in the EU owned by Russias giant Gazprom are also significantly lower, according to the document.

Russia has said that it fulfills all contractual obligations for gas supply to its customers in Europe, but European gas prices continue to be very sensitive to the daily Russian flows to Europe and to signs whether Gazprom is booking additional capacity on pipelines above its contract commitments.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) will change from January 1 the benchmark against which it prices its crude for Europe and the Mediterraneana move which traders tell Argus could signal Irans intention to return to exporting its oil to Europe.

As of January 1, 2022, the state-controlled oil firm of the Islamic Republic will use the ICE Brent settlement for pricing the crude it would sell to the European and Mediterranean markets instead of the ICE Bwave benchmark, Argus reported on Monday, quoting NIOCs January pricing formulas.

Currently, no refiner in Europe buys Iranian crude oil, as no one risks incurring secondary sanctions from the United States for dealing with Irans oil. The U.S. re-imposed sanctions on Irans oil, shipping, and banking industries in 2018, when former President Donald Trump withdrew from the so-called nuclear deal.

China is Irans main crude oil customer, despite the U.S. pressure on all crude buyers not to deal with the Islamic Republic.

According to traders who spoke to Argus, the benchmark change for European crude sales could signal that Iran intends to resume exports whenand ifthe ongoing talks on the deal result in the lifting of the U.S. sanctions.

The indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran on potentially returning to the deal were adjourned ahead of the Iranian presidential election in the early summer.



Related: Saudi Arabia Set To Book Its First Budget Surplus In 10-Years As Oil Rises

Talks resumed early this month, but after the first week of negotiations, both the U.S. and Iran were pessimistic about a successful outcome soon.

Currently, it looks like a possible successful outcome is months away, and a legitimate return of Iranian barrels to the oil market, further still.

Last week, Germany said that Iran should return to the talks with realistic proposals that dont breach previously reached compromises.

Talks resumed for another round last Thursday, and the U.S. signaled it was ready to turn to other options if diplomacy fails.

We believe a diplomatic resolution offers the best path to avoiding a nuclear crisis. However, given the ongoing advances in Irans nuclear program, the President has asked his team to be prepared in the event that diplomacy fails and we must turn to other options, and that requires preparations, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said last Thursday.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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The OPEC+ group delivered the 400,000-bpd production increase in November, but it was still more than half a million barrels per day short of its overall oil production quota last month, the latest Argus survey showed on Friday.

Production at OPEC+ was still 580,000 bpd below the target for November, the survey found.

OPEC members Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Nigeria raised their production the most last month. The Saudis increased output by 110,000 bpdas per the quota in the deal. Iraq also saw a large increase, by 90,000 bpd, exceeding its production ceiling, the Argus survey found.

Nigerias oil production rebounded in November, rising by 100,000 bpd to 1.49 million bpd, following disruptions in October. Still, Nigeria continued to pump below its quota, to the tune of 160,000 bpd, according to the Argus survey.

Russia, the leader of the non-OPEC group within the OPEC+ alliance, raised its production by less than called for under the deal. Russian output is estimated to have risen in November by just 30,000 bpd, compared to average monthly increases of 100,000 bpd in the five previous months, Argus estimates showed.

Last week, the monthly Reuters survey found that OPEC alone continued to raise its oil production in November under the OPEC+ deal, but the cartel continued to pump less crude than its share of the monthly increase.

Under the OPEC+ deal, the ten OPEC members bound by the OPEC+ pact should be raising their combined production by 254,000 bpd each month out of the total OPEC+ monthly supply addition of 400,000 bpd. Yet, in November, OPECs crude oil production increased by 220,000 bpd to 27.74 million bpd, according to the Reuters survey.

While OPEC+ says its production should rise by 400,000 bpd each month, the actual supply increase is smaller as some African OPEC members have been significantly underperforming because of a lack of spare capacity and investments. Between August and November, OPEC+ added 1.04 million bpd in total to its production, which was nearly 600,000 bpd below the target for the four months, according to Reuters surveys cited by columnist Clyde Russell.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Oil and gas supply will grow faster in 2022 than it did in 2021 to the point of catching up and even surpassing energy demand growth, S&P Global Platts Analytics said on Monday in its newly-released 2022 Energy Outlook.

While rebounding demand for oil and gas was the key theme this year, next year, the key theme in energy markets will be the rebound in supply, S&P Global Platts analysts said.

Thanks to rising exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), higher oil and gas production from the U.S. shale patch, and the return of investment in supply from non-OPEC members, supply will not only meet demand next year, but it will also exceed demand and help increase the currently depleted inventory of energy commodities globally, S&P Global Platts Analytics says.

According to the analysts, the recently resurfaced fears of new COVID variants, such as Omicron, significantly impacting oil demand are likely overblown. Still, those fears will raise the already elevated volatility on the global energy markets, S&P Global Platts Analytics reckons.

Much of the outlook of 2022 will depend on how the first quarter of the year unfolds and on weather conditions during the winter in the northern hemisphere, the analysts noted.

In oil and gas, the world faces two key geopolitical signposts in Q1 2022  the so-called Iran nuclear deal and the controversial Russia-led gas pipeline Nord Stream 2, S&P Global Platts Analytics said. If those two issues are not resolved early next year, they will continue to have a large influence on oil and gas prices for the rest of 2022, too, according to S&P Global Platts.

Gas markets and gas prices early next year will be determined by two major factorsthe winter weather and Russian pipeline gas supply to Europe. In oil, all analysts and even OPEC+ expect a surplus to start building as early as the first quarter of 2022.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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WASHINGTON (AP)  Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Monday announced 60 finalists for $1 billion in economic development grants tied to the Biden administration's coronavirus relief package and aimed at improving job training and regional industry partnerships.

There were 529 applicants for the grants. That means roughly 11% of submissions made it to the next round, which will ultimately choose 20 to 30 regional coalitions for up to $100 million in grants that could shape manufacturing, clean energy and life sciences hubs around the country. Twelve of the finalists were from places tied to the coal industry.

The finalists were predominantly coalitions made up of government, academic and economic partnerships. They will receive $500,000 each to help plan for the next round, with applications due in March. The deadline for choosing the winners is September.
This cannot be compared to any other case that this court or any other court in this county has seen before, and calling this an isolated incident quite frankly does not do it justice, Keast said. This was a mass murder at a school, judge. This was planned. it was pre-meditated. The defendant didnt just attack other individuals, he targeted juveniles.

Keast said he would contact the jail after Mondays hearing and make sure that the defendant is neither within sight nor sound of any adult at the jail.

Carniak adjourned the probable cause hearing to Jan. 7 to review witness statements and other evidence from prosecutors and investigators. At that time, she could make a decision on whether to order a competency exam for him if such an exam is requested by his attorneys.

Monday's conference was a procedural hearing to prepare for a Dec. 20 preliminary hearing, which also will be moved to a later date.
BLOOMINGTON  A Bloomington business is putting its best hoof forward to help sick children.

The Barking Lot, a dog grooming, daycare and boarding operation housed at 1811 Morrissey Drive, is hosting photo opportunities with "Santa Hoofs." Thats a 9-month-old Appaloosa mini-dwarf horse, which goes by the name Stuart Little when its not Christmastime.

In exchange for photography sessions, The Barking Lot is collecting donations for St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital. Additional times are scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 18-19.

Owner Deenie Sullivan said a few years ago, she brought another mini horse in and took photos of all of her daycare dogs as gifts for clients. Aside from rescuing animals, she said, another big passion of hers is helping St. Jude.

Sullivan said she picked St. Jude because her great-great-nephew died of leukemia.

My brother passed away when he was 42 from mesothelioma, she said, and he would have been his great-grandson.

While shes personally donated to St. Jude for the last 10 years, Santa Hoofs is The Barking Lots first fundraiser for the hospital. Sullivan hopes to raise $1,500 and have her business match that amount. As of Sunday, over $500 has been collected.

And the response from customers has been huge, she said. Around six people showed up Sunday, most of them early and all at once. Sullivan said Saturday was busier.

Kids, adults, whoever wants a picture with Santa Hoofs, they can come by, she said. Theyve even had cats brought in for photos, and one girl called about bringing her ferret, Sullivan said.

Kate Moritz stopped by The Barking Lot to get a few snapshots with her dog, Trixie. She said the photo opportunity was a great idea and shes glad to be a part of it and donate  even though Trixie was a little scared of Santa Hoofs.

It was worth it, Moritz said. It was fun, great, and for a good cause.

Sherri Strandberg, a friend of Sullivan's, also stopped by to add to the donation box and get some photos.

She owns Strand, a Bloomington hair salon at 215 E. Washington St. Strandberg said her office neighbor is attorney Chip Corwin, and his daughter had leukemia. She said they made trips to St. Jude for three years, and the daughter pulled through the disease.

They said they couldnt have done it without it, she said. So Strandberg is supporting the cause, including through sharing fundraiser flyers at her salon.

Don Massey, who also donated to the cause on Sunday, said hes never met anyone who loves their animals as much as Sullivan.

I know she's the patron saint of rescuing animals, Strandberg said of Sullivan.

Having all of Sullivans four mini dwarf horses visit the childrens hospital is another dream of hers, since they, too, share medical troubles.

She said all dwarf horses have health issues, and children cannot ride them like ponies. For example, the horses can have bad bites where their teeth dont line up.

Additionally, Sullivan said Stuart Littles hoofs have deformities because his previous owner didnt put corrective shoes on him before his growth plate closed. She's had to rescue other mini dwarf horses to save them from being put down.

That's why breeders hurry up and euthanize them, Sullivan said. They don't want people to know that they've bred them.

Contact Brendan Denison at (309) 820-3238. Follow Brendan Denison on Twitter: @BrendanDenison

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CIRA to offer TSA PreCheck enrollment

BLOOMINGTON  Central Illinois Regional Airport will offer an opportunity for passengers to enroll in the TSA PreCheck expedited screening program this week.

Enrollment hours are 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday in Conference Room 3 on the second level of the terminal building at 3201 Cira Drive, Bloomington.

TSA PreCheck helps identify low-risk air travelers for a more efficient screening experience, according to a news release from the airport. PreCheck travelers are not required to remove their shoes, 3-1-1 liquids, light outerwear or belts.

Applicants are encouraged to enroll ahead of time by visiting identogo.com/precheck and selecting "Start Application Now" and then "Apply Now." Steps 1 through 4 should be filled out. At step 4, the location should be put in as Bloomington, and you will need to choose "Pop-Up: Central Illinois Regional Airport." Then select "Next" at the bottom of the screen and choose an appointment time.

Walk-ins will be accepted during the event as well.

Applicants will need to bring proof of identity and U.S. citizen documentation such as a U.S. Passport or birth certificate and a driver's license. However, if you have a valid U.S. passport, that is all you will need.

The application process will be completed on site with fingerprints for a background check and an $85 application fee for five years of service.

Visit cira.com for more information.

Submit items to newsroom@pantagraph.com

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BLOOMINGTON  The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information in the Jelani Day death investigation, but the agency still declines to take the lead.

The reward announcement is part of enhanced measures by the multi-jurisdictional task force involved in this case to identify new leads related to Days death.

The 25-year-old Illinois State University grad student and Danville native was reported missing in Bloomington on Aug. 25. His body was recovered from the Illinois River near Peru, 60 miles north of ISU, on Sept. 4. Authorities later determined he died by drowning.

In a seeking information post added to the FBI's Most Wanted website, a description and three photos of Day are listed asking for the publics help in gathering information related to his death.

Civil rights leader and activist the Rev. Jesse Jackson and civil rights attorney Ben Crump have joined Days family in calling upon the FBI to become the lead investigators.

Law enforcement officials, including FBI agents, have told The Pantagraph that while the bureau can assist, it will not take over the case unless federal crime has been committed, which no authorities have indicated is the case.

Jackson has said a hate crime in Days case could be the nexus that brings the FBI to the lead role. He has compared Days death to that of Emmett Till, a Black teenager who was lynched in 1955 Mississippi. Till's attackers brutalized, shot and dumped him in the Tallahatchie River. His body was unrecognizable when he was found.

According to a statement Monday from the multi-jurisdictional law enforcement, now known as the Jelani Day Joint Task Force, to supplement forensic, analytical, and technological investigative techniques already in use in the Day investigation, the JDJTF is engaging in a coordinated, nationwide, multi-platform social media campaign to identify new leads.

The reward of up to $10,000 is for substantial information regarding Days final hours leading to the identification of new witnesses or evidence.

Anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or go to tips.fbi.gov. Tips can be submitted anonymously.

Days family has offered a $25,000 reward for information about his death, which they have been adamant in their belief that it was murder.

In a Facebook post Monday, Days mother Carmen Bolden Day shared the task force announcement and wrote, In addition to my reward THEY now have one.....( Interesting). WHO HAS INFORMATION? WE WANT ANSWERS?

In addition to the FBI assistance, the task force currently includes: LaSalle County Sheriffs Office, Bloomington, Peru and LaSalle police departments, Illinois State Police and the Illinois Attorney Generals Office.

Contact Kelsey Watznauer at (309) 820-3254. Follow her on Twitter: @kwatznauer.

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CHICAGO - A Cook County judge on Sunday released a fledgling suburban police officer on bail after prosecutors said he barged into a Proviso West honors classroom and tossed a student around after he ordered the teen not to draw on a whiteboard.

But the unidentified 17-year-old had the permission of his honors civics class teacher to draw on the whiteboard when security guard Eligah Skinner entered the class unprompted and told him to stop and to go back to his desk, prosecutors told a judge during a bail hearing broadcast on YouTube.

The student refused, telling Skinner that it was OK for him to be drawing on the board, according to authorities.

Skinner, 25, of Bellwood, who faces aggravated battery and official misconduct charges for the Friday incident at the Hillside high school, then allegedly threw a deflated dodge ball at the student, as well as a bottle of lotion and a water bottle, Assistant States Attorney Krista Peterson told the court.

All three items hit the student, but he didnt react, Peterson said. Skinner then flicked a marker out of the students hand and attempted to grab another when the teenager picked up a second one.

Skinner, a suburban Phoenix police officer in training who is listed on court documents as being 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, then allegedly grabbed the student by his shoulder and chest, lifting him up from a chair and moments later struck him in the chest with both hands and grabbed his sweater, Peterson said.

The student attempted to throw a punch, but it didnt connect, she added.

The defendant then threw the victim on to a table, then on to desks and finally on to the ground, Peterson said. Skinner then is accused of holding the teen down, putting his knee on the boys chest and his hands around his upper torso and neck, as shocked students watched and recorded the incident on their phones, according to authorities. The teen had shortness of breath, Peterson said.

After releasing the student, Skinner was later arrested by Hillside police. In custody, he admitted throwing the items at the student, but claimed the teenager rushed him, Peterson said. In police interviews, the teens teacher and classmates all said Skinner was the main aggressor, authorities said.

Skinners attorney, Richard Blass, said his client was an active Phoenix police officer who had been stripped of his police powers and weapons. In asking for a personal recognizance bond, Blass said Skinner, who graduated from Proviso West in 2015, had no prior criminal record and had been a part-time officer in Franklin Park.

Judge Kelly Marie McCarthy instead released Skinner on $500 bail, and ordered him not to have contact with the student or school grounds during the case. Officials at Phoenix police couldnt be reached for comment Sunday.

Proviso Township High School District 209 released a brief statement on its website, showing support for the student. This assault was unprovoked. We will not tolerate anyone treating our scholars in this manner, the statement read. We had the (school resource officer) arrested immediately.

Skinner is scheduled to return to court next week.

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WASHINGTON  The calendar said December but the warm moist air screamed of springtime. Add an eastbound storm front guided by a La Nina weather pattern into that mismatch and it spawned tornadoes that killed dozens over five U.S. states.

Tornadoes in December are unusual, but not unheard of. But the ferocity and path length of Friday night's tornadoes likely put them in a category of their own, meteorologists say. One of the twisters  if it is confirmed to have been just one  likely broke a nearly 100-year-old record for how long a tornado stayed on the ground in a path of destruction, experts said.

"One word: remarkable; unbelievable would be another," s aid Northern Illinois University meteorology professor Victor Gensini. "It was really a late spring type of setup in in the middle of December."

Warm weather was a crucial ingredient in this tornado outbreak, but whether climate change is a factor is not quite as clear, meteorologists say.

Scientists say figuring out how climate change is affecting the frequency of tornadoes is complicated and their understanding is still evolving. But they do say the atmospheric conditions that give rise to such outbreaks are intensifying in the winter as the planet warms. And tornado alley is shifting farther east away from the Kansas-Oklahoma area and into states where Friday's killers hit.

Here's a look at what's known about Friday's tornado outbreak and the role of climate change in such weather events.

WHAT CAUSES A TORNADO?

Tornadoes are whirling, vertical air columns that form from thunderstorms and stretch to the ground. They travel with ferocious speed and lay waste to everything in their path.

Thunderstorms occur when denser, drier cold air is pushed over warmer, humid air, conditions scientists call atmospheric instability. As that happens, an updraft is created when the warm air rises. When winds vary in speed or direction at different altitudes  a condition known as wind shear  the updraft will start to spin.

These changes in winds produce the spin necessary for a tornado. For especially strong tornadoes, changes are needed in both the wind's speed and direction.

"When considerable variation in wind is found over the lowest few thousand feet of the atmosphere, tornado-producing 'supercell thunderstorms' are possible," said Paul Markowski, professor of meteorology at Pennsylvania State University. "That's what we had yesterday."

There's usually a lot of wind shear in the winter because of the big difference in temperature and air pressure between the equator and the Arctic, Gensini said.

But usually, there's not a lot of instability in the winter that's needed for tornadoes because the air isn't as warm and humid, Gensini said. This time there was.

WHAT CONDITIONS LED TO STORMS OF THIS SCALE?

A few factors, which meteorologists will continue to study.

Spring-like temperatures across much of the Midwest and South in December helped bring the warm, moist air that helped form thunderstorms. Some of this is due to La Nina, which generally brings warmer than normal winter temperatures to the Southern U.S. But scientists also expect atypical, warm weather in the winter to become more common as the planet warms.

"The worst-case scenario happened. Warm air in the cold season, middle of the night," said John Gordon, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Louisville, Kentucky.

Once the storm formed, exceptionally strong wind shear appears to have prevented the tornadoes from dissipating, experts say. Tornadoes are thought to die off when thunderstorm updrafts lose energy.

Tornadoes typically lose energy in a matter of minutes, but in this case it was hours, Gensini said. That's partly the reason for the exceptionally long path of Friday's storm, going more than 200 miles or so, he said. The record was 219 miles and was set by a tornado that struck three states in 1925. Gensini thinks this one will surpass it once meteorologists finish analyzing it.

"In order to get a really long path length, you have to have a really fast moving storm. This storm was moving well over 50 mph for a majority of its life," Gensini said. That's not the speed of the winds, but of the overall storm movement.

"You're talking about highway-speed storm motions," Gensini said.

HOW RELATED IS CLIMATE CHANGE TO TORNADO OUTBREAKS?

It's complicated. Scientists are still trying to sort out the many conflicting factors about whether human-caused climate change is making tornadoes more common  or even more intense. About 1,200 twisters hit the U.S. each year  though that figure can vary  according to the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory. No other country sees as many.

Attributing a specific storm like Friday's to the effects of climate change remains very challenging. Less than 10% of severe thunderstorms produce tornadoes, which makes drawing conclusions about climate change and the processes leading up to them tricky, said Harold Brooks, a tornado scientist at the National Severe Storms Laboratory.

Scientists have observed changes taking place to the basic ingredients of a thunderstorm, however, as the planet warms. Gensini says in the aggregate, extreme storms are "becoming more common because we have a lot warmer air masses in the cool season that can support these types of severe weather outbreaks."

The U.S. is likely to see more tornadoes occur in the winter, Brooks said, as national temperatures rise above the long-term average. Fewer events will take place in the summer, he said.

Furtado of the University of Oklahoma said tornado alley, a term used to describe where many twisters hit the U.S., has shifted eastward into the Mississippi River Valley. That shift is because of increases in temperature, moisture and shear.

"Bottom line: The people in the Mississippi River Valley and Ohio River Valley are becoming increasingly vulnerable to more tornadic activity with time," he said.

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SPRINGFIELD  Taxpayers will be able to ensure that contractors on public works projects are paying lawful wages starting next month.

The Illinois Department of Labor will debut a searchable database on Jan. 1 showing the certified payrolls of construction contractors who must comply with the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act.

"This is a step toward transparency in public spending that will help keep employers accountable," Labor Department Director Michael Kleinik said. "It will also allow public bodies to monitor the wages paid on projects they initiate."

In 2020, the Labor Department began requiring certified payrolls on projects covered by the prevailing wage law. The agency will update the previous months' data by the 16th of each month.

Users will be able to search by contractor or project name, county where the work is being done and the public body ordering it.

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SPRINGFIELD  Illinois officials have agreed to a $3.6 million settlement in a lawsuit against Volkswagen Group of America for tampering with vehicle emissions controls.

The agreement reached late last week requires Volkswagen to pay $300 for each of the nearly 12,000 affected vehicles in Illinois.

The case was a separate action by the Illinois attorney general's office after Volkswagen signed a consent decree with the Justice Department in October 2016. Volkswagen had admitted a year earlier that it had installed elaborate software in diesel car models which suspended pollution controls except when the vehicles underwent emissions testing.

Illinois was awarded $108 million in that settlement.

The attorney general lawsuit in November 2016 alleged that Volkswagen had implemented a recall on 11,974 Illinois vehicles in 2014 for the purpose of enhancing the fraudulent emissions-control devices.

The $300-per-car agreement brings the total award to $3.592 million, Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced.

Automobiles that were affected have 2.0-liter or 3.0-liter Volkswagen or Audi engines.

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Vladimir Putin thinks the Soviet Union was a great, marvelous, unmatched world power, the Roman Empire in modern setting, a historical miracle spun by Russias cultural and ethnic superiority with lots of nuclear weapons, to boot. And he wants it back, starting with the nation of Ukraine, peopled, as he sees it, by residents in most ways Russian themselves. He has a Soviet tactic in mind. Attack that country. Make it part of the whole again.

President Joe Biden, more than a little bit upset by this other president and his amassing tens of thousands of troops on Ukraines border, says no, no, many times no and recently threatened sanctions in a trans-Atlantic video session with Putin. Biden is falling short, but gets it that Ukraine is now an advancing democracy and wants to go its own way despite once being the most important part of Russia. Ukraine is already combatting Russia-supported rebels and Biden understands that Hungary, Poland and the Baltic states could be next in line for takeovers. The threat is also to Europe, just as Putin sees a threat to the new Soviet Union if he does not ward off NATO and Europe by making sure that certain border nations belong to him.

Yes, its the case that Russia is dwindling in population and wealth, with the selling of gas and oil pretty much a definition of its limited economy. What it lacks in money, however, it makes up for in nuclear weaponry, enough to just maybe blow up half the universe, and the development of hypersonic missiles that the United States does not have. Putin himself also possesses an overload of ambition in wanting to restore what Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and President Ronald Reagan helped take apart, a monster instigating war and implanting oppression around the world while threatening the United States by such means as nuclear missiles in Cuba.

And, therefore, Biden said look, Putin, if you move ahead with your plans, Biden is going to make it impossible for Russia to deal with financial imperatives by having international banks say go away. Biden said, too, that he would let no gas and oil flow through the recently constructed Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Germany if an invasion took place. A spokesman said major European nations are on board with Biden about economic sanctions as well as his supplying Ukraine with defensive weaponry. Biden agreed with Putin on no offensive weaponry.

Will any of this work? Given Bidens record of backing up, giving up, carelessness and disappearing from action, probably not. For reasons of averting climate change threats, Biden had previously threatened sanctions against companies building the pipeline, but changed his mind out of courtesy to Germany even as he had terminated an important U.S. pipeline.

Afghanistan is the biggest example of his recklessly scooting from the scene; desperate Americans were left behind along with billions in U.S. weaponry after the killing of U.S. troops. One consequence of the swift, absolutely-in-charge Taliban takeover has been the ongoing starvation of a million children, a matter reported by The New York Times and something Biden cheerleaders should consider.

Putin wasnt deterred from much by President Barack Obamas sanctions after Russia facilitated Crimeas separation from Ukraine, and Russia can, to some extent, rely more on China and other parts of Asia if Europe gets tough. As others have suggested, a much, much better way to proceed would be to institute all the mentioned sanctions and far more right now, this minute, a punishment for Russian troops threatening the nation that would go away when the troops went away.

No one wants a war with Russia, and none of this would likely cause one. But such a war is more likely if Russia keeps marching along as it pleases, perhaps figuring that nothing all that bad is going to happen or last long.

Jay Ambrose is an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service. speaktojay@aol.com.

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South Africas President Cyril Ramaphosa has tested positive for Covid-19 and is being treated for mild symptoms.



Mr Ramaphosa started feeling unwell on Sunday after leaving the state memorial service of South Africas last apartheid president, FW de Klerk, in Cape Town, according to a statement from the presidency.



People who had contact with the president on the day have been advised to watch for symptoms or to get tested.



The president is fully vaccinated and has delegated all his responsibilities to Deputy President David Mabuza.



President Ramaphosa returned last Wednesday from a trip to Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Senegal.



The presidency said he and his delegation were tested for Covid in all the countries they visited. It added that the president had tested negative on his return.



The highly contagious Omicron variant, which has prompted global concern, was first identified in South Africa last month.

Source: BBC









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News Editors have been urged to wage a crusade against the recent spate of carnage on roads in the country by devoting airtime and space to help raise public awareness of road safety to reduce the rate of road traffic deaths and injuries.



The Director of Planning and Programs at the National Road Safety Authority, Ing. David Osafo Adonteng made this known on Thursday, at a workshop organised by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) with support from the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS), for News Editors in Accra on how to increase public awareness on road safety issues to reduce deaths and injuries.



According to him, to complement efforts aimed at tackling road carnage in the country, news editors must play a major role by setting the agenda and highlighting road safety as a public health crisis.



This he said could be achieved through road safety focused talk shows, discussions programs, news feature stories among others.



Ing. Adonteng maintained that if stringent measures were not taken to protect lives lost to road crashes, the majority of the youthful working class between the ages of 19 to 36 years would lose their lives.



He advised Journalists to take up the fight and use their only weapon, the power of the pen to fight this menace.



Dr Raphael Awuah, the African Regional Advisor on Data and Surveillance for Vital Strategies, said according to the Global Burden of Road Traffic Crashes in lower-middle-income countries for 2019 and 2020 road traffic injuries were the tenth leading cause of deaths noting that the years 2013 and 2016 recorded approximately 27 deaths per 100,000 population in Africa.



He pointed out that casualties from road traffic crashes made up most of the cases reported at trauma centres in the country and expressed concerns over the underreporting of road crash fatalities and injuries in Africa.



He attributed the underreporting of road crash fatalities and injuries to insufficient follow-up of traffic casualties up to 30 days, unreported crashes to the police, as well as the Police not attending to reported crashes due to inadequate human resources, adding that the "World Health Organisation(WHO) estimates of road crashes, were four times higher than officially reported road deaths in Africa."



Kwabena Asare Mintah, Regulatory, Inspectorate & Compliance Directorate of National Road Safety Authority, in a presentation indicated that used tyres in Ghana increase the risk of road crash by 30 per cent adding that, "15.2 per cent of vehicles involved in fatal crashes had some form of defect prior to the crash."



He noted that the most predominant tyre problem in Ghana was wear and tear leading to puncture and blow-out whilst driving and a flat tyre.



Speaking to the media, Mavis Obeng-Mensah, Communication Officer for the BIGRS Project in Ghana, explained that this was the first of many more workshops to be organized by the AMA, NRSA and BIGRS for News Editors on road safety.



She was hopeful that the workshops would help increase road safety advocacy in the media and urged all news editors to prioritize road safety programs and feature stories in the newsroom.

Source: Gladys Boakye/Peace FM News









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Eloquence, passion, perseverance, prim and proper and hard works are among the few things you know or hear when her name is mentioned.



Veronica Ofosuhemaa Owusu Ansah, Head, Brand Communications and Business development for Quick Angels limited and Quick Credit &Investment Micro-Credit limited has won the Woman of Excellence; Marketing and Corporate Communication at this years National communications awards. She also won Best Corporate Communications Team of the Year for SME Category.



The Awards scheme, by RAD Communications Limited, celebrates and honours individuals and organizations in the media and communications space for their contribution towards the industry and national development.



Veronica is the face of communications at the Quick family, a business transforming generations through equity financing and collateral-free loans to Ghanaians. So much admiration is said to be attached to her name when it comes to project executions.



She is a passionate brand and external relations strategist. She has worked in an integrated marketing communication function as well as creating business leads for many brands and has won several awards for them.



She is a professional with over 10 years of experience which spans news media, marketing & advertising services, telecommunications, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Communications, Branding, Financial & Investment Services, Copywriting, Events and artiste management.



She has worked with companies such as Metro TV as a Broadcast Journalist, Primus Advertising as Senior Media and Client Service Executive, Tigo Ghana as Communications Specialist, Group Ideal& Ideal Finance as Lead for Media and Advertising. She was also the Head of Brands at the rebranded TV Africa and Head of Corporate Affairs at the Ghana Library Authority.



Veronica holds a Masters degree in Development Communications at the Ghana Institute of Journalist and a Bachelor of Arts in Information Studies at the University of Ghana, Legon.



She is the 4th finalist, multinational/Pan Africa Positive Role Model West Africa Awards during the Gender Mainstreaming Awards 2021.





She led the successful launch of Quick Angels in 2019 and has seen to the funding and strategic direction of over 20 brands signed under the quick angels' angel investor scheme.She has equally led massive campaigns for some of its brands such as agatex, sankofa natural spices, pizzaman chicken man, Addicent foods zaconut, shopnaw and many others.



She has also successfully led both internal and external engagement of Quick Credit &Investment micro- credit limited, a sister company of quick Angels from no visibility to well-known micro credit company also in less than 5 years .Veronica also oversees the strategic communications of Quick Credit brands in other African countries called OYA micro-credit Limited.



Veronica Owusu Ansah is a strategic leader with a desire to impact brands and lives through her strategic communications engagement.



Some of the brands under the quick angels portfolio she manages include Oya Micro credit company limited, Ridge Medical Center, Dough man foods, Prospectus Ghana, Zaconut, Pinkberry, Coli network, Alcilla (into tilapia), Addicent foods(rice production-Benjie rice), Dominion paints(Agatex as the first brand), Sunsolar(into salt production), Sankofa natural spices, BEEfA foods(first product- BEEfA CHIPS), Janam cosmetics, CEQA foods(Pizzaman and Chickenman), Burger King(quick angels franchise in Ghana), Morning Glory publication, Mona Brand-Cosmetics, and Clothing, Tigon Creative Studios.



She holds Professional certificates in Advanced Public Relation, Annual Report writing, and Strategic Communications and Marketing.



She is a member of IPR (Institute of Public Relations Ghana) and the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA).

Source: Peacefmonline.com/ghana









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Mawums Limited has donated an amount of one hundred and thirty-thousand cedis (GHS130000) to BOSA to fund the construction of a sick bay for the Business Senior High School, Tamale.



The donation will complement efforts of the Old Students to construct and equip a sickbay for the school.



The sickbay will cater for the health needs of both students and staff.



The Managing Director of Mawums Ltd, Mr. Fuseini Wumbei noted that the donation reinforces Mawums Ltds commitment to giving back to society, and in particular to support young people to fully realize their potentials.



Mr. Wumbei, who is a member of the 1993 year group of the school, commended the old students of the school for the initiative and urged them to do more to uplift the image of the school.



The cheque was received by some Executive Members of BOSA including Dr Alhassan Musah, Dr Ibn-Kailan Abdul-Hamid and Alhaji Muniru Mukhtar.



On behalf of BOSA and the school, the executive members thanked Mawums Ltd for the kind gesture and sacrifice and assured the company that the sickbay will be completed and furnished in good time for the school to use it for the intended purposes.



The executive noted that the school will celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2023, imposing some responsibilities on all stakeholders particularly old students to embark on landmark projects to enhance teaching and learning in the school.



They, therefore, called on all old students to rally around the flag of Mother Bisco to make it great and strong.



























Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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A statement this weekend by Angolas President Joao Lourenco that appeared to downplay the problem of hunger in the country has led to a lot of angry comments on social media.



In a short televised clip, Mr Loureco told supporters of his MPLA party that despite political opponents always complaining about hunger in the country hunger is relative.



Mr Lourenco was responding to the criticism that his party, despite decades in government, has failed to deal with poverty and hunger.



There is talk of hunger and our opponents today wake up in the morning and at night singing a song: Hunger, hunger, hunger. Hunger is always relative. The country already has a lot of food production.



In the first six months of last year alone around 8,500 children died from hunger in Angola, according to data from the National Directorate of Public Health (DNSP), as reported by Novo Jornal.



Thats one of the reasons why Mr Lourecos statements have sparked controversy.



Priest Jacinto Pio Wacussanga, the coordinator of the non-governmental organization Plataforma Sul, told the BBC that he was shocked by the statement.



There is no such thing as relative hunger, there is absolute hunger in Angola, the religious leader said.



In September this year, the UN's World Food Program estimated that more than 1.3 million people in southern Angola were facing severe hunger as the worst drought in 40 years leaves fields barren, pasture lands dry and food reserves depleted.

Source: BBC









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Early figures from South Africa, where the Omicron coronavirus variant was first identified, suggest it causes a far lower rate of serious illness and death than previous waves of the pandemic.



Shabir Madhi, a professor of vaccinology, told the BBC's Newsday programme that this was despite the fact that the new variant was far more transmissible.



He predicted that the number of people who end up in hospital would be nowhere near that of earlier stages of the outbreak.



He said there seemed to be an uncoupling of a high case rate and the number of hospitalisations and deaths.



"There is going to be some people that are going to end up in hospital and die of Covid-19. But that is not going to come any way close to what we had experienced during the course of the first three waves," he said.



The Omicron variant was first reported to the WHO from South Africa on 24 November. Countries around the world responded by restricting travel from southern Africa.

Source: BBC









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South Africa's former President Jacob Zuma has launched a new book titled The Words of A President: Jacob Zuma Speaks.



It comes just months after he was released from prison on medical parole. He was imprisoned earlier this year by the country's highest court after he refused to appear before a commission probing alleged corruption during his nine-year presidency.



Mr Zuma stepped down in 2018 as pressure over the allegations mounted.



He hopes the book will set the record straight, Mr Zuma's spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi said.



Journalist Karyn Maughan told the BBC's Newsday programme that it does not seem that the former president was the person who actually wrote the book.



"The disappointment here of course is that this does not appear, despite the title of the book, to be him in his own words. It really is about his supporters trying to defend his policies," she added.



The income from the sales will go towards paying off Mr Zuma's legal fees.

Source: BBC









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The Management and Staff of Zoomlion Ghana limited, led by the Executive Chairman, Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong has donated GHC50,000.00 to the National Chief Imam of Ghana as support for the Ghana National Mosque Complex Project.



The donation was the climax of the Annual Thanksgiving Service of the Jospong Group of Companies of which Zoomlion Ghana Limited leads the Environment and Sanitation Cluster of subsidiaries today at the instance of the National Chief Imam, Dr. Osmanu Sharabutu.

The motive was to give thanks to the Almighty Allah for his grace and mercies throughout the successful year of 2021.



The Chief Executive Chairman of Jospong Group of Companies, Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong said it was imperative to thank God for sustaining the peaceful atmosphere in the country where his outfit undertook most of its businesses.



He alluded to the fact that the Lord had been so good and wonderful to the people of Ghana and therefore deserved to be praised and worshipped.



Receiving the donation on behalf of the Muslim Community in Ghana, the Chief Imam Dr. Osmanau Nuhu Sharabutu expressed his profound gratitude to the management and Staff of Zoomlion.



He used the opportunity to pray for the Executive Chairman, Management and Staff of Zoomlion Ghana and the entire Jospong Group of Companies and asked for Gods blessings in their work.



The donation took place at the premises of the mosque, on Friday 10th December 2021 after the Jumma'ah prayer.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/ghana









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Huawei and Telkom have supported a 5G live stream of Africa's endangered penguins to highlight role of 5G and supporting technology for conservation and environmental protection as well as other 5G use case.



The live stream from Boulders Beach in Cape Town, home to the largest group of African Penguins in South Africa, hosted on Telkoms 5G temporary network, was broadcast to Huaweis global and local social media platforms.



Hosted by conservationist and wildlife TV presenter Lauren Arthur, the live stream not only gave watchers the chance to experience the unique penguin colony, it also illustrated 5Gs potential as an enabler of environmental conservation.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=xB6DEEMBKwE



For the Boulders penguin colony, intensive conservation is becoming increasingly important. The African Penguin is listed as 'Endangered' on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. As the largest grouping of the birds, the Boulders colony is therefore critical to the species survival. Its fragility was also underlined earlier this year when 64 birds died following a bee attack on the beach.



As Lunga Siyo, CEO of Telkom Consumer Business, pointed out, 5G technology could prove pivotal in allowing conservationists to monitor the colony.





If we could set up a 5G camera here, the experts could watch the penguins every movement and of course help prevent another incident like the bee attack, he said.



In the future, 5G wont only enrich peoples digital lives, but will also bring real benefits and change to humans, companies, society, and the natural world, he added. 5G can be especially beneficial in South Africas goal of achieving a digital economy. Siyo pointed out that sectors where 5G was starting to play a role included, health, education, mining and the consumer market.



Siyo also pointed out that Telkom is well poised to roll out 5G across South Africa.



Telkom currently has the largest optical fiber network in South Africa and many cell masts are already 5G ready, he said. I dont think it will be long before our users will be able to enjoy the convenience of 5G networks.



Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, Minister of the Department of Communication and Digital Technology said, post pandemic travel is immersive with opportunities for enhanced technologies to give tourists a digital-first experience of a destination. She commended Huawei for the streaming of the Penguin colony, as an innovative way to engage potential tourists from far and wide within Huaweis reach, to stimulate foreign tourist interest in the area.



Huawei is also involved in several other conservation initiatives, including a project that uses upcycled Huawei devices and Huaweis Cloud AI to protect rainforests.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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The Minority in parliament says they will vote against the E-levy in parliament if government does not come clear with its revision on issues of the E-levy on the floor of parliament.



According to the minority, the Finance Minister has still not presented to the House details of the revision of the E-levy.



Speaking on Okay FM's 'Ade Akye Abia' programme, Member of Parliament(MP) for Banda constituency who doubles as the deputy Minority Whip, Ahmed Ibrahim explained that the Finance Minister has refused to provide the House with details of what government has agreed to with the revision of the E-levy which has become subject of discussion at the committee level.



"If they think they can smuggle the E-levy on the blind side of the minority and cause it to be accepted, then they are wrong. I can assure that we in the minority will vote against it," he said.



"The Finance Minister has refused to present to the House full details of his report especially on the E-levy at the committee level for discussion. We in the minority can assure him that we will reject it if he continues to dilly-dally with us on the E-levy. Ghanaians deserve better," he added.



E-Levy



The Finance Minister, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, however, noted that the government and the Minority were yet to reach consensus on the electronic transactions levy (E-Levy), which announcement on November 17 generated heated controversies in and outside Parliament.



The Minister expressed optimism that the various concessions reached, which had been communicated to Parliament, would pave the way for the relevant committees of Parliament to reflect on the modifications in the 2022 Budget, as well as begin considering the various estimates of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).



Although Mr Ofori-Atta did not say what the government was prepared to trade-off with regard to the introduction of the E-Levy, he said it was confident that a consensus would be reached between both sides for the Appropriation Bill of 2022 to be passed before Parliament rose on December 17.



The budget was rejected by Parliament on Friday, November 26, this year, before it was approved on Tuesday, November 30, this year.



The controversy that surrounded the 2022 Budget bothered on concerns by the Minority on the Agyapa Royalties deal, the Aker Energy transaction, the lack of budgetary allocations to victims of the Keta tidal wave disaster, the E-Levy and the proposed reversal of the 50 per cent discount policy on the benchmark values.



Ghana needs the 2022 Appropriation Bill to be passed before the end of the year to ensure that public spending continues uninterrupted.



Mr Ofori-Atta said the national budget remained the single most effective tool to address the greatest challenges of the nation.



Watch video below





Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/Peacefmonline/[email protected]









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Ahead of the New Patriotic Partys(NPP) National delegates conference on December 18, 2021, the party has issued a statement giving instructions on how they intend to organize the event.



Third paragraph states, .......no t-shirts, flyers, brochures, and or souvenirs, branded and or embossed with the portraits and names of individuals, shall be allowed within the precincts of the Conference, including but not limited to places of accommodation for delegates. Any person, with or without their consent, whose image is flaunted on any advocacy material and who does not take active steps to desist from any public displays of aspiration for a position within the precincts of Greater Kumasi, runs a higher risk of disqualification in the event nominations are declared opened.



However, the General Secretary of the party, John Boadu has disclosed that the President is an exception.



In an interview with Kwame Tanko on Angel FMs flagship program- Angel in the Morning, Mr Boadu said the party will only admit persons with the President, Nana Akufo-Addos paraphernalia and or T-Shirts and party colours into the conference grounds.



......prior to our national conference in Cape Coast in 2016, we issued a similar statement and so I dont see anything new here. If youre a supporter and youve Adu Boahene, Kuffour and Akufo-Addos T-shirts or party colours, you can wear them. But individual contestants' campaign materials are what were against.



When asked whether or not the Vice Presidents paraphernalia will be accepted, Mr John Boadu who appeared to have been ambushed with the question said



 . well, maybe, because hes the Vice President but if possible do away with it. I think the party will be strict in this directive, he stressed.



John Boadu however assured that all is set for the event which begins with a Muslim prayer on Friday at the Central Mosque.







Source: Peacefmonline.com/ghana









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Executive Director of the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBRE), Gordon Newman Asamoah has condemned a directive from the leadership of the New Patriotic Party concerning the upcoming national conference in the Ashanti region.



He describes the order to remove erected campaign billboards and signages as dictatorial and non-democratic. A sign which may hurt the long standing democratic credentials of the party.



In a radio interview on Monday, December 13, Mr Asamoah stated,



Ive read the directives, but do not want to wade into whether or not people will go by it. Such conferences are avenues for contestants to showcase their interests and themselves to delegates and party leadership. And so to order removal of such campaign billboards and ban all activities associated with internal contest to me is non-democratic.



This is a clear sign of panic reaction. It depicts certain individuals and leaders have lost grounds and thus want to intimidate the new faces who have recently gained grounds. Over the years before nominations are opened, billboards are erected, this thing isnt new in politics.



The fact that youre a leader and feels threatened by another shouldnt make you give such directives. People easily takes directives on the face value. But before such directives are issued, a lot goes into it, he added.



The NPP on December 10, issued a directive indicating that prior to the conference, billboards and or sign boards, banners or any kind of outdoor signage with the images and or names of individual members, with or without the consent of the individual, shall be acceptable. This, they say, applies to the area within the Greater Kumasi Metropolis. All such displays, if put up already, should be removed.



Meanwhile some party supporters have called for a review of the directive, but party leadership says it is a step in the right direction.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/ghana









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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Eucalypts make up more than 70 per cent of Australia's forests and some of Australia's most extreme fire events, such as the 2009 Black Saturday fires and the most severe of the 2019/20 bushfires, occurred in this type of vegetation.

The Vesta Mark 2 model, a mathematical description of how a fire responds to environmental conditions, will be rolled out nationally this summer and help fire control rooms across the country to predict and suppress bushfires as they spread across the landscape, and to warn the public.

CSIRO bushfire behavior researcher Dr Andrew Sullivan said although much of eastern Australia was expecting a wetter than normal summer this year, bushfires were an ever-present danger throughout summer and were increasing in frequency and severity.

"Forests have critical ecological and socio-economic roles, and often connect to areas where large numbers of Australians live," he said.

"Forest fires are complex and difficult to control and extinguish, and firefighters often have to battle steep terrain and challenging conditions just to reach the fire," Dr Sullivan said.

"Critically, this model can accurately predict the speed that a fire front will advance across a landscape, which is essential to enable authorities to efficiently identify threats, issue bushfire warning messages, signal evacuations, and plan fire suppression actions."

Data inputs such as forecast weather and wind information come from the Bureau of Meteorology, while information on the state of fuels within the forest and existing behavior of a fire can come from vegetation databases and fireground reports. Fire behavior analysts in an incident management team, often stationed at an operations center near the fire, collate this information and then run the model to generate a prediction of the likely progression of the fire across the landscape.

CSIRO bushfire behavior researcher and leader of the project Dr Miguel Cruz said the model used the latest available science on bushfire behavior.

"This model was built using analysis of the most extensive set of data gathered from observations of large high intensity experimental fires and wildfires, collated from around the country over the past 40 years," Dr Cruz said.

"Our research and findings during the 2019/20 bushfire season were also instrumental in the development of this tool."

NSW RFS Deputy Commissioner Preparedness and Capability, Kyle Stewart, said the new model would be key to providing essential information about expected fire behavior to support decision making during bushfire outbreaks this fire season.

"Knowing with confidence where a bushfire will be ahead of time is critical to the safe and effective deployment of our fire crews and the safety of our communities," Mr Stewart said.

"This is an excellent example of science agencies and the Rural Fire Service working together to improve bushfire management in Australia. It is the latest in a long line of successful collaborations between the RFS and CSIRO."

The original 'Project Vesta' in the 1990s was the largest ever experimental program studying forest fire behavior in Australia.

Vesta Mk 2 has been incorporated into Spark, Australia's newest wildfire operational simulator being developed by CSIRO and the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council AFAC, and Amicus, which is CSIRO's bushfire knowledge support system to help support future bushfire fighting efforts.

The research was published in International Journal of Wildland Fire.

Explore further Outlook shows bushfire risk for spring

More information: Miguel G. Cruz et al, An empirical-based model for predicting the forward spread rate of wildfires in eucalypt forests, International Journal of Wildland Fire (2021). Miguel G. Cruz et al, An empirical-based model for predicting the forward spread rate of wildfires in eucalypt forests,(2021). DOI: 10.1071/WF21068 Vesta Mk 2 info: research.csiro.au/vestamk2/
Despite ELLU clones originating from a single adult donor, they have different hemoglobin patterns. Clones expressing adult type hemoglobin started dying upon differentiation while clones with fetal hemoglobin gradually started expressing adult globin and generated more stable cells. Credit: Kumamoto University

Recently developed cell line is a potential source for generating endless amounts of red blood cells outside the body.

A collaborative research team from Kumamoto University (Japan), the Japanese Red Cross Society and Lund University (Sweden), has established a new cell line from human adult bone marrow that can grow infinitely and differentiate toward red blood cells (RBCs). This cell line has the potential to contribute to future transfusion therapies.

Transfusion is an essential clinical treatment for treating dozens, if not hundreds, of maladies and medical procedures ranging from anemia to surgical operations. Currently, the transfusion system relies heavily on blood donated from volunteers. However, the number of donors is inadequate and has been decreasing yearly even though the requirements for transfusions constantly remains high. In particular, less common blood types are always at a risk of shortage. Furthermore, contamination of donated blood (by viral infection or other factors) further reduces availability.

To solve these burdens, producing RBCs outside of the body has been considered an alternative to increase the blood supply available for transfusion. Industrially produced RBCs are clean, and their production can be controlled to stably provide desired blood types. It is important to note that RBCs are the most abundant type of cell (>80% of all cells) in the body. Thus, sources that are able to continuously provide enormous amounts of RBCs are required. Immortalized cell lines that can limitlessly proliferate and generate RBCs are therefore expected to become significant alternatives to compensate a serious blood supply shortage for therapies that require transfusion.

Hematopoietic stem cells isolated from various sources such as bone marrow and umbilical cord blood are differentiated to erythroblasts, immature red blood cells that still hold a nucleus. These cells are then transduced with virus expressing HPV-E6/E7 to be immortalized. Established cell lines can be easily maintained and expanded infinitely. At a desired time, those cells are placed into a different culture condition to mature toward RBCs, which are then used for transfusion. Credit: Kumamoto University

It is here where the research team headed by Prof. Miharada from Kumamoto University succeeded in establishing a new RBC generating cell line. Their creation, which they named Erythroid Line from Lund University (ELLU), was developed from isolated human bone marrow cells (CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells) and can grow infinitely and differentiate into RBCs. The researchers previously established cell lines using erythroid cells differentiated from human umbilical cord blood CD34+ cells and human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, both of which contain fetal () globin. However, cells having adult () globin are more desired for use in transfusion therapies.

Maturation of an immortalized human erythroid cell line, ELLU, toward an enucleated reticulocyte. ELLU was established by ectopic expression of HPV-E6/E7 genes, and it wasnt necessary to turn-off expression of those genes but rather change the culture conditions to trigger the differentiation toward mature cells. In this image, a number of ELLU cells at various stages of differentiation can be seen. Credit: Ms. Svetlana Soboleva

Previously, human papillomavirus (HPV) E6/E7 genes are frequently used to immortalize cells. It has been believed that turning off the HPV-E6/E7 is essential when the cells begin differentiation to RBCs. However, Prof. Miharada's team demonstrated that ELLU cells can differentiate without such a complicated system. Interestingly, ELLU cells showed considerable variation in their hemoglobin expression, with some clones expressing adult globin adult () globin while others mainly containing fetal () globin, despite the fact that all of the cells were derived from adult bone marrow. They also unexpectedly found that clones expressing adult type hemoglobin started dying upon differentiation. In contrast however, clones with fetal hemoglobin gradually started expressing adult globin and generated more stable cells.

"We believe that our findings will contribute to simplifying the methods used to establish immortalized cell lines, and allow us to select clones that have the maximum potential for producing RBCs," Prof. Miharada stated.

Explore further Female blood donors linked to better outcomes for transfused preterm infants

More information: Svetlana Soboleva et al, Establishment of an immortalized human erythroid cell line sustaining differentiation potential without inducible gene expression system, Human Cell (2021). Svetlana Soboleva et al, Establishment of an immortalized human erythroid cell line sustaining differentiation potential without inducible gene expression system,(2021). DOI: 10.1007/s13577-021-00652-7
3D rendering of a B cell. Credit: Blausen.com staff (2014). "Medical gallery of Blausen Medical 2014". WikiJournal of Medicine 1 (2). DOI:10.15347/wjm/2014.010. ISSN 2002-4436. CC BY-SA 4.0

Viruses such as HIV or the pathogen that causes hepatitis C can overwhelm the immune system. One approach to developing vaccines for these chronic infections has until now been aimed exclusively at what are known as the memory B cells, a specific type of immune cells. Researchers at the University of Basel now report that these cells need the help of other memory cells to effectively defend the body against chronic viruses. This is an important finding in vaccine design.

An arsenal of immune cells defends the body against pathogens. During a viral infection, B cells produce antibodies that match the virus and deactivate it. Some of these B cells die off following infection or vaccination. However, some B cells remain in the body as memory cells in order to produce the right antibodies more quickly if a new infection with the same pathogen occurs. Vaccines aim, among other things, to trigger the development of these memory B cells.

However, viruses such as HIV or hepatitis C virus overpower the memory B cells' defensesan obstacle in the development of efficient vaccines. In order to overcome this barrier, the research team led by Dr. Daniel Pinschewer from the Department of Biomedicine at the University of Basel is investigating the interplay between immune cells in chronic viral infections.

"One problem is that due to the constant presence of the pathogen and the associated inflammation, the memory B cells go into a sort of panic," explains Pinschewer. They abandon their routine of proliferation and maturation, and switch to antibody production mode, soon after which they perish. There may now be a remedy for this problem, as the team reports in the specialist journal PNAS.

Memory T helper cells prevent panic reaction

For their experiments, the researchers studied the infection of mice with a mouse virus named lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), which causes a chronic infection. They noticed that for a sustained response to these viruses, the memory B cells need the help of other immune cells: namely, memory T helper cells, whose formation can also be triggered by appropriate vaccine strategies.

If the researchers induced the production of the appropriate memory T helper cells in the mice before their infection with LCMV, those T cells blocked the panic reaction of the memory B cells after infection. "Instead of exhausting the entire stock of B cells in an unsuccessful battle with the virus, thanks to the memory T helper cells a reserve of B cells remains, which continue to proliferate and mature and maintain the defense against the virus," says Dr. Kerstin Narr, lead author of the study.

The role of the memory T cells in vaccination against chronic viruses has so far been insufficiently taken into account, according to the team. "The recognition that you can use these cells to promote a more sustained immune response through memory B cells has direct relevance to strategies to develop new vaccines for HIV and hepatitis C," says Pinschewer.

Explore further Potential therapeutic pathway to clear chronic viral infections

More information: Kerstin Narr et al, Vaccine-elicited CD4 T cells prevent the deletion of antiviral B cells in chronic infection, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2021). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Kerstin Narr et al, Vaccine-elicited CD4 T cells prevent the deletion of antiviral B cells in chronic infection,(2021). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2108157118
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

This autumn, without much fanfare, China established a new government initiative that could have a profound impact on the nation's increasingly threatened biodiversity.

In October, President Xi Jinping announced the formal establishment of a network of five national parks, covering a total of 230,000 square kilometers (88,800 square miles) and containing nearly 30% of the country's key terrestrial wildlife species. China, this year's host for the United Nations biodiversity conference, has vowed to use the new system to fix loopholes in its conservation work. Once completed, it will be the world's largest national park system, replacing a complex and unwieldy structure of preserved areas and regional reserves that critics say gave little real protection from logging, illegal development or resource extraction.

The new structure will "break the barriers set by different government departments and local interest groups" and "build a unified and efficient management mechanism" for its ecosystems, said Li Chunliang, deputy director of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

China is one of the UN's 17 mega-diverse countries, boasting nearly 10% of the world's plant species and 14% of its animal species. But the introduction of alien flora and fauna, urbanization, deforestation, climate change and a lack of effective protection have pushed the extinction risks of vertebrate and higher plant species above the global average. About 90% of China's grasslands and 40% of its major wetlands suffer from degradation or desertification.

The first effort to designate a large area of ecological protection was Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, set up in 1982, almost a century after Yellowstone National Park was established in the U.S. With rapid economic growth and the rise of a middle class, the government added parks, reserves and scenic resorts.

Today there are at least 1,865 such areas in China, run by the state forestry administration, land ministry, water ministry, or, tellingly, the ministry of construction. Many are leisure areas around tourist attractions, such as the Great Wall National Park, and most were created in the 2000s. "Some used to be called 'paper parks' because there was no actual management after you drew the line on the map and marked the place as 'protected,'" said Rose Niu, chief conservation officer at the Paulson Institute, who has decades-long experience focusing on China's biodiversity and ecosystems protection.

In practice, many of the areas had little or no regulation. Local governments were keen to monetize natural areas, either by encouraging tourism or by allowing developers to encroach upon protected regions. In 2018, 1,200 illegally built villas were found on protected land in the Qinling Mountains, in northwest China. Most were either demolished or confiscated by the state. Last year, state media reported that a company had spent 14 years mining 26 million tons of coal from the Qilian Mountains nature reserve in the western province of Qinghai.

China first launched a plan to create a unified national park system in 2015. Covering 18% of the world's second-largest country by land area, it brought the reserves under centralized control and has the potential to encourage more investment into the biodiversity protection, said Niu, who has led a series of Chinese delegations to visit national parks in other countries.

The newly designated national parks are an indication that the central government is taking the issue more seriously. But without the inclusion of many more reserves, they may be only a small step forward in stopping the degradation of natural areas and biodiversity.

To begin with, all the chosen areas are in economic backwaters that have largely been spared from encroachment by other land uses.

"All the five established national parks are in the regions where the ecological conservation was already good enough and there were few conflicts with economic development," said Zhang Daqian, global communication officer at the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation. "In other places the negotiation will be more complicated."

This year, Asian elephants from southwest Yunnan province drew international attention when a herd of 15 roamed hundreds of miles to the north, a migration experts blamed on the loss of habitat to rubber plantations. Conservationists have been calling for a national park in the area for years, said Zhang, but it won't be part of any of the five new national parks.

Moreover, just one of the newly designated parks, in the remote and sparsely populated Qinghai-Tibet plateau in the west, accounts for more than four-fifths of total area of the new system. At 190,700 square kilometers, the Sanjiangyuan National Park is larger than Florida.

Only the smallest of the five, around Wuyi mountain in Fujian province, is in the east of the country, near the major urban centers, and that was already a Unesco World Heritage site.

China's conservation work has also been criticized for over-emphasizing "flagship species" iconic animals like the giant panda, golden monkey and Siberian tiger.

The high-profile campaign to protect giant pandas, for example, dates back to the 1970s, and the government currently spends about $255 million a year on the conservation of this single species. That compares with a 2021 conservation budget for the Forestry and Grassland Administration covering all its animal and plant species of about $31 million.

Zhang Dengping is one of the rangers at a panda habitat in southwest China's Sichuan province. For two weeks each month, he rises at 6 a.m. in a dormitory shared with three co-workers, dons a water-proof jacket and anti-skid shoes, and heads into the forest. Born and raised in the region, he's happy that the mountains where he works have been chosen to be part of the new Giant Panda National Park.

"It's a lonely job, but also a job that I am proud of," said Zhang, 51, who records the date, location and pictures of what he finds via an app on his phone. "I witnessed all the progress we have made in the 10 years here on panda habitat protection."

The monochrome mammal is no longer classified as endangered, but China said protection and breeding work on pandas won't be downgraded. Officials say these "umbrella" species help other animals and plants living in the same area.

The five initial parks in the system are also home to some of China's most impoverished communities. Improving the lives of those people while also preserving the natural environment will be one of the core issues for the new system, said conservationist Terry Townshend, founder of Birding Beijing website. He said local communities should be allowed to stay so that the parks preserve and showcase local culture and history.

"Local people who live there for generations know those areas better than anyone else," said Townshend. "In most cases, they live a pretty sustainable lifestyle that is integrated into the environment."

That's unlikely to happen in most cases. As part of Xi's poverty alleviation program, mass relocations have already been carried out in some of the park areas. More than 54,000 people will be moved out of the Qilian Mountains National Park by 2025.

Still, some inhabitants, like former farmer Zhang Dengping, will get jobs in the parks. Wang Hui, another farmer-turned-ranger at the Giant Panda National Park, remembers how his fellow villagers used to hunt and sell wild goats and deer to make a living, and cut down trees to make fire for cooking before a panda protection area was created about a decade ago. "People no longer dare to hunt," said Wang, and today most families cook with natural gas.

Its large potential human resource gives China an advantage few other national park systems enjoy. China has 1.7 million rangers across all its forests and parks. The U.S. National Park Service has the equivalent of 22,000 full-time employees, including fewer than 1,800 law-enforcement rangers, to cover an area almost as large as China's five new national parks.

"A solution is the harmonious co-living of man and nature, and to make the local farmers the real hosts of the region. I think it is a reward that they deserve," said Ni Jiubin, director of the Nature Conservancy's southwest center.

To supplement the army of rangers, the government has turned to companies such as Huawei Technologies Co. to help harness innovations such as 5G, cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

A forest fire monitoring system developed by Huawei, for example, has been applied at the panda national park since February. Detectors continually report the risk of fire at 651 locations to more than 140,000 rangers, said Yue Kun, president of Huawei's Global Government Business Department. He said the system helped eliminate 74 fires before they could take hold.

The combination of political will, deployment of labor and adoption of technology, including satellite monitoring, could turn Xi's new conservation initiative into a model for other nature reserves in China and create a new and powerful lobby for the natural environment.

"My dream is in 10 years' time, we can see and observe all kinds of animals from very high up in the sky," said Wei Fuwen, a conservationist at the Chinese Academy of Science.

Explore further China plans panda park that will dwarf Yellowstone

2021 Bloomberg L.P.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The copper magnified 2,000 times under a scanning electron microscope shows its unique micro-comb structure. Credit: RMIT University

A new copper surface that kills bacteria more than 100 times faster and more effectively than standard copper could help combat the growing threat of antibiotic-resistant superbugs.

The new copper product is the result of a collaborative research project with RMIT University and Australia's national science agency, CSIRO, with findings just published in Biomaterials.

Copper has long been used to fight different strains of bacteria, including the commonly found golden staph, because the ions released from the metal's surface are toxic to bacterial cells.

But this process is slow when standard copper is used, as RMIT University's Distinguished Professor Ma Qian explained, and significant efforts are underway by researchers worldwide to speed it up.

"A standard copper surface will kill about 97 percent of golden staph within four hours," Qian said.

"Incredibly, when we placed golden staph bacteria on our specially designed copper surface, it destroyed more than 99.99 percent of the cells in just two minutes."

"So not only is it more effective, it's 120 times faster."

Importantly, said Qian, these results were achieved without the assistance of any drug.

"Our copper structure has shown itself to be remarkably potent for such a common material," he said.

The copper magnified 500,000 times under a scanning electron microscope shows its tiny nano-scale pores. Credit: RMIT University

The team believes there could be a huge range of applications for the new material once further developed, including antimicrobial doorhandles and other touch surfaces in schools, hospitals, homes and public transport, as well as filters in antimicrobial respirators or air ventilation systems, and in face masks.

The team is now looking to investigate the enhanced copper's effectiveness against SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, including assessing 3D-printed samples.

Other studies suggest copper may be highly effective against the virus, leading the US Environmental Protection Agency to officially approve copper surfaces for antiviral uses earlier this year.

Unique structure brings more copper to the fight

Study lead author, Dr. Jackson Leigh Smith, said the copper's unique porous structure waskey to its effectiveness as a rapid bacteriakiller.

A special copper mold casting process was used to make the alloy, arranging copper and manganese atoms into specific formations.

The manganese atoms were then removed from the alloy using a cheap and scalable chemical process called "dealloying," leaving pure copper full of tiny microscale and nanoscale cavities in its surface.

"Our copper is composed of comb-like microscale cavities and within each tooth of that comb structure are much smaller nanoscale cavities; it has a massive active surface area," Smith said.

Images magnified 120,000 times under a scanning electron microscope show golden staph bacteria cells after two minutes on (a) polished stainless steel, (b) polished copper, and in(c) and (d), the teams micro-nano copper surface. Credit: RMIT University

"The pattern also makes the surface super hydrophilic, or water-loving, so that water lies on it as a flat film rather than as droplets."

"The hydrophilic effect means bacterial cells struggle to hold their form as they are stretched by the surface nanostructure, while the porous pattern allows copper ions to release faster."

"These combined effects not only cause structural degradation of bacterial cells, making them more vulnerable to the poisonous copper ions, but also facilitates uptake of copper ions into the bacterial cells," Smith said.

"It's that combination of effects that results in greatly accelerated elimination of bacteria."

Dr. Daniel Liang of CSIRO said researchers across the world were looking to develop new medical materials and devices that could help reduce the rise of antibiotic-resistant super bugs by reducing the need for antibiotics.

"Drug-resistant infections are on the rise, and with limited new antibiotics coming onto the market, the development of materials resistant to bacteria will likely play an important role in helping address the problem," Liang said.

"This new copper product offers a promising and affordable option to fighting superbugs, and is just one example of CSIRO's work in helping to address the growing risk of antibiotic resistance."

Explore further How bacteria makes copper into an antibiotic

More information: J.L. Smith et al, Robust bulk micro-nano hierarchical copper structures possessing exceptional bactericidal efficacy, Biomaterials (2021). Journal information: Biomaterials J.L. Smith et al, Robust bulk micro-nano hierarchical copper structures possessing exceptional bactericidal efficacy,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2021.121271
Bo-Kaap, Schotsche Kloof, Cape Town, South Africa. Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

There is no doubt that the pandemic has had a devastating impact on South Africa and its economy. During economic crises, women often pay a heavy price and COVID-19 is no exception.

As in much of the world, the commerce, catering and personal care sectors faced closure or witnessed their activities severely restricted to contain the spread of the virus. These sectors employ a large majority of women.

Women are also over-represented in the health sector and thus more likely to be on the frontline of the epidemic. School closures, meanwhile, led to an increase in women's domestic workloads.

Before the crisis, the situation of women in South Africa was already worrying. Women were more likely to be unemployed or in lower-paid jobs than men, while the poverty rate for women is 17 percentage points higher than it is for men.

This raises the question of whether the crisis has exacerbated existing gender inequalities in the labor market and increased the vulnerability of South African women.

In a recent study, we examined how the pandemic affected the South African economy and women in particular. We found that women have been more affected than men.

This finding is in line with other studies that the pandemic causes more negative effects to sectors that rely on female labor, which leads to women earning less than their male counterparts. As a result, this pandemic has increased vulnerability and poverty for female-headed households more than for male-headed households.

Unequal impacts

We identified and modeled the channels through which the COVID-19 and lockdown measures are impacting the South African economy.

On one side, the economy is affected through international channels: it is harder for South Africa to export because other countries have reduced their consumption of South African commodities. On the other side, the economy is affected through national channels due to lockdown measures: some workers cannot work remotely, only essential sectors are open and other sectors are closed.

There have also been both supply and demand shocks to the economy. On the supply side, there is closure of factories induced by lockdown rules, which in our study we assume caused losses in productivity of 2% to 15%. At the same time, there is a reduction in demand from the rest of the world, which we assume cause reduction of exports by 10% to 15%.

Not all sectors have been affected by the pandemic in the same waythis depends on whether a sector was declared as essential or not and whether it related to exported commodities or not.

This unequal economic impact led to a disproportionate rise in unemployment for women, because they are concentrated in the sectors which were hit hardest by the lockdown measures, including hospitality and personal care.

The decreased demand for workers results in a drop in wages, leading to a reduction in household consumption. Female-headed households faced a bigger decrease in their real consumption, which declines 4% to 5% more than for male headed households, with a subsequent greater increase in poverty among women than among men.

Indeed, the losses in income create an increase in the poverty index by one percentage point more for women than for men, resulting in a poverty rate which is higher for female households by 50 to 55% compared to that of male headed households.

How to turn things around for women

The impacts of COVID-19 on women are likely to be more severe than what we have captured in the findings of our study.

In our economic simulations, we ignored the negative impacts caused by women's high workload and pressure or by other psychological or physical impacts, for example, domestic violence.

All these negative impacts can also affect the next generation by catching today's children in a poverty trap. Thus, measures taken today to prevent the worst consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for women could directly support future wellbeing and economic growth.

Government support measures, including financial aid, can help women escape the trap. Offering education and training to women and supporting certain sectors to hire more women could also be helpful.

Affordable services to reduce the domestic burden on women, for example, state-funded childcare, could free up the time for women to benefit from education and to work.

The pandemic has created new challenges for societies and economies. However, in the domain of gender inequality, COVID-19 has only reinforced a problem which has been known for a long time: that economic crises make life ever harder for women, who were already lagging behind.

Explore further Differential effects of UK COVID-19 lockdowns tracked across social groups

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Figure 1. Clathrate structures of LaYH 12 and LaY 3 H 24 . Using computer simulations, a global team of researchers have predicted new crystal structures for realizing a high-temperature superconductor with ternary hydrides, a step toward realizing a low-cost and lossless power transmission technology. Credit: Ryo Maezono from JAIST.

Superconductivity is the disappearance of electrical resistance in certain materials below a certain temperature, known as "transition temperature." The phenomenon has tremendous implications for revolutionizing technology as know it, enabling low-loss power transmission and maintenance of electromagnetic force without electrical supply. However, superconductivity usually requires extremely low temperatures ~ 30 K (the temperature of liquid nitrogen, in comparison, is 77 K) and, therefore, expensive cooling technology. To have a shot at realizing a low-cost superconducting technology, superconductivity must be achieved at much higher transition temperatures.

Materials scientists have had a breakthrough on this front with crystalline materials containing hydrogen, known as "metal hydrides." These are compounds formed by a metal atom bonded with hydrogen that have been predicted and realized as suitable candidates for achieving even room-temperature superconductivity. However, they require extremely high pressures to do so, limiting their practical applications.

In a new study published in Chemistry of Materials, a group of researchers led by Professor Ryo Maezono from Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) performed computer simulations to expand the search for high-temperature superconductors, looking for potential candidates among ternary hydrides (hydrogen combined with two other elements).

"In ternary hydrides, the number of elements is increased from two to three. While this enormously increases the number of possible combinations and can make the problem of predicting suitable materials more difficult, it also increases our chances of coming across a potential high-temperature superconductor," explains Prof. Maezono.

Using the supercomputer at the university, the researchers examined possible crystal structures for (LaH6) (YH6)y compounds (y= 14), looking for configurations that would yield stable structures, allowing their synthesis in the laboratory at high pressures. Starting from a random structure, the simulations went through various possible combinations of elements, testing their stability at extremely high pressures ~ 300 GPa.

The simulations revealed clathrate (Cmmm-) structures of LaYH 12 and LaY 3 H 24 , consisting of LaH 24 and YH 24 cages stacked on top of each other (Figure 1), as viable candidates for high-temperature and high-pressure superconductors. "The longer stacking for Cmmm-LaY 3 H 24 lead to a slightly increased transition temperature," explains Prof. Maezono. Among the possible structures, the highest transition temperature (145.31 K137.11 K) was observed for LaY 3 H 24 . The researchers attributed the origin of higher transition temperature to a high "density of states" and high "phonon frequency," two parameters that are used to assess superconductivity in materials.

These findings have excited the researchers, who optimistically speculate the discovery of more such high-temperature superconductors. "It is quite possible to predict using simulations other new combinations of elements that would improve the desired properties further," says Prof. Maezono.

Explore further New ternary hydrides of lanthanum and yttrium join the ranks of high-temperature superconductors

More information: Peng Song et al, High-Tc Superconducting Hydrides Formed by LaH24 and YH24 Cage Structures as Basic Blocks, Chemistry of Materials (2021). Journal information: Chemistry of Materials Peng Song et al, High-Tc Superconducting Hydrides Formed by LaH24 and YH24 Cage Structures as Basic Blocks,(2021). DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.1c02371

Provided by Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
A loon swims on Squam Lake, Friday, June 25, 2021, in Holderness, N.H. Researchers in New Hampshire have long struggled to understand why loon numbers have stagnated on the lake, despite a robust effort to protect them. They are investigating whether contamination from PCBs could be impacting reproduction and believe oil laced with the chemicals was used on nearby dirt roads decades ago. Credit: AP Photo/Elise Amendola

Navigating her boat toward a wooden platform floating in an idyllic New Hampshire lake where "On Golden Pond" was filmed, biologist Tiffany Grade spotted what she had feared.

An olive brown loon's egg with black speckles was sitting on an nest, abandoned by its parents and with no chance to hatch. Gently scooping it up with gloved hands, Grade placed the egg in a zip lock bag and packed it into a cooler.

The egg was sent to a lab in Canada to test for chemicals including Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, that have been found in other Squam Lake loon eggs, the fish there and a tributary of the lake.

Grade is investigating the potential link between PCBs and population declines of the fish-eating birds known for their sharp beaks, black and white speckled backs, iridescent greenish heads and haunting calls.

"These are chemical contaminants," said Grade, who works for the Loon Preservation Committee in New Hampshire. "We don't know what the effects are but some of those eggs are at levels that have exceeded (those) known to cause health and reproductive problems in other bird species ... That is enough to make us worried and dig into it more."

The presence of PCBs on a lake in the shadow of the White Mountains demonstrates how these heat-resistant chemicals once used widely in electrical equipment and other industrial applications continue to pose a threat to wildlife more than four decades after being banned in the United States.

A sign designating a "Loon Nesting Sanctuary" floats on Squam Lake, Friday, June 25, 2021, in Holderness, N.H. Researchers in New Hampshire have long struggled to understand why loon numbers have stagnated on the lake, despite a robust effort to protect them. They are investigating whether contamination from PCBs could be impacting reproduction and believe oil laced with the chemicals was used on nearby dirt roads decades ago. Credit: AP Photo/Elise Amendola

PCBs, a class of more than 200 chemicals used for almost 50 years, have been found in wildlife around the world, such as Icelandic killer whales, shorebirds along the Great Lakes and bottlenose dolphins along the East Coast and in the Mediterranean. Scientists have found they can make some animals more vulnerable to diseases including cancer and can disrupt growth, energy production and reproduction.

"There is five decades of research showing that PCBs have had health impacts on both wildlife and humans," said Keith Grasman, a biology professor at Calvin University in Michigan who has studied pollutant impacts on birds in the Great Lakes and other places. "While their concentrations in the environment have declined in many situations ... we still see issues with these legacy compounds."

In New York, researchers found chickadees and song sparrows that ate insects contaminated with PCBs along the Hudson River sounded a bit different than ones in uncontaminated areas in the Adirondacks. Cornell University researchers believe the PCBs interfere with development in part of the bird's brain responsible for song and could have consequences for breeding.

A loon egg sits in a floating nest at the Loon Nesting Sanctuary on Squam Lake, Friday, June 25, 2021, in Holderness, N.H. Researchers in New Hampshire have long struggled to understand why loon numbers have stagnated on the lake, despite a robust effort to protect them. They are investigating whether contamination from PCBs could be impacting reproduction and believe oil laced with the chemicals was used on nearby dirt roads decades ago. Credit: AP Photo/Elise Amendola

PCBs continue to move up the food chain, with animals at the top often harboring the highest concentrations.

The Marine Mammal Center responds to 800 stranded marine mammals yearly along 600 miles (965 kilometers) of California coast. A 2020 study of stranded adult sea lions concluded that PCBs and DDT, which also was banned decades ago, are contributing to cancer rates as high as 23%.

"That rate of cancer is mostly unprecedented in wildlife," said Cara Field, medical director of the center, adding that the disease caused a "complete systemic breakdown" in the animals and their blubber had much higher levels of PCBs than those without cancer.

Fish-eating birds, too, have suffered from exposure to PCBs.

In recent decades, studies at a Superfund site in Massachusetts, on islands in the New York harbor and at contaminated sites in the Great Lakes found significant levels of PCBs in common terns, endangered Roseate terns, Caspian terns, herring gulls and double-crested cormorants. Scientists found that PCBs, sometimes combined with other chemicals, suppressed the birds' immune system, increased infertility and reduced chick survival compared to unpolluted sites.

Biologist Tiffany Grade collects a non-viable loon egg from a floating nest on Squam Lake, Friday, June 25, 2021, in Holderness, N.H. Grade is studying the impact PCBs are having on loons and will examine the egg for possible PCB contamination. Researchers in New Hampshire have long struggled to understand why loon numbers have stagnated on the lake, despite a robust effort to protect them. Credit: AP Photo/Elise Amendola

At Squam Lakesite for the 1981 movie starring Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn and now a tourist destinationGrade and colleagues at the Loon Preservation Committee, which has been working since 1975 to protect New Hampshire's loons, want to know why they are producing so few chicks.

The population crashed between 2004 and 2005from 16 pairs to nineand has been slow to recover. This year, there were only 14 pairs recorded on the lake, c ompared to 312 in other parts of the state. Only three chicks survivedstill less than half the productivity of other New Hampshire lakes.

The committee, which began testing Squam Lake eggs in 2007, found PCBs and other contaminants were up to six times higher than eggs tested elsewhere in New Hampshire, Maine and New York. The nonprofit also found PCBs in a tributary emptying into the lake and in their crayfish, which led to a theory that PCB-laced oil used to control dust on dirt roads decades ago may have reached the waterways.

Biologist Tiffany Grade holds a non-viable loon egg collected from a floating nest on Squam Lake, Friday, June 25, 2021, in Holderness, N.H. Grade is studying the impact PCBs are having on loons and will examine the egg for possible PCB contamination. Researchers in New Hampshire have long struggled to understand why loon numbers have stagnated on the lake, despite a robust effort to protect them. Credit: AP Photo/Elise Amendola

The loon egg contamination prompted the state to test the lake's smallmouth bass and yellow perch. And high PCBs levels led to a 2020 health advisory limiting the amounts of fish eaten by anglers.

"We would not have suspected that Squam Lake would have been a place in which this was a problem," said Ted Diers, administrator of the state's Watershed Management Bureau. "There is no industry. It just opens up lots of questions that we truly can't answer at this point."

Loons, a threatened species in New Hampshire, face myriad challenges.

Shore-prowling predators such as raccoons raid their nests. Territorial disputes kill the birds. Ingesting lead fishing tackle poisons them. Their nest sites lose out to development. And a warming climate can overheat loons and flood their nests.

Researchers have also found PFAS fire retardants, the pesticide chlordane and other chemicals in loon eggs. But PCBs were in the greatest concentrations, although Grade says more work's needed to assess what's causing the bird's poor reproductive outcomes.

Biologist Tiffany Grade looks for loon eggs that may have fallen into the water from a floating nest on Squam Lake, Friday, June 25, 2021, in Holderness, N.H. Grade is studying the impact PCB's are having on loons, and examines their eggs for possible PCB contamination. Researchers in New Hampshire have long struggled to understand why loon numbers have stagnated on the lake, despite a robust effort to protect them. Credit: AP Photo/Elise Amendola

"Contaminants aren't the only thing these loons are dealing with. They are dealing with a lot," she said. "That is not easy to separate. It is a lot easier if you are sitting a bird down in the lab and dosing it with contaminants and seeing what happens. That obviously is not what we are doing."

Anne Kuhn, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency scientist who has researched contaminants in wildlife, agreed it could be a challenge to tease out the impact of PCBs on Squam Lake loons.

Her own work found that mercury, often from coal-fired power plants, combined with shoreline development and human activities in New Hampshire lakes, were hurting loon populations. But mercury alone was not.

Similarly, said EPA research biologist Diane Nacci, it could be that PCBs and other chemicals working together are causing the problem

Biologist Tiffany Grade carries a cooler containing a non-viable loon egg collected from Squam Lake, Friday, June 25, 2021, in Holderness, N.H. Grade is studying the impact PCB's are having on loons, and will examine the egg for possible PCB contamination. Researchers in New Hampshire have long struggled to understand why loon numbers have stagnated on the lake, despite a robust effort to protect them. Credit: AP Photo/Elise Amendola

Biologist Tiffany Grade measures a non-viable loon egg collected from Squam Lake, Friday, June 25, 2021, in Holderness, N.H. Grade is studying the impact PCB's are having on loons, and will examine the egg for possible PCB contamination. Researchers in New Hampshire have long struggled to understand why loon numbers have stagnated on the lake, despite a robust effort to protect them. Credit: AP Photo/Elise Amendola

A loon takes flight on Squam Lake, Friday, June 25, 2021, in Holderness, N.H. Researchers in New Hampshire have long struggled to understand why loon numbers have stagnated on the lake, despite a robust effort to protect them. They are investigating whether contamination from PCBs could be the culprit and believe oil laced with the chemicals was used on nearby dirt roads decades ago. Credit: AP Photo/Elise Amendola

Biologist Tiffany Grade writes notes as she examines a non-viable loon egg collected from Squam Lake, Friday, June 25, 2021, in Holderness, N.H. Grade is studying the impact that PCB's are having on loons, and will test the egg for possible PCB contamination. Researchers in New Hampshire have long struggled to understand why loon numbers on the lake have stagnated, despite a robust effort to protect them. Credit: AP Photo/Elise Amendola

"Any one stressor might not be enough to affect reproduction in loons but together that might be the straw that broke the camel's back," Nacci said.

For now, Grade collects abandoned eggs on Squam and other New Hampshire lakes and tests them for contaminants, searching for elusive answers that could help the loons survive. "They are an absolutely charismatic birds," she said. "It's hard to imagine any New Hampshire lake without loons."

Explore further PCB contamination in Icelandic orcas: A matter of diet

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, Indonesia, June 26, 2018. Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

The Mount Semeru crisis in Indonesia on Dec. 4 and 5 killed at least 43 people, with 13 people missing and at least 3,000 housing units damaged as of Dec. 9. Thousands of residents, especially the Lumajang Regency, East Jawa were displaced to the nearby villages.

The Governor of East Java, where the volcano is located, claimed the volcano early warning system (VEWS) was up and running, citing the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG).

But why did the early warning system failed to save the lives of residents around Semeru?

Waspada (Advisory) versus Awas (Warning) status

To answer this question, it's important to understand how PVMBG of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources classify the physical events of Semeru and the corresponding alert levels.

The PVMBG monitor and surveil Semeru's danger status using a VEWS that focuses mainly on the volcano's primary threats namely the eruption, including the larger ash emission and other materials to the atmosphere from inside.

Indonesia 'adopts' the US volcano danger classifications, where the highest status of the volcano is Awas (Warning LevelRed). Awas means "a volcano is going to erupt, is erupting or is in a critical state that could result in a calamity. Critical signs are marked with ash released into atmosphere, which have the potential to trigger an eruption in less than 24 hours."

The implication is warning messages at community level are issued only at the Awas level and not at other lower levels.

According to PVMBG, blasts and explosions around Semeru were not due to primary activities from inside the volcano but rather a rainfall induced explosions. The excessive rainfall interacts with the accumulated lava that eventually overtopped eroded part of the volcano's lava dome. This triggered the burst of pyroclastic flows and solid hot debris.

As the explosion was caused by secondary factors rather than the internal activities of the volcano, the PVMBG has been keeping Semeru in Waspada or Yellow Alert status on December 10, 2021.

Head of PVBMG Andiani told the media that the dangerous condition of Semeru remained on the status quo and was still below the danger level of three volcanoes with Siaga (Watch) status: Merapi in Yogyakarta, Lewotolok in East Nusa Tenggara, and Sinabung in North Sumatra.

Various media has referred to what happened to Semeru as eruptions, but the former Head of PVBMG Surono said the more appropriate terminology could be rainfall induced explosions and hence a "secondary hazard threat."

As the PVMBG data suggests, there was no eruption from internal volcanic activities, but elevated unrest above background level in the crater and the interaction between the downpour and lava materials caused the lava dome to release avalanches of hot ash clouds. While at the downstream, as also occurred last year, the rainfall accelerated the rapid transport of the Lahar.

The missing link and risk governance loopholes

The government must realize that it is very likely that (and as empirically proven in Semeru) 'secondary hazard threats' are no less deadly and detrimental. This type of risk is real and must be integrated in the overall volcanic preparedness plan and warning system.

Secondary hazard threats must be monitored as an integral part of volcano risk governance, and they should be treated as seriously as primary hazard threats. The government and the community can co-establish a people-centered volcano early warning system. Rainfall-induced volcano crisis has been documented in the context of Montserrat and Kilauea Volcano, Hawai'i.

Organizations like PVMBG must maintain an early warning system structure that's connected to grassroots communities. A healthy early warning system must be able to save lives. The claim regarding the existence of a formal volcano early warning system (VEWS) that functions well but is proven unable to save the local people suggests that the whole VEWS remains an elitist bureaucratic procedural text that has nothing to do with public safety.

Communities should be included in the role of managing volcano risks and warning system. An early warning system that works for the vulnerable people must go two ways. The Local Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) and PVMBG must work with and for the community to mitigate and prepare for such disasters.

There is also a need to integrate climatological and hydrological hazard monitoring systems and volcanic hazard monitoring with community-led preparedness. So far, the extreme weather early warnings are monitored separately by the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). PVMBG must have a thorough understanding of the nature of volcanoes' interactions with climate and extreme weather in order to explain this to local governments and populations.

The integration of a VEWS with various hazards' warning system is known as a multi-hazard early warning system (MHEWS).

There are still serious institutional gaps that need to be resolved in Indonesia. The required efforts to integrate the early warning system in Indonesia across hazards are not easy to be examined in detail at the regulatory, coordination and planning levels, let alone at the implementation level.

However, the Indonesian VEWS must immediately adopt a multidimensional approach to save people's lives.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
A giant clam farm in Palau, one example of mariculture. Credit: Dr. Colette Wabnitz

The supply of farmed seafood such as salmon and mussels are projected to drop 16 per cent globally by 2090 if no action is taken to mitigate climate change, according to a new UBC study.

Ocean-farmed seafood or mariculture is often seen as a panacea to the problems of depleted stocks of wild fish and growing human demand, and is expected to grow substantially in the coming years, says lead author Dr. Muhammed Oyinlola, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries (IOF). But the new modeling study highlights the industry is as vulnerable to the effects of climate change as any other. "If we continue to burn fossil fuels at our current rate, the amount of seafood such as fish or mussels able to be farmed sustainably will increase by only eight per cent by 2050, and decline by 16 per cent by 2090."

By comparison, in a low emissions scenario where the action is taken to mitigate climate change, mariculture is projected to grow by about 17 per cent by the mid-21st century and by about 33 per cent by the end of the century, relative to the 2000s.

The model takes into account many factors, including changing ocean temperatures, suitable mariculture areas in the future, and the supply of fishmeal and fish oil. It examined approximately 70 per cent of the world's mariculture production as of 2015, focusing on Exclusive Economic Zones, where most of the world's seafood farming occurs.

Climate change will affect mariculture production differently depending on where farms are in the world, and what they produce, says Dr. Oyinlola. The hardest-hit regions in the high-emissions scenarioNorway, Myanmar, Bangladesh, the Netherlands, and Chinacould see their mariculture production decline by as much as 40 to 90 per cent.

Climate effects on mariculture include changes in the area of viable ocean in which to farm fish as well as the stock of food used to feed them. Fish farms tend to use fishmeal and fish oil, which are largely composed of smaller fish such as herring and anchovystocks which are also threatened by climate change.

"Some regions produce more bivalves, such as mussels, oysters and clams, and in these regions, the impact is smaller," Dr. Oyinlola said. "In regions that produce more finfish, such as salmon, the impact will be high due to reduction in the supply of fishmeal and fish oil."

Under current carbon emission rates, finfish farming, such as salmon, is projected to decrease globally by three per cent by 2050, and 14 per cent by 2090. Bivalve farming is projected to increase by 2050 and decrease by 2090 under both climate scenarios.

Countries where mariculture is prominent especially for finfish production, such as Norway, Iceland, Finland, Chile, and Bangladesh, will be hit hardest, according to Dr. Oyinlola, whereas regions that produce more bivalves will be more stable or in Canada's case, will grow.

Vegetarian fish: Feeding fish soybeans

The study also found that substituting fishmeal and fish oil for plant-based foods such as soybeans could help alleviate the effects of climate change for fish farms.

When a quarter of the fish food was substituted with alternatives, under a low emissions scenario, mariculture production was projected to increase by 25 per cent by 2050 and 31 per cent by 2090.

With no change to current emissions, when a quarter of the fish food was substituted with alternatives, mariculture production was projected to increase by 15 per cent by 2050 and four per cent by 2090. When half the food was substituted in both climate scenarios, these percentages increased.

"This study highlights the need to diversify mariculture development from the current focus on fish," said senior author Dr. William Cheung, IOF professor and director. Climate-adapted mariculture would include species that are not dependent on fishmeal and fish oil, such as shellfish or algae, or those that can utilize non-fish-based feed. "Farming these species generally helps to reduce exposure of seafood farming to climate hazards."

While there is enthusiasm about ocean mariculture helping to increase the production of seafood, the study shows if humans don't relieve climate change, such enthusiasm will be tempered, says Dr. Cheung. "Climate change affects everything, including aspects of seafood farming we've not previously considered. We need to act, and quickly, to mitigate climate change rather than rely on one solution to solve all our seafood production problems."

The research was published in Global Change Biology

More information: Muhammed A. Oyinlola et al, Projecting global mariculture production and adaptation pathways under climate change, Global Change Biology (2021). Journal information: Global Change Biology Muhammed A. Oyinlola et al, Projecting global mariculture production and adaptation pathways under climate change,(2021). doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15991
The average Americans consumption of stuff has doubled in the past 50 years. Credit: Shutterstock

As extreme weather events in Canada and around the world are linked to human-made climate change, there is one story that continues to be left out: the connection between climate change and the products we purchase.

Recent research shows that across a product's life cyclefrom raw material extraction through manufacturing, distribution, use and disposalthe total embedded carbon emissions are 6.3 times the product's weight. Interestingly, it is the product's supply chain, or what we do not see related to making and distributing products, that is especially carbon intensive.

In the context of human history, the changes to our relationship with the material world have happened in the blink of an eye. Our ancestors lived in direct connection with the land that physically and spiritually sustained them.

Only in very recent human history have so many of us lived our lives at such a great distance from that which sustains us. Today, unchecked consumerism is helping drive a changing climate that is very much affecting all people.

Stories to buy more stuff

Since the Industrial Revolution introduced mass production, companies have devoted tremendous quantities of time and money to educating people about the value of the ever-increasing quantities of stuff for sale. They have told us what to covet, what our stuff says about who we are or our status in the world and why we need to buy even more. As marketing consultant Victor Lebow wrote in the Journal of Retailing in 1955, "We need things consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced and discarded at an ever-increasing pace."

Appeals to consume more stuffclothes, electronics, appliances, toys, cars and so onused to be found only in advertisements. In the 1990s, the average American was targeted by 3,000 advertising messages a day.

Today, appeals to consume are barely countable, as they are seamlessly and endlessly woven into our screen-filled lives, arriving via text message, personalized pop-up appeals and social media posts that celebrate consumption such as influencer haul videos.

Haul videos by social media influencers grew in popularity between 2008 and 2016. In them, the person shows off clothing, household goods, jewellery and makeup, sometimes from one store in particular.

Our stuff and climate change

In the past few decades, those in more materially affluent parts of the world have enthusiastically added more stuff to their lives and discarded hastily. For example, in the U.S., the average person's consumption of stuff has doubled in the past 50 years and, in 2019, North Americans disposed of almost 21 kilograms of electronic waste per person.

The consequences of our rabid consumption are borne out in the planet's ecosystems. Consumption in "developed" countries has led to massive-scale logging of the Earth's forests, leaving just three percent of the world's ecosystems intact. The widespread production, use and disposal of plastics has deposited about eight million tons of plastic waste into the world's oceans each year.

These outcomes have historically been experienced as "tragedies of the commons." This implies that the consequences are "out there," that the degradation and devastation were not been experienced firsthandbut climate change has changed that, taking lives and livelihoods, destroying homes and entire towns with extremes of heat, drought, wind, fire and floods.

Life cycles matter

It begins with the collection of "resources"minerals, metals, oil, water and woodand follows with their assembly into products, their distribution, use and often quick disposal. Each step in a product's life cycle has environmental consequences and a carbon footprint.

For example, trees are the Earth's carbon storehouse but the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) estimates that 10 million hectares of forests are lost each year. Furniture and furnishings in municipal waste (mostly wood products) amounted to almost nine million tons in 2018, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, nearly five times more than what was landfilled in 1960. Yet, old-growth forests continue to be cut down and consumers don't know which forest products contain 100-year-old trees.

While producing or buying differently may decrease our carbon footprint, ultimately, the planet's wealthiest will need to produce and consume less.

The timber port of Owendo near Libreville, Gabon. A recent study found U.S. demand for furniture from China was contributing to forest lost in Central Africa. Gabon supplied the most wood to China from the region until a 2010 law slashed the export of unprocessed logs. Credit: Shutterstock

Large-scale and small-scale change needed

Making an effort to buy less during the holidays could have a meaningful impact. Americans, for example, produce 25 percent more waste between U.S. Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, discarding half of their yearly paper wasteholiday wrapping and decorationstotalling about eight billion tons. Likewise, Canadians will send more than 2.6 billion cards and wrap gifts using 540,000 tons of wrapping paper over the holidays. For every kilogram of paper, 3.5 kilograms of carbon dioxide are produced.

Indeed, a big part of coming to terms with consumption and climate change involves acknowledging the inordinate consumption and climate impact of the wealthy. UNEP points out that the planet's richest 10 percent contribute almost 50 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, while the planet's poorest 50 percent contribute only 12 percent of global emissions.

Giving is a wonderful way for us to connect with those in our lives. Giving builds families, friendships and communities. Arguably such connections are needed more now than ever. But what we have been taught by the endless onslaught of consumption stories we must unlearn.

We must challenge stories that encourage fast and "cheap" consumption and demand the telling ofand sharestories that accurately link our copious consumption to the devastating effects of climate change. We must elect leaders who will do the hard work of transitioning away from an endless growth economy based on the excessive consumption of monetarily cheap but planet-expensive products. We must demand vital product information such as life cycle carbon footprints. And we must all commit to resisting the constant appeals to consume fast and cheap, by giving less stuff, more slowly and thoughtfully.

Explore further Growing carbon footprint for plastics

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
My first encounter with Ingara, a wild solitary silverback gorilla, not human friendly. Credit: Clementine Durand-Bessart

A study has found that indigenous people in the rainforests of Gabon have knowledge of plant and fruit-eating animal interactions that exceeds that found in academic literature.

These preliminary results will be presented at Ecology Across Borders on 13 December by Clementine Durand-Bessart, a Ph.D. researcher at Biogeosciences Universite de Bourgogne and Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation, France.

The study, which interviewed a community of indigenous people in Doussala, Gabon, found that, on average, people knew of an astonishing 732 different plant and fruit-eating animal (frugivore) interactions, with some able to identify as many as 2700 interactions. This knowledge covered 100 frugivores from elephants to bats and 286 plant species.

When comparing local knowledge with academic literature, the researchers found that 34% of interactions were known only to local people, compared to 22% of interactions which were unique to academic sources. 44% were shared between both.

Clementine Durand-Bessart said: "Comparing knowledge from local people with academic knowledge from literature, we found that even though many interactions were known by both, local people were the most knowledgeable. In our two months of fieldwork in Doussala, we obtained as much, if not more information on the diversity of interactions between trees and fruit-eating animals than those obtained (and published) in the academic literature that required decades of work."

A solitary male elephant feeding on miracle fruit Synsepalum dulcificum. Credit: Clementine Durand-Bessart

The researchers found that local people even had unique insight into well-studied animals. 254 plant interactions were recorded for western gorillas. Of these, 37 were well known to local people but unknown to academic literature. Similarly, 222 interactions were recorded for forest elephants with 33 being unique to local knowledge.

Local people also added interactions involving species in the area that were not previously known to eat fruit such as forest mongoose, giant pangolin and python. Three such species, white-legged duiker, forest buffalo and Defassa's waterbuck were captured feeding from trees by the researchers' camera traps, validating the extensive knowledge of local people.

The results demonstrate the need for integrating local sources of knowledge, which have historically been undervalued, with academic knowledge to truly understand the complexity of ecological networks in nature. This is particularly important in remote locations, where conducting research is expensive and potentially dangerous.

"An important aspect of ecological studies is to gather as much knowledge as possible to have a better view of how ecosystems work." said Clementine Durand-Bessart. "Our study clearly demonstrates that local ecological knowledge, which is often unique, is invaluable to understanding numerous ecological processes, particularly in remote areas. The addition of these interactions to those of the academic literature are changing what we know of tree-frugivore interactions and will ultimately help to inform how we protect these species and habitats."

The district chief explaining to the interviewee, her rights (anonymization, she can withdraw at anytime) and the goal of the study. By her side is Roy my guide, translator and interpreter who helped me during my journey in Doussala. And another man from the village, it was one of our first interview, and everybody was curious and wanted to know what I was doing. Credit: Clementine Durand-Bessart

The researchers also highlight that this needs to be a collaborative relationship with local communities. Clementine Durand-Bessart added: "It's essential to work together so that both parties can benefit from this type of research programme. This can be done through valuing local knowledge and compiling the collected knowledge in local dialects. I also think it's really important to share the feedback from the study to local communities who make this type of research possible."

In the study, the researchers assembled a photographic guide of 100 frugivore species and 286 fruit-producing trees found in Gabonese forests that were known in academic literature. They then interviewed all 39 inhabitants of the village of Doussala, southwest Gabon in 2019. After indicating the species they knew in the photographic guide, the researchers asked which species of frugivore consumed which fruit-producing tree species. After analysing the information from these interviews, the researchers compared this local ecological knowledge with academic literature.

The COVID-19 pandemic restricted the researchers from returning to Gabon and conducting further interviews with other communities in the area. "A greater number of informants would give us greater scope of local ecological knowledge on frugivory interactions and a better understanding of differences in frugivory knowledge." said Clementine Durand-Bessart. "Next we would like to pursue this research in different communities, in different countries and add more species."

Clementine Durand-Bessart will present the work at Ecology Across Borders. This work is unpublished and has not been through the peer-review process yet.

Explore further Local ecological knowledge is useful for studying plant-animal interaction networks
While MHC-W possesses alpha and beta genes as in MHC-II, it exhibits interdomain motifs as in MHC-I to which it is phylogenetically close. Regarding the leader (L) and transmembrane and cytoplasmic regions (TM/CY) the nature of the exon shuffling event that created MHC-I is not known yet. The depicted structures are from HLA-A2 (PDB 3PWN) and HLA-DR1 (PDB 1AQD). Credit: J.M. Dijkstra

Which came first, MHC class I or MHC class II? For decades, it has been debated which of these two similar classes came first in evolution. Now, Keiichiro Hashimoto and his group at Fujita Health University, Japan, in collaboration with European research groups, have provided an answer to this question in a new article in PNAS. They discovered an ancient category of MHC molecules, MHC-W, that represents a missing link for explaining how class I molecules evolved from a class II-like origin. Peter Parham, professor at Stanford and the PNAS guest editor who handled the Okamura et al. paper, declares: "In demonstrating that MHC class II evolved prior to MHC class I, which evolved from MHC class II, this landmark study has resolved an important and outstanding puzzle in immunogenetics."

MHC class I and class II molecules are related to each other. Both types possess four extracellular domains of which the two membrane-distal domains form a groove for binding peptides that are presented to T lymphocytes. However, class II molecules are comprised of two transmembrane chains of similar size, the alpha chain possessing the extracellular II-1 and II-2 domains and the beta chain possessing the extracellular II-1 and II-2 domains. Class I molecules, on the other hand, are comprised of a large transmembrane heavy chain that includes three of the four extracellular domains (I-1, I-2, and I-3) and a free single domain molecule beta-2 microglobulin ( 2 -m) (Fig. 1). In the structures, the following class I and class II domains correspond with each other: II-1 with I-1, II-2 with  2 -m, II-1 with I-2, and II-2 with I-3. Based on domain similarity levels and considerations of parsimony, Jim Kaufman and co-workers had already proposed in 1984 that in evolution MHC molecules started out as a homodimer followed by gene duplication and differentiation leading to a heterodimer that served as the origin of both extant class I and class II (Fig. 1). However, their conclusion was debated, and until now the question as to which came first was considered unresolved. Importantly, a primitive group of MHC with both class I and class II features, that could shed light on the direction of evolution, had not been found.

By having access to many more MHC sequences from many more species than Jim Kaufman had in 1984, the Hashimoto group could obtain more reliable phylogenetic tree analysis support for the Kaufman model. Most importantly, the Hashimoto group discovered a new category of MHC molecules, "MHC-W," in primitive jawed vertebrates including sharks, ray-finned fishes, lobe-finned fishes, and salamanders, which possess sequences closer related to class I but with similar-sized alpha and beta transmembrane chains as in class II (Fig. 1). This provides final evidence for the Kaufman model as it concludes that MHC molecules with similar-sized alpha and beta transmembrane chains came first in evolution. At the detailed sequence level, it is importantly the interdomain binding motif residues which set MHC-I and MHC-W apart from MHC-II. MHC-W molecules possess residues of the unique critical motifs found in MHC class I complexes for binding of  2 -m, including an essential tryptophan (W in single letter code) in the  2 -m/W2 domain from which MHC-W received its name (Fig. 1). This suggests that the mechanism for binding  2 -m evolved before exon shuffling events had created a heavy chain plus  2 -m class I situation from an MHC-W ancestor (Fig. 1).

Jim Kaufman, former professor at the University of Cambridge and now professor at the University of Edinburgh, compliments the study: "The research described in Okamura et al. to be published in PNAS is a tour-de-force, with a completely novel and unexpected MHC gene family strongly supported by different kinds of data collected over many years from a range of non-mammalian vertebrate species. The scenario proposed by the lab of Hashimoto is the first advance in many decades for understanding the early evolution of MHC genes."

Apart from providing evidence that in MHC evolution the II-type chain-length organization came first, in the future MHC-W may help with elucidating what is another longstanding enigma in MHC science, namely the mechanism of  2 -m function.

Explore further Membrane lipids hop in and out of rafts in the blink of an eye

More information: Discovery of an ancient MHC category with both class I and class II features, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2021). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Discovery of an ancient MHC category with both class I and class II features,(2021). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2108104118

Provided by Fujita Health University
An illustration of the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). JPSS is a joint collaborative program between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA. JPSS-2 is NOAA's next-generation operational Earth observation program that acquires and distributes global environmental data primarily from multiple polar-orbiting satellites. Credit: Orbital ATK

NASA will launch four Earth science missions in 2022 to provide scientists with more information about fundamental climate systems and processes including extreme storms, surface water and oceans, and atmospheric dust. Scientists will discuss the upcoming missions at the American Geophysical Union's (AGU) 2021 Fall Meeting, hosted in New Orleans between Dec. 13 and 17.

NASA has a unique view of our planet from space. NASA's fleet of Earth-observing satellites provide high-quality data on Earth's interconnected environment, from air quality to sea ice.

These four missions will enhance the ability to monitor our changing planet:

TROPICS will use six small satellites to provide improved and rapid measurements of tropical cyclones.

EMIT will trace the origin and composition of mineral dust that can affect climate, ecosystems, air quality, and human health with an imaging spectrometer aboard the International Space Station.

NOAA's JPSS-2 will help scientists predict extreme weather conditions, including floods, wildfires, volcanoes, and more.

SWOT will evaluate the world's oceans and their role in climate change, as well as monitor lakes, rivers, and other surface waters.

The TROPICS Pathfinder satellite, pictured above, was launched on June 29. The satellite body measures approximately 10 cm X 10 cm X 36 cm and is identical to the six additional satellites that will be launched in the constellation in 2022. The golden cube at the top is the microwave radiometer, which measures the precipitation, temperature, and humidity inside tropical storms. Credit: Blue Canyon Technologies

Measuring tropical cyclones

NASA's TROPICS mission aims to improve observations of tropical cyclones. Six TROPICS satellites will work in concert to provide microwave observations of a storm's precipitation, temperature, and humidity as quickly as every 50 minutes. Scientists expect the data will help them understand the factors driving tropical cyclone intensification and will contribute to weather forecasting models.

In June 2021, the first pathfinder, or proof of concept, satellite of the constellation started collecting data, including from Hurricane Ida in August 2021, that shows the promise of these small satellites. The TROPICS satellites will be deployed in pairs of two over three different launches, expected to be completed by July 31, 2022.

Each satellite is about the size of a loaf of bread and carries a miniaturized microwave radiometer instrument. Traveling in pairs in three different orbits, they will collectively observe Earth's surface more frequently than current weather satellites making similar measurements, greatly increasing the data available for near real-time weather forecasts.

The TROPICS team is led by Principal Investigator Dr. William Blackwell at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, Massachusetts, and includes researchers from NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and several universities and commercial partners. NASA's Launch Services Program, based at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, will manage the launch service.

NASA has a unique view of our planet from space. NASAs fleet of Earth-observing satellites provide high quality data on different parts of Earths interconnected environment from air quality to sea ice. Take a tour of missions launching in 2022, including SWOT, TROPICS, EMIT, and JPSS-2. Credit: NASA

"The coolest part of this program is its impact on helping society," Blackwell said. "These storms affect a lot of people. The higher frequency observations provided by TROPICS have the potential to support weather forecasting that may help people get to safety sooner."

Studying mineral dust

Winds kick up dust from Earth's arid regions and transport the mineral particles around the world. The dust can influence the radiative forcingor the balance between the energy that comes toward Earth from the Sun, and the energy that Earth reflects back out into spacehence the temperature of the planet's surface and atmosphere. Darker, iron-laden minerals tend to absorb energy, which leads to heating of the environment, while brighter, clay-containing particles scatter light in a way that may lead to cooling. In addition to affecting regional and global warming of the atmosphere, dust can affect air quality and the health of people worldwide, and when deposited in the ocean, can also trigger blooms of microscopic algae.

The goal of the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) mission is to map where the dust originates and estimate its composition so that scientists can better understand how it affects the planet. Targeted to launch in 2022, EMIT has a prime mission of one year and will be installed on the International Space Station. EMIT will use an instrument called an imaging spectrometer that measures visible and infrared light reflecting from surfaces below. This data can reveal the distinct light-absorbing signatures of the minerals in the dust that helps to determine its composition.

"EMIT will close a gap in our knowledge about arid land regions of our planet and answer key questions about how mineral dust interacts with the Earth system," said Dr. Robert Green, EMIT principal investigator at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

In June 2020, the "Godzilla" dust storm traveled from the Sahara desert across the Atlantic Ocean, as seen in this true color satellite imagery from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) aboard the NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP satellite and the NOAA-20 satellite. Credit: NASA / Scientific Visualization Studio

Observing Earth's storms

Forecasting extreme storms many days in advance requires capturing precise measurements of the temperature and moisture in our atmosphere, along with ocean surface temperatures. The NOAA-NASA Joint Polar Satellite System satellites provide this critical data, which is used by forecasters and first responders. The satellites also tell us about floods, wildfires, volcanoes, smog, dust storms, and sea ice.

"JPSS satellites are a vital component of the global backbone of numerical weather prediction," said JPSS Program Science Adviser Dr. Satya Kalluri.

The JPSS satellites circle Earth from the North to the South Pole, taking data and images as they fly. As Earth rotates under these satellites, they observe every part of the planet at least twice a day.

The Suomi-NPP (National Polar orbiting-Partnership) and NOAA-20 satellites are currently in orbit. The JPSS-2 satellite is targeted to launch in 2022 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Three more satellites will launch in coming years, providing data well into the 2030s. NASA's Launch Services Program, based at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, will manage the launch service.

Surveying Earth's surface water

The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission will help researchers determine how much water Earth's oceans, lakes, and rivers contain. This will aid scientists in understanding the effects of climate change on freshwater bodies and the ocean's ability to absorb excess heat and greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide.

NASA's Launch Services Program, based at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, will manage the launch service, which is targeted for November 2022. SWOT will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The SUV-size satellite will measure the height of water using its Ka-band Radar Interferometer, a new instrument that bounces radar pulses off the water's surface and receives the return signals with two different antennas at the same time. This measurement technique allows scientists to precisely calculate the height of the water. The data will help with tasks like tracking regional shifts in sea level, monitoring changes in river flows and how much water lakes store, as well as determining how much freshwater is available to communities around the world.

"SWOT will address the ocean's leading role in our changing weather and climate and the consequences on the availability of freshwater on land," said Dr. Lee-Lueng Fu, SWOT project scientist at JPL.

The mission is a collaboration between NASA and the French space agency Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency and the United Kingdom Space Agency.

Explore further NASA's TROPICS Pathfinder satellite produces global first light images and captures Hurricane Ida
Many asteroid missions can be explored within the app, including NASAs OSIRIS-REx, which scooped samples from asteroid Bennus surface in 2020. The spacecrafts Touch-And-Go maneuver is precisely animated by Eyes using pictures captured by the mission. Credit: Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Through a new 3D real-time visualization tool, you can now explore the asteroids and comets that approach Earth's orbital neighborhoodand the spacecraft that visit these objectswith a click or a swipe. NASA's Eyes on Asteroids brings this data to any smartphone, tablet, or computer with an internet connectionno download required.

Thousands of asteroids and dozens of comets are discovered every single year, some of whichcalled near-Earth objects (NEOs)follow orbits that pass through the inner solar system. Now totaling about 28,000, their numbers rising daily, these objects are tracked carefully by NASA-funded astronomers in case any might pose an impact threat to our planet.

The new web-based app depicts the orbits of every known NEO, providing detailed information on those objects. Using the slider at the bottom of the screen, you can travel quickly forward and backward through time to see their orbital motions. The visualization receives twice-daily updates with the latest data, so as soon as a new object is discovered and its orbit is calculated, it's added to the app.

The profiles for many NEO missions can also be explored. Select the "events" tab to view detailed animated models of those spacecraft and their asteroid or comet encounters. For example, search for NASA's OSIRIS-REx (short for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer) spacecraft to view an animated re-creation of the mission's Oct. 20, 2020, Touch-And-Go (TAG) sample collection event. Or view NASA's Double Asteroid Redirect Test (DART) mission, which recently launched as NASA's first planetary defense demonstration, and even fast-forward to Sept. 26, 2022, when it will impact the asteroid Dimorphos, the small moonlet of the Didymos binary asteroid system.

"We wanted Eyes on Asteroids to be as user-friendly as possible while telling the stories about humanity's exploration of these fascinating objects," said Jason Craig, technical producer of the Visualization Technology Applications and Development team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which developed Eyes. "Every NEO can be found inside the app, as can most of the spacecraft that have visited these objects."

There's also plenty of detail on the fascinating science behind NEOs and the importance of tracking potentially hazardous objects. Just select "Learn" for details on topics like asteroid close approaches to Earth or to fly along with the dramatic close approach of asteroid Apophis on April 13, 2029.

While you're on the topic, choose the "Asteroid Watch" tab to see the next five asteroid close approaches. "We were keen to include this feature, as asteroid close approaches often generate a lot of interest," said Craig. "The headlines often depict these close approaches as 'dangerously' close, but users will see by using Eyes just how distant most of these encounters really are."
Students recording and collecting sediment samples during post-flood field work. Credit: Leiden University

In his new book "Flooding and Management of Large Fluvial Lowlands," Paul Hudson Associate Professor of Physical Geography at Leiden University College in The Hague, examines human impacts on lowlands rivers. The past twenty years the pressure on large fluvial lowlands has increased tremendously because of flood control, urbanization and increased dependence upon floodplains and deltas for food production. The book provides a primary focus on the lower Rhine Rover in the Netherlands and the Lower Mississippi River in Louisiana. Five questions about the book, answered by Paul Hudson.

What was the main reason for you to write a book on this topic?

Hudson: "My personal motivation is that it is my core area of expertise and I've been working on such topics for nearly 30 years. The book was a nice way to wrap up a lot of the science I've been researchingor teachinginto a coherent package. I'm super passionate about the topic and had to get it off my chest. My scholarly motivation was that as an earth scientist we often see that engineering often neglects to consider the underlying floodplain soils and sediments, which then results in riparian environmental degradation and perhaps increased flood risk. Thus, the topic is approached from an earth science perspective. And climate change makes everything worse."

Can you give a main conclusion out of your research?

Hudson: "The two main human impacts to lowland rivers have resulted in increased flood risk and degraded riparian ecosystems. This has occurred because of prior mis-aligned management practices, that along large rivers require decades to manifest. A good example is the problem of accelerated ground subsidence (lowering) because of excessive drainage and groundwater pumping from past decades and centuries. The subsidence then results in further flooding, which then requires more pumping. It's maddening. Trying to improve (large) river management to restore and enhance future lowland river health is the 'art of the science' and is the essence of the book."

Floodings are a hot topic in the Netherlands given the recent flooding in Limburg in particular. How did you follow this and does it play a role in the book?

Hudson: "Exactly. I'm actually working on the flooding along the Maas River in the Netherlands from this summer. As soon as the flood waters receded I headed to the field. The flood occurred after my book manuscript was already submitted, but indeed it seemed to follow the main lines of my book. Unfortunately these events are becoming more common, and in other places less rigorously managed than the Netherlands results in flooding with catastrophic consequences and fatalities. Incidently, the section along the Maas River had just been upgraded with the Netherlands Room-for-the-River flood risk strategy, at a cost of 700 million EU along the Maas River. Considering that there were no large dike breaches along the Maas River, and considering the intensity of human habitation and concentration of economic activities, the cost of the R-4-R program should be seen as a bargain."

Who should read the book, what is your audience?

Hudson: "It is really a scholarly treatise and wades quite deep into the academic literature, although I think the writing style is quite approachable and I've tried not to make it too technical. So, anyone interested in the topic of flooding and environmental change along large rivers, especially academics, practicioners (like Rijkswaterstaat), and graduate students."

You also did some research and field experiments with LUC-students at the Geul this year, are the results also part of this book?

Hudson: "Yes, thats right. Unfortunately that work did not make it into the book, because the flooding occurred after I had already submitted my book. But what is interesting is that my field course did an 'environmental flows' analysis in May, before the floods, and then we returned in September to look at the impacts of the flooding on the Geul Rivercareful to repeat the same measurements in the same area to have a 'before and after' comparison. Very interesting to see the changes caused by the flooding."

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Artist's conception of Mars' atmospheric escape processes assuming it is circling a class-M star. Credit: MACH Center/Cameron Pazol

In science fiction movies and television shows, real-life locations on Earth, such as California's Redwood National Forest and the Sahara Desert, have long been used to represent alien worlds. But recently, in a Star Trek-style twist, a group of scientists, including researchers at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder, have been using a planet in our own backyardMarsto help characterize and identify habitable, Earth-like planets in other solar systems.

An international multi-disciplinary team of modelers, observational scientists and theoreticians from three science disciplinesspace physics, planetary sciences and astrophysicshas been working synergistically to extrapolate their current understanding of Mars to determine which planets beyond Earth's solar system are most likely to host life. The answer hinges on the exoplanets' atmospheresand what it takes for each planet to retain those atmospheres, including Mars if it were circling a different star.

One example the team is studying is the case of "Exoplanet Mars" orbiting a dim, class-M star, which is only about 4% as bright as our sun and nearly 3,000 degrees Celsius cooler. This research will provide a better understanding of how long a planet like Mars could retain an atmosphere if it orbited this smaller, cooler, but more active star. The preliminary results indicate the rate at which Exoplanet Mars would lose its atmosphere would be larger than what the real-world planet has experienced.

"Mars is a remarkable natural experiment that demonstrates how its atmosphere and, therefore, its habitability can be affected by the properties of both the planet and the star it orbits," said David Brain, a planetary researcher at LASP and the team's leader. The challenge, he added, is assembling the expertise, the observations and the model results to understand the relative importance of each property, with the goal of making predictions about the habitability of individual planets orbiting other stars.

This multi-disciplinary, cutting-edge approach is made possible by the new Magnetic fields, Atmosphere, and the Connection to Habitability (MACH) NASA DRIVE Science Center, which Brain leads. DRIVE Science Centers (DSC) are part of NASA's integrated multi-agency initiative to address grand challenge goals.

"Our center has brought together experts from many scientific disciplines to collaboratively address big-picture questions like the habitability of alien planets," said Brain.

Organizing scientists from many different disciplines is not always easy. Brain said the team members have had to learn how to communicate more effectively and figure out how to meld models developed by scientists in disciplines that had diverged from each other in recent decades.

"Together we are figuring out which physics are important to include and how to link models together, while making sure team members feel heard and are inclusive in the process," explained Brain.

The importance of this work was highlighted just a few weeks ago, when the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine named "Pathways to Habitable Worlds" as one of the three key focus areas for future research in its Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s (Astro 2020) report.

"The fact that the astronomy and astrophysics community has highlighted this topic for the next decade is very exciting and speaks to the significance of our work," said Brain.

David Brain will present some of the MACH team's preliminary results this week during the AGU Fall Meeting 2021 in New Orleans.

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A flow diagram for the production of monomers with acetaldehyde and acrylate. Credit: Yuan Lin

Poly (1,4-cyclohexylene dimethylene terephthalate-co-isophthalate) (PCTA) is an important copolyester that has been widely used in cosmetic containers, home appliances, and medical packaging.

Currently, PCTA is manufactured via polycondensation of cyclohexanedimethanol (CHDM), which is industrially produced from petroleum-derived xylene. To reduce the reliance on fossil energy, a more sustainable alternative method is needed.

Recently, a research team led by Prof. Zhang Tao, Prof. Wang Aiqin and Prof. Li Ning, in collaboration with Prof. Wang Feng's group, from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) developed a sustainable route for the production of copolyester monomers with biomass.

This study was published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition on Nov. 30.

In this study, the researchers used plant-based acrylate and acetaldehyde as feedstocks, and produced PCTA monomer in an overall yield of 61 percent. The whole process included Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) reaction, one-step dehydration/Diels-Alder reaction, and final Pd/C-catalyzed dehydrogenation.

Besides, they varied the final step to hydrogenation over Pd/C-Cu/Zn/Al dual-bed catalyst, and produced UNOXOLTM diol, which is another important monomer in coatings industry, in an overall yield of 67 percent.

Furthermore, the life cycle assessment implied that the newly-developed biomass-based routes had the potential to reduce carbon footprint.

"This study paves a new way for the production of renewable PCTA and also provides a new guidance for biomass conversion," said Prof. Li.

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More information: Lin Yuan et al, Production of Copolyester Monomers from PlantBased Acrylate and Acetaldehyde, Angewandte Chemie International Edition (2021). Lin Yuan et al, Production of Copolyester Monomers from PlantBased Acrylate and Acetaldehyde,(2021). DOI: 10.1002/anie.202113471
Coriolis . The air sampler used to obtain eDNA from insects in the field. It works by sucking in air and swirling it through water, where the particles contained in the air get captured. Credit: Fabian Roger

Scientists at Lund University have discovered for the first time that it is possible to detect insect DNA in the air. Using air from three sites in Sweden, insect DNA from 85 species could be identified. This offers scope for exploring a whole new way to monitor terrestrial biodiversity.

These preliminary results will be presented at Ecology Across Borders (13th-15th December) via an online poster by Dr. Fabian Roger, who is currently working at ETH Zurich.

Insects detected included many important species such as bees, moths, flies, beetles, wasps and ants. The study not only picked up evidence of insects, but many vertebrate species too, including birds, mammals and some domestic species.

In many areas, insects are declining at an alarming rate, but we also know very little about the number of species in existence. It is estimated that we have described 1 million out of 5.5 million insect species on Earth. This means it is vital to develop efficient ways to monitor biodiversity.

Fabian Roger said "In the face of the biodiversity crisis, we desperately need better information on the status and distribution of species. Our study is a proof of concept that shows that we can detect DNA from insects and vertebrates from air collected under natural conditions. This opens many exciting possibilities for species monitoring and detection, which could allow us to comprehensively monitor biodiversity at large spatial and temporal scales."

Sampling DNA from the air offers benefits over traditional sampling methods. Insects are commonly sampled using malaise traps, which leads to the death of the creatures. Alternatives, such as transect walks and moth trapping, require taxonomic expertise and generally focus on the larger species of insects. A DNA metabarcoding approach means that multiple species can be detected from single samples. Therefore, airborne DNA metabarcoding would speed up sampling and allow scientists to scale up biodiversity surveysall without harming the species that live there.

In this study, when the researchers compared the results with traditional surveys, they found some overlap in the species detected. There were some species which were not found with the traditional methods, but also many species that were not picked up by the airborne DNA method. For example, the researchers found 48 moth species in the traps and 9 moth species through eDNA, with an overlap of 4. Being in its infancy, the researchers have many ideas on how this can be improved and are confident that airborne DNA metabarcoding can become a powerful tool for biodiversity monitoring.

Fabian added "Given the enormous challenge we face to monitor the millions of species on earth, it is definitely an all-hands-on-deck situation and different methods can complement each other with their different strengths and weaknesses."

The development of environmental DNA or eDNA is an exciting new technology, offering a more rapid, sensitive and powerful tool to monitor biodiversity. It is already commonly used by ecological consultants for Great Crested Newt surveys, but much of the research has so far focused on aquatic ecosystems.

Next, the scientists will optimise the methods to increase the reliability of airborne DNA metabarcoding. They also need a greater understanding of how DNA moves through the air. Luckily, meteorologists and aerosol scientists have studied movement of airborne particles for decades, offering a huge pool of expertise for accelerating this work. Excitingly, the method also has potential for detecting invasive species or even early detection of disease vectors.

"We are at the very beginning of exploring airborne environmental DNA for anything other than bacteria, pollen or sporesand even there we have only scratched the surface. One of the first challenges will be to optimise sampling and molecular methods to increase sensitivity and achieve more reliable detection. Then we will need to understand how airborne eDNA is generated, transported and degraded." said Fabian Roger, who then added: "Just because it doesn't work perfectly out-of-the box doesn't mean it won't work ever and the potential is huge."

Dr. Fabian Roger will present the work at Ecology Across Borders. This work is unpublished and has not been through the peer-review process yet.

More information: Fabian Roger et al, Airborne environmental DNA metabarcoding for the monitoring of terrestrial insectsa proof of concept (2021). DOI: 10.1101/2021.07.26.453860 Fabian Roger et al, Airborne environmental DNA metabarcoding for the monitoring of terrestrial insectsa proof of concept(2021). DOI: 10.1101/2021.07.26.453860 Christina Lynggaard et al, Airborne environmental DNA for terrestrial vertebrate community monitoring (2021). DOI: 10.1101/2021.07.16.452634 Elizabeth L. Clare et al, Measuring biodiversity from DNA in the air (2021). DOI: 10.1101/2021.07.15.452392 Nigel E. Stork, How Many Species of Insects and Other Terrestrial Arthropods Are There on Earth?, Annual Review of Entomology (2017). DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ento-020117-043348
Red Fox. Credit: Jonn Leffmann/Wikipedia/CC BY 3.0

New research from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has shed light on the spate of mutilated cats found dead in London between 2014 and 2018.

The research, published today in Veterinary Pathology, reinforces the conclusion of the Metropolitan Police that there was no human involvement in the mutilation of the affected cats.

Following the mutilation of more than 400 cats across various locations in London over the four year period, media speculation suggested that a human 'cat killer' may have been at large in Southern Greater London, within the M25 and, later, across the whole of England. Some feared that the alleged killer could become a threat to human safety.

The speculation, driven largely by concerned members of the public, led the Metropolitan Police to launch an investigation into the mutilations, named Operation Takahe. A team of researchers led by Dr. Henny Martineau, Head of Veterinary Forensic Pathology at the RVC, alongside both the Metropolitan Police and the Hertfordshire Police, examined the bodies of 32 mutilated cats that had been brought to the police by members of the public between 2016 and 2018.

Dr. Martineau and her team took swabs to analyze carcasses for the presence of fox, dog and badger DNA, and performed full post mortem examinations of the carcasses. The results found a clear link between cat carcass mutilation and the presence of fox DNA on the carcass. There was also a clear association between puncture wounds (consistent with scavenging by carnivores) and the deceased cats. There was no evidence that supported human involvement in their mutilation, with evidence from puncture wounds suggesting that 10 had been predated by a carnivore.

Through a close examination of the carcasses, Dr. Martineau and her team were also able to establish that the mutilation pattern of the cats examined was similar to the scavenging pattern of foxes on lambs. For carcasses not associated with predation, other probable causes of death were also identified, ranging from road traffic accidents, to liver failure to the ingestion of antifreeze. Eight of the deceased cats were found to have suffered from cardiorespiratory disease in life.

The RVC Veterinary Pathology team has been involved in a range of high-profile criminal cases, and this most recent research demonstrates the important role which veterinary pathologists can play in contributing to police investigations, particularly when there may be a level of speculation or conjecture surrounding proceedings.

Dr. Henny Martineau, head of veterinary forensic pathology at the Royal Veterinary College, said:

"As veterinary professionals, we know how difficult it is for an owner when a beloved pet passes away, particularly in circumstances that can seem mysterious or suspicious. While the public's concern around the safety of their pets is totally understandable, our investigation into the deaths of these cats demonstrates the importance of an evidence-based approach to investigating incidents like this.

"The narrative of the so-called 'cat killer' was a good example of the human tendency to pick out what we want from data, demonstrating our inclination to stop investigating when we think we have made a major discovery or noticed a particular pattern. It is the job of scientistsin this instance, veterinary pathologiststo identify and overcome such confirmation bias."

Stuart Orton, East Hertfordshire chief inspector, said:

"This is of course an incredibly emotive subject and any injury to, or loss of, pets causes a lot of distress for owners. While the subject was a matter of much speculation at the time online, we now believe that there was no human involvement. "I hope that this new analysis provides some comfort to the owners who previously believed that their beloved pets had been targeted maliciously. It also provides law enforcement colleagues with the ability to review any future investigations from a scientifically supported and evidence-based approach."

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More information: Kita D. Hull et al, Fox (Vulpes vulpes) involvement identified in a series of cat carcass mutilations, Veterinary Pathology (2021). Kita D. Hull et al, Fox (Vulpes vulpes) involvement identified in a series of cat carcass mutilations,(2021). DOI: 10.1177/03009858211052661
Bumble bee in UK solar park. Credit: Hollie Blaydes.

New research shows that simple changes to how UK solar parks are managed could boost ground nesting bumble bee populations in the parks and surrounding areas, providing an additional benefit on top of renewable energy.

These preliminary results will be presented at Ecology Across Borders on Monday 13 December by Hollie Blaydes, a Ph.D. researcher at Lancaster University.

Using a model that simulated bumble bee foraging in UK solar parks, researchers at Lancaster University investigated different management scenarios that offered varying degrees of resources for bumble bees. Their findings indicated that solar park land managed as meadowsoffering the most resourceswould support four times as many bumble bees as solar park land managed as turf grass.

They also found that large, elongated and resource-rich solar parks could boost bumble bee density up to 1km outside of the parks themselves, delivering pollinator services to crops in surrounding agricultural land.

Hollie Blaydes said: "Our findings provide the first quantitative evidence that solar parks could be used as a conservation tool to support and boost pollinator populations. If they are managed in a way that provides resources, solar parks could become valuable bumble bee habitat.

"In the UK, pollinator habitat has been established on some solar parks, but there is currently little understanding of the effectiveness of these interventions. Our findings provide solar park owners and managers with evidence to suggest that providing floral and nesting resources for bumble bees could be effective."

Boosted bumble bee numbers in solar parks could also provide potential benefits to nearby crops through enhanced pollinator visitation. Farmers who have solar parks on or nearby their land, could choose to plant pollinator-dependent crops close to these pollinator dense areas.

In the UK, solar parks are often located within intensively managed agricultural landscapes, raising the potential of solar parks as refuges for bumble bees.

Bumble bee in UK solar park. Credit: Hollie Blaydes

The area of land used for solar parks in the UK is also growing, increasing the potential to harness this land for additional benefits. Ground-mounted solar parks currently take up 14,000 hectares. For the UK to meet net zero targets, the Climate Change Committee projects that there will need to be an additional 54GW of solar photovoltaic, meaning a land use change of 90,300 hectares for solar parks.

There are barriers to solar parks being managed in ways that benefit bumble bees and other wildlife. For instance, there are costs associated with establishing and managing habitats for pollinators and there are currently no economic incentives for the solar industry to do this. It's hoped that the post-Brexit agricultural bill payments for ecosystem services could provide a mechanism for this.

Business structures could also prove to be a hinderance. Hollie Blaydes explains: "Management of solar parks is often outsourced to external companies where contracts are typically around two years long. This, along with frequent changes in ownership, means that management regimes could be changed as the solar park or management contract changes hands. This could be challenging when trying to establish and maintain habitats over longer time scales."

In the study, in order to understand how solar park management could impact bumble bee density within solar parks and surrounding areas, the researchers used a geographic information system (GIS) to create solar parks of different sizes, shapes and management approaches based on real UK examples in real UK landscapes.

This GIS was combined with a state-of-the-art pollinator model called Poll4Pop which predicted bumble bee density and nest density inside the solar parks and surrounding buffer zones.

They then used statistical analyses to investigate differences in bumble bee density and nest density across the different solar parks in the model.

To test the findings from their model, the researchers call for data to be collected on real-world solar parks to better understand pollinator response to management schemes.

The researchers specifically looked at ground nesting bumble bees and did not consider other important pollinators such as solitary bees, hoverflies, butterflies and moths. The different resources and foraging behaviours of these groups would require alternative modelling approaches to understand how they might benefit from solar park management.

Hollie Blaydes will present the work at Ecology Across Borders. This work is unpublished and is currently under review.

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Graphic demonstrating some possible effects of intense solar activity. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith

Open the weather app on your phone or glance at the news and you can quickly find a detailed forecast for the weather in your location. The report is likely to affect your behavior for the day: if you put on sandals or snow boots, if you exercise indoors or jog around the block, if you walk to work or take the bus.

Similarly, space is full of dynamic weather patterns that can have real effects for life on Earth. Space weather refers to conditions in the solar system produced by the sun's activity.

Just as weather is always occurring on Earth, space weather is ongoing. Even without major solar activity, satellites and communications systems can be impacted by variability in the density and composition of the near-earth environment.

"Space isn't empty like we often think," said Alexa Halford, space physics researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "The study of space weather is really just trying to understand the space environment around us, like we try to understand terrestrial weather."

At its most extreme, space weather can disrupt radio communications and endanger astronauts. In the past, activity on the sun has even temporarily caused large electrical blackouts. But with forecasting and proper preparation, these disruptive effects can be largely avoided. That's why NASA studies space weather conditions.

(1) What kind of weather events occur in space, and when are they likely to strike?

Coronal mass ejections and solar flares. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith

Quite different from your average terrestrial rain or snow, space weather in our solar system is composed of radiation and particles from the sun.

The sun is made up of superhot electrically charged plasma, the fourth state of matter. Plasma constantly streams toward the planets as solar wind, pouring energy into near-Earth space.

That's not all the sun is capable of. Sometimes, it hosts much more dramatic events. Solar flares are tremendous explosions on the surface of the sun, releasing energy which travels at the speed of light. Their effects on Earth are apparent in eight minutes. Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are eruptions of large clouds of solar plasma and magnetic fields from the sun. The geomagnetic storms resulting from these events may occur one or several days later. CMEs and solar flares can also occur at the same time.

The sun operates in an eleven-year solar cycle, and CMEs and flares are more common during the middle part of the solar cycle, called solar maximum. During solar maximum, the sun may produce several CMEs per day and a few truly massive explosions per year, said Antti Pulkkinen, director of the Heliophysics Science Division at NASA Goddard. In comparison, during solar minimum, the sun may be relatively quiet for extended periods of time. In solar cycle 25, the sun is expected to hit solar maximum around 2025.

(2) So...why doesn't space weather just torch us?

Earth has a strong, large magnetic field produced by charged molten iron churning in its core. That field keeps away most of the charged solar wind streaming toward Earth, just like an umbrella works in a rainstorm. The area within the safety of Earth's magnetic field is called the magnetosphere.

An illustration of the sun interacting with Earths magnetosphere. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith

Earth's magnetosphere is quite large and strong. On the side away from the sun, it extends hundreds of times the length of Earth's roughly 4,000 mile-radius. The magnetosphere faces much more pressure on the side facing the sun, where it extends 6 to 10 times Earth's radius (between around 25,000 miles to 40,000 miles).

"The magnetosphere is this really nice protective shield," Halford said. "It blocks out most of the radiation and bad weather that you get in space, but not all of it."

Another barrier is Earth's thick atmosphere, which blocks harmful light radiation from the sun from reaching Earth's surface.

(3) What are the effects of space weather on Earth?

As Halford explains, the protection offered by the magnetosphere isn't perfect. There are three main ways that an explosion on the sun's surface can affect Earth.

Radio blackout storm: This type of storm, generated by electromagnetic energylight, mostly in wavelengths that are invisible to human eyesis most likely to occur following a solar flare. It takes light only eight minutes to reach Earth from the sun, so the effects from this type of event are almost immediate. Electromagnetic energy released in flares disrupts Earth's upper atmosphere  the region where communication signals traveland can cause signal blackouts. One risk of a radio blackout is that radios are often used for emergency communications, for instance, to direct people amid an earthquake or hurricane. Imagine that a solar storm happens to coincide with a natural disaster, when radio communications are essential for keeping people safe. This happened during the September 2017 hurricane Irma. If operators are notified quickly, Halford says, they can change radio frequencies and avoid an outage.

Solar radiation storm: A solar radiation storm emits a sea of very small, fast-moving charged particles. At their accelerated speed, these particles carry lots of energy and can permeate the magnetosphere and endanger astronauts and spacecraft in Earth's orbit. To avoid the radiation impact, sensitive systems in satellites may be powered off and astronauts may be instructed to build shelter, or move to better shielded sections within their spacecraft. Halford likens it to hiding in a basement during a tornado.

Geomagnetic storm: Within one to three days of a solar eruption, giant clouds of plasma, CMEs, may reach Earth's orbit, compressing the magnetosphere. The influx of charged particles and electromagnetic fields rippling through Earth's magnetosphere can induce currents in many important electrical systems on Earth's surface, including power grids. Major blackouts from geomagnetic storms occurred in 1989 and 2003. Halford and Pulkkinen said in many countries including the United States, there are safeguards in place to decrease the likelihood of this happening again.

Aurora over Ny-Alesund, Svalbard. A green LIDAR beam shoots into the sky in the foreground. Credit: NASA/Joy Ng

(4) How do scientists monitor space weather?

A variety of agencies keep close watch on space weather. NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center is the U.S. government's official source for space weather forecasts. NASA Heliophysics coordinates research efforts with NOAA, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory on the National Space Weather Strategy and Action Plan. NASA Heliophysics also maintains a fleet of scientific observatories to observe solar eruptions and Earth-directed space weather.

(5) Can individuals prepare for space weather events?

Scientists and federal government organizations monitor and prepare for space weather events. Engineers work to build "rad-hard," or radiation resistant, satellites. Astronauts may need to take shelter during certain space weather events. Power grid operators may implement safeguards against geomagnetic storm effects. The United States government maintains a webpage with information about what to do if space weather causes a power outage or other damage.

However, for most individuals, Halford says there's only one thing they may wish to do in the event of a space weather event: prepare for the aurora. Those near the poles may get to see beautiful displays of light in the sky as the loss of particles from the magnetosphere during a geomagnetic storm excites particles in Earth's atmosphere. Traveling to a location with a good view may require a flight, a hotel reservation, a hot chocolate, and a warm blanket.

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Experimental mixture of two myxobacteria strains that overexpress different types of TraA receptors (red and green) that adhere to themselves but not each other. Credit: D. Wall/University of Wyoming

Scientists have discovered a way to transform millions of predatory bacteria into swirling flash mobs reminiscent of painter Vincent Van Gogh's "The Starry Night" as the unexpected result of experiments on a genetic circuit the creatures use to discern friend from foe.

Myxococcus xanthus has been studied for decades as a model system for social cooperation and bacterial gene regulation. While studying M. xanthus mutants that overexpress two proteins the cells use to recognize close relatives, researchers from Rice University and the University of Wyoming discovered a previously unreported behavior: Self-organization into circles a millimeter or more in diameter.

The research is described in a study published online in the American Society for Microbiology's mSystems, and an image from the study will be featured in a forthcoming issue of the open-access journal.

"When you overexpress that protein, you can see these circular aggregates emerge after four hours, and by 12 hours they take up the whole (petri dish)," said study co-author Oleg Igoshin, a professor of bioengineering at Rice and senior scientist at Rice's Center for Theoretical Biological Physics.

Igoshin's research group and the Wyoming microbiology group led by co-author Daniel Wall collaborated for five years on the study, conducting dozens of laboratory and computational experiments to uncover the genetic mechanism of the circular swarms.

M. xanthus prey on other bacteria. Lacking internal organs to digest their prey, they band together in familial packs to engulf and devour victims, which can include M. xanthus that aren't members of the family.

Image at four times magnification of an experimental mixture of myxobacteria from a strain that overexpresses TraAB and adheres to itself (green) and a strain that is non-adhesive and non-reversing (red). Credit: D. Wall/University of Wyoming

About five years ago, Wall and study co-author Pengbo Cao, then a graduate student in his lab and now a postdoctoral research associate at the Georgia Institute of Technology, showed M. xanthus uses a surface receptor called TraA and a partner protein called TraB to recognize kin. When M. xanthus bumps into a close relative, the TraAB complex acts as a kind of glue, forming a sticky bond between the two. When M. xanthus runs into unrelated M. xanthus, TraAB helps poison non-kin.

While investigating the mechanism of TraAB, Wall's team created several mutant strains, including some that overexpressed TraAB, making more of the protein than normal, and Cao noticed they had a tendency to form within a few hours. While Wall's team followed up with microbiological experiments, Igoshin's group was asked if it could create a theoretical model that might explain the mystery.cell clusters

"What's interesting about our theory is that the only way we see these (circular aggregates) in our simulations is when we make the cells non-reversing," Igoshin said. "In normal wild-type cells, they go back and forth, back and forth, like a commuter train. The head becomes the tail and the tail becomes the head. And they do it every eight minutes or so."

The model simulated M. xanthus behavior based on changes to TraAB and other signaling circuits and was developed by Igoshin and study co-authors Rajesh Balagam and Zhaoyang Zhang, who were then graduate students in his lab.

"Our first idea was maybe they're so sticky, they just can't reverse," Igoshin said. "So we tried to see if sticky cells that normally reverse would form circular aggregates. We added a very, very strong adhesion to our simulations, and nothing happened. They didn't make circles. However, if we instead inhibited the reversals the simulations worked. Circular aggregates emerged."

Follow-up experiments at Wyoming verified cells in the aggregates did not reverse, but that raised even more questions.

Image at 10 times magnification of an experimental mixture of myxobacteria from a strain that overexpresses TraAB and adheres to itself (yellow) and a strain that is non-adhesive and non-reversing (blue). Credit: D. Wall/University of Wyoming)

"Somehow TraAB overexpression in aggregates prevented cells from reversing," Igoshin said. "So this was very cool for us, because this is what our model predicted. But this was also a bit puzzling and completely unexpected. Because TraAB, as far as we knew, didn't have anything to do with reversal regulation."

A few possible explanations were ruled out with follow-up experiments. Evidence suggested TraAB stickiness could be the key.

"But how is it that adhesion suppresses the reversals?" Igoshin said. "Our idea was maybe there is some sort of contact-dependent signal between cells that suppresses the reversals. The cells are in dense groups and are in contact with others all the time, but those contacts are transient. But if TraAB overexpression really makes you sticky, your neighbor will remain your neighbor for longer, and that could trigger the signal that suppresses the reversals."

With those changes, the model began producing patterns very similar to what Wall's team was seeing in its experiments with engineered M. xanthus strains. To see if the model could predict a behavior that hadn't yet been seen in experiments, Igoshin's team simulated what would happen in mixed colonies of M. xanthus, including mixtures of two extra-sticky mutants that didn't recognize one another as kin. The model predicted they would form large rotating swarms containing mixtures of the two strains.

The prediction was borne out in experiments by Wall's team, and the application of false color to microscopic images of the colonies revealed M. xanthus's pastiche of "The Starry Night."

"Our work highlights how a social bacterium, known for rich sources of therapeutic natural products and as crop biocontrol agents, serves as a powerful model for studying emergent behaviors that also exhibit artistic beauty," Wall said.

Additional co-authors include Govind Sahb and Kalpana Subedib of the University of Wyoming.

More information: Rajesh Balagam et al, Emergent Myxobacterial Behaviors Arise from Reversal Suppression Induced by Kin Contacts, mSystems (2021). Rajesh Balagam et al, Emergent Myxobacterial Behaviors Arise from Reversal Suppression Induced by Kin Contacts,(2021). DOI: 10.1128/mSystems.00720-21
In this aerial image, Bogdan Gaicki rests in the rubble of his home as family members help sort through the tornado damage in Mayfield, Kentucky.

At least 64 people died in Kentucky from devastating tornadoes that left a trail of destruction across the US state, the governor said Monday, with 14 people confirmed killed in other states.

Two days after the tornadoes hit, officials are still struggling to establish the toll as emergency responders pick through the rubble of thousands of damaged or destroyed homes and buildings.

"Undoubtedly there will be more (dead). We believe that it will certainly be above 70, maybe even 80," said Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear.

Thousands of people have been left homeless by what Beshear has described as the state's worst storm on record.

Some 105 people in Kentucky remain unaccounted for, and "it may be weeks before we have final counts on both deaths and levels of destruction," he said.

The governor choked back tears as he reflected on the tragedy that flattened parts of the American heartland.

But he also said there was a "light of hope" surrounding a collapsed candle factory in the ravaged town of Mayfield, where some 110 employees were working late Friday to meet the holiday rush when the tornado ripped the building to shreds.

The factory owners reported eight dead and eight missing from the collapse, and that "94 are alive and have been accounted for," Beshear said.

This combination of pictures released by Maxar Technologies shows buildings destroyed by a tornado in Mayfield, Kentucky (top), and before the tornado.

"We feared much, much worse. And again I pray it is accurate," he added.

Mountains of debris dotted several cities and towns, and many livestock were dead, Beshear said.

Communities were also digging out in five other states where tornadoes touched down Friday night into Saturday, in what US President Joe Biden described as "one of the largest" storm outbreaks in American history.

'Recover and rebuild'

The tornadoes killed at least 14 people outside of Kentucky, including six in an Amazon warehouse in the southern Illinois city of Edwardsville, where they were on the night shift processing orders ahead of Christmas.

Biden declared a major disaster in Kentucky, allowing additional federal aid to be channeled into recovery efforts, and the administration sought to assure stricken communities that help is coming.

A home owner reacts to tornado damage in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

"We will be there throughout to enable the people to recover and rebuild," US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told CNN.

With an immense recovery effort looming, immediate concerns for residents' safety and well-being were front and center as cold weather began to bite in towns that resembled war zones.

Officials said 28,500 Kentucky customers remained without power Monday.

A nondenominational church in Mayfield was handing out food and clothing to storm survivors while also providing space for the county coroner to do his work, said pastor Stephen Boyken of His House Ministries.

People "come with pictures, birthmarksthey talk now about using DNA samples to identify those who have been lost," he told AFP.

'Up in smoke'

The storm system's power placed it in historic company.

Storm trackers said it had lofted debris 30,000 feet (9,100 meters) into the air, and the Mayfield twister appeared to have broken an almost century-old record, tracking on the ground more than 200 miles (320 kilometers).

A damaged building in Mayfield, Kentucky.

A Christmas tree stands by a road amid the damage in Mayfield.

Mayfield, a town of about 10,000 near the westernmost tip of Kentucky, was perhaps the hardest-hit community: city blocks were leveled, historic homes and buildings were beaten down to their slabs, tree trunks had been stripped of their branches and cars lay overturned in fields.

Randy Guennel, a 79-year-old retiree, survived two days with his sick wife in their destroyed home before finding shelter at a church north of Mayfield.

"We've worked so many years for all this and it's up in smoke," he said, choking back sobs. "We don't have a house, no cars, no nothing."

Explore further Race to rescue survivors as US tornadoes kill at least 94

 2021 AFP
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Women employees are facing bigger career challenges than their male colleagues with interruptions to their work-from-home life, according to new research by UConn management professor Nora Madjar.

Madjar's research, "Working from Home During COVID-19: A study of Interruption Landscape,"' was published this month by the Journal of Applied Psychology. She co-authored the piece with professors Sophie Leroy of the University of Washington and Aaron Schmidt of the University of Minnesota.

"The gender divide was particularly surprising to us. We had heard anecdotally that it occurred, but now we have empirical evidence that women are interrupted more frequently, both with work-related and personal responsibilities,"' Madjar says.

"Women have paid an additional price since the onset of the pandemic,"' she says. "This is more than just an inconvenience. Work interruptions are associated with reduced employee performance and higher levels of emotional exhaustion."'

The researchers discovered some practical solutions that employers can take to help their employees minimize interruptions, including assistance in establishing a dedicated work space within the employee's home.

Study has long-term ramifications as remote work becomes commonplace

The research breaks new ground on the type and frequency of interruptions to home-based work, something that is still relevant as companies postpone returns to the office, employees transition to hybrid work schedules, and others adopt a permanent work-from-home status.

The researchers surveyed 249 employees, across industries, who were working from home in the U.S. The average study participant was 37, worked full-time, had a bachelor's degree or higher, lived with a spouse or partner, and had children or other dependents at home.

Not only did employees report more interruptions since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the nature of those challenges changed.

"We found that the burden of interruptions was not shared equally, as women reported higher levels of all types of non-work interruptions, suggesting that women experience more fragmented time than men,"' Madjar says. Even when both partners worked from home, the woman reported more demands related to childcare and household tasks.

Women reported more interruptions than men did prior to the pandemic, but this difference has only increased. The spike in family-related disruptions while working from home during the pandemic was expected, but women noted more frequent interruptions from co-workers and supervisors even while working from home.

Dedicated home office is one solution

Madjar and her colleagues suggested several steps that organizations and employees can take to minimize interruptions, including helping employees find a quiet, dedicated work space within their homes.

"Having a dedicated home office seems to be a mitigating factor,"' Madjar says. "Employees with a dedicated workspace reported less interruptions, and that makes sense. But some of our survey participants had to work at the kitchen table or in the living room so that they could supervise young children at the same time. For women, it is hard to 'find a place to hide' to get work done."'

Women also reported more interruptions from colleagues and supervisors than did their male co-workers. The researchers believed this is tied to many women's willingness to help other colleagues and perhaps a reluctance to set firm boundaries. She recommends corporate executives emphasize emailing, rather than calling, when possible and scheduling project updates, rather than sending random questions throughout the day.

"The shift toward intensive work-from-home has uncovered an important source of gender inequality,"' Madjar says. "The results of our study provide valuable insights to help understand and improve work experiences not only during the lingering pandemic but also in the future, as remote work becomes the norm long-term for many employees."'

"This study unpacks how the pandemic has transformed the dynamics around work and non-work lives, making life more fragmented and asking people to perform while frequently interrupted,"' she says.

Explore further Heading back to the office? Not all workplace interruptions are bad for business

More information: Sophie Leroy et al, Working from home during COVID-19: A study of the interruption landscape., Journal of Applied Psychology (2021). Journal information: Journal of Applied Psychology Sophie Leroy et al, Working from home during COVID-19: A study of the interruption landscape.,(2021). DOI: 10.1037/apl0000972
Nebraskas Jeffrey Stevens with a pinyon jay, part of the family of birds known as corvids. Stevens and doctoral student London Wolff recently ran experiments with pinyon jays as part of a four-continent study that examined neophobia, or fear of the unknown, across 10 species of corvids. Credit: Craig Chandler | University Communication

Balancing the exploration of unfamiliar stimuli with a fear of the unknownneophobiacan help animals maximize the benefits of novel opportunities while minimizing the risks of novel threats from toxic foods, potential predators and the like. Understanding neophobia, then, can yield insights into how species adapt to new or changing environments.

But researchers still have much to learn about how neophobia differs across or even within species. The factors that most influence its emergence are ambiguous, too.

Nebraska's Jeffrey Stevens and London Wolff contributed to a 10-laboratory, four-continent study that investigated those questions in 10 bird speciesincluding crows, jays and ravensfrom the family known as corvids.

The labs ran experiments in which birds of a given species were presented with a familiar food. Later, the birds were again presented with that foodexcept this time, the researchers had placed either an unfamiliar object or unfamiliar food nearby. If a bird took substantially more time to touch the familiar food when the unfamiliar object or food was present, the researchers took that as evidence of neophobia.

When analyzing all 10 species together, the study found that the corvids took about four times longer to touch the familiar food when an unfamiliar object accompanied it. But the magnitude of that neophobia differed markedly across species. And the findings were repeatable among individual birds, marking neophobia as a stable behavioral trait.

Overall, the species known for using urban habitats, living in larger flocks and family groups, and caching a variety of foods tended to exhibit less neophobia.

Comparing neophobia in wild vs. captive birds might help clarify where the trait falls on the nature-nurture spectrum.

Ultimately, neophobia findings could refine research on animal cognition and inform efforts to reintroduce species into the wild.

Explore further Food neophobia may increase the risk of lifestyle diseases

More information: Rachael Miller et al, Socio-ecological correlates of neophobia in corvids, Current Biology (2021). Journal information: Current Biology Rachael Miller et al, Socio-ecological correlates of neophobia in corvids,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.10.045
FORT EDWARD  For the first time since 1851, there is no bank in the village of Fort Edward.

Glens Falls National Bank closed its Fort Edward branch at 159 Broadway on Nov. 30, consolidating its banking services with another branch less than a mile north.

We are proud to continue serving this community and our local customer base from 343 Broadway, which has undergone some enhancements, said Dori McDannold, the marketing manager at Glens Falls National. We intend to list for sale our building at 159 Broadway after the first of the year.

The banks sign came down on Dec. 1, marking the end of 170 years of banking in the village.

That was sad. It was sad that it happened so fast, said Town and Village Historian R. Paul McCarty, standing next to the vacant brick bank building.

McCarty walked down Terminal Lane, which used to be called Bank Lane back when Fort Edward National Bank was established by the Wing family in 1851.

The Wing family was very active in the early settlement of Washington County and founded the town of Queensbury in 1762. The Wings enjoyed enormous wealth and connection and had a great amount of land.

Daniel Wood Wing, along with a group of local investors, founded the National Bank of Fort Edward in 1851. His cousin, Asahel Richard Wing, became a bank director and its head cashier. Asahels son, Asel, continued the family banking tradition in Fort Edward until 1927, according to information provided by McCarty.

The Bank of Fort Edward was chartered with a capital of $125,000, according to the book History of Washington County.

Also in 1851, at the same time Fort Edward National was being established, Daniel Wood Wings son Halsey Rogers Wing, and brother, Abraham Wing III, along with Halsey Rogers (Daniels brother in law), joined a group of investors to found Glens Falls National Bank in downtown Glens Falls.

For the first 99 years, Glens Falls National Bank conducted its public business from a single office in Glens Falls, according to a publication produced by the institution for its 135th anniversary in 1986.

In 1950, however, the officers and directors decided to begin a program of expansion and looked to Washington County for its first branch office.

Ironically, the first branch acquired by the Glens Falls National Bank was the Fort Edward National Bank, an original Wing institution as well.

In 1963, Glens Falls National built another Washington County branch at 343 Broadway in the town of Fort Edward, and eventually built many branches throughout Warren, Washington and Saratoga counties.

For several years, business was conducted out of the original Fort Edward National Bank structure, but in 1970 Glens Falls National decided to construct a new building.

Plans to move in by June 1971 were foiled when demolition experts were stopped cold in their efforts to tear down the old vault, according to the 135th anniversary publication. Built to withstand efforts to destroy it, it withstood all modern procedures.

Bank officials finally decided to bury the vault.

The new Fort Edward office of Glens Falls National Bank was officially opened on July 21, 1971. Additional land was purchased in order to allow for a drive-thru window.

McCarty stopped halfway up Terminal Lane to point out where the front door to the original Fort Edward Bank once stood. He pointed to the approximate location of the buried vault.

This was called Bank Lane and the bank was always a hangout for local kids and other people, said McCarty. It was a favorite hangout for the kids and a few adults in the 1950s and 1960s.

McCarty recalls when the original bank was torn down around in the 1970s, just before he graduated from college. During a visit home, he went to the construction site. The bank was gone but the vault was still standing.

He looked into the hole and found bank ledgers from 1892 hand-written in big, beautiful script. They were preserved in a dirty, dusty canvas.

I kind of broke the law, McCarty admits. I went over the barricade, down into the hole and retrieved a couple items.

Those ledgers are now on display at the Old Fort House Museum, where McCarty serves as executive director.

He recalled when part of Terminal Lane was trenched in order to rebuild Route 4 in 2007 and 2008. They found the vault.

This is the toughest part of my job, and its happened over and over and over again, McCarty said. If you think about all the institutions, service organizations, etc., in Fort Edward that have gone away, and I get called upon to pick up a few of the remnants and archive them.

McCarty doesnt know what kind of business will move into the building, but he doesnt think it will be another bank.

Banking has changed today, he said. You can get a check and you can just photograph it with your phone and deposit it, and its all said and done. So a lot of things in the way of banking have changed.

Gretta Hochsprung can be reached at 518-742-3206 or ghochsprung@poststar.com.

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GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP  For a church that is over a century old, there are not many firsts left to be had, but one local congregation was still able to make history by inaugurating its first female pastor.

The Rev. Cheryl Hicks became the first woman to be pastor at Macedonia Baptist Church on Sunday. A ceremony was held at the churchs 3 p.m. service, with several religious leaders from around the area celebrating Hicks accomplishments and leadership. Dozens of congregants from the Macedonia Baptist and other area churches attended to show their support for the churchs new leader. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, masks were required.

I thank God for all of you that are here with me this afternoon, amen, Hicks said to the congregation in her remarks at the end of the ceremony. A lot of you know, I really dont like the fanfare, but this is the day that the Lord has made.

Macedonia Baptist, located in the South Egg Harbor section of Galloway Township, is 104 years old. The church had five other pastors in its history before Hicks.

The ceremony was festive, featuring joyous hymns sung by the clergy and church choir, as well as powerful songs played on the piano.
TRENTON  New Jerseys schools, in the past weeks, are contributing more to the states latest surge in COVID-19 cases.

State officials Monday reported rising caseloads at schools, particularly among students.

From Nov. 8-Dec. 5, students have contributed 1,159 cases to the states recent increasing totals.

Staff members are further behind them, at 191 new cases between those dates, but their rate of transmission has grown higher since Nov. 1, now at 4.91, compared to 2.66 for students during the same period.

Between those, 248 outbreaks have also been recorded.

Gov. Phil Murphy said he and state officials insist, however, that school caseloads are as expected, and that in-school mask requirements are still counteracting higher transmission rates.

This is in line with the increase weve been seeing generally, yet these numbers are still in the range of where we believe the layered approach to protection weve taken in our schools has kept in-school transmission in check, Murphy said.
For many, the lead villain in the rash of smash-and-grab thefts plaguing California is a sentencing reduction ballot measure that voters approved overwhelmingly seven years ago.

I think it was the biggest con job in California history, says Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, a former Republican who intends to run for state attorney general next year as an independent.

Criminals have been laughing at us. ... Theres a clear belief  and very large reality  that theres no consequences any more to theft. ... You tell everybody were not going to hold anybody accountable and guess whats going to happen?

The measure was Proposition 47, co-authored by then-San Francisco  now Los Angeles  Dist. Atty. George Gascon and strongly supported by then-Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, now governor. Proposition 47 was approved by a landslide vote of roughly 60% to 40%.

The measure reduced from a possible felony to a misdemeanor the possession of narcotics for personal use and certain property crimes. The narcotics piece isnt an issue, but the sentence reduction for thefts is.
Water Challenges

Unsustainable practices have affected the quality and availability of water resources around the world with implications to human health, food and energy security, and economic development. These issues are most pronounced in developing countries and regions where an estimated 650 million people do not have access to safe drinking water and 1 in 3 people lack access to a toilet, but challenges remain in wealthier nations where aging infrastructure, urban growth, emerging contaminants, and climate change are straining the capabilities of wastewater treatment systems to provide safe drinking water and unpolluted lakes and rivers. Demands on freshwater resources for agriculture, energy production, and industrial use are expected to increase and these pressures will lead to increasingly difficult trade-offs that water resource managers and other decision makers will need to address.

Purdues Approach

Purdues water communitynearly 100 academic faculty, researchers, and studentsis working to address the grand challenge of protecting the future of our water resources. Broad areas of research include water use; water pollution; aquatic ecosystems; human dimensions; and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH).

The mission of the Water Community Signature Research Area is to foster connections across campus and around the world to facilitate interdisciplinary research that helps communities solve their water challenges. The scope of the Water Community is broad, bringing together about 75 researchers from multiple colleges including the colleges of Agriculture, Engineering, Science and Education. Within the community, there are several sub-areas within the water community: Agricultural Water Management; Human Dimensions of Water; Urban Water Systems; Great Lakes Water; Ecological Restoration and Water and Energy.

Projects

Indiana Wetlands

In February 2021, the Water Challenges SRA helped lead a two-part webinar on Indiana wetlands and how they would be affected by SB 389, a bill introduced in the Indiana State General Assembly. More information about the event, including speakers and recordings, can be found here.

Click here to access an informational brief on Indiana wetlands led by researchers from Purdue University, the University of Notre Dame, IUPUI, and Indiana University.

The Urban Flooding Open Knowledge Network (UF-OKN): Delivering Flood Information to Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere Co-PI: Venkatesh Merwade (CIVL) Venkatesh Merwade (CIVL) Purdue team: David Yu (Poli Sci, Industrial Eng.); Ayman Habib (CIVL) Funding: NSF The team is one of nine selected by NSF to be part of the NSF Convergence Accelerator initiative as part of their 2019 Cohort. The theme for this focus was, Accelerating research to impact society at scale. Over the next 24 months, the selected teams will continue to apply Convergence Accelerator fundamentals to include leveraging innovation processes and integrating multidisciplinary research and cross-cutting partnerships to develop solution prototypes and to build a sustainability model to continue impact beyond NSF support. Learn more about the project here. Venkatesh Merwade, the Purdue lead for the project, will lead the Research and Development efforts across all institutions for UF-OKN to enable integration of observed data, simulation models and other flood related information into the knowledge network. David Yu will develop and incorporate governance information and analysis capability into UFOKN. Dr. Ayman Habib will advise the team on accessing infrastructure monitoring data and how that information can be incorporated into UFOKN.

Ecological Tradeoffs in Water Quality and Climate Regulation in Restored Wetlands In Agricultural Landscapes PI: Jake Hosen (ABE) Co-PIs: Sara McMillan (ABE/EEE), Laura Bowling (AGRO) Funding: USDA-NIFA Through this research project, the team will develop a mechanistic understanding of the water quality function of agricultural wetlands and environmental regulation of other ecosystem services (ie, water for irrigation) and disservices (ie, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions). The team builds on the assumption that strategic targeting of wetland plant species and water table management will maximize nutrient retention, improve water storage for irrigation use during dry periods, and reduce release of potent GHGs. Through this work, the team will be able to provide critical guidance for the design and management of wetlands in agricultural landscapes that will support the creation of balance between reducing downstream nutrient loading and limiting GHG emissions through the development of predictive tools. The tools will help practitioners optimally design hydrologic characteristics (e.g., hydroperiod managed for irrigation) and plant community composition for wetland restoration projects that will maximize downstream water quality and storage of water in wetlands while also minimizing emissions of GHGs that are driving climate change.

Managing Water for Increased Resiliency of Drained Agricultural Landscapes PI: Jane Frankenberger (ABE) Purdue team members: Elaine Kladivko (AGR), Laura Bowling (AGRO), Bernie Engel (ABE), Linda Prokopy (FNR) Funding: USDA This project is a collaborative effort aimed at addressing important land management questions through the assessment and development of new agricultural drainage technologies. Drainage is an essential component of the landscape to provide suitable growing conditions for the crops that feed and support both local and global communities. This infrastructure also creates a pathway for environmental losses to occur. With anticipated changes in seasonal precipitation patterns, water security for growing crops as well as practices to minimize offsite environmental impacts are of growing interest to landowners and the public. The vision for this project is that the process of designing and implementing agricultural drainage will be transformed so that storing water in the landscape will be considered for every drainage system as a foundation for resilient and productive agricultural systems. More information

Robotic Water Quality Monitoring and Distribution Systems: A Pilot Study Co-PIs: Purdue: Byung-Cheol Min (CIT) & UNSA: Mauricio Postigo (FIPS) Co-Is: Purdue: Brittany Newell, Jose Garcia, & Richard Voyles (All SOET), Sara McMillan (ABE); UNSA: Edgar Gonzales (FGGM) & Godofredo Pena (FA, UNSA) Funding: NEXUS The main goal of this project is to develop a low-cost robotic water quality monitoring system for water and sediment monitoring and analysis of water bodies, as well as a smart water irrigation system for agriculture in Arequipa in Peru. The expected results from this project include a developed understanding of issues for the mine water system in Arequipa; creation and evaluation of state-of-the-art robotic water sampling and monitoring systems for water and water distribution and spraying systems; creation of prototypes of an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) and Remotely Operated underwater Vehicle (ROV) platforms for water and sediment sampling and monitoring; and 4) A prototype of a smart water distribution system.

A Framework for Sustainable Water Management in the Arequipa Region Co-PIs: Purdue: Laura Bowling, (AGRO); UNSA: Dr. Edwin Bocardo Delgado (Biology) Co-Is: Purdue: Jane Frankenberger (ABE); Keith Cherkauer (ABE); Linda Prokopy (FNR); Zhao Ma (FNR); Bernie Engel (ABE); UNSA: Jose Pinto Caceres (Agro), Hector Novoa Andia (CIVL) Funding: NEXUS On-going concerns about the sustainability of agronomic management and the legacy of resource extraction in the Arequipa region that threatens water quality and food safety, coupled with urgent concern regarding future water supply, make water management a critical part of future planning in this region. Our project vision is to support a culture of science-based, collaborative water and watershed management in the Arequipa region. Our mission is to understand the environmental and social dimensions of water management and watershed governance and develop research capacities, programs and tools to improve the sustainability of water management and watershed governance in the region by 2024.

Seasonal Heavy Metal Concentrations in Streams in the Arequipa Region PIs: Purdue: Chad Jafvert (CIVL, EEE); UNSA: Betty Paredes (CHEM) & Corina Vera (CHEM) Co-I: Purdue: Timothy Filley (EAPS, AGRO) Funding: NEXUS The overall goal of this project is to investigate the transport and speciation of metals (copper, lead, arsenic, etc.), in several rivers in the Arequipa district that are impacted by mine drainage. Of interest are the forms that each metal (and metalloid) takes within each river, from upstream to downstream and as a function of time (i.e., season). Hence, metal transport in rivers is highly dependent on river hydrodynamics as well as the river water chemistry (i.e., humic materials, pH, hardness, O2, sediment characteristics). During the second year, we wish to instrument up to three locations with automated samplers to monitor metals in the associated stream water over time with high sampling frequency.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch is searching to find the best places to work in the region for its ninth annual Top Workplaces program.

The newspaper again has partnered with Energage to determine the regions best places to work based on employee survey feedback.

The firm has conducted these types of surveys in 59 U.S. markets , surveying more than 2 million employees at over 8,000 organizations in the past year.

The deadline to nominate a company for the program has been extended to Jan. 14.

Anyone can nominate an employer  private, public, government and nonprofit  as long as the business has at least 35 employees. There is no fee to participate.

Nominations may be made at www.Richmond.com/Top-Workplaces or (804) 977-9367.

Eighty-one companies in the Richmond region were recognized this year as Top Workplaces businesses. In May, the coveted top rankings of first-, second- and third-place in each of four size categories  mega, large, midsize and small  went to 12 businesses.

For 2021, automotive retailer CarMax ranked first in the mega-size category for the eighth consecutive year.
SHATNER: Well, I've been doing a lot of foolish things, according to my wife, in the last many years. I'm probably an adrenaline junkie. A couple of years ago I drove a motorcycle across the country, and I recently went down 60 feet underwater and visited with four tiger sharks. I'm no stranger to thinking, Oh, geez, I can die here. But I didnt feel the necessity of going up into space. Why do I want to put myself in that position? Its uncomfortable. Ive got, my wife calls them velvet sheets, I can just snuggle in. Then I thought a little further about it, the idea of weightlessness and going into space and just the feeling, and (decided) Ill do it. When it caught peoples imagination I was absolutely shocked. I was as shocked about that as I was about the flight itself.
Bloom's electrolyzer was recognized for its  inventive and efficient  method of producing hydrogen. Judges noted the technology is "on the radar for many people in the energy industry" and that it is an "exciting innovation" that will "be compatible with other sources" in the move to clean energy. The emerging technology of the year category received the most submissions of any of the award categories.
In the lead-up to Franklin Countys elections in November, attempts were made to punish the messengers.

Two of the Black women campaigning for office had made national and even international news by speaking frankly about the countys history of segregation and racial tensions, a subject rarely addressed in public in prior years.

Young politician and activist Bridgette Craighead drew the national gaze as a co-organizer of demonstrations held in Rocky Mount and other county locales in the wake of the May 2020 murder of George Floyd, a Black man, by a white Minneapolis police officer. These protests led Craighead to found the 56,000-population countys official Black Lives Matter chapter.

Though the protests were peaceful  with dancing and refreshments  Craighead and her cohorts still endured some incidents of racist abuse, at least once while a newspaper photographers camera was clicking.

Penny Blue first drew similar national attention in late 2019. As the Franklin County School Boards member at large, she set off a monthslong debate with a proposal to ban Confederate flag imagery from the school districts dress code. The ban passed in June 2020, the same month Craighead began organizing protests.

On Jan. 6, two officers in the Rocky Mount Police Department participated in the insurrectionist riot inside the U.S. Capitol that attempted to stop the certification of Joe Bidens victory in the presidential election results. Rocky Mount is the Franklin County seat.

Thomas T.J. Roberston and Jacob Fracker have maintained that they did not participate in or witness any of the violence that took place Jan. 6, though this did not stop federal authorities from charging them with felonies or the town from firing them.

The now-infamous selfie the pair took inside the Capitol Crypt, with Fracker making an obscene gesture at the camera, got its first public exposure when Craighead posted a leaked copy on social media. She had danced with the officers at one of her Black Lives Matter events, and was mortified by what she saw as a betrayal.

Comments that Fracker and Robertson posted on social media after their selfie went public  and comments they made in interviews  implied that they were more upset about Craigheads criticisms than the were about the news getting out that theyd been inside the Capitol.

Craighead also heard from county residents who were angrier at her for publicizing the selfie than they were at the officers for being present during the riot. This continued after she chose to run as the Democratic candidate for the 9th District House of Delegates seat, which represents most of Franklin County, all of Patrick County and part of Henry County.

Craighead received a letter at her campaign headquarters, soaked in a yellow substance, that criticized her for supposedly being allied with critical race theory and Nancy Peloski [sic] and telling her to go back to Africa, adding, We gave it a good try to domesticate you but I see we failed.

Fracker and Robertsons Jan. 6 venture brought further international attention to the county. On Jan. 19, Channel 4, a United Kingdom news channel, aired an on-camera interview with Fracker. The segment included an interview with Blue, who attributed support for the insurrection among some county residents to being raised with white supremacist values. Trump didnt come in and radicalize. He just came and took advantage of whats here.

In a surreal development, a citizens group opposed to mask mandates and the alleged teaching of critical race theory took a station wagon with a television mounted in the back of it to different locations, playing a clip from Blues Channel 4 interview and claiming, wrongly, that she was accusing all white residents of Franklin County of being white supremacists.

(Though he expressed disappointment in Blues remarks to Channel 4, Blues challenger in the election, Republican-endorsed independent Kevin David, did not participate in these attacks.)

The group was in Rocky Mount on Sept. 24, where Craighead spotted them playing the out-of-context clip and confronted them. Afterward a member of the group swore out misdemeanor warrants against Craighead accusing her of using abusive language (that case is scheduled to be heard in court later this month). Craigheads communications director Eleanor Roy called the accusation unfounded and politically motivated, describing the charges as an attempt to use the criminal justice system to silence a Black female candidate.

The deployment of dirty tricks in American elections dates back to the founding of America. Yet an observer of of the past couple decades of Roanoke Valley elections cant help but find these tactics weirdly personal and deeply disturbing.

Bluntly, neither David nor Craigheads Republican opponent, Patrick County attorney Wren Williams, needed any help, much less assistance of such a caustic, underhanded nature. The 9th District overall and Franklin County have leaned heavily Republican for years, with 70% of voters consistently endorsing conservative candidates and causes. The last politician to win a contested countywide election while running as a Democrat was hugely popular Sheriff Quint Overton in 2003.

After the November election, Blue received a letter of her own that read, SO GLAD YOU LOST ELETION!!! [sic], accusing her of using critical race theory to promote hate against white people!!

Despite the vitriol theyve endured, Blue and Craighead both continue to speak out, as proved resoundingly by a segment that aired Dec. 7 on CNNs Anderson Cooper 360 about the role of conservative claims about critical race theory in Franklin Countys elections. During the campaign, Williams pledged to sponsor a bill banning the teaching of critical race theory in Virginia schools  though education officials at all levels have said CRT isnt being taught in the first place.

Blue told CNN reporter Donie OSullivan that those stumping against critical race theory are against African American history being a part of the American story.

Its the phony anti-CRT rhetoric and the politicians catering to it that are creating the deepest divisions, Craighead said.

She expressed incredulity that anyone could believe that all American institutions are completely racism-free. For you to say that you dont see it, its a smack in the face, Craighead said. Its right here in your face. Its right here.

Indeed it is.
On December 8, 2021, one of the most anticipated U.S.-listed initial public offerings from a fintech company took place. The Brazilian startup Nu Holdings Ltd (NYSE:NU), heralded as the largest digital bank in the world by number of member accounts, went public after listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

As expected, NuBanks IPO boomed, with NU shares soaring to $11.25 in its opening trade after raising ~$2.6B in its initial public offering, giving the company a market capitalization of nearly US$52 billion and making it the third most valuable listed company in Brazil.

Perhaps not surprisingly, NuBank is backed by several high-profile investors, including Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.B) (NYSE:BRK.A) which invested $500M in the company in June, and Tencent (OTCPK:TCEHY). NuBank also boasts pre-IPO backers such as Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global Management, along with affiliates of Baillie Gifford, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), and SoftBank (OTCPK:SFTBY).

Tipalti quadruples its valuation

Nus successful listing probably served as a sign of things to come.

Just a day later, Israeli fintech firm Tipalti, a developer of payments and compliance solutions, has soared to a valuation of over $8 billion after a fresh $270 million investment, the company announced on Wednesday.

Tipalti, which means I handled it in Hebrew, raised $150 million last October giving the company a valuation of $2 billion. But this latest series F round, led by Swiss multinational G Squared, has just seen Tipalti quadruple its worth following an exceptionally strong year.

Tipalti says it processes over $30 billion in total annual payments volume, a number thats growing 120% annually. The company was founded in 2011 by Chen Amit, who serves as CEO, offering a cloud-based platform that allows clients to handle financial tasks such as payments to suppliers (accounts payable), tax and VAT compliance, and invoice management, across borders in a range of currencies.

The companys customer roster includes the likes of Amazon, Twitter, GoDaddy, Vimeo, and GoPro. Tipalti typically targets mid-market companies, defined as companies with revenues between $10 million and $1 billion, and which account for more than one-third of employment and about 40% of GDP, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Such companies have had to change how they manage their financial operations, with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic making CFO jobs harder and more complex.

Green fintech

But other than the current pandemic, investors are increasingly valuing fintechs highly due thanks to the green revolution.

Back in 2019, Goldman Sachs made waves after becoming the first mainstream Wall Street bank to renounce fossil fuel investments. GS said it would cease financing any new oil exploration or drilling in the Arctic, or financing new thermal coal mines anywhere on the globe. Goldman also pledged to invest $750 billion over the next decade into areas that focus on climate transition.

Predictably, other banks began to feel the ethical squeeze and a slew of other investment banks soon followed suit.

In April 2020, Citigroup joined GS by denouncing financing thermal coal miners by 2030, while Deutsche Bank, Germanys largest lender, vowed to cut ties with banks that continued to finance the coal industry by 2025. Meanwhile, BlackRock Inc, the worlds largest asset manager with $9.5 trillion in assets under management (AUM), pledged to grow its green portfolio more than 10-fold over the next decade from $90 billion to more than a trillion dollars.

But its not just mainstream investment banks that have doubled down on the $30 trillion ESG market- lately, there has been an explosion of fintech--both new and incumbent players--going green.

Good case in point is Aspiration, a California-based online bank backed by Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio of the Titanic fame, that has fashioned itself as a Wells Fargo alternative, and whose proud mantra is Clean rich is the new filthy rich.

Aspiration promises to take the leftover change from customers purchases and use it to plant millions of trees around the world.

Aspiration says it can justify the green mantle because it has planted 35 million trees over the past 12 months alone. Indeed, CEO and co-founder Andrei Cherny claims his company now plants as many trees every day as there are in Central Park.

The company also touts its mutual fund, which it says is free of fossil fuels.

According to Lexology, the term Fintech generally describes technologies that strive to improve and automate the delivery and use of financial services to clients. The concept of Green Fintech, is, however, relatively new and it typically describes companies or initiatives which have a positive impact on the environment, e.g. resulting in lower greenhouse gas emissions or greater biodiversity.

The Green Fintech ecosystem encompasses fintech companies that are actively shaping this fundamental shift to sustainability from planting trees to offering fossil-fuel-free investment options.

Aspiration is, however, hardly the only fintech that can lay claim to the green mantle.

In August, Ant Forest, a tree-planting mini program in the Alipay app that enables users to earn virtual points for making low-carbon lifestyle choices, announced that it has helped over 600 million users plant more than 326 million trees since it launched in 2016, contributing to reforestation efforts in some of Chinas most arid regions.

Finovate lists 25 fintech companies that have gone green.
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
" " A U.S. service member trains with a military working dog during a joint medical evacuation exercise involving airmen, sailors and soldiers at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait. Air Force Staff Sgt. Mozer Da Cunha/Dept. of Defense

Humans have drafted dogs into wartime duties from as far back as 600 B.C.E. Faithful and affectionate to their handlers, dogs were trained to savagely attack the enemy, causing confusion and fear. Dogs have also been deployed as scouts, bomb detectors, sentries and couriers. The United States military has a long and furry history with military working dogs (MWDs), and remarkably, the dogs usually outrank their human handlers.

"It's a matter of tradition as well as military custom. Most dog handlers start their careers as E-3s (Private First Class) to E-5s (Sergeant) depending on the service," emails Air Force Maj. Matthew Kowalski, Commander in the 341st Training Squadron, which provides training to military working dogs in San Antonio. "The dog, being a non-commissioned officer, or NCO, would outrank or match in rank to their handler."

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In America, military officials regard MWDs as incredibly valuable assets, ones that require a lot of time, effort (and money) to properly train and deploy for action. When they serve with courage, they're lavished with awards ceremonies and medals. And when they die, they're buried with honors. (The passage of the Robby Law in 2000 allowed for retired military dogs to be adopted. Before that, they were euthanized.)

These traditions cement in the minds of their human counterparts that the dogs are vital to missions, like the October 2019 raid that killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Reports indicate that a highly trained Belgian Malinois helped corner the terrorist, who subsequently detonated a suicide belt that killed him, along with two children. The MWD, named Conan, was injured during the raid but quickly returned to duty.

In 2011, another MWD was strapped into body armor and transported via helicopter to a secretive compound in Pakistan. There, the dog helped Navy SEAL Team 6 end one of the biggest manhunts in human history by taking down Osama bin Laden.

" " Dogs and soldiers have a special bond. Here, Pvt. Terry Gidzinski and his military working dog Cheyenne relax after putting on a display as the British Army showcases its future specialist capabilities, under the title of 'Force Troops Command', at Upavon Airfield in Upavon, England, 2014. Oli Scarff/Getty Images

"Showing respect to a fellow NCO and deference and respect to an NCO as a lower-ranking service member allows for mutual respect between the partnered team and would discourage mistreatment of the dog in theory," says Kowalski.

"As for the combat effectiveness of a military working dog, these dogs have been used in combat since the written record existed. Whether for protection of troops, finding enemies in tunnels during Korea and Vietnam, or finding roadside bombs in Afghanistan and Iraq, no piece of technology will ever be as good as a dog at detection and protection work," he says.

NOW THAT'S INTERESTING During World War I, a stray dog was adopted by an American infantry unit, which snuck him to Europe, where he survived numerous battles. He alerted sleeping troops to poison gas attacks, saved wounded troops, and returned home a famous hero. You can see Sergeant Stubby's preserved remains (complete with his many medals) at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
 Two new NPR pieces spotlight frustrations with Biden Administration among criminal justice reform advocates | Main | Notable new report from For The People about early implementation of Californias Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing law 

This NACDL news release discusses a notable new report on a depressingly old problem with federal criminal law (and sentencing). Here are excerpts from the release, with links from the original:

The Heritage Foundation and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) today released Without Intent Revisited: Assessing the Intent Requirement in Federal Criminal Law 10 Years Later. The report is co-authored by Zack Smith, Heritage legal fellow, and Nathan Pysno, director of economic crime and procedural justice at NACDL.

This new report  a study of the 114th Congress  revisits a 2010 joint report by The Heritage Foundation and NACDL: Without Intent: How Congress Is Eroding the Criminal Intent Requirement in Federal Law, which found that during the 109th Congress, of the 446 non-violent, non-drug-related criminal offenses proposed, 57% lacked an adequate guilty-mind requirement.

The new study finds that Congress still regularly introduces bills with new criminal provisions that contain mens rea requirements that are not sufficiently protective. In fact, 42% of the bills analyzed had criminal intent requirements that were considered inadequate.

Ensuring an adequate mens rea provision is included in statutes and regulations that create criminal offenses is critical. The average person is likely unaware of the vast majority of these crimes and may have no effective notice whatsoever that his or her conduct may be prohibited. It is difficult to imagine how the average person could be expected to know the law when no one, including our lawmakers and the U.S. Department of Justice, knows how many federal crimes are actually on the books.

As explained in this new reports foreword, co-authored by former Attorney General Edwin Meese III and Global CEO of Fair Trials and former NACDL Executive Director Norman L. Reimer:

The findings of this new report, Without Intent Revisited: Assessing the Intent Requirement in Federal Criminal Law 10 Years Later, are encouraging, but show that further progress is needed. We hope that Representatives, Senators, their staff members, and anyone else who reads this new report take its suggestions seriously. Fostering awareness of the problem of inadequate criminal intent requirements in criminal laws is the first step toward principled reform. Taking appropriate action is the next step....

As set forth in this new reports conclusion:

Once again, [The Heritage Foundation and NACDL] urge legislators to seriously consider and to adopt the recommendations made in the report, as well as those in the original report. When Congress makes new criminal laws, it should prioritize clear drafting of new criminal provisions and use standardized mens rea terminology consistently across those new statutes. Each chamber of Congress should refer statutes that create new crimes to its respective judiciary committee, where those committees should consider the appropriate mens rea, providing for defenses, and opportunities to cure in appropriate circumstances. Similarly, Congress should consider enacting default mens rea legislation. Finally, Congress should require that the number of federal crimes currently on the books be counted.

Without Intent Revisited: Assessing the Intent Requirement in Federal Criminal Law 10 Years Later is available at: www.heritage.org/without-intent-revisited and www.nacdl.org/WithoutIntentRevisited.

The 2010 joint report by the Heritage Foundation and NACDL  Without Intent: How Congress Is Eroding the Criminal Intent Requirement in Federal Law  is available at: www.heritage.org/crime-and-justice/report/without-intent-how-congress-eroding-the-criminal-intent-requirement and www.nacdl.org/withoutintent.
 Heritage Foundation and NACDL release "Without Intent Revisited: Assessing the Intent Requirement in Federal Criminal Law 10 Years Later" | Main | "Prison Reform Should Be a Bipartisan Issue" 

December 13, 2021

Notable new report from For The People about early implementation of Californias Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing law

I just learned about this notable new report from For The People under the title "Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing: Californias Opportunity to Expand Justice and Repair Harm." Here is part of the report's executive summary and key findings:

Until relatively recently, California was home to the largest prison system in the U.S. From 1975 to 2006, Californias prison population saw an 800% increase, from less than 20,000 people to 163,000, as the state built 22 of its 34 prison facilities. Though California has enacted a series of reforms in the last decade, over 99,000 people remain incarcerated in the states prisons. Many of these people, disproportionately people of color, are serving excessively long sentences and could be released without posing a threat to public safety. Californias Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing (PIR) law (AB 2942), championed by For The Peoples founder and passed in 2018, gives District Attorneys (DAs) a groundbreaking tool to directly and immediately redress the harm caused by mass incarceration and excessive sentences. The law allows DAs to take a second look at past sentences that may no longer be in the interest of justice and ask the court to recall sentences and resentence people, resulting in their earlier release and reunification with family and community. This report looks at how specific policies led to mass incarceration in California, reviews the evidence in support of releasing people who no longer need to be incarcerated, examines the opportunity for PIR, and shares the real impacts of resentencing on people who have already been released. Finally, the report offers recommendations on implementation and opportunities for further reform.

This press release provides a partial accounting of "key report finding":

Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing can help mitigate racial disparities in California prisons, where 80% of those incarcerated are people of color.

CA will spend $871 million in 2022 to house 8,465 people in prison who have served at least 10 years of their sentence. The State can redirect cost savings from incarceration to more effective resources ensuring community safety, such as trauma recovery, substance abuse treatment, and childcare.

Nearly half (46%) of people in CA prisons have served a significant amount of their sentence (10 years).

Based on expert analysis of recent prison data, For The People projects that 26,000 people could be safely released from California prisons over time through Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing (PIR).

Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing has helped safely release more than 100 people in California to date, with hundreds of cases under review.

And this Washington Post opinion piece by Hillary Blout, a former prosecutor who founded For The People, makes the case for Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing (PIR) under the headline "Thousands of incarcerated people deserve to come home. Heres how prosecutors can help." Here are excerpts with links from the original:

Beyond California, For The People has supported the passage of three laws just like the original. Today, Illinois, Oregon and Washington state have all passed laws giving prosecutors the ability to revisit old cases  and more states, including New York, Minnesota and Massachusetts, are considering PIR bills. As this movement spreads, many may wonder, Is this safe? The myth goes that long sentences are crucial to increasing public safety. But research has shown that the length of a sentence doesnt actually have the effect of deterring more crime. Research also shows that people age out of crime, and that recidivism rates decline with age and are the lowest among people who have served the longest sentences for serious crimes. The PIR process includes a meticulous review of an incarcerated persons history, rehabilitation and in-prison behavior, as well as robust reentry planning. It also considers mitigating factors from the persons childhood and develops safeguards for the future. This helps ensure that our communities will be protected and even benefit from the persons return home. Regular readers know I am a big fan of second-look sentencing mechanisms, and some may recall that many years ago I gave a talk arguing that prosecutors should be much more involved in reviewing past sentences, which got published as Regular readers know I am a big fan of second-look sentencing mechanisms, and some may recall that many years ago I gave a talk arguing that prosecutors should be much more involved in reviewing past sentences, which got published as Encouraging (and Even Requiring) Prosecutors to Be Second-Look Sentencers , 19 Temple Political & Civil Rights L. Rev. 429 (2010). So I am extremely pleased to see this idea in actual practice in a growing number of jurisdictions.

December 13, 2021 at 02:02 PM | Permalink

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Weve all enjoyed pepperoni on a pizza, salami on a sandwich and bacon for breakfast, but how much do you really know about charcuterie?

Simply defined, charcuterie is a French term describing meats that have been preserved through curing or smoking and aging. (The Italian counterpart to charcuterie is called salumi.)

How its made

Translating to cooked flesh, charcuterie originated in France as a way to preserve meat for long-term storage well before the days of refrigeration. The meat can be ground with seasonings and forced into casings to create sausage or kept in whole form. Its then cured with salt, spices or smoke to draw out the moisture and prevent spoilage during the subsequent aging process, which can take weeks to months or longer.

Although most frequently made with pork, other proteins such as chicken, beef and game meats can also be used to create charcuterie. Classical French charcuterie also includes rillettes and pates  cooked meats that have been minced to a spreadable consistency and stored in a jar under a layer of fat for preservation.

Riding the charcuterie wave

Thanks to growing interest among savvy consumers who want to know more about where their food comes from and how its made, charcuterie has seen an uptick in popularity over the past decade.

One of the driving factors is accessibility, explains Deanna Depke, marketing manager of Volpi Foods in St. Louis. Not long ago, it simply wasnt as easy to find quality charcuterie at a supermarket or a ready-to-eat prosciutto snack at your local corner store. Likewise, charcuterie items often find themselves at the center point of a variety of trends  all-natural, unique in flavor, authentic and with a story to tell.

A stroll through your average grocery store deli or gourmet food shop is likely to reveal charcuterie in a range of flavors and styles, sometimes packaged with cheese to make serving or snacking simple and convenient.

Pre-sliced charcuterie options have proven to be a popular format with a growing emphasis on variety packs, Depke mentions. In terms of meat varietals, prosciutto and Genoa salame have long been crowd favorites. Weve seen a surge in demand for jamon serrano [prosciuttos Spanish cousin] and mortadella over the last 12 months as well.

Common kinds of charcuterie

These are just a few of the more recognizable forms of charcuterie that youll typically find on an appetizer board (or in a grocery aisle near you):

Bacon  Traditionally made from cured smoked pork belly, bacon is perhaps the most familiar form of charcuterie for many Americans. Italian pancetta is similar to American bacon, but is dry-cured rather than smoked. Guanciale is made from pork jowl  or cheek  instead of pork belly.

Prosciutto  Prosciutto is what happens when Italians give the hind leg of a pig (i.e., the ham) a heavy salt cure and then wait. The resulting delicacy can be thinly shaved to serve on a charcuterie board, especially delicious wrapped around a slice of sweet melon. Popular jamon serrano represents the Spanish interpretation.

Bologna  An American sandwich mainstay, garlicky bologna is technically considered a sausage made using pork and/or beef.

Salami  Denser and spicier than bologna, salami consists of seasoned beef or pork thats been ground with fat and fitted into casings before hanging to age. Slices often make appearances in sandwiches, on cheese boards and atop pizzas. Variations include spicy soppressata, saucisson and pepperoni.

Pepperoni  Consider pepperoni a skinnier version of salami with its own distinctive seasonings (paprika, fennel) and flavor. Its made from a mixture of finely ground beef and/or pork.

Pastrami  Made with brine-cured beef, pastrami undergoes an intensive process of drying, smoking and steaming before slicing to end up in your sandwich, classically served with mustard on rye bread.

Mortadella  A large emulsified sausage, mortadella is made of finely hashed or ground heat-cured (slow-roasted) pork. It is often added to sandwiches.

Sausages  Every culture and country has its own version of cured sausage links, from chorizo, kielbasa and lap cheong to andouille and black pudding (blood sausage).

Serving and storing

Depke advises refrigerating sliced charcuterie in a sealed airtight bag or container and consuming the meat within 5 days once the package has been opened.

To serve charcuterie on a grazing board, follow similar steps as the cheese you are preparing, she adds. Its easiest to slice the meats when theyre chilled, so be sure to remove them from the refrigerator right before you slice. For an optimal flavor experience, though, allow the meats to come to room temperature before serving.

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FORT MILL, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 13, 2021--

Domtar Corporation (the  Company ) today announced that it has terminated its previously announced solicitations of consents (the " Consent Solicitations ") relating to its outstanding 6.25% Senior Notes due 2042 (CUSIP No. 257559AJ3; ISIN No. US257559AJ34) (the  2042 Notes ) and 6.75% Senior Notes due 2044 (CUSIP No. 257559AK0; ISIN No. US257559AK07) (the  2044 Notes  and, together with the 2042 Notes, the  Notes ), whereby the Company solicited consents of holders of the Notes to certain proposed amendments to the senior indenture governing the Notes. All consents received in the Consent Solicitations will be voided. The Consent Solicitations were subject to the conditions set forth in the Companys Consent Solicitation Statement, dated December 2, 2021.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005541/en/

This press release confirms formal termination of the Consent Solicitations.

The termination of the Consent Solicitations does not affect the pendency of the Companys concurrent change of control offers for each series of the Notes, which remain outstanding upon terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Companys Change of Control Notice and Offer to Purchase, dated December 2, 2021.

Barclays Capital Inc., BMO Capital Markets Corp., Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC acted as the Solicitation Agents in connection with the Consent Solicitations.

This press release is for informational purposes only and is not an offer to purchase or sell securities, a solicitation of an offer to purchase or sell securities or a solicitation of consents with respect to the Notes.

About Domtar Corporation

Domtar is a leading provider of a wide variety of fiber-based products including communication, specialty and packaging papers, market pulp and airlaid nonwovens. With approximately 6,400 employees serving more than 50 countries around the world, Domtar is driven by a commitment to turn sustainable wood fiber into useful products that people rely on every day. Domtars annual sales are approximately $3.7 billion. Domtars principal executive office is in Fort Mill, South Carolina. To learn more, visit www.domtar.com.

Forward Looking Statements

All statements made herein that are not historical facts should be considered as forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially. These statements include, but are not limited to, expected benefits and costs of the Merger and related transactions, and management plans relating to the Merger, statements that address the Companys expected future business and financial performance, statements regarding the impact of natural disasters, health epidemics and other outbreaks, especially the outbreak of COVID-19 since December 2019, which may have a material adverse effect on the Companys business, results of operations and financial conditions, and other statements identified by words such as anticipate, believe, expect, intend, aim, target, plan, continue, estimate, project, may, will, should and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements should be considered with the understanding that such statements involve a variety of risks and uncertainties, known and unknown, and may be affected by inaccurate assumptions. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual results may vary materially. Many risks, contingencies and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. Certain of these risks are set forth in Domtars Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, as well as the companys other reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC).

Those risks, uncertainties and assumptions also include The risk of unanticipated difficulties or expenditures resulting from the Merger; the risk of approvals relating to the Merger that could reduce the anticipated benefits of the Merger; the risk of legal proceedings, judgments or settlements, including those that may be instituted against Paper Excellence, Paper Excellences board of directors, Paper Excellences executive officers, Domtar, Domtars board of directors, Domtars executive officers, Merger Sub and others as a result of the Merger; the risk of disruptions of current plans and operations caused by the Merger; the risk of potential difficulties in employee retention due to the Merger; the risk of disruption of management time from ongoing business operations due to the Merger; the risk of the response of customers, distributors, suppliers, business partners and regulators to the Merger; the risk that the combined company may not operate as effectively and efficiently as expected; the risk of continued decline in usage of fine paper products in our core North American market; the risk of our ability to implement our business diversification initiatives, including repurposing of assets and strategic acquisitions or divestitures, including facility closures; the risk of failure to achieve our cost containment goals, conversion costs in excess of our expectations and demand for linerboard; the risk of product selling prices; the risk of raw material prices, including wood fiber, chemical and energy; the risk that conditions in the global capital and credit markets, and the economy generally, particularly in the U.S. and Canada; the risk that performance of our manufacturing operations, including unexpected maintenance requirements; the risk of the level of competition from domestic and foreign producers; the risk of cyberattacks or other security breaches; the risk of the effect of, or change in, forestry, land use, environmental and other governmental regulations and accounting regulations; the risk of the effect of weather and the risk of loss from fires, floods, windstorms, hurricanes and other natural disasters; transportation costs; the loss of current customers or the inability to obtain new customers; the risk of changes in asset valuations, including impairment of long-lived assets, inventory, accounts receivable or other assets for impairment or other reasons; the risk of changes in currency exchange rates, particularly the relative value of the U.S. dollar to the Canadian dollar; the risk of the effect of timing of retirements; performance of pension fund investments and related derivatives, if any; the risk of a material disruption in our supply chain, manufacturing, distribution operations or customer demand such as public health crises that impact trade or the general economy, including COVID-19 and other viruses, diseases or illnesses; and the other factors described under Risk Factors in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and in Item 1A of our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2021. All such factors are difficult to predict and are beyond the Companys control.

Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described above can be found in Domtars Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, as well as in Domtars other reports filed with the SEC.

View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005541/en/

CONTACT: Media Relations

David Struhs

Vice-President

Corporate Services and Sustainability

Tel.: 803-802-8031

KEYWORD: SOUTH CAROLINA UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA CANADA

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: PROFESSIONAL SERVICES PACKAGING FOREST PRODUCTS MANUFACTURING FINANCE NATURAL RESOURCES

SOURCE: Domtar Corporation

Copyright Business Wire 2021.

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Copyright Business Wire 2021.
MILAN (AP)  Milan menswear previews for fall/winter 2021-22 are returning to a mostly in-person format in January, with Zegna, Giorgio Armani, Fendi and Prada among the 22 brands staging live runway shows, Milans fashion council announced Monday.

The president of the Italian National Fashion Chamber, Carlo Capasa, said the success of the womenswear calendar in September, with more than 40 live runway previews, indicated that runway shows can be organized safely with social distancing and face masks.

We need to be very careful. The pandemic is still here, Capasa said at a digital press conference.

Italy has seen the number of new coronavirus cases rising in recent weeks, but hospitalizations remain below critical thresholds.

The Jan. 14-18 calendar also includes 24 in-person presentations, with just nine brands choosing to present digitally. London-based JW Anderson is among six brands that will be making their Milan runway debut.

The confirmation of the Milan calendar comes just days after the British Fashion Council said its January menswear shows would not go ahead due to COVID and that they would be consolidated with the womenswear calendar in February.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 13, 2021--

The first edition of the Africa Digital Economy Forum, organized by La Tribune Afrique in partnership with Huawei, was held online on Thursday, December 2, 2021. The objective of the event was to put the digital economy at the heart of Africa's challenges, and to lead to concrete actions, both in terms of investments and regulation of the digital sector.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005382/en/

His Excellency the President of the Republic of Senegal, Mr. Macky SALL, welcomed the event, which he said is part of the promotion of "the digital economy in Africa around themes such as digital strategy and training, training of talent, network infrastructure and innovation. 

The event began with two speeches by Delphine CHENE, President of La Tribune Afrique and Catherine CHEN, Vice President and Director of the Board of Directors of Huawei. Stressing the ties that unite Huawei to the African continent, Catherine Chen recalled the Group's ambition in terms of social responsibility: "We assume our social responsibility through major investments throughout the world, and more specifically in Africa. For example, we are positioning ourselves in Senegal by supporting 60 schools, just as we are contributing to the construction of innovative infrastructures in Ethiopia. Thus, on the African continent, Huawei wants to be a development partner, able to accompany the continent in the expression of its full potential.

This was followed by debates led by prestigious speakers, including Roger ADOM, Minister of Digital Economy, Telecommunications and Innovation of the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire, Yankhoba DIATTARA, Minister of Digital Economy and Telecommunications of Senegal, Papa Amadou SARR, Minister-Delegate General for Rapid Entrepreneurship of Women and Youth of Senegal, Alpha BARRY President and CEO of Atos Africa, Cristina DUARTE, Special Advisor to the United Nations for Africa, Catherine CHEN, Vice President and Director of the Board of Huawei, Colin HU, President Cloud & AI of Huawei Northern Africa, Mohamed BEN AMOR - Secretary General AICTO, Mohammed Tawfik MOULINE, Director General of the Royal Institute for Strategic Studies, Huria ALI MAHDI, Ethiopian Minister of Technology and Innovation, Lacina KONE, Director General of Smart Africa, Elisabeth MEDOU-BADANG, Area Director and Spokesperson for Orange in Africa and the Middle East, Malek KOCHLEF, Director General of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Higher Education of Tunisia, Amane DANNOUNI, Managing Director & Partner in BCG, Professor Mohamed AYMAN ASHOUR, Omar SEGHROUCHNI, President of the CNDP.

The event was marked by the holding of several round tables, keynotes and other structuring speeches, highlighting the main issues of the digital economy, such as the acceleration of the development of digital infrastructure in Africa, the prospects of the digital economy, or the training of talent needed for the digital development of the continent.

Colin HU, President Cloud & AI of Huawei Northern Africa, said, "Digitization is a journey: for the city, it has social value, while for businesses, it has business value. That's why Huawei is committed to promoting it through investments, but also through in-depth studies. Our reports, such as "Intelligent World 2030", can serve as a reference in this area. They are intended to guide or at best inspire public and private organizations in their strategy.

As part of this path to digitalization, infrastructure is the sine qua none of Africa's digital development and is crucial to accelerate connectivity. Roger ADOM, Minister of Digital Economy, Telecommunications and Innovation of the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire, said: "Strengthening the digital economy in Africa will require strong inter-state collaboration. Promising and extensive initiatives are already in place, such as Smart Africa. Through this project, states share best practices in a partnership approach. Close collaboration between the public and private sectors is also required to generate sustainable investments and accelerate the continent's development.

Yankhoba DIATTARA, Minister of Digital Economy and Telecommunications of Senegal recalled that "in Africa, the penetration rate of the Internet is 39.8%, while 30% of the continent's population lives in an area of connectivity without having access to it - mainly because of high costs. This is why we believe that connectivity must be accompanied by affordability. If we win this challenge, Africa can reach 70% connectivity. More than the quality of the infrastructure, the availability of access for all strata of African societies must be taken into account.

Beyond the essential role of infrastructure, the Africa Digital Economy Forum was also the scene of a deep reflection on the importance of training young talent in the digital sector. In his speech, Papa Amadou SARR, Minister, General Delegate for Rapid Entrepreneurship of Women and Youth of Senegal presented the African continent as "aware of the fact that it is necessary to train its youth, 60% of the total population, in order to meet the growing demands of the labor market, each day more professional. To do this, it is necessary to focus on training policies, while prioritizing the teaching of skills related to new technologies.

Beyond Senegal, Ethiopia has also given itself the ambition to become a heavyweight in the digital sector in Africa, as underlined by Huaria Ali Mahdi, Minister of Technology and Innovation of Ethiopia: "We want to make Ethiopia the digital center of Africa in the sectors of agriculture, tourism and industry. According to him, "while the digital economy is transforming African societies, each nation has a different context and needs. Thus, each country must have its own strategy to ensure sustainable development.

As evidenced by this Forum, digitization is becoming increasingly important in Africa, as the continent is increasingly giving itself the means to strengthen its sovereignty. Lacina KONE, Managing Director of Smart Africa, explained that "throughout Africa, a real political will has emerged at the level of heads of state, to seize the train of what is already called the 4th industrial revolution. This is a welcome dynamic: we are convinced that governance within the digital transformation must be at the center of socio-economic development of all African nations. More than ever, decision-making bodies must base their strategies on the digital economy."

To conclude this 1st edition of the Africa Digital Economy Forum, Cristina DUARTE, Special Advisor for Africa at the UN, highlighted the role of the health crisis in the digital transformation in Africa: "The Covid-19 pandemic is an ordeal of opportunity: it has planted the seeds of a new imagination of the African economic structure on a large scale, accelerating trends such as digitization. Change is underway across Africa: the continent must seize the digital transformation underway to access the development it seems promised.

View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005382/en/

CONTACT: Audrey NGOH DAD

+33-6-64-21-94-45

KEYWORD: EUROPE AFRICA FRANCE

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: SOFTWARE MOBILE/WIRELESS INTERNET DATA MANAGEMENT CONSUMER ELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY OTHER EDUCATION OTHER COMMUNICATIONS EDUCATION AUDIO/VIDEO COMMUNICATIONS TELECOMMUNICATIONS

SOURCE: Huawei

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PUB: 12/13/2021 06:17 AM/DISC: 12/13/2021 06:17 AM

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SAN JOSE, Calif. & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 13, 2021--

The Bloom Electrolyzer was named Emerging Technology of the Year at the 23 rd annual S&P Global Platts Global Energy Awards, often described as the Oscars of the energy industry. Bloom Energys CMO Sharelynn Moore and CFO Greg Cameron accepted the honor at an awards ceremony held at Cipriani Wall Street in downtown Manhattan on Thursday, December 9.

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(Graphic: Business Wire)

Bloom's electrolyzer was recognized for its  inventive and efficient  method of producing hydrogen. Judges noted the technology is "on the radar for many people in the energy industry" and that it is an "exciting innovation" that will "be compatible with other sources" in the move to clean energy. The emerging technology of the year category received the most submissions of any of the award categories.

Saugata Saha, President of S&P Global Platts, said: S&P Global Platts is committed to advancing data and analytical technology solutions to help digitalize the energy industry as it transitions to a more sustainable energy future. It was inspirational to celebrate the meaningful achievements of this years Global Energy Awards winners and finalists, which ranged from technology innovation, to efficiency gains, to green-hydrogen development, to embracement of carbon-free targets, to empowerment of women in energy, and so much more.

The Bloom Electrolyzer is the most energy-efficient electrolyzer to produce clean hydrogen to date. It relies on the same, commercially proven solid oxide technology platform used by Bloom Energy Servers to provide on-site electricity at high fuel efficiency. Highly flexible, it offers unique advantages for deployment across a broad variety of hydrogen applications, using multiple energy sources including intermittent renewable energy and excess heat.

Jenny Salinas, Vice President of Marketing for S&P Global Platts, said: S&P Global Platts is proud to host the Global Energy Awards for over two decades and to continue to spotlight creativity, community investment, and technological advancements for a cleaner world. As part of our ongoing commitment to sustainability and to offset the carbon footprint of tonights event, Platts is investing in a methane capture project in Bulgaria and a solar-powered clean water project in Senegal.

To learn more about Bloom Energys commitment to a zero-carbon future, visit:

About S&P Global Platts

At S&P Global Platts, we provide the insights; you make better informed trading and business decisions with confidence. Were the leading independent provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodities and energy markets. Customers in over 150 countries look to our expertise in news, pricing and analytics to deliver greater transparency and efficiency to markets. S&P Global Platts coverage includes oil and gas, power, petrochemicals, metals, agriculture and shipping.

S&P Global Platts is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI), which provides essential intelligence for companies, governments and individuals to make decisions with confidence.

About Bloom Energy

Bloom Energys mission is to make clean, reliable energy affordable for everyone in the world. The companys product, the Bloom Energy Server, delivers highly reliable and resilient, always-on electric power that is clean, cost-effective, and ideal for microgrid applications. Blooms customers include many Fortune 100 companies and leaders in manufacturing, data centers, healthcare, retail, higher education, utilities, and other industries. For more information, visit www.bloomenergy.com.

View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005318/en/

CONTACT: Jennifer Duffourg

+1 408.543.1566

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA NEW YORK UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: ALTERNATIVE ENERGY ENERGY UTILITIES ENVIRONMENT

SOURCE: Bloom Energy

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PUB: 12/13/2021 08:04 AM/DISC: 12/13/2021 08:04 AM

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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 13, 2021--

Eurazeo, a leading global investment group, today announced it is acquiring a controlling stake in Beekman 1802, a high growth clean beauty brand offering a line of premium skincare and body care products that leverage microbiome science and harness the benefits of goat milk. Eurazeo is investing $62 million out of a total of $92 million to acquire a majority stake alongside co-investors Cohesive Capital Partners and the Cherng Family Trust. The investment marks Eurazeos Brands team continued momentum as a value added partner to North American and European consumer brands, with over $600 million invested since 2017.

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Eurazeo leads majority investment in Beekman 1802, a clean beauty brand offering premium skincare and body care products that harness the benefits of goat milk. (Photo: Business Wire)

Founded in 2009 by Dr. Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell in Sharon Springs, New York, Beekman has grown into a successful omnichannel brand with a diverse array of beauty wellness products. Beekmans commitment to sustainability, kindness, authenticity, and community, is a key differentiator in todays $9 billion global prestige skincare market.

Eurazeos investment will support the continued expansion of Beekman 1802 across multiple channels, categories, and geographies, leveraging and further enhancing the brands storytelling capabilities and products. As part of Eurazeos investment, Marc Rey, former CEO of Shiseido Americas, will join the Companys Board of Directors as Chairman, alongside Adrianne Shapira, Managing Director, and George Birman, Principal at Eurazeo.

Adrianne Shapira, Managing Director, Brands, said:

Brent, Josh and the entire Beekman team have created a truly special brand that resonates with todays beauty consumers seeking aspirational yet accessible products that are clean and effective. With kindness at its core, Beekman is also spreading beauty from within. We are thrilled to partner with Beekman to propel their next chapter of growth, leveraging our deep industry expertise to help them reach consumers on a global scale in the years ahead.

Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell, Beekman 1802 co-founders, added:

When we started Beekman 1802 over a decade ago, we were focused on helping our community; over the years we have been fortunate to grow that community near and far through our unique products that are kind to sensitive skin and our use of Kindness as a framework for wellness and well-being. Today we couldnt be more excited to embark on Beekmans next journey together with Eurazeo, a partner with strong brand building expertise that will help us grow our community of neighbors and spread kindness globally.

Marc Rey, Incoming Chairman of Beekman 1802, said:

The beauty industry continues to be marked by tremendous innovation and growth as consumers seek products and brands that are both effective and clean. Beekmans powerful combination of being a truly authentic brand with excellent products and strong leadership is a winning one, and I look forward to supporting its growth by leveraging my global experience developing and leading iconic beauty brands.

ABOUT BEEKMAN 1802

Beekman 1802 was born when founders, Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Dr. Brent Ridge, moved to the historic Beekman 1802 farm in rural Sharon Springs, NY. There they found a tightknit community and 100 goats looking for a home. Next thing you know, they became the world's biggest goat milk-based skincare company, earning the right to call themselves the first and only certified microbiome-friendly brand at Ulta stores for the moisturizing, exfoliation, and nourishing properties of the goat milk found in their products across the board. With their Clinically Kind approach to skincare that's clinically tested, scientifically proven, and made for sensitive skin, they have long proven, There's Beauty in Kindness.

For more information, visit Beekman1802.com and @Beekman1802 on social media.

ABOUT EURAZEO

Eurazeo is a leading global investment group, with a diversified portfolio of 27.0 billion in Assets Under Management, including 19.2 billion from third parties, invested in over 450 companies. With its considerable private equity, real estate and private debt expertise, Eurazeo accompanies companies of all sizes, supporting their development through the commitment of its 350 professionals and by offering deep sector expertise, a gateway to global markets, and a responsible and stable foothold for transformational growth. Its solid institutional and family shareholder base, robust financial structure free of structural debt, and flexible investment horizon enable Eurazeo to support its companies over the long term.

Eurazeo has offices in Paris, New York, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, London, Luxembourg, Frankfurt, Berlin, Milan and Madrid

Eurazeo is listed on Euronext Paris.

View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005064/en/

CONTACT: EURAZEO

Virginie Christnacht

HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS

+33 (0)1 44 15 76 44

Pierre Bernardin

HEAD OF INVESTOR RELATIONS

+33 (0)1 44 15 16 76

PRESS

Julia Fisher

EDELMAN

+1 646 301 2968

KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA NEW YORK

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COSMETICS RETAIL PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FINANCE

SOURCE: Eurazeo

Copyright Business Wire 2021.

PUB: 12/13/2021 11:45 AM/DISC: 12/13/2021 11:47 AM

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NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 13, 2021--

Modere, a worldwide, live-clean lifestyle essentials brand, today announced the opening of its new brand experience center located at 155 Spring Street in SoHo in New York City.

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(Photo: Business Wire)

This state-of-the-art destination displays Moderes branded, award-winning portfolio of world-class clean lifestyle products. Popular brands featured include its multi-patented Liquid BioCell collagen, the award-winning Modere CellProof skin care range, the bestselling Lean Body System, and the companys newest innovation, Modere Axis TreBiotic.

We believe everyone deserves effective clean label alternatives to the products they rely on daily, Modere CEO Asma Ishaq said. With the booming trend toward increasing environmental and community consciousness, this is an opportune time for Modere to introduce an experience center that tangibly delivers what it feels like to adopt a live clean lifestyle, furthering our progress in educating people about the importance of reducing exposure to controversial chemicals.

The grand opening of Moderes brand experience center marks the companys expansion within the direct-to-consumer channel. Its a significant milestone in the continued growth of our business, Ishaq added. In addition to offering an enhanced, immersive product experience to both new and loyal customers, this hands-on concept also will help us gain valuable insights into how consumers interact with our products and obtain real-time feedback on new products in development  an ideal complement to our dynamic e-commerce channel.

Modere is a portfolio company of Z Capital Partners, L.L.C., the private equity fund management platform of Z Capital Group, L.L.C. (together with its affiliates, "ZCG"), a leading privately held investment firm. The opening of this brand experience center is the latest achievement in what Asma and her talented team have created with Modere, said James Zenni, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of ZCG. The city of New York embodies the vibrancy of the Modere brand, and this new center offers new opportunities to engage directly with customers, increase brand awareness of Moderes live clean mission, and showcase its R&D expertise and award-winning product innovation to further advance the companys business goals.

The Modere brand experience center at 155 Spring Street (between West Broadway and Wooster Street) is open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET. For more information, visit Modere.com or connect with @modere_us on Instagram.

About Modere

Modere ( www.modere.com ) is an omnichannel, consumer products company that develops and markets clean, health & wellness products through ecommerce and direct-to-consumer channels. The companys branded, award-winning portfolio of science-backed clean lifestyle products includes beauty and personal care, nutrition and household essentials that are clinically validated, US EPA Safer Choice-approved, EWG Verified, NSF Certified, gray-water appropriate and formulated without the use of thousands of controversial chemicals and compounds. This holistic live clean philosophy drives every aspect of the brand, going beyond its ingredient paradigm to encompass business operations, company culture, community activism and environmental advocacy.

About ZCG

ZCG is a leading, privately held, New York based investment firm with approximately $5.0 billion of assets under management across complementary private equity and credit businesses.

Z Capital Partners, LLC (ZCP) is the private equity fund management platform. ZCPs investment philosophy centers on operational value creation and is driven by targeted investment themes, deep sector expertise and strong partnerships with management teams. ZCP Principals have made over twenty-six years numerous investments across industries, including consumer products, consumer food, restaurants, gaming hospitality, manufacturing, media, publishing, metals and business services. ZCP current portfolio companies have worldwide annual revenues of approximately $1.6 billion, sell products in 55 countries, operate 15 manufacturing facilities, and have over 200,000 employees and associates directly and through joint ventures.

Z Capital Credit Partners, LLC (ZCCP) is the credit fund management platform. ZCCP invests across a range of credit investments including leveraged loans, private debt, direct lending, and opportunistic stressed credit. ZCCP manages closed and open-ended funds as well as structured vehicles for strategic debt. Developed over 26 years, ZCCPs approach to fundamental credit analysis encompasses proprietary sourcing, sophisticated structuring and comprehensive risk management using the Olympus Fintech SaaS platform.

For more information, please visit www.zcg.com.

View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005227/en/

CONTACT: Media

Jon Keehner / Tim Ragones

Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher

212-355-4449

KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA CALIFORNIA NEW YORK

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: FINANCE CONSULTING MARKETING FITNESS & NUTRITION COMMUNICATIONS PROFESSIONAL SERVICES HEALTH COSMETICS RETAIL

SOURCE: Modere

Copyright Business Wire 2021.

PUB: 12/13/2021 08:00 AM/DISC: 12/13/2021 08:03 AM

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SIOUX CITY -- A cat cafe could be coming to downtown Sioux City, if the City Council votes to change the municipal code on Monday.

Megan Thompson wants to open Coffee & Purrs in the Commerce Building, 520 Nebraska St. The cat cafe would feature a separate area from the coffee shop where customers could interact with cats. It would be located in the brick building's commercial space, below 71 apartments known as Bluebird Flats. Omaha and Des Moines each have a cat cafe.

Patrons of the cat cafe would purchase tickets to spend time with the cats, which would be adoptable through the Siouxland Humane Society or Noah's Hope Animal Rescue.

"I've always really loved cats. And, I've always thought it was a very cool idea, this whole cat cafe. You can pay to go cuddle with the cats and you can get coffee on your way out," Thompson told The Journal Friday. "I've been to a few cat cafes and it just inspired me to start my own."

The current definitions of animal boarding prohibit the keeping of animals for profit in the Downtown Commercial zoning district. The council is being asked to approve a zoning text amendment to alter the definition of animal boarding, which would allow for the cat cafe. The change, however, would also permit pet stores to have animals available for sale or adoption downtown, but animal boarding and breeding would remain prohibited there.

Thompson told the Sioux City Planning and Zoning Commission during its Nov. 23 meeting that anywhere from 15 to 30 cats would be housed at the cat cafe, according city documents. Adoptions would take place at the Siouxland Humane Society or Noah's Hope Animal Rescue.

Thompson told The Journal that she envisions the cafe being beige and white with a clean, boho feel. She said the warm and cozy space would have a huge observation window between the coffee shop and the cat room so that patrons could watch the cats while they drink their coffee. She said the cat room would have a custom-built structure with tunnels for the cats to climb on.

"Cats being in a shelter for, sometimes, more than six months to a year, or being in those cages is really uncomfortable. I just don't want to give the cats that kind of life while they're waiting for a new home," she said. "We wanted to make a space for the cats to feel comfortable in."

If the council votes in Thompson's favor, she projects that Coffee & Purrs could open as early as March.

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SIOUX CITY  A proposed redrawing of Woodbury County supervisors districts would not place more than one of the five incumbents into the same district.

In Woodbury County, supervisors are elected countywide but are required to live in the specific district in which they run.

The county's temporary redistricting committee has met multiple times in the last few months to redraw the lines to comply with population changes in the 2020 census.

The supervisors do not have input on how the maps are designed and the committee members are prohibited from considering where the supervisors live.

The proposed boundaries are similar to the current lines drawn in 2011. But the new map would renumber some of the districts.

Under the map, three districts -- 1, 2 and 4 -- would be wholly within the city of Sioux City. Two others -- 3 and 5 -- would take in portions of the city, as well as more rural areas of the county.

The new District 1 boundaries would be similar to the current District 1 where Supervisor Keith Radig residents. The new district would take in most of Sioux City's west side and much of the city's north side.

District 2 Supervisor Justin Wright lives in the proposed District 2, which would take in portions of the north and west sides of the city.

The newly drawn District 3, which would include most of the Morningside neighborhood in Sioux City, would have boundaries similar to the current District 4, represented by Supervisor Matthew Ung.

The newly drawn District 4 would be comparable to the current District 5, represented by Board Chairman Rocky De Witt. The new District 4 would take in portions of Sioux City north of 14th and 18th Streets, east of Floyd Boulevard and south of Correctionville Road. The district also would cover rural areas in northern Woodbury County, including the cities of Lawton, Bronson, Moville, Anthon, Correctionville and Cushing.

Supervisor Jeremy Taylor currently represents District 3, which is similar to the proposed District 5. The newly drawn district would take in portions of Morningside south of Correctionville Road and areas of Sioux City around Sioux Gateway Airport. The newly-drawn district also would extend into rural areas of southern Woodbury County, including the cities of Sergeant Bluff, Salix, Sloan, Climbing Hill, Danbury, Hornick, Oto and Smithland.

As part of the redistricting for supervisor districts, Sioux City and Sergeant Bluff also are required to redraw their precinct boundaries. County Auditor Pat Gill said there's been a significant enough population change that the precincts will be altered more than they were a decade ago.

The Sioux City Council is scheduled to address changes to its precincts at its weekly meeting Monday.

The census pegged the county's population at 105,941, an increase of more than 3,000 people from the 2010 census results. Most of the county's new residents live in Sioux City.

The most apparent changes impact Sergeant Bluff and the townships. For example, Woodbury Township used to be part of a precinct in Sergeant Bluff, but because of population growth they would be separated, under the proposed map.

Gill said there are many moving parts happening at the same time with the redistricting, and many agreements have to be made between the county, cities and townships.

The supervisors districts in Woodbury County usually follow the city precincts. While not required, Gill said it is easier for people to see what precincts fall into the district, rather than having to look at a separate map dividing the districts.

Gill said the ideal population for each supervisor districts is 21,188, plus or minus 1 percent, or around 212 people.

On Dec. 20, the temporary redistricting committee will hold a public hearing to discuss the proposed maps and listen to any suggested feedback.

After the public hearing, the board of supervisors will vote on the new maps at their meeting on Dec. 21 as part of an ordinance that will also establish county precincts that will become effective Jan. 15.

The public can view the proposed supervisor districts online at: https://bit.ly/3rRNMhD and the proposed precincts and supervisors districts.

The public can view the new maps online at: https://bit.ly/3s3uO7w

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP)  A rarely used impeachment court in Denmark convicted a former immigration minister Monday over a 2016 order to separate asylum-seeking couples when one of the partners was a minor.

The Danish parliament voted to try Inger Stoejberg after a parliament-appointed commission said that separating couples in asylum centers was clearly illegal and that staff members in her ministry had warned her the practice was unlawful.

The Court of Impeachment convened for the first time in 26 years to consider charges against Stoejberg, who maintained her innocence throughout the trial that started Sept. 2.

The court convicted her of intentionally or through gross negligence neglecting the duties of her office and providing parliament with incorrect or misleading information. It sentenced her to 60 days' detention. It was unclear if she would be jailed or would be fitted with an electronic monitoring bracelet to serve her sentence at home.

Whether it is two or four months is not crucial to us, prosecutor Jon Lauritzen told reporters. The fact that she was found guilty because there was intent has been crucial.

Court President Thomas Roerdam said one judge argued for Stoejberg's acquittal, but he didnt name the judge. The verdict cannot be appealed.

Stoejberg, who received flowers from supporters after the court delivered its decision, said she was very, very surprised by the verdict but would serve her sentence. Defense lawyer Rene Offersen called it a disappointing outcome.

Stoejberg was accused of misleading parliamentary committees four times while informing them about the separation policy she adopted as minister. It will now be up to fellow lawmakers to decide whether she can continue to serve as a member of the 179-seat Folketing.

She served as minister for immigration, integration and housing from 2015 to 2019 as part of Denmark's previous center-right government.

Considered an immigration hardliner, Stoejberg spearheaded the tightening of asylum and immigration rules. A 2016 law required newly arrived asylum-seekers to hand over valuables such as jewelry and gold to help pay for their stays in the country.

Stoejberg has said she initiated the policy of separating minors from their partners out of concerns the relationships may have involved forced marriages. Twenty-three couples were split up before the policy was halted months later.

Most of the women among the separated couples were ages 15-17, while the men ranged in age from 15 to 32. Most of the couples originally were from Syria. Officials said some couples arrived in Denmark with children or while the woman was pregnant.

In Denmark, the legal age of marriage is 18. The women who were under 18 said they had consented to their marriages.

Since the 2019 election that brought the Social Democrats to power, immigration has become a less pressing issue in Danish politics.

The Court of Impeachment, which adjudicates cases in which government ministers are accused of unlawful misconduct and misuse of office, was last used in 1995. That year, former Justice Minister Erik Ninn-Hansen was given a suspended four-month sentence for having prevented Sri Lankan refugees from bringing their families to Denmark.

The court consists of 15 Supreme Court judges and 15 members appointed by parliament. Since it was created in 1849, the court has considered five cases and Stoejberg's case is the third to result in a guilty verdict.

Follow AP's coverage of migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP)  The first woman and first openly gay person to serve as the president of the Vermont state Senate said Monday that she's running to occupy the state's lone U.S. House seat.

Becca Balint, of Brattleboro, is seeking the Democratic Party nomination for the position.

Im running because I believe that, even with the challenges of today, we cannot back away from fighting for each other," Balint said in a statement. We have to deliver on some big promises for Vermont working families and that is going to take courage and kindness.

Vermonts congressional seat will be open in November. Democratic incumbent Rep. Peter Welch is seeking the U.S. Senate seat after Sen. Patrick Leahy announced he would not seek reelection, after nearly a half-century in Washington.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders will be up for reelection in 2024.

The Senate and House contests are the first openings in Vermont's congressional delegation since 2006. Vermont has never sent a woman to congress.

Democratic Lt. Gov. Molly Gray has already announced she will seek the nomination for the House seat. Other candidates are possible.

So far, no Republicans have announced plans to seek the nomination.

Balint, 53, a teacher, was born in Germany in a U.S. Army hospital. She grew up in upstate New York. She moved to Vermont in 1997 and was first elected to the state Senate in 2014.

Balint said that if elected, her priorities would be to invest in infrastructure that will create jobs and opportunity in rural communities, pass a Green New Deal, protect reproductive rights, lower health care costs and work toward a Medicare for All system.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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BANGOR, Maine (AP)  Max Linn, a former U.S. Senate candidate from Maine who shook up a high-profile race with his antics during debates, has died. He was 62.

Linn died on Saturday, according to his lawyer. He died of an apparent heart attack, the Bangor Daily News reported.

He was a retired financial planner who ran as a conservative independent during the 2020 Senate election that ultimately sent Republican Sen. Susan Collins back to Washington.

Linn didn't garner many votes, but he made an impression during debates, such as when he cut up protective masks in protest of COVID-19 rules. He also told a moderator request denied when he was asked to stay on topic.

Linn also ran for Congress and governor when he lived in Florida. He first came on the political scene in Maine in 2018 when he attempted to run against independent Sen. Angus King, but was disqualified from the Republican primary.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  Prosecutors in the manslaughter trial of a Minnesota police officer charged in the shooting death of Daunte Wright walked jurors through the differences between her handgun and her Taser on Monday, seeking to raise questions about how an experienced officer could confuse the two.

Wright, 20, was killed on April 11 after being pulled over in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center for having expired license plate tags and an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror. Kim Potter, 49, is charged with manslaughter.

Potter, a 26-year police veteran who resigned two days later, has said she meant to use her Taser to stop Wright after he pulled away and got back in his car as officers tried to arrest him on a warrant for a weapons charge. Potter is white and Wright was Black. His death, which came while Derek Chauvin was on trial in nearby Minneapolis in George Floyd's death, set off several nights of angry protests in Brooklyn Center.

The defense has called the shooting a horrific mistake, but has also asserted that Potter would have been within her rights to use deadly force on Wright because he might have dragged another officer, then-Sgt. Mychal Johnson, with his car.

Sam McGinnis, a senior special agent with the state's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, highlighted how Potter's duty belt had holsters that require an officer to take deliberate actions to release the weapons. The gun holster has a snap, while the Taser holster has a lever. The handgun, which is black, is also twice as heavy as the yellow Taser, McGinnis said.

The Taser and gun have different triggers, grips and safety mechanisms, McGinnis testified. The Taser also has a laser and LED lights that display before it is fired, which he demonstrated for the jury, while the handgun does not, he said.

McGinnis also testified that Potter didnt perform a function test on her Taser at the start of her shift. Although the Brooklyn Center Police Departments policy is that officers are supposed to do that, McGinnis acknowledged under cross-examination that he didnt check to see how widely the departments officers complied.

Prosecutors asked to have the jurors handle a Taser, but Judge Regina Chu didn't allow it after Potter's attorneys objected. Chu said jurors can do so during deliberations if they want.

Earlier Monday, Dr. Lorren Jackson, an assistant Hennepin County medical examiner, testified that Potter's bullet caused injuries to Wright's heart and lungs and those caused his death. He said one can survive such injuries for only seconds to minutes.

After Wright was shot, his car drove away and collided seconds later with an oncoming car. Any injuries from the crash were insignificant in terms of what caused Wright's death, Jackson said.

Some officers testified last week that they weren't able to immediately approach Wright's car after it crashed because they weren't sure it was safe to do so. Prosecutors criticized Potter for not immediately radioing in what happened at the traffic stop.

Jackson testified that Wright had some cannabinoids, or THC and its metabolites, in his blood from smoking marijuana, but that they didn't factor in his cause of death. He said the level of THC metabolites in Wrights blood was on the high end of numbers he sees, but was still within a normal range for people who use marijuana.

Jurors were shown graphic images of Wrights body at the scene, as the assistant medical examiner found the body on the ground, with some medical equipment still attached from lifesaving efforts, and some dried blood from the gunshot wound.

They also saw autopsy photos, which Chu limited after Potter's attorneys objected earlier in the trial. Wrights mother, who has been present for much of the testimony, was not in court as the autopsy photos were shown.

The state is expected to rest its case midweek.

Separately, prosecutors filed two motions Monday, including one designed to limit the opinion of witnesses who are not testifying as experts. That came after Johnson last week testified that Potters actions were authorized under state law. Johnson was not testifying as an expert on the police use of force.

Prosecutors also asked Chu for permission to question police officers about union membership. They wrote that Potter had roles in the union, including as president, that gave her an elevated level of respect among her coworkers. They want to ask officers about it so jurors can evaluate any potential bias toward Potter.

The case is being heard by a mostly white jury.

State sentencing guidelines call for just over seven years in prison upon conviction of first-degree manslaughter and four years for second-degree, though prosecutors have said they plan to push for longer sentences.

Associated Press writers Mohamed Ibrahim in Minneapolis and Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed to this report.

Find the APs full coverage of the Daunte Wright case: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-daunte-wright

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP)  Residents of Kentucky counties where tornadoes killed dozens of people could be without heat, water or electricity in frigid temperatures for weeks or longer, state officials warned Monday, as the toll of damage and deaths came into clearer focus in five states slammed by the swarm of twisters.

Kentucky authorities said the sheer level of destruction was hindering their ability to tally the damage from Friday night's storms. At least 88 people  including 74 in Kentucky  were killed by the tornado outbreak that also destroyed a nursing home in Arkansas, heavily damaged an Amazon distribution center in Illinois and spread its deadly effects into Tennessee and Missouri.

In Kentucky, as searches continued for those still missing, efforts also turned to repairing the power grid, sheltering those whose homes were destroyed and delivering drinking water and other supplies.

Were not going to let any of our families go homeless," Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said in announcing that lodges in state parks were being used to provide shelter.

In Mayfield, one of the hardest hit towns, those who survived faced a high in the 50s and a low below freezing Monday without any utilities.

Our infrastructure is so damaged. We have no running water. Our water tower was lost. Our wastewater management was lost, and theres no natural gas to the city. So we have nothing to rely on there, Mayfield Mayor Kathy Stewart ONan said on CBS Mornings. So that is purely survival at this point for so many of our people.

Across the state, about 26,000 homes and businesses were without electricity, according to poweroutage.us, including nearly all of those in Mayfield. More than 10,000 homes and businesses have no water, and another 17,000 are under boil-water advisories, Kentucky Emergency Management Director Michael Dossett told reporters.

Kentucky was the worst hit by far in the cluster of twisters across several states, remarkable because they came at a time of year when cold weather normally limits tornadoes. At least 74 people died in the state, Beshear said Monday, offering the first specific count of the dead.

In Bowling Green, Kentucky, 11 people died on the same street, including two infants found among the bodies of five relatives near a residence, Warren County coroner Kevin Kirby said.

Beshear warned that it could take days longer to pin down the full death toll, with door-to-door searches impossible in some places.

With this amount of damage and rubble, it may be a week or even more before we have a final count on the number of lost lives, the governor said.

Initially as many as 70 people were feared dead in the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory, but the company said Sunday that eight deaths were confirmed and eight people remained missing, while more than 90 others had been located. Bob Ferguson, a spokesman for the company, said many employees gathered in a tornado shelter, then left the site and were hard to reach because phone service was out.

On Monday evening, Louisville Emergency Management Director E.J. Meiman said at a news conference that the company indicated everyone in the building during the storm had been accounted for.

We have a high level of confidence that nobody is left in this building, Meiman said. He added the death toll from the factory has not changed.

Debris from destroyed buildings and shredded trees covered the ground in Mayfield, a city of about 10,000 in western Kentucky. Twisted sheet metal, downed power lines and wrecked vehicles lined the streets. Windows were blown out and roofs torn off the buildings that were still standing.

Five twisters hit Kentucky in all, including one with an extraordinarily long path of about 200 miles (322 kilometers), authorities said.

In addition to the deaths in Kentucky, the tornadoes also killed at least six people in Illinois, where the Amazon distribution center in Edwardsville was hit; four in Tennessee; two in Arkansas, where the nursing home was destroyed and the governor said workers shielded residents with their own bodies; and two in Missouri.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Monday that it has opened an investigation into the collapse of the Amazon warehouse in Illinois.

Amazons Kelly Nantel said the Illinois warehouse was constructed consistent with code. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said there would be an investigation into updating code given serious change in climate that we are seeing across the country that appears to factor into stronger tornadoes.

Not far from Mayfield, 67 people spent Sunday night at a church serving as a shelter in Wingo, and 40 more were expected to arrive Monday. Organizers were working to find a mobile outdoor shower facility and a laundry truck, expecting many of the displaced to need a long-term place to stay. Volunteers were scrambling to meet more immediate needs, too, such as underwear and socks.

Lifelong Mayfield resident Cynthia Gargis, 51, is staying with her daughter after the storm tore off the front of her apartment and sucked out almost everything inside. She came to the shelter to offer help and visit with friends who lost their homes.

I dont know, I dont see how well ever get over this, she said. It wont ever be the same.

Glynda Glover, 82, said she had no idea how long she would stay at the Wingo shelter: Her apartment is uninhabitable since the wind blew out the windows and covered her bed in glass and asphalt.

Ill stay here until we get back to whatever normal is, she said, and I dont know what normal is anymore.

On the outskirts of Dawson Springs, another town devastated by the storms, homes were reduced to rubble and trees toppled, littering the landscape for a span of at least a mile.

It looks like a bomb went off. Its just completely destroyed in areas, said Jack Whitfield Jr., the Hopkins County judge-executive.

He estimated that more than 60% of the town, including hundreds of homes, was beyond repair."

A full recovering is going to take years, he said.

Tim Morgan, a volunteer chaplain for the Hopkins County Sheriffs Department, said hes seen the aftermath of tornadoes and hurricanes before, but nothing like this.

Just absolute decimation. There is an entire hillside of houses that are 3 feet tall now, he said.

Schreiner reported from Dawson Springs, Kentucky. Associated Press writers Kristin Hall in Mayfield; Seth Borenstein, Zeke Miller and Dino Hazell in Washington; Travis Loller in Nashville, Tennessee; Rebecca Reynolds in Louisville, Kentucky, Jonathan Drew in Durham, North Carolina, and John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia, contributed.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Way back in 1920, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that if bigamy was allowed, it would disturb the peace of families and offend against the decency and good order of society.

On Friday, the court upheld the conviction of a Lincoln man for taking a second wife, upholding his 30-day jail sentence for bigamy.

Charlie Johnson, now 40, had argued that he believed his first marriage, in 2015, was invalid because while he obtained a wedding license in Nebraska, the actual wedding ceremony was held in Texas. Thus, Johnson's attorney, Matthew Kosmicki maintained his client was free to marry a different woman in 2018.

The Supreme Court was not persuaded, ruling that Johnson had failed to show that Texas law would have invalidated the ceremony.

In 2015, Johnson took out a marriage license in Lancaster County with Shelley Petersen. The license was signed and notarized. About a week later, on July 4, Johnson's sister, an ordained minister, performed a wedding ceremony for the couple in Texas.

The minister gave the couple a keepsake marriage certificate but did not sign or return the Nebraska marriage license.

Peterson, the bride, called the Lancaster County Clerk's Office at least 10 times, according to court documents, asking if the marriage license had been returned so she could change some motor vehicle licenses.

Meanwhile, some time during this period, Johnson, the groom, asked a clerk how to prevent the marriage from going through.

The clerk told him the marriage was already valid, which led to the issuance of a new marriage license. It was signed by the couple, notarized and then signed by the minister who performed the wedding ceremony. The license was filed by the Clerk's Office in January of 2017, stating the couple had been married two years earlier.

But in about May of 2018, Peterson moved out. Among the evidence submitted in the case were text messages exchanged by the couple at the time in which they referred to each other as husband and wife.

Six months after Peterson moved out, Johnson applied for a marriage license with Natalie Forney. The couple were married on Nov. 15, 2018.

The dual marriage licenses came to light the following year after the first wife attempted to file her income taxes as "married filing jointly" with Johnson. The IRS had rejected her filing, informing her that Johnson had already filed income taxes as married filing jointly with Forney. That led to a police investigation, bigamy charges being filed and rulings by both county court and district court judges that Johnson was guilty of bigamy.

State law, according to Friday's ruling, allows a person to remarry if a spouse has died or has been absent for at least five years, or if they "reasonably believed" they were eligible to remarry.

But the Supreme Court ruled that didn't apply to Johnson, because, during oral argument, his attorney conceded that the marriage with the first wife was not void.

While the first marriage might have been "voidable," the court ruled that Johnson had not taken steps to file for an annulment to make it invalid, or to obtain an divorce.

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THOR, Iowa (AP)  The small north-central Iowa town of Thor took a hit last week when two buildings along its main street were gutted by fire.

The fire was discovered late Friday night, first in Thors old Humboldt Trust and Savings Bank building, T he Messenger reported. Soon, the entire building and the vacant building next to it were engulfed in flames.

Thor Volunteer Fire Chief Kevin Olson, who lives around the corner from the buildings, learned of the fire when someone banged on his door late Friday night and he stuck his head out to see the flames.

Olson moved trucks out of a nearby shed before other firefighters arrived and began pumping water of the blaze.

With a force of only seven volunteer firefighters, the Thor fire department called in help from firefighters in Humboldt, Renwick, Goldfield, Vincent, Eagle Grove and Badger. Many of the firefighters worked through the night to extinguish the fire.

We are a small department, Olson said. We get wore out pretty quick. The cavalry showed up just in time.

No injuries were reported in the blaze. The two buildings are a total loss. A cause has not yet been determined.

For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, The Messenger.

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FORT MADISON, Iowa (AP)  Passengers trains will begin stopping Wednesday at Fort Madison's historic station for the first time in more than 50 years.

David Handera, an Amtrak vice president, announced Friday night during an event in Fort Madison that eastbound and westbound Southwest Chief trains would begin stopping at the old station on Wednesday.

The station was built in the Mississippi River town by the Santa Fe railroad in 1910, but passenger service was moved to a building in a nearby rail yard in 1968.

For years, Fort Madison residents have worked to raise money and make improvements to the old brick structure in the heart of downtown so it could again be used for train passengers.

Handera noted the historic station now has a platform that meets federal disability requirements as well as a new ticket counter and signage. More improvements are planned for the station in coming years.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)  A trio of Iowa state budget experts predicted Monday that state revenue will increase by about 3% for the current fiscal year and 1.7% next year, leaving billions of dollars in unspent money that Republican leaders say should be returned to Iowans in the form of tax cuts.

Iowa and many other states experienced a boost from federal COVID-19 aid, which fueled increased consumer spending through this year and is reflected in increased tax collections and more state revenue. The challenge is to determine what happens to state revenue when the impact of the federal funding wanes.

The three-person panel  made up of Iowa Department of Management Director Kraig Paulsen, Holly Lyons of the Legislative Services Agency, and business owner David Underwood  concluded that revenue growth will slow but continue trending upward.

It all means Iowa is likely to end the current year with an unspent balance of $1.3 billion. When added to the current taxpayer relief fund balance, that leaves more than $2 billion in excess revenue that the state has not committed to spending.

Gov. Kim Reynolds and lawmakers must use the Monday estimates to design a state budget. Reynolds said she plans to propose significant tax cuts.

This overcollection of taxes is unethical and it must end, she said in a statement.

Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley said he plans to work on finding the most effective way to lower taxes and return this money to Iowa taxpayers.

Democrats insist any tax cuts should be targeted at middle- to lower-income Iowans and smaller businesses, and go toward programs to help working Iowans, including job training, paid family leave, childcare and housing.

Contrary to what the governor and legislative Republicans are saying, more corporate tax giveaways and tax cuts for Des Moines millionaires will only make their workforce crisis worse, especially in rural Iowa, said Democratic Sen. Joe Bolkcom, who is the leading Democrat on the Senate committee that drafts budgets.

The Iowa Legislature is scheduled to convene the 2022 session on Jan. 10.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Audiobooks are my getaway after days spent reading from the page to prepare to write my reviews. As a resultand especially in a dreary year like 2021I almost exclusively listen to fiction or memoir, strong narratives that carry me off during long walks or monotonous chores. Apologies to fans of chewy nonfiction or ruminative stream-of-consciousness novels, but they just dont do the trick for me! Here are eight titles that provided me with hours of blissful escape this year.

The Sandman: Act II by Neil Gaiman, voiced by James McAvoy, Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, David Tennant, and more

A follow-up to last years dramatic adaptation of Gaimans influential graphic novel (a live-action adaptation from Netflix is also forthcoming), this is another all-star affair, resplendent with music and sound effects (including the angelic singing voice of Bridgertons Rege-Jean Page as Orpheus). The main story involves the exasperated resignation of Lucifer (Sheen) from the thankless job of ruling hell. In a puckish act of revenge, he hands over the keys to the place to the title character, Morpheus (a deliciously hammy McAvoy), who then has to fend off a passel of miscellaneous immortals who want to take over the underworld. Bill Nighy as Odin! David Tennant as Loki! Bebe Neuwirth as Bast! And thats just the tip of the iceberg. On top of it all, Gaiman himself provides additional narration in this perfect blend of visionary fantasy and character study.

Marigold by Sara Gran, performed by Jason Culp and Zoe Kazan

This audiobook comes in the form of a fictional podcast in which an unnamed paranormal researcher (Culp) interviews Anne, a narrator whos not so much unreliable as askew: You trust her to accurately relate the facts, but her interpretation of their meaning is another matter. Anne lives in a haunted house and loves it. Gran, who writes the clever metaphysical Claire DeWitt detective series, turns the obsessiveness of a certain form of homeownershipAnne has an Arts and Crafts bungalow in Pasadena and prides herself in restoring it to pristine, historically accurate conditioninto a symptom. Anne thinks she owns the place, but really it owns her. Kazan has the tricky task of performing a character who thinks shes in complete control even as shes falling apart, and the actress acquits herself splendidly, while Culp provides her with an at first steady then increasingly more fascinated and disturbed foil.

Matrix by Lauren Groff, performed by Adjoa Andoh

For some of us, Andoh was the real star of Bridgerton, an actor whose intelligent hauteur makes her seem born to play duchesses and queens. She might seem, at first glance, an unlikely narrator for the story of Marie de France, who in Groffs telling is an awkward bumpkin of royal blood sent off to run an impoverished abbey. (Not much is known about the historical Marie, a 12th century English poet, so Groff is speculating about almost all of this.) But eventually Marie becomes, in her tiny kingdom, a queen of infinite space, flourishing in a community of sisters who desperately need her managerial skills, and at the same time stumbling into unexpected transcendence. Andoh, for all her regal panache, renders each of the nunsfrom working-class supervisor of the novitiates to dreamy visionary to dewy novicevividly and sensitively.

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides, performed by Louise Brealey and Kobna Holdbrick-Smith

Michaelides writes high-end thrillers set among the cultured elite and replete with women smothered by convention and domineering men. This frankly preposterous tale of a widowed psychotherapist investigating a series of suspicious deaths among women students at Cambridge University is great, silly fun. The studentsthe eponymous maidenscluster around a Byronic male classics professor, and our heroine, Mariana, worries that her beloved niece might also have come under his spell. There are assignations in graveyards and notorious parties and scads of classical references. As tremulous as any Gothic heroine, Mariana goes toe-to-toe with assorted scornful and seductive male authority figures while trying to get to the truth. Chapters told from her perspective, narrated with claustrophobic vulnerability by Louise Brealey, alternate with the letters of an unknown psychopath, read with creepy, plummy portent by Kobna Holdbrick-Smith.

How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue, performed by Prentice Onayemi, Janina Edwards, Dion Graham, JD Jackson, Allyson Johnson, and Lisa Renee Pitts

The residents of Kosawa, a village in a fictional African nation, collectively tell this story. Theyre fed up with the lying oil company whose wells have been poisoning their land and water for a generation, and also with the village leaders and government men who facilitate this depredation. So they decide to fight back, engaging in a host of wily schemes and outright confrontations. The host of voices makes this novel an ideal candidate for a multiple-narrator production, with the standouts being the ever-soulful Graham and Onayemi, as the closest thing the novel has to a main character: Thula, a stalwart girl whose father disappears while visiting the capital city with a delegation to plead the villages case. This is a complex story of multiple, sometimes conflicting perspectives and desires, made all the stronger by a chorus of top-notch narrators.

Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, performed by Gisela Chipe

Set in 1970s Mexico City during a period of political unrest, this homage to the hard-boiled midcentury American fiction of writers like James M. Cain alternates between the perspectives of Elvisa pragmatic former street kid who loves 1950s pop music and works as muscle for a mysterious officialand Maite, a lonely secretary who lives for the next issue of Secret Romance comics. Maite gets caught up in intrigue between the police and student radicals when she agrees to catsit for a neighbor who promptly disappears. Both characters will end up disillusioned by men they once deemed worthy of trust, and Moreno-Garcia skillfully weaves classic noir tropes into the political particulars of this setting. Its a challenge for a single performer to convincingly narrate two such different perspectivestough Elvis and naive Maitebut Chipe carries it off with aplomb.

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead, performed by Cassandra Campbell and Alex McKenna

This radiant novel of 20th century aviation alternates between the perspectives of two women, at times set 100 years apart. The ever-sublime Campbell narrates the chapters devoted to Marian, a fictional pilot who needs every bit of her determined devotion to flight in order to muscle her way into the airstrips boys club. She will vanish on a flight to New Zealand in 1950. In 2014, Hadley, orphaned like Marian and raised by a boozy showbiz uncle to become a child star, tries to resuscitate her acting career and find her way back to authenticity by playing Marian in an art film. Hadleys chapters are narrated by McKenna, whose quipping, ironic tone emphasizes just how much distance there is between a creature of the modern media and the freedom Marian felt among the clouds.

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles, performed by Edoardo Ballerini

A big, shaggy, energetic road trip, this novel is a golden retriever of a yarn, with its head hanging out the window and its tongue tasting the open highwaysurely the best place to be listening to it, especially if youre traveling with kids. The story begins in Nebraska in 1954, with 18-year-old Emmett Watson and his 8-year-old brother, Billy, departing the foreclosed family farm and setting off for California in the Studebaker that is one of the few things the Watson boys can still call their own. They get sidetracked by a pair of neer-do-wells right out of Mark Twain and end up going east instead, caught up in a plan to steal a fortune from the summer home of the prosperous family of one of the rascals. Ballerini, the consummate audiobook narrator, glides effortlessly from earnest rube to fast-talking chancer, enveloping his listeners in as heavenly a spell as any fan of the form could ever desire.
How to Do It is Slates sex advice column. Have a question? Send it to Stoya and Rich here. Its anonymous!

Dear How to Do It,

Five years ago, for our 30th birthdays, my wife and I bought one another a recorded day of sex with someone in their early 20s. We recruited and interviewed a few people with the understanding that they would engage in a sex session. This session would be recorded onto DVDs on a camera that is not connected with the internet. These DVDs would be only viewed on a television in our bedroom that is used solely for this purpose, on a DVD player that is also not connected to the internet. In return, they would be paid $5,000 cash.

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My session with Traci was wonderful. After we paid her, we never heard or saw from her again. My wifes session with Mark was also great. We paid him, and we also went years without hearing from him. These recordings have become a great part of our sex life. Oftentimes, we have them on while we have sex or simply use them in masturbation sessions. While not in use, they are stored in a locked drawer, and we have no children or anyone else living with us who could accidently get to them. Honestly, we feel this is the best gift we have ever given and are thinking about doing this again!

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A couple months ago, Mark contacted us and asked us to destroy the DVD, saying that he is going to be entering a high-profile career and doesnt want this used against him in the future. So far, we have refused with the reasoning that this was a transaction that was willingly entered into by all parties. Since then, he has come back to us, sometimes mad, sometimes crying, that he made a huge mistake and would pay us back the $5,000 with interest. What is our obligation to Mark here?

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 Playing Hardball

Dear Playing Hardball,

Technically speaking, you owe him nothing. You hired him with full knowledge and consent of what you were making, and you paid him your agreed-upon fee upon completion of his service. Had he performed this work for a porn studio, hed be laughed out of the Valley (or wherever) for asking them to destroy his tapes because his career is taking off. In another cultural climate, I might feel bad for himwe all make decisions that we regret, and it is true that you and your wife are physically capable of honoring his requestbut performing sex on screen is fairly destigmatized today, so much so that his appeal reads pretty dramatic and his repeated pleas are entering, if not already in, the realm of harassment. Could the leak of such material ruin his career? Conceivably if hes a politician, religious official, teacher, or otherwise conservative/living in a largely conservative area. Will it certainly do that, necessitating the destruction of a cherished part of your sex life? No way. Way, way too uncertain to require such a permanent move.

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The selfless thing for you to do would be to refund his money and destroy the disc as he requested, but you are not obligated to be selfless. For his peace of mind, you could put in writing how the DVD is stored and the way you use it, but again, you dont have to do that. In addition to your lack of obligation, though, Mark has no recourse. Suing you would almost certainly be a waste of time for him and potentially Streisand-effect this tape into public knowledge. If he keeps bothering you, you could sue him for harassmentprobably a firm letter from your lawyer would be enough to shut him up because, again, he doesnt want this getting out. If you are confident that your storage is ironclad and there is absolutely no way the footage could ever leak, you could also just lie and tell him youve destroyed it, since in your hands its as good as destroyed as far as the entire population of the world is concerned, save you and your wife. I dont usually recommend lying but in this case, you deserve a break. Its an option, at least.

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Get the How to Do It Newsletter Sex advice from Rich and Stoya, plus exclusive letter follow-ups, delivered weekly. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time.

Dear How to Do It,

Im a gay man in my mid-20s whos been having some struggles in the bedroom. Despite having had many sexual partners over the past few years, I have never achieved orgasm during partnered sex. Im also increasingly unable to consistently maintain an erection. Ill be getting hot and heavy with a guyonly to then notice Im going soft, or that Im not able to get myself over the edge. I definitely experience sexual attraction (so I know Im not asexual), but I often get in my own head during sex. I tend to second-guess myself and overthink things. Its also been difficult to fully let myself go when Im worrying about the looming specter of going soft or not finishing, ultimately creating a self-fulfilling cycle.

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These issues are only present during partnered sexIm able to maintain an erection and orgasm perfectly fine during my solo sessions. As a longtime HDTI reader, I know that this likely means its a psychological (rather than physiological) issue causing my bedroom hang-ups. What advice do you have to get over this hump? Its frustrating to feel like Im wasting my prime sexual years unable to have quote-unquote successful and fulfilling sex.

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 Broken in the Bedroom

Dear Broken in the Bedroom,

As much as I love having a tangible example of having helped teach someone something (See, Mom and Dad? Im not wasting my life!), you didnt need me at all to tell you your issue is psychological in nature. The call is coming from inside the house. As you put it, you often get in your own head during sex. The vicious cycle you describe is not uncommon, and theres quite a bit you can do, but probably little thats as efficient and effective as getting a prescription for an ED drug. It will calm your mind by helping blood flow to your dick, and even if your issue is entirely psychological, just knowing that you have that kind of chemical reinforcement should ameliorate your anxiety. Hopefully, upon requesting this prescription, your doctor will examine you as well just in case were all wrong and theres a physiological issue to contend with. But even if there is, at least youll be contending with it.

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Dear How to Do It,

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After four years, I still cant understand something about my boyfriend: After sex, he will lay in bed cleaning himself up, and every time he will pull and tug and stretch on different parts of his nuts for at least 10 minutes. Is there something Im missing, or is this common?

 A Little Tug

Dear A Little Tug,

I would say that it is uncommon just based on my own experience of never seeing any guys do this after sex. However, its true that the balls usually retract when a guy orgasms, and generally speaking, its not unusual for men to need to sometimes adjust them for comfortperhaps this is just a post-coital reset of some sort? Its also true that that ball-stretching is a thing. Its probably most commonly done via a sleeve or weights attached to the testicles, but I have seen it discussed being performed manually online. In those conversations, its often presented as a way of boosting testosterone, but that seems about as likely as receiving the transaction of $10,000 in your bank account as promised by a spam email. (A doctor in this Mens Health article all about balls, in fact, refutes the notion directly.) I think ball-stretching is mostly an aesthetic/fetish thing, really, and its something people seem to enjoy without complications (though any such bodily alterations can be risky, which is to say this is not an endorsement for people to start working on crafting personal parachutes out of their ball sacs).

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Anyway, if I had to guess (which I do have to do, since its my job), Id guess hes doing something along those lines. But why guess at all? Why not just ask him? Youve been watching him do this for four years, his openness suggests he doesnt have any shame surrounding it, and why hes doing it is not immediately intelligible to you. You could be totally neutral and ask whats up with that without derision or mockery. Much as we at HTDI appreciate the human contact, your relationship will more strongly benefit from talking to him about this, not us.

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Did you write this or another letter we answered? Tell us what happened at howtodoit@slate.com.

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Dear How to Do It,

I am a 30-year old woman in a relationship with a 33-year-old man, informally engaged but not living together currently. We just passed our fourteenth anniversary (feel free to do the math on when we met on that one, haha). The trouble is, of course when you meet as teenagers, you might not know how your sexual compatibility ends up. I work in an indie sex shop: We sell stuff for very open, kinky people, and Im very happy with my job and my relationship! However, Im so, so curious about so much of the things I do at work. I want to try things! Hes generally game to experiment, but hes very uncomfortable in a dominant role, very uninterested in a lot of the more hardcore aspects, and deeply uncomfortable with the idea of me exploring them with other people, or sleeping with other people. (I am bisexual and quite frankly, thanks to my job and general temperament, do not tend to correlate kink, sex, and romance the way others do.)

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I respect his boundaries, and when he isnt okay with something or when he doesnt want to try something, I drop it immediatelyI want it to be clear to him that hes worth more to me than anything. But any time I do bring something up Id like to try and he isnt interested, he then proceeds to get very unhappy, self-deprecating, and apologetic that he is holding (me) back and not enough (his words, not mine). I keep trying to tell him that I just want to know where my boundaries are so I can stay in them. He shouldnt have to be comfortable with any of the long, long list of freaky stuff Id try if I was single, and hes not being unreasonable to have limits! But what do I do? Just stop discussing it? Its even to the point where I comment on my work day and he apologizes preemptively for the fact that I have never tried the sex clubs in town, or that I dont have personal experience with flogging. I want him to be happy and comfortable, which is why I keep to the monogamy and the vanilla, but even that doesnt seem to comfort him. What do I do? I cant imagine my life without him, but I also cant give up my dream job or my fantasies.

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 Sriracha Girl with a Vanilla Guy

Dear Sriracha Girl,

By your own account, not mentioning it wouldnt do much good, since hes preemptively whining about his inadequacy before you can even broach the subject. I think you have the right idea in keeping things at his comfort levelits my general rule that when it comes to sex/nonmonogamy, deferring to the most sensitive person in the relationship is the path to harmony. My recommendation is to maintain that vibe while attempting to push things forward: Have a conversation about what he thinks is the best way to handle this disparity. Right now, he only has obstructions: No open relationship, no domination, no hardcore. It would be one thing if setting out these rules and having you comply was enough to make him happy, but thats not working either, so his obstructions are yet another  obstruction. So what does he propose? Its my suspicion that opening up the relationship will serve you best, but I feel that will be a long process that requires a lot of talking and perhaps counseling (ideally with a sex positive therapist who is familiar with nonmonogamy and its attendant issues).

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Right now, get the ball rolling and talk to him about what he foresees as a way to mitigate the tension that is increasingly defining your dynamic. Give him the sensitivity and compassion that he needs. You write that you cant imagine your life without him; start these conversations by saying just that: I cant imagine my life without you. Transition to asking him questions about possible solutions. Youre well aware of his discomfort in a variety of areashis challenge is to come up with ways to relieve it while honoring your own sexuality. To him, Id even float the idea of whether youre simply incompatible, just to see how hell react. Its going to get to a point where the practical has to take over, as you cant cohabitate in his existential fears for the rest of your lives. Thats no way to maintain a home.

 Rich

More How to Do It

I am a 68-year-old man who has been married to a woman for 45 years, with three grown kids. Over the course of our marriage, we have been very active sexually, but for various reasons over the past five or six years, our sexual activity has declined dramatically. At the same time, over the past few years, I have become fascinated with same-sex encounters. Is this unusual, especially this late in life? How should approach this with my wife?
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has tested positive for COVID-19 and is receiving treatment for mild symptoms. Ramaphosa, 69, got tested for COVID-19 after he started feeling sick earlier in the day, his office said in a statement.

Ramaphosa is fully vaccinated and got diagnosed with the virus at a time when cases are surging in the country. Experts have tied the increase to the omicron variant, which appears to spread more easily and seems to skirt at least some of the protection offered by vaccines. President Ramaphosa says his own infection serves as a caution to all people in the country to be vaccinated and remain vigilant against exposure, reads the statement from the presidents office. Before he was diagnosed with COVID-19, Ramaphosa spoke at a memorial service for former apartheid-era President F.W. de Klerk, who died last month.

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The presidents positive diagnosis came on a day when the country recorded more than 18,000 new confirmed cases, more than 70 percent of which are estimated to be from omicron. That marks a huge jump from early last month, when South Africa was reporting a mere 200 new cases per day.

The South African presidents diagnosis also came on the same day as the British government raised the countrys official coronavirus threat level while Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Britain faces a tidal wave of cases. In a televised statement, Johnson vowed his government would speed up the rollout of booster shots amid estimates that omicron could become the countrys dominant variant within days. Im afraid it is now clear that two doses of vaccine are simply not enough to give the level of protection we all need, he said. In the United States, Anthony Fauci, President Joe Bidens chief medical adviser, said that three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine is the optimal care although he assured that the definition of fully vaccinated has not changed.
The Supreme Court hath given a sliver and taken away the pie. Its ruling last week in Whole Womans Health v. Jackson is a wipeout for reproductive freedom, deliberately disguised as a partial victory. The Court looks decreasingly like a true judicial body and increasingly like a wolf cagily donning sheeps clothing to prey upon constitutional rights.

At issue was Texas bounty hunter anti-abortion law, the most restrictive in the nation. It makes abortions illegal in the state after a fetal heartbeat is detected, usually around six weeks and long before viability. Texas used the sly trick of leaving enforcement to private vigilantes, rewarding them with limitless bounties starting at $10,000 for successfully suing anyone helping a woman who chooses to end her pregnancy more than six weeks after her last period. The acknowledged purpose of that ruse was to evade federal court review on the false premise that only private individuals were enforcing SB 8, not the state.

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In his December 10 majority opinion, Justice Neil Gorsuch devised his own ploy to make it look as if the justices were behaving like judges rather than, as Justice Amy Coney Barrett recently put it with unacknowledged irony, partisan hacks in robes. The Court gave Texas abortion providers the Pyrrhic victory of leaving the federal courts open to suing their state licensors who under the Texas scheme were to be tasked with delicensing abortion providers who lost an SB 8 lawsuit. But the Court barred the providers from suing state court officials, and they are the only ones who could deliver the real relief that the providers neededthe relief of rejecting lawsuits by the bounty hunters to whom Texas has delegated enforcement of its blatantly unconstitutional anti-abortion scheme.

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Some victory. Abortion providers can go to federal court to retain licenses that they cannot usethe financial exposure to potentially crippling liability in successive suits by vigilantes is too great. It is no solace for a woman choosing to end her pregnancy that a safe abortion clinic in town kept its license even as it shut its doors.

To borrow Justice Robert H. Jacksons words from Edwards v. California, the Court majority has offered the country a teasing illusion like a munificent bequest in a paupers will.

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What looms ahead may be worse. As Justice Sonia Sotomayor predicted, By foreclosing suit against state-court officials and the state attorney general, the Court effectively invites other States to refine S. B. 8s model for nullifying federal rights. Texas itself could easily amend its law, for example, by eliminating the licensing authoritys role or by suspending abortion providers right to sue the licensing authority if a bounty hunters suit is pending against the provider.

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The Whole Womans Health majority kept SB 8 in effect, despite its flagrant violation of the Courts abortion precedents. As Chief Justice John Roberts, joined by Justices Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan, wrote in concurring and dissenting, SB 8s ban on abortions is contrary to this Courts decisions in Roe v. Wade, 410 U. S. 113 (1973), and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey, 505 U. S. 833 (1992). It has had the effect of denying the exercise of what we have held is a right protected under the Federal Constitution.

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By refusing to halt SB 8s operation and simultaneously barring the abortion clinics from suing for effective relief, the Court put in deep freeze the reproductive rights secured by Roe and Casey.

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The majority decision eviscerates other precedent as well. As Justice Sotomayor points out, the Courts decision in Ex Parte Young established the right to challenge a statute which imposes such severe penalties for disobedience of its provisions as to intimidate the parties affected thereby from resorting to the courts to test its validity. That is the precise chilling effect of SBs financial penalties awarded to bounty hunters.

Just last week we saw that chill in operation even after a favorable decision. On December 8, a Texas judge ruled in a state court action that SB 8 was an unlawful delegation of enforcement power to a private person. Abortion providers responded that they would not reopen until they were protected by a clear ruling from the Supreme Court.

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Some may have found hope in Chief Justice Roberts observation that the federal district court should resolve the litigation and enter appropriate relief without delay. But if the district court were to grant relief against anyone but a state licensing authority, its action would surely be blocked by the uber-conservative Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. That appellate court has twice before rejected the district courts previous rulings that sought to uphold the right to choose.

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It would take many months for the ongoing SB 8 cases to wend their way back up to the Supreme Court, which by then may well have gutted Roe in Dobbs v. Jacksons Womens Health Organization, a case that the Courts five most reactionary Justices signaled they would use as a vehicle to leave to states the decision whether to ban abortion entirely.

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The Texas Republican legislatures scheme has thus played out the clock to perfection. For low-income women in Texas who cannot afford to travel to other states, every day of reproductive justice delayed has been constitutional justice denied. Ultimately, Texas has extracted every drop of delay pending the Supreme Courts anticipated dismantling of Roe in Dobbs.

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At the Dec. 1 Supreme Court oral argument in Dobbs, Justice Sotomayor warned of the stench of illegitimacy over the Court should it overrule Roe and ratify what Mississippis Republican legislators said in proposing their 15-week abortion bill: Were doing it because we have new Justices. Rewarding that statement, Sotomayor said, would reinforce a growing perception that the the Constitution and its reading are just political acts.

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The latest polls show that 61 percent of Americans believe that the court decides issues politically. The courts majority today appears to have calculated that the headline procedural victory for abortion providers would satisfy the public that the justices are doing law rather than politics. Even if it later decrees Roes demise.

But the judicial hand will not prove quicker than the peoples eye. Women affected by this decision will see it for exactly what it isa decision that leaves their constitutional rights twisting in the wind until the Court cuts the rope.

Last weeks SB 8 opinion will fray even further the interconnected threads of trust and public order. Every citizens safety depends on faith in the legitimacy and integrity of our judicial institutions. That trust must be earned. The Supreme Courts duplicitous decimation of reproductive rights squanders it instead.
If you havent gone to court during the pandemic, your image of COVID-era courts might be this viral video, in which a lawyer in Texas got a cat filter stuck on his face. The incident was funny and quotable, but most online court proceedingsespecially civil court proceedings, where people try to do things like fight evictions or figure out child supportare both more prosaic and more important.

Qudsiya Naqui, an officer at the Pew Charitable Trust, has been studying the impact of civil courts moving online during the pandemic, and along with her colleagues, shes found some major transformations. The move online has fixed some equity and accessibility issues, while exacerbating other problems and creating new ones.

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On Fridays episode of What Next: TBD, I spoke with Naqui about what happened when a system that hadnt changed much since the 1700s went online almost overnight, and why there may be no going back. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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Lizzie OLeary: How did a typical eviction case work before the pandemic?

Qudsiya Naqui: Most civil court cases happened largely in person. Going to a courthouse, filing paperwork with a clerks office, and then showing up for your hearing in person in a room where theres a judge at a bench and lawyers on either side. A lot of the processes were playing out in person, much as they did over the last centuries. Courtrooms and court processes havent changed all that much over time.

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I think even the most casual Law and Order viewer knows that in a criminal case, you have the right to an attorney, but in civil cases, that is not so, correct?

Thats right. In three-in-four civil cases, theres at least one party who isnt represented. In eviction cases, 90 percent of tenants are unrepresented. We found something very similar in debt collection cases. In states where data was available, more than 90 percent of consumers in debt collection lawsuits were unrepresented.

In reading this report, I was struck by how Byzantine the civil system can be. How much of this is back and forth and filing something and trying to figure out what youre supposed to do, especially if youre not represented by a lawyer?

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A good deal. Theres a lot of steps that happen even before a hearing in a case can happen. In the states where we have data, 70 percent of debt collection lawsuits end in whats called a default judgment: automatic judgment in favor of the plaintiff because the defendant didnt respond or didnt show up for their hearing.



Prior to March 2020, whats the burden on you as a tenant in an eviction case?

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If youre the tenant, the landlord will file an eviction case and make certain claims as to why you should be evictednon-payment of rent or physical damage to the property or whatever it may be. The tenant is responsible for disproving that.

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It seems like a lot of work.

Yeah, and given the complexity of the process, it can be really challenging, especially if the other side has a lawyer.

How did things change in March 2020?

Once March 2020 came around, it was unbelievable to see courts bring their processes online almost overnight. We looked at Supreme Court emergency orders between March 2020 and August 2020, and we found that all 50 states and D.C. either allowed or required virtual hearings, when prior to the pandemic, none of them were doing that or very few were doing that on a regular basis.

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Why do you think it took a pandemic for the courts to get this kind of technological infrastructure in place?

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I always think of a quote from Chief Justice Bridget McCormack from Michigan. I think she said it best when she said, It wasnt the disruption that courts wanted, but it was the disruption that courts needed. There was a lot of resistance to rethinking what have been centuries-old traditions, and this was just a catalyst that really moved the needle.

The Michigan Chief Justice Bridget McCormack also said that going online made courts more transparent, more accessible, and more convenient. Do you think thats accurate?

I think that technology has a lot of potential for those things. In Arizona, we found that in civil cases, there was an 8 percent drop in the rate of default between 2019 and 2020. That means that more people were responding to their case and/or showing up for their hearings. The ability to not have to travel to court, to not have to take off time from work, to be able to just join your case using a video teleconference platform really did benefit people and made the process a bit easier to manage, but it definitely still presented some challenges for certain groups of people.

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Despite a nationwide eviction moratorium, parts of eviction cases moved through the court system anyway. What was the impact of the courts moving online on people hobbled by bad tech or lack of access?

We heard stories of people who were evicted from their homes because they never received the Zoom link. We spoke to one woman who had filed a motion to dismiss in her eviction case. She was trying to prove that the case should be dismissed and that she shouldnt be evicted. When it came time for the hearing, she couldnt access the share button on the video teleconference platform and therefore she was unable to share with the judge the evidence she had to prove her motion, and then she was ultimately evicted.

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This seems like yet another manifestation, laid bare by the pandemic, of how the technological divide can really hurt people.

We found similar trends thinking about child support modifications as well. In nine states, people without lawyers couldnt file electronically in eviction cases, and in 10 states, parents and guardians could not submit child support modification requests electronically. Oftentimes, in states where courts handle those modifications, you need to have a change in circumstances in order to make that request to change your child support obligation. Of course, during the pandemic, we saw so many people losing their jobs. So peoples circumstances were really changing, and if youre not able to file that request, the consequences for that are potential incarceration.

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Were there other barriers to access for specific groups of people?

We reviewed over 10,000 court orders from around the country that were collected by researchers from Wesleyan University. We found that less than 3 percent these documents mentioned resources or accommodations for people with limited English proficiency, and less than 1.5 percent of these documents mentioned accessibility or accommodations for people with disabilities. What that means is, if youre a person with either of these characteristics and youre looking for information about how to access a court process that you need to address a really critical issue in your life, you may not find it.

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Im really struck by those numbers, because under the Americans With Disabilities Act, courts should have to provide accommodation for people with disabilities. How did that shake out in what you saw?

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In addition to the ADA, the state civil courts also have similar obligations for language access under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. According to the National Center for Access to Justicewhich publishes this justice index that rates states from 0 to 100 based on their policies related to access for people with disabilities and language accesseven prior to the pandemic, courts were really struggling with these issues. Forty-four states scored less than 50 on the index for disability access, and 31 states scored less than 50 for language access. This was a challenge even before the pandemic. I think their ramp up of technology was really quite heroic during the pandemic. They really kept their operations moving at a time when people really needed them to resolve some really pressing financial, family-related issues, but theres a lot of lessons that need to be learned from this experience.

What do you think is going to stay with us as part of the legal system permanently as a result of what has happened during the pandemic?

Courts are pretty committed that online tools are going to be a permanent fixture of courts. A lot of states are in the process of looking at what happened during the pandemic and deciding what good features should stay on and what features might be better conducted in the traditional format. Data, evidence, evaluation, testing are going to be key components to making those decisions.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
ARCHIVED - Spain reduces taxes for digital nomads



People working remotely in Spain will be subject to a lower income tax rate

In an attempt to attract more digital nomads to the country, the Spanish government announced on Friday December 10 that it will reduce taxes and improve visa facilities for both salaried and independent workers who choose to work remotely while travelling.

The bill will allow "attracting and recovering international and national talent, favouring the establishment in Spain of teleworkers and digital nomads", the Ministry of Economic Affairs explained on Twitter.

Eres un emprendedor y quieres montar una #Startup



En Espana te lo vamos a poner facil



El Gobierno ha aprobado el proyecto de Ley de #startups. Con su entrada en vigor tendras acceso a importantes incentivos fiscales, tanto si eres una empresa, un inversor o un trabajador. pic.twitter.com/9lEoAxmg6l  Asuntos Economicos y Transformacion Digital (@_minecogob) December 10, 2021

Digital nomads will now be able to reside and work in Spain for five years and only be subject to Non-Resident Income Tax, which is charged at a reduced rate. The measure is part of a bill for start-ups which the Council of Ministers hopes will attract investors who wish to support emerging companies in the technology sectors thanks to a number of tax incentives.

The initiative will also apply to Spaniards who have been living abroad for more than five years and who wish to return to Spain to work.

Across the globe, the number of digital nomads has risen exponentially since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic , and a number of countries have taken advantage of the economic gain associated with remote working.

In Croatia, for example, a law was passed in the spring of 2021 that allows non-EU foreigners to obtain one-year residence visas and be exempt from income tax.

In Georgia, a visa was created to allow workers who earn less than $ 2,000 a month to live for a year in the country. A model that Thailand, Iceland and Costa Rica have also implemented.

Image: Archive
ARCHIVED - Spain celebrates World Lynx Day and vows to conserve the population



Lynx numbers in Spain need to triple in order to ensure the survival of the species

One of the most emblematic species in Spain, the Iberian lynx was on the brink of extinction at the beginning of this century as a result of poaching and the degradation of the natural environment. Now, thanks to the tireless conservation work of the 20Lince40 project, the current population throughout Spain stands at around 1,100 big cats, more than twenty times the number two decades ago.

However, as Spain celebrated World Lynx Day on Sunday December 12, the environmental organisation WWF took the opportunity to stress that, if these animals are to be properly protected, their numbers will have to be tripled. To this end, the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge are working with the WWF to increase the species, and the groups have acknowledged that it is "essential to reach at least 3,000-3,500 individuals, of which 750 should be breeding females to move the Iberian lynx out of the danger zone.

The main cause of mortality today continues to be road accidents, which caused more than 40 deaths last year alone in Spain , in addition to poaching.

The WWF has highlighted the resilience of the Iberian lynx, which has clawed its way back from a critical situation over the years. However, the species continues to be in danger of extinction all over the world, making the conservation work currently being carried out in Spain vitally important.

Image: WWF
Check out the investment highlights from Slovakia over the past year.

The new bus station in Bratislava opened in late September 2021. (Source: SME)

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November 2020

Industrial companies with Slovak capital did not continue in their transition to Industry 4.0 in 2020. Compared with the previous year, they are in the doldrums in both digitalisation and automation, due in large part to the Covid pandemic, according to a survey carried out by the Industry4UM organisation among 57 companies.

Investment Advisory Guide Well-arranged information about the economy, labour market, investor support, legislation, and real estate as well as investment opportunities in Slovakia. For more details visit our online shop.

The largest company in Slovakia in 2020 from the point of revenues was Bratislava-based carmaker Volkswagen Slovakia. The company kept its fifth position in the Coface CEE TOP 500 ranking and was the only firm from Slovakia in the Top 10.

December 2020

Six out of 10 e-shops in Slovakia reported a growth in revenues during the pandemic, and one in three of those saw their revenues rise by more than 30 percent, the E-shop Barometer survey carried out by KPMG and the ui42 company showed.

Slovakia has the most jobs endangered by the automation of 28 developed countries, the 2020 Global Competitiveness Report issued by the World Economic Forum (WEF) shows. As much as 64 percent of jobs are at risk, while 33 percent are at high risk.

The Nitra-based carmaker Jaguar Land Rover launched the production of the hybrid models of Discovery and Defender.

Zilina-based carmaker Kia Motors Slovakia (rebranded to Kia Slovakia in May 2021) completed an extensive modification of its production line that should secure the manufacturing of a new generation of engines, which required a 70 million investment.

Automotive industry faces the biggest transformation in its history Read more

January 2021

Carmakers in Slovakia produced 985,000 vehicles in 2020, 11 percent less than the year before.

A new state strategic industrial park will be built in Rimavska Sobota (Banska Bystrica Region) on a 65-hectare area and will provide 500 new jobs. It should be completed in 2023.

The US company Bloomreach, the leader in commerce experience, purchased a majority share of the Slovak startup Exponea. The companies did not reveal the acquisition price.

(Source: Printscreen of Exponea.com)

Johnson Controls and AT&T confirmed they were scrapping hundreds of jobs in their Bratislava-based business service centres (BSCs). Back in November 2020, another big multinational company, IBM, announced plans for scrapping 10,000 work positions in Europe, including Slovakia.

February 2021

Slovakia placed 44th in the 2021 Bloomberg Innovation Index, down three positions compared to the previous ranking.

The Penta financial group agreed on selling the Mecom Group, which unites meat-processing companies in Slovakia and Hungary, including the biggest Slovak plant in Humenne (Presov Region), to the US-based company Smithfield Foods. They agreed not to reveal the sum of the transaction.

The cabinet approved investment aid totalling 3.2 million in the form of tax relief for Hydac Electronic and Nestle Slovensko. They promised to create a total of 107 new jobs in return.

Slovakia betting on hydrogen Read more

The Volkswagen factory in Bratislava was awarded the Transformer of the Year prize, given to the plant that made the most progress in increasing the efficiency of the brand, for the second year in a row.

March 2021

Slovakia scored 66.3 points in the Index of Economic Freedom, published by The Heritage Foundation, making its economy the 61st freest in the 2021 edition. Its overall score decreased by 0.5 point compared to the 2020 ranking, primarily because of a decline in the score for government spending.

Duslo Sala announced a plan to build a new plant to produce mineral granular fertilisers for 50 million.

April 2021

The Penta financial group sold its 34-percent stock in the Petit Press publishing house, which issues the Sme daily and co-owns The Slovak Spectator, to the Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF), a New York-registered non-profit investment fund for independent media.

The majority share of the Bratislava shopping centre Aupark was acquired by Wood & Company and Tatra Asset Management. The sale with a price tag of 450 million has been labelled as the most expensive real estate transaction in Slovakias history.

Top M&A deals in Slovakia: The sale of Aupark and Bistro.sk Read more

May 2021

The Ruzomberok-based paper mill Mondi SCP launched a new machine costing 370 million as part of the modernisation of the paper mill in central Slovakia. A new production line will produce 300,000 tonnes of innovative packaging paper annually.

New paper machine in Mondi SCP. (Source: TASR)

Slovakia has started cooperation with one of the best universities in the world, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States. In addition, a fund was created to support the joint scientific projects.

June 2021

EC President Ursula von der Leyen and Slovak PM Eduard Heger during a press conference in Bratislava when announcing that EC approved the Slovak recovery plan. (Source: TASR)

The European Commission approved Slovakias recovery plan. The country should receive altogether 6.3 billion to be spent on investments and reforms. The main priorities are education, health care, environment, innovations, digitalisation, infrastructure and effective public administration.

We knew the opposition to the reforms would be loud Read more

New car models, mostly hybrid and electric, will be added to the portfolio of the Trnava-based carmaker Stellantis Slovakia. The new production programme of the B segment worth 180 million, which has been the largest since the carmaker came to Slovakia, should be gradually launched in 2023.

European investors in Slovakia expect economic recovery in 2021. At the same time, their satisfaction with the local conditions has increased and a vast majority of them would invest in Slovakia again, a regular business survey carried out by several chambers of commerce showed.

Visionary designer Stefan Klein took a flight with his AirCar from Nitra to Bratislava, making it the longest flight of his flying car in the terms of distance.

July 2021

The food delivery service Bistro.sk has been acquired by Dutch company Just Eat Takeaway.com, one of the largest players in this industry, for almost 50 million. It is considered one of the largest transactions in the Slovak food delivery industry in the past several years.

August 2021

The Slovak and Polish gas transmission networks were directly interconnected. The new gas pipeline will become an important part of the European energy North-South gas interconnections infrastructure priority corridor.

Hella Group, a manufacturer of lighting technology and electronic products for the automobile industry, opened a development centre in Banovce nad Bebravou (Trencin Region), focusing on the development and construction of rear lights for all European vehicle brands in the groups portfolio. It plans to employ 100 people by 2023.

The worlds biggest producer of car seats, Adient, confirmed the termination of production in the Trim Leader plant in Kostany nad Turcom, a village near Martin (Zilina Region). All 440 employees will leave the plant by the end of September 2022, and the entire production will be moved to plants abroad.

The cabinet approved investment aid for the companies Schaeffler Kysuce and MSK Matec Slovakia. They will receive nearly 6 million in total in the form of tax relief, for creating 75 new jobs in return.

German company Ziegler Group will become the first big investor to arrive in the state industrial park near Rimavska Sobota. It plans to build a wood-processing plant there, employing 430 people.

CSM Industry, situated in Tisovec (Banska Bystrica Region), will produce the components for Lynx KF41 combat vehicles manufactured by the German company Rheinmetall.

September 2021

German companies still make the largest contribution to state coffers in Slovakia Read more

BSCs continued operating without any significant disruption to their productivity, with more than a quarter of companies even increasing their productivity. The number of employees working in the sector increased by 5.5 percent annually, as stems from a survey carried out by the Business Service Center Forum, running under the American Chamber of Commerce in Slovakia.

73 percent of CEOs in Slovakia expressed hope that the tempo of global economic growth will accelerate in the coming 12 months, while 55 percent believes their companies will grow in the coming year, a survey of PwC and Forbes magazine showed.

Slovakia placed 50th in the IMD World Competitiveness Index 2021, up seven positions compared to 2020.

The new bus station in Bratislava, Stanica Nivy, opened together with a shopping centre, an underground roundabout and car park, and an automated bicycle tower.

October 2021

The social network Twitter bought the communication software Sphere, which transforms groups into vibrant communities, developed by Slovak Tomas Halgas and Briton Nick DAloisio. The price of the transaction has not been published.

The investments of banks into properties in the CEE region reported an annual drop of 22 percent. However, the volume of investments in Slovakia increased, the most in the region, according to the Property Lending Barometer 2021 study by KPMG.

The Bratislava-based company Voltia has partnered with carmaker Stellantis to extend its e-van portfolio. It announced the launch of five new XL models of e-vans with a volume of 11 m3 on the carmakers platform.

One of the new models added to the Voltia e-van fleet. (Source: Courtesy of Voltia)

Due to a steep increase in energy prices and the record prices of emission allowances, two companies in Slovakia, Slovalco in Ziar nad Hronom (Banska Bystrica Region) and OFZ in Oravsky Podzamok (Zilina Region), announced cuts to their production.

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They should receive financial assistance for the period they were forced to close.

Labour Minister Milan Krajniak, PM Eduard Heger and Finance Minister Igor Matovic present the restored First Aid+ scheme. (Source: TASR)

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Small and medium-sized enterprises forced to close their premises from late November or early December will be able to request state assistance.

The government has restored the measures within the First Aid+ package, enabling businesses to ask for assistance if their revenues drop by 40 percent and more. Only companies with no more than 50 employees will be entitled to ask for the aid.

Its important help for the sector as we want to guide them towards a period where theyll be able to open and generate revenue, said PM Eduard Heger (OLaNO).

Not all businesses are happy with the measure.

How it will work

The aid should particularly go to companies active in gastronomy and tourism.

If the companies see a drop in their revenues by 40-60 percent, they will receive 450 per employee.

In case the drop is between 60 and 80 percent, the aid will be 630 per employee.

Finally, if the drop is higher than 80 percent, the aid will be 810 per employee.

As businesses will be able to claim the aid for December, they will receive the money in January.
The Delta wave seems to be receding, but Omicron poses a threat. The Largest in Business rankings are out.

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Good evening. Read the Monday, December 13, 2021 edition of Today in Slovakia to catch up on the main news of the day in less than five minutes. We wish you a pleasant read.

Third wave seems to be receding

Illustrative stock photo (Source: TASR/AP)

Given the epidemiological parameters of newly-infected and hospitalised patients, it seems that the third pandemic wave in Slovakia, dubbed the Delta wave, has already peaked, as the Sme daily reported.

This has been proven also by the seven-day average of people newly infected by the Delta variant of Covid according to the districts, as shown on the map of the Science Helps initiative.

The districts in the northeast are of the best, green colour, similar to districts in the east, south of central Slovakia and part of western Slovakia. These were the most hit by Delta at the beginning of the pandemic.

While the Delta variant seems to be leaving, the Omicron is only arriving. The first three cases in Slovakia were confirmed on December 11. Apart from Slovakia, another 22 EU countries have reported the occurrence of Omicron cases as of December 13.

There is not much knowledge about the new strain. It is assumed that it is more infectious than Delta, but does not cause a serious course of the disease. Observers hope that Omicron causes only mild symptoms because if not, Slovakias hospitals, already filled to capacity, might not be able to handle it.

For a deeper insight into current affairs, check out our Last Week in Slovakia, published earlier today. You can sign up for the newsletter here.

More coronavirus and vaccination developments

Older pupils switched to remote learning on December 13. (Source: TASR)

2,370 people were newly diagnosed as Covid positive out of 6,963 PCR tests performed on December 12. The number of people in hospitals is 3,332 , while 61 more deaths were reported on Sunday. The vaccination rate is at 49.07 percent, 2,698,773 people having received the first dose of the vaccine. More stats on Covid-19 in Slovakia here.

out of 6,963 PCR tests performed on December 12. The number of people , while were reported on Sunday. The vaccination rate is at 49.07 percent, 2,698,773 people having received the first dose of the vaccine. More stats on Covid-19 in Slovakia here. All pupils of grades five through nine of primary schools and all grades of secondary schools switched to remote learning today ; they will receive education in this mode only until Friday, December 17, as the Christmas school holiday starts on December 20. In-person education continues at primary schools for children with special educational needs, primary schools in medical facilities, as well as kindergartens and grades one through four of primary schools.

; they will receive education in this mode only until Friday, December 17, as the Christmas school holiday starts on December 20. In-person education continues at primary schools for children with special educational needs, primary schools in medical facilities, as well as kindergartens and grades one through four of primary schools. Businesses that had to close their premises in late November or early December due to anti-pandemic measures and employ no more than 50 employees will be entitled to state assistance from the First Aid+ scheme . The contribution will depend on a drop of their revenues, which needs to be higher than 40 percent. Not everybody is happy with the decision.

. The contribution will depend on a drop of their revenues, which needs to be higher than 40 percent. Not everybody is happy with the decision. Based on changes to the legislation adopted by the parliament on Friday, the state will take responsibility for the side effects of vaccines against Covid-19 , instead of hospitals, vaccination centres and outpatient departments. The law is retroactive, which means the state's responsibility is effective since the day the first vaccine was administered in Slovakia on December 26, 2020.

, instead of hospitals, vaccination centres and outpatient departments. The law is retroactive, which means the state's responsibility is effective since the day the first vaccine was administered in Slovakia on December 26, 2020. Fully vaccinated people or those who recovered from Covid in the past six months should be able to meet with their families during Christmas , as stems from the Sunday coalition council meeting. Health Minister Vladimir Lengvarsky (OLaNO nominee) should present a concrete solution on Tuesday (December 14) at the cabinet session. (Sme)

, as stems from the Sunday coalition council meeting. Health Minister Vladimir Lengvarsky (OLaNO nominee) should present a concrete solution on Tuesday (December 14) at the cabinet session. (Sme) More than 2.3 million users have downloaded the GreenPass app, where the EU Digital Covid Certificates can be downloaded; and more than 70,000 users have downloaded the OverPass app, used to scan and check QR codes when customers enter the shops or other premises.

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The Largest in Business

(Source: )

More than 500 companies filled out the questionnaire for the Largest in Business yearbook. Its latest edition is available in our online shop.

The yearbook provides information not just about the largest companies in 50 categories, but specifies which sectors were successful during the pandemic and which companies grew in challenging conditions.

After many years, there is a new leader among retail chains; the arrival of the Clarion brand, part of the hotel segment, was announced in Slovakia, and the largest taxpayer in the field of non-financial enterprises contributed almost 240 million to the government budget.

The Largest in Business rankings was created in cooperation with the Sme daily and the Finstat company. The key parameter for these rankings was revenue, but in some categories, it was a combination of several criteria (e.g. turnover, number of employees, etc.). Within the financial sector, the ranking was typically based on asset value.

Find out more in our article.

Picture of the day

President Zuzana Caputova received the Peace Light of Bethlehem from the members of the Scouting Slovakia organisation in the Presidential Palace on December 13.

(Source: SITA)

In other news

The trust in Smer chair Robert Fico is as high as when he ruled the country . He is currently the third most trusted politician in Slovakia , after President Zuzana Caputova and his former party mate Peter Pellegrini, who now chairs Hlas. This stems from a recent poll carried out by Focus for the TV Markiza broadcaster in the second half of November.

. He is currently the , after President Zuzana Caputova and his former party mate Peter Pellegrini, who now chairs Hlas. This stems from a recent poll carried out by Focus for the TV Markiza broadcaster in the second half of November. Bus carrier Slovak Lines has confirmed that there is no agreement between the company and the new operator of bus transport in Bratislava Region, the Arriva company. Arriva, which has seen problems with the outage of lines since it took over suburban transport in the region in mid-November, claims to have signed a deal with other carriers that will help ensure transport. Last week, the company managed to dispatch 70-75 percent of all lines. Yet, Bratislava Region insists on penalties for the failure to ensure all lines, and the fine will accumulate until the transport amounts to at least 95 percent of all lines.

between the company and the new operator of bus transport in Bratislava Region, the Arriva company. Arriva, which has seen problems with the outage of lines since it took over suburban transport in the region in mid-November, claims to have that will help ensure transport. Last week, the company managed to dispatch 70-75 percent of all lines. Yet, Bratislava Region insists on penalties for the failure to ensure all lines, and the fine will accumulate until the transport amounts to at least 95 percent of all lines. Employment recorded the most significant increase solely in information and communication activities in October 2021 compared to a year before, by 8.3 percent; and there was also a slight increase in selected market services (by 0.1 percent year-on-year). The average nominal monthly wage increased in all the monitored sectors; it grew the most in accommodation  by 20.8 percent annually, reaching 866, according to the Statistics Office.

in October 2021 compared to a year before, by 8.3 percent; and there was also a slight increase in selected market services (by 0.1 percent year-on-year). it grew the most in accommodation  by 20.8 percent annually, reaching 866, according to the Statistics Office. Even though the turnover of industry continued falling in October, the downward trend slowed down to less than 5 percent  the turnout fell by 4.3 percent , compared with a decline of 9.3 percent in September 2021. The turnover remained short of pre-pandemic levels by 7.1 percent. Construction recovered from a year-on-year decline , but in comparison with October 2019, the industry still lagged behind in double digits (by 15.6 percent), the Statistics Office reported.

continued falling in October, the downward trend slowed down to less than 5 percent  the turnout , compared with a decline of 9.3 percent in September 2021. The turnover remained short of pre-pandemic levels by 7.1 percent. , but in comparison with October 2019, the industry still lagged behind in double digits (by 15.6 percent), the Statistics Office reported. The completion of Visnove tunnel near Zilina , which is part of the cross-country D1 highway, will be delayed by several months as it is in worse condition than expected. The constructors will need more concrete to finish the temporary vault, and have to repair most of the permanent vault, which is too thin.

, which is part of the cross-country D1 highway, as it is in worse condition than expected. The constructors will need more concrete to finish the temporary vault, and have to repair most of the permanent vault, which is too thin. More than 75 percent of entrepreneurs want the state to take on a greater role in the management of universities. The Slovak government should share responsibility, create an environment supportive of scientific institutions and employers, as well as motivate universities to cooperate, as stems from a poll carried out by the Business Alliance of Slovakia (PAS), in which 50 legal entities and five self-employed from all Slovakia took part.

More on Spectator.sk today:

New investments, but also layoffs. The pandemic is not the only influence on the business sector in Slovakia Read more

Trencin named 2026 European Capital of Culture, joining Oulu Read more

Journey to the Centre of the Earth: Geldek a Jelenec Read more

If you have suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk.
https://sputniknews.com/20211212/queen-of-the-vampires-genre-defining-author-anne-rice-dies-from-stroke-at-80-1091471888.html

'Queen of the Vampires': Genre-Defining Author Anne Rice Dies From Stroke at 80

'Queen of the Vampires': Genre-Defining Author Anne Rice Dies From Stroke at 80

Anne Rice, one of the best-selling authors of all time, reimagined the vampire genre. Her debut novel "Interview with a Vampire" became an international... 12.12.2021, Sputnik International

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vampires

horror movie

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Famed author Anne Rice has died after suffering from complications related to a stroke, her son Christopher Rice announced on Sunday. She was 80.As my mother, her support for me was unconditional  she taught me to embrace my dreams, reject conformity and challenge the dark voices of fear and self-doubt, Christopher wrote. As a writer, she taught me to defy genre boundaries and surrender to my obsessive passions.In her final hours, I sat beside her hospital bed in awe of her accomplishments and her courage, awash in memories of a life that took us from the fog laced hills of the San Francisco Bay Area to the magical streets of New Orleans to the twinkling vistas of Southern California.Born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1941, Rice grew up in a Roman Catholic family. Her father was a World War II veteran, worked for the postal service and had one book published posthumously. Rices mother struggled with alcoholism and ultimately died from it when Rice was 15 years old.Rice moved to North Texas in her late teens before settling permanently in San Francisco in 1962. Over the next decade, she studied at San Francisco State University, earning a B.A. in political science and an M.A. in creative writing.In 1970, tragedy struck Rice when her daughter Michele was diagnosed with granulocytic leukemia. Two years later, she died at the age of five. Her daughter would inspire the Claudia character in her debut novel.Rices debut novel, Interview with a Vampire, released in 1976, shot her to literary stardom and kickstarted her immensely popular Vampire Chronicles. Over the next 40 years, Rice wrote twelve more novels for the series, writing an additional 25 books alongside the immensely popular chronicles. All told, she sold over 150 million books, making her one of the highest-grossing authors of all time.Rices novels Interview with a Vampire, Queen of the Damned, Exit to Eden, and Christ the Lord were adapted into major motion pictures.Rices Vampire Chronicles, centered on Lestat de Lioncourt, created a modern brooding misunderstood-vampire genre. Series such as "True Blood" and "Twilight" are influenced by Rices works.Following the news of Rices death, there was an outpouring of support on social media. Many of her novels center on outcasts and struck a chord with various groups of readers. Her status as the mother of the modern vampire novel reportedly made her an inspiration for an entire generation of artists.Rice will be interred at the family mausoleum in New Orleans in a private ceremony. The family intends to hold a public ceremony in 2022 to celebrate the author's life.

Thomas Turk Vaxed..maybe? Doctor Daniel Nagase, in an exclusive interview, reviewed recently-released safety data on Pfizer-BioNTechs COVID-19 vaccine. Nagase came under fire for giving patients an unapproved treatment for COVID-19 while working in Alberta hospitals in September and was banned from working in Alberta Health Services facilities. Western Standard TV. 0

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https://sputniknews.com/20211213/assanges-fiancee-accuses-us-of-using-uk-as-executioner-in-plot-to-kill-wikileaks-founder-1091472849.html

Assanges Fiancee Accuses US of Using UK as Executioner in Plot to Kill WikiLeaks Founder

Assanges Fiancee Accuses US of Using UK as Executioner in Plot to Kill WikiLeaks Founder

Earlier this year, reports surfaced detailing alleged plots in 2017 to either kidnap or assassinate WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, when he was five years... 13.12.2021, Sputnik International

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2021-12-13T01:05+0000

us wins appeal to extradite assange

julian assange

stroke

uk

wikileaks

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Stella Moris, the fiancee of Julian Assange, accused the UK on Sunday of playing the executioner in a US plot to kill the WikiLeaks publisher.In a statement to the Daily Mail Online, Moris stressed to the outlet that Assanges incarceration is having a catastrophic effect on his health.Jamal Khashoggi was a Saudi-born Washington Post columnist who was assassinated in 2018 after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Sidestepping blame, Riyadh later suggested that the killing was not state-sanctioned, but was carried out by so-called rogue agents.Moris comments came shortly after a group of physicians again called on the UK government to release Assange from custody so that he can be provided with sufficient medical care.The group - Doctors for Assange - wrote in a release: The health of Mr. Assange and the health of our democracy, which depends on a free press and judicial integrity, are both in serious jeopardy. This shameful and deeply damaging case should be dropped now, and Julian Assange granted his long overdue freedom.The latest revelations surfaced a day after Moris detailed on Saturday that Assange had suffered a mini stroke on October 27 that had left him with a drooping right eyelid, memory problems and signs of neurological damage. He has since been placed on anti-stroke medication.Assange has been in UK custody since late 2019, shortly after Ecuador revoked his political asylum. More recently, Londons High Court granted an extradition request filed by the US government, which seeks to hold Assange liable on espionage charges.The US has long sought Assanges detainment over the publication of files that exposed the many US war crimes committed in Iraq.

https://sputniknews.com/20211212/canberra-doesnt-see-itself-as-a-party-to-the-case-of-julian-assange-as-us-wins-extradition-appeal-1091455315.html

vot tak Morris is dead right. The israeloamerican nazis are trying to murder Assange covertly. 4

Zeke Aln Absolutly correct! 2

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https://sputniknews.com/20211213/bojo-wont-resign-in-short-term-but-his-political-future-teetering-prof-says-1091467719.html

BoJo Won't Resign in Short-Term, But His Political Future Teetering, Prof. Says

BoJo Won't Resign in Short-Term, But His Political Future Teetering, Prof. Says

While a majority of UK citizens were locked down in 2020 amid strict coronavirus restrictions, Downing Street staffers appeared to enjoy Christmas celebrations... 13.12.2021, Sputnik International

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boris johnson

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uk

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With the Omicron COVID-19 variant already ravaging the United Kingdom, reportedly prompting governmental planning of additional restrictions, the leaked footage from the Downing Street 2020 Christmas party only adds to the frustration most Brits feel with Prime Minister Boris Johnson.His fellow party members even seem to be mulling to replace the beset PM in the event of his situation getting worse.Alistair Jones, an associate professor of politics at De Montfort University in the UK, offered to Sputnik his take on whether these misfortunes will climax with Johnson's resignation.Sputnik: Johnson's approval rating as PM has dropped to an all-time low. He is also facing major criticism over a Christmas party and the battle against the Omicron variant. Will Boris Johnson survive this backlash?Alistair Jones: That is a million-dollar question. At the moment, in the short term, the answer is yes, but - and here's a big but - there's a by-election on Thursday, and the Conservative Party are defending a majority of about 20,000 votes. It's Owen Pattersons seat, he was the one who got caught having two jobs and all the problems with all the sleaze and the scandals actually started. Now, if that seat is lost, then there will be pressure on Boris Johnson to resign, and that is on Thursday. If there is a small Conservative majority, he will hang on into the new year. But then you've got the investigations into all of the Christmas parties, and it's not just one Christmas party now. We are talking four or five or more Christmas parties, some of which Boris Johnson is alleged to have attended, and others were in Downing Street, but he may have known about. So in today's news, in England, there are pictures of him playing in or reading out questions in a Zoom quiz. But all the other contestants in the Zoom quiz were in Downing Street and it is alleged there were several of them between six and 20 in one room at a time when the rules stated there could only be two people together working in a room. So these breaches of the rules are being investigated and more and more are appearing, and it is just going to build up and build up, and suddenly the MPs will decide they've had enough. And all it takes is 55 Conservative MPs to write to the 1922 Committee to ask for Johnson's resignation and he is out. So there's a lot of pressure.Sputnik: What do you make of the timing of the leak about the Christmas party?Alistair Jones: The timing of the leak has a lot to do with the ill-feeling there is in 10 Downing Street, how there is just nothing in control. Whoever leaked it from 10 Downing Street, it was a very calculated ploy to see what sort of response it would provoke. The timing was done to create the maximum amount of damage to Boris Johnson, and his response to it has been, first of all, to deny, as he always does and then to say, Well, we'll investigate. But that leaves the question why investigate something that you said didn't exist? Whoever has leaked the story has timed it brilliantly and also knew how Johnson would respond. And he has responded perfectly to type: deny, deny, deny. And then he will blame somebody else - Allegra Stratton, one of his advisers, has already resigned. His other chief adviser, it is said, offered his resignation, but it was refused, although 10 Downing Street denied that happened. We may see more resignations or firings of Boris Johnson's 10 Downing Street support team, all of his special advisers. Many of them are getting exasperated with Johnson and how he acts. And there was a comment from somebody that it's about time the grown-ups took over again.Sputnik: Will the Tories give Boris the boot in the near future?Alistair Jones: Subject to all those caveats, I've just said - yes. If the North Shropshire by-election is lost, then letters of demand of his resignation will go in. I know that the Loughborough University Conservative Society has passed by a supermajority a demand for Boris Johnson to go to the Queen to resign as leader of the Conservative Party and as prime minister. So the fact that there's at least one students union, the Conservative Society is already pushing for this - it's not made the news much yet. I have locally, but not nationally yet, but that's beginning to show that even the most committed Conservative supporters are beginning to think that the amount of damage being done to the party is getting to the point now where they will lose the next general election, even though that is over two years away.Sputnik: But if Boris Johnson resigns, will this help the Conservatives in their struggle with Labour, which is currently ahead in the polls?Alistair Jones: A new leader normally breathes new life into a party and then to its poll ratings. The question is going to be, the really fascinating question  is who will replace Johnson? There are three mainstream frontrunners and one outsider. Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer  is very popular at the minute. How he's handled the economic side of the COVID pandemic  he's got a lot of credit for. Priti Patel is the second one. She is very popular with the grassroots of the party. She is one of those that want to take back control of our borders and reduce the amount of immigrants coming into the country and also seeking asylum or refugee status. She wants to stop as much of that as possible. And the third is Liz Truss, who is the current foreign secretary and who has been negotiating trade deals around the world and getting lots of kudos from within the Conservative Party for doing so, even though most of those deals may be rolled over what already existed when it was an EU member state. The fourth option is Jeremy Hunt, who stood against Boris Johnson last time around and was roundly defeated. But he is seen as being Not Boris, the Not Boris campaigner. The grown-up, if you like. And in that respect, he would be a safe pair of hands, even though he is not necessarily that popular compared to the popularity of Boris Johnson at the moment, he is significantly more popular. The Conservative Party membership will decide who is going to be the new leader if they get to an election, and it is the MPs who will be voting to get it down to the last two candidates. The question will be for Jeremy Hunt is whether or not he has got enough support amongst MPs. On that count, he might just make it, and then as to who the run-off person will be  it will be a very, very close election. But this is all conjecture. I don't see it happening. It won't be happening this side of Christmas, I don't think. But I think it's something that could well be happening in the new year, especially with the Omicron variant. And if we actually move to another lockdown and some of the forecasts are that we may need to move back into a lockdown, even though the government has promised that would never happen. That would be yet another lie or a broken promise that Boris Johnson has made. There are lots of things accruing, but that will all be in the new year.Sputnik: Is there any chance that we will see a shift in UK politics to a Labour government?Alistair Jones: If Boris Johnson stays in power... Boris Johnson is arguably one of the best campaigners in the country, and if he stays there, he has got the gift of the gab and he could talk the hind leg of a donkey and then make it to encourage it to walk again. He is that good. Labour have got nothing against that. Labour are going to have to appeal to people's minds rather than their hearts. They're going to have to present the rational, reasoned approach and that doesn't win elections. So if Boris Johnson is still there, Labour will struggle to defeat him regardless of what the polls are saying now. If Johnson is gone, it will depend upon who the leader is and how they treat Parliament. Because Boris Johnson has treated Parliament very, very badly. He has lied in the chamber, he has misrepresented so many things and has gotten away with it so far. His replacement has got to make Parliament look sane and sensible again, and then the Conservatives could be re-electable. But it's an 80 seat majority they are defending at the moment, and there have been very few occasions when that size of majority has been overturned in a single election. So the Labour Party have got a huge mountain to climb. The most recent polls put them at having about 41 or 42 percent of the vote. But when looking at the electoral system, that still leaves them five seats short of an overall majority. So, the electoral system and the way the boundaries have been redrawn have actually helped the Conservatives this time around, and it's going to make it even more difficult for Labour to win outright.

https://sputniknews.com/20211212/cabinet-minister-insists-bojo-followed-covid-rules-with-no-10-xmas-quiz-1091460135.html

Alba1970 doesn't matter who the tories put in charge of there party they will still beat the Labour party as England is deeply racist and anti foreign they are going further and further right with every passing day ... this is why Scotland needs out of this vile and corrupt UK 0

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boris johnson, interviews, uk
https://sputniknews.com/20211213/british-american-retailers-join-court-battles-against-visa-mastercard-over-transaction-fees-1091492313.html

British, American Retailers Join Court Battles Against Visa, MasterCard Over Transaction Fees

British, American Retailers Join Court Battles Against Visa, MasterCard Over Transaction Fees

Several global fashion retailers have filed legal complaints against Visa and MasterCard over their fees for card payments.

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world

business

mastercard

visa

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Several global fashion retailers have filed legal complaints against the world's two major financial services companies over their fees for card payments. Among them are UK-based AllSaints and Superdry, as well as American Levi, The Telegraph reported citing UK High Court writs.The companies reportedly accuse Visa and MasterCard of breaching competition laws with their high fees, and seek compensations for their losses. The fashion retailers thus joined around a dozen companies that seek to hold the two global credit cards operators accountable for high fees. Among other complainants are British supermarket chains Asda, Morrisons and Sainsburys.One of them, Sainsburys, reportedly reached an out of court settlement with MasterCard, but continues litigation against Visa. The latter rejects claims for compensations for high fees.MasterCard, in turn, suggested that complainants benefited greatly from the services the company provides for the card holders and suggested that the retailers should adapt their businesses to deal with ongoing economic challenges.The series of lawsuits follows a major conflict between Visa and the e-commerce giant Amazon. The US company recently announced that it will stop accepting payments from Visa cards issued in the UK citing "high fees". The e-commerce giant challenged Visa's practice of charging additional fees for protection against fraud, since the company has its own mechanism of combating it. Amazon apologised for the inconvenience and offered its customers discount coupons for their next purchase with another payment method.Amazon also said it is considering dropping out of a joint project with Visa that issued co-branded cards in the US.Visa condemned Amazon's decision as "odd" and "unfortunate", accusing the e-commerce giant of "restricting consumer choice".

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world, business, mastercard, visa
https://sputniknews.com/20211213/damaged-uss-connecticut-seen-for-the-first-time-since-october-collision---photo-1091481958.html

Damaged USS Connecticut Seen for the First Time Since October Collision - Photo

Damaged USS Connecticut Seen for the First Time Since October Collision - Photo

The damaged USS Connecticut has been seen for the first time since its October collision. Pictures posted online show the Seawolf class submarine arriving in San Diego harbour with visible damage to its bow.

2021-12-13T10:39+0000

2021-12-13T10:39+0000

2021-12-13T10:39+0000

military & intelligence

united states

china

south china sea

tensions

submarine

uss connecticut

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The damaged USS Connecticut has been seen for the first time since its October collision. Pictures posted online show the Seawolf class submarine arriving in San Diego harbour with visible damage to its bow.US media outlets previously reported that the collision with an undersea mountain resulted in severe damage to the submarine's ballast tanks. The vessel's nuclear reactor and propulsion system were not impaired. According to a recent report by US Naval Institute News, the incident also resulted in the destruction of the sub's sonar dome, which made it unsafe for the USS Connecticut to travel underwater.The outlet writes that the submarine's final destination is the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Washington. It is unclear why the submarine has arrived in San Diego.Following the incident, Vice Admiral Karl Thomas, Commander of the US 7th Fleet, which operates in the western Pacific, relieved three top commanders of the USS Connecticut from duty due to loss of confidence.The collision also led to the US Navy issuing a call for a "navigational stand down". Crews "will review required procedures in navigation planning, operations, risk management, and best practices as part of this training", said Submarine Forces spokesman Commander Paul Macapagal.The incident, which left 11 crew members injured, occurred on 2 October, with the Navy initially saying that the submarine hit an unknown object in "international waters". Days later, however, the US Navy released a statement saying that the USS Connecticut struck an "uncharted seamount", while in the South China Sea, a highly contested area claimed by several Asian countries, including Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and China. The United States has no claims to the area, but often conducts missions in the South China Sea citing freedom of navigation.Beijing, which claims most of the area, has harshly criticised Washington's actions, which the Foreign Ministry said threatened regional security and navigation safety, as well as exacerbated tensions between the two nations.The incident coincided with massive military drills held jointly by British, Canadian, Dutch, Japanese, US, and New Zealand forces. The military exercises were carried out north of Taiwan.

Notta Snowflake IMO the US Navy has not updated its undersea maps in thirty to forty years except on an ad hoc basis per operation or per military drill. Why drills are held in the first place is to sort out these sorts of messes before the actual need to do so arrives in the form of a new conflict but that is no excuse whatsoever, only an explanation. There is no justifying this incompetence except, as with all other things American, everyone seems to be living in 1977 by choice and forever whilst they admire themselves on their Instagram pages. 4

ECO American navy thought they could do some alpinism in the South China Sea 3

2

china

south china sea

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military & intelligence, united states, china, south china sea, tensions, submarine, uss connecticut
https://sputniknews.com/20211213/explosion-in-monastery-in-moscow-region-leaves-at-least-seven-injured-1091477407.html

Graduate of Russian Orthodox School Stages Explosion in Educational Facility

Graduate of Russian Orthodox School Stages Explosion in Educational Facility

An investigation into the incident has since been launched by the Russian authorities.

2021-12-13T06:42+0000

2021-12-13T06:42+0000

2021-12-13T09:32+0000

russia

explosion

convent

monastery

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An improvised bomb went off near a school located on the premises of a convent in the Russian city of Serpukhov, the emergency services stated on Monday. At least seven people were injured by the blast, all believed to be minors.After the blast, students and teachers were evacuated from the school, police stated.Moscow Region Governor Andrey Vorobyov stated that the victims of the blast have received medical assistance, and their lives are not in danger.The attacker and a 15-year-old teenager were injured in the incident, the statement read. A source in the Orthodox Church's office told Sputnik that the bomber later died.Another source in the emergencies services said to Sputnik that 10 people were injured in the explosion.

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Evgeny Mikhaylov https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/09/07/1080390164_0:0:1440:1440_100x100_80_0_0_46c187f2ab0908f86849a7d09a7def57.jpg

Evgeny Mikhaylov https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/09/07/1080390164_0:0:1440:1440_100x100_80_0_0_46c187f2ab0908f86849a7d09a7def57.jpg

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russia, explosion, convent, monastery
https://sputniknews.com/20211213/former-afghan-ambassador-reveals-what-has-to-be-done-by-taliban-to-gain-international-recognition-1091496092.html

Former Afghan Ambassador Reveals What Has to be Done by Taliban to Gain International Recognition

Former Afghan Ambassador Reveals What Has to be Done by Taliban to Gain International Recognition

In an interview with AP, Afghanistans Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi spoke about the Talibans commitments and goals on securing good relations with all countries. .

2021-12-13T20:23+0000

2021-12-13T20:23+0000

2021-12-13T20:40+0000

us

opinion

afghanistan

taliban

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According to Muttaqi, the Taliban* is ready to make changes that will benefit the nation and encourage the US and other countries to "slowly change its policy towards Afghanistan". Omar Samad, former Afghan ambassador to France, Canada, the EU, and NATO, spoke about the new message coming out of Afghanistan.Sputnik: What message is the Taliban trying to send?Omar Samad: It's four months after the controversial exit of Ashraf Ghani from Kabul. And the vacuum that was filled by the Taliban. The caretaker government in Kabul is feeling both domestic pressures, mostly from a collapsing economy and increasing poverty, as well as external pressures from those countries, especially that used to provide aid and funding to the Afghan government before 15 August. In this interview, the caretaker foreign minister of the Taliban expressed on the one hand frustration with the domestic pressures and external pressures on them, as well as their willingness to engage and be a partner to the international community in order to decrease the pressure on their regime. They're facing financial and economic collapse. At the same time, the request by the international community that the Taliban show more flexibility in terms of creating a broad-based government and addressing the needs of women's rights and education for girls. This is what has to be resolved by the Taliban in order to gain recognition by the international community.Sputnik: How likely is it that the US will establish relations?Omar Samad: I don't expect a sudden change in terms of official recognition. I think that engagement is going to be gradual and it's going to be selective. On one hand, the international community has a responsibility, especially those who were providing most of the funding before 15 August to make sure that the Afghan population does not suffer as a result of bad policy and bad governance in the past, at the same time that the Afghan people do not pay the price for Taliban inflexibility and intransigence in certain sectors. The United States and its allies and some other countries who have used the United Nations Security Council as a platform to make their demands known to the Taliban are expecting some change in the behaviour and the government's restrictions that the Taliban have implemented. The Taliban, on the other hand, seem to be having an internal discussion and debate about how much flexibility to show, how much of an open system to create, and how much of these demands and expectations to meet. This discussion, sooner or later, has to come to a conclusion and the hope is that the Taliban will be more flexible and less intransigent.Sputnik: What kind of steps must the Taliban pursue to achieve recognition by European countries?Omar Samad: You have to go back to the intra-Afghan reconciliation process and peace process that was going on before the fall of Kabul in Doha, Qatar. In those meetings, it is now known that the Taliban had at least provided some assurance that if there is a transitional government, interim government that will replace Ghani that they will accommodate other political and social and ethnic groups in a coalition government. Number two, they had also given assurances that certain accomplishments in regards to human rights, women's rights, education, freedom of expression will be maintained. And this is where they now have to prove to the Afghan people and to the international community that they stand by those assurances now that they are in power. So I think that the criteria and the conditions are very clear. And the ball is in the Taliban court now.Sputnik: How likely is it that the EU will recognise the Taliban?Omar Samad: I don't see the EU or any EU country recognising the Taliban politically and diplomatically anytime soon. What we are hearing is that some countries of the EU, as well as the EU itself, are assessing the possibility of opening a mission that will deal with mainly humanitarian and consular issues. So that is a step towards engagement, but not full recognition.Sputnik: Can we expect a situation where, for example, Europe engages with the Taliban independently from the US?Omar Samad: At this stage, I don't see it. As I said, the United Nations Security Council decisions that have been made and the statements that have been issued since the fall of Kabul show a certain level of unity between different countries  including Russia and China  on moving forward with recognition. Now, it is possible that in the next few weeks maybe a group of countries may change their minds. But for the moment, I don't see that happening under current conditions, unless the Taliban show some level of flexibility.Sputnik: You said that in a few weeks some countries could change their minds, can you please elaborate?Omar Samad: The international community in regards to Afghanistan is divided into different camps. But they have a certain level of understanding overall. The different camps  for example, the neighbours of Afghanistan, because of the fact that they are neighbours and share borders with Afghanistan, obviously have to deal with the country differently. Then you have countries in the region that are stakeholders for a variety of different reasons and who also have a different approach towards Afghanistan, depending on their level of interest. Then you have the global, larger context of great power rivalry and strategic issues that also impact the relationship with Afghanistan, and with others as well as among different players.So, it's a complex situation, but I think for the moment, as I said, the general consensus is to stick to the United Nations Security Council resolutions asking the Taliban to create a broad-based government, respect gender rights as well as minority rights, and allow women to work and girls to go to school, and also play a role in counterterrorism, a constructive role in counterterrorism. These are the main demands that the Taliban need to address. And I don't think that this general context is going to change anytime soon.Sputnik: When will the terrorism label be stripped from the Taliban?Omar Samad: The question of lifting the Taliban from the UN blacklist and the designation of individuals within the Taliban as having terrorist status is very much also tied to the resolutions that have been passed and to the expectations that have been presented to the Taliban, whether in Doha or in Moscow or in other locations in the past four months  or in Kabul itself. And I think that the Taliban have been given a clear set of policy guidelines in order to address the issue of recognition, as well as delisting from UN terrorist designation.Sputnik: The economic situation in Afghanistan is dire and the Taliban have expressed their frustration with this. What if the Taliban are not flexible in addressing the international communitys concerns and the international community doesnt provide aid and assistance to the country? Could we see another stage of chaos within the nation, particularly with internal fighting?Omar Samad: There are two issues here. I think on the humanitarian crisis that is unfolding, the international community has agreed to bypass the Taliban regime and use the United Nations and NGOs to help the Afghan population, and that is going on right now. That cannot stop because it will lead to a catastrophe. So that is happening regardless of what the Taliban do or don't do. Now, there are obviously other issues tied to the economy overall, for example, to the banking system and to the devalued currency of the country that is impacting livelihoods as well. Because the more unstable Afghanistan becomes, the more dangerous the situation becomes and allows for transnational terrorist groups and criminal groups to re-emerge and use Afghanistan to further their agenda. So I think that there is a fine line between trying to provide assistance to the population, trying to engage the Taliban to make the right decisions, and then also to prevent a collapse and destabilisation of the country that could have broader consequences.This obviously is a policy question that has to be answered in Washington, in Brussels, as well as in Moscow and Beijing and the capitals of all those countries that have a special interest in Afghanistan. It's not just one part of the world or one country that is responsible or is a stakeholder. So, one part of the world was providing, until a few months ago, 75 percent of Afghanistan's expenditures at all levels, and that has gone to almost zero.So the question is how do you fill the gap and then what role do these stakeholders play? And as I said, on the one hand, to make sure that we do not create a humanitarian catastrophe, on the other hand, in order to push the Taliban, constructively, to address the issues that put to them. And third  to prevent a further destabilisation of the country that could benefit terrorist groups, for example. This is a collective responsibility, not just of one country or another. Yes, some countries have more responsibility  the United States and the Western countries, because of their history in Afghanistan, but it does not exclude others as well, including especially the neighbours of Afghanistan who will feel the impact of the collapse and of destabilisation.*The Taliban is an organisation under UN sanctions over terrorist activities.

https://sputniknews.com/20211213/seeking-good-relations-with-all-countries-taliban-appears-ready-to-sink-feud-with-us-1091483344.html

https://sputniknews.com/20211213/us-faces-difficulties-in-ensuring-taliban-do-not-benefit-from-aid-funding-1091494426.html

FeEisi The Wagner Group can help the Taliban secure the Northern Border and help against ISIS. 0

1

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us, opinion, afghanistan, taliban
https://sputniknews.com/20211213/how-us-midwest-is-weathering-aftermath-of-devastating-tornadoes-1091490895.html

How US Midwest is Weathering Aftermath of Devastating Tornadoes

How US Midwest is Weathering Aftermath of Devastating Tornadoes

After a swarm of ravaging tornadoes hit several states in America, President Joe Biden declared a major federal disaster in Kentucky, pledging additional federal resources to the communities hit by the severe weather.

2021-12-13T17:49+0000

2021-12-13T17:49+0000

2021-12-13T17:49+0000

deadly tornadoes in us

us

tornado

midwest

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The storms that hit several states in the Midwest over the weekend are already considered to be among the worst in the country's history. Merciless tornadoes ripped through Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee, but in Kentucky, the damage was the most serious, with the entire small town of Mayfield basically wiped out.Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said that 64 people died in the state (of whom six were children) after the tornadoes, with 105 others being unaccounted for. Earlier, local authorities had estimated that the death toll could exceed 100. During a Monday press briefing, an emotional Beshear admitted that he was "not doing so well today".He vowed to use all available resources, including federal assistance, to help local communities recover.Meanwhile, another Kentucky town, Dawson Springs, saw 75% of the community destroyed, leaving it in "chaos", with over a hundred names still on the list of missing people.Local officials have compared the aftermath with "something that you would see in a war zone", according to CNN.Beshear told CNN that there are "towns that are gone", with rescuers unable to go door-to-door, because there are "no doors". With the damage and casualties still being assessed, the White House has opened for federal assistance to reach communities, approving a disaster declaration for Kentucky.Particularly, the declaration authorises the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) "to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures". FEMA teams have already arrived in Kentucky, with over 300 National Guard troops deployed across the state. Aside from this, the Red Cross said it is "working around the clock" to ensure that those affected have a place to stay, along with essentials such as food and critical relief supplies. Several emergency shelters are scattered across the impacted states, with Red Cross volunteers to help tackle the aftermath.Other states are also struggling to recover from the tornadoes. In Missouri, the storms claimed at least two lives. Governor Mike Parsons on Sunday visited Pemiscot and St. Charles Counties: in the latter, the storm killed an elderly woman. In the Bootheel region, the severe weather claimed the life of a young child, according to the Associated Press.In the Illinois city of Edwardsville, tornadoes caused the collapse of an Amazon warehouse, killing at least eight Amazon workers. The company's founder Jeff Bezos said that the news is "tragic" and pledged support to "all of Edwardsville". At least one person died in the north-eastern Arkansas city of Monette when a tornado hit a nursing home. The state of Tennessee recorded four weather-related deaths.

BillOwens Now that part of the US has been damaged, perhaps Joey will be too busy and not damage some other country. 1

Roger Tshibangu What Is Very Interesting No a word in Mainstreams Media They ask or Talk About This >>The Question Is The US is the Boss of NATO WY Is not a Summit To Help The Boss? 1

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midwest

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us, tornado, midwest
https://sputniknews.com/20211213/johnson-urges-brits-to-get-covid-booster-jabs-ahead-of-omicron-tidal-wave-----1091472417.html

Johnson Urges Brits to Get COVID Booster Jabs Ahead of Omicron 'Tidal Wave'

Johnson Urges Brits to Get COVID Booster Jabs Ahead of Omicron 'Tidal Wave'

In a pre-recorded address to the UK public, Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled a new "Omicron Emergency Boost" initiative that seeks to accelerate the availability of COVID-19 vaccine booster shots to Brits.

2021-12-13T00:44+0000

2021-12-13T00:44+0000

2021-12-13T07:42+0000

omicron covid strain

boris johnson

health

uk

covid-19

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In a pre-recorded address to the UK public, Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled a new "Omicron Emergency Boost" initiative that seeks to accelerate the availability of COVID-19 vaccine booster shots to Brits. Under the vaccination campaign, those in England aged 18 years and over will be eligible to receive a booster dose before the year end. "Do not make the mistake of thinking Omicron can't hurt you; can't make you and your loved ones seriously ill", Johnson added. Those aged 30 years and older will be able to begin booking a booster shot appointment on Monday, according to the National Health Service (NHS). Younger adults will be eligible to book an appointment beginning Wednesday. An early analysis published on Friday by the UK Health Security Agency suggested that the two-dose vaccines offered by AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech are less effective in combating the Omicron COVID-19 variant, when compared to the Delta variant. The analysis  based on 581 people confirmed to have been infected with the omicron variant found that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine booster provided around 70% protection for those who initially received the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, and about 75% protection for those who originally received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The UK prime minster's Sunday address came shortly after NHS England National Medical Director Stephen Powis and several chief UK health officials recommended the country increase its COVID-19 alert level.Health experts noted that a reduction in vaccine protection and an increased transmissibility of the Omicron COVID-19 variant are poised to increase pressure on an already-strained NHS. "It is extremely important that if you are eligible, you get your COVID vaccination now - whether this be your first, second or booster dose", officials urged.

vot tak Yes, get those shots now before mild omicron shows they are not needed. Gotta keep giving the pharma oligarchs their huge profits... 4

TruePatriot Riiiiggghhht Bojo. Quick run out there to get a jab that has been proven to be ineffective against MORONIC and is hazardous to your health. This latest iteration of the bug has yet to hospitalize anyone or kill them, so get over it. Why don't you do the proper thing and publicly announce the scamdemic is over and the government is rescinding all its tyrannical diktats? Or be recalled. Your choice. 3

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Evan Craighead

boris johnson, health, uk, covid-19
https://sputniknews.com/20211213/jordan-peterson-on-cancel-culture-if-you-cant-say-what-you-think-soon-you-wont-be-able-to-think-1091488204.html

Jordan Peterson on Cancel Culture: If You Cant Say What You Think, Soon You Wont Be Able to Think

Jordan Peterson on Cancel Culture: If You Cant Say What You Think, Soon You Wont Be Able to Think

The Canadian psychologist and professor emeritus at the University of Toronto has gained widespread popularity in recent years over his online lectures, in... 13.12.2021, Sputnik International

2021-12-13T14:16+0000

2021-12-13T14:16+0000

2021-12-13T14:16+0000

society

jordan peterson

political correctness

cancel culture

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Jordan Peterson has again weighed in on the danger of cancel culture as well as the impact of political correctness on academia. Speaking to The Telegraph, the psychologist has argued that cancel culture is particularly detrimental at universities, whose primary function is to help students think for themselves. There is "no distinction between free speech and free thought", the academic stresses.The author of "12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos", which became a bestseller, knows what it is like to be cancelled. In 2019, Cambridge University rescinded its invitation of a visiting fellowship for Peterson after a photo showing him with a man wearing a T-shirt with the words "Im a proud Islamophobe" was posted on social media. The academic described the decision as "deeply unfortunate" and a "serious error of judgement". Peterson said he didnt like the caption on the T-shirt, but went on to pose for a photo with the man, because he believed in the freedom of opinion.A group of Cambridge dons decided to fight the cancellation of the invitation and eventually won. Last month, Peterson visited the university and participated in a variety of engagements and seminars.The academic has praised Cambridges decentralised collegiate system, which he says allows the university to resist cancel culture. Other universities have lost the battle, according to Peterson, who claims that no discipline is immune to being "captured". Its happening in medicine, its happening in chemistry".The psychologist alleges that the University of California can reject applications for permanent posts awarded to professors on the basis of statements on diversity and inclusion a candidate has made rather than on an evaluation of their research programme.Another example mentioned by Peterson is the Royal Society of Chemistry, which issued guidelines to its staff that reportedly included calls to "minimise the risk of publishing inappropriate or otherwise offensive content". The guidelines stated that to determine offence, it is "the perception of the recipient that we should consider, regardless of the authors intention".Peterson is now on tour to promote his new book "Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life", which was released earlier this year.

Ladyshadow Finally, someone willing to stand up to the politicians and their warped sense of how to win votes, how's that song go, In the Year 2525? 2

Gone Yeah, dude is deceptive in his "philosophizing". 2

5

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Max Gorbachev

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Max Gorbachev

society, jordan peterson, political correctness, cancel culture
https://sputniknews.com/20211213/last-chance-uk-foreign-secretary-warns-time-is-running-out-for-iran-amid-nuclear-deal-talks-1091472613.html

'Last Chance': UK Foreign Secretary Warns Time is Running Out for Iran Amid Nuclear Deal Talks

'Last Chance': UK Foreign Secretary Warns Time is Running Out for Iran Amid Nuclear Deal Talks

The United Kingdom, United States, and Germany have expressed fear that the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will fail to garner a serious... 13.12.2021, Sputnik International

2021-12-13T00:36+0000

2021-12-13T00:36+0000

2021-12-13T00:31+0000

us

joint comprehensive plan of action (jcpoa)

uk

iran deal

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UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss warned on Sunday that Iran may only have one final opportunity to rejoin the historic 2015 nuclear deal amid the latest spike in tensions between regional powers.Negotiations over a new JCPOA nuclear deal have been taking place in Vienna since late last month after a five-month pause while Iran held elections and saw the rise of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.On Saturday, Annalena Baerbock, Germanys Minister of Foreign Affairs, voiced a similar sentiment."Time is running out," she noted.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also concerned that negotiations will end without a result. In the wake of a US delegation negotiating with Iran through European allies, Blinken said, I have to tell you, recent moves, recent rhetoric, don't give us a lot of cause for optimism.The pessimism comes only a week after US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley told Al Jazeera that officials were "fully committed to a mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA. Earlier this month, Blinken revealed that the latest round of talks in Vienna were halted after negotiators determined that Iran was not "serious about doing what's necessary to return to compliance." Iran later responded to the remarks by blaming the setback on the US' refusal to lift restrictive sanctions.The JCPOA was initially negotiated over the course of 20 months - from 2013 through 2015, with the 15-year deal granting expanded oversight to outside entities over Irans nuclear program. The agreement allowed Iran to slowly develop a nuclear infrastructure.In 2018, the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew the United States from the agreement after accusing Iran of breaching restrictions of the agreement. In the wake of the sudden withdrawal, Iran subsequently discarded its nuclear program constraints as the US began a "maximum pressure" campaign that saw a slew of sanctions imposed.

vot tak The first paragraph tells the reader this article will be from the israeloamerican pov and it will present their bs that Iran is at fault here. Everyone knows the fault lies with israeli's american and euro colonies. Further reading confirms the writer only presented the israeloamerican propaganda and did try to make out Iran as being the one that is the problem. Thumbs down, 5th column. 12

Hess Liz Truss is bought and owned by Jews. She is acting as a Zionist spokeswoman for the Israeli Fascist regime. Time is running out for Israel and its financiers, Britain and the US. 12

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Nevin Brown

Nevin Brown

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Nevin Brown

us, joint comprehensive plan of action (jcpoa), uk, iran deal
https://sputniknews.com/20211213/nhs-website-crashes-over-huge-demand-for-covid-19-booster-jabs-after-1st-omicron-death-confirmed-1091488569.html

NHS Website Crashes Over Huge Demand for COVID-19 Booster Jabs After 1st Omicron Death Confirmed

NHS Website Crashes Over Huge Demand for COVID-19 Booster Jabs After 1st Omicron Death Confirmed

The UK's corona booster jab drive has been a roaring success, with 23 million people  40 percent of the population over 12  getting their third dose in just over two months, more than half a million on Sunday alone.

2021-12-13T14:50+0000

2021-12-13T14:50+0000

2021-12-13T14:51+0000

boris johnson

national health service (nhs)

britain

great britain

sajid javid

coronavirus

covid-19

uk

omicron covid strain

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A mad rush to get COVID-19 booster jabs has crashed the National Health Service website  blocking orders for home testing kits too.More than 100,000 people tried to book their third doses of vaccine on Monday after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Sunday evening that over-40s would now be invited to have them as part of the "emergency" response to the new Omicron variant.Orders of lateral flow test kits had to be suspended as a result. Meanwhile, long queues were reported at walk-in vaccination centres around England.The UK's booster shot programme has made rapid progress since its launch on 1 October. More than half a million people had their third jab on Sunday, bringing the total to over 23 million out of a population of 67 million  or 40 per cent of the eligible population over the age of 12.The original target was all over-50s and others considered at high risk, numbering some 30 million in all.However, the average number of deaths is still the same, at about 110 per day, as in early October.According to data from the Office for National Statistics, over 95 percent of people in every age range are either vaccinated or have acquired antibodies against COVID-19. That figure rises to 99 percent in over-65s, the most vulnerable section of the population.On Monday, Johnson said a patient in a British hospital had died "with" the new variant  although he did not clarify whether the virus was the cause of death. That was after Health Secretary Sajid Javid said 10 people in UK hospitals had tested positive for Omicron.However, South African doctors, who discovered the new variant, insist it only causes a mild illness. South African Medical Association chair Dr Angelique Coetzee told LBC news on Sunday there was "no need to hospitalise any of these mild cases"."Our ICUs at this stage is not full", she added.

https://sputniknews.com/20211213/johnson-urges-brits-to-get-covid-booster-jabs-ahead-of-omicron-tidal-wave-----1091472417.html

vot tak Excellent article, referencing the South African information to contrast the brit panic. 3

Clayton S And that's all it takes. Another lie from the government. 2

8

britain

great britain

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James Tweedie https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/08/1c/1080307270_0:3:397:400_100x100_80_0_0_7777393b9b18802f2e3c5eaa9cbcc612.png

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boris johnson, national health service (nhs), britain, great britain, sajid javid, coronavirus, covid-19, uk
https://sputniknews.com/20211213/pentagon-troops-tied-to-botched-kabul-drone-strike-that-killed-10-civilians-will-face-no-punishment-1091497188.html

Pentagon: Troops Tied to Botched Kabul Drone Strike That Killed 10 Civilians Will Face No Punishment

Pentagon: Troops Tied to Botched Kabul Drone Strike That Killed 10 Civilians Will Face No Punishment

US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin has ordered that no US armed forces personnel will face punishment for an August drone attack that killed civilians amid American withdrawal efforts.

2021-12-13T21:58+0000

2021-12-13T21:58+0000

2021-12-13T21:53+0000

kabul

us

afghanistan

kabul blast

afghanistan

joe biden

kabul international airport

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US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin has ordered that no US armed forces personnel will face punishment for an August drone attack that killed civilians amid American withdrawal efforts.The move was confirmed by Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby, who told reporters Monday that "none of the recommendations dealt specifically with issues of accountability".Recommendations had been filed by US Central Command head Kenneth McKenzie and US Special Operations Command leader Gen. Richard Clarke to not undertake administrative action against those involved in the August 29 strike.Kirby's confirmation came shortly after the New York Times reported that Austin had approved the recommendation to let the service members involved off scot-free for the August air raid that killed 10 members of one family  including seven children. The August 29 air raid was reportedly in response to a suicide bombing three days earlier at Kabul Airport that was said to have been carried out by Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), an Afghan branch of Daesh*. That attack killed 13 US military personnel and up to 170 Afghan civilians and Taliban guards. It later emerged that many of the casualties were caused by US troops and their Afghan allies shooting into the crowd after the bomber detonated the explosives.US President Joe Biden  who rushed the evacuation of the US embassy in Kabul after the Pentagon-trained Afghan army collapsed following the official US withdrawal  vowed revenge for the deaths of 13 Americans.But it was Zemaray Ahmadi, a worker for a US NGO, three of his sons and six nephews and nieces who paid the price when a missile fired from a US Air Force unmanned drone hit their Toyota automobile. Two of the victims were a boy and girl just two years old.An internal military investigation determined that no crimes had been committed by US forces, but left it up to Austin to make the call.McKenzie belatedly admitted in September that the attack had killed innocent civilians. "I offer my profound condolences to the family and friends of those who were killed," McKenzie said. "It was a mistake and I offer my sincere apology."The Pentagon has since offered undisclosed compensation payments to the relatives of the victims.Last week, Kirby said Austin wanted to draw a line under the massacre "as soon as possible".There has been numerous and recent exchanges between us and NEI about trying to get the necessary information in place so that we can affect their safe departure and affect the ex gratia payment, Kirby said.* Islamic State or Daesh is banned as a terrorist group in Russia and by UN resolution.

https://sputniknews.com/20210830/twitter-conservatives-condemn-terrorist-biden-regimes-murder-of-afghan-children-1083751944.html

vot tak Of course the war criminals wont be prosecuted. That is the american way. Has been all along. 3

Steve The generals in charge should be jailed for crimes against humanity 2

7

kabul

afghanistan

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James Tweedie https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/08/1c/1080307270_0:3:397:400_100x100_80_0_0_7777393b9b18802f2e3c5eaa9cbcc612.png

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James Tweedie https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/08/1c/1080307270_0:3:397:400_100x100_80_0_0_7777393b9b18802f2e3c5eaa9cbcc612.png

kabul, us, afghanistan, kabul blast, joe biden, kabul international airport
https://sputniknews.com/20211213/rec-opens-tasting-pavilion-in-egypt-1091493109.html

REC Opens Tasting Pavilion in Egypt

REC Opens Tasting Pavilion in Egypt

The Russian Export Centre JSC (part of VEB.RF Group), together with the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, held the opening ceremony of its tasting pavilion in... 13.12.2021, Sputnik International

2021-12-13T17:07+0000

2021-12-13T17:07+0000

2021-12-13T19:12+0000

russian export center jsc (rec)

russia

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https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/0c/0d/1091495272_0:184:2989:1865_1920x0_80_0_0_52d688bfbf4ee57ee2b8838d357c32d2.jpg

Alexey Solodov, vice-president of the REC, explained that Egypt was chosen "as a result of a survey" which showed that the country was "the most attractive region for Russian companies. The Russian Ministry of Agriculture supported this idea as well, he added.He said that, when choosing a country for the new pavilion earlier this year, REC researched the sales potential of Russian products in different countries. Population, GDP, purchasing power, availability of a seaport, volume of agricultural imports from Russia, share of Russian products in total imports to the country, as well as the presence of agricultural attache and trade representation of the Russian Federation were chosen the main criteria. Trade barriers, the corruption perception index and the ease of doing business index were also considered.According to him, Egypt has an advantageous geographical location as its close to the Mediterranean. Moreover, thanks to the Suez Canal, Egypt is a key logistics and commodity centre in North Africa.He highlighted that the new pavilion is another step way to introduce foreign markets to Russian businesses. Moreover, the mechanism has the capacity to introduce "products for peaceful purposes" not only to Egypt but also to neighboring countries. We will not rest until every Russian exporter is convinced that once his products get on the shelves of our pavilions, his company will enjoy huge success. We will work until every consumer in Egypt becomes a fan of Russian products, Solodov said.Previously, three permanent tasting pavilions demonstrating Russian agro-industrial products were launched in China (Shanghai), UAE (Dubai) and Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City). 136 Russian companies presented their products there - 45 in the UAE, 44 in Vietnam and 47 in China. In 2021, 26 export contracts worth $32 million were concluded.

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russian export center jsc (rec), russia
https://sputniknews.com/20211213/russia-can-help-central-african-republic-boost-its-military-power-parliament-speaker-says-1091484278.html

Russia Can Help Central African Republic Boost Its Military Power, Parliament Speaker Says

Russia Can Help Central African Republic Boost Its Military Power, Parliament Speaker Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Central African Republic National Assembly head, Simplice Mathieu Sarandji, told Sputnik that Russia could help strengthen the potential of... 13.12.2021, Sputnik International

2021-12-13T11:46+0000

2021-12-13T11:46+0000

2021-12-13T11:46+0000

central african republic

russia

africa

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Sarandji welcomed Russia's and other countries' determination to advocate for the complete lifting of the arms delivery embargo in the CAR. The official also expressed gratitude on behalf of the country's leadership to the Russian military for their contribution to the stabilisation of the security situation in the republic.The United Nations Security Council imposed an arms embargo on the CAR in 2013 which remains in force until 31 July 2022, in response to law and human rights violations widely observed in the CAR.On 8 December Sarandji met with Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin where the officials discussed the development of inter-parliamentary relations, as well as cooperation between the two countries in the economy, culture and education. The CAR national assembly speaker told Sputnik he offered to his Russian counterpart to strengthen cooperation between the two countries' legislatures.

Barros If this mean to kill US troops, that sounds good! 1

Ladyshadow Weapons are not going to solve any problems, they only bring more death and destruction. 0

2

central african republic

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central african republic, russia, africa
https://sputniknews.com/20211213/seeking-good-relations-with-all-countries-taliban-appears-ready-to-sink-feud-with-us-1091483344.html

Seeking 'Good Relations' With All Countries, Taliban Appears Ready to Sink Feud With US

Seeking 'Good Relations' With All Countries, Taliban Appears Ready to Sink Feud With US

The Taliban government in Afghanistan seeks to have good relations with all nations, and has "no issues" with the United States, Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told the Associated Press in an interview.

2021-12-13T11:36+0000

2021-12-13T11:36+0000

2021-12-13T11:36+0000

afghanistan

world

us

afghanistan

taliban

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The Taliban government in Afghanistan seeks to have good relations with all nations, and has "no issues" with the United States, Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told the Associated Press in an interview.According to Muttaqi, the Taliban has changed since its previous stretch in power (from 1996 to 2001), and is ready to make changes that will both benefit the nation and encourage the US and other countries to "slowly change its policy towards Afghanistan".He also urged the US, along with other nations, to unfreeze the $10 billion in Afghan funds, saying that "sanctions against Afghanistan would [...] not have any benefit".Earlier in the week, donors to the World Bank agreed to transfer $280 million from the frozen Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) to several humanitarian programmes to offer vital support for the Central Asian nation. The World Bank also pledged to continue working in order to unlock additional funds to help the Afghan people.In a bid to make up for the extremes of the Taliban's previous period in power, the group is ready to introduce more reforms, as it has "made progress" since its last time in charge, according to Muttaqi. The diplomacy chief pointed at how girls and women in Afghanistan are now allowed to attend school through to Grade 12 in 10 of the country's 34 provinces, and all women previously engaged in the health sector are back on the job. The foreign minister insisted that these developments show the Taliban is "committed in principle to women's participation".The Taliban does not rule out the possibility of women participating in the government. In early December, the group introduced a decree on women's rights acknowledging that women are not property and cannot be forced into marriage.Asife from this, the foreign minister noted the general amnesty the militants offered their opponents instead of targeting them. Although the majority of the previous US-backed Afghan government have fled the country, Muttaqi asserted that some now peacefully reside in the capital Kabul.Some former Afghan interpreters who used to work with the US or other Western countries, however, claim that they still do not feel safe in the country despite the Taliban's declared amnesty.One of these people, who wished to only be identified by his first name Faridon, earlier shared his story with Sputnik. According to him, the amnesty declaration is "just a promise", as the Taliban is "still raiding people's homes and killing Afghan nationals who did such work [interpretation, helping US military, etc.] every day".The Taliban's foreign minister also addressed some chaotic episodes of the Western withdrawal from Afghanistan - particularly the notorious scene of people chasing a departing American plane, with several individuals falling to the ground when it took off. He said it was not fear of the militants that drove those people but rather poverty and dreams of a better life in America.Muttaqi also said that the Taliban had kept its promise to deny a safe haven to Daesh** and al-Qaeda** terrorists, debunking claims by the US top military commander in the Middle East, Gen. Frank McKenzie, that since late August the al-Qaeda has grown slightly in the country."Unfortunately, there are (always) allegation[s] against the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, but there is no proof", Muttaqi stated. "If McKenzie has any proof, he should provide it. With confidence, I can say that this is a baseless allegation".*The Taliban is an organisation under UN sanctions over terrorist activities.**Daesh is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia and many other countries.**Al-Qaeda is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia and many other countries.

https://sputniknews.com/20211211/afghan-interpreters-for-us-forces-face-grave-threats-despite-talibans-amnesty-promise-1091435955.html

us

afghanistan

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Daria Bedenko

Daria Bedenko

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Daria Bedenko

world, us, afghanistan, taliban
https://sputniknews.com/20211213/taiwan-ministers-feed-cut-at-us-democracy-summit-after-map-shows-roc-china-in-different-colors--1091498510.html

Taiwan Minister's Feed Cut at US Democracy Summit After Map Shows ROC, China in Different Colors

Taiwan Minister's Feed Cut at US Democracy Summit After Map Shows ROC, China in Different Colors

On December 9-10, US President Joe Biden's administration led the first 'Summit for Democracy,' a virtual conference that sought to bring government leaders... 13.12.2021, Sputnik International

2021-12-13T23:10+0000

2021-12-13T23:10+0000

2021-12-13T23:05+0000

beijing

taipei

us

china

washington dc

taiwan

us state department

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https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/03/03/1082248057_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_aa9cefac610f2aac00bf5bfaa0e0095a.jpg

Taiwanese Digital Minister Audrey Tang, a presenter at the White House's two-day conference, had her feed cut by US officials due to concerns about a map violating the US Department of State's 'one China' view, according to a Reuters report, citing sources familiar with the matter. Despite Taiwan being the ninth-largest US trade partner via an unofficial relationship, the State Department does not publicly support the independence of the Republic of China and acknowledges Beijing's position that "there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China."During the December 10 event, Tang's presentation feed was pulled shortly after she displayed a color-coded map, designed by South African nonprofit CIVICUS, that measured each country's openness on civil rights. While China was labeled red, Taiwan was marked green. The State Department initially claimed that there was "confusion" regarding screen sharing at the time Tang's feed was pulled.When asked about the incident, Tang rejected the idea that her feed was pulled on purpose. "No, I do not believe that this has anything to do with the CIVICUS map in my slides, or US allies in Asia, for that matter," Tang told Reuters via email. Tang's image has been edited out of the final version uploaded to YouTube, although her audio feed remains. Sources who spoke with Reuters viewed the move as counterintuitive to the democratic summit, which focused in part on countering China and Russia, two countries notably left off the invite list. While a National Security Council spokesperson has pushed back on the claim that the White House directed the feed to be cut, other sources have claimed the move was ordered by higher-ups at the State Department. Meanwhile, Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) has called on US President Joe Biden to issue "an immediate public apology" to Taipei for what she characterized as the censorship of Taiwan. "Tyrants around the world must know the US stands for freedom, self-expression, and democracy," tweeted the US congresswoman.

Hampar Tokatlian Uncle Shmuel created the Taipei monster and now are trying to push it back into the bottle. Lots of luck will be need for the arseholes. 7

Notta Snowflake My apologies. I nearly forgot to mention the USA's betrayal of the Bosnian Serbs and Serbia as well as of the promise made to Gorbachev in the 1990's when th eWall came down that the USA would not turn 13 former Warsaw Pact nations against the Russian Federation by stationing US and NATO troops in those countries. 4

4

beijing

taipei

china

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Evan Craighead

Evan Craighead

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Evan Craighead

beijing, taipei, us, china, washington dc, taiwan, us state department
https://sputniknews.com/20211213/three-killed-10-injured-as-terrorists-open-fire-at-police-bus-in-indias-kashmir-1091488011.html

Three Killed, 10 Injured as Terrorists Open Fire at Police Bus in India's Kashmir

Three Killed, 10 Injured as Terrorists Open Fire at Police Bus in India's Kashmir

Three police officers were killed and ten others were injured in a major terrorist attack on the 9th Battalion of the Indian Reserve Police (IRP) on Monday, state police said.

2021-12-13T14:05+0000

2021-12-13T14:05+0000

2021-12-13T14:05+0000

kashmir

terrorists

srinagar

jammu and kashmir

india

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Three police officers were killed and ten others were injured in a major terrorist attack on the 9th Battalion of the Indian Reserve Police (IRP) on Monday, state police said."Terrorists fired upon a police vehicle near Zewan in the Pantha Chowk area of Srinagar", police in Kashmir said.Law enforcement said that all of the injured personnel have been evacuated to the 92nd Base Hospital, three of them were declared dead by a doctor there. No terror organisation has claimed responsibility so far.The entire area has been cordoned off, and a joint team of army, para-military, and state police has launched a counter-terror operation to catch the terrorists. The Indian government had earlier deployed additional troops in the violence-hit region in October amid a rising number of targeted killings and encounters in the valley.

Cross Bane That's why nobody likes muselims. They have only learned how to destruct and destroy from their mule lahs and their green book. 0

1

kashmir

srinagar

jammu and kashmir

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Rishikesh Kumar https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/08/04/1080055820_0:0:388:389_100x100_80_0_0_40018ee210946d65d49ffba4f4c008e1.jpg

kashmir, terrorists, srinagar, jammu and kashmir, india
https://sputniknews.com/20211213/two-cargo-ships-collide-in-baltic-sea-off-coast-of-sweden-at-least-two-people-in-water-reports-say-1091476174.html

Two Cargo Ships Collide in Baltic Sea Off Coast of Sweden, Rescue Operation Underway

Two Cargo Ships Collide in Baltic Sea Off Coast of Sweden, Rescue Operation Underway

Two cargo ships have collided in the Baltic Sea between the town of Ystad in southern Sweden and the Danish island of Bornholm. According to the Swedish Maritime Administration, one of the ships is floating upside down.

2021-12-13T06:03+0000

2021-12-13T06:03+0000

2021-12-13T11:50+0000

sweden

denmark

news

europe

shipwreck

baltic sea

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Two cargo ships collided in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Sweden on Monday. According to the Swedish Maritime Administration, one of the ships is floating upside down. "We do not know exactly how it happened", Jonas Franzen, communications manager at the Swedish Maritime Administration told national broadcaster SVT. The collision took place between the town of Ystad in southern Sweden and the Danish island of Bornholm.A major rescue operation is now underway, with at least ten rescue boats from both Denmark and Sweden working at the scene. Several helicopters are also searching the area."At the moment, there are two people missing", commanding officer Victor Devinder confirmed to SVT.No people or bodies have been found or retrieved yet."It is dark and very cold in the water. But the wind isn't blowing so much. It is four degrees in the water and five degrees in the air", Jonas Franzen said, suggesting that the weather conditions are far from optimal.According to Franzen, diving resources have been requested to continue the search.The "Karin Hoej" is 55 metres long and sails under the Danish flag and the "Scot Carrier" is 90 metres and sails under the British flag. The Danish ship was on its way from Sodertalje, Sweden to Nykbing Falster, Denmark and must have been unloaded. The British ship was on its way from Salacgriva, Latvia to Montrose in the UK."The Danish ship had at least two people on board. But we do not know how many there were there totally", Franzen concluded.The Swedish Coast Guard said that their ships were on their way to the site.

BobValdez . Blaming Russia in 3... 2... 1... 1

Wayne Gabler HMS Cargo and USS Cargo ?? 1

3

sweden

denmark

baltic sea

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2021

Igor Kuznetsov

Igor Kuznetsov

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Igor Kuznetsov

sweden, denmark, news, europe, shipwreck, baltic sea
https://sputniknews.com/20211213/uk-france-and-eu-settle-fishing-row-but-french-sailors-still-threatening-london-with-blockade-1091478928.html

UK, France, and EU Settle Fishing Row, But French Sailors Still Threatening London With Blockade

UK, France, and EU Settle Fishing Row, But French Sailors Still Threatening London With Blockade

Britain, France, and the European Union have settled a row over fishing licenses, delaying the trade war the sides have threatened each other with in recent months. According to the British media, talks between the sides have yielded results, with Britain and the Channel Islands agreeing to issue 83 licenses to small French boats.

2021-12-13T08:18+0000

2021-12-13T08:18+0000

2021-12-13T08:48+0000

france

europe

fishing

european union

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Britain, France, and the European Union have settled a row over fishing licenses, delaying the trade war the sides have threatened each other with in recent months. According to the British media, talks between the sides have yielded results, with Britain and the Channel Islands agreeing to issue 83 licenses to small French boats.The Guardian, however, writes that the number of licenses did not fully meet France's demands, which reportedly asked for over 100 licenses for its boats. The news prompted criticism from the French Committee on Maritime Fisheries, which said they will go ahead with a pre-Christmas blockade of British goods entering the port of Calais.French fishermen staged a similar blockade last month, blocking not only Calais, but also the Eurotunnel linking Britain to the European mainland in what they described as a "demonstration of the quality and ability of professional fishermen to mobilise in response to the UK's provocative, contemptuous, and humiliating attitude towards them".French Minister of the Sea Annick Girardin said the government would help those fishermen whose didn't receive fishing permits from the United Kingdom. At the heart of the dispute is the implementation of the Brexit deal, particularly, the issue of fishing licenses. Members of the European Union enjoy equal access to the bloc's waters, but since Britain left the EU nations need to apply for licenses in order to fish in the UK's waters.In order to get permission, nations need to prove that they had fished in a particular area prior to the Brexit negotiations (1 February 2017 and 31 January 2020). There have been disagreements over how much evidence is needed for a boat to be granted a license.French authorities previously threatened the United Kingdom with retaliatory measures unless the row is settled. The proposal included limiting British vessels' access to local ports, increasing security checks on UK vessels and trucks, a measure that would cause disruption to trade as well as cutting electricity supplies to Crown Dependency Jersey or charging tariffs on it. In addition, France asked the European Union to start legal proceedings against Britain.

france

european union

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2021

Max Gorbachev

Max Gorbachev

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Max Gorbachev

france, europe, fishing, european union
https://sputniknews.com/20211213/us-forces-kidnapped-several-civilians-in-syrias-deir-ez-zor-local-media-says-1091483616.html

US Forces Kidnapped Several Civilians in Syria's Deir ez-Zor, Local Media Says

US Forces Kidnapped Several Civilians in Syria's Deir ez-Zor, Local Media Says

US servicemen kidnapped several civilians in Syria on Monday in Deir ez-Zor Province

2021-12-13T11:38+0000

2021-12-13T11:38+0000

2021-12-13T11:38+0000

us

middle east

syria

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US servicemen kidnapped several civilians in Syria in the course of a "large operation" carried out early on Monday in the province of Deir ez-Zor, the local news agency, SANA, has reported, citing local sources. According to SANA, American troops were airdropped in the town of al-Busayrah at dawn, "raided" the township, and took several locals to an unknown location. The news agency did not specify how many people were missing and why they could have been taken.The news agency's sources also said that the US forces killed three civilians in al-Busayrah as they fired "indiscriminately", shooting at homes and local farms. SANA added that the American troops were backed by Kurdish militants from the Syrian Democratic Forces.This is not the first time this month that Syrian media has reported of locals being kidnapped by American forces. According to SANA, an unspecified number of civilians were kidnapped from the town of al-Shuhail in Deir ez-Zor Province on 7 December. As was the case with the reported events in al-Busayrah, the US forces were accompanied by the Kurdish militants who control eastern Syria.US troops have been deployed in Syria since 2014. Yet, their presence lacks legal backing because they were neither invited by Damascus, nor have a UN Security Council mandate.The Syrian government has accused the US of stealing the country's natural resources, specifically oil, calling it the only reason for their illegal stay in the country. Washington insists that a small American military contingent remains in the country to keep the remanants of Daesh*, allegedly active in the country, from taking over the nation's oil extracting facilities.*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia

https://sputniknews.com/20211128/us-reportedly-sends-two-military-convoys-to-syria-consisting-of-over-100-vehicles-1091092422.html

Martian On Earth Well, kidnapping, genocide, and war crimes are among those fine qualities the US terrorist army is trained known for! 3

ECO American cultural sightseeing has some strange habits but Killing and terrorizing powerless civilians and wrecked nations is a huge part of their cultural heritage history has showed their skills in that field of expertise 2

6

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Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0a/02/1080648312_311:168:1773:1631_100x100_80_0_0_5eb98a42f89fd860368dcd2ae2d9e403.jpg

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us, middle east, syria
https://sputniknews.com/20211213/us-withdrawal-from-abm-treaty-continues-to-adversely-affect-global-security-20-years-after-1091485616.html

US Withdrawal From ABM Treaty Continues to Adversely Affect Global Security 20 Years After

US Withdrawal From ABM Treaty Continues to Adversely Affect Global Security 20 Years After

The 2001 decision by former US President George W. Bush to withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty continues to have a significant and detrimental effect on international stability 20 years later, experts told Sputnik.

2021-12-13T12:28+0000

2021-12-13T12:28+0000

2021-12-13T13:52+0000

us

russia

missiles

ballistic missiles

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Twenty years ago on 13 December, Bush announced the decision to exit the ABM Treaty, signed by Moscow and Washington in 1972. The US officially left the agreement six months later, on 13 June 2002. The defunct treaty mandated both sides desist from the deployment, testing and development of sea-, air-, space- and mobile land-based anti-missile systems for intercepting strategic ballistic missiles.Nikolai Sokov, a senior fellow at the Vienna Centre for Disarmament and Nonproliferation, told Sputnik that the bilateral process of reducing offensive arms continued after the collapse of the treaty only because Washington had failed to create a national missile defence system. Although Moscow agreed to sign New START without any restrictions on missile defence in 2010, it is likely to refuse to make such concessions during the current strategic stability talks, the expert said.Marc Finaud, head of arms proliferation at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, told Sputnik that the US withdrawal from the ABM Treaty marked the beginning of a new arms race between offensive and defensive systems. According to the expert, the two countries have begun actively building up arms, competing against each other.Finaud said that it would be "a major advance" if the US and Russia included defensive systems in their strategic stability talks, as well as other types of weapons, such as hypersonic missiles and nuclear torpedoes.Sokov, however, noted that the likelihood of the countries signing a new agreement similar to the ABM Treaty is very low. According to the expert, there is currently no need to strictly limit anti-missile defence. Sokov additionally noted that information on missile defence capabilities in the next 15-20 years is required to ensure the stability and predictability of international relations.Both experts also stressed that New START remains the only agreement regulating the nuclear weapons of both Russia and the US. Its termination will leave the international community deprived of all legally binding restrictions on the world's two largest nuclear arsenals. The experts stressed the need for the countries to agree on a new treaty to replace New START after it expires in 2026.Yet, according to Sokov, the stumbling block here is whether other elements of the strategic balance will be taken into account.When asked about a recent proposal by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov to introduce a bilateral moratorium on the deployment of missiles in Europe, Sokov said that it is in the interest of all sides, but NATO would not agree to this due to Russia's alleged violation of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), another key arms control agreement the US withdrew from in February 2019.In conclusion, Sokov expressed regret about the arms race unfolding in Europe. Within a few years, Washington will begin deploying medium-range ground-based hypersonic missiles in the region, and Moscow will respond in kind, the expert predicted.

USSuxRuskyNuts That's what happens when the US loses it's upper hand in any treaty it signs! 1

1

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us, russia, missiles, ballistic missiles
https://sputniknews.com/20211213/wapo-claims-israel-preemptively-struck-would-be-syrian-sarin-plants-in-2020-2021-on-scant-evidence-1091498293.html

WaPo Claims Israel Preemptively Struck Would-Be Syrian Sarin Plants in 2020, 2021 on Scant Evidence

WaPo Claims Israel Preemptively Struck Would-Be Syrian Sarin Plants in 2020, 2021 on Scant Evidence

The Israeli Air Force carried out two airstrikes targeting Syrian government facilities over the last two years, which it believed frustrated the potential restarting of that countrys sarin production.

2021-12-13T23:06+0000

2021-12-13T23:06+0000

2021-12-13T23:01+0000

sarin

middle east

organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons (opcw)

chemical weapons

syria

israel

airstrikes

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https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/0c/0d/1091498200_0:122:1590:1016_1920x0_80_0_0_fb87c617bbd2d69a49116a1f3e478064.jpg

According to a Monday report in the Washington Post, IAF strikes on March 5, 2020, and June 8, 2021, hit sites in Damascus and Homs where the Israelis believed the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad allegedly intended to manufacture sarin at a later date.The attacks killed seven, including Syrian Col. Ayham Ismail, posthumously promoted to brigadier general.The intelligence officials who spoke with the Washington, DC-based paper said the key piece of intelligence was the Syrian government buying a large quantity of tricalcium phosphate. While, as the paper notes, the chemical can be used to produce another chemical, phosphorus trichloride, which is used in the production of sarin, tricalcium phosphate has numerous other sundry uses as well, including as an additive to keep table salt from caking together and as a tissue replacement for repairing bony defects when a bone graft isnt an option.Phosphorus trichloride can also be combined with sulfuric acid to produce single superphosphate fertilizer, or with phosphoric acid to produce triple superphosphate fertilizer, both of which are potent tools for increasing the crop yields of farmers fields.As it happens, the end of civil war for much of the Syrian Arab Republic has meant the return of agriculture and the rebuilding of its industrial support facilities, including the countrys only chemical fertilizer production facility, located in Homs, the Russian government-supported rebuilding of which finished in December 2019. Restarting of the factory means the countrys substantial phosphate reserves can once again be used to produce its own chemical fertilizers and even export them abroad.However, he added that the allegations seemed more credible in the case of Syria because of past claims against it by Western intelligence agencies and Western-backed nongovernmental organizations inside Syria.Western Intel: Never Right on WMDsUS and Israeli intelligence has been notoriously unreliable, especially when it comes to alleged weapons programs. The famous case of Iraqi leader Saddam Husseins nonexistent weapons of mass destruction, claims of the imminent use of which underpinned the 2003 invasion of Iraq and overthrow of Hussein by the US and UK, hangs in memory. So do Israels regular claims ever since the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was agreed to in 2015 that Iran was secretly violating its terms and building a nuclear weapon that would be ready in just a few months time.In order to avoid a threatened US assault in 2013, Assad agreed to turn over his entire stock of chemical weapons for destruction, some 1,300 tons of binary sarin and VX nerve agents, which the US and Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) verified were incinerated on a special disposal ship. Assad signed the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, also known as the Chemical Weapons Convention (CW), in October 2013. The OPCW was created to oversee compliance with the treaty.The US, it should be noted, only destroyed its own substantial stocks of VX and sarin weapons in 2009 and 2020, respectively. Its stores of mustard gas were only destroyed this past September, and Kentuckys Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant noted in October that just one-third of its chemical weapons stocks have been eliminated. In other words, Syria is more compliant with the CWC than the US is.After one incident in 2018 in which the White Helmets claimed chlorine was used to attack rebels in Douma, killing between 40 and 50 people, the OPCW investigated, but its report concealed evidence that undermined the claims, and a whistleblower who revealed the concealment was maligned by its director general, Fernando Aris, who prepared the report.

USSuxRuskyNuts So Israel admits to war crimes and like usual the rest of the world will let it slide. Israel and the US will be coming after them in due time! 5

Joy boy I once thought west was simply disliking comunisms. Now I think they want to seize entire Pacific Ocean. They are helbent in trying to rule the world. Heartland is protected by half of world of ocean and that's why even zios attacks Syria and leave Iran alone. I hope I'm wrong. 2

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sarin, middle east, organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons (opcw), chemical weapons, syria, israel, airstrikes
https://sputniknews.com/20211213/white-house-confirms-to-baghdad-us-forces-no-longer-serving-in-combat-role-in-iraq-1091492995.html

White House Confirms to Baghdad US Forces No Longer Serving in Combat Role in Iraq

White House Confirms to Baghdad US Forces No Longer Serving in Combat Role in Iraq

US Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk in a recent trip to Iraq confirmed to senior government officials that American troops are no longer serving in a combat role in the country

2021-12-13T17:30+0000

2021-12-13T17:30+0000

2021-12-13T17:30+0000

us

iraq

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

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"Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk completed a two day visit to Iraq where he consulted with a range of political and security leaders ... McGurk confirmed President [Joe] Bidens commitment to the results of the Strategic Dialogue with the Government of Iraq, underscoring that there are no longer US forces serving in a combat role in Iraq," Horne said in a press release.

vot tak Sure, what ever you say... No doubt training and supplying alciada/isis terrorist mercs continues. Get israel's garbage out of Iraq altogether. 4

Alan Conlan But where are the serving now? In the Horn of Africa? There cannot be peaceful coexistence in our world until this heinous wardog regime of Capitol Hill is totally extinguished. My book FROM BABYLON TO HERE spells it out. 3

5

iraq

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us, iraq
https://sputniknews.com/20211213/wife-of-us-spy-to-finally-stand-trial-for-killing-uk-teen-harry-dunn-1091493339.html

Wife of US Spy to Finally Stand Trial for Killing UK Teen Harry Dunn

Wife of US Spy to Finally Stand Trial for Killing UK Teen Harry Dunn

Police believe Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a CIA agent, was driving on the wrong side of the road on August 29 when she hit the 19-year-old head-on, killing... 13.12.2021, Sputnik International

2021-12-13T20:25+0000

2021-12-13T20:25+0000

2021-12-13T20:20+0000

harry dunn

us

britain

central intelligence agency (cia)

uk

westminster magistrates court

joe biden

donald trump

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https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/03/05/1082266299_0:178:1433:984_1920x0_80_0_0_65f96fa9d03a16aeec71780f5e7f7fe4.png

The US woman accused of killing British teenager Harry Dunn through reckless driving will finally stand trial in a UK court  via video link.Dunns mother, Charlotte Charles, told the PA news agency that she and her family were feeling very emotional on hearing the news that Sacoolas would face justice.Sacoolas, the wife of CIA agent Jonathan Sacoolas, is alleged to have been driving on the wrong side of the road on August 27, 2019, when she struck head-on 19-year-old Dunn who was riding his motorcycle in the correct lane. She had just left the RAF Croughton airbase in Nottinghamshire, where her husband worked at a US Air Force listening post.She escaped prosecution by fleeing to her home country 19 days after the incident, claiming diplomatic immunity. The US has since refused to extradite her to face trial in the UK despite the spurious grounds of her claim.Dunn's family has fought numerous legal battles to have Sacoolas face trial, going so far as to appeal to former US President Donald Trump, and his successor, US President Joe Biden, to intervene. Family spokesperson Radd Seiger seized on revelations that the suspect was also a CIA agent.The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced late Monday that the trial would begin on January 19 2022 at Westminster Magistrates Court, with Sacoolas understood to be appearing via video link.Anne Sacoolas has a right to a fair trial," he added. "It is extremely important there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice any proceedings."At the UN General Assembly in New York in September, new British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss spoke with her US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken about "delivering justice for Harry's family".

https://sputniknews.com/20210810/us-woman-who-killed-harry-dunn-in-car-crash-was-possibly-distracted-by-phone-report-says-1083567298.html

Kiwi UK now understands the true nature of their US relationship. You will be abused and you will put up with it. 7

vot tak They are willing to hand over Assange to israel's american freakshow, but refuse to genuinely prosecute some disgusting american cow who actually did commit a criminal act that caused the death of a british citizen. It's a fake trial that will result in a whitewash. 7

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britain

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harry dunn, us, britain, central intelligence agency (cia), uk, westminster magistrates court, joe biden, donald trump
The DHS inspector general report that revealed the most recent disclosure of investigations of journalists also stemmed from a Trump-era leak investigation.

The IG was looking into the actions of Jeffrey Rambo, a Border Patrol agent who was on temporary duty with a Customs and Border Protection unit in the Washington D.C. area in 2017 when he accessed government travel records as part of a leak investigation involving reporter Ali Watkins, who was with Politico at the time and now writes for The New York Times.

The inspector general opened its investigation after media reports exposed Rambo and his investigation of Watkins.

In the course of its investigation, the IG learned from Rambo that he had routinely run checks on journalists and others, including congressional staff, while working at the CBP unit, the Counter Network Division.
Meanwhile, some time during this period, Johnson, the groom, asked a clerk how to prevent the marriage from going through.

The clerk told him the marriage was already valid, which led to the issuance of a new marriage license. It was signed by the couple, notarized and then signed by the minister who performed the wedding ceremony. The license was filed by the Clerk's Office in January of 2017, stating the couple had been married two years earlier.

But in about May of 2018, Peterson moved out. Among the evidence submitted in the case were text messages exchanged by the couple at the time in which they referred to each other as husband and wife.

Six months after Peterson moved out, Johnson applied for a marriage license with Natalie Forney. The couple were married on Nov. 15, 2018.

The dual marriage licenses came to light the following year after the first wife attempted to file her income taxes as "married filing jointly" with Johnson. The IRS had rejected her filing, informing her that Johnson had already filed income taxes as married filing jointly with Forney. That led to a police investigation, bigamy charges being filed and rulings by both county court and district court judges that Johnson was guilty of bigamy.
Current Affairs

A Border Force will be established in Turks and Caicos Islands next year and the establishment of a Coast Guard is in the works, as government moves to clamp down on the nagging problem of illegal immigration.



Governor Nigel Dakin said the Turks and Caicos Islands is getting tougher on illegal immigration by moving from defence to offence, adding that a major plank of the Border Force will combining the enforcement arms of Immigration and Customs departments.



Addressing a national press conference on Thursday, December 9th, 2021, Governor Dakin said a "top team" the Immigration Ministry is currently in United Kingdom (UK) looking at their digitised airport security features including pre-registration and e-gates.



"If we get this right, and I believe UK Border Force and Home Office will support us, in what is intelligence led border protection, those we know will do us no harm  such as locals returning home and those arriving from our main markets - should have a seamless arrival and departure at our ports while our Border Force officers focus properly on those who bring the greatest risk," he said.



The governor said next year should also see profound changes to the way Turks and Caicos Islands organises its defences at its ports of entry.



"Those entering our country illegally, or overstaying, come as much by air as by sea," he said.



"This move to a Border Force will be a very public manifestation of much deeper changes that will be occurring at the Ministry of Immigration, led by the Minister Arlington "Chuck" Musgrove, and to support him we have appointed a new top team who will be in place by the New Year under Permanent Secretary Althea Been that includes, for the first time, a Deputy Secretary (Pascal Bachhus) drawn from policing to ensure there is an operational and enforcement mind-set at the top of the Ministry and alongside him a further new Deputy Secretary (Emilio Seymour) who, as a then Head of Department, cut his teeth on improving customer service.



The governor, who is a counter-terrorism specialist and a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, also announced that the number of marine branch officers will be doubled and two more police boats purchased next year, and that the UK Minister for Overseas Territories has committed to support Turks and Caicos Islands with a long term maritime surveillance asset which is expected to be a fixed wing specialist aircraft that is able to observe for hours and equipped with the relevant surveillance capabilities.



This, he said, will not only support TCI's interdiction operations but also work in collaboration with its allies so more vessels can be returned to Haiti before entering this country's waters.



"We are also starting to develop a partnership with the UK that will give us access to the product of satellites that will provide surveillance of the waters we must protect  not least from illegal fishing," Governor Dakin said.



He said the signing of what is known as a Shiprider agreement on board Her Majestys Bahamas Ship NASSAU last week will allow the Bahamas Defence Forces to station a vessel far closer to Turks and Caicos Islands waters and it can operate in the passage between Haiti and here.



"That immediately compliments the US Coast Guard deployment that works along the coastline of Haiti and that starts to open up the opportunities for a Task Force to deploy - not just individual vessels. That brings into play aerial assets  including our own future surveillance platform. As we collectively do this we are quickly starting to make the passage from Haiti far harder because our combined defences overlap," Governor Dakin added.



" Our allies also came here because during the last two years the external environment we are all seeking to manage has not get better - it has got worse  it is a wicked problem, a problem that is changing, morphing even accelerating away from you as you seek to solve it. "





COAST GUARD IN THE WORKS



With respect to the formation of a Coast Guard, Governor Dakin said: "We are scoping out how all our Maritime assets can be brought together into a Coast Guard to bring greater efficiencies. A preliminary report was presented at last weeks National Security Council and work will continue on its feasibility. For the moment one large law-enforcement agency that can cover the protection of our borders from all threats  be they smuggling, environment or illegal fishing of our waters  has logic to it but what none of us want to do is disrupt the success the Maritime Police presently enjoy. Change needs to be carefully managed."



As an interim step, he said, government has committed to building a new marine base which will house a maritime operations control facility that will fuse all activity working in support of this mission.



He also said that as part of the journey, a decision was made by the NSC last week that from April 1st, 2022, the radar operation, which now does so much more than just irregular migration, will move from the Ministry of Immigration to the Maritime Police, bringing "two first class, but separate units together, to ensure maximum collaboration".



He added: "As our radar becomes ever more comprehensive, we risk becoming a victim of our own success and we may have many more sightings of suspicious craft. How we best resolve if these are friend or foe depends on the increase in numbers that the radar see  we dont necessarily want the Maritime Police having to intercept each one which would be inefficient. So the NSC has not ruled out investing in fixed wing drone technology to complement our radar activity if that becomes necessary."



ARMED FAST BOATS, 100 MARINES



Governor Dakin said the recently formed Regiment which is gaining plaudits for its support to counter-migration work and will grow over the next two years to be around 100 marines, will be operating on land and sea to a very high standard by 2023.



Additionally, a site for a regimental barracks has been acquired and is being developed.



"Fast boats will be procured that can both work in support of counter smuggling and post disaster relief operations. It will be equipped and armed to the highest of standards," Governor Dakin said, adding that the Regiments officers will be trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and plans are already underway for a British Army Training Team to be with us again next year to train what will be further recruits.



Governor Dakin added that the closer the Sloops can be identified to the Haitian shore the better, therefore in conjunction with this country's allies there is a need to know what is happening well beyond the horizon.



He said the deployment of a Royal Navy Wildcat Helicopter last year demonstrated how valuable it was if TCI could extend its reach.



"We generally expect a significant uptick in migrant boats at this time of year and as a result the helicopter from the Cayman Islands is with us for periods over December and January  paid for by the UK  fulfilling this role  pushing our understanding out well beyond our horizon," he added.



"But we know this is short term and we know we need something more persistent than that."



Governor Dakin said while some large sloops "pathetically continue to attempt to breach our defences" authorities have now seen a noticeable shift in our opponents behaviours.



"As we get better, Darwinian like, so do they. Our main challenge now is fast boats, or far smaller boats, and as a result we have to shift and develop our own operations and build different types of capability. Some of those boats, and crucially fuel for them, are being stolen from our marinas and coastline and we have to both put an end to that while recognising  that rather like a chess game - we are forcing our opponents now into errors in that when they commit crime here in TCI - and we arrest them here in TCI  which we will - they start to illuminate the wider network of facilitators who live here amongst us and are in Haiti presently beyond our reach," he said.



"There is therefore a strategy that is now being built  and the conference was part of us confirming our future maritime strategy  that can tackle shifts in their future methodology. Its less about how they come at us but who is facilitating the trade. Its less about the soldiers and more about the generals. What we need is a way to seriously degrade the smugglers ability to do damage to us. We need a network, if you like, to take down a network and as I will come onto the people of TCI are part of this solution. You are not victims and you are not passive observers."






Current Affairs

H ealth officials in Dominican Republic said they have received approximately $7million from Turks and Caicos Islands for health procedures so far this year.



Dominica Today newspaper reported that Alejandro Cambiaso, president of the Dominican Association of Health Tourism (ADTS), said that amount of money has been a boost to their economy and "indicates that synergies are being generated to significantly increase these figures.

This figure could not be independently confirmed by NHIP up to press time.



The newspaper said, however, that this information emerged after a meeting between the Association and the Services Coalition with Otis Morris, Minister of the Interior and Public Services of Turks and Caicos, in the presence of executives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Mirex) of the Dominican Republic.



According to another newspaper, El Dia, the meeting was attended by Dr. Hector Lopez, Director of Quality of the Association, and Ms. Taiana Mora, Executive Director of the Coalition.



It was stated that at the meeting, the minister was enthusiastic and announced that in January 2022, he would come with an enlarged commission to strengthen health tourism and educational programs aimed at the medical profession between the two countries.



The Dominican Republic, a leader in medical tourism in the Caribbean region, seeks to expand its reach and market share.



In July this year NHIP Medical Director Dr. Temitayo Bewaji told the Appropriations Committee of the House of Assembly that $13millon was spent on overseas medical referrals in 2020, and the National Health Insurance Plan (NHIP) is expecting a "significant increase" this year as pandemic restrictions are lifted.



He said the pandemic caused a significant reduction in the number of persons that went overseas last year and this led to a reduction in overseas health care expenditures



The expenditure in 2020 was about $13 million compared to $22.5million in 2019, Dr. Bewaji said.



"This year we are projecting a significant increase in the number of overseas transfers as compared to the last financial year because they expect that more persons will be willing to travel and restrictions would be eased to allow persons to go overseas," he said. "The number of referrals that we are expecting to experience will be a combination of new cases and persons who have deferred transfers from last year for various reasons. Although we did try to do as much of the follow-ups as possible through local care and telemedicine, we expect that there will be persons and we know from the reduced numbers last year that are persons who deferred transfer and those persons will be ready to transfer this year."






Garena Free Fire redeem codes for December 13: Playing and winning! It sounds so fun! Everyone likes getting rewarded and that too by playing games. It is something really interesting. Garena Free Fire players must be aware about the free gifts and rewards they can earn via redeem codes. Free Fire releases redeem codes daily in order to allow players to access special items. These codes can be obtained for free. Apart from the redeem codes, Garena Free Fire also offers gamers a vast range of cosmetics like outfits, skins, and more to choose from.

Free Fire players also have an option to access these additional Free Fire items and obtain them by completing and winning in-game missions. It can be noted that players can buy these additional items from the in-game store as well but these cost plenty and not everyone wants to buy. Players who want to redeem codes can do so by visiting the official redemption website. Here is how:

Garena Free Fire Redeem codes for December 13:

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Garena Free Fire redeem codes for December 13: Steps to redeem

Step 1: Players who want to get the redeem codes, will first have to visit the official Garena Free Fire code redemption website by clicking on the link- https://reward.ff.garena.com/en.

Step 2: You will then have to login on the page with either your Facebook, Google, Twitter, Apple Id, HUAWEI or VK ID to continue the redemption process. However, you need to note that your login ID must be the same as your in-game login ID.

Step 3: After logging in, copy any one of the 12 character long redeem codes from todays code list and then paste it into the text box.

Step 4: This will bring up a dialogue box for double-checking. Click on 'OK'. And your redemption code process is completed.

Step 5: In case, your redemption bid fails for some reason, you will get an Email, otherwise you have to wait for a minimum 24 hours to get your rewards to become active on your gadget.
Apple iPhone SE is ready to launch in the first quarter of 2022, a report suggested. Know what we can expect from this.

Apple is expected to bring its third-generation iPhone SE to the market as soon as the first quarter of 2022. A paywalled report of a Taiwanese publication, DigiTimes has reported that VCM (voice coil motor) suppliers see no cutback in orders for the new iPhones. The report further mentions that according to the industry sources, besides the VCM components, even other smartphone component suppliers have seen no cutbacks in orders from the company and are gearing up for shipments for the next-gen iPhone SE which is slated to launch in the upcoming quarter.

Recently, the famous Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo revealed that Apple is expected to bring its new iPhone SE models in 2022 and next in 2023. According to Kuo, the 2022 iPhone SE will be released in the first quarter of the year and will have 3GB of memory, while the 2023 iPhone SE will have more major enhancements, such as a larger display than the 1H22 SE's 4.7-inch and 4GB of memory support against the current 3GB memory.

Upcoming iPhone SE features

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo stated earlier this week that the next iPhone SE will have the same 4.7-inch display size and 3GB of RAM as the current model, and that the new model will also have a Touch ID home button and bigger bezels. 5G compatibility and a faster processor is what you can expect in the upcoming iPhone SE, which will be significant aspects of the next iPhone SE, according to Kuo. It will most likely be the A15 chip that debuted in iPhone 13 models and the latest iPad mini.

Display analyst Ross Young has revealed that Apple is likely to release a new 4.7-inch iPhone SE with 5G connection in 2022, followed by a successor iPhone SE model with a 5.7-inch to 6.1-inch LCD display in 2024. According to Young, the launch of the larger iPhone SE model was originally planned for 2023 but got postponed to 2024, although Kuo now believes it will still be released in 2023.

However, the cumulative leak reports suggests that we can hopefully expect the iPhone SE in the coming year, but since there is nothing official about this information, we cant really rely fully on it.
Sun, Earth, Stars, Solar system and the entire Universe not only excites the scientists and researchers but the common man too. There are so many exciting things happening and researchers are being kept busy to find out and understand the complexity of the Universe as well as to alert everyone about the approaching threats that can destroy humanity. According to a latest update, scientists are worried over the destructive burst of radiation that erupted from a Dragon star 100 light-years away. Experts say that if a similar destructive solar storm is fired towards the Earth by our Sun, it will send mankind back to the Dark Ages.

The solar storm, of similar magnitude as the one shot off by the Dragon star, if it was fired from our Sun would cause immense destruction. It would fry satellites in orbit and crash power grids serving cities  causing widespread blackouts. The coronal mass ejection would also knock out phone networks and the internet too. "According to a study published this week, a stellar eruption was spotted by researchers for the first time in a nearby stellar system. The star it emerged from is named EK Draconis - Latin for "dragon". It lies in the constellation of Draco in the far northern sky. Astronomers described the spectacular fireworks show as "troubling"  warning a similar event could hit Earth within the next century," according to a report by The Sun.

It should be noted that the Sun shoots out such eruptions on a regular basis and is known as a CME (coronal mass ejection). What exactly is CME?

According to NASA, the outer atmosphere of the Sun, the corona, is structured by strong magnetic fields. Where these fields are closed, often above sunspot groups, the confined solar atmosphere can suddenly and violently release bubbles of gas and magnetic fields called coronal mass ejections. A large CME can contain a billion tons of matter that can be accelerated to several million miles per hour in a spectacular explosion. Solar material streams out through the interplanetary medium, impacting any planet or spacecraft in its path. CMEs are sometimes associated with flares but can occur independently.

Every 100 years or so, a major CME is released in our direction. According to study co-author Dr Yuta Notsu, of the University of Colorado Boulder, "Coronal mass ejections can have a serious impact on Earth and human society."

The international team used ground and space-based telescopes to observe the huge burst of energy pouring out of EK Draconis, the Dragon star. "It emitted a mass of scorching plasma in the quadrillions of kilograms - over ten times bigger than the previous record from a sun-like star," the report said.

Experts fear that a catastrophic solar storm, driven by our Sun, could hit us by the end of the century. Study leader Kosuke Namekata, a PhD student at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, said it could be just as strong while Dr Notsu said, "It may serve as a warning of just how dangerous the weather in space can be," as quoted by The Sun.

Dr Notsu further described EK Draconis as a "curious star". It is about the same size as the sun - but just 100 million years old. He said, "It is what our sun looked like 4.5 billion years ago," The Sun quoted him as saying.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Months after supporters of now-former President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol, debunked conspiracy theories about who was behind the insurrection continue to circulate on Facebook.

That's according to new research from Avaaz, shared exclusively with U.S. TODAY. The online activist network found that, in 2021, the two dominant misinformation narratives about the attack on Facebook and Instagram were false claims that anti-fascist activists "infiltrated the crowd and incited the insurrection" and that the FBI played a role in the violence.

Between January and October, researchers found 116 posts and 31 articles on Facebook and Instagram that contained the debunked claims. Together, they generated nearly 1 million likes, shares and comments, according to the Avaaz analysis.

The Avaaz findings come amid a bipartisan investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection, as well as congressional testimony on the role that Facebook played in the attack.

Over the past few weeks, the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot has issued subpoenas to far-right groups, former Trump advisers and organizers of the "Stop the Steal" movement. The committee has also demanded records related to the insurrection from technology companies like Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook.

"At this point, Facebook is working with us to provide the necessary information we requested," Rep. Bennie G. Johnson, the Democratic chair of the committee, told "Face the Nation" in late October.

In a March congressional hearing, Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg downplayed the company's role in the Jan. 6 insurrection, instead blaming Trump, the rioters and a "political and media environment that drives Americans apart."

But more recently, Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager turned whistleblower, accused the company of making internal decisions that contributed to the spread of misinformation after the 2020 election, culminating in the Capitol riot.

"Just as the Jan. 6 attack was organized right under Facebook's nose, so too is the insurrection 'truther' movement that aims to undermine the critical investigation into the violence," Rebecca Lenn, a senior adviser at Avaaz, said in a statement.

Meta spokesperson Kevin McAlister pointed to steps the platform takes to combat misinformation, including in the weeks leading up to Inauguration Day.

"The responsibility for the insurrection lies with those who broke the law during the attack and those who incited them," McAlister said in an emailed statement. "Our approach for addressing false claims about the election includes fact-checking, labeling, removing and demoting content."

U.S. TODAY and other media outlets have debunked claims that the FBI or antifa activists were behind the Jan. 6 insurrection. But they remain popular online, according to Avaaz.

"For us, Jan. 6 was no coincidenceit was another painful reminder that what happens online doesn't stay online," Lenn said in a phone interview. "Not only did extremists use Facebook and other platforms to get people, to rally them in front of the Capitol building, these folks were radicalized by years of unchecked misinformation about rampant voter fraud and election-rigging online."

Dozens of fact-checking organizations and media outletsincluding U.S. TODAYwork with Meta Platforms to combat misinformation on its platforms. If a publication debunks a Facebook or Instagram post, the company reduces the reach of the post and appends a label saying it contains false or misleading information.

Avaaz surfaced Jan. 6 misinformation by analyzing debunks from some of those independent fact-checking organizations, Kaitlin Hansen, who researches online disinformation campaigns for Avaaz, told U.S. TODAY. Then, the group found matching posts on Facebook and Instagram by searching for keywords on CrowdTangle, a social media insights tool owned by Meta Platforms.

According to Avaaz's research, only 21% of the posts it found promoting the FBI and antifa conspiracy theories had fact-checking labels applieddespite the fact that Meta Platforms' partners had debunked the claims. Facebook and Instagram retroactively removed nine of the posts Avaaz highlighted, Lenn said.

Of the posts researchers analyzed, 85% promoted a June claim from Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson that "unindicted co-conspirators" mentioned in federal charging documents amounted to proof that undercover FBI agents or informants were involved in the insurrection.

U.S. TODAY rated a similar claim false, citing legal experts who said undercover government operatives cannot be named in government filings as unindicted co-conspirators.

"We saw that the antifa claims sort of fizzled out in the summer, in June, but the FBI claim is still going strong again with Tucker Carlson's 'Patriot Purge' documentary," Hansen said.

The three-part documentary, which aired in early November on Fox Nation, the network's subscription streaming service, suggests the Capitol attack was a false-flag operation aimed at purging Trump supporters in a "new war on terror." Two Fox contributors quit over the documentary, which also sparked bipartisan backlash in Washington.

In a statement emailed to U.S. TODAY, Fox pushed back on Avaaz's research.

"It's no surprise that a left-wing activist group co-founded by Moveon.org that has been highly criticized from across the political spectrum, including for making false claims and for lack of transparency, is behind this study," spokesperson Irena Briganti said in the statement.

While the posts Avaaz found in its research amassed nearly 1 million interactions on Facebook, Carlson's show attracts millions of viewers each night. Even so, both Facebook and Avaaz say Congress should pass comprehensive tech regulation, in part to better address the problem of misinformation on social media.

"Ultimately, no private company should be deciding where to draw these lines alone in a free society, which is why we've been asking for updated internet regulations set by democratically-elected leaders for years and will continue doing so," Meta Platforms' McAlister said.

U.S. TODAY shared Avaaz's findings with the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack. The committee did not return a request for comment.

Explore further Group says misinformation on the rise on Facebook

(c)2021 U.S. Today

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Chinese artificial intelligence start-up SenseTime postponed a $767 million initial public offering in Hong Kong after it was blacklisted by the United States over accusations of genocide in Xinjiang.

Chinese artificial intelligence start-up SenseTime said Monday it was postponing a $767 million initial public offering in Hong Kong after it was blacklisted by the United States over accusations of genocide in Xinjiang.

The US Treasury announced the ban on Friday, saying SenseTime's facial recognition programmes were designed in part to be used against Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, where UN experts and researchers estimate more than one million have been incarcerated in prison camps.

The blacklisting immediately cast a shadow over the company's upcoming IPO plans in Hong Kong, which had been due to take place a week later. It also illustrated the risks investors face from competing sanctions as relations between the world's two biggest economies sour.

On Monday, SenseTime filed a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange saying it would postpone its listing "to safeguard the interests of the potential investors" as they weigh the impact of being placed on the blacklist.

SenseTime said it "remains committed" to listing in Hong Kong soon and would fully refund those who had already invested.

The US sanctions and blacklisting can prevent individuals from obtaining visas to the United States, block assets under US jurisdiction, and prevent the targets from doing business with US individuals or entitieseffectively locking them out of the US banking system.

A blacklisting would make it all but impossible for US investment banks usually involved in Hong Kong listings to get involved, or for a US national to invest in the offering.

China on Monday decried the latest sanctions, which were also placed on two government officials in Xinjiang.

"If the US insists on acting rashly, China will have to take effective measures to firmly fight back," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters.

Rights groups say China has detained around one million Uyghurs and other Muslims in re-education camps in the Xinjiang region.

'Caught in the middle'

Washington says SenseTime is part of China's "military-industrial complex". It had already placed the company on the US Department of Commerce's blacklist in 2019 because its technology had been used for mass surveillance in Xinjiang.

It says SenseTime has developed and deployed facial recognition software that can determine a person's ethnicity, including whether someone looks Uyghur.

SenseTime criticised the latest blacklisting, saying in a statement over the weekend it was "caught in the middle of geopolitical tension".

"We strongly oppose the designation and accusations that have been made in connection with it. The accusations are unfounded and reflect a fundamental misperception of our Company," the firm said.

The plight of the Uyghurs has contributed to worsening diplomatic relations between Western powers and Beijing.

Human rights groups and foreign governments have found evidence of what they say are mass detentions, forced labour, political indoctrination, torture and forced sterilisation. Washington has described it as genocide.

After initially denying the existence of the Xinjiang camps, China later defended them as vocational training centres aimed at reducing the appeal of Islamic extremism.

Beijing's use of technology to keep track of its citizens, and the companies that pioneer that tech, have come under increased international scrutiny in recent years.

China maintains vast and sophisticated surveillance programmes, both online and on the streets, with artificial intelligence and facial recognition software playing key roles.

During the coronavirus pandemic, SenseTime's software has been used to check commuter temperatures, determine if they are wearing a facemask, and can identify people even when their mouths are covered.

Founded in 2014 by academic Tang Xiao'ou at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the company has gone on to become one of China's most valuable start-ups in just a few years.

 2021 AFP
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A new study reveals that disabled households in the Europe Union currently consume 10% less energy than other households, as well as being 5% more likely to experience energy poverty.

University of Leeds researchers warn that disabled people in the EU are already energy disadvantaged and therefore need greater consideration in planning for energy policy aimed at tackling the climate crisis.

The study, published today in Nature Energy, provides a comprehensive analysis of the energy use of disabled households in the Europe Unionincluding Englandin various energy consumption areas, such as transport, leisure, food and health services.

Using consumption data from 19 countries in the EU in 2010, Dr. Diana Ivanova and Professor Lucie Middlemiss of the Sustainability Research Institute, show that while disabled people use less energy, it is not necessarily through choice and potentially it is at the cost of disabled people not having their needs met for energy and other resources.

Professor Middlemiss said: "Disabled people are largely invisible in environmental policy and practice, and rarely discussed as having particular needs or facing particular challenges. This is a glaring oversight as we try to move towards a more sustainable future.

"Following the Glasgow COP26 climate change conference, we are all thinking more about how our energy consumption should change but that cannot come at the cost of people with different needs.

"It is critical to understand how disabled people are consuming their energy, and if their current needs are being met. This will enable us to reduce energy consumption safely and in a way that allows disabled people to live decent lives."

Disabled household energy use for basic needs and services, such as food, energy at home, water, and waste, is similar to other households. However, disabled households have lower energy use for leisure services, such as recreation, hotels, restaurants and travel services.

Disabled households also have lower energy consumption for mobility, both in air transport and motor fuel, and lower energy spend on education than other householdssuggesting lower opportunities to access education.

It is notable that disabled households tend to under consume transport and leisure activities even when compared to households with similar incomes.

Disabled households' limited consumption of leisure services highlights an important inequality, suggesting that disabled people have fewer opportunities to engage in fun and relaxing activities that require energy consumption.

The similar consumption of energy for basic needs between disabled and non-disabled households of the same income is also a concern. Often, disabled people have a greater need for energy in the home: for life-supporting machinery or to keep warmer, or wash more frequently than others.

In the light of these greater needs, the similar consumption levels to other households suggests that energy in the home might be being under-consumed by disabled households.

To date there is very limited research on the needs and experiences of disabled people in the environmental literature. This is despite the fact that disabled people are regularly supported by governments in developed nations (including EU nations) and seen as important targets of social policy.

Professor Middlemiss said: "Disabled people may also be more vulnerable to climate change consequences such as extreme temperatures or emergency relief being inaccessible.

"When we consider that of the 446 million people living in the European Union, around 100 million are believed to be disabled, disability is a topic that merits more attention from environmental scholars and policy makers.

"These findings also supports our earlier call to include the energy poor, in all their diversity, in energy transition planning."

The paper "Characterizing the energy use of disabled people in the European Union towards inclusion in the energy transition" is published in Nature Energy 13 December 2021.

Explore further Free green services could substantially reduce emissions

More information: Diana Ivanova, Characterizing the energy use of disabled people in the European Union towards inclusion in the energy transition, Nature Energy (2021). www.nature.com/articles/s41560-021-00932-4 Journal information: Nature Energy Diana Ivanova, Characterizing the energy use of disabled people in the European Union towards inclusion in the energy transition,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41560-021-00932-4
Vice President Kamala Harris charges an electric vehicle in one of the charging stations during her tour of the Brandywine Maintenance Facility in Prince George's County, Md., highlighting the electric vehicle investments in the bipartisan infrastructure law and the "Build Back Better Act" Monday, Dec. 13, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

The Biden administration released an ambitious federal strategy Monday to build 500,000 charging stations for electric vehicles across the country and bring down the cost of electric cars with the goal of transforming the U.S. auto industry.

"The future of transportation in our nation and around the world is electric,'' Vice President Kamala Harris said at an EV charging facility in suburban Maryland.

The $1 trillion infrastructure law President Joe Biden signed last month authorizes a nationwide network of charging stations and sets aside $5 billion for states to build them, including $63 million for Maryland. The law also provides an additional $2.5 billion for local grants to support charging stations in rural areas and in disadvantaged communities.

Biden's $2 trillion social and environmental policy bill, now pending in the Senate, includes a $7,500 tax credit to lower the cost of electric vehicles.

"We want to make electric vehicles accessible for everyone,'' Harris said. "Absolutely make it accessible for everyone and easy. Just like filling up your car with gas."

The auto industry already is moving toward electric vehicles, Harris added: "We need to make the shift faster and make sure it is driven by the United States.''

When public chargers are installed in rural, urban or suburban neighborhoods, "we make it easier for people to go electric,'' Harris said, adding that the biggest barrier most people cite to buying an electric car is "figuring out where and how to charge it.''

Vice President Kamala Harris charges an electric vehicle in one of the charging stations during her tour of the Brandywine Maintenance Facility in Prince George's County, Md., highlighting the electric vehicle investments in the bipartisan infrastructure law and the "Build Back Better Act" Monday, Dec. 13, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

People who live in apartments may not have a private driveway where they can install a plug, she said, while rural residents may have to drive miles to the nearest charger.

Harris visited a maintenance facility in Brandywine, just outside Washington, where she received a demonstration of how chargers work and learned about a plan to electrify the government fleet in Maryland's Prince George's County.

"There's no sound or fume!" Harris exclaimed as she charged one of the county's vehicles. "How do I know it's actually working?" she asked with a laugh.

The car is fully charged when the display is a steady green, said Mahidhar Reddy, CEO and founder of SemaConnect, a Maryland company that made the charging station.

The new EV charging strategy establishes a joint electric vehicles office between the federal Energy and Transportation departments; issues guidance and standards for states; and ensures consultations with manufacturers, state and local governments, environmental justice and civil rights groups, tribes and others, the White House said.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a visit to the Brandywine Maintenance Facility in Prince George's County, Md., highlighting the electric vehicle investments in the bipartisan infrastructure law and the "Build Back Better Act" Monday, Dec. 13, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

The two departments also will launch an advisory committee on electric vehicles that officials hope will be up and running early next year.

Accelerated adoption of electric vehicles for personal cars and commercial fleets would help achieve Biden's goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emission by 2050 while creating thousands of jobs, the White House said.

The effort also is intended to help the U.S. leapfrog China in the plug-in EV market. Currently, the U.S. market share of plug-in electric vehicle sales is one-third the size of the Chinese EV market.

Biden has set a goal that electric cars and trucks account for half of new vehicles sold by 2030.

The LMC Automotive consulting firm expects U.S. sales of new fully electric vehicles to hit nearly 400,000 this year, almost double last year's figure. EVs still make up only about 2.6% of sales, but the firm expects sales to grow to more than 730,000 next year and more than 2 million by 2025.

Vice President Kamala Harris, left, and Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, (unseen) attend a news conference, Monday, June 7, 2021, at the National Palace in Guatemala City. Harris on Monday, Dec. 13, 2021, is announcing $1.2 billion in commitments from international businesses to support the economies and social infrastructure of Central American nations, as she works to address what the White House terms the "root causes" of migration to the U.S. Credit: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File

President Joe Biden speaks during a visit to the General Motors Factory ZERO electric vehicle assembly plant, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021, in Detroit. Credit: AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks next to an electric vehicle and a charging station during her tour of the Brandywine Maintenance Facility in Prince George's County, Md., highlighting the electric vehicle investments in the bipartisan infrastructure law and the "Build Back Better Act" Monday, Dec. 13, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

Even at 2 million, EV sales still would be only about 12% of U.S. new vehicle sales.

Republicans, including some who voted in favor of the new infrastructure law, have criticized Biden for being preoccupied with electric vehicle technology when Americans are contending with a spike in gasoline and natural gas prices.

Republicans and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., also criticize a proposal in the Democratic bill that would offer an additional $4,500 tax credit for a vehicle made at a U.S. plant that operates under a union-negotiated collective bargaining agreement. Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican, called the plan a "handout to union bosses" that would penalize car makers with non-union workers.

Biden last month ordered a record 50 million barrels of oil released from America's strategic reserve, in coordination with other major energy consuming nations. Gas prices have fallen in recent weeks as fears grow of another possible economic slowdown from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Explore further Biden pushes electric vehicle chargers as energy costs spike

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Graphical abstract. Credit: DOI: 10.1039/D1EE01288F

The use of hydrogen as a replacement for fossil fuels has the potential to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and contribute to more sustainable energy systems.

The high cost of green hydrogen is currently a significant barrier to its production, along with the uplift in production necessary to achieve environmental benefits at a global scale.

Overcoming these barriers will require a detailed assessment of the resources, environmental impacts, and energy flows that result from the development of a worldwide green hydrogen industry.

In partnership with Woodside Energy, this study assessed the life cycle net energy balance and GHG emission performance of large-scale hydrogen production via water electrolysis and solar photovoltaics (PV). The study's focus is the viability of hydrogen production in Australia for export to a global market.

The team of Monash researchers consisting of Professor Damon Honnery, Associate Professor Andrew Hoadley, Dr. Graham Palmer and Dr. Roger Dargaville, produced a detailed assessment of how hydrogen energy can be environmentally produced at scale for industry use, which was published in Energy and Environmental Science.

Project researcher, Dr. Graham Palmer from the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at Monash University, says that due to the scale of hydrogen production necessary, understanding the environmental impacts of green hydrogen production as a replacement for fossil fuels will be critical to its success.

"To do this we have assessed hydrogen production from solar energy including both grid and battery backup over the full life cycle, and undertaken a detailed sensitivity analysis," Dr. Palmer said.

"We found that under baseline conditions, the greenhouse GHG emissions are around one-quarter that of the currently dominant process for hydrogen production, steam methane reforming (SMR). However, sensitivity analysis shows that GHG emissions may be comparable to SMR under reasonably anticipated conditions."

From providing zero-emission fuels for long-haul transport and mining, providing feedstock to reduce GHG emissions in heavy industries, offering flexibility and system security services to electricity grids and replacing natural gas in domestic gas networks, the applications of hydrogen are abundant, as are the opportunities for industry.

Woodside undertakes life-cycle assessments (LCA) to support regulatory requirements and to educate stakeholders on the life-cycle impacts of the company's operations. However, LCA databases typically lack information on developing technologies, which is of critical importance in many areas of "New Energy," especially hydrogen production, where existing technology pathways don't yet exist.

Woodside's senior vice president, climate, Dr. Tom Ridsdill-Smith, said: "There are multiple ways to produce hydrogen, each with different costs and emissions profiles. Furthermore, every individual project is unique and this tool will help us and the industry as a whole to rigorously evaluate emissions and economic performance."

Lead researcher and deputy dean, operations, in the Faculty of Engineering, Professor Damon Honnery, said understanding the link between material use and the benefit of hydrogen production was an important part of the study.

"Given the scale of transition in global energy systems needed to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 C, it is critical that we get the best outcome from the materials used to build large scale energy systems," said Professor Honnery.

"Understanding the true carbon footprint for hydrogen production is essential to certify the hydrogen for international trade. This study is an important contribution for hydrogen certification and to understand the full impact for the emerging hydrogen economy," said Professor Paul Webley, director of the Woodside Monash Energy Partnership.

The next phase of the project will see the development of an environmental impact and energy assessment tool to enable Woodside Energy to undertake the detailed planning needed to develop large-scale green hydrogen production.

Explore further Study reveals potential of blue hydrogen to play key role in energy transition
The Millennium Bridge. Credit: University of Bristol

An international team of engineers and mathematicians, led by Georgia State University in the United States and the University of Bristol, has dispelled previous theories around why London's Millennium Bridge moves from side-to-side when being crossed by large numbers of pedestrians.

One of the most important mathematical and physical theories of the last 20 years has been spontaneous emergence of synchronous behavior from incoherent agents.

Examples include the co-ordinated flashing of fireflies or the sudden onset of synchronous clapping after a speech.

In popular explanations of this (for example in the 2019 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures) probably the most commonly used example is that of the pedestrian-induced instability on the opening day of the London Millennium Bridge.

Supposedly, once the bridge became filled with sufficiently many people, they spontaneously and involuntarily started to co-ordinate their behavior; the frequency at which they made their footsteps became 'locked-in' to the natural frequency of the bridge (the frequency at which the bridge 'wants' to oscillate). The result was scary sideways swaying of the bridge.

This was thought to be a brand-new phenomenon, and a complete surprise to bridge designers who had previous believed that such large bridge oscillations would only occur if soldiers were to march in step, and that uncoordinated pedestrians were not a worry.

The popular myth is that in effect 'naive engineers' were put in their place by 'clever physicists and mathematicians.'

In fact, there is a simpler explanation hiding in plain sight in engineering analysis and publicationsthe bridge goes unstable simply by pedestrians trying not to fall over.

In this new research published in the Journal Nature Communications, the team finally dispel this 'synchronization myth.' They found that many other bridges have exhibited large amplitude lateral oscillations when carrying large crowds of people and there is little or no evidence of footstep synchronization.

The only explanation that is consistent with all evidence is that in trying not to fall over, the pedestrians walking randomly provide 'negative damping'a positive feedback effect where energy is transferred from pedestrian wobbling into bridge motion. In fact, the bridge engineers who fixed the problem were right all along.

Each pedestrian added to the bridge provides negative damping on average, without synchronising their footsteps to all the others. Thus, in theory, there is a critical number of pedestrians n, such that the nth pedestrian is like the straw that breaks the camel's back, so that there is a critical amount of negative damping for the bridge oscillations to start to grow. Credit: Kevin Daley, Georgia State University

Any synchronization observed is typically a consequence, rather than a cause, of the bridge motion.

The team arrived at this conclusion through a careful review of all available observational and experimental evidence, new rigorous mathematical analysis, and detailed computer simulation, harnessing the combined expertise of a unique interdisciplinary, multi-national team.

The findings are important for bridge engineers because large oscillations can occur for a wide range of bridge frequencies, so trying to avoid the problem by ensuring that the bridge frequency is not close to typical pedestrian pacing frequencies is potentially dangerous.

More generally, for a wide range of systems in nature and society, the paper argues that this macro-scale instability (in this case the bridge motion) may emerge from micro-scale behavior (in this case of many individual pedestrians) without there being any obvious causal synchrony. It also points to other examples in economic cycles and the tuning of remarkably sensitive hearing organs in mammals and insects.

Professor Alan Champneys from the University of Bristol's Department of Engineering Mathematics, said: "This international, multi-University collaboration has been a long story, but shows the unique power of interdisciplinary collaboration between practical engineers, mathematicians and physicists.

"Sometimes the answer is hiding in plain sight, but the wisdom of the crowd has led for many years to an incorrect explanation of what is a very simple idea."

Professor Igor Belykh from Georgia State University, added: "I have long been fascinated by the mathematical theory of synchronization, and attempted to apply the theory to bridge instability, but it was only after interaction with colleagues at the University of Bristol, that I realized there was a different story, which has been tremendous fun to finally understand together even if, because of the global pandemic, most of our work has been carried out over Zoom."

Professor John Macdonald from Bristol's Department of Civil Engineering, said: "It wasn't the form of the London Millennium Bridge that caused the problem. These large oscillations can occur on virtually any long bridge when carrying a sufficiently large crowd.

"It turns out that the forces from many random left and right footsteps do not cancel out, but positive feedback leads to the vibrations getting out of hand, a bit like when two or more laptops are too close to each other on a Zoom call, which is ironic because most of this work was conducted over Zoom with our collaborators in Cambridge, Atlanta and Wroklaw."

Following this research the team hope to further investigate the biomechanics of the mechanism in more detail at the individual level and to consider the crowd behavior, including interactions between pedestrians in the crowd. They also want to address vertical human-induced vibrations of structures in a similar way.

These investigations will require further mathematical modeling and experiments, both in the laboratory and on real bridges. The aim will be to quantify the effect in a wide range of conditions, leading to safer, yet efficient, guidance for bridge design.

Explore further Biomechanical model could reduce wobbling of pedestrian bridges

More information: Igor Belykh et al, Emergence of the London Millennium Bridge instability without synchronisation, Nature Communications (2021). Journal information: Nature Communications Igor Belykh et al, Emergence of the London Millennium Bridge instability without synchronisation,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27568-y
Top providers and the number and percentage of domains using these companies in different sets of domain names. Credit: University of California San Diego

Who really sends, receives and, most importantly perhaps, stores your business' email? Most likely Google and Microsoft, unless you live in China or Russia. And the market share for these two companies keeps growing.

That's the conclusion reached by a group of computer scientists at the University of California San Diego, who studied the email service providers used by hundreds of thousands of Internet domainsbetween 2017 and 2021.

"Our research team empirically showed the extent to which email has been outsourced and concentrated to a small number of providers and service providers," said Stefan Savage, a professor in the UC San Diego Department of Computer Science and Engineering and one of the paper's senior authors.

The team presented their findings at the Internet Measurement Conference 2021, which took place virtually Nov. 2 to 4, 2021.

This concentration has several consequences: it increases the impact of service failures and data breaches; and it exposes companies and users outside the United States to potential subpoenas from U.S. government agencies.

A quick explainer of the difference between domains and service providers: The second half of your email address is your company or agency's domainfor example, ucsd.edu is the domain for the University of California San Diego. The email service provider is the company that, behind the scenes, provides the infrastructure that allows you to send and receive email and stores your messagesso ucsd.edu's email service is provided by a combination of Google and Microsoft mail services.

As of June 2021, Google and Microsoft are the dominant providers among popular domains, with 28.5% and 10.8% market share, respectively. In comparison, GoDaddy leads the market of providing services for smaller domains, with a 29% market share. The authors also observed a higher level of concentration over time: Google and Microsoft's market share increased by 2.3% and 2.9%, respectively, since June 2017.

Some of the growth comes from smaller domains that used to host their own emails. "While self-hosted domains switched to providers across all categories, more than a quarter of them changed their mail provider to Google and Microsoft," said Alex Liu, a UC San Diego computer science Ph.D. student and the paper's lead author.

Mail provider preferences by country. Credit: University of California San Diego

More affected during outages, data breaches

Concentration of email service providers has led to much bigger service outages. In August and December 2020, global outages affected Gmail and DriveGmail alone has an estimated 1.5 billion users. Outlook most recently suffered an outage in October 2021 an estimated 400 million people use the service.

The concentration of email service providers also puts more people at risk in the event of a data breach. One often-cited example is the Yahoo data breach that exposed at least 500 million user accounts. Recently, a flaw in a Microsoft Exchange protocol has been shown to have leaked hundreds of thousands of credentials.

Legal impact

Google and Microsoft, the two dominant US-based email service providers, appear to be in wide use by organizations outside the United Statesparticularly across Europe, North America, South America, large parts of Asia and, to a lesser extent, Russia. For example, 65% of Brazilian domains in the researchers' dataset host email with Google or Microsoft. But they are not used in China.

However, outsourcing email service to US companies can also have legal implications. Under the 2018 CLOUD Act, US-based providers can be legally compelled to provide stored customer data, including e-mail, to US law enforcement agencies, regardless of the location of the data, or of the nationality or residency of the customer using the data.

Perhaps as a result, Tencent has an overwhelming market share in China, with 41%, as does Yandex in Russia, with 32 %. Both countries have shown that they prefer to keep control over data access.

In addition, an increasing number of email domains contract with email security providers, such as ProofPoint and Mimecast. These companies can operate as a third-party filter for inbound emails, removing the need to manage security locally. These companies have almost a 7% market share for large commercial companies; and a 17.5% market share for .gov domains.

The research was funded by the National Science Foundation, the University of California San Diego, the EU H2020 CONCORDIA project and Google.

The research was published in Proceedings of the 21st ACM Internet Measurement Conference.

Explore further Microsoft warns thousands of cloud customers of data vulnerability

More information: Enze Liu et al, Who's got your mail?, Proceedings of the 21st ACM Internet Measurement Conference (2021). Enze Liu et al, Who's got your mail?,(2021). DOI: 10.1145/3487552.3487820
Credit: Shutterstock

Wearable fitness trackers will be on many Christmas shopping lists this year, with a vast range of devices (and an ever-increasing number of features) hitting the market just in time for the festive season.

But what does the latest research say about how effective they are?

Fitness trackers are trendy

Currently, about one in five Australians own one of these wearables, and about a quarter use a mobile app or website to monitor their activity levels and health. And sales are predicted to grow over the next five years.

The landscape of the market is fast changing. For years, Fitbit and Garmin were the market leaders. But Australians now favor Apple watches (used by 43% of people owning a wearable tracker) over Fitbit (35%) and Samsung watches (16%) over Garmin (13%).

So far fitness trackers have mostly been taken up by younger people: about one in four Australians aged 2040 report using one, compared to just one in ten people aged 60 or older.

However, manufacturers are on a mission to change this, by adding features that allow users to monitor not just their fitness activity, but several other aspect of their health.

For instance, recent wearable models from all the leading manufacturers claim to measure a host of medical metrics, such as blood pressure, body fat levels, the amount of oxygen in your blood, your heart activity, and even identify when you've taken a fall (with a feature that lets you call for help).

Wearables get the basics right

Firstly, a multitude of studies have looked at the accuracy of wearable fitness trackers for measurements related to physical activity, including step counts, heart rate and number of calories burned. They show step counts are generally highly accurate, while heart rate and calories burned are reasonably accurate.

When study participants wear two different activity trackers at the same time, the numbers of steps, minutes of activity and calories burned aren't exactly the same, but they are correlated. That is, when one goes up so does the other, and vice versa. This suggests they are generally capturing the same information, albeit with slightly different sensitivity.

Evidence for sleep tracking is a little patchier. Wearables are pretty good at detecting bed time, wake time and overall sleep duration. But estimates for more technical metrics such as the "phases" of sleepsuch as REM sleepdon't marry with medical-grade measurements taken by polysomnography.

Sometimes wearables go beyond the basics

In a 2019 Apple-sponsored study reported in the New England Medical Journal, 419,297 participants without known atrial fibrillation wore an Apple Watch. During the study, 2,161 of them received an irregular pulse notification, of which 84% were subsequently confirmed to have atrial fibrillation (an irregular and rapid heart beat).

This is a serious medical condition that requires treatment to prevent stroke.The ability to alert users of a potential undiagnosed cardiac condition seems highly beneficial. Although, others have cautioned the Apple Watch can also miss cases of undiagnosed atrial fibrillationwhich emphasizes the importance of never relying on wearable metrics for medical purposes.

Another study published in September reaffirmed the Apple watch's electrocardiogram feature can detect serious cardiac irregularities. A similar study is currently underway to evaluate Fitbit's electrocardiogram feature, but results aren't out yet.

Building a more advanced tracker

In terms of detecting falls (which would be very useful for older individuals), scientists are developing wrist-worn devices that can accurately do this using accelerometer technology, which is the same underlying technology already used by wearables. So the technology is there, but at this point it's unclear whether the promising lab results will translate to accuracy in commercial wearables.

Meanwhile, the newest Samsung watch claims to measure blood pressure and body composition (such as fat mass, muscle mass and bone mass). Body composition is measured using a method called bioelectric impedance analysis.

When the user touches the watch with their opposite hand, it passes a weak electrical signal through the body and back to the watch. The body composition is then calculated using algorithms and the manually entered body weight.

At this stage, there's no data in the scientific literature to support the accuracy of these measurements, so we'd recommend taking them with a pinch of salt. Then again, only a few years ago the same criticism was made of electrocardiogram measurements from wearablesand these have subsequently shown to have merit.

Evidence says your effort will pay off

So that's the run down on accuracy, but do fitness trackers make a difference in people's lives?

Hundreds of studies have used wearable activity trackers to try to increase physical activity in various general and patient populations. Meta-analyses (which involve combining results of multiple studies) suggest the devices are effective in helping people become more physically active and lose weight.

A meta-analysis of 35 studies in various chronic disease populations suggested users added around 2,100 additional steps per day after they started using a wearable activity tracker. Other meta-analyses have suggested weight loss in the order of 1 to 1.5 kilograms, on average, over the duration of the studies (with the duration varying between studies).

And studies that look specifically at step-tracking over long periods suggest the benefits gained are still present (although smaller) up to four years after the device was first worn.

Accuracy and effectiveness aside, wearable users typically report being satisfied with their devices. So if you happen to get one in your Christmas stocking this year, keep in mind it could help with those New Year's fitness resolutions.

Explore further Novel algorithm on wearable devices can detect irregular heartbeat, may prompt early care

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Brazos County health officials reported 17 new cases of COVID-19 among county residents Monday.

Brazos County officials have confirmed 33,589 cases of COVID-19 in the county since the pandemic began more than a year ago. The number of active cases in Brazos County dropped from 217 to 210 over the weekend.

A Texas A&M University website said the number of active, self-reported cases of the virus among students, faculty members and staff was 51 as of Friday, the last date for which figures were posted.

Officials with the Brazos County Health District said 33,011 cases were considered recovered as of Monday; health officials classify all cases older than two weeks as recovered.

One Brazos County resident was hospitalized Monday for treatment of symptoms related to the virus, officials said.

The percentage of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in the states Trauma Service Area N  Brazos County and six surrounding counties  was 1.29% on Sunday, the last date for which figures were reported. Other counties in the Brazos Valley region are Burleson, Robertson, Grimes, Madison, Washington and Leon.
As she approaches her 90th birthday  on Christmas Day, no less  Marilyn Fischer has a lot to reflect on, a life inspired by kindness and compassion.

Theres just so much you can do for people, she said.

Fischer is proof of that. In years typically reserved for retirement, Fischer is a familiar face at All Faiths Funeral Home as a visitation coordinator.

Generally, I greet people and, guiding them to the books and handing out folders. A lot of times therell be questions  if the family members are here, or where are the bathrooms. We have our wheelchair and every so often we use that at the door if someone is needing some assistance.

All of those elements being important, there is something less tangible to Fischers job.

Just listen. If they ask a question, answer that, but so much of it is listening. Being able to help people and know that theyre being cared for," she said.

Dan Naranjo, funeral director and owner of All Faiths Funeral Home, said he sees Fischers caring kindness in action every day.
Leeta has worked countless hours to guide our organizations response to the virus, Keller adds in the news release. We are thankful for her infection prevention expertise and her attitude of positivity to help us get through it all.

COVID-19 has made things really, really tough for health care the last year or two, Christie says.

People in medicine are having to perform in a way they havent had to for several generations, she said. In attacking COVID, there were no real rules, and the rules just kept coming and changing with regularity, she said.

As a result, people in health care have had to be quite flexible and willing to continue to learn and change. Christie has never been in a situation before where answers have changed within a period of hours. So people have had to stay on their toes. It has been a stressful but a good year, I think, she said.

The goal, she said, is to stay up-to-the minute with best practices.

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Christie works in all of the hospitals facilities, including long-term care, assisted living, a doctors clinic and physical therapy.
Sarroub researched diversity and education in Detroit, where Middle Eastern immigrants have made up much of the areas immigrant population. When you look at teacher populations in schools, you often find Arab-American teachers and the new arrivals who were from Iraq or from other Arab countries like Syria, which had really devastating, horrific things happened to them in the last several years. When they arrive here, and lets say in the Detroit area, they meet with and see teachers like themselves who can also communicate in Arabic, or if they dont communicate in Arabic, they understand culturally, ethnically, even religiously.

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Grand Island Public Schools Superintendent Tawana Grover said fostering cultural, ethnic and religious awareness is key to the district addressing teacher diversity. I think when we hear our students stories, they are making a difference because its helping us to be more well-rounded individuals  and its enriching our everyday educational experiences.

Enrichment also comes in the form of training, Grover explained. We support our teachers through professional learning as being culturally responsive to our students, taking into account their backgrounds and their experiences, and how that elevates the educational opportunity within the classroom.
Hornady is now treating twice as much water as what was being produced a year ago, and can accommodate any future growth, Powell said.

The expansion thats happening at this Grand Island plant will not affect the capacity we have here, she said. We can probably run twice as much as we are today, and still be just fine with the system we have in place.

It was a challenge to develop this new filter system, Powell said.

Traditionally, you have wastewater that has plenty of solids, but in the case of the copper rinses and lead bullet rinses, there wasnt just enough solids and any other traditional system we would have to add a lot of polymer and chemical just to try to get a plate press, or any other traditional technology, to work, she explained.

It took nearly a full year to find a system that could filter both solids, and still meet the permit limits in place for a facility such as Hornady, Powell said.

Powell called it a great accomplishment for Hornady to receive the recognition.
The deputy said the driver, who was Owen, allegedly admitted to stealing the items. According to court documents, the woman with him also allegedly admitted to the shoplifting.

Then the deputies were notified that the vehicle had been stolen in Habersham County, Georgia. The estimated value of the minivan was $6,000.

Both were then arrested.

Inside the vehicle, officers observed many items of value, the affidavit filed with the court says. The vehicle was so full that each rear door had items stacked up to the windows.

When the vehicle was towed, deputies conducted an inventory search. During that search, deputies found numerous clothing items, many of which were new with tags. Some of which still had security devices attached to them. The tags indicated the items came from Marshalls and Ross Dress for Less  deputies could not locate any receipts indicating the items had been purchased. A deputy located a purchase and return receipt from Marshalls in Kearney and the Kearney Police Department advised that on April 12, there was a shoplifting reported at Ross Dress for Less in Kearney.

The deputy said the description of the vehicle and the people involved matched Head and Owen.
Orangeburg County Sheriffs Office

Armed robbers stole a mans Wrangler blue jeans, truck keys, wallet and $150 cash in North on Saturday night, according to a sheriffs office incident report.

The robbery occurred just after 10 p.m. at the intersection of New Wolfe Road and A Z Road.

The man was driving a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado when a car approached his truck from behind. Its headlights were flashing.

He pulled over, thinking the car wanted to go around him.

Two males exited the car and came up to his truck.

One of the males pointed a silver handgun at him and ordered him out of the truck. The other male searched the truck.

The man told the robbers they could have anything they wanted, the report states.

The robbers didnt take anything from his truck, but they forced the man to lay down on the ground.

The robbers took his jeans off of him, the report states.

In addition to his jeans, the robbers also stole his truck keys and his wallet containing $150.

The man was able to run home and a relative provided him with his spare truck key.

The report claims the man wasnt able to provide a written statement to deputies due to his intoxication level.

In other reports:

 A man was robbed of his .22-gauge rifle when he pulled over to the side of Woolbright Road in Santee to relieve himself on Friday night, according to an incident report.

The man pulled his 2008 Ford Ranger to the side of the road, relieved himself and then walked back to his truck. He noticed a blue Honda parked behind his truck and a white BMW parked in front of his truck.

A male exited the BMW, entered the mans truck, removed the rifle and placed it in the back of the Honda, the report states.

As both the Honda and BMW left the scene, a passenger in the BMW allegedly pointed an AR-style rifle while threatening to kill the man.

The stolen rifle is valued at $250.

 Someone stole two ECU computers out of two racing cars stored in a shed on North Road in North over the weekend.

The theft was reported on Sunday.

The value of the computers is $9,000.

 Someone stole the catalytic converter from a 2018 Chevrolet Express van belonging to Macedonia AME Church, on Second Street, in Cope.

The theft was reported on Saturday.

The catalytic converter is valued at $1,200.

 The following items were stolen from a Penn Road home in Orangeburg on Saturday: $2,000 in cash, a gold necklace, a pair of Nike sneakers, a gold diamond ring and a .40-caliber Glock handgun.

The value of the stolen items is $3,900.

Contact the writer: mbrown@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5545. Follow on Twitter: @MRBrownTandD

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Three people have been charged for the 2019 deaths of Jocelyn Watt and Rudy Perez, the Fremont County attorney said Monday.

Patrick Sun Rhodes and Bryce Teran both face two felony charges of murder, and Korbin Headley is charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary.

Sun Rhodes is 17, but will be tried as an adult.

Another Fremont County resident will also be charged in the case, attorney Patrick Lebrun said, but has not been taken into custody. Teran was reportedly already in custody on unrelated charges before the other two were arrested Friday.

Watt and Perez, both 30, were found dead inside a Riverton home in January 2019.

Our family would like to thank all the dedicated law enforcement that have worked diligently to find and arrest those accused of murdering Jocelyn and Rudy, Watts mother, Nicole Wagon, said in a statement on Monday. We are grateful to those who continue to work with us as the process begins in the courts. As we are grieving the loss and working through the pain this brings, we request that we are given the space needed to work through the process.

Wagon has become a leading voice drawing attention to missing and murdered Indigenous people in Wyoming, following Watts and another daughters deaths.

Watts younger sister, Jade Wagon, was also found dead in January 2020, a year after Watt and Perez were found. In March 2020, a coroner ruled that Wagons death was accidental, caused by hypothermia and exposure. In July of this year, Nicole told the Star-Tribune that a warrant had been issued in connection to Jades death, but no arrests have been made.

According to a statement from Lebrun, the arrests tied to the deaths of Watt and Perez were made after a joint investigation by the Riverton Police Department, Fremont County Sheriffs Office, Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, and the FBI.

Follow city and crime reporter Ellen Gerst on Twitter at @ellengerst.

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WHITEFISH, Mont.  Air Force pilot Norbert Herriges was flying a mission over Pourrieres, France, on Aug. 12, 1944, when he was shot down by a German fighter pilot.

Herriges managed to bail out of his Thunderbolt, but his parachute failed to open and during the incident, he was shot in the head. The owners of a farm where Herriges landed hid his body from the Germans until they were threatened with execution.

In spite of the Germans, the citizens of the town picked up his body and conducted a funeral. In a town with a population of about 1,000 at the time during World War II, a reported 3,000 people were present , the Whitefish Pilot reports.

Herriges body was eventually returned to be buried in the cemetery of his hometown of Whitefish. A 1938 graduate of Whitefish High School, Herriges volunteered for the Army Air Corps serving as a second lieutenant in the Air Force.

Though seemingly well-known in the town of Pourrieres, France, the story of Herriges death and memories of his life was told only in fragmented pieces amongst his family members.

Until last year when a filmmaker from France reached out wanting to bring his story and the connection with the town to life on screen.

Margaret Herriges, whose father-in-law is one of Herriges brothers, received a Facebook message from director Lionel Kabac who was searching for his family members. Kabac was shooting a short film about the town and its history.

I am preparing a reconstruction of some historical facts including that of our dear Norbert who came to our country to deliver France, he wrote. He wanted to know if the family could provide photos and information about Norbert Herriges.

Margaret spoke with her family members including Norberts four living siblings who gave their blessing to be their representative putting together the pieces of the story for the film but also the younger generations of the family.

He was a man they held in regard for saving their town even though they never met him, Margaret said. Hes become my hero now too.

A letter found in a bottle on Herriges grave in France points to the significance that he and other veterans who died fighting for the country hold.

In the name of all French people, we wish to tell you how much we regret the mortal blow which touched you so cruelly in our country, it reads. In the name of our comrades, we French thank you for having fought to save our native land.

The second child of Nick and Anastasia, Norbert was born in Canada in 1919 before his family came to the United States. Norbert was married to his wife Jean in 1940 and they had one child, John.

Norbert worked for the Great Northern railroad as a yard office clerk before he enlisted, according to a notice in the Pilot announcing a High Mass held in his honor in May of 1961. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He went overseas in May 1944 before being shot down on his 35th mission in the south of France.

Providing a large piece of history for Norberts story was Dan Herriges, the youngest boy in the family who was 4 years old when Norbert died. In 1973, Dan and his wife traveled to Pourrieres and the farm where his brothers body was found.

I found out the information about what happened to him when we traveled there, Dan said. I spoke with the owner of the farm who was the son of the owners of the farm when it happened.

The couple who owned the farm knew theyd be criticized for hiding Norberts body, but they wanted to make sure the Germans couldnt find him. Later they moved his body into town and to a mortuary and then held the funeral for him before burying him in the local cemetery.

Dan visited the towns city hall where they had an entry in the town register of Norberts death and other men who died in the battle. An obelisk in the early 2000s was dedicated in the town square to Norbert.

Theyve kept Norbert as an important part of the towns heritage, Dan said.

About 20 years ago, one of the pilots who flew with Norbert corresponded with Dan providing further information about the events of that fateful day in 1944. Norbert took off from Serragia, Corsica, a military airfield in France on a mission and eventually shot down two German pilots before bailing out of his aircraft.

When Herriges body was found he had been shot in the head either in the air coming down in his chute or after he hit the ground, according to the recollection.

After the file titled Un Ete en Provence was completed, the town earlier this year hosted a screening and ceremony where they renamed the town square in honor of Norbert. Dan and his wife once again traveled to France this time to represent the family.

It was a really big celebration, Dan said. Norbert has just been their guy ever since 1944.

Dan said the town has kept Norberts memory alive and the celebration was an emotional day.

Theyve done a really good job of doing that for someone they didnt even know, he said. Hes been a pretty important piece of that village for 70 some years.

During his speech at the ceremony, Dan shared his and his siblings memories of their brother and thanked the people of the town.

Dan has a vivid memory of the day his brother left home sitting on his knee while Norbert sang some popular song of the time to him. Brother Roland says Norbert was his flying hero.

Sister Anastasia remembers him as a very kind young man who learned woodworking in high school and built a huge kitchen table and cabinets for their mother.

Margaret had the responsibility of gathering photos of Norbert and details to provide to the filmmaker.

I learned the most from talking to every one of the aunts and uncles, Margaret said. Watching them reconnect over it and how emotional it still is for them was incredibly powerful.

She says the research and subsequent film have put her in touch with family members shes never met before. Though Norberts son has died, part of the research led the family to reconnect with his grandchildren.

This story has really had a unification effect on our family because there is a lot of pride involved, she said. Pride in the sacrifice Norbert made, but also because the family has a huge history of military service.

The director is submitting the portion of the film about Norbert for entry into various film festivals, so it hasnt been released to the public. But the Herriges family is hopeful theyll be able to show the film at their family reunion scheduled for 2022.

During family reunions in the summer there were discussions with my brothers and sisters, and weve kept his memory alive, Dan said.

Hopefully someone by seeing the film will decide theyd like to know more about a family member they had who was a service member, he added.

For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, Whitefish Pilot.

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It will soon cost you at least a dollar or two more to enjoy a Carib or Stag beer as bar owners say a price increase by Carib Brewery has left them with no other alternative but to charge customers more.

Carib Brewery, in a statement on Monday, announced a $1 retail price increase per bottle or can would apply to its Carib, Carib Pilsner, Stag, Carib Blue, Royal Extra Stout, Coors, Heineken, Guinness, Smirnoff Ice and Blue Moon products.
The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service is offering a $.1 million reward in relation to the p
Mr. Gary Griffith receives his letter of appointment on Friday 3 August 2018, as the new Commissioner of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service from Ms. Bliss Seepersad, Chairman of the Police Service Commission
The stage is being set for a showdown between the Government and unvaccinated workers employed by the State, come January 17.

With a week and a half to go, there has been no real effort aimed at defusing the looming confrontation. Meanwhile, as positions harden on each side, the public has been reduced to the role of spectator, unsure of how the banning of unvaccinated public sector employees from the workplace without pay will affect them, since, apart from the Prime Ministers statement, there has been no information regarding the public sectors Quasi Safe Zones Policy.
Hughes Federal Credit Union: The Friends of the Oro Valley Public Library recognized Hughes Federal Credit Union for its support and longstanding partnership at a dedication ceremony for the new Hughes/Friends Plaza located at the Oro Valley Public Library, 1305 W. Naranja Drive. The Friends of the Oro Valley Public Library, a volunteer nonprofit organization, and Hughes formed a partnership in 2001 to help raise funds for new books and equipment, financial literacy classes and other projects and programs designed to bring free educational resources to residents. Since then, 75,000 Hughes members have donated over $750,000 to the library. Member donations to the Friends of the Oro Valley Public Library have also been used to fund scholarships for high school seniors, Childrens Museum Oro Valley, and the Books for Teachers program which provides grants to over 50 schools to supplement their library collections or special literary projects. The outdoor plaza brings new walking paths, landscaping and a stage area with shade sails and wall seating to accommodate outdoor library events including childrens programs. The plaza is open to the public.
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Insurer agrees to $800M settlement in Boy Scouts bankruptcy

DOVER, Del. (AP)  Attorneys in the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy case have reached a tentative settlement under which one of the organizations largest insurers would contribute $800 million into a fund for victims of child sexual abuse.

The agreement announced Monday calls for Century Indemnity Co. and affiliated companies to contribute $800 million into the fund in return for being released from further liability for abuse claims. The payment would bring the amount of money in the proposed trust to more than $2.6 billion, which would be the largest sexual abuse settlement in U.S. history.

The settlement comes as more than 82,000 sexual abuse claimants face a Dec. 28 deadline to vote on a previously announced Boy Scouts reorganization plan.

That plan called for the Boys Scouts and its roughly 250 local councils to contribute up to $820 million in cash and property into a fund for victims. They also would assign certain insurance rights to the fund. In return, the local councils and national organization would be released from further liability for sexual abuse claims.
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP)  The first woman and first openly gay person to serve as the president of the Vermont state Senate said Monday that she's running to occupy the state's lone U.S. House seat.

Becca Balint, of Brattleboro, is seeking the Democratic Party nomination for the position.

Im running because I believe that, even with the challenges of today, we cannot back away from fighting for each other," Balint said in a statement. We have to deliver on some big promises for Vermont working families and that is going to take courage and kindness.

Vermonts congressional seat will be open in November. Democratic incumbent Rep. Peter Welch is seeking the U.S. Senate seat after Sen. Patrick Leahy announced he would not seek reelection, after nearly a half-century in Washington.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders will be up for reelection in 2024.

The Senate and House contests are the first openings in Vermont's congressional delegation since 2006. Vermont has never sent a woman to congress.

Democratic Lt. Gov. Molly Gray has already announced she will seek the nomination for the House seat. Other candidates are possible.
PONTOTOC, Miss. (AP)  Authorities have uncovered the remains of a Mississippi woman following a tip from an inmate who revealed the location of her body prior to his execution on other crimes last month.

On Sunday, police discovered what's believed to be the body of Felicia Cox on land that had once belonged to her family in Pontotoc County. The remains will be taken to the state crime lab for an autopsy and DNA testing to confirm identity, according to Pontotoc County Coroner Kim Bedford.

Last month, David Neal Cox became the first inmate executed in Mississippi in nine years, put to death for killing his estranged wife, Kim Kirk Cox, and sexually assaulting her young daughter as her mother lay dying. Cox pleaded guilty in 2012 to capital murder for the May 2010 shooting death. He also pleaded guilty to multiple other charges, including sexual assault.

Cox had dropped his appeals, filing court papers calling himself worthy of death before the state Supreme Court set his execution date.
A local Tucson teen has become one of the first female Eagle Scouts in Pima County. The freshman at Catalina Foothills High School is also one of the first female Scouts in Pima County of Latina heritage.
Their effectiveness has held up for the most part, allowing schools to reopen, restaurants to welcome diners and families to gather for the holidays. At last count, 95% of Americans 65 and older had had at least one shot.

In terms of scientific, public health and logistical achievements, this is in the same category as putting a man on the moon, said Dr. David Dowdy, an infectious-disease epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The vaccines first year has been rocky with the disappointment of breakthrough infections, the political strife over mandates and, now, worries about whether the mutant omicron will evade protection.

Despite all that, Dowdy said, were going to look back and say the vaccines were a huge success story.

On the very day that an eager nation began rolling up its sleeves, Dec. 14, 2020, the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 hit 300,000. And deaths were running at an average of more than 2,500 a day and rising fast, worse than what the country witnessed during the harrowing spring of 2020, when New York City was the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak.
Dole suffered paralyzing, near-fatal wounds during World War II. Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recalled how, after Dole was hit amid fighting in the Italian mountains in 1945, he was dragged behind a wall by a fellow soldier and lay there, facing up in the dirt. Not knowing if he would live or die. Unable to move as the battle raged around him. And he lay there for 10 consecutive hours before medics were able to reach him."

He served the army. He served the state of Kansas. He served his political party. But, above all, he served his country and he served his fellow Americans, Milley said. Bob Dole always, always put his country first.

The service ended with Milley escorting Dole's wife, former North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole, as she and Robin touched a wreath in his honor, then bowed their heads in prayer as taps was played.

Doles body is also traveling to Kansas, where weekend events include a public viewing in his hometown of Russell. He will eventually be interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
A single foster parent in Oklahoma for half a decade, Meralee Crowl is no stranger to misconceptions.

After all, one of her own got her into the gig.

I had this grandiose idea that I was going to rescue a kid from foster care and adopt them, Crowl said. I thought, Theres no way that I could bring a kid into my home and love them and take care of them and then have them leave  it would be too hard on me. But then I got to see what foster care is.

I ended up falling head over heels with being able to give kids a safe place while their parents or another family member get things figured out.

The goal of foster care is reunification, Crowl said. Not adoption, not a search for a better home, but an opportunity for a childs existing home to become better, because every parent and child deserves a chance for things to work out.

In five years, Crowl, now 41, has fostered 16 kids ranging from infants as young as 15 months old to teenagers six months from aging out of the system. All but three have been reunified with their families after moving out of her home, she said.
The department aims to graduate three, 30-person academy classes per year to keep up with attrition and chip away at the gap to reach its authorized strength, but those classes almost never graduate full and this year have turned up short of qualified candidates. The pressure to fill positions is undeniable, but its something the department must balance with the need for quality employees.

We lose a lot of people in our background investigations, he said.

Shortening training is also not an option. The TPD academy consists of in-class instruction for about six months before officers-in-training venture out into the field under watchful eyes for about four months, meaning a class slated to begin in January wont actually impact the departments workforce until October.

But recruiting can be tweaked and expedited. Increased testing opportunities are being offered to accommodate those who live out of town, and Franklin said he was shocked to learn how much interest indication was still on paper forms, so the process is now digital through jointpd.com, where recruiters strive to get back with potential candidates within 24 hours.
The cellmate told police Ko offered to pay $20,000 for the torture and killing of the people on the list and that he would arrange to post the mans $2,500 bail so he could get released and carry out the killings with help from the mans uncle.

The cellmate agreed to wear a recording device while talking with Ko about carrying out the plan and investigators allowed the man to use an iPad to call his uncle to arrange the killings, but the person on the other end of the call was actually a sheriffs department detective, the affidavit states.

Ko reportedly told the detective on the call to start with the girl's father, whose name was at the top of the list, and then work his way through the others in order. He provided details, indicating that some victims were to be tortured, according to the affidavit.

Ko pleaded guilty this year to criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon for attacking the girl with a pocketknife in July 2019 as she was playing her violin alone in a Merrill Hall practice room during IUs Summer String Academy. Authorities said Ko knew the victim from the previous summers violin camp.
Debris from destroyed buildings and shredded trees covered the ground in Mayfield, a city of about 10,000 in western Kentucky. Twisted sheet metal, downed power lines and wrecked vehicles lined the streets. Windows were blown out and roofs torn off the buildings that were still standing.

Five twisters hit Kentucky in all, including one with an extraordinarily long path of about 200 miles (322 kilometers), authorities said.

In addition to the deaths in Kentucky, the tornadoes also killed at least six people in Illinois, where the Amazon distribution center in Edwardsville was hit; four in Tennessee; two in Arkansas, where the nursing home was destroyed and the governor said workers shielded residents with their own bodies; and two in Missouri.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Monday that it has opened an investigation into the collapse of the Amazon warehouse in Illinois.

Amazons Kelly Nantel said the Illinois warehouse was constructed consistent with code. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said there would be an investigation into updating code given serious change in climate that we are seeing across the country that appears to factor into stronger tornadoes.
We can keep you from going into the hospital, said Slatton-Hodges. We can keep you from having to show up at the emergency room.

She said people who seek help through the community clinics are more likely to hold a job and are less likely to be drawn into the criminal justice system and experience homelessness.

It can also reduce stress on family members.

The tablets can be particularly helpful in that regard. They allow patients or caregivers to directly contact mental health professionals any time of day or night, whether to deal with crises or for regular appointments. Slatton-Hodges said the devices have greatly improved productivity by reducing no-show and cancelled appointments, and have headed off potentially serious situations.

The devices are similar to ones distributed to law enforcement officers in recent years, but operate on a different network.

Slatton-Hodges says two developments, one underway and the other in the near future, are likely to further expand access to mental health care.

One is this years expansion of Medicaid. The other is the July rollout of a 988 mental health line.
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said the proposal to have the tribes pay full price is not a serious offer and is an insult.

According to the Cherokee Nation, the compacts have been in place since 2016, with Stitt approving them in 2019 and 2020.

According to the Cherokee Nation, its compact generated more than $32 million for the state, while the Choctaw compact brought in $6 million.

This decision is tremendously disappointing, not just for Cherokee citizens who are losing a program that Gov. Stitt himself knew was a win-win, but for every Oklahoman who has benefitted from these agreements and the future generations that would have benefitted from federal funding to support wildlife management and conservation, Hoskin said.

We will now lean exclusively on our treaty rights to hunt and fish and mange that process as a government, and the state of Oklahoma will not be part of that, Hoskin said.

That will allow Cherokee citizens the right to hunt and fish within the tribes 7,000-square-mile reservation without state licenses, the chief said.
In a recent Tulsa World article (Physician blasts AGs vaccine comment, Dec. 8), Oklahoma State Medical Association President Dr. Mary Clarke stated our state leadership is doing a gross disservice to the public.

The article points out how physicians read scientific journals, discuss with other professionals  locally, statewide, but also globally  and as Dr. Kendrick from the OU School of Community Medicine stated, the science behind the COVID-19 vaccines is the same science used to develop prior successful vaccines.

So, when a non-science person (state Attorney General John OConnor) questions the science and the medical professionals, I agree with Dr. Clarkes comment that they are, doing a gross disservice to the public.

In June of this year, the AMA survey showed over 96% of doctors fully vaccinated against Covid-19. So, the percentage is even higher as of this writing.
Waterway transport services between Ho Chi Minh City and the southern beach city of Vung Tau have resumed after being suspended for nearly six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A representative of Quoc Chanh Company, developer of the Can Gio-Vung Tau Ferry, confirmed on Sunday that the service had been put back into operation.

However, the ferry route will be operated at only 50 percent of capacity as Vung Tau is now classified as a high-risk locality, or orange zone, the representative continued, adding that ticket prices will remain unchanged.

The 15-kilometer ferry route connects Tac Xuat Wharf in Can Gio District, Ho Chi Minh City with Vung Tau Inland Waterway Port in Vung Tau City, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.

A journey takes approximately 30 minutes, and each ferry can carry an average of 350 passengers, 20 automobiles, and 100 motorbikes.

The ferry service welcomed its first passengers on January 4.

GreenlinesDP Technology Company also announced that its express boat service between Ho Chi Minh City and Vung Tau will resume operation on December 15.

There will be four trips per day during weekdays and eight journeys per day on weekends.

Due to the serious COVID-19 pandemic, waterway transport services between Ho Chi Minh City and Vung Tau were suspended on June 20.

On October 20, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport proposed that such services be resumed to meet the travel demands of local people.

However, the proposal required consensus from authorities in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.

Ho Chi Minh City has been the hardest-hit locality since the fourth outbreak struck the country on April 27, with more than 487,200 cases recorded.

More than 6.8 million out of nine million people in the metropolis have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Ba Ria-Vung Tau has documented nearly 21,800 cases in this bout.

Nearly 93 percent of the provinces adult population has received at least one dose of vaccine, and over 76 percent have been jabbed twice, according to the national COVID-19 vaccination portal.

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Construction of VinES battery manufacturing factory, expected to cost VND4 trillion (US$173.68 million), began in the north-central province of Ha Tinhs Vung Ang Economic Zone with the presence of State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Sunday.

The Peoples Committee of Ha Tinh Province and Vietnamese multi-sector conglomerate Vingroup held a groundbreaking ceremony for the project, which will be developed on eight hectares in its initial phase.

VinES battery manufacturing factory will provide Lithium batteries for electric cars and buses manufactured by Vingroups car-making division, VinFast.

The entire infrastructure of the factory, including a casting shop, a welding shop, and a packaging shop, is designed to produce 100,000 battery packs per year.

The second phase of the factory will expand production to include battery cell manufacturing and upgrade capacity to one million battery packs per year.

An aerial view of VinES battery manufacturing factory in Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam, December 12, 2021. Photo: Le Minh / Tuoi Tre

The very first car battery plant in Vietnam, the advanced factory will be equipped with European and American-standard technologies that boast a workflow automation rate of 80 percent.

Vingroup is also working with strategic partners, including the worlds leading companies in pioneering technologies, for the production of electric vehicle batteries.

At the groundbreaking ceremony, State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc hailed Vingroups operational strategy adjustment that has shifted from the field of real estate investment and trading to hi-tech and services industries.

The timely adjustment also demonstrated the conglomerates significant participation in the process of restructuring and modernizing Vietnams economy.

Vietnamese State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of VinES battery manufacturing factory in Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam, December 12, 2021. Photo: Le Minh / Tuoi Tre

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More than 150,000 students of grades 9 and 12 of Vietnams southern economic hub Ho Chi Minh City have come back to their in-person classes on Monday morning after more than six months learning from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the total, 88,000 students are of grade 9 and over 66,000 others are 12th graders, who will return to their face-to-face classes on a trial basis for two weeks.

The school resumption took place amid the context that the city, as well as the country, has eased strict COVID-19 restriction and restored socio-economic activities based on the strategy of living safely with coronavirus since early October, after basically putting the pandemic under control and achieving high vaccination coverage rates.

A teacher at Trung Vuong Senior High School in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City is seen guiding students to stand in line for body temperature check upon entering the school. Photo: Nhat Thinh / Tuoi Tre

The city had basically completed coronavirus inoculation for children from 12 to 17 years old, with a population of over 702,500, by the end of November, local health authorities reported.

The nine-million people city had also administered over 8.03 million first vaccine doses and some 6.84 million second jabs to its adult population as of December 12, according to the national COVID-19 vaccination portal.

In preparation for the resumption of in-person schooling, all junior and senior high schools in Ho Chi Minh City had completed all necessary steps over the past few days to meet the current rules on epidemic prevention and control.

This image shows grade 12 students of Trung Vuong Senior High School performing hand disinfection with a sanitizer at the entrance of the school. Photo: Nhat Thinh / Tuoi Tre

During the two trial weeks, students will experience 12 to 30 hours of learning per week, depending on actual epidemic developments, according to the guidance of the citys Department of Education and Training.

After the trial period, a review will be conducted to decide on next steps in sending more students back to schools, the department said.

As noted by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters, students at Ly Phong Junior High School in District 5 had body temperature measured and performed hand disinfection with automatic equipment upon their arrival at the school.

The school has been equipped with standby quarantine rooms, COVID-19 rapid test supplies and other facilities to serve epidemic prevention.

At the school gate, some teachers were tasked with monitoring students and handling unexpected situations if any.

Nguyen Gia Huy, a ninth grader among the first students to arrive at the school, said: Today, I am very happy because after a long time studying at home, now I can meet my friends and teachers again. I am very excited. For the first class this morning, we will finish at 8:30 am.

Grade 9 students are seen entering Ly Phong Junior High School in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

The school does not organize day-boarding. It neither opens the canteen nor operates the air-conditioning system. When the class is over, they will be guided to leave their classrooms through two staircases to get out of the school, Tran Tan Tai, the schools principal, said.

Nguyen Van Hieu, director of the municipal Department of Education and Training department, and Tang Chi Thuong, director of local Department of Health, were seen present at the school for inspection.

The school has 366 grade-9 students, who are divided into nine classes, and has two separate standby quarantine rooms for boys and girls. That is good and comfortable, Hieu said.

Students at Ly Phong Junior High School are seen performing health declaration when returning to the school on December 13, 2021. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Nearly 80 percent of parents of students of grades 9 and 12 in the city agreed to let their children come back to in-person learning after over six months of online learning due to the pandemic, according to a survey conducted by the education and training department.

As of Sunday, the city had documented 487,890 COVID-19 cases and 18,748 deaths since the pandemic erupted in the country in early 2020, the Health Ministrys data shows.

Students are seen in a classroom at Ly Phong Junior High School on December 13, 2021. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Nguyen Van Hieu (left), director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, is seen at Ly Phong Junior High School on December 13, 2021 for inspecting the preparations for receiving students back to the school. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

This image shows grade 9 students attending the flag-salute ceremony before learning time at Hoang Van Thu Junior High School in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City, on December 13, 2021. Photo: Nhu Hung / Tuoi Tre

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Sri Lankan authorities on Sunday put on show what they said was the world's largest natural corundum blue sapphire, weighing 310 kilograms, which was found in a gem pit about three months ago.

Local gemologists, who have examined the sapphire, said it was one of the rarest gems in the world as it weighed more than 300 kilograms. International organisations are yet to certify the precious stone.

The sapphire was put on display at the home of one of the gem pit owners in Horana, 65 kilometres (40 miles) south of Colombo.

A group of Buddhist monks chanted blessings for the gemstone before it was unveiled.

Gemological Institute of Ratnapura Director of research and development, Chamila Suranga, inspects the world's largest natural corundum blue sapphire, weighing 310 kilograms, which was found in a gem pit, at a private residence in Horana, Sri Lanka, December 12, 2021. Photo: Reuters

The stone was found in the gem-rich Ratnapura area where local people had previously found the world's largest star sapphire cluster in a backyard by accident

Ratnapura is known as the gem capital of the South Asian country, which is a leading exporter of sapphires and other precious gems.

The country earned around half a billion dollars through the export of gems, diamonds and other jewellery last year, the local gems and jewellery industry body has reported.
The Ministry of Health documented 15,377 more COVID-19 cases across Vietnam on Monday, along with 1,192 recoveries and 242 virus-related deaths.

The latest infections, including 28 imported and 15,349 domestic transmissions, were recorded in 60 provinces and cities, the ministry said, adding that 8,891 patients caught the virus in the community.

Hanoi registered 1,000 of the newest cases, Binh Phuoc Province 998, Tay Ninh Province 919, Ho Chi Minh City 915, Can Tho City 680, Khanh Hoa Province 594, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province 371, Thua Thien-Hue Province 346, Dong Nai Province 329, Binh Duong Province 304, Binh Thuan Province 268, Da Nang 205, Hai Phong City 183, Lam Dong Province 165, Quang Nam Province 103, and Quang Ninh Province 49.

Vietnam had reported 14,621 locally-acquired infections on Sunday.

The country has logged 1,423,004 community transmissions in all its 63 provinces and cities since the fourth virus wave erupted on April 27. A combined 1,053,095 of them have recovered from COVID-19.

Ho Chi Minh City has been struck the hardest with 488,174 patients, followed by Binh Duong Province with 287,556, Dong Nai Province with 92,575, Tay Ninh Province with 39,615, Long An Province with 39,239, Dong Thap Province with 30,988, Can Tho City with 28,958, Tien Giang Province with 28,899, An Giang Province with 27,342, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province with 22,166, Binh Thuan Province with 21,982, Khanh Hoa Province with 20,016, Hanoi with 18,799, and Da Nang with 8,150.

Vietnam found merely 1,570 locally-transmitted infections in total in the previous three waves.

The health ministry confirmed 1,192 recovered patients on Monday, taking the total to 1,055,912.

The toll has jumped to 28,081 fatalities after the ministry announced 242 mortalities on the same day, including 75 in Ho Chi Minh City, 26 in Dong Nai Province, 25 in An Giang Province, 15 in Binh Duong Province, 13 in Can Tho City, and the remaining in 16 other provinces and cities.

Vietnam has documented 1,428,428 patients since the COVID-19 pandemic first hit it early last year.

Health workers have administered above 132.8 million vaccine doses, including 593,374 shots on Sunday, since vaccination was rolled out nationwide on March 8.

Upwards of 74.9 million of the countrys 98 million people have received at least one dose while over 57.9 million are now fully immunized.

Vietnam aims to fully inoculate 100 percent of its adult population this year. Many provinces and cities are immunizing children aged 12-17 against COVID-19, using Pfizer-BioNTech shots.

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National Indigenous Television has revealed a new brand position encouraging all Australians to Reimagine Australia, alongside a new logo and television schedule, as it marks nine years as part of the SBS network.

A redesigned NITV logo which incorporates the Bilma  the North-East Arnhem land term for clapstick, and a universal symbol for rhythm  and the SBS mercator symbol which features across all SBS brands. When clapsticks are struck, the rhythm, represented by songlines, is carried across the country, connecting and celebrating Indigenous cultures. Together, these elements represent NITV: the home of First Nations storytelling in Australia, known for showcasing the diversity of Indigenous voices, views and practices.

60, 30 and 15 second promotional spots were created by First Nations creative agency, Gilimbaa, featuring Ernie Dingo, Uncle Jack Charles, Aaron FaAoso, Adam Goodes, Osher Gunsberg, Ziggy Ramo, Archie Roach, Kerry OBrien, Samantha Harris, Sasha Sarago, Mi-Kaisha Masella, Tim Minchin, Adam Hill, Ella Havelka, Janice Petersen and Jeff McMullen.

Tanya Denning-Orman, a proud Birri and Guugu Yimidhirr woman and Director of Indigenous Content, SBS, said: NITV has come a long way since we started beaming out across the bush in 2007. Since becoming part of the SBS network and available free-to-air to all Australians in December 2012, weve continued to grow and reach more Australians. Today, were proud to be delivering what we were established for all those years ago, as a dedicated space for First Nations stories, made by Indigenous people in control of how were portrayed, and representing the many voices of the countrys First Australians.

Telling our stories on our terms has never been more important, and as the power and promise of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives increasingly becomes a focus for Australian audiences, were excited to launch a new look and feel that reflects NITVs enduring mission, illustrates the contemporary channel we are today, and celebrates the diverse First Nations communities and cultures we champion through our content.

NITV helps all Australians to connect with our countrys rich Indigenous history with programs that inspire, instil pride and lead to greater understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures. We want to thank everyone who leant their voices and joined with our channel to amplify why NITV is so integral to the Australian media landscape.

David Williams, Executive Director of Gilimbaa, said: The Gilimbaa team was inspired by the challenge to create a new NITV brand that would tell their story representing who they are as an organisation, connecting with mob all around the country.

The trust placed in us by the NITV team and spirit of collaboration throughout the project made it extra special for us to be a part of and we are very proud with the journey to date and hope that our communities right across the country will embrace it.

The new brand incorporates a colour palette inspired by the natural world which highlights four defining Countries  Desert Country, Bush Country, Freshwater Country and Saltwater Country. A secondary palette has been created for social media, inspired by Rainforest Country. Texture has also been incorporated across the palette, symbolising the earth all Australians stand on, no matter where they may be in the country.

As NITV implements its new brand, they have also introduced a new prime time television schedule, designed to give audiences more of what they love, and maximise opportunities to reach and serve communities with their distinctive programming line-up. The revised schedule features themed programming slots, including a drama night, a thriller/horror movie night, a six-day a week natural history documentary slot and a regular weeknight slot entitled Bamay (an NITV production which shows Australias most diverse and stunning landscapes from a birds eye view).

The new brand and Reimagine Australia campaign went live across NITV and SBS channels from 5am on Sunday 12 December.

New NITV TV schedule
The University of Dayton was again named one of the best schools in the nation for students aspiring to launch their own businesses.

The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine listed the University among the Top 50 Undergraduate Schools for Entrepreneurship Studies for 17 straight years.

Our program provides powerful experiences for undergraduate students to learn about entrepreneurship," said Vincent Lewis, associate vice president of Entrepreneurial Initiatives at the University of Dayton. One of our strengths has always been the way faculty connect the classroom to entrepreneurship in our region and around the world. Those connections have been accelerated by the launch of The Hub Powered by PNC Bank and the Greater West Dayton Incubator, which both enhance the entrepreneurial experience for our students and support the regions entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The Princeton Review evaluated hundreds of schools based on the percentage of faculty, students and alumni actively and successfully involved in entrepreneurial endeavors; the number and reach of mentorship programs; funding for scholarships and grants for entrepreneurial studies and projects; the level of support for school-sponsored business plan competitions; and dozens of other areas. Its top 50 list is featured in the December issue of Entrepreneur.

The University supports new ventures through its Flyer Pitch competition, among the largest contests of its kind at the collegiate level with more than $100,000 in cash prizes and $50,000 of in-kind support awarded.

Undergraduates also can gain experience through Flyer Enterprises, the fourth-largest student-run business in the country with annual revenues of $1.3 million and nearly 200 employees. Flyer Angels allows students to run a $1 million angel investment fund and Flyer Consulting gives them the chance to work with microlending as well as nonprofits on operational issues, marketing, development challenges and more.

All entrepreneurship students start micro-businesses during their sophomore experience. The L. William Crotty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership provides $50,000 in venture capital for the year-long businesses. Proceeds go to charities, with about $10,000 donated last year alone. The center also regularly connects students with successful entrepreneurs through curriculum and experiential opportunities.

The University, in partnership with the Daytons Entrepreneurs' Center, is an anchor in the redevelopment of the city of Daytons downtown Arcade, which is providing a space to bring students and local entrepreneurs together with a focus on creating new start-up opportunities in the region. Located in the Arcade, The Hub Powered by PNC Bank is the largest university-anchored innovation Hub in the country.

For more information about the Entrepreneurship Program at University of Dayton visit the L. William Crotty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership website. More information about The Hub Powered by PNC Bank can be seen in this video and on The Hub Powered by PNC Bank website.
FILE PHOTO: A pump jack operates in front of a drilling rig owned by Exxon near Carlsbad

(Reuters) -Africa-focused Savannah Energy said on Monday it would buy the upstream and midstream assets in Chad and Cameroon of Exxon Mobil Corp and Petronas for a combined $626 million as it expands operations in the continent.

Dealmaking in the energy sector has gathered steam as oil and gas firms trim their portfolios to focus on more profitable assets and transition towards cleaner energy amid uncertainty over future demand for fossil fuels.

Savannah, which currently operates only in Nigeria and Niger, said it intends to fund both transactions through a mixture of debt and equity.

The Exxon transaction is for $360 million and involves a 40% interest in the Doba Oil Project in southern Chad and an about 40% indirect stake in the Chad-Cameroon export transportation system, Savannah said.

The deal with Malaysia's Petronas is worth $266 million, with a 35% stake buy in the Doba project and an about 30% indirect holding in the Chad-Cameroon transportation network.

(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)
The boss of Senegals top beauty pageant has come under fire from womens rights groups following remarks made about the winner of one of the countrys most prestigious contests whose family claims she was sexually assaulted while on official duties as Miss Senegal 2020.

Ndeye Fatima Diones mother told the Senegalese news site Dakarbuzz that her 20-year-old daughter was left pregnant by the attack.

We were afraid of the outcry that her pregnancy would cause, but now we want to expose all the shenanigans that are going on within the organising committee," she said.

Amina Badiane, head of the Miss Senegal organising committee, gave the comments short shrift. If Miss Senegal 2020 was raped, it's because she had it coming. She is over 18.

She urged Dione to file a complaint with police.

Campaigns

DaffaDoye, an organisation campaigning against violence against women and children, said: No excuses for rape. No impunity for rapists and their accomplices. Yes for the dissolution of the organising committee of Miss Senegal.

A petition launched by the womens rights platform Ladies Club has called for the immediate withdrawal of the committees operating license. It has garnered more than 60,000 signatures .

We want the dissolution of this committee which clearly, through the voice of its president, appears to be condoning rape, added a statement from the group

Badiane took to social media to try and apologise for her comments.

But the repercussions had started.

The car firm CFAO ended its sponsorship deal with the committee. "These comments are completely contrary to our values," said a statement.

On Thursday, a two week campaign begins in Senegal to highlight the laws to counter violence against women and children.

Ndeye Saly Diop Dieng, Senegals minister of womens affairs, said: "Any victim who reports violence can benefit from the many protection measures developed by state institutions.

"My department is committed to providing all the necessary support and accompaniment to any victim who requests it.

"I strongly encourage victims of violence, whatever the nature, to make a formal complaint, she added.
University of North Georgia (UNG) student Ketsia Malala has set a goal to speak the Korean language fluently in three months. She is likely to accomplish that task.

The senior pursuing a management degree will spend three months in South Korea as part of a study abroad program with funding from two scholarships. The first is a Fund for Education Abroad scholarship awarded to her earlier this year. The second is the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship that she received this month.

"It felt so good to receive the Gilman scholarship," the 21-year-old from Buford, Georgia, said. "Having it eases my financial burden, because it will pay for the whole program and my airplane ticket."

Providing up to $5,000, the Gilman scholarship enables U.S. undergraduate students who are eligible for the Pell grant to study or intern abroad and gain skills critical to national security and economic competitiveness.

Malala was one of 12 UNG students awarded the nationally competitive scholarship on Dec. 8. The other early Gilman recipients are:
On Nov. 3, the University of North Georgia (UNG) poultry team added another trophy to its collection. The team placed fifth out of 12 teams in the 55th National Collegiate Poultry Judging Contest in Arkansas.

The team competed against Texas A&M University, North Carolina State University, Auburn University, the Ohio State University, Kansas State University, Mississippi State University, Middle Tennessee State University, University of Wisconsin, the Pennsylvania State University, University of Arkansas, and Louisiana State University.

"What makes this extremely amazing is our team is one of the smallest universities to compete and has no on-campus live animal facilities. Half of the contest is judging live animals and we have found innovative ways to practice this skill without the use of animals," Dr. Linda Purvis, assistant professor of biology and poultry science, said. "Two of our students had never held a live chicken before the contest."

In the competition, team members must show their knowledge in egg grading and carcasses evaluations, and live bird evaluations of chickens and turkeys. Half of the contest is analyzing live birds and judging them based on breeding characteristics. The team also judged the eggs and carcasses of chickens and turkeys. During the egg examination, team members scrutinized the egg's interior and exterior shell and yolk. For the carcasses, students inspected the chickens and turkeys based on USDA Guidelines.

"I am so proud of our students," Purvis said. "We held our own against larger schools with bachelor's degrees in poultry."

UNG offers an associate degree with an agriculture-poultry science pathway or an agriculture-avian biology pathway.

The poultry team will compete in April 2022 at Louisiana State University.

If interested in joining the poultry judging team, email linda.purvis@ung.edu.
The scent of pine and sticky sap waft through the house. A Douglas fir stands tall in the living room, adorned with shiny ornaments and shimmering lights. Almost nothing is as synonymous with holiday decorations as a fresh-cut evergreen tree.

CNN reports that the tradition began in Germany in the 16th century and spread to other countries over the next three centuries, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica. The artificial tree was invented in the United States, with the plastic ones we know today originating in the 1950s and 1960s.

Artificial trees have grown in popularity due to their convenience and longevity, but they don't offer the same mental health benefits as spending time around real trees, some studies report.

Exposing yourself to a natural environment is known to reduce psychological stress, according to a 2018 study published in Behavioral Sciences. "I would expect that bringing a bit of the great outdoors indoors would affect us positively," said psychologist Sonja Peterson-Lewis, an associate professor at Temple University in Philadelphia. Multiple studies have shown that forest bathing, mindfully taking a walk through a forest, can have a positive impact on a person's well-being.

One study found that forest bathing reduced people's cortisol levels, the hormone responsible for stress. People can still gain some of the same benefits of forest bathing -- such as stress reduction -- from indoor plants, according to a study published in the International Journal of Environmental Health Research.

Having a real Christmas tree has a plethora of mental health benefits including a reduction in anxiety and depression, said Charlie Hall, professor and Ellison chair in the department of horticultural sciences at Texas A&M University in College Station. "People tend to be compassionate in the presence of live plants in the house, and of course Christmas trees fit the bill," Hall said. If you go and pick out your tree at a Christmas tree farm with loved ones, then the mental health benefits are even greater, he said. Selecting a tree with others promotes bonding and exposes you to the outdoors, which boosts your psychological health.

Artificial trees have come a long way over the past couple decades, so the more realistic ones could provide some of the mental health benefits a real tree does, Hall said. However, people would not be able to reap other benefits that only a real tree can provide like improving your immune system, he said. Evergreen trees are great producers of phytoncide, a chemical that increases natural killer cell activity, Hall said. Natural killer cells fight viral infections and are a part of our immune system, he added. Hall's bottom line? An artificial tree is better than no tree.

Despite the fact most Christmas trees are cut at the trunk when they enter our homes, people can still benefit from their trees, Hall said. Through photosynthesis, trees produce fresh oxygen. "As long as the needles are green and there is light, photosynthesis is occurring," Hall said. This is why it's important to water your cut tree, he explained.

Christmas trees also produce a fragrant, woodsy scent that can remind us of the past. "How they affect us can depend not only upon the chemical properties associated with the trees oils, but also upon the memories, if any, we associate with the smell," Peterson-Lewis said.

People can insert scent sticks into the branches of artificial trees, which could help them recall those memories just as easily as a real tree would, said Sally Augustin, environmental design psychologist and principal of Design with Science. However, they would not be able to benefit from the oxygen a real tree provides. For Peterson-Lewis, the smell of pine fills her "with a sense of gratitude tinged by loss."

Throughout her childhood, Peterson-Lewis said she would go with her dad every year to cut down a pine tree on their property for their Christmas tree. After he died, her mother bought an artificial tree. "It felt sad to see how quickly she adjusted to it," she said.

Having a real Christmas tree can sometimes resurface memories that are positive or negative. If a tradition is not bettering your mental well-being, Peterson-Lewis said it is okay to let go and build new ones. Her tree this year is a single pinecone with a red ribbon tied around it. "Traditions are like Olympic records: they are made to be bettered," Peterson-Lewis said.
The European Union is discussing a possible new round of economic sanctions on Russia with the United States and Britain, but no decisions will be taken on Monday, the bloc's top diplomat said.

Reuters notes that the European Union, along with the United States, imposed economic sanctions on Russia in July 2014, targeting its energy, banking and defence sectors, and is considering taking further measures if Russia "tries to invade Ukraine".

"We are in deterrent mode," Josep Borrell told reporters as he arrived for a meeting of EU foreign ministers. "In any case we will send a clear signal that any aggression against Ukraine will have a high cost for Russia... We are studying together with the U.S. and the UK what (sanctions) could be, when and how, in a coordinated manner."

EU diplomats told Reuters the discussion was focused on a potential gradual increase of any sanctions, ranging from possible travel bans and asset freezes on powerful members of Russia's political elite and to banning all financial and banking links with Russia.

Sanctioning the Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany to prevent it becoming operational was also an option, as well as targeting more Russian state-owned defence and energy companies or cancelling natural gas contracts.

But envoys said such steps were likely to be considered only if "the Russian military attempted a full invasion of Ukraine". NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has repeatedly warned Russia that the Western military alliance is standing by Ukraine. Russia says it has no intention to invade Ukraine and accuses Kyiv of deploying half of the Ukrainian army to confront pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country.

***

Russia's "possible aggression" against Ukraine was also considered at the NATO Council meeting at the level of Foreign Ministers in Riga on November 30 - December 1. The Russian Federation was then accused of threatening the alliance by displacing its armed forces on its own territory. If you look at things realistically, the NATO military infrastructure is being built up, large-scale exercises are being conducted at our borders", the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Ukraines entry into NATO is a red line for us. The continued involvement of Kiev in the military orbit of the alliance, the de facto development of the military infrastructure of that country by NATO and the desire to turn it into a base for confrontation with Russia have serious negative consequences and destabilize the military-political environment in Europe. After the end of the "cold war", Russia was repeatedly assured that NATOs jurisdiction and military forces would not advance an inch eastward. All these promises have been forgotten and not fulfilled. The outcome is the current sad state of European security".

The Russian Foreign Ministry is convinced that the only way to resolve the current situation is to jointly develop long-term agreements that would exclude any further NATO moves eastward and the deployment of weapons systems that threaten Russia in close proximity to its territory.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has arrived in the United Arab Emirates to meet the Gulf states de facto ruler, in the first-ever visit to the UAE by an Israeli prime minister, his spokesperson said on Sunday. Bennett will meet Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan on Monday during the high-level visit, Bennetts office said in a statement.

Al Jazeera reports that the leader will discuss deepening the ties between Israel and the UAE, especially economic and regional issues, the statement said. This is the first official visit by an Israeli prime minister to the UAE, it added. There was no immediate confirmation from the UAE.

The two countries formalised relations last year as part of a US-brokered agreement known as the Abraham Accords. The agreement has led to a raft of deals ranging from tourism and business to cutting-edge technology.

The meeting comes against the backdrop of struggling nuclear talks between world power and Iran. Underpinning UAE-Israel ties is a shared concern over Irans nuclear reach in the region. Israel says it is determined to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons, while Tehran insists its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes. In recent weeks, Israel has fanned out its top diplomats to meet with allies in Europe, the United States and the Middle East to push for a firmer approach to Iran.

Former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the nuclear deal in 2018 and stepped up sanctions against Iran. Talks in Vienna now aim to bring the United States back into the deal and return Iran to full compliance with its commitments.

Bennett has called for the Vienna talks to be halted, accusing Tehran of nuclear blackmail and charging that it will use any revenue from sanctions relief to bolster a military arsenal that can harm Israel. UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al-Nahyan visited Iran earlier this month.

The trip was the first of its kind since relations between the two countries were downgraded in 2016. Bennetts visit to the UAE follows a historic trip by Foreign Minister Yair Lapid in June on the occasion of the inauguration of the Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi.

Lapids meeting with the UAEs foreign minister was the highest-level visit by an Israeli official to the Gulf Arab state since the two countries formally established relations. Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco have also moved to establish ties with Israel. The regional rapprochement was deplored by Palestinians who wanted their demands for statehood free of Israeli occupation addressed first.
About 95% of historical and cultural monuments were destroyed in the Azerbaijani territories liberated from the Armenian occupation, Azerbaijani Minister of Culture Anar Karimov said.

Karimov added that more than 400 historical and cultural monuments have been discovered in the liberated territories since November 2020.

"About 140-150 monuments which were found were not listed in the register," the minister said. "There were more than 800 cultural institutions, theaters and libraries, music schools, etc. in the liberated territories."

"Our monitoring shows that about 95 percent of historical cultural monuments were destroyed," Karimov added. "This monitoring is still underway."

"There are places which our representatives have not visited yet due to a mining hazard, landscape complexity," the minister said. "But this work is underway."

"After the end of the monitoring, we will prepare a list and appeal to the international organizations with a demand to bring the Armenian side to justice," Karimov said.

"The destroyed monuments testify that war crime and a crime against humanity were committed," the minister said.
The only way to avoid tension on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border is to start the delimitation process, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov told reporters while commenting on the recent tension on the border.

Bayramov stressed that Armenia has not allowed launching this process by using various pretexts.

"Unfortunately, from time to time, Armenia makes provocations on the border," the minister added. "This is a very unpleasant situation."

"As a result of these provocations, people are dying," Bayramov said. "Armenia must understand that by resorting to such provocations, it will not achieve anything. It will result in severe consequences for Armenia. We think that Armenia must stop these actions."
The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is unlikely to become operational in case of Russias "aggression on Ukraine," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview with NBC on Sunday.

"That pipeline <> doesnt have any gas flowing through it right now and, in fact, is a source of leverage on Russia, because to the extent President [of Russia Vladimir] Putin wants to see gas flowing through that pipeline if and when it becomes operational, its very unlikely or hard to see that happening if Russia has renewed its aggression on Ukraine, if it takes renewed action," he said. "So I think President Putin has to factor that in too as hes thinking about what hes going to do next."

Recently, Western countries and Ukraine have been speaking about Russias possible aggression against Ukraine. Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov slammed such statements as hollow and groundless tension-fanning. He stressed that Russia is a threat to no one but did not rule out possible provocations to justify such statements and warned that attempts at using force to settle the crisis in southeastern Ukraine would have the most serious consequences.

The Russian side has repeatedly stressed that Nord Stream 2 is an entirely commercial project that is being implemented jointly with European partners. Russian president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov expressed resentment over attempts of a number of countries to link the future of the project to politically-motivated circumstances. Moscow has also repeatedly stressed that it has never used energy resources as an instrument of pressure.
Germanys regulator has suspended the certification of the Nord Stream 2 operator due to its non-compliance with the EUs energy regulation, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said as she arrived at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.

"The Federal Network Agency has suspended the certification process due to the existence of clear regulation in European law regarding the energy area on unbundling and other issues of the [companys] structure," she said when asked, which organization acknowledged the projects non-compliance with the EU rules.

Baerbock said in an interview with the ZDF TV channel aired on Sunday, that the project "fails to comply with the regulation" of the EU so far, and it "cannot be approved."

To start pumping gas, Nord Stream 2s operator has to obtain the green light from the German regulator. The certification has been suspended since the Swiss-headquartered operator Nord Stream 2 AG must register a subsidiary in Germany. Until that is accomplished, the certification process has been frozen.

The agreement greenlighted by the coalition in Germany does not mention Nord Stream 2, it only stresses the supremacy of Europe-wide norms regarding issues related to energy projects. Chancellor Olaf Scholzs statements on the gas pipelines future have been very restrained so far. He said that no country can violate the borders of another state, otherwise there will be consequences. Being co-chair of the Greens, Baerbock has demanded in recent years that the project be stopped. Currently, she heads the German Foreign Ministry in Scholzs government. The main foreign political course is usually set by the Chancellors office, not the Foreign Ministry.

Moscow has repeatedly emphasized that Nord Stream 2 is a commercial project, which is being implemented together with its European partners. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has expressed bewilderment that a number of countries seek to make the fate of the gas pipeline dependent on politically-motivated conditions. Russia has also repeatedly stated that it has never politically weaponized energy resources.
The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia will not be allowed to operate in the event of any new "escalation" in Ukraine, under an agreement between Berlin and Washington, Germany's new Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Sunday.

"In the event of further escalation this gas pipeline could not come into service," Baerbock told German television station ZDF, clarifying earlier threats made by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Baerbock was speaking after the weekend G7 meeting on tensions with Russia, and ahead of a sit-down with her European partners on Monday.

Scholz had earlier said during a visit to Poland that: "It would be a serious mistake to believe that violating the borders of a European country would remain without consequences."

The pipeline, which has been backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the one hand and by Scholz's predecessor Angela Merkel on the other in recent years, has been heavily criticised by many countries. The United States and several Eastern European countries are worried that Europe is too dependent on Putin's Russia.

Scholz said that Germany would "do anything" to ensure that Ukraine remains a transit country for Russian gas exports to Europe.

The 1,200-kilometre pipeline, which runs underwater from Russia's Baltic coast to northeastern Germany, was completed in September.

However, Baerbock pointed out that the pipeline "cannot be authorised for the time being anyway because it does not meet the rules of European energy legislation".
Russian citizens with Omicron strain who arrived from South Africa are in a satisfactory condition, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko told journalists on Monday.

"They are all in a satisfactory condition and the majority of them have immunity," he said replying to a question on the matter.

The health minister specified that those infected with the new strain were either inoculated or had previously been infected with the coronavirus.

On Monday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova reported that the new Omicron strain had been confirmed in 16 out of 177 people who arrived in Russia from South Africa.

On November 26, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated the B.1.1.529 variant identified in South Africa as a "Variant of Concern" and assigned it the Greek letter Omicron. In its statement, the WHO noted that "this variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning." The epicenter of the spread of the Omicron strain is southern Africa. The highest number of those infected with it has been detected in South Africa. The new strain has already been recorded in 63 countries, including Russia. At the same time, not a single fatality has been documented among those infected with Omicron.
Russian President Vladimir Putin perceived the USSR dissolution as a tragedy and the collapse of historical Russia, the Russian leader said during an interview for a documentary entitled "Russia: Its Recent History" aired on Rossiya-1 TV.

"[There was] a tragedy as for the vast majority of the countrys citizens," he said responding to a question of his attitude towards the USSR dissolution. "Whats the disintegration within the USSR? Thats the collapse of historical Russia called the Soviet Union."

Putin recalled there were many instruments of external pressure on Russia in the 1990s as the country lost most of its sovereignty. "There were very many instruments [of pressure], Russia was quite weak, it depended on various sorts of financial instruments and mechanisms, political and internal," the head of state said.

"In this sense, it can be stated with regret that back then Russia lost a larger part of its sovereignty," he noted.

"As for sovereignty, I saw it when a I was prime minister in 1999, when following the beginning of our active combat operations in the North Caucasus an IMF mission demanded we stop them," the president recalled. "When I asked what the IMF, the International Monetary Fund, had to do with that, they told me that they thought it would impact the economy adversely. We argued that we were strengthening out statehood and, hence, a possibility for more efficient work in the economic sphere, but our arguments were ignored."

Russia back then asked for a "possible installment payment plan," the president recalled, adding that Russia had been denied such a possibility.
The new Omicron COVID-19 variant has been confirmed in 16 out of 177 people arriving in Russia from South Africa, which proves its high transmissibility, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Policy Tatyana Golikova said on Monday.

"The Omicron variant was detected in 16 out of 177 people who returned [to Russia] today. All of them remain under observation, but there is only one reason why I am citing this data - to reconcile these figures. It stands at almost 10%, a fairly high level, and this points to high transmissibility and possible spread," TASS cited Golikova as saying.

According to the decree issued by Head of the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing Anna Popova, from December 8, those arriving in Russia from Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Eswatini, South Africa and Hong Kong must self-isolate for two weeks. Furthermore, they need to be tested for COVID-19 by the PCR method twice, the first test has to be carried out within two days after arrival and the second one - on the 10th or 12th day.
Those Russians who have been inoculated with foreign vaccines against the novel coronavirus will be able to obtain a vaccination certificate valid for a period of six months, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said on Monday.

"Our people inoculated with foreign vaccines will be able to undergo antibody tests and obtain a certificate with a validity period of six months," Golikova said at a meeting of the United Russia faction in the State Duma devoted to a bill on QR codes.

She added that six-month certificates would be issued after antibody tests to those Sputnik V-vaccinated Russians who are currently abroad, including Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and the territories of the Donetsk and Lugansk republics.
More than 80 people in Kentucky were killed after tornadoes ripped across several U.S. states late Friday.

I know weve lost more than 80 Kentuckians. That number is going to exceed more than 100. This is the deadliest tornado event weve ever had, Governor Andy Beshear said on CNN Sunday morning.

Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee were struck by a series of dangerous storms and tornadoes on Friday night. Beshear declared a state of emergency, and President Joe Biden said that FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is on the ground in each of the six states to assess the damages.

There are 12 confirmed fatalities from Fridays storm in Warren County, Kentucky, where more than 500 homes and 100 businesses were destroyed. At least 12 fatalities were reported in the Bremen community area of Muhlenberg County, NBC News reported.

The site of a roof collapse at an Amazon.com distribution centre a day after a series of tornadoes dealt a blow to several U.S. states, in Edwardsville, Illinois, U.S. December 11, 2021.

In Illinois, six people were confirmed dead and one injured after an Amazon distribution center collapsed in Edwardsville. A total of 45 people were rescued safely from the site, and the operation has moved from a rescue to a recovery mission, Governor J. B. Pritzker said in a press conference Saturday.

One of the storms ripped through four states, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky, on at least a 220-mile path. The trail puts it among the longest tornadoes in U.S. history if it remained on the ground. The National Weather Service is set to perform an official survey to determine if it was a single, continuous tornado, NBC News reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will hold talks via a video conference on December 15, the Kremlin press office reported on Monday.

"The sides will sum up the results of the joint work in 2021 for developing Russian-Chinese comprehensive strategic partnership and discuss the priorities of cooperation in the future," the statement says.

The Russian and Chinese leaders are also planning to exchange opinions on pressing global and regional issues," the Kremlin press office added.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hua Chunying announced earlier on Monday that Chinas leader Xi Jinping was planning to hold a meeting with President of Russia Vladimir Putin via a video conference on December 15. The spokesman gave no other details.

Chinas leader Xi Jinping and President of Russia Vladimir Putin held their previous meeting via a video conference on June 28. The meeting was timed for the 20th anniversary of the Russian-Chinese Treaty on Good Neighborly Relations, Friendship and Cooperation.
NATO countries are sending militants to Ukraine under the guise of military instructors, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday.

"The region, in particular Ukraine, is being pumped up with weapons. I am speaking about direct supplies, contracts for future, multimillion, multibillion contracts. Moreover, militants are being sent there under the guise of military instructors," she said in an interview with the Krym-24 television channel.

Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said earlier that Russia is worried over possible deployment of Western troops in Ukraine and this situation makes Moscow take measures to defend its interests.

Earlier, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that since 2014 the U.S. has contributed $2.5 billion in support of Ukrainian forces.
The digital economy has more opportunity for cyberattacks, especially from ransomware. The more businesses and users use technology online, the more opportunities hackers have to expand their attacks.

In 2017, WannaCry, a type of malware with the ability to infiltrate, lock and encrypt important data on users' devices, infiltrated and took control of more than 1,900 devices in Vietnam and forced many organizations to pay thousands of US dollars to restore the database.

In 2019, Vietnam had the highest encounter rate with ransomware in Asia - Pacific, with losses estimated up to $900 million recorded from this cyber-attack.

The rise of ransomware has worsened the situation, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic. The rapid digitalization has become a catalyst for unpredictable damage.

In 2020, up to 5,100 cyber-attacks were recorded in Vietnam and the economy suffered a loss of up to $1 billion. In 2021 it looks like the consequences will surpass the number of 2020, when by July alone there had been 3,900 cyber-attacks reported.

Email security also needs to be a top priority for companies because email spoofing is one of the most common attack methods. Vietnam recorded 547 phishing attempts in the third quarter of 2021. Ransomware attackers 'baited' users to click on links or disguised files in their emails, which downloaded malicious code into the devices of users.

According to Kaspersky's IT Security 2020 survey, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam experienced the most phishing attacks in the region in 2020. As Vietnam's digital economy is forecast to hit $52 billion by 2025, local businesses will face more sophisticated cybersecurity risks.

Ransomware is a problem of not only Vietnam but many countries around the world. Colonial Pipeline, America's largest pipeline system for refined oil products, had to close in 2021 because its information technology network was attacked, causing major disruptions to gas distribution. Just a day later, the company had to pay a ransom of $5 million.

Hackers injected malicious code into VSA software - a tool that allows small and medium businesses to control their networks of computers and printers remotely, as well as automatically perform security updates and server maintenance periodically. They demanded a ransom of $70 million to restore all the data of the affected businesses.

But paying the ransom does not always return the expected results. Some 33% of companies affected by ransomware globally in 2019 decided to pay the ransom, but up to 22% of them never regained access to data and 9% even faced more attacks.

What is ransomware?

Ransomware is one of the most notorious types of cybercrime. It is a piece of malicious code that attacks through emails, texts, advertisements, or other forms of communication that appear to be innocuous.

What makes ransomware so dangerous is that it doesn't just stop at infiltrating or damaging files and devices. Ransomware gains access to a device or database often by masquerading as a suspicious file or link.

Hackers demand a big ransom for the unlocked password, and failure to pay within the deadline they offer will often result in the data being destroyed or publicly released. This can have dire consequences such as a serious breach of user privacy and/or disclosure of trade secrets.

With more organizations moving to the cloud to accelerate their digital transformation, stronger protection of endpoint of devices is needed to protect as well as fight against ransomware because ransomware can also take advantage of the enhanced, always-open connectivity nature of the cloud to increase its spread.

A malicious software or application on an infected device may request access to the organization's cloud. Once granted, the program can then encrypt data directly in the cloud and even pass it on to other connected users, from which the attack is rapidly multiplied at a high rate, causing huge damage to the business.

Businesses and organizations that regularly process sensitive and important data or need constant access to data are more likely to be a target for ransomware.

Preventing attacks

Nguyen Son, vice president in charge of solutions and services of Cloud4C, says that facing the consequences of ransomware attacks such as serious disruptions in business as well as a huge loss of money, "prevention is better than a cure".

The first step that Vietnamese organizations and businesses should take is to solidify their security infrastructure with a strong, trusted endpoint security solution.

Cybersecurity solutions are often installed on endpoint devices that help detect and prevent malware from infecting devices in the first place. Other preventive functions include security upgrades for each device and warn users against malicious websites or directories.

According to Son, many people are using personal devices to work from home, which is more convenient but causes a serious problem in network security. Personal devices are generally much less secure than business devices because they often have lower layers of protection or access the Internet over unprotected networks.

As employees' security risks are often the greatest, businesses should reduce risk by providing cybersecurity training courses by IT professionals to their employees, as well as ensure that employees can identify threats and adhere to security protocols to avoid creating security holes.

According to the expert, ransomware attacks are evolving and becoming more sophisticated, so improvement and updates are always essential in the action plan.

Vietnamese organizations and businesses need to keep pace with the development of the digital economy, take advantage of the expertise of a third party, and maintain their strong security infrastructure to confidently pursue development in the digital technology era.

In 2019, the Vietnam Cybersecurity Emergency Response Teams/Coordination Center (VNCERT/CC) was established. The new e-Government development strategy for the 2021-2025 period was announced in 2021, taking safety and network security as one of the nation's key tasks.

In 2020, Vietnam ranked 25th out of 182 countries in the Global Cybersecurity Index 2020 of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). This was the highest ever ranking in the index for Vietnam.

Duy Khanh

Taking advantage of pandemic, cyber attacks increase sharply Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, cyber criminals have taken advantage of the attention of the whole society to increase cyber attacks, spread malware and scams.
About 4,000 trucks are currently stuck and cannot go through the border gates in Lang Son. China has said it will not accept frozen exports for 14 days before and after Tet (Lunar New Year).

Le Thanh Hoa, Deputy Director of the Agricultural Products Processing and Market Development Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources (MARD) on December 11 quoted a report from Lang Son Industry and Trade Department that said trucks had been stuck at the border gate since December 10. The yards for trucks are full.

Hoa said the customs clearance capacity at the three border gates of Huu Nghi, Tan Thanh and Chi Ma has dropped by 50 percent from 450 trucks per day to 220. The total clearance capacity of the three border gates is 500 trucks per day.

At Tan Thanh, it takes one truck of dragon fruit and jackfruit 10-14 days to get customs clearance. At Mong Cai, about 40-50 trucks get clearance a day.

At Mong Cai, according to the border gate management board, as of December 11 morning, 800 trucks carrying frozen catfish and shrimp and 300 containers of fruits had not been cleared. Only fresh seafood went through smoothly.

China said it will stop receiving frozen exports through border gates in Lang Son for 14 days before and after 2022 the Lunar New Year holiday.

Dong Dang Border Gate Economic Zone (EZ) Management Board on November 25 had a talk with the taskforce of Pingxiang, Guang Xi.

All Guang Xi vehicle drivers, customs workers, agents and agencies are required to have a Covid test every two days and stay in border gate areas, while workers inspecting frozen imports from Vietnam must have 21-day quarantine before returning inland. China asked Vietnam to encourage Vietnamese businesses not to export frozen products to China before and after the Tet holiday, so that Chinese officers can reunite with their families to celebrate Lunar New Year.

According to Lang Son authorities, the Chinese side has many times mentioned the tightening of Covid-19 inspections, including the restriction of imports of all products carried in cold-storage containers.

The suspension of frozen seafood for 14 days will have a great impact on goods exchange through the border gates in Lang Son.

Earlier, Dang Phuc Nguyen, Secretary General of Vietnam Vegetables and Fruit Association, told VietNamNet that the goods import/export through Chinese southern ports would be interrupted for six weeks during Lunar New Year holiday because of the Chinese decisions.

This was attributed to pandemic developments, as China is pursuing a zero-Covid policy. It is not only tightening control over imports, but also immigrants.

Sailors, when returning from ports, will have to have a 3-week quarantine, and another 3-week quarantine when returning to work after celebrating Lunar New Year with their families. Therefore, shipping agents have decided to have six weeks off.

As such, the import or transshipment of goods via Chinese southern ports will be interrupted. Vietnams exports to China by sea during the Tet holiday may be refused, or they will not be able to enter the ports for six weeks, according to Nguyen.

China is now the second largest consumer of Vietnams farm exports. The market imported $8.4 billion worth of agriculture, forestry and seafood products in the first 11 months of the year, 23.3 percent of which were vegetables and fruits.



In general, the year end is the high export season for Vietnamese farmers and exporters. However, the Chinese decision to strengthen Covid-19 inspections and the interruption of service at border gates and seaports will cause difficulties for Vietnam exports.

Le Thanh Tung, Deputy Director of the Department of Crop Protection, said Vietnams fruit output in December 2021 alone was 700,000 tons, and the figure is expected to rise to 1.7 million tons by Tet.

He warned that sales of fruit in southern provinces may face difficulties in the first quarter of 2022 because of Covid-19. Meanwhile, the requirements on traceability set by export markets have become increasingly strict.

Nguyen warned that if businesses cannot export products by sea, they will shift to export by land, which will cause congestion at border gates. He suggested boosting domestic consumption, especially sales via e-commerce platforms.

Tam An

Vietnams farm exports in deadlock as China changes policy After tightening technical barriers, China now may suspend imports for at least six weeks during the Tet holiday. About 1 million tons of Vietnamese fruit may suffer from the decision.
Two senior diplomats talk with VietNamNet about the topic ASEAN recovers after the pandemic.

In response to ASEAN 2021, VietNamNet talks with former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh and former Deputy Secretary General of ASEAN, Ambassador Hoang Anh Tuan about the topic ASEAN recovers after the pandemic.

Turning challenges into opportunities

2021 is a year full of difficulties for ASEAN. How do you see opportunities for ASEAN to recover after the Covid-19 pandemic?

Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh: First of all, let's talk about the challenge. The year 2021 is still the year of the pandemic, which has caused an economic and social crisis. Meanwhile, competition among powers and the development of science and technology pose great challenges.

But any country that can control the epidemic early, can maintain economic activities while keeping the disease under control can grasp the opportunity. Regarding competition among powers, the opportunity is for the country that can take advantage of its major partners.

Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh.

For ASEAN countries, there was a time they controlled the pandemic in 2020 but in H1/2021, the center of the epidemic moved to this region. At this moment, we can say that most Southeast Asian countries have regained momentum to control the pandemic to find a way to open up domestically, to restore economic activities, and gradually open the door to the outside world to welcome not only tourists but also investors.

Secondly, ASEAN countries are taking advantage of technology. Thirdly, it is the disruption of supply chain. Many ASEAN countries have coordinated with state members and major partners to maintain the sustainability of the supply chain.

At present, competition among big countries is increasing and taking place in many different forms. How will this affect the strategic balance as well as the central position of ASEAN?

Ambassador Hoang Anh Tuan: Strategic competition among powers in Southeast Asia is not new. But obviously US-China competition in the current period is different from the US-Soviet competition in the past.

The US-China competition is fierce, but it has not led to a direct confrontation. Both China and the US try to spread their influence in the region. In this competition, the country with more allies and more relations with partners will benefit. The US has strengthened the group of four and the alliance of the UK - US - Australia (AUKUS). This is the latest security alliance the US has established in this region after 66 years.

In the Sino-American competition, ASEAN is the focal point, and both countries seek to take advantage of the role in this bloc. Whether ASEAN likes it or not, if it maintains its central role, it must handle relations with China and the US. This is a problem that is not easy to solve.

Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh: I very much agree with Ambassador Hoang Anh Tuan that the US-China competition at present is very different from the Cold War. It is fierce competition, on all fronts but with intertwined interests. During the Cold War, competition was in the geostrategic region of Europe. But this time it's Asia. So, what will ASEAN do?

Firstly, they can raise their voice. Secondly, they can take advantage of the initiatives proposed by the parties. Thirdly, ASEAN has regional processes that other organizations dont have, because it connects all the biggest partners in the region and the world, including the US and China. That is the strength of ASEAN.

ASEAN's behavior

In that context, how does ASEAN behave to ensure its central role and maintain relations with partners?

Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh and Ambassador Hoang Anh Tuan.

Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh: In the face of US-China competition, people talk a lot about traps of competition, about choosing sides and how to have good relations with all countries. And ASEAN shows this position very clearly.

Firstly, it wants to play well with both the US and China but at the same time not letting the US-China competition affect the region. Secondly, it raises the voice over things that affect peace, stability and regional development and supports initiatives that support the regions development.

ASEAN's viewpoint in regional development cooperation is based on common interests and international law. ASEAN is supported by powers through the development of common regional agendas and the development of standards of conduct to cooperate with each other.

Ambassador Hoang Anh Tuan: As more major countries get involved in regional issues, their interests in the region will also increase. ASEAN is the coordinator of their interests. This is an opportunity for ASEAN. ASEAN has promoted many aspects in its relations with different partners, thereby having better conditions to maintain peace, security and stability in the region.

But internal factors such as economic strength or internal solidarity of ASEAN are important. To promote external partnership, ASEAN must be attractive, that is, make partners see their interests reflected in the ASEAN agenda. ASEAN has been doing this very well.

What will be the key issues related to the implementation of ASEAN's goals?

Ambassador Hoang Anh Tuan.

Ambassador Hoang Anh Tuan: To achieve its goals, it is necessary for ASEAN to recover the economy after the pandemic. Secondly, ASEAN needs to send a strong message to the region and the world that we have solidarity and unanimity, even in dealing with difficult issues like the East Sea or Myanmar. In relations between powers, ASEAN must show itself as a balancer and a bridge between major countries, which is not easy because powers have their own interests and calculations.

Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh: Pandemic control and economic recovery are urgent tasks. There are many things can be done immediately, otherwise the opportunity will be missed. ASEAN can resume the supply chains and then social-economic activities within the bloc.

Another point is the behavior with powers, especially the two most important partners in the region, the US - China. How to play well with both sides. How can ASEAN show them that it is a reliable friend and they have common interests based on regional common interests and international law?

This region has not only the US and China as important partners but also many others. The issue is how to make new initiatives on both trade and security to not only benefit powers but also ASEAN.

VietNamNet

Vietnam promotes its role as bridge connecting ASEAN with China As an active member of ASEAN, Vietnam serves as a gateway to the ASEAN-China free trade area, while Vietnam-China trade revenue posted an annual average growth rate of 20% over the past five years.
The digital world honors one of the most outstanding Vietnamese dishes - "Pho" or hot noodle soup with beef.

On December 12, Pho- the simple yet exotic delicacy of piping hot noodle soup with beef is introduced on Google Search homepage of nearly 20 countries including USA, UK, France, Canada, Germany, Austria, Finland, Switzerland, among others.

The Pho Google Doodle is illustrated by Hanoi artist Lucia Pham. Photo courtesy of Google.com

According to Google, through Doodle Pho with vivid animation format, the website not only wants to honor and spread unique cultural values to the Vietnamese and international public; but also wish to promote and support Pho businesses after Covid-19 pandemic.

Illustrated by Hanoi artist Lucia Pham, Pho Google Doodle showcases the way that a pipping Pho bowl is served. Some thinly sliced beef, fresh herbs, onion rings are topped on a bowl of soft rice noodles, then savory hot broth is added to make an aroma and delicious soup.

On this day in 2018, December 12 was selected as the official day to celebrate Vietnamese Pho, in honor of the beloved culinary treasure and the cultural fusion it represents.

Everyone can agree that the noodle dish is a treasured element of Vietnamese heritage. What makes Pho distinct is a mindful cooking process to achieve multi-layered flavors and a clear broth. From ingredients like roasted ginger, fennel seed, star anise, and cinnamon for the simmered stock, the broth serves as the foundation for aromas and tastes for every palate.

Unlike other Vietnamese specialties, eating Pho is a very common habit of Hanoian. Its popularity is explained by its usefulness. Pho can be a good starter to the day, a quick meal for lunch or a really heavy meal for dinner.

Eating Pho in Hanoi was also found on a bucket list of 50 travel experiences to try in Asia by US news site Business Insider in 2016. According to the site, the dish is considered one of the most nutritious in Vietnam and possibly its best hangover cure. It is loved by locals and tourist alike, so much so that there were heated online debates last year about how it should be served.

In 2017, Pho has been listed among the worlds 50 most delicious dishes by CNN, based on a vote of 35,000 people.

Source: Hanoitimes
The state investigation agency has found that an Indian citizen has been an organizer in the biggest gambling ring ever uncovered by HCM City Police.

The four ring leaders

According to police, Mohit left the country before the gambling ring was uncovered. He has a Vietnamese wife and has been living in Vietnam for many years.



Mohit was discovered setting up the gambling website Swiftonline.live. Huynh Long Nhu, born in 1993, in Tan Binh district, and others set up Nagaclubs.com. However, it was Mohit who managed the ring and trained workers for the ring.



Nhu said that he met Mohit at a cafe. After hearing Mohit introducing his Swiftonline.live, he thought he could make money from the website and decided to join the ring.

At first, Nhu acted as an agent, calling people to join Swiftonline.live. Later, the Indian tycoon assigned Nhu to manage the website in Vietnam. He also guided Nhu and other people, including Huynh Long Bach (1991) and Nguyen Dac Quy (1994), both of whom reside in Go Vap district, and Pham Thi Mai Ngan (1985), in Phu Nhuan to run Nagaclubs.com.

They changed websites regularly to escape the police and connected the websites with other international betting websites to get commissions.

When the system began operating smoothly, Mobit hid and his face and only contacted key personnel via social network apps.

The police found that the gambling ring operated under a multi-level scheme. The ring called for investment in cryptocurrencies and its leaders told investors that they have a license for legal international operation.

Anyone who can attract three other people to join the ring would get a commission of $50 and points for rank promotion. The multi-level gambling ring has seven ranks.

Each player opens an e-wallet on Remitano to buy cryptocurrencies USDT or Etherum. After that they create an account on the website, linking with a virtual wallet and using cryptocurrencies to bet.

Ring leaders attract as many players as possible. When the number of players is high enough, they collapse the system and appropriate players money and remove all traces.

The large gambling ring was uncovered by PA05 of MInis in earlier November. To date, HCM City Police have filed charges and detained 43 individuals for organizing gambling and gambling.

To date, the police have seized many exhibits, including 40 laptops, 15 calculators of different kinds, seven cars, many bank cards, VND3 billion in cash and foreign currencies, and real estate documents worth VND21 billion in total.

The police estimated that $3.8 billion had been transacted via the ring, or VND87 trillion. This is just money from gamblers, and does not include reciprocal money from the bankers.

Linh An

HCM City police find online gambling ring with $3.94b stakes The HCM City police have busted what they said was the citys largest ever online gambling ring, one that had carried out betting transactions worth nearly VN90 trillion (US$3.94 billion).
Quang Ninh has decided to reward up to VND700 million ($35,000) to students who win prizes at international competitions. This is the highest award offered by a local government in Vietnam.

The authorities of Quang Ninh province have decided to reward up to VND700 million ($35,000) to students who win prizes at international competitions. This is the highest award offered by a local government in Vietnam.

According to a newly issued decision, Quang Ninhs students who win prizes at competitions at provincial and national levels, and medals of regional and international competitions will be rewarded at a much higher level than before.

The reward for excellent students at the provincial level will rise by 1.7 times compared to that of the period 2016-2020. It is 3.5 to nearly 7 times higher for students who win national prizes; 2.8 to 3.3 times for those winning prizes at regional competitions and 3 to 4.5 times for the prize winners of international contests.

Specifically, students who win the first prize/gold medal at international competitions will receive VND700 million. It is VND500 million ($25,000) and VND50 million ($2,500) for the winners of the first prize of gold medal at regional and national competitions.

Nearly 100 people search for two missing treasure hunters in Bac Kan

The authorities of Bac Kan province have mobilized nearly 100 people to search for two men who were trapped in a cave Ban Thi commune in Cho Don district while searching for treasures.

The victims were identified as a 44-year-old man from Cho Don district in Bac Kan province and a 40-year-old man from Dong Trieu town in Quang Ninh province.

The cave where the two men are trapped is a natural cave of 0.5m high, 0.7m wide, and about 400m deep. From the cave entrance to the landslide site is about 220m, separated by a big rock.

The National Committee for Natural Disaster Response and Search-Rescue has sent experts to Bac Kan to rescue the people.

Prime Minister asks Health Ministry to deal with medical workers resignation

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh talked with health workers of Cho Ray Hospital during his trip to Ho Chi Minh City to inspect pandemic prevention activities. Photo: Nhat Bac

The Prime Minister has asked the Minister of Health to have solutions to promptly solve the situation that many health workers, particularly in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, quit their job.

Earlier, Nguyen Thi Huynh Mai, Chief of the Office of the HCM City Health Department, said that the number of health workers leaving their job is 597 in 2020 and 968 in January  October 2021.

Ho Chi Minh City currently has 310 commune and ward health stations with 50% of them having no station chief. These health stations have 4-5 staff on average. They are always overloaded with works, while their income is low and the risk is no less than any doctor at Covid-19 treatment facilities.

Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long appointed head of Committee overseeing key officials health

The Politburo has appointed Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long as the head of the Committee that oversees care of the health of officials who are managed by the Politburo, the Secretariat, and the Party Central Committee. Earlier, on November 19, the Politburo gave a warning and dismissed former Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien from the above position.

Tien, as Secretary of the Party Committee of the Ministry of Health and Minister of Health, is responsible for violations and shortcomings of the Health Ministrys Party Committee in the 2015-2021 period.

First Vietnam-Laos border friendship exchange held

The event opened at Densavan border gate (Laos) and Lao Bao international border gate (Vietnam) on the morning of December 12. The high-ranking delegation of the Ministry of National Defense of Vietnam was led by Minister of Defense, General Phan Van Giang.

The first Vietnam-Laos border friendship exchange was held in Huong Hoa district, Quang Tri province (Vietnam) and Sepon district, Savannakhet province (Laos) with many activities. The defense ministers of the two countries will also hold talks and sign a number of important documents to further promote bilateral defense cooperation between the two countries' border guards.

HCM City-Vung Tau high-speed boat services resume

The Can Gio - Vung Tau high-speed boat route reopened on December 12 after being suspended for six months due to Covid-19.

The Can Gio - Vung Tau high-speed boat route has a distance of about 15 km, departing from Tac Suat wharf (Can Gio) to Vung Tau city, with a travel time of about 30 minutes. Before the Covid-19 epidemic, there were 24 trips a day, with one trip per hour.

There will be four trips during weekdays and eight for weekends.

Hanoi has more hospitals treating Covid-19 patients

As the number of new infection cases is rising, more hospitals in the capital are receiving Covid-19 patients, including Saint Paul General Hospital, Hanoi Hospital of Traditional Medicine, Thanh Tri Hospital and Hanoi Heart Hospital.

Family of former Hanoi Mayor pays VND10 billion bail

The family of Nguyen Duc Chung, Hanois former Chairman, has paid VND10 billion (nearly $500,000) of bail to guarantee Chungs responsibility to pay compensation for losses in cases he was involved in. In addition, police have distrained one house and two apartments of defendant Nguyen Duc Chung.

PV
Perez worked as a compost laborer for nearly 21 years and retired in October 1997, Banks said.

Deputy City Attorney Bernard in den Bosch said that when a retired employee dies, a portion of his or her monthly pension can go to a spouse, a minor child or an adult child with a disability, until that person dies. No spouse or children are listed in Perezs obituary.

Yet the checks wrongly continued after Perez died. They were sent out monthly until the final payment, dated Sept. 30. The total amount was nearly $118,037, Banks said.

About a decade ago, the city, which administers the civilian and first responder pensions, hired a database service called LexisNexis that searches for former employees names and Social Security numbers and checks whether someone has died. But in den Bosch said the database didnt show that Perez had died.

The error was uncovered when a city employee recently conducted a review and searched Perezs name online, which resulted in the discovery of his obituary from years ago, in den Bosch said.

Omaha Police Lt. Neal Bonacci said the investigation into the matter is still active. He said detectives were working with the Finance Department.
As noted in late November, Supermarine Spitfire F Mk.IX MH603 was fast approaching the conclusion of its down-to-the-last-rivet rebuild at Vintage Fighter Restorations (VFR) in Scone, New South Wales, Australia. We can now report, via our colleagues at WarbirdsOnline and Aviation Spotters Online that the fighter made her first post-restoration flights on Saturday, December 11th. Veteran warbird pilot, Stephen Death was at the controls for the initial 20 minute hop, joined in the air by Paul Bennet who flew chase duties in Ross Pays CAC-built Mustang Mk.21 A68-107.

Following the first flight, VFR personnel wheeled the Spitfire back into their hangar to remove the engine cowlings and check for any potential issues. According to John Parker at WarbirdsOnline, MH603 needed very little adjustment, other than minor tweaks to control surface trim. Stephen Death then continued with the test program, taking the Spitfire up for a further series of flights. With the successful culmination of these trials, Steven Death signed off on the aircrafts airworthiness certificate, reportedly declaring MH603 as being one of the finest Spitfires flying anywhere. The entire team at Vintage Fighter Restorations should be congratulated for their efforts to return this magnificent aircraft to the skies. For those with both the desire and financial fortitude to acquire her, MH603 is available for sale via our sponsors, Platinum Fighter Sales.

Many thanks indeed to Aviation Spotters Online and Warbirds Online for the details on this event, and to Darren Mottram for the beautiful photographs accompanying this article (all reproduced with permission). To learn more about MH603s history and its restoration, please click HERE.
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JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP)  Fresh from delivering a stern new warning to Russia over Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Indonesia on Monday to find a top aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin already in Jakarta for security talks.

Just a day after joining his Group of Seven foreign minister colleagues in issuing the blunt demand for Russia to step back from a military escalation near the Ukrainian border, Blinken began a 48-hour visit to Indonesia with his plane parking in the shadow of that of Putins national security adviser Nikolay Patrushev. Patrushev is considered the third most senior official in Russia's government.

Shortly before Blinken landed, the Russian embassy in Jakarta announced Patrushevs visit, saying he would be in the Indonesian capital for the same two days as the top American diplomat. The timing means that Patrushev's meetings will coincide with a major speech Blinken plans to give Tuesday on the Biden administration's Indo-Pacific strategy.

There was no indication that the two men might meet in Jakarta. Nor was there any indication that either would acknowledge the other's presence in Indonesia, which is the headquarters of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and a key regional security player.

Indonesia's foreign ministry downplayed the dueling visits.

The U.S. and Russia are two of Indonesias good partners. Indonesia will continue to develop strategic trust with all countries, all Indonesias partners, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said. This strategic trust is very important as the foundation for building mutually beneficial and respectful cooperation. And Indonesia has a very high commitment to contribute to creating a peaceful, stable and prosperous world.

Blinken met Monday afternoon with Indonesian President Joko Widodo before a full slate of events on Tuesday, including the speech. The Russian embassy said Patrushev's main interlocutor in Indonesia would be Law and Security Affairs Minister Mohammad Mahfud.

Blinken traveled to Jakarta from a Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting in Liverpool, England, at which he and his counterparts told Russia on Sunday to de-escalate its military buildup near the Ukrainian border.

The G-7 called on Russia to de-escalate, pursue diplomatic channels, and abide by its international commitments on transparency of military activities, and praised Ukraines restraint.

The ministers warned on a joint statement that any use of force to change borders is strictly prohibited under international law. Russia should be in no doubt that further military aggression against Ukraine would have massive consequences and severe cost in response."

The statement came after President Joe Biden spoke to Putin in a video call last week and said he had made clear that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would have devastating consequences for Russia's economy.

Moscow denies having any plans to attack Ukraine and accuses Kyiv of its own allegedly aggressive designs.

Ahead of Blinken's current trip, which at eight days will be his longest overseas journey since taking office, State Department officials had said they expected his focus to shift from challenges posed by Russia to those posed by China as he moved from the G7 meeting in Liverpool across the globe to Southeast Asia.

It was not immediately clear if Patrushev's presence on Indonesia would change that. In Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, Blinken is aiming to highlight the importance of ensuring freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, on which many of Chinas neighbors have accused Beijing of encroaching.

In his meeting with Widodo, Blinken expressed support for Indonesias leadership in the Indo-Pacific as the worlds third-largest democracy and a strong proponent of the rules-based international order, the State Department said.

Blinken also plans to express deep U.S. concerns about developments in Myanmar, where a military junta took power shortly after the Biden administration took office. Last week, a court in Myanmar convicted democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was ousted in a de facto coup in February, on two charges. The proceedings were widely criticized as a further effort by the countrys military rulers to roll back the democratic gains of recent years.

As Blinken visits Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, Patrushev will be in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. One of Blinken's most senior aides, State Department counsellor Derek Chollet was in Cambodia last week following the U.S. imposition of an arms embargo on the country, citing deepening Chinese military influence, corruption and human rights abuses.

Associated Press writer Edna Tarigan contributed to this report.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)  Speaking publicly for the first time in months, the prominent South Carolina attorney accused of a slew of mostly financial crimes after his wife and son were found shot dead outside their home blamed some of his problems on a 20-year-long opiate addiction shortly before a judge set bond at $7 million Monday.

The entire $7 million must be posted for Alex Murdaugh to go on house arrest with electronic monitoring, get counseling and be randomly drug tested, said Circuit Judge Alison Renee Lee in the virtual hearing.

Mondays hearing marked the first time Murdaugh has spoken publicly at length since the deaths.

My head is on straighter, Im thinking clearer than I have in a long, long time, Murdaugh said. I want to deal with these charges appropriately and head-on. I want to repair as much of the damage that Ive done as I can. I want to repair as many of the relationships as I can.

The 53-year-old heir to a legal dynasty in Hampton County, South Carolina, faces nearly 50 counts for what prosecutors said were schemes to steal more than $6.2 million in settlement and other money from about a dozen clients.

He faces a separate set of charges for what police say was an attempt to have himself shot and killed Sept. 4 so his surviving son could collect a $10 million life insurance policy.

Murdaugh described to the judge his frame of mind leading up to the events of that day. He said he had met with his brother and another law firm partner to confess a 20-year-long hidden addiction and to discuss my actions in the 24 hours before the attempted killing, and was going through opiate withdrawal at the time.

The firm announced its own investigation into missing funds shortly after Murdaugh said he was going into rehab in September.

Murdaugh said he knew he had tarnished his familys legacy, but that he had improved since September and had not used opiates in more than three months.

Monday's bond hearing centered on charges handed down by a grand jury totaling 48 counts of breach of trust with fraudulent intent; computer crimes; money laundering and forgery. Prosecutors said that among Murdaugh's victims in the schemes dating back to 2015 were family friends, an undocumented immigrant and a car wreck victim.

Investigators say Murdaugh used a fraudulent bank account he created with a similar name to a company that handles legal settlements. According to indictments, he then used the money to pay bank overdraft fees, credit card payments, checks written to friends and family and other items.

Murdaughs father, grandfather and great-grandfather were prosecutors in tiny Hampton County, where every road leading to the county seat is two lanes. The familys law firm, located in the most impressive building in town after the courthouse, has spent a century winning multimillion-dollar verdicts.

His legal troubles began after his wife, Maggie, 52, and son Paul, 22, were found shot to death at the familys estate in June. No one has been charged in their deaths and Murdaughs lawyers said he has denied having anything to do with their killings.

Running parallel to the criminal court saga is a growing number of lawsuits. Murdaughs former law firm has sued him, as have the sons of his dead housekeeper, who died after a fall at one of the family's homes in 2018. The Murdaugh family also faces lawsuits surrounding a 2019 boat crash in which Paul Murdaugh was charged with boating under the influence causing death.

On Monday, attorneys for both Murdaugh and deceased housekeeper Gloria Satterfield's sons announced during the bond hearing that some victims were nearing resolution with Murdaugh, who is also accused of stealing insurance money meant for Satterfield's sons.

The lawyers for both Murdaugh and Satterfields family said Murdaugh had agreed to a $4.3 million judgment in the case, subject to the approval of court-appointed receivers who now control his assets.

The family is pleased that Mr. Murdaugh has finally expressed his apologies and has taken a positive step toward resolution by agreeing to confess judgment to Glorias sons, Satterfield lawyer Ronnie Richter said in a statement.

Lees bond order surpassed amounts recommended by prosecutors, who had recommended the judge either set bond at the $6.2 million Murdaugh was accused of stealing or a lesser figure of $4.7 million  about $100,000 for each count.

Defense attorneys had asked the judge to set bond at a maximum of $200,000 and indicated they would ask Lee reconsider her Monday decision.

He cant post a $7 million. He couldnt post a $700,000, Dick Harpootlian, an attorney for Murdaugh, said. He has no money.

Harpootlian declined to comment further on Murdaughs finances to The Associated Press.

Murdaugh has been jailed since October on charges of stealing insurance money from Satterfield's sons.

Circuit Judge Clifton Newman again denied bond in November, citing Murdaugh's considerable financial resources and mental instability. A spokesperson for the state Attorney General's Office said although the new grand jury indictments now supersede the arrest warrants that Newman denied bond on, Murdaugh will remain at a Richland County detention center unless he posts the $7 million bond.

His attorneys have appealed that no bond decision to the state Supreme Court.

He could face more than 500 years in prison if convicted of all the charges, which are all felonies.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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I had not been in the Waterloo West High School auditorium for many years. Then, two events placed me at that venue within the same four days. Both involved former students.

On Saturday, Nov. 20, I attended the celebration of life for Tyler Greene. He was the young man who was killed while traveling Waterloo streets in his motorized wheelchair.

The next Tuesday, I was in the same theater for a celebration of a different sort. That night, along with several hundred others, I witnessed a remarkable conversation between former student Nikole Hannah-Jones and her inspiration from West High, my friend and former colleague Ray Dial. The discussion was hosted by Akwi Nji, the new Waterloo Schools communications director, who did an outstanding job.

Kudos to the Waterloo Community Schools for welcoming the event. By doing so, you acknowledged the significance of "The 1619 Project" and thus, the teaching of truth.

Nikole was in my Hoover class at the beginning of my time there. Tyler came along about fifteen years later. I was struck by how the two of them brought me back to the same location in such a short span of time. This piece is not about them as former eighth-graders; as might be imagined, both were excellent students. This is a shout-out to educators.

You are teaching in trying times. I cant fathom how you persevered through COVID and Zoom challenges, not to mention active shooter drills. Now youve got state lawmakers challenging what you teach. One of them even threatens to make you a felon if your book choices are not to his liking. Its understandable why attrition is high and morale is low.

My reflections on Tyler and Nikole remind me I dont need to deal with the obstacles you face, nor am I any longer in a position to interact with students like you are. Maybe you cope with classes with too many students, or classrooms with not enough supplies. Maybe there are too many parental expectations, or maybe there are not enough. While there is no shortage of curricular, district and societal demands, there always seems to be a shortage of time in which to meet them. And then, there are the important needs of all those kids in your midst, whether you see 20 a day or 120. When all is said and done, those varied and numerous needs are the ones that matter most. I know from my years in the classroom its not always easy to accommodate those needs when the aforementioned expectations and demands vie for your attention.

Tyler needed to be included. He was differently abled. His family observed at his service how they threw out the word CANT early in his life. He demonstrated to me daily, that indeed, he COULD.

Nikole needed inclusion as well. Textbooks often didnt speak to her as a young African-American woman. Conventional curriculum seemed oblivious to her and Black kids in general. I took small steps to address those needs, but in hindsight, I know I fell short.

So, current teachers, when its just you and your students in your classroom, try to shut out (for just awhile) the administrative, legislative, parental and societal noise. Instead, imagine the quiet girl in the back as a future Pulitzer Prize winner, a MacArthur Genius award recipient, a Time Magazine most influential person, an accomplished journalist/author and university professor. She was in my classroom once; maybe shes in yours now.

Maybe that exuberant boy who rushes to raise his hand to answer your every question will one day teach the world about ability awareness or advocate for LGBTQ rights, or turn out to be the engaging community member and beloved uncle he was. He was in my classroom once, maybe hes in yours now.

Denny McCabe is retired from teaching at Hoover Middle School in Waterloo, but not retired from educating. He is a member of the Iowa Teach the Truth Coalition and the Cedar Valley Antiracism Coalition.

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It feels pretty safe to say now that the field of candidates running to be Iowas next governor is settled.

Rob Sand, the Democratic state auditor, announced last week that he will run for re-election as auditor. Sand had been weighing a run for governor.

Sand made the same decision that U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne and state Sen. Pam Jochum did: to stay put rather than launch a bid to challenge Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds.

Sand was the last potential candidate for governor that Iowa political observers were waiting for. With his decision to run for re-election, the field of gubernatorial candidates is likely set.

Despite the list of names that opted not to run for the right to challenge the Republican incumbent, there will be a competitive Democratic primary.

The most prominent candidates are Deidre DeJear and Ras Smith. If elected, either would become the first Black governor in state history. DeJear is a Des Moines businesswoman who ran for Iowa secretary of state in 2018. Smith is a state lawmaker from Waterloo.

Also running in the Democratic field, but less known to Iowa voters, are Joshua Kuhn-McRoberts, an Iowa Finance Authority worker from Waukee, and Kim West, an attorney from Des Moines.

Unless someone new enters the field  which is fairly unlikely with the primary election just six months away  or someone drops out, one of those four candidates will earn the Democratic Partys nomination and be tasked with facing Reynolds in next falls general election.

Before we take a look at that Democratic field of potential challengers, lets take a quick look at those who passed on a gubernatorial run.

Axne is badly needed by U.S. House Democrats, who face a challenge to their slim majority in the 2022 midterm elections. Axnes re-election is no slam dunk, but had she left the seat and created an open-seat race, Republicans chances of winning and gaining a seat in the House would have increased significantly.

Jochum has been a stalwart Democrat in the Legislature for decades, and she was the first Democratic woman to serve as Iowa Senate president. She has been floated as a potential candidate for higher office before, but always has chosen to remain in the Legislature.

Sand was the longest holdout. Political observers have been wondering what he might do in 2022 virtually since the day after he was elected auditor in 2018. In his video announcement, Sand listed the reasons he wants to run for another term as auditor, but did not address reasons he decided against running for governor.

Is he terrified to run against Reynolds, as the Republican Governors Association asserted in a statement? That seems like a bit of hyperbole. (Although, to be fair to the RGA, hyperbole is pretty standard fare in political statements.) Lets not forget that Reynolds won her only gubernatorial election in 2018 by 2.8 percentage points. Thats not exactly a Chuck-Grassley-in-the-1990s-esque landslide.

However, it does bear noting that those prominent Iowa Democrats opted to pass on the chance to challenge Reynolds and the Democrats only realistic chance at taking away from Republicans at least one of the states lawmaking levers in 2022. No serious observer should consider Reynolds unbeatable. But she is starting her re-election bid from a position of strength, and the lack of interest from Democrats who decided not to challenge her is a signal that they see that.

In the most recent round of polling from the Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll, 51% of Iowans approve of the job Reynolds is doing as governor, 56% approve of her handling of the economy, and 52% approve of her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and education issues. Those are solid numbers for an incumbent at the onset of a re-election bid.

DeJear, Smith, or whichever Democrat ultimately faces Reynolds will have to break through that with a message that will convince enough Iowans that Reynolds does not deserve another four-year term.

They will also face the challenge right off the bat of introducing themselves to Iowa voters. DeJear and Smith are well-known and well-liked in the bubble of Iowa Democratic politics, but theyll need more than just that base support if they are to defeat Reynolds.

That likely will be part of the argument they will be making over the next six months as Democrats decide who to put up against Reynolds. We know whos on that list, and now we know whos not. Let the primary begin.

Erin Murphy covers Iowa politics and government for Lee Enterprises. His email address is erin.murphy@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter at @ErinDMurphy.

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Amid the exodus of employees fleeing their jobs nationwide, the question of why we work  and what were willing to sacrifice for it  has become more significant as the reckoning and reevaluation fueled by the pandemic continues.

Abigail Susik

But for all the headlines The Great Resignation has generated, Associate Professor of Art History Abigail Susik points out that some of the anti-work sentiment we're currently seeing in the U.S. bears a striking resemblance to aspects of an artistic and sociocultural movement that flourished during another time of upheaval.

In Surrealist Sabotage and the War on Work, one of three books Susik completed this year, she explains how the Paris and Chicago Surrealist groups portrayed their critique of capitalism, the wage labor system and class privilege through a resistance movement of artworks, texts, and actions spanning the 1920s to 1970s.

But despite the Surrealists strong declarations, they didnt abhor the existence of all productive engagement. They supported attractive work, the kinds of jobs that people enjoy and can immerse themselves in, but they thought the system of wage labor was deeply problematic and should be entirely abolished, Susik said.

The Surrealist movement was formed in response to the pressures that most of us still face in society, in terms of the necessity of working in order to survive, she said. Everyone has to work to live, unless youre among the 1%, so our lack of ability to find a way outside of that system was interesting to me.

The idea for the book formed after she noticed how current employee issues  especially among millennials, members of Generation Z and women  paralleled ones in France during its labor shortage after World War I and the 1918 flu pandemic (read more in Susiks New York Times guest essay.)

After the war, many French workers denounced prevalent conditions of labor exploitation. At the time, they had no protection against terrible working hours or low wages, so they orchestrated factory walkouts, strikes and other sabotage tactics, she said. Today, beyond the legions of American workers quitting jobs, young workers in China have been leading their own movement called lying flat, which opposes the philosophy of constant consumption and production.

Surrealisms investment in radical thought is a running theme throughout all of her new books, which cover the history of the last century and indicate the long lifespan of the Surrealist-progressive agenda.

Surrealism and Film After 1945: Absolutely Modern Mysteries, which she co-edited, contains 11 essays by prominent and leading scholars that focus on the permutations of international surrealist cinema after World War II. Susiks contribution, The alchemy of surrealist presence in Alejandro Jodorowskys 'The Holy Mountain,' stands among pieces by Tom Gunning, Gavin Parkinson and Michael Richardson.

Another volume co-edited by Susik, Radical Dreams: Surrealism, Counterculture, Resistance, examines the movements role in postwar radical cultures from the perspective of humanities scholars and contemporary surrealist practitioners. Devoting chapters to Afrosurrealism, punk and other counterculture and resistance subcultures, the book demonstrates how the movement cant be defined as only an artistic style or historical period. This third book was partly inspired by Willamette students and the political and social realities they face now, Susik said.

We teach students at Willamette to be critically-minded, and so I am pleased that Radical Dreams showcases lesser-known historical models of young people who question the status quo in a deeply energetic, thoughtful and provocative way, she said.

As Susik awaits the publication of Radical Dreams in 2022 (the other two are currently available), she continues to engage in her own form of attractive work  she has two more books in progress, Surrealism and Animation: Beyond Still Life, and Change Life: Avant-Garde Abolition, Prefiguration & Future Pasts and she also look forward to an upcoming Graves Award-supported seminar course on Surrealism in Latin America.
Valentino gives virtual support to young designers with Italian Fashion Chamber By



Dominique Muret Translated by

Nicola Mira Published

Dec 13, 2021

Following the example of many other luxury labels, has launched a project to promote young designers. The Roman label has decided to offer its support in virtual fashion. In partnership with the Italian Fashion Chamber (CNMI), Valentino will invite one emerging designer to its account (@maisonvalentino) every season, in order to promote their creations.







A look by Marco Rambaldi - Marco Rambaldi



Valentinos idea is to open the doors of its digital spaces and to offer young [designers] the chance to showcase their work and their message, said the label in a press release. The initiative will kick off during the next Milan in February, with Marco Rambaldi. Bologna-born Rambaldi, 30, has been showing his collections in Milan since 2019.



A knitwear specialist, he advocates freedom and inclusivity in fashion, inspired by the protest movements of the 1970s, like feminism. A year after graduating in fashion design from IUAV University in Venice, in 2014, Rambaldi launched his women's ready-to-wear label, and immediately won the competition organised by CNMI. However, before going all-in with his solo career, he decided to apprentice for two years at Dolce & Gabbana, definitively relaunching his label in 2016. Rambaldi's collections are produced by small ateliers located in the Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy regions of Italy.

Valentinos Creative Director chose Rambaldi to inaugurate the luxury houses virtual support initiative due to his work in representing all men and women by means of inclusive castings, symbolising an increasingly engaged generation, while praising his daring, authentic effort to cancel stereotypes and his his radically romantic, emotional and transversal aesthetic.



Top labels have always been keen to support emerging stylists. They often team up with leading design competitions, like and Chloe with the Hyeres Festival, OTB with International Talent Support (ITS) in Trieste, and LVMH, which has launched its own competition.



In the last few years however, especially with the pandemic, top labels have become even more committed. Last year, N21s designer joined forces with the Tomorrow agency to back two emerging designers each season, giving them all-round support ranging from creativity to business consultancy.



In early 2021, Californian luxury denim label instituted the Amiri Prize, an annual competition and fashion incubator for the unrecognised talents in American fashion. More recently, French label created the AMI Entrepreneurship Prize with the French Fashion Institute (IFM).



US group Capri Holdings (owner of , Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo), via the Capri Holdings Foundation for the Advancement of Diversity in Fashion, recently announced the funding of scholarships for minority students in association with various academies, among them the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and Central Saint Martins. A fresh wave of solidarity, as well as a way for these labels to rejuvenate and enhance their brand image.
This story is brought to you by Poppy the AV, an all-electric self-driving Cruise vehicle, who knows the ins and outs of the City.







One of just three official Japantowns in the U.S., San Francisco's hub of Japanese culture is brimming with original restaurants, quirky shops, and unique community vibes.



Beyond the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival, which blooms every April, there are a slew of things to do, eat, and see, especially for young people seeking quirky Instagram ops.

Here's where to hang out while you're in the 'hood.

Best Hotels in San Francisco's Japantown The Nicole Hollisdesigned lobby at Hotel Buchanan. (Courtesy of Hotel Buchanan) The most noticeable change to Japantown in the recent years is the opening of bona fide, fashionable hotels, solidifying the neighborhood as a destination for tourists (and staycationers) who come for the area's Japanese culture as well as for the foodie scene here and in neighboring Fillmore and Western Addition. Joie de Vivre's Hotel Kabuki (1625 Post St.) is luring locals to the 'hood with posh contemporary design, lofty open spaces that feel inviting for meetings or just a moment of downtime, and a cocktail bar and restaurant serving kitschy drinks and Japanese-inflected fare. Those with keys can enjoy modern-zen-style rooms with poppy art and cascading rain showers. // Nearby, competitor Kimpton Hotels is raising the stakes at Hotel Buchanan (1800 Sutter St.; temporarily closed due to Covid-19), where the tchotchke styling of the former anime-inspired Hotel Tomo has given way to sophisticated interiors by SF designer Nicole Hollis. Whiskey is a thing hereperhaps a nod to Japan's love of the stuffso look for the light fixture made from 3,100 whiskey bottles. All 131 rooms have a curated ambiance including shibori-print pillows and kimono robes.
Job talk

I worked many waitress jobs. Its intense. Then when I was pregnant with my first child, at 35, I went to work in a pet shop. I needed something less intense.

Bad moment

In 1986 I passed a premiere, with limos, for About Last Night, starring my DePaul classmate Elizabeth Perkins. Oh my God, here I was, going to wait on tables! I'm losing it! And then there was a calm voice that said, "Everything will be OK when you're 56."

Prophecy fulfilled

Many times I was discouraged. Many sob sessions. I would just get over it and say, "Dont be silly. Lets go." And every job I was deeply grateful for. It wasnt until Compliance that doors opened up in my career. At 56.

Lydias global reach

In Australia, the girl at a bookshop counter blushed and giggled with her friend, and I realized they knew Lydia and Handmaids Tale. It was sweet.

What mothering teaches

Patience. Faith. When new babies come, its the greatest joy and the greatest worry. I'm learning to let go, since my oldest boy is 30.

Fostering kids

Every child deserves a loving home  period. I am so deeply grateful for my youngest, my foster son and now my boy. It taught me the beauty of love, understanding trauma and what has to happen for that beautiful child to move to a place of safety in his heart and soul.

Our world, film by film

In Mass, I play a school shooters mother meeting a victims parents. They come to a place of understanding, and forgiveness permits them to drop the burden of holding on to such profound grief. Its a great example of how a film can allow an audience to experience something like the Sandy Hook shooting not just as news but through the people, the actors, telling the story.

Tips for older actors

Trust the gut. Just listen to the Goddess; the universe will provide, and you will succeed. Thank God that now there are so many more roles and opportunities as we age. Aging is underrated, and beautiful. Our bodies are, like, whoa, wait a minute, sit down. One day at a time. But life gets better and better.

As told to Tim Appelo


Maroochydore Project 2021 Drilling Campaign Update

Perth, Dec 13, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Cyprium Metals Limited ( ASX:CYM ) is pleased to report the completion of the first field season of drilling at the Maroochydore Copper Project as detailed in Figures 2 to 4* and sections 1 to 3.HIGHLIGHTS- 46 RC drillholes for 5,990m completed to infill and extend the Maroochydore oxide/supergene resource - first assay results expected in January 2022- 4 oxide/supergene and 2 sulphide diamond drillholes for 1,226m completed for metallurgical and waste characterisation testing- Results from metallurgical and waste characterisation testing will advance resource estimation and scoping study workManaging Director Barry Cahill commented:"It is very pleasing to have completed our first season of drilling at the Maroochydore Copper Cobalt Project. Maroochydore, like Nifty, is hosted in the shales of the Broadhurst formation.Having now visited the site, I was absolutely blown away by the physical footprint of this shallow copper cobalt deposit, which is more than 3 kilometres in length.The quality of the mineralisation in the RC chips and diamond drill core was also impressive. We now eagerly await the assay results from these drilling programmes."The Company's 6 diamond drillhole programme for 1,226m as detailed in Figure 2* and outlined in sections 1 to 3, obtained oxide, supergene and sulphide core samples for metallurgical and waste characterisation testing. The sulphide mineralisation remains open and has been lightly drilled to date. These results will be used in a scoping study for the project's development path and timetable.The 46 RC drillhole programme for 5,990m as detailed in Figure 3* and outlined in sections 1 to 3, was a combination of infill and extensional drilling, aimed at testing the oxide, transitional and supergene mineralisation at the Maroochydore copper project.The oxide mineralisation currently extends over a strike length of 3,000m, has a width up to 800m and thicknesses up to 100m, as modelled in the existing JORC 2012 mineral resource estimate as outlined in Figure 4* and sections 1 to 3.Diamond drill core will be composited into bulk samples for metallurgical and waste characterisation testing, the results of which are expected to be available in the second half of 2022. RC drill chips will be assayed and the results to be included in a revised mineral resource estimate of the Maroochydore copper deposit. These assay results will also be announced to the market as they are received by the company during Q1 2022.*To view tables and figures, please visit:About Cyprium Metals Ltd

Cyprium Metals Limited (ASX:CYM) is poised to grow to a mid-tier mining business and manage a portfolio of Australian copper projects to deliver vital natural resources, strong shareholder returns and sustainable value for our stakeholders. We pursue this aim, in genuine partnerships with employees, customers, shareholders, local communities and other stakeholders, which is based on integrity, co-operation, transparency and mutual value creation.
At no other time in recent history have tribal leaders across Native America been challenged in ensuring the health and safety of Indian people. That challenge has been immense, and weariness has extended to those who care for our elders and their families.

Title VI of the Older Americans Act, drafted by the National Indian Council on Aging (NICOA) in 1978, established nutrition and supportive services for American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians. More than 250 tribes and tribal organizations use the funding for elder centers, meal delivery, referrals, transportation and personal care. Title VI was expanded to include caregiver support and grandparents caring for grandchildren. The program offers counseling, support groups, training, and respite or short-term care for an elder to relieve the primary caregiver. This can include adult day or home care, or care in a facility. These programs were created to keep families together, provide culturally relevant services and reduce medical costs.

Though many tribes have created elder programs, more can be done to aid caregivers. In a report published by the Diverse Elders Coalition in consultation with NICOA, more than half of caregiver focus group participants reported they were paying out-of-pocket expenses and had some or significant difficulty with coordinating or arranging services with doctors and social workers. About 45% of the responding caregivers, a majority of whom were women, stated they were the only one providing care, with some of them providing nearly 20 hours of care weekly.

Researchers also found that Native caregivers had significant declines in physical and mental health, such as chronic stress, pain, depression, digestive problems and high cholesterol due to the lack of support services. Some caregivers also appeared on the verge of burnout. This was exacerbated during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to linger in our communities.

NICOA, established by the National Tribal Chairmans Association in 1976 with a mission to advocate for improved comprehensive health, social services and economic wellbeing for elders, respectfully engages tribal leaders as decision-makers to consider creating or strengthening supportive programs and compassionate workplace policies to aid caregivers and their families. Recommendations include allowing flextime, so caregivers arent fearful of losing jobs if a family member needs longer-term caregiving. Other recommendations:

 Establishing qualified free or low-cost help or partner programs to aid caregivers in financial issues, bill paying and money management.

 Aid in finding qualified free or low-cost help for legal matters, and power of attorney, guardianship and wills.

Tribal leaders have done a tremendous job during this unprecedented time in keeping our communities safe. When we also support our caregivers, we keep the family together and avoid costly health care or care by non-Native institutions. Caregivers obtain the rest they need, taking time for their own emotional and physical health. We also have resources to help with our new Long-Term Support Services website that includes examples of adult day care, housing, respite and other successful programs in Indian Country.

Instating or enhancing these programs not only provides protection for families, but also for tribal longevity as our elders are keepers of our languages and culture. This will ensure the continued existence and survival of Indian tribes and communities far into the future, and that they not be extinguished by the onslaught of the larger society.

NICOA is a nonprofit created to advocate for improved comprehensive health, social services and economic wellbeing for American Indian and Alaska Native elders. NICOAs current #ConnectedIndigenousElders campaign highlights the needs of caregivers, as well as social isolation and loneliness among Indigenous elders. For more information, go to www.connectedindigenouselders.org.
In the post-World War II period, as globalization of companies and economies rapidly increased, countries started establishing incentives to attract foreign direct investment (FDI).

These incentives included offering tax breaks for foreign companies, free or subsidized government land, R&D allowances, and funds for training workers. By attracting FDI, countries benefited by having new development, new monies flowing into their borders, and the creation of good-paying jobs for their citizens.

In its quest to industrialize its northern border, and to employ citizens returning after the United States canceled the bracero agricultural labor program, which employed Mexican laborers on American farms, Mexico established its maquiladora program.

This program parlayed off of changes in the U.S. tariff code, which made it easier for companies to manufacture in foreign countries in order to better compete against foreign competition. Often referred to as the twin plant program, maquiladoras allowed foreign companies to manufacture in Mexico, with only the value added to the product in that country subject to tariffs. In other words, if a U.S. company is manufacturing a cell phone using a Mexican maquiladora plant, and all the materials are exported to Mexico for assembly, only the value of the Mexican labor would be subject to taxation once the phone is shipped to the U.S. market.

Programs such as Mexicos maquiladora program have been wildly successful in attracting foreign direct investment. One only has to drive through border cities such as Juarez, Mexico, to see plants from Fortune 500 and Fortune 100 companies sprinkled throughout massive industrial parks.

Today, there are more than 6,000 foreign companies operating in the Mexican maquiladora industry, employing approximately 3.2 million people. The maquiladora industry now accounts for 53% of Mexicos total exports.

However, we have now entered a new era, in which a countrys policies and practices are just as important in attracting FDI as are established incentives. There are companies that wont establish operations in Brazil, due to that countrys failure to address deforestation in its Amazon region. Other companies are refusing to expand operations in China because of that countrys human rights violations.

And now the Economista periodical is reporting that President and Managing Director of General Motors de Mexico Francisco Garza has stated, If Mexico does not have renewable energies and a legal framework focused on sustainability, it will cease to be an investment destination in the short- and medium-term for General Motors and other companies. Mexico passed historic energy reform laws under former President Enrique Pena Nieto, which allowed foreign companies to enter this formerly nationalized sector. The objective was to attract FDI in order to modernize Mexicos energy sector and to allow the country a path towards renewable energies.

Since succeeding Pena Nieto as Mexicos president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) has attempted to unwind energy reform, and to put the energy sector back in the hands of the Mexican government. AMLO is proposing prohibiting the electricity commercialization market to foreign investors, and limiting the private generation of energy production to 46%. Priority also would be given to the Federal Electricity Commissions existing power plants, which run on petroleum and coal. AMLO also wants to cancel all current generation permits/contracts and do away with the self-supply of electricity that firms are gravitating towards, by using wind and solar options. The new policy focuses on using petroleum fuels and coal as the major energy sources for the country. Of course, this flies in the face of the trend of countries and companies towards zero emissions within the next few decades.

In January, GM announced that it will be shifting production to build only electric vehicles by 2035. By 2025, the company will be offering 30 new electric vehicles globally. It is estimated that GMs all-electric strategy will require an investment of $35 billion dollars. That is an enormous amount of investment that countries around the world will want to convert into FDI by attracting GMs electric production plants.

By committing itself to a quantum shift of strategy, GM will want to situate plants in countries that are committed to reducing future carbon emissions. The rolling back of Mexicos energy reform seems to be taking the country off the table as a prospect for GMs future investments. Mexicos precarious energy strategy may not only have self-repercussions.

Because the U.S. and Mexicos economies are so intertwined, loss of investments in Mexico could result in the loss of supply opportunities on behalf of U.S. suppliers. This would be a lose-lose situation.

Jerry Pacheco is the executive director of the International Business Accelerator, a nonprofit trade counseling program of the New Mexico Small Business Development Centers Network. He can be reached at 575-589-2200 or at jerry@nmiba.com.
Q: My church has been hit hard financially because of COVID and launched a special fundraising campaign to cover the budget shortfall. I have undeveloped land that has attracted some interest over the past six months. I think it will sell for $375,000 and I purchased it for $90,000. I am willing to contribute the land to the church. This will fix their 2020 budget shortfall and should also allow them to fund the budget for 2021 even if the current giving level continues. I do not want to sell because I will have to pay a large capital gains tax. I thought we had this all worked out and I had engaged an appraiser to support the claimed tax deduction. The treasurer, who I consider a Nervous Nellie, then convinced the board that it was too risky to accept the gift of the land. His reasoning is the church will be responsible for carrying costs and the land might not sell for some time. The compromise suggested by the board is that I arrange a buyer for the land and transfer the land right before it sells. My tax preparer tells me this is very risky and I might be treated as the seller even if the sale occurs after the gift. I am ready to give up on this whole idea if they will not work with me on the gift. Do you think I would be OK if I lined up the buyer before the gift?

A: I agree with your tax preparer that this plan could create significant tax risk. It is a difficult issue to resolve because the answer depends on how far your negotiations have gone before the gift.

The boards plan would create a form where the sale occurred after the transfer was made to the church. This form would allow you to report a gift. You would need a qualified appraisal to satisfy the tax requirements for a deduction.

The form allows you to avoid the capital gains tax. The church will also avoid this tax because it is a tax-exempt organization.

The substance of the transaction may be different from its form. By this, I mean it may appear that the land has already been sold before the gift, even if the closing occurs after the gift.

I meant to use the word may. The phrase may not could also apply. Which fits depends on how far the sale negotiations have progressed before the gift. There is no bright line for too far.

Some tax advisers would say that until you sign a contract to sell the land there is still time to give it to the church. This makes sense because if there is no contract to sell there is no done deal.

The problem is that there are several prominent court decisions that hold that negotiations to sell can go too far even if there is no binding contract to sell.

The most prominent of these cases is a 1945 Supreme Court decision, Court Holding Company. Court Holding negotiated the sale of real estate, even accepting earnest money from the buyer.

When the company asked a lawyer to draft a contract of sale, it was advised that the tax consequences would be better if the shareholders sold the property. The deal was restructured as a sale by the shareholders.

Court Holding argued that without a written contract it could not be forced to sell. The Supreme Court held that the sale was effectively concluded when the company went to the lawyer to formalize it. Substance controlled over form.

Other cases approach the issue the same way  did the negotiations go too far so that the sale was effectively consummated before the formalities of sale were completed.

My concern in your question is that the treasurer seems to want a done deal before the church will accept the gift. In the end, the answer will depend on how far the negotiations had progressed.

If you sign a contract to sell and then assign it to the church, you have little chance of success. But even if the negotiations are done but for the signing, you still have a weak case.

Jim Hamill is the director of Tax Practice at Reynolds, Hix & Co. in Albuquerque. He can be reached at jimhamill@rhcocpa.com.
JERUSALEM  Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday made a historic trip to the United Arab Emirates, the first visit by an Israeli premier, as part of a blitz of regional diplomacy against the backdrop of struggling nuclear talks with Iran.

Israel has watched with concern as Iran has pushed a hard line against negotiators meeting in Vienna, at once demanding sanctions relief while accelerating its nuclear program.

In recent weeks, Israel has dispatched its top diplomat and its defense and spy chiefs to meet allies in Europe, the U.S. and the Mideast to push for a firmer approach to Iran. The Israeli outreach has been accompanied by repeated threats to take military action against Iran if diplomacy fails.

Bennetts trip to Abu Dhabi, where he will meet with Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed, is a milestone for both Israel and its new leader. Israel and the UAE last year signed a normalization deal brokered by the Trump administration under the Abraham Accords, a series of diplomatic accords with Arab countries that also included Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. Israel and the UAE have long shared common anxiety over Irans nuclear program. The deal to establish ties between the countries only increased tensions with the Islamic Republic.

Bennett was received by an honor guard and welcomed by the UAEs foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

I am very excited to be here, on the first official visit by an Israeli leader, Bennett said. We look forward to strengthen the diplomatic relations between the countries.

Bennetts trip comes on the heels of a visit by the UAEs national security adviser, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Tehran, where he met with Irans new hard-line president, Ebrahim Raisi, in a bid to ease tensions. It was a major visit for the Gulf Arab federation that has long viewed Iran as its main regional threat. Several other regional political visits, by Syrias foreign minister and the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Turkey, have also taken place recently, all with an eye on the negotiations.

Israel, which is not a party to the talks in Vienna, has turned to its allies to work together and lobby negotiators seeking to rein in Irans nuclear program.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid recently visited Europe and Egypt and Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Mossad chief David Barnea flew to the U.S. to discuss the talks with leaders there. Earlier this year Lapid visited the UAE and inaugurated Israels embassy there.

Israel sees the UAE as a crucial part of that outreach to its allies. Under Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabis powerful crown prince and long the de facto ruler of the Emirates, the UAE has embarked on a rapid expansion of its military forces to counter what it sees as the threat posed by Iran. During the recent Dubai air show, Sheikh Mohammed visited the pavilion of Israel Aerospace Industries, Israels largest state-owned defense contractor.

The Emirates also hosts U.S. and French forces and its Jebel Ali port is the U.S. Navys busiest port of call outside of America.

The Vienna negotiations are working to revive the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and six world powers. That agreement, launched by President Barack Obama, granted Iran relief from stifling sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.

But three years later, President Donald Trump, with strong encouragement from then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, withdrew from the deal, causing it to unravel. Since then, the U.S. has reimposed sanctions and Iran has stepped up its nuclear activities  amassing a stockpile of highly enriched uranium that goes well beyond the bounds of the accord.

Prominent voices in Israel, including a former defense minister and former intelligence head, are now indicating the U.S. withdrawal, especially without a contingency plan for Irans continuously developing nuclear plan, was mishandled.

Talks resumed earlier this month in Vienna after a five-month hiatus that came following Raisis election. But negotiators ended the round disappointed, claiming Iran had backtracked on progress made in previous rounds and had dug in with new demands on sanctions relief.

Iran also isnt slowing down advances in its atomic program, further raising the stakes in talks. In the midst of the negotiations, the U.N.s nuclear watchdog confirmed that Iran had begun enriching uranium up to 20% purity at its underground facility at Fordo  a site where enrichment is not permitted under the deal.

Israel considers Iran to be its greatest enemy and it strongly opposed the 2015 deal. It says it wants an improved deal that places tighter restrictions on Irans nuclear program and addresses Irans long-range missile program and its support for hostile proxies along Israels borders. Israel also says the negotiations must be accompanied by a credible military threat to ensure that Iran does not delay indefinitely.

Iran says its nuclear program is meant for peaceful purposes.

If successful, Bennetts visit to the UAE could give him a boost at home at a time when he is under fire for a recent trip by his family abroad amid COVID travel restrictions and when the legitimacy of his leadership is still being questioned by opposition lawmakers and the voters who support them.

Bennett, who leads a small nationalist party in parliament, rose to the prime minister post following a deal struck by a panoply of political factions working to oust Netanyahu, a long-serving leader who portrayed himself as the ultimate statesman and defender of Israel.
Rhiannon Samuel represents a new generation of leadership for NAIOP New Mexico.

The native New Mexican and 2014 graduate of the University of New Mexico comes to the commercial real estate development association with ample public-facing experience under her belt.

She has a degree in communications and religious studies and once served as the director of communications for former Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry. In 2017 she became the founding executive director of nonpartisan political education group Viante New Mexico.

One of her strengths, she said, is my spirit of collaboration and my nonpartisan approach to everything.

In her role as director of communications for Republican Berry, she said her position could have been partisan, but it is not the way I conducted myself.

Viante, she said, was the exclamation point. Lets find the common ground and get things done.

Replacing Lynne Andersen, who is retiring after 26 years as executive director of NAIOP, will be a challenge, she said.

Andersen, she said, is an impressive community leader and was named to the role in the 1990s  a lone female in a sea of men and she found a way to take charge and turn the organization into the impressive institution it is today.

It is quite the legacy to carry on, Samuel said.

Andersen said she is already impressed by Samuel.

She is a smart lady, Andersen said. I kid her about being a millennial, but she is a hard worker, very smart and I think she will do just fine.

Samuel has already taken steps to get to know the New Mexico NAIOP membership, she said, and even made contact with the national group.

She has gotten plugged in in a hurry, Andersen said. Shes already gotten to know a lot of people and is getting to know the national folks.

Samuel said her goals include taking a new look at networking and collaborative policy making.

With the advent of COVID, its given everybody the opportunity to evaluate what they do effectively and to make adjustments, Samuel said. What I hope to bring is a new take on networking and a new take on collaborative policymaking and relationships with decision makers.

For instance, she plans to reimagine the way the organization handles events.

Right now, there are 18 a year and a lot of folks are getting comfortable with Zoom, she said. How we are adapting to our membership needs is what I am going to prioritize in my first year.

Samuel also wants to help leadership in the industry.

There are presidents who are retiring, and I want to see if NAIOP can help ease that transition and make sure that the networking components that those owners had is being carried forward into this industry, she said.

COVID, she added, and the hybrid model it has sparked for NAIOP, isnt going away any time soon. She wants to look at how the organization can continue to use Zoom and even add to what Zoom can offer. Samuel said that she wants to make sure that people do not get burned out on using Zoom.

Zoom transcends space, she said.

I want to be thoughtful about how we are engaging folks all the north in the state and all the way south in the state, Samuel said.

Outside of the office, Samuel and her husband, Adan, love to travel. They have been to England, Greece, Italy, South Korea, Japan and Mexico.

They also love to travel in the state.

In New Mexico, theres a lot of ways we can improve and there are a lot of things that are wonderful, she said.
I think it is safe to say we are all fatigued with the continuing pandemic dialogue.

While this is still very relevant and serious, lets put that to the side for a moment and discuss the things we have learned about ourselves and our industries and what that looks like moving forward.

We have learned that the concept of working smarter and not harder are not necessarily mutually exclusive terms. We, as an industry, have had to continually reinvent how business is done. While at the same time maintain, or in many cases, re-establish our corporate cultures, overcome the Great Resignation, and explore new ways to retain and recruit talent.

However, New Mexicos strength of our character, the community we have created within our industry, and the resiliency of the human spirit will guide us through this difficult time. We are very privileged to work in this village we call commercial real estate.

2021 has been a year of surprising volume and activity. We have seen the commercial office market, the one entity within commercial real estate that had been projected to be doomed forever, not just survive but, indeed, thrive. Although the pace of leasing had slowed for a while, office sales never stopped for a minute across the entire state of New Mexico. Buyers and occupiers found a way to make the best of favorable financial terms and found their permanent business homes allowing for their growth or simply long-term security.

In the second half of 2021, leasing activity began to increase, and now we are seeing vacancy rates shrinking to levels nearing those of 2007, which is starting to influence lease rates. Tenants seem to be searching for the right-size accommodating for the new hybrid work dynamic or social distancing. All signs at this point indicate this will likely continue through 2022. In a nutshell, office remains!

Throughout the pandemic, the retail market had a projected future that rivaled the office market.

Again, this couldnt be more wrong. We are seeing many retail developments traded for the sole purpose of slightly changing the use by incorporating multi-family components in concert with repurposing retail to suit the nearby neighborhoods better.

Many centers that experienced loss during the past 18 months have generally found ways to recuperate, and occupancy shows signs of strengthening. Again, retail remains!

The 800-pound gorilla in the room remains to be the industrial market. Incredibly low vacancy and little new speculative development are beginning to nudge lease rates up. Much of the new construction completed or even started in 2021 were build-to-suits or were 95% leased while construction was still underway.

Provided supply chain issues do not interfere, new construction is anticipated to increase.

Regional and national developers are really starting to notice Albuquerque and the surrounding areas. We are no longer the best-kept secret in the Southwest!

Speaking to general contractors, vendors, sub-trades, architects and developers has become a rarity as they seem so busy that they have no time for chit-chat. There are several large projects on the go and in the works that I would say statewide development marches on.

I guess we could say that 2021 gave us the opportunity to really take a look at ourselves as a community, firmly plant our feet on the ground, and push back against the temptation to allow the pandemic to define us. We know what we have done, what we can do, and what we are going to do, so lets do it!

Scott Whitefield, SIOR, is president and principal of Colliers and has more than 30 years of years of experience in the commercial real estate industry. He served as chair of NAIOP NM in 2021.
NEW YORK  Outgoing New York Mayor Bill de Blasio spoke out in defense of his controversial vaccine mandates on Sunday, arguing that the orders have proved to be effective.

The lame-duck mayor last week said all private sector employees must be vaccinated against COVID-19, although the policy takes effect during his last days in office and lacks details about enforcement, and extended the requirement for proof of vaccination at restaurants and other indoor venues to those as young as age 5.

De Blasio defended the policies briefly on CNNs State of the Union with Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas in an unusual face-off between a blue-state mayor and a red-state leader.

Seventy-one percent of our people [are] fully vaccinated, de Blasio said. A lot of those people made the decision because the mandate was there and it was the thing that moved them, and its keeping people alive.

Hutchinson argued that such mandates are counterproductive.

It hardens resistance, he said. You dont need to add 100,000 to the unemployed list. And that would hurt us in trying to do our recovery.

De Blasio, a Democrat whos mulling a run for governor, said low vaccination rates are a worse threat to the economy than the prospect of shutdowns if COVID-19 numbers spike.

We thought several times were going to leave the COVID era behind. We could leave it behind in 2022 if we truly focus on vaccination and put the tough mandates in place to make sure we turn the corner, he said.



2021 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
MAYFIELD, Ky.  Workers on the night shift at Mayfield Consumer Products were in the middle of the holiday rush, cranking out candles, when a tornado closed in on the factory and the word went out: Duck and cover.

Autumn Kirks pulled down her safety goggles and took shelter, tossing aside wax and fragrance buckets to make room. She glanced away from her boyfriend, Lannis Ward, and when she looked back, he was gone.

Gov. Andy Beshear initially said Saturday that only 40 of the 110 people working in the factory at the time were rescued, and that itll be a miracle if anybody else is found alive in it. But on Sunday, the candle company said that while eight were confirmed dead and eight remained missing, more than 90 others had been located.

Dozens of people in several Kentucky counties are still believed to have died in the storms, but Beshear, after saying Sunday morning the states toll could exceed 100, said that afternoon it might be as low as 50.

We are praying that maybe original estimates of those we have lost were wrong. If so, its going to be pretty wonderful, the governor said.

Kentucky was the worst-hit state by far in an unusual mid-December swarm of twisters across the Midwest and the South that leveled entire communities and left at least 14 people dead in four other states.

At the candle factory, rescuers had to crawl over the dead to get to the living at a disaster scene that smelled like scented candles.

But by the time churchgoers gathered Sunday morning to pray for the lost, more than 24 hours had elapsed since anyone had been found alive in the wreckage. Instead, crews recovered pieces of peoples lives  a backpack, a pair of shoes and a cellphone with 27 missed messages were among the items.

Layers of steel and cars 15 feet deep were on top of what used to the factory roof, the governor said.

Were going to grieve together, were going to dig out and clean up together, and we will rebuild and move forward together. Were going to get through this, Beshear said. Were going to get through this together, because that is what we do.

Four twisters hit the state in all, including one with an extraordinarily long path of about 200 miles (322 kilometers), authorities said. The outbreak was all the more remarkable because it came at a time of year when cold weather normally limits tornadoes.

Warren County coroner Kevin Kirby said the death toll from the storms in an around Bowling Green grew by one on Sunday to 12.

Ive got towns that are gone, that are just, I mean gone. My dads hometown  half of it isnt standing, Beshear said of Dawson Springs.

He said that going door to door in search of victims is out of the question in the hardest-hit areas: There are no doors.

Were going to have over 1,000 homes that are gone, just gone, the governor said.

With afternoon high temperatures forecast only in the 40s, tens of thousands of people were without power. About 300 National Guard members went house to house, checking on people and helping to remove debris. Cadaver dogs searched for victims.

Kirks said she and her boyfriend were about 10 feet apart in a hallway when someone said to take cover. Suddenly, she saw sky and lightning where a wall had been, and Ward had vanished.

I remember taking my eyes off of him for a second, and then he was gone, she said.

Later, she got the terrible news  that Ward had been killed in the storm.

It was indescribable, Pastor Joel Cauley said of the disaster scene. It was almost like you were in a twilight zone. You could smell the aroma of candles, and you could hear the cries of people for help. Candle smells and all the sirens is not something I ever expected to experience at the same time.

The outbreak also killed at least six people in Illinois, where an Amazon distribution center in Edwardsville was hit; four in Tennessee; two in Arkansas, where a nursing home was destroyed and the governor said workers shielded residents with their own bodies; and two in Missouri.

Debris from destroyed buildings and shredded trees covered the ground in Mayfield, a city of about 10,000 in western Kentucky. Twisted sheet metal, downed power lines and wrecked vehicles lined the streets. Windows were blown out and roofs torn off the buildings that were still standing.

In the shadows of their crumpled church sanctuaries, two congregations in Mayfield came together on Sunday to pray for those who were lost. Members of First Christian Church and First Presbyterian Church met in a parking lot surrounded by rubble, piles of broken bricks and metal.

Our little town will never be the same, but were resilient, Laura McClendon said. Well get there, but its going to take a long time.

___

Associated Press writers Kristin Hall and Claire Galofaro in Mayfield; Jay Reeves in Birmingham, Alabama; Seth Borenstein in Washington; and Travis Loller in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report.
When Katie Posten walked outside Saturday morning to her car parked in her driveway, she saw something that looked like a note or receipt stuck to the windshield.

She grabbed it and saw it was a black and white photo of a woman in a striped sundress and headscarf holding a little boy in her lap. On the back, written in cursive, it said, Gertie Swatzell & J.D. Swatzell 1942. A few hours later, Posten would discover that the photo had made quite a journey  almost 130 miles (209 kilometers) on the back of monstrous winds.

Posten had been tracking the tornadoes that hit the middle of the U.S. Friday night, killing dozens of people. They came close to where she lives in New Albany, Indiana, across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky. So she figured it must be debris from someones damaged home.

Seeing the date, I realized that was likely from a home hit by a tornado. How else is it going to be there? Posten said in a phone interview Sunday morning. Its not a receipt. Its well-kept photo.

So, doing what any 21st century person would do, she posted an image of the photo on Facebook and Twitter and asked for help in finding its owners. She said she was hoping someone on social media would have a connection to the photo or share it with someone who had a connection.

Sure enough, thats what happened.

A lot of people shared it on Facebook. Someone came across it who is friends with a man with the same last name, and they tagged him, said Posten, 30, who works for a tech company.

That man was Cole Swatzell, who commented that the photo belonged to family members in Dawson Springs, Kentucky, almost 130 miles (209 kilometers) away from New Albany, as the crow flies, and 167 miles (269 kilometers) away by car. Swatzell on Sunday didnt respond to a Facebook message seeking comment.

In Dawson Springs  a town of about 2,700 people 60 miles (97 kilometers) east of Paducah  homes were leveled, trees were splintered and search and rescue teams continued to scour the community for any survivors. Dozens of people across five states were killed.

The fact that the photo traveled almost 130 miles is unusual but not that unusual, said John Snow, a meteorology professor at the University of Oklahoma.

In one documented case from the 1920s, paper debris traveled 230 miles from the Missouri Bootheel into southern Illinois. The paper debris rides winds, sometimes reaching heights of 30,000 to 40,000 feet above the ground, he said.

It gets swirled up, Snow said. The storm dissipates and then everything flutters down to the ground.

Posten wasnt alone in finding family photos and school pictures that had traveled dozens of miles in the tornadoes paths. A Facebook group was set up after the storms so people could post photos and other items like an ultrasound image they had found deposited in their yards.

Posten plans to return the photo to the Swatzell family sometime this week.

Its really remarkable, definitely one of those things, given all that has happened, that makes you consider how valuable things are  memories, family heirlooms, and those kinds of things, Posten said. It shows you the power of social media for good. It was encouraging that immediately there were tons of replies from people, looking up ancestry records, and saying I know someone who knows someone and Id like to help.'

___

Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP
RIO RANCHO  Two people have been found dead after a structure fire in the Rio Rancho area, authorities said Sunday.

Several fire crews from Sandoval County were called out around 2:30 a.m..

Rio Rancho police and Sandoval County Sheriffs officials also went to the scene.

Authorities said one person was found dead as firefighters tried to stop the flames from spreading.

They said a second person was found dead at the scene shortly afterward.

The names, ages and genders of the two dead persons werent immediately known.

Lt. John Castaneda, a spokesman for the sheriffs office, said the home was almost completely destroyed. He said the home was in an isolated area near Northern Boulevard and Hidalgo Road NW and no other structures were damaged.

Authorities said the cause of the fire was under investigation and its not yet known how the two people died.

The New Mexico State Fire Marshals Office and Sandoval County Sheriffs Office are in charge of the fire investigation.
SANTA FE  A slimmed-down plan to earmark a hefty chunk of New Mexicos unspent federal relief funds is headed to the full Senate.

The Senate Finance Committee voted unanimously late Sunday to endorse a proposal to spend $478.5 million that New Mexico received under the federal American Rescue Plan Act.

The vote came after the committee approved an amendment eliminating $26 million for broadband expansion efforts statewide, though the House-approved plan still includes roughly $123 million for broadband.

Sen. George Munoz, D-Gallup, the panels chairman, said in an interview after the vote that state broadband officials had indicated they could not put all the initially proposed money to use.

In addition to the $123 million included in the spending package under consideration at the Roundhouse, lawmakers also appropriated about $133 million in state funds for broadband expansion during this years 60-day legislative session.

And New Mexico stands to receive even more funding under an infrastructure bill recently passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden.

While the ongoing special session at the state Capitol has focused largely on the once-per-decade task of redistricting, crafting a plan to spend some of the states unspent federal relief dollars has also emerged as an urgent priority.

The state currently has roughly $1.1 billion in unspent federal relief funds, which were the subject of a legal dispute between a bipartisan group of legislators and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams office.

The Supreme Court ultimately sided with the lawmakers in the case, ruling Lujan Grisham could not spend the money without legislative approval. That prompted the Democratic governor to add spending of the funds to the special sessions agenda.

The plan approved Sunday would leave spending decisions for about $724 million of the federal relief dollars until a 30-day regular session that starts in January.

Thats because about $133 million of the money included in the legislative plan comes from a separate federal fund that is intended specifically for capital projects.

Meanwhile, the Senate Finance Committee left untouched in the spending package earmarked funding for road repairs, State Parks improvements and construction of a new acute care hospital, likely in Valencia County.

The spending plan, House Bill 2, could be voted on by the full Senate by as soon as Monday. If approved, it would have to return to the House for consideration since it was amended in the Senate.

Once the House and Senate sign off on the same version of the plan, it would go to Lujan Grishams desk for final approval. The governor could then sign the bill in its entirety, veto it or use her line-item veto authority to ax specific spending provisions.
YUMA, Ariz.  Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls says an emergency situation in the southwestern Arizona border city has eased with federal officials moving in additional personnel in response to thousands of migrants.

As it sits today, people are not waiting along the border wall for very long, Nicholls said Friday, the Yuma Sun reported. It seems that the immediate issue has been resolved. Im still concerned for the long term.

Nicholls on Thursday declared a state of emergency and he said Friday he had spoken with federal officials and with the aides to Gov. Doug Ducey and to both of Arizonas U.S. senators.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is recommitting 110 agents to the Yuma area from throughout the country to help with whats going on here, Nicholls said.

Nicholls emergency declaration cited reports of over 6,000 migrants crossing from Mexico into the United States traveling through the Yuma area. The asylum-seekers were without blankets, food or water and had to wait extended periods because there werent enough Border Patrol agents to quickly process border-crossers for release to organizations contracted to provide temporary services, Nicholls said.

Ducey on Tuesday demanded that President Joe Bidens administration do more to secure the border. He faulted the Biden administration for incrementally reinstating former President Donald Trumps policy requiring asylum-seekers to stay in Mexico as they await immigration hearings.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki last week described the policy as deeply flawed but said the administration was working to implement it under court order. The administration plans to reinstate the policy beginning Monday in El Paso, Texas.

Ducey said the piecemeal implementation led migrants to rush to other parts of the border and cross into the U.S. before the policy is rolled out more widely.
Not much was left of Anahi Orozcos 6-foot-4 brother by the time they found him last December, nearly three years to the day after she last saw him on Christmas morning 2017.

A hunter on horseback spotted the skull, barely discernible from a patch of snow under a large pinon tree in a remote area of the Zuni Mountains that the locals call Lion Kill Canyon.

Investigators from the Cibola County Sheriffs Department and the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator spent two days collecting bits of bone and cloth scattered from what appeared to be a shallow grave. Dental records confirmed his identity, and investigators had also found scraps of his jeans, size 36-34, and his distinctive leather belt tooled with the name OROZCO across the center back.

Orozco knew it was Ever, her only sibling, before authorities could make the notification Dec. 16.

I knew something was really wrong, she said from her home near Greeley, Colorado. And I had the feeling that he was no longer alive.

What she doesnt know is who killed her 28-year-old brother, how he died, why he died and when  or if  detectives from the five jurisdictions who have overseen her brothers case will ever give her those answers.

But someone knows.

Its been a lonely, agonizing and irritating effort to find the answers, often because of the tangle of jurisdictions and the seeming indifference and foot-dragging by some of the agencies shes encountered.

Still shes persisted.

We wouldnt know what we know without Anahis love and perseverance, said Natasha Adler, a victim advocate and case analyst with the Denver-based Families of Homicide Victims and Missing Persons who has been pretty persistent herself since joining in Orozcos search for answers in 2019. Weve been this close to a breakthrough for a year and a half, and its frustrating to know what we know and nothing happens.

So maybe, the women hope, telling Evers story will unearth more clues and bring more pressure to move the case along.

But Cibola County Undersheriff Michael Munk said that for now there is nothing to go on to further an investigation.

Its not like we dont want to do more, Munk said. We have no crime scene, no method of trauma, no there there.

For as much as there is unknown about this case, there is much known. And most of what is known points to some of the people Ever Martin Orozco befriended.

He was pretty free-spirited, outdoorsy, his sister said. Everyone was his friend. He trusted everyone.

Brother and sister were close. Orozco said Ever, a mechanic and father of two, called or texted her every day and lived with her in Greeley for about three years after he separated from his wife.

In the summer of 2017, he moved to New Mexico, telling her he was remodeling a cabin somewhere near a lake and opening a restaurant or food truck in the Grants area with someone he had met.

He returned to Greeley to spend the holidays in 2017, bringing his new girlfriend with him. That Christmas morning, he and the girlfriend headed back to New Mexico with the business partner. He and his girlfriend were supposed to come back in two weeks after they retrieved her things in Grants, Orozco said.

On Dec. 26, he called Orozco from a motel in Palisade, about 283 miles southwest of Greeley and about 360 miles north of Grants. He sounded good, she said.

He made it to Grants the next day, but Orozco said she became concerned when he didnt call.

She called his girlfriend, who told her that on Dec. 28 he had dropped her off at her home in Grants and didnt return  and she was pregnant with his child.

Detectives later told Orozco that the girlfriend had never been pregnant, she said.

The girlfriend later disconnected her phone and blocked Orozco on social media, she said.

In January 2018, Evers car was found abandoned in the parking lot of a mall in Aurora, Colorado, more than an hours drive south of Greeley. The car, a 2008 Dodge Charger, was filled with clothes, paraphernalia and his girlfriends purse.

Orozco said she tried reporting her brothers disappearance and the bizarre re-appearance of his car to Greeley police but was told that her brother was an adult and perhaps didnt want to be found.

Aurora police took no report of the vehicle or Ever, either, Munk said.

Orozco tried again to report her brother as missing to the Weld County Sheriffs Department, but it wasnt until March that he was officially entered into the national missing persons database.

Orozco called morgues in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. She made fliers, created an email where people could send information, even consulted a psychic.

I would contact the devil himself if I needed to, she said.

With Adlers help, the women posted fliers in Palisade and contacted more than 100 businesses in Grants and nearby Milan asking if they would post the fliers.

Only three responded, Adler said. One I know definitely put up the flier.

Adler reached out to other law enforcement agencies, including police departments in Grants and Milan and the Cibola County Sheriffs Department. A detective in Grants helped them delve into information that suggested that Ever should not have trusted some of the people he had befriended.

That, though, wasnt enough to build a case.

Evers remains yielded few clues. The OMI deemed both the cause and manner of his death as undetermined.

The examination is severely limited by the skeletonization of the remains, the autopsy report states.

Orozco said the Grants detective reached out to the Cibola County sheriffs investigators but that they appeared to be uninterested in collaborating on the case.

But Undersheriff Munk said neither Grants nor Milan police departments provided any reports on the case.

For now, he said, the case has been cleared as a missing person found, albeit deceased.

We are continuously trying to follow up on any leads that come in, he said. But some of the people involved are not cooperative with law enforcement. At this point, we dont have anything that would take us in a direction that might lead to giving the family closure.

Its not only what you know, but what you can prove, he said. And right now theres no proof of whatever happened to Ever Martin Orozco.

In February this year, Evers remains were finally released to Orozco and her family. A rosary and funeral were held Feb. 19 and 20, his remains interred in a cemetery in Greeley. He is home again, but not the way she had hoped.

Its hard still to accept that hes gone, she said. I just kept looking even when nobody else was. I guess I still am.

UpFront is a front-page news and opinion column. Reach Joline at 730-2793, jkrueger@abqjournal.com.




Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

Editors note:

Today, the Journal concludes a two-day series on fentanyl with a look at fatal overdoses and how the drug is affecting hospitals, treatment centers and those who become addicted to it.

He had been sober for years, a beacon in the recovery community who inspired dozens of people to get clean.

When the pandemic hit, the Narcotics Anonymous meetings that served as a sanctuary for him and so many others were shut down or went virtual.

Then, as those in recovery sometimes do, he faltered and started using again.

The man had told colleagues in the harm reduction community he was going to straighten up and wanted to get back to work.

But the 44-year-old never got the chance. He was found in a West Side parking lot in August, dead from an unintentional overdose after someone sold him a bag of heroin laced with fentanyl.

It was another notch in a disturbing trend.

Last year, the New Mexico Department of Health recorded 304 fentanyl overdose deaths between January and November, a 135% increase over 2019. From 2018 to 2019 officials had tallied a 93% jump, from 67 to 129, in fentanyl overdose deaths as 74% of overdose deaths in the state involved opioids.

The steep rise saw fentanyl-related overdose deaths catch up to meth overdoses, the largest contributor, for the first time. Full 2020 and 2021 data is not yet available.

But Dr. Robert Kelly, substance abuse epidemiology section manager at the state Health Department, said fentanyl overdoses have continued that pace into the summer of 2021.

Were seeing deaths in people because they dont know theres fentanyl in there, he said. Oftentimes, other drugs are found alongside fentanyl in overdose patients, mostly cocaine and benzodiazepines like Xanax.

As fentanyl overdose deaths spiked there was a slight drop of 2% in those involving heroin. Kelly said some people turn to fentanyl because it does the same thing as heroin but more and faster. Others dont know what theyre getting.

There are two groups of folks. And some of the folks who know how to use fentanyl, they go out and thats their drug of choice.  Its the folks who dont know that theyre getting fentanyl thats the problem, Kelly said.

In 2019, New Mexico had the 12th highest drug overdose death rate in the nation, with unintentional overdoses accounting for 85% of deaths.

Between 2015 and 2019, Bernalillo County had the highest number of unintentional drug overdose deaths and opioid-related overdose emergency room visits in the state. Rio Arriba County had by far the highest rate of overdose deaths, nearly double that of second place San Miguel County.

In that time, use of the overdose reversal drug Narcan went up more than 1,000% in the state  from 8,158 to 94,743 doses. Its recorded success, however, rose only 432%  from 779 to 4,144.. Those who hand out Narcan to opioid users and often revive people themselves say the reversal drug doesnt work as well, and sometimes not at all, for a fentanyl overdose.

Here to stay

Dr. Brandon Warrick, an associate professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of New Mexico Hospital, put it bluntly: Fentanyl is here, and fentanyl is here to stay.

He said overdoses from the drug come into UNMH on a daily basis and they have seen the numbers ramping up very fast since 2019.

I have never seen such a rapid increase or shift in an illicit drug source  or come anywhere near what were seeing with fentanyl, said Warrick, whose work has centered around drug abuse for more than a decade.

He said a recent troubling trend at UNMH is fentanyl overdoses in children.

In the past year and a half, the hospital has treated 10 children for fentanyl overdoses. Before 2020, the hospital had treated only two children.

None of the children died, but one child suffered significant brain damage from the drug. Warrick said the children, some as young as 1 and 2 years old, often take pills that were left sitting out.

In other cases, kids have become hooked.

Down south, in Carlsbad, such an incident led to charges against a mother and a grandmother.

Alexis Murray and Kelli Smith, 35 and 55, were charged with child abuse in the Sept. 28 death of Murrays son, 12-year-old Brent Sullivan.

Police found the boy unconscious from a fentanyl overdose in his grandmothers backyard. Smith told officers she tried to give Narcan to Brent but it didnt work.

Murray told police she and Smith dealt fentanyl regularly and Brent had been stealing the pills from her for months. Murray said her son had overdosed three times prior and each time they had used Narcan to revive him.

The last time proved fatal.

Warrick, who bounces between the emergency department, poison center and addiction clinic, said he has seen a noticeable decrease in those using heroin, with fentanyl essentially replacing that.

He said those who survive an overdose are not as receptive to treatment or rehab as those who develop complications, like an infection or disease, from their drug use.

The last thing that the person remembers is they were in their sweet spot, they were feeling good, Warrick said. The whole period of them being unconscious  near death  is experienced by everybody but the person who overdosed.

In an effort to encourage recovery, he said they often turn the lights up bright and announce welcome back from the dead when they revive someone from an overdose.

When you get bright lights and a whole bunch of strangers saying, welcome back from the dead, I mean, thats just like a scary experience, Warrick said.

Despite that, many fentanyl users are resistant to change. He said more so than the patients, the families hurt the most.

Whats more difficult than seeing somebody overdose is seeing  how their continued use really affects their personal lives  how much their children and families just suffer, Warrick said.

A dime a dozen

Before his death from an overdose at 18, Jennifer Burkes son used to tell her that heroin would call to him. Like a sirens song.

I think fentanyl is like that, times 10. It draws them back in. Its so potent and once it grabs ahold of these kids, its so hard for them to get back on their feet, she said.

Burke, who runs Serenity Mesa, a 14-bed rehab center on the West Side, said in the past year fentanyl has turned everything upside down. Clients, ranging from 14 to 21 years old, went from an even split of heroin and meth to 80% fentanyl users.

When fentanyl hit the market here in New Mexico, it took over really quickly, and I think people that had an addiction to opiates, that became their drug of choice, she said.

Burke said the influx was so great they have had a waitlist, often up to 20 people, stretching back a year. The facility has had more referrals in the past 18 months than it has ever had since it opened in 2015.

We havent been able to keep up, Burke said. Its hard because I dont want to turn anybody away, especially somebody whos young, whos struggling.

She said the whole point of their program is to catch them when theyre young before they end up in prison or worse. Burke said its much easier to help a young person turn their life around than a 40-year-old whos been using for decades.

Because of the drugs prevalence and profits, Burke believes the only solution is prevention.

Theres too many drug dealers out there making tons and tons of money, she said.  If nobodys going to buy the product, then theyre not going to make any money and theres no product to sell  we have to get people to stop using.

She said fentanyl users who are able to get into the 14-bed facility have a much harder time than those hooked on meth or heroin. The withdrawals are much more painful and they often see psychosis and mental health issues with the drug.

Burke said they sometimes take clients back two or three times after a relapse as the cravings and triggers can last for months. And the users are getting younger and younger.

I mean, 14- and 15-year-olds being addicted to fentanyl is not uncommon, Burke said.  Its really sad because its altering their brain.

For those who are still out there, Burke said its a game of Russian roulette.

These are drugs being made by people that really dont care if you live or die, they could care less, youre a dime a dozen to them, she said.  You dont know what youre getting when you buy  the next dose that you get could be fatal and thats what scares me the most.

Hooked as a teen

They were all baby-blue and stamped the same, but Hezekiah Beltran began to notice that each pill was different.

Not every pill had the same amount of whatever inside of it, he said.

One day, a day like any other, he said he smoked a fentanyl pill and suddenly got dizzy. The last thing he thought is he was overdosing.

Beltran said he woke up after the people around him, strangers who became friends over a shared vice, revived him with Narcan.

It was just another day for the 17-year-old.

I never thought that I would be anything more than a drug addict  thats what I felt my life was going to be, he said.

Beltran, who has been recovering from a yearslong fentanyl addiction at Serenity Mesa, said his foray into the world of drug use came early.

Being brought up in the lifestyle  crime, violence and stuff like that  I feel like I always knew too much at a young age, he said.

Beltran, of Raton, started smoking marijuana at 9 and by 15 had graduated to meth, using with the same people who once did drugs with his older relatives. After getting arrested for meth distribution and firearm possession, the teen skipped town.

He said he landed in a neighborhood in Rio Rancho where everyone was hooked on fentanyl. The next door neighbor sold it, $10 a pill before noon, $20 after midnight.

I just cut everybody off and at that point, it was a whole new group of people that I associated myself with. They were all fentanyl addicts, Beltran said.

It wasnt long before he was smoking five or six pills a day. He said the drug made heroin look like aspirin, it was that much stronger. And the sickness that came after was hell to pay: He couldnt move, was in pain all over and couldnt stop throwing up.

Those he hung around with were in the same boat, good people who just got caught up in the life. They ranged from their teens and up, committing petty crimes to support their habit.

Overdoses were common. One man bragged about having survived 27 of them.

Im very grateful that I got out of that mess. I could have easily died with all the things I was doing, he said. I feel lucky  because a lot of people dont get out.

Beltran thought back to a woman, in her 20s, who had stayed with him. He said they smoked fentanyl together and she overdosed. The Narcan, at least two doses, didnt work.

She didnt come back  they just kept on trying and trying, he said.  There was no color in her eyes. You know how my eyes are brown? There was nothing there. Ill never forget that look in her eyes.

There is hope

Beltran said a police call to the house he was living at in April saved his life.

He said he spent a month and a half withdrawing in quarantine at the Metropolitan Detention Center. From there, he went to a treatment center in Santa Teresa before landing at Serenity Mesa.

Maybe getting help is the only way to get through, but there is hope. There is a better future, he said.

Eight months later, Beltran said he has started feeling again. Happiness, sadness, worry, hope. At first, sobriety was scary and overwhelming. There are still triggers  a certain smell, crumpled tin foil  but he moves past them. Ever forward.

Beltran, set to be released in late December, said he plans to move to Tennessee to live with family, get his GED and pick up a trade. For the first time in a long time, he is hopeful.

People are scared to get off of dope or get off fentanyl because theyre scared of the sickness, because theyve been minimizing feelings  for so long, Beltran said. It is hard, but I would like other people to know that it doesnt last forever, the sickness doesnt last forever, and there is hope.
WORCESTER, Mass.  The church volunteers assembled furniture and hung decorations in the newly renovated apartment building. They laid out nearly every necessity, down to the bath towels, bed linens, cooking supplies and televisions.

Over Thanksgiving weekend, the first residents of the home in Worcester, Massachusetts moved in: three gay men seeking asylum in the U.S.

I dont even have the words, said Alain Spyke, 26, who fled Jamaica after being continually harassed and threatened by a local gang for being gay. To come into this country and have a safe space to escape all the hardships and trauma? Not everyone has that opportunity.

A Massachusetts church group thats uniquely focused on support for immigrants fleeing their countries due to their sexual orientation has opened a new, permanent home for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender asylum seekers.

The LGBT Asylum Task Force, a ministry of Hadwen Park Congregational Church in Worcester, raised more than $500,000 to purchase and renovate a dilapidated, three-story former group home on the citys well-heeled west side.

Its the ministrys biggest investment amid long-running efforts to help LGBT immigrants, said Al Green, the task forces director.

The group typically houses asylum seekers in rented apartments throughout New Englands second-largest city, but as the effort has grown over the years, its become challenging to coordinate services and foster community among the new immigrants, he said.

The task force covers rent and provides a $500 monthly stipend for immigrants, at least until they can receive work authorization, a process that can take around two years, Green said. The group also connects asylum seekers with immigration lawyers, sets them up with bank accounts and health insurance, and helps prepare them for entering the workforce.

We found that giving folks stability has helped them better prepare for their asylum cases, said Green, who is also from Jamaica and participated in the program. They know theyre in a safe place until they can get on their feet.

The church effort is one of the few programs providing wide-ranging and long-term help to LGBT asylum seekers once theyre in the U.S., says Pastor Judith Hanlon of Hadwen Park Congregational Church, who co-founded the ministry.

Groups like the Rainbow Railroad in Toronto, Canada, help LGBT individuals escape persecution in their home countries. Temporary shelters like Casa de Luz in Tijuana, Mexico, provide safe havens for gay and transgender migrants on the perilous border journey. And groups like the LGBT Asylum Project in San Francisco focus on providing legal help while others like the Trans Queer Pueblo in Phoenix, Arizona, focus on community building and advocacy.

The church ministry started in 2008, when the United Church of Christ congregation rallied to support a single gay immigrant from Jamaica.

As the churchs reputation spread, migrants from Jamaica and the dozens of other countries where homosexuality is explicitly outlawed began arriving, oftentimes unannounced, Hanlon said. The task force is currently assisting 21 LGBT immigrants but has helped more than 400 over the years, with all so far winning asylum, she added.

Among the recent arrivals is Orville Howden, a 39-year-old gay man who says he fled Jamaica last October after his roommate was killed for being gay. He moved into the new house along with Spyke recently.

A longtime restaurant server, hes hoping to get a job in interior design when he gets his work authorization.

In another apartment rented by the church, a 25-year-old Muslim woman from Uganda said her parents forced her to marry a man 30 years her senior after discovering she had a long-term girlfriend.

The woman, who asked only to be identified as Aisha, arrived last December after searching online for ways to get out of her forced marriage.

She says she appreciates the group doesnt impose Christianity or require her to attend church services. Theyre really accepting me as I am, and thats been heartwarming, she said.

The new homes opening comes as immigrant and gay rights activists push President Joe Bidens administration to make good on his campaign promise to undo harmful policies enacted under former President Donald Trump.

The Biden administration has rescinded a rule that made it harder for migrants, including LGBT persons, to qualify for asylum because of domestic abuse or gang violence, said Ari Shaw, a director at the Williams Institute, a research center at the UCLA School of Law focused on sexual orientation and gender identities.

But other harmful Trump-era policies also remain in effect, such as the use of Title 42 of the U.S. Code to justify denying asylum claims based on coronavirus concerns, Shaw said.

Following a court order, the Biden administration also recently announced plans to reinstate Trumps Migrant Protection Protocols, which forced many asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while their asylum claims were being processed.

The Department of Homeland Securitys guidance includes a new exemption for gay and transgender individuals, although theres concern among advocates about how that will be implemented in practice.

A DHS spokesperson said exceptions for LGBT persons and other particularly vulnerable individuals will be considered case-by-case. The agency also noted that Biden issued an executive order in February committing to improving the asylum process and combatting the sexual and gender-based violence and other root causes of migration.

DHS doesnt track LGBT asylum claims, but a study earlier this year from the Williams Institute estimated LGBT individuals filed at least 11,400 applications from 2012 to 2017, with more than half of those coming from Central America.

Overall, approval rates for all asylum applications haven risen since Biden took office in January, the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University has found.

Back at the Worcester home, Spyke says hes still wrapping his head around the freedoms America affords.

In Jamaica, his family ostracized him after finding out he was gay and he faced harassment, even in popular tourist destinations like Montego Bay.

Now living in the U.S. for nearly two years, Spyke says he finally felt comfortable enough to kiss another man in public for the first time just this April.

It felt really cool, he said. Id never dare to do that in Jamaica.
TUCSON, Ariz.  When the USS Arizona exploded and sank during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 80 years ago, brothers died with brothers, childhood friends with childhood friends, a father with his son.

Some of the men were seasoned sailors. Many were teenagers, including several who lied about their age at enlistment because they were too young to serve.

Now profiles of all 1,177 sailors and Marines have been compiled for the first time by a Tucson woman who spent more than five years researching their stories.

Former Arizona Daily Star Editor Bobbie Jo Buel scoured newspaper archives and public records, collected snapshots and personal letters and tracked down relatives of the men.

Her work began in May 2016 with Joseph John Borovich, a 22-year-old seaman first class from Central California who was rejected by the Navy because of blurred vision but kept coming back to the recruiting depot until they took him in July 1940.

Buel finished the last profile three months ago, stitched together with Navy records and census reports.

Buel was in talks earlier this year to make all of the stories available through an easily searchable smartphone app so visitors to the USS Arizona Mall Memorial could stand in the outline of the ship and read about the men whose names are engraved on bronze medallions just east of Old Main on the University of Arizona campus.

That agreement recently fell through so she has been reposting the stories on social media  one every 30 minutes  while she looks for another permanent home for them.

By Dec. 14, all 1,177 profiles should be available on the USS Arizona Mall Memorials Facebook page.

These guys deserve to have their stories told, Buel said.

Even before the attack, a surprising number of Arizona crewmen were already bonded by blood or history.

Of the 1,514 men assigned to the ship, Buel estimates close to 200 had relatives or friends from back home on board with them.

According to the National Park Service, caretaker of the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Machinist Mate First Class Thomas Augusta Free, 50, and his son, Seaman Second Class William Thomas Free, 17, both died on the ship, as did 23 sets of brothers.

Buel said the list of casualties also includes cousins, uncles, nephews and best friends, many of whom enlisted, served and then died together.

A story that sticks with her more than most involves four teenagers who enlisted together at a Navy recruiting office in Detroit on a snowy day in November 1940. One of the boys, Chester John Miller, was just 15 at the time, but he was allowed to sign up anyway.

Miller, Clarence W. Lipke, Charles W. McClelland and Byrl Eugene King trained together at Great Lakes Naval Station 30 miles north of Chicago, and all four ended up on ships anchored at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

Miller and Lipke, both firemen second class, died on the Arizona. King, on the battleship Nevada, and McClelland, on the light cruiser Helena, survived the attack, though McClelland was hurled in the air by a torpedo blast and broke his leg.

McClelland was still aboard the Helena when it was sunk in the South Pacific in July 1943. His life raft carried him to an island held by the Japanese, where the locals hid him and his crewmates for a week until they were picked up by Navy destroyers.

Buel added details about the men to spreadsheets as she went, so she could better understand not just the individuals but the collective story they told as a crew.

She said nearly a quarter of the men lost one or both parents before the age of 18. At least 6% saw their parents divorced  a figure almost certainly underreported but still three times the national rate in 1940.

Buel also tracked the size of the communities the crew members came from. She said as many as half of them grew up on farms or in towns with populations of less than 1,514.

As Buel researched the story of Vincent Tommy Thomas and Lloyd Bryant, two lifelong best friends who enlisted together from rural Illinois, Buel discovered among the Arizonas dead two more young men, Edward Smith and Joe McGlasson, from the same small county.

Five thousand people (in all of Greene County, Illinois), and you just lost four guys. And that was day one of the war, Buel said.

Seaman Second Class James Randolf Van Horn was the only Tucsonan lost on the battleship that day.

The 17-year-old had never seen the ocean before, but he dropped out of Tucson High School to join the Navy. He requested the Arizona because it represented his home state.

In a 1958 interview, Van Horns mother Bonnie Cope said her son decided to enlist after attending a recruiting talk at Tucson High by Rear Admiral Isaac Kidd in the spring of 1941.

Kidd later died on the Arizona along with the Tucson teenager he inspired to join him there.

The research project began as a companion piece for the USS Arizona Mall Memorial which Buels husband, David Carter, designed at the UA.

At the time, Buel figured someone had already compiled the mens stories. She just needed to find whoever did the work and get permission to share it.

She planned to spend the first two weeks of her retirement from the Star pulling the information together so it would be ready to go when the memorial was dedicated a few days before the 75th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack.

Then she discovered that there was no existing collection. At least some of the sailors and Marines had never been profiled before. Their names were etched in marble at the USS Arizona Memorial in Hawaii, but their histories had gone untold.

Buel would have to do it herself.

The search took her and her husband to major cities and tiny towns to scan reels of microfilm or comb through bound copies of old newspapers in search of obituaries. She couldnt just page through the December 1941 editions, either. Some families werent notified that their loved ones were dead until months later.
MINNEAPOLIS  Prosecutors in the manslaughter trial of a Minnesota police officer charged in the shooting death of Daunte Wright walked jurors through the differences between her handgun and her Taser on Monday, seeking to raise questions about how an experienced officer could confuse the two.

Wright, 20, was killed on April 11 after being pulled over in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center for having expired license plate tags and an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror. Kim Potter, 49, is charged with manslaughter.

Potter, a 26-year police veteran who resigned two days later, has said she meant to use her Taser to stop Wright after he pulled away and got back in his car as officers tried to arrest him on a warrant for a weapons charge. Potter is white and Wright was Black. His death, which came while Derek Chauvin was on trial in nearby Minneapolis in George Floyds death, set off several nights of angry protests in Brooklyn Center.

The defense has called the shooting a horrific mistake, but has also asserted that Potter would have been within her rights to use deadly force on Wright because he might have dragged another officer, then-Sgt. Mychal Johnson, with his car.

Sam McGinnis, a senior special agent with the states Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, highlighted how Potters duty belt had holsters that require an officer to take deliberate actions to release the weapons. The gun holster has a snap, while the Taser holster has a lever. The handgun, which is black, is also twice as heavy as the yellow Taser, McGinnis said.

The Taser and gun have different triggers, grips and safety mechanisms, McGinnis testified. The Taser also has a laser and LED lights that display before it is fired, which he demonstrated for the jury, while the handgun does not, he said.

McGinnis also testified that Potter didnt perform a function test on her Taser at the start of her shift. Although the Brooklyn Center Police Departments policy is that officers are supposed to do that, McGinnis acknowledged under cross-examination that he didnt check to see how widely the departments officers complied.

Prosecutors asked to have the jurors handle a Taser, but Judge Regina Chu didnt allow it after Potters attorneys objected. Chu said jurors can do so during deliberations if they want.

Earlier Monday, Dr. Lorren Jackson, an assistant Hennepin County medical examiner, testified that Potters bullet caused injuries to Wrights heart and lungs and those caused his death. He said one can survive such injuries for only seconds to minutes.

After Wright was shot, his car drove away and collided seconds later with an oncoming car. Any injuries from the crash were insignificant in terms of what caused Wrights death, Jackson said.

Some officers testified last week that they werent able to immediately approach Wrights car after it crashed because they werent sure it was safe to do so. Prosecutors criticized Potter for not immediately radioing in what happened at the traffic stop.

Jackson testified that Wright had some cannabinoids, or THC and its metabolites, in his blood from smoking marijuana, but that they didnt factor in his cause of death. He said the level of THC metabolites in Wrights blood was on the high end of numbers he sees, but was still within a normal range for people who use marijuana.

Jurors were shown graphic images of Wrights body at the scene, as the assistant medical examiner found the body on the ground, with some medical equipment still attached from lifesaving efforts, and some dried blood from the gunshot wound.

They also saw autopsy photos, which Chu limited after Potters attorneys objected earlier in the trial. Wrights mother, who has been present for much of the testimony, was not in court as the autopsy photos were shown.

The state is expected to rest its case midweek.

Separately, prosecutors filed two motions Monday, including one designed to limit the opinion of witnesses who are not testifying as experts. That came after Johnson last week testified that Potters actions were authorized under state law. Johnson was not testifying as an expert on the police use of force.

Prosecutors also asked Chu for permission to question police officers about union membership. They wrote that Potter had roles in the union, including as president, that gave her an elevated level of respect among her coworkers. They want to ask officers about it so jurors can evaluate any potential bias toward Potter.

The case is being heard by a mostly white jury.

State sentencing guidelines call for just over seven years in prison upon conviction of first-degree manslaughter and four years for second-degree, though prosecutors have said they plan to push for longer sentences.

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Associated Press writers Mohamed Ibrahim in Minneapolis and Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed to this report.

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Find the APs full coverage of the Daunte Wright case: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-daunte-wright
WASHINGTON  The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection voted Monday to recommend contempt charges against former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows as lawmakers revealed a series of frantic texts he received as the attack was underway.

The texts, provided by Meadows before he ceased cooperating with the committee, revealed that members of Congress, Fox News anchors and even President Donald Trumps own son were urging Meadows to push Trump to act quickly to stop the siege by his supporters.

We need an Oval address, Donald Trump Jr. texted Meadows as his fathers supporters were breaking into the Capitol, sending lawmakers running for their lives and interrupting the certification of President Joe Bidens victory. He has to lead now. It has gone too far and gotten out of hand.

Trump Jr. added, Hes got to condemn this s ASAP.

Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the panels vice chairwoman, detailed the texts obtained by the committee as the panel voted to recommend the contempt charges against Meadows, who did not show up for a deposition last week after his lawyer said he would stop cooperating.

The panel voted 9-0 to recommend the contempt charges. The House is expected to vote Tuesday to refer the charges to the Justice Department, which will decide whether to prosecute the former Republican congressman.

Cheney said the texts show Trumps supreme dereliction as he refused to strongly condemn the violence of his supporters, and also raise questions about whether he sought to obstruct the congressional certification through inaction.

These texts leave no doubt, Cheney said. The White House knew exactly what was happening at the Capitol.

The vote comes as the panel has already interviewed more than 300 witnesses, and subpoenaed more than 40 people, as it seeks to create the most comprehensive record yet of the lead-up to the insurrection and of the violent siege itself. The committees leaders have vowed to punish anyone who doesnt comply, and the Justice Department has already indicted longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon after he defied his subpoena this fall.

Whatever legacy he thought he left in the House, this is his legacy now, committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said of Meadows  a former Republican congressman from North Carolina  ahead of the vote. His former colleagues singling him out for criminal prosecution because he wouldnt answer questions about what he knows about a brutal attack on our democracy. Thats his legacy.

In a Monday letter to Thompson, Meadows attorney George Terwilliger said the contempt vote would be unjust because Meadows was one of Trumps top aides and all presidents should be afforded executive privilege to shield their private conversations. Meadows himself sued the panel, asking a court to invalidate two subpoenas that he says are overly broad and unduly burdensome.

Terwilliger noted that the contempt statute has been used infrequently over time and argued that a contempt referral of a senior presidential aide would do great damage to the institution of the Presidency.

The committee has gradually teased a handful of the emails and texts Meadows had provided to the committee before he ended his cooperation  including 6,600 pages of records taken from personal email accounts and about 2,000 text messages. The panel has not released any of the communications in full.

On Monday, Cheney read the texts from Trump Jr. and a series of Fox News hosts as those in Trumps inner circle attempted to reach the president through his chief of staff, imploring him to take action against the violence that was taking place outside and inside the Capitol.

Hey Mark, the president needs to tell people in the Capitol to go home  this is hurting all of us  he is destroying his legacy, Fox News host Laura Ingraham texted Meadows, according to the committee.

Please get him on tv. Destroying everything you have accomplished, Brian Kilmeade wrote.

In response to one text from Trump Jr., Meadows texted: Im pushing it hard. I agree.

Cheney also detailed texts that she said were from members of Congress and others in the Capitol.

Hey, Mark, protestors are literally storming the Capitol, read one text. Breaking windows on doors. Rushing in. Is Trump going to say something?

Another appeared to come from a member in the House chamber. Theres an armed standoff at the House Chamber door, the text read, according to the panel.

If Meadows had appeared for his deposition, lawmakers had planned to ask him about Trumps efforts to overturn the election in the weeks before the insurrection, including his outreach to states and his communications with members of Congress.

Trumps former top White House aide is uniquely situated to provide key information, having straddled an official role in the White House and unofficial role related to Mr. Trumps reelection campaign, the panel said in a 51-page report released Sunday evening.

As part of its list of questions for Meadows, the panel says it wanted to know more about whether Trump was engaged in discussions regarding the response of the National Guard, which was delayed for hours as the violence escalated and the rioters beat police guarding the Capitol building.

The documents provided by Meadows include an email he sent to an unidentified person saying that the Guard would be present to protect pro Trump people, the panel said, and that more would be available on standby. The committee did not release any additional details about the email.

In a transcript of the deposition Meadows skipped, committee staff said they would have interviewed Meadows about emails to leadership at the Department of Justice on December 29th and 30th, 2020, and January 1st, 2021, encouraging investigations of suspected voter fraud, even though election officials and courts across the country had rejected those claims.

In a text exchange with an unidentified senator, the committee said, Meadows said Trump believed Vice President Mike Pence had power to reject electors in his role presiding over the Jan. 6 certification.

Pence did not have that power under the law, as the vice presidents function is largely ceremonial.

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Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he wants to empower private citizens to enforce a ban on the manufacture and sale of assault weapons in the state.

Newsom's proposal is similar to a Texas law that outlaws abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday allowed Texas' abortion law to stay in effect while it is challenged in court.

Saturday, Newsom said he would use the same idea to enforce a ban on the manufacture and sale of assault weapons in California.

Republican state Sen. Brian Dahle dismissed Newsom's proposal as grandstanding for a possible run for president.

(Copyright 2021 The Associated Press)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A suspect was identified and arrested for a robbery that happened in October of last year, according to the Chico Police Department.

Officers said 23-year-old Dayvon Hankins of Sacramento was arrested Wednesday by the Sacramento Police Department.

On Oct. 28, 2020, officers responded to a report of a robbery with a firearm in the area of West 12th St. and Ivy St. around 1 a.m.

RELATED: Chico Police searching for armed suspects after early morning robbery

The victims told officers they did not know the two men that were demanding that one of the victims to hand over his wallet and phone.

Officers said the suspects were waving a firearm and threatened to shoot the victims.

The two suspects took off on foot.
CHICO, Calif. - Gov. Gavin Newsom pledges to ban assault weapons by allowing private citizens to seek injunctive relief against anyone who manufactures, distributes or sells assault weapons or ghost gun kits.

If youre really trying to make people safe, make it more difficult on criminals, dont make it more difficult on people who are law-abiding. They go out and purchase guns that are absolutely legitimate purchases," said the owner of Down Range, Steve Dyke.

Dyke tells Action News Now that he thinks its not a good decision for California to go through with this as the industry already has several regulations.

We obey by all the laws. We are one of the most regulated industries in the planet basically. We are regulated by the federal government, we are regulated by the state government, were regulated by the local county government and by the city government," said Dyke.

Gov. Newsoms pledge comes after the Supreme Court allowed the Texas abortion law to remain in effect on Friday that lets private citizens sue abortion clinics and anyone who assists with the procedure after a fetal heartbeat is detected. This law goes against the Supreme Court ruling of Roe v. Wade and the freedom to have an abortion.

I can see where he can see a door opening, and saying yeah thats how it works and Ill get the Supreme Court on my side to reverse a law that I dont think is working the way I want it to," said Kent Wuestefeld who lives in Chico.

Several people like Wuestfeld tell Action News Now they are more concerned with the meaning behind a law like this one passing through, if it does, showing that states can now just make laws against Supreme Court rulings and amendments.

Well, It does open up a slippery slope and Im sure that theyll try many things to slide down that slope, but I dont think theyll go. I just think its a waste of time myself," said Don Ferguson who lives in Chico.

As of now, nothing has yet been signed into law regarding this possible newly structured ban.

Gov. Newsom has directed his staff to work with the States legislature and Democratic Attorney General to pass a law enforcing this.
TEHAMA COUNTY, Calif. - A man who was on Post Release Community Supervision was arrested Monday after a firearm and ammunition were located, according to the Tehama County Probation Department.

Officials said K9 Riggs assisted the Red Bluff Police Department by searching the mans residence and finding the firearm and ammunition.

Officers searched the offender's residence after receiving information that he may have narcotics and a firearm.

He was booked into the Tehama County Jail on PRCS violations and new charges.
Get ready for heavy rain, heavy snow, lowering snow levels, the potential for thunderstorm activity, and strong south winds across northern California Monday. A substantial winter storm is off the coast of the Pacific Northwest and is tapping into an atmospheric river. That means this cold storm is pulling abundant moisture towards northern California today, with more expected through at least mid day Tuesday. Winter Storm Warnings are in effect in Trinity, Siskiyou, Shasta, Butte, Tehama, Plumas, Lassen and Modoc Counties. The Winter Storm Warning is down to 3000' in the Northern Mountains and set to expire at 10pm Monday night in Trinity and Siskiyou Counties. Shasta County mountain aresa have the Winter Storm Warning in effect through 4am Tuesday. The Winter Storm Warning is set to stay in effect through 10pm Tuesday in areas of the northern Sierra and southern Cascades. Snow levels will mostly dip into the 3500' to 4000' range today, but are expected to dip into the 1500' range in the Northern Mountains on Monday afternoon. A Wind Advisory is also in effect in the valley through 10pm Monday night. Sustained winds out of the south to 30mph are expected, with gusts up to 50mph in the valley, and 60mph in the foothills and mountains. Snow and wind will bring the biggest travel issues today, but locally heavy rainfall will also bring big travel impacts to the valley and foothills. Watch out for ponding water on roads, potential for flooding, debris flows, and rock slides. Temperatures are starting out in the 40's in the valley, 30's to 40's in the foothills, and 30's in most mountain areas Monday morning. High temperatures are only projected to top out in the low 50's in the valley, 30's to mid 40's in the foothills, and mid 30's to lower 40's in our mountain areas Monday afternoon. Snow levels will drop as we head into this evening, and could potentially end up down to around 3000' in the Sierra and foothills by early Tuesday. The gusty winds are also expected to subside late Monday night into early Tuesday morning.

Rain and snow will linger into your Tuesday forecast, with the biggest impacts persisting in the Sierra. Valley showers are expected to be much more limited on Thursday, but abundant snowfall will persist in the Sierra through the day. This storm system is expected to wrap up Tuesday night, but the next system will roll into northern California on Wednesday. We're expecting low elevation snow to return by early in the day on Wednesday, with the potential for snow down to the valley floor in Redding early Wednesday morning. Heavy rain, and low elevation snow can be expected through your Wednesday, with limited showers persisting into Thursday. Most of the showers are expected to diminish through the day on Thursday, with dry weather returning to your forecats on Friday. Low temperatures in the valley will rest in the upper 20's to mid 30's for most of this week, and our high temperatures will top out in the upper 40's to lower 50's through this weekend. Foothill areas will have low temperatures in the 30's to low 40's this week, and high temperatures in the 30's to mid 40's. Mountain areas will have low temperatures in the teens to 20's and high temperatures in the 30's for most of this week.

High pressure will build back into northern California on Friday and is expected to continue to be the bigger impact to your forecast through this weekend. That means that we'll dry out late Thursday into Friday, and are expected to stay dry to mostly dry through at least Sunday afternoon. Temperatures will stay cool during that time, and will not change much compared to what we'll have for the remainder of your work week. Longer range models are showing another wet system moving into northern California on Sunday, with more showers lasting through at least the start of next week. We'll get a much better idea on what to expect from that third system over the next 7 days as model confidence bulids later this week.
Grey Group today announced the appointment of Pablo Maldonado as the new Executive Creative Director (ECD) of Grey Dubai.



Working closely with Philippe Berthelot (MD Grey Dubai), Maldonado will be responsible for defining and driving the creative vision and strategy across Grey's offerings. He will lead the creative output for key client accounts and all creative projects for the agency.



Maldonado joins from Wunderman Thompson Dubai, where he spent the last few years repositioning the agency in MENA and was most recently the Executive Creative Director. He played a key role in scoring the first-ever Cannes Grand Prix in Innovation for Argentina with WT Buenos Aires office. The 2020/21 Grand Prix- winning project 'Degree Inclusive' featured the world's first deodorant designed for people with upper limb and visual disabilities.

Originally from Buenos Aires, Maldonado's 16-year advertising journey has seen him thrive at different agencies such as Publicis,Y&R, DDB, Mullen Lowe, and indie shops across multicultural markets including, Argentina, Mexico, and the USA. In this time, he has created buzzworthy campaigns for brands such as Unilever, Burger King, Bose, GSK, Philips, Got Milk? VW, Renault, Microsoft, and Heineken, and

scored an impressive 400 awards at major creativity and effectiveness festivals across diverse media.



Philippe Berthelot (MD Grey Dubai): 2022 will see the light of a new Grey in Dubai with superstar talents across all capabilities. Pablo's creative vision and expertise are much admired, and I know he will make a big impact in this part of the world just as he has been in other regions. -I look forward to working with him.



Pablo Maldonado: This is an exceptional opportunity for me to leverage my experience and create innovative work for Grey, in a region that is more eclectic than ever. There is great potential to do amazing work and introduce new formats - I can't wait to roll up my sleeves and get started.
With Apples iOS 14 restrictions and Googles deprecation of third-party cookies that marketers are set to lose targeting possibilities and third-party data sources that they have relied on for years. Santosh Ghosh, Specialist, Data, Tech & Innovation, highlights the big discussion on First Party Data and how the ownership of this data can be crucial for the advertising business in future.

READ ALSO: The good old days of traditional marketing are over: Girish Kalra, Tata AIA

The method we used to target users is changing, thanks to Apples iOS 14 restrictions and Googles deprecation of third-party cookies. Though Google declared in June of this year that it will delay the introduction of Chromes tracking cookie blocking until 2023, the step is not fully ruled out.

The specifics of whats changing may be found on the Internet, and the long-term impact is still unknown, but we do know that well lose targeting possibilities and third-party data sources that weve relied on for years.

While the changes will not affect every business in the same way, there are still strategies we can use to mitigate the negative consequences of the channels new policies, the first of which is to collect more first-party data. In this article, I will discuss just one crucial method to think about if you want to start collecting more of this type of data on your own. And most importantly, I will focus on how affiliate marketers, who were formerly thought to be at the bottom of the value chain, are now going to be the most powerful businesses, and how they may take advantage of regulations that are pushing us to a future without cookies.

In such a situation, there is a big discussion on First Party Data and how the ownership of this data can be crucial for the advertising business in future. This brings me to ask this: What is first-party data?

Lets review first, second, and third-party data before we go into the strategies and how affiliates can take the advantage in such situations.

First-party data: Data you collect on your audience based on their actions on your website and/or app is referred to as first-party data. While this data is most beneficial since there are few privacy concerns, it might be difficult to scale because it is generated entirely by the marketer or brands.

Second-party data: Second-party data is essentially first-party data from someone else. Because data comes from a single source, you may be certain in its accuracy and privacy, but you will have to pay or partner up for it.

Third-party data: Independent researchers and companies aggregate different first-party data sources across websites and applications to create third-party data, which may also be purchased. This data is available in abundance and is set to go away.

Clearly, in such a scenario the dependence will increase on first-party or maybe second-party data.

So how can marketers build their own first-party data stack and how can this be advantageous to affiliate marketers?

There is no doubt that marketers must create their first-party data stack, and the simplest method to do so is through lead generation initiatives. Marketers have relied on lead generation efforts since the dawn of the Internet, but largely to increase sales or achieve the campaigns end goal. But now is the time for marketers to reconsider and build their first-party data, which they can do by beefing up their lead generation efforts. You have a year to devote to this practice, which is an excellent amount of time. Although there are several methods for delivering lead generation campaigns, affiliate marketing is the most cost-effective way. Marketers, in my opinion, should develop a proper strategy and create campaigns only for collecting first-party data through lead-generation initiatives.

For the affiliates, it is going to be the bumper time ahead. I can think of two possible scenarios by which affiliate marketers can mint money in the run-up to a cookieless world.

Affiliates should come up with solutions for uniquely targeted campaigns to help marketers build first-party data through lead generation. This is simple since marketers will be trying to expand their data, so affiliates can design programmes and solutions that marketers can use. Affiliates should not mix such initiatives with their regular outcome-based campaigns, where there are multiple KPIs that are to be addressed and delivered. They should keep in mind that these are first-party data creation efforts, and as a result, they should be regarded or offered in a very different way. Though marketers will increase their efforts in collecting first-party data, affiliates must prepare and be aggressive in gathering their own audience data. They have the users, they have the inventory (after all, it is their business), and they can begin creating their own first-party data. They can become an authentic source for offering second-party data once they have their data pool in place. Remember that no matter how hard marketers try to obtain first-party data, they will always hunt for an authentic source of data, and here is where affiliates can play a big role.

We may anticipate changes in targeting and regulations across many of the advertising platforms we will use in the coming years. The way we advertise to users across multiple channels will be different, but paid media has always been about adapting to change. The sooner we accept the change and alter our strategy to comply, the better off your accounts will be, once the new policies are implemented. Though it is critical for marketers to adapt to change, sellers (in this case affiliates) must take this as an opportunity and adjust their selling approach by presenting a newer range of products that will help them cruise when the cookieless world will be a reality.
Modenik Lifestyle Pvt. Ltd. has announced the appointment of Veenesh Priyadarshi as its Chief Sales and Customer Development Officer. Modenik Lifestyle, is the entity formed post the merger of two leading Advent International (Global Private Equity firm) portfolio companies, Dixcy Textiles Pvt. Ltd. (Parent company of brand Dixcy Scott) and Gokaldas Intimatewear Pvt. Ltd. (Parent company of brand Enamor). At Modenik, Veenesh will be heading Sales and Customer Development. Veeneshs extensive experience of more than two decades in various facets of sales and marketing in the consumer goods industry coupled with his strong leadership capabilities will accelerate the growth and expansion envisioned for Modenik Lifestyle.

Veenesh, an alumnus of Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore, batch of 1999 started his career as a Management Trainee with Philips India. Prior to joining Modenik, he was Country General Manager at Upfield (a KKR Private Equity portfolio company), the largest plant-based consumer product company in the world & owner of brands like Flora, Rama and Blue Band. Earlier, he had worked as the Director- Sales, Marketing and Research & Development at Bauli Group where he was known for establishing the brand in India over a period of 4 years. He has been at senior leadership positions with renowned brands including Kelloggs India and Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages. An industry stalwart, Veenesh will lead the companys growing sales organization, developing and implementing scalable processes to increase sales and enhance penetration and visibility for the brand across the country.

Mr Sunil Sethi , Executive Chairman of Modenik Lifestyle Pvt Ltd said, We are very excited to have Veenesh on board with us as our Chief Sales and Customer Development Officer. We are certain Veeneshs proven track record and expertise will be an asset to the company specially at this crucial time of merger where we are focusing on scaling our business in terms of its customer base, value, visibility and penetration. Currently, we are implementing new strategies to widen our reach along with expanding our sales team where his experience will help us in achieving the projections we have for Modenik Lifestyle.

Commenting on his appointment Veenesh said, I am excited to be a part of Modenik which has a portfolio of strong brands like Dixcy Scott, Enamor and product license for manufacturing and distribution of Levis innerwear in the essential clothing category. The company is in a strong position to meet demands of all age and income groups across premium, mainstream and economy segments. We will be transforming our Go-To-Market strategy to synergize and leverage the complementary distribution networks of all the portfolio brands. The company is in the process of building a formidable talent pipeline which will create significant value and build winning partnerships with all its stakeholders.
Nielsen (NYSE: NLSN) announced the release of its enhanced Nielsen Identity System for Digital Ad Ratings in 15 markets starting on 1st February 2022. This change enables more accurate digital ad measurement, connecting digital impressions to the demographics of people across billions of devices in preparation for a cookieless future.

To combat the issue of cookie and mobile ad id erosion and in preparation for an increasingly fragmented future, Nielsen previously announced the revolution of digital audience measurement. Nielsen leads the industry by providing holistic people-based measurement across devices, de-duplicating across platforms and publishers.

The Nielsen Identity System serves to unify the identity data that Nielsen receives in an interoperable way across the media ecosystem. Advertisers and publishers can use Nielsen measurement with confidence knowing that when a digital ad is viewed then the measured demographics are appropriately assigned and the audiences are deduplicated across mobile and PC platforms in order to get to true people based metrics. Nielsen achieves this by uniquely combining Nielsen assets with third party data sets calibrated against truth sets.

Following the roll out in the UK, Italy, and France on 1st February, the enhanced Nielsen Identity System for Digital Ad Ratings is planned for release in Japan, Australia, India and Germany on April 1st; Spain, Brazil, Indonesia and Canada on 1st May; and Singapore, Mexico, Thailand, and Hong Kong on 1st June. Nielsen plans to release the enhanced Identity System across other markets on a monthly cadence following the initial releases in 2022.

In addition, Nielsen is pleased to share that it continues to enter into and expand our relationships with both global and local data providers to power up the Nielsen Identity System. Today Nielsen has added more than 2 billion de-duplicated identifiers across markets into the Identity System, growing every day.

Sarah Miller, SVP, Product Management at Nielsen commented With this enhancement to our Identity System we are taking another step to assure the longevity of ad measurement amidst the rapidly evolving digital ecosystem. Because of Nielsens unique data assets, we are not only able to adjust and correct licensed third party user registration data using panels, we have also developed sophisticated machine learning algorithms to cluster digital IDs into people and correct for any possible imbalances from the markets universe of users. It is this advanced data science methodology fueled by the sheer volume of Nielsen Identities that will empower the digital ad measurement into the future.

Nielsen continues to evolve its technologies and methodologies for independent measurement of audiences as the industry itself evolves to utilise cross-media measurement, said Sean Cohan, Nielsens Chief Growth Officer and President, International. Nielsens strategic measurement approach positions the company to deliver deduplicated audiences across linear and digital as part of Nielsen ONE.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's personal Twitter account was temporarily breached in the early hours of Sunday. While the account was quickly restored, a tweet advocating cryptocurrencies had already been sent from the account, which was later removed.

In a tweet, the PMO India said, "The Twitter handle of PM @narendramodi was very briefly compromised. The matter was escalated to Twitter and the account has been immediately secured. In the brief period that the account was compromised, any tweet shared must be ignored."

The Twitter handle of PM @narendramodi was very briefly compromised. The matter was escalated to Twitter and the account has been immediately secured.



In the brief period that the account was compromised, any Tweet shared must be ignored.  PMO India (@PMOIndia) December 11, 2021



A Tweet with a URL was placed on PM Modi's timeline before the account was restored, "India has officially adopted bitcoin as legal tender. The government has officially bought 500 BTC and is distributing them to all residents of the country.
kindlife, a new age beauty and wellness ecosystem enabling commerce, community, and brands, has raised an undisclosed amount for their seed round. Founded by Radhika Ghai, kindlife enables consumers to shop for 150+ curated kinder brands across beauty, nutrition, and home care.

The fundraise was led by Kalaari Capital under their CXXO initiative. Vani Kola, Founder, and MD, Kalaari Capital said, We believe that the role of women leaders is essential for a thriving start-up ecosystem. Radhika embodies the qualities of an ideal CXXO (a Kalaari Capital initiative for women founders) founder - an innovator, risk-taker, and role model to aspiring female entrepreneurs. Her passion and commitment towards sustainable living, coupled with her wealth of experience and clear vision, truly resonated with us. We are proud to be early partners with Radhika and kindlife in their journey to create a unique well-being ecosystem.

The round also saw participation from Java Capital, Titan Capital, TDV, and prominent investors like Pankaj Gupta, CEO-GII, Suhail Sameer, CEO- BharatPe, Shashvat Nakrani, Co-founder-BharatPe, Manisha Raisinghani, Co-founder-LogiNext, Shweta Jain -CBDO, Diageo Luxury, and attorney-at-law Sakshi Soni.

According to a World Economic Forum and Bain & Company report (Nov 2020), India is a $5.7 trillion consumption economy in the making.

Indian consumers want to make kinder choices and kindlife with its community of experts, kind-brands and robust technology will ensure that we are present every step of the way to enable these kind choices, says Radhika Ghai, Founder, and CEO, kindlife.

Premiumisation and up-gradation of lifestyle will fuel more than 40% of the projected growth in the Indian consumers demand, a trend which is also clearly visible in the recent D2C boom. We have a lot of work to do, but the path is clear to us. said Radhika.

Co-founded by Vidit Jain and Manasa Garemella, kindlife simplifies the journey for consumers who are looking for kind products and brands who want to tell their stories via their products to this community.

Kiran Vasireddy, a Partner, Kalaari Capital, added We are excited to partner with Radhika. We have great conviction in her vision to acquire and build a powerhouse of brands leading the clean-living theme in India. We are bullish on her rich experience from scaling her previous marketplace venture along with the functional expertise of her diverse team. kindlife is our third investment under the CXXO program, and we are pumped up about women entrepreneurs driving the digital India consumption story in the upcoming decade.
Worldwide buzz-making Gujarati movie, Chhello Show (Last Film Show)s theatrical release date has been pushed to 2022 due to the unavailability of cinema halls in Gujarat in Dec 2021. Already the pandemic has impacted very low footfalls across India.

As the cinemas started opening, many Bollywood producers started picking up early November and December dates for the release of their productions. There has been a backlog of big-budget movies waiting in line. These biggies have snatched away screens, which were earlier committed to regional films. Add to that every exhibitor wants movies with big stars, and they all have preferred to allot screens to movies like Atrangi Re, 83, Jersey, Radhe Shyam, and so on.

Writer-Director Pan Nalin said, Its indeed sad that exhibitors did not keep their promise of allotting screens to Chhello Show (Last Film Show). On our social media, we have been receiving hundreds of thousands of requests from audiences longing to see the Chhello Show. International festival shows and awards have generated unprecedented buzz, but in the end, exhibitors would rather show a big-budget Bollywood film.

Producer Dheer Momaya added here, This has always been state of affair in India where non-studio movies are pushed aside by exhibitors. But we want to remain optimistic; because we are happy that now India will see the simultaneous release of Chhello Show (Last Film Show) with its American and International release in the year 2022. We should not forget that Chhello Show (Last Film Show) is the first-ever Indian movie to be released by Samuel Goldwyn Films in the USA, Shochiku in Japan, or Medusa in Italy. Now we producers have time to match that in India. And very soon we will be announcing Chhello Shows association with a huge Bollywood production house. And together we will prepare for the best possible release in 2022.

Chhello Show (Last Film Show) will grace the New Year 2022 with three gala shows at the upcoming Palm Springs International Film Festival in California in January 2022. The show is expected to be attended by many Hollywood stars.
Ruchica Tomar has returned to Uber as the Head of Communications, India & South Asia. She left Uber India in 2017 as the Corporate Communications Lead.



TV journalist-turned-corporate communications professional, Ruchica Tomar had joined travel and hospitality portal MakeMyTrip after leaving Uber India. Tomar was leading the communications mandate for the firm.

ALSO READ: CoinDCX Appoints Anjali Kakkar as VP of Corporate Communications



Ruchica wrote on her LinkedIn: Today I am back like a boomerang at Uber, and thrilled about the return. The company continues to be one of the most defining of our times  constantly reimagining how physical and digital worlds connect. Becoming the super app for mobility in India is a fantastic challenge and I am all buckled up and raring to go.



Getting the opportunity to work here again, alongside some of the most talented folks in the business, got me voting with my feet. While I get used to the new yet familiar surroundings, I am looking forward to applying what I have learned in the four years I spent away from the fold. I cant wait to see what tomorrow brings!
Teaming up to bring a jolt of energy for its consumers, PepsiCo Indias energy drink Stingannounced Bollywood megastar Akshay Kumar its first-ever brand ambassador in India. This blockbuster teaming up of Sting and Akshay Kumar will not only electrify and entertain the youth but also expand brands footprint across the country.

While Sting uplifts consumers with its refreshing energy, Akshay Kumars power-packed performances are known to energize his audiences. This powerful combination of Sting and Akshay will extend the brands Energy Bole Toh Sting mantra, engage the youth and encourage consumers to maximize each moment of their lives with can-do energy.

Speaking about the announcement, Vineet Sharma, Category Director, Mountain Dew & Sting, PepsiCo India said, We are delighted to associate with Akshay Kumar as the face of our brand, as he is an epitome energy. His mass appeal cuts across geographies and we believe his unique, electrifying persona will further deepen brand connect with the consumers. We look forward to working with him and are confident that consumers will love him in the new energetic Sting avatar.

Sharing his excitement on the association, Bollywood actor, Akshay Kumar said, As an actor, being energetic is essential as Im always on-the-go. Im thrilled to associate with Sting, a brand that believes in electrifying moments to energize India with can do energy and help them keep up with their always-on lifestyle.

Akshay Kumar will feature in the brands new TVC campaign in the coming year. Sting is available in small single serve packs in 200 ml and 250 ml and large packs in 500ml across all modern and traditional retail outlets in India, as well as on leading e-commerce platforms.
The stellar star cast of &TVs latest mythological show Baal Shiv recently visited Shiv ki Nagri Varanasi. Aan Tiwari (Baal Shiv), Mouli Ganguly (Mahasati Anusuya), Siddharth Arora (Mahadev) and Shivya Pathania (Devi Parvati) attended the grand Dev Deepawali celebration at Assi Ghat, where they greeted their massive fan base in the city. But a visit to the city of Ghats is incomplete without seeking the blessings of Lord Shiva in the world-famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple. Baal Shiv artists visited the citys most revered temple to seek Mahadevs blessings.

Mesmerized by the beauty of Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Aan Tiwari, aka Baal Shiv, says, I am a bhakt of Lord Shiva, and I love listening to his stories and visiting his temples. The visit to Kashi Vishwanath Mandir was one of the top things I wanted to do during our trip to Varanasi. I have been to many temples but have never seen such a beautiful one. I was in awe of the beauty of it, and I wish to go back again! Mouli Ganguly (Mahasati Anusuya) shares, There is a different vibe in the temple of Kashi Vishwanath. I do not think there can be a better start than seeking the blessings of Lord Shiva from Shiv ki Nagri itself.

Siddharth Arora (Mahadev) shares, Whenever I visit my hometown Varanasi, I make sure to visit Kashi Vishwanath temple, but this time it was a very different experience as I was with my new Baal Shiv family. The temple feels like a home where I can sit and thank the almighty for this blessed life and the number of opportunities I receive. Tourists from across the globe visit Varanasi to witness the beauty of the Kashi Vishwanath temple, as it has one of the twelve Jyotirlingas. I feel blessed to start Baal Shiv with the blessings of Mahadev himself. Har Har Mahadev! Shivya Pathania (Devi Parvati) says, I have read a lot about the temple but visiting it was a surreal experience. I feel fortunate to bow down in front of Lord Shiva and seek his blessing for the show at Kashi Vishwanath temple. Apart from visiting the temple, we also visited different parts of the city to cherish the mouth-watering delicacies such as Tamatar chaat and Litti Chokha with Kulhad ki Chai.

Watch Baal Shiv at 8:00 PM airing every Monday to Friday only on &TV
Vedantu, a pioneer in LIVE online learning, has launched a new brand campaign Zindagi Ka Syllabus to underscore the importance of a truly inspired teacher in every students life. To become successful not just in academics but in life, Vedantu believes that our children need teachers who go beyond just academics, to inspire them and not just add life to lessons, but lessons in life. The campaign focuses on real life stories of how Vedantu teachers deeply inspire and impact their students, no matter how far apart the teacher and the child are physically. These moments of inspiration within a Vedantu classroom grow into becoming the guiding force of every childs learning journey.

The student's inspirational journey is depicted in four thought-provoking films inspired by real-life stories at Vedantu, featuring Vedantus brand ambassador and Bollywood actor Aamir Khan. They emphasize the importance of a teacher's responsibility in nurturing students and instilling life lessons of kindness, love, and trust, which are as significant, if not more, than academic accomplishment.

The films are based on the real-life experiences of Vedantu teachers and students across the country. The power of online learning is such that today a student from the remotest part of the country has access to quality education through best-in-class teachers who are fueling their dreams. After all, while any teacher can teach, only a select handful can inspire their students.

Conceptualized by Vedantus internal brand team and inspired by the Co-Founders and Master teachers, this was directed by Akanksha Seda. The tagline Kuch teachers humein #ZindagiKaSyllabus sikhaate hai recognizes teachers who are imparting meaningful life-lessons beyond the online classes and in the process leaving a deep impression on students.

"In India, at any income level, a parent will choose to spend more on education than even healthcare. That's the kind of responsibility that rides on our shoulders at Vedantu. If parents place this kind of faith in us, the least we can do is give it our all to ensure that their children get the best teachers, the best learning, and the best chance at creating a truly successful path in life. Our campaign is inspired by our real-life teachers and students at Vedantu. In a sense, it's less a campaign and more of a slice of life at Vedantu. While speaking with our teachers and students, we realized that their experiences were a goldmine of inspiration, and their stories needed to be shared with every teacher and student in the country. Till date, the older students remember life lessons that were taught to them by Vedantu teachers, and our new campaign narrates these experiences through the power of storytelling. Keeping learning and motivation at the core, our teachers are continuing to inspire students across the country, much beyond academics.," said Maninder Bali, Head of Brand Marketing, Vedantu.

To create national awareness and high-octane visibility for the new campaign, the films will be shown on the following platforms in 7 languages - Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, and Bengali.

Media plan: TV- top entertainment news and movie channels & Digital - YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and other websites. As a phase one media plan, two out of four commercials are live on air. Both films are about teachers' ability to inspire and transform students.
Elections in the U.S. are plagued by problems of integrity. At the very basic level, the country has failed to maintain accurate and current voter rolls. With those on the Left opposed to voter IDs, theres no way of verifying genuine eligibility. Big Tech sways contests with enhanced social media coverage or censorship, and, more recently, there has been reason to suspect foreign interference. Then there are structural defects that allow manipulation -- the vulnerability of mail-in ballots to vote harvesting, the extension of voting periods weeks before and following official election dates, and the questionable last-minute changes of election law. The list could go on and on.

But now a new threat, perhaps more foreboding than the ones listed, looms over American elections  a new bill that gives non-citizens the right to vote in municipal elections in New York City. The bill has been passed into law, making NYC the 15th among towns and cities with local laws permitting non-citizen voting. Non-citizen suffrage is permitted in 11 municipalities in Maryland and two in Vermont, while San Francisco permits non-citizens to vote in school board elections.

Non-citizens often vote by subterfuge, under the cover of provisions that make it illegal to require an ID for voting. If the New York law allowing aliens to vote goes unchallenged, non-citizens can shed even that fig leaf of deceit. Those who merely hold green cards or temporary work visas will be able to vote openly. Even those who have been lawful permanent residents of the city for 30 days and those with work authorizations will be able to select city officials such as the mayor, city council members, the comptroller, borough presidents, and more. Incoming NYC Mayor Eric Adams supports the bill, but according to Republican City Councilman Joseph Borelli, a legal challenge is likely.

The current population of NYC is about 8.5 million. In 2018, it counted 4.6 million registered voters. The 800,000 non-citizens who will be added to the rolls in 2023 will mean a 17% increase in potential voters. With migrant voters favoring the Democrats, this could spur similar measures in Democrat strongholds. The implications for national sovereignty are grave indeed: NYC could well be the critical test case to push for allowing non-citizen residents to eventually vote in state and presidential elections.

That push could begin with the extension of non-citizen voting in many cities across the country, especially in Democrat districts that support the inflow of migrants. The Biden administration has left the border uncontrolled and endorsed weak enforcement of laws against illegal aliens. The stated purpose of such legislation is to enfranchise those who pay taxes and are part of local communities. But since when does a 30-day stint in a foreign country without the privilege of voting qualify as being disenfranchised? In effect, non-citizen suffrage blurs the distinction between citizens and non-citizens; and voting rights, however limited, could be flaunted as a legal claim to citizenship or for hastening the process of obtaining citizenship.

Thankfully, there are a few stumbling blocks to the implementation of the NYC law. The New York State Constitution designates that every citizen shall be entitled to vote at every election So it still remains to be established that non-citizens can summarily be treated as citizens through local laws. Besides, New York states Municipal Home Rule Law and the citys own charter provide for mandatory referendums if certain changes are made to election regulations. There is hope, then, that voters will speak for sovereignty.

Even so, there are many legal complexities, ones the Dems are intent on exploiting to the hilt. NYC has a formal policy of being a sanctuary city -- a jurisdiction that does not comply with detainer requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation even when prior arrests and criminal charges have been filed. The new legislation takes the City That Never Sleeps further and faster down the road to lawlessness. Why, under the circumstances, would a non-citizen, despite his illegal status, bother at all to become a legitimate citizen of the U.S.?

Another complication is that federal law forbids non-citizens from voting in federal elections, a crime punishable with a fine, up to one year in prison, deportation, and ineligibility for visas and admission to the U.S. But illegals, who have voted in favor of the Democrats over Republicans in U.S. elections, have done so unchecked in states that allow non-citizens to obtain driving licenses. At the time of license renewal, their names are added to the voter rolls without any attempt to verify their citizenship.

Federal law has also complicated matters by making no pronouncements on state and local elections. This was done in the well-meaning spirit of federalism; however, by not explicitly forbidding non-citizens from voting in any election in the U.S., the field has been left open to attacks of the sort the Democrats, unless countered, are bound to pursue. So far, all 50 states have barred non-citizens from participating in state elections. But local elections are a different game. Cities in 11 states allow illegals to vote at the local level.

This actually encourages illegals. As Rep Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) says, Extending voting rights to those who are not lawfully present in the United States acts like another incentive for foreign nationals to come to the United States illegally and stay. The Democrats, particularly those on the Left, with their loose sense of boundaries -- in matters of gender, sexual orientation, or even citizenship -- continue to play this dangerous game of eroding deep-rooted ideas of nationhood.

In 2018, House Republicans passed a non-binding resolution opposing voting by non-citizens in U.S. elections, including in cities where this has been allowed. In a 279-72, vote, there were 49 Democrats who joined Republicans to declare that allowing illegal immigrants the right to vote devalues the franchise and diminishes the voting power of United States citizens. This vote took place after San Francisco opened voter registration for school board elections to illegal aliens.

And earlier this year, the Senate defeated S.1, nicknamed The Corrupt Politicians Act, which Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) describes as monstrous and one that provides that illegal immigrants who are registered to vote, even though its against the law for them to vote, will face no legal liability because they will be automatically registered to vote. A typically devious Democrat move, in violation of the Constitution. The bill contained provisions prohibiting the correction of voter rolls to remove illegals or the deceased. It also allowed felons to vote, eliminated election integrity laws and voter ID, and mandated ballot harvesting.

Despite such fightbacks, the Left will not cease to hack away at the foundations of American democracy. As Reince Priebus, former chief of staff to President Donald Trump and chairman of the Republican National Committee, tweeted, The far-left continues to make a mockery of our nations democratic process. Voting in U.S. elections should remain a right reserved for American citizens over the age of 18.

The New York bill perverts the meaning of President Abraham Lincolns Gettysburg Address, in which he described our republic as a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Bestowing voting privileges reserved for our countrymen to non-citizens will sabotage our sovereignty and hasten the descent of the great American experiment into the garbage pit of history.

Image: Openclipart

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A few weeks ago, we celebrated Thanksgiving, with gratitude for our many blessings, although these are becoming scarcer over the past two years. At the same time, we received news of a new COVID variant. It seems the world is on some type of Chinese gift registry where we receive quarterly presents, starting with the original Chinese coronavirus, followed every few months by a new variant and subsequent lockdowns, restrictions, and mandates.

This coronavirus is acting more like a herpes virus, the one that gives us cold sores that seem to come and go on their own cycle. But these COVID variants are far more bothersome than a lip blister as they are disrupting travel, commerce, and life in general for much of the world.

The latest COVID variant is called Omicron, further down the Greek alphabet from familiar Delta and Lambda variants. The ever-woke and deferential to China, World Health Organization intentionally skipped two Greek letters ahead of Omicron, Nu, and Xi. Nu might be confused with new, although nothing about current responses is new, including travel bans, masks, and mandates. Letter Xi might give unwanted credit to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, although given COVIDs origin, it would be a fitting tribute.

Is the Omicron variant a Christmas scourge or savior? Some scientists think its a lump of coal in a stocking on Christmas morning. As reported by the BBC,

Omicron has such a long list of mutations that it was described by one scientist as "horrific", while another told me it was the worst variant they'd seen. It has now been detected in more than 30 countries and there are signs it may be able to bypass some of our immunity.

Then in the next paragraph, they decide its not so bad after all,

But there are also claims that it could be milder than earlier versions of Covid, such as Delta.

Which is it? And if it is indeed as mild as many claim, could it save the world by pushing us closer to herd immunity?

YouTube screen grab

The scary bit about Omicron is the high number of mutations, an "unusual constellation of mutations" and that it was "very different" from other variants that have circulated. Specifically, it contains 50 mutations overall and more than 30 on the spike protein. This is important because the vaccines encourage the body to create antibodies to the spike protein.

The current crop of vaccines stimulates antibody production to the Alpha variant, the original Chinese coronavirus that plagued the world last year and was the dominant strain during vaccine development. With 30 new mutations on the spike protein, the vaccines are making antibodies to something that no longer exists, like sending the police to apprehend a burglar who is long gone from the crime scene.

Compare this to natural immunity after a previous infection, a concept conveniently ignored by the medical and political establishments. There are 29 coronavirus proteins and natural immunity likely provides antibody, T-cell, and B-cell immunity to most or all of these proteins, unlike the vaccine which only targets the spike protein, and one no longer in existence, replaced by successive Greek letter variants.

If the spike protein mutates, the naturally immune have resistance to all the other proteins, unless they all mutate at once, a highly unlikely scenario.

For those infected and recovered, their natural immunity may be robust and long-acting. Emory University acknowledged, COVID-19 survivors may possess wide-ranging resistance to the disease. For those who want more data, here is a collection of 81 research studies confirming natural immunity to COVID as equal or superior to vaccine immunity.

The NIH agrees. In January 2021 they reported, The immune systems of more than 95% of people who recovered from COVID-19 had durable memories of the virus up to eight months after infection. The 8-month figure is important since COVID had only been around about that long, meaning there was no waning of immunity to date.

Compare that to what we are seeing with the vaccines where the immune protection offered by two doses of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine drops off after two months or so according to CNN. Natural immunity can last decades, as reported in Nature,

Patients who recovered from SARS (the disease associated with SARS-CoV infection) possess long-lasting memory T cells that are reactive to the N protein of SARS-CoV 17 years after the outbreak of SARS in 2003.

This paper was published in 2020, 17 years after the 2003 SARS outbreak, meaning that coronavirus immunity showed no decline to date and could very well last a lifetime.

Given that viruses typically mutate in a direction or more transmissibility and less lethality, Omicron may be our savior. This concept is known as Mullers ratchet, named after an American geneticist. As Beckers Healthcare reported,

New research from Cleveland Clinic suggests that early mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 virus were deadlier but quickly overtaken by more transmissible variants, which may explain why mortality has decreased as the COVID-19 pandemic has progressed.

Could Omicron be our ticket out of the COVID quagmire? Norwegian scientists think so,

COVID experts in Norway say that Omicron variant being highly transmissible but milder could prove to be the best scenario because it would boost natural immunity and bring the end of the pandemic closer.

Dr. Anthony Fauci agrees. Reuters reported, Fauci says early evidence points to Omicron being more transmissible but less severe.

Can viruses mutate in the other direction? Yes, but rarely. The AP reports, There are documented cases of viruses becoming more deadly. In science, there are always exceptions, just as it can snow in July and be 75 degrees in January, but good science follows the norm, not the exception.

Think of Omicron as an old school vaccine, an attenuated or weakened virus, enough to cause mild disease in the vaccinated, stimulating the immune system to respond, creating long-lasting immunity, but without killing or severely injuring the vaccine recipient. This is how viruses propagate over time, infecting and spreading but without killing their hosts.

This could actually stop COVID, converting it into something more akin to seasonal flu. The rapidly spreading but only mildly virulent Omicron variant may accomplish what the current vaccines do not, potential worldwide natural immunity negating the push for universal vaccination, boosters, and mandates.

I must add the standard and necessary disclaimer that I am not anti-vaccine, having been personally fully vaccinated. Nor am I offering medical advice, only an analysis of this newsworthy issue. Any vaccine decisions should be between you and your physician.

Clearly, the vaccines alone are not putting an end to the current COVID pandemic as lockdowns, quarantines, travel bans, along with vaccine boosters and mandates are still in effect almost two years into the pandemic. Life has not returned to normal as promised by President Biden and others, despite most Americans being vaccinated.

In fact, vaccines are having little positive effect, as described in this Harvard based study recently published in the European Journal of Epidemiology,

At the country-level, there appears to be no discernable relationship between percentage of population fully vaccinated and new COVID-19 cases in the last 7 days. In fact, the trend line suggests a marginally positive association such that countries with higher percentage of population fully vaccinated have higher COVID-19 cases per 1 million people.

In other words, COVID case rates are increasing along with vaccination rates. Shouldnt it be the opposite? We may not be able to vaccinate our way out of the current pandemic.

Even the CDC acknowledges this inconvenient truth, noting about Omicron, About 75% of those cases are in people who are fully vaccinated, and one person has been hospitalized. There is an internet meme circulating which claims Alec Baldwin has killed more people than the Omicron variant. Snopes confirms no Omicron variant deaths thus far.

This is why a mild version of COVID, the Omicron variant, may be the pathway forward, as this USA Today headline suggests, Omicron could be more contagious, less dangerous. That would be good news for the human race. And the ultimate Christmas present after a bleak two years.

Hopefully, government and public health officials will acknowledge this pathway forward, rather than repeating the same measures that have thus far been marginally or not effective and continue to crush the wallets and spirits of Americans heading into Christmas.

Brian C Joondeph, MD, is a physician and writer. On Twitter as @retinaldoctor.

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Recently I re-watched Africa's Great Civilizations, a 2017 PBS production hosted by Harvard historian Henry Louis Gates, Jr. I consider this six-hour series a history worth watching, for at least three reasons.

First, it reminds us that if evolution is true, it is often contended that we are all descended from people who lived in Africa. Second, it tells us that, throughout its vast history, Africa has raised up many worthy and proud civilizations. Third, it confirms that slavery existed in Africa long before Columbus sailed to America.

I have been an educator all my working life. My natural distrust of one-size-fits-all fads like Common Core makes me reluctant to recommend a video that "all Americans should watch."

However, I know from long experience that too many Americans think Africa  except for Egypt  was always a backward jungle. And I know, from observing what is happening in our schools and in our culture, that too many other Americans think slavery began in the United States and is an original sin from which we can never recover. This series could help to correct those widespread and consequential (but mistaken) beliefs.

Yes, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. was a guest at Obama's "Beer Summit" back in 2009. He is also the host of Finding Your Roots, a series using genealogical research and genetics to discover the family history of famous Americans.

In Africa's Great Civilizations, Gates points out that, according to geneticists, we are all descended from a "Mitochondrial Eve" who lived in Africa around 200,000 years ago. She was not necessarily the "first woman"; Wikipedia calls her the "the most recent woman from whom all living humans descend in a direct female line." So we are all related. We are family. Those who don't believe in evolution might prefer the Bible's good news that we are all children of God. Dear divided America, consider that big picture.

Were there really brilliant nations on what some see as the "dark continent"? Yes, there were many.

Professor Gates does a tremendous job of exploring such cultured kingdoms as Nubia, Kush, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kongo, and Great Zimbabwe. These societies produced great art and architecture, including bronze sculptures, ivory carvings, ceramics, and textiles. They developed fantastic wealth. In addition to digging gold, copper, and diamonds out of the ground, Africans farmed; herded cattle; and traded with Europe, Arabia, India, and China. Africa's great civilizations were led by formidable rulers, valued deep learning, and contributed to profound religions.

These three gems might catch your eye: Mansa Musa, the emperor of Mali, was one of the richest men who ever lived. He handed out tons of gold on his long pilgrimage to Mecca. According to legend, King Solomon and the queen of Sheba had a son who brought the Ark of the Covenant from Jerusalem to Ethiopia. Shaka Zulu, the most famous African warrior, developed military tactics and weapons and could send 50,000 disciplined, mobile fighters into a battle.



Image: Henry Louis Gates, Jr. by Jon Irons. CC BY 2.0.

Lastly, this video history reminds us that slavery existed in Africa (and indeed all over the world) for thousands of years. It was not invented in Virginia. Almost every kingdom on this planet, beginning with ancient Sumer, permitted slavery.

How did an African man, woman, or child become a slave? As on other continents, rulers in Africa fought their neighbors, and the winners enslaved those unfortunate people whom they conquered. Other individuals became slaves due to unpaid debts. Sad to say, some parents sold their own children in exchange for money, food, or favors.

After 1492, demand for cheap labor arose in the New World on sugar, rice, tobacco, and cotton plantations, and in silver mines. Many African rulers sold their Black slaves to Arabs and to Europeans, who shipped them across the Atlantic. Thus, Blacks, Whites, and Arabs all made a profit by trading in human flesh, and all shared in that hideous sin. As Professor Gates said, "the reason that we have Africans in the New World is because the African elite captured and sold Africans to Europeans."

The British, for all their white supremacist sins, were the first major nation to ban slavery (in 1833). We Americans followed in 1865, at the cost of 600,000 mostly white lives. African Mauritania was the last country in the world to outlaw slavery (in 1981). Today, although slavery is illegal everywhere, it still exists in several forms such as forced labor, forced marriage, and forced prostitution. A low guesstimate says 10 million slaves are currently exploited in countries all over the world.

Two quick side points: First, as you might know, the English word "slave" comes from the word "Slav," as in the Slavic people. Second, though I love the Bible, which one of its commandments forbade slavery?

I truly believe that all Americans would profit by watching (with an open mind) Africa's Great Civilizations. It illustrates the history (sometimes proud and sometimes painful) of one branch of our human family. It might even have something to teach a wise, knowledgeable person like you.

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It looks as though the CNN plan to make itself less of a joke by replacing its circus clowns is moving into action. The network has new owners and has signaled that it intends to return to a straight news organization as it once was, back when it was popular. Here's their first affirmation of it.

According to Fox News:

"Fox News Sunday" anchor Chris Wallace announced his resignation from Fox News after 18 years on Sunday and teased "a new adventure." "After 18 years  this is my final Fox News Sunday," Wallace said on his final airing Sunday. "It is the last time  and I say this with real sadness  we will meet like this." "Eighteen years ago, the bosses here at Fox promised me they would never interfere with a guest I booked or a question I asked. And they kept that promise. I have been free to report to the best of my ability, to cover the stories I think are important, to hold our country's leaders to account. It's been a great ride." "We've covered five presidential elections, interviewed every president since George H.W. Bush, traveled the world  sitting down with France's Emmanuel Macron and Russia's Vladimir Putin," he added. "And I've gotten to spend Sunday mornings with you." "It may sound corny, but I feel we've built a community here," he continued. "There's a lot you can do on Sundays. The fact you've chosen to spend this hour with us is something I cherish. But after 18 years, I have decided to leave Fox. I want to try something new, to go beyond politics to all the things I'm interested in. I'm ready for a new adventure. And I hope you'll check it out. And so  for the last time, dear friends  that's it for today. Have a great week. And I hope you'll keep watching Fox News Sunday."

It was a gracious, classy exit. The Fox News report noted that big names in news, such as Bill Melugin, the Fox correspondent who does the border surge scoops; Howie Kurtz; Guy Benson; and (on Twitter I saw) Brit Hume, congratulated him, said they'd miss him, and wished him the best. He was probably a good guy to work with, which is unusual in that prima donna industry (I've definitely heard stories).

Right after that, CNN announced that it was hiring him to work on their shows on CNN+, its streaming service.

For Wallace, this is kind of a step downward, given the caliber and high ratings of Fox News compared to the place he's going. CNN, remember, is at the bottom of the barrel in news ratings. Its network hosts are all hopeless partisans given to saying embarrassingly stupid things and tweeting tweets that don't age well. Many of them are complete buffoons. The network's record of reporting false stories, partisanship, sitting on serious news stories, and acting as a public relations agency for the Democrat party has driven its ratings to something below that of the slew of cable shows called Shark Week.

Its personnel are an issue, too. Its star network host, Chris Cuomo, got fired for collusion and corruption, using his news contacts to dig up dirt on opponents of embattled brother Governor Andrew, which included a plotted smear of respected newswoman Janice Dean, who had rightly criticized Andrew Cuomo following the death of her mother-in-law and father-in-law* in a New York nursing home that came as a result of Cuomo's policies. Chris Cuomo also had sex harassment issues, same as his gelid, lizard-like bro. His producer has since been arrested for pervert activity  grooming and luring little girls into "sexual subservience" training. In another ring of the CNN circus, host Don Lemon was caught colluding with fraudster Jussie Smollett, who faked his own racial attack and was in hot water for his "narrative"-inspired lies. This is far from all of them in the CNN clown car, who are still rolling out at this point. That's some network they have over there at CNN that Wallace is going to.

But Wallace is going in, kind of like how the Ghostbusters of old went into haunted houses, undoubtedly for a beefy salary, given the career sacrifice he's making.

He's likely going to help clean up the place and install actual news standards. Although he's better than anyone at CNN, he's kind of a lesser light at Fox News, given that he tends to follow the media narrative and was colossally obnoxious to President Trump in the past. He's not the worst of them, but he has been annoying. While I'd gladly listen to him over some freak at CNN, give me someone like Brit Hume for a really objective news picture.

Can he hose CNN out? Not without a lot of additional firings and hirings. Whether he can do that, or his bosses can, isn't quite certain at this point. But it is telling that with Wallace's exit, Fox News is suddenly an improved network, given that it has one less leftist or RINO type biasing the coverage, while CNN is improved immensely in quality of coverage with the entry of Wallace. Wallace seems to be raising the collective I.Q. of both networks.

Well, let's wish him well and continue to watch the Fox Sunday shows, as Wallace recommends.

*Correction: An earlier version of this piece misidentified Dean's kin.

Image: DonkeyHotey via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.

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On Sunday's Meet the Press, Chuck Todd gathered around him John Heilemann, a leftist journalist; Marianna Sotomayor, a leftist journalist; Brendan Buck, an ostensible Republican who worked for Paul Ryan and John Boehner; and Kimberly Atkins Stohr, a leftist journalist. All five were unanimous: democracy in America is over because Americans don't believe that Biden honestly won his seat in the White House. The hyperbole was thick in the air, along with more than a soupcon of hypocrisy and a huge dollop of fear.

Sundance, at The Conservative Treehouse, caught the roundtable and summed it up thusly:

The NBC media panel for Meet the Press is absolutely apoplectic about their inability to destroy President Donald Trump and his supportive base of pragmatic, awakened Americans. The pearl-clutching and fear are palpable, as the leftist roundtable contemplates future elections that may deconstruct decades of election control, manipulation, fraud and falsehood.

That's exactly right.

The starting point for the panel discussion was an overwrought article that Bart Gellman wrote for The Atlantic in which he claimed that Trump's "Next Coup Has Already Begun." The premise is that

Trump and his party have convinced a dauntingly large number of Americans that the essential workings of democracy are corrupt, that made-up claims of fraud are true, that only cheating can thwart the victory at their polls, that tyranny has usurped their government, and that violence is a legitimate response.

Todd asked whether that was hyperbole or fact, and every one of the assembled guests assured him that this was a fact. (See video at the bottom of this post.) I can't dissect everything they said, but a few things leaped out.

Marianna Sotomayor (no relation to the Supreme Court justice) is horrified that "you still, on Capitol Hill, have many Republicans denying that that was an insurrection." Yeah, pretty much, because unarmed grannies walking through the Capitol taking pictures while cops shoot and beat women is not an insurrection, no matter how disgustingly cowardly our representatives are. If you want scenes of insurrection, just cast your mind back to what leftists were doing when Christine Blowsy Fraud was defaming Brett Kavanaugh and Elizabeth Warren was openly encouraging them.

John Heilemann contends that 20 to 30 million people are lusting after political violence, which he immediately analogizes to lynching. It's as if 2020  riots, looting, assault, and murder, powered by BLM, Antifa, and a generalized leftist mob  never happened. Moreover, he claims that the individual states are setting up for a coup. What he's referring to are initiatives to limit election fraud: cleaning up voter rolls, doing away with often illegal mail-in ballot initiatives, stopping vote-harvesting, etc. So the "coup" is that elections will be more honest.

Brendan Buck, who's a political hack, in my opinion, offered a wordy take about Georgia elections. Boiled down, he said Jody Hice is running to unseat Brad Raffensperger, who, contrary to available evidence, insisted that Fulton County ran a perfectly clean election. If he's elected, that raises the possibility that states might not certify future elections. Unsaid is that they would refuse to certify until they're sure election results are fraud-free. The horror!

Kimberly Atkins Stohr, who is Black, immediately announced that the current situation is exactly like the Civil War, thanks to Trump having created clones of himself. "[W]hat you have that's even worse is that you have an entire party  it's no longer just about Donald Trump. It's a party that's about adopting his tactic, which is you deny the results of the last election or else you move forward with efforts to subvert democracy or else."

Denying election results? Yes, Democrats did that:

Moving forward with efforts to subvert democracy? Why yes, Democrats did that, too. I believe that it was called the Russia Hoax. There was also the Very Fine People Hoax. The Ukraine Phone Call Hoax. The two impeachment hoaxes. The Grab 'Em by the Pussy Hoax. The mass Resist movement. And that's just what I can remember off the top of my head. Hypocrisy, thy name is Stohr.

Meanwhile, not a word was said about the way the government has systematically violated the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendment rights of the January 6 prisoners; about the unconstitutional vaccine mandates no court can stomach; about Biden's aggressive destruction of the economy; or about his administration's blatant violation of America's immigration laws, just to name a few of his actions that drag America farther from a constitutional democratic republic.

To these leftist talking heads, "democracy" means only that they win by hook or by crook and then govern unopposed. As to that, they're quite right to be worried that their unprincipled, illegal, and hysterical behavior from 2016 through 2020 tipped off the American people to their totalitarian approach to governance.

Image: Meet the Press. YouTube screen grab.

Correction: Jody Hice pronoun corrected

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The suppression of the off-patent, hence low-profit, drug ivermectin for use in preventing and treating COVID is grotesque and inhumane. Consider the case of a wife who died while hospitalized for COVID while her husband begged the hospital to administer a supply he had in hand but was refused. From the Epoch Times:

David DeLuca of Sicklerville, New Jersey will never know if the Ivermectin prescribed by an out-of-state doctor for his wife would have saved her life. Colleen DeLuca, 62, died of COVID-19 on Oct. 10, at Jefferson Washington Township Hospital in Sewell, New Jersey, before he could get a court order to administer the drug. Ivermectin has helped in some cases, but across the United States, many hospitals don't include it in their COVID protocol for treatment and refuse to use it, even as a last effort on a dying patient.

Nobody will pay for the very expensive "gold standard" double-blind testing of ivermectin because there are no large profits to be had from its use, now that the patent on it has expired. That seems to be the excuse used by hospitals and doctors to oppose its use. Even though ivermectin has proven to cause few problems among the hundreds of millions of people who have taken it. As readers of this site know, ivermectin has been derided as "horse paste" and a "veterinary de-wormer" by people who choose to ignore the fact that its inventors received the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology for its dramatic effects in reducing the plague of river blindness in tropic countries.

Now comes word of a trial of widespread ivermectin use as a prophylaxis in the Brazilian city of Itahai. ZeroHedge reports:

Early on in the pandemic, before the vaccines were available, the Southern Brazilian city of Itajai offered Ivermectin as a prophylaxis against the disease. Between July and December of 2020, roughly 220,000 people were offered a dose of 0.2mg/kg/day (roughly 18mg for a 200lb person) as an optional treatment for 2 days, once every two weeks. 133,051 people took them up on it, while 87,466 did not. After analyzing the data, a team of researchers spanning several Brazilian institutes, the University of Toronto, and Columbia's EAFIT concluded in a December pre-print study that hospitalization and mortality rates were cut in half over the seven month period among the Ivermectin group.

The Brazilian city of Itajai has offered Ivermectin as prophylaxis (0.2mg/day/kg for 2 days every 2 weeks) to its 220,000 inhabitants and meticulously tracked the results.



60% (with higher risk) took IVM over 7 months.



The Covid hospitalization and mortality rates were HALVED. pic.twitter.com/94fheTfwzm  Covid19Crusher (@Covid19Crusher) December 11, 2021

Ivermectin seems effective both in preventing contracting COVID and in treating it. That a drug with little risk of harm would be suppressed despite its great upside potential demands explanation by those doing the suppression. Instead, they do their best to ignore reports such as this.

Disclaimer: I am not advocating any readers using ivermectin or any other drug. I am not a medical doctor and do not offer medical advice to anyone. Always consult a physician you trust before taking any medication.

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Gavin Newsom thinks he's very clever, but, as the old saying goes, he's probably being too clever by half. His latest idea to grab guns from law-abiding citizens is to copy the new Texas abortion law. That law makes abortion illegal but incentivizes private citizens to sue those who provide abortions, keeping the state out of the loop. Newsom plans to do the same thing to enforce California's laws against imaginary weapons called "assault weapons." The problem is that, while the right to an abortion is a judicial construct, the Second Amendment is very real, which makes the laws themselves illegal no matter who enforces them.

The New York Post explains what's happening in California:

Newsom, incensed by the Supreme Court's ruling on Friday that allowed the Texas law to remain in effect while abortion clinics challenge it, called on the state legislature and the attorney general to craft legislation that would authorize private citizens to sue "anyone who manufactures, distributes, or sells an assault weapon or ghost gun kit or parts in CA." "I am outraged by yesterday's U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing Texas's ban on most abortion services to remain in place," the governor said in a statement released Saturday. "But if states can now shield their laws from review by the federal courts that compare assault weapons to Swiss Army knives, then California will use that authority to protect people's lives, where Texas used it to put women in harm's way," Newsom, a Democrat, continued. A federal judge in June overturned California's longtime ban on assault weapons in June, comparing the AR-15 rifle to a Swiss Army knife as "good for both home and battle."

Assuming that the Supreme Court has even a modicum of judicial integrity left, there's a profound difference between abortion and gun rights. Abortion is judge-made law. There's not a single word in the Constitution about abortion. There's also not a single word in the Constitution about privacy rights.

The only way that the Court could get to abortion in 1973 was to rely upon a judge-made right to privacy and, from that right, to extrapolate another judge-made "constitutional" right to abortion. It's a completely baseless decision that ignores entirely the Tenth Amendment, which leaves to the state those matters the Constitution does not address.



Image: AR-15 by docmonstereyes. CC BY 2.0.

The Constitution might address privacy obliquely, insofar as the Constitution is intended to limit, not expand, government power. However, there is simply no way to get from that to a federal constitutional right to destroy a life in utero. States, which are closer to the mores of the citizens within that geographic boundary, get the right to make that decision.

What this means is that those who oppose abortion are constantly attacking the validity of Roe v. Wade. The point is that, if America is to have a constitutional right to abortion, that needs to be done through the constitutional amendment process, rather than the decision of nine unelected men who are making it up as they go along. Every law enacted in pro-life states is ultimately intended to get Roe v. Wade reversed on the ground that it doesn't have a smidgen of constitutional legitimacy.

It's quite different when you get to the Second Amendment. There it is, in black and white, large as life, and twice as natural:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

To the extent that the government can enact laws that infringe on that right, those laws must be drafted as narrowly as possible and further a compelling state interest. It doesn't make things better if California says, "Well, we're not enforcing it. Others will enforce it." Any law as broad as California's ban on those imaginary "assault weapons" is a nullity. Citizens have no right or standing to go to court demanding damages from other citizens in accordance with a law that is null and void ab initio.

As a matter of law and logic, I know I'm right. It remains to be seen, though, whether enough of the four allegedly conservative justices on the Supreme Court (by which I mean Roberts, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, because Alito and Thomas are indubitably conservative) have the moral fortitude to make the right call on both the abortion and gun rights cases that come before them.

(For another take on just how wrong the law is, I recommend Jonathan Turley's article analyzing Newsom's idea.)

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
The major U.S. media, including Fox News and the conservative blogosphere, are completely ignoring this news from Japan. Google and DuckDuckGo searches reveal only little-known websites, many with an ideological bent, picking up the news  which means that few will see it and many will disbelieve it. But NHK, the Japanese version of the BBC (full disclosure: where I long ago worked as an overseas news editor as well as on-air), has the story. You can count on it being true.

Japan's health ministry has listed inflammation of the heart muscle and of the outer lining of the heart in younger males as possible serious side effects of the Moderna and Pfizer COVID vaccines. (snip) The ministry held a panel of expert on Saturday and proposed warning of the risk by printing "serious side effects" on the documents attached to the vaccines. It will also require hospitals to report in detail incidents involving people who developed the symptoms within 28 days after being vaccinated, according to the law. The plan was approved by the panel, and the ministry will notify municipalities.

The contrast with many other advanced countries, where the populace is being bullied, even required, to receive vaccines is stark. And this is not some minor agency issuing the warning. The official name of the health ministry is the Koseirodosho, in English, The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. It is headquartered in this skyscraper in the Kasumigaseki district in Tokyo, where most national government offices are located.



Photo credit: BlackRiver, CC BY 3.0 license.

To my knowledge, this is the first official warning of the heart risk associated with COVID vaccines, and it comes from a highly advanced country with a reputable medical regulatory bureaucracy. CORRECTION: the CDC did issue a notice on November 12:

CDC and its partners are actively monitoring reports of myocarditis and pericarditis after COVID-19 vaccination. Active monitoring includes reviewing data and medical records and evaluating the relationship to COVID-19 vaccination. (snip) Cases of myocarditis reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS)external icon have occurred: After mRNA COVID-19 vaccination (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna), especially in male adolescents and young adults More often after the second dose Usually within a week of vaccination



But Japan's health ministry has raised the level of concern and is gathering data for a controlled study, leaving the CDC far behind. (hat tip: Douglas Herrz)

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
Samsung has started adding support pages for the Galaxy S22 series on its official website. All three models  Galaxy S22, S22+, and S22 Ultra, which could eventually arrive as the Galaxy S22 Note  have received dedicated support pages on Samsungs website in China. The three devices bear the model numbers SM-S901U, SM-S906U, and SM-S908U respectively.

The listings expectedly dont reveal anything about the devices themselves apart from the model numbers. However, this does indicate that Samsung is hard at work on the Galaxy S22 series and is starting to prepare for its launch.

The Chinese variant of the Galaxy S22 Ultra/Note (SM-S908U) also recently appeared on benchmarking platform Geekbench. The device expectedly features Qualcomms latest Snapdragon 8 Gen1 processor. It scored 1,219 in single-core tests and 3,154 in multi-core tests on Geekvench v5. The Exynos 2200 powered Galaxy S22 Ultra/Note had scored much lower 691 in single-core tests, though multi-core scores are identical.

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However, since these tests arent performed on a retail unit, they may not reflect the true performance of the device that will reach users hands in a couple of months. Also, the latest listing shows the highest-end Galaxy S22 model with 8GB of RAM. But recent reports suggest that Samsung will only offer 12GB and 16GB RAM options for the phone. So we advise you to take this information with a grain of salt. We will keep you posted as and when more information emerges.

Leaks in the past have revealed a lot about the Galaxy S22 series

Samsung is still a good few weeks away from taking wraps off the Galaxy S22 series. We arent expecting the new flagships to break cover before February next year. But leaks galore over the past couple of months have left little to the imagination. We now have a fairly good idea of what to expect from the upcoming devices in terms of specifications, design, and even pricing.

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Samsung seemingly isnt making many design changes with the Galaxy S22 and the Galaxy S22+. They are keeping the Contour Cut rear camera design of the Galaxy S21 series. The Galaxy S22 Ultra/Note, meanwhile, will see major changes at the back, with Samsung opting for a raindrop rear camera array, reminiscent of the LG Velvet.

The new Samsung flagships will, of course, bring plenty of upgrades over the 2021 models. But Samsung will reportedly keep the prices unchanged, at least for the base model. Meaning, the lowest-end Galaxy S22 phone will cost just $799. Hopefully, the Korean behemoth will price the Galaxy S22+ and S22 Ultra/Note similarly to their respective predecessors as well.
(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 13 - Trieste topped the 32nd annual rankings of Italian provinces for quality of life compiled by business newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, followed by Milan and Trento.

The northeastern port city had been fifth in the last two editions of the widely consulted poll.

MIian got back on the podium again after slipping out of the top ten last year due to COVID.

Trento remained solid in third.

Of the top 10 provinces, five are in the northeast: Bolzano (5th), Pordenone (7th), Verona (8th), Udine (9th), all confirming their top ten places, plus Treviso which made the top ten at 10th thanks to the quality of life for women, a new gauge this year.

Aosta was fourth and Bologna sixth.

The Emilian capital, which was top last year, placed first for demographics, society and health, above all for the high levels of education of its citizens.

The bottom places were occupied, as always, by southern Italian provinces.

Some big cities made buig gains with Rome rising from 32nd to 13th, Florence from 27th to 11th, Bari up one to 71st, and Naples up two to 90th. (ANSA).


BEIRUT - Qatar's national oil company, QatarEnergy, has signed with the government of Cyprus an agreement for energy exploration off the coast of the Mediterranean island, according to pan Arab media, which quoted a statement released by Doha's news agency.



Qatar is among the top energy producers in the world and it is particularly rich in natural gas reserves. The sources added that the accord was reached by the Cyprus government with a series of companies that are part of the Qatari energy company, together with US giant ExxonMobil. The agreement provides for the exploration and sharing of energy production in the Block 5 maritime area south-west of Cyprus.



The accord - the second between Doha and Nicosia in a few years - comes a few days after the visit to Qatar of Turkish President Tayyip Recep Erdogan. Turkey and Qatar are connected by a tactical alliance, also founded on the convergence of interests and ideological visions. But Ankara, which since 1974 has been militarily present in a part of Cyprus and which is openly hostile to the government of Nicosia, has long started exploring for energy in the eastern Mediterranean, in areas claimed by both Cyprus and Greece.
NAPLES - The start of the working program with a budget for the next two years and the mid-term strategy for 2022-2027, the designation of the Mediterranean Sea as an area to control emissions of sulfur dioxide requested to the International Maritime Organization, the adoption of the Program on the conservation of biodiversity in the Mediterranean region, the start of measures to support green and circular businesses on products are some of the points approved in the last day of the 2021 edition of Cop22. Organized by the Convention of Barcelona in the city of Antalya, Turkey, it registered the participation of members of Mediterranean countries as well as members of world agencies.



"COP 22 - said Tatjana Hema, coordinator for the Mediterranean of the UN Environment Program (UNEP) - has become part of history with a spirit of cooperation that will not be forgotten". Hema applauded the approval of the ambitious agenda that places the Mediterranean region on a path of sustainability, proceeding along a solid road towards the "Sustainable Development Goals".



Support from Turkish organizers was strong. At the event, which kicked off on December 7, the professor working at the ministry of environment, urbanization and climate change, Emin Birpinar stressed how the Mediterranean works as a central area of civilization, rich in different cultures that must be preserved for future generations. Birpinar also highlighted the important decisions on common protection of maritime biodiversity and in dealing together with maritime waste, hoping the decision taken together by Cop can represent a model for the world. The Turkish Environment Minister Murat Kurum stressed the work of Mediterranean countries on strong challenges to be confronted, drafting a list of urgent environmental problems that need to be dealt with thanks to cooperation between countries.



Strong decisions taken together by countries in Antalya include action by international organizations on the role to be given to the Barcelona Convention on overall environmental policies of the Mediterranean and the intervention of national ministries in the three crises on climate change, the representation of biodiversity and pollution.


Energy: Qatar-Cyprus agreement for oil exploration Agreement bothers Ankara, an ally of Arab country

(ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, DECEMBER 13 - Qatar's national oil company, QatarEnergy, has signed with the government of Cyprus an agreement for energy exploration off the coast of the Mediterranean island, according to pan Arab media, which quoted a statement released by Doha's news agency.



Qatar is among the top energy producers in the world and it is particularly rich in natural gas reserves. The sources added that the accord was reached by the Cyprus government with a series of companies that are part of the Qatari energy company, together with US giant ExxonMobil. The agreement provides for the exploration and sharing of energy production in the Block 5 maritime area south-west of Cyprus.



The accord - the second between Doha and Nicosia in a few years - comes a few days after the visit to Qatar of Turkish President Tayyip Recep Erdogan. Turkey and Qatar are connected by a tactical alliance, also founded on the convergence of interests and ideological visions. But Ankara, which since 1974 has been militarily present in a part of Cyprus and which is openly hostile to the government of Nicosia, has long started exploring for energy in the eastern Mediterranean, in areas claimed by both Cyprus and Greece.(ANSAmed).




SIENA - Resources worth 13.8 million euros for projects aimed at the effective management of water resources, food systems and the food and beverage industry, water and energy were given to Italian researchers in the sector of food and water resources in the Mediterranean area. The funds were allocated as part of the 2021 tenders Prima, Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area. The announcement was made by the ministry of university and research and the Italian secretariat of Prima, which is based in Siena, recalling in a statement that in 2021 the European program, which kicked off in 2018 and lasts seven years, has funded with 62.5 million euros overall 41 projects that will involve over 400 research units.



"The results of the 2021 tenders, which register Italian leadership or participation in most of the winning groups - said Maria Cristina Messa, the minister of university and research - show, on the one hand, the great internationally-recognized quality of research promoted in our country and, on the other, how central the Mediterranean area is for activities in the immediate future".



In 2021, Italy is the country with the highest number of research units involved (83), gaining over 22% of the total budget available this year - the leader in coordination activities managing 17 projects, 40%. It is also present in over two-thirds of funded projects (33) thanks to consortiums of universities, research centers and enterprises. This year's performances are in addition to those registered in the 2018-2020 period. In total, in four years 130 projects with Italian participation were funded, out of a total of 170, of which 60 directly coordinated, gathering overall about 52 million euros out of 227 million so far allocated by the program.


Police are investigating the death of toddler Oliver Steeper, who died at a nursery in Ashford, Kent. (SWNS)

Police are investigating the death of a nine-month-old boy who choked to death on food at his nursery.

Oliver Steeper became unable to breathe while he was eating at Jelly Beans Day Nursery in Ashford, Kent in September.

He was taken to hospital but died six days later.

The nursery initially shut down temporarily after education and childcare watchdog suspended its registration over "serious safeguarding concerns" and has now closed permanently.

Oliver Steeper became unable to breathe while eating at Jelly Beans Day Nursery in Ashford, Kent, and was taken to hospital where he died six days later. (SWNS)

As well as a police investigation, the Kent Safeguarding Children Multi-agency Partnership (KSCMP) is also carrying out a review.

Matt Dunkley, chairman of the KSCMP, said: "The loss of a child is a terrible tragedy and our thoughts are with Oliver's family, friends and all those who knew him.

"The KSCMP is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people and we will be undertaking a Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review in relation to this case.

"The purpose of the review is to identify improvements that can be made to practice and disseminating the learning so we can achieve better outcomes for Kent's children and young people.

The announcement of the police investigation came in the same week as Oliver's funeral. (SWNS)

His statement added: "An element of this case relates to safe eating in a non-familial setting. The KSCMP is therefore designing a comprehensive Safer Eating campaign to help professionals in a variety of settings ensure they are working to best practice standards when feeding babies and young children."

A Kent Police spokesman said: "We are investigating the circumstances following a death at a childcare facility in Ashford."

The announcement came in the same week as Oliver's funeral.

The nursery where Oliver choked is now permanently closed. (SWNS)

His father Lewis Steeper,said: "The funeral was simply beautiful and was the perfect tribute to Oliver's life.

"We have great memories, photos and videos we will cherish forever. Oliver's presence remains strong in our house, with some lovely photos now up on the wall.

"We will never stop loving you, thinking about you and the huge hole in our hearts will never be filled with the joy you brought to our small family."

Well-wishers have donated over than 12,000 in Oliver's memory.
A Stormont debate over mandatory Covid certification was suspended without reaching a conclusion.

MLAs debated the regulations for several hours to 9pm, but were unable to extend the sitting longer to allow Health Minister Robin Swann to close the debate and for votes to be cast.

Speaker Alex Maskey said he had been advised there was a danger of the Assembly being in breach of its own rules and potentially facing a legal challenge.

MLAs were divided over the scheme which requires people to prove Covid status to gain entry to a range of hospitality venues and large-attendance events was introduced late last month with a two-week grace period to allow businesses to adjust to the new requirements.

Patrons wishing to access nightclubs, pubs, restaurants and other licensed premises will need to provide proof of vaccination or a negative lateral flow test result or evidence of a previous Covid-19 infection.

The same rules will apply for entry to large indoor and outdoor events, such as concerts and sporting events.

Health Minister Robin Swann (Liam McBurney/PA)

The DUP opposed the scheme at the Executive and are expected to vote against it in the Assembly when the debate resumes.

Mr Swann opened the debate on the regulations, saying he appreciates that a Covid certification scheme is not without its challenges, adding he had hoped that it would never be necessary.

But he said the pressures on hospitals could become as severe as they were in January 2021 due to the Omicron variant.

He said while by midday on Monday there were 10 confirmed cases of Omicron in Northern Ireland, as the virus takes a hold on these islands that the number of local cases will increase rapidly.

We must consider every possible tool we have to slow the spread and therefore to push the anticipated hospital pressures as far into the new year as possible, he said.

A scanned digital Covid certificate (Liam McBurney/PA)

Addressing concerns on why the debate had not happened earlier, Mr Swann said the regulations had to be reviewed by the Examiner of Statutory Rules for legislative competence.

He told MLAs there is clear evidence that Covid certification will have benefits in battling the spread of Covid-19, and it will reduce virus transmission, primarily by reducing the likelihood of infectious individuals entering high-risk settings, reduce the risk of serious illness and death and alleviate pressure on the health system.

Mr Swann said Covid certification will also increase the likelihood that higher risk settings will continue to be able to operate as an alternative to closure or more restrictive measures.

There is also overwhelming evidence, including that produced by the UKs Vaccine Effectiveness Expert Panel in September of this year, that vaccination reduces the risk of becoming infected with the virus and in particular that it reduces the risk of serious illness requiring hospitalisation, he told MLAs

Stormont Health Committee chairman Colm Gildernew said the committee was briefed on the Covid certification scheme, and raised the issue of compliance, adding that further work needs to be done to ensure the new rules are achieving the desired effect.

However he said the committee agreed to recommend that the regulations be approved by the Assembly.

Speaking as a Sinn Fein MLA, he said his party would back the scheme, adding that an unprecedented public health emergency requires unprecedented actions and measures to protect our people and our health services.

However DUP MLA Pam Cameron said her party will not back the Covid certification scheme.

She said she was disappointed by the decision of Mr Swann to ignore the lack of crossbench support for this policy prior to its becoming active.

And that the Health Minister chose to ignore that lack of crossbench unity instead deciding to plough ahead with this particular piece of legislation, she told MLAs.

Such affirmative votes were held in Scotland and Wales so I ask why was the minister so reluctant to allow this House its place in terms of its policy.

Ms Cameron emphasised that her opposition to Covid certification should not be construed as an unwillingness to recognise the fight against this Covid-19 pandemic.

Instead, my opposition to this is largely based on the lack of evidence that this is effective, the significant negative impact it is having on sections of our economy with no evidence of it being effective and indeed how this has been handled causing confusion and mixed messaging, she said.
Two penguins have delighted residents at an Oxfordshire care home in a Christmas visit, waddling around the room as the beaming residents looked on.

The Humboldt penguins, 24-year-old Charlie and nine-year-old Pringle, visited Spencer Court from Heythrop Zoo in Oxfordshire on Friday.

Penguins Charlie and Pringe at Spencer Court care home (Des Dubber/Orders of Saint John Care Trust/PA)

These penguins are not only comfortable and familiar with travelling, but we believe they show positive behaviour signs when interacting with different people they are used to and therefore not stressed by the presence of human beings, said a spokesperson for Heythrop Zoo.

It is the belief of Heythrop Zoo that by bringing unusual and undomesticated species to the attention of the general public  particularly when accompanied by educational talks  they raise community awareness that indirectly aids conservation.

One of the penguins perched on a residents lap (Des Dubber/Orders of Saint John Care Trust/PA)

Residents were pictured enjoying the unusual company, with the penguins even seen perched on several laps.

Charlie and Pringle are no strangers to care homes, regularly visiting them all across England as a form of therapy for residents.

The care home said it wanted to make Christmas extra special for its residents (Des Dubber/Orders of Saint John Care Trust/PA)

Dorte Chandler, manager at Spencer Court, said: Residents and colleagues at the home have experienced very challenging times since Covid-19 emerged, so we wanted to make this Christmas extra special for everyone.

What better way to do that than by welcoming these wonderful penguins right into our care home. They are amazing creatures, and we are all enjoying learning more about them together.

Humboldt penguins are native to Peru and Chile, and can reach speeds of up to 30mph (48kph) when swimming.
Those hoping the introduction of a free trade deal between the UK and the European Union on January 1 would mark the end of the Brexit discussion would find themselves sorely disappointed in 2021.

Reflecting the last-ditch nature of the post-Brexit trade negotiations, with a deal only struck on Christmas Eve, it was not until April that the EU formally ratified the accord.

The disruption some predicted in the immediate aftermath of the transition period ending on December 31 largely failed to materialise on the British mainland, but there was trouble elsewhere as the impact of the UKs withdrawal from the bloc created a ripple effect.

The Northern Ireland Protocol has sparked protests on both sides of the Unionist and nationalist divide (Peter Morrison/PA)

The year saw negotiations continuing on two fronts, with debate over the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol and a row with France over fishing licences dominating column inches.

The protocol was agreed as part of the Withdrawal Agreement to avoid a hard border in Ireland after the UK left the EU, effectively creating a border down the Irish Sea.

In January, there was dismay in London, Belfast and Dublin after European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced she would be overriding the protocol, before quickly U-turning as a row over supplies of the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine boiled over.

The vaccine quarrel abated but ill-feeling among Unionists and ministers about the protocol did not, with regular protests held in loyalist communities and tensions fraying over the so-called sausage war.

A series of truces had to be agreed in the second half of the year to ensure chilled meat from Great Britain could continue to be traded into Northern Ireland following the expiry of the initial six-month grace period after the end of the transition period.

The so-called sausage war required a series of truces to avoid a ban on GB-chilled meat entering Northern Ireland (Liam McBurney/PA)

It was not until September that an indefinite suspension was brought about and both the UK and EU agreed to work towards negotiating a more stable agreement.

The move came after two legal challenges against the lawfulness of the protocol were dismissed by a High Court judge in June, with Mr Justice Colton rejecting that it breached the Acts of Union while at the same time noting that it did conflict with provisions within the act that guaranteed free trade within the UK.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Brexit minister Lord Frost, who helped negotiate the withdrawal and subsequent trade accord, regularly stated that the threshold for invoking Article 16 of the protocol, which includes that it is causing serious difficulties economically and for society, had been met.

But weekly talks between Lord Frost and commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic towards the tail end of the year have suggested it may be possible to amend the treaty  even if the UK has insisted on issuing a similar statement on most occasions citing significant gaps between the two sides.

Brexit minister Lord Frost continues to negotiate with Brussels following Brexit (Peter Byrne/PA)

Both sides are trying to reach an agreement that would reduce customs paperwork and the number of checks required on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, with the EU making a number of concessions to ease trade frictions.

But a dispute around the role of the European Court of Justice continues to be a major stumbling block.

On fishing, France has been at loggerheads with Britain after claiming that about 100 small French boats had been denied licences to continue trawling in UK waters after Brexit.

The access dispute saw Channel ports blockaded by French fishermen at different stages across the past 12 months.

There is hope the issuing of additional licences by the UK and Jersey governments after talks on Friday could at least ease tensions heading into the new year.

With unanswered questions on the protocol, fishing and also cross-Channel migration controls, one thing that does appear certain is that Brexit will continue to spark contention long into 2022.
Sir Keir Starmer has backed moves to ramp up the Covid booster jab programme as he warned the NHS is in danger of being overwhelmed by the emergence of the new Omicron variant.

The Labour leader said that it was essential to put the national interest first as he urged people to stick to the rules and get their top-up injections.

Boris Johnson announced on Sunday that every eligible adult in England was to be offered a third dose of the vaccine by the end of December.

In a televised address in response, Sir Keir said ministers should have acted sooner in the face of the threat from the fast-spreading Omicron strain.

We may not be certain how dangerous it is but we do know that lives are at risk and again our NHS is at risk of being overwhelmed, he said.

If that happens more people will die.

So we must do everything that we can to protect the NHS.

Sir Keir said delivering the accelerated booster jab programme would be a big challenge but that he was confident the public would rise to meet it.

Time and time again the British people have risen to the challenge so lets pull together now and do the right thing once more, he said.

At times like this, we must all put the national interest first and play by the rules.

Of course I understand that sticking to the rules can be inconvenient but stick to the rules we must.

It would be easy to let the festivities weve all been looking forward to, divert us from our national duty.

Getting jabbed, wearing masks and working from home if we can really will help prevent infections and help prevent the NHS being overwhelmed.
Ron_Thomas / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Social Security is an essential safety net for many Americans. Even if you haven't saved enough for retirement, you can still count on Social Security benefits in retirement.

Read: 14 Key Signs You Will Run Out of Money in Retirement

However, with an average monthly benefit of just over $1,400, America's most expensive cities are far out of reach without another source of income. If you do have to rely on your Social Security benefits alone -- and still want to make the most of your golden years -- you'll need to live somewhere affordable that won't compromise your quality of life.

Learn: Best and Worst States for Pensions

That's why GOBankingRates compiled a list of the 20 best cities to live off of just Social Security. The study factored in the cost of living, livability and median rent and -- after comparing the 143 largest cities in the U.S. -- combined the scores to determine where you really can get by on just your Social Security benefit.

SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto

20. Jackson, Mississippi

Cost of Living Score: 73.6

Livability Score: 58

Median Rent: $790

Mississippi has the lowest cost of living in the entire country, so it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that Jackson had the third-lowest cost of living of any of the cities considered in this study -- including a median monthly rent under $800.

Ron_Thomas / iStock.com

19. Toledo, Ohio

Cost of Living Score: 76.7

Livability Score: 60

Median Rent: $777

Toledo's cost of living indicates that you can expect to spend almost 25% less on your basic expenses than you would in the rest of the country, on average. What's more, Toledo is one of the cities where your money stretches the furthest, according to a separate GOBankingRates study.

DenisTangneyJr / iStock.com

18. Evansville, Indiana

Cost of Living Score: 83.6

Livability Score: 70

Median Rent: $889

If you're younger and looking to avoid living off your Social Security check alone when you reach retirement, one of the best ways is to start saving early. However, even if it's too late to build the sort of nest egg you would like, a city like Evansville -- which combines modest rents and costs of living with a relatively strong livability score -- should help you make the most of your Social Security benefits.

DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images

17. South Bend, Indiana

Cost of Living Score: 77.1

Livability Score: 60

Median Rent: $745

Arguably most notable for being home to Notre Dame, the study reveals that there's plenty of reason to call South Bend home even if you aren't a fan of the golden domers. With a cost of living 22.9% below the rest of the country and a median rent under $750, you can really stretch your Social Security benefits further than in most places.

Find Out: 25 Countries Where Social Security Goes Far

DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto

16. Fort Wayne, Indiana

Cost of Living Score: 81.2

Livability Score: 74

Median Rent: $1,011

Fort Wayne is a little pricier than many of the other cities on this list, but it also has stronger amenities. That might help explain why the city is among the cheapest places in the U.S. for retirees, found a separate GOBankingRates study.

ESB Professional / Shutterstock.com

15. Birmingham, Alabama

Cost of Living Score: 72.6

Livability Score: 57

Median Rent: $749

No city considered in this study has a lower cost of living score than Birmingham. Prices there are 27.4% lower than the rest of the U.S., on average. Those low costs come at a price; the livability score of 57 is the lowest of the 20 cities on this list.

DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto

14. Abilene, Texas

Cost of Living Score: 87.8

Livability Score: 79

Median Rent: $994

Abilene is the most expensive city on this list, with overall costs just over 10% lower than the national level in addition to a median rent of almost $1,000 a month.

ChrisBoswell / Getty Images/iStockphoto

13. Waco, Texas

Cost of Living Score: 80.9

Livability Score: 74

Median Rent: $974

Waco is another Texas city where slightly higher costs are counter-balanced by a higher livability score. But it's worth noting that it's still significantly cheaper than most of the country while offering seniors plenty of ways to enjoy their retirement.

Shutterstock.com

12. Dayton, Ohio

Cost of Living Score: 74.9

Livability Score: 59

Median Rent: $716

The primary appeal of Dayton to retirees is likely going to be pretty similar to most everyone else: It's a very inexpensive place to live. Of all the cities included in this study, Dayton had the fifth-lowest cost of living and the fifth-lowest median monthly rent. In fact, it's one of the best places to live for only $1,000 a month.

DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto

11. McAllen, Texas

Cost of Living Score: 80.9

Livability Score: 82

Median Rent: $1,146

McAllen has the most expensive rents of any of the cities included on this list, but what's most likely driving those prices up near $1,200 a month for a median-priced apartment is the nearby amenities. The city also has the highest livability score in the study.

Related: 50 US Cities With Plenty of Jobs and Cheap Housing

DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto

10. Erie, Pennsylvania

Cost of Living Score: 81.5

Livability Score: 71

Median Rent: $859

Over 1 in 5 people in the state are collecting Social Security benefits, making Pennsylvania one of the states that are most dependent on the program. So, while residents of Erie might currently be enjoying the way their checks stretch further due to low costs, they might be eyeing the future of the Social Security program with trepidation.

Shutterstock.com

9. Lynchburg, Virginia

Cost of Living Score: 85.8

Livability Score: 79

Median Rent: $949

Lynchburg's relatively high livability score is the primary factor in pushing it higher up this list, but its retiree-friendly costs are another major factor. Another GOBankingRates study found that Lynchburg was one of the best places to live on a fixed income.

Billy Hathorn / Wikimedia Commons CC-BY-SA-3.0

8. Killeen, Texas

Cost of Living Score: 78.8

Livability Score: 74

Median Rent: $934

Killeen is another city that appears to pair low costs and high levels of access to amenities. So retirees should enjoy their golden years there. After all, they worked hard to earn them. In Texas, it takes 10 1/2 paychecks to pay for just one month of benefits from Social Security.

Davel5957 / iStock.com

7. El Paso, Texas

Cost of Living Score: 83.6

Livability Score: 80

Median Rent: $987

For anyone thinking that life in a border town is the way to go -- and who aren't interested in the cold winters up north -- there's good news: Not only is El Paso very affordable, but it has the fourth-highest livability score of all the cities considered in this study.

benkrut / Getty Images/iStockphoto

6. Akron, Ohio

Cost of Living Score: 79

Livability Score: 69

Median Rent: $751

LeBron James might have left Akron for Los Angeles, but had he been living on Social Security, he might have had second thoughts. Akron's cost of living is very reasonable, and even someone earning the average Social Security benefits can even expect to keep saving every month as Akron is one of the best cities to retire on a budget of $1,500 a month.

peeterv / Getty Images/iStockphoto

5. Terre Haute, Indiana

Cost of Living Score: 79.4

Livability Score: 72

Median Rent: $711

Terre Haute combines very affordable basic costs with a livability score that would seem to imply a good quality of life there as well. However, the real star here is that median monthly rent, which was the fourth lowest of the 143 cities in the study.

DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto

4. Lawton, Oklahoma

Cost of Living Score: 80.5

Livability Score: 73

Median Rent: $694

Of course, one of the three cities with even lower median rental costs than Terre Haute is Lawton, where a median-price apartment costs under $700 a month to let -- the second-lowest in the study. That -- combined with a low cost of living -- is part of why Oklahoma why Oklahoma is one of the states where you're least likely to live paycheck to paycheck.

gremlinworks / Shutterstock.com

3. Muncie, Indiana

Cost of Living Score: 76.3

Livability Score: 73

Median Rent: $758

Muncie is the fifth and final Indiana city on this list, seeming to indicate that the Hoosier State is an especially friendly place to retirees on a strict budget. Even if you're not, though, Indiana's low costs helped make it the one of the best states to retire rich, as well.

Danita Delmont / Shutterstock.com

2. Brownsville, Texas

Cost of Living Score: 77.5

Livability Score: 80

Median Rent: $896

Brownsville is more than 20% cheaper to live in than the rest of the United States, but that's not the biggest draw based on this study's results: The livability score of 80 is good for the third-highest of the 143 largest cities in the country.

So, in case you were worried high costs were going to drive you to live overseas in retirement, cities like Brownsville might offer a less drastic option.

Plan for the Future: What Social Security Will Look Like in 2035

DenisTangneyJr / iStock.com

1. Wichita Falls, Texas

Cost of Living Score: 76.9

Livability Score: 79

Median Rent: $874

One state had even more cities on this list than Indiana, and that was the Longhorn State, with seven different cities ranking in the top 20, including the top city overall: Wichita Falls. It's possible that more people should seriously consider retirement in Texas -- it's one of the most tax-friendly states for retirees.

 GOBankingRates

Texas Tops the List of Best Cities To Live on Social Security

One clear conclusion you can infer from these results would be that there could be state-level policies that help keep costs under control in mid-sized cities. The 20 cities on this list tend to come from the same few places, with just seven states represented in the final ranking. While Texas had the most cities with seven, Indiana was a close second with five while Ohio had another three.

It is also notable -- if not surprising -- that the cities are not among the largest in their respective states. None of Texas' cities with a population of a million or more -- Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and almost Austin -- made the top 20 despite seven other Lone Star State cities being in there.

More From GOBankingRates

Methodology: GOBankingRates determined the best places to live on only a Social Security check based on the (1) average monthly benefit for retired workers, $1,412.14, sourced from Social Security Administration; (2) the overall cost of living in each city, sourced from Sperling's Best Places; (3) median monthly rent, sourced from Zillow, representing the monthly rent for May 2018; (4) and livability scores, sourced from AreaVibes.

Cost of living scores from Sterling's Best Places are a comparison to a base score of 100 that represents the national average. So, a score of 80 represents a place where costs are 20% lower than the country as a whole, whereas 120 would indicate a locale where it's 20% more expensive. Livability scores from AreaVibes are on a scale of one to 100.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 20 Best Places To Live on Only a Social Security Check
Silicon Valley has long been the epicenter of both tech startups and the venture capital firms that fund them.

Increasingly, however, other "rising cities" across the United States are beginning to grow their own innovation hubs, according to a new report from Pitchbook and Revolution.

"We're starting to see  and it was building over the last few years but, I think, accelerated because of the pandemic  a dispersion of capital, and it's not just a few other cities," AOL co-Founder and Revolution CEO Steve Case said on Yahoo Finance Live (video above). "It's really dozens of cities."

Attendees take selfies with balloons in an Instagram booth at the Facebook F8 Conference at McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California, on April 30, 2019. (Photo: AMY OSBORNE/AFP via Getty Images)

According to Case, the innovation economy has been "dominated" by Silicon Valley, the greater New York City area, and Boston for the past decade, with those three regions accounting for 75% of venture capital during that time.

This has changed over the past year, though.

In 2021, more than $13 billion of Silicon Valley venture capital dollars flowed to regions outside of the Bay Area, New York, and Boston. That's the first time in a decade that less than 30% of venture capital has gone to Silicon Valley startups. As recently as 2017, that figure was above 50%.

The report's authors found that the share of seed- and early-stage venture capital dollars going to startups in the Bay Area and the other two major tech hotspots has been declining over the past decade.

Silicon Valley's share of seed- and early-stage US VC dollars, as of Sept. 1, 2021. (Source: Pitchbook, Revolution)

The number of VC firms dispersed across the country has also grown tremendously.

The most striking finding from this report, Case said, was that in the last decade, "1,400 new regional venture-capital firms have been launched that are providing some of that initial capital in some of these cities. And as some of those initial companies get launched and start scaling, they'll obviously access more capital, including from coastal investors."

The rising startup cities in America

Cities all across the country are contributing to the new innovation economy.

"It's a broad-based effort, and it's beyond the usual suspects that people talk about like Seattle and Austin," Case said. "We're seeing a lot of momentum in Chicago, in Los Angeles, in Raleigh-Durham, in Dallas, in Phoenix, in Columbus, here in Washington, D.C. So I think over the next decade you'll see dozens of cities rise up, not just a few."

The report highlighted 12 growing startup communities, in particular, that are seeing an upward trajectory: Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Nashville, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Raleigh-Durham, Salt Lake City, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, and Washington, D.C.

A wide angle generic view of the Nashville Downtown Skyline as seen before the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on August 8, 2021. (Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The proliferation of remote work, a trend that the pandemic has amplified, is one reason why these up-and-coming hives of startup activity are more geographically scattered, Case explained.

"Generally in these cities, there has been a tent-pole company that's been successful and created spin-off capital and some other people doing other kinds of things," Case said. "Often, the business community is engaged to support the startups, not just the big companies helping themselves but the big companies partnering with, mentoring sometimes, investing in the smaller companies."

In areas such as Salt Lake City, for instance, established successful companies and former startups like Qualtrics attract talent to the area. Then over time, some of those employees are likely to try their own hand at entrepreneurship and strike out on their own, fueling the city's momentum.

"Our expectation over the next decade is we really will see a dispersion of capital, in some part driven by this dispersion of talent," Case said. "And while Silicon Valley will still be the leader of the pack for sure, and New York and Boston will still be very, very strong, we'll have a more dispersed innovation economy, more jobs being created in different parts of the country, more economic growth in different parts of the country, and investors who recognize this is a trend."

Bay Area seed- and early-stage US VC dollars are increasingly being invested outside of Silicon Valley, New York, and Boston. (Source: Pitchbook, Revolution)

There are other key traits that rising cities share, Case explained. Strong universities tend to abound in innovation hubs. Government support helps too.

For instance, the Raleigh-Durham area benefits from a triad of three major universities  Duke University, the University of North Carolina, and North Carolina State University  which the report calls "founder factories" for new ideas and entrepreneurs.

The report also pointed to Dallas's Task Force on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, a program that the city's mayor Eric Johnson pioneered to attract new startups to the North Texas region.

"Usually the mayor, the governors are championing startups, really recognizing that's a better path to run economic development," Case said. In other words, they "don't try to get big companies to move headquarters. [They] try to get small companies to be successful."

Nashville-based startup SmileDirectClub capitalized off the city's booming health care sector. Here, CEO David Katzman stands with founders Jordan Katzman and Alex Fenkell as the company debuts its IPO at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, U.S. September 12, 2019. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Ultimately, he added, the innovation hubs across the U.S., including Silicon Valley, are a testament to the people who live there and how they collaborate.

"There's sort of a network effect, network density, if you will, which is one of the great things about Silicon Valley," Case said. "People in that city are really rallying together to try to create more momentum and tell their story both locally ... as well as nationally to get more of the coastal investors paying attention to what's happening."

Grace is an assistant editor for Yahoo Finance.

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Vice President Kamala Harris during a news conference at the Palacio Nacional de la Cultura in Guatemala on June 7. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

Journalist Julio Lopez says he endured years of harassment and violence by the Nicaraguan government and its supporters for his investigative reporting on corruption and human rights. But in April 2018, the repression took a darker turn.

Pro-government activists stole his cellphone and beat him unconscious while he was covering a protest.

Threats and surveillance escalated until last June, when police issued an order restricting his ability to travel. Lopez fled to Costa Rica. His outlet, Onda Local, still has a handful of reporters in Nicaragua. But Lopez doesn't know how much longer it can continue to operate.

"I'd prefer to be in my country doing my job," he said. "But the circumstances force you to leave. Returning to Nicaragua, for now, isn't possible."

The crackdown on journalists is part of a recent effort across the region aimed at nongovernmental organizations such as Onda, which receive funding from international sources to help in missions that include battling corruption, alleviating poverty and otherwise improving the civic life in their countries. Onda had received money from a local foundation funded in part by the U.S. and European Union agencies for international development.

Experts say the foreign agent laws of Central America undermine the Biden administration's strategy to work with these groups to reduce the underlying causes of migration. The crackdown, they warn, can harm the stability of communities and scare off foreign investment. Administration officials acknowledge the setback and agree it could ultimately lead to an increase in migration to the southern U.S. border.

In January, Nicaragua implemented its foreign agents law, targeting groups deemed by President Daniel Ortega's government to threaten the "security of the nation" by requiring organizations with ties to international institutions to register with the Interior Ministry and provide monthly income and spending plans  or face closure, criminal prosecution and fines of up to $500,000.

Other Central American countries, including Guatemala and Honduras, have recently passed similar laws. El Salvador could soon implement the most restrictive version in the region,including a 40% tax on funds from foreign sources.

The laws offer governments of those countries more power to monitor and control businesses, organizations and people receiving international funding. With the stated goal of rooting out alleged security threats, the regulations prevent registered "foreign agents" from carrying out activities considered political.

But these governments take a broad view of what falls under political activities. That puts work, including assistance for people with HIV and AIDS, access to contraceptives and abortion, and the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer people at risk. Many groups also provide food and clean water to the poorest residents.

Governments in Central America, as well as in other regions, including Russia and Israel, have cited the U.S.' foreign agent law as justification for their own more restrictive versions. The Foreign Agents Registration Act was passed in 1938 to counter Nazi propaganda and, later, lobbying and interference in elections from foreign governments. Its broad language has also at times swept up organizations having nothing to do with political lobbying and led to calls for reform.

FARA seeks transparency by requiring lobbyists from other countries to register as foreign agents while allowing their work to influence U.S. policy. The Central American laws go much further.

The Biden administration's root causes strategy uses partnerships with other governments, international institutions, businesses, foundations and civic groups, according to the detailed White House report, to "build hope for citizens in the region that the life they desire can be found at home." Officials hope that by also targeting corruption, they can create better conditions for people to get jobs and go to school.

But because those governments are recognized internationally for corruption, much of the humanitarian work to combat poverty and improve communities comes from international organizations. The U.S. strategy requires a balance between fighting corruption and convincing those same leaders to better secure their borders.

Nearly two-thirds of Customs and Border Protection stops last fiscal year involved people from countries other than Mexico  the highest total for non-Mexican citizens in CBP records dating back 20 years. Most involved people from the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Border agents also encountered nearly 51,000 Nicaraguans in fiscal year 2021, compared with just over 14,000 encounters in 2019.

Ricardo Zuniga, special envoy for the Northern Triangle region, called the registration laws a significant concern, with neighboring Nicaragua's being the most severe example.

In an interview with The Times, Zuniga said there's a difference between lobbying on behalf of a foreign government and being the Red Cross or the American Civil Liberties Union and receiving funding from overseas donors.

"That's not subversion," he said, arguing that the laws treat media and nonprofits "as somehow enemies of the state, when in fact what they're doing is normal civic activity."

Improving confidence in these governments is at the heart of the administration's strategy, Zuniga said.

"The only thing that's going to really resolve migration pressure towards Mexico and towards the United States is creation of jobs and hope in Central America," he said. "And there's no way you can separate out governance from economic growth, because the No. 1 thing we hear from companies is they're worried about investing in Central America."

In Nicaragua, Sandinista lawmaker Walmaro Gutierrez, who pushed for the foreign agents law, called government opponents a "pack of delinquents" and said the law "is in legitimate defense of the right of the sovereignty of the nation."

The government of El Salvador has said the proposed law is necessary to promote transparency and prevent foreign meddling. President Nayib Bukele recently criticized the United States for giving $310 million to nongovernmental organizations in the Northern Triangle. What would the United States government say if we financed its political opposition? Because that's what these NGOs do, and everyone knows that, he tweeted.

Eric Olson, research director for the Seattle Foundation, which gives grants in Central America, said autocrats in the region like to harken to the history of U.S.-backed groups seeking to counter the Soviet influence to taint the work of current groups decades later.

The vast majority of organizations have certainly been independent from the intelligence community of the United States, said Olson, whose nonprofit works with other groups in the region but does not get U.S. government money. But Central American governments, he said, have played on the history of U.S. involvement in the region to justify their actions.

Manfredo Marroquin, director of Accion Ciudadana in Guatemala, a chapter of the anti-corruption organization Transparency International, said his sister organization in El Salvador is already feeling the chilling effect of recent government raids on similar groups and is considering moving its staffers out of the country.

Groups in Guatemala have a February deadline to register and comply with other aspects of that country's law, said Marroquin, whose group monitors elections, promotes citizen participation in government and helps people report corruption. But he is already concerned that it could create problems. If the Guatemalan government takes a heavy hand, he fears groups like his will be less aggressive or more conservative in their actions, especially related to government, he said.

Marroquin, who was part of a group of activists and civic leaders who met with Vice President Kamala Harris when she visited Guatemala in June, said he believes leaders in his region are not only ignoring American pleas for democratic values but thumbing their nose at them. In July, just weeks after Harris visited with a message to preserve anti-corruption efforts, Guatemalas attorney general fired the leading anti-corruption prosecutor, who has since fled to the United States with evidence that he claims implicates President Alejandro Giammattei.

The global nonprofit Oxfam, which seeks to reduce poverty, was among several in August that had their permits revoked and were given 72 hours to shut down operations and leave Nicaragua. Central America director Ana Maria Mendezsaid she's not opposed to accountability and transparency. But she said "there is a clear intentionality and selectivity about who they are going after." She is now concerned about local partners and other organizations in the Northern Triangle region.

With fewer organizations able to combat poverty, Mendez said, more Central Americans will flee.

"When you have absolutely no option and you see your kids starving, you go the next day," she said. "Because you're very desperate."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) opposes disaster aid, unless his state is a disaster epicenter. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)

Consider the two faces of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).

First, the Rand Paul of Dec. 11, writing to President Biden after a string of tornadoes devastated his home state, killing at least 64 and leveling whole communities:

"The Governor of the Commonwealth has requested federal assistance this morning, and certainly further requests will be coming as the situation is assessed. I fully support those requests and ask that you move expeditiously to approve the appropriate resources for our state."

People here will say they have great compassion and they want to help the people of Puerto Rico, the people of Texas, the people of Florida, but notice they have great compassion with someone else's money.

Sen. Rand Paul, 2017

Second, the Rand Paul of Oct. 24, 2017, on the Senate floor opposing a $36.5-billion disaster aid bill to help residents of Texas, Louisiana, Florida and Puerto Rico after hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria as well as victims of wildfires in California:

"People here will say they have great compassion and they want to help the people of Puerto Rico, the people of Texas, the people of Florida, but notice they have great compassion with someone else's money. Ask them what they're doing to help their fellow man."

One almost feels guilty pointing out the hypocrisy of people like Paul, because it's just so easy. A cursory glance at his record indicates that he has consistently opposed federal disaster relief measures.

The received wisdom is that he has voted against every one for the last 10 years; it's hard to confirm that precisely, but examples of his speaking against most of them are easy to find.

The Governor of the Commonwealth has requested federal assistance this morning... I fully support those requests and ask that you move expeditiously to approve the appropriate resources for our state.

Sen. Rand Paul, 2021 (to President Biden)

Paul also has opposed coronavirus relief measures, such as the first pandemic response act, passed in March 2020 with a 96-1 senate vote, Rand standing against it alone. He also opposed a 2020 bill to aid first responders still suffering from the effects of 9/11.

On disaster aid, Paul voted against a 2013 bill to aid victims of Hurricane Sandy, and earlier this year blocked accelerated passage of the Gulf Coast Hurricane Aid Act, a measure to aid victims of the storms in Louisiana. It's still pending.

In all those cases, Paul has couched his opposition as protests against the funding for those bills, specifically the borrowing to pay for them. He's argued that they should all be funded by taking money from other causes, specifically from foreign aid, about which he's strongly critical.

One would like to admire Paul for consistency, at least, except that he's been selective about his anti-spending positions. He voted in favor of the 2017 tax cuts, one of the largest budget-busting measures in recent history (and one that chiefly benefits rich people), for instance. The tax cuts passed the Senate without a single Republican in opposition or a single Democrat in favor.

That points to a fundamental difference between Republicans and Democrats when it comes to disaster aid. Republicans are cheeseparing about public aid until and unless it's for their constituents specifically; Democrats tend to see the issue broadly, favoring these programs regardless of geography.

Republican posturing against disaster aid "for thee, but not for me" is a hardy perennial on Capitol Hill. In 2019, noted the Center for American Progress, 43 of the 58 GOP House members who voted against a $19-billion disaster relief bill had earlier "demanded or endorsed emergency aid funding for their own states."

The measure, which had already been approved by the Senate, passed the House 354-58, with all the "no" votes coming from Republicans.

In 2013, a $50.5-billion relief package for Hurricane Sandy, which had devastated the Northeast, was opposed by 36 Republican senators. Of those votes, 31 came fromRepublicans who had previously sought disaster aid for their own states.

Among the opponents were Paul and Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), who had both sought relief aid for their own states from Hurricane Sandy.

Through his Congressional office, Paul told me, "The truth is that Ive consistently advocated for FEMA disaster money for KY over my 11 years in office, dozens of times." Well, yes. But what about when disasters strike outside Kentucky? Paul continued, "When additional supplemental disaster funds above that budgeted each year have been sought, I have asked that the additional money come from cutting waste elsewhere in the budget.

Of course, waste in government budgets are often in the eyes of the beholder. Paul thinks that foreign aid is a "waste." Not everyone might agree.

On occasion, savvy politicians can use disasters elsewhere to secure money for their own purposes. The best example of this dates from the 1920s, when the Imperial Valley's congressman, Phil Swing, needed to quell opposition to the Boulder Canyon Act, which would fund the project that became Hoover Dam.

A 1927 flood on the Mississippi killed 246 people, sweeping away bridges and breaching the levees over a thousand-mile stretch of the river. A member of the House Flood Control Committee, Swing convened hearings on a levee construction program costing an unprecedented $300 million and invited New Orleans business and political leaders to attend.

I took on the New Orleans men one after another," Swing would recount, "putting to them again and again whether they could see any difference between the Mississippis flood threat to their people and the Colorado River flood threat to the people of the Imperial Valley. The Editor of the New Orleans Picayune came up to give me warm assurances that they would all work for my bill." The bill passed, and the dam project was launched four years later.

Raising spending issues to denigrate projects you think are irrelevant to your own constituents has been known to devolve into farce. Remember the GOP response to President Obama's first State of the Union message in 2009? Then-Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, the designated responder being puffed up at the time as a potential presidential candidate, mined Obama's recession recovery bill for provisions he could ridicule.

The measure included "$140 million for something called volcano monitoring, Jindal mocked. Instead of monitoring volcanoes, what Congress should be monitoring is the eruption of spending in Washington, D.C." Less than one month later, Alaska's Mt. Redoubt erupted, threatening Anchorage with an ash storm and forcing the delay or cancellation of commercial flights that passed over the area.

Leaving aside that active volcanoes around the U.S. potentially threaten thousands of Americans with mudslides, poisonous gas emissions and lava flows, the $140 million Jindal cited covered not only volcano monitoring, but economic recovery funds for his own state.

Republicans aren't alone in exploiting budget fears to hobble government assistance. Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), has set a new standard for the practice by opposing relief measures that would help his own state more than most others.

"Few states are as reliant as West Virginia on federal money, or get back more than residents pay in taxes," my colleague Jackie Calmes observed in reviewing Manchin's opposition to elements of President Biden's Build Back Better plan. "Manchins constituents relied on federal aid for 33.3% of all personal income last year," compared with 20% in California.

Among the provisions of the spending bill Manchin says he opposes are paid family and medical leave, home healthcare services and an extension of the child tax credit, all of which would flow to struggling West Virginians.

Congressional critics of government spending aren't above taking credit for it when it serves their constituents. That's been the case with coronavirus aid and the $1.2-trillion infrastructure spending bill passed by Congress in November despite the opposition of 200 GOP members of the House and 30 of the 50 Republican senators (including Paul).

Among those who have bragged about money reaching their districts or states from these bills after having voted against them are House members Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina and Gary Palmer of Alabama and Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi.

The lesson that conservatives are constantly confronted with but never learn is that we're all in this world together. Disasters, whether climatological, meteorological or biological, know nothing of geographic boundaries, much less political or ideological ones.

Conservatives oppose government spending on infrastructure and social programs only rhetorically because they do know a few things. They know the spending will help their constituents. They also know that the best way to establish their conservative cred is to oppose it, especially when they know it will pass anyway.

Most of all, they know that more responsible political leaders will ensure that assistance gets to those in need, regardless of how their political representatives vote. Those elected representatives are happy to see the money, they just won't lift a finger to bring it home. There's a word for this sort of behavior: It's "freeloading."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a candid interview for a film that delves into the fall of the Soviet Union and opened up about a time in his life when he was far from occupying the highest seat in the Kremlin.

Putin, who was interviewed in Channel Ones "Russia. Recent History," said at the time of the collapse, he had to make ends meet, so he occasionally drove a taxi, the Guardian reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speeches during the Valdai Discussion Club's plenary meeting in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images) Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

"Sometimes I had to earn extra money," the former KGB agent said, according to the report. "I mean, earn extra money by car, as a private driver. Its unpleasant to talk about to be honest but, unfortunately, that was the case."

Vladimir Putin talks to Governor of Pskov Mikhail Vedernikov during the opening ceremony of the monument to Prince Alexander Nevsky and His Guard at the supposed location of 1224 Battle on Ice, also known as Lake Peipus. (Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images) Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

The paper pointed out that Putin once called the Soviet Unions collapse the "greatest geopolitical disaster of the 20th Century."

Vladimir Putin enters the hall to address Tokyo 2020 Paralympic medalists during the meeting at the Grand Kremlin Palace, on September 13, 2021 in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images) Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

Putin has been accused by critics of being obsessed with reestablishing the old Soviet Union.

"As I look at Russia, Im concerned that their ambition does not stop with Ukraine," Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said in a Senate committee hearing last week. "Putins ambition, personally, is much broader and what happens in Ukraine is an appetizer for a growing appetite on his part."

Putins defenders take the Russian president at his word when he says the separatists fighting in Donbass are not tied to Moscow. They say Putin is lashing out against an over-assertive NATO. U.S. intelligence reports last week said Russia had moved 70,000 troops to Ukraines borders as it builds toward a possible invasion early next year.

Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by phone for more than an hour Thursday.

BLINKEN SAYS RUSSIA WILL FACE MASSIVE CONSEQUENCES IF IT INVADES UKRAINE

Biden assured Zelenskyy of support for Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity.

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He also renewed a pledge that the U.S. and its allies would hit Russia with economic sanctions and intensify defensive aid to Ukraine and NATO allies nearest to Russia if Russia did invade, the White House said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. Ambassador of Armenia to Cuba Anahit Harutyunyan (residence in Ottawa) presented on December 10 her credentials to President of Cuba Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez, the Armenian foreign ministry reports.

During the meeting the President of Cuba congratulated the Ambassador on assuming the mission, expressing hope that Mrs. Harutyunyan will contribute to the further strengthening of the bilateral friendly relations and the deepening of dialogue at different levels.

In turn the Armenian Ambassador thanked for the welcome and congratulations, assuring that she will make all efforts during her mission to promote the bilateral partnership and strengthen the friendship between the two peoples.

Both sides emphasized the importance of cooperation in multilateral platforms, in particular within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Hambardzum Matevosyan received on December 13 Anibal Fernandez, Hard Rock Cafe Internationals Vice President of Franchise Operations and Development, the deputy PMs Office told Armenpress.

The meeting was also attended by Director of the Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF) Davit Papazyan.

Deputy PM Matevosyan welcomed the entry of this famous brand to Armenia and the new business initiative. He said that the government of Armenia stands by the business and is ready to assist the new initiatives as much as possible, which are not only of economic significance, but also will contribute to expansion of business ties and attraction of new investments.

The deputy PM welcomed the opening of the Hard Rock Cafe in Yerevan which is expected to take place in the second quarter of 2022. According to him, it will contribute to development of service field in the capital Yerevan.

The sides highly appreciated the ongoing bilateral partnership between the Hard Rock Cafe International and ANIF, emphasizing the importance of implementation of such prospective programs and entry of such global networks to Armenia.

The first Hard Rock Cafe opened in London in 1971. Currently, the network is operating in more than 70 countries.
YEREVAN, 13 DECEMBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 13 December, USD exchange rate is down by 0.65 drams to 494.67 drams. EUR exchange rate is down by 1.38 drams to 557.44 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate stood at 6.74 drams. GBP exchange rate is up by 1.32 drams to 655.14 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price is up by 20.14 drams to 28305.16 drams. Silver price is down by 6.11 drams to 348.22 drams. Platinum price is down by 35.67 drams to 15029.29 drams.
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. The Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister Arayik Harutyunyan met with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Armenia Anne Louyot, ARMENPTRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister.

The interlocutors discussed a number of issues on the agenda of the Armenian-French friendly relations, stressed the need to develop and expand cooperation in various spheres.

In particular, the parties discussed issues related to the strengthening of trade and economic ties, cooperation in the field of public administration, and further steps in those directions.

Arayik Harutyunyan and Ambassador Anne Louyot expressed confidence that as a result of the effective efforts of the two Governments, the relations between Armenia and France will get a new impetus in the near future.
Hohenfels, Germany  A two-person team of Airmen is dropped off by a Bradley Fighting Vehicle at the forward line of troops. They move down the line of cavalry scouts until they meet another small team, this one made up of U.S. Army artillerymen, who are dismounted from their own Bradley and are outfitting their rucksacks for an extended patrol. They are preparing to scout enemy positions, checking their radios and packing binoculars for a long patrol behind enemy lines. Staff Sgt. George Davis reports on U.S. Armys website.

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U.S. Army Pfc. Kyle Lavorante (left) and Spc. Jakeb Tadlock, Joint Fire Support Specialists with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, observe and report via radio as part of a COLT (Combat Observation Lasing Team) for Combined Resolve XVI at the Joint Military Readiness Center (JMRC) in Hohenfels, Germany, Dec. 8, 2021. (Picture source: U.S. Army/Staff Sgt. George Davis)

The teams are part of the force-on-force exercise portion of Combined Resolve XVI, which includes approximately 4,600 armed forces service members from Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, United Kingdom and the United States. The operations are being conducted by integrated battalions with multinational units operating under a unified command and control element, allowing the U.S., its allies and partners to experience invaluable training alongside each other.

Today we are going out as a COLT (Combat Observation Lasing Team), said Senior Airmen Fernando Marquez, a Joint Terminal Attack Controller with 4th Air Support Operations Group. A COLT team is basically the eyes on the ground when our sensor assets, which typically allows us to see far, cannot do the job. We have to push behind enemy lines, or in as far as possible with the enemy, so we can provide real targeting data for the brigade and division fires assets.

The goal of COLT teams is to identify enemy targets, and, if possible, the teams will use laser targeting systems to mark targets for precision guided munitions. Joint teams of Fire Support Teams, known as FiSTers, and JTACs are best suited for providing COLT support to an Army brigade deployed in a combat scenario.

Our mission is a list of high-value enemy targets, said Sgt. Devon Eaker, a Joint Fire Support Specialist with 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Regiment Hamiltons Own, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. I think Im lucky to have the six guys total that we have right here. Ive worked with these two JTACs before, and Ive worked with the other three FiSTers a lot, and I cant think of a better group of dudes to send forward to do this.

FiSTers are the 1-5FA Headquarters and Headquarters Battery fire support officers, non-commissioned officers and enlisted joint fire support specialists responsible for identifying indirect fire, or fires, missions on the Combined Resolve XVI notional battlefield. FiST teams are attached to all of the multinational maneuver units operating during CBR XVI. This is an opportunity for these multinational units to experience the capability of the U.S. to provide close air support in joint operations.

My fire support NCOs are organic to the field artillery battalion but are tasked out to each maneuver element, said 1st Sgt. Michael York of HHB. They are combat multipliers, and they enable the maneuver units to perform their mission by providing them with fires. So, if there is ever artillery, mortars or attack aviation getting called in, there is a fire supporter attached to that asset.

Air Force JTACs direct the actions of aircraft while engaged in close air support. They can call in close air support from F-22s, A-10s, F-35s, or anything that the U.S. Air Force can provide air-to-ground operations.

Were fighting this new fight, Marquez said. Were getting out of the COIN [counterinsurgency] mentality and moving into this new LSCO [large scale combat operations] fight. So, we are trying to shape the way we fight this new battle.

Despite the proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles in combat operations, both the Army and the Air Force continue to train and develop ground-force fire support teams. The force-on-force exercise held during Combined Resolve XVI at the Joint Multinational Training Center in Germany provides an excellent training opportunity for COLT.

Were essentially deep strike and reconnaissance, Eaker said. We get out there, forward of the FLOT, as close to the enemy as we can, see whats coming and pitch it backwards. And if we can, well kill whats out there. We have access to aircraft via JTACs, fixed and rotary wing. We are in range of all artillery that the brigade has now through 1-5FA. With those combined, theres not much out there that we cant kill.

The modern battlefield is shaped by UAVs directing cameras toward the enemy to gather intelligence. As the fight turns from terrorism to an enemy with more sophisticated electronic equipment and air defense, the potential disruption of UAV imaging is a very real threat. Well trained COLT teams ensure that U.S. Forces maintain the ability to penetrate enemy formations, identify threats and deliver fires munitions onto those threats, helping to maintain overwhelming firepower which is critical to victory on the LSCO battlefield.



U.S. Army Sgt. Devon Eaker (center), a joint fire support specialist with 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, coordinates with members of the COLT (Combat Observation Lasing Team), as they prepare for missions during Combined Resolve XVI at the Joint Military Readiness Center (JMRC) in Hohenfels, Germany, Dec. 8, 2021. (Picture source: U.S. Army/Staff Sgt. George Davis)
The court expressed hope that the next year would bring a new beginning and that people will never see a repeat of April 2021

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday said the state of Maharashtra was "one of the pioneers" in successfully tackling the crisis that arose because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Referring to the deadly second wave of COVID-19, the HC expressed hope the next year would bring a new beginning and that people will never see a repeat of April 2021.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice M S Karnik made the comment while disposing of a bunch of Public Interest Litigations filed last year, seeking several reliefs from the HC on issues pertaining to the state government's efforts, disbursement of resources related to the pandemic.

The HC disposed of the PILs after the petitioners sought permission to withdraw the pleas, saying most of the reliefs sought by them had been granted and the state government had acted upon all orders passed by the court.

"Let us forget about the dark days. But, we must not let our guard down. We hope the New Year brings in a new beginning and we never see a repeat of April 2021," the high court said, referring to the second wave of COVID-19.

"We have no hesitation in saying that Maharashtra was one of the pioneers in tackling COVID-19. We are told that several courts in some states are still not open (for physical hearings). Our collective efforts have succeeded, but we don't want a repeat," the HC said.

The court further said both the state and the Union government must continue to prioritise providing anti-COVID-19 vaccines and requisite medical aid for senior citizens and those with disabilities and co-morbidities, to ensure that citizens remained safe.

"In 2020, we knew nothing of COVID-19, but in April this year, during the second wave, we did. Yet, we let our guard down and witnessed a difficult time," the HC noted.
The comprehension passage in the CBSE class 10 English question paper has sparked a controversy for allegedly promoting gender stereotyping

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday hit out at the CBSE over a comprehension passage in the class 10 English paper, terming it as "disgusting" and a "ploy" of the RSS-BJP to crush the morale and future of the youth.

The comprehension passage in the CBSE class 10 English question paper has sparked a controversy for allegedly promoting "gender stereotyping" and supporting "regressive notions" prompting the board to refer the matter to subject expert.

In a tweet, Gandhi said, "Most CBSE papers so far were too difficult and the comprehension passage in the English paper was downright disgusting. Typical RSS-BJP ploys to crush the morale and future of the youth".

"Kids, do your best. Hard work pays. Bigotry doesn't," Gandhi said.

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi also raised the issue in the Lok Sabha.

In the class 10 exam conducted on Saturday, the question paper carried a comprehension passage with sentences like "emancipation of women destroyed the parent's authority over the children" and "it was only by accepting her husband's way that a mother could gain obedience over the younger ones", among others.

Various excerpts from the passage have gone viral on social media with users calling out the board for supporting "misogynistic" and "regressive opinions" and hashtag "CBSE insults women" trending on the microblogging site Twitter.
We remember him mostly for the negatives attributed to him, but his foresight went largely forgotten

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (Born 9 Decem-ber 1878; Died 25 December 1972) was a man who is today more remembered for his elegant and simple rendering in English of the Mahabharata (1951) and Ramayana (1957). He also served as general secretary of the Congress Party in 1921, was elected as the premier of the Madras Presidency in 1937, governor of West Bengal (1947-48), succeeded Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as home minister in December 1950, and once again became the chief minister of Madras in 1952. There were two sides to him. We remember him mostly for the negatives attributed to him, but his foresight went largely forgotten.

During his tenure as Madras premier in 1937 he made Hindi compulsory in all schools, a move that led to the first anti-Hindi agitation. This also established the anti-Brahmanism of the Justice Party and the Dravida Kazhagam (DK), the forerunner of the DMK and AIADMK. The governor, Lord Erskine, withdrew this unpopular law in 1940.

The long shadow of this was felt when it came to the adoption of an official language for the Indian Republic. Hindi was adopted as the official language of India with English continuing as an associate official language for a period of 15 years, after which Hindi would be the sole official language. Efforts by the Indian government to make Hindi the sole official language after 1965 were not acceptable to many non-Hindi Indian states, who wanted the continued use of English. To allay their fears, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru enacted the Official Languages Act in 1963 to ensure the continuing use of English beyond 1965. It was only after this the DMK dropped its demand for separation. It was during Rajagopalacharis tenure as Union home minister that he first differed with Nehru.

While Nehru perceived the Hindu Mahasabha as the greatest threat to the nascent republic, Rajagopalachari held the opinion that the Communists posed the greatest danger. Their differences came to the fore and after being persistently overruled by Nehru on critical matters, Rajagopalachari submitted his resignation on the grounds of ill-health and returned to Madras.

As things would have it, the Congress Partys poor performance in the 1952 elections opened another opportunity for him. The Communists were in a position to form a government but Nehru played his Rajaji card and got Kamaraj to propose him for CM. The party cobbled together a majority. During this tenure he introduced two measures that made him hugely unpopular with the public and the party.

On June 7, 1952, Rajagopalachari ended the procurement policy and food rationing in the state, abolishing all price and quota controls. This was a rejection of a planned economy in favour of a free market economy.

In July 1953, he introduced a new education scheme known as the Modified Scheme of Elementary Education 1953, which reduced schooling for elementary school students from five hours to three hours per day and suggested that boys should learn the family crafts from their father and girls housekeeping from their mothers. It cemented his image as anti-poor, pro-Hindi, pro-Brahmin leader.

Yet the Congress government awarded him the Bharat Ratna in 1954.

The 70th session of the Indian National Congress held in February 1955 was an historic session as it charted a philosophical and economic course for India. The Avadi session represented the Congress distinct shift towards socialism. The Congress declared the socialist pattern of society to be its goal. The party resolution also stated that planning must take place with a view towards the establishment of such a society.

Rajaji differed from this, and he parted ways with the Congress. In his short essay Our Democracy, Rajagopalachari explained the necessity for a right-wing alternative to the Congress, saying: Since the Congress Party has swung to the Left, what is wanted is not an ultra or outer-Left [such as CPI or Praja Socialist Party], but a strong and articulate Right. He went on in 1957 to found the Swatantra Party with a ragtag bunch of Congress malcontents, former maharajas and openly pro-American lobbies. Nevertheless, he should be known today as the first one to sound the warning against a state-controlled and centrally planned economy, and naive notions of Fabian socialism.

The Swatantra Party stood opposed to government control over the private sector. Rajagopalachari sharply criticised the bureaucracy and coined the term licence-permit raj to the bureaucratic labyrinth that often involved approval by as many as 80 agencies, before a licence could be granted to produce; with the state deciding what to produce, how to produce and how much to produce using state prescribed sources of capital and often even the selling price. Profits leading to capital formation and investment were never a consideration.

The licence-permit raj, rather than creating a more equitable society, actually created a hugely corrupt and inefficient system that created oligarchies and huge inequalities, not just between people but also between regions.

Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao took the first steps to dismantle the licence-permit raj in 1991 when his government effectively dustbinned the Industrial Licensing Policy 1956 and ushered in what has generally come to be known as economic reforms. This is still a work in progress.

All major economies that have grown rapidly have a high level of fixed investment. Only 21 countries have achieved eight per cent growth a year sustained over a 20-year period since the Second World War. The first eight are Asian economies  China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, North Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Hong Kong. Their systems varied, but they had one essential commonality. All of them had, during their periods of rapid growth, very high percentages of Gross Domestic Fixed Capital Formation in GDP, between 30-50 per cent.

Indias capital formation languished in the lower two-digit numbers for the first three decades after Independence. It began to increase from 17.9 per cent of GDP in 1991 to 22.7 per cent of GDP in 2000, and to peak at 37.6 per cent of GDP in 2008, due to the loosening of constricting state controls. Indias GDP growth kept pace with this and rose from 5.2 per cent in the decade 1980-90, to over 6.0 per cent during 1990-2000 and to 7.8 per cent during 2000-10.

If Rajajis rejection of Fabian socialist notions of economic and social development had been the policy in the late 1950s, it would have given India a head start in capital formation, industrialisation and faster economic growth. But better late than never.
According to the UN, from January to September at least one hundred children have died or been injured by mines. Over 1,500 unexploded explosive devices were found in one year. The Chaldean Church calls for large-scale demining. An effective awareness campaign has been promoted among children, Bishop Mekko said.

Mosul (AsiaNews)  The presence of unexploded anti-personnel mines remains a tragic issue in northern Iraq.

According to United Nations, at least 100 children have died or been seriously injured from January to September this year by buried unexploded explosive devices.

At least one in four people is exposed to this kind of risk in one of the countries with the highest "contamination rate" based on reports from various local NGOs.

The problem is rooted in the various conflicts that have occurred over the years, from the Iran-Iraq War (1990-1988) and the US invasion in 2003 to the rise and fall of the Islamic State (IS) group.

Lebanese paper LOrient-Le Jour recently published the story of Awad Qado, a resident of Hassan-Jalad, a small hamlet of some 50 houses not far from Mosul, once a jihadi stronghold.

In 2017, his family was rocked by the explosion of a mine that caused the death of two grandchildren who were guarding livestock. One of Awad Qados children was also injured, while a fourth person lost a leg, plus the loss of cattle and sheep.

We are very much afraid for our children, Awad Qado said. For their safety, we tell them which streets to take and which areas to avoid. People are constantly warned not to pick up electrical wires or anything found on the ground.

In one year, a team from GCS, a private company specialising in demining, found over 1,500 operational explosive devices. In this area, Awad Qado added, every house has a story to tell and many children have died from devices set off by animals wandering in fields and pastures.

Warning signs scattered everywhere are of little value, unable to prevent accidents in the provinces of Mosul and Anbar, the most affected by the problem.

An NGO, Handicap International, reports that when IS fighters pulled out from their strongholds, they left behind countless mines, buried in the ground or connected to certain objects: refrigerators, doors, windows, hidden under rubble, toys, and appliances.

Today civilians, especially children, are paying the consequences. This is why the only possible answer, the only one feasible at present until full demining is undertaken, is to raise awareness.

Mgr Paul Thabit Mekko, coadjutor bishop of Alqosh (Iraqi Kurdistan), spoke to AsiaNews about the huge quantities of explosive devices buried underground.

This is open question in all the areas once occupied by the Islamic State, said the prelate, who served for years as parish priest in the Nineveh plain and headed the Catholic community in Karamles.

While the situation has improved in some areas, not infrequently we hear reports of anti-personnel mines going off, he explained.

The prelate cites the example of the community he once led, namely Karamles. An extensive demining operation was carried out in the area. We knew that it was a dangerous area but they cleaned it up.

At the same time, we invite NGOs and associations to schools and parishes to raise awareness among children, so that they are conscious of the dangers.

The Iraqi Church has always been interested in the issue of unexploded mines and bombs. The Chaldean patriarch, Card Louis Raphael Sako, spoke about it on several occasions calling for the Nineveh plain to be cleared of all such devices.

In a letter dated September 2016, the patriarch said that in order to rebuild houses, churches and hospitals, it is essential to sweep the ground.
by Melani Manel Perera

A court forced the diocese to cancel the event. Twenty-two families with at least one relative in prison were expected to receive tokens of appreciation. For Fr Nandana Manatunga, these actions show the use of force by the authorities against oppressed people.

Colombo (AsiaNews)  A court banned Human Rights Day celebrations, a worldwide event held on 10 December, the Human Rights Office of the Diocese of Kandy (HROK), Central Province, announced.

The latter had organised an event for the following day on the theme Ensure the Prisoners their Dignity and Rights to Human Conditions.

At least 22 families, each with relatives in prison, were set to receive tokens of appreciation for the emotional, social and financial struggles they face.

Police handed over the court order to HROK director Father Nandana Manatunga.

The Kandy court banned the event because it could cause disunity among the countrys various ethnic groups, HROK said. We were forced to cancel but the hardest part was informing tokens recipients, who were eagerly awaiting this event.

When the families were invited the charges and the nature of the crimes blamed on the prisoners were not been taken into consideration.

Former prisoners, members of the clergy, lawyers, prison and United Nations officials, as well as police officers from various ethnic and religious backgrounds were among the invited guests.

How is it possible that the participation of different religious groups can lead to their disunity? asked Fr Nandana.

Speaking to AsiaNews, the priest, recipient of the 2018 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights, expressed his regrets.

The day that honours the commitments and sufferings linked to human rights was cancelled, he said. We express all our disappointment; these actions show the use of force by the authorities against oppressed people.

The clergyman added that he is considering holding the celebrations on another day.

In recent years, HROKs work has been monitored by intelligence services who have repeatedly questioned its staff.

This increased this year after the Counter-Terrorism Investigation Department summoned two staff members to Colombo by the for questioning on two separate occasions.
by Fady Noun

The two Lebanese friars were killed "in hatred of the faith" in Turkey between 1915 and 1917. Fr. Leonard Melki suffered beatings and torture for a week before being executed. The celebration in Jal el-Dib will be preceded by a week of processions, Ways of the Cross, evangelical evenings and concerts.

Beirut (AsiaNews) - The Latin Church in Lebanon, the Capuchin friars and the Order of Franciscan Sisters of the Cross will celebrate the ceremony of beatification of Lebanese priests Leonard Melki and Thomas Salehon Saturday June 4 in the great convent of the Cross (Jal el-Dib - Metn) . The announcement was made by the Apostolic Vicar of the Latins, Msgr. Cesar Essayan, during a press conference held at the Catholic Media and Information Center.

The service will be presided over by Card. Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, in the presence of the Eastern Patriarchs, as Msgr. Essayan himself pointed out. The celebration will be preceded by a week of religious ceremonies: processions, Stations of the Cross, evangelical evenings and concerts. In accordance with a decree issued by St. John Paul II, the beatifications will take place in the countries of origin to allow the greatest number of faithful of that same nation to participate in the functions and attend masses.

The date of the beatification ceremony follows Pope Francis' recent decision to grant authorization to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate decrees regarding the martyrdom of God's servants Leonard Melki and Thomas Saleh. Both were religious of the order of Capuchin Friars Minor who were killed "in hatred of the faith" in Turkey in 1915 and 1917, respectively. Recognition of their martyrdom opened the door to beatification, without the need for recognition of a further miracle.

The two Capuchin missionaries originally from Baabdat (Metn, Mount Lebanon) were arrested, tortured and killed in Turkey during the genocide of 1915, as stated on the official page of the Capuchins in Italy. Father Leonard Melki (1881-1915) refused to deny the faith after hiding the Blessed Sacrament when the police arrived. He was beaten with cruelty for a week. His tormentors even pulled out the nails of his hands and feet. The priest, along with hundreds of other Christian prisoners in Mardin, was then deported to the desert and executed along the way. He was killed by firing squad on June 11, 1915 together with Bishop and Blessed Ignace Maloyan (1869-1915), killed after refusing on several occasions to embrace Islam, and like him 415 other men of the city of Mardin. Their bodies were then thrown into ravines and caves.

After having given hospitality to an Armenian priest during the genocide, Fr. Thomas Saleh (1879-1917) was arrested and sentenced to death, only to be deported in the middle of winter to Marash, together with other prisoners, under the escort of a platoon of soldiers. He died of exhaustion and illness along the way on January 18, 1917, repeating with courage, "I have full confidence in God, I am not afraid of death."

The beatification ceremony will be the third to be celebrated in Lebanon, after that of the Capuchin Blessed Jacques Haddad, founder of the order of Franciscan Sisters of the Cross and promoter of many ecclesiastical institutions on June 23, 2008. The beatification ceremony took place in Martyrs' Square in Beirut.

The Franciscan presence in Lebanon is an ancient one and stretches back to the time of St. Francis. The Friars Minor have represented a sort of bridge between Rome and the Maronite Church to maintain unity even in the most difficult moments. Today they are in Beirut, Harissa, Tripoli and are responsible for two parishes in the south of the country, in Tyre and Deir Mimas.

Hostility towards Christians

Starting from 1894 a hostility towards Christians was fomented resulting in repeated episodes of persecution in various parts of the Ottoman Empire, especially in the region of Mesopotamia with massacres organized or desired by the central government. With the outbreak of World War I, the persecution of the Church became more intense, systematic and fierce, revealing a plan for mass deportation and extermination, thus becoming the "first genocide of the twentieth century" as declared by St. John Paul II and the Supreme Patriarch of all Armenians Karekin II, on September 27, 2001. The massacres began on the night between 23 and 24 April 1915 in Constantinople, when the first people arrested among the Armenian elite were executed. During the "Medz Yeghern" [the great crime or great evil, as it is remembered] more than one and a half million Christians died (Armenians, Syrians, Chaldeans, Assyrians and Greeks). Many foreign bishops, priests, religious and missionaries, also met with death killed without any trial, including the two servants of God on two different dates and places, but under entirely similar circumstances.
by Shafique Khokhar

Nadeem Samson has been in prison since 2017. A new hearing on his possible release is scheduled for tomorrow. The Christian's accusers fabricated a fake Facebook profile to bring charges against him.

Lahore (AsiaNews) - Tomorrow Pakistan's Supreme Court could decide to release on bail Christian Nadeem Samson, a herbalist accused of blasphemy in 2017 and in prison since then. Anurima Bhargava, of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (Uscirf), called on the Pakistani government to grant his unconditional release.

Sanson was unjustly accused of blasphemy and then imprisoned after a in dispute over the payment of a rental deposit: according to the agreements, Nadeem would have paid the owner of the house, Sakhawat Dogar, 4 thousand dollars (over 3,500 euros) to stay a year and a half in a house in the Match Factory area of Shahdara, near Lahore. When the Christian gave notice in 2017 and asked for the money back, Dogar refused to return the bail as agreed and accused Sanson of blasphemy.

To make the charges credible, the Muslim contacted Nadeem's cousin, Abdul Huq, who works as a police informant and who had managed to stage a fake kidnapping case to get Samson jailed a first time 18 years ago.

Abdul Huq Huq created a fake Facebook account using his cousin's phone number retrieved from his herbalist's website. At that point, posing as Nadeem, Abdul Huq wrote a series of messages insulting Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. Police later raided Nadeem's home, handcuffed him, and linked the fake Facebook account to his cell phone and laptop. They then tortured tortured him to make him confess that he wrote the blasphemous messages on social media. A few days later, in cahoots with the police, Sakhawat Dogar and a group of local Muslims burned Nadeem's belongings, including his rental agreement documents and proof of payment.

The Christian was jailed on November 29, 2017, four days after an initial information report was filed against him. He was repeatedly beaten and tortured during the time frame, to the point that he was in critical condition when he entered prison.

In anticipation of the Christmas season, Nadeem's family members hope that by tomorrow's hearing he will be released. For fear of retaliation and threats, Christian relatives are hiding or have moved to other countries.
by Vladimir Rozanskij

Dialogue with Azerbaijan, Armenia and Iran. Platform so far rejected by Georgia. Tbilisi does not trust the Kremlin, still at odds over the separate territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Like the Ukrainians, the Georgians look to NATO to balance the Russian threat.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - Representatives of the countries of the South Caucasus (Azerbaijan, Armenia) along with those of Turkey, Russia and Iran have met in the Russian capital to assess the terms of collaboration under the 3+3 scheme proposed by Erdogan and supported by Moscow. Only the Georgians are recalcitrant to accept this new format, due to opposition to Russia which currenly occupies the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a note stating its opposition to the proposal, which will be worked on throughout the next year. The 3+2 group had a first meeting in Moscow on December 10 in Moscow. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pasinyan received an assurance that in this dialogue there will be no discussion of problems related to the conflict with Azeris in Karabakh, which are reserved for other levels of negotiations.

Tbilisi does not trust the Russians, considering the Kremlin's failure to respect accords made in 2008 by former Russian President Medvedev under the mediation of French President Sarkozy. Moscow responds that the Georgians must take into account the changes that have taken place in recent years, inserting themselves in the dynamics underway in the Caucasus region.

Meeting with OSCE countries (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had made it clear that he wanted to review the security criteria in the region, which Moscow is willing to adjust in exchange for the Georgian renunciation to join NATO. Lavrov stated that "we have proposed to go back to the foundations of the OSCE: equal rights, consensus, dialogue and shared security. I am sure that this system can also be useful for Georgia." He added that for a long time Tbilisi has slowed down the pace of its own development, precisely because it has not respected the interests of all the states involved in the Caucasian equilibrium.

However, after having offered the carrot, Russia also waved the stick, threatening Georgia with new problems if it does not accept its proposals. In the recent Geneva talks, Moscow demanded from Tbilisi guarantees for the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, currently controlled by the Kremlin, similar to the "autonomous republics" of Lugansk and Donetsk in Ukraine's Donbass. The Russian insistence on the autonomy of these territories is in fact linked to fears of NATO enlargement in the East, starting from the Black Sea basin.

Vladimir Putin is acting on several fronts to protect himself against the US and European plans of expansion towards the East, both in Georgia and in Ukraine. According to Valerij Cecelasvili, expert of the Center for Strategic Studies of Georgia and former ambassador in Russia, Moscow tries in every way to shore up its positions, knowing that it is not able to withstand the military and strategic challenge with the United States and its allies. "Russia - explains Cecelasvili - which has a GDP of 1,310 billion euros demands from Washington, an economy of 18,500 billion, and from the entire international community that has established a regime of sanctions against the Kremlin, to have guarantees against the enlargement of NATO." In reality, argues the Georgian expert, "this will be a choice of Georgia and Ukraine, mainly to defend themselves against Moscow's aggression that does not respect the territorial integrity of neighboring countries."

Many analysts believe that Russia is actually bluffing in order to try to stop the course of events, which could take away Moscow's control of most of the former Soviet area.
by Nirmala Carvalho

A parish priest in Belagavi managed to escape an attack, recorded on CCTV. In the last 12 months, 38 episodes of anti-Christian violence were documented in Karnataka. Police detained a Christian couple in Madhya Pradesh after they were accused of "luring" tribal women to convert.

Mumbai (AsiaNews)  Anti-Christian violence continues in India.

In Karnataka, where discussions are underway over a disputed anti-conversion law, the latest incidents involve a Catholic priest attacked with a machete in Belagavi district and three Pentecostal preachers who had their religious books seized and burnt in Kolar.

The first episode took place last Saturday afternoon when an unidentified man wielding a machete entered St Joseph Worker Parish Church where Fr Francis DSouza serves as parish priest.

The clergyman was able to avoid the attack and escape, while the attacker eventually left the scene. The church's security cameras recorded the incident. Fr DSouza later filed a report with police.

Yesterday, in Kolar district, some Hindu nationalist activists stopped three Pentecostal Christians, accusing them of promoting conversions. They took away their religious books and set them on fire.

The police took no action, saying that the Christian community had been warned. For their part, the Hindu nationalists claim that they did not commit any violence, but only reacted to those who distributed Christian books in our neighbourhood.

In the last 12 months we have documented 38 attacks against Christians in Karnataka, said Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), speaking to AsiaNews.

Right-wing nationalist leaders create these situations, denying religious freedom to Indias small Christian community, he explained.

Led by Catholic Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore, Christians took to the streets to protest against the anti-conversion law that the state government wants to pass.

Other incidents of anti-Christian intolerance were reported recently in other parts of the country, most notably in Madhya Pradesh. In the States Barwani district police arrested a couple on charges of luring tribal women with the aim of converting them to Christianity.

Anar Singh Jamre, 35, and his wife Laxmi Jamre, 32, live in the village of Nawalpura. They were arrested on the basis of Madhya Pradeshs anti-conversion law, which was tightened only a few months ago.

The action was taken on the basis of a simple complaint filed by a villager. The two were later released on bail.
by Steve Suwannarat

Backed by Prayut Chan-ocha, the mega-project includes a smart city with port facilities in a southern region that is home to 30,000 people, mostly farmers and fishermen. The protest in the Muslim-majority southern provinces is fuelled by what critics call Bangkoks colonial policies towards the area.

Bangkok (AsiaNews)  Thousands of people are back in the streets today in Bangkok, this time led by environmental organisations and civic groups that oppose the Chana industrial estate project, planned for the southern city of Songkhla.

The rally comes as Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha, a former army general, is set to order the reopening the border with Malaysia for year-end holidays. The aim is to revive border tourism as well as trade, essential for the country.

The protest, largely made up of people who arrived overnight from the south, is scheduled to start at the United Nations headquarters and then move to the nearby government headquarters. It follows the failure to halt the project pending a sustainability study.

The authorities urged people not to gather in the target areas because of COVID-19. However, anticipating the protest, the police threw up barricades, and deployed anti-riot units around the area. The ministers involved in the project are expected to meet today.

Approved in May 2019 as the final decision by the military junta in power since the coup of May 2014, the Chana project envisages the development of an area of 2,560 hectares in an area inhabited today by 30,000 people, mostly fishermen and small farmers.

The project, which would draw about 100,000 workers to Chana to build a smart city equipped with energy systems, port infrastructures and light industries, has met with strong opposition.

In addition to legitimate doubts about the usefulness of such a mega-industrial project, locals are dissatisfied with a government that has brough few benefits to the area in the recent past.

The central government has also been accused of pursuing colonial policies towards a region that includes four Muslim-majority provinces, which are close to neighbouring Malaysia in terms of religion, customs and language.

A previous protest, on 6 December, led to the arrest under emergency rules of 37 elderly people from the villages where the industrial complex is supposed to be built.

Although they were released the next day, also under pressure from the UN officials, their arrest caused resentment and strengthened the local resolve to stop the project.
When you see it, you will understand why. Chads dream pickup isnt your run-of-the-mill truck, but the most eye-catching, hand-fabricated, custom pickup possible, a literal dream come to life in steel and chrome. He calls it Brutally Sexy because its curvy yet powerful (and slightly dangerous), just like his wife. A cliche, but one that she doesnt mind.Chad Martin runs his own custom shop, Chads Custom Dreams, in Saluda, South Carolina, so he knows a lot about turning other peoples dreams into reality. He tells Barcroft Cars in a new interview (see it in full at the bottom of the page) that he had already drawn his own dream pickup on paper in 1999, back when he still had no idea how to go about fabricating it.It would be another while before he actually started work on it, in 2016. And it would be another two long years, during which time he even warned the wife she might want to divorce him because he wouldnt be at home too much, before he saw it to completion. In 2018, Chad and his team brought Brutally Sexy to SEMA , where it drew all eyes and became one of the most memorable customs on display. Today, after more than three years, its still able to attract plenty of attention, worthy of the sassy name it bears.Chad started off with a 1936 Chevrolet Master Sedan, but you wouldnt be able to tell by looking at the finished project. The only things left original on it are the glove box and the bucket headlamps, as everything has been custom-made according to Chads original design.To turn the woeful-looking 36 Chevy into the green-and-white, crew cab dually barge it is today, Chad chopped it half and widened it by a foot (30.5 cm). The front and rear ends were elongated and scooped to hide the wheels and get that curvy look Chad loves so much. The front fenders are from a 1940 International 1-ton truck, remolded to cover 24-inch rims and American Force tires.Everything on the truck is custom , and Chad takes great pride in the fact that everything is steel and he didnt use any fiberglass. The interior is full-leather, in brown and off-white, to color-coordinate with the custom bright green with off-white on the outside. Chad calls this particular shade of green he created himself the Green Dream, and it looks different depending on light and angle of viewing. The gear-shifter is adorned with a custom knob, which is actually the shops logo and which was, in turn, based on Chads equally brutally sexy wife.Suspension is AccuAir e-Level air-ride with 3/8-inch lines in the front and RideTech 4-link in the rear. The bed is a stunning work of art in itself, in satin-finish black walnut boards with stainless steel strips running on top. Chad had plenty of time to dedicate to every little detail during the two-year runtime of the project, and you can tell: the engine bay is painted in Devils Gold and Black, and makes for a startling contrast to the bright green exterior. All doors are suicide-style doors.Speaking of the engine, this truck doesnt impress just with its hulking physical presence and oversize curves. Power comes from a 1999 Dodge 5.9-liter 24-valve Cummins diesel developing 750 hp and mated to a five-speed NV 4500 2WD transmission. The thing rides like a Cadillac, Chad says.It can also be a mean party machine , if youre feeling like it. Inside, theres a state-of-the-art audio system with Diamond Audio 8-inch subs, 6.5-inch component sets in each door, and a 1,100-Watt Diamond Audio amp, and Bluetooth connectivity.The most recent video of this one-off truck comes with an estimated price tag of $500,000, which seems fairly accurate if you take into account the many working hours spent on it, and not consider the sponsorships that made it possible  Chad details those in the second video below. To Chad, though, Brutally Sexy is probably invaluable, because it represents a dream come true As for the motivation you could get from this, Chad says it best. What makes this car so special is I got to dream it up, design it, build it, paint it and see it all the way through. You cant get much better than that, to build your dream. Indeed.
Given its long involvement with law enforcement agencies across the country, Harley introduced over the years a number of dedicated rides. At the moment, for instance, a quick look at whats available will reveal not one, but three police bikes in its portfolio (Electra Glide, Road King, and Iron 883), topped off by an extra two (Electra Glide and Road King) dedicated to rescue first responders.As far as special edition models go, we get three variants of the Electra Glide , namely Peace Officer, Firefighter, and Shrine.All these bikes are rare, of course, given how theyre not made for everyone, but civilians can get their hands on older versions of such special machines through various auction events. Like, say, the one Mecum is hosting at the end of January in Las Vegas.It is there where this 2008 Fat Boy in Peace Officer Special Edition 100th Anniversary guise is being sold, with no reserve, as a very rare two-wheeler. Were talking about one of 1,826 such bikes made that year, but one of just 60 to have been made as an FLSTF wrapped in Vivid Black.The bike is completely unrestored, which might add a bit of flavor to the offering, and it comes with just 7,300 miles (11,750 miles) on the clock  that's under 1,000 miles per year.Mechanically, the bike uses the 1,584cc twin-cam engine fitted with a 6-speed cruise drive transmission and an improved clutch assembly for reduced clutch lever effort.As said, the machine is going with no reserve , and there is no mention of how much it is expected to fetch. For reference, similar bikes go on the pre-owned market for a little over $10,000.
As far as a select few are concerned (112 owners, for example), Lamborghini did the right thing to modernize the Countach nameplate. After all, restomods have been highly successful across the aftermarket realm. Lamborghini probably saw it fitting to join the party.With a mid-engine hybrid supercar of more than 800 horsepower. The looks are inspired by a 1970s/1980s icon. And the capability to reach 62 mph (100 kph) in less than three seconds, as well as up to 221 mph (356 kph)! But that still wasnt enough for some.That immediately transformed the LPI 800-4 into a darling of the virtual realm, as well as target practice for various naysayers. So, just in case someone thinks the modernized version is a bit outrageous, what will they say about an original Lambo Countach getting mashed up with the 1980s Chevy C/K series (aka the OBS  Original Body Style/Old Body Style)?Abimelec Arellano, the virtual artist better known as abimelecdesign on social media, continues his recently crazy Lamborghini line of thought with a new Chevy twist. And doesnt even attempt to sway anyone in its favor, letting his fans decide if the result is 1980s awesomeness or disaster.Luckily, he does give us ample explanations about what happened to the poor/lucky Chevrolet pickup truck. Its OBS body remains largely unmodified, apparently. That is clearly an understatement, as he added the Countach flares and front bumper, adapted and enlarged to fit around the trucks body. Not to mention the iconic side vents, now tucked on the cab pillars. Or the massive wing and meaty wheel/tire combination...Now, theres just one mystery left unsolved. Is the Chevy K1500 still equipped with the American V8, or has the pixel master completed the journey until the very end , fitting the massive Italian V12 under the hood?Update: There is now a second version of the Lamborghini Countach-inspired Chevy OBS. Hence, the truck is now dressed up in the artist's favorite color: Bleu Tahiti.
Only last week, Boeing suffered a significant blow when it was eliminated from the competition for Canadas next-generation fighter jet fleet. One of the two companies left, with major chances of winning, is Lockheed Martin with the F-35. When the competition was announced in 2018, Dassault Aviation and Airbus left before things even began, complaining of the bias towards American companies. Years later, the French aviation company is accusing the same thing.Once again, we notice and regret an American preference prevailing in Europe, declared Dassault representatives in an official statement, following Finlands decision to choose the American solution. The Rafale jets builder went on to say that it will continue to develop its aircrafts capabilities for France and the other countries who want to have a first-rate air force. On the other hand, Lockheed Martin also claims that the F-35 Lightning II is the most advanced, survivable and connected fighter aircraft in the world.Whats undeniable is that the Finnish Air Force will receive 64 F-35A jets, joining the other eight nations that are operating this aircraft from their soil. The number of F-35s in service has already exceeded 730, and this number is likely to grow once the Canadian government makes its final decision, which well probably learn about before the end of the year.Although unhappy about its results in Europe, where it blames an unfair preference for American competitors, the French aircraft developer isnt doing bad at all. It might have lost in Finland, but it won in the United Arab Emirates. Not just any win, but the largest contract ever signed in the history of Frances military aeronautics industry. A win that could be disappointing for Russia, which is also hoping to win big with its next-generation fighter jets on the international market.Whether or not this was a biased decision or one based on the F-35s advantages, only the jets performance over time will tell.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

NVH

NHTSA

The responsible department has eventually determined that three of those 10 vehicles have been delivered, but fortunately for everyone, Audi isnt aware of complaints, warranty claims, accidents, or issues connected to this problem. Authorized retailers have been instructed to check and, if necessary, replace the suspension struts at no cost to the customers. Audi wont offer any reimbursement because the e-tron GT is covered by the limited warranty period for four years or 50,000 miles (80,000 kilometers).According to the Part 573 Safety Recall Report published by the, a manufacturing deviation at a sub-supplier is to blame for this condition. Only a limited number of parts were affected by the manufacturing deviation before it was detected. To whom it may concern, the supplier in question isexpert Vibracoustic GmbH.The affected vehicles were produced for the U.S. market in Neckarsulm in the period from September 14th and September 17th. Audi says the supplier has implemented several process improvements to avoid similar issues in the future. Both dealerships and known customers of the e-tron GT will be informed of the issue no later than January 28th, 2022 as per theEssentially a Porsche Taycan with different badges and styling, the e-tron GT is the most expensive and competent electric vehicle from the German automaker thus far. The base specification kicks off at $102,440 excluding destination charge whereas the RS e-tron GT performance variant is $142,400 before taxes. Believe it or not, the RS-badged model is the most powerful Audi entitled to wear a license plate, more powerful than the R8.
At the moment of writing, Elon Musk was the richest private person on Earth in history, yet he does not own a house, as TIME magazine points out.As a reference, the first-ever Person of the Year by TIME magazine was Charles Lindbergh, the man who completed the first solo transatlantic flight ever.While the magazine did not point this out, we think that Elon Musk is the person who managed to make electric vehicles cool and interesting, instead of just an oddity, and he is doing the same to autonomous vehicles.Unfortunately, we have yet to see genuine autonomous vehicles from the company run by Elon Musk, despite what the Autopilot name might lead you to believe.However, Elon Musk has managed to bring innovation to the field of vehicles, and without his efforts with Tesla Motors products, it is difficult to claim that EVs would have been as popular as they are today.If we look at the reasons why TIME magazine selected Elon Musk to be this year's Person of the Year, you will observe that Elon has had quite a busy year. From winning a contract with NASA to put astronauts on the moon again, hosting Saturday Night Live, or going into space, Elon has been busy.As Time does point out, Musk did find the time to tweet his thoughts to a following of over 66 million accounts. Some of those tweets may have been written on the porcelain throne, while others are memes, announcements of SpaceX plans, Tesla Motors-related news , and many more.Despite some of his tweets, Elon is worth following on that social media platform. The South-African-born businessperson even joked about quitting his jobs to become a full-time influencer due to his huge fan base.Do not worry, though, as he will not do something like this. Elon seems to have his work cut out for him in the following years. Might we suggest perfecting Tesla's Autopilot and improving company culture While he did have a successful 2021, Elon Musk was beaten by Jeff Bezos by 22 years to the TIME Person of the Year distinction. Former winners include Greta Thunberg , Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Angela Merkel, Barack Obama, Mark Zuckerberg, Vladimir Putin, George W. Bush, Rudy Giuliani, Bill Clinton, and many more.Another interesting fact is that Elon Musk is not the first leader of a vehicle manufacturing company to win this distinction, as Harlow Curtice, the President of General Motors from 1953 to 1958, won the distinction in 1955 when the corporation sold five million vehicles and became the first to earn $1 billion in a single year.Curtice was not the first person in the automotive industry to receive this award either, as that honor went to Walter Percy Chrysler in 1928, when he oversaw the merger of the corporation that bears his surname with Dodge and then started work on the famous skyscraper in Manhattan.
As Honda's Research Institute explains, they have developed a technology that allows scientists to synthesize atomically thin nanoribbons. The latter are ribbon-shaped materials that are so thin that their thickness is measured on an atomic scale. In other words, the latest invention from Honda's Research Institute requires advanced microscopes to be seen.With the new tech, scientists can now control the width of those two-dimensional materials that are made of a single or double layer of atoms. These ultra-narrow materials that result from the innovative technology developed by the Honda Research Institute are so small that their width is measured at a sub-10 nanometer scale.For easier comprehension, human hair is about 80,000 to 100,000 nanometers wide. The materials that Honda's Research Institute has managed to obtain are 10 nanometers wide. As theoretical scales go, this is between molecules and atoms, but the tech we are referring to is closer to atoms in size than it is to molecules.Once scientists can control the width of the synthesized nanomaterials that are made at an atomic scale, as Honda Research Institute has done, these can be employed in various fields. As Honda explains, using nickel nanoparticles led to the ability to control the width of molybdenum disulfide, a two-dimensional material.Thanks to the new method, the resulting material will offer superior quantum electron transport at temperatures that are 15 times higher than those that are achieved using conventional methods. The Honda Research Institute claims that the new tech paves the way for more energy-efficient quantum devices The Honda Research Institute was founded back in 2003 in Silicon Valley , California, and its goal is to solve complex problems with direct applications to Honda's current and future technology roadmap. We cannot wait to learn what Honda will do with the new technology, but it is clear that we will not be able to see it.
CVT

More specifically, the brake master cylinder in the subcompact models has been produced with sharp edges on one of the secondary inner cup seal seats. This condition leads to premature wear of the seal, translating to reduced hydraulic pressure applied by the master cylinder under braking.In addition to sponginess, drivers may also experience longer pedal travel. But more importantly, reduced braking performance and extended stopping distance increase the risk of a crash. So far, Hyundai and Kia have identified one warranty claim and zero crashes related to this manufacturing issue.The recall involves the 2020 to 2021 Kia Rio manufactured from September 29th, 2020 through July 1st, 2021, as well as the 2021 Hyundai Accent produced from September 21st, 2020, through July 1st, 2021. The Tier 1 OEM supplier responsible for the incorrectly manufactured brake master cylinder is the Mexican subsidiary of South Koreas Mando Corporation.A grand total of 87 Accents and 76 Rios are called back, and owner notification letters are scheduled to be mailed on January 28th at the latest. Dealers have been instructed to replace the master cylinder with a brand-new one featuring a properly machined body. Owners who have replaced the master cylinder at their own expense are eligible for reimbursement.Over in the United States, the Accent is Hyundais most affordable nameplate at $16,645 sans taxes for the base specification. The Rio is even more affordable at $16,150 before destination charge, and both models rely on a 1.6-liter N/A engine with 120 horsepower on tap. Only available with front-wheel drive, the Accent and Rio both use the Smartstream Intelligent Variable Transmission that utilizes a chain belt instead of a traditionals metallic belt as the power transfer mechanism within the gearbox.
Currently, the Italian carmaker is far removed from its successful rally days, as well as from selling iconic models such as the Delta. In fact, the only Lancia on sale today is the Ypsilon, and only in Italy. For those reasons, some analysts believe that Lancia is one of the least strategic brands within Stellantis, as reported by Autonews Europe That being said, Napolitano has already presented Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares with a 10-year plan to relaunch Lancia, a plan based on three new models. First up will be an all-new Ypsilon in 2024 (both hybrid and battery-electric), followed by a compact crossover in 2026 and a compact hatchback in 2028  both fully electric.Clearly volumes are important, but our targets are about profitability, said the Lancia chief exec during a recent interview. We still need to work and need to look at a benchmark... which for us is Mercedes. I dont mean we want to fight against Mercedes, that would be naive, but that is an example of what we look at, he added.Despite not being viewed as a Mercedes rival, Napolitano still believes Lancia can exist in the premium segment, alongside other Stellantis brands such as Alfa Romeo and DS Automobiles. First, Lancia would need to expand to other markets, of course.We initially target to make 25 percent to 30 percent of our sales abroad, to reach 50-50. Our aggressive electrification strategy and our focus on market segments which are very strong in Europe will help us.As for what could help Lancia gain credibility in the premium segment, Napolitano is looking at sustainable materials, strategy-wise, saying that his company could become Stellantis no.1 brand in terms of recycled materials.
SUV

EV

Take, for instance, the Levante GTS in the following video. Not only does it cost more than the pictured GLE 63 S Coupe, but its performance leaves much to be desired for a Maserati with a Ferrari-sourced V8.From a dig and a roll, the Levante GTS cant keep up with the Affalterbach machine thats actually produced in Tuscaloosa instead of Germany. Adding insult to injury, the Maserati loses the straight-line battle to a performance-orientedknown for its rather worrisome build quality.Internet mechanic Scotty Kilmer had the opportunity of checking out a GLE 63 S Coupe recently, a go-faster utility vehicle with 21,000 miles (33,796 kilometers) on the clock that can rightfully be described as a money pit.From weld spatter on the passenger door jamb to an incorrectly made driver-side mirror, the list of issues beggars belief. Other highlights include cracks in the Panamericana front grille because the bolts were tightened too much from the factory, a windshield washer reservoir cap that doesnt fit right, and one too many diagnostic trouble codes that include a general electrical fault between the instrument cluster and touchscreen infotainment system.Worse still, the GLE 63 S isnt available to order at the moment of writing due to a quality issue and the ongoing chip shortage. Considering that Maserati isnt a byword for quality either, the Levante is better enjoyed through a lease rather than buying the car outright with hard-earned cash.Although Tesla hasnt improved its build quality either, themanufacturer from Texas currently offers the quickest-acceleration utility vehicle in the world in the guise of the Model X Plaid. This variant is listed with a tri-motor powertrain and 2.5 seconds to 60 miles an hour (97 kph).
According to Mitsubishi, its first two new vehicles for Europe will be manufactured by Renault. With that info, the Czech website Auto.cz talked to Mitsubishis PR manager in Czechia about a possible new ASX, a very popular model in that country. Marek Vodicka then confirmed the new crossover would arrive in 2023.The logical way to connect both news is that the ASX will use the platform of a Renault vehicle. Considering the Captur is the one that is more similar to the ASX in terms of size, it should be one lending its Mitsubishi sibling its underpinnings. However, Theottle remembered something interesting.The first-generation Captur was closely related to the Nissan Kicks . Although the second-generation crossover uses the CMF-B platform and the Kicks still has the B0 platform, the Nissan design was edgier, which would be more suitable to Mitsubishis squarer styles.That said, Theottle created what looks like a mini Pajero Sport. Although it will certainly not be as capable as its bigger brother in trails and other off-road paths, it at least looks very much like it.Now Mitsubishi ASX fans have two ideas to pick from when it comes to the next generation of the crossover: the one conceived by Kolesa or this one that Theottle imagined. Make sure that you watch Theottles video of the rendering process embedded below (it is always worth it) and that you let Mitsubishi know which style you prefer, but be quick. If the car really arrives in 2023, its development must be well advanced at this point. We would not doubt that design is already set in stone, but only Mitsubishi and Renault will be able to answer that.
Youd probably expect the compact crossover to behave quite well, right? Well, it doesnt, because the version tested by the safety specialists , with two frontal airbags and no standard ESC, scored a very disappointing ZERO stars.According to Latin NCAP , it showed good performance in the frontal and side impacts, yet the lack of standard side airbags is what prevented it from scoring higher. Child occupant protection was poor, on the other hand. Pedestrian protection was deemed as average overall, with poor for the upper legs and low for the head, and more points were lost as it does not feature autonomous emergency braking for pedestrians. Overall, the vehicle achieved 51.21% in the Adult Occupant, 4.37% in the Child Occupant, 49.85% in the Pedestrian Protection, and 6.98% in the Safety Assist.Since the new-gen Hyundai Tucson has arrived in the market in the meantime, Latin NCAP offered to test it out, but the Korean automaker is said to have declined.Latin NCAP is again disappointed by Hyundais attitude to Latin American consumers health and safety, commented Secretary General, Alejandro Furas. It is unbelievable that an SUV like the Tucson does not offer side impact protection and ESC as standard. The long delay in replacement parts delivery is also concerning. We make an urgent call to Hyundai for a dramatic change in basic safety strategy in LAC and level it to its policy in Europe, Australia and US, among others.Alongside the previous-generation Tucson, Latin NCAP also tested the Peugeot 208 , which received a 2-star safety rating. The subcompact model is built in Argentina for the local market and has standard two frontal and two side airbags, and ESC. In the Adult and Child Occupant categories, it received 51.53% and 54.92% respectively, 54.13% in the Pedestrian, and 55.81% in the Safety Assist.
Maritime research is vital for a better understanding of our planet and its everchanging climate. But large, standard vessels are expensive and time-consuming to build, which is why Saildrone has a better alternative in mind: small, autonomous , wind and solar-powered surface vehicles that are cost-effective and dubbed the worlds most capable and trusted USVs. They use the companys patented wing technology, collecting data and providing useful information that can be used in a variety of fields, from maritime security to mapping, weather forecasting, climate change, global fishing, and more.This summer, Saildrone launched several such ocean drones in the Caribbean (in the U.S. Virgin Islands), to gather valuable data during this years Atlantic hurricane season. The USVs went straight onto the paths of hurricanes, transmitting real-time data such as water temperature, barometric pressure, wind speed, wind direction, etc. Theres even footage from one of Saildrones autonomous vessels inside the category four hurricane Sam, in the Atlantic Ocean, with the USV being forced to face 50 ft (15 m) waves and winds over 120 mph (193 kph).Now Saildrone launched three more drones to sail through North Atlantics Gulf Stream for the next six months. They will collect critical, in situ data that will help scientists improve weather forecasts and hold countries accountable for carbon goals. Once again, these small but brave USVs will have to face some of the harshest ocean conditions, in areas that are hard to investigate by conventional crewed vessels.While the Gulf Stream has a very big impact on climate predictions and weather forecasts, it is a challenging area that is tricky to explore, which is why scientists are using these unmanned vessels to collect data instead of risking human lives.The Global Carbon Budget released at this years COP26 climate change conference uses ocean carbon uptake estimates generated by sophisticated models and statistics. But they offer a wide variety of results, which is why researchers want to start relying on actual in situ data. As explained by Jaime Palter, one of the missions researchers from the University of Rhode Island, theres a lot of uncertainty in ocean carbon uptake; nearly 4 billion tons of CO2 separates the average of the model-based estimates from observation-based estimates, which is almost the amount of CO2 emitted by the U.S. every year. With the new in-situ observations, scientists hope they can do better.Saildrone expects to retrieve its three Explorer drones in Newport, Rhode Island, in mid-2022.
The U.S. trucker shortage is nothing to joke about. Were dealing with a record high, according to Chris Spear, President and CEO of the American Trucking Associations. Spear recently told CNN that theres been a 30% increase compared to pre-pandemic times, when the industry was already facing a serious shortage, which is now adding up to 80,000 drivers.In these conditions, it would seem unlikely for a trucking company to intentionally leave out potential drivers, based on their gender. Yet, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a lawsuit against a Minnesota-based trucking company for this precise reason.Stan Koch and Sons Trucking used an isokinetic strength test, the CRT, which according to EEOC disproportionately screened out women, even though they were qualified for the available truck driver positions. Also, the women who were already employed by Koch had to take this test in order to return to work, after having suffered injuries. A federal judge ruled that the test had indeed screened out women and that Koch failed to demonstrate that this test was consistent with business necessity.As a result of the five-year consent decree that resolved the lawsuit, the Minnesota trucking company was asked to pay $500,000 in damages, in addition to having to make job offers to the women whose jobs offers were previously revoked, based on them having failed the CRT test. Koch will no longer be able to use this particular test, and will also have to demonstrate the business necessity of any future physical abilities test it intends to use.The court found that the use of an isokinetic strength test as an employment screen was unlawful because it had a negative impact on women and it was not shown to serve any legitimate purpose that benefited the company, said Julianne Bowman, the EEOC's district director in Chicago.Only a couple of months ago, the EEOC won a similar case against a trucking company in Iowa, which was using the same CRT test. As a growing number of women are finding success in this male-dominated industry, EEOC states that no unnecessary barriers should be held against them.
Thousands of protesters across Serbia blocked roadways and bridges for the third consecutive weekend over the government's environmental policies, including a proposal for a new lithium mine that activists say would wreak havoc on the country's already extremely polluted environment.

Why it matters: These are some of the largest anti-government protests President Aleksandar Vucic's government has seen in years, and come ahead of April's general election.

Driving the news: The protests were initially prompted by two recently adopted laws that would have lowered the country's referendum threshold and allowed the state to more quickly acquire private property through expropriation, essentially paving the way for the expansion of foreign mining projects, according to Sran Cvijic, a senior policy analyst at the Open Society Foundation.

Those projects, protesters say, could include a new lithium mine run by Anglo-Australian company Rio Tinto in western Serbia.

The protests come amid deepening environmental concerns in Serbia. A 2019 report from the Global Alliance for Health and Pollution found that Serbia has the highest number of deaths from pollution in Europe, and ranks ninth in the world.

Vucic last week agreed to withdraw and amend the controversial laws.

"We have to see if we want that mine or not, and there should be a public debate about it," Vucic said in a national address. "I want to calm people down and tell them that we are on your side and we will not make any decisions without you."

Yes, but: The government's decision to withdraw the laws is likely "a reaction to the declining support for the ruling party ahead of the elections in the spring next year," Cvijic told Axios.

"It is possible that the government will delay the adoption of the said law until the April elections are over to avoid paying the price of the social mobilization," he added.

That reality has continued to galvanize protesters, Cvijic noted.

A tweet previously embedded here has been deleted or was tweeted from an account that has been suspended or deleted.

Between the lines: While Serbia is no stranger to mass protests, the latest wave of demonstrations is unique in how it has united a wide spectrum of opposition and citizen groups, analysts and observers say.

"This is a big difference and this is why the regime feels threatened," Cvijic said.

Bojan Simisic, from the group Eko Straza, which has helped organize protests, told local media last month that wide-ranging organizations "are in solidarity. Ecological groups have united. These are not different protests."

Activist Savo Manojlovic echoed Straza, tweeting, "Protests for all. Leftists bothered by right-wingers can put up a blockade at a different location. ... Divide yourselves later."

What's next: It's unclear how long the protests will continue. While this past weekend's rallies were smaller than the previous demonstrations, groups have vowed to continue to put pressure on the government and demand guarantees that the lithium mine project will not move forward.
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Cara Williams, one of the last remaining actresses of Hollywoods Golden Age and an Oscar nominee for her performance in 1958s The Defiant Ones, died on Thursday. She was 96 years old.

Williams death was confirmed to Variety by her daughter Justine Jagoda and her great-nephew Richard Potter.

Not only was she a sparkling actress with impeccable comedic timing, she was also funny, over-the-top, warm-hearted and loving, Jagoda told Variety in a statement. She could make anyone laugh and smile if they had a bad day. She was everything that you could wish for in a mother and more. Its a sad loss to lose a woman from this incredible era.

Born as Bernice Kamiat in Brooklyn, N.Y. on June 29, 1925, Williams began working as an actress when she was a child. After her parents divorced, she relocated to Hollywood with her mother and began to attend the Hollywood Professional School, giving voice performances in cartoon shorts. At age 16, Williams was signed by 20th Century-Fox and began appearing in small, often unbilled parts in films such as Wide Open Town, Happy Land and In the Meantime, Darling.

Following a turn in a stage production of Born Yesterday, Williams career ignited in the late 1940s and 50s. The actress earned big supporting roles in Boomerang!, The Girl Next Door and The Helen Morgan Story. She garnered an Academy Award nomination in the category of best supporting actress for her performance as a widowed mother in Stanley Kramers The Defiant Ones, acting opposite Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis. She later took on roles in comedies Never Steal Anything Small and The Man From the Diners Club.

Williams also worked in television, earning an Emmy nomination for her lead performance as Gladys in CBS Pete and Gladys, the networks spin-off of its 1950s sitcom December Bride. A running joke of December Bride involved a supporting character played by Harry Morgan complaining about his dizzy wife, Gladys. Williams stepped into that unseen role for the spin-off series. Williams also later starred in her own series, The Cara Williams Show, alongside Frank Aletter. By the 1980s, Williams had stepped away from acting.

Williams married Alan Gray in 1945. The two had a daughter before divorcing after two years. In 1952, Williams wed actor John Drew Barrymore, son of John Barrymore, and the two produced actor John Blythe Barrymore before divorcing in 1959. Williams later wed Los Angeles real estate figure Asher Dann in 1964. The two remained married until Danns death in 2018 at the age of 83.

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CHICAGO (AP)  Jussie Smolletts conviction for lying to police about a racist, homophobic attack came nearly three years after his report of a horrifying hate crime quickly became part of a polarized political landscape, with people  including the president of the United States  weighing in from all over.

A prosecutor said Thursday's verdict was a resounding message by the jury that Mr. Smollett did exactly what we said he did  recruit two brothers to fake an attack so it could be recorded by a surveillance camera and posted on social media for publicity.

The brothers testified that the former Empire actor paid them $3,500 for the hoax and gave them lines to yell, including about MAGA country, an apparent reference to then-President Donald Trumps Make America Great Again slogan.

The report made headlines around the world and prompted a massive manhunt in Chicago, with roughly two dozen police joining the investigation. It also drew criticism from Trump, who called the police departments handling of the case an absolute embarrassment to our country.

Not only did Mr. Smollett lie to the police and wreak havoc here in the city for weeks on end for no reason whatsoever, but then he compounded the problem by lying under oath to a jury, special prosecutor Dan Webb said after Thursday's verdict.

Smollett, who is Black and gay, maintained throughout the nearly three-year legal battle that he was attacked in downtown Chicago in January 2019 by people who yelled racist and anti-gay slurs and put a noose around his neck.

His attorney declared Smollett's innocence again Thursday after the jury found him guilty on five of six counts of disorderly conduct for lying to police. Nenye Uche said Smollett would appeal the conviction, and is 100% confident his name will be cleared by an appellate court.

Unfortunately we were facing an uphill battle where Jussie was already tried and convicted in the media and then we had to somehow get the jury to forget or unsee all the news stories that they had been hearing that were negative for the last three years, Uche told reporters after the verdict.

The jury convicted the 39-year-old on five counts of disorderly conduct  for each separate time he was charged with lying to police in the days after the alleged attack. He was acquitted on a sixth count, of lying to a detective in mid-February, weeks after Smollett said he was attacked.

Smollett stood and faced the jury, showing no visible reaction as the verdict was read. He and his family later left the courthouse without comment.

Judge James Linn set a post-trial hearing for Jan. 27, and said he would schedule Smollett's sentencing at a later date. Disorderly conduct is a class 4 felony that carries a prison sentence of up to three years, but experts have said if convicted, Smollett would likely be placed on probation and ordered to perform community service.

The damage to his personal and professional life may be more severe. Smollett lost his role on the TV program Empire," which was filmed in Chicago, after prosecutors said the alleged attack was a hoax, and he told jurors earlier this week, Ive lost my livelihood.

The jury deliberated for just over nine hours Wednesday and Thursday after a roughly one-week trial.

Smollett testified that he was the victim of a real hate crime, telling jurors there was no hoax. He called the brothers who testified against him liars and said the $3,500 check he wrote them was for meal and workout plans.

His attorneys argued that the brothers attacked the actor because they are homophobic and didnt like who he was. They also alleged the brothers made up the story about the attack being staged to get money from Smollett, and that they said they wouldnt testify against him if Smollett paid them each $1 million.

Asked Thursday if Smollett could be charged with perjury for lying on the witness stand, Webb said perjury charges generally dont happen after a defendant is convicted, but that it was unclear what would happen in Smollett's case.

He also said the Chicago Police Department was vindicated by the jury's verdict.

A lot of times people say, Well, police officers sweep things under the rug. This police department responded by absolutely testifying in this trial that they took it seriously," Webb said. "They believed he was a victim of a crime and they worked so hard for the next three weeks.

But Uche said Chicago police should have investigated the case much more," and that there were some witnesses who were never interviewed.

He called the jury's split verdict inconsistent, saying it made no sense for Smollett to be convicted of five counts but not the sixth charge, since everything stems from one incident.

David Erickson, a former state appellate judge who teaches at Chicago Kent College of Law, said he thinks the acquittal on the sixth charge may be as simple as the jurys decision not to pile on.

Theyve already convicted him of five counts so theyre thinking, 'Do we really want to convict him again because he said the same lie a sixth time? Erickson said.

An attorney for Abimbola and Olabingo Osundairo, the brothers who testified against Smollett, said her clients could not be more thrilled and pleased with the results."

Chicago police got this one right, Gloria Rodriguez said.

___

Associated Press reporter Sophia Tareen contributed to this report.

___

Check out the APs complete coverage of the Jussie Smollett case.
CHICAGO (AP)  A jurys guilty verdict that Jussie Smollett faked a racist and homophobic attack isnt the end of legal proceedings for the former Empire actor or others.

Smollett, 39, was convicted Thursday of five counts of disorderly conduct for lying to Chicago police about being the victim of a racist, anti-gay attack near his home in downtown Chicago. He maintains his innocence, and his attorney has said he will appeal the verdict.

While the charges carry a possible sentence of three years in prison, legal experts have said Smollett is unlikely to get prison time for the low-level felonies, and is more likely to be sentenced to probation and ordered to perform community service. Judge James Linn didnt set a sentencing date, but scheduled a Jan. 27 hearing for post-trial motions and said he would schedule sentencing after that.

Meanwhile, lawsuits that were on hold pending the outcome of the criminal case may now move forward. They include a lawsuit the city of Chicago filed against Smollett to recoup over $130,000 it spent investigating what police initially believed was a terrible hate crime.

Here's a look at some remaining cases:

CITY OF CHICAGO VS. SMOLLETT

Chicago sued Smollett in April 2019, after he refused to pay $130,106.15 to reimburse the city for police overtime and other costs spent on the investigation.

The city demanded the payment shortly after the Cook County State's Attorney's office dropped the original charges against Smollett for lying to police about the attack. The move by State's Attorney Kim Foxx infuriated then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who lashed out at Smollett for dragging the citys reputation through the mud" and wasting police resources on a hoax.

The lawsuit says the city incurred significant costs investigating the high-profile alleged hate crime, and seeks reimbursement from Smollett for 1,836 hours of police overtime.

A federal judge stayed proceedings pending the outcome of the criminal case after a special prosecutor investigated and new charges were filed against Smollett in February 2020.

In April 2020, U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Kendall also dismissed a countersuit filed by Smollett against the city, former Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, detectives on the case and two brothers who told police he recruited them for the fake attack.

His attorneys said Chicago couldnt go after Smollett for the cost of the investigation because the city accepted his $10,000 bail as payment in full in connection with the dismissal of the charges against him when the original charges were dropped in 2019.

Smolletts countersuit also said he was the victim of a malicious prosecution that caused him humiliation and extreme distress. They said Chicago police didnt have probable cause to arrest him for lying based off of unreliable accounts from Abimbola and Olabingo Osundairo, the brothers who testified last week that Smollett paid them $3,500 to help him with the hoax, and because police didnt pursue other evidence.

Kendall said in her ruling that Smollett could refile his suit if he was found not guilty in the criminal case.

In a statement after Thursdays guilty verdict, the citys law department said the decision confirms that the City was correct in suing Smollett.

The City intends to continue to pursue its lawsuit to hold Smollett accountable for his unlawful actions and to demand that he compensate the City for costs incurred by the Chicago Police Department which took his false claims of harm seriously, the statement read.

A status hearing is scheduled for Dec. 16 in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

OSUNDAIRO BROTHERS' LAWSUIT

The Osundairo brothers, who were star witnesses for the prosecution at Smollett's trial, filed their own lawsuit in April 2019 accusing Smollett's attorneys of defamation and seeking unspecified financial damages.

They claimed that the attorneys accused the brothers of leading a criminally homophobic, racist and violent attack against Smollett, destroying their personal and professional reputations. The lawsuit named as defendants celebrity attorney Mark Geragos, lawyer Tina Glandian and Geragos Los Angeles-based law firm.

The lawsuit also stated that Glandian made public statements that Abimbola Osundairo is gay and participated in sex acts with Smollett. Osundairo said that was untrue, and noted that he has family in Nigeria and travels often to the country, where homosexuality is illegal and punishable by years in prison or even death. Osundairo said the lawyer's statements put his life and the lives of his family in danger.

In a statement issued after the lawsuit was filed, Geragos and Glandian called it ridiculous and a desperate attempt by the brothers to stay relevant and further profit from an attack they admit they perpetrated.

A federal judge in Chicago put the case on hold until the completion of the Smollett trial and asked the parties to file a status report with the court by Feb. 1, 2022.

___

Check out the APs complete coverage of the Jussie Smollett case.
A Lumberton man has pleaded guilty to federal child pornography violations in the Eastern District of Texas.

Stephen John Pieper, 23, pleaded guilty to three counts of production of child pornography before U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone.

He faces between 15 and 30 years in federal prison.

According to court documents, Pieper had had engaged in sexual activity with three victims, ages 15 and 16 years old.

Pieper was found to have used his phone to record the minors engaging in sexually-explicit conduct, the documents said.

The documents said he also admitted to uploading the videos and images he captured of the victims through Snapchat.

Pieper was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 7.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006, by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

This case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Texas Attorney Generals Office and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Grove.

jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com

twitter.com/jd_journalism
Time Magazine named American Gymnast Simone Biles Athlete of the Year.

It shouldnt come as much of a surprise as Biles has been dubbed the GOAT, greatest of all time, of gymnastics. She embodies the perfect example of a champion. Her work ethic, drive and determination are what set her apart from the rest.

Biles is the first African-American woman to win four gold medals in gymnastics at a single Olympics. She is also the first woman to win three consecutive world all-around titles.

After her withdrawal from the Olympic all-around gymnastics competition in Tokyo, fans were concerned for a reason considering her dedication to the sport and her team. Biles opened up about her mental health struggles and wanted to show athletes and people around the world that it is okay not to be okay.

Her team scrambled to replace her in the line-up but noted that they needed to compete for Simone to support her decision. She put a spotlight on prioritizing mental health in sports, which is a conversation that needs to continue.

The gymnast was honest about the triggering points in Tokyo, with the biggest factor being the Nassar abuse that she still needed to heal from.

Out of the dozens of survivors to come forward regarding the former team doctor Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal, Biles is the only remaining gymnast still competing. It took years for Biles to come forward about Nassars abuse, but in 2017 she broke and went to her mother.

Nellie has been the glue to picking up Biles mental state and helping her heal over the last few years. She has been by her side throughout the process and is so proud of how brave her daughter has been to share her journey with the world.

Biles credits her faith for helping keep her balanced in all aspects of her life and even holds her rosary in her gym bag for all of her competitions. Biles is roman catholic and regularly attends Sunday Mass with her parents.

The 24-year-olds path to success has been met with obstacles long before her career even started. She was born in Ohio to a drug and alcohol-addicted mother. Her grandparents adopted Simone and her younger sister and pushed them to chase their dreams.

Simone has said that she was always a gym rat and spent most of her time at the gym practicing gymnastics. She began training at age six, and by the time she was eight, she had already won several competitions.

There are now four gymnastic moves named after the elite athlete, which shows how popular she is.

Simone Biles is a hero, an icon, and a champion. She is also an inspiration to millions of girls and women worldwide, and we cant wait to see what she does next. At just 24-years-old she has accomplished more in her short career than what some athletes and people spend their entire lives trying to do. She is more than deserving of the Athlete of the Year honor.
United States President Joe Biden speaks to representatives of more than 100 countries during the virtual Summit for Democracy, from the White House in Washington, Dec. 9, 2021.

Analysts and an opposition party MP said Monday that Malaysia chose to stay away from a democracy summit hosted by the U.S. last week because the meeting was seen as anti-China amid vigorous efforts by both superpowers to court Southeast Asian nations.

Purportedly non-aligned Malaysia was one of only three nations in Southeast Asia to be invited to the meeting, which took place ahead of a scheduled visit to Kuala Lumpur by Americas top diplomat later this week. The no-show by Malaysias government sends a poor signal about the future direction of its foreign policy, according to the lawmaker and analysts.

Malaysia made the decision not to participate in this summit, Ong Kian Ming, an MP with the Democratic Action Party (DAP), said in a statement.

This is a short-sighted and un-strategic move, which points to a larger lack of coherence and independent thinking in our foreign policy direction moving forward.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob should have grasped this opportunity to reiterate Malaysias firm commitment to the principles of democracy that have been tested for the past three-and-a-half years, the lawmaker said.

Officials at the Prime Ministers Office and the foreign ministry did not immediately respond to efforts by BenarNews to confirm whether the government had attended the summit or ignored the invitation from the Biden administration. Nor did the PMO or the ministry issue any statement beforehand about being invited to the summit, or about not attending.

In Washington on Monday, a State Department official told BenarNews to direct its questions to the Malaysian government.

Only Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines by Washington were invited to participate in the virtual summit hosted by President Joe Biden. The presidents of Indonesia and the Philippines, Joko Jokowi Widodo and Rodrigo Duterte, marked their presence at the meeting attended by officials from more than 100 countries.

Lawmaker Ong Kian, whose party is part of the main opposition Pakatan Harapan coalition, said that some could view Malaysias absence as kowtowing to a certain power  no doubt, he meant China  in an attempt to keep the balance between the two superpowers.

Will Malaysias lack of participation in this summit be interpreted by some that we are tipping over to one side in this tricky balancing act? he said.

Or is this a sign of a directionless government with regards to the complicated area of foreign policy?

Regional political expert James Chin said that Malaysia decided to stay away from the summit because the U.S. had invited Taiwan but not Beijing.

Malaysia skipped President Bidens democracy summit last week because it was widely seen as an anti-China summit, Chin of the University of Tasmania told BenarNews.

Ong Kian said Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah would likely brush aside his criticism, saying Malaysia could deliver its foreign policy messages during Antony Blinkens maiden visit to Kuala Lumpur as the U.S. secretary of state on Tuesday and Wednesday.

But I am sure that Saifuddin is well aware that foreign policy is as much about sending signals about the foreign policy direction of the country in addition to the substantive content that could have been raised by the PM at the Summit for Democracy, the opposition lawmaker said.

One area of such signaling is with regards to Malaysias hedging strategy vis-a-vis the big players in regional geopolitics in Southeast Asia.

Sea dispute

Already, many analysts and opposition politicians were stunned when Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said he would seek Beijings views on AUKUS, a U.S.-United Kingdom-Australia security and defense pact, when it was announced in September.

In a statement that one analyst criticized as inappropriate, Hishammuddin had told the parliament in September: We need to get the views of the [Chinese] leadership, particularly Chinas defense, on what they think of AUKUS and what their action could be.

AUKUS is thought to be aimed at countering Chinas growing influence in the Indo-Pacific, especially in the South China Sea where Beijing has sweeping claims. Malaysia is among other countries that have contending claims in the waterway.

China had denounced the pact, much like it did Bidens democracy summit.

Malaysia has preferred to maintain a working relationship with China, despite Beijings rising assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea, including allegedly in Kuala Lumpurs territorial waters.

Last year, Kuala Lumpur said that Chinese coastguard and navy ships had intruded into Malaysian waters in the disputed waterway 89 times between 2016 and 2019.

When commenting about AUKUS, the Malaysian minister had said that he would have to tread carefully to try and balance the two major powers and that was not any easy thing to do.
HMS Queen Elizabeth and ships from the Netherlands, the U.S. and Japan conduct joint exercise in the Pacific Ocean in August 2021.

The Group of Seven industrialized nations has voiced concern over tensions in the South China and declared shared interest in maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region after an inaugural meeting of G7 foreign ministers with their counterparts from ASEAN.

The G7 comprises the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan. Its top diplomats meeting in Liverpool, England, held a videoconference Sunday with counterparts of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The meeting was hosted by the U.K. which holds the G7 chairmanship this year.

The chairs statement said G7 and the 10-member ASEAN bloc discussed the situation in the South China Sea and concerns were expressed on the land reclamations, activities, serious incidents in the area, including damage to the marine environment, which have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions, and may undermine peace, security, and stability in the region. The statement stopped short of naming any specific country.

China, which has been accused of such activities, was not invited to the meeting and has not yet responded to the statement, which was also posted on the ASEAN secretariats website.

The participants called for an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea that is in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea).

The ministerial meeting was called amid division among ASEAN members about AUKUS, a new trilateral partnership among the U.S., U.K. and Australia which has been criticized by China as potentially stoking a nuclear arms race in Asia.

Malaysia and Indonesia have expressed concerns about the new alliance that would eventually see Australia acquiring nuclear-powered submarines  although not nuclear weapons  from the U.S. and the U.K.

Just a few days before the meeting, Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto reiterated his countrys position on AUKUS is that of course Southeast Asia should remain nuclear free, and the fear among Southeast Asian nations is that this will spark an arms race.

Carl Thayer, emeritus professor at the University of New South Wales, said Sundays meeting was held at the U.K.s initiative and it could reflect the direction of British foreign policy.

It was the United Kingdom exercising its prerogative as the chair of the G7 and that it has its own independent policy toward the Indo-Pacific, Thayer said.

In March, the U.K. government outlined its security, defense, development and foreign policy for the next two decades. Observers said there was a clear tilt to the Indo-Pacific.

This summer, its flagship aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth deployed for the first time to the South China Sea.

U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said the deployment demonstrated British power and commitment at sea, in the skies and over the land while furthering the U.K.s interests and strengthening its partnerships.

Oil and gas production plan

Meanwhile, in a move likely to annoy China, Harbour Energy, a U.K. oil and gas company, announced that a production plan is being put together after successful drilling in two blocks off the shore of Indonesia.

The company said on Dec. 9 that a successful appraisal drilling campaign in Natuna Sea Block A and Tuna Block would be supporting future production.

Harbour did not provide details but local media in Indonesia quoted Benny Lubiantara, deputy planning officer of the governments special task force for upstream oil and gas business activities, as saying that his department and Premier Oil would begin to discuss a proposed plan of development in January 2022.

Premier Oil is Harbours operational name in Indonesia. It merged with Chrysaor to become Harbour Energy plc in 2021.

With the Russian partner Zarubezhneft it drilled two appraisal wells in East Natuna Sea on the Indonesian border with Vietnam which show hydrocarbon potential.

Since the beginning, SKK Migas has categorized the two wells as key wells, Benny said. In addition to increasing national oil and gas reserves, these findings also emphasize the territorial sovereignty of the Republic of Indonesia.

Earlier this month, an Indonesian lawmaker revealed that Beijing demanded that Indonesia stop oil and gas drilling in Tuna Block.

The bloc lies inside Indonesias exclusive economic zone (EEZ), about 10 nautical miles from the Indonesia-Vietnam maritime border but overlaps with the nine-dash line that Beijing uses to demarcate its territorial claims in the South China Sea.

For two months in September and October, a Chinese survey ship  Haiyang Dizhi 10  was conducting a seabed survey near Tuna Block despite protests by Indonesian agencies.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken begins a two-day visit on Monday to Jakarta.

Prior to the visit, his office issued a statement saying the U.S. support(s) Indonesias strong efforts to safeguard its maritime rights and stand up to PRC (China) aggression in the South China Sea, including in its exclusive economic zone around the Natuna Islands.
The nuclear fast-attack submarine USS Connecticut which suffered damage while operating in the South China Sea in early October appears to have suffered a damage to its bow.

Ship spotters have been sharing photos of the sub pulling into the San Diego harbor in California on Sunday morning.

The U.S. Naval Institute (USNI) news portal previously said that the USS Connecticuts ballast tanks and the forward section were damaged.

Its difficult to tell from the pictures but military watchers said it appears that there is a temporary cover over the bow where the submarines sophisticated sonar is located. That means the ship has transited from the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam, where it underwent preliminary assessment and repairs, entirely on the surface as it would be dangerous for it to travel underwater.

USNI News said several anonymous Navy officials confirmed the surface transit of 6,182 miles (9,950 km).

On Oct. 2, the Seawolf-class submarine hit an uncharted seamount during a dive in the South China Sea.

The U.S. Pacific Fleet waited for five days after the incident before issuing a statement, leading to Chinas criticism that the U.S. was trying to cover it up. The Pentagon denied that.

The statement said the USS Connecticut was in international waters in the Indo-Pacific region when the accident occurred and there were no life-threatening injuries to the sailors.

Beijing, however, demanded to know the exact location, while some Chinese sources said the USS Connecticut was spotted in waters off the Paracel islands on Oct. 3, one day after the reported accident.

Analysts said China played up the incident in retaliation to the announcement of the AUKUS  an Australia-U.K.-U.S. trilateral security pact  that is widely viewed as a pushback against growing Chinese military power in the region.

Commanders dismissed

A month-long probe into the collision led to the dismissal of three top commanders of the USS Connecticut due to loss of confidence. The Navy also ordered submarine forces to hold a navigational stand down, or a review of navigational safety procedures.

It is unclear whether the sub will remain in San Diego or transit to its home base in Bremerton, Washington, for repair.

The USS Connecticut is one of three Sea Wolf-class submarines, commissioned in the Cold War era. It is 107 meters long and can carry about 130 sailors and officers. It is believed to cost more than $3 billion to build.

The U.S. Navy has about 70 submarines, all nuclear-powered.
BOISE - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is awarding more than $500,000 in grants to Idaho seeking to reduce emissions from the regions existing fleet of older, dirtier engines and vehicles. The funding is part of $77 million awarded nationwide through the 2021 Diesel Emission Reduction Act.

Cleaner trucks, buses, boats, and heavy equipment keep local economies thriving while better protecting the health of the people living and working near ports, schools, and along delivery routes, said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan.

In EPAs Region 10, which includes Idaho, over $2 million in DERA national grants were awarded to:

Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, $509,502. DEQ program replaces or retrofits eligible vehicles or equipment with new diesel engines, alternate fueled engines (propane, compressed natural gas), or all-electric engines that emit fewer pollutants.

Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (Seattle, WA), $1,000,000. PSCAA project will replace 9 yard trucks with electric yard trucks.

Northwest Seaport AllianceExit Exit EPA website (Tacoma, WA), $719,957. NW Seaport Alliance project will replace drayage trucks with new, cleaner trucks.

Columbia Corridor AssociationExit Exit EPA website (Portland, OR), $372,630. CCA project will replace 5 heavy duty trucks with new, cleaner vehicles.

In addition, more than $2 million in DERA state grants were awarded for diesel emission reduction programs in:

Alaska Energy AuthorityExit Exit EPA website, $506,679. AEA program will replace prime power diesel engines in rural Alaska. These engines typically run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and make the largest impact on air quality for a rural community.

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, $516,957. DEQ program supports upgrades of older transit and school buses with new diesel engines, alternate fueled engines, or all-electric engines that emit fewer pollutants.

Washington Department of Ecology, $526,487. Ecology helps school districts retrofit or replace old school buses with new, clean-running buses and retrofit public fleet vehicles, cargo-handling equipment, locomotives, and garbage trucks in densely populated areas.

In selecting projects for awards, priority is given to projects that: are in areas designated as having poor air quality; reduce emissions from ports and other goods movement facilities; benefit local communities; incorporate local communities in project planning; and demonstrate an ability to continue efforts to reduce emissions after the project has ended.
Sunday morning strolls to the farmers market could include a few stumbles home if distillers are given permits to sell at them.

Small winemakers can buy Michigan farmers market permits to conduct tastings and sell alcohol for consumption off the property.

Some lawmakers want to extend similar permits to local distillers and mixed drink manufacturers.

Farmers markets are a new way to reach customers, said Jon OConnor, the president of the Walloon Lake-based Michigan Craft Distillers Association and owner of Long Road Distillers in Grand Rapids.

For a long time, winemakers have had the ability to taste and then sell directly to consumers at farmers markets, OConnor said. This is a great opportunity to put our members where we think valuable customers are at.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Pauline Wendzel, R-Watervliet, has been referred to the Committee on Regulatory Reform. It does not include craft beer tastings.

Under the proposed legislation, tastings and sales must be limited to a clearly marked area and monitored by the permit holder, said Amanda Shreve, the executive director of the Michigan Farmers Market Association in East Lansing.

Social distancing has also complicated how farmers markets space their vendors and customers, Shreve said.

Some markets during the peak of the pandemic had to limit the amount of vendors they had in order to allow customers to move safely, she said.

Shreve said it has been necessary in some cases to allocate additional space in the market to tastings.

If were trying to maintain the ability to sample and socially distance folks, it in many cases has necessitated additional space to be allocated to the winery, she said.

But those restrictions arent unique to drink tastings, said Sara Johnson, the manager of the Downtown Marquette Farmers Market.

Sampling is a very powerful selling tool, and the pandemic really forced a lot of people to have to change the way theyre doing business, Johnson said.

The ability to have tastings in farmers markets could lead to more sales, said OConnor.

The best opportunity for small-town Michigan companies is to get out and in front of people, OConnor said. People who shop at farmers markets are supporters of things made locally, and with craft spirits we often use a lot of local grain or fruits in our product.

If youre at the farmers market, youre going to be able to meet someone who can explain to you where the grain in the product came from and why it makes a superior product, he said.

OConnor said the association has been approached by farmers markets that want distillers included.

And the addition of distillers could help farmers across the state, said Shreve.

Were excited about welcoming distillers because we recognize that Michigan distillers are using Michigan agricultural commodities to make their products, Shreve said. Were excited about ways to support Michigan farmers, and we believe this is another way to support them by expanding markets for what theyre producing.

OConnor said many farmers can get a better price selling to a distiller than to a mill because distillers pay a premium for high-quality local grain.

Youre supporting a small business and a farmer, he said.

Permits would have to be approved by the local police agency and a farmers market manager.

The Downtown Marquette Farmers Market has successfully worked with wine vendors for several years, said Johnson.

It was really exciting, and more of a unique offering to have at a farmers market, Johnson said. Because of their participation in the market, weve developed a stronger relationship with them as well.

Theres a new distillery in downtown Marquette, and I would love it if I would be able to welcome them to the market, she said.
Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, why former President Trump canceled his January 6th press conference.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The government values the role that all health organisations play in informing health policy

Twenty-one health groups across Australia will share $23.7 million over three years thanks to the Australian Governments National Preventative Health Strategy, furthering support for the health and wellbeing of all Australians.

Organisations such as the National Rural Health Alliance, the Consumer Health Forum, and the Public Health Association of Australia will receive funding through the third round of the Health Peak and Advisory Bodies Program so they can continue engaged, robust and constructive participation in the national health agenda.

The Morrison Governments National Preventive Health Strategy is a 10-year plan to improve the health and wellbeing of all Australians at all stages of life.

The strategy seeks to improve Australias health system, fundamentally focused on the treatment of illness and disease, by increasing the focus on prevention  from illness to wellness, and from healthcare to health.
Launches new hospital in Indiranagar, Bengaluru

Leading eye care specialist Dr Agarwals Eye Hospital plans to invest over Rs 175 crore in expanding its presence in Karnataka over the next two years. The hospital chain made this announcement at the inauguration of its super-speciality eye care centre at Indiranagar in Bengaluru.

In the next two years, Dr Agarwals will set up around 25 hospitals in Karnataka at an investment of Rs 150 crore. In addition, the Group will set up more than 30 vision centres at an investment of Rs 25 crore, taking its total investment in the state to Rs 175 crore over a two year period.

The new centre in Indiranagar will be a refractive hub for the hospital chain, which means that all refractive surgeries from all of Dr Agarwals branches in Karnataka will be performed out of this centre. The hospital is housed in two floors, spread across approximately 5,000 sq ft.

The new centre is offering free consultations for patients who are 50 years or above till the month-end. Karnatakas Minister for Health & Family Welfare and Medical Education, Dr K Sudhakar inaugurated the Indiranagar facility in the presence of Dr Adil Agarwal, CEO and Dr Agarwals Eye Hospital.
The hospital was completed in 100 Days at a fraction of the cost of the comparable facility

UpHealth has opened the first digitally-enabled hospital in Nagaland. The hospital, called HelloLyf HX, is the first facility of its kind and a revolutionary re-thinking of traditional hospitals with a state-of-the-art climate-resilient design vetted and approved by the acclaimed Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. The hospital was completed in 100 Days at a fraction of the cost of the comparable facility.



UpHealths HelloLyf HX digital hospital provides outpatient care, emergency care, radiology and imaging, intensive care, high-dependency care, inpatient care and houses a complete dialysis unit. It is powered by HelloLyf, a leading patient management, digital health and decision support software. The HelloLyf software can link patients with virtual healthcare specialists, worldwide.



The hospital provides 88 e-ICU beds with connected ventilators and injection syringe pumps, mapped to the HelloLyf patient management software, exceeding monitoring systems in place at regional hospitals.



The Nagaland hospital represents the first such hospital that UpHealth constructed. Many such hospitals are planned across India, with many more scoped for Africa with aggressive timelines. UpHealth is also exploring the possibility of similar hospitals in rural and underserved areas of the US.



The HelloLyf HX hospital is outfitted to provide COVID-19 care and resources to Nagaland during the ongoing pandemic and use as an acute care hospital post-pandemic.
Following the SABC's Lesedi FM journalists' lives being threaten for covering the local government elections in the Free State Province, the South African National Editors' Forum (Sanef) has called on law-enforcement agencies to investigate and arrest the responsible parties.

Dangerous hot spots

A threat to media freedom

SABC attack

The criminals have accused the Lesedi FM news team of being responsible for the ANCs defeat at the Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality and Metsimaholo Local Municipality.Lesedi FM News Current Affairs senior producer, Dimakatso Motsoeneng, received death threats including unprintable violence against her children, with her colleagues, Palesa Chubisi and Lahliwe Matsoso, receiving similar threats.The attacks are particularly harsh on women journalists with additional risks that range from sexual harassment, cyber-harassment to rape threats and even murder threats, says Sanef.We also believe that these attacks show disregard for the important role that journalists play in bringing news to the people, especially during this election period, it adds.Anyone with a complaint about a story or broadcast should submit this to the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) or the Press Council where it would be fairly and independently adjudicated.We remain concerned about the impact of these attacks on the medias ability to represent all voices in storytelling and ensuring that all voices are heard.Many areas in the country are increasingly becoming dangerous hot spots to report from as several reporting crews have been robbed and attacked, adds Sanef.Sanef believes that the safety of journalists is intertwined with the general safety and wellbeing of communities whose stories they are out to cover.Lack of safety compromises the working environment of journalists as well as their livelihoods. It also threatens media freedom.These attacks place enormous physical and emotional burdens on journalists who are already exposed to severe constraints under a deadly Covid-19 pandemic. Without journalists focusing on the plight of communities, local government stories will go unreported, states the forum.SANEF believes that the ANC should also do its own investigation and distance itself from these criminals using the governing party's name.The party should also rein in its leaders who have publicly attacked the SABC as such behaviour encourages cyberbullying by party members and their followers, particularly on social media, says Sanef.The incident comes on the back of Transport Minister and ANCs head of elections, Fikile Mbalulas, attack on the SABC for its coverage of the November elections.Mbalula, who claimed the SABC never showed the good side of the ANC by focusing on poor service delivery, not only blamed the public broadcaster for the ANCs dismal performance at the polls but he also singled out and attacked SABC editor-in-chief & group executive: SABC News & Current Affairs, Phathiswa Magopeni.Mogopeni is facing a disciplinary hearing for negligence and bringing the SABC into disrepute after the broadcaster ran an episode of its investigative programmein contravention of a court order.Since then Magopeni has lodged a grievance against the SABC. It has been reported that SABC board chair, Bongomusa Makhathini, wants a Sanef-linked board member, Mary Papayya, to recuse herself before he answers questions related to the grievance.Sanef is a non-profit organisation whose members are editors, senior journalists and journalism trainers from all areas of the South African media.
South Africa's water and electricity supply has been an ongoing concern for the emerging market and Kena Outdoor, through its innovative branding strategies for Grandpa, has developed an innovative solution.

JoJo tanks and solar powered batteries were dispatched to community hotspots such as spaza shops and carwashes to assist during load shedding and water shortages.

JoJo Tanks provide an additional water source to water scarce communities.

Solar powered battery packs power spaza shops during power outages for up to 8 hours, allowing them to stay open for longer.

Inconsistent availability of basic services such as water and electricity has been a major challenge for many communities across South Africa. Although the effects of uneven service provision are felt by us all, the emerging market has been the hardest hit. As a company that prides itself on ploughing back to the communities we service, we are always looking for innovative ways of having positive social impact.When Grandpa, a beloved brand, wanted to drive greater brand visibility and reintroduce its new packaging to its consumers, we saw an opportunity for a mutually beneficial approach. We wanted to bring purposeful media to the emerging market while maintaining that Grandpa is for the people.As a team that is intimately familiar with the township economy, we decided to focus on the indispensable and ever present spaza shop owners, and see how we could enhance their service to the community at large as neighbourhood retailers. Identifying where Grandpas brand can be placedin a sustainable and efficient way was the core factor in deciding to provide JoJo tanks and solar batteries to affected communities.With only 65% of South Africans having access to reliable water supply, the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the water access challenges faced by many households and small businesses. Access to clean water is fundamental to the health and dignity of every one of us, every single day. Providing Grandpa branded JoJo tanks (rainwater collecting canisters) to water scarce communities was a creative response to this fundamental challenge. Placing the JoJo tanks at these spaza shops and car washes would not only be a water source at the heart of the community, it places Grandpa there too.South Africa has dealt with the dreaded reality of load shedding for 14 years and counting, and the economic effects of rolling power cuts are most felt by those in the emerging market. To ensure that Spaza shops continued to power through the dark, we supplied branded solar battery packs that provided light and a charging point for the owner.These solar-powered battery packs enable shop owners to keep the lights on for up to eight hours, with at least two light bulbs connected. With the lights on, business owners and the communities they service can continue to function, relieving some of the burden load shedding imposes on businesses due to loss of income and the need for costly backup power solutions.The rollout of this strategy has already begun in selected parts of Gauteng, and we will soon be taking this initiative to other provinces such as Kwa-Zulu Natal. As unconventional as it is, this project has proven itself to be as effective as our high impact billboards across the country. Kena Outdoor is able to achieve such feats because we pride ourselves in adding value for our clients and the communities we work in.
In 2018, California resident Steven Childs wanted to know how much the state paid to a single vendor over a five-year period. Instead of the data, California Controller Betty Yee sent him an invoice for $1,250.

Childs asked more questions and the Controllers chief counsel, Rick Chivaro, admitted the state held electronic records and warrant records akin to maintaining a checking account online.

Today, in a Sacramento superior court, the controller denies having a checkbook and claims the warrant register doesnt contain vendor information. The Golden State is the only state in the nation not to produce state spending under open records laws.

Our organization at OpenTheBooks.com is battling the controller in this case over our freedom of information request for the entire line-by-line state vendor checkbook. When the controller rejected our request, we sued.

Yee is claiming her office couldnt locate a single payment. No, thats not fake news, or a comedy punch line. Californias top financial officer actually argued this in court recently, despite admitting she paid 50 million individual bills last year.
Two Brandon residents unknowingly found themselves on the same flight as Manitobas first omicron variant case, and both have been left confused and frustrated over how their cases were handled.

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Two Brandon residents unknowingly found themselves on the same flight as Manitobas first omicron variant case, and both have been left confused and frustrated over how their cases were handled.

Tannis Fidler had planned a holiday to Cancun with her husband Brian, along with two friends, Darren and Monique Pennell, to celebrate her friends 50th birthday. They booked the trip in March, hoping travel would be relatively safe again. The holiday went smoothly, she said, with everyone following protocols and getting tested for COVID.h

KAREN MCKINLEY/THE BRANDON SUN Tannis Fidler at her home in Brandon. She, her husband Brian and friends Darren and Monique Pennell were all on the same flight as the first omicron variant to arrive in Manitoba, but had very different experiences with getting information about their COVID quarantine status.

The trouble started when their WestJet flight was not a direct one to Winnipeg. They had to fly to Calgary, then get a connecting flight to Winnipeg.

It was on that flight between Calgary to Winnipeg they unknowingly found themselves on a flight with a person infected with the omicron variant of COVID-19.

Canadian domestic flights are not tested for COVID-19 before boarding a plane. Passengers only have to show proof of double vaccination.

They arrived home Dec. 1 and went about their lives. By Dec. 7, Fidler received an email from WestJet telling her she needed to self-quarantine because there had been a case of COVID-19 on her flight.

"At the time I thought, OK, Im at work, no big deal. By 5:15 that night, I had Health Canada calling to tell me I am to be quarantined until Dec. 14 at midnight," she said. "They couldnt tell me any information, but I had to go get a COVID test the next day."

KAREN MCKINLEY/THE BRANDON SUN Darren Pennell says he struggled to get information about his test status.

They had their test, and the man who performed it explained to them that as soon as they test negative, they can go back to work, so he was surprised they were told to isolate for that long. By Friday morning, someone from the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority called to tell them there had been an omicron variant case within three rows of where they were seated.

The confusion set in for Fidler when the WRHA representative told her no one is sure what happened on the flight. Everyone was supposed to receive a standard message from the federal government over the exposure, and that didnt happen, she said.

"Those days, we had nothing to go by," Fidler said.

She said she was calling daily to get answers about what was happening. She was told by the WRHA representative this was the "flight that had changed the world" and they were at a higher risk, leaving her very worried and stressed out.

Equally concerning was they had been going about their lives for six days without any knowledge of their exposure.

By Dec. 10, she received word their tests were negative.

She attributed part of their protection to wearing their masks the entire flight, explaining they were too tired to have snacks, so they just left their masks on.

While she accepts that they needed to be prepared for the risk of infection, she said it was a fight to get answers over their situation.

Darren Pennell said his experience was even more confusing. He too was told to isolate without an explanation and go get tested.

He found out about the omicron variant on the flight from news reports.

"I thought, am I one of those three potential exposures?" he said. "The information we received was wishy-washy. The person talking to us on the phone thought we were in Winnipeg, even though our information is on our paperwork and in the ARRIVECan app."

He was told to check in every three days for updates.

He was only told on Dec. 10 his test was negative and he could return to work.

The whole ordeal has cost them peace of mind and money, Pennell said, because he and his wife missed work while isolating. The ordeal cost them several thousand dollars in fees and lost wages.

He also noticed a lot of inconsistencies in security and customs while travelling. Security staff and guards were having trouble reading through paperwork.

He added he is not questioning if this is a real public health issue, but wants to know why it is so hard to get straight answers on how big of a threat this variant really is. He had been reading social media and news reports with varying messages, from it may not be a big issue, to this could be a massive threat.

"They told Tannis this was life-changing, but told me very little," he said. "I know it is very early, but I really wonder how big of a threat this really is."

 kmckinley@brandonsun.com
The provincial government announced last week it would be making several amendments to the Police Services Act intended to strengthen the Independent Investigations Unit.

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The provincial government announced last week it would be making several amendments to the Police Services Act intended to strengthen the Independent Investigations Unit.

Included in these changes is the proposed creation of an Indigenous liaison position within the agency.

Brandon Urban Aboriginal Peoples Council chair Leah LaPlante said the Indigenous liaison position is a welcome addition to the IIU.

"It is time for Indigenous peoples in Canada to be involved in decisions that affect our lives. The proposed changes to the Police Services Act is a positive step in the right direction," LaPlante said. "There has been a great distance between Indigenous communities and justice."

Additional proposed changes within the agency include discontinuing the practice of allowing police officers to be seconded for IIU investigations; enhancing the rules surrounding which officer-involved situations need to be reported to the IIU; and introducing penalties for officers who fail to comply with the rules, among other things.

The Independent Investigations Unit is the civilian oversight agency that investigates serious incidents involving police officers in Manitoba, both on- and off-duty.

LaPlante believes the amendments being made hold great promise for Indigenous people because having a liaison on the IIU marks the first step in greater trust and transparency. She added the liaison can also play a pivotal role in talking about Indigenous communities, cultures and accepted forms of actions.

"Theres always been that perception that sometimes if police are policing the incident themselves, it never really does get out and back to the community," LaPlante said. "Having a liaison will begin that work of making us feel like were connected to the process."

The proposed position is the opening move in the inclusion of Indigenous people in something that affects the highest percentage of people in the province.

The provincial government worked with First Nations and the Manitoba Metis Federation when making some of these amendments, LaPlante said.

"After working with the chiefs and the MMF, I have to believe that their concerns are being addressed and that we just have to give it some time for this new process to kick in before we start judging how its going," LaPlante said. "Give it some time before this new process starts to work and I think were going to be satisfied with whats happening, and it all comes down to having some people involved in that process."

Last year, the province released the results of an independent review into the act and brought forward several recommendations that would improve accountability in policing through changes to the watchdog.

Ensuring the Indigenous liaison is involved in serious incidents publicly and with communities will help build trust, depending on the offence and where it happened, LaPlante said.

The person named liaison needs to be knowledgeable on Indigenous cultures and should collaborate with all First Nation, Metis and Inuit people in the province.

"I think that will start a relationship that will just build. Its a great place to start," LaPlante said.

Ross Robinson, executive director of the John Howard Society of Brandon, said as Canadians learn more about their responsibilities through truth and reconciliation, it has become clear organizations like the IIU need to have people who represent the culture that was impacted by any event or activity.

"Indigenous people need to be represented everywhere, especially in the justice system where they are disproportionately represented in the justice system on the offender and victim side of things," Robinson said. "Its my hope that including Indigenous representation, where needed  on the IIU is going to go a long way to restorative justice in Manitoba."

Through restorative justice, the victim is given a greater say in the outcomes for offenders. The John Howard Society is a strong proponent of this practice. Restorative justice is carried out in Canada based on Indigenous principles. It is a process that sees things as offences against relationships, rather than crimes breaking the law, Robinson said.

The Indigenous liaison role must be an equal partners in the unit, he added, explaining the liaison cannot fall into the role of "token cultural representative."

Looking at the recommendations and amendments, he added, there needs to be a satisfaction survey at the end of each process and contact with all the people who have cases going through the IIU.

"We can measure experiences, we can measure what people believe the outcomes are. Its fruitless to do any task without measuring the outcomes and looking at it as a success," Robinson said.

He added while the amendments remain critically important that police services and officers must be made to comply with the legislation, it is also important the IIU be staffed by people who are not on the payroll of other police services.

MMF Justice Minister Julyda Lagimodiere said the success is in the inclusion of the Indigenous liaison, marking an important step in having representation in the unit.

The role has the potential to be beneficial because the liaison will aid the unit by providing a collective voice of First Nation, Metis and Inuit people.

"We will make sure that they know what we here as a Metis government, what we hear are issues facing our people," Lagimodiere said.

Justice reform has been an ongoing discussion for more than a decade, and it has taken a long time to get to this stage.

She commended provincial Justice Minister Cameron Friesen for acting on the reforms and amendments included in the Police Services Act.

"Now is a good a time as any, let just move forward," Lagimodiere said.

She added the new role will lead to better transparency and accountability of the IIU to the general public.

Looking to the future, she hopes the Manitoba government will continue moving forward on other systemic recommendations made by the MMF.

Southern Chiefs Organization Grand Chief Jerry Daniels provided a statement to The Brandon Sun regarding the proposed creation of an Indigenous liaison position.

"Shortly after the IIU failed to recommend charges against the Winnipeg police officer who shot and killed 16-year-old Eishia Hudson in April 2020, the agencys civilian director Zane Tessler confirmed to CBC that five of the IIUs eight investigators at the time came from law enforcement," Daniels said. "So while creating an Indigenous liaison position is a good first step, the Southern Chiefs Organization agrees with former senator Murray Sinclair that for proper oversight of police conduct to occur, the IIU needs to be more independent from Manitoba Justice and law enforcement."

 ckemp@brandonsun.com, with Brandon Sun files

 Twitter: @The_ChelseaKemp
Sioux Valley Dakota Nations Wipazoka Wakpa Climate Change and Environment working group held a special workshop for the community on Thursday to help tackle the effects of climate change at the local level.

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Sioux Valley Dakota Nations Wipazoka Wakpa Climate Change and Environment working group held a special workshop for the community on Thursday to help tackle the effects of climate change at the local level.

Climate change and special project co-ordinator Cheyenne Ironman said the climate crisis is a growing and ongoing concern in the community  young people in high school and elders are united and interacting to create a powerful dialogue centred on the emergency.

"Everybody seems to be on the same page. We all agree that this is something important and we want to leave a better future for the [next generations]," Ironman said.

The workshop included speakers from the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources and the Manitoba Climate Action Team providing insights on climate change from the local to the global level.

The severity of climate change needs to be taken seriously, she said, because the effects and impacts are already visible, and are expected to get worse over time.

"A lot of our community can point out whats changing in the environment, but they dont realize that thats climate change. They dont have that scientific terminology," Ironman said. "Its just bringing that awareness that this is part of something larger that is happening on a global scale."

One of the major topics focused on was how climate change affects food production and the rising costs families face when it comes to buying groceries.

Wipazoka Wakpa Climate Change and Environment is working to enhance food sovereignty and security to combat these issues.

"Were trying to think long-term. Were trying to get to the point that if somebody wanted to get all of their groceries here [in Sioux Valley], how do we get there?"

One of the more noticeable changes in Sioux Valley has been wildlife sightings  some animals are no longer seen, while new animals like bears, cougars and moose are starting to be spotted in the area.

"All of these different changes are happening as a result of the weather changing, and over a long period of time how that impacts the whole ecosystem," Ironman said.

Personal safety in the face of a changing climate is also of concern. Sioux Valley is facing the increasing threat of floods, droughts, tornadoes and other extreme weather events, Ironman said, and this has become all the more apparent in the last decade.

These changes are forcing them to think about the infrastructure that needs to be in place  especially because youth and elders are especially susceptible to the dangers of extreme weather such as heat stroke during a heat wave.

"Thats pretty scary," Ironman said. "When you put it in those terms, its pretty serious, and we really need to be thinking about that in our own communities."

She added Wipazoka Wakpa remains focused on doing tangible work in the community.

"Were a self-governing community, and we have more authority to make decisions about our land and how we manage the land, and the agricultural practices that occur on our lands," Ironman said. "When we talk about climate change, its not all bad. Theres a lot of opportunities there to create jobs, to employ people. Were really trying to push our younger people to explore those opportunities and giving them exposure to these jobs that exist."

Curt Hull, the project manager with Climate Change Connection and a member of the Manitoba Climate Action Team, said he appreciated having the opportunity to listen to the concerns and experiences of Sioux Valley community members. The Climate Action Team includes five non-profit organizations collaborating to focus on developing a document regarding resiliency and discussions about climate change in Manitoba.

The team published the document "Manitobas Road to Resilience" in early 2021, and now visiting communities to pass on knowledge included in the document and learn from the lived experience of community members.

"We can really start to understand better what individual perspective and community perspectives are with respect to climate change," Hull said. "Our intention as the Climate Action team is to move forward in concert with communities to foster policy."

The challenge communities face is they need to be able to feed themselves locally, heat buildings and move all goods and people without fossil fuels. Hull said this needs to be accomplished using electric resources and new energy.

"We dont want to come into a community and say, OK were going to do this. Instead, we want to understand, first of all, what the situation is, and then understand what the community would like to do so we can move forward into actually making that happen," Hull said.

He added Road to Resilience includes specific ideas for steps communities could potentially take to combat climate change.

Durdana Islam, program manager with the Climate Action Team Road to Resilience Project, was impressed with the inter-generational knowledge transferring and collaboration between young people and elders in Sioux Valley.

"We have to feed people. We have to warm our houses. We have to transport people. And also, we have to generate electricity without burning fossil fuels," Islam said. "How do we do that?"

There is a need to work with communities because the current phase of the Road to Resilience project will be working with 10 communities  five First Nation and five settler communities  sharing the message of their work to encourage participation.

"We want to learn from the community," Islam said. "Its learning from the community what they have seen in the past and what is been seeing as an impact of climate change  and how we can move forward as a community together."

The community will choose what they need to see happen when it comes to climate change.

For the first phase, they will be working with the 10 communities. When they move into phase two, they will work with four communities providing 10 workshops based on community needs.

Communities can send a proposal to explain why they want to work together with the Climate Action Team.

Based on the feedback provided by communities, Islam said, the Climate Team will provide a plan on how they can implement changes in response to climate change.

"Community members are the best people to know what is needed in the community," Islam said.

 ckemp@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @The_ChelseaKemp
The University of Technology Sydney will save $11 million on rent by ejecting academics from their own offices where they meet with students and store their large book collections.

Academics are unhappy about the prospect of hot-desking as part of university plans to remove individual offices for staff in the Faculty of Health and Faculty of Arts and Social Science in Building 10 on Jones Street next year.

The UTS building in Jones Street. Credit:Nine

The move comes as universities review plans for staff who have been working from home when students return to campuses next year. The University of Sydney will allow staff to continue working remotely for part of the week, while the ANU expects all its staff to return to campus full time.

Victoria University Vice-Chancellor Professor Adam Shoemaker said staff were looking forward to returning to in-person and on-campus activities from next year, but it was still exploring how they might work under a hybrid model.
An alleged repeat fraudster, accused of running a $2 million cryptocurrency scam and going on the run for six months, will spend Christmas and New Year in a Queensland prison cell.

Peter Clarence Foster, 59, had his matter briefly mentioned in Brisbane Arrests Court on Monday morning, but was not brought up from the cells to appear in person.

The case was adjourned to January 11 in the same court when Mr Foster is expected to appear via video-link from prison. He did not make a bail application on Monday, so he was remanded in custody.

Mr Foster is charged with five counts of fraud, two counts of dealing with identification information and one count of using false records.
Government MPs from Treasurer Josh Frydenberg down are thoroughly cheesed off by the various Independent candidates and Voices movement candidates, backed by a $6 million war chest from the Climate 200 campaign, who are challenging sitting Liberal MPs.

In their view such candidates, who are standing in seats that include North Sydney, Wentworth and Kooyong, are little more than green-left stooges. Certainly, these candidates have some familiar faces working as advisers behind the scenes. And it has to be said, the employment history of the advisers will give succour to those who support the Green-Left-Fairfax-ABC love-in theory.

Former ABC News political editor Jim Middleton. Credit:John Shakespeare

First up, heading communications for the campaign funding group Climate 200 and its moneybags founder Simon Holmes a Court is Jim Middleton, the Howard-era housewives favourite ABC News political editor. Middleton, who left Aunty in 2014 after 44 years (!), started advising HaC in August after post-ABC gigs as a vice chancellors fellow at the University of Melbourne, Sky News presenter and adviser to short-lived Independent South Australian senator Tim Storer.

Middletons position inside Climate 200 comes with a wide purview, including a hand in other Voices campaigns in New South Wales and Victoria.
There is, in a decent society, a vessel of rights that we hold throughout our entire life. Rights that are not created in some legal sonic boom at one undefined point of our existence nor switched off like the power to a fridge because of a fear or a confusion as to the worth of their contents.

Rights, that though you may be unaware of them, apply equally to the person who has unlimited resources and has been blessed with the greatest luck in the random draw of life, and to those who have been less fortunate. Rights such as the right to liberty and the right to habeas corpus.

Julian Assange is taken from court in London in 2019. Credit:AP

A decent society makes the investment to uphold everyones basic attachment to this vessel of rights. You can judge a society on whether the protections and enforcement of these rights is actively pursued by the state in a form where all are truly equal.

In a liberal democracy, care must be taken to avoid laws that stumble around how basic rights may come and go. How a state deliberates over one persons rights is an indication of the clarity, consistency and authenticity it applies over all.
Charli Ronander Berge was tired of studying her UTS fashion design course online in Norway between 2am to 7am to manage the 10-hour time difference.

When told she could return to Sydney on December 6 as part of the first cohort of international students to come back to campus, she was really happy and started to cry.

Charli Ronander Berge, a UTS fashion student, is part of the first cohort of international students to return to Sydney. Credit:Louise Kennerley

The 23-year-old is excited at the prospect of completing the third year of her bachelor of fashion design on campus in 2022. She studied on campus at the University of Technology Sydney from 2019 until July 2020 before returning to Norway.

It was hard ... I was studying online between 2am to 7am because of the 10-hour time difference, she said. We had to attend classes or else we would fail.
More than 1.9 million coronavirus case alerts have been issued in the Service NSW app over the past fortnight as end-of-year celebrations drive an upswing in the states cases.

The alerts, issued between November 29 and December 13, include directions to monitor for symptoms, as well as to test and isolate as contacts of a case. There have been several instances of all patrons at a hospitality venue being placed in isolation for a week as clusters linked to nightclubs and pubs threaten to push daily cases into the thousands by the end of the year.

People queue for COVID-19 testing at Honeysuckle in Newcastle on Monday, after a nightclub party seeded 84 cases. Credit:Darren Pateman

A NSW Health spokesperson said they were unable to confirm how many people were now considered close contacts.

Half of Sydneys systemic Catholic schools elected to learn from home this week as families attempt to avoid being deemed a close contact before Christmas.
A nurse recorded Patient As operation at 23 minutes in length, with the hospital record saying it was 33 minutes. One expert, Cameron Altmann, told the tribunal the operation was astonishingly short. He suggested little time could have been spent on achieving control of the brisk arterial bleeding which had occurred. Dr Altmann said in the most experienced, expert and efficient surgical hands without having to deal with arterial bleeding he would have expected the operation to take at least 70 minutes, but in most cases 90 minutes. The tribunal found the time taken was significantly below standard and accordingly unsatisfactory professional conduct. Dr Mooneys failure to provide post-operative care was also found to be unsatisfactory professional conduct. Patient B was 41 when he died as a result of a sinus operation performed by Dr Mooney in December 2017 during which Dr Mooney caused significant intracranial trauma. Dr Mooney conceded he didnt have the CT scans when doing the operation, and the injuries occurred because he became disoriented. The tribunal held it was not possible for Dr Mooney to have navigated his way through the frontal recess without having CT scans to guide him. The tribunal also said this operation was a complex procedure fraught with potential serious risks. By operating so quickly, Dr Mooney could not have been taking appropriate care.

Neither patient knew that since February 2017 Dr Mooney had conditions placed on his practising certificate because of allegations of cocaine use. In December 2018, five months after Patient As death, Dr Mooneys registration was temporarily suspended after he returned a positive test for cocaine. While the authorities could not ascertain whether the positive test was due to the drugs legal use as a treatment during surgery or illicit personal use, it was the lengths he went to avoid the test that led to his suspension. After the Heralds revelations about the death of the patients, in March 2018 the Medical Council held what is known as section 150 hearing, or emergency hearing, to see if conditions needed to be imposed on a practitioners licence to protect the public while the Health Care Complaints Commission investigates the matter. In July 2018 Dr Mooney was ordered to undergo hair screening for drugs every three months. His first drug test was scheduled for September 27, 2018. A condition of the test was that 3 centimetres of hair had to be provided. When Dr Mooney failed to attend, he provided a medical certificate claiming he was ill. However, the Medical Council obtained Medicare records showing hed had a heavy patient workload at the time. The tribunal found Dr Mooney deliberately misled the section 150 inquiry on November 7, 2018.

When he did turn up, almost a fortnight late, he had a buzz cut so that only 2.75 centimetres of hair was able to be obtained. His hair tested positive to a small amount of cocaine, which experts were unable to determine conclusively as to whether it had been due to work exposure or illicit drug use. In 2018 he told the council hearing he had read 400 articles on the internet about hair testing and was worried about testing positive as cocaine was used in surgical procedures to stop nasal bleeding. Dr Mooney had previously been exposed lying to the commission in early 2017. Allegations had been received about cocaine use as well as a relationship with a patient, whom he was prescribing Duromine, an amphetamine-type stimulant used as an appetite suppressant. Dr Mooney told the hearing he couldnt remember prescribing Duromine and that he had a one-off intimate liaison in a hotel room with the patient, for which he was deeply remorseful.

However, in March 2018 at another Medical Council hearing, it became clear that he had exchanged more than 3000 text messages and had 800 calls with the young woman in question over a three-year period from 2013 to early 2016. Apart from being prescribed Duromine, the woman told her GP hed personally given her diazepam, or sleeping tablets, at Bondi. When Dr Mooney appeared at the five-day hearing at NCAT last month he admitted he had been less than frank about the relationship but that was because he was shocked and scared witless when giving evidence in 2017. But he changed his account of the liaison yet again. He maintained there was no intimacy in the hotel. Instead, he claimed his patient was acting as his de facto counsellor as he was very upset about his marriage breakdown, even though this had occurred some years earlier. We have found that Dr Mooney has, on several occasions, chosen to deliberately withhold information from the regulatory authorities which are charged with protecting the public and maintaining professional standards, the NCAT found on Monday.
As families reunited at Brisbane airport after months, or years, of separation, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk hailed the very important day less than two weeks before Christmas.

But, in a possible sign of things to come, Queensland reported 10 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, including one in the community on the Sunshine Coast.

Annastacia Palaszczuk and newly installed Chief Health Officer John Gerrard update media on Monday. Credit:Dan Peled/AAP

A community case announced on Saturday, a woman who went to a Bunnings store on the Gold Coast, has since been deemed false positive for COVID-19. The case was removed from the states tally.

Ms Palaszczuk said the open border meant it was vital people took all necessary health precautions.
A former Victorian policeman who sexually abused his then stepdaughter will spend less than 14 months in jail, but his victim hopes a gesture by senior police will spare other abuse survivors the heartache she endured.

Robert Scott, 89, was on Monday jailed for two years, minus the fortnight he spent in quarantine when extradited from Britain, for abusing Kim Elzaibak in the 1970s when she was aged between three and nine. Scott was then a serving officer in country Victoria and in a relationship with Ms Elzaibaks mother.

Kim Elzaibak outside court with Inspector Julian Horan, Detective Superintendent Paul OHalloran and Deputy Commissioner Neil Paterson. Credit:Paul Jeffers

County Court judge Bill Stuart ordered 10 months of the sentence be suspended for 10 months, which means Scott has two more months to serve, having spent almost one year in jail since his extradition. He pleaded guilty to three counts of indecent assault.

Judge Stuart said Scotts heinous behaviour had catastrophic consequences on Ms Elzaibak, who last week told the court the devastating impacts she had endured, from a stolen childhood to attempting suicide as an adult, and the compounding pain of a failed police investigation. But the judge was limited by the maximum penalties of five years for each charge as they stood in the 1970s.
None of the women admitted to intensive care have been fully vaccinated, senior doctors at the Royal Womens Hospital, Royal Melbourne Hospital and Monash Health have confirmed. At least 66 pregnant Australians with COVID-19 have needed intensive care in the Delta wave of the pandemic, compared with just one in earlier waves. More than 93 per cent of those patients had not received any COVID-19 vaccine, according to available data. Nurse Kate Fitzpatrick (left) and Denise Jenkins, associate unit manager and midwife at the Royal Womens Hospital COVID maternity ward. At the Royal Womens Hospital, signs surrounding the COVID-19 maternity wards entrance say stop. Only a select team of doctors and nurses, donned in full PPE, are authorised to enter. A PPE spotter checks they are wearing their protective gear properly. Caterers leave meals for pregnant mothers inside the airlock that seals off the 18-bed ward. The packaged food is then collected on the other side by medical staff, who distribute it to the women.

The wards doctors and nurses closely monitor the known risks to COVID-infected mothers and their newborns. The babies are more likely to suffer growth restriction while in utero, so they are scanned twice as often as babies in normal circumstances. In some cases, but not all, the babies are born with COVID-19 or contract it later on. Newborns requiring extra care are treated in a specific ward for suspected or known COVID-19-positive babies in the neonatal care intensive unit, which is also air locked.

The COVID-19 symptoms for vaccinated mothers are usually minimal, obstetricians say. Extra fatigue or perhaps a runny nose. But the fate of unvaccinated mothers looks vastly different. Monash Healths general manager of the womens and newborn program, Andrea Rindt, said the hospitals intensive care unit was treating the sickest pregnant women with COVID in the state. Doctors juggle the multiple tasks of helping the mother breathe, sometimes with a ventilator, while tracking the babys growth and monitoring when and if removing the child is necessary. Dr Woodward said it was extremely difficult to care for pregnant mothers when they were on ventilators and unable to communicate. When youre in ICU, and youre intubated, you cant tell me whether your baby is moving and whether youve got any pregnancy symptoms, Dr Woodward said.

We go over every day, and listen to that babys heartbeat, but were pretty limited in what we can do when youve got a tube down your throat. Weve had a few like that, and its never fun. Royal Melbourne Hospitals intensive care unit director Chris MacIsaac, said in some cases, doctors made the decision to deliver the baby to help ease a mothers respiratory difficulty. If the baby is at term and has been assessed by an obstetrician as being a good time to deliver them and they would be well post-delivery, then as part of the management of the mother we would deliver the baby to help with their respiratory failure, Dr MacIsaac said.

In these rare cases  where the baby needs to be born while the mother was extremely unwell  doctors would perform an emergency caesarean, Dr Woodward said. These women look terrible. They truly are gasping for breath, like someone having a severe asthma attack  that inability to breathe, the panicking. Its really distressing for everyone in the room. Another major challenge in treating pregnant women sick with COVID in ICU was that they cant lie in the prone position, Dr MacIsaac said. This involves lying a patient on their stomach to help them breathe when they have severe respiratory failure. COVID-19 maternity wards were flooded with admissions during the surge in coronavirus cases in October, with Monash Health taking up to seven admissions a day. Over a 13-week period between August and November, Monash Health admitted more than 130 pregnant women with the virus. Of those, 20 per cent were sent to ICU.

Nine women had their babies while they were ICU patients, including five who had emergency caesareans. Not one of the women in the unit was fully vaccinated, Dr Rindt said. Demand has now dwindled across all hospitals, in line with a statewide fall in COVID-19 hospitalisations following a surge in October. Doctors are preparing for another possible rush of cases in December, in line with published Burnet Institute modelling forecasts, but which are now being revised. Royal Womens Hospitals Ms Walsh said unvaccinated women who did not believe in the severity of coronavirus often changed their minds after being in ICU. You can see almost a bit of a change in her mindset  that this is not a cold, she said. Ive never seen someone on six litres of oxygen on a cold before, unless theyve got a very serious underlying respiratory illness.

When she was admitted to the Royal Melbourne Hospitals ICU ward, Kaillee Dyke, was so sick with COVID-19 that doctors nearly performed an emergency caesarean on her while she was on a ventilator, unconscious, and only 26 weeks pregnant. This happened late last year, when vaccines were not yet available. The mother of twins had been rushed to hospital in an ambulance after she was gasping for air, her lungs burning, and she couldnt sleep or talk. Kaillee Dyke and Chris Lassig with their twins. Credit:Darrian Traynor My partner got a phone call one night to say that I was requiring 100 per cent oxygen, and were getting ready to potentially deliver the babies, Ms Dyke said. So if that had happened, he wouldnt have been able to meet them for a long time because of COVID. And I wouldnt have been able to be there with them because I was sick. The babies also would have likely had complicated health issues.

Loading Ms Dyke recovered and was sent home, but she returned to hospital a month later, when she was 34 weeks pregnant, for an emergency caesarean after one of her twins had stopped growing due to a lack of blood flow to the placenta  a problem she said was probably caused by her having COVID-19. Both babies, who are now healthy, spent a month in special care at the hospital after they were born. Ms Dyke had ongoing health problems when she finally took them home. I was very weak, I still had a lot of aches and pains and breathlessness. It was a very difficult recovery, but once your babies are born I suppose you just rally and do what you can do to make sure that theyre OK.
Loading With Moderna, we have a partner that ensures that their IP [intellectual property], their knowledge, their advances in medical science can be brought here and be part of an ecosystem here that will see Australia also be a leader in this area, he said. Echoing statements he made at the Sydney Institute on Monday night, the Prime Minister also acknowledged his government failed to swiftly roll out the COVID-19 vaccine, but said the Commonwealth ultimately overcame the problems plaguing the inoculation program. When youre in a crisis, its not unusual to have setbacks, Mr Morrison said. The proof of managing a crisis is being able to overcome it and we did overcome it, and we were able to achieve those vaccination rates that we hoped to achieve.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said the new manufacturing facility would be key to the countrys medical manufacturing future and help meet the countrys COVID-19 vaccine needs. The interval between full vaccination and booster shots was reduced from six to five months. Acting Premier James Merlino said having local capability would help avoid global supply chain issues and provide a stronger defence against future pandemics. This is a huge announcement not just for Victoria, but the whole country  being able to manufacture mRNA vaccines and treatments locally will lock in vaccine security both on our shores and across our region, he said. Moderna Australia and New Zealand general manager Michael Azrak said he was thrilled the company was pitching tent in the country.

Loading He said while there was no date yet for the completion of the facility or first locally produced doses, he hoped it would be as soon as practically possible. Thats the goal that we all have together, to really mobilise this as quickly as possible, he said. Minister for Medical Research Jaala Pulford told ABCs RN Breakfast Victorias heavy investment into medical research and pharmaceutical manufacturing over the past two decades had ultimately favoured Melbourne over Sydney for the bid. Victorias medical research sector supports about 30,000 jobs and contributes an estimated $21 billion to the states economy, according to government figures.

Melbourne is home to around 60 per cent of medical research that occurs in Australia and around 90 per cent of pharmaceutical manufacturing, she said. So the case that weve been putting to the federal government and Moderna and all others is that this is the only place in Australia where we have those capabilities. Ms Pulford said the government had identified several suitable sites for the facility, which will also conduct clinical trials and research, but was yet to finalise a decision. The federal government could not reveal how much the partnership would cost due to commercial contract negotiations, but it is expected to be worth several billion dollars.

The announcement about the new manufacturing facility comes amid uncertainty over the end of mask mandates in Victoria. Premier Daniel Andrews announced last month a requirement for retail customers to wear masks would be lifted by Thursday unless there was a significant jump in hospitalisations. However, this public assurance is now under a cloud, with state government officials refusing to comment on whether it will proceed as planned, citing the legal requirements of the new pandemic laws which will replace Victorias state of emergency powers from midnight on Wednesday. Epidemiologists have warned against scrapping the rule, citing growing Christmas crowds and uncertainty about the severity of the Omicron strain.

Loading Early studies suggest Omicron may be less virulent than previous strains like Delta but more infectious. To date, only one patient infected with the strain, a person from the UK, has died after being diagnosed. Victoria recorded 1189 cases of COVID-19 and six deaths on Tuesday, bringing the total number of active cases in the state to 11,051. Of those, 364 are in hospital, including 80 in intensive care, with 44 on a ventilator. There were also 39 patients in intensive care who had been cleared of the virus. More than 8433 Victorians were vaccinated against COVID-19 at state-run clinics on Monday, taking the total number of doses administrated at state facilities to almost 5 million, which means 92 per cent of Victorians aged 12 and over are now fully immunised against the virus.

Loading Victorian health authorities are urging people to get their flu shot because of concerns the reopening of Australias international borders could bring a new wave of influenza infections. The Department of Health recommends anyone planning to travel overseas or returning to Australia from the northern hemisphere to get the jab, including children aged six months and over. If a person receives the 2021 flu shot in late 2021 or early 2022, they are still recommended to receive the 2022 formulation of the flu shot when it becomes available, the department said. With Cassandra Morgan, Melissa Cunningham and Aisha Dow
The United Nations anti-racial discrimination committee has written to the Australian government expressing serious concerns about a new Western Australian law being debated this week that governs the states treatment of Aboriginal cultural heritage in the wake of the destruction of Juukan Gorge.

In its letter sent earlier this month, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination says it is concerned the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill being debated in WAs upper house entrenches structural racism in the states law and is incompatible with international race discrimination treaties because it provides too much opportunity for cultural heritage to be destroyed for mining.

Traditional owner Harold Ashburton at Juukan Gorge in 2015, before it was destroyed. Credit:PKKP and PKKP Aboriginal Corporation

The chair of the parliamentary inquiry into the destruction of the 47,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters, Warren Entsch, has also told the WA government he had serious concerns about the state legislation, one aspect of which beggars belief.

The new law is intended to replace the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972. But Traditional Owners, Aboriginal land justice groups and investor groups have criticised the replacement law for maintaining the states ability to unilaterally grant approval to developers to destroy Indigenous heritage sites.
A Perth mother who killed her two daughters said she saw no other way out when she hatched the murder-suicide plan in October 2019.

Milka Djurasovic, 40, is accused of murdering her children Mia, 10, and Tiana, 6, inside their Madeley home while her husband was at work.

Tiana and Mia were killed by their mother in Perth.

Ms Djurasovic has confessed to the killings but pleaded not guilty to the two murders due to being of unsound mind.

During the first day of her Supreme Court trial, the court heard how Ms Djurasovics mental health had deteriorated in the months leading up to the tragedy, with the medical scientist being granted extended sick leave from work as her husband, Nenad, took over most household duties.
The federal government is urging people to tell authorities about independent candidates who will contest the election next year in a bid to force groups like Climate 200 and the Voices of movement to disclose the source of their funds.

A confidential email leaked on Monday night shows the government wants its own MPs and others to tell the Australian Electoral Commission about the new groups in the hope it will make them reveal more about their campaign spending.

Special Minister of State Ben Morton has asked MPs to inform the electoral commission about new groups preparing to engage in the election. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

With Climate 200 founder Simon Holmes a Court hoping to raise more than $20 million, the government is increasingly concerned about candidates who are campaigning on climate change against moderate Liberals in urban seats.

Mr Holmes a Court said the move would have a chilling effect on non-government organisations but would not have any impact on Climate 200, which has reported its donations to the AEC in the past.
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says Julian Assange should not be extradited to the United States to face espionage charges, calling for the WikiLeaks founder to either be put on trial in Britain or brought back to Australia.

Mr Joyce said the Australian citizen, who has spent more than two years in Belmarsh Prison in south-east London, should not be forcibly sent to the US because he was not on American soil at the time of his alleged offences.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says Julian Assange should either be put on trial in Britain or sent back to Australia. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

I have no standing in the British courts. But in that birthplace of the common law, I hope the learned come to a just conclusion, Mr Joyce writes in an opinion piece for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. They should try him there for any crime he is alleged to have committed on British soil or send him back to Australia, where he is a citizen.

His comments were echoed by Liberal MP Bridget Archer, who said Assange should be released and returned to Australia.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has insisted his visit to Australia has nothing to do with China despite enhancing defence ties with Canberra amid increasing tensions with Beijing.

Australia and South Korea finalised a $1 billion defence contract, pledged to boost defence industry ties and strengthen critical minerals and clean energy trade in agreements signed by President Moon and Prime Minister Scott Morrison in Canberra on Monday.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison meets with President of South Korea Moon Jae-in on Monday. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

We will continue to cooperate with Australia for peace in this region, Mr Moon said.

The state visit I make at this time has nothing to do with our position over China.
Residents of the Pilbara, Kimberley and Goldfields may find themselves locked out from pubs and gyms if they are not vaccinated for COVID-19 come February 5.

Tougher restrictions could be put in place in all three regions if COVID-19 vaccination rates remain below 80 per cent double-dosed once Western Australia opens its borders to the rest of the country and the world.

Tougher restrictions could be on the way for the Pilbara, Kimberley and Goldfields if vaccination rates do not lift. Credit:Getty Images

Vaccination rates remain the lowest in the Pilbara where only 46.1 per cent of eligible residents have received both jabs. The Kimberley is sitting at 60.8 per cent double dose and the Goldfields at 65 per cent.

If the regions did not reach the 80 per cent double-dose standard by February 5, they would be subject to enhanced public health measures.
Independent MP James Hayward, who was kicked out of the Nationals Party after being charged with child sex abuse offences, gave no indication of his political future following his latest court appearance on Monday.

Mr Hayward has not entered any pleas for five charges in relation to allegations he sexually abused an eight-year-old girl.

Independent MP James Hayward leaves the Perth Magistrates Court. Credit:Peter de Kruijff

On Monday at Perth Magistrates Court his case was adjourned for a police committal mention on February 21 and his bail was renewed.

Mr Hayward did not answer any questions from waiting reporters about whether he would fight the charges or resign from the WA Parliament.
The chief cyber warrior for the US government was able to speak more freely once hed retired from his twin posts as head of the US National Security Agency and concurrently head of US Cyber Command.

So when I interviewed Mike Rogers in 2018, I wanted to know how deeply Russia and China had penetrated Americas critical infrastructure systems? How much malware had they planted? Which systems could Moscow or Beijing shut down in a crisis?

The US is a blind giant, vulnerable to unseen cyberbombs. Credit:ANP

We dont know, the retired admiral told me. Well only know when it happens. Id heard other top American officials vent privately their frustrations in trying to protect US systems from Chinese and Russian intrusions, but I was struck by the bluntness of Rogers admission.

Three striking implications followed. One, the US was a blind giant. It was vulnerable to unseen cyberbombs, planted in advance and silently lurking in its central nervous system until activated from afar.
While the challenges and complexity of this case are well known, we remain committed to securing justice in this matter, a Crown Prosecution spokesperson said in a statement. Anne Sacoolas has a right to a fair trial. Harry Dunn died in the crash near RAF Croughton in the UK. Credit:Facebook It is extremely important there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice any proceedings, the spokesperson said. Dunns mother Charlotte Charles said she was overwhelmed by the news.

Its been an exhausting and frustrating time since Harrys death but my family and I are feeling very emotional and overwhelmed having just the learned the news that Mrs Sacoolas is now to face our justice system, she said. It is all that we asked for following Harrys death. She said the fact that she did not get the chance to farewell her son would live with her forever. But I made him a promise as I stood over his body and stroked his forehead and kissed his bruised lip, that we would get him justice, she said. We still do not understand why the US Government would treat us, let alone anybody, this way.

Harrys father, Tim, said their campaign for justice had taken everything out of them. I can never forgive them for what they did to us and I still want answers as to why they behaved the way they did, he said. Charlotte Charles, left, mother of British teenager Harry Dunn, and her husband Bruce Charles, centre, arrive in Washington DC in 2019. Credit:AP I am glad that we have reached the point where our main campaign objective is being met. We teach our children that actions have consequences and you do not get to kill someone and just walk away.

This was not what diplomatic immunity was intended for. Thats what our campaign was all about, he said. Radd Seiger, a legal adviser to and spokesman for the Dunn family said it was the first time the US had made ever made such a concession. As far as I can tell, and Ive searched the archives, I think this is totally unprecedented, he told the BBC. It is an absolutely remarkable development. He said without the support of the British media and public, US officials would never have changed their mind.

Were feeling a bit emotional this evening, having fought so hard for this. Loading Our point of principle was that you just dont get to do this and walk away and so what happens from now on is less important to the parents. He said it was expected that Sacoolas would face court from the United States via a video link. The family took their quest all the way to the Oval Office, meeting former US president Donald Trump in October 2019.
Caracas: Venezuelas newest superhero is tall and muscular, flies over Caracas in red tights and a blue cape, and destroys enemies with an iron fist.

He also bears an uncanny resemblance to authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro.

President Nicolas Maduro and Super Bigote to the rescue of the Venezuelan people. Credit:Age

The first episode of Super Bigote, which aired this month on Venezuelas state-run television, opens in the Oval Office, where a rotund leader with a shock of blond hair  he appears to be a cross between The Incredibles villain Syndrome and former president Donald Trump  plots an attack.

Pressing a red button, he launches a drone that attacks the Venezuelan electrical grid, causing a nationwide blackout. A woman cries for help. A patient wakes up in the middle of surgery screaming. Characters resembling Venezuelan opposition leaders Henry Ramos Allup and Julio Borges, dressed as chickens, laugh and celebrate.
Latest News MyState set for major broker play in 2022 "The difference between product and policy is minimal at the moment, but what we've been able to do is ask the brokers to trust us"

Pepper Money predicts 2022 in asset finance space One of Australia's leading lenders on where the sector will travel in the coming 12 months

Roberto Sanz, National Sales Manager at fintech Prospa, believes now is the perfect time for brokers and accountants to diversify into small business lending as the end-of-year period coincides with a surge in business resilience and recovery.

With the end of the year almost upon us, its likely you are looking forward to some well-deserved down time. But many of your self-employed clients are coming out of the pandemic with big plans for the coming year. And whether theyre currently ramping up for a busy holiday season or wondering how to stretch their cash flow through the lean and quiet times in January, it seems that at this time of year small business owners could do with some extra support.

Research conducted by RFi Group and Australian fintech lender Prospa reveals that demand for commercial financing is surging across Australia  a fact reinforced by Prospa National Sales Manager Roberto Sanz.

The research found that one in every three Australian small businesses is looking to get funds in the next six to 12 months to cover asset and equipment purchases and to fund digital transformation or additional inventory as they emerge from lockdown, says Sanz.

Beau Bertoli, Prospa Co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer, shares Sanzs optimism.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that the number of businesses in Australia increased by 3.8% in 202021, which is the biggest increase weve seen in three years.

That firmly points to a resilient economy and the return of business confidence.

It appears that getting access to funding is the vital piece of the puzzle, with 87% of SMEs reporting they would miss opportunities without access to capital. Sanz says brokers and accountants can play an integral role in helping their clients get access to funds if they diversify into business lending.

With business confidence increasing and demand for funds on an upward trajectory as business owners prepare to put their plans into action, now is the time to act, he says, pointing out that he and his team at Prospa are ready to help brokers recognise opportunities and find solutions that work.

Partnering with a specialist business lender such as Prospa can not only open the door to whole new array of opportunities in the broking business model. Sanz believes it is also an important move for mortgage brokers looking to strengthen relationships by offering more to their existing clients.

Experience dictates that starting the conversation is the first step, and he suggests simply reaching out to self-employed clients to ask about their plans for the next 12 months and discuss how they are currently funding their businesses.

It really is as simple as opening the door and letting them know you are there to help, Sanz says. Prospa supports partners with a suite of flexible products designed for the needs of small business, plus direct access to credit teams, white label marketing to help grow their business, and a business team which is on hand to discuss scenarios and options.

And he says all this ensures partners and their clients feel confident and supported.

Regular client offers, such as Prospas current end-of-year offer of no repayments for the first eight weeks on business loans settled by 31 December 2021, also help to support businesses by providing some breathing space for them while they put the funds to use.

As a partner-led business we customise our partnerships with our brokers, says Sanz. We work how they want to work. They can apply online on behalf of their client or simply call or email the Prospa team and then be involved as much or as little as they like  but theyll always be able to track the application in real time.

If youre interested in learning more about the opportunities offered by diversification into business lending, contact Prospa on [email protected] or call the team on 1300 964 808.
Latest News MyState set for major broker play in 2022 "The difference between product and policy is minimal at the moment, but what we've been able to do is ask the brokers to trust us"

Pepper Money predicts 2022 in asset finance space One of Australia's leading lenders on where the sector will travel in the coming 12 months

Settlement experts PEXA have suggested that the peak of the property market in Australia might not yet have been reached.

PEXA, who handle north of 90% of property settlements in Australia, release a monthly report into the state of the market and saw upswings in closed deals in their November results that suggest that the top of the boom might not yet have been reached.

Settlements in New South Wales and Victoria rebounded from their lockdown slumps, which Queensland continued to set the same rapid pace that it has all year.

Mike Gill, head of research at PEXA said that the November results were interesting and set the market up for a strong finish to 2021.

Its always interesting to see the November results, given that theyre the last full month before we hit Christmas, he said.

Read more: Broker market share could yet top 80%, says peak body CEO

What weve seen is that the property market has gone from strength to strength. Looking at sales settlements, weve seen some trends: all states on mainland Australia saw an uplift in November.

Queensland has had a great run in 2021, and for the fourth month running recorded the highest number of sales settlements nationally, with over 22,000.



Its quite unusual to see Queensland outperform New South Wales and Victoria given the difference in population, so thats a stellar result.

We saw NSW and Victoria bounce back after the lingering effects of lockdown. Even though they were lifted some time ago, it takes a while for properties to be listed and then sell, so what weve seen is an uplift as the first wave of the first properties listed after lockdown have gone through and settled.

Weve seen NSW up 15%, a solid bump, and Victoria was up about that too. In WA, we also saw growth  thats interesting because they hadnt in the last few months. This was the highest result since June, with 8,000 sales settlements.

Property market peak in Australia might be some months off yet, say PEXA

Coming into December, we know that it is the busiest month for sales settlements. Thats because of all the properties that get sold through Spring have buyers who are keen to get the keys before Christmas.

Even though it is shorter month, as not much happens after Christmas, we see a huge spike in settlements. This year will be exacerbated as we saw so many new listings come onto the market, especially in October and November and even the early part of this month.

Weve seen vendors keen to take advantage of the red hot property market, which has been historically high, and so have the number of listings hitting the market. The Christmas rush and the abnormally high number of listings mean that w expect December to be a really strong month as well.
With the pandemic still not behind us, Business Standards Annual Awards for Corporate Excellence 2020 would be held in a virtual event for the second year in a row, on Tuesday, with stalwarts of Corporate India in attendance.

Bibek Debroy, chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, will deliver the keynote address at the event, with special focus on the post-pandemic era and implications for the Indian economy.

As the year 2021 draws to a close, the Business Standard awards would bring together the highest-achieving and their leaders together on one platform to share their success stories and future vision.

From CEO of the Year K B S Anand of Asian Paints, Shyam Srinivasan of Federal Bank conferred the Banker of the Year to Star PSU Gujarat Gas, and the new kid on the block and Start-up of the Year Freshworks, the list is as varied as it is inspiring.

How India Inc would navigate the post-Covid world would be the subject of inquiry for a panel discussion by the award winners. This would also include Vishal Bhola, managing director (MD) of Whirlpool of India and C Vijayakumar, chief executive officer and MD of HCL Technologies (HCL Tech). While Whirlpool was chosen the Star MNC of the Year, HCL Tech bagged the Company of the Year title.

It is not just the big but the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which form the backbone of the Indian economy who have been recognised by the awards as well. Star SME of the Year Alkyl Amines Chemicals won the top honours in this category. The companys Chairman and MD Yogesh Kothari would bring in his perspective on the challenges and the role ahead for SMEs in a post-pandemic scenario.

The Business Standards awards would also honour A M Naik, group chairman of Larsen & Toubro, with the lifetime achievement award.
Electric vehicle (EV) Oben has raised $1.5 million in a seed round from We Founder Circle and other investors.

Founded by husband-wife duo, and IIT Kharagpur and IIM Bangalore alumni, Madhumita Agarwal and Dinkar Agarwal, the company is developing electric 2-wheelers in-house with indigenously developed components.

The EV said its electric bike runs for 200 kilometres on a single charge and clocks a top speed of 100 kmph. The company claims that it is the first to develop an electric bike that is 100 percent made-in-India. Oben plans to utilise the newly raised funds to launch its product in the market, accelerate new product development, and expand experience centres.

We are very excited to raise the seed round as this fund will help us enter the market with the first completely homegrown and indigenously developed performance motorcycle and deliver our first set of vehicles to the customers in the next 6 months, said Madhumita Agarwal, Co-founder, Oben EV.

EV is at the cusp of the early-adopter phase in India  and we all know that the real opportunity will be in electric two-wheelers. Oben EV will be one of those start-ups that will set the right standards for the EV industry to grow in India, said Gaurav VK Singhvi, co-founder, We Founder Circle.

One-year-old Oben EV said it is gearing up to launch its electric bike in March 2022. The startup plans to launch four new homegrown EV products over the next two years in various segments to become a leader in the E-2 wheeler industry.
Bengaluru-based two-wheeler electric vehicle manufacturer Ultraviolette Automotive on Monday announced that it has raised $15 million in its Series C from TVS Motor Company and SaaS major Zoho Corporation. TVS Motor Company, which has been an early backer of the company, has led the investment in this round.

Ultraviolette, which is setting up its manufacturing and assembling facility in Electronics City, Bengaluru, will utilize this investment towards the production and commercial launch of its high-performance electric motorcycle, the F77, and will roll out the first batch of motorcycles in the first half of 2022.

EVs are a huge focus area for us and we have invested in this area for over a decade. TVS is committed to developing exciting and aspirational products and we have always believed that EV development has to be ground-up for us to make that quantum leap into the global EV revolution. Ultraviolette brings these values to life in a unique way in the F77, and we are excited to support this," said Sudarshan Venu, Joint Managing Director, TVS Motor Company.

Ahead of the commercial launch of the motorcycle, Ultraviolette Automotive has been rigorously testing the F77 across different terrains in the country, to validate the motorcycles drivetrains, chassis and battery capability using several quantitative and qualitative parameters. The company is currently in the final stages of testing and will commence production of the F77 in the first half of 2022.

"What impressed me most about Ultraviolette is their approach towards building the EV experience in the country - one that is focused on high performance, disruptive design and technology, and superior user experience, all built and developed right here in India, said Sridhar Vembu, Founder and chief executive officer, Zoho Corporation. Ultraviolette has received over 50,000 booking interests for the F77 from across the world and will begin test rides and deliveries of the motorcycles in the first half of 2022.

"Innovation, design, and performance are critical elements for triggering a revolution, and I believe that Ultraviolette personifies these elements to deliver an exhilarating mobility experience. This investment from TVS Motor Company and ZOHO Corp. is a validation of our endeavour to redefine the future of mobility, said Narayan Subramaniam, Founder, Ultraviolette Automotive.

Since our inception, our goal has been to build a future-ready technology that serves as a game-changer in the mobility ecosystem. And we believe the F77 will redefine the global perception of electric mobility, said Niraj Rajmohan, Founder and CTO, Ultraviolette Automotive. Another early investor in the company, Kumar Vembu, CEO of GoFrugal Technologies said its product development journey has been impressive despite the pandemic.
Fullife Healthcare raised its Series C of $22 million by Private Equity Asia (MSPEA). Fullife Healthcare is the pioneer manufacturer in effervescent technology for healthcare and nutraceutical products. The company owns flagship brands Fast&Up and Chicnutrix.

Varun Khanna, CEO of Fullife Healthcare said, Our focus has always been to bring forth high-quality nutrition to India, making sure that Indians get the best-in-class supplements to keep them active and feeling good. Indians are now more aware and actively searching for products that are genuine, high quality and align with the daily needs to be healthy, active and look good.

This round of will support Fast&Up and Chicnutrix to expand their domestic presence, enhance manufacturing capabilities and accelerate momentum globally.

Nirav Mehta, Managing Director, MSPEA said, MSPEA is very excited to invest into Fullife, which is carving a niche in the new-age nutrition, active lifestyle and wellness space through its novel effervescent and plant-based offerings.

Shilpa Khanna Thakkar, CEO of Chicnutrix said, Chicnutrix was started with the aim to become every womans Nutrition BFF for their beauty and wellness needs. Investment from validates that we are moving in the right direction. This is a huge opportunity for us at Chicnutrix and comes at a time when are looking to strengthen ourselves and expedite our vision to be a global brand."

She added that India is undergoing a tremendous revolution since the last few years, which has been accelerated by the pandemic, and today, there is a holistic approach to wellness and beauty.
Chennai-based tech consulting and managed services provider Prodapt has said that it acquired SLR Dynamics, a UK-based company focussed on engineering and automation services in the TMT industry.

SLR Dynamics counts leading European and African telcos as customers. This is Prodapts second for the year following its of Silicon Valley-based Innovative Logic in August.

The of SLR Dynamics will strengthen Prodapts leadership position in the connectedness vertical. With the TMT industry accelerating transformation journeys using technologies.

I am excited to welcome the SLR Dynamics team to the Prodapt family, said Vedant Jhaver, Chairman and chief executive officer, Prodapt. The capabilities of SLR Dynamics in Cloud, Security, IoT and Product design will play an important role as Prodapt continues to become the preferred transformation partner to the enablers of hyper-connectivity, he added.

This acquisition will also result in protecting over 100 jobs at SLR Dynamics. Over the next three years, Prodapt plans to grow the UK team by adding 400-500 employees with a plan to invest GBP 50 million.

Prodapts decision to pick the UK as its investment destination of choice is a vote of confidence in the UK economy and demonstrates the strength of UK and Indias bilateral relationship. We look forward to working together closely to bring high-value jobs and economic growth to every corner of the UK as we build back stronger from the pandemic, said Gerry Grimstone, British investment minister.

Founded in 2009 to accelerate the adoption of a unified communications (UC) offering, SLR Dynamics has forged ahead and boasts an enviable client roster. SLR Dynamics has successfully executed multiple complex programs across UC, SDN/NFV, Cloud, Security, IoT and Mobile Money.

"SLR Dynamics has always focussed on building teams with deep domain knowledge and delivering high-quality services to our customers, said Salim Raza, CEO, SLR Dynamics. Joining Prodapt will enable us to offer much deeper capabilities, take on larger engagements and deliver significantly enhanced value to our global telecom customers.
has entered the Rs 1,000 crore thin wafer market with a new variant of chips called Lays Wafer Style, a flat cut chip that is its thinnest range of chips ever launched.

Lays Wafer Style will be available in three flavours--Salt & Pepper, Tangy Treat and Sundried Chilli--across Rs 5, Rs 10 and Rs 20 price points.

It will be launched across all channels of distribution in India.

As market leaders, we at Lays continue to bring exciting category innovations that are attuned to the evolving preferences of the consumers, Anshul Khanna, senior director and category head- Foods at said, Adding, We are confident that the audience will love the new Lays Wafer Style just like our other innovations in the past.

The company will launch a new television commercial campaign featuring Lays brand ambassador and Bollywood actress, Alia Bhatt, and actor Siddhant Chaturvedi across multiple platforms.
State Bank of India on Monday requested staff to reconsider its decision to participate in a two-day (December 16-17, 2021) to avoid inconvenience to customers, investors, and the Bank.



United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has served a Notice of to protest against the government's plan to privatise public sector banks. Members of unions -- AIBEA, AIBOC, NCBE, AIBOA, BEFI, INBEF and INBOC  are planning to go on

Considering the ongoing pandemic situation, resorting to a strike will cause great inconvenience to the stakeholders, said in a statement.

Countrys largest lender said it would make efforts to have normal functioning in its Branches and offices banking services to all customers on these days. However, in the likelihood of services being interrupted or being partially available, customers should undertake transactions well in advance.

The customers should use the digital channels for payments/money transfer and other related services, added.
The on Monday decided to set up a committee to thoroughly review and strengthen the question paper setting process after outrage over a comprehension passage in class 10 English exam that allegedly promoted "gender stereotyping" and supported "regressive notions".

The Board said the passage was not in adherence with the guidelines issued by the Board and expressed regret over the incident.

Earlier, in the day the board said it had dropped the particular passage and accompanying questions from the exam paper and announced that it will award full marks to students for the said questions.

" is committed to equity and excellence in education and promotes inclusiveness and gender sensitivity. has dropped a passage and accompanying questions which were asked in English term 1 paper for class 10 as it was not in adherence with guidelines issued by the board for external paper setters.

"CBSE regrets the unfortunate incident and is setting up an expert committee to thoroughly review and strengthen the question paper setting processes to avoid such occurrences in future," the board said in an official statement.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had referred the matter to subject experts on Sunday and sought their feedback.

In the Class-10 exam conducted on Saturday, the question paper carried a comprehension passage with sentences such as "emancipation of women destroyed the parents' authority over the children" and "it was only by accepting her husband's way that a mother could gain obedience over the younger ones", among others.

Raising the issue in Lok Sabha, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday condemned the "blatantly misogynist" and "nonsensical" questions, saying those reflected "extremely poorly" on the standards of education and testing.

She demanded an apology from the government and a review into this "gravest lapse".

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also took to Twitter to raise the issue.

Excerpts from the passage have gone viral on social media platforms with users calling out the board for supporting "misogynistic" and "regressive opinions" and the hashtag "#CBSEinsultswomen" trending on Twitter.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
on Monday detected its first case of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, local media reported.

Taking to Twitter, the Chinese state-affiliated media CGTN informed that the first Omicron case was detected in a person who arrived from overseas in North China's Tianjin.

"Chinese mainland on Monday detected its first Omicron variant of COVID-19 in a person who came from overseas in N. China's Tianjin," CGTN tweeted.

The World Health Organization (WHO), on November 27, named the new COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529, which has been detected in South Africa, as 'Omicron'.

This variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning. The number of cases of this variant appears to be increasing in almost all provinces in South Africa.

The WHO has warned that the Omicron variant, which has already been confirmed in Europe, Canada, Israel and Hong Kong, may be more transmissible or evade immunity from previous infections and vaccines.

(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 Monday reported a net decrease of 825 in active cases to take its count to 91,456. Indias share of global active cases now stands at 0.42 per cent (one in 238). The country is twenty-sixth among the most affected countries by active cases. On Sunday, it added 7,350 cases to take its total caseload to 34,697,860 from 34,690,510  an increase of 0.1%. And, with 202 new fatalities, its Covid-19 reached 475,636, or 1.37 per cent of total confirmed infections.

With 1,910,917 more Covid-19 vaccine doses being administered on Sunday, Indias total count of vaccine shots so far reached 1,331,784,462. The count of recovered cases across India, meanwhile, reached 34,130,768  or 98.37 per cent of total caseload  with 8,464 new cured cases being reported on Monday.

Now the twenty-sixth-most-affected country by active cases, third by deaths, second by total cases and recoveries, India has added 56,299 cases in the past 7 days.

India now accounts for 0.42% of all active cases globally (one in every 238 active cases), and 8.94% of all deaths (one in every 11 deaths).

India has so far administered 1,331,784,462 vaccine doses. That is 3838.23 per cent of its total caseload, and 95.2 per cent of its population.

Among Indian states, the top 5 in terms of number of vaccine shots administered are Uttar Pradesh (182160979), Maharashtra (128446330), West Bengal (101147284), Madhya Pradesh (96901962), and Bihar (91309735).

Among states with more than 10 million population, the top 5 in number of vaccine shots per one million population are Gujarat (1391245), Delhi (1345369), Kerala (1326842), Jammu and Kashmir (1317349), and Uttarakhand (1270653).

Backwards from here, the last 1 million cases for India have come in 76 days.

The count of active cases across India on Monday saw a net reduction of 825, compared with 966 on Sunday. States and UTs hat have seen the biggest daily net increase in active cases are Gujarat (24), Karnataka (22), Bihar (19), Assam (12), and Delhi (12).

With 7,973 new daily recoveries, Indias recovery rate stands at 98.37%, while fatality rate remained unchanged at 1.37%.

The Indian states and UTs with the worst case fatality rates at present are Punjab (2.75%), Nagaland (2.17%), and Uttarakhand (2.15%). The rate in as many as 14 is higher than the national average.

Indias new daily closed cases stand at 8,150  202 deaths and 7,973 recoveries. The share of deaths in total closed cases stands at 2.47%.

Indias 5-day moving average of daily rate of addition to total cases stands at 0.0%.

Indias doubling time for total cases stands at 3271.9 days, and for deaths at 1631.8 days.

Overall, five states with the biggest 24-hour jump in total cases are Kerala (3777), Maharashtra (704), Tamil Nadu (674), West Bengal (583), and Karnataka (330).

India on Sunday conducted 855,692 to take the total count of tests conducted so far in the country to 656,672,451. The test positivity rate recorded was 0.9%.

Five states with the highest test positivity rate (TPR)  percentage of tested people turning out to be positive for Covid-19 infection (by cumulative data for tests and cases  are Dadra & Nagar Haveli-Daman & Diu (14.76%), Kerala (12.89%), Sikkim (11.55%), Goa (11.36%), and Maharashtra (9.93%).

Five states with the highest TPR by daily numbers for tests and cases added  are Kerala (6.3%), Sikkim (5.83%), Mizoram (2.99%), Goa (1.65%), and West Bengal (1.59%).

Among states and UTs with more than 10 million population, five that have carried out the highest number of tests (per million population) are Delhi (1684423), J&K (1333612), Kerala (1129094), Punjab (1066549), and Karnataka (808276).

The five most affected states by total cases are Maharashtra (6643883), Kerala (5194605), Karnataka (3000435), Tamil Nadu (2735389), and Andhra Pradesh (2074868).

Maharashtra, the most affected state overall, has reported 704 new cases to take its tally to 6643883.

Kerala, the second-most-affected state by total tally, has added 3777 cases to take its tally to 5194605.

Karnataka, the third-most-affected state, has reported 330 cases to take its tally to 3000435.

Tamil Nadu has added 674 cases to take its tally to 2735389.

Andhra Pradesh has seen its tally going up by 160 to 2074868.

Uttar Pradesh has added 16 cases to take its tally to 1710554.

Delhi has added 56 cases to take its tally to 1441718.
With cases of Omicron rising in the national capital, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that the Union Territory government is prepared to impose restrictions if the need arises.

"We are ready to tackle the Omicron threat. If required, we will impose necessary restrictions. Currently, there is no such need to impose any restrictions...A decision on re-opening of schools will be taken after winter vacation for schools end," Kejriwal told the mediapersons at the launch of the 'Dilli Ki Yogshala' initiative.

Talking about the reopening of the schools in Delhi, he said a decision would be taken after the end of winter vacation for schools.

Meanwhile, the 'Dilli Ki Yogshala' initiative launched today is set to begin from January 2022.

"Under this initiative, city residents (minimum group of 25) can give a missed call on the number 9013585858 to avail free services of a Yoga teacher provided by government," he stated.

Earlier on Saturday, reported its second case of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron, informed the Delhi Government.

A Zimbabwe returnee, who is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, tested positive for the variant in a genome sequencing report.

According to the Delhi Government, the travel history of the patient revealed that the person had also travelled to South Africa.

(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.)
In its submission to the Supreme Court on Monday on compensation paid to the kin of those who lost their lives by Covid-19 pandemic, the government admitted to a revised figure of 19,964, as against its own official figure of 10,099.

The apex court on Monday was hearing both and Maharashtra on steps taken for processing compensation to the families who lost their members to Covid-19 pandemic, based on SC guidelines. The Supreme Court had asked state governments to also spread the word on such compensation scheme, especially to those in remote villages.

In its submission, government informed the apex court that of the total 34,678 applications received for Rs 50,000 compensation, payments were made towards 19,964 applications, which is nearly 10,000 higher than Gujarat's own official death record of 10,099. In fact, in its daily bulletin, the state government's health department continued to report the official Covid death tally of 10,099 on Monday.

"Earlier, the death figures were based on ICMR guidelines. However, the apex court had asked the states to also consider deaths in the 30 days of being Covid-19 positive or even those with comorbidities," said a senior health department official of Gujarat government. Revenue department officials could not be reached for comments despite multiple attempts.

With this, the total number of Covid deaths in the country would go up to approximately 485,000.

Meanwhile, asking Maharashtra government to speed up the process of compensation, the apex court termed it "unfortunate" that only 8000 of total 87,000 applications were paid compensation. The rest of the states are yet to file their affidavits.
The last rites of Lance Naik Sai Teja were performed with military honours amid emotional scenes at his native village Yeguvaregadi in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday.

He had died in the December 8 IAF helicopter crash that had resulted in the death of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, and 10 other defence personnel near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu.

Sai Teja was serving as Personal Security Officer to CDS, Gen Rawat.

Belonging to the Kuruba community, Sai Teja joined the in 2012 as a sepoy. While serving in Bangalore Regiment, he was selected for para commando training. Last year, he was appointed as PSO to CDS.

The soldier's body, which was identified on Saturday, was brought from Bengaluru to his village by road.

Large number of youth who were holding the flag in their hands and raising slogans of 'Sai Teja Amar Rahe' joined the procession with their motorbikes.

They also showered petals on the ambulance carrying the body.

Teja's parents, wife, children and other family members were inconsolable.

Sai Teja, 27, is survived by wife Shyamala, son Mokshagana, 4, and a daughter Darshini, 2.

--IANS

pvn/pgh

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The city police told the Bombay High Court on Monday that they will not arrest actor till January 25, 2022 over her social media post that allegedly linked farmers' protests to a separatist group.

The police made the statement after a bench of Justices Nitin Jamdar and Sarang Kotwal said the issue involved the larger question of Ranaut's fundamental right to free speech and that the court will have to grant her some ad-interim relief.

Ranaut approached the HC earlier this month, seeking that the FIR registered against her in November this year at Khar police station Mumbai, following a complaint by a Sikh organisation, be quashed.

In her plea filed through advocate Rizwan Sidiquee, Ranaut said while the complainants took objection to her Instagram post made on November 21, there was no legal case made out against her.

The FIR was registered against the actor following a complaint made by some members of a Sikh body that claimed Ranaut, through her Instagram post, had portrayed the farmers' protest on Delhi borders as a Khalistani movement.

The police then booked Ranaut on charges of deliberately hurting the community's religious sentiments under Section 295-A of the Indian Penal Code.

On Monday, Ranaut's counsel told the HC that to invoke charges under section 295-A, an accused must have made the offensive comment with the deliberate and malicious intent of hurting a particular person or a community's religious sentiments. However, in the present case, the actor had no such intention, her counsel said.

The bench went through Ranaut's social media post in question and agreed with her counsel's submission.

"Where is the deliberate and malicious intent here? Section 295 says that should be the sole and dominant object," the HC said to the prosecution.

The bench then asked the police if they intended to arrest Ranaut in the case.

Chief Public Prosecutor Aruna Pai, who appeared for the police, said the Khar police had issued a notice to Ranaut, asking her to appear before them for questioning, but the actor hadn't responded to it yet.

"We have issued a notice to her (Ranaut) under Section 41A of the CrPC on December 1, but she hasn't responded. She isn't cooperating," Pai told the HC.

A notice under Section 41A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) is issued to an accused in cases where immediate arrest is not necessary, but the accused's presence is required at police station for questioning.

Ranaut's counsel told the HC that she was willing to appear before the police, but apprehended her arrest in the case.

The HC then told Pai that the Khar police will require to make a categorical statement on whether they intended to arrest Ranaut or not.

"There is also the larger question of the protection of freedom of speech here. Unless the police make a statement of not arresting her (Ranaut), we'll have to grant some relief," the court said.

Ranaut's counsel said the actor will appear before the Khar police on December 22.

Pai then made a statement on behalf of the investigating officer in the case that the "police will not arrest her (Ranaut) until the next date of hearing in the HC."



The court accepted the police's statement and posted the matter for further hearing on January 25, 2022.

The HC also granted time to the complainants till the next hearing to file a reply to Ranaut's plea.

(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 strain of the could eventually replace the Delta variant, as it is already happening in South Africa, Alexander Gintsburg, the director of Russia's Gamaleya Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, told Sputnik.

"Reports are coming in that in South Africa it [Omicron] is replacing it [Delta] rather fast. So everything is possible," Gintsburg said.

According to the Gamaleya institute director, the effectiveness of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against the strain will be tested within ten days.

Earlier this month, Gintsburg told Sputnik that the Gamaleya institute confirmed that the patients infected with who had arrived in from South Africa had been vaccinated.

At the end of November, Gintsburg said that any decisions on replacing the existing vaccine will be made only after complete data on Omicron becomes available. If necessary, the development of a new vaccine will take no more than ten days and regulatory procedures will take anywhere between 45 days and two and a half months, Gintsburg specified.

Earlier in December, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the Omicron variant accounts for most of the new COVID-19 cases in the majority of South African provinces. The Omicron strain was first identified in South Africa in late November. The World Health Organization (WHO) designated the strain as a variant of concern due to its high transmissibility rate.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The count in central was 60 per cent more than the safe levels, raising concerns about public health and the threat it poses to the iconic Victoria Memorial.

The eight-hour average was 160 mg/cubic metre in the Victoria Memorial area on Sunday, as per the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB).

The eight-hour average of should not exceed 100 mg/cubic metre, as per the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The high level was a result of typical wintry conditions and accumulated vehicular emission particles in the lower atmosphere, a WBPCB official said.

Once the foggy conditions improve, the ozone count will go down, he said.

Environmentalist Somendranath Ghosh said proper monitoring is needed to find the reasons behind the spike in ozone levels in the eco-sensitive zone of the city, often referred to as the 'Lungs of Kolkata' because of the acres of grassland.

It is alarming the ozone count even eclipsed the PM 2.5 level of 144 on Sunday noon, he said.

"So many old diesel vehicles are plying. Due to this pollution, the white marbles of Victoria Memorial may turn yellow and the plasters will go off in many chamber walls in the future," he cautioned.

Ground-level ozone is a colourless and highly irritating gas that forms just above the earth's surface, Ghosh said.

It is a secondary pollutant as it is produced when two primary pollutants -- nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) -- react in sunlight and stagnant air, he said.

Ozone can cause the muscles in the airways to constrict, trapping air in the alveoli, leading to wheezing and shortness of breath.

"Depending on the level of exposure, ozone can cause coughing and sore or scratchy throat," the WBPCB official 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.)
Prime Minister on Monday inaugurated the first phase of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham, a project that is spread over 500,000 square feet and connects the temple premises to the River Ganga.

After arriving in Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency, Modi paid obeisance at the Kaal Bhairav Temple and took a dip in Ganga from where he collected holy water for worship at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

Before the inauguration, Modi attended a prayer ceremony and later showered workers involved in building the project with flower petals.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President J P Nadda, and a large number of saints from across the country attended the ceremony. Adityanath said many people came to power using the name of Gandhi but it was for the first time that Mahatma Gandhis dream of a grand Kashi Vishwanath Dham was coming true.

The earlier premises of Kashi Vishwanath was limited to just 3,000 square feet. Now 23 new buildings have been constructed that will provide diverse facilities to the pilgrims and devotees.

Inauguration

Addressing the gathering, Modi lauded the civilisational heritage of Varanasi, and said many sultanates rose and collapsed but Benaras remained.

Invaders attacked this city, tried to destroy it... But the soil of this country is different from the rest of the world. Here if an (Mughal Emperor) Aurangzeb comes, a (Maratha warrior) Shivaji also rises, Modi said.

If India is building Ram Temple, Kashi Vishwanath Dham, it is also laying down thousands of kilometers of optical fibres in sea, building millions of houses for the poor and is working to send people to space, Modi said.

The new India has heritage as well as development. It is not only proud of its culture but has equal belief in its capabilities, he said. He said the new complex is also a symbol of the Sanatan culture of India and its antiquity and traditions.

Now 50,000-75,000 devotees can come to the temple premises, he said. He said new history was being created and we are fortunate to have witnessed it.

New premises

The inauguration of the state-of-the-art infrastructure, built at the cost of Rs 339 crore, surrounding the Kashi Vishwanath Temple near the iconic Dashashwamedh Ghat comes ahead of the Assembly Polls in Uttar Pradesh early next year.

The Prime Ministers Office (PMO) had earlier said that it was Modis long-time aim to facilitate better accessibility to pilgrims and devotees, who had to encounter congested streets, as they went about offering prayers and water from River Gange at the temple.

Modi constantly gave inputs and insights to improve the project, the PMO said.

The new buildings will provide a variety of facilities to pilgrims, including yatri suvidha kendras, tourist facilitation centre, vedic kendra, mumukshu bhavan, bhogshala, city museum, viewing gallery, food court, among others.

The project involved the purchase and acquisition of more than 300 properties around the temple. The PMO said that around 1,400 shopkeepers, tenants, and homeowners were rehabilitated amicably.

Cruise baithak

Modi witnessed the Ganga aarti in the evening while onboard the Swami Vivekananda cruise, which he had boarded at Sant Ravidas Ghat. BJP President

J P Nadda, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar were among those who were also present on the cruise.

Oppositions taunt

Following the inauguration, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav taunted Modi, saying people come to Kashi when the end is near.

He should stay for two months, three months. That is a good place to stay. When the end is near, people stay in Banaras, Yadav said. The elections to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly are due within three months and the Samajwadi

Party claims that it will oust the BJP from power.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister will address virtually at the valedictory function of an agro-event organised by the Gujarat government on December 16 in which contours of natural farming will be presented.

The three-day Summit on Agro and Food Processing with focus on natural farming will kick start from December 14.

Briefing media about the event, Union Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agrawal said the event to be held at Anand, Gujarat, is the first initiative where natural farming would be one of the major focus.

Agrawal also announced that a committee to be set up in the near future to look into protesting farmers' demands will also discuss promotion of natural farming.

Stating that natural farming has become an important farm practice now, Agrawal said it requires less input cost and ensures higher income to compared to other farming practices.

Around 5,000 are likely to attend the summit, while farmers will be connected virtually to know and learn the practice and benefit of natural farming through Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), 80 central institutes of ICAR and ATMA Network in the states, he added.

He said the prime minister will virtually address the event while the Union Home Minister, the Gujarat Chief Minister and others will also be present during the event.

When asked that Academy of Agricultural Sciences (AAS) President Punjab Singh in 2019 had stated zero budget farming is an unproven technology bringing no incremental value gain to farmers, the Secretary said, "I read that report in 2019.

"A lot of water has flown since 2019 ...Ultimately unproven does not mean it is not good. Farmers practice (of natural farming) over the years showcase the strength of a particular cultivation practice."



In the last two years, the number of farmers adopting natural farming have been on rise in Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, he said.

An area of 4 lakh hectare was approved in eight states last financial year for training and promotion of natural farming under a scheme Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati (BPKP) that started from the 2020-21 fiscal onwards, he said.

Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are leading in natural farming.

The Secretary also said the government has not yet captured the total area under natural farming in the country. Currently, the farmers are being trained and the data will be captured after farmers adopt this practice in their own farm fields.

Sharing more, Gujarat Chief Secretary Pankaj Kumar said natural farming helps save water, lower input cost, higher crop yields besides benefiting the environment and human health.

He said the Gujarat government has framed a scheme under which it has trained over 20,000 master trainers in natural farming, who further have trained more than 2 lakh farmers.

Further, one of the districts in Gujarat is fully doing natural farming. A store to sell agri-produce from natural farming has been set up in Gandhinagar and over 100 farmer producer organizations (FPOs) are working in natural farming in the state, Kumar added.

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The Monday sought responses from the Centre and firms including Uber and on a plea of an organisation of transport workers serving app-based service providers seeking social security rights available for unorganised sector workers under the law.

The plea by Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT) has sought formulation of welfare schemes like health insurance, maternity benefits, pension, old age assistance, disability allowance and completion of vaccination at aggregators' cost on priority basis for gig workers.

We will issue notice, List after four weeks, said a bench comprising justices L Nageswara Rao and B R Gavai after hearing arguments from senior advocate Indira Jaising who appeared for IFAT.

Jaisingh said a declaration is sought by the drivers or delivery workers that they are workmen under the schemes of the Unorganised Workers Act and all the social welfare schemes, meant for the workers body.

The benefits for workmen of unorganised sectors be made available to them as well, she said.

She referred to a judgment of the of the United Kingdom and said the job contracts were analyzed and found that the persons employed with Uber were actually workmen.

It was held that the contract was only a subterfuge and the real relation is that of employee and employer, she said.

Besides Uber India and Ltd, the petition has made union ministries Commerce and Industry, Food and Public Distribution, Electronicsas parties.

The plea has sought a declaration that "gig workers" and "app based workers" are covered under the definition of "unorganized workers" of The Unorganised Workers Act and hence entitled for statutory welfare benefits.

"The failure of the State to register them as "unorganized workers" or to provide them social security under the existing law is a violation of their rights under Article 21 of the Constitution namely: the right to work, the right to livelihood; right to decent and fair conditions of work. It is also a denial of the right to equality before law and equal protection of laws inasmuch as they are similarly situated with all other workers under the applicable social security laws including the Act of 2008 thereby violating Article 14 of the Constitution," the plea said.

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: on Monday logged 657 new COVID-19 positive cases and 12 fatalities, taking the caseload to 27,36,046 and death toll to 36,624.

A passenger who returned from UAE added to the 657 cases today, according to a bulletin from the State health department.

With 702 COVID-19 positive patients getting discharged after treatment, the total recoveries so far has mounted to 26,91,756. The number of active cases as of today remain at 7,666.

Chennai and Coimbatore reported 114 and 101 new infections respectively, while Ramanathapuram and Theni reported nil cases, the bulletin said. While Erode reported 53 new cases, 12 districts recorded cases below 50 and 21 districts reported cases in single digits.

Chennai accounted for 5,59,581 positive cases while the active cases remain at 1,311. The total recoveries including 108 on Monday, have gone up to 5,49,639. Including 3 deaths today, the toll has mounted to 8,631 in the metro.

Meanwhile, the government bagged two national awards for undertaking the highest number of NCD (Non Communicable Diseases) screenings (29,88,110) in the country and in conducting the third highest number of wellness sessions (85,514) during the course of 'Sudhandhirathin Amirtha Peruvizha' (Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav) from November 16 to December 12.

The awards were presented by the minister of state for health and family welfare Mansukh Mandaviya at an event marking the Universal Health Coverage Day in the national capital on Monday, a release from the state government said.

Mission director, National Health Mission, TN, Dr Darez Ahmed, and Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine Dr T S Selvavinayagam, received the award for NCD screening and for wellness sessions, respectively, the release added.

Also, the field team from Achanakkal Health Sub Centre (HSC), Coonoor Block in the Nilgiris district received an award for best performing Health and Wellness Centres-HSC team in for 2021-22.

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on Monday reported 190 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the tally to 6,78,478, while the death toll rose to 4,008 with one more fatality.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 70, followed by Suryapet district (10), a state government bulletin said, providing details as of 5.30 PM today.

The number of recoveries outnumbered fresh cases with 198 people recovering from the infectious disease. The cumulative number of recoveries till date was 6,70,633.

The number of active cases was 3,837.

It said 38,187 samples were tested today and the total number of samples tested till date was 2,90,56,235.

The samples tested per million population were 7,80,661.

(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 on Monday wondered what was wrong in Covid-19 certificates carrying the photograph of Prime Minister when was elected to power by the people of the country.

Examining the maintainability of a plea seeking removal of the Prime Minister's picture from the certificate, Justice PV Kunhikrishnan asked the petitioner whether he was ashamed of the Prime Minister.

The judge said the Prime Minister was elected to power by the people of the country and, therefore, what was wrong in having his photograph on the certificate.

When the petitioner's counsel told the court that in other countries there was no such practice, the judge orally remarked, "They may not be proud of their PMs, we are proud of our PM."



"Why are you (petitioner) ashamed of the Prime Minister? He came to power through the mandate of the people...we may have different political views, but he is still our PM," the court further said.

The counsel for the petitioner -- Peter Myaliparampil -- said the certificate was a private space with personal details on record and therefore, it was inappropriate to intrude into the privacy of an individual.

He contended that adding the Prime Minister's photo to the certificate was an intrusion into an individual's private space.

To this, the court said more than 100 crore people of the country do not appear to have a problem with having the Prime Minister's photo on the certificate, and asked the petitioner, "Why do you?"



The court said it would examine whether the plea has any merits and if not, it would dispose of the matter.

During the more-than-an-hour long hearing, advocate Ajit Joy, appearing for the petitioner, said whether to be proud of one's Prime Minister or not was a personal choice.

Also, Joy told the court it was not a matter of political differences, as the Supreme Court has laid down guidelines for advertisements and campaigns using public money.

He said having the photo on the certificates would also influence minds of voters and this issue was raised during the recent State Assembly elections.

The Central government opposed the plea by saying it was a publicity interest litigation.

The petitioner, a senior citizen, has contended in his plea that the Prime Minister's photo on his certificate was a violation of fundamental rights.

(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 on Monday pulled up the Gujarat and governments on various issues associated with Covid compensation scheme, during the hearing in a matter where it is monitoring disbursal of Rs 50,000 to the kin of those who succumbed to the disease.

A bench of Justices M.R. Shah and B.V. Nagarathna, against the backdrop of lack of publicity given by state governments, noted that common man would struggle to learn about the compensation scheme. They took exception to the Gujarat government's failure to give adequate publicity -- through print and electronic media -- to the compensation scheme.

The bench queried whether there were adequate advertisements to inform people about the compensation scheme?

As the Gujarat government counsel contended that publicity was given through All India Radio (AIR), Justice Shah shot back: "Who listens to ... You must give advertisements to newspapers, especially vernacular dailies."

The Gujarat government counsel assured these steps will be taken by Tuesday.

"Look how people are struggling to get compensation," Justice Shah told counsel, asking him to use FM channels, local newspapers, and vernacular dailies to advertise about the scheme regarding Covid compensation.

The bench made it clear that steps should be taken and it will hear the matter the day after Tuesday.

The bench then asked about the status of compensation disbursement in and was told that the state has received 87,000 applications and till Monday, 8,000 applications were approved, and disbursal is in process.

As counsel assured the top court that 50,000 more persons will be paid compensation by December 31, the bench said: "You started only after we told you to do something... whether any wide publicity is given to the portal or not?" The counsel assured the bench that wide publicity has been given to the scheme.

The bench also did not appreciate the fact that the government had merely compensated just 8,000 out of 87,000 applicants, in a state which had witnessed more than a lakh deaths. "It's unfortunate that you have paid compensation to only 8,000 despite 87,000 applying for it," it said.

The top court made these observations on a plea filed by advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal. The in its October 4 judgment, had approved Rs 50,000, ex-gratia for the kin of Covid victims, which was recommended by the Disaster Management Authority. Previously, the top court had issued notice to several states over the abysmally low disbursal rate of Covid compensation.

On November 29, the expressed concern at state governments grappling with various issues in connection with Rs 50,000 ex-gratia distribution to next of kin of Covid victims. It had directed the Chief Secretaries of various state governments to furnish full particulars to the Centre, Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Disaster Management Authority, and scheduled the matter for further hearing in December.

--IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
To improve 'Ease of Living' and 'Ease of doing business, the Centre has decided to further reduce the compliance burden on businesses and citizens, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry informed on Sunday.

As per the press release, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had interacted with Secretaries of various departments in September and discussed ways and means to reduce the compliance burden.

A meeting was also chaired by Secretary DPIIT, Anurag Jain with several stakeholders to discuss the way forward.

To take this mission forward, a National Workshop on the 'Next Phase of Reforms for Reducing Compliance Burden' is being organized on December 22, 2021. The outcomes of the breakout sessions of the workshop would be presented to Cabinet Secretary.

The workshop would see three breakout sessions which would be attended by secretaries of various ministries, representatives from various state governments and other senior officials.

The theme of the first session would be 'Breaking Silos and enhancing synergies among government departments. The session would focus on integration between Central ministries or departments and state single window systems and departments.

It will also discuss issuing of combined certificates for CIN, PAN, TAN, GST, LIN, Import-Export Code (IEC) etc, creation of Single business IDs to subsume multiple IDs and standardization and rationalization of information across Ministries/States/UTs, the statement said.

The second breakout Session would be themed 'National Single Sign-on for Efficient Delivery of Citizen Services. It would see deliberations on onboarding all citizen services by Central and State Government services under one roof - "National Citizen-Centric Portal" and the creation of a 'National Digital Profile' for all citizens that shall be used to pre-fill Government forms.

Citizen Benefits discovery and delivery would happen through the National Citizen-Centric portal. Enabling interoperability of the Digilocker facility for instant transfer of digitally self-attested documents would also be discussed.

These initiatives would lead to a citizen-centric approach and would help create a National Citizen-Centric Portal with all citizen services by Central and State Governments available under one roof, the release said.

Eventually, all government agencies would begin accepting digitally approved documents and there would be clarity of applicability of citizen welfare benefits to all, it said.

The third Breakout Session would be themed 'Effective Grievance Redressal'. The session would see discussions on the effectiveness of the Centralized Public Grievances Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) and other channels of grievance redressal.

It would also discuss an accountability-based mechanism for enhanced effectiveness of redressal quality and use of next-gen technologies ineffective grievance redressal.

Initiatives taken by States in building effective grievance redressal mechanisms would also be reviewed.

The outcome of the discussions would be initiatives to better the quality of grievance redressal Central and state governments and the creation of a grievance redressal system with reduced dependency on human behaviour.

(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.)
Indias are expected to grow by 51 per cent to about $303.98 billion in nine months ending December 2021 over the same period in 2020, according to estimates by Export-import Bank of India.

Of this, are pegged at $258.78 billion, up 40.9 per cent over April-December 2020.

The rise in Indias exports could be attributed largely to the continued growth momentum in advanced economies and the resultant increase in global import demand, along with favorable global commodity prices.

Total may continue to cross the $100 billion mark for the second quarter in a row, and could amount to $105.8 billion in October-December 2021 (Q3FY22), up from $75.8 billion in Q3FY21. The are expected $89.1 billion in Q3FY22 as against $70.3 billion in October-December 2020, the bank said.

The forecasts are based on India Exim Banks Export Leading Index (ELI) Model, which has shown an upward movement during the same quarter.
From now onwards, would be the primary mode of disinvestment receipts, was informed on Monday.

With disinvestment over a period of time, the scope for minority stake sale has declined, minister of state for finance Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

He said disinvestment of government equity in public sector units depends largely on market sentiment, investor interest and market valuation of stocks.

Disinvestment receipts constituted 0.95-4.68 per cent of the total receipts of the Centre during 2014-15 to 2020-21, according to data given by the minister in the House.

While the proportion was the least at 0.95 per cent during 2020-21, it was the highest at 4.68 per cent during 2017-18, showed the data.





Karad said the revised estimates (RE) for disinvestment receipts in 2020-21 was Rs 32,000 crore. As on March 31, 2021, the government has realised disinvestment receipts of Rs 32,845 crore, which is around 103 per cent of the RE in 2020-21.

Due to volatile market conditions arising from Covid, the RE was significantly lower than the budget estimates (BE) for 2020-21, he said.

The government pegged disinvestment receipts at Rs 2.1 trillion, including Rs 90,000 crore from disinvestment of public sector banks (PSBs) and financial institutions, that year.

GST compensation to states

As much as Rs 37,134 crore of the goods and services tax (GST) compensation was pending to states for 2020-21 and Rs 14,664 crore for the first half of the current fiscal year. This is after taking into account the amount released from the compensation fund and back-to-back loans, minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary told the Lok Sabha.



He said the Centre is committed to releasing the full GST compensation to states and Union Territories in line with the GST (compensation to states) Act, 2017 for the transition period. This will be by extending the levy of compensation cess beyond five years to meet the revenue shortfall and servicing the loan through the special window scheme. As far as states share of the central portion of GST is concerned, it is being released regularly, said Chaudhary.

Fiscal council ruled out

The finance ministry has ruled out the setting up of a fiscal council as recommended by the N K Singh committee on Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management. He said institutions such as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the National Statistical Commission and Finance Commission, perform some or all of the roles of the fiscal council, proposed by the FRBM Review Committee.
Over the coming days and weeks, scientists from around the world will be sharing early information about the new Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2. We are two researchers who study the evolution of viruses, and we will be keeping a close eye on the data as it becomes public. This new research will range from laboratory studies investigating how the virus interacts with antibodies to observations of patient outcomes to large-scale data on infections and hospitalizations. The data will try to answer three key questions, all of which are important to understanding the risk of Omicron.

How well can Omicron dodge the antibodies we have from vaccines and prior infections?

Omicron has many mutations, especially in the spike protein that is the main target of the antibodies generated by vaccination and prior infection. This is why scientists were concerned it could evade the defenses built by vaccines or by having had Covid-19. Lab experiments have already shown that Omicron has mutations that reduce the infection-blocking ability of antibodies by about 20 to 40 fold.

There is solid evidence that this increased antibody resistance of Omicron will lead to more infections among the vaccinated and previously infected. A study from South Africa found a higher rate of people getting infected a second time with Omicron than with previous waves caused by the Beta and Delta variants. Omicron has also caused some mild to moderate infections in individuals who were both vaccinated and had received a booster shot. An early report from Britain estimates that vaccine effectiveness against disease with symptoms is lower against Omicron than against Delta.

These early findings suggest that vaccines may not protect as well against infections as they did previously. And theres a chance Omicron-specific boosters may be needed in the future.

Will the immunity we have still protect us against severe disease?

Even if some antibodies fail to block infection by Omicron, T cells and other antibodies developed from vaccination or infection may provide some protection against severe illness. In other words, deaths and hospitalizations may not track cases as closely as they have in previous pandemic waves. Measuring this requires data from clinics, hospitals and epidemiological studies that follow infections and symptoms in people over time. Such studies take more time than experiments in a lab.





ALSO READ: Johnson warns UK of Omicron 'tidal wave', says two vaccine doses not enough

It typically takes several weeks for severe Covid-19 to develop, which is why deaths and hospitalizations are what scientists call a lagging indicator. So while its fine to be optimistic when we hear early anecdotal reports about vaccinated people having only mild symptoms, remember that it will take time to have reliable data on disease severity overall. For example, its possible that Omicron could cause milder disease in people who have been previously vaccinated or infected but cause severe disease in people with no immunity. This will have implications for the burden that might be placed on hospitals.

Is Omicron more contagious than Delta?

We know that Omicron transmits well because it is causing an increasing number of cases in many countries. There are two factors that could contribute to this: Omicron may have a strong ability to infect people with no immunity, and it may have an increased ability to infect people with prior immunity from vaccinations or previous infections.

The balance of these two factors will determine whether Omicron is more transmissible than Delta in all populations, or just in places like South Africa and other countries, where there is a lot of immunity from people being infected previously. To better understand Omicrons transmissibility, scientists will need to measure its rate of growth relative to other variants among different groups of people. Answering this question could help predict the timing of potential hospital surges.

What the answers will tell us

There are a few different scenarios for Omicron.

One is that Omicron is so transmissible that it spreads around the world and outcompetes all other variants, including Delta, so that, in the future, all new viruses are descended from Omicron. This scenario happened in mid-2020 with a variant called D614G (this was before variants were given Greek names) from which all subsequent variants are descended.

Another scenario is that Omicron spreads in some locations but ultimately turns out to be less transmissible than other variants and eventually falls out of the picture. This happened with Alpha and Beta in the first part of 2021.

Regardless of whether Omicron fully displaces other variants, it appears likely to cause a surge in cases around the world. The extent of this surge will depend on the level of immunity in different populations, the public health measures in force and the effects of factors like seasonal changes in temperature and humidity on transmission, which so far are poorly understood.

If Omicron causes a rise in cases but less severe disease than Delta, that would certainly be good news. But if it spreads widely, it could still send a large number of people to the hospital. Also remember that its possible Omicron is at least as severe as Delta in people without immunity. We also dont yet understand the long-term health consequences of having Covid-19, and it will take weeks to understand how Omicron affects groups of people with different levels of immunity.





ALSO READ: Omicron variant to be detected in 20 minutes by molecular diagnosis test

The measures that control the spread of other variants are also expected to help against Omicron. This includes increasing vaccination coverage, supporting rapid mass testing, improving indoor ventilation, encouraging the use of masks (as well as upgrading to higher-quality masks) and helping people identify when they are infected, making it easier to isolate. There is evidence that getting a booster increases protection beyond that provided by just the primary vaccine series.

Given the extensive mutations in Omicron, it may also be necessary to make Omicron-specific vaccines.

Embracing these measures while monitoring the unknowns will help strike a balance between reducing risk while still enjoying our lives. Thats what scientists, like everyone else, are hoping for.

(Dr. Blooms lab at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle uses a mix of experiments and computation to study the evolution of viruses such as SARS-CoV-2. Dr. Cobey runs a computational group at the University of Chicago that investigates the interaction of immunity, viral evolution and transmission.)
According to the CDC, 43 infections with the Omicron variant were identified in 22 states during the first eight days of December.

Amid renewed calls for booster doses to prevent the transmission of the new Omicron Coronabirus (Covid-19) variant, latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that a third of the 43 cases of the super mutant strain in the country had taken the third dose.

According to the CDC, 43 infections with the Omicron variant were identified in 22 states during the first eight days of December.

Of this, 34 were fully vaccinated and 14 took their booster shots, revealed the agency's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

While one person, was fully vaccinated, required hospitalisation, none of the Omicron patients died.

The most common symptoms were cough, fatigue and congestion or a runny nose. The first cases appeared to be mild, but the report warned that "as with all variants, a lag exists between infection and more severe outcomes".

"Even if most infections are mild, a highly transmissible variant could result in enough cases to overwhelm health systems," the authors warned.

"The clinical severity of infection with the Omicron variant will become better understood as additional cases are identified and investigated."

From August 13 to November 19, 18.7 million older adults have received a booster or additional primary dose of Covid in the US, revealed the CDC report.

Meanwhile the World Health Organization (WHO) said that the variant is spread to 63 countries.

The UN health agency said that based on current limited evidence "Omicron appears to have a growth advantage over Delta".

"It is spreading faster than the Delta variant in South Africa where Delta circulation was low, but also appears to spread more quickly than the Delta variant in other countries where the incidence of Delta is high, such as in the UK," said in a statement.

Whether Omicron's observed rapid growth rate in countries with high levels of population immunity is related to immune evasion, intrinsic increased transmissibility, or a combination of both remains uncertain.

The agency noted that "it is likely that Omicron will outpace the Delta variant where community transmission occurs".

But the data on the clinical severity of Omicron is still limited.

While preliminary findings from South Africa suggest it may be less severe than Delta, "it remains unclear to what extent Omicron may be inherently less virulent".

Preliminary evidence also suggests a reduction in vaccine efficacy against infection and transmission associated with Omicron.

There is some preliminary evidence that the incidence of reinfection has increased in South Africa, which may be associated with humoral (antibody-mediated) immune evasion.

In addition, few studies of limited sample size have shown that sera obtained from vaccinated and previously infected individuals had lower neutralisation activity (the size of the reduction ranges considerably) than with any other circulating VOCs of SARS-CoV-2 and the ancestral strain.

Scientists, including top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci have urged Americans to get vaccinated, take booster dose and to continue to practice precautions: wearing masks, improving ventilation in closed spaces, getting tested and going into quarantine, or isolation, if needed to slow transmission.

--IANS

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(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 Australian and dollars dipped against the greenback on Monday, struggling to break above recent resistance ahead of a week full of central bank meetings that is expected to signal shifts away from massive monetary stimulus.



The Aussie was 0.1% lower at $0.7166, unable to break its resistance at $0.7187, below which the currency has traded since Nov. 26. Immediate support lies around $0.713.



The kiwi was also lagging at $0.6792 at 0341 GMT, after opening at its recent resistance of $0.6812 and still near its recent low of $0.6737 on Dec. 7.



Investors are bracing for the last Federal Reserve meeting of the year, hungry to learn how quickly the central bank plans to finish unwinding its bond-buying programme and when it may start to raise rates.



Among the 17 central bank meetings this week are the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan, which are also heading toward normalising policy, albeit at a slower pace.



In Australia, the central bank last week painted a rosier economic outlook in its last monetary policy meeting of the year.



"Short-term, volatility is likely to persist, given nerves over both Omicron and the FOMC," Westpac's currency strategist Sean Callow said.



"A slightly more confident RBA in December keeps markets betting on higher rates in Looking into Q1 2022 ...

the Aussie should be able to break even around 0.71." Traders this week will likely scrutinise Australian labour data due on Thursday, after October figures showed payrolls hitting levels from before June's Delta outbreak lockdowns.



"An upside surprise on the labour market will likely see more calls for the RBA to end QE in February," Citigroup's economist Josh Williamson said.



The outlook, including lingering concerns around the latest COVID-19 outbreaks, has seen safe-haven bonds hold some gains so far this month, with 10-year yields trading at 1.62% compared with a low of 1.73% on Nov. 30. They were two basis points lower on Monday.



bonds were also slightly higher on Monday, pushing yields three and a half basis points lower across the curve.



(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
and signed a $680 million defence deal Monday as South Korean President became the first foreign leader to visit since the pandemic began.

Worth about 1 billion Australian dollars, the deal will see South Korean defence company Hanwha provide the Australian army with artillery weapons, supply vehicles and radars.

It's the largest defence contract struck between and an Asian nation, and comes at a time of heightened tensions between Australia and China. Australia recently announced a deal to build nuclear-powered submarines in a partnership with the U.S. and Britain a move that China has strongly condemned.

Moon met with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison during his visit, and the two leaders agreed to upgrade the formal ties between their nations to a comprehensive strategic partnership."



The leaders also said they would work together on developing clean energy technologies, including hydrogen, and on facilitating the supply of critical minerals, which Australia has in abundance.

Morrison said the new defence contract would create about 300 jobs in Australia, where a division of Hanwha operates.

The contract that we have signed today, I think, speaks volumes about what we believe are the capabilities of the Korean defence industry," Morrison said.

Moon said had similar values to Australia when it came to its geopolitical outlook, but also that its relationship with China was important, particularly when it came to pursuing peace with North Korea.

Therefore, is focused on the steadfast alliance with the US and also with China," Moon said. We want a harmonised relationship.

Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton said his government was committed to keeping the region safe and the new contract would help modernize the Australian army.

The prime ability of the new vehicles is to fire and move quickly, avoiding enemy counterattack, Dutton said. This project will mean a significant increase in the level of firepower and security for Australian artillery capability.

South Korea is Australia's fourth-largest trading partner and fourth-largest export market under a free trade agreement that has been in force since 2014. This year marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

(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.)
signed a A$1 billion ($716.5 million) defence deal with on Monday, boosting Seoul's efforts to grow its military exports.



Under the terms of the deal, South Korean defence company Hanwha Corp will build 30 self-propelled howitzers and 15 armoured ammunition resupply vehicles for



"It's an important further chapter in the defence industry story for as we continue to build our sovereign capability and (South) Korea is an important partner in that journey," Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters in Canberra.



The deal positions Hanwha as a frontrunner for Australia's planned A$30 billion contract to build infantry fighting vehicles for its army.



Shares in Hanwha were up 3% following the announcement.



While the defence deal is the headline of South Korean President Moon Jae-in's four-day trip to Australia, both countries said they have also agreed to work closely to help ensure supplies of Australian critical minerals exports for South Korea's tech sector.



Western allies have in recent months moved to reduce their dependency on China amid heightened concern about Beijing's control over the critical minerals sector.



needs critical mineral supplies, having pledged to become a global battery manufacturing powerhouse by 2030 as part of its plan to be carbon neutral by 2050.



Australia supplies around 40% of South Korea's critical mineral imports, which are crucial for many of the components needed to drive the world's economies to net zero emissions by 2050.


Chinese artificial intelligence start-up SenseTime Group postponed its $767 million Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) on Monday after being placed on a U.S. investment blacklist.

SenseTime said it remained committed to completing the offering and would publish a supplemental prospectus and an updated listing timetable.

Reuters first reported earlier on Monday the company's plan to withdraw the offering and update its prospectus to include the potential impact of the U.S. investment ban, with the aim of relaunching the IPO process.

SenseTime had planned to sell 1.5 billion shares in a price range of HK$3.85 to HK$3.99, according to its regulatory filings. That would raise up to $767 million, a figure that had already been trimmed earlier this year from a $2 billion target.

However, instead of setting its listing price on Friday, as scheduled, it found itself in urgent talks with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and its lawyers over the future of the deal amid reports about the looming blacklist.

SenseTime did not provide details on the timetable for a revised IPO in its filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Monday.

"The company remains committed to completing the global offering and the listing soon," it said in the filing.

One source said the company was trying to move quickly to avoid the regulatory requirement to completely refile the IPO after Jan. 9 when its financial numbers in the current prospectus would need to be updated. The company had retained around $450 million from cornerstone investors and could expect most of them to stay in the deal, the source added.

"Even if the company offers an updated prospectus with more risk factors and goes ahead with a public listing, we expect the investor sentiment to be low which will likely impact future pricing of its shares and their performance post-IPO," said Shifara Samsudeen, a LightStream Research analyst who publishes on Smartkarma, told Reuters.

FULL REFUND

The company said it would refund all application monies in full, without interest, to all applicants who subscribed its shares in the offering process.

The U.S. Treasury added SenseTime to a list of "Chinese military-industrial complex companies," accusing the company of having developed facial recognition programmes that can determine a target's ethnicity, with a particular focus on identifying ethnic Uyghurs.

U.N. experts and rights groups estimate more than a million people, mainly Uyghurs and members of other Muslim minorities, have been detained in recent years in a vast system of camps in China's far-west region of Xinjiang.

Some foreign lawmakers and parliaments, as well as the U.S.

Secretaries of State in both the Biden and Trump administrations, have labelled the treatment of Uyghurs as genocide, citing evidence of forced sterilisations and deaths inside the camps. denies these claims and says Uyghur population growth rates are above the national average.

SenseTime said in a statement on Saturday it "strongly opposed the designation and accusations that have been made in connection with it," calling the accusations "unfounded".

"There remains a large number of questions that need to be answered, such as the impact of blacklisting and disruptions to the operations, as well as the impact on SenseTime's plans of pursuing global expansion," said LightStream's Samsudeen.

SenseTime was due to be one of the biggest deals in the third quarter in Hong Kong and its postponement adds to the ongoing weakness in the city's IPO market.

There has been $41.1 billion raised in IPOs and secondary listings so far in 2021, compared with $50.26 billion over the same period last year, according to Refinitiv figures.

Tourism Group shelved a plan to raise about $5 billion in its secondary listing earlier in December, citing uncertain financial market conditions.

SenseTime's IPO was the most high profile listing for HSBC this year, which was a joint sponsor with Capital Corporation (CICC) and Haitong

(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.)
experts working for commodity trading houses are taking to the narrow, winding roads in Brazil's Minas Gerais state as they tour the belt checking 2022 crop prospects just as prices approach the highest levels in 10 years.

This has been a difficult year for farming in Brazil, the world's largest producer. Prices surged after a drought and later frosts ruined as much as 20% of coffee trees, hitting future production. So far, those studying crops have produced wide estimates for the 2022 harvest, though traders for now are still betting on a less fruitful crop.

The people walking the fields will find the truth of that between now and the end of January, the optimal time for crop assessment.

"The rains that followed the frosts and drought produced a nice flowering, but now we have to see how many of those will grow into cherries," said Ryan Delany, chief analyst at U.S.-based Coffee Trading Academy LLC.

Arabica coffee futures on ICE gained more than 90% this year after the drought, frosts, and then a global container shortage that hampered shipping. The price surge led farmers in Brazil, Colombia and elsewhere to default on deliveries of pre-sold coffee.

During the tours, experts try to count pinhead cherries in the branches to come up with more detailed projections. So far, estimates released vary wildly.

Soft commodities analyst Judy Ganes, who was recently in with fellow analyst Shawn Hackett, estimated Brazil's arabica production at around 36 million bags, one of the smallest projections in the market.

Ganes says the vegetative health of the trees was damaged by drought and frosts, something are not fully accounting for. She expects Brazil's total crop (including the robusta variety) to come in at 55 million bags, far from the record 2020 crop, the previous "on-year" crop in the biennial production cycle, that reached around 70 million bags.

Jonas Ferraresso, a Brazilian coffee agronomist, says the flowering was widespread after October rains, but the conversion to fruit was below normal.

"Many trees developed new leaves in the branches instead of berries, an unusual development probably linked to the harsh drought earlier in the year," he said.

are more positive.

Rabobank, which specializes in agricultural financing, expects a crop at 66.5 million bags, not far from the record, adding that such production would generate a global surplus of 3 million bags and cut prices below $2 per pound in 2022.

U.S.-based trader Cardiff Coffee sees production at 63.1 million bags.

Paulo Armelin manages a farm with 220 hectares in the Patrocinio area, Minas Gerais, where the frosts were strongest.

He said around 20% of his fields were hit by the cold snap and will not

produce next year, but the rest was not affected.

"At least in my farm, the flowering was good and conversion to cherries looks fine," he said.

(Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira in New York and Roberto Samora in Sao Paulo

Editing by Matthew Lewis)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US Secretary of State on Sunday said that a face-to-face meeting between President and Russian President is "pretty unlikely" after the Russian leader requested for a meeting following their video conference last week.

As per Blinken who appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press" where host Chuck Todd asked what it would take for Biden to have a one-on-one meeting with Putin, he said that it would not take place as Russia continues to build up its military along its border with Ukraine, reported The Hill.

"What we are looking to see from Russia -- and, again, not just us but allies and partners in Europe -- we're looking to see de-escalation," said Blinken.

"We're looking to see Russia pull back forces from the border. And we're looking to see Russia engage in good faith in diplomacy and diplomatic dialogue with the Europeans, with Ukraine to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine and to give Ukraine its borders back. That's what we're looking to see," added Blinken.

On Sunday, the Kremlin said that both Biden and Putin had agreed to more talks going forward during their video call. According to Russian media, Putin told Biden, "[We will] definitely see each other, I would really want that to happen."

When pressed by Todd on whether a one-on-one in-person meeting could be in the future for Biden and Putin, Blinken said the ongoing aggression from Russia likely would not allow for it to occur, reported The Hill.

"Look, in the absence of de-escalation and taking the diplomatic path, seems pretty unlikely. But, you know, they met before in Geneva. There's no prohibition against meeting in person with Putin. If he's once again sending troops into Ukraine, hard to imagine that would be a good context for a meeting," he said.

During their video call last week, Biden warned that the US and its allies would respond with "strong economic and other measures" if Russia acts militarily against Ukraine. However, administration officials have stressed that a military response from the US is currently not on the table, reported The Hill.

Meanwhile, the Group of Seven countries (G7)-- Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US -- released a statement on Sunday condemning Russia's actions at the Ukraine border, reported The Hill.

"We call on Russia to de-escalate, pursue diplomatic channels, and abide by its commitments on transparency of military activities as President Biden did in his call with President Putin on 7 December," the statement read.

"We reconfirm our support for the efforts of France and Germany in the Normandy Format to achieve full implementation of the Minsk Agreements in order to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine," added the statement.

(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.)
Hitting out at China's debt-trap diplomacy, the Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers expressed concerns about Beijing's "coercive" economic policies.

The G-7 foreign ministers on Sunday held talks with their counterparts from the ASEAN countries for the first time, as well as from Australia, South Korea and India, on the second day of the G-7 gathering, apparently to coordinate with the 10-member ASEAN and three other regional powers over policy on China, Kyodo News reported.

The ministers also discussed "the situations in Hong Kong and Xinjiang," where Beijing has been accused of human rights abuses, and the "importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," according to a statement issued by Britain, the G-7 chair, after their two-day talks in Liverpool, England.

"We have been clear at this meeting this weekend that we are concerned about the coercive economic policies of China," Truss said at a news conference in Liverpool.

"And what we want to do is build the investment reach, the economic trade reach, of like-minded, freedom-loving democracies," Truss added.

In a separate statement, the G-7 ministers and their counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, who attended a part of the meeting, reaffirmed their "shared interest in maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region," in a veiled counter to China's attempts to alter the regional status quo with its growing military and economic clout.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi stressed that ASEAN is key to achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific, according to his ministry.

Of the ASEAN member states, military-ruled Myanmar was excluded from the gathering as the country was thrown into political turmoil following a coup in February.

has been accused of using debt-trap diplomacy for economic and strategic gains. Several countries are bearing the brunt of Chinese aggressive economic activities.

In the dept trap diplomacy, countries offer projects/loans on terms that end up being too difficult for other countries to repay which compels them to accept political or economic concessions.

(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.)
Sales of and Kia have continued to decrease in the Chinese market.

According to the Passenger Car Association (CPCA) on the 10th, and Kia's combined share of the Chinese market fell 1 per cent from 3.1 per cent (2.2 per cent for Hyundai Motor, 0.9 per cent for Kia) in November last year to 2.1 per cent (1.4 per cent Hyundai Motor, 0.7 per cent Kia) in November this year.

Last month, retail sales of automobiles decreased by 13 per cent year-on-year to 1,845,000 units in the Chinese market. The sales of passenger cars (including sedans, SUVs, and MPVs) fell 13 per cent to 1,816,000 units and commercial vehicles fell to 28,000 units, similar to last year.

However, and Kia's performance was far below the market average.

Retail sales of Hyundai Motor Beijing fell 42 per cent year-on-year to 26,000 units in November, and Dongfeng Kia fell 30 per cent to 13,000 units.

Sales of Hyundai Motor Group have significantly decreased in the Chinese market since the 2016 THAAD crisis. Hyundai Motor is reorganizing the local business organizations by selling its Beijing plant 1, Hyundai Motor's first global production plant.

Hyundai Motor released various new models and launched the Genesis brand to boost sales in the Chinese market, which has a strong influence in the global electric vehicle (EV) market. However, the performance has continued to be sluggish, with only 69 units of the strategic EV model 'Mistra EV,' released earlier this year, sold from March to September.

On the other hand, EV manufacturers such as Tesla and BYD and China's Geely Automobile saw strong sales performance.

Tesla and BYD sold 32,000 units and 90,000 units, respectively, in November. The market share of Tesla was 1.7 per cent (+0.7 per cent) and BYD was 5.0 per cent (+3.7 per cent). Sales of Geely Automobile fell 12per cent, but the market share increased by 0.1 points.

Japanese and European brands also showed a decline in the market share.

Song Seon-jae, an analyst from Hana Financial Investment, said, "The retail sales in decreased by 13 per cent year-on-year in November. This was effected by various factors such as chip shortages, COVID-19 pandemic, and drop in consumption demand due to the recession."

Song said, "The production disruptions caused by semiconductor shortages have been relatively resolved. CPCA expects the component shortages to be further alleviated.

(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.)
Investors managing $4.1 trillion in assets are urging the world's biggest to phase out production of hazardous substances which linger in the environment and have been linked to serious problems.

The move by 23 investors including Aviva Investors and Storebrand comes as regulators toughen rules around their use and as analysts warn some could face billions of dollars in associated clean-up and compensation costs.

In a letter to the world's 50-biggest chemical producers with combined revenues of $860 billion the investors call for increased transparency around how many "substances of very high concern" they produce every year.

Whilst U.S. and European regulators have disclosure requirements on hazardous chemicals, many other countries do not, and information on the volumes produced globally are not publically available.

To help investors, should also share the data with the non-profit Chemical Secretariat (ICS), which advocates for a shift to safer and tracks the performance of leading producers, the letter seen by

Reuters said.

"We believe sustainable management of is key to financial outperformance," Eugenie Mathieu, senior analyst at Aviva Investors, told Reuters, citing the example of litigation tied to PFAS or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, used in applications such as lubrication and industrial coatings.

So-called "persistent chemicals" such as PFAS - which degrade slowly and are linked to a range of illnesses after getting into local water supplies - have already led to payouts from companies including 3M , and more cases are pending.

POTENTIAL COSTS

"In recent years the financial implications for (a) company's liability for past and current production of pollution of persistent chemicals, especially PFAS, have been clear," she added, citing one analyst's estimate of potential costs in the United States of between $25 billion and $40 billion.

A spokesperson for 3M, one of the companies to receive the letter, said the company was committed to environmental stewardship, adding: "We welcome the opportunity to engage with investors and other stakeholders regarding this topic".

Belgian company Umicore said it had engaged with ICS over the group's ChemScore questionnaire in October and complies with relevant legislation where it makes, imports or sells its products, using a "risk-based" approach to chemicals management.

Given the growing regulatory and litigation concerns, the investors said they wanted to see all companies make a time-linked commitment to phase out production of the chemicals, focusing first on persistent chemicals.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency earlier this year laid out a plan to toughen rules for persistent chemicals, while the European Union is also looking to tighten legislation and incentivise a transition towards less hazardous materials.

Lastly, the investors said companies should set out plans to develop products that can be reused as part of a "circular economy", or which allow customers to design products that can be used in such a way - a key focus of EU lawmakers.

"The chemical industry sits at the start of the supply chain so has a role to play in driving the circular economy forward," the letter said, citing examples such as using waste or bio-based material as feedstocks.

(Additional reporting by Ross Kerber; Editing by David Holmes)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett began the first official visit by an Israeli leader to the on Sunday, seeking to strengthen Gulf ties at a time of heightened regional tension as world powers try to revive a nuclear deal with



Bennett, a far-right politician who took office as the head of a broad Israeli coalition government in June, plans to hold talks on Monday with the UAE's de facto leader, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.



The diplomatic outreach comes as world powers negotiate with on salvaging a 2015 nuclear deal opposed by and abandoned in 2018 by then-U.S. President Donald Trump.



Since August 2020, the UAE, followed by Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, have moved to normalise ties with under a U.S.-sponsored initiative dubbed the "Abraham Accords" after the biblical patriarch revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims.



Bennett's UAE trip is the first by an Israeli premier to any of those countries since the accords.



On arrival in Abu Dhabi after a flight from Tel Aviv, Bennett was welcomed by an honour guard and the UAE's foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed.



"What a wonderful reception. I am very excited to be here on behalf of my people (on the) first official visit of an Israeli leader here," Bennett said. "We are looking forward to strengthening the relationship," he added.



has broached setting up joint defences with Gulf Arab states that share its concern over Iranian activities. Pursuing economic, health and energy ties with its new ally, the UAE has signed dozens of memorandums of understanding with Israel since the Abraham Accords were signed.



Yet the UAE has also reached out to its Iran, sending its senior national security adviser there last Monday to meet his Iranian counterpart and President Ebrahim Raisi.



A flight-tracking app showed Bennett's El Al Israel Airlines plane overflying Saudi Arabia, which does not have formal ties with Israel, en route to Abu Dhabi. Riyadh agreed last year to allow Israel-UAE flights to cross its territory despite the absence of official ties.



The rapprochement in the Gulf has been condemned by Palestinians, whose diplomacy with Israel stalled in 2014.



(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian man during clashes that erupted in the city of Nablus early Monday, the official Palestinian news agency reported.

Citing medics, Wafa news agency identified the slain man as Jamil Kayyal, 31, adding that he was hit by a gunshot in the head.

Israeli media reported that paramilitary Border Police, aided by army soldiers, entered Nablus to arrest a wanted Palestinian and the clashes erupted when a group of Palestinians threw explosives toward the forces. There were no casualties among the Israeli troops, which arrested the wanted man.

The Israeli military referred a request for comment to the Border Police, which did not respond immediately.

Online videos appeared to show Kayyal lying on the ground, bleeding, after the forces left the neighbourhood.

The Israeli military often conducts arrest raids in the West Bank, even in territories that are under the control of the Palestinian Authority, the internationally recognized entity that has limited autonomy in parts of the area. The near-daily raids are in search of Palestinian militants and are often followed by clashes that are sometimes deadly.

The Palestinians want the and East Jerusalem, which Israel captured and annexed in 1967, as part of a future state. Peace negotiations between the two sides ground to a halt more than a decade ago.

(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.)
Japan's core machinery orders rose in October for the first time in three months as service sector firms ramped up investment amid low COVID-19 infections, a welcome sign firms were spending and the broader economy was recovering.

The world's third-largest economy is set to post a solid rebound this quarter after a larger-than-expected contraction in July-September, although the outlook is currently blurred by uncertainties around the new Omicron variant.

Core machinery orders, a highly volatile leading indicator of capital spending in the coming six to nine months, rose 3.8% in October from the previous month, the Cabinet Office data showed on Monday.

That compared with a 2.1% expansion forecast by economists in a Reuters poll and followed no change in September. Core orders from service-sector firms excluding ships and electrical utilities gained 16.5% month-on-month in October, led by transport and postal services that grew 170.1% due to large-scale orders for railroad vehicles.

"As the outbreak settled down, capital expenditure among a broad range of non-manufacturers grew," a government official told reporters.

Meanwhile, orders from manufacturers declined 15.4% from a month earlier, as decreasing demand from chemical firms offset growth from semiconductor-making equipment and production machinery companies.

In a year-on-year basis, core orders rose 2.9% in October, the data showed, versus a 4.0% rise expected by economists. Companies' capital expenditure slowed in the third quarter due to a global resurgence of COVID-19 outbreak, which particularly battered carmakers and other manufacturers dependent on parts supplies from Asian factories.

While supply bottlenecks eased, the outlook on production and spending remained sluggish. The Bank of Japan's quarterly Tankan survey on Monday showed large manufacturers' business mood was flat in December from October, whereas sentiment among service-sector firms improved more than expected.

The central bank is expected at this week's policy review to debate whether to extend pandemic relief programmes beyond their current March 2022 deadline, although no change to its ultra-easy monetary policy is expected.
and SK Hynix are strengthening their businesses in North America through recent promotions and changes of executives.

According to the industry on the 10th, announced the new leadership and appointed Kang In-yup as resident and Head of Device Solutions Americas (DSA) for the DS Division. This is the first time that a president-level manager has been appointed for the DSA.

DSA, located in Silicon Valley, California, the US, is a leading research institute of Samsung Electronics' DS division. It is aiming to lead innovation by developing a growth engine.

The industry analyzed that is strengthening the business to target the North American market by promoting the head of the DSA this time.

The newly appointed President Kang is an excellent expert in modem development and had served as the head of the System LSI division, which designs non-memory semiconductors and develops related technologies.

He is in charge of the key role in achieving Samsung Electronics' 2030 system vision to contribute to the diversification of product lines based on technological leadership.

It is analyzed that Samsung Electronics appointed President Kang as the head of DSA to secure a new growth engine by strengthening its organizations in North America.

Samsung Electronics is seeking business opportunities in the North American market by investing 20 trillion won (USD 17 billion) in the establishment of the second chip foundry.

Samsung Electronics is strengthening its organization for its future vision of developing new technologies and creating new markets despite current complex situations such as fierce competition and cooperation among chip manufacturers and the US-China trade war.

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong also visited DSA on his business trip to the US, and encouraged local employees in North America.

Vice-Chairman Lee said here, "With the new maps of future world and industry, our circumstances are dramatically changing. I hope that we create a new Samsung that pioneers the future that no one has ever been to."

SK Hynix also recently conducted executive reshuffle and organization reform to establish a new unit for business in the American region, speeding up to target the North American market.This organization will be the basis for SK Group to target the U.S. market.

In particular, it is aiming to strengthen the global competitiveness for its NAND division and sign

The newly established organization will be managed by Lee Seok-hee, CEO of SK Hynix. It will develop future businesses by establishing the North American R & D institute under the organization.

SK Hynix is also looking for business opportunities through strategies to strengthen its North American business, including recent investment in the US.

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won recently visited the US and said that he would invest more than 60 trillion won in the US. Some are expected to be invested in the semiconductor industry.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The United Arab Emirates is walking a diplomatic high wire between superpower ally Washington, new friend Israel and old adversary as it seeks to avoid a costly regional conflict that could torpedo its trade and tourism ambitions.

Abu Dhabi hosts Israel's prime minister this week and will receive a U.S. delegation seeking to warn companies in the about compliance with sanctions on over its nuclear activities. The Gulf state also dispatched a senior official to Tehran last week in a bid to mend ties and contain tensions.

The whirl of diplomacy marks a shift in foreign policy approach for the UAE, which is retreating from military adventurism after having waded into a series of damaging conflicts over the past decade, from Yemen to Libya, according to Emirati officials, analysts and regional diplomats.

"We need to avoid a major conflict that will embroil the or indeed the countries in the region," senior official Anwar Gargash told a U.S.-based think-tank on Thursday.

"Our interest is to try and avoid it at all costs." The and Israel have recently increased rhetorical pressure on about possible economic or military consequences should efforts to salvage a 2015 nuclear pact fail.

World powers are trying to bring both Washington and Tehran back into full compliance with the pact, which then-President Donald Trump quit in 2018.

He re-imposed sanctions, prompting Tehran to gradually violate the nuclear limits of the 2015 deal.

Abu Dhabi, which forged ties with Israel last year, shares U.S. and Israeli concerns about Iran's nuclear ambitions along with its missiles programme and regional proxies. But it is trying to balance curtailing Iran with protecting its economic interests as a tourism and commercial hub post COVID-19 in the face of increasing economic competition in the region.

"It is time to de-escalate, not escalate. If Israel is in this mood, we are not going to share it," said political analyst Abdulkhaleq Abdulla.

Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, told the Arab Gulf States Institute that neither the region nor Washington want another conflict like Iraq or Afghanistan.

Iran rejects Western suspicions that it is seeking atomic weapons, saying its nuclear activities are for civilian energy purposes. It says it abided by the terms of the 2015 deal in good faith, and wants all sanctions imposed by the after Trump abandoned the deal to be lifted.

AMERICA IS 'ABSOLUTE PRIORITY'

The UAE and Saudi Arabia, while pressing global powers to address Iran's missile programme and regional behaviour, are wary of a repeat of 2019 attacks on tankers in Gulf waters and on Saudi oil facilities that forced the kingdom to temporarily shut down more than half its crude output.

The UAE "needs to hedge as best as it can to offset Iranian punitive actions, but there can be no doubt that its relationship with the U.S. is absolute priority," said Neil Quilliam, associate fellow at Chatham House.

Gulf nations rely heavily on the United States for security but there is deepening uncertainty over the U.S. regional role.

Israel has broached setting up joint defences with Gulf states following normalisation of ties with the UAE and Bahrain.

The UAE signed a $23 billion deal at the tail end of the Trump presidency to buy American-made F-35 fighter jets, drones and other defence equipment. But the sales progress has since slowed amid U.S. concerns over UAE ties with China, a major Emirati trade partner.

Gargash said the UAE had recently halted work on Chinese facilities at an Emirati port after Washington voiced concern that they had military purposes.

The UAE, Gargash said, wants to find a "common economic denominator" to improve ties with Iran, Turkey and Syria, even as Abu Dhabi builds on relations forged with Israel.

In a sign Washington is cranking up economic pressure on Iran, Treasury official Andrea Gacki is due to visit the UAE as part of a delegation on Monday for what the State Department said were discussions with private sector firms and financial institutions that "facilitate non-compliant Iranian commerce".

The UAE, long one of Iran's main links to the outside world with business ties stretching back a century, saw its exports with Iran shrink from $14 billion in 2017 to $7 billion in 2019 according to World Bank data. Flows have started to recover.

Analyst Abdulla said there was no appetite in the UAE for further economic penalties on Iran.

"We have done our job and done our share of compliance in the past five, six years," he added. "But enough is enough. Nobody is in the mood in Abu Dhabi to go for more sanctions. That is very clear."

(Reporting by Ghaida Ghantous and Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by Pravin Char)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The government on Sunday raised the country's alert level from three to four due to the rapid increase of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, recording another 1,239 cases to take the total to 3,137.

The alert level has been raised by the Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) of all parts of the United Kingdom England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on the advice of the Security Agency (UKHSA).

The CMOs said that early evidence shows that the new variant, first detected in South Africa, is spreading faster than the Delta variant with the first hospitalisations now underway.

Early evidence shows that Omicron is spreading much faster than Delta and that vaccine protection against symptomatic disease from Omicron is reduced. Data on severity will become clearer over the coming weeks but hospitalisations from Omicron are already occurring and these are likely to increase rapidly, Professor Chris Whitty (England), Professor Sir Michael McBride (Northern Ireland), Professor Gregor Smith (Scotland), Dr Frank Atherton (Wales) and NHS England National Medical Director, Professor Stephen Powis, said in a joint statement.

When vaccine protection is reduced in the way that is happening with Omicron it is essential to top up that protection with a booster. Both booster vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) increase the immune response substantially and show good effectiveness although with some reduction compared to Delta, they said.

The UK's risk levels are measured by a five-level alert system, based on the severity of transmission and corresponding social distance rules. Level four means a high or rising level of transmission, with some requirement of social distancing rules to manage the spread.

The has been at level three for the past few months, indicating general circulation and lower level of restrictions, and was at level four last in May.

The latest alert comes as the National Service (NHS) booster programme opens for bookings to all those aged 30 and over from Monday.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Visiting South Korean President said on Monday that the US, and agree in principle on declaring a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War and Seoul will push to make it happen.

Moon made the remarks while addressing a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison after bilateral summit talks in Canberra, reports Yonhap News Agency.

"The US, and have all expressed their agreement in theory, in principle," the President said, referring to the end-of-war declaration, which he himself proposed.

"However, because is demanding the fundamental withdrawal of the US' hostile policy toward the North as a precondition, we have not been able to enter talks."

Moon said his government will work until the end to bring the parties to an agreement.

During the war, the US fought alongside to fend off an invasion by North Korea, which was backed by

The conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

"An end-of-war declaration is not the ultimate goal," Moon noted.

"On top of signifying the end of the unstable armistice regime that has continued for nearly 70 years, it can serve as momentum to restart talks between the South, North and the US."

Moon's early diplomatic overtures to the North led to an unprecedented Washington-Pyongyang summit in Singapore in June 2018, raising hopes for a breakthrough in efforts to dismantle the North's nuclear weapons program.

The talks stalled, however, after a second US-North Korea summit in Hanoi in February 2019 ended without a deal.

--IANS

ksk/

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A video feed of a Taiwanese minister was cut during U.S. President Joe Biden's Summit for last week after a map in her slide presentation showed in a different color to China, which claims the island as its own.



Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Friday's slide show by Taiwanese Digital Minister Audrey Tang caused consternation among U.S. officials after the map appeared in her video feed for about a minute.



The sources, who did not want to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the video feed showing Tang was cut during an ongoing panel discussion and replaced with audio only - at the behest of the White House.



The White House was concerned that differentiating and on a map in a U.S.-hosted conference - to which had been invited in a show of support at a time when it is under intense pressure from Beijing - could be seen as being at odds with Washington's "one-China" policy, which avoids taking a position as to whether Taiwan is part of China, the sources said.



The White House offered no formal comment, but the State Department said "confusion" over screen-sharing resulted in Tang's video feed being dropped, calling it "an honest mistake." "We valued Minister Tang's participation, which showcased Taiwan's world-class expertise on issues of transparent governance, human rights, and countering disinformation," a spokesperson said.



Tang's presentation included a color-coded map from South African NGO CIVICUS, ranking the world by openness on civil rights.



Most of Asia was shown, with Taiwan colored green, making it the only regional entity portrayed as "open," while all the others, including several U.S. allies and partners, were labeled as being "closed," "repressed," "obstructed" or "narrowed." China, Laos, Vietnam and North Korea were colored red and labeled "closed."



When the moderator returned to Tang a few minutes later, there was no video of her, just audio, and a screenshot captioned: "Minister Audrey Tang Taiwan." An onscreen disclaimer later declared: "Any opinions expressed by individuals on this panel are those of the individual, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the government." One source told Reuters the map generated an instant email flurry among U.S. officials and the White House National Security Council angrily contacted the State Department, concerned it appeared to show Taiwan as a distinct country.



Washington complained to Taiwan's government, which in turn was angry that Tang's video had been cut.



The source called the U.S. move an over-reaction as the map was not inherently about national boundaries, but the NSC was also angry as the slide had not appeared in "dry-run" versions of the presentation before the summit, raising questions as to whether there was intentional messaging by Tang and Taiwan.



"They choked," the source said of the White House reaction.



A second source directly involved in the summit said the video booth operator acted on White House instructions. "It was clearly policy concerns," the source said, adding: "This was completely an internal overreaction."



The sources saw the move during a panel on "countering digital authoritarianism" as at odds with the summit's mission of bolstering in the face of challenges from and others. They also said it could signal that the administration's support for Taiwan was not as "rock solid" as it has repeatedly stated.



Asked whether she believed the U.S. government cut the video due to the slide, Tang told Reuters in an email: "No, I do not believe that this has anything to do with the CIVICUS map in my slides, or U.S. allies in Asia for that matter." Taiwan's Foreign Ministry blamed "technical problems." The issue comes at a highly sensitive time for U.S.-Taiwan relations, when some Biden administration critics and foreign policy experts are calling for more overt shows of support for the island, including an end to a long-held policy of "strategic ambiguity" as to whether the would defend it militarily.



Taiwan experts said they did not see the color-coding of the map as a violation of unofficial U.S. guidelines, which bar use of overt symbols of sovereignty, such as Taiwan's flag.



"It was clearly not to distinguish sovereignty, but the degree of democratic expression," said Douglas Paal, a former unofficial U.S. ambassador to Taiwan.



Under U.S. government guidelines as of 2020, U.S. government maps showing sovereignty by color require Taiwan to be shown with the same color as China, although exceptions can be made "when context requires that Taiwan be specifically singled out."



Bonnie Glaser of the German Marshall Fund of the said the guidelines would not apply to a non-U.S.government map, "but the U.S. would likely want to avoid appearing to endorse that Taiwan is not part of " "It seems to me that a decision was made at the outset that Taiwan could/should be included in the Summit for Democracy, but only in ways consistent with U.S. policy."


The are likely to open higher this morning given the positive overseas cues. The SGX Nifty indicates a gap-up of nearly 100 points for the Nifty 50. Meanwhile, here the top stocks to focus in trade on Friday.

Lupin: The pharma firm is recalling 4,113 cartons of generic oral contraceptive tablets in the US, the world's largest market for medicines, due to manufacturing issues. As per the latest enforcement report issued by the USFDA, Lupin's US-based unit is recalling 4,113 cartons of Tydemy.

In another development the home grown pharma company plans to set up over a hundred laboratories and a thousand franchisee-based collection centres as it aims to become among the top five diagnostic chains in the country.

Reliance: The Mukesh Ambani flagship firm in association with Assets Care & Reconstruction Enterprise Ltd, are among those bidding to take over bankrupt Indian textile firm Sintex Industries Ltd. READ MORE



Maruti: The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) is currently analysing customer feedback to ascertain if the Jimny brand could be introduced in India as part of its overall plan to strengthen the SUV portfolio. The company currently manufactures three-door Jimny at its Gurugram plant and exports to Middle East and African READ MORE



Indias largest public sector bank has raised about Rs 3,974-crore capital through additional tier 1 bonds (AT1 bonds). The coupon for the AT1 bonds was fixed at 7.55 per cent, cheaper by 17-basis points over the last issuance in September 2021.

ONGC: The largest oil and gas producer in the country is seeking a minimum price of $ 3.5-4 for the natural gas it plans to produce from coal seams in Jharkhand and a field in Tripura. The company has been complaining that the government-notified gas price is way below cost and the company incurs a loss of production and sale of natural gas from most of its fields. It says its cost of production ranges from $4.5 to $9 per mmBtu for gas from different sources/fields. READ MORE



Vedanta: The company has declared an interim dividend of Rs 13.50 per share.

Corporation of India: The companys board is scheduled to meet on December 15 to consider and approve divided for FY22.

(BoM): Faced with competition from fellow financiers, (BoM) has slashed lending rates on retail loans  home and vehicle  by up to 40-basis points, to borrowers with credit score of above 800 w.e.f. December 13.

Zydus Cadila: The company has received approval from the USFDA to market generic drug Cariprazine capsules, in the strengths of 1.5 mg, 3 mg and 4.5 mg, and 6 mg, which are used in the treatment of schizophrenia.

Minda Industries: The auto components maker said it has entered into a joint venture agreement with FRIWO AG Germany to manufacture and supply various electric vehicle components in the Indian subcontinent with a planned capex of Rs 390 crore in the next six years.

Stocks in F&O ban: Escorts, Indiabulls Housing Finance and Vodafone Idea are the only stocks in the F&O ban period today.
Bharat Forge Ltd is quoting at Rs 742.9, up 1.77% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. The stock is up 37.28% in last one year as compared to a 28.49% gain in NIFTY and a 21.77% gain in the Nifty Auto.

Bharat Forge Ltd rose for a fifth straight session today. The stock is quoting at Rs 742.9, up 1.77% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. The benchmark NIFTY is down around 0.52% on the day, quoting at 17420.75. The Sensex is at 58436.96, down 0.59%. Bharat Forge Ltd has dropped around 4.43% in last one month.

Meanwhile, Nifty Auto index of which Bharat Forge Ltd is a constituent, has dropped around 5.27% in last one month and is currently quoting at 11080.05, down 0.07% on the day. The volume in the stock stood at 6.66 lakh shares today, compared to the daily average of 21.47 lakh shares in last one month.

The benchmark December futures contract for the stock is quoting at Rs 744.15, up 1.51% on the day. Bharat Forge Ltd is up 37.28% in last one year as compared to a 28.49% gain in NIFTY and a 21.77% gain in the Nifty Auto index.

The PE of the stock is 41.14 based on TTM earnings ending September 21.

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BLS International Services hit an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 214.60 after the company announced the signing of a contract with the Embassy of India in Kuwait for consular, passport & visa services.

The company is expected to process approximately 2,00,000 applications every year.

BLS will be starting operations with three centres in Sharq, Fahaheel and Jleb Al Shuwaikh in Kuwait. The company will be providing consular, passport and visa services along with several value-added services like form filling, printing and photography for the convenience of applicants.

Shikhar Aggarwal, joint managing director, BLS International, said, We are a trusted partner for Indian missions for over a decade now in countries like Canada, UAE, Russia, Singapore, China, Malaysia, Oman, Austria, Poland, Lithuania, Norway & Hong Kong. BLS has developed the entire system into a seamless progression including automation of processes, application submission, appointments, helplines, collection and remittance of fees on applicant's behalf.

This contract is in addition to the already robust portfolio of visa, passport, consular and citizen services of BLS International with over 46 client governments.

BLS centres are equipped with digital facilities and have the capability to service other countries.

BLS International Services is a global tech-enabled services partner for governments and citizens, in the domain of visa, passport, consular, citizen, e-governance, attestation, biometric, e-visa and retail services since 2005.

On a consolidated basis, net profit of BLS International Services rose 101.10% to Rs 27.47 crore on 45.13% rise in net sales to Rs 190.46 crore in Q2 September 2021 over Q2 September 2020.

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The issue received bids for 13.51 crore shares as against 2.93 crore shares on offer.

The initial public offer (IPO) of Shriram Properties received bids for 13,51,21,875 shares as against 2,93,51,639 shares on offer. The issue was subscribed 4.60 times.

The retail investors category was subscribed 12.72 times. The non institutional investors category was subscribed 4.82 times. The qualified institutional buyers category was subscribed 1.85 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 8 December 2021 and it closed on 10 December 2021. The price band of the IPO was fixed at Rs 113-118.

The offer comprised of the fresh issue of upto Rs 250 crore and and offer for sale of upto Rs 350 crore.

The proceeds from offer for sale will go to investor selling shareholders and other selling shareholders. Of the fresh issue proceeds, the company proposes to repay/pre-pay in full or part of certain borrowing availed by the company or subsidiaries to the tune of Rs 200 crore and balance is for general corporate purposes.

Ahead of the IPO, Shriram Properties on Tuesday, 8 December 2021, finalized allocation of 2,27,66,949 equity shares to anchor investors at Rs 118 per share, aggregating to Rs 268.65 crore.

Shriram Properties, a part of Chennai based Shriram Group, is one of the leading residential real estate development companies in South India, primarily focused on the mid-market and affordable housing categories. It is also present in the mid-market premium and luxury housing categories as well as commercial and office space categories in its core markets.

The company as of 30 September 2021, has completed 29 Projects (representing 16.76 million square feet of saleable area) and of this about 24 completed projects (accounting 90.56% of saleable area) are in the cities of Bengaluru and Chennai.

The real estate company reported a net loss of Rs 68.28 crore on sales of Rs 118.18 crore in the six month ended September 2021.

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Sigachi Industries jumped 8.09% to Rs 441 after the company reported a 24.2% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 9.86 crore in Q2 FY22 from Rs 7.93 crore reported in Q2 FY21.

Consolidated revenue from operations grew by 16.8% to Rs 57.19 crore in Q2 FY22 from Rs 48.94 crore registered in Q2 FY21. Profit before tax stood at Rs 12.76 crore in Q2 FY22, rising 31.6% from Rs 9.7 crore posted in Q2 FY21.

Shares of Sigachi Industries entered bourses on 15 November 2021. The scrip was listed at Rs 575, a premium of 252.76% to the issue price of Rs 163 a share. The initial public offer (IPO) of Sigachi Industries was subscribed 101.91 times. The issue opened for bidding on 1 November 2021 and it closed on 3 November 2021. The price band of the IPO was fixed at Rs 161-163 per share.

Sigachi Industries, incorporated in 1989, started its journey manufacturing chlorinated paraffin and hydrochloric acid in its manufacturing unit situated at Hyderabad. The company diversified its product portfolio in 1990 to manufacture microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). MCC is widely used as an excipient for finished dosages in the pharmaceutical industry.

The company manufactures MCC of various grades ranging from 15 microns to 250 microns. The major grades of MCC manufactured and marketed by the company are branded as HiCel and AceCel.

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Tata Motors Ltd is quoting at Rs 498.9, up 0.9% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. The stock is up 180.83% in last one year as compared to a 28.49% jump in NIFTY and a 21.77% jump in the Nifty Auto.

Tata Motors Ltd gained for a fifth straight session today. The stock is quoting at Rs 498.9, up 0.9% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. The benchmark NIFTY is down around 0.52% on the day, quoting at 17420.75. The Sensex is at 58436.96, down 0.59%. Tata Motors Ltd has slipped around 1.3% in last one month.

Meanwhile, Nifty Auto index of which Tata Motors Ltd is a constituent, has slipped around 5.27% in last one month and is currently quoting at 11080.05, down 0.07% on the day. The volume in the stock stood at 141.37 lakh shares today, compared to the daily average of 297.15 lakh shares in last one month.

The benchmark December futures contract for the stock is quoting at Rs 501.75, up 1.08% on the day. Tata Motors Ltd is up 180.83% in last one year as compared to a 28.49% jump in NIFTY and a 21.77% jump in the Nifty Auto index.

The PE of the stock is 0 based on TTM earnings ending September 21.

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Vedanta Ltd is quoting at Rs 356.3, up 1.89% on the day as on 12:54 IST on the NSE. The stock is up 142.96% in last one year as compared to a 28.48% spurt in NIFTY and a 77.85% spurt in the Nifty Metal index.

Vedanta Ltd gained for a third straight session today. The stock is quoting at Rs 356.3, up 1.89% on the day as on 12:54 IST on the NSE. The benchmark NIFTY is down around 0.52% on the day, quoting at 17419.55. The Sensex is at 58457.39, down 0.56%. Vedanta Ltd has risen around 9.78% in last one month.

Meanwhile, Nifty Metal index of which Vedanta Ltd is a constituent, has risen around 0.86% in last one month and is currently quoting at 5658.9, up 0.24% on the day. The volume in the stock stood at 116.51 lakh shares today, compared to the daily average of 387.63 lakh shares in last one month.

The benchmark December futures contract for the stock is quoting at Rs 345.7, up 1.36% on the day. Vedanta Ltd is up 142.96% in last one year as compared to a 28.48% spurt in NIFTY and a 77.85% spurt in the Nifty Metal index.

The PE of the stock is 9.33 based on TTM earnings ending September 21.

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Venky's (India) rose 5.48% to Rs 2735.30 after the company said it is setting up a new project for manufacturing veterinary medicine products under its animal health product segment.

The company has acquired land admeasuring 15030 square metres at Satara in Maharashtra for this purpose. The project is expected to be completed by March 2022 and the commercial production will commence from June 2022.

In an exchange filing, the company said that this project will focus on manufacturing veterinary medicines powders (600 tonnes/annum) and veterinary medicines liquids (300 kilolitres/annum) to cater the growing demand from poultry industry.

Total cost of the project is estimated at Rs 30 crore, which will be funded from internal accruals.

The proposed plant will be the second one from the company and will be in compliance with the latest FDA regulation and it is also expected to cater export needs.

Venky's already has a plant in Pune (Maharashtra) with a capacity of 600 tonnes/annum and the said capacity is utilized to the extent of 70-80%.

Venky's (India)'s net profit declined 15.6% to Rs 30.68 crore on 40.7% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 987.76 crore in Q2 FY22 over Q2 FY21.

Venky's (India) is a part of the VH group which is the largest and most integrated poultry player in India. The company's diversified product range includes SPF eggs, chicken and eggs processing, broiler and layer breeding, genetic research and poultry diseases diagnostic, poultry vaccines and feed supplements, vaccine production, bio-security products, poultry feed & equipments, nutritional health products, soya bean extract, etc.

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Digital Editor
It has been almost two decades since the Union governments telecom policy set aside 5 per cent of its receipts from the sector towards the Universal Service Obligation (USO) fund. The USO fund now totals in excess of Rs 1 trillion.

Yet the Comptroller and Auditor General has repeatedly pulled up the government for how it is managing the fund. In the past, the statutory obligation to pass dues on to the USO fund has not always been observed in a timely manner; as a consequence, the money has remained in the Consolidated Fund of India while the Union Budgets mathematics are ...
The fresh demand for special status to has brought the differences within the ruling NDA to the fore in the state.

Two days after Deputy Chief Minister Renu Devi termed the government's demand for special status as "meaningless", Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said she has no detailed information on the issue.

Seeking to play down the differences within the DA, Kumar said, I will explain everything to her (Renu Devi) when she meets me. She does not have the detailed information about the issue. The demand for the special status to is totally justified, the state deserves it".

He said the special status, which entitles a state of a number of central privileges, is very essential for Bihar. "So if someone in the state opposes the special status demand, it is possible that the person does not understand the issue," he said in reply to queries by scribes who sought his views on Renu Devi's comment.

Kumar, also senior JD(U) leader, said according to the Niti Aayog Bihar is a backward state. But despite the government's efforts the growth rate is not enough. "Therefore we are demanding special category status ... What is wrong in it?"



At the same, he said Niti Aayog has used old parameters to evaluate Bihar and its evaluation process is not justified as the state is gradually developing in every sector each year.

Bihar has been demanding the special status for more than a decade. The state needs it to achieve average of development, he said.

Bihar Planning and Implementation Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav has written to Niti Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar stating that Bihar fulfilled all criterion for being accorded the special status.

Renu Devi, a senior BJP leader, had on Saturday termed the fresh demand as "meaningless" and said the Centre has already given the state much more privileges, including funds than that to a special status state.

Developmental works are taking place in Bihar with financial help from the Centre. The construction of six to eight lane roads is taking place in Bihar under the Highway Authority of India (NHAI), which is being done with more more fund than that allocated to a state given special status, she had said.

Harping on the special status demand, Kumar said, The full form of NITI Aayog is Institution for Transforming India Aayog. So, it must give special status to Bihar for its transformation. The state's per capita income, human resources and standard of living are much below the national average. Bihar lacks natural resources, while the density of population is high. In addition, it is badly hit by flood and drought.

According to the latest Niti Aayog report, 52 per cent people of Bihar live below the poverty line. The state is also on the bottom in health, education and road infrastructure.

(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 Congress President on Monday slammed the government over the Class 10 English question paper and described it as 'extremely poor' standards of education and testing.

Raising this issue during the 'Zero Hour', she said that a 'shockingly regressive passage' on the women published in the Class 10 Examination held on December 11 was derogatory and regressive for women. She asked the to withdraw the question and tender an apology.

Quoting the text of the passage of the question paper in the House, she said, "Entire passage is riddled with such condemnable ideas and the questions that follow are equally nonsensical." She strongly objected to such 'blatantly misogynistic material'.

The question paper for the English examination conducted on December 11 had a comprehension passage with sentences that read "emancipation of women destroyed the parent's authority over the children" and "it was only by accepting her husband's way that a mother could gain obedience over the younger ones," among others.

Seeking an apology from the CBSE, also said that this passage reflects 'extremely poorly on standards on education and testing' and urged the Ministry of Education to immediately withdraw the question.

Earlier, the Congress party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also objected to the Class 10 CBSE English question paper and accused the BJP government of endorsing these retrograde views on women.

#WATCH | Congress interim chief raises in the issue of inclusion of a 'shockingly regressive passage' in CBSE's question paper for Grade 10 exam, demands withdrawal of the passage & apology



(Source: Sansad TV) pic.twitter.com/lO1Db4ty3q  ANI (@ANI) December 13, 2021

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China frequently criticizes Japan for not showing sufficient contrition for the brutality of its expansionist campaign that swept across Asia during the first half of the 20th century. | (Photo: Bloomberg)

on Monday marked the 84th anniversary of the Nanking Massacre, in which hundreds of thousands of civilians and disarmed soldiers were killed by Japanese troops in and around the former Chinese capital.

A People's Liberation Army honor guard bearing large funeral wreaths marched slowly past a memorial showing the figure 300,000, China's official death toll in the events of December 1937, as solemn music played. Troops, students and 3,000 attendees then stood at rigid attention to observe a minute of silence.

Addressing the gathering, Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan said they had came together to learn from history and open up a new chapter of our future.

The ceremony aimed to showcase our lofty commitment to a peaceful development path, said Sun, the only woman on the ruling Communist Party's 25-member Politburo.

In 2014, China's top legislature designated Dec. 13 as national day of remembrance for massacre victims. Survivors, just 61 of whom are still living, were among those observing the date.

The website of the official Xinhua News Agency appeared in black and white to mark the occasion, while popular online shopping and social media sites such as Taobao and WeChat displayed black backgrounds.

frequently criticizes for not showing sufficient contrition for the brutality of its expansionist campaign that swept across Asia during the first half of the 20th century. The ruling party has often allowed anti-Japanese sentiment to build domestically to shore up its legacy as a defender of China's sovereignty and national dignity.

In 1937 and throughout World War II, the Communists were based at Yan'an in northern China, far from the front lines, while most of the fighting and dying was done by Chiang Kaishek's Nationalist forces backed by the U.S.

This year's commemoration comes at a time when relations with are generally stable and criticisms have been muted, despite a major downturn in China's relations with Tokyo's key ally, the United States.

A 1946 international postwar tribunal concluded at least 200,000 civilians were killed by Japanese troops in a weekslong frenzy of murder, rape, looting and arson after Nanking China's capital at the time fell on Dec. 13, 1937, after bitter street fighting in Shanghai. The city's name is now spelled Nanjing under the pinyin romanization system.

Some right-wing Japanese politicians have downplayed the death toll or denied outright that the Nanking atrocity happened.

Increasingly, it is that has raised alarms in Asia with its more assertive military and diplomatic posture, particularly over territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas, along with its growing military harassment of Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy it claims as its own territory.

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Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will hold a virtual summit this week to discuss bilateral relations and issues, amid tensions between Moscow and the West over the massing of tens of thousands of Russian troops near its border with Ukraine.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin mentioned no specific topics and said details would be released after Wednesday's video meeting.

"The two heads of state will give full review of China- relations and cooperation in various fields this year," Wang said at a daily briefing on Monday.

Wang added the leaders will also "make top-level designs for the development of bilateral relations next year."



US President Joe Biden warned Putin during a call last week that would face painful sanctions that will do resounding economic harm if it again invaded Ukraine.

Putin responded that Russian troops are on their own territory, and they don't threaten anyone, according to his foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov.

In recent years, and have increasingly aligned their foreign policies to counter US domination of the economic and political order. Both have faced sanctions over their internal policies, over abuses against minorities, especially Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, and for its crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong.

Beijing and Washington also remain at odds over trade, technology and China's military intimidation of Taiwan, which it claims as its own territory.

Wang said the bilateral meeting of the US rivals was expected to further enhance the high-level mutual trust between the two sides."



Putin has sought guarantees that an expansion of the NATO military alliance would never include Ukraine, a demand rejected by the US and its NATO allies.

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The on Monday constituted an election committee under the chairmanship of party chief Navjot Singh Sidhu for next year's Assembly polls.

The party also approved a proposal for the appointment of the president and working presidents to 28 district committees in

The state has 23 districts, of which Ludhiana, Amritsar, Patiala, Jalandhar and Bathinda have more than one committee.

In January this year, president Sonia Gandhi had dissolved the Pradesh Congress Committee and district party committees.

The Punjab Pradesh Election Committee will have as its chairman, according to a party statement.

Among those who are members of the committee are CM Charanjit Singh Channi, senior party leader and coordination committee chairperson Ambika Soni, former Punjab Congress chief and campaign committee chairman Sunil Jakhar, manifesto committee chief Partap Singh Bajwa, party's all Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs and state ministers.

Former chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhathal, former PPCC chiefs H S Hanspal, Mohinder Singh Kaypee, AICC secretary K L Sharma, MLA Raminder Singh Awla, senior vice-president of PPCC Laal Singh, PPCC working presidents Kuljit Nagra, Sukhvinder Singh Danny and Pawan Goyal are also part of the panel.

The party has also included former ministers and MLAs Gurpreet Kangar, Balbir Singh Sidhu, Shyam Sunder Arora, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot and Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi in this committee.

Five of them, who were earlier considered close to former chief minister Amarinder Singh, could not find place in the new cabinet led by Charanjit Singh Channi.

MLAs Ajaib Singh Bhatti, Navtej Singh Cheema, Chairman of SC wing Raj Kumar Chabbewal, Punjab Mahila Congress chief Balbir Rani Sodhi, Punjab Youth Congress chief Barinder Dhillon, NSUI president Akashay Sharma and Punjab Seva Dal chief organiser Nirmal Kaira area also part of the committee.

Meanwhile, the Congress appointed 28 presidents and 54 working presidents to district congress committees.

In some district Congress committees like Jalandhar Urban, Fatehgarh Sahib, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, Ludhiana Urban, the party appointed more than one working president.

It is for the first time that the party appointed a president along with working presidents in the district Congress committees.

The Congress had last week announced various party panels for the Punjab polls, making Ajay Maken the head of the committee for screening of candidates and appointing former state unit president Sunil Jakhar as the campaign committee chief.

Senior party leader Ambika Soni will chair the party's coordination committee and another former state unit chief and Rajya Sabha member, Partap Singh Bajwa, is the chairman of the manifesto committee.

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Hours after proroguing Parliament, Gotabaya, 72, left for Singapore on an unscheduled visit.

In an unusual move, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has prorogued Parliament for one week and left for on an unscheduled visit.

There was no immediate comment from the government on Rajapaksa's decision to suspend Parliament for a week.

Parliament, which ended its sessions on Friday, was originally set to convene on January 11. It will now convene on January 18.

President Rajapaksa, through an extraordinary gazette notification dated December 12, suspended the assembly.

I do by this proclamation prorogue Parliament with effect from midnight of the Twelfth day of December, Two Thousand and Twenty One and hereby fix the Eighteenth day of January Two Thousand and Twenty Two at 10 am for the commencement of the next session and summon parliament to meet.. the gazette notification read.

Hours after proroguing Parliament, Gotabaya, 72, left for on an unscheduled visit.

Presidential officials said that he was on a private visit, believed to be for medical purposes.

Two key issues billed for discussions during Monday's Cabinet meeting would not be taken up, energy minister Udaya Gammanpila told reporters.

The weekly Cabinet meeting was to discuss the possibility of going for a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in view of the severe foreign currency crisis.

Sri Lanka's foreign reserves have slipped to the lower level to suffice only a month's imports.

The Cabinet was also scheduled to discuss a controversial power deal with a US power company for which the government allies had expressed vehement opposition.

The president's action means all standing committees in Parliament would have to be reconstituted and reconvened.

Two oversight committees on public enterprises and public accounts have been pointing to many irregularities in running state institutions.

The assembly session dates and timings are set by political party leaders represented in Parliament in concurrence with the House Speaker.

However, the President has the power to prorogue Parliament under Article 70 of the Constitution.

During the prorogation, the Speaker continues to function and the members retain their membership even though they do not attend meetings of Parliament, according to the Colombo Gazette newspaper.

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday confirmed the country's first death from the Omicron variant of COVID-19 as long queues were seen outside walk-in vaccination centres across the UK with people queuing for their booster vaccine doses.

During a visit to a vaccine clinic in west London, Johnson warned against the complacency of the mildness of the variant and also refused to rule out bringing in further restrictions beyond the government's work from home guidance now in force as part of measures to tackle the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

"Sadly, yes, Omicron is producing hospitalisations and sadly at least one patient has been confirmed to have died with Omicron, Johnson told reporters.

"So, I think the idea that this is somehow a milder version of the virus, I think that's something we need to set on one side and just recognise the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population. So, the best thing we can do is all get our boosters," he said.

Earlier, Boris Johnson had warned of a tidal wave of the highly transmissible variant on its way as he issued an urgent televised address on Sunday night.

He announced an enhanced Omicron Emergency Boost campaign, which sets an end of the year deadline for all adults aged over 18 to be offered a third top-up dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. This brings forward his previous timeline of January 2022 for this target in an effort to build a "wall of vaccine protection" against the new variant.

I am afraid we are now facing an emergency in our battle with the new variant, Omicron, and we must urgently reinforce our wall of vaccine protection to keep our friends and loved ones safe, said Johnson.

No-one should be in any doubt: there is a tidal wave of Omicron coming, and I'm afraid it is now clear that two doses of vaccine are simply not enough to give the level of protection we all need. But the good news is that our scientists are confident that with a third dose a booster dose we can all bring our level of protection back up, he said.

UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid reiterated the message on Monday, adding that the Omicron variant is "spreading at a phenomenal rate" and infections are continuing to double every two to three days.

We are clearly once again in a race between the vaccine and the virus," he said.

Ten people in England are in hospital with the new COVID variant, first detected in South Africa, with one death now reported related to Omicron in the UK.

Meanwhile, people in England are now expected to work from home if they can, as part of the government's Plan B guidance. The change brings England in line with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Plan B also means stricter face-covering rules for indoor spaces and compulsory COVID vaccination pass for venues will come in from Wednesday.

Members of Parliament are expected to vote on the new measures on Tuesday. One of the three votes in the House of Commons will be on COVID vaccine passes, and could be opposed by Johnson's own 60 Tory MPs.

However, all parliamentary votes are expected to pass as the Opposition Labour is backing the government.

The UK's COVID alert level has been raised to level four which means a high or rising level of transmission for the first time since May due to the spread of Omicron. Early data suggests that getting a third booster dose gives around 75 per cent protection against symptomatic infection against Omicron.

More than half a million booster jabs and third doses were administered by the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK on Saturday, the second day that has happened since the booster rollout began in the country.

A further 1,239 new cases of Omicron were announced in the UK on Sunday, bringing the total number of UK Omicron cases to more than 3,000 and the total number of COVID infections to 48,854.

On Alert



Omicron: Two shots induce less antibody



Two-dose Coivd-19 vaccine regimens do not induce enough neutralising antibodies against the Omicron variant, British scientists found, indicating that increased infections in those previously infected or vaccinated may be likely.



Researchers from the University of Oxford published results on Monday from a study yet to be peer-reviewed, where they analysed blood samples from participants who were given doses from AstraZeneca-Oxford or Pfizer-BioNTech in a large study looking into mixing of vaccines.



The study said that there was no evidence yet that the lower level of infection-fighting antibodies against Omicron could lead to higher risk of severe disease, hospitalisation or death in those who have got two doses of approved vaccines. These data are important but are only one part of the picture, said Matthew Snape, Oxford professor and co-author of the paper.



AI Against Covid



South Korea will soon roll out a pilot project to use AI, facial recognition, and thousands of CCTV cameras to track the movement of people infected with the coronavirus, despite concerns about the invasion of privacy.



The system uses an AI algorithms and facial recognition technology to analyse footage gathered by more than 10,820 CCTV cameras and track an infected person's movements, anyone they had close contact with, and whether they were wearing a mask.



The nationally funded project in Bucheon, one of the country's most densely populated cities on the outskirts of Seoul, is due to become operational in January, a city official told Reuters

China reports first case of Omicron amid in Tianjin city

Pakistan confirms first Omicron case in Karachi

South Africa, which first reported Omicron variant, records 37,875 new infections, dramatically up from the previous day's 17,154.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is fully vaccinated, tests positive for Covid-19. He is receiving treatment for mild symptoms

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The worlds first interbank Payment vs Payment (PvP) settlement outside of CLS has been completed using Baton Systems Core-FX solution, built on Batons proprietary distributed ledger technology (DLT) and governed by the Baton Rulebook.

Standing at the threshold of a new era in FX settlements, two of the worlds largest financial institutions are now using the platform to collaboratively settle FX trades bilaterally on demand using real currencies in real accounts, in less than three minutes, on a PvP basis with legal settlement finality. The solution enables the firms to net in an efficient manner, choose what time to settle and in which currencies, all on a PvP basis - reducing settlement risks and FX processing costs.

This historic move marks the inception of a profound change in FX settlements. All market participants now have the opportunity to radically reduce their settlement exposure and associated risks outside of the CLS framework. All currencies, including emerging market currencies, which are ineligible for PvP settlement in CLS, can now be securely settled using distributed ledger technology that provides extensive flexibility and complete transparency.

Aligned with an enhanced regulatory focus on expanding and extending riskless settlement more broadly across the market, Batons innovative PvP solution empowers market participants to take direct control of their settlement cycles, settle multiple times a day, and streamline workflows, resulting in significant improvements to their liquidity, funding, risk and credit management.

The availability of this transformative technology provides a long overdue alternative to a market previously hamstrung by restrictive batch-based processes and limited PvP access at both a participant and currency level.

Arjun Jayaram, CEO and Founder of Baton Systems, commented:This development is hugely significant for the entire FX market, as it offers firms the opportunity to really address settlement risk - arguably the most critical control issue impacting post-trade today. Todays announcement demonstrates the tremendous potential this technology presents to FX market participants globally to improve their risk management, intraday liquidity controls and funding profiles. Using proven technology that is readily available today, banks can now take control and completely revolutionise their entire post-trade process from trade-capture through to settlement.

As part of the implementation both banks have agreed to the Baton Rulebook, a framework designed to provide legal certainty around settlement finality. Baton is engaging with other leading FX trading businesses, as well as regulators globally, to expand market access to fast and riskless PvP settlement protection to a wider universe of participants.

ENDS

About Baton Systems

Baton Systems is revolutionising the entire front-to-back post-trade process, introducing interoperable and connected digital market infrastructures from trade matching through to settlement. Empowering financial institutions to take control with automated, rules-based workflows, access to real-time information, and on-demand settlement, Baton is redefining what post-trade processing should look like: fully connected, friction-free, flexible and transparent.

Founded in 2016 by Silicon Valley technologists and capital market specialists, Batons solutions are now being used by several of the worlds largest financial institutions to facilitate the movement of billions of dollars of cash and securities on a daily basis.

Find out more at www.batonsystems.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005377/en/
The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on Personal Data Protection (PDP) Bill is ready to put forth its report during the winter session of the Parliament. The Bill is being introduced at a crucial juncture in Indias digital economy which is still undergoing several transformations in the post-COVID world. Despite challenges, 38 companies harnessed digital growth to become unicorns in 2021. India Tech is poised to become a world leader while also helping MSMEs grow. The PDP Bill must support MSMEs and potential unicorns.
KOREA PACK and concurrent event ICPI WEEK (Intl Cosmetic and Pharmaceutical Industry Week) will be held as hybrid events in 2022.

KOREA PACK and ICPI WEEK, the largest packaging, cosmetic and pharmaceutical exhibition in Korea, will be held at KINTEX from June 14th to 17th hosted by Kyungyon Exhibition Corp.

KOREA PACK 2022 will cover such main product groups as Packaging Machinery, Packaging Materials & Containers, Package Printing Machines, Packaging Inspection Equipment, Packaging Processing Machinery & Equipment, Package Design, Services, Food Processing Machinery and Logistics System & Equipment. KOREA PACK is distinguished by its unique breadth of products and services and the unparalleled internationality of its exhibitors and visitors alike.

ICPI WEEK, International Cosmetic & Pharmaceutical Industry Week, consists of 6 concurrent events: The 12th Materials Handling & Logistics Exhibition (KOREA MAT), The 17th Cosmetic, Pharmaceutical, Bio Process & Technology Exhibition (COPHEX), Intl Exhibition for Chemical Processing and Fine & Specialty Chemicals (KOREA CHEM), The 12th Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Exhibition (KOREA PHARM & BIO), The 16th Laboratory, Analytical Equipment & Biotechnology Exhibition (KOREA LAB) and The Cosmetic Ingredient & Technology Exhibition (CI KOREA). Through these concurrent events, visitors can see everything from the development, R&D, to production, packaging, logistics, and distribution of products.

With a scale of 1,500 companies and 3,500 booths, 80,000sqm (scheduled), KOREA PACK & ICPI WEEK is the biggest packaging, cosmetic and pharmaceutical B2B exhibition in Korea.

Launching of the Global O2O Business Platform of KOREA PACK & ICPI WEEK

A premium online platform of KOREA PACK & ICPI WEEK will be arranged for an active business exchange. In preparation for the prolonged COVID-19, the organizer will support connecting suppliers and consumers in a non-face-to-face manner for a continuous business. This platform is to showcase exhibitors products and technology, arrange online business meetings, and give information on the latest trends through online seminars and conferences.

In the online platform, AI will connect recommendable buyers and exhibitors so that they can find optimal partners and connect their businesses.

More details about the exhibition are available on the official websites. (Offline: https://www.koreapack.org/eng/main.asp, Online: online.pack-icpi.com)





Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/52547769/en
The Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in journalism, announced today that the SOPA 2022 Awards for Editorial Excellence are open for entries. The deadline for submissions is 3pm Hong Kong time on Thursday, 17 February 2022.

The SOPA Awards for Editorial Excellence celebrate the best journalism in Asia and set the regional standard for quality, professional journalism.

This year, SOPA is launching two new award categories, the SOPA Award for Excellence in Audio Reporting, to honor exceptional audio journalism, and Excellence in Technology Reporting, to recognize notable reporting that illustrates technologys impact on societies.

The SOPA Awards honor the best reporting about our region and are an important recognition for journalists who, despite tightening restrictions in many countries, continue to produce excellent stories across all media platforms, said Madeleine Lim, Senior Executive Editor Asia at Bloomberg News and Chair of the SOPA Editorial Committee.

We are excited to add two new awards but are also looking forward to the entries in our classic categories including Breaking News and The Scoop Awards. Were keen also to see what new trends have emerged in Infographics where data journalists have been consistently pushing the boundaries.

The University of Hong Kongs Journalism and Media Studies Centre, now known as HKU Journalism, has administered the awards since 2011. Senior Lecturer Ting Shi has been appointed new Head of Judges, succeeding Jeffrey Timmermans. She will work with a judges panel of industry professionals from leading media organizations, as well as prestigious journalism schools around the world and past SOPA Award winners.

I am really excited that Ting Shi will be taking over as head of judges for next year's SOPA Awards. Ting brings a wealth of experience to the role, having worked at the South China Morning Post and Bloomberg before turning full time to journalism education, said Keith Richburg, Director of HKU Journalism and Media Studies Centre. Ting will bring a keen sense of ethical standards and journalistic best practices to the role.

In 2021, SOPA presented more than 90 awards for outstanding journalism in 18 categories. More than 760 entries in English and Chinese were submitted.

For the SOPA 2022 Awards, media will compete in 20 categories (full list below). SOPA encourages large and small media publications to enter, with submissions classified by the breadth of coverage (global or regional/local) and language (English or Chinese).

Submissions, eligibility details and application information can be found at www.sopawards.com. The finalists will be announced in May 2022, and the winners in June 2022.

The 2022 Awards are again supported by the Google News Initiative, which will subsidize submissions from small media companies. Any media outlet with a maximum of 20 full-time staff in total, of which at least 50% are full-time editorial staff, can apply for this subsidy for up to two entries, paying only HKD$200 (US$25) per entry. Please apply early as there is a cap on the subsidy.

For a limited time, SOPA is offering a 40% discount on the SOPA Membership fee as well as a similar discount on up to five award entries. For the SOPA membership discount code, please request via email to [email protected] latest by Thursday February 11, 2022.

2022 Award Categories

Excellence in Reporting on Womens Issues

Excellence in Journalistic Innovation

Excellence in Video Reporting

Excellence in Human Rights Reporting

Excellence in Feature Writing

Excellence in Magazine Design

Excellence in Arts and Culture Reporting

Excellence in Explanatory Reporting

Excellence in Business Reporting

Excellence in Infographics

Excellence in Reporting Breaking News

Excellence in Opinion Writing

Excellence in Reporting on the Environment

Excellence in Photography

The Scoop Award

Excellence in Investigative Reporting

SOPA Award for Public Service Journalism

SOPA Award for Young Journalists

Excellence in Audio Reporting

Excellence in Technology Reporting

The SOPA 2022 Awards are supported by Google News Initiative. WP Engine is the Silver Sponsor.

About SOPA

The Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) is a Hong Kong-based not-for-profit organisation that was founded in 1982 to champion freedom of the press, promote excellence in journalism and endorse best practices for all local and regional publishing platforms in the Asia Pacific region.

Today, SOPA is the voice of Asias media and publishing industry, and continues to work to uphold media standards and freedoms while celebrating and supporting professional journalism and publishing. The SOPA Awards for Editorial Excellence are the annual, flagship awards, serving as a regional benchmark for quality, professional journalism.

www.sopasia.com; www.sopawards.com; SOPA LinkedIn

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211212005001/en/
A Dublin-based IoT software company has recently won a prestigious contract with the European Space Agency (ESA). This partnership is in line with Irelands National Space Strategy for Enterprise which aims to grow the number of space active companies in Ireland, which currently sits at 85.

The contract won by danalto called for the demonstration of best in class, low-infrastructure, indoor location technologies that complement the Global Navigation Satellite System. danalto was the first company to bring a location positioning solution to market using a new radio frequency technology. Over the course of the 18-month contract, danalto will research location technologies and build upon existing solutions to improve remote indoor visibility. Once validated, this work will be able to support a wide range of industries. The trajectory of this project aligns with danaltos progression plan for their next generation positioning solution which will be brought to market for commercial use in 2022.



Speaking about the contract awarded to danalto, Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Damien English said, "It was a pleasure to meet the team at danalto and to discuss the potential, for the company and its clients, of this important European Space Agency contract. danalto is just one of a growing number of Irish businesses that is breaking new ground through its relationship with the European Space Agency. The National Space Strategy for Enterprise, alongside this Governments increased funding to the European Space Agency, will ensure that this relationship continues to benefit companies like danalto, to develop technologically sophisticated space-enabled businesses."



danalto Co-founder and CEO, David McDonald added, "This is a great opportunity for danalto to work with the leaders in the global navigation systems and to bring danaltos, and our commercial partners, technologies to bear on the everyday lives of people. ESA have set out a clear set of questions and demonstration challenges that danalto is well placed to address and which fully aligns with our business and technology strategies. Our Cardinal and FiLo services platform will be the central component of the demonstrator for achieving seamless multi-space positioning."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Whats new: Ling Hai, a co-president of the Asia Pacific region of Mastercard Inc., will lead international markets for the American multinational financial services company as a co-president next year. The move is part of a series of leadership changes to realign the firms international operations.

In this new role, Ling will advance business strategy, sales, business development, product management and engagements with customers and regulators across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America alongside Raghu Malhotra, now president of Mastercard Middle East and Africa, the company said in an announcement last week.

The other changes within Mastercard will see Gilberto Caldart, the current president of international markets, become a vice chair of senior client partnerships and relationships. Ari Sarker, who currently co-heads the Asia Pacific business with Ling, will become the sole president. The appointments will take effect on the first day of 2022, according to the announcement.

The background: Ling joined Mastercard in 2010 as division president of Greater China. He took on the position of co-president for the Asia Pacific region in 2015. On his watch, Mastercard won approval from Chinas financial regulators in 2020 to set up a bank card clearing joint venture.

Ling was also a panel speaker at the 12th Caixin Summit in November, where he spoke about how businesses should take a more nuanced approach to meeting customers different demands. The panel was on megatrends in Southeast Asia for global investors.

Related: Mastercard Wins Approval to Enter Chinas $27 Trillion Market

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use.

Contact reporter Zhang Yukun (yukunzhang@caixin.com) and editor Bertrand Teo (bertrandteo@caixin.com)

Download our app to receive breaking news alerts and read the news on the go.

Get our weekly free Must-Read newsletter.
It seems the possibility of seeing the all-new Toyota Raize on local roads is getting greater and greater by the day. The latest evidence? T...
Photo: CTV News

Environment Canada has issued snowfall warnings for parts of British Columbia as residents in some areas remain without power.

The agency says up to 10 centimetres of snow is expected Sunday in the Fraser Canyon and visibility may be reduced, including on Highway 3 from Hope to Princeton via Allison Pass.

It's urging travellers to keep others informed of their schedule and destination and to carry an emergency kit and phone, as weather in the mountains can change suddenly.

Environment Canada is also forecasting an additional 10 centimetres of snow for the Coquihalla Highway, with hazardous driving conditions expected from Hope to Merritt.

BC Hydro says on its website that nearly 1,000 customers on northern Vancouver Island have no power and about 300 are without electricity in the north, while fewer are experiencing outages in the Thompson Shuswap regions.

Drive BC says downed hydro lines have forced the closure of Highway 37A for three kilometres from Stewart to the Alaska border and no detour is available.
Photo: Glacier Media Victoria Police Chief Del Manak

Victoria police detectives have arrested a man in relation to an ongoing investigation of sexualized violence linked to a downtown bar and grill.

In late January, investigators learned of a series of posts on social media which contained reports of sexualized violence involving an employee of the bar and grill. Victoria police contacted the operators of the social media page and invited those with information to come forward. Numerous people did so to support the investigation, said police.

On Friday, detectives arrested a suspect on the Lower Mainland. He was later released with a court date and conditions, including conditions not to contact the survivors of sexual violence related to the recommended charges.

The suspect faces several recommended charges of sexual assault.

Police did not name the bar and grill.

The allegations had surfaced in late January on an Instagram account for survivors of sexual assault accusing an employee at Chucks Burger Bar. The employee was fired, and the bar and grill later closed.

Police are asking anyone with information about the reports and have not yet spoken to investigators, to call 250-995-7655 ext. 1.
Photo: The Canadian Press Minister of Defence Anita Anand.

Defence Minister Anita Anand is apologizing to victims of military sexual misconduct today on behalf of the federal government, saying Ottawa has long failed to protect those who willingly signed up to protect Canada.

Anand also apologized for the government not making sure the right systems were in place to ensure justice and accountability for victims, though she didnt say in prepared remarks what she or the government would do to address those shortcomings.

Anands address was one of three delivered today to those affected by military sexual misconduct, with defence chief Gen. Wayne Eyre and Defence Department deputy minister Jody Thomas also offering apologies on behalf of their respective institutions.

The apologies form a key part of the federal governments $600-million settlement agreement in relation to several overlapping class-action lawsuits.

It also comes as the federal Liberal government faces criticism for not doing enough to address sexual misconduct in the ranks, including allegations against several senior military officers.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said earlier today it was important to make amends to those affected by such inappropriate and at times illegal behaviour, and that there is much more for the government to do before the problem is eradicated.
Why are Canadian consumers expected to subsidize milk products exported to China and other countries?

Why are Canadian consumers not permitted to know what countries their food comes from and why do our politicians and their business partners expect other countries to agree to such absurdity?

Who stands up for Canadians when corporate profiteering is ignored by our government?

We need a government to protect citizens from corporate malfeasance, not one that looks away.

D MacDonald, Salmon Arm
Photo: Contributed Pouce Coupe Mayor Lorraine Michetti is back in B.C. Supreme Court for the second time to have a second village council decision removing her from positions over turned.

The mayor of a northern B.C. village wants B.C. Supreme Court to restore her council roles, positions she was twice removed from following an allegedly racist Facebook post.

"Don't want Pipeline's? [sic] They want to protect our land. Yeah ok," Pouce Coupe Mayor Lorraine Michetti wrote in a Facebook post in February 2021, followed by pictures of homes strewn with garbage.

When it came to light, the post drew swift condemnation from the community and political leaders, which many called "racist and hateful" for its apparent depiction of First Nations housing stereotypes.

"At a time when all levels of governments are working hard to end racism and discrimination of any kind, we can not condone any comments that stereotype people or cultures and perpetuate racism," said South Peace MLA Mike Bernier at the time.

Michetti, in a published apology, said the meme was from several years ago.

Still, her council acted quickly. They asked for Michetti's resignation and removed her from committee and public functions in the village of 800, located 400 kilometres from Prince George.

Those removals, however, were overturned in B.C. Supreme Court this summer and Michetti was awarded $7,500.

Then, two councillors resigned, necessitating an August byelection.

On Dec. 13, a judge heard that the mayors behaviour was a campaign issue for one of the successful candidates, Danielle Veach. Within minutes of Michetti being sworn in on Oct. 6, Veach made a motion to again remove Michetti from her positions. The motion passed, Michettis lawyer Nathalie Baker told the judge.

Her first item of business as a new council member, Baker said, describing her clients shock. [Michetti] felt she had been ambushed by council and staff.

Michettis response was, 'Oh, I see this is gang up on the mayor,'" Baker told the court.

Baker said Michetti had no clue the motion was coming, that she had no warning to prepare and that the council had breached rules of procedural fairness.

It was essentially a disciplinary action, Baker said, adding Michetti had a right to know charges against her.

This must be a very uncomfortable situation in a small community, the judge said.

Michetti wants the council decision quashed.

However, the judge asked what would happen if the same thing happens again.

Baker suggested, hopefully the court can provide some guidance on how [the council] can conduct itself.
Cameroon minister accuses cement producers of price-fixing

13 December 2021

In a correspondence sent to the managing directors of various cement producing firms on 9 December 2021, Minister of Commerce, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, denounced an illegal agreement to increase the prices of the products.



"It has come to my attention, through written communications of which I have copies, that ypu unnanmously and unilaterally decidd to increase your sales prices by XAF500 (US$0.86) and 300 per cent depending on the type of cement," the government official wrote.

This is not the first time the Minister of Commerce is disproving a price increase suggested by cement producers to make up for their rising production costs, which are caused by a generalised hike in the price of raw materials in international markets and soaring shipping costs. In late June 2021, following a similar attempt by Cimencams CEO, the government official threatened to close the companys facilities.

Published under
Philippines opens investigation on Vietnamese anti-dumping

ICR Newsroom By 13 December 2021

The Philippines' Tariff Commission has started its investigation into the merits of imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on cement imports. The commission commenced a formal investigation on 9 December following a request from the Department of Trade and Industry. A preliminary conference is scheduled for 20 December as part of the investigation.



Matters for discussion include the timelines, nature of investigation, appearance of counsel and parties, number of witnesses, notification, accessibility of documents and public file, confidentiality of documents, submission of position papers and memoranda, conduct of inspection and verification of data, schedule of public hearings and other activities, and other topics that may add in the prompt disposition of the case, the commission said.

The DTI has ordered temporary anti-dumping duties on cement imports from Vietnam.

Published under
If youre looking to get your crime show fix from a streaming service, there are three available on Hulu you dont want to miss.

Damages

As far as antiheroes go, Patty Hewes ranks among the best of the best. Or would that be the best of the worst? On this 200712 FX/Audience Network series, the shrewd and intimidating attorney (Glenn Close, above) strikes fear in the hearts of legal foes and employees alike, a tactic that comes in handy whether shes going after a shady billionaire (Ted Danson) accused of cheating his employees or keeping her staff (Rose Byrne, Tate Donovan) under her well-manicured thumb. If youve never before screamed at your TV in shock, prepare to start. Seasons 15 available

See Also 3 Crime Shows to Stream on Amazon Prime Video & IMDb TV Catch up on a Starz drama going into its second season and rewatch two old favorites.

Fargo

Writer Noah Hawley loosely adapted the Oscar-winning 1996 dark crime dramedy into a must-see FX anthology series featuring a new story and new cast each season. The common thread: Theyre all set in the Midwest and feature ordinary people doing extraordinarily bad things. Each season is a treat, but nothing can top the 2014 debut installment starring Billy Bob Thornton as a ruthless hitman who crosses paths with a frustrated insurance salesman (Martin Freeman), throwing both their lives into turmoil. Killer stuff. Seasons 14 available

Top of the Lake

The moody Sundance series cocreated by Oscar winner Jane Campion (The Piano) stars Elisabeth Moss (above) as Sydney detective Robin Griffin, on the hunt for a missing pregnant 12-year-old in New Zealand. The action unfolds in the same town where Robin endured a traumatic experience as a teenager, bringing painful memories to the forefrontand possibly clouding her judgment. Season 2 (costarring Nicole Kidman) features an all-new case. Seasons 12 available
A shoplifting was reported at Walmart, 3550 Cummings Hwy. A loss prevention employee identified a man to police who attempted to steal $8,000 worth of printer ink (pictures were provided to police). The employee said the man used an empty car seat box to conceal the ink cartridges and bring them to the point of sale. While the man was at the point of sale the employee alerted the cashier, who put the transaction on hold. At that point, the man exited Walmart without the box of

cartridges. The man was seen driving away in what looked like a silver Toyota Camry. There are no further leads or witnesses.

* * *

Police were called to the Fairfield Inn & Suites, 40 Starview Lane, for a disorder prevention. Police facilitated the transfer of an Apple watch, charger and a ring from the possession of one man to another man without incident.

* * *

A woman in an apartment on Mountain Creek Road told police that she shares an apartment with her best friend. She said her best friend is the only one on the lease, so she pays her rent money to stay there. She said they got into a verbal argument and she then decided to leave. She said while she was gone, her best friend kicked her door in. She said nothing was taken from her room. Police were waved down by the best friend as they were leaving and she told them that she did kick the door in, but it was because she thought the women had moved out and put a lock on the door. She said that she is going to pay for the door as part of her lease agreement.

* * *

An employee at Granite Warehouse, 2818 Rossville Blvd., told police that at some point overnight, someone broke in and cut a catalytic converter off one of their trucks. He said that he left around 6:30 p.m. the day before and returned around 6:30 a.m. that day. It appeared someone came through a fence on the backside of the property.

* * *

A man on 14th Avenue told police his white Ford F150 was stolen sometime during the night. He said his truck was parked in front of his house the night before around 8:30 p.m. When he woke up this morning at around 7 a.m., he found that the vehicle was gone. No one else has permission to use his vehicle, and he still has his key to the car, so he is unsure how it was taken. He showed police his title for the vehicle. There is no suspect information. The vehicle was entered into NCIC as stolen.

* * *

Police were flagged down by a passerby about an open door at the Skin & Brow Room, 4703 Hixson Pike. Police did observe the rear door was open. There did not appear to be forced entry. Police did clear the business and found nothing suspicious inside. The door was then locked.

* * *

A woman on Mountain View Court told police she had left her vehicle parked there overnight and she last saw it around 7 p.m. When she got back to it this morning, she said she noticed some damage on the driver's side door up towards the top and on the side. She said the door was bent and it looked like someone tried to pry it open and was possibly trying to get in, but they did not make entry. No estimates for damage were given.

* * *

A woman told police that her 2014 Buick Regal was broken into. She said the vehicle was unlocked and parked to the rear of the Quality Inn, 7013 Shallowford Road, on the left side. She said she does not know if there are security cameras that cover that area of the motel parking lot. She listed several things that were in the trunk of the vehicle that were taken. She said she is staying here until she finds a place to live, as she does not have a home address.

* * *

An unattended vehicle was reported on Marijon Drive. The vehicle was found to be locked and unattended. The vehicle's displayed tag was a TN tag that did not match the vehicle. The vehicle was then run by the VIN and found to not be reported stolen. An unattended vehicle sticker

was placed on the vehicle.

* * *

A woman on Roanoke Avenue requested police to stand by while her granddaughter and her boyfriend got their belongings to leave. According to the woman, she had warned her granddaughter several times not to bring the boyfriend to her house without her consent. Both of them agreed to leave without incident.

* * *

Property was found in the walking alleyway located behind 19 Patten Pkwy. Police collected the property and it was taken to the Chattanooga Police Property Division.

* * *

An employee at Accent Car Wash, 1175 W 40th St., showed police camera footage of a man approaching the property on foot, wearing a dark-colored ball cap, a face mask, a dark-colored jacket, gloves, blue jeans and carrying a dark-colored bag. The man was seen on camera behind the building, fidgeting with his bag. The man then returned to the front of the property and began cutting the lock and bar on the vacuum machine to gain access to the cash box. The man then proceeded to open up his bag and empty all the change from the cash box. He then went to check the other vacuum machines, but wasn't able to cut through them. He fled the scene on foot. The employee said that the cash box had approximately $400 worth of change inside and that it would cost him approximately $200 to repair the bar and lock.

* * *

A woman on East 32nd Street told police that sometime over the past couple of days, someone stole her wallet and the contents of it out of her car that was parked in her driveway.

* * *

A woman on Dee Drive told police she contacted a man on Facebook Marketplace who gave his name as "Thomas Mullins." She said she purchased a Play Station 5 from him and went to Walmart on Greenway View Drive and sent the money. She said that "Thomas Mullins" is supposedly in Ashland, Ky., which is the city of the Walmart where she sent the money. She said she only received a letter from him and not the PS5. She said the seller has since blocked her on Facebook. She said as a result, she is out $483.

* * *

A woman on Wheeler Avenue told police her daughters boyfriend showed up at her house, and he is not allowed to be at the residence. Police spoke with the boyfriend and he said his case manager from the homeless coalition has put him at this house temporarily until he is able to get his own place. The woman was able to show police the paperwork of the residence, and the boyfriend's name was not on it as a tenant. The boyfriend was not able to provide any paperwork that he is currently residing at the address. He was told by police that he is being trespassed from the property until he is able to show proof that he is a tenant at the house.

* * *

A shoplifting was reported at a store in the mall, 2100 Hamilton Place Blvd. An employee told police that a black female came into the store and stole a North Face jacket and beanie worth $125. Officers reviewed video and observed the woman wearing a gold jacket walk out of the store with the items. Police were unable to identify the woman.

* * *

A woman on Oak Street told police someone got into her vehicle overnight. She said it appeared as if they lowered the driver's side window. She said her S&W 380 was taken from the car. She did not have the serial number, but said she would call back to update the report if it was located.

* * *

A disorder was reported on Fagan Street. Police spoke with a man who said he was arguing with his sister over alcohol. No criminal activity had occurred.

* * *

Police drove by a house on Forest Avenue with a white Buick parked outside. Officers have seen this Buick multiple times before parked outside of the house. The Buick has a temporary tag on it with an expiration date of 11/28/21. However, earlier this month, police observed this vehicle with the same temporary tag, except it had an expiration date of 11/04/21.

* * *

A woman on Hickory Valley Road told police someone stole a dryer she ordered. She said it was delivered around 11:48 a.m. and when she went to look for where it was delivered around 12:09 p.m., it was gone. She said she will attempt to locate a serial number.

* * *

The store manager at Worldwide Equipment, 2017 East 23rd St., told police that a man, who they identified to police, had been in the store to make a purchase and walked out with a battery charger under his jacket. The man could clearly be seen on camera concealing the charger and walking out the door. The manager contacted the man and told him if he returned the item and apologized, he wouldn't prosecute for the theft. The man did return the item, but without an apology.
Bryan College announces it has been approved by SACSCOC to become a doctoral-granting institution. This is a historic moment in the life of the college, reflective of much long-term planning and academic vision. This increase in academic level is a crucial recognition of Bryans educational scope and rigor, said college officials.

Alongside this approval, Bryan College announces the launch of its first doctoral program in the institutions 91-year history. Bryan will begin offering a new Doctor of Business Administration program in the Fall of 2022.



President Douglas Mann commented on this significant moment in the life of Bryant College, This is an exciting new step for us. It opens up new opportunities in the future to continue to increase new programs that we offer to meet todays demands of the marketplace expanding on our heritage of educating students to become servants of Christ to make a difference in todays world.

The Doctor of Business Administration program is geared to provide experienced professionals and academics with advanced skills and credentials in business beyond the MBA.

Dr. Adina Scruggs, director of the DBA program, said, It has been a dream of mine to bring doctoral degrees to my alma mater. I am extremely excited and cant stop smiling. I am thrilled to help prepare the next generation of those interested in academic careers and lifelong learners. This degree will give our regions masters level graduates a unique opportunity to continue, differentiate and enhance their professional development.

The Bryan College Doctor of Business Administration will include three unique elements in its 60 credit hour program. The first element is a hybrid delivery model.

Most of the program can be done conveniently through online content delivery, however, there is an on-campus residency once a year as well, Dr. Scruggs said.

The second aspect is that the program is delivered as a cohort experience, with students going through the doctoral educational process as a group with those who have enrolled at the same time.

The inclusion of a dissertation is the third crucial component of this new program. Students dissertation progress is integrated throughout the three-year program, foregrounding research and significant contributions to the field of Business.

Learn more about the DBA Program or apply here.
West Star Aviation officials announced Monday the company will invest $17 million to expand its existing operations at the Chattanooga Airport.

West Star, a full-service aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) company, will create 100 new jobs through the expansion, which comes six years after the company established its Chattanooga operations.

West Star will retrofit one of its existing hangars to include a new design studio and will oversee the construction of a new 40,000-square-foot hangar with an additional 17,000 square feet of flooring to accommodate West Stars shop and support base for its growing client pool.

Founded in 1947, West Star offers avionics installation, certification and repair for all major manufacturers, used and surplus avionics sales and exchanges, parts and accessory overhaul repair, custom paint, interior design, major modification and refurbishment. Since acquiring its Chattanooga operations in 2015, West Star has expanded its employment at the Chattanooga Airport to more than 250 people.

In the last five years, TNECD has supported more than 30 economic development projects in Hamilton County resulting in nearly 5,500 job commitments and approximately $1.7 billion in capital investment.

Governor Bill Lee said, West Stars expansion and investment in Tennessee strengthens our states position in the aerospace industry. These 100 new jobs will provide additional opportunities to our highly-skilled workforce, and I thank West Star for its continued commitment to Hamilton County.

TNECD Commissionet Bob Rolfe said, We appreciate West Star for its $17 million investment and for contributing to Chattanoogas business landscape. This project would not be possible without strong leadership and partnership at the local level, and we would like to thank Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger, Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly and Chattanooga Airport Authority for being key drivers in making this win possible for Hamilton County.

Jim Rankin, CEO, West Star Aviation, said, The local community and development programs have been a key part to aiding in the growth of West Star in the Chattanooga area. We are excited about the opportunity to continue to grow and add to the local workforce while expanding our facilities. We look forward to the long-term partnership with TNECD and appreciate the support of the aerospace industry in Tennessee.

We have seen enormous growth in the small amount of time we have been a part of the community and are thrilled with the announcement of our expansion to add even more jobs to the area. Chattanooga has provided West Star with tremendous support through the development programs, allowing for the continued growth in the area, said Steve Goede, general manager of West Star.

TVA and EPB congratulate West Star on its decision to expand operations and create new job opportunities in Chattanooga. Its always an exciting day when we can celebrate a companys commitment to continued growth in the Valley. We are pleased to partner with the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development to help support companies, like West Star Aviations continued success in the region and celebrate this announcement together, said John Bradley, TVA senior vice president of Economic Development.

"Congratulations to West Star Aviation on this expansion. This company plays an important role in the transportation industry in Chattanooga, and I am glad they have been successful here and are able to create new jobs for Chattanoogans. I am proud to support a business-friendly environment in Tennessee with low-taxes and less regulation that helps businesses like West Star Aviation thrive. I look forward to their continued growth and success," said Senator Bo Watson.

With a multi-talented workforce, business-friendly environment and central location, Hamilton County is the ideal setting for companies to expand. West Star Aviation has been a great community partner and I look forward to working with them in the future to bring more jobs to the Chattanooga area, said Rep. Greg Vital.

Chattanooga Airport officials said they were celebrating the expansion of West Star Aviation, saying the firm continues to fuel overall growth at the airport.

West Star has been a great partner, and their choice to expand in Chattanooga is a significant investment in our airport and our community, said Terry Hart, president and CEO of the Chattanooga Airport. The Chattanooga Airport is an economic driver, and this expansion will bring in even more companies and added jobs, leading to additional spending in our region.

To prepare for West Stars anticipated expansion, the Chattanooga Airport recently invested in and redeveloped property for future aeronautical use. The airport also leases additional space to West Star, which is a full-service MRO. The company specializes in maintenance, modifications and interior refurbishment for business aircraft ranging in size from small planes to large jets.

While the pandemic led to a decrease in commercial air traffic, the Chattanooga Airport has focused on other growth opportunities and supporting general aviation providers. Since 2015, West Star has expanded to now occupy 153,000 square feet of space and employ 255 people at the Chattanooga Airport.

While many other airports across the country were unable to expand amid the pandemic, we continued to take the necessary steps to be prepared for growth, said Dan Jacobson, Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Authority Board chairman.

West Stars state-of-the-art facilities also include 60,000 square feet of heated hangar space and 48,000 square feet for all painting operations. Its Chattanooga facility is an FAA authorized repair station and service center for select corporate aircraft, and the company is able to provide maintenance services for most business and corporate customers.

The Chattanooga Airports strategic location provides convenient access from the Eastern U.S. to West Stars award-winning MRO services, it was stated. The company also has MRO operations in East Alton, Ill., and Grand Junction, Colo.
A Chattanooga attorney has sued the two daughters of Chattanooga Choo Choo founder B. Allen Casey Jr. in connection with his estate.

James L. Henry Jr. filed the complaint in Chancery Court against Elizabeth and Lynn Casey (daughters of Mr. Casey), Cartter Patten III, attorney Jennifer Kent Exum and the Chambliss Bahner and Stophel law firm.

The suit says the wife of Mr. Casey, Emma Patten "Emmy" Casey, died May 15, 2020 and left an estate of about $15 million.

The suit says Mr. Casey died six weeks later and left no real estate and almost no personal property. He did have a number of creditors, including attorney Henry. Total claims of the creditors against Mr. Casey's estate exceed $4 million.

Attorney Henry said as a surviving spouse of over nine years of marriage, Mr. Casey had the right under Tennessee law to "an elective share" of Emmy Patten's estate equal to 40 percent of the net estate. He said that would have been about $6 million. The Caseys had been married since 1963.

Attorney Henry said if Allen Casey had gotten his share of his wife's estate there would be more than enough to pay off all the creditors, including himself.

The suit says last Jan. 15, Elizabeth Casey was named to oversee the estate of her father. Attorney Henry said she had a conflict in that if Mr. Casey got his elective share of the estate then that money would go to creditors and not to her and her sister.

It says attorney Exum of the Chambliss Bahner firm was named to represent the Allen Casey estate and she declined to seek the elective share. It says she did so at the last minute, not giving attorney Henry and other creditors time to respond.

It says Ms. Exum "ran out the clock" on the creditors.

The suit asks for compensatory damages of at least $6 million as well as punitive damages.

Cartter Patten III, brother of Emmy Casey, was named due to his being a representative of her estate.
THE OFFICE performing arts + film, with $3 million of support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, continues the national expansion of its Artists At Work initiative, its workforce resilience program inspired by FDRs Depression-era Works Progress Administration and its Federal Project Number One. Today THE OFFICE announces a consortium of five cultural organizations that it will work with to launch AAW across the Mississippi Delta and a partnership with ArtsBuild and the Lyndhurst Foundation to launch a climate-focused edition of the project in the Thrive Region in and around Chattanooga.

THE OFFICE, in collaboration with the FreshGrass Foundation, conceived AAW early in the COVID-19 pandemic, as artistic communities were ravaged, careers were halted, and financial struggles ensued. The initiative addresses an urgent need to reimagine the culture sector and how we value artists role in societya need that the pandemic has starkly revealed, and that will continue as the public health crisis abates, said officials.

Artists At Work is a workforce resilience program designed to support the rebuilding of healthy communities through artistic civic engagement. The program pays artists to keep making art; gives support to cultural organizations (called Culture Hubs) and arts workers in that community to host and work with those artists; and connects both artists and cultural organizations to local social impact initiatives in areas such as youth mental health, suicide prevention, food justice, prison reform, at-risk youth, sustainability, and environmental justice.

Participating artists receive a salary, calculated using the MIT Living Wage Calculator for their respective region, for a period of one year, as well as full healthcare benefits. Following their participation in the program, they are eligible for unemployment benefits, and may continue healthcare coverage under COBRA if they choose. Artists working in any artistic discipline qualify for the program; they must be local to the region, and actively interested in a social practice.

THE OFFICE founding director Rachel Chanoff said, Artists are workers whose work product is crucial to the health of every society. We are thrilled to bring Artists at Work to the Delta and Thrive regions, and to help artists lend their creative visions to the flourishing of their communities.

In the Delta, The OFFICE worked closely with Mississippi Center for Cultural Production (Sipp Culture) in Utica, Ms., to select Culture Hubs that span a broad range of artistic disciplines and reflect the regions vast cultural diversity: Ashe Cultural Arts Center, in New Orleans, La.; Delta Commons Group, in Clarksdale, Ms.; Historic Clayborn Temple, in Memphis, Tn.; McElroy House, in Dardanelle, Ar.; and Sipp Culture. These organizations will select the artists and social impact initiatives with which they will soon work.

Carlton Turner, co-director of Sipp Culture, said, Artists at Work makes it plain that artists and creatives are critical parts of every community. We are excited to work with the team at The OFFICE and proud to be a part of this amazing cohort of organizations working to improve conditions in the Mississippi Delta.

Alongsideand simultaneous withits work in the Delta, THE OFFICE has joined forces with ArtsBuild, which will serve as the Culture Hub, and the Lyndhurst Foundation, which has provided funding, to undertake an Artists At Work project focused on climate resilience in the Thrive Region, comprised of 16 counties across northeast Alabama, northwest Georgia, and southeast Tennessee. ArtsBuild will host five artists, each in collaboration with a social impact initiative, that will be announced at a later date.

James McKissic, president of ArtsBuild, said, ArtsBuild is excited to serve as the hub for the Greater Chattanooga project. One of our goals has been to be more of service to the region, and Artists at Work is a creative vehicle that helps us accomplish our goal while employing artists and engaging in critical conversations around climate.

Kathleen Nolte, program director at the Lyndhurst Foundation said, I am delighted that this program will address two areas of deep interest to the Lyndhurst foundation: bolstering the creative economy through the direct support of local artists, as well as working to preserve our natural resources and increasing our climate resiliency at a regional level. This is an exciting opportunity to learn alongside peers in the Delta Region while deeply valuing the role that both artists and arts organizations play in shaping and interpreting community life.

In each regional activation of AAW, The OFFICE will engage a local AAW Field Administrative Fellow to support the implementation and evaluation of the program locally and play a role in communicating with regional program participants. A local search for a Fellow for each regionthe Delta and the Thrive Regionwill kick off soon.

THE OFFICE is scaling up AAW after a highly successful pilot in Western Massachusetts. Senator Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts says of the initiative, Artists at Work provides critical funding for the arts and the artists who create and cultivate culture within our communities. This innovative program is designed to both safeguard artists livelihoods during the economic crisis caused by COVID, as well as build partnerships that weave the arts into local organizations over the long term, creating a lasting foundation. The pandemic revealed just how essential art is in our communities and to rebuilding healthy cities and towns. I commend Founding Director Rachel Chanoff, and the first host communities in Western Massachusetts for their dedication and commitment to making AAW such an indispensable program. Artists at Work taking its mission nationally reminds us of the crucial role artists-and the art they create-bring to our lives, to our future, and to the resiliency of our communities across the country.

In addition to the Delta and Thrive regions, the national expansion of AAW includes an activation in Los Angeles, in partnership with the LA County Department of Arts and Culture, beginning this month; and the Borderlands region, in partnership with the Southwest Folklife Alliance and the city of Albuquerque Department of Arts & Culture, in 2023.

Emil Kang, Arts and Culture program director for The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, has said, Artists At Work is visionary in its artist-centered, ecosystem-integrated approach, and were thrilled to support its growth. Sustained artist employment and partnership models, such as those utilized by Artists At Work, are essential to driving systemic change and addressing deep inequities in the field. It is an important complement to Mellons recently announced Creatives Rebuild New York initiative.

National partners for AAW include the International Storytelling Center and Theater of War Productions.

For more information, please visit https://www.artists-at-work.org/.






Whether its climate change, vaccines or quarantines, progressives always resort to their oft used cliche, follow the science but is it about science or politics and power?

By the early 1950s the most effective vaccine against polio was developed by Dr Jonas Salk. Once a key laboratory technique was discovered by Leone Farrell, a Canadian microbiologist, that allowed for mass production of the vaccine, it was possible for millions to be vaccinated against this crippling disease.

President Eisenhower was ready to make the vaccine available on a mass scale at no charge to children when politics nearly derailed the plan. Sen Wayne Morse, D-OR and Rep Emmanuel Cuellar, D-NY tried to gain federal control of the distribution through legislation (Congressional Quarterly, 1955).

Morse accused Republicans of trying to cover up incompetency and shortages of the vaccine. Senator Barry Goldwater, R-AZ said such a charge was made to confuse the public in hopes of political gain. When Eisenhower asked for funds from Congress to assure children from low-income families could get vaccinated, some Democrats responded that this would require a means test (CQ, 1955).

Most Americans were unaware of all of this wrangling as there was no CNN or MSNBC promoting one political partys agenda over the welfare of the nation. No talking heads or politicians were questioning the validity of the vaccines then later slamming us with mandates requiring us to all get those same vaccines.

History shows us nothing has changed in politics. The technology of manipulating people has changed and armed a viral progressive party with tricks and techniques to, as Barry Goldwater put it, confuse the public in hopes of political gain. That in a nutshell would define the whole of the Biden administration.

Ralph Miller

* * *

Does anyone else find it incredibly ironic that progressives are all about "follow the science" when it comes to vaccines or climate change but not when it comes to gender? Just how many are they up to now? Bizarre.

Dennis Wooden




Erlanger Heart and Lung Institute has earned a distinguished three-star rating from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons for patient care and outcomes in aortic valve replacement combined with coronary artery bypass grafting. The three-star rating, which denotes the highest category of quality, places Erlanger among the elite for AVR+CABG surgery in the United States and Canada.

According to STS, the star rating system is one of the most sophisticated and highly regarded overall measures of quality in healthcare, rating the benchmarked outcomes of cardiothoracic surgery programs in the United States and Canada. The star rating is calculated using a combination of quality measures for specific procedures performed by an STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database participant. The star rating is a risk-adjusted calculation that ranked Erlanger in the top fourth percentile of cardiac surgical programs across 11 countries and spanning five continents.

Larry Shears, MD, chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery and medical co-director at Erlanger Heart and Lung Institute, said, Achieving the elite STS 3-star rating is a testament towards our focus on providing the highest level of quality and safety for cardiac surgical patients. Since this highly-respected scoring system reflects care along the entire patient journey, every person within Erlanger Health System should take great pride in attaining this designation of excellence. Overall, there has been an intense focus, supported by the medical staff and administration, to collaboratively provide exceptional care for the cardiovascular patients throughout Erlanger. As co-directors of Erlanger Heart and Lung Institute, Dr. Harish Manyam and I are grateful and inspired for the future of cardiovascular services at Erlanger.

Historically, approximately 47 percent of participants receive the three-star rating for AVR+CABG surgery. The latest analysis of data for AVR+CABG surgery covers a 3-year period, from January 2018 to December 2020.

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons congratulates STS National Database participants who have received three-star ratings, said David M. Shahian, MD, chair of the Task Force on Quality Measurement. Participation in the Database and public reporting demonstrates a commitment to quality improvement in health care delivery and provides patients and their families with meaningful information to help them make informed decisions about health care.

According to information released by STS, Erlanger also improved in the two other measured categories; CABG and Mitral Valve Repair or Replacement. In Isolated CABG, Erlanger rated within 2 percent of being named a 3-star program and within 4 percent of being named a 3-star for the MVRRs reporting period.
LaRayne Joyce Newman, 88, of Ooltewah, Tennessee, went to sleep in the arms of Jesus on December 11, 2021.

LaRayne would want all who read this to rejoice for her! Shed want you to know God has blessed her with a most extraordinary life. One full of the love of her family, laughter of lifelong friends, beautiful music, freshly baked bread, cross-country adventures, avocado enchiladas, and almost more memories than one lifetime can hold. Shed also want you to know how peacefully she passed. Jesus allowed her to simply fall asleep, no doubt dreaming of His soon coming when He will call her by name and awaken her to an eternity with those LaRayne cared about so much. This certainly includes all her dear church family in the Seventh-Day Adventist Church  the one place she felt most at home.

Over the course of her 88 years, LaRayne experienced the heights of pure joy and depths of great loss. Yet through it all, she never lost her smile. Best known for her tiny stature, LaRayne continually surprised people by her spunky personality, strong will, and steadfast love. Not to mention their amazement over the powerhouse she became each time she sat behind a piano! LaRayne never met a keyboard she could not play or a person she could not embrace. That was simply the kind of person, daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandma, friend, and Grammy that she was.

LaRayne was preceded in death by her husband of 27 years, Walter H. Newman; parents, Beryl and Luella (Coon) Whitford; siblings, Claudia Marrs, Curtis Whitford, and Verla Price; and oldest daughter, Cindi Silverstein.

She is survived by her brother, Claire Whitford; son, Douglas Wellman; daughter, Connie Peters (Dr. Richard Peters); the father of her three children, Loren Wellman Jr., grandchildren, Tiffany Kelly (Thomas Kelly), Ashley Perrystein (Heather Perrystein) and Jessica Peters; great-grandson, Tommy Kelly; and several nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 15, in the Heritage Funeral Home chapel with Pastor Jerry Arnold officiating. Burial will follow in Collegedale Memorial Park.

Please visit www.heritagechattanooga.com to share words of comfort and view the memorial tribute.

The family will receive friends from 12-2 P.M. on Wednesday, Dec. 15, at Heritage Funeral Home, 7454 E. Brainerd Road, Chattanooga, Tn. 37421.
90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days Season 5 premieres on Dec. 12, and we are more than ready to get this season started. The show features seven new couples trying to navigate their international relationships. However, there is one returning cast member. Usman, who also goes by his stage name Sojaboy, is back, and he has a new love in his life. Heres what we know about Kim and Usman.

Kimberly and Usman Sojaboy | TLC

Who is Usman Sojaboy Umar in 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days Season 5?

Fans of the 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days series first met Usman in season 4 when he dated and married Baby Girl Lisa Hamme. Shes several years older than him, which became a source of tension in the relationship. After their marriage, things went south quickly, and Lisa remarried shortly after their divorce. Oddly enough, shes still considered Usmans wife, but she claims their marriage was never legal.

Usman is a rapper from Nigeria, and folks might remember the song he wrote for Lisa. The 32-year-old still lives in Nigeria and built a custom-made house for himself in January of 2021. He made enough money from his Cameo appearances to build the home of his dreams due to Chrissy Teigen petitioning for him to have an account on Cameo.

Feeling a little 90-Day curious? All new couples. All new drama. Your gateway to #90DayFiance is here! Start from the beginning with Before the 90 Days, premiering December 12 at 8/7c on @TLC. pic.twitter.com/tUx2YAPDS7  90DayFiance (@90DayFiance) November 30, 2021

RELATED: 90 Day: The Single Life: Natalie Mordovtseva Tells Cameras She Thinks Shes a Goddess

Who is Usmans new girlfriend, Kim, on 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days Season 5?

From San Diego, California, Kim is 50 years old and met Usman after reaching out online. The relationship started as nothing more than friends, but after months of texts, calls, and video chats, the couple decided to take the next step.

In one of the 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days Season 5 teasers, Kim tells cameras, I flew halfway across the world to meet the man of my dreams. I messaged him and he messaged me back and I was like, Oh my God! And thats how I fell in love with international superstar Usman aka Sojaboy.'

Because of how things went with Lisa, Usman hesitated on committing to a full-blown relationship before they met. However, throughout 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days Season 5, fans can watch as the two get to know each other better when Kim travels to Tanzania to meet Usman in person.

RELATED: 90 Day: The Single Life Fans Call For Stephanie Matto to Get the Boot, Beg TLC to Read the Room

Kim and Usmans relationship looks rocky from the beginning

While we all know TLC likes to amp up the drama on 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days, Kim and Usman dont seem to have a smooth relationship. In one scene, viewers can see Kim ask Usman, Why would you bring me here and shoot a video about another woman? Kim then gets aggravated and tosses a bottle of water in Usmans face.

Usmans career as a singer might pose a problem with Kim similar to how it did with Lisa. Kim doesnt like seeing Usman with other women, even if it is just for a music video. For now, fans will have to wait and see how things turn out. 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days Season 5 premieres on Dec. 12, 2021, on TLC and streams on discovery+.
90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days Season 5 premieres on Dec. 12, 2021, and fans of the franchise are excited to watch seven new couples navigate the international dating scene. This season of Before the 90 Days looks to have it all, from language barriers to trust issues. If you want even more content from the stars this season, weve rounded up all of their Instagram accounts for you to follow.

90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days | TLC

Where to find Before the 90 Days Season 5 stars Calebs and Alinas on Instagram

Alina makes history as the first little person to appear on 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days. She and Caleb met as teenagers but lost touch. Now that theyve reconnected, theyre both ready for something deeper than a friendship.

Alina, who lives in St. Petersburg, Russia, sings in her band and enjoys burlesque modeling and photoshoots. You can find her on Instagram under the username @AlinaKasha.

On the other hand, Caleb lives in Chandler, Arizona, and describes himself as an adventurous person with a pretty hyperactive lifestyle. It doesnt look like he updates his Instagram all that often, but that might change once the show gets rolling. Hes under the username @Caleb90Day.

Where to find Before the 90 Days Season 5 star Memphis on Instagram

Fans meet Memphis in the Before the 90 Days Season 5 premiere episode, and she hails from Muskegon, Michigan. At 34 years old, Memphis is a single mom to two kids and a nurse practitioner. She wants a man whos ready to settle down and complete her family, and she thinks shes found that in Hamza. If youd like to follow Memphis on Instagram, look her up under the username @MissMemphis05.

As of now, Hamza is nowhere to be found on Instagram.

RELATED: 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days Season 5: Fans Accuse Ella of Fetishizing Asian Culture

Where to find Before the 90 Days Season 5 couple Gino and Jasmine on Instagram

Gino snags a lot of air time in the first episode of Before the 90 Days Season 5. Audiences learn how he and Jasmine met and get to meet some of his closest family members like his brother, sister-in-law, and uncle. All of them seem concerned about Ginos plans to propose to Jasmine when he travels to meet her in Panama, but Gino isnt deterred. To find out what hes up to outside of the show, you can find him on Instagram with the username @GPalazz2.

Jasmine works as an American Literature teacher in Panama City, Panama. In the premiere episode, fans catch a glimpse of her extreme jealousy issues with Gino. She asks him to check in constantly and even has him hold his cell phone up to the bartender so she can see who Gino is talking to when he picks up his takeout order. You can find Jasmine on Instagram under @JasminePanama.

It doesnt look like season 5 couple Ella and Johnny have Instagram accounts

Ella, who lives in Idaho Falls, Idaho, already has fans concerned that she might be fetishizing Asian culture. In the teaser trailer, we see Ella swinging a Katana in a samurai cosplay.

Fans havent seen much of Johnny in the teaser trailers either. One of the clips shown of Ella features her crying and wondering Johnny will make it to America this time after several cancellations. Neither of the two has Instagram accounts at the moment.

Where to find Mike and Ximena from 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days Season 5 on Instagram

Mike, who lives in Thiells, New York, tells cameras hes remained single for most of his life. But now, he feels like hes met the love of his life in Ximena, who hails from Pereira, Colombia. Despite a pretty significant language barrier, the two want to try and make their relationship last for the long haul. You can find Mike under the username @MikeyB90Day. Ximena uses the username @MelissaMoralescuellar on Instagram.

Could a small world coincidence mean this love connection is meant to be? See what goes down this season on #90DayFiance: Before the 90 Days! pic.twitter.com/ZBjgu4Ohxc  90DayFiance (@90DayFiance) December 11, 2021

RELATED: 90 Day: The Single Life Fans Think This Season is Unwatchable

Where to find season 5 star Mahogany on Instagram

Fans dont know much about Mahogany so far in Before the 90 Days Season 5. We know that she and Ben met online after reaching out once she saw Ben modeling for a fitness magazine. After that, the two bonded over their shared love of God, and Ben is ready to take things to the next level. However, the series teaser trailers havent given us a glimpse of Mahogany yet. However, you can look at her Instagram under the username @Passion70Roll. It doesnt look like Ben uses Instagram.

Where to find 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days couple Usman Sojaboy and Kim on Instagram

Usman is the only returning cast member after his relationship with Baby Girl Lisa went up in flames. Now, hes cautiously optimistic about his new girlfriend Kim from San Deigo, California. The two connected after Kim reached out to Usman about his music. Ever since, theyve chatted nonstop, and now Kim is flying to Tanzania to meet Usman in person. You can find Usman under the username @OfficialSojaboy. As of right now, Kim does not have Instagram.

Catch new episodes of Before the 90 Days Season 5 Sunday nights on TLC.
BTS J-Hope is the solo artist behind Chicken Noodle Soup. As fans sunshine, J-Hopes Instagram username even mentions his love for the BTS ARMY. Heres what we know about BTS rapper and the not-so-secret meaning behind his Instagram account name.

RM, Jimin, J-Hope of BTS attend a press conference for BTS new digital single Butter | The Chosunilbo JNS/Imazins via Getty Images

BTS J-Hope is known as the Golden Hyung and Sunshine to ARMYs

Hes your hope, and youre his hope. This BTS member even earned the nickname Sunshine for his bright and warm disposition, always looking to make ARMYs smile with his dance moves and social media posts.

He earned the nickname Golden Hyung for being a talented rapper, dancer, and songwriter for the K-pop group. When BTS made their individual Instagram accounts it was no surprise to fans that J-Hope created his nickname with the BTS ARMY in mind.

What is J-Hopes name on Instagram?

Along with BTS members RM, Suga, Jin, V, Jimin, and Jungkook, J-Hope created a solo Instagram account, giving ARMYs an inside look into his personal life. BTS J-Hopes Instagram username is @uarmyhope.

The Hope from this username comes from the rappers stage name, J-Hope, with his real name being Jung Hoseok. One fan on Twitter pointed out that this username reads as both you are my hope and ARMY, giving the Instagram account an extra special meaning.

J-Hope is the only BTS member with an ARMY-themed username, with Vs Instagam username being @thv, a supposed reference to his real name, and Jungkooks Instagram name is all of the letters in the English alphabet minus the JK. V is the BTS member with the most followers, currently with over 22 million ARMYs following his account.

J-Hope often shares his love for the BTS ARMY

Even outside of his Instagram account, J-Hope is often sharing his love and support for BTS massive fan base. Its ARMYs that create specific charity projects in honor of the BTS members respective birthdays. Even before they created individual Instagram accounts, BTS earned the Billboard Music Award for Top Social Artist for three consecutive years.

ARMY is absolutely I feel like theyve become an icon themselves, J-Hope said during an interview with Kenya BTS ARMY. Im so proud of them. Theyre amazing. ARMY is like an artist in itself now, too. Sort of like theyre one big symbol of the era? ARMY is as famous as BTS now.

I think we give each other good energy and helped each other to make something good, he continued. It might sound obvious coming from a member of BTS, but if I were ARMY, Id never be ashamed to call myself a fan of BTS. Anyway, Im seriously I want them to always know Im really, really grateful for them.

In addition to Instagram and the BTS group Twitter account, ARMYs can connect with J-Hope on the artist-to-fan communication platform, Weverse.

RELATED: BTS J-Hope Says Working With the K-Pop Group Is Kind of an Ugly Duckling
Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford had a whirlwind romance while filming the Star Wars movies. Regardless of their age gap and Fords marital status, the pair carried on an affair for years fighting off any rumors of their potential hookup even when confronted by co-star Mark Hamill.

Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, and Peter Mayhew | Lucasfilm/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images

Still, Ford and Fisher seemingly had a good time together despite their ill-fated romance. One of their best moments included the actors partying with The Rolling Stones and arriving to work still drunk.

Fisher and Ford partied with The Rolling Stones

Celebrities usually have to deal with several rumors floating around about their personal lives. While some are true, others usually arent, and its generally up to the person to dispel said rumors. In 2015, Fisher sat down with The Daily Beast to talk about her time as Princess Leia and clear out some of the many stories about her time on Star Wars.

After clearing the air on beating out Meryl Streep for the role of Princess Leia Organa, the interviewer asked Fisher if the rumors were true about the drug-fueled party with The Rolling Stones. The star replied in the affirmative, saying,

Yes, that ones true  I was renting Eric Idles house for five months, and he was doing Monty Python down in Tunisia, and they had a drink that they would give to the extras to make them more compliant. And they called it the Tunisian Death Drink.

Fisher recalled getting a call from Idle asking her to join him, saying, The Rolling Stones are here! After joining Idle and realizing that all band members were present, Fisher decided to invite Ford to the meeting. I called Harrison and said, Get over here! This is ridiculous!' she recalled.

Fisher reminisced about the day, noting that she and Ford never went to sleep to avoid the possibility of waking up with a hangover. She recalled going to work on The Empire Strikes Back the following day still drunk, saying, We dont really smile a lot in the movie, but there were smiling.

Fisher and Ford had an intense, short-lived affair

Fisher and Ford began their affair when she was only nineteen years old, and although the tall Indiana Jones actor was smitten with her, he wasnt looking for something serious. The affair started when the then-married star suddenly began kissing Fisher in the back of his car. Instead of pulling away, Fisher gave in to her attraction for him.

Fisher detailed the affair in her memoir, The Princess Diarist, how she began to wonder whether the kiss meant something or if it would be a one-time fling. The actor got fascinated with her co-star, going as far as fantasizing about him leaving his wife for her.

Her obsession with him took an even deeper dive after she did an impression of him and made him laugh, something she was first to admit he wasnt known for. Fisher acknowledged that the moment was a potential game-changer for her as she hoped that it would make him realize that he wanted to marry her and they would stay together for a long time. The pair, however, ended things after three months.

Ford fed Fisher her lines in The Millenium Falcon

Carrie Fisher says she ambushed Harrison Ford with affair admission in bookhttps://t.co/UWAnqyUHdX pic.twitter.com/Drzh5rb5cg  Heat Vision (@HeatVisionBlog) November 29, 2016

Regardless of their tumultuous affair, the co-stars cared for each other. Entertainment IE recounts a scene in The Millennium Falcon where Ford is visibly mouth-prompting Fisher her line. The story behind Ford feeding Fisher her lines was that director Irvin Kirshner had threatened to fire Fisher if she fumbled her line one more time.

Another famous story that Fisher denied was that she has a visible cocaine nail in a scene in Return Of The Jedi. She, however, never dispelled rumors about her drug use during the shoot.

RELATED: Star Wars: Why Carrie Fisher Said She Was Obsessed With Harrison Ford During Their Affair
Duggar family followers keeping up with Josh Duggars trial know he was found guilty on two counts of downloading and possessing child sexual abuse material. A number of witnesses testified during the trial, and Duggar family friend, Bobye Holt, was one of them. More recently, Bobye commented on a petition in support of Jim Bob Duggar withdrawing from running for a seat in the Arkansas State Senate. Heres what she said.

Bobye Holts testimony in Josh Duggars trial revealed a lot about Joshs past

Josh Duggar speaks during the 42nd annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) | Kris Connor/Getty Images

Bobye Holt and Jim Holt knew the Duggars for decades  and when Bobye Holt took the stand multiple times in Josh Duggars trial, she didnt hold back in sharing the truth. According to The Sun, Jim Holt knew Jim Bob Duggar when they were children, and they both took part in Arkansas state politics together. The Duggar kids and the Holt kids also appeared to be quite close. Bobye Holts testimony revealed Josh Duggar had a failed courtship with the couples oldest daughter, too.

Bobyes testimony detailed how Josh allegedly inappropriately touched multiple young girls when he was between 12 and 15 years old. She alleged the youngest child Josh touched inappropriately was 5 years old. Additionally, she said Josh shared more about his alleged molestation with her in 2005. During her testimony, she broke down in tears and explained she still loved Josh despite what he did.

Bobye Holt supports a petition calling to remove Jim Bob Duggars ballot from the Arkansas State Senate run

Jim Bob #Duggar exclusively spoke with @KNWAFOX24s @ccmccandless & @samanthaboyd98 while in the courtroom for #JoshDuggars child porn trial today.



He said, we just want the truth to come out and we appreciate your prayers for our family.https://t.co/ye1LMlAt4q #NWAnews pic.twitter.com/0wY3J5SVSk  Chelsea Helms (@ChelseaHelms1) December 8, 2021

Since Josh Duggars trial and guilty verdict, Bobye and Jim Holt have become more vocal about their experience with the Duggar family and Joshs secrets of the past. In Touch Weekly reports in response to one social media user praising Bobye for her testimony, Bobye wrote, Unfortunately, weve been screaming this from the mountain tops for 18+ years, but no one would believe us.

Now, Bobye is continuing to speak her mind. Not long before the trial, Jim Bob Duggar announced his run for a seat in the Arkansas State Senate. A petition on Change.org calls to remove Jim Bob from the ballot.

This petition is correct when it says house in order, Bobye commented, according to a screenshot posted to Reddit. Charity begins at home. He needs to withdraw and take care of his house. THAT is the right thing to do.

The Duggar family released a statement about Josh Duggars guilty verdict

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar Speak Out After Eldest Son Josh Is Found Guilty on Child Porn Charges pic.twitter.com/ipewZbYQAc  People (@people) December 10, 2021

It doesnt look like Jim Bob Duggar withdrew from the Arkansas State Senate run after Josh Duggars guilty verdict. But he and Michelle Duggar did release a statement following the end of the trial.

This entire ordeal has been very grievous, the couple wrote on the Duggar Family blog. Today, Gods grace, through the love and prayers of so many, has sustained us. Our hearts and prayers are with anyone who has ever been harmed through CSAM.

In the days ahead, we will do all we can to surround our daughter-in-law Anna and their children with love and support, the statement continues. As parents, we will never stop praying for Joshua, and loving him, as we do all of our children. In each of lifes circumstances, we place our trust in God. He is our source of strength and refuge. Thank you for your prayers.

Jill Duggar and her husband, Derick Dillard, as well as Joy-Anna Duggar, Amy Duggar, and Jessa Duggars husband, Ben Seewald, also commented on the trials outcome.

How to get help: If you or someone you know has been sexually abused, text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 for free and confidential support.

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RELATED: Joy-Anna Duggars Statement About Josh Duggars Trial Acknowledges Anna Duggar Will Raise 7 Children Alone
The Duggar family has been in the limelight for well over a decade, and during that time, there have been numerous scandals involving the controversial group. However, the scandal surrounding Josh Duggar has been by far the most damning. Recently, after many legal issues and disturbing rumors, Josh Duggar was convicted on two criminal counts of receiving and possessing child pornography, prompting a firestorm of social media posts and updates. It didnt take long before Duggars family weighed in, releasing their own reactions via statements on Josh Duggars guilty verdict, and revealing their own thoughts on the trial.

Josh Duggar was found guilty on two criminal counts

Josh Duggars mugshot | Washington County Sheriffs Office via Getty Images

The story of Josh Duggars legal troubles goes back to April 2021, when Duggar was arrested on two child pornography charges. The former reality star was charged with two child pornography counts, one for possessing the materials and one count for receiving the materials. The father of seven has long been rumored to have a problematic relationship with underage girls, coming under fire in 2015 for allegedly molesting five young girls, including four of his sisters.

On Dec. 9, 2021, Duggar was convicted on two criminal counts, including one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Duggar has not yet received a sentence, but he is facing up to 20 years of prison on each count, as well as fines of up to $250,000 for each count. Although the sentencing could take months, members of the Duggar family have started speaking out in light of the guilty verdict.

Here are some of the Duggar family reactions to Joshs guilty verdict

Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar of the Duggar family | Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar

Josh Duggars parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, issued a statement the same day that the verdict was released. According to E! Online, the statement read, in part, In the days ahead, we will do all we can to surround our daughter-in-law Anna and their children with love and support. As parents, we will never stop praying for Joshua, and loving him, as we do all of our children. In each of lifes circumstances, we place our trust in God. He is our source of strength and refuge. Thank you for your prayers.

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggars statements made mention of Josh Duggars long-suffering wife, who recently gave birth to the couples seventh child amidst a firestorm of legal drama. However, it wasnt just Josh Duggars parents who felt compelled to make a statement  several other family members also issued their own thoughts on the matter.

Amy Duggar

A cousin of the Duggar family, Amy Duggar King, took to social media to release her own statement on Josh Duggars guilty verdict, writing, May the daughters who were abused feel validated. You are truly beautiful and worthy of love. May there be intense counseling/healing. May there be wisdom for all those involved on how to move forward. Thank you Jesus. Justice has been served.

Deanna Duggar

Amys mother  who is Jim Bob Duggars sister  also posted via social media following Josh Duggars guilty verdict. JUSTICE WAS SERVED!!! Praying for all involved in the case!!! she wrote on her Instagram story, according to Fox News.

Jill (Duggar) and Derick Dillard

Jill Duggar Dillard (L) and husband Derick Dillard | D Dipasupil/Getty Images for Extra

Jill and Derick Dillard actually wrote a blog post on Josh Duggars guilty verdict. The couple has long been at odds with the rest of the family, and their post was decisive and heartfelt.

In part, the post reads: Nobody is above the law. It applies equally to everybody, no matter your wealth, status, associations, gender, race, or any other factor. Today, the people of the Western District of Arkansas made that clear in their verdict.

The post also referenced Anna Duggar, noting that they are sensitive to the pain that Josh Duggars wife is going through.

Jinger (Duggar) and Jeremy Vuolo

Jeremy Duggar and Jinger Duggar | Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Discovery Channel

Jinger and Jeremy Vuolo also had a lengthy response to Josh Duggars guilty verdict.

We are saddened for the victims of horrific child abuse. We are also saddened for Joshs family, his wife and precious children, the Vuolos wrote via Instagram.

They continued: We are thankful to God for exposing Joshs actions and to a legal system committed to protecting the innocent and punishing the guilty in this case. We are grateful for justice. We are praying for further justice, vindication, protection, and healing for all those who have been wronged.

Its worth noting that Jason Duggar shared Jeremy Vuolos statement on his Instagram story, too.

Jessa (Duggar) and Ben Seewald

Jessa Duggar, Ben Seewald, and their four kids, Spurgeon, Henry, Ivy, and Fern. | Jessa Seewald/YouTube

Jessa and Ben Seewald released a similar statement via social media following Josh Duggars conviction.

From the moment we learned of this case against Josh we have prayed that God would cause the truth to be made known, no matter what it was, and that the facts would be followed wherever they lead, the statement read.

We are grieved beyond words over the children exploited and abused in child sexual abuse material, and we are thankful for our justice system in its punishment of such evils, it continued. Our hearts break for Joshs family and we ask your continued prayers for them in the unfathomable grief and pain they are enduring.

Joy-Anna (Duggar) and Austin Forsyth

Joy Anna Duggar and Austin Forsyth on Counting On | TLC/YouTube

Both Joy-Anna and Austin posted identical statements on their respective Instagram stories, in regard to Josh Duggars conviction.

Over the last year, as you can imagine, there have been a lot of unanswered questions in our minds regarding Josh, their reaction to his guilty verdict read. We were able to sit through the trial to hear the evidence for ourselves. We agree with the judicial systems verdict and we are thankful for the men and women who work tirelessly to protect children and help prevent child s*xual abuse material. Our hearts break for all CSAM victims. We are praying for Anna and her children.

RELATED: Counting On: Do Josh Duggars Sisters Forgive Him for What He Did?
Interview With The Vampire author Anne Rice died yesterday, December 11, 2021. But her fantastic works of fiction will likely live on for centuries to come. She was the rare author who is famous enough to know by name. And many of her books were adapted into major feature films. One horror movie, in particular, was a massive and memorable success. Here are the movies you might have seen that were inspired by the work of the versatile and prolific writer.

Anne Rice is best known for Interview With the Vampire

Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt | Francois Duhamel/Sygma via Getty Images

Among her many works (there are at least 42), Anne Rice is responsible for at least 42. Shes perhaps best known for her vampire series of books. In other words, she made vampires cool long before Stephenie Meyers Twilight series did.

The 1976 bestselling novel Interview With The Vampire was a pop culture sensation. She published the dark story about an 18th century Lord named Louis and set in Louisiana and New Orleans. Louis de Pointe du Lac becomes a vampire and lives centuries into modern times. Recounting his story during a present-day interview becomes the premise of Interview With The Vampire.

I really got into the character, she said in The New York Times back in 1988. For the first time, I was able to describe my reality, the dark, gothic influence on my childhood. Its not fantasy for me. My childhood came to life for me.

Rice certainly had an uncanny knack for the dark and atmospheric. Moreover, Hollywood thought so, too. By 1994, the book was a gothic horror movie starring Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and then-young Kirsten Dunst. Pitt played the lead role of Louis.

It was a thumping success in every way. In fact, a sequel, The Queen of the Damned, hit theaters in 2002. That movie starred the late Aaliyah.

Anne Rices novels also found success as TV movies

Aside from her novels big-screen adaptations, Anne Rices work also found success on the small-screen. She was instrumental in adapting the stories for Rag and Bone (1998), The Feast of All Saints (2001), and Earth Angel (2001), all as television movies.

The author additionally lived to see The Young Messiah (2016) adapted to a major feature film, as well as short film Lestat and 1994s Exit to Eden starring Rosie ODonnell and Dan Aykroyd.

Even in death, the influential work of Anne Rice continues to march forward. AMC announced in August of 2021 that her Lives of Mayfair Witches is currently in development as a television series. Moreover, according to The Hollywood Reporter, AMC acquired the rights to The Vampire Chronicles as part of the deal. That, too, is in development as a series.

The famous author didnt want Tom Cruise to be in Interview With The Vampire

Anne Rices fame in the movies wasnt without controversy. She famously slammed producers decision to cast Tom Cruise in the role of Lestat, the vampire who initially recruits Louis to vampirism.

However, she came around and admitted that Cruise was suitable for the role in the end. A 1994 Los Angeles Times article quotes producer David Geffen, saying that she eventually called Cruise to apologize for her vocal opposition.

She even phoned (Tom) up and told him she was wrong, Geffen told the LA Times. Its a great thing when someone who had been critical of a movie saw it, loved it and admitted she was wrong . . . a very classy thing to do.

RELATED: These 4 Terrifying Horror Movie Sets Were Blessed By Priests
In 2015, Steve Harvey inadvertently caused one of the most memorable moments in beauty pageant history when he mistakenly named first runner-up Miss Colombia the winner of Miss Universe rather than the correct winner, Miss Philippines. He almost made a similar mistake during the 70th Miss Universe pageant, which aired Sunday. Dec. 12 on Fox.

Steve Harvey confuses Paraguay and Portugal during the 2021 Miss Universe pageant

Host Steve Harvey speaks with Miss Paraguay, Nadia Ferreira, during the 70th Miss Universe pageant | Ilia Yefimovich/picture alliance via Getty Images

RELATED: Miss Universe 2019: Steve Harvey Says the Wrong Country Once Again  But In a Different Way

Harvey stepped away from hosting duties for the 69th Miss Universe pageant, which was held in Florida in May 2021 due to pandemic delays. But he was back on stage for Sundays event, which was held in Eilat, Israel.

As the pageant neared its end, the Family Feud host announced Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane as the second runner-up. That left only Miss Paraguay Nadia Ferreira and Miss India and Harnaaz Sandhu in the running for the Miss Universe crown.

But Harvey seemed confused about which two countries were represented on the stage. Congratulations, Portugal, he said as he turned to the two remaining contestants.

However, the talk show host quickly recognized his error and corrected himself, referencing his infamous 2015 mix-up in the process.

They wrote Portugal on the damn sign, trying to play me, he said. Theyre trying to get me again. But Im not going for it this year.

Congratulations Paraguay, he added, before blaming his error on a faulty teleprompter. They had Portugal on the damn sign. I looked dead at it. Yall saw it. Dont try to blame this on me this year!

Miss India is the new Miss Universe

Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu reacts after winning Miss Universe | Ilia Yefimovich/picture alliance via Getty Images

After recovering from his confusion, Harvey went on to announce the winner of Miss Universe. Miss India earned the top prize in the pageant, which saw 80 women from around the world competing for the title. Miss Paraguay placed second.

Sandhus win came after an awkward moment during the Q&A portion of the competition that also involved Harvey. Most contestants spoke about their accomplishments. But for some reason, Harvey decided to ask Sandhu, a womens empowerment advocate, about her animal impressions. She obliged by meowing, but the moment  along with the Paraguay-Portugal mix-up  drew plenty of criticism online. On Twitter, people criticized the odd question, with some calling it ridiculous, but praised Sandu for taking the moment in stride.

How did Miss USA Elle Smith fare in the competition?

Introducing our new Miss USA, Elle Smith!! Heres to an amazing year!!  #PageantryReimagined pic.twitter.com/y6o8BKd7n0  Miss USA (@MissUSA) December 1, 2021

With Miss India, Miss Paraguay, and Miss South Africa finishing in the top 3 at this years Miss Universe, how did Miss USA Elle Smith fare in the pageant? While Smith wasnt among the top finishers, she did make it to the top 10.

Smith competed as Miss Kentucky in the 2021 Miss USA pageant, which was held Nov. 29 in Tulsa, Okla. She is a reporter at WHAS-TV in Louisville. The last time Miss USA won Miss Universe was in 2012, when Olivia Culpo took home the crown.

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Ana Navarro is a recurring guest co-host on The View. Viewers of the ABC talk show love the energy she brings to the table and has been continuously making appearances. Navarro is never afraid to speak her mind and debate on the most difficult topics just as she is able to talk about her love life. The political commentator has recently been open about her moms health and on the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, she shared an endearing anecdote.

Ana Navarro | ABC/Lou Rocco

Ana Navarro shares photos of her Christmas tree

With the holidays upon us, everyone has different traditions in their households. Christmas trees are coming up on social media as everyone that celebrates gets ready for the festivities. On Dec. 12, Navarro shared a couple of photos of her decorated tree with the meaning behind her theme this year.

Navarros tree was an homage to Mexico and the Virgin of Guadalupe, which is celebrated on Dec. 12. The popular Catholic feast day is in honor of Juan Diegos encounter with the Virgin Mary in what is now known as Mexico City.

The View co-host shared that her mom and sister, whose birthday is also on the same day, went to Mexico to visit the shrine in honor of the Virgin.

Today is the Feast Day of La Virgen de Guadalupe. She is the patron virgin of Mexico, but beloved all over Latin America. My sisters birthday is today. And I remember one year, she and my mom made the trek to the Shrine of the Virgin in Mexico City, Navarro shared on Instagram.

Navarro continued, I put up a Mexican-themed Christmas tree in my terrace. I love the colors. It has pinatas and sombreros, burritos, skulls. And it includes an ornament in honor of La Guadalupana. I said a little prayer to her asking she watch over my mom in these difficult days. Oh, and yes, that is a lucha libre mask next to the virgin.

RELATED: Abby Huntsman Reveals Why Quitting The View Was the Best Decision

Ana Navarros fans react to her Christmas tree

After sharing the colorful Christmas tree filled with festive ornaments, it wasnt long before Navarros fans reacted and gave their thoughts on the decorations.

I love this and everything you stand for, a fan said.

Absolutely beautiful. May the blessed mother answer all of your prayers. May she guide you through this journey, a follower added.

Love the Lucha Libre maskthanks for always sharing all the cultural posts I love them, an Instagram user replied.

Ana, its absolutely beautiful thank you so much for always reminding us of where we come from in our culture I love the tree and prayers are being sent your way for your mother and God bless you always, another fan commented.

What a beautiful tree. I especially love the virgin ornament, another follower mentioned.

Positive thoughts sent to ur family. That was a cool story! another Instagram user noted.

Ana Navarro | ABC/Lou Rocco

RELATED: The View Star Ana Navarro Knows Her Priorities and Fans Couldnt Relate More

Ana Navarro is praying for her mother

It was a couple of weeks ago that Navarro shared a photo of herself posing with all of her family. This picture is particularly special to the ABC talk show co-host because it was the last time she was able to spend with her family when her mother was still in good health.

As my moms health continues to rapidly decline, this photo memory of the last Christmas we all spent together, popped up on my iPad, Navarro said on Instagram. I had forgotten about this. Im taking it as a sign from above to remember her happy and surrounded by the family shes given all her unconditional love to.

The View airs weekday mornings at 11 a.m. ET and 10 a.m. PT/CT on ABC.
An artists rendering of the Legends Resort & Casino that Cherokee Nation Businesses hopes to build in Pope County, Arkansas.
As doctors and nurses around the world continue to battle the COVID-19 virus on all fronts, Chesprocott Health District Director Maura Esposito remains focused on vaccinations, specifically for those aged 5 to 11.

On Nov. 30, Chesprocott held a second-dose clinic for that age group, and Esposito was happy with the results.

The kids did really well this time, Esposito explained. They sort of knew what they were up against this go-round. They understood that if they sat and got the vaccine they would be rewarded after, and thats really what this is all about  removing the fear, because some kids are very fearful of getting shots and things like that.

Esposito continues to commend Cheshire for the overall town response to the COVID-19 vaccine and the willingness of residents to sit for the shot.

I just got off the phone with the State Department of Health and they are just so impressed with Cheshire in comparison to my other towns, Esposito said. They pulled back from helping us out with Cheshire because they have been doing so well in comparison.

As Health Director, Esposito, and the Chesprocott team are responsible for Cheshire, Prospect, and Wolcott. Recently, the Chesprocott team has been administering booster shots for anyone who wants one.

Dr. Jeff Solan (Superintendent of Schools) approached me and asked if we could stay open a little later to open up vaccination appointments at later times, she explained. So, weve been staying open until 5 p.m., and weve just had swarms of teachers come in.

While it is important to get the booster vaccine, Esposito went on to explain how there are still some hang-ups in the service chain when it comes to administering shots to homebound or disabled individuals.

We are having a real issue with getting those who are homebound vaccinated because we have lost a lot of (outside) help, she said. Unfortunately, there are some people who have a real issue with getting vaccinated outside of their own primary care facility.

These individuals often need multiple people to help administer the vaccination, and Esposito explained that she just doesnt have the manpower right now.

It might take five or six people to hold someone down to administer a vaccination to someone who might have multiple disabilities, she said. And, unfortunately, we only have a few doctors offices in town who are willing to administer the vaccine at their facility.

Esposito also said that Chesprocott will no longer be holding vaccination clinics at local churches, and that big clinics for children will no longer be necessary because most children are vaccinated now.

Unfortunately, cases across the country are back on the rise, which the Chesprocott team was expecting would happen.

We were kind of waiting for this, Esposito admitted. Those of us who work in public health understand that this all correlates with the weather and people being indoors and closer together as the winter starts again. We are reminding parents and children to be vigilant and not let their guard down.

The Cheshire school system has had a few outbreaks recently tied to instances of parents not fully understanding isolation and quarantine protocols, Esposito indicated.

We have had a few events where a parent or adult in the home is under quarantine and isolation, which means everyone in that home is considered a close contact and they must also isolate, she said. Weve had instances where people were told to isolate themselves, but they still sent their child to school. That is not what isolation means.

There are instances where children who are vaccinated and not exhibiting symptoms after a negative COVID-19 test can then return to school, but students should not be attending any extracurricular activities or family gatherings, according to Esposito.

There is a protocol in the schools called screen and stay and some people are using it as a get-out-of-jail-free card, she explained. Only if a child is vaccinated, still wearing a mask, and not exhibiting symptoms (then) after a negative test they can return to school, but thats the only place they should go.

Lastly, Esposito commented on the newly-discovered Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus, and how residents should respond.

What people need to understand is that while we do have this new variant and the Delta variant, there have been tons of other variants in between because these viruses mutate, she detailed. People just really need to start assessing their activities. If you are planning on gathering this holiday season, dont be surprised if you get a call from us about becoming exposed.

The Connecticut Department of Heath has released data that shows that an individual is seven times more likely to be admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 if they are unvaccinated, nine times more likely to die of COVID-19 if they are unvaccinated, and five times more likely to test positive if they are unvaccinated as opposed to those who have received the COVID-19 vaccine.
ISIS-linked terror plot to kill 'disbelievers' during Christmas foiled in France; 2 arrested

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Authorities in France say they have arrested two suspected terrorists allegedly planning a mass stabbing attack to kill disbelievers during the Christmas holidays in Paris, according to French media reports.

One of the two men arrested from separate homes in the greater Paris area pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and told police he was plotting to kill non-Muslims and hoping to be shot dead to become a martyr, The French newspaper Le Figaro reports.

Both suspects are 23 years old and were planning knife attacks targeting areas heavily trafficked during the Christmas season, including shopping centers, universities and streets, according to Agence France-Presse.

The two were monitored by the General Directorate of Internal Security and were arrested on Dec. 3. French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin confirmed the arrests on social media.

The second suspect didnt admit he was planning any terror attack, but police found Islamic State propaganda at his home.

At least one of the two had a plan to act by the end of the year, a source with knowledge of the case told AFP.

We have detected [online] exchanges between them and ... that led us to believe that their plan was serious and imminent.

Its the fourth terror plot French police have foiled this year.

Over the last several years, France has seen an uptick in terror attacks targeting soft target zones and civilians carried out by Islamic extremists.

In December 2018, five people were killed and 11 injured during an attack on a Christmas market in Strasbourg.

In October 2020, 21-year-old Brahim Aioussaoi from Tunisia attacked a mass in Nices Notre Dame Basilica, killing three Christians. He nearly beheaded one of his victims and cut the throat of another.

The victims were two women and the church sacristan. The suspect injured several others.

Pictures from inside the basilica showed chairs scattered, broken and overturned in the attack.

Police shot the suspect, then gave him medical aid. Even under anesthetic, he continued saying, Allahu Akbar, Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi told Radio France Internationale at the time. The mayor called the attack Islamo-fascist.

The attack happened on the birthday of Islams Prophet Muhammad. It came over a week after a French teacher was beheaded after showing a caricature of Muhammad from the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo as part of a lesson on free speech.

In July 2016, France experienced a horrific terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 84 people and left hundreds injured when a Tunisian-born Frenchman Mohamed Bouhlel drove a cargo truck into a crowded area of Nice.

In November 2015, a wave of attacks by gunmen and bombers killed 127 people across Paris.

While four gunmen killed at least 87 young people at a rock concert at the Bataclan concert hall, 40 more people were killed in five other attacks in the Paris region, including a suicide bombing outside the Stade de France national stadium.

In July 2020, the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe reported a 285% increase in the number of anti-Christian incidents in France over the last decade.
New UN sculpture resembles End Times beast described in Revelation

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A new giant statue installed outside the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan, New York City, is being likened to an End Times beast described by the Apostle John in Revelation 13:2.

A guardian for international peace and security sits on the Visitors Plaza outside #UN Headquarters. The guardian is a fusion of jaguar and eagle and donated by the Government of Oaxaca, Mexico  It is created by artists Jacobo and Maria Angeles, the U.N. says in a tweet that includes a photo of the statue.

Interestingly, 2 beasts recorded in the book of Revelation are said to symbolize political power and were described with leopard like features, wrote Twitter user Scott Freeze. Other beasts were recorded with wings to symbolize speed/swiftness. Im curious where the artists got their inspiration for this work.

Revelation 13:2 says, The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.

Daniel 7:2-4 reads, Daniel said: In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea. The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it.

Some Twitter users are also quoting 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3, which is about the End Times, referring to the mention of peace and security in the U.N.s tweet.

The passage reads: For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, Peace and safety, destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

Another user writes, The end is near.

What more proof do we need? asks another person.

Did you really think you could put this on without anyone noticing? And by chance, it has been painted in LGBT colors, writes Michael Snyder on The Economic Collapse blog, calling the statue one of the strangest statues that I have ever seen in my entire life.
Pastor killed after preaching Christ to captors in Nigeria 1 month after abduction

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Kidnappers have reportedly killed an evangelical pastor abducted in Nigerias Kaduna state last month despite a ransom payment being made.

The Rev. Dauda Bature of the First Evangelical Church Winning All in the Hayin Narayi area, kidnapped on Nov. 8 from his farm in Ungwan Kanti village, was killed last week, Hausa Christians Foundation announced on Facebook on Sunday.

Rev. Joseph Hayab, the chairman of the Kaduna state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, told Morning Star News that the pastor was abducted by Fulani radicals who called ECWA church leaders on Thursday to state that Bature was killed because an additional ransom payment was not made.

The pastors wife had reportedly also been taken hostage when she took ransom payment to the herdsmen on Nov. 18. She was released last Monday, days before the captors said they had killed her husband.

A source told The Daily Post that the pastors wife was released on Dec. 6 to pressure ransom payment.

The pastors wife told church leaders that her husband preached Christ to his captors and prayed for their repentance, which made them angry and may have contributed to their decision to kill him, Hayab said.

Terrorists and radicals in Nigeria have kidnapped and killed thousands of people in recent years, with Islamic extremist groups displacing millions in the northeast and radicalized herders attacking thousands across farming communities in the Middle Belt.

Many have raised concerns about what they perceive as the governments inaction in holding terrorists accountable for the rising number of murders and kidnappings.

In an earlier interview with CP, Emeka Umeagbalai of the Anambra-based International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law said kidnappings of Christians happen for various reasons.

Some terrorists, like Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province and radicalized members of the Fulani herding communities are motivated by money, while others are inspired by Islamic radicalism.

Security analysts say kidnapping for ransom has become a lucrative industry in Nigeria as weapons are becoming available to militants in Nigeria thanks to war-torn Libya.

Nigeria is ranked as the No. 9 worst country globally when it comes to Christian persecution on Open Doors USAs 2021 World Watch List.

Nigeria was placed on the U.S. State Departments list of countries of particular concern in 2020 as human rights advocates sounded alarms about the violence in that countrys Middle Belt that has led to the killings of thousands of people from predominantly Christian farming communities.

But last month, the Biden administration removed Nigeria from the list of countries of particular concern, drawing criticism from Christian activists and a former Trump administration official.

Although some activists have claimed that violence against Nigerian Christians has genocidal implications, the Nigerian government has refuted such claims.

Sam Brownback, who served as the State Department ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom during the Trump administration, told The Christian Post last week that removing Nigeria as a country of particular concern was the wrong move.

He argued that it is a sign that the bureaucracy won because it does not want the violence in Nigeria to be seen as associated with religion in any way, shape or form.

There is a religious component to it, and we need to call it out, Brownback said.

The U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern also identified the African country as one of its 2021 Persecutors of the Year in a report published last month.

We are troubled by Nigerias omission as a CPC, said ICC President Jeff King in a statement at the time. The Nigerian government has done almost nothing to stop the violence against Nigerian Christians, leading to continued violent persecution. In some instances, as with Kadunas Governor El-Rufai, the Nigerian government has even furthered the violence.

Nigeria is one of the deadliest places on Earth for Christians, as 50,000 to 70,000 have been killed since 2000, the ICC Persecutor of the Year report states.
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Imagine you are back in 1962. You are driving on a desolate road in rural Mississippi at night  and you are black.

Suddenly, from out of darkness, bright flashing lights appear. Its a police car right behind you. You are being pulled over. You were doing the speed limit and, as far as you know, your vehicle is in perfect working order. The door of the patrol car opens and a large, burly white cop emerges and begins to walk toward your car. He does not look happy. Your palms sweat. Your heart races. Now what?

Unfortunately, the above scenario was experienced by many African-Americans in America over the years. The fear they felt was well-founded; overt and systematic racism was, in many parts of our country, part of daily life.

But only the heavily indoctrinated would say that things have not changed.

Does racism still exist in America? Of course, it does. It also exists in Europe, Asia, Central America  and Africa.

Racism is a problem of the heart, and the heart cannot be legislated.

Yes, laws are very effective in combating racial discrimination in employment and housing. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was one of the most groundbreaking pieces of legislation in the history of our country.

Yet there are those, many well-intentioned, who want to bring the issue of race front and center again. But this time, it is different.

The civil rights movement of the 1960s sought to diminish the importance of a persons color. Back then, the perception of color was everything. The assumptions that many white people made when they saw a black person were based on rank stereotypes. Conversely, many people of color assumed that every white person was intent on denying them their rights  or worse.

Perhaps one of the most profound statements in human history was made by Martin Luther King Jr. . He stated that people should not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

However, over the last few years, there has been a shift in the thinking of civil rights advocates, that being: You must see my color!

The thinking here is that to understand past and present racism and oppression, one must see a persons color; you must identify with their suffering and alienation and, if you are white, ask for forgiveness  or even objectify the entire white race as being inherently racist.

In essence, if we follow this prescription, would we not be moving back in time?

This would completely erase MLKs statement, to say nothing of what it would do, and has done, to race relations.

Character, especially good character, is something that melts away barriers between people. It connects us to what makes us human and certainly instills good will.

No, good character will not erase racism, but it may change the hearts of some for the good.

Looking at it another way, injecting race into every conversation does not close social gaps, but rather, enlarges the ones we are trying to close.

For the most part, in todays America, people get along.

Americans are cordial to their Uber driver, the clerk at Walmart, and their doctors. If we continue to listen to present-day trends, we will soon be looking with a cocked eye at everyone who does not look like us.

And that would be a great crime.

America is still the freest country on the face of the earth. If we trace out Americas development from its founding until now, we can easily point out the great sins along the way. Chattel slavery and racism were indeed profound sins.

The difference with America, however, is that much of this has been erased by national repentance, fairer laws  and good character.

Indeed, character still matters  and on most issues, not only race, character must be the judge.
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Handels Messiah, now as much a part of Christmas as mince pies and mistletoe, is one of the worlds greatest expressions of the Christian faith in music.

Its composer, George Frideric Handel, was born in what is now Germany in 1685. Although his family discouraged him from a musical career, his astonishing natural talent proved unstoppable. Acquiring a wide range of skills, the young Handel found himself in Italy, where he began writing operas.

In 1712 Handel moved to London where many were fond of Italian opera and Handel could find a market for his talent. For nearly a quarter of a century, he composed a string of popular operas. Simultaneously, Handel became a composer for the Royal Court and when Britain acquired a German-speaking monarch, George I, Handel was the right man in the right place. He was naturalized as a British citizen in 1727 and immediately found himself writing music for the crowning of George II. These four Coronation Anthems  the most famous of which is Zadok the Priest  were so successful that they have been sung at every coronation since. There is a story that when a well-meaning bishop offered to help Handel find the words for the anthems, the composer responded, "I have read my Bible very well and I will choose for myself."

In the 1730s opera started to become less popular in Britain. Handel, in financial trouble, was sent a manuscript by the writer Charles Jennens entitled Messiah. It was a skillfully put-together sequence of Bible passages that told the entire story of salvation from the fall of humanity, through Jesus the suffering Messiah, to Christs future triumph. Behind it was something of an agenda: Jennens wanted to counteract the increasingly popular view which saw Jesus as little more than a good moral teacher. He did so by emphasizing that Jesus both fulfilled prophecy and was far more than just a man.

Handel was inspired by the text and set to turn it into an oratorio  essentially an English-language opera without staging or costume  with astounding energy. In a remarkable burst of creativity, he wrote all the music in twenty-four days. At the very end of Messiah, Handel wrote the letters SDG  Soli Deo Gloria  To God Alone the Glory.

Messiah was first performed in Dublin in 1742 and was immediately recognized as a masterpiece. In London, King George II was present at its first performance and as the majestic Hallelujah Chorus rang out, the king, possibly thinking it was the national anthem of heaven, rose to his feet and remained standing. It is a tradition that has endured.

With the success of Messiah, Handel finally gave up opera and turned to oratorio, most of them based on biblical subjects: Esther, Israel in Egypt, Solomon, Samson, Saul, and many others.

Handel died in 1759 and was given a state funeral at Westminster Abbey attended by thousands. There he is commemorated by a statue holding the manuscript for a solo from Messiah, I know that my Redeemer liveth.

As a man, Handel was well known publicly; a large individual who spoke English often mixed with German, French and Italian. Despite that public presence, he was something of a private person. Although there were hints of romance, he never married. Spiritually, Handel had grown up in a firmly Christian family and in his four decades in London was a faithful Anglican. With death looming, Handel had a visit from the very devout Christian Countess of Huntingdon who came away confident of his spiritual state, reporting that "he is not dismayed at the prospect before him."

Handel was a musical giant with an enormous legacy but for Christians his supreme work is Messiah. Originally intended for the run-up to Easter, it has become a Christmas classic. One of the perils of Christmas is the way that the focus falls on Jesus as a baby. Here, Handels music declaring that "he shall reign forever and ever" is a good antidote.

In fact, with one reservation, I think Messiah may be one of the finest evangelistic works ever created.

First, Messiah gives a proclamation of the Gospel. Jennens text is treated by Handel in a way that always emphasizes its sense. The result is something like a series of ornamented Bible texts: the music highlights the words without ever obscuring them.

Second, Messiah is an attraction to the Gospel. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Messiah is that people who would defiantly resist attending an evangelistic event whatsoever, pay serious money to sit and listen to over two hours of solid Bible texts all pointing to Jesus.

Third, Messiah is full of jubilation in the Gospel. Handel, a supreme dramatist in music, excelled himself in Messiah in producing lively, thrilling, and ultimately joyful music. Its difficult not to leave any performance of Messiah with anything less than a smile on our lips.

I mentioned a reservation. It is something raised by the great eighteenth-century preacher John Newton. He pointed out that many people were going to hear Messiah and coming away feeling that they had had a spiritual experience. The problem, he wisely pointed out, is that Handels Messiah doesnt save us; it is the Jesus it points to who saves. So, by all means, listen to Handels wonderful work but dont neglect the message it carries. Messiah is proclamation, attraction, and jubilation but  and heres the important thing  it is also an invitation. This Christmas make sure that the Jesus that Messiah celebrates is your messiah.
Number of political prisoners in Cuba increased five-fold last year, watchdog reports

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The number of political prisoners in the communist country of Cuba, which stood at about 134 last December, increased to at least 805 by the end of November, a new report by a rights organization shows.

These are a small fraction of the real figures, says the Madrid-based watchdog group Prisoners Defenders, noting that its not possible to verify all cases of political imprisonment and therefore the actual number is likely to be much higher.

At least 23 of the political prisoners were minors at the time of their detention and are being criminally prosecuted with numerous years imprisonment requested for most of them, the report reveals, adding that the average age of the imprisoned protesters is 34, although Cuba is one of the most ageing countries in the world.

The majority of the prisoners are convicts of conscience, the report adds, explaining that they are prisoners deprived of their liberty solely for reasons of conscience, i.e. the strict exercise of their most fundamental human rights, on charges that are either completely and demonstrably false and fabricated, or of a non-criminal nature and absolutely related to thought.

Many others have been condemned of conscience, who suffer prosecutors orders or judicial sentences of forced labour at home, limited freedom, probation under threat and other limitations to their freedoms.

Some are other political prisoners, whose cases are concerning violence or other punishable offences in addition to their political imprisonment.

In July, the people of Cuba demonstrated their anger against the communist government in what was said to be the largest protest in decades amid shortages of medicine and food during the pandemic.

Protests were held in cities around the Caribbean island country, including in San Antonio de los Banos, Palma Soriano and Havana, according to reports that emerged at the time.

International travel restrictions and the monthslong COVID-19 lockdown within the country compacted the country's already spiraling economic crisis. Hours after the protests erupted, President Diaz-Canel addressed the nation on national television, urging the regime's supporters to confront the protesters on the streets. He also accused the U.S. of causing the crisis in Cuba by imposing sanctions.

During the protests, many religious leaders were also targeted, arrested and beaten.

Cuban authorities are detaining religious leaders merely for peacefully protesting and calling for greater respect for human rights, said James W. Carr, a commissioner with the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, in a statement at the time.

Principal among human rights concerns in Cuba are the ongoing and systematic violations of religious freedom, which include the persistent intimidation and harassment of religious leaders.

Last month, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel claimed, There are no political prisoners in Cuba, according to Havana Times. In Cuba there are many processes that are public, to discuss programs, to discuss policies as we did with the Constitution. In everyday life there are people who speak ill of the Revolution. What happens is that many times this type of person whom they manipulate and use for that, or those who by their own conviction are against the Revolution, leads them to commit crimes.

According to the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project, about 59% of Cubans are Christian. Cuban Christians also face constant government surveillance and infiltration even though the faith is growing in the island country.

The Cuban government amended its Constitution in 1992, declaring it a secular state, instead of an atheist state, partially allowing religious activities. Since then, the percentage of the countrys population that identifies as Christian has grown.

However, the communist regime of Cuba continues to persecute Christians. A new constitution was adopted in 2019, which also lists the country as a secular state.

Cuba has been a one-party state under the Communist Party of Cuba since the late dictator Fidel Castro overthrew the United States-supported dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959. In 2008, Castros brother, Raul Castro, was elected president, followed by Miguel Diaz-Canel in 2019.
UMC pastor relieved of duties after performing as drag queen on HBO series

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A United Methodist Church pastor was recently relieved of his duties after participating as a drag queen in the HBO reality series Were Here.

The Rev. Craig Duke, formerly the lead pastor of Newburgh United Methodist Church, was relieved of his duties effective Dec. 1. The Rev. Mark Dicken will serve as interim pastor.

Duke became the center of controversy after being featured in a Nov. 8 episode of the docu-series. In the episode, Duke was shown preaching to his congregation about love before transitioning into singing Keshas song We Are Who We Are with drag mother Eureka OHara.

The series follows three renowned drag artists who travel to small towns across the country teaching local residents how to perform as drag queens. Craig was nominated by the River City Pride organization to take part in the series.

In a letter sent to the congregation last week, Dicken said that although he had positive feelings about stepping in as the interim pastor, he was not not happy about the circumstances that led to this.

I love this church for many reasons, wrote Dicken. I am committed to helping NUMC through this challenging time. But I will need your help.

Come home. Come home to Newburgh United Methodist Church. Come home for worship. Come home for the holidays  and beyond. Healing takes time. Reconciliation and rebuilding trust is not easy and can be frustrating and sometimes painful. Most of all, come home to Christ.

Duke and his family will be allowed to live at the parsonage until Feb. 28, though he will not serve as senior pastor at the church and his salary has been reduced.

Mitch Gieselman, superintendent of the South and Southwest Districts of the Indiana UMC Conference, sent a letter to the congregation on Nov. 26 stating that Duke was neither fired nor suspended. Rather, Duke has reached a place where he feels unable to continue to serve in parish ministry at present.

During his time of being relieved from pastoral duties, he will be engaging in a process of renewal, reflection, and recovery that will be monitored by our conference Director of Leadership Development, Bishop Trimble, and myself, wrote Gieselman.

Our desire is to provide an opportunity for Craig to again be able to utilize his numerous gifts as a pastor in a local congregation. He will not, however, be returning to the NUMC pulpit.

Gieselman also noted that there is a divide in the congregation over whether Duke should have been relieved of his duties due to his involvement in the drag performer series.

Ive received numerous calls and emails that are highly critical of Craigs actions, and Ive received numerous messages of support for him, Gieselman stated.

In such a polarized climate, our main intent is to foster an environment in which both NUMC and the Duke family can move forward in grace.

Gieselman assured that Duke's actions were not a "violation of the United Methodist Book of Discipline."

A GoFundMe page launched in support of Duke has raised a little more than $57,000 through more than 1,400 separate donations as of Wednesday morning.

Pastor Craig considers himself to be a man of faith, a father, a husband, a social justice advocate, and ally for the LGBTQIA+ community. Craig has a hope and has fought for a fully inclusive church that is welcoming to people of all races, all genders, and all sexual orientations, reads the campaign page.

Please join us in praying for Pastor Craig as he (and his family) navigates this time of transition. If you feel inclined to donate to help offset some of the familys living expenses, it is greatly appreciated.

Craig participated in the show in support of his daughter who identifies as pansexual. Duke told The Courier Press in a Tuesday interview that his wife, Linda, also stepped down from her role as the churchs youth pastor.

Duke said he believes that God loves all people as we are.
Why are some pastors dying by suicide? Understanding the tragic trend

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Suicide is a tragic trend on the rise in America. Sadly, there has also been an increase in suicide within the Church and among beloved pastors.

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Why is this trend unfolding  and how can Christians help remedy it? Christian Post reporter Leonardo Blair joins host Billy Hallowell to break down the issue.

Listen to this episode of The Christian Post Podcast below:

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Theologian John Piper lists 7 ways Christians can battle a 'critical spirit'

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Theologian and Bible teacher John Piper listed seven strategies Christians can employ to combat the tendency toward having a "critical spirit."

On Monday's episode of the Desiring God podcast Ask Pastor John, a listener identified as Alan asked: What does the Bible say about a critical spirit? What is a critical spirit? I assume holding high expectations is not the same thing as having a critical spirit.' So when do high expectations become sinful judgmentalism? And how can I fight against this tendency inside of me to focus mostly on the failures of others?

Starting with the premise that all people are wired to be critical, Piper went on to list seven ways he found through personal experience and reading the Bible to battle a critical spirit.

The first was to recognize ones own faults, with Piper pointing to a passage in Matthew Chapter 7 in which Jesus warns His followers about being hypocrites when judging others.

The second was to remember what one is saved from, the third was to be thankful, and the fourth was to meditate on what love is and how essential love is to the Christian.

I think most of us should memorize all of First Corinthians 13. That chapter is only 13 verses long. Its the most important chapter on love in the Bible, Piper stressed.

And you can memorize it in a week if you put your mind to it, and then say it to yourself over and over again for a year or so, and see what happens.

Fifth, Piper recommended that believers ask themselves how being constantly critical is truly beneficial, noting that Jesus said thats a good question to ask when it comes to a lot of sins: What good are they doing? How are you helping anybody with that particular bent?

The sixth strategy Piper advised was to look at the whole of nature and cultivate a view of life, hour by hour, that is more expansive  bigger heart, global, universal, all-encompassing, God-entranced.

Finally, Piper recommended to always be focused on praise, with the theologian telling listeners to fill your mind and your heart and your mouth with praise.

The remedy to not be a cranky, hypercritical misfit is to be full of praise. So fix your eyes on God and the wonders of His creation and redemption, and be filled with praise, he concluded.

The Christian apologetics website Got Questions described a person with a critical spirit as being someone who is prone to complaining, seeing the glass as half-empty, ruing unmet expectations, sensing failure (in others more than in oneself), and being judgmental.

Regarding the issue of overcoming a critical spirit, Got Questions stated that the condition of our heart is crucial to dealing with the problem.

Critical words spring from a critical heart. And a critical heart generally comes from a misunderstanding of Gods grace  either due to pride or a simple lack of information about Gods character and the meaning of salvation, the website added.

Only when we understand our depravity apart from God and the depth of His grace will we be able to bestow grace to others.  The better we understand Gods grace, the more gracious we will be with others.
Maryland cant bar Christian school from voucher program over beliefs on sexuality, judge rules

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A federal judge has ruled that Maryland unlawfully discriminated against a Christian school due to its traditional views on marriage and gender identity when the state denied it access to a voucher program.

U.S. District Court Judge Stephanie Gallagher ruled Friday that state officials violated the First Amendment rights of Bethel Christian Academy in Savage when they excluded the school from the Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today voucher program.

Gallagher, a Trump appointee, argued that the state failed to put forth evidence that Bethels policies have deterred a single prospective applicant from applying for admission or that Bethel has ever denied admission expelled, or disciplined a student on the basis of sexual orientation.

Not only was Defendants decision to exclude Bethel from BOOST eligibility based on Bethels speech, but it was based on the specific viewpoints Bethel chose to express in its admissions policy, Gallagher wrote in her ruling. The First Amendment, which is applicable to the states via the Fourteenth Amendment, bars laws that restrict the freedom of speech.

The judge concluded that the First Amendment prevents Defendants from attempting to use BOOST funding as leverage to compel recipients to express views that Defendants find more palatable.

The decision also rejected an effort by state officials to have Bethel return $102,000 of BOOST funding that it received the first two academic years it was eligible for the program.

Ryan Tucker of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal nonprofit representing Bethel, said in a statement that the ruling showed that Maryland may not discriminate against religious schools simply because it dislikes their religious beliefs.

The court was on firm ground to stop the state from targeting and denying children scholarships simply based on the beliefs and policies set out in their schools parent-student handbook, stated Tucker.

BOOST was created in 2016 by the state legislature and jointly overseen by the Maryland State Department of Education and a seven-member advisory board.

BOOST funding is given to students to attend nonpublic schools in the state, with 17 students at Bethel receiving the vouchers in the 2016-2017 school year and 18 students receiving the funding for the 2017-2018 school year.

In June 2019, Bethel filed a lawsuit against Maryland over the private Christian school being removed from BOOST in 2018 due to its traditional views on sexuality and gender.

At issue was the schools official handbook defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman and requiring students and faculty to use the facilities that correspond with their biological sex rather than any preferred gender identity.

Matthew Gallagher, chairman of an advisory board that oversees the vouchers, informed Bethel that its policies were discriminatory.

A non-heterosexual student may reasonably view the policy as one that allows denial of admission or discipline or expulsion on the basis of his or her sexual orientation, Gallagher said, as quoted by The Baltimore Sun.

Therefore, the Board concluded that this policy, on its face, was in conflict with the nondiscrimination clause contained in the ... law.

In 2020, Gallagher had initially denied Bethel a preliminary injunction against the voucher program ban.
18 school board groups cut ties with NSBA for likening parent protests to 'domestic terrorism'

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The fallout over a letter from the National School Boards Association comparing parent protests and threats to domestic terrorism continues as 18 state affiliates have announced intentions to cut ties with the national education organization, according to a watchdog group.

The letter at issue, sent by NSBA leadership to President Joe Biden on Sept. 29, requested federal assistance to stop threats and acts of violence against public schoolchildren, public school board members, and other public school district officials and educators.

After expressing concern about the increased acts of malice, violence, and threats against public school officials, NSBA President Viola Garcia and Interim Executive Director and CEO Chip Slaven urged Biden to classify these heinous actions as domestic terrorism and hate crimes.

In October, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland sent a memorandum directing the FBI to convene meetings with federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial leaders within 30 days to facilitate the discussion of strategies for addressing threats against school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff.

While the NSBA apologized for the letter three weeks after its publication and it has since taken it offline, outrage over the tone of the request still looms large.

In the weeks and months following the letters publication, the number of state school board associations that have either distanced themselves from the NSBA letter or withdrawn from the organization entirely continues to grow.

The advocacy group Parents Defending Education, which vehemently opposes the rhetoric of the NSBA letter, has compiled a list of actions taken by state school board associations in response to the letter.

In the past three weeks alone, state school board associations in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Mississippi and Virginia have voted to withdraw from the NSBA.

The school board associations in these states join their counterparts in Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin in announcing their departure from the NSBA immediately or in the near future.

Additionally, several additional states have distanced themselves from the rhetoric in the NSBA letter without formally withdrawing from the national organization. Most notably, the Delaware School Boards Association, based in the presidents home state, issued a forceful response to an inquiry from Parents Defending Education.

The DSBA disagrees, in the strongest possible terms, with parents and citizens protesting school board meetings being characterized as domestic terrorists and their protests being likened to hate crimes, the organization said in a statement. The DSBA firmly asserts that citizen and public engagement in school board meetings is an integral and vital aspect of school board governance. We also made it clear that any attempt to silence citizens voices is a clear violation of their rights to free speech.

The DSBA also lamented that the NSBA did not consult with them before sending the letter, noting that had they done so, the state organization would NOT have allowed the DSBA to be associated with the letter and would have asked that the language be changed to reflect the fact that the DSBA does not support the letter and should not be generally included in it.

The NSBA letter stated that it was sent on behalf of our state associations and more than 90,000 school board members who govern our countrys 14,000 local public school districts.

Nine other state school board associations responded to Parents Defending Education, expressing some degree of disagreement with the rhetoric of the NSBA letter or stressing a belief in the ability of parents to speak out about their childrens education. Those states are Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, New Jersey, North Dakota, Texas, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Hawaii is not part of the NSBA. An email obtained via public records request revealed the head of the Rhode Island Association of School Committees telling his board that he thinks they should ignore the email from Parents Defending Education.

The remaining state school board associations did not respond to the inquiry from the advocacy group.

The NSBA letter followed a summer defined by intense protests at school board meetings in some localities nationwide as parents and community members had expressed outrage about policies allowing trans-identified students to use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity as opposed to their biological sex, the use of sexually explicit material in the curriculum and the incorporation critical race theory components into the curriculum.

Specific examples cited by the NSBA letter of heinous actions taken by parents speaking out at school board meetings include anti-mask proponents [who] are inciting chaos during board meetings, confrontation of school board members by angry mobs that have forced meetings to end abruptly and a resident of Alabama who describes himself as vaccine police calling school administrators while filming himself on Facebook Live.

Another occurrence cited as problematic in the letter was the mocking of a Tennessee student during a board meeting for advocating masks in schools after testifying that his grandmother, who was an educator, died because of COVID-19.

Five days after the NSBA letters publication, Garland wrote the memorandum directing federal law enforcement agencies to work with their counterparts at the local level to facilitate the discussion of strategies for addressing threats." The move led to further criticism and a lawsuit.

Opposition to critical race theory and sexually explicit material in public schools played a significant part in last months off-year elections.

In last months election, candidates who campaigned in opposition to critical race theory performed well in school board races.

At the same time, Virginias Democratic gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe, who proclaimed in a debate with his Republican opponent, Glenn Youngkin, that I dont think parents should be telling schools what they should teach, lost the election. A recent poll from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty found that 63% of Americans think parents should have the final say in what children are taught at school.
Parents to protest library where Christmas display featured sex books next to the Bible

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Parent activists are expected to stage a protest outside a Virginia public library in response to sexually explicit books and troll dolls dressed in LGBT colors being displayed next to The Holy Bible as part of its Christmas display, which many Christians saw as an attack on their faith.

Stacy Langton, Xi Van Fleet and other parents affiliated with the Mama Grizzly movement comprised of mothers who vehemently oppose the inclusion of critical race theory and sexually explicit material in public education, will hold a Holiday Hate Protest outside Dolley Madison Library in McLean, Virginia, Saturday.

The protest comes in response to outrage over a Christmas display where the books Gender Queer and Lawn Boy, which promotes pedophilia, was displayed next to The Holy Bible.

Langton shared pictures of the display on her Twitter account Tuesday. She contended that the library's display, mocks my efforts to remove #PornInSchools and mocks Christianity!

In another tweet, Langton said that to display the Holy Bible alongside pedophilia & pornography & #LGBTQ rainbow flags during #Advent at the library was a disgusting slap in the face to @fairfaxcounty taxpayers. She reported that by the time she went to the library that same day to confront library officials over the display, it had been removed.

3. Library staff put Branch Mgr. #NancyRyan on phone. Ryan said display was idea of a staffer & approved by Prisbey. Ryan got complaints from library patrons, who disapproved of "inappropriate" porn/pedo books posed next to #HolyBible.

Gee, ya think?? #MerryChristmas, taxpayers! pic.twitter.com/ZkYYT7njes  Stacy Langton (@StacyLangton) December 7, 2021

Was told Librarian, Mary Prisbey, would talk 2 me in 15 mins. She never did & left out the back door! she added. Library staff put Branch Mgr. #NancyRyan on phone. Ryan said display was idea of a staffer & approved by Prisbey. Ryan got complaints from library patrons, who disapproved of inappropriate porn/pedo books posed next to #HolyBible.

Jessica Hudson, the director of the Fairfax County Public Library, denied that the Christmas display resulted from any ill will in a statement released to multiple media outlets, including Fox News' affiliate in Washington, D.C. The Dolley Madison Library holiday reading display was intended to highlight the freedom to read and the fact that many library patrons have more time during the holidays to do so, she said. It was not the intention of staff to create a display that could be construed as offensive. The display has been removed.

Langton previously raised concerns about the books Gender Queer and Lawn Boy during a Fairfax County Public Schools board meeting on Sept. 9. She read aloud excerpts from one of the books to prove that they contain sexually explicit content that promotes pedophilia.

From the book Gender Queer, Langton read the text of a character telling another character I cant wait to have your c--- in my mouth. I am going to give you the b--- job of your life and then I want you inside me. The part of Lawn Boy she read aloud featured a character talking about how he s---ed Doug Gobles d---, the real estate guy, adding he s---ed mine too.

Both books describe different sex acts, Langton told the school board. One book describes a fourth-grade boy performing oral sex on an adult male. The other book has detailed illustrations of a man having sex with a boy.

Langton noted that Gender Queer and Lawn Boy were available at several high schools in Fairfax County. While the school district temporarily pulled the books from the shelves, they were reinstated to the libraries late last month. The concerned parent attended a Dec. 2 school board meeting to protest that decision.

In remarks at the most recent Fairfax County school board meeting, Langton discussed the contents of Gender Queer and Lawn Boy as well as additional books available in Fairfax County Public Schools that contained sexually explicit material and maintained that by allowing the books back in school libraries, the school board made clear that they are in favor of pornography in the schools.

Laws at the federal and state level prohibit obscene materials in the presence of minors, Langton stressed in her remarks.

Thursday @StacyLangton returned to @fcpsnews and called out the 12 Democratic school board members for returning porn and pedophilia to #FairfaXXX school libraries. Watch the activists who woke-wash the porn and pedophilia. They gesticulate and flail, beside themselves, enraged. https://t.co/dJAGpYVsslpic.twitter.com/hTc1xQ45R4  Asra Q. Nomani ????Mama Bear???? (@AsraNomani) December 4, 2021

The assistant superintendent of instructional services stated that the books are not obscene and do not contain pedophilia. That is a lie, she declared. The book shows a bearded adult male with an erect penis engaged in a sex act with a child. That is the definition of pedophilia.

Langton concluded her remarks by proclaiming that this school district is in violation of the law every single day that the pornography remains on the shelves. She received applause from much of the crowd gathered at the meeting.

The outrage over the display at Dolley Madison Library comes at a time when parents and community members across the country have descended on school board meetings to express their concerns about the implementation of critical race theory and trans bathroom policies as well as the inclusion of sexually explicit material in public school curriculum. The issue has become particularly contentious in Virginia and loomed large in the Virginia gubernatorial race.

At a debate with his Republican opponent Glenn Youngkin, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe declared: I dont think parents should tell schools what they should teach. McAuliffe lost to Youngkin as opponents of critical race theory performed very well in school board races across the U.S.
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One of the features of the sexual revolution, especially in these latter days, is the steady stream of new words invented in the wake of increasingly incoherent ideas. For example, the word cisgender, coined by sociologists in the 90s, refers to those who continue to identify with the sex they were assigned at birth. Its a definition loaded with ideas, such as sex being assigned at birth, but it basically means boys who identify as boys and girls who identify as girls. Only a culture committed to normalizing dysphoria and de-normalizing biology needs a word like that.

More recently, but in the same spirit of social engineering through nomenclature, some activists have suggested a new take on infertility, not based on biology or reproductive health but on lifestyle choices. The term is social infertility, and it refers to the state of those who intentionally choose sterile sexual arrangements, such as same-sex relationships, but still want children.

Proponents Lisa Campo-Engelstein and Weei Lo argue for the term this way: Expanding the current definition of infertility to include social infertility will elevate it to a treatable medical condition, justifying the use of ART [assisted reproductive technologies] for such individuals. Further, they continue, States with infertility insurance mandates should provide the same infertility coverage to socially infertile individuals as physiologically infertile heterosexual couples. [emphasis added]

Assumed here is that everyone has a right to babies. So, if you want one but are in a relationship unable to procreate, technology and the government should adjust accordingly, and force employers, hospitals, doctors, and insurance companies to help you have a baby. To be clear, this is not yet law, but this same universal parentage line of thinking was used to legalize commercial surrogacy in the state of Washington a few years ago, and the Department of Health and Human Services has indicated this kind of language may find its way into new mandates.

The irony is that the very concept of social infertility undermines the love is love slogan that has so effectively advanced the social innovations of the sexual revolution, such as same-sex marriage. Clearly, same-sex love  even when committed, sincere and monogamous  isnt the same as heterosexual love in terms of what intercourse means and its procreative potential. Therefore, new words need to be invented, and others redefined.

Redefining infertility in this way demands that a slew of other important words, such as medical condition, be redefined as well. If an otherwise healthy man and woman fail to conceive a child together, its reasonable to suspect a deeper medical condition. Two men (or two women), however, will never be able to conceive a child together. And, when they cant, nothing has gone wrong. No one suspects their inability to conceive is due to disability or sickness. All thats left is to create a new category of discrimination.

Advocates of so-called social infertility suggest it is unjust when two men or two women cannot conceive and that, therefore, the government should step in. This assumes, of course, that conceiving a child is a right even when biologically impossible, an idea only plausible in a culture in which the value of children is tied wholly to whether or not they are wanted. If terminating preborn life is justified when a child is not wanted, then all it takes to justify conceiving a life is that it is wanted. This leaves other words like rights, discrimination, equality (not to mention men and women) up for grabs.

Imagine demanding insurance coverage for leg augmentations or transplantations in order to sprint as fast as Usain Bolt. Is not being able to sprint as fast as Bolt a medical condition? Do I have a right to claim discrimination because I want to sprint like Bolt but cant? Do I have a right to force hospitals, employers, and insurers to cover the cost so that I can have what I want? Using the logic of social infertility, the answer to each of these nonsensical questions would have to be yes.

What comes under the guise of social fertility is just as nonsensical but far worse, for two reasons. First, for most of us, not being as fast as Usain Bolt is not directly related to any life choices we have made. That kind of dream is not even a remote possibility for me. By contrast, the overwhelming majority of those who claim social infertility has intentionally chosen naturally infertile relationships. Had they chosen a different relationship, conceiving a child would be possible.

Second, most artificial reproductive technologies today are justified solely by adult desires, while childrens rights are forgotten in our ethical reasoning. So, increasingly, we behave and pass laws as if having children is a right we have or, even worse, as if children are products to be obtained.

This whole conversation reveals how thoroughly the inherent connection between sex and procreation has been severed in our society. Abortion enables us to have sex without babies by killing the natural result of human sexuality. Claims to so-called universal parentage leverage artificial reproductive technologies to have babies without sex.

To be clear, the invention of social infertility as a concept is just the latest fruit of this thinking, the inevitable result of denying moral and biological realities. The church will not be in a place to respond unless we get our own thinking and our own decisions in line with reality.
Searches for 'sorcery' and 'soceries' saw largest increase on Bible Gateway in 2021

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Keyword searches for sorcery and sorceries had the highest percentage increase in 2021 on the Bible Gateway, a resource website used by millions throughout its 28-year history to search biblical terms and scriptures online.

The platform released data in its 2021 In Review summary detailing the biblical terminology that received the most traffic this year in its search engine.

The topics people search the Bible for on Bible Gateway are always interesting but this year may be the most intriguing, the review states.

Out of the well over 700,000 words that make up the Bible and could have been looked up using Bible Gateway, the searches for sorcery and sorceries showed a 193% increase compared to last year. Searches for those words nearly tripled from 2020.

According to the platform, those words likely got more attention based on heightened interest in the Greek word pharmakeia.

According to the Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary of the New Testament, pharmakeia means employment of drugs for any purpose; sorcery, magic, enchantment. The term is used in Galatians 5:20.

Pharmakeia is where we get our word pharmacy from, Bible Gateway Senior Director Stephen Smith told Premier Christian News. The terms themselves are actually not related, but I think that heightened interest in this word has led to additional heightened interest in searches for sorcery.

In addition to searches for sorcery, other topics that seemed to draw the most attention on the site were slow to anger and abounding in love, which both saw increases of 169%.

The phrase in my Fathers house there are many rooms jumped up 140%. The saying I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me shot up 102%, and your body is a temple increased 77%.

The words love, hope, peace, joy and faith were among the most popular keyword searches in 2021. Terms such as pestilence, plague and disease saw a 71% decrease in searches in 2021.

Biblical phrases, such as you have not because you ask not, in this world you will have trouble, be not afraid and if my people who are called by my name also saw decreased interest on Bible Gateway

John 3:16 and Jeremiah 29:11 received the title of most-popular Bible verses on the site for 2021. And Luke 10:18  I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven  showed a 518% increase in searches.

This is related to the shoes in March that had the drop of blood in them, Smith said, referring to sneakers released by rapper Lil Nas X called the Satan Shoes.

That entire increase was essentially from those two days.

The controversial shoes, which garnered much media attention, were a modified pair of Nike Air Max 97s that had a drop of human blood in the sole and Luke 10:18 printed on the side.

The Bible verse that saw the largest decrease in searches on Bible Gateway in 2021 was Isaiah 26:20-21 (92%), while 2 Chronicles 7:14 saw the second-largest drop (72%) after an increase in searches in 2020.

Last year, there was a big focus on repentance, Smith was quoted as saying. And sort of seeing in some circles as COVID-19 as a divine judgment in some circles, and that has fallen away to some extent.

Bible Gateway had roughly 3 million searches per day this year and saw increased usage from 2020 going into 2021.

Founded in 1993, the searchable online Bible is available in more than 200 versions and 70 languages. Also available as an app, Bible Gateway allows users to read and research Bible verses, engage with a library of audio Bibles, complete devotionals, email newsletters and access other free Bible resources.
The fast pace of the world today appears to be causing a global epidemic of anxiety disorder- related diseases.

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), this disease affects 275 million people, that is, 4 percent of the total population of the planet. The most worrying thing? The World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that 62% of people living with this disorder are women.

We have a lower tolerance for frustration and we are afraid to resolve what is weighing us down. That's why we better avoid it , mentioned Nina Nander, co-founder of the consultancy Yo Te Understand, when asked why anxiety disorders have increased in recent years around the world.

Although distress can manifest itself in various ways depending on the individual, the Mayo Clinic notes that the most frequently experienced symptoms are:

Apprehension when worrying about future misfortunes: Feeling that you are "about to explode" and having difficulty concentrating.

Feeling that you are "about to explode" and having difficulty concentrating. Body Tension: Restlessness and agitation, headaches, tremors, and inability to relax.

Restlessness and agitation, headaches, tremors, and inability to relax. Hyperactivity: Sweating, tachycardia or abnormally rapid breathing, general epigastric discomfort, dizziness and dry mouth.

If you suffer from anxiety , or you just need to give your mind a momentary rest, here are 5 videos that you can watch for free on YouTube and that will help you take a few minutes of "time out".

It should be strongly emphasized that none of these videos is a substitute for the help of a certified therapist . They are simply options to find calm after a complex day. If you feel that your anxiety is becoming disabling or is affecting several areas of your life, seek the help of a mental health professional to give you the appropriate support (some options that you can consult are the UNAM Psychological Attention Line or National Institute of Psychiatry ).

"Tools such as meditation or videos are NOT alternatives to therapy and it must be remembered that they are momentary responses to an underlying problem. It is best to always seek professional support," Nander explained in an interview with Entrepreneur en Espanol .

1. Mindfulness meditation

What they are about: Videos of various lengths that help you get into the practice of mindfulness meditation and that can focus on specific topics such as overthinking or the stress of chronic pain.

For example, Michael Sealey , a hypnotherapy specialist who has more than eight hundred thousand followers on YouTube, has several videos that focus on specific parts of life such as quick 10-minute meditations before going for a run and the importance of posture. in the attitude of the day to day.

Why it can help you: According to the iconic Scientific American journal, MRI imaging shows that after eight weeks of mindfulness meditation practice, the brain's "fight or flight" center, the tonsil, seems to shrink. "This primary brain region, associated with fear and emotion, is involved in the initiation of the body's response to stress," says the publication .

2. The power of Shh! with Chris Evans

What it's about: Everyone knows Captain America, but few seem to notice that the actor who plays him, Chris Evans , is very open about his anxiety disorders. In fact, Evans turned down the role of Steve Rogers when it was first offered to him out of fear of accepting such a commitment. In this video interview with the channel Motivation Madness , Evans talks about his experience with anxiety, about how going to therapy changed his life and the secret that helped him control the negative voices in his head.

The advice Evans gives in this video is the simplest thing in the world, but something we often forget to do: keep quiet. And seeing how something so simple has helped one of the world's most famous "superheroes" makes it easier to apply in everyday life.

Why it can help you: A note in the medical journal Psychology Today notes that "cognitive misconfusion," understanding that many of the thoughts that go through your mind are data in motion and not hard facts, helps control anxiety. "Some of your thoughts may just be automatic conditioned reactions generated by a brain that is geared toward survival," says Dr. Melanie Greenberg in that article.

3. ASMR

What they're about: Videos in the Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (or ASMR ) genre are growing in popularity on YouTube tremendously. It is a topic that is growing so much and so fast in popularity that well-known publications such as The New York Times , The Washington Post and Buzzfeed have analyzed the trend.

In these videos, youtubers make calming noises to help people fall asleep or simply distract themselves. Of the thousands of asmrtists on YouTube, the most popular is Maria Viktorovna, whose Gentle Whispering channel has more than 1.6 million subscribers.

Why they can help you: Yes, it may seem very strange to hear someone whisper in your ear, but Gentle Whispering's most-watched video has over 21 million views. There are still not many studies that talk about this genre of videos since the phenomenon exploded in popularity only in 2011, but research from the University of Swansea in Wales indicates that these sounds emulate being intimate with someone in a non-sexual way (such as the grooming), something that is a staple of socialization among primates .

4. Breathing techniques with gifs

What they are about: These are videos from 10 minutes long with various animations accompanied by relaxing music. The idea behind this type of content is to synchronize the breath with the movement of the gifs to calm the body's response to stress.

Why it can help you: Harvard Medical School notes that controlled breathing is one of seven techniques for eliciting the so-called "relaxation response" in stressful situations. According to its specialists, deep abdominal breathing promotes the exchange of incoming oxygen for outgoing carbon dioxide, which slows the heart rate and stabilizes blood pressure.

5. Sounds of nature

What they are about: There is nothing better than nature to help us rediscover our center to move forward in the middle of a stressful life, but going to open places is not always an option that is within reach. YouTube has hundreds of video options with sounds of nature such as streams, storms, forests or whatever you want to calm you down and even to help you sleep.

Why they can help you: According to the prestigious health magazine Health , listening to artificial sounds is associated with patterns of inwardly focused attention (such as when you start to think about your tasks and concerns), while the sounds of nature provoke a more outwardly focused attention.

What to do if your anxiety levels become intolerable

Again, it must be emphasized that none of these videos is a substitute for professional help, but they can guide you in moments of tension and support you when you need a few seconds of relaxation in the midst of chaos. However, the co-founder of Yo Te Understand remarks that the worst thing to do when you have an anxiety disorder is to occupy your mind with other things and avoid addressing the underlying problem.

There is no one recipe that works for everyone. In behavioral behavioral therapy we recommend answering the What, How, What and When questions about the issue that ails you in order to really solve it in the background ", indicates Nander.

The specialist emphasizes that when a lot of time is spent thinking about the issue that stresses, you stop doing the things that were normal or even pleasant before and you begin to experience physical symptoms such as sweating in the hands, it is time to seek help from a qualified therapist who allows you to address the issue at its roots.

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(Bloomberg) -- Halliburton Co. denied reports that its in talks to buy Exxon Mobil Corp.s stake in the huge West Qurna-1 oil field in southern Iraq.

The worlds biggest oil-fracking provider on Monday refuted comments made by Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar that Halliburton is vying for an ownership stake in the field. While Halliburton at one point held talks about providing services to a potential buyer, such discussions ended, said Emily Mir, a spokeswoman for the Houston-based contractor. We are not buying oil fields, she added.

Iraq appears eager to secure a U.S. buyer for Exxons stake in the field, one of the largest oil deposits in the world. While the oil major entered into an agreement to sell the asset to Chinese firms PetroChina Co. and CNOOC Ltd. in January, it has failed to get the Iraqi governments support for the deal. As a result of the delay, Exxon filed for arbitration against Basra Oil Co. with the International Chamber of Commerce earlier this year.

Abdul Jabbar told reporters in Baghdad Sunday that Iraq wants a U.S. partner for Exxons stake in the 20 billion-barrel deposit and would step in and buy the field if Halliburton does not. He said a few days ago that Iraqi state company Basra Oil Co. is a potential buyer.

Basra Oil wants to acquire Exxon stake, but to maintain the balance of partners and market, we support a U.S. partner, Jabbar said.

While Halliburton has long been one of Exxons primary contractors at the field, taking an actual ownership stake would be a rarity for a company focused on mapping, fracking and rehabilitating assets owned by other companies.

Halliburton previously held discussions with American investment firm Twelve Seas about providing services in Iraq, Mir said in an email. These discussions are typical course of business for us and similar to talks we have with customers everywhere  none of which call on us to buy an oil field, she said.

Exxons Exit

Exxon was among the first Western oil explorers allowed into Iraq in 2010 as the Middle Eastern nation sought to rebuild its energy industry following the fall of Saddam Hussein and years of conflict. Before that, Iraqs crude bounty had been mostly off limits to foreigners for around 40 years. But the company soured on West Qurna amid tough contractual terms, OPEC supply constraints and ongoing political instability.

Abdul Jabbar also said his ministry is in discussions with Chevron Corp. on the economic model of the contract for its potential investment in the southern city of Nasiriya. Hes expected to sign a deal with the U.S. firm in the first quarter of 2022.

Iraqi National Oil Co. would be Chevrons partner in the oil exploration investment with a 40% stake in the venture. The U.S. oil giant will conduct exploration work in the city, with an estimated daily output of 600,000 barrels for at least 10 years, the minister said.

Iraq is OPECs biggest producer after Saudi Arabia. The minister said he expects OPEC and its allies to increase production by 400,000 barrels next month. He added that the emergence of the omicron coronavirus variant hasnt had much impact on global oil demand.

OPEC+, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, decided early this month to raise output in January by that amount. But it kept its meeting in session, meaning that the alliance can change its plan rapidly if oil-market conditions deteriorate.

Other highlights from the ministers comments:

Iraq is working to create a sovereign fund that aims to finance energy projects in the country to cut down imports

Iraq plans to capture all associated gas flaring, which ranges between 4 billion to 5 billion standard cubic feet per day

Current gas capturing projects in Iraq are worth $7 billion

Iraq in talks with Qatar to import gas via pipeline and also to invest in any gas-pipeline project from Qatar to Kuwait

Iraq set to award front-end engineering designs or FEED work to the U.S.; KBR Inc. is part of TotalEnergies SEs gas-capturing deal signed in September

Iraq is currently rehabilitating its export pipeline to Ceyhan that was damaged by ISIS, and is now 85% complete

On climate change, Iraq is committed to switching all liquid fuels used for power plants to gas

2021 Bloomberg L.P.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Biden administration released an ambitious federal strategy Monday to build 500,000 charging stations for electric vehicles across the country and bring down the cost of electric cars with the goal of transforming the U.S. auto industry.

"The future of transportation in our nation and around the world is electric,'' Vice President Kamala Harris said at an EV charging facility in suburban Maryland.

The $1 trillion infrastructure law President Joe Biden signed last month authorizes a nationwide network of charging stations and sets aside $5 billion for states to build them, including $63 million for Maryland. The law also provides an additional $2.5 billion for local grants to support charging stations in rural areas and in disadvantaged communities.

Bidens $2 trillion social and environmental policy bill, now pending in the Senate, includes a $7,500 tax credit to lower the cost of electric vehicles.

We want to make electric vehicles accessible for everyone,'' Harris said. Absolutely make it accessible for everyone and easy. Just like filling up your car with gas.

The auto industry already is moving toward electric vehicles, Harris added: "We need to make the shift faster and make sure it is driven by the United States.''

When public chargers are installed in rural, urban or suburban neighborhoods, we make it easier for people to go electric,'' Harris said, adding that the biggest barrier most people cite to buying an electric car is figuring out where and how to charge it.''

People who live in apartments may not have a private driveway where they can install a plug, she said, while rural residents may have to drive miles to the nearest charger.

Harris visited a maintenance facility in Brandywine, just outside Washington, where she received a demonstration of how chargers work and learned about a plan to electrify the government fleet in Marylands Prince Georges County.

Theres no sound or fume! Harris exclaimed as she charged one of the countys vehicles. "How do I know its actually working? she asked with a laugh.

The car is fully charged when the display is a steady green, said Mahidhar Reddy, CEO and founder of SemaConnect, a Maryland company that made the charging station.

The new EV charging strategy establishes a joint electric vehicles office between the federal Energy and Transportation departments; issues guidance and standards for states; and ensures consultations with manufacturers, state and local governments, environmental justice and civil rights groups, tribes and others, the White House said.

The two departments also will launch an advisory committee on electric vehicles that officials hope will be up and running early next year.

Accelerated adoption of electric vehicles for personal cars and commercial fleets would help achieve Biden's goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emission by 2050 while creating thousands of jobs, the White House said.

The effort also is intended to help the U.S. leapfrog China in the plug-in EV market. Currently, the U.S. market share of plug-in electric vehicle sales is one-third the size of the Chinese EV market.

Biden has set a goal that electric cars and trucks account for half of new vehicles sold by 2030.

The LMC Automotive consulting firm expects U.S. sales of new fully electric vehicles to hit nearly 400,000 this year, almost double last years figure. EVs still make up only about 2.6% of sales, but the firm expects sales to grow to more than 730,000 next year and more than 2 million by 2025.

Even at 2 million, EV sales still would be only about 12% of U.S. new vehicle sales.

Republicans, including some who voted in favor of the new infrastructure law, have criticized Biden for being preoccupied with electric vehicle technology when Americans are contending with a spike in gasoline and natural gas prices.

Republicans and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., also criticize a proposal in the Democratic bill that would offer an additional $4,500 tax credit for a vehicle made at a U.S. plant that operates under a union-negotiated collective bargaining agreement. Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican, called the plan a handout to union bosses that would penalize car makers with non-union workers.

Biden last month ordered a record 50 million barrels of oil released from Americas strategic reserve, in coordination with other major energy consuming nations. Gas prices have fallen in recent weeks as fears grow of another possible economic slowdown from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

___

Associated Press writer Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this story.
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The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol released a report on Sunday detailing its case to hold Mark Meadows in contempt of Congress. The report paints a damning portrait of the former White House chief of staffs involvement in the effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election, an effort that included Meadows saying that the National Guard would be at the Capitol on Jan. 6, ready to protect pro-Trump people.

The committee will vote Monday on whether to advance proceedings to hold Meadows in contempt. If it does, as is expected, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on the measure later this week. If the House approves the measure, as is expected, the matter will move to the Justice Department. Steve Bannon was the subject of a similar process in the fall, and on Nov. 12 the former Trump adviser was charged with two counts of criminal contempt.

Bannon had long stopped working in government by the time of the 2020 election and its conspiracy-laden aftermath. Meadows, however, was deeply enmeshed in the goings-on of the White House and its relationship to Congress. The report released Sunday adds to some of the tidbits the committee released last week about how Meadows reportedly used his position to advance the effort to overturn the election results.

It notes that in the days after the election, Meadows discussed appointing pro-Trump electors in states Biden won and that he tried to put Trump in touch with state legislators who had the power to make this happen. It notes that Meadows pressured the Justice Department to investigate bogus allegations of voter fraud. It also notes that he texted organizers of the rally that preceded the riot at the Capitol. The list goes on.

The report does not go into detail about the context surrounding Meadows noting that the National Guard would be on hand to protect Trump supporters, only that it came in an email sent Jan. 5 and pertained to the Guard being present at the Capitol. The Guards slow response to the riot has been a subject of controversy. Col. Earl Matthews, a former Guard official, earlier this month accused two generals of lying to Congress about what happened.

The information in the report released Sunday comes from thousands of pages of records Meadows provided to the committee before he reversed course last week and decided to defy his subpoena. In a letter informing Meadows attorney that the committee had no choice but to hold Meadows in contempt, Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) wrote that Meadows texted with a member of Congress about installing alternate electors. I love it, Meadows responded to the idea.

Thompson also wrote that the committee obtained an email from Meadows that referred to a PowerPoint presentation titled Election fraud, Foreign Interference & Options for 6 JAN. It was later reported that the presentation mentioned the possibility of Trump declaring a national security emergency in order to delay the certification of the election results, and that Phil Waldron, a retired army colonel who circulated a version of the presentation, says he met with Meadows several times, and that he or his team briefed members of Congress.

The 51-page report the committee released Sunday says essentially that the committee really needs to ask Meadows about all of this stuff, which is rather relevant to its goal of getting to the bottom of what happened on Jan. 6  to say the least. Its a solid and often stunning body of evidence laying out the (partial) extent of the Trump administrations very real, very serious effort to subvert democracy. If what happened to Bannon is any indication, Meadows is likely to find himself staring down federal contempt charges in the near future.
WORCESTER, Mass. (AP)  The church volunteers assembled furniture and hung decorations in the newly renovated apartment building. They laid out nearly every necessity, down to the bath towels, bed linens, cooking supplies and televisions.

Over Thanksgiving weekend, the first residents of the home in Worcester, Massachusetts moved in: three gay men seeking asylum in the U.S.

I dont even have the words, said Alain Spyke, 26, who fled Jamaica after being continually harassed and threatened by a local gang for being gay. To come into this country and have a safe space to escape all the hardships and trauma? Not everyone has that opportunity.

A Massachusetts church group that's uniquely focused on support for immigrants fleeing their countries due to their sexual orientation has opened a new, permanent home for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender asylum seekers.

The LGBT Asylum Task Force, a ministry of Hadwen Park Congregational Church in Worcester, raised more than $500,000 to purchase and renovate a dilapidated, three-story former group home on the citys well-heeled west side.

It's the ministry's biggest investment amid long-running efforts to help LGBT immigrants, said Al Green, the task forces director.

The group typically houses asylum seekers in rented apartments throughout New Englands second-largest city, but as the effort has grown over the years, its become challenging to coordinate services and foster community among the new immigrants, he said.

The task force covers rent and provides a $500 monthly stipend for immigrants, at least until they can receive work authorization, a process that can take around two years, Green said. The group also connects asylum seekers with immigration lawyers, sets them up with bank accounts and health insurance, and helps prepare them for entering the workforce.

We found that giving folks stability has helped them better prepare for their asylum cases, said Green, who is also from Jamaica and participated in the program. They know theyre in a safe place until they can get on their feet.

The church effort is one of the few programs providing wide-ranging and long-term help to LGBT asylum seekers once theyre in the U.S., says Pastor Judith Hanlon of Hadwen Park Congregational Church, who co-founded the ministry.

Groups like the Rainbow Railroad in Toronto, Canada, help LGBT individuals escape persecution in their home countries. Temporary shelters like Casa de Luz in Tijuana, Mexico, provide safe havens for gay and transgender migrants on the perilous border journey. And groups like the LGBT Asylum Project in San Francisco focus on providing legal help while others like the Trans Queer Pueblo in Phoenix, Arizona, focus on community building and advocacy.

The church ministry started in 2008, when the United Church of Christ congregation rallied to support a single gay immigrant from Jamaica.

As the churchs reputation spread, migrants from Jamaica and the dozens of other countries where homosexuality is explicitly outlawed began arriving, oftentimes unannounced, Hanlon said. The task force is currently assisting 21 LGBT immigrants but has helped more than 400 over the years, with all so far winning asylum, she added.

Among the recent arrivals is Orville Howden, a 39-year-old gay man who says he fled Jamaica last October after his roommate was killed for being gay. He moved into the new house along with Spyke recently.

A longtime restaurant server, hes hoping to get a job in interior design when he gets his work authorization.

In another apartment rented by the church, a 25-year-old Muslim woman from Uganda said her parents forced her to marry a man 30 years her senior after discovering she had a long-term girlfriend.

The woman, who asked only to be identified as Aisha, arrived last December after searching online for ways to get out of her forced marriage.

She says she appreciates the group doesn't impose Christianity or require her to attend church services. They're really accepting me as I am, and that's been heartwarming, she said.

The new homes opening comes as immigrant and gay rights activists push President Joe Bidens administration to make good on his campaign promise to undo harmful policies enacted under former President Donald Trump.

The Biden administration has rescinded a rule that made it harder for migrants, including LGBT persons, to qualify for asylum because of domestic abuse or gang violence, said Ari Shaw, a director at the Williams Institute, a research center at the UCLA School of Law focused on sexual orientation and gender identities.

But other harmful Trump-era policies also remain in effect, such as the use of Title 42 of the U.S. Code to justify denying asylum claims based on coronavirus concerns, Shaw said.

Following a court order, the Biden administration also recently announced plans to reinstate Trump's Migrant Protection Protocols, which forced many asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while their asylum claims were being processed.

The Department of Homeland Security's guidance includes a new exemption for gay and transgender individuals, although theres concern among advocates about how that will be implemented in practice.

A DHS spokesperson said exceptions for LGBT persons and other particularly vulnerable individuals will be considered case-by-case. The agency also noted that Biden issued an executive order in February committing to improving the asylum process and combatting the sexual and gender-based violence and other root causes of migration.

DHS doesn't track LGBT asylum claims, but a study earlier this year from the Williams Institute estimated LGBT individuals filed at least 11,400 applications from 2012 to 2017, with more than half of those coming from Central America.

Overall, approval rates for all asylum applications haven risen since Biden took office in January, the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University has found.

Back at the Worcester home, Spyke says hes still wrapping his head around the freedoms America affords.

In Jamaica, his family ostracized him after finding out he was gay and he faced harassment, even in popular tourist destinations like Montego Bay.

Now living in the U.S. for nearly two years, Spyke says he finally felt comfortable enough to kiss another man in public for the first time just this April.

It felt really cool, he said. Id never dare to do that in Jamaica.
JACKSON, Miss. (AP)  Long after he was killed, Myrtle Green-Burton wouldn't let anyone wear her 17-year-old son's high school track team jacket.

James Earl Green, an aspiring Olympic runner, was supposed to receive the green and yellow coat at his graduation in Mississippi half a century ago. It became a symbol of his life  and her loss, said his sister Gloria Green-McCray.

She just kept it until it dry-rotted because that was all she really had to remember his dream  his vision, Green-McCray said of her mother.

A cross-stitch portrait of Green wearing his track jacket is now included with 115 others in a quilting project dedicated to memorializing lives lost to racial violence in the U.S. The two quilts are open for public viewing on weekdays through Dec. 17 at Jackson State Universitys Margaret Walker Center.

James Earl Green and 21-year-old Jackson State student Phillip Lafayette Gibbs were fatally shot on the Jackson State campus during a violent police response to a protest against racial injustice in 1970. Green was not a student at the historically Black university, but was walking through the campus on his way home from his grocery store job.

Twelve more people were injured. No officer ever faced criminal charges.

On a visit to Jackson State's campus last week to see the portrait, Green-McCray, now in her late 60s, recalled her older brother's ambitions of running in college and then in the Olympics. In the weeks leading up to his death, graduating and getting that track jacket were all he could talk about, she said.

He didnt get the chance to wear it, she said, reaching out and running her finger across the tiny portrait.

The Stitch Their Names Memorial Project was started by Eugene, Oregon, high school math teacher Holli Johannes in July 2020 as so many around the U.S. reckoned with the country's legacy of systematic racism in the wake of George Floyd's murder at the hands of Minneapolis police. A group of 75 stitchers from across the U.S. and beyond worked together to construct the two quilts and a website containing biographies of each victim.

Johannes said they wanted to create a piece of art that would humanize the lives lost.

Each stitcher took a different, personalized approach: Some portraits are headshots, some full-body. They include different backdrops and details to inform viewers about the victims lives.

Elijah McClain, 23, a massage therapist killed by police in Aurora, Colorado, in 2019, is pictured playing the violin next to a tabby cat. McClain loved animals and taught himself how to play the guitar and violin.

John Crawford III, 22, was killed by police inside a Beavercreek, Ohio, Walmart store in 2014. He is depicted with his two young sons.

Gibbs  killed in Jackson the same night as Green  is wearing a gray suit. He was studying to be a lawyer.

Ebony Lumumba, department chair and associate professor of English at Jackson State, said quilting has long been a powerful form of activism and of reclaiming history  especially for Black women in America, whose voices are often overlooked.

It's a history that sometimes supersedes what can be written down, said Lumumba, who is also the city of Jackson's first lady. Thats significant for our community because we have been denied the privilege of being documented for so many centuries and so this is one of the ways that we resist that.

At Jackson State, Green-McCray said she hadn't seen a quilt made since she was a little girl  the ones stitched by the women who raised her. She remembered how quilting was a form of storytelling for them. Her mother would piece together quilts using pieces of aprons, hats and dresses from her grandmother.

Each little piece represents something  each piece had a significant meaning, she said. It was not just a piece of cloth, but it was a piece of history, a piece of that person.

Green-McCray said the quilts would evoke memories, even of a time before she was born  a reminder of the struggle of survival.

Its like you re-live it, she said. My mother came from a family of sharecroppers, old slaves, and I can remember the history.

Green-McCray said if people don't learn about history, it repeats itself. When her brother was killed, everyone asked her, Do you think this will ever happen again?

At that time, we was thinking it was going to soon end, and it will never happen again, she said. Now today, you see them saying Black Lives Matter, and that really grieves my spirit. Weve come a long way, but we still got such a long way to go.

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Leah Willingham 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.
SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates (AP)  Over a dozen unmarried women huddled in a jail cell south of Dubai last year, locked up for the crime of giving birth, when a guard entered and declared them free.

The incident, described by one of the women, was among the first concrete signs that the United Arab Emirates had decriminalized premarital sex in an overhaul of its Islamic penal code.

But a year later, these unwed mothers remain trapped in limbo, fighting to obtain birth certificates for babies born in the shadows.

A new law that comes into effect in two weeks still does not offer unmarried women a clear path to acquiring birth certificates for their babies. At the same time, the law criminalizes women lacking such documents.

Although unwed mothers no longer face jail after the UAE legalized premarital sex in November 2020, they now face a maze of red tape.

Obtaining birth certificates for their babies is a costly process that the country's poorest residents  foreign workers who clean offices, serve food and care for the children of other mothers  cannot afford. Expats outnumber locals by nearly nine to one in the Emirates.

We were so full of hope, said Star, one of those released from Sharjah Central Jail in December 2020 with her 3-month-old daughter. Then came trouble I didnt think Id have the strength to get through.

Star gave only her first name for fear of reprisals. She and six other unmarried women, most of them Filipinas, described their legal battles to The Associated Press.

Before last year's law change, several had given birth at hospitals, where health authorities denied them birth certificates and called the police. Others withdrew to their shared apartments, scared and alone, to have their babies.

In the UAE, hospitals issue birth certificates only to married parents. Without the certificates, children are unable to receive medical care, attend school or travel. Their mothers, who lost work and residency during prosecution under the old law, become stranded. The number of undocumented children in the UAE is not known.

Lawyers say the obstacles stem from an enduring conservative mindset and lack of government coordination.

Some women even yearn for the previous punishment, typically one-year detention and deportation. While terrifying, it at least guaranteed a flight home and identity documents for their children.

It has only gotten harder since the law changed," said 25-year-old mother Sitte Honey. They wont take you to jail and they don't want you to give birth," she added, noting abortion is also forbidden. We're stuck.

Dirar Belhoul Al Falasi, a member of the UAE's advisory Federal National Council, argued last year's decriminalization had an impact.

Prior to this, there was nothing in my hand to legalize what they have, he told the AP. But now, there is a law  that we can help them with.

Under a new law that comes into force on Jan. 2, parents who fail to document their children face a minimum of two years in prison. It makes no reference to health authorities issuing birth certificates to single mothers. The law demands that parents marry or acquire travel documents and other paperwork to prove their childrens identities, without detailing how.

That has stoked panic among unmarried mothers who fear further punishment.

Last year, as lawyers scrambled to understand the opaque legal code, women like Star walked out of jail across the country. Conditions at the facilities varied and in some, mothers were separated from their children.

Star said her daughter was taken from her during detention. She said 15 women shared a single bathroom, subsisted on only rice and bread and were let out 30 minutes each day for fresh air. Other women described police interrogations about their sexual history as deeply humiliating.

But after these women were freed, they still couldn't get the one thing they wanted most: identity documents.

Maya, a 36-year-old mother, turned herself into authorities in November 2020 when she heard it would help her get a birth certificate for her 1-year-old. After several torturous weeks in Dubais Al Qusais Police Station, authorities became alerted to the law change and freed her. But they never granted legal status to her daughter, forcing her to ricochet from one government office to another in her quest.

These massive fundamental changes are highly welcome, but so much still needs to catch up, said Ludmila Yamalova, managing partner of LYLAW, a firm taking on cases of unwed mothers.

Emotionally and mentally, people are not prepared to accept the law as reality," she added, referring to health and law enforcement agencies.

Women continue to raise undocumented children in secret. Noraida Gamama, desperate to document her 3-year-old daughter, has plastered the door of her Sharjah apartment with signs warning her half-dozen roommates to check the peephole before answering to ensure it's not a government official.

Living on expired visas and struggling to feed infants on wisps of income, many can't afford court fees and lawyers bills. It costs over $350 to open a birth certificate petition case independently at Dubais Family Court.

Ann, 36, works multiple part-time jobs, sleeping a few hours a night, to feed her undocumented 2-year-old girl. She recounted the agony of delivering her on the floor of a rented Dubai room. All I want is to give her a name, to bring her back to the Philippines where she could live a better life, Ann said.

Still, a growing number of women are taking their cases to court, with mixed success. A clerk at one Dubai court said the system handled over 50 baby cases daily.

When Honey discovered she was pregnant with her boyfriends child two years ago, she appealed to the Philippine Consulate to send her home. But while waiting for help that never came, baby Naya was born in her tiny apartment.

Lacking legal status after fleeing abusive employers who confiscated her passport, Honey has grown desperate to get out of Dubai. But authorities cannot repatriate her until Naya gets papers.

This is a nightmare. No money, no visa, no rent, no plan," Honey said.

To hasten her return, Honey's 47-year-old mother moved to Qatar as a housemaid, pulling together the money needed to open a case in Dubai last month. Shes still waiting for her first hearing and trying to get a written acknowledgement of paternity from her ex-boyfriend.

The process requires an unwed mother to provide a ream of personal documents, take a DNA test and testify before a judge. If the judge approves, the mother may request her child's birth certificate.

Some, like Star, have persevered and made it through.

That kind of joy is overwhelming, to know your daughter is not illegal anymore, Star said from her family's home in Davao City, Philippines. It's like I'm breathing for the first time.
BALTIMORE (AP)  A 3-year-old girl who was wounded by a discharged firearm in Maryland's largest city is going to be OK, Baltimore's police chief says.

Patrol officers responding Saturday afternoon to a shooting report found the girl inside a home with a graze wound, police said in a news release. The child was taken to the hospital and was in good condition, Police Commissioner Michael Harrison told news outlets.
BAYTOWN, Texas (AP)  One person was killed and at least 13 others were injured in a drive-by shooting during a candlelight vigil near Houston, a sheriff said.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the shooting happened around 6:40 p.m. Sunday when about 50 people were gathered for a celebration of life in Baytown, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Houston.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Monday announced 60 finalists for $1 billion in economic development grants tied to the Biden administration's coronavirus relief package and aimed at improving job training and regional industry partnerships.

There were 529 applicants for the grants. That means roughly 11% of submissions made it to the next round, which will ultimately choose 20 to 30 regional coalitions for up to $100 million in grants that could shape manufacturing, clean energy and life sciences hubs around the country. Twelve of the finalists were from places tied to the coal industry.
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP)  Fresh from delivering a stern new warning to Russia over Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Indonesia on Monday to find a top aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin already in Jakarta for security talks.

Just a day after joining his Group of Seven foreign minister colleagues in issuing the blunt demand for Russia to step back from a military escalation near the Ukrainian border, Blinken began a 48-hour visit to Indonesia with his plane parking in the shadow of that of Putins national security adviser Nikolay Patrushev. Patrushev is considered the third most senior official in Russia's government.

Shortly before Blinken landed, the Russian embassy in Jakarta announced Patrushevs visit, saying he would be in the Indonesian capital for the same two days as the top American diplomat. The timing means that Patrushev's meetings will coincide with a major speech Blinken plans to give Tuesday on the Biden administration's Indo-Pacific strategy.

There was no indication that the two men might meet in Jakarta. Nor was there any indication that either would acknowledge the other's presence in Indonesia, which is the headquarters of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and a key regional security player.

Indonesia's foreign ministry downplayed the dueling visits.

The U.S. and Russia are two of Indonesias good partners. Indonesia will continue to develop strategic trust with all countries, all Indonesias partners, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said. This strategic trust is very important as the foundation for building mutually beneficial and respectful cooperation. And Indonesia has a very high commitment to contribute to creating a peaceful, stable and prosperous world.

Blinken met Monday afternoon with Indonesian President Joko Widodo before a full slate of events on Tuesday, including the speech. The Russian embassy said Patrushev's main interlocutor in Indonesia would be Law and Security Affairs Minister Mohammad Mahfud.

Blinken traveled to Jakarta from a Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting in Liverpool, England, at which he and his counterparts told Russia on Sunday to de-escalate its military buildup near the Ukrainian border.

The G-7 called on Russia to de-escalate, pursue diplomatic channels, and abide by its international commitments on transparency of military activities, and praised Ukraines restraint.

The ministers warned on a joint statement that any use of force to change borders is strictly prohibited under international law. Russia should be in no doubt that further military aggression against Ukraine would have massive consequences and severe cost in response."

The statement came after President Joe Biden spoke to Putin in a video call last week and said he had made clear that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would have devastating consequences for Russia's economy.

Moscow denies having any plans to attack Ukraine and accuses Kyiv of its own allegedly aggressive designs.

Ahead of Blinken's current trip, which at eight days will be his longest overseas journey since taking office, State Department officials had said they expected his focus to shift from challenges posed by Russia to those posed by China as he moved from the G7 meeting in Liverpool across the globe to Southeast Asia.

It was not immediately clear if Patrushev's presence on Indonesia would change that. In Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, Blinken is aiming to highlight the importance of ensuring freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, on which many of Chinas neighbors have accused Beijing of encroaching.

In his meeting with Widodo, Blinken expressed support for Indonesias leadership in the Indo-Pacific as the worlds third-largest democracy and a strong proponent of the rules-based international order, the State Department said.

Blinken also plans to express deep U.S. concerns about developments in Myanmar, where a military junta took power shortly after the Biden administration took office. Last week, a court in Myanmar convicted democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was ousted in a de facto coup in February, on two charges. The proceedings were widely criticized as a further effort by the countrys military rulers to roll back the democratic gains of recent years.

As Blinken visits Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, Patrushev will be in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. One of Blinken's most senior aides, State Department counsellor Derek Chollet was in Cambodia last week following the U.S. imposition of an arms embargo on the country, citing deepening Chinese military influence, corruption and human rights abuses.

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Associated Press writer Edna Tarigan contributed to this report.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP)  A rarely used impeachment court in Denmark convicted a former immigration minister Monday over a 2016 order to separate asylum-seeking couples when one of the partners was a minor.

The Danish parliament voted to try Inger Stoejberg after a parliament-appointed commission said that separating couples in asylum centers was clearly illegal and that staff members in her ministry had warned her the practice was unlawful.

The Court of Impeachment convened for the first time in 26 years to consider charges against Stoejberg, who maintained her innocence throughout the trial that started Sept. 2.

The court convicted her of intentionally or through gross negligence neglecting the duties of her office and providing parliament with incorrect or misleading information. It sentenced her to 60 days' detention. It was unclear if she would be jailed or would be fitted with an electronic monitoring bracelet to serve her sentence at home.

Whether it is two or four months is not crucial to us, prosecutor Jon Lauritzen told reporters. The fact that she was found guilty because there was intent has been crucial.

Court President Thomas Roerdam said one judge argued for Stoejberg's acquittal, but he didnt name the judge. The verdict cannot be appealed.

Stoejberg, who received flowers from supporters after the court delivered its decision, said she was very, very surprised by the verdict but would serve her sentence. Defense lawyer Rene Offersen called it a disappointing outcome.

Stoejberg was accused of misleading parliamentary committees four times while informing them about the separation policy she adopted as minister. It will now be up to fellow lawmakers to decide whether she can continue to serve as a member of the 179-seat Folketing.

She served as minister for immigration, integration and housing from 2015 to 2019 as part of Denmark's previous center-right government.

Considered an immigration hardliner, Stoejberg spearheaded the tightening of asylum and immigration rules. A 2016 law required newly arrived asylum-seekers to hand over valuables such as jewelry and gold to help pay for their stays in the country.

Stoejberg has said she initiated the policy of separating minors from their partners out of concerns the relationships may have involved forced marriages. Twenty-three couples were split up before the policy was halted months later.

Most of the women among the separated couples were ages 15-17, while the men ranged in age from 15 to 32. Most of the couples originally were from Syria. Officials said some couples arrived in Denmark with children or while the woman was pregnant.

In Denmark, the legal age of marriage is 18. The women who were under 18 said they had consented to their marriages.

Since the 2019 election that brought the Social Democrats to power, immigration has become a less pressing issue in Danish politics.

The Court of Impeachment, which adjudicates cases in which government ministers are accused of unlawful misconduct and misuse of office, was last used in 1995. That year, former Justice Minister Erik Ninn-Hansen was given a suspended four-month sentence for having prevented Sri Lankan refugees from bringing their families to Denmark.

The court consists of 15 Supreme Court judges and 15 members appointed by parliament. Since it was created in 1849, the court has considered five cases and Stoejberg's case is the third to result in a guilty verdict.

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Follow AP's coverage of migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration
WASHINGTON (AP)  Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday announced $1.2 billion in commitments from international businesses to support the economies and social infrastructure of Central American nations, as she works to address what the White House terms the root causes of migration to the United States.

Harris was tapped in March by President Joe Biden to work to counter the social, economic and political forces that drive migrants and asylum seekers to the U.S., including many who cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.
Hearst announced on Monday, Dec. 13 that Tom Cross has been named president of Hearst Transportation effective immediately.

The announcement was made by Hearst President and Chief Executive Officer Steven R. Swartz and Richard P. Malloch, executive vice president for Business Media at Hearst.

Cross has served as executive vice president of Hearst Transportation since January 2016, while simultaneously serving as president of Black Book and president of MOTOR Information Systems. He has held a variety of leadership positions across the Hearst Transportation businesses for more than two decades.

Tom is an exceptional person and leader who has been instrumental in developing new products and services, driving innovation and delivering results, Malloch said. I have worked closely with Tom for many years, and he is deeply committed to serving our clients, partners and employees. I am delighted he has been promoted to president of Hearst Transportation.

Prior to joining Hearst in 2000, he had a long career at Ford Motor Company, holding numerous management positions in sales, customer service and marketing. Cross earned an MBA from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wittenberg University. He is an inductee in both the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association Ring of Honor and the National Auto Auction Association Hall of Fame.

As a result of Cross promotion, new leadership has also been announced at the two automotive companies within Hearst Transportation: Jared Kalfus has been promoted to president of Black Book, which provides industry-leading used vehicle valuation and residual value forecast solutions; and Jeff Nosek has been promoted to president of MOTOR Information Systems, the premier supplier of automotive repair data in the U.S. and Canada. Both promotions are also effective immediately.

Kalfus was most recently executive vice president, revenue, at Black Book. He joined the company in 2012 and held licensing and sales leadership positions, including senior vice president of sales. He has spent his 26-year career in the automotive industry at leading companies, including Cox Automotive/Manheim, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and CarsDirect.com. Kalfus holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Florida.

Nosek was most recently executive vice president, revenue, at MOTOR Information Systems. He has more than two decades of automotive enterprise software, data and professional services experience. He joined MOTOR in 2016 as senior vice president of sales. Prior to that, Nosek held new business and sales positions at Compuware, ADP Dealer Services and CDK Global. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Central Michigan University.

It is my honor to lead the talented Hearst Transportation team, Cross said. I look forward to working with Jared, Jeff and all our colleagues at Black Book, MOTOR, CAMP and Noregon to serve our customers, build new capabilities and take us to the next level of growth.

The Transportation portfolio of aviation and automotive data and software companies includes CAMP Systems International, Black Book, MOTOR Information Systems and Noregon Systems, the leading connected vehicle solution provider to the medium and heavy-duty truck industry.

About Hearst

Hearst is a leading global, diversified media, information and services company with more than 360 businesses. Its major interests include ownership in cable television networks such as A&E, HISTORY, Lifetime and ESPN; global financial services leader Fitch Group; Hearst Health, a group of medical information and services businesses; transportation assets including CAMP Systems International, a major provider of software-as-a-service solutions for managing maintenance of jets and helicopters; 33 television stations such as WCVB-TV in Boston and KCRA-TV in Sacramento, California, which reach a combined 19% of U.S. viewers; newspapers such as the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle and Times Union (Albany, New York); and nearly 250 magazines around the world, including Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Men's Health and Car and Driver, and digital services businesses such as iCrossing and KUBRA. Follow us on Twitter @Hearst. To learn more about Hearst, visit hearst.com.

About Hearst Transportation

Hearst Transportation includes aviation and automotive data and software companies CAMP Systems International, Black Book, MOTOR Information Systems and Noregon Systems. The mission of Hearst Transportation is to provide clarity in a complex and rapidly advancing industry through SaaS and DaaS solutions that are embedded in customer workflows and empower industry professionals to make timely business decisions with greater precision and authority.
HONG KONG (AP)  A Hong Kong court on Monday sentenced activist and business tycoon Jimmy Lai to 13 months in jail for urging participation in last years banned Tiananmen vigil, amid a crackdown by Chinese authorities that has rolled back the semi-autonomous city's civil liberties.

The District Court convicted seven others on similar charges and handed out sentences of up to 14 months.

Hong Kongs government has banned the candlelight vigil for the past two years on pandemic control grounds, although it is widely believed the ban is intended to be permanent as authorities look to squelch the city's pro-democracy movement.

Lai, the founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, has already been jailed for taking part in pro-democracy protests for which he will serve a total of 20 months.

In the latest case, he was convicted on Thursday of inciting others to take part in the unauthorized assembly to memorialize those killed in the armys bloody crackdown on student-led pro-democracy protests that centered on Beijings Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Two other defendants convicted along with Lai, lawyer Chow Hang-tung and former reporter Gwyneth Ho, were sentenced to 12 and six months respectively for participating in the vigil. Chow was also sentenced for inciting others to join.

The trio had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Others sentenced Monday included Lee Cheuk-yan, the former chairman of the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China. Lee received 14 months for organizing last year's unauthorized assembly, during which thousands of people gathered to light candles and sing songs in Hong Kongs Victoria Park despite police warnings that they may be breaking the law.

The remainder were given sentences ranging from four months, two weeks, to nine months.

The Hong Kong Alliance previously organized a candlelight vigil each June, the only large-scale public commemoration on Chinese soil of the 1989 crackdown in Beijing.

More than a dozen activists had already been convicted over the banned vigil, most of whom pleaded guilty, including outspoken activist Joshua Wong, who was given 10 months in jail for participating. He was already in jail after a previous conviction on other charges related to his activism.

Two other activists in the case, Nathan Law and Sunny Cheung, have fled the city.

Lai's Apple Daily was forced to shut down in June after police froze $2.3 million of its assets, searched its office and arrested five top editors and executives. Police also accused the individuals of foreign collusion to endanger national security.

The Hong Kong Alliance disbanded in September, amid accusations from the government that the organization was working for foreign interests. Leaders of the alliance categorically denied the accusations.

Lai, 73, is currently serving a separate 14-month jail term for other convictions earlier this year also related to unauthorized rallies in 2019, when hundreds of thousands repeatedly took to the streets in the biggest challenge to Beijing since the British handed over the city to Chinese control in 1997 under a one country, two systems framework.

Under that arrangement, Beijing promised that the territory could retain its freedoms not found on the mainland for 50 years, but has largely reneged on that pledge by severely curtailing free speech and barring pro-democracy politicians from office.

China last year passed a broadly defined national security law which has been viewed as codifying Beijing's repressive tactics, effectively ending Western-style civil liberties in Hong Kong.

In the face of criticism at home and abroad, Chinese and Hong Kong officials have repeatedly emphasized promotion of the law and its supposed role in safeguarding national security and social stability, even to students at the lowest grades.

At a meeting of kindergarten and primary school teachers Monday, Justice Secretary Teresa Cheng lectured on the need to deepen the education sectors correct understanding" of the legislation and Hong Kong's revised electoral system that stacks the Legislative Council with deputies loyal to Beijing.

The law aimed to close national security loopholes by effectively preventing, suppressing and imposing punishment for any act that endangers national security," Cheng said, adding that she expects teachers to impart correct knowledge" of such matters.

The Hong Kong government and Beijing have rejected accusations that the new electoral system undermines democracy, saying it was merely a move to improve the efficiency of the city's Legislative Council.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Monday reiterated that this month's council election is entirely an internal affair of China, and no external forces with ulterior motives are allowed to make irresponsible remarks about it."

We urge the parties concerned to abandon their prejudice and malice, stop smearing and discrediting Hong Kongs democratic development, and stop interfering with and undermining the Special Administrative Region election," Wang told reporters at a daily briefing.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection voted Monday to recommend contempt charges against former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows as lawmakers revealed a series of frantic texts he received as the attack was underway.

The texts, provided by Meadows before he ceased cooperating with the committee, revealed that members of Congress, Fox News anchors and even President Donald Trumps own son were urging Meadows to push Trump to act quickly to stop the siege by his supporters.

We need an Oval address," Donald Trump Jr. texted Meadows as his father's supporters were breaking into the Capitol, sending lawmakers running for their lives and interrupting the certification of President Joe Biden's victory. "He has to lead now. It has gone too far and gotten out of hand.

Trump Jr. added, "Hes got to condemn this s- ASAP."

Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the panel's vice chairwoman, detailed the texts obtained by the committee as the panel voted to recommend the contempt charges against Meadows, who did not show up for a deposition last week after his lawyer said he would stop cooperating.

The panel voted 9-0 to recommend the contempt charges. The House is expected to vote Tuesday to refer the charges to the Justice Department, which will decide whether to prosecute the former Republican congressman.

Cheney said the texts show Trump's supreme dereliction as he refused to strongly condemn the violence of his supporters, and also raise questions about whether he sought to obstruct the congressional certification through inaction.

These texts leave no doubt, Cheney said. The White House knew exactly what was happening at the Capitol.

The vote comes as the panel has already interviewed more than 300 witnesses, and subpoenaed more than 40 people, as it seeks to create the most comprehensive record yet of the lead-up to the insurrection and of the violent siege itself. The committee's leaders have vowed to punish anyone who doesn't comply, and the Justice Department has already indicted longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon after he defied his subpoena this fall.

Whatever legacy he thought he left in the House, this is his legacy now, committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said of Meadows  a former Republican congressman from North Carolina  ahead of the vote. His former colleagues singling him out for criminal prosecution because he wouldnt answer questions about what he knows about a brutal attack on our democracy. Thats his legacy.

In a Monday letter to Thompson, Meadows attorney George Terwilliger said the contempt vote would be unjust because Meadows was one of Trumps top aides and all presidents should be afforded executive privilege to shield their private conversations. Meadows himself sued the panel, asking a court to invalidate two subpoenas that he says are overly broad and unduly burdensome.

Terwilliger noted that the contempt statute has been used infrequently over time and argued that a contempt referral of a senior presidential aide would do great damage to the institution of the Presidency.

The committee has gradually teased a handful of the emails and texts Meadows had provided to the committee before he ended his cooperation  including 6,600 pages of records taken from personal email accounts and about 2,000 text messages. The panel has not released any of the communications in full.

On Monday, Cheney read the texts from Trump Jr. and a series of Fox News hosts as those in Trumps inner circle attempted to reach the president through his chief of staff, imploring him to take action against the violence that was taking place outside and inside the Capitol.

Hey Mark, the president needs to tell people in the Capitol to go home ... this is hurting all of us ... he is destroying his legacy, Fox News host Laura Ingraham texted Meadows, according to the committee.

Please get him on tv. Destroying everything you have accomplished, Brian Kilmeade wrote.

In response to one text from Trump Jr., Meadows texted: Im pushing it hard. I agree.

Cheney also detailed texts that she said were from members of Congress and others in the Capitol.

Hey, Mark, protestors are literally storming the Capitol, read one text. "Breaking windows on doors. Rushing in. Is Trump going to say something?

Another appeared to come from a member in the House chamber. Theres an armed standoff at the House Chamber door, the text read, according to the panel.

If Meadows had appeared for his deposition, lawmakers had planned to ask him about Trumps efforts to overturn the election in the weeks before the insurrection, including his outreach to states and his communications with members of Congress.

Trumps former top White House aide is uniquely situated to provide key information, having straddled an official role in the White House and unofficial role related to Mr. Trumps reelection campaign, the panel said in a 51-page report released Sunday evening.

As part of its list of questions for Meadows, the panel says it wanted to know more about whether Trump was engaged in discussions regarding the response of the National Guard, which was delayed for hours as the violence escalated and the rioters beat police guarding the Capitol building.

The documents provided by Meadows include an email he sent to an unidentified person saying that the Guard would be present to protect pro Trump people," the panel said, and that more would be available on standby. The committee did not release any additional details about the email.

In a transcript of the deposition Meadows skipped, committee staff said they would have interviewed Meadows about emails to leadership at the Department of Justice on December 29th and 30th, 2020, and January 1st, 2021, encouraging investigations of suspected voter fraud, even though election officials and courts across the country had rejected those claims.

In a text exchange with an unidentified senator, the committee said, Meadows said Trump believed Vice President Mike Pence had power to reject electors in his role presiding over the Jan. 6 certification.

Pence did not have that power under the law, as the vice presidents function is largely ceremonial.

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Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.
MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP)  An Amazon warehouse worker in Illinois who was an outdoorsman and avid motorcycle rider. A Kentucky judge known for his common sense. A typical" grandmother from Missouri.

These were among the dozens of people killed during Friday night's tornadoes that ripped through five states in the Midwest and South. There were more than a dozen confirmed deaths in Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri and Tennessee, but those numbers were expected to rise. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has warned that his states death toll alone could exceed 100.

Experts say one of the twisters likely broke a nearly 100-year-old record for how long a tornado stayed on the ground in a path of destruction.

Here are some of the people who perished during the tornadoes.

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Brian Crick, a judge for two Kentucky counties, was known for his sound judgment when it came to solving problems, a fellow judge said.

Crick, 43, was a district judge for Muhlenberg and McLean counties who handled criminal misdemeanor cases, traffic court and juvenile cases, said Circuit Judge Brian W. Wiggins. Wiggins said he has known his fellow judge since 2005, when Crick was a public defender. He later was in private practice before taking the bench in 2011.

Many of the defendants who came before him werent represented by attorneys, and Crick was very good about seeing to it that their rights were protected, Wiggins said. He had a very common sense approach. He was very level-headed about how to handle cases and how to talk to people.

Wiggins is survived by a wife and three children, all of whom made it through the storm without major injuries, Wiggins said. He was just a consummate family man ... very engaged with his children and his wife. They were number one to him.

We are especially heartbroken to get the news, Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice John Minton said in a statement. This is a shocking loss to his family, his community and the court system and his family is in our prayers.

___

Two of June Pennington's children said the Manila, Arkansas, resident was devoted to her four children and nine grandchildren and had a particular soft spot for animals.

Pennington, 52, was working as an assistant manager at a Dollar General store in nearby Leachville, Arkansas, when it was hit.

She didnt love anything as much in life as her kids and grandkids, said Christie Pennington. She was truly selfless and loved whole-heartedly."

David Benefield, the oldest of June Pennington's four children, said he was born when his mother was only 14.

She was a kid raising a kid. We were just like best friends, he said. Its crazy how close you become."

Her children remember her as someone who would do anything that we asked her to do," Benefield said. Even after her children were grown, they said June Pennington wanted to spend as much time with them as possible.

Christie Pennington said her mother adopted dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, turtles and even a ferret.

If there was ever an animal in need of a home, we took it in, said Christie Pennington, who said her mom blamed her, even though her children knew better.

That was just her way out, Benefield said.

___

Clayton Lynn Cope, 29, had been working at Amazon for more than a year before he died at a company facility in southwestern Illinois.

Five other workers died at the facility located outside St. Louis.

Cope, who lived in nearby Alton, Illinois, had joined the Navy after graduating high school, and was an avid outdoorsman who also liked to ride motorcycles and play video games. He had a special place in his heart for his dog, Draco, said his younger sister, Rachel Cope.

He would go out of his way for anyone, Cope said in a written message.

-

Ollie Borgmann, 84, was a sweet and typical grandmother" who had lived in her home in Defiance, Missouri for decades.

A tornado blew through the home she shared with her 84-year-old husband, Vernon, on Friday night, blowing the house off its foundation, as well as that of a neighbor's house in the town located about 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of St. Louis.

Her son, Mark Borgmann, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that his brother, Keith, was on the phone with their father during the powerful storm when the line went dead. The next thing Vernon Borgmann remembers is waking up in a nearby field surrounded by debris. He suffered scratches and bruises but will be OK, said Mark Borgmann.

When Ollie Borgmann was found by rescuers, she was awake. She died later at a hospital.

___

Loller reported from Nashville, Tennessee, and Tareen reported from Chicago. Josh Funk contributed from Omaha, Nebraska, Mike Schneider contributed from Orlando, Florida, and Jeff Amy contributed from Atlanta.
NEW YORK (AP)  A mask mandate for shops and other indoor spaces in New York state took effect Monday as officials confront a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Friday that masks would be required in all indoor public places unless the businesses or venues implement a vaccine requirement. The rule will last at least until Jan. 15, and enforcement is in the hands of local counties.

But Republicans in a few counties, including Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell and Rockland County Executive Ed Day, have said they won't redirect local health department resources to enforce the mandate.

Still, Hochul said Monday she hopes and expects most local health departments to enforce the mandate. She urged help from reluctant county executives who are also asking the state for help with addressing rising hospitalizations.

Its a very simple temporary measure which is driven by our need to get this under control, Hochul said.

Under the mandate, businesses can either require proof of vaccination for entry or ensure all patrons two years and older wear a mask. Violators could face civil and criminal penalties, including a maximum fine of $1,000.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city would implement the mandate in a cooperative way with an emphasis on educating and working with business owners.

We dont want to penalize people unless there is overt resistance and unwillingness to cooperate, and thats very, very rare," de Blasio said at news briefing.

At the Farmhouse Tap + Tavern in Altamont outside of Albany, operators told customers they were opting for a mask policy.

This goes for everyone at the bar or a table. Once youre seated, youre more than welcome to take your mask off, the restaurant posted on Facebook. We feel this is a lot easier, and less invasive than asking guests to share their vaccination status with us.

Although past polls have shown many New Yorkers support mask mandates, some Republican elected officials have said educating the public would be a better use of resources than enforcing a mask mandate.

New York enacted a mask mandate at the beginning of the pandemic in April 2020 that ended in June 2021 for vaccinated individuals.
DEFIANCE, Mo. (AP)  Missouri officials are continuing to assess the damage caused by tornadoes that killed at least two people in the state this weekend.

Gov. Mike Parsons visited St. Charles and Pemiscot counties Sunday to see the aftermath of the storms that moved through Friday night. The same storm system also generated tornadoes that killed dozens of people in four other states with the worst damage in Kentucky.
HONOLULU (AP)  U.S. Navy divers are trying to remove jet fuel from a water shaft near Hawaii's Pearl Harbor after people using the water in their homes reported becoming sick.

Divers are making progress and are now skimming contaminants that floated to the surface, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Monday.

Its the beginning stages, well have to see where the Navys gonna go next. But at least were assessing how well we can start skimming, said Chief Warrant Officer Jose Castilla, commander of Mobile Diving and Salvage Company 1-8.

The water supply serves about 93,000 people.

Navy officials believe about 14,000 gallons (52,995 liters) of jet fuel spilled at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility inside an access tunnel that provides fire suppression and service lines for the complex.

People using the Navy's water in and near the Pearl Harbor military installation reported becoming ill, and the Navy has moved more than 3,000 families off base into Oahu hotels.

A Navy official told state lawmakers last week that the Navy does not believe the contaminated water was caused by a leak from aging underground storage tanks that sit above an aquifer.

When the work began, the Navy dive team had to wear specialized suits to protect them from the hazards in the water. But the suits are bulky and hot and concerns about overheating in the cramped space forced them to change their approach to protect divers.

Nothing worked really well right off the bat, but we were able to make smattered minor changes in the way we put things together, said Castilla.

The operation is new to the experienced dive team, which regularly works in difficult underwater situations.

The logistics, getting all the gear down here, (was) basically trial and error really, said Petty Officer 2nd Class Reed Akey, a four-year Navy veteran from Mobile, Ala. Stuff would work; stuff wouldnt work; having to go back to bring different equipment. See if that would work.

Removing fuel from the system requires workers to pump contaminates into 20,000-gallon (more than 75,000-liter) tanks. The first tank was nearly full and ready to be taken away by truck as of Sunday night.

There will be some sampling done to see how efficiently were getting enough contaminations for the volume of water that were actually pumping, said Castilla. If we skim too low, we might just keep getting water and not removing enough contamination.

The affected Navy shafts have been shut down.

The Board of Water Supply told Hawaii News Now that initial tests showed the nearby Halawa shaft was not contaminated. The Halawa shaft supplies drinking water to a broader area of Honolulu.
CONCORD, N.H. (AP)  New Hampshire has identified the first case of the COVID-19 omicron variant in the state, health officials said Monday.

The person is an adult from Cheshire County who traveled out-of-state and was exposed to another person who subsequently was identified with the omicron variant infection, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services said in a news release.
Brad Hale was getting ready to leave his house Saturday when he noticed something white in the backyard. It was a picture of an older woman, sitting in a folding chair. The back said "Ruby Tucker in Aug 1981."

The 36-year-old was stunned to find out the picture had traveled 120 miles from a storage unit in Bremen, a tiny Kentucky town devastated by last week's tornadoes. He plans to return the picture to the woman's great-granddaughter, who was scrolling through a Facebook group devoted to returning lost belongings and spotted his post.

"It's heart-wrenching to think everyone's lives now are scattered across the state," said Hale, a resident of Crestwood, Ky.

The photograph was among dozens of personal items to turn up far from home in the aftermath of the tornadoes that sowed a path of destruction across six states. The Facebook group that Hale used had scores of posts by Sunday: a pillow made from a man's button-up shirt, a birthday card, a picture of a pregnant woman with "As you can see, I'm pregnant as a pickle" written on the back.

Photographs, by far, were the most common find. In major storms, they're often carried the farthest, said John Knox, an associate professor of geography at the University of Georgia.

"They're like little wings when they go up into the air," he said.

After a historic outbreak of tornadoes slammed the South in 2011, Knox led a major study probing the trajectory of the debris. Tracking the paths of personal items posted on a Facebook page similar to the one created for the quad state tornadoes, he and other researchers found a photograph that traveled 219 miles.

Such research is crucial in helping estimate where debris might land - especially more treacherous debris.

"We were able to make a little bit of lemonade from a whole lot of lemons and understand a little more about tornadoes, especially their aftermath," Knox said.

Tucker's great-granddaughter Stephanie Burger said the photo belonged to her 84-year-old grandmother - whose Bremen home lost much of its roof. Burger does not have many pictures of Tucker and is glad to have the keepsake to pass down.

She said she knows Tucker was a "strong independent woman" who loved to play piano and grew vegetables out in the backyard - including hot peppers that Burger once made the mistake of biting into as a child.

Burger, a resident of Owensboro, Ky., said her grandma was "beaten around" in the bathroom where she took shelter and remains shaken. She was stunned to get the picture back. Burger said the sprawling online effort to return belongings exemplifies people's overwhelming desire to "do something for the ones who have lost everything."

"I saw the community come together in this tragic time," she said. "Small towns, they love each other."

Katie Posten spent Saturday morning watching her children play under the Christmas tree, grateful her family was not impacted by the tornadoes. When she went to grab something from her Subaru Forester, parked in the driveway of her Indiana home, she was stunned to find a photograph stuck to the window.

The photo was face down, with writing on the back, leading her to think at first that someone had left a note on her car. But she turned it over, revealing an old image of a woman and a child. On the back, it read "Gertie Swatzell + J.D. Swatzell 1942."

"I was really actually overcome with emotion," said Posten, 30, "because it was, like, all of that destruction felt really far away and then all the sudden felt really close."

To try to reunite the photo with its owner, she posted it on Twitter and Facebook. Thousands of people retweeted her message, but it was on Facebook, where 81 people had shared her post, that she was connected with a member of the Swatzell family.

The photo had blown from a home in Dawson Springs, a town of about 2,500 people in southwestern Kentucky - more than 100 miles from Posten's home. Many homes and buildings in Dawson Springs were leveled by the tornado. The family whose photo blew onto her car was all right, Posten said, and she plans to return it this week.

Other pieces of debris flying around the region have shown the size of the storm that ripped through parts of the South and Midwest. Part of an Arkansas "Handbook for Safe School Transportation" was found in Kentucky. That the photo made its way to Posten's home "from a town that was totally flattened," landed squarely on her window and survived a downpour shortly before she walked outside, she said, "was really remarkable."

Lynne Trotter spent a sleepless night camped in the basement with her husband and two young children Friday, refreshing an online forecast to see if the tornadoes were headed toward them.

They awoke to find little had changed at their Brandenburg, Ky., home. But there in the yard was a photograph older than Trotter - two young people smiling in front of a wall of streamers, arms around each other.

"Prom - April 19, 1986" read the careful cursive on the back of the image.

Trotter, 34, peered at it Saturday, thinking the couple looked happy and then realizing it might belong to someone devastated by the storm. She posted it to Facebook, thinking it was a long shot but could be "just some sort of little token of what you had before."

Within hours, the couple in the photograph had been identified and the man's son contacted. It may have traveled 120 miles from the hard-hit town of Dawson Springs, Ky., swept up in the storm's ferocious winds.

The son, Caleb Weaver, said he is not sure who the photo belonged to - the 21-year-old lives in Colorado Springs now. His family back in Dawson Springs are safe, he said, though his cousin is out of a job after the storms wrecked his workplace, a gas station.

His father died of a heart attack in 2009, Weaver said. He thanked Trotter in a Facebook comment, writing that it was "really cool seeing my dad from back in the day."

Trotter was surprised by how quickly it happened, but, living in a small town herself, said that's how it can be: "'Oh, this is so-and-so's cousin,' she said. "Probably enough people in that group that are from the area that they could tag people."

She lost her father, too, about two years ago.

"Sometimes I'll get flashes of something that reminds me of my dad," she said, "and it's like, 'Whoa, that was a God moment.' I believe that."
BELLE FOURCHE, S.D. (AP)  An unnamed private buyer purchased Big John, a 67-million-year-old Triceratops skeleton that was uncovered in Perkins County in 2014, for $7.7 million at a Paris auction on Oct. 21.

Walter Stein, a professional dinosaur fossil hunter and vertebrate paleontologist who specializes in Late Cretaceous theropods, has discovered, excavated, or prepared more than 40 dinosaur skeletons and hundreds of isolated fossils over the last 25 years.

Stein, of Belle Fourche-based PaleoAdventures, was the lucky paleontologist who discovered Big John in 2014, the Black Hills Pioneer reported. He said that even after a quarter of a century honing his craft, being the first person to set eyes upon a piece of history that has been buried for more than 65 million years never gets old.

Every time you find a skeleton, its a celebration. We do a little victory dance in the badlands whenever you find something cool, Stein told the Pioneer in a Thursday email. It was certainly an honor to find this beast and help bring it back to life, so to speak. When I was 6, I dreamed of heading west and digging dinosaurs, so every day I get to do this, Im living my dream.

PaleoAdventures is a small, family-owned independent commercial paleontology company dedicated to helping preserve the vertebrate fossils, such as those of dinosaurs and marine reptiles, long buried under the surface of the Northern Plains. Stein and his wife, Heather Stein, created PaleoAdventures in 2005, and provide a wide range of services including paleontological education and tours.

Stein unearthed Big John, a Triceratops dating to the late Cretaceous period, in 2014 north of Butte County within in the Hell Creek Formation.

Since the discovery, Big John has been declared the Guinness World Record title holder of the largest documented skeleton of a Triceratops dinosaur. The mounted skeleton measures approximately 23-feet-5-inches long from snout to tail and stands 8-feet-10-inches high at the hips. The reconstructed skull measures 8-feet-7-inches long and 6-feet-6-inches wide with a basal skull length of 5-feet-1-inches, making it 510% larger than any other Triceratops skull reported to date, according to Guinness.

Resurrecting Big John

In the summer of 2014, Stein said he was exploring an area of a private Mud Butte ranch in southwestern Perkins County that hed recently contracted to explore for palaeontologic findings.

I drove to a patch of badlands, jumped out of the truck, and within maybe 10-15 minutes of searching, I found the skeleton, Stein said, adding that he spotted the exhilarating find from 20 feet away.

Stein recalled that he observed a large debris field of broken fragments of the fossilized skeleton that led into a hillside, indicating that Big John had been weathering for a very long time.

One of the first bones I noticed was the remains of a brow horn going into the mud, he said. It was in rough shape, but I could immediately tell it was from a Triceratops, and a big one at that.

Fueled by enthusiasm, Stein said he began excavating the skeleton  a task that sounds easier in phrase than in practice.

You dont just find some bones and throw them into the back of a pickup truck, he explained. Its a long process and a lot of hard work.

After notifying the landowners of the discovery, Stein said he began documentation of the find, logging details about the geology and stratigraphy, and surveying a baseline for mapping. We triple checked the location to make sure we were where we thought we were, he said. Then we got down to excavation and documentation.

Stein said he and his team spent the better part of two summers to complete the dig operation, unearthing approximately 40% of the prehistoric animals skeleton and about 70% of the skull. A feat of that magnitude requires many helpful hands, and for Stein, hes grateful for those who pitched in to assist with uncovering the ancient remains.

PaleoAdventures is a small, family-run company, Stein said. My wife and I have been blessed with lots of family and friends who have helped our operations over the years.

To exhume Big John, Stein said six other people helped on the dig, including two of his guides, a summer intern, a friend, Heather Stein, his wife, and the couples oldest son, William.

I even hired an excavator to come help take some of the overlying rock off of the top to make it easier to get to the bone-bearing layer, he said. Getting Big J out of the ground was a group effort.

The owners of the property also assisted with the effort, Stein said.

Big John is named after the landowner, John R., who unfortunately passed away due to COVID last year, he said. John was one of the nicest and kindest guys Ive ever met. He would give you the shirt off of his back if you needed it. So, I hope the skeleton is a great tribute to this great man and his wonderful family.

Stein declined to provide the landowners last name to protect his privacy.

Like most dinosaur skeletons, Stein said Big John had an interesting taphonomic story. Taphonomy is the study of how organisms decay and become fossilized or preserved in the paleontological record.

One day, 67 million years ago, our Triceratops died out on a muddy floodplain near a river system, he said. Shortly after, the river flooded its banks, dumping a bunch of mud and debris around the skeleton. This covered portions of the body, like the one shoulder and arm, but left other parts sticking up in the air.

As time passed, the portions of Big John that were exposed to the air and elements deteriorated, broke down, and were displaced by scavengers or stream currents, Stein explained.

Eventually, these were covered with a second layer, but this time sand, he said. The bones in the mud were buried first and (as a result were) much better preserved. The ones up in the sand, like the horns and frill, were exposed longer and not in as good of shape.

Exacerbating the situation, Stein said groundwater was able to remain in the sand layer longer, introducing minerals like iron sulfides to portions of the skeleton.

 which is not a great thing for dinosaur bone, he said. We call this iron-pyrite disease, which produces a lot of iron concretion and secondary minerals like gypsum which blow apart the bone.

To add insult to injury, Stein said that tree and vegetation roots preferred the conditions of sandy layers due to the groundwater that the strata held well.

So, (the parts of Big John) in the sand layers (were) pretty root rotted and weathered by the time I found it, he said.

In short, the skeleton was what we paleontologists call disarticulated, but associated, Stein said, explaining that portions of Big John were found in a main pile where he fell, including the skull, shoulder, arm, vertebras, and ribs, while the legs and tail were washed approximately 13-16 feet further downstream from the main pile.

Stein said when you look in the right places, its not hard to find dinosaur bone.

The trick is to know how to get it out of the ground in one piece, he said. Whenever you find a skeleton and its over 20% complete, thats a win. So, with each bone, we knew we had a good one.

As Stein and crew uncovered bones in the field, he said they brought the fossils to their lab to begin fossil preparation  the process of removing a fossil specimen from the surrounding matrix in which it is embedded. Preparation of a skeleton the size of Big Johns is slow moving and sometimes daunting, he said.

With just me doing most of the prep work, it was an incredibly slow process, Stein said, adding that it took him approximately a months time to complete Big Johns left lower jawbone. This was a big dinosaur, too, with heavy bones, he said.

Following preparation, Stein said he would have loved to assemble the gargantuan artifact himself. However, he said the PaleoAdventures facility did not have enough space to accommodate doing so properly.

So, for approximately six years, Stein said he and his crew tried to find Big John a home in a museum, to no avail.

Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S., after consulting with the landowners of the property that formerly served as Big Johns resting place, the decision was made to sell the unfinished and mostly unprepared 40% complete Triceratops skeleton to an Italian company.

After the sale, Stein said the company commenced preparations for an auction of Big Johns remains which entailed a years worth of tedious effort to prepare, restore, and assemble the skeleton utilizing castings of original parts to help fill in the missing parts not recovered from the dig site.

They did a good job with it, and I wish them well, he said of the Italian company which sold the skeleton for $7.7 million in an Oct. 21 auction.

Following his 2020 sale of the skeleton, Stein said he and Big John parted ways.

Once we sold the skeleton to the Italians, we were out of it, he explained. Id like to say we were millionaires right now, but we arent. We sold the skeleton for a small fraction of what they got at auction.

Stein said he watched the auction, which was livestreamed online, and was shocked by the multimillion-dollar price tag Big John acquired.

Triceratops, being a comparatively common genus, has never brought that kind of money, he said.

After the shock wore off, Stein said he felt a little sad to see Big John go.

Unfortunately, because of the auction format, (the skeleton) was picked up by a private bidder and not a museum, he said. I would have felt better about it had it gone to a museum. Hopefully the new owner will put it on public display somewhere soon, so others can love the specimen like we did.

Parting with specimens found in the field and painstakingly cared for by Stein and his crew can be bittersweet, he said.

When you love fossils as much as I do, its tough to just let them go, even if its to a good home, he said. Having said that, we are a private company, and we do need to pay the electric bill.

Unlike academic institutions, Stein said that private paleontological outfits like his dont qualify for grant funds and cannot collect tax revenue to assist with funding operations. Additionally, he said that landowners deserve to be compensated for skeletons found on their properties.

So, one of the ways we stay independent, is via guided dig site tours each summer, Stein said. Another way is by selling common fossils and skeletons. Whenever we find a $10,000 (valued) Tyrannosaurus rex tooth, I call that nature providing me a grant.

While Stein may not be a millionaire as a result of Big Johns sale, his passion fuels PaleoAdventures forward momentum, which he hopes could offer some light at the end of the tunnel with the goal of retaining more dinosaurs found in South Dakota.

It has always been our goal to build our own dinosaur museum right here in western South Dakota, he said. Unfortunately, my wife and I were not born with silver spoons in our mouths, and building a museum takes a lot of money and time.

With a small field station in Belle Fourche and museum exhibits on display for visitors to take in, Stein said the space is too small to accommodate his dream.

This winter, I am working on raising capital, finding investors, and putting some of our museum plans into motion, he said. Hopefully by 2023, we will be poised and ready to keep more dinosaurs in South Dakota.
KITTERY, Maine (AP)  The Navy is reconstituting a squadron to oversee submarines while they're being repaired and overhauled at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

Capt. Daniel J. Reiss will move from Norfolk, Virginia, to oversee the new squadron at the shipyard in Kittery, Maine.

Squadron 2 will provide administrative, manning, logistical, operational planning and readiness support for attack submarines and crews during their time in Portsmouth. Those oversight duties were previously performed by squadrons based in Connecticut.

There is benefit to having a dedicated squadron staff on-site, focused on the unique needs of crews in this stage of their readiness cycle, Reiss said.

The change, which became formal with a ceremony on Friday, revives the tradition of a storied squadron that was created in the 1930s and relocated to the Pacific theater in World War II.

After the war, the squadron returned to Groton, Connecticut, and featured various classes of submarines including the first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, before the unit was disbanded in 2012.

The reconstituted Squadron 2 will comprise of 25 personnel when it's fully staffed, said Lt. Seth Koenig, spokesperson for Submarine Readiness Squadron 32 at Naval Submarine Base New London.

Reiss said he's eager to address challenges by submarine crews locally instead of from 150 miles away in Connecticut. There are currently five Virginia- and Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarines at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

"We look forward to getting these crews and their boats back in the fight, stronger and tougher than when they arrived, he said.
BEIRUT (AP)  Syrian Kurdish-led forces said Monday their ant-terrorism unit, with U.S.-led coalition support, killed five suspected Islamic State group fighters in a raid to break up a militant cell in Syrias east.

The Syrian Democratic Forces unit carried out the joint operation with the international coalition near Busayrah, a village in the eastern countryside of Deir el-Zour province. It targeted a dangerous IS cell based on intelligence and reconnaissance of their presence in the area.

The militants opened fire at the raiding force, which had besieged the area, the SDF said in a statement. The force responded, killing five suspected IS members, it said. The operation came after attacks against the local administration and security forces.

There was no immediate response from the U.S.-led coalition.

Activists and a war monitor reported the raid, suggesting civilians were among those killed.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war, said the raid was conducted with aerial support from U.S.-led forces. It targeted a wanted IS member who fled as the SDF force arrived and was shot dead while fleeing on his motorcycle. The Observatory, which relies on a network of local activists, said the force then captured the father of the wanted suspect and his brother and shot them dead outside their home.

The Euphrates Post, a media group covering eastern Syria, said a man and his two sons had taken cover in their farm house barn during the two-hour raid and were targeted for refusing to hand themselves in. Another group reported clashes before the man and his sons were killed.

There was no immediate response from the Islamic State group.

IS has been active in the desert area of east and central Syria since losing control of territory in Syria in 2019 following a military campaign by Kurdish forces in collaboration with the U.S.-led coalition.

Thousands of militants hiding in the deserts of Syria and Iraq have since carried out attacks on government targets and Kurdish forces as well as military posts and oil infrastructure.

Deir el-Zour province is also rife with residents discontent. Despite its oil resources, the majority-Arab province remains one of Syrias most impoverished and its residents accuse the Kurdish-led administration of discrimination.

A resident of the area said Busayrah had been under a security lockdown since Friday evening following an attack on an SDF checkpoint in which a civilian was killed, setting off an angry response from residents that turned into a gunfight.
LONDON (AP)  An American citizen who left Britain after being involved in a crash that killed a teenage motorcyclist is to face charges in a British court, prosecutors said Monday.

In an apparent breakthrough in the long-deadlocked case, the Crown Prosecution Service said the case against Anne Sacoolas would be heard at Londons Westminster Magistrates Court on Jan 18. She faces a charge of causing death by dangerous driving.

While the challenges and complexity of this case are well known, we remain committed to securing justice in this matter, the prosecution service said.

Details of how the hearing will take place remained unclear. Britain's Press Association news agency reported that Sacoolas would appear by video link from the United States, though a spokesperson for the U.S. law firm representing her said: While we have always been willing to discuss a virtual hearing, there is no agreement at this time.

Sacoolas is accused of killing 19-year-old Harry Dunn in a collision outside RAF Croughton, an air base in eastern England used by U.S. forces, in August 2019. She returned to the U.S. days later and the American government invoked diplomatic immunity on her behalf, prompting an outcry in Britain.

Dunns family have pressed politicians in Britain and the United States to get Sacoolas to face British justice, but an extradition request was refused by U.S. authorities.

Dunns mother, Charlotte Charles, said the family felt very emotional and overwhelmed, having just learned the news that Mrs. Sacoolas is now to face our justice system. It is all that we asked for following Harrys death.
POOLER, Ga. (AP)  Police are investigating a deadly hit-and-run crash in coastal Georgia.

The collision happened early Sunday morning in the city just west of Savannah, the Pooler Police Department said. Police say they found a female dead shortly after 6 a.m. Sunday on Pine Barren Road.

Police are searching for a gold or silver vehicle with damage to its front end and missing windshield wipers, WTOC-TV reported.

Police are asking anyone with information about the crash to call them.
DrPixel/Getty Images

The City of San Antonio announced the first two Bexar County cases of omicron, the latest COVID-19 variant, on Monday, December 13. According to the announcement, the samples were collected from patients on November 27 and December 7. The variant was detected through genome testing done by UT Health San Antonio. Metro Health is urging vaccinations and boosters for residents who are eligible.

Metro Health has been monitoring this situation the past few weeks as it has been unfolding around the globe, so we expected to see cases in Bexar County eventually, Metro Health director Claude A. Jacob says in the news release. Vaccination continues to be the best defense and protection against COVID-19. We recommend that individuals who are not vaccinated do so as soon as possible to help protect themselves from the Omicron variant.
Billy Calzada /San Antonio Express-News

Everyone on San Antonio's military bases will have to wear face masks inside all facilities starting Monday, December 13, citing a rise in COVID cases. Joint Base San Antonio announced on December 11 that everyone inside any facilities at its three installations will have to wear a mask starting today, regardless of vaccination status. This also includes Camp Bullis.

The new rule comes from installation commander Brig. Gen. Caroline Miller. A Facebook post from JBSA says the order was issued due to an increase in local COVID-19 cases.
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Rick Perry is running for governor  but not that Rick Perry.

The Republican Party of Texas updated its list of candidate filings Monday  hours before the deadline for the March primary election  to include a Rick Perry running for governor. The party quickly confirmed that it was not Rick Perry, the former governor and U.S. energy secretary, against Gov. Greg Abbott. Instead it's Ricky Lynn Perry, a man from Springtown, a town in Parker County northwest of Fort Worth. On the form, the man listed "Rick Perry" as the version of his name that he wants to appear on the ballot.

A LinkedIn profile for a Rick Perry from Springtown lists his current job as a senior desktop technician for Lockheed Martin. Neither Perry could be immediately reached for comment.

Abbott is running for a third term and has drawn at least three primary challengers. While Abbott may not be facing a challenge from his predecessor, having such a widely known name on the primary ballot could complicate his path to renomination.

Rick Perry was the longest-serving governor of Texas, preceding Abbott before the latter took office in 2015.

The candidate Perry's form was notarized by Tony McDonald, an Austin lawyer who is active in anti-establishment conservative circles and has supported one of Abbott's primary opponents, Don Huffines. McDonald told the Tribune that Perry is a "good conservative activist from Parker County" whom he knows through a "friend of a friend." McDonald said he was supporting Perry and serving as his campaign treasurer.

Asked if one of Abbott's existing primary challengers had convinced Perry to run, McDonald said he was "not aware of that."

As of Perry's filing, a Tony McDonald from Travis County was still listed as an endorser on Huffines' website. McDonald tweeted that he had donated to Huffines but had not "endorsed" him.

"Maybe thats another Tony McDonald from Travis County?" McDonald said playfully. "You know those sorts of mixups happen. "

Abbott's campaign, meanwhile, scoffed at Perry's filing. The governor's top political strategist, Dave Carney, said on Twitter that it was "another stupid pet trick" and that it "will backfire as these stunts always do."

The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans  and engages with them  about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is going after gun manufacturers and hes using Texas playbook to do it.

On Saturday, Newsom, a Democrat and occasional critic of Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, said he was working on a bill with the California Legislature and attorney general to allow private citizens to sue those who manufacture, distribute, or sell assault weapons or ghost gun kits.

His motivation? The U.S. Supreme Courts Friday ruling on Texas restrictive abortion law.

Texas new abortion law, which effectively blocks the procedure after about six weeks, relies on private citizens rather than state officials to enforce it by suing other individuals and abortion providers. The laws unique enforcement mechanism has come under intense scrutiny, raising concerns that it could be replicated to diminish other constitutional rights including gun ownership, religious freedom, same-sex marriage and freedom of speech.

If states can now shield their laws from review by the federal courts that compare assault weapons to Swiss Army knives, then California will use that authority to protect people's lives, where Texas used it to put women in harm's way," Newsom said in a statement.

The Supreme Court on Friday did not block Texas law, but ruled that legal challenges to the law could continue to move forward.

State Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, who wrote the law, was dismissive of Newsoms effort to restrict gun rights by using Hughes law as a roadmap. He said he didnt think his enforcement mechanism would be effective against firmly established constitutional rights.

I would tell Gov. Newsom good luck with that, Hughes said Monday. If California takes that route, theyll find that California gun owners will violate the law knowing that theyll be sued and knowing that the Supreme Court has their back because the right to keep and bear arms is clearly in the Constitution, and the courts have clearly and consistently upheld it.

That interpretation is at odds with what Texas Solicitor General Judd Stone told Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Nov. 1, when asked about whether the Texas legal mechanism could be used to restrict other rights.

Say everyone who sells an AR-15 is liable for a million dollars to any citizen. ... Would that kind of law be exempt from pre-enforcement review in federal court? Kavanaugh asked Stone during oral arguments of the Supreme Courts consideration of the Texas law.

Stone answered it would, unless Congress modified federal courts jurisdiction to do so.

Mark Lee Dickson, director of Right to Life of East Texas, said he was unfazed by California using Texas law as a roadmap to restrict guns, adding that he thinks such policies would drive people out of the state.

Dickson is a key anti-abortion activist who has helped more than 40 towns across the country pass ordinances banning abortion using the private litigation enforcement mechanism used in the state abortion law.

You know, I think thats fine, Dickson said, adding that states can pass laws that suit them. If there are people here who really dont like the abortion ban enough to move out of Texas, then maybe California is best for them. This is something all across our nation, if you dont like something, you can leave.

Newsom shared his plan just days after Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned against such copy-cat laws in her Supreme Court opinion over Texas abortion law.

By blessing significant portions of the laws effort to evade review, the Court comes far short of meeting the moment, Sotomayor wrote in Fridays opinion. The Court clears the way for States to reprise and perfect Texas scheme in the future to target the exercise of any right recognized by this Court with which they disagree. This is no hypothetical. New permutations of S. B. 8 are coming.

Gun rights advocates predicted for months that firearm restrictions would be targeted next under if the Texas law was allowed to stand.

In October, a gun rights group, the California-based Firearms Policy Coalition, filed a legal brief siding with abortion providers, arguing that Texas enforcement mechanism, which shields the state law from judicial review before a suit is filed, could allow other states to use the same tactic to limit gun access.

Every bad idea has copycats, said Erik S. Jaffe, a lawyer for the Firearms Policy Coalition, last week. I have no doubt that legislatures hostile to firearms and the Second Amendment will use either some or all of the tactics that Texas has used.

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In four separate decisions, a panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals joined four other federal appellate courts in ruling that SARS-CoV-2 does not cause a direct physical loss or damage that triggers coverage under a commercial insurance policy.

The appellate panel affirmed decisions by three U.S. District Court judges in Chicago that found a dental practice, jewelry store, bar and restaurant and hotels in Illinois and Texas were not entitled to coverage from their commercial property insurers for business income lost because of the coronavirus pandemic.

While the impact of the virus on the world over the last year and a half can hardly be over-stated, its impact on physical property is inconsequential: deadly or not, it may be wiped off surfaces using ordinary cleaning materials, and it disintegrates on its own in a matter of days, the 7th Circuit panel said in an opinion written by Circuit Judge Diane Pamela Wood.

The panel rejected arguments made by Sandy Point Dental and Bend Hotel Development Co. in a lawsuit filed against Cincinnati Insurance Co. It was the lead decision in a series of four released Thursday by the same 7th Circuit panel.

Were still discussing what the next step is, said Skokie, Illinois attorney Jonathan Lubin, who represented Sandy Point. Its obviously a disappointing ruling.

The American Property and Casualty Insurance Association filed an amicus brief in support of Cincinnati Insurance in the Sandy Point case. In a statement, the organization noted that the 6th, 9th, 8th and 11th Circuit Court of Appeals also affirmed the dismissal of lawsuits seeking coverage for COVID-19 shutdowns, as have state appellate courts in California and Ohio.

These policies are not intended to cover diseases or pandemic related losses, the APCIA said. In the vast majority of cases, insurers did not price policies to include such coverage, and policyholders did not pay for it.

The 7th Circuits opinions are the most comprehensive of the appellate court rulings so far. In addition to finding that the virus does not cause a direct physical damage or loss, the opinion disposes of a common argument used by plaintiff in support of business-interruption claims.

Because the policy covers a direct physical loss or damage, loss must mean something different that damage, the reasoning goes. That means the loss of use of the property is covered by the policy.

The 7th Circuit panel said loss can also mean the complete destruction of a property, which is how most courts have interpreted the languages meaning under Illinois law.

The panel also rejected the argument that because insurers often exclude types of perils, such as radiation, that do not cause a physical alteration of property, then those kind of losses must be covered if not excluded.

The panel said the premise is wrong because radiation actually does cause physical changes to properties. Moreover, the fact that the policy covers losses during the period of restoration indicates that the insurers was contemplating that the property would be repaired, rebuilt or replaced.

Without a physical alteration to property, there would be nothing to repair, rebuild, or replace, the opinion says.

In a separate decision regarding a lawsuit filed by the owner of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Dallas against Zurich American Insurance Co., the 7th Circuit panel went out of its way to address a microorganism exclusion in the policy. The district court judge did not address arguments that the exclusion did not apply after finding there was no direct physical loss.

The plaintiff, Crescent City Hotel Owner, argued that a virus is not a living thing, meaning it is not a microorganism excluded by the policy. The appellate panel said many dictionaries, however, include viruses under the definition of microorganism. The opinion said insurance policies should be interpreted as they would be understood by the average person.

The panel ruled that the microorganism exclusion barred coverage, as did the lack of a direct physical loss.

A third 7th Circuit panel opinion affirmed dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a jewelry store and a bar and restaurant against West Bend Insurance Co. A fourth opinion affirmed dismissal of a lawsuit filed by the owner of a Quality Inn & Suites hotel against Aspen Specialty Insurance Co.

In its statement, the insurance association repeated an argument that it has been making since nearly the beginning of the pandemic that court rulings finding that business-interruption coverage is owed for pandemic losses would undermine the stability of the insurance industry.

Only the federal government can be the financial bridge for a crisis of this scale, proportion, and duration, the APCIA said.

Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, D-New York, introduced legislation that would create a Pandemic Risk Reinsurance Program, similar to the federal governments terrorism backstop. Maloney filed a revised version of the bill in November, titled Pandemic Risk Insurance Act of 2021.

About the photo: The Mashallah jewelry store in Chicago, shown here, was one of the businesses whose COVID-19 business-interruption claims were dismissed by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Photo courtesy of Mashallah Inc.
MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP)Rescuers in an increasingly bleak search picked through the tornado-splintered ruins of homes and businesses Sunday, including a candle factory that was bustling with night-shift employees when it was flattened, as Kentuckys governor warned the states death toll from the outbreak could top 100.

Factory workers sought refuge in what was supposed to be the safest part of the building, but it may not have mattered because the twister Friday night was so monstrous, Gov. Andy Beshear said. Authorities on Saturday reported rescuing 40 of the 110 people who were in the building at the time, but by Sunday, hope of finding anyone else alive had all but evaporated.

Itll be a miracle if we pull anybody else out of that. Its now 15 feet deep of steel and cars on top of where the roof was, the governor said on CNN. Just tough.

Jeremy Creason, Mayfields fire chief and emergency services director, said rescuers had to crawl over the dead to get to the living.

A nursing home and an Amazon distribution center also were smashed in other states in the unusual mid-December swarm of twisters.

I can tell you from reports that Ive received I know weve lost more than 80 Kentuckians. That number is going to exceed more than 100, Beshear said on the Sunday morning talk shows.

Ive got towns that are gone, that are just, I mean gone. My dads hometownhalf of it isnt standing. It is hard for me to describe. I know people can see the visuals, but that goes on for 12 blocks or more in some of these places.

He said that going door to door in search of victims is out of the question in the hard-hit areas: There are no doors.

The tornado that carved the path of destruction in Kentucky touched down for more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) in the state. Eleven people were reported killed in and around the city of Bowling Green.

If early reports are confirmed, the twister will likely go down perhaps as one of the longest track violent tornadoes in United States history, said Victor Gensini, a researcher on extreme weather at Northern Illinois University.

The storm was all the more remarkable because it came in December, when normally colder weather limits tornadoes.

The outbreak also killed at least six people in Illinois, where an Amazon facility in Edwardsville was hit; four in Tennessee; two in Arkansas, where a nursing home was destroyed; and two in Missouri.

Debris from destroyed buildings and shredded trees covered the ground in Mayfield, a city of about 10,000 in western Kentucky. Twisted sheet metal, downed power lines and wrecked vehicles lined the streets. Windows and roofs were blown off the buildings that were still standing.

The missing at the candle factory included Janine Denise Johnson Williams, a 50-year-old mother of four whose family members kept vigil at the site Saturday.

Its Christmastime and she works at a place thats making candles for gifts, her brother, Darryl Williams, said. To give up the gift of life to make a gift. We havent heard anything, and Im not presuming anything. But Im expecting for the worst.

He said Johnson Williams called her husband overnight to report the weather was getting bad, the last time anyone heard from her.

Kyanna Parsons-Perez, an employee at the factory, was trapped under 5 feet (about 1.5 meters) of debris for at least two hours until rescuers managed to free her.

In an interview with NBCs Today, she said it was absolutely the most terrifying event she had ever experienced. I did not think I was going to make it at all.

Just before the tornado struck, the buildings lights flickered. She felt a gust of wind, her ears started popping and then, Boom. Everything came down on us. People started screaming, and she heard other workers praying.

Rescue crews used heavy equipment to move rubble at the candle factory, and coroners were called to the scene.

Jim Salter in OFallon, Missouri; Seth Borenstein in Washington, D.C.; Travis Loller in Nashville, Tennessee; Kimberlee Kruesi in Dresden, Tennessee; John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia; and Jeff McMurray in Chicago contributed to this report.

About the photo: Damaged vehicles and personal property are strewn over a wide area along Kentucky 81, Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, in Bremen, Ky, after a devastating tornado swept through the area on Friday night. (Greg Eans/The Messenger-Inquirer via AP)

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
PLACERVILLE, Calif. (AP)A father and son charged with starting a massive California wildfire that destroyed many homes and forced tens of thousands of people to flee Lake Tahoe communities earlier this year pleaded not guilty in court Friday.

The El Dorado County prosecutors office charged David Scott Smith, 66, and Travis Shane Smith, 32, with reckless arson. The office also charged the son with illegal conversion or manufacture of a machine gun and both men of illegal possession of a firearm silencer.

The defendants pleaded not guilty to all charges, said Emily Idleman, assistant to the chief of investigations in the district attorneys office.

The men were arrested Wednesday and remain in El Dorado County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail each. A bail reduction hearing is scheduled for Monday.

The criminal complaints do not specify how the machine gun and silencer tie into the Caldor Fire and the DAs office has not offered an explanation. The fire started Aug. 14 and crossed three Northern California counties, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate the resort town of South Lake Tahoe before it was contained in October.

Five people were injured and about 1,000 homes and other buildings were destroyed.

The complaints said both men illegally possessed a firearm silencer between Aug. 11 and Sept. 23 and that Travis Smith converted or manufactured a machine gun between Aug. 9 and Aug. 14.

Mark Reichel, the attorney for both men, said previously that the two were near where the fire started and called 911 to report flames.

Neither one has ever been in trouble with the law in their life. Theyre very law-abiding people, he said.

The Caldor Fire scorched more than 346 square miles (900 square kilometers) from east of Sacramento to the Nevada border, threatening ski resorts and other prominent recreational areas.

The district attorneys office said the case was developed with the U.S. Forest Service, Californias firefighting agency and the California Department of Justice, with help from the Sacramento County District Attorneys crime lab.

About the photo: Lela Hill sits in her familys moving truck after returning to South Lake Tahoe, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 6, 2021. Mid-move, her family was among thousands of people who were evacuated from the resort town due to the Caldor Fire last week. (AP Photo/Samuel Metz)

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
COSTA MESA, Calif. (AP)A woman has been charged with grand theft for allegedly stealing more than $300,000 in merchandise from retail stores in California.

Ekaterina Zharkova, 38, was arrested last month after an investigator with the California Highway Patrols Organized Retail Theft task force saw her stealing from a Nordstrom Rack in Costa Mesa. When members of the task force searched her apartment, they found more than $328,000 worth of stolen merchandise, the Orange County District Attorneys office said in a statement.

Investigators believe she attempted to sell stolen merchandise through a luxury online consignment store.

Zharkova was charged with four felony counts of grand theft, one felony count of receiving stolen property, and seven misdemeanor counts of petty theft. She faces up to nine years in prison if convicted on all counts.

Its not known whether she has an attorney who can speak on her behalf.

The charge comes amid a rash of large-scale thefts in California in which groups of individuals brazenly rush into stores and take goods in plain sight.

Shoplifting and other retail theft is out of control across California as a result of reckless laws that have made the risk far less than the potential reward, District Attorney Todd Spitzer said. These are not victimless crimes and if you engage in these kinds of outrageous theft schemes were going to arrest you, were going to prosecute you, and were putting you behind bars.

In September, Zharkova pleaded not guilty to a separate felony grand theft charge and misdemeanor charge of possession of burglary tools, according to court records.

She also pleaded not guilty in a felony grand theft case in Los Angeles filed in August, the Orange County Register reported.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 13)  Beatrice Luigi Gomez, the Philippines bet to the 70th Miss Universe, ended her journey as one of the Top 5 contestants.

Although Gomez failed to win the crown on Monday, the country's former queens hailed Gomez for bringing the country back in the Top 5 since Catriona Gray won the Miss Universe title in 2018.

Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach tweeted, "2018 tayo last nag top 5. We should be proud of Bea!"

"So proud of BEA!!!!!! Were back in the top 5! What a finish!!!!!!" Miss Universe Philippines 2014 MJ Lastimosa said.

Malacanang and Vice President Leni Robredo also congratulated Gomez for her stellar performance.

The 26-year-old Cebuana beauty also aced the swimsuit and evening gown competitions. She bowed out after the question and answer portion for the Top 5 candidates.

India's Harnaaz Sandhu ultimately brought home the title as the 70th Miss Universe.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 13)  The Commission on Elections on Monday defended its 2022 policy requiring candidates to only use platform-verified social media pages to mount online ads and other materials despite uproar among some aspirants.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said over the weekend that the poll body will work with YouTube to add a verified badge to the official channels of candidates, which they will use to mount promotional content.

In a tweet, election lawyer Emil Maranon said the policy appears unconstitutional, while senatorial aspirant and Bayan Muna chairman Neri Colmenares said he is scrambling to gain more subscribers to get verified.

Jimenez said candidates do not need to amass at least 100,000 subscribers to get the rare check mark beside their usernames on the platform, doing away with the verification standard through the poll body's deal with YouTube.

"We want to make sure that there's accountability for the information that they push out, and we want to make sure also that they have a credible source they can trust so that people will be able to differentiate between fake news and real news because of where it's coming from," he explained.

"That's the equivalent of a candidate saying 'I approved this message.' (Its) one of the solutions or strategies for fighting fake news to help people identify credible sources of news."

Despite the uproar online, Jimenez said no one has officially questioned the policy by writing to the Commission en banc.

"We are not really going to be changing policy just because some people on the internet misunderstood the provision," Jimenez added.

Social media firms like Facebook are also asked to submit data about online ads paid for by the candidates, parties, or their donors.

The poll body is looking to regulate the online space more during the campaign period, with social media seen to be an even bigger battleground for the 2022 race with the pandemic seen to limit physical campaign activities.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 13)  President Rodrigo Duterte assured the Filipino people of "credible and free" elections, as he guaranteed a smooth transition of power to the winner of next years polls.

"As I step down in June 2022, it will be my highest honor to turn over the reins of power to my successor knowing that in my mandate, I did my best to serve the Filipino people," Duterte said during his weekly national address on Monday.

"We will see to it that there will be no terrorism, vote buying, intimidation, and everything that will put a hindrance to an honest election," he said.

The President added that the government will remain "neutral" in its political dealings during the upcoming campaign season.

"Neither for or against kami, kalaban o kasama sa partido [We are neither for or against, whether partymates or not]. We will participate in the exercise of that right," said Duterte, chairperson of a faction of the ruling PDP-Laban.

He also reminded 2022 election candidates to exercise "utmost caution and prudence" in holding their campaign-related caravans and rallies.

"Remember that we are still in a pandemic situation and any large gathering may trigger a superspreader event," the President said. "Kindly temper your enthusiasm and act reasonably."

Duterte filed his candidacy for senator in next year's polls, despite an earlier pronouncement that he will retire from politics after ending his term.

Duterte's daughter Sara, who succeeded him as mayor of Davao City, is a vice presidential aspirant in tandem with presidential bet and former Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 13)  A presidential aspirant said on Monday the decision of the Commission on Elections that candidates can use only platform-verified accounts for online campaigning will help prevent the spread of disinformation.

"I couldn't agree more with the Comelec on this move. The use of social media platforms has almost become the qualifying barometer in educating, but ironically and worse  disinforming to the point of deceiving our people," Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson said.

Lacson said such accounts run the risk of spreading disinformation and "lead to wrong choices of officials who will lead our country in these most trying times in our history."

In November, Comelec released a resolution asking candidates and political parties to register "the website name and web address of all platform verified official accounts, websites, blogs and/or other social media pages" within 30 days of their filing of certificate of candidacy.

Over the weekend, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said they commission will work with YouTube to add a verified badge to the official accounts of candidates.

The poll body also defended the policy, saying it is a way of making candidates accountable.

"That's the equivalent of a candidate saying 'I approved this message.' (It's) one of the solutions or strategies for fighting fake news to help people identify credible sources of news," Jimenez said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 13)  In light of the backlash on the central banks redesign of the 1,000 bill replacing the heroes depicted on it, presidential aspirant Manila Mayor Isko Moreno is proposing the creation of the Department of National Culture and History.

The proposed agency will inculcate love, promotion and appreciation of our history and culture, said Moreno in a statement on Monday.

The mayor said he plans to place the likes of the National Commission for Culture and Arts (NCCA), Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), National Historical Institute (NHI), National Library, National Museum, and National Archives under the department.

Morenos pitch comes as he expressed concern about the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas move to depict the Philippine eagle on the 1,000 bills new design for its polymer banknote pilot, replacing the likeness of Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos, Josefa Llanes Escoda and Gen. Vicente Lim.

Santos, Escoda, and Lim are known for their heroism during the Japanese occupation.

The mayor urged the BSP to reconsider its decision and proposed to make the designs meet halfway instead.

Pwede naman sa kabila andun pa rin yung ating mga heroes tapos yung sa kabila yung ating national treasure, mga mahahalagang bagay o unique sa bansa natin eh andudun pa rin katulad ng agila, said Moreno.

[Translation: Our heroes can be placed on one side then our national treasures on the other, things that are unique or important to our country would still be there, like the eagle.]

Acknowledging points made by netizens, the BSP said over the weekend that necessary corrections, such as the spelling and italicizing of the Philippine eagles scientific name have already been made.

The central bank will be piloting the 1,000 polymer banknotes in April next year in a bid to introduce more durable, cost-effective, and hygienic currency to the public.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 13)  The current COVID-19 situation nationwide as of Sunday is better than in May 2020, a data analyst said on Monday.

OCTA Research Fellow Guido David said the average COVID-19 cases per day from Dec. 6 to 12 is already at 260. The 7-day average infection last hit this low in May 2020.

But compared to the conditions back then, David said the country is in a better position now since the contact tracing capacity, COVID-19 testing, and treatment have improved. He said vaccinations have also helped.

Department of Health data as of Dec. 12 show 37.4 million have already been fully vaccinated, while 54.7 million got at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. A total of 774,321 people have also received a booster or additional shot.

"Because of vaccinations, we feel more protected than last year. Kasi last year parang vulnerable tayo na yes, mababa ang cases but we were vulnerable. We didn't have any protection or shield. Ngayon, we have the protection so we are more confident now, pero like I said kailangan pa rin ng caution," David told CNN Philippines in an online interview.

[Translation: Because of vaccinations, we feel more protected than last year. Because last year, we were vulnerable and yes, the cases were low but we were vulnerable. We didn't have any protection or shield. Now, we have the protection, so we are more confident now, but like I said, we still need caution.]

OCTA's analysis also showed Metro Manila's average cases last week hit the same level as March 2020 at only 91 cases per day.

Less than 1 person per 100,000 population is getting infected on a daily basis in the region, with less than 1 out of 100 people tested turning out positive for COVID-19.

If the trend continues, David sees Metro Manila's daily cases hitting 50 or even below come Christmas Day. He also projects daily infections nationwide going down to anywhere between 100 to 200 daily by yearend.

But David cautions the public on a possible uptick in cases if health protocols are not followed, as more people go out and celebrate the holidays.

"If we're going by patterns last year, towards the week before Christmas we might see an uptick in cases," David said.

As of writing, OCTA Research does not see any indication of Omicron's presence in the country. But if it does come, David said COVID-19 cases could reach up to 5,000 daily within a month due to the variant's higher transmissibility.

"Right now we don't see evidence yet that it has entered the country. Pero ang projection nila [But their projection is] worldwide the Omicron will become the dominant variant in a few weeksIf makapasok ang Omicron now and mag-spread siya [If Omicron enters now and it spreads], then in one month we will have significant cases," David said.

The DOH on Friday noted a 27% decrease in cases nationwide from 678 daily between Nov. 26 to Dec. 2 to only 498 between Dec. 3 to 9, while there was an average of 106 daily infections in Metro Manila between Dec. 3 to 9.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 14)  President Rodrigo Duterte has asked the Department of Interior and Local Government to collect data on how much illegal drugs have been seized under his administration.

Can we have a compilation of all shabu seized? Starting during my term, kung ilan na ang toneladang shabu na na-embargo ng gobyerno (how many tons of shabu have been embargoed by the government), Duterte told Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano during a briefing with the Cabinet Monday night.

The President said he would show the data to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prove how extreme the drug problem in the Philippines is.

Well, it's all intended to apprise the human rights [advocates]. And maybe when the time comes, we will use it to show to the ICC na that's the reason why we are not, I am not going to bow down to their jurisdiction is because they would see the enormity of the problem of shabu in the country, he explained.

Ano said he would prepare the information. He estimated that the Duterte government has so far collected illegal drugs worth up to 80 billion.

Last month, the ICC announced the deferral of its review of the Duterte administrations drug war after the government said local authorities are already looking into all reported deaths during anti-drug operations, which have been questioned by a group of lawyers.

RELATED: ICC asks PH government for proof of 'genuine' drug war investigation
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, Devember 14)  The country is set to receive COVID-19 vaccines totaling 24 million doses this week.

Vaccination czar Carlito Galvez, Jr. says the deliveries are unprecedented, as previous weekly shipments only averaged 7 million doses.

"Twenty four million (doses) ang darating ngayong week... Unprecedented po 'yon dahil kasi normally seven million ang average per week, ngayon 24 million," he said during President Rodrigo Duterte's weekly briefing.

[Translation: Twenty four million doses will arrive this week... This is unprecedented because we normally receive seven million on average per week, now it's 24 million.]

Broken down, the country is expected to receive:

- 9,319,800 J&J Janssen vaccine doses

- 4,984,200 Pfizer vaccine doses

- 5,208,900 Moderna vaccine doses

- 2,000,000 Sinovac vaccine doses

- 2,969,900 AstraZeneca vaccine doses

The shipments will be a mix of donated and procured vaccines.

Galvez said the vaccines arriving now will be for use next year, adding this would mean the next administration would benefit from it.

"Ito po nag-a-assure na pwede na nating i-expand ang ating boosters, at the same time...nakumpleto na po yung ating vaccine up to the middle of the year of 2022. Ibig sabihin 'yung ating procurement and other donations, yung incoming president wala nang problema sa vaccine kasi...yung ating ginagamit na vaccine, yung dini-deliver ngayon, para next year na 'yon," he explained.

[Translation: This assures that we can expand the booster doses, at the same time we have enough vaccines up to the middle of 2022. This means with the procurements and donations, the incoming president will have no problem with vaccines anymore because the vaccines that will be delivered will be for next year.]

Galvez said the country has breached its target deliveries with 158 million doses so far. Some 108 million doses were needed this year and the remaining supply would be used in 2022.
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For Windows users, its been a rough year for security vulnerabilities and patches. Now, my view about these kinds of problems is always a bit jaded. I pay attention to what people post about on the Askwoody forums, and they typically dont say much if they have no problems. All I see are people with issues, not those with systems that install patches and reboot just fine.

That said, Windows servicing still genuinely concerns me at times. Before I look ahead to 2022, I want to dwell a bit on where we are now.

When Windows 10 misbehaves and balks at installing updates, the solution isnt always easy. Case in point: having to use the DISM technique to get a misbehaving Windows system back on track. Ive seen Microsoft support engineers use this to get Windows servers into patchable condition when theres no easy way to reinstall the OS or do an in-place repair over the top. But no one should have to rely on near-critical surgery techniques to get updates installed. Windows users should be able to use a sfc/scannow or plain DISM commands to repair their OS.

Whats behind these update issues? In my experience, the failure often involves registry cleaners or third-party programs that damage the installer software. That shouldnt happen, and yet it does. Annoyingly so.

Faced with this kind of problem, server administrators often must choose whether to spin up a new operating system  and move the roles or duties to another server  or turn to DISM commands. My recommendation to admins? Set up your deployment so you dont cringe when thinking of rebuilding any particular server. Build in resilience so you can quickly move files and roles between servers if a platform runs into update troubles. And limit your use of third-party tools.

In short: Try to keep hardware deployed in a way that mirrors what Microsoft is expecting. Dont reuse hardening techniques that you would have done on Server 2003 or Server 2008. Evaluate your deployments and try to stick with security baselines  not inherited security deployment settings.

In the last several years, weve mainly tracked issues and side effects involving Windows 10. (While Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 are still in use, their numbers are dwindling.) As 2021 fades out, Windows 11 is gaining market share and will continue to do so in 2022. Given its steep hardware requirements, many of us wont see Windows 11 until we purchase new computers; you can, of course, bypass the hardware mandates, but I dont recommend doing so. Its better to run Windows 10 for several more years on existing hardware and move to Windows 11 when you upgrade your PC.

One of the major advantages coming with Windows 11 is the size of updates. Microsoft patching can sometimes require grabbing 1GB or more of updates every month  not ideal for anyone without a Fiber connection and lots of bandwidth. In Windows 11, Microsoft has drastically reduced the size of the patching: updates are 40% smaller. That will be a boon for those who dont have the connectivity (or time) to download large files.

And now, for some 2022 predictions
12/13/2021

Photo (c) MF3d - Getty Images Coronavirus (COVID-19) tally as compiled by Johns Hopkins University. (Previous numbers in parentheses.)

Total U.S. confirmed cases: 49,938,379 (49,892,990)

Total U.S. deaths: 797,456 (797,244)

Total global cases: 270,339,576 (268,864155)

Total global deaths: 5,309,203 (5,304,524)

Death from Omicron variant reported in the U.K.

Since it was discovered, the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been considered to be a milder strain that produces less severe symptoms. But British officials report that its too soon to make that judgment.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reports that the Omicron variant is producing hospitalizations in the U.K., and one patient infected with the variant has died. I think the idea that this is somehow a milder version of the virus, I think thats something we need to set on one side and just recognize the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population, Johnson said at a public appearance.

The Omicron variant also appears to spread more easily. In the U.S., the variant has been confirmed in at least 30 states, according to the Washington Post. It was first identified in South Africa during the last week of November.

Native Americans disproportionately affected by COVID-19

Health statistics show that COVID-19 is taking a large toll on Native American communities, and the president of one of the largest Native American-run non-profits says a lot of it has to do with a lack of proper health care.

Josh Arce, president of Partnerships with Native Americans (PWNA), told the London Guardian that Native Americans generally face health inequities such as high rates of diabetes, heart disease, and other illnesses. A weakened state of overall health can make a COVID-19 infection worse.

The issues are, by and large, some of the same issues that weve been confronted with but theyve been really highlighted and exacerbated by Covid-19 throughout the past two and a half years, said Arce, who added that such challenges really permeate all aspects of Native life and communities.

Variants arent changing Mayo Clinic doctors advice

We probably havent seen the last COVID-19 variant, but doctors at the Mayo Clinic say their advice isnt changing: Your best defense against infection is to get vaccinated. They say its also wise to follow the advice that medical experts suggested at the beginning of the pandemic.

"Masking, social distancing, and hand-washing will all decrease our chance of exposure, no matter what variants are out there," said Dr. Richard Kennedy, an immunologist and co-director of the Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group.

"If we follow all the recommendations for masking, distancing, and hand-washing, and get a COVID-19 vaccine, we will have multiple layers of protection in place to keep us safe."

Around the nation

New York: Starting today, New Yorkers will be required to mask up before entering businesses in the state unless it requires all patrons to be vaccinated. New York officials are acting in response to a 43% spike in COVID-19 cases since Thanksgiving.

Florida: The University of Florida (UF) has begun a formal investigation into reports that some COVID-19 data was destroyed due to political pressure. "UF Research became aware of possible violations of the UF Policy on Research Integrity," Vice President of UF Research David Norton told CNN.

Iowa: New cases of the coronavirus are surging across the state, which officials say now has one of the highest rates of infection in the nation. The average number of new infections in Iowa rose by 55% last week, with a positivity rate of 16%.

Hawaii: The states department of health has issued a cease and desist order to NextHealth clinic on Maui, charging that it conducted COVID-19 tests without proper permits. The health department said people who received testing through NextHealth should ask their doctor for guidance on whether they should seek testing through another provider.
12/13/2021

Photo source: FDA Flagship Food Group of Eagle, Idaho, is recalling a limited number of cases of TJ Farms Select brand frozen cauliflower.

The product may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

No illnesses have been reported to date.

The following product -- imported from China and distributed in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Wisconsin -- is being recalled:

16-oz packages of TJ Farms Cauliflower, lot code 2077890089. UPC 75544000604-3

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled product should not consume it. Instead, they should discard it.

Consumers with questions may call the firm at (800) 292-9600 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (MST).
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GROTON  Brooklyn Fineran is used to having her dad away from home, out to sea for long stretches of time, sometimes missing important events like holidays and birthdays. The special guest she introduced Thursday night also understands that hardship.

Fineran, a student at East Lyme Middle School, introduced First Lady Jill Biden, the daughter of a Navy veteran and mother of an Army National Guard soldier, during a visit to Groton as part of her duties as the sponsor of the attack submarine USS Delaware.

Being a military kid can be hard sometimes, especially when I miss my dad and being away from family in Arkansas and North Carolina, said Fineran, whose father, Dan, is assigned to the Delaware.

The holiday gathering at the U.S. Submarine Veterans Club was Bidens first real opportunity to interact with the families of the crew in person. As sponsor, she will maintain a relationship with the crews and families assigned to the Delaware throughout the life of the ship.

This is so special to me to be here tonight as part of the USS Delaware family, Biden said, addressing the crowd of 80 or so mostly women and young children.

Growing up, Biden said her father would frequently take the family to see the Blue Angels, a flight demonstration squadron for the U.S. Navy. She used to love wearing her dads sailors hat as a young girl and still has his military ribbons.

Her late son, Beau Biden, served in the Delaware Army National Guard and was deployed to Iraq.

I saw that empty chair at the table whether it was Thanksgiving or Christmas or birthdays, she said, describing a feeling the families in the room knew all too well.

When her dad is home, Fineran said they spend as much time together as possible.

We watch movies, go out to eat, play outside, and have as much fun as possible, she said.

After Bidens brief remarks, she walked around the room to greet the families, who were seated at tables lined with poinsettias, and topped with green, red and silver Hershey kisses and crayons in red-striped Dixie cups in a room with three decorated Christmas trees.

Biden shook their hands, posed for pictures and even signed copies of her two childrens books in a visit that lasted about 40 minutes. She was joined by Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, Gov. Ned Lamont, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, and Groton Mayor Keith Hedrick.

Victoria Miles, whose husband Derek Johnson is a nuclear engineer on the Delaware, was excited for the opportunity for her and her 9-year-old son to meet the First Lady.

Ive explained Dr. Bidens work in cancer research specifically, and of course, her dedication to education, Miles said. But, you know, for a child, its just the presidents wife.

For Miles, Bidens dedication to cancer research is personal. Her maternal grandmother is fighting stage four brain cancer and her aunt was recently diagnosed with cervical cancer. She was able to thank the First Lady for that work during a brief interaction at the gathering.

She mentioned that she thinks of it as a non-partisan issue and that shes happy to help for whoever may need it, Miles said. She was just absolutely delightful.

julia.bergman@hearstmediact.com
MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP)  Residents of Kentucky counties where tornadoes killed dozens of people could be without heat, water or electricity in frigid temperatures for weeks or longer, state officials warned Monday, as the toll of damage and deaths came into clearer focus in five states slammed by the swarm of twisters.

Kentucky authorities said the sheer level of destruction was hindering their ability to tally the damage from Friday night's storms. At least 88 people  including 74 in Kentucky  were killed by the tornado outbreak that also destroyed a nursing home in Arkansas, heavily damaged an Amazon distribution center in Illinois and spread its deadly effects into Tennessee and Missouri.

In Kentucky, as searches continued for those still missing, efforts also turned to repairing the power grid, sheltering those whose homes were destroyed and delivering drinking water and other supplies.

Were not going to let any of our families go homeless," Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said in announcing that lodges in state parks were being used to provide shelter.

In Mayfield, one of the hardest hit towns, those who survived faced a high in the 50s and a low below freezing Monday without any utilities.

Our infrastructure is so damaged. We have no running water. Our water tower was lost. Our wastewater management was lost, and theres no natural gas to the city. So we have nothing to rely on there, Mayfield Mayor Kathy Stewart ONan said on CBS Mornings. So that is purely survival at this point for so many of our people.

Across the state, about 26,000 homes and businesses were without electricity, according to poweroutage.us, including nearly all of those in Mayfield. More than 10,000 homes and businesses have no water, and another 17,000 are under boil-water advisories, Kentucky Emergency Management Director Michael Dossett told reporters.

Kentucky was the worst hit by far in the cluster of twisters across several states, remarkable because they came at a time of year when cold weather normally limits tornadoes. At least 74 people died in the state, Beshear said Monday, offering the first specific count of the dead.

In Bowling Green, Kentucky, 11 people died on the same street, including two infants found among the bodies of five relatives near a residence, Warren County coroner Kevin Kirby said.

Beshear warned that it could take days longer to pin down the full death toll, with door-to-door searches impossible in some places.

With this amount of damage and rubble, it may be a week or even more before we have a final count on the number of lost lives, the governor said.

Initially as many as 70 people were feared dead in the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory, but the company said Sunday that eight deaths were confirmed and eight people remained missing, while more than 90 others had been located. Bob Ferguson, a spokesman for the company, said many employees gathered in a tornado shelter, then left the site and were hard to reach because phone service was out.

On Monday evening, Louisville Emergency Management Director E.J. Meiman said at a news conference that the company indicated everyone in the building during the storm had been accounted for.

We have a high level of confidence that nobody is left in this building, Meiman said. He added the death toll from the factory has not changed.

Debris from destroyed buildings and shredded trees covered the ground in Mayfield, a city of about 10,000 in western Kentucky. Twisted sheet metal, downed power lines and wrecked vehicles lined the streets. Windows were blown out and roofs torn off the buildings that were still standing.

Five twisters hit Kentucky in all, including one with an extraordinarily long path of about 200 miles (322 kilometers), authorities said.

In addition to the deaths in Kentucky, the tornadoes also killed at least six people in Illinois, where the Amazon distribution center in Edwardsville was hit; four in Tennessee; two in Arkansas, where the nursing home was destroyed and the governor said workers shielded residents with their own bodies; and two in Missouri.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Monday that it has opened an investigation into the collapse of the Amazon warehouse in Illinois.

Amazons Kelly Nantel said the Illinois warehouse was constructed consistent with code. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said there would be an investigation into updating code given serious change in climate that we are seeing across the country that appears to factor into stronger tornadoes.

Not far from Mayfield, 67 people spent Sunday night at a church serving as a shelter in Wingo, and 40 more were expected to arrive Monday. Organizers were working to find a mobile outdoor shower facility and a laundry truck, expecting many of the displaced to need a long-term place to stay. Volunteers were scrambling to meet more immediate needs, too, such as underwear and socks.

Lifelong Mayfield resident Cynthia Gargis, 51, is staying with her daughter after the storm tore off the front of her apartment and sucked out almost everything inside. She came to the shelter to offer help and visit with friends who lost their homes.

I dont know, I dont see how well ever get over this, she said. It wont ever be the same.

Glynda Glover, 82, said she had no idea how long she would stay at the Wingo shelter: Her apartment is uninhabitable since the wind blew out the windows and covered her bed in glass and asphalt.

Ill stay here until we get back to whatever normal is, she said, and I dont know what normal is anymore.

On the outskirts of Dawson Springs, another town devastated by the storms, homes were reduced to rubble and trees toppled, littering the landscape for a span of at least a mile.

It looks like a bomb went off. Its just completely destroyed in areas, said Jack Whitfield Jr., the Hopkins County judge-executive.

He estimated that more than 60% of the town, including hundreds of homes, was beyond repair."

A full recovering is going to take years, he said.

Tim Morgan, a volunteer chaplain for the Hopkins County Sheriffs Department, said hes seen the aftermath of tornadoes and hurricanes before, but nothing like this.

Just absolute decimation. There is an entire hillside of houses that are 3 feet tall now, he said.

___

Schreiner reported from Dawson Springs, Kentucky. Associated Press writers Kristin Hall in Mayfield; Seth Borenstein, Zeke Miller and Dino Hazell in Washington; Travis Loller in Nashville, Tennessee; Rebecca Reynolds in Louisville, Kentucky, Jonathan Drew in Durham, North Carolina, and John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia, contributed.
Gov. Ned Lamont on Friday said he has no plans to follow New York in requiring masks indoors or proof of vaccination even as Connecticuts COVID infections and hospitalizations continue to climb.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday announced the mandate, which goes into effect on Monday and is expected to last at least through mid-January.

But Lamont said he has no intention of prescribing a similar mandate here, instead leaving restrictions on mask wearing and proof of vaccination up to local leaders and businesses.

Im finding the overwhelming majority of folks are doing the right thing, Lamont said Friday, speaking to reporters after an unrelated event. Where I go around people  like here Ive said at this school, I want you to wear the mask, people are wearing the mask. I think youll find stores and restaurants more and more, the proprietors want to err on the side of safety so their customers and employees feel safe.

Early on in the pandemic, the Lamont administration had coordinated restrictions alongside other states in the region, and even more recently, lifting most of the mandates in unison in May.

However, Lamont has not followed other governors in the region in recent months to reinstate restrictions. Hes instead extended authority to municipal leaders to set local mandates and encouraged private business owners to enact their own rules.

Lamont said he is still coordinating on a regional basis in developing a digital vaccine passport.

We hope to get that rolled out in the next two weeks or so, a lot of businesses are asking for that, Lamont said Friday.

On Friday, the state state reported a daily positivity rate of 6.08 percent, with 3,280 new infections found among 53,948 tests. There were nine more COVID hospitalizations, increasing the statewide total to 585.

State officials also reported nine new cases of the omicron have been confirmed in Connecticut, bringing the total reported so far to 11. Of the newly confirmed cases, seven had been fully vaccinated, the governors office said Friday.

While Lamont said he was concerned about the new variant, he said he is more worried about the delta variant. Right now, thats where 99 percent of our issues are, he said.

Pfizer and BioNTech said earlier this week that laboratory tests showed three doses of its vaccine boosted protection against the omicron variant a month after the third shot as two initial doses did against the original or wild type of the virus.

The good news is the boosters seem to work against it, the bad news is its very infectious, Lamont said Friday. I dont think its going to be quite as severe perhaps as delta  well find out over the next few weeks.

While Connecticuts COVID infections and hospitalizations have been on a sharp rise since Thanksgiving, new deaths from the virus remain flat.

The latest weekly figures show there were 37 COVID-related deaths in the past seven days, a number that has not changed significantly in several weeks.

However, overall COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations have been climbing somewhat steadily since Thanksgiving. In the past seven days, Connecticut saw 25,670 new cases  double the week prior  and a net total of 162 new hospitalizations, a sizable jump from the previous week.

Deaths have been described by state officials and health experts as a lagging indicator in the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning cases first go up, followed by hospitalizations, and lastly, deaths.

But the 37 deaths recorded during the past week was seven fewer than the previous week and six more than right before Thanksgiving.

According to state data, deaths continue to skew more toward unvaccinated residents. According to a report Thursday, an unvaccinated individual is 16 times more likely to be infected than those who are fully vaccinated.

Officials have said the worst of a winter wave of COVID may be avoided because the vaccines are effective at preventing serious illness and death.

And now they are focused on getting residents to quickly get their booster shot, amid concerns over waning immunity in the initial course of vaccine and the new omicron variant, which has spread quickly, but remains mysterious to scientists and public health officials.

Whether this new variant is potentially more dangerous than others circulating is yet to be known. It has a number of mutations that researchers are closely examining.

Variant surveillance like this requires time-consuming genomic sequencing, meaning it could be some time before theres a clear picture of omicrons presence in Connecticut.
The rates of gun violence are soaring to record levels. School shootings are again on the rise. Just recently, four students were killed and seven injured when a teenager opened fire in a Michigan high school. More children are also dying by suicide than ever before.

Gun violence is a growing public health epidemic spreading across our country like wildfire.

And yet this issue has never been more polarized. It seems lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are more concerned with scoring political points than protecting the people. Students returned to school after more than a year of distance learning and already were seeing school shootings at pre-pandemic levels, with nearly 140 in recent months that have left dozens of children dead and more injured.

Its past time that politicians start doing something to protect our children, who are being murdered in our schools and streets every day. Its infuriating that the people we elect to prioritize our well-being are unwilling to do so.

Federal regulations already include a fair game law, where hunters for migratory birds are only allowed to use three cartridges in their shotguns  one in the chamber and no more than two in the magazine. But when it comes to gunning down students in a school, shoppers at a grocery store, or worshipers in a church, there are no limits.

Its unconscionable  and makes me sick to my stomach  that birds are more protected from gun violence in this country than our own children are.

Next year will mark a decade since my sweet little Daniel was shot to death in his first-grade classroom along with 19 other children and six educators. Ive spent almost every waking moment since doing everything I can to make sure more parents dont have to feel the relentless pain of never seeing their child grow up.

There is nothing more devastating than having to bury your child. Daniels light, his innocence, and his love for every living thing will forever live in my heart. His empathy for others at such a young age was a bottomless well.

I only wish our elected officials had even an ounce of that empathy; to do something about the children like Daniel who are being gunned down every day, and the shattered lives that are left behind.

Weve had some successes in improving gun safety over the years, but an expansion of the nations background check system continues to elude us. Closing loopholes that allow gun sales online and at gun shows without a background check should be the low-hanging fruit.

Its a common-sense improvement to an existing, decades-old law that has already passed constitutional muster. Its one of the few pieces of legislation supported by more than 93 percent of people from both parties, including gun owners.

What will it take to ensure that every purchase or transfer of a firearm is accompanied by a background check? How many more children, fathers, mothers, and loved ones must die before were willing to do whatever is necessary to put this simple yet incredibly powerful, life-saving solution into place?

Legislation created by U.S. Senators Joe Machin (D- W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) designed to close the loopholes proved that Republicans and Democrats can work together for the greater good. Despite their support, the legislation never moved forward. Seemingly, bipartisanship is a dirty word in Washington these days.

Its time to hold our lawmakers accountable. Firearms have become the leading cause of death for kids under 19 since my sweet, 7-year-old son was gunned down. The shooter fired 154 bullets in just four minutes before our lives, and those of 25 other families, were changed forever.

Watching expanded background checks continue to fail year after year for nearly a decade is both infuriating and pathetic. An entire generation has grown up with gun violence as a normal part of their everyday lives  a public health epidemic that is entirely preventable.

If you want to help protect our children, reach out to your lawmakers and be part of the movement catalyzing action. Encourage them to support bipartisan measures to shore up background checks. Thank our elected officials who are prioritizing gun safety policies  and demand that the others do the same.

Mark Barden is co-founder and managing director of Sandy Hook Promise, and father of Daniel, who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy on Dec. 14, 2012.
EILAT, Israel (AP)  Harnaaz Sandhu of India was crowned the 70th Miss Universe on Sunday, topping a field of some 80 contestants in a pageant that was touched by politics and the pandemic.

The previously reigning Miss Universe, Andrea Meza of Mexico, crowned her successor, a Bollywood actress, in the Israeli Red Sea resort town of Eilat. The pageant was held in the middle of the night, wrapping up at 5 a.m. local time (10 p.m. EST) to accommodate the primetime schedule in the U.S.

Sandhu said she was feeling overwhelmed because its been 21 years since India got Miss Universe crown and its happening right now.

The pageant included traditional displays of national costumes, swimwear and a series of interview questions to test contestants' public speaking skills. The top 10 showed off intricately bedazzled full-length gowns in either gold, silver or bronze. The Philippines' Beatrice Luigi Gomez wore an asymmetrical cut dress with one sleeve, highlighting a new tattoo she said celebrates her womanhood.

But the contest also drew attention in recent weeks for other reasons.

A grassroots Palestinian-led boycott had urged contestants to skip the event to protest Israels treatment of the Palestinians.

In the end, only Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim country with close ties to the Palestinians, did not send a representative, citing the global COVID-19 situation. The South African government, which also strongly supports the Palestinian cause, withdrew support for the countrys representative over her participation.

In an interview last month, Meza urged contestants to leave politics out of the pageant, saying the gathering was meant to bring together women from different backgrounds. When you are in there you forget about politics, about your religion, she told The Associated Press at the time.

Sara Salansky, an official with the Israeli Tourism Ministry, said the country was selected to host the contest earlier this year because of Israels successful coronavirus vaccination program.

The contest suffered a last-minute hiccup with the arrival of the omicron variant, which forced Israel to close its borders to foreign tourists late last month.

Most of the Miss Universe contestants were already in the country before the new regulations came into effect. But those who came afterward were given special permission to enter, albeit with a mandatory 72-hour quarantine period.

Throughout the run-up to Sundays contest, all contestants were tested for the coronavirus every 48 hours and required to obey strict mask requirements.

Amid all the safeguards, Frances contestant, Clemence Botino, tested positive for COVID-19 shortly after arriving in Israel. After 10 days in quarantine, she was declared virus free last week and allowed to rejoin the competition.

Last years pageant was delayed due to the pandemic before Meza was crowned in May for her abbreviated tenure.

Sundays contest was hosted by U.S. TV personality Steve Harvey. Organizers said the pageant was expected to reach an estimated 600 million viewers via the FOX network in 172 countries.
BRIDGEPORT  A local restaurant owner, charged with breaking the states COVID-19 restrictions in connection with a downtown party where a double fatal shooting took place in May, was denied a pretrial probation program Monday.

While Superior Court Judge Kevin Russo said he was convinced Mitchell Noel would not commit any similar crimes in the future, he nonetheless denied Noel accelerated rehabilitation.

Executive orders were breached at a time when concern was at its greatest, the judge ruled. Other establishments did play by the rules, other establishment owners did take the rules seriously.

Noel and his lawyer, Reine Boyer, declined comment as they left the Fairfield County Courthouse.

Accelerated rehabilitation is a pretrial program in which the defendant does not plead guilty to the charges but is placed on up to two years of probation. If he completes that probation the charges against him are dismissed.

Noel, 37, is the third individual charged by police over an early morning May 16 party at a Main Street site, leased by the Temple of the Way House of Worship, where two men were shot and killed around 2 a.m.

Noel, the owner of Ten20 Lounge on Barnum Avenue and the former owner of Moes Burger Joint on Main Street, was charged with second-degree reckless endangerment and violating the states coronavirus regulations.

Josiah Israel, Temple of the Ways pastor, and Christopher Mojica, are awaiting trial on charges of illegal sale of alcohol, conspiracy to commit illegal sale of alcohol and second-degree reckless endangerment.

Supervisory Assistant States Attorney C. Robert Satti Jr. urged the judge to deny Noel accelerated rehabilitation.

As a local business owner, he (Noel) has a responsibility to follow all the lawful orders. Not only was there a large crowd at the event but there was violence and two people lost their lives, Satti told the judge. The law was in place to establish a safe place.

But Boyer argued that not only did her client have nothing to do with the murders but she denied that he had anything to do with the party.

He doesnt know anything about what happened on May 16, Boyer said.

Police said people were nearly trampled as the crowd rushed for the single exit that night, turning over tables as they fled. According to police, two men were left bleeding on the floor: Charles Dimples Barnes, 38, who had been shot in the head and was pronounced dead at the scene, and Norman Peters, 40, who was shot in the arm, abdomen and thigh and died at St. Vincents Medical Center.

The homicides are still under investigation.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Noel had approached Israel about renting out the basement space for an after hours night club. Israel subsequently rented the space to Noel on three occasions, the affidavit states including the night of May 15. Noel sent Israel a $200 deposit for the May 15 party, according to the document.

As a business owner in the city, the affidavit states that Noel knew or should have known that the basement room was not suitable for an assembly. The room did not have sprinklers, a second exit, working smoke detectors or fire extinguishers.
WARSAW, Poland (AP)  Germanys new chancellor, Olaf Scholz, stressed Sunday that Europe won't tolerate attempts at undermining the territorial integrity of its nations and said that diplomatic tools like the Normandy Format should be used to de-escalate tensions after Russia massed troops near Ukraines border.

Scholz was speaking alongside Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Warsaw, where the two leaders held talks about migration, energy, European Union matters and fears of potential Russia's aggression on Ukraine.

Were watching the troop movements along the Ukrainian border with great concern, and we are making it very, very clear that the borders in Europe cannot be violated and that we consider the integrity of the borders of countries to be inviolable -- and that no one should think that they could simply be violated without serious consequences, Scholz said.

France and Germany took the lead in brokering a 2015 peace deal between Ukraine and the Russia-backed rebels, in whats known as the Normandy Format.

Scholz said the Belarus government of President Alexander Lukashenko's apparent pushing of Middle East migrants at Poland's and EU's eastern border is inhumane and a major current challenge that Europe has the duty to reject.

He vowed solidarity with Poland "against this inappropriate manner of hybrid warfare. Poland has sealed the border with Belarus to prevent thousands if illegal crossings into the EU.

Referring to the intensifying rule-of-law dispute between Poland's government and the European Commission, the EUs executive arm, Scholz stressed that the 27-nation bloc is united by the principles of democracy and said it would also be very good and helpful if the continuing discussions could soon lead to a very good, pragmatic solution, and the EU would therefore continue to be bound by these principles of democracy and the rule of law.

Morawiecki said he briefed Scholz on Poland's proposals for solving the standoff.

The European Commission is withholding pandemic recovery funds from Poland saying the governments policies erode judicial independence there.

Regarding the divisive Nord Stream 2 pipeline that is to carry Russian gas directly to Germany, Morawiecki repeated Poland's position that it exposes Europe and Ukraine to pressure from Moscow, and said it was best for it not to be opened.

Scholz insisted the pipeline was a purely energy project whose role will be diminishing with the development of renewable energy sources in Germany. Germany's regulator has suspended the approval procedure for the completed pipeline because of legal issues.

Scholz was greeted by Morawiecki, with military honors, in front of the Polish premiers office. It was one of Scholzs early visits after he was sworn in with his coalition Cabinet on Wednesday.

They also discussed complex bilateral relations under Germanys new government. The good neighborly ties are still overshadowed by World War II, especially under Poland's current right-wing government, which is saying Germany owes Poland compensation for wartime damages.

Agnieszka Lada-Konefal, the deputy director of the German Institute for Polish Affairs in Darmstadt, Germany, expects Scholz's government to continue dialogue and contact with Poland, which is an important member on EU's eastern flank and Germany's fifth-largest trading partner.

The visit comes 30 years after the two parliaments ratified a treaty on good neighborly relations and friendly cooperation.

On Friday, Scholz met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris and later with EU and NATO officials in Brussels.

Scholz, a 63-year-old center-left politician, became Germanys ninth post-World War II chancellor, opening a new era for the EUs most populous nation and largest economy after Angela Merkels 16-year tenure.

His government is made up of a coalition of his center-left Social Democrats, the environmentalist Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats.

________

Emily Schultheis in Vienna contributed to this report.
SIMSBURY  A teen escaped a home where police say two people died in a domestic violence shooting on Sunday.

Deputy Police Chief Chris Davis said his department received a call around 5:20 p.m. for a reported shooting at a Woodleigh Place home in Weatogue. Davis classified the incident as a domestic violence shooting.

Davis said an 18-year-old woman, who was identified as a family member from inside that residence, witnessed the shooting and fled the home, running to a neighbor to call police.

Davis said officers found a woman injured in the home. Davis said the woman, later identified as 57-year-old Linda Halligan, was carried to an ambulance by officers and taken to St. Francis Hospital, where she died.

As officers investigated, Davis said, a major police presence descended on the neighborhood to search the residence for another individual believed to be inside. That individual, identified by Davis as 59-year-old Bernard Halligan Jr., was later found dead in the garage of the home.

Davis said it appears one person shot the other, but detectives are investigating the circumstances of the incident.

Its a very safe community, Davis said. These types of incidents can happen anywhere.

Simsbury police said neighboring agencies, including the North Central Emergency Services Team, North Central Crisis Negotiation Team and Connecticut State Police, also responded to help with the investigation.

At this time, the investigation is continuing, but there is no threat to the public, Davis said.

Davis said two homes were searched by investigating officers.

Our hearts go out to all the family members that have been impacted by this, Davis said.

Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 860-658-3145.
Thank you for tuning in to episode 23 of The CUInsight Network, with your host, Lauren Culp, Publisher & CEO of CUInsight.com. In The CUInsight Network, we take a deeper dive with the thought leaders who support the credit union community. We discuss issues and challenges facing credit unions and identify best practices to learn and grow together.

My guest today is Oscar Porras, Senior Consultant of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Humanidei. At Humanidei, the team helps credit unions build capacity for becoming more inclusive organizations. Oscar says he saw a huge need for a more diverse workforce and leadership team when he realized he was one of the few bilingual employees at his credit union. He is driven to help credit unions better reflect the communities they serve at all levels of the organization.

During our discussion, Oscar explains that diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy ultimately helps credit unions better serve their members and become the employer of choice for talented mission-driven people. Diverse teams attract a wider range of talent into the company that contribute to a new pool of ideas, strategies, and solutions.

Listen as Oscar gives his thoughts on winning the war for talent, building a great team with diverse leadership, and better understanding marginalized communities. He dives into his tips for retaining talent by developing a path for employees. Oscar mentions that finding the right people is critical for credit unions, as people are the driving force behind technology, trends, member service, and more.

Tune in to hear about the recent purchase Oscar cant live without, the people he thinks of when he hears the word success, and the ways he spends his time out of the office. Enjoy my conversation with Oscar Porras!

Connect with Oscar:

Oscar Porras, Senior Consultant of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Humanidei

oscar@humanidei.com

www.humanidei.com

LinkedIn | Instagram | Twitter

Show notes from this episode:

What an amazing interview with Oscar! Check out all the exceptional work his team is doing over at Humanidei here.

Want to hear more from Oscar Porras? Click here.

Term mentioned: Xennials

Term mentioned: Great Resignation

Term mentioned: War for Talent

Shout-out: Jill Nowacki

Shout-out: Randall Smith

Shout-out: REACH Conference

Shout-out: Interactive Teller Machine (ITM)

Shout-out: CUInsight team

Shout-out: Oscars father

Shout-out: Oscars mother

Shout-out: Spotify

Place mentioned: Mexico

Book mentioned: Safe Enough to Soar: Accelerating Trust, Inclusion, and Collaboration in the Workplace by Frederick A. Miller and Judith H. Katz

Shout-out: Oregon Ducks

Shout-out: Audible

In this episode:

[00:40]  Oscar Porras says he originally pursued his passion of architecture and drafting first. His part-time job during college introduced him to the world of finances.

[02:48]  Oscar gives his thoughts on the War for Talent, and how to attract top talent.

[04:59]  Having strategic approaches in DEI can retain talent. What insight can Oscar give about what talent goes through when in less diverse settings?

[06:43]  With a diverse team, members can feel more comfortable asking questions to explore more credit union services.

[08:53]  What trends are Humanidei paying attention to?

[10:45]  Business in todays society still requires a human touch. Oscar discusses how humans and diversity tie into strategies for credit unions to stay relevant.

[12:01]  Oscar shares why he can longer work without a second screen for his laptop after the global lockdown.

[13:32]  From the story of overcoming, Oscar says his parents are two people who embody the word success. What did he learn from his parents?

[15:40]  Listen to what Oscar enjoys doing when he has a moment to relax or have fun.

[17:27]  Oscar suggests that leaders do this reflection if they are committed to moving DEI forward.
This is getting silly. The so-called 'Partygate' scandal has jumped the shark, as they say in Hollywood.

Attempts to keep it going by condemning Boris for taking part in a brief, booze-free Zoom quiz last Christmas are a bridge too far, a sign of desperation. Last week's revelation that Downing Street staff had held an illicit cheese-and-wine party during lockdown was a genuine news story.

As I wrote on Friday, the notion that there's one rule for them and another for the rest of us resonates with voters and won't be forgotten in a hurry.

But it pales into insignificance against the social and economic damage about to be inflicted by Plan B.

That's what the media should be concentrating on, not scraping the barrel to discover whether some junior press officer shared a sweet sherry with a secretary from the Department of Paperclips in a broom cupboard at No 10.

Attempts to keep it going by condemning Boris for taking part in a brief, booze-free Zoom quiz last Christmas are a bridge too far, a sign of desperation (stock image)

The BBC is bad enough, wheeling out embittered Remoaner has-beens to demand Boris's resignation. But Sky, now owned by superwoke U.S. corporation Comcast, is no better these days. They're desperate for a leadership contest to get rid of Boris.

Yet the sight and sound of gorgeous, pouting Beth Rigby, the Sky News political editor who was herself suspended last year for breaking lockdown, slagging off Downing Street staff for doing the same is hilarious.

True, Boris has painted himself into a corner. But never underestimate his ability to walk out over the paint.

The booster programme may have got off to a shaky start, but if he pulls it off it could prove to be his Get Out Of Jail Free card, the start of another reinvention  Boris 4.0, or wherever we're up to now.

Still, that's not to say he's out of the woods yet with investigations still under way on multiple fronts. He has questions to answer. And who better to ask them than the new host of Mastermind, Clive Myrie.

It pales into insignificance against the social and economic damage about to be inflicted by Plan B

It could go something like this . . .

Let's meet our first contestant. Your name please?

Boris Johnson.

Your occupation?

World King.

And your specialist subject?

The life and times of Boris Johnson, from December 2019 onwards.

You have two minutes to answer questions on your chosen subject, starting now. In July, you said that the lifting of coronavirus restrictions was 'irreversible'. That wasn't true, was it?

Pass.

Last week, you insisted that there was absolutely no need to bring in Plan B. Thirty-six hours later you changed your mind. Why?

Pass.

How many people in the UK have been hospitalised because of Omicron?

Pass.

How many have actually died from it?

Pass.

Last week, you insisted that there was absolutely no need to bring in Plan B. Thirty-six hours later you changed your mind. Why? (stock image)

You claim to be following the science. Yet the alarmist predictions of SAGE, Professor Legover and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine have been proved wrong time and again. So why are you still taking any notice of them?

Pass.

You once said that if the Government forced us to carry identity cards, you would eat yours. Yet you are now planning to bring in vaccine passports. Why shouldn't people eat them, too?

Pass.

Vaccine passports haven't worked in Scotland, or anywhere else for that matter. So why would they work in England?

Pass.

Under Plan B, you are telling people they should work from home, but they can attend office Christmas parties. Where's the logic in that?

Pass.

And you can sing carols in a supermarket, but not in a church. Is that correct?

Pass.

Speaking of parties, were you aware that Downing Street staff held an illegal cheese and wine 'gathering' last Christmas, when the rest of the country was in lockdown?

You once said that if the Government forced us to carry identity cards, you would eat yours. Yet you are now planning to bring in vaccine passports. Why shouldn't people eat them, too?

Pass.

If the people who make the rules won't obey them, why should anyone else?

Pass.

How many businesses, particularly in hospitality, do you expect to go bankrupt as a direct consequence of Plan B?

Pass.

Already, some Cabinet members like Michael Gove are said to be demanding we move to an even stricter Plan C. Are we going back to measuring pizza slices and arguing over whether a Scotch egg constitutes a substantial meal?

Pass.

How many more life-saving operations will have to be cancelled to stop the NHS being overwhelmed?

Pass.

Already, some Cabinet members like Michael Gove are said to be demanding we move to an even stricter Plan C

You say the restrictions are designed to save the NHS. But isn't it the job of the NHS to save us?

Pass.

How many people have died from cancer, heart disease and other serious illnesses while the NHS has been concentrating on Covid?

Pass.

Why are there fewer beds in the NHS now than there were this time last year, despite you giving it an extra 36 billion?

Pass.

Why did you dismantle the Nightingale Hospitals?

Pass.

You say the restrictions are designed to save the NHS. But isn't it the job of the NHS to save us? Pass (stock image)

The vaccine programme under Kate Bingham was a spectacular success. Why did you wind it down and hand back responsibility to the bureaucrats in the NHS?

Pass.

If you thought there was a danger of another potentially lethal variant emerging, why didn't you kickstart the booster programme earlier?

Pass.

Even if Omicron turns out to be mild, are we going to be plunged back into lockdown every time another variant pops up?

Pass.

How did you manage to spend more than 112,000 tarting up your Downing Street flat?

Pass.

Who on earth is Lulu Lytle and what's wrong with John Lewis?

Pass.

The vaccine programme under Kate Bingham was a spectacular success. Why did you wind it down and hand back responsibility to the bureaucrats in the NHS?

You claimed not to know the identity of the Tory donor who picked up the bill for the refurbishment, and insist that you have now paid for the work out of your own pocket. Where did you get the money from?

Pass.

Did you and your wife intervene to make sure that animals from Pen Farthing's petting zoo were flown out of Afghanistan before British soldiers, interpreters and other loyal staff?

Pass.

After demanding that we all fly less, scrap our gas boilers and switch to expensive electric cars to cut carbon emissions, what made you think you could get away with taking a private jet back from Cop26 just so you could attend a jolly-up at the Garrick Club?

Pass.

Do you now regret falling out with Dominic Cummings?

Pass.

Did you and your wife intervene to make sure that animals from Pen Farthing's petting zoo were flown out of Afghanistan before British soldiers, interpreters and other loyal staff?

Following the birth of your new baby daughter  congratulations  are you willing to tell us exactly how many children you have fathered?

Pass.

Who's going to win the North Shropshire by-election?

Pass.

Do you expect . . .

(beep, beep, beep) . . .

I've started so I'll finish. Do you expect to lead the Tories into the next General Election?

Pass.

And at the end of that round, Boris Johnson, you have scored no points and passed on everything. One last question: how long do you think you can keep getting away with it?
Four days to go until recess and already there is a ghostly feel around Westminster. Hardly surprising, given that government regulations now suggest we all work from home.

Heaven forbid our elected officials make the Monday morning journey to London, when they could get away with a lazy day back in the constituency watching Homes under the Hammer.

I counted just a handful of Scots Nats in the chamber yesterday. One Lib Dem showed up. Meanwhile, out in Parliament Square even the anti-vax protest failed to attract much interest. You see rowdier scenes at the sourdough counter at Waitrose.

Shortly after 4pm, Health Secretary Sajid Javid arrived to deliver a statement on the Governments booster programme. Before he even got to his feet, poor Saj copped a proper earful from a groggy-sounding Sir Lindsay Hoyle. The Speaker wasnt happy about Boriss Sunday night address to the nation about turbocharging the booster programme.

Once again, he complained, Parliament had become a second runner-up to television news. Dont expect that he and Boris will be exchanging signed bottles of House of Commons whisky this Christmas. Mr Javid announced boosters would soon be mandatory for our Covid passes. The Omicron strain he said was now causing 200,000 new infections a day. Incidentally, The Saj pronounces Omicron strangely. Oh-mee-cron. Me no like.

Before he even got to his feet, poor Saj copped a proper earful from a groggy-sounding Sir Lindsay Hoyle

The statement also provided us with a debut for Wes Streeting as Labour health spokesman. How he do? Well, hes eloquent and polite. Not without steel either. Unlike quite a few of his front-bench colleagues, he is at least presentable: Clean shoes, perfectly oiled hair, etc. I suspect mothers will love him.

Forming a U-shape around Javid were the usual Tory troublemakers including Mark Harper (Con, Forest of Dean) and Sir Desmond Swayne (Con, New Forest W). Individuals you can rest assured will not be voting with the Government on its Plan B restrictions today, though I did notice that Sir Desmond has finally acquiesced into wearing a facemask in the House. Well, more of an oily rag that he ties around his face as though hes about to hold up a train.

In the end, none of them gave Javid much bother. Saving their gunpowder for todays debate possibly. The most cutting intervention of the session came from Andrea Leadsom (Con, S Northamptonshire), who complained of the Governments intrusive and incoherent regulations.

That produced gasps from Labours benches. Im not sure they thought that Mrs Leadsom had it in her.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith (Con, Chingford and Woodford Green) suggested if the Government were serious about hitting the one million doses a day target, they must scrap the 15 minute post-jab wait requirement, which doctors had complained to him about. I can see why. While I was having my jab yesterday, the surgery got completely clogged. It caused utter chaos.

From the opposition benches, there came the usual moans and groans. Anum Qaisar (SNP, Airdrie and Shotts) wanted remote voting reintroduced so that she and her colleagues dont have to trek down from Scotland. Not my department dear, The Saj replied, thats up to Leader of the House Jacob Rees-Mogg. Good luck with that. I cant see Jacob making life easier for the SNP.

Joyless Rachael Maskell (Lab, York C) was genuinely horrified that people were still being allowed out to socialise. You know, going out to pubs and stuff. Laughing. Having fun. Absurd.

The Speaker wasnt happy about Boriss Sunday night address (pictured) to the nation about turbocharging the booster programme

But two perfectly reasonable suggestions were put forward by Labour MPs. One came from Chris Bryant (Lab, Rhondda), who advised Javid to get tough on rip-off PCR test firms that were still being allowed to punt their wares on the Governments website. Some still claim to charge 15 for a test when the real price is usually five times as much as that.

The second was from Ben Bradshaw (Lab, Exeter), who asked why travel restrictions were still necessary now that Omicron was running rampant around the UK.

Saj conceded that that was a fair point. It sounded as though he was going to lobby Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to get them lifted. From the Government benches there came gurgles of approval.

By the sounds of it, theyre going to be far rowdier later today when debating the Plan B rules. And that will certainly be one to watch.
Do you want to curb some of the awful hangovers that come with the festive celebrations this time of year?

Hangovers differ not only depending on how much you drink, but also the type of drink you decide to opt for that evening.

Mulled wine is a yearly festive favourite, but sadly makes you feel worse for wear than some other drinks because it's a sweet choice that can cause fatigue and dizziness the next day because of fluctuating blood sugar.

Whereas tequila apparently causes no hangover due to the process behind making the Mexican tipple.

Here is the inside information you need to know what drink will cause you what symptoms of your hangover the next day.

DARK SPIRITS: MUSCLE ACHES AND SEVERE NAUSEA

Congeners are a by-product of the fermentation process that goes into making darker drinks like dark rum and whiskey, red wine and brandy. Congeners have been known to make symptoms such as headaches, muscle aches and nausea more severe

Dr Zenon Andreou, a GP and online doctor for Asda Online Doctor by ZAVA, said that by drinking a lighter spirit like vodka, gin and light beers, you are consuming less congeners with each glass.

Congeners are a by-product of the fermentation process that goes into making darker drinks like dark rum and whiskey, red wine and brandy.

With 15 years of experience sourcing, trading, and learning about wine and spirits, Steve King, managing director at Bottled and Boxed, an online alcohol retailer, said that these darker spirits can prolong your symptoms of a hangover because your body has to break down both the alcohol and the congeners.

Congeners have been known to make symptoms such as headaches, muscle aches and nausea more severe.

Dr Andreou added that they can be toxic, which mfeans they interfere with your body's cell functions, hindering the body's ability to repair itself the next morning.

RED WINE: HEADACHES

Red wine has natural substances called tyramine and histamine which can cause the restrictions of blood vessels in the body, leaving you with a headache in the morning, says Dr Andreou

Red wine headache is a type of hangover specific to red wines, with some people experiencing nausea and migraines within just 15 minutes of drinking a glass.

The darker wine has natural substances called tyramine and histamine which can cause the restrictions of blood vessels in the body, leaving you with a headache in the morning, says Dr Andreou.

He added: 'These substances are sometimes up to 200 per cent higher in red wine than white wine, which is why you might feel worse after a night of drinking red.

Kerry Beeson, Nutritional Therapist at Optibac Probiotics said organic red wine might be a better alternative.

She said: 'Alcohol can reduce friendly bacteria levels in our gut but so too can those foods that tend to go hand in hand with alcohol  high sugar, high fat and heavily processed  creating a double whammy assault on the gut and the friendly microbes that live there.

'However, choosing organic red wine which has shown to be beneficial in small quantities.'

MULLED WINE: DIZZINESS, SHAKINESS AND FATIGUE

Mulled wine, a festive favourite year-in year-out, but can cause sugar cravings the next day

Although mulled wine has a lower alcohol content, when over-consumed, the natural and added sugars in mulled wine can spike your blood sugar levels rapidly, which can also cause headaches the next day.

This is due to hyperglycemia, or reactive hypoglycemia, an over or under-compensation of glucose in your bloodstream. And, as a result, can lead to unpleasant side effects such as dizziness, shaking and fatigue.

Celebrity nutritionist Yalda Alaoui said that calories vary enormously depending on the choice of alcohol you are opting for - and that affects how you feel the next day.

While a 125ml glass of wine contains around 125kcal, dry champagne averages around 95kcal, a sugary glass of mulled wine averages at 235 calories each, causing sugar cravings and a worse hangover the next day.

She says: 'I recommend staying clear of sugary alcoholic beverages and opting for dry wine or champagne to minimise the disruption on blood sugar levels and reduce cravings after consumption.

'The bonus with vintage wines is that they contain bacteria which might be beneficial for your gastrointestinal health.'

TOO MUCH OF ANY ALOCHOL: DEHYDRATION

While a 125ml glass of wine contains around 125kcal, dry champagne averages around 95kcal, a sugary glass of mulled wine averages at 235 calories each, causing sugar cravings and a worse hangover the next day

Dr Kathryn Basford, also a doctor for Asda Online Doctor by Zava, explained the making of a hangover and the science behind it.

She said: 'When you drink, alcohol enters the bloodstream and inhibits the body's production of vasopressin, a pituitary gland hormone which tells the body to retain water in the kidneys.

'Without this, water goes directly to the bladder (which is why drinkers make lots of visits to the loo) and leaves the body dehydrated.

'The headache that often signals the hangover is the brain's reaction to this loss of fluid, while the nausea and lack of energy that accompanies the headache is the body's response to low blood sugar levels and the loss of the minerals and electrolytes which help the body to function properly.

'The more you drink, the more likely you are going to feel these effects, and the longer you might take to recover.

TEQUILA: 'NO HANGOVER' IF YOU DON'T GO OVERBOARD!

Pure, quality tequila made from 100% agave goes through a different type of fermentation process which means less sugar and less congeners to make you feel worse the next day

Tequila is often considered the go-to drink for people on a night out, says Dr Andreou.

Pure, quality tequila made from 100% agave goes through a different type of fermentation process which means less sugars and congeners are inside the drink to make you feel so bad the next day.

He said: 'When consumed in moderation and alongside water to keep you hydrated, you may be able to wake up the next day almost hangover free.'
A woman was left horrified after her botched lip-filler left her looking like a character from the Grinch.

Briana, 22, from Los Angeles, California, tried to make her top lip larger by getting it injected with hyaluronic acid - also known as lip-filler - but the result was not what she expected.

After undergoing the procedure, her top lip began swelling, and eventually became enormous.

Alarmed, she shared a video of herself showing off her big lip to TikTok, and asked for advice - and it quickly went viral.

A woman was left horrified after her botched lip-filler left her looking like a character from the Grinch

Briana, 22, from LA, tried to make her top lip larger with hyaluronic acid injections, but the result was not what she expected. She is pictured before (left) and after (right) the procedure

After undergoing the procedure, her top lip began swelling, and it got so big, some of her followers said she looked like one of the residents of Whoville from Dr. Seuss' The Grinch

Many people flooded the comment section and shared their own experience with lip injections.

And while some said that her lip blowing up was completely 'normal' and that it happened to them too, others suggested she get it check by a doctor immediately to make sure she wasn't having an allergic reaction.

Aside from giving advice, other people commented and made jokes about Briana's appearance - comparing her to famous cartoon characters like the residents of Whoville from Dr. Seuss' the Grinch, a dinosaur from the show Land Before Time, and Marge Simpson.

Others even claimed she looked like a duck - but Briana didn't seem to be insulted by their comments.

She agreed that she looked 'hilarious,' and said she felt like she had to share the unfortunate mishap with the world.

'You guys, I just got lip filler and it's so f'ing swollen, is this bad?' she wrote in the clip, which has gained over a million views since it was posted last week.

In it, she turned her face to give the camera different angles of her enlarged face.

'I swell so bad too,' one person responded in the comment section. 'I don't bother with lip filler anymore because I'd need at least two-three weeks off of work each time.'

She shared a video of herself showing off her big lip to TikTok and it quickly went viral, gaining more than one million views. She is pictured before (left) and after (right) the procedure

Many people flooded the comment section, and while some said it was completely 'normal' and that it happened to them too, others suggested she get it check by a doctor

How common is swelling after lip injections? According to Great City Medical, swelling after getting lip injections is indeed normal

It said it normally takes two-three days to go down, but in rare cases it could take up to two weeks to heal

It recommend icing the area, drinking a lot of water, and eating healthy food after the procedure

It also said to avoid spicy foods and sleeping on your face Advertisement

Another added: 'I would say it's normal. Sometimes I looked even worse. It will go down.'

'This is normal, everyone commenting has clearly never had filler. Everyone swells differently, mine was worse,' a third wrote.

'Mine did that on one side the first time I got it done,' someone else said. 'They injected it into a blood vessel. I had to go back and get it fixed.'

Another viewer suggested: 'Hey, I would check and make sure you aren't having an adverse reaction to the filler just to be safe.'

'I think [the doctor] did it wrong and it spread beyond where it was supposed to,' a different message read.

The jokes also came pouring in, with one person writing, 'Thought I was on ducktok for a second.'

'Welcome to Whoville,' another joked.

'Did you ask for the bird look?' one user asked her.

'Giving Kris Jenner vibes,' one last message read.

Some people also commented and made jokes about Briana's appearance - comparing her to famous cartoon characters like Marge Simpson and the residents of Whoville

Thankfully, in another clip, Briana updated her followers and revealed that her lip had gone back to normal.

She also revealed that she talked to her doctor, who told her she was going to be just 'fine.'

'I am A-Okay. This is the first day it looks sort of normal,' she explained. 'This has actually happened to me before.

'I talked to my doctor and he said it was fine and I wasn't having an allergic reaction or anything. I just get really swollen.

'I appreciate all the concern though. I'm fine. It's still honestly even a little swollen today, but it's for the most part healed, I would say.

'I just thought I looked hilarious and thought I'd share with you guys.'

Thankfully, in another clip, Briana updated her followers and revealed that her lip had gone back to normal

And she said this actually isn't the first time this happened to her. She also revealed that she talked to her doctor, who told her she was going to be just 'fine'

According to Great City Medical, swelling after getting lip injections is indeed normal.

'This is perfectly normal and only temporary. Once the swelling goes down, your lip augmentation will look and feel great,' it said.

The company explained that it normally takes two-three days to go down, but in rare cases it could take up to two weeks to heal.

It also recommend icing the area, drinking a lot of water, and eating healthy food after the procedure.

'Avoid very salty or spicy foods, as these can irritate the lips,' their website reads. 'Staying hydrated and eating well can help the body heal.

'At night, you may wish to sleep with your head elevated to reduce blood flow and fluid retention in the area overnight. Avoid sleeping on your face.'
Bearing a striking resemblance to Martin Bashir, the actor playing the disgraced former BBC journalist in The Crown has been pictured in character for the first time.

Prasanna Puwanarajah, 40, was filming scenes for the Netflix drama that recreate the time of Bashirs deceitfully arranged Panorama interview with Princess Diana in 1995.

Dressed in blue jeans, a black leather jacket and glasses similar to those worn by the journalist, he appeared alongside Nicholas Gleaves, playing former BBC director general John Birt, and Michael Jibson, as ex-Panorama editor Steve Hewlett.

They were shooting scenes on a beach in Eastbourne depicting how the trio took the film of Bashirs interview to a hotel in the East Sussex resort to secretly edit it away from the BBCs headquarters in London.

Prasanna Puwanarajah, 40, (left) dressed in blue jeans, a black leather jacket and glasses similar to those worn by the journalist, appeared alongside Nicholas Gleaves, playing former BBC director general John Birt (centre), and Michael Jibson, as ex-Panorama editor Steve Hewlett (right)

Puwanarajah (left) was filming scenes for the Netflix drama that recreate the time of Bashirs deceitfully arranged Panorama interview with Princess Diana in 1995. Martin Bashir was a rogue BBC reporter (right)

In May an independent inquiry found Bashir had used deceitful behaviour by producing fake documents to help secure his interview with Diana.

The scenes being filmed last week were for series five of The Crown, out in November next year.

In another scandal involving Bashir, The Mail on Sunday reported yesterday that the mother of a murdered schoolgirl whose clothes he lost has dismissed his apology for doing so as utter nonsense.

In May an independent inquiry found Bashir had used deceitful behaviour by producing fake documents to help secure his interview with Diana (pictured)

It has taken nearly 20 years for the shamed journalist, who quit as BBC religion editor in May, to admit what happened.

Karen Hadaway, nine, was murdered with Nicola Fellows, also nine, in Brighton in 1986 in the Babes in the Wood killings. Bashir took the clothes from Karens mother in 1991, claiming he would have them analysed to help crack the long-unsolved case.

But they were never returned and he maintained he could not recall anything about them.

Now it has emerged that last month BBC director general Tim Davie arranged for a letter to be sent from Bashir to Miss Hadaway. In it, he said he was deeply sorry and it was a matter of deep regret that the loss of the clothes must have compounded her suffering.

Miss Hadaway said Bashirs long overdue apology was too little, too late and the family had been let down by everyone. She is considering suing the broadcaster.

Roofer Russell Bishop was eventually convicted of the double murder in 2018.
A successful swimwear designer has been criticised for likening running a business she started 10 years ago to raising a pre-pubescent child after admitting she's 'genuinely not interested' in having kids with her fiancee.

Businesswoman Karina Irby, 31, matched with her partner Ryan Jones, 34, on Tinder on May 25, 2014, 10 minutes after downloading the app for the first time ever.

In the seven years since, the couple have become business partners, managing Karina's brand Moana Bikini together, got engaged and bought two adorable dogs into their luxurious Gold Coast home.

On Monday Karina sparked a conversation on her Instagram page after receiving a number of comments from concerned parents about her equating a business to a baby in a post from July.

Businesswoman Karina Irby , 31, matched with her partner Ryan Jones, 34, on Tinder on May 25, 2014, 10 minutes after downloading the app for the first time ever

On Monday Karina sparked a conversation on her Instagram page after receiving a number of comments from concerned parents about her equating a business to a baby in previous posts

'Addressing these types of comments because I got a lot of them firstly, children and business are not the same thing. I'd like to address that I do have a deeper understanding of this,' she said.

Poll Is running a business like raising a child? Yes, there are similarities No, not at all Is running a business like raising a child? Yes, there are similarities 27 votes

No, not at all 41 votes Now share your opinion





'My original post about Ryan and I not wanting to have children was not a comparing competition. I was simply expressing that running a busy company (along with a lot of other factors) fulfils us.

'My business IS my 10-year-old child. And, no disrespect to any parents out there, but she has been an absolute handful to say the very least. Sleep? Don't even get me started.

'Safety? Absolutely your company needs to be safe in the world. Incredibly important! Even more-so when you have employees relying on their jobs and you. Weekends? Holidays? Down time? Non-existent as well.

'Addressing these types of comments because I got a lot of them firstly, children and business are not the same thing. I'd like to address that I do have a deeper understanding of this,' she said

The young and fashion-forward mogul admitted that parenthood looks different for everyone - whether it be raising humans, pets or companies

'You're non-stop working, planning or just thinking and worrying 24/7. You cannot replace a business if it fails. You literally start over from the beginning.'

The young and fashion-forward mogul admitted that parenthood looks different for everyone - whether it be raising humans, pets or companies.

'All involve huge responsibilities and commitments. I have all of the love and respect for parents. Your job must be one of the hardest, yet most fulfilling jobs on the planet,' she said.

'A few of my closest friends have all just become mums and I'm in awe of them every single day.

But I never diminished your journey. I merely expressed my feelings and desires. So don't diminish mine.'

In July Karina explained how there was a combination of factors contributing to her desire to remain child-less including being too 'selfish' to relinquish the freedom to do whatever she wants and being 'busy and obsessed' with her business.

In July Karina explained how there was a combination of factors contributing to her desire to remain child-less including being too 'selfish' to relinquish the freedom to do whatever she wants and being 'busy and obsessed' with her business

'The truth is that Ryan and I love kids! But as for having our own, we are genuinely not interested,' she began

Karina also admitted she is scared by the thought of bringing a child into the world at a time of unprecedented chaos due to the pandemic, conflict and climate change.

'The truth is that Ryan and I love kids! But as for having our own, we are genuinely not interested,' she began.

'First things first. We're selfish. We LOVE our lives together and having the freedom to do whatever we want, when we want. Our love and the company of one another is enough for us.'

Karina went on to say that her successful brand is almost like having a child already - a comment that saw her forced to address it some five months later.

'We are busy and obsessed with our work. Running a company is like having a child. You never rest, you're always on and your love for it continues to grow every day,' she wrote.

Karina went on to say that her successful brand is almost like having a child already - a comment that saw her forced to address it some five months later

She also aired her fears about the state of the world in 2021, saying: 'The thought of putting another human on this planet scares me right now.

'Humanity is single-handedly destroying the planet. Climate change. War. Sickness. Divisive politics. Some days I feel the world is coming to an end, and sooner than we think.'

Karina asked her followers why she should want to put another person on the planet to clean up the mess created by previous generations.

She said while she was raised to believe that having children was 'the right thing to do', her mindset has changed as she's grown older.
A brave mother has shared how she survived her husband's horror machete attack that left her face permanently disfigured and blind in one eye.

Meghan Moss, 31, from Vancouver, Washington, was attacked by her now estranged husband Samuel Laughlin, 31, in June 2019 after she made the difficult decision to leave him after years of alleged mental and physical abuse.

The mother-of-two suffered multiple critical and lifelong injuries after her husband of nine years horrifically attacked her with a machete in their home while their two children, Gabriel, eight, and Gwendolyn, 10 months, were upstairs.

Meghan is now sharing her harrowing tale for the first time to help raise awareness about domestic violence.

Laughlin faced Clark County Superior Court, Vancouver, in June 2019 and was later sentenced to 15 years and nine months in jail for attempted murder.

Meghan Moss, 31, from Vancouver, Washington, was attacked by her now estranged husband Samuel Laughlin (pictured together), 31, in June 2019 after she made the difficult decision to leave him after years of alleged mental and physical abuse

The mother-of-two (pictured after the attack) suffered multiple critical and lifelong injuries after her husband of nine years horrifically attacked her with a machete in their home while their two children, Gabriel, eight, and Gwendolyn, 10 months, were upstairs

Meghan, a full-time secretary and part-time artist said: 'Samuel and I had been together since we were 13, and were married for nine years at the time of the attack.

'I never thought he was capable of anything beyond just hitting me and at that point, I could handle that.

'When I got home, I was just honest with him and said that I didn't like being in the relationship anymore, the last thing I remember telling him was that I wanted to be happy.

'He grabbed the machete off the rocking chair behind him and I put my right hand up to protect my head, it almost completely severed three of my fingers.

'He kept telling me to lay down, but I didn't as I was so hyper-focused on my hand and needing to get to the hospital. I realised after the fact that he wanted me to lay down not because he was trying to help me but was because he was trying to execute me.

'When I refused to lay down, he circled around to my left side and he hit me in my face, that's the scar from my forehead to my jaw, this damaged my eye and made me fall over.

Meghan (pictured before the attack) is now sharing her harrowing tale for the first time to help raise awareness about domestic violence

Laughlin faced Clark County Superior Court, Vancouver, in June 2019 and was later sentenced to 15 years and nine months in jail for attempted murder. Pictured, Meghan and her son Gabriel dressed as pirates

Meghan (pictured with her ex-husband in 2008), a full-time secretary and part-time artist said: 'Samuel and I had been together since we were 13, and were married for nine years at the time of the attack.'

'He then hit me two more times in the back of my head, and I think it was one of those swings where the machete had lodged into my shoulder.'

Following the brutal attack, Meghan was required to go through five surgeries after receiving multiple injuries.

These included three partially amputated fingers on her right hand, facial and orbital bone fractures, damage to the optic nerve and muscle resulting in permanent blindness of her left eye.

She also suffered a loss of scalp on the back of her head which required a skin graft to be taken from her thigh and a severe laceration to the shoulder.

Laughlin faced Clark County Superior Court in June 2019 and was later sentenced to 15 years and nine months in jail for attempted murder - and with this, Meghan and her children were granted a permanent no-contact order.

She said: 'There is a permanent no-contact order for me, so for the remainder of our lives we cannot communicate with each other which was something that I said I absolutely wanted.

Following the brutal attack, Meghan (pictured) was required to go through five surgeries after receiving multiple injuries

These included three partially amputated fingers on her right hand (pictured), facial and orbital bone fractures, damage to the optic nerve and muscle resulting in permanent blindness of her left eye

She also suffered a loss of scalp on the back of her head (pictured) which required a skin graft to be taken from her thigh and a severe laceration to the shoulder

An X-ray of Meghan's hand, pictured left, and a scan of Meghan's skull with the metal plates marked, pictured right

'Fifteen years was very generous for him, but I'm happy as long as he is in prison for the duration of our children's lives.

'Once they're legally adults then it's their decision on what they want to do with this information, but I don't want him in their lives when they're kids.

'The judge told him that every time I look in the mirror, I'm going to be reminded of what he's done.

'At one point I was just sobbing, probably the most ugly cry in my entire life and I just gave the judge a thumbs up so I could communicate "thank you".'

Meghan took to TikTok in 2021 to tell her story of survival in an upbeat manner and has been labelled a 'queen' for refusing to give up.

Laughlin faced Clark County Superior Court in June 2019 and was later sentenced to 15 years and nine months in jail for attempted murder - and with this, Meghan (pictured) and her children were granted a permanent no-contact order

Meghan and her son Gabriel, pictured together. Meghan took to TikTok in 2021 to tell her story of survival in an upbeat manner and has been labelled a 'queen' for refusing to give up

She said: 'When people ask me what happened to my face I bluntly say, "oh, my husband attacked me with a machete."

'I always like making people feel a little uncomfortable and don't have much of a filter when it comes to that stuff. It used to be a lot harder to say and then over time I just said you know it is just a crazy situation.

'People don't live from this very often so, saying that I was attacked by a machete is just as unbelievable as saying I was attacked by a leopard.

'That's how I handle what happened, dark humour has helped with my recovery tremendously.

'In a really weird way, I'm not as upset as I used to be, I definitely don't want to be a part of his life and I think he deserves everything he gets, but I've gained a large amount of confidence from standing up for myself.'
Author Anne Rice used to turn up to her own book signings in a horse-drawn hearse, rising from a glass coffin to greet her readers, and yet, she insisted, she was 'never particularly wild or crazy'.

Rice, who has died aged 80 from complications of a stroke, is best known for the hugely popular Vampire Chronicles series, which includes Interview With The Vampire  later turned into the 1994 hit film starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt.

She wrote more than 30 books over 42 years, including the erotic Sleeping Beauty series and a two-volume retelling of the life of Jesus.

Her most recent book, Blood Communion: A Tale of Prince Lestat, was published in 2018.

Eccentric: Author Anne Rice, who has died aged 80, used to turn up to her own book signings in a horse-drawn hearse, rising from a glass coffin to greet her readers, and yet, she insisted, she was 'never particularly wild or crazy'. Pictured, in costume in 1996 (left) and in 2016

In her blood: Anne grew up in an Irish Catholic family in New Orleans, which fostered a sense of storytelling. Pictured in 1976, the year she published her debut novel Interview With The Vampire. She went on to publish 30 books, selling more than 100 million copies

Announcing her death on Facebook, her son Christopher Rice, also an author, wrote: 'The immensity of our family's grief cannot be overstated.

'As my mother, her support for me was unconditional  she taught me to embrace my dreams, reject conformity and challenge the dark voices of fear and self-doubt. As a writer, she taught me to defy genre boundaries and surrender to my obsessive passions...

'As she kissed Anne goodbye, her younger sister Karen said, ''What a ride you took us on, kid.'' I think we can all agree. Let us take comfort in the shared hope that Anne is now experiencing firsthand the glorious answers to many great spiritual and cosmic questions, the quest for which defined her life and career.'

She was born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien in New Orleans in 1941, one of five daughters of postal worker Howard O'Brien and his wife, Katherine.

Anne was named after her father because her mother thought it would help her 'get ahead in life', according to The Times, but she rechristened herself Anne on her first day of school, and later changed it legally.

'We were an Irish Catholic family, who grew up in New Orleans, and since both the Irish and the people in the South tend to dramatize, everything was a story,' Anne said in a 2016 interview with Event Magazine.

Hollywood adaptation: Rice is best known for the hugely popular Vampire Chronicles series, which includes Interview With The Vampire  later turned into the 1994 hit film starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, pictured

Katherine championed her daughters' talent and encouraged them to 'do something meaningful' with their lives. But when Anne was 14, Katherine died of complications due to alcoholism.

'She'd been sick for a long time,' Rice said, 'and although I wasn't aware of it when I was very little, it later became obvious that she drank. In a way, I was glad when it was over because she wasn't suffering any more, although it's awful to lose one of your parents when you're very young.

Debut novel: Interview With The Vampire

'She was a vibrant, brilliant woman, full of dreams for us, and I still wish she had lived long enough that I could have made enough money to solve her problems and get her the help and care she needed. I've lived all my life with the wish that I could have saved her.'

The family moved to Texas. It was at Richardson High School that Anne, then 17, met future husband Stan Rice, then 16. It was love at first sight.

Four years later, they were married.

In 1972 the couple were struck by tragedy when their daughter Michele died of leukemia aged five. Anne and Stan spiraled into darkness.

The loss of a child, Race later said, 'is almost too horrible to consider. I wouldn't wish that tragedy on any human being, and you get through it because you either give up on life or you keep living.'

She also admitted she considered 'giving up'.

'I drank very heavily and recklessly and could have died at any point. But my husband and I were determined to make it. We didn't realize it at the time but the strongest weapons we had to fight that despair were our poetry and our prose. We put our faith in something that we hoped would never die, which was our art.

Savior: Anne and her husband Stan spiraled into a depression following the death of their five-year-old daughter in 1972, but said the birth of their son Christopher (pictured in 2000) gave them a reason to live. Christopher followed in his parents' footsteps and became a writer

Over-the-top: Anne Rice dresses up to sign copies of a Vampire Chronicles book in 1995

Unusual: Anne kept a collection of dolls, staged in various positions, in a New Orleans property

'And then our son Christopher was born [in 1978] and at some point after that, my husband and I decided we would never drink again and we kept that promise. That was our moving back into life.

'I'm not sure our art would have entirely saved us from drink but our son definitely did,' says Rice. 'He was our reason to live. It was time to stop mourning, stop drowning ourselves in booze and pay attention to what our child needed.'

It was in 1976, four years after their daughter's death, that Anne published her debut novel, Interview With The Vampire.

The novel tells the story of Lestat, his companion Louis, and Claudia, the vampire child to whom they are devoted but who can never grow old.

Prolific: Anne continued writing into her 70s. Above, the author promoting a book in 2013

'Looking back, I realise, of course, that the story was about our daughter,' Rice told Event Magazine. 'But when I was writing it, I didn't have a clue. I remember one night, Stan and I were in a bar and we were discussing the book and I said that I wanted to make Claudia five years old, and he said, "No, that's too young".

'We had no idea we were talking about our own daughter. But Lestat was Stan, I was Louis and Claudia was Michele. To me a novel can go deeper than a memoir can; it can go to the very deepest concerns of the soul. It was a book I felt compelled to write.'

Rice, who had worldwide book sales in excess of 100 million, branched out into witches (the Mayfair Witches series) and werewolves (The Wolf Gift Chronicles) over the years and leaned into the supernatural when promoting her books, even signing in 'blood'. She also kept life-sized dolls in one of her properties.

Yet she insisted she never bought into the image she portrayed.

'I wasnt into the lifestyle myself. Ive always lived a fairly conservative life. Ive never been particularly wild or crazy,' she said.

In 2002, after 41 years of marriage, Stan died of a brain tumour.

'The only good thing to say about it was that he died within five months, it was fast,' Rice said in 2016. 'He's the only man I've ever loved and ever been intimate with. He was the love of my life and still is.'

Anne is survived by her son, Christopher, who announced her death on Facebook yesterday.

Final goodbye: Anne is survived by her son, Christopher, who announced her death on Facebook yesterday. She died on Saturday from a complication of a stroke

He wrote: 'Earlier tonight, Anne passed away due to complications resulting from a stroke. She left us almost nineteen years to the day my father, her husband Stan, died.

'In her final hours, I sat beside her hospital bed in awe of her accomplishments and her courage, awash in memories of a life that took us from the fog laced hills of the San Francisco Bay Area to the magical streets of New Orleans to the twinkling vistas of Southern California.

'Throughout much of her final years, your contributions to this page brought her much joy, along with a profound sense of friendship and community.'
Staff at a Marks & Spencer store in Romford have revealed that starstruck customers ask for their pictures and autographs as their new festive song battles for Christmas number one.

The east London group became unlikely social media stars, racking up 1.5M likes and 58.8K followers, with their dancing videos, comedy clips and covers of pop songs.

Their festive tune, This Is Not Just A Christmas Song, has become their latest viral hit with nearly 500,000 views and is up against A-list musicians for the top chart spot this year.

The group reached the top ten on the iTunes charts last Thursday and the festive has since climbed to number two.

Appearing on ITV's This Morning today, supermarket worker Jack said their regular customers are loving the store's taste of fame and he's 'quite confident' their tune can become Christmas number one.

Staff of a Marks & Spencer store in Romford revealed that starstruck customers ask for their pictures and autographs as their new festive song battles for Christmas number one during an appearance on This Morning today

The video for their festive song (pictured), titled This Is Not Just A Christmas Song, has become their latest viral hit with nearly 500K views and is up against A-list musicians for the top chart spot this year

'Its amazing. Everyone comes in, they love it', he said. 'They want us to take pictures with us, they want us sign receipts, its crazy at the moment. I've been asked a few times [for autographs], a few of us have been asked.'

The group, who go by Team Romford, began their TikTok account from the Marks & Spencer in London's Liberty Shopping Centre in January this year.

They shot to fame with hilarious videos of staff members recreating trends from the app's viral sounds as well as creating funny clips using the store's beloved mascot Percy Pig.

'We kept going we went viral a few times on TikTok and decided to make the song and see what we could come up with, said Jack.

The east London group became unlikely social media stars, with the account boasting 1.5M likes and 58.8K followers, with their dancing videos, comedy clips and covers of pop songs. Staff are pictured during the video for their festive song

A recent TikTok video posted by the account featured staff from other M&S stores dancing along to Jingle Bell Rock with the team

'We kept getting comments on our TikTok saying M&S crew for Christmas number one so I decided to go home and make it one evening and thats how it started.

'I just went home and wrote it myself. We were just talking about what we could do for Christmas and the song kind of came about, I had a few idea, a few lyrics we wanted to add in and it went from there.'

The team are up against the likes of ABBA, Elton John and Ed Sheeran for Christmas number one, but Jack is positive they can take them on.

'I mean its going to be hard to knock them off but I'm quite confident to be honest, I'm quite confident we can do it', he said.

Profits from the song will go to homeless charity Shelter and children's charity Together4ShortLives and is available to stream or download on iTunes, Apple Music and Spotify.
An Australian mother has been forced to defend her abstract Christmas tree after positing a seemingly harmless picture of it hanging from the roof to Facebook.

Mel Webber, who lives in Queensland, is the owner of a number of small dogs, including a puppy, and a toddler so decided to erect her snowy white tree on the roof of her house to prevent it being pulled down.

'What Christmas looks like in our house! My way of child and pet-proofing the Christmas tree. The tree and decorations are all from Kmart over the years,' she wrote alongside a picture of her living room.

Proud of her tree, Mel hadn't prepared herself for the wave of criticism that was to wash over her internet post.

Mel Webber, who lives in Queensland, is the owner of a number of small dogs, including a puppy, and a toddler so decided to erect her snowy white tree on the roof of her house

Poll Would you try an upside down Christmas tree? Yes No Would you try an upside down Christmas tree? Yes 170 votes

No 154 votes Now share your opinion





'There is no way I could enjoy a tree like this... it would play with my eyes. Plus it's really not safe. A child who has issues with touching in the first place... will pull the tree and potentially get hurt from the tree falling,' said one mother.

'And you can't put presents underneath because if you can't trust them with a tree then how can you trust them with presents? Animals who have issues will see it as fun and the tree will more than likely fall. Each to their own but it really doesn't make sense.'

'I'm sorry but that's just wrong. Your tree is beautiful though but it would play with my head too much like that,' said another.

A third added: 'Going to be tricky putting the presents under the tree'.

Mel responded to the backlash by outlining her predicament with multiple pets and a young daughter at home.

'I have small dogs, not cats, two being male, which would love to pee on the tree, one is also a puppy,' she said.

'We have been doing this since my daughter's second Christmas. She was born in September, so we never gave her the chance to be 'naughty', I didn't want to spend a month telling a one and a half year old no.

Mel responded to the backlash by outlining her predicament with multiple pets and a young daughter at home

'So this was pre-planned and unless an adult wants to swing on the tree like a stripper pole, its not just going to 'unsafely' fall from the sky, the feet are attached inside the ceiling with a support board to take the weight.'

She also questioned why some of the commenters were confused about where to put their presents.

'Look at all the extra space underneath it... we can gift our daughter a pushbike and have it wrapped under the tree, pretty sure a standard one you can realistically fit how many little presents underneath it? Before you have to start spreading them out around the tree anyway.'

There were a number of individuals who saw good sense in the design and even decided to try it out for themselves.

'Love this idea. Don't worry about nasty comments. We have a greyhound that rubs up against our tree knocking it over so I think this is brilliant,' one woman said.

'What a bloody great idea! Keeps the mini decorators away from modifying the vision of Christmas,' said another.
She always reigns high in the style stakes.

And today was no exception for Queen Letizia of Spain as she sported a summery red number to attend the inauguration of the headquarters of the Cervantes Institute in Dakar, Senegal.

The monarch, 49, arrived in the west African country last night where she was met by the first lady of the Republic of Senegal, Marie Faye Sall

Queen Letizia of Spain as sported a summery red number to attend the inauguration of the headquarters of the Cervantes Institute in Dakar, Senegal. The monarch, 49, arrived in the west African country last night where she was met by the first lady of the Republic of Senegal, Marie Faye Sall

Today, she sported a 222 from one of her favourite designers Adolfo Dominguez which she first wore in 2018 to welcome the new Spanish Prime Minister at the Marivent Palace in Palma de Mallorca

Today, she sported a 222 from one of her favourite designers Adolfo Dominguez which she first wore in 2018 to welcome the new Spanish Prime Minister at the Marivent Palace in Palma de Mallorca.

Showing off her easy sophistication, the royal paired the dress - which she wore again in 2019 at a heritage education seminar in La Rioja - with her Lodi Saray leather pumps, as well as Gold & Rose white gold and diamond double dagger earrings.

Keeping her make-up natural, Letizia tied her hair back in a ponytail and protected herself from the sun.

Letizia today was opening the Cervantes Institute, which has more than 85 centres across the world.

Showing off her easy sophistication, the royal paired the dress - which she wore again in 2019 at a heritage education seminar in La Rioja - with her Lodi Saray leather pumps, as well as Gold & Rose white gold and diamond double dagger earrings.

Queen Letizia of Spain was spotted in the floral dress at the Heritage Education in the School seminar in La Rioja in 2019

The first opened in 1991 and the centres are dedicated to promoting Spanish Language and culture in Spanish speaking countries.

After opening the centre, the royal toured the multimedia classroom and signed the book of honour.

It's been a busy week for Letizia, who accompanied her husband King Felipe VI, 53, to mark the 70th anniversary of the Association of Academies of the Spanish Language (ASALE) at Madrid's Royal Spanish Academy just three days ago.

But the Senegal trip will be the last international engagement for Her Majesty for 2021, who is set to return to Spain before taking a private winter break with her family.

After opening the centre, the royal toured the multimedia classroom and signed the book of honour.

The Senegal trip will be the last international engagement for Her Majesty for 2021, who is set to return to Spain before taking a private winter break with her family

Letizia 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.
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Fears are growing that the US could soon experience the same 'tidal wave' of the COVID Omicron variant currently engulfing the UK, with just 16 per cent of Americans so-far receiving a booster that could protect against it.

Omicron cases tripled over the weekend, from 43 across 22 US states on Saturday to 153 cases in 30 states on Monday, according to Centers for Disease Control data. The true total is likely significantly higher, with the UK's status as a world leader in virus-sequencing enabling its government to get a better hold on the scale of the Omicron outbreak.

On Monday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK had seen its first Omicron death. Dr Anthony Fauci says preliminary data suggests the strain is less deadly than Delta, but also cautioned that it is too early to say for sure.

And while US numbers remain miniscule, total Covid cases have risen by 43% in the last fortnight, fueled mainly by the Delta variant. There are now fears Omicron could lead to a fresh explosion in diagnoses, prompting what could be the biggest wave of the disease yet.

Preliminary data from Israel suggests that a booster dose of Pfizer's shot can provide 'significant protection' against Omicron.

But analysis by DailyMail.com shows that even best-boosted states have currently administered the additional jabs to just 28 per cent of their populations. Data also suggests people considered fully vaccinated - those who've had two doses of Pfizer or Moderna's vaccine, or one shot of the Johnson and Johnson inoculation - aren't protected from Omicron at all, sparking further fears it of it gaining a rapid foothold in the United States.

Maine and Vermont are the nation's leaders, each having booster 28 percent of the population - well above the nationwide booster average of 16 percent.

The states are also among the leaders in amount of the population fully vaccinated, with 75 percent of Vermonters and 74 percent of Mainers having completed the original vaccine series.

Vermont and Maine lead the way in America's booster rollout, with over 28% of residents in each state having received the additional shot. Alabama is falling well behind the pace, with only 9% of residents having been boosted.

COVID-19 cases are rising in much of America, with California, Texas, New Jersey and Connecticut seeing cases double over the past two weeks

Massachusetts is also among the nationwide leaders in rate of the population being fully vaccinated, with 73 percent of Bay Staters getting the initial vaccine doses.

According to official data, 22 percent of the state's residents have already gotten boosters as well.

Connecticut, New Hampshire and Rhode Island are also among the nation's leader in vaccination rate, though they were not included in the analysis.

California, America's most populous state, is among the states where more than one-in-five residents have received booster doses, with 20.6 percent being inoculated with the additional shot.

Colorado (21 percent of residents have received booster doses), Delaware (20 percent), Iowa (20 percent), Maryland (21 percent), Minnesota (24 percent), New Mexico (22 percent), Wisconsin (22 percent) and Oregon (20.93) have also boosted more than a fifth of their population.

Even among the leaders in rate of population boosted are still posting low numbers, though, with more than 70 percent of residents, even in the leading states, not having received the additional shots.

Early data on the Omicron variant shows that the strain can bypass a majority of the protection provided by the original Covid vaccine regimen.

If correct, it means that much of America is still at severe risk from the new strain, and the low booster rates leave much of the nation vulnerable to another large virus surge.

Health officials are urging Americans to get their COVID-19 booster shots after initial data on the Omicron variant finds that just being 'fully vaccinated' can still leave a person vulnerable to infection and severe symptoms from Covid. Pictured: A man in Benton Harbor, Michigan, receives a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine on December 12

Alabama has the third lowest percentage of fully-vaccinated residents in America, and finds itself dead last is booster uptake so far, with just seven percent of its residents receiving the additional jab.

The state has only fully-vaccinated 47 percent of its residents, meaning they've received two doses of Moderna or Pfizer's shot, or one dose of the J&J vaccine.

Alabama is the only state with fewer than 10 percent of its residents boosted.

Wyoming is among the seven states not included in the data, while Idaho has boosted nearly 15 percent of its population.

Alabama joins many other states in the U.S. who have fallen behind their peers in their campaign to rollout boosters - just like many did with the initial vaccine doses.

Georgia (12 percent of the population boosted), Texas (13 percent), Tennessee (14 percent), Missouri (14 percent), South Carolina (12 percent), Louisiana (12 percent), Arkansas (12 percent), Mississippi (11 percent), West Virginia (15 percent) all have booster rates of under 15 percent.

Arizona (11 percent), Oklahoma (11 percent) and Kansas (15 percent) are also among the states with the lowest booster rates.

Health officials fear that Americans that have not yet received their booster shots are putting themselves at risk from the new Omicron variant.

Covid booster shots became widely available to all American adults in mid-November, a recently an additional dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech shot was even authorized for minors aged 16 and 17.

The recent discovery of the Omicron variant has pushed many to get the additional shots as well, as preliminary data shows the variant has the ability to evade protection provided by the initial vaccine regimen - but boosters can prevent infection.

In response, demand for the Covid booster has increased in recent weeks, though some areas are seeing more residents get their shots than others.

According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 53.8 million Americans have received their booster shots.

Those who are 16 or older and received the second dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine six months ago, or the single Johnson & Johnson shot two months ago, are eligible for booster shots.

Seven U.S. states were not included in the analysis as updated data showing how many residents had received booster shots was not readily available, and representatives from the states' health departments did not immediately respond to a DailyMail.com inquiry.

More than 297 million Americans live in the 43 included states, according to official data - out of the 332 million total U.S. population.

Of the included population, 49.36 million have received a booster shot, or 16.5 percent of the population, almost matching the 16.2 percent figure reported by the CDC.

Twelve of the 40 states have distributed booster doses to more than 20 percent of their population, with two eclipsing the 25 percent mark.

The virus strain was first detected by South African officials late last month, and has more than 50 mutations - leading to many immediately fearing it could evade protection provided by the Covid vaccines.

An African research team found last week that people who had received the two-shot Pfizer Covid vaccine were at risk of infection or even severe complications from the virus.

A day later, Pfizer officials confirmed the findings, while also saying they had data showing the booster shot would re-establish protection.

Research from Israel, published Monday, confirms these findings, showing that the Pfizer booster provided adequate protection against Omicron, though still not as much protection as it does against other strains.

In response, health officials in the U.S., and around the world, have upped campaigns to expand usage of the additional shots.

Dr Anthony Fauci, America's top infectious disease expert, said that the definition of 'fully vaccinated' would eventually be changed to only included people who have received the additional shot.

He, joined by Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, also said last week that a fourth Covid vaccine dose could be on the cards.

Over the weekend, he added that Americans would 'just have to deal with' the prospect of receiving more doses of the vaccine, and that continued booster shots will be necessary for the remainder of the pandemic.

The Delta variant is still by far the dominant strain in the U.S., accounting for around 99 percent of sequenced cases, according to the CDC.

In total, 159 cases of Omicron have been confirmed by U.S. health officials in 30 states and the District of Columbia, though the total number of cases nationwide is much higher, including 43 cases reported by the CDC on Saturday.

Over the weekend, five U.S. states - Idaho , North Carolina , Ohio , Rhode Island and Tennessee - joined the growing list of states to detect the variant within its borders.

The nation also approaches another dark milestone in the pandemic, as it will likely eclipse 800,000 deaths caused by the virus at some point this week.

An analysis by the New York Times finds that Americans over the age of 65 have been struck especially hard by the virus, with one of every 100 people in the age group succumbing to Covid.

While Omicron cases in the U.S. are growing, they have been relatively mild, and not a single death in the country has been attributed to it yet.

A report published last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reviewed the first 43 cases of the variant detected in America.

Only one was severe enough to require hospitalization, and that person was discharged after only two days.

It matched initial reports from South African officials that cases of the variant were mild compared to those of the Delta variant or other Covid strains.

Still, the data is only preliminary, and with a relatively small sample size.

Many of the people being infected are fully vaccinated as well, meaning their body is more likely to be able to combat the virus anyways.

The Omicron variant's ability to cause these cases in fully vaccinated people has some worried, though.

Last week, Pfizer, who partners with BioNTech to produce and distribute the nation's more commonly used vaccine, announced it had preliminary data showing its jab is less effective at preventing infection from the new strain.

The data also showed that a Covid booster shot would re-establish protection against the variant.

Health officials are now pushing for more Americans to receive COVID-19 boosters as soon as possible, with Dr Anthony Fauci , the nation's top infectious disease expert, even saying last week the definition of 'fully vaccinated' would likely change soon to only include people who have received the additional shot.

He also introduced the idea of a fourth shot being needed within the coming months, a sentiment shared by Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla.

While the Omicron variant has captured headlines in recent weeks, the Delta variant still accounts for around 99 percent of new cases in the U.S., and is still rapidly spreading nationwide.

The U.S. is currently recording 119,000 new Covid cases every day, a staggering 43 percent increase over the past two weeks.

It is likely that the country hits 50 million recorded cases of the virus since the pandemic first began in March 2020 within the coming days.

America is also staring down a grim Covid deaths milestone, as it slowly creeps towards 800,000 deaths from the virus.

Currently, the nation is averaging nearly 1,300 Covid deaths every day, a 32 percent increase within the last two weeks, with a pandemic total of 797,000.

Hospitalizations related to Covid are growing as well, with 65,000 people receiving treatment for more severe cases every day - a 23 percent increase of the last 14 days.

According to official CDC data, 72 percent of Americans have received at lease one dose of a Covid vaccine, while 60 percent are fully vaccinated.

London has become one of the UK's Covid hotspots and officials expect the Omicron variant to become the city's dominant strain in the coming days

The current situation in the UK could be a sign of things to come in the U.S. if more Americans do not get the shots.

The nation is currently averaging 50,000 new cases per day, a mark not reached since a massive Covid surge struck in early 2021.

More than 4,700 cases of the variant have been sequenced in the UK, leading the rest of the world.

Health Minister Sajid Javid warns that there could be up one million Omicron cases by the end of the year if the spread is not controlled.

In London, the capital city, experts believe the variant makes up around 40 percent of new infections, and that Omicron will become the dominant strain within the coming days.

A staggering 700 out of every 100,000 people in the area have tested positive for the virus within the past week, officials report.

The country reported the first confirmed Omicron death on Monday morning as well.

Some NHS leaders even told MailOnline lockdowns might have to return to the capital in order to control the virus's rampant spread.

To control the situation, last week Prime Minister Boris Johnson enacted strict mandates.

Starting last Friday, Britons were ordered to work from home if they had a job that allowed so, to wear masks in many indoor public areas, and many venues will now require either proof of vaccine or negative test in order to enter.

Johnson also mobilized the military, a thousands strong volunteer force and and extended the operating hours of many clinics in the nation to supercharge to countries booster rollout.

Also among the world's Omicron leaders is Denmark, with over 2,400 cases of the variant reported by the Nordic nation.

The country is following the UK in prioritizing the booster shots in an effort to limit the spread of the new variant.

Starting Monday, booster shots will be available to all Danes 40 years or older, hoping to first protect the most vulnerable citizens in the rollout of the shots.

Prime Minister Mette Fredericksen announced new measures to prevent spread of the virus last week, joining the UK.

People who can will now be ordered to work from home, and virtual schooling has been extended as well.

Bars and nightclubs will also have reduced operating hours, being forced to close at midnight now, in an effort to prevent transmission.

Still health officials still fear the variant will continue to spread in the European nation, and the country's health authorities said Monday they expect Omicron to be the dominant strain in Copenhagen, the nation's capital and largest city, by the end of the week.

Fearing a similar outbreak happening within its own borders, Israel restricted travel from both the UK and Denmark on Monday, adding the two European nations to a list of about 50 others.

It is the first country to ban travel from the UK and Denmark due to the Omicron variant.

Meanwhile in the U.S., President Biden banned travel from eight African countries, some of which are not suffering major Covid outbreaks at the moment, but still allows incoming travel from the UK and Denmark.

Norway suffered the first known outbreak of the Omicron variant, when a holiday party held by locally based energy company Scatec was tied to over 100 cases of Covid - with more than a dozen confirmed to be the new strain.

The company traveled to Cape Town, South Africa, in mid-November, before the discovery of the new strain.

At the party it is believed one person, dubbed 'patient zero', is at the center of the outbreak, with all cases being tied back to him.

After the party, company employees mingled with others at the restaurant it was being held at, and it is believed that over 50 more people who were not a part of the event contracted the virus then.

In the time since, cases in the nation have surged, reaching an all-time record of over 4,700 per day on Monday.

To control the virus, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere announced the country would enter a partial lockdown, banning the serving of alcohol in bars, closing gyms and swimming pools, and other mandates.

A promising sign, though, is that none of the people tied to the Cape Town even suffered severe complications caused by the virus, and no deaths or hospitalizations have been tied to the event.

In South Africa, the nation where the variant was first detected, nearly 20,000 new cases are being recorded every day, and hospitalizations are skyrocketing.

Nationwide, the amount of people admitted to the hospital for Covid has increased ten-fold over the last four weeks, from 562 to more than 5,900 last week.

While officials in the country report that Omicron cases are relatively mild, many people in the Covid plagued nation are still suffering serious enough cases to require the additional care.
Lara Sargent had high hopes that this year, finally, the pain which has blighted her life for the past decade would come to an end.

At times, the 25-year-old has been in such agony during her periods that she could barely stand.

Id be rolling around the floor in unbearable pain, says Lara, who lives in West Sussex.

The problem began when she was 13, and when she was 18 her GP put her on the Pill, but that just made things worse.

In January this year, after a 13-month wait, Lara was sent for laparoscopic surgery to investigate the cause of her pain.

Lara Wahab, 34, is an advertising account director. She lives in North London with her younger sister, Tanya. Lara says: If I dont have a kidney and pancreas transplant soon, Ill have to go on dialysis or I will die'

She was diagnosed with severe endometriosis  where endometrial tissue that forms the lining of the womb develops elsewhere in the body, causing pelvic pain and heavy periods.

Laras gynaecologist referred her to a specialist NHS centre, where another consultant could operate to remove the tissue and end her pain.

In May this year, after being told her surgery would be imminent, she underwent pre-operative tests  yet the operation that should have followed has been cancelled.

Its a situation countless others are going through  but stories such as Laras put the real human cost into perspective.

I have had to give up my job as a healthcare assistant because I am often bed-bound with the pain during my period, Lara says. I have had to start taking prescription pain relief just to cope with each day.

Im now taking antidepressants because, before, there was an end in sight and I could cope. Now there isnt and I feel hopeless.

Lara has been calling the hospital, hoping to be told when she can have the operation.

But they keep telling me theres a waiting list, staff shortages due to the pandemic and a huge backlog, she says.

Neil Bowles, 46, a business executive, is married to broadcast manager Lisa Armstrong, 47. He says that what started off as a bladder condition has, as a result of Covid delays, further damaged his kidneys, which are now failing

Now Ive been referred to another specialist NHS centre, but am back to square one, waiting for a first consultation before I will even be considered for surgery.

Its a situation familiar to many. From people needing new knees or urgent care following a heart attack, to those with cancer that requires surgery  there is one thing that unites so many different NHS patients now: they are all just waiting.

Waiting list numbers are spiralling rapidly to such huge figures that it feels almost impossible to imagine the human misery that lies behind them. Last week, the number of patients waiting for consultant-led hospital treatment, including surgery, in England alone reached six million  the highest figure since records began in August 2007.

Meanwhile, many other patients who had been booked in for surgery are seeing their operations cancelled.

The Royal College of Medicine has just published data that showed more than 13,000 elective-care operations were cancelled in the past two months at 40 sites alone  as a comparison, this was around the same number of cancellations for 156 sites in 2019.

It is easy to blame this fast-spiralling crisis on an obvious villain: Covid-19.

The pandemic has forced hospitals to institute rigorous infection-control regimens, screening patients and staff, isolating anyone suspected of being infected by the virus, and deep-cleaning operating theatres and equipment between operations even more meticulously.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Monday that cancellations and disruptions could be even greater next year if more people do not get their booster jabs to stop Omicron  the new Covid variant  running riot.

However, leading experts say Covid is just the heavy straw thats broken the camels back after years of mounting crisis.

The very basics of getting patients into hospitals for timely treatment, then out again into community care, are broken. Instead, desperate patients get stuck at every point because the system is collapsing.

And as we can reveal, while ministers talk apologetically of cancellations and waiting lists being about elective surgery  replacing worn hips and knees  misery-making delays that nevertheless can be endured, research shows alarmingly that more than a million operations categorised as emergency or urgent appear to have been cancelled in 2020 alone in England and Wales.

Research published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia in June found that admissions for Class 1 surgery  emergency operations needed within 72 hours for catastrophes such as strokes or heart attacks  dropped by more than 13 per cent between April 2020 and March 2021, with more than 108,000 patients missing out on vital surgery. For Class 2 urgent surgery  operations needed within a month for problems such as tumours of the brain, lungs, bowel and breast  admissions slumped by almost a quarter, with 92,430 procedures called off.

Patients needing less immediate surgery suffered even more, with more than 900,000 fewer admissions for those needing skin cancer, prostate cancer or gall bladder operations  down more than a third on previous years. And routine hip or knee operations plummeted by nearly half-a-million, down 52 per cent on normal levels.

What has happened to all these missing operations? Might they be explained by patients emergency or urgent symptoms being overlooked or ignored during the pandemic, for instance? Or have these patients simply not received urgent and emergency surgery because the Covid-burdened NHS lacks the capacity to do them?

We dont yet have any answers, explains Dr Tom Abbott, the researcher in anaesthesia and perioperative medicine at Queen Mary University of London, who co-authored the study and says they are looking at what is happening to emergency patients.

Dr Abbott nevertheless calculates that the overall NHS surgery backlog will increase to 2.4 million cancelled operations by the end of 2021, with millions more patients feeling the impact for years to come.

The backlog is likely to take many years to clear, particularly as the speed with which surgical treatments can be delivered is slowed by infection-control procedures, he warns.

Other research co-authored by Dr Abbott, and published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia in August, shows how essential such infection-control measures remain. It found that while only 1.1 per cent of patients acquired a Covid-19 infection at hospital at the time of their operation, their mortality rate after catching Covid was extremely high, with patients being up to 25 times more likely to die.

However, stringent infection-control precautions do not explain fully the huge drop in operations and the accompanying rise in waiting times, say health service leaders.

As Rory Deighton, the acute network lead for the NHS Confederation, which represents NHS Trusts, says: While we now have six million people waiting, that figure was [already] around 4.5 million when we went into the pandemic. The problems have accumulated over ten years.

He claims that money meant for developing NHS services and investing in new equipment had instead to be spent on keeping services going.

The resulting structural problems now run throughout the health-service system, creating blockages at all vital points. Indeed, the same fundamental problems that are stopping patients getting surgical care  lack of beds and staff  are also leaving seriously ill patients stranded in A&E units, and even stuck outside for hours in ambulances, warns Dr Adrian Boyle, vice-president of the Royal College of Emer-gency Medicine.

This shortage leaves A&E doctors competing with surgical doctors for the inadequate beds available, and both miss out.

We cant get our emergency patients admitted, and at the same time operations are being cancelled for people who need beds in wards or intensive care in which to recuperate, says Dr Boyle.

Operations have been cancelled like this since bed shortages began to mount up in 2015.

Chronic bed shortages have only been worsened by Covid. Analysis by researchers at the Kings Fund health think-tank this year shows that infection-control precautions and staff absence have shrunk the number of beds by a further 5 per cent, which Dr Boyle fears has pushed services over the edge.

We have almost the least number of beds per head of population in Europe, he says.

For example, while Germany has 601.5 beds per 100,000 citizens, the UK has only 249.5, according to 2017-18 EU statistics.

The pandemic is a heavy straw on the camels back, says Dr Boyle. But that is not the only thing stopping beds becoming available for desperate patients. Thousands of people are currently stuck in those preciously rare beds because theres nowhere else they can go.

Priya Raj, 25, from Glasgow, works in financial services. She says that had the surgery been done in March 2020, when planned, it would have been a simple operation. Instead, the delay led to her needing emergency surgery and the risk that she wont be able to have children

One in ten of the patients in hospital is medically fit to be discharged, but there is not the community support available to take them, says Rory Deighton.

For now, waiting lists for routine operations may be significantly addressed by creating a nationwide network of specially dedicated surgery hubs, says Tim Mitchell, vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Surgical hubs are already being pioneered in some areas, such as London and Northumbria, where they perform procedures that range from low-complexity surgery (such as hip and knee replacements) to specialised treatments such as cancer operations.

Such hubs, says Mr Mitchell, may either be dedicated free-standing units or be located independently inside large hospitals.

In Croydon University Hospital, for example, a hub has been set up with ten theatres and 28 beds for surgical patients. The centre has strict infection-control procedures. In a separate part of the hospital, emergency admissions and Covid-positive patients are treated.

The idea is gaining traction in the NHS, says Mr Mitchell. Croydon has drawn patients from across London, showing that patients are prepared to travel for surgery.

Mr Mitchell adds that the Government is expected soon to publish its Elective Recovery Plan for tackling the waiting-list crisis. In the immediate term, he wants to see the green light given to a nationwide plan for surgical hubs. In the longer term, he says NHS bed numbers must be almost doubled, from 2.5 to 4.7 per 1,000 people  and the number of hospital doctors (including surgeons) from 2.8 to 3.5 per 1,000 people. While that sounds very ambitious, Mr Mitchell says this would bring the NHS only up to the average numbers seen in other developed nations.

Minesh Patel, head of policy at Macmillan Cancer Support, told Good Health: Our research estimates that more than 47,000 people are missing cancer diagnoses, compared with what the numbers should be. And more than a quarter of people having cancer treatment in August have told us they are worried about their chances of survival being hit by delays.

Meanwhile, there is no magic wand, warns Rory Deighton: We have to be realistic about how long it will take to resolve the problem.

Todays record waiting lists are symptomatic of an emergency that has been years in the making. If we blame only Covid, we will never find an effective answer.

Case studies by Julie Cook, Sheron Boyle and Jill Foster

My life is hanging by a thread because of lack of ICU beds Lara Wahab, 34, is an advertising account director. She lives in North London with her younger sister, Tanya. Lara says: If I dont have a kidney and pancreas transplant soon, Ill have to go on dialysis or I will die. My kidney function is way below normal  a reading above 80 is a sign of a good kidney and mine is 10. My symptoms are getting worse and my body is hanging by a thread. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when I was seven, and in 2019 developed kidney failure, which is a complication of the disease. As a result my body itches all over, I suffer from nausea, loss of appetite, hair loss, swelling in my ankles and legs, as well as breathlessness and a loss of strength. In August 2019 I was put on the transplant list for a simultaneous kidney and pancreas transplant, which can cure type 1 diabetes. The alternative is living on dialysis, which reduces my life expectancy. Only ten per cent of dialysis patients live for ten years or more. I was told that it would take 12-15 months to find a donor. But then Covid hit, and when I checked the transplant list status it said Suspended. I was so down. I called the Churchill Hospital in Oxford (where I would be having the operation) and a nurse told me this was partly because the NHS couldnt handle transplants as well as all the Covid cases. In the winter of 2020 the programme started again, but it wasnt until April 2021 that I got a call to say organs may be available. It didnt work out  as often happens for various reasons  and that happened yet again the same month. Last month, I rang my kidney nurse to ask why I hadnt had any more calls  when he looked into it, he found that on six occasions organs had been available but I hadnt been contacted. He couldnt tell me all the reasons, but in one instance last month there was a healthy pancreas and kidney available, and I hadnt received a call. My nurse said: Are you sure you want to know the reason? He then told me I could have received the new organs, but the operation couldnt go ahead because there were no beds available in the intensive care unit. It broke my heart. Here was my chance to have new organs and a new life . . . and it had been taken away from me because of the pandemic. Not only that, but when I looked into it, many beds seem to have been taken up with people who are actively choosing not to be vaccinated against Covid. How is that fair? I feel really worried about the future  for me and for other patients who desperately need to have surgery. Advertisement

My kidneys were irreparably damaged by bladder op delay Neil Bowles, 46, a business executive, is married to broadcast manager Lisa Armstrong, 47. The couple live with children Erin, 15, and Callum, 12, in Banbridge, Co Down. Neil says: What started off as a bladder condition has, as a result of Covid delays, further damaged my kidneys, which are now failing. My health began to deteriorate in 2016. I was in chronic pain, lost more than 4st in eight months and needed to urinate every half-hour, day and night. I was diagnosed with interstitial cystitis, also known as painful bladder syndrome. Essentially, my bladder was inflamed. On top of that, my ureters (the tubes that connect the kidney to the bladder) were also inflamed, which was blocking the flow of urine. I was told Id need an operation to create a new bladder from part of my bowel, or a stoma bag to collect urine for life. As an interim measure, I had stents inserted to prop open the ureters and help the urine drain from the kidneys to the bladder. Even at this point, my kidneys were slowly failing. I had a biopsy, and the surgeon said my bladder was the worst he had seen in 30 years  it was so damaged. I urgently needed surgery, but in May 2020 I was told that no non-emergency procedures were taking place due to the Covid crisis. My stents should have been replaced every six months to reduce the risk of infection, but I had the first set for 20 months. And as a result, my ureters have become badly inflamed. In August of last year, I had to have an emergency procedure as a temporary solution. Tubes were inserted into each of my kidneys through the skin on my back and connected to an exterior drainage bag. I am now at stage three kidney failure and live with chronic pain. If I end up needing dialysis or a transplant, how much will that cost the NHS? Advertisement
The numbers are mind-blowing. In England alone, the NHS spends an average of 52 million on prescription medicines every day.

Over the past decade, the annual drugs bill has soared from 13 billion to 19 billion.

The reasons are complex; people are of course living longer with chronic conditions, ranging from high blood pressure to kidney disease, that need daily tablets to control them.

But our soaring drugs bill also owes much to the development of ground-breaking new medicines for some of the worlds most deadly diseases.

These can offer hope where there was none, but often come with breathtaking price tags.

Take for example Zolgensma, the most expensive drug in the world, costing almost 1.8 million for a single dose.

As Arthur Morgans father Reece, a plasterer from South London, said when the family heard their baby would receive the drug: This is the best possible treatment and will give him the best life he can have  we are so grateful the NHS is here for him.

In June, doctors at the Evelina Childrens Hospital in London became the first in the UK to use it  treating then five-month-old Arthur Morgan, who has spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a genetic disease that affects the muscles.

In a healthy person, a gene called SMN1 produces a protein which forms a protective layer around the nerves in the spine that control the muscles. Without this layer, these nerves die, which causes debilitating and often fatal muscle weakness. Many children do not survive beyond the age of two as they lose the ability to breathe for themselves.

But Zolgensma, a gene therapy given as a one-off injection, corrects the fault, enabling children to sit, walk and breathe as normal.

As Arthurs father Reece, a plasterer from South London, said when the family heard their baby would receive the drug: This is the best possible treatment and will give him the best life he can have  we are so grateful the NHS is here for him.

The NHS expects around 80 babies a year to be treated with Zolgensma and has negotiated a deal with the maker, Novartis Gene Therapies, to ensure a price that is fair to UK taxpayers, without disclosing it.

The difficult question is which of these kinds of costly wonder drugs the health service can afford to fund.

What drugs to pay for is the fundamental economic question the NHS faces, says John Appleby, chief economist at The Nuffield Trust, an independent health think tank.

Nic Sanger, 38, from Westgate, Kent, has watched her young children  now aged ten and seven  growing up and returned to work as a midwife thanks to one such medicine, called nivolumab

UKs Dearest Medicines Some of the costliest medicines* available in the UK include: Zolgensma Used to treat: Spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic disease that affects around 1,300 people in the UK, robbing their muscles of power and often leading to death by the age of two. Cost: 1.79 million per single, one-off injection. Myalepta Used to treat: Berardinelli-Seip syndrome, a genetic disorder affecting around one in a million people, causing significant loss of body fat and extremely pronounced muscles. Cost: Up to 800,000 a year per patient (a daily DIY injection). Kymriah Used to treat: Patients with a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a form of blood cancer. The drug is one of a new generation of cancer therapies that harness the immune system. Cost: 282,000 per single infusion (although the NHS has since negotiated a confidential discount). Orkambi Used to treat: Cystic fibrosis, a life-shortening illness which affects one in 2,500 babies in the UK. The drug is one of the first to target the cause. Cost: 100,000 per patient per year (although the NHS has agreed a discount  its taken as a powder, twice a day). * List price Advertisement

Drug spending has more than doubled in the past 15 to 20 years and the NHS must decide whats worth the money while all the time drug companies keep inventing costly new medicines.

On the face of it, 1.8 million for a single treatment is a lot of money. But if its only being used in small numbers of patients and it reduces the amount of long-term care a patient needs, is it any dearer than, say, a much cheaper drug that could benefit tens of millions of people?

Yet the 1.8 million cost of Zolgensma would cover the cost of treating 52,000 people a year with type 2 diabetes with the cheaper but hugely effective drug metformin, for example.

Zolgensma is just one of the new medicines to have emerged in the past decade that benefit relatively few people  roughly 1,300 people in the UK have SMA  and come at a massive cost.

Others include cancer drugs that harness the bodys own immune system to attack and destroy tumours once thought to be incurable.

Tisagenlecleucel  a type of cancer therapy known as CAR T-cell  got the go-ahead from NHS England in 2018 to treat children with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a blood cancer.

CAR T-cell treatment involves collecting the patients immune cells from blood samples to make a personalised medicine that is injected back into the body over several weeks.

At 282,000 per patient, its one of the more expensive drugs on the NHS and about 30 patients a year will benefit. But trial results have been remarkable  with 93 per cent of patients going into complete remission in one study.

The decision about which drugs to fund on the NHS falls to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)  which uses a complex formula called quality-adjusted life year (QALY) to decide if new drugs are worth the price tag.

Simply, it measures how many extra years of good-quality life a drug will buy. One QALY represents a year of perfect health.

For example, a 50,000 drug that leads to six months of good health works out at 100,000 per QALY. But if the same drug at the same price led to two years of healthy living, it would be around 25,000 per QALY.

NICE rejects most drugs that exceed 30,000 per QALY, although it does give some more expensive ones the green light provided firms can come up with more evidence that their drugs are effective.

Treatments such as Zolgensma, despite being hugely expensive, win NHS approval because there is no alternative available and they are for diseases that affect fewer than one in 50,000 people.

For highly-expensive cancer drugs that often buy seriously ill patients a few extra months of life, the NICE formula poses a problem  almost all of them bust the budget.

This dilemma led to the creation in 2011 of the Cancer Drugs Fund, a separate pot of NHS money to pay for cutting-edge treatments.

It was meant to be a temporary arrangement but ten years later its bigger than ever.

Funding of 50 million in 2011 has soared to 300 million and at least 100,000 people are thought to have accessed drugs through the fund.

But it has faced criticism from, among others, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, which in 2016 issued a report saying it was not demonstrating with research that the money it spends actually improves patients lives.

Cancer treatment has become a growth area and some of these medicines can look quite expensive, says John Appleby.

But there has to be a degree of flexibility in the cost of new medicines or procedures so that innovation is introduced in the NHS.

If you think back to the first-ever heart transplant in 1967, there is no way NICE  if it had been around  would have approved it. It would have cost a fortune and the patient only lived for 18 days.

But here we are 40 years on, and heart transplants are routine because surgical techniques have improved considerably  we even do them on babies.

Theres no doubt that breakthrough drugs can be life-savers.

Nic Sanger, 38, from Westgate, Kent, has watched her young children  now aged ten and seven  growing up and returned to work as a midwife thanks to one such medicine, called nivolumab.

Its a type of immunotherapy that blocks a molecule called PD-1, which stops immune cells detecting and destroying skin cancer  it costs around 68,000 for a years treatment.

Nic was diagnosed with a malignant melanoma  the most dangerous type of skin cancer  at the age of 23, after noticing an irregularly shaped dark mole on the right side of her head.

It was removed and Nic was given the all-clear. But in 2015, she developed a pea-sized lump in her jaw and tests determined that her cancer had returned.

I was devastated, says Nic, who is married to postman Jon, 44.

I was still breastfeeding my daughter and had only just gone back to work after my maternity leave. My biggest fear was that the kids would grow up without me and not remember anything about me. That thought kept me awake.

Nic underwent a nine-hour operation to remove the tumour and all her lymph nodes as well as part of her salivary gland, just under the jaw.

They basically had to peel open my face and it left me quite disfigured for a long time, says Nic. The pain afterwards was horrendous.

Surgeons told her they had found more cancer cells than expected and there was a 50 per cent chance the disease would return.

Nics prospects were bleak, until her oncologist referred her to a new trial being run at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London that offered patients with advanced melanoma the chance to try nivolumab to see if it stopped the cancer from progressing.

In previous trials, three out of four patients on the drug were still free of cancer after four years.

The treatment lasted a year and wasnt without side-effects  including sore joints. But five years on, the cancer has not returned.

Six months after finishing treatment I was back at work as a midwife bringing new life into the world, and over the past four years Ive seen my children start school and celebrate birthdays, says Nic. I am so grateful.

However, in 2020 NICE ruled against the more widespread NHS use of nivolumab to treat very advanced melanoma, until there was stronger evidence to support its use.

It continued to be available to patients like Nic only through the Cancer Drugs Fund until March this year, when NICE reviewed the data and recommended its wider use.

Certainly not every cancer patient undergoing cutting-edge and expensive immunotherapy has as happy an outcome as Nic.

In November, Nicki Hopkins, 46, from Scunthorpe, lost her husband Dave, who was also 46, to a type of brain tumour called glioblastoma multiforme.

The couple have a daughter, nine-year-old Sydney, and two adult children, Dylan, 24 and Lydia, 21, from Daves previous relationship.

In September 2020, Dave started complaining of a flicker in one eye and a dull feeling in his head. Weeks later he was diagnosed with the most aggressive form of brain cancer.

It was horrific, recalls Nicki. We were told that, at best, we could hope for 18 months.

While Dave began radiotherapy and chemotherapy, Nicki began a desperate search for more options.

She came across a clinic in Germany offering an experimental immunotherapy vaccine which unmasked cancer cells so they could be seen and destroyed by the immune system.

With tens of thousands of pounds raised through crowdfunding, Dave underwent treatment sessions in early 2021, but within months the tumour was growing again.

By the summer, doctors in the UK suggested another immunotherapy drug called Keytruda (generic name, pembrolizumab). As with nivolumab, it works by revealing malignant cells to the immune system.

While it is licensed in the UK for other cancers, it was not approved for brain cancer and the couple had to pay 7,000 per injection every three weeks.

But despite initial hopes in the autumn, scans showed the tumour was growing again and in early November, Dave tragically died.

Nicki, who now helps the Brain Tumour Research charity campaign for better treatments, has no regrets but some experts fear patients expectations, for new cancer drugs in particular, are often too high. Some hope for a cure, when at best the drugs are likely to buy a few extra weeks.

Karol Sikora, a consultant oncologist and professor of medicine at the University of Buckingham medical school, says: We dont want to remove all hope but these hopes are being exploited by the pharmaceutical industry, which charges whatever it can get away with.

In the UK, we are effectively paying U.S. prices for many of these cancer drugs because around 75 per cent of all cancer drugs globally are used in the U.S.  even though it only makes up about 5 per cent of the worlds population.

In other words, the U.S. healthcare system, which is almost exclusively private, helps push up the price of drugs.

The campaign group Missing Medicines, a coalition that lobbies for fairer-priced medicines, says NHS England pays drug firms more than 1 billion a year for three cancer treatments  including Keytruda  which were developed by researchers funded by public money through the Medical Research Council.

Drug companies make astronomical profits and always say they need to charge more to recoup their investments, says Saoirse Fitzpatrick, a spokeswoman for the group. But the research on these drugs was done in the 1980s and 1990s at UK laboratories funded by public money.

Thats the riskiest stage financially  the drug discovery process  and in many cases pharmaceutical companies dont actually get involved until they know something is already financially viable.

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), which represents drug firms, says a voluntary scheme between commercial companies and the UK government caps the amount the NHS can spend on new treatments and limits the annual increase in spending on new drugs to 2 per cent.

David Watson, the ABPI patient access director, says: This provides the NHS with absolute certainty of budget.

Grateful patients such as Nic find it impossible to put a value on their treatment.

She says: The drug saved my life  without it I wouldnt be here.

A previous version of the article reported that Nivolumab costs around 125,000 for a years treatment when in fact this costs around 68,000.
With Christmas just a few weeks away, a leading insurer is warning homeowners of a potential surge in burglaries - and says many may be too complacent about such crime.

Burglary rates continue to rise across the UK, with 74 per cent of police forces having reported a rise in thefts over the last three months.

An estimated 65,000 burglaries were recorded between July and September 2021  an average of 712 every day, according to the latest Burglary Barometer from Churchill Home Insurance.

But it said that despite an overall rise in thefts, Britons are less concerned about burglary than they were three months ago.

Increase: 74% of police forces have reported a rise in burglaries over the last three months

The increased burglaries represented a 6 per cent increase on the previous three months - and it is likely to rise again ahead of Christmas as shoppers fill their homes with valuable presents.

The City of London Police saw the biggest increase at 115 per cent, though this figure can easily be skewed by the Square Mile's small population.

It was followed by Cleveland and Suffolk, which saw rises of 33 and 30 per cent respectively.

This is the second successive quarter in which burglary rates have risen, following a period of low figures during the coronavirus lockdowns when burglars were deterred by the high number of people spending more time at home.

Lincolnshire and Norfolk have seen the biggest declines in thefts, with burglaries down 20 per cent when compared to the last three months.

This was followed by Staffordshire Police at 10 per cent.

Despite an overall rise in thefts, Britons are less concerned about burglary than they were three months ago.

Based on its research, Churchill suggested that almost half the population currently have no concerns about being burgled.

This is an 18 per cent increase from earlier this year, when that figure was less than 40 per cent.

Experts are warning this change in attitude, coupled with rising crime rates, could create a perfect storm just as burglary rates typically peak.

Sarah Khan, head of Churchill home insurance, said: 'While burglary rates have been creeping up throughout the year, as the UK returns to normal following the pandemic, our research suggests that Britons are not as concerned about being burgled as they once were.

'We would advise anyone who feels that their home is at risk to take action ahead of the festive period, which historically has a higher rate of burglary as criminals target presents and unoccupied properties.'

POLICE FORCES WITH BIGGEST INCREASE AND DROP IN BURGLARIES Police Constabulary with biggest drop in burglaries Burglaries Quarterly change Lincolnshire Police 553 -20.50% Norfolk Constabulary 422 -20.10% Staffordshire Police 803 -10.90% Cheshire Constabulary 574 -9.90% Dorset Police 658 -7.30% Police Constabulary with biggest increase in burglaries Burglaries Quarterly change City of London Police 69 115.60% Cleveland Police 1,204 33.80% Suffolk Constabulary 527 30.10% Police Service of Northern Ireland 1,102 27.30% West Mercia Police 1,191 22.70% Source: Churchill

The last three months of 2020 saw a 10 per cent rise in the number of burglaries reported, and a 23 per cent spike in the value of home insurance claims for stolen goods, compared to the previous three months.

This rising danger may not be surprising, as further research by the insurer revealed that Britons are planning on spending 15.7billion on Christmas presents this year.

As well as having the lure of a greater number of valuables to steal, burglars will also be looking to take advantage of people travelling to see loved ones.

Some 37 per cent of UK adults have said that they will be travelling to see friends and family over this festive period.

Khan added: 'The festive season is a special time of year for millions of people, providing them with the opportunity to see friends and family, relax and take time off.

'The combination of receiving presents and spending time away can lead to homes being at heightened risk of being targeted by burglars, but the good news is that many people will be able to avoid having a nightmare before Christmas by taking some basic precautions to ensure that their festive season is one to remember for all the right reasons.'

Homes are encouraged to not make it obvious how many presents they have under the tree

How to make your home safer

Churchill has provided the following tips to help people make their homes as safe as possible against the threat of burglary this winter:

 Hide the presents: Churchill's research reveals that 40 per cent of UK adults plan to store presents under the Christmas tree.

While this is a time-honoured tradition, it can also make homes look more appealing to burglars, so either delay putting presents out or consider positioning the tree away from any windows.

 Don't use cars as storage: Vehicles can often be an easier target for criminals than homes, and with many Britons saying they will be storing presents in their cars, it may be wiser to keep them hidden indoors so that neither children nor burglars can find them.

 Lit up like a Christmas tree: Burglars thrive in dark, secluded areas where it is easier to gain access to a property without detection. Always ensure any such areas near your home are fitted with motion-sensing lights or CCTV so that there is nowhere for them to hide.

 Outside chance: Make sure you look after your Christmas decorations. A quarter of people say they're planning to put up decorations outside their homes but research reveals that more than 12million people had external Christmas decorations either stolen or damaged by people lacking in festive spirit, amounting to a total loss of 1.6billion.

 Make it look like you're home for Christmas: Before you go on holiday, cancel any papers or milk you might have delivered and install timers which switch lights or radios on automatically. This will make it harder for potential burglars to identify that a house is unoccupied.

 Prepare for the worst, hope for the best: Sometimes being the victim of a burglary can be attributed to nothing but bad luck. If the worst does happen, knowing that you have an up-to-date, comprehensive home insurance policy that will replace any items stolen or damaged in a burglary can help put your mind at rest.
Tesla police cars could soon be a common sight on our road if reported positive reviews from UK forces are to be believed.

The US firm provided a 60,000 police-liveried Model 3 to be used by forces up and down the country earlier this year, with Tesla claiming it has received 'mind blowing' reports from officers as well as public support.

A synopsis of the first nine months of the trial published this week says the electric cars are capable of running for up to four hours of continuous 'advanced driving conditions' and says charging during shifts has been working with officers plugging into the brand's Supercharger network.

A 'mind blowing' police car: This electric Model 3 is being used by forces up and down the country as part of a trial since the first quarter of 2021. Tesla says it is impressing officers

Tesla UK confirmed back in June that it has provided a full Battenberg-painted Model 3 electric car, fully modified with blues-and-twos and other required features of a patrol vehicle, for a nationwide trial.

The precise specification of the Tesla saloon has not been revealed by the car maker, however the wheels suggest it is the 'Performance' variant of the top-selling EV.

This means it has all-wheel drive and can accelerate from zero to 60mph in around 3.1 seconds.

Top speed is a claimed 162mph, which should be more than fast enough to catch most offenders.

For members of the public, this iteration of the Model 3 would cost 59,990.

Max Toozs-Hobson, Tesla's Emergency Services Lead who is overseeing the trials, has provided a nine-month update on the reception the car has received from officers, with some 'great results'.

He says forces have found that it is 'achievable' to use the Model 3 for over 200 miles of 'Blue Light advance driving'.

With the average blue light run in the UK being between seven and 15 minutes, Toozs-Hobson claims the Model 3 has been used for over four hours on active deployment under 'advanced driving conditions'.

The precise specification of the Tesla saloon has not been revealed by the car maker, however the wheels suggest it is the 'Performance' variant of the top-selling EV

The trial also found that some of the additional features bolted onto - and into - the Model 3 for policing purposes are having different impacts on performance.

It claims that auxiliary systems have been found to have a minimal impact on range.

For instance, the Automatic Number Plate Recognition system being used for three hours takes a 'few miles' of range off the claimed 340-mile range and the LED lights could run for days off the battery pack.

Light bars are like running with a parachute! Max Toozs-Hobson, Account Manager & Emergency Services Lead at Tesla

However, some adaptations will likely need to be made if the Model 3 is to be deployed as a cop car across the country, most notably the position of the blues and twos.

'Light bars are like running with a parachute,' says Toozs-Hobson, suggesting they are impacting the vehicle's driving range.

The solution would be the integrate the lights into the car cabin, which would also mean no holes need to be drilled into the roof to mount a light bar, which also benefits the residual values of the cars once they are taken out of active service.

Tesla is making this test car available for those forces, brigades and other agencies wanting to trial Model 3 as an emergency response vehicle

Tesla's account manager added that officers had been charging the vehicle during their shifts without any issues.

'Last week I joined a traffic unit who got into the car with just 80 miles of range,' he said in a LinkedIn post.

'We stopped at a V3 Supercharger and gained 70 per cent power in less than 20 minutes.

'This gave us another five to six hours of driving for the shift. Plus this fill up cost less than 20.'

Officers have been able to use the Model 3's integrated USB C ports to power laptops on scene or during short charging sessions - as well as the wireless charging pad integrated into the centre console.

Toozs-Hobson says forces have also been using standard features including 'Chill' mode and the speed limiter, allowing the possibility for more officers to test its capabilities as a patrol vehicle.

He also claims that public response to seeing the police-liveried Model 3 has been 'mind blowing', with the trial described as 'an incredible engagement tool'.

Tesla says the light bar mounting the blues and twos has been acting as a parachute and future development of a Model 3 cop car would see the lights integrated in to the vehicle's cabin

The single vehicle will continue to be shared across forces for the rest of the year as part of the review by the emergency services to understand the advantages and potential pitfalls of different battery-powered vehicles.

And it won't only be the police putting the plug-in vehicle to the test.

Rapid response emergency services, such as the fire brigade, will also have the opportunity to use the zero-emission car during the trial period.

Tesla UK says the motor has been offered to forces in line with the Governments Road to Zero strategy, with emergency services testing the feasibility of using electric vehicles ahead of the 2030 ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans.

'Tesla is making this test car available for those forces, brigades and other agencies wanting to trial Model 3 as an emergency response vehicle,' the auto maker told us at the beginning of the trial.

'Model 3s performance allows for quick response in both urban and rural environments,' Tesla added.

The Tesla Model 3 has a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating, meaning it should be able to protect officers in a high-speed shunt.

Tesla adds: 'Model 3 can present savings over internal combustion engine vehicles with low maintenance requirements and industry leading efficiency.

'The car will be trialled by fire brigades, medical rapid response and police forces in a variety of roles. The adaptations and livery were completed by industry supplier, Halls Electrical Ltd.'

Metropolitan Police has been using electric cars in recent years, including the zero-emission BMW i3 pictured

The move to trial the Model 3 as an emergency response vehicle in Britain mirrors that of deployments for the popular EV with several police forces in the United States.

Tesla has yet to confirm if any UK forces have come forward with an interest in the Model 3 so far.

It won't be the first electric model to be used by the police in the UK.

Gloucester Constabulary added no fewer than 75 battery-electric cars to its fleet a year ago, the majority of them being the UK-made Nissan Leaf.

Metropolitan Police also has a number of BMW i3s it uses in the capital along with 11 hydrogen fuel-cell Toyota Mirais.
Shares in Purplebricks shed nearly 15 per cent this morning amid expectations of an impending fine for failings in its communications with tenants about deposit registrations.

The online estate agent, which has been forced to delay its half-year financial results, told investors on Monday it faces a potential financial risk in the range of 2million to 9million after it became aware of a process issue that it is now attempting to correct.

Since its founding in 2012, Purplebricks is understood to have failed to provide tenants with legally required documents explaining their deposits have been put into a national protection scheme, the Telegraph revealed this weekend.

Under UK law, landlords must provide tenants with prescribed information documents within 30 days of a deposit being paid

The firm said it would delay its interim results as the matter is probed, adding that it was correcting how it communicates with tenants on behalf of landlords to avoid claims under British laws.

Under UK law, landlords must provide tenants with prescribed information documents within 30 days of a deposit being paid.

If landlords or agents fail to do so, tenants have a six-year period in which they can claim back up to three time the value of their deposit.

Purplebricks said: The Company believes that it is prudent to provide for any potential future claims which could arise under the Housing Act in relation to this regulatory process issue.

Purplebricks is now in the process of finalising the level of provision required and associated disclosures and has therefore taken the decision to delay its results for the half year.

We will make a further announcement on the date of our half year results as soon as practical.

The revelations place further pressure on Purplebricks shareholders, who saw the value of their shares plummet more than 30 per cent at the beginning of November after the firm issued a profit warning.

Shares in Purplebricks are down 73.8 per cent year-to-date and 94.6 per cent off their 2017 peak.

Purplebricks highlighted a continued imbalance in the housing market, which it expects to continue into the second half of the financial year.

Customers of Purplebricks faced further disruption last month after the agents' conveyancing firm shut down its systems following a major security breach.

Premier Property Lawyers, the conveyancers recommended to customers selling homes via Purplebricks, took a number of its systems offline following the incident, leaving those buying and selling homes using the site facing delays to transactions.
We are planning on renovating our family home. It was built in the 1960s and is in need of modernisation.

We will do a downstairs extension and totally refurbish the rest of the house. It will involve re-wiring, new flooring, removing a partition wall, re-plastering, installing spotlights in the ceilings, and of course re-painting.

A friend of ours has advised us to get an asbestos survey before we go ahead, as there is a good chance our home contains it due to its age.

It was flagged as potentially having asbestos in our homebuyers report when we bought it, but it said if we didnt disturb the asbestos then it wasnt a risk.

At that time we didn't think we would renovate the house, but we are now in a position where we need the extra space.

When materials that contain asbestos are disturbed or damaged, fibres are released into the air. When these fibres are inhaled, they can cause serious diseases

Having read up about asbestos on the internet, we have now been left feeling rather terrified that every nook and cranny of our property might contain this deadly dust.

In light of the work we are planning on doing, I would like to know where we are most likely to encounter asbestos and how dangerous will it be if disturbed.

Should we get a survey done? How much will this typically cost, and how do we go about choosing a reputable firm?

And if it finds that there is indeed asbestos, how much can it cost to remove and would our home insurance cover it?

I am also worried that this could affect the sale of the home in the future.

Ed Magnus of This is Money replies: Asbestos is a naturally-occuring, microscopic fibre that, if inhaled, can cause severe damage to the lungs.

It was widely used in building materials from around 1930 through to the mid-1980s, but according to the Health and Safety Executive, it could be found in any building built or refurbished before the year 2000.

The British Lung Foundation estimates that some 14 million UK homes were built when asbestos was being used in the construction industry.

It can lie undiscovered for decades, so if there is a chance it could be present in your home, the risk of taking on renovations should not be underestimated.

Before the health implications of asbestos were known, products containing it were used for all manner of things  as a fire retardant, to lag pipes, in wall and roof insulation, or sprayed on to ceilings and walls as a decorative coating.

It can be very difficult to identify, as it is often mixed with other materials and its appearance can be deceptive.

Materials that contain asbestos pose very little risk when left alone, but if they are disturbed or damaged they can be very dangerous.

Fibres are released into the air which if inhaled can lead to serious health conditions including mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis.

These can take years or even decades to develop, but once diagnosed can be fatal.

Where could asbestos be lurking in YOUR home? This diagram shows all of the places in a typical home where materials containing asbestos may have been used. A - Asbestos cement water tank. B - Pipe lagging. C - Loose-fill insulation. D - Textured decorative coating on a ceiling. E - Ceiling tiles. F- Bath panel. G - Toilet seat and cistern H - Behind a fuse box. I - Airing cupboard and boiler with sprayed insulation coating. J - Partition wall. K - Interior window panel. L - Around the boiler. M - Vinyl floor tiles. N - Behind fire

Asbestos still kills around 5,000 workers each year in the UK according to the HSE, with 20 tradesmen dying each week as a result of past exposure.

But despite these terrifying statistics, the risk to your health from short-term exposure to asbestos is very low in most cases.

Developing an asbestos-related condition is much more likely to happen if you have breathed in a considerable amount of asbestos fibres over a long period of time.

But even if the risks are low to the average homeowners, disturbing asbestos when renovating could conceivably lead to prolonged exposure if the dust fibres are not effectively removed after the works and remain airborne within a property.

It would therefore be wise to be on the safe side and arrange a professional asbestos survey, not only to minimise the health concerns but also for your own peace of mind.

Nobody wants to live in a home where there might be some particles of 'deadly dust' floating around.

Professionals in protective suits remove asbestos-cement roofing underlayment.

Asbestos surveys: what they cost

There are two types of asbestos surveys that a homeowner might opt for; a management survey or a refurbishment survey.

The management survey is the standard asbestos survey, designed to identify the risk of asbestos within a building if left in its current state.

The refurbishment survey should be used prior to any renovation and will assess where the work will be carried.

It will likely involve a more rigorous inspection, with some potential asbestos disturbance required in order to take samples.

According to the HSE, the area surveyed during a refurbishment survey must be vacated, and certified 'fit for reoccupation' after the survey.

The cost will depend on the size of your property. According to the online directory Checkatrade, surveying a two or three-bedroom home using contractors on its site will cost between 100 and 350.

Removal will cost a lot more. How much depends on the type of asbestos, the amount needing to be removed, its location and its current condition.

According to Checkatrade, you should expect to pay around 50 per square metre to remove asbestos.

Alternatively, if there is no risk of an area becoming damaged or disturbed in the future, you could opt to enclose it behind another structure.

If appropriate, this could save a considerable amount of money.

To answer our reader's queries, as well as some other common questions about asbestos, we spoke to Mark Button, managing director at asbestos management firm ARL Asbestos, Satish Patel, training manager at the Asbestos Removal Contractors Association, Gary Bambury head of safety and compliance at asbestos removal firm AA Woods and Carol O'Leary, head of conveyancing at legal firm Wright Hassall.

Is the reader's home likely to contain asbestos?

Satish Patel replies: Their friend may well be right. The UK was a large importer of asbestos from around the world, and this raw asbestos was added to many products, floor tiles, riser panels, door headers and so on.

Asbestos fibres can cause lung disease

The UK only banned all asbestos products in 1999, so this property could contain asbestos.

Gary Bambury replies: It is highly unlikely that every nook and cranny of their property contains asbestos.

If present, it is likely to be in a place that is not disturbed or has been sealed or over-clad by other materials over the years, so presents little or no risk.

If not disturbed and in good condition, asbestos is the best fire-retardant material available.

How dangerous is asbestos if disturbed?

Satish Patel replies: All exposure to asbestos dust should be avoided.

Asbestos fibres can break down and become airborne, and once inhaled they can make their way deep into our lungs and cause damage.

The point of exposure and the time taken to be diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease can be anywhere from 10 to 30 years.

Asbestos related diseases include Mesothelioma. Once diagnosed, the recovery rate from this is virtually zero.

Textured, decorative ceiling coatings can contain small amounts of asbestos

Where would they be likely to find asbestos?

Satish Patel replies: Asbestos could be found within the fabric of the building, or within specific products that might have been installed.

Flue pipes from boilers, gas and electric meters, bath panels, rain water systems and riser panels covering soil pipes are just some of the common locations.

What type of survey should the reader get?

Gary Bambury replies: I would advise they have a refurbishment survey undertaken prior to any works commencing.

This will highlight any asbestos within the area of refurbishment prior to the works commencing, as well as any other asbestos present within the property.

The survey can then be used when obtaining quotations from asbestos companies for removal.

The contractor carrying out the refurbishment should also ask for this document prior to any works commencing.

An asbestos survey can cost anywhere between 100 and 900, depending on the contractor the homeowner uses, where they live and the size of the affected area

How much will a typical survey cost?

Mark Button replies: The cost is not as expensive as you may think and often is cheaper than the homebuyers report carried out when you look to buy a property.

A simple survey on a two-bedroom property can start as low as 295 plus VAT, and a large property should cost less than 900.

Can't builders assess a home's asbestos risk?

Mark Button: There are many types of asbestos-containing materials which were commonly used in properties right up till 2000, and your contractors most likely wont have the knowledge and experience or training to correctly identify all materials which contain asbestos.

Also, many of the materials containing asbestos can only be identified at an approved laboratory where the samples are examined under a microscope.

How to find a qualified surveyor

Satish Patel replies: You can use the Health and Safety Executive website to assist in choosing a competent surveyor.

Mark Button replies: Any surveying company undertaking an asbestos survey must use a UKAS accredited laboratory for the sample testing.

It must also follow HSE Guidance HSG264 'Asbestos  The Survey Guide' and hold Professional Indemnity insurance that covers asbestos surveying and testing.

Basement plumbing pipes wrapped in asbestos insulation. When selling a home that has asbestos in it, the vendor needs to declare it on the property information form

Will home insurance cover asbestos removal?

Mark Button replies: Sadly this is not covered under a household policy, unless the survey is carried out following an insured loss such as fire, flood or storm damage.

Are they legally obligated to declare it when selling?

Carol O'Leary replies: If the seller is aware that asbestos is present then they should disclose it in the property information form.

However it is often the case that sellers will not know whether or not it is present.

Sellers are not experts, and that is why a homebuyers survey should always be carried out regardless of whether or not a mortgage is being obtained.
Covid thrives in the cold weather, so now is the time to start taking steps to prevent its spread so we can all enjoy seeing in the New Year.

Ushering out the old one (bye bye 2021!) and welcoming in the new year is a terrific time for socialising  welcoming family to your home and enjoying parties with friends.

New Year really is a wonderful time, but with Covid in the mix, we must be careful

But when making your New Year plans, take time to ensure that you and your loved ones stay safe. Despite the incredible success of the vaccine programme  including the booster jabs  Covid still poses a very real threat, and because of the new Omicron variant, new rules have been introduced in England.

In winter, the risk of becoming infected with Covid becomes even greater as we huddle together inside because of the cold. Indoors, droplets containing coronavirus can hang around for much longer, waiting to be inhaled and infect the recipient, who may then pass it on to others. That's not a gift anyone wants.

Yet thanks to our festive traditions, it's a very real possibility. We're much more likely to catch Covid at this time because we gather in groups and travel on crowded public transport to celebrate with large groups of friends and family.

So now is the time to plan how to keep yourself, your loved ones and everyone else safe.

Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser, says: 'While vaccines are offering us good protection, Covid-19 is still with us.

'Stay safe by taking simple but effective steps like wearing a face covering in crowded indoor spaces, testing regularly, ventilating rooms where possible and getting a booster or vaccine when offered. By doing this, we can reduce the spread of the virus and keep ourselves and others safer.'

Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser, says we can reduce the spread

Here's what you need to do:

TAKE A TEST BEFORE GOING OUT

Before you go out to anything that involves lots of people, whether that's hitting the January sales, a party or to see family, make sure you  and anyone else who's going  perform a rapid lateral flow test to check if you have the virus. It's the best way to prevent the spread of Covid.

Free rapid lateral flow tests can be picked up from pharmacies after getting a 'collect code' from gov.uk. They are incredibly quick and simple to do  you'll get your result within 30 minutes.

If you don't test positive, you are free to carry on your day while still following other Covid restrictions and measures. But if it is positive  and it's worth remembering around a third of infected people don't show any symptoms but can pass it on to others  then cancel your outing, self-isolate and book a PCR test at gov.uk. But whether the result is positive or negative, you must log your result at gov.uk.

It's also worth taking a test if you are meeting someone who is more vulnerable to Covid  the elderly and those with an underlying health condition, who are likely to become severely ill if they become infected.

The Covid Pass on the NHS Covid app is mandatory for entry into nightclubs and settings where large crowds gather (including unseated indoor events with 500 or more people, unseated outdoor events with 4,000 or more people and any event with 10,000 or more people).

The pass demonstrates proof of two vaccine doses; proof of a negative rapid lateral flow test will also be accepted.

And remember to let anyone coming to see you from abroad know that they must have proof of a negative test two days before travel and complete a passenger locator form. A PCR test should then be taken by day two after arrival into the UK.

GOOD VENTILATION

You're not the only one circulating at a party  the air should be, too. Keeping doors and windows open when people from different households are mixing is key to staying safe as it disperses the virus before it can be inhaled.

If it's too cold to properly air a room, opening doors and windows for even for just ten minutes as many times as you can will help.

COVER YOUR FACE IN A CROWD

Face coverings are a good way to reduce transmission, so it's a good idea to wear one in busy public settings. They are now compulsory in most public indoor venues, such as cinemas, theatres and places of worship. A full list of where it is required to wear a face covering is available at gov.uk.

And make sure you wash your hands regularly for the recommended 20 seconds to avoid catching or passing on Covid this way.

HAVE YOUR BOOSTER VACCINE

The UK's vaccine programme has been a game changer that's allowed us to live fairly normal lives most of this year. But it's vital that we keep up to date with our booster jabs if this is to continue.

In light of the spread of the new Omicron variant, the Government has expanded the booster programme to include all adults aged 18 and above, and announced that all eligible people will be offered a top-up jab by the end of January.

And don't forget to take up any invitation to have the flu jab to keep yourself well and  like the Covid jab  help take the pressure off the NHS this Christmas.

'WE'RE TESTING BEFORE WE JOIN THE FAMILY'

Gail Hugman, 64, runs Human at Core, a motivation programme for young children. She lives in Barnet, north London, with her husband:

At the moment, Im planning to go to my sisters and well all be taking a rapid lateral flow test beforehand, and Im sure well have the windows open when were there to let air circulate.

Obviously, if my husband or I test positive, we wont be going, so Ive ordered a turkey just in case!

Gail Hugman, 64, from north London, is taking steps to avoid catching and passing on Covid

'I'm quite worried about the virus  I've seen people you wouldn't expect to become seriously ill; a friend's 18-year-old had to go to hospital when he caught it.

'I'm keen to avoid infection so I've opted to take part in a networking event online rather than in person and have my Pilates class via computer, too.

'I'm not seeing big groups of friends, I wear a mask when out among other people and whenever I get home, even if I've just been for a walk and haven't touched anything, wash my hands thoroughly.

'I'm doing a lot on my computer  I've switched my business online and am getting just as good results with the children. I've also gone back to having my shopping delivered.

'I WANT STAFF AND CUSTOMERS TO FEEL SAFE'

Harriet Kelsall, 50, runs Harriet Kelsall Bespoke Jewellery, which has three stores in the south of England:

Harriet Kelsall, 50, has taken measures to keep her staff and customers safe in her jewellery shops in the south of England

'When we opened up again properly after lockdown earlier this year, we kept the big clear plastic screens we'd put in place to help people feel safer, and I'm glad we did.

'We clean them between customers and all our staff now wear visors, too, to help make visitors feel more comfortable.

'When people enter the store, we ask them to use hand sanitiser  not only does it make it harder to say no, it also often starts a conversation.

'And if they've brought in any jewellery to be redesigned, we use a special machine we've just bought that uses UV light to clean it.

'We've refreshed our social-distancing signage so people notice it and we clean all the touch points like door handles at least every 45 minutes.

'And from allowing up to eight customers in a shop at one time, we've now limited it to between two and four.'
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A group of monkeys are now able to safely cross a busy highway in Brazil and access more forests after conservationists built a bridge for them.

Conservationists in Rio de Janeiro were becoming concerned by a recent drop in population numbers of the threatened golden lion tamarin.

The Atlantic Forest of Rio de Janeiro state is the only place in the world where the species still exists in the wild.

There were fears that the golden lion tamarins had become isolated in a small area due to a highway, but it is now hoped that the bridge over the highway, which is covered with trees and plants, will help the monkeys access more forested areas.

A group of monkeys are now able to safely cross a busy highway in Brazil and access more forests after conservationists built a bridge for them

Conservationists in Rio de Janeiro were becoming concerned by a recent drop in population numbers of the threatened golden lion tamarin. Pictured: A young golden lion tamarin in the Atlantic Forest region on December 2

The bridge, built last year, has been planted with trees, shrubs and plants in the hope of making a natural corridor attractive to the primates. The vegetation is still young and will take time to grow to a size usable for the monkeys

'Scientists have shown that the population living there would be completely isolated from the other side of the road and that would create a real problem in terms of conservation,' said Luis Paulo Marques Ferraz, executive director of the metapopulation project that works to protect the numbers of golden lion tamarins.

'Genetically that population would be isolated and that is really bad. We need a large forest protected and connected,' he said.

Conservation efforts over the past few decades managed to increase the number of golden lion tamarins, bringing the species back from the brink of extinction.

But an outbreak of yellow fever in 2018 wiped out 32 per cent of the population. Today there are an estimated 2,500 golden lion tamarins in the wild.

Conservation efforts over the past few decades managed to increase the number of golden lion tamarins, bringing the species back from the brink of extinction. Pictured: Biologist Andreia Martins observes a Golden Lion Tamarin in the Atlantic Forest region of Silva Jardim in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, on December 2

An interstate highway is seen from an ecological bridge that serves as a corridor for the endangered Golden Lion Tamarin

The bridge, built last year, has been planted with trees, shrubs and plants in the hope of making a natural corridor attractive to the primates. The vegetation is still young and will take time to grow to a size usable for the monkeys.

Ferraz said that a population of 2,000 golden lion tamarins should have at least 25,000 hectares of forest. But the forest is fractured, cut up by pastures and roads and towns.

The golden lion tamarin has lost about 95 per cent of its original habitat in Brazil, conservation groups estimate.

'That's why this bridge here was so strategic and important for the conservation program,' Ferraz said.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has been both praised and condemned as she released an open letter hailing her state's residents for how they handled the Covid pandemic.

As the state welcomed the first wave of travellers after it opened its borders to all of Australia for the first time in 141 days, Ms Palaszczuk posted a letter on her social media channels which thanked Queenslanders for 'really unprecedented' results.

'It's been nearly two years. Tragically, we've lost seven lives,' Ms Palaszczuk posted.

'But the results have been really unprecedented compared to the rest of the world.

'Our businesses have been able to function.

'Our children have gone to school.

'And we've fought back and contained more than 50 separate outbreaks.

'The credit here belongs to every single Queenslander. So, thank you, thank you, thank you.'

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk locked its southern border 141 days ago, the third time it was slammed shut since the coronavirus pandemic began. Now it's finally open

Liz Smith (centre) hugs her sister Rebecca after she arrived on the first flight from Sydney into Brisbane's domestic terminal since border restrictions eased overnight

Paul Gimpel (left) hugs his daughter Rebecca Underhill after she arrived on the first flight from Sydney into Brisbane on Monday morning

Alexandra Harg and baby Hazel (middle) arrive from Sydney to be reunited with Hazel's grandparents Rob and Maja Fyfe at Brisbane Airport after Queensland's border re-opened

The comments largely echoed those Ms Palaszczuk has made in recent press conferences defending the 'Fortress Queensland' approach the state has taken to its borders.

Ms Palaszczuk said her government had always been conscious of reuniting families for this 'special time of year'.

'Queenslands cautious approach had kept Queensland safe. We will live with Covid  but on our terms,' she said, while urging residents to get vaccinated 'to protect the freedoms Queensland has enjoyed throughout the pandemic'.

Reaction to Ms Palaszczuk's post ranged from those who found it 'emotional', to those who thought the premier was inviting to Covid into the state and the standard anti-vaccination advocates.

'We have lived like there wasnt a pandemic taking place for the most part here in Queensland. Youve saved lives and I for one am incredibly grateful,' one person responded.

'I cried reading this. The last two years have been mentally exhausting,' another wrote.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk posted a letter on her social media channels which thanked Queenslanders for 'really unprecedented' results

Others weren't so complimentary.

'No welcome home to those Queenslanders your government has kept locked out for months now?' one posted.

'You are kidding, arent you ? Families have been separated, Queenslanders couldnt come home . Businesses have been destroyed,' another wrote.

'You put our kids at risk by opening Queensland,' a person posted.

'You're talking like the pandemic is over... I think that is vastly premature,' another person noted.

Hundreds of drivers queued at the NSW/QLD border overnight to be the first to pass into the Sunshine State at 1am on Monday.

Emotional scenes unfolded as the first of the cars drove through the checkpoints - the final hurdle for many drivers to be reunited with their loved ones.

'We're going up to see our son in Townsville, who we haven't seen in two years,' one driver said at the border town of Coolangatta. 'And our new grandson.'

Hundreds of drivers queued at the NSW/ QLD border overnight to be the first to pass into the Sunshine State at 1am on Monday

Rebecca (right) and Tom Underhill (centre) hug relatives after they arrived on the first flight from Sydney into Brisbane Airport on Monday

Passengers embraced loved-ones who had been waiting for them eagerly on the other side of the gates

Drivers have been warned to expect a long wait in queue with up to an hour traffic delay along the M1 and 50,000 vehicles expected to make the crossing today.

Jetstar flight JQ400 brought the first batch of passengers from Sydney to Gold Coast Airport at 7am.

Arrivals queued as they waited to pass through the arrival gates before embracing their loved ones who had been eagerly waiting for them on the other side.

Ms Palaszczuk announced one new case of community Covid infection on Monday, a Sunshine Coast man who had been infectious in the community between December 8-12.

It's believed the man had visited the Byron Bay area before returning to Queensland.

Nine further cases were detected on hotel quarantine - seven acquired interstate and two from overseas arrivals.

New chief health officer Dr John Gerrard said a peak in new Covid cases in Queensland might occur in another three or four months when it 'gets cooler, but we don't know for certain'.

'I think we will see more than hundreds [of new cases], quite possibly, in the next few months,' Dr Gerrard said.

'But let me point out, I've been seeing Covid cases since the beginning of 2020, people are vaccinated don't get very sick, they don't get very sick at all.'

Dr Gerrard said that the focus going forward would be less on individual cases and more on the trend to see whether there was an exponential rise in cases in the community or the hospitals.

As many as 90,000 people are expected to cross over the state border by plane and car every single day.

Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said 23,500 applications had been made for border passes from people coming from hotspots by 10am on Monday.

She said wait times were around 20 minutes on the M1 Motorway this morning and 10 minutes in other border checkpoints. Some people waited over an hour when the border re-opened in the middle of the night.

Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski expects drivers to account for the majority with 60,000 cars entering the state.

The figure is a sharp increase to the 20,000 that crossed every day when borders were closed in July.

'What we will see will be more than double that,' deputy commissioner Gollschewski said.

'We could see up to 60,000 vehicles (crossing into Queensland) per day.'

Journalist Davina Smith was among the first of the eager drivers to enter the state who documented the long wait in queue.

'Here we are, after about six months, we are almost in Queensland,' she said.

'We got just short of the border at before 4am, about 2kms away. Immediately, Google Maps said we've got about an hour wait to get there.'

Domestic arrivals by plane are expected to jump from 18,000 to 30,000 a day.

Some 500 police officers have been deployed at the border checkpoints to check cars and vaccine passes.

It is the state's biggest police operation since the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Steve Kemp admitted the border closure had been hard and blamed it for keeping him separated from his family.

'I've missed out on my daughter's wedding, seven of my grandkids birthdays, Father's Day,' he said.

Queensland has welcomed the first wave of travellers after the state opened its borders for the first time in 141 days (pictured, journalist Davina Smith)

Journalist Davina Smith was among the first of the eager drivers to enter the state who documented the long wait in queue

The first of the arrivals touch down in Queensland as the state reopened its border on Monday

Barbara Hanson labelled it 'traumatic and soul destroying' before taking aim at premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.

'I'd like to put Annastacia in a caravan, and park her out here and say right you can't get back to your home now,' she said.

Chief Superintendent Wildman has told drivers to make sure they have the correct pass before trying to cross the border.

'It is important because we've had a number of drivers try to come across with what's called a general pass, a G Pass, and the particular pass required is a general a general vaccine pass, which is a GV Pass,' he said.

'If people coming into Queensland don't have the correct pass, they get turned around.'

Ms Palaszczuk locked its southern border 141 days ago, the third time it was slammed shut since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Families spent five months separated, and for much of that even locals were unable to return home and lived as broke, homeless refugees in NSW.

Borders finally open as the state reaches its reopening target of 80 per cent of the population with two doses of the Covid vaccine

The state's tourism suffered greatly with its main supply cut off. Throughout the pandemic, Queensland spent 435 days in total with closed borders.

Ms Palaszczuk, her ministers, and former chief health officer Jeannette Young refused to open them despite rising public outcry and increasing evidence they were unnecessary.

The border was so strict that gravely ill patients in northern NSW had to be flown to Sydney, one losing her unborn child, and family denied exemptions for funerals or to see dying relatives one last time.

All that is finally over as the state reaches its reopening target of 80 per cent of the population with two doses of the Covid vaccine.

Visitors from NSW, Victoria, and the ACT resumed travelling to the state from 1am on December 13, with massive lines at border crossings.

The reopening was originally slated for four days later, on December 17.

However, as life finally gets easier for the vast majority of Queenslanders and those who want to enter the state, it will be much harder for those refusing to vaccinate.

All unvaccinated people in the state will be banned from venues such as restaurants, bars, pubs, clubs, theatres, cinemas and sporting venues from December 17.

Queensland Police Commissioner Katerina Carroll said motorists should expect lengthy delays at the border

All visitors, regardless of their vaccination status or where they arrive from, need to get a Queensland entry pass.

Domestic vaccinated visitors will be able to arrive by air and road without the need to quarantine after arrival.

Visitors who have been in a declared Covid hotspot within 14 days of arriving in Queensland will need to produce a negative Covid-19 test result.

A second test will be required within five days of arriving in the state for those coming from a declared hotspot.

A person will no longer have to wait two weeks after a second Covid dose to be considered vaccinated.

Areas considered hotspots are all of NSW, Victoria, and the ACT, along with parts of South Australia and the Northern Territory affected by Covid outbreaks.

Queensland entry requirements - Visitors from declared Covid hotspots need to produce a negative Covid-19 test result on entry. - A second test is required within five days of arriving in the state for those coming from a declared hotspot - A person will no longer have to wait two weeks after a second Covid dose to be considered vaccinated before travelling to Queensland. - Unvaccinated travellers only allowed to fly into Queensland and need to go into hotel quarantine for 14 days. - Residents in the border zone who are vaccinated are able to move freely across the border for any reason. A border pass is required and is valid for 14 days but a Covid test is not be required. - Motorists should expect lengthy delays at the border. Queensland Police Commissioner Katerina Carroll urged people to travel outside of peak hours and clearly display border passes on their dashboards. - International arrivals must be vaccinated, return a negative test within 72 hours of departure, and must do 14 days of home or hotel quarantine. Advertisement

Unvaccinated travellers will only be allowed to fly into Queensland and will need to go into hotel quarantine for 14 days.

Residents in the border zone who are vaccinated will be able to move freely across the border for any reason.

A border pass will be required and will be valid for 14 days but a Covid test will not be required.

Unvaccinated residents in the border zone will be restricted to travel for the limited essential reasons that already apply.

Australians stranded overseas can also arrive in Queensland for the first time since the pandemic began, but unlike Victoria and NSW they must do a full 14-day quarantine.

International arrivals must be vaccinated, return a negative test within 72 hours of departure, and must do 14 days of home or hotel quarantine.

Quarantine will be scrapped for vaccinated international travellers once 90 per cent of eligible people in the state are immunised.

After a confusing disagreement between the state and Federal governments over the cost of the PCR tests required to gain entry, Health Minister Greg Hunt confirmed on November 23 the tests would be covered by Medicare.

The entry requirements are expected to last until Queensland reaches 90 per cent of its eligible population fully vaccinated, expected in early January.

Ms Palaszczuk said the 90 per cent make might be reached before the end of December.

The premier announced the re-opening of Queensland's borders to NSW, Victoria and ACT residents by road and air will start from 1am on December 13

Residents in the border zone who are vaccinated will be able to move freely across the border for any reason. A border pass will be required and will be valid for 14 days but a Covid test will not be required. Pictured: the barrier at the NSW-Queensland border at Tweed Heads-Coolangatta.

Health Minister Yvette D'Ath and acting chief health officer Peter Aitken both warned that Covid cases in the state will increase as the borders re-open.

Ms D'Ath warned people to be aware they should check into venues, monitor for any symptoms and maintain social distancing.

She said Queensland residents would now be able to do day and overnight trips to the NSW border zone without needing a PCR test on return as a result of the easing of restrictions.

She said the requirement of a second Covid test after five days in Queensland was required because there had been 46 positive cases enter the state since border restrictions were eased when 70 per cent of Queenslanders were fully vaccinated.

'We will have cases, that's inevitable,' said Dr Aitken.

Visitors who have been in a declared Covid hotpot within 14 days of arriving in Queensland will also need to produce a negative Covid-19 test taken within the 72 hours before arrival into the state

'As cases come into our community, it's likely we will have to think about wearing masks again, it's likely that people will need to be in quarantine, it's likely that some of family members will get sick.'

Queensland Police Commissioner Katerina Carroll said motorists should expect lengthy delays at the border.

She urged people to travel outside of peak hours and clearly display border passes on their dashboards.

'Police will be meeting you at the borders, particularly at the road borders. Police will be conducting anywhere between random to 100 per cent compliance checks,' she said.

Vehicles will also be scanned on entry to the state, the commissioner warned, and heavy fines for non-compliance with border requirements would be imposed.
One of Australia's leading jockeys has taken a serious tumble from his horse during a horror clash that led to two animals being euthanised and three riders hospitalised.

Zac Purton, 38, fell from Lucky Patch when the horse of South African rider Lyle Hewitson tripped and fell during an international meet at Hong Kong on Sunday.

The chaotic collision resulted in four riders being thrown from their saddles, leaving their horses limping and terrified.

Sadly, mounts Amazing Star and Naboo Attack were later euthanised as a result of their injuries from the crash.

Zac Purton, 38, riding mount Lucky Patch suffered the terrifying race-fall when the horse of South African rider Lyle Hewitson tripped and fell from underneath him

Trainer David Hayes paid tribute to Naboo Attack on Twitter, saying he had been a 'gentle giant who was about to show the world his greatness'.

Purton's horse Lucky Patch escaped the run held at the Sha Tin racecourse without serious injury.

Also involved in the fall was visiting Japanese jockey Yuichi Fukunaga and Mauritian-born rider Karis Teetan, with the latter escaping unscathed.

Purton, Hewitson and Fukunaga were taken to the Prince of Wales hospital following the harrowing ordeal and were reported to be in a stable condition on Sunday night.

Naboo Attack (above) tragically had to be euthanised after suffering injuries during the crash

Amazing Star, above, was likewise euthanised as a result of its injuries from the crash

Above is the brutal moment the horses collided during the Hong Kong Group One race

Over 17,000 spectators were privy to the distressing scenes (pictured) that have cast a long shadow on Hong Kong's biggest race meeting

Jockey Club executive director of racing Andrew Harding said Purton had suffered upper-body injuries, Hewitson had fractured his hip and Fukunaga was being monitored for a potential fracture of his clavicle.

'We're very sad about the loss of the two horses, and we will be investigating if there is anything that can be learned - we do that always,' Mr Harding said.

Over 17,000 spectators were privy to the distressing scenes that have cast a long shadow on the city-state's biggest race meeting.

Out of respect for the fallen jockeys and their mounts the presentations for the remaining races were adjusted as to not include the national anthem.

The international meet was held under a 'racing bubble' that allowed riders from all corners of the world to compete without coming into contact with the public (pictured, Zac Purton)

Purton (pictured) has been ruled out from riding in the remainder of the meeting in Hong Kong after he won the first three races

The international meet was held under a 'racing bubble' that allowed riders from all corners of the world to compete without coming into contact with the public.

Australian jockey Blake Shinn riding the Caspar Fownes-trained Sky Field went on to claim the nearly $4million race, but said the win felt bittersweet.

'I have mixed emotions for winning this race today. Obviously, the first emotion is that my feelings are with the fallen jockeys and horses out there,' Shinn said.

'Its gut-wrenching for any rider to see a horse go down. Its a real tragedy whats happened today, especially on the world stage when everyone is watching.'

Purton has been ruled out from riding in the remainder of the meeting in Hong Kong after he won the first three races.
Outgoing NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller has snubbed Scott Morrison and turned down a tilt at federal politics.

Mr Fuller, who became a household name after appearing at daily press conferences during Covid lockdowns, said the Prime Minister asked him to run for a federal seat.

But the top cop, who will resign in April and hand over to the force's first female boss Karen Webb, will instead pursue a new career in the private sector.

Outgoing NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller (left) has snubbed Scott Morrison and turned down a tilt at federal politics

Scott Morrison speaks to media during a press conference at Parliament House during a visit by South Korean President Moon Jae-in

Revealing that he had been recently approached, Mr Fuller told the Daily Telegraph: 'The Prime Minister was very polite in his suggestion  it was the first time I had seen him in about a year.

'He said I should not discount a life serving the country in a new way.'

Mr Fuller told the PM he would not rule out going into politics in future but was not interested right now.

Mr Morrison has also been snubbed by former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian.

The Liberal Party wanted her to run in the seat of Warringah, next to her state seat of Willoughby, but she confirmed last week she wants to turn to the private sector.

The ex-premier told 2GB Breakfast Host Ben Fordham on Friday that she will not be standing as a Liberal candidate.

'I won't be contesting the federal seat of Warringah or any other seat for that matter,' she said.

'I'm going in a different direction.'

It's expected Ms Berejiklian will instead pursue a corporate career and enjoy a 'quieter life'.

Ms Berejiklian informed the prime minister of her decision on Thursday and Mr Morrison said he respected her decision.

At the election, expected in May, Mr Morrison wants to cling on to the electorates he has while trying to expand his ranks.

The Liberal-National Coalition currently has 76 seats, the exact amount needed for a majority government, while Labor has 68.
An iHop in Alaska hit out at Joe Biden in an in-store notice, which blamed his Covid-era unemployment policies for 'nobody want(ing) to work anymore'.

A customer at a Wasilla iHop restaurant posted a snap of the sign, which blamed Biden for the restaurant having to cut back hours, and shared their disappointment at the chain's political stance.

'Hey, iHop my family and I genuinely enjoy going to your restaurants,' they posted on Twitter. 'But if this is corporate policy, I guess we won't be visiting anymore. I know we're just one small family, and we don't matter, but we can't eat at a place that condones this.'

The sign read: 'Due to the fact that Biden gave out way too much free money and nobody wants to work anymore. We are forced to reduce our hours during this week.'

A customer at a Wasilla iHop restaurant (pictured) posted a snap of a sign that blamed Biden for the restaurant having to cut back hours and said they are not planning on returning

The sign went on to say that during weekdays the restaurant would only be opened from 7am to 5pm and weekends 7am to 10pm.

The sign was posted as the Biden administration said employers had added just 210,000 jobs in November.

That number fell short of economists' forecasts even though the White House trumpeted it as showing America was getting back to work.

The latest figures suggest companies are still cautious about hiring as the coronavirus pandemic drags on.

The data were compiled by the Department of Labor before the announcement that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 was found in the U.S.

Even so Biden said unemployment had dropped faster under him than under any other president in their first term.

The unemployment rate fell to 4.2 per cent, the lowest since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis. It was 4.6 per cent in October.

The U.S. has gained back 83 per cent of the jobs lost due to the pandemic.

The U.S. economy added just 210,000 jobs in November, which is 340,000 below the expected 550,000 jobs, in a sign that companies are still wary of the coronavirus pandemic

The sign has garnered mixed reactions online, with some applauding iHop management for being blunt and others saying that frustration is misplaced and inappropriate.

'Hey iHop, my family and I don't normally eat breakfast out but I will make it a point to support your business because you dare speak the truth at a time it's being silenced,' one person tweeted in support.

'Yeah. When I see a sign posted by a restaurant door, I am always prepared to turn around and walk away if it's this kind of entitled, anti-worker nonsense. I will not support a business that can't keep staff and blames it on phantom "free money" and other people's laziness,' someone else tweeted against the sign.

One person tweeted they will stop by to support the chain for their honesty: 'Kudos to iHop for being truthful and not freaking woke. Think our family of 6 will stop by.'

Another person tweeted that the restaurant needs to pay it's employees more and stop blaming Biden: 'That money ran out months ago. Raise your wages iHop, People are rethinking their priorities and working for min wage minus taxes during a pandemic w no benefits ain't the lure you might think it is. 800K dead so the job market is an oyster waiting to be plucked. Step it up.'

This is not the first time management have posted signs at their establishment blaming the government for worker shortages.

In July a Taco Loco in Folsom posted a slow service sign after struggling to find enough workers at the popular restaurant.

The sign reads: 'To our loyal customers. Sadly, due to government and state handouts no one wants to work anymore. Therefore, we are short staffed.

'Please be patient with our staff that did choose to come to work today to serve you.'

At the time restaurant owners said they were struggling to find the staff die to the government's COVID handouts that were leaving people unwilling to work for less than they could be making on unemployment.
A Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen franchise in Philadelphia has banned homeless people from entering its restaurant.

Manager, Dayshon Aaron Sields, who runs the fast food joint on 15th street and Chestnut in Center City, said the new policy was put into effect after multiple homeless people came in without masks despite the city mandate. At other times, employees have had to call police on those who 'come in and trash the store'.

He adds that staff 'understand there is a problem with people being homeless, and do not want to add to the problem, but also have a business to run and rules and regulations they have to follow.'

Sields also told TMZ that homeless customers are allowed to come inside the store to warm up, sometimes given free meals, but they must follow business protocols.

Dailymail.com has contacted Popeye's feedback hotline but did not receive a response.

The Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen restaurant at 1516 Chestnut St, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

A tweet of the sign taped on the door of the specific Popeye's restaurant in Philadelphia. The user who took the photo said in response to the franchise's new policy that homeless people 'deserve dignity and respect.'

About 5,700 are considered to be homeless in Philadelphia, which includes about 950 who are unsheltered. Pictured: Homeless people are seen on streets of the Kensington neighborhood as homelessness and drug addiction hit Philadelphia

One Twitter user, who 'purchased hundreds if not thousands of meals for homeless people', took a picture of the sign taped directly on the front door, reading, 'no homeless people allowed inside the store.'

In response to the store's policy, the same user wrote that homeless people 'deserve dignity and respect.'

Another Twitter user asked, 'how do they know if someone is homeless? The way they dress? What if they have money for a cup of coffee.'

'Maybe someone ought to be more concerned about why there are so many homeless on the streets of downtown Philly instead of being offended because they are there,' an additional user shared.

Other users on social media also questioned the franchise's business module, calling it out for a complete lack of empathy, compassion and humanity.

However, one of few users who sided with Popeyes said 'there are million of jobs out there' for homeless people, 'so go get ONE!!!'

Twitter users reacted after a Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen restaurant at 1516 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, had up a sign on its front door window, banning homeless people from entering the store

About 5,700 are considered to be homeless in Philadelphia, which includes about 950 who are unsheltered. Philadelphia has the lowest number of street homeless per capita of any of the largest cities in the US.

Chester County, one of the five counties in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, launched a new initiative last month to combat homelessness in the surrounding area.

The county's Department of Community Development's goal was to end homelessness in honor of November's National Hunger and Homeless and Homelessness Awareness Week, held annually the week before Thanksgiving.

As of this week, 74 percent of Philadelphia adults have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to COVID Act Now. Just under 60 percent of adults in the are have been fully vaccinated.
A U.S. fast-attack, nuclear-powered submarine arrived in San Diego on Sunday with visible surface damage following a collision earlier this year in the South China Sea.

The USS Connecticut landed at the California coast with a blemished bow after it struck an unmapped seamount October 2 while submerged in international waters in the Indo-Pacific region.

There were no life-threatening injuries and the US Pacific fleet said at the time that the submarine remained in stable condition.

WarshipCam posted a photo on Twitter of the submarine returning to US soil.

The US Navel Institute (USNI) News reported that the vessel traveled across the Pacific Ocean on its surface because it was not safe for it to be submerged following the crash.

The USS Connecticut landed at the California coast with a blemished bow after it struck an unmapped seamount October 2 while submerged in international waters in the Indo-Pacific region. It is pictured in a file photo

WarshipCam posted a photo on Twitter of the USS Connecticut submarine returning to US soil Sunday, more than two months after it was damaged in the South China Sea

USS Connecticut The Connecticut is a Seawolf-class nuclear-powered fast attack submarine. It is the the fifth active United States Ship to be named for the U.S. state of Connecticut, going back to 1776. It was constructed by the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation at Groton, Connecticut, and launched on September 1, 1997. Class and type: Seawolf-class submarine Displacement: 7,568 tons light, 9,137 tons full, 1,569 tons dead Length: 353 ft Beam: 40 ft Draft: 36 ft Propulsion: 1 S6W pressurized water reactor (PWR) 57,000 shp (43 MW) Complement: 15 officers, 101 men Advertisement

'The boats sonar dome became inoperable as a result of the collision, making it unsafe to travel underwater,' the outlet said, adding the ballast tanks and forward section of the boat were also damaged.

It will be repaired at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Washington, the outlet reported.

It's not clear why it entered the US through San Diego; the Navy did not respond to a DailyMail.com request for comment.

It also isn't known how long it will take - or how much it will cost - to repair the vessel.

On the day the USS Connecticut struck the underwater mountain there were soaring tensions with China after 39 warplanes breached Taiwanese airspace.

A record 56 aircraft flew into the zone two days later in a 24-hour period.

But the 7th Fleet, which operates in the western Pacific, determined after an investigation that there had been no foul play in the incident, concluding in November that the Connecticut smashed into a mountain rising from the sea bed.

'The investigation determined USS Connecticut grounded on an uncharted seamount while operating in international waters in the Indo-Pacific region,' a spokesman said.

The Navy remains on high alert in the South China Sea where Beijing continues to make threats to Taiwan and lays claim to other smaller disputed islands, valued for their strategic and historic significance.

Taiwan's president confirmed for the first time in late October that American troops were stationed on the island - just days after President Joe Biden publicly confirmed he would defend the nation from China should it come under attack.

The accident came amid rising tension in the region. Some 150 Chinese warplanes violated Taiwan's 'air defense zone' at the weekend, including 52 which flew in the single-largest mission to date (pictured) triggering warnings of war

The Seawolf-class fast marine will be repaired at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Washington. It is pictured in a 2016 file photo

Three people were fired following the USS Connecticut crash 'due to lack of confidence,' the US 7th Fleet said in a November 4 statement.

Fleet commander Vice Adm. Karl Thomas relieved Cameron Aljilani as commanding officer , Lt. Cmdr. Patrick Cashin as executive officer, and Master Chief Sonar Technician Cory Rodgers as chief of the boat.

'Thomas determined sound judgement, prudent decision-making and adherence to required procedures in navigation planning, watch team execution and risk management could have prevented the incident,' the statement said.
Roxy Jacenko's husband has made a long-awaited return to the finance industry - five years after he was jailed over insider trading.

Oliver Curtis is gearing up to take bitcoin mining business Firmus Grid to the ASX for 2022, as he tries to move on from being found guilty of conspiracy to commit insider trading.

The father-of-two is not permitted to run or serve as a director of a business until June 2022 as part of a court-ordered mandate.

He serves as the company's chief operating officer while his father Nick - who made his fortune in mining selling rare minerals - is chairman.

Curtis' role, which is well within the guidelines of his court order, does not directly manage the finances and is helping to shape the company as it seeks to become the first of it's kind on the Australian stock exchange.

Oliver Curtis is gearing up to take bitcoin mining business Firmus Grid to the ASX for 2022, five years after he was found guilty of conspiracy to commit insider trading

Oliver Curtis was not legally able to run a business for five years after he was found guilty of conspiracy to commit insider trading in 2016. Pictured leaving jail in 2017 after a 12 month sentence

He left Cooma Correctional Centre on a private jet with his wife Roxy, daughter Pixie and son Hunter

The Tasmania-based bitcoin mining operation is seeking to raise $55 million to land on the ASX market next year, the Australian Financial Review reports.

In addition to the bitcoin mining, Firmus operates a renewables-powered cloud service and 'innovative data centre company'.

Curtis' role with his father's new venture prompted his decision to part ways with his wife in one of their business deals, four years after launching PR company 18 Communications together.

The company, which aimed to promote Australian brands in the Chinese market, officially closed this month, with Ms Jacenko confirming the news exclusively to Daily Mail Australia at the time.

'I opened the business four years ago when Oli was released [from jail] to help him get back on his feet, given his extensive knowledge of China from his work over the years,' Ms Jacenko said.

Curtis' leg up with his father's new venture prompted his decision to quietly part ways with his wife in one of their business deals, four years after launching PR company 18 Communications together

Pictured: Roxy and Oliver at their wedding

Pictured: Curtis being escorted to a prison van to begin his sentence on June 24, 2016

The 41-year-old entrepreneur explained that 18 Communications enjoyed plenty of success, and the only reason why it closed was because neither she nor her husband had the time to run it.

Curtis served a year-long sentence at Cooma Correctional Centre, after a sensational court case found him guilty of conspiring to commit insider trading. He was released on June 23, 2017.

Upon his release, he told Daily Mail Australia that he tried to make the best of a bad situation while he was in custody.

'You've got two ways to deal with it. You either shut down and be reclusive and stay within yourself - that's not who I am. Or you have to deal with it, and fit in and adjust,' he said.

Upon his release (pictured), he told Daily Mail Australia that he tried to make the best of a bad situation while in custody

Curtis got emotional when describing his pain at being separated from his wife, Jacenko

Curtis was pictured cuddling up to his children minutes after he was released from prison

He got emotional when describing his pain at being separated from his wife during a period of such turmoil in her personal life.

The powerhouse publicist was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after he began his stint in prison.

'I was in a two by four (cell) on my own in solitary confinement And I got let out once a day. I was locked into another cage to take a phone call, I had a seven minute phone call.

'During that process, over a matter of three or four days, I found out A) that Roxy had found a lump B) she went to get tested and C) that she had cancer  And you're sitting in a jail cell on your own with nobody and no ability to communicate with anybody.'
A highly pessimistic report that England could face as many as 75,000 deaths from Omicron by May was questioned by experts yesterday.

The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine study sounded the alarm that the country will face a substantial wave of infections by the variant unless more drastic measures are put in place.

Experts warned, however, that they felt the report had been rushed out and was based on sketchy data as it is still unknown how severe infection by Omicron actually is  although initial indications from South Africa suggest it may be milder than previous strains.

When making similar estimates in April as to how the country might suffer when lockdown restrictions were lifted in the summer, the school was the most negative forecaster in the UK, only to be proven wrong.

They warned against lifting restrictions and predicted there would be a resurgence in admissions and deaths comparable to the magnitude of the second wave in January, when there were more than 1,000 deaths a day.

As Freedom Day in July neared, the LSHTM significantly scaled back their forecast as more accurate data became available.

Then, under their more realistic scenario, they predicted 1,000 hospital admissions and fewer than 200 deaths per day.

On July 19 when lockdown was finally lifted, deaths numbered just 71 in England. In the months following, they peaked at 153 on October 28.

This weekend, under their most gloomy appraisal, LSHTM forecasters suggested the country could be hit by 492,000 hospitalisations and around 75,000 deaths by the end of April. This was based on the Omicron virus having high immune escape  ie evading existing immunity to earlier Covid-19 variants  and a lower effectiveness of boosters.

Under their most favourable estimate, there will 175,000 hospitalisations and 24,700 deaths.

They based those figures on existing immune responses being effective against Omicron, and boosters also being highly effective. LSHTM said the team estimates that stronger measures may be required to keep the peak number of hospital admissions below the January 2021 peak.

Dr Rosanna Barnard, from LSHTMs Centre for the Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases who co-led the research, said: There is a lot of uncertainty about the characteristics of Omicron, and whether Omicron in England will follow the same course as it has in South Africa... Our most pessimistic scenario suggests that we may have to endure more stringent restrictions to ensure the NHS is not overwhelmed. Mask-wearing, social distancing and booster jabs are vital, but may not be enough.

The study is important because the LSHTM contributes to Sage, the Governments scientific advisory body, which will take its findings into account.

But the scientists admit their report estimating the impact of Omicron has been compiled without yet knowing the full picture of how serious the variant is likely to be. It has also not yet been peer reviewed  subjected to scientific scrutiny by independent scientists  the gold standard of scientific research.

Professor Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, pointed to a report from Friday, from the UK Health Security agency, suggesting that boosters will have a high efficacy of 70-75 per cent. Due to that, the LSHTMs most pessimistic projections are already out of date and unlikely to come to pass, he said.

He added: Any model is only as good as its assumptions and one key assumption in this model is that severity of disease outcomes for Omicron is the same as for Delta in unvaccinated people.

Although we will not know for certain for a few weeks, indications from South Africa do suggest that Omicron does cause less severe disease than Delta.

Professor Mark Woolhouse of Edinburgh University said: These should not be regarded as firm predictions given that there is still considerable uncertainty about several key parameters, particularly regarding the severity of disease... At the moment, we have only sketchy data.

Professor Carl Heneghan, of Oxford Universitys Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, told The Sunday Express: This paper has been rushed out.

The academic added: How can we still be following modelling advice which has consistently been shown to be wrong?

Karol Sikora, professor of medicine at the University of Buckingham Medical School said the LSHTM study was an extreme.

He added: Theres no doubt Omicron is causing a much milder disease with fewer hospitalisations, ICU admissions and deaths. The South Africa data is now convincing. And of course boosters reduce severity further even though the vaccinated population is much lower in S Africa.

The usual gloom and doom people always get priority on BBC so its scaring the whole population!
Apart from Boris Johnson, so far it's been mainly Whitehall civil servants and political advisers mired in partygate.

MPs haven't been accused. Yet.

But I hear that on the night the Tier Three restrictions were introduced in London last year, the Carlton Club, spiritual home of the Conservative Party, was rammed with members.

So far, apart from Boris Johnson, it's been mainly Whitehall civil servants and political advisers mired in partygate. MPs haven't been accused. Yet

Pictured: Boris Johnson is seen on Saturday arriving at a central London hospital after his wife, Carrie Johnson gave birth to a baby girl earlier this week

The new restrictions, banning socialising and shutting down the hospitality trade, came in at 00.01 on December 16, and yet many of the club's members who'd been pouring in throughout the night failed to flee, Cinderella-like, as the clock struck midnight.

My spy, who was there, tells me: 'It was like the last night of the Roman empire.

'There were MPs, donors, party workers you name it. Some were staggering around with a glass in each hand slopping drink everywhere.

'They were drinking like they thought they were never going to be able to party again.'

The member estimated that the bar finally closed at 4am  four hours after the new rules came in. 'If the police had raided they would have had a field day,' he said.

Flying tonight  the Lords' fish

Lord (Bertie) Denham, who has died aged 94, was a former Conservative chief whip in the Lords and almost certainly the only baron to have thrown a dead herring at an earl. In his memoirs, the former minister Earl Ferrers told how he hid a herring in Lord Denham's office drawer while the chief whip was away on a long weekend. When Denham returned on the Tuesday, the herring stank to high heaven.

'Bertie screamed and, rather childishly I thought, put it in my drawer,' Ferrers recalled. 'I in turn screamed, and threw it at Bertie. He screamed, the secretary screamed, everybody screamed.'

There followed an exchange of fire with the herring before calm was finally restored.

Another Gould is rising the Labour ranks. Georgia Gould, daughter of late New Labour co-founder Lord Gould, was last week named Council Leader of the Year by the Local Government Information Unit.

The awards were held, happily, in Camden, North London, where she just happens to be leader.

She got the top job in 2017, aged only 30, and is tipped for a safe parliamentary seat  even though she is not running a happy ship.

In the past two weeks, six of Gould's Labour colleagues have been deselected.

A practising Roman Catholic, the comedian Frank Skinner was delighted to receive his first Christmas card last week. It was from the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.

'I mean, that's pretty good going, isn't it?' says Skinner. 'There's an excommunication in the post probably if my parish priest hears about this, but still . . .'

Light relief at No 10

There was a rare bright moment for Boris last week when he pressed the button to turn on the Downing Street Christmas tree lights.

But even that didn't go to plan.

Before he could do it, Carolyn Harris  a Labour MP, yes Labour  beat him to it.

A formidable anti-gambling campaigner, the Swansea East MP was on her way into No 10 for a meeting with officials. Scanning the door for a bell (there isn't one), she eventually spotted a small grey box, saw a button, pressed it, and hey presto on went the lights.

Tory Sir Iain Duncan Smith and the SNP's Ronnie Cowan also arrived for meetings and dissolved into helpless laughter when they realised she had stolen the PM's thunder.
A Today Show reporter reunited with her family in Queensland live on-air after the state reopened its border to all Australians.

Christine Ahern was followed by camera crews as she caught the first flight from Melbourne to Brisbane Airport on Monday.

She became visibly nervous and emotional as she stepped off the plane and searched for her family who were waiting with flowers in hand in the terminal.

'I haven't seen them in more than a year,' she said, holding back tears. 'It's been a long year. Hopefully they're as excited to see me as I'm excited to see them.'

Christine Ahern was followed by camera crews as she caught the first flight from Melbourne to Brisbane Airport on Monday

Ahern is one of the tens of thousands of travellers returning to the Sunshine State after the borders were reopened

Ms Ahern spotted her sister Sharon and nieces and nephew Max, Annika and Quinn among the crowd.

She rushed over before embracing them in a group hug and breaking down into tears.

Today Show host David Campbell and Sylvia Jeffreys revealed from the Sydney studios they had one more surprise for her.

'There's one more surprise,' Jeffrey said.

'Chris, if you keep looking around, who else can you see at the airport right now?' Campbell added.

A stunned Ahern let out a scream of joy as she noticed her parents standing nearby.

Her parents live on the Sunshine Coast and Ms Ahern did not think she would be seeing them so soon at the airport.

'It's been so long since I've seen my beautiful parents,' she said. 'And these are just some of the best parents you could hope for.

'They've just been on the phone with me always during lockdown, talking me through it.

'My family means everything. It's been a long hard time in Victoria. They've seen me through.'

Host Jeffreys, a fellow Queenslander, was overwhelmed with emotion much of the morning as she watched live footage of loved ones embracing each other after flying and driving into the state on Monday.

'I know, it's just gorgeous,' Jeffreys said. 'It's so nice seeing everyone coming back together again. Let's move on before I really ugly cry.'

Jeffreys has felt the impact of the border closure firsthand as the Queenslander has been presenting the Today Show at the Nine Network studios in North Sydney, NSW.

The 35-year-old, like thousands of residents, has been unable to travel back to her home state to visit family for almost five months.

'Everyone's just got so used to being separated over this period of time,' she said. 'To see everyone back together, it must be so surreal for them.'

Some 50,000 drivers are expected to cross the border today with tens of thousands more arriving in by plane

Melburnian Matthew Ryland can't wait to paddle his board into the warm waters of Currumbin Alley for a few waves next week

Ahern is one of the tens of thousands of travellers returning to the Sunshine State after the borders were reopened.

Some 50,000 drivers are expected to cross the border today with tens of thousands more arriving in by plane.

Melburnian Matthew Ryland can't wait to paddle his board into the warm waters of Currumbin Alley for a few waves next week.

For the 49-year-old father of three, the Gold Coast is a tantalising prospect after a long winter of COVID-19 lockdowns and icy surfs in Bass Strait.

'So we're big into the beach and surfing, so I've got three sons and they all get out there, so I can't wait for that,' he said.

'Nice, warm water, you don't need a huge, big thick wetsuit and an hour-and-a-half drive. You can just walk down and jump in the nice, beautiful surf with good waves.

'That would be the best thing, of course, after seeing everyone again.'

Ryland and his family are flying north for their annual Christmas gathering at his parents' Gold Coast home.

Arrivals embrace with loved ones who waited in the terminal at Gold Coast Airport on Monday

Queensland reopened its border to all Australians for the first time in 141 days on Monday

His two sisters and their families will also be making the journey up from South Australia.

The family holiday is important for his parents too, he says, because his boys are growing up.

'Kids change so quickly, the difference between a nine and 11-year-old's a lot or 14 and a 16-year-old.

'It's a pretty big time for them.'

The partition of loving relationships by Queensland's hard border has been the flaw of long-standing policy that has effectively shielded the state from deadly COVID outbreaks seen elsewhere in Australia.

It has also bought authorities precious time to vaccinate more than 80 per cent of Queensland's eligible population.

Police have been deployed to checkpoints along the NSW/QLD border to facilitate drivers into the state

At the same time, it left thousands stranded interstate and denied dozens the chance to say a final goodbye to dying loved ones.

The sadly enduring image of the policy's downside is of 26-year-old Canberra woman Sarah Caisip dressed in full PPE and hunched over her father's coffin in Brisbane last year.

She was granted permission to leave hotel quarantine to say goodbye but authorities wouldn't let her see him on his death bed or go to his funeral.

While the border has caused much emotional trauma, it has protected Queenslanders from the ravages of COVID-19 with just six people dying with the virus since the pandemic began.
For aspiring young spies, it is a mission for your eyes only.

GCHQ has created its first Christmas card puzzle for schoolchildren.

Sir Jeremy Fleming, the spy chief who leads the UKs intelligence agency, is challenging secondary pupils aged 11 to 18.

With a choice of seven puzzles, youngsters can pit their wits against the countrys finest intelligence officers to find the answer.

These puzzles are designed to test maths and science whiz kids, as well as the next generation of aspiring young spies... but can you solve them?

Each year the agency releases a card containing a Christmas brain-teaser which is sent to National Security colleagues and partners across the world working to tackle organised crime gangs and hostile states.

But this year the puzzles have been designed for children.

The aim is to persuade more pupils to take an interest in subjects like maths, science and engineering  and to consider careers in the intelligence services.

Sir Jeremy said: I want to show young people that thinking differently is a gift. GCHQs challenge is being launched across schools with the support of mathematician Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon.

Dr Imafidon is standing in for presenter Rachel Riley on Channel 4s Countdown while she is on maternity leave.

She said the puzzles are a fun, festive way to explore a range of skills such as critical thinking.
Children are being chaperoned on their way to and from school to deter stabbings and gang violence in a trial scheme.

Youth workers are taking on the duties because officials believe they are more likely to be trusted by teenagers than police.

The first such scheme has been launched at Erdington Academy, Birmingham, a few weeks ago.

In the New Year, chaperones will also monitor pupils at another 17 locations identified by police around the West Midlands including Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.

If the West Midlands trial - called Step Together and funded by the Home Office at a cost of 1.2million - is successful, it is expected to be introduced nationally.

Keon Lincoln, 15, was shot twice by a 14-year-old gunman and stabbed 'with large knives' during a 30-second onslaught in Birmingham in January this year

The introduction of chaperones in the region follows concern at violence involving school-age teenagers including the murder of Keon Lincoln, 15, who was stabbed and shot dead by a gang of teenagers in January.

Chaperoning projects originated in the US, where they have successfully reduced violent crime affecting school pupils in Chicago.

Simon Foster, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, said youth violence in the area was 'far too high'.

He told The Sunday Times: 'It's so important that our young people feel safe not only when they are at school, but also when they're travelling to and from it.'

The 18 routes to and from schools in the West Midlands where chaperoning will operate have been identified with help from secondary school pupils.

Youth workers involved will not routinely escort pupils but will aim to 'de-escalate potential violence', standing in places where fights could start, such as outside takeaways or near skate parks and playgrounds.

They are expected to accompany children on some parts of their journeys if the presence and reassurance of a 'trusted adult' is needed.

Simon Mallett, head teacher of Erdington Academy, said: 'We know violence and intimidating behaviour can, on rare occasions, occur on any walk to and from school, so to actively take steps to prevent that from happening is a really positive step.'

Keon was killed outside his home in Handsworth, Birmingham, at a time when schools were mainly conducting lessons online - but a boy who went to the same school was jailed for firing the fatal shot.

Yussuf Mustapha, who was 14 at the time of the attack in January, was convicted of murder and last month jailed for a minimum of 16 years.

In the New Year, chaperones will also monitor pupils at another 17 schools identified by police around the West Midlands including Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.

Three other teenagers, including a 16-year-old boy, were also convicted of murder and a fourth of manslaughter and received lengthy prison sentences.

Other recent murders involving schoolchildren included 12-year-old Ava White, who was stabbed during Liverpool's Christmas lights switch-on last month. A 14-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been charged with her murder.

Meanwhile, there have been 28 teenagers murdered so far this year in London, including Fares Maatou, 14, who was stabbed in Canning Town, East London, while wearing his school uniform - before his killers were said to have made off with his e-scooter. A 14-year-old boy was charged with his murder.

Chicago's Safe Passage programme - the inspiration for Step Together - was launched after Derrion Albert, 16, was beaten to death in 2009 on his way home from school in a brawl between rival students.

The scheme was extended in 2013, after school closures meant pupils had to walk to class across gang boundaries.

Now groups of community worker are dotted along a series of routes across the city each morning and at the end of the school day.

According to research from the University of Illinois, violence dropped by 14 per cent on streets covered by Safe Passage.

Also, there was no evidence of the violence being displaced to neighbouring streets.

Jon Yates, director of the Youth Endowment Fund, a charity which will evaluate the West Midlands scheme, said: 'We know that in a US context providing chaperones for kids as they go home from school reduces violence.

'What we don't know is if it will have the same impact here. But if it does, it could see lives saved.'

Retired headteacher and former Downing Street education advisor Chris McGovern, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said he was concerned about the ability of youth workers to step in and that police should be carrying out the duty.

He said: 'We're expecting too much from social workers and chaperones. You can't expect schools and social workers to act as police.

'The police should have whatever resources they need to patrol the streets. We need more police on the beat, on patrol, to take back control of the streets from the gangs. It's a matter of preserving a society which is liveable.'
Scott Morrison has confirmed a quarantine-free travel bubble with South Korea will start on Wednesday.

Fully vaccinated South Koreans will be able to enter Australia for the first time since March 2020 when the borders closed in attempt to keep out coronavirus.

The bubble arrangement, which also applies to Japan, was delayed by two weeks from December 1 as a precautionary measure in light of the new Omicron variant of Covid.

The Prime Minister welcomed South Korean President Moon Jae-in to Parliament House on Monday

Mr Morrison announced the bubble in a press conference alongside South Korean President Moon Jae-in at Parliament House after the nations signed a $1billion defence deal.

He said some 20,000 Korean students a year study in Australia.

'We are looking forward to welcoming them back as we are the many tourist and business travellers and skilled migrants and on Wednesday of this week we will again move forward,' he said.

President Moon visited Parliament House on Monday to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Australia and South Korea.

He said he hopes the travel bubble 'will lead to more active exchange and economic revitalisation.'

Under the historic defence deal, Korean company Hanwha will provide 30 self-propelled howitzer artillery weapons, 15 ammunition supply vehicles and radars to detect enemy artillery.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and South Korean President Moon Jae-in pose for photographs ahead of a bilateral meeting at Parliament House

It is the largest defence contract struck between Australia and an Asian nation.

The new vehicles will be able to quickly fire and move to avoid enemy counterattacks.

Defence Minister Peter Dutton touted the deal as a boost for Australian firepower and security in the Indo-Pacific.

'(It) is one of several projects that will modernise the Australian Army, ensuring it continues to maintain a capability advantage now, and into the future,' he said.

'We are committed to keeping our region safe while protecting our interests in a rapidly changing global environment.'

The deal is expected to create at least 300 jobs in the greater Geelong region, where the manufacturing facility will be based. Construction is due to start in 2022.

Mr Morrison said the relationship continued to grow, underpinned by trade, shared values, common regional strategic interests and a commitment to an open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison with wife Jenny pose for photographs with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and wife Kim Jung-sook at Parliament House

'Our comprehensive strategic partnership with the Republic of Korea is underpinned by our joint commitment to defence and security cooperation,' Mr Morrison said.

Mr Moon is the first international leader to visit Australia since borders reopened.

Australia has comprehensive strategic partnerships, or their equivalents, already with ASEAN, China, Fiji, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea.

South Korea is Australia's fourth-largest trading partner and fourth-largest export market under a free trade agreement that has been in force since December 2014.

The two nations also signed deals on critical minerals and low emissions technology.

President Moon is pushing for a region-wide partnership to boost the production and distribution of hydrogen, which by 2050 is expected to account for 13 to 18 per cent of world energy.

With AAP
British comedian Russell Brand has slammed Australia's response to the Covid crises describing quarantine facilities as 'internment camps' and pandemic powers given to police as 'terrifying'.

The 46-year-old in a video uploaded to Youtube on Sunday said he 'stood with Australians' who were protesting and felt concerned civil liberties are being infringed upon by 'draconian' restrictions.

Protests have rocked Melbourne almost weekly for months over lockdown rules and vaccine mandates but Dan Andrews' new pandemic management bill has seen turnouts surge to tens of thousands in the last few weeks.

British comedian Russell Brand has taken aim (pictured) at Australia's handling of the Covid pandemic saying he was 'worried' about 'civil liberties and freedoms'

Civil rights and law groups have also grown increasingly vocal seeking to formalise an Australian charter of human rights to keep pandemic powers in check.

Brand quoted an article from The Grayzone which referred to Australian quarantine facilities - such as Howard Springs in the Northern Territory and a new multi-million dollar facility being built in Mickleham in Melbourne - as 'internment camps'.

The article quotes Harley Hodgson who stayed at the camp for 14 days quarantine as saying: 'You feel like you're in prison. Like you've done something wrong. It's inhumane what they're doing'.

'I suppose that the argument is that the coronavirus is so lethal that any measure necessary to protect human life must be taken,' Brand said.

'Some people would contest that brings to the forefront question about liberty, potential hypocrisy where we are not so concerned about this in other areas, and of the qualitative aspects of life.'

Melbourne has been rocked by protests (pictured) in recent month over lockdown rules, vaccine mandates and most recently the Andrews government's pandemic management bill

Brand admitted that the issues of the pandemic and associated regulations were 'divisive' but looking at them though a 'lens of human liberty. freedom and democracy' was important.

'Surely there should be some curtailment, some statute of limitations on how long these restrictions last, how they are enacted, whether they can they be revoked,' he said.

Brand made specific mention of rules implemented in some states during the peak of Australia's Covid outbreak and questioned whether they were warranted.

'Playgrounds closed, increased policing, large fines, curfews, restrictions on freedom of movement, being stopped and questioned by police.'

'Is there any situation you wouldn't consider that a problem?'.

He also took aim at riot gear wearing and pepper spray deploying police in Melbourne cracking down on protesters.

'If you can't protest against something what does that suggest?' he said.

Police who were dispersing protesters were doing so under Covid public health orders which prevented group gatherings.

The police response to protests was described as 'heavy-handed' by many including a former deputy chief medical officer (pictured, an arrest at a protest in Melbourne on October 16)

Sydneysiders endured a 106 day lockdown from June to October (pictured: police speaking to sunbakers on Bondi Beach to ensure they were from the local area)

Australia's strict border closures prevented tens of thousands of Australians from returning to the country in the last two years due to quarantine caps.

But this along with lockdown rules also kept illness from the virus to a minimum.

Australia has seen 2072 deaths from Covid-19, a tiny fraction of that seen in most other countries.

But now with Covid vaccine rates high - a total of 89.2 per cent of the population is double jabbed - and hospitalisations lowered there is increasing debate over the civil rights issues played out during the last two years.

'The civil liberties movement by and large has been missing in action. They have ceded to the government far too much power which is not going to be given back,' Institute of Public Affairs executive director John Roskam recently said.

More than 650,000 small plastic flags dot the lawn near the Washington Monument in the United States (pictured) in September with each flag, some with personal messages, representing a person who died from Covid. Australia has seen 2.072 deaths from the virus

But Liberty Victoria's outgoing president Julia Kretzenbacher said they have been active, telling The Guardian: 'For the past two years there's particular things we focused on, including the curfew, privacy around QR codes, policing as a public health response and now the pandemic bill.'

Hugh de Kretser, executive director of the Human Rights Law Centre, said they too had been working behind the scenes.

'We took legal action to protect people at risk in immigration detention and prison and we've advocated for better government responses on issues ranging from travel bans to public health laws, hotel quarantine, policing, the public housing towers lockdown and much more,' he says.

He also argued Dan Andrews new pandemic management bill actually improved transparency in public health orders.

His organisation is now focused on running a campaign to introduce a national charter of human rights.

There are individual charters in Victoria, Queensland and the ACT but Australia is the only western democracy without a national declaration.

'We must recognise our relative success. Australians have been spared death and serious illness on the scale most countries have endured,' Mr de Kretser wrote in November.

'This is largely due to actions of governments and their public health teams and the sacrifices of people and communities.

'But those same restrictions that saved lives took a big toll; mental illness, family violence, job loss, education disruption, heartbreaking stories of family separation and more.'

'An Australian charter (of human rights) would give people greater protection. It would help put fairness, equality, respect and dignity at the heart of government action.' he said.

Australians were left outraged in September after footage showed two officers deploying pepper spray at a woman during violent anti-lockdown protests in Melbourne (pictured) which also drew strong criticism from abroad

Brand said while the issue was 'complex' that it was difficult 'not to feel a sense of justice stirred when you're watching what is happening in Australia'.

He said called Dan Andrews new pandemic laws 'worrying'.

'Limitless power no clear boundaries and the ability to detain - that is terrifying,' he said.

'We have this bill and it's going to place more power in our hands and there's no point where we have to stop it'.

'You're confronting something that sounds very unusual and fearful. This is not just Australia's problem this could become the world's problem'.

Police in Melbourne clashed with protesters on numerous occasions by enforcing public health orders limiting gatherings but Brand (pictured) asked what does it say if people are not allowed to protest

Victoria became Australia's first state to introduce specific laws for managing a pandemic, with a controversial bill passing both houses of parliament.

The Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (Pandemic Management) Bill passed the upper house 20 votes to 18.

After receiving royal assent from the governor of Victoria, the laws will come into effect from December 16, when a current state of emergency expires.

Under the legislation, the premier and health minister will have the power to declare a pandemic and enforce orders such as lockdowns, mask-wearing, vaccination mandates, and quarantine.

The pandemic orders can differentiate between cohorts of people based on characteristics such as age and vaccination status, relevant to the public health risk.

Under the current state of emergency, those powers lie with the chief health officer, who is an unelected official.

Premier Daniel Andrews said even though the state of emergency was to expire, the pandemic was 'not over'.

Victorian Premier Dan Andrews (pictured) has seen increasing criticism over his pandemic management bill but one human rights lawyer said it actually improved transparency and accountability

'In order to protect the vulnerable, in order to keep us safe and keep us open, we have to recognise this is not over, there are still things that have to be done, rules that need to be in place,' he said.

Mr Andrews said vaccine mandates 'won't be forever' but flagged they may remain in place until booster shots were rolled out and children under 12 vaccinated.

The legislation became a lightning rod for anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination groups, who have occupied the steps of state parliament for weeks in protest.

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said he was disappointed the bill passed and reaffirmed his commitment to scrap it if he wins the 2022 election.

'(It is) bad policy, bad laws, which are rammed through the parliament with no consultation or very limited consultation and that come at the expense of average Victorians,' he said.
Vladimir Putin last night denied Russia planned to seize territory from Ukraine and accused Britain and its allies of demonising his country.

Mr Putin was reacting to G7 ministers warning that Russia faces massive con - sequences if it invades its neighbour.

The Russian presidents official spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the accusations by Britain and its allies were once more being made with the aim of further demonising Russia.

US intelligence officials estimate that as many as 175,000 Russian troops could launch an attack early next year, with troops, tanks and artillery already massing on the Ukrainian border.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had denied reports that Russia plans to advance on Ukraine, as US intelligence claims 175,000 Russian troops could launch an attack

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, speaking as the host of a G7 meeting in Liverpool, said: We have sent a very clear, united message to Vladimir Putin.

'We want Russia to stop its aggression with respect to Ukraine.

She said the group of seven countries was considering all options when it came to imposing economic sanctions.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the broadcaster NBC News: We are prepared to take the kinds of steps we have refrained from taking in the past.

A joint statement by foreign ministers from the seven global powers said: Russia should be in no doubt that further military aggression against Ukraine would have massive consequences.
A gunman is on the run after allegedly shooting a man in his 20s in the chest in Tasmania.

The man was found with a gunshot wound at a home on Bishops Drive in Newnham, Launceston, at 7am on Monday.

'It is believed the incident was between people known to each other,' Tasmanian Police said.

The man was found with a gunshot wound at a home on Bishops Drive in Newnham, Launceston, on Monday

'It is believed the incident was between people known to each other,' Tasmanian Police said

Emergency services rushed the man to Launceston General Hospital in a serious condition.

Officers have established a crime scene and are seeking to identify and find the alleged gunman.

Police described it as an 'isolated incident'.
Cops are hunting for the cruel suspect that taped a Corgi mix inside a box and abandoned her in a Porta-Potty at a Massachusetts construction site.

The terrified dog was found on Thursday after an unidentified bystander heard her barking inside the portable toilet at the site at 19 Colchester Street in Brookline and called the police.

When police found her at around 10pm that evening, the five-year-old dark-colored Corgi mix had managed to free her head and front legs from the box but was still partially trapped.

She was taken to the nearby Angell Animal Medical Center, which is part of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPACA), for evaluation.

'The dog is unharmed and stable, but frightened  and is now resting at the MSPCA's Jamaica Plain adoption center,' the MSPCA-Angell said on Facebook.

A 22lbs female Corgi mix, believed to be five-years-old, was taped inside of a box left in a Porta-Potty at a Massachusetts construction site. She was found on Thursday at around 10p.m. on Colchester St in Brookline, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston.

The construction site where the female Corgi mix was found, on 19 Colchester Street in Brookline, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston

An unidentified bystander notified police after hearing the dog barking inside the portable toilet (left), later found in an O-Cedar EasyWring box (right) at a construction site

'These situations are always perplexing to us and disheartening for us to see,' MSPCA spokesperson Mike Keiley said in an interview with WCVB.

'That's a scary experience for an animal to go through,' he later added. 'I think certainly in the wintertime, especially the cold plays a factor in addition to the other parts that are dangerous for the animal.'

Providing an update on the dog's condition, Keiley said the canine has made 'great progress' and 'started to show much more [of her] sweet side' since being brought to the MSPCA.

The MSPCA added that the corgi mix is having a hard time being identified because it was found not wearing a collar or identification tags and is not microchipped.

The non profit organization is giving the owner a week to retrieve the pet, but it is more likely that the Corgi mix goes up for adoption, according to WCVB.

'Our next objective is to make sure that she's in a place where something like this will never happen to her again,' said Keiley.

One Twitter user, responding to Brookline Police Department's tweet asking for more information on the dog's owner, wrote: 'I hope they find who did this to her her and have them prosecuted.'

Another user added that she hopes the Corgi mix will be able to find 'a nice new home with someone who will love and care for her.'

The MSPCA-Angell, where the Corgi Mix is staying, broke the news of the discovery on its social media accounts

Twitter users reacted to the news that Corgi mix will be given up for adoption if its rightful owner doesn't come forward within the next week. One of them said that if found, the owner should be prosecuted, while another hopes the dog will be given a 'nice new home with someone who will love her and care for her.'

Private investigator Michael Keaveney is asking residents living on Colchester Street to check their security cameras for footage of the incident, according to posts on the Brookline Police's social media accounts.

The dog will stay at the MSPCAs Jamaica Plain adoption center for a week before being placed in a new home.

Police are looking for any information regarding the dog or its owner as they investigate the incident.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Brookline Police Department tip line at 617-730-2730 or the MSPCA's Law Enforcement Department at 800-522-6008.
School districts across the southeast are offering frazzled teachers six half days and up to two extra days off per year to try and stop burn out after the pandemic - but parents are furious their children will miss even more school amid concerns they're falling behind after remote learning.



Following lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic, teachers have been pushed to their breaking points after being forced to teach over Zoom, being tasked with trying to keep kids wearing masks when back in the classroom and having to step in to cover colleagues amid staff shortages.

At the same time, students are asking for more help from the teachers, after facing a year of virtual learning when educational standards nationwide slumped.

And school districts nationwide are constantly having to adjust their masking, quarantine, testing and vaccination vaccination requirements, adding more stress on the teachers to keep up.

As a result, a number of school districts in the southeastern United States are adding up to six more half days to their calendars, or are extending holiday breaks by a day or more.

But parents in these districts claim that the students are losing out on valuable education time, after being stuck at home for 18 months of virtual learning, when standards decreased nationwide.

They say districts should instead focus on getting more substitute teachers, increase the pay of the teachers they already have and reduce the burden of new curriculum and initiatives so that their children can stay in school.

Schools throughout the Southeast are adding more half days to their calendars, or are extending holiday breaks by a day or more to help teachers cope with the stress of the school year. Mrs. Keyona Moxey is seen here with her third-grade class at Warner Arts Magnet Elementary School in Nashville, Tennessee

School district nationwide began adding more time for teachers to focus on mental health in early November, when school systems throughout the southeast created a long weekend by canceling school on November 12 - the Friday after Veterans Day, according to Burbio, a data company that monitors school closures.

DC's largest charter network, KIPP DC, for example, converted the Friday after Veterans Day into a staff and student wellness day with no instruction.

And in New Bern, North Carolina, Craven County Schools Superintendent Wendy Miller cited mental health concerns in canceling school on November 12 and asking students and staff to do something kind for themselves or others.

She told the Wall Street Journal she has been in classrooms every week this fall and watched teachers struggle to help their students catch up academically while also teaching basic skills, which she said are lacking after 18 months of little in-person interaction.

'It's been a challenge to come back after 18 months,' Miller said.

Many more school districts started announcing school closures as the month went on, Burbio President Dennis Roche told the Journal, saying: 'The volume was really high, really quick.'

He said his company has recorded at least 3,145 school closures nationwide for mental health needs so far this year, mainly in North Carolina, Virginia and Missouri.

That represents more than one-third of the 8,692 closures so far this year, which have mainly been for quarantining or staffing reasons.

Some school districts are now also shortening their days, like the Suffolk Public Schools in Virginia, which is reducing the hours of instruction every other Wednesday to help take pressure off of its teachers.

And in Maryland, at least six school districts have remade their calendars to add more early release days, the Washington Post report, with Howard County schools shortening the hours of six days of instruction, while Prince George's, Montgomery and Baltimore counties reduced the hours of three days or more.

But the school boards' decisions to reduce the hours of instruction have left some parents reeling, saying their children need to be learning after having underwent 18 months of online learning - which negatively affected lower-class families, and claiming they will not be able to get home from work to pick their children up from these shortened days.

Carol Vidal, a Baltimore County parent who testified against the shift, also told state officials last week that adding more half days seemed at odd with the state's requirement that each school district provide 180 days of in-person learning.

Under Maryland law, the Post reports, half-days do not affect the 180 day requirement, though school districts must also meet state requirements for total hours of instruction.

'Instruction time is really important,' Vidal said, noting: 'They said we were going to be catching up this year.

'[But] instead of finding other creative solutions, the first thing they do is close school.'

The issue has come to a head in the Montgomery County school system in Maryland, where district officials designated three days for early dismissal in January, March and May.

They say the total number of hours of instruction for school this year will exceed state requirements, and cited the need for teacher professional development and planning time to make up for the time lost teaching other classes.

Jennifer Martin, president of the Montgomery County Education Association, the 14,000-member teachers union, said the early release is 'desperately needed.'

'It's an important step to improving morale and giving teachers the space they need in order to prepare for students and give them an excellent education.'

Student board member Hana O'Looney also said the shorter days would give students a break, noting: 'We talk so much about mental health.

'When you give students a chance to rest and recharge, they can come back to the classroom stronger, more motivated, more ready to do work.'

The issue of school closures for mental health has come to a head at the Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland (pictured), where parents argue their children need more instruction as they struggle to find after-school care when their children are dismissed early

Some parents and school board members have fought back about claims that the students will be missing out on class time as a result of these three half days, saying it amounts to less than nine hours of no instruction.

But school board member Lynne Harris said the change needs to be examined more carefully.

'We are looking to take action that has a direct impact on parents and guardians and caregivers and their professional obligations - and many of those people for the past 21 months have been front-lining it, whether they work in the ER at Holy Cross or the [checkout] line at the Giant.'

The issue also hit a nerve with some parents because the district was slower to reopen than most in Maryland, the Post reports, with some saying they do not want their children to lose more time of instruction - pointing to district data showing declines in math and literacy in September.

'I do think teachers are stressed, but I don't think three half days is going to solve it,' said Nikki Gillum Posnack, a mother of two. She added that 'half days are a joke,' noting: 'It's not just nine hours were losing. We're losing three days.'

Cynthia Simonson, president of the Montgomery Council of PTAs, said families with young children are especially frustrated by the move.

'Half days are notoriously lost days for instruction and create challenges with regard to child care,' she said.

The district, for its part, has said it will work with community organizations on after-school options for the half days.

The Montgomery School District is also adding seven full days off during the winter and spring breaks for year-round employees, many of whom work in administrative and support systems.

In the past, if these employees wanted time off, they would request vacation time.

Montgomery School District officials said the total cost of the closures will be about $850,000, but did not detail what the cost would entail.

They said, however, they expect the closures to 'yield a refreshed staff with additional time to coordinate learning in our schools.'
More than 350 people were arrested, including almost a hundred alleged gang members, as part of a six-month long multi agency operation in Texas led by the US Marshals Service.

The 26-week 'Operation Triple Beam - Third Coast' brought together deputy Marshals, task force officers, police officers and agents to bring down wanted gang members and firearms related offenders.

The operation, which began April 7 and ended September 30, led to the arrest of 351 people including 92 gang members.

Eleven were charged with homicide, 74 with assault, 68 for weapons offenses, 21 for robbery, 135 for drug offenses, 28 for burglary, 29 for sex offenses, and five for arson.

'As violent crime and gang violence continue to rise and plague our cities and counties, those of us in the law enforcement community must be ready and willing to engage,' T. Michael O'Connor, (pictured) US Marshal for the Southern District of Texas, said

Over 300 people and 92 alleged gang members were arrested on the Gulf Coast as part of a six-month long U.S Marshals operation. File image

Authorities also seized 86 firearms, 32.971 kilograms of narcotics, and $4,360,968, the U.S Marshals Service said in a statement.

'As violent crime and gang violence continue to rise and plague our cities and counties, those of us in the law enforcement community must be ready and willing to engage,' T. Michael O'Connor, US Marshal for the Southern District of Texas, said in a statement.

'The goal of Operation Triple Beam is to foster safer communities by providing immediate relief from gang-related violence by investigating and arresting fugitive gang members and the criminal organizations responsible for committing violent crimes,' O'Connor added.

The operation initially focused on executing warrants on members of street and prison gangs in Nueces County, Aransas County, San Patricio County and surrounding areas.

The sting began focusing on known criminals wanted for aggravated offenses but as the operation progressed, 'the focus shifted to known high-crime areas and violent fugitives with aggravated warrants.'

The Corpus Christi Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and US Drug Enforcement Administration were among the multiple agencies involved in the operation, officials said.
Durham students are threatening a rent strike in a row over a visit by Rod Liddle.

Professor Tim Luckhurst, principal of South College, has been barred from duties after inviting Liddle, associate editor of The Spectator, to give a speech.

But students say they want him to resign if he does not apologise for platforming a bigot without warning them.

They plan to withhold annual fees of 8,000 in college accommodation after claiming Liddle is racist and transphobic, which he denies.

Protest leader Sean Hannigan, 22, said: The only way that the university will listen is if it hits them financially.

Durham University students staged a walkout last week during a speech by right-wing journalist Rod Liddle (pictured)

Yesterday, it was revealed heads of at least 13 of Durhams 17 colleges support them.

However, Lord Wharton, chairman of the Office for Students (OfS), intervened yesterday for the first time.

He told the Sunday Telegraph: As a point of principle it is important for students to engage with views and theories with which they may not agree.

A robust but tolerant sharing of views is an essential element of the whole experience of higher education.

However, he added students also have free speech rights including the right to protest peacefully.

A Durham University spokesman said that it upholds freedom of expression within the law adding: We have a strong and clear policy statement and code of practice on freedom of expression.
Fears of school closures deepened yesterday as the Education Secretary refused to guarantee classrooms will be kept open over the winter.

Nadhim Zahawi said the Government would 'do everything in our power to protect education'  but stopped short of promising schools would stay open despite rising cases of the new variant.

When asked on BBC1's The Andrew Marr Show if he could guarantee schools would not close he dodged the question.

Many individual schools have closed early for Christmas in defiance of Whitehall advice. And it is thought a number of local authorities are considering similar moves in a bid to curb Omicron cases.

It comes as a public health chief called for an extension of the school holiday to act as a 'firebreak' against Covid.

Nadhim Zahawi (pictured) said the Government would 'do everything in our power to protect education'  but stopped short of promising schools would stay open despite rising cases of the new variant

Professor Dominic Harrison, director of public health for Blackburn with Darwen, said adding a week either side of the two-week break could reduce transmission to 'vulnerable family members' and protect schools in the New Year.

A firebreak, he said, would be the best way to contain Omicron after the Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases had found the strain will have a 'very significant impact' on schools.

His proposal was echoed by a senior leader of the National Education Union whose members are unhappy at being exposed to pupils with Covid.

But yesterday campaigners urged councils to keep schools open. Molly Kingsley, of parent group UsForThem, said: 'Schools are quite literally essential for children. Closing them is nothing short of a moral crime.

'Just as it would be inconceivable to close power stations, hospitals, essential retail, it must be inconceivable to close schools.'

Professor Dominic Harrison (pictured), director of public health for Blackburn with Darwen, said adding a week either side of the two-week break could reduce transmission to 'vulnerable family members' and protect schools in the New Year

Lib Dem education spokeman Munira Wilson said of Mr Zahawi's remarks: 'This failure to provide a cast-iron guarantee just about says it all about this Government and their priorities. Time and time again, our children have been badly let down by the Government's inability to get on top of Covid.'

Among the schools closed for Christmas are Abbots Green Academy and Sybil Andrews Academy in Bury St Edmonds, Suffolk. Pupils have switched to online learning and it is not known if they will return in January in-person yet.

Two suspected cases of the Omicron variant were identified between the two schools.

Stuart Keeble, director of public health for Suffolk, said: 'We must all live with caution until the impact of Omicron is fully understood.'
Scores of Christmas party revellers have been infected with Covid, many with the Omicron variant, after 84 new cases were linked to a NSW nightclub.

An urgent alert has been issued for The Argyle House nightclub in Newcastle - with all 680 attendees identified as close contacts after the virus was transmitted on the night of December 8.

NSW Health reported 60 new cases from the evening on Monday on top of 24 cases reported on Sunday.

A number of the infections are likely to be the Omicron variant, said NSW Health.

The latest cluster is linked to a boat party five nights earlier on Sydney Harbour where at least five people caught the virus.

NSW has recorded 536 new Covid-19 cases with hundreds of nightclub revellers ordered to isolate after they were 'likely' exposed to the Omicron variant

NSW Health issued an alert for The Argyle House nightclub in Newcastle late Sunday night identifying all attendees as close contacts after transmission of Covid at the venue on the night of December 8

Some 74,997 tests were recorded in the 24 hours to 8pm on Sunday (pictured, healthcare worker conducting test on driver in Liverpool, western Sydney)

State-wide, 536 new cases have been recorded overnight in NSW.

The new cases announced on Monday is an increase from the 485 announced on Sunday.

The figure is slightly lower than the 560 recorded on Saturday, which marked the highest daily tally recorded in NSW since October 9, two days before lockdown lifted.

Some 74,997 tests were recorded in the 24 hours to 8pm on Sunday.

The double-dose vaccination rate of those 16 and older remains at 93.1 per cent, while 94.8 per cent of people have had their first jab.

There are 171 people are in hospital with the virus, 24 of them in intensive care.

Anyone who was at the Newcastle nightclub between 9pm December 8 and to 3am December 9 are close contacts and must immediately get tested and isolate for seven days, regardless of the result.

The rule applies to all 680 people who checked in using the QR code that night and to anyone who did not check in.

Household contacts of anyone who attended the nightclub are also ordered to immediately get tested and isolate until the close contact tests negative, due to the high transmission at the venue.

'This follows recent outbreaks associated with the Albion Hotel at Parramatta, Oxford Tavern at Petersham, Cult Nightclub in Potts Point and the party boat cruise on Sydney Harbour,' NSW Health said.

'NSW Health is concerned about increased transmission taking place in larger social venues such as these, and we urge people not to attend social functions if they have any symptoms, even if mild.'

More than 700 people who were at The Argyle House nightclub (pictured) in Newcastle on the night of December 8 have been ordered to test tested and isolate for seven days

The nightclub cluster stems from a outbreak on a Sydney party cruise on December 3 (pictured)

Newcastle recorded its first case of Omicron, a female traveller who recently returned from Britain on Sunday.

The latest alert was issued hours after NSW recorded Australia's first hospital admission of Omicron

The state recorded 485 new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, as the tally of Omicron infections rose to 55. There are at least 62 around Australia.

Health officials confirmed one patient with Omicron is in hospital, becoming the first admission in Australia with the new variant.

They are among 156 Covid patients being treated in hospital in NSW.

24 cases of Covid have been linked to the The Argyle House nightclub (pictured) in Newcastle

Australia has recorded its first first hospital admission of the Omicron variant (pictured, passengers being tested at Sydney Airport

NSW Health warned the number of Omicron cases will rise as results of genomic testing are confirmed.

NSW Covid cases slightly dropped following two consecutive days of more than 500 infections.

Two deaths were recorded, a man aged in his 70s while the other man was in his 80s. Both were unvaccinated.

The state had on Saturday recorded the highest number of cases since October 9, two days before lockdown lifted.

Dozens of demonstrators took to Sydney's Hyde Park on Sunday to protest the introduction of vaccine mandates across several industries.

Health officials confirmed Australia's first hospital admission of Omicron as protesters packed Sydney's streets to oppose vaccine mandates

A string of existing restrictions are expected to be scrapped on Wednesday as planned, including density limits, QR check-ins risk venues, and masks.

Freedoms will also increase for the 6.9 per cent of the NSW population over-16 who aren't fully vaccinated.

Experts warned cases will continue to rise as restrictions are eased.

'It is quite possible and quite likely that we will see a further increase with the unvaccinated being able to mix in those venues,' infectious diseases specialist Sanjaya Senanayake told Weekend Today on Sunday.

'However, New South Wales is very well vaccinated so hopefully we should be able to contain those increasing cases.'

The tally of Omicron infections in NSW stands at 55 and is expected to continue rising

Meanwhile, Victoria recorded 1069 new cases and two deaths as Queensland recorded one new cases.

The returned traveller from Nigeria currently in hotel quarantine 'likely' has the Omicron variant.

'We're very closely following his genomic sequencing results which should be available in the next two days  obviously very interested whether this maybe Omicron,' deputy chief health officer James Smith said.
The Royal Navy and RAF have no commanders from an ethnic-minority background, figures have revealed.

For the first time in recent history none of their high-level officers are black or Asian.

The Army is not much better off, according to official statistics, with just 'five or fewer' ethnic-minority officers in its highest echelons.

The situation was described as 'appalling and embarrassing' last night, and follows repeated pledges by ministers and service chiefs to ensure the Armed Forces represent the nation they serve.

Last week, Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) Admiral Sir Tony Radakin pledged action after describing the Armed Forces' failure to reflect the country's ethnic mix as 'woeful'.

His predecessors said the same thing publicly but let the situation worsen significantly.

Last week, Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) Admiral Sir Tony Radakin (pictured) pledged action after describing the Armed Forces' failure to reflect the country's ethnic mix as 'woeful'

According to figures obtained by the Daily Mail, the under-representation of minorities is far worse today than it was five years ago  the last time statistics were released.

In 2016 there were 14 ethnic-minority officers at the OF-5 level or above  the rank of colonel or higher in the Army, captain or above in the Royal Navy and group captain or higher in the RAF. Of these, 11 were in the Army, one was in the Navy and two were RAF  from an overall cohort of more than 1,400.

Yet in spite of an increased awareness of the need to promote officers from minority backgrounds, their representation at the top is down.

In fact, there are so few black or Asian senior officers the Ministry of Defence counts them as 'five or fewer'  so the figure could be one. There are none in the Navy or RAF in a cohort of 1,000.

Last night, former Army officer Ben Obese-Jecty accused the Armed Forces of a 'long-standing inability to recruit effectively from Britain's ethnic minority population'.

Referring to the lack of senior officers, former defence minister Kevan Jones (pictured) said: 'This is a deeply concerning situation which sends the wrong messages to personnel from ethnic-minority communities and undermines recruitment'

He added: 'The impact of this is being seen now with too few officers amongst the cohort on track to promote to senior ranks. Whilst it is vital to have a CDS who recognises the challenge the Armed Forces face in addressing the gap, this will likely take a generation to be realised.'

The Ministry of Defence has shifted its marketing strategy to recruit from diverse backgrounds, and there are 13,690 now ethnic-minority personnel, up from 12,750 last year. One recent TV advert featured a Muslim soldier of Asian descent kneeling to pray while on a military exercise.

Referring to the lack of senior officers, former defence minister Kevan Jones said: 'This is a deeply concerning situation which sends the wrong messages to personnel from ethnic-minority communities and undermines recruitment.'

High-profile discrimination cases have not helped. In 2019, two former paratroopers, Nkululeko Zulu and Hani Gue, won an employment tribunal against the MoD after years of harassment.

An MoD spokesman said: 'Since 2016 the percentage of black, Asian and minority ethnic personnel has increased by two per cent.

'It can take a number of years for recruits to reach senior leadership positions.'
Mark Meadows: While serving as White House Chief of Staff, Meadows reportedly communicated with officials at the state level and in the Department of Justice as part of an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election or prevent the election's certification.

Daniel Scavino: White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Scavino was with the former President on January 5th during a discussion of how to convince Members of Congress not to certify the election for Joe Biden. Prior to the January 6th March for Trump, Mr. Scavino promoted the event on Twitter, encouraging people to 'be a part of history.' And records indicate that Mr. Scavino was tweeting messages from the White House on January 6, 2021

Kashyap Patel: Patel was serving as chief of staff to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller. The former President had appointed Mr. Patel to this position on November 10, the day after then-Secretary of Defense Mark Esper was replaced.

Stephen Bannon: Bannon reportedly communicated with former President Trump on December 30th, 2020, urging him to focus his efforts on January 6th. Mr. Bannon also reportedly attended a gathering at the Willard Hotel on January 5th, 2021, as part of an effort to persuade Members of Congress to block the certification of the election the next day. He is also quoted as saying on January 5 that 'all Hell is going to break lose tomorrow'.

Nicholas Luna: Luna, who served as the former President's personal assistant, was reportedly in the Oval Office the morning of January 6th, 2021, when the former President was on a phone call to Vice President Pence pressuring him not to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election

Molly Michael: Michael served as Special Assistant to the President and Oval Office Operations Coordinator, was involved in sending information about alleged election fraud to various individuals at the direction of President Trump, according to information obtained by the Select Committee.

Benjamin Williamson: While serving as Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Willliamson was reportedly contacted by a former White House official during the attack on the U.S. Capitol who urged him and Mr. Meadows, without success, to have the former President issue a statement addressing the attack and condemning the violence.

Christopher Liddell: Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff, was in the White House on January 6th and reportedly considered resigning on that day but stayed on 'after a great deal of persuasion.'

John McEntee: The former White House Personnel Director, was reportedly present in the Oval Office when Rudolph Giuliani, Justin Clark, the former President, and former Vice President Pence discussed the audit process in Georgia and listened as Mr. Giuliani suggested seizing Dominion voting machines because of alleged fraud. Mr. McEntee was also reportedly involved in communications with officials in various federal agencies regarding loyalty to President Trump and specifically discouraged a number of individuals from seeking employment after the election as it would appear to be a concession of President Trump's defeat. In addition, according to reports, Mr. McEntee was in the White House on January 6th and was with former President Trump when he traveled to the Ellipse and spoke at the 'Stop the Steal' rally

Keith Kellogg: Vice President Pence's National Security Advisor who reportedly participated in at least one January 2021 meeting with the former President and Pat Cipollone during which the former President insisted that former Vice President Pence not certify the election. He was reportedly in the White House with the former President as he watched the January 6th attack unfold and has direct information about the former President's statements about and reaction to the insurrection. During that day, it is reported that Lt. Gen. Kellogg met with the former President and others before the rally at the Ellipse and then, after the rally, he urged the former President to send out a tweet to his supporters at the U.S. Capitol to help control the crowd.

Kayleigh McEnany: Former White House Press Secretary, who allegedly made multiple public statements from the White House and elsewhere about purported fraud in the November 2020 election. For example, in the first White House press conference after the election, Ms. McEnany claimed that there were 'very real claims' of fraud that the former President's reelection campaign was pursuing, and said that mail-in voting was something that 'we have identified as being particularly prone to fraud.' At another press conference, Ms. McEnany accused Democrats of 'welcoming fraud' and 'welcoming illegal voting.' In addition, Ms. McEnany was reportedly present at times with the former President as he watched the January 6th attack

Stephen Miller: Senior Advisor to the former President who, by his own account participated in efforts to spread false information about alleged voter fraud in the November 2020 election, as well as efforts to encourage state legislatures to alter the outcome of the November 2020 election by appointing alternate slates of electors.

Cassidy Hutchinson: Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs, who reportedly was at the White House on January 6th and was with the former President when he spoke at the 'Stop the Steal' rally that day. She also reportedly reached out directly via email and phone to Georgia Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs relating to a trip to Georgia by White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to attend an election audit.

Kenneth Klukowski: The former Senior Counsel to Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Clark, was involved in drafting a letter that urged legislatures in certain states to delay certification of the election, according to the report recently released by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. The report also states that Mr. Clark contacted Mr. Klukowski to prepare for an Oval Office meeting with the former President that took place on January 3rd, 2021.

William 'Bill' Stepien: He served as manager of the Trump 2020 reelection campaign. The campaign reportedly urged state and party officials to affect the outcome of the November 2020 election by asking states to delay or deny certification of electoral votes and by sending multiple slate of electoral votes to the United States Congress.

Jason Miller: According to the committee, the Senior Advisor to Trump's 2020 reelection campaign, spread the false claim that the November 2020 had been tainted by widespread fraud. Even before the election, Mr. Miller publicly claimed that Democrats would 'steal' the election, a message that individuals who attacked the U.S. Capitol echoed on January 6th. After the election, Mr. Miller coordinated with Mr. Trump and Rudolph Giuliani, and claimed in public press events that the election was rigged. Additionally, according to public reports, Mr. Miller participated in a meeting on January 5th, 2021 at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., in which Mr. Giuliani, Stephen Bannon, and others discussed options for overturning the results of the November 2020 election by, among other things, pressuring Vice President Pence to not certify the electoral college results.

Angela McCallum: National executive assistant to Trump's 2020 re-election campaign, who reportedly participated in efforts to spread false information about alleged voter fraud in the November 2020 election and to encourage state legislatures to alter the outcome of the November 2020 election. Specifically, there is a publicly available recording of a voicemail that Ms. McCallum reportedly left for an unknown Michigan state representative. In the recording, Ms. McCallum wanted to know whether the Trump campaign could 'count on' the representative and said that the individual had the authority to appoint an alternate slate of electors based on purported evidence of widespread election fraud

John Eastman: Attorney who reportedly advised President Trump and others that Vice President Pence could reject electors from certain states in order to deny Joe Biden a majority of the Electoral College vote. In the days before January 6th, Mr. Eastman is reported to have participated in a briefing for nearly 300 state legislators regarding purported election fraud, during which he told the group that it was 'the duty of the[] legislatures to fix this, this egregious conduct, and make sure that we're not putting in the White House some guy that didn't get elected.' Mr. Eastman reportedly participated in the January 5th, 2021 meeting at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. and he spok

Michael Flynn: Former national security advisor who reportedly attended a December 18th, 2020 meeting in the Oval Office during which participants discussed seizing voting machines, declaring a national emergency, invoking certain national security emergency powers, and continuing to spread the false message that the November 2020 election had been tainted by widespread fraud. The day before, Flynn gave an interview on Newsmax TV during which he talked about seizing voting machines, foreign influence in the election, and the purported precedent for deploying military troops and declaring martial law to 'rerun' the election.

Bernard Kerik: Former NYPD Commissioner who reportedly participated in the January 5th, 2021 meeting at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. Mr. Kerik reportedly paid for rooms and suites in Washington, D.C. hotels that served as election-related command centers, and also worked with Mr. Rudolph Giuliani to investigate allegations of voter fraud and promote baseless litigation and 'Stop the Steal' efforts

Jeffrey Clark: Former DOJ lawyer who was reportedly involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and interrupt the peaceful transfer of power. The subpoena seeks deposition testimony and records from Mr. Clark as part of the Select Committee's investigation into the events of January 6th and the causes of that day's violence

Ali Alexander: Submitted permits for 'Stop the Steal' rally

Nathan Martin: Submitted permits for 'Stop the Steal' rally

Stop the Steal, LLC

Amy Kremer: Founder and Chair of Women for America First.

Kylie Kremer: Founder and Executive Director of WFAF.

Cynthia Chafian: Submitted the first permit application on behalf of WFAF for the January 6th rally, and founder of the Eighty Percent Coalition.

Caroline Wren: Listed on permit paperwork for the January 6th rally as 'VIP Advisor.'

Maggie Mulvaney: Wife of chief of staff Mick Mulvaney who was listed on permit paperwork for the January 6th rally as 'VIP Lead.'

Justin Caporale, of Event Strategies, Inc., listed on permit paperwork for the January 6th rally as 'Project Manager.'

Tim Unes, of Event Strategies, Inc., listed on permit paperwork for the January 6th rally as 'Stage Manager.'

Megan Powers, of MPowers Consulting LLC, listed on permit paperwork for the January 6th rally as 'Operations Manager for Scheduling and Guidance.'

Hannah Salem, of Salem Strategies LLC, listed on permit paperwork for the January 6th rally as 'Operations Manager for Logistics and Communications.'

Lyndon Brentnall, of RMS Protective Services, listed on permit paperwork for the January 6th rally as 'On-Site Supervisor.'

Katrina Pierson, former Trump campaign official, reportedly involved in the organization of the January 5th and 6th rallies and was in direct communication with the former President about the rallies.

(Source - January 6 Committee)
High-flying banker Charlie Aitken and his new girlfriend Hollie Nasser are putting on a united front against the scandal that has gripped Sydney's elite.

The loved-up couple were spotted kissing in the middle of the road before jumping into Mr Aitken's white Mercedes in Sydney's east on Monday morning.

Mr Aitken held open the passenger side door for Ms Nasser, who was beaming as she crossed the street and stepped into the car.

The public display of affection comes as Ms Nasser rubbished claims she was looking to 'capitalise' on her newfound fame by launching a new business venture.

The 36-year-old told Daily Mail Australia rumours she was preparing to launch a fashion label were wildly inaccurate.

They shared a kiss before Mr Aitken held open the passenger side door for Ms Nasser

Mr Aitken held open the passenger side door for his new love while she sat down

Mr Aitken and his wife Ellie had been long-time friends of the Nasser's, and Mr Nasser was a director of the Aitken's wealth management company

'I have no interest or training in becoming a fashion designer,' she clarified.

Instead, she will continue to focus on her duty as a mother-of-two and career in psychology.

Ms Nasser dressed for the weather in a summery yellow and white floral maxi dress paired with her favourite Louis Vuitton tote, worth $2,460, when she stepped out on Monday.

The outing comes amid the very public fallout of their new relationship - which has reportedly left both of their ex's 'reeling'.

Monday's outing comes amid the very public fallout of their new relationship - which has reportedly left both of their ex's 'reeling'

The loved-up couple were seen piling into Mr Aitken's white Mercedes in Sydney's east on Monday morning

She changed her Instagram settings from 'private' to 'public' on December 3 - days after the scandal made headlines nationwide - and has watched her follower count skyrocket from 700 to 1,150 in the days since

Mr Aitken spent 19 years married to Hollie's best friend and feted society darling, Ellie Aitken.

Meanwhile Hollie, who is a qualified psychologist, was married five years to Mr Aitken's business partner and significant investor in his firm, Charlie Nasser.

In the wake of the new relationship, Mr Nasser reportedly withdrew $7.5million from Mr Aitken's firm, Aitken Investment Management.

Ms Nasser dressed for the weather in a summery yellow and white floral maxi dress and her favourite $2,460 Louis Vuitton everyday bag

She dressed for the weather in a summery yellow and white floral maxi dress paired with her favourite Louis Vuitton tote, worth $2,460

They shared a kiss before Mr Aitken held open the passenger side door for Ms Nasser, who was beaming as she crossed the street and stepped into the car

Mr Aitken has kept a relatively low profile since news of his new relationship spread through their social circles and beyond, while Ms Nasser has been seen several times coming and going from her marital home.

It's understood she's splitting her time between the home she once shared with Mr Nasser and their two children, and Mr Aitken's new bachelor pad in a serviced apartment in Bondi Junction.

The couple were first seen together on December 3rd, when Mr Aitken dropped Ms Nasser home immediately after word of their relationship made national headlines.

Both were hesitant to be seen together and kept a low profile - a far cry from Monday's outward displays of affection.

Mr Aitken spent 19 years married to Hollie's best friend and feted society darling, Ellie Aitken

She constantly described Mr Nasser as 'the best husband and father' she and her children could have ever hoped for - sharing photos of extravagant holidays, helicopter trips and days at sea on boats

The loved-up couple were seen piling into Mr Aitken's white Mercedes in Sydney's east on Monday morning

The sighting comes amid reports Ms Nasser is relishing in her newfound fame and even considering launching her own fashion label off the back of the publicity

Rumours were rife in the eastern suburbs after the new relationship was exposed that Ms Nasser was envious of the life her former best friend had.
Australian night owls are predicted to experience good conditions for an annual meteor shower described as the best in the southern hemisphere.

Each year around mid-December, Earth travels through debris left by the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, which orbits the sun every 1.4 years.

The debris, called the Geminids, produces dust that burns up in Earth's atmosphere, leaving long, photogenic streaks of light across the sky.

'Peak activity this year is predicted to be on the mornings of Monday 14th and Tuesday 15th and observing can begin from 12:30am, but more are seen after 2am until dawn,' the Astronomical Society of Victoria said.

'Look towards the north-east in the constellation of Gemini and centred on the star, Castor.

'You dont need to look at any specific spot, as meteors can appear in any part of the sky, but most are likely to be seen towards the north-east.'

Geminids meteor shower seen near Mumbai, India. The meteors are seen more brightly in the northern hemisphere but one expert said it's 'by far the best meteor shower of the year for observers in Australia'

A photographer looks at the sky at night to view the annual Geminids meteor shower. In Australia, the annual event will be seen better in country areas, due to less light pollution, with 30-50 meteors per hour compared with a possible 1020 meteors seen from metropolitan suburbs

Viewing the annual event will be better in country areas, due to less light pollution, with 30-50 meteors per hour compared with a possible 1020 meteors seen from metropolitan suburbs.

The show is expected to be brighter after 2am once the near full moon present at this time of the month has set.

In previous years, observers in some country areas have reported viewing up to 140 meteors in an hour.

The meteors are seen more brightly in the northern hemisphere but Professor Jonti Horner from the University of Southern Queensland wrote in a recent article that the Geminids are 'by far the best meteor shower of the year for observers in Australia'.

'Over the decades, the Geminids have gradually become stronger and stronger,' wrote Professor Horner.

'They took the crown of the years best shower from the Perseids in the 1990s, and have continued to improve ever since.'

The meteors appear to come from the same place in the sky, which is called the radiant. The Geminids appear to radiate from a point in the constellation Gemini, hence their name.

The annual meteor shower seen over Russky Island off Vladivostok, Russia. Geminids are denser than meteors belonging to other showers, meaning they can get as close as 46.6km above the Earths surface before burning up in the atmosphere

Geminids are denser than meteors belonging to other showers, meaning they can get as close as 46.6km above the Earths surface before burning up in the atmosphere.

The further south in Australia, the closer to the horizon the light show will appear, meaning the best viewing in the night sky will be in places such as Brisbane and Darwin.

'The best rates come when the radiant is highest in the sky (around 23am) but it is well worth looking up at any time after the radiant has risen above the horizon,' Professor Horner noted.

NASA is also broadcasting a live stream of Geminid showers viewed in the northern hemisphere on its MeteorWatch Facebook page.
Whether you prefer a spicy vindaloo or a mild korma could all be down to what your mother ate while she was breastfeeding, researchers have suggested.

They found that when mothers eat a curry dish containing piperine  a chemical responsible for the pungency in pepper  it soon becomes present in their breastmilk.

A study of 18 breastfeeding women revealed that just one hour after eating a curry, piperine was detectable in breast milk for several hours.

Even though the levels were much lower than could be detected through taste, the scientists say the piperine could activate a pungent receptor in babies bodies.

Whether you prefer a spicy vindaloo or a mild korma could all be down to what your mother ate while she was breastfeeding, researchers have suggested (File image)

A study of 18 breastfeeding women revealed that just one hour after eating a curry, piperine was detectable in breast milk for several hours (File image)

This could help increase their tolerance for spicy food as they grow up, said author Dr Roman Lang of the Technical University of Munich.

Only piperine, and not other compounds from the likes of ginger and chilli, were found in the milk.

The researchers say a barrier could exist between a mothers circulation and the mammary glands that only piperine can cross.

Writing in the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, the scientists said further research is needed to determine whether their hypothesis really is true.
Cabinet Secretary Simon Case's investigation into Downing Street parties during lockdown will include a review of whether Boris Johnson broke the law by personally hosting a quiz night.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused Mr Johnson of breaking the rules imposed by his own government after it was revealed he acted as an impromptu quiz master in Downing Street amid Tier 2 restrictions last year.

In an image published in the Sunday Mirror, Johnson is seen in front of a laptop in the No. 10 library closely shadowed by two colleagues, one draped in tinsel, the other wearing a Christmas hat.

The quiz is believed to have taken place on December 15 - just three days before the now infamous Downing Street party on the evening of December 18.

Government sources cited by the Times said the Cabinet Secretary 'would look at credible allegations of other gatherings and you can't really say that a photo of the prime minister is not a credible allegation.'

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi today defended the Prime Minister after it emerged Mr Johnson personally hosted a Christmas quiz in Downing Street last year.

Mr Zahawi said Mr Johnson had not broken any coronavirus rules by taking part in the event.

Downing Street has insisted the quiz was 'virtual' but reports claimed many staff were huddled by computers in Number 10 as they conferred on questions and drank alcohol.

The quiz took place on December 15 last year, three days before an alleged rule-breaking Christmas party in Number 10, which is currently being investigated by Cabinet Secretary Simon Case.

The emergence of the photograph of Mr Johnson taking part in the event will pile even more pressure on the premier after a torrid week in which he has been battered over an array of scandals.

Mr Zahawi told Sky News that the image showed Mr Johnson was 'respecting the lockdown rules' and 'many people would have had similar Zoom quiz nights around the country'.

The Cabinet minister said he believed 'people will look at that picture today and will think hold on a second, he is on a virtual call, no alcohol, thanking his staff for 10 minutes before he goes back to work, is that really a terrible crime?'

But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he believed it 'looks as though' Mr Johnson had broken coronavirus curbs.

Sir Keir said it was 'very hard' to see how the quiz was 'compliant with the rules'.

Mr Zahawi said Mr Johnson had not broken any coronavirus rules by taking part in the event. The PM is pictured leaving Downing Street today

How many parties is the Government alleged to have held last year and when did they happen? PARTIES IN DOWNING STREET Dom's Gone bash - November 13: Dominic Cummings alleges that the PM held a gathering at his grace-and-favour flat on November 13 last year, the day the adviser was ousted from Downing Street. Mr Cummings also suggested there had been 'other flat parties'. Leaving do - November 27: The Prime Minister reportedly gave a speech at a packed Number 10 leaving do for a 'senior aide'. Sources claimed that '40 or 50 people' were present. Christmas party - December 18: Staff in Downing Street are believed to have held a Christmas party, with reports that dozens of people attended the event, some wearing festive jumpers and exchanging Secret Santa presents. London had been placed into Tier 3 restrictions on December 16 - the highest level of curbs on freedoms at the time which banned people from different households mixing indoors. Downing Street has said Boris Johnson did not attend the event. Quiz night - December: Sources told the BBC that a separate Christmas quiz event was held for Number 10 staff at some point in December. Everyone was apparently invited to attend and to form teams. One source said some people attended virtually via Zoom but others did attend in person and sat in groups of six. Downing Street has insisted the quiz was 'virtual'. ... AND ELSEWHERE IN WHITEHALL December 10: Then-education secretary Gavin Williamson hosted a Department for Education party for 'up to 24 people' on December 10. The gathering, which included food and drink, took place in the department's canteen. The department has admitted the event happened. December 14: About 25 people gathered in the basement of the Conservative party's Matthew Parker St offices in Westminster. The Times reported last night that advisers at Conservative campaign headquarters held an event with Shaun Bailey, the party's unsuccessful candidate for mayor of London this May. Advertisement

Mr Zahawi was asked this morning why people should follow coronavirus rules amid allegations of rule-breaking in Number 10.

The Education Secretary said: 'The first to say on that is that actually the nation has been brilliant following the guidelines.'

Told that that was before the row over Christmas parties, Mr Zahawi said: 'All the time. Even yesterday people were queueing up at vaccination sites, walk-in sites or booking their booster jabs.

'That is a great thing and I am grateful to people doing that and we thank them for that.

'On parties, the Cabinet Secretary has an investigation and his investigation can take him anywhere to look at all parties.

'I have to say to you, you just mentioned the quiz night and that picture today.

'What do we see in that picture? We see a prime minister on a virtual quiz night for 10 to 15 minutes to thank his staff who by the way had no choice but to come in every single day.

'Sitting in his office with the two people who are closest working with him, no alcohol on the table, not drinking, on a Zoom call or a Teams call, on a virtual call, respecting the lockdown rules.

'Many people would have had similar Zoom quiz nights around the country.'

When it was pointed out that Mr Johnson was sat next to two people during the quiz, Mr Zahawi said: 'They are in his office. They work with him.

'All I am saying to you is the Cabinet Secretary is going to investigate everything.

'But that picture I have had emails from constituents because the hype around parties that was going on in the last week and the week before made it sound sort of completely different and actually I think people will look at that picture today and will think hold on a second, he is on a virtual call, no alcohol, thanking his staff for 10 minutes before he goes back to work, is that really a terrible crime?'

Asked if he believes the PM is now a 'liability', Mr Zahawi said: 'I don't agree with that.

'I work very closely with Boris Johnson. I worked with him when I was business and industry minister, with the vaccines taskforce and when he asked me to do the vaccine deployment programme.

'He works literally all hours to make sure we get through this pandemic.'

Sir Keir was asked this morning during an interview on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show if he believed Mr Johnson was breaking the law by taking part in the quiz.

The Labour leader replied: 'Well, it looks as though he was. He must have known those other groups were in other rooms in his own building.

'This is very important because he has damaged his authority, he is now so weak, his party is so divided  he can't deliver the leadership that this country needs.'

He added: 'He is the worst possible leader at the worst possible time.'

Sir Keir said 'it appears' the PM had broken Covid rules and 'we will have to look into it but it is very hard to see how that is compliant with the rules'.

Official guidance in place last December stated: 'Although there are exemptions for work purposes, you must not have a work Christmas lunch or party, where that is a primarily social activity and is not otherwise permitted by the rules in your tier.'

At the time of the quiz, London was in Tier 2 which dictated there should be no mixing of households indoors, apart from support bubbles, and a maximum of six people outside.

The Sunday Mirror quoted a source who claimed many staff were huddled by computers, conferring on questions and drinking alcohol while the quiz was taking place.

It reported Mr Johnson surprised staff by turning up on screen as quiz master for one round lasting between 10 and 15 minutes.

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said the latest revelation showed Mr Johnson 'really believes it's one rule for him, another for everyone else'.

She said: 'While the rules said that people shouldn't have Christmas parties at work and Britons across the country were doing the right thing, Boris Johnson was instead happy to preside over a culture of disregard for the rules at the heart of Government.

'Despite repeated denials of parties in Number 10, it now transpires that there were numerous parties, gatherings and the Prime Minister even took part in a festive quiz.

'Boris Johnson really believes it's one rule for him, another for everyone else. He is a man unfit to lead this country.'

A Number 10 spokeswoman said: 'This was a virtual quiz.

'Downing Street staff were often required to be in the office to work on the pandemic response so those who were in the office for work may have attended virtually from their desks.

'The Prime Minister briefly took part virtually in a quiz to thank staff for their hard work throughout the year.'

The quiz reports come as Mr Case, who is also head of the Civil Service, investigates three alleged rule-breaking Government gatherings last winter.

Staff reportedly held a Christmas bash in Number 10 on December 18, with a leaked video  filmed four days after the alleged gathering  showing senior Downing Street aides joking about a 'fictional' party.

A second reported Downing Street event  an aide's leaving do which is said to have taken place on November 27  was allegedly attended by the Prime Minister, who The Mirror said made a speech.

Mr Case is investigating both alleged events, along with a festive celebration arranged at the Department for Education, which officials have admitted did take place and have expressed regret over.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has since confirmed that staff working for Therese Coffey drank alcohol and ate takeaways 'late into the evening' on a number of occasions while coronavirus restrictions were in place.

It comes after the Sunday Mirror reported that political staff and officials frequently drank after work until the early hours of the morning, and ordered food to the Work and Pension Secretary's office at the department's Whitehall headquarters.

The DWP has confirmed there were times when alcohol was consumed in a work space outside the Cabinet minister's Whitehall office but stressed it took place while work was continuing past normal employment hours.

A source said the desks in the office are socially distanced and there was 'no party atmosphere going on'.
Chilling CCTV footage of two men in black running from the scene where a Sydney underworld gangster was brazenly gunned down could bring detectives one step closer to finding his killer.

Amar Kettule, the high-ranking member of the True King street gang, was shot dead with a spray of bullets on a side lane near William Street in Fairfield in Sydney's southwest in the early hours of January 10.

Almost a year later police are still on the hunt for those responsible for the 34-year-old's death who is believed to have been subject to a targeted attack.

New CCTV footage shows two men dressed in head-to-toe in black sprinting from the scene at around the same time Kettule was attacked.

New CCTV footage shows two men dressed in head-to-toe in black sprinting from the scene at around the same time Amar Kettule, 34, was brazenly attacked

One man's faces is concealed with a black balaclava while the other is seen wearing white sneakers.

Police have also released images of a white Toyota Corolla hatchback believed to have picked the pair up from nearby Reserve Street at Smithfield.

Footage of a stolen Jeep Cherokee believed to have been used as a getaway car was released to the public earlier this year.

The 4WD had been stolen a few days prior in the Fairfield area, and was later found burned in nearby Smithfield.

'We believe the hatchback was used to pick up the men in Reserve Street after the Jeep Cherokee was abandoned and burnt-out after the murder,' Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said on Monday.

'Anyone who may've seen the two men, or the vehicle depicted in the CCTV in the area at time, is urged to contact police.'

Amar Kettule (pictured) was gunned down with a spray of bullets on a side lane near William Street in Fairfield in Sydney's southwest in the early hours of January 10

Police have also released images of a white Toyota Corolla hatchback (pictured) believed to have picked up the men from nearby Reserve Street at Smithfield

Det Supt Doherty said the 'violent, brazen' attack had been carried out in the driveway of a suburban home and implored the public to come forward.

Emergency services arrived at the scene at about 2:40am on January 10 following reports a man had been shot.

Kettule and his girlfriend were driving their Toyota Prado into the Fairfield Towers apartment complex hours before the shooting unfolded.

CCTV footage showed Kettule, wearing a white Adidas shirt and gold chains, arriving home with his partner just hours before his death at 7.30pm.

At 8.40pm the couple were seen emerging from the apartment. After returning six hours later, Kettule was gunned down in a nearby alleyway.

Despite efforts to revive the 34-year-old he died at the scene.

Several hundred mourners turned out to Kettule's funeral on January 16.

Several hundred mourners turned out to Kettule's funeral on January 16 (pictured)

Men and women donned a white shirt with Kettule's smiling face printed on the front, with the back featuring an Ace of Spades card symbol on it and the words 'King Ace'.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions only 100 people were allowed inside the church but that didn't stop mourners from flooding the driveway and surrounding streets.

Inside the church, immediate family members were seated in the pews wearing face masks as they prayed and remembered Kettule.

Kettule has ties to Assyrian street gang The True Kings with previously previously stating 'there would have been people that he would have come in conflict with'.

His death is eerily similar to his brother Dylann's, who was gunned down in a suspected drive-by shooting outside his girlfriend's unit block in January 2014.

Kettule also has links to the Nomads bikie gang and had to be restrained by police in the aftermath of his brother's death when he demanded to see Dylann's body.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions only 100 people were allowed inside the church but that didn't stop mourners from flooding the driveway and surrounding streets (pictured)

Feras Kettule (pictured) was stopped and arrested in south-west Sydney in December 2020, and has been charged with commercial drug supply

Another brother, Feras Kettule was stopped and arrested in south-west Sydney in December 2020, and has been charged with commercial drug supply.

The 35-year-old, who also uses the name 'Calvin Mansour' was charged with supplying a large commercial quantity of cocaine.

The conflict between DLASTHR (The Last Hour) and the True Kings resulted in more than a dozen shootings in Sydney's southwest in 2016.

In March of that year, a True Kings member was driving with another man when shots were allegedly fired at them from another car carrying DLASTHR rivals.

The violence peaked with two separate shooting attacks on suburban houses linked to the turf war four months later, prompting police to set-up Operation Condor.
Ekaterina Zharkova, 38, of Costa Mesa, was charged with four felony counts of grand theft, one felony count of receiving stolen property and seven misdemeanor counts of petty theft after stealing more than $328,00 allegedly between October 7 and November 23

A woman in southern California was charged on Friday with multiple felonies after stealing more than $328,000 in merchandise from designers, including Jimmy Choo, Gucci and Prada, as the state continues to be plagued by burglaries and shoplifting.

Ekaterina Zharkova, 38, of Costa Mesa, was charged with four felony counts of grand theft, one felony count of receiving stolen property and seven misdemeanor counts of petty theft, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

The suspect, of Russian descent, also has other felony charges relating to grand theft in Orange and Los Angeles counties. She is wanted on a $320,000 warrant after failing to appear in court for those charges on Friday.

Zharkova is also accused of stealing from multiple TJ Maxx and Nordstrom Rack stores in Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley and Tustin, between October 7 and November 23. She allegedly entered the stores with empty shopping bags and filled them up with items worth thousands of dollars before she would leave without paying.

However, after an investigator observed her stealing more than $3,500 in clothing merchandise from a Nordstrom Rack in Costa Mesa, Zharkova was arrested on Nov 23 by the California Highway Patrol's Organized Retail Theft.

Prior to her arrest, Zharkova reportedly filled a shopping cart with designer items before covering them with a coat and using a device to take off the security sensors, according to the investigators who closely followed her. She then allegedly left the store without going to the checkout.

Investigators then followed Zharkova to her car, parked at the Metro Pointe at South Coast shopping mall before taking her into custody. Two days later, she posted $20,000 bond and was released, according to records from the Orange County District Attorney's office.

The suspect was then served a search warrant at her residence, which was 'packed wall to wall in every room' with stolen accessories worth more than $328,000, the CHP reported.

Some of the stolen items still even had their anti-theft sensors and price tags on them.

CHP officers also shared pictures on social media of Zharkova's vehicle with its front-passenger side, back seat and trunk all filled with the alleged stolen items.

California Highway Patrol officers shared pictures of Zharkova's vehicle with its front-passenger side, back seat and trunk all filled with the stolen items on social media

Zharkova was taken into custody in her car at the Metro Pointe at South Coast shopping center in Costa Mesa after she allegedly stole more than $3,500 in merchandise from the Nordstrom Rack

The California Highway Patrol released this photo of the merchandise that they say was stolen. Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of allegedly stolen goods have been recovered from the home of Ekaterina Zharkova who is accused of committing a series of high-end retail thefts, according to the CHP

California's Proposition 47 - lighter sentences for thieves Proposition 47 was passed by California voters on November 5, 2014. It made some 'non-violent' property crimes, where the value of the stolen goods does not exceed $950, into misdemeanors. It also made some 'simple' drug possession offenses into misdemeanors, and allows past convictions for these charges to be reduced to a misdemeanor by a court. Under California law, though, if two or more person's conspire to 'cheat and defraud any person or any property, by any means which are in themselves criminal' they can face no more than one year in county prison, a fine of $10,000 or a combination of the two. Advertisement

Investigators said they believe the suspect was selling the items to later resell them through a luxury item online consignment store, potentially for a higher price.

'Shoplifting and other retail theft is out of control across California as a result of reckless laws that have made the risk far less than the potential reward,' O.C. District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a news release.

'These are not victimless crimes and if you engage in these kinds of outrageous theft schemes we're going to arrest you, we're going to prosecute you, and we're putting you behind bars.'

Zharkova's arrest came before Los Angeles Police Chief Michael Moore said Thursday that more than 150 follow-home robberies have been reported so far in 2021, at the expense of two deaths. Many victims were targeted because they wore expensive jewelry or drove luxury vehicles.

Moore added that 36 arrests have been made so far involving those follow-home robberies. Some of those arrests came after detectives trolled suspects on social media who posted photos of themselves with the stolen goods and bragging about it.

'There's a sense of a lack of consequences by a number of these suspects,' Moore told KTLA-TV. 'We take these instances of violence very seriously.'

In an unrelated incident, a suspect wields a hammer during a jewelry store robbery in Los Angeles in November

Los Angeles police say at least 20 people used sledgehammers to break the glass at a Nordstrom on November 22 and ransack its shelves before fleeing. Fourteen suspects were arrested last week in connection to the brazen heist, but have since been released

LA crime is on the upswing, according to police statistics. Homicides are up by 46 percent, car thefts are up 53 percent and shootings have risen by a staggering 51 percent in Los Angeles compared with the same time frame through November 27 of 2019

There were 7,542 robberies in Los Angeles this year through November 27, the LAPD's most recent data indicate, which represents a 3.9 per cent increase from last year

The Los Angeles Times reported that robberies in the city have increased by 3.9 percent since 2020. But in the area of the Melrose Avenue shopping area, located in West Hollywood, shoplifting increased by 20 percent.

The follow-home robberies represent an uptick in violent crime which has not been seen in the area 'in decades,' Moore added.

In response to the rising crime, LAPD formed a special task force and issued a list of recommendations to help people keep from becoming victims.

Among the recommendations are to not conspicuously wear flashy jewelry or watches, stay aware of surroundings and call 911 if there is a suspicion that one is being followed home.
One woman has had at least 20 Covid-19 vaccines on behalf of anti-vaxxers and another charges $100 per jab in a dangerous moneymaking vaccine scheme.

Health bosses in New Zealand revealed on Saturday that a man, who has not been identified, was paid by vaccine-fearing Kiwis to get the jab while posing as them.

He had up to ten doses of coronavirus vaccines in a single day using someone else's name every time he entered a clinic.

Once he received the jab, medical records were updated for the real person and they were allowed to enter businesses and attend events with double vaccination policies.

While the Ministry of Health is investigating how the man managed to get so many doses in 24 hours, social media users said the bizarre side-hustle is gaining traction.

Some anti-vaxxers are paying others to get the Covid-19 vaccine on their behalf (stock image of someone in New Zealand getting a Covid vaccine)

One woman said she knows someone in Palmerston, on the nation's South Island, whose been jabbed multiple times on behalf of others.

'There's a chick in Palmy whose had at least 20 [vaccines],' she wrote.

Another said: 'I know someone whose charging $100 a jab.'

Others slammed money-hungry scammers for putting their heath and others' safety at risk.

'Things people do for money,' one woman said.

'This cannot be at all healthy in any way shape or form. No brains.'

Someone else said: 'I am fascinated that there were ten people who all knew this guy and were willing to pay someone to take a vaccine for them and then fraudulently show a vaccine pass.'

One woman claims to know someone charging $100 to get vaccines while posing as vaccine-fearing Kiwis (pictured: a vaccine being prepared in Auckland)

Astrid Koornneef from the Ministry of Health told Daily Mail Australia the national health body is taking the issue very seriously.

'We are very concerned about this situation and are working with the appropriate agencies,' he said.

'People who have had more vaccine doses than recommended should seek clinical advice as soon as practicable.

'Having an inaccurate vaccination status not only puts you at risk, it puts your friends, family and community at risk, and the healthcare teams that treat you now in the future.'

Authorities believe anti-vaxxers paid the man so they could enjoy the same freedoms as the vaccinated without having to get the jab

University of Auckland vaccinologist and associate professor Helen Petousis-Harris described having multiple unauthorised vaccines as a 'really dumb thing to do'.

'I think the chances of them feeling extra awful are higher than someone who had a regular dose,' she said.

While there is limited data on the effects of multiple Covid vaccines on the body, Ms Petousis-Harris guessed the man would be feeling pretty rough the next day.

She said he will be no more protected against coronavirus than people who have had the recommended two doses, as the triggered immune response will plateau.

The man will be no more protected against coronavirus than people who have had two vaccine doses as the triggered immune response will plateau (pictured, Auckland, New Zealand)

Concerned New Zealanders called for health authorities to check identification before allowing people to roll up their sleeves, but experts fear it could complicate the system.

They worry that people who wish to get vaccinated but don't have a photo ID could be deterred from getting the jab and receiving protected against the virus.

New Zealand has experienced an uptick in Covid cases since October and recorded 103 new infections and 61 hospitalisations on Sunday.

Of the eligible population, 94 per cent of people have had their first dose and 89 per cent have rolled up their sleeve for both.

Of the fully vaccinated population, 91 per cent have downloaded a 'My Vaccine Pass', the equivalent of Australia's vaccination passport.
Australia has sent a subtle signal that it is serious about blocking the Chinese takeover of farms and key power assets by reappointing a former spy boss to a powerful government board.

David Irvine, a 74-year-old former ambassador to China who previously led the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, will have his tenure heading the Foreign Investment Review Board extended by another two years.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced Mr Irvine's reappointment as chairman, a position that had been due to expire in April 2022.

'The reappointment of Mr Irvine will provide important continuity as the FIRB continues to deal with strong foreign investment interest in a complex global environment,' Mr Frydenberg said.

Australia has sent a subtle signal that it is serious about blocking the Chinese takeover of farms and key power assets by reappointing an elderly former spy boss (pictured is Chinese President Xi Jinping)

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, when he was treasurer, appointed Mr Irvine for his initial five-year term in April 2017.

Highly-experienced Mr Irvine was ASIO director-general from 2009 to 2014 and before that, he was Australia's ambassador to China from 2000 to 2003.

In between those leadership positions, the career diplomat was in charge of the Australian Security Intelligence Service, the agency in charge of collecting intelligence overseas.

He is the only Australian to have headed both the domestic and foreign spying agencies, which he did for 12 years.

Michael Shoebridge, the director of defence, strategy and national security with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said Mr Irvine's reappointment was a signal that Treasury no longer put economic considerations ahead of national security in foreign investment decisions.

'That's been essential as part of this recalibration of Australia's China policy,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

David Irvine, a 74-year-old former ambassador to China who previously led the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, will have its tenure heading the Foreign Investment Review Board extended by another two years

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced Mr Irvine's reappointment to a position that had been due to expire in April 2022

'It says we're not for turning on China policy: for big investments that have major security implications - think about critical infrastructure, digital communications, power distribution - all of those things, the Chinese should expect that major investment from Chinese state corporations or other closely government-linked corporations, will continue not to be successful.'

Mr Shoebridge said the reappointment of a wizened figure such as Mr Irvine showed his skills and experience were in short supply.

'It probably means that he's hard to replace because of its fairly unusual background: the high foreign policy career combined with national security,' he said.

'It more says he's doing a good job.

'He's brought that security background and that understanding of the emerging China policy to the role and that's been hugely helpful in the Treasurer getting more integrated advice rather than just the economic portfolios telling him "it's all good" and the national security portfolios telling him "it's all risk".

In February 2019, China banned Australia coal from being unloaded at ports in retaliation at an August 2018 decision by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull to ban Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei from being part of Australia's 5G mobile rollout (pictured is a Huawei shop in Beijing)

Under Mr Irvine, FIRB in 2018 blocked the Chinese-owned CK Infrastructure Holdings from a $13billion takeover of natural gas company APA Group.

'CK Holdings bidding for what would have been a very large share of east coast gas distribution

In February 2019, China banned Australia coal from being unloaded at ports in retaliation at an August 2018 decision by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull to ban Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei from being part of Australia's 5G mobile rollout.

Australia's foreign investment rules were tested in November 2019 when a Chinese firm that owned a majority stake in Queensland's Cubbie Station, Australia's largest irrigation project, sold its stake to a Chinese state-owned firm.

Yinchuan Finance Corporation sold 26 per cent of its shares in Shandong Ruyi to Jining Chengjian Investment Co, an investment arm of the local government of the city of Jinjing in eastern China, for 3.5 billion yuan, or $A717million, The Australian Financial Review revealed at the time.
Queensland's new Chief Health Officer has warned there could be more than 1000 new Covid cases in the state as it re-opened the border to so-called 'hotspot' states.

Dr John Gerrard, who took over from Dr Jeannette Young after the original replacement, Dr Krispin Hajkowicz, pulled out of the job at the last minute, was quizzed about when Queensland will see a peak in new Covid infections now strict border controls have ended.

'We don't know for certain. The original Doherty [Institute] modelling suggested there would be a lag of several weeks to months,' Dr Gerrard said.

'The general feeling is that the peak will be as it gets cooler. But we don't know for certain; it starts to get cooler in three or four months time.'

'What we do know is as the number [of travellers] increases, we will see an increase in cases in Queensland.'

Dr Gerrard was asked whether the the number of cases will number 'in the hundreds'.

'I think we can expect to see hundreds of extra spotfires, and they will transmit to others... so I think we can expect to see more than hundreds, quite possibly, in the next few months.'

Health authorities and members of Annastacia's Palaszczuk's government have been warning Queenslanders Covid cases will increase in coming weeks and months as visitors from hotspot states such as NSW and Victoria are allowed to re-enter the state.

Queensland has only 56 active Covid cases and identified one new case of community transmission on Monday, a man from the Sunshine Coast.

The new case was believed to be caused by the man visiting Byron Bay in northern NSW.

Alexandra Harg and baby Hazel (middle) arrive from Sydney to be reunited with Hazel's Grandparents Rob and Maja Fyfe at Brisbane Airport on Monday morning. 'What we do know is as these numbers [of travellers] increase, we will see an increase in incursions and an increase in cases in Queensland,' Queensland's Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard said.

Motorists pass through a border control checkpoint at the Queensland-NSW border at Coolangatta on Monday morning as Queensland border restrictions eased

A family reunite at Brisbane Airport on Monday morning. Qantas and Jetstar will operate around 700 flights to and from Queensland across 28 routes from Victoria and New South Wales this week

Dr Gerrard said most of the recent 'incursions' of the virus into Queensland were caused by people returning from northern NSW.

Nine further cases were detected in hotel quarantine - seven acquired interstate and two from overseas arrivals.

By contrast, NSW announced 536 new cases in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, including 64 cases with the Omicron variant of concern.

Victoria announced 1,209 new cases, with 11,649 active cases in the state.

Dr Gerrard said despite the coming rise in cases in Queensland, it was the unvaccinated and 'a small minority' of vaccinated people who were at risk.

'But let me point out, I've been seeing Covid cases since the beginning of 2020, and those who are vaccinated don't get very sick.

'We're not concerned about the vast majority of vaccinated people who get Covid-19 because their illness really is mild.

'It's the small minority, mostly unvaccinated, who get very sick.

'Occasionally older people or people with immune dysfunction who are vaccinated can get sick, that does happen.'

'I think we can expect to see hundreds of extra spotfires, and they will transmit to others... so I think we can expect to see more than hundreds [of Covid cases], quite possibly, in the next few months,' Dr Gerrard said

Dr Gerrard said his focus going forward would be less on individual cases and more on the infection trends to see whether there was an exponential rise in cases in the community or the hospitals.

He said most cases in vaccinated people, going forward, would be managed at home.

'We have systems set up to start managing patients at home.'

Dr Gerrard described Omicron as a 'curveball' - but that data suggested a booster shot will provide good protection against the variant.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told reporters 88.32 per cent of Queenslanders had now received their first dose, while 81.23 per cent of eligible people were now fully vaccinated.

The rates on the Gold Coast remained about four per cent below those in Brisbane, a concern for health authorities given most people from hotspots such as NSW and Victoria would visit the tourist strip when they first arrived into the state.

Hundreds of drivers queued at the NSW/QLD border overnight to be the first to pass into the Sunshine State at 1am on Monday.

Emotional scenes unfolded as the first of the cars drove through the checkpoints - the final hurdle for many drivers to be reunited with their loved ones.

Similar scenes were also seen at Brisbane and Coolangatta airports as more regular flights began arriving from Sydney and Melbourne.

As many as 90,000 people are expected to cross over the state border by plane and car every single day.

Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said 23,500 applications had been made for border passes from people coming from hotspots by 10am on Monday.

Qantas and Jetstar will this week operate around 700 flights to and from Queensland across 28 routes from Victoria and New South Wales, well up on last week's 100 or so flights when the border was still closed.

As Christmas nears, they expect to put on to 1200 weekly flights to and from the state.

The border easing comes after Queensland hit its 80 per cent double dose vaccination milestone last week, allowing interstate travellers to head north in time for the festive season in a much-needed boost for local tourism.
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Survivors of the deadliest twister in Kentucky's history have described the harrowing 'screams of people' as they lay cowering in devastated factories and homes during the storm - as the governor warned the death toll could exceed 100 amid continued rescue efforts on Monday.

Governor Andy Beshear said going door-to-door was out of the question because in the Bluegrass State's hardest-hit areas: 'There are no doors.'

'I've got towns that are gone, that are just, I mean gone. My dad's hometown - half of it isn't standing,' Beshear said of Dawson Springs.

The state, which has a confirmed death toll of 80, was by far the worst struck on Friday night by 30 tornadoes that ripped across the Midwest, killing another 14 people in Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas and Missouri.

One twister carved a track that could rival the longest on record, as the stormfront smashed apart a candle factory in Kentucky, crushed a nursing home in Arkansas and flattened an Amazon distribution center in Illinois.

At least eight people were killed in the candle factory when the tornado rampaged through the small town of Mayfield, bringing the walls crashing down and tearing the roof off. Another eight workers are still missing.

Kyanna Parsons-Perez was among the 110 employees working the night shift during the busy Christmas rush.

She told NBC: 'They had us in the area where you go in case there's a storm, and we were all there and then the lights got to flickering and all of a sudden we felt a gust of [wind], we could feel the wind and then my ears kind of started popping as they would as if you were on a plane.'

After they were rocked by the winds, Parsons-Perez said 'everything came down on us.' After that, she said, 'all you heard was screams.'

In further developments:

Mayfield candle factory workers: Dakota, left with girlfriend Brandy, called her to say he thought he was going to die. His colleague Kyanna Parsons-Perez said that after the storm struck 'all you heard was screams'

CANDLE FACTORY, MAYFIELD, KENTUCKY: Recovery crews work at the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory where 110 were working when the tornado struck. Only 40 of the workers were rescued alive

CANDLE FACTORY, MAYFIELD, KENTUCKY: Search are rescue crews work at the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory Sunday morning. Rescuers describe crawling over the bodies of the dead to reach survivors

Children who were injured when the storm struck Dawson Springs. Doug Koon's two-month-old daughter, Oaklynn, (right) may have suffered from a stroke in the storm, while his four-year-old boy, left, had to have a CT scan after his head was injured

One of Friday's tornadoes is believed to have remained on the ground for 227 miles, a world record. Kentucky bore the brunt of the destruction, and the storm is now the deadliest tornado strike in the state's history

Six Amazon workers killed after Illinois tornado destroyed warehouse - including Navy vet who died trying to save colleagues - while Jeff Bezos threw weekend PARTY in Beverly Hills Six Amazon workers were killed after a tornado struck a warehouse in Illinois on Friday night. Meanwhile, photos reviewed by DailyMail.com suggest a lavish party was thrown at Jeff Bezos' Beverly Hills mansion this weekend in the aftermath of the tragedy. Navy veteran Clayton Cope, 29, was among the dead after a series of tornadoes roared through the facility near St. Louis, ripping off its roof and causing 11-inch thick concrete walls longer than football fields to collapse on themselves. His sister Rachel Cope said she's angry that Amazon didn't allow its workers to go to an emergency shelter after the first siren sounded. Clayton Cope, a US Navy veteran, was among those killed in the disaster The Amazon workers killed include Clayton Cope (top left), Etheria S. Hebb (top center), Kevin Dickey (top right), Deandre S. Morrow (bottom left) and Larry Virden (bottom middle) and Austin J. McEwan (bottom right) 'I'd want people to know that he died saving the lives of people in that building because of Amazon's negligence to take the tornado sirens seriously and choosing the productivity of their company over their employees,' Cope told DailyMail.com. 'My brother is a hero.' Amazon cargo driver Austin J. McEwen, 26, was also killed while trying to shelter during the tornado. Other Amazon workers identified as dead by the local coroner were Deandre 'Shawn' Morrow, 28, of St. Louis, Missouri; Kevin D. Dickey, 62, of Carlyle, Illinois; Etheria S. Hebb, 24, of St. Louis, Missouri; and Larry E. Virden, 46, of Collinsville, Illinois. Meantime, several warehouse employees said they're worried Amazon's controversial cell phone ban, which was temporarily lifted during the pandemic, would jeopardize safety. Their fears were amplified after a tornado killed the Edwardsville workers. Blue collar workers said in the aftermath of the disaster that they're worried reinforcing the cell phone ban would prohibit them from checking weather alerts or calling for help during emergencies. 'After these deaths, there is no way in hell I am relying on Amazon to keep me safe,' one person, who works at an Amazon facility in Illinois, told Bloomberg. 'If they institute the no cell phone policy, I am resigning.' Another worker said she wasn't willing to lock away her cell phone while on the clock either. 'I don't trust them with my safety to be quite frank,' she told the outlet. 'If there's severe weather on the way, I think I should be able to make my own decision about safety.' Moments before he died, Cope was on the phone with his dad, telling him he needed to go warn his colleagues that were returning to the warehouse to get shelter, his sister said. 'And that's when the building collapsed,' she said. His sister expressed her fury with Amazon on a public Facebook post as well, where she demanded answers for the tragedy. 'Everyone knows that all Amazon cares about is productivity,' she said. 'My brother never would have died if this company actually gave 2 sh*** about their employees and got them to safety after the storm started to get bad and took it seriously. 'This never would have happened if they cared about lives over productivity and you all know that.' Advertisement

Fellow employee Dakota called his girlfriend to tell her he loved her, believing that he was going to die in the chaos.

'I wasn't able to get a hold of him,' Brandy told ABC. 'You know, so I started panicking and then a while later he called me and he said that he's trapped under all the debris and he can't see nothing, he wasn't sure if anyone was going to be able to find him.'

'I could hear people screaming left and right, and I got scared because he called me and said "I love you, tell mom I love her. I'm sorry, I tried."

'In that moment I collapsed because I thought he was going to die, I thought my worst nightmare was coming true, and I didn't her from him for hours.

'I felt like my whole world had ended, I felt like I was moving in slow motion, not knowing anything, and then when he called me when he got out of the rubble, it was just instant relief.'

But Dakota said he could not immediately come home, as he helped get others out of the rubble. 'After we got out we started pulling the rest of the team out, and then we were able to get first responders,' he said.

'I found people with broken legs, pulling them out, some were nonresponsive,' he recounted. 'It was rough.'

Jackie and Doug Koon ran over to Jackie's mother's house, where their eldest son was staying, before the storm hit, Doug told MSNBC on Sunday.

He said the family huddled together in the bathroom with their two sons laying in the bathtub with pillows over them, and their two month old baby girl strapped into her car seat - figuring that would give her the most protection.

'Nothing is ... scarier than knowing a tornado is heading your way and hearing your kids freaking out, and thinking we are going to die,' Jackie wrote on Facebook following the ordeal.

When the tornado finally hit her mother's house in Dawson Springs, she said, 'We all went flying and ended up on the other side of our neighbor's house.'

As the storm subsided, Doug told MSNBC he looked up from where he landed and saw his four-year-old son standing there and screaming for 'daddy.' The boy had a cut on his head, Doug said, and it was bleeding.

He said tried to stop the bleeding as he searched for his other family members through the rubble, guided by screaming and moaning - gathering his family back one at a time.

'It's the most traumatic thing I've ever been through,' he said. 'I felt like I was helpless in protecting my kids against it.' He said he tried to stop everyone's bleeding and get them to safety before his mother-in-law's house was completely destroyed, and then rushed his family to the hospital.

He said his four-year-old son had to have a CT scan to ensure the brain bleed he had does not get worse, and overnight, his two-month-old daughter, Oaklynn's, condition worsened.

Jackie posted on Facebook on Sunday that the doctors at the local hospital ran some tests on her baby daughter, and 'they think she has injured her neck veins, which may have caused her to have a stroke.'

She was being incubated and transferred to another hospital.

'Hold your loved ones tight,' Jackie wrote. 'I never imagined having to go [through] something like this in life.'

More than 100 people were working at the factory when the storm hit, but only 40 of them were rescued and alive as of Sunday, including Chesa Logue, who told USA Today she had restarted working at the candle factory two weeks before the storm hit.

She said the managers lined people up in a restroom and under shelter, where they stayed for 15 minutes before 'the building lifted up and it swayed' before it crashed down.

'All you could hear was the screams of the people,' she said.

Her head was protected in a five-gallon bucket of chemicals, she said, and the woman on top of her 'managed to get herself loose and out from in between the walls.

'And I just jerked my head out from in between the bucket and the wall and got out.'

She said she doesn't remember how exactly she managed to escape the destruction, telling USA Today: 'By the grace of God, I got out of there.'

Doug Koon spoke to MSNBC about having to find his children in the rubble after they were swept away in the storm

Jackie Koon posted updates about the family's survival after a deadly tornado passed through her mother's house in Dawson Springs, Kentucky, completely destroying the house

Forklift operator Mark Saxton, left, survived the tornado at the factory. His nearby home (above) had its roof pulled off and its walls devastated during the tornado

Autumn Kirks (right) says she glanced away from her boyfriend, fellow factory worker Lannis Ward (left), but when she looked back, he was gone

Lora Capps was also on her tenth day at the job at the candle factory on Friday.

She told ABC News she and a janitor took shelter in a bathroom and they fell in a hole in the ground, under the debris. 'He kept saying 'I can't breathe,' and I said, 'I'm trying,'' she recounted of her last few moments with the janitor.

'I just want his family to know I tried my best. I said 'Just go be with God, and I'll probably be following you.'

But Capps did not die - instead she was found by three men with a flashlight, who helped her to safety and reunited her with her son.

'This is going to traumatize me for the rest of my life,' Capps said.

Factory owner Mayfield Consumer Products was a major employer in the town of 10,000. A family-owned business founded in 1998, it had recently been hiring -- a rarity in an America where small manufacturers more often lose out to international competitors.

'Our Mayfield, Kentucky facility was destroyed December 10, 2021, by a tornado, and tragically employees were killed and injured,' CEO Troy Propes said in a message on the company website.

'Our employees, some who have worked with us for many years, are cherished.'

The factory also employed trusted inmates from a local prison and had been operating in shifts around the clock to meet high demand in the busy Christmas season.

A group of prisoners were seen helping some of the victims get free from the rubble in the aftermath of the storm.

Kentucky State Trooper Sarah Burgess said on Sunday rescue crews were using heavy equipment to remove rubble at the candle factory. Coroners were called to the scene and bodies were recovered, but she didnt know how many.

Rescue efforts were complicated because Mayfields main fire station and emergency services hub were also hit by the tornado.

Not everyone was fortunate to survive the deadly storm, which Gov. Andy Beshar said was the deadliest tornado in Kentucky's history.

Kentucky District Judge Brian Crick, a married father of three, was among those killed in the storm

The confirmed death toll in Kentucky alone is now higher than any tornado in the state's history at 80, with the multi-state toll standing at 94 and expected to rise as recovery efforts continue.

That shatters the prior record for the deadliest tornado in Kentucky history, set in 1890 when a twister killed 76 in the Louisville area, according to National Weather Service records.

'[The death toll] is going to exceed more than 100. This is the deadliest tornado event we've ever had,' Beshear told CNN, adding that in the town Dawson Springs alone, the list of the missing is eight pages long, single-spaced.

'I've got towns that are gone  that are just, I mean, gone,' he said. 'You go door-to-door to check on people and see if they're okay. There are no doors. The question is, is there somebody in the rubble of thousands upon thousands of structures. I mean, it's devastating.'

One twister carved a track that could rival the longest on record, as the stormfront smashed apart a candle factory in Kentucky, crushed a nursing home in Arkansas and flattened an Amazon distribution center in Illinois.

Beshear said that one tornado was on the ground for 227 miles, 200 of which were in Kentucky, which would break the prior global tornado-track record of 219 miles.

The death toll across five states also includes six people in Illinois, where an Amazon facility was hit; four in Tennessee; two in Arkansas, where a nursing home was destroyed; and two in Missouri.

Among the dead is Kentucky District Judge Brian Crick, 43, a married father of three who served McLean and Muhlenberg counties, was among those killed in the storm, the commonwealth's Supreme Court chief justice confirmed.

Local residents Darlene Easterwood and Tim Evans embrace after taking part in an outdoor Sunday service with members of First Christian Church and First Presbyterian Church in the aftermath of a tornado in Mayfield, Kentucky

Workers remove a sign from a destroyed business in aftermath of a tornado in Mayfield, Kentucky on Sunday

First Presbyterian Church was left mostly destroyed in the center of Mayfield in tornadoes that killed scores of Kentuckians

People embrace on Sunday as tornado damage is seen in Mayfield, Kentucky after extreme storms struck, leaving more than 80 people dead Saturday in the state

In Earlington, Kentucky the powerful winds derailed a freight train, tossing the heavy cars like a child's playthings

Dena Ausdorn stands at the remains of her home after a tornado leveled the town of Dawson Springs, Kentucky. Ausdorn has lived there for 28 years and lost two of her dogs with another left paralyzed after the tornado

As the sun rose on Sunday morning, survivors in Mayfield picked through the rubble to salvage anything they could

 Slide me  The Mayfield courthouse is seen before and after the powerful storm, which ripped off the clock tower and second floor

Kentucky residents, many without power, water or even a roof over their heads, worked on Sunday to salvage what they could in towns that had been all but destroyed.

And in a telegram on Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered 'sincere condolences' to his US counterpart Joe Biden, despite rising tensions over the Russian military buildup at the Ukrainian border.

The historic nature of the storm has led some to blame climate change, including Biden and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.

'The effects we are seeing of climate change are the crisis of our generation,' Criswell told CNN on Sunday morning. 'This is going to be our new normal.'

Warm weather driven by a La Nina pattern was a crucial ingredient in this tornado outbreak, but whether climate change is a factor is not quite as clear, meteorologists say.

Timothy McDill, 48, tears up on Sunday as he recounts the story of surviving the tornado in Mayfield, Kentucky

The night of the storm, McDill (above) tied himself, his wife, his two grandkids, 14 and 12, their two Chihuahuas and a cat to a drainpipe in their basement using a flagpole rope and waited for it to be over

Tornado damage is seen Sunday in Mayfield after extreme weather hit the region on Friday night. Dozens of devastating tornadoes roared through five US states overnight, leaving more than 80 people dead

Bogdan Gaicki surveys tornado damage Sunday in Mayfield, Kentucky after extreme weather hit the region, leaving more than 80 people dead in the deadliest storm in Kentucky history

Kentucky residents, many without power, water or even a roof over their heads, worked on Sunday to salvage what they could in towns that had been all but destroyed

People walk amongst damage caused by tornados in Mayfield, Kentucky on Sunday as survivors picked through the wreckage

Since late Friday, rescue workers have been desperately searching through the tangle of debris that is all that remains of the factory, where fallen girders and twisted sheet metal are piled high.

They have been seen removing corpses, while advancing gingerly through the wreckage with heavy equipment. Specially trained dogs sniff the debris to find anyone -- dead or alive -- still buried.

Meanwhile, Western Kentucky University, which previously said that a student had been killed, amended their statement to confirm that a close relative of a graduating senior had died.

The school's graduation ceremony, set for Saturday, has been cancelled and the school still has no electricity amid widespread power outages.

In this aerial photo, a collapsed candle factory is seen with workers searching for survivors Sunday in Mayfield, Kentucky

A general view of damage and debris in Mayfield, Kentucky after a devastating outbreak of tornadoes ripped through

A general view of a hallway inside a nursing home in Mayfield, Kentucky is seen Sunday after a tornado strike

Destroyed homes and debris are seen in a heavily damaged neighborhood at dawn in Dawson Springs, Kentucky

The remains of Dawson Springs Primitive Baptist Church after a tornado in Dawson Springs on Sunday. A monstrous tornado, carving a track that could rival the longest on record, ripped across the middle of the U.S. on Friday

Decimated homes are seen in Mayfield, Kentucky on Sunday following the deadliest tornado in Kentucky's history

Elsewhere, at least six people were killed in the collapse of the Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois, with another injured worker airlifted to a hospital, fire Chief James Whiteford said.

One of the victims was Larry Virden, 46, who died when the roof came down at the massive facility. He had been working at Amazon for five months, and his girlfriend of 13 years, Cherie Jones, told the New York Post the company ordered him to hold off on driving until after the storm passed.

'I got text messages from him,' she said. 'He always tells me when he is filling up the Amazon truck when he is getting ready to go back.

'I was like 'OK, I love you,' he's like, 'Well Amazon won't let me leave until the storm blows over.'

Jones said the text was sent around 8.23pm, 16 minutes before the tornado touched down at 8.39pm.

The couple lived in nearby Collinsville, which Jones said is about 13 minutes from the warehouse.

'We heard the tornado didn't touch down until 8.39, so he had 20 minutes to get home,' she said. 'I messaged him and that was the last text message I got from him.

'I told him where we live, it was only lightning at the time. After that, I got nothing from him.'

When asked whether she blamed Amazon for Virden's death, she said: 'Not really, but it's that what-if situation: What if they would have let him leave? He cold have made it home.'

She noted that Virden 'made peace with his Maker' when he served in the US Army in Iraq, 'so he was prepared to die. But we didn't want him to die now.'

Jones said their three children are now having difficulty understanding why their father is not returning home.

On Sunday, investigators searched the rubble throughout the day for additional victims and 45 people survived, Chief Whiteford said. Authorities were uncertain Saturday evening whether anyone was still unaccounted because workers were in the midst of a shift change when it was struck by the tornado about 8:30 p.m. Friday.

'This is a devastating tragedy for our Amazon family and our focus is on supporting our employees and partners,' Amazon spokesperson Richard Rocha said in a written statement.

In Earlington, Kentucky the powerful winds derailed a freight train, sending one car flying 75 yards from the tracks

People work at the scene of a train derailment in Earlington after a devastating outbreak of tornadoes

Workers say it will take some time to clear the tracks after the powerful winds ripped a freight train off the tracks

In Earlington, Kentucky the powerful winds also derailed a freight train, sending one car flying 75 yards from the tracks.

Photos show that two cars separated entirely from the train near Highway 41, with much of the rest of the train tipped on its side.

'They say it sounds like a train. It's a lot worse than a train,' Jesse Johnson, who was at the center of the tornado in Earlington, told WFIE-TV.

In one astonishing example of the twister's fearsome whim, an old family photo was carried more than 130 miles before it was recovered intact and reunited with its owner.

Katie Posten, of New Albany, Indiana, wrote on Facebook that she was walking out to her car when she discovered the photo from the 1940s stuck to her windshield.

'The tornado that ripped through Kentucky last night seems to have dissipated just a bit southwest of us, and it's said to have carried debris up into the sky up to seven miles or more, so no doubt that it came from a home in the path of destruction,' Posten wrote in a public appeal searching for the photo's owner.

Incredibly, thanks to the inscription on the back, Posten was able to reunite the photo with the Swatzell family in Dawson Springs, Kentucky.

It was a rare moment of hope amid countless tales of tragedy, particularly in Mayfield, where entire blocks were flattened, houses and buildings ripped apart, leaving twisted metal, shattered tree limbs and bricks scattered across streets.

That included the city's courthouse, whose clock tower was completely torn off by the tornadoes. The historic landmark dates to the 19th century.

Katie Posten, of New Albany, Indiana, found a family photo on her windshield and was able to locate the Kentucky family it belonged to, 130 miles away, through a public appeal on Facebook

In this aerial view, homes and businesses are destroyed on Saturday after a tornado ripped through town the previous evening in Mayfield, Kentucky. Multiple tornadoes touched down in several Midwest states

People retrieve merchandise from a Mayfield store after a devastating outbreak of tornadoes

 Slide me  Satellite images show shows homes and buildings in Mayfield before and after a devastating twister

A general view of damage and debris after a devastating outbreak of tornadoes ripped through several U.S. states, in Mayfield, Kentucky on Sunday

Emmanuel Baptist Church is seen in the aftermath of the tornadoes on Friday in Mayfield, Kentucky on Saturday morning

A resident of the The Cardinal Inn in Bowling Green, Kentucky, looks at the damages done after a tornado touched down

At least two were dead and many people were trapped after a roof partially collapsed at this Amazon warehouse after a tornado passed through Edwardsville, Illinois

If early reports are confirmed, the twister 'will likely go down perhaps as one of the longest track violent tornadoes in United States history,' said Victor Gensini, a researcher on extreme weather at Northern Illinois University.

The longest tornado on record, in March 1925, tracked for about 220 miles through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. But Gensini said this twister may have touched down for nearly 250 miles. The storm was all the more remarkable because it came in December, when normally colder weather limits tornadoes, he said.

Debris from destroyed buildings and shredded trees covered the ground in Mayfield, a city of about 10,000 in western Kentucky. Twisted metal sheeting, downed power lines and wrecked vehicles lined the streets. Windows and roofs were blown off the buildings that were still standing.

The missing at the candle factory included Janine Denise Johnson Williams, a 50-year-old mother of four whose family members kept vigil at the site Saturday.

'Its Christmastime and she works at a place thats making candles for gifts,' her brother, Darryl Williams, said. 'To give up the gift of life to make a gift. We havent heard anything, and Im not presuming anything. But Im expecting for the worst.'

He said Johnson Williams called her husband overnight to report the weather was getting bad, the last time anyone heard from her.

Search and rescue crews work through the night at the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory early Sunday in Mayfield

Emergency response workers dig through the rubble of the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory in Mayfield on Saturday. Only 40 out of the 110 workers in the factory have been rescued alive

Emergency workers transport a tornado victim in a body bag at the Mayfield Consumer Products Candle Factory on Saturday

After a wall at a nursing home in Mayfield collapsed, Vernon Evans said he rushed to help firefighters pull people out, only to find one resident lying dead in a few inches of water.

'All I could do is sit there and hold their head up,' he said. 'I never experienced nothing like this.'

President Joe Biden approved an emergency disaster declaration for Kentucky on Saturday and pledged to support the affected states.

'I promise you, whatever is needed - whatever is needed - the federal government is going to find a way to provide it,' Biden said.

The Commonwealth of Kentucky has established a tornado relief fund to directly assist those impacted by the storm system, donations can be made at: TeamWKYReliefFund.ky.gov
Australia will add 30 artillery vehicles to its defence force in a beef-up that also includes 40 new helicopters and at least eight nuclear powered submarines.

The Government on Monday signed a $1billion defence deal with a South Korean company to buy 30 self-propelled howitzers, 15 armoured ammunition resupply vehicles, and weapon locating radars that help find enemy artillery.

The landmark deal comes after Defence Minister Peter Dutton announced last week Australia would scrap its fleet of 47 European-designed Taipan defence helicopters and replace them with 40 Black Hawks and Seahawks from the US at a cost of $7billion.

Defence Minister Peter Dutton announced last week Australia would scrap its fleet of 47 European-designed Taipan defence helicopters and replace them with 40 Black Hawks (pictured) and Seahawks from the US at a cost of $7 billion

The government argues the American aircraft are better value and more reliable.

The Taipans have been used in Australia since 2007 and were due to be withdrawn from service in 2037. But they have been labelled unreliable, beset by groundings and availability issues.

In September Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Australia would acquire at least eight nuclear-powered submarines using technology from the US and UK under the new AUKUS alliance.

The move meant scrapping a $90billion deal with French company Naval Group for diesel-electric submarines, sparking fury from President Emmanuel Macron.

Last week Mr Dutton said Australia was taking the steps in the face of a 'growing threat within the Indo-Pacific' without mentioning China by name.

'I want the Australian Defence Force to have at its disposal the most effective equipment and the most highly trained people to deal with that reality,' he said on Friday.

Mr Dutton has regularly warned about China's growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.

Since president Xi Jinping came to power, and particularly in recent months, Beijing has pushed increasingly assertive foreign policy.

China has reinforced territorial claims in the South China Sea, killed Indian troops in the Himalayas, and frequently flown fighter jets over Taiwan.

This graphic shows the stark difference between the militaries of China and Australia

Australia will acquire eight nuclear-powered submarines to replace its ageing Collins-class subs (pictured)

Self-propelled howitzers are large field guns that can be driven into position to provide battlefield support.

They will be built by Korean company Hanwha Defence at a new facility in Greater Geelong, Victoria which will be constructed next year. The contract will provide up to 300 jobs in Australia.

Mr Dutton said the howitzers would provide Australia within significant capability.

'The prime ability of the new vehicles is to fire and move quickly, avoiding enemy counter-attack. This project will mean a significant increase in the level of firepower and security for Australian artillery capability,' he said.

Australia will add 30 artillery vehicles to its defence force in a beef-up. They will be similar to Hanwha Defence's K9 howitzer (pictured) but slightly modified

'We are committed to keeping our region safe, while protecting our interests in a rapidly changing global environment.

'The self-propelled howitzer capability, including a strengthened industrial base, is one of several projects that will modernise the Australian Army, ensuring it continues to maintain a capability advantage now, and into the future.

'This new capability will give our soldiers the best possible chance of completing their missions and returning home safe to their families.'

The deal is the largest defence contract struck between Australia and an Asian nation.

It was signed on Monday in front of Prime Minister Scott Morrison and President Moon Jae-in at Parliament House.

The Prime Minister welcomed South Korean President Moon Jae-in to Parliament House on Monday

Mr Morrison said the South-Korea-Australia relationship continues to grow, underpinned by trade, shared values, common regional strategic interests and a commitment to an open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.

'Our comprehensive strategic partnership with the Republic of Korea is underpinned by our joint commitment to defence and security cooperation,' Mr Morrison said.

Mr Moon is the first international leader to visit Australia since borders reopened.

Australia has comprehensive strategic partnerships, or their equivalents, already with ASEAN, China, Fiji, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea.

South Korea is Australia's fourth-largest trading partner and fourth-largest export market under a free trade agreement that has been in force since December 2014.

The two nations also signed deals on critical minerals and low emissions technology.

President Moon is pushing for a region-wide partnership to boost the production and distribution of hydrogen, which by 2050 is expected to account for 13 to 18 per cent of world energy.
After weeks of torrential rain Australians on the east coast will finally feel a touch of summer as a multi-state heatwave sends temperatures soaring this week.

Eagerly-anticipated summer temperatures will be enjoyed in most capital cities across as cloud cover clears to reveal the sunshine.

The warm weather will last well into the weekend in parts of NSW, Queensland, Canberra, Darwin and Adelaide - with Melbourne due for a sizzling Saturday.

However, forecasters warn La Nina is here to stay - and there are predictions of some storms and rain showers throughout the week.

After weeks of torrential rain Australians on the east coast will finally be hit with some warmth as a multi-state heatwave sends temperatures soaring to the thirties on the weekend

Temperatures are due to soar in most parts of Queensland, South Australia and northern parts of NSW as those areas endure severe heatwave conditions.

Sydneysiders will enjoy a warm Tuesday and Wednesday this week with temperatures expected to remain above the 19 degree mark at night.

Temperatures will skyrocket to 30 degrees in the Harbour City over the weekend with residents to enjoy a well-deserved beach day.

Melbourne is expected to remain cool and mild throughout the week until the temperature starts to sizzle at the weekend.

The mercury is expected to hit 30 degrees on Friday and 35 on Saturday - a big change after lows of 15 throughout the week with a few showers.

However, in welcome news for sun-starved Sydneysiders temperatures are due to soar into the thirties for southern and eastern states (pictured, residents enjoy Bondi Beach)

Meteorologists are predicting extreme heatwave conditions in the Top End and northern Western Australia this weekend (pictured)

Canberra is due to experience similar hot weather with a 30 degree day on Wednesday and a warm weekend to follow.

In Brisbane, temperatures will remain solid at around 30 degrees all week with no rain predicted to ruin blue skies but a slight chance of thunderstorms.

Darwin is set for a blistering week of 35 degree days while further inland, Katherine could hit 41 degrees and Alice Springs set to top 42 degrees on Friday.

Very warm to hot air will be dragged from Adelaide ahead of the capital city experiencing a cold front, in turn causing temperatures to climb in the eastern states

Sydneysiders will enjoy a warm Tuesday and Wednesday this week with temperatures expected to remain above the 19 degree mark at night (pictured, a beachgoer in Bondi)

Perth residents will also continue to enjoy the balmy weather with maximums of 25 degrees with Wednesday set to be the warmest day of the week.

Further east in Adelaide, temperatures are due to soar to 35 degrees on Friday.

Chris Matthews, a meteorologist at Weatherzone, told Daily Mail Australia residents should enjoy the warm temperatures while they last.

Temperatures will skyrocket to 30 degrees in Sydney over the weekend with residents to enjoy a well-deserved beach day (pictured, sunbakers gather on Coogee Beach)

Mr Matthews said while this week and next week were looking good in terms of sunshine on the east coast, La Nina will return.

The meteorologist said a general warming trend will build in the west of the country and track east throughout this week and next.

The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast an extreme heatwave in the Top End and northern Western Australia later this week.
A tiny pygmy hippo has shared an adorable kiss with her mother as the rare newborn calf made her public debut at an Australian zoo.

Sydney's Taronga Zoo on Friday shared a picture of the yet-to-be-named pygmy hippo in the water nuzzling up to her mum Kambiri.

'Just some hippo kisses for your ... afternoon,' the zoo wrote on Facebook. 'You're so welcome.'

The pygmy hippo, whose father is called Fergus, is the first birth at the famous harbourside zoo in four years.

A tiny pygmy hippo has shared an adorable kiss with her mother as the calf made her public debut at Sydney's Taronga Zoo on Thursday

The newborn pygmy hippo - has made her debut at Sydney's Taronga Zoo on Thursday (pictured)

Zoo director Simon Duffy says baby pygmy hippos 'are like a small watermelon on little, tiny legs'.

'They are so beautiful,' he said.

The pygmy's arrival marks an important milestone for the conservation efforts to protect the endangered West African species, senior keeper Renae Moss said.

'There's fewer than 3,000 of them left in the wild, so every birth in a zoo is extremely valuable to help bolster that population to ensure that we don't lose the species all together,' she said.

The baby hippo had spent the previous two weeks in an off-exhibit nursery den, learning to walk and swim under the watchful eye of her mum.

Watching her graduate to the big exhibit was thrilling for Ms Moss - who says the calf was initially hesitant to go into the pool, but eventually took the plunge with a little encouragement from mum.

Born to mum Kambiri and dad Fergus, the pygmy hippo is the first birth at the zoo in four years

'As the calf masters the art of swimming and becomes more confident in and out of the water, we will begin to increase the depth of the pool and remove some baby proofing,' she said.

The pint-sized calf remains nameless and zookeepers are appealing to the public for help.

Options suggested by her keepers include Amara, which means 'filled with beauty and grace' and is of West African origin; Sierra after the country of Sierra Leone; and Sapo after the Sapo National Park in Sinoe County, Liberia.

The baby hippo has spent the last two weeks in an off-exhibit nursery den, learning to walk and swim

Taronga Zoo are appealing to members of the public to help name the tiny calf

Members of the public can submit their own suggestions through the zoo's website.

Pygmy hippos are native to West Africa and are generally solitary animals, only coming together for breeding.

There are estimated to be between 2,000 to 3,000 pygmy hippos remaining in the wild  classifying the species as endangered, with numbers continuing to decline in the wild.
A tornado that ripped through a candle factory in Kentucky on Friday killed at least eight people working overnight, with one worker describing how she had to 'climb up out of the building' after she was buried under five feet of rubble.

Eight workers are confirmed dead and another eight are missing after the natural disaster.

Inmates from the Graves County jail were among the 110 workers on the overnight shift on Friday.

On Sunday, Kyanna Parsons-Perez told NBC's Weekend Today show that 'everything happened so fast.

'They had us in the area where you go in case there's a storm, and we were all there and then the lights got to flickering and all of a sudden we felt a gust of [wind], we could feel the wind and then my ears kind of started popping as they would as if you were on a plane.'

After they were rocked by the winds, Parsons-Perez said 'everything came down on us.' After that, she said, 'all you heard was screams.'

Forklift operator Mark Saxton saw the wind gust headed toward him when he opened a door at the Mayfield Consumer Products factory after the third tornado warning of the night.

Saxton, 37, headed for a tornado-safe hallway, but he didn't make it.

'Tiles and concrete started falling,' he recounted to NBC News. 'Walls imploded. 'Everyone started running, so I just dropped to the ground. I got in a fetal position and the concrete slab fell on top of me.'

Factory worker Kyanna Parsons-Perez recalls having to 'climb' out of the five feet of rubble she was buried under after a tornado ripped through her job at a Kentucky factory on Friday

The Mayfield Consumer Products factory was left 'a mess' after Friday night's hurricane, Perez told NBC's Weekend Today show

Eight of the 110 people who were working the night shift at the candlemaker are dead

Another eight are missing, though the body count is much lower than officials first thought. Above, a composite shows the factory in January 2017 and on Saturday

Saxton says that at one point, he ended up on the collapsed roof of the factory.

He was eventually pulled from the debris with just scrapes on his arm and back. Back at his house, his wife fainted as the storm ripped away the roof and parts of the walls of his home.

Parsons-Perez, meanwhile, recalls inmates who worked at the factory as part of a work release program helping their fellow civilian workers get out from under the debris.

Parsons-Perez told Today that some of them 'were working their tails off to get us out.'

'They were helping,' she said. 'And to see inmates - because you know they could have used that moment to try to run away or anything - they did not. They were there. They were helping us.'

Forklift operator Mark Saxton, left, survived the tornado at the factory. His nearby home (above) had its roof pulled off and its walls devastated during the tornado

Autumn Kirks (right) says she glanced away from her boyfriend, fellow factory worker Lannis Ward (left), but when she looked back, he was gone

The factory was the third-biggest employer in Graves County, Kentucky. It was an important economic engine that churned out candles that lined the shelves of malls around the U.S.

But why its workers kept making candles Friday night as a tornado bore down on the region remains unclear as rescuers continue scouring the factory wreckage for signs of life.

What is known is that this was high season in Mayfield for turning out gift candles as Christmas approaches.

Shortly before the disaster, the company had posted on Facebook that it was looking to hire more people for 10-to-12-hour shifts involving fast-paced work and mandatory overtime.

Most American candle-makers used to complete their holiday orders by early November, but labor shortages and other economic trends tied to the COVID-19 pandemic have extended crunch time well into December, said Kathy LaVanier, CEO of Ohio-based Renegade Candle Company and a board member at the National Candle Association.

The Mayfield factory made candles for stores like Bath & Body Works. Above, emergency response crews dig through the rubble on Saturday

The factory may have been working through a holiday rush, according to the CEO of another candle company

LaVanier said candle-makers around the US are horrified by what happened in Kentucky and are trying to find ways to help.

Unlike many manufactured products, most candles sold in the U.S. are American-made, in part thanks to hefty and longstanding tariffs on Chinese-made candles.

'All of us in the candle business are reeling,' she told the Associated Press. 'It could have been any of us.'

LaVanier said regular disaster drills are important at candle plants, especially to include temporary workers who might have just arrived to fill a demand surge. But the way they are built - rarely with basements, and structured to accommodate long manufacturing lines - makes it hard to avoid damage when a truly devastating storm hits.

'If we had enough advance notice and felt it was severe enough you might send people home,' she said.

Kentucky's governor said Sunday the ferocity of the storm was so great that there was nowhere safe to hide inside the plant.

'It appears most were sheltering in the place they were told to shelter,' Gov. Andy Beshear said. 'I hope that area was as safe as it could be, but this thing got hit directly by the strongest tornado we could have possibly imagined.'

A company spokesperson said Sunday that eight of the 110 workers on the overnight shift Friday are confirmed dead and another eight are missing. More than 90 have now been accounted for, making the death toll lower than some had feared hours earlier.

'Many of the employees were gathered in the tornado shelter and after the storm was over they left the plant and went to their homes,' said Bob Ferguson, the company spokesperson. 'With the power out and no landline they were hard to reach initially.'

Tamara Yekinni, an employee at the Mayfield factory, hugs a friend outside a shelter in Wingo, Kentucky on Sunday

Ronald Hayes sits in a shelter in Wingo on Sunday after his home was destroyed by a tornado that ripped through the town on Friday evening

Workers said they had been told to huddle in a central hallway area, the strongest part of the building, as the storm approached. Some had already left earlier in the night following a warning siren, they said.

On Saturday, Bryanna Travis, 19, and Jarred Holmes, 20, stood vigil near the rubble of the Mayfield candle factory where they had worked for months, usually for about $14.50 an hour. The engaged couple wasn't working when the storm hit.

'I worked with these people. I talked to these people. I tried to build connections with these people. And I dont know if one of my friends is gone,' Holmes said.

Holmes said there had been no drills during their time at the factory to prepare people in case of a storm.

'We haven't had one since weve been there,' he said.

Ferguson, the company spokesperson, said drills were commonplace and workers followed the guidance when they found shelter.

'There were regular drills and the employees went to the shelter, which is an interior part of that building,' he said. 'They were there long enough even for attendance to be taken.' But, he said, the 'tornado was of such rare size and strength that' it had great destructive power.

On Sunday, factory owner Troy Propes went on Fox News to praise his management's actions

On Sunday, factory owner Troy Propes went on Fox News to praise his management's actions.

'We have 110 people that worked the second shift the other night, making candles for some of the largest brands. This tornado came through with a force that was described in the earlier segment. It totally devastated this community,' Propes told host Trey Gowdy.

'Everyone was aware of bad weather, but, as were all taught even as children, the first thing we do is dont get in your car. The management team that was at the factory that night, I praise them for doing an excellent job,' he said. 'I believe that more lives would have been lost. I know that ten minutes before they followed all the protocols to get the employees, almost all of the employees to the designated area.'

The factory employs many people in and around Mayfield, a city of about 10,000 in Kentucky's southwest corner.

It is Graves County's third-biggest employer, according to the county's website. Even some inmates at the county jail have worked there.

Police are hunting for one of the seven inmates who survived the tornado - one of 30 to rip through the state that night - escaped from the hospital the next day.

Staff at the Jackson Purchase Medical Center noticed that Francisco 'Cisco' Starks, 44, had absconded at about 5pm on Saturday.

Francisco 'Cisco' Starks, 44 (above), was serving time at Graves County Jail and working at the candle factory on work-release. He was treated at a hospital and escaped from there Saturday

The corrections officer who was supervising Starks and seven other inmates him at the time, Robert Daniels (pictured), was killed in the collapse

He was serving time at Graves County Jail for third-degree burglary, theft of an automobile and receiving stolen property.

The corrections officer who was supervising Starks and seven other inmates him at the time, Robert Daniels, was killed in the collapse. Daniels was a cousin of Saxton, the forklift operator who survived the tornado.

Scented candles made from the Mayfield plant eventually found their way onto the shelves of prominent retailers like Bath & Body Works.

The Ohio retailer said in a statement it was 'devastated by the horrible loss of life at the Mayfield Consumer Products factory - a long-standing partner of ours.'

The company's founder, Mary Propes, in the mid-1990s 'literally started this in her garage and it grew to one of the largest candle-makers,' Ferguson said.

And this was high season in Mayfield for turning out gift candles as Christmas approaches. Shortly before the disaster, the company had posted on Facebook that it was looking to hire more people for 10- to 12-hour shifts involving fast-paced work and mandatory overtime.

The company said in a statement on its website that it had started an emergency fund to help employees and their families.

'Were heartbroken about this, and our immediate efforts are to assist those affected by this terrible disaster,' CEO Troy Propes, the son of Mary Propes, said in the statement. 'Our company is family-owned and our employees, some who have worked with us for many years, are cherished.'

Kentuckys state safety and health agency website lists a series of 12 safety violations at the factory in 2019, though it doesnt say what they were for. Ferguson said it had to do with a worker's error involving a circuit breaker, which led to extensive safety trainings and a modest fine.

Search are rescue crews work at the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory early Sunday morning

On Friday night, worker Autumn Kirks pulled down her safety goggles and took shelter, tossing aside wax and fragrance buckets to make room.

She glanced away from her boyfriend, Lannis Ward, and when she looked back, he was gone.

Kirks said she and her boyfriend were about 10 feet apart in a hallway when someone said to take cover. Suddenly, she saw sky and lightning where a wall had been, and Ward had vanished.

'I remember taking my eyes off of him for a second, and then he was gone,' she said.

Later, she got the terrible news - that Ward had been killed in the storm.
With the COVID-19 Omicron strain spreading rapidly amid large Christmas gatherings, New South Wales' top doctor is urging people to book in for a booster shot as soon as possible.

Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant says anyone who received a second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine five months ago should now 'get vaccinated before Christmas'.

Anyone who is immunocompromised may need a booster as part of their primary course and should consult their GP, she said on Monday.

The Kirby Institute's epidemiologist Raina MacIntyre agrees, saying adults need to start thinking about three shots of a COVID-19 vaccination as being the number required to be fully vaccinated.

'Thinking you're fine with two doses, if Omicron is going to spread in Australia, is a false sense of security,' she told ABC radio.

Early data indicated that even after three doses antibody levels 'start to wane pretty quickly as well'.

'So it may well be that we need another fourth dose within less than a year,' she said.

NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant (pictured) warned Australians who had their second Covid vaccine in mid-2021 should get their third dose before Christmas

The double-dose vaccination rate of those 16 and older remains at 93.1 per cent, falling just short of the 95 per cent milestone on Dr Chant's wishlist.

From Wednesday unvaccinated people will be free to mingle with everyone at pubs, cafes, gyms and shops as a swathe of restrictions are lifted.

Meanwhile, NSW Health is battling to contain several large transmission events, while there are now 64 cases of the new strain now on record.

'There were nine new cases confirmed with the Omicron variant overnight, and more are expected as results of genomic testing are confirmed,' NSW Health said.

The cases linked to an outbreak at Newcastle's Argyle House nightclub spiked from 24 to 84 overnight and 'a number of these cases are likely to be the Omicron variant'.

The outbreak started after four people who partied at the club on Wednesday had COVID-19, with the cases linked to the outbreak spawned on a Sydney Harbour Cruise of 140 people on December 3.

All 680 people who checked into the Newcastle nightclub with a QR code between 9pm on Wednesday and 3am on Thursday are close contacts and must immediately get tested and isolate for seven days.

Kirby Institute epidemiologist Raina MacIntyre said early data indicated that even after three doses antibody levels 'start to wane pretty quickly as well ... So it may well be that we need another fourth dose within less than a year'

Dr Chant said it's 'incredibly important' that anyone at the venue get a test - as well as their household contacts 'given the high transmission at this venue'.

She is also urging people to consider doing a precautionary rapid antigen test at home before socialising.

However, anyone with symptoms must do the more sensitive test available at a COVID clinic.

NSW Chief Health Office Dr Kerry Chant urged people to consider doing a precautionary rapid antigen test at home before socialising this festive season

There were 536 new cases of COVID-19 in NSW in the 24-hours to 8pm on Sunday, as fully vaccinated people started returning to Queensland.

There were emotional reunions at Queensland airports as people welcomed loved ones after the requirement to quarantine ended on Monday.

Some 74,997 COVID tests were recorded on Sunday and there were no further deaths.

There are 171 people are in NSW hospitals with the virus, 24 of them in intensive care.

Some 81.4 per cent of teens aged 12-15 have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 77.7 per cent are fully jabbed.
A real estate agent has asked his stunned tenants to buy their rich landlords a luxury Christmas hamper, sparking a bitter backlash.

Michael Kanik of Kanik and Co in Brisbane sent a letter with the bizarre suggestion to all the renters on his books, and linked to hampers he would send on their behalf.

Prices ranged from $50 for a basic White Wine Grazing Box up to $115 for the top of the range All Things Golden hamper, with the $55 Festive Sweets, $70 Self Care and $99 Foodies Hampers as alternatives.

The letter added: 'This year has been particularly difficult and we understand some tenants would like to thank their property owners for everything in 2021.

'Our team are happy to facilitate the purchasing of a gift and have it delivered to the property owner with a handwritten note to say thank you, directly from you.'

Brisbane real estate agent Michael Kanik (pictured) has asked his stunned tenants to buy their rich landlords a luxury Christmas hamper, sparking a bitter backlash

Prices ranged from $50 for a basic White Wine Grazing Box up to $115 for the top of the range All Things Golden hamper, with the $55 Festive Sweets, $70 Self Care and $99 Foodies Hampers as alternatives

The agent said they would invoice tenants for the hampers which needed to be paid within seven days.

The idea sparked a furious reaction online with social media dubbing it a return to feudal times, when serfs were beholden to the local squires.

'Landlords have seen their passive incomes increase at your expense this year. The time has come to lick their boots harder,' said Sinead Canning on Twitter.

'This agency is in Logan, where the average weekly rent has increased by 30 per cent in the last 5 years and the vacancy rate is one per cent.'

The idea sparked a furious reaction online (pictured) with social media dubbing it a return to feudal times, when serfs were beholden to the local squires

'Capitalism finally flowering into full-blown feudalism,' posted one in reply, while many others could only manage a perplexed: 'What the...'

Another wrote: 'Thank you me lord and lady for allowing me to work the farm fields with me plough and beast. Please accept a bushel as a sign of my gratitude.'

On Monday, Mr Kanik admitted he had made a mistake but insisted he had also sent the letter to all the landlords on his books to allow them to buy tenants a hamper too.

'It was done with the best of intentions but it's blown up in our face,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'We thought it would be a nice gesture.

Michael Kanik admitted he had made a mistake but insisted he had also sent the letter to all the landlords on his books to allow them to buy tenants a hamper too (pictured, Brisbane's CBD)

'It's quite disheartening. We've had quite a few calls about it today.

'We sent out that blanket email saying if you want to participate, but there's no obligation at all. We were just purely trying to do a nice thing.'

He added: 'In hindsight, it was probably a mistake to send it to the tenants, but owners sending tenants a hamper is definitely a good thing.

'All our landlords that come back to us are happy to do so. But some tenants have taken it the wrong way.'
Mark McGowan has finally revealed he'll reopen Western Australia's borders to the rest of the nation on February 5, ending nearly two years of relentless border closures.

The state's borders are currently closed or heavily restricted to every mainland state or territory, with Queenslanders also locked out since the weekend due to Omicron Covid-19 fears.

Tasmania is currently the only place in the world which WA permits quarantine-free travel from.

The Premier revealed on Monday domestic borders will reopen at 12.01am Saturday February 5 to fully-vaccinated arrivals.

Only double vaccinated domestic travellers will be able to enter the state without the need to quarantine and must get proof of a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours of arrival .

Families separated by Western Australia's strict border closures will be reunited from February 5 (pictured, a reunion at Perth Airport 12 months ago after the state reopened to Victoria)

WHAT ARE THE RULES FOR ENTERING WA FROM FEBRUARY 5? Must return a negative PCR test 72 hours prior to travel If the trip lasts six days or more, they must also be tested again within 48 hours of arrival For trips shorter than six days, a second test within WA is not required Fully-vaccinated arrivals will not have to quarantine, but the un-vaccinated will be forced to spend 14 days in a hotel If West Australians travel interstate for six days or more, they will also need to get a test within 72 hours of arriving back home Advertisement

'This date is locked in, giving Western Australians and local businesses certainty,' Mr McGowan said.

'This is an incredible milestone for our state. We are one of the most vaccinated societies in the world and we have achieved this without having extended lockdowns, virus outbreaks or any community spread of the virus.

'We followed a different model to the others and it has worked. We have been able to get through the last two years safely because of the efforts of West Australians.'

Those staying in the state for six days or more must get a second test within 48 hours of arrival.

Travellers visiting the the state for five days or less won't be required to get a second test.

International travellers will not need to quarantine if they have been vaccinated, but will need to test negative before departure and on arrival.

Mark McGowan warned Covid cases will begin to appear in the community from February 5

West Australians travelling interstate for six days or more will have to be tested required within 72 hours of returning home.

Unvaccinated travellers will still have to quarantine in a hotel for two weeks.

'There will be a cap on the unvaccinated, one significantly lower than cap now in place for international arrivals,' Mr McGowan said.

Travel arrangements will be reviewed a month after the reopening.

The announcement was triggered by Western Australia finally reaching its 80 per cent double-dose vaccination milestone on Monday.

It's anticipated the state's vaccination rate will have climbed to 90 per cent by the time the borders finally reopen.

The reopening of Western Australia's borders will see the end of border checkpoints (pictured)

Monday's announcement was also based on advice the national cabinet received on Friday that emerging Covid variant Omicron is less severe for the vaccinated.

The Premier doesn't believe growing emergence of Omicron will result in a rethink of the border reopening date.

'This date is locked in barring some unforeseen emergency or catastrophe, which we can't predict,' Mr McGowan said.

'That's the nature of Covid. But it's a very safe bet that on February 5 this transition will occur.'

Mr McGowan and health minister Roger Cook warned Western Australia will he 'living with Covid' after February 5.

'After the 5th of February, cases will begin to appear in the community, that is inevitable but it will not be a cause for panic  it will be a reminder to do the right thing,' he said.

'We're in this together and we will get through this together. I know the community will keep doing the right thing.'

Mr Cook added: 'Western Australians are going to be in for a real shock from February 5.

'We are going to be living with Covid-19 but there is no easy way of living with the worst virus in 100 years.

International and interstate arrivals won't have to quarantine if they're vaccinated (pictured, overseas arrivals at Perth Airport back in February)

'You just need to look at the eastern states or overseas to see how confronting it's going to be.'

Transitional restrictions will come into effect from February 5, including a requirement to wear face masks in high-risk indoor settings such as public transport, hospitals and aged care facilities.

Proof of vaccination will be required to attend large events with crowds of more than 1000 people as well nightclubs and the casino.

Entry to remote Indigenous communities will remain restricted and contact registers will still be used.

Should WA fail to reach its 90 per cent target before the borders reopen, further restrictions will be introduced which could include having to be vaccinated to go to pubs and restaurants.

International travellers and interstate arrivals visiting Western Australia for six days or more will still have to get a second test within 48 hours after arrival (pictured, health workers checking passengers at Perth Airport)

Regional areas with lower vaccination rates such as the Pilbara, Kimberley and Goldfields have been threatened with 'enhanced public health measures' if they don't reach the 80 per cent milestone by February 5.

They could including banning air travel and access to pubs, bars, restaurants, cafes, bottle shops, indoor entertainment venues, gyms and fitness centres unless vaccinated.

Western Australia's hard border policy first place into effect in April 2020, turning the state into an 'island within an island'.

Perth-based tourism businesses were among those hardest hit.

'[It's] all those businesses that served an interstate customer that are really struggling,' Tourism Council WA boss Evan Hall told 6PR's Mornings Program.

'When we do get a date what's important is that we stick by it.'
A serving NSW police officer has been suspended with pay after being charged with rape and another sex offence.

NSW Police said officers attached to Professional Standards Command commenced an investigation in July into reports of misconduct.

A NSW police officer has been suspended with pay after being charged with rape (stock image)

A 29-year-old male constable  attached to Western Region  was arrested and charged with sexual intercourse without consent and sexually touching another person without consent.

He was granted strict conditional bail to appear at Orange Local Court on January 24.

NSW Police confirmed in a statement on Monday the officer is currently suspended with pay.
President Joe Biden will award the Medal of Honor next week to three U.S. soldiers who fought in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the White House said Friday.

The soldiers are Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Celiz, an Army Ranger who died after stepping between Taliban fighters and a U.S. helicopter evacuating wounded in 2018; Master Sgt. Earl Plumlee, a Special Forces soldier who fought off Taliban insurgents after massive attack in Afghanistan in 2013; and Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe, 35, who suffered fatal injuries in Iraq while rescuing fellow soldiers from a burning vehicle in 2005.

By law, Medals of Honor - the nation's highest form recognition for battlefield valor - must be awarded within five years of the combat action recognized.

However, Congress passed legislation earlier this year for additional consideration for Cashe, Plumlee and two other soldiers.

The three will be recognized at a White House ceremony on December 16.

President Joe Biden ((pictured) is set to award the Medal of Honor next week to three U.S. soldiers, two of them post-humorously, who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq

The Medal of HonorThe Medal of Honor is the United States' highest award for military valor in action. And while over 150 years have passed since its inception, the meaning behind the Medal has never tarnished.

Cashe will become the first Black U.S. service member to receive the Medal of Honor for actions since Vietnam, according to the White House.

He was on patrol near Samarra, Iraq in October 2005 when the Bradley Fighting Vehicle he was commanding was attacked with small arms fire and a roadside bomb that set it flame. Cashe pulled six fellow soldiers from the burning wreckage and suffered devastating burns himself.

Cashe, who grew up in Oviedo, Florida, died from his burns at a Texas hospital the following month. Three of the soldiers he pulled from the flaming vehicle also perished.

Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe, 35, will be awarded the Medal of Honor, 16 years after suffering fatal injuries in Iraq while rescuing fellow soldiers from a burning vehicle

Celiz, 32, was leading an operation to clear an area of enemy forces in Paktia Province, Afghanistan, when his team came under attack.

As a medical evacuation helicopter arrived to recover a casualty, it came under sustained sustained enemy fire.

Celiz exposed himself to heavy fire as he led the evacuation. As the casualty was loaded into the helicopter and his team returned to cover, Celiz remained at the chopper, returning fire and constantly repositioning himself to shield to the aircraft and its crew.

As the helicopter lifted off, Celiz was hit by enemy fire. Though injured, he motioned to the aircraft to depart rather than remain to load him and risk further casualties.

Celiz was a South Carolina native and had enlisted in the Army in 2006.

Christopher A. Celiz, 32, an U.S. Army Ranger, was killed in action on July 12 2018 in Paktiya province, Afghanistan, during combat operations in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel. At the time of his death, he was assigned to Company D, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia

Sgt. 1st Class Earl D. Plumlee (right), assigned to 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), is presented the Silver Star Medal by Maj. Gen. Kenneth R. Dahl (left), I Corps Deputy

Plumlee was serving at a base in Ghazni, Afghanistan, when it came under massive attack, with insurgents blowing a sixty-foot breach in the bases perimeter wall.

Ten insurgents wearing Afghan National Army uniforms and suicide vests poured through the breach. Plumlee and five Special Operations members mounted two vehicles and raced toward the site of the detonation.

He killed two insurgents, one with a well-placed grenade and the other by using precision sniper fire to detonate the insurgents suicide vest. He engaged several others at close range.

At one point in the battle, an insurgent detonated his suicide vest, mortally wounding a fellow U.S. soldier.

Plumlee ran to the wounded soldier, carried him to safety and rendered first aid.

He is currently serving with the 1st Special Forces Group at Fort Lewis, Washington.
The family of murdered private detective Daniel Morgan have today revealed they are planning to sue the Metropolitan Police.

Family members of the private investigator, who was found with an axe in his head in a south London car park in 1987, allege there has been no-follow up action on a bombshell report earlier this year that accused the force of institutionalised corruption over its handling of the unsolved case.

The family also today blasted Priti Patel for extending Met Commissioner Cressida Dick's contract in the wake of the damning independent report.

The report, released in June, found Scotland Yard had concealed or denied its failings in an investigation and that the force's first objective was to protect itself.

Dame Cressida who apologised for the failings in the case of Mr Morgan's death, was criticised by the independent panel who found she had obstructed their work.

But she rejected the claims the force was 'institutionally corrupt' and calls by Mr Morgan's family for her to resign.

Despite the damning report, and a series of other previous Met Police scandals under her leadership, the Home Office and the Mayor of London's Office announced a decision to extend her contract by a further two years in September.

Family members of Mr Morgan now allege Scotland Yard has failed to take action on the findings of the 1,250 page report.

They say they are 'no longer able' to place their trust in the police and are now launching the civil case against the Met claiming damages.

However the force says a 'dedicated team' has been set up to consider the need for any changes in the wake of the report.

A Met Police spokesperson told MailOnline that the force plans to report their progress to Home Secretary Priti Patel and the Mayor of London's office in spring next year.

Family members of Daniel Morgan (pictured), who was found with an axe in his head in a south London car park in 1987, allege there has been no-follow up action on a bombshell report earlier this year that accused the force of institutionalised corruption over its handling of the still unsolved case

Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick (pictured), who apologised for the failings in the case of Mr Morgan's death, was criticised by the independent panel who found she had obstructed their work

Family members of Morgan now allege Scotland Yard has failed to take action on the findings of the 1,250 page report. They they can 'no longer able' to place their trust in the police and are now launching the civil case against the Met claiming damages

Meanwhile, the Morgan family said in a statement: 'Three generations of our family have already suffered as the collateral damage resulting from the inexcusable failure of the institutions of the state to do what was required of them in the face of institutionalised police corruption.

'We do not want this burden to be passed on to the coming generations of our family.

'We want to be able to get on with our lives at long last, but that requires some form of acknowledgement on the part of those who have failed us.

'In all the circumstances, we consider we have been left with no option but to bring a civil claim against the Metropolitan Police in order to achieve some semblance of accountability.'

The report that shamed the Met: Key findings from eight-year, 16million inquiry into murder of Daniel Morgan The report criticised 'dishonesty' by the Metropolitan Police for 'reputation benefit' which it said 'constitutes a form of institutional corruption'

The police's handling of the murder scene in 1987 was 'totally inadequate' as it was not secured and was left unguarded;

Alibis were not sought for all suspects, search warrants were 'seriously inadequate' and many opportunities lost were not retrievable;

Evidence of a culture within the Met at the time which allowed 'very close association' between police officers and 'individuals linked to crime' which included them drinking in pubs together;

Officers who were involved in 'lucrative corrupt practices' such as selling confidential details may have been concerned by indications that Mr Morgan was going to report corruption;

Some ten officers involved in the police investigations were Freemasons, which had aroused suspicions of conflicting loyalties;

Mr Morgan's family 'suffered grievously' because of the failure to bring his murderer or murderers to justice, 'misinformation' and a 'denial of the failings' in the investigations;

A later probe by an external force, Hampshire, was found to have been compromised by the inclusion of a senior Met officer on the team

Also criticised the Met for then Assistant Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick's initial refusal to grant access to a police internal data system called HOLMES and the most sensitive information; Advertisement

The statement added: 'We have been saddened - if not surprised - to find we have been let down yet again by all concerned.

'The present commissioner, Cressida Dick, felt able to simply reject the panel's key finding of institutional corruption within the Metropolitan Police.

'Her role in obstructing the panel's work - as detailed in their report - appears to have met with indifference and worse at the IOPC and MOPAC, where those charged with bringing her to answer for her role in this sorry state of affairs have shown themselves unable or unwilling to do so.

'And, in their wisdom, the Home Secretary and the London mayor deemed it fit to extend her term in office before the ink had dried on the panel's report.'

The Morgan family's solicitor, Raju Bhatt, told the BBC that the civil claim alleged misfeasance in public office as well as breaches of the Human Rights Act.

He said Dame Cressida would be named as a respondent in the civil claim, which covers a period from Morgan's death in 1987 to the present day.

Raju Bhatt told BBC Radio Four's Today Programme: 'As far as the family are aware what we have seen here is an unwillingness or an inability of those charged with holding the police to account to do their job.

'What we are dealing with here is the most serious criminality concealed within our police service.

'We saw not only corruption at the heart of the first investigation into this murder, but a repeated failure to confront that corruption over the decades as the panel found and detailed in its findings.

'We have had the very unbecoming sight of the Mayor's Office declining to do their job to bring the Commissioner to answer, not just for her own conduct but the conduct of previous officers who have been responsible for the institutional corruption the panel found. She was able to just reject that finding off hand.

'What Cressida Dick did upon the panel's report was to reject its central finding of institutionalised corruption.

'What she has done instead is set up a team to look at the recommendations of the report, which is all very well and fine, but in term so the mischief that this family has had to endure over these three and a half decades, the way in which they have been failed, not just by mistakes, the panel found that there was a culture of cover up within the Met Police which is at the heart of bringing the murderers to justice.

'Neither Cressida Dick, or anyone else in the Met Police, has acknowledged or admitted that mischief and that is what the family need so they can get on with their lives.'

In a statement the family said they were 'saddened if not surprised' to realise they had been 'let down again by all concerned'.

Mr Morgan, a private detective, was killed with an axe to the head in the car park of the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham, south-east, in 1987, while carrying out his own investigation into bent cops.

Despite five police inquiries, no-one has been convicted of the 37-year-old father-of-two's death.

Mr Morgan's business partner Jonathan Rees was charged with his murder in February 1989.

Morgan was hacked to death with an axe outside the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham, south London

Daniel Morgan, a private detective was brutally beaten to death with an axe. The body of Daniel Morgan, 37, was found in the car park of the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham, south London, in 1987

Who was involved in the Daniel Morgan case? Daniel Morgan: Private investigator who was murdered in the car park of the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham, South East London, on March 10, 1987 . Jonathan Rees: Mr Morgan's business partner who was charged with murder in February 1989. Three months later, the case was dropped. He was later charged with murder in 2008 but the prosecution collapsed in March 2011. In 2019, he was awarded a six-figure sum in damages after suing the Metropolitan Police for malicious prosecution. Paul Goodridge: Bodyguard who was also charged with murder in February 1989. The Crown Prosecution Service dropped the case - and Mr Goodridge went on to sue Hampshire Constabulary over the charge. Jean Wisden: Mr Goodridge's girlfriend who was charged with perverting the course of justice in February 1989. The case was also dropped by the CPS. Glenn and Gary Vian: Mr Rees's brothers-in-law who were charged with murder in 2008, before the prosecution collapsed in 2011. They were later both awarded six-figure sums in damages after suing the Metropolitan Police for malicious prosecution. Glenn Vian (left) and Garry Vian (right) James Cook: A builder who was also charged with Mr Morgan's murder in 2008. Police failures in disclosing evidence and handling of key witnesses led to the prosecution collapsing by March 2011. Kevin Lennon: Former bookkeeper at Southern Investigations, the firm that Mr Morgan founded with Jonathan Rees. Mr Lennon told police that Mr Rees had told him: 'I've the perfect solution for Daniel's murder, my mates at Catford nick are going to arrange it.' The panel found there was not enough evidence to prove police involvement in Mr Morgan's murder. Sid Fillery: Former police officer who was charged with perverting the course of justice in 2008, before the case collapsed in 2011. The report found Mr Fillery, who joined Southern Investigations after Mr Morgan died, went drinking with police officers even after they had been made suspects in the murder investigation. David Cook: Senior investigating officer who was placed under surveillance by News of the World journalists but was criticised for being allowed to 'act freely in contravention of many established procedures and practices in breach of his duties as a police officer'. Alastair Morgan: Mr Morgan's brother who has campaigned for decades for justice over what is one of Scotland Yard's longest-running cold cases. Priti Patel: Home Secretary who has been criticised by the panel after a row over the release of the report which was originally due to be published in May. The panel said they were 'disappointed' by the delay she caused. Today, Ms Patel said 'questions remain' about the ability of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to 'hold the police to account'. Baroness Nuala O'Loan: Former Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman who chaired the latest independent inquiry which reported back today after eight years. She said: 'Concealing or denying failings for the sake of an organisation's public image is dishonesty on the part of the organisation for reputational benefit, and constitutes a form of institutional corruption.' Advertisement

Three months later, the case was dropped. He was later charged with murder in 2008 but the prosecution collapsed in March 2011. In 2019, he was awarded a six-figure sum in damages after suing the Metropolitan Police for malicious prosecution.

Others charged, and later released, over Mr Morgan's death include Paul Goodbridge, a bodyguard who was charged with murder in February 1989. Mr Goodridge went on to sue Hampshire Constabulary over the charge.

Glenn and Gary Vian, Mr Rees's brothers-in-law were charged with murder in 2008, before the prosecution collapsed in 2011. They were later both awarded six-figure sums in damages after suing the Metropolitan Police for malicious prosecution.

James Cook was also charged with Mr Morgan's murder in 2008. Police failures in disclosing evidence and handling of key witnesses led to the prosecution collapsing by March 2011.

A report into the police handling of the case, released in June this year, revealed that officers who took bungs in brown envelopes, 'moonlighted' in other jobs and sold lucrative information to criminals may have scuppered the probe into Mr Morgan's murder.

Officers were even paid not to arrest criminals who controlled their superiors, who also demanded 10 per cent of detectives' overtime and expenses payments each month, it was claimed.

And bent cops may have sunk the investigation into Mr Morgan's death, having 'thought that their police careers and pensions were under threat' and that 'future, potentially lucrative corrupt practices' would be stopped, the panel, chaired by Former Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman Baroness Nuala O'Loan alleged.

The report said hardly any photos were taken of the crime scene, and the Met said the ones that were 'cannot now be found'.

It added that there was no 'evidential continuity' for many of the exhibits seized during the investigation and that lines of enquiry were not followed through properly.

The report also said obstructive behaviour by the force had dragged an inquiry expected to take 12 months out to eight years - at a cost to the taxpayer of 16million.

It condemned the force for 'systemic failings' including widespread 'institutional corruption' and having a culture of obstruction and secrecy that remains in 2021.

Following the release of the report, the family of Mr Morgan called on Dame Cressida to resign.

Dame Cressida, who was then Assistant Commissioner, was criticised for her initial refusal to grant access to a police internal data system called HOLMES which contained the most sensitive information relating to the case.

This forced a panel member to travel across the capital to a Met site on the outskirts of East London whenever they wanted to see files, before an encrypted laptop was eventually provided last September.

Describing the culture at the time, one unnamed Detective Constable told the Panel of a practice in the world-famous Flying Squad. He said: 'If you got posted to their squad the first morning you would find a brown envelope on your desk with money in it. If you didn't accept it then the result was that by lunchtime you were posted back to your old position.'

Running to more than 1,200 pages, the panel scrutinised 110,000 documents amounting to more than a million pages as well as a substantial amount of sensitive or secret material held by police as it examined the murder of the private investigator which took place more than 30 years ago.

The panel accused the Metropolitan Police of a 'form of institutional corruption' for concealing or denying failings over the unsolved killing - and said its handling of the case means that his killers will likely escape justice.

It found the force's first objective was to 'protect itself' by failing to acknowledge its many failings since the murder.

The Metropolitan Police said at the time of the report that there was 'deeply regret that no-one has been convicted of Daniel's murder'.

But while it accepted 'corruption was a major factor in the failure of the 1987 investigation' and apologised to Mr Morgan's family, Dame Cressida rejected the claim the force was 'institutionally corrupt'.

In regards to the legal action by Mr Morgan's family, a Met Police spokesperson told MailOnline: 'We can confirm that the Metropolitan Police Service has received a letter of claim, dated 7 December, and is currently considering its response.

'Since the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel published its report six months ago, a dedicated team within the Met has been established and is progressing its response to those recommendations specific to the Met, while engaging with other lead organisations named in the report.

Alastair Morgan, the brother of murdered private investigator Daniel Morgan, speaking to the media following the publication of the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel report in June

'We remain committed to this work and expect to fully report our progress to the Home Secretary and Mayoral Office in the Spring 2022.'

The Independent Office for Conduct (IOPC) said its investigation into the Met Police's handling of the case is still ongoing.

The body said it would determine whether 'there are any conduct matters identified within the report for any named police officer, including the Met commissioner'.

The Home Office told the BBC that the home secretary had asked the independent police inspectorate (HMICFRS) to 'look into the Metropolitan Police's approach to counter-corruption'.

The mayor of London's office for policing said it would continue ensure the independent panel's recommendations were implemented in full.
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Traffic levels drop by up to 50% in England's biggest cities as commuters follow PM's advice and abandon the office until 2022 Today's rush hour on the road in Leicester was down 50% compared to a fortnight ago In London, congestion levels dropped from 72% on November 29 and 69% on December 6 to 60% today. In Birmingham, congestion levels dropped from 87% on November 29 to 64% on December 6 and 55% today. In Manchester, congestion levels dropped from 89% on November 29 and 82% on December 6 to 53% today. In Brighton, congestion levels dropped from 59% on November 29 and 55% on December 6 to 44% on Monday. In Hull, congestion levels dropped from 71% on November 29 to 64% on December 6 and 57% on Monday. In Leeds, congestion levels dropped from 74% on November 29 to 56% on December 6 and 43% on Monday. In Leicester, congestion levels dropped from 98% on November 29 to 60% on December 6 and 51% on Monday. In Bristol, congestion levels rose from 60% on November 29 to 64% on December 6, but fell to 41% on Monday. Advertisement

Tube travel has fallen off a cliff after Boris Johnson urged the country to work from home from today with 250,000 fewer people travelling in Monday's morning rush hour than a week ago - and the number of daily commuters now 1million below pre-pandemic levels, MailOnline can reveal.

London's near-deserted stations, Underground carriages and roads looked like lockdown again as City bosses vented at the Prime Minister for asking millions to work from home because of Omicron while still encouraging them to head to town for Christmas parties.

It came as Mr Johnson said one Briton had died with the mutant variant and his Plan B descended into chaos as crucial lateral flow tests ran out online and his pledge to dish out a million boosters a day was undermined by the NHS.

As the pre-Christmas office exodus began today, Transport for London revealed that around 250,000 fewer people used the Tube this morning - down 18 per cent on last Monday's 1.25million. Before the first lockdown in March 2020 this figure was 2.17million. Bus use was also down six per cent to 1.15million people today from 1.21million seven days ago.

And data from SatNav firm TomTom shows most cities across England experienced a decline in traffic on Monday morning - with some seeing congestion up to 50 per cent lower. The rush hour in London was also the quietest the city has seen since early September.

Leicester's traffic was 47 per cent lighter than a fortnight ago. Leeds saw a 31 per cent drop, Manchester a 36 per cent drop and Birmingham a 32 per cent drop since the end of November.

Andrew Monk, CEO of VSA Capital in London, has hit out at the 'absurd' guidance and claims that his staff have been begging to come to the office despite the Prime Minister's diktat. Mr Monk also said there is 'clear proof' that working from home is less productive for City firms.

He said: 'I'm not very happy with it. It's a bit absurd that this time last year you were told: go to work but don't party. Now we're being told: party but don't go to work. It doesn't make sense does it. We've got all our staff back and they're actually very happy to be back. They're disappointed that they are being told, sorry, you've got to work from home if necessary.

'Most of them have said: Can we come in? We've kept the office open but it will be a skeleton crew. We are following the government's guidelines but it's obviously disappointing'.

He added: 'We're much more productive when we are in the office together. We have quite clear proof. Where we do fundraising, we raise far more money when we do it with clients in person rather than on Zoom. But also the staff want to come in.

Britain's busiest railway stations see up to a third of daily passengers stay away on WFH Monday A near empty Waterloo station at 7am today as commuters stayed at home after Boris Johnson's work from home guidance frustrated City bosses Network Rail said footfall at major railway stations between 6am and 9.30am on Monday plummeted compared with the same period last week. The stations with the largest week-on-week reductions were London Cannon Street (38%), considered the gateway to the City from south-east London and Kent, followed by Leeds Central (35%), Waterloo (34%), Kings Cross (28%), Liverpool Street (26%) and Euston (25%), Reading (25%) and Bristol (25%). Other stations that experienced a drop in usage include Birmingham New Street (24%), Charing Cross (23%), Paddington (20%), Manchester Piccadilly (20%), Liverpool Lime Street (17%), Edinburgh Waverley (11%), Victoria (8%) and Glasgow Central (7%). Advertisement

'I believe we've made it as safe in the office as it is at home. I don't think we're putting anybody's health at risk at all'.

The world famous concourses at Waterloo, Euston and Paddington, usually rammed with commuters between 7am and 9am, were empty this morning. Tube platforms and carriages were also largely unoccupied as offices emptied.

The number of people using 16 major railway stations in England and Scotland between 6am and 9.30am on Monday was down up to 38 per cent compared with the previous week, according to Network Rail. The station with the largest week-on-week reduction was London Cannon Street, considered the gateway to the City.

One central London resident tweeted: 'Im slap bang in the middle of London and roads are unbelievably quiet now'. Another commuter tweeted: 'Work from home order well and truly back. Tube is absolutely empty this morning'.

The working from home recommendation is the latest step of Mr Johnson's Plan B to slow the spread of Omicron in the UK - but critics including his own MPs believe it is simply a stepping stone towards another lockdown.

There is also incredulity about the PM's insistence that people shouldn't go to the office, but should still go to Christmas parties and dinners. But the great office exodus means businesses such as pubs, cafes and restaurants, already struggling, will be pushed to the brink as office workers stay away.

As commuters stayed home, it also emerged today:

Boris Johnson's booster blitz is already creaking with over 30s unable to book using the NHS website and three-hour plus queues at walk in vaccination centres. Lateral flow tests also ran out online as people tried to follow the guidance;

Mr Johnson has today come under fire for his Omicron-fighting pledge to dish out a million Covid booster jabs a day, with senior Tories and Labour questioning why the Government didnt kick off the operation months earlier;

The UK has reported another 1,239 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant - an increase of 65 per cent over the past 24 hours. but Sajid Javid admits there are just 10 people admitted to hospital with it and no deaths;

More than 60 Tory backbenchers are poised to oppose the Plan B measures to counter the threat of the Omicron variant - the biggest rebellion of Mr Johnsons premiership. But Labour will carry it through after Sir Keir Starmer says the party backs it and wants Government to go further;

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case's investigation into Downing Street parties during lockdown will include a review of whether Boris Johnson broke the law by personally hosting a quiz night;

Paddington was similarly deserted this morning as people stopped commuting until the New Year at the earliest

Euston Station, the gateway to London from the north-west and Birmingham was quiet at the height of rush hour today

The normally packed rush hour commuter train from Cullercoats to Newcastle City centre on the Tyne and Wear Metro, almost empty this morning

Motorists were in short supply this morning close to Kings Cross and St Pancras after workers in England were advised to now work from home if they can

Congestion in Manchester was down more than 30% compared to a fortnight ago

In Birmingham , congestion levels dropped from 87% on November 29 to 64% on December 6 and 55% today.

In Leeds , congestion levels dropped from 74% on November 29 to 56% on December 6 and 43% on Monday.

A near empty quiet carriage from Maidenhead to Paddington as work from home guidance by the government has started on Monday

This Piccadilly Line train would usually be rammed with people heading to work or the airport - but today it is practically empty

Commuters travel on the London Underground at Kings Cross afterBritish Prime Minster Boris Johnson triggered 'Plan B' in an attempt to fight the spread of the Omicron

A much quieter Waterloo Station in London at the start of the Plan B working from home measures

A solitary commuter on the platform at Finchley, north London, this morning

Huge queues for a booster at St Thomas' Hospital in central London this morning as the Government pledges to job 1million people per day

Boris Johnson last night urged people to 'get boosted now' in a recorded TV address and said the UK is 'now facing an emergency in our battle with the new variant'

What are the Covid rules in England under plan B? WFH The return of work from home guidance. People will be told to work from home in England from Monday if they are able to. Face masks Face masks will be made compulsory in most public indoor venues including in cinemas and theatres from this Friday. They will not be required in pubs, restaurants and gyms. Vaccine passports The NHS Covid pass will be compulsory to gain access to nightclubs and other large venues where large crowds gather. This will apply to all unseated indoor venues with more than 500 people, unseated outdoor venues with more than 4,000 people and any venue with more than 10,000 people. Two vaccine doses will be treated as fully-vaccinated but this will be kept under review because of the booster programme. A negative lateral flow test will also be sufficient. This requirement will be rolled out in one week's time to give businesses time to prepare. Contact testing Contacts of Omicron cases will be told to take daily coronavirus tests instead of having to self-isolate. They will have to quarantine if they test positive. Advertisement

London had its quietest term-time Monday morning rush hour since the start of September today, with TomTom reporting a congestion level of 42 per cent.

The last time the level was lower than that on a Monday morning between the 7am and 8am period was October 25, during half-term, when it was 31 per cent.

And before then it was on Monday, September 6  when some schools were yet to go back after the summer break - when the level was down at 39 per cent.

The congestion level represents the extra travel time for drivers on average compared to baseline uncongested conditions.

This means that a 42 per cent level in London means a 30-minute trip will take 13 minutes more than with no traffic.

Staff at Tube stations and on buses claimed that there had been a significant decrease of commuters during the Monday morning rush hour, with the majority of passengers made up of school children.

One driver of a 207 bus, which runs through West London said: Its not been as busy and theres mainly been kids on my bus going to school.

A lot of people have obviously been told to work from home, which theyre probably quite happy about because were so close to the Christmas break. And its been a lot better for me too because Ive not had that many passengers to deal with.

An official at Ealing Broadway tube station, West London said: The platform and the trains are a lot more packed on a Monday morning but thats not been the case today. It feels like a Sunday rather than the start of the week.

Despite the directive, some were still travelling to work, either out of choice or because they had to.

IT consultant David Burrows, 44 who was going to his office in the West End from Ealing said: We were given the choice of either working from home or going into the office and I chose the latter. I just get more done when Im there.

I travelled to work last year during some of the lockdown and actually quite enjoyed it because the tubes were a lot less busy. Im hoping that its going to be the same now because its a lot less stressful.

Nurse Karen Fernandez, 38 said: I dont have any choice in the matter because my patients need me. We should all be concerned about the spread of the Omicron variant and I think its a good move to advise people to work from home.

Im hoping that people will follow this advice and not get distracted by all the media coverage of the Governments handling of this situation. At the end of the day, weve got to behave in a more responsible way than Boris Johnson has.

Electrician Brian Moore said: I work on a building site and nothing has changed for me. I know there are a lot of us who would like to work from home but sadly, we cant.

Dyson resists WFH guidance as many staff are told to work in office Dyson has defied Boris Johnson's plea for the country to work from home after telling UK employees to continue commuting to the office. Billionaire owner Sir James Dyson has opposed staff working from home since the beginning of the pandemic, claiming a large part of the business cannot operate remotely. It comes a day after the Prime Minister addressed the nation from Downing Street urging millions to work from home to help curb the spread of Covid variant Omicron. An internal message sent to Dyson employees following the announcement of new Plan B restrictions last week said all offices should remain open, The Guardian reports. Plan B guidance has not made remote working a legal obligation for staff, as opposed to earlier lockdown restrictions, but 'those who can are advised to work from home'. However, bosses have vented at the Prime Minister for asking millions to work from home while still encouraging them to head to town for Christmas parties. The message to employees said Dyson 'fundamentally disagrees' with Mr Johnson on the issue, having cancelled its own Christmas party and replaced it with a summer family event. Dyson has also recommended workers avoid parties and events over the festive period to 'protect friends and family'. Employees, though, are said to have expressed frustration at the policy. Advertisement

Cafe owner Ray Campbell, who had just emerged at Northfields Station, West London following an hour-long journey from East London said: There were some stations that were quite busy but overall, the train was quite empty.

I do this journey every day and I would say that there were about 30% to 40% less passengers. I could be wrong but thats how it felt. Im sure a lot of people will be happy to work from home at this time of the year but sadly I dont have that choice because Ive got to keep my business running.

Restaurant worker Robert Palmer said: Ive got to come into work, so this advice doesnt affect me. What worries me is not less passengers but that there have been a lot of cancellations at the restaurant where I work, which is bad for business.

People are quite scared at the moment because Covid just doesnt go away.

Accountant Sharon Walters said: I like going into the office, but a lot of my colleagues have chosen to work from home. Ive just arrived at the station and I can already see that its very quiet, which is very nice. Im sure itll be busier in Central London but that will probably be Christmas shoppers rather than workers.

It comes on the morning that Boris Johnson's new guidance on working from home came into force, after being announced last Wednesday.

More than 60 Tory backbenchers are poised to oppose the Plan B measures to counter the threat of the Omicron variant  the biggest rebellion of Mr Johnsons premiership.

The restrictions will see proof of vaccination or a negative test become mandatory for large venues this week, and today the return of work from home guidance.

The Prime Minister will avoid an embarrassing defeat with the measures set to be voted through thanks to backing from Labour.

But many MPs are fearful the Prime Minister may impose even stricter curbs before Christmas.

As many as ten Parliamentary Private Secretaries are on the verge of resigning ahead of tomorrows votes on the new restrictions.

The MPs, who serve as ministers assistants, have formed a secret WhatsApp group to discuss how they will vote when the measures are put to parliament, according to The Daily Telegraph.

It is understood one secretary was on the brink of resignation last night after watching the Prime Ministers televised statement in which he confirmed vaccine passports will go ahead.

The MPs include two of Levelling Up Secretary Michael Goves three ministerial aides, Danny Kruger and Angela Richardson, and two of Justice Secretary Dominic Raabs assistants, Joy Morrissey and Mike Wood.

Officials are already drawing up a Plan C which would see the return of checking in to a pub or restaurant, using masks in all indoor spaces and having to show a vaccine status at even more venues.

A near empty Maidenhead station as work from home guidance by the government has started on Monday

Motorists this morning on the M40 close to Warwick, as motorway traffic was also light

Models by London School of Tropical Health and Medicine show the projected path of the Omicron Covid wave in the UK with if lockdown measures are reintroduced. This worst case scenario assumed that boosters do not provide high protection against Omicron and there is a large number of vaccine evading infections

Figures show that a total of 23,124,829 - 40.2 per cent of people aged 12 and over in the UK - have now received a booster jab but the rollout will now need to rapidly increase in order to meet the target

According to NHS data, many older age groups who have been eligible to get a Covid booster since September still have double digit percentage figures of people who are yet to get a third dose. Yesterday, the NHS online booking system for Covid boosters was opened up to the over 40s. 81 per cent of people aged 40-to-49 have yet to have a booster.

The above map shows the ten areas that have the most confirmed and suspected Omicron cases in England, according to the UK Health Security Agency. West Northamptonshire is the country's hotspot for the mutant strain, although eight in ten areas on the list are in London

People queuing outside the Saint Thomas vaccination centre in Westminster as Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces tougher Covid restrictions

Tory former leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said last night he believed Plan B was a stepping stone into another lockdown  and accused ministers of moving without the facts on Omicron. The problem is we are halfway between two things: the Government has done a bit by what they call Plan B  but in a way Plan B is a stepping stone to a lockdown, he said.

Backbencher Henry Smith said Plan B was a danger to our civil liberties which would severely impact economic recovery prospects.

He added: I think it is yet further distraction from other health conditions which require attention  such as the cancer backlog  and I dont actually think [the restrictions] work.

He branded the proposals unnecessary and damaging and said further restrictions would only amplify those effects, adding it feels like a lockdown by stealth. Conservative Peter Bone told the Daily Mail vaccine passports are nothing more than an identity card and do not work.

Testing is the way if you want to stop people [spreading Covid].

Tory backbencher Andrew Bridgen slammed Plan B as a complete overreaction not supported by the science or the data.

Im not voting for Plan B, I didnt even vote for Plan A, and I certainly will not be supporting any further removal of freedoms from British citizens over a mild variant with a very low hospitalisation rate.

Rebel ringleader Steve Baker accused the Government of creating a miserable dystopia and suggested his party was drifting into authoritarianism.

He said at least 60 Tories will vote against Plan B but it was a foregone conclusion because our useless opposition in name only will continue to support the Government, however authoritarian they are.

Tory whips will today continue their attempts to quell the revolt, and were engaged in a massive ring round over the weekend.

But despite the scale of the rebellion, Plan B is expected to become law as Labour will support the measures tomorrow.

Sir Keir Starmer said the party will vote with the Government  not to support the Prime Minister but the NHS. Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi insisted yesterday the Government is not introducing a vaccine passport.

He told BBCs The Andrew Marr Show: This is not a vaccine passport. These are high-risk events where we ask people either to take a free lateral flow test or to be vaccinated to attend.

Mr Johnson was also warned of the impact the restrictions will have on hospitality. Clive Watson, chairman of the City Pub Group which operates almost 50 pubs in London and the South East, said: Revenue could take a hit of around 30 per cent  it would be hugely damaging and without government support many businesses will be tipped over the edge.

Mr Johnson last night turbocharged the booster programme in a bid to beat the Omicron variant.

An ambitious plan to offer a third jab to every adult before the end of the year will see 18million people called forward by January 1 in England, a rate of nearly one million a day.

The army will be drafted in to help and clinic opening hours extended to hit the target.

In an address to the nation last night, the Prime Minister warned that a tidal wave of Omicron variant is coming that threatens to overwhelm the NHS and lead to very many deaths if the population is not boosted.

Announcing a national mission unlike anything we have done before in the vaccination programme, Mr Johnson said the NHS had to match its best vaccination day so far - and then beat it day after day.

A fortnight ago I said we would offer every eligible adult a booster by the end of January, the prime minister said.

Today, in light of this Omicron Emergency, I am bringing that target forward by a whole month.

Everyone eligible aged 18 and over in England will have the chance to get their booster before the New Year.

But within minutes of the announcement, the NHS website crashed as thousands flocked to book appointments.

Just over 400,000 booster doses have been given on average each day over the past week in the UK - meaning current efforts will need to be more than doubled to meet the target.

And they will have to go far beyond the previous record on March 20 when 752,308 first doses and 91,977 second doses were given.

Mr Johnson admitted that the focus on the Omicron Emergency Boost would mean some other non-urgent appointments will need to be postponed until the New Year.

If we dont do this now, the wave of Omicron could be so big that cancellations and disruptions, like the loss of cancer appointments, would be even greater next year, he said.

From today, the booster programme will be open to every adult over 18 who had a second dose of a coronavirus vaccine at least three months ago.

Adults over 30 will be able to book online from today, while over 18s will be able to from Wednesday - but some walk-in appointments will be available immediately.

Mr Johnson said that to assist the emergency operation 50 military planning experts will be deployed across every region and NHS staff will be reprioritised to deliver as many jabs as possible.

New vaccination sites will be set up across the country, including mobile pop up sites, and clinic opening hours will be extended to provide more appointments on weekends, early mornings and evenings.

There will also be a national call for thousands more NHS volunteers to come forward and aid the effort.

Mr Johnson urged: If you havent yet had a vaccine at all, then please get yourself at least some protection with a jab as quickly as possible.

If youve already had your booster, encourage your friends and family to do the same. We are a great country. We have the vaccines to protect our people. So lets do it. Lets Get Boosted Now.

There were long queues of people waiting to get their booster jab outside vaccination centres across the country over the weekend, including outside the Merseyway Centre in Stockport and walk-in centres in Ealing and Wandsworth in London yesterday.

Ministers believe boosters are the best way to tackle the threat posed by the Omicron variant.

Data published last week by the UK Health Security Agency showed two doses of a Covid vaccine are not enough to stop people catching the mutant strain.

But a third dose offers more than 70 per cent protection against symptomatic infection and is even better at preventing hospitalisation and death.

However, even a single dose of either the AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccine is still likely to provide some protection against severe disease.

In other developments yesterday:

:: The UK recorded 48,854 new Covid cases and 52 additional deaths. In the last week, 360,480 cases were confirmed, marking an 11.9 per cent increase on the previous seven days. There were 834 deaths in the last week, an increase of 0.5 per cent.

:: Double-jabbed people identified as a contact of someone with Covid-19 will be told to take a daily rapid test for seven days from Tuesday - replacing the requirement for Omicron contacts to isolate for 10 days.

:: A backbench revolt against Plan B restrictions continued to grow, with more than 60 Tories expected to rebel against the measures in a Commons showdown on Tuesday.

:: A report by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine that England could face as many as 75,000 deaths from the Omicron variant by May was called into question by experts.

Last night the Covid alert level was raised following a rapid increase in Omicron cases being recorded.

The UKs four chief medical officers and NHS Englands national medical director recommended to ministers that the country move from Level 3 to Level 4.

Level 4 means transmission is high and direct Covid-19 pressure on healthcare services is widespread and substantial or rising.

The health chiefs said that the emergence of the Omicron variants adds additional and rapidly increasing risk to the public and healthcare services.

In a joint statement, they added: Early evidence shows that Omicron is spreading much faster than Delta and that vaccine protection against symptomatic disease from Omicron is reduced.

Data on severity will become clearer over the coming weeks but hospitalisations from Omicron are already occurring and these are likely to increase rapidly.

Official figures showed another 1,239 Omicron cases had been detected, marking the biggest daily rise to date. It brings the total number of confirmed cases to 3,137.

Yesterday Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at the UK Health Security Agency, confirmed that a small number of people were now in hospital in Britain with Omicron.

But officials refused to reveal the actual number or severity of the cases.

Dr Hopkins said: We have had reports of a small number of people going to hospital who have tested positive with the Omicron variant, we are investigating them carefully and will update in due course.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said last night: Its more important than ever to get Britain boosted to protect our NHS and save lives.

The arrival of the worrying new variant is a reminder that the pandemic is not over. And vaccines are the best weapon in our fight.
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The crew of a British cargo ship which smashed into a Danish vessel and capsized it off the coast of Sweden today - killing at least one of the two men on board - may have been drunk, the Swedish coast guard has said.

Scot Carrier, a 300ft UK-flagged vessel en route from Latvia to Scotland, hit 180ft Danish vessel Karin Hoej around 3.30am in a 25 mile-wide stretch of the Baltic Sea between southern Sweden and the Danish island of Bornholm.

The Karin capsized 'almost immediately', the head of Sweden's maritime rescue agency said, with rescuers reporting 'screams' in the water around 4.45am. But the search was called off after seven hours when no sign of the men was found, before divers discovered the body of one man inside the ship. The other is presumed dead.

Prosecutors opened a case into 'criminal negligence' but the investigation was soon widened to include claims of drunkenness after 'one or more' of the Scot's crew tested positive for alcohol in their blood, the coast guard said.

Two men - a 30-year-old Briton and a 56-year-old Croatian - have since been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence at sea, severe marine intoxication and involuntary homicide.

Rescuers said the Scot's crew admitted they 'may have hit something' before trying to sail away from the scene and had to be stopped from leaving, Expressen reports. Ship tracking data shows the Scot did sail away from the crash site, before turning back along a meandering course and coming to a stop.

A Danish container ship, the Karin Hoej, has capsized (bottom of the hull pictured left in the distance) in the Baltic Sea after colliding with British-flagged vessel Scot Carrier (right) around 3.30am today

Swedish coast guard say the British vessel smashed into the smaller Danish boat, leaving a clear mark on its hull (right) as they opened an investigation for criminal negligence

Divers have now found the body of one of the Danish crew inside the wreck of the Karin (pictured), with the other presumed dead after search efforts turned up no sign of him

The British cargo ship Scot Carrier with damages to the bow as it is towed at the port in Ystad, Sweden, after colliding with the Danish cargo ship Karin Hoej

Scot Carrier, a 300ft UK-flagged vessel en route from Latvia to Scotland, hit 180ft Danish vessel in the Baltic Sea between southern Sweden and the Danish island of Bornholm. Pictured: The British cargo ship with damages to the bow

The Scot is currently moored just off the coast of Ystad, a small town in southern Sweden, and is under guard

The Karin has been towed to the settlement of Sandhammaren, in southern Sweden close to the crash site, where it has been anchored so divers can get inside

The Scot is currently moored just off the coast of Ystad, a small town in southern Sweden, under guard. The wreck of the Karin has been towed to the nearby settlement of Sandhammaren, where divers are searching it.

Several people have also been 'detained' aboard the Scot, Swedish national broadcaster SVT reports. It is unclear how many people were on board at the time of the crash, but coast guards say none are missing.

Johan Nilsson, head of Sweden's maritime rescue agency, said the Scot appears to have hit the Karin at 'high speed', which caused it to turn over and throw its crew into the frigid water.

He said there are 'clear signs' that the British vessel struck the Danish one, including scratch marks across the keel - the underside of the boat which keeps it upright in the water.

'The larger boat has then continued and driven straight across. It has gone very fast,' Nilsson added according to Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.

He said that he is 'hoping for a miracle' for the two Danish sailors, speculating that they might still be alive inside an air bubble trapped somewhere in the Karin's hull.

But Lars Blohm, of the Sea and Air Rescue Center, said there is almost no way a person could survive in cold water that long. Temperatures in the ocean were around 4C (39F) and 5C (91F) in the air at the time of the crash.

That would put the average survival time of a stranded person at around 90 minutes, according to guides published by the US Search and Rescue Task Force.

Forecasters said weather in the channel was calm but foggy at the time of the crash.

Danish rescuers said two people from the Karin are missing and are assumed to have fallen in the water.

'I can confirm an accident has happened but I do not know the circumstances,' Soren Hoj, managing director of Rederiet Hoj which owns the Karin Hoej, added.

'We are deeply concerned,' he added, confirming that the two missing crewmen are both Danish citizens.

Prosecutors are looking into whether the British ship's crew were drunk at the time of the crash, alleging that 'one or more' of them tested positive for alcohol in their blood after being stopped

Two crew aboard the Karin (pictured overturned) are missing but feared dead after a seven-hour search of the icy sea turned up no sign of them

Six lifeboats, nearby civilian vessels, and three helicopters spent hours scouring the sea for survivors after hearing 'screams' in the water, but found nobody

Rescuers say nobody could have survived in the cold waters for long, and have since called off the search with a criminal probe launched

As part of their investigations, Swedish coast guard will check to see whether the crash happened in their territorial waters, giving them automatic jurisdiction over it.

Territorial waters generally extend up to 12 nautical miles from a country's coastline. From ship tracking data, it appears Monday's crash happened some 20 miles out to sea.

If it transpires the crash was in international waters, Danish prosecutors may take over the case since the victims are Danes. The crash site is also close to a Danish island - Bornholm.

The Scot Carrier, almost 300ft long and built in 2018, was en route from Salacgriva in northern Latvia to Montrose in Scotland when the accident happened.

Karin Hoej, 180ft long and built in 1977, was on its way from Sodertalje, just south of the Swedish capital Stockholm, to Nykobing Falster in southern Denmark.

Both vessels were sailing in the same direction - east to west - through the 25-mile gap between Sweden's southern tip and Bornholm island when the crash happened.

The Karin was carrying no cargo at the time of the accident.

The British-flagged Scot Carrier, a 300ft container ship built in 2018, was en route from Latvia to Scotland when it crashed around 3.30am (file image)
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NHS bosses today urged Britons desperate to get their Covid-19 booster jab to try again tomorrow after the website crashed again this morning and huge queues built up outside vaccination centres around the country.

Hundreds of thousands of people were rushing to get their third dose less than two weeks before Christmas, just hours after Boris Johnson revealed that the booster programme would open up to all UK adults from today.

Those aged 30 or over are now eligible to book their vaccine online via the NHS website, while people aged 18 to 29 can book there from Wednesday  but all UK adults can now go to a walk-in centre from today.

Those trying to book a jab appointment on the website were greeting with a message saying: 'The NHS website is currently experiencing technical difficulties. We are working to resolve these issues. Thank you for your patience.'

And the NHS later said in a tweet: 'The COVID vaccine booking service is currently facing extremely high demand so is operating a queueing system. For users aged 18 to 29, please be aware that booking opens on Wednesday 15 December. For all others experiencing waits, we would advise trying again later today or tomorrow.'

Other Britons were struggling to get a booster appointment near their home, with one tweeting that 'York's nearest Covid jab walk-in is 31 miles away in Doncaster' - a claim that has been verified by MailOnline.

Another said: 'Well done Boris Johnson, everyone is panicking now and trying to book their booster jab and the website says I am in a queue and the nearest walk in centre is 20 miles away. Merry Christmas, enjoy your party!'

And a third tweeted: 'Just tried booking my booster jab. I've been over 6,500th in the queue twice. I finally got through, clicked yes to knowing my NHS number and it put me back to 8,000th in the queue. Just had a look at my closest walk in centre which is 15 miles away apparently.'

The booster expansion plan is expected to focus on walk-ins rather than online bookings  and those trying to get an appointment on the website face having to wait until after Christmas, insiders told Politico's London Playbook.

Meanwhile long lines of people waited outside pharmacies, hospitals and temporary vaccine sites across the UK this morning, with particularly big queues seen at St Thomas' Hospital and Guy's Hospital in London.

It comes after the Prime Minister confirmed in a televised statement last night that he had turbocharged the booster programme, as the deadline to offer all adults a third jab is being brought forward by a month.

The Army will be drafted in and clinic hours extended to help dose 18million people by January 1 - nearly a million a day - as the PM warned of a 'tidal wave' of Covid that could overwhelm the NHS and cause 'very many deaths'.

Mr Johnson said the 'Omicron emergency' meant boosters were vital to 'protect our freedoms and our way of life'. Within minutes of his announcement, the NHS website crashed as thousands flocked to secure appointments.

Then again this morning, the NHS website was initially putting people in an online queue of more than 5,000 people shortly after 7am, saying that 'lots of people are trying to book an appointment.'

Moments later while people were waiting, a message was displayed that the website was 'currently experiencing technical difficulties', and those trying to book a jab had to go back one webpage and try again.

By 10am, the size of the online queue was nearing 10,000 people but the website was still not allowing people to book their appointment as it came under intense demand. By 1pm, people could start to book their jabs.

The NHS said more than 110,000 people had booked their booster jab before 9am this morning - and the website was already seeing record demand for bookings as the vaccination programme ramp up.

Britons trying to book their booster jab this morning have been greeted with this message on the NHS website today

These messages also came up for people trying to book their booster jab on the NHS website this morning

NHS bosses today urged Britons desperate to get their Covid-19 booster jab to try again later today or tomorrow

The programme recorded more than 800,000 boosters over the weekend, compared to around 635,000 jabs the weekend before. And Saturday was also a record day with 483,000 booosters reported.

Almost 750,000 people had already snapped up a Covid booster appointment over a record weekend, with 426,000 bookings made yesterday and a further 323,000 slots taken on Saturday.

NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard said: 'It is fantastic to see so many people respond to our national mission to offer all adults the chance to get boosted by the end of the year with more than 110,000 booking their jab by 9am this morning.

'As the NHS rallies to protect the country against the Omicron variant, we need to see the same levels of enthusiasm as we vaccinate the country at speed  so please don't delay, come forward and book in for your booster today.

'The NHS has already stepped up to the mark and delivered the fastest and most successful vaccination programme in health service history and staff are once again doing everything possible to increase the number of appointments available every day.

Now thousands of women are forced to wait for breast cancer specialists One in three women suspected of having breast cancer are waiting longer than two weeks for critical appointments, figures reveal. NHS targets say most people urgently referred by their GP for suspected breast cancer should see a specialist within 14 days. But as hospitals struggle with Covid backlogs, this is not being met for thousands. It means that cases are going undiagnosed for longer  delaying treatment. Latest figures from NHS England show the number of breast cancer referrals not seen within in two weeks more than doubled in October. The target was missed in 12,905 cases, which was 29.1 per cent. This was a dramatic increase on the month before when 5,280 cases (12.5 per cent) did not get appointments within the timeframe. Macmillan Cancer Support said the number of women being diagnosed with the disease at stage 4 was as much as 48 per cent higher in some months than expected. Labour's health spokesman Wes Streeting said: 'No one should be left waiting and wondering for weeks on end when it comes to cancer. We need urgent answers on why under this Government the number of patients left waiting has risen so severely.' A Department of Health spokesman said: 'We are committed to ensuring people get the treatment they need.' Cancer care remained a priority, they added. Advertisement

'The best way to get your vaccine is by booking online or by calling 119  please do keep checking availability as we load more appointments onto the system every day.'

Earlier, people were put in a queue, but the NHS website was no longer listing the number of people in it, and simply said: 'You are in a queue. Lots of people are trying to book an appointment at the moment.'

The NHS will have to postpone some planned appointments in order to meet the target of giving every adult in England a Covid-19 booster jab by the end of the year.

Nursing leaders have expressed concern about the 'scale and pace' of the vaccine programme expansion - which will aim to jab almost a million people every day - while a charity said the Government must ensure NHS cancer services are 'prioritised and protected'.

Mr Johnson, in a pre-recorded address to the nation yesterday evening, said Britain 'must urgently reinforce our wall of vaccine protection' as he set the new deadline of jabbing everyone over 18 by the new year.

He said scientists had discovered that two doses of a vaccine is 'simply not enough' to prevent the spread of the new variant and that, without a lightning speed mass booster campaign, the NHS could be overwhelmed.

The mission to administer millions more jabs by December 31 will see 42 military planning teams deployed across every health region.

Extra vaccine sites will be opened and additional mobile units deployed, clinic opening hours are to be extended to allow people to be jabbed around the clock and at weekends, while thousands more vaccinators will be trained.

Mr Johnson said: 'To hit the pace we need, we'll need to match the NHS's best vaccination day so far - and then beat that day after day. This will require an extraordinary effort.

'And as we focus on boosters and make this new target achievable, it will mean some other appointments will need to be postponed until the new year.

'But if we don't do this now, the wave of Omicron could be so big that cancellations and disruptions, like the loss of cancer appointments, would be even greater next year.'

The highest number of vaccinations reported in one day in the UK was 844,285 on March 20, 2021 - equivalent to vaccinating the entire population of Liverpool in one day, according to the Government website.

People queue for their booster jabs outside a coronavirus vaccination centre in the Whalley Range area of Manchester today

Britons wait outside Guy's Hospital in London this morning, at what is called 'Covid-19 London Bridge Vaccination Centre 1'

Long queues at the Queensgate Shopping Centre vaccination centre at Peterborough in Cambridgeshire this morning

People queue up for a coronavirus booster jab outside a vaccination centre in Sevenoaks, Kent, this morning

People queue for a booster outside a vaccination centre in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, this morning

In a direct plea to GPs, doctors, nurses and others on the NHS front line, who he said had 'worked incredibly hard' throughout the pandemic, Mr Johnson said: 'I must ask you to make another extraordinary effort now, so we can protect you, and your colleagues, and above all protect your patients from even greater pressures next year.'

NHS England said GP teams will be asked to 'clinically prioritise their services to free up maximal capacity' to support the Covid-19 vaccination programme, alongside delivering critical appointments such as cancer, urgent and emergency care.

It said this 'might mean that for some people, routine appointments are postponed as part of the national mission to roll out boosters'.

Steven McIntosh, executive director of advocacy and communications at Macmillan Cancer Support, said everyone can play a role in reducing pressure on critical NHS care by getting vaccinated, getting a booster jab and following Covid guidelines.

'However, the Government also must not fail to ensure NHS cancer services are prioritised and protected this winter to ensure that nobody faces long waits and disruption in vital cancer care,' he said.

Pat Cullen, general secretary and chief executive at the Royal College of Nursing, said nursing staff have already played a leading role in the delivery of vaccines and stand ready to do the same again.

'However, we are concerned about the scale and pace of this expansion, given these same nurses are already facing huge demands under existing unsustainable pressures in every part of the UK health and care system,' Ms Cullen said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson records an address to the nation about booster jabs from Downing Street in London yesterday

Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers, the body representing NHS trusts, said the NHS will do everything it can to deliver the 'hugely ambitious' booster campaign, but is 'already beyond full stretch' and will 'need to reprioritise'.

He said as more hospital staff become involved it is 'likely to impact on planned care, causing some additional delays'.

Every adult over 18 in England who has had a second dose of a vaccine at least three months ago will be able to have their booster from Monday, Mr Johnson said.

He said the UK Government would support the devolved administrations to 'accelerate' their own rollouts of third jabs.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Scotland would match the aim of offering boosters to all eligible adults before 2022, but added that more Covid-19 restrictions may still be needed to tackle the new strain.

Welsh leader Mark Drakeford also said 'further steps' could be required to keep the country safe, as he encouraged people to 'make having your booster a priority' amid a pledge to quicken the rollout.

Meanwhile, the UK Covid alert level was raised to Level 4, up from Level 3, following a rapid increase in the number of Omicron cases being recorded.

The recommendation was made to ministers by the country's four chief medical officers and NHS England's national medical director following advice from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

The UK, as of Sunday, recorded a further 1,239 confirmed cases of the Omicron mutation, bringing the total number of cases to 3,137 - a 65 per cent increase from Saturday's total of 1,898.

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said the actual number was likely to be 10 times as high.
Every arachnophobe's worst nightmare has been confirmed after a new species of spider was unearthed by an inquisitive 11-year-old.

The new species of wolf spider was found last year on Deal Island off the coast north-east of Tasmania, where young Murphy Widdowson was staying while his parents were working on the island.

Murphy contacted Launceston's Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery to identify the species, a task that left resident spider expert John Douglas stumped.

Tasmanian schoolboy Murphy Widdowson, 11, (pictured) unearthed the new spider species

A specimen was sent to spider taxonomist Dr Volker Framenau in Western Australia to identify the species and has since been called Artoriopsis murphyi in honour of the inquisitive schoolboy.

Museum staff and volunteers recently held a special presentation to celebrate Murphy's achievements which was attended by his proud family and teacher and included an Artoriopsis murphyi cake!

While new species are common, few arachnologists in Australia have the time or ability to describe spiders, according to Mr Douglas.

The new species of wolf spider has since been called Artoriopsis murphyi (pictured)

'It looks fairly similar to the look of wolf spiders in this genus ... and it was only really under a microscope you could pick it was a different species [through its unique sex organs],' he told the Examiner.

The latest species of spider is not venomous to humans.

'This one is five millimetres, if it bit you I doubt you would even feel it if it penetrated your skin,' Mr Douglas said
Detectives investigating the discovery of a body - thought to be that of missing nurse Petra Srncova - have today revealed they do not believe the death to be suspicious.

Miss Srncova, a senior nurse assistant, 32, was last seen as she made her way home after finishing a shift at the Evelina London Children's Hospital in Westminster on the evening of November 28.

She had travelled by bus to her address in Camberwell, south-east London, and was last seen in the area at 8.22pm.

Police investigating her disappearance were called to Brunswick Park, Camberwell, on Sunday after a group of children playing in the area were said to have discovered the body around 11.40am.

Detectives are yet to confirm if the body is that of Miss Srncova and say a formal post-mortem investigation will take place in the coming days.

However Scotland Yard said Miss Srncova's family in her native Czech Republic had been 'informed of this development'.

Meanwhile, the Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek today said the Met had confirmed to his officials that the body is that of Miss Srncova.

A body has been found in the hunt for missing nurse Petra Srncova (pictured) at a south London park, close to where she vanished two weeks ago

The South London park is in lockdown after the discovery of the body this morning

Police had grown increasingly concerned for her welfare and had issued a desperate appeal for anyone who had seen her and knew of her whereabouts to get in contact with them. Pictured left: Police at the scene in Brunswick Park

Today detectives said their initial enquiries suggest they do not believe the death of the woman found at Brunswick Park to be suspicious.

Police were earlier believed to have been investigating a report of an 'odd man' stalking staff at the hospital where Miss Srncova worked.

A Met Police spokesperson said: 'Police have been appealing for information to trace missing senior nurse assistant Petra Srncova from Camberwell.

'At approximately 11.40am on Sunday, 12 December police were called by a member of the public to reports of the body of a woman that had been found in Brunswick Park, SE5.

'Officers attended and found a woman who was deceased. Her death is being treated as unexplained but initial enquiries suggest the circumstances are not suspicious.

'A post-mortem examination will take place is due course. While formal identification awaits, Petras family have been informed of this development.'

Yesterday, the area around where the body was discovered was cordoned off while forensic investigators erected a blue tent as they worked into the night.

Meanwhile, Miss Srncova's MP, Harriet Harman, was seen handing out missing posters on Saturday.

She said: 'Body found in small park near where Petra lived. So, so sad.'

Missing person posters (left) were placed around London in a desperate bid to find the nursing assistant after she was last seen 2 weeks ago and yesterday MP Harriet Harman (right) spoke about her disappearance

Police had grown increasingly concerned for her welfare and had issued a desperate appeal for anyone who had seen her and knew of her whereabouts to get in contact with them. Pictured left: Police at the scene in Brunswick Park

Miss Srncova is believed to have been wearing a green coat and carrying a red backpack when she left the hospital, which is across the Thames from Parliament, at 7.45pm on November 28.

Police said she withdrew money from a cashpoint before boarding a bus towards Elephant and Castle.

Miss Srncova then changed to a bus travelling southbound towards her home address.

A colleague raised the alarm on December 3 after she failed to turn up for work at the children's hospital, which is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust.

Police have informed Ms Srncova's family of the development but formal identification has yet to take place. Pictured: The police cordon at the scene in Brunswick Park today

Responding to an appeal for more information on social media, an NHS worker also said a nurse had told her she was being followed as she left the hospital.

'I was on the phone to her, she told me not to get off (the call) and pretended to be meeting me at the station because she had an odd man following,' the paediatric nurse tweeted to the Met.

The force has made contact with this health worker and said investigators are interested in any information the public can provide.

Meanwhile, Selda Kayam, 36, resident and mother-of-two told MyLondon that it was her friend's children who had discovered the body in the park this morning.

She said: 'It's quite scary for us, we feel like we're not safe anymore.

'I'm not really feeling comfortable. I'm not sure if I would take my children back to that park.

'When my friend's kids were running around the park, that's when they saw it. It's really shocking.'

And another person living in the area called Fred said he was feeling 'unsettled'.

He also said there was a murder in the area about a month ago before this latest incident.

Investigations are ongoing by forensics (left and right) but many residents have been questioned by police

The man said he has not had trouble in the area but has been left unsettled knowing the body was discovered opposite his house.

Reacting to yesterday's development, the trust and Evelina tweeted: 'This is extremely sad and worrying news regarding the disappearance of our colleague.

'Our thoughts are with Petra's family, friends and colleagues at this hugely difficult time.'

The Czech Embassy in London said: 'We would like to express our deepest condolences to the family of the deceased Czech citizen.'

A man arrested and taken into custody in connection with her disappearance was released on bail over the weekend pending further inquiries.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has revealed he moonlighted as a taxi driver to make ends meet following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The collapse triggered economic hardship across the country, forcing many Russians to seek new and alternative ways to earn a living.

Speaking about the breakup of the state in 1991 in a documentary that aired on Sunday, Putin described it as the collapse of historical Russia.

Vladimir Putin (pictured sitting behind a wheel during a visit to Egypt in 2018) has revealed he moonlighted as a taxi driver following the collapse of the Soviet Union to make ends meet

It is well known that the Russian strongman sees the collapse as a national tragedy, and the remarks could fuel further speculation about his intention towards Ukraine.

Russia has amassed more than 90,000 troops on its border with the former Soviet republic, raising fears that the Kremlin is planning an invasion.

Putin and his allies have denied this, instead accusing Ukraine of provocation and saying Russia is taking steps to prevent Nato expansion to the east.

Last week, Russia demanded that Nato formally rescinds its decision to open the door to membership for Georgia and Ukraine.

'After all, what is the collapse of the Soviet Union? It was a disintegration of historical Russia under the name of the Soviet Union,' Putin said, speaking in the documentary called 'Russia, Recent History' and reported by state-run news agency RIA Novosti.

'Sometimes I had to earn extra money,' he continued. 'I mean, earn extra money by car, as a private driver. It's unpleasant to talk about to be honest, but unfortunately that was the case.'

Putin has spoken before on the collapse of the USSR, once describing it as 'the greatest geopolitical disaster of the 20th century'.

Putin (pictured in Moscow on Friday) has spoken before on the collapse of the USSR, once describing it as 'the greatest geopolitical disaster of the 20th century'. It is well known that the Russian strongman sees the collapse as a national tragedy, and his latest remarks could fuel further speculation about his intention towards Ukraine

However, he has not previously revealed his need to moonlight as a Taxi driver - something many Russian men did at the time to get by.

Taxis were scarce in Russia, and many individuals took to driving them to earn a living - some even using their work vehicles such as ambulances.

These drivers were known by the informal name of bombila (bombers).

Putin's past work as an agent of the KGB - Russia's security service - is well documented, but other details are more mysterious.

In the early 1990s, he worked in the office of St Petersburg Mayor Anatoly Sobchak.

He claims that he resigned from the KGB after a coup in August 1991 against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, which combined with economic woes led to the break up of the socialist bloc.

Russia was the centre of the Soviet Union that expanded to include 15 republics, reaching from the Baltics in the west to Central Asia. When it collapsed, Russia became the independent country it is today.

Reports of Putin's comments come after the G7 on Sunday warned Russia of 'massive' consequences if it invades Ukraine.

Foreign ministers from the world's richest nations held a two-day meeting in Liverpool, northwest England, seeking to present a strong, united front against global threats.

Britain, which hands over the G7 presidency to Germany next year, portrayed the two-day conference as a chance to stand up to authoritarianism around the world.

In addition to talks over Iran's nuclear ambitions, Russia's build-up of troops on the border with Ukraine dominated talks, given fears of a possible invasion.

US intelligence officials estimate that as many as 175,000 Russian troops could launch an attack early next year, with troops, tanks and artillery already massing on the Ukrainian border.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said there was 'very much a united voice... that there will be massive consequences for Russia in the case of an incursion into Ukraine'.

In the final communique, ministers unanimously backed Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty, praising President Volodymyr Zelensky for Kiev's 'posture of restraint'.

All options, including wide-ranging political and economic sanctions, are on the table if Russia ignores a diplomatic solution, officials indicated.

A senior US State Department official on Saturday said 'a large number of democratic countries' were ready to join the G7 nations of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States in taking action.

US President Joe Biden earlier this week held a virtual summit with his Russian counterpart Putin to voice Western concerns.

Pictured: Soviet flags fly over President Mikhail Gorbachev's office and the People's Congress building in the Kremlin, Moscow, Russia, USSR, 18 December 1991. Now, 30 years on, Putin has spoken further on the USSR's collapse in a Russian documentary

He is sending his top diplomat for Europe and Eurasian affairs to Kiev and Moscow next week for follow-up talks with senior officials.

Pope Francis also called for the situation to be 'resolved through serious international dialogue and not with weapons', following the Angelus prayer at St Peter's Square.

Germany's new Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, speaking later on Sunday, warned that The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia would not be allowed to operate in the event of any new 'escalation' in Ukraine, under an agreement between Berlin and Washington.

In response to the G7 summit, Putin last night denied Russia planned to seize Ukraine and accused Britain and its allies of 'demonising' his country.

The president's official spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the accusations by Britain and its allies were 'once more being made with the aim of further demonising Russia'.
A row has broken out over a book about a 'transgender' Scottish aristocrat who legally changed his registered sex before succeeding to his brother's baronetcy.

Dr. Ewan Forbes-Sempill, who was born Elizabeth in 1912, announced in 1952 that they had changed their name and re-registered their birth as that of a male after living as a man since the 1930s.

His brother, aviation pioneer Lord Sempill, held the baronetcy of Craigievar in Scotland. When he died in 1965, Sir Ewan made a claim on his title, which had to go to his nearest male relative.

The claim led to a three-year legal dispute between Sir Ewan, who went on to marry his female housekeeper, and cousin John Forbes-Sempill, who laid claim to the title because he saw himself as the legitimate male heir.

Even though the Scottish Court of Session ruled that Sir Ewan was the male heir, Mr Forbes-Sempill's continued opposition meant it had to be settled by the then Home Secretary James Callaghan, who in 1968 agreed with the judge's decision that the doctor should get the title.

He was subsequently named the 11th Baronet Forbes of Craigievar and went on to hold the title and the Aberdeenshire family seat  Craigievar Castle  until his death in 1991.

But now, academic Zoe Playdon has been criticised for the claim made in her new book, The Hidden Case of Ewan Forbes: The Transgender Trial that Threatened to Upend the British Establishment, that the baron was transgender.

Professor Playdon's book also claimed that Sir Ewan's case 'rocked British society and transformed transgender experience to this day'.

But barrister Barbara Rich and law lecturer Scott Wortley published a series of tweets challenging the book, which was published last month by Bloomsbury.

Rich pointed to the 1967 Scottish ruling on the case, where judge Lord Hunter ruled that Sir Ewan was a 'true hermaphrodite in whom the male sexual characteristics predominate.' She said this could not 'reasonably be read as a finding that he was a transgender man'.

A row has broken out over a book about a 'transgender' Scottish aristocrat who legally changed his registered sex before succeeding to his brother's baronetcy. Dr. Ewan Forbes-Sempill, who was born Elizabeth in 1912, announced in 1952 that they had changed their name and re-registered their birth as that of a male after living as a man since the 1930s

His brother, aviation pioneer Lord Sempill, held the baronetcy of Craigievar in Scotland. When he died in 1965, Sir Ewan made a claim on his title, which had to go to his nearest male relative. The claim led to a three-year legal dispute between Sir Ewan, who went on to marry his female housekeeper, and cousin John Forbes-Sempill, who laid claim to the title because he saw himself as the legitimate male heir. Above: The Forbes family seat of Craigievar Castle, in Aberdeenshire

Others have also reportedly highlighted that Sir Ewan's memoirs did not mention his transition from female to living as a man.

Sir Ewan's solicitor's statement after the Home Secretary's final judgement in 1968 claimed that the aristocrat believed a mistake had been made on his birth certificate when he was born.

He said: 'Sir Ewan's case has always been that he has been a male since birth and that he was originally wrongly registered as female'.

In a statement published online in response to Ms Rich's criticism, Professor Playdon said there was 'no doubt that Ewan was trans' and claimed that the description of him in court proceedings showed the 'results of long-term testosterone'.

But Ms Rich also alleged that Professor Playdon's claim that Sir Ewan's case 'threatened to upend the British establishment was 'utterly unevidenced and highly tendentious speculation'.

Academic Zoe Playdon (left) has been criticised for the claim made in her new book, The Hidden Case of Ewan Forbes: The Transgender Trial that Threatened to Upend the British Establishment, that the baron was transgender

Barrister Barbara Rich was one of the legal experts to criticise Professor Playdon's claims

Law lecturer Scott Wortley also took aim at the claims made in the book

She also disputed Professor Playdon's claim of her book that Sir Ewan's case was 'hidden', and instead highlighted how the Home Secretary's decision was covered extensively by the press.

The Daily Mail was among the newspapers which reported on the outcome of the case.

Ms Rich argued that court proceedings probably took place behind closed doors because of the 'distressing, invasive and intimate nature of the evidence given about Ewan's sex'.

Another legal expert, Scottish law lecturer Scott Wortley, said there appeared to be a 'number of errors' in the book, which he also said displayed a 'lack of awareness of Scottish law and procedure'.

The Hon Elizabeth Forbes-Sempill, who had sex change and became Sir Ewan Forbes Sempill 11th Baronet. He was later known as Sir Ewan Forbes of Brux

Sir Ewan is seen playing the harp at his Aberdeenshire home before he had changed the sex registered on his birth certificate

After changing the sex on his birth certificate, Sir Ewan, married Isabella 'Patty' Mitchell and the couple lived at Brux Lodge in Aberdeenshire

When he died without children in 1991, he was succeeded by his cousin John  the man who had launched the original legal challenge

He added in another tweet: 'The book is premised on the basis that correction of the birth certificate was done of right for a trans person.

'That was not the case. There was no right to correct unless the sheriff was satisfied there was an initial error in registration.'

Professor Playdon argued in her statement that she used 'language in its ordinary and natural meaning' to try to make the 'complex interplays between medicine and the law accessible for a general readership'.

She told MailOnline: 'I am not sure which "errors" Scott Wortley is referring to.

'The book describes for a general reader a quite complicated case in which nothing seems to have been carried out in a usual fashion.

'I agree that everything about Ewan's case was irregular: Scottish law and procedure were being remade or repurposed as the case proceeded, it seems.'

She added: 'As I say very clearly in the book, trans people could self-identify, get affirmative medical care, and correct their birth certificates as a usual matter.

'In that sense, then as now, everyone had a 'right' to correction of birth certificate if there was an initial error in registration and at that time, been assigned the wrong sex at birth  being trans  was considered to be just such an error.'

Professor Playdon's book is being turned into a TV drama by transgender screenwriter Sukey Fisher.

After changing the sex on his birth certificate, Sir Ewan, married Isabella 'Patty' Mitchell and the couple lived at Brux Lodge in Aberdeenshire.

There, Sir Ewan worked as a farmer and published his memoirs, titled The Aul' Days, in 1984.

When he died without children in 1991, he was succeeded by his cousin John  the man who had launched the original legal challenge.
A Metropolitan Police officer jailed for sharing vile pictures of the bodies of two murdered sisters also used racist slurs in WhatsApp messages boasting about covering up an alleged assault.

Deniz Jaffer, 47, was jailed for two years and nine months last week after taking photographs of Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman while policing a cordon where the sisters had been fatally stabbed in bushes at a country park in north London.

His conduct, along with colleague Jamie Lewis, 33, was described as 'appalling and inexplicable'.

However, Jaffer has now also been found to have sent racist WhatsApp messages claiming police would let off three 'white fellas' arrested on suspicion of assaulting a small group of Asian men - whom he described using the racist slur 'P*****'.

Former police officer Deniz Jaffer, 47, was jailed for two years and nine months after taking vile pictures at the scene of a double murder in Wembley's Fryent Park

The sisters (above), who had been celebrating Ms Henry's birthday with friends, were found dead in bushes after being stabbed in an unprovoked attack

The officer said the Met would not contact the Asian victims regarding the incident, but would close the case anyway on the basis they were unwilling to cooperate with police, The Times reports.

An Independent Office for Police Conduct report said Jaffer's phone contained 'numerous incidences of race discrimination an racist language' over a period between June 8 and 22.

Just five days after taking the pictures of Ms Henry and Ms Smallman, he wrote to a WhatsApp group about the incident: 'Five p*****. Two with bloody nose and the other three ran off but their car has been seized.'

'Three white fellas arrested for ABH but we have had a chat off the record.

'We will release them under investigation and close it later saying victim unwilling without contacting the p*****.'

Jaffer, though, described the messages as only 'idle chit chat' and gossip at the police station.

The Met said its directorate of professional standards investigated the messages regarding the alleged incident, but added that 'nothing was found to corroborate the arrests or that the incident had happened'.

It follows public vilification following a gross dereliction of duty while Jaffer was guarding a police cordon at the scene of a double murder in Fryent Country Park on June 8 last year.

Jaffer and Lewis, neither of whom was wearing forensic protection, had arrived in the park at 3.30am.

During the night, Jaffer took four pictures of the bodies in situ and Lewis took two, and superimposed his face on to one of them to create the 'selfie-style' image.

Unmasked: PC Jaffer, 47, was charged with misconduct in a public office over the pictures

Nicole Smallman, 27, and Bibaa Henry, 46, who were stabbed to death in Wembley last year

Jamie Lewis, 33, was jailed alongside Jaffer at the Old Bailey last week. A judge described their conduct as 'appalling and inexplicable'

Lewis wrote: 'Unfortunately I'm sat next to two dead birds full of stab wounds.'

Jaffer posted on another WhatsApp group: 'I have pictures of the two dead victims. Let me know who doesn't want to see.'

He also sent an inexperienced female officer at the scene photographs of the bodies as they lay intertwined in the bushes, including Lewis' 'selfie'.

Jaffer then showed the images to two other officers, including a female probationary officer he was supposed to be mentoring at Forest Gate police station, who was 'shocked' and 'disgusted'.

He deleted the pictures the same day Lewis was questioned by the police watchdog.

In victim impact statements, family members described the defendants as a 'disgrace' to the police family and to mankind.

Jaffer, of Hornchurch, east London, and Lewis, from Colchester, Essex, pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office.

They were both jailed for two years and nine months at the Old Bailey last month.

Passing sentence, Judge Mark Lucraft QC told the officers: 'It is appalling and inexplicable conduct. Here, the two of you not only violated the police cordon with the effect that had on the scene and on the investigation, but then wholly disregarded the privacy of the two victims of horrific violence and their families for what can only have been some cheap thrill, kudos, a kick or some form of bragging right by taking images and then passing them to others.'

'Not only did you violate the privacy of the two women who had been killed, but you also have undermined the trust and faith in police officers the public should be able to expect at times such as these.

'It is clear that the two of you acted without any thought as to the effect on the two women, their families or the wider public interest.'

The women's mother, Mina Smallman, said the officers' actions were a 'betrayal of catastrophic proportions' and a 'sacrilegious act'.
Sharon Anderson, 30, is plagued by constant wrist pain which she claims was caused by carrying out repetitive and delicate tasks

A pastry chef is suing Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck restaurant for 200,000 in damages claiming she was left with repetitive strain injury from churning out thousands of chocolate playing cards and whisky wine gums.

Sharon Anderson, 30, is plagued by constant wrist pain which she claims was caused by carrying out repetitive and delicate tasks in the kitchen of the three Michelin-starred restaurant in Bray, Berkshire.

Her work included putting 400 sweets a day into small bags using tweezers, racing against time to make chocolate playing cards before the chocolate set too hard, and administering hundreds of tiny fingertip pinches to mushroom logs.

Last week her lawyers told a judge that the 'fast, arduous and repetitive' tasks meant she was effectively working on a factory floor as she made the concoctions dreamt up for the celebrity chef's kitchen.

'She was essentially on what was effectively a production line,' her barrister Joel Kendall told Judge Victoria McCloud at the High Court in London, where Ms Anderson is claiming damages for the end of her promising career as a chef.

The Fat Duck Ltd denies liability for Ms Anderson's injury, claiming the work she did was routine for a pastry chef in a 'fine dining restaurant' and she was given sufficient breaks.

The Bray restaurant opened in 1994 and achieved three Michelin stars in a record three years, carving out a name for eccentric genius by serving up dishes such as Mr Blumenthal's 'nitro scrambled egg and bacon ice cream'.

The virtuoso cook and his proteges have become famous for their culinary experimentation, and the restaurant has a nearby laboratory, where the team concoct their pioneering creations.

Sharon Anderson's lawyers told a judge that the 'fast, arduous and repetitive' tasks meant she was effectively working on a factory floor as she made the concoctions dreamt up for the celebrity chef's kitchen

Her work included putting 400 sweets a day into small bags using tweezers, racing against time to make chocolate playing cards before the chocolate set too hard. Pictured: One of the creations at the Fat Duck, The Queen of Hearts, a jam tart, with chocolate playing cards

Ms Anderson's work included making whisky wine gums between 4-6pm, she says, and she would produce around 550 by hand

The Bray restaurant opened in 1994 and achieved three Michelin stars in a record three years, carving out a name for eccentric genius by serving up dishes such as Mr Blumenthal's (pictured) 'nitro scrambled egg and bacon ice cream'

Ms Anderson, of Letterkenny, Co Donegal, Ireland, began as a commis chef at the restaurant in June 2014 and claims her injury was caused by being made to perform work which was 'too fast, arduous and repetitive for her.'

What is Repetitive strain injury? Repetitive strain injury (RSI) is a general term used to describe the pain felt in muscles, nerves and tendons caused by repetitive movement and overuse. It's also known as work-related upper limb disorder, or non-specific upper limb pain. The condition mostly affects parts of the upper body, such as the forearms and elbows, wrists and hands, neck and shoulders. The symptoms of RSI can range from mild to severe and usually develop gradually. They include pain, aching or tenderness, stiffness, throbbing, tingling or numbness At first, you might only notice symptoms when you're carrying out a particular repetitive action. But without treatment, the symptoms of RSI may eventually become constant and cause longer periods of pain. You may also get swelling in the affected area, which can last for several months. RSI is related to the overuse of muscles and tendons in the upper body. Certain things are thought to increase the risk of RSI, including repetitive activities, doing a high-intensity activity for a long time without rest, poor posture or activities that involve working in an awkward position. Advertisement

She did an initial six-month spell from June to December 2014 where she carried out food preparation tasks involving manual dexterity, and under pressure of time, she says.

Her role included packing individually wrapped sweets into cellophane bags from 7-11am, before she switched to creating chocolate playing cards from 11.30am to around 4pm.

Ms Anderson had to place each sweet into its own cellophane bag using tweezers and believes she 'wrapped and packed' around 400 separate sweets each day.

The chocolate playing cards were made in moulds of metal and plastic, while each mould could create 12 cards and weighed over a kilo.

Ms Anderson would hold the mould in her left hand with her palm upturned - and her wrist extended - while ladling chocolate in with her other hand.

The completed mould weighed around two kilos, it is claimed, and Ms Anderson aimed to produce around 180 cards per day.

On top of that, she had to 'demould and trim' the cards with a paring knife to 'perfect them and scrape off excess chocolate'.

'The process had to be carried out under time pressure as it had to be completed before the chocolate set in each mould,' her lawyers claim in court papers.

Her kitchen shift then switched to making whisky wine gums between 4-6pm, she says, and she would produce around 550 by hand.

Ms Anderson followed the restaurant when it moved to Melbourne, Australia, in January 2015, while the Bray premises were renovated.

From February 2015, her work followed a similar pattern to life in Bray, she claims, although she was under pressure to handle even more moulds, due to wastage caused by cards melting faster in the warmer climate.

In June 2015, she began complaining of pain in her forearm and was told by her physio that her pain was being caused by her 'long hours and repetitive work.'

She temporarily stopped work due to the pain, but three months later resumed work at the revamped Bray restaurant, before hanging up her apron for good in November 2015.

The Fat Duck opened in Bray in 1994 and achieved three Michelin stars in a record three years

Her role during her final phase at the Fat Duck again involved tasks such as 'hand-piping whisky wine gums' and wrapping petit fours sweets.

But she also spent a week preparing mushroom logs, requiring her to 'pinch creases into 500 sugar sheets per week with her fingers', she claims.

She now suffers 'significant wrist pain' even after carrying out normal manual tasks, court documents state.

The injury means she has recurring problems with daily tasks such as heavy lifting, driving and cooking.

Ms Anderson's lawyers claim the restaurant failed to allow sufficient rest periods or support, and 'required her to work under time pressure throughout the day'.

But the Fat Duck is denying all the claims and points out that Ms Anderson was transferred to lighter duties after she complained about making chocolate patisserie.

The work she carried out had no known risk of triggering an 'upper limb disorder', defence lawyers insist, and the techniques she practised are standard in the world of haute cuisine.

Her workload was not oppressive and Ms Anderson was given all the support and assistance she needed, they maintain.

In court, the restaurant's barrister John Williams claimed there was a stark lack of medical evidence on Ms Anderson's side.

He said her claim was a 'unique case - given the occupational context of a pastry chef undertaking these kinds of tasks alleging an upper limb disorder.'

After a brief court hearing, Judge McCloud adjourned the dispute, directing a case management conference for May 2022 ahead of a trial of her compensation claim.
Boris Johnson begged Tories to back his 'Plan B' Covid curbs today amid fears more than 70 will rebel in a crunch vote tomorrow.

The PM warned Omicron is a 'serious risk to public health' and confirmed the first death from the variant as he desperately tries to quell the uprising on his own benches.

Government whips are said to be 'getting the thumbscrews out' in a bid to cut the number of mutineers - which looks set to be the biggest he has suffered so far.

But ringleaders believe the revolt is still 'growing', with claims that half-a-dozen ministerial aides are considering resigning rather than backing the new restrictions.

One MP told MailOnline that unless the government finds a way of whittling opponents down it could be bigger than the 81-strong Conservative rebellion that forced David Cameron to pledge an EU membership referendum.

And backbencher Marcus Fysh launched an extraordinary attack on the idea of Covid passes to get into nightclubs and events - the main focus of opposition in the showdown.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live that the UK is 'not a 'papers please' society'.

'This is not Nazi Germany,' he said. 'It's the thin end of an authoritarian wedge.'

Health Secretary Sajid Javid risked inflaming the situation further this morning by warning in a round of interviews that the government might have to go even further, refusing to rule out closing schools again.

Meanwhile, senior Tories are increasingly grim about the prospects of holding onto North Shropshire in a by-election on Thursday. The previously rock-solid Conservative seat was held by Owen Paterson until he quit over a lobbying scandal.

Mr Johnson has been under growing pressure to get a grip on Downing Street amid the long-running chaos over sleaze and now 'partygate' - with the Conservatives plunging in the polls.

And the premier is said to be in talks with David Canzini, a director at election guru Sir Lynton Crosby's CTF Partners who has worked on many of Mr Johnson's campaigns, to be his No10 enforcer.

He is hoping to have Mr Canzini in place in time for a potentially explosive meeting with senior right-ring Tories on Wednesday, according to the Telegraph.

As many as 70 Tory backbenchers are poised to oppose the Plan B measures to counter the threat of the Omicron variant  the biggest rebellion of Mr Johnson's premiership

Commuters at King's Cross station in London this morning, as work from home guidance came into effect

Steve Baker (left) is a leading Tory rebel on Covid rules. Conservative party MP Danny Kruger (right) - PPS to Michael Gove - is believed to be part of a WhatsApp group of ministerial aides discussing how to vote on new restrictions

The UK Covid alert level was raised from level 3 to level 4 after the UK reported another 1,239 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant

Tory MPs Angela Richardson (left) and Joy Morrissey (right) are also thought to be among the group of rebel ministerial aides.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid risked inflaming the situation further this warning by warning in a round of interviews that the government might have to go even further, refusing to rule out closing schools again

Who is in the rebel PPS WhatsApp group? James Sunderland (PPS to Defence secretary Ben Wallace)

Danny Kruger (PPS to Levelling Up secretary Michael Gove)

Angela Richardson (PPS to Levelling Up secretary Michael Gove)

Joy Morrissey (PPs to Justice secretary Dominic Raab)

Mike Wood (PPS to Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab)

Claire Coutinho (PPS to Chancellor Rishi Sunak)

Gareth Bacon (PPS to Work and Pensions secretary Therese Coffey)

Jonathan Gullis (PPS to Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis)

Gagan Mohindra (PPS to Home Secretary Priti Patel)

Katharine Fletcher (PPS to Cop26 minister Alok Sharma) Advertisement

The Commons showdown tomorrow looks set to be the biggest of Mr Johnson's premiership.

The restrictions will see proof of vaccination or a negative test become mandatory for large venues this week, and work from home guidance returned today.

The PM will avoid an embarrassing defeat with the measures set to be voted through thanks to backing from Labour, but the scale of the rebellion could be hugely damaging with his position already seriously in question for the first time.

Speaking to journalists on a visit to a vaccination centre in London today, Mr Johnson said MPs thinking of rebelling against Plan B measures needed to recognise there was 'no room for complacency' in dealing with Omicron.

Asked about support among his backbenchers ahead of Tuesday's vote, the Prime Minister told broadcasters: 'I think that what everybody needs to recognise is a couple of things  that Omicron is a very serious risk to public health, and that it's spreading very fast, and I think there's no room for complacency.

'But we have the vaccines, our position remains incomparably better than it was last year. And I hope that people will also understand  colleagues in Westminster, around the country  will also see that the measures we're putting in place are balanced and proportionate.'

Despite the rising tensions with lockdown sceptics on the Tory benches, Mr Javid said today that he could not guarantee schools would not close again.

Asked on LBC whether this remained a possibility, Mr Javid said: 'Well, I don't want to see that or any of these kinds of measures. I'm just going to focus on everything else we need to be doing, especially the booster programme.'

He added: 'I'd say this if you are asking me for guarantees, I will just say  as the Health Secretary, of course, I'm not the Education Secretary  as the Health Secretary, that there are, when it comes to our fight against this pandemic, there are no guarantees.

'But what we do know that works is, in this case, a booster shot of the vaccine.'

Several Parliamentary Private Secretaries (PPS) - the most junior rank on the government ladder - are believed to be considering resignation.

Around 10 have reportedly formed a WhatsApp group to discuss how to vote on the new measures.

They are said to include two of Michael Gove's three ministerial aides - Danny Kruger and Angela Richardson - along with two of the three ministerial aides to Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab - Joy Morrissey and Mike Wood.

Rumbling discontent among Tory MPs was evident this afternoon when Mr Javid delivered a Covid update to the House of Commons.

Tory former Cabinet minister Dame Andrea Leadsom challenged the Health Secretary as she asked: 'What does he say to my constituent who says she is now less afraid of Covid than she is of intrusive and incoherent Government regulations?'

Mr Javid replied: 'I hope her constituent would appreciate that the Government has to act on the information it sees before it in terms of the spread of this new variant, the rate of spread, the information we now know about its degree of vaccine escape, not just to protect her constituent but to protect her constituent's loved ones and her community.'

Many MPs are fearful the PM may impose even stricter curbs before Christmas, but officials are already drawing up a Plan C which would see the return of 'checking in' to a pub or restaurant, using masks in all indoor spaces and having to show a vaccine status at even more venues.

One senior Tory told MailOnline that the rebellion was 'big' and could even outdo the 2011 revolt David Cameron suffered over calls for an EU referendum. 'That forced the government to change its position,' the MP said, adding that while the whip had their 'thumbscrews out' they were unlikely to succeed in reducing the tally much: 'The interesting thing about this rebellion is that it is not organised. It is just people reaching their own conclusions.'

The backbencher said that there is a 'lot of unhappiness within government' at the measures. Most of the critics had no interest in damaging Mr Johnson, they said - but added: 'There will be those that want to get rid of him, like Theresa May.'

Another MP said they expected the rebel numbers to be eroded to an extent. 'There will be more than 40, which of course means he is relying on Opposition votes.'

'Danny Kruger is almost certainly going to vote against it,' the MP claimed.

Tory former leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said last night he believed Plan B was a 'stepping stone' into another lockdown  and accused ministers of moving 'without the facts' on Omicron.

He branded the proposals 'unnecessary' and 'damaging' and said further restrictions would 'only amplify those effects', adding it 'feels like' a lockdown by stealth.

Conservative Peter Bone told the Daily Mail vaccine passports 'are nothing more than an identity card' and do not work.

'Testing is the way if you want to stop people (spreading Covid).'

'The problem is we are halfway between two things: the Government has done a bit by what they call Plan B  but in a way Plan B is a stepping stone to a lockdown. We cannot lockdown again. Schools cannot shut,' he said.

Backbencher Henry Smith said Plan B was a 'danger to our civil liberties' which would 'severely impact' economic recovery prospects. He added: 'I think it is yet further distraction from other health conditions which require attention  such as the cancer backlog  and I don't actually think (the restrictions) work.'

He branded the proposals 'unnecessary' and 'damaging' and said further restrictions would 'only amplify those effects', adding it 'feels like' a lockdown by stealth.

The above map shows the ten areas that have the most confirmed and suspected Omicron cases in England, according to the UK Health Security Agency. West Northamptonshire is the country's hotspot for the mutant strain, although eight in ten areas on the list are in London

The restrictions will see proof of vaccination or a negative test become mandatory for large venues this week, and today the return of work from home guidance (pictured)

What are the Covid rules in England under plan B? WFH The return of work from home guidance. People will be told to work from home in England from Monday if they are able to. Face masks Face masks will be made compulsory in most public indoor venues including in cinemas and theatres from this Friday. They will not be required in pubs, restaurants and gyms. Vaccine passports The NHS Covid pass will be compulsory to gain access to nightclubs and other large venues where large crowds gather. This will apply to all unseated indoor venues with more than 500 people, unseated outdoor venues with more than 4,000 people and any venue with more than 10,000 people. This requirement will be rolled out in one week's time to give businesses time to prepare. Contact testing Contacts of Omicron cases will be told to take daily coronavirus tests instead of having to self-isolate. They will have to quarantine if they test positive. Advertisement

Tory backbencher Andrew Bridgen slammed Plan B as 'a complete overreaction not supported by the science or the data'.

'I'm not voting for Plan B, I didn't even vote for Plan A, and I certainly will not be supporting any further removal of freedoms from British citizens over a mild variant with a very low hospitalisation rate.'

Rebel ringleader Steve Baker accused the Government of creating a 'miserable dystopia' and suggested his party was drifting into authoritarianism.

He said at least 60 Tories will vote against Plan B but it was a 'foregone conclusion because our useless opposition in name only will continue to support the Government, however authoritarian they are'.

'This disease will now be with us forever, there will be new variants, the vaccine continues to give a high degree of protection against serious illness and death and we just do now need to get on with our lives,' he told Sky News.

'We've got to show that there's a movement for that frame of mind because if we don't, the Conservative Party will continue to drift into authoritarianism and I simply cannot stand idly by while that happens.'

Tory whips will today continue their attempts to quell the revolt, and were engaged in a 'massive ring round' over the weekend.

But despite the scale of the rebellion, Plan B is expected to become law as Labour will support the measures tomorrow.

Sir Keir Starmer said the party will vote with the Government  not to support the Prime Minister but the NHS.

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi insisted yesterday the Government is not introducing a 'vaccine passport'.

He told BBC's The Andrew Marr Show: 'This is not a vaccine passport. These are high-risk events where we ask people either to take a free lateral flow test or to be vaccinated to attend.'

Mr Johnson was also warned of the impact the restrictions will have on hospitality. Clive Watson, chairman of the City Pub Group which operates almost 50 pubs in London and the South East, said: 'Revenue could take a hit of around 30 per cent  it would be hugely damaging and without government support many businesses will be tipped over the edge.'

Mask-wearing became mandatory in cinemas, theatres and places of worship on Friday, and work from home guidance returned today.

Needing to show proof of vaccine status or a negative test will come into force for large venues from Wednesday.

Officials are already drawing up a Plan C which would see the return of 'checking in' to a pub or restaurant, using masks in all indoor spaces and having to show a vaccine status at even more venues

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At least 94 are confirmed dead across six states following 'one of the largest' storm outbreaks in history after tornadoes devastated the Midwest and South as they swept through towns this weekend, leaving damage in their wake.

In Kentucky alone the death toll is feared to be 80 people. Governor Andy Beshear told CNN: 'That number is going to exceed 100. This is the deadliest tornado event we have ever had.'

There were 110 workers on a Friday night shift at a Kentucky candle factory when the tornado hit the building, eight of who are now dead. At least six at an Amazon warehouse in Illinois were also killed, as were four people in Tennessee and two in Arkansas, where the roof of a nursing home tore off.

Recovery and rescue efforts in the aftermath began on Saturday, with 40 workers from the Kentucky candle factory found alive. US President Joe Biden declared a major federal disaster in the state, which had to deal with four tornadoes. Governor Beshear said one stayed on the ground for more than 227 miles. He added: 'I've got towns that are gone. They're just gone.'

It is thought at least 30 swathes of tornadoes ripped through Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee on Friday night.

Incredible aerial photos reveal the extent of the devastation as the catastrophic aftermath of the storms leaves dozens sorting through rubble amidst the disaster.

 Slide me  KENTUCKY: Homes and buildings shown in satellite images from January 28, 2017 and December 11, 2021 demonstrate the devastation caused by the tornado outbreak to Mayfield, Kentucky, where the candle factory in which at least eight workers died is

 Slide me  KENTUCKY: Satellite images show the damage done to the county courthouse in Mayfield, Kentucky following the tornadoes which swept through several states

 Slide me  KENTUCKY: Images show Mayfield Consumer products, the candle factory swept up by devastation. Eight of the 110 workers who were there are confirmed dead and another eight remain missing

 Slide me  KENTUCKY: An overview of downtown Mayfield, Kentucky. State governor Andy Beshear called the disaster 'the deadliest tornado event we have ever had'

 Slide me  ARKANSAS: Satellite images shows farm buildings in Monette, Arkansas in February 2021 and December 11, 2021 following the devastating damage from the tornadoes

 Slide me  ARKANSAS: Monette Manor nursing home and surrounding houses in Monette, Arkansas before and after the outbreak of tornadoes ripped through

 Slide me  ARKANSAS: A close-up of the the damage done to Monette Manor nursing home and surrounding houses in Monette, Arkansas as at least 30 swathes of tornadoes ripped through six states

CANDLE FACTORY, MAYFIELD, KENTUCKY: Recovery crews work at the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory where 110 were working when the tornado struck. Only 40 of the workers were rescued alive

KENTUCKY: Tornado damage in Bowling Green, Kentucky. More than 80 people are dead in the state following the tornado outbreak throughout the Midwest and South this weekend

KENTUCKY: Bogdan Gaicki pictured in the rubble of his home as family members help sort through the tornado damage in Mayfield, Kentucky. Joe Biden has declared a major federal disaster in the state

KENTUCKY: Pete Desai, left, who owns the Cardinal Motel in Bowling Green, Kentucky looks through the wreckage caused by the tornado. Biden has called it 'one of the largest' storm outbreaks in history

KENTUCKY: Damage in Mayfield, Kentucky after six states were affected by swathes of tornadoes over the weekend. State governor Andy Beshear believes the death toll in Kentucky will exceed 100

KENTUCKY: Wreckage in the Mayfield First United Methodist Church, which was damage after what a Kentucky governor has called the 'deadliest tornado event we have ever had'

KENTUCKY: The damaged Emmanuel Baptist Church after tornadoes hit Mayfield, Kentucky. Dozens across states have spent Saturday digging through rubble as the deal with the wreckage

KENTUCKY: Damage at the entrance to Total Fitness is seen after a devastating outbreak of tornadoes ripped through Bowling Green, Kentucky. One stayed on the ground for more than 227 miles

KENTUCKY: Damaged toys are seen laying on the ground as many people remain unaccounted for following rescue efforts over Saturday and Sunday

ARKANSAS: On December 10 a nursing home struck Monette Manor nursing home which housed 67 elderly residents. The building is badly damaged and one man in his 80s was killed

ARKANSAS: The damaged interior of Monette Manor nursing home following the tornado outbreak which wreaked havoc as it swept through the South and Midwest

ARKANSAS: Damaged interiors and broken infrastructure at Monette Manor nursing home pictured on December 12. Two people have so far been confirmed dead from the tornado outbreak in the state

ARKANSAS: A damaged home which neighbours the Monette Manor nursing home. The tornadoes swept through the trees, houses and infrastructure

ARKANSAS: A damaged uprooted tree is seen leaning against Monette Manor nursing home. The roof of the nursing home was ripped off

ARKANSAS: A damaged piano sits among debris in the lobby of Monette Manor nursing home on December 12, a result of the deadly storms

ARKANSAS: A damaged storage container is seen in a field near the entrance of Monette Manor nursing home amidst rubble and damaged materials in a field

ILLINOIS: An aerial shot of an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois where six workers are dead following the severe storms which moved through the area and caused catastrophic damage

ILLINOIS: A row of Amazon employee damaged vehicles on a neighboring Amazon distribution center lot from the damage of the collapsed roof at an Amazon distribution center in Edwardsville, Illinois

ILLINOIS: Recovery operations continue after the partial collapse of an Amazon Fulfillment Center in Edwardsville, Illinois, where at least six workers are dead following the damage caused by the tornadoes

ILLINOIS: The Amazon warehouse was damaged by the sweeping tornadoes on December 10. Residents have reported damage from flying debris and fallen trees

MISSOURI: A woman searches for valuables amidst the remnants of a home on Saturday in Defiance, Missouri. The severe weather left dozens searching through rubble and damage over the weekend

MISSOURI: Rich Vance's 1994 Chevrolet Corvette and Suburban sit in a field after being thrown thrown fifty yards from the garage following a tornado in Defiance, Missouri

MISSOURI: Friends and family search amidst remnants for valuables at the home of Ollie and Vernon Borgmann in Defiance, Missouri on Saturday

TENNESSEE: Aerial footage shows destroyed homes and wreckage in the aftermath of tornadoes that tore through the region, in Dresden, Tennessee

TENNESSEE: Destruction along Reelfoot Lake in Samburg, Tennessee. Storms ravaged through the Midwest and South, leaving dozens with damaged homes. Three deaths were reported in the state's Lake County

TENNESSEE: A person stands next to a destroyed home in the catastrophic aftermath of tornadoes that swept through the region, in Dresden, Tennessee
Police chiefs are debating whether to admit their forces are institutionally racist after their adviser claimed they had to or they would not be 'anti-racist'.

Leaders were weighing up the options during talks with top brass on Thursday ahead of a decision around February.

But the bosses of the 43 local branches in England and Wales were split on the move amid fears it unfairly brands them all racist.

Barrister Abimbola Johnson, who the National Police Chiefs' Council brought in as chairman of an independent review, ramped up the pressure on forces last week.

She claimed they had to accept they were institutionally racist before they can bring in reforms that will be accepted by people from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Leaders were weighing up the options during talks with top brass on Thursday ahead of a decision around February (file photo)

The police have been blasted over their handling of race relations in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Leaders of ethnic minority groups slammed forces over targeted stop and searches and police recruitment.

Earlier this year MPs found there were unjustified racial disparities in these more than two decades after the landmark Macpherson report into Stephen Lawrence's death.

Sources at the talks on Thursday said top brass were looking to reach an agreement but some were worried.

One told the Guardian: 'Some are worried about sending out a message that nothing has changed since Macpherson.'

Another added: 'There are polarised views. The discussions were considered and reflective.'

Barrister Abimbola Johnson (pictured), who the National Police Chiefs' Council brought in as chairman of an independent review, ramped up the pressure on forces last week

Ms Johnson was brought in to scrutinise a series of proposed reforms for police to make them 'anti-racist'.

She claimed officers need to admit to being institutionally racist in order to move forward with the confidence of BAME communities.

She said: 'The plan needs to accept institutional racism, if it is to be anti-racist.

'If the idea is to win the trust of black communities, policing needs to start by acknowledging both the historical and current manifestations of racism in policing.'

She added: 'Reluctance to admit institutional racism comes from emphasising the comfort of the wrong people over the experience of black people.

'For this programme to work, it needs the police to have conversations that are uncomfortable for them.'

The 1999 Macpherson report was the first to officially brand policing in the UK as institutionally racist after allowing Lawrence's killers to escape justice for so long.

Sir William Macpherson said institutional racism was: 'The collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin.

'It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping which disadvantage minority ethnic people.'

Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick last year slapped down claims it was still a problem, saying it was 'not a label I find helpful'.

She said: 'I don't think we're collectively failing. I don't think [racism] is a massive systemic problem, I don't think it's institutionalised, and more to the point I think we have come such a very, very, very long way.'

Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick (pictured) last year slapped down claims it was still a problem, saying it was 'not a label I find helpful'

But the chiefs of local forces across England and Wales are split, with some pushing back against admitting a problem.

They are believed to fear the term brands them all as racists and feel it is unfair given the huge improvements they feel have been made since the Lawrence case.

In June MPs found there were racial disparities in policing in recruitment and stop and search more than two decades after the Lawrence Inquiry.

The Home Affairs Committee called for 'urgent action' to address 'persistent, deep-rooted and unjustified racial disparities' in policing.

The group said there was a 'systematic failure on the part of the police service and Government, over many years, to take race inequality in policing seriously enough'.

MPs also warned 'on the current rate of progress, we will not have properly representative police forces in England and Wales for another 20 years'.
What could Plan C involve Ministers have yet to set out exactly what added restrictions might be brought in under any future plan C. But speculation is rife about a wide range of measures. They include: Masks required in pubs and restaurants. They are exempt from rules governing shops and cinemas currently

Covid passports and/or lateral flow test results to enter pubs and restaurants

Rule of six returns for public indoor settings

Return of table service and the one-metre rule

New restrictions on the number of visitors allowed in care homes

Ten-day quarantine required for all close contacts of confirmed Covid cases

But schools allowed to remain open Advertisement

Covid-weary Brits could face wearing masks in pubs again and even have to show a vaccine passport to have a pint before Christmas.

Boris Johnson joined politicians in other UK nations today as he refused - three times - to rule out more Covid rules to combat Omicron.

The Prime Minister insisted that the current Plan B of restrictions including working from home and Covid passports for large venues like nightclubs, plus boosters, was the right way to go in England.

But speaking to broadcasters during a visit to to a vaccination clinic near Paddington, west London, the Prime Minister said: 'Throughout the pandemic I've been at great pains to stress to the public that we have to watch where the pandemic is going and we take whatever steps are necessary to protect public health.'

Speculation is rife about what exactly Plan C will involve. Reports suggest it could include punters having to wear masks in pubs and restaurants - which have an exemption under Plan B - as well as vaccine passports introduced for such venues.

Currently passports are required only for mass attendance events.

Others suggest there could even be a return of social distancing and the rule of six, but the exact requirements are likely only to be hammered out as and when such a change is deemed necessary.

Whatever the changes - if any - Mr Johnson would face a massive battle to get them through the Commons. He is already facing a massive Tory backbench rebellion over Plan B and while Labour is generally supportive of public health restrictions it is not impossible they could baulk as some measures.

He is also likely to face a massive backlash against any plans that could hit the hospitality industry at its busiest time of the year.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid tried to calm fears this afternoon, telling MPs: 'There are no plans I'm aware of for any further restrictions.'

It came as Scottish and Welsh leaders set the scene for even tighter rules in their respective countries.

In Scotland the SNP health minister Humza Yousaf said that new measures were 'inevitable'. He also warned that a new target to offer boosters to all eligible adults by the end of the year will be 'extremely challenging'.

Mr Johnson, asked three times to rule out even tighter restrictions in an interview, admitted 'we have to watch where the pandemic is going'

In Scotland the SNP health minister Humza Yousaf (pictured with Nicola Sturgeon) said that new measures were 'inevitable'

Current cases in England

Current cases in Wales

Current Covid cases in Scotland

Now NHS tells people to STOP booking boosters online as website CRASHES NHS bosses today urged Britons desperate to get their Covid-19 booster jab to try again tomorrow after the website crashed again this morning and huge queues built up outside vaccination centres around the country. Hundreds of thousands of people were rushing to get their third dose less than two weeks before Christmas, just hours after Boris Johnson revealed that the booster programme would open up to all UK adults from today. Those aged 30 or over are now eligible to book their vaccine online via the NHS website, while people aged 18 to 29 can book there from Wednesday  but all UK adults can now go to a walk-in centre from today. Those trying to book a jab appointment on the website were greeting with a message saying: 'The NHS website is currently experiencing technical difficulties. We are working to resolve these issues. Thank you for your patience.' And the NHS later said in a tweet: 'The COVID vaccine booking service is currently facing extremely high demand so is operating a queueing system. For users aged 18 to 29, please be aware that booking opens on Wednesday 15 December. For all others experiencing waits, we would advise trying again later today or tomorrow.' Advertisement

First Ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford last night agreed to speed up their booster jab campaigns last night after Boris Johnson demanded a higher pace to get more jabs in arms before the end of the year.

But they both left open the door to tighter restrictions being introduced in coming weeks.

Asked about more restrictions in response to the Omicron outbreak today, Mr Yousaf told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme: "I think it's inevitable that we will announce additional protective measures."

It is the strongest indication that additional measures will be introduced, and follows comments by Scotland's Deputy First Minister John Swinney that ministers were going to consider reimposing more restrictions, over the weekend.

Changes to the current coronavirus rules will be announced at Holyrood on Tuesday, Mr Yousaf added.

Both Scotland and Wales have had mask orders, Covid passports and working from home measures for weeks, steps only now being introduced in England.

Last night Nicola Sturgeon confirmed plans to offer all adults a Covid booster by the end of the year, but added: 'Given the expected volume of cases in the weeks ahead, however, it is also possible that further, proportionate protective measures or advice will be necessary.

'This is true even if Omicron proves to be slightly less severe than Delta.

'The number of cases will still put significant pressure on the NHS and the economy. The government will therefore consider the latest data tomorrow ahead of a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday and I will set out any decisions to parliament later that day.'

In a separate announcement Mr Drakeford said: 'The cabinet is closely monitoring this rapidly changing public health situation and has moved to a weekly review cycle.

'We are facing a very serious situation and we may need to take further steps to keep Wales safe. I will continue to keep Wales updated.'

It came as Mr Johnson was told to urge people to cancel their Christmas parties to cut down on the risk of super-charging transmission of the new variant.

Stephen Reicher, professor of psychology at the University of St Andrews and a member of the Government's Scientific Pandemic Insights Group on Behaviours (Spi-B) told ITV's Good Morning Britain: 'At the moment, we're in a situation where the new variant in effect is coming at us like an express train.

'We've got to do something or else we're in real danger of overwhelming our society and overwhelming the NHS.

Last night Nicola Sturgeon confirmed plans to offer all adults a Covid booster by the end of the year, but added: 'Given the expected volume of cases in the weeks ahead, however, it is also possible that further, proportionate protective measures or advice will be necessary.

In a separate announcement Mr Drakeford said: 'The cabinet is closely monitoring this rapidly changing public health situation and has moved to a weekly review cycle.

They agreed to speed up their booster jab campaigns last night after Boris Johnson demanded a higher pace to get more jabs in arms before the end of the year

Trains emptier and traffic drops on first day of WFH guidance London's near-deserted stations, Underground carriages and roads looked like lockdown again as City bosses vented at Boris Johnson for asking millions to work from home from today because of Omicron while still encouraging them to head to town for Christmas nights out. The world famous concourses at Waterloo, Euston and Paddington, usually rammed with commuters between 7am and 9am, were empty this morning. Tube platforms and carriages were also largely unoccupied as offices emptied. Traffic was also running freely on routes usually choked with traffic on the quietest Monday morning rush hour in London since September 6, MailOnline can reveal, with one central London resident tweeting: 'I'm slap bang in the middle of London and roads are unbelievably quiet now'. Another commuter tweeted: 'Work from home order well and truly back. Tube is absolutely empty this morning'. Roads and railways across the UK including in Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham and Newcastle were also quiet this morning. The working from home recommendation is the latest step of Mr Johnson's Plan B to slow the spread of Omicron in the UK - but critics including his own MPs believe it is simply a stepping stone towards another lockdown. There is also incredulity about the PM's insistence that people shouldn't go to the office, but should still go to Christmas parties and dinners. But the great office exodus means businesses such as pubs, cafes and restaurants, already struggling, will be pushed to the brink as office workers stay away. Advertisement

'And there's so many things you can do. The first thing, and the most obvious thing, is that if you reduce the number of social contacts you have you limit the spread of the infection.

'Now, nobody wants to give up their Christmas parties, and nobody wants to miss out on meeting up with people.

'It's a little bit like Christmas dinner - if you have too big a Christmas breakfast, then you spoil your appetite for your Christmas dinner, which is what really counts.

'And I think, in the same way, we need to think really seriously about our contacts. How important are they? Do we really need them and is it more important to act carefully now so that the contacts we really want and we really need are still happening?'

Dr Kit Yates, senior lecturer in mathematical biology at the University of Bath, said hospital admissions from Omicron could be 'double' those seen last January.

He told Sky News: 'Nadhim Zahawi has done a calculation which is based on exponential growth - yesterday we recorded 1,239 Omicron cases, it's likely that there were more in the community, we're missing some.

'If we are doubling every three days, that could increase to 100,000 by the end of the month. If it's doubling every two days - and we think it's somewhere in between - then we could be talking about maybe 900,000 cases a day by the end of the month, and that's the ones that we are catching, not the ones that were missing.

'And certainly in terms of hospitalisations, there's been some estimates from Denmark suggesting about 1% of Omicron cases being hospitalised, so if we are up at a million cases, then we could be talking about 10,000 hospitalisations a day, which is more than double what we saw last January.'

Mr Johnson has today come under fire for his Omicron-fighting pledge to dish out a million Covid booster jabs a day, with senior Tories and Labour questioning why the Government didn't kick off the operation months earlier.

NHS bosses have also warned that scaling up the programme now will be 'incredibly difficult' and inevitably have 'consequences', with patients once again facing the threat of cancelled operations.

In a massively ambitious move last night, the Prime Minister brought forward the deadline to offer all over-18s a third jab by New Year's Day as he warned the country: 'There is a tidal wave of Omicron coming.'

The Army and thousands of extra volunteers will be drafted in to achieve the target, and clinic hours extended to help dish out up to 20million jabs over the next two-and-a-half weeks.

Stephen Reicher, professor of psychology at the University of St Andrews and a member of the Government's Scientific Pandemic Insights Group on Behaviours (Spi-B) told ITV's Good Morning Britain: 'At the moment, we're in a situation where the new variant in effect is coming at us like an express train'

The drive will also see 42 military planning teams across every region, additional vaccine sites and mobile units, an extension of opening hours for clinics so they run seven days a week and thousands of extra volunteer vaccinators trained.

But concerns about whether the Government could even hit the goal were raised almost immediately after Mr Johnson's 8pm announcement last night. Even at the height of the NHS's vaccine drive in March, the health service never managed more than 850,000 jabs a day.

GPs fumed they found out about the goal at the same time as the rest of the nation, and NHS bosses warned it would take 'time' to get the scaled up programme 'fully up and running'.

Former Cabinet minister David Davis blasted the Government for failing to ramp up the booster drive in September, saying it was always clear that Covid would become worse in the winter months.

And Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth warned the UK was already 'behind' on rolling out the top-up jabs, and that the 'vaccine wall of defence was crumbling'.

In another sign of chaos, the NHS's online booking site crashed as thousands of desperate Britons flocked onto the site to try to arrange their top-up jab.

The PM's intervention last night comes amid the ever-growing threat of tougher restrictions in January, with the potential for a new lockdown if Omicron cases surge out of control after the UK's Covid alert level was raised from Level 3 to Level 4.

Both Scotland and Wales have dangled the possibility of having to go even further in bid to ward off the highly-transmissible variant.

Yesterday the UK reported another 1,239 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant  an increase of 65 per cent in the past 24 hours. It was the highest daily rise and more than double the previous record, with the total number of known cases now sitting above 3,000.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said booster jabs were not rolled out earlier because it was a 'difficult decision to make'. He also warned that elective appointments  such as hip replacements  were likely to be postponed as the NHS turns its resources to dishing out the top-up shots.

In his speech last night, the PM urged people to 'get boosted now' and said the UK is 'now facing an emergency in our battle with the new variant' and 'we must urgently reinforce our wall of vaccine protection to keep our friends and loved ones safe'.

Red list to be scrapped after just a fortnight and replaced with testing for the fully vaccinated

The travel red list is set to be scrapped as soon as this week.

The emergence of Omicron forced thousands of travellers into hotel quarantine at a cost of 2,285 per person for ten days.

But just a fortnight after the list was introduced, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is said to have convinced colleagues it should be replaced with testing for the fully vaccinated.

Just a fortnight after the list was introduced, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is said to have convinced colleagues it should be replaced with testing for the fully vaccinated

The move is expected to be approved this week, the Mail on Sunday reported.

Data suggests that with Omicron spreading rapidly worldwide, there will be limited differences in countries' infection rates.

The return of the red list was met with fury from officials in affected African countries, while travellers complained of six-hour journeys to their hotel and 'grim' food.

At Wednesday's Covid briefing, Boris Johnson promised to re-examine the policy amid claims it was unfair and ineffective.
Jurors trying four people accused of toppling a statue of Edward Colston have been told the fact he was a slave trader is 'wholly irrelevant'.

Rhian Graham, 30, Milo Ponsford, 26, Jake Skuse, 33, and Sage Willoughby, 22, are on trial at Bristol Crown Court after denying criminal damage.

The defendants, known as the Colston Four, were cheered and clapped when they arrived at court by a large group of supporters this morning.

The bronze memorial to the 17th century slave merchant was pulled down during a Black Lives Matter protest on June 7 last year, before being dumped in Bristol Harbour.

It was later recovered by Bristol City Council.

Charges allege that the four defendants, together with 'others unknown', caused damage to the statue and plinth of a value unknown without lawful excuse.

Graham, Ponsford and Willoughby are accused of pulling the statue down, while Skuse is accused of orchestrating it being rolled towards the harbour.

Prosecutor William Hughes QC said that around 10,000 people had been at the BLM march, and police described it as 'friendly, engaging and very much a community event with an emphasis on coming together to make a change'.

Four people accused of damaging Bristol's Edward Colston statue during a Black Lives Matter protest received a warm welcome from a crowd of supporters as they arrived at court today

He said a small group peeled off the march and congregated around the statue after the majority of the crowd had passed by.

'It was pulled down by members of the small group who include the first three defendants - Ms Graham, Mr Ponsford and Mr Willoughby,' Mr Hughes said.

'After it was toppled it was daubed with paint, spat on and struck with implements, and thereafterwards it was rolled through the city centre and thrown in the harbour at Pero's Bridge.

'The felled statue was felled a considerable distance - approximately 520 metres - where it was pushed into the harbour.'

Mr Hughes said the plinth the statue stood on, the paving slabs at the base and the railings at the bridge were also damaged.

He said the four defendants had been part of a 'criminal enterprise with others' to topple the statue.

The charges relate to the toppling of a statue of Edward Colston last summer during a Black Lives Matter protest. The bronze statue was pulled down and dumped in the river (pictured)

'It was not part of the peaceful Black Lives Matter march, it was unlawful activity, criminal activity to which these four defendants were each joined,' he said.

Mr Hughes said the statue had been erected in 1895 - 170 years after Colston's death.

'The prosecution accept that Edward Colston was and remains a divisive figure among the community of Bristol and beyond.

'It is common ground that he was a slaver and much of his fortune was built on the slave trade, and in later life he was something of a philanthropist.

'This prosecution is not about the justification of the vilification of him.'

Mr Hughes said it is the prosecution's case that who Colston was is 'wholly irrelevant' to the issues jurors will have to decide in the case.

Pictured: The Colston Four stand in front of a crowd of supporters outside Bristol Crown Court

He continued: 'But for the defence this position is quite the contrary, the position is that it is relevant and this is something you will have to decide in due course.'

The jury heard that an estimated 3,750 of damage was done to the statue - including losing its staff and a coat tail - but the council has decided not to restore it.

A further 350 of damage was done to the railings of Pero's Bridge.

The jury was shown footage of Graham, Ponsford and Willoughby allegedly passing ropes to one another to place around the statue's neck.

There were cheers from the packed public gallery when the moment the statue was felled was played.

People said to be the first three defendants can be seen high-fiving each other before putting the ropes in a rucksack and leaving the scene about four minutes after the statue fell.

Rhian Graham (second left), with her boyfriend (far left), along with Milo Ponsford (second right) and Sage Willoughby (far right) arrive at Bristol Crown Court

Referring to the ropes, Mr Hughes said: 'You may think that is suggestive of pre-planning the statue toppling.'

Skuse is accused of passing more ropes around the neck and feet of the statue 'to assist in its removal from the scene', the prosecutor said.

Concluding his opening address, Mr Hughes said: 'You have taken an oath to try the case on the evidence, to do so dispassionately, without any preconceived notions, without prejudice and with an open mind.'

The jurors were also asked to declare if they were present when the statue was torn down, when it was rolled towards and dropped in the harbour or during attempts to retrieve it from the water.

Graham, of Colston Road, Bristol, Ponsford, of Otter Close, Bishopstoke, Hampshire, Skuse, of Farley Close, Bristol, and Willoughby, of Gloucester Road, Bristol, are on unconditional bail.

Judge Peter Blair QC, the Recorder of Bristol, is presiding over the trial.

Supporters gathered outside the court with placards and signs as the defendants arrived

A supporter stands with a placard at Bristol Crown Court ahead of trial of the Colston Four

Video from outside Bristol Crown Court this morning showed a large crowd had gathered to support the four defendants by cheering while waving banners and clapping.

It comes as it was revealed Street artist Banksy is selling T-shirts to support the accused.

The anonymous artist posted on Instagram pictures of limited edition grey souvenir T-shirts which went on sale at the weekend in Bristol.

The shirts have a picture of Colston's empty plinth with a rope hanging off, with debris and a discarded sign nearby and BRISTOL written above.

He said proceeds from the sale will be given to the four people facing trial in the city accused of criminal damage.

In a post on social media, Banksy said: 'Next week the four people charged with pulling down Colston's statue in Bristol are going on trial.

'I've made some souvenir shirts to mark the occasion. Available from various outlets in the city from tomorrow. All proceeds to the defendants so they can go for a pint.'

Bristol-based Banksy said sales would be limited to one per person and each T-shirt would cost 25 plus VAT.
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Fears were raised today that London could be hit with tougher restrictions before Christmas as experts called for action to curb the spread of Omicron.

Shock data shows the super mutant variant now makes up 40 per cent of cases in the capital. Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned the strain was on track to become dominant by tomorrow.

NHS leaders said No10 needs to be prepared to introduce stricter curbs than the current Plan B  which includes work from home guidance, face masks and vaccine passports  if Omicron is on the brink of overwhelming the NHS.

The head of NHS Confederation, which represents hospital trusts, told MailOnline the decision to impose either national or regional restrictions should not be made lightly.

No10 has never ruled out returning to a whack-a-mole-esque approach, even though local lockdowns have failed to control outbreaks twice. Ministers have yet to unveil a concrete list of Plan C measures, but it could entail the return of checking into hospitality venues with the Covid app, vaccine passports in smaller venues and mandatory masks in more settings.

And Independent SAGE member Professor Karl Friston said Omicron outbreaks would 'certainly call' for localised measures.

It comes after Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the strain is growing at a 'phenomenal rate', with officials warning there could be a million infections per day by the end of the month.

London is still the region of England with the fastest-growing Covid outbreak, according to Government data.

Official data show cases are growing by up to 48 per cent a week in the worst-hit boroughs of the capital, which include Barking and Dagenham, Hackney and City of London and Greenwich.

Meanwhile, the highest infection rates, where 0.7 per cent of the local population has tested positive in the past week, have been recorded in Sutton, Richmond upon Thames and Bromley.

 Slide me  Official data show cases are growing by up to 48 per cent a week in the worst-hit boroughs, which include Barking and Dagenham, Hackney and City of London and Greenwich

The Prime Minister, pictured with NHS boss Amanda Pritchard during a visit to the Stow Health Vaccination centre in Westminster, today said: 'The risk is plainly there, we can see Omicron spiking now in London and some other parts of the country. Here in the capital it probably represents about 40 per cent of the cases. By tomorrow it'll be the majority of the cases and it's increasing the whole time'

Omicron cases are also trending upwards across the country, with 13 per cent of new infections in the East of England caused by the variant, followed by 12 per cent in the South East and North West, according to data released by Professor Alastair Grant, a Covid modeller at the University of East Anglia

The UK Covid alert level was raised from level 3 to level 4 after the UK reported another 1,239 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant

Speaking during a visit to the Stowe Health Vaccination centre in Westminster, Mr Johnson said: 'The risk is plainly there, we can see Omicron spiking now in London and some other parts of the country.

'Here in the capital it probably represents about 40 per cent of the cases. By tomorrow it'll be the majority of the cases and it's increasing the whole time.'

Meanwhile, Mr Javid told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'This variant is growing at a phenomenal rate. We haven't seen anything like this before. We expect 1million infections by the end of this month.

Boris Johnson reveals first Briton has died from Omicron as he urges nation to 'set aside idea' that the variant is milder At least one British patient has died from the Omicron coronavirus variant, Boris Johnson revealed today. The Prime Minister said the new strain was also causing hospital admissions and the 'best thing' people could do was get their booster jab. Mr Johnson warned against being complacent about the new strain amid claims by doctors in South Africa that it is milder than past variants. Speaking during a visit to a vaccination clinic in Paddington, West London, he said: 'Sadly yes Omicron is producing hospitalisations and sadly at least one patient has been confirmed to have died with Omicron. 'So I think the idea that this is somehow a milder version of the virus, I think that's something we need to set on one side and just recognise the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population. So the best thing we can do is all get our boosters.' Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said the news underlined 'the seriousness of the situation'. Advertisement

'Already in London it's gone from in three weeks from almost nothing in terms of Covid infections to 40 per cent of all infections.

'If you take that, this tidal wave of infection, and even if you assume as some people are saying, many people are claiming this is less severe, but lets see, lets establish the facts.

'But lets assume for a second even if it is less severe, a much smaller percentage of infected people that experience severe disease is still a huge number when it's put against a large number of infections.'

Data from the UK Health Security Agency shows cases in London are growing fastest in Barking and Dagenham.

Some 323 people per 100,000 tested positive for Covid in the borough in the week up to November 30, which jumped to 478 per 100,000 in the seven days to December 7.

Over the same period, cases shot up by 47 per cent in Hackney and City of London, while they jumped 44 per cent in Greenwich and Lewisham.

Cases are also rising sharply in Southwark, climbing 42 per cent in a week, as well as Lambeth (41 per cent), Tower Hamlets (40 per cent) and Islington (40 per cent).

Sutton is recording the highest infection rate in London, where 706 per 100,000 people were infected on any given day in the week up to December 7, followed by Richmond upon Thames (683), Bromley (633) and Hammersmith and Fulham (615).

NHS leaders told MailOnline a lockdown in London may be needed if the rising cases translate into a hike in hospitalisations and deaths.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of NHS Confederation, told MailOnline that extra Covid restrictions could be imposed in London and other parts of the country if high cases put pressure on the health service.

He said: 'Decisions about reintroducing national or regionalised lockdowns should not be made lightly as they can significantly affect people's health and wellbeing.

'But if the modelling scenarios about the possible impact of Omicron on hospitalisations and deaths look increasingly likely, the Government should be prepared to consider introducing further interventions to prevent that.

'We are also encouraging the public to do what they can to keep transmission down, which includes wearing face coverings, ventilating indoor settings, getting vaccinated and boosted if eligible, following hand hygiene guidance, and getting tested.'

The map shows the Covid infection rate across London by neighbourhoods, or middle-layer super output areas (MSOAs). In the dark purple areas the rate is above 800 cases per 100,000 people, while in the purple areas it is between 400 and 799 cases per 100,000. The dark blue areas have a rate between 200 and 399 cases per 100,000

The map shows the proportion of people who are double-vaccinated against Covid in the capital. It reveals that there has been much lower jab uptake in inner city areas than on the outskirts

And local leaders have warned officials should 'heed the medical experts' advice' on whether local restrictions are needed.

Councillor Stephen Cowan, leader of Hammersmith and Fulham Council, where cases have jumped 26 per cent in a week, told MailOnline: 'Hospitals are already initiating alerts warning they're 'struggling or unable to deliver comprehensive care' and we've not even hit the winter spike yet.

'Just a small increase in Omicron admissions could break the NHS this winter. We all have a responsibility to stop that happening.'

Professor Karl Friston, scientific director at the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging and Independent SAGE member, told MailOnline regional differences in the emergence of Omicron 'would certainly call for local mitigating  or protective  public health measures'.

Figures show London's Omicron outbreak is worse than the rest of the country.

In the East of England, 13 per cent of new cases are caused by the variant, followed by 12 per cent in the South East and North West, according to confidential Government data analysed by Professor Alastair Grant, a Covid modeller at the University of East Anglia.

Professor Friston said: 'The most potent way of slowing viral spread is to reduce contact rates; namely, avoiding places with high transmission risk, such as the commute to work, crowded and poorly ventilated gatherings at work, school or home, et cetera.

'This speaks to local responses that support, inform and licence such responses. In turn, this rests upon informed and clear public health messaging. And, at a national level, governmental endorsement of  and support for  local responses.'

He said the current 'ambivalent national response' to Omicron is fuelled by uncertainty around how severe the strain is and how quickly Omicron will spread.

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London told MailOnline: 'The last thing any of us want is to see a further lockdown or to see the virus running out of control.

'We have already lost too many Londoners  that's why it's so important that the government really redouble their efforts to make sure that we're reaching groups who haven't yet taken up the vaccine, move faster with the rollout of the booster vaccine and that we see children vaccinated as well, when they're eligible.'
Sajid Javid today said he will be 'personally running' the nation's accelerated Covid booster jab programme as he sidelined Vaccines Minister Maggie Throup.

The Health Secretary said he is taking charge of the rollout and will be responsible for ensuring it is a success.

Mr Javid insisted that Ms Throup is 'doing a really important job' but his decision to personally lead the initiative is likely to prompt questions over her role.

Sajid Javid today said he will be 'personally running' the nation's accelerated Covid booster jab programme as he sidelined Vaccines Minister Maggie Throup

Mr Javid insisted that Ms Throup is 'doing a really important job' but his decision to personally lead the initiative is likely to prompt questions over her role

Every adult will be offered a Covid booster jab by the end of the year under a new Government target. People are pictured this morning queueing at a vaccination centre in London

Boris Johnson announced last night that he was bringing forward his target to offer a jab to every adult by the end of January by one month.

The Prime Minister warned there is a 'tidal wave of Omicron coming' and the country 'must urgently reinforce our wall of vaccine protection'.

The new deadline of jabbing everyone over 18 by the end of December will require the rollout to deliver approximately one million jabs every day.

That is a far higher number than has previously been achieved and there are major questions over how the Government will solve logistical challenges to meet the deadline.

Ms Throup's predecessor as vaccines minister, Nadhim Zahawi, attended Cabinet and was in charge of the jab rollout.

Ms Throup took over the role at the reshuffle in September this year after Mr Zahawi was promoted to become Education Secretary but she does not attend Cabinet.

Mr Javid was grilled this morning on who is in charge of the accelerated booster programme.

He was told during an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Mr Zahawi had previously led the rollout and was asked if Ms Throup is in charge now.

The Health Secretary replied: 'Maggie Throup is the Vaccines Minister. She is doing a really important job.

Pressed on if Ms Throup is in charge of the rollout, Mr Javid said: I am personally running this programme.

'It is the step up that we need, the focus we need, the cooperation that we are getting from Cabinet colleagues and other government bodies.

According to NHS data, many older age groups who have been eligible to get a Covid booster since September still have double digit percentage figures of people who are yet to get a third dose. Yesterday, the NHS online booking system for Covid boosters was opened up to the over 40s. 81 per cent of people aged 40-to-49 have yet to have a booster.

Above is Britain's daily vaccinations graph. It shows a lull in rolling out jabs over September and October, which opposition parties today branded as a missed opportunity for the country. Former Conservative ministers and the shadow health secretary have questioned why more was not being done to roll out the jabs in September

Asked if he will personally address any problems with the rollout, he replied: Absolutely and this is what we have been working on now for a few days since we learnt about the vaccines, about the need now more than ever for that booster dose.

And by the way, our booster programme is already the most successful in Europe, over 40 per cent of adults already boosted, that is 23million jabs.

But we now need to do a lot, lot more and we need people to come forward.

Downing Street said this afternoon that Ms Throup will be helping to coordinate the rollout.

Asked to define Ms Throup's role, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman said: 'I think as we have seen before, obviously you would expect the Secretary of State leading this work.

'But there is a huge amount of coordination that needs to be doing and that is the work that the Vaccines Minister will lead, whether it is coordinating in terms of with the vaccines taskforce with supply, with rollout, there is a significant aspect of work to this national mission.'
Experts say shelving elective surgery will be 'difference between life and death'

It comes as devastated cancer sufferers told of their grief at delayed surgeries

He said nobody has died, but cases, hospital admissions and deaths will all rise

Sajid Javid has said that there are 10 people in hospital in England with Omicron

The Government will 'throw everything at' the Covid booster programme to tackle the Omicron variant, the Health Secretary has said, with GPs only focusing on urgent needs and vaccinations for the next few weeks.

Sajid Javid said there are 10 people in hospital in England with Omicron at the moment and nobody has died, but warned cases, hospital admissions and deaths will all rise.

It comes as devastated cancer sufferers told of their grief at the prospect of delayed surgeries.

Patients have been trapped in 'no man's land' as they wait to find out if they will be operated on or shunted aside during the vaccines race against Omicron.

Meanwhile experts warned the government cancelling elective surgery will be the 'difference between life and death' for many people.

They said ministers must not fail to ensure cancer services are 'prioritised and protected this winter' despite the jabs drive.

Pictured above is the current pace of the booster programme (green bars) and how it will have to ramp up to hit the million jabs a day target (red bars). NHS bosses warn scaling up the programme will be 'incredibly difficult'

The NHS waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has reached 5.83million, official data reveals marking the eleventh month in a row that the figure has hit a record high. Some 1.6million more Britons were waiting for elective surgery  such as hip and knee operations  at the end of September compared to the start of the pandemic

One in three women suspected of having breast cancer are forced to wait more than two weeks to see specialists, figures reveal One in three women suspected of having breast cancer are waiting longer than two weeks for critical appointments, figures reveal. NHS targets say most people urgently referred by their GP for suspected breast cancer should see a specialist within 14 days. But as hospitals struggle with Covid backlogs, this is not being met for thousands. It means that cases are going undiagnosed for longer  delaying treatment. Latest figures from NHS England show the number of breast cancer referrals not seen within in two weeks more than doubled in October. The target was missed in 12,905 cases, which was 29.1 per cent. This was a dramatic increase on the month before when 5,280 cases (12.5 per cent) did not get appointments within the timeframe. Macmillan Cancer Support said the number of women being diagnosed with the disease at stage 4 was as much as 48 per cent higher in some months than expected. Labour's health spokesman Wes Streeting said: 'No one should be left waiting and wondering for weeks on end when it comes to cancer. 'We need urgent answers on why under this Government the number of patients left waiting has risen so severely.' A Department of Health spokesman said: 'We are committed to ensuring people get the treatment they need.' Cancer care remained a priority, he added. Advertisement

Asked on BBC Breakfast about the target to offer every UK adult a booster jab by the end of this month, Mr Javid said: 'I hope it is (achievable).

'We're going to throw everything at it.'

He added: 'What we've learnt about this new variant, Omicron, in the past week is, first of all, it's spreading at a phenomenal rate.

'The number of infections is doubling every two or three days, there's going to be a tidal wave of infection.

'The second thing we've learnt in the past week is that two doses of the vaccine are not enough, but three doses - with a booster shot - is.'

More than 40 per cent of UK adults have already had a booster vaccination but the Prime Minister has moved forward his target to offer jabs to all adults in a bid to head off the worst effects of Omicron.

In a TV address on Sunday evening, Boris Johnson said everyone over 18 in England 'will have the chance to get their booster before the new year'.

'We're seeing phenomenal growth, we're seeing a huge number of infections,' Mr Javid told BBC Breakfast, adding that even if Omicron turns out to be milder than Delta, it will still lead to a high number of hospital admissions.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the Health Secretary said NHS appointments for people with symptoms of cancer will be 'completely unaffected' by the diversion of NHS resources to booster jabs, though he expects some procedures to be cancelled.

On whether he could give an 'assurance' that 'anyone who has the symptoms of cancer, and specifically in this case breast cancer, will still be able to be seen within two weeks, Mr Javid said: 'That will be completely unaffected by this new mission.'

He said, however, that planned operations may need to be postponed as the NHS tries to tackle Omicron and turns its attention to boosters.

'So that might mean, for example, it might mean a knee operation or a hip operation or something... sadly someone has probably been waiting for a long time in any case, but the hospital concerned would have the right to postpone it if it meant they would get a lot more booster jabs done,' he said.

'It does mean that, when it comes to primary care, for the next couple of weeks that our GPs will only be focusing on urgent needs and vaccinations.

'And it also means that non-urgent appointments and elective surgeries may have to be postponed into the new year.'

Asked on Time Radio whether people will suffer because they cannot get the treatment they need on the NHS, he said: 'Well, that certainly should not be the case at all because, as well as focusing on this, there will be a focus on any urgent need and any, of course, emergency care.'

He added: 'If we don't do this, if the NHS doesn't do this, then more people will suffer.'

This graph shows how many vaccination centres were open in April during the first drive, compared to the numbers involved in the booster roll-out. It reveals there are fewer mass vaccination centres now than previously

According to NHS data, many older age groups who have been eligible to get a Covid booster since September still have double digit percentage figures of people who are yet to get a third dose. Yesterday, the NHS online booking system for Covid boosters was opened up to the over 40s. 81 per cent of people aged 40-to-49 have yet to have a booster.

The Prime Minister told the country last night that a wave of Omicron 'is coming' as he ramped up the booster drive to meet his target of delivering a million jabs a day. The PM is pictured above at a vaccination centre in Wesminster, London

More than 220 patients a day are having their operations cancelled due to crisis on A&E units, report reveals More than 220 patients a day are having vital NHS operations cancelled because of the worsening crisis in overwhelmed A&E units, a damning report has revealed. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) found that 6,726 elective care operations were cancelled by hospitals last month, on top of 6,335 in October. It said routine care is being 'derailed' by 'unsustainable' pressures on hospitals linked to the collapse in social care, making it impossible to tackle the Covid backlog. This means patients needing surgery including hip and knee replacements - who have often already been waiting in agony for months - are being plunged into further misery. The true number of cancelled operations is likely to be much higher as the report is only based on survey data from 50 NHS trusts in the UK, around one third of the total. The NHS itself paused recording the number of cancelled operations due to the pandemic and has only just resumed counting. The RCEM found one in 13 people attending A&E in the past two months has had to endure a 'trolley wait' of 12 hours or longer. This is twice the levek from this time last year. And just 62 per cent of patients are being seen within the four-hour target, with the report warning that 'pressures are reaching levels unseen for over two decades'. The report said 'immediate assistance' is needed to prop up the collapsing social care system so elderly patients, trapped in hospital beds due to a lack of care home spaces, can be discharged. Advertisement

Mr Javid told broadcasters the Government is not 'planning any additional measures beyond what's already been announced', despite calls from some experts for further restrictions to tackle Omicron.

He said the current measures are 'sensible' but 'alongside that, we also need the defences of the vaccine.'

He added: 'We are, sadly, once again in a race between the virus and the vaccines and we need to stay ahead in that race.'

Mr Javid said it is 'better to act now than to wait for the deaths and hospitalisations to come through,' adding: 'We have seen what Covid is capable of... you start seeing a rise in cases, people get ill, some into hospital and some sadly die. It's much better to act early...'

Elsewhere, Stephen Reicher, professor of psychology at the University of St Andrews, urged people to 'think carefully' about their social contacts in the run-up to Christmas.

The member of government advisory body the Scientific Pandemic Insights Group on Behaviours (Spi-B) told ITV's Good Morning Britain: 'At the moment, we're in a situation where the new variant in effect is coming at us like an express train.

'We've got to do something or else we're in real danger of overwhelming our society and overwhelming the NHS.

'And there's so many things you can do. The first thing, and the most obvious thing, is that if you reduce the number of social contacts you have you limit the spread of the infection.

'Now, nobody wants to give up their Christmas parties, and nobody wants to miss out on meeting up with people.

'It's a little bit like Christmas dinner - if you have too big a Christmas breakfast, then you spoil your appetite for your Christmas dinner, which is what really counts.

'And I think, in the same way, we need to think really seriously about our contacts. How important are they? Do we really need them and is it more important to act carefully now so that the contacts we really want and we really need are still happening?'

Earlier, Mr Javid said he could not guarantee that schools will not close again due to the pandemic, but told LBC: 'I don't want to see that or any of these kinds of measures.'

Meanwhile, Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of the NHS Providers organisation, said it is going to be 'incredibly difficult' for the NHS to deliver one million coronavirus jabs per day.

Asked about the speed of the booster rollout, she told BBC Breakfast: 'Let's not underestimate how tough it is.

'But on Saturday the NHS did deliver over 500,000 booster jabs in one day so that can be done - building up to a million is going to be incredibly difficult.

'It is prioritisation that really matters.

'So, we have to say 'This is what we are doing but staff need to be able to focus on that', so we can't ask them to do other things.'

In Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has pledged to match the aim of offering boosters to all eligible adults before 2022, but added that more Covid-19 restrictions may still be needed to tackle the new strain.

Welsh leader Mark Drakeford also said 'further steps' could be required to keep the country safe.

Meanwhile those waiting for surgery for cancer and other operations said they were concerned at the idea of more delays.

Sandra Cheetham, a former union representative, said: 'My op for ovarian cancer was delayed due to covid, but only by a few weeks.

'That was in April. Because I was poorly due to late op I developed an infection. I still have an open wound awaiting plastic surgery to fix.

'They said before Christmas, hopefully. I'm certain that won't happen now as I haven't had my pre-op stress tests.

'Meanwhile I have to have it packed daily. Couldn't have chemo due to open wound. I appear to be stuck in no-man's land.'

Sandra Cheetham, a former union representative who is battling ovarian cancer, said she has an open wound that will not be fixed before Christmas due to the backlog

Paul Hearn, who lives in France, said he is terrified his father back in the UK will not get urgently needed cancer treatment.

He said: 'My dad needs an operation for bowel cancer in January - I fear it may be delayed or Covid get him.'

Patrick Goff wrote: 'So my much delayed spinal operation vanishes into the distant horizon.'

He added: 'Working in the studio becomes more painful as the paralysis begins to spread.

'Normal' life has ended - can't even get to talk to my doctor about what I can do to ameliorate the deterioration and pain.'

Paul Grove said: 'Mother in law due for skin cancer operation, already delayed six months.'

Michael Guest, from Herefordshire, added: 'I'm awaiting a pancreatic op, is this to be delayed following Johnson's Booster Statement?'

Experts also blasted the government over the move, pointing out there are other illnesses aside from Covid killing people.

Dr Charles Levinson, chief executive of Harley Street's Doctorcall, told MailOnline: 'Basing decisions on models which have been woefully inaccurate is wrong and I fear millions of people will suffer the non-COVID consequences.

'Estimates are that 50,000 people have missed their cancer diagnosis due to lockdowns.

'That's just cancer, what about diabetes, strokes, heart problems? At Doctorcall, we had a man who was so terrified of COVID he refused an ambulance following a severe heart attack. COVID is not the only killer.'

Professor Karol Sikora added: 'A tumour won't grow and spread uncontrollably over days or weeks, but months are often the difference between life/death.

'50,000 missing cancer patients, with 24,000 extra significantly delayed. Those graphs aren't shown at the conferences. With the numbers set to increase.'

Above is Britain's daily vaccinations graph. It shows a lull in rolling out jabs over September and October, which opposition parties today branded as a missed opportunity for the country. Former Conservative ministers and the shadow health secretary have questioned why more was not being done to roll out the jabs in September

Figures show that a total of 23,124,829 - 40.2 per cent of people aged 12 and over in the UK - have now received a booster jab but the rollout will now need to rapidly increase in order to meet the target

The UK Covid alert level was raised from level 3 to level 4 after the UK reported another 1,239 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant

Meanwhile, the UK Covid alert level was raised to Level 4, up from Level 3, following a rapid increase in the number of Omicron cases being recorded.

The recommendation was made to ministers by the country's four chief medical officers and NHS England's national medical director following advice from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

The UK, as of Sunday, recorded a further 1,239 confirmed cases of the Omicron mutation, bringing the total number of cases to 3,137 - a 65% increase from Saturday's total of 1,898.

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said the actual number was likely to be 10 times as high.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: 'The pandemic has put enormous pressures on the NHS and caused waiting lists to grow.

'We are committed to ensuring people get the treatment they need and cancer diagnosis and treatment has remained a priority, with most cancer services back to or above pre-pandemic levels.

'Our record investment in the NHS includes an extra 2 billion this year and 8 billion over the next three years to cut waiting times over the coming years, including through delivering an extra nine million checks, scans and operations, making sure more patients get the treatment they need sooner.

'In order to ensure this funding results in a lasting impact and helps address long-standing health disparities in many areas, the NHS is deploying more efficient, innovative ways of working, including opening new surgical hubs and at least 100 Community Diagnostic Centres by 2024-25 to make getting checked quicker and more convenient.'
Boris Johnson today insisted he 'broke no rules' as Labour lashed out at his 'lies' on Downing Street Partygate allegations.

The PM flatly denied that he had personally breached lockdown during the festive season last year - and confirmed that the Cabinet Secretary will consider the latest claims about a Christmas quiz.

The Opposition is demanding Mr Johnson 'fesses up' after the latest revelation that he posed questions to staff via Zoom on December 15 2020, saying it is 'very hard' to see how the event obeyed the Tier 2 rules in force in London at the time.

Speaking to broadcasters during a visit to a vaccination clinic near Paddington in west London, Mr Johnson said: 'I can tell you that I certainly broke no rules  the whole thing will be looked into by the Cabinet Secretary, and what I'm focused on, frankly, is the vaccine rollout.'

Pressed if that meant Mr Case's investigation will include the quiz, Mr Johnson replied: 'He's looking at all these things. Is that the thing with the Zoom call? Yeah.'

He said the results would come back 'as soon as we reasonably can'.

The comments appear to be a subtle shift from last week, when the PM gave a broader response saying he had been assured that 'no rules have been broken'.

There are suggestions that probe could be completed as soon as this week, with Mr Johnson desperate to draw a line under the issue and focus on the threat from the Omicron variant.

In a welcome boost for the premier, the Met Police have made clear they still do not intend to investigate whether rules were breached in No10 during lockdown.

Boris Johnson (pictured visiting a vaccination centre in Westminster today) is facing demands to face the Commons over 'lies' about Downing Street partygate allegations

Health Secretary Sajid Javid indicated this morning that the quiz will be considered in the investigation being conducted by civil service chief Simon Case

How many parties is the Government alleged to have held last year and when did they happen? PARTIES IN DOWNING STREET Dom's Gone bash - November 13: Dominic Cummings alleges that the PM held a gathering at his grace-and-favour flat on November 13 last year, the day the adviser was ousted from Downing Street. Mr Cummings also suggested there had been 'other flat parties'. Leaving do - November 27: The Prime Minister reportedly gave a speech at a packed Number 10 leaving do for a 'senior aide'. Sources claimed that '40 or 50 people' were present. Quiz night - December 15: A Christmas quiz event was held for Number 10 staff on December 15. Everyone was apparently invited to attend and to form teams. A picture has emerged of Boris Johnson acting as quizmaster over Zoom, flanked by two senior officials. Downing Street has insisted the quiz was 'virtual'. Christmas party - December 18: Staff in Downing Street are believed to have held a Christmas party, with reports that dozens of people attended the event, some wearing festive jumpers and exchanging Secret Santa presents. London had been placed into Tier 3 restrictions on December 16 - the highest level of curbs on freedoms at the time which banned people from different households mixing indoors. Downing Street has said Boris Johnson did not attend the event. ... AND ELSEWHERE IN WHITEHALL December 10: Then-education secretary Gavin Williamson hosted a Department for Education party for 'up to 24 people' on December 10. The gathering, which included food and drink, took place in the department's canteen. The department has admitted the event happened. December 14: About 25 people gathered in the basement of the Conservative party's Matthew Parker St offices in Westminster. The Times reported last night that advisers at Conservative campaign headquarters held an event with Shaun Bailey, the party's unsuccessful candidate for mayor of London this May. Advertisement

Mr Case was already probing claims of a December Christmas party and November staff leaving do at No 10, as well as festive drinks at the Department for Education.

In a round of interviews this morning, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: 'I saw the photo of that quiz, like anyone else. What I can see is it's a virtual quiz with the prime minister sitting at his desk.

'I don't know all the details. What I can see, it's a virtual quiz.

'And Simon Case has been given a broad remit to investigate anything that he thinks... any type of gathering in Downing Street that should be looked at on any particular day he wants to.

'And so if he wants to look at this he will - that's going to be a decision for him.

'It's not right, I think, for a minister to tell him what he should or should not investigate.'

Downing Street has confirmed Mr Johnson 'briefly' attended the 'virtual' quiz at the tail end of last year.

An image published by the Sunday Mirror shows the Prime Minister flanked by colleagues, one of whom is draped in tinsel and another wearing a Santa hat, in the No 10 library.

The newspaper quoted a source claiming many staff were huddled by computers in their Downing Street offices, conferring on questions and drinking alcohol while the quiz was taking place.

Tier 2 restrictions that London was under on December 15 stated that there could be no social mixing of households indoors, apart from support bubbles, and a maximum of six people outside.

Official guidance set out that there should not be work lunches or parties 'where that is a primarily social activity' and was not exempted for 'work purposes'.

Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said: 'Despite repeated denials of parties in Number 10, it has now transpired that there were numerous parties, gatherings and the Prime Minister even took part in a festive quiz.

'It appears that Boris Johnson lied to the country and broke the law.

'It is increasingly clear that the Prime Minister presided over a culture of ignoring the rules that he told everyone else to follow. It's time to fess up.

'Boris Johnson and the Conservatives really believe it's one rule for them, another for everyone else.'

Mr Johnson has also faced allegations that he and Carrie were seen flouting coronavirus lockdown rules during a dinner at a London restaurant in October 2020.

The Sun on Sunday quoted eyewitnesses who said Mr Johnson was seen approaching the tables of other guests while not wearing a face covering, and that the couple did not leave the premises until after the 10pm curfew had passed.

At the time, venues in the capital were subject to strict rules which, as well as the curfew, required diners to wear face coverings when moving around and banned different households mixing.

A No 10 spokeswoman said: 'It is categorically untrue to suggest the PM did not adhere to curfew rules in place at the time.

'Any small delay would have been for operational security reasons.'
Social workers are being 'spat at' in the street amid fury over the tragic death of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, a children's trust boss has revealed.

Six-year-old Arthur was beaten and tortured before his murder at the hands of stepmother Emma Tustin at her home in Solihull.

The case prompted a national outpouring of grief and ministers vowed to take action after Tustin was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 29 years and Arthur's father, Thomas Hughes, was jailed for 21 years for manslaughter.

The Government announced an inquiry into how social services and local authorities liaise, and Boris Johnson spoke of introducing 'Arthur's Law' preventing the release of child killers from prison.

The leader of Solihull Council also ordered an 'independent verification' of the local authority's involvement in Arthur's life.

Now Jenny Turnross, director of practice at Birmingham Children's Trust, has confirmed reports that social workers have been physically and verbally abused as a direct result of the case. During one encounter, a social worker was spat at in the street.

Ms Turnross, who oversees 800 social workers in the trust, said: 'People see these beautiful pictures of Arthur and think ''how can professionals and organisations allow something like to happen to this child''.

Six-year-old Arthur was beaten and tortured before his murder at the hands of stepmother Emma Tustin at her home in Solihull

The case prompted a national outpouring of grief and ministers vowed to take action after Tustin was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 29 years and Arthur's father, Thomas Hughes, was jailed for 21 years for manslaughter

'But what they don't see is the thousands of children we support and keep safe. They don't see that because, unfortunately, the good news doesn't really travel.

'It's really such a shame, the public doesn't understand that social workers do not have the power to remove children.

Jenny Turnross, director of practice at Birmingham Children's Trust, has confirmed reports that social workers have been physically and verbally abused

'Our job is to go and investigate and write up our findings. If we are concerned, we put that information to the court or to the police.

'We are the face of it but we are sat in a multi-agency arrangement.'

On December 7, amid an outcry over Arthur's death, Ms Turnross had retweeted an online post saying: 'It's sad people jump to blame (social workers) for child deaths.

'We are not clairvoyant and we do the best we can in extremely difficult circumstances. Please have some respect journalists, politicians and members of the community your self righteousness is (very) misplaced.'

Ms Turncross added that social workers in Birmingham and across the county were facing a very challenging landscape.

'We will be the target of some of that anger,' she went on. 'And that's something that sadly, in this society, we have to be prepared for.'

She told Birmingham Live: 'There have been reported incidents of social workers being called names and assaulted in the street. I can confirm that.'

On December 7, amid an outcry over Arthur's death, Ms Turnross had retweeted an online post saying: 'It's sad people jump to blame (social workers) for child deaths. 'We are not clairvoyant and we do the best we can in extremely difficult circumstances. Please have some respect journalists, politicians and members of the community your self righteousness is (very) misplaced'

Pictured: Bruises on Arthur Labinjo-Hughes' back in April 2020, two months before his death

Asked if a direct connection could be made between the Arthur case and the incidents, she said: 'Yes it can because those are the conversations that are taking place in our communities at the moment.

'Everybody is very distressed and saddened by what's happened to Arthur so yes we can make that connection.

'[On December 10] our lead member for children's staff has spoken to staff about having zero tolerance to our staff being harmed and threatened. It's a very difficult climate that we work in.'

Ms Turnross urged people to support social workers.

She said people in the media and Government could talk to communities and help them understand how the vast majority of children in the city are safe.

It comes after a passionate plea from the trust's chief executive not to 'demonise' staff following the death of the six-year-old.
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Two Covid jabs should still slash the risk of dying from Omicron by up to 84 per cent but a booster is twice as good at preventing someone from falling ill, according to official estimates.

SAGE modelling published over the weekend worked off the assumption that two Pfizer doses give 83.7 per cent protection against hospitalisation and death from the highly-evolved strain.

A two-dose course of AstraZeneca's vaccine was estimated to reduce the risk of severe disease from Omicron by 77.1 per cent. However, both vaccine brands were assumed to wane within three to six months.

At that point, the Government's scientific advisers believe protection from two AstraZeneca jabs could be as low as 61.3 per cent and 67.6 per cent for Pfizer.

A booster dose of Pfizer's vaccine was estimated to top-up immunity to over 93 per cent, regardless of which jab someone was originally given  providing a similar level of protection as two doses did against Delta.

The estimates were presented in modelling by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) on Saturday and are based on lab studies looking at antibodies. The model warned that the vaccine-resistant Omicron variant may lead to more hospitalisations than England's second wave last January, when up to 4,000 infected patients were being admitted to NHS facilities every day.

Scientists have been racing to work out how effective existing vaccines will perform on the Omicron strain since it was first discovered on November 24. There was huge concern that it would be unrecognisable to jabs because of the 30-plus mutations on its spike protein.

Current jabs were designed to target the original virus that emerged in Wuhan. But because the variant is so new, experts are still relying on lab experiments which may not reflect how the variant will behave in the real world.

Professor Paul Hunter, an expert in infectious diseases at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline he expects two jabs to protect against severe illness even better. He said hospital data in South Africa's Omicron ground zero suggested T cells, which are more difficult to measure, were playing a crucial role in immunity.

However, Dr Simon Clarke, a microbiologist at Reading University, argued the drop in efficacy of two jabs was still 'concerning'. He told MailOnline: 'Nobody ever expected Omicron to wipe out vaccine efficacy it was just a drop that was expected  and that in itself can do enough damage.'

Even at 84 per cent protection from severe illness, that leaves 16 per cent vulnerable to being hospitalised or killed by Omicron. That's up to three times as many as with Delta.

These vaccine effectiveness estimates were presented in modelling by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) on Saturday and are based on lab studies looking at antibodies, rather than real-world data. It shows 'vaccine effectiveness' on symptomatic disease and hospitalisations/deaths from Omicron. The dots represent the number of people out of a group of 100 who are vulnerable to Covid. For example the study found boosters offered 93 per cent protection against hospitalisation and death. In a group of 100 booster vaccinated people, you would expect seven to require hospital care

The UK Covid alert level was raised from level 3 to level 4 after the UK reported another 1,239 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant

The LSHTM paper estimated that two doses of AstraZeneca's jab only gives 36.1 per cent protection from getting symptomatic Omicron after six months, and Pfizer's just 46.7 per cent.

Early real-world data from the UK's first 500 Omicron cases suggests that AstraZeneca's vaccine provides even less protection against mild illness.

By comparison, the LSHTM model assumed that a booster Pfizer jab slashes the risk of symptomatic infection by 80.3 per cent.

The team's vaccine effectiveness estimates were based on neutralising antibody studies which test Omicron against the blood of vaccinated people.

While antibodies are a good indicator of immunity, they are just one part of a more complex immune response to the virus that also involves T and B cells.

Professor Hunter told MailOnline that there were 'grounds for optimism' based on the paper's estimates.

Boris confirms first Omicron death and urges nation to 'set aside idea' variant is milder At least one Briton has died from the Omicron Covid variant, Boris Johnson confirmed today as crucial lateral flow tests ran out and his pledge to dish out a million boosters per day to beat the super-mutant variant descended into chaos. The Prime Minister also said the variant was now leading to hospitalisations, and that the 'best thing' people could do was get a booster. Mr Johnson warned against being complacent about Omicron, despite reports in South Africa that it is milder than Delta. Speaking during a visit to a vaccination clinic in Paddington, west London, Mr Johnson did not reveal the age of the person who died, or if they had underlying health conditions, which made them vulnerable to Covid. Some 10 people infected with the variant are in hospital, health chiefs said today, adding they are aged between 18 and 85 years old and most had got two doses of the vaccine. Advertisement

He said: 'As well as antibodies we've got T cells, and there is some evidence T cell immunity is better conserved between old variants and Omicron than antibodies.

'The big issue is here is all of their results are estimates based on neutralising antibodies and while that is probably accurate for infection and symptomatic disease, it's a bit different when looking at severe disease.

'So there's reason to hope that their [the LSHTM's] estimations for protection against hospitalisation and death might actually be better  even from two doses.

'There's some world evidence from South Africa that this may well be the case.'

While hospital admissions are rising in South Africa, data suggests patients are coming in with milder illnesses and are being discharged quicker.

In Tshwane, Gauteng Province, one of the epicentres of the new outbreak, just a quarter of patients admitted since November for Covid had severe illness, compared to 65 per cent at the same point in the Delta wave. And nationally, South Africa is recording fewer than 40 Covid deaths on average per day.

But Dr Clarke warned against being complacent about the figures, adding that Omicron's ultra-infectiousness could on its own be enough to overwhelm the NHS.

No10's experts have warned there could be an astronomical one million Omicron infections per day by the New Year  about 20 times more than the current rate.

While scientists are split over the likelihood of the UK actually reaching such a level, Dr Clarke said: 'We mustn't overlook the transmissibility element.

'If we're talking 1million cases per day then we would expect a 20-fold increase in the number of those ending up in hospital. Even if you take half of that, that's still 10 times more patients in the NHS.' There are currently 800 people being admitted to UK hospitals for Covid each day.

On reports that Omicron is much milder than past variants, Dr Clarke warned that even if this is the case, the strain may make jabs so weak at preventing infection that it creates a 'mass sickness'.

'We could end up with a society and economy that slows down and almost stops, not because people are in hospital but because people are at home sick and can't work.'

If true, the LSHTM paper's estimate that two vaccine doses could provide as little as 36 per cent protection against symptomatic infection would put it below international vaccine thresholds.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said when Covid jabs were first put into development that they should cut the risk by at least 50 per cent to be considered for approval.

But Professor Hunter insisted that the UK's new turbocharged booster programme should shield it from a wave of hospital admissions on par with previous peaks by raising immunity well above that threshold thanks to the combination of natural and vaccine-induced immunity.

He told MailOnline 'I believe we have more protection than some would imagine. In the case of South Africa, they seem to be doing [fine] even without the booster because they have high levels of natural infection, although we'll need to wait another few weeks before we can be sure about that.'

The LSHTM model also looked at a worst-case scenario, in which waning immunity from two jabs provided as little as 45 per cent protection against hospital admission and death.

But experts said this was too pessimistic and unlikely to be true in the real world. In that scenario, a booster dose could provide just 83.7 per cent protection against severe illness.

Professor Lawrence Young, a microbiologist at Warwick University, said he was 'cautiously optimistic' that boosters will provide even better immunity in the real world and enough to prevent harsher restrictions.

But due to the two-week lag between getting a booster and developing immunity, he said light social curbs were necessary to keep infections low in the meantime.

He told MailOnline: 'One of the many challenges with the super-charged booster campaign is that it takes around 10-14 days for the booster jab to provide high levels of protective immunity.

'This further emphasises the importance of other protective measures to prevent infection and I'm convinced that Plan B is enough.'
A former Kent police officer who subjected an extremely vulnerable teenager to a series of rapes after he met her on social media using the name British Bobby has been jailed for 21 years.

Mark Lindow, who worked for Kent Police for 14 years and had dealt with border control at the Channel Tunnel, sexually exploited and groomed the 16-year-old girl against a background of blackmail and threats after she shared nude photos of herself online, a court heard.

On one occasion the 61-year-old invited a friend - Kurt Baker - to join them at a Travelodge in what the prosecution described as a quid pro quo for Lindow having had sex with a partner of Bakers on an earlier occasion.

Baker, 39, then raped the girl, who has learning difficulties, while being filmed by married father of two Lindow.

Lindow, of Folkestone, Kent, was found guilty of five counts of rape, one of making an indecent photo of a child and one of distributing an indecent photo, all committed between January and August last year.

Ahead of his trial, he admitted two counts of making indecent photos of a child.

Baker, of Gravesend, Kent, was convicted of three counts of rape committed on August 7 last year, and was jailed for 12 years.

Mark Lindow (pictured), of Folkestone, Kent, was found guilty of five counts of rape, one of making an indecent photo of a child and one of distributing an indecent photo, all committed between January and August last year

On one occasion the 61-year-old invited a friend - Kurt Baker (pictured) - to join him and his victim at a Travelodge in what the prosecution described as a quid pro quo for Lindow having had sex with a partner of Bakers on an earlier occasion. Baker, 39, then raped the girl, who has learning difficulties, while being filmed by married father of two Lindow

Horrific details of the victim's ordeal came to light after a member of the public alerted police to a female walking into the River Medway in Chatham, Kent, in August last year.

Having been found in a distressed state, she subsequently revealed that Lindow, who is 6ft 2in and 17st, had repeatedly abused her and even filmed himself raping her during their very first meeting.

Maidstone Crown Court heard Lindow had initially spoken to his victim through the Kik platform on which the former cop, who had left the force in 2015, used the names Bobby and Britishbobby50.

The vulnerable and naive teenager told police he not only forced her to have sex with him on several occasions but was violent if she refused.

He also referred to her as his slave, left love bites on her breasts, and said he wanted her to tell people he owned her.

At Lindow's sentencing hearing on Friday, Judge Julian Smith was told Lindow had also been investigated over allegations he engaged in sexual communication on Kik with someone he believed to be a 12-year-old girl but was in fact a decoy police officer.

However, the court heard when Lindow was identified by his Skype username and told he would be arrested and his phone seized, he attended a police station and handed it over, saying he had accidentally run over it in his car.

Prosecutor Daniel Stevenson said while no further action was taken, the allegations should be considered by the court when assessing whether Lindow posed a significant risk of serious harm to the public.

Baker was arrested as a result of images of his distinctive tattoos, taken from the footage on Lindows phone, being released by Kent Police in a media appeal.

Lindow worked for Kent Police for 14 years and had dealt with border control at the Channel Tunnel before leaving the force in 2015

Baker, of Gravesend, Kent, was convicted of three counts of rape committed on August 7 last year, and was jailed for 12 years

Both men claimed after their arrests they believed her to be 17 or 18 years old, and that she had consented to all sexual activity. However, the prosecutor told the jury of nine men and three women that her unquestionable vulnerability and naivety was clear to see

Judge Smith said the victim, having been subjected to corruption and brutalisation, was then deliberately targeted and controlled by Lindow.

He added that the teenagers extreme vulnerabilities would have been overwhelmingly obvious as he dominated, intimidated and degraded her, including offering her to Baker.

Judge Smith said: 'Neither saw her as a human being but as an opportunity for sexual gratification.'

The judge concluded Lindow posed a danger to the public and ordered him to serve at least two thirds of his 21 year jail term before he can apply for parole.

When released, he will then have an additional five years added to any licence period.

At their trial in September, Mr Stevenson told the court the teenager became the victim of a concerted campaign of child sexual exploitation, humiliation and blackmail after she had shared explicit photos and videos of herself online.

She was threatened that she would be exposed if she did not supply more explicit footage.

The prosecutor said although those responsible had not been identified, one of them had introduced Lindow to the girl in late 2019.

But instead of helping her, he treated her as his sexual object, the court heard.

'He made her engage in sexual activity with him. He made her do things that she did not want to do,' Mr Stevenson said.

'He hit her. He treated her as his sexual object. He referred to her as his slave. She did not want to do the things that Mr Lindow was making her do.

'Unfortunately, she did not have the ability to extract herself from the situation she found herself in.

'On the final occasion, Mr Lindow invited the second defendant, Kurt Baker, along to have sex with her.'

The girl told the authorities that she repeatedly said no to Lindows sexual demands but was forced to do them. She said she had also told him her true age.

Mr Stevenson added: 'She said that Bobby did not tell her what would happen when they met up, just that he said he was going to use her.

'She felt she didnt have a choice...Bobby told her that he owned her, which meant that she had to do whatever he wanted.'

Maidstone Crown Court (pictured) heard Lindow had initially spoken to his victim through the Kik platform on which the former cop, who had left the force in 2015, used the names Bobby and Britishbobby50

Both men claimed after their arrests they believed her to be 17 or 18 years old, and that she had consented to all sexual activity.

However, the prosecutor told the jury of nine men and three women that her unquestionable vulnerability and naivety was clear to see.

Lindow was arrested in January this year.

His phone was analysed and police found evidence of a sexual interest in young females, as well as semi-naked photos of the victim and three explicit videos of the hotel rape stored in a passcode-protected app.

His internet history revealed search terms including schoolgirl f***ed by teacher, tiny t*ts video, and amateur girl had sex in the hotel.

Nerida Harford-Bell, defending Lindow, said he had since shown some degree of remorse and accepted he took advantage.

Baker told police after his arrest that the hotel incident was usual submissive/dominant role-play, with Lindow controlling the situation.

He said the girl did not say no or tell him to stop.

His phone however later revealed he had sent a bragging Facebook message to a friend during the hotel incident, crudely describing how the girl had hated what he had done to her.

Baker did not give evidence in court, but Mr Stevenson said he had shown utter indifference to the girl and was solely interested in his own satisfaction.

The jury was told that, on being charged with rape, he asked the officer What am I supposed to do? Ask her?.

Lee Sergent, defending, told the court Baker had shown a reckless disregard for the victim.

In a letter he wrote to the judge, Baker said he wanted to apologise profusely to the teenager but blamed Lindow, adding: 'I lay my trust in the wrong people for a short time on that one day.'

Superintendent Keith Roberts, of Kent Police, said: 'These two men subjected the victim of this case to the worst possible kind of exploitation and abuse, and I commend her for her bravery in coming forward and reporting this to us. They were fully aware of what they were doing and completely dehumanised her.

'Despite there being clear and obvious evidence which showed they were the perpetrators of this offending, they remorselessly chose to take this case to trial.

'Officers and detectives from our Missing and Child Exploitation Team have done everything in their power to provide the victim of this case with the best possible support, and will continue to do so.

'I am pleased we have now secured justice and that these exceptionally dangerous men are unable to target other victims.'
Downing Street said today there were no plans to put any restrictions on schooling and said schools should not be closing early for the Christmas holidays unless they had been ordered to on public health grounds.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said there were currently no plans to put any restrictions on schooling, adding that suspension of face to face lessons was only ever done if 'it was an absolute public health emergency'.

In response to the increase in cases of the highly transmissible variant, teaching unions have called for the staggered return of pupils in January and for additional onsite testing facilities for schools.

They also said the Government should publish further guidance advising schools and colleges to cancel or postpone non-essential activities or events, as well as move to online staff and parents meetings.

Meanwhile, reports suggest some schools have been closing early amid rising concern of the Omicron variant.

In response, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: Certainly we do not think anyone should be closing schools early unless they have received advice from a local director of public health that it is necessary on public health grounds.

We wouldnt want to see that happening routinely just as a precaution because education is vital and we have seen sadly because of the public health crisis children have to miss face to face education and so it is very important that we maintain schooling as much as possible.

It comes after the health secretary refused to rule out school closures when quizzed this morning as the Government continues its battle to control the spread of Omicron cases.

Sajid Javid said he did not want children to go back to learning from home after Christmas as he urged the nation to sign up for their booster jabs but said 'there are no guarantees' schools would be open.

The health secretary Sajid Javid (pictured) has refused to rule out school closures in January as the Government continues its battle to control the spread of Omicron cases across the country

Asked on LBC whether this remained a possibility, Mr Javid said: 'Well, I don't want to see that or any of these kinds of measures. I'm just going to focus on everything else we need to be doing, especially the booster programme.'

He added: 'I'd say this... if you are asking me for guarantees, I will just say - as the Health Secretary, of course, I'm not the Education Secretary - as the Health Secretary, that there are, when it comes to our fight against this pandemic, there are no guarantees.

'But what we do know that works is, in this case, a booster shot of the vaccine.'

The health secretary's comments echo those made by the education secretary yesterday who also offered no guarantee that schools would still be open in the new year.

Nadhim Zahawi said the Government was still learning about the variant and that it was trying to ensure schools were protected.

Many individual schools have closed early for Christmas in defiance of Whitehall advice and it is understood several local authorities are considering similar moves to curb Omicron cases

Asked by the BBC's Andrew Marr if he could make the promise that schools won't close, he said: 'We are absolutely working to make sure that all schools are open, that they're protected.

'I will do everything in my power. We are still learning about this variant. We know that a booster works.

'Get boosted, protect yourself, protect your community and let's get through this and transition this from pandemic to endemic.'

An Omicron Covid-19 case was reported in a primary school for the first time last week.

All year five students, aged nine or ten, at Manor Community Primary School in Kent, were advised to stay home and get tested.

Those who are unvaccinated and come into close contact with a person who has been infected with Omicron must self-isolate for 10 days.

As of tomorrow, people who are fully vaccinated and identified as a contact of someone with Covid  whether Omicron or not  should take an NHS rapid lateral flow test every day for 7 days to help slow the spread, the Government said this weekend.

Pupils' parents received an email informing them of the situation and a mobile testing unit was dispatched to the school in Keary Road on Friday.

As a precaution, the UK Health Security Agency is carrying out testing on some pupils in key stage two groups.

The news came days after another Omicron case was confirmed at nearby Northfleet Technology College.

Health experts fear the Omicron variant could be more contagious than other strains, although it is understood the vaccine remains effective at preventing severe symptoms and hospitalisation in most cases.

The UK's Omicron outbreak surged by 50 per cent in a day today after more than 1,500 Britons were diagnosed with the mutant virus and the first death was confirmed.

Officials confirmed another 1,576 cases of the highly-evolved variant over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number to 4,713  however this is believed to be a vast underestimate with the true number several times greater because not all positive tests are analysed for variants.

Fearing a rise in Omicron infections, new coronavirus restrictions have come into force around the country as part of the government's Plan B to tackle the virus over the winter period.

Many individual schools have closed early for Christmas in defiance of Whitehall advice, with some citing their own Covid outbreaks and a lack of staff.

It is thought a number of local authorities are considering similar moves in a bid to curb Omicron cases.

Last month, Darwen Aldridge Enterprise Studio, a secondary school which teaches pupils aged 13 to 19, said that it was shuttering its doors temporarily due to teachers being off with Covid.

The education secretary Nadhim Zahawi (pictured arriving at Broadcasting House yesterday) has also refused to rule out school closures in the new year

And Finlay Community Primary School in Gloucestershire said it was partially closing - with pupils in reception moving to online learning - due to 'an increase in Covid-19 cases' and 'low staffing levels'.

Among the schools already closed for Christmas are Abbots Green Academy and Sybil Andrews Academy in Bury St Edmonds, Suffolk.

Pupils have switched to online learning and it is not known if they will return in January in-person yet.

Other schools cancelled nativities and Christmas festivities amidst growing concern over the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

It comes as a public health chief called for an extension of the school holiday to act as a 'firebreak' against Covid.

Professor Dominic Harrison, director of public health for Blackburn with Darwen, said adding a week either side of the two-week break could reduce transmission to 'vulnerable family members' and protect schools in the New Year.

A firebreak, he said, would be the best way to contain Omicron after the Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases had found the strain will have a 'very significant impact' on schools.

His proposal was echoed by a senior leader of the National Education Union whose members are unhappy at being exposed to pupils with Covid.

But yesterday campaigners urged councils to keep schools open.

Molly Kingsley, of parent group UsForThem, said: 'Schools are quite literally essential for children. Closing them is nothing short of a moral crime.

'Just as it would be inconceivable to close power stations, hospitals, essential retail, it must be inconceivable to close schools.'

Meanwhile, the NASUWT has said the Government should stagger the return of pupils to schools and colleges in January amid concerns about the Omicron variant.

The teaching union is calling on Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi to urgently announce additional measures for schools and colleges before the Christmas break to avoid a repeat of the 'chaos' last year.

A staggered return of pupils at the start of January should be considered and additional on-site testing facilities should be provided up until the February half-term, the union says.

It adds that the Government should publish further guidance advising schools and colleges to cancel or postpone non-essential activities or events, as well as move to online staff and parental meetings.

Unions have called on the Government to issue more guidance on whether schools should hold their nativity plays and other Christmas festivities. Pictured: A Knutsford school last year

The NASUWT has said the Government should stagger the return of pupils to schools in January amid concerns about the Omicron variant and set up onsite testing facilities

The plea comes after Health Secretary Sajid Javid said he could not guarantee schools would not close again due to the pandemic.

In a letter to Mr Zahawi about the Omicron variant, Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT, said: 'I must urge you now to consider the immediate introduction of additional education measures to help slow the spread of Covid-19 and to minimise further disruption to education.

'In addition to wider community-level measures, we believe that additional measures will be required within schools and colleges now and as they return after the Christmas break.'

Dr Roach added: 'The NASUWT urges the Government to act immediately and to not delay critical decisions until the commencement of the school and college holiday period.

'We ask you to avoid a repeat of the confusion and chaos which last year impacted negatively on public and parental confidence and hampered the hard work of teachers and school and college leaders in their preparations at the start of 2021.

'An immediate announcement from the Government on additional measures for schools and colleges is, we believe, essential before the majority of schools and colleges close for the Christmas break.'

The teaching union is also calling on the Department for Education (DfE) to publish the levels of teacher and support staff absences - both Covid and non-Covid related - and the steps being taken to ensure schools can continue to maintain quality education provision amid 'serious' staffing shortages.

Dr Roach said: 'We understand that schools are reporting significant proportions of teaching staff absent at any one time, with figures reported to the union ranging between one-third to one-half of teachers at individual schools unavailable to work.'

After the Christmas holidays last year, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told parents on Sunday January 3 to send their primary-age children back to school.

But on the evening of the next day, he announced a national lockdown for England - with all schools closed to the majority of pupils.
Soaring Covid cases across New South Wales are threatening to cripple the economy and ruin Christmas for millions thanks to a 'pingdemic' of health alerts forcing thousands into isolation.

Almost two million Covid alerts have been issued by Service NSW over the past fortnight as health authorities scramble to contain the state's rising case numbers.

Despite record vaccination rates, NSW Health has reimposed strict policies in response to the Omicron variant, with the entire guest list of several popular pubs being plunged into isolation after they were deemed transmission sites.

Between November 29 and December 13 alone, NSW Health sent more than 1.9 million messages advising people to either monitor for symptoms, get tested, or quarantine after coming into contact with a positive case.

The spike in close contacts has led to fears hundreds of residents will spend the festive season in isolation regardless of test results - although there may only be a small risk they even have the virus.

It comes as yet another venue was linked to the growing Covid cluster in Newcastle, with anyone who went to Finnegan's Hotel over an eight hour period on Saturday night forced into isolation.

More than 1.9 million Covid alerts have been issued by NSW Health authorities over the past two weeks as virus case numbers continue to surge (pictured, shoppers in Sydney's QVB)

NSW Health issued an alert for The Argyle House nightclub in Newcastle (pictured) late Sunday night identifying all attendees as close contacts after transmission of Covid at the venue on the night of December 8

According to NSW Health, close contacts are people who have been near a positive case for '15 minutes or more in an indoor environment without a mask'.

But experts have accused the department of over-reacting by forcing hundreds of patrons to quarantine due to Omicron exposures, despite there being no indication the new strain leads to higher hospitalisation rates or deaths.

'It (Omicron) spreads more than Delta, but the consequences aren't more than Delta,' Infectious Diseases expert Professor Peter Collignon told the Daily Telegraph.

'Some people are even putting 14 days of quarantine on people in other jurisdictions. We should treat it the same as Delta. We have to be careful not to overreact.'

Similar concerns arose in the UK earlier this year - where the term 'pingdemic' first emerged - when more than 600,000 alerts were 'pinged' to people with orders to self-isolate in July, wreaking havoc on businesses.

The situation brought the UKs food supply network to a halt, resulting in the government ushering in new testing rules to address worker shortages.

NSW recorded 536 new Covid cases on Monday as hundreds of close contacts continue to be forced into isolation. Healthcare workers are pictured administering tests at a drive through clinic in Sydney on December 2

HIGH RISK VENUES LINKED TO OMICRON Sydney Habour Boat cruise More than 140 revellers were ordered isolate after attending the cruise, which was jointly marketed as 'Flow Fridays - 90s Themed Boat Party' and 'Freaky Sunday Afrovibe' on December 3. Five Covid cases have been linked to the event, with NSW Health confirming a number of the cases were likely Omicron The Argyle House, Newcastle All 680 attendees who attended the nightclub on December 8 have been identified as close contacts So far, 84 guests have tested positive to Covid and tests are underway to determine whether they have the Omicron strain Health authorities say it is 'likely' to be the Omicron variant after the cluster was linked to an outbreak on a Sydney boat party Finnegan's Hotel, Newcastle Anyone who visited the venue from 6.30pm Friday December 10 to 2.30am on Saturday December 11 has been deemed a close contact Oxford Tavern, Petersham There have been 46 cases linked to a trivia night at the pub in Sydney's innerwest on November 30. All attendees were considered close contacts and ordered to isolate for seven days. Albion Hotel, Parramatta An alert has been issued for Albion Hotel, which has been linked to seven cases. Anyone who attended the venue between 11pm on December 3 and 3am December 4, or from 4.30pm to closing time on December 5 is considered a close contact. Cult Nightclub, Potts Point The same alert has been issued for Cult Nightclub after a potential Omicron exposure. Anyone who visited the venue between 9.45pm on December 4 and 3am on December 5 is considered a close contact Advertisement

As local concerns grow about the possibility of being thrusted into home isolation, families and schools are taking preventative measures to avoid the risk of becoming close contacts.

Around half of Sydney's Catholic schools allowed students to learn from home this week as individual principals attempt to prevent pupils from being exposed to Covid ahead of the holidays.

However, hundreds of other families are bracing to be locked inside heading into Christmas after their children were potentially exposed at school.

Christine Rookes daughter will spend the first 20 days of her holidays in isolation after catching Covid at her eastern suburbs private school.

The family are now hoping they will not contract the virus, otherwise their isolation period will reset.

'If none of us test positive we could be out on the 19th. If any of us test positive now, we will miss it,' she told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Tests are underway to determine whether those infected at the venue (pictured) have the super-mutant Omicron variant

'Its frustrating because weve been sold this story  that we are going to live with Covid and life is going to get back to normal, but that isnt really the case.'

The return to strict rules comes as further eased restrictions will see unvaccinated NSW residents permitted to enter venues like pubs and restaurants from Wednesday.

On top of post-lockdown freedoms, end-of-year celebrations have fuelled a surge in infections, with NSW recording 536 new Covid cases on Monday.

A number of venues which have hosted events as the state has reopened have been forced to close over the past week after becoming the centre of mass outbreaks.

Eight-four guests who went to a 'prom night' at The Argyle House nightclub in Newcastle on Wednesday have tested positive to the virus.

All 680 attendees who visited the venue have been forced into home isolation for a week, with testing currently underway to determine whether those infected have the Omicron strain.

The cluster is linked to a boat party five nights earlier on Sydney Harbour where at least five people caught the virus.

NSW Health also issued an alert on Monday night that anyone who visited Finnegans Hotel in Newcastle, from 6.30pm Friday December 10 to 2.30am Saturday December 11 is a close contact and must immediately get tested and isolate for seven days.

All household members of close contacts must also be tested and self-isolate until a negative result is received by everyone in the home.

NSW Health is urgently contacting anyone who attended Finnegans Hotel at these times and checked in via the QR code and is directing them and members of their households to immediately get tested and follow public health advice.

In Sydney's inner-west, the Oxford Taven in Petersham has also been deemed a transmission site after 46 cases were linked to a trivia night on November 30.

Anyone who was at the pub between 4.30pm and 10.30pm that evening was declared a close contact and had to isolate for seven days.

Monday's figure is just slightly lower than the 560 recorded on Saturday, which marked the highest daily tally recorded in NSW since October 9, two days before lockdown lifted.

All patrons who visited the Oxford Tavern in Petersham (pictured) on November 30 were forced into isolation

Some 74,997 tests were recorded in the 24 hours to 8pm on Sunday.

The double-dose vaccination rate of those 16 and older remains at 93.1 per cent, while 94.8 per cent of people have had their first jab.

There are 171 people are in hospital with the virus, 24 of them in intensive care.

Newcastle recorded its first case of Omicron, a female traveller who recently returned from Britain on Sunday.

The latest alert was issued hours after NSW recorded Australia's first hospital admission of Omicron

The state recorded 485 new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, as the tally of Omicron infections rose to 55. There are at least 62 around Australia.

The nightclub cluster stems from a outbreak on a Sydney party cruise on December 3 (pictured)

Health officials confirmed one patient with Omicron is in hospital, becoming the first admission in Australia with the new variant.

They are among 156 Covid patients being treated in hospital in NSW.

NSW Health warned the number of Omicron cases will rise as results of genomic testing are confirmed.

NSW Covid cases slightly dropped following two consecutive days of more than 500 infections.

Two deaths were recorded, a man aged in his 70s while the other man was in his 80s. Both were unvaccinated.
Dominic Perrottet has promised no more lockdowns for New South Wales as his state faces a new Covid-19 crisis with the emergence of the Omicron variant.

A string of restrictions on mask mandates and venue density limits will be eased on Wednesday, despite a renewed spike in cases as daily infections surged above 500 for the third time within four days.

Mr Perrottet copped a grilling from Alan Jones as the inaugural guest on the controversial broadcaster's new nightly online program which was marred by technical glitches and online comments from anti-vaxxers.

Much of the interview was dominated by discussion about the Covid crisis and freedoms, as the Premier was quizzed once again on whether the days of masks mandates and lockdown were over.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet insists the days of lockdown are over, despite rising cases of the new variant (pictured, a deserted Sydney CBD during its recent lockdown)

'That's certainly my intention,' Mr Perrottet replied.

'We made a compact with the people of our state based on the health information we received on vaccinations that once we got to a certain point, we wouldn't need to go back.'

'My focus isn't on case numbers. It's on ICU and hospitalisation numbers. I think coming out every single day and saying here are the case numbers, I believe will instill fear in the community.'

'What we need to do is shift the focus from case numbers to what's most important and that is the ICU and hospital presentations and I think we've successfully done that in our state.'

'I want to be Premier who's instilling hope, optimism and confidence in our people.'

Mr Perrottet had been in the top role for less than a week when Sydney and surrounding regions emerged from almost four months of lockdown in October.

He made a surprising admission on Monday night that governments, including his own, hadn't always made the right decisions during the pandemic.

The NSW Premier (right) was the very first guest on Alan Jones' new show on Monday night

'There are still so many commentators, politicians and members of the public who would still prefer us to be locked down in circumstances where there is no need,' Mr Perrottet said.

'My position in NSW is that we will get there. Freedom is the default position.

'Governments should only be coming in circumstances where there is a high risk to people's lives and make tough decisions and I've been part of those difficult decisions over the course of the time of the pandemic.'

'Sometimes we haven't always got it right but there has been some substantial success in this country in terms of keeping people safe, opening up and having a stronger economy.'

'But it's not the government's role to intervene. It's the government's role to get out of the way and allow society to function.'

Jones' Facebook page was inundated with anti-vaxxers during his interview with Mr Perrottet, accusing him of not asking about mandates for the unvaccinated.

'For God's sake Alan! Stop talking about this garbage and talk about stopping mandates. None of this other stuff matters is we ALL aren't free,' one woman wrote.

Another added: 'C'mon Alan, ask him what everyone is commenting on. Sop the mandates and segregation in society.

The NSW Premier is more concerned about a rise in ICU and hospital admission than a spoke in Covid cases (pictured, passengers being tested at Sydney Airport)

Alan Jones' Facebook page was inundated with commented from those who oppose vaccine passports during his interview with the NSW Premier

A short time earlier, Jones' new online nightly program had crashed within the first few minutes, sparking outrage from online viewers.

The broadcaster's new online show, Alan Jones Direct To The People, made its debut on Facebook and YouTube at 8pm Monday night, promising to discuss 'things you care about'.

But the live broadcast crashed within minutes due to technical glitches and what the broadcaster later claimed was 'excessive demand', despite just 1,200 viewers tuning in on YouTube when the stream crashed.

The outage sparked an online uproar with fans convinced the internet giants are trying to 'censor' him.

Alan Jones (pictured on Friday) launched his new online show on Monday night after leaving Sky News

'Lost connection. Can't access website. Hmm someone doing a cyber number on Alan,' one viewer fumed.

Another added: 'You said you would speak the truth so Facebook has stopped you.'

A third wrote: 'Cant get you on any of the three sites youve mentioned.'

Jones website was down before the program even began as viewers tried to watch on Facebook and YouTube, causing the livestream to crash.

He was soon inundated with support from fans, despite the technical hiccups.

'Well done Alan, those who have been working hard to silence you are working hard but good will always overcome evil,' one woman wrote.

Jones later announced on his Facebook page the livestream will be rescheduled to air two hours later at 10pm due to 'excessive demand'.

He then announced a short time later his tech team had fixed this issue 'much faster than expected' to allow viewers to continue watching, with the full video uploaded to his Facebook page.

Alan Jones' new online program suffered technical glitches due to what he claims was 'excessive demand'

The livestream of Jones program cut within the first few minutes, much to the anger of viewers. Pictured a message received by those affected by the outage

Before the livestream cut out, Jones vowed to speak the truth, 'regardless of how uncomfortable it may be' and that he won't be silenced by politicians.

'We are in critical times believe me. We've become a nation of one idea,' Jones said.

'There's no debate, you're not allowed to have an alternative viewpoint from the one fed by establishment forces.

'Politicians who never read a book in their lives are dictating to us and are trying to silence anyone who disagrees with them.'

'Well, they won't silence you or me. The youse and me of this world actually vote.'
Ryanair has posted a 'Downing Street party' version of the UK's Covid alert levels as airlines vent their fury at the Government's 'haphazard and disproportionate' new travel restrictions.

The airline mocked the Government in a graphic on Twitter comparing the 'risk of healthcare services being overwhelmed' to 'Boris topless, asking Thatcher's portrait if she comes here often'.

The tweet, which has been widely shared, also compared the first alert level of 'Covid-19 no longer present in UK' to a 'small gathering of wine and cheese' - poking fun at allegations Downing Street staff held a Christmas party last year.

Ryanair is among seven of the UK's largest airlines and travel companies that have blasted the introduction of tougher travel rules.

Tighter restrictions came into force amid concerns of a 'tidal wave of Omicron' spreading across Britain, with a further 1,239 confirmed cases of the variant recorded on Sunday.

The new rules mean everyone entering the UK must have evidence of a negative test prior to their departure and must self-isolate until they have a negative result from a test after arriving back in the country.

Previously, the fully vaccinated were only required to take a cheaper lateral flow test - and did not need to self-isolate unless they received a positive result.

In the letter to Boris Johnson, the chief executives of seven companies, including easyJet and British Airways, accused the Prime Minister of breaking promises to fix the expensive cost of PCR tests for travellers.

The emergence of Omicron has forced thousands of travellers arriving in the UK from African countries currently on the red list into hotel quarantine at a cost of 2,285 per person for 11 nights.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is understood to have convinced colleagues to scrap the red list in favour of replacing it with testing for the fully vaccinated.

Ryanair tweeted a graphic mocking the Government's coronavirus alert levels after criticising the introduction of tougher travelling restrictions

Sean Doyle, chief executive of British Airways, is one of several industry bosses to have signed a letter to Boris Johnson

Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits the Health at the Stowe vaccination centre in central London on Monday

However, airline bosses have demanded 'all emergency testing for fully vaccinated passengers should be removed at the formal review on 20 December'.

The letter to Mr Johnson said: 'As leaders of UK airlines, we are deeply concerned about the haphazard and disproportionate approach by government to travel restrictions following the emergence of the omicron variant.

'We and our customers feel sincerely let down, having believed a more pragmatic, evidence-led approach to travel, in line with the rest of the world, had been achieved and agreed by all concerned just a few months ago.

'Instead, the layering of additional travel restrictions, introduced at short notice without consultation or discernible strategy, have disrupted Christmas plans and (undermined) customer sentiment just before the crucial Christmas and New Year booking season - up to 30% of tickets are sold.'

The letter also demanded a 'package of bespoke economic support measures should be provided immediately to bridge the sector through this crisis'.

It was penned by the bosses of Tui UK, easyJet, Loganair, Virgin Atlantic, Jet2 and trade group Airlines UK.

They have also called on the Prime Minister to urgently meet with industry leaders.

The letter added: 'We urgently request you meet with us, to understand the problems that we and our customers are now facing because of these measures, which the Transport Secretary himself admitted risked "killing off" the travel industry.

'We urge you to act now to prevent this from happening.'

The letter comes as the red list is set to be scrapped in favour of testing for the fully vaccinated.

The move is expected to be approved this week, the Mail on Sunday reported.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is said to have convinced colleagues to scrap the red list in favour of testing for the fully vaccinated

Masked passengers in the arrivals hall at Heathrow Airport amid tougher restrictions for travellers arriving in the UK

A sign for a testing centre at Heathrow Airport. Everyone entering the UK must have evidence of a negative test prior to their departure and must self-isolate until they have a negative result from a test after arriving back in the country

Data suggests that with Omicron spreading rapidly worldwide, there will be limited differences in countries' infection rates.

The return of the red list was met with fury from officials in affected African countries, while travellers complained of six-hour journeys to their hotel and 'grim' food.

At Wednesday's Covid briefing, Boris Johnson promised to re-examine the policy amid claims it was unfair and ineffective.

And Mr Shapps is also believed to have convinced colleagues to scrap the red list.

The Prime Minister addressed the public from Downing Street on Sunday evening amid the growing threat of tougher restrictions in January, with the potential for a new lockdown if Omicron cases surge out of control after the UK's Covid alert level was raised from Level 3 to Level 4.

In his speech, Mr Johnson urged people to 'get boosted now' and said the UK is 'now facing an emergency in our battle with the new variant' and 'we must urgently reinforce our wall of vaccine protection to keep our friends and loved ones safe'.

The PM said data was now clear that two doses of the vaccine are 'simply not enough to give the level of protection we all need' but the 'good news is that our scientists are confident that with a third dose  a booster dose  we can all bring our level of protection back up'.

He said this will require 'an extraordinary effort' as he revealed some medical appointments will have to be postponed until 2022 so that clinicians can commit to administering jabs.
Pubs have lost 'all their Christmas bookings virtually overnight', hospitality bosses said today - as the boss of Wetherspoons lashed out at ministers for pursuing 'lockdown by stealth'.

Bosses said government warnings about the threat of Omicron and new working from home guidance had persuaded many punters that it wasn't worth going ahead with their festive gatherings.

One London hotel told MailOnline it was expecting 100,000 worth of losses from cancelled events, rooms and covers - and said many staff were fearing for their jobs given the extent the industry relies on a lucrative Christmas period.

In a trading update, Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin warned government restrictions could push it into a loss in the first six months of the year.

'For reasons best known to themselves, perhaps in order to encourage more vaccinations, the UK government and its advisers are creating an entirely different and more frightening impression of the variant, which appears to be at odds with the South African experience,' he said.

The nation was heading towards 'a lockdown by stealth', he added.

In a trading update, Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin warned government restrictions could push it into a loss in the first six months of the year

Mark Fuller, CEO of Karma Sanctum Soho, a boutique 30-bedroom hotel which includes a bar and restaurant, said he had seen up to 50,000 worth of Christmas events cancelled. He is pictured with Katie Price at an event

Gary Murphy, director of the Campaign for Pubs, told MailOnline: 'It's a massive problem all over the country'. High street expert Dr Jackie Mulligan (right) urged ministers to put in place fresh support for hospitality

Chris Hanson, who runs Blend Kitchen in Sheffield, said he had lost of 30% of his bookings so far

Des Gunewardena, CEO of D&D London restaurant group, said cancellations started coming in almost immediately after Boris Johnson announced 'Plan B'

Pubs have been badly hit, particularly those in town centres or who rely on commuters.

Gary Murphy, director of the Campaign for Pubs, told MailOnline: 'It's a massive problem all over the country.

'Quite clearly the government's message is to cut down on socialising, so inevitably a lot of firms are cancelling parties and individuals are deciding they are uncomfortable with going out.

'I've seen pubs that have lost all of their bookings virtually overnight, particularly those in town centres. Every time Boris Johnson goes on the TV and announces new restrictions people get more worried.'

Mark Fuller, CEO of Karma Sanctum Soho, a boutique 30-bedroom hotel which includes a bar and restaurant, said he had seen up to 50,000 worth of Christmas events cancelled.

He told MailOnline: 'All our events have been cancelled. We are also seeing very, very large last minute cancellations for dinners and hotel rooms.

'Overall we're looking at least 100,000 worth of losses compared to 2019, which is a real dagger in the heart when there was no 2020.

'Talking to my other friends in the industry events are getting cancelled left right and centre.

Wetherspoon warns of hit from new restrictions Pub chain Wetherspoon said today that recent Government restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 could push it to a loss for the first six months of the financial year. The business said its first half results might show a loss, or be 'marginally profitable' after the Government launched Plan B, including advice to work from home. The news comes a month after Wetherspoon said some of its clientele, especially older customers, were cautious about going back into pubs. Shares in the business dropped by around 4%. Advertisement

'What was going to be a great Christmas has now turned into a complete and utter damp squib.

'People are worried for their jobs, because the hospitality industry is hugely reliant on Christmas and if you don't have a good one there are big questions about what is going to happen in January.

'I understand why people don't want to risk it so I'm certainly not angry at them. But we're not seeing any support from the government.'

Chris Hanson, who runs Blend Kitchen in Sheffield, said he had lost of 30% of his bookings so far.

'The loss to city footfall is dramatic for our business and we are already seeing cancellations,' he said.

'The government needs to step in to help city businesses right now who are losing trade at this key time.

'We are an employer and use local suppliers so the impact on lives and livelihoods is significant - especially as we are a social enterprise too.'

Chris Christopher owns The Pump, a small family-run business in Bolsover specialising in Christmas afternoon teas and dinners.

He said: 'We were in a perilous position anyway after a tough year for trading being shut for months and months. We are still running at a lower capacity to keep social distancing and support our customers.

'So it still wasn't back to normal anyway and we have lost about a third of bookings so far. Every day, people are getting more concerned. We take deposits for bookings, normally these are non-refundable, but we are refunding as we feel bad for our customers and so we are losing out completely.

'Our customers are understandably cautious of the situation with no reassurance and mixed messages. What would really help is the government issuing guidance and more clarity to customers and businesses.'

Ian Parker, landlord of The Cock near Macclesfield, said he had been 'flooded with cancellations' and begged Britons to support their local. 'Please stay safe, order free tests and use them, but also resume your lives - the survival of your local pub depends on you'

Three Little Words bar said they had also been hit by cancellations but praised one group who agreed to pay up anyway

Emma Sweet, marketing manager at the Brakspear group of pubs, said its 130 premises had received hundreds of cancellations after the announcement. Pictured is a Brakspear pub in Brixton, south London

Ian Parker, landlord of The Cock near Macclesfield, said he had been 'flooded with cancellations' and begged Britons to support their local.

'Please stay safe, order free tests and use them, but also resume your lives - the survival of your local pub depends on you.'

One venue in Manchester said they had also been hit by cancellations but praised one group who agreed to pay up anyway.

Fiona King, who works for the Three Little Words bar and restaurant in Manchester city centre, said: 'Cancellations are absolutely s***e, but MASSIVE love to the party that cancelled, then still paid for their pre-ordered food, which they collected and donated to a homeless kitchen.'

Traffic levels drop by up to 50% in England's biggest cities as commuters follow PM's advice and abandon the office until 2022 In London, congestion levels dropped from 72% on November 29 and 69% on December 6 to 60% today. In Birmingham, congestion levels dropped from 87% on November 29 to 64% on December 6 and 55% today. In Manchester, congestion levels dropped from 89% on November 29 and 82% on December 6 to 53% today. In Brighton, congestion levels dropped from 59% on November 29 and 55% on December 6 to 44% on Monday. In Hull, congestion levels dropped from 71% on November 29 to 64% on December 6 and 57% on Monday. In Leeds, congestion levels dropped from 74% on November 29 to 56% on December 6 and 43% on Monday. In Leicester, congestion levels dropped from 98% on November 29 to 60% on December 6 and 51% on Monday. In Bristol, congestion levels rose from 60% on November 29 to 64% on December 6, but fell to 41% on Monday. Advertisement

Footfall in London's West End remains 30% down on pre-pandemic levels.

UKHospitality CEO Kate Nicholls said: 'The Government's official advice since the arrival of Omicron and the introduction of Plan B, has been very clear: go ahead with Christmas and New Year parties as long as you are not showing any symptoms of Covid.

'Hospitality operators have invested heavily to ensure the safety of staff and customers, focusing on better ventilation, hygiene and sanitation, all measures which SAGE recommends are the most effective ways to control infection.

'As a result, pubs, bars, restaurants, hotels and nightclubs are safer places in which to socialise with family and friends than at home this Christmas.'

Government High Streets Task Force expert and ShopLocalOnline.org founder, Dr Jackie Mulligan, urged ministers to put in place fresh support for hospitality.

'The silence from Downing Street around a lack of support for hospitality and other businesses impacted by the Omicron variant is deafening,' she said.

'For many small businesses, it feels like the Government has stopped fighting their corner and has instead opted to hide in one.

'Footfall on the high street has dropped off significantly following the working from home guidance, while Christmas parties are being cancelled left, right and centre.

'Small hospitality and retail businesses are a resilient bunch but we simply can't leave them hanging like this. The mixed messages and uncertainty at such a crucial time of the year are proving a nightmare.'

Des Gunewardena, CEO of D&D London restaurant group, told the Times cancellations started coming in straight after Boris Johnson declared the start of 'Plan B'.

Emma Sweet, marketing manager at the Brakspear group of pubs, said its 130 premises had received hundreds of cancellations after the announcement.

She said there had been 140 cancellations in the nine houses it manages directly.

In Scotland, some operators are said to have lost 100 per cent of their festive business in the wake of warnings from Public Health Scotland and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon last week.

The sector is said to be 'on its knees' with one restaurant in Edinburgh receiving 500 cancellations just 24 hours after the announcement.

A hotel in Dunfermline, Fife, had 400 cancellations in 12 hours while another in Aberdeen projected a fall-off of 100,000, according to industry leaders.

Organisations representing the industry said they have effectively been closed down at a time of year crucial to sustaining businesses and more than 100,000 jobs.

According to NHS data, many older age groups who have been eligible to get a Covid booster since September still have double digit percentage figures of people who are yet to get a third dose. Yesterday, the NHS online booking system for Covid boosters was opened up to the over 40s. 81 per cent of people aged 40-to-49 have yet to have a booster.

Pictured above is the current pace of the booster programme (green bars) and how it will have to ramp up to hit the million jabs a day target (red bars). NHS bosses warn scaling up the programme will be 'incredibly difficult'

Public Health Scotland urged people to put the plug on their festive celebrations last week, as the number of Omicron outbreaks rises.

Marc Crothall, chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, said the advice had sent 'a shockwave of anxiety and turbulence' through Scotland's tourism community.

He said: 'Within hours, we had received numerous messages, emails and calls from hotels, accommodation providers, restaurants and events venues with notification of mass cancellation of bookings representing a colossal loss of revenue, not just solely attributed to Christmas party night cancellations.

'One hotelier today who told me that business to the value of 250,000 for the remainder of this month has been wiped out.

'A restaurant in Edinburgh said that within 24 hours of the Public Health Scotland announcement they had received 500 cancellations.

'A hotel in Dunfermline asked what they can do about the 400 cancellations they'd received within 12 hours.

'A hotel in Aberdeen received 22 supplier deliveries the day before the announcement to cater for booking.

'They received 1000 cancellations and project a fall-off of 100,000, but still have the supplier bills to pay. This isn't unusual, it's widespread.'

This graph shows how many vaccination centres were open in April during the first drive, compared to the numbers involved in the booster roll-out. It reveals there are fewer mass vaccination centres now than previously

The NHS waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has reached 5.83million, official data reveals marking the eleventh month in a row that the figure has hit a record high. Some 1.6million more Britons were waiting for elective surgery  such as hip and keen operations  at the end of September compared to the start of the pandemic

The UK last night reported another 1,239 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant - an increase of 65 per cent over the past 24 hours.

However, Health Secretary Sajid Javid admitted that just 10 people had been admitted to hospital. Today, Boris Johnson announced the first death.

The PM is still insisting Britons can attend Christmas parties, but many are increasingly wary of the risk of large gatherings and are anticipating tougher rules down the line.

Under Plan B, people in England are being advised to work from home, while Covid passports have been brought in for large events.

There is was incredulity today about the PM's insistence that people shouldn't go to the office, but should still go to Christmas parties and dinners.

Stephen Reicher, professor of psychology at the University of St Andrews and a member of the Government's Scientific Pandemic Insights Group on Behaviours (Spi-B) told ITV's Good Morning Britain: 'At the moment, we're in a situation where the new variant in effect is coming at us like an express train.

'We've got to do something or else we're in real danger of overwhelming our society and overwhelming the NHS.

'And there's so many things you can do. The first thing, and the most obvious thing, is that if you reduce the number of social contacts you have you limit the spread of the infection.

'Now, nobody wants to give up their Christmas parties, and nobody wants to miss out on meeting up with people.

'It's a little bit like Christmas dinner - if you have too big a Christmas breakfast, then you spoil your appetite for your Christmas dinner, which is what really counts.

'And I think, in the same way, we need to think really seriously about our contacts. How important are they? Do we really need them and is it more important to act carefully now so that the contacts we really want and we really need are still happening?'

Pictures from London this morning suggested working from home guidance was already having an effect, with Waterloo, Euston and Paddington, usually rammed with commuters between 7am and 9am, largely empty.

Tube platforms and carriages were also largely unoccupied as offices emptied.

Traffic was also running freely on routes usually choked with traffic on the quietest Monday morning rush hour in London since September 6, MailOnline can reveal, with one central London resident tweeting: 'I'm slap bang in the middle of London and roads are unbelievably quiet now'.

Another commuter tweeted: 'Work from home order well and truly back. Tube is absolutely empty this morning'.

Roads and railways across the UK including in Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham and Newcastle were also quiet this morning.

The working from home recommendation is the latest step of Mr Johnson's Plan B to slow the spread of Omicron in the UK - but critics including his own MPs believe it is simply a stepping stone towards another lockdown.

A near empty Waterloo station at 7am today as commuters stayed at home after Boris Johnson's work from home guidance frustrated City bosses
A Barbados official has hinted at plans for a universal basic income, just two weeks after the country broke its ties with the British monarchy.

The universal basic income (UBI) may come in the form of a 'citizen's dividend,' Avinash Persaud, Special Envoy to the Prime Minister of Barbados on Investment and Financial Services said in a post last week on Facebook.

He said the country's already existing reverse tax credit was Barbados' 'first foray' into a UBI programme. If a person's income is not above a basic level, the reverse tax credit tops up their annual salary with a payment.

He wrote the 'citizen's dividend may be combined with the annual reverse tax credit to form some kind of universal basic income' for Barbados' almost 300,000 citizens.

He did not elaborate on how much the dividend could be. As of 2020, Barbados reported a GDB of around 4.37 billion USD (3.3billion).

Barbados official (Avinash Persaud, Special Envoy to the Prime Minister of Barbados on Investment and Financial Services, pictured in London in 2017, file photo) has hinted at plans for a universal basic income, just two weeks after breaking its ties with the British monarchy

A UBI is defined as a government-run programme under which every adult citizen receives a set amount of money at set intervals, usually monthly.

A citizens dividend, meanwhile, is a form of UBI depends on the value of natural resources of a country, and on the principle that the natural world is common property for all people. It proposes citizens receive payments from revenue raised by the state by leasing or taxing land and other natural resources.

Left-wing supporters of UBI programmes say that it lowers poverty rates. For the right-leaners, it's a route to a less bureaucratic welfare system - replacing need-based social programmes that require more government involvement.

However, there have been few large-scale tests of UBI systems, with studies of trials that have been carried out - such as one in Finland - finding UBI to be unsustainable.

He noted that one of the key issues facing the provision of a UBI was the mechanism of financing such a programme.

Persaud spoke about the government's Sovereign Wealth Fund, which he said would own all the government's assets, and that the administration would 'make them work for all Barbadians,' according to Barbados Today.

He said assets not required for government work would not be sold, and instead used to generate income for the country - or swapped for assets that can.

'The idea is that some of the income produced every year would be given back to all citizens over the age of 18, perhaps in the form of a citizen's dividend,' he wrote.

'Over time the citizen's dividend and reverse tax credit could form the basis of a universal basic income and create a greater sense of belonging to all of our people. We welcome other practical, effective ideas on how to achieve this goal quicker.'

He also hailed Barbados' decision to offer free higher education, a policy that was introduced in 2018, as another example of the country's 'universality'.

(L-R) Prince Charles Prince of Wales is joined by President of Barbados Sandra Mason, and Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley as they prepare to depart following the Presidential Inauguration Ceremony at Heroes Square on November 30, 2021 in Bridgetown, Barbados

'We are moving towards universal basic income across three fronts,' Persaud wrote.

'Despite all the pressure from international agencies to 'target' we hold the line on universality. That's why we restored free tertiary education for all.

'International studies have shown this is critical to social mobility and opportunity. The less well-off cannot take on the payments, risk and worry of getting heavily in debt to secure their future.'

Persaud also pointed to the country's new 'Business Interruption Benefit' that the self employed, as an initiative that already gives the group some universal basic income, and chastised a previous government for removing the tax credit that was later reintroduced by his administration.

'Barbados' highly innovative reverse tax credit, introduced by the Owen Arthur Administration  the envy of many developed countries  was the first [foray] into a universal basic income. That was long the objective.

'Under the reverse tax credit, if your income is not above some basic level, the Government will top it up with a payment or reverse tax credit.

'This is one of the practical ways a developing country could quickly get to the universal basic income. Therefore, it was regrettable that in 2016- 2017, the last Government stopped paying it  they said they had no money. But everything is a tradeoff,' Persaud wrote.

'Like free tertiary education, they should have prioritised this kind of instrument. Since 2018 it has been paid and extended.'

Persaud's comments come just two weeks after the Queen's role as head of state of the island came to an end, with the nation instead becoming a republic with a president.

Putting an end to the Queens 55-year-long role as its head of state, Barbados became a republic. But more significantly, as well as losing a monarch, the West Indian island gained an emperor

The move by the nation's politicians to turn it into a republic came more than 50 years after it became fully independent in 1966.

But as it severed its ties with the Commonwealth, Barbados has become closer with Beijing, which through its belt-and-road programme has pumped more than $6 billion into the Caribbean since 2013 - concerning many in the West.

Barbados alone has reportedly received $400 million from China, which will likely go towards improving infrastructure.

However, according to Bloomberg, other countries such as Uganda and Sri Lanka that have fallen into debt with Beijing have had to surrender land and assets.

Barbados has insisted this will not happen in their case, but it is otherwise unclear exactly how the country will fully fund programmes such as its proposed UBI.
Health officials today refused to reveal whether any of the 10 Britons hospitalised with Omicron had already been given a booster vaccine.

The UK Health Security Agency revealed all of the patients were aged between 18-85.

But the organisation, which replaced the now-defunct PHE, only said the 'majority had received two doses' of a vaccine.

The lack of transparency also means it's unknown whether any of the hospitalised Britons were diagnosed while being treated for another condition, such as a broken leg.

The UKHSA said one patient  who was diagnosed in hospital, not before they were admitted  had died. No further information was given about the fatality.

Boris Johnson earlier today announced the Omicron death, the first confirmed in the world, as he repeated his pleas for the nation to get a booster jab.

Early statistical analysis shows a top-up jab can thwart the variant, even if two doses offer little protection against falling ill.

Speaking at a vaccination centre in London, the Prime Minister warned against being complacent about the danger of the new strain following reports from doctors in South Africa's 'ground zero' that it is milder than past variants.

Mr Johnson said: 'Sadly yes Omicron is producing hospitalisations and sadly at least one patient has been confirmed to have died with Omicron.

'So I think the idea that this is somehow a milder version of the virus, I think that's something we need to set on one side and just recognise the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population. So the best thing we can do is all get our boosters.'

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said the news underlined 'the seriousness of the situation'.

The UK Covid alert level was raised from level 3 to level 4 after the UK reported another 1,239 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant

The UKHSA gave a breakdown of the hospitalisations in a Twitter thread.

When asked about whether any had been given a booster jab, a spokesperson said no further information would be given until later in the week.

It came as Boris Johnson's pledge to dish out a million booster jabs a day to beat Omicron descended into chaos on its first day, with vaccine centres warning stocks are running low and Britons left standing in 'two hour' queues.

Hundreds of thousands of people were rushing to get their third dose less than two weeks before Christmas, hours after the Prime Minister revealed the booster scheme would be opened to all UK adults.

But Britons faced hours-long lines stretching at least 300 yards at jabbing centres, which started forming almost an hour before they even opened.

And the NHS booking system crashed as thousands tried to secure a top-up dose, with health service bosses now urging people to 'try again tomorrow'.

Boris confirms first Omicron death and urges nation to 'set aside idea' variant is milder At least one Briton has died from the Omicron Covid variant, Boris Johnson confirmed today as crucial lateral flow tests ran out and his pledge to dish out a million boosters per day to beat the super-mutant variant descended into chaos. The Prime Minister also said the variant was now leading to hospitalisations, and that the 'best thing' people could do was get a booster. Mr Johnson warned against being complacent about Omicron, despite reports in South Africa that it is milder than Delta. Speaking during a visit to a vaccination clinic in Paddington, west London, Mr Johnson did not reveal the age of the person who died, or if they had underlying health conditions, which made them vulnerable to Covid. Some 10 people infected with the variant are in hospital, health chiefs said. Britain's youngest patient is 18 years old, while the oldest is 85. The majority are double-vaccinated, but officials would not reveal whether any had also had a booster jab. Advertisement

In another sign of chaos, a 37-year-old in Bicester, Oxfordshire, who lives two miles from a vaccination centre was told their nearest appointment was 26 miles away.

The Government also ran out of lateral flow tests, with the website reading: 'Sorry, there are no more home test kits available right now'.

From tomorrow, vaccinated people who are close contacts of a Covid case will be asked to swab themselves once a day. Experts have urged people to test themselves repeatedly in the run up to Christmas.

NHS bosses warn that scaling up the booster programme now will be 'incredibly difficult' and inevitably have 'consequences', with patients once again facing the threat of cancelled operations.

In a massively ambitious move last night, the Prime Minister brought forward the deadline to offer all over-18s a third jab by New Year's Day as he warned the country: 'There is a tidal wave of Omicron coming.'

The Army and thousands of extra volunteers will be drafted in to achieve the target, and clinic hours extended to help dish out up to 20million jabs over the next two-and-a-half weeks.

The drive will also see 42 military planning teams across every region, additional vaccine sites and mobile units, an extension of opening hours for clinics so they run seven days a week and thousands of extra volunteer vaccinators trained.

But concerns about whether the Government could even hit the goal were raised almost immediately after Mr Johnson's 8pm announcement last night. Even at the height of the NHS's vaccine drive in March, the health service never managed more than 850,000 jabs a day.

GPs fumed they found out about the goal at the same time as the rest of the nation, and NHS bosses warned it would take 'time' to get the scaled up programme 'fully up and running'.

Former Cabinet minister David Davis and Labour MPs slammed the Government for failing to ramp up the booster drive in September, and warned the 'vaccine wall of defence was crumbling'.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said that patients waiting for elective surgery such as hip replacements could see their treatment posponed as the NHS races to roll out a million jabs a day. He promised, however, that critical care for cancer patients would be unaffected.

The PM's intervention last night comes amid the ever-growing threat of tougher restrictions in January, with the potential for a new lockdown if Omicron cases surge out of control after the UK's Covid alert level was raised from Level 3 to Level 4.

Both Scotland and Wales have dangled the possibility of having to go even further in bid to ward off the highly-transmissible variant.
Swiss prosecutors have today dropped an investigation into Spain's King Juan Carlos over allegations he took bribes from Saudi Arabia over a train line.

The Geneva Attorney General's office said it was not able to establish a 'sufficient' link between money sent to a Swiss bank account by Saudi King Abdullah in 2008, and Spanish firms being handed a lucrative rail-building contract in 2011.

Juan Carlos was known to have access to the Swiss bank account, and in 2018 allegations surfaced that he had received some of the money as a kickback.

But prosecutors said that, while the money had 'not been sufficiently documented', they had not been able to prove the central allegation that it amounted to a bribe.

It brings to an end just one of several corruption trials that Juan Carlos is facing after he abdicated his throne in disgrace in 2014, in favour of son King Felipe.

Swiss prosecutors have dropped a probe into whether Juan Carlos, former King of Spain, was paid $100million by Saudi Arabia as a bribe over a train contract

Geneva prosecutors opened their probe on August 6, 2018 into suspicions of "aggravated money laundering" against the 83-year-old former monarch following media reports about possible illegal commissions he had pocketed in connection with the high-speed train deal.

A Spanish consortium was awarded the lucrative contract in 2011 to build the high-speed rail link between Medina and Mecca.

The suspicions centred on $100 million that Saudi Arabia's late King Abdullah deposited in 2008 into a Swiss bank account to which Juan Carlos had access.

Saudi King Abdullah (pictured) paid the money to a Swiss bank account which Juan Carlos had access to

The Geneva prosecutors said their investigation had established that the money had indeed been deposited into an account with Geneva bank Mirabaud & Cie belonging to the Lucum foundation, for which Juan Carlos held the economic rights.

They also determined that there was evidence the ex-king transferred the bulk of this money in 2012 to an account in the Bahamas belonging to a company held by his former mistress, German businesswoman Corinna Zu Zein-Wittgenstein.

The prosecutors said that the complexity of the transactions, using a foundation and various companies, "showed a will to dissimulation", but said there was not enough evidence to proceed.

The ex-king, a key figure in Spain's transition to democracy following the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, has meanwhile also been the target of several probes in Spain over his financial dealings there.

Spanish prosecutors decided earlier this month to push on with their investigation for another six months.

The probes have especially been focused on whether there was any illegal dealings after the former king abdicated in 2004 and lost his immunity.

While he has not been charged with any crime, the probes have tainted his reputation and that of the Spanish monarchy.
An 11-year-old girl was snatched from a London bus stop and sexually assaulted by a man who was armed with a knife.

The young victim was followed from school to a bus stop in Finchley, North London, at about 4pm on September 30.

The Metropolitan Police today released a CCTV image of a man they would like to speak to in connection with the assault.

Police have released a CCTV image of a man they would like to speak to in connection with the sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl in London

As passengers boarded various buses, the young victim was left alone at the stop - Sussex Ring, Westbound towards Mill Hill or Whetstone - with a lone male.

The suspect tried to engage her in conversation and asked about the various buses, police said.

He then asked her to go to the park.

But after she refused, he grabbed her wrists and started to pull her away from the stop and into the park, telling her he had a knife.

The man  described as being between 30 and 40, with pale white skin, brown eyes and messy shoulder length hair, wearing blue jeans and black trainers - then led the victim down towards the canal and behind a tree.

According to police, he took her phone, grabbed her wrist, and kissed her before leaving the area.

The young girl was sitting at a bus stop - Sussex Ring, Westbound towards Mill Hill or Whetstone - when a lone male approached her, pulled her away and sexually assaulted her

Detective Constable Chris Finnegan from the North West Command Unit based at Wembley said: 'This was a frightening attack on a young girl who has been tremendously brave in coming forward.

'I stress that sexual assaults of this nature continue to be very rare, but in the cases when it does happen we remain dedicated to supporting victims and identifying and prosecuting those responsible.

'We encourage anyone who is a victim of sexual offences, or who witnesses an offence taking place, to contact police so we can track down the perpetrator.'

Anyone who is able to name the man in the picture or who has information about the incident has been asked to call police on 101 quoting CAD5239/30SEP21.
The Biden administration released a federal strategy on Monday to implement an ambitious plan to build 500,000 charging stations for electric vehicles across the country and ultimately transform the U.S. auto industry.

Vice President Kamala Harris announced the vehicle-charging strategy Monday at an event in suburban Maryland.

Harris appeared at a maintenance facility in Brandywine, just outside Washington, where she also received a briefing about work to electrify the fleet in Maryland's Prince George's County.

There, Harris was told she could charge one of the cars.

'I was going to ask you if I could. And there's no sound or fume!' she marveled. 'How do I know it's actually working?' she said laughing.

The Brandywine site features electric vehicle chargers that currently are the only ones in the local area, filling what the White House called 'a key gap in the region's electric vehicle charging network.'

'How do I know it's actually working?' Vice President Kamala Harris said laughing while powering up one of the electric vehicles at the Brandywine Maintenance Facility in Brandywine Maryland during a Monday morning stop

Vice President Kamala Harris tours the Prince George's County Brandywine Maintenance Facility during a visit to announce the Biden-Harris Administration's Electric Vehicle Charging Action Plan

During her tour of the facility, Harris noted the administration's goal was to make 'it absolutely make it accessible for everyone and easy. Just like filling up your car with gas.'

The $1 trillion infrastructure law President Joe Biden signed last month authorizes the charging stations and sets aside $5 billion for states, with a goal to build a national charging network. The law also provides an additional $2.5 billion for local grants to support charging stations in rural areas and in disadvantaged communities.

Harris renewed her call for Democrats to approve Biden's $2 trillion social and environmental policy bill, now pending in the Senate.

The bill, officially known as the Build Back Better Act, will cut the sticker price of new and used electric vehicles, among other benefits, the White House said.

Republicans, including some who voted in favor of the new infrastructure law, have criticized Biden for being preoccupied with electric vehicle technology when Americans are contending with a spike in gasoline and natural gas prices.

Biden last month ordered a record 50 million barrels of oil released from America's strategic reserve, in coordination with other major energy consuming nations.

Gas prices have fallen in recent weeks as fears grow of a possible economic slowdown from the coronavirus pandemic.

Average prices on Sunday were $3.33 per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association, down about 7 cents from late last month.

President Joe Biden's administration released a federal strategy Monday to implement an ambitious plan to build 500,000 charging stations for electric vehicles

'President Biden, American families, automakers, and autoworkers agree: the future of transportation is electric,'' the White House said in a statement. 'The electric car future is cleaner, more equitable, more affordable and an economic opportunity to support good-paying, union jobs.''

Accelerated adoption of electric vehicles for personal cars and commercial fleets would help achieve Biden's goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emission by 2050 while creating thousands of jobs, the White House said.

The effort also is intended to help the U.S. leapfrog China in the plug-in EV market. Currently, the U.S. market share of plug-in electric vehicle sales is one-third the size of the Chinese EV market.

Biden has set a goal that electric cars and trucks account for half of new vehicles sold by 2030.

To help meet the needs of electric cars, the Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of Transportation will establish a Joint Office of Energy and Transportation focused on deploying the infrastructure needed for a national charging network.

The initial focus will be building a convenient, reliable public charging network that can build public confidence, with a focus on filling gaps in rural, disadvantaged, and hard-to-reach locations, the White House said.

The new joint office will issue guidance and standards for states; and ensure consultations with manufacturers, state and local governments, environmental justice and civil rights groups, tribes and others.

The two departments also will launch an advisory committee on electric vehicles that officials hope is up and running early next year.

The administration also announced some initial goals: by February 11th to have published guidance for states to build the national network, including where charging stations are needed, and, by May 13th, the Department of Transportation will publish standards for the electric charges.
The British Army will keep bearskin hats as they are after chucking out a fake fur version proposed by Peta.

The Ministry of Defence said the iconic caps worn by the Queen's Guard's will still be made from Canadian wild black bears in future.

Ministers slammed the fabric prototype put forward by the animal rights activists for only meeting one of the five requirements to be considered as an alternative.

They said the products had 'unacceptable rates of water shedding and performed poorly on the visual assessment'.

The British Army will keep bearskin hats as they are after chucking out a fake fur version proposed by Peta. Pictured: The Queen inspecting the guards in 2012

The hats are made with the skin of black bears taken each year from Canada's Black Bear Cull

The Ministry of Defence said the iconic caps worn by the Queen's Guard's will still be made from Canadian wild black bears (pictured) in future

THE BRITISH ARMY BEARSKIN: A NAPOLEONIC PRIZE WITH 200 YEARS OF HISTORY The bearskins, up to 18in tall and weighing around two pounds, are worn by the Grenadier, Welsh, Irish, Scots and Coldstream Guards. They are synonymous with the pomp and splendour of events such as the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace and the Trooping the Colour ceremony. Made from the pelts of culled Canadian black bear, the material is warm and water resistant, retaining its distinctive shape no matter the weather. Army top brass have been happy to adopt modern synthetics in other cases. Fake leopardskin is now worn by drummers in marching bands, while the smaller busby hats worn by the King's Troop are no longer made from beaver fur. Prince Charles and French president Emmanuel Macron inspecting the Grenadier Guards at Clarence House in London, June 18, 2020 Bearskins were adopted in the 18th century because the brimmed hats worn by grenadiers obstructed their view when they were hurling grenades. In 1768, it was ordered that grenadiers in the Foot Guards wear caps of black bearskin, with the motto Nec Aspera Terrent (Not even difficulties deter us) on a silver King's Crest on the front. At the battle of Waterloo in 1815, the First Regiment of Foot Guards defeated the grenadiers of Napoleon's Guard. They were rewarded with the title of Grenadier Regiment, with every soldier allowed to wear a bearskin. The hats are made with the skin of black bears taken each year from Canada's Black Bear Cull. The Army takes 100 skins, thought to be a small fraction of the thousands of bears that are killed to keep numbers under control. Advertisement

SNP MP Martyn Day asked the Defence Secretary last week what the department had made of the faux fur versions.

He said: 'What assessment [has] his Department has made of the quality of the new faux bear fur that has been manufactured as an alternative to real bear fur to make the Queen's Guard's caps; and if he will make a statement.'

Answering on behalf of Ben Wallace, Minister of State for Defence Procuremen Jeremy Quin said: 'Our analysis of recent tests conducted on a fake fur fabric commissioned by PETA, showed it met one of the five requirements to be considered as a viable alternative for ceremonial caps.

'Whilst it met the basic standard for water absorption, it showed unacceptable rates of water shedding and performed poorly on the visual assessment.

'As the man-made fur sadly didn't meet the standards required for a ceremonial cap which is worn throughout the year and in all weathers, the Ministry of Defence has no plans to take this man-made fabric forward.'

Trials of fake fur in 2014 led to guardsmen's headgear becoming 'waterlogged'.

Tourists visiting London flock to see the Guards in their traditional hats, worn since the 1815 defeat of Napoleon.

The ceremonial headdress can only be worn by foot soldiers in certain regiments, including the Grenadier Guards, the Coldstream Guards, the Scots Guards, the Irish Guards and the Welsh Guards.

The hats are made from the fur of Canadian wild black bears, which are culled to keep numbers down.

Last month a row erupted in government over plans to replace the Queen's Guard's bearskin hats with 'cruelty-free' headwear designed by Stella McCartney.

Zac Goldsmith, the Animal Welfare Minister, locked horns with Defence Secretary Mr Wallace over the issue.

Lord Goldsmith submitted proposals to Mr Wallace to replace the bearskin hats with a fur-free version.

But he has privately complained the Defence Secretary is 'anti-change' after his request was met with hostility.

It follows calls from Lord Goldsmith and the Prime Minister's wife Carrie Johnson to ban fur.

Concerns have been raised traditional garments, including robes worn by Lords and the Queen's Guard's bearskin hats, would be phased out under such a prohibition.

Mr Wallace is believed to be irritated by the proposal as guardsmen are concerned that fake fur is not waterproof enough.

Sources in Lord Goldsmith's department told The Daily Mail: 'The MoD is refusing to compromise on this.

'There are alternatives, including one designed by Stella McCartney, and ministers will be pushing back hard on this. Wallace is believed to be very anti-change.'

Pictured: Queen Elizabeth II, Colonel-in-Chief, Grenadier Guards, has her photo taken with Guards

The iconic bearskin hats worn by the Queen's guards for more than 200 years are facing a threat from activists who want to ban fur sales

Normally, between 50 and 100 of the 18-inch hats, used by the military since the 1815 defeat of Napoleon, are bought by the Army each year, although the military spent 45,000 on 110 new bearskins last year.

Lord Goldsmith and fashion designer Miss McCartney have been friends for over a decade, attending society parties in London together and campaigning on shared issues including banning the fur trade and other animal welfare matters.

Her design is made of plastic fibre and has passed the MoD's water repellency tests. She has been campaigning against the hats since 2010 but sources say she thinks she will have more luck with her design with Lord Goldsmith in the government.

Lord Goldsmith eschewed real fur when he was sworn into the House of Lords, wearing plastic-based material instead of the traditional ermine.

Not everyone was impressed by this choice, including fellow Environment Minister Lord Benyon, who said: 'There's no way I'd wear a synthetic version like Zac Goldsmith's  his plastic version looks all bouffant, a bit like Barbara Cartland's hair.'

Mrs Johnson has been a vocal advocate of banning fur, once declaring that people who wear fur were 'sick' and that clothes brands were 'nuts' to sell it.

An Army spokesman said: 'The bearskins worn by the Guards are part of our proud military history and identity. There are no suitable alternatives.

'These bearskins, like leather, horn and sheepskin are by-products of other purposes and should not be confused with fur farming.

'Guards bearskins are sourced from the by-product of a necessary cull of black bears in Canada. The bears are not bred for the purpose of fur.'
A Chinese man has been jailed for three and a half years for lifting his girlfriend's eyelids as she slept and stealing nearly 18,000 from her bank accounts by using her phone's facial recognition software to unlock apps.

The 28-year-old boyfriend, identified only by his family name Huang, waited until his partner was sleeping before he used her fingerprints to unlock her Huawei phone.

He then gained access to his girlfriend's Alipay mobile payment platform by lifting up her eyelids so that her phone would recognise her face and unlock the app at a home in the southern city of Nanning, according to court documents seen by The Times.

Huang later changed the woman's password for Alipay and transferred more than 150,000 yuan (18,000) from her bank accounts.

A Chinese man has been jailed for three and a half years for lifting his girlfriend's eyelids as she slept and stealing nearly 18,000 from her bank accounts by using her phone's facial recognition software to unlock apps (file image)

The victim, identified only by her family name Dong, had met up with Huang in December last year and he had cooked her a meal.

But Huang had put soluble cold medicine in the food, which made Dong sleepy, reported state-run newspaper Nanning Evening News.

Huang came up with the extravagant plot after he had racked up extensive gambling debts and used the money to pay them off - before continuing to gamble.

Dong, who has since broken up with Huang, started to worry after she received alerts about large bank transfers the morning after and filed a police report.

Huang was arrested in April and later found guilty of theft by using secret methods to steal someone else's property, with a judge sentencing him to three and a half years in prison and handing him a 20,000 yuan (2,400) fine.

Alipay, a Chinese third-party mobile and online payment platform, has since said the app's facial recognition function does not work if the person's face is expressionless.

But the company did urge their customers to add extra layers of protection to their accounts and alert police of any unusual activity.
A mentally ill Perth mother who killed her two young daughters before trying to take her own life believed she was sparing them from suffering, a court has heard.

Milka Djurasovic, 40, is facing a judge-alone trial in the Supreme Court of Western Australia charged with two counts of murder.

She has admitted killing her daughters Mia, 10, and six-year-old Tiana, whose bodies were found by their father Nenad at their Madeley home in October 2019, but argues she is not guilty of murder because she was of unsound mind.

Djurasovic was diagnosed after the killings with major depression with psychotic features.

The court heard she had previously struggled with worsening mental health issues and feared her children would be forced into care if she was hospitalised.

Milka Djurasovic has admitted killing her daughters Mia, 10, (pictured, right) and six-year-old Tiana (left), whose bodies were found by their father Nenad at their Madeley home in October 2019

An agreed statement of facts submitted to the court outlined how Djurasovic woke around 7am on the day of the killings and thought to herself 'today's the day', subsequently placing knives, machetes and rope in the pantry.

Tiana cried when she saw the rope and knives, asking her mother 'are you going to do something to me?' and saying she wanted to go to school.

Djurasovic 'snapped out of it' and got the girls ready for school, sounding upbeat and normal over the phone when she received a call from her husband.

At the school gates, she parked for several minutes before deciding to return home, telling Tiana they were going to go shopping.

Later that morning she decided to proceed with killing the girls and herself, plugging a vacuum cleaner into the wall and leaving it running to drown out any sound.

'She loved them so much she didn't want them to suffer in the same way she did,' Psychiatrist Adam Brett told the court (pictured, tributes for the sisters outside their home in October 2019)

After killing her daughters, Djurasovic paced around the home before kissing and hugging the girls and placing toys next to their bodies.

She then made several attempts to take her own life and recorded a video in which she repeatedly apologised and urged her husband to let her die.

The girls' father arrived home that afternoon to discover Mia's body, with Tiana's body later discovered by paramedics.

Police found Djurasovic a short time later covered in a blanket in sand dunes at a nearby beach, having again attempted to end her life.

Several notes which Djurasovic had typed or handwritten were found in the home.

'I love my girls more than anyone and anything and I am so sorry for not looking after them better,' she wrote.

Six-year-old Tiana (pictured) cried when she saw the rope and knives, asking her mother 'are you going to do something to me?' and saying she wanted to go to school.

'I should have been more 'connected' to my husband and friends. I did not like talking about my problems. I wish I had. I am so sorry for everything.'

Djurasovic also wrote to her husband, saying the girls were already nervous and anxious and she didn't want them to 'end up on medication, doing drugs and all that is killing me'.

'I am at fault for everything,' she wrote in the letter, translated from Serbian.

'I did nothing bad on purpose but that is how it ended up.'

Psychiatrist Adam Brett, who twice interviewed Djurasovic in custody earlier this year, said he was confident the accused had been mentally impaired at the time of the offending and had lacked the capacity to know she ought not to do such a thing.

He said Djurasovic had nihilistic delusions and believed she was saving the girls from the 'awful things' she had experienced.

Djurasovic also wrote to her husband, saying the girls were already nervous and anxious and she didn't want them to 'end up on medication, doing drugs and all that is killing me' (pictured, 10-year-old Mia)

'She loved them so much she didn't want them to suffer in the same way she did,' Dr Brett told the court.

Djurasovic briefly took the stand on Monday to assert, under questioning from her lawyer Mark Trowell QC, that she had been honest throughout her police and psychiatric interviews.

The trial, before Justice Stephen Hall, continues.

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Chris Cuomo has broken cover for the first time since he was axed from CNN.

DailyMail.com spotted the former host Saturday in the Hamptons keeping it casual in a beanie, sunglasses, hoodie, Army fatigue shorts and sneakers as he stepped out with an Amazon package in hand.

Until now, Chris hasn't been seen since November 30 when he was suspended from the network after it was revealed that he had helped his brother Andrew Cuomo battle sexual harassment allegations to a greater extent than he admitted.

And on December 5, Chris was fired from his $6million-a-year position after an unnamed former co-worker at ABC claimed that he sexually harassed her.

Now the 51-year-old has been keeping a low profile, leaving Manhattan for the Hamptons where he's been holed up with wife Cristina.

DailyMail.com spotted axed CNN host Chris Cuomo in the Hamptons on Saturday in his first sighting since being fired from CNN earlier this month

Chris was seen with an Amazon package in hand as he kept it casual in a beanie, sunglasses, hoodie, Army fatigue shorts and sneakers

This is the first time he's been seen in public since November 30 when he was suspended from the network for helping his brother Andrew battle sexual harassment allegations

On December 5, Chris was fired from his $6million-a-year position after an unnamed former co-worker at ABC claimed that he sexually harassed her

Chris has been keeping a low profile since he was suspended and then fired. He's even stepped down from his SiriusXM raido show during the controversy

DailyMail.com also spotted Chris' wife Cristina on Sunday with an unnamed female friend. She was seen driving a Tesla as she left their Hamptons home.

Cristina, founder of health and wellness platform Purist, and Chris have been married since 2001.

Newly-released texts from CNN host Chris Cuomo reveal he helped strategize brother Andrew Cuomo's response to the sexual harassment scandal earlier this year

The couple share three children, Bella, Carolina and Mario - named after Chris' governor father.

Chris' professional life has been plagued with controversy since a report by the New York Attorney General revealed the depths of his involvement with his governor brother.

Chris was fired four days after CNN's president, Jeff Zucker took him off the air and announced his 'indefinite suspension.'

CNN said in a statement that Chris had mislead them about his efforts this spring to help his brother, Governor Andrew Cuomo, in countering allegations of sexual harassment.

Chris has claimed Zucker knew all about what was going on, with the network vehemently denying that.

The combative statements raise the specter of a public clash between Chris and CNN's president, with whom he used to enjoy mingling on the Hamptons cocktail circuit - where both men have homes.

A spokesman for Chris told the Wall Street Journal Sunday: 'Mr. Cuomo has the highest level of admiration and respect for Mr. Zucker,' the spokesman told The Wall Street Journal.

'They were widely known to be extremely close and in regular contact, including about the details of Mr. Cuomo's support for his brother. There were no secrets about this, as other individuals besides Mr. Cuomo can attest.'

It appears likely that accusations that he sexually harassed a former co-worker at ABC was the final straw that led to his firing - a move which would appear to slightly ease the pressure on Zucker.

The host was fired when the unnamed woman's lawyer, Debra Katz, told CNN executives about the allegations. Katz also represents one of Andrew Cuomo's accusers, Charlotte Bennett.

A source told the New York Post: 'From a legal standpoint, CNN had cause to fire Chris on Friday based on the Letitia James information. From a practical standpoint, when the sexual-misconduct claim came in, CNN decided, 'Enough is enough.''

In responding to Cuomo's claims that Zucker knew about his support for his brother, CNN said in a written statement it disagreed their former star's characterization of events.

'He has made a number of accusations that are patently false,' the network said.

'This reinforces why he was terminated for violating our standards and practices, as well as his lack of candor.'

Chris Cuomo is seen on Monday November 29 - the last night he hosted his CNN show before his suspension and ultimate firing

DailyMail.com also spotted Chris' wife Cristina on Sunday with an unnamed female friend. Cristina, founder of health and wellness platform Purist, and Chris have been married since 2001

Cristina was seen driving a Tesla as she left their Hamptons home with a female friend in the passenger seat

Cristina and Chris couple share three children, Bella, Carolina and Mario - named after Chris' governor father.

In another blow to his career, Chris announced last Monday he would no longer host his SiriusXM radio show.

'While I have a thick skin, I also have a family for whom the past week has been extraordinarily difficult,' he wrote on Twitter.

Earlier this year, Chris told CNN viewers and executives that he had indeed assisted his brother's team, but that his involvement had been minimal.

Then when Andrew Cuomo, 63, resigned in August, Zucker likely hoped the thorny issue would go away.

Zucker, seen in June 2019, was close to Cuomo, with both men keeping summer homes in the Hamptons

But it was Attorney General Letitia James report that revealed text messages between Chris and his brother's staff, showing that he was deeply involved in combatting the allegations and provided help in strategy and communications.

CNN said in a statement that Cuomo had been suspended, noting: 'The New York attorney general's office released transcripts and exhibits Monday that shed new light on Chris Cuomo's involvement in his brother's defense.

'The documents, which we were not privy to before their release, raise serious questions.

'When Chris admitted to us that he had offered advice to his brother's staff, he broke our rules and we acknowledged that publicly.

'But we also appreciated the unique position he was in and understood his need to put family first, and job second.

'However these documents point to a greater level of involvement in his brother's efforts than we previously knew.

'As a result we have suspended Chris indefinitely, pending further evaluation.'

Zucker, 56, hired Cuomo from ABC News in 2013 in one of his first moves when he took over CNN, and demonstrated considerable compassion for Cuomo during the summer, when the saga unfolded

Pages of text exchanges between Chris Cuomo and Andrew Cuomo's top aid Melissa DeRosa were released by the New York Attorney General's office on Monday

Zucker, 56, hired Cuomo from ABC News in 2013 in one of his first moves when he took over CNN, and demonstrated considerable compassion for Chris during the summer when the saga unfolded.

Zucker had promoted Cuomo to prime time in 2018, letting him have the prized 9pm hour, and setting him against the influential Rachel Maddow at MSNBC and Sean Hannity at Fox News.

A year later, Zucker was full of praise for his star, telling The Hollywood Reporter that Cuomo was 'the perfect cable news anchor.'

When The Washington Post reported in May that the news anchor had been advising his brother on strategy, in a breach of journalistic protocol, Zucker defended him and said that he was in a unique and very difficult position.

'Chris has not been involved in CNN's extensive coverage of the allegations against Governor Cuomo  on air or behind the scenes,' the network said in a statement. 'In part because, as he has said on his show, he could never be objective. But also because he often serves as a sounding board for his brother.

'However, it was inappropriate to engage in conversations that included members of the Governor's staff, which Chris acknowledges.

'He will not participate in such conversations going forward.'

The network said Cuomo would not be disciplined.
With the COVID-19 Omicron strain spreading rapidly amid large Christmas gatherings, the state's top doctor is urging people to book in for a booster shot as soon as possible.

Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant says anyone who received a second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine five months ago should now 'get vaccinated before Christmas'.

Anyone who is immunocompromised may need a booster as part of their primary course and should consult their GP, she said on Monday.

The Kirby Institute's epidemiologist Raina MacIntyre agrees, saying adults need to start thinking about three shots of a COVID-19 vaccination as being the number required to be fully vaccinated.

NSW Health is battling to contain several large transmission events, while there are now 64 cases of the new Omicron strain now on record (pictured, Sydneysiders in December)

'Thinking you're fine with two doses, if Omicron is going to spread in Australia, is a false sense of security,' she told ABC radio.

Early data indicated that even after three doses antibody levels 'start to wane pretty quickly as well'.

'So it may well be that we need another fourth dose within less than a year,' she said.

The double-dose vaccination rate of those 16 and older remains at 93.1 per cent, falling just short of the 95 per cent milestone on Dr Chant's wishlist.

From Wednesday unvaccinated people will be free to mingle with everyone at pubs, cafes, gyms and shops as a swathe of restrictions are lifted.

Meanwhile, NSW Health is battling to contain several large transmission events, while there are now 64 cases of the new strain now on record.

Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant (pictured) says anyone who received a second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine five months ago should now 'get vaccinated before Christmas'

'There were nine new cases confirmed with the Omicron variant overnight, and more are expected as results of genomic testing are confirmed,' NSW Health said.

The cases linked to an outbreak at Newcastle's Argyle House nightclub spiked from 24 to 84 overnight and 'a number of these cases are likely to be the Omicron variant'.

The outbreak started after four people who partied at the club on Wednesday had COVID-19, with the cases linked to the outbreak spawned on a Sydney Harbour Cruise of 140 people on December 3.

All 680 people who checked into the Newcastle nightclub with a QR code between 9pm on Wednesday and 3am on Thursday are close contacts and must immediately get tested and isolate for seven days.

Dr Chant said it's 'incredibly important' that anyone at the venue get a test - as well as their household contacts 'given the high transmission at this venue'.

There were 536 new cases of COVID-19 in NSW in the 24-hours to 8pm on Sunday, as fully vaccinated people started returning to Queensland (pictured, testing in Liverpool)

NSW Health is also urging anyone who was at Newcastle's Finnegan's Hotel in Darby Street on Friday night to get tested and isolate for seven days as they are considered close contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases who were there.

'All household contacts of close contacts must also be tested and self-isolate until a negative result is received by everyone in the household,' it said in a statement.

'It is likely some of these cases have the Omicron variant of concern.'

Dr Chant is also urging people to consider doing a precautionary rapid antigen test at home before socialising.

However, anyone with symptoms must do the more sensitive test available at a COVID clinic.

There were 536 new cases of COVID-19 in NSW in the 24-hours to 8pm on Sunday, as fully vaccinated people started returning to Queensland.

There were emotional reunions at Queensland airports as people welcomed loved ones after the requirement to quarantine ended on Monday.

Some 74,997 COVID tests were recorded on Sunday and there were no further deaths.

There are 171 people are in NSW hospitals with the virus, 24 of them in intensive care.

Some 81.4 per cent of teens aged 12-15 have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 77.7 per cent are fully jabbed.
A jailed Insulate Britain protester has ended her 26-day prison hunger strike early after her MP wrote to her and requested a visit, the campaign group revealed today.

Emma Smart, 44, had been under medical supervision on the hospital wing at HMP Bronzefield in Ashford, Surrey, since November 26 after refusing to eat food.

She is now almost four weeks into a four-month prison sentence for contempt of court for breaching a National Highways injunction on protesting on the M25.

Smart originally vowed to go on hunger strike 'until the government issues a meaningful statement to get on with the job of insulating Britain's leaky homes'.

But the Extinction Rebellion offshoot said the protester from Weymouth, Dorset, ended this strike yesterday after receiving a letter from Sir Richard Drax.

Insulate Britain said the Conservative MP 'wrote to express concern for Emma's welfare and to request a visit, which is likely to happen within a couple of weeks'.

It comes as the group said a further nine Insulate Britain protesters will appear at the High Court in London tomorrow to face a charge of contempt of court.

Jailed Insulate Britain activist Emma Smart, 44, of Weymouth, Dorset, pictured with her niece

Smart is pictured being taken to prison after being jailed at the High Court on November 17

Smart said: 'I have ended my hunger strike after 26 days, one day for every failed COP meeting since the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change was signed.

'I remain proud of my actions with Insulate Britain and will continue to do all that I can to pressure our government to live up to its duty to protect the people from climate collapse.'

Nine Insulate Britain protesters will appear at the High Court in London tomorrow A further nine Insulate Britain protesters will appear at the High Court in London tomorrow to face a charge of contempt of court. Among them is Dr Ben Buse, 36, university researcher from Bristol, who who has already been jailed for four months along with eight other Insulate Britain protesters in the first High Court hearing on November 17. Dr Buse is due to appear at the High Court again tomorrow along with eight new defendants on a further charge of contempt of court. The other eight who will appear tomorrow are Steve Gower, 54, Ruth Jarman, 58, Biff Whipster, 54, Richard Ramsden, 75, Stephen Pritchard, 62, Dr Diana Warner, 62, Paul Sheeky 46, and Reverend Sue Parfitt, 79. Advertisement

She continued: 'I welcome the approach from my MP, Sir Richard Drax and look forward to meeting him to discuss Insulate Britain's demands. I hope that he is prepared to listen and also to convey to the government the absolute gravity of our situation.

'The next three to four years will determine the future of humanity, so this is no time for half-hearted measures. Boris needs to get on with the job.'

Smart was jailed for four months on November 17 for breaching an injunction and immediately vowed to stop eating until the Government moves to insulate homes.

Insulate Britain members including her husband Andy Smith then staged a 24-hour fast outside 10 Downing Street in solidarity with her.

Mr Smith, 45, said today: 'I'm obviously relieved following this news; her reason for ending the protest is a legitimate one.

'She has a meeting with her local MP and I believe this is a positive step and I hope our concerns about insulation are addressed.

'After 26 days the most dangerous thing now is the re-feeding process, it's going to be quite challenging. I spoke to her this morning, she's doing well, eating and in good spirits, so the overall feeling is one of relief but also apprehension.'

Smart is one of nine members of the group jailed for breaching an injunction designed to prevent the road blockades which have sparked anger among motorists and others affected by the protests.

They appeared at the High Court on November 17 after they admitted breaching an injunction by taking part in a blockade at junction 25 of the M25 during the morning rush hour on October 8.

Smart was imprisoned with eight other people from Insulate Britain. One of the group's protests is pictured on October 13, which blocked the M26 at junction 31 in Thurrock, Essex

Emma Smart, pictured with her husband Andy Smith. Smart was one of nine members of the group jailed for breaching an injunction designed to prevent chaotic road blockades

They received sentences of between three and six months and ordered to pay 5,000 in costs each.

Among the others in that group of nine was Dr Ben Buse, 36, a university researcher from Bristol, who also recently ended his hunger strike which began on November 25.

Dr Buse is due to appear at the High Court again tomorrow along with eight new defendants from Insulate Britain on a further charge of contempt of court.

The other eight are Steve Gower, 54, Ruth Jarman, 58, Biff Whipster, 54, Richard Ramsden, 75, Stephen Pritchard, 62, Dr Diana Warner, 62, Paul Sheeky 46, and Reverend Sue Parfitt, 79.

Smart is seen in a photo issued by Insulate Britain last month, the day before she was jailed

Supporters of the nine jailed activists protest on Lambeth Bridge in London on November 20

Insulate Britain began a wave of protests in September and supporters have blocked the M25, roads in London including around Parliament, roads in Birmingham and Manchester and around the Port of Dover in Kent.

Videos showing furious motorists dragging the climate activists away from the blockades have gone viral on a number of occasions.

The group is demanding that the Government insulate Britain's 'leaky homes' and end deaths it says are caused by winter fuel shortages.

Insulate Britain want the Government to reduce carbon emissions by up to 20 per cent by insulating the UK's housing stock, starting with social housing by 2025.
Parents fear for the safety of two teenagers intending to travel from Suffolk County to New York City who have been missing since the evening of December 9.

Vincent Abolafia and his girlfriend Kaileigh Catalano, both 15, were meant to board a 3.11pm train from Ronkonkoma to Manhattan after a friend dropped them off at the station last Thursday, according to the Suffolk County Police Department.

A Facebook group set up to gather information about the missing teens fears they have 'abandoned their cell phones'.

Vincent Abolafia and his girlfriend Kaileigh Catalano, both 15, have been missing since the evening of December 9

They may also have visited New York tourist hotspot Times Square.

Both the teenagers' families have expressed their shock, saying Abolafia and Catalano have never run away before.

Catalano's father said he feels 'blindsided' by the developments and that his daughter is 'a good kid.

Speaking to Fox News, Joe Catalano said: 'My daughter's a varsity cheerleader. She's a good kid. I don't know what possessed them to do this.'

'The night before, we were talking about her Sweet 16, no arguments,' her mother Ehrin Catalano added.

Bonasia also said that his stepson hasn't argued with family recently.

In a series of Instagram posts captured by Catalano, the young girl visited the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center with her boyfriend's family last weekend but her mother says they rarely went into the city.



Yesterday Abolafia's stepfather James Bonasia told Fox News that he believes they may be in danger.

He said: 'When you have two teenagerswith minimal resources, it can get dangerous pretty quick.

'And Manhattan right now isn't what it was. Any city is dangerous for any adolescent.'

He added the couple may be able to get around $1,200 in cash and while they don't have any known acquaintances in New York City, Abolafia is familiar with the subway system and has been shown around there.

A Facebook group set up to gather information about the missing pair fears they have 'abandoned their cell phones'

They are both students in the Eastport-South Manor School District and have not been heard from since, according to a Facebook post dedicated to finding them.

A relative of Abolafia's posted to the group: 'I'm really at a loss for words. I've been unable to sleep. My nights are my days I feel terrible.

'My nephew & his girlfriend went missing 12-9-21 without a trace. They where supposed to be boarding a train I'm not even sure if they got on it.

'I really feel like something terrible has happened but I'm hoping for the best.'

Both teens are from Manorville, which is roughly 30 minutes away by car from Ronkonkoma's train station.

From there, they would have travelled on the train to Penn Station in Manhattan for around 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Anyone with information on their location is asked to call 911 or Suffolk County Police Department's Seventh Precinct detectives at 631-852-8752

Abolafia is described as 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighing around 110 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.

Catalano is five feet tall and weighs around 118 pounds. Both were wearing black when they were last seen at the station.

The pair may also have changed their appearance, Ehrin Catalano has suggested, saying she believes her daughter could have dyed her hair black.

Both the teenagers' families have expressed their shock, saying Abolafia and Catalano have never run away before

Bonasia said the teenager recently got a trim.

Both the families have expressed that they love their kids and just want them back home safe.

Anyone with information on their location is asked to call 911 or Suffolk County Police Department's Seventh Precinct detectives at 631-852-8752.
A glamorous cocaine dealer delivered almost 600 bags of the drug for a multimillion-dollar syndicate because she thought it was harmless substance and was struggling for work, a court has heard.

Danielle Tara Hogan, 26, from North Bondi in Sydney's eastern suburbs will spend at least 17 months behind bars after admitting to dealing a commercial quantity of cocaine.

The court heard the former event planner has never tried cocaine but was dealing drugs because she was struggling to find other work.

She also believed cocaine was a harmless party drug and didn't realise the dangers of the illicit substance on society until two years later, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Danielle Tara Hogan, 26, (pictured) will remain behind bars until at least April 2023

Her barrister Jehane Ghabrial told the court her client had been 'harassed' by the media since her arrest in November 2019.

The court heard Hogan soon regretted joining the syndicate and indicated she wanted out as she racked up almost $40,000 in parking fines, tolls and other debts.

This is despite posting photos of her lavish holidays, designer clothes and dining at trendy beachfront bars.

Hogan was said to have delivered almost 600 bags of cocaine to customers in more than 370 separate deliveries across Sydney.

The court heard she cut ties with the drug ring just two weeks before her arrest after her partner learned of her involvement in the syndicate.

She sent a text message to her syndicate handlers on October 23, 2019 which read: 'Hey I'm sorry but I'm done. I've taken my pay $450 from yesterday, left everything in the safe, password is 'c**t'.'

Hogan said while she tried to leave the operation and made excuses for not turning up to shifts, she did ask for work occasionally to cover her rent and living expenses.

She previously told the court she quickly found out the operation 'was more than just a circle of friends' who threatened her and had taken her for a drive past her parents' home making 'veiled threats'.

Danielle Tara Hogan (pictured) was jailed after admitting to dealing a commercial quantity of cocaine

Danielle Tara Hogan had tried to cut ties with the drug syndicate two weeks before her arrest (pictured) in November 2019 after he partner found out about her involvement

Ms Ghabrial told the court media reporting of the threats gave the wrong impression Hogan had 'turned on the syndicate' and put her at risk of retribution in prison.

Judge Mark Williams SC noted Hogan's efforts to rehabilitate and claims she'd been extorted by inmates during her brief time behind bars following her arrest.

'(Hogan) said being made publicly the pin up girl for a dial-a-dealer cocaine syndicate lead to punishment while she was in Silverwater,' he said.

'Inmates believed she was a wealthy eastern suburbs cocaine queen and they harassed her believing she had access to money or drugs.'

Hogan was jailed for three years and 10 months.

She will be eligible for parole in April 2023.
A shop worker sacked by bosses who thought she was using her pregnancy 'as an excuse to get out of doing her job' has now won more than 10,500.

Despite Joanna Kusmierek showing her bosses Mohammed Kadir and Rabar Ibrahimi three sick notes from the GP, they thought she was 'lying back' and 'taking the money when she should be at work', a tribunal heard.

The 36 year old, who was 'increasingly' having to visit the hospital due to her pregnancy, was 'taken aback' when she was sent a P45 telling her she had been sacked by the food store where she worked.

Mrs Kusmierek suffered 'increasing anxiety' by the situation and later gave birth prematurely, the panel heard.

Mother-to-be Joanna Kusmierek, 36, (pictured) was sacked by Spalding Market, Lincolnshire, after she fell pregnant and was signed off by a GP because she had been having dizzy spells

She then sued her employer at a tribunal which 'unhesitatingly' found she had been unfairly dismissed and discriminated against - as well as discovering the company had, by its own admission, 'exploited' the furlough scheme.

Mrs Kusmierek, from Lipce in Poland, was first employed in May 2019 at the shop in Spalding, Lincs, and found out she was pregnant in February the following year.

She informed Mr Kadir, the director of Spalding Market Ltd, and manager, Mr Ibrahimi, 'very soon' after, the panel heard.

In March 2020, Mrs Kusmierek was deemed unfit to work by her GP and was told not to bend or lift.

Mrs Kusmierek told the panel she was occasionally feeling 'dizzy' and did not want to risk falling down the stairs at work until her doctor said she was fit enough.

The tribunal, held in Nottingham, heard the bosses did not believe the three sick notes brought in by her husband, Leszek Kusmierek, signing her off until May, after which her maternity leave would begin.

Bosses at Spalding Market put Ms Kusmierek on furlough before she was sacked, an employment tribunal heard, despite food shops being exempt from lockdown closures

The panel heard that while she was off sick, she was placed on furlough.

However, the tribunal noted that the store is a food shop and therefore 'exempt from lockdown'.

The panel added that it was 'extremely concerned that the company had on its own evidence improperly exploited the furlough regulations'.

Mrs Kusmierek was dismissed by her employers the following month and received her P45 on June 9, 2020, the panel heard.

After she was sacked, Mrs Kusmierek made claims for automatic unfair dismissal by reason of pregnancy and unfavourable treatment by way of discrimination because of pregnancy.

Spalding Market Ltd then coughed up 4,000 in maternity pay in what the tribunal said 'begged the question: why pay her if it in fact had dismissed her'.

Bosses did not believe the three sick notes brought in by husband Leszek Kusmierek (pictured, left, with Joanna) and signed her off until May, after which her maternity leave would begin

The panel, headed by Employment Judge Peter Britton, concluded the company paid the sum to 'enhance' its position before tribunal.

It said it found Mrs Kusmierek and her husband's evidence 'compelling' and 'consistent'.

The tribunal concluded: 'This was not just an automatic unfair dismissal because the primary reason for it was the pregnancy, but was also pregnancy discrimination in that she was therefore unfavourably treated because of the protected characteristic of pregnancy, thus entitling consideration of an award for injury to feelings.

'She was already by the time she was dismissed suffering complications from her pregnancy.

'The question then becomes was there any aggravation of her condition consequent upon the dismissal.

'What we do know is she was taken aback by being dismissed; that it had the impact upon her of increasing her anxiety in relation to the forthcoming pregnancy; and that she of course also lost the comfort in knowing that she had a job to come back to at the end of her maternity leave.

'This is doubly so as the hours were always flexible.

'And she has on occasion been distressed before us. We have no reason to believe that she isn't genuine in that respect.'

Mrs Kusmierek was awarded 10,000 for injury to feelings and 525.40 - four weeks pay - for failure to provide written particulars of employment by Spalding Market Ltd.
New York's mayor-elect Eric Adams has pledged to return beat cops to the city's streets in a bid to 'rebuild trust' within communities.

Adams, a 22-year NYPD veteran who ran his campaign on public safety, said he will target areas where confidence in the police is low and give officers promotions based on how they are rated by local residents.

'The goal is to rebuild trust,' Adams told the New York Daily News.

'We can show people that these officers are human beings just like them. They have children. They have families. They have spouses. They want to go home safe, and they want you to go home safe.'

The Democrat's vision for old school policing comes amid soaring crime rates in the Big Apple where murders spiked by 30 percent in 2020 and have maintained the worrying trend this year.

Mayor-elect Eric Adams attends the 'West Side Story' New York Premiere at Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 29, 2021 in New York

Adams wants to see a return of the kind of community policing of the mid-20th century that saw officers posted to certain blocks.

He remembered an officer who walked the working-class neighborhood of Jamaica, Queens, where he grew up.

'He knew how to keep you out of trouble,' said Adams.

He has called for a reduction in the NYPD budget in the past but denounces the 'defund the police' rhetoric of the hard left.

Adams told the Daily News that the force could find efficiencies by taking officers off desk-based work and sending them out on the beat.

He also said that cops who are out in the community learn better to understand the people they are dealing with.

'I believe that that steady cop could differentiate between little Johnny just acting up,' Adams told the paper, 'and little Johnny carrying a gun.'

Although murders have fallen by 0.7 percent compared to last year, from 436 to 433, overall homicides have soared by 42 per cent since 2019.

Felony assaults have also shot up in 2021 by more than 9 percent, from 19,046 to 20,776 so far this year. Robberies also saw an increase of 3.7 percent, with 12,318 reported.

Rising crime: NYC has seen an explosion in the incidences of violent assaults, murders, robberies and muggings in the past two years. Overall crime this year has gone up by more than 3 percent

Rapes rose from 1,329 to 1,357, an increase of more than 2 percent, and the number of shooting victims also went up from 1,724 to 1,725.

Subway crimes have also jumped in recent week, coming at a time when companies are desperately trying to encourage workers back into the office.

Figures last week released during an MTA transit committee meeting show felony robberies more than doubled from October to November, from 40 to 88.

Overall felonies jumped 45 percent month-over-month, the documents said.

In an effort to curb the violent streak, Bank of America reportedly told its Midtown employees on Friday to 'dress down' and avoid wearing company logos while commuting to the office.

A man was bloodied following a brutal attack on a Midtown subway platform in New York City on Friday afternoon amid soaring crime on the city transport network

Senior executives at the bank's Bryant Park location have been encouraging their younger staffers to dress in order to attract less attention as they travel to work and have warned workers that wearing the company logo or dressing up could make them a target for assault, which is up 15 percent the past month.

John Yiannacopoulos, a media relations executive for Bank of America, told DailyMail.com on Friday that the company does offer 'safety guidelines' to employees.

However, Bank of America declined to let DailyMail.com view its guidelines.

A top executive of a large money management firm even said he started carrying a Taser - which has been legal to carry in New York since 2019, when a federal court reversed the state's complete ban on civilian stun guns and tasers.

The bank's office is only a block away from Times Square, with many employees using Penn Station and Port Authority as transportation hubs to commute to the office.
China could carry out a surprise attack on Taiwan by turning military drills near the island into a genuine invasion, Taipei's defence ministry has warned in a new report.

Doing so would be in line with Beijing's goal to invade the self-governed island by 2025, as predicted by a previous ministry report submitted by Taiwanese legislature.

Monday's report said China's People's Liberation Army would likely take a multi-pronged approach to launch a full-scale attack on Taiwan, which would include landing operations and joint strikes.

The goal would be to seize the island with minimal losses, the report said.

China could carry out a surprise attack on Taiwan by turning military drills near the island into a genuine invasion, Taipei's defence ministry has warned. Pictured: the Chinese military is filmed conducting live-fire drill of 'soldiers seizing an island' in video from October

Tensions between Taipei and Beijing, which claims the democratically-ruled island as its own territory, have risen in the past two years as China steps up military activities near Taiwan to pressure it to accept Chinese rule.

The report was put together in-line with Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng's October assumption that the PLA would have the ability to mount an invasion by 2025, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

Despite the warning, the report also offered an optimisitc outlet, saying at present China would struggle to mount a full-scale invasion, and would face many challenges doing so.

The report urged Taipei's legislature to support weapons procurement in an effort to counter such aggression that is expected from China.

Using the pretext of staging war games involving its air force, navy and army on the east and south coasts of mainland China near Taiwan, the PLA might increase its intimidation of the Taiwanese public, the ministry said in the report.

'It will then send various kinds of its warships to the Western Pacific Ocean as a means to repel any foreign forces coming to Taiwan's aid, and to impose strategic encirclement to discourage foreign forces from coming to help,' it said.

Then, the PLA would turn its war games into genuine combat operations, which would include firing ballistic and cruise missiles at various Taiwanese air defence locations, command centres and radar stations, the report claims.

To support the invasion, Beijing's army would also launch electromagnetic suppression operations against combat troop movements and key Taiwanese military facilities, in order to hinder Taipei's defence efforts.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen is overseeing a military modernisation programme to make the island harder to attack in the face of increased Chinese aggression towards the island

Pictured: The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers assembling during military training in January (file photo). A surprise invasion would be in-line with Beijing's goal to invade the self-governed island by 2025

One the PLA had gained sea and air supremacy, it would then send in amphibious landing ships, transport planes and helicopters.

These would deploy troops that would attack military bases across Taiwan, the report warns, adding that the PLA would aim to launch its ground troop operations as quickly as possible, before foreign forces interfere.

The report called on lawmakers in Taiwan to strengthen its 'air defence, counter-attack, air-control and sea-control' mission to counter any aggression.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen is already overseeing a military modernisation programme to make the island harder to attack, making the military more mobile and with precision weapons like longer-range missiles to take out an attacking force.

An additional defence budget of around $8.5billion was approved by Taipei last month to improve its air and naval capabilities, including anti-ship missiles, land-based anti-aircraft systems and attack drone projects, according to the SCMP.

Wang Hsin-lung, Taiwan's deputy defence minister, said the ministry has researched possible PLA invasion tactics for years.

'We have full control over the strength and the weakness of their approaches,' he said on Monday during a legislative session.

Despite its bleak warnings, the report also presented an optimistic outlook.

Soldiers of People's Liberation Army (PLA) are seen before a giant screen as Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks at the military parade marking the 70th founding anniversary of People's Republic of China, on its National Day in Beijing (file photo)

It said a full Chinese invasion of Taiwan with troops landed and ports and airports seized would be very difficult to achieve due to problems China would have in landing and supplying troops.

Taiwan's Defence Ministry said China's transport capacity was at present limited, it would not be able to land all its forces in one go, and would have to rely on 'non-standard' roll-on, roll-off ships that would need to use port facilities and transport aircraft that would need airports.

'However, the nation's military strongly defends ports and airports, and they will not be easy to occupy in a short time. Landing operations will face extremely high risks,' the ministry said in its report, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters.

China's logistics face challenges too, as any landing forces would need to be resupplied with weapons, food and medicines across the Taiwan Strait that separates the two, it added.

'The nation's military has the advantage of the Taiwan Strait being a natural moat and can use joint intercept operations, cutting off the Communist military's supplies, severely reducing the combat effectiveness and endurance of the landing forces.'

China would also need to keep some of its forces in reserve to prevent any foreign forces joining in to help Taiwan and to keep close watch on other fractious areas of China's border, like with India and in the South China Sea, the ministry said.

'U.S. and Japanese military bases are close to Taiwan, and any Chinese Communist attack would necessarily be closely monitored, plus it would need to reserve forces to prevent foreign military intervention,' it added.

'It is difficult to concentrate all its efforts on fighting with Taiwan.'
Amanda Knox in a recent photo she shared on social media

Amanda Knox has weighed in on Ghislaine Maxwell's sex trafficking trial, calling the evidence against her 'pretty damning' despite Maxwell's not guilty pleas.

Knox, writing for Bari Weiss's Substack channel Common Sense, said that while she out of anyone 'can sympathize' with Maxwell and Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, who is also on trial but for fraud, she isn't convinced of their claims that they were coerced by Jeffrey Epstein and Sunny Balwani, Holmes' Theranos co-founder and ex-boyfriend.

Maxwell is on trial for sexual trafficking. Her accusers say she helped Epstein, who died in 2019, abuse girls by recruiting them, grooming them and sometimes sexually abusing them herself. She denies the claims.

Holmes is on trial in California for fraud. She is accused of knowingly defrauding investors, doctors and patients by selling them her Theranos technology blood tests while knowing they didn't work. She says she was coerced by Balwani, who was her much-older boyfriend at the time.

Knox, writing for Weiss's Common Sense on Monday, said neither woman has expressed sufficient remorse for the alleged victims of their crimes for their defenses to hold water.

'I know very well what its like to be scapegoated for a mans crimes and to be a victim of true coercion. If there is anyone who can empathizeand sympathizewith these two women, its me.

Ghislaine Maxwell is shown in a recent court sketch. No cameras are allowed inside her sex trafficking trial in New York City

Maxwell claims she is being made a scapegoat for Jeffrey Epstein, the late pedophile financier who she worked for for years. Epstein killed himself in 2019. Knox writes that while there is no doubt Maxwell's fate wouldn't be as bleak as it is now if Epstein were alive but that she is charged with her own crimes and the evidence is 'damning'

'But even for me, its not easy...I cant help but balk at their defense strategies, which seem like a refusal to be held accountable.

'While its true that even powerful women can yet remain subservient to powerful men, we shouldnt forget that the most vulnerable people in these equations are not Maxwell and Holmes, but the victims they are trying to brush aside or discredit,' she writes.

While Maxwell claims she was a victim of Epstein and is being made the 'scapegoat' of his crimes because his no longer alive, Knox says the evidence against her is 'pretty damning'.

'If Epstein were still aliveif the chief culprit were still around for us to hatetheres no doubt Maxwelld be subject to much less vitriol. But shes been charged with her own crimes, not Epsteins, and the evidence against her is pretty damning.

'The alleged victims claim that she didnt just go along with Epsteins innumerable deceptions, but that she was an active participant in finding and grooming his victims,' she writes.

Holmes may well have been coerced by Balwani is to blame but it remains to be seen if a jury will believe her.

'Holmes has painted herself as a victim of Stockholm syndrome. Shes asking us to believe that, very gradually, over many years, Balwani brought her under his spell. Thats possible. Even though Holmes was, until recently, a celebrated, feminist icon, it is conceivable that Balwani did bring her under his spell.

'But in this he-said-she-said situation, the question is: Will the jury believe her?'

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is shown in court in California. She is charged with fraud. She is shown holding hands with her mother and her husband

Holmes says she was under the coercion of Sunny Balwani, her much older boyfriend and Theranos co-founder

'The nature of the two womens crimes are different, but the accusations that have been lodged against themand the defense theyve mustered in response to those accusationsare similar. Both are accused of deception, manipulation, and exploitation. Both are said to be Lady Macbeth.

Knox was convicted of killing English student Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy, in 2007. The conviction was overturned then she was convicted again. It was eventually overturned again in 2014 by Italy's highest court

'And both insist that it is the men in their lives that are the real criminals,' she writes.

Regardless of the outcome in either trial, Knox says they both indicate how women are often blamed for the crimes of men, like she was.

'Theres nothing quite like the high of hating and punishing women accused of terrible crimes. This fact is reason enough to be careful when we want to see them burn,' she writes.

Knox was convicted and then exonerated of murdering British exchange student Meredith Kercher while they were studying and living together in Perugia, Italy, in 2007.

The real killer was Rudy Guede, who had broken into the home and raped Kercher before violently killing her.

Knox, who now lives in Seattle, was blamed for the crime and made a worldwide villain known as 'Foxy Knoxy'.

The Italian police suggested that she had orchestrated Meredith's murder with her Italian boyfriend, and that it was all part of a sex game gone wrong.

Rudy Guede was convicted of the killing. He was released from prison last month but he still claims Knox had something to do with the murder

She returned to the US in 2011, after her conviction was overturned.

She was then convicted in absence again in 2013, and the second conviction was overturned in 2014 by Italy's highest court.

Knox recently welcomed a baby, which she said helped her reclaim her identity

Guede has now completed his prison sentence for the murder.

Last month, Knox pleaded with him on Twitter to clear her name - which he is refusing to do.

Upon his release in November, Guede told The Sun: 'The court convicted me of being an accessory to murder purely because my DNA was there but the (legal) documents say others were there and that I did not inflict the fatal wounds.

Asked if he was speaking about Knox and Sollecito, he told the paper: 'I don't want to say anything other than she should read the documents.

'As I told you, they say others were there and that I did not inflict the stab wounds.

'I know the truth and she knows the truth.'

Knox's husband Christopher Robinson hit back, saying: 'the lies of Rudy Guede who without a doubt killed Meredith Kercher. 'This is cruel to Amanda as well as the Kercher family.'
Kamala Harris is announcing Monday $540 million in new private industry investments in Central America as the vice president continues to brush off criticism of her first year in office.

As part of her most high profile role addressing the 'root causes' of the southern border crisis, Harris has attracted seven new companies and organizations to invest in Northern Triangle countries in her effort to improve economic conditions and weed out corruption.

These new commitments include PepsiCo and PriceSmart. Some existing and expanded investments are coming from Mastercard, Microsoft and Nespresso.

In March, Biden tapped Harris as his 'border czar' to address one of the biggest issues facing the administration  especially in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

The vice president's office quickly rebranded this position as addressing the root causes of migration by improving conditions in Central American countries, rather than stopping the flow of illegal immigration once it reaches the southern border.

Migrants continue to flood to the U.S. border with Mexico in record numbers with more than 1.6 million encounters with Customs and Border Protection since Joe Biden took office.

Vice President Kamala Harris is announcing Monday $540 million in new investments in Northern Triangle countries as part of her Call to Action to improve economic conditions and weed out corruption in Central America

Migrants construct a makeshift shelter along the U..-Mexico border wall on December 9 as they await transport to a U.S. Border Patrol processing center

Thousands of migrants continue to pour over the border every day. Here a caravan walk on the Puebla-Mexico highway toward the U.S. on Thursday

Those meeting with Harris Monday to discuss addressing 'root causes' of migration include Microsoft President Brad Smith (left), CEO of PepsiCo's Latin American division Paula Santilli (center) and CEO of Nespresso Guillaume Le Cunff (right)

During Joe Biden's time in office, Customs and Border Protection has encountered more than $1.6 million migrants at the southern border with Mexico

Harris' favorability is dismally low, with only 40 per cent approval, according to a Los Angeles Times average. Fifty-three per cent of respondents disapprove of her job as Biden's No. 2.

In the same approval tracking, Harris' approval dipped below her disapproval rating for the first time in early June, which was around the same time she was visiting Guatemala and Mexico as part of her border czar role.

It was also revealed Wednesday that Harris has only spoken with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei one time  during her trip down south in June.

Giammattei told Fox News' John Roberts that the June visit was 'the only' time he spoke with Harris.

Despite all this, Harris brushes off criticism of her first year as vice president amid reports of a feud between herself and President Biden. She would not directly answer any questions related to what she learned in the last year when asked by the San Francisco Chronicle in an interview last week or address her failures in the role so far.

Migrants part of a caravan heading to the U.S. board a truck on the Puebla-Mexico highway in Mexico on Thursday, December 9

Migrants walk along a highway while traveling in a caravan toward Mexico City on their way to the U.S. border on December 9

'There is nothing about this job that is supposed to be easy,' Harris said. 'If something is coming to me, it's because it needs to be addressed and because, by definition, it's not going to be easy.'

'If it was easy, it would have been handled before it comes to me,' she added.

Harris twice wouldn't directly answer a question whether she wished she'd done anything differently in her year as vice president.

'I love people, and there's so much that we are doing that is directly impacting and with the people in mind,' Harris said.

She also bashed reports claiming she thinks Bluetooth earphones are not secure as 'ridiculous'

The vice president is convening a meeting Monday afternoon with private sector CEOs to discuss their pledges to invest in Central America. The roundtable includes Microsoft President Brad Smith; Paula Santilli of PepsiCo's Latin American division; Nespresso CEO Guillaume Le Cunff; David MacLennan of Cargill; and Juan Pablo Mata of Grupo Mariposa, a food and beverage company based in Guatemala.

The seven new investments are coming from CARE International, Cargill, Grupo Mariposa, Parkdale Mills, PepsiCo, JDE Peet's, and PriceSmart.

Mastercard, Microsoft, Nespresso and Partnership for Central America already had commitments with Harris' Call to Action, but are announcing Monday additional action and investments in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.

The biggest new investment comes from PepsiCo, which plans to spend $190 in Northern Central America through 2025. These investments include improving infrastructure and manufacturing plants, expanding to new distribution routes and IT projects.

Harris' approval rating dipped below her disapproval in early June, around the time she traveled to Guatemala and Mexico. Her approval currently sits around a dismal 40 per cent

Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei said in an interview Wednesday (right) that he has only spoken to Harris once  when she visited Guatemala in June (pictured left)

Cargill and Parkdale Mills each pledged $150 million for agricultural and manufacturing projects.

Nespresso also committed to supporting the region's economy with a minimum $150 million in spending across coffee purchases, price premiums and technical assistance by 2025.

Microsoft, which previously promised to give 3 million people in the region internet access, will up its commitment to 4 million people. It is also now promising to teach digital skills to 100,000 people.

Back on May 27, Harris announced a Call to Action from business and private entities to help address the root cause of migration by promoting economic opportunity in Northern Triangle nations.

These commitments now total more than $1.2 billion.

Harris initially announced the new commitments during closing remarks at a virtual event co-hosted by the State Department and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with the Partnership for Central America.
A father from suburban Chicago has been arrested on DUI and a slew of other serious charges after police say he crashed into three cars while driving drunk with his 10-year-old son in his vehicle, and then abandoned the injured child at a nearby store before fleeing.

Christopher Hernandez, 29, from Joliet, was arrested on Saturday night after an intense police search. He was later booked into the Will County jail on eight charges, including four counts of aggravated DUI; DUI; endangering the life or health of a child; failure to remain at the scene of a personal injury accident and resisting a peace officer.

According to a statement from the Joliet Police Department, just after 5pm on Saturday, officers responded to the intersection of Plainfield Road and Hennepin Drive for reports of a four-vehicle crash.

Christopher Hernandez, 29, from a Chicago suburb, is accused of driving drunk with his son, 10, in his car, crashing into three vehicles, and then abandoning his injured child at a store

'A preliminary investigation determined that Hernandez was driving a vehicle westbound on Plainfield Road at Hennepin Drive at which time he struck the rear of the vehicle ahead of his vehicle,' police stated.

That first collision set off a chain reaction, in which both vehicles lost control and skidded into two additional vehicles that were waiting in the left turn lane of eastbound Plainfield Road.

Police alleged that immediately after the pileup, Hernandez grabbed his son, who suffered a fractured leg in the accident, and fled the scene.

According to investigators, the father then carried his 10-year-old to a store, where he left the seriously injured boy and ran away.

Firefighters who responded to the scene transported Hernandez's son to Amita St Joseph Medical Center for treatment.

The DUI chain reaction collision took place at the intersection of Plainfield Road and Hennepin Drive in Joliet, which is located 30 miles southwest of Chicago

The occupants of the other vehicles involved in the crash were not injured.

Police launched a manhunt and ultimately tracked down Hernandez in the 1200 block of Wyoming Avenue, where he was taken into custody and initially transported to a hospital to be treated for injuries sustained in the collision.

Following his release from the hospital, Hernandez was transferred to the Will County Adult Detention Facility and booked early Sunday morning.

As of Monday morning, Hernandez remained jailed on $250,000 bail pending his next court appearance that was scheduled for Wednesday.
A sword with a wooden handle which is thought to have survived for at least 400 years buried in the oxygen-free bed of the River Thames has been found by an amazed mudlarker.

Bestselling author Lara Maiklem found the broken sword on the Thames foreshore in Central London on Saturday.

Her stunning images show the sword both before and after she plucked it from the mud.

Buried among small stones and pebbles, the weapon was seen lying flat with its hilt and handle inlaid with copper standing out.

She told MailOnline: 'What caught my eye was the gold of what I think is copper ally wire. Loads of mudlarkers have jumped for joy thinking they have found gold when it is not.

'It was really easy, I just lifted it out of the foreshore. It was quite a moment. It really is one of my best finds. You can tell it is very old.'

Ordinarily, anything wooden would have decayed decades ago, but Ms Maiklem said that because it had been covered by the Thames's 'anaerobic' mud before washing up on the foreshore, it had been protected.

The author, whose 2019 book Mudlarking became a bestseller, is set to hand over the weapon to experts at the Museum of London tomorrow morning.

A sword with a wooden handle which miraculously survived for at least four hundred years buried in the oxygen-free bed of the River Thames has been found by an amazed mudlarker

Bestselling author Lara Maiklem found the broken sword on the Thames foreshore in Central London on Saturday. Her stunning images show the sword both before and after she plucked it from the mud

Whilst they have already indicated after seeing pictures of it that the sword most probably dates from the 16th century, they will be able to give a firmer date once it has been examined.

However, Ms Maiklem said the sword, which she has wrapped in damp cloths, need to be kept wet to prevent it from 'disintegrating quite quickly', so she is 'relieved' that the museum is taking it off her hands.

Ms Maiklem did not want to reveal the exact place that she found the sword because she feared that doing so may attract hordes of people to the area in the hope of finding further artefacts.

It is illegal for people to search on the Thames foreshore without a license from the Port of London Authority and any items found cannot be sold privately.

Speaking of who she thinks owned the sword, Ms Maiklem speculated: 'If it is from the 16th century, everyone carried a knife and most people carried a sword.

'It was quite a violent time. So people protected themselves. I am imagining that this belonged to a fairly ordinary chap. Maybe he was crossing the river to visit bankside.

'Who knows. As I say, it was a fairly lawless time. It certainly didn't belong to anyone of any means.'

She added: 'The blade is broken. It is not an expensive sword because it is just wood. This is a fairly workaday object. Whether it was in someone and it broke, nobody knows.

Ms Maiklem old MailOnline: 'What caught my eye was the gold of what I think is copper ally wire. Loads of mudlarkers have jumped for joy thinking they have found gold when it is not. 'It was really easy, I just lifted it out of the foreshore. It was quite a moment. It really is one of my best finds. You can tell it is very old'

Ordinarily, anything wooden would have decayed decades ago, but Ms Maiklem said that because it had been covered by the Thames's 'anaerobic' mud, it had been protected

The author, whose 2019 book Mudlarking became a bestseller, is set to hand over the weapon to experts at the Museum of London tomorrow morning

Ms Maiklem hopes that when the experts at the museum are able to remove the compacted dirt that has built up around the remains of the blade, they might find 'some kind of mark' which will provide an exact date for when it was made

'They'll [the Museum of London] be able to tell if it broke or rotted away in the river.

'Anything that is in the mud, the mud is anaerobic, so it lacks oxygen. So as long as it is contained in mud, it doesn't rot away. It is as perfect as the day it went in.'

Ms Maiklem's book A Field Guide to Larking gives readers basic instructions on how to conserve any artefacts they find

Ms Maiklem hopes that when the experts at the museum are able to remove the compacted dirt that has built up around the remains of the blade, they might find 'some kind of mark' which will provide an exact date for when it was made.

She said that London's sword-makers had records which stretched back centuries.

To preserve it, the author said the experts will likely put the sword in a 'bath' of ionized distilled water before freeze-drying it and replacing the water that is in it with something else.

'That is why it is so important that you report things that you find and that you have a permit,' she said.

Ms Maiklem has also informed the nationwide Portable Antiquities Scheme - which is part of the British Museum and has now documented more than one million finds made around the country - about her discovery.

The author's new book, A Field Guide to Larking, which was published in August by Bloomsbury, gives readers basic instructions on how to conserve any artefacts that are found in places such as the Thames foreshore.

Ms Maiklem suspects the sword was owned by a 'fairly ordinary chap' because otherwise it would have had a metal handle

Ms Maiklem hopes that when the experts at the museum are able to remove the compacted dirt that has built up around the remains of the blade, they might find 'some kind of mark' which will provide an exact date for when it was made
Elon Musk has been named Time magazine's 2021 Person of the Year.

The world's richest man was bestowed the honor after a year of selling off his possessions and moving to Texas, launching rockets into space, inventing new driverless cars, sharing his Asperger's diagnosis while hosting Saturday Night Live and influencing the stock market with this tweets.

Musk spoke with Time Magazine and discussed his 'semi-separated' status with Grimes, slammed vaccine mandates as an 'erosion of freedom' and shared his plans to fly a Noah's ark spaceship packed full of animals to Mars as he works to colonize the planet.

Talking from his new home state of Texas about his relationship break-down, he told Time: 'We weren't seeing each other that much, and I think this is to some degree a long-term thing, because what she needs to do is mostly in L.A. or touring, and my work is mostly in remote locations like this.'

Time magazine's Person of the Year has previously been awarded to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris (2020), Greta Thunberg (2019), a group of journalists including Jamal Khashoggi (2018), women who spoke out about sexual misconduct including Taylor Swift and Ashley Judd (2017) and Donald Trump (2016)

This year Musk became not only the richest man in the world but the richest man in history. His net worth of $265.4 billion makes him wealthier than some countries (Pictured: Musk sat down with Time magazine at his Tesla launch site and new home in Boca Chica, Texas)

Musk and Grimes walked the carpet at the 2018 Met Gala together (left) to make their public debut in 2018 but have since 'semi-separated' and co-parent their son X AE A-Xii (right)

Musk disclosed that he does not have new girlfriend and he and Grimes remain good friends as they co-parent their child X AE A-Xii.

'I'm human and all; I'm not a robot, but this place is basically a techno monastery....There are some women here, but not many. And it's remote.'

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO moved to the small, unincorporated community of Boca Chica, Texas, where the southern SpaceX launch site is located. Tesla has officially moved their headquarters to Austin.

Musk also confirmed that he and his children have been vaccinated, saying 'the science is unequivocal' but that he does not approve of vaccine mandates.

'You are taking a risk, but people do risky things all the time,' speaking of the unvaccinated but he still believes that being vaccinated should be a personal choice.

'I believe we've got to watch out for the erosion of freedom in America,' he said.

One of the reason's Musk moved to the Lone Stare state was his disapproval of California's strict COVID mandates. Musk has argued with government officials over mandates and broken regulations to keep his plants open throughout the pandemic.

2021 Time magazine awards Heroes of the Year: Vaccine scientists Athlete of the Year: Simone Biles Entertainer of the Year: Olivia Rodrigo Advertisement

While fighting for freedoms in America and working to make Earth more sustainable, Musk still has his sights set on Mars.

'The goal overall has been to make life multi-planetary and enable humanity to become a spacefaring civilization,' Musk said of his continued plan to colonize the planet.

'And the next really big thing is to build a self-sustaining city on Mars and bring the animals and creatures of Earth there. Sort of like a futuristic Noah's ark. We'll bring more than two, thoughit's a little weird if there's only two.'

He's also looking at the moon as he plans to touch down within the next three years.

'I think we can do a loop around the moon maybe as soon as 2023,' he said.

And moving to Mars isn't far off in his mind either. 'I'll be surprised if we're not landing on Mars within five years,' he said.

Musk is constantly keeping the world updated on his plans and eccentric ideas by posting bizarre Twitter rants to his 66.2 million Twitter followers.

'I'm not really trying to do brand optimization. So sometimes, I obviously shoot myself in the foot. As is obvious from my tweets, they're humor that I find funny, but not many other people find funny.'

As of Monday, Musk has a net worth of $265.4 billion. Speaking about being the richest man in the world and all of history Musk pointed to someone who he claims is even richer than he is.

'Well, I think there's like some, you know, sovereigns. I think [Russia's] President Putin is significantly richer than me. I can't invade countries and stuff,' Musk said.

'When looking at income and asset distribution, it is very important to normalize that for age. So as societies age, there are more older people; the older somebody is, the richer they are,' he explained.

'But a lot of the push for higher government involvement and expropriation of assets by the government is pushed by a bunch of politicians who are actually saying that resources shouldn't be in control of private individuals. They should be in control of the government,' Musk said.

One of the billionaire's biggest criticisms is his enormous wealth, while paying little to none in taxes. Recently, he openly bashes President Joe Biden's Build Back Better Plan, which is fully funded by 'the very largest corporations and the wealthiest Americans.'

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO made history several times this year including SpaceX's September launch of the first all-civilian crew into space. The aerospace company also won a $3 billion contract with NASA- sparking a feud with fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos.

The SpaceX CEO commented on the success of the aerospace company.

'If we have ships and boosters but no engines, we would be losing billions of dollars a quarter. And if that continued, then bankruptcy would not be out of the question,' he admitted.

'I feel as though we've had many years of success and a lot of people at the company have never seen a launch failure. A lot of people have never in their career experienced a recession,' Musk boasted.

'If somebody entered the workforce after 2009, it just seemed like things always go up. I was concerned that we may be getting complacent,' he shared.

Musk has described himself as a 'utopian anarchist' and aims to utilize his businesses to create a more efficient and automated future.

'If there's a utopia where people have access to any goods or services that they want, there's plenty for everyone. If we have a highly automated future with the robots that can do anything, then any work you do will be because you want to do it, not because you have to do it. I don't mean to suggest chaos, but rather that you're not under anyone's thumb,' Musk said.

Tesla has announced their plans to create a humanoid robot with artificial intelligence in 2022 and penned a deal with Hertz and Uber to make 100,000 Tesla's available to rent.

This partnership sent Tesla's stock to shoot up making the CEO's net worth jump to $302 billion, making him the first person to ever be worth more than $300 billion and richer than some countries.

Earlier this year Musk hosted Saturday Night Live and shared his Asperger's diagnosis. He also made jokes about Dogecoin which sent the stock plummeting

SpaceX conducted many historic launches this year including the world's first all-civilian crew (Pictured: Musk, age 24, at his computer in 1995)

'I've tried to just tamp down expectations, saying I think the stock's maybe too high. Current valuation is pretty high, which suggests that the market has faith in future execution of the company because it's certainly not based on historical profitability, that's for sure,' Musk argued.

He also spoke on the company's domination of the electrical vehicle market.

'If somebody makes better cars than we do and they then sell more cars than we do, I think that's totally fine. Our intent with Tesla was always that we would serve as an example to the car industry and hope that they also make electric cars, so that we can accelerate the transition to sustainable energy,' the Tesla CEO said.

When asked about Facebook, who also maintains a tight grip on their industry, and his opinion on Mark Zuckerberg's leadership, Musk explained that he is more worried about the nepotism in the company's equity structure.

'I'm more concerned about the fact that Facebook, now Meta, has an equity structure that makes it such that his great-great-grandchildren will still control the company. Share structures that give super-voting rights should be removed,' he said.

This year, Musk began endorsing bitcoin and influencing its price in the stock market pushing cryptocurrency into the mainstream, which he can do with a single tweet.

Musk has recently gone on a spree selling billions of dollars of his stock in Tesla

Musk moved the SpaceX headquarters to Boca Chica, Texas where he now lives full-time

'I'm not a huge hater of fiat currency like many in the cryptoworld are,' Musk said. (Fiat currency is government-issued currency that is not backed by a commodity. The US paper dollar is a fiat currency)

'But there are advantages with crypto relative to fiat in that fiat currency tends to get diluted by whatever government it is. It ends up being a pernicious tax on people, especially those who have cash savings with dilution of the money supply,' he explained.

Along with his opinions on crypto currency, Musk also tweeted a bizarre pledge to diminish criticism of his enormous wealth. Earlier this year, the billionaire tweeted: 'I am selling almost all physical possessions. Will own no home.'

'I think possessions kinda weigh you down. And they're kind of an attack vector. People say, 'Hey, billionaire, you got all this stuff.' 'Well, now I don't have the stuff  now what are you gonna do?'' he told Joe Rogan in May.

At the time, Musk owned seven houses in California - six in Los Angeles within walking distance of each other.

He followed through with his pledge. Earlier this month, Musk sold 'last remaining house', selling his Silicon Valley estate for $30 million.

He sold the residence for $7.5 million less than the original $37.5 million asking price when it was first listed in June, according to records. He struggled to sell the home, listing it three times before finding a buyer.

Musk had previously said he wanted to sell it to a large family who will live in the home. 'It's a special place,' he tweeted.

Elon Musk sold his Silicon Valley estate for $30 million, the last of his seven California homes, and moved to Texas. This 109-year-old European style home sits on 47 acres of land south of San Francisco

The eccentric billionaire sold this 16,000-square-foot estate for $7.5 million less than the original $37.5 million earlier this month

Boxabl has not confirmed whether Musk is living in one of its homes but in November announced it had built a Casita for a 'high-profile' and 'top secret' customer in Boca Chica

The 16,000-square-foot estate features seven bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a music room, grand ballroom and a cocktail room with retractable library shelves.

Musk now lives in a home he rents worth $50,000 in Boca Chica, Texas, near his Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Starbase rocket manufacturing plant, where he moved last year.

Last spring, he fought with California lawmakers over coronavirus restrictions which were preventing him from reopening his Tesla factory in Fremont, near San Francisco.

In April branded the lockdown rules fascist and said: 'Give people back their goddamn freedom.'

Soon afterwards in May he announced that he would move his Tesla headquarters to Texas or Nevada and started allegedly cozying up to Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

Musk has also been a critic of California's tax policies and claimed it had developed a 'winning-for-too-long problem' that was forcing out the super-rich.

Though Musk has not confirmed the name of the company that made his home, a Boxabl unit appears to be visible on the site of his home on Google Earth.

SpaceX launched several historic flights this year including the first-ever all-civilian space crew (Pictured: Inspiration4 all-civilian crew (from left to right) Jared Isaacman, Hayley Arceneaux, Chris Sembroski and Sian Proctor on board the Crew Dragon module)

The company's homes are tiny but stylish, set up like a studio apartment with an open plan living area, kitchen and bedroom, with an adjacent bathroom.

The properties are assembled from a folded box made of concrete panels and steel.

Teslarati reported that the model Musk, who is said to be worth $167.3 billion, is renting is a mass-produced 20 feet x 20 feet 'foldable prefabricated home,' named the Boxabl Casita.

Boxabl has not confirmed whether Musk is living in one of its homes but in November announced it had built a Casita for a 'high-profile' and 'top secret' customer in Boca Chica.

'My primary home is literally a ~$50k house in Boca Chica / Starbase that I rent from SpaceX. It's kinda awesome though,' Musk tweeted.

His most recent viral tweet was posted on December 9, when the mogul said he is 'thinking of' quitting his jobs and becoming an influencer.

Musk downsizes to 375-square-foot box in Texas A model layout of a Boxabl Casita Elon Musk is believed to be living in a 375-square-foot modular home made by the company Boxabl, according to the Musk fan blog Teslarati and the Houston Chronicle. He has said that he is renting the home for about $50,000. Though Musk has not confirmed the name of the company that made his home, a Boxabl unit appears to be visible on the site on Google Earth. The company's homes are tiny but stylish, set up like a studio apartment with an open plan living area, kitchen and bedroom, with an adjacent bathroom. The properties are assembled from a folded box made of concrete panels and steel. Teslarati reported that the model Musk is renting is a mass-produced 20-foot-by-20-foot 'foldable prefabricated home,' named the Boxabl Casita. Boxabl has not confirmed whether Musk is living in one of its homes but in November announced it had built a Casita for a 'high-profile' and 'top secret' customer in Boca Chica. 'My primary home is literally a ~$50k house in Boca Chica / Starbase that I rent from SpaceX. It's kinda awesome though,' he wrote in early June. Advertisement

It came as Musk, who is the richest man in the world, sold another 934,091 shares in electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla worth almost $1 billion.

'Thinking of quitting my jobs and becoming an influencer full-time wdyt [what do you think],' Musk said in the tweet, without elaborating.

It was not immediately clear if Musk, a prolific user of the social media platform, was being serious about quitting his jobs.

Musk, who is also the founder and CEO of rocket company SpaceX, said during a conference call in January that he expects to be the CEO of Tesla for 'several years'.

Last month, he asked his followers on Twitter whether he should sell 10 per cent of his stake in the electric-car maker, to which the majority agreed. He has sold shares worth nearly $12 billion since.

US securities filings that were publicized on December 9, revealed that Musk has sold another 934,091 shares of the electric vehicle maker worth $963.2million.

He also exercised stock options to buy 2.17 million shares of Tesla, according to the filings.

On December 2, he sold another 934,091 shares of the electric vehicle maker worth $1.01billion to meet his tax obligations related to the exercise of options to buy 2.1 million shares.

He had already sold $930million in shares to meet tax withholding obligations related to the exercise of stock options, US securities filings showed last month.

Musk sold 934,091 shares after exercising options to buy $2.1billion worth of the stock on November 15. The sale was 'solely to satisfy the reporting person's tax withholding obligations related to the exercise of stock options,' the filings said.

In a flurry of sales over the six trading days before, Musk sold a total of $7.8 billion worth of Tesla stock, and not all of the sales cited tax withholding requirements.

Musk's recent purge of his Tesla shares come as whistleblowers say he misled buyers and undermined safety with an Autopilot driving system that was previously blamed for fatal crashes.

The former workers have come forward with damning allegations that the world's second richest man contributed to the risks posed by the Autopilot system deaths because of Musk's desire to use only cameras and ditch sensors.

At least 10 people have been killed in eight accidents in which Tesla's Autopilot was engaged since 2016, according to reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Agency.

'Our intent with Tesla was always that we would serve as an example to the car industry, and hope that they also make electric cars so that we can accelerate the transition to sustainable energy,' Musk told Time days after the news of the whistleblowers accusations broke.

'Person of the Year is a marker of influence, and few individuals have had more influence than @elonmusk on life on Earth, and potentially life off Earth too,' tweeted Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal in announcing the news.

'For creating solutions to an existential crisis, for embodying the possibilities and the perils of the age of tech titans, for driving society's most daring and disruptive transformations, Elon Musk is TIME's 2021 Person of the Year,' Felsenthal said.
Biden claimed he was against the Afghanistan war from the 'beginning' despite voting to allow it in 2001

President Joe Biden defended the United States' widely-criticized withdrawal operation from Afghanistan this past summer, claiming that he was against the invasion 'from the beginning' in a new interview - though his past Senate voting record says otherwise.

Speaking to CBS Sunday Morning, Biden chalked up the bipartisan criticism he received to failing to evacuate 'without anyone getting hurt.'

The president, 79, made the comments during a brief appearance in CBS correspondent Rita Braver's profile of First Lady Dr. Jill Biden.

While discussing the need for bipartisan unity Biden was asked if he was 'willing to lose his presidency' over 'sticking with' his beliefs.

He then launched into an unprompted defense of his record over the chaotic evacuation from Kabul in August, after the Afghan capital fell to the Taliban at unprecedented speed.

'For example, Afghanistan - well, I've been against that war in Afghanistan from the very beginning. We spent $300 million a week in Afghanistan over 20 years,' Biden said.

'Everybody says, "You could have gotten out without anybody being hurt." No one's come up with a way to indicate to me how that happens. And so, there are certain things that are just so important.'

While it's true Biden was panned for the chaotic security situation that left the Kabul airport vulnerable to the devastating suicide attack that killed 170 Afghan civilians and 13 US service members, both critics and supporters of the president were more broadly concerned with the circumstances that led to it and future ramifications of the pullout.

In fact Biden's withdrawal made headlines for a refusal to listen to Allies and vulnerable Afghans, security concerns, and a broken promise to not leave Americans behind.

He made the comments during a brief appearance on CBS Sunday Morning with his wife

Biden's decision to withdraw US forces from Afghanistan was widely seen as a blow to American credibility to our Allies, especially amid reports that fellow G-7 leaders tried and failed to persuade him otherwise.

It also alarmed national security experts who feared the power vacuum left by the collapse of the Afghan government and Western evacuations would be filled by Russian and Chinese influence, and become a breeding ground for terrorist groups like Al Qaeda.

And some of the most searing anger at Biden came from the president breaking a vow he made on August 18, when he pledged on ABC News that 'if there's American citizens left, we're gonna stay to get them all out.'

However on August 31, he admitted in a speech after the evacuation concluded that 'about 100 to 200 Americans remain in Afghanistan with some intention to leave.'

The president was also accused of turning away from Afghans who aided the US military during its 20-year occupation - amid reports that Taliban fighters put targets on their backs.

Thousands of former US military translators and aid workers still in the special immigrant visa pipeline were left behind.

Top Biden officials like Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin were also under fire from Congressional lawmakers during heated hearings on Capitol Hill.

A Taliban fighter stands guard at the site of the twin suicide bombs, which killed scores of people including 13 US troops on August 26, at Kabul airport on August 27

An US Air Force aircraft takes off from the airport in Kabul on August 30. Biden had been widely criticized for promising less than two weeks earlier to not leave any Americans behind

Calls for them and Joint Chiefs Chair Mark Milley to resign after the exit at least partially stemmed from reports that there were warnings within the administration that the Taliban would take over faster than expected.

Some Senate Republicans even questioned whether Biden was in command at the White House.

The president's claim that he was against the war in Afghanistan from the beginning also doesn't appear to be reflected in his voting record.

As a Senator from Delaware, Biden was part of a unanimous 2001 vote to allow then-President George W. Bush to use military force 'against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks' on September 11, 2001.

However, he did oppose deploying additional troops to the region as vice president to Barack Obama in 2009.

At another point in the interview Biden defended sticking to his principles while taking a jab at his predecessor.

'One of the things we did decide - and I mean this from my word as a Biden - I know what I'm willing to lose over. If we walk away from the middle class, if we walk away from trying to unify people, if we start to engage in the same kind of politics that the last four years has done - I'm willing to lose over that,' Biden said.
A mother stood in the dock today accused of murdering her severely disabled son with a noxious substance.

Prosecutors say Pembe Mehmetaliogullari, 47, gave her 10-year-old son, Mustafa, a noxious substance which led to his death three years ago, a charge she denies.

Mustafa fell ill and was admitted Royal Alexandra Childrens Hospital in Brighton in September 2018 where he was treated by medical staff.

Pictured: Pembe Mehmetaliogullari, 47, leaving Lewes Crown Court today after pleading not guilty to the murder of her 10-year-old child Mustafa who died in hospital in September 2018

But despite the efforts of the medics Mustafa, who lived with severe physical and mental disabilities, died three days later.

Police said a post mortem examination established he had died due to administration of non-prescribed medication.

Today, Mehmetaliogullari appeared at Lewes Crown Court where she was charged with murder and administering a noxious substance to her son.

Wearing a red coat and black trousers, she pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Prosecutors say Mehmetaliogullari (pictured) gave a noxious substance to her son Mustafa, 10

The ten-year-old died at the Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital in Brighton just three days after he was admitted for treatment in September 2018

The prosecution follows a complex investigation by the East Sussex Safeguarding Investigations Unit.

Earlier the court heard Mehmetaliogullari, of Hove, East Sussex, had dual nationality with Turkey but had spent most of her life living in the UK.

She was released on conditional bail until her trial takes place next May.
Fully-vaccinated elderly people may only suffer 'cold-like' symptoms if they catch Omicron, according to early reports from a 'super spreader' 60th birthday party.

Sixteen of 18 guests  most of whom were in their 60s and 70s  at the bash tested positive for Covid at the party in Somerset on December 5.

But none were hospitalised or needed to see a doctor, with the majority suffering the 'sniffles' or a sore throat.

And researchers investigating the outbreak  who also run Britains largest symptom-tracking app  believe its down to the super-mutant variant.

The incident has sparked hope that even among the populations more vulnerable to Covid, such as the elderly, Omicron cases will mostly be mild.

The majority of the partygoers had already had their booster jab. The guests all tested negative on lateral flow tests before going to the party, it was claimed.

Professor Tim Spector said a contributor to the ZOE Covid study has reported a Covid 'super spreader event' where many guests, all of whom were vaccinated, caught the new variant, though thankfully their symptoms are all mild

According to reports 14 out of 18 guests of the 60th birthday bash caught the new Omicron variant, though they appear to only be suffering mild cold-like symptoms

But in the days after the party, it was found out one the attendees had child who'd come into contact with a probable Omicron case.

The person who reported the outbreak to the ZOE Covid symptom study, who wished to stay anonymous, revealed the parent then tested positive, too.

Sixteen of the partygoers had tested positive within a few days of the first result, professor of genetic epidemiology Tim Spector, who runs the Covid symptom tracking ZOE study, claimed.

The super-spreader party was originally reported through the ZOE study, which asks people to self-report Covid symptoms and their vaccination status. It appears to have occurred on December 5.

Professor Spector said of the partygoers: 'What were seeing so far is that symptoms are very, very mild.

Super-spreader events and Omicron With fewer restrictions and people mixing more freely compared to the previous Delta wave so called 'super-spreaders' are becoming more common with Omicron. A 'super-spreader' event is an occasion during a pandemic, were one or more people infected with the disease manage to infect many other people, usually due the nature of the event such as party, such as the 60th birthday bash in Somerset Another so-called Omicron 'super-spreader' was a Christmas party in Oslo, Norway where 120 people are suspected of catching Omicron from one infected attendee, Seventy of the infected were employees of solar power company Scatec, who were celebrating their Christmas work night out, while the remaining 50 were other guests at the restaurant. The party was held in a closed room but guests reportedly mingled with other people in the restaurant after 10:30pm, when it turned into a nightclub. 'Patient zero' is thought to be a Scatec staffer who had recently returned from the company's head office in Cape Town, where the variant is already dominant nationally. They tested positive the day after the party. At least one other employee had also recently returned from a trip to South Africa. Doctors involved in tracing the outbreak say the infected are so far only suffering very mild symptoms like fevers, coughs, headaches and tiredness following the festive do on November 26. Advertisement

'Most of them had symptoms of a cold  sniffles, sore throat and fatigue were common.

'Only two had classic symptoms of Covid, fever and loss of smell or taste. Nobody had to see their doctor or go to hospital.'

In a YouTube video later detailing the incident, Professor Spector said patient zero of the super-spreader event was a teacher.

The 16 people were informed that they had, or most likely had Omicron by NHS Test and Trace. PCR tests for Covid, like the one the partygoers used once they developed symptoms, can be used detect Omicron cases early.

The tests search for three genes to detect an infection, but the variant is missing one, known as the 'S' gene.

Researchers can estimate which ones are Omicron because Delta has all three, allowing call handlers to pinpoint potential variant carriers to curb the spread.

While the event may demonstrate the generally mild symptoms of Omicron it also demonstrates how potential infectious Omicron can be.

Professor Spector reported that all guests had been vaccinated and 10 of the guests infected had received their Covid booster.

Omicron is believed to be partly more infectious because of its 30 plus mutations compared to the original Covid strain, meaning antibodies in vaccinated individuals, and those with prior Covid infection, are less likely to recognise the new variant.

While boosters have been shown to provide greater protection against Omicron it is not clear if the two people who did not catch Covid at the party were among those who got their third Covid jab.

Professor Spector also told The Guardian that he was advising people to stay at home and away from parties if they had cold-like symptoms and also wear high-quality masks on their way to a venue.

'Avoid large gatherings and split your groups up into smaller ones where you can control the environment and get everyone to test that day,' he said.

'Make sure that no one attending that party has cold-like symptoms, or hasnt had cold-like symptoms the past three or four days, and on the way to the event make sure that youre wearing a high-quality mask on crowded public transport, which people are not doing.'

The party was held in a house where guests shared lunch, with 14 of the infected over 60-years-old.

Reports on the supposed mildness of Omicron come as Boris Johnson confirmed today that at least one person has died of the variant here in the UK.

News of the death came hand-in-hand with chaos in Britain's attempts to both track Covid cases and fulfill the Prime Minister's new pledge to dish out a million boosters per day to beat the super-mutant variant.

Speaking during a visit to a vaccination clinic in Paddington, west London, Mr Johnson did not reveal the age of the person who died, or if they had underlying health conditions, which made them vulnerable to Covid.

Some 10 people infected with the variant are in hospital, health chiefs said. Britain's youngest patient is 18 years old, while the oldest is 85. The majority are double-vaccinated, but officials would not reveal whether any had also had a booster jab.

It came as vital stocks of lateral flow tests ran out after ministers called on Britons to take one before meeting family this Christmas.

A message on the Government website says there are 'no more home test kits available right now' and tells Britons to 'try again later'. A spokesman insisted there was no shortage, but said 'exceptionally high' demand meant they had stopped taking new orders while existing ones were completed. They said the kits could still be picked up from community sites including pharmacies, schools and colleges, and that PCR swabs are available.

In another sign of chaos, Britons desperate to get their top-up doses were left standing in up to five-hour queues as centres warned they were already running low on doses this morning. Twenty-somethings were turned away in confusion at Manchester City's Etihad Stadium as they tried to get booster jabs.

Meanwhile, the NHS booking system crashed as thousands tried to secure a booster, with health service bosses urging people to 'try again tomorrow'.
Former President Trump claimed his promise of peace between Israel and Palestine fell through because Benjamin Netanyahu was not interested in peace, escalating new tensions between himself and the former Israeli prime minister, a longtime ally.

'I don't think Bibi ever wanted to make peace,' Trump told Israeli author Barak Ravid, it was revealed Monday.

'I think he just tapped us along. Just tap, tap, tap, you know?'

But in a piece for Axios, Ravid said that Trump spoke highly of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

'I thought he was terrific,' Trump said. 'He was almost like a father. Couldn't have been nicer. I thought he wanted to make a deal more than Netanyahu.'

Abbas reportedly told Trump he was eager to make a deal, while Netanyahu told him to wait.

Peace between Israel and Palestine has eluded US presidents for decades, and in the beginning of 2020, Trump proposed a deal that would have been the most favorable to Israel since the Madrid peace conference in 1991.

'My whole life is deals. I'm like one big deal. That's all I do, so I understand it. And after meeting with Bibi for three minutes  I stopped Bibi in the middle of a sentence. I said, 'Bibi, you don't want to make a deal. Do you?' And he said, 'Well, uh, uh uh'  and the fact is, I don't think Bibi ever wanted to make a deal.'

But Trump also accused Abbas of 'hugs and kisses' behind closed doors and criticism in public.

Former President Trump claimed his promise of peace between Israel and Palestine fell through because Benjamin Netanyahu was not interested in peace

'I thought he was terrific,' Trump said of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (above). 'He was almost like a father. Couldn't have been nicer. I thought he wanted to make a deal more than Netanyahu.'

'When he went back home, he didn't say the right things. He said much more warlike things than what he said to my face. ... Maybe he felt, politically, it was good,' Trump reasoned.

Trump also said that Netanyahu's opponent, deputy Prime Minister Benny Gantz, would have been much easier to strike a deal with.

Trump said of Gantz: 'I thought he was great. A really impressive guy. In my opinion, it would have been much easier to make a deal with the Palestinians [with Gantz] than with Netanyahu. The Palestinians hate Netanyahu. ... They did not hate Gantz. It's a big factor.'

Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign repeatedly said he had been told peace was not possible between Israel and Palestine.

'I have been told by everybody that it's not doable. Sheldon Adelson said it's not doable,' Trump said, referring to the late Republican mega-donor, whom he referenced repeatedly in our interview when discussing his Middle East policies.

'The hatred is so great between the Palestinians and the Israelis. They learned from the first day to hate each other, especially the Palestinians toward Israel,' Trump claimed. 'And Sheldon was a great deal-maker. He said it's impossible.'

And when Trump announced his peace plan in 2020, Netanyahu seized on the opportunity to annex parts of the Israel-occupied West Bank ahead of elections.

The White House was taken aback. 'I got angry and I stopped it because that was really going too far,' Trump told Ravid.

Abbas was highly critical of the plan - where proponents called it the 'deal of the century, Abbas called it the 'slap of the century.'

Trump came to the same realization that former Presidents Clinton and Obama did - that Netanyahu would stand in the way of a peaceful two-state solution. In a 2014 interview, Clinton said that Netanyahu was probably 'not the guy' who would make peace with Palestine.

Though the Israel-Palestine peace deal fell through, the Trump administration did broker a number of peace deals between Israel and four Arab states, a series of deals known as the Abraham Accords.

On Friday it was reported that Trump railed against Netanyahu for congratulating President Biden on his 2020 win, calling him disloyal and ungrateful.

'I haven't spoken to him since. F*** him,' Trump said.

'I liked Bibi. I still like Bibi. But I also like loyalty. The first person to congratulate Biden was Bibi. And not only did he congratulate him, he did it on tape,' Trump told Ravid.

Netanyahu was not the first world leader to congratulate Biden and he waited more than 12 hours after the U.S. networks called the election to send his felicitations.

He did post his congratulations on Twitter and in a video on November 8, 2020, the day after the race had been called in Biden's favor. In the post, he and Biden have had a 'long & warm' personal relationship for almost 40 years and sees him as 'a great friend of Israel' and looks forward to working together.

'Bibi could have stayed quiet. He has made a terrible mistake,' Trump said.

He accused the former Israeli leader of disloyalty, saying he had helped Netanyahu in his own elections by reversing decades of U.S. policy and supporting Israel's claims over the Golan Heights, captured from Syria during a war in 1967.

In a separate Twitter post at the time, Netanyahu thanked Trump 'for the friendship you have shown the state of Israel and me personally, for recognizing Jerusalem and the Golan, for standing up to Iran, for the historic peace accords and for bringing the American-Israeli alliance to unprecedented heights.'

Netanyahu defended his congratulator message.

'I highly appreciate President Trumps big contribution to Israel and its security. I also appreciate the importance of the strong alliance between Israel and the U.S. and therefore it was important for me to congratulate the incoming President,' Netanyahu said in a statement to Axios.
Comedian Terry Gilliam's production of Stephen Sondheim's Into The Woods is set to for Bath after it was cancelled by The Old Vic when staff protested over the Monty Python star's strident views on the threat to freedom of speech by Wokeism.

Mr Gilliam, 80, is co-directing Stephen Sondheim's classic musical but the London theatre unexpectedly announced last month the show's highly anticipated run in the capital in Spring 2022 had been called off.

Today the show's production company Scenario Two confirmed the Theatre Royal Bath will put on Gilliam's highly-anticipated version from August next year.

Old Vic employees were said to have protested - and one was so upset they even resigned - because of Gilliam's criticism of transgender rights, the #MeToo movement and BBC diversity, once joking that he identified as a 'black lesbian in transition'.

And addressing allegations of sexual abuse and harassment against disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein he said last year: 'There are many victims in Harvey's life, and I feel sympathy for them, but then, Hollywood is full of very ambitious people who are adults and they make choices'.

The Old Vic's reputation was badly damaged by the #MeToo movement in 2017 when numerous allegations of sexual assault were brought against actor Kevin Spacey during his tenure as the theatre's artistic director.

Scenario Two boss John Berry said the theatre bosses in Bath had shown an interest in hosting the musical within hours of the Old Vic withdrawing its support in November. He said Mr Sondheim, who died on November 26, was 'steadfast' in his support for Gilliam, adding the celebrated composer would 'wholeheartedly approve the idea of staging in Bath'.

Comedian Terry Gilliam was cancelled by The Old Vic because of his controversial views around trans rights and the #MeToo movement - but the Theatre Royal Bath will put on his Sondheim show next Summer

The former Monty Python star, 80, was set to co-direct Stephen Sondheim's musical Into The Woods next year, but The Old Vic unexpectedly cancelled its run for Spring next year

Gilliam's Facebook post in which he endorsed Chapelle's show on Netflix

Mr Berry told The Times: 'I think it is perfect for us. We get a chance to really test the production and then the plan is to bring it into town [London]. This is going to be really exciting. In some ways it is the perfect environment for Terry's great vision. And Sondheim was thrilled when he knew we were going there.'

It was reported that senior management later met Gilliam and his co-director Leah Hausman 'as a matter of course to discuss our culture and values'

An anonymous producer added: 'Of course there are younger artists who have different views than older generations but does that mean inspirational artists like Gilliam have to get cancelled?'

Old Vic employees were said to be angry and one even resigned because of Gilliam's stance on Harvey Weinstein, the #MeToo movement and transgender rights, according to The Stage.

In October Gilliam also publicly backed US comedian Dave Chappelle, who has been accused of attacking the trans 'community'. The comments led to a walkout by staff at Netflix, but Gilliam called his comedy 'socially aware, dangerously provocative and gut-wrenchingly funny'.

In 2018, Gilliam responded to the BBC diversity debate by saying: 'I tell the world now I'm a black lesbian.' And last year, he sparked a renewed backlash after describing the #MeToo movement as a 'witch hunt' that he claimed allowed 'decent people' to get 'hammered'.

The Old Vic was seriously affected by the #MeToo movement in 2017 when numerous allegations of sexual assault were brought against actor Kevin Spacey during his tenure as the theatre's artistic director.

Today the show's production company Scenario Two confirmed the Theatre Royal Bath will put on Gilliam's highly-anticipated version from August next year

The Old Vic's decision to cancel Gilliam's show came a fortnight after Gilliam urged his 495,000 Facebook followers to Chappelle's controversial new Netflix show, The Closer.

'I'm encouraging all of you to watch Dave Chappelle's new show, The Closer, on Netflix,' he wrote. 'To me, he's the greatest standup comedian alive today: incredibly intelligent, socially aware, dangerously provocative, and gut-wrenchingly funny.

Chappelle has provoked fury among trans activists for making jokes in which he asserts 'gender is a fact'. His performances are meant to be a satire of the oversensitivity of trans activists.

The jokes were based upon earlier observations made by Harry Potter author J K Rowling's who in 2019 stated that transgender women were not actually women and were a threat to her identity.

He has joked that women today view trans women the same way black people might view white women wearing blackface. He also remarked that women are entitled to feel anger toward transwomen, since Caitlyn Jenner won Glamour magazine's 2015 Woman of the Year award.

The Old Vic was seriously affected by the #MeToo movement in 2017 when numerous allegations of sexual assault were brought against actor Kevin Spacey (pictured) during his tenure as the theatre's artistic director

Concerns were said to have been raised in May over Gilliam's work with the Old Vic, but bosses had proceeded with the production.

No one from the central London theatre was available to comment last night, but The Old Vic has told The Stage in a statement executive director Kate Varah had met with staff following the show's announcement in May.

Members of the Old Vic 12 - the organisation's artistic development scheme - were among those voicing concerns, The Stage reported.

It was reported that senior management later met Gilliam and his co-director Leah Hausman 'as a matter of course to discuss our culture and values'.

A spokesman said: 'The Old Vic and co-producers Scenario Two mutually agreed that the production of Into the Woods will not take place at The Old Vic. We won't be commenting further.'

Into the Woods hit Broadway in 1987 before making its West End debut at the Phoenix Theatre in 1990. It was later revived in 2010 at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.

It was adapted for the big scream by Disney in 2015 with Meryl Streep, James Corden and Johnny Depp among the A-list cast.

This is not the first anti-woke criticism from a former Python.

In 2020, John Cleese attacked the 'stifling' effect of political correctness on creativity - saying there is no such thing as a 'woke joke'.

Several Pythons have come forward with anti-woke criticisms in recent years. In 2020, John Cleese attacked the 'stifling' effect of political correctness on creativity - saying there is no such thing as a 'woke joke'

He said Britain should not organise its society around 'the sensibilities of the most easily upset people', because that would lead to a 'very neurotic society'.

Mr Cleese said that 'affectionate teasing' is a bonding mechanism, telling BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'PC stuff started out as a good idea which is, ''Let's not be mean to people'', and I'm in favour of that... despite my age.

'I think Jesus Christ would have agreed... The main thing is to try to be kind.

'But that then becomes a sort of indulgence of the most over-sensitive people in your culture, the people who are most easily upset.'

After Mr Cleese made the comments on Radio 4 Today show, people took to social media to post their funniest 'woke' jokes.

Twitter user Paul Dempsey wrote: 'An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman walk into a bar.

'What a fantastic display of the Union's centuries-long multiculturalism.'
The City of Chicago is expected to offer a $2.9million settlement to Anjanette Young over a botched police raid on her home in 2019, during which officers forced the innocent social worker to stand naked and handcuffed while they searched for a felon who actually lived next door.

Chicago Alderpersons learned of the settlement proposed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot's administration on Sunday night, Chicago Sun-Times reported.

The City Council's Finance Committee is set to discuss the settlement proposal on Monday, before it comes before the full council at a later time this week, according to reporting by the Chicago Tribune citing multiple sources with firsthand knowledge of the matter.

Young filed a civil lawsuit against the City of Chicago in February 2021, alleging that officials engaged in a conspiracy to cover up civil rights violations.

The City of Chicago is reportedly set to offer a $2.9million settlement to social worker Anjanette Young over a botched 2019 police raid, which was caught on video (pictured)

Young was left naked and handcuffed for more than 40 minutes as a dozen cops acting on a bad tip scoured her home for a felon

Young sued the city and 12 police officers in state court, alleging a conspiracy to cover up civil rights violations. Young's federal lawsuit was dismissed last year

The complaint, which names the city and a dozen Chicago cops as defendants, alleges that police failed to investigate and verify an informant's tip, saying that Young's address was the home of a felon who was in possession of a gun there.

In February 2019, officers stormed into Young's home as the woman was undressing for bed and forced her to stand naked and handcuffed for more than a half hour while they scoured the residence, before realizing that they had the wrong address.

In video of the raid, which was leaked to a TV station by Young's lawyer in December 2020, a nude and visibly agitated Young repeatedly tells officers they have the wrong home and that there are no guns in the apartment.

Before the footage was broadcast, attorneys for the city sought a court order to prevent the station from airing the video.

The head of the city's law department, Mark Flessner, later resigned for trying to block the release of the video.

Mayor Lightfoot initially claimed she didn't know about the raid on Young's home until WBBM-TV first aired the body camera footage.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has admitted that she first heard about the raid back in November 2019, and not in December of 2020 after video of the raid was aired on TV

But after the release of internal emails that contradicted the mayor's claim, she admitted that she was first told by a top aide about a 'pretty bad wrongful raid' back in November 2019.

Lightfoot replied to her staff member's email summing up the circumstances of the raid, saying, 'I have a lot of questions about this one.' But the mayor later claimed she had no recollection of that email exchange.

Young had filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Chicago in connection to the raid, but that lawsuit was dismissed last year.

Chicago's top attorney, Mark Flessner (pictured), resigned for trying to block the release of the raid footage

The incident began unfolding on February 21, 2019, when Young had returned home from her shift at a hospital and was undressed in her bedroom when a group of officers, with at least nine body cameras, broke down her door with a battering ram and crowbar.

The officers were looking for a 23-year-old suspect who allegedly had a gun, but they didn't verify the address before conducting the search warrant. That suspect lived in the unit next door to Young.

Video footage was released publicly for the first time in December of last year and Young cried as she watched it back and revealed she's still traumatized.

'Its one of those moments where I felt I could have died that night. Like if I would have made one wrong move, it felt like they would have shot me. I truly believe they would have shot me,' Young tearfully said in an interview with CBS 2 Chicago.

Young was undressing for bed on February 21, 2019, when a dozen cops stormed into her home

After nearly 45 minutes, police finally told the woman: 'we believe your story'

Young had filed a Freedom of Information ACT (FOIA) request for the video to show the public. A court forced Chicago police to turn over the footage as a part of Youngs lawsuit against the department.

'I feel like they didnt want us to have this video because they knew how bad it was. They knew they had done something wrong. They knew that the way they treated me was not right,' Young said.

In the disturbing footage Young appeared shocked when the officers burst into her home after tearing down the door and shouted 'Police search warrant! and 'Hands up, hands up!'

'It was so traumatic to hear the thing that was hitting the door. And it happened so fast, I didnt have time to put on clothes,' Young said.

In the clip Young became distressed as she was forced to stand in the living room naked and handcuffed as officers swarmed her apartment.

She yelled at least 43 times: 'You've got the wrong house!'

In November, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability caused an outrage after finding that half of the officers who took part in the raid - including Ella French who was killed in the line of duty in August (circled in red) - deserved punishment

'What is going on? Theres nobody else here, I live alone. I mean, what is going on here? Youve got the wrong house. I live alone,' she shouted at one point of the clip.

At first an officer tried to put a hoodie sweater on her but it kept falling off. Then another officer ultimately threw a blanket over her shoulders but because she was handcuffed the blanket slipped off her shoulders, leaving her exposed again.

'I'm just standing there, terrified, humiliated, not even understanding why in that moment this is happening to me,' she said reflecting on the incident.

In the clip she begged officers to let her get dressed and she told them she believed they had bad information. She had lived in the home alone for the past four years.

Young previously praised French's conduct during the raid, saying she was the only person who 'treated her with dignity'

'Oh my God, this cannot be right. How is this legal,' she cried.

It turned out that police had received a bad tip. A day before the raid a confidential informant told the lead officer on the raid that he recently saw a 23-year-old man who was a known felon armed with a gun and ammunition.

They gave the faulty address to police and cops didnt independently verify if the address was correct.

It turned out the suspect lived in the unit next door to Young and had no connection to her whatsoever.

The suspect was awaiting trial on home confinement and was wearing an electronic monitoring device, meaning cops could have easily tracked his exact location.

Eventually the officers let Young put on clothes and said: 'We believe your story.'

In the wake of the scandal over the raid, the Chicago mayor accepted her top lawyer's resignation, and apologized for her administration going to court in an attempt to block the police footage from airing on television, for refusing Young's Freedom of Information Act request to get video of the incident and initially trying to sanction Young for reportedly breaking a confidentiality agreement in her lawsuit with the city.

The 12 police officers connected to the bungled raid had been placed on desk duty pending the outcome of an investigation by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which concluded last month that half of them - including officer Ella French who was killed in the line of duty in August - should be punished.

The police review agency's findings were met with harsh criticism from Chicago's mayor, members of the City Council, the president of the city's police officers' union and French's brother, with Lightfoot slamming the decision to recommend a three-day suspension for French months after her killing as the 'height of tone-deafness.'

Young herself previously praised French's conduct during the raid, saying she was the only person who 'treated her with dignity.'
Nancy Pelosi is planning to run for reelection next year and has not ruled out attempting to keep her leadership role after the 2022 midterms, as Democrats prepare for elections that could see them lose their grip on Congress.

It means House Speaker Pelosi, 81, is looking for her 18th full term.

Sources also told CNN she may yet seek to remain the top Democrat in the House after 2022, despite previously promising to step aside from a role that has seen her elevated to a hate figure for much of the right.

And it would mean running for reelection at the age of 82

She plans to devote much of next year to raising money for Democrats as they try to hold on to their slim majority in the House, according to three sources.

But letting it be known she plans to file and run again in her San Francisco district means she staves off being labelled a lame duck speaker undercutting her fundraising push.

'Running, winning, and stepping aside at the appropriate time keeps her powder dry, avoids a run on Dem stock heading into the midterms, and sets her up to pick her successor in the special,' GOP lobbyist Liam Donovan told NBC News.

'Not much to gain and lots to lose from tipping her hand now.'

At the age of 81, Nancy Pelosi is letting it be known that she plans to file to run again in her San Francisco district and is not ruling out staying on as party leader in the House next year

Pelosi joined President Joe Biden at the White House last month to celebrate passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a key plank of their party's domestic policy agenda

Her departure would mean a radical shift for a party she has led in the House since 2003 - serving twice as House minority leader and twice as speaker.

When she was nominated again as speaker last year she suggested she would not be seeking a full term again.

She was asked how long she planned to stay in power and said: 'There was a move to put limits on the leadership and the chairs of committees.

'They said they were going to do it, they didn't do it. But what I said then was whether it passes or not, I will abide by those limits.'

That proposal would have limited her to three years in the role.

Even so, she has declined to name a successor something that sources told CNN would not change.

'Pelosi sees a responsibility to groom and advance the next generation of leaders but not to name a successor,' said a person close to her.

'That's up to the caucus in her view, whenever that may be.'

White House officials have praised the way Pelosi helped shepherd a $1 billion infrastructure bill through Congress, helping Biden achieve a legislative victory

Her successor may have an easier time. Rather than trying to keep fractious progressives in line with a more centrist White House, the next party leader in the House will likely find themselves in a minority.

'That is a blessing in disguise for whoever succeeds Nancy - because presumably on a lot of votes, we'll all be voting no,' said one Democratic member.

'I would be happy to have the problem of, 'How do we govern in our majority in the post-Pelosi world?' But I don't think we're going to.'

Pelosi presided over months of tense negotiations to steer President Joe Biden's legislative priorities through Congress.

That has won her praise even as many Democrats think it is time for a new generation of leaders.

Steve Ricchetti, a senior Biden aide who negotiated with Pelosi and other groups of Democrats, said: 'You hear the president say it all the time: Nancy Pelosi is the finest speaker of the House in the history of our country.

'Speaker Pelosi always comes through. She was the heart of our effort to pass infrastructure through the House, and there's just no one like the speaker.'
Norway is facing an Omicron 'contagion bomb' and unless effective measures are enforced, the country risks seeing up to 300,000 people infected with Covid every day, health chiefs have warned, as the variant begins to wreak havoc across Europe.

The dire warning has prompted Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere to announce the country will further tighten restrictions later this week in order to limit the spread of Covid.

'The situation is serious. The spread of infection is too high and we have to take action to limit this development,' Stoere told news agency NTB.

In nearby Denmark the situation is worsening as scientists have warned that the Omicron variant could become dominant within days.

Denmark is second worldwide only to the UK in confirmed cases of Omicron, with both countries having extensive sequencing of samples to detect variants quickly.

Denmark has recorded a total of 3,437 Omicron cases as of Monday, while the UK has recorded a total of 4,713 Omicron infections. Meanwhile, Norway recorded a total of 958 cases of the variant as of Sunday.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that the UK is facing a 'tidal wave' of Omicron as it emerged that at least one person in the country has died with the variant.

Denmark has recorded a total of 3,437 Omicron cases as of Monday, while the UK has recorded nearly double that figure with a total of 4,713 Omicron infections. Meanwhile, Norway recorded a total of 958 cases of the variant as of Sunday. The Omicron variant has led to the number of cases in the three countries to skyrocket

Danish health authorities to announced on Monday that a third dose of the Covid vaccine would be offered sooner to everyone over 40 to curb the spread of the variant. Pictured: An 11-year-old girl receives her jab in Amagar, Denmark

Demonstrators peacefully march during a 'Men in Black' protest against new government Covid-19 restrictions in Copenhagen, Denmark

Denmark is second worldwide only to the UK in confirmed cases of Omicron, with both countries having extensive sequencing of samples to detect variants quickly. But there is resistance to the reintroduction of a vaccine pass.

Across the Channel, France is set to be hit by a sixth Covid wave in January due to the Omicron variant, according to a leading French hospital executive.

'We haven't said a word on the sixth wave, which is Omicron, which will come later, in January,' Martin Hirsch, head of Paris's AP-HP hospitals group, Europe's largest hospital system, told RTL radio.

France has recorded just 59 Omicron cases so far while Germany has recorded 77, which is much lower than the UK and Denmark.

But this is because Britain and Denmark are tracking and modelling the spread of the variant carefully using genome sequencing. It means that the figures they are reporting may reflect what is happening elsewhere in Europe.

Norway is setting record highs in terms of both new Covid-19 infections and hospitalisations, partly due to the spread of the Omicron variant.

The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI) issued a dire warning on Monday as it said the government must move quickly to impose further restrictions in order to stem the spread of the variant.

'The Omicron variant will already in December cause a wave with many sick, many hospitalisations, [putting a] significant burden on the health care system and society through, among other things, widespread sickness absence,' the FHI said.

They warned that unless effective measures are established, the nation of 5.4 million people risks having between 90,000 and 300,000 new Covid cases per day in the next three weeks, adding that there could be up to 200 hospital admissions every day.

On Monday, there were 358 people hospitalised with Covid in Norway - the highest number during the entire pandemic, the Norwegian Directorate of Health said.

Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere is set to announce the country will further tighten restrictions later this week in order to limit the spread of Covid

In the UK, Mr Johnson said on Sunday that two vaccine doses would not be enough to contain it as her urged Britons to get their booster jab.

The Omicron variant appears to spread faster than the Delta variant, making vaccines less effective but causing less severe symptoms, the World Health Organization said Sunday, while stressing that the data remains patchy.

Indeed, data from Denmark's research institute Staten Serums Institute shows that of the 2,471 people infected with Omicron so far, 74.6 per cent - or 1,843 people - were double vaccinated.

It has prompted the Danish health authorities to announce on Monday that a third dose of the Covid vaccine would be offered sooner to everyone over 40 to curb the spread of the variant.

'Due to the new and more contagious Omicron variant the Danish Health Authority has decided to push the third jab for everyone aged 40 and above, so they get the vaccine four and half months after the second jab,' the health authority said in a statement.

By reducing the interval of the doses, 'we will be able to enter the winter with better protection for those at increased risk of severe disease and increased immunity in the population,' director Soren Brostrom said.

A third dose is 'safe and effective' as soon as three months after the initial vaccine course, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said last week.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the country last night that a wave of Omicron 'is coming' as he ramped up the booster drive to meet his target of delivering a million jabs a day. The PM is pictured above at a vaccination centre in Westminster, London

The UK Covid alert level was raised from level 3 to level 4 after the UK reported another 1,239 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant

Denmark has seen a high vaccine uptake among its population of 5.8 million people, with 80.6 per cent of those over the age of five receiving two jabs already.

In response to the surge in cases, Denmark reintroduced new restrictions last week, closing schools and colleges, curtailing nightlife and promoting remote working.

It comes as Mads Albertsen, a professor at Aalborg University, said the Omicron variant could be dominant within days.

Meanwhile, Norway's Prime Minister will hold a press conference at 8pm tonight to announce new restrictions to curb the spread of the variant.

The government on December 7 introduced a cap on the number of visitors allowed in private homes and shortened the hours bars and restaurants can serve alcohol, but additional regulation is now required.

'The situation concerns us more than it did previously,' Line Vold, the FHI's head of infection control and emergency preparedness, told public broadcaster NRK.

'We think Omicron will be the dominant variant in the coming days... We need to quickly introduce further restrictions.'

New regulations could come later on Monday, newspaper VG reported, citing unnamed sources.

To speed up vaccination with booster doses, the health ministry has asked Norway's armed forces as well as pharmacies to assist in the inoculation campaign, VG reported.

It comes after it emerged earlier this month that a business trip to South Africa may have sparked the world's biggest Omicron outbreak after between 50 and 60 vaccinated people were infected at a Christmas party in Norway.

Scatec staff had recently returned from South Africa, where the super-mutant strain was first discovered, before a meal at Louise Restaurant & Bar in Aker Brygge on Oslo's waterfront.

The Christmas party was held in a closed room but the guests reportedly mingled with other people in the restaurant after 10:30pm, when it turned into a nightclub (pictured, inside Louise Restaurant & Bar)

Fifty people tested positive with a PCR test and 10 with a lateral flow following the party, though so far none is thought to be seriously ill.

Oslo authorities confirmed one positive Omicron case following the company Christmas party and said more infections were 'expected'.

Scatec has insisted only vaccinated employees were allowed to attend the party and they needed a negative test result beforehand.

Norwegian epidemiologists had earlier ruled out the possibility the infections are Delta variant cases and said there was a 'high probability' it was Omicron.

The Christmas party was held in a closed room but the guests reportedly mingled with other people in the restaurant after 10:30pm, when it turned into a nightclub.

At least two restaurant guests not involved in the Christmas party also later tested positive, though it is not yet clear if they were infected at the event or from a different contact.

Ten waiters who served the table were tested after the party, but none have tested positive. But one of the company's super-spreaders was also drinking in an Irish bar in the city the following night, raising fears more could be infected.
Jim Clyburn said Democrats shouldn't have to 'police Republicans' as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi faces calls from her party to punish Lauren Boebert for her suicide bomber comments aimed at Ilhan Omar.

'She is a member of the Republican conference, so it's not the Democratic party's responsibility to police Republicans,' the House Majority Whip told Axios on HBO in an interview that aired Sunday.

'We've got a hard enough job with our own,' Clyburn continued.

The South Carolina Democrat added: 'The problem is there's no leadership on the Republican side and that's why these people are running willy-nilly, because there's nobody providing them leadership.'

Boebert, a Colorado pro-Trump Republican, currently sits on the Committee on Natural Resources where she is on the Subcommittee on Indigenous Peoples of the United States and Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife; and is a member on the Committee on the Budget.

She is facing calls to be removed from those committees after the Republican Party refused to take action against Boebert after she made Islamaphobic remarks aimed at Representative Omar of Minnesota.

When asked about potential action against Boebert during a press conference Wednesday, Pelosi said: 'When I'm ready to announce that, I'll let you know.'

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn said Democrats shouldn't have to 'police Republicans'

Comments come as calls increase from Democrats for GOP Representative Lauren Boebert (pictured Thursday) to be stripped of her committee assignments following anti-Muslim joke aimed at Ilhan Omar

'It's just an intensification of their neglect of honoring Rule 23, that says we all have a responsibility to honor the House of Representatives, serve in a way that brings honor to the House,' Pelosi said when she was pushed on how Boebert's situation is different rom Representatives Paul Gosar and Marjorie Taylor Greene, who were immediately punished for incendiary comments.

'It's their responsibility to deal with their people,' Pelosi said of the Republican Party refusing to take formal steps to condemn or punish members of the GOP.

'How we deal with the fear that they have instilled in the Islam - with their Islamophobia and the rest is something that hopefully we can do in a bipartisan way,' she added. 'But the responsibility is on them.'

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy made clear shortly after the comments emerged that he would not take action against Boebert because she apologized to Omar. He also pointed out hypocrisy in the Democratic Party  pointing out Omar's previous anti-Semitic comments.

Many advocates have condemned Pelosi for her failure to reprimand Omar for her anti-Semitic remarks and called for her to removed the lawmaker from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Over the summer, Omar came under fire for a controversial tweet stating: 'We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity. We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the US, Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban.'

She later tried to clarify that she did not mean to equate Israel and the U.S. with terrorist organizations. She has also made other incendiary remarks about Jewish people and Israel since becoming a congresswoman.

In May, Omar accused Israel of committing 'war crimes' in the conflict with Hamas, which was operating in Palestinian territory of Gaza.

She also used a stereotype about Jewish people being greedy when she tweeted in 2019, 'It's all about the Benjamins baby' when talking about sending U.S. funding to Israel.

A group of three dozen House progressive lawmakers, led by Massachusetts Representative Ayanna Pressley, introduced legislation last week to strip Boebert of her assignments.

They hope the action will force Democratic leadership to punish Boebert before the end of the year.

Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, a member of the so-called progressive 'squad' with Omar, shed tears on Wednesday during a press conference on Democrats' resolution.

Tlaib and Omar, both elected in 2018, are the first and so far only Muslim women to serve in the U.S. Congress.

The Michigan lawmaker was one of several Democrats who appeared last week to publicly denounce Boebert and the Republican party, telling the absent congresswoman: 'You know exactly what you were doing and you have to be held accountable.'

'I'm not only a colleague up here, but I'm also a fellow Muslim,' Tlaib starts to say before her voice begins to crack.

'You know I get emotional but let me tell you, all of you - your solidarity means so much.'

Soon after, tears could be seen running down the congresswoman's face as she accused Boebert of knowingly calling for 'violence' when the Republican joked at an event that Omar was a suicide bomber.

'When she said that, she was evoking violence on Muslims all across our country - and so it's important to know - of course, Ilhan Omar, when I check up on her, she's like 'Sis, I survived war, I can survive this.' She says that so that I can stop crying,' Tlaib said.

Tlaib was visibly emotional when it was her time to speak at the Wednesday press conference

The Squad member was referencing Omar's childhood fleeing Somalia during the country's brutal civil war, taking shelter as a refugee in Kenya with her family for four years before moving to the United States.

Tlaib was apparently referencing Republicans like Boebert when she said, 'They have Muslims in their communities - I know they do. They call me to say, 'How can I talk to them?''

'It is hard being Muslim in our country right now, and this makes it worse,' she said. 'This is a national platform that we cannot allow her to use to evoke not only - this is not only hate ... it's not just hate speech, which is God awful, but it's also hate speech that's evoking violence and danger towards a whole people in our country.'

She continued to address Boebert directly, though she wasn't in the room: 'You called a colleague a suicide bomber. You called her a terrorist. By saying that, you said it about all Muslims in our country and you know it.'

Representative Jimmy Gomez of California, who also spoke at the press conference last week, recounted his own unpleasant experience when denouncing Republican lawmakers' conduct as a whole.

Gomez claimed he was on his way to vote for Biden's Build Back Better bill when a GOP colleague joined him in the Capitol elevator.

'You people are effing ruining this country,' Gomez, who is the son of immigrants, said he was told.

She appeared alongside several other lawmakers who were introducing their resolution against Boebert

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who was the subject of a violent video posted on Twitter by Arizona GOP Rep. Paul Gosar, accused Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy of fostering an environment where such things can happen.

'I would argue at this point, the pattern is now established that Leader McCarthy encourages and is accepting of this targeting - particularly of women of color - in the United States Congress,' Ocasio-Cortez said.

'The people inflicting this type of violence and aggression don't have to live with the consequences of it. they don't have to ride around in a 20,000lb armored truck and need six people to go to them - to go with them just so they can go to the grocery store.'

Gosar was stripped of his committee assignments in November over the video he posted. All but two Republicans voted to defend him.

'Representative Boebert, whatever her intentions may be for her racism and flagrant bigotry, needs to experience a consequence for her actions,' Ocasio-Cortez said.

Mounting pressure has ensued for Boebert to face punishment after a video clip surfaced from an event in September where the Colorado Republican made a suicide bomber about Omar, who is a hijab-wearing Muslim woman.

'For a Member of Congress to repeatedly use hateful, anti-Muslim rhetoric and Islamophobic tropes towards a Muslim colleague is dangerous. It has no place in our society and it diminishes the honor of the institution we serve in,' Pressley said in a statement about her bill that would stop Boebert of her committees.

House Democrats, led by Representative Ayanna Pressley (left) released a resolution Wednesday to strip Boebert of her committee assignments after the GOP refused to punish her. The bill is is co-sponsored by three dozen Democrats  including fellow squad member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (right)

'Without meaningful accountability for that Member's actions, we risk normalizing this behavior and endangering the lives of our Muslim colleagues, Muslim staffers and every Muslim who calls America home. The House must unequivocally condemn this incendiary rhetoric and immediately pass this resolution. How we respond in moments like these will have lasting impacts, and history will remember us for it,' Pressley added.

Omar told CNN on Sunday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has promised 'decisive action' against Boebert soon, and said she trusts that will happen.

'I have had a conversation with the speaker, and I'm very confident that she will take decisive action next week,' the Minnesota progressive lawmaker said.

'When I first got to Congress, I was worried that I wasn't going to be allowed to be sworn in because there was a ban on the hijab,' Omar added. 'She promised me that she would take care of it. She fulfilled that promise.'

Representative Ilhan Omar (pictured) said Sunday that she trusts House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to take 'decisive action' soon against Boebert

'She's made another promise to me that she will take care of this. And I believe her.'

There are three dozen Democratic lawmakers co-sponsoring the bill with Pressley, including Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman of New York; Rashida Tlaib of Michigan; Cori Bush of Missouri; Pramila Jayapal of Washington; Andre Carson of Indiana; and Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas.

It's unclear, however, whether Pelosi will be persuaded to take action once the resolution is introduced as leadership is not required to immediately consider it on the floor.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has defended Boebert, making it clear that the Republican Conference will not take action to punish or condemn the Colorado lawmaker.

In the video of Boebert's comments from this fall, she said: 'One of my staffers, on his first day with me, got into an elevator in the Capitol. And in that elevator, we were joined by Ilhan Omar.'

'Well, it was just us three in there and I looked over and I said, 'Well, lookey there, it's the Jihad Squad,'' she told the audience, smiling as the room broke into laughter and applause.

'I do have to say she doesn't have a backpack, she wasn't dropping it and running so we're good,' she continued.

In the same clip, Boebert called Omar and Tlaib, who is also Muslim, 'evil' and black-hearted.'

'Let me be very clear,' McCarthy said at a press conference Friday. 'This party is for anyone and everyone who craves freedom and supports religious liberty. Lauren Boebert, as I called her, when it came forward we talked, she apologized publicly, she apologized personally.'

On CNN Sunday, Omar called out McCarthy for refusing to condemn Boebert's comments.

'McCarthy's a liar and a coward,' Omar said of the Calfironia Republican. 'He doesn't have the ability to condemn the kind of bigoted, Islamaphobia and anti-Muslim rhetoric that are being trafficked by a member of his conference.'

'Why doesn't he have the ability to do that?' CNN State of the Union host Jake Tapper asked her.

'Because this is who they are,' she responded.

'And we have to be able to stand up to them, and we have to push them to reckon with the fact that their party, right now, is normalizing anti-Muslim bigotry.'
Larking around as they perform a mock Papal blessing. this is Chris Cuomo and his former CNN producer who has now been accused of luring underage girls to his home to engage in sexual activity.

The fired CNN host lifts up John Griffin, who bragged about being 'shoulder to shoulder' with Chris, with both hands and a pained look on his face in the photo posted on Twitter.

Griffin makes a funny face while holding a toy Pope in the image, which was uploaded in September 2015 to mark the Pontiffs visit to the US.

The caption says: @ChrisCuomo says he can get me blessed by #PopeFrancis thanks to my "giant baby head." Let's try it, shall we??

Fired Chris Cuomo, 51, has been accused of sexual impropriety with a CNN staffer. John Griffin, 44, was arrested charged with enticing minors to engage in unlawful sexual acti. This photo emerged after Griffin, who bragged about being shoulder to shoulder with Cuomo while they worked on CNNs New Day, was charged by federal prosecutors in Vermont with three counts of trying to entice minors to engage in unlawful sexual activity

Griffin, who appears to be a father of three, was a senior producer for New Day while Cuomo was there before Cuomo moved to take over Cuomo Primetime

The photo emerged after Griffin, who worked with Cuomo on CNNs New Day, was charged by federal prosecutors in Vermont with three counts of trying to entice minors to engage in unlawful sexual activity

He has been suspended by CNN which said the allegations were deeply disturbing.

Earlier this month Cuomo, 51, was fired by the TV network after the full extent of his role in fighting allegations of sexual misconduct against his brother, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, became public.

In addition, a former female producer who worked with Cuomo when he was at ABC came forward with an allegation of sexual impropriety.

The photo of Cuomo and Griffin was posted on Twitter on September 26, 2015 and was met with scorn on the social network.

After Griffins arrest a user called J Anderson wrote: This didnt age well.

Another user wrote: Birds of a feather flock together.

A photo posted three days earlier showed Cuomo and Griffin with their arms around each other and another CNN employee while they stood outside the White House.

DailyMail.com spotted axed CNN host Chris Cuomo in the Hamptons on Saturday in his first sighting since being fired from CNN earlier this month

Griffin wrote: Habemus Papam!!! as it referred to the Popes visit to President Obama.

The image is not the only time that Griffin posted on social media about his warm feelings towards Cuomo.

In a post on March 31 last year Griffin showed support for Cuomo after he contracted Covid-19 and had to isolate in his familys basement.

He wrote: Praying for my boy Chris Cuomo even if, purely technically at least, he isn't my boy anymore. But as he said on tonight's broadcast, please don't worry for him. Watch him closely when he says, with a positive Corona diagnosis don't forget, what HE'S worried about: his kids-- and he nearly starts crying. I saw that time and time again.

He has never, and won't ever, give a flying crap about himself if someone near him is more vulnerable and in need, period.

Griffin said that he spent five years traveling the world, shoulder-to-shoulder, squeezed in, both physically and emotionally, with this tree-trunk of a man.

Griffin wrote: He once picked up all 200, flabby daddy pounds of me like I was a feather and THREW me to safety the MILLISECOND he THOUGHT I might get hit by a tree in a hurricane.

According to Griffin, Cuomo was going to give Covid-19 an uppercut and make it run away squealing like a little you-know-what, BELIEVE ME, it's him.

On Griffins Twitter account he calls himself a Writer, Father, Tech Head and says he worked for CNN since 2013.

Griffin, who appears to be a father of three, was a senior producer for New Day while Cuomo was there before Cuomo moved to take over Cuomo Primetime.

According to the indictment, Griffin 44, of Stamford, Connecticut, tried to lure underage girls to his ski lodge in Vermont between April and July of last year.

He mostly used messaging app Kik and Google Hangout to talk to parents and told them that a woman is a woman regardless of her age, it is claimed.

Prosecutors claim that Griffin tried to get the parents to train their daughters to be sexually submissive.

He allegedly advised a mother of nine-year-old and 13-year-old daughters that her responsibility was to see them trained properly.

Griffin worked shoulder-to-shoulder with former lead anchor Chris Cuomo on the show New Day

A photo posted three days earlier showed Cuomo and Griffin with their arms around each other and another CNN employee while they stood outside the White House

Griffin is said to have sent the mother more than $3,000 for plane tickets so she and the nine-year-old could fly to Boston where he picked them up and drove them in his Tesla to his lodge in Ludlow, Vermont.

While at the house the daughter was directed to engage in, and did engage in, unlawful sexual activity, prosecutors claimed.

Griffin also allegedly suggested to one mother that she engage in a virtual training session that would include him instructing her and her 14-year-old daughter to remove their clothing and touch each other at his direction.

Griffin faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in jail on each count.

He has yet to enter a plea.

On each count, Griffin faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in jail

Other allegations in the indictment detail how Griffin allegedly tried to entice two other children online in order to participate in sexual activity.

In April 2020, Griffin coordinated a 'virtual training session' in which he instructed a woman and her 14-year-old daughter to remove their clothes during a video chat.

Two months later, in June 2020, prosecutors claim Griffin offered to pay for a woman and her 16-year-old daughter to come to his ski house in Vermont for sexual 'training' involving the teen.

Griffin is then said to have mentioned how he 'sexually trained girls as young as 7 years old,' according to the indictment.
A 37-year-old unvaccinated correctional officer from Massachusetts has died of Covid despite being fit and healthy with no underlying health conditions.

Anthony J. Pasquarello, a 15-year veteran of the Essex County Sheriff's Department, died on Thursday and colleagues paid tribute to him with a candlelit vigil outside Middleton correctional facility on Friday.

Pasquarello, known by his friends as Pasky, leaves behind a six-year-old son, Vincent, and his fiancee, Rio Joyce Mendoza.

Essex County Sheriff Kevin F. Coppinger told the Boston Globe that Pasquarello was not vaccinated against Covid-19 and his family hoped ther loss would encourage others to get the shot.

Anthony J. Pasquarello, a 15-year veteran of the Essex County Sheriff's Department, died on Thursday and colleagues paid tribute to him with a candlelit vigil outside Middleton correctional facility on Friday

Members of Essex County Sheriff's Department at a memorial for Pasquarello

'They just hope that other people can get educated, with his case,' Coppinger said. 'Anthony was a 37-year-old guy, no preexisting medical issues, he worked out routinely, was in great shape, healthy lifestyle.'

'He caught COVID and the worst happened,' he continued. 'They hope other people will just look at it saying, 'This COVID could happen to anybody.''

Hundreds turned out for his vigil Friday night as his colleagues stood in uniform to listen to speeches about their 'incredible coworker', much loved for his 'laugh, humour, kind hearted and friendly personality.'

A GoFundMe page set up to help Pasquarello's young family has already reached nearly $50,000.

The page says: 'Anthony leaves behind his mother Norine, father Mario, fiance Rio Joyce and his 6-year old son Vincent. An incredible coworker and even better friend, Anthony will be missed greatly.

'The void left by Anthony's passing will never be filled. He touched so many peoples lives, and left an everlasting impression. His laugh, humor, kind hearted and friendly personality will be sorely missed, but never forgotten.

'Fly high our angel, you will be remembered, you will be honored, you will be missed. We love you Anthony!'

An Essex County van stands beside a picture of Pasquarello during his vigil outside Middleton correctional facility on Friday

In a heartrending Facebook post, the corrections department wrote: 'Anthony was one of the kindest, warm-hearted, and humorous people to be around.

'His passing will leave a void that will forever go unfilled. Rest in peace Anthony, our Brother, our friend, our angel.'

Friends and family will be able to pay their final respects to Pasquarello on Monday afternoon at McDonald Funeral Home in Wakefield.

A mass is being held for the father-of-one at St. Joseph Church on Tuesday at 10am.
A man who tastes up to 50 Brussels sprouts a day has claimed the festive vegetable is the 'best thing on the plate' at Christmas and comes just ahead of pigs in blankets.

Ben Harrison, 26, from Leeds, who is employed by the supermarket chain Asda, tests Brussels sprouts before they go on the shelves for customers.

The technical manager, who studied Food and Nutrition at university, claims he can happily eat tens of Brussels sprouts a day and that being able to taste the vegetable is the 'best part of his job'.

He said: 'When we are testing new varieties and visiting our trusted growers, I could eat up to 50 sprouts a day.

'This is the best part of my job!

'It's really important to make sure we give Asda customers the best tasting sprouts and continually improve varieties so more people pick them up and give them a go.

'Brussels sprouts are the best thing on the plate at Christmas! Just ahead of the pigs in blankets.

Ben Harrison, 26, is a taste-tester for Asda and goes on trips to the supermarket's partnered farms to try out the varieties on offer

On some days, Ben tastes up to 50 Brussels sprouts in a day - a nightmare for some, although he assures us it is the dream job for him

'The freshest sprouts are a fresh green colour, typically with an oval to round shape dependent on variety.

'Over the years, the varieties have evolved from a bitter tasting flavour to now having a sweeter flavour.

'It is important that the sprouts are cooked correctly, as overcooking them can lead to them being more bitter in taste and could create an unappetising aroma - probably why some sprout eaters are put off!'

The sprout tester said the festive vegetable does not need to be eaten just at Christmas and could also be used in fresh salads or whole roasts.

He added: 'We work collaboratively with our trusted farmers who grow over 15 varieties, to ensure we have the best possible sprouts on the shelves for Asda customers this Christmas.

'It's difficult to be a sprout tester as spotting the small differences in tastes between different varieties isn't easy but is essential to give customers the best sprouts.

'You also need to have a solid knowledge of all the factors that affect harvests.

'Sprouts are a great addition to the Christmas meal; I particularly enjoy sprouts boiled then cooked in some oil with garlic and bacon.

With a degree in Food and Nutrition and a refined palate to boot, Ben is well equipped for his job of scouting out the best sprouts for Asda's shelves

Ben says Brussels sprouts needn't be cooked: he recommends grating them raw over salads

Sprouts are one of the staple vegetables served with a traditional Christmas dinner (pictured stock image)

'They're totally versatile though, so you don't just have to save them for Christmas dinner.

'You can also use sprouts in other recipes, cook them, and grate the sprouts into a fresh salad or whole roast with garlic and herbs.

'There are some amazing sprout products in Asda this year that I'm sure will convert anyone over to loving sprouts.

'You can of course grab your plain sprouts if you have your own recipe to work with, plus the trimmed version helps to cut down on prep time when it comes to the big day.'

Last month research by Tesco found traditional festive staples such as Brussels sprouts and Christmas pudding were falling out of favour by Gen Z.

Despite being one of the most favoured Christmas dinner sides for older generations, nearly one in four people aged 18-24 said they hated Brussels sprouts.

The number of 25-34 year olds opting for the traditional pudding had also fallen drastically, having halved from 30 per cent in 2020 to just 15 per cent in 2021 - with the supermarket saying chocolate desserts are likely to be the most common thing served on December 25 in the future.
A former Tory councillor who ran over his wife with a Mercedes in the driveway of their home in France has been jailed for 14 years.

David Turtle, 67, was found guilty of deliberately killing his wife Stephanie, 50, in front of their house in Prayssac in March 2017.

Turtle denies murdering his wife and plans to appeal the Cahors Criminal Court's verdict, saying her death was an accident.

David Turtle, 67 (right), has been found guilty of deliberately killing his wife Stephanie (left), 50, in front of their house in Prayssac in March 2017

The decision comes following a three-day trial.

Local media reported that prosecutor David Serra said: 'David Turtle could not have been unaware that Stephanie Turtle was in front of the car when he drove over her body.

'As soon as he pushed on the pedal, he crushed her.'

Matthieu Chirez, a lawyer for the victims sister, also argued that it doesn't make sense that Stephanie would 'voluntarily put herself under the wheels, knowing that he [David Turtle] wanted to leave', local site ActuLot reported.

Turtle had appeared before magistrates in Cahors, southwest France, on Wednesday charged with aggravated manslaughter over his wife's death, which he denied.

Prosecutors alleged that Stephanie had laid down in front of Turtle's car to stop him leaving after an argument which began over what TV programme to watch, and that he had knowingly run over her.

She suffered fatal injuries including multiple rib fractures, a broken collarbone, broken shoulder bone, lesions in her lungs, abdominal trauma and a fractured pelvis

But Turtle had denied the allegations, saying he intended to go for a drive after the argument and was unaware that his wife was in front of his two-and-a-half ton Mercedes E-class when he pulled away.

'I loved my wife,' he told the court. 'What happened has broken my heart.'

Prosecutors accused Turtle (right) of deliberately running over Stephanie (left) after an argument, but he says it was an accident and he didn't know his wife was in the driveway

Turtle told the court how he had joined the RAF after school and worked in a shoe shop for 20 years before becoming a car dealer for Peugeot and Mercedes.

He met newly-divorced Stephanie in 1996 on a holiday in Turkey for single people when he was aged 40 and the pair had been 'drawn to each-other', he said.

They married shortly afterwards, in 2000, and had settled down near Bournemouth where Turtle became a councillor for the Kinson North ward and Stephanie had worked in Dorset council's human resources department.

'Stephanie was the love of my life, it took 40 years to find her,' he said.

But Stephanie harboured dreams of opening a B&B in France and in 2016 they moved after discovering the 'perfect' property, despite it needing 'a lot of work'.

Turtle told the court that he had been 'sad' to leave his life behind, but that his wife's dreams were more important to him.

Recounting the night of Stephanie's death, Turtle told the court that the couple began fighting over what TV programme to watch before she went to bed.

He said she came down later in the evening and, to avoid the argument restarting, he had decided to go out for a drive.

Turtle said he heard Stephanie follow him out of the house but hadn't seen her when he started the engine and drove a few metres.

He then stopped the car and climbed out, and it was only afterwards that he saw her trapped underneath and realised what had happened.

But prosecutors said the argument had restarted and was in full swing by the time Turtle went to leave the house.

They argued that Stephanie either laid down in front of the vehicle in an attempt to stop him leaving and that he had knowingly driven over her, or that she had been knocked unconscious in the row and he had placed her in front of the car.

Major Alain Chauvin, a now-retired police officer who led the investigation, told the magistrates that none of the witnesses his officers questioned believed the death was accidental.

He said there was no way that Stephanie could have got in front of the 37,000 Mercedes without Turtle seeing.

But defence lawyers hit back, saying there was no hard evidence that the death was either the result of an accident or willful act.

A court psychologist assessed Turtle to be of 'normal intelligence' with an 'obsessional' psychiatric profile, but otherwise an 'educated and responsible man'.

In previous accounts given to police, Turtle said the saga began on the evening of March 29, 2017, when the couple got into an argument after dinner.

He said the row was resolved when his wife went to bed, but later resumed when Stephanie came down from the bedroom after midnight to use the toilet.

The former councillor said he wanted to go for a late night drive to calm down, but 'had a feeling' he needed to stop as he pulled out.

He got out of the car to find Stephanie trapped under one of the Mercedes' wheels with two tonnes of metal pressing down into her ribcage, and claimed he had no idea that the car had hit her.

Prosecutors argue that Stephanie's death was not the result of an accident.

During questioning, the investigating judge, Cybele Ordoqui, said it was unlikely that a woman would put on a bra and get fully dressed before heading downstairs to use the toilet in the middle of the night.

Stephanie was found by police wearing a jacket, two t-shirts and a bra.

Forensic experts also alleged that Mr Turtle would have had to 'significantly engage the accelerator pedal' in order to run down and crush his wife, and tyre marks in the gravel driveway of the B&B suggested the car set off very quickly.

'[Mr Turtle] cannot answer the question why he did not see or hear his wife and has never been able to answer it,' his indictment said.

In the days following Stephanie's death, the police also discovered a blog she maintained online about the couple's journey abroad and their new life in France.

The home of Stephanie and David Turtle in the Prayssac region of France is pictured with the Mercedes E-class, which ultimately crushed Stephanie to death, on the gravel driveway

Mrs Turtle, who was aged 50 at the time of her death, wrote on her blog: 'I have come to question if I might have slipped from the number one spot of Mr T's affections  [Our] new Mercedes Benz E-class estate is clearly Mr T's pride and joy.'

Detectives said Mrs Turtle wrote that her husband 'put possibly as much effort' into buying the Mercedes 'as into the purchase of our new home'.

Referring to the car as 'she', Mrs Turtle listed 'a few examples of why I might be feeling a little put out', including: 'She has had more attention lavished on her than most anything else since we arrived in France, with weekly cleans and touches up in between...

'She is mollycoddled. For example, she can't be parked within 20 feet of any painting activity. When leaving home, a physical check for traffic in our quiet country lane is required  I have to actually get out of the car.

'We approach junctions with the utmost caution, both of us straining our necks to check for oncoming traffic and chanting 'all clear my way'. No eating or drinking is allowed in the car lest we get greasy or sticky marks on her leather interior. The list goes on '

The blog was posted in September 2016, two months after the couple moved to Prayssac, with the intention of turning La Maison Cedre  The Cedar House  into a bed and breakfast.
A woman who preyed on a seven-year-old boy and abused him on a webcam for the pleasure of online paedophiles has been jailed.

Astrid Hilton, 62, subjected the child to almost a year of abuse and even loaned him to a paedophile who flew to the UK from Canada to molest him.

She escaped justice for 16 years before the boy, now in his 20s, courageously reported her to police.

Hilton appeared at Northampton Crown Court on Friday after admitting nine counts of child sex offences, including indecently assaulting a child.

She was jailed for six years and eight months.

Astrid Hilton, 62, was jailed for six years and eight months at Northampton Crown Court on Friday

The court heard that Hilton began preying on the boy in 2004 and would abuse him on a webcam in front of sexual predators watching from all over the world.

The horrific abuse included one predator flying from Canada to Hilton's home in Northampton, where the victim was forced to engage in sexual activity.

Hilton was finally arrested when the boy reported her to Northamptonshire Police last year.

Detective Sergeant Andrea Taylor, who led the investigation, said Hilton is 'now where she belongs'.

She added: 'I am incredibly proud of the young man in this case who has shown courage beyond measure in reporting what happened to him as a boy to the police and seeing this case through to its end.

'I will not refer to him as Astrid Hiltons victim because he is so much more than that.

Northampton Crown Court (pictured), where Hilton was jailed 17 years after preying on the victim in 2004

'He is a kind, strong, thoughtful and articulate man who has refused to have his life defined by the actions of depraved individuals like Hilton.

'He is hardworking, with a strong support network, and I hope the conclusion of this case gives him the closure he needs to move forward with a life that has an incredible amount of promise in it.

'As for Astrid Hilton, she is now where she belongs. And when that cell door closes every night, I hope she feels disgusted with herself and remembers the prison in which she caged this young man the moment she laid a hand on him.

'For nearly 16 years she thought she had escaped justice. But thanks to his bravery, we were able to get her in the end.'
A 23-year-old black grocery distributor was put in handcuffs last year while trying to cash his paycheck after workers in the bank called police, claiming his check was fake, in a shocking instance of racist bias now being referred to as 'banking while black'.

Joe Morrow was working as an order picker for UNFI in Hopkins, a suburb of Minneapolis, when he tried to cash his $900 paycheck at a branch of US Bank last October.

He had an account with the bank and had ID on him at the time, but when he tried to deposit the check, the bank teller accused him of trying to cash a fake.

They hauled him into a room for questioning and called the police, who arrived and placed him in handcuffs.

It was all filmed on bodycam footage that was released by KSTP this week after Morrow reached a private settlement with the bank.

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Joseph Morrow is shown being questioned by police from the Columbia Heights Police Department while sitting opposite the bank manager at US Bank in Hopkins, Minnesota, last October. He had tried to cash his $900 pay check and the bank manger claimed it was fake

Morrow was put in handcuffs while the cops verified with his employer at UNFI that the check was real

Sergeant Justin Pletcher of the Columbia Heights Police Department told him that every time he claimed he was innocent or got upset, it made him look 'guilty'

After he was put in handcuffs, the bank manager John Askwith confirmed with Morrow's employer that the check was real.

But by then he'd been marched out in front of other customers in the bank, and made to feel like he was a 'criminal' by Sergeant Justin Pletcher of the Columbia Heights Police Department.

When he protested to the white cop who responded that he was innocent, the cop warned him: ''I need you to calm down.

'Don't say anything stupid, because you're going to get arrested for it.'

He later told him that he'd been arrested because others had been coming into the bank with fake checks with UNFI's logo on it, and that he had to wait for the bank manager to verify that his was real.

'They're making fake checks with that logo all right. So what the branch manager has to do is call and make sure it's a good check.

'I need you to stay calm for this because when you start acting like this, it makes you look guilty,' Sergeant Justin Pletcher said.

Morrow replied: 'But I am not guilty.'

Morrow told KSTP this week that he was made to feel like a 'criminal' when he had done nothing wrong. He reached an undisclosed settlement with the bank, but is now speaking out

The cop who put him in cuffs and threatened to arrest him was Sergeant Justin Pletcher. He is still employed by the Columbia Heights Police Department

Pletcher shot back: 'No no, I know. I'm saying when you start getting upset and irate. It makes you look guilty.'

US Bank recently paid him an undisclosed settlement and the CEO has apologized for the incident, but it's unclear if anyone has been fired over the incident

In an interview with local outlet KSTP, Morrow said the bank teller told him that 'you people always' try to cash fake checks - a phrase he took to mean black people.

'When I got handcuffed, everybody is looking. I was handcuffed. Like I'm a criminal or something, like I am doing something bad. I didn't threaten him. I got up,' he said.

The incident has been slammed by anti-racism advocates who say it would never have happened to a white person.

'I am deeply sorry for where we failed and accept full responsibility. Our commitment to racial equity and inclusion, and that of US Bank, is unwavering.

'What Mr. Morrow experienced is not the experience any customer should have. All of our employees are required to complete two levels of unconscious bias training, in addition to other training to prevent racial bias.

'Sometimes, unfortunately, we do not live up to our goals.

'In the case of Mr. Morrow, we fell short and I apologize on behalf of the bank,' President and CEO Andy Cecere said in a letter.
An Idaho church has replaced a stained glass window of Robert E Lee, George Washington and Abe Lincoln with the country's first black Methodist bishop wearing an LGBTQ scarf.

The late bishop Leontine Kelly, who passed away at age 92 in 2012, had lived in Richmond, Virginia with her family where monuments of former Confederate leaders, such as Lee, had lined Monument Avenue.

The statue of Lee, a former Civil War general and slave owner, was later removed by the city on September 8.

The call to remove the statue had been recommended by Governor Ralph Northam in June 2020 as Lee was believed to have represented a time of racial injustice.

The stained glass window at the Cathedral of the Rockies First Methodist Church in Boise, Idaho, which featured Lee was taken down in August 2020.

The window, erected in 1960, featured Lee standing with Washington and Lincoln who were 'selected to show historic and contemporary leaders of our nation,' according to the Idaho Statesman.

Kelly now stands in place of these three men, while donning an LGBTQ scarf, and standing proud with her hands folded.

She had been elected as the first black Methodist bishop in a 1984 ceremony.

The portrayal of the former bishop was inspired by a photo taken of Kelly where she calmly stood in the midst of a 1985 protest against nuclear armaments.

A church in Boise, Idaho replaced a stained glass window featuring former Confederate leader Robert E Lee as well as former Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln in favor of the first black female Methodist bishop Leontine Kelly

Kelly, who died in 2012, had been inducted in her position at a ceremony in 1984

The Cathedral of the Rockies First Methodist Church paid $25,591 for the window which was placed on Tuesday

The new $25,591 window was put in place on Tuesday after the space had sat empty for about a year-and-a-half.

'We voted to remove it, not knowing whom we would put in the window, but we would figure out something to represent,' senior pastor Duane Anders told the Statesman.

'So for a year and a half the windows have been clear. In a sense, we let some light in.'

Anders also said that Kelly had been chosen among 50 possible candidates to be featured in the space.

'As we started working through the names, one just kept rising to the top, because of our connection to the person and their connection to Boise,' he said. 'And thats Bishop Leontine Kelly.'

Kelly had been inducted into her position at a ceremony in Richmond in 1984

The image used on the stained glass window was inspired by a photograph taken of Kelly at a protest against nuclear armaments

She had been the second woman elected for the role succeeding Marjorie S. Matthews who was the first

The window was created by Willet Hauser Architectural Glass, a Minnesota stained glass studio, and was purchased using the church's endowment fund.

Kelly's children said they hope to come see the window someday in memory of their mother.

'Some people were saying it cant happen, its not going to happen,' Kelly's daughter Angella Current Felder said.

'So the fact that it happened, for those of us who recognize and believe in the Holy Spirit, it was divinely guided.'

Who was America's first black female Methodist bishop Leonite Kelly made history in 1984 as being the first black female Methodist bishop in the US. Born in Washington DC on March 5, 1920, she had been raised by Methodist minister David Turpeau and feminist activist Ila Marshall Tupeau. After moving to Cincinatti with her family, Kelly's father served four terms in the Ohio House of Representatives and her mother founded the Urban League of Cincinatti She later attended West Virginia State University before dropping out to marry Gloster B. Current whom she had three children with before the couple got divorced After the divorce, she married Methodist minister James David Kelly and moved to Richmond, Virginia where she went to school at Virginia Union University to earn her bachelor's and became a teacher Following her husband's death, Kelly was asked to step in his position and became a Certified Laid Speaker in Virginia as well as becoming an ordained Deacon in 1972 and an Elder in 1977 She then made history in 1984 when she was elected as bishop by the Western Jurisdictional Conference of the U.M. Church Kelly then served in the San Francisco Episcopal Area until her retirement in 1992 She was also the president of the Western Jurisdiction College of Bishops in which she oversaw about 100,000 members During her lifetime, she was also an advocate for LGBTQ rights and spoke out against nuclear warfare Kelly also received the Thomas Merton Award in 2002 and was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. She died at a retirement home in Oakland, California on June 28, 2012 at the age of 92 Advertisement

Current Felder was present for her mother's induction ceremony which attended wearing a lei of orchards and a purple Nigerian dress which she said was 'symbolic of the presence of the ancestors.'

She had also written a book about Kelly called Breaking Barriers: An African-American Family and the Methodist Story.

Kelly's son John Current also spoke highly of his late mother who had been elected in a role that had been dominantly held by men.

'What she inherited there was a wooden church that had been built 100 years earlier, probably right around the time of the emancipation of the slaves, and a hole that had been dug for a new foundation for a new church,' he said. 'She, confronted with Where do I go from here? responded, God.'

'It was a very male-dominated culture,' he added. 'However, Jesus did violate the customs of the culture in that he talked with women, shared with women.

'Women were part of the entourage of Jesus Christ. God calls whomever God would call.'

Current is currently the senior pastor at the Hope United Methodist Church in San Francisco.

'Her life is a culmination of many generations in the Methodist Church,' he said.

'She was a daughter of a Methodist pastor, sister of a Methodist pastor, she married a Methodist pastor and shes the mother of Methodist pastors.

'Thats a unique legacy, and were honored to see her memory in stained glass.'

The former window featuring the three historical leaders is now being held at the Idaho Black History Museum.

The window is being preserved to continue to educate people on the country's history.

Kelly was born Leontine Turpeau to a Methodist minister father and a feminist mother in Washington DC on March 5, 1920.

She was raised in Cincinnati and attended West Virginia State University before leaving to marry her first husband Gloster B. Current who she had three children with before the couple divorced.

She then married Methodist minister James David Kelly in 1956 and moved to Richmond.

Following the move, Kelly enrolled at Virginia Union University where she earned a bachelor's degree in 1960 and then went on to teach high school history.

Kelly was asked to fill in for her husband's position after his death in 1969 which she initially greeted with doubt.

However, she went back to school and completed a master of divinity degree from the Union Theological Seminary in Richmond. She was ordained as a Deacon in 1972 and an Elder in 1977.

She became the second female bishop in 1984 succeeding Marjorie S. Matthews who was the first.

She then served in the San Francisco Episcopal Area until her retirement in 1992.

Kelly also received the Thomas Merton Award in 2002 and was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

She was also remembered as a social political activist who stood up for LGBTQ rights and spoke out against nuclear warfare.

She died at a retirement home in Oakland, California.
A Republican lawmaker in Ukraine's capital is urging President Joe Biden to arm the Eastern European country with 'lethal aid' in the face of rapidly escalating tensions at its border with Russia.

Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida warned that if he continues to try to avoid 'provoking Putin,' Biden risks taking the same path as former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain - whose disastrous policy of appeasement toward Adolf Hitler precipitated World War II.

'Just concluded a bipartisan congressional delegation visit to Ukraine where we met with military officials and observed training exercises,' Waltz wrote on Twitter.

As of Monday morning his office told DailyMail.com the congressman was on a flight back to the United States.

He was part of a small, bipartisan group of lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee who traveled to Ukraine to assess Russia's military build-up of troops and equipment.

Ukrainian officials have been pleading with the United States and its Allies for support ahead of what they claim is an imminent Russian invasion.

As of Sunday, multiple reports have said there were as many as 120,000 Russian soldiers at the former Soviet country's eastern border.

Waltz shared a photo on Twitter of himself, fellow GOP Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina, and Democrat Reps. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Salud Carbajal of California posing with Ukraine's Commander of Special Operations Forces Major General Grigory Galagan.

Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida revealed he was part of a small delegation of US military veterans in Congress that traveled to assess the escalating tensions on Ukraine's border with Russia

A Ukrainian soldier who goes by the nickname Chorny in a trench on the front line on December 12, 2021 in Zolote, Ukraine. A build-up of Russian troops along the border with Ukraine has heightened worries that Russia intends to invade the Donbas region, most of which is held by separatists after a 7-year-long war with the Ukrainian government

All five lawmakers on the trip are military veterans.

'Ukraine needs our help NOW to defend itself against a Russian invasion. The Biden Administration can no longer withhold lethal aid to the Ukrainian military with the hope of not provoking Putin,' Waltz wrote on Twitter.

He called out Western and NATO governments' warnings of crippling economic penalties if Russia invades Ukraine in favor of more immediate action.

'Serious sanctions and lethal aid should be put in place now to raise costs deter this invasion, rather than threatening consequences AFTER an invasion,' the lawmaker said.

Waltz invoked the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances, in which Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan agreed to give up their nuclear stockpiles in exchange for 'security assurances' from the US, UK and Russia.

At the time, Ukraine had the third-largest nuclear arsenal in the world - but Russia controlled their operational codes.

'We made the people of Ukraine a promise in 1994 to provide defensive assurances in exchange for giving up their nuclear arsenal. Our credibility is on the line,' Waltz warned.

'We cannot afford to lose a second democratic parter (sp) in a year. Just as Neville Chamberlains appeasement allowed Czechoslovakia, then Poland, then France to fall to Nazi Germany - leading to global conflict. Biden risks taking the world down the same slippery slope.'

Ukrainian officials said there are currently as many as 120,000 Russian troops at the border (pictured: A Ukrainian soldier outside of his brigade's barracks)

Ukrainian soldiers Mykola (L) and his nephew Chorny in a bunker on the front line on December 12, 2021 in Zolote

He claimed Biden was afraid of 'provoking Putin' as US officials have sought a resolution to the potential conflict through diplomacy and the threat of sanctions

Waltz compared Biden to former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, whose disastrous policy of appeasement toward Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany precipitated WWII (pictured giving his infamous 'Peace in our Time' speech after returning from signing the Munich agreement)

Chamberlain (third from left) passes a Nazi honor guard on his arrival at Oberwiesenfeld airport before meeting with Adolf Hitler on September 29, 1938

Waltz also shared a photo of himself with two American service members, writing on Twitter: 'Great to meet some of our fantastic Florida Guardsmen in Kyiv deployed to train our Ukrainian allies.'

Neville Chamberlain served as the United Kingdom's prime minister at the beginning of World War II and is widely known for his ill-conceived appeasement policy in dealing with Adolf Hitler and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.

What was the Munich Agreement? The Munich Agreement was signed on September 30, 1938, as an attempt to appease Adolf Hitler. Hitler had his eye on the Sudentenland in Czechoslovakia. Around three million people who lived in the region were of German origin. As the Soviet Union had a treaty with Czechoslovakia they rushed to the country's defence. Britain and France also became involved. As Hitler made speeches about Germans coming home it appeared war was imminent. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain met with the Fuhrer twice before the Munich Agreement was proposed. The agreement, which had no input from Czechoslovakia, annexed the Sudentenland to Germany. The hope was that appeasing Hitler would stop his aggression. At the time Prime Minister Chamberlain was hailed by some as a hero for his actions in bringing about the agreement. He declared in London after signing the agreement: 'My good friends, for the second time in our history, a British Prime Minister has returned from Germany bringing peace with honour. 'I believe it is peace for our time. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Go home and get a nice quiet sleep.' Advertisement

In the hopes of avoiding war with Nazi Germany and fascist Italy, Chamberlain gave the authoritarian leaders a series of one-sided concessions through the 1938 Munich Agreement.

Biden, however, has sought to portray a tougher image of himself in front of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

After a roughly two-hour call with Putin last week, Biden National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters: 'I will look you in the eye and tell you, as President Biden looked Putin in the eye and told him today, that things we did not do in 2014 we are prepared to do now.'

He was referencing Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea after the Ukrainian revolution overthrew the country's Putin-backed leader in favor of a democratically-elected government.

That, along with Ukraine's growing closeness with NATO governments and the European Union, has been regarded by the Kremlin as a threat on Russia's own security and Putin's autocratic regime.

But since the presidents' call Biden officials have ruled out deterrence measures such as putting troops on the ground in Ukraine to unilaterally confront Russia. Another potential threat about removing Russia from the SWIFT banking system also appears to be ruled out.

Despite multiple public warnings of 'massive consequences,' bipartisan lawmakers have been calling on Biden to take a stronger footing against Putin's aggression.

And it appears American voters are unhappy with how Biden is dealing with the potential crisis as well.

On Sunday a new ABC News/Ipsos poll found that only 38 percent of Americans have faith he can negotiate with the Russian leader. Sixty-two percent of respondents said they have 'just some' confidence or 'none at all' that Biden can face Putin.

Just 42 percent of Americans approve of how Biden is handling Russia. Fifty-five percent disapprove.

Also yesterday, Rep. Gallego first revealed that a Congressional delegation was in Ukraine assessing the situation and urged leaders and lawmakers back home to do more.

Ukrainian soldiers Mykhailo (L) and Pavlo build a bunker on the front line on December 12

US officials have called for the American government to arm Ukraine with 'lethal aid' to be prepared to 'kill some Russians' (pictured: Ukrainian soldiers at their position on the front line on Sunday)

Ukrainian tanks are transported towards to the Luhansk region of the country on Sunday, December 12

Waltz shared a photo of himself on Twitter with two American servicemembers in Ukraine to train soldiers there

'We need to accept that this may happen, this may be the largest land invasion in the European theater since World War II,' Gallego said on CNN.

He said it was 'difficult' to predict what Putin would do next but maintained that what was certain is the need to show international solidarity.

'Russians dont understand weakness. They only understand real politick power moves and so we have to make sure we stand strong against them with our allies and with the people of Ukraine,' Gallego said. 'Anything less gives Russia an invitation to invade Ukraine without consequences.'

The representative called on the Pentagon to make sure Ukraine was armed and ready to 'kill some Russians' if necessary.

'We have to make sure that were willing to back Ukraine in any possible way, especially when hit comes to resistance,' he said.

'We have to give them the capability for them to resist Russian invasion, both prior to invasion and even post-invasion, make sure that were bringing in weaponry that will actually put a toll on the Russian troop movements, and unfortunately that means we have to kill some Russians.'

The US Embassy in Kiev also shared a photo of the lawmakers on Twitter, writing they 'reaffirmed' American support for Ukrainian sovereignty and 'reaffirmed our commitment to taking strong measures in response' to any Russian incursion.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the Ukrainian government for comment.

On the foreign policy front, it appears that many Americans are wary of whether Biden can stand up to Russian President Putin
Malta will become the first European country to legalise cannabis for personal use this week, setting a precedent that is expected to be followed by others.

The legislation, expected to pass through the Maltese parliament in a vote tomorrow, will also let those who are 18-and-over to possess up to seven grams of cannabis (about a quarter of an ounce).

It will also permit people to grow up to four cannabis plants at their homes, but it must be out of sight of the public.

Malta will become the first European country to legalise cannabis for personal use this week, setting a precedent that is expected to be followed by others

The legislation is set to be quickly signed off by Malta's president George Vella.

Europe's smallest member state is expected to be followed by similar moves in Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Italy also intends to hold a referendum on whether to legalise cannabis next year.

Local news website Lovin Malta said the reforms are intended to regulate personal cannabis use and to reduce the harm it can do.

It also aims to protect recreational users, and prevent them from using illegal markets, the site reported.

Speaking to Malta Today, minister for equality Owen Bonnici said: 'We want to reduce the suffering, humiliation and deprivation of other rights that many cannabis users have experienced when they have been subjected to arrest and judicial proceedings on possession of small amounts.'

He also told The Guardian: 'I'm very glad that Malta will be the first country which will put words in statute in a comprehensive manner with a regulatory authority.

'There is a wave of understanding now that the hard-fist approach against cannabis users was disproportionate, unjust and it was rendering a lot of suffering to people who are leading exemplary lives.

The legislation is expected to be quickly signed off by Malta's president George Vella (pictured left meeting Boris Johnson in No10 Downing Street in March 2020), with similar moves in Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands expected to follow

WHAT IS GERMANY'S ATTITUDE TOWARDS CANNABIS? In recent years, public opinion in Germany has shifted towards the legalisation of cannabis, despite Angela Merkel's Government being more opposed to the idea than the coalition partners. A recent survey, conducted in October by German Hemp Association, found that 49 per cent of respondents were in favour of legalising cannabis for recreational use. This was compared with just 46 per cent of German residents who were opposed to the move, which could see cannabis sold in specialty venues, similar to those found in the US and Canada. The findings marked the first time since 2014 that more German residents were in favour of legalising cannabis in the annual poll. Advertisement

'But the fact that they make use on a personal basis of cannabis is putting them in the jaws of criminality.'

However, Malta's opposition Nationalist Party was critical of the move.

Its leader Bernard Grech warning in October: 'The relaxation of the laws will only lead to the strengthening of the illegal market, with organised crime taking advantage,' according to The Times.

Bonnici told The Guardian that his country's approach, while seeking to avoid criminalising any cannabis use, was also to ensure harm reduction.

If someone is found in posession of 28 grams, they will be handed a fine of 50-100 Euros.

Those who are under-18 and found in possession of the drug will go before a commission for justice to likely be recommended a care plan.

In addition, those who are found to have consumed cannabis in front of a child could be fined between 300 and 500 Euros.

In addition to allowing people to grow cannabis in their homes, it will also be legal for non-profit cannabis clubs to cultivate it for distribution among its members.

Similar organisations are also legal in Spain and the Netherlands.

However, membership to such clubs will be limited to 500 people, and only 7 grams a day can be distributed to each person, with a cap of 50 grams each month.

The organisations also cannot be located closer than 250 meters to a school, club or youth centre, The Guardian reported.

Last month, it was revealed that Germany is also set to legalise cannabis as the country's new coalition government takes power.

The centre-left SPD, liberal Free Democrats and eco-friendly Greens have taken over from from Angela Merkel's conservative CDU party, two months after it was given a drubbing in national elections.

Last month, it was revealed that Germany is also set to legalise cannabis as the country's new coalition government takes power. Pictured: Outgoing Finance Minister and new German Chancellor Minister Olaf Scholz delivers a speech during the handing-over ceremony with his successor in the German Federal Ministry of Finances in Berlin, on December 9, 2021

Outlining their agenda for government last month, the so-called 'traffic light' coalition said cannabis will be regulated and sold to adults for use in licenced shops.

Since legalising medical marijuana in 2017, Germany's market has become the largest in Europe, selling 154million worth of high-THC products to patients last year, according to New Frontier Data.

If cannabis is legalised for recreational use, the country - which has a population of more than 83million - could become the biggest cannabis market in the world.

The change in direction of a number of European countries and their drug plicies comes after a decision by the UN last December to remove cannabis from a listing of drugs designated as potentially addictive and dangerous, or having little or no therapeutic use.
More charges have been brought against a man accused of murdering a Metropolitan Police sergeant at a south London custody centre.

Louis De Zoysa, 24, allegedly shot Matt Ratana in the chest while handcuffed during a search at a police station in Croydon in the early hours of September 25, 2020.

He was charged with murder, possession of a prohibited revolver with intent to endanger life and having ammunition.

In a hearing at the Old Bailey on Monday, a 10-count indictment was brought against De Zoysa.

It includes charges of possessing a pipe gun, dummy launcher, shortened infantry rifle and gas/blank-firing revolver.

Louis De Zoysa, 24, allegedly shot Matt Ratana (pictured, with his partner Su Bushby) in the chest while handcuffed during a search at a police station in Croydon on September 25, 2020

The first shot hit 54-year-old Sgt Ratana (pictured) in the chest, causing a fatal wound, while he was also hit in the leg

De Zoysa is accused of discharging four bullets in a holding cell at Croydon Custody Centre during the incident last year, in which he was also injured.

The first shot hit 54-year-old Sgt Ratana in the chest, causing a fatal wound, while he was also hit in the leg.

De Zoysa received a life-threatening bullet injury during the incident and is recovering in hospital under police guard.

The defendant, of no fixed address, was not present for the short hearing before Judge Mark Lucraft QC.

The judge set a further review hearing for February 25.

De Zoysa (pictured in a court sketch) is accused of discharging four bullets in a holding cell at Croydon Custody Centre during the incident last year, in which he was also injured

Last month hundreds of Met Police officers lined the streets of London to pay their respects to Sgt Ratana in a special memorial service.

Priti Patel, Dame Cressida Dick and Sadiq Khan were among those at the service in memory of him.

Dame Cressida and Ms Patel exchanged a few words with Sgt Ratana's partner, Su Bushby at the National Police Memorial near the Mall.

They walked through a special 'Guard of Honour' along Horse Guards Road and Birdcage Walk towards the Royal Military Chapel, also known as the Guard's Chapel.

Sgt Ratana served a distinguished 29-year-long career in the force. He was planning to retire at the time of his death.
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An aspiring painter who killed one of Britain's wealthiest landowners claimed he felt 'controlled' by the 1,000 per month allowance the multi-millionaire gave him and 'felt unloved and unwanted' by his family, a court heard today.

Thomas Schreiber, 35, of Gillingham, Dorset, who is accused of trying to kill his mother and murdering her partner Sir Richard Sutton, 83, allegedly felt 'trapped' by lockdown and the financial help provided by the hotelier.

Schreiber's friends today told a jury he 'wanted desperately to move out' of the 2million mansion he was staying at rent free, but felt 'restrained' by the money because he did not know how he would support himself without it.

Sir Richard died following the 'vicious assault' on April 7 this year, which came after months of resentment at how he and 66-year-old Anne Schreiber had treated Schreiber's father David following their divorce, the court was told.

The hotelier had a knife plunged 12cm (4.7in) into his heart while Mrs Schreiber was stabbed so many times at the country mansion that she was left paralysed from the neck down and breathing through a ventilator.

The 'Moorhill' estate in the hamlet of Higher Langham near Gillingham was left covered in blood and looking like a 'warzone' following the frenzied attack on the eight anniversary of Schreiber's father's death.

Thomas Schreiber, of Gillingham, Dorset, is on trial at Winchester Crown Court accused of the murder of 83-year-old Sir Richard Sutton and the attempted murder of his mother, Anne Schreiber (pictured with Thomas), on April 7, 2021

Today at Winchester Crown Court, the jury heard from three friends of Schreiber. Tommy Clark, a 45-year-old photographer, had known Schreiber since 2009 and even visited him at Moorhill in spring 2019.

He said: 'I noticed he was becoming more depressed and frustrated with his life situation - he seemed to become more sensitive and more negative about his future.

Sir Richard (pictured), an 83-year-old baronet who owned a string of hotels including the Sheraton Grand on London's prestigious Park Lane, died in the knife attack in April

'He wanted desperately to move out, he wanted to find his place in the world and was developing an interest in art and started to paint regularly but he was just quite negative in his outlook.

'Five days before the incident I called him to talk about good news I had.... he seemed extra happy as if I was relieving him from a dark place.

'He couldn't wait to get out of home, see other people, have a social life, he just wrote to me that he hated lockdown, he hated the scenario he was in and wanted to move out.'

Graham Booth, a 61-year-old market research consultant, was introduced to Schreiber by his sister Louisa in 2019.

He said the family dynamic at Moorhill seemed 'extremely dysfunctional... Tom was not close to his mother and not at all keen on Richard'.

He added: 'I think he felt unloved, unwanted and regarded with a degree of disdain and disregard by his mother and Richard

'Lockdown didn't help at all, things got a lot worse in lockdown, I think Tom felt trapped... I think there was significant deterioration in the house.

'I was very concerned for his mental health... me and him talked a lot about getting him out of the house.

'I think things got worse and worse for him because he did feel trapped... he felt there was no escape from what he was experiencing there.

'[The money] was a curse as well as a gift because as long as he was receiving this money he felt controlled by it... that was my perception.

Police guard Sir Richard's 2million property in the Dorset hamlet of Higher Langham near Gillingham in April

Sir Richard Sutton, pictured with his wife Lady Sutton and their children David and Caroline in an undated photograph

'It was what constrained him, clearly that was a factor restraining him from going, he wasn't clear how he was going to support himself if he wasn't there and wasn't receiving that allowance.'

Joel Crozer, a 33-year-old music producer, met Schreiber in 2005 when they went to high school together in Denmark.

He said they spoke several times about Schreiber wanting to get out of the 'toxic environment but 'the lockdown prohibited that'.

Schreiber claimed he picked up the knife when he heard a voice in his head saying 'attack, attack' after he 'completely lost it' when his mother branded him 'drunk just like your father'.

Mrs Schreiber, the only living witness of the attack which left her paralysed and suffering from poor memory, said she remembered a 'kerfuffle' which made her turn around to see her son walk into the kitchen and pick up the knife from a block on the kitchen island.

The jury was shown footage released by Scotland Yard of Schreiber being chased at 135mph before armed police seized him

Armed police officers arrive at the Moorhill estate on the evening of the incident to find the heavily-bleeding Mrs Schreiber

The jury previously heard how Schreiber living with the couple at the sprawling country estate became a 'vicious triangle' as Sir Richard became 'consumed' with trying to get rid of the aspiring painter.

His daughter Caroline Sutton even revealed the hotelier paid Schreiber 100,000 for a house deposit in a desperate attempt to get him to leave his home.

Sir Richard, who last year was listed at number 435 in the Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated family fortune of 301million, was killed following rows with Schreiber about the inheritance of a family chandelier and a day at the races.

The 83-year-old owned a sprawling property empire and more than 7,000 acres of land, including the five-star Sheraton Grand on London's Park Lane and the Athenaeum hotel in Mayfair.

Schreiber has admitted manslaughter over the hotelier's death but denies murdering him. He pleads not guilty to the attempted murder of his mother.

A court artist's sketch of Thomas Schreiber (right) with his counsel Joe Stone QC at Winchester Crown Court on December 9

He has also pleaded guilty to dangerous driving on the night of the killing, after he fled in a Range Rover and was captured by police after a 135mph high speed chase from Wiltshire to London.

Sir Richard's body was found on the landing, after he was initially attacked downstairs and limped upstairs where Schreiber is said to have stabbed him a further five times in the chest with a kitchen knife.

The prosecution say Schreiber repeatedly knifed his 'toxic and gold digging' mother and Sir Richard after fantasising for months about their murders.

Sir Richard had two children by his first wife and five grandchildren. Mrs Schreiber, a Danish-born physiotherapist who has a practice in Milborne Port, Dorset, has three grown-up children including son Thomas.

The trial continues.
Salman Abedi punching a female student following a row about her wearing a short skirt could have been a 'red flag' to his radicalisation, a public inquiry has heard.

An expert in Islamist extremism told the hearing into the May 2017 Manchester Arena attack that one of the factors in the 22-year-old's motivation to carry out the suicide bombing was religious-inspired misogyny.

Dr Matthew Wilkinson said there was a pattern of those convicted of Islamist extremist offences also having a history of violence towards women, while the so-called Islamic State group - said to have inspired the bomber - was widely known for its denigration of women.

Abedi 22, murdered 22 people and injured hundreds more when he detonated his homemade bomb at the end of a Ariana Grande concert at the venue on May 22, 2017

During his studies at Manchester College in 2012 and 2013, Abedi punched a student, also from the city's Libyan community, after she slapped him following comments he made about her appearance.

Abedi retaliated by striking her on the face and then delivered further punches as she lay on the ground, the inquiry was told.

Dr Wilkinson agreed with Nicholas de la Poer QC, counsel to the inquiry, that the incident could be interpreted as being driven by misogyny.

He said: 'Yes, very much so, and we have other reports from fellow students saying he had related disrespectfully to female members of staff and teachers. One fellow student said he had real problems with women.

'There is this profile of someone who had a very bad attitude towards women.'

Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi was addicted to pain killers and had attended anger management classes after punching a woman in the head at college, the inquiry into the attack as heard

Abedi was suspended by the college but no charges were brought after police said a 'mediation' had taken place at the request of the female student. Police told the college it was safe for him to return after the restorative justice process, the inquiry heard.

Mr de la Poer asked: 'Do you consider this particular incident should have been raising a red flag for the authorities about whether Salman Abedi had at that stage potentially developed a 'them and us worldview' which required some sort of intervention?'

Dr Wilkinson replied: 'I think if that event had been investigated properly it might have done. It might have flagged up the issues of dress code being abhorrent to Salman.

'I certainly think if it had been flagged up together with a consistent portrait of Salman Abedi that had come from the various educational institutions where he had attended, then it really might have been a red flag.'

Pictured are the victims of the terror attack at the Manchester Arena in May 2017

Another expert concluded Abedi's behaviour was 'problematic' throughout his time in education, particularly as a schoolboy at Burnage Media Arts College, where there were incidents of extreme rudeness to staff, fighting, swearing, theft and hooliganism.

The disrespect to teaching staff, particularly women, continued as he got older but information on his misbehaviour was not passed between the various educational institutions.

Dr Wilkinson said the Manchester College assault 'perhaps' would not have raised a flag on its own but 'it might have done'.

He added: 'I think the issue of a lack of this comprehensive portrait was the real issue rather than that particular incident.'
A student who doctored images of two former school friends and uploaded them to an X-rated website has been spared jail.

James Devenport, 25, had been friends with his victims but had not kept in touch for more than 10 years.

But the women were left horrified when they received edited photos of themselves from an anonymous social media profile and also found the images on adult websites.

Devenport, now of Belfast, appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court and admitted posting indecent sexual images of the women online and communicating indecently with them between January and December last year.

He also admitted possessing indecent images of children but was spared jail after a Sheriff concluded 'other options' were 'appropriate'.

Sheriff Ray Small placed him under supervision for three years and banned him from approaching both women for three years.

James Devenport (pictured), 25, admitted posting indecent sexual images of the women online and communicating indecently with them between January and December last year and also pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images of children

The victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons, made repeated requests to have the images removed but they were uploaded again.

They were also subjected to a string of vile sexual remarks and comments by an unknown user on Instagram and Facebook.

A Twitter account was also created showing an image of the second victim along with links to other social media profiles she had.

A police probe led to Devenport being identified through his IP address after the porn website X Hamster handed over his details.

When officers arrived at his home in Carmunnock, Glasgow, he said: 'I might as well tell you because youll find out anyways. It was me. Im so sorry, I need help.'

A search of his home also revealed he had nine images showing child sex abuse on a hard-drive.

Depute fiscal Abby Seal said: 'A request was made by police to the website to ascertain the subscriber details and further identifiers attached to the account usernames.

'Both accounts were found to have been accessed by the same IP address attached to the home of the accused.

'Police attended his home and examined an HP laptop and also recovered was a CV and an academic honours transcript from Glasgow Caledonian University.

'Multiple images relating to the first witness were recovered as well as various files relating to the second.'

Devenport appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court (pictured) where he was placed under supervision for three years and banned from approaching both women for three years

Bobby Reid, defending, said Devenport had 'a very promising career in front of him' but that he has since lost his job.

He added: 'He accepts full responsibility for this behaviour and is completely remorseful but is still unable to explain why he committed these offences.'

Sheriff Small said: 'You pled guilty to offences which are bizarre, shocking and disgusting and must have been seriously worrying and distressing to the persons at whom they were directed.

'Custody had been uppermost in my mind but Ive come to the view that I cannot be satisfied that no other sentence than custody is appropriate and Ive come to the view that other options are an appropriate disposal.'

Devenport was put on the sex offenders register for three years and banned from having unsupervised contact with children under 18.

He will also take part in a sex offender programme for two years and have his internet use monitored.
Boris Johnson warned Vladimir Putin today that Russia would face 'significant consequences' if it invaded Ukraine.

The two men spoke by telephone as Moscow continued to heighten fears of war in eastern Europe with a troop build up close to the border.

Autocrat Mr Putin had last night denied Russia planned to seize territory from Ukraine and accused Britain and its allies of 'demonising' his country.

US intelligence officials estimate that as many as 175,000 Russian troops could launch an attack early next year, with troops, tanks and artillery already massing on the Ukrainian border.

And in a conversation between the two leaders on Monday afternoon, the Prime Minister reiterated to Mr Putin 'the importance of working through diplomatic channels to deescalate tensions and identify durable solutions'.

A Downing Street spokesman said: 'The Prime Minister emphasised the UK's commitment to Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty, and warned that any destabilising action would be a strategic mistake that would have significant consequences.

The two men spoke by telephone as Moscow continued to heighten fears of war in eastern Europe with a troop build up close to the border.

Autocrat Mr Putin has last night denied Russia planned to seize territory from Ukraine and accused Britain and its allies of 'demonising' his country.

US intelligence officials estimate that as many as 175,000 Russian troops could launch an attack early next year, with troops, tanks and artillery already massing on the Ukrainian border.

The spokesman said the PM 'also recognised the importance of dialogue on international and regional security, and they agreed it is imperative that all sides respect the terms of the Minsk Protocol' which ended fighting in the Donbass area of Ukraine, which is claimed by Russia.

However, The Kremlin said that Mr Putin had demanded immediate talks with the West to curb any potential eastward expansion of NATO.

'Vladimir Putin said there was a need to immediately begin negotiations with the goal of coming up with clear, international legal agreements that would prevent NATO's further expansion east and the deployment of weapons that threaten Russia to neighbouring states, primarily Ukraine,' the Kremlin said in a statement.

At the weekend G7 foreign ministers meeting in Liverpool warned that Russia faces 'massive consequences' if it invades its neighbour.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: 'We have sent a very clear, united message to Vladimir Putin.

'We want Russia to stop its aggression with respect to Ukraine.'

She said the group of seven countries was 'considering all options' when it came to imposing economic sanctions.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the broadcaster NBC News: 'We are prepared to take the kinds of steps we have refrained from taking in the past.'
A drunk woman who hurled a torrent of racial abuse at a black Wetherspoons doorman and spat at him broke down in tears today as she was jailed for 14 weeks.

Sharna Walker, 25, flew into a rage and started screaming at doorman Tristan Price, 26, when he kicked her out of a bar in Birmingham.

The tirade was caught on camera as she pushed the security guard and called him a 'black c***' and a 'f***ing n*****' in front of shocked onlookers.

Walker, of Worcester, then spat at him outside Wetherspoon's Figure of Eight bar on Birmingham's bustling Broad Street on May 22 earlier this year.

Today, Walker was jailed after she pleaded guilty to racially aggravated common assault and criminal damage in connection to smashing the pub's door.

Sharna Walker, 25, ( pictured, left, at court today and right) was jailed after she admitted racially aggravated common assault and criminal damage at Birmingham Magistrates Court

District Judge John Bristow told her: 'This was prolonged assault and you used a door against Mr Price shoulder. The incident has stayed with Mr Price and he has had to seek help.

'You shouted 'm*****s' to Mr Price and other staff - this is an obvious term for disabled people.

'You deliberately spat at Mr Price this is disgusting. You were under the influence of alcohol.

'You handed yourself in and experienced threats, as well as your mental health diagnoses. You pose medium risk to yourself - including suicide.

'Mr Price has forgiven you, down to his faith, he is Godfearing. I also accept you have kept out of trouble since May.

'I have no doubt the footage caused serious distress throughout Birmingham.

'You are a risk to the public; the appropriate punishment is immediate custody. This conduct was serious - only immediate custody is justified.

'I am sending you to prison to 14 weeks. I have reduced your sentence because of your plea.'

Sharna Walker (pictured at an earlier hearing), 25, who went viral online in May after the incident in Birmingham's Broad Street leisure district, was jailed for 14 weeks at court today

The court heard bouncer Mr Price, 26, was working on the door of the pub when he was alerted to four women being rowdy at around 9.30pm.

Prosecutor Sarah Woulfe said: 'Mr Price went to the group, which included Ms Walker, and asked them to leave but they claimed they had lost a mobile phone.

'Mr Price helped look for the phone but it could not be found. He saw Ms Walker do something out of the corner of his eye.

'He was notified by his manager that Ms Walker had taken a drink from her glass and spat the contents towards Mr Price's back.

'Hearing this he asked her to leave immediately. Ms Walker pushed tables as she exited the venue causing damage.

'As she got to the door, she smashed the glass and hinges.

'Ms Walker was stood near the door shouting you 'f*****g n*****' and 'black c**t and stepped towards Mr Price.

'Mr Price went back inside. Ms Walker slammed the door into him.

Pictured: Video footage of the incident, which attracted over 2.5 million views, caused outrage at the time after it was posted to social media and Walker handed herself into the city's police

Walker was banned from Birmingham following her arrest two days after ranting at doorman Tristan Price (still from footage above) outside the Figure of Eight Wetherspoons branch

'Mr Price came back outside the door and Ms Walker spat at Mr Price landing on his feet and hands.

'Ms Walker shoved the door and hit Mr Price's shoulder.'

In victim impact statement, which was read out in court, Mr Price said: 'This incident made me feel very small and worthless and embarrassed.

'I was very uncomfortable at work afterwards and felt like other people witnessing the incident were staring at me.

'I was so upset, I shared the footage on social media on Instagram.'

He had previously said the racist abuse affected him more than being threatened with knives or by drunken thugs.

Ms Woulfe revealed that Mr Price had withdrawn his support for the prosecution, saying the video had 'achieved more than the courts' adding that he did not want Walker's life to be ruined by her actions.

Judith Kenney, defending, said Walker suffers from agoraphobia - an extreme fear of open or public places - and had drank booze on the night of the incident to give her 'Dutch courage'.

The clip, which accumulated over 2.5million views, caused outrage after it was posted online. It captured the moment Walker was booted out of the pub and began yelling at Mr Price

She said: 'It is fair to say she is suspicious of men generally, regardless of colour. The reality is she was not meant to be out drinking.

'It is not ladylike; she couldn't believe she acted in that way. This is behaviour is nothing she's proud of.'

The court heard Walker had previously been cautioned in 2014 for being drunk and disorderly and again in 2016 for using threatening words and behaviour.

In the aftermath of the video, she had posted on Instagram: 'I would just like to publicly apologise for the situation that happened at the nightclub and I would like everyone to know that I am in fact not racist at all.

'I have several black co-workers who I love dearly and have even dated black men.'

She insisted she wasn't racist before saying everyone is 'entitled to freedom of speech' and that 'they shouldn't be abused for it'.

Meanwhile, Mr Price said he was left shocked and 'cut up' by the incident.

He said: 'I have had a knife pulled on me while at work, which was pretty shocking. But this was worse, it affected me more because it was so vicious.

'Too often when we speak up about racism like this it is brushed away but it's a big issue and we need to talk about it.'

The clip, which accumulated over 2.5million views, caused outrage at the time after it was posted to social media.

Tristan Price (above), a power lifting champion and machine operative by day, and doorman by night, said he was left shocked and 'cut up' by the incident

It captured the moment Walker, then 24, was booted out of the pub and began yelling at Mr Price for her bag.

She tries to shout at one of her friends inside the venue, before storming towards the entrance shouting: 'Where the f*** is my bag moron, where is my bag.

'Get my f****** bag then, get my f****** bag.'

While Mr Price remains calm throughout the altercation, Walker appears to push him and calls him a 'black c****'.

She then repeatedly shouts 'f****** n*****' before spitting in full view of fellow revellers as she walks away.

Following the incident, West Midlands Police confirmed a 24-year-old woman was arrested and released on bail, with the condition not to enter Birmingham.

Mr Price, a power lifting champion and machine operative by day, and doorman by night, previously said it was vital that justice was done over the abuse to help try to bring an end to racism.

Walker, appearing in the dock at Birmingham Magistrates' Court (file photo above) wearing a long black coat, carrying a handbag and with sunglasses on her forehead, also admitted causing criminal damage to a door, including its glass panel and hinges

He added: 'I don't want to bring trouble to her door but this behaviour needs to be called out.

'It is completely unacceptable. People have killed themselves because of the racial abuse they suffer, and we can't be silent about it.'

Regional Wetherspoons manager Heath Curley praised Mr Price, who works regularly on Broad Street, for acting 'calmly', describing him as a 'very nice fellow'.

He added: 'This behaviour is completely unacceptable and this woman will not be welcome in any Wetherspoons pubs in the city centre again.'

Birmingham Police Chief Inspector James Spencer, said: 'This was an disgraceful incident and people were understandably disgusted at her actions.

'Our city centre police teams have been working hard with local businesses and the community to make the city a safe and enjoyable place to visit.

'Racist behaviour is completely unacceptable. We will robustly investigate crimes of this nature and offenders can expect to be prosecuted.'
Sen. Rand Paul blasted the Biden administration's Omicron travel bans on Sunday as 'knee jerk' attacks on liberty when the new COVID-19 variant is already present in more than half of U.S. states and in at least 40 countries.

Critics say the ban on travel from South Africa and seven other African nations may do little to head off the inevitable spread of the latest variant to emerge.

On Monday, the gravity of the threat was laid bare as the U.K. announced the first death attributed to Omicron anywhere in the world.

Over the weekend, five U.S. states - Idaho, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Tennessee - joined the list of states to detect the variant.

'The travel bans aren't going to work. The new variant is in over half of the states in our country. It's in 40 different countries. There's no travel ban that's going to stop this,' said Paul on Sunday during an interview with John Catsimatidis on WABC 770 AM.

'We don't even yet know whether it's a good or a bad thing.

'if it turns out that it's much less dangerous, and it crowds out the Delta variant, it might be a blessing in disguise.'

Sen. Rand Paul criticized travel bans in response to the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, saying it was already present in more than half of all U.S. states

Paul also said that 'restrictions on liberties' were not based on science but 'based on whims' as he reignited his long-running row with Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser and a figure of hate for many on the libertarian right.

'They're based on basically Fauci's impulse to authoritarianism is what I call it,' Paul said.

'His gut reaction  his immediate knee-jerk reaction to everything is to take away your liberty.

'I mean, look, all they had to hear was a sniff of this new variant from South Africa. And they're freaking out with all the new things they're going to require you to do.'

Some initial studies suggest Omicron is more infectious than previous variants but may cause less severe symptoms.

A best-case scenario suggests that it could then spread rapidly through populations, causing more harmful variants to wither away.

But scientists caution that it remains to be seen how Omicron behaves outside lab tests.

In London, Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged people to get booster shots after confirming that one person had died from the variant.

'So I think the idea that this is somehow a milder version of the virus, I think thats something we need to set on one side and just recognize the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population. So the best thing we can do is all get our boosters,' he said.

At the same time, his health secretary floated the idea of lifting new travel restrictions, introduced to stem the spread of Omicron, given the extent of the variant's spread in the U.K.

It is not just libertarians like Paul who have chafed at travel bans.

Paul also attacked Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden's top medical adviser, saying his 'immediate knee-jerk reaction to everything is to take away your liberty.

The U.S. is expected to hit more than 50 million COVID cases within the coming days

Many scientists doubt that they are effective unless they amount to near total bans and are imposed early in the spread of a new virus.

Writing in the New York Times, Saad B. Omer, director of the Yale Institute for Global Health, said travel bans could work but the U.S. restrictions were highly selective and in some cases imposed on countries where the variant had not even been detected

'If there were any doubts about the futility of this ban, reports of the Omicron cases outside southern Africa should put them to rest. In fact, there are substantially more countries with reported cases of Omicron outside southern Africa than in that region,' he wrote.

'The travel ban is also not without cost. It could discourage countries from reporting new variants and emerging viruses.'

The U.S. is currently recording 119,000 new COVID cases every day, a staggering 43 percent increase over the past two weeks.

It is likely that the country hits 50 million recorded cases of the virus since the pandemic first began in March 2020 within the coming days.

America is also staring down a grim COVID deaths milestone, as it slowly creeps towards 800,000 deaths from the virus.

Currently, the nation is averaging nearly 1,300 COVID deaths every day, a 32 percent increase within the last two weeks.

Hospitalizations related to COVID are growing as well, with 65,000 people receiving treatment for more severe cases every day - a 23 percent increase of the last 14 days.

According to official CDC data, 72 percent of Americans have received at lease one dose of a COVID vaccine, while 60 percent are fully vaccinated.
Alex Murdaugh, 53, is facing a total of 51 charges related to money laundering and forgery, after a South Carolina jury indicted him on Thursday

A judge today set disgraced lawyer Alex Murdaugh's bond at $7million on 48 charges including fraud, forgery and money laundering after he made a groveling apology for faking his suicide.

Judge Alison Lee threw out arguments from Murdaugh's attorneys that there was no way he could pay the bond.

Murdaugh, a prominent South Carolina attorney, ran into legal difficulties after hitting the headlines in June when his wife Margaret and son Paul were murdered at the family's hunting lodge in May. Their deaths remain a mystery.

Months later, Murdaugh himself was shot, but later admitted that he had arranged the shooting himself in order to secure a $10million life insurance payout for his surviving son, Buster.

Police are meanwhile taking a second look at the case of Murdaugh's late housekeeper, who died under disputed circumstances in 2018.

Murdaugh on Monday told Jude Lee he was in 'the throes of withdrawal' from an opioid addiction when he arranged to have himself shot and also apologized for allegedly swindling $4.3 million from the housekeeper.

'I understand there may be concern I may be a danger to myself,' Murdaugh told the court at the bail hearing. 'I made a terrible decision that I regret and frankly I'm embarrassed about. I'm not in that place now.'

Through his lawyers, Murdaugh gave a statement to the court in which he confessed to taking $4.3 million from the family housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, which was meant as settlement funds in a wrongful death case.

She died following an alleged fall at the family's Colleton County home in 2018.

Murdaugh said he was sorry for the 'mishandling' of the funds in the statement.

The scion, whose father, grandfather and great-grandfather were prosecutors in tiny Hampton County, told the judge that on the day of his botched suicide via hitman he was in 'the throes of withdrawal' from a 20-year opioid addiction.

He added that he was grieving over the loss of his murdered wife and son.

Murdaugh said that while in treatment for his addiction he had realized the severity of his actions and now suffered 'crushing' humiliation.

He said he was 98 days free of drug addiction and wants to take responsibility for what he has done.

'I want to deal with these charges appropriately and head-on,' he added, according to Count on 2. 'I want to repair the damage I have done. I want to repeat as many relationships as I can.'

Murdaugh on Monday told Jude Lee he was sorry for allegedly swindling $4.3 million for housekeeper Gloria Satterfield

Maggie Murdaugh (second from left), 52, and her son Paul Murdaugh (center), 22, were shot several times and their bodies were found near a dog kennel, on the family's property on June 7

On Thursday, he was indicted on 21 more charges that he stole settlement and other money from clients.

When combined with previous charges from the state grand jury, Murdaugh now faces nearly 50 counts of breach of trust with fraudulent intent; computer crimes; money laundering and forgery.

State prosecutors said he has stolen more than $6.2 million. He also faces a few other charges after police said he tried to fake his own death.

In June 2016, prosecutors allege that 'while relying on his prestige and reputation as a lawyer,' Murdaugh reportedly told one of his clients, Johnny Bush, that he allocated $100,00 of his settlement money on 'accident reconstruction' for his case. However, an indictment obtained by DailyMail.com shows that Murdaugh transferred $95,000 to his fraudulent bank account for his personal gain.

'Murdaugh had created this bank account for the purpose of misappropriating funds belonging to others with the illusion that the money was being paid 'to a legitimate business, the indictment read, noting the lawyer used the money stolen from his clients to pay for his own credit card bills, cash, and checks to associates.

Two months later, Murdaugh allegedly rerouted a $90,000 trust account check that 'was supposed to be compensated to Jamian Risher for his injuries' into his secret bank account.

Another indictment reads that Murdaugh had another of his clients, Randy Drawdy, 'sign a settlement disbursement form which reflected the withholding of $8,819.30 for medical bills and $750.00 for private investigator services' in November 2017.

But instead of using Drawdy's settlement fees to pay the other clients he had stolen from, Murdaugh allegedly put the $9,569.30 into his fake bank account.

Nine months later, in August 2018, prosecutors allegedly found records of Murdaugh stealing $85,000 from Jordan Jinks, portrayed as a 'longtime friend of the family who had come to Murdaugh for help.'

Alex Murdaugh (pictured) walks into court for his bond hearing, in Varnville, South Carolina. The family is at the center of an unfolding legal drama after Paul and Maggie Murdaugh were shot and killed at their family's home. Alex Murdaugh found the bodies of his wife and son

Murdaugh allegedly told Jinks he needed to hold the settlement proceeds to 'satisfy a medical insurance lien', according to the Daily Beast. The indictment reads that two months later, Murdaugh then sent a $65,000 check to his personal, hidden bank account.

Prosecutors further allege Murdaugh stealing $112,500 in April 2019 from the personal representative for the estate of Blondell Gary for his own gain.

Nine months later, between February and July 2020, Murdaugh scammed another client who came to him for help. In time, Murdaugh moved a $750,000 check meant for the client and his injuries to his fraudulent account, according to the indictment.

Between November and December 2020, prosecutors claim Murdaugh assured a client representing the estate of Sandra Taylor that 'the total wrongful death recovery would only be $30,000' and that he was not even going to charge a fee because the recovery was so 'low.'

However, the indictment alleges, Murdaugh managed to recoup 'over $180,000' in the wrongful death settlementbefore eventually wiring more than $150,000 to his fraudulent bank account.

Murdaugh's attorney, Jim Griffin, tweeted that his client's bond hearing for the first series of charges 'will be res-scheduled next week, after last minute charges brought by AG.'

Murdaugh's attorney, Jim Griffin, tweeted on December 9 that his client's bond hearing is set for tomorrow to be re-scheduled next week 'after last minutes charges brought by AG'

'We are not surprised by these new charges relating to Alex's handling of client funds and law firm fees,' Murdaugh's spokesperson said last month after the first round of indictments were made public.

'We have made it clear that Alex regrets that his actions have diverted attention from solving the murders of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul,' he added.

The disgraced lawyer is already fighting against charges related to his decision to hire a hitman to kill him in September, and sending millions of dollars to a fake bank account from a wrongful-death settlement intended to the heirs of the family's former housekeeper, Satterfield.

Murdaugh also faces several lawsuits, all related to allegations concerning his plans to influence an investigation in a 2019 boat incident, when his now-deceased son Paul murdered 19-year-old Mallory Beach.

He faces further claims of stealing millions from his former law firm PMPED, which fired him earlier this year when the scandal began to snowball.
Denmark's former immigration minister has been jailed for ordering asylum seeking couples to be separated if one was a minor in a bid to stamp out child marriage.

A rarely used impeachment court convicted Inger Stoejberg to 60 days in prison on Monday after the Danish parliament voted to try her over the 2016 order.

The vote came after a parliament-appointed commission said that separating couples in asylum centres was 'clearly illegal' and that staff members in her ministry had warned her the practice was unlawful.

A rarely used impeachment court convicted Inger Stoejberg (pictured, file photo) on Monday after Danish parliament voted to try her over the order that was given in 2016

The Court of Impeachment convened for the first time in 26 years to consider charges against Ms Stoejberg, who maintained her innocence throughout the trial that started September 2.

The court convicted her of 'intentionally or through gross negligence neglecting the duties' of her office and providing parliament 'with incorrect or misleading information'.

It sentenced her to 60 days' detention. It was unclear if the former minister actually serve jail time, or if she would be fitted with an electronic monitoring bracelet to serve her sentence at home.

'Whether it is two or four months is not crucial to us,' prosecutor Jon Lauritzen said. 'The fact that she was found guilty because there was intent has been crucial.'

The verdict cannot be appealed.

Ms Stoejberg, who received flowers from supporters after the court delivered its decision, said she was 'very, very surprised by the verdict' but would serve her sentence. Defence lawyer Rene Offersen called it 'a disappointing outcome'.

She was accused of misleading parliamentary committees four times while informing them about the separation policy she adopted as minister.

It will now be up to fellow politicians to decide whether she can continue to serve as a member of the 179-seat Folketing.

Ms Stoejberg served as minister for immigration, integration and housing from 2015 to 2019 as part of Denmark's previous centre-right government.

Pictured: Failed asylum seekers wait in rural Danish departure centre in 2019 (file photo)

Considered an immigration hardliner, Ms Stoejberg spearheaded the tightening of asylum and immigration rules.

A 2016 law required newly arrived asylum-seekers to hand over valuables such as jewellery and gold to help pay for their stays in the country.

Ms Stoejberg has said she initiated the policy of separating minors from their partners out of concerns the relationships may have involved forced marriages. Twenty-three couples were split up before the policy was halted months later.

Most of the women among the separated couples were aged 15 to 17, while the men ranged in age from 15 to 32.

Most of the couples were originally from Syria. Officials said some couples arrived in Denmark with children or while the woman was pregnant.

In Denmark, the legal age of marriage is 18. The women who were under 18 said they had consented to their marriages.

The Court of Impeachment, which adjudicates cases in which government ministers are accused of unlawful misconduct and misuse of office, was last used in 1995.

That year, former justice minister Erik Ninn-Hansen was given a suspended four-month sentence for having prevented Sri Lankan refugees from bringing their families to Denmark.

The court consists of 15 supreme court judges and 15 members appointed by parliament. Since it was created in 1849, the court has considered five cases and Ms Stoejberg's case is the third to result in a guilty verdict.
The victims of disgraced former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar have reportedly reached a $380 million settlement with USA Gymnastics, the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee and their insurers after a five-year legal battle.

The settlement was confirmed during a hearing in a federal bankruptcy court in Indianapolis on Monday, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The settlement covers claims brought by Olympic gold medalists including Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney, all of whom are among Nassar's most high-profile victims of sexual abuse. In total, hundreds of victims are included in the agreement, which is among the largest ever recorded for victims of sexual abuse, according to the Journal.

US Gymnasts Aly Raisman (2-L), McKayla Maroney (L), Simone Biles (2-R) and Maggie Nichols (3-R) arrive for the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Dereliction of Duty: Examining the Inspector General's Report on the FBI's Handling of the Larry Nassar Investigation on Capitol Hill in Washington on September 15

Olympic gymnast Simone Biles testifies during a Senate Judiciary hearing about the Inspector General's report on the FBI's handling of the Larry Nassar investigation on Capitol Hill

Larry Nassar (pictured), who had been the main doctor for Olympic gymnasts, was sentenced in federal court in 2017 to 60 years in prison on charges of possessing child sex abuse material. The following year, he was also sentenced to up to 175 years and up to 125 years, respectively, in two separate Michigan courts for molesting female gymnasts under his care.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for confirmation.

Victims included US Olympic team members dating back as far as 1996, according to the Journal.

Biles, Raisman, and Maroney testified about the abuse they suffered during a Senate hearing this year. At the hearing, they blasted USA Gymnastics and Olympic officials for failing to stop Nassar, and they took the FBI to task over its botched investigation into Nassar's actions.

The plaintiffs accused USA Gymnastics of pressuring athletes to be complaint, which created an environment where a predator such as Nassar could go on without facing any accountability.

Nassar, who had been the main doctor for Olympic gymnasts, was sentenced in federal court in 2017 to 60 years in prison on charges of possessing child sex abuse material.

The following year, he was also sentenced to up to 175 years and up to 125 years, respectively, in two separate Michigan courts for molesting female gymnasts under his care.

The settlement was reached after TIG Insurance agreed to pay a large portion of the money, the Journal said.

United States gymnasts Maggie Nichols, left, and Aly Raisman, are sworn in during a Senate Judiciary hearing about the Inspector General's report on the FBI's handling of the Larry Nassar investigation on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, September 15

As plaintiff's attorney John Manly told ESPN, Nassar's victims have now received $880 million in settlements following a 2018 deal with Michigan State, where he also worked and treated gymnasts.

'This settlement is the result of the bravery of hundreds of survivors who, despite legal obstacles, long odds and the best corporate legal talent money can buy, refused to be silent,' Manly said. 'The power of their story eventually won the day.'

USA Gymnastics filed for bankruptcy in 2018, after Olympic bronze medalist Jamie Dantzscher had filed a lawsuit and additional claims were filed on behalf of a growing number of Nassar's victims.

It has since taken more than three years to reach the settlement, which includes requirement stating that self-identified survivors of abuse in gymnastics will have official roles in USA Gymnastics going forward.

When the settlement is finalized, USA Gymnastics will likely restaff its governing body with new leaders, according to the Journal. The organization hopes rebuild after its bankruptcy hearing by attracting new sponsors.
Jurors at Kim Potter's trial for the shooting of Daunte Wright have been shown gruesome images from his autopsy and pictures of his body at the scene of his death.

Hennepin County Assistant Medical Examiner Dr. Lorren Jackson was the first witness called by the prosecution Monday morning, as day four of the high-profile trial got underway.

Jackson responded to the scene of the crash that followed Wright's shooting April 11, 2021. He told jurors that Wright would have died within 'seconds to minutes' of receiving a gunshot to his chest.

As the court was shown photographs of Wright's bloodied body Dr. Jackson told how he had examined Wright's body at the scene then carefully bagged his hands to preserve any trace evidence and placed in him a sealed body bag.

The photographs were not broadcast as part of the livestream of the trial according to an order from Judge Regina Chu, but Jackson described what they showed.

The court was shown photos of Wright's bloodied body and autopsy photos. An illustration of the path of the projectile recovered from Wright's body is shown

Dr. Jackson told jurors that Wright would have died within 'seconds to minutes' of receiving a gunshot to his chest

Officer Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran in the force, claims she accidentally shot Daunte Wright (right) when she reached for her gun instead of her taser during a traffic stop over his expired plates in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota

In this screen grab from video, a photo of a Glock 9mm handgun carried by Potter is entered into evidence

Chu also limited the number and nature of images that the state could show, stating that she wanted the jury to decide this case based on evidence and facts, not sympathy.

The judge ordered that Wright's face, in which his eyes were open, be excluded from many of the autopsy pictures.

But pictures of his face  with abrasions and small lacerations on his lip  were among close to 30 images displayed in court today. The injuries were, Jackson said, superficial and consistent with Wright's car crash and efforts to resuscitate him.

The jury saw the bloody gunshot wound's entry point and partial exit wound as well as the adhesive seals placed over it by officers attempting to stem the bleeding.

An X-Ray showed the bullet still lodged in his body despite having broken the skin at its resting point.

Under direct examination by prosecutor Erin Eldridge, Jackson explained that he had recovered the bullet from beneath the skin between the fourth and fifth rib.

Pictures of Wright's chest, the skin reflected back, showed the path the bullet took through his bone and muscle and the holes, torn in the left and right ventricles of his heart.

A graphic showed more clearly the path the hollow-point bullet had torn through Wright's chest wall, heart and lungs as it 'mushroomed' on impact. According to Jackson 'the majority of the injury was to Wright's heart.'

He found approximately 3 liters of blood in Wright's chest  more than half the amount of blood Wright would have had in his entire body.

'A person of Wright's size and build would have approximately 4.5-5.5 liters of blood within his entire body. When you lose more than half of that rapidly it's a life-threatening injury,' Jackson explained

He estimated that Wright could have lost consciousness within 10-15 seconds if he lost blood supply to his brain and that he would have died in a matter of minutes.

In this screen grab from video, the bullet recovered from Wright's body is shown as Dr. Lorren Jackson takes the stand

Former Brooklyn Center cop Kim Potter, 49, is seen with her legal team during day three of her trial Friday

Earlier in the trial, jurors were shown bodycam and dash cam footage of the dramatic moment Potter shot Wright dead after 'accidentally' pulling out her gun instead of her taser

Johnson testified that he opened the passenger-side door after Wright started to pull away from another officer, leaned into the car, pushed the shift knob forward to make sure it was in park and reached for the keys to try to turn off the vehicle

Toxicology tests showed cannabinoids  THC and metabolites of marijuana  in Wright's body.

As the morning continued Bureau of Criminal Apprehension forensic scientist Melissa Loren, the crime scene leader, took the stand.

Several images of the crash-damaged car were displayed in court as she testified. By far the most disturbing were those showing the driver's seat.

The paperwork through which Wright had leafed trying to find insurance documents was bloodstained and scattered on the seat in which blood pooled. A spent cartridge casing was clearly visible on it.

Potter's gun, made safe for the court, was also displayed during Loren's testimony.

Flanked by her attorneys, the ex-cop shifted uncomfortably in her seat and looked down as the gun was brought into the room.

Prosecutors file motion casting doubt on fellow cops' testimony Prosecutors have cast doubt on the credibility of law enforcement officers testifying in the Kim Potter trial by alleging that the ex-cop's former role as Police Union president may be a source of favor and bias. Judge Regina Chu has already upheld Potter's defense's objections to the state's attempts to bring her union role into evidence. Now Attorney General Keith Ellison has filed notice that he intends to bring a motion to 'elicit testimony related to union membership and employment for the purpose of establishing possible bias in various law enforcement witnesses.' The notice, filed in Hennepin County District Court Monday, states, 'Defendant Kimberly Ann Potter is a former Brooklyn Center Police Officer. While employed in that capacity, Defendant also held roles within the police union, including being the president of that union  a role that she held on the day that she shot Daunte Wright.' According to the notice the 26-year law enforcement veteran's position 'afforded her an elevated level of respect and admiration among her co-workers and union members.' It states, 'Several of the law enforcement witnesses are current of former Brooklyn Center Police Department employees who are or were members of the same union. One such witness has already testified that he consulted with, worked with, and relied on Defendant in her capacity as the union president many times.' This statement appears to be a thinly veiled reference to Mychal Johnson who was in many ways the state's star witness but delivered testimony far more helpful to the defense when he took the stand Friday. Johnson, now a Patrol Major with Goodhue County Sheriff's Department, was a supervising Sergeant with Brooklyn Center Police Department on April 11, 2021. He told the court that he believed that he could have been gravely injured or even killed had Wright managed to drive away with him 'dangling' out of his car. Bodycam footage shown in court showed Johnson talking to the distraught Potter in the moments after the shooting and telling her, 'Kim that guy was trying to drive away with me in the car.' Testifying under oath he said he stood by his contention that Potter's actions had been justified by the threat posed to his life. Asked if he would have drawn his taser under the same circumstances he said, 'Yes.' In fact, he said, under Minnesota statute Potter would have been within her rights to draw her gun and shoot Wright. In his filing, Ellison insists that the jury is 'entitled to learn about [Potter's Union role] and use to assess the credibility of witnesses in its role as factfinder.' According to the AG, 'This is a task the jury will not be able to properly complete if it is denied knowledge of such information.' In a second notion of motion also filed Monday the state moved to prevent precisely the sort of testimony given by Johnson when he stated that Potter would have been justified to use deadly force 'by statute.' In the filing Ellison has sought to prevent the defense from eliciting 'expert' testimony from lay witnesses. Advertisement

State witness BCA Special Agent Brent Petersen's evidence proved surprisingly contentious with Gray rising to object on multiple occasions as prosecutor Joshua Larson showed a composite video made up of Potter and Johnson's bodycam footage and the footage from Potter and Luckey's squad car.

Petersen testified that he had observed Potter 'manipulate' her holster as she approached Wright's vehicle.

He noted, 'I've seen it beforeI myself have done that when I was on patrol. It caught my attention.

'I carried the same type of holster, a level 2, it would be my practice at times when I was making a traffic stop to unlatch the first level of protection or safety on the holster just to give myself a little of an advantage should I need to draw.

'It would just make drawing the firearm easier more efficient.'

As Larson repeatedly asked Petersen to describe what he saw, Gray objected that Petersen was not a video expert and that it was for the jury, 'not this officer' to decide what they saw

After Judge Chu dismissed the jury for a lunch break the interaction between the state and the defense became more heated as Gray expanded on his point.

He accused the state of trying to impeach their own witness, Mychal Johnson, through Petersen's description of sections of video.

Former Brooklyn Center sergeant Johnson was called as a state witness Friday but did more for the defense than the prosecution when he told the court that Potter would have been justified in shooting Wright.

Today Judge Chu sided with Gray as she told Larson, 'You've got a witness telling a jury what is on a piece of evidence. The evidence is the video, and this is more like final argument material where you stop the video and say, 'Look, both of his feet are on the ground. He's not hanging out of the car.'

'Why do you need a supposed expert witness to describe what's on a video?'

Larson attempted to argue that Petersen was not qualified as an expert witness but that reviewing the video footage was a key part of his criminal investigation.

Judge Chu slapped that down saying, 'When you call the BCA given his position the jury's going to get the impression that he is an expert.'

Earlier today, ahead of court proceedings Chu ruled against the state's attempt to submit seven still photographs that, they hoped, would make their point that Johnson was not in the car when Wright took off.

Judge Chu doubled down on this over Larson's objections telling him, 'The photographs don't give the full picture and can be misleading.'

Wrapping up the debate that she said was 'getting off point,' Judge Chu warned the state, 'There's no need for this officer to testify as to what the video evidence shows.'

State witness BCA Special Agent Brent Petersen's evidence proved surprisingly contentious with defense attorney Earl Gray rising to object on multiple occasions

The court heard that Potter had only owned the taser since March 26, 2021, and that she had worked ten shifts between then and the day of the shooting

The state continued its questioning Monday afternoon by calling BCA agents involved in the investigation into the shooting. Among them was Senior Special Agent Sam McGinnis who collected Potter's duty belt and photographed the officer.

During his testimony prosecutor Larson brought Potter's belt, gun and taser holsters into evidence, showing them with the jury.

At one point he had McGinnis demonstrate to them how a taser is used asking him to activate it for the benefit of the jury to demonstrate the torch, LED light and laser that come on when the battery is loaded, and safety flipped off.

The court heard that Potter had only had the taser since March 26, 2021, and that she had worked ten shifts between then and the day of the shooting.

McGinnis told the court that officers had to perform 'spark' or function tests on tasers before every shift. An audit of Potter's taser showed that she had not performed that test since April 9 despite working April 10 and 11.

The testimony landed more surely when he turned to the differences between the Taser 7 and the Glock 17.

Showing a picture of the two weapons side by side Larson asked McGinnis to list the differences between them.

McGinnis told the court that the taser was yellow while the Glock was black; the taser has a stocky body compared to the gun and it had a shorter, wider grip than the Glock.

He continued to point out that the taser grip has some light texturing on the side and back while the Glock is textured most of the way round; the taser trigger is flat with indentations while the Glock trigger is curved and the taser has a safety catch where the firearm has none.

McGinnis also agreed that there was no laser or LED when the firearm was used.

Jurors will be able to compare the weapons for themselves during deliberation when both will be made safe and given to them to hold and feel.

Under cross examination defense attorney Paul Engh focused on the novelty of the taser 7 and its similarities to Potter's firearm.

In fact, he claimed, Brooklyn Center Police Department had only just purchased the Taser 7 and Potter was the only officer to have one in her possession.

He pointed out, 'It's designed so you pull a trigger, like a gun. And you aim it [like a gun].

'And while the taser is yellow the top and the handle is black.'

Returning to Larson's questions regarding the spark test Engh established that when McGinnis checked Potter's taser it was functional and had 78% battery life.

'You have no evidence that the taser was not functioning?' he asked. McGinnis said he did not.

'Did you ever enquire of the taser manufacturer,' Engh asked, 'Why they couldn't be shaped in a different fashion to avoid any confusion when they could easily have shaped it differently?'

The state continued their questioning Monday afternoon by calling BCA agents involved in the investigation into the shooting. Among them was Senior Special Agent Sam McGinnis (pictured) who collected Potter's duty belt and photographed the officer

On Friday it was revealed that fellow officers feared that Potter would take her own life in the wake of the shooting and took steps to ensure that she did not have a loaded firearm in her possession.

It came in testimony from Mychal Johnson, the officer who claims his life was saved by Potter's actions as, he believed, Wright was trying to drive off with him 'dangling' out of the car.

Brooklyn Center Patrol Major Mychal Johnson, who assisted officers at the scene on April 11, took the stand on Friday

Johnson told jurors that he had taken Potter's gun from her after the shooting as it might be used in evidence in a future court hearing, but he handed her his own.

Moments later, he told the court, a fellow officer expressed concern that Potter might harm herself.

'Officer Potter was sitting in a squad, and I discreetly asked if I could see my firearm and was able to remove the magazine and one round in the chamber so at that time there were no rounds in the chamber,' he said.

Despite Johnson's claim being key to Potter's defense he had been called as a witness for the prosecution.

Earlier Minnesota's Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank took Johnson through the traffic stop and shooting as methodically as possible, apparently at pains not to elicit any opinion from the officer who knew Potter both professionally and socially.

Johnson, now a patrol major with Goodhue County Sheriff's Department was a sergeant with Brooklyn Center Police Department and Potter's supervisor at the time.

He was on the scene because he had responded to rookie Officer Anthony Luckey's request for back-up at the fateful traffic stop that day.

But while Frank kept emotion out of Johnson's testimony there was no way to remove it from previously unseen footage from Johnson's bodycam that was played in court.

An emotional Potter was seen screaming and burying her face in her hands moments after the shooting

As the footage played on Potter could be seen standing at a wire fencing by the roadside repeating over and over, 'Oh my God, what have I done?'

Johnson is heard in the footage trying to comfort Potter, telling her to breathe and sit down as she cries saying she is going to prison

On Friday, jurors saw the third officer's perspective for the first time as he reached into Wright's car and tried to prevent the 20-year-old from driving away.

They saw him reach for the gear shift and attempt to turn Wright's keys in the ignition.

Then they saw Johnson grab Wright's arm as he struggled and appeared to try to get to the gear shift.

Johnson told the court that he 'heard a loud pop' but didn't immediately register that a shot had been fired.

As the footage played on the jury once again saw a hysterical Potter yelling, 'I grabbed the wrong f***ing gun. I shot him. Oh my God.'

Now they heard Johnson comfort her, telling her to breathe and sit down. 'I'm going to prison,' she said.

Johnson could be heard replying, 'No you're not. Kim, that guy was trying to take off with me in the car.'
A Tennessee woman has been charged with abuse of a corpse for allegedly keeping the badly decomposed remains of her newborn baby born nearly 30 years ago in a freezer storage unit, where it was only discovered last month after the container was auctioned off.

Melissa Sims McCann, 62, from Tullahoma, was arrested on Friday after the Coffee County Grand Jury indicted her for two counts of abuse of a corpse.

Coffee County District Attorney Craig Northcott stated in a press release that McCann could potentially face additional charges as the investigation continues.

Melissa Sims McCann, 62, from Tennessee, has been charged with abuse of a corpse for allegedly keeping the body of her newborn baby in a storage unit for 27 years

According to Northcott's statement, the case began unfolding on November 13, when the Tullahoma Police Department received a call from Watts-N-Storage on Old Estill Springs Road in Tullahoma, reporting the gruesome discovery of unidentified remains inside a storage unit that had recently been auctioned.

'Upon inspection of the remains, it was not readily apparent if they were human,' the DA's statement revealed. 'Upon sending the remains to the medical examiner's office, they determined that the remains were that of a human newborn.'

Northcott went on to say that the subsequent police investigation has uncovered that the freezer storage unit had been rented by McCann since March 1994 'for the sole purpose of storing the remains of her full-term newborn baby.'

The prosecutor alleged that the woman, then in her mid-30s, delivered the child at home just a few days before renting the storage unit.

The newborn's decomposed-beyond-recognition remains were found in November 2021, after the freezer storage unit at Watts-N-Storage in Tullahoma (pictured) had been auctioned

No additional information has been released in connection with this case, including the sex of the baby, or the mother's motive for allegedly concealing its birth.

'[It's] heartbreaking but I hope we can give this baby a little bit of a voice,' DA Northcott wrote in a Facebook post last week.

DailyMail.com on Monday reached out to the District Attorney's Office seeking comment on McCann's indictment and was awaiting a response.

McCann is scheduled to appear before a judge in Coffee County on Friday.
Retired Army Col. Phil Waldron  who circulated a 38-page power point presentation that recommended declaring a 'national security emergency' before Inauguration Day  has said he met with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows up to ten times amid Donald Trump's election overturn effort.

Waldron revealed in public comments Friday that he circulated the document, titled 'Election Fraud, Foreign Interference & Options for 6 JAN.'

He has since confirmed efforts to blast out the presentation to key power brokers  including Republican lawmakers who met Jan. 6th to count the votes certified by states through the Electoral College.

The presentation also made it to Meadows, whose lawyer confirmed he has provided information to the House Jan. 6th Committee. That panel is set to vote him in contempt of Congress after he refused to testify in accordance with a subpoena.

Retired Army Col. Phil Waldron says he met with former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows eight to ten times. He circulated a 38-page PowerPoint memo recommending a 'national security emergency'

'The presentation was that there was significant foreign interference in the election, here's the proof,' Waldron said, pointing to a web of unverified information claiming foreign election interference. 'These are constitutional, legal, feasible, acceptable and suitable courses of action,' he told the Washington Post.

He said he spoke to Meadows  who has appeared in other elements of the overturn effort including pressing Georgia election officials to investigate what Trump claimed was fraud and urging Justice Department officials to investigate allegations of fraud  'maybe eight to 10 times.'

Among the wild claims is the document that China gains 'systematic control over our election system,' and that voting machines were 'compromised.' Government security agencies have made no such claims.

The plan he touted outlined a plan for overturning President Joe Biden's electoral victory, with such suggestions declaring a nationwide national security emergency and invalidating all electronically-cast ballots.

A person familiar with the matter told the Post Meadows met with Waldron at the White House in December. Waldron says he sometimes communicated with Meadows through former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, that he briefed Giuliani at the White House inside Meadows' office, and that he attended an Oval Office meeting with Trump and Pennsylvania GOP legislators  as Trump was claiming fraud in that state, which Biden won.

A House vote on whether to refer ex-Trump Chief of Staff Meadows to the DOJ for criminal charges will take place on Tuesday

The powerpoint presentation was referenced in a letter Jan. 6th chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson sent to Meadows' lawyer, George J. Terwilliger III, as the two sides faced off over the Meadows subpoena.

Thompson cited the powerpoint as being included in a Jan. 5th email to Meadows stating that it 'was to be provided "on the hill."' It also cited other materials Meadows furnished when he was at least somewhat cooperating, including a Nov. 7th emails about an 'alternate slate of electors' than those certified by states.

Waldron has said he didn't personally send the powerpoint to Meadows, but didn't rule out one of his team members doing so.

Waldrom told the New York Times he personally briefed lawmakers on his claims of foreign interference on Jan. 4th.

He was circulating among key members of Trump advisors as the president sought to overturn Biden's victory. He appeared in a film by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, and according to the Post participated in a 'war room' out of the Willard Hotel along with Giuliani and lawyer John Eastman.

The post describes him as a cybersecurity consultant who specialized in psychological operations during his military career.

Meadows shared the PowerPoint presentation dated January 5 with the Capitol riot committee, titled 'Election Fraud, Foreign Interference & Options for 6 JAN,' as part of the trove of documents he was compelled to hand over in the House's ongoing probe.

Its existence was revealed by Thompson, the lone Democrat representing Mississippi in Congress, in a letter informing Meadows' lawyer that the panel had 'no choice' but to move forward with a criminal referral for the ex-White House Chief of Staff for refusing to appear for a deposition.

He's one of several people in Donald Trump's orbit subpoenaed by the committee for his role in the Stop the Steal rally that preceded the attack on the Capitol. House Democrats announced a vote to refer Meadows for criminal charges will take place on Tuesday.

The presentation is reportedly one of the materials Meadows handed over to the Select Committee investigating the Capitol riot

The document calls for 'eliminating counterfeit mail-in and absentee ballots' which means 'Trump Almost Certainly Wins'

It made a series of unverified claims about foreign actors

It claimed China had 'systemic control' over the election system

Cybersecurity expert and retired army colonel Phil Waldron testifies in front of members of the Arizona State legislature. Waldron presented an analysis of data that shows a vote spike on Election Day shortly after counting started. The state's controversial audit ultimately affirmed Biden won the state

Portions of that presentation shared last week by The Guardian detail a series of 'recommendations,' apparently for Trump, to follow ahead of the planned electoral vote certification the next day.

They include declaring a national security emergency over accusations that China 'gained control over our election system,' claiming US electronic voting systems were 'under foreign influence and control,' and briefing federal lawmakers on the alleged 'foreign interference.'

It also calls for Trump to declare all electronically-cast ballots invalid and instructing Congress to undergo a 'legal & genuine' count of paper ballots or other 'Constitutional remedy.'

Another slide features three recommendations for ex-Vice President Mike Pence, who it's now known told Trump on January 5th that he wanted no part of his efforts to overturn Biden's win:

'VP Pence seats Republican Electors over the objections of Democrats in states where fraud occurred,' the first point states.

'VP Pence rejects the electors from States where fraud occurred causing the election to be decided by remaining electoral votes.

'VP Pence delays the decision in order to allow for a vetting and subsequent counting of the all the legal paper ballots.'

It appears to be in line with a memo written by John Eastman, a law professor who advised Trump on how to overturn the election and was also subpoenaed by the committee.

The slides shared on Twitter by a Guardian journalist detail an alarming plan to flip the election for Trump

Eastman took part in a January 4 Oval Office meeting where participants debated whether Pence had the authority to not accept votes certified by states that ultimately made Biden president when Congress met to count votes on January 6.

Another slide in the PowerPoint allegedly linked to Meadows refers to all non-paper ballots as 'counterfeit.'

It claims that electronic voting machines 'are shifting votes from Trump to Biden' and therefore only paper ballots could be counted, which would 'almost certainly' hand victory to Trump.

By eliminating mail-in ballots, a majority of which went to Democrats in 2020, 'US Senators, US House Races, State, and Local races now turn to Republican,' the presentation states.

It also appears to call for all urban-area votes to be rendered invalid, claiming without evidence that foreign actors changed votes 'in traditionally Republican strongholds in order to deliver a Biden win because they could jam no more into the major cities (fraud votes).'

The purported plan goes on to outline a recount scenario in which the remaining paper ballots would be 'locked and physically protected' by Trump's government and the vote count would happen under the National Guard's watch.

Lawyer John Eastman (l) 'asserts his Fifth Amendment right not to be a witness against himself,' his lawyer said in a letter to the Jan. 6th Committee

'A Trusted Lead Counter will be appointed with authority from the POTUS to direct the actions of select federalized National Guard units and support from DOJ, DHS and other US government agencies as needed to complete a recount of the legal paper ballots for the federal elections in all 50 states,' the presentation details.

Thompson's Tuesday letter to Meadows' lawyer reveals the Trump ally was exchanging emails about the lengthy presentation up until the day before the Capitol attack and it was intended for presentation 'on the hill.'

The letter also revealed further bombshell details about communications that the former North Carolina congressman did send over to the committee.

One of the most damning appears to be a text exchange between Meadows and an unnamed federal lawmaker that took place after the November 2020 election.

The letter refers to a 'November 6, 2020, text exchange with a Member of Congress apparently about appointing alternate electors in certain states as part of a plan that the Member acknowledged would be 'highly controversial' and to which Mr. Meadows apparently said, 'I love it'...'

Committee Chair Rep. Bennie Thompson warned Meadows he could face criminal charges for refusing to appear before panel in a letter on Tuesday

Meadows is also accused of exchanging text messages with someone about the need for Trump to 'issue a public statement that could have stopped the January 6th attack on the Capitol.'

The lawmaker-turned-White House official also allegedly spoke via text with an unnamed organizer of the January 6 Stop the Steal rally in 'early January.'

On November 7, 2020, the letter claims, Meadows sent an email discussing appointing an alternate slate of electors in certain states, likely that voted for Biden, in a 'direct and collateral attack.'

The day before the riot Meadows allegedly sent an email about having the National Guard on standby.

'All of those documents raise issues about which the Select Committee would like to question Mr. Meadows and about which you appear to agree are not subject to a claim of privilege,' Thompson wrote.

Despite the newly-revealed information Thompson stated that there were still more than a thousand items Meadows withheld due to claims of executive privilege.
Mark Meadows' attorney in a Monday letter urged the Jan. 6 committee not to pursue criminal charges against the former White House chief of staff, as he argued doing so would be 'contrary to law.'

'Such a referral would be contrary to law, manifestly unjust, unwise and unfair,' attorney George Terwilliger wrote. 'It would ill-serve the country to rush to judgment on the matter.'

Terwilliger said that a 'good-faith invocation of executive privilege and testimonial immunity' is within the bounds of the law for a former administration official.

The committee recommended the contempt charges on Sunday, the same day it released a report showing that Meadows said the National Guard was on standby to 'protect pro Trump people' in an email on January 5.

Democratic leaders announced on Thursday that the full House will vote on the contempt measure this week.

Meadows is the third person to face a contempt vote in the House in the Democrat-led committee's investigation, after ex-Trump adviser Steve Bannon and former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark.

Bannon, Trump's former White House chief strategist, was indicted on two counts of contempt of Congress by a federal grand jury on November 12 after he refused to appear or hand over any documents.

Mark Meadows' attorney in a Monday letter urged the Jan. 6 committee not to pursue criminal charges against the former White House chief of staff

The committee recommended the contempt charges on Sunday, the same day it released a report showing that Meadows said the National Guard was on standby to 'protect pro Trump people' in an email on January 5

Meadows did an about-face last week, deciding at the last minute that he would cease compliance with the committee after he and the committee could not come to agreement on the terms of his testimony, according to his attorney.

But he had already handed over around 6,000 pages of documents.

"A referral to the Department of Justice based on such an invocation would ignore the statutes legislative history and historical application, contravene well-established separation of powers principles, and improperly impute a criminal intent to a good-faith actor,' Terwilliger said Monday.

When Meadows failed to appear for his deposition last Wednesday, the committee announced it would move to refer criminal contempt charges to the Department of Justice.

The former chief of staff, in turn, filed a lawsuit against members of the House Jan. 6 committee and Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

In the case, Meadows accuses the investigators of trying to 'violate' the principle of executive privilege that should protect his communications with Trump.

It asks a judge to invalidate two 'overly broad' subpoenas and accuses the committee of overreach by issuing a demand to Verizon for his cell phone records.

'After working with them - trying to work with them - it became obvious over the last 72 hours or so that they continued to plan to delve into both executive privilege and some of the deliberative speech that would have occurred as a result of my interactions with the president and other senior staff and so we had to make the tough decision to say that we're gonna no longer cooperate,' Meadows told the Jenna Ellis show.

He said revealing their conversations would set a dangerous precedent.

Reps. Bennie Thompson D-Miss., and Liz Cheney, R-Wisc., said in a statement last week that they had questions about official communications Meadows had carried from his personal accounts, and that he needed to appear over his non-privileged communications.

'We also need to hear from him about voluminous official records stored in his personal phone and email accounts, which were required to be turned over to the National Archives in accordance with the Presidential Records act.'

'Even as we litigate privilege issues, the Select Committee has numerous questions for Mr. Meadows about records he has turned over to the Committee with no claim of privilege, which include real-time communications with many individuals as the events of January 6th unfolded,' Thompson and Cheney wrote in the statement.

In a 51-page report released Sunday, the committee described a series of messages sent by Meadows to various people.

'Mr. Meadows sent an email [on January 5] to an individual about the events on January 6 and said that the National Guard would be present to "protect pro Trump people" and that many more would be available on standby,' the report states.

The committee also identified a text message that Meadows sent to a member of Congress in November 2020 'regarding efforts to contact state legislators because, as Mr. Meadows indicates in his text messages, quote, "POTUS wants to chat with them."'

In the document released Sunday, the committee outlined the questions it would have asked Meadows had he cooperated.

'The Chief's Chief,' by former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, was published by All Seasons Press on December 7

'We would've asked Mr. Meadows about text messages exchanged with various individuals, including Members of Congress, on January 6th, both before, during, and after the attack on the United States Capitol, including text messages encouraging Mr. Meadows to facilitate a statement by President Trump discouraging violence at the Capitol on January 6th, including a text exchange with a media personality who had encouraged the presidential statement asking people to, quote, "peacefully leave the Capitol," end quote, as well as a text sent to one ofby one of the Presidents family members indicating that Mr. Meadows is, quote, "pushing hard," end quote, for a statement from President Trump to, quote, "condemn this s***," end quote, happening at the Capitol.'

Meadows has continued to defend Trump, including in his new book, The Chief's Chief, released last week.

The former congressman wrote that Trump would've taken the law into his own hands to fight off Black Lives Matter protesters trying to enter the White House last year and 'knocked their heads in' if the Secret Service hadn't led him to a secure bunker instead.

'But he didn't have a choice. When it comes to the United States Secret Service, no one does. Either you do what they say, or they pick you up and make you do it.
The city of Oakland, California recorded its 131st murder of 2021 on Monday surpassing the annual homicide rates from the last nine years.

A 40-year-old man was found dead with major trauma early Monday morning marking the 131st murder.

Investigators discovered the man at the 500 block on 45th Street near Telegraph Avenue around 12:45 am. The Oakland resident was pronounced dead at the scene but has not been publicly identified.

No further information has been released as officers await the results of an autopsy.

The unidentified man's death brings the city to a grave milestone. With 18 days remaining in the year, Oakland recorded the highest number of murders in nearly a decade.

This comes a week after the Oakland City Council reversed its support of defunding the police and voted to hire more police officers.

The city of Oakland, California recorded the most homicides in nearly a decade on Monday (Pictured: Alameda County Coroner Bureau deputies remove a victim from the scene as Oakland police investigate a fatal shooting at a gas station on October 21)

'There is a clear problem in this city,' Oakland police Chief LeRonne Armstrong said addressing the wave of violent crime this year

Oakland's Mayor Libby Schaaf recently proposed a plan to hire 60 more police officers. The proposal was passed by Oakland City Council last week

Last year Oakland police investigated 109 homicides and nine years ago the city recorded 131 murders all year, which was the highest since 148 murders were investigated in 2006.

Oakland's Mayor Libby Schaaf has not responded to DailyMail.com for a comment.

Earlier this month, the Oakland City Council voted to hire more police officers in response to the spike in violent crime. Schaaf proposed a plan to add two new police academies and unfreeze positions within the department to add 60 new officers.

The mayor celebrated the vote in a statement, saying that Oakland residents 'spoke up for a comprehensive approach to public safety  one that includes prevention, intervention, and addressing crime's root causes, as well as an adequately staffed police department.'

The city's police force of sworn officers now stands at 676, dipping below a 2014 voter-approved measure that required the police department to have at least 678 sworn officers.

The city of more than 400,000 people started this year with 723 sworn officers.

Barry Donelan, president of the Oakland Police Officers' Association, said officers are 'leaving in droves' for other cities and urged council members to thank police rather than malign them.

Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley is tough on crime and has pushed prosecutors across the country to better address violence since she was appointed in 2009. However, she has opposed criminal justice reforms and was backed by police unions in 2018.

Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong said in a news conference last month: 'I'm asking council members to step up and start having a conversation about the loss of life in this city.'

'Beyond the politics of whether you support the police, there is a clear problem in this city and that this city had to deal with overwhelming violence over the weekend and it's unacceptable.'

Oakland has joined other cities in diverting police from some 911 calls to reduce friction between law enforcement and minority groups. A pilot program to use trained civilians to address complaints such as public intoxication and panhandling is scheduled to be launched early next year.

The move to hire more officers comes as a reversal from the city's earlier move to cut police funding.

Oakland is among several politically liberal cities reversing commitments, made in the wake of George Floyd's murder in May 2020, to defund the police following a surge in violent crime.

It also isn't the only city to shatter their annual murder records this year. As of this beginning of December, 12 major US cities have hit all-time high murder records.

Philadelphia announced its 501st murder on November 26, the highest since 1990. The next day Indianapolis recorded 246 murders breaking the record from 2020. The city of Columbus hit 179 murders on November 26, the most since the year before. Behind that, Louisville reported its 175th murder on November 24, also surpassing the record it set in 2020.

Although they haven't broken records, many other cities across the country have recorded a disturbing number of murders this year as the US faces a wave of extreme violence.

The Big Apple has reported 443 murders as of December 5, Los Angeles recorded 352 murders as of November 27, and Chicago has been leading the country with 739 murders as of November 30.

The city of Oakland had previously voted to cut the police department's budget but have recently backtracked on the defund the police movement with plans to increase cop numbers (Pictured: Oakland police investigate a fatal shooting where one person was killed and a former Oakland police Capt. was shot multiple times in a robbery attempt on October 21)

Oakland has joined other cities in beginning a pilot program diverting police from some 911 calls to reduce tensions between law enforcement and minority groups (Pictured: Police officers patrol through the Pacific Renaissance Plaza in Oakland's Chinatown on Decemeber 7)

The Oakland City Council has been considered a longtime ally of the Black Lives Matter movement but has turned back to supporting police as violent crime spikes (Pictured: A protester holds a sign calling for the defunding of police at a protest on July 25, 2020, in Oakland)

The grim trend follows national calls to defund police departments, and in some cities, reforms to bail rules that critics claim let dangerous offenders loose pending trial.

Robert Boyce, a retired chief of detectives for the New York Police Department, blamed the nationwide murder surge on a sharp decline in arrests and pre-trial detention.

'Nobody's getting arrested anymore,' Boyce told ABC News. 'People are getting picked up for gun possession and they're just let out over and over again.'

Despite Philadelphia blowing past the prior record of 500 murders set in 1990, the city's progressive District Attorney Larry Krasner, a champion of bail and police reform, insists that there is no crime wave.

'We don't have a crisis of lawlessness, we don't have a crisis of crime, we don't have a crisis of violence,' Krasner said in a testy exchange with reporters on Monday, noting that violent crimes committed without guns are down.

'There is not a big spike in crime  that is not true. There is also not a big spike in violent crime, either,' Krasner insisted.

Krasner has said that the true crisis is 'gun violence' and argued that better education and healthcare services would reduce violent crime.

He also blamed the police for a low clearance rate, noting last month that just 27 percent of gun homicides and 15 percent of non-fatal shootings have resulted in arrests.

Despite Philadelphia blowing past the prior record of 500 murders set in 1990, the city's progressive District Attorney Larry Krasner, a champion of bail and police reform, insists that there is no crime wave

Philadelphia has now surpassed New York City and Los Angeles in the number of murders recorded this year (Pictured: Police Crime Scene officers work outside the SEPTA Olney Transportation Center on February 17, after at least eight people were wounded by gunfire)

In Indianapolis, the capital city of Indiana, the murder tally shattered last year's record high in early November.

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, a Democrat, has blamed what he calls the 'public health crisis' of gun violence.

After the city passed its murder record, Hogsett in a statement to Indianapolis Star said that 'COVID-fueled disruptions to violence reduction have had lasting effects' in the city.

'We continue to encourage all residents to do their part to resolve disputes without guns, and to work with law enforcement to hold accountable those who choose violence,' Hogsett said.

In Ohio's capital city, Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther proposed boosting funding to recruit new police officers after the city broke its homicide record for the second year running.

'We know, based on data and information, it's a very small number to folks that are committing the overwhelming majority of violent acts in our community,' Gitner, a Democrat, said last month, urging residents to share tips about crimes with police.

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, a Democrat, blamed 'COVID-fueled disruptions to violence reduction'

'Many Portlanders no longer feel safe,' Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, a Democrat, recently acknowledged. Wheeler is seen above in August, standing left alongside Portland Police Bureau Chief Chuck Lovell

'We need to bring these folks to justice, get them off our streets to help make our neighborhoods safer,' he said.

In Louisville, Mayor Greg Fischer has said that the city's rising crime and shortage of police officers reflect nationwide issues and trends across the country.

'It's not an excuse. These are our problems here, but again we need to understand there is a bigger context to solving the problem,' Fisher, a Democrat, told the city council last month.

Austin's murder rate broke the longest-standing record of the dozen cities, recording more more homicides this year than the city has seen since 1984.

Austin Mayor Steve Adler, a Democrat, insisted last month that while homicides are increasing, the progressive Texas capital is still a safe city.

'Those numbers are going up and in cities across the country,' Adler told KTBC-TV last month. 'But even with those numbers going up, our [per capita] murder rate lost and is still one of the lowest among major cities.'
Sajid Javid has announced 12 to 15-year-olds will be able to access the NHS Covid Pass to prove their vaccination status for international travel.

The Health Secretary said that the pass will be available to children between those ages from today.

Mr Javid said this will allow 'even more people to be able to prove their vaccine status where it is needed'.

Tory former health minister Steve Brine said it was 'such a welcome announcement' because it would make some international travel smoother for families.

But the announcement is likely to spark concerns that showing the pass could eventually be extended to make it a requirement for children when they leave and re-enter the country.

Sajid Javid today announced 12 to 15-year-olds will be able to access the NHS Covid Pass to prove their vaccination status for international travel

The Health Secretary said that the pass will be available to children between those ages from today

Mr Javid told the House of Commons this afternoon: 'From today I can confirm that the NHS Covid Pass is being rolled out to 12 to 15 year-olds for international travel, allowing even more people to be able to prove their vaccine status where it is needed.'

Mr Brine asked Mr Javid: 'Can I ask him about the NHS Covid Pass being rolled out to 12 to 15-year-olds which is such a welcome announcement and something that the Secretary of State promised this House that he would bring back and I thank him for that.

'How exactly will that work? Many of my constituents will be travelling within the next few days, certainly within the next week over Christmas.

'How exactly will they be able to access this pass given that they cannot access the NHS app the same way as adults can?'

Mr Javid replied: 'He is right that around the Covid Pass it is a very important issue.

'We will be publishing shortly on the website exactly how that will work but it is being rolled out as a digital pass in the same way it is working for adults starting today.'

The announcement is likely to spark concerns that showing the pass could eventually be extended to make it a requirement for children when they leave and re-enter the country

All children in the UK who are aged between 12 and 15 have been offered a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

The announcement came as Mr Javid said there are now 4,713 confirmed cases of Omicron in the UK.

He told MPs: 'And the UK Health Security Agency estimates that the current rate of, the current number of daily infections are around 200,000.

'While Omicron represents over 20 per cent of cases in England, we've already seen it rise to over 44 per cent in London and we expect it to become the dominant Covid 19 variant in the capital in the next 48 hours.'
A Baltimore anesthetist shot his ex-girlfriend in the head, confessed to it on Facebook Live then murdered his wife and shot himself on Saturday in a horrifying double murder suicide that came after years of custody battles.

Rajaee Black, 44, was a nurse practitioner anesthetist in Baltimore, Maryland, but was fired earlier this year amid a workplace dispute.

On Saturday, he took to Facebook Live to announce that he had just murdered Tara Labang, his 41-year-old ex-girlfriend, and that his wife was 'next'.

'I just shot my ex-girlfriend in the head. Felt like a dream. I never thought I would be that guy.

'I cant go to prison, so the person that really started my depression and all of this is my ex-wife. So, she next. Then Im going to do myself too,' he said in the sickening footage.

Standing outside Wendy's home, he said: 'Oh there's my ex-wife there.'

Rajaee Black, 44, filmed himself confessing to murdering his ex-girlfriend who he 'shot in the head' on Saturday while standing outside his estranged wife's house. He then went inside and shot the wife before killing himself

He panned the camera to the front porch, where she could be seen opening the door and closing it quickly, then he marched into the home.

Just before the video ended, he can be heard saying: 'Today's the day.'

Police found their bodies in the house a short time afterwards. Their children were found safe and well inside his grey SUV outside the home.

It's unclear how old they are.

He is believed to have put the kids in the car first, before killing Wendy.

In his rant, Rajaee claimed that he had custody battles with of the women.

The Baltimore Sun cites court records that show a pattern of domestic abuse allegations and custody disputes between he and Wendy, but it's unclear if there is any such trail for Tara.

The first woman he killed was his ex-girlfriend Tara Labang, 41, who was found dead in her home. It's unclear when they dated but they worked together at University Health Maryland

Wendy Black opened the door of her home seconds before she was shot dead. It was captured on the Facebook Live

On Facebook, her friends made reference to her being a mother.

Until earlier this year, Rajaee worked in Baltimore as a nurse practitioner, helping administer anesthesia during procedures.

His ex-wife and his ex-girlfriend were both also nurses.

Rajaee Black was also a nurse anesthetist

He complained earlier this year that he had been fired, claiming the University of Maryland Medical System terminated him unfairly after he blew the whistle on a doctor who was stashing drugs in his locker.

He claimed that after that, no one wanted to work with him, and says he had no choice but to then 'risk his life' by working as a nurse in the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City.

Tara worked with Rajaee at the University of Maryland Capital Region Health, at least for a period.

'We are deeply saddened by the tragic incident surrounding the death of a team member, who cared for patients in our hospital under a contract with a medical provider.

'We extend heartfelt condolences to the family and are offering grief counseling to her colleagues,' a spokesman said about her death.

Wendy worked as a nurse at Howard County General Hospital as a nurse anesthetist.

It remains unclear how many children she had with Black or how old they are now.
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People may need three jabs to use controversial Covid passports for entry to large venues by January, the Health Secretary warned last night.

Sajid Javid told the Commons that people will only be considered 'fully vaccinated' once they have had their booster, and that three doses will be required for vaccine passports once all eligible adults in England have had 'a reasonable chance' to get the next jab.

But he refused to clarify when these changes would come into force, as confusion mounts over whether the Prime Minister's promise in Sunday's TV address means everybody will have had their booster by December 31 or will just be offered a third dose by then.

In a massively ambitious move, Boris Johnson brought forward the deadline to offer all over-18s a third jab by New Year's Day as he warned the country: 'There is a tidal wave of Omicron coming.'

But concerns about whether the Government could even hit the goal were raised almost immediately after Mr Johnson's 8pm televised announcement last night. Even at the height of the NHS's vaccine drive in March, the health service never managed more than 850,000 jabs a day.

Britons faced a five-hour queue for booster shots at St Thomas' hospital in Westminster on Monday, after officials reportedly assigned only four staff members to rolling out the jabs. The hospital said everyone in the queue would get a vaccine.

There were reports of queues at vaccination centres dotted across the country, including in Kidlington, Belfast, Manchester and parts of London. Younger people were also turned away in the confusion as they tried to get booster jabs. Staff at the Manchester City's Etihad Stadium allowed those in their 20s in while others were declined.

From 6am on Wednesday, people will need to show proof of two jabs or a negative lateral flow test in order to enter nightclubs and large venues. Under the new regulations, published barely 24 hours before tomorrow's vote, people could be fined 10,000 if they try to falsify a Covid pass or test result.

Mr Javid's extraordinary statement comes amid murmurings of a large Tory rebellion to Boris Johnson's so-called 'Plan B' restrictions, which include the passports as well as orders to work from home and compulsory facemasks for further public spaces. The Conservative backbenchers are particularly opposed to the use of Covid passes and believe the restrictions are unjustified.

The measures are expected to be approved with Labour's support, but the revolt would be the biggest of Mr Johnson's premiership so far. Tory whips on Monday launched a desperate operation to curb the rebellion amid reports around 80 MPs could vote against the restrictions.

In the past week, the Government has been accused of throwing rule-breaking Christmas parties at Downing Street last year, while gatherings across the country were criminalised.

On Monday, Mr Johnson said MPs thinking of rebelling against the measures needed to recognise there was 'no room for complacency' in dealing with the Omicron variant.

As the coronavirus crisis enters its latest crucial phase:

Sir Keir Starmer announced he is supporting the Government's new Covid crackdown as he urged people to 'stick to the rules' to help prevent the NHS from being 'overwhelmed' by Omicron;

The entire NHS England was put on the highest level of alert for the first time since March after the UK's Omicron outbreak surged by 50 per cent in a day;

Britain has suffered its first death from Omicron, the Prime Minister revealed on a visit to a vaccination clinic near Paddington. However, experts are demanding answers about the UK's first Omicron fatality, such as the individual's vaccination status, if they were part of group vulnerable to Covid, and if the virus was the leading cause of death;

GPs fumed they found out about the jabbing goal at the same time as the rest of the nation, and NHS bosses warned it would take 'time' to get the scaled up programme 'fully up and running';

Former Cabinet minister David Davis and Labour MPs slammed the Government for failing to ramp up the booster drive in September, and warned the 'vaccine wall of defence was crumbling';

Sajid Javid said that patients waiting for elective surgery such as hip replacements could see their treatment postponed as the NHS races to roll out a million jabs a day. He promised, however, that critical care for cancer patients would be unaffected;

Both Scotland and Wales dangled the possibility of having to impose tougher restrictions as Boris Johnson failed to rule out more measures for England.

Sajid Javid told MPs that every adult across England could expect to be offered a 'chance to get boosted by the end of this month' though he suggested not everyone would get a dose in December

People queue for Covid-19 vaccines and booster inoculations at the Elland Road Vaccination Centre in Leeds

Members of the public are pictured beyond hearts painted on the National Covid Memorial Wall, as they queue to receive a dose of a Covid-19 vaccine outside Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital in London

NHS England was put on the highest level of alert for the first time since March. Level four means health bosses believe there is a real threat that an expected influx of Covid patients could start to force the closure of other vital services

Sir Keir Starmer takes dig at Boris Johnson saying 'we must all stick to the rules however inconvenient' as he uses Covid address to describe Labour's 'patriotism' and insist Britain needs 'leadership we can trust' Sir Keir Starmer has announced he is supporting the Government's new Covid crackdown and efforts to ramp up the booster jab programme as he urged people to 'stick to the rules' to help prevent the NHS from being 'overwhelmed' by the Omicron variant. In a pre-recorded televised address to the nation this evening, the Labour leader accused Ministers of acting too slowly in the face of the threat from the fast-spreading strain and said the country needs 'leadership we can trust'. Sir Keir also insisted that people should 'stick to the rules'  in what is likely to be regarded as a thinly-veiled refence to allegations of rule-busting Christmas parties at Downing Street last year. Yesterday, the Prime Minister announced that all eligible adults in England are to be offered a third dose of the vaccine by the end of the month. In the BBC One broadcast, Sir Keir urged people to get their top-up injections and confirmed that the Labour Party would be supporting the Government's so-called 'Plan B' measures tomorrow, which include orders to work from home, compulsory facemasks and controversial Covid passports for large venues. This means the restrictions will sail through the Commons tomorrow despite Tory murmurings of a large rebellion against the Covid crackdown. Advertisement

The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Entry to Venues and Events) (England) Regulations 2021 make it an offence to make, adapt, supply or offer to supply 'false evidence of Covid status to another person' which is known to be 'false or misleading' and this will be punishable by a fixed penalty notice (FPN).

Other offences under the regulations also could result in fines for breaking the rules. These include a 1,000 FPN in the first instance, reduced to 500 if paid within 14 days, for example for venues who do not comply with the rules or ignore improvement notices issued by councils.

The fines double for the second and third offences (2,000 and then 4,000), jumping to 10,000 for the fourth or any subsequent offences thereafter.

Mr Javid told Parliament that it is the Government's intention to include proof of a booster jab, once all adults have had a chance to get theirs.

He said: 'From Wednesday  subject to this House's approval  you'll need to show a negative lateral flow test to get into nightclubs and large events, with an exemption for the double vaccinated.

'Once all adults have had a reasonable chance to get their booster jab, we intend to change this exemption to require a booster dose.'

He said it is 'misleading' to say MPs are being asked to vote on 'vaccine passports'.

He told the Commons: 'The Government has been absolutely clear about when it talks about access to nightclubs or to very large gatherings... that the requirement is to take a free lateral flow test and make sure it's negative.

'And if you don't want to do that then you can prove your vaccine status. It's up to that individual. That's not a vaccine passport and the sooner we get rid of this misleading description of what the Government is proposing, the better.'

The Plan B restrictions also include compulsory mask-wearing indoors in most public places, and guidance for people to work from home where possible.

NHS Covid passes showing full vaccination or a recent negative test will be required for entry to indoor venues containing more than 500 people, unseated outdoor venues with more than 4,000 people, and any venue with more than 10,000 people, from Wednesday.

Mr Johnson's landslide victory in the 2019 general election left him with a Commons majority of about 80 MPs.

If around 75 Tories who have indicated their opposition vote against the measures rather than abstain, they would deliver an even bigger revolt than was seen against the strengthened tiered system of coronavirus restrictions in December last year, when 55 Tories voted against the measures.

There are expected to be 'a number of votes' on the different regulations, Downing Street said.

Conservative MP Marcus Fysh, one of the rebels, was criticised for comparing the plans to the atrocities of the Nazi regime.

'We are not a 'papers please' society. This is not Nazi Germany,' he told BBC Radio 5 Live. 'It's the thin end of an authoritarian wedge and that's why we will resist it.'

Marie van der Zyl, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, responded: 'It is completely unacceptable to compare the proposed vaccine passports with Nazi Germany.

'We urge people, particularly those in positions of authority, to avoid these highly inappropriate comparisons.'

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'We are facing a tidal wave of Omicron and these Plan B measures are a vital part of enabling us to buy time so that we can get more of these booster doses in arms and provide the protection that will protect both lives and livelihoods.

'On the issue of certification, as I said, it requires proof of a negative test unless you are double vaccinated, and it allows us to keep some of these settings open, which is vital for hospitality, where otherwise we would have had no choice but to close them, which no one wants to see.'

On Sunday night in a televised address to the nation, the Prime Minister told the public that, in the face of 'a tidal wave of Omicron' it is 'now clear that two doses of vaccine are simply not enough to give the level of protection we all need'.

He added that scientists are 'confident' that, with a booster, 'we can all bring our level of protection back up'.

On Monday, Mr Johnson announced the first UK death with Omicron during a visit to a vaccination clinic near Paddington in west London.

The Prime Minister said: 'Sadly, yes, Omicron is producing hospitalisations and sadly at least one patient has been confirmed to have died with Omicron.

Mr Johnson (pictured visiting a vaccination centre in London) begged Tories to back his 'Plan B' Covid curbs amid fears more than 70 will rebel in a crunch vote tomorrow

Anti-vaxx protesters demonstrate outside the Houses of Parliament in London on Monday

NHS raises alert to HIGHEST level as UK Omicron cases jump 50% in 24 hours to almost 5,000 and Boris confirms first death with mutant strain  but overall daily Covid infections rise just 6% to 54,661 as booster drive descends into chaos on first day The entire NHS England was put on the highest level of alert for the first time since March today after the UK's Omicron outbreak surged by 50 per cent in a day and the first death with the mutant strain was confirmed. Health service bosses have raised the alert to level four meaning they believe there is a real threat that an influx of Covid patients could start to force the closure of other vital services. The move comes as the NHS was told to put non-urgent care on the backburner once again and lead the country's mammoth Omicron-busting booster vaccine drive which aims to offer all 53million adults a third dose by the end of January  a goal that would require the programme doubling its current daily rate. It came as officials confirmed another 1,576 cases of the highly-evolved Omicron variant over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number to 4,713  however this is believed to be a vast underestimate with the true number several times greater because not all positive tests are analysed for variants. Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, said the best estimate was that there are currently 200,000 overall daily infections across the country, with Omicron expected to become dominant in London by tomorrow and nationally within days. Yet, the Department of Health's daily update revealed that there were only 54,661 overall Covid cases in the past 24 hours, marking a rise of just 6 per cent week-on-week. No10's scientific advisers have warned this could rise to an astronomical 1million per day by the end of the month if Omicron continues to spread at its current pace. The DOH also recorded another 926 daily hospital admissions, up 14 per cent in a week, and 38 deaths, down 7 per cent. Advertisement

'So I think the idea that this is somehow a milder version of the virus, I think that's something we need to set on one side and just recognise the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population. So the best thing we can do is all get our boosters.'

Mr Johnson repeatedly declined to rule out further Covid restrictions ahead of Christmas but stressed the urgency of people getting boosters.

'Throughout the pandemic I've been at great pains to stress to the public that we have to watch where the pandemic is going and we take whatever steps are necessary to protect public health,' he added.

In England a booster is available to everyone aged 18 or over from this week as long as the second dose was at least three months ago. Over-30s can already book a booster online and, from Wednesday, this will be extended to over-18s.

The NHS will need to exceed 840,000 booster jabs per day in a bid to fight Omicron, which is causing around 200,000 new infections per day, the Health Secretary said.

Mr Javid told MPs that every adult across England could expect to be offered a 'chance to get boosted by the end of this month' though he suggested not everyone would get a dose in December.

He said: 'It is asking a huge amount of our colleagues in the NHS.

'And it's our joint view that we can try to offer adults a chance to get boosted by the end of this month.

'And that does not mean every single person necessarily can get that booster, it requires them to come forward and to take up this offer as well, as well as everything going right in this huge expansion plan.'

It follows confusion over whether the Government has promised that people can all have a jab in their arm by the December 31 deadline, or whether they will just have an offer of a future vaccine.

It comes as the UK recorded its first death involving Omicron, and 10 people are in hospital with the variant.

Most of these 10 have received two vaccines and range in age from 18 to 85, though there are no details on whether they have underlying conditions.

Mr Javid told the Commons: 'Until now the highest number of jabs that we've delivered in a single day in the UK was over 840,000.

'We'll not only need to match that but we will need to beat that every day. But we can and we've got a plan to try and do it.

'We're opening more vaccination sites including pop-up and mobile sites that'll be working seven days a week.

'We are training thousands more volunteer vaccinators, we're asking GPs and pharmacies to do more and we're drafting in 42 military planning teams across every region of our country.'

Mr Javid said he acknowledge that 'our national mission comes with some difficult trade-offs', meaning some non-urgent appointments and surgery in the NHS may be cancelled.

He added: 'These are steps that no Health Secretary would wish to take unless they were absolutely necessary, but I am convinced that if we don't prioritise the booster now the health consequences will be far more grave in the months that lie ahead.'

Mr Javid told MPs there are now 4,713 confirmed cases of Omicron in the UK, adding that the UK Health Security Agency estimates that the current number of 'daily infections are around 200,000'.

He added: 'While Omicron represents over 20% of cases in England, we've already seen it rise to over 44% in London and we expect it to become the dominant Covid 19 variant in the capital in the next 48 hours.'

Mr Javid also urged people to have boosters as a way of protecting children.

Robert Halfon, Conservative chairman of the Education Select Committee, asked Mr Javid to 'make sure schools are kept open in January'.

Mr Javid said: 'One of the reasons to take the measures we've said, especially around expanding the booster programme, is to make sure we can prioritise our children.'

Downing Street has indicated schools will be kept open unless there is an 'absolute public health emergency' and warned local authorities against deciding to close early for Christmas as a precautionary measure.

'There are certainly no plans to put in any restriction on schooling, we know how vital education has been and how detrimental the pandemic has been towards children and young people who, in many cases, have borne the brunt of this,' the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.

Two Covid jabs should still slash risk of dying from Omicron or being hospitalised by 84% even if they offer virtually zero protection against symptoms, SAGE estimates

Two Covid jabs should still slash the risk of dying from Omicron by up to 84 per cent but a booster is twice as good at preventing someone from falling ill, according to official estimates.

SAGE modelling published over the weekend worked off the assumption that two Pfizer doses give 83.7 per cent protection against hospitalisation and death from the highly-evolved strain.

A two-dose course of AstraZeneca's vaccine was estimated to reduce the risk of severe disease from Omicron by 77.1 per cent. However, both vaccine brands were assumed to wane within three to six months.

At that point, the Government's scientific advisers believe protection from two AstraZeneca jabs could be as low as 61.3 per cent and 67.6 per cent for Pfizer.

A booster dose of Pfizer's vaccine was estimated to top-up immunity to over 93 per cent, regardless of which jab someone was originally given  providing a similar level of protection as two doses did against Delta.

The estimates were presented in modelling by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) on Saturday and are based on lab studies looking at antibodies. The model warned that the vaccine-resistant Omicron variant may lead to more hospitalisations than England's second wave last January, when up to 4,000 infected patients were being admitted to NHS facilities every day.

Scientists have been racing to work out how effective existing vaccines will perform on the Omicron strain since it was first discovered on November 24. There was huge concern that it would be unrecognisable to jabs because of the 30-plus mutations on its spike protein.

Current jabs were designed to target the original virus that emerged in Wuhan. But because the variant is so new, experts are still relying on lab experiments which may not reflect how the variant will behave in the real world.

Professor Paul Hunter, an expert in infectious diseases at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline he expects two jabs to protect against severe illness even better. He said hospital data in South Africa's Omicron ground zero suggested T cells, which are more difficult to measure, were playing a crucial role in immunity.

However, Dr Simon Clarke, a microbiologist at Reading University, argued the drop in efficacy of two jabs was still 'concerning'. He told MailOnline: 'Nobody ever expected Omicron to wipe out vaccine efficacy it was just a drop that was expected  and that in itself can do enough damage.'

Even at 84 per cent protection from severe illness, that leaves 16 per cent vulnerable to being hospitalised or killed by Omicron. That's up to three times as many as with Delta.

These vaccine effectiveness estimates were presented in modelling by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) on Saturday and are based on lab studies looking at antibodies, rather than real-world data. It shows 'vaccine effectiveness' on symptomatic disease and hospitalisations/deaths from Omicron. The dots represent the number of people out of a group of 100 who are vulnerable to Covid. For example the study found boosters offered 93 per cent protection against hospitalisation and death. In a group of 100 booster vaccinated people, you would expect seven to require hospital care

The UK Covid alert level was raised from level 3 to level 4 after the UK reported another 1,239 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant

The LSHTM paper estimated that two doses of AstraZeneca's jab only gives 36.1 per cent protection from getting symptomatic Omicron after six months, and Pfizer's just 46.7 per cent.

Early real-world data from the UK's first 500 Omicron cases suggests that AstraZeneca's vaccine provides even less protection against mild illness.

By comparison, the LSHTM model assumed that a booster Pfizer jab slashes the risk of symptomatic infection by 80.3 per cent.

The team's vaccine effectiveness estimates were based on neutralising antibody studies which test Omicron against the blood of vaccinated people.

While antibodies are a good indicator of immunity, they are just one part of a more complex immune response to the virus that also involves T and B cells.

Professor Hunter told MailOnline that there were 'grounds for optimism' based on the paper's estimates.

He said: 'As well as antibodies we've got T cells, and there is some evidence T cell immunity is better conserved between old variants and Omicron than antibodies.

'The big issue is here is all of their results are estimates based on neutralising antibodies and while that is probably accurate for infection and symptomatic disease, it's a bit different when looking at severe disease.

Boris confirms first Omicron death and urges nation to 'set aside idea' variant is milder At least one Briton has died from the Omicron Covid variant, Boris Johnson confirmed today as crucial lateral flow tests ran out and his pledge to dish out a million boosters per day to beat the super-mutant variant descended into chaos. The Prime Minister also said the variant was now leading to hospitalisations, and that the 'best thing' people could do was get a booster. Mr Johnson warned against being complacent about Omicron, despite reports in South Africa that it is milder than Delta. Speaking during a visit to a vaccination clinic in Paddington, west London, Mr Johnson did not reveal the age of the person who died, or if they had underlying health conditions, which made them vulnerable to Covid. Some 10 people infected with the variant are in hospital, health chiefs said today, adding they are aged between 18 and 85 years old and most had got two doses of the vaccine. Advertisement

'So there's reason to hope that their [the LSHTM's] estimations for protection against hospitalisation and death might actually be better  even from two doses.

'There's some world evidence from South Africa that this may well be the case.'

While hospital admissions are rising in South Africa, data suggests patients are coming in with milder illnesses and are being discharged quicker.

In Tshwane, Gauteng Province, one of the epicentres of the new outbreak, just a quarter of patients admitted since November for Covid had severe illness, compared to 65 per cent at the same point in the Delta wave. And nationally, South Africa is recording fewer than 40 Covid deaths on average per day.

But Dr Clarke warned against being complacent about the figures, adding that Omicron's ultra-infectiousness could on its own be enough to overwhelm the NHS.

No10's experts have warned there could be an astronomical one million Omicron infections per day by the New Year  about 20 times more than the current rate.

While scientists are split over the likelihood of the UK actually reaching such a level, Dr Clarke said: 'We mustn't overlook the transmissibility element.

'If we're talking 1million cases per day then we would expect a 20-fold increase in the number of those ending up in hospital. Even if you take half of that, that's still 10 times more patients in the NHS.' There are currently 800 people being admitted to UK hospitals for Covid each day.

On reports that Omicron is much milder than past variants, Dr Clarke warned that even if this is the case, the strain may make jabs so weak at preventing infection that it creates a 'mass sickness'.

'We could end up with a society and economy that slows down and almost stops, not because people are in hospital but because people are at home sick and can't work.'

If true, the LSHTM paper's estimate that two vaccine doses could provide as little as 36 per cent protection against symptomatic infection would put it below international vaccine thresholds.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said when Covid jabs were first put into development that they should cut the risk by at least 50 per cent to be considered for approval.

But Professor Hunter insisted that the UK's new turbocharged booster programme should shield it from a wave of hospital admissions on par with previous peaks by raising immunity well above that threshold thanks to the combination of natural and vaccine-induced immunity.

He told MailOnline 'I believe we have more protection than some would imagine. In the case of South Africa, they seem to be doing [fine] even without the booster because they have high levels of natural infection, although we'll need to wait another few weeks before we can be sure about that.'

The LSHTM model also looked at a worst-case scenario, in which waning immunity from two jabs provided as little as 45 per cent protection against hospital admission and death.

But experts said this was too pessimistic and unlikely to be true in the real world. In that scenario, a booster dose could provide just 83.7 per cent protection against severe illness.

Professor Lawrence Young, a microbiologist at Warwick University, said he was 'cautiously optimistic' that boosters will provide even better immunity in the real world and enough to prevent harsher restrictions.

But due to the two-week lag between getting a booster and developing immunity, he said light social curbs were necessary to keep infections low in the meantime.

He told MailOnline: 'One of the many challenges with the super-charged booster campaign is that it takes around 10-14 days for the booster jab to provide high levels of protective immunity.

'This further emphasises the importance of other protective measures to prevent infection and I'm convinced that Plan B is enough.'

Daily Covid cases in Omicron ground zero South Africa surge 119% in a week and hospital admissions jump 141% but country records just 11 deaths

South Africa's Omicron wave continued to surge today as daily Covid cases and hospital admissions more than doubled in a week.

Officials recorded 13,992 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, marking a 119 per cent rise on the figure last Monday and six times more than a fortnight ago.

With a test positivity rate of 31 per cent today, it suggests the outbreak in South Africa is growing faster than swabs can keep up.

The country's National Institute for Communicable Diseases said there were 422 new hospital admissions across the country in the last day, a rise of 141 per cent compared to last week.

It also revealed there has also been a sharp rise in Covid inpatient numbers since the weekend.

A total of 6,198 people are being treated for the virus now compared to the 5,562 who were in hospital on Sunday  the biggest single-day rise since the new variant took off.

Yet, despite the increasing case and hospital numbers, there were just 11 deaths attributed to Covid in the last 24 hours, up only marginally on last week.

Doctors in South Africa's Omicron ground zero maintain that Omicron patients are coming in with milder illness and being discharged quicker.

Official figures suggest the number of Covid hospital patients with severe illness is a third of the level at the same point in the country's Delta wave.

Scientists believe South Africa is benefitting from high levels of T cell immunity after recording high Covid infection rates in previous waves  with up to 80 per cent of the population already having had Covid.

Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious disease expert from the University of East Anglia in England, told MailOnline that there were 'grounds for optimism' for the UK, which has high levels of natural and vaccine-induced immunity.

With a test positivity rate of 31 per cent today, it suggests the outbreak in South Africa is growing faster than swabs can keep up

The majority of new cases today were in Gauteng province (48 per cent) which has been at the heart of the country's Omicron outbreak. It was followed by KwaZulu-Natal (19 per cent), while Western Cape accounted for 10% and Free State and North West each accounted for 5 per cent

The NICD said that today's case numbers may include several backlogged infections that were delayed due to an IT glitch over the weekend.

The agency said on Twitter: 'We are working through the data, which is now flowing into the #COVID19 laboratory data stream.

'And we would like to indicate that the reporting backlog may result in the inclusion of retrospective case data over the next few days in the daily #COVID19 surveillance reports.'

The majority of new cases today were in Gauteng province (48 per cent) which has been at the heart of the country's Omicron outbreak.

It was followed by KwaZulu-Natal (19 per cent), while Western Cape accounted for 10% and Free State and North West each accounted for 5 per cent.

Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga both made up 4 per cent, Limpopo accounted for 2 per cent and Northern Cape accounted for just 1 per cent.

It came as the UK's Omicron outbreak surged by 50 per cent in a day today after more than 1,500 Britons were diagnosed with the mutant virus and the first death was confirmed.

Officials confirmed another 1,576 cases of the highly-evolved variant over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number to 4,713  however this is believed to be a vast underestimate with the true number several times greater because not all positive tests are analysed for variants.

Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, said the best estimate was that there are currently 200,000 overall daily infections across the country, with Omicron expected to become dominant in London by tomorrow and nationally within days.

Yet, the Department of Health's daily update revealed that there were only 54,661 overall Covid cases in the past 24 hours, marking a rise of just 6 per cent week-on-week. No10's scientific advisers have warned this could rise to an astronomical 1million per day by the end of the month if Omicron continues to spread at its current pace. The DOH also recorded another 926 daily hospital admissions, up 14 per cent in a week, and 38 deaths, down 7 per cent.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister today revealed that at least one patient has died from the Omicron variant as he warned it was now leading to hospitalisations, and that the 'best thing' people could do was get a booster.

The PM did not reveal the age of the person who died, or if they had underlying health conditions, which made them vulnerable or whether Omicron was the leading cause of their death or a secondary factor.

Mr Johnson warned against being complacent about Omicron, despite reports in South Africa that it is milder than Delta. The death in the UK is thought to be the first confirmed Omicron fatality in the world. However, given the variant makes up almost every case in South Africa it is likely that the vast majority of fatalities there are due to the mutant strain but a lack of testing means these are not picked up.

Two Covid jabs should still slash risk of dying from Omicron or being hospitalised by 84% even if they offer virtually zero protection against symptoms Two Covid jabs should still slash the risk of dying from Omicron by up to 84 per cent but a booster is twice as good at preventing someone from falling ill, according to official estimates. SAGE modelling published over the weekend worked off the assumption that two Pfizer doses give 83.7 per cent protection against hospitalisation and death from the highly-evolved strain. A two-dose course of AstraZeneca's vaccine was estimated to reduce the risk of severe disease from Omicron by 77.1 per cent. However, both vaccine brands were assumed to wane within three to six months. At that point, the Government's scientific advisers believe protection from two AstraZeneca jabs could be as low as 61.3 per cent and 67.6 per cent for Pfizer. A booster dose of Pfizer's vaccine was estimated to top-up immunity to over 93 per cent, regardless of which jab someone was originally given  providing a similar level of protection as two doses did against Delta. These vaccine effectiveness estimates were presented in modelling by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) on Saturday and are based on lab studies looking at antibodies, rather than real-world data. It shows 'vaccine effectiveness' on symptomatic disease and hospitalisations/deaths from Omicron. The dots represent the number of people out of a group of 100 who are vulnerable to Covid. For example the study found boosters offered 93 per cent protection against hospitalisation and death. In a group of 100 booster vaccinated people, you would expect seven to require hospital care The estimates were presented in modelling by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) on Saturday and are based on lab studies looking at antibodies. The model warned that the vaccine-resistant Omicron variant may lead to more hospitalisations than England's second wave last January, when up to 4,000 infected patients were being admitted to NHS facilities every day. Scientists have been racing to work out how effective existing vaccines will perform on the Omicron strain since it was first discovered on November 24. There was huge concern that it would be unrecognisable to jabs because of the 30-plus mutations on its spike protein. Current jabs were designed to target the original virus that emerged in Wuhan. But because the variant is so new, experts are still relying on lab experiments which may not reflect how the variant will behave in the real world. Professor Paul Hunter, an expert in infectious diseases at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline he expects two jabs to protect against severe illness even better. He said hospital data in South Africa's Omicron ground zero suggested T cells, which are more difficult to measure, were playing a crucial role in immunity. However, Dr Simon Clarke, a microbiologist at Reading University, argued the drop in efficacy of two jabs was still 'concerning'. He told MailOnline: 'Nobody ever expected Omicron to wipe out vaccine efficacy it was just a drop that was expected  and that in itself can do enough damage.' Even at 84 per cent protection from severe illness, that leaves 16 per cent vulnerable to being hospitalised or killed by Omicron. That's up to three times as many as with Delta. Advertisement

Could London be hit with 'Plan C' before Christmas? Experts call for tougher restrictions as shock data shows Omicron now makes up 40% of all new Covid cases in capital and will be dominant by tomorrow

Fears were raised today that London could be hit with tougher restrictions before Christmas as experts called for action to curb the spread of Omicron.

Shock data shows the super mutant variant now makes up 40 per cent of cases in the capital. Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned the strain was on track to become dominant by tomorrow.

NHS leaders said No10 needs to be prepared to introduce stricter curbs than the current Plan B  which includes work from home guidance, face masks and vaccine passports  if Omicron is on the brink of overwhelming the NHS.

The head of NHS Confederation, which represents hospital trusts, told MailOnline the decision to impose either national or regional restrictions should not be made lightly.

No10 has never ruled out returning to a whack-a-mole-esque approach, even though local lockdowns have failed to control outbreaks twice. Ministers have yet to unveil a concrete list of Plan C measures, but it could entail the return of checking into hospitality venues with the Covid app, vaccine passports in smaller venues and mandatory masks in more settings.

And Independent SAGE member Professor Karl Friston said Omicron outbreaks would 'certainly call' for localised measures.

It comes after Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the strain is growing at a 'phenomenal rate', with officials warning there could be a million infections per day by the end of the month.

London is still the region of England with the fastest-growing Covid outbreak, according to Government data.

Official data show cases are growing by up to 48 per cent a week in the worst-hit boroughs of the capital, which include Barking and Dagenham, Hackney and City of London and Greenwich.

Meanwhile, the highest infection rates, where 0.7 per cent of the local population has tested positive in the past week, have been recorded in Sutton, Richmond upon Thames and Bromley.

 Slide me  Official data show cases are growing by up to 48 per cent a week in the worst-hit boroughs, which include Barking and Dagenham, Hackney and City of London and Greenwich

The Prime Minister, pictured with NHS boss Amanda Pritchard during a visit to the Stow Health Vaccination centre in Westminster, today said: 'The risk is plainly there, we can see Omicron spiking now in London and some other parts of the country. Here in the capital it probably represents about 40 per cent of the cases. By tomorrow it'll be the majority of the cases and it's increasing the whole time'

Omicron cases are also trending upwards across the country, with 13 per cent of new infections in the East of England caused by the variant, followed by 12 per cent in the South East and North West, according to data released by Professor Alastair Grant, a Covid modeller at the University of East Anglia

The UK Covid alert level was raised from level 3 to level 4 after the UK reported another 1,239 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant

Speaking during a visit to the Stowe Health Vaccination centre in Westminster, Mr Johnson said: 'The risk is plainly there, we can see Omicron spiking now in London and some other parts of the country.

'Here in the capital it probably represents about 40 per cent of the cases. By tomorrow it'll be the majority of the cases and it's increasing the whole time.'

Meanwhile, Mr Javid told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'This variant is growing at a phenomenal rate. We haven't seen anything like this before. We expect 1million infections by the end of this month.

Boris Johnson reveals first Briton has died from Omicron as he urges nation to 'set aside idea' that the variant is milder At least one British patient has died from the Omicron coronavirus variant, Boris Johnson revealed today. The Prime Minister said the new strain was also causing hospital admissions and the 'best thing' people could do was get their booster jab. Mr Johnson warned against being complacent about the new strain amid claims by doctors in South Africa that it is milder than past variants. Speaking during a visit to a vaccination clinic in Paddington, West London, he said: 'Sadly yes Omicron is producing hospitalisations and sadly at least one patient has been confirmed to have died with Omicron. 'So I think the idea that this is somehow a milder version of the virus, I think that's something we need to set on one side and just recognise the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population. So the best thing we can do is all get our boosters.' Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said the news underlined 'the seriousness of the situation'. Advertisement

'Already in London it's gone from in three weeks from almost nothing in terms of Covid infections to 40 per cent of all infections.

'If you take that, this tidal wave of infection, and even if you assume as some people are saying, many people are claiming this is less severe, but lets see, lets establish the facts.

'But lets assume for a second even if it is less severe, a much smaller percentage of infected people that experience severe disease is still a huge number when it's put against a large number of infections.'

Data from the UK Health Security Agency shows cases in London are growing fastest in Barking and Dagenham.

Some 323 people per 100,000 tested positive for Covid in the borough in the week up to November 30, which jumped to 478 per 100,000 in the seven days to December 7.

Over the same period, cases shot up by 47 per cent in Hackney and City of London, while they jumped 44 per cent in Greenwich and Lewisham.

Cases are also rising sharply in Southwark, climbing 42 per cent in a week, as well as Lambeth (41 per cent), Tower Hamlets (40 per cent) and Islington (40 per cent).

Sutton is recording the highest infection rate in London, where 706 per 100,000 people were infected on any given day in the week up to December 7, followed by Richmond upon Thames (683), Bromley (633) and Hammersmith and Fulham (615).

NHS leaders told MailOnline a lockdown in London may be needed if the rising cases translate into a hike in hospitalisations and deaths.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of NHS Confederation, told MailOnline that extra Covid restrictions could be imposed in London and other parts of the country if high cases put pressure on the health service.

He said: 'Decisions about reintroducing national or regionalised lockdowns should not be made lightly as they can significantly affect people's health and wellbeing.

'But if the modelling scenarios about the possible impact of Omicron on hospitalisations and deaths look increasingly likely, the Government should be prepared to consider introducing further interventions to prevent that.

'We are also encouraging the public to do what they can to keep transmission down, which includes wearing face coverings, ventilating indoor settings, getting vaccinated and boosted if eligible, following hand hygiene guidance, and getting tested.'

The map shows the Covid infection rate across London by neighbourhoods, or middle-layer super output areas (MSOAs). In the dark purple areas the rate is above 800 cases per 100,000 people, while in the purple areas it is between 400 and 799 cases per 100,000. The dark blue areas have a rate between 200 and 399 cases per 100,000

The map shows the proportion of people who are double-vaccinated against Covid in the capital. It reveals that there has been much lower jab uptake in inner city areas than on the outskirts

And local leaders have warned officials should 'heed the medical experts' advice' on whether local restrictions are needed.

Councillor Stephen Cowan, leader of Hammersmith and Fulham Council, where cases have jumped 26 per cent in a week, told MailOnline: 'Hospitals are already initiating alerts warning they're 'struggling or unable to deliver comprehensive care' and we've not even hit the winter spike yet.

'Just a small increase in Omicron admissions could break the NHS this winter. We all have a responsibility to stop that happening.'

Professor Karl Friston, scientific director at the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging and Independent SAGE member, told MailOnline regional differences in the emergence of Omicron 'would certainly call for local mitigating  or protective  public health measures'.

Figures show London's Omicron outbreak is worse than the rest of the country.

In the East of England, 13 per cent of new cases are caused by the variant, followed by 12 per cent in the South East and North West, according to confidential Government data analysed by Professor Alastair Grant, a Covid modeller at the University of East Anglia.

Professor Friston said: 'The most potent way of slowing viral spread is to reduce contact rates; namely, avoiding places with high transmission risk, such as the commute to work, crowded and poorly ventilated gatherings at work, school or home, et cetera.

'This speaks to local responses that support, inform and licence such responses. In turn, this rests upon informed and clear public health messaging. And, at a national level, governmental endorsement of  and support for  local responses.'

He said the current 'ambivalent national response' to Omicron is fuelled by uncertainty around how severe the strain is and how quickly Omicron will spread.
A man has been charged with murder following the death of a woman in a house in a Hertfordshire village.

Emergency services were called to reports of a disturbance in Austins Mead, Bovingdon at around 3.20pm on Saturday.

Police who arrived at the address found a woman suffering serious injuries. Despite the best efforts of paramedics, she died a short time later. The woman has not yet been formally identified.

A man has been charged with murder following the death of a woman in a house in a Hertfordshire village

Emergency services were called to reports of a disturbance in Austins Mead, Bovingdon at around 3.20pm on Saturday

Detectives from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit (BCH MCU) subsequently launched an investigation to determine the circumstances of the womans death and a man was arrested at the scene.

Ashley Howse was charged with murder today and also charged with the attempted murder of a man during the same incident. He has been remanded into custody to appear before Hatfield Remand Court.

Detective Chief Inspector Sam Khanna, from the Major Crime Unit, said: There was a heavy police presence in the village over the weekend as we carried out initial enquiries into this tragic incident, which we understand will have come as a huge shock to the community.

Police who arrived at the address found a woman suffering serious injuries. Despite the best efforts of paramedics, the woman died a short time later. She has not yet been formally identified

Our thoughts are with the loved ones of the woman who has lost her life, and they are being supported by specialist Family Liaison Officers. We would politely request that their privacy is respected at this very difficult time.

Currently we are treating this as an isolated case and as such we do not believe there is any wider risk to the public, nor are we seeking anyone else in connection with the incident.

A Hertfordshire Constabulary spokesman added: A man has been charged with murder following the death of a woman in Bovingdon.
NatWest has today been fined 265 million for failing to stop a gold-dealing gang laundering nearly 400 million through its branches in what is the first criminal money laundering case against a British bank.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said Bradford jeweller Fowler Oldfield - which was liquidated in a police raid in 2016 - deposited 365 million with the bank over a five-year-period, including 264 million in cash.

The gang used up to 50 branches of NatWest to launder its money according to FCA prosecutors, with at least one individual outlet receiving more than 40 million pounds.

One person in Walsall arrived at a branch with so much cash in bin liners - 700,000 pounds - that they broke and the money had to be repacked in hessian bags, the FCA's lawyer Clare Montgomery said, adding the cash also did not fit in the branch's floor-to-ceiling safes.

NatWest, part of the Royal Bank of Scotland group, in October pleaded guilty to three offences under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007, between 2012 and 2016.

NatWest is Britain's biggest business bank and is still majority taxpayer-owned after a state bailout during the financial crisis of more than 45 billion.

NatWest has been fined 265 million for failing to stop a gold-dealing gang laundering nearly 400 million through its branches in what is the first criminal money laundering case against a British bank (pictured: Natwest branch in London)

The gang used up to 50 branches of NatWest to launder its money according to FCA prosecutors, with at least one individual outlet receiving more than 40 million pounds. One person in Walsall arrived at a branch with so much cash in bin liners - 700,000 pounds - that they broke and the money had to be repacked in hessian bags, according to FCA lawyers.

Mrs Justice Cockerill at Southwark Crown Court on Monday fined the bank 264,772,620, ordered it to pay 4,297,466 in costs and made a 460,047 confiscation order.

It is the first time a financial institution has faced criminal prosecution by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under anti-money laundering laws in the UK.

'Throughout the indictment period it is accepted NatWest sought to discharge its obligations under the regulations and that it failed to do so,' the judge said.

'Although in no way complicit in the money laundering which took place... without the bank's failings the money could not have been laundered.'

Fowler Oldfield's predicted annual turnover was 15 million when first taken on as a client by NatWest in 2011, but 365 million was deposited over five years.

The company, which was shut down following a police raid in 2016, was initially marked as 'high risk' but downgraded in December 2013.

The case represents the first time a financial institution has faced criminal prosecution by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under anti-money laundering laws in the UK (pictured: FCA logo in Canary Wharf, London)

At the height of the money laundering operation, as much as 1.8 million was being deposited in cash daily, and the customer became NatWest's most lucrative in the area, Montgomery said.

Couriers walked through the streets of British towns carrying bags of cash they then deposited at the bank's branches before the scheme was busted by police, the FCA told the judge.

The FCA said NatWest failed to properly investigate numerous warnings generated by its financial crime systems, miscategorised the customer as lower risk than it was, and staff investigating the warnings lacked sufficient experience and knowledge.

One rule designed to flag suspicious activity was disabled by NatWest because it created too many alerts, 'so the bank decided it should be deactivated', Montgomery said.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) at one stage raised concerns at the sheer quantity of Scottish bank notes being deposited many miles away in England, which it said was an indicator of potential crime, while one of the bank's cash centres in Washington, north-east England, said the notes had a 'musty smell' indicative of storage.

Fowler Oldfield's predicted annual turnover was 15 million when first taken on as a client by NatWest in 2011, but 365 million was deposited over five years. The company, which was shut down following a police raid in 2016 (pictured), was initially marked as 'high risk' but downgraded in December 2013.

One person working at a NatWest Basingstoke cash centre who was close to retirement warned the activity was the most suspicious he had seen in his career, but the financial crime manager took the view there were 'macroeconomic reasons' for the spike in cash deposits.

'How could they possibly have missed all this? That would be a perfectly reasonable question. To which the answer is, they didn't miss it,' John Kelsey-Fry, lawyer for NatWest, told the court.

'The protections in the bank actually worked to the extent that the relevant activity was identified, it was highlighted. It did not escape the bank's systems, it did not go under the radar.

'The quality and adequacy of that scrutiny is another matter.'

The relationship manager who was responsible for the suspect account was dismissed, but not due to any suggestion of complicity in illegal activity, Kelsey-Fry said.

'He got so close that he lost his sense of perspective and judgement, and was completely taken in.'

The court heard NatWest has invested 700 million to tackle financial crime with another 1 billion earmarked over the next five years. But Ms Montgomery said there are 'still concerns on behalf of the FCA', with the completion date for one programme pushed back from 2020 to 2023 (pictured: FCA headquarters, Canary Wharf, London)

Fowler Oldfield was the subject of a total of 11 internal money laundering reports and 10 automated transaction monitoring alerts, the court heard.

And a suspicious activity report (SAR) was made in relation to one of Fowler Oldfield's customers, a company involved in hair extensions, which received 307,000 from the jewellers.

But Montgomery said: 'So far as each of those reports were concerned, none of them led to an SAR being filed.'

She said staff at the Borehamwood office, who dealt with the bulk of the reports, were more concerned with closing them within a 30-day timeframe than properly investigating.

The court heard NatWest has invested 700 million to tackle financial crime with another 1 billion earmarked over the next five years.

But Ms Montgomery said there are 'still concerns on behalf of the FCA', with the completion date for one programme pushed back from 2020 to 2023.

Last year, NatWest's chief executive Alison Rose spoke of her 'deep regret' over the scandal that has tarnished the bank's reputation and incurred the massive fine that will dent their own balance sheet.
Harry Dunn's alleged killer will face criminal proceedings in the UK, the Crown Prosecution Service said today.

US citizen Anne Sacoolas is accused of killing the teenage motorcyclist in a road crash outside US military base RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire on August 27, 2019.

The 44-year-old, who worked at the base for the US State Department, had diplomatic immunity asserted on her behalf by the US Government following the collision, and was able to leave the UK nine days after the incident.

The CPS reached the decision to charge Sacoolas with causing Mr Dunn's death by dangerous driving in December 2019, but an extradition request was rejected by the State Department last year.

The Sacoolas case will be heard at Westminster Magistrates' Court on January 18, the CPS said.

It was understood she will appear via video-link from the US, although a spokesperson for the law firm representing Sacoolas said: 'While we have always been willing to discuss a virtual hearing, there is no agreement at this time.'

Mr Dunn's mother, Charlotte Charles, said her family were feeling 'very emotional' after hearing the news.

Harry Dunn's alleged killer will face criminal proceedings in the UK, the Crown Prosecution Service said today

US citizen Anne Sacoolas is accused of killing the teenage motorcyclist in a road crash outside US military base RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire on August 27, 2019

'My family and I are feeling very emotional and overwhelmed, having just learned the news that Mrs Sacoolas is now to face our justice system,' she said.

'It is all that we asked for following Harry's death.'

A CPS spokesman said: 'While the challenges and complexity of this case are well known, we remain committed to securing justice in this matter.

'The case will be heard at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 18 January.

'Anne Sacoolas has a right to a fair trial. It is extremely important there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice any proceedings.'

The US Government asserted diplomatic immunity on Sacoolas's behalf and she was able to return to the US shortly after Mr Dunn's death.

Sacoolas was charged with causing death by dangerous driving by the Crown Prosecution Service in December 2019. An extradition request was then submitted by the Home Office but that was rejected by the US State Department in January 2020.

Mr Dunn's mother, Charlotte Charles, said her family were feeling 'very emotional' after hearing the news

A general view of RAF Croughton near Brackley on October 7, 2019

The Dunn family were then advised that, although there could be no criminal proceedings in the US, they could bring a civil claim for damages against Sacoolas as her immunity was no longer valid when she returned to her home country.

Lawyers acting on behalf of Sacoolas and her husband Jonathan attempted to throw the case out on the grounds it should be heard in the UK.

Judge Thomas Ellis dismissed Sacoolas's submissions that the UK was a 'more convenient' forum, keeping the case in Virginia, describing the motion as 'not warranted'.

Harry's parents then flew out to the US to give evidence under oath as part of the 'discovery' process.

Former foreign secretary Dominic Raab said a path had been cleared for a 'virtual trial or process' to take place.
A lack of transparency over the UK's first Omicron death prompted fury today, as a doctor told the Government to release more details to stop 'unnecessary alarm'.

Experts are demanding answers about the UK's first Omicron fatality, such as the individual's vaccination status, if they were part of group vulnerable to Covid, and if the virus was the leading cause of death.

Professor of medicine and consultant oncologist Karol Sikora said the Government was not providing the nation with enough information about the death, and that this was 'unnecessarily alarming'.

'Were they in hospital for Covid or were they there because they had been run over by a bus?,' he said.

Boris Johnson revealed the UK's first death due to Omicron on a visit to a vaccination clinic in Paddington, west London.

He said: 'Sadly yes Omicron is producing hospitalisations and sadly at least one patient has been confirmed to have died with Omicron.'

Mr Johnson did not reveal the age of the person who died, or if they had underlying health conditions, which made them vulnerable, or whether Omicron was the leading cause of their death or a secondary factor.

Professor of medicine and consultant oncologist Karol Sikora said the Government was not providing the nation with enough information about the first Omicron death

The Prime Minister revealed the UK's first death due to Omicron on a visit to a vaccination clinic in Paddington, west London

The UK Covid alert level was raised from level 3 to level 4 after the UK reported another 1,239 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant

The death in the UK is thought to be the first confirmed Omicron fatality in the world.

However, given the variant makes up almost every case in South Africa it is likely that the vast majority of fatalities there are due to the mutant strain but a lack of testing means these are not picked up.

UK's first Omicron death: What do we know? There are almost no details available on the UK's, and world's, first death from Omicron that was confirmed by Boris Johnson today. Was the person unvaccinated? Unclear. Nothing is known about the vaccination status of the person, whether they had received a Covid booster or if they were completely unvaccinated. But UKHSA have said most people hospitalised with Omicron had two doses of Covid vaccines. Were they vulnerable? Undetermined. Older people and those with some health conditions are at increased risk of dying from Covid, which is why they, and the health and care staff who look after them, have been prioritized in the vaccine rollout. Where did the person catch Omicron?. Unknown. Where a person caught Covid can be tricky to pin down unless a large number of infections can be traced to a single-event, known as a super-spreader. In which part of the UK the person lived has also not been disclosed. Were they in hospital for another reason when they died? Unsure, but UKHSA have said the person who died was diagnosed with Omicron in hospital. This could mean that the person was in hospital for Covid, which was later determined to be the Omicron variant, or they were in hospital for a sperate reason, such as a heart attack and later found to have Omicron when they died. There is also the possibility they caught Omicron while in hospital for a procedure, like a planned surgery, and then caught Omicron and died. Why haven't we been told? Patient confidentiality has been cited a reason. Will we know more? And when? UKHSA prepare a weekly report on Covid cases and deaths. More information on this, and any more Omicron deaths, may be provided in that report that comes out at the end of the week. Advertisement

Health bosses today also revealed that 10 Britons have already been hospitalised with Omicron. But the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which confirmed all were aged between 18-85 and that most had received two doses of Covid vaccines, refused to say if any had already had a booster.

UKHSA however did reveal that the individual who died of Omicron was diagnosed in hospital.

Professor of medicine and consultant oncologist Karol Sikora said the Government should release more details about the death to put people's minds at ease.

'Have they had booster? Are they elderly?,' he said.

'There are all sorts of nuances to this thing, and we're not being given proper information.'

He added that given the average age of Covid fatalities in the UK, and that the individual may have died while being infected with Omicron, as opposed to because of the variant, there was no reason to panic and the Government should calm fears rather than stoke them.

'The average age of death of Covid is 82.5 so a lot of 82-year-old people die in a year, at any one time,' he said.

'No details have been released, I suspect it's just some old boy that's tested positive, he may have died in his sleep or with a heart attack, who knows?

'It is unnecessarily alarming.'

Professor Sikora said his suspicion is that the silence regarding whether the person was vaccinated or not indicated to him that the person died of another cause while they had Omicron.

'I suspect that it's a death, which is unfortunate, but is due to something else, and it just happens to be Covid positive that's why they're not making a big noise about them being vaccinated or not,' he said.

When queried on the lack of details regarding the Omicron death, the Prime Minister's spokesman cited patient confidentiality as a reason, but added more details may be forthcoming in UKHSA end of week report.

'Obviously when it comes to individual deaths there is a right to patient confidentiality so we are limited in what we can say,' he said.

'But we will provide further breakdown on things like characteristics, both of cases, numbers in hospital, through the surveillance report.'

The spokesman added that deaths from Omicron were sadly inevitable due to the ease in which spread, meaning that while it was not in itself more deadly than regular Covid, more cases meant more deaths.

'I don't think anyone is in any doubt that there will be deaths because of Omicron. That is sadly something that we have to face because of this increased transmissibility.'

While there has been an increased focus on Covid deaths today due to the news of the fist Omicron fatality, on the whole the number of people killed actually fell on last week.

The Department of Health's (DOH) daily update revealed there have 38 deaths, down 7 per cent on last week, as well as another 926 daily hospital admissions, up 14 per cent in a week.

The DOH update also showed that there were 54,661 overall Covid cases in the past 24 hours, marking a rise of just 6 per cent week-on-week.

The Prime Minister told the country last night that a wave of Omicron 'is coming' as he ramped up the booster drive to meet his target of delivering a million jabs a day. The PM is pictured above at a vaccination centre in Westminster, London

No10's scientific advisers have warned this could rise to an astronomical 1million per day by the end of the month if Omicron continues to spread at its current pace.

Due to the nature of Covid and the time it takes for people to get potentially seriously unwell hospital admissions and deaths due to Omicron are only now starting to emerge.

This was something UKHSA's chief medical adviser, Dr Susan Hopkins, was keen to point out today: 'Hospitalisations always lag a few weeks behind infections, therefore it isn't surprising that we have started to see people being admitted to hospital with the Omicron variant.

Dr Hopkins also urged people to get a Covid booster on the back of the news regarding hospitalisations and the death,

'Our data shows that getting the booster vaccine is more effective against this variant than 2 doses alone. Everyone over 18 is now able to walk into a vaccine centre, so do not hesitate to get yours,' she said.

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said the news of the death underlined 'the seriousness of the situation'.

He tweeted: 'The awful news of the UK's first Omicron death underlines the seriousness of the situation and my heart goes out to their family and friends.

'This is why the booster rollout is so vital and public health measures are necessary to reduce its spread.'

Fury over the lack of transparency over the death was joined criticism of how No10's supposedly turbocharged booster vaccine rollout was plagued with issues today.

It also came as entirety of NHS England was put on the highest level of alert for the first time since March after the UK's Omicron outbreak surged by 50 per cent in a day.

Pictured above is the current pace of the booster programme (green bars) and how it will have to ramp up to hit the million jabs a day target (red bars). NHS bosses warn scaling up the programme will be 'incredibly difficult'

Anti-vaxx protesters demonstrate outside the Houses of Parliament in London on Monday

Health service bosses have raised the alert to level four meaning they believe there is a real threat that an influx of Covid patients could start to force the closure of other vital services.

Now NHS tells people to STOP trying to book a booster jab online NHS bosses today urged Britons desperate to get their Covid booster jab to try again tomorrow after the website crashed again this morning and huge queues built up outside vaccination centres around the country. Hundreds of thousands of people were rushing to get their third dose less than two weeks before Christmas, just hours after Boris Johnson revealed that the booster programme would open up to all UK adults from today. Those aged 30 or over are now eligible to book their vaccine online via the NHS website, while people aged 18 to 29 can book there from Wednesday  but all UK adults can now go to a walk-in centre from today. Those trying to book a jab appointment on the website were greeting with a message saying: 'The NHS website is currently experiencing technical difficulties. We are working to resolve these issues. Thank you for your patience.' And the NHS later said in a tweet: 'The Covid vaccine booking service is currently facing extremely high demand so is operating a queueing system. For users aged 18 to 29, please be aware that booking opens on Wednesday 15 December. For all others experiencing waits, we would advise trying again later today or tomorrow.' The booster expansion plan is expected to focus on walk-ins rather than online bookings  and those trying to get an appointment on the website face having to wait until after Christmas, insiders told Politico's London Playbook. Meanwhile long lines of people waited outside pharmacies, hospitals and temporary vaccine sites across the UK this morning, with particularly big queues seen at St Thomas' Hospital and Guy's Hospital in London. It comes after the Prime Minister confirmed in a televised statement last night that he had turbocharged the booster programme, as the deadline to offer all adults a third jab is being brought forward by a month. The Army will be drafted in and clinic hours extended to help dose 18million people by January 1 - nearly a million a day - as the PM warned of a 'tidal wave' of Covid that could overwhelm the NHS and cause 'very many deaths'. Mr Johnson said the 'Omicron emergency' meant boosters were vital to 'protect our freedoms and our way of life'. Within minutes of his announcement, the NHS website crashed as thousands flocked to secure appointments. Advertisement

It came as officials confirmed another 1,576 cases of the highly-evolved Omicron variant over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number to 4,713  however this is believed to be a vast underestimate with the true number several times greater because not all positive tests are analysed for variants.

Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, said the best estimate was that there are currently 200,000 overall daily infections across the country, with Omicron expected to become dominant in London by tomorrow and nationally within days.

It came as vital stocks of lateral flow tests ran out. A message on the Government website said there are 'no more home test kits available right now' and told Britons to 'try again later'. Officials insisted there was no shortage but 'exceptionally high' demand meant they'd stopped taking new orders. Kits could still be picked up from community sites including pharmacies, schools and colleges, and PCR swabs are available, the Government said.

From tomorrow, vaccinated people who are close contacts of a Covid case will be asked to swab themselves once a day instead of having to isolate. And from Wednesday, pending the move being voted in by MPs, people heading to night clubs and large events will need to show a negative result if they are not double-jabbed.

Leading experts have urged people to test themselves repeatedly in the run up to Christmas, and keep their social contacts to a minimum to avoid catching Covid.

In another sign of chaos, Britons desperate to get their top-up doses were left standing in up to five-hour queues as centres warned they were already running low on doses this morning. Twenty-somethings were turned away in confusion at Manchester City's Etihad Stadium as they tried to get booster jabs.

Meanwhile, the NHS booking system crashed as thousands tried to secure a booster, with health service bosses urging people to 'try again tomorrow'.

And Britons struggled to get a booster appointment near their home with people in York told to travel 31 miles to a centre in Doncaster, and a 37-year-old in Bicester, Oxfordshire, saying their nearest clinic was 26 miles away.

Mr Javid has promised to 'throw everything' at the Covid booster drive, which is aiming to jab all over-18s for the third time by the New Year. To achieve this, some elective surgery such as hip replacements will have to be postponed.

But NHS bosses warn that scaling up the booster programme now will be 'incredibly difficult' and inevitably have 'consequences', with patients once again facing the threat of cancelled operations. Mr Javid promised, however, that cancer patients will be unaffected.

In a massively ambitious move last night, the Prime Minister brought forward the deadline to offer all over-18s a third jab by New Year's Day as he warned the country: 'There is a tidal wave of Omicron coming.'

Some 750 Armed Forces personnel and thousands of extra volunteers will be drafted in to achieve the target, and clinic hours extended to help dish out up to 20million jabs over the next two-and-a-half weeks.

The drive will also see 42 military planning teams across every region, additional vaccine sites and mobile units, an extension of opening hours for clinics so they run seven days a week and thousands of extra volunteer vaccinators trained.

But concerns about whether the Government could even hit the goal were raised almost immediately after Mr Johnson's 8pm televised announcement last night. Even at the height of the NHS's vaccine drive in March, the health service never managed more than 850,000 jabs a day.

Mr Johnson also today repeatedly refused to rule out more Covid rules to combat Omicron. Both Scotland and Wales have already dangled the possibility of stricter controls.
A former teacher at a prestigious private school attended by ex-Chancellor George Osborne is facing more jail time for sexually abusing two boys.

David Samson, also known as David Egan Samson-Mallett, 74, was employed at St Pauls Preparatory School (formerly Colet Court) in Barnes, southwest London, in the late 1970s.

Samson was jailed for 14 years and nine months in 2016 for a series of historic sex attacks against three pupils, aged 14 and under.

One of those victims had attended St Pauls while the other two went to Spencer Park School in Wandsworth, and De Stafford School in Caterham, Surrey, between 1976 and 1983.

David Samson (pictured), 74, was employed at St Paul's Preparatory School in Barnes, southwest London in the late 1970s

In April Samson admitted to four counts of gross indecency with a boy under 16, three counts of indecent assault and one count of buggery.

The charges relate to two boys he abused between 1976 and 1980.

Samson is currently serving his term in HMP Ashfield in Bristol, and was due to be sentenced for the new offences at Southwark Crown Court.

However, the hearing was adjourned because he had Covid.

Samson left St Pauls School in 1975 and moved to Spencer Park School in Wandsworth, where he taught between 1976 and 1981.

He went on to teach at a girls school until 1991.

Samson left St Paul's School (pictured) in 1975 and moved to Spencer Park School in Wandsworth, where he taught between 1976 and 1981

Occupying a 45-acre site beside the Thames, near Hammersmith Bridge, St Pauls boasts facilities, including a purpose-built art gallery and 230-seat theatre.

Famous former pupils of the top school, established in 1509, include the Chancellor, Mumford and Sons banjo player Winston Marshall and TV presenter Dan Snow.

Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve was also a pupil there in the 1960s.

Samson will return to Southwark Crown Court for sentence on January 18.
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South Africa's Omicron wave continued to surge today as daily Covid cases and hospital admissions more than doubled in a week.

Officials recorded 13,992 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, marking a 119 per cent rise on the figure last Monday and six times more than a fortnight ago.

With a test positivity rate of 31 per cent today, it suggests the outbreak in South Africa is growing faster than swabs can keep up.

The country's National Institute for Communicable Diseases said there were 422 new hospital admissions across the country in the last day, a rise of 141 per cent compared to last week.

It also revealed there has also been a sharp rise in Covid inpatient numbers since the weekend.

A total of 6,198 people are being treated for the virus now compared to the 5,562 who were in hospital on Sunday  the biggest single-day rise since the new variant took off.

Yet, despite the increasing case and hospital numbers, there were just 11 deaths attributed to Covid in the last 24 hours, up only marginally on last week.

Doctors in South Africa's Omicron ground zero maintain that Omicron patients are coming in with milder illness and being discharged quicker.

Official figures suggest the number of Covid hospital patients with severe illness is a third of the level at the same point in the country's Delta wave.

Scientists believe South Africa is benefitting from high levels of T cell immunity after recording high Covid infection rates in previous waves  with up to 80 per cent of the population already having had Covid.

Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious disease expert from the University of East Anglia in England, told MailOnline that there were 'grounds for optimism' for the UK, which has high levels of natural and vaccine-induced immunity.

With a test positivity rate of 31 per cent today, it suggests the outbreak in South Africa is growing faster than swabs can keep up

The majority of new cases today were in Gauteng province (48 per cent) which has been at the heart of the country's Omicron outbreak. It was followed by KwaZulu-Natal (19 per cent), while Western Cape accounted for 10% and Free State and North West each accounted for 5 per cent

The NICD said that today's case numbers may include several backlogged infections that were delayed due to an IT glitch over the weekend.

The agency said on Twitter: 'We are working through the data, which is now flowing into the #COVID19 laboratory data stream.

'And we would like to indicate that the reporting backlog may result in the inclusion of retrospective case data over the next few days in the daily #COVID19 surveillance reports.'

The majority of new cases today were in Gauteng province (48 per cent) which has been at the heart of the country's Omicron outbreak.

It was followed by KwaZulu-Natal (19 per cent), while Western Cape accounted for 10% and Free State and North West each accounted for 5 per cent.

Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga both made up 4 per cent, Limpopo accounted for 2 per cent and Northern Cape accounted for just 1 per cent.

It came as the UK's Omicron outbreak surged by 50 per cent in a day today after more than 1,500 Britons were diagnosed with the mutant virus and the first death was confirmed.

Officials confirmed another 1,576 cases of the highly-evolved variant over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number to 4,713  however this is believed to be a vast underestimate with the true number several times greater because not all positive tests are analysed for variants.

Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, said the best estimate was that there are currently 200,000 overall daily infections across the country, with Omicron expected to become dominant in London by tomorrow and nationally within days.

Yet, the Department of Health's daily update revealed that there were only 54,661 overall Covid cases in the past 24 hours, marking a rise of just 6 per cent week-on-week. No10's scientific advisers have warned this could rise to an astronomical 1million per day by the end of the month if Omicron continues to spread at its current pace. The DOH also recorded another 926 daily hospital admissions, up 14 per cent in a week, and 38 deaths, down 7 per cent.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister today revealed that at least one patient has died from the Omicron variant as he warned it was now leading to hospitalisations, and that the 'best thing' people could do was get a booster.

The PM did not reveal the age of the person who died, or if they had underlying health conditions, which made them vulnerable or whether Omicron was the leading cause of their death or a secondary factor.

Mr Johnson warned against being complacent about Omicron, despite reports in South Africa that it is milder than Delta. The death in the UK is thought to be the first confirmed Omicron fatality in the world. However, given the variant makes up almost every case in South Africa it is likely that the vast majority of fatalities there are due to the mutant strain but a lack of testing means these are not picked up.
Authorities in Mississippi have uncovered what they believe to be the remains of a death row inmate's missing sister-in-law after the condemned man confessed to killing the woman in 2007 and revealed the location of her body prior the to his execution for other crimes last month.

On Sunday, police acting on a tip from the late David Neal Cox unearthed human remains believed to be those of Felecia Cox on land that had once belonged to her family in Pontotoc County.

The remains will be taken to the state crime lab for an autopsy to determine a cause of death and DNA testing to confirm identity, according to Pontotoc County Coroner Kim Bedford.

Last month, David Cox became the first inmate executed in Mississippi in nine years, put to death for killing his estranged wife, Kim Kirk Cox, and sexually assaulting his then-12-year-old stepdaughter as her mother lay dying.

Officials in Mississippi on Sunday unearthed human remains they believe belonged to Felecia Cox (left), the former sister-in-law of executed death row inmate David Neal Cox (right)

Officials and anthropology students arrived at a location along Cane Creek Road in Pontotoc, Mississippi, based on information in David Cox's pre-execution confession

A team of 11 people spent four hours digging up the site before locating the human remains

The body was found just 30 yards from where David Cox once lived in a mobile home

Questions had remained about whether David Cox was responsible for the 2007 disappearance of Felecia Cox, his brother's wife, who was last seen in a neighboring county. Her daughter, Amber Miskelly, recently told WTVA-TV that David Cox was the last person to see her mother alive.

David Cox was executed on November 17 for shooting to death his estranged wife, Kim Kirk Cox (pictured), in 2010

Before his November 17 execution, David Cox told his attorneys he killed Felecia Cox in 2007, providing a letter with detailed instructions on where investigators could find her remains and waiving his attorney-client privilege after death, according to John Weddle, the district attorney for several northern Mississippi counties.

Cox was said to have instructed his lawyers to keep his letter sealed until after his death, WTVA reported.

The information was presented to Weddle's office two days after Cox's execution, the district attorney said last week, adding that David Cox has been a longtime suspect in his sister-in-law's disappearance.

On Sunday, law enforcement officials with cadaver dogs, a Mississippi State University anthropology professor and his students converged on a plot of land measuring 40 yards by 40 yards in the 1400 block of Cane Creek Road, about a mile south of Highway 278 in Pontotoc County, to carry out an excavation based on information shared by David Cox, Pontotoc Progress reported.

After four hours of searching and digging, at around 1.20pm, they uncovered human remains.

Dr. Jesse Goliat, an assistant professor of archeology and Middle Eastern studies at MSU, said his team used a ground penetrating radar to pinpoint the location of the body.

Amber Miskelly, daughter of Felicia Cox, who has been missing since July 2007, wipes tears from her face as District Attorney John Weddle, right, holds a press conference on December 6 regarding information provided to his office by the attorneys of David Neal Cox

Once his students started digging, the cadaver dogs alerted them to decomposition in the ground.

The condemned inmate's letter, which was delivered to the authorities on November 19 - two days after his execution by lethal injection - reportedly stated that he killed his sister-in-law in July 2007 and buried her body in a wooded area, about 30 yards from his mobile home.

The body was discovered buried 4 feet below the surface.

'Based on the information provided by David Coxs letter and the work of the MSU team the remains of a body presumed to be Felecia Cox have been exhumed today,' Weddle said.

He added: 'we cant begin to say thank you enough to Amber Miskelly (Felecia Coxs daughter) and her family for their assistance in this ordeal.

'This has been a very trying day for her family out here today, but hopefully it will be an important day that finally brings closure to the disappearance of her mother.'

Felecia Cox had been married to David Cox's brother, Jeff. She vanished on July 2, 2007. Two days after her disappearance, her car was found abandoned in Pontotoc County, with her purse still inside.

Felecia's husband at the time was behind bars on drug charges. He later died in prison.

Lindsey Kirk, 23, was sexually assaulted by her stepfather in front of her dying mother when she was just 12 years old in 2010

David Cox pleaded guilty in 2012 to capital murder for the May 2010 fatal shooting of Kim Kirk.

He also pleaded guilty to multiple other charges, including sexual assault. A jury handed down the death sentence.

Cox had dropped his appeals, filing court papers calling himself 'worthy of death' before the state Supreme Court set his execution date.

Among the people who witnessed the execution was David's stepdaughter, 23-year-old Lindsey Kirk. She was 12 on May 14, 2010, at her aunt's house, where she was staying along with her two brothers and mother.

An autopsy and DNA testing will be conducted to confirm the identity of the body found in Pontotoc. Pictured: Felecia Cox

They had been granted a restraining order against David. Her mother was in the back of the house filling the bathtub for her little brother.

'A gunshot came through the screen door, and he ran in and told me not to move,' Lindsey said of her stepfather, who chased her aunt, Kristie Salmon, out of the house.

Lindsey was not in the room when her stepfather shot her mother in the arm and abdomen, but he soon took her back there.

'Mama was laying on the floor. She was bleeding,' Lindsey said. Her brother 'was balled up in a closet.'

Her stepfather then sexually assaulted her three times in front of her dying mother - even as police surrounded the home and tried to get David to release Lindsey, along with her two brothers.

The ordeal lasted more than eight hours before officers got the three children out, recovered Kim's body and arrested David.
A portion of Harris' interview published on Sunday night makes no mention of her sinking poll numbers or staffing crisis

Vice President Kamala Harris is being ridiculed on Monday for an interview published in the San Francisco Chronicle over the weekend that's been mocked as a puff piece in which she explained the meaning behind the decorations in her West Wing office.

The outlet tweeted the article on Sunday evening with the caption, 'Kamala Harris has redecorated the VPs office. Heres the meaning behind her choices.'

Portions of the interview were published throughout the weekend. The latest story last night did not mention any of her policy positions or reactions to several members of her staff announcing their departure just days apart.

Instead, the writer devoted seven paragraphs to detailing Harris' artworks, family photographs and four entire sentences talking about a portrait of Thurgood Marshall.

Lawmakers, pundits and right-wing groups blasted Harris for having time to revamp her decor but not to visit the southwest border, all while the Biden administration has publicly aired its frustrations over a lack of positive media coverage.

'No time for the border...?' Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona said this morning while retweeting the piece.

Rep. Mary Miller of Illinois wrote in a similar vein, 'Now that she is done with that, can she go to the border?'

One Harris skeptic replied to the Chronicle on Twitter with a screenshot mocking a Washington Post op-ed published just days earlier that made the case: 'The media treats Biden as badly as  or worse than  Trump. Heres proof.'

The official Twitter account for House Judiciary Republicans also commented on her apparently meticulous attention to her aesthetics, 'Crazy how she doesnt have time to visit the southern border.'

Pictured is an image from Harris' West Wing office published by the San Francisco Chronicle

GOP lawmakers noted the absence of any comments regarding the southern border, which Biden put Harris in charge of early on in his administration

One person pointed out the story stands in start contrast to an op-ed published in the Washington Post days earlier complaining about the Biden administration's media coverage

Abigail Marone, GOP Senator Josh Hawley's press secretary, tweeted sarcastically that it was 'good to see she's finally focused in on the important things.'

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' spokeswoman also joined in poking fun at the story, calling it 'hard-hitting journalism.'

GOP Deputy Communications Director Nathan Brand implied the new aesthetic was a result of the internal upheaval among her staff.

'When folks said she needed to "reset" her office, they didn't mean to LITERALLY reset her office,' Brand said on Twitter.

Members of Trump world also chimed in. Former US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell blasted the Chronicle as running 'state-owned media coverage.'

'This is embarrassing. The home state media for California Democrats is no different than state-owned media coverage. No excuses. The Chronicle is not journalism,' Grenell declared.

Nan Hayworth, a former US Congresswoman from New York and a member of Donald Trump's 2020 campaign advisory board, derided Harris over a photo of her smiling in the piece.

'So reassuring to see that at least she's kept the cackle,' Hayworth wrote.

Republicans have been mocking Harris and the Chronicle about the article since it was published last night

Right-wing group Tea Party Patriots followed Grenell in taking aim at the SF Chronicle, tweeting out: 'Did you get a chance to ask her about the border or do your "journalists" stick strictly to wallpaper?'

Even other journalists commented on Harris' choice of a local paper for a wide-ranging interview.

'Notable for Harris to choose her old hometown newspaper for an interview rather than a national one,' Politico's Alex Thompson wrote on Twitter alongside another portion of the sit-down.

'Its self-serving to say talk to Politico but she could have done NYT, WSJ, Wapo, or even wires like the AP, Reuters, or a place like Bloomberg. Just an interesting strategic choice either way.'

In other parts of the interview Harris also responded to reports that she won't use bluetooth headphones, dismissing them as 'ridiculous,' and brushed off queries over whether she learned any lessons in her first year in the White House.

One GOP operative commented on the multiple Harris staffers who announced their departure within days of each other

A Politico reporter commented on Harris' choice to do a wide-ranging in-depth interview with her hometown paper

The San Francisco Chronicle published the vice president's comments on Sunday from an interview last week as Harris continues to face mounting criticism and dismal approval rating numbers.

Surrounding these reports was a more bizarre report claiming that Harris didn't use bluetooth pods because she felt they were a security risk.

Harris likened that to being as ridiculous as saying she was going to buy marijuana on her way to the airport.

'Oh, how about, 'She's going to buy a pot on her way to the airport,' Harris told the Chronicle.

She bashed the report from coming out 'after a very significant and highly successful bilateral meeting in France on issues that are about national security, on issues that are about climate, on issues that are about what we are doing in terms of international norms and rules on everything from cyber to space.'

'Come on,' she lamented.

Vice President Kamala Harris bashed reports claiming she thinks Bluetooth earphones are not secure as 'ridiculous'

Former aides, according to the report, said Harris insists on continuing to use wired earphones because she fears that Bluetooth ones represent a security risk and could allow someone to intercept her communications.

In her interview with the Chronicle, Harris brushed off several criticisms of her performance as vice president and reports of a feud between herself and the president. She also did not address her failures in the role so far, like the southern border crisis.

'There is nothing about this job that is supposed to be easy,' Harris said.

'If something is coming to me, it's because it needs to be addressed and because, by definition, it's not going to be easy. If it was easy, it would have been handled before it comes to me,' she added.

Harris twice wouldn't directly answer a question whether she wished she'd done anything differently in her year so far as Biden's No. 2.

'I love people, and there's so much that we are doing that is directly impacting and with the people in mind,' Harris said.

She said her goal for year two of the administration is to travel more around the U.S. to push Biden's policies after 'two years of COVID.'

'I have always felt that my responsibility as an elected leader is to go to the people, especially when their needs must be addressed and they must know that they are being seen and being heard.'

She says she wants to help people with 'undiagnosed trauma' and 'anxiety' related to the pandemic.

At a time when many users have moved on to the near invisible buds and pods connected through Bluetooth, Harris is frequently to be seen conducting remote television interviews with a cable dangling from her ears.

In a viral video clip showing the moment she spoke to Joe Biden by phone after they secured their 2020 election win, she has a tangle of white wires in her left hand.

The former aides told Politico that the vice president has long been careful about security and technology.

In a much shared clip of her congratulatory phone call with Joe Biden after their 2020 election victory was confirmed she can be seen with the tell-tale white wires in her hand

Harris can often be seen carrying a jumble of wires with her phone as reports emerged the vice president prefers using wired earphones because she believes they are more secure than wireless Bluetooth connections

From Bluesnarfing to Bluebugging: How Bluetooth technology can be hijacked by criminal hackers Bluetooth technology transmits data wirelessly between portable devices over short distances. While that can be handy for users, it also offers criminals an extra point of attack to intercept communications. Types of attack include: Bluejacking - sending unsolicited messages; Bluesnarfing - hacking phones set to 'discoverable'; and Bluebugging - compromising a phone so that it calls the hacker who can listen in to conversations. While Bluetooth on phones has a range of about 30ft, laptops can have a range of 300ft, making them harder to secure. This year the National Security Agency warned users that turning on Bluetooth in a public setting may present a cybersecurity risk. It recommended that users ensure the device is not left in discovery mode when Bluetooth is activated and discovery is not needed. Advertisement

Some said it was a prudent measure for someone handling classified information while others told the outlet it verged on the paranoid.

As well as using wired headphones to avoid Bluetooth, she also apparently prefers texting to email and does not allow her guests to wait in her office alone.

And a former aide said staff were told to have her visitors wait for her outside her office during her time as attorney general in California.

A request for comment on why the vice president prefers wired earphones went unanswered.

But Harris is not alone in the retro look.

Celebrities including Bella Hadid, Lily-Rose Depp and Zoe Kravitz have been spotted with corded earphones.

Fashion writers say the ubiquity of buds has led some trendsetters to look for something more distinctive.

When Liana Satenstein, a fashion writer at Vogue.com, saw Hadid with a wired headset in 2019 she described it as 'strangely luxurious.'

Cybersecurity experts say there may be something in the vice president's approach.

Although security has improved since Bluetooth was developed in the 1990s it still add an extra potential point of attack.

'If Kamala Harris is using wired earbuds, then the communications going between her phone and her ears can't be intercepted there,' cybersecurity researcher and writer Kim Crawley told The Guardian.

'I would presume that Ms Harris is privy to a lot of top secret and classified information and that top secret and classified information could be going through her phone, so no I don't think that's overly paranoid.'

Other presidents have chafed at security restrictions on their phone use.

I am not allowed, for security reasons, to have an iPhone,' said President Barack in 2013 during a White House event.

Instead he was allowed only to use a Blackberry device, limited to communicating with 10 people.

But even that took a fight.

He was the first president in history to use email and he had to convince the National Security Agency to allow him to keep a mobile device in office.
A 21-year-old computer science student at USC was fatally struck on a Los Angeles crosswalk by a speeding Dodge Charger Hellcat driver involved in a street race.

Arian Rahbar was walking along a marked crosswalk on Jefferson Boulevard in broad daylight, at around 3 pm, when he was struck and sent flying into the air on Saturday

The driver, 24-year-old Ricardo Aguilar, had been racing an Infiniti G37 driven by 21-year-old Carlos Valdez Moscoso.

Both racers were booked on murder chargers, and Aguilar is being held on $2 million bail, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Los Angeles Police Department Detective Ryan Moreno said that officials have yet to determine how fast the racing cars were going, but that it was 'definitely above the speed limit.'

Both drivers belonged to local car clubs known for street racing, and both of their cars were outfitted for street racing - Moreno told NBC Los Angeles that the Hellcat was 'pretty souped up. Not including this driver's alterations, a Dodge Charger Hellcat is worth $76,000.

Arian Rahbar, 21, was a straight-A student studying computer science at University of Southern California, his father told news outlets. He had landed an internship with Facebook, and had moved to Los Angeles to pursue his dreams, according to his childhood friend

Rahbar was sent airborne by 24-year-old Ricardo Aguilar, who was street-racing in a Dodge Challenger Hellcat, at 3pm on Saturday

Both drivers belonged to local car clubs known for street racing, and both of their cars were outfitted for street racing - Moreno told NBC Los Angeles that the Hellcat (pictured) was 'pretty souped up

He said witnesses heard the two cars revving their engines at a traffic light at the intersection of Jefferson and Western Avenue moments before they sped toward Harvard Boulevard, close to USC's campus, where Rahbar had picked up takeout before crossing the street.

The young Iranian victim's father, Sam Rahbar, told the Los Angeles Times was a straight-A student who had just scored an internship with Facebook and 'never did anything bad to anybody.'

'Racing on the street - they killed innocent people,' the grieving father told the outlet. 'An innocent kid.'

Childhood friend, Eric Gray, told CBS Los Angeles that Rahbar had moved to Los Angeles to pursue his dreams at college.

'He was probably one of the nicest people Ive ever met,' Gray told CBS Los Angeles.

'He was one of those people that was just so pure  you would think, how could something like this ever happen to somebody like this? I'm angry the situation was even possible to happen.

Rahbar's father told the Los Angeles Times was a straight-A student who had just scored an internship with Facebook and 'never did anything bad to anybody'

Arian Rahbar is pictured left with a friend. He was struck and killed by the driver of a vehicle involved in a street race at the intersection of Harvard Boulevard and Jefferson Boulevard on Saturday

A tent used by the Los Angeles Police Department is pictured at the scene after the fatal accident

Pictured is an ambulance that responded to the scene of the crash

Tracey Dodson, who witnessed the horrific accident with her kids, said that she and her family were traumatized.

'I hope they really do something about this though, cause this could have happened to me or anybody around here.'

As of November 20, Los Angeles recorded 257 traffic-related fatalities - 22 percent more than the same time in 2020.

Moreno told the Los Angeles Times that Rahbar was the 101st death this year in his jurisdiction, the department's South Bureau, which has seen a 25 percent increase of over 25 percent.

'We havent had numbers like that, ever,' Moreno said. 'Its just so out of control right now.'

'It's a problem we're seeing more and more of, lately,' Moreno said.

Less than 12 hours after Rahbar was killed, two homeless women crossing the street were struck by a drunk Toyota Tacoma pick up on Quay Avenue in the nearby Los Angeles neighborhood of Wilmington.

One of those women is hospitalized and fighting for her life, Moreno said, and the other was killed at the scene.

The driver in that crash, 24-year-old Alvaro Batres-Garcia, was arrested for vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
A sailor accused of intentionally torching the $1.2 billion Bonhomme Richard warship last year made his first appearance at a San Diego military court Monday.

The hearing will determine whether there's enough evidence in the case against Ryan Sawyer Mays - to order a trial. The 20-year-old was charged in August with aggregated arson and the willful hazarding of a vessel.

He appeared for the pretrial hearing in uniform, despite dropping out of the Navy SEAL training five days into the program.

The Bonhomme Richard was approaching the end of a two-year upgrade expected to cost $250 million when the fire broke out in the ships lower storage area on July 12, 2020 at Naval Base San Diego.

The 40,000-ton vessel was destroyed and will be decommissioned.

Investigators were led to Mays after interviewing the 177 service members assigned to the Bonhomme Richard, according to an NCIS search warrant.

Navy Seaman Apprentice Ryan Sawyer Mays (center in blue mask and Navy uniform) arrived for a hearing at Naval Base San Diego Monday, which will determines whether he stands trial for aggravated arson and willful hazarding of a vessel

The Bonhomme Richard was destroyed by a fire that broke out in the ships lower storage area on July 12, 2020, at Naval Base San Diego

Several witnesses claimed to either see Mays around the scene of the fire before it was set, the warrant indicated.

More red flags were raised when Mays allegedly also lied to investigators about his personal life, claiming he had gotten another sailor pregnant.

When she was questioned, the sailor denied ever being pregnant and said Mays was 'volatile and bipolar.'

The affidavit said Mays joined the Navy in 2019 'with the intent on becoming trained in the Advanced Electronics Computer Fields,' but 'changed his career goals to becoming a Navy SEAL.'

He was assigned as an 'undesignated Seaman' abroad the Bonhomme Richard after dropping out.

Sailor Seaman Kenji Velasco explained over the course of several interviews that he saw Mays enter Lower V, the lower vehicle storage area where the fire took place, minutes before the blaze started.

He said that he saw a 'light-skin male' wearing clean coveralls and a facemask who was carrying a silver or metal bucket and, when he passed Velasco, the person said, 'I love deck,' a sarcastic phrase Mays had said before.

He then told investigators that Mays hates the U.S. Navy and the Fleet, embittered against the service after dropping out five days into training to become a Navy SEAL.

The ship fire reached 1,000F and damaged all 14 decks, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday told reporters last year.

The ship was docked in San Diego during the blaze, which continued for four days until it was eventually snuffed out by about 400 sailors from 16 vessels, a number of helicopters dumping water from above, the Naval Base San Diego Fire Department, and multiple volunteer fire departments from surrounding cities.

At least 63 people were injured, including 18 firefighters who filed workers' compensation for suffering concussions, orthopedic issues, dehydration and smoke inhalation.

Mays appeared for the pretrial hearing Monday in uniform, despite out of the Navy SEAL training program after five days

At least 63 people were injured in the blaze, which took crews four days to snuff out

Mays told investigators he was involved in a romantic relationship with a petty officer and claimed she became pregnant by another sailor, an allegation that was never proven

Mays will stand trial for aggravated arson and willful hazarding of a vessel, if the Navy seeks a court martial

Photos show the charred insides of the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard, which burned for more than four days

During a 10-hour interview with Navy investigators, Mays told them that he had been in a romantic relationship with Petty Officer Armelle Ane, according to official documents released in October.

Ane was not aboard the ship when the fire broke out but previously served with Mays.

Mays told officials that the two of them were engaged, and that the relationship ran into trouble when she was deployed to the UNSN Mercy, a Navy hospital ship that was deployed to Los Angeles to help deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Investigators eventually found Mays' statement 'mostly contradicted by the female sailor,' after speaking with Ane - who also told Navy officials that Mays is 'volatile and bipolar,' according to the search warrant obtained by the service against Mays when he became a suspect.

Mays is pictured in uniform in this file photo

The affidavit also states that Mays gave authorities contradicting statements about where he kept his computer, 'possibly for the purpose of frustrating the investigation,' before investigators finally found it.

Command Master Chief Jose Hernandez also revealed in a series of interviews that Mays 'showed disdain toward authority and the U.S. Navy,' and days before the fire had lashed out at a contractor who confronted him for sleeping during his duty day, an affidavit read.

An internal U.S. Navy investigation determined the fire was 'preventable' and placed some of the blame on dozens of members of the ship's 'inadequately prepared crew,' according to a report released in October.

The report spreads blame across a wide range of ranks and responsibilities, from the now retired three-star admiral who headed Naval Surface Force Pacific Fleet, Vice Adm. Richard Brown, to the ship's most senior commanders, lower ranking sailors and civilian program managers.

In all, the report lists officers and sailors whose actions directly caused the ship's destruction and another 17 who contributed to its loss.

Mays was named the primary suspect for allegedly setting the 40,000-ton ship aflame shortly after military officials began investigating the cause of the fire. Above is a screenshot from a search warrant showing an Instagram post he made two days after the blaze

Investigators were led to Mays after a sailor claimed to either see Mays around the scene of the fire before it was set

Two other sailors were faulted for not effectively helping the fire response.

Investigators found three of four fire stations on the ship had evidence of tampering, including disconnected firehoses, and highly flammable liquid was found near the ignition site.

On June 14, 2020  two days after the fire  Mays posted a photo of himself on Instagram, shirtless, with the caption, 'I love the smell of napalm in the morning.' Pressed by investigators about it, Mays said it was a reference to Apocalypse Now, the Francis Ford Coppola film about the Vietnam War.

Mays was arrested in August after a yearlong investigation and began the booking process to be turned over to the Marine Corps. Air Station.
Commuters will again face chaos on their way to the office as thousands of train workers go on strike on Tuesday.

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union said it would refuse to man foreign-made trains as part of ongoing enterprise agreement negotiations with NSW Trains.

The move would impact about 75 per cent of trains on the network and comes after train workers launched similar industrial action last week.

For 24 hours, trains will only run every 30 minutes on some suburban lines while some areas will only have access to replacement buses.

The T3 Bankstown Line is set to be the worst affected within metropolitan Sydney, while the walkout will also halt several train routes to the south coast.

The strike is the latest in an ongoing industrial action dispute between the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) and the NSW government. Pictured: Commuters jammed into a Sydney train during a train strike last week

Travellers on the T3 Line will be shuttled onto replacement buses between Bankstown and Lidcombe, while services will continue between Liverpool and the city at a reduced rate.

RTBU NSW secretary Alex Claassens was hopeful the state government would come to the bargaining table.

'It's disappointing that another week has passed, and there's still no indication (of) the NSW Government stepping in and doing the right thing,' Mr Claassens said in a statement.

'The NSW Government has been refusing to commit to providing workers and commuters with basic guarantees around hygiene, safety and privatisation for many months now.'

As part of the EBA negotiations the union wants an end to privatisation, safety standards maintained and a commitment to retaining current hygiene levels while not relying on contractors to provide it.

Earlier this month saw public transport workers go on strike across Sydney (pictured are bus drivers in Burwood, in the city's inner west)

'No one likes industrial action. But we can't allow our basic safety, hygiene and privatisation asks to go ignored,' Mr Claassens said.

'We're very aware of the impact this will have on commuters, but we also know that not taking action will leave workers and commuters at risk.'

NSW TrainLink Chief Executive Dale Merrick has previously said Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink officials have been meeting with the unions for months, and has labelled the ongoing disruption as disappointing.

Buses will replace South Coast Line trains between Port Kembla and Wollongong, Wollongong and Thirroul, and Wollongong and Kiama.

Transport NSW said replacement buses will also be limited, but commuters will not have to pay fares.

Thousands of commuters were affected in train strikes last week with more to continue on Tuesday

The department has advised commuters to seek alternative transport options on December 14 and allow extra travel time as traffic may be heavier than usual on major roads.

Sydney Trains chief executive Matt Longland branded the legal strike as 'disappointing' and said it would cause major issues for people who have finally been able to return to work.

'That's the disappointing thing as the economy is opening and businesses are starting to recover, you really want to make it as easy as possible for people to get around, and that's the disappointing thing about the action we're seeing tomorrow,' he said on Monday.

Mr Longland last week said employees had been offered a 2.5 per cent pay increase, inclusive of superannuation.

More to come
Friends of the 11-year-old girl who died 'after inhaling rat poison fumes' in the flats where she lived have been left 'devastated' by her death and have left an empty chair in the classroom as they grieve, the schoolgirl's teacher has said.

Fatiha Sabrin was found unresponsive at her flat in Nida House on Sutton Street, Shadwell, east London, at around 4pm on Saturday.

The schoolgirl and her family were rushed to an east London hospital but the 11-year-old sadly died a short time later, according to reports.

A sweep of the building was carried out by the London Fire Brigade and a quantity of chemicals - believed to be used for pest control - were discovered at the scene.

The child's death is now being treated as 'unexplained' and the Metropolitan Police have said a special post-mortem examination will be scheduled in due course.

Fatiha's mother and brother are now recovering in hospital along with one other individual.

Today, Rena Begum, headteacher at Buttercup Primary in Shadwell, east London, where Fatiha was a pupil, said her classmates were 'struggling to cope' with Fatiha's death and were 'devastated by her empty seat' left in the classroom.

Fatiha Sabrin, 11, was found unresponsive at her flat in Nida House on Sutton Street, Shadwell, east London, on Saturday

She told The Guardian: 'The children are struggling to cope. It is a real shock to them at their young age that suddenly someone is not there.'

Describing the schoolgirl as 'role model' who had 'strong dreams of wanting to help the community and becoming a medical professional', Ms Begum went on to say the primary school was now offering bereavement counselling for students.

The headteacher added: 'Her friends are devastated by her empty seat in class.

'There was a lot of confusion and tears, it was important for them to just let it out. We are giving them bereavement counselling.'

Last night family friends said Fatiha's father, who had been stuck in an airport in Bangladesh since the tragedy, was flying back to the UK.

Following Fatiha's death Sabbir Ahmad, a family friend, said: 'She was a very bright girl. She was in my home eight or nine days ago and were discussing her future plans.

'She was very responsive and told me she wanted to be a doctor, and wanted to make something very good of her life.

'She was also a great writer, she received awards for her writing skills.'

On Saturday, other residents of the building also reported feeling unwell and a full evacuation took place.

After the evacuation, the London Fire Brigade swept the building and discovered a 'quantity of chemicals' believed to be used for pest control.

Mr Ahmad said his wife, who arrived at the flat and found the family in trouble, alerted the authorities and called an ambulance.

On Saturday a sweep of the building was carried out by the London Fire Brigade and a quantity of chemicals - believed to be used for pest control - were discovered. Pictured: Police officers at the scene

The Metropolitan Police have said a special post-mortem examination will be scheduled and the schoolgirl's death is being treated as 'unexplained'

On Sunday local sources claimed the tragedy could have been caused by a powerful rat poison, according to The Sun.

Meanwhile Toni Santos Babi, 19, a resident in the block, said: 'I and my flatmates smelled a strange smell in our flat, and I had a headache, and they had a cough and throat ache for the last two days.'

Mr Babi, 19, said medical teams spent hours measuring chemical levels in the building before police then moved him and his neighbours to a nearby hotel.

He explained: 'Around 5pm firefighters came into my flat to measure levels of some chemicals and they found a higher number in the toilet.

'In the meantime, more police were coming and they closed the whole road. Then another team of medical came to re-measure the chemical level, and around 7.30pm they told us to evacuate ASAP.'

This weekend Labour's Apsana Begum, 31, who is MP for the area and was born in Shadwell, said: 'I am aware of the incident at Nida House E1 this evening. Emergency services are working together to continue their response.

'Constituents are encouraged to support them by avoiding the areas where the road closures remain in and around Sutton Street.

'Tragically this has resulted in one fatality of a young girl, from chemicals found within the building.

'My thoughts and prayers are with her and her loved ones.

'I am following up to support constituents including everyone who was evacuated and in care of Tower Hamlets council.'

And Liberal Democrat councillor Rabina Khan, who spent Saturday and Sunday morning with Sutton Street residents, said it was 'heartbreaking an 11-year-old girl has died'.

A spokesman for the Met Police told MailOnline: 'Other residents in the block were evacuated as a precaution and are being looked after by the local authority.

'A sweep of the building was carried out by the London Fire Brigade and a quantity of chemicals - believed to be used for pest control - were discovered.

'They will be safely removed and an investigation will be carried out to determine how they came to be in the building.'

A special post-mortem will now take place and Fatiha's death is being treated as unexplained.
Teenage pilot Zara Rutherford landed in South Korean capital Seoul on Saturday from Russia - the first Asian stop on her attempt to become the youngest woman to fly around the world solo.

On August 18, the 19-year-old British-Belgian national departed from Kortrijk-Wevelgem Airport in western Belgium on her 32,000 mile journey, which will span five continents and 52 countries including the United States, Greenland, Russia and Colombia.

Miss Rutherford spoke to reporters at Gimpo International Airport in Seoul after arriving from Vladivostok in her bespoke Shark ultralight plane, the world's fastest microlight.

'It has been challenging,' she said, adding that she was stuck in both Alaska and Russia for a month each because of 'visa and weather issues'.

'I was hoping to complete it by Christmas but I guess that's not happening anymore, but it is an adventure.'

The daughter of two pilots, 19-year-old Zara Rutherford is aiming to be the youngest woman to fly around the world solo and has aspirations of becoming an astronaut

Miss Rutherford arrived in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday after travelling from Vladivostok, Russia, as part of her round-the world trip

Miss Rutherford will stay in a hotel before her planned departure for Taiwan on Monday and said she expects to complete her journey by mid-January.

With enhanced COVID-related travel restrictions, the pioneering pilot said she has been banned from seeing local attractions in some countries.

'I'm seeing these places from the air and that is the most incredible thing,' she said.

'Although I'm not always allowed to go and visit, walk around and check out museums and restaurants, I can always see them from the air and it's pretty incredible.'

Aside from entering the record books, the teenager has also expressed hope that her voyage will encourage girls and women to study and work in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects and spark their interest in aviation.

Zara Rutherford pictured on Saturday in South Korean capital Seoul - the first Asian stop on her attempt to become the youngest woman to fly around the world solo

Miss Rutherford, 19 pictured departing from Wevelgem, Belgium, on August 18 for a round-the-world trip in a light aircraft

Miss Rutherford is seeking to usurp the title held by from Shaesta Wais, who became the youngest woman to fly solo round the world at age 30 in 2017.

The youngest male record holder, Mason Andrews, was 18 years old when he made the journey in 2018.

Born to two pilots, Miss Rutherford is set to start university next year with the dream of becoming an astronaut.
Australia will set up its own mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility to help the country prepare for future pandemics.

The facility will be built in Victoria as part of a partnership between the federal and state governments as well as vaccine manufacturer Moderna.

It's expected the facility could produce as many as 100 million vaccines each year from 2024.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a new mRNA vaccine facility will be built in Victoria

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who will announce the mRNA vaccine facility on Tuesday, said it would help the country be prepared should there be another pandemic.

'This investment will continue to secure Australia's future economic prosperity while protecting lives by providing access to world-leading mRNA vaccines made on Australian soil,' Mr Morrison said.

'The new mRNA manufacturing facility in Victoria will produce respiratory vaccines for potential future pandemics and seasonal health issues such as the common flu.'

While Australia has been able to manufacture its own COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic, such as AstraZeneca, it has not been able to make the newer mRNA vaccines.

The country's amount of mRNA vaccines - such as Moderna and Pfizer - has been reliant on supplies from overseas during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The mRNA facility will be able to make COVID-19 vaccines as well as other vaccines that use the technology once they have been approved by the country's medical regulator.

Finance Minister Simon Birmingham said the new facility would also play a leading role in medical research.

'This investment will mean world-leading clinical trials, a strong local workforce and creating opportunities through supply chain activities,' he said.

The federal government is also set to invest $25 million in the next financial year to help researchers conduct clinical trials of mRNA vaccines.

It comes as Victorian scientists created Australia's first mRNA vaccine last month.

Researchers at Monash University developed the vaccine during a five-month period, and are now conducting clinical trials.
This comes as Western Australia eases its border restrictions from February 5

Mr Morrison urged state and territory leaders to 'facilitate rather than dictate'

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called on states and territories to ease their last remaining COVID-19 restrictions, as Western Australia announced plans to reopen its hard border to the rest of the nation.

Speaking at the Sydney Institute's annual dinner on Monday night, Mr Morrison urged jurisdictions to 'facilitate, rather than dictate'.

'Australians kept their side of the deal, it is time for governments to now keep theirs; to step back and let Australians step forward,' Mr Morrison said.

'To put Australians back in charge of their own lives, relying on the connecting points and relationships that exist between the state and the individual.'

Scott Morrison has urged states and territories to drop their last remaining COVID restrictions.

It comes as West Australian Premier Mark McGowan announced the state would relax its border restrictions from February 5.

Mr McGowan made the announcement after WA reached the 80 per cent double-vaccinated mark, the last jurisdiction to reach the milestone.

While Mr McGowan had come under fire from other jurisdictions for harsh border control, he said the measures meant WA residents were able to live normal lives.

'We followed a different model to the others, and it worked,' he said.

'We can safely ease border controls and reconnect WA. I am confident this is the right time and the right way to take this important step.'

WA announces relaxed border restrictions as the state reached the 80 per cent double-vaccinated mark,

The prime minister congratulated WA for making it to 80 per cent and for announcing plans to scrap its hard border.

'Australia is going to be connected and together again,' Mr Morrison said.

'This will be welcome news for thousands of Western Australians looking forward to reuniting with family and friends after so long apart."

The prime minister also confirmed a two-week pause on allowing visa holders to enter the country without an exemption would end as scheduled on December 15.

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan announced the state would relax its border restrictions from February 5

The decision will pave the way for skilled migrants and international students to return to Australia.

Travel bubbles with Japan and South Korea will also be able to commence.

The pause was instituted due to concern about the Omicron variant, but Australian Medical Association vice-president Dr Chris Moy said evidence pointed to the new strain not being as serious as Delta.

'If we are talking about a milder variant, even if it's somewhat more infectious, hopefully it won't be such a threat,' he told the ABC.

'But on the flip side, if it is really infectious and we get a real peak in cases and say half are serious, it may still be a threat because we will get a large number of people in hospital at the same time.'

There were almost 23,000 vaccines administered in the past reporting period, taking the national fully vaccinated rate to 89.2 per cent.

There were 1290 new cases and two deaths in Victoria on Monday, while NSW recorded 536 COVID-19 infections.

The Northern Territory had 17 new cases while South Australia and the ACT had 13 and three respectively.

Queensland had one new case on Monday, as the state reopened its borders to virus hot spots.
Former President Donald Trump's son-in-law and ex-senior adviser Jared Kushner once screamed at the Israeli ambassador and kicked him out of the White House, a new book claims.

The initial meeting between Kushner and former Ambassador Ron Dermer occurred in February 2020 as relations between Israel and the US were rapidly deteriorating over disagreements on how to deal with Palestine and Israel's encroachment on the West Bank.

At a later point Kushner reportedly answered the diplomat's request to hold the Abraham Accords until two more Arab countries could be added by telling him Israel could take the existing deal with the United Arab Emirates or he could 'go f**k himself.'

According to the author, Israeli Axios reporter Barak Ravid, Kushner's February outburst came after Dermer told him that then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reservations over whether he could trust the Trump administration.

'Dont be mistaken to think that everything that happened in the past three years was for you. We did it because we were serious about peace,' Kushner reportedly screamed in response.

'To say such a thing about us is disgusting. Get out.'

A month earlier, Dermer allegedly ran into a similar wall with the White House when he requested a personal meeting with Trump.

'The president doesn't like you guys right now,' Avi Berkowitz, one of Trump's Mideast peace envoys, replied in the account.

And Kushner, who Trump reportedly 'surprised' the night before his 2016 inauguration with the task of solving Middle East peace, was not afraid to bring the fight to even Netanyahu himself, according to an account of Ravid's book reported in Forward.

Kushner threw former Israeli ambassador to the US Ron Dermer out of the White House for expressing Netanyahu's uncertainty over whether he can trust Trump, a new book detailing the final months of Trump's fraying relationship with Israel claims

The White House had reportedly been using Netanyahu's forced compromise with his government's opposition party to stall discussions on Israeli annexations.

Netanyahu, frustrated, allegedly threatened to proceed without the US government's greenlight.

'This will be the biggest mistake you have ever made,' Kushner told his longtime family friend. 'Trump will come out against you.'

The book details one other clash between Kushner and Dermer as the US, Israel and United Arab Emirates were trying to hammer out a deal that would eventually be the Abraham Accords.

The diplomat allegedly told Berkowitz that Netanyahu wanted to wait on signing the deal until he could get two other Arab countries on board.

Kushner replied according to the book, 'Tell Ron that one country is all hes getting, and if he doesnt want it, let him go f**k himself.'

The book, published in Hebrew, was released on Sunday

Netanyahu himself almost got cold feet on the historic deal. Ravid writes that the embattled former prime minister tried to back out the day before the Abraham Accords were announced.

'But the Americans made it certain the train had left the station,' the report reads.

Throughout his book the Axios journalist details the deteriorating relationship between Trump and Netanyahu in the last year of Trump's presidency.

In another part, the ex-president claimed his promise of peace between Israel and Palestine fell through because Netanyahu was not interested in peace, escalating new tensions between himself and the former Israeli prime minister, a longtime ally.

'I don't think Bibi ever wanted to make peace,' Trump told Israeli author Ravid.

'I think he just tapped us along. Just tap, tap, tap, you know?'

But in a piece for Axios, Ravid said that Trump spoke highly of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

'I thought he was terrific,' Trump said. 'He was almost like a father. Couldn't have been nicer. I thought he wanted to make a deal more than Netanyahu.'

Abbas reportedly told Trump he was eager to make a deal, while Netanyahu told him to wait.

Peace between Israel and Palestine has eluded US presidents for decades, and in the beginning of 2020, Trump proposed a deal that would have been the most favorable to Israel since the Madrid peace conference in 1991.

'My whole life is deals. I'm like one big deal. That's all I do, so I understand it. And after meeting with Bibi for three minutes  I stopped Bibi in the middle of a sentence. I said, 'Bibi, you don't want to make a deal. Do you?' And he said, 'Well, uh, uh uh'  and the fact is, I don't think Bibi ever wanted to make a deal.'

But Trump also accused Abbas of 'hugs and kisses' behind closed doors and criticism in public.

Kushner reportedly threatened Netanyahu, an old family friend, telling him that proceeding with West Bank annexation without the United States' go-ahead 'will be the biggest mistake you have ever made'

Former President Trump claimed his promise of peace between Israel and Palestine fell through because Benjamin Netanyahu was not interested in peace

'I thought he was terrific,' Trump said of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (above). 'He was almost like a father. Couldn't have been nicer. I thought he wanted to make a deal more than Netanyahu.'

'When he went back home, he didn't say the right things. He said much more warlike things than what he said to my face. ... Maybe he felt, politically, it was good,' Trump reasoned.

Trump also said that Netanyahu's opponent, deputy Prime Minister Benny Gantz, would have been much easier to strike a deal with.

Trump said of Gantz: 'I thought he was great. A really impressive guy. In my opinion, it would have been much easier to make a deal with the Palestinians [with Gantz] than with Netanyahu. The Palestinians hate Netanyahu. ... They did not hate Gantz. It's a big factor.'

Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign repeatedly said he had been told peace was not possible between Israel and Palestine.

'I have been told by everybody that it's not doable. Sheldon Adelson said it's not doable,' Trump said, referring to the late Republican mega-donor, whom he referenced repeatedly in our interview when discussing his Middle East policies.

'The hatred is so great between the Palestinians and the Israelis. They learned from the first day to hate each other, especially the Palestinians toward Israel,' Trump claimed. 'And Sheldon was a great deal-maker. He said it's impossible.'

And when Trump announced his peace plan in 2020, Netanyahu seized on the opportunity to annex parts of the Israel-occupied West Bank ahead of elections.

The White House was taken aback. 'I got angry and I stopped it because that was really going too far,' Trump told Ravid.

Abbas was highly critical of the plan - where proponents called it the 'deal of the century, Abbas called it the 'slap of the century.'

Trump came to the same realization that former Presidents Clinton and Obama did - that Netanyahu would stand in the way of a peaceful two-state solution. In a 2014 interview, Clinton said that Netanyahu was probably 'not the guy' who would make peace with Palestine.

Though the Israel-Palestine peace deal fell through, the Trump administration did broker a number of peace deals between Israel and four Arab states, a series of deals known as the Abraham Accords.

On Friday it was reported that Trump railed against Netanyahu for congratulating President Biden on his 2020 win, calling him disloyal and ungrateful.

'I haven't spoken to him since. F*** him,' Trump said.

'I liked Bibi. I still like Bibi. But I also like loyalty. The first person to congratulate Biden was Bibi. And not only did he congratulate him, he did it on tape,' Trump told Ravid.

Netanyahu was not the first world leader to congratulate Biden and he waited more than 12 hours after the U.S. networks called the election to send his felicitations.

He did post his congratulations on Twitter and in a video on November 8, 2020, the day after the race had been called in Biden's favor. In the post, he and Biden have had a 'long & warm' personal relationship for almost 40 years and sees him as 'a great friend of Israel' and looks forward to working together.

'Bibi could have stayed quiet. He has made a terrible mistake,' Trump said.

He accused the former Israeli leader of disloyalty, saying he had helped Netanyahu in his own elections by reversing decades of U.S. policy and supporting Israel's claims over the Golan Heights, captured from Syria during a war in 1967.

In a separate Twitter post at the time, Netanyahu thanked Trump 'for the friendship you have shown the state of Israel and me personally, for recognizing Jerusalem and the Golan, for standing up to Iran, for the historic peace accords and for bringing the American-Israeli alliance to unprecedented heights.'

Netanyahu defended his congratulator message.

'I highly appreciate President Trumps big contribution to Israel and its security. I also appreciate the importance of the strong alliance between Israel and the U.S. and therefore it was important for me to congratulate the incoming President,' Netanyahu said in a statement to Axios.
Western Australia should wait until its residents have received three Covid vaccinations before reopening to the rest of the country, one of the state's top infectious disease experts has warned.

Premier Mark McGowan on Monday announced he would allow fully-vaccinated interstate travellers to enter WA quarantine-free from February 5.

The move will bring to an end nearly two years of relentless border closures aimed at stopping the virus from entering the state.

University of WA epidemiologist Zoe Hyde has called for Mr McGowan to push back the re-opening even further given the uncertainty surrounding the new Omicron variant.

University of WA epidemiologist Zoe Hyde (pictured) has called for Mr McGowan to push back re-opening to the rest of Australia beyond February 5

A health care worker fills a syringe with a Pfizer vaccine in Perth. The top health expert has warned WA to wait until its residents have received three Covid vaccinations before reopening to the rest of the country

She said WA should wait until they have more information about how deadly the virus is in other parts of Australia before making that decision.

'We need to know how well our vaccines are going to hold up against [Omicron],' she told ABC News.

'I think our existing plan would have worked if we were facing the Delta variant... but I think the conditions are very different now.'

She said quarantine-free travel to WA should be banned until the state's eligible population had received their Covid-19 booster shot.

'If we open with our current levels of vaccination, I think the virus is going to spread like wildfire,' she said, adding the February re-opening would likely lead to hundreds of Covid deaths in WA.

Dr Hyde's warning came despite Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday saying it appeared the Omicron strain was less harmful and represented a 'stepping down' of the virus.

WA Premier Mark McGowan on Monday announced he would allow fully-vaccinated interstate travellers to enter the state quarantine-free from February 5

Mr McGowan on Monday said his state's domestic borders will reopen at 12.01am Saturday, February 5 to fully-vaccinated arrivals.

Only double vaccinated domestic travellers will be able to enter the state without the need to quarantine and must get proof of a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours of arrival.

'This date is locked in, giving Western Australians and local businesses certainty,' Mr McGowan said.

Families separated by Western Australia's strict border closures will be reunited from February 5 (pictured, a reunion at Perth Airport 12 months ago after the state reopened to Victoria)

'This is an incredible milestone for our state. We are one of the most vaccinated societies in the world and we have achieved this without having extended lockdowns, virus outbreaks or any community spread of the virus.

'We followed a different model to the others and it has worked. We have been able to get through the last two years safely because of the efforts of West Australians.'

Those staying in the state for six days or more must get a second test within 48 hours of arrival.

Travellers visiting the the state for five days or less won't be required to get a second test.

International travellers will not need to quarantine if they have been vaccinated, but will need to test negative before departure and on arrival.
Former U.S. Senate candidate Max Linn, 62, died in a hot tub of an apparent heart attack over the weekend.

Linn was a colorful character in politics. He ran as a conservative independent for Maine's Senate seat in 2020, losing the race badly to incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

He may have been the first person from Maine to contract COVID-19. And he was sued for pulling a gun on a former aide during an argument over cryptocurrency investments.

Former Maine U.S. Senate candidate Max Linn (pictured) died in a hot tub of an apparent heart attack over the weekend. He was 62 and may have been the first person from Maine to attract COVID-19

Max Linn ran for office in Florida several times as a Democrat, before running as a conservative independent in Maine for Sen. Susan Collins' Senate seat. He lost the race. Linn was in D.C. for the January 6 Capitol attack (pictured)

Linn was a businessman in Florida and tried several times to run for office - as a Democrat - in that state. Then he was a supporter of former Democratic President Barack Obama.

In the last years of his life he made Maine his home and became a vocal supporter of former Republican President Donald Trump.

He was on hand in Washington the day of the January 6 Capitol attack.

He first tried to run for Maine Senate in 2018, taking on independent Sen. Angus King, but he became embroiled in a scandal after his nominating petitions were found to contain fraudulent signatures.

Linn did make it on the ballot in 2020 - to garner just 1.6 per cent of the vote.

On the debate stage, he created a memorable moment when he told the moderator 'request denied' when she asked him to stay with the topic on hand.

Prior to his 2020 run, Linn returned from Wuhan, China in December 2019, with what might have been Maine's first case of COVID-19.

The Lewistown Sun Journal reported that Linn said he was never tested for the virus.

'I've never seen anyone so sick outside a hospital,' recounted Matt McDonald, the former aide that Linn allegedly drew a gun on, to the newspaper.

McDonald, too, got sick shortly after taking Linn home from the airport, describing the experience like 'someone pouring fire on my lungs.'

He was certain he got COVID from Linn and tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies in March 2020.

'He brought COVID to Maine,' McDonald said. 'He was patient zero.'

Linn, like a number of politicians on the right, slammed COVID prevention measures, even cutting up a mask during a televised debate.

His falling out with McDonald happened earlier this year.

Max Linn was described as 'patient zero' for COVID in Maine by his former aide Matt McDonald, who filed a protection order against Linn earlier this year, alleging he drew a gun on him over a dispute about cryptocurrency investments

McDonald alleged in a protection order that Linn had given him money to invest in cryptocurrency, but then Linn changed his mind after returning from a trip abroad and wished to buy drugs falsely touted as COVID cures instead.

Linn pointed a gun in McDonald's direction when they met to discuss their dispute.

'I went to court because I believe my family could be in danger,' McDonald told the Bangor Daily News.

Linn's attorney at the time, Steve Juskewitch, confirmed to the News that the businessman gave McDonald $225,000 to invest in cryptocurrency, but denied Linn threatened McDonald or wanted to buy fake COVID drugs.

Still, McDonald told the Sun Journal that he is grief-stricken to lose a once-close friend.

Linn 'was all the cool things that make humans human,' from traveling, to giving to charity, to living life 'by his own rules,' he told the paper.

'I lost a friend,' McDonald said. 'And Maine lost a character.'

One of Linn's attorneys, Jeff Silverstein of Bangor, told the Sun Journal that Linn died of a heart attack late Saturday, having long suffered from a heart condition.

Juskewitch told the Bangor Daily News that Linn died in a hot tub.
The U.S. Coast Guard called off its search of a Chicago woman who went missing after snorkeling in a beach in Puerto Rico.

Joanna Rebis, 38, was last seen by her friends swimming off Punta Arenas in the island of Vieques on Wednesday before she failed to return.

The Coast Guard initiated a rescue mission after a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officer alerted the Sector San Juan around 7:17 p.m.

However, the four-day search was postponed Saturday night after conducting 22 missions that covered 2,391 nautical miles.1

The U.S. Coast Guard announced Monday it had called of the search of Joanna Rebis, a 38-year-old woman from Chicago who disappeared while snorkeling near Punta Arenas beach in Vieques, Puerto Rico, on Wednesday.

Police report filed after Chicago native Joanna Rebis was reported missing after she failed to return after snorkeling on the shoreline of a beach in Vieques, Puerto Rico, on Wednesday

'Unfortunately we did not find Ms. Rebis, despite the extensive search efforts from all responding agencies,' Lieutenant Commander Alberto Martinez said in a statement Monday.

'We remain hopeful that one day we may come to know more about the circumstances that led to her disappearance.'

San Juan resident Nico Molina took to Facebook on Sunday to seek help in the search for his friend.

He revealed that Rebis had been snorkeling by herself at the time she disappeared.

She was wearing swimming attire that included a long sleeve white t-shirt and black shorts. However, she was not wearing any fins over her feet which would have allowed her to navigate currents and waves.

'She was lone, not wearing claps, and her GoPro camera appeared on the shore,' Nico Molina wrote.

'Her body has not turned up and if that is so, I think she could have drifted and floated to the southern area.'

Martinez asked visitors to use extra caution when visiting the beaches throughout the U.S. territory island and to be wary of 'dangerous rip currents.'

'Most of the beaches in Puerto Rico are open water beaches and do not have lifeguards, having someone looking out for you in case of a distress situation could just save your life or the life of a loved one,' he said.
Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has called for jailed WikiLeaks whistleblower Julian Assange to not be extradited to the US from the UK.

Mr Assange, who is Australian, has been in jail since April 11, 2019 and a British court recently ruled he could be extradited to America to face espionage charges.

The charges relate to an alleged conspiracy to obtain and disclose classified information which revealed alleged war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce (pictured, front) has emerged as an unlikely champion of Julian Assange not being extradited to the US from the UK

Mr Joyce said Mr Assange, 50, should either face British courts for alleged crimes committed on that country's soil or be sent back to Australia.

'I have never met him and, from observation, don't respect him. I presume I would not like him,' Mr Joyce writes in an opinion piece in the Sydney Morning Herald.

'I view these facts as a clarion call to be all the more vigilant that he is treated just as one of my most powerful colleagues or dearest friends would be.

'It is a case of how our citizen is protected and judged. Imagine a sliding door moment, and it was not Assange but you who was in court in Britain.'

Mr Joyce, 54, says Mr Assange did not steal secret US files but only published them, which did not breach any Australian laws at the time, and he was not in the US when leaks were put online through the WikiLeaks portal.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (pictured) arrives at the Westminster Magistrates Court, after he was arrested in London on April 11, 2019

'The question is then: why is he to be extradited to the US? If he insulted the Koran, would he be extradited to Saudi Arabia?

What did Julian Assange allegedly do? US authorities have accused Mr Assange of conspiring to hack government computers and of violating an espionage law in connection with the release of confidential political cables by WikiLeaks in 2010-2011. US prosecutors regard him as an enemy of the state whose actions endangered the lives of agents whose names were in the material he is accused of leaking. Advertisement

'If we are content that this process of extraditing one Australian to the US for breaking its laws even when he was not in that country is fair, are we prepared therefore to accept it as a precedent for applying to any other laws of any other nation to any of our citizens?'

Mr Joyce's opinion piece comes a day after independent Tasmanian MP Andrew Wilkie called on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to call US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to end the prosecution.

Mr Wilkie, a former intelligence analyst, said the prosecution of Mr Assange had always been political and could be solved politically by Mr Morrison.

Mr Assange faces 175 years in prison in the US.

Last weekend, his fiancee Stella Moris revealed that he had a stroke in Belmarsh Prison.

Mr Assange, who is being held on remand in the maximum-security jail while fighting extradition to America, was left with a drooping right eyelid, memory problems and signs of neurological damage.

He believes the mini-stroke was triggered by the stress of the ongoing US court action against him, and an overall decline in his health as he faces his third Christmas behind bars.

The stroke happened at the time of a High Court appearance via video link from Belmarsh in October.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (pictured) suffered a stroke in Belmarsh Prison in October, his fiancee says

A 'transient ischaemic attack'  the interruption of the blood supply to the brain  can be a warning sign of a full stroke. Assange has since had an MRI scan and is now taking anti-stroke medication.

Ms Moris, 38, a lawyer, said: 'Julian is struggling and I fear this mini-stroke could be the precursor to a more major attack.

'It compounds our fears about his ability to survive the longer this long legal battle goes on.

'It urgently needs to be resolved. Look at animals trapped in cages in a zoo. It cuts their life short. That's what's happening to Julian. The never-ending court cases are extremely stressful mentally.'
Children as young as ten are being offered cash and food vouchers by online sex offenders in exchange for naked or sexually-suggestive images.

The Australian Federal Police revealed an increase of children self-producing child exploitation material for financial incentives including money, food deliveries and vouchers, from sex offenders over the last couple of months.

Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) Commander Hilda Sirec warned parents to be more vigilant over the school holiday period as children spend more time online.

Children as young as ten are being offered cash and food vouchers by sex offenders in exchange for naked or sexually-suggestive images

'The start of the school holidays is the perfect time to sit down and talk to them about their online activities, including the type of conversations they are having online and with who,' Commander Sirec said.

Online child sex offenders have been known to use emotionally coercive tactics to force children into self-producing child exploitation material.

But in recent months, investigators have identified a worrying new trend involving young teenagers being offered incentives such as money, food deliveries and vouchers.

Children as young as 10 are also being targeted with incentives such as in-game currency on popular online games.

Commander Sirec urged parents to be on the lookout for 'tell-tale' signs that indicate their child may have fallen victim to an online predator.

'Disturbingly, we also know offender networks routinely trade information about particular users of social media who are susceptible to incentives or coercion, which will lead to repeated contact requests from other predators,' she said.

Parents are warned to be more vigilant over the school holiday periods as children spend more time online unsupervised

'Parents and carers should be aware of some tell-tale signs that their children could be victims of this new trend, such as unexplained food deliveries arriving or children having additional money in their accounts.'

Commander Sirec advised parents to talk to their children 'openly and in a non-judgemental way' as children spent more time online unsupervised.

'Ensure your child is comfortable coming to you if an issue arises and make it clear that nothing is so bad that they can't tell you or another trusted adult about,' she said.

Parents are encouraged to start a conversation by creating a Family Online Safety Contract, developed by the AFP's online child safety program, ThinkUKnow, and the Carly Ryan Foundation.

The contract is an agreement between parents and their children that can help set boundaries and expectations for their online activities.

If parents are concerned about an issue that has happened online they can make a report online by alerting the ACCCE via the Report Abuse button.
The CNN producer charged with luring a mother and her nine-year-old daughter to a rental home in Vermont for 'sexual subservience' training also told someone else he'd 'trained' girls as young as seven.

John Griffin, a producer on CNN's New Day and worked for Chris Cuomo, was charged last week by federal prosecutors in Vermont who say he paid for sex with underage girls, including one whose mother he convinced into letting her visit him.

The 44-year-old was suspended last week by the network which called the allegations against him 'deeply disturbing.'

He is accused of transferring the mother $3,000 to fly from Nevada to Boston, where he picked them up in his red Tesla in July 2020.

Federal prosecutors claim he found them online through Kik and Google Hangouts.

John Griffin, a producer on CNN's New Day and worked for Chris Cuomo, was charged last week by federal prosecutors in Vermont who say he paid for sex with underage girls, including one whose mother he convinced into letting her visit him

Pages from the newly unsealed indictment against Griffin detail his sick comments online about women and girls

He had also spoken to other parents, including a father whose 14-year-old daughter he wanted to recruit, according to the indictment.

The indictment claims he told that father that he had trained girls as young as seven, and that he thought his daughter would be a good candidate.

He told the father, who is not named, that the training would begin over video chat and would include 'spanking' and 'c**k worship'.

The indictment does not indicate whether or not the man gave up his daughter.

It does reveal some of the sickening language used by Griffin to express his views on women, which include: 'When handled correctly, a woman is a woman regardless of her age' and that every woman has a 'wanton w**re at her core'.

Griffin is shown with fired CNN host Chris Cuomo. The pair are understood to have worked together for years

Griffin with Chris Cuomo in 2015 during a visit to Rome. The alleged pedophile pretended to be a baby in Cuomo's arms

He also said it was a misconception to call women and girls innocent, and that they were the 'dirtiest s**ts possible'.

He is in custody now and is awaiting a court appearance in Ludlow, Vermont, on Wednesday morning.

The indictment against him was initially sealed but it was made public on Monday and reveals texts where he shares other views.

He is said to have used Kik and Google Hangouts to recruit parents who would allow him to 'train' their daughters into becoming sexually subservient.

The indictment claims on February 21, 2020, he rented a ski house with in Ludlow, Vermont, with the intention of hosting mothers and their daughters to train.

'John Griffin sought parents who would allow him to train their minor daughters to be sexually subservient,' the indictment reads.

CNN has suspended Griffin and called the allegations 'deeply disturbing.'

Prosecutors say that Griffin rented this luxury ski property in Ludlow, Vermont, where he wanted to have sex training camps for mothers and young daughters

In July last year, he took a mother and her nine-year-old daughter who had flown from Nevada to the house for $3,000. He is accused of abusing the girl during that trip

Griffin has not yet entered a plea

As new details emerged on Monday, DailyMail.com obtained a photo of him larking around with Chris Cuomo in 2015.

Cuomo, who was fired by the network over his involvement in his brother Andrew's public sex pest scandal, has not commented.

In a statement last week, CNN said: 'The charges against Mr. Griffin are deeply disturbing.

'We only learned of his arrest yesterday afternoon and have suspended him pending investigation.'

Griffin has not yet entered a plea.
The Pentagon said Monday that no action would be taken against military personnel involved in the botched drone strike that killed 10 civilians in Kabul as American forces withdrew in August.

Seven children were among the dead when a Hellfire missile hit a saloon car mistakenly identified as being packed with explosives in the Afghan capital.

U.S. nerves were on edge three days after an ISIS-K suicide bomber killed 170 Afghans and 13 American service members at Hamid Karzai International Airport.

At a briefing, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said senior commanders had made recommendations to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin - none of which included holding any officers accountable.

'What we saw here was a breakdown in process and execution in procedural events, not the result of negligence, not the result of misconduct, not the result of poor leadership,' he said.

Last month, an independent military investigation led by the Air Force's inspector general found no one criminally negligent.

10 civilians were killed when a U.S. drone strike mistakenly targeted a car driven by an Afghan employee of an American charity but no U.S. military personnel will be held accountable

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the mistake was a 'breakdown in process and execution in procedural events, not the result of negligence, not the result of misconduct'

Kirby said Defense Secretary acted on the recommendations he was given - but they covered processes rather than personnel

That left it left it to Gen. Frank McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command, and Gen. Richard Clarke, the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, to decide whether any disciplinary action was appropriate.

'The recommendations were more about procedure and process and the secretary reviewed them and has accepted them,' said Kirby.

'And again, most of them are of a classified nature. ... but there was no overt recommendation made by either specific to accountability and any punishment for anyone.'

Officials who authorized the strike believed they were attacking members of the local affiliate of Islamic State.

And in the immediate aftermath of the strike, officials claimed that secondary explosions showed that the car was crammed with explosives. They called it a 'righteous strike.'

But an investigation by the New York Times revealed the white Toyota Corolla was in fact driven by Zemari Ahmadi, an Afghan employee of an American aid organization who had visited not an ISIS-K safe house but a compound used by the NGO.

And rather than being filled with explosives, it was filled with water tanks.

Ten civilians - including seven children - dried when a Hellfire missile hit a vehicle in Kabul

The Defense Department admitted in September that it had made a 'tragic mistake.'

During the press briefing, Kirby said the heightened risk of attack on Kabul airport was important context.

'This was a dynamic situation in which we were we believe we were dealing with a very active, tangible threat on that day to our people and to Afghans at the airport,' he said.

But the decision horrified critics of the strike, who said it made so sense to acknowledge the mistake but not hold anyone accountable.

'This decision is shocking,' Steven Kwon, the founder of Nutrition & Education International that employed Ahmadi, told the New York Times.

'How can our military wrongly take the lives of 10 precious Afghan people, and hold no one accountable in any way?'

The Department of Defense has previously said it will offer condolence payments to the relatives of the people killed and was also working with the State Department to help surviving family members relocate to the United States.
Jo Dyer is running for the seat of Boothby

A friend of the woman who accused former attorney-general Christian Porter of rape is running for federal parliament.

Jo Dyer is standing as an independent candidate for the marginal South Australian seat of Boothby, where Liberal MP Nicolle Flint is retiring.

Ms Dyer made headlines when she became the spokeswoman for a group of the accuser's friends which was lobbying for an inquiry into the allegation against Mr Porter.

She has been endorsed by the grassroots 'Voices of' campaign and is running on a platform of greater climate action, the push for a federal integrity commission and better treatment of women.

'Both our politics and our policy development is compromised by a lack of integrity, a lack of accountability and, as a result of that, we're really not getting great outcomes for the country,' Ms Dyer said on Monday.

'It's like everything gets reduced to being another tranche in the culture wars and stakes are just too high to do business as usual.'

The outgoing Adelaide Writers' Week director believes Scott Morrison did not take harsh enough action against Mr Porter, even though police investigated and did not lay any charges.

'They (the government) didn't respond in any meaningful way,' Ms Dyer said.

'They looked at the allegations and more broadly women's fight for justice as a political problem that if they could they would ignore.

'When they couldn't ignore it because of the sheer weight of numbers and the volume of the voices calling out, they sought to manage it.'

Christian Porter (pictured in December in Parliament) has declared he will resign from politics at next year's election

Ms Dyer was involved in blocking Mr Porter's chosen lawyer acting for him in a since-settled defamation case against the ABC over the publication of the allegation.

Several independent candidates including former ABC journalist Zoe Daniel and Carla Zampatti's daughter Allegra Spender are targeting Liberal seats.

The Morrison Government has criticised and questioned the independence of the 'Voices of' movement backing many of the candidates.

'I mean, I don't quite get this. So apparently they're independents, but they're only running against Liberals,' Mr Morrison said last week.

The Liberals have preselected medical researcher and consultant Dr Rachel Swift to run in Boothby.

Christian Porter and ex-wife Jennifer in 2018

Labor is standing Louise Miller Frost, the former chief executive of St Vincent de Paul SA.

Earlier this month Mr Porter declared he will resign from politics at next year's election.

The former attorney general announced he will not recontest the marginal seat of Pearce in Western Australia.

The 51-year-old, who saw himself as a future prime minister, has been under huge pressure since tearfully denying historic rape allegations in March.

In a lengthy resignation statement, Mr Porter - who has been relentlessly trolled online - hit out at his critics, saying: 'Perhaps the only certainty now is that there appears to be no limit to what some will say or allege or do to gain an advantage over a perceived enemy.

'This makes the harshness that can accompany the privilege of representing people, harder than ever before.'

The former public prosecutor, who split from second wife Jennifer in January 2020, said he will spend more time with his son and daughter.

'My little boy was born one day before I first became a Commonwealth Minister. He and his little sister have never known anything but their father's regular absence and so the next part of my working life will be anchored around being close to them and being there for them,' he said.

Mr Porter's career was shattered when the ABC published an article detailing historic rape allegations against an unnamed cabinet minister in February this year.

In an extraordinary press briefing in Perth in March, a shattered and tearful Mr Porter outed himself to deny the allegations which dated back to 1988.

He confirmed he attended a debating competition at Sydney University with his accuser when he was 17 and she was 16 - but he categorically denied ever sleeping with the woman who took her own life in June 2020.

The rape allegations did not end Mr Porter's cabinet career but, after a few weeks of mental health leave, Scott Morrison shuffled him from attorney-general to science minister.

Mr Porter sued the ABC and journalist Louise Milligan for defamation over her online article which aired the rape allegations.

Following mediation, Mr Porter - who was not charged after a police investigation - decided to drop his case against the ABC in May.

He was not paid any settlement fee but the ABC was required to update its article with an editors' note expressing 'regret' that readers may have thought the minister was guilty.

In an extraordinary press briefing (pictured) in Perth in March, Mr Porter cried and denied rape

In September Mr Porter revealed he had accepted an anonymous donation to help cover his legal costs estimated to be worth $600,000 to $1million.

The donation was made through a blind trust which meant the identity of the donor or donors was kept secret, including from Mr Porter.

Mining magnate Gina Rinehart, media mogul Kerry Stokes, and Fortescue Metals Group chairman Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest each denied handing cash to Mr Porter's fund.

Labor said it was unacceptable for a member of parliament to receive a donation when they could not verify where it had come from.

Under intense pressure, Mr Porter resigned from cabinet so he would not be a 'distraction' for the Government.
Stress may make women more likely than men to crave alcohol.

While both sexes tend to drink heavily after being put under pressure, a study found one key difference.

Although men drank to excess once offered alcohol, women appeared to fancy a stiff drink before having their first sip.

This followed stressful tasks such as public speaking and mental arithmetic.

Experts suggest women may face more social pressure over how they appear to others, which could leave them craving a drink.

Researchers recruited 105 men and 105 women, setting up a simulated bar in their laboratory.

Around half the group were given five minutes to prepare a speech on what they liked and disliked about their own personality, appearance and life, then speak for five minutes. They were told they would be evaluated on psychological factors including how defensively or openly they spoke.

Stress may make women more likely than men to crave alcohol. Experts suggest women may face more social pressure over how they appear to others, which could leave them craving a drink (File image)

Although men drank to excess once offered alcohol, women appeared to fancy a stiff drink before having their first sip (File image)

They then had to count backwards from 1,022, subtracting 13 each time, having to return to the start if they got it wrong. During 90 minutes at the bar afterwards, they ordered almost half a drink more on average than volunteers not given stressful tasks.

But stressed men given alcoholic cocktails before spending 90 minutes at the bar ended up getting more drunk than men put under no pressure.

This was not the case when they received non-alcoholic drinks first. Stressed women appeared more likely to get drunk even if they were not given alcohol first, according to the study, published in the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.

They were also more likely to ignore a request to slow their drinking. Dr Julie Patock-Peckham, who led the Arizona State University study, said: Women just needed the stress, but men needed the push of already having alcohol on board.

This shows women may be more vulnerable to heavy drinking due to the impact of stress  which is worrying after a pandemic of home-schooling and working from home.
The Labour-run Welsh government has been accused of creating a sex education curriculum with no references to the sexes.

Education chiefs have removed the word sex from the title of the new teaching code and replaced it with sexuality as well as removing all references to boy, girl and women.

The Relationships and Sexuality Education Code is scheduled to be debated in the Welsh Senedd for just 30 minutes today before coming into force.

Stephanie Davies-Arai, of the Transgender Trend campaign group, condemned the governments decision.

She said: This is not fact-based biologically-accurate sex education, but indoctrination of children in gender identity ideology.

The erasure of sex undermines safeguarding and erodes the concepts of privacy, boundaries and consent, putting girls particularly at risk.

Education chiefs have removed the word sex from the title of the new teaching code and replaced it with sexuality as well as removing all references to boy, girl and women

The Welsh government said it was wrong to say sex had been removed because women are explicitly referenced in a guide to the Women Against Violence, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Act published alongside the code.

But Tory Senedd members said the omission of any genders in the code was staggering.

Robin Millar said: I would urge the Welsh government to think again about the removal of sex from sex education.

Laura Anne Jones said there were serious question marks over how the code inexplicably fails to use the terms male, female, boy or girl anywhere.

She added: We dont even know the exact guidance that will be given to teachers, and it sadly appears to prioritise ideology rather than safeguarding and protecting children.

'The consequences of waving through this legislation without proper scrutiny  just 30 minutes of debate in the Senedd  are huge. This is a stunning example of political correctness gone mad, and I will not be supporting the code.

Unlike in England, Welsh parents cannot choose to take their children out of sex education classes if they disagree with them. Their only option might be to pay for private education.

Martha Gwion, of Welsh womens group Merched Cymru, said: A code where girls and women are invisible apart from references to their bodily functions is more than just counterintuitive.

She added: Such coyness and aversion to naming our bodies, our reality and oppression, is antithetical to high quality relationships and sex education.

Women and girls do not experience violence, abuse and opposition because they are feminine, but because they are female.

Welsh government should focus less on being different to their counterparts in England and on pleasing lobby groups, and more on doing better for our children and young people.

But a Welsh Government spokesman said: These claims are incorrect. Wales has led the way by introducing the Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Act.

The act is explicitly referenced in our statutory Relationships and Sexuality Education guidance, published alongside the code, which schools must have regard to when teaching RSE.

We are committed to providing high-quality RSE in Wales which is inclusive to all, developmentally-appropriate and will help increase understanding of safe, consensual, equitable and positive relationships.

The code is designed to promote equality and inclusivity, including LGBTQ+ inclusivity, so that all learners can value difference and diversity as a source of strength.

Learning about sexual violence is a mandatory part of the code, at the developmentally appropriate point. By promoting a consistent concept of what healthy relationships look like, supported by high quality teaching and learning, we will support our whole-society approach to end the abuse of women and girls in Wales.
Twin babies have died in a Queensland apartment block despite the desperate attempts by paramedics to resuscitate the infants.

Emergency services were called to the a private residence in Bungalow in Cairns, Far North Queensland, on Monday morning.

Ambulance crews arrived at the unit block at about 11am and performed CPR on the babies, but were unable to save them.

Twin babies have died in an apartment block in Bungalow in Cairns, Far North Queensland despite efforts by paramedics to revive the twins (stock image)

Emergency services were called to the a private residence in Bungalow in Cairns, Far North Queensland, on Monday morning (pictured, Bruce Highway just outside of Cairns)

The twins are believed to be three months old and had special needs.

Queensland Police said the Cairns Child Protection Unit will investigate the incident and confirmed the twins needed 'special needs medical care'.

'Police are preparing a report for the Coroner,' a spokesperson said.
Netflix was barred from using Eton College as a filming location for The Crown after the streaming giant was accused of publishing a 'sinister' tweet about the Royal Family, it has been revealed.

The 14,000-a-term all boys school, in Windsor, Berkshire, said it wanted nothing to do with the hit series, which chronicles the lives of the British monarchy throughout the 20th century.

It comes after senior palace sources reacted with anger in December last year after Netflix posted a tweet inviting viewers to watch a documentary on Princess Diana which they claimed would provide 'answers' to criticism of its flagship drama.

Critics had said The Crown's account of the breakdown of Prince Charles's marriage to the Princess of Wales was 'distorted and at times downright inaccurate'.

'Eton didn't want anything to do with The Crown,' a source at the 581-year-old school told the Daily Mail.

'It's very much aware of the criticism of the series.'

The Crown's forthcoming series is set to be controversial, as it will cover Prince William's reaction to the breakdown of his mother Princess Diana's marriage to Charles (Pictured: William at Eton College)

Netflix's post promoting Diana: In Her Own Words, was accompanied by a video that painted the Duchess of Cornwall in a particularly unedifying light by appearing to imply that she was seeking to remain romantically involved with Charles right at the start of his marriage to the Diana.

The post was accused of prompting a wave of online abuse towards both Prince Charles and Camilla - with many of the messages too vile to print.

While Eton shunned the hit series following the furore, the historic college's rival, Winchester College, in Hampshire, was chosen as a filming site instead.

The Crown's forthcoming series is set to be controversial, as it will cover Prince William's reaction to his parents' marital breakdown.

Eton College (pictured), the 14,000-a-term all boys school, in Windsor, Berkshire, said it wanted nothing to do with the hit series, which chronicles the lives of the British monarchy throughout the 20th century

Eton's decision follows in the footsteps of Buckingham Palace and Althorp, the stately home owned by Diana's brother.

'The Crown asked if they could film at Althorp and I said obviously not,' Earl Spencer revealed.

'The worry for me is that people see a programme like that and they forget that it is fiction.'

A spokesman for Eton College declined to comment.

A Netflix spokesman denied that it had made an official request to film at school, but confirmed: 'We have, however, been filming at Winchester College.'

In December last year, Netflix used one of its Twitter accounts, NetflixFilm, to promote the documentary Diana: In Her Own Words, based on audio tapes she secretly made for biographer Andrew Morton.

Its tweet stated: 'The documentary answers much of what you're asking.'

The post was accompanied by carefully edited real footage with a voiceover by the late princess, painting Camilla in a negative light.

In damning clips of Diana used in 'sinister' trailer for the Netflix documentary, Diana: In Her Own Words, Diana is heard saying: 'You may recall me sobbing...'

'...that was nothing to do with him going [on a royal tour]...' but after Camilla called him before his trip. The documentary is based on audio tapes she secretly made for biographer Andrew Morton

Critics have said The Crown's account of the breakdown of Prince Charles's marriage to Diana is 'distorted and at times downright inaccurate'. Pictured: Emma Corrin playing Diana in The Crown as she shouts at Charles, played by Josh O'Connor

In the voiceover, Diana was heard describing how she received a letter from Camilla inviting her to lunch after Prince Charles had gone on a five-week tour of the US, Venezuela, New Zealand and Australia.

She said the lunch was 'very tricky' and Camilla had asked her if she would be joining them on future hunting trips, with the implication that she would be able to see Charles without Diana there.

Diana is also heard explaining footage and photos of her crying as Charles left on his tour, saying that she shed tears because, just before his trip, Camilla had called Charles while she was in the room.

She is heard saying how she 'left them to it.'

Another part of the voiceover relays Diana describing how she was 'devastated' when she found a bracelet Charles had had made for Camilla.

However, according to royal biographer Penny Junor, Charles gave Camilla the bracelet during a final lunch with his ex.

It is also well-known that Prince Charles had almost no contact with Camilla for the first five years of his marriage to Diana. Contact is believed to have resumed in 1986.
NSW has reported 804 Covid cases in the past 24 hours in an extraordinary surge in case numbers.

It is the highest number of daily infections since September 7, when the state was in the middle of a 100-day lockdown to stem an outbreak of the highly-contagious Delta variant.

NSW Health also reported one death in the last 24-hour reporting period to 8pm on Monday night.

Victoria recorded 1,189 new Covid cases - slightly down from the previous day's 1,290 infections - and six deaths from the virus overnight.

However while transmission rates in the southern state have remained steady, the number of active Covid cases in the ICU across Victoria has almost doubled in the past week from 47 patients to 80.

The number of Covid patients in Victorian hospitals has also increased from 297 to 364 in the last seven days.

The development comes after Premier Dominic Perrottet promised 'no more lockdowns' for the state in an interview with Alan Jones on Facebook Live on Monday night.

Restrictions are set to ease on December 15, with unvaccinated residents allowed to visit restaurants and shops for the first time since NSW went into lockdown in June.

A 'pingdemic' of health alerts has meanwhile forced thousands into isolation as the state opens up to the rest of the world, with almost two million Covid alerts issued by Service NSW over the past fortnight.

Health authorities have linked 84 cases to the Argyle House nightclub in Newcastle, and on Tuesday night announced the city's Finnegan's Hotel had also been exposed to the virus.

NSW has reported 804 Covid cases in the past 24 hours in an extraordinary surge in case numbers. Pictured are shoppers in Sydney on November 26

Health authorities have so far linked 84 cases to the Argyle House nightclub in Newcastle

Anyone who went to the popular night spot over an eight hour period on Saturday night has been forced into isolation.

But infectious disease expert Peter Collignon has warned Australians should no longer be looking at Covid cases as a metric for how well the nation is dealing with the virus.

'Case numbers should not be our focus. We should be looking at hospitalisations and death,' the Australian National University physician told The Australian.

'With Omicron, could get it worse? Yes it could. It probably spreads more. But we're not seeing any evidence in South Africa of massive numbers of immunised people in hospital.'

Professor Collignon said the majority of cases in NSW in the past week had been found in under 40s - a demographic generally at a low risk of severe illness from Covid-19.

'We have to be careful not to overreact until and unless we see real world data,' he said.

Between November 29 and December 13 alone, NSW Health sent more than 1.9 million messages advising people to either monitor for symptoms, get tested, or quarantine after coming into contact with a positive case.

Premier Dominic Perrottet promised 'no more lockdowns' for the state in an interview with Alan Jones on Facebook Live on Monday night

More than 1.9 million Covid alerts have been issued by NSW Health authorities over the past two weeks as virus case numbers continue to surge (pictured, shoppers in Sydney's QVB)

A woman walks with a face mask on the beachfront next to the empty sands of Bondi Beach

All patrons who visited the Oxford Tavern in Petersham (pictured) on November 30 were forced into isolation

Despite record vaccination rates, NSW Health has re-imposed strict policies in response to the Omicron variant, with the entire guest list of several popular pubs plunged into isolation after they were deemed transmission sites.

Between November 29 and December 13 alone, NSW Health sent more than 1.9 million messages advising people to either monitor for symptoms, get tested, or quarantine after coming into contact with a positive case.

According to NSW Health, close contacts are people who have been near a positive case for '15 minutes or more in an indoor environment without a mask'.

The spike in close contacts has led to fears hundreds of residents will spend the festive season in isolation regardless of test results - although there may only be a small risk they even have the virus.

Similar concerns arose in the UK earlier this year - where the term 'pingdemic' first emerged - when more than 600,000 alerts were 'pinged' to people with orders to self-isolate in July, wreaking havoc on businesses.

The situation brought the country's food supply network to a halt, resulting in the government ushering in new testing rules to address worker shortages.

As local concerns grow about the possibility of being thrusted into home isolation, families and schools are taking preventative measures to avoid the risk of becoming close contacts.

Around half of Sydney's Catholic schools allowed students to learn from home this week as individual principals attempt to prevent pupils from being exposed to Covid ahead of the holidays.

However, hundreds of other families are bracing to be locked inside heading into Christmas after their children were potentially exposed at school.

Christine Rookes daughter will spend the first 20 days of her holidays in isolation after catching Covid at her eastern suburbs private school.

The family are now hoping they will not contract the virus, otherwise their isolation period will reset.

'If none of us test positive we could be out on the 19th. If any of us test positive now, we will miss it,' she told The Sydney Morning Herald.
It's good to start the day with a hug  but not many would choose to share their display of affection with a fully grown lion.

Conservationist Valentin Gruener is more like a father to nine-year-old Sirga, though.

He rescued her as a sickly cub in 2012 when she was abandoned by her mother and the pair have since developed an incredible bond.

They walk, play wrestle and even swim together at the Modisa Wildlife Project in Botswana where Sirga lives with German Valentin, 34, and his partner Sarah, 33.

'I guess Sirga thinks of me as a best friend.

'She loves to give me a big hug. She does rub her head on mine a lot, just like a domestic cat,' Valentin said.

'Sirga has never been aggressive towards me but I have huge respect for the power she has.

'I am sure she is aware that I am very different.'

Apex predator Sirga has known Valentin Gruener her whole life since he began raising her after she was rejected by her mother

The nine-year-old African queen of the jungle was born after her parents were captured and moved to a rehabilitation camp for killing livestock.

But Sirga's mother stopped feeding her and she faced certain death without Valentin's help.

Almost a decade on both man and big cat share an unbreakable bond.

And Sirga's natural feline head rub greeting is so common for Valentin he said it has eventually given him a cauliflower ear.

The Modisa Wildlife Project was co-founded by Valentin with the aim of conserving 7,500 hectares for the benefit of wildlife and local people.

It also offers accommodation to guests from all over the world to come and experience the incredible African bush.

They walk, play wrestle and even swim together at the Modisa Wildlife Project in Botswana where Sirga lives with German Valentin, 34, and his partner Sarah, 33.

Valentin said: 'I guess Sirga thinks of me as a best friend. I doubt that she sees me as anther lion but simply her mate who she has spend the last 10 years with.

'Sirga loves being out in her 2,000 hectares together with me, hunting is her favourite activity but not so much the killing part but the stalking up to animals quietly and then giving them a good chase.

'Often it never even gets to the chase and Sirga simply stalking up close and we sit and watch while the animals have no idea we are there, that is her favourite time I think.

'She also loves to stand up on her hind legs and give me a big hug every time I see her.'

Valentin continued: 'Sirga roams her area and acts just like any wild lion. She does hunt and I sort of join her.

Sirga's mother stopped feeding her and she faced certain death without Valentin's help. Almost a decade on both man and big cat share an unbreakable bond.

'Of course, I cannot chase and take down an antelope but as lions mostly hunt in prides she needs a little bit of assistance when she catches bigger prey because she cannot hold it down from behind and get to the throat to kill it at the same time.

'To end the suffering I then simply cut the throat of her prey while she holds it down.

'She is also used to educate people, not only about lions but also all other Wildlife and about conservation work.

'Her following on social media is getting pretty big and to also get information to people who cannot visit here I am also doing a podcast about the Kalahari which is called the Kalahari Diaries in which I try to highlight in an entertaining but informative way about some of the conservation challenges in southern Africa.'
Creeping European-style privacy laws will take a back seat to freedom of speech under major reforms unveiled today.

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab will publish proposals to address concerns that judges are drawing up privacy laws by the back door.

Ministers fear a series of controversial rulings won by celebrities and other prominent individuals has eroded freedom of expression  a key component of Britains democracy for centuries.

They are also understood to be concerned that woke and politically correct campaigners, particularly on social media, are shutting down legitimate points of view amid a growing cancel culture.

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab (seen on Sky today) will publish proposals to address concerns that judges are drawing up privacy laws by the back door

Proposals for a new Bill of Rights, published today, will aim to redress the balance and make clear that free speech is pre-eminent. They will also stress that Parliament is the 'ultimate decision-maker' on legislation  not judges.

A senior Government source pledged the shake-up would have a big impact by stopping incremental, elastic expansion through judicial interpretation of rights.

The insider added: Our proposed reforms mean freedom of speech can be given extra weight  a couple of rungs up in the pecking order of prioritisation of rights.

Ministers are understood to be concerned that Parliaments role as the authoritative voice on British law has been blurred by judges delivering rulings which gold plate original components of the European Convention on Human Rights, agreed in 1951.

They feel its influence has been expanded far beyond what was originally intended, in areas ranging from free speech to immigration. It comes after criticism of the result of a legal case between the Duchess of Sussex and The Mail on Sunday.

Earlier this month, the Court of Appeal upheld a High Court decision that Meghan had a reasonable expectation of privacy over a letter written to her estranged father Thomas Markle.

Earlier this month, the Court of Appeal upheld a High Court decision that Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (pictured with her husband Prince Harry) had a reasonable expectation of privacy over a letter written to her estranged father Thomas Markle

During a lengthy legal battle, the newspaper defended its right to publish extracts of the correspondence in 2019. Lawyers and media experts said the decision set a dangerous precedent by extending the right of privacy to benefit the rich and powerful.

At the time of that ruling, Mr Raab said: The drift towards continental-style privacy laws, innovated in the courtroom, not by elected lawmakers in the House of Commons, is something that we can and should correct.

An earlier key case which was interpreted as judges developing their own privacy laws was brought by Formula 1 tycoon Max Mosley in 2008.

Mr Mosley, who died this year, was the son of Sir Oswald Mosley, former leader of the British Union of Fascists. He was exposed as taking part in sadomasochistic sex by the News of the World, which obtained a video of him aged 67 in an orgy with five women.

Max Mosley won 60,000 in damages against the News of the World in 2008 after it published a story about an orgy with five women, which had been wrongly described as a Nazi-themed

The High Court ruled the now-defunct newspaper breached Mr Mosleys privacy, awarding him 60,000 in damages, and ruled it had been wrongly described as a Nazi-themed orgy.

Mr Justice Eady said the businessman had a reasonable expectation of privacy in relation to his sexual activities, no matter how unconventional.

The Justice Secretarys consultation paper today is expected to say the UK will remain party to the European Convention on Human Rights.

But it will seek to rebalance it alongside quintessentially British rights contained in landmark documents such as Magna Carta in 1215 which put into writing for the first time the principle that the monarch and their government are not above the law.
Ghislaine Maxwell is set to come out fighting at her sex trafficking trial, helped by a parade of 35 witnesses.

Court papers reveal the British socialite's defence could outsize the prosecution case, which had 24 witnesses over two weeks.

They included the four women who accused the 59-year-old of abusing them as teenagers or of 'serving them up' to her paedophile friend Jeffrey Epstein.

Ahead of defence arguments starting on Thursday, Maxwell's lawyers surprised observers by saying they expected to hear all 35 of the testimonies in just two or three days.

Some of the witnesses are coming from abroad and three may not be willing to testify unless their identities are kept secret by the New York court.

Ghislaine Maxwell, 59, is shown in a court sketch. No cameras are allowed inside her sex trafficking trial in New York City

Court papers reveal the British socialite's defence could outsize the prosecution case, which had 24 witnesses over two weeks

Maxwell claims she is being made a scapegoat for Jeffrey Epstein, the late pedophile financier who she worked for for years. Epstein killed himself in 2019. Knox writes that while there is no doubt Maxwell's fate wouldn't be as bleak as it is now if Epstein were alive but that she is charged with her own crimes and the evidence is 'damning'

The fast-paced nature of the defence case  with potentially more than ten witnesses squeezed into each court day  means Maxwell will almost certainly not give evidence. Pictured: Defence lawyer Bobbi Sternheim

Maxwell, who could face an 80-year prison sentence if found guilty of six sex trafficking charges, will begin the 'fight for her life' in New York when her lawyers launch her defence case

The fast-paced nature of the defence case  with potentially more than ten witnesses squeezed into each court day  means Maxwell will almost certainly not give evidence.

If she did, she would have to face being cross-examined for days about her life of luxury with financier Epstein.

Instead, the jury is likely to hear from Maxwell's acquaintances and potentially family.

Her lawyer Bobbi Sternheim said in a letter to Judge Alison Nathan: 'Three of the defence witnesses have requested to testify under their first names or under a pseudonym.

'The court's ruling on this issue may impact the willingness of these witnesses to testify, thereby compromising Ms Maxwell's right to present her defence.

'We are still trying to make travel arrangements for defence witnesses, many of whom are coming from locations out of the district and abroad.'

The names of the defence witnesses have not been released to the public.

It comes as Judge Nathan ruled at Manhattan federal court that only small parts of Maxwell's 'little black book' would be released under seal.

It is said to contain the names and addresses of almost 2,000 world leaders, celebrities and businessmen - including Prince Andrew, and former US presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton.

The Duke of York has denied any allegation that he took part in sexual abuse.

In 2015, pages from the book were published by online news website Gawker, but many of the contacts were redacted.

The prosecution rested its case on Friday, having accused Maxwell of being a dangerous sexual predator.

She denies procuring schoolgirls to be abused by Epstein and herself. The alleged offences took place at his mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, dubbed the 'house of sin', and at other properties.

Annie Farmer, one of the four accusers in Ghislaine Maxwell's sex trafficking trial took the stand on Friday. Farmer, who is the only accuser in the case to testify under her real name, described meeting the late pedophile in New York in 1996 when she was 16. She told how Epstein brought her to his ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico where she met Maxwell

Her lawyer Miss Sternheim has told the jury that women have been taking the blame for the sins of men 'since the age of Adam and Eve'. Maxwell denies six counts of sex trafficking children.

Her brother Ian Maxwell said at the weekend that she believes Epstein, who died in 2019 in his Manhattan prison cell while awaiting trial, was probably murdered.

He also said that his sister suspected that their late father, the billionaire publisher Robert Maxwell, was killed at sea. His body was recovered off the Canary Islands in 1991.

But Mr Maxwell told the Americano podcast: 'I don't buy a lot of the conspiracy theories at all.'

Chief medical examiner Dr Barbara Sampson ruled that the cause of Epstein's death was suicide. He was 66.
A teenager who was stripped naked, threatened with rape and had his testicles stomped on over a petty drug debt now lives in fear for his life.

The 19-year old, whom Daily Mail Australia has chosen not to identify, had made the mistake of agreeing to buy methamphetamines - the deadly drug known as ice - for his supposed mates Billy Collison, 23, Lauren Sommer, 23 and Steven Garratt, 31.

Provided with $100 by Garratt and loaned his bicycle to collect a quantity of the drug from a local drug dealer in Wangaratta - in Victoria's north - the teenager panicked and used all of the drugs himself upon realising Garratt's bicycle had been stolen.

Lauren Sommer, 23, burnt a teenager's face with a jet lighter before stomping on his testicles after he used all of her drugs

Livid with the teenager's failure to produce the drugs, and his bike, Garratt contacted Collison and Sommer with a plan to kidnap him.

What happened next was the stuff of nightmares, with the teen forced into Sommer's vehicle and taken on a drive into the bush.

On Monday, the County Court of Victoria heard Collison brutally bashed and robbed the teen before Sommer's stopped at a remote location within the Warby Ranges.

It was there he was ordered to strip off at knife-point and Collison ordered him to bend over a log and threatened to rape him.

After menacing him for a while, the court heard the teen was bundled back into the car and taken to Sommer's house where his terrifying ordeal continued.

During the ride, one of the offenders forced the victim's wet socks into his mouth.

The court heard Sommers took to her victim's face with a jet lighter before crushing his testicles under her boot.

'Thats for ripping off Steve. Hes like a brother to me,' she barked.

The teen was threatened with death and warned if he went to the cops he faced another ruthless beating.

Upon checking out of hospital, that's exactly what he did.

Detectives swooped on the three drug fiends days later, with only Sommer being released on bail.

Billy Collison, 23, stripped off his young victim and threatened to rape him after a drug deal went wrong

That was on July 7 last year.

With time already served, Collison had spent 523 days behind bars awaiting his sentence on Monday.

Garratt was eventually granted bail after serving 392 days behind bars.

Judge Mark Dean described the attack as 'cowardly' and 'irrational'.

'(The Victim) was subjected to a prolonged and no doubt terrifying ordeal,' he said.

'It is plain ... that your offending has had a deeply traumatic effect upon him and he continues to be fear of all of you.'

Kidnapping in Victoria carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

Billy Collison, 23, will likely walk free in just weeks after spending most of his sentence on remand in custody

Both Garratt and Collison pleaded guilty to the charge, with Collison also pleading guilty to intentionally causing injury and robbery.

The court heard Collison had a shocking history of violence, with four prior court appearances over violent offences.

Judge Dean sentenced him to three years in jail, with a non-parole period of 18 months.

With time served, he is likely to be free within a month.

Garratt was sentenced to a year in jail, which has already been more than served.

He will now be released and must complete an 18-month community corrections order.

Sommers, who was scheduled to be sentenced on Monday, failed to even show up, claiming she was suffering from symptoms of Covid-19.

An annoyed Judge Dean contemplated issuing a warrant for her arrest before adjourning her sentence until February.
Which Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty comes top when judged by house price premiums?

It could be a question set for an estate agents' quiz night  and you might imagine the answer to be the Cotswolds perhaps, where the likes of the Beckhams and Jeremy Clarkson have homes.

Or South Devon, where wealthy weekend sailors drop anchor. But you'd be wrong on both counts. Top of the list is a 70 square mile peninsula near Swansea  Gower.

Pristine: Gower begins in Mumbles, a former fishing village, with Port Eynon beach pictured

According to the Land Registry, the price of a detached house in the Gower is 78 per cent higher than just three miles outside the boundary.

'The Gower property market has changed dramatically in recent years,' says Daniel Rees of Savills in Cardiff. 'It has traditionally been popular with retirees but now ex-pat parents with young children are moving back here.'

They have fond memories of the beaches from their own childhood and want the same for their kids.'

Gower begins in Mumbles, a former fishing village now nicknamed The Monaco of Wales thanks to a collection of high-end restaurants, bistros and fashion shops.

Famous faces are often seen here  Bonnie Tyler has a house behind high hedges on the front; Joanna Page of Gavin & Stacey fame makes regular visits home, while Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas have a home overlooking the Lighthouse. And if you drop into the yacht club, you may see Robert Pugh, who played Craster in Game Of Thrones. The little fishermen's cottages lining the hill make ideal second homes or investment properties and many have been given facelifts.

The average price of a terraced cottage is 250,000 according to Rightmove  and it's more if you want somewhere to park your car.

Gower is a patchwork of different social landscapes. The Mediterranean vibe of Mumbles is soon replaced by the well-heeled suburbia of Caswell and Langland.

Daniel Rees describes Langland as the 'jewel in Gower's crown'  with some justification.

Pretty beach huts stand next to the car parks; you can either walk the coastal path or watch the surfers from its brasserie above the beach. Prices are high, for Wales. An apartment overlooking the bay will set you back 500,000.

Variety is the essence of Gower's charm. 'North Gower with its salt marshes and wild ponies feels a lot wilder than the tourist beaches,' says retired chartered accountant Jeannette McLellan, 64, who moved to the village of Llanmadoc four years ago having lived in Swansea and before that, London.

'Then you have downlands in the centre of the Gower and the rocky coves and the beaches of the south where it's not unusual to see seals, dolphins and porpoises.'

Famous faces: Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas have a home overlooking the Lighthouse

Rees has also noticed many more people moving to Gower to work from home, perhaps reporting to the office a few times a week.

Being within range of the M4 (London is under four hours away) is important for these buyers and this is more accessible from villages closer to Swansea such as Southgate, Penmaen and Bishopston, which has a comprehensive school judged 'excellent' by Estyn, the Welsh Ofsted.

The restaurants are another attraction. The Beach House at Oxwich has a Michelin star, while The Welcome to Town at Llanrhidian and the King Arthur at Reynoldston have glowing reputations. It's worth noting broadband can be a bit patchy the further west you go.

It's easy to see what makes the Gower beaches so popular. Port Eynon, with its whitewashed cottages has a Devonian feel. Three Cliffs is pretty while Rhossili has a three-mile sandy beach.

Investing in a cottage as a holiday let can pay dividends. The tourist board has done much to publicise Gower and according to Zoopla house prices have risen 10.58 per cent in the past year.

The Old Rectory, standing above Rhossili beach, is often booked two years in advance. It would set you back 1,884.

Move to Gower and you will find a few beaches still relatively secluded. Park near Southgate Social Club (with its picture of Michael Douglas pulling a pint) head down a little lane and you will find the delightful Pobbles.

Tor Bay is another gem.

What is it like to live in Gower? 'The traffic can be a pain in summer,' says Jeannette. 'But we have the place to ourselves again in winter. That's my favourite time to live here. I'd never leave.'
Our Milky Way's supermassive black hole has a 'leak', NASA scientists have revealed.

The black hole, called Sagittarius A*, periodically emits a 'blowtorch-like jet' out into space through this leak, perhaps once every several thousand years, NASA says.

It's thought the black hole 'burps out' this jet every time it swallows something hefty like a gas cloud, and the jet then hits a huge hydrogen cloud.

Sagittarius A* is at the galactic centre of our Milky Way and has a mass that's 4.1 million times that of our Sun.

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The black hole, called Sagittarius A*, periodically emits a 'blowtorch-like jet' out into space through this leak, perhaps once every several thousand years, NASA says (artist's impression)

SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES ARE AT THE HEART OF GALAXIES Supermassive black holes are objects found at the heart of most galaxies. They have a mass millions to billions of times the mass of the Sun and allow nothing to escape, not even light. In the Milky Way the supermassive black hole is known as Sagittarius A*. There is also a class of ultramassive black holes, with a mass of at least 10 billion times the mass of the son. Even larger ones, with 100 billion times the mass of the sun have been dubbed stupendously large black holes. Advertisement

The new research was led by Professor Gerald Cecil of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, who pieced together multiwavelength observations from a variety of telescopes 'like a jigsaw puzzle'.

Data was taken from two of NASA's telescopes  Hubble and Chandra  as well as from ALMA radio telescopes in Chile's Atacama Desert, and the Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico.

Hubble hasn't photographed the jet yet, which is why it refers to it as a 'phantom jet'.

But Hubble has helped find evidence that it's pushing feebly into a huge hydrogen cloud and then splattering, like 'the narrow stream from a hose aimed into a pile of sand'.

'Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have captured a glowing cloud of hydrogen near the black hole,' NASA said.

'The interpretation is that the cloud is being hit by a narrow, columnated jet of material that was blasted out of the black hole merely 2,000 years ago.

'This is further evidence that the black hole, with a mass of 4.1 million Suns, is not a sleeping monster but periodically hiccups as stars and gas clouds fall into it.'

Due to their intense gravitational pull, black holes draw material such as gas, plasma, dust and other particles into a swirling, orbiting disc called an 'accretion disk'.

It's thought the black hole 'burps out' this jet every time it swallows something hefty like a gas cloud, and the jet then hits a huge hydrogen cloud

A schematic based on multiwavelength observations of a suspected jet from Sagittarius A*. The main view shows our galaxy edge-on, with two huge bubbles of plasma glowing in gamma-rays and X-rays. These are evidence for an explosive outburst from the black hole about 2 million years ago. Probing deep into the galaxy's core (inset), astronomers using Hubble have captured a glowing cloud of hydrogen near the black hole. The cloud is being hit by a narrow, columnated jet of material that was blasted out of the black hole 2,000 years ago

MILKY WAY MAY HAVE A DOZEN BLACK HOLES PROWLING ITS EDGES, STUDY SAYS A dozen rogue supermassive black holes may be prowling around the Milky Way, consuming everything in their wake, a study has proposed. Researchers simulated the formation and movement of supermassive black holes over billions of years of universal evolution. They found that black holes primarily go rogue when their host galaxy collides with another, typically larger, galaxy - and knocks the hole from its central spot. Read more: Milky Way may have a dozen supermassive black holes Advertisement

It's here material that finds itself moving towards the black hole is instead being swept up into the outflowing jets, according to NASA.

The agency describes the jets as narrow 'searchlight beams' that are accompanied by a flood of deadly ionising radiation.

When the jet slams into the nearby hydrogen cloud, the outflow scatters into 'octopus-like tendrils' that continue along a trajectory out of our galaxy.

'The streams percolate out of the Milky Way's dense gas disk,' said co-author Alex Wagner of Tsukuba University in Japan.

'The jet diverges from a pencil beam into tendrils, like that of an octopus.'

In the study, Professor Cecil and colleagues ran supercomputer models of jet outflows in a simulated Milky Way disk, which reproduced the observations.

'Like in archaeology, you dig and dig to find older and older artefacts until you come upon remnants of a grand civilisation,' he said.

As the jet blows through the hydrogen gas, it hits cosmic material, which creates a series of expanding bubbles that extend out to at least 500 light years.

The streams continue to percolate out of the Milky Way's dense gas disk into the galactic halo  the large and relatively dust-free spherical region surrounding a spiral galaxy such as our own.

Hubble (pictured) orbits Earth at a speed of about 17,000mph (27,300kph) in low Earth orbit at about 340 miles in altitude

'Our central black hole clearly surged in luminosity at least 1 million-fold in the last million years,' said Wagner.

'That sufficed for a jet to punch into the galactic halo.'

There has already been evidence of jets coming from Sagittarius A*  back in 2013, X-rays detected by Chandra and radio waves detected by VLA revealed a evidence for a 'stubby' southern jet near the black hole.

Previous observations by Hubble and other telescopes have also found evidence that the Milky Way's black hole had an outburst about 2 to 4 million years ago.

This event was energetic enough to create an immense pair of bubbles towering above our galaxy that glow in gamma-rays, first discovered by NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope in 2010.

The new study has been published in The Astrophysical Journal.
Archaeologists have found that some of Ethiopia's 20-feet-tall phallic monoliths, or 'stelae', were made some 2,070 years ago - 1,000 years earlier than previously thought.

Researchers from the Washington State University dated charcoal samples from the bases of the stones at three sites: Chelba Tututi, Sakaro Sodo and Soditi.

All three locations fall within Ethiopia's Gedeo zone, which harbours Africa's highest concentration of megalithic stelae, with around 10,000 monuments over 60 sites.

The team's analysis concluded that the monuments at the Sakaro Sodo site were likely erected sometime around the year 50 BC.

The only stelae to have previously been dated are at Tuto Fela, around 30 miles north of Sakaro Sodo. These were erected in 1100 AD, making them significantly younger.

Despite the proliferation of the striking structures, they have been somewhat under-studied, and the exact reason for their creation remains uncertain.

However, experts believe that some of the stones were used as burial markers, while others may have commemorated the transfer of leadership to a new generation.

Archaeologists have found that some of Ethiopia's 20-feet-tall phallic monoliths  or 'steale'  were made 2,070 years ago, 1,000 years earlier than thought. Pictured: examples of the steale seen at the Sakaro Sodo site in the Gedeo Zone

GEDEO'S STELAE Ethiopia's Gedeo zone harbours Africa's highest concentration of megalithic stelae, with some 10,000 monuments over 60 sites. Many have been forward for consideration for UNESCO World Heritage Status. The stones vary in size, layout and function, although experts believe that some were used as burial markers while others commemorated significant achievements or the transfer of power down to the next generation. Some stones are plain, while others, such as seen at Tuto Fela, pictured below, sport intricate carvings. Advertisement

The study was undertaken by archaeologist Ashenafi Zena, formerly of the Washington State University but now based at the State Historical Society of North Dakot, and his colleagues.

According to Dr Zena, Sakaro Sodo 'is one of the most understudied archaeological sites in the world, and we wanted to change that.'

The archaeologist was moved to investigate the monuments' origins further after visiting them with his supervisor Andrew Duff, also of Washington State, in 2013.

'It was shocking to see such a large number of monuments in such a small area,' Dr Zena said of his experiences during that trip.

'Looking at the stones, many of which had fallen to the ground and some have broken into pieces, I decided to focus my dissertation work there instead of investigating cave sites in southern Ethiopia.'

Not much is known about the people who populated the Sakaro Sodo region at the turn of the first millennium.

According to the researchers, however, the new date for the earliest stelae appears to coincide with the arrival of domestic animals in southern Ethiopia, and the development of more complex social and economic systems.

'One of the reasons why this research is important is because it has the potential to shed new light on what the earliest people in this area were doing for a living as well as what their cultural and social practices were,' said Professor Duff.

Along with pushing back the date of the earliest stelae's construction by more than a thousand years, the researchers were also able to determine for the first time where the monument builders quarried raw stone for the structures.

Partially completed stelae were found in quarry sites in both Ethiopia's Gedeo zone as well as further afield in the Sidama region.

The team were also able to trace the sources of various small obsidian flakes uncovered from the stelae sites across Gedeo, finding, unexpectedly, that most originated in the north of Kenya, some 186 miles away.

This reveals that the people who erected the monuments most likely obtained obsidian through some form of long-distance trade.

Using a combination of archaeological and ethnographic methods, including studies of living megalithic stele traditions in the region, experts have concluded that the stones were used for various purposes.

This includes the commemoration of the transfer of power down from one generation to the next, as well as to commemorate group achievements.

Researchers led from the Washington State University dated charcoal samples from the bases of the stones at three sites: Chelba Tututi, Sakaro Sodo and Soditi. Pictured: examples of some of the excavations at the base of the monuments conducted by the team at Sakaro Sodo

'The diversity of function of the stelae in Ethiopia is really fascinating,' Professor Duff commented.

'For example, we know that the more recently constructed stelae monuments of Tuto Fela in the north part of Gedeo were used as burial markers.'

Meanwhile, he explained, 'the linear placement pattern of the earliest stones at Sakaro Sodo makes us think they may have been markers to signify the passing of generational leadership.'

The team's analysis concluded that the monuments at the Sakaro Sodo site, specifically, were likely erected sometime around the year 50 BC. The only stelae to have previously been dated  at Tuto Fela (pictured), some 30 miles north of Sakaro Sodo  were erected in 1100 AD, making them significantly younger

Both the Chelba Tututi and Sakaro Sodo site have been nominated for protection as a world heritage site.

'Developing a better understanding of the function of these stones and how they were erected is really useful in terms of gaining a UNESCO World Heritage designation,' Duff said.

'This could in turn help generate tourism revenue, which is a major economic factor for the country.'

The full findings of the study were published in the Journal of African Archaeology.

Along push back the date of the earliest stelae's construction by more than a thousand years, the the researchers were also able to determine for the first time where the monument builders quarried raw stone for the structures. Pictured: unfinished stelae found in quarry sites in the Gedeo zone (Tututi, left, and Soditi, centre) and the Sidama region (Dilla), right

Pictured: Ethiopia's Gedeo zone, which holds Africa's highest concentration of megalithic stelae, with some 10,000 monuments over 60 sites. The Sakaro Sodo research site is labelled
A giant star exploding and giving birth to a black hole is the most likely explanation for a mysterious stellar outburst detected in 2018, according to astronomers.

The outburst was picked up by telescopes around the world as a brilliant blue flash from the spiral arm of a galaxy, 200 million light years away from Earth.

It was faster and brighter than any previously recorded stellar outburst, and was marked down on notes as 'AT2018cow,' but is now simply known as 'The Cow'.

A team from the Massachusets Institute of Technology (MIT) have since detected hundreds of millions of consistent X-ray pulses within the signal, which they say is 'strong evidence' in favour of it being from the explosion of a star into a black hole.

It resulted in a relatively compact black hole, smaller than 800 times the mass of the sun and no larger than 600 miles across, according to the researchers.

This opens the possibility of using 'transient' events, like these bright outbursts, to discover 'baby black holes and baby neutron stars' in the future, they explained.

A giant star exploding and giving birth to a black hole, is the most likely explanation for a mysterious stellar outburst first detected in 2018, according to astronomers

Fast blue optical transients (FBOTs) are transient bursts of energy from space The brightest fast blue optical transients (FBOTs) are mysterious extragalactic explosions that may represent a new phenomenon. They reach maximum brightness in under a week, take months to decline and have unusual optical features. This makes them hard to explain within the context of the core collapse of massive stars in a supernova. AT2018cow is an extreme example of an FBOT in terms of rapid evolution and high luminosity. A study of X-ray pulses linked to 'The Cow' suggest it came from a 'compact' black hole or neutron star eating its originating star from the inside out. Advertisement

The MIT astronomers saw a 'strobe-like pulse' of high energy X-rays, and hidden within this pulse were hundreds of millions of smaller pulses happening 'like clockwork' every 4.4 milliseconds over 60 days.

They used this data to calculate that the only viable source of such a phenomenon is an object measuring no more than about 600 miles wide, but with the mass of 800 suns - leaving only a small black hole or neutron star as the source.

A neutron star has a very small radius and very high density, made mainly of tight, closely packed neutrons and formed from the gravitational collapse of a large star in a supernova explosion that isn't big enough to collapse into a black hole.

The new findings suggest The Cow was the product of a dying start that collapsed into either a black hole or neutron star, and continued to devour surrounding material, eating the star from the inside and releasing 'enormous bursts of energy.'

'We have likely discovered the birth of a compact object in a supernova,' says lead author Dheeraj 'DJ' Pasham, a research scientist at MIT.

'This happens in normal supernovae, but we haven't seen it before because it's such a messy process.

'We think this new evidence opens possibilities for finding baby black holes or baby neutron stars.'

The 'cow' in the name of this phenomenon is a random coincidence of the astronomical naming process, rather than having any specific meaning.

For example 'aaa' refers to the very first astronomical transient discovered in 2018, a year in which multiple 'quick bursts' were spotted by astronomers.

However, The Cow was one of a few such signals that had been observed in real-time, and its powerful flash - up to 100 times brighter than a typical supernova - was detected by a survey in Hawaii, with follow ups around the world.

'It was exciting because loads of data started piling up,' Pasham says.

'The amount of energy was orders of magnitude more than the typical core collapse supernova. And the question was, what could produce this additional source of energy?'

The outburst was picked up by telescopes around the world as a brilliant blue flash from the spiral arm of a galaxy, 200 million light years away from Earth

Neutron stars are the result of a collapsed, burnt-out dead star Neutron stars are the collapsed, burnt-out cores of dead stars. When large stars reach the end of their lives, their core will collapse, blowing off the outer layers of the star. This leaves an extremely dense object known as a neutron star, which squashes more mass than is contained in the sun into the size of a city. A neutron star typically would have a mass that's perhaps half-a-million times the mass of the Earth, but they're only about 20 kilometres (12 miles) across. A handful of material from this star would weigh as much as Mount Everest. They are very hot, perhaps a million degrees, highly radioactive, and have incredibly intense magnetic fields. This makes them arguably the most hostile environments in the Universe today, according to Professor Patrick Sutton, head of Cardiff University's gravitational physics department. The dense objects, in particular their cores, are key to our understanding of the universe's heavy elements. Advertisement

Original theories for its origins, taken purely from the optical data of the observations found in 2018, included a middle-weight black hole stripping material from a passing star.

Optical telescopes couldn't resolve the data buried within the pulse, so Pasham turned to X-ray data.

'This signal was close and also bright in X-rays, which is what got my attention,' Pasham explained.

'To me, the first thing that comes to mind is, some really energetic phenomenon is going on to generate X-rays. So, I wanted to test out the idea that there is a black hole or compact object at the core of the Cow.'

It was studied in X-Ray by NASA's Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER), an X-ray-monitoring telescope aboard the International Space Station.

NICER started observing the Cow about five days after its initial detection by optical telescopes, monitoring the signal over the next 60 days.

Parsham and colleagues looked through the data from NICER to identify X-ray signals emanating near The Cow, and confirmed that the emissions were not from other sources such as instrument noise or cosmic background phenomena.

They focused on the X-rays and found that the Cow appeared to be giving off bursts at a frequency of 225 hertz, or once every 4.4 milliseconds.

He recognised the frequency of the pulse and said it could be used to calculate the size of what was causing it, as it couldn't be larger than the distance that the speed of light can cover in 4.4 milliseconds.

'The only thing that can be that small is a compact object  either a neutron star or black hole,' Pasham says.

The team further calculated that, based on the energy emitted by The Cow, it must amount to no more than 800 solar masses.

A team from the Massachusets Institute of Technology (MIT) have since detected hundreds of millions of consistent X-ray pulses within the signal, which they say is 'strong evidence in favour of it being from the explosion of a star into a black hole

'This rules out the idea that the signal is from an intermediate black hole,' Pasham says.

Apart from pinning down the source for this particular signal, Pasham says the study demonstrates that X-ray analyses of FBOTs and other ultrabright phenomena could be a new tool for studying infant black holes.

'Whenever there's a new phenomenon, there's excitement that it could tell something new about the universe,' Pasham says.

'For FBOTs, we have shown we can study their pulsations in detail, in a way that's not possible in the optical. So, this is a new way to understand these newborn compact objects.'

The findings have been published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
Drivers who own a Toyota that was made in 2018 or newer will have to pay a fee to use the key fob to remotely start their vehicles, according to The Drive.

The Japanese carmaker is offering the convivence in a subscription service, called Remote Connect, that costs $8 a month or $80 for the year.

The fee will be charged to all vehicles built after November 12, 2018 and owners must be enrolled in a subscription to use the key fob.

Toyota does offer a trial period, which is free, but the monthly fee kicks in shortly after.

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Drivers who own a Toyota that was made in 2018 or newer will have to pay a fee to use the key fob to remotely start their vehicles

DailyMail.com has reached out to Toyota for comment and has yet to receive a response.

The key fob allows drivers to start their vehicle just by pressing a button and although it is an option for nearly all new vehicles Toyota is looking to turn a profit on it.

Toyota now offers its Connected Services, which includes different bundles of features for a monthly price.

The bundles include Safety Connect, Service Connect Wifi-Connect, Destination assistance and Remote Connect.

The Japanese carmaker is offering the convivence in a subscription service, called Remote Connect, that costs $8 a month or $80 for the year. The fee will be charged to all vehicles built before November 12, 2018 and owners must be enrolled in a subscription to use the key fob

Remote Connect also lets you start the engine from your phone, as well as lock or unlock the doors, find your vehicle in a parking lot, or get notifications if youve lent the vehicle to someone and theyre speeding in it.

The trial period for the remote start can be three or 10 years, depending on what other features drivers include in their bundle.

Toyota has not made it clear what happens when a driver trades or sells their vehicle and purchases a new one before the trial is over.

For example, a car with Audio Plus gives drivers the luxury of free remote start using a key fob for three years, while a car purchased with Premium Audio offers free remote start for 10 years.

The Drive notes that the subscription service seems 'egregious,' as the key fob communicates directly with the vehicle and does not need Toyota to set in to complete the process.

Such subscriptions are typically required by luxury brands, so Toyotas move is first among its kind in the industry.

BMW rolled out a subscription service in 2018 for drivers who wanted to use Apple Car Play, which charged $300 for the year.

And Cadillac charges users $25 a month for its hands-free driving mode, Super Cruise.

Tesla also requires users to $10,000 for its Full Self-Driving software, which unleashes a range of features like Navigate on Autopilot, Smart Summon, Auto Lane Change and Autopark.

The Elon-Musk-led firm, however, has been said to be testing a monthly subscription for the software.
A pair of newly-discovered 2,200 year-old copper Buddhas statues found in China are the oldest of their kind to be discovered in the country

The small figurines were part of a trove of artifacts found among a group of ancient tombs from the Eastern Han Dynasty.

One statue, known as Shakyamuni, shows Buddha standing on a platform while dressed in a long cloak and the other is for Five Tathagatas, which highlights the five great Buddhas.

These figurines are 200 years older previous Buddha statues found in China and were fashioned in Gandhara style. That is a style of Buddhist visual art that developed in what is now northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan between the 1st century and 7th century BC.

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A pair of copper Buddhas statues found in China are the oldest of their kind to be discovered in the Asian country

The Buddha statues were discovered by archaeologists working in northwestern Shaanxi Province, located in the central region of China, which is where the world-famous terracotta army of life-size solider sculptures that were discovered in the 1970s.

The excavations, which ran from June 2020 to November 2021, uncovered 3,648 ancient tombs that were constructed from the Warring States period (475 B.C. - 221 BC) to Qing Dynasty (1644-1911BC), CGTN reports.

According to Li Ming, the leader of the archaeological project, the excavation site called Hongduyuan cemetery in the north of Chang'an, now known as Xi'an, as the capital city of ancient China's Han and Tang dynasties, was the highest-grade cemetery in the period apart from the emperor's mausoleum.

Most of those buried in the tombs are found to be royal relatives, senior officials and dignitaries, all recorded in historical books.

One statue, known as Shakyamuni, shows Buddha standing on a platform while dressed in a long cloak and the other is for Five Tathagatas, which highlights the five great Buddhas

So far, more than 16,000 pieces (sets) of cultural relics have been unearthed, including the two Buddha statues.

The Shakyamuni figurine stands four inches tall and the Five Tathagatas, which lays flat, measures six inches  both are made of copper-tin-lead alloy.

The Five Tathagatas shows the transcendent Buddhas, which include Aksobhya, Amitabha, Amoghasiddhi, Ratnasambhava, and Vairocana.

Shakyamuni is the traditional representation of the Shakyamuni Buddha, in which he is holding a bowl in one hand and reaching down to the earth with his other.

According to the Shaanxi Academy of Archaeology, which led the excavations, the carved figures were widely believed to embody religious beliefs and did not appear until the Sixteen Kingdoms Period.

Gautama Buddha was the founder of the Buddhist religion and is said to have lived between 600 and 400 BC.

The excavations, which ran from June 2020 to November 2021, uncovered 3,648 ancient tombs that were constructed from the Warring States period (475 B.C. - 221 BC) to Qing Dynasty (1644-1911BC). Pictured is one of the tombs

Buddha and his followers left no writings, but his rules for monastic life and teachings were memorized and passed down by oral tradition until about the second century BC when the first Buddhist scriptures were written.

Buddhism is one of the world's largest religions and its followers believe meditation, spiritual and physical labor, and good behavior are the ways to achieve enlightenment, or nirvana

Archaeologists working at a separate excavation site in China in April 2021 discovered more than 80 bronze mirrors, many of which are still reflective, which were made some 2,000 years ago.

They were made during the Western Han Dynasty were discovered in a large-scale ancient tomb.

The mirrors range from just about three inches to eight inches (and were placed close to the head or around the upper body of skeletons inside the tombs.

Situated in the Gaozhuang Township of Shaanxi's Xixian New Area, the graveyard is home to more than 400 tombs of the dynasty's elites and a collection of pottery and bronze ware were also uncovered.

One of the mirrors shows four Chinese characters: jia chang fu gui, which roughly translates to 'home of prosperity.'

Researchers involved with excavations say the giant cemetery was dedicated to the dynasty's upper-class residents, which may explain why they were buried with the exquisite mirrors.
An artist whose Instagram handle was 'Metaverse' for almost a decade had her account disabled days after Facebook announced its name change to Meta, it has emerged.

Australian Thea-Mai Bauman created the account in 2012 to document her life studying fine art in Brisbane, as well as her trips to Shanghai, where she built an augmented reality firm called Metaverse Makeovers.

She used the handle @metaverse alongside her creative work and had fewer than 1,000 followers when Instagram's parent company, Facebook, announced at the end of October that it was changing its name to Meta.

Artist Thea-Mai Bauman, whose Instagram handle was 'Metaverse' for almost a decade, had her account disabled days after Facebook announced its name change to Meta, it has emerged

What is the metaverse? The 'metaverse' is a set of virtual spaces where you can game, work and communicate with other people who aren't in the same physical space as you. Facebook explained: 'You'll be able to hang out with friends, work, play, learn, shop, create and more. 'It's not necessarily about spending more time online  it's about making the time you do spend online more meaningful.' While Facebook is leading the charge with the metaverse, it explained that it isn't a single product one company can build alone. 'Just like the internet, the metaverse exists whether Facebook is there or not,' it added. 'And it won't be built overnight. Many of these products will only be fully realized in the next 10-15 years.' Advertisement

Five days later, and having received messages from strangers offering to buy her Instagram handle, as well as one saying: 'fb isn't gonna buy it, they're gonna take it', Bauman found that her account had been disabled.

A message on the screen read: 'Your account has been blocked for pretending to be someone else'.

'This account is a decade of my life and work. I didn't want my contribution to the metaverse to be wiped from the internet,' Baumann told the New York Times.

Facebook rebranded its parent company in October and now goes by the name Meta.

Meta refers to the 'metaverse', CEO Mark Zuckerberg's vision for the company's transition into shared augmented reality, where users work and play in virtual world environments.

The announcement was made as Zuckerberg tried to distance the social media behemoth from mounting scandals after leaked whistleblower documents claimed its platforms harmed users and stoked anger.

But Baumann's treatment has further enraged critics, some of whom said it illustrated the power and control Meta wields over individual user accounts with its various policies and algorithms.

'Facebook has essentially unfettered discretion to appropriate people's Instagram user names,' Rebecca Giblin, director of the Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia at the University of Melbourne, told the New York Times.

Bauman (pictured) used the handle @metaverse and had fewer than 1,000 followers when Facebook announced at the end of October that it was changing its name to Meta

She added that 'the @metaverse example highlights the breadth of this power' and that under Facebook's policies, users 'essentially have no rights'.

Baumann's account was finally restored a month after she first appealed to Instagram.

A spokesman for the social media giant said it had been 'incorrectly removed for impersonation', adding: 'We're sorry this error occurred'.

No explanation was given as to why it had been flagged for impersonation.

Instagram also refused to answer further questions about whether it was disabled because the account was linked to Facebook's rebranding.
UberEats can officially be described as out of this world after the firm announced on Monday that it had sent a food order to the International Space Station (ISS).

The company teamed up with Yusaka Maeawa, the Japanese entrepreneur who traveled to the ISS last week, to hand deliver canned Japanese dishes to the astronauts aboard the ship.

The delivery was made on December 11 at 9:40am ET having traveled 248 miles and eight hours and 34 minutes since Maezawa's departure from Earth.

The dishes include boiled mackerel in miso, beef bowl cooked in sweet sauce, simmered chicken with bamboo shoots and braised pork.

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UberEats teamed up with Yusaka Maeawa (left), the Japanese entrepreneur who launched to the ISS last week, to hand deliver canned Japanese dishes to the astronauts aboard the ship

Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber CEO, said in a statement: 'One small handoff for Yusaku Maezawa, one giant delivery for Uber Eats!

'We're over the moon to have helped make our first successful delivery to space. Our goal is to help people go anywhere and get anything, so we're proud to serve the astronauts at the International Space Station.

'Yusaku Maezawa gets a thumbs up on this delivery, even though it took a bit longer than the usual 30 minutes to arrive.'

Maezawa, along with his assistant and film producer Yozo Hirano, took off to the ISS on December 11 at 2:30am ET from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The delivery was made on December 11 at 9:40am ET having traveled 248 miles and eight hours and 34 minutes since Maezawa's departure from Earth

The dishes include boiled mackerel in miso, beef bowl cooked in sweet sauce, simmered chicken with bamboo shoots and braised pork

The pair will spend 12 days aboard the giant orbiting laboratory.

On Monday, Maezawa spoke with The Associate Press from the ISS and rejected criticism from those who questioned his decision to pay a fortune for a trip to the International Space Station, saying the 'amazing' experience was worth it.

Maezawa said even though he had imagined what his mission would be like before the flight, he was struck by the reality of space travel.

'Once you are in space, you realize how much it is worth it by having this amazing experience,' he told the AP in the first TV interview since he arrived at the station. 'And I believe that this amazing experience will lead to something else.'

Maezawa, 46, and his 36-year-old producer Yozo Hirano are the first self-paying tourists to visit the space station since 2009.

Asked about reports claiming that he paid over $80 million for a 12-day mission, Maezawa said he couldnt disclose the contract sum but admitted that he paid 'pretty much' that amount.

Maezawa deflected the criticism from those who questioned his decision to spend money on his space travel instead of using it to help people back on Earth, saying that 'those who criticize are perhaps those who have never been to space.'

'The most memorable moments were when I saw the International Space Station from Soyuz just before the docking and when we entered after the docking,' he said.

Maezawa, along with his assistant and film producer Yozo Hirano, took off to the ISS on December 11 at 2:30am ET from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan

He admitted that space tourism is mostly for the super-rich now, but added that those who embark on space travel must be prepared for other challenges.

'Yes, it is still rather expensive, but it is not only about money,' he told the AP. 'It takes time for your body to adjust in this environment and the training for emergencies takes at least a few months.

'So, honestly speaking, it is only accessible for those who have time and are physically fit and those who can afford it. But we dont know if that is still going to be the case in 10 years, 20 years time.'

Maezawa told the AP he felt 'a little bit of motion sickness' and it was 'a little bit difficult to sleep,' adding that future space tourists need to be aware of the need to spend up to five days to adapt to motion sickness in space.

On Monday, Maezawa spoke with The Associate Press from the ISS and rejected criticism from those who questioned his decision to pay a fortune for a trip to the International Space Station, saying the 'amazing' experience was worth it

He acknowledged that taking a nap still presents a challenge.

'I am not sleeping well, to be honest. A sleeping bag has been provided but it is too hot so I am not using it,' he said.

He was happy with the length of his trip.

'Twelve days was about right for me,' Maezawa added. 'I am getting over the motion sickness so I can enjoy the remaining days. I am returning on the 20th and starting to miss Japan. Once I return, I want to have sushi!'
The front portion of the doomsday glacier in Antarctica has an 'alarming crack' that could lead to it breaking off in just five years.

Part of the Thwaites Glacier, it is the size of Florida and its melting accounts for about four percent of the global sea level rise.

New data, released on Monday, shows warming oceans is causing the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf (TEIS) to lose its grip on the submarine shoal, or bank, that acts as a pinning point to hold it to the rest of the glacier  which is also causing cracks across its surface.

Satellite images presented at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union show several large, diagonal cracks extending across TEIS.

'If this floating ice shelf breaks apart, the Thwaites Glacier will accelerate and its contribution to sea level rise will increase by as much as 25%,' the researchers shared during the presentation.

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Satellite images presented at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union show several large, diagonal cracks extending across the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf, which are caused by warming oceans

'There is going to be dramatic change in the front of the glacier, probably in less than a decade,' glaciologist Prof Ted Scambos, US lead coordinator for the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (ITGC), told BBC.

'Both published and unpublished studies point in that direction.

'This will accelerate the pace (of Thwaites) and widen, effectively, the dangerous part of the glacier.'

Lead author of the study, Erin Pettit from Oregon State University, compares the growing crack to that seen in a windshield  one small bump to the car and the windshield could break into hundreds of pieces.

Part of the Thwaites Glacier, it is the size of Florida and its melting accounts for about four percent of the global sea level rise. The Earth's crust is only 10-15 miles deep under West Antarctica, where the Thwaites Glacier (pictured) is located

When the shelf fails, the eastern third of Thwaites Glacier will melt at an even more rapid pace.

Pettit told Science Magazine this would triple the speed and increase the glacier's contribution to global sea level in the short term to five percent.

'We have mapped out weaker and stronger areas of the ice shelf and suggest a 'zig-zag' pathway the fractures might take through the ice, ultimately leading to break up of the shelf in as little as 5 years, which result in more ice flowing off the continent,' the team wrote in the abstract for its presentation.

'The central part of TEIS has no obvious surface crevasses and smooth surface topography, except for the surface expression of a pronounced basal channel aligned parallel to ice flow. Despite this smooth surface, ground-penetrating radar shows a weak zone of thin ice and complex basal topography, including numerous basal crevasses, that is not in local hydrostatic equilibrium.

Climate change is not the only culprit here, but a study in August found that Thwaites Glacier is also melting because of the heat from Earth itself. When the shelf fails, the eastern third of Thwaites Glacier will melt at an even more rapid pace

'This local disequilibrium suggests the presence of elevated vertical shear stresses that further weaken this critical part of the ice shelf.'

Climate change is not the only culprit here, but a study in August found that Thwaites Glacier is also melting because of the heat from Earth itself.

The Thwaites Glacier  which has been called the 'Doomsday Glacier' due to its impact on sea level rise  is being hit with heat from the Earth's crust, as it is only 10 to 15 miles deep below West Antarctica, compared to around 25 miles in East Antarctica.

This results in an a 'geothermal heat flow of up to 150 milliwatts per square meter,' the study's lead author, Dr Ricarda Dziadek, said in a statement.

Since 1980, it has lost at least 600 billion tons of ice, according to a 2017 analysis done by the New York Times, using data from NASA JPL.

'The temperature on the underside of the glacier is dependent on a number of factors  for example whether the ground consists of compact, solid rock, or of meters of water-saturated sediment,' explained co-author and AWI geophysicist Dr Karsten Gohl.

'Water conducts the rising heat very efficiently. But it can also transport heat energy away before it can reach the bottom of the glacier.'
Manchester United would have played Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last-16, a fixture which would have seen Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi face off, before it was announced that a re-draw will take place.

A number of mistakes during the first draw at 11am this morning forced UEFA to take unprecedented steps, with the whole round of ties to be drawn again at 2pm.

United were pitted against group rivals Villarreal, a tie against the competition's rules, and they were later omitted from being paired against Atletico Madrid.

Manchester United and Cristiano Ronaldo would have faced PSG in the Champions League last-16, but there will now be a re-draw after technical errors marred the first attempt

However, had the initial draw been allowed to stand - despite the controversy and backlash from clubs - the star-studded, blockbuster tie between the Old Trafford side and PSG would have been the pick of the action.

The other Premier League clubs were handed relatively welcome draws, meanwhile.

Holders Chelsea would have taken on Lille, the reigning Ligue 1 champions, while Manchester City would have faced Villarreal.

Austrian outfit Red Bull Salzburg were Liverpool's opponents.

The eight group winners and eight runners-up from the group stage looked as though they had discovered their fate this morning in Nyon, Switzerland, with the next round to be held in February.

United and City were able to put themselves in a strong position after winning their respective groups, meaning that both were seeded for the draw.

The tie would have seen Lionel Messi (pictured above) face off against Ronaldo once again

Ralf Rangnick will hope to guide United to another memorable triumph in the competition

And it was the latter who appeared to have got off lightly after drawing Villarreal, who finished second behind United in Group F.

For the first time in four years, United were in the hat and, intriguingly, they beat Paris Saint-Germain that year under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, then their caretaker boss.

Ralf Rangnick, the current interim manager, would have targeted a similar result against Neymar and Co - although United may end up with a different opponent.

United were also drawn to face PSG at various stages of the Champions League over three of the last four seasons. They were set to play the deciding leg at Old Trafford.

Intriguingly, PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino was keen on taking the United vacancy this season

Ronaldo and Messi faced each other last season, with Juventus beating Barcelona 3-0 in Spain

Ronaldo and Messi faced each other in the competition last season, with the former scoring twice as Juventus beat Barcelona 3-0 in the group stage.

Messi has won the coveted trophy four times, while Ronaldo will be looking for his sixth this season - although United are unlikely to be among the favourites.

Atletico Madrid would have met Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga champions, in another eye-catching tie.

Diego Simeone's side progressed after beating Porto in their last game.

Chelsea were drawn against Lille in the next round and would have fancied their chances

Manchester City were drawn to play Villarreal, who had finished behind United in their group

Elsewhere, Real Madrid were drawn with Benfica, who reached the next round at the expense of fallen giants Barcelona and will hope to also secure a quarter-final spot.

Sporting Lisbon would have faced Juventus, while Inter Milan were drawn to play an in-form Ajax team.

The ties will be played on February 15, 16, 22 and 23, with the return legs on March 8, 9, 15 and 16.

Away goals have been scrapped for this campaign.
The Champions League last-16 draw was redrawn after a 'technical problem' saw Manchester United pitted against group rivals Villarreal, and omitted from being drawn against Atletico Madrid.

Sportsmail understands that UEFA are preparing to re-do the draw at 2pm UK time after United and Atletico sought clarification from the governing body over a number of errors made during the initial draw at 11am on Monday morning.

The draw for the next round first took place in Nyon, Switzerland where former Arsenal star Andriy Arshavin was tasked with drawing the remaining 16 teams from the pot.

The Champions League draw descended into chaos after Man United were drawn twice

Andriy Arshavin drew United out of a pot given to him by UEFA chief Michael Heselschwerdt

Giorgio Marchetti (L) intervened to say that United could not be drawn against Villarreal

The Red Devils were eventually drawn against French giants Paris Saint-Germain for the last-16 but the English side will now face Atletico and PSG will take on Real Madrid

However, UEFA chief Giorgio Marchetti was forced to intervene midway through the draw after United were pitted against Villarreal. United qualified for the knockout stage of the competition after finish top of Group F which contained Villarreal, Young Boys and Atalanta.

Teams that have faced each other in the group stage are not permitted to face one another in the last-16, and there was much dismay when Arshavin plucked United out of the pot after Marchetti had picked out Villarreal.

'No, this is not possible because Manchester United was in the group so we need to draw another one,' Marchetti said. 'Manchester United played in the same group as Villarreal so they must be paired with another team.'

Arshavin then selected United's arch rivals Manchester City as the side to take on Unai Emery's Europa League winners early next year.

United had already played Spanish side Villarreal in the group stage so couldn't meet again

United were also accidentally omitted from the pot to face Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid

Michael Heselschwerdt, UEFA's Head of Club Competitions, was tasked with providing the correct balls for Arshavin to draw, as instructed by an 'external service provider', and he included United in the pot.

Seven balls were in the pot, when there should have been five. United were incorrectly included, as were Real Madrid. Teams from the same country are also unable to face each other in the last-16.

Following this, United were also incorrectly omitted from the pot to face Atletico Madrid - who were drawn against Bayern Munich. Liverpool faced Atletico in the group stage and were also incorrectly included.

UEFA have since revealed that a 'technical problem' was the cause for the errors, with an 'external service provider' instructing the officials as to which teams are eligible to be drawn, meaning the draw will be restaged.

Now, UEFA have conducted a redraw and United were plucked out to face Atletico Madrid

Real Madrid are understood to be angry about the redraw after being paired with Benfica, with reports suggesting that chiefs have labelled it a 'scandal' (above: Florentino Perez)

'Following a technical problem with the software of an external service provider that instructs the officials as to which teams are eligible to play each other, a material error occurred in the draw for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16,' UEFA said.

'As a result of this, the draw has been declared void and will be entirely redone at 1500 CET.'

Atletico confirmed on Twitter that: 'We are in talks with UEFA to ask for explanations and a solution after the mistakes made in the Champions League round of 16 draw.'

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said that the re-draw was 'fair' as mistakes had been made

The redraw could have huge implications on other sides who were not affected by the errors. Real Madrid - who were drawn against Benfica - have reportedly requested that the redraw take place after they were pitted against the Portuguese side, as the mistakes were made from that point on.

According to Goal, Los Blancos are describing the redraw as 'a scandal'. However, the redraw was conducted in full, and Madrid were drawn against French giants Paris Saint-Germain.

United were excluded from the pot to face Atletico first time around, and the redraw saw the Red Devils pitted against the Spanish champions this time around.

Liverpool will now play against Inter Milan, Man City take on Sporting Lisbon and Chelsea play Lille.

Meanwhile, City boss Pep Guardiola said that the re-draw was 'fair'.

'I think it's fair. If there's a mistake, you have to repeat it, so it's not suspicious,' he said.
Ralf Rangnick has told Anthony Martial to discuss his Manchester United future with him personally after the Frenchman's agent revealed that the striker wishes to leave Old Trafford.

Martial's agent, Philippe Lamboley, said on Friday that the 26-year-old wants a January transfer after falling down the pecking order at the club, and that he would 'speak to the club soon'.

The former Monaco star has barely featured for United this season under old boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and a knock ruled him out of the Red Devils' games against Crystal Palace and Norwich.

Ralf Rangnick has revealed that he has not spoken with Anthony Martial about his future

The Frenchman's agent said on Friday that he would like an Old Trafford exit in January

And interim boss Rangnick says that Martial is yet to discuss his future with him personally and that he does not communicate with agents 'via the media'.

'I don't communicate with agents via the media and press,' Rangnick said ahead of United's game against Brentford. 'The player hasn't spoken with me or us about it.

'After the final training session before the Crystal Palace game, after having trained with team, he informed the doctor and the medical department that he would not be available because the pain in his knee is too big. We have to wait and see.

'Maybe he can train again [on Sunday] but I have to speak to the doctor first. To be honest, what his agent says via the media is not of that much interest to me.'

Martial has barely featured for United this season and is desperate for consistent game time

Rangnick said that he does not hold discussions with players via the media or their agents

Asked if he would reach out to Martial, Rangnick said: 'No. Then I would react to what his agent has said and it should be the player.

'If he really has the wish to go to another club it should be the player who informs either the board or myself. I have never spoken about a player via the media and via agents.'

Martial has made just 10 appearances for the Red Devils this season, scoring one goal across 359 minutes of action.
For a brief moment, there were fears that UEFA had messed up the Champions League draw for a second time on Monday.

Michael Owen, who was watching on as a pundit for BT Sport, suggested an error had been made after Villarreal had been pulled out of the hat.

UEFA ruled that Villarreal could only face Juventus and not Liverpool or Real Madrid out of the remaining teams in the tournament.

Michael Owen thought UEFA had made a mistake by stopping Villarreal drawing Liverpool

As the camera cut to the BT Sport studio, Owen can be seen with his hands over his face

At first look, there seemed to be no reason for Villarreal not to be drawn with Liverpool and Owen was quick to question the outcome on BT.

'I thought it was (wrong again),' Owen, who could be seen holding his hands to his face in shock, said. 'It could easily be me but I can't think of a reason why Liverpool, at the end it says they (Villarreal) can only play one team. And I'm sure Liverpool could have played them as well. They weren't in their group.

'The only way is if none of the other teams could have played the other two teams, then Liverpool had to.'

But it soon emerged Liverpool couldn't be drawn against Villarreal because it would have left Inter Milan with only Real Madrid, who were in the same group, or Juventus who are in the same country.

Owen worked out Villarreal had to face Juventus due to the other teams remaining in the draw

'You had me panicking there Michael! You can understand why we were skeptical after what happened earlier,' BT Sport presenter Lynsey Hipgrave said.

Earlier in the day, the first Champions League draw was ruled to be void after Manchester United were erroneously pulled out of the hat to play Villarreal, who they had already played in the group stages.

The two rules of the draw state clubs can't play teams they faced in the group stage or teams from the same country.

Liverpool were then soon drawn against Inter Milan, meaning Jurgen Klopp's men face a second trip to the San Siro after playing AC Milan in the group stage.
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has put Max Verstappen's first ever Formula One world title down to 'ideal' safety car timing and two big mistakes from their rivals at Mercedes.

A hugely controversial final race in Abu Dhabi on Sunday saw the Dutchman crowned drivers' champion, overtaking Hamilton in the last few seconds after a safety car was brought out with just a few laps to go.

With Hamilton seemingly easing his way to the title, Nicholas Latifi's crash bunched the field, before the late FIA decision to take lapped cars out of the equation enabled Verstappen to make his move on the Mercedes man during the final lap.

Max Verstappen celebrates with his team in the pit lane after being crowned world champion

Hamilton led for most of the race in Abu Dhabi, but was then overtaken on the very last lap

With the Red Bull driver crowned champion and Mercedes' protests falling on deaf ears, Verstappen's team advisor Marko has now revealed what he thinks took the 24-year-old to the title.

'The safety car came at the ideal time for us,' he told Speedweek. 'After all the bad luck we've had this year, luck had to turn in our favour at some point. That happened. And the decision to put on the soft tires during Max's last pit stop was spot on.

'Mercedes actually missed two safety car phases. They made it easy for us to work in this direction.'

It was a nervy race from start to finish in Abu Dhabi, with Verstappen starting on pole but quickly squandering his lead to allow Hamilton through.

From there, it looked like the Brit would secure victory - although he was hampered by some brilliant defensive driving from Red Bull's other driver Sergio Perez midway through the race. Marko insists that was of huge significance.

Verstappen's fresher tyres allowed him to dive down beyond Hamilton and then win the title

Helmut Marko (right) has explained why he thinks Verstappen was successful on Sunday

'The emotions already went up at the start today,' he added. 'Max's rear wheels spun in first and second gear. This brought Hamilton forward. Afterwards we saw that we couldn't keep up with Mercedes in our tyre constellation.

'Then Checo Perez worked phenomenally. He helped to shorten the distance between Hamilton and Max again. Then it was already clear that we had to choose a different strategy.

'We therefore decided on the two-stop strategy. Then we knew: now we need a safety car phase. Thanks to Williams and Latifi, it worked.'

Mercedes lodged two complaints with the FIA after the race, but both were rejected to confirm Verstappen's place at the top of the sport.
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The guy was a genius. What was inside his mind was crazy. So says my guide, Victor, of the late architect Antoni Gaudi. And I have to agree.

Im looking up at the golden base of the new Virgin Mary tower on a private tour of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. The church, Gaudis famously unfinished masterpiece, has been under construction for nearly 140 years.

Im here on a historic day - hours previously, the Virgin Mary tower became the first tower of the Sagrada Familia to be officially opened to the public since 1976.

Pictured in the centre is the golden base of the Sagrada Familia's new Virgin Mary tower

The Virgin Mary tower, pictured on the right, is the first tower of the Sagrada Familia to be officially opened to the public since 1976

Ailbhe (pictured on the left) gets the chance to go on a private tour of Gaudis famously unfinished masterpiece hours after the opening of the new tower (in the background). Pictured on the right is the much-anticipated 'lighting of the star' ceremony, illuminating the new tower. Pope Francis sends a video message to mark the occasion, hailing the great architect Gaudi

When finished, the church will have 18 towers. This 138m- (452ft) high spire is the ninth tower to be completed in the drawn-out construction.

At its tip, the Virgin Mary tower is crowned by a 5.5-tonne, 12-pointed glass star, known as Bethlehem's Star.

During the private tour, Jordi Fauli, the Sagrada Familias Director of Architecture - who was just 31 when he joined the architectural team as a local in 1990 - tells me that this star was part of Gaudis otherworldly vision for the church.

Above you'll see the roof of the Sagrada Familia's central nave, with the base of the new Virgin Mary tower in the centre foreground

Pictured is the installation of the 5.5-tonne, 12-pointed glass star atop the Virgin Mary tower in late November

'Bethlehem's Star' on the tip of the new tower - pictured in the centre - remained in darkness until the official lighting of the star ceremony on December 8

Pictured is Jordi Fauli, the Sagrada Familias Director of Architecture, inside the church

He designed a sketch of all the church, completely finished. He represented the star as a big circle, illuminated, Fauli says.

The star was installed atop the Virgin Mary tower in late November. It had remained in darkness until December 8, when I join the masses of locals outside the Sagrada Familia for the official lighting of the star ceremony.

Theres a hush in the air, before an almighty cheer, and light travels up the tower, turning the star into a luminous beacon. Pope Francis sends a video message to mark the occasion, hailing the great architect Gaudi.

Its a historic moment for the team behind the long-running construction, who have been labouring over the project for decades.

Describing the ceremony, Ailbhe writes: 'Theres a hush in the air, before an almighty cheer, and light travels up the tower (pictured on the far right), turning the star into a luminous beacon'

Fauli says: When I arrived, only three of these columns [in the central nave] were built and they were only 10m (33 ft) high.

I was lucky enough to design and see the construction of the entire interior, then the sacristy and now the main towers.

When its completed, the churchs tallest tower - dedicated to Jesus Christ - will rise 172m (564ft) over the streets of Barcelona. This will make it the highest church in the world, overtaking Germanys Ulm Minster.

Pictured is the Sagrada Familia's 'Passion Facade'. When the church is complete, it will become the highest church in the world, overtaking Germanys Ulm Minster

Sculptures on the 'Passion Facade'. The church was originally due for completion in 2026, but the coronavirus pandemic has delayed this deadline

So, when does Fauli think the entire project will be completed? A 2026 finish line was previously proposed, marking the 100th anniversary of Gaudis death.

However, the coronavirus pandemic has delayed this deadline. Visitor numbers are down, meaning funding has dwindled - the foundation relies on tourists and private donations to finance the completion of the project.

Its not possible for us to propose a new date because we dont know how many visitors it will have. We need the tourists, Fauli tells me.

The Sagrada Familia under construction in 1887, four years after Gaudi took over the design of the church

Gaudis death in 1926 heralded a new era for the church, with seven new architects taking turns to realize his vision of the construction. Pictured on the right is Antoni Gaudi circa 1882. The modernist architect is buried in the crypt beneath the Sagrada Familia

He is hopeful the buzz around the completion of the new tower will inspire more to visit and fund the construction. Perhaps from today [there] will be new donations from around the world, he says.

Gaudi took over the design of the church in 1883, replacing the original architect, Francisco de Paula del Villar, who initially set out to design a Gothic revival house of prayer.

It became a lifes obsession for Gaudi. The modernist architect devoted himself to religion in his later years and took to sporting ragged suits and a wild beard. In June 1926, he was struck by a tram on his way to confession at the Sant Felip Neri church.

Director of Architecture Fauli is hopeful the buzz around the completion of the new tower (not shown) will inspire more to visit and fund the construction

The central nave. Construction work on the church is based on the meticulous study of photographs, drawings and testimony from Gaudi

Due to his dishevelled appearance, he was mistaken for a beggar and was left on the side of the tracks. Eventually, he was taken to the paupers ward in the Hospital de la Santa Creu, where he died three days later.

When news spread that the pioneering architect had met his end, thousands of people lined the streets for his funeral. He was buried in the crypt beneath the Sagrada Familia.

Gaudis death heralded a new era for the church, with seven new architects taking turns to realize his vision of the construction.

Fauli believes that the main aim of the Sagrada Familia's design is to elevate the people

The Sagrada Familia is Spains most popular tourist attraction. Pictured is the baldachin [a ceremonial canopy] over the church's altar

Gaudi wanted the interior of the church to resemble a forest, explains Victor, a tour guide for the travel company GetYourGuide

Gaudi's vision of a forest comes to life through 'stone, concrete and tinted glass', according to Ailbhe

Many of Gaudis original designs were destroyed during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s.

But Fauli - who has led the architectural team since 2012 - insists that the project remains faithful to what Gaudi had planned as it is based on the meticulous study of photographs, drawings and testimony from the late architect. Fauli believes that the main aim of the design is to elevate the people.

Inside, I find that the church is quiet, still, and bathed in psychedelic swirls of coloured light from the stained glass windows. The only sound is the patter of our footsteps.

Ailbhe learns it's a rare privilege to see the Sagrada Familia without its usual hordes of tourists - pre-pandemic, it attracted more than four million visitors annually. The picture above was taken during Ailbhe's tour

TRAVEL FACTS Guided group tours of the Sagrada Familia with GetYourGuide cost 46 per person. Private tours cost 117.88 per person. GetYourGuide curates 48-hour itineraries of Barcelona experiences, such as walking tours, local food tasting experiences and tickets to museums and galleries. For more information visit: getyourguide.co.uk. Advertisement

Victor, who works for GetYourGuide, a travel company that specialises in unique experiences, tells me that its a rare privilege to see the Sagrada Familia without its usual hordes of tourists. Its Spains most popular tourist attraction, and before the pandemic hit, it attracted more than four million visitors annually. Im used to seeing a lot of people [here] all the time, but this is great. Youre very lucky, he says.

Gaudi wanted the interior of the church to resemble a forest, Victor adds. This dreamlike forest comes to life through stone, concrete and tinted glass. Giant sweeping columns flow from floor to ceiling, sculpted to resemble tree trunks. Dappled light filters through the windows, like sunshine seeping through a canopy of leaves. Gaudi thought that the forest would be a nice place for prayer, Victor notes.

Other nods to the natural world make up this surreal space. A hefty oyster shell - a gift from the Government of the Philippines - holds holy water by one entrance. A stout turtle and tortoise guard the churchs Nativity Facade - one facing towards the sea, the other to the mountains.

Im ushered into the sacristy, an area that the public is normally forbidden from entering. The room is filled with furniture and ornaments - twirling candleholders, carved benches - that Gaudi designed specifically for the church.

The exterior is just as incredible as the interior. The church looks like a beautifully iced cake, with encrusted spires stretching into the sky.

Though its a work in progress, its a sight to behold. And with that, I exit the Sagrada Familia - the worlds most beautiful building site.

For more information visit getyourguide.co.uk.
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Christmas in the Yorkshire Dales could end in tragedy on Emmerdale as The Woolpack goes up in flames on Christmas Day.

In recent weeks, Al Chapman (Michael Wildman) has been conniving and plotting to get his hands on the Woolpack as he plans to turn it into luxury flats.

Having succeeded in investing and becoming a partner, he has already inflicted major changes on the team.

Blaze: Christmas in the Yorkshire Dales could end in tragedy on Emmerdale as The Woolpack goes up in flames on Christmas Day

However, the Christmas Day inferno could mean his plans are abut to go up in smoke.

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen how joint owners Chas (Lucy Pargeter) and Marlon Dingle will manage to hold on to their livelihoods.

The Woolpack pub is at the heart of the village of Emmerdale and during its 49 years on screen has had over ten different proprietors.

Loyal fans will remember the pub going up in smoke as far back as 1998, after the late Alan Turners granddaughter Tricia Stokes turned up in the village unannounced and quickly found a job behind the bar.

Fire: In recent weeks, Al Chapman (Michael Wildman) has been conniving and plotting to get his hands on the Woolpack as he plans to turn it into luxury flats

With level-headed long-term landlord Alan on holiday, disaster loomed as hapless Tricia accidentally set fireworks off inside the pub while Terry Woods was professing his love for her.

Despite their best efforts, Tricia and Terry were powerless to prevent the ignited fireworks causing massive damage to the pub interior, which was ultimately renovated by wealthy Alan upon his return.

In 2004 the pub was partially damaged by lightening during a New Year's Eve storm, resulting in Tricia Dingle's untimely death after the roof collapsed on top of her.

History: The Woolpack pub is at the heart of the village of Emmerdale and during its 49 years on screen has had over ten different proprietors

Emmerdale broke new ground in 1993 when it staged a disastrous Christmas plane crash that would kill nine characters, injure many others and leave the village in a state of devastation.

Fire ripped through the village after a plane flying over Britain from Eastern Europe en route to Canada exploded over the Yorkshire dales, killing all 250 passengers.

The scene - impressive for its time - proved to be one of the most memorable in soap history and would lead top the show's fictional village of Beckindale being renamed Emmerdale in honour of local residents the Sugden's, whose Emmerdale farm was destroyed during the catastrophe.

Worry: Producers remain tight lipped over the fate of its current landlord, Marlon Dingle, after he struggled to steer the pub through a serious financial crisis

With all this drama it's unlikely the pub will be out of action for long. It will no doubt rise again from its ashes to do a roaring trade once more but who will be behind its pumps remains to be seen.

Producer Kate Brooks said: 'It's not just the Woolpack that goes up in flames on Christmas Day, as secrets and lies explode, ripping through the lives of some of our much loved villagers and making it a Christmas they'll never forget'.

The explosive Christmas Day episode will air at 7pm for an hour long special on ITV and subsequently on the ITV Hub.
Kristin Davis has vented her anger at the focus on her and her Sex and the City and And Just Like That... co-stars' appearances.

The 56-year-old actress stars as Charlotte York-Goldenblatt in the hit series, two spin-off movies, and revival series, which has just landed on HBO Max.

And, speaking with The Sunday Times newspaper's Style Magazine, Kristin said she was furious over the negative attention she and her castmates - including Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie Bradshaw) and Cynthia Nixon (Miranda Hobbes) - receive online.

'The level of intensity of it was a shock': Kristin Davis has vented her anger at the focus on her and her Sex and the City and And Just Like That... co-stars' appearance

She said: 'Everyone wants to comment, pro or nay or whatever, on our hair and our faces and our this and our that. The level of intensity of it was a shock.

'I feel angry and I don't want to feel angry all the time, so I don't look at it, I just know it's there.'

She added: 'That's the problem with social media, right, is that you don't know what those people are doing. You don't know anything about them. They're just hurling bombs at you. It makes me angry.'

Kristin's comments come after Sarah Jessica, also 56, branded the chatter about her appearance as 'misogynist'.

Back at it: The 56-year-old actress stars as Charlotte York-Goldenblatt in the hit series, two spin-off movies, and revival series, which has just landed on HBO Max

HBO icons: Kristin starred opposite Cynthia Nixon, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kim Cattrall as women navigating the New York dating scene in Sex And The City

The star believes that she and the other female cast members are treated differently to their male counterparts.

She told Vogue: 'There's so much misogynist chatter in response to us that would never. Happen. About. A. Man. Grey hair grey hair grey hair. Does she have grey hair?'

'I'm sitting with Andy Cohen and he has a full head of grey hair, and he's exquisite. Why is it okay for him? I don't know what to tell you people.'

Glam: Davis stunned at the premiere of And Just Like That last week

And Sarah feels particularly frustrated by the critical comments on social media, and thinks she'll always be criticised, irrespective of how she looks.

She added: 'It almost feels as if people don't want us to be perfectly okay with where we are, as if they almost enjoy us being pained by who we are today, whether we choose to age naturally and not look perfect, or whether you do something if that makes you feel better.

'I know what I look like. I have no choice. What am I going to do about it? Stop ageing? Disappear?'
Ada Nicodemou is looking forward to Christmas this year, after COVID-19 restrictions meant she wasn't able to visit family and friends throughout most the year.

The Home and Away actress, 44, told TV Week she will be hosting Christmas at her home.

She said it will be a small family affair spent just with her son Johnas, nine, and her partner Adam Rigby, 51, as well as her mother and brother.

Low key: Ada Nicodemou has revealed that she will be taking a slow approach to the holiday season and spending Christmas at home. Pictured with son Johnas and her partner Adam Rigby

There will be 'a lot of food, kids playing and all of us simply enjoying each other's company', which she says is a lesson she has learned from the impacts of the global pandemic.

'I live in an area, which at one time was deemed an area of concern by the NSW government, so I was somewhat forced into a holiday via lockdown, so I felt quite refreshed [at work] when normally everyone is quite exhausted!'

'But I was fortunate to have some quality time as a family, slow down and reflect. It certainly makes you reassess what's important in life.

Celebrations: There will be 'a lot of food, kids playing and all of us simply enjoying each other's company', which she says is a lesson she has learned from the impacts of the pandemic

Meanwhile, with borders now open, her co-star James Stewart, his nine-year-old daughter Scout and wife Sarah Roberts are getting ready to visit his extended family.

'We'll head down to Melbourne to see Scout's mum [Jessica Marais] and do Christmas there and then head up to the Gold Coast to see my family,' he said.

Earlier this year, Ada praised her boyfriend of four years, businessman Adam, for being such a great stepfather to her son.

Plans to travel: Meanwhile, with borders now open, her co-star James Stewart, (left) his nine-year-old daughter Scout and wife Sarah Roberts (right) are keen to visit his extended family

'We'll head down to Melbourne to see Scout's mum [Jessica Marais] and do Christmas there and then head up to the Gold Coast to see my family,' he said. All pictured

Ada shares custody of Johnas with her ex-husband, Chrys Xipolitas.

Previously talking to TV Week, Ada said that she'd become more outspoken with age and due to the pandemic.

'I'm not sure what it is, but there's something about this year  and maybe my age  where my give-a-s**t radar has gone out the window.

'We've all endured an awful year and I just thought to myself, "I'm just going to say what I want to say." Let's get back to basics and bring empathy and compassion back into our lives.'
They became the eleventh couple to be eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing.

And on Sunday, an emotional Nancy Xu, 30, was seen leaving the studio in the back of a car whilst Rhys Stephenson, 28, put on a somber display.

Children's TV presenter Rhys and his professional partner landed at the bottom of the leaderboard along with Great British Bake Off star John Whaite, 32, and Johannes Radebe, 34.

'It's good to cry, it's good to feel': Strictly's Rhys Stephenson, 28, and Nancy Xu, 30, put on an emotional exit from the studio after getting the axe

Sad to go: An emotional Nancy, was seen leaving the studio in the back of a car after the pair landed at the bottom of the leaderboard in Sunday's semi-finals

Nancy donned her colourful eyeshadow from their performance as she made her solemn way home.

Rhys, looked on as he gazed out of the car window with a downbeat look as his time on the show came to an agonising end.

Rhys and Nancy Xu danced their Samba to It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera) by Michael Buble.

Whilst John and Johannes performed their Jive to Higher Power by Coldplay, in a bid to impress the judges and secure their place in the final.

Overwhelming: After watching their best bits during the programme, Rhys confessed: 'It's good to cry, it's good to feel. Strictly makes you feel things'

Sent home: The TV presenter landed in the bottom two alongside Great British Bake Off star John Whaite and Johannes Radebe

After watching their best bits during the programme, Rhys confessed: 'It's good to cry, it's good to feel. Strictly makes you feel things. You feel so much and sometimes that's overwhelming.'

Speaking to Tess Daly about their time on the show, Rhys added 'I might not have gotten to the final but I learnt so much from just being on this show, from everyone here who's just supported us in this new family.

'To have the time to spend with this champion of a dancer [Nancy] who's put so much into me. Thank you for just letting my energy shine.'

End of the road! Nancy added: 'You've become stronger and stronger every week. And thank you [Rhys] for being an amazing dancer partner.

He added: 'Thank you for being that partner. I should use your actual name which is Xu YouJie. Thank you so much Nancy Xu YouJie, for just being there, being my rock and everything I needed to get through this. Thank you.'

Nancy was then asked if she had any words for Rhys and said: 'First I want to say a massive thank you to everyone in the show for supporting us from the very beginning.

'You've become stronger and stronger every week. And thank you [Rhys] for being an amazing dancer partner. My first year, it has been absolutely epic.'

Thumbs up! Elsewhere, John and Johannes appeared to be in good spirits as they secured their place in the final

Thank God! Johannes, appeared to be pointing to the heavens as he was grateful to remain part of the competition

Elsewhere, John and Johannes appeared to be in good spirits as they secured their place in the final.

The Bake Off star gave a thumbs up to the cameras as he looked relieved to have survived the nerve wracking dance off.

Pro partner Johannes, appeared to be pointing to the heavens as he was grateful to remain part of the competition.

With John and Johannes saved, they will join Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice and AJ Odudu and Kai Widdrington in next week's final.
In the end, John Legend proved he's a man of his word and got a tattoo that was inspired by a drawing by his five-year-old daughter Luna.

Hollywood's go-to tattoo artist Daniel Winter, otherwise known as Winter Stone, tattooed a floral bouquet on the acclaimed musician's right forearm on Sunday.

Earlier this past week, during an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, Legend's wife Chrissy Teigen revealed he had backed out of getting the tattoo after she lived up to a bargain they made and got a butterfly inked on her arm that was also inspired by a drawing by Luna.

Honorable: John Legend, 42, proved he's a man of his word and got a tattoo of a floral bouquet that was inspired by a drawing done by his five-year-old daughter Luna

This all started when little Luna drew the butterfly on her mom and the floral bouquet on her father.

'Luna was drawing on us one night, and she was like, "I love this. This is the best butterfly Ive ever drawn, and I was like, "I agree,"' the cookbook author, 36, recalled during a guest appearance The Elle DeGeneres Show on Tuesday.

'And then she drew a beautiful floral bouquet on John's arm, and he was like, "I'll tattoo mine, if you tattoo yours," and I was like, "Well, I don't wanna say it, but yours looks a lot better than mine,"' Teigen explained, adding, 'But we support the arts in our household, so'

Legend got the body ink done by celebrity go-to tattooist Daniel Winter, otherwise known as Winter Stone, after he had made a deal with his wife Chrissy Teigen

Horsing around: While their dad was getting his tattoo, Luna and her brother Miles, two, were playing around with each other, which was caught on camera by Teigen

Shout out: Teigen made sure to tag @thellenshow when she posted video of the tattoo work, which comes days after she called out her husband on the talk show for not living up to his end of a bargain by getting the body ink

Waisting little time, Teigen called up Winter, the celebrity tattooist, and got her butterfly tattoo but her husband did not.

'Luna drew this butterfly on me today and it seemed fitting to make permanent,' she wrote when she posted a photo on Instagram, adding, 'I wanted @winterstone to move and center it, due to issues I also discuss in therapy, but in the end we decided to leave it right where she belonged. A little imperfect, a little messy, but h**l she's here to stay.

In his own defense, Legend maintained that the days went by and their deal just slipped his mind.

'Honestly, I just forgot all about it and Chrissy's appearance on 'Ellen' reminded me and I called up our tattoo artist that did Chrissys, and I'm going to do mine this weekend,' Legend reveled in an interview on Today on Wednesday.

It would take four days, but the Conversations In The Dark star star did in fact get the floral bouquet in Winter's famous scripted style, and his wife was there to shoot video and post it on Instagram.

Celebrity artist: The couple have gotten previous tattoos from Winter Stone

Done deal: The musician showed off the piece, inspired by Luna's art work

Tribute: Just over a year ago, Legend and Teigen paid tribute to their late son by getting matching tattoos of his name of their late son 'Jack' on their wrists by Winter

Documented: Teigen was on sight to shoot video of her husband living up to his end of a deal they made to get tattoos inspired by art done by their little daughter Luna

Mom's end of bargain: 'Luna drew this butterfly on me today and it seemed fitting to make permanent,' Teigen wrote when she posted a photo of her tattoo on Instagram in June

This isn't the first time the acclaimed musician has gotten some body art.

Just over a year ago, Legend and Teigen paid tribute to their late son by getting matching tattoos of his name 'Jack' on their wrists by Winter in his familiar cursive script style.

The couple were devastated when they lost their baby Jack, who was stillborn after a partial placental abruption at 20 weeks in September 2020.

'JACK @chrissyteigen @johnlegend My heart is with you, sending you all the love!' Winter wrote in a message to the couple on Instagram, along with the hashtags: '#love #jack #tattoo #tattoolove #singleneedle #freehand #script'

Post: Winter would also share his new work on Legend on Instagram in black-and-white

Memorialized: Winter posted the tribute to the couple's late son, 'Jack', on Instagram

Memorialized: The artist also posted a snap of the 'Jack' tattoo he did on Legend

Winter previously gave the pair family-themed tattoos: Teigen's reads, 'John  Luna  Miles,' just above her new 'Jack' script, in a nod to her husband, daughter and two-year-old son Miles. While Legend similarly has a matching tattoos featuring the names, 'Chrissy  Luna  Miles.'

Winter's celebrity clientele also includes the likes of Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Emma Roberts, Joe Jonas, Mandy Moore and her husband, Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith, and Demi Lovato.

'People come to me for fine-line, really meaningful, powerful pieces,' Winter, who describes his aesthetic as 'delicately sharp', revealed during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
Isla Fisher has shared the sweet way she and her comedian husband Sacha Baron Cohen celebrated their 20-year wedding anniversary last week.

Appearing on Monday's Today show, the Australian actress, 45, revealed the couple marked the occasion by visiting a location close to their hearts.

'We went away to a place for the night that is somewhere we had been early on in our relationship, when we first went to California,' Isla divulged.

Milestone: Isla Fisher, 45, (right) has shared the adorable way she and her comedian husband Sacha Baron Cohen, 50, (left) celebrated their 20-year wedding anniversary last week

'So it was just nice to go back there, and it was actually just amazing,' she added.

Reflecting on the sheer length of her marriage, the Back To The Outback star mused: 'You do count the years, but they do all of a sudden get to 20.'

'It's a lot, it's a lot,' she said, jokingly rubbing her forehead in mock exhaustion.

'We went away to a place for the night that is somewhere we had been early on in our relationship': Appearing on Monday's Today show, the Australian actress revealed the couple marked the occasion by visiting a location close to their hearts

'But I'm very grateful,' she added with a laugh.

Isla and UK-born Sacha met at a party in Sydney in 2002 and married eight years later.

The couple are parents to three children, Olive, 12, Elula, eight, and Montgomery, four.

Sentimental: 'So it was just nice to go back there, and it was actually just amazing,' she beamed

Where did the time go? Reflecting on the sheer length of her marriage, the Back To The Outback star mused: 'You do count the years, but they do all of a sudden get to 20'

On Wednesday, Isla shared an Instagram tribute to the Borat star to mark their 20 year anniversary, uploading a series of throwback photos of the couple posing together.

'Happy Anniversary. 20 YEARS,' she began her caption.

'If there ever comes a day when we can't be together keep me in your heart. I'll stay there forever,' she added, quoting Winnie the Pooh.

Tribute: On Wednesday, Isla shared a gushing Instagram tribute to the Borat star to mark their 20 year anniversary, uploading a series of throwback photos of the couple posing together

Last year, Isla told Marie Claire that meeting Sacha was like 'winning the lottery'.

She said their relationship was built on 'a shared sense of humour and a willingness to be married'.

The Confessions of a Shopaholic star, who relocated to America early in her career, also admitted that 'juggling' a family in LA wasn't easy.

'There's not really a culture of bringing your kids to dinner parties or to restaurants past 6pm. I tend to entertain at home because I want to be with my family - it's easier to put your kids to bed and have a wine with friends,' she said.
Martha Kalifatidis has confirmed she is not pregnant after announcing her engagement to boyfriend, Michael Brunelli earlier this month.

The former Married At First Sight star set the record straight on Monday after being quizzed by fans during an Instagram Q&A.

'I'm not pregnant,' she wrote flatly.

Nope! Martha Kalifatidis has confirmed she is not pregnant after announcing her engagement to boyfriend, Michael Brunelli earlier this month

'Can't a gal (over 30) just get proposed to and that's it?!?!'

Martha said she had over 10,000 replies from fans asking about her wedding and her engagement ring.

It comes after a Woman's Day report this week said the pair have been inundated with offers to do a televised wedding.

'I'm not pregnant,' she wrote flatly on Instagram. 'Can't a gal (over 30) just get proposed to and that's it?!?!'

'They were hoping to do a wedding special on a free-to-air channel and they've been overwhelmed by all of the interest,' a source told the magazine.

'There's a bidding war going on to televise what they think will be the wedding of the year.'

Martha and Michael thrilled fans earlier this month when they announced their engagement.

I do... again! According to Woman's Day magazine this week, Martha and Michael are in talks to have a TV special for their wedding with them both having a large following

The couple shared a lengthy post thanking fans for their kind words after making their engagement news public.

They shared a photo of themselves kissing while saying how 'grateful' they were for the messages of support.

The reality TV stars also shared an accompanying video which showed a giddy Martha sharing the engagement news with her 625,000 followers for the first time.

Reality stars: Martha and Michael's Married At First Sight wedding was watched by over a million Aussies back in 2019 - with the pair becoming breakout stars on the show

'To those of you that have followed and supported us. Thank you so much for all your kind comments and messages! It's going to be impossible for us to get back to everyone, but just know we do appreciate it!' Martha and Michael, 30, gushed.

'It's crazy to think we started our relationship on tv and many of you saw the first time we locked eyes on each other. Fast forward three years and so many people are still following our life journey, something we are truly grateful for.'

The pair went on to say their loyal army of followers had stuck with them through the 'hate, rumours, trolls and good times'.
Isla Fisher has admitted she's considered returning to Home and Away, more than 20 years after she left the long-running series.

In an interview with Yahoo! News on Friday, the 45-year-old actress confessed she's thought about making a cameo appearance on the show that launched her career.

'Of course I've thought about it!' she told the publication.

Heading home? Isla Fisher has admitted she's considered returning to Home and Away, more than 20 years after she left the long-running series

'I've thought, "Wouldn't it be hilarious?" But then the reality of it is, obviously, you have to give lots of notice and then it gets written in and then you have to commit.

'But obviously it would be fun just to sort of like, walk by with a surfboard or something at some point.'

Isla appeared on Home and Away as Shannon Reed from 1994 until 1997, before eventually moving to Los Angeles and trying her luck in Hollywood.

Making a comeback: In an interview with Yahoo! News on Friday, the 45-year-old confessed she's thought about making a cameo appearance on the show that launched her career

'I've thought, "Wouldn't it be hilarious?" But then the reality of it is, obviously, you have to give lots of notice and then it gets written in and then you have to commit,' she said

In 2005, she landed a breakout role in Wedding Crashers alongside Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, and has worked steadily in films ever since.

She married fellow actor Sacha Baron Cohen in 2010, and the couple relocated to Australia with their three children from their home in Los Angeles last year.

Despite teasing a return appearance on Home and Away, Isla hasn't always looked back favourably on her time on the soap.

Moving back: She married fellow actor Sacha Baron Cohen (right) in 2010, and the couple relocated to Australia with their three children from their home in Los Angeles last year

'I wouldn't say that I had the greatest experience on Home And Away,' she previously told Stylist magazine.

'I learnt a lot, but I was very exhausted because the hours that they work you are very, very long and you're away from your family and you're expected, after shooting incredibly long days, to work at the weekend doing photoshoots for magazines.

'My abiding memory is just being exhausted and sleeping whenever I could. Learn your lines, shoot all day, go to sleep.'
Late rapper Young Dolph was remembered in a tribute at the Rolling Loud festival Saturday at the Nos Events Center in San Bernardino, California.

Paper Route Woo and Snupe Bandz, who performed on Young Dolph's Paper Route Empire label, joined with Key Glock and O.T. Genasis to take to the stage to pay memorial to the late artist.

Young Dolph had performed at the festival four times in recent years, according to TMZ.

The latest: Late rapper Young Dolph was remembered in a tribute at the Rolling Loud festival Saturday at the Nos Events Center in San Bernardino, California. The rapper was snapped in 2019 in Houston

The rapper, 36, was fatally shot on November 17 in front of the Memphis sweets shop Homemade Butter Cookies; no arrests have been made in connection with the killing.

Following his death, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland issued a statement saying, 'The tragic shooting death of rap artist Young Dolph serves as another reminder of the pain that violent crime brings with it.'

Young Dolph's cousin Mareno Myers subsequently told The Daily Memphian newspaper that the rapper was in Memphis to visit an ailing aunt and hand out turkeys for Thanksgiving.

'He was inside (Makedas), and somebody just rolled up on him and took his life,' Myers said.

O.T. Genasis was seen onstage during the tribute to the late rapper

He wore a black t-shirt that read 'Long live Dolph' during the emotional outing

A Celebration of Life event is slated to be held at the FedExForum in Memphis Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The family of the late rap artist, who was born Adolph Thornton, Jr., said in a statement they will honor his 'life as a rapper, businessman, philanthropist, and family man.

'The service will include performances, words from his family, his Paper Route Empire team, and reminisces from philanthropy recipients Dolph gave to throughout the years.'

Snupe Bandz, who performed on Young Dolph's Paper Route Empire label, was among the group of artists to pay memorial to the rap artist

Fans flashed their phones during the performance in memory of Young Dolph
Emmerdale's Danny Miller was crowned King of the castle in the I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! final.

But on Sunday, viewers have called for the series to return to its original Australian filming location following beliefs that the trials were too easy at Gwrych Castle.

In an exclusive poll conducted by The Sun, fans of the programme said that the producers should seek a new venue, should restrictions prevent next years show from taking place in the jungle.

King of the castle: Fans have called for the series to return to the Australian jungle as the celebrities have enjoyed easy trials at Gwrych Castle

No more Wales! Viewers of the programme said that the producers should seek a new venue, should restrictions prevent next years show from taking place in the jungle

Numbers showed that just under a quarter of people believed that I'm A Celeb should be filmed on location in North Wales next year.

Whilst a huge 41 percent thought that it should take a year off as only eight percent agreed that the show was 'excellent'.

Most fans thought that this year's installment was 'below average', hinting that ITV's producer need to up their game for next year, should the show be unable to film in Australia.

Fine Dining: Numbers showed that just under a quarter of people believed that I'm A Celeb should be filmed on location in North Wales next year

The reason being that they think that the celebrities have had it too easy in Gwrych Castle compare to past seasons Down Under.

A massive 80 percent didn't think that the trials weren't up to scratch and were unimpressed with the challenges thrown at the contestants.

A source said: 'The castle was a worthy venue for a year, but the viewers clearly want Australia or nothing.

'The novelty of a new location was exciting last year, but in 2022 it just has to be Oz again.'

Has to be Oz: A source said: 'The castle was a worthy venue for a year, but the viewers clearly want Australia or nothing

Too easy! A massive 80 percent didn't think that the trials weren't up to scratch and were unimpressed with the challenges thrown at the contestants

Finalists: Although, this years show was beset by disasters from the devastation of Storm Arwen to Richard Madeley's untimely departure fans still believed that it was undemanding

Although, this years show was beset by disasters from the devastation of Storm Arwen to Richard Madeley's untimely departure fans still believed that it was undemanding.

The source added: 'They were well fed, well watered and living in a warm-ish castle. It didnt feel as hard as previous years despite bosses claims it would be.'

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and Australia's subsequent border restrictions, it is unclear when the show will return to Australia.

Previously, showing that they were pining for the jungle, hosts Ant and Dec responded to a fan: 'Bless you. Sorry we cant be there but hope youre enjoying seeing the show in Oz again! D x'

Australia? Showing that they were pining for the jungle, hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly said: 'Bless you. Sorry we cant be there but hope youre enjoying seeing the show in Oz again! D x'

Unclear: The show was beset by disasters - with fans begging for the show to go on hiatus until it can return to Australia (pictured Wales' Gwrych Castle)

The compilation clips which aired on Saturday threw things back to the glory days in Australia with archive footage of the show's funniest and most iconic moments from the last 19 years, with a voiceover from Ant and Dec.

But some viewers at home appeared unimpressed as they claimed the throwback show just highlighted 'how much better it was in Australia' and urged the network to 'scrap' the show until it could return to the jungle.

Stars have been forced to endure freezing 8C cold temperatures and no protection from the elements after bosses shelled out 1 million to secure use of the site when production was forced to be relocated from Australia due to COVID-19 restrictions.

They added that seeing the show at its best in the jungle down under just made them aware of how much this year's show fell short of their expectations.
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The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel star Rachel Brosnahan brought her husband of five years - Jason Ralph - along with her to the 15th Annual CNN Heroes All-Star Tribute in New York on Sunday.

The 31-year-old Emmy winner flaunted substantial cleavage in a black corset top and belted yellow-pleated Palazzo pants seemingly selected by her 'image architect' Law Roach.

Rachel finished off her strapless look with a $445 pair of black-suede Sarah Flint 'Perfect Pumps.'

Date night! The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel star Rachel Brosnahan brought her husband of five years - Jason Ralph - along with her to the 15th Annual CNN Heroes All-Star Tribute in New York on Sunday

It's a look: The 31-year-old Emmy winner flaunted substantial cleavage in a black corset top and belted yellow-pleated Palazzo pants

Hairstylist Owen Gould gave Brosnahan's raven bob a trim and a big boost with Hidden Crown hair extensions for her updo.

And make-up artist Lisa Aharon brought out the Wisconsin-born beauty's baby blues for the function held at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan's Upper West Side neighborhood.

Rachel originally met the 35-year-old I'm Thinking of Ending Things actor on the 2014 set of Jon Goracy's rom-com I'm Obsessed with You.

Jason just so happens to guest star as a mystery character in two episodes of the fourth season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Fancy feet! Rachel finished off her strapless look with a $445 pair of black-suede Sarah Flint 'Perfect Pumps'

Tidy updo: Hairstylist Owen Gould gave Brosnahan's raven bob a trim and a big boost with Hidden Crown hair extensions

Ready for her close-up! Make-up artist Lisa Aharon brought out the Wisconsin-born beauty's baby blues for the function held at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan's Upper West Side neighborhood

Still going strong! Rachel originally met the 35-year-old I'm Thinking of Ending Things actor on the 2014 set of Jon Goracy's rom-com I'm Obsessed with You

It's all who you know! Jason just so happens to guest star as a mystery character in two episodes of the fourth season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

'Make me a headliner!' Brosnahan reprises her role as stand-up comedian Miriam 'Midge' Maisel in the hit show, which premieres February 18 on Amazon Prime Video

Brosnahan reprises her role as stand-up comedian Miriam 'Midge' Maisel in the hit show, which premieres February 18 on Amazon Prime Video.

The I'm Your Woman actress' production company Scrap Paper Pictures was behind season two of the eulogy comedy special Yearly Departed, which premieres December 23 on Amazon Prime Video.

Rachel was at CNN Heroes to present a trophy to Bali restaurateur Made Janur Yasa, who founded the successful non-profit Plastic Exchange during the coronavirus pandemic.

Villagers bring plastic to trade in for rice at monthly community exchange events, and Yasa's organization has fed thousands of families and collected almost 300 tons of plastic for recycling.

Behind-the-scenes gig: The I'm Your Woman actress' production company Scrap Paper Pictures was behind season two of the eulogy comedy special Yearly Departed, which premieres December 23 on Amazon Prime Video

Taking the stage: Rachel was at CNN Heroes to present a trophy to Bali restaurateur Made Janur Yasa (L), who founded the successful non-profit Plastic Exchange during the coronavirus pandemic

Do-gooder: Villagers bring plastic to trade in for rice at monthly community exchange events, and Yasa's organization has fed thousands of families and collected almost 300 tons of plastic for recycling

Also presenting during the two-hour live televised event was Wonder Woman herself, Lynda Carter.

The Human and Divine songstress easily defied her 70 years in a white pantsuit over a black turtleneck and matching boots selected by stylist Ann Caruso.

Lynda (born Linda) was there to present a trophy to Michele Neff Hernandez, whose non-profit Soaring Spirits connects widows and widowers.

You're a wonder! Also presenting during the two-hour live televised event was Wonder Woman herself, Lynda Carter

Suited and booted! The Human and Divine songstress easily defied her 70 years in a white pantsuit over a black turtleneck and matching boots selected by stylist Ann Caruso

Congrats! Lynda (born Linda) was there to present a trophy to Michele Neff Hernandez, whose non-profit Soaring Spirits connects widows and widowers

Carter - who's returning as Amazon warrior Asteria in Wonder Woman 3 - made sure to pose for a snap with Law & Order: Organized Crime/SVU star Christopher Meloni.

The 60-year-old Emmy nominee - who was born in Washington, D.C. - greeted four policemen from the January 6 riot Michael Fanone, Daniel Hodges, Aquilino Gonell, and Harry Dunn.

But Christopher was at CNN Heroes to present an award to Hector Guadalupe, whose non-profit A Second U Foundation helps formerly incarcerated men and women get certified as personal trainers.

Hey you! Carter - who's returning as Amazon warrior Asteria in Wonder Woman 3 - made sure to pose for a snap with Law & Order: Organized Crime/SVU star Christopher Meloni

Thank you for your service: The 60-year-old Emmy nominee - who was born in Washington, D.C. - greeted four policemen from the January 6 riot (from L-R) Michael Fanone, Daniel Hodges, Aquilino Gonell, and Harry Dunn

'#inspiringstory': But Christopher was at CNN Heroes to present an award to Hector Guadalupe, whose non-profit A Second U Foundation helps formerly incarcerated men and women get certified as personal trainers

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper and LIVE with Kelly and Ryan co-host Kelly Ripa teamed up to serve as masters of ceremonies for the night.

The 54-year-old journalist was famously on the 51-year-old former soap star's shortlist of possible permanent co-hosts when Michael Strahan quit LIVE back in 2016.

After all 10 CNN Heroes finalists gathered onstage, Anderson and Kelly announced that the 2021 Hero of the Year (and $100K prize) would go to Shirley Raines.

Online voters selected the Beauty 2 the Streetz founder for her organization's weekly trips to LA's Skid Row to provide food, clothing, and hair/make-up services to thousands of homeless.

Sharing the mic: CNN anchor Anderson Cooper and LIVE with Kelly and Ryan co-host Kelly Ripa teamed up to serve as masters of ceremonies for the night

Glamming up: The 54-year-old journalist (L) was famously on the 51-year-old former soap star's (R) shortlist of possible permanent co-hosts when Michael Strahan quit LIVE back in 2016

Big winner: After all 10 CNN Heroes finalists gathered onstage, Anderson and Kelly announced that the 2021 Hero of the Year (and $100K prize) would go to Shirley Raines (purple sequin suit)

Do gooder: Online voters selected the Beauty 2 the Streetz founder for her organization's weekly trips to LA's Skid Row to provide food, clothing, and hair/make-up services to thousands of homeless

Musical guest: Grammy nominee Aloe Blacc (R) was 'honored to be performing Believe' with accompanist Harold O'Neal (L) 'in tribute to all the 2021 CNN Heroes'

Grammy nominee Aloe Blacc was 'honored to be performing Believe' with accompanist Harold O'Neal 'in tribute to all the 2021 CNN Heroes.'

West Side Story starlet Rachel Zegler dazzled the CNN event in a gold Zuhair Murad gown and black peep-toe heels selected by stylist Sarah Slutsky.

The half-Colombian 20-year-old can currently be seen as Maria Vasquez in Steven Spielberg's remake of the 1957 Broadway musical based on William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet.

Rachel presented a trophy to Colombian native Jenifer Colpas Fernandez - whose company Tierra Grata provides access to clean energy, safe water, and sanitation to people in remote areas.

Ingenue: West Side Story starlet Rachel Zegler dazzled the CNN event in a gold Zuhair Murad gown and black peep-toe heels selected by stylist Sarah Slutsky

Gamine: The half-Colombian 20-year-old can currently be seen as Maria Vasquez in Steven Spielberg's remake of the 1957 Broadway musical based on William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet

Represent: Rachel presented a trophy to Colombian native Jenifer Colpas Fernandez (R) - whose company Tierra Grata provides access to clean energy, safe water, and sanitation to people in remote areas

Four-time Grammy nominee Josh Groban presented the 2021 Young Wonder trophy to seventh grader Chelsea Phaire, whose non-profit Chelsea's Charity provides art supplies and art lessons to children.

Oscar-winning songwriter and Late Show bandleader Jon Batiste presented the other 2021 Young Wonder trophy to 17-year-old Jordan Mittler, who helps senior citizens learn about technology.

Emmy nominee Hugh Dancy presented an award to Lynda Doughty, whose non-profit Marine Mammals of Maine has helped care for over 3K animals with medicine and response efforts.

And Ripa also presented a trophy to David Flink, whose mentoring non-profit Eye to Eye pairs children and young adults with learning differences.

Precocious indeed! Four-time Grammy nominee Josh Groban presented the 2021 Young Wonder trophy to seventh grader Chelsea Phaire, whose non-profit Chelsea's Charity provides art supplies and art lessons to children

Mittler Senior Technology founder: Oscar-winning songwriter and Late Show bandleader Jon Batiste presented the other 2021 Young Wonder trophy to 17-year-old Jordan Mittler, who helps senior citizens learn about technology

Animal lover: Emmy nominee Hugh Dancy presented an award to Lynda Doughty, whose non-profit Marine Mammals of Maine has helped care for over 3K animals with medicine and response efforts

Connecting generations: And Ripa also presented a trophy to David Flink, whose mentoring non-profit Eye to Eye pairs children and young adults with learning differences

Three-time Emmy nominee Niecy Nash showcased her ample charms at CNN Heroes in a blue gown and brought along her affectionate wife of 16 months, R&B singer Jessica Betts.

The 51-year-old Reno 911 star presented the initial 2021 CNN Hero award (and $10K prize) to Shirley Raines, who wound up winning the night's biggest honor.

And as Chris Cuomo is out and Chris Wallace is in at CNN, other mainstays on the network at the ceremony were Don Lemon Tonight host Don Lemon and CNN Newsroom co-host Victor Blackwell.

Also representing Cable News Network at the bash were CNN Newsroom co-host Alisyn Camerota and primary substitute anchor/correspondent Erica Hill.

The girls are out! Three-time Emmy nominee Niecy Nash showcased her ample charms at CNN Heroes in a blue gown and brought along her affectionate wife of 16 months, R&B singer Jessica Betts

Onstage appearance: The 51-year-old Reno 911 star (L) presented the initial 2021 CNN Hero award (and $10K prize) to Shirley Raines, who wound up winning the night's biggest honor

Gents: And as Chris Cuomo is out and Chris Wallace is in at CNN, other mainstays on the network at the ceremony were Don Lemon Tonight host Don Lemon (L) and CNN Newsroom co-host Victor Blackwell (R)
She has been focusing on her health and fitness of late and is often spotted going for a run or a swim at Coogee Beach.

And Jessica Marais looked as fit as a fiddle as she sprinted into the water at her favourite exercise spot on Sunday.

The Packed to the Rafters actress, 36, showed off her muscular legs in a high-cut rainbow swimsuit.

Fit as a fiddle! Jessica Marais, 36, looked super fit in a high-cut rainbow swimsuit as she exercised at Coogee Beach on Sunday

The one piece also drew attention to her toned back thanks to its racerback cut.

Jessica's tattoos were also on show in the swimwear - including an 'again' tattoo and flower designs on her thigh.

The TV star tied her curly locks in a plait with a scrunchie for her swim and went makeup free for the exercise session.

Super toned: The Packed To The Rafters shows off her muscular legs as she sprinted down the sand and into the ocean

Sporty: The one piece also drew attention to her toned back thanks to its racerback cut

Jessica looked happy and healthy as she chatted to a girlfriend on the sand before slipping on a T-shirt.

She appeared content after pulling out of the Packed to the Rafters reboot for mental health reasons last year.

Earlier this year, Jessica's former co-star Angus McLaren said Jessica is 'doing well'.

'Jessica is doing well... it was good to see her in Sydney,' the Melbourne-based actor told Daily Mail Australia.

On show: Jessica's tattoos were also on show in the swimwear - including her 'again' tattoo and flower designs on her thigh

Jessica was initially set to reprise her role of Rachel Rafter, after previously starring on the beloved Channel Seven drama from 2008 until 2013.

While she wasn't technically on set, Angus, 32, said she was a stone's throw away from him during filming.

'Yeah we definitely missed her on set, but the good thing about Jess is she lived quite close to me when I was in Sydney. So I actually got to see her, I really have a lot of love for Jess,' he added.

'It would've been great to work with her, she's certainly one of those people who brings a good vibe to the set.'

Jessica is best known for her roles on Packed to the Rafters and Love Child.

Happy: Jessica looked happy and healthy as she chatted to a girlfriend on the sand before slipping on a T-shirt
He is an Oscar-winning actor with a career which has spanned nearly three decades.

But Matthew McConaughey's most fulfilling role seems to be one as a doting dad.

The 52-year-old actor was not only joined by his stunning wife Camila Alves on Sunday at the premiere of his new film Sing 2 in Los Angeles at the Greek Theatre but the two also had the support of their three children together.

The power couple's brood - consisting of 13-year-old son Levi, 11-year-old daughter Vida, and eight-year-old son Livingston - posed up with their parents on the red carpet for a very sweet snap.

The latest: Matthew McConaughey, 52, and wife Camila Alves, 39, radiated Hollywood glamour on Sunday at the premiere of his new film Sing 2 in Los Angeles at the Greek Theatre

Bonding time: The power couple's brood - consisting of 13-year-old son Levi, 11-year-old daughter Vida, and eight-year-old son Livingston - posed up with their parents on the red carpet for a very sweet snap

Matthew had his hair slicked back as he donned a clay brown three-piece suit over a black button-up top with black shoes at the screening.

Alves, 39, looked stunning in a beige gown with a cross-over halterneck and ruffled tiers.

She had her dark locks parted and slicked back into a ponytail, and wore dangling earrings at the luxe event.

The Texas native provides the voice of Buster Moon in the animated film, which has a star-studded cast including Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Letitia Wright, Taron Egerton, Halsey and Bono.

The actor had his hair slicked back as he donned a clay brown three-piece suit over a black button-up top with black shoes at the screening

Dapper: He looked as dashing as ever

Alves looked longingly at her spouse at the premiere of the animated motion picture

Alves looked stunning in a beige gown with a cross-over halterneck and ruffled tiers

She had her dark locks parted and slicked back into a ponytail, and wore dangling earrings at the luxe event

The Hollywood couple has been married for more than nine years and share three kids

The A-lister earlier this month spoke about the dynamics of his marriage earlier this month while chatting with Australia's Today Extra.

'Don't make a straight line crooked,' said the actor, who won an Oscar for Best Actor in 2014 for Dallas Buyers Club. 'If things are going well, keep catching green lights. If they're not, deal with them soon so they don't bubble up and get you later.'

McConaughey and Alves have been married for more than nine years.

McConaughey posed with The Edge and Bono at the screening

The Texas native provides the voice of Buster Moon in the animated film, posed with costar Reese Witherspoon

McConaughey made headlines last month when he announced that he was not going to enter the Texas gubernatorial race after months of speculation he was going to run

Christmas Eve will mark the 10-year anniversary of McConaughey's proposal to Alves, as the pair eventually wed June 9, 2012 at their home in Austin, Texas.

McConaughey made headlines last month when he announced that he was not going to enter the Texas gubernatorial race after months of speculation he was going to run.

'As a simple kid born in the little town of Uvalde, Texas, it never occurred to me that I would one day be considered for political leadership,' he said in a November 28 clip. 'It is a humbling and inspiring path to ponder. It is also a path that I'm choosing not to take at this moment.'

Alright: Matthew was seen out and about in New York City on Tuesday morning

Going green: He looked stylish in a green coat over a patterned polo
Osher Gunsberg has spoken about the future of The Bachelor franchise during a candid interview with Yahoo! Lifestyle on Monday.

The 47-year-old TV host said he's 'so grateful' to be involved in the franchise, despite the fact both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette experienced record low ratings this year.

Speaking about The Bachelorette, Osher said he was proud of the latest season after they cast Brooke Blurton, the franchise's first Indigenous and bisexual star.

Looking to the future: Osher Gunsberg has spoken about the future of The Bachelor franchise during a candid interview with Yahoo! Lifestyle on Monday

He added: 'It was easily the greatest season of the show we've ever made.'

The veteran TV star added that 'a non-heteronormative Bachelorette' had been in the making for five years before it finally went ahead, explaining there are 'so many cogs that need to align'.

Osher said he hopes the franchise will continue to focus on 'modern dating' in future seasons, adding 'you can't be what you can't see'.

Thankful: The 47-year-old TV host said he's 'so grateful' to be involved in the franchise, despite the fact both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette experienced record low ratings this year

'There are so many challenges to dating now that didn't exist five years ago, and there were so many challenges that didn't exist five years ago before that,' he explained.

'As far as using your phone, pressure to have a video call, pressure to send a picture or use pictures or the visual medium or meeting for the first time using text versus actually speaking to each other and hearing someone's tone of voice.

'This is how people meet and interact before they see each other now, so having modern dating reflected onscreen in some way that can work in primetime TV, I think would be brilliant. For me, I think that's what I'd really like to see.'

Groundbreaking: Speaking about The Bachelorette, Osher said he was proud of the latest season after they cast Brooke Blurton (pictured with Darvid Garayeli), the franchise's first Indigenous and bisexual star

Network 10 announced that both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette would be returning next year during the channel's Upfronts in October.

'Get set for more love stories, more luxurious dates, and more whispering when we return with The Bachelor and The Bachelorette Australia in 2022,' Osher said at the time.

'We redefined dating shows with The Bachelorette Australia this year, and it's set to be even better next season as we head to a major moment for this landmark franchise.

Progressive: Osher said he hopes the franchise will continue to focus on 'modern dating' in future seasons, adding 'you can't be what you can't see'

'Ten seasons of any show is a major milestone, and as we hit that landmark with The Bachelor Australia, I'm just so excited to be a part of telling Australia's favourite love story in a new and exciting way.'

This year's premiere episode of The Bachelor garnered only 482,000 viewers, compared to last year's premiere, which drew 681,000 viewers.

Meanwhile, this year's finale with Jimmy Nicholson brought in 629,000 viewers, while 879,000 viewers tuned in last year for Locky Gilbert's season.

Down: This year's premiere episode of The Bachelor garnered only 482,000 viewers, compared to last year's premiere, which drew 681,000 viewers. Pictured, Jimmy Nicholson

According to a report by Mumbrella last month, this year's Bachelorette finale brought in the smallest audience since the show's inception in Australia.

It attracted 439,000 metro viewers for the final 15 minutes and 361,000 metro viewers in the lead-up, making it the least watched Bachelorette Australia finale.

Last year's finale with sisters Elly and Becky Miles attracted 573,000 metro viewers, while Angie Kent's season in 2019 brought in 992,000 metro viewers.
Deborah Hutton's stunning Bronte home in Sydney was passed in at auction on Saturday after bidding reached $9.7million.

The TV presenter and home renovation guru, 59, appeared downcast as she engaged in what looked to be a tense phone call while outside the property.

Also pictured at auction was Deborah's boyfriend, meditation guru Andrew Marsh, with the couple looking to find 'a family home' in the northern beaches area, Wollongong or somewhere 'an hour and a bit' away from Sydney.

Passed in: Deborah Hutton (pictured), 59, looked downcast as her stunning Bronte home in Sydney was passed in at auction on Saturday after bidding reached $9.7million. The TV presenter is preparing to find a new 'family home' with boyfriend Andrew Marsh

Deborah covered up her svelte figure in a blue and tan striped long-sleeved top, which she teamed with blue jeans and white sneakers.

She added a chic grey scarf and trendy reflective sunglasses to the look.

Her caramel locks were styled loosely around her shoulders, and she appeared to have worn minimal makeup, showing off her natural beauty.

Effortlessly chic: The home renovation guru covered up her svelte figure in a blue and tan long-sleeved top and blue jeans. She added a chic grey scarf, white sneakers and trendy reflective sunglasses to the look

Tense: Deborah appeared downcast as she engaged in what looked to be a tense phone call while outside the property

Feeling the pressure? At one stage, the media personality was seen running her hands through her hair. Pictured with boyfriend Andrew

Deborah looked tense as her stunning property was passed in at auction after bidding reached $9.7million. The abode had a price guide of a whopping $10million.

The star's boyfriend Andrew was on hand to offer support, and cut a casual figure in a blue T-shirt, grey jeans and black sneakers.

At one stage, he was seen wheeling a large black suitcase across the street.

Low-key: Andrew cut a casual figure at auction, donning a blue T-shirt, grey jeans and black sneakers

Luggage: At one stage, he was seen wheeling a large black suitcase across the street

Going strong: Deborah confirmed her relationship with Andrew in September. There has been chatter about the pair since they met in 2019, but she finally broke her silence on the meditation guru in Stellar Magazine

Deborah's sprawling Hamptons-style pad features enviable sweeping ocean views, a wine cellar and a gorgeous fireplace.

It also has an eye-catching beamed ceiling in the main living and dining area, a quant backyard, a gourmet kitchen and a walk-in wardrobe in one of the bedrooms.

The property spans across two levels and contains three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a one-car garage.

Wow! The sprawling property had a price guide of a whopping $10million

Moving on: Last month, Deborah told The Daily Telegraph that she's moving to a 'family home' which she hasn't yet selected, but will likely be in the northern beaches area, Wollongong or somewhere 'an hour and a bit' away from Sydney

Loved-up: 'My future is not me being solo', she told the publication, referring to her romance with boyfriend, meditation guru Andrew

And for those working from home, the abode has a cute light-filled study.

Residents will also wake up with a view of the beach from their bedroom.

Last month, Deborah told The Daily Telegraph that she's moving to a 'family home' which she hasn't yet selected, but will likely be in the northern beaches area, Wollongong or somewhere 'an hour and a bit' away from Sydney.

A new chapter: 'So that's why it's exciting for me to move on and plan more of a family home, you know - and no, I'm not pregnant,' she added

Auction day: What looked to be prospective buyers and real estate agents made their way to the property

'My future is not me being solo', she told the publication, referring to her romance with boyfriend, meditation guru Andrew.

'So that's why it's exciting for me to move on and plan more of a family home, you know - and no, I'm not pregnant,' she added.

Deborah confirmed her relationship with Andrew in September.

Incredible: Deborah's sprawling Hamptons-style pad features enviable sweeping ocean views, a wine cellar and a gorgeous fireplace

Plenty of room to move: The property spans across two levels and contains three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a one-car garage

There has been chatter about the pair since they met in 2019, but she finally broke her silence on the meditation guru in Stellar Magazine.

'It's something that's really lovely in my life,' she told the publication.

Deborah has been very private about the pair's relationship, and told Stellar she shares it only with Andrew and 'very close friends'.

It's unclear how long the pair, who previously said they were just good friends, have been in a romantic relationship.

Not too shabby: The home has an eye-catching beamed ceiling in the main living and dining area, a quant backyard, a gourmet kitchen and a walk-in wardrobe in one of the bedrooms

Romance: Andrew made his name as a wellness and meditation guru and grew especially close to Deborah during a trip to India in 2019. Pictured together

Andrew made his name as a wellness and meditation guru and grew especially close to Deborah during a trip to India in 2019.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the pair grew so tight Andrew told others on the trip he believed he and Deborah must have been together in a 'past life'.

Deborah is one of Australia's leading media personalities.

She began her career as a model before going on to host shows including Looking Good on Channel Nine.
On Sunday morning, new mother Devon Windsor posted a rant about 'real' postpartum life including the 'pressure to be perfect,' being 'tired all the time,' and 'not fitting into anything.'

'Agents asking when you want to go back to work and not fitting into your old clothes but just like feeling that pressure to be perfect,' the 27-year-old IMG Model vented on TikTok.

'And I have to say, I'm so lucky that my body is just like doing its' thing. I eat what I want. I work out if I feel like it. If not, whatever.

'Postpartum but make it real': On Sunday morning, new mother Devon Windsor posted a rant about 'real' postpartum life including the 'pressure to be perfect,' being 'tired all the time,' and 'not fitting into anything'

'And thank god I'm just like naturally quite tall and like whatever. My body's doing its' thing. I'm young, whatever, but I still feel like I'm doing something wrong all the time.'

Devon - a former Victoria's Secret Angel - couldn't help herself from expressing her frustrations even though she felt like she's 'not allowed to complain.'

During an Instagram Q&A that same day, Windsor claimed that she used to get 'bump shamed' about having a small bump.

'This was something that society definitely puts pressure on women about. For me personally, I was so excited to get my bump. I was actually bump shamed about having a small bump LOL!' the 5ft11in blonde wrote.

The 27-year-old IMG Model vented on TikTok: 'Agents asking when you want to go back to work and not fitting into your old clothes but just like feeling that pressure to be perfect...Thank god I'm just like naturally quite tall and like whatever. My body's doing its' thing. I'm young, whatever, but I still feel like I'm doing something wrong all the time'

Former Victoria's Secret Angel: Devon couldn't help herself from expressing her frustrations even though she felt like she's 'not allowed to complain'

Her largest bump pic: During an Instagram Q&A that same day, Windsor claimed that she used to get 'bump shamed' about having a small bump

The 5ft11in blonde wrote: 'For me personally, I was so excited to get my bump. I was actually bump shamed about having a small bump LOL! No matter how you slice and dice it someone will always feel the need to comment LOL'

'Can I have my pre-pregnancy nips back?' Devon - who boasts 5.2M social media followers - seems to never put her phone down as she also posted a TikTok on Sunday evening of herself joking about her 'pepperoni nips' after nursing

'No matter how you slice and dice it someone will always feel the need to comment LOL. I think trust that this is a natural part of pregnancy. For me personally, I didn't even look at the scale or care [to]. As long as me and baby were healthy. That's all that matters. Also know that this is temporary and won't last forever.'

Devon - who boasts 5.2M social media followers - seems to never put her phone down as she also posted a TikTok on Sunday evening of herself joking about her 'pepperoni nips' after nursing.

Windsor and her husband of two years - Johnny Dexter Barbara - are obviously besotted over their first child, three-month-old daughter Enzo Elodie.

Sunday family portrait: Windsor and her husband of two years - Johnny Dexter Barbara - are obviously besotted over their first child, three-month-old daughter Enzo Elodie

Weighs 14lbs! The St. Louis-born swimwear designer and her Cuban beau plan on eventually having at least three children

'Easy like Sunday morning!' Newlywed Paris Hilton - who's gone through the IVF egg extraction process - commented on Devon's post with a heart-eye emoji

The St. Louis-born swimwear designer and her Cuban beau plan on eventually having at least three children.

Devon keeps busy running her eponymous brand, which she originally launched in August 2019.

Johnny works as the CEO and art director for her company as well as his sister Alexis Barbara Isaias's clothing company.

Snapped back fast: Devon (pictured Thursday) keeps busy running her eponymous brand, which she originally launched in August 2019
Her older sister is a global superstar.

Yet Rina Lipa has been paving her way for a successful modelling and acting career of her own - and could be set to give her 26-year-old sister a run for her money.

The brunette beauty, 20, has been deservedly hailed as an It Girl after working with top fashion brands - and Italian luxury house Prada is even keen to snatch her up.

'I worshipped her!': Dua Lipa's 'It Girl' sister Rina detailed their close bond as she paves her way for a modelling and acting career

She shares a close bond with her One Kiss songstress sister and Rina admitted she 'worshipped' her in a new interview with Tatler.

In full, she said: 'I worshipped her. Id try to dress like her, Id steal her clothes. When I wore them, Id feel older. Its still like that, I go through her closet and say, "Mmm, you havent worn that for a while. Shes like Oh God, bring that back!"'

The rising star's circle of friends include supermodel sisters Bella and Gigi Hadid, which has lead to comparisons between the Lipas and prominent showbiz clan the Kardashians.

Close: Rina, 20, could be set to give her 26-year-old sister a run for her money as she was hailed an It Girl after working with top fashion brands

Back in February, Rina, who describes her outfits as 'extra', made her runway debut at Milan Fashion Week for Italian streetwear fashion line GDCS.

And while Dua is highly accoladed for her chart-topping abilities, it's acting that Rina is keen to embark on and she has just bagged a role in an upcoming horror movie directed by Italian filmmaker Gianluigi Carella.

Despite her blossoming and glamorous career, Rina remains grounded and spent lockdown at her parents' home in Kilburn, north London, with her 'best friend' Dua.

Way back when: While Dua is highly accoladed for her chart-topping abilities, it's acting that Rina is keen to embark on and she has just bagged a role in an upcoming horror movie directed by Italian filmmaker Gianluigi Carella

History: The girls were born to Kosovar-Albanian parents and spent their early years in the UK after the family fled conflict and political instability in the Balkans

The girls were born to Kosovar-Albanian parents and spent their early years in the UK after the family fled conflict and political instability in the Balkans.

Their father Dukagjin was training to be a dentist and their mother Anesa a lawyer, yet their professions were given up to find somewhere safer to raise their children.

After briefly settling in North London, where Dukagjin and Anesa had worked waiting tables to earn money, the family moved back to Pristina in Kosovo when Rina was six. Their father had been studying business alongside working and was offered a job as a marketing manager.

Three years later Dua, at the age of 15, felt ready to pursue her music career and asked her parents if she could go to London to do so.

'She was young, but she was mature, she was ready. My parents didnt let her go easily  it was all done in a very controlled way. She had to get back at certain times and she lived with a family friend.

'But it was hard. I missed her. She worked very, very hard. I really looked up to her for that and I do to this day,' Rina recalled.
John Whaite has hit out at cruel trolls who criticised him and his Strictly Come Dancing professional partner Johannes Radebe for reaching the final of the show.

The GBBO winner, 32, and Johannes, 34, who made show history as the first all-male pairing, will compete for the glitterball on Saturday's final alongside Rose Ayling Ellis and Giovanni Pernice and AJ Odudu and Kai Widdringham.

But John was targeted by critics who claimed he should not have got so far in the competition, prompting him to declare the 'vicious' bullies a 'dying breed'.

Unimpressed: John Whaite, 32, has hit out at cruel trolls who criticised him and his Strictly Come Dancing professional partner Johannes Radebe, 34, for reaching the final of the show

Speaking out: John was targeted by critics who claimed he should not have got so far in the competition, prompting him to declare the 'vicious' bullies a 'dying breed'

Taking to Instagram on Sunday night, the television star wrote: 'Woke, Fixed, Box-ticking, Agenda, Bias, Proving a point, Not natural, Wont be watching the final."

'You vicious, empty people are a dying breed. Youll be left behind as the world becomes kinder, more empathic, more loving, more tolerant, more understanding.

'The only grievance you should feel is your own failure to evolve.'

Love wins: John was sent messages of support on f his post, with one person writing: 'Always remember you are amazing and there are thousands of people who love you'

John was flooded with messages of support in the comments section of his post, with one person writing: 'Always remember you are amazing and there are thousands of people who love you...love you both...and you know what...Love always wins!!'

Another follower wrote: 'NOONE CAN DIM YOUR LIGHT. You are loved. Fact.'

'Take both your fingers and stick them in your ears and keep your eyes on the prize baby,' posted another follower.

Sent home: Rhys Stephenson, 28, landed in the bottom two alongside John and Johannes on Sunday night

While someone else posted: 'That my little boy gets to watch you dance each week without ever even questioning 2 men dancing together shows how far weve come - he absolutely loves you both.'

Rhys became the eleventh celebrity eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing as the presenter and his dance partner Nancy were sent home on Sunday.

The TV presenter was forced to perform in the dance off after landing in the bottom two alongside John and Johannes.

End of the road: The TV presenter became the eleventh celebrity eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing as he and his dance partner Nancy Xu were sent home

Both couples performed their chosen routines again with Rhys and Nancy Xu dancing their Samba to It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera) by Michael Buble.

Then, John and Johannes performed their Jive to Higher Power by Coldplay, in a bid to impress the judges and secure their place in the final.

The judges all chose to save John and Johannes, meaning the pair sailed through to the final.

With John and Johannes saved, they will join Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice and AJ Odudu and Kai Widdrington to compete as the series draws to a close this weekend.
Kim Kardashian continued to be her own best advert on Saturday as she modelled an array of shapewear from her Fendi x SKIMS collection.

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star, 41, looked sensational as she posed in two looks from the line.

For her first look, the mother-of-four wowed in a purple two-piece that put her famous figure on full display.

Wow: Kim Kardashian showed off her toned abs and ample cleavage in lingerie as she modelled her Fendi x SKIMS line for a SKIMS Instagram post on Saturday

Kim's toned abs and ample cleavage were highlighted in a lilac bralet and matching briefs that complemented her tanned complexion.

The reality starlet also wowed in a coral bodysuit that aided in cinching in her slender waist even further.

Wearing her raven locks in loose waves and sporting a full face of makeup, Kim exuded glamour in the sultry snaps.

All eyes on her: The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star, 41, looked sensational as she posed in two looks from the line

Kim also heated up her SKIMS Instagram page last Tuesday by sharing several new images of herself.



In the three images Kim showed off her chest as well as her toned tummy.

The caption read: '@KimKardashian wears the #FENDIxSKIMS Scoop Bralette, part of the final release of best-selling styles from Drop 1 coming on Friday December 10 at 9AM PT / 12PM ET at www.fendiskims.com (US only).'

The post came just after her boyfriend Pete Davidson of Saturday Night Live posed in Calvin Klein underwear with his pal Machine Gun Kelly.

Gorgeous: The reality starlet also wowed in a coral bodysuit that aided in cinching in her slender waist even further

Last week, the reality TV star took to Instagram to make the announcement to her 267million followers that there was more Fendi x SKIMS.

The second release will kick off on December 10 just in time for Christmas shopping.

'COMING DECEMBER 10: FENDI x SKIMS Drop 2,' the girlfriend of SNL star Pete Davidson began her caption.

'A special, second release of best-selling styles from Drop 1: the logo printed bodysuits and underwear.'

She then ended with: 'This is the final chance to own a piece of the groundbreaking collaboration between @Fendi and @SKIMS. Drops Friday December 10 at 9AM PT at www.fendiskims.com.'

Hot in December: Kim heated up her SKIMS Instagram page last Tuesday by sharing several new images of herself

Kim was praised for her first drop of Fendi x SKIMS. The line reportedly made $1 million within 60 seconds of going live, which also caused it to sell out.

TMZ reported that the Keeping Up with the Kardashians' star's shapewear hit seven figures in record time on November 9.

Among the sell-out items was the brown leather gown the businesswoman wore and suffered a 'little fashion emergency' in at the WSJ Innovator Awards, which is the most expensive item costing $4,200.

At the other end of the price range, the $100 hosiery bra in all shades shot off the shelf.

A model at heart: The reality star looked sultry in a lavender bra and panty set from her super successful Fendi X SKIMS line

She was named WSJ. Magazine's 2021 Brand Innovator at the awards ceremony at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and fortunately Fendi's Kim Jones was on hand to assist Kim when her Fendi x SKIMS brown leather gown became unzipped, revealing her nude shapewear.

The mother-of-four - who has North, eight, Saint, five, Chicago, three, and Psalm, two, with 44-year-old rap legend Kanye West - quipped: 'Thank you to Kim Jones because I just had a little fashion emergency.

'Thank god I had SKIMS on, or this would have been a very different kind of show tonight.'

She was honoured for the success of her shapewear brand - which launched a collection with luxury fashion house Fendi on November 9.

She said on stage collecting the prize: 'Fifteen years ago when I was starting my career I could have never dreamed that I would have been getting an innovator award for brands.

'Back in the day, I would have been the face of any brand if they would have asked me.'

Tanned and toned: In the three images Kim showed off her chest as well as her toned tummy as she seems to have on only light nude makeup

The law student also admitted that she felt like a fraud promoting weight loss pills while wearing shapewear in the past.

She confessed: 'I did cupcakes to weight loss pills all at the same time. I'm just so grateful that I have my own brand now. I would do all of that and then wear shapewear on top. It was all contradictory. I've always liked to come up with solutions and I'm just really thankful.'

Meanwhile, Kim recently revealed that her estranged husband has a hand in her businesses. The KKW Beauty and KKW Fragrance founder told WSJ. Magazine: 'He has a piece of Skims himself and gives [the team] inspiration but also information.'

Kim - who recently joked that she split from the Stronger hitmaker because of his personality while hosting Saturday Night Live - declared: 'Kanye will always be the most inspirational person to me.'

Meanwhile, Pete and MGK sent fans into a tizzy as they stripped down to Calvin Klein underwear during an Instagram Live on Monday evening.

The bad boy BFFs did a takeover on the brand's official page where they humorously talked about each other's 'goods' in excess while wearing white briefs.

Prior to the wild nearly 8-minute live (which occurred at 8PM ET), they had teased something was brewing after Pete  who has no social media  hijacked Calvin Klein's Instagram page and exchanged a few words with MGK.

Chilling: The post came just after Kim's boyfriend Pete Davidson of Saturday Night Live posed in Calvin Klein underwear with his pal Machine Gun Kelly (left)

Filmed in what the SNL comedian, 28, called a 'porno house,' the best friend duo sat fully clothed on a white couch with popcorn on the table before stripping down.

The duo conversed about their poses as they attempted to step into the role of 'underwear models'  with each showing the other what they had in mind while laying on the couch.

Pete  who has been dating Kim Kardashian  dropped his pants first and despite being known for his so-called 'BDE' self-deprecatingly joked about his manhood.

He spoke about 'fluffing the boys' and 'stuffing a banana' in his pants before continuing to say that he was not 'a grower or a shower' and was 'the same soft and hard.'

The locker room talk continued with the Bloody Valentine crooner, 31, who is romantically involved with Megan Fox.

He spoke of how he should have added 'two socks' into his underwear prior to the live and additionally spoke about the possibility of Pete pouring milk on him for their shoot.
Her Instagram bio reads 'Texas born and raised'.

And Maya Henry treated her 1million Instagram followers with a peek into her hometown antics on Sunday as she was joined by beau Liam Payne in the US' second largest state.

The model, 21, chose a playful pouting selfie as the cover image for her album, where she sported large shades and a red-and-white cap, two tousled braids falling past her shoulders.

Happy times: Maya Henry gave fans a peek into her hometown antics on Sunday with a slew of candid snaps as beau Liam Payne joined her in Texas

One particular snap that caused fans to rush to the comment section was a radiant Maya cosying up to her One Direction beau Liam.

The lovebirds, snapped in front of a lit-up tree, grinned like Cheshire cats as they wrapped their arms around one another.

The fan-favourite couple received a plethora of comments which ranged from 'cuties' to 'BEST COUPLE EVER.'

Lovebirds: One particular snap that caused fans to rush to the comment section was a radiant Maya cosying up to her One Direction beau Liam

Reaction: The fan-favourite couple received a plethora of comments which ranged from 'cuties' to 'BEST COUPLE EVER'

The catwalk sensation even roped her brother Thomas in for photo during her time in Texas.

Their parents are Thomas J and Azteca Henry, who are renowned for hosting lavish parties.

The couple have also starred in the reality YouTube series Hangin' with Los Henrys alongside Maya and Thomas.

Sibling love: The catwalk sensation even roped her brother Thomas in for photo during her time in Texas

Dog mum: Maya also ensured that her beloved pet Winston was included in the album photographs and in one shot, the pooch even kicked its paws up on a table as he sat on her lap

Maya also ensured that her beloved dog Winston was included in the album photographs and in one shot, the pooch even kicked its paws up on a table as he sat on her lap.

The last image showed cattle roaming in a field as dusk approached and Maya successfully caught the stunning scenery.

Television personality Vas J Morgan quipped: 'There's alot of animals in Texas lol.'
She's often spotted wearing eye-catching outfits as she leaves the Heart FM studios in London after hosting the breakfast show.

And Amanda Holden, 50, showcased her stand-out style as she got into the festive spirit ahead of Christmas on Monday, wearing a glitzy outfit which channelled The Big Purple Quality Street.

The actress put on a leggy display as she wore a sequinned skirt with a thigh-high split by Zara, teaming the garment with a turtle neck jumper in a different shade of the same colour.

Glitterati: Amanda Holden, 50, showcased her stand-out style as she got into the festive spirit while leaving Heart Radio on Monday, wearing a purple sequinned thigh split skirt

She could be seen wearing an on-trend coat over her shoulders as she made her way through the streets of Leicester Square.

The Britain's Got Talent judge added a few inches to her stature, opting for a pair of lavender-coloured heels.

Amanda could be seen clutching a navy blue purse in her hand while she completed her look by wearing a pair of dark sunglasses.

In style: The actress put on a leggy display as she teamed her skirt with a turtle neck jumper while out in London

Fashion forward: She could be seen wearing an on-trend coat over her shoulders as she made her way through the streets of Leicester Square

Inspiration? Amanda's ensemble reminded one of a Quality Street

Taking to Instagram, Amanda herself compared her look to a purple Quality Street, adding a graphic of the chocolate to her post.

She could be seen playfully kicking her leg in the air as she posed up a storm in the Global Radio offices.

Amanda's outing came after she took to social media to share a gushing tribute to her 'fit' husband Chris Hughes as they celebrated 20 years together on Sunday.

Festive spirit: Taking to Instagram, Amanda herself compared her look to a purple Quality Street, adding a graphic of the chocolate to her post

Loved-up: Amanda's outing came after she took to social media to share a gushing tribute to her 'fit' husband Chris Hughes as they celebrated 20 years together on Sunday

The star posted a series of cute images of the loved-up pair as she shared a heartfelt message to her 1.8M followers.

She couldn't resist going in for a kiss as she posted the adorable selfie, captioning the image: 'Happy anniversary darling 20 together 13 married.'

Amanda beamed as she shared a series of cute snaps of them both enjoying an afternoon together.

Happy Days: Amanda Holden, 50, shared a gushing tribute to her 'fit' husband Chris Hughes as they celebrated their union

Cute Couple: Amanda couldn't resist sharing snaps of the loved pair on her Instagram page with her 1.8million followers

The television personality recently revealed the secret to her long lasting relationship with her record producer partner.

Speaking on her Heart FM radio show with co presenter Jamie Theakston she said that she and Chris often get frisky in the shower.

Amanda said: 'When I get in, I might go, oh yes here it comes, but then I think I turn around.'

Co-host Jamie Theakston clarified: 'So, you're facing towards the shower to begin with?' Amanda then responded: 'But only for sexlike'

Jamie laughed: 'That's another discussion for another day!'
Abbie Cornish dressed to impress as she attended The Tender Bar premiere, at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday.

The Australian actress, 39, looked glamorous in a figure-hugging floral-printed dress that showed off her figure.

The Sucker Punch star teamed the frock with a black belt and matching coloured stilettos.

Glamorous: Actress Abbie Cornish cut a stylish figure in a figure-hugging floral dress as she attended The Tender Bar premiere in Hollywood on Sunday

Abbie tied her brunette locks in a low bun and opted for a neutral palette of makeup consisting of dewy foundation.

The beauty added lashings of mascara and a plum lipstick in a cream formula.

The stunner was all smiles as she posed on the red carpet after arriving to the event.

Final touches: The Sucker Punch actress teamed the frock with a black belt and matching coloured stilettos

Abbie's outing comes after she attended the 35th Annual American Cinematheque Awards in Beverly Hills last month.

Raised on a farm at Lochinvar in New South Wales' Hunter Valley, Abbie relocated permanently to Los Angeles in 2017 for a career in front of the camera.

In addition to her acting career, Abbie is also a rapper and songwriter who performs under the name MC Dusk.

Beauty: Abbie tied her brunette locks in a low bun and opted for a neutral palette of makeup consisting of dewy foundation

In 2015, she even supported U.S. rapper Nas on his Australian tour.

The Australian-born star most recently appeared in the film The Virtuoso alongside Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins.

She has also starred in Geostorm, Limitless and Solace.
She has launched several clothing collections with online retailer PrettyLittleThing.

And Molly-Mae Hague was her own best advertisement once again as she modelled her new ski range in fashion shoot in the Italian Alps.

The PLT Creative Director, 22, wrapped up warm in a series of stylish ski-ready looks during the snowy photoshoot in the mountains.

Wow! Molly-Mae Hague was her own best advertisement once again as she modelled her new ski range in fashion shoot in the Italian Alps

The fashionista pulled off a slew of cosy looks, showcasing her enviable ski style.

In one image the beauty oozed confidence as she posed in a white belted ski suit, which she wore with a chic cream polo neck.

Her long blonde locks fell loose in beachy waves and she donned stylish cat eye ski glasses.

In another snap Molly looked glamorous in a black padded jacket and faux fur earmuffs.

Warm: The PLT Creative Director, 22, wrapped up warm in a series of stylish ski-ready looks during the snowy photoshoot in the mountains

Stunning: The fashionista pulled off a slew of cosy looks, showcasing her enviable ski style

Chic: In another snap Molly looked cosy in a black padded jacket and faux fur earmuffs

The influencer also sported a bright orange ski suit which donned a white race stripe down the side.

In a behind the scenes look at the chilly shoot Molly showcases many of the stunning looks from the new collection.

At the beginning of the video she said: 'Molly Mae here with PLT in the Italian Alps were we are shooting Ski.

'I am super excited because we have not done a cold shoot before so it's going to be super different and super fun, I cant wait to get up the mountain so let's go!'

New range: In a behind the scenes look at the chilly shoot Molly showcases many of the stunning looks from the new collection

Work it: In one image the beauty oozed confidence as she posed in a white belted ski suit as she posed with two other models

At the beginning of the video she said: 'Molly Mae here with PLT in the Italian Alps were we are shooting Ski

It comes after Molly revealed she recently deleted the Twitter app and expects to deactivate her account soon.

The star made the surprising admission during a YouTube video which saw her demonstrate her make-up routine.

Confessing that she has been suffering with 'the hardest period of her entire life', the influencer branded the social network 'the most toxic and horrendous platform'.

Looking good: Molly used to ski as a child so luckily she new how to command the slopes

Beautiful: Posing up a storm in a colourful padded jacket and thermal bodysuit the beauty looked stunning

Wow: She showcased her toned physique in a lavender figure hugging thermal bodysuit

Speaking candidly with her fans, Molly-Mae - who heavily relies on social media to reach her audience of millions - said she has never felt better since making the decision.

She told viewers: 'I'm kind of trying to stay off social media right now. I've actually deleted Twitter - well I've deleted the app - and I've never, ever felt better for it.

'Ever since entering this new life that I've got now and in the past couple of years, and everything that's changed, I just think Twitter is the most toxic and horrendous platform, like, ever.'

'I think maybe in a few days I might just delete my whole account which is so sad because I do love it. But it just doesn't do anything for me.'

Ski: Molly blew a kiss at the end of the promotional video in a show-stopping multicoloured ski jacket

Shocking: Molly revealed she recently deleted the Twitter app and expects to deactivate her account soon

She went on to reveal that her boxer boyfriend Tommy Fury - whom she met on the ITV2 reality show in 2019 - is also not such a fan of the network.

The Hertfordshire-native said: 'It doesn't do anything for Tommy. It's just not a good platform, especially at the moment.'

In-between cosmetics applications, she added: 'Right now, I've been going through the hardest period of my entire life.

'I've been dealing with emotions that I've never experienced before. I've been having a massive battle with anxiety recently which I did mention in my Let's Talk video.

Worrying: 800,000 worth of designer goods and jewellery were stolen from the Manchester flat she shared with 22-year-old Tommy in October

'But it just seems to be getting worse and worse everyday at the moment. It's not something I've ever really dealt with before.'

800,000 worth of designer goods and jewellery were stolen from the Manchester flat she shared with 22-year-old Tommy in October.

Sources revealed to MailOnline at the time that the couple would 'never return' to the property after being left 'extremely shaken up' by the crime.

An insider said: 'Molly's taking no chances - she's hired 24/7 Confidentiality Protection as well as her other security. She has completely moved out of her apartment now and will never return...'

The insider said: 'They will never return back to their apartment again unfortunately they feel they have been targeted and don't feel safe there any more. They really loved living there its a shame they have been forced out of their home.'

While Molly Mae and Tommy partied in London, the gang descended on their block of flats, in which there are five other properties.
Home Alone star Devin Ratray seems to have found himself in some hot water.

The 44-year-old actor, who played Buzz McCallister in the 1990 Christmas film, reportedly got into such a bad fight with his girlfriend in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, that police were called to the scene.

The next day the unnamed girlfriend filed a police report that accused the star of strangling her while covering her mouth, and then punching her in the face, according to a Monday report from TMZ.

Tough week: Home Alone star Devin Ratray reportedly got into such a bad fight with his girlfriend in Oklahoma City that police were called to the scene. The next day the unnamed girlfriend filed a police report that accused the star of 'strangling her while covering her mouth'

The woman escaped into a stairwell as she waiting for the police, it was added.

The incident allegedly took place 'earlier this week' at a Hyatt hotel in downtown Oklahoma City.

The New York native's rep told the site that the argument was only verbal and he would not detail what the fight was about.

His big claim to fame: The New York native played Buzz McCallister, far right, in the 1990 Christmas film. Seen with, far left, Macaulay Culkin

He played a mean boy: His character Buzz is the older brother of Macaulay's Kevin

The site claimed to have obtained the police report in which the girlfriend alleges that 'the actor got physical with her during the argument, strangling her and putting his hand over her mouth.'

It was added in the report: 'She says she bit his hand, he punched her in the face and she escaped to a stairwell. She then got her stuff and left, waiting for the cops to arrive.'

After police arrived, she decided to book her own room at the hotel.

No arrests were made, but the police report was filed the next day.

So many kids in this cast: In addition to Ratray and Culkin, the film starred Angela Goethals as Linnie, Hillary Wolf as Megan, Michael C. Maronna as Jeff, Michael C. Maronna as Jeff, Daiana Campeanu as Sondra and Jedidiah Cohen as Rod, among others

The one in the back seat: Here Ratray is seen in a car with his parents, played by John Heard and Catherine O'Hara

The kids are all right: Ratray as Buzz is seen top and middle with Macaulay on the right

His rep confirmed the two 'broke up' after the fight.

In the 1990 film Home Alone, Ratray played Buzz. He was the older brother to Kevin McCallister (played by Macaulay Culkin) whom he gave a hard time to.

The film from director Chris Columbus is about an eight-year-old boy (Culkin) who must protect his house from a pair of burglars when he is accidentally left home alone by his family during Christmas vacation.

Always on screen: And he reprised his Buzz role in this year's Home Sweet Home Alone

The movie had the sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York in 1992 which Ratray also played Buzz in.

And he reprised his Buzz role in this year's Home Sweet Home Alone.

Devin has had a thriving career outside the Home Alone franchise as well.

The location of the fight: The exterior of the Hyatt Plaza on Oklahoma City is seen here

A roomy space: This suite shows a mini living room as well as twin beds by the window

He was on the TV series Heartland in 1989, then appeared in Dennis The Menace in 1993 as Mickey.

The star popped up in several TV series such as Third Watch, Law & Order, The Good Wife and Mosaic.

In 2019 he worked with Jennifer Lopez on the stripper film Hustlers. He last acted in the film Kimi with Zoe Kravitz and Erika Christensen.
Andie MacDowell and her daughter Margaret Qualley have both received Golden Globe nominations for their roles in the Netflix miniseries Maid.

Margaret, 27, has been nominated for Best Performance by an Actress, Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture made for Television while Andie, 63, has received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress, Television.

Maid sees Margaret play Alex, a young mother attempting to provide for her child as a house cleaner after leaving an abusive relationship. Andie plays Alex's mother Paula, a woman living with undiagnosed bipolar disorder.

Going for the gold! Andie MacDowell and her daughter Margaret Qualley have both received Golden Globe nominations for their roles in the Netflix miniseries Maid; pictured 2019

The critically-acclaimed series is also up for Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture made for Television. Maid will be competing for the award against Dopesick, Impeachment: American Crime Story, Mare of Easttown, and The Underground Railroad.

The acclaimed series has been a hit with viewers ever since it debuted on the streaming platform back in October, with the show receiving a 93% Average Tomatometer score amongst critics and 87% Average Audience Score amongst viewers.

'It has just been magical beyond belief, I have to say,' Andie said on The Late Late Show With James Corden of acting with her daughter.

'And I am so happy for her. Really proud of her. Her work is really tender and genuine and real. And I couldn't be prouder, because it is my daughter, to have this experience. And for it to work out like this. It has just been unbelievable,' she added.

'I just felt so lucky to have her there': Qualley raved about starring opposite her mother in the Netflix miniseries

Andie also said she was able to identify with her character Paula as the daughter of a woman who grappled with alcoholism and and mental illness.

'My mother is not Paula. But understanding the complexity of mental illness was something that I'm versed in,' she told NPR. 'I know what darkness is. There was a lot of darkness in my house due to the chaos and the depression and the drinking.'

Margaret previously said she felt 'lucky' even being able to act opposite her mother, an acclaimed actress who has starred in Groundhog Day and Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Critical acclaim: The acclaimed series has been a hit with viewers ever since it debuted on the streaming platform back in October, with the show receiving a 93% Average Tomatometer score amongst critics and 87% Average Audience Score amongst viewers

'I mean, with my mom, we both know we're just playing pretend,' she told Elle. 'I just felt so lucky to have her there 'cause she's such an incredible actor. Having the opportunity to share a scene with her was surreal and exciting, and I was honored that she said yes to doing the part.'

Maid was based on the 2019 memoir Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay And A Mother's Will To Survive by Stephanie Land.

The 2022 Golden Globes nominations were announced on Monday with Power Of The Dog and Belfast leading the pack with seven nominations apiece.

Kristen Stewart received a Best Actress nomination for her controversial role as Princess Diana in Spencer and will go up against Lady Gaga who also faced backlash for playing Patrizia Reggiani in House of Gucci.

The ladies are joined by Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye) Olivia Colman (The Lost Daughter) and Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos) in the Drama category.

The nominations come amid uncertainty to who will be attending the ceremony, after stars called for a boycott of the ceremony due to the lack of diversity on the HFPA panel after it was revealed there were no Black members.

Ahead of announcing the nominations, HFPA President Helen Hoehne addressed the scandal, stating: 'This has been a year of change and reflection worked tirelessly to be better. We also have 21 new members the largest and most diverse in our history.'
The first trailer for the upcoming BBC drama Four Lives was released on Monday and shows Stephen Merchant playing the role of the notorious Grindr serial killer Stephen Port.

The three-part series will air in January and will show the families of his victims fight for justice in the face of a now widely-condemned police investigation.

Port, 46, lured four unsuspecting victims to his east London flat then plied them with a fatal dose of date rape drug GHB before dumping their bodies nearby as part of a sick fetish for sex with unconscious men in 2014 and 2015.

Scary: The first trailer for the upcoming BBC drama Four Lives was released on Monday and shows Stephen Merchant playing the role of the notorious Grindr serial killer Stephen Port

The show was set to be released in 2020, but had to be delayed because of an inquest into the Metropolitan Police's investigation into Port's crimes.

Last week, the 10-week inquest culminated in a jury ruling that there had been police 'failures' in the investigation, and had they been avoided, some of his victims may still be alive.

Four Lives focuses on the fight to uncover the truth about what had happened to the families' lost sons, brothers and loved ones.

The series was written by Neil McKay with Jeff Pope as executive producer. The pair have previously worked together on crime dramas The Moorside and Appropriate Adult.

Drama: The three-part series will air in January and will show the families of his victims fight for justice in the face of a now widely-condemned police investigation

In the first trailer for Four Lives, viewers were given a glimpse of Merchant's terrifying portrayal of Port.

The serial killer was known for being exceptionally tall, six foot five, and Merchant appears eerily similar at six foot seven.

The series also stars Sheridan Smith as Sarah Sak, the mother of Walgate, Port's first victim.

Four young men  Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Jack Taylor - were murdered by Stephen Port.

Famous faces: The series also stars Sheridan Smith (pictured) as Sarah Sak, the mother of Walgate, Port's first victim

Prominent: The actress plays a key role in the controversial new drama

When the series was first announced in 2019, then BBC controller Piers Wenger said: 'The Stephen Port murders have shone a light not just on the life of one deeply disturbed individual but into the plight of the four innocent young gay men who fell foul of him.

'Jeff and Neil will go behind the headlines to tell the story from a fresh perspective considering the impact of these crimes rather than the crimes themselves and will explore the challenges the police faced in identifying the serial nature of the killings.

'We are thrilled with the cast which has been assembled to tell this story and look forward to bringing this difficult but very timely story to BBC One.'

Awful: Port, 46, (pictured) lured four unsuspecting victims to his east London flat then plied them with a fatal dose of date rape drug GHB before dumping their bodies nearby as part of a sick fetish for sex with unconscious men in 2014 and 2015

Stephen added: 'This is a story that can't be ignored  how four young lives were lost and their families' brave attempt to uncover what happened.'

Last week the grieving families of serial killer Stephen's four victims heaped shame onto the Met Police - after a jury found force failings on his first murder let him kill three more young men.

An inquest into all of Port's four victims said 'fundamental' mistakes looking at Anthony Walgate's death 'probably' contributed to Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Jack Taylor being subsequently killed.

Devastating: Two of Port's four victims were Jack Taylor (left), 25, and Daniel Whitworth (right), 21

Young: Anthony Walgate (left) and Gabriel Kovari (right) were also victims of Port

The devastating ruling was summed up best by Mr Whitworth's stepmother who sobbed: 'These three boys could have been still walking around today had they investigated Anthony's death properly.'

Port, 46, lured the unsuspecting victims to his east London flat then plied them with a fatal dose of date rape drug GHB before dumping their bodies nearby as part of a sick fetish for sex with unconscious men in 2014 and 2015.

The IOPC announced it was considering reopening its probe into 17 officers involved in the case. Nine officers were given re-training but were not formally disciplined after the investigation in 2018.

Difficult: Four Lives focuses on the fight to uncover the truth about what had happened to the families' lost sons, brothers and loved ones

Families of all four victims said through lawyer Neil Hudgell: 'The inadequate investigations by the Metropolitan Police into the deaths of Anthony, Gabriel, Daniel and Jack should be on public record as one of the most widespread institutional failures in modern history.

'The jury has been unanimous in identifying fundamental failings and basic errors in the investigation into Anthony's death which meant that Port was not stopped, and was allowed to carry on with his terrible acts.

'We continue to believe that had the police done their jobs properly in the first place, Gabriel, Daniel and Jack would not have been killed and other young men would not have been drugged and raped by him.'

Tough: The series was written by Neil McKay with Jeff Pope as executive producer (Sheridan is pictured in the drama as one of the victim's mothers)

Mr Whitworth's former partner Ricky Waumsley said current Met Commissioner Cressida Dick - who was not in charge at the time of the murders - should resign over the findings.

Police watchdog the IOPC also said it may open its investigation into officers following the evidence heard at the inquest.

The three-part series will begin at 9pm on Monday 3 January on BBC One, continuing at the same time on Tuesday 4 January and Wednesday 5 January.

All three episodes will be available on BBC iPlayer from 9pm on Monday 3 January.
Sky has released a brand new trailer for its upcoming hotly anticipated 19th Century period drama The Gilded Age.

Cynthia Nixon, 55, and Christine Baranski, 69, play rich New York society aunts - with contrasting personalities - to Meryl Streep's penniless daughter Louisa Jacobson, 30, who dreams of becoming a writer.

The HBO series, written by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, is set to arrive on Sky Atlantic in January, but the latest 2 minute teaser gives a riveting glimpse of what's to come.

New: Sky has released a brand new trailer for The Gilded Age, in which Cynthia Nixon, 55, and Christine Baranski, 69, play rich New York society aunts - with contrasting personalities

An all star cast - which also includes, Carrie Coon, 40, and Taissa Farmiga, 27 - will feature in the series set in 1882 during the American Gilded Age, a period of huge economic change.

The series tells the story of aspiring writer Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson) who moves from Pennsylvania to New York to live with her wealthy aunts Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski) and Ada Brook (Cynthia Nixon).

Peggy Scott (Denee Benton) and Marian become embroiled in a social war involving one of her aunts and her railroad tycoon neighbour George (Morgan Spector) and his wife Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon).

The trailer for The Gilded Age opens with Agnes ominously explaining: 'New York is a collection of villages. The old have been in charge since before the revolution... until the new people invaded.'

Newcomer: The two acting heavyweights play aunts to Meryl Streep's penniless daughter Louisa Jacobson, 30, who dreams of becoming a writer

Lovely : Louisa Jacobson transforms into Victorian beauty Marian Brook

Marian states to her aunt: 'Well I'm new, I've only just arrived!' to which her Agnes insists: 'You are my niece, and you belong to old New York.'

Oscar Van Rhijn (played by Blake Ritson) can then be heard telling his mother, Agnes: 'George Russell is a power in the land. Before long he'll put money into his pocket with every train ticket you buy.

'I think we should know the Russell family!' suggests Oscar to which his mother interjects: 'We do not move in the same circles.'

Asked about her aunts, Marian admits: 'Ada is kind but not clever. Agnes is clever but not kind.'

Very different: Asked about her aunts, Marian admits: 'Ada is kind but not clever. Agnes is clever but not kind'

Oh my! The trailer opens with Agnes ominously explaining: 'New York is a collection of villages. The old have been in charge since before the revolution... until the new people invaded'

New family The Russel's appear to disrupt the order typically enjoyed by the old ruling, rich elite families.

Unhappy with change brought by George (Morgan Spector) and his wife Berta (Carrie Coon), it seems that Marian gets caught up in a feud between families.

Sky bosses previously teased: 'Exposed to a world on the brink of the modern age, will Marian follow the established rules of society, or forge her own path?'

New family: The Russel's appear to disrupt the order typically enjoyed by the old ruling, rich elite families (Pictured: George played by Morgan Spector)

New lady on the block: Berta Russel, played by Carrie Coon, appears completely non-intimidated by what she walks into

The stars of the show were spotted on set for the first time in New York in May this year.

Julian Fellowes' latest endeavour is years in the making after he began working on a Downton Abbey spin-off in September 2012.

The writer told RadioTimes.com in January 2016 the he was 'hopefully shooting at the end of the year' despite not having written the script just yet.

The struggle: 'I think we should know the Russell family!' suggests Oscar, played by Blake Ritson to which his mother interjects: 'We do not move in the same circles'

Doing things differently: Sky bosses previously teased: 'Exposed to a world on the brink of the modern age, will Marian follow the established rules of society, or forge her own path?'

When asked about the status of the show in June 2016, Fellowes admitted he was 'up to my neck in research' creating the character.

'These people were extraordinary. You can see why they frightened the old guard, because they saw no boundaries,' he told The Los Angeles Times.

'They wanted to build a palace, they built a palace. They wanted to buy a yacht, they bought a yacht. And the old guard in New York werent like that at all, and suddenly this whirlwind of couture descended on their heads.

'They redesigned being rich. They created a rich culture that we still havepeople who are rich are rich in a way that was established in America in the 1880s, 90s, 1900s. It was different from Europe.'

Hard at work: Julian Fellowes latest endeavor is years in the making after he began working on a Downton Abbey spin-off in September 2012 (Pictured in February 2020)

Fellowes noted that The Gilded Age was 'the fulfilment of a personal dream' after final confirmation the show would be on NBC in January 2018.

HBO acquired the series more than one year later and ordered a straight to series with production announced in September 2019.

The pandemic set back filming by a year, with cameras finally rolling in February 2021.
Ewan McGregor caused concern among fans after exhibiting a battered and bruised display in a Friday Instagram post.

The actor, 50, revealed a painful looking bloody nose as he posed alongside TV director Sasha Alexander, 48, in a snap shared to her account.

He wore a black leather jacket featuring red-and-white panels and cracked a smile alongside his friend, who looked gorgeous in a black floral top.

Shocking: Ewan McGregor caused concern among fans after exhibiting a battered and bruised display in a Friday Instagram post

Sasha wrote in her caption: 'untitled: albuquerque story [sic],' along with a sweet shot with the Hollywood star - who doesn't have an account of his own on the photo sharing site - along with his daughter Clara, 25.

One worried fan asked: 'Did you beat up Ewan?'

Others reportedly added in since-deleted comments: 'What happened to your face,' and, 'You look smashed.'

Mystery: Sasha wrote in her caption: 'untitled: albuquerque story [sic]'

Phew! Ewan is believed to be filming a road trip movie with his daughter Clara, 25, (left) and his appearance could well be down to make up skills

Alarming: One worried fan asked: 'Did you beat up Ewan?'

Ewan is believed to be filming a road trip movie with his offspring and his appearance could well be down to make up skills.

The Star Wars actor is also known for his Long Way Down documentaries with biker friend Charley Boorman, which debuted on BBC Two in 2007.

He recently became a father to his first son Laurie with girlfriend Mary Elizabeth Winstead, 37, who he has been dating since 2017.

He also shares Clara, and daughters Esther Jamyan, 20, and Anouk, 10, with ex-wife Eve Mavrakis, who is also an actress.

The former couple split in 2017 after 22 years of marriage and their divorce was finalised in August 2020 after 22 years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences.

MailOnline contacted representatives for Ewan McGregor and Mary Elizabeth Winstead for comment at the time.
Delilah Hamlin has said she wants her parents to pay for 'trauma therapy' in a now-deleted post on TikTok, a month after she went public with health struggles she suggested were triggered by getting the COVID vaccine.

The 23-year-old - who is the daughter of RHOBH star Lisa Rinna and actor Harry Hamlin - posted the following message before deleting them on TikTok: 'unrealistic things I want for Christmas ... for my parents to pay for my trauma therapy.'

In November, Delilah claimed she overdosed on Benadryl and beta blockers and then got addicted to Xanax after getting vaccinated.

SOS: Delilah Hamlin says she wants parents Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin to pay for her 'trauma therapy' before quickly deleting post on TikTok

In a tearful Instagram video posted in early November, Delilah claimed that she sought treatment after getting addicted to the anti-anxiety drug Xanax and believed it was connected to her receiving the COVID vaccine.

Delilah also claimed that she accidentally overdosed on Benadryl at the same time as taking prescribed beta blockers and ended up hospitalized.

The famous daughter went public with her health struggle saying she was 'in no way an anti-Vaxxer' but that she believed the vaccine caused autoimmune diseases in her body to 'flare up.'

Family: Delilah is pictured above with mother Lisa Rinna and her father Harry Hamlin (2019)

'I didn't realize that the vaccine would cause an autoimmune response in my body that basically flared up and triggered certain autoimmune diseases that I didn't know I had,' she claimed in the 30-minute long Instagram video.

The Global Autoimmune Institute say the evidence available at this point indicates that the benefit of COVID-19 vaccination outweighs the risk of side-effects.

Most common side effects are the vaccine shot include tiredness, headaches, chills, fever and nausea.

Delilah went on to state that she began suffering migraines, panic attacks, OCD (that caused her to fear eating meat), and PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections).

To treat the extreme panic attacks she went to a psychiatrist who ended up 'overprescribing' her Xanax (alprazolam) which is a benzodiazepine drug, used to treat anxiety and panic disorders.

Health battle: In November, Delilah claimed she overdosed on Benadryl and beta blockers and then got addicted to Xanax after getting the COVID vaccine

She claims the psychiatrist gave her 20mg of the drug three times a day. Known as being part of the 'benzo' family, the medication can be highly addictive.

Delilah then claimed that she was put on the beta blocker propranolol - used to treat high blood pressure - and caused her to 'overdose' when she took it simultaneously with Benadryl.

'I ended up in the hospital,' she claims in the video, before being interrupted by loud snoring noises from her dog.

Delilah went on to say that she has since been diagnosed with encephalitis, also known as inflammation of the brain, meaning she can no longer drink alcohol or fly on planes.

She credited her boyfriend Eyal Booker with being 'so supportive' throughout her health battle, which has also lead to a number of seizures.

Family around her: Delilah (left) is seen with mother Lisa Rinna and sister Amelia Hamlin in 2017

The influence has since entered a treatment facility in Arizona for her Xanax dependency explaining that her 'body was dependent on it because of how much the doctor had prescribed me.'

But apparently her seizures got so bad that the holistic facility asked Delilah to leave as they deemed her a risk.

'They said, "We're not a medical facility. The seizures are scaring us"' she claimed.

'Mentally I am not great, today,' she said. 'I'm feeling hopeless since the last place I went to didn't really work out. I can look perfectly fine and feel perfectly horrible. That's just that. That's something I struggle with mentally, is feeling believed.'

Delilah - who has been rehab twice to deal with mental health issues including anxiety and depression - said she had 'cut down' on her Xanax though it is not clear if she is still taking the drug.

Xanax is the number one prescribed psychiatric medication in the US and deemed extremely addictive by responsible medical practitioners.

Delilah previously took a break a break from her social media in August, citing that she needed to prioritize her mental health.
She made waves during her Saturday Night Live hosting gig back in October as she pulled no punches when making fun of her family.

And Kim Kardashian is unapologetic when it comes to her unkind jokes about her famous siblings.

The 41-year-old mogul appeared on the cover of i-D's The Out Of The Blue issue, created in co-collaboration with Tiffany & Co., as she showed off her famous curves in a clinging black SKIMS sculpting bodysuit and Tiffany's jewelry

She sat down for an interview with American playwright Jeremy O. Harris which was printed on the pages of the publication as she touched on several subjects including her appearance on SNL.

Scroll down for video

Simply stunning: Kim Kardashian appeared on the cover of i-D 's The Out Of The Blue issue as she showed off her famous curves in a clinging black SKIMS sculpting bodysuit

Kim talked about how 'unkind' she was to her nearest and dearest while hosting the show as she insisted that they all have a sense of humor about themselves and their family unit as a whole.

The mother-of-four said: 'I think people might not get that were absolutely in on the joke. We always have been. It is what it is. I especially couldnt really give a f*** what anyone ever says and thinks.

'And so, I was just like, "Listen, if Im going to do this, I want you guys to know were in on this. This is what we talk about when were at home." We have a sense of humor. We roast each other as a family all day long. None of us are sensitive to it.'

Kim went on to insist that showing off her sense of humor was the real her and she felt like the gig was a way to showcase that.

Hilarious: The 41-year-old mogul as she touched on several subjects including her appearance on Saturday Night Live back in October in which she lampooned several family members

Iconic: She sat down for an interview with American playwright Jeremy O. Harris (seen last week in new York) which was printed on the pages of the publication

She explained: 'I wanted people to see a part of my personality that all my friends know, that everyone close to me knows. But you know, SNL was a completely different audience for me. It was my opportunity. I wanted to show people that this is funny, and this is a big side of my personality too. And it was fun.'

Some of the gags she was involved in included doing a ruthless impression of her older sister Kourtney, poking fun of her divorce from Kanye West, and kissing Pete Davidson whom she has since been romantically linked to.

Kim was asked by the 32-year-old Slave Play writer if there were any jokes that she had steered away from to which she revealed that there was one joke left on the cutting room floor.

The reality star said: 'Everyone in the family was just like, "You can do whatever you want." Everyone was really easy and game for me to do whatever I wanted.

Kim talked about how 'unkind' she was to her nearest and dearest while hosting the show as she insisted that they all have a sense of humor about themselves and their family unit as a whole including poking fun at older sister Kourtney

The mother-of-four said: 'I think people might not get that were absolutely in on the joke. We always have been. It is what it is. I especially couldnt really give a f*** what anyone ever says and thinks'

A whole new world: Some of the gags she was involved in included doing a ruthless impression of her older sister Kourtney, poking fun of her divorce from Kanye West, and kissing Pete Davidson (pictured) whom she has since been romantically linked to

'Although I had a really funny joke about Tristan [Thompson] and Khloe that I took out  I couldve maybe gone further. But everyone was like, "Use me. Do whatever you want. This is your time." They were down. That was super cool.'

It wasn't all jokes that were being discussed as Harris asked her a very serious question about being criticized for blackfishing.

According to journalist Wanna Thompson blackfishing is when 'when White public figures, influencers and the like do everything in their power to appear Black.'

When asked about the criticism, Kim replied: 'Obviously, I would never do anything to appropriate any culture. But I have in the past got backlash from putting my hair in braids and I understand that.

'Honestly, a lot of the time it comes from my daughter asking us to do matching hair. And Ive had these conversations with her that are like, "Hey, maybe this hairstyle would be better on you and not on me." But I also want her to feel that I can do a hairstyle with her and not make it that big of a deal either if thats something that shes really asking for, and really wants.'

'Obviously, I would never do anything to appropriate any culture': The mother of four - North, eight, Saint, five, Chicago, three, and Psalm, two -addressed blackfishing critiques, as she is pictured with Kanye West and family in 2019

The mother of four - North, eight, Saint, five, Chicago, three, and Psalm, two - said that she has found better ways to communicate the complexities of race and culture issues including their Black and Armenian heritages.

She explained: 'But Ive learned and grown over the years, and figured out good ways to communicate with all my kids about all this.

'Ive definitely learned over time, and Ive tried to pass that culture of learning onto my kids too, but then theres also a history of braiding hair in Armenia, and people forget that I am Armenian as well.'

Meanwhile it is a massive day in Kim's life as she is one step closer to fulfilling her dream of becoming an attorney as she passed her baby bar exam after failing three times previously.

The mogul took to Instagram to share a gallery of images of herself in an elegant dress as she revealed the milestone in her journey to become a lawyer.

'OMFGGGG I PASSED THE BABY BAR EXAM!!!!' Meanwhile it is a massive day in Kim's life as she is one step closer to fulfilling her dream of becoming an attorney as she passed her baby bar exam after failing three times previously

'He would have been my biggest cheerleader!' Despite the previous failures, Kim explained remained motivated as she kept her father, the late Robert Kardashian, in mind as she said if he were alive today he would have been her biggest supporter

Despite the previous failures, Kim explained remained motivated as she kept her father, the late Robert Kardashian, in mind as she said if he were alive today he would have been her biggest supporter.

The reality star began the post by writing a lengthy caption to her 269million followers which began: 'OMFGGGG I PASSED THE BABY BAR EXAM!!!!

'Looking in the mirror, I am really proud of the woman looking back today in the reflection.'

The reality star was referencing photos she had taken in front of her bathroom mirror for announcement as she was joined by a photographer and a filming crew.

The reality star began the post by writing a lengthy caption to her 269million followers which began: 'OMFGGGG I PASSED THE BABY BAR EXAM!!!!'

She continued: 'For anyone who doesnt know my law school journey, know this wasnt easy or handed to me.

'I failed this exam 3 times in 2 years, but I got back up each time and studied harder and tried again until I did it!!! (I did have COVID on the 3rd try w a 104 fever but Im not making excuses [winking eye emoji])'

The First-Year Law Students' Examination (FYLSX) AKA 'baby bar' is a one-day test given remotely in June and October.

Passing the State Bar of California is arguably the toughest in the nation as Kim explained that since she did not complete her first year of law study in a juris doctor degree program at a State Bar-unaccredited registered law school she had to take this first exam 'with a harder pass rate.'

'Looking in the mirror, I am really proud of the woman looking back today in the reflection': The reality star referenced photos she had taken in front of her bathroom mirror for announcement as she was joined by a photographer and a filming crew
Actresses Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, who co-star in the comedy-drama series Hacks, are going head to head in early 2022.

On Monday the actresses were nominated for Golden Globe Awards in the same category: Best Performance By An Actress In A Television Series, Musical Or Comedy.

On the hit show Smart stars as a successful but tired stand-up comedienne and Einbinder is the fresh but rude writer who is tasked with re-inventing the icon.

Best actresses: Actresses Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, who co-star in the comedy-drama series Hacks, are going head to head in early 2022. Seen in October

The streaming television series, which was created by Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky and has received 15 Emmy nominations, premiered on May 13, 2021, on HBO Max.

The series was renewed for a second season in June.

On the show, Smart plays the character Deborah Vance, a legendary Las Vegas stand-up comedienne who struggles to maintain relevance. The head of the casino where she performs wants to phase her out.

Einbinder plays the character Ava Daniels, a downtrodden Gen Z comedy writer who is unable to find work after getting blacklisted for an insensitive tweet.

Showdown: On Monday the actresses were nominated for Golden Globe Awards in the same category: Best Performance By An Actress In A Television Series, Musical Or Comedy

On the show, the two characters team up and learn to respect each other's differences.

Einbinder made her national TV debut in March 2020 on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

She is the daughter of comedy writer Chad Einbinder and original Saturday Night Live cast member Laraine Newman.

Finding new jokes: On the show, Smart plays the character Deborah Vance, a legendary Las Vegas stand-up comedian who struggles to maintain relevance

Smart has a long acting career, but was notably nominated for a Tony Award for best actress in a play for the 2000 Broadway revival of The Man Who Came to Dinner, and received two Primetime Emmy Awards for her role as Lana Gardner on the NBC sitcom Frasier in 2000-2001.

The Golden Globes winners will be announced in a January 9, 2022, ceremony that won't be televised following controversy surrounding the organization behind the Globes, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

The association got into hot water over its criticism of Black representation but the awards are going ahead anyway.

Watch the series Hacks, exclusively on Stan in Australia.
One of the last remaining actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age, Cara Williams, has passed away at the age of 96.

The actress was nominated for an Oscar for her performance in 1958's The Defiant Ones as she enjoyed a long acting career which spanned over four decades from 1941 to 1982.

She was one of the few thespians left from Hollywood's Golden Age which was an era between the 1910s and 1960s as the narrative and visual style became characteristic of American cinema and became the most powerful and pervasive style of filmmaking worldwide.

Williams' death was confirmed by her daughter Justine Jagoda and great-nephew Richard Potter.

Tragic: One of the last remaining actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age, Cara Williams (seen in 1948), has passed away at the age of 96

Jagoda told Variety: 'Not only was she a sparkling actress with impeccable comedic timing, she was also funny, over-the-top, warm-hearted and loving.

'She could make anyone laugh and smile if they had a bad day. She was everything that you could wish for in a mother and more. Its a sad loss to lose a woman from this incredible era.'

Potter took to Twitter to also confirm the news as he wrote: 'My Great Aunt, who might have been the last surviving Golden Age of Hollywood actress died on Thursday at 96, he wrote. #Oscar & #Emmy Nominated. #CaraWilliams. RIP Cara.'

'Who might have been the last surviving Golden Age of Hollywood': Williams' death was confirmed by her daughter Justine Jagoda and great-nephew Richard Potter

Trailblazing: After relocating to Los Angeles with her mother, she chose Cara Williams as her stage name and attended the Hollywood Professional School, she is seen in 1952

Williams was born Bernice Kamiat in Brooklyn, New York to Romanian Jewish immigrant parents.

After relocating to Los Angeles with her mother, she chose Cara Williams as her stage name and attended the Hollywood Professional School.

Her first credited role was in a Western titled Wide Open Town which was released in 1941 and continued her acting career in the decade starring in dramas like Girls Town (1942) and Happy Land (1943).

Williams' career began to blossom as she had supporting roles in Oscar-nominated films including Boomerang (1947) and uncredited role in Sitting Pretty (1948).

She started appearing routinely on television in the early 1950s as she had supporting roles in musicals The Girl Next Door (1953) and The Great Diamond Robbery (1954).

Former flame: In the early 1950s, she took time off from her acting career as she married John Drew Barrymore and gave birth to their son John Blyth Barrymore in 1954, as they are seen in 1951

She also starred alongside Audrey Hepburn in a comedy titled Monte Carlo Baby (1951).

Around this time she took time off from her acting career as she married John Drew Barrymore and gave birth to their son John Blyth Barrymore in 1954.

Her most famous role of all came in 1958 as she starred as Billy's mother in The Defiant Ones which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture and for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

She went on to star in four episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents including: Decoy (1956), De Mortuis (1956), Last Request (1957), and The Cure (1960).

Interesting: She is seen alongside John Barrymore Jr. in Date With The Angels in November 1957

Perhaps her most famous television role came later as she had a titular role in CBS comedy series Pete And Gladys from 1960 to 1962 alongside Harry Morgan and was even Emmy Award nominated in the Best Lead Actress in a Comedy category.

She later had her own prime time series in 1964 titled The Cara Williams Show which only lasted for one season.

Her acting appearances became less frequent in the 1970s as her last role was in television movie In Security in 1982.

After her retirement from acting she began a career as an interior designer.

Williams resided in Los Angeles and was married to real-estate entrepreneur and former actor Asher Dann, who was her third husband until his death in 2018.
She may be only eight months old, but it's clear Grace Warrior Irwin Powell is already an animal lover just like her parents.

The daughter of conservationist power couple Bindi Irwin and Chandler Powell looked very curious indeed while patting her pet dog Stellar over the weekend.

She reached out to touch the pug while spending a lazy afternoon with her mum and dad on the grounds of Australia Zoo, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

Animal bonding: Grace Warrior Irwin Powell, the daughter of conservationists Bindi Irwin and Chandler Powell, looked very curious while patting her pet dog Stellar over the weekend

Grace wore a cute floral onesie while sitting on a blue towel as she glanced over at the family pet.

A chicken could also be seen pecking around in the background, and the little girl didn't look fazed by its presence in the slightest.

In another family video shared to Instagram, Bindi filmed her daughter going for a stroll through the tortoise enclosure of the zoo.

Grace dozed off in her pram as Bindi and Chandler stopped to look at a pair of tortoises who were also sleeping in their pen.

Sleepy time: In another family video shared to Instagram, Bindi filmed her daughter dozing off while on a stroll through the tortoise enclosure of the zoo

Having a laugh: Chandler joked he was about to fall asleep too while trailing behind his wife and daughter

It comes after Bindi opened up her private family album to share several beautiful photos from their recent holiday in Tasmania.

The Irwins went bushwalking in Tassie in October and Bindi's brother Robert, an award-winning wildlife photographer, documented the trip on his film camera.

Bindi, 23, shared some of the best shots on Instagram last Sunday, including several precious photos of her daughter Grace Warrior.

Idyllic: It comes after Bindi opened up her private family album to share several beautiful photos from their recent holiday in Tasmania

The photos showed Bindi, her husband Chandler, mother Terri Irwin and two family friends walking through the picturesque Tasmanian rainforest.

Robert, 18, wasn't in any of the pictures because he was behind the camera.

Grace looked adorable on her first interstate trip, and was protected from the elements with a variety of hats and hoods.

The great outdoors: The Irwins went bushwalking in Tassie in October and Bindi's brother Robert, an award-winning wildlife photographer, documented the trip on his film camera

Too cute! Bindi, 23, shared some of the best shots on Instagram last Sunday, including several precious photos of her eight-month-old daughter Grace Warrior

Trekking: The photos showed Bindi, her husband Chandler Powell, mother Terri Irwin and two family friends walking through the picturesque Tasmanian rainforest

Sun safe: Grace looked adorable on her first interstate trip, and was protected from the elements with a variety of hats and hoods

Perfect family: Chandler, 25, carried his daughter while Bindi gazed at her sweetly

Proud dad: The American former wakeboarder lifted his baby girl into the air

Multi-tasking mama: Grace secured her daughter in a baby carrier for much of the walk

Bindi and Chandler, 25, are preparing to celebrate their first Christmas with Grace.

Last Tuesday, Bindi shared a video on Instagram of their little girl admiring her first festive tree.

In the footage, the lively baby marvelled at the bright Christmas tree while being carried by her mother.

Holidays with the Irwins! Bindi and Chandler are preparing to celebrate their first Christmas with Grace. Last Tuesday, Bindi shared a video of their little girl admiring her first festive tree

Grace then sat in her father's arms as she touched the branches of the tree.

'Grace woke up to her very first Christmas tree in our house. I'm crying tears of happiness as I write this,' Bindi captioned the video.

Bindi and Chandler announced their daughter's birth on March 26, just one day after she was born on their first wedding anniversary.

Sweet: 'Grace woke up to her very first Christmas tree in our house. I'm crying tears of happiness as I write this,' Bindi wrote on Instagram

'March 25, 2021. Celebrating the two loves of my life. Happy first wedding anniversary to my sweetheart husband and day of birth to our beautiful daughter,' she wrote on Instagram.

'Grace is named after my great-grandmother, and relatives in Chandler's family dating back to the 1700s.

'Her middle names, Warrior Irwin, are a tribute to my dad and his legacy as the most incredible Wildlife Warrior.

Joy: Bindi and Chandler announced their daughter's birth on March 26, just one day after she was born on their first wedding anniversary

'Her last name is Powell and she already has such a kind soul just like her dad.'

Bindi first met Chandler in 2013, when the American former wakeboarder went on a guided tour of Australia Zoo in Queensland.

The pair married in a surprise ceremony at Australia Zoo in March last year.
Mary Cosby has released a statement apologizing for comparing Jen Shah to 'those Mexican people that make all those drugs' on last week's episode of The Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City.

In a statement posted a week after the episode aired, Cosby said she knows racism 'first hand' and was 'truly sorry' for her 'reckless' comments.

'I would like to take this opportunity to address a comment I made on the last episode of RHOLSC. I used poor judgment in my choice of words. Please accept my apologies,' Cosby wrote on Instagram on Sunday.

'I know racism first hand': Mary Cosby has released a statement apologizing for comparing Jen Shah to 'those Mexican people that make all those drugs' on last week's episode of The Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City

'I was not trying to single out the Mexican culture. I am African American and I know racism first hand. I've live it daily my entire life. It is important to me that you hear this apology directly from me. My comment was reckless.. unintentional. I am truly sorry!'

The remarks were made during a conversation with Lisa Barlow, who told Cosby the housewives were comparing her to Jen, who had just been arrested on federal fraud charges.

'Its not fair to put me with someone so  like, when I think about Jen, I see heartless, I see a thug,' Cosby said. 'Like, you know, those Mexican people that make all those drugs.'

Mary started crying when she was confronted with the news her co-stars had been comparing her to Jen.

'I am truly sorry!' Cosby issued an apology on her Instagram a week after the episode aired

'I believe in what I do,' said Mary. 'I took it on like woman. I was a child. I believe in God. I believe in rescue. I believe in deliverance. I believe in it all and for them to put me with someone who would criminalize and manipulate someone is horrible.'

She also denied her parishioners worshipped her as God and shut down rumors she stole from people.

'I've never ripped anyone off, I don't need to,' said Mary. 'I was born in money. I didn't ask for it. It was given to me.'

Mary is not the only housewife embroiled in controversy.

Not happy: Mary got emotional when she learned the other housewives had been comparing her to Jen, who had just been arrested on federal fraud charges

Hitting back: She also denied her parishioners worshipped her as God and shut down rumors she stole from people

Jen has pled not guilty in a fraud case involving an alleged $5 million telemarketing scheme.

Both she and her assistant Stuart Smith were charged in the case.

The reality star has maintained her innocence in the fraud trial, and Stuart had initially plead not guilty over his alleged involvement in the scheme.

But last month it was revealed that Stuart, 43, had altered his story, changing his plea to guilty during an appearance before Southern District of New York Judge Sidney H. Stein in November.
She has been taking time off to focus on her health as she battles complications from Graves' disease.

And on Friday, TV host Wendy Williams was seen being given a supportive hand from her son Kevin Hunter Jr. as they strolled around New York City together.

The 21-year-old is said to have given his mother, 57, an 'ultimatum' allegedly telling her that he won't be in her life 'unless she fixes herself.'

Soldering on: Wendy Williams holds hands with her son Kevin Hunter Jr. as she steps out while battling health issues in New York City on Friday

A source recently claimed to The Sun: 'Wendy's relationship with Kevin Jr has been strained. He gave her an ultimatum. He told her he won't be in her life unless she fixes herself.'

The source added: 'Her son has been doling out the tough love, telling her "Get yourself help, mom."'

Earlier this month, it was revealed that The Wendy Williams Show will return with new episodes in 2022 but without its beloved host.

Here to help: The 21-year-old is said to have given his mother an 'ultimatum' allegedly telling her that he won't be in her life 'unless she fixes herself'

Battle: Earlier this month, it was revealed that The Wendy Williams Show will return with new episodes in 2022 but without its beloved host

In a social media post from the show's official account, Fat Joe, Remy Ma, Michael Rapaport, Kym Whitley, Finesse Mitchell and Sherri Shepherd were listed as guest hosts for the start of 2022.

This comes after sources close to production have been intimating that Wendy may never return as host as she continues to battle various medical issues relating to Graves' disease.

'The Wendy Williams Show' Returns with All-New Episodes in the New Year! @fatjoe & @remyma, @michaelrapaport, @kymwhitley & @finessemitchell and @sherrieshepherd are all set to guest host this January,' read the caption of a social media post.

The image shared alongside featured images of the aforementioned guest hosts. There was no mention of Wendy herself or any idea of when she might be back.

Health battle: The Everybody Loves Raymond actress is just one of many stars who have been filling in for Wendy during her health battle with various medical issues relating to Graves' disease

This crop of guest hosts will take the show through January 28 with February and beyond up in the air.

'Even if she did come back, she'd be a lame duck because her show isn't renewed beyond this season,' a source told Page Six.

This will mark the third guest stint for Sherri Shepherd who is being seen as the top choice to replace Wendy permanently.

A rotating list of guest hosts have been filling in for the ailing star on her daytime chat series while she battles a host of medical issues.

Season 13 premiered with a panel of guest hosts on October 18, including Devyn Simone, Bevy Smith, Leah Remini, Whitney Cummings, Michael Rapaport, Bill Bellamy, and Jerry Springer.

Last month, Wendy was seen leaving a Miami, Florida wellness center without shoes on and dressed in a Versace bathrobe.
She first shot to fame as Lisbeth Salander in the first screen adaptation of Stieg Larsson's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

And, Noomi Rapace looked sharp in a grey longline trouser suit and floral cami at The Lamb premiere held at UGC Cine Cite des Halles in Paris, France, on Monday.

The Swedish actress, 41 - who is also an executive producer on the flick - blew a kiss as she posed for photographers upon arrival.

Sharp: Noomi Rapace, 41, looked sharp in a grey longline trouser suit and floral cami at The Lamb premiere held at UGC Cine Cite des Halles in Paris, France, on Monday

Noomi's tailored suit featured a subtle check print and boasted turned up hems, while her jacket was almost floor length.

She wore a black and white strappy top beneath and boosted her height with a classic pair of pointed black stilettos.

She accessorised with dazzling cluster drop diamond earrings and pulled her brunette curls up atop her head.

Noomi plays Maria in Icelandic film The Lamb which follows the tale of a childless couple - Maria and Ingvar - who find a mysterious newborn on their farm.

Mwah! The Swedish actress - who is also an executive producer on the flick - blew a kiss as she posed for photographers upon arrival

The newborn is part sheep and they treat it like a human by raising it inside, dressing it in clothing.

The prospect of having a family excites the pair but in the end it ultimately destroys them.

Ingvar's brother Petur shows up at the farm to visit them to try and convince them to give up the animal baby.

The Lamb is set to be released in the United Kingdom on December 10th 2021.

Chic: Noomi's tailored suit featured a subtle check print and boasted turned up hems, while her jacket was almost floor length

Gorgeous: She accessorised with dazzling cluster drop diamond earrings and pulled her brunette curls up atop her head

The film is the first where Noomi speaks Icelandic, a language which she learnt as young child when she lived there.

After premiering at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, the horror film was released in Iceland on 24 September.

Noomi shot to fame as Lisbeth Salander in the first screen adaptation of Stieg Larsson's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

But the actress has explained how she's desperate to move on from the 'bada**' reputation that trilogy of films and subsequent projects foisted on her.

Actress: The Lamb is set to be released in the United Kingdom on December 10th 2021

Speaking to The Guardian, the star admitted the 2009 film and its sequels had a lasting impact over the following decade.

Noomi starred in the Swedish-produced film adaptations of Larsson's books, earning herself a string of major award nominations and a new international career.

She went on to star in major movies, including her first English-speaking role in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows (2011) and Ridley Scott's blockbuster hit Prometheus (2012).

Reflecting on that stage in her career, Noomi toldthe Guardian that playing Lisbeth Salander gave her 'an identity' she struggled to shake off.

'I don't want to be the bada**,' she explained. 'I even hate the word. People are always pitching things to me, "She's so bada**, she's so you." I'm like  ' [putting her head in her hands].

'Making those films was like drowning in trauma. It meant that the first connective tissue between me and the world was pain for many years.'

'Pain and sadness was like my identity card. Now I've healed a lot. Maybe I'm not lighter but I would say I allow more colours in me. I feel looser.

'The veneer, the shield I'd built up since childhood, is slowly peeling off. I'm alive now rather than surviving.'
She recently welcomed her baby boy Rumi-Ray, with husband Cory Tran, and now actress Freida Pinto is opening up about her postpartum journey in hopes of helping other mothers.

In a vulnerable post to her Instagram on Monday, the Slumdog Millionaire star shared, 'The Postpartum journey has been one of the most intense and wild rides I have ever been on.'

The 37-year-old actress added, 'It felt like the months being pregnant and even childbirth were little appetizers to this grand main course. Preparation was so key to this life altering phase of mothering and I feel so proud, relieved and blessed to have walked into it with knowledge, research and support.'

New mom: She recently welcomed her baby boy Rumi-Ray, with husband Cory Tran, and now actress Freida Pinto is opening up about her postpartum journey in hopes of helping other mothers

Pinto shared a list of things she wanted to normalize for mothers who are preparing for their postpartum journey.

'What does it really mean to be postpartum "prepared". It certainly doesn't mean you won't feel sad, lonely, frustrated and helpless at times. Or that you will be wonderfully rested and have no sleep deprivation,' she started her list.

She continued, 'Or that you won't snap at your well intentioned partner and break down in tears. Or that your nipples won't be sore and that for some of us our toes will curl everytime our little baby birds open up their sweet mouths to latch.'

Opening up: In a vulnerable post to her Instagram on Monday, the Slumdog Millionaire star shared, 'The Postpartum journey has been one of the most intense and wild rides I have ever been on'

The star added, 'Or that you will never doubt your milk supply or for some, be worried about being judged for choosing the formula route. Or that your vagina and the rest of your ladyparts will look and feel exactly the same again as before. Or that your energy levels will always match the nonstop effort you have to put into nourishing that little life.'

Pinto then stated that the healthcare system can make new mothers feel 'abandoned'.

She said, 'The preparedness is more so to know how best to tackle all of this and to not feel abandoned by a health care system that focuses so much on your pregnancy and birth and somehow disappears when you are most vulnerable and in the most challenging phase of your life.'

Helping other moms: Pinto took issue with the health care system which she said focuses on the pregnancy and birth, and not the postpartum period. Seen here on the day of her baby shower on October 12, 2021

The Indian-born beauty had a silver lining in her message, adding that no matter what new mothers are going through, it will eventually get better. 'Most importantly it REALLY DOES GET BETTER and we learn so much about ourselves and gosh we can truly acknowledge and celebrate the goddesses that we are!'

Pinto said that her goal is to normalize 'conversations about the challenges and changes brought on during the postpartum period.' She also added, 'Changes that need to be better understood, accepted and not shamed. And challenges that can be managed so much better with just a little extra help.'

She stated that she wants to help 'make this sacred period less about the suffering and more about acceptance, self love and growth. And to bring some much required peace to this healing period.'

Baby boy: The Indian-born actress had son Rumi-Ray with photographer husband Cory Tran. Pictured here on November 21, 2021

Pinto had son Rumi-Ray with photographer husband Cory Tran, 34, whom she married at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, sometime during the pandemic.

During an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show she expressed that although she and Tran had plans for a beautiful ceremony, the onset of the global pandemic changed their views.

'When we got engaged we thought we'd have this most magical wedding...but then COVID happened and it's still happening and we just realized we'd be planning this for the rest of our lives and never doing it,' she said.

She revealed that she and Tran decided to tie the knot in an unceremonious manner in an effort to keep their stress levels low.

'So we decided one day to go to the Honda Center in Anaheim. Honestly, I have to say if any of you have planned a wedding, you probably know this, I do not want stomach ulcers from planning my own wedding,' she recalled.
The Bachelor star Tim Robards has revealed why he and wife Anna Heinrich have made the decision to sell their stunning Rose Bay apartment.

The three-bedroom property, which was purchased by the couple for $1.9million in 2018, failed to find a buyer at auction last week, but is still listed for sale with a $3.45million price guide.

Tim, 39, told Daily Mail Australia that while they are completely in love with the area, they want to sell their apartment to buy a bigger house in Sydney to accommodate their growing family.

Plan to move: The Bachelor star Tim Robards (left) has revealed why he and wife Anna Heinrich (right) have made the decision to sell their stunning Rose Bay apartment

'We're not in a mad rush to sell, but we're having a look at whether the market wants it for what we want to sell,' he said. 'We love the area, so it's going to be hard to move.

'But at some stage down the track, we would like to have a second kid. There's nothing on the way right now, but down the track it would be good to have something a little bit bigger.'

He went on to praise the harbourside suburb, saying it would be a compromise on location should they have to move elsewhere in the city.

Sale: The three-bedroom property, which has spectacular harbour views, was purchased by the couple for $1.9 million in 2018

'At the moment we've got beautiful views, and the location - we've got cafes across the road, and just a walk away from the water, which has been amazing during lockdown,' Tim said.

'There is going to be a compromise that if we want more space, we're going to lose the view and the location.

'But at the same time, we're still so lucky we've been able to have that time here.'

Tim, who is an ambassador for Cure Brain Cancer Foundation's Burpees 4 Brain Cancer initiative, said the couple definitely want to stay in Sydney because Anna's family is nearby and Tim's 'aren't too far away' either.

Luxurious: The marble kitchen has luxurious appliances including a Smeg gas cooktop and an integrated fridge/freezer

The pair are already proud parents to gorgeous one-year-old daughter Elle.

When asked how many children they want in the future, Tim said: 'I think one for each of us. Probably two kids will be enough.

'I'm one of three, and Anna's one of three, but I feel like at the moment there's enough people in the world, we don't want to bring too many in.

'And with the price of Sydney housing at the moment, if you need to have a four-bedroom house... every kid you bring in would be a couple of extra million dollars to support them, with a bedroom and to put them through school.'

The couple's Rose Bay property was already extensively renovated prior to its purchase in 2018.

Location: The boutique apartment is located on a block of six, just a stone's throw away from the Rose Bay Wharf and restaurants

The boutique apartment is located on a block of six, just a stone's throw away from the Rose Bay Wharf and restaurants.

It features an open-plan kitchen and dining area, which leads out to a balcony.

The marble kitchen has luxurious appliances including a Smeg gas cooktop and an integrated fridge/freezer.

The property also has timber floors in the living spaces and high-quality carpet in the three bedrooms.

Elle's bedroom has a 'Baby Robards' neon sign hanging on the wall.

It comes after Tim and Anna made a number of real estate decisions including offloading their Brisbane townhouse.

The lovebirds listed the investment in the suburb of Murarrie with a price guide of $700,000 and it sold quickly.

Spacious: The property also has timber floors in the living spaces and high-quality carpet in the three bedrooms

Tim and Anna , who met on The Bachelor in 2013 and married in 2018, purchased the townhouse in 2016 for $630,000, realestate.com.au reported.

The pad, located in the luxurious Portavilla complex, was completely new at the time and only recently built.

The townhouse is three storeys tall and has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a private parking space for two vehicles.

There is also a private courtyard, European oak floors, lofty ceilings, an internal staircase, open living and dining areas, a large balcony and a designer kitchen.

Tim also recently listed his other investment property: a four-bedroom townhouse in Aspley, in Brisbane's north.

The chiropractor purchased that townhouse in 2016 for $452,500.
They are both outspoken anti-vaxxers.

So it was only a matter of time before Simon Baker's ex-girlfriend Laura May Gibbs struck up a friendship with Pete Evans' wife Nicola.

Activewear designer Laura, 36, revealed on Instagram on Tuesday she'd spent the weekend at Nicola's 'Wild One' wellness retreat in the Byron Bay hinterland, sharing a gallery of photos documenting her off-grid experience.

Simon Baker's anti-vaxxer ex Laura May Gibbs (right) spent the weekend at a wellness retreat run by Pete Evans' wife Nicola in Byron Bay. Pictured with the retreat's yoga instructor Fee

Clad in a yellow-and-purple bandeau bikini, Laura posed at a secluded creek alongside fellow retreat-goers, before jumping into the water for a swim.

She also shared a photo of herself inside a red-light therapy chamber, another picture of a plate of vegetables, and a video of herself hitting a large gong.

'Off grid and on retreat @wild.one.retreats,' she wrote.

Off-grid: Laura spent the weekend at Nicola's 'Wild One' wellness retreat in the Byron Bay hinterland. Pictured: Nicola Evans

Back to nature: Clad in a yellow-and-purple bandeau bikini, Laura (right) posed at a secluded creek alongside fellow retreat-goers, before jumping into the water for a swim

Alternative therapies: She also shared a photo of herself inside a red-light therapy chamber (left) and trying out Tibetan singing bowl meditation (right)

'I tapped out to tap in, a weekend yoga immersion with sound healings, saunas, DMT breathwork, sunrise tea ceremony and an abundance of creek swims and connecting with Mother Earth, Pachamama!'

Laura thanked Nicola for being 'the most magical host', praising the self-proclaimed 'nutrition mermaid' for her 'ceremonies and knowledge of the land'.

'We ate delicious organic and foraged food that nourished our bodies and souls for days. There are no yoga photos but I promise we practised a lot, between the daily rituals and self care schedule!' she continued.

Splashing about: The Byron Bay businesswoman waded through a creek in her tiny swimsuit

'We ate delicious organic and foraged food that nourished our bodies and souls for days': Laura shared this photo of a plate of vegetables, which she apparently found revelatory

Holistic: 'I tapped out to tap in, a weekend yoga immersion with sound healings, saunas, DMT breathwork, sunrise tea ceremony and an abundance of creek swims and connecting with Mother Earth, Pachamama!' she wrote. Pictured: Laura at the retreat with fellow guests

Laura, who recently attended a rally against mandates for the life-saving Covid-19 vaccine, said she was feeling 'grateful for nature's medicine'.

'Nic said to me last night, "Rebirth through the earth," when talking about her work on the land, and I feel that's the perfect name for this retreat,' she added.

Nicola, a former glamour model from New Zealand, has been married to disgraced former My Kitchen Rules judge and fellow vocal anti-vaxxer Pete Evans since 2016.

Praise: In her caption, Laura thanked Nicola for being 'the most magical host', praising the self-proclaimed 'nutrition mermaid' for her 'ceremonies and knowledge of the land'

Toxic: Nicola, a former glamour model from New Zealand, has been married to disgraced former My Kitchen Rules judge and fellow vocal anti-vaxxer Pete Evans (right) since 2016

While Nicola and Pete appear to be still going strong, Laura's love life has been less than rosy lately.

The Nagnata founder quietly split from The Mentalist star Simon Baker earlier this year, months after going public with their romance in February.

The Byron Bay businesswoman has since denied rumours the actor broke up with her because she attended an anti-vaccine mandate protest.

Having her say: It comes after Laura recently denied rumours Simon (left) broke up with her because she attended an anti-vaccine mandate protest. Pictured in March

Laura slammed this 'false narrative' about their split in a lengthy Instagram post last month, declaring it was 'simply not true'.

She insisted their split was amicable, adding: 'I never discuss my private life, but I will say this - the friendship and respect I share with [Simon] runs too deep for the media's noise to have any true impact in our lives.'

Laura also defended her decision to protest against vaccine mandates at the NSW-Queensland border in early November.

Unrelated to the protest: Laura slammed this 'false narrative' about their split in a lengthy Instagram post on Monday, declaring it was 'simply not true'

The demonstration was part of a series of rallies across the country against mandatory Covid jabs for certain industries and occupations.

'I care about these people. I care about my staff and community, without division or prejudice,' she wrote.

'Regardless of our differences we are moving through this time together. The decisions being made by those in power effect all of us, including our children and their future freedoms.'

Still friends: Laura insisted their split was amicable, adding: 'The friendship and respect I share with [Simon] runs too deep for the media's noise to have any true impact in our lives'

'I won't apologise': She also defended her decision to protest against vaccine mandates at the NSW-Queensland border in early November (pictured at the demonstration). The demonstration was part of a series of rallies across the country against mandatory Covid jabs for certain industries and occupations

Laura said she'd long been an advocate for 'freedom of speech and choice' - even before vaccine mandates were put in place.

She wrote: 'I won't apologise for voicing my concerns, when I see so many struggling, losing their livelihoods and being silenced, shamed and ridiculed for wanting to ask questions.'

'Activism is important to me, I've attended numerous environmental rallies and Indigenous rights protests, and taken action in all of these areas. If the media is going to cover issues I make a stand on, then report the full scope of the matter - and while you're at it, lead with my name,' she added.

Controversy: Laura made headlines in October after her activewear brand Nagnata announced it would not reopen its Byron Bay store until unvaccinated customers were allowed to enter

Her Instagram post came a week after Simon's spokesperson confirmed he and Laura had quietly parted ways several months earlier.

The reason for their split has not been made public.

The couple were last pictured together in August, laughing and joking during a trip to the beach in Byron Bay.

Simon and Laura first sparked romance rumours in February after they were pictured frolicking in the surf together in Byron Bay.

The pair are said to have met in Byron, where Laura's sustainable fashion design studio is based near his farm in Nashua.
Iran's Imam Khomeini Spaceport is likely to be launched. Iranian state media have provided a list of planned satellite launches for the Islamic Republic's civilian program in space. This program has been plagued by failed launches. The parallel program run by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was successful in putting a satellite into orbit last January.

The launch of the vehicle amid the Vienna talks is in keeping with the tough-line position taken by Tehran's negotiators. They already described six rounds of diplomacy previously as a "draft," which has been frustrating Western countries. Germany's foreign minister warned that "time is running out" at this point.

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All this is a fitting fit for a renewed focus of space by Irans hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, according to Jeffrey Lewis, an expert at James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Middlebury Institute of International Studies, who studies Tehran's program. Concerns about Iran's former President Hassan Rouhani, who facilitated the dissolution of the nuclear agreement, likely have diminished with the U.S. claiming that it aids Tehran's missile program.

Lewis stated, "They're walking on eggshells." "I believe Raisi's people have a different balance in their minds."

The Iranian state media didn't acknowledge the activity at the satellite port and Iran's mission in the United Nations didnt respond to a request to comment. Requests for comment were not received by the U.S. military which monitors space launches.

Satellite images taken by Planet Labs Inc. on Saturday and obtained by The Associated Press, show activity at the spaceport in Iran's desert plains in rural Semnan Province, about 240 km (150 miles) southeast Tehran

A support vehicle was parked next to a large white gantry, which normally houses a rocket at the launch pad. This support vehicle can be seen in satellite photos of the site, just before a launch. A hydraulic crane with a platform on the top is also visible. This support vehicle was likely used to service rockets and has been seen in previous satellite photos.

Satellite images taken at the spaceport in recent days have also shown an increase of cars, which is another indicator of the increased activity that usually precedes a launch. Lewis also said that activity has increased at a building thought to be the "checkout facility" for rockets.

He told the AP that this was a traditional pre-launch activity.

This activity follows a Dec. 5 article by Iran's state-run IRNA News Agency claiming that four satellites were in Iran's space program. One of the satellites, low-orbit imaging satellite Zafar 2, was described as "under the final stage of preparation." It weighed in at 113 kg (250 pounds).

After a launch at the spaceport in February 2020, however, the Zafar 1 failed to reach orbit. According to Iranian officials, the Simorgh (or "Phoenix") rocket was used for the launch. However, the rocket failed to place the satellite in orbit at the right speed. The satellite was built by Iran for just 2 million euros.

In recent years, Iran's civil space program has been plagued by a number of setbacks as well as fatal explosions. In 2019, Donald Trump tweeted a mysterious blast that appeared to have been a classified U.S. satellite image of the aftermath of the explosion. The caption was: "The United States of America wasn't involved in the catastrophic accident."

In April 2020, the Guard revealed its secret space program when it successfully launched a satellite into orbit. Later, the head of U.S. Space Command dismissed the satellite as "a tumble webcam in space" and that it wouldn't provide Iran with vital intelligence. However, the satellite demonstrated Tehran's ability get into orbit.

Iran has launched several satellites into orbit over the past decade. In 2013, Iran also sent a monkey into space. According to a report from state-run television, Iran's Supreme Council of Space met for the first times in 11 years under Raisi.

Raisi stated at the November meeting that it showed the government's determination to develop the space sector. He was joined by Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.

According to the U.S., such satellite launches are a violation of a U.N Security Council resolution directing Iran not to engage in any activity that could lead to ballistic missiles capable delivering nuclear weapons.

Iran, which has long maintained its commitment to non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, insists that satellite launches and rocket testing do not include a military component. Tehran claims it has not violated the U.N. resolution, as it "asked" Tehran to stop conducting such tests.

However, tensions are rising over Iran's nuclear program. Trump unilaterally pulled America out of the Iran nuclear agreement with world powers in 2018. Iran has slowly been abandoning all restrictions placed on its program by the deal.

Iran enriches uranium to 60% purity today -- a small technical step from 90% weapons-grade. Iran's stockpiles of enriched uranium continue to grow, and international inspectors have challenges monitoring their progress.

Lewis stated that he expected to see the space program grow given Raisis interest.

He stated, "They are not restricted by concerns about Iran deal in the way Rouhani was."
Crowdstrike's senior vice president of intelligence Adam Meyers said that "the internet is on fire right now." He stated that "people are scrambling for patches" and that "all kinds of people are trying to exploit it." Meyers said that the bug had been "fully weaponsized" in 12 hours after it was discovered. This means that malefactors have developed and distributed tools that exploit it.

This flaw could be the most serious computer vulnerability ever discovered. This vulnerability was discovered in an utility that is used in enterprise software and cloud servers across government and industry. It is a vulnerability that if not fixed will allow criminals, spies, and programming novices easy access to internal networks, where they can steal valuable data, plant malware and erase critical information.

Joe Sullivan, Cloudflare's chief security officer, said that "I would be hard-pressed not to think of a business that's at risk." Cloudflare's online infrastructure protects websites against malicious actors. Experts say the impact of this technology will not be known until several days after it is installed on untold millions more servers.

Tenable CEO Amit Yoran called it "the single largest, most critical vulnerability in the last decade" -- possibly the greatest in modern computing's history.

The vulnerability, known as Log4Shell, was rated 10 by the Apache Software Foundation. This foundation oversees the development of the software. Anyone can exploit the vulnerability to gain full access on any unpatched computer running the software.

Experts believe the vulnerability's extreme accessibility to a web server is what makes it so dangerous.

The computer emergency response team of New Zealand was the first to announce that the flaw was being "actively exploited by the wild" within hours of it being publicly reported on Thursday. A patch was also released.

It was discovered in Apache open-source software that is used to run web sites and other services. Alibaba reported the vulnerability to the foundation on November 24, it stated. It took two weeks for the fix to be developed and released.

However, patching systems across the globe could prove difficult. Although most companies and cloud providers like Amazon should be able update their web servers quickly, many Apache softwares are embedded in third-party applications that can't be updated.

Yoran of Tenable said that organizations should assume they have been compromised and respond quickly.

Minecraft, a popular online game owned by Microsoft, was the first to show signs of the flaw being exploited. Marcus Hutchins, security expert and Meyers both claimed that Minecraft users had already used it to run programs on other computers by simply entering a message into a chat box.

Microsoft stated that it had released a software update to Minecraft users. It stated that customers who apply the fix will be protected.

Researchers found evidence that the vulnerability could have been exploited by servers owned by companies like Amazon, Apple, Twitter, and Cloudflare.

Cloudflare's Sullivan stated that there was no evidence that his company's servers were compromised. Apple, Amazon, and Twitter didn't immediately respond to our requests for comment.
She is suing three former U.S intelligence and military officers she claims helped hack her phone so a foreign government could spy upon her before she was tortured and imprisoned.

Thursday's announcement by the Electronic Frontier Foundation was that it had filed a lawsuit against U.S. Federal Court on al-Hathlouls behalf against former U.S officials Marc Baier and Ryan Adams, as well as DarkMatter, a cybersecurity company that has contracted with United Arab Emirates.

Al-Hathloul claims that she and her two colleagues oversaw DarkMatter's hacking of her iPhone in order to locate her and steal her information. This was part of wider surveillance efforts targeting dissidents in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. She claimed that the hacking of her iPhone led to her "arbitrary arrest" by the UAE's security service and her rendition to Saudi Arabia where she was imprisoned, tortured and incarcerated.

David Greene, Director of EFF Civil Liberties, stated that companies selling surveillance software and other services to oppressive governments should be held responsible for any human rights violations.

DarkMatter gave her the codename "Purple Sword" according to the lawsuit. This is citing a 2019 Reuters investigation that first revealed the hacking of al Hathloul.

This lawsuit is the latest legal challenge against the private cyber-surveillance market. It often sells high-end hacking services to authoritarian governments. These services are used to secretly hack into phones and other devices of journalists, activists, and political opponents. Apple, the tech giant, filed a lawsuit against Israel's NSO Group last month to stop the most notorious hacker-for hire company from accessing Apple's products like the iPhone.

Baier, Adams, and Gericke all admitted to September providing advanced computer hacking technology for the UAE. They agreed to pay almost $1.7 million to settle criminal charges. This deferred prosecution agreement was described by the Justice Department as the first of its type. Each of the three were described by the Justice Department as former U.S. military or intelligence personnel. The AP reported that Baier had previously worked for the National Security Agency.

These three are part of a growing trend of U.S. officers with hacking and spying backgrounds working for foreign governments with questionable human right records. This has led to Congress calling for more oversight.

The attorneys for Baier, Adams, and Gericke didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Emails to DarkMatter officials in Abu Dhabi were not returned.

Al-Hathloul was arrested in 2018. She was sentenced to nearly six years imprisonment last year under broad anti-terrorism laws. She was held for 1001 days and placed in pre-trial custody and solitary confinement. Her charges included agitating for change and using the internet to cause disorder.

Al-Hathloul, who was behind bars, went on hunger strikes in protest of her prison conditions. She also joined other female activists to testify to the judges that she was sexually assaulted and tortured by masked men during interrogations. Women reported being caned, electrocuted, and waterboarded. Others claimed they were threatened with rape and groped. Saudi Arabia denies any mistreatment.

Her case caused a worldwide uproar about the Saudi kingdom's record on human rights. President Joe Biden called her "a powerful activist for women's right' when she was released in February.

DarkMatter's hacking activities have been made public. The company's profile has declined over the years with some employees moving to G42, an Abu Dhabi-based company. This firm is linked to a mobile application suspected of being a spying device as well as Chinese coronavirus testing. American officials have warned that this app should not be used due to concerns over patient privacy, accuracy, and Chinese government involvement.
India has seen a rise in Omicron cases between December 11 and 12. The total tally of Omicron cases in the country has now reached 38, and no deaths in India have been reported so far.

Maharastra's tally in Omicron cases has reached 18 with the latest being identified in Nagpur on December 12. Section 144 was imposed in Mumbai on December 11-12 due to the rally planned by All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) party and the protests planned by the BJP against Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut's statement during the weekend.

Here are the latest updates on Omicron in India you need to know:

1. UNVACCINATED PASSENGER FROM SOUTH AFRICA FOUND OMICRON-POSITIVE IN NAGPUR

The latest patient detected with Omicron in Maharashtra's Nagpur is a 40-year-old man with a travel history to South Africa. He is unvaccinated and was found positive for Covid on December 5. He was then found positive for the Omicron variant after genome sequencing. He is currently admitted to the AIIMS isolation ward in Nagpur.

2. FIRST OMICRON CASE IN ANDHRA PRADESH FROM IRELAND

The first case of the Omicron variant in Andhra Pradesh was identified on December 12. The patient is a 34-year-old man from Ireland who is originally from Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh. He returned to Vizianagaram after his Covid-19 test was found negative in Mumbai on November 27. On learning his travel history, officials in Vizianagaram tested him again on December 4, where he tested positive. Genome sequencing was able to detect Omicron on December 12.

3. FIRST OMICRON CASE IN CHANDIGARH FROM ITALY

A 20-year-old man from Italy who came to India to visit his family tested positive for the Omicron variant on December 12. He tested positive for Covid-19 on December 1 and was fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine. Along with him, all 7 of his family members have been put under quarantine.

4. FIRST CASE IN KERALA FROM UK

Kerala's first Omicron case was detected in a man from Ernakulam, Kerala on December 6. The man travelling from the UK via Abu Dhabi tested positive on December 8. He was travelling with his wife, who has also tested positive for Covid-19. Health Minister Veena George said, "An Omicron case has been reported in Kerala. A UK returnee from Ernakulam is the one who tested positive. He arrived via Abu Dhabi. He tested negative in the initial test and positive in a test done on December 8. All 149 passengers including the high risk passengers who were near him on the flight have been informed."

5. THIRD CASE DETECTED IN KARNATAKA FROM SOUTH AFRICA

A third case of the Omicron variant was detected in Karnataka on December 12. The 34-year-old man was asymptomatic and returned from South Africa 10 days ago. Karnataka Health Minister Dr Sudhakar K said that the patient is being treated at a government hospital and his contacts have been traced and tested. 5 of his primary and 15 of his secondary contacts have been traced and their samples have also been sent for testing.

Third case of #Omicron has been detected in Karnataka. A 34-year-old male returning from South Africa has tested positive. He is isolated and being treated in a govt hospital. 5 primary and 15 secondary contacts have been traced and samples sent for testing. @BSBommai #COVID19  Dr Sudhakar K (@mla_sudhakar) December 12, 2021

6. OMICRON PATIENT DIES IN UK

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the death of a person infected with the Omicron variant. Johnson was visiting a vaccination clinic in West London on December 13 when he spoke about the Omicron death. The deceased is the first to die of the variant across the globe. Johnson has also said that the new variant is resulting in hospital admissions and the "best thing" people can do is get their booster jab.
Mumbai: Multiple National Award-winning movie "Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea", starring South star Mohanlal, will premiere on streaming platform Prime Video starting on December 17 in India.

Written and directed by Priyadarshan and produced by Antony Perumbavoor of Aashirvad Cinemas, the Malayalam magnum opus was released theatrically earlier this month.

"Marakkar" also stars Arjun Sarja, Suniel Shetty, Manju Warrier, Keerthy Suresh, the late Nedumudi Venu, and Pranav Mohanlal in pivotal roles.

According to the streamer, the lavishly mounted period drama is a biopic of Kunjali Marakkar IV, who is considered to be one of the greatest naval chiefs of India. It has been adapted from various novels and written texts about Marakkar.

"Set in the late 15th century and early 16th century, the movie is based on the story of the fearless seafarer of the Malabar Coast, Kunjali Marakkar, who later became the naval commander of the Zamorin (Samoothiri), the Ruler of Calicut, and defeated the Portuguese in a naval battle," reads the official synopsis.

Mohanlal, who plays the title role of Marakkar in the film, said this story will touch the hearts and emotional strings of every Indian.

"I am overwhelmed by the audience reactions the movie has received and thank each and every one of my fans for their love. It is a matter of pride for me to be a part of this extravaganza that brings alive the legendary story of Kunjali Marakkar, a man known as India's very first Naval Commander and famed in Kerala folklore," the star said in a statement.

"To be able to bring it to life on such an extraordinary scale is a dream come true for me. I am more than happy about the digital premiere of Marakkar on Prime Video, which will give viewers across the country an opportunity to watch the movie from the comfort of their homes, along with their families," he added.

Director Priyadarshan said 'Marakkar' is not just a movie but an experience that will be remembered forever.

"I am super excited about the digital premiere of Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea on Prime Video. This film is very close to my heart and has been a collective dream for Lalettan and me for the last 20 years. I am thankful to him for his support in making this project a reality," the filmmaker said.

"I am happy and thrilled that it will be watched by audiences across India and cannot wait for the digital premiere on Prime Video," he further said.

Manish Menghani, Head of Content Licensing, Amazon Prime Video, India added, "We are delighted to collaborate once again with Aashirvad Cinemas and bring the unbeatable actor-director combination of Mohanlal and Priyadarshan, reinforced by a fabulous cast and crew, to our audiences. Prime Video takes pride in taking a customer-first approach and we are thrilled to end the year with this much-awaited, mega entertainer."

Credited to be the most expensive film ever made in Malayalam cinema, "Marakkar" won the best feature film, best special effects, and best costume awards at the 67th National Film Awards in October 2021.

Subscribers in India can watch the critically-acclaimed film on Prime Video in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu languages as well.
Vijayawada: The One-Time Settlement (OTS) scheme is increasingly getting the peoples support in Andhra Pradesh, despite spokes being inserted into the wheel by Opposition parties and a non-cooperation call by the Telugu Desam. According to reports, nearly three lakh housing beneficiaries have availed the Jagananna Sampoorna Gruha Hakku OTS scheme in 13 districts of AP. As many as 2,95,592 housing beneficiaries have availed the OTS scheme till Sunday and officials are expecting more beneficiaries to come forward.

Special chief secretary (Housing) Ajay Jain said Chief Minister Jagan will formally launch the OTS scheme on December 21. The TD and other opposition parties are objecting to the collection of fees for registration under OTS and demanding that the government do the registrations free of cost. TD called the people to join a non-cooperation movement against OTS and is promising free registration by TD when it hopefully comes to power after the next assembly polls.

Under the OTS scheme, the people who got houses from 1983 to 2011 can now get them registered in their name by paying a nominal fee fixed by the government. The beneficiaries can avail the scheme by paying Rs 10,000 in villages, or Rs 15,000 in municipalities, or Rs20,000 in municipal corporations, as the case may be.

On November 30, a controversial circular was issued by Santha

bommali Panchayat secretary K. Prasad about stopping social security pensions to the beneficiaries who are not ready to join the OTS. The government swiftly initiated action against the official and cancelled the circular. The CM asked officials to act tough against negative publicity on the OTS scheme. The government launched a massive campaign on OTS, countering allegations of Opposition parties under which posters, pamphlets and short films were used to bring about awareness among the masses. Further, the village and ward volunteers carried out a Citizen Outreach Programme to explain to the masses about OTS and these are giving good results. The housing beneficiaries are gradually realizing the benefits of the OTS and are coming forward to make good use of the scheme to get total rights on their houses.

Housing beneficiaries K. Subba Rao and others said that they got houses from the government under the housing scheme but these assets were not helping them get loans from the banks by way of registered patta lands and houses. They said there is no chance for beneficiaries to sell their houses and OTS will give them a chance to hypothecate and transfer, which is a golden chance to get a good value on par with registered patta houses.

They said they were initially confused about the OTS but after realising the facts, they have decided to avail the scheme to get full rights.

Minister for housing Ranganadha Raju said the government is not forcing anyone to avail the OTS scheme.
The session of the Tamil Nadu Assembly for the year 2022 will be held from January 5. (Photo: PTI/File)

Chennai: The session of the Tamil Nadu Assembly for the year 2022 will be held from January 5, an official notification of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly said on Monday.

The assembly session will witness a customary address of Governor R N Ravi, added the notification.

"In exercise of the powers conferred upon me by clause (1) of Article 174 of the Constitution of India, I R N Ravi, Governor of Tamil Nadu, hereby summon the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly to meet at 10.00 am on Wednesday, January 5, 2022, in the Assembly Chamber, Secretariat, Chennai," said the notification.
Kashi Vishwanath Dham decorated with 'diyas' ahead of its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in Varanasi. (PTI)

Varanasi: From massive murals depicting art and cultural heritage of Benares to illumination of several buildings near the Kashi Vishwanath temple site, Varanasi is all decked up to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is slated to arrive here on Monday to take part in a host of events.

The main event will be the inauguration of the phase one of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham constructed at a cost of around Rs 339 crore.

PM Modi will dedicate to people the ambitious Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in the heart of Varanasi after offering prayers at the ancient temple that draws massive number of visitors from India and abroad.

Even till late evening on Sunday, construction workers were busy polishing stones, labourers were occupied decking up the temple premises with flowers, especially marigold, and staff rushing things up at Lalita Ghat to make it ready for the function.

There is a palpable excitement among a majority of the residents of the temple town and domestic tourists flocking the holy shrine of the Hindus in the run-up to the high-profile event, in view of which the police security in Varanasi has been stepped up.

Excitement of the inauguration event, branded as Divya Kashi, Bhavya Kashi', is such that a Shiv Barat procession was taken out in the streets near Godowlia Chowk, while owners of many hotels in the area have lit up their properties, with one saying, "It is a historic moment for Kashi and we are fortunate to be part of it".

At the temple site, workers and Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust employees were also eagerly waiting for the day.

Many were seen taking pictures against the backdrop of the old temple or the four new gateways which have been constructed using traditional craftsmanship. Anil Keshri, a readymade garment seller, whose shop is at Godowlia Chowk, was brimming with excitement, watching the festooned streets and lit-up buildings.

"Banares is a heart of culture, cradle of civilisation and 'Kashi Vishwanath ki Nagari'. Look at the beautiful decoration, I am very happy and the new corridor will surely bring more tourism and greater glory for my city, and for India," he said, as he pointed to a shobha yatra poster hung at the famous street intersection.

Near the Varanasi airport in Babatpur, walls of a flyover near it have been decorated with artists murals, portraying the Ganga 'aarti', Kashi Vishwanath temple, ghats of Benares and other heritage of the city, which is the parliamentary constituency of Modi since 2014.

Shrikant Mishra, the main priest of temple, said, "The coming up of the new corridor is a miraculous moment. Nothing happens in this city without Kashi Vishwanath baba's permission. It's His city. Creation, destruction, recreation, all His will.

A total of 23 buildings will be inaugurated in the phase one of the project, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

These will provide a variety of facilities to pilgrims, including suvidha kendras, tourist facilitation centre, vedic kendra, mumukshu bhavan, bhogshala, city museum, viewing gallery and food court among others.

The scale of the project was such it is now spread over a massive area of about five lakh square feet, whereas earlier premises were limited to just around 3,000 square feet.

Despite the Covid pandemic, the work on the project has been completed on schedule, the PMO said.

Posters have been put up on ornate lampposts in streets near the iconic temple--one of the 12 Jyotirlingas-- hailing Modi for "realising the vision of this project".

The current structure of the temple was constructed by Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar around 1780 and in the 19th century, Maharaja Ranjit Singh had got it crowned with a golden shikhar.
New Delhi: Five new cases of Omicron were reported in India on Sunday, taking the tally of the new coronavirus variant to 38. While Chandigarh, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala reported their first case of Omicron, Karnataka and Maharashtra also reported one case each, taking the states tally of the new variant to three and 18 respectively.

A 20-year-old man, who had arrived from Italy to meet his relatives, became the first patient in Chandigarh to test positive for Omicron. The youth, who is fully inoculated with Pfizer vaccine, is currently in institutional quarantine. His seven high-risk contacts have also been tested.

In Andhra Pradesh, a 34-year old foreign traveler who came from Ireland, also became the first patient in the state to test positive for the new variant. The person, who first landed in Mumbai, was tested and found negative for Covid-19. He was then allowed to travel onward to Visakhapatnam on November 27.

"On conducting a second RT-PCR test in Vizianagaram, he tested positive for Covid-19. His sample was then sent to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad for genome sequencing and the result came out as Omicron positive," the public health director said in a release. The person, however, did not have any symptoms and a re-test on December 11 showed he was Covid-19 negative. "There are no other Omicron cases in the state," the director said.

So far, 15 foreign travelers who came to the state were found Covid-19 positive and all the samples were sent to CCMB for genome sequencing. "Of the 15, genome sequencing reports related to 10 cases were received and only one of them was confirmed Omicron positive," the director added.

Keralas first Omicron patient had returned from the UK via Abu Dhabi. State health minister Veena George said the concerned person had returned to Kochi on December 6 and two days later he tested positive for Covid-19. The patient is a native of Ernakulam and is said to be in stable condition.

Another man who arrived from South Africa became the third person to be infected with the new variant in Karnataka, while a 40-year-old man tested positive after returning to Nagpur in Maharashtra from a West African country, taking the state's tally of Omicron cases to 18. This was perhaps the first case of Nagpur and 18th of Maharashtra.

In the past 10 days, cases of the highly transmissible disease have also been reported in Delhi, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Globally, the new variant has spread to almost 60 nations. The UK, Denmark and South Africa are the top three countries with the highest number of Omicron cases.

The first two Omicron cases In India were confirmed on December 2, almost a week after South Africa identified the new variant and raised the alarm over its rapid transmission.

India's Omicron cases offer a wide range of ages with even a one-year-old and a three-year-old having tested positive for the new variant. While the one-and-a-half-year-old girl has been discharged, the three-year-old boy is reported to be recovering.

All other Omicron patients in India are mostly asymptomatic and have not shown signs of any severe illness. A majority of the patients had started to recover within a week. Except for a few cases, most of the Omicron patients in India had foreign travel history.

India on Sunday reported 7,774 new cases, 2.7 per cent lower than previous days figures released by the Union health ministry. This brings the countrys cumulative caseload to 3,46,90,510. Total recoveries were logged at 3,41,22,795 across the country.

With a total of 8,464 patients recovering in the last 24 hours, the recovery rate now stands at 98.36 per cent. The countrys active caseload stands at 92,281.

In the last 24 hours, 306 people succumbed to Covid-19, increasing the total reported death count to 4,75,434. The maximum casualties were reported in Kerala (245), followed by Maharashtra with 20 daily deaths.
The TDF organised its sixth Pravasi Telangana Divas programme at Ravindra Bharathi here on Sunday. It was inaugurated by Kishan Reddy in the presence of ministers Errabelli Dayakar Rao and Vemula Prashanth Reddy. (DC)

HYDERABAD: Appreciating the support extended by the Telangana Development Forum (TDF) to Telangana people by way of providing basic amenities, Union tourism minister G. Kishan Reddy said that Telugu NRIs had enthusiastically come forward to adopt villages besides ensuring quality education to poor students.

The TDF organised its sixth Pravasi Telangana Divas programme at Ravindra Bharathi here on Sunday. It was inaugurated by Kishan Reddy in the presence of ministers Errabelli Dayakar Rao and Vemula Prashanth Reddy.

Kishan Reddy said that Scholarships being given to students in rural areas will help them pursue their higher studies.

Panchayat raj minister Dayakar Rao recalled that a large number of TDF members had actively participated in the movement for a separate Telangana state.
Yahya's Kremlin setback was on account of his narrative being diametrically opposite to the reports that the Kremlin was receiving from its diplomats in Dacca and Islamabad... Significantly, after the emissary's departure, the Kremlin responded positively to Indira Gandhi's appeal for help for logistical support to deal with the worsening refugee crisis. It announced the dispatch of a fleet of transport aircraft with its crew and ground support staff and equipment to Calcutta to ferry the excess refugees to the new [camps] set up in Madhya Pradesh.

The end of April and early May was also when the Bangladesh issue had become a major pawn in the chessboard of international diplomacy. China was the first major power to make a move by openly warning India not to meddle in Pakistan's domestic affairs. If it did so, it would 'burn its fingers. China's open threat to India caught the attention of all Indians, especially the Leftists of West Bengal. What sounded very odd to us was that the Chinese made no mention of the mass killings that Pakistan had resorted to, setting off history's biggest ever exodus of refugees into India... Instead of empathising with India, Peking stepped up its arms supply to Pakistan and informed Pakistans Bengali envoy, Khwaja Mohammed Kaiser, that it had already issued a veiled threat to India that it would intervene if the situation warranted it.

Not to be outdone, on 3 April, Soviet President Nikolai Podgorny delivered an ultimatum to Yahya to immediately stop the genocide, making headlines in all Calcutta dailies. On 17 April, Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin followed this up with a message to Yahya urging him to peacefully negotiate a political settlement with the stakeholders. He had stressed that any settlement must take into account the lawful wishes of the parties involved in the crisis. Also, the interests of populations of both East and West Pakistan should be factored into consideration for finding a solution (as reported by Russian news agency TASS). [The diplomat] Gurginov informed us that Kremlin, of course, had serious doubts about Yahyas ability to work out such a solution because it was aware of the mindset of the regime that Yahya represented and also of the ongoing genocide in East Pakistan.

Kremlins apprehension had been conveyed to Mrs Gandhis advisers by the then Soviet envoy in Delhi, Nikolay Pegov. The Soviet leadership suspected that the Chinese were in favour of prolonging instability in East Pakistan as that would help them to make significant political inroads into the region The Soviet leadership concurred with the Indian assessment that prolonging the liberation war might help the armed Naxalite radicals infiltrate and take control of the liberation war by resorting to political subterfuge.

Declassified Indian archival records reveal that even the Soviet defence minister, Marshal Grechko, had told the then Indian envoy in Moscow, D.P. Dhar, many times that the threat to Indias security was not so much from Pakistan, which Delhi could handle on its own. It was graver from its unpredictable and dubious northern neighbour, China. Grechko had suggested to Dhar that some kind of treaty of friendship and co-operation between India and the Soviet Union, would be a good preventive measure against Chinese and Pakistani aggression against India. The same treaty proposal had been conveyed to Mrs Gandhis advisers by the Soviet envoy in Delhi, Nikolay Pegov. The then Indian foreign minister, Sardar Swaran Singh, was lukewarm to the idea

This assessment of Chinas possible involvement in the East Pakistan imbroglio impelled Mrs Gandhis policy planners to provide an all-out support to the Bangladesh liberation war effort. It pursued this objective with single-minded devotion though China was firing salvo after salvo in its polemical battle against the Soviets. Pekings position was that Soviet revisionist and social imperialist forces were in cahoots with arch Indian reactionaries, running dogs of the Kremlin trying to invade and annex East Pakistan in their bid to set up a puppet regime there, in so-called Bangladesh. Peking's salvo was in response to Soviet President Nikolai Podgorny's statement of 3 April, calling upon Yahya to immediately stop committing genocide in Bangladesh.

Almost at the same time, Indira Gandhi demanded an end to Pakistan's mass killings in Bangladesh in a shriller tone both inside and outside Indian Parliament. Pekings provocative reaction to Podgornys appeal and Indira Gandhi's speech were not unexpected

The Chinese Communist Party leaders hoped that their anti Soviet and anti-India blast would please President Nixon. The American president was at that time trying to build bridges of understanding with them and, according to declassified White House papers, had a total dislike for Indira Gandhi, whom he considered to be a Soviet stooge. For her father, he had nothing but scorn and an intense personal aversion. Besides, as those documents reveal, he harboured racial prejudice against Indian women The Chinese leadership felt that the best way to tune in to the American line and cozy up to White House was by launching a virulent anti-Soviet and anti-India tirade.

It is very pertinent to mention here that at a time when no Bangladeshi leader was daring to take on the Chinese leadership for their nefarious anti-Bangladesh role, it was Maulana Bhasani, leader of a pro-China faction of National Awami Party, who had the temerity to dispatch scathing telegrams to Mao and Zhou Enlai, openly questioning them about their socialist and communist credentials for not standing by the oppressed people of Bangladesh About the same time, a much-respected and noted literary icon of Dacca, Shaukat Osman, who had sought shelter in Calcutta, in an open letter addressed to the Chinese Communist Party leaders posed almost identical questions that Bhasani had asked but with such great literary panache and finesse that local Calcutta dailies could not but help publish it. Bhasani had sent the telegram after he came to Calcutta in mid-April and had held discussions with Tajuddin [Ahmad] in this regard. But it evoked no reaction, not even an acknowledgement from the Chinese Communist Party.

Excerpted from Bangladesh War: Report from Ground Zero (Niyogi Books, pp. 209) by Manash Ghosh. Ghosh had famously predicted the coming of the war in January 1971 as a cub reporter by writing an article in the Sunday Statesman. He was also among the few journalists who covered the war from the beginning to the very end on 17 December.
Defending the government's decision to auction four coal blocks located near the Singareni Collieries Company Limited in Telangana, Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi on Monday said that it is being done according to the policy adopted by the Centre.

"The NDA government is following the auction route to allot coal blocks. The UPA regime policy of allocation route is not being followed. Even for the allocation to states...notice of inviting application is done. Arbitrarily we are not doing it," Joshi said while replying to Congress member N Uttam Kumar Reddy who raised the issue in the Zero Hour.

Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Congress member N Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the government should cancel the decision to auction the four coal blocks located within an existing public sector undertaking Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL).

Also Read | No shortage of coal in India: Pralhad Joshi

While demanding the government to allot these coal blocks to SCCL, the Congress MP claimed that 50,000 SCCL workers are on a strike right now causing a loss of Rs 120 crore a day.

Dubbing strike was state-sponsored, Joshi said, the statement from the member is far from the truth.

SCCL is a Government coal mining company jointly owned by the state government and the central government on a 51:49 equity basis. The company meets the coal requirements of thermal power stations of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

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Kuwait has made the least progress among countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council to reform its wage bill, the World Bank's lead economist for the Gulf said on Monday.

"In Kuwait, they have actually increased hiring in recent years, and after the oil price drop [of 2014], they actually increased hiring from 15,000 a year to 25,000 a year which is almost a whole cohort," said the World Bank's Ismail Radwan at a news conference in Dubai.

"So we have a situation now where one-third of the Kuwaiti civil service has been recruited in the past five years, so that's why we say it's unsustainable," Radwan said.

Hit hard by lower oil prices and the Covid-19 pandemic last year, the OPEC oil producer was facing liquidity risks largely because parliament has not authorised government borrowing due to a standoff. S&P in July cut Kuwait's rating by one notch to A+ from AA-(minus)and kept its outlook on the country negative, citing the country's lack of a funding strategy to finance its deficit.

Also Read  Centre says oil producers artificially adjusting supply leading to price rise

The Gulf Arab State raised billions of dinars last year through asset swaps with the Future Generations Fund, a nest egg for when the country's oil runs out.

Radwan said the World Bank was in talks with Kuwaiti authorities to address the government wage bill. If the country does not take action, their expenditures will continue to deplete their financial reserves, he said.

Kuwait can start borrowing, or it can tap into the Future Generations Fund, he said.

"But that has always been the case in Kuwait that that money was there for when the oil runs out. So it was only opened once, and that was after the Iraq invasion. So this would be a tremendous precedent to open that money and spend it on wages and salaries."

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A middle aged person was stabbed to death reportedly by a group of African nationals on Sunday evening in Banaswadi police limits. According to the police, the victim has been identified as Victor (35 to 40 years) and resident of Banaswadi area and the incident took place near Kullappa circle near Kammanahalli in Banaswadi.

According to the preliminary reports, the accused African nationals were known to the victim for a few months.

"Suddenly over some issue, the accusesd have stabbed the victim with a knife. The victim--Victor has succumbed to the injuries," a police official said.

A case has been registered at the Banaswadi police station and police officials are on the look out for the accused who are at large.

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"I will make you proud"  Harnaaz Sandhu's mother Ravinder Kaur Sandhu recalled the promise her daughter made on Sunday, ahead of winning the coveted Miss Universe 2021 title as the family and the residents of Punjab's Kharar celebrated the 21-year-old's victory at the pageant on Monday.

Harnaaz Sandhu made history on Monday as she was crowned Miss Universe 2021, beating contestants from 79 countries, 21 years after India last brought home the title.

Her parents, Pritam Singh Sandhu and Dr Ravinder Kaur Sandhu, and her brother Harnoor Singh, were elated after she was adjudged Miss Universe 2021 at an event in Israel.

Also Read  Harnaaz Sandhu crowned Miss Universe 2021

Only two Indians before Harnaaz Sandhu have won the title of Miss Universe, actors Sushmita Sen in 1994 and Lara Dutta in 2000. The 70th edition of the event was held in Eilat, Israel, where the 21-year-old bagged the coveted pageant.

Harnaaz Sandhu's mother Ravinder Kaur Sandhu said she spoke to her on Sunday evening to wish her the best of luck. Kaur, who is a gynecologist, said that she had advised her daughter to stay focused and leave everything to the almighty.

When asked what Harnaaz Sandhu told her, Kaur told reporters that she had promised to "make her proud. She also asked the family to pray for her, said Kaur who was praying for her at a gurdwara when the event was taking place.

Harnoor Singh, who watched the event, informed his mother about his sister bagging the crown of Miss Universe 2021. We were fully confident that she would make the country proud, said Kaur at her residence in Mohali's Kharar.

Harnaaz Sandhu's elated father, Pritam Singh Sandhu, whose eyes welled up, said he was proud of her achievement, adding that they completely supported her. He said that his daughter was confident of being victorious.

She worked hard and always stayed focused, Kaur told reporters. It is a proud moment not only for us but for the country also, said Harnoor.

To a question about what her daughter likes to eat, Kaur said 'makki di roti' is her favourite, which she will be served when she returns home. Harnaaz Sandhu loves yoga, horse riding and cooking, her mother said.

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Meanwhile, Dr Nisha Aggarwal, the principal of Post Graduate Government College for Girls in Sector 42 of Chandigarh, said that Harnaaz Sandhu was a bright student. It is a matter of immense happiness for us. Harnaaz Sandhu studied BA (IT) and now she is pursuing MA in public administration, she said.

She is very polite, humble and an obedient student. She is respectful to teachers, Aggarwal said.

Teachers who taught her also said that Harnaaz Sandhu was a sincere student.

Harnaaz Sandhu started her journey in pageantry when she won Times Fresh Face in 2017, representing Chandigarh at the age of 17. She later won the LIVA Miss Diva Universe 2021 title. Sandhu has also worked in a few Punjabi films, including 'Yaara Diyan Poo Baran' and 'Bai Ji Kuttange'.

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At a bustling Indian market, a child labourer carrying bags of flowers was captivated by cameramen riding huge cranes during film shoots. Two decades later the boy has become his country's latest cinematic sensation.

P S Vinothraj's low-budget debut movie 'Koozhangal' -- internationally known by its translated title 'Pebbles' -- has been selected as India's entry to the international feature film category at next year's Oscars.

The 32-year-old drew from his family's battle with poverty and his sister's experience of marital abuse to tell the story of an alcoholic father and his young son walking through a barren, unforgiving landscape in his home state of Tamil Nadu.

Also Read | 'Koozhangal': Film festivals and the simplicity trap

"My real-life experience gave me toughness and has helped in this film. That kind of life has become the film," Vinothraj told AFP.

The result is an observational drama Indian critics have described as a "masterpiece" and a "sensational debut... that is evocative, visceral and powerful".

It won the Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, with the jury saying the "seemingly simple and humble" effort was a "lesson in pure cinema".

Vinothraj joins an emerging movement of Tamil directors -- many from disadvantaged backgrounds like his own -- addressing societal inequities through the voices and lives of everyday people.

Had it not been picked up by the festival circuit his original plan was to show "Pebbles" in the villages where it was shot -- with fewer than 40 actors and crew.

It is the culmination of the young filmmaker's long journey to the big screen.

Also Read | Why 'Koozhangal' is the right pick for Oscars

He started selling flowers in Madurai at the age of nine to support his family after his father died.

"So much has happened in my life and those things have made me ready for this," he said through a translator.

"I don't speak English nor do I have an education. Life's journey has taught me everything. Those are the metaphors in the film -- that is life's journey."

Vinothraj worked throughout his childhood and teenage years, moving to different towns and cities.

At one point, he was a labourer at a textile company in Tiruppur, where he "witnessed many people's lives being ruined in front of my eyes" over personal and financial woes.

"Some got married very young and went through multiple struggles. All of that stayed with me, wanting to express those struggles."

Believing that education could help him fulfil his dream of becoming a director, the aspiring auteur tried to go back to school but was told he was too old.

He eventually moved to the state capital Chennai and broadened his cinematic knowledge by watching movies while working at a DVD store, before getting work as an assistant on short films and in theatre.

As he sought ideas for his first feature film, Vinothraj's sister walked through the door of the family home, crying, her two-year-old child in her arms.

She had been forced out of her marital home by her husband and made the 13-kilometre (eight-mile) journey back on foot.

"I had pain and I wondered why real life is such a struggle. And I realised, I am in the cinema -- that's my tool. I can talk about my pain through cinema."

The father-and-son journey in "Pebbles" is told through the eyes of the child, while Tamil Nadu's harsh rural environment and the toll it takes on his characters is a central theme of the film.

The title comes from a synonym Tamils use for hills -- and the stones country-dwellers put in their mouths to ward off thirst on long journeys.

"To know that this film has won the Tiger Award and is being sent as India's entry to the Oscars, I feel very proud," Vinothraj said.

"Watching this film with an audience that has been so supportive, it feels like a big celebration for me."

His next project is also inspired by a family situation, and he wants to keep making "simple, honest stories about life".

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As Covid-19 started spreading in Wuhan early last year, Chinese billionaire Guo Guangchangs drugmaker appeared to have scored a big win: A partnership with Germanys BioNTech SE, which went on to produce with Pfizer Inc. one of the worlds most successful vaccines against the coronavirus.

Yet almost a year later, the shot is yet to be approved in mainland China, and in recent weeks Beijing has thrown its heft behind a homegrown mRNA vaccine, allowing Chinas Walvax Biotechnology Co to test its own experimental shot as a booster. The developments are raising new questions about whether the US-German vaccine, licensed for the potentially lucrative Greater China region by Guos Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co., will ever be used on the mainland, where President Xi Jinpings administration has backed a nationalist agenda on all fronts, including in the fight against the virus.

The delayed approval is the latest sign of how vulnerable Chinese tycoons -- and their foreign partners -- are to Beijings political dictats. It also highlights the uncertain outlook for global drugmakers in China, the worlds second biggest pharmaceutical market and a big one for Covid-19 products. More than 1 billion Chinese have been inoculated with the traditional shots made by Sinovac Ltd. and Sinopharm Group even though they have been found to be less effective than mRNA ones in scientific studies.

Read more: US FDA authorises Pfizer/BioNTech booster for 16- and 17-year-olds

Its hard to tell when, if ever, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be approved for mainland China since regulators havent publicly said why its being held back, analysts say.

The Chinese market could fall out of reach for international pharmaceutical firms if approvals for vaccines and medicines intended for Covid are made a political issue, rather than an economic or biological one. said Zhao Bing, a senior analyst who oversees health-care research at China Renaissance Securities HK Ltd. Given the domestic competition, the prospects in China for the shot may be limited even if it is eventually approved for use in the mainland, he said.

How much market share can Fosun grab? said Zhao.I dont know, but its certainly not looking optimistic.

The uncertainty is a blow to the ambitions of Guo, 54, who in recent years has increasingly made health care a key area of focus for his conglomerate. Fosun Pharmas shares are now more than 40% below their August high. Guos own net worth, meanwhile, has plunged to $3.5 billion from this years peak of $4.6 billion amid the selloff and as Chinas economic slowdown and intermittent Covid resurgences have hurt the retail and tourism arms of his conglomerate, Fosun International Ltd.

In an emailed response to questions, Fosun Pharma said its collaboration with BioNTech has always been supported by relevant regulatory authorities. The clinical trials and approval process are progressing in accordance with Chinas laws, the company said.

Still, the shot has already been widely approved around the world for months. Pfizer -- which has the rights to market it outside of Fosuns distribution area of mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau -- is pulling in billions in revenue from the vaccine. While Fosun has sold it in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, where its been green-lit by regulators, a BioNTech representative said the application for the vaccines use on the mainland is still ongoing.

Chinas regulator, the National Medical Products Administration and the State Council Information Office didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

Fosun was required to pay 125 million euros ($141 million) to BioNTech before the end of 2020 as an initial payment to secure 100 million doses for mainland China in 2021. Some of those shots -- with labels featuring the vaccines brand name in simplified Chinese -- eventually reached Taiwan as donations from its local chipmaking giants and charities, who purchased them from Fosun.

Meanwhile, Fosun also agreed to invest $100 million in a joint venture with BioNTech to manufacture the vaccine in China. The plant, once completed with technology transfers and manufacturing know-how from BioNTech, was supposed to churn out 1 billion doses of the shot annually. But the JV isnt currently operating with doses for region coming from BioNTechs plant in Germany.

Read more: Pfizer/BioNTech says three doses 'effective' against Omicron

The vaccine setback comes at a time when China has curbed the ascent of some of its most powerful tycoons, derailing the IPO of Jack Mas Ant Financial and placing restrictions on the gaming business of Pony Mas Tencent Holdings Ltd. In the pharmaceutical space, Chinese leaders now appear eager to prove the countrys prowess at vaccine-making, encouraging sales of local shots around the world as a way of increasing Beijings geopolitical heft.

Walvaxs shot, being co-developed with local biotech Suzhou Abogen Biosciences Co. and the Chinese military, is now being tested in final-stage trials in countries including Mexico and Indonesia, and the results are expected as soon as the end of this year.

China doesnt have an mRNA vaccine right now. When it does, itd better be a domestic one, so that it shows the country is just as capable of pulling it off, said Mia He, senior health-care analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

Founded in the early 1990s by Guo, a philosophy major, along with three friends who studied genetic engineering at Shanghais prestigious Fudan University, Fosun got its start as a consultancy firm. Guo then sniffed out business opportunities in sectors just beginning to open to private companies and Fosun later went on a global acquisition spree.

But in 2015, Guo briefly disappeared from public view and trading in his holding company, Fosun International Ltd., and Fosun Pharma was suspended. The companies said he was assisting investigations carried out by Chinese judiciary authorities. Their shares resumed trading three days later, when Guo reappeared at a group annual meeting.

In the ensuing years, Fosun International divested billions in assets. Meanwhile, regulatory scrutiny and tighter bank credit brought down giants like HNA Group Co. and Anbang Group Holdings Co. Fosun survived because it was compelled to begin tackling these issues at an earlier stage, and was also in a better position to do so, since its operational portfolio was in better shape, said Brock Silvers, chief investment officer at Hong Kong-based private equity firm Kaiyuan Capital, who tracks Chinese equities and used to hold Fosun shares.

Guo made health care an important area for the conglomerate, and the drug unit sells a hodgepodge of medicines that treat everything from diabetes to mental disorders. In China, it also sells foreign brands like a key cancer therapy marketed by Gilead Sciences Inc. and surgical robots made by Intuitive Surgical Inc.

Fosun Pharma and the parent conglomerate both said they continue to embrace a global strategy, although the drugmaker has appeared to show a rising interest in local investments in recent months.

In July this year, Fosun Pharma stuck a deal with a domestic biotech firm called Kintor Pharmaceutical Ltd. for the right to market a drug being tested for treating Covid. The drug, called proxalutamide, was studied as a potential prostate cancer treatment by Kintor for years before the pandemic and earlier research conducted in Brazil showed it reduced hospitalization among mild Covid patients, as well as death in the very sick.

Experts have questioned that claim, but Kintors CEO said he hopes a pivotal trial being carried out in the U.S., which will have interim data in December, will help clear some doubts around the drugs efficacy on Covid. Still, Chinese state media are already touting the drug as the countrys equivalent to the pills developed by Merck & Co and Pfizer, which can be taken at the early stages of infection to treat Covid.

Among other local investments, Fosun Pharma has also bought a controlling stake in a domestic vaccine maker thats developing something similar to Pfizers Prevnar 13, a pneumococcal shot that was the worlds best-selling immunization before Covid. Fosuns strategy, Silvers said, often reflects a situational realism.

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Four people were killed and others were injured in a shooting on Sunday in the Palestinian camp of Burj al-Shemali in Lebanon, two officials of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas told Reuters, and they blamed rival movement Fatah for the bloodshed.

The shootings took place during the funeral of a Hamas supporter who was killed in an explosion on Friday night in the camp in the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre.

"Fatah gunmen deliberately opened fire against people taking part in the funeral march," one Hamas official said, asking not to be named.

There was no immediate response from the office of the Palestinian ambassador in Lebanon to a Reuters request for comment about the Hamas allegation.

Fatah controls the Palestinian Authority that exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Palestinian Authority officials in the West Bank, contacted for comment by Reuters, said they were checking the reports.

Earlier on Sunday, Lebanese state media said two people were killed and seven were injured in a dispute that erupted in the Burj al-Shemali camp.

Hamas said in a statement on Saturday that the blast on Friday night was caused by an electrical fault in a warehouse containing oxygen and gas cylinders for coronavirus patients, as well as detergents and disinfectants.

A number of armed Palestinian factions, including Hamas and the Fatah movement, hold effective control over roughly a dozen Palestinian camps in the country, which Lebanese authorities by custom do not enter.

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Too young. Too weak. Too inexperienced.

Since taking power following his father's sudden death 10 years ago, Kim Jong Un has erased the widespread doubts that greeted his early attempts to extend his family's brutal dynastic grip over North Korea.

Early predictions about a regency, a collective leadership or a military coup were crushed by estimated hundreds of executions and purges targeting family members and the old guard.

That ruthless consolidation of power, together with a larger-than-life personality seemingly made for carefully packaged TV propaganda, has allowed Kim to make clear that his authority is absolute.

But as North Korea's first millennial dictator marks a decade in rule this Friday, he may be facing his toughest moment yet, as crushing sanctions, the pandemic and growing economic trouble converge.

If Kim can't uphold his public pledge to develop both nukes and his moribund economy, something many experts see as impossible, it could spell trouble for his long-term rule.

The modest economic growth he achieved for several years through trade and market-oriented reforms was followed by a tightening of international sanctions since 2016 when Kim accelerated his pursuit of nuclear weapons and missiles targeting the United States and its Asian allies.

After basking in the global spotlight at summits with former US President Donald Trump in 2018 and 2019, Kim is now stuck at home, grappling with a decaying economy worsened by pandemic-related border closures.

Negotiations with Washington have been deadlocked for more than two years after he failed to win badly needed sanctions relief from Trump.

President Joe Biden's administration seems in no hurry to cut a deal unless Kim shows a willingness to wind down his nuclear weapons program, a treasured sword he sees as his biggest guarantee of survival.

While still firmly in control, Kim appears increasingly unlikely to achieve his stated goals of simultaneously keeping his nukes and bringing prosperity to his impoverished populace.

Kim laid out this goal in his first public speech as leader in early 2012, vowing that North Koreans would never have to tighten their belts again.

How Kim handles the economy in the coming years could determine the long-term stability of his rule and possibly the future of his family's dynasty, said Park Won Gon, a professor of North Korea studies at Seoul's Ewha Womans University.

The nuclear weapons program, the economy and the stability of the regime are all interconnected. If the nuclear issue doesn't get resolved, the economy doesn't get better, and that opens the possibility of disquiet and confusion in North Korea's society, Park said.

Kim desperately needs the removal of US-led sanctions to build his economy, which has also been damaged by decades of mismanagement and aggressive military spending.

But meaningful US relief may not come unless Kim takes concrete steps toward denuclearization.

Despite his pursuit of summitry, Trump showed no interest in budging on sanctions, which he described as Washington's main leverage over Pyongyang, and it's unclear if Kim will ever see another US president as willing to engage with the North as Trump was.

Their diplomacy fell apart after their second summit in February 2019, when the Americans rejected North Korea's demand for a major removal of sanctions in exchange for dismantling an ageing nuclear facility, which would have amounted to a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities.

The two sides haven't met publicly since a failed follow-up meeting between working-level officials in October of that year.

Two months after that Kim vowed at a domestic political conference to further expand his nuclear arsenal in the face of gangster-like US pressure, urging his people to stay resilient in the struggle for economic self-reliance.

But the global Covid-19 crisis has hampered some of Kim's major economic goals by forcing the country into a self-imposed lockdown that crippled its trade with China, its only major ally and economic lifeline.

South Korea's spy agency recently told lawmakers that North Korea's annual trade with China declined by two-thirds to $185 million through September 2021. North Korean officials are also alarmed by food shortages, soaring goods prices and a lack of medicine and other essential supplies that have accelerated the spread of water-borne diseases like typhoid fever, according to lawmakers briefed by the agency.

Talks with the United States are in limbo. The Biden administration, whose pullout from Afghanistan underscored a broader shift in US focus from counterterrorism and so-called rogue states like North Korea and Iran to confronting China, has not offered much more than open-ended talks.

The North has so far rejected the overture, saying Washington must first abandon its hostile policy, a term Pyongyang mainly uses to refer to sanctions and US-South Korea military exercises.

North Korea is not going to surrender its nuclear weapons, no matter what, said Andrei Lankov, a professor at Seoul's Kookmin University. The only topic they are willing to talk about is not the pipe dream of denuclearization but rather issues related to arms control.

Kim may benefit, however, from the Washington-Beijing confrontation, which increases North Korea's strategic value to China, Lankov said. China is willing to keep North Korea afloat by expanding food, fuel and other aid, and that reduces pressure on Kim to negotiate with the United States.

Instead of growth, North Korea will have stagnation, but not an acute crisis, Lankov said. For Kim Jong Un and his elite, it's an acceptable compromise.

North Korea has been taking aggressive steps to reassert greater state control over the economy amid the country's pandemic border closure. This rolls back Kim's earlier reforms, which embraced private investments and allowed more autonomy and market incentives to state enterprises and factories to facilitate domestic production and trade.

There have also been signs that North Korean officials are suppressing the use of US dollars and other foreign currencies in markets, an apparent reflection of worry about depleting foreign currency reserves.

Restoring central control over the economy could also be crucial for mobilizing state resources so that Kim could further expand his nuclear program, which would otherwise be challenging as the economy worsens.

While Kim has suspended the testing of nuclear devices and long-range missiles for three years, he has ramped up testing of shorter-range weapons threatening US allies South Korea and Japan.

Nukes brought Kim to this mess, but he's maintaining a contradictory policy of further pushing nukes to get out of it, said Go Myong-hyun, a senior analyst at Seoul's Asan Institute for Policy Studies.

The US-led sanctions regime will persist, and a return to a state-controlled economy was never the answer for North Korea in the past and won't be the answer now. At some point, Kim will face a difficult choice over how long he will hold on to his nukes, and that could happen relatively soon," Go added.

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US rescuers desperately searched for survivors Sunday after tornadoes killed at least 94 and left towns in ruin, with emergency crews racing against time to find dozens still missing from a collapsed Kentucky factory.

President Joe Biden called the wave of twisters, including one that travelled more than 200 miles (320 kilometers), "one of the largest" storm outbreaks in American history.

"It's a tragedy," a shaken Biden, who pledged support for the affected states, said in televised comments. "And we still don't know how many lives are lost and the full extent of the damage."

With the death toll all but certain to rise, scores of search and rescue officers were helping stunned citizens across the US heartland sift through the rubble of their homes and businesses overnight.

Also Read | Was the series of US tornadoes due to climate change?

More than 80 people are dead in Kentucky alone, many of the workers at a candle factory in Mayfield, the state's Governor Andy Beshear said Sunday as he raised the confirmed toll by 10 fatalities.

And the forecast was grim. "That number is going to exceed more than 100," Beshear told CNN.

Meanwhile, at least six died in an Amazon warehouse in Illinois where they were on the night shift processing orders ahead of Christmas.

Emergency crews worked through the night into Sunday at both locations, but the Kentucky governor's sombre remarks suggested his state's residents should brace for the worst.

Of the 110 employees working Friday night in the candle factory, "about 40 of them have been rescued and I'm not sure we're going to see another rescue," Beshear said.

Read more: Grief, despair in small Kentucky town after devastating tornadoes

"I pray for it," he said, but "it would be an incredible miracle" if more factory victims were found alive.

As Americans grappled with the immensity of the disaster, condolences poured in, with Pope Francis saying he is praying "for the victims of the tornado that hit Kentucky."

Biden's Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, in a break from tense bilateral relations, said his country "shares in the grief" of those who lost loved ones and expressed hope that victims quickly overcome the tornadoes' consequences.

The catastrophe has shaken many Americans, including officials who have worked in the aftermath of tornadoes and other big storms.

Also Read | 6 dead, no hope of more survivors after tornadoes destroy Amazon warehouse near St Louis

"This event is the worst, most devastating, most deadly tornado event in Kentucky's history," Beshear said Saturday, adding he fears "we will have lost more than 100 people."

"The devastation is unlike anything I have seen in my life, and I have trouble putting it into words."

The head of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency, Deanne Criswell, was to arrive in Kentucky Sunday.

The largest tornado among the swarm that smashed through the US South and Midwest had rumbled along the ground for over 200 miles (320 kilometers), Beshear said, one of the longest on record.

The longest a US tornado has ever tracked along the ground was a 219-mile storm in Missouri in 1925. It claimed 695 lives.

Also Read | Biden directs immediate surge of federal resources to tornado-hit areas

The western Kentucky town of Mayfield was reduced to "matchsticks," its mayor Kathy O'Nan said.

"There's always hope" for survivors among the missing, O'Nan told NBC Sunday. "We hope for a miracle in the days to come."

The town of 10,000 was described as "ground zero" by officials, and appeared post-apocalyptic: city blocks leveled; historic homes and buildings beaten down to their slabs; tree trunks stripped of their branches; cars overturned in fields.

Some Christmas decorations could still be seen by the side of the road.

David Norseworthy, a 69-year-old builder in Mayfield, said the storm blew off his roof and front porch while the family hid in a shelter.

"We never had anything like that here," he told AFP.

In one demonstration of the storms' power, when winds derailed a 27-car train near Earlington, Kentucky, one car was blown 75 yards up a hill and another landed on a house. No one was hurt.

Reports put the total number of tornadoes across the region at around 30.

At least 14 people were killed in other storm-hit states, including six at the Amazon facility in Illinois.

Four were killed in Tennessee, two died in Arkansas, while Missouri recorded two fatalities. Tornadoes also touched down in Mississippi.

Biden said he planned to travel to the affected areas.

At the Amazon warehouse in the southern Illinois city of Edwardsville, around 100 workers are believed to have been trapped inside.

"We identified 45 personnel who made it out of the building safely... and six fatalities," Edwardsville fire chief James Whiteford told reporters.

But he said the operation had turned from rescue to focus "only on recovery," fueling fears the toll will rise.

Amazon chief Jeff Bezos said he was "heartbroken" at the deaths.

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Britain raised its Covid alert level on Sunday in response to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the virus, as medical authorities warned that hospitalisations are likely to rise sharply over the coming weeks.

The chief medical officers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland recommended an increase to alert level 4 from level 3 on its 5-point scale, which means they judge transmission of the virus to be high.

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"Early evidence shows that Omicron is spreading much faster than Delta and that vaccine protection against symptomatic disease from Omicron is reduced," the medical officers said in a joint statement.

"Data on severity will become clearer over the coming weeks but hospitalisations from Omicron are already occurring and these are likely to increase rapidly."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to address the country in a televised broadcast at 2000 GMT to talk about the campaign to provide booster vaccinations.

"Both booster vaccines - Pfizer and Moderna - increase the immune response substantially and show good effectiveness although with some reduction compared to Delta," the medical officers said.

Level 5 - the maximum alert level - would mean the health service is at risk of being overwhelmed.

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A video feed of a Taiwanese minister was cut during US President Joe Biden's Summit for Democracy last week after a map in her slide presentation showed Taiwan in a different color to China, which claims the island as its own.

Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Friday's slide show by Taiwanese Digital Minister Audrey Tang caused consternation among US officials after the map appeared in her video feed for about a minute.

The sources, who did not want to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the video feed showing Tang was cut during a panel discussion and replaced with audio only - at the behest of the White House.

Read more: Beijing Winter Olympics boycott: The wheel turns again

The White House was concerned that differentiating Taiwan and China on a map in a US-hosted conference - to which Taiwan had been invited in a show of support at a time when it is under intense pressure from Beijing - could be seen as being at odds with Washington's "one-China" policy, which avoids taking a position as to whether Taiwan is part of China, the sources said.

The State Department said "confusion" over screen-sharing resulted in Tang's video feed being dropped, calling it "an honest mistake."

"We valued Minister Tang's participation, which showcased Taiwan's world-class expertise on issues of transparent governance, human rights, and countering disinformation," a spokesperson said.

Tang's presentation included a color-coded map from South African NGO CIVICUS, ranking the world by openness on civil rights.

Most of Asia was shown, with Taiwan colored green, making it the only regional entity portrayed as "open," while all the others, including several US allies and partners, were labeled as being "closed," "repressed," "obstructed" or "narrowed."

China, Laos, Vietnam and North Korea were colored red and labeled "closed."

When the moderator returned to Tang a few minutes later, there was no video of her, just audio, and a screenshot captioned: "Minister Audrey Tang Taiwan." An onscreen disclaimer later declared: "Any opinions expressed by individuals on this panel are those of the individual, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States government."

One source told Reuters the map generated an instant email flurry among US officials and the White House National Security Council (NSC) angrily contacted the State Department, concerned it appeared to show Taiwan as a distinct country.

Read more: US using democracy as 'weapon of mass destruction' to stoke confrontation: China

Washington complained to Taiwan's government, which in turn was angry that Tang's video had been cut.

The source called the US move an over-reaction as the map was not inherently about national boundaries, but the NSC was also angry as the slide had not appeared in "dry-run" versions of the presentation before the summit, raising questions as to whether there was intentional messaging by Tang and Taiwan.

"They choked," the source said of the White House reaction.

A second source directly involved in the summit said the video booth operator acted on White House instructions. "It was clearly policy concerns," the source said, adding: "This was completely an internal overreaction."

The sources saw the move during a panel on "countering digital authoritarianism" as at odds with the summit's mission of bolstering democracy in the face of challenges from China and others. They also said it could signal that the administration's support for Taiwan was not as "rock solid" as it has repeatedly stated.

An NSC spokesman said Reuters' account of the incident was "inaccurate".

"At no time did the White House direct that Minister Tang's video feed be cut," the spokesman said in an email, also blaming it on confusion over screen-sharing and adding that the full video could be viewed on the summit web page.

Asked whether she believed the US government cut the video due to the slide, Tang told Reuters in an email: "No, I do not believe that this has anything to do with the CIVICUS map in my slides, or US allies in Asia for that matter."

Taiwan's foreign ministry blamed "technical problems."

The issue comes at a highly sensitive time for US-Taiwan relations, when some Biden administration critics and foreign policy experts are calling for more overt shows of support for the island, including an end to a long-held policy of "strategic ambiguity" as to whether the United States would defend it militarily.

Taiwan experts said they did not see the color-coding of the map as a violation of unofficial US guidelines, which bar use of overt symbols of sovereignty, such as Taiwan's flag.

"It was clearly not to distinguish sovereignty, but the degree of democratic expression," said Douglas Paal, a former unofficial US ambassador to Taiwan.

Under US government guidelines as of 2020, US government maps showing sovereignty by color require Taiwan to be shown with the same color as China, although exceptions can be made "when context requires that Taiwan be specifically singled out."

Bonnie Glaser of the German Marshall Fund of the United States said the guidelines would not apply to a non-US government map, "but the US would likely want to avoid appearing to endorse that Taiwan is not part of China."

"It seems to me that a decision was made at the outset that Taiwan could/should be included in the Summit for Democracy, but only in ways consistent with US policy."

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A personal security officer (PSO) of a BJP activist and his associate were reported missing along with two weapons on Sunday night in north Kashmirs Kupwara district.

Official sources said that during the intervening night of December 12 and 13, Saqib Ahmad Tantry, who was deployed as PSO with BJP activist Abdul Rashid Zargar, allegedly fled with two weapons. Zarger, a protected person, is putting up at the PWD building at Salkoot, Kupwara.

Saqibs associate, Arif Ahmad, a resident of Bohipora, Kupwara, is also missing, they said.

Also Read | 2 militants killed in encounter on outskirts of Srinagar

A police official said that efforts were underway to trace the missing duo. Saqib had come to his house and then left. His family told us that they are also searching for him, he said.

Although the police-militant nexus in Kashmir dates back to the early 1990s, the trend of cops deserting with weapons to join militancy emerged only after 2015. However, in the last two years, after authorities took several measures to prevent such incidents, the trend has declined.

A few dozen incidents of policemen deserting the forces along with service weapons have been reported in Kashmir in recent years. Several policemen-turned-militants were later killed in encounters with security forces.

In April 1993, a few thousand police personnel had reportedly rebelled out of anger at the death of a colleague, Riyaz Ahmed, allegedly while in army custody. The army and the paramilitary forces with the help of armoured cars in a pre-dawn swoop on the Police Control Room (PCR) in Srinagar had to disarm 1500 odd rebelling policemen.

Also Read | Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation Commission ready with report on resizing of constituencies

While the 1993 strike by the policemen was spontaneous, today the actions by cops are well-conceived. More than 100 members of the J&K police force face charges for abetting separatism and many more are said to believe in Kashmirs right to political self-determination.

This (running away with weapons) is a really worrisome trend and we are looking into it. Though some measures had been taken in the past to stop this trend, the latest incident is a wake-up call for the police force to take more preventive and corrective measures to stop this in future, a senior police officer told DH.

Asked what prompts policemen to leave lucrative jobs and join militant ranks, where death is evident, the officer explained: Social media has made militancy a 24x7 lived reality for everyone. The pictures, videos uploaded by the militants glamorize jihad, ensuring that a steady trickle of the impressionable youth is taken in and join militancy. In some cases, a few policemen also fall prey to the propaganda.

However, among more than one lakh strong force which has been fighting militancy for the last almost three decades, only a handful of policemen will acknowledge anti-India or pro-separatist bias. Local police are the prime target of militants and hundreds of cops have been killed in Kashmir in the last 32-years.

You have to expect that some policemen will have to face internal ideological conflict. At one point, hes a Kashmiri, second, hes Muslim. Because of these two facets, he is in a moral dilemma. He has to oscillate between extremes, the officer said.

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Taking a cue from Trinamools playbook, the Bharatiya Janata Kisan Morcha (BJKM), a BJP affiliate representing farmers, intends to hold a three-day-long dharna (December 14-16) in Singur, 40 kilometres from Kolkata. BJKM has said that the unwillingness of the ruling Trinamool or the local administration will not deter supporters from holding the programme.

Singur is the location where Tatas had, once, planned their small-car factory, but had to shift out in 2008 after a sustained agitation led by Mamata Banerjee was organised, concerning land acquisition for the factory.

Mahadev Sarkar, state president, BJKM, told Deccan Herald that farmers, especially with limited resources, are not in a good shape. Sarkar claimed that two farmers in the state also died, allegedly by suicide, because of harsh economic conditions.

The state government is creating obstacles to prevent us from organising our agitation, Sarkar said. We have given an intimation to the local police station. We want to do it adjacent to the expressway, for which we are taking approval from the highways authority, he said.

Also Read  13 years after Singur fiasco Bengal minister says Tatas 'most welcome'

A delegation representing the farmers wing met West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, on Saturday, to present a memorandum. All farmers, including potato, paddy, tobacco, silk, flower and vegetable farmers are under severe distress due to the collapse of the government mechanism in the agriculture sector, the memorandum stated.

It also alleged that due to heavy rains, potato farmers faced immense difficulties and owing to poor infrastructure, were unable to prevent crop damage.

State General Secretary of BJP, Sayantan Basu, told Deccan Herald that the issue of the states farmers has been raised by the party, already, and the programme is to definitely take place. Sarkar says that Singur has been opted for as its the place where the Trinamool came to power talking of farmers and change.

Opting for Singur as its site for the farmers protest highlights bigger political trends in the state.

Political analyst Shikha Mukherjee observed: There seems to be an attempt to politicise the process of industrialisation, something that has happened in Bengal, time and again. The BJP and the Left are advocates of promoting industrialisation of West Bengal.

Mukherjee added that while the Left is actively interacting with the local population where a mining project is expected to come up, the BJP is talking of farmers in Singur, which was supposed to be a factory site for manufacturing cars.

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The villagers of Oting in Nagaland's Mon district and families of the 14 people killed in the shootings by security forces refused any government compensation until the personnel involved are "brought to justice".

In a statement, the Oting Village Council said that on December 5 when the locals were busy with funeral arrangements and other works in the aftermath of the killings, Rs 18.30 lakh was given by state minister P Paiwang Konyak and the district's deputy commissioner.

Also Read | Nagaland killing: Army has taken undue advantage of AFSPA to terrorise people, says minister

At first, they assumed it to be a "token of love and gift" from the minister but later learnt it was an installment of the ex gratia from the state government for the families of those killed and injured, it said.

"The Oting Village Council and victim families will not receive it until and unless the culprit of 21st Para Commandos of the Indian Armed Force is brought to justice before the Civil code of law and repeal of Armed Force Special Power Act (AFSPA) from the entire North-Eastern region," the statement said.

Also Read | Cry for AFSPA repeal gets louder

The statement, issued on Sunday, was signed by Village Council chairman Longwang Konyak, Angh ('king') Tahwang, Deputy Angh Chingwang and Gaon Burahs (village chieftains) of Mongnei and Nyanei.

At least 14 civilians and a soldier were killed in a botched anti-insurgency operation and retaliatory violence over December 4-5 in the district, as per police.

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The Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider a plea by the West Bengal government against the Calcutta High Court's order protecting BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari from arrest in cases lodged after he joined the BJP from the ruling Trinamool Congress Party.

A bench of justices DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna noted that the observation of the high court is in support of ad-interim stay in cases against the Leader of Opposition. Adhikari had defeated Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the Assembly polls.

We are not inclined to use our special powers under Article 136 of the Constitution, the bench said, clarifying that it would not opine on the merits of the case.

Senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee, the counsel for the West Bengal government, contended that the high court jumped to a conclusion by taking a prima facie view that Adhikari was being victimised by filing the criminal cases against him.

Also Read  Calcutta HC grants interim relief to Suvendu Adhikari

He said the blanket order was passed so that nothing could be done in future and the state government would have to get leave of the court before arresting him.

The counsel said the high court's order was required to be reasoned, and those reasons must be sustainable in law, which was not there in this matter.

Adhikari was allegedly accused of hooliganism, unlawful assembly, and also violating Covid-19 guidelines, amongst other things.

He approached the high court against abuse of the police machinery by registering six FIRs against him at four different police stations.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Adhikari, pointed out that the hearing before a single-judge bench of the high court went for nearly a month and that it seemed uncharitable to say the judge after one month of hearing, the bench jumped to a conclusion, adding the cases were the result of regime revenge.

The top court allowed the state government to file a counter-affidavit before the high court and seek an expeditious hearing.

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India has suspended the import of fresh Kiwi fruits from Iran due to the rise in pest infested consignments from the middle eastern nation despite repeated warnings, according to the Union Agriculture Ministry.

Import of Iran's fresh Kiwi fruits has been banned with effect from December 7 by the nodal body National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) under the Agriculture Ministry.

"The phytosanitary certificates issued by the NPPO, Iran from December 8, 2021, for fresh Kiwi fruits shall not be entertained from our end," the ministry said in a letter written to its Iranian counterpart in NPPO.

Since October 2021, India has intercepted quarantine pest 'Aspidiotus netil' in 22 consignments and 'Pseudococcu Calceolariae' pest in two Kiwi fruit consignments, it said.

The pest infested consignments of Kiwi fruits from Iran have increased despite the repeated warning to take action to comply with the quality norms set by India, it said.

Earlier in 2019 too, India had intercepted a quarantine pest called 'Aspidiotus netil' from 13 consignments and a non-quarantine pest 'Aonidiella aurantii' from two consignments of Kiwi fruits from Iran, it added.

The ministry further said, "The non-compliance report has been sent on a regular basis to Iran for these consignments but so far no action has been taken nor the interception has decreased."

It said the introduction of any quarantine pests through infested import consignments is a threat to Indian biosecurity and is dealt with under the provisions of Indian regulation.

The Indian government has suspended the import of fresh kiwi fruits from India as each country has sovereignty and authority to protect itself, it said.

Iran government has also been requested to investigate the cases of non-compliance and submit an action taken report at the earliest with respect to remedial measures taken to avoid future interceptions.

Currently, India imports 4,000 tonnes of Kiwis from various countries, while the domestic production is about 13,000 tonnes, as per the government data.

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India and the UK on Monday explored the possibility of cooperation in the outer space domain. The two sides exchanged views over it under the framework of India-UK Space Consultations.

"The two sides exchanged information on respective national space priorities, prospects for bilateral collaboration, and deliberations in international forums in the outer space domain," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

Officials of the MEA, the Department of Space and the Indian Space Research Organisation were part of the Indian delegation.

The British side comprised representatives from the UK Space Agency, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

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Two police personnel were killed while 12 others injured when militants attacked a bus they were traveling in near a police camp at Zewan on the outskirts of Srinagar on Monday evening.

The attack happened near the Srinagar-Jammu national highway and was the second such incident in the same area. On September 1, 2017 a policeman was killed and seven others injured in a similar attack.

Reports said two to three militants opened indiscriminate fire on the bus in the highly secure area that houses several camps of various security forces.

The injured personnel were immediately shifted to nearby health facilities. However, two among them succumbed to their injuries in a hospital. The slain policemen were identified as assistant sub inspector Ghulam Hassan and senior grade constable Safique Ali.

Read: Terrorist killed in Kashmir encounter after refusing to surrender

Earlier, police in a tweet said: #Terrorists fired upon a police vehicle near Zewan in Pantha Chowk area of #Srinagar. 14 personnel #injured in the attack. All the injured personnel evacuated to hospital. Area cordoned off. Further details shall follow.

The area, which is barely a kilometer away from the strategic 15-Corps headquarters, has witnessed a number of militant attacks in recent years. Zewan houses offices of one deputy inspector general rank officer and three commanding officers of Armed police battalions, besides a police hospital and several Army, CRPF and BSF camps.

Since 2015 a number of deadly attacks on security forces' convoys have been reported on Srinagar-Jammu national highway. While the highway is 264 kms long, it is the 40-km stretch between Bijbehera town to Pantha Chowk on Srinagar outskirts that is turning out to be a death trap for security forces.

Though CCTV cameras were installed at various points on the highway and deployment of forces on this vulnerable stretch was strengthened, militants still manage to make surprise attacks.

A senior police official said the latest deadly attack is a wake-up call for security agencies to conduct reviews.

Meanwhile, PDP president and former J&K CM tweeted: Terribly sad to hear about the Srinagar attack in which two policemen were killed. GOIs false narrative of normalcy in Kashmir stands exposed yet there has been no course correction. My condolences to the bereaved families. (sic)

National Conference leader and another former CM Omar Abdullah in a tweet said: Terrible news of a terror attack on a police bus on the outskirts of Srinagar. I unequivocally condemn this attack while at the same time send my heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased & prayers for the injured.
Congress and Trinamool Congress MPs on Monday submitted privilege notices against Rajya Sabha nominated MP and former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi for his remarks that he attends the House when he feels so, saying these were against the dignity of the House.

Justice Gogoi attended Rajya Sabha on Monday, only the seventh time since he was nominated in March 2020.

Sources said Trinamool Congress' Mausam Noor and Jawahar Sircar as well as a couple of MPs from Congress submitted the notice. Noor also wrote separately to the Ethics Committee of Rajya Sabha on the issue.

Justice Gogoi, during the promotion of his recently released memoir 'Justice for the Judge', told NDTV, "I go to the Rajya Sabha when I feel like, when I think there are matters of importance on which I should speak. I am a nominated member, not governed by any party whip. Therefore, whenever the bell rings for the party members to come, it does not bind me. I go there of my choice and come out on my choice. I am an independent member of the House."

He said he had given a letter to the Rajya Sabha informing it about not attending the Session and that he was "not comfortable going there" as he could enter the Rajya Sabha only after getting an RT-PCR test. He also said that social distancing norms were "not being observed" in Rajya Sabha and he did not find the sitting arrangements very comfortable.

He said in the interview, which was quoted in Noor's notice, "what is this magic about RS? I would have been better off in terms of pay, emoluments if I had been a chairman of a tribunal. I am not taking a penny from the Rajya Sabha."

The MPs found breach of the Council in his statements as they "undermine the dignity" of the Rajya Sabha and wanted it to be forwarded to the Committee of Privileges.

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Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, known for his penchant for rarely used English words, took a dig at the BJP on Sunday with another head-scratcher  allodoxaphobia.

Tweeting his "word of the day", Tharoor explained that allodoxaphobia means an irrational fear of opinions.

Giving an example of how to use the word, the Congress leader wrote, "The BJP government in UP slaps sedition and UAPA cases on people because its leadership suffers from allodoxaphobia."

"Word of the day, indeed of the last seven years: Allodoxaphobia. Meaning: an irrational fear of opinions. Usage: 'The BJP government in UP slaps sedition & UAPA cases on people because its leadership suffers from allodoxaphobia'," he tweeted.

Word of the day, indeed of the last seven years: *Allodoxaphobia* Meaning: an irrational fear of opinions. Usage: The BJP government in UP slaps sedition& UAPA cases on people because its leadership suffers from allodoxaphobia.

(Greek: Allo=different, doxo=opinion,phobos=fear  Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) December 12, 2021

Explaining the word further, he wrote that in "Greek -- Allo=different, doxo= opinion, phobos=fear".

This is not the first time Tharoor has sent Twitterati scurrying for their dictionaries.

In the past, he has stumped people with rarely used English words such as "farrago" and "troglodyte".

While farrago means a confused mixture, a troglodyte means a person regarded as being deliberately ignorant or old-fashioned.

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Chief Ministers of 12 BJP ruled states and nine Deputy Chief Ministers will attend a two-day conclave in Varanasi scheduled to begin on Monday

The inaugural session will be addressed by BJP chief JP Nadda, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi will give the valedictory address.

According to BJP National Secretary Arun Singh, the 12 participating Chief Ministers are from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Both the Deputy Chief Ministers in Bihar and the Deputy Chief Minister of Nagaland will also be in attendance.

"From the hill states to coastal states, from the northeast to southern India, from the western-most part of India to the eastern-most and the heart of India, the conclave will encapsulate the diversity of India," Singh said.

He added that the conclave will witness extensive and fruitful deliberations on a wide range of subjects relating to good governance and the pro-people initiatives being undertaken in line with the BJP's focus on all-round development.

"Best governance related practises from the states will also be showcased by the various Chief Ministers. The conclave will provide the Chief Ministers the opportunity to learn and grow from the others and highlight the good they are doing."

Singh pointed out that Prime Minister Modi himself has served 13 years as a Chief Minister and thus is sensitive to the aspirations of the states.

"As Prime Minister, he has always worked in line with the mantra of cooperative federalism. Through the Covid-19 pandemic, regular meetings were held with Chief Ministers and they were consulted on different aspects of fighting the pandemic," he said.

The conclave's proceedings will begin after the Kashi Vishwanath Dham corridor is launched by the Prime Minister.

The Chief Ministers will also join various cultural and spiritual programmes, including a visit to the Ghats' and witness Ganga Aarti by boat.

Besides Nadda and Modi, BJP National General Secretary (Organisation) B.L. Santhosh will also join the deliberations.

Union Minister Bhupender Yadav and former BJP national vice president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, who has been associated with the PARTY's 'Good Governance Department', will also be present.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate on Monday the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor that connects the ancient Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi to the ghats of the Ganga.

The project, officials deem, is close to Modi's heart and that the latter wants better conditions for devotees visiting the revamped temple.

Here are the key new features of the PM's Rs 800-crore 'dream project':

1. The temple now has a 20-foot-wide corridor connecting its Mandir Chowk to the holy Ganga's Lalita Ghat, offering direct visibility of the temple from the ghat. The temple, till now, was ensconced in the tiny lanes of Varanasi and access to the same was invariably a problem -- especially on special occasions when the crowds swelled. The temple now has an area of its own with a giant courtyard.

2. The move is in line with Modi's vision to boost tourism in the ancient city in a big way.

Also Read  Yogi's bua, babua barb ahead of Kashi Vishwanath corridor inauguration

3. While the renovation of the Kashi Vishwanath temple remains top on the list of the projects completed in the Prime Minister's constituency, the Rudraksh Convention Centre that is designed like a Shivalinga with a seating of 1,200 people, with 108 Rudrakshas on its facade, is another major highlight. The centre has divisible meeting rooms, an art gallery, and pre-function areas.

4. The Godowlia Multi level parking, Panchkosi Parikrama Road (for pilgrims), Ro-Ro Vessels for tourism development on Ganga River and three-lane flyover bridge on the Varanasi-Ghazipur Highway, Rs 111.26 crore for constructing 47 rural link roads of 153 km, Lahartara-Chaukaghat flyover replete with a food court and open cafe, road connecting Babatpur airport to the city have given a new identity to Varanasi.

5. The city's infrastructure has witnessed an upgrade with roads being improved. The Ring Road, with two rail overbridges and a flyover, will allow traffic on NH 56 (Lucknow-Varanasi), NH 233 (Azamgarh-Varanasi), NH 29 (Gorakhpur-Varanasi) and Ayodhya-Varanasi highways to bypass Varanasi, thereby reducing traffic congestion in the city. The Ring Road will provide convenient access to Sarnath, an important site for Buddhist pilgrimage.

Also Read  Kashi Vishwanath corridor approved by SP government, have documentary evidence, says Akhilesh Yadav

6. The Manduadih railway station in Varanasi has been revamped into a world-class station. Equipped with the latest amenities like air-conditioned waiting lounge, stainless steel lounges, LED lights, the station also has a cafeteria, food court, booking and reservation office, waiting rooms and more.

7. There are LED screens that have been installed in the city. They will provide tourists with information that is inclusive of Kashi's history, architecture, and art. Screens placed across the city will also display the famed Ganga Aarti and the aarti at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

8. Built over 5.5 lakh square feet, the corridor has decongested the temple complex, which was earlier surrounded by buildings on three sides.

9. A gallery devoted to 40 'lost temples' like Gangeshwar Mahadev and Manokameshwar Mahadev that were discovered during the demolitions of buildings has been set up at Delhi's National Museum.

10. 'Smart signages' have also been set up in Varanasi to provide informatiom about the cultural importance of heritage sites and 84 ghats in the city known for 'antiquity and architectural significance'.

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Activists of right-wing Bajrang Dal on Monday took down and set on fire a huge flex banner announcing a 'Pakistani food festival' to be organised at a restaurant in Gujarat, a senior office-bearer said and claimed that the concerned restaurant has accepted its "mistake".

This banner, put up atop a building housing the restaurant in the Ring Road area, was taken down and set blaze amid chants of "Jai Shri Ram."

The said food festival was supposed to be organised at the Taste of India restaurant between December 12 and 22.

Also Read  Ranchi trio held for forcing Kashmiri traders to chant 'Jai Shri Ram'

South Gujarat Bajrang Dal President Deviprasad Dubey said the member activists took down the flex banner from the building and set it on fire because they are against such an event. "We ensured that such a festival is not organised at that restaurant. No such festival will be tolerated. The restaurant has accepted its mistake," he said.

Sandeep Dawar of Sugar N Spice Restaurants, which operates Taste of India, said they will continue to serve the Mughlai cuisine and will strike out the word "Pakistani" from the food festival as it hurts the sentiments of some people.

"We will not use the word 'Pakistani' anymore in the food festival as it hurts the sentiments of some people. When we were using that word we felt that some people might not like it, but we did not know it would turn out like this...We are just serving cuisine which has nothing to do with Pakistan as such. The second name of Mughlai cuisine is Pakistani food," Dawar said.

No police case was lodged.

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Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Monday invited stand-up comedians Kunal Kamra and Munawar Faruqui to hold a programme at Bhopal in the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh after they were recently denied permission for shows in Bengaluru.

Hitting out at Singh, BJP MLA from Bhopal Huzur Assembly constituency, Rameshwar Sharma, said he will not allow shows of anyone who has disrespected Hindu deities not only in Bhopal but also in the rest of Madhya Pradesh.

Also Read: 'Artist haar gaya': In the interest of 'public order'

"Digvijaya Singh is wishing to invite Pakistan's terrorists to his home for a biryani party. This doesn't mean that we all will accept it," the MLA said.

Faruqui was last month denied a nod to hold a show in the Karnataka capital amid protests by some right-wing outfits. A few days later, Kamra, a vocal critic of the government, said his stand-up shows, scheduled to be held in Bengaluru, were cancelled after the organisers received threats.

Earlier this year, Faruqui had spent a month in jail at Indore after a BJP MLA's son lodged an FIR in January accusing the comedian of hurting religious sentiments through his show.

"I will organise a show for you Kunal and Munawar in Bhopal. All responsibility will be mine. The only condition is that the subject of comedy will be Digvijaya Singh. Sanghis (RSS cadre) should not object to this!! Don't be afraid!! Give the date and time as per your convenience. All your conditions are accepted," Digvijaya Singh tweeted on Monday.

                

  ,       

       !!   !!

     

     https://t.co/PRrvY0zupm  digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) December 13, 2021

In his post, the Congress Rajya Sabha MP also tagged a news article related to Kamra. Responding to Singh's appeal, Kamra tweeted, "Sir thank you for the kind invitation. Checking if we have life insurance and getting back to you ASAP".

Meanwhile, BJP MLA Rameshwar Sharma said shows of these comedians will not be allowed in Bhopal and the rest of Madhya Pradesh.

Digvijaya Singh is wishing to invite Pakistan's terrorists to his home for a biryani party. This doesn't mean that we all will accept it. Those who disrespected Lord Ram and Sita and our country will not be allowed to hold a show in Bhopal and MP, Sharma said. He accused Congress and Digvijaya Singh of playing divisive politics.

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Gujarat has acknowledged more Covid-19 deaths than its official tally, according to a court document filed on Monday, lending weight to fears that the country's actual toll was much higher than reported.

Reuters and other media have reported, based on figures collected from crematoriums and cemeteries, that during India's record second wave of cases between April and June, states including Gujarat undercounted deaths as many people died at home due to a severe shortage of hospital beds and oxygen.

Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, told the Supreme Court it had received 22,557 applications as of Thursday from families of the dead seeking compensation and 16,175 had been approved, according to an affidavit seen by Reuters. Its reported death count is 10,099, according to the state's latest health bulletin.

A Gujarat official with direct knowledge of the matter said applications had now swelled to more than 40,000 and nearly half had been approved. All of them would get Rs 50,000 each.

Also Read  Compulsory Covid-19 vaccination comes into effect in Puducherry amid Omicron scare

India has reported a total of 475,636 Covid-19 deaths, including many revised figures from states that have come under pressure from courts to accurately represent the scale of the disaster.

Opposition Congress said it believed the actual death toll to be still higher.

"We have been saying from the beginning that the Gujarat government has been underreporting Covid-19 cases and deaths," said Manish Doshi, chief spokesperson of Gujarat Congress, adding its surveys had shown at least 55,000 deaths.

Gujarat Revenue Minister Rajendra Trivedi, whose department is paying the compensation, did not respond to requests for comment.

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Twenty years ago, Parliament, the supreme legislative body of India, witnessed a dastardly terror attack that shook the conscience of the country to its core.

Even after two decades, the horror of the day, December 13, 2001, is still fresh in the minds of the citizens.

The ill-fated morning of December 13, 2001

On the morning of December 13, 2001, five terrorists of militant groups Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) infiltrated the premises in a White Ambassador bearing fake stickers of the Home Ministry and Parliament.

Also Read | 20 years of Parliament attack: Memories of horror still fresh

Carrying AK47 rifles, grenade launchers, pistols and grenades, the terrorists breached through security cordons deployed around the Parliament complex.

As they further drove the car inside, one of the staff members, Constable Kamlesh Kumari Yadav, became suspicious of their movement.

Yadav was the first security official to approach the terrorists' car and, realising something suspicious, ran back to her post to seal gate no 1 where she was posted. With their cover effectively blown, the terrorists opened fire on Yadav and fired at her 11 times.

Yadav died on the spot, averting a suicide bomber among the terrorists to execute his plan.

After killing Yadav, the terrorists moved forward, firing indiscriminately.

Also Read | PM Modi pays tribute to security personnel killed in 2001 Parliament attack

The horror lasted for about 30 minutes during which nine people were killed and 18 others injured. Around 100 ministers and MPs who were present in the Parliament were unhurt.

All the five terrorists were also neutralised outside the building.

What happened after that?

On the same day, the police lodged an FIR, recording the attack on Parliament.

The anti-terror unit of the Delhi Police-- Special Cell, arrested the four other individuals named Mohammed Afzal Guru, Shaukat Husain Guru, Afsan Guru and SAR Geelani, who was involved in the attack, through the leads of the car that was used and cellphone records.

Mohammed Afzal Guru was a former militia of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) who had surrendered in 1994 and SAR Geelani was a lecturer of Arabic at Delhi University.

Also Read | Nation shall forever be grateful to security personnel who died defending Parliament: President Kovind

Later, on December 29, Afzal Guru was kept in police remand. The trial court acquitted Afsan Guru, however, Geelani, Shukat and Afzal Guru were sentenced to death by the trial court.

In 2003, SAR Geelani was exonerated.

In 2005, Supreme Court upheld Afzal Guru's death sentence but Shaukat was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous punishment.

On September 26, 2006, the court ordered that Afzal Guru be hanged.

In October the same year, Afzal Guru's wife, Tabassum Guru, filed a mercy petition which was dismissed by the Supreme Court. On February 3, his mercy petition was rejected by then President Pranab Mukherjee.

On February 9, 2013, Afzal Guru was hanged in Tihar Jail and his remains were not handed over to his family but buried in Tihar jail.

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With a large number of people from Uttarakhand serving in the military, Congress is making special efforts to woo voters from such families in Uttarakhand in the run up to Assembly polls.

Top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will address a rally in the state on December 16 to celebrate the Bangladesh War veterans as well as pay homage to countrys first Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, who died in a chopper crash last week.

The Vijay Samman Rally scheduled for Thursday at Dehradun will have in attendance a large number of 1971 war veterans and other military veterans. Sources said the rally will also pay homage to Gen Rawat, who hails from Pauri in Uttarakhand.

Read more: Channi arrives late for Congress rally in Jaipur; meets Sonia, Rahul at airport

This is part of Congress plans to hold programmes across India on December 16 to celebrate the victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war. It was on 16 December, 1971, Pakistan signed the Instrument of Surrender, leading to the creation of Bangladesh.

The rally in Uttarakhand comes a day after Congress president Sonia Gandhi attends a function in New Delhi that concludes the year-long celebration of 50th Anniversary of Bangladesh Liberation War.

Uttarakhand is home to a sizable section of veterans as well as serving military personnel and Congress is attempting to woo them as the state is heading to Assembly polls early next year.

Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal said programmes like honouring war veterans and war widows and commemorating the Bangladesh Liberation War-1971 should be conducted in a befitting manner at district level across the country.

He said the Congress programmes on the 1971 War celebrations, which were delayed due to Covid-19, started in mid-July with a district level meeting in Haryanas Panchkula on July 10.

District and block levels in some of the "soldier states" like Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan could be continued beyond 2021, he said.

Maximum district meetings have been held in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Tamil Nadu. Congress has so far organised over 100 such meetings throughout the country.

State-level functions started on November 16 with a meeting in Nagaland capital Kohima followed by other states. Venugopal also directed the states, which have not concluded their state level functions, to organise such meetings up to December 31.

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The stage was set for the inauguration of the first phase of the ambitious Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project on Monday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi arriving here.

Modi also took part in a 'cruise baithak' and enjoyed watching fireworks and festivities to be hosted at ghats of the ancient city. He also took holy dip in River Ganga at Varanasi.

PM Narendra Modi and CM Yogi Adityanath arrive at Lalita Ghat PM will offer prayers at Kashi Vishwanath temple and inaugurate the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project pic.twitter.com/0PJl13V3ZW  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 13, 2021

"The Prime Minister landed in Varanasi a short while ago," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted around 10.45 am. Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath welcomed him at the airport.

Also Read | Ancient Kashi Vishwanath Temple gets a new look

Modi, on his two-day trip to the holy town, first visited Kal Bhairav Mandir for 'darshan' of the deity, and then travelled by river route to reach the ghat adjoining the corridor.

PM @narendramodi prayed at the Kaal Bhairav Temple in Kashi. He will now join the programme to mark the inauguration of the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham. pic.twitter.com/I5LEFlUVmM  PMO India (@PMOIndia) December 13, 2021

After dedicating the Kashi Vishwanath Dham to the people in the afternoon, PM Modi, later in the evening will take part in an informal 'baithak' with state chief ministers and deputy chief minister, onboard the river cruise.

"Being an MP from Varanasi, he had expressed his desire to showcase the grandeur of Kashi, situated on the banks of the river to the chief ministers. Also, from his cruise, the PM will witness Ganga 'aarti' and grand festivities being hosted on the lines of 'Dev Deepawali' on the ghats, which will culminate with fireworks and laser show," the DM said.

(With inputs from PTI)

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Recording of wife's telephonic conversation without her knowledge is infringement of her privacy, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has observed.

The court of Justice Lisa Gill passed the order last month on a plea filed by a woman who challenged a 2020 order of the Bathinda family court.

The Bathinda family court had allowed the woman's estranged husband to prove a CD pertaining to recorded conversations between him and his wife subject to the condition of its correctness.

"Recording of telephonic conversation of the wife without her knowledge is a clear cut infringement of her privacy," observed the high court.

"Furthermore, it cannot be said or ascertained as to the circumstances in which the conversations were held or the manner in which response elicited by a person, who was recording the conversations, because it is evident that these conversations would necessarily have been recorded surreptitiously by one of the parties," it further observed.

The husband had submitted a petition in 2017 seeking a divorce from the woman. Their marriage was solemnised in 2009 and the couple had a daughter together.

During cross-examination, an application was moved by the husband in July, 2019, seeking permission to submit his supplementary affidavit by way of examination-in-chief along with the CD and transcripts of conversations recorded in memory card or chip of the mobile phone.

In 2020, the family court allowed the husband to prove the CD subject to the condition of correctness and also observed that strict principles of evidence were not applicable to the proceedings before it, keeping in view Section 14 and 20 of the Family Court Act. Thereafter, the wife approached the high court.

The counsel for the wife argued that the evidence sought to be led by the husband is completely beyond pleadings, therefore, absolutely impermissible. It was contended that the pleadings do not refer to any such conversations which are sought to be proved.

"Therefore, this evidence has been wrongly accepted. Furthermore, the said CDs are a clear-cut infringement and downright invasion of the wife's privacy, thus, a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution of India, as the conversations have been recorded without knowledge, what to say of consent of the petitioner," the counsel argued.

The counsel further contended that the family court has given a complete go bye to Section 65 of the Indian Evidence Act, because if recordings were done through a mobile phone, CDs of the recording and transcripts thereof in any case cannot be accepted as evidence.

The counsel for the petitioner submitted that the husband, being very well aware of the conversations allegedly held years prior to filing of the divorce petition, was at liberty to have incorporated them in his pleadings at the very first instance.

Though the veracity of such conversations cannot be vouched for, even if taken to be correct, they are not admissible in evidence as they have been recorded without the consent or knowledge of the petitioner, the counsel submitted.

The counsel for the husband refuted the arguments and submitted that there was no question of infringement of the right of privacy and in any case, the husband can always be subjected to cross-examination.

It is vehemently argued that conversations so recorded are not beyond pleadings as it has always been the husband's case that he was treated with cruelty by his wife.

Though specific conversations are not mentioned in the petition, it has been clearly mentioned that the wife used to treat him in a cruel manner, his counsel argued.

The recorded conversations are only an attempt to prove the same, therefore, it cannot be said that they are beyond pleadings, the counsel argued.

The high court set aside the Bathinda family court order.

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There are over 1.22 lakh vacancies, including 8,362 in officer ranks, in the three wings of the Indian military, the government informed Rajya Sabha on Monday.

This was disclosed by Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt in a written reply to questions raised by CPI(M) MP Dr V Sivadasan. Bhatt said that it was the "endeavour" of the government to fill up vacancies in the armed forces in a "systematic and time-bound manner, which is a continuous process".



A total of 1,22,55 vacancies -- 9,362 in officer rank and 1,13,193 in other ranks -- in Army, Air Force and Navy.

Army has the highest vacancies -- 7,476 in officer rank and 97,177 in other ranks. At the same time, it has 53,569 officers as well as 11,35,799 personnel in other ranks serving in its ranks at present.

Air Force, which has 12,048 officers and 1,38,792 personnel in other ranks, has the least number of vacancies though it has more officers and personnel than the Navy. In Air Force, there are 621 vacancies in officer ranks while it is 4,850 for other ranks.

When it comes to the Navy, it has 1,265 vacancies in officer rank while that of other ranks, it is 11,166. The Navy has 11,100 officers and 63,515 other personnel.

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Pakistan on Monday criticised as "unwarranted and provocative" the remarks of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh who attacked Islamabad for naming its missiles after those who invaded India.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of 'Swarnim Vijay Parv' (Golden jubilee celebration) on Sunday to commemorate India's victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war, Singh said Pakistan's missiles have been named after the cruel invaders - Ghauri, Ghaznavi and Abdali - who invaded India.

"Someone should ask the Pakistan government that these invaders also attacked the people living in the geographical area of Pakistan," he said.

On the other hand, India's missiles have been named Aakash (Sky), Prithvi (Earth) and Agni (Fire), he added.

Responding to Singhs remarks, the Foreign Office (FO) here said: Pakistan strongly condemns the unwarranted, gratuitous and provocative comments made by the Indian Defence Minister at an event in New Delhi on December 12, questioning established historical facts, levelling unfounded allegations in the context of terrorism, and hurling threats against Pakistan."

The FO said that Pakistan was capable of thwarting Indias aggressive designs.

It asked the BJP leaders to desist from any "ill-conceived misadventure and stop dragging Pakistan into Indias domestic politics for electoral gains.

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President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday led the nation in paying tributes to the security personnel who laid down their lives fighting terrorists during the 2001 Parliament attack.

Kovind tweeted: "I pay homage to the brave security personnel who laid down their lives on this day in 2001, defending the Parliament of the world's largest democracy against a dastardly terrorist attack. The nation shall forever remain grateful to them for their supreme sacrifice."

Also Read | How terrorists infiltrated India's citadel of democracy in 2001

I pay homage to the brave security personnel who laid down their lives on this day in 2001, defending the Parliament of the worlds largest democracy against a dastardly terrorist attack. The nation shall forever remain grateful to them for their supreme sacrifice.  President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) December 13, 2021

Remembering the brave hearts, the Prime Minister tweeted: "I pay my tributes to the security personnel who were martyred in the line of duty during the Parliament attack in 2001. Their service to the nation and supreme sacrifice continues to inspire every citizen."

I pay my tributes to all those security personnel who were martyred in the line of duty during the Parliament attack in 2001. Their service to the nation and supreme sacrifice continues to inspire every citizen.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 13, 2021

Also Read | 20 years of Parliament attack: Memories of horror still fresh

Paying homage, Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted in Hindi: "I salute the courage and valour of all the soldiers, who made their supreme sacrifice to protect the temple of Indian democracy, Parliament House, in the cowardly terrorist attack. Your unparalleled valour and sacrifice will always inspire us to serve the nation."

                                                pic.twitter.com/HyzCyPkxnF  Amit Shah (@AmitShah) December 13, 2021

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted: "My tributes to those brave security personnel who sacrificed their lives during the attack on the Parliament House in 2001. The nation will remain grateful for their courage and supreme sacrifice in the line of duty."

My tributes to those brave security personnel who sacrificed their lives during attack on the Parliament House in 2001. The nation will remain grateful for their courage and supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) December 13, 2021

On the 20th anniversary of the attack, a programme was organised on the Parliament premises to pay homage to the brave hearts who made the supreme sacrifice.

Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Defence Minister Rajanth Singh, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Arjun Ram Meghwal, among others paid tribute to the victims of the attack.

Families of the deceased were also present at the event.

On December 13, 2001, five terrorists stormed the Parliament complex and opened indiscriminate firing. Nine people, including eight security personnel, were killed while fighting the terrorists.

All five terrorists were neutralised by the security forces.

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The Supreme Court on Monday sought a response from the Centre to a plea seeking to revive the public sector units for vaccine makers and utilise their full production capabilities with purchase orders.

A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and A S Bopanna gave the Centre four weeks time to for the purpose as Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said notice is not needed in the matter as this would be in the domain of policy decision.

"We want to know what is the policy of the government," the bench said.

Also Read | Korean researchers develop new technology that can detect Omicron in 20 minutes

The court allowed former IAS Amulya Ratna Nanda, All India Drug Action Network, Low-Cost Standard Therapeutics and Medico Friend Circle, who approached it with their plea, to file a rejoinder affidavit within three weeks.

The petitioners sought direction from the top court to grant functional autonomy to vaccine public sector units and put them to use especially after public funds were spent to make them Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) compliant.

The plea said these PSUs should be granted full autonomy as envisaged in the 2010 Javid Chowdhary report, on vaccine production in the public sector units to ensure their complete revival and smooth functioning in the future.

It stated no PSUs should be excluded from producing any vaccine or from government vaccine procurement, as long as quality and affordability are ensured.

Also Read | All contacts of 3rd Omicron patient in Karnataka test Covid negative

Referring to a 2016 order of the top court, in which the government had agreed to take action to revive the PSUs, the plea said the vaccine manufacturing facilities that were catering to 80-85 % of the demand prior to their suspension continued to languish wastefully despite their modernisation and capacity expansion.

According to the petitioners, India is home to the oldest vaccine PSUs, with 25 of them set up under the British Raj. By the 1980s, 29 PSUs were set up with the sole objective of self-reliance and self-sufficiency in vaccine production for the Universal Immunisation Programme introduced in 1986 to prevent mortality and morbidity amongst children in India as part of the global effort by the World Health Organisation.

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The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to respond to a plea seeking social security benefits for "gig workers" employed by online food delivery, taxi aggregators, courier applications such as Ola, Uber, Zomato, Swiggy etc.

Senior advocates Indira Jaising and Gayatri Singh, appearing for the Indian Federation of app-based Transport Workers (IFAT), contended that at present these workers are not being provided with the benefit of social security under any of the labour legislations-organised or unorganised.

Denial of the social security to the gig workers and the platform workers is an affront to the workers' right to life and right against forced labour that is secured by Articles 14, 21 and 23 of the Constitution," it added.

Also Read | Centre may extend employment ambit to include gig workers

The counsel sought a declaration that gig workers were entitled to protection as unorganised workers.

After hearing arguments in the matter, a bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao issued notice on the petition.

Jaising said that the drivers or delivery workers are actually workmen in the classical sense of the word.

She said that worldwide for Uber they have been considered as workers.

During the hearing, the court cited the new legislation Social Security Code 2020 passed by the Parliament last year has a chapter on the welfare of "gig workers".

Also Read | Hindi-Tamil row: Zomato reinstates employee it sacked, founder bats for 'higher tolerance and chill'

The counsel submitted that under existing law, the gig workers fell under the unorganised worker.

The plea, filed through advocate Nupur Kumar, said The companies have been claiming that there exists no contract of employment and that their relationship with such workers are in the nature of the partnership. If such a claim were to be accepted, this would be inconsistent with the purpose of social-welfare legislations.

It further contended that the companies, which owns the apps, exercise complete supervision and control over the manner and method of the work with those who are allowed to register on the said apps.

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A Coimbatore-based college has registered a case against a Kerala-based YouTube channel for having aired fake news over the death of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat.

The channel, according to the Coimbatore-based college in its complaint, had aired a three-minute video depicting students of a particular community studying in Coimbatore college celebrating the death of the General and other Armed Forces personnel in the crash.

Also Read | Army thanks Stalin for Tamil Nadus help in the aftermath of chopper crash

After the video went viral, the police commenced an investigation on the same. College management, however, clarified that the video was shot on December 7, a day prior to the crash which took place on December 8 and that the students were celebrating the fresher's day in College.

The management also clarified that on December 9 the whole college had mourned the sad demise of CDS General Rawat and other personnel.

Also Read | IAF chopper crash: Phone of eyewitness sent for forensic examination

The Tamil Nadu Police have started an investigation against the Kerala-based YouTube channel based on the complaint filed by the Coimbatore college on Sunday. The police have already communicated to the Kerala Police on the channel and a team of Tamil Nadu Police is to travel to Kerala in a few days' time for investigating the case.

A senior officer with the Coimbatore police told IANS, "It is totally fake news and how can someone air such news depicting students of a particular community celebrating the death of the General and others in the crash. It would lead to communal polarisation and stringent action will be taken against the channel office-bearers."

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The Congress-led Opposition in Kerala has decided to play the waiting game in the ongoing tiff between Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over the functioning of universities in the state.

The disagreement between the two began after Khan went public to say that the higher education sector in the state has gone to the dogs as there is massive political interference in appointment of Vice-Chancellors and in teaching posts.

He went to on say that he now regrets putting his signature in the re-appointment order of the Kannur Vice-chancellor and hence does not wish to continue as chancellor and asked Vijayan to pass an ordinance to that effect and take over the post.

Read more: Kerala government never desired post of Chancellor: Vijayan

On Monday, Khan reportedly asked his staff not to accept any files which comes to him in the capacity of chancellor.

A media critic on condition of anonymity said that if the Congress does not play its cards well in the present fight between two top echelons in power, it will end up cutting a sorry figure.

"There are limits to which a Governor can go, but for a democratically elected Chief Minister, he can play the political card at will and it's here that the Congress knows, if it for obvious reasons supports the Governor, who has been a handpicked person by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they could burn their fingers. Khan and the Vijayan government had had aberrations earlier too, but they patched up quickly. So this time, they will play the waiting game," said the media critic who did not wished to be identified.

Vijayan was quick to retort and said it's surprising that after initially putting his signature and then going back on it means he (Khan) has come under some sort of duress and also added that the government has no plans to take over the post of chancellor from the Governor.

Meanwhile, in a guarded statement, the Leader of Opposition V.D.Satheesan demanded a judicial probe done into all the appointments in Universities.

"We are happy that the Governor has realised what we had pointed out when all these appointments were being made. For us the tiff between the Governor and the Chief Minister is not an issue as there are 'people' in Delhi who will settle things, like they did in the past, when a tiff broke out between the two here," said Satheesan.

Joining the issue was the BJP, when Union Minister of State for External Affairs V.Muraleedharan asked Vijayan to correct himself saying it's very clear he has violated his oath of secrecy as appointments have been gifted to pro CPI-M people, which is what the Governor pointed out.

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Making a public call for the pan-India defeat of the BJP, Trinamool Congress founder and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday slammed the Congress, accusing it of behaving like a lazy zamindaar, not only unwilling to take on the ruling party, but also not letting other parties take the battle to the BJP.

Banerjee, who was speaking at a party meeting in South Goa on Monday to induct a sitting MLA and former Chief Minister Churchill Alemao into the party, also said that the Congress, if it really wants to take on the BJP, should join TMC's alliance in Goa with regional parties.

"Khell Zaatlo' or 'Khela Hobe' (Game on) politically against BJP. Everybody wants the BJP to go. Not only from Goa, from UP, Punjab, from India, politically. Everybody has seen the performance, zero tolerance and zero governance," Banerjee said at the party rally.

"They are trying to finish the country, the democracy, the Constitution, the heritage not only in Goa, but in every part of this country. They have changed history in so many places," she added.

Slamming the lack of initiative by the Congress, in the opposition party's fight against the ruling BJP, Banerjee said: "We have seen in India that some political parties consider themselves as zamindaars. They do not do anything and do not let the others do anything. How many days did we wait?".

"I do not want to speak against the Congress. If the Congress thinks of working to defeat the BJP, we have no objection. We have formed an alliance in Goa along with MGP. This is the alternative. You want to join, join us. Just because you are not doing it, no one else will do it, this is not right," the West Bengal Chief Minister said.

"Anyone is welcome to join the alliance, join in. If you do not want to split the vote, come and work with us. But we will not allow BJP to win this time. We should beat them in Punjab, Goa, everywhere. We will help with alternatives," she added

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On November 28, a group of Bajrang Dal activists stormed into a church in Belur in Hassan district of Karnataka where the Sunday service was on and raised Jai Shri Ram slogans, accusing the Christians of proselytising the people in the area. When the women in the congregation confronted the activists saying they were falsely accusing them of converting people, the mob left.

A Christian congregation that had gathered in a godown-turned-church in Matiala in West Delhi for a Sunday worship service the same day was attacked by Bajrang Dal activists and the church premises vandalised. The congregation, under the aegis of Ankur Narula Ministries, was peacefully worshipping when the activists barged into the premises and attacked them. Earlier in October, Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists forced themselves into a church in Hubballi and sang bhajans squatting there.

Also Read | Anti-conversion law not intended to target Christians: Bommai

These are just a few instances of attacks on Christians which of late have been on the increase across the country, more so in Karnataka due to provocative statements by a BJP MLA and other leaders. The Karnataka government proposes to introduce an Anti-Conversion Bill in the winter session of the legislature, which Christians feel is more of an anti-Christian Bill to target the Christian community. The word going around among the majority community is that the Christian population is on the increase and further growth needs to be arrested. Fundamentalist elements of Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad are known to have stormed churches and attacked worshippers during their Sunday services (not mass, as most news reports indicate, as mass is held in Catholic churches and service in Protestant churches).

The fear among the majority community is ill-founded and based on falsehood. On the contrary, the percentage of the Christian population in the country has declined from 2.34% in 2001 to 2.30%, according to the 2011 census. In Karnataka, the figure stood at 1.90% in 2001 which came down to 1.87% in 2011. It was about 3% in 1947. Even if we were to presume that there have been conversions, does that make anyone less Indian than their other countrymen or any less nationalist? Christian leaders like Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Pandita Ramabai, Madhusudan Das, K C Banerjee and several others fought alongside others for the countrys freedom.

According to the data compiled by the Religious Liberty Commission of the Evangelical Fellowship of India, there were 327 incidents of violence against Christians across the country last year in which five people lost their lives, six churches were burnt down and 26 persons were subjected to social boycott, merely because they happened to hold on to their Christian faith. A maximum of 95 incidents took place in Uttar Pradesh, while Chhattisgarh accounted for 55, Jharkhand 28, Madhya Pradesh 25 and Tamil Nadu 23.

In the first half of 2021, 145 incidents of violence against Christians were reported in which three were killed, 20 ostracised and 22 churches vandalised. Madhya Pradesh, with 30 incidents, figured on the top, with Uttar Pradesh accounting for 22, Karnataka 14 and Chhattisgarh 13.

Although Article 25 provides for freedom to profess, practise, and propagate ones religion, the liberty has been curtailed to the extent that even worshipping in ones own house has become a dreaded proposition. The impunity with which fundamentalists attack churches and congregations in hordes even in the presence of the police sends out a clear message that they have the states backing.

Speaking to a TV channel, the Archbishop of Bengaluru Rev (Dr) Peter Machado expressed his apprehension that once the anti-conversion law is passed in Karnataka, fundamentalists would feel adequately protected by the law to go about attacking churches and congregations. He opined that such a law should not be enacted lest Christians fear for their lives staying in the state.

Role of the police

Unfortunately, the police have played a dubious role. Instead of providing adequate security to Christians, they have been warning them not to congregate for meetings or prayers. At times, they have joined fringe elements and silently watched when the churches and congregations were attacked. How can they ask any community not to practise their religion? A false narrative has been propagated across the country that Christians forcibly convert people. Had the Christians been converting, their population would not have dwindled.

Under the pretext of conversion, pastors and church leaders are being incarcerated. To harass Christians, one has to merely file a false complaint with the police and the ordeal begins. How is one to prove that he has not forced anyone to convert while the complainants spew blatant lies? In compliance with an order by a Karnataka Legislative Committee to conduct a survey, the tahsildar of Hosadurga taluk in Chitradurga district ordered an investigation in two villages and found that there was not a single instance of forced conversion. All Christian families confirmed that they had converted of their own volition and they attributed their wellbeing to the new religion adopted by them. Fully convinced that the allegations of conversion were fallacious, the tahsildar ended any further investigations into the matter and sent a report to the Committee.

The police need to be reminded that they are to protect every citizen by enforcing the law and not the diktats of political bosses or fringe elements. The Gurugram police recently set a befitting example by deploying hundreds of policemen around the places where Muslims were offering their Friday namaz when certain elements of Bharat Mata Vahini attempted to disrupt it. They arrested a leader and sent him to judicial custody while 10 others were detained and later let off. An example that needs to be emulated by other police forces.

(The writer is retired IGP, CRPF)

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Following Prime Minister Narendra Modis announcement of the repeal of the three contentious farm laws on November 19, protesting farmers lost no time in coming up with a new charter of demands. The most potent of these is a legal guarantee for the minimum support price (MSP). Even as Modi proposed to set up a committee to recommend how MSP can be made more effective, farmers made it clear that they want nothing less than a Central law guaranteeing MSP.

To reinforce their demand, the farmers leaders also cited a report of a committee of chief ministers - about a decade ago - under Modi (then CM of Gujarat) which recommended legal backing for MSP. The million-dollar question is: Is the demand justified?

Also Read | Varun Gandhi to bring private member bill seeking law on MSP

To assess it, we need to know the root cause behind an overarching concern of farmers, especially small farmers who constitute 86% of the total. The Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households and Land and Livestock Holdings of Households in Rural India, SAS in short, released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), covering the period July 2018 to June 2019, reveals widespread dissatisfaction among farmers with the price realised from the sale of their produce. Their highest dissatisfaction is with sales in the Agricultural Produce Market Committee mandi (marketplace notified under the state APMC Act) followed by sales in private local market. Nearly 83% of farmers sell their produce in these two outlets.

The low price from sale in APMC has to do with state laws under which farmers can sell their produce only in designated mandis. In the mandi, arthiyas  local term for commission agents (they arrange for auction and delivery of the produce)  and the licensed trader/buyer rule the roost. The duo ensures that the farmer gets a low price besides face other adversities viz. rejections, weighing less, delayed payment, etc. Levies such as market fee, arthiyas commission, rural development cess (RDC) etc further add to their woes.

As for sales in private local markets, though legally barred, small farmers who normally dont have access to the APMC, are forced to sell to the very traders who dominate the mandi, at throwaway prices. The latter have the blessings of corrupt bureaucrats and politicians and hence, wont face any action for violating the law. In short, under the existing state APMC laws, farmers face a raw deal. There can be two ways to address it. First, make a law to ensure that any purchase from the farmers will be done only at MSP. Second, open up the market allowing farmers to sell in other outlets. In the past, states had made some moves on the second.

Also Read | Brakes on power sector reforms after agreement between farmers, govt

Twenty states have allowed contract farming; 23 states direct purchase from farmers; 22 states/UTs allowed private wholesale markets while 15 have excluded fruits and vegetables from the APMC Act. But these are piecemeal efforts and are far from giving unfettered access, especially to small farmers who account for 86% of the total.

The three central laws fill the existing void as these legitimise sales on all non-APMC platforms without disturbing APMC mandis. These opened up unlimited opportunities for farmers to sell their produce, thereby helping them get higher prices, which can even exceed MSP depending on the demand-supply scenario. But thanks to the Supreme Court staying their implementation in January 2021 (the laws were enacted in September 2020), hardly any time was given to see their impact. Now, these have been scrapped.

The first option is flawed. The government cant force a private person to pay a certain price to the farmer. It wont pass judicial scrutiny. Even so, given the risk of going to jail (inevitable if the price paid is less than MSP) which trader will dare buy? Yet, giving a legal guarantee means that the Government of India will have to buy all the quantities farmers offer to sell. At present, the Centre notifies MSP for 23 farm items. The Food Corporation of India (FCI) and other state agencies buy paddy and wheat (only 30% of production), besides a few other items such as coarse cereals and pulses where output bought is minuscule. These purchases are meant for feeding the beneficiaries/poor under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).

For these limited operations, the food subsidy bill is unsustainable (over Rs 5 lakh crore for 2020-21) even as storage facilities are overstretched leading to wastage. If the government were to buy (at MSP) all the output of 23 crops, this will increase subsidy payout manifold. The ball wont stop here. There are 265 crops and the MSP guarantee will have to be given to farmers producing all these crops. This is the surest invitation to economic bankruptcy. Besides, India will turn into a blatant violator of its commitment under the WTO.

Modi should not even touch it with a pole. Instead, he should try to convince farmers that the only way they can get a higher price is to give them more options to sell. Resurrecting the three new farm laws is the way forward.

(The writer is a policy analyst)

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By Andy Mukherjee

No deposit-taking institution in the world is trusted more by savers and enjoys bigger cachet with investors than HDFC Bank Ltd. What this plenitude has done to Indias most valuable lender is make it so lethargic  literally, with its digital services suffering repeated tech outages  that it had to be banned from issuing new credit cards for eight months. But a regulatory slap on the wrist is no durable solution. Bank licenses are permits to make money out of thin air. The prospect of sharing the privilege with a new breed of digital rivals will be more effective at keeping HDFC Bank and other traditional financiers on their toes.

On valuation metrics, HDFC Banks price-to-book multiple of four is way ahead of much bigger lenders in China, the US, Japan, Australia, Europe, Singapore and Hong Kong. Some Indonesian, Middle Eastern and South Korean peers, and even a couple of Indian rivals including the Mumbai-based Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., are more expensive on a per-share basis, but none can boast HDFC Banks $189 billion deposit base.

Read | About 3 lakh account holders who lost money due to bank collapse will get it back soon: PM Modi

And yet, such is the inertia inherited by new Chief Executive Officer Sashidhar Jagdishan that he had to thank the regulator for the ban on credit-card issuance and new digital initiatives. This rap has opened our eyes to the world of possibilities, he told employees in August, as the restrictions were being eased. But instead of patting itself on the back for waking the sluggish lender, the Reserve Bank of India should ask why it has to do the markets job of pushing firms to embrace best-in-class technology.

The countrys licensing policy for financial institutions is past its sell-by date. Innovative solutions are out there but require regulation.

New technologies are reshaping the financing landscape. From nothing five years ago, Indians now pay and receive Rs 7.7 lakh crore ($102 billion) a month via apps running over a shared public utility. Soon 440 million owners of cheaper feature phones will be able to conduct cashless transactions. But because innovation originated in payments, financiers didnt pay attention. As Uday Kotak, chairman of Kotak Mahindra Bank, said recently in a speech, Bankers were short-sighted. Their standard response was, Oh, theres no money in payments.

Also Read | PM Modi exhorts banks to support wealth, job creators; increase country's balance sheet

But there is now. About 20 per cent of online payments over the shared public network are being collected by merchants. Theyre shunning costly credit-card systems, but are keen to use their online sales data as information collateral to get working-capital loans. Fintech players seized this chance, with deposit-taking institutions passively supplying the funds. The principal beast of burden for credit delivery and issuance of demand deposits, i.e. the incumbent bank, has remained undisrupted, says NITI Aayog, the government's think tank.

That needs to change. The NITI discussion paper on digital banks argues that the funding cost of Indias top nonbank consumer lender last year was more than 7 per cent, while it was less than 4 per cent for a well-capitalized bank. Why not license internet-only banks to take advantage of low-cost deposits, too, especially if they can use technology to fill $400 billion in unmet credit needs of small business owners?

Also Read | Centre's stake in banks may stay at 26%

If banks keep squatting on their entitlements, customers will up and leave. Walmart Inc.s PhonePe app moves 47 per cent of online money in India, while homegrown Paytm has a 10 per cent share. Alphabet Inc.s Google Pay, which controls 37 per cent of the market, is using its search expertise to influence customers choice of bank deposits. HDFC Bank and its bigger state-owned rival State Bank of India still have a stranglehold on savings. So theyre the top remitters by default in phone payments. However, when it comes to receiving money, the leader is Paytm Payments Bank. Its a narrow bank with a limit on deposits per customer. It can neither make loans, nor issue credit cards, though it has finally got access to the central banks emergency liquidity window.

Not allowed to function as a proper bank, Paytm hawks credit for others. Last quarter, third-party loans disbursed by the unprofitable fintech jumped six-fold from a year earlier. Still, the Paytm stock is languishing 27 per cent below its recent initial public offering price. Instead of earning fees by creating $1 billion in yearly credit opportunities for partners like HDFC Bank, the app may be more valuable as a digital bank, lending on its own.

Also Read | RBI grants scheduled bank status for Paytm Payments Bank

A licensing regime that has fallen behind technological innovation has caused a regulatory vacuum. An RBI working group estimates the number of illegal digital lending apps in India at 600. Many of them are collecting users entire phone contacts, media, gallery, etc. and using that information to harass borrowers and their contacts, the group said.

The outmoded licensing regime in India needs to be brought up to date with digitization trends in the broader economy. Itll force traditional players to shed their lethargy, and show a a more certain path to profitability to well-capitalized fintech. Small businesses will get cheaper credit, and savers wont be left at the mercy of blackmailers masquerading as lending apps.

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By David Fickling

If youre a smoker who wants to indulge your habit while gazing over the mountains of the South Pacific, youd do well to move fast. New Zealand last week announced plans to become the first nation in the world to ban tobacco.

The prohibition wont happen overnight. Instead, the country will raise the legal smoking age each year, so that people born after 2008 will never be allowed to puff. That will eventually mean that tobacco smoking  a practice thats been prevalent in the Americas for thousands of years, and spread around the world after Christopher Columbus introduced it to Europe  may finally start disappearing from one corner of the planet.

This may be a taste of things to come. The Netherlands will ban supermarket sales of tobacco starting in 2024, and the Medical Journal of Australia last month called for a New Zealand-style phaseout policy in that country. One in four Americans supported a total smoking ban in a 2018 survey by Gallup.

Also Read | New Zealand's plan to end smoking: A lifetime ban for youth

I confess to having distinctly mixed feelings about this. Smoking kills more than eight million people every year, making it a scourge at least on the scale of Covid-19, which has caused about 5.3 million recorded deaths over the past two years (alcohol, far more widespread, contributes to about three million annual deaths). That alone is reason enough to restrict the practice.

Ive never been a smoker, but am old enough to remember the time when an evening out in my birth country, the UK, would leave your clothes stinking tar. Thin-end-of-the-wedge arguments were trotted out before a 2007 law there banned smoking in all indoor workplaces. They came out again before a 2012 law in my current home of Australia, which mandated unbranded, and deliberately repellent, packaging for all tobacco products. In fact, both countries are far better off for the measures that have been introduced. The worst that can be said of them is that, while theyve accelerated the decline of tobacco consumption, its still pretty widespread.

At the same time, were now at the point where the thick end of those wedges is hoving into view. If youd suggested 14 years ago that banning smoking in pubs might ultimately lead to states prohibiting adults from undertaking activities that only harm themselves, it would have been dismissed as alarmist. But thats what were looking at now. Restrictions on indoor smoking and packaging protect bystanders from passive fumes and reduce the marketing power of cigarette businesses  outcomes that serve to enhance the welfare of all individuals. Further restrictions to limit the exposures of children and fellow householders to second-hand smoking in the home and private vehicles might be justified on the same grounds, even if they would be challenging to enforce. Outright bans, however, limit the scope of choice that the generation of New Zealanders who grow into this new law will be allowed to make.

Also Read | Explainer | How will New Zealand's lifetime ban on cigarette sales work?

That sits oddly with the current shift toward more liberal policies on similar matters. More than half of US states have now legalized or decriminalized cannabis for recreational uses. Portugal and Oregon have even decriminalized possession of hard drugs. A referendum on legalizing cannabis only narrowly failed at New Zealands election last year, and another on euthanasia passed with a hefty majority.

Its hard to justify that differential treatment on harm grounds. Cannabis use disorders are roughly as common among users as tobacco addiction is among the general population. The links between pot smoking and the respiratory, lung and heart problems associated with cigarettes are surprisingly weak, and theres a dearth of good quality studies that arent confounded by the fact that most cannabis smokers use tobacco, too. However, there are much clearer correlations between cannabis use and mental health problems including schizophrenia and psychosis, as well as educational under-attainment. Society may deem those risks an acceptable price to pay for the pain relief benefits and enjoyment that many people get from cannabis  but with the speed at which the drug is being decriminalized, theres been precious little discussion of the issue.

The New Zealand policy wont eradicate nicotine addiction. Vaping devices, which are used by New Zealand teenagers at a rate two to three times higher than smoked tobacco, wont be affected. As with any prohibition, it also runs the risk of encouraging organized crime. Illegal consumption of tobacco in Australia has been slowly but surely ticking up for several years now in response to that countrys punitive tobacco tax policies, providing a steadily rising stream of black-market revenue.

Whats clear is that the current breed of tobacco control policies arent succeeding in bringing down voluntary smoking fast enough without harmful side effects of their own. The very high taxes imposed in New Zealand and Australia  a 25-stick pack of Marlboro Gold at my local supermarket costs A$48.95 ($35)  dont seem to be enough to break the power of addiction. Ultimately, they mean the underprivileged communities who still smoke at the highest rates have to pay regressive taxes on top of their other problems. In New Zealand, for instance, smoking is far more common among the Indigenous Maori and Pacific Islander people than the general population.

That suggests a change of direction toward a limited and gradual, but ultimately more absolute measure like that being introduced in New Zealand is worthwhile, even just so the rest of the world can see whether its a success or a failure. Smokers themselves, few of whom feel great loyalty to their self-destructive habit, are often supportive of tobacco control policies. A 2019 survey in Sweden found former users were only slightly less in favour of such laws than the general population, while one recent study of 6,014 smokers in Pakistan found that 82 per cent supported a complete ban.

Liberal societies will rightly seek to enhance individuals sovereignty over their bodies, and tread carefully when they take those freedoms away. Addictive drugs already violate that sovereignty, though, by making it physically or psychologically painful to give them up. Tobacco prohibition in New Zealand will certainly infringe on peoples freedoms. Tobacco addiction, however, has been doing that for centuries.

Bloomberg Philanthropies  the foundation run by Michael Bloomberg, owner of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Opinion  has invested $1.1 billion in fighting tobacco use globally.

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A trip to Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat Higher Primary School at Bokkapatna-06 in Mangaluru takes visitors to a world of stories through its beautiful artworks on the walls of the school.

This is thanks to the efforts of 17 drawing teachers of the district who came together to paint the walls of the school with the artworks that tell stories related to children.

The school had remained closed due to Covid-19 pandemic for nearly two years. To attract students and to give a feeling of learning atmosphere for them, the drawing teachers came together to paint the walls of the school, Ambika, a drawing teacher at Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat Higher Primary School at Bokkapatna, told DH.

We had organised Pranathi Varna Sambhrama from October 27 to 29 to adorn the walls of the school with beautiful artworks, she said.

The drawing teachers Dinesh Shettigar, Sundar, Manjunath, Sudheer, Rajeshwari K, Shalini, Harsih Acharya, Channakeshava D R, Taranath Kairangala, Muralidhar Acharya, Murali Krishna Rao, Dhananjay P, Umesh, Balakrishna Shetty, Prasanna Kumar, Suchetha and Olavia participated in the initiative. Along with the teachers, even the students have drawn warli art, which they had learnt in the classrooms, on the walls. This gave them all together a new experience, explained Ambika.

The art works were made using oil paint. There is a huge butterfly and waterfalls paintings on the walls of the schools. Each painting is related to the activities of the children. When the children look at them, they tend to connect it with their lives, said Ambika.

A portion of the wall has a drawing of a train, which they have named as Bokkapatna Express. The train and the butterfly are the most sought after paintings among the students. The walls have paintings of scenery, lion, crow, children playing and also on themes related to moral stories, balance in nature, waterfalls in the evergreen forest, messages related to cleanliness, learning to gain knowledge and so on.

Owing to Covid-19 pandemic, the students had remained away from the schools. The paintings on the walls aim at attracting the attention of the students and bring them back to the learning process, said Ambika.

After viewing the walls of the school, the students retell what they saw on the walls in English and Kannada to their teachers, she added.

The donors, who normally help the school during the annual day celebrations, helped us in procuring the required materials, including oil paint for the paintings. Further, old students carried out shramadaan to clean the walls of the school, Ambika added.

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Karnataka Higher Education Minister CN Ashwath Narayan said Monday that degree certificates and marks sheets issued by universities are being digitised under the National Academic Depository (NAD).

The Bangalore University, for instance, has digitised documents pertaining to the last 43 years, Narayan told the Legislative Council while replying to a question by Congress' BK Hariprasad. Karnataka occupies the top position in the NAD project, Narayan claimed.

Documents are made digitally secure to prevent incidents of fake mark sheets and academic credentials can be verified through DigiLocker, as they are stored in the Karnataka State Data Centre (KSDC). "All universities coming under the Higher Education Department have been instructed to strictly implement this project, and not to print marks sheets and certificates," he said.

Also Read  Making the digital connect

Hariprasad observed that the alleged fake marks sheets scam related to Bangalore University was not an isolated issue. He said a section of media reported that it was bigger than the Vypam scam in Madhya Pradesh. "Will a comprehensive probe be conducted?" he asked.

He also went on to say that some elected representatives in the country also had fake marks cards.

Narayan said three cases are registered regarding fake marks sheets that were not issued by the university or government officials. They were issued by private persons. The university found that the marks sheets were fake when they were sent for verification for government recruitments, he said.

When Hariprasad said a case was filed against a principal and eight students of a college at Banashankari in Bengaluru, affiliated to Bangalore University, the minister said the university was not involved. "Investigation is on and action would be taken against the guilty," he said.

On grant-in-aid for ITI

In reply to a question by K Pratap Simha Nayak, Narayan clarified that the government has no proposal to bring unaided industrial training institutes (ITIs) under grant-in-aid as all seats in government and aided categories are not getting filled.

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Four farmers died on the spot and ten others sustained injuries in a road mishap near Alur cross in Hiriyur taluk on Chitradurga-Bengaluru stretch of National Highway - 4 on Monday.

According to police, an onion laden truck, en route to Bengaluru, turned turtle after one of its tyres burst. As a result, the car coming from behind rammed into it. In an attempt to avoid a collision, two other trucks overturned.

Following the incident, traffic on the Bengaluru-Mumbai highway was halted for hours.

The deceased have been identified as Hanumappa Kalakappa Hunagundi (30), Gurappa Hugar (26), Ramesh (28), Prashanth Hatti (36), all from Gadag district. The injured have been shifted to Hiriyur Public Hospital.

Superintendent of Police G. Radhika, DySP Roshar Zameer, Circle Inspector Shivakumar have visited the spot and been instructed to clear the traffic jam on the highway.

Hiriyur police registered a case.

(With inputs from IANS)

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Following their letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 40 per cent commission in government projects, the Karnataka State Contractors' Association on Monday demanded a probe into corruption by a retired Supreme Court judge.

The state also requires an overhaul of the tender allotment process. The state government needs to bring in a transparent system in place for tenders and bill payments, association president D Kempanna told a news conference.

The association had written to PM Modi on July 6 when the previous BS Yediyurappa government was in power. Based on the letter, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has ordered a probe.

Also Read | A thousand 'cuts': The great Karnataka corruption story

The association questioned the government on its silence over corruption at large. A high-level inquiry should be conducted to probe all the irregularities, association members have demanded.

If the government commits to the probe, the association is willing to share relevant documents with the authorities concerned, Kempanna said.

That apart, the government dues to contractors has accumulated to Rs 22,000 crore. Ever since 2018-19, there has been a slow down in bill payments, the association members said, adding that the government must factor in these pending dues, along with dues of ongoing works into the next budget. Works should be sanctioned only based on funds available, they further urged.

Also Read | Contractors allege massive corruption, pending dues

Meanwhile, the government's system of awarding large package of works to contractors is taking away opportunities from small contractors. The larger packages are also causing delay in completion of projects. The government must split projects into smaller components to ensure speedy completion and opportunities to all contractors, they demanded.

Also, the government must ensure that all tenders are awarded under Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement Act (KTPP) and no exemptions must be given, they sought.

The association will meet President Ramnath Kovind and PM Modi in person, the members said.

They specified that they were not accusing only the present government of corruption, but the irregularities had just increased year on year. Letters have also been written to Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah, former JD(S) chief minister HD Kumaraswamy and all the MLAs, the association stated.

Since there has been no response to their appeals, to mark their protest, some one lakh contractors will come together in Bengaluru in January for a protest.

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Chemical analysis of groundwater in 73 villages of Karnataka has found high and unsafe levels of uranium concentration in 78% of these locations, said a new study.

The World Health Organisations (WHO) recommended upper safety limit is 30 micrograms per litre (g/l), while Indias Atomic Energy Regulatory Board has set a higher safety limit of 60 micrograms per litre.

The study conducted by the Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), and the Centre for Advanced Research in Environmental Radioactivity, Mangalore University, attributed the contamination to natural causes and not due to anthropogenic activity.

For the study, researchers surveyed 73 villages in the eastern part of the state. They found that 57 villages had a uranium concentration of more than 30 micrograms per litre while 48 of them had concentration of more than 60 micrograms per litre.

In the latter category are two villages in Bengaluru Urban (Gollahalli and Gottigere) and two in Bengaluru Rural (Avathi and Kodagurki).

Scientists found that uranium concentration exceeded 1,000 micrograms per litre in one village each in Tumakuru and Chitradurga districts, five in Kolar and seven in Chikkaballapur district. The findings were detailed in a paper in Current Science.

Uranium exposure can lead to health problems. Speaking as an independent expert, Dr Subrata Das, an internal medicine specialist and diabetologist at Sakra World Hospital, said that adverse effects are determined by the concentration of uranium a person ingests.

Immediate effects are haziness of the mind, headaches, low grade fever, vomiting. However, long-term exposure, over a period of months to years, leads to cancer of the liver, the bones and lungs, he said.

Researchers wrote that none of the borewells from which the water had been sampled were anywhere near the vicinity of nuclear facilities or urban waste disposal channels.

The reason

The researchers stressed that the high uranium concentration is a result of decline in the groundwater table plus the geological makeup of Karnataka.

Gamma-ray spectrometric surveys have shown that there is a higher abundance of potassium, uranium and thorium in the eastern part of Karnataka compared to the western part, which the geologists refer to as the Eastern and Western Dharwar craton

respectively.

Karnataka being dominantly made up of ancient granites, gneisses and schistose rocks is called hard rock terrain, explained Dr R Srinivasan, lead author of the study and a Visiting Professor at the Divecha Centre.

In hard rocks, water occurs in fractures at depth and the top of the saturated zone which is usually at the base of the weathered zone (soil layer) and constitutes the water table. The thicker the weathered zone, greater is the thickness of the oxidised layer. This promotes oxidation of uranium in the minerals.

Bengaluru levels

A high radon content from localities in Bengaluru Urban and rural belt resulted in high levels of uranium being detected at three villages sampled in Bengaluru Rural district.

Samples from Avathi village showed high uranium varying from 174 to 942 micrograms per litre, while samples from Kodagurki village had 356 g/l uranium, which, researchers said, tallies with observations made by the Central Ground Water Board.

A sample from Gudla Muddenahalli in the district also had more uranium than the WHOs prescribed limit (56).

In Bengaluru Urban, repeat sampling at Gollahalli village found that the uranium concentration varied from 9 to 310 micrograms per litre throughout the year.

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Released: December 13, 2021

Following a highly successful first round of the Delaware County Emergency Rental Assistance Program, the County has seamlessly launched a second round of funding to help low-income tenants with rent and utility assistance as they recover from the COVID-19 pandemic economic crisis.

In April 2021, the Delaware County Emergency Rental Assistance Program (DELCO ERA) was launched as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, with a mandate to help low-income Delaware County residents stay in their rental homes. Delaware County was provided initial funding of $37.2 million for the program, one of thousands of similar county-based rental assistance programs designed to speed up the nations recovery from the economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing recession.

Within just six months, Delaware County Council is proud to announce that DELCO ERA has fully allocated 100% of the initial $37.2 million of Emergency Rental Assistance to county residentshelping 5,151 low-income renters stay in their homes. Over $29 million in rental assistance and nearly $5 million in utility assistance were provided. By comparison, the national average for ERA expenditure is just 40% as of October 2021.

We are incredibly proud we reached 100% expenditure in just six short months and were able to help over 5,000 residents with rent and utility bills at a time when they needed it the most, said Delaware County Council Chairman Brian Zidek. We are grateful to our many community partners who helped us spread the message that the DELCO ERA program is available to provide critical rent and utility assistancewe achieved this success as a shared community effort.

Of the 5,151 residents served with DELCO ERA funds, 89% earn less than 50% of the area median income, which is $47,250 for a family of four. The program helped 689 households in active eviction proceedings stay in their homes. Over 57% of the funds were distributed to renters living in Chester, Upper Darby, Darby, and Lansdowne.

"My experience with the program went really smoothly and quickly and my case worker was very helpful. They were there for me at a time when I really needed it, said Tashana Murrel, a DELCO ERA recipient. It was a really good and easy experience and I even told some other people about it who were also going through hard times. It was just such a great experience and Im so thankful.

Due to the successful allocation of funding of DELCO ERA, Delaware County is being provided with an additional $30.3 million in new American Rescue Plan Act Funding (ARPA) by the U.S. Treasury and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The second phase will help DELCO ERA continue to serve tenants and landlords who are still in need as we continue to weather the COVID pandemic and its effect on our health and economy.

The DELCO ERA program has received over 13,000 applications for assistance from first-time applicants. On December 15, 2021, DELCO ERA will open applications for subsequent assistance for tenants who received assistance earlier but still face housing instability. Demand for rent and utility assistance persists. DELCO ERA receives an average of 50 new applications per day.

Residents who have fallen behind on rent and/or utilities during the COVID-19 pandemic are encouraged to apply for assistance by registering at www.delco-era.com or scheduling an In-Person Intake Appointment at one of our weekly events. Customer Service Specialist with Capital Access, Inc., Program Manager for DELCO ERA, are available to assist tenants and their landlords with the application process. People with language and/or physical challenges can request assistance with application submission.

Residents can contact the DELCO ERA program for assistance by phone at (484) 729-4200 or by email at info@delco-era.com

DELCO ERA will continue to offer in-person application intake services in Upper Darby and the City of Chester to assist residents who dont have internet service or who need additional assistance.

To date, over 2,200 renters and landlords received in-person application intake services, which greatly reduced delays and ensured that residents were able to sign grant agreements in person.

How the DELCO ERA program works:

DELCO ERA will pay for past due rent and utilities, and up to three months of future eligible rent/utility expenses, totaling up to 18 months of assistance for qualifying applicants. Past due rent can go as far back as April 1, 2020. DELCO ERA does not pay late fees or penalties.

Grant funds are paid directly to the landlord/property manager and the utility company. If a landlord is unresponsive, payments can be made directly to eligible tenants.

Funds will be distributed on a first-come, first qualified and approved basis until program funds are depleted.

Applicants must provide evidence of disruption and/or loss during or due to the COVID pandemic such as:

Qualified for unemployment benefits during the pandemic or can attest in writing that they, or a member of their household, has experienced a reduction of income, incurred significant costs, or experienced other financial hardship due, directly or indirectly, to the pandemic; and

Can demonstrate a risk of housing instability and/or homelessness such as a past due utility, past due rent notice, or eviction notice or can attest in writing to the same.

Household income may be no more than 80% of the area median income (AMI) for their household size.

Applicants get the highest priority for processing if the total household income is less than 50% AMI and/or at least one person qualified for unemployment benefits for at least the 90 days prior to the date of their registration for DELCO ERA and/or currently undergoing eviction proceedings and have a Delaware County court docket number.
The late John Hume and his wife, Pat, are to be recognised for their exemplary contribution to public life in the North.

The Derry couple, who died just over a year apart, are to be honoured at the Business and Finance Awards being held in Dublin next April.

The news comes just days after it was confirmed that the three high-profile awards presented to the former SDLP leader, and donated by his family to the people of Derry earlier this year, were to go on public display in Derry's Guildhall from next year.

Mr Hume, who died in August last year, aged 83, was the only person ever to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize  which he won jointly with the then Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble  the Martin Luther King Jnr Nonviolent Peace Prize and the Mahatma Ghandi Peace Prize.

Tributes were paid from around the world to his wife, Pat, for her contribution, after she passed away in September this year with President Michael D Higgins describing her life as one of 'total commitment to community and to the possibilities of peace.' He said her work, like that of her husband's, would 'always have an indelible place in the minds of all Irish people.'

Established in 2016, the TK Whitaker Award for Outstanding Contribution to Public Life recognises Irish and international social and political leaders who have been exemplary in their contribution to public life.

Since its inception, the Award has honoured President Higgins, former Taoiseach Enda Kenny, former President Mary McAleese and renowned producer David Puttnam.

The Award - being presented in association with KPMG - was established with the support of the Whitaker family and forms part of the Business and Finance Awards Programme which is now in its 47th year.

Announcing the 2021 TK Whitaker Award and its honourees, Ian Hyland, Business and Finance chief executive, said: I am delighted that this years TK Whitaker Award will honour John and Pat Hume in recognition of their truly outstanding achievements and contribution to public life.

"John and Pat were relentless and uncompromising champions of peace, non-violence and democracy.

"The work of the John and Pat Hume Foundation is a fitting memorial which will continue their journey in promoting peace and reconciliation and inspiring future leadership in peaceful change.

Mr Hyland concluded: "It will be a great honour to host John and Pats family in allowing us to recognise them.

Since its inception, the Award has honoured President Higgins, former Taoiseach Enda Kenny, former President Mary McAleese and renowned producer David Puttnam.

The Award - being presented in association with KPMG - was established with the support of the Whitaker family and forms part of the Business and Finance Awards Programme which is now in its 47th year.

Announcing the 2021 TK Whitaker Award and its honourees, Ian Hyland, Business and Finance chief executive, said: I am delighted that this years TK Whitaker Award will honour John and Pat Hume in recognition of their truly outstanding achievements and contribution to public life.

"John and Pat were relentless and uncompromising champions of peace, non-violence and democracy.

"The work of the John and Pat Hume Foundation is a fitting memorial which will continue their journey in promoting peace and reconciliation and inspiring future leadership in peaceful change.

Mr Hyland concluded: "It will be a great honour to host John and Pats family in allowing us to recognise them.
Foyle MP Colum Eastwood has called for a final push to reach an agreement on the Protocol before Christmas.

The SDLP leader was speaking ahead of a meeting with European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic later today.

Mr Eastwood welcomed a recent shift in tone from the British side of the negotiations and said he believed the time was right to strike a deal.

He also condemned the repeated threat to Stormonts institutions from DUP Leader Jeffrey Donaldson.

Mr Eastwood said the public were growing weary of the focus on the Protocol instead of other important issues and urged common sense to prevail.

He said: There has been a marked shift in recent soundings from the British side of the negotiations on the Protocol.

The previous disregard for the North and constant threats to trigger Article 16 has been replaced with a more realistic approach to whats actually achievable in the negotiations.

Its no surprise the DUP have repeated their threat to the institutions at Stormont at this moment.

We are still in the midst of a pandemic and doing everything we can to protect the public, to collapse the Assembly at this critical juncture in serve your own selfish party interests and popularity would be unforgiveable.

Jeffrey Donaldson would be better served supporting the proposals put forward by the EU to address his concerns, rather than putting the very future of devolution at risk.

People in the North arent worried about the oversight of the European Court of Justice.

They care about being able to secure a health appointment, huge housing waiting lists, being unable to afford a deposit, a crumbling education system and our failure to tackle the climate crisis.

Its long past time the British government acknowledged this.

Throughout the negotiations the EU have conducted themselves with dignity and a spirit of generosity and its time there was reciprocation from the British side.

We didnt want Brexit, but the Protocol stands to protect the North from the worst affects that we have seen take hold in Britain and even offers unique economic benefits that businesses are already starting to see bear fruit.

The Protocol isnt going anywhere and Im glad to see that penny has finally dropped for the British government.

We have been sensitive to peoples concerns around identity issues and the small problems that exist with the Protocol.

However, the EU has offered practical solutions and its time they were grasped so we can put it behind us and begin to focus on the issues that are having a day to day impact on peoples lives.
People Before Profit councillor, Shaun Harkin, has congratulated striking Derry dockers on their pay victory but said that strike action should never have been necessary.

Employees of Derry Harbour & Port Commission and Burke Shipping Service secured a double win after both firms finally backed down and awarded workers their claims for pay parity in full.

Cllr Harkin said the city of Derry should be proud of the workers for standing firm and stated that industrial action could easily have been avoided by the two employers.

And Cllr Harkin expressed his hopes that both employers can learn from this dispute and move on and not to victimise employees who are UNITE trade union members for the action they were forced to take.

He said: We commend Derry dockers for staying strong and winning their demands following strike action. They should be proud of what they achieved. Everyone in the city should be proud of the dockers victory.

By staying united and braving freezing weather on the picket line, UNITE members at Burke Shipping Services and Foyle Port made gains on pay parity and a wage increase.

This was a strike that should never have been necessary. The demands made by workers were very modest but employer intransigence gave them no option but to take action.

The attempt to portray workers negatively by employers raises serious questions about public accountability when Council support is sought to become a 'Free Port'.

It also raises questions about Derry City and Strabane Councillors having paid positions as part of the Foyle Port Commission.

People Before Profit activists were on the picket line everyday of the strike and we successfully put forward a motion winning the Council to take a clear-cut position in support of the strike and trade union demands.

We will be demanding the Council make clear there should be no victimisation of workers and the trade union following the end of the dispute.

Dockers and other workers have been told throughout the pandemic that they play a critical role as key, frontline and essential workers.

Trade unions are now demanding this is translated into improved wages and conditions for workers across all sectors.

That employers and the Stormont Executive aren't automatically backing these demands points up the problem of an economy catering to elites where the gap between the least well-off and those at the top has skyrocketed.

Workers across Derry, across the North and across Ireland should take confidence and example from the resilience of Foyle Port dockers.

This is what will need to happen if we are to ensure health workers, Council workers, Education support workers and all others begin to be treated with dignity, respect and more economic equality.

No one should be told they should wait for better days - this is the time to use solidarity and action to challenge poverty pay.

UNITE General Secretary, Sharon Graham, added: This is a tremendous win for our members.

Having endured freezing cold and driving rain on long days on picket lines, the workers stood ready to escalate their strike action but their determination led to both employers making offers which met their demands in full.

This is a good news story for workers everywhere in Northern Ireland and shows that there is a power in our union.

It confirms yet again that when our members fight in unity for their jobs, pay and conditions they can win.
SDLP Foyle MLA, Mark H Durkan, has welcomed confirmation from the Department of Health that the use of human papillomavirus (HPV) primary screening in cervical screening is planned for introduction in Northern Ireland.

In response to Mr Durkans Assembly Question on the matter, Health Minister Robin Swann confirmed that the provision will be made under the NI Cervical Screening Programme as set out in the Cancer Recovery Plan Building Back, Rebuilding Better and will be introduced in 2022/23.

Mr Durkan said that HPV screening would deliver the most accurate and sensitive way to correctly diagnose who is more at risk of having cervical cancer.

He said: I am pleased that the long overdue introduction of HPV primary screening as part of the Cervical Screening Programme, as recommended by the UK National Screening Committee, is planned for next year.

This move will see the Cervical Screening Programme in the North brought in line with England, Scotland and Wales.

To date cervical screening in Northern Ireland has used cytology, however given that the high-risk human papillomavirus causes 99.7 per cent of cervical cancers, HPV primary screening is considered the most accurate and sensitive way to determine which women are at high risk of developing cervical cancer.

I lament the fact that it has taken years for action to be taken on this recommendation but I hope this move will allow for earlier diagnosis which in turn will make for more effective treatment for anyone at risk of cervical cancer.

I must pay tribute to the efforts of campaigners, like Team Sorcha who have worked hard to raise awareness around cervical cancer and the importance of cervical screening.

I understand the recruitment of staff is already underway within the health service for HPV screening. This is good news for healthcare in the North and I look forward to its swift implementation.
Minister Coveney to attend Foreign Affairs Council

Press release

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, Simon Coveney T.D. will attend a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels today, Monday 13 December, along with his European counterparts.

Foreign Ministers will discuss a range of current foreign policy issues, including EU-Africa relations, relations with the countries of Central Asia, recent developments with regard to Ethiopia and Ukraine, as well as the ongoing situations in Belarus and Venezuela. Foreign Ministers will also hold an informal exchange views with the Foreign Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani.



Speaking ahead of the discussion on EU-Africa relations, Minister Coveney said:



This discussion on EU-Africa relations, taking place in advance of the 6th EU-African Union Summit in 2022, is a timely opportunity to pick up momentum on this partnership.



Ireland is committed to a more ambitious and effective EU-Africa partnership and the EU must engage as early as possible with African partners to ensure a successful Summit, with outcomes that are owned by both sides.



The Minister commented on Ethiopia:



The ongoing crisis in Ethiopia is having a devastating impact on people across Ethiopia. Responding to the acute humanitarian crisis must remain our priority and unimpeded humanitarian access is a critical and urgent requirement.



Ireland believes that proposals for additional collective financial and political measures to incentivise the parties towards a ceasefire and political dialogue should be considered, in close collaboration with key partners. Regional leaders have a vital role to play in promoting peace and we strongly support the efforts of African Union Envoy, former Nigerian President Obasanjo, and of President Kenyatta of Kenya to mediate a way forward.



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Resolution on Climate not adopted by the UN Security Council - Statement by Minister Coveney

Statement

We are disappointed by the outcome of todays vote on the first-ever UN Security Council Resolution on Climate and Security.

We regret the decision of Russia to use its veto to block the adoption of this ground-breaking Resolution. We believed the weight of evidence and clarity of argument would bring the Council to consensus. However, despite months of consultations, and the strong support of the majority of UN Member States, this was sadly not the case.

This important Resolution was drafted and negotiated by Ireland and Niger, following the Security Council meeting on Climate and Security which was chaired by the Taoiseach on 23 September, during Irelands Presidency of the Council.

The Resolution sought to consolidate the climate and security agenda within the Councils programme of work. Its adoption would have been an important first step in establishing a strengthened framework for future action.

Ireland and Niger, who jointly lead the Expert Group on Climate and Security, guided the extensive consultations on this text for over two months, securing the support of 12 Council Members. We also secured the support of 113 UN Member States, who signed up as co-sponsors.

Unfortunately, however Russia - a permanent Council member - voted against the Resolution, along with one elected member - India.

Although this is disappointing, the process confirms that the majority of UN member states believe the Council should factor the security risks of climate change into its decision-making.

Ireland committed to advancing the issue of Climate and Security during our time on the Security Council, and this work represents a major step forward. It has highlighted the relevance of climate risks to international peace and security, and Irelands commitment to engaging constructively on such a key issue. We have consolidated support at the UN, and can galvanise work to focus on this issue in the future.

The question of the security implications of climate change will not go away. Recent analysis could not be more clear  the adverse effects of climate change are only going to worsen, contributing to insecurity and exacerbating conflict. It is telling that 80% of UN peacekeepers are deployed in countries that are the most exposed to climate change.

It is our strong view that every organisation needs to address climate change within its own mandate. Conflict is complex with many drivers. Where climate change is a factor in exacerbating instability and undermining peace and security, the Security Council should use the tools at its disposal to tackle it.

Ireland will continue to prioritise the inclusion of climate in relevant Council products, and we will work to advance this agenda for the remainder of our time on the Security Council and beyond.

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SEATTLE  The Studio 7 apartment building, at 4029 Seventh Ave N.E., sold for $15.8 million, according to King County records.

The seller was Esseven LLC, which acquired the property in 2016 for $14.4 million.





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SEATTLE  Belmont Court, at 424 Belmont Ave. E., sold for $15 million, according to King County records. The seller was Belmont/Republican Associates LLC, which had owned acquired the property for decades  and likely developed it.

The buyer was Tock Belmont Apartments LLC, which is associated with Kirkland firm Trinity Real Estate. No new plans have been filed.





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SEATTLE  An office building at 12360 Lake City Way N.E. sold last week for $9 million, according to King County records.

The seller was Plaza Lake City LLC, which acquired the property in 2017 for $7.9 million.





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Nokia-YADRO joint venture to build 4G, 5G base stations in Russia

Finnish telecom equipment maker Nokia and Russia's YADRO, a maker of data storage systems and servers, have teamed up to build 4G and 5G telecom base stations in Russia, the two equipment makers said on Wednesday.

Nokia said the two companies signed a term sheet on 23 November, specifying their intent to enter into good faith negotiations with the aim of creating a joint venture in Russia.

Neither Nokia, nor YADRO disclose the terms of the planned investment. An earlier report in The Kommersant daily had cited a source as saying that YADRO will hold 51 per cent stake in the joint venture while Nokia will hold the remaining 49 per cent.

The announcement comes as a deadline for building networks using only Russian equipment approaches.

Russia has said it will extend telecoms operators' licences beyond 2023 for LTE (long-term evolution) networks on the condition that they start building networks using only Russian equipment, part of a wider push by Moscow to promote domestic technology and IT services.

"We are pleased to be partnering with YADRO, a leading Russian developer and producer of high-performance servers and storage systems to address the new localisation regulatory framework," reports cited Nokia as saying.

Russia's Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said the agreement between the companies would see the development of telecom equipment in Russia, with construction scheduled to begin in December.

Russian manufacturers currently account for 21 per cent of the 168 billion roubles ($2.26 billion) of state telecom equipment procurement contracts, Manturov said.

"The entire market is estimated at more than 400 billion roubles, so we see quite serious potential for the development of Russian and localised joint projects," he added.

According to Kommersant, other foreign vendors, including Huawei, Ericsson and ZTE have also showed interest in setting up production base in Russia.
ONGC signs MoU with SECI to develop renewable, ESG projects

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to realise its renewable energy objectives.

The MoU, signed in New Delhi on Friday, provides a broad, overarching framework for ONGC and SECI to collaborate and cooperate for undertaking renewable energy projects including solar, wind, solar parks, EV value chain, green hydrogen, storage, etc.

The partnership will enable ONGC to strengthen its footprint in renewables, especially solar power.

While we appreciate the magnitude and urgency of the climate change challenge, we also understand our commitment towards energy security of the country and are committed to carrying out our business in a sustainable manner. ONGC has a multipronged strategy to make its green energy portfolio richer and has plans to progressively move towards carbon neutrality by effective carbon management and adding renewable energy capacity, ONGC CMD Subhash Kumar said while speaking on the occasion.

SECI is happy to associate with ONGC in this path-breaking initiative that will open new avenues of sustainable development and promises to take India to new frontiers of technology and scale. We are dedicated towards fulfilling Indias climate commitments and look forward to a continuing partnership, SECI MD Suman Sharma said.

ONGC has been pursuing green energy agenda through various alternatives and renewable sources of energy. It has set a target of producing a minimum of 10 GW of renewable power by 2040 while continuing its focus on the core E&P business.

ONGC is first non-American company to be a part of Global Methane Initiative (GMI). Through this programme alone, ONGC could so far prevent approximately 20.48 MMSCM of methane gas leakages into the atmosphere with an environmental benefit of approximately 3 lakh tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

Considering the strategic significance of CCUS technology towards transition to Net-Zero Emissions, ONGC is partnering with IOC for setting up a CCUS project for enhanced oil recovery from depleted oil fields. The project will utilise CO2 captured from IOCs Koyali refinery for injecting into the depleted reservoirs of Gandhar oil field in Gujarat. ONGC is also considering Indias first 200-300 MW demonstration wind offshore power project for which feasibility study is being carried out jointly with NTPC Ltd.
Elon Musk's Starlink Internet not licensed in India: Govt

The Elon Musk-backed satellite internet company Starlink Internet Services, is facing hurdles to expansion into India as the government is insisting on a licence to do business in the country. Government of India has issued a public advisory saying that Starlink is not licensed to offer satellite-based internet services in India. The government has also asked the company to refrain from booking/rendering satellite internet services in India "with immediate effect".

Government has instructed the public not to preorder Starlink, SpaceXs satellite-based internet service, as the company needs to obtain a licence to operate in the country before it starts deploying its services.

Public is advised not to subscribe to Starlink services being advertised, a tweet from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) reads. The DoT also says it asked Starlink to refrain from booking / rendering the satellite internet services in India.

As things stand, Starlink will have to put all preorders on hold until it can get approval from the Indian government.

Starlink faced scrutiny from the Indian government in April, after the Broadband India Forum (BIF), an independent policy forum that represents Big Tech companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook, complained about the presale of Starlink devices without a licence. DoT since began examining whether Starlinks beta rollout broke Indias telecom laws.

However, Starlink officially got registered in India on 1 November and has already secured over 5,000 preorders from prospective subscribers here.

Starlink plans to deploy 200,000 devices in India by 2022, with 80 per cent located in rural areas, according to a Reuters report.

So far, Starlink has managed to garner around 140,000 beta users in 20 countries, according to a PCMag report.

Musk expects Starlink to have over 500,000 customers by next year, provided India opens doors.

SpaceX has been accepting pre-orders for the beta version of the service at a fully refundable deposit of $99 (around Rs7,400) for almost a year now. Starlink India director recently said that the company is exploring collaborations in India with telecom companies.
SpiceJet ordered to deposit $5 million in 2 weeks over unpaid dues

The Madras High Court has ordered SpiceJet to deposit an amount equivalent to $5 million within two weeks or face liquidation and taking over of its assets over unpaid dues.

The HC, vide its order dated 6 December 2021, stayed an earlier order of winding up SpiceJet and appointing an official liquidator, for a period of three weeks, according to the airline.

SpiceJet in its official statement also informed that the High Court's stay is subject to the condition that the company deposits an amount equivalent to $5 million within a period of two weeks.

"The company is examining the order and shall initiate appropriate remedial steps, including preferring an appeal before the appellate jurisdiction within the time frame allowed by the Madras High Court. The company believes it has a good case on merits and is hopeful of having favourable outcome in the appeal", SpiceJet's statement on December 7 reads.

Earlier, on 6 December, the Madras High Court allowed Credit Suisse AG's winding up petition against SpiceJet for failing to pay around $20 million in dues to Switzerland-based SR Technics, which undertakes maintenance, repair and overhauling of Air Craft Engines for airlines.

The court also directed the official liquidator to take over the assets of SpiceJet.

Credit Suisse AG had moved the Madras HC under Section 433 (e) of the Companies Act 1956, under which court can order winding up of the company if it fails to meet overdue payment obligations.

Allowing the petition, Justice Subramanian noted that Spicejet had accepted its liabilities, in terms of an agreement entered into between the two companies for a period of 10 years in 2011, by executing certificates of acceptance.

The petitioner firm argued before the court that a winding-up process against a debtor can be initiated if the elements of debt and inability to pay the same are present. These requirements are squarely fulfilled in the case of SpiceJet, it contended.

However, SpiceJet sought to argue that the debt, on the basis of which winding up is sought, is not enforceable and is in fact against public policy of India.

Questioning the validity of unstamped bills of exchange raised by SR Technics, SpiceJet argued that when existence of debt cannot be proved in the absence of stamped documents, then the question of ability to pay the same would not arise.

Moreover, the petitioning firm was in breach of the agreement between the two, SpiceJet claimed.

The single-Judge delved into the law invoked in this case and examined exactly when a notice for winding up of a company can be issued under Section 434 of the Companies Act.

If there is an outstanding debt of more than Rs500 and a written notice for clearing this debt is made but to no avail within three weeks period, the requirements of the law are fulfilled.

The case of SpiceJet falls within this framework, the court concluded.

The court also examined the defences taken by the airline company against the plea for winding up and concluded that disputes pertaining to debt can be dealt with by the official liquidator or company court at a later stage.

Other contentions did not hold ground with the court which ultimately directed for the company to be wound up, leaving its further legal options for appeal open.
India on course to develop 5th gen stealth fighter jets with its AMCA programme

India is well on course to develop Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) that would feature enhanced stealth qualities and supercruise capabilities. The development of the fifth-gen AMCA fighter would be a big boost to Indias defence capabilities.

The proposal for full-scale engineering development of its prototypes has been finalised. This will be sent to the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) for approval early next year, according to media reports.

The AMCA project is expected to cost roughly Rs 15,000 crore and reports suggest that discussions between the ministry of defence and the ministry of finance on the development of AMCA prototypes were over.

The CCS, the highest decision-making body on Indias national security, is expected to put its stamp of approval early next year.

AMCA would ensure Indias entry into the elite club of countries with fifth-generation stealth warplanes. So far, only the US (F-35 and F-22 Raptor), Russia (Su-57 Felon), and China (J-20) have fifth-generation aircraft in their arsenal. With the AMCA India could become the fourth country to operate an indigenous stealth fighter aircraft.

The cost of developing the 25-ton AMCA is expected to be roughly Rs 15,000 crore, with Mark-1 jet production starting in 2030-31.

The AMCA project is critical for the IAF, which now operates only fourth generation fighter jets in its depleting force of 30-32 fighter squadrons, mostly comprising of older planes. The latest fighters with the IAF are the 36 French-made Rafale fighters, which are considered as aircraft between the fourth and fifth generation.

The AMCA design has been approved as far back s in December 2018 and meets IAFs preliminary staff qualitative requirements. However, the lack of a powerful engine remains an issue.

Reports say the first two AMCA Mark-1 squadrons will be equipped with the existing General Electric-414 afterburning turbofan engine with a thrust rating of 98 kilonewtons, while the next five squadrons of mark-2 will be equipped with a more powerful 110-kilonewton engine.

The foreign collaborator will be chosen by early-2022, and the new engine will be built in-house at the same time, according to a report in The times of India newspaper.

The AMCA will have advanced stealth features such as serpentine air-intake and an internal bay for smart weapons, as well as radar dampening materials and a conformal antenna.

The fighter will also have data fusion and multi-sensor integration with AESA (active electronically scanned array) radars, as well as the supercruise capability, to achieve supersonic cruise speeds without the use of afterburners.

Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), the aircraft design and development agency under Defence Research and Development Organisation, is in charge of the aircraft design. The AMCA will cater to the needs of the Indian Air Force and the Navy

A public-private partnership between the DRDO, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), and an Indian private business is slated to produce it. By 2028, the programme hopes to be in full production.

The first aircraft of the HAL AMCA programme is expected to roll out by 2024.

The AMCA, which is designed to perform a variety of missions such as air superiority, ground-strike, SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses), and electronic warfare (EW), would replace the Sukhoi Su-30MKI air superiority fighter, which currently serves as the backbone of the IAF fighter fleet. Low radar cross-section and supercruise capability are key features of the AMCA design.

The AMCA project has completed the feasibility study as well as the preliminary design stage, and has now entered the detailed design phase, which began in February 2019. At Aero India 2019, a CAD model of the plane was displayed. By 2025, the maiden flight is expected, and serial production might start by 2030.

After the HAL Marut and HAL Tejas, the AMCA would be Indias third supersonic jet. AMCA will be built in two stages  AMCA Mk-1 and AMCA Mk-2. The former will be a fifth-generation fighter, while the AMCA Mk-2 will be more sophisticated, incorporating certain sixth-generation features.
New 'Made in India' engines to power IAF's AMCA, Tejas fighter jets

Indias federal government made a slew of announcements in Parliament that are likely to usher in a new era in indigenous defense manufacturing.

A new engine, developed locally with international assistance will power Indias indigenous fighter jets that are now under production, minister of state for defence Ajay Bhat informed Parliament on 29 November.

The new `Make in India programme will be in addition to existing indigenous `Kaveri engine project that was commissioned 30 years ago and is now in the trial stage, say reports.

It is likely that Indias state-run aircraft maker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) will team up with General Electric of the US or Rolls-Royce of UK for local production of engines for the Tejas as well as the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).

The Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) is currently powered by an imported engine as the indigenously developed `Kaveri engine is not producing he required thrust to power high performance aircraft.

The Flight Operational Clearance (FOC) configuration of the LCA Tejas requires more thrust than the proposed domestic engine can provide. As a result, the Kaveri cannot be integrated into the current architecture. A modified engine version is necessary to induct with LCA Tejas, Ajay Bhatt informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply on 29 November.

Although the indigenous Kaveri engine was tested for a total of 3,217 hours, and it also passed altitude tests and trials on the Flying Test Bed (FTB), the engines thrust was only about 65 Kilo Newtons (KN), far less than the 95 KN produced by its main competitors, the Eurojet EJ200 and the General Electric GE-F414.

The Kaveri engine project was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in 1989. Under the project, which cost Rs2035.56 crore nine full prototype engines and four core engines were produced over a period of 30 years.

As of now, the GE-F404 engines power the LCA FOC version and the Mk-1A, while the other Tejas variant LCA-Mk2 and the AMCA will be powered by the more powerful GE-F414 engines in the future.

HAL has already sealed a $716 million deal with GE Aviation of the United States for 99 F404 aircraft engines and related services to power the indigenous Tejas LCA Mk-1A.

The purchase agreement provides for collaboration in local production of GE F414 engines for the forthcoming LCA Mk-2 programme, HAL had stated then.

It is likely that India will pick up either GE Aviation or Rolls-Royce to help produce engines for LCA and AMCA domestically. This will also give a fillip to the governments Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives.

India has been trying to further indigenise defence production through domestic innovation and collaboration with foreign partners.
India's non-RCEP status fits well for trade deal with Australia: Tony Abbot

Australias special trade envoy and former Prime Minister Tony Abbot has called for early harvest deals with India ahead of a full-scale Comprehensive Economic Partnership pact or a free trade deal.

Abbot called New Delhis decision to opt out of the China-sponsored Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) a shrewd move, even as he defended Australias decision to join the trade block.

The former Australian PM made the remarks while addressing the media in New Delhi after talks with union minister of commerce and industry Piyush Goyal.

It was a smart move by India to move out of the RCEP, so we could focus on the bilateral deal between India and Australia, he said, adding, Australia has what India needs to ensure that 'Make in India' becomes a reality.

The 2012 RCEP was a trade pact between the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the five ASEAN Plus states - Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea.

India, however, decided to pull out of the REEP after experts warned that the trade deal would only help Beijing to expand its trade manifold, while others would lose even their existing gains. India, already pressed by a huge negative trade balance with China and increasing concerns of cheaper Chinese imports, opted out of the pact last year.

Abbot hailed India for its democracy and good business sense, even as he lambasted the communist country stating that it has "weaponised trade."

"Over last few years, I've seen a very different China. What we're seeing from China is the weaponisation of trade. Around 20 billion dollars worth of Australian trade was arbitrarily suspended by China. Under such circumstances, it is difficult to see China as a trusted partner," Abbot said while addressing the media in the aftermath of the meet.

During talks with Piyush Goyal in New Delhi, Abbot deliberated upon bolstering bilateral trade between India and Australia. He also suggested ways to increase economic cooperation with India.

New Delhi, he said, can now position itself as a trusted and reliable trade partner and replace Beijing.

Abbott said New Delhi and Canberra can clinch a bigger rather than smaller early harvest trade deal by end of this year or early 2022, which will be followed by a larger free trade agreement (FTA), officially called Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CEPA).

Abbott is visiting India as Australian PM Scott Morrisons special trade envoy to New Delhi.

Abbott said Australia decided to join the RCEP much before he came to power and was optimistic about Beijing, but it has now realised that China uses trade for politics and geopolitics.

For Australia, the RCEP train left the station long before I became the PM. While I was PM, we were still pretty optimistic about China. What became more abundantly clear in the more recent years is that for China, trade is politics, and in fact geopolitics by other means. And at least in Australias case, China was quite prepared to weaponise trade against us, he said.

Now, there is also no doubt. As far as China was concerned, RCEP was part of its political as well as its economic diplomacy, and thats why it is very significant when at the eleventh hour PM Modi and Minister Goyal said this is a step too far and not good for long-term period It was a shrewd move on Indias part, he said.

Once India withdrew from RCEP, I think that was a very smart move if I may say so, from PM Modi and from minister Goyal, we put our own bilateral talks back onto the fast-track and again all credit here to PM Morrison for being every bit of keen as I was, added Abbott, who also visited Mumbai during his visit.

RCEP is currently the worlds largest FTA that has been signed by 10 ASEAN members  Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam  and their five trading partners, China, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea. It encompasses 30 per cent of global GDP.

Abbott said all countries are currently experiencing trade tensions with China and hence it is the most opportune time for India because much of the world is looking to substitute for China in supply chains.

India is the obvious alternative because almost no country has Indias capability to manufacture at that scale. This is why I believe India is on the threshold of a real economic take-off not just domestically but internationally as well, he said.

A comprehensive trade deal between India and Australia will not only give an economic dimension to the Quad grouping, it will also enable New Delhi to clinch many such trade deals with other countries that are democracies with a rule of law, Abbott said.

Abbott also hinted at the fact that, under the early harvest deal, Australian wines may get greater access to Indian markets by way of reduced tariffs, an issue that became a major stumbling block between the two countries when they were negotiating a deal after the talks began in 2011.

One of the titanic areas where I think we can make strong progress even in an early harvest (agreement) is wine. I am not encouraging anyone to become a drinker. But nevertheless if you do enjoy the occasional glass of wine then nothing better value than Australian wine, he said.

I think those who currently enjoy Australian wine know just how good it is. I am hoping more and more people in India get an affordable opportunity to experience the great Australian wine in the months and years ahead, he added.

Abbott said exports of wines and spirits from Australia will also be part of the larger comprehensive deal. The issues of export of dairy products from Australia, which proved to be a hurdle before, will be smoothed out, he added.

Dairy is one of the sensitive sectors Australia is not a predatory trader. We are a free and fair trader and our objective is not to disrupt, our objective is to partner, he said.

He also underlined that a trade deal with Australia would mean easy access to rich resources of coal, iron ore and lithium for India. These are exactly what is needed to make Make in India the best possible deal for India and indeed for the wider world, he said.

The former Australian PM said the timetable for the early harvest deal that was set between Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and his Australian counterpart Dan Tehan in October is on track.

We can do a very good early harvest deal, which is larger rather than smaller, by the end of the year or the least very early in the New Year. Now is the appropriate time, Abbott said.

Australia absolutely accepts that because of the particular nature of Indian agriculture  there are very much small family farms as opposed to the much larger commercial operations in Australia. We absolutely accept that there are some important sensitivities in Indian agriculture, he said.

There, almost inevitably, have to be some important carve-outs for Indian agricultural elements in what is a good and fair deal between our two countries. That said, I believe, we can make strong progress, he added.

The difficulties with China mean India has quite an opportunity to step in particularly with supply chains and you know is absolutely reliable, he added.
India's bilateral trade with US rises to $67.41bn in April-Oct FY22

USA has once again become Indias largest trading partner with bilateral merchandise trade of $67.41 billion in April-October 2021-22, accounting for 11.98 per cent of the country's total merchandise trade, as per DGCIS figures.

USA has been the largest trading partner of India with respect to merchandise trade since FY 2018-19, except 2020-21 when bilateral trade declined marginally on account of the SARS CoV-2 pandemic.

India and United States enjoy a comprehensive strategic partnership covering a broad range of areas, underpinned by shared democratic values and vibrant people-to-people contacts. Trade and commercial ties form an important component of this multi-faceted partnership. India and the US are continuously engaged in strengthening these ties through bilateral dialogue mechanisms at ministerial level, including the Trade Policy Forum and Commercial Dialogue.

The 12th India-US Trade Policy Forum meeting co-chaired by the commerce and industry minister and the US trade representative in November discussed various outstanding trade issues for early resolution on mutual basis, and also reached convergence on certain market access issues.

Similarly, bilateral trade with countries like Australia, the UAE and Belgium has also gone up in the first nine months (Jan-Sept) of calendar year 2021. During this period, India's bilateral trade with Australia has increased to $13.88 billion from $7.48 billion in the corresponding period of 2020. Bilateral trade with the UAE has grown to $49.06 billion in 2021 from $29.48 billion in 2020 for the same period while bilateral trade with Belgium has grown to $13.70 from $7.63 billion in the same period of 2020, as per DGCIS figures.

Minister of state for commerce and industry Anupriya Patel gave this information in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Saturday.
India, Russia cement ties with 28 new agreements

India and Russia on Monday signed several agreements for cooperation in various sectors such as defence, trade, energy, science and technology, intellectual property, outer space, geological exploration, cultural exchange, education, etc, coinciding with the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin for the 21st India-Russia annual summit held in New Delhi.

President Putin was accompanied by a high level delegation.

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said the biggest takeaways from the annual summit and the inaugural 2+2 ministerial talks were the signing of 10-year military-technical partnerships, as well as the plan to jointly produce the AK-203 assault rifles under the Make in India initiative.

Shringla also said the supply of S-400 air defence missile systems has already begun this month and will continue to happen, adding that India follows an independent foreign policy, which is independent of the US Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

India and Russia signed a total of 28 agreements on Monday. Besides underlining its goal of becoming Russias defence development and production partner, India also raised Chinese aggression in Ladakh, telling Moscow that India seeks partners who are sensitive and responsive to its expectations and requirements.

Besides several government-to-government agreements and MoUs, commercial and other organisations from different sectors of both countries also signed a number of agreements for collaboration, reflecting the multifaceted nature of bilateral partnership.

President Putin and Prime Minister Modi met in-person in Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Monday, on the sidelines of the 21st India-Russia summit.

The leaders discussed regional and global developments, including the post-pandemic global economic recovery, and the situation in Afghanistan. They agreed that both countries share common perspectives and concerns on Afghanistan and appreciated the bilateral roadmap charted out at the NSA level for consultation and cooperation on Afghanistan. They noted that both sides shared common positions on many international issues and agreed to further strengthen cooperation at multilateral fora, including at the UN Security Council. President Putin congratulated Prime Minister Modi for Indias ongoing non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council and successful Presidency of BRICS in 2021. Prime Minister Modi congratulated Russia for its ongoing chairmanship of the Arctic Council.

The leaders underscored the need for greater economic cooperation and in this context, emphasised on new drivers of growth for long term predictable and sustained economic cooperation. They appreciated the success story of mutual investments and looked forward to greater investments in each others countries. The role of connectivity through the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and the proposed Chennai-Vladivostok Eastern Maritime Corridor figured in the discussions. The two leaders looked forward to greater inter-regional cooperation between various regions of Russia, in particular with the Russian Far-East, with the states of India. They appreciated the ongoing bilateral cooperation in the fight against the Covid pandemic, including humanitarian assistance extended by both countries to each other in critical times of need.

In what is called the first 2+2 ministerial dialogue between defence and foreign affairs ministers of both the countries, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar and defence minister of Russia Sergey Shoigu and his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh held talks simultaneously on Monday.

The ministers discussed a host of issues, including bilateral, regional and international issues, especially the situation in Afghanistan post-Taliban takeover, threats emanating from terror groups, protection of human rights of minorities, women and children in Afghanistan.

A joint statement titled India-Russia: Partnership for Peace, Progress and Prosperity, issued after the bilateral summit between the two leaders aptly sums up the state and prospects of bilateral ties.

President Putin extended an invitation to Prime Minister Modi to visit Russia for the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit in 2022.
Co-operative societies cannot use the word `Bank' in their names: RBI

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cautioned cooperative credit societies against using the words bank", "banker" or "banking" as part of their names, except as permitted under the provisions of the Banking Regulations Act, 1949 or by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (BR Act, 1949) was amended by the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2020 (Act 39 of 2020), which came into force on 29 September 2020. Accordingly, co-operative societies cannot use the words bank", "banker" or "banking" as part of their names, except as permitted under the provisions of BR Act, 1949 or by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

RBI noted that some co-operative societies are using the word Bank in their names in violation of Section 7 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (as applicable to co-operative societies).

RBI also said that some co-operative societies are accepting deposits from non-members/ nominal members/ associate members, which is tantamount to conducting banking business in violation of the provisions of the BR Act, 1949.

RBI has cautioned members of the public that such societies have neither been issued any licence under BR Act, 1949 nor are they authorised by the RBI for doing banking business.

Deposits placed with such societies are also not eligible for insurance cover from Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) and hence members of public have to exercise caution and carry out due diligence of such co-operative societies if they claim to be a bank, and look for banking licence issued by RBI before dealing with them, RBI has cautioned.
World Bank gets donors' backing for $280 million Afghan aid programme

A group of donor nations under the aegis of the United Nations on Friday agreed to transfer $280 million from a frozen trust fund to the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF to support nutrition and health in war-torn Afghanistan, the World Bank has said.

Of the proposed $280 million $180 million will come from the World Bank-administered Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund while the Unicef will provide $180 million.

The money would be used to beef up food security and nutrition operations as also to provide essential health services, the bank ststed in a release.

According to the World Bank, using reconstruction trust fund money and channeling it through the WFP and Unicef, both part of the UN family, is the best way to get funding to meet the basic needs amidst sanctions against the Taliban.

"This decision is the first step to repurpose funds in the ARTF portfolio to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan at this critical time," the bank said, adding that the agencies had presence on the ground to deliver services directly to Afghans in line "with their own policies and procedures."

"These ARTF funds will enable Unicef to provide 12.5 million people with basic and essential health services and vaccinate 1 million people, while WFP will be able to provide 2.7 million people with food assistance and nearly 840,000 mothers and children with nutrition assistance," it added.

Afghanistan has been sinking into a severe economic and humanitarian crisis since August last year, when the Taliban overran the country and the elected government collapsed as the US withdrew support.

The United Nations has warned that nearly 23 million people (about 55 per cent of the population) in war-torn, impoverished Afghanistan are facing extreme levels of hunger, with nearly 9 million at risk of famine as winter sets in.

Afghanistan, which was subject to violent post-takeover acts of persecution by the ruling Taliban, is yet to recover from the aftershocks. Trade has come to a standstill and international aid has dried bringing the economy to a standstill.

Moreover, Afghanistan is currently under the grip of a draught brought about by the climate change, which could push more and more Afghans into the grip of hunger.

Afghanistan has been dependent on aid from the United States and its allies for the past 20 years of war while more than $9 billion of the country's hard currency assets remained frozen.
India to reimpose flight curbs as WHO warns of new Covid threat

Amid concerns about the new highly transmissible and more lethal Wuhan virus variant, Omricon, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed top officials to review norms for international travel, especially to countries where the new strain has been reported.

The decision was taken at a comprehensive high level meeting to review the situation relating to Covid-19 and vaccination.

Modis crucial meet comes against the backdrop of the new Wuhan virus variant Omicron, which was first discovered in South Africa and has been classified as a highly transmissible Virus of Concern by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Several nations, including the US, Britain, Germany, Singapore, Israel, France and Italy have restricted air travel, from South Africa and nearby nations to prevent the spread of the new strain.

Briefing about the new Variant of Concern Omicron along with its characteristics, impact in various countries and implications for India, the prime minister said there is a need to be proactive in light of the new mutant strain that is highly transmissible and more lethal.

Officials briefed PM about the new Variant of Concern Omicron along with its characteristics and the impact seen in various countries. Its implications for India were also discussed. PM spoke about the need to be proactive in light of the new variant.

PM said that in light of the new threat, people need to be more cautious and need to take proper precautions like masking and social distancing. PM highlighted the need for monitoring all international arrivals, their testing as per guidelines, with a specific focus on countries identified at risk. PM also asked officials to review plans for easing of international travel restrictions in light of the emerging new evidence.

PM was given an overview of the sequencing efforts in the country and the variants circulating in the country. PM directed that genome sequencing samples be collected from international travellers and community as per norms, tested through the network of labs already established under INSACOG and early warning signal identified for management of the pandemic. PM spoke about the need to increase the sequencing efforts and make it more broad-based.

He also directed officials to work closely with state governments to ensure that there is proper awareness at the state and district level. He directed that intensive containment and active surveillance should continue in clusters reporting higher cases and required technical support be provided to states which are reporting higher cases at present. PM also asked that awareness needs to be created about ventilation and air-borne behaviour of the virus.

Officials briefed PM that they are following a facilitative approach to newer pharmaceutical products. PM instructed officials to coordinate with states to ensure that there is adequate buffer stocks of various medicines. He asked officials to work with the states to review the functioning of medical infrastructure, including paediatric facilities.

PM asked officials to co-ordinate with states to endure proper functioning of PSA oxygen plants and ventilators.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday warned member countries of a new, more deadly variant of the Wuhan virus, which the global body described as a variant of concern. WHO has named the B.1.1.529 strain, first detected in South Africa, as 'Omicron,' after the fifteenth letter of the Greek alphabet.

"Based on the evidence presented indicative of a detrimental change in COVID-19 epidemiology... the WHO has designated B.1.1.529 as a variant of concern (VOC), named Omicron," WHO stated, adding that the B.1.1.529 variant was first reported to WHO from South Africa on 24 November 2021.

The United Nations' health body has warned that the variant has a large number of mutations.

"This variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning. Preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant, as compared to other VOCs. The number of cases of this variant appears to be increasing in almost all provinces in South Africa," the WHO said in a statement on Friday.

The health body has recommended that countries enhance their surveillance and sequencing efforts to better understand the circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants.

The new strain has since been found in Hong Kong, Israel and in Belgium, perhaps the fist case in Europe of the new Wuhan virus variant.

Indias ministry of external affairs on Friday said that the new COVID variant was "a developing incident."

"As regards the issue of the South African variant, this is a developing incident. We just saw a report of and briefing by WHO. I don't have any immediate information on the steps we are taking. It is an issue more for our health authorities. This is a very developing story," MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

The currently available vaccines against Covid-19 appear to be effective against the newly detected Omicron Covid variant, South Africa's health minister Joe Phaahla said.

According to Phaahla, vaccines are still effective in preventing severe Covid from the variant, CNBC reported. Phaahla added that the Omicron variant may be more transmissible due to its genetic composition.
Smart City infrastructure helped to effectively deal with the pandemic: govt

As on date, out of 100 Smart Cities in India, 75 have operationalised Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs) to effectively deal with the SARS CoV-2 pandemic. State/district/city administrations have converted the ICCCs into SARS CoV-2 War Rooms and used existing smart infrastructure for effective management of the pandemic, the ministry of housing and urban affairs stated in a release on Thursday.

All 100 Smart Cities deployed digital technology based and other innovative solutions to mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic.

With SARS CoV-2 declared as global pandemic, Smart Cities took immediate steps to manage the crisis. The response to the pandemic in Smart Cities can be classified into four areas of action - Information, Communication, Management and Preparedness.

The details of such steps taken by these cities to manage the pandemic are available in the document The Smart Responses to Covid-19: A Documentation of Innovative Actions by Indias Smart Cities during the Pandemic, which is available on `smartnet.niua.org.

Government of India launched the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) on 25 June 2015 for development of 100 cities as Smart Cities. The cities were selected through four rounds of competition between January 2016 and June 2018.

As of 12 November 2021, these cities have tendered out 6,452 projects worth Rs1,84,998 crore, out of which work orders have been issued in 5,809 projects worth Rs1,56,571 crore. Out of these, 3,131 projects worth Rs53,175 crore have been completed. C

ovid-19 pandemic related lockdowns and other unprecedented situations have led to temporary interruptions in the execution of Smart City works across the country. However, Smart Cities commenced work with the un-locking and are trying their best to make up for the time lost due to such unprecedented and unforeseen circumstances.

Key initiatives taken by Smart Cities:

Provision of information;

Maintaining communication;

Management of the situation;

Preparedness;

CCTV surveillance of public places and lockdowns/ peoples movement;

GIS mapping of Covid positive/ suspect cases;

GPS tracking of healthcare operations/ambulances/ workers;

Real-time tracking of disinfection services;

Deployment of Covid-19 mobile applications for early tracking, tracing and treatment;

Maintaining helpline numbers of state and district administration;

Enabling accurate two-way communication between stakeholders;

Inter-departmental coordination;

Leveraging social media channels to communicate with citizens;

Deployment of public address systems to communicate with masses;

24X7 availability of medics at ICCC through shift system;

Pandemic monitoring dashboard with analytics;

Virtual training to doctors and other healthcare professionals;

Providing medical services through telemedicine;

Mobile applications for essential supplies;

Collaborating with hospitals/ medical stores to provide doorstep services to citizens;

Use of drones to disinfect public spaces, especially those that are difficult to access;

Provision of food and shelter to migrant labour, urban poor and destitute;

Provision of adequate quarantine/ isolation centres;

Predictive analytics for virus spread analysis/ containment;

Predictive need forecasting for equipment and logistics; and

Continuous peer-to-peer learning through webinars/tech-clinics/ handholding sessions to disseminate best practices.

Minister of state for housing and urban affairs, Kaushal Kishore, gave this information in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
CDS Gen Bipin Rawat, wife among 13 dead in IAF chopper crash

Gen Bipin Rawat, India's first Chief of Defence Staff, his wife and 11 other armed forces personnel died on Wednesday after the Mi17V5 military helicopter they were travelling crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu, the Indian Air Force said.

Along with General Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, Brigadier LS Lidder, Lieutenant Colonel Harjinder Singh, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitender Kumar, Naik Vivek Kumar, Naik B Sai Teja, Havaldar Satpal and pilots were travelling in the chopper. There were 14 people, including the pilots, on board.

The helicopter was on its way from Sulur in Coimbatore to Defence Staff College in Wellington where Rawat, along with Chief of Army Staff MM Naravane, was slated to participate in an event later.

"With deep regret, it has now been ascertained that Gen Bipin Rawat, Mrs Madhulika Rawat and 11 other persons on board have died in the unfortunate accident," IAF tweeted.

"Gp Capt Varun Singh SC, Directing Staff at DSSC with injuries is currently under treatment at Military Hospital, Wellington," it added.

The copter was being flown by Wing Cdr PS Chauhan and Sqn Ldr K Singh.

The helicopter crashed in Katteri-Nanchappanchathram area near Coonoor in the hilly Nilgiris district.

Nilgiri's Collector earlier said 13 of the 14 occupants of the IAF helicopter that crashed in Tamil Nadu have been killed and there is one survivor, a male.

Gen Bipin Rawat was an outstanding soldier. A true patriot, he greatly contributed to modernising our armed forces and security apparatus. His insights and perspectives on strategic matters were exceptional. His passing away has saddened me deeply. Om Shanti, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.

"Deeply anguished by the sudden demise of Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 other Armed Forces personnel in an extremely unfortunate helicopter accident today in Tamil Nadu. His untimely death is an irreparable loss to our Armed Forces and the country," defence minister Rajnath Singh tweeted.

Deeply shocked at tragic demise of CDS General Bipin Rawat and his wife. We worked closely together in the last few years. It is a huge loss to the nation, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said in his tweet.

The IAF said a Court of Inquiry had been ordered into the accident, involving a Mi-17VH choppper that took from the Sulur IAF station in nearby Coimbatore.
Olaf Scholz replaces Angela Merkel as Germany's chancellor

German parliament on Wednesday elected Olaf Scholz as Germanys new chhancellor, giving him 395 out of 707 votes in the secret ballot, and paving the way for a government by the federal "traffic light" coalition, formed by the SPD, the ecologist Greens and the liberal Free Democrats.

The lower house of Germanys parliament elected Social Democrat Olaf Scholz as the new chancellor on Wednesday to succeed Angela Merkel.

Merkel, who steered Europes biggest economy for four successive terms of 16 years, handed over power to her successor Olaf Scholz in an official ceremony on Wednesday. She left her office in central Berlin by motorcade.

Scholz's center-left Social Democratic Party, which won the most votes in September's federal election, leads the coalition government along with the Greens and the libertarian Free Democratic Party.

Scholz, 63, a career politician in the centre-left Social Democratic Party, has held a wide range of posts, including as member of parliament, mayor of the port city of Hamburg, labour minister and finance minister in coalition governments under Merkel.

Germans see a continuation of Merkel's governing style in Scholz, who is a calm, steady hand in a crisis and a pragmatic leader striving for compromise.

However, on matters like foreign policy and European policy, Scholz will be more aligned with the President Joe Biden of the United States.

"The trans-Atlantic relationship and our cooperation as part of NATO remain steadfast," he said. "We commit to a community of democracies across the globe and I am very grateful to President Biden for emphasizing the importance of multilateralism and at the same time, we are committed to what unites particular nations: the idea of freedom, the rule of law, democracy and respect for human rights," Scholz told a news conference on Tuesday.

In domestic policy initiatives, each federal party approves a coalition agreement that lays out government objectives, such as raising the minimum wage to 12 euros/hour ($13.50), phasing out coal-fired power plants by 2030 and making a pledge for the country to go carbon neutral by 2045.

Accordingly, Scholz announced members of cabinet that include politicians from the three parties.

Also, it may be noted that all the ministries in charge of national and international security and diplomacy in the new cabinet are headed by women, some for the first time. The Greens' Annalena Baerbock will be foreign minister, while Social Democrats Nancy Faeser and Christine Lambrecht will be interior minister and defence minister respectively. In fact, eight of the 16 cabinet members will be women.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Olaf Scholz on being elected as the Federal Chancellor of Germany.

"My heartiest congratulations to @OlafScholz on being elected as the Federal Chancellor of Germany. I look forward to working closely to further strengthen the Strategic Partnership between India and Germany.," the prime minister said in a tweet.
US scientists create 'living robots' that can reproduce themselves

A team of scientists from the University of Vermont, Tufts University, and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, all from the United States, has created self-replicating living robots, building further on their earlier success in developing the world's first living robot - Xenobots.

The Xenobots have now been seen to reproduce themselves by gathering hundreds of single cells together, and creating their own baby version inside their mouth.

Unveiled in 2020, Xenobots were formed from the stem cells of the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis), from which they take their name. These tiny blobs that are less than a millimetre wide, were already capable of moving and working in groups and self-healing.

The same group of scientists have now discovered that the bots can reproduce themselves, but in an entirely different way than known among plants or animals.

"These are frog cells replicating in a way that is very different from how frogs do it. No animal or plant known to science replicates in this way," says Sam Kriegman, PhD, the lead author on the new study, in a report by Science Daily.

The Xenobots were originally created by scraping living stem cells from frog embryos. They were then left to incubate. After this, the cells were cut and reshaped into specific "body forms."

Stem cells are unspecialised cells that have the ability to develop into different cell types. To make the Xenobots, the researchers scraped living stem cells from frog embryos and left them to incubate. There was no manipulation of genes involved.

The cells later started to work on their own. The skin cells combined to form a structure. These pulsing heart muscle cells enabled the robot to move on its own. Little did the scientists know that the the Xenobot, once after it became a parent, was capable of forming a sphere.

"People have thought for quite a long time that we've worked out all the ways that life can reproduce or replicate. But this is something that's never been observed before," says co-author Douglas Blackiston, PhD, the senior scientist at Tufts University.

Co-author and a computer scientist at the University of Vermont, Josh Bongard said they found that the xenobots, which were initially sphere-shaped and made from around 3,000 cells, could replicate. But it happened rarely and only in specific circumstances. The xenobots used "kinetic replication" - a process that is known to occur at the molecular level but has never been observed before at the scale of whole cells or organisms, Bongard said.

With the help of artificial intelligence, the researchers then tested billions of body shapes to make the Xenobots more effective at this type of replication. The supercomputer came up with a C-shape that resembled Pac-Man, the 1980s video game. They found it was able to find tiny stem cells in a petri dish, gather hundreds of them inside its mouth, and a few days later the bundle of cells became new Xenobots.

The parent rotates a large ball of stem cells that is maturing into a new xenobot.

"The AI didn't programme these machines in the way we usually think about writing code. It shaped and sculpted and came up with this Pac-Man shape," Bongard said.

"The shape is, in essence, the programme. The shape influences how the xenobots behave to amplify this incredibly surprising process."

While the Xenobots are very early technology, this combination of molecular biology and artificial intelligence could potentially be used in a host of tasks in the body and the environment, say the researchers. This may include things like collecting microplastics in the oceans, inspecting root systems and regenerative medicine.

While the prospect of self-replicating biotechnology could spark concern, the researchers said that the living machines were entirely contained in a lab and easily extinguished, as they are biodegradable and regulated by ethics experts.

The research was partially funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, a federal agency that oversees the development of technology for military use.

"There are many things that are possible if we take advantage of this kind of plasticity and ability of cells to solve problems," Bongard said.

The study was published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal PNAS on Monday.
Heavy traffic is reported on some of the main motorways and approach routes to Dublin as truck drivers and hauliers take their protests about rising fuel prices to Dublin this morning.

This is the second protest staged by the Irish Truckers & Haulage Association Against Fuel Prices.

On social media posts, the group is urging lorry drivers to converge on Dublin Port, and once parked near there, not to move for 24 hours.

The group urges people to stay safe and keep emergency routes free. They also advise the protestors to let the Dublin Port staff come and go.

HGVs have reached the M50 from the M1 heading S'bound. Traffic is extremely heavy in this area. N'bound is also heaviest between J5 Finglas and M50/M1.  M50 Dublin (@M50Dublin) December 13, 2021

Over the weekend, Minister Simon Harris criticised the approach, saying the blockade was "not the way to do business".

The Further Education Minister hit out at groups including the Irish Truckers and Haulage Association Against Fuel Prices over plans for a day-long blockade of the city.

Retailers have condemned the plans, warning it will be the difference between survival and closure for many stores already badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

A similar protest two weeks ago caused heavy disruption on motorways and in the city centre, and the demonstration which began this morning is expected to be even larger.

Minister Harris said the Government had engaged with the Irish Road Haulage Association, which opposes the protests, around measures to tackle fuel costs.

He said: My colleagues Minister (Eamon) Ryan and Minister Hildegarde Naughton had a very good meeting with the Irish Road Haulage Association on Friday, where the IRHA did table a proposal in relation to an expanded rebate scheme.

Both ministers have undertaken to very seriously consider that.

Thats the way to do business though," Minister Harris said.

What is not the way to do business is for splinter groups to blockade effectively our capital city tomorrow and cause other hard-pressed taxpayers very significant difficulty in going about their business and indeed people in accessing our health services and the likes, he said.

I know thats a view shared by the IRHA and others. Decent proposals have been tabled by the IRHA and they will be given very serious consideration and very quick consideration, Minister Harris said in an appearance on RTEs The Week In Politics on Sunday.
The madness of the British government over Brexit and its fallout, including a proposal for new border immigration laws, shows it does not care at all about Ireland, Sinn Fein TD Ruairi O Murchu has claimed.

The Dundalk deputy used some of his time in Leinster House last week highlighting how the fallout from Brexit continues to impact on Dundalk, the border area, and the State.

Deputy O Murchu said:

It would be very difficult to talk about this and the whole issue of Brexit without noting the utter madness of a British Government which, I think it is fair to say, does not care at all about Ireland.

That is the only view we can take.

We have the absolute madness about new British immigration laws that might see non-Irish EU citizens living in the South needing to apply online for pre-travel clearance to cross the Border.

This could be a matter of them crossing the Border to get to work and then crossing back.

They would be leaving from the South to then end up back in the South.

It is utterly unworkable and it once again shows how Britain, in any of its determinations and negotiations concerning Brexit, does not care in any way, shape or form about Ireland or the North.

It only cares about that aspect as a pawn. This is an issue that we must be solid and firm about.

I also brought this issue up recently with Commissioner Maros Sefcovic.

I referred to the impact this will have in future.

The Irish protocol is the only show in town and there can be no return of a hard Border.

He also used time during a debate on the EU-UK Trade and Co-operation Agreement to give his views on the current situation.

He said:

I heard a commentator in the past while talk about the feeling in Government circles being that there is a 50-50 chance of Article 16 being triggered. Nobody believes it will be triggered before Christmas.

That is the saving grace.

Obviously, the behaviour of the British Government has been utterly ridiculous.

Obviously, this also gives succour to certain elements of political unionism that are, let us be clear, probably in fear of the ongoing discussion in respect of Irish unity.

A huge number of people who would have probably previously fallen into that bracket of being unionists are at least having a discussion.

The thing for an awful lot of people is Irish unity is a means of staying within the European Union and not being allied or wedded to the union with Britain and the madness of dealing with this Tory Government or whatever other Government might be thrown up by the British electorate.

That is where we are in respect of this matter.

It is fair to say that the Irish protocol was put in place to be a mitigation and to protect conditions on the island of Ireland, where it is no way acceptable for there to be a return of a hard border.

I live in Dundalk, not very far from the Border.

We all know the history that goes with that and nobody can accept going backwards.
Throughout County Louth, the recent installation of a fleet of BriteBinsTM has taken place.

As part of an initiative to combat the increased volume of street litter across the county, and after identifying a number of litter hotspots, the Council decided that there was the need to equip the county's streets with more efficient infrastructure in order to improve the situation.

Having secured funding from the councils litter infrastructure fund, Louth County Council took action and installed a fleet of PEL BriteBin Solar compacting bins.

The BriteBin range of solar compacting street bins have a significantly higher waste capacity than that of the standard street bin previously seen in the county.

The units installed are sealed which prevents birds and vermin getting into the bins or removing any litter. This is vitally important for locations such as Clogherhead and Port Beach due to their coastal location. Establishing appropriate waste management resources has proved increasingly important for busy towns with high footfall such as Drogheda and Dundalk.

BriteBin Solar street bin at Port Beach

The BriteBin technology and data management dashboard provides visibility of fill-levels across the bin fleet. This means that Louth County Council can facilitate the deployment of resources to only those bins requiring service.

Individual bins are equipped with a bin-fill level sensor. Upon reaching its maximum fill-level, the BriteBinTM software will send an alert notification to Louth County Council. From here, the council deploy resources and personnel to only those bins requiring service. This practice increases the efficiency of the collection service and reduces carbon emissions.

The action taken by Louth County Council to install this fleet of solar compacting litterbins will be highly beneficial to the county. A reduction in street litter, lower carbon emissions, protection of natural wildlife as well as a reduction in the volume of single use plastic bags will be seen.

The BriteBin range of litterbins are manufactured in Ballindine Co. Mayo by Irish owned company PEL. This year the company has won an Innovation award for the integrated BriteBin technology.
Local Fianna Fail Senator Erin McGreehan has welcomed two education funding announcements for Louth students.

Minister Norma Foley has announced payment of 1.63m minor works grant funding for primary, special and post-primary schools in Louth as part of additional support in the context of Covid-19.

Welcoming the announcement, Senator McGreehan said:

This significant increase in funding for Louth schools will enable them to address both their minor works requirements and also to address small-scale ventilation improvements at school level as a short-term mitigation measure, should they require to do so.

Minor works funding is important in terms of supporting the operation of schools generally and particularly within a Covid-19 environment.

Schools may also apply for emergency works grant assistance to address larger-scale issues on a permanent basis.

Also, this past week the Government announced that 6.85m has been granted to provide funding to support educationally disadvantaged learners in accessing and participating in community education under the Mitigating against Educational Disadvantage Fund (MAEDF).

Under the fund, Louth and Meath Enterprise and Training Board (ETB) will receive 640,116.

Welcoming this announcement, the Louth Senator said:

This Fund is specifically designed to tackle educational inequalities which continue to be highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and support access to community education.

The projects funded varied from those designed to help support online learning, connect communities and provide social support to the most disadvantaged.
Hospitals will be under real pressure in December and January as a result of Covid-19, the head of the Health Service Executive has said.

Chief executive Paul Reid has urged people to get the booster vaccine, with walk-in centres across the country open this weekend.

He wrote on Twitter: In December & January we know our hospitals will be under real pressure with currently 481 #COVID19 patients & 113 in ICU.

We can all help to make this better by taking up the booster vaccine when offered.

This weekend many locations open for walk-ins for specified groups.

There have been a further 4,004 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland, the Department of Health has said.

As of Saturday morning, there were 481 patients in hospitals with the disease, with 111 of those in intensive care units.

Walk-in centres in Cork and across country

There were 18 walk-in vaccination centres open across the country on Saturday, with many experiencing long queues.

The centre at University College Dublin (UCD) has once again had to turn people away, with the HSE saying on Twitter it had reached capacity and would not be accepting any more walk-ins.

People had been queuing there for up to two and a half hours for a booster jab.

On Friday, Taoiseach Micheal Martin apologised to people who were turned away from the centre without receiving a vaccine earlier in the week.

In Tipperary, a centre in Clonmel saw queuing times of two hours and twenty minutes, while there were waits of 90 minutes in Nenagh.

Other centres saw little or no queueing.

Taoiseach received booster

On Friday, Mr Martin said he was concerned but hopeful about Irelands Covid-19 situation, as he received a booster jab in Cork.

He said he hoped the HSE could deliver 1.5 million booster jabs before the end of the year.

Mr Martin, speaking at Cork City Hall, where he paid tribute to HSE staff, re-iterated that the uncertainty of the pandemic meant nothing could be ruled out.

We have a series of restrictions in place now to January 9. That was agreed by Government following advice from Nphet [the National Public Health Emergency Team].

One can never rule out anything in relation to Covid-19 because there are many twists and turns.

He urged people to take care in the weeks ahead, but said that hospital numbers had become more encouraging in recent days.
Spain's king emeritus Juan Carlos I, with corruption scandals blazing around him, has managed to put out one of the judicial fires threatening to engulf him. The criminal proceedings over the former king's funds in Geneva have been shelved. Prosecutor Yves Bertossa has closed his investigation over the sum of 65 million euros - 100 million dollars - paid by Saudi Arabia to Juan Carlos. Subsequently, the proceedings also brought to light other payments received by his ex-lover Corinna Larsen in cash, from Kuwait and Bahrain.

After three years, the judge announced his decision to the parties during a hearing this Monday. Four people close to the former Spanish head of state had been accused of money laundering, because of their management or participation in the funds transfers: the king's asset manager in Geneva, his Swiss lawyer, former lover Larsen and the Mirabaud bank. Thus, all of them have been let off the hook.

Prosecutor "doesn't buy it"

As the Tribune de Geneve newspaper puts it, prosecutor Bertossa "has never bought the story told by Juan Carlos" but had no choice but to close the case: "He has concluded that it would be impossible to prove that the 100 million dollar payment offered to the former Spanish monarch came from a crime, a necessary condition for the definition of money laundering." Initially, the judge suspected that the money was part of a "corrupt scheme" linked to the contract for the high-speed train between Mecca and Medina. According to this theory, the king emeritus was rewarded for the discount offered to the Saudis by the Spanish companies in charge of the contract.

Three year of inquiries - that ended in the waste paper bin. The Geneva investigation began in 2018 and found that Juan Carlo had received the multi-million-dollar payment ten years earlier from a Swiss account opened in the name of the Panamanian foundation Lucum. The money came from the Saudi finance ministry. According to his asset manager, it was a "pure gift" from the king of Saudi Arabia to his Spanish "brother" and not in return for any other matter, the defendants said. But it did form part of the Bourbon patriarch's close relationship with the Gulf petromonarchy.

Yves Bertossa believed at that time that the money might have come from "unjust management of public interests" by former Saudi king Abdallah, who died in 2015. But the Geneva prosecutor did not send a request for mutual assistance to Saudi Arabia to try to validate this hypothesis. Perhaps because it seemed inconceivable that the Saudi petromonarchy would accuse one of its former kings of misuse of funds. The possibility of appointing an expert to analyze Saudi laws and find out if Abdallah could be blamed for unjust management was also ruled out.

According to Swiss investigative journalist Sylvain Besson, "for the defendants, who always challenged the prosecution's allegations and hypotheses, the decision to close the case is a relief." Thus, the judicial investigation leads to one single penalty, which does not even refer directly to the king's gift: it is a fine imposed on the Mirabaud bank for failing to report an old transaction concerning Corinna, to Switzerland's MROS, the money laundering communication office.

Statement from Swiss justice

According to the Geneva court itself: "Mirabaud will have to pay a fine of 50,000 francs and the costs of the proceedings, set at 150,000 francs. No further comment will be made." With a press release outlining the facts, the prosecutors of this Swiss canton limited themselves to explaining the outcome of the legal procedures for all those investigated.

Now, British justice remains

Switzerland has limited itself to investigating the role of the proxies and that trail end here. At the same time, the Spanish prosecutor's office is about to close the three investigations that were open against the former king, despite the announcement of a six-month extension. The last hurdle for Juan Carlos is the British court over a lawsuit lodged by Corinna Larsen, in which the major question is whether the judiciary will consider the former king to hold immunity and for that reason be exempt from being tried. The judge who will decide on this is Mathew Nicklin, well known to the UK press because he ruled over Meghan Markle's complaint against a news agency for images taken in a park in Canada. A scandal that especially angered the English press.

Early next year, the Supreme Court in London will announce its ruling on whether or not British justice is competent to try the former Spanish head of state for an alleged crime of harassment of the woman who was his mistress for decades. The German citizen sued the former Spanish monarch for alleged harassment by Juan Carlos himself and the Spanish intelligence service (the CNI) between 2012 to 2020, and which, according to her, included entry onto her property, illegal surveillance and the organization of a defamatory campaign against her figure.
CoMin to meet to assess Covid restrictions

The Council of Minister will meet later to discuss the possibility of furthering Covid-19 restrictions.

Two possible cases of the Omicron variant were detected on the Isle of Man over the weekend.

The cases were picked up by the lab at Nobles and have been sent to the UK for confirmation.

Only mask wearing is required on public transport and healthcare settings under current restrictions.

As of yesterday, the number of active cases on the Island is 773.
Tornadoes ripped through six states on Friday, killing dozens. Among the dead were six workers at an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, IL, which collapsed while they sheltered inside. The incident is now the subject of an OSHA investigation.

The mass casualty event is likely Kentucky's "deadliest tornado system in state history," according to ABC. The twisters also touched down in December, well outside the normal tornado season. While this may have been an unusually extreme weather event for many reasons, Amazon's decision to schedule its workers during potentially deadly conditions isn't. Reportedly, at the time the cyclone touched down in warehouse's parking lot  producing winds estimated at 155 miles per hour  the facility was not only operating, but undergoing a shift change.

Amazon operates a staggering number of fulfillment, sortation and delivery centers across the country, and as a result, some of them are bound to be taken by surprise by the forces of nature. Excessive snow on the roof of one warehouse in Pennsylvania resulted in an evacuation when workers noticed it buckling. Two contractors were killed by a collapsing wall when a tornado touched down without warning in Baltimore.

But the National Weather Service had been warning of possible tornadoes 36 hours ahead of the deaths in Edwardsville; the morning before the storms it cautioned of the "likely threat" of "damaging winds in excess of 60 mph." Edwardsville is in what FEMA categorizes as Wind Zone IV, the part of the country at the greatest risk of tornadoes.

Amazon is perhaps better known in media coverage for its punishing productivity goals. But its operating standards have produced a pattern of incidents where workers were expected to clock in during extreme weather events. Warehouses stayed open during tropical depression Ida in September, the torrential rains of which caused widespread flooding and led to 14 deaths in New York. Some of Amazon's drivers told me they were delivering packages through the floodwaters of hurricane Irma back in 2017.

The Camp Fire of 2018 was the deadliest and costliest wildfire in California's history. Smoke from the destruction also briefly made Sacramento the most polluted city on earth. Despite air quality warnings being issued for the city on November 8th, an Amazon warehouse there did not send its workers home until the afternoon of the 10th.

By far, however, the most pervasive issue across Amazon's warehouses has been extreme heat. Workers in the Pacific Northwest were expected to report for duty during a historic heatwave this past summer which was eventually deemed a mass casualty event. Specifically, a worker complained that some areas of a warehouse in Kent lacked fans, and estimated temperature inside hit 90 degrees. New York warehouse workers also reported fainting and excessive heat around the same time. In May of this year, excessive heat led to a death inside the company's Bessemer, Alabama warehouse.

These are only some of the most recent examples. Workers have been lodging similar complaints for at least a decade about dangerous temperatures inside Amazon's facilities in Chicago, Portland and Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, among others. Even when immediate symptoms like fainting, vomiting or heat stroke are not present, long term heat exposure can exacerbate existing health problems such as heart conditions and asthma.

None of this speaks to criticisms of Amazon's safety measures related to COVID-19, or its objectively sky-high injury rate compared to other warehousing operations.

What's concerning is that, according to the overwhelming majority of the scientific community, severe winds, rain and heat are likely to get worse due to man-made climate change. Amazon, however, has not offered a satisfactory explanation for why it continues to schedule shifts during potentially deadly weather, nor would it provide Engadget with any details of the extreme weather plan in effect at the Edwardsville facility.

Were deeply saddened by the news that members of our Amazon family passed away as a result of the storm in Edwardsville, IL," an Amazon spokesperson told Engadget. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their loved ones, and everyone impacted by the tornado. We also want to thank all the first responders for their ongoing efforts on scene. Were continuing to provide support to our employees and partners in the area.

If you're an employee or contractor for Amazon and would like to discuss workplace issues confidentially, you can reach me on Signal at 646.983.9846
Becoming an astronaut requires perfect 20/20 vision, but unfortunately, the effects of space can cause astronauts to return to Earth with degraded eyesight. Now, researchers from UT Southwestern Medical Center have developed a sleeping bag that that could prevent or reduce those problems by effectively sucking fluid out of astronauts' heads.

More than half of NASA astronauts that went to the International Space Station (ISS) for more than six months have developed vision problems to varying degrees. In one case, astronaut John Philips returned from a six month stint about the ISS in 2005 with his vision reduced from 20/20 to 20/100, as the BBC reported.

For multi-year trips to Mars, for example, this could become an issue. "It would be a disaster if astronauts had such severe impairments that they couldn't see what they're doing and it compromised the mission," lead researcher Dr. Benjamin Levine told the BBC.

UT Southwestern/NASA

Fluids tend to accumulate in the head when you sleep, but on Earth, gravity pulls them back down into the body when you get up. In the low gravity of space, though, more than a half gallon of fluid collects in the head. That in turn applies pressure to the eyeball, causing flattening that can lead to vision impairment  a disorder called spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome, or SANS. (Dr. Levine discovered SANS by flying cancer patients aboard zero-G parabolic flights. They still had ports in their heads to receive chemotherapy, which gave researchers an access point to measure pressure within their brains.)

To combat SANS, researchers collaborated with outdoor gear manufacturer REI to develop a sleeping bag that fits around the waist, enclosing the lower body. A vacuum cleaner-like suction device is then activated that draws fluid toward the feet, preventing it from accumulating in the head.

Around a dozen people volunteered to test the technology, and the results were positive. Some questions need to be answered before NASA brings the technology aboard the ISS, including the optimal amount of time astronauts should spend in the sleeping bag each day. They also need to determine if every astronaut should use one, or just those at risk of developing SANS.

Still, Dr. Levine is hopeful that SANS will no longer be an issue by the time NASA is ready to go to Mars. "This is perhaps one of the most mission-critical medical issues that has been discovered in the last decade for the space program," he said in a statement.
After shutting down third-party PS5 console covers with legal threats, Sony has launched its own official $55 PlayStation five colors, the company announced. Those will go along with the DualSense controls it launched earlier this year, and introduce three new colors in the same galaxy-inspired theme.

The console covers (and matching controllers) will come in Midnight Black, Cosmic Red, Nova Pink, Starlight Blue and Galactic Purple. "Simply remove your original white PS5 console covers and click your new ones into place," the company said. "The PS5 console covers will be available for both the PS5 with the Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive and the PS5 Digital Edition."

The Midnight Black and Cosmic Red PS5 console covers will be available starting in January 2022 in specific regions, including the USA, Canada, UK, France, Australia and China. The Nova Pink, Galactic Purple, and Starlight Blue models will launch in those same locations during the first half of 2022.

As you may remember, Sony recently launched new DualSense wireless controllers in Cosmic Red and Midnight Black. Now, it will also release new controllers in the other three colors (Nova Pink, Starlight Blue, and Galactic Purple) for $75 globally in January 2022 at participating retailers.

As a reminder, last year a company called PlateStation unveiled replacement PS5 covers in colors like cherry red, black and jungle camo. However, the company subsequently announced on Twitter that it would be canceling all orders and processing refunds "due to patent and intellectual property issues" with Sony.

Now we can see why Sony asserted its IP rights so strongly. Given that it can't sell as many PS5 consoles as it would like due to semiconductor shortages, accessories like this will provide another revenue stream. Yes, console color and design aren't that important, but the new covers are a good option for the many folks who aren't that keen on white. Pre-orders are now open for the new controller colors ($75) and first two console covers ($55)  if you're planning to get one, let us know below.
Every now and again a film comes along which takes an old trope in a wholly new direction. Agnes, co-written and directed by Mickey Reece, plays with the idea of demon possession through a series of lenses.

Agnes begins simply enough, with a young nun, Sister Agnes, showing signs of possession both physical and supernatural. Dishes rattling. Doors slamming shut on their own. Agnes spewing profanity not typical of her demeanor. Worried about her present state, the church brings in Father Donaghue, an old salt with a controversial past, and his young protege Benjamin to excise the entity.

The first half of the film plays as an almost old school exorcism flick. A slow and meandering study of those involved, namely the old and young priests' ideas of what is going on, Mother Superior and her flock, each with their own little quirks, and Sister Mary (Molly C. Quinn), a troubled sister who has the closest relationship with the possessed. What follows is an almost tongue in cheek narrative about the questioning of faith for all who come in contact with Agnes. Everything from the lighting, music, and costuming gives Agnes that gritty feel of late 60's horror with a peppering of funny moments and observations, setting the tone for a typical first half.

After several failed, and gruesome, attempts to expel the demon, the movie shifts in a most interesting way. Around the halfway point, Sister Mary is asked to watch over the embattled Agnes, adding to Mary's crisis of faith. The two talk like old friends, without the trappings of their holy vows. In that time, we are given a glimpse into Agnes' past and the love she left behind, comedian Paul Stachimo (Sean Gunn in one of the best roles in the film). This sparks Mary to decide to leave the life of religious servitude and go back to her normal existence as a private citizen. As she leaves, Agnes says one crucial sentence, "I will always be with you."

These parting words act as the catalyst to the second act of the film. We find Mary living in a tiny apartment, struggling to get by on her meager earnings as a grocery store clerk. The tone of the entire piece shifts away from the pseudo-horror presented in the start. Mary becomes our focus, delving deep into her past as she interacts with the denizens of her new life, a lecherous boss (This Is Us star Chris Sullivan), her landlord, and Paul Satchimo, who she opens up to about Agnes as well as Mary's child who past away, leaving her to question her faith and become a nun.

Strange emotions begin to exude from Mary as her new life becomes increasingly difficult, alluding that Agnes might have passed the demon onto her. Loud outbursts and violent behavior lead her to contact Benjamin, the priest in training who assisted Agnes with her possession. In a quiet climax, the audience is given an open ended conclusion of Mary's dilemma.

Agnes is not exactly what you think it is as the story unfolds. Beginning as a movie about Catholic faith and the existence of otherworldly entities to be cast out of our world. Instead, transforming into a female driven drama about how we carry our demons, literal and figurative, throughout our lives, learning to deal with the many hardships stemming from the pain that is not always in our control. It's how we deal with these moments which shape us in the long run.

Some may be put off by the jarring nature of the mid-film transition from Agnes to Mary, but that is part of the beauty of this film. While talking to director Mickey Reece, he discussed how sometimes stories are up for personal interpretation and this is certainly the case with Agnes. Structuring the movie this way works well to give the audience a quietly reflective experience they can each take something different from in the end. Refreshingly non-linear in narrative, surprisingly funny, and most of all original, Agnes is a powerful work that stands out from other films of its ilk.

*
Prince Charles and Prince William reportedly started feuding on who should be the next king amid Queen Elizabeth II's health crisis.

In the British line of succession, Prince Charles stands next to the Queen, followed by Prince William. As Queen Elizabeth II remains the longest-reigning British monarch, the Prince of Wales also holds the title for the longest-serving heir apparent.

Despite the clear succession, Prince Charles and Prince William reportedly began arguing on who should be the next king after Queen Elizabeth II.

National Enquirer reported that Her Majesty would not abdicate anytime soon. Instead, she wants to spend her last days on the throne on damage control.

"She has vowed to stop selfish, self-serving family members from destroying everything she has worked for," an insider said. "She's determined to clean house before she passes - even if it breaks her heart to banish certain offenders. The survival of the monarchy is her priority."

The Palace is reportedly public as it does not want anyone else to know that Queen Elizabeth Ii is already fighting for her life.



With that, she reportedly started talking to Prince Charles and Prince William, suggesting that the Prince of Wales should only serve the throne until he is 80 then abdicate for his son. The heir apparent is now 73 years old.

Are Prince Charles, Prince William Developing Bad Blood Because of Throne?

The public has been insisting on Prince William to become the king instead of Prince William. However, their talks did not tarnish the father and son's relationship at all. In fact, they have been in touch to discuss what they want next for the monarchy.

Multiple news outlets revealed that they are working together to ensure a bright future for the monarchy. Although they had heated conversations throughout the process, they never argued on who should rule next since they both knew the legalities and rules in the British line of succession.

READ ALSO: Monkees Singer Michael Nesmith Dead At 78: Was Cause Of Death Health-Related?

The 1701 Act of Settlement determines who should be the next in line to the throne, and only the Parliament has the power to change it.

With that said, Prince William and Prince Charles have no reason to argue at all since they all follow the rules on succession.

READ MORE: Prince Andrew Puts Monarchy In Danger: Why Jeffrey Epstein's Photos At Balmoral Could Harm Queen, Royal Family
Carbon prices soar in bullish year

Prices in some of the main carbon markets have hit record highs, writes Madeleine Jenkins

Carbon prices hit new records over the past year as speculation in global cap and trade schemes ballooned.

North American markets have seen prices almost double. At the start of November, Californian carbon futures jumped up by 90% in value over the previous five months, having fallen back to a 75% increase in recent weeks. In November, the median allowance price was $34.00, compared with $17.3 last November. On the US East Coast, Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) futures have also gone up by 60% and September auction prices have climbed from $6.8 to $9.3 since last year.

Since last November, European emissions allowance prices tripled, hiking to 72 ($81) a tonne, up from 23 ($27) per t/CO2e.

China launched its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) after four years of waiting and found a pricing equilibrium at $6.

Following the volatile year of trading in 2020, regional compliance markets were boosted as economies unlocked during vaccination roll outs across the global north, and focus on environmental issues increased.

Environmental Finance spoke with the winners of the 2021 Market Rankings to see how the events of the past year have impacted their regional carbon markets, and what they predict for the year ahead.

US ETS

In North America, buyers have become increasingly bold. According to Randy Lack, founder and co-president of Element Markets, allowances are now viewed as a "good investment".

Lack says: "There is no carbon market that's down. Carbon is a new currency that is being invested in by every energy group."

Element Markets won both Best trading company, spot & future and Best trading company, options in the California market and Best trading company in RGGI. The Californian and RGGI markets are the predominant compliance markets in North America.

This year, Element Markets was acquired by the Rise Fund, the largest impact fund in the world. It was founded in 2016 by Bono and Jeff Skoll, with $5 billion in assets under management.

Nicolas Girod, founding partner at ClearBlue Markets, notes that while US markets were up, they were still "lagging" in comparison to Europe.

ClearBlue Markets won Best advisory/consultancy in three markets: China, California and North American (all).

Gordon Bennett, managing director of utility markets at ICE, says: "At the moment, we are seeing some headwinds which are associated with the impact of high energy prices, for example several states in the US have withdrawn from the Transport and Climate Initiative, citing amongst other reasons "high gasoline prices", leaving only Rhode Island and Washington D.C.

The Transport and Climate Initiative is a regional collaboration of 13 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia that seeks to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from motor vehicle fuel sources using a cap and trade system on wholesale suppliers.

"Governments need to be bold and focus on the long term goals rather than be distracted by the short term impact of high energy prices, but these are clear examples of the political challenges of transitioning to Carbonomics from Economics."

Bennett adds: "Another interesting trend that has been gathering steam this past year is the flow of money into carbon exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

"According to estimates, there is c.$2 billion of AUM in carbon ETFs, showing the investor appetite for exposure to this asset class, as well as another indicator of how carbon is moving into the mainstream."

ICE won Best exchange/clearing house in the UK and EU markets.

Christie Pollet-Young, director of the GHG verification programme at SCS Global Services (SCS), observed that in more conservative states of the US carbon trading was still considered "nice to have, rather than a must-have".

SCS won Best verification company in North America.

California's ETS has been formally linked with Quebec's system since January 2014. This year, says Lisa DeMarco, senior partner and CEO at Resilient LLP, Nova Scotia indicated its intent to link its scheme with California's.

Resilient won Best law firm in North America (all markets).

Scheduled to start in 2023, Mexico's ETS is highly anticipated. Canada-based DeMarco says: "There has been discussion about linking with California, which is linked to Quebec. Nova Scotia has also indicated that it is considering linking with the WCI jurisdictions."

DeMarco welcomes the news: "Harmonised pricing regimes are wise."

At COP26, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), which implements the California programme, signed a Joint Declaration with the governments of New Zealand and Quebec. The declaration committed the parties to cooperate on "information, experiences, and best practices on the implementation" of cap-and-trade schemes for GHG emissions, as well as measurement, reporting and verification systems, sustainable mobility, forestry and agriculture.

Meanwhile, Pennsylvania is also in the process of establishing a power sector ETS and possibly participating in the RGGI programme by 2022. RGGI's jurisdictions include Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia.

Virginia joined RGGI in January 2021. The state had started regulatory processes to participate in RGGI in 2018. However, the Republican house majority pushed through legislation that prevented Virginia from joining in 2020. Following the November 2019 elections, cap-and-trade legislation was introduced by the new Democratic majority in 2020.

In the California market, the growing number of corporate net-zero commitments as well as demand from European investors and fund managers caused prices to increase by 30%, with most activity beginning in the last six months.

CARB put California's ETS under mandatory review in a 'scoping plan' this year. CARB decided that, from now on, no more than half of the offset credits that an entity surrenders for compliance can come from projects that do not provide Direct Environmental Benefits in the State (DEBS).

This year, RGGI also finalised the '2017 Model Rule'. RGGI states are now committed to reduce power sector emissions by 30% compared with the 2020 CO2 emissions cap.

EU ETS

According to CF Partners, there has been "massive, unprecedented energy market volatility" in the second half of 2021, which has put a renewed focus on "risk management strategies and clients' exposure to future carbon prices".

Tim Atkinson, director of sales and structuring at CF Partners, says: "The cost of carbon has more than doubled since the start of 2021, which has caught a lot of market participants by surprise.

"If companies haven't planned for this, then there is a big budget gap to fill, especially given the significant reductions in free allocations under EU ETS Phase 4 and the new UK ETS..."

CF Partners won Best broker, spot & futures (UK), Best trading company, options (EU) and Best broker, options (EU).

"The cost of carbon has more than doubled [in the EU] since the start of 2021, which has caught a lot of market participants by surprise" Tim Atkinson, CF Partners

Tom Lord, a trader at Redshaw Advisors, says: "Higher prices are forcing European investors to take a more proactive approach.

"Not to say this holds for everyone, but the attention is now coming top-down  from CEOs and CFOs, and so on."

Lord adds: "[The EU market] has become thinner. We've seen more moves based on lower volume, and it tends to be very jumpy. This isn't a good thing in terms of cost.

"But, the EU ETS still has very good liquidity, so it's not a serious concern; that growing interest from investors is still there  I don't see that interest waning."

Lord predicts there will be a cap-change in the EU, as well as the creation of a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). CBAM is the most controversial proposal in the EU's Fit for 55 scheme. It proposes a levy on imports of specific products, to create a level playing field for EU producers.

Andrew Hedges, a partner at law firm Baker McKenzie, says: "The 'Fit for 55' proposals from the Commission, particularly the proposed CBAM, has focused the attention of significant emitters on the potential for significant price exposure in coming years.

"Combined with the other green deal initiatives of the EU and UK, there is a growing possibility that compliance markets may start to support significant investments in emerging alternative technologies, such as hydrogen.

"For European markets, the key focus is on the passage of the 'Fit for 55' proposals, including the tightening of the EU cap, the extension of the EU ETS to the shipping sector and the proposed phase-in of a CBAM.

"In the UK there are similar issues, as market participants assess the ongoing approach of the UK government to implementing its enhanced targets.

"Generally, the underlying structure of the European emissions trading market (such as registry systems, security protocols to protect against fraud, and MRV process) are generally considered mature. As the value of allowances increases and emitting sectors look to do more innovative financing structures, the uncertainty in many markets of how to take and enforce security over existing and future allocations of allowances is being considered."

Baker McKenzie won Best law firm in the EU, UK, China and Kyoto project credits (JI and CDM) categories.

Element Market's Lack says: "I've seen a lot of activity of portfolios trying to manage on a weekly or monthly basis as opposed to a yearly basis...investors are starting to see the much bigger picture of the net zero ambition."

Fit for 55 In July 2021, the European Commission released the "Fit for 55" package  an intermediate emission reductions targets of at least 55% below 1990 levels, in line with its carbon neutrality goal of 2050. The package  which is yet to be finalised by the Council of the EU and the European Parliament  includes policy proposals for the main sectors of the economy. It prioritises the EU ETS in the EU's decarbonisation agenda while significantly changing it: a one-off reduction to the cap and increased linear reduction factor (from 2.2% to 4.2%);

the inclusion of the maritime sector into the EU ETS' scope from 2023 onwards;

a separate fuel ETS for buildings and transport;

strengthened benchmarks and a faster phase down of free allocation which would be tied to low-carbon investment by the receiving entity;

the introduction of a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) that prices imported goods based on their embedded emissions to become fully operational by 2026;

updated parameters of the Market Stability Reserve (MSR), including a new buffer threshold and an extension of the current intake rate of 24% beyond 2023;

and new regulations around revenue use to address distributional effects and spur innovation, including the creation of the Social Climate Fund. By 2030, at the end of the Fit for 55 package, experts expect the price of carbon to be well over 100.

UK ETS

Since its divorce from Europe, carbon prices between the UK and the EU remained united until May, when UK ETS auctions began on 19 May 2021.

As of 25 November, UK carbon allowances were trading at a 7 ($10) premium, compared with the sterling equivalent price of EU allowances.

The two markets price carbon higher than in other regions as they are driven by more ambitious emissions targets.

Redshaw's Lord says the EU ETS still has very good liquidity and growing interest from investors, but the UK market is the "polar opposite".

Lord explains: "The UK ETS has poor liquidity and poor volume. The bid offer spread is very wide and moves on low volume."

"The secondary market is almost starved of allowances. The only natural seller is the government, and that's every two weeks."

Redshaw won Best trading company, spot & futures and Best advisory/consultancy in the UK markets.

CF Partners' Atkinson echoes Lord's appraisal: "There is significant demand for UK allowances, but there isn't much supply outside of the auctions."

He adds: "It was always going to be tough starting a new carbon market in the midst of a carbon price rally.

"Not surprisingly, the UK allowance price initially took direction from the benchmark EU carbon price, a trend helped by UK utilities rolling any EU allowances purchased in the first six months of 2021 as a proxy hedge against their UK ETS exposure, into UK allowances."

Following the start of UK ETS auctions and the UK carbon market in May, Lord and Atkinson observe that utility operators began selling any EU allowance holdings and buying UK allowances.

Atkinson says: "In September we did see a real disconnect of the UKA-EUA price correlation, with UKAs reaching a record high of over 75 per tonne, nearly 20 higher than EUAs. This was because of a fairly unique set of circumstances  very high UK power prices resulted a strong UKA demand from thermal generators, at a time where there was a gap in auctions and limited secondary market supply.

"It does highlight a concern that market liquidity is poor and UKA prices can rocket higher in periods of significant demand."

Lord agrees: "Coal-powered generation has increased markedly in the UK recently. With cold weather forecast to continue this winter, it is likely it will increase."

On 6 October, the UK ETS auction was only partially cleared, with about one sixth of allowances remaining unsold. Allowances were sold at the auction clearing price of 60.

Lord explains that this happened due to high prices and the market's novelty. He added: "Most traders only got a month's notice of the auction beforehand."

Looking ahead, Lord says: "We see that price gap [between the UK and the EU] widening as everyone comes to square away their compliance obligations. We warned the government of UK price spikes prior to Brexit, and believe that is still a risk."

CF Partners' Atkinson adds: "It's definitely a concern for UK operators, as they're currently paying higher carbon costs than their EU counterparts.

"There is no quick fix to the liquidity issues unless the UK and EU commit to their stated ambition to link the two schemes. Unfortunately, to date, we've not seen the political will to make this happen.

"I'm sure there will be pressure from industrials in the UK and it will be interesting to see if and when the government do take action on this."

The UK formally withdrew from the EU on 31 January 2020 but continued to participate in the EU ETS until the end of the year as part of the transition period. In parallel, the linking agreement between the EU ETS and the Swiss ETS entered into force in January 2020. A provisional link was established in September, enabling allowance transfers between both registries on pre-announced dates.

Lucideon CICS is a subsidiary of the international, UK-based Lucideon Limited, a global materials analysis and consultancy company. Post-Brexit, it formed a new additional subsidiary company based in Ireland  Lucideon CICS Ireland  in order to continue trade with European clients.

Shaun Bainbridge, director of Lucideon CICS, described the process as "a hassle".

Lucideon won Best verification company in the EU.

China ETS

The Chinese ETS was launched this year, after four years of waiting and seven years of government preparation.

Resilient's DeMarco says the launch was "well received", as "the demand in that market is massive".

There has been no indication that foreign or individual investors will be allowed to participate in the national ETS.

Initially, the Chinese ETS has only included the power sector, comprising 2,225 coal-and gas-fired power plants. DeMarco predicts it will expand into industrials, to "facilitate a greener growth" due to China's net-zero by 2060 commitments.

In September 2020, President Xi Jinping committed China to achieve peak carbon emissions before 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. According to the International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP), this generated "great momentum" for the development of the national ETS, kickstarting it in 2021.

ClearBlue's Girod says: "We have witnessed prices finding a new equilibrium price at around 43CNY, which is equivalent to $6.7, prior to the first compliance surrendering taking place on 15 December. The activity remains low, however, and investors are not yet allowed in the market."

The two ETS exchanges are in Shanghai and Hubei. Beijing and Guangzhou have trading centres for China Certified Emissions Reduction (CCERs) and carbon futures, respectively. Shenzhen, Tianjin, Chongqing and Fujian also have regional pilot schemes, which function in parallel.

Girod adds: "The news that Chinese CERs would be eligible for the 2019-2020 compliance period spurred a flurry of activity and was seen as a positive and has increased interest in this market. In terms of investors, as mentioned, it is currently not possible for outside investors to participate in the market, but this could change.

"The Guangzhou Futures Exchange is expected to launch in the new year a future contract, which could eventually give access to the Chinese market to investors. This will be a key event for the market and we expect this to increase the number of participants."

Article 6

In November, the UK hosted COP26 in Glasgow. After six years of waiting, new rules of carbon trading were finalised under Article 6 of the Paris agreement.

While excitement has grown in the voluntary carbon markets, Element's Lack says in the compliance markets: "It was an installation of confidence, but it was already being priced in."

"We saw a huge price increase going into COP, but this spike has been consistent...from a market perspective, most people expected it would get done. But it's an important signal of how we'll be dealing with adjustments and registries."

ICE's Bennett said: "One point missing from the narrative is that the focus is very much on 1.5 C now, whereas Paris was about substantially below 2 C. No one talks about 2C anymore. This is a positive development."

Following the Article 6 agreements, S&P Global predicts the carbon market of the future is expected to be made by one single emission unit, which will be used for different claims depending on the extra labels or certificates it carries.

Redshaw's Lord says: "That's what you're aiming for, but whether you're going to get all states signing up to that seems very unlikely."

Ilona Millar, a partner at Baker McKenzie, said: "I would expect that the future carbon market will have a much greater level of fungibility of units  provided they all meet core underlying characteristics and what the TSVCM (Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets) have called core carbon principles.

"However, I do not see this merging into a single unit, as it is the prerogative of regulators and standard-setters to set their own frameworks for project registration and unit issuance.

"This is particularly the case with units that serve national/subnational compliance and voluntary markets, but also voluntary standards that look to differentiate themselves in the market.

"The extra labels will become increasingly important for some (but not all) buyers, particularly those seeking to demonstrate their additional contributions to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals."

Millar added: "I think it is a very exciting time to be involved in the next generation of carbon markets.

"If history is anything to go by, the newly agreed Article 6 Rules will see a number of market players  including multilateral development banks, sovereigns and corporates  test the new rules and processes in the next year or two and take advantage of early mover opportunities.

"However, I also expect to see continued volatility in the carbon market, linked to more active secondary market trading and also to new approaches to digital trading and tokens."

"There is no carbon market that's down. Carbon is a new currency that is being invested in by every energy group." - Randy Lack, founder and co-president of Element Markets.

Internationally, further agreements to link regional emission trading schemes under Article 6 of the Paris agreement have caused experts to hope for further harmonisation of compliance carbon markets.

Following the approval of Article 6 at COP26, the governments of Georgia, Vanuatu, and Dominica each signed carbon trading plans with Switzerland. The ETS linkages allow the former countries to fund sustainable development projects, while Switzerland counts the projects as part of meeting its emissions reduction obligations under their nationally determined contribution (NDC).

The countries joined Peru, Ghana and Senegal, which also signed bilateral agreements with Switzerland within the last year.

ClearBlue's Girod predicts that, overall, the compliance markets will become "more global, as opposed to being less local".

But Redshaw's Lord disagrees: "I don't think you could see a lot of evidence of that. But governments signing up to more ambitious commitments means more carbon trading is involved, and larger ETSs are good for everyone. Smaller ETSs, such as South Korea and the UK, are good examples of that.

"Climate change is something that requires cooperation."

Looking ahead

Market participants are upbeat about the prospects for pricing.

Element's Lack says prices have further to rise in the US: "What we're seeing is speculative investment, and we'll see higher prices ahead."

"The market has dried up in terms of volume," Lack adds. "It's very hard for the market to respond quickly, it takes many months. The response time is much slower than you would expect."

When asked whether the speculation felt dangerous, Lack says: "It doesn't feel that way."

ClearBlue's Girod adds: "We've seen speculation, but in Europe there isn't excessive speculation."

Resilient's DeMarco says: "Volatility is a tough one to call. The net increase trend is there, but I don't think we're in danger of any bubbles forming at the moment."

But Jonathan Burnston, managing partner at Karbone, described the markets as "frothy", and "flush with capital...possibly too flush."

"This is the latest round of non-stop stimuli rounds from banks since 2008. You could say the flow of capital got down to a trickle during Covid, but now it's a gush.

But where is the flow going to go? Liquidity is what matters for investors.

"I see no stop to it. Irrespective of Article 6 [of the Glasgow climate pact], these trends won't stop and they'll continue to grow."

Burnston adds: "I am bullish going into 2022...because the runway from conceptual to commercial and scalable always continues to shrink.

"Solar happened faster than wind, battery happened faster than solar, and hydrogen, biofuels and sequestration will happen faster than battery. It's a self-reinforcing logic."

Karbone won Best broker, secondary market in Kyoto Project Credits (JI And CDM) category and Best broker, spot & futures in California.
RECs rocket

Corporate demand for renewable energy has driven prices of certificates to record highs, writes Michael Hurley

A surge in demand for Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) in North America saw prices rocket to all-time highs, say this year's winners.

RECs are a market-based instrument that certifies the bearer owns one megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity generated from a renewable energy resource. Once the power provider has fed the energy into the grid, the REC can then be sold on the open market as an energy commodity.

In the US, states implement both compliance and voluntary REC schemes.

Austin Wentworth, vice president for environmental commodities in North America at STX, says: "A surge in demand for both current and forward volumes ... sent pricing in voluntary markets to all-time highs."

Wentworth says the spike in voluntary demand was largely driven by "greater global awareness [of] the importance of sustainability, which is contributing to this demand either directly from end-users or their stakeholders demanding more sustainable practices".

"A surge in demand ... sent pricing in voluntary markets to all-time highs" Austin Wentworth, vice president for environmental commodities in North America at STX

"After a slight correction [in prices for RECs] towards the end of summer, demand has continued to persist," Wentworth adds.

STX won Best Trading Company for North American RECs markets. It was also voted Best Broker and Best Trading Company for RECs in Europe, and Best Advisory in Chinese markets.

Jonathan Burnston, managing partner at New York-based Karbone, which won Best Broker and Best Advisory for North American RECs markets, agrees voluntary demand from the corporate sector has been an important factor in the record prices.

However, this has been part of a broader effect of a "rising tide lifting all boats within the entire decarbonisation complex", he says  citing the confluence of US state and federal policy that is supportive of renewable energy.

Burnston says this strengthened a years-long trend of policy boosting the markets, which was spurred predominantly by individual states during the presidency of Donald Trump, but which has since been bolstered by signs of vastly increased federal government spending on low-carbon infrastructure coming from the administration of President Joe Biden.

"There's a lead and lag time ... but you really began to see momentum grow in 2019 to 2020," he adds.

Prices for certificates in the national 'Green-e' market for voluntary buyers of RECs "rocketed to new heights" starting late last year, as the country's economy began its recovery from the initial impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Burnston says.

"Over this past summer, you had Green-e RECs, which prior to Covid in 2019, over the past eight-to-10 years, had been range-bound between  at the very low end  35-50 cents and $1, or maybe $1.20 on a good day, skyrocket this past summer to $7."

STX's Wentworth suggests that recent price volatility in electricity and gas markets, which has seen significant price rises across Europe and in North America, could push corporates that consume large amounts of energy to shift towards long-term offtake agreements from renewable projects.

Meanwhile, Joshua Belcher, counsel at Eversheds Sutherland, which was voted Best Law Firm for North American RECs, says: "The market is shifting to a seller's market, with a surge in demand and a shortfall in available projects."

Belcher notes that Eversheds Sutherland's corporate clients have shown "a strong preference" to secure certificates from specific physical renewable energy facilities, "rather than fungible, generic RECs" traded on open markets.

"Procurements are also being made increasingly through bespoke virtual power purchase agreements, rather than traditional industry forms for spot and long-term trades," he adds, referring to a contract structure in which a power purchaser agrees to buy a project's renewable energy for a pre-agreed price.

"The market is shifting to a seller's market, with a surge in demand and a shortfall in available projects" Joshua Belcher, Eversheds Sutherland

In the EU, Guarantees of Origin (GOs) are electronic documents which provide proof of the environmental attributes of the generation of one MWh of electricity by a renewable source.

Anil Akalin, head of renewable energy at Redshaw Advisors, which was named Best Advisory for European RECs markets, says a combination of factors have pushed up demand for GOs. This includes corporate demand and the US formally rejoining the Paris agreement, Akalin says.

"All companies in the US have some facilities in the EU and the UK," she notes. "Businesses, governments and consumers are pushing for transparency  this can only be proved by RECs. If companies want to prove they are using 100% renewable energy, that is only done by buying RECs."

However, a proposal by Norway's Labour party, which agreed to form a minority government following an election in September, could see the country cancel the system of GOs in a move it says would prioritise the power needs of Norwegian industry.

"The supply of GOs they were putting into the market  which represents about 20% of total supply  would be taken out. If the proposal goes through, there will be a shortage of supply of GOs, which will push prices up. The country currently provides about 120tWh of GO exports to the market.

"What we see for 2022 is that, if companies want to buy for hedging, [the price of a GO] is around 3. It is already feared that there will be a shortage of GOs."

Joscha Kirschke, senior consultant for renewable commodities at STX, says: "There is a robust demand for GOs across all industries and our clients are looking at long-term commitments in this regard," adding that the trend has been boosted by the addition of Portugal and Greece as new GO market entrants.

John Davis, director of climate solutions for the Asia-Pacific region at South Pole, says corporates have also been a significant demand driver in Australian markets.

South Pole was voted Best Trading Company and Best Advisory for RECs in Australia.

Chris Halliwell, head of energy and environmental markets for the Asia Pacific region at TFS Green, which was voted Best Broker for RECs in Australia, adds that the last 12 months were characterised by "the wave of voluntary demand for RECs, as corporates and industrials pursue clean energy targets to manage their Scope 2 electricity consumption emissions".

While a surplus of large-scale generation certificates (LGCs), of which liable entities are obliged by legislation to purchase and surrender a certain number each year, has in previous years suppressed prices, this trend has "flattened" in the past 12 months, Davis says.

A national, annual target of 33,000GWh of additional renewable energy each year between 2020 and 2030 has already been met on a rolling 12-month basis but the country's Clean Energy Regulator has indicated that it will not be raised.

"Prices were expected to trend down as a result of additional renewable capacity coming online this year in Australia, but those new projects haven't materialised. It now looks like the oversupply of certificates and potential price falls are a couple of years away," he says.

"Companies are looking to purchase LGCs either through an offtake agreement or they are looking at more strategic approaches, like on-site projects or PPAs to secure their supply, and price, in the longer-term."

Aylin Cunsolo, a partner at Baker McKenzie, says: "We have seen increasing interest in long-term, LGC-only/Australian REC supply arrangements. These are becoming an important part of a broader sustainability strategy for businesses, complimenting other measures, such as corporate PPAs.

"LGC-only offtake arrangements are also a useful mechanism for businesses who have made a national commitment to reducing their emissions, but who have small loads in different states within Australia, making it difficult to procure a competitive corporate PPA arrangement.

"We expect to see a continuing increase in demand from corporates for Australian REC supply arrangements. To date, businesses have sought to procure supply of LGCs up to expiry of the Renewable Energy Target in 2030. However, there is a growing interest in businesses seeking to secure rights to green products which can be created under a replacement scheme, with some recognising that, as businesses come off their supply contracts in 2030, there will be an increase in demand for green products, which could lead to a spike in price."

Baker McKenzie was voted Best Law Firm for RECs in Australia and China.
Austria ended lockdown restrictions for the people vaccinated against COVID-19 across most of the country. Strict rules to combat a rising wave of coronavirus infections have been in place for three weeks.
Euronics, a public washroom automation accessory brand, has signed actor Hrithik Roshan as their brand ambassador. Hrithik would be the face of the brands campaigns for the upcoming year. The campaign introduces a range of sanitary ware aimed at an evolved audience base demanding high quality, new age accessories and equipment to foster health and hygiene.

In sync with the core idea of providing a new line of products catering to a post-pandemic society, Euronics roped in Hrithik Roshan as their ambassador - for the Superstar resonates with Indian masses, as an advocate for health and fitness. Hrithik over the years has emerged as a trusted figure, associated with quality in the scope of his work, an attribute Euronics swears by, with their products too, the company said.

On this occasion, Viknesh Jain, CEO, and MD of Euronics said, We are excited to partner with Hrithik Roshan for our brand campaign that targets the segment of the audience who is more aware and makes a conscious choice of upholding their health and safety. This is the area where our Brand ethos coincides with that of Mr. Hrithik, we both strive to work in the public interest. His body of work that encompasses versatility and evolution, is very much in line with how we operate. We both listen to our audience and aim to deliver results in tandem with global standards. The fact that he is an icon, whose lifestyle is aspirational for families and individuals pan India, is a bonus."

Speaking about the brand and the new partnership, Hrithik Roshan said, The pandemic has taught us a lot, and maintaining health and hygiene is not just an option, but a way of life now. As an ambassador, my decision to associate with Euronics comes from a personal capacity. I prioritize the well-being of my family and all my associates, and Euronics solves my sanitation concerns. With automation and innovation, Euronics has developed products that can assist an individual, while upgrading their standard of living. In the end, we all want the best for our houses and personal spaces, and for this reason, I choose Euronics.

Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India)
Jasper, IndianaThe original screenplay based on Kevin Schewe's first book, Bad Love Strikes, won the Best Script in Feature award from the Hollywood International Golden Age Film Festival. From Hong Kong to Paris and New York to Korea, the Bad Love Strikes screenplay has received praise and accolades internationally.

In Bad Love Strikes, the first in Bad Love sci-fi adventure series, the Gang discovers The White Hole Project, a time machine created by Albert Einstein at the request of President Franklin Roosevelt in case the atomic bomb failed, and then go on to save a group of Holocaust victims. In the exciting first sequel, Bad Love Tigers, the Gang use the White Hole Project to travel back to 1945 to thwart Russian spies and protect the secrets of the White Hole Project and Area 51. In Bad Love Beyond, the Gang travel not just through time but through space as well to learn the reason behind Blue Nova One's mysterious visit to earth and to get the cure for breast cancer. Then, in Bad Love Medicine, the Bad Love Gang has a two-fold mission: reunite a love-struck couple separated by time (while saving one of them from a future fate of breast cancer) and, at Winston Churchill's personal request, stop Hitler and the Nazis from creating a time machine of their own.

The Audible version of Bad Love Medicine, the fourth installment, is now available on Amazon. The popular series, which is time travel sci-fi mixed with science fact and history is now available in hardcover, paperback, e-book, and Audible formats.

Each of the Bad Love series audio books are narrated by Alan Carlson, an award-winning narrator with credits in non-fiction, academic, romance fiction and many other categories. You can purchase the audio book at Amazon's Audible.

The entire four book set is available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Love-Collection-Sci-Fi-Adventure-ebook/dp/B09LPPDBMM/ or www.jancarolpublishing.com.

The gift of knowledge within the Bad Love sci-fi adventures provides a look at the history of World War II, the Manhattan Project to build the first atomic bomb, pop culture with musical interludes, 1970's Cold War espionage and more. Kevin Schewe, a history buff with a keen interest in high tech, made sure real-life characters in the books, like Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, and Adolph Hitler, were portrayed with precise accuracy.

"If history was taught this way in school, everyone would be a scholar and educating ourselves not only about our accomplishments but the horrors of the past that should awaken and give insight to the path of a better future. A rare gem!" David Holladay, MD, 5-Stars

"Skillful writing (both historical and fantastical), a zesty sense of humor, an appreciation for pop culture, and the ability to create memorably entertaining characters combine to make this an immensely impressive series and experience! Very highly recommended." Grady Harp, Amazon Top 100 Reviewer, 5-Stars

Watch the book trailers for each book at https://bit.ly/BadLoveStrikes-Trailer or https://bit.ly/BadLoveTigers_Trailer or https://bit.ly/BadLoveBeyondTrailer or https://bit.ly/BadLoveMedicineTrailer

About Kevin Schewe: Kevin L. Schewe, MD, FACRO, is a board-certified cancer specialist who has been in the private practice of radiation oncology for over 34 years. He is an entrepreneur, having founded Elite Therapeutics and Bad Love Cosmetics Company, LLC.
In just two years, veteran-founded Black Rifle Coffee Co. says it will add nearly 80 company owned and franchised stores in the United States. And Texas is one of its biggest markets.

Black Rifle Coffee, which maintains corporate offices in San Antonio and Salt Lake City, plans to add seven stores in the Alamo City as well as nine coffee shops in Houston and 13 stores in Dallas Fort Worth, according to a presentation the coffee company gave to investors last month.

On ExpressNews.com: 'Is Black Rifle coffee actually good?': 7 things to know about the company with ties to San Antonio

The company says its national expansion is possible with the $225 million that it hopes to raise from going public last month through a merger with Austin-based SilverBox Engaged Merger Corp.

In addition to coffee shops, the company says it will bolster its online sales of apparel and coffee, as well as its reach through retailers such as H-E-B, Walmart, Bass Pro Shops, Sams Club and CVS.

Black Rifle Coffee did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

However, the companys presentation gives some insight into how it promises to ultimately become a chain with more than 1,300 coffee shops in the United States.

The company says its largest growth opportunities are in Texas and in the Midwest, according to the companys market research. It also sees potential for expansion in the West and South, including Louisiana, Oklahoma and Florida.

The company already has a store in Florida, Oklahoma and Georgia.

On ExpressNews.com: The keys to Black Rifles fast growth: Great coffee and political polarization

The secret to the companys expansion is a multi-pronged approach that includes coffee shops, retail and online sales.

The success of that model can be seen in San Antonio, Tom Davin, Black Rifle Coffees co-chief executive officer, told investors last month.

Last year, Black Rifle Coffee opened a stand alone coffee shop on Bitters Road and started selling its product at the local Bass Pro Shop. At the same time, the company introduced ready-to-drink coffee in convenience stores in and around the Alamo City.

Including online sales, Black Rifle Coffees total volume in the San Antonio market was $3 million, Davin said. The company is expecting $5 million in revenue in San Antonio by the end of the year, according to Davin.

Two coffee shops are under construction in the San Antonio area and three are under negotiation, Davin said. Most of Black Rifle Coffees expansion will be outside of Loop 410 on the Northeast, North and Northwest sides.

By 2023, revenue in San Antonio is forecasted to be more than $20 million, Davin added.

According to its presentation to investors, Black Rifle Coffee is also planning stores in Converse and New Braunfels. The company already has a Boerne location.

One of the companys first of eight standalone coffee shops opened in June in the North Richland Hills area of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. According to its website, stores are also coming soon to Plano and Benbrook.

Black Rifle Coffee also opened its first Midland franchise on Dec. 6, Hearst newspapers reported.

Timothy.Fanning@express-news.net
GALVESTON  Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch have began engineering their own copy of the new COVID-19 variant in local labs with genome data shared online. At the same time, researchers have been working to get their hands on an isolate of the virus from a person confirmed to have been infected with it.

By either method, researchers can begin answering questions about the variant, including how quickly it can spread and how resistant it is to vaccines.

Those answers probably are still weeks away, however. For now, the expert advice is to stay calm about omicron.

I think we have some concern, but its too early to worry a lot about this, said Scott Weaver, director of the Institute for Human Infections & Immunity at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. The bad news is that this is a variant with a lot of mutations.

Some of the mutations detected in omicron already had been detected in other variants and have been shown to make the virus more transmissible, Weaver said. Some of the other identified mutations have shown an ability to evade vaccines, he said.

The fact those mutations are showing up together is whats causing a higher level of concern, he said.

But it remains to be seen how well the variant can spread and how bad its infections tend to be. Although omicron is spreading fast in South Africa, that might not portend a severe threat in the United States.

The reason not to be concerned is that so far its not been associated with severe disease, especially in breakthrough infections, Weaver said.

Omicron is the fifth variant of concern of the COVID virus identified by the World Health Organization. Its name comes from the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet.

Viruses like COVID mutate naturally, Weaver said. But not every variant is classified as a variant of concern. Some variants fizzle out because they dont transmit effectively.

Variants of concern are flagged and named when they show evidence of having higher transmissibility, causing more severe disease or being able to avoid antibodies.

The medical branchs infectious disease laboratories are ready to study the variants transmissibility and its interactions with vaccines, said Pei-Yong Shi, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology.

But to do that, the medical branch and other labs need something to study  either a live sample taken from an infected person or an engineered sample grown in a lab. Because of the dozens of individual mutations detected in omicron, it could take up to three weeks for a lab-grown sample to be ready, Shi said.

The hope is researchers in Africa or another part of the world will be able to isolate and share the virus with the medical branch sooner than that, Shi and Weaver said.

Once a sample is available, labs at the medical branch will be looking specifically at how well vaccines work against the virus, as well as how therapeutic treatments affect the variant, Shi said.

In terms of prevention and treatment, those are the first things we need to do, Shi said.

With studies into the variant just beginning, health officials are continuing to recommend that people protect themselves by getting vaccinated, or getting a vaccine booster. While theres little information about omicrons reaction to vaccines, research on other variants has shown vaccines are effective at preventing serious illness and death from mutant strains of the virus.

Drugmakers Pfizer and Moderna already have said they are prepared to reformulate their vaccines if omicron shows it can evade them.
A community coming together helped a Boerne family win $50,000 for its over-the-top Christmas lights display.

Beto and Mariana Hinojosa and their two sons lit up the competition on the ABCs The Great Christmas Light Fight, in which families from across the country show off their extreme Christmas lights displays.

Their episode aired Dec. 2.

On ExpressNews.com: Windcrest couple wins $50K on The Great Christmas Light Fight

The display featured a standing display and a light show set to music that filled the Hinojosas yard with lights, including a giant blue river  built by the eldest Hinojosa child and his dad  that flowed through the yard.

Beto said their love of Christmas lights started nearly nine years ago when he and Mariana got married. Their first Christmas they wrapped a car in lights, and it brought their neighbors so much joy that the two got the bug and continued expanding their display year after year, Beto told Taniya Nayak, host of The Great Christmas Light Fight.

The middle school principal said his familys display is representative of their community coming together. Over the years, their neighbors and friends have donated to the extravagant display, including a tree farm that the community donates to so the Hinojosas can give a tree to anyone in need.

Beto said one of his favorite elements in the yard is a bubble-producing train that a neighbor built that reminds Beto of his childhood Christmases traveling to Mexico to visit his dad.

Hinojosa Family Lights - Boerne

And to complement the lights, the art club at Betos school decorated the driveway and sidewalk with chalk drawings to add another festive element.

It is truly magical, Nayak said. It is elegant and playful merging together perfectly. What impresses me is how much the community adores you.

The episode also featured three other Texas families from Palmview, Conroe and Frisco. But Nayak said the community element of the Hinojosas display is what put it over the top.

Externally, it is beautiful, but internally, it is gorgeous, she said, referencing the collective efforts that went into the display.

The Hinojosas are the second San Antonio-area family to win the coveted Great Christmas Light Fight trophy this year. John and Brenda Wilson of Windcrest placed first in the shows season nine premiere last month.

When I think of all the people who helped us put it together, we were winners already, Beto said. I just wish we could cut (the trophy) into little pieces and share it.

The Hinojosas light display can be seen nightly from 5:30 to 10 p.m.

taylor.pettaway@express-news.net
After a trademark beef with a Houston-based restaurant empire, San Antonios Papas Burgers has announced a new name for its award-winning restaurants: The Good News Burgers.

Robert Walker, the local burger joint's owner, announced the new name Friday on Facebook, just a week after he received a cease-and-desist notice from the Pappas Restaurants chain.

On ExpressNews.com: Burger King's beef with Burger Boy is a Whopper of a tale that goes back decades

Walker previously told the Express-News that he was looking to expand and had recently attempted to trademark Papas Burgers. He discovered that Pappas Restaurants  the parent company behind brands such as Pappasitos Cantina, Pappadeaux and Pappas Burger  had already trademarked Papas Burger.

Walker reached out to the company in an attempt to come to an agreement, but he still received a cease-and-desist letter that demanded he change his restaurant's name and branding.

Walker did not responded to messages requesting comment.

Pappas Restaurants will give Walker until July 2022 to fully rebrand, according to Walker's Facebook post.

Walker opened Papas Burgers in 2013 in an effort to help his father cope with the loss of his mother. The restaurants signature red, white and blue logo is meant to honor his father's military career.

Walker told the Express-News last week that the new name and branding would continue to honor his parents and the community.

Timothy.Fanning@express-news.net
During winter, some may assume that the threat of tornadoes fades away as blasts of frigid air plunge into the Lower 48 states and snows blanket the northern landscape. But that chill doesn't stop tornadoes in the central and southern United States; in fact, it can be a catalyst for spinning storms as it clashes with warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico.

History is replete with examples of devastating December tornadoes. But the tornado rampage from Arkansas to Illinois on Friday night and early Saturday morning rose to another level, unlike anything seen in modern records.

In particular, the violence and longevity of the tornadic storm that crossed four states, from northeast Arkansas to western Kentucky, was unusual for December or any time of year, if not unprecedented.

On average, about two dozen tornadoes form in the Lower 48 states each December. Most of them occur in the western Gulf Coast region and lower Mississippi Valley. Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi are particularly vulnerable. December tornadoes can be violent.

In 2014, Weather.com listed the five deadliest December tornadoes, summarizing devastating events such as the Dec. 5, 1953, Vicksburg, Miss., tornado, which killed 38 people, and a 1947 storm on New Year's Eve in northwest Louisiana that left 18 dead. The year after Weather.com published that article, a swarm of tornadoes swept from Texas to Michigan between Dec. 23 and 26. Thirteen people died in Mississippi and Tennessee during tornadoes on Dec. 23, and 13 died in Texas on Dec. 26.

2 1 of 2 Washington Post photo by Joshua Lott. Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Washington Post photo by Joshua Lott. Show More Show Less



Just two years ago, 40 tornadoes tore across the South on Dec. 16 and 17, killing three people.

But none of those events were as deadly or destructive as what transpired Friday and Saturday. More than 100 people are feared to have been killed, making it the deadliest December tornado outbreak on record.

Beyond the human toll, the outbreak was exceptional for several meteorological reasons.

First, there is little precedent for the path length of the quad-state tornadic storm, which carved a 250-mile course through northeast Arkansas, southeast Missouri, northwest Tennessee and western Kentucky. The storm exhibited evidence of rotation even longer, for about 11 hours and 600 miles, according to Jack Sillin, a meteorology student at Cornell University:

While it is still not clear whether the storm spawned just a single tornado or several twisters, a rotating storm of that duration is very unusual any time of year.

The tornadic storm was extreme not only for its duration but also for its intensity. Evan Bentley, a tornado specialist at the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center, tweeted that radar data would indicate it unleashed winds of 190 to 205 mph, suggesting it would rate as an EF4 or top-tier EF5 on the 0-to-5 Enhanced Fujita scale for tornado intensity. Meteorologists at the Weather Service are surveying the storm damage to assign an exact rating; the process could take a few days.

If the storm rates as an EF5, it would join only two other December tornadoes this strong.

Bentley also tweeted that the tornadic storm was rotating at an average speed of 94 mph for four hours, while noting that published research shows "only 1.5% of all tornadoes" spin at such speeds.

Radar data also revealed that the storm lofted debris for more than three hours, which is practically unheard of. Sometimes, radar detected debris above 30,000 feet, an incredibly rare occurrence. There have been numerous reports of items hurled by the storm found more than 100 miles away.

The storm activity also moved into areas unusually far north. While tornadoes are not uncommon in Arkansas and adjacent states to the south during December, tornadoes in Kentucky at this time of year are somewhat unusual. Noah Bergren, a meteorologist in Paducah, tweeted that from 1995 to 2020 the state saw a total of just 15 December tornadoes. "[I]n the past week we have already had 6, possibly even more to be confirmed," he wrote. "December averages our 2nd quietest month for tornadoes annually."

The Weather Service issued 146 tornado warnings during the event, the most on record during December.

Only a highly anomalous storm environment could support such an extreme situation. Often, in December, the amount of fuel available to storms is limited, which is why violent tornado outbreaks aren't more common. But on Friday, temperatures over the zone where the storm erupted were record-setting. The high temperatures, 20 to 30 degrees above normal, fast-forwarded the atmosphere to conditions more typical of April.

The other key ingredient for tornadoes, wind shear, or a turning of winds with altitude, was also present in high quantities on Friday, as it often is in winter. The shear is generated as the jet stream, which separates cold air from warm air, dives into the Lower 48 states.

As the highly energetic winter jet stream dived into the central states and collided with this springlike environment, the atmosphere exploded.

Many other atmospheric intricacies also contributed to the severity of the event, but it would not have been possible without the record-setting warmth.

As temperatures warm because of human-induced climate change during winter, it might mean the odds of such events increase in the future.

A modeling study published in the journal Earth's Future last month concluded that environments conducive to thunderstorms will increase 5 to 20 percent for every 1.8 degrees of temperature increase, "with higher latitudes, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere, showing much larger relative changes."
Pastor Ben Priest, who gave up heroin and found Jesus in the parking lot of Lakewood Church in 1980, wants you to know God doesnt support just spiritual well-being. He blesses financial achievement, too.

Jesus was not broke, Priest told River of God Church congregants earlier this year. He was born a king, and he left this planet a king.

Priest is putting that lesson into practice at home  literally. The 3,500-square-foot church-owned house where the pastor has lived, set on 3 acres less than a mile from Lake Conroe, is valued at just under a half-million dollars. But River of God doesnt pay a dime in property taxes on the property.

Like the spacious and often luxurious abodes of dozens of Texas ministers of the gospel  as well as other religious leaders, from Hindu gurus to secretive Catholic lay groups  the house Priest and his wife have lived in for years is a tax-exempt parsonage.

Unlike many others, however, River of God Churchs tax break appears to violate Texas law. Phone and email messages left for the Priests at River of God were not returned.

Texas makes it easy for religious organizations to secure a 100 percent property tax break on their clergy members homes.

As long as I can check the boxes that are required to qualify for a religious exemption, an appraisal district is pretty much in a position of granting that exemption, said Bexar County Chief Appraiser Michael Amezquita.

The law contains only one hard-and-fast limit, chiseled into the Texas Constitution: A tax-free parsonage cannot be more than 1 acre.

Yet the Corpus Christi parsonage owned by At the Cross Bible Church, known for Pastor Rick Milbys crusade to construct a gigantic cross, sits on 3.5 acres. The Crossroads Fellowship Church of Waco enjoyed a zero tax bill on its 8-acre clergy residence before it recently was sold.

I guess we missed that one, McLennan County Chief Appraiser Joe Don Bobbitt conceded about the Waco church. A spokeswoman for the church declined comment.

The Houston Chronicles examination of Texas parsonages identified more than 30 tax-free clergy residences larger than 1 acre. The homes collectively represent millions of dollars in value.

The improperly granted exemptions cost other Texans. Every dollar removed from a local tax roll is a dollar that must be made up by other taxpayers to cover the costs of schools and city and county operations, as well as special districts that fund hospitals, community colleges and other local needs.

Presented with the Chronicles findings, 11 appraisal districts said they were investigating the lapses or would require the churches to requalify for the tax break under the laws limitations. Most acknowledged the oversize parsonages appeared to violate state tax law. Others said they would investigate why the exemptions were approved. (Two appraisal districts were investigating other potential exemption violations due to inquiries from the Chronicle.)

Compared to the many tax breaks Texas lawmakers have granted to corporations and business sectors, its a small amount. Yet the failure of appraisers to refuse tax breaks to clearly unqualified clergy residences illustrates a distraction gap: Because exempt properties dont generate any money, appraisers scrambling to value all the land and buildings in a state that added 4 million people over the past decade tend to pay them scant attention  meaning abuses or mistakes can linger for years without being noticed.

The more that people understand that its really about the big-ticket items in the big picture, the more that does open up the opportunity for people to abuse it because, Hey  chief appraisers arent really looking at these, said Brent South, chief appraiser in Hunt County. So thats one way for us to jump in and start claiming some exemptions on some homes going kind of under the radar.

Appraisers described a range of reasons why their offices had granted valuable clergy residence tax exemptions to religious organizations outside the laws requirements. Tarrant County Chief Appraiser Jeff Law said that with only a year to certify the tax roll, his office had little time to examine those that paid taxes, never mind those that dont.

Quite frankly, we have 1.8 million parcels that were trying to appraise each and every year, he said. To have the manpower to be able to dig in and do that type of research is rather tough.

Others acknowledged that challenging religious organizations, especially in smaller communities, was a no-win proposition.

Youre the chief appraiser and you are denying an exemption on a church? said South. More than likely youve got family members or friends that go to that church. Thats just the reality of it. And you yourself may go to that church; you may be asked to leave that church.

Added Bobbitt, the McLennan County appraiser: Im not going to win any battles picking on a religion.

In Nueces County, where three clergy residences exceeded the 1-acre limit, Chief Appraiser Ramiro Ronnie Canales said the parsonage law escaped his attention because he was perpetually distracted by Texas other religion. He said the appraisal districts resources were all tied up fighting legal battles with local oil refineries, which regularly sue the agency to lower their taxable value.

Rex Wogan, communications director for the Fort Bend Central Appraisal District, said the previous administration was responsible for granting a parsonage exemption to the Christian Thinkers Societys 2-acre, 5,300-square-foot clergy residence valued at a half-million dollars. He said the agency will review the tax break.

One countys appraiser said he was unaware of the 1-acre limitation, written into Texas law nearly 100 years ago.

Thats a section (of the tax code) I didnt know, from the first sentence to the very last sentence, said Cameron County Chief Appraiser Richard Molina, whose office approved three parsonages over 1 acre.

Jon Shapley, Houston Chronicle/Staff photographer

Slipping through the cracks

To qualify for a 100 percent tax break, a clergy residence must clear only a handful of legal tests. It needs to be owned by the religious organization, cant generate any income and be considered reasonably necessary for use as a residence. It also must be occupied by a member of the clergy  though the term is left largely undefined. Appraisers said most of the definitions are so vague they are of little use in vetting applications.

By comparison, the 1-acre limitation, which became enshrined in the Texas Constitution in 1928 when voters approved the parsonage tax exemption, is not. Yet the Chronicle found unqualified tax-free clergy residences across the state and represented by a variety of religions.

This multi-generational home features decorative stone accents, wood beam ceilings, Plantation shutters, built-ins, 3 living spaces & abundant storage, boasted the 2018 listing for the 6-bedroom, 6.5-bath home in Spring appraised at $1.3 million. In addition to the 6,800 square feet of living space, the pristine landscaped yard has cvrd patio & sparkling pool-perfect for family gatherings.

Sitting on 1.1 acres, it shouldnt qualify for the parsonage tax break. But in 2018, Montgomery County appraisers granted it anyway to Houston Grace Church  one of at least four tax-free clergy residences in the county that exceeded the acreage limit. Together, the homes cost local taxpayers more than $50,000 a year in foregone tax payments. The church did not reply to messages.

Chief Appraiser Tony Belinoski acknowledged the over-size parsonages had slipped through the cracks of his exemptions teams evaluations, which he said had become increasingly difficult as state lawmakers added a steady parade of new tax breaks to the code. He vowed to conduct a review of all of the countys parsonages.

McLennan County had two parsonages exceeding the 1-acre statutory limit. Bobbitt, who became chief appraiser last year, explained that the applications often received only cursory scrutiny.

Jon Shapley, Houston Chronicle/Staff photographer

We have three or four people doing exemptions since Ive been here, with varying levels of skill, he said. Most applications never make it to my level. They just get approved.

In Waller County, Radha Soami Satsang Beas, a spiritual movement headquartered in India, owns a 5,000-square-foot clergy residence on 1.3 acres. According to its website, RSSB promotes no rituals, ceremonies, hierarchies or mandatory contributions, nor are there compulsory gatherings. Adherents are free to practice other religions.

The organization pays no taxes on the property, valued at nearly $700,000. Deputy Chief Appraiser Becky Gurrola said she didnt want to fight the organization over the extra-legal acreage because the excess parcel was relatively small and part of a platted subdivision.

In several instances, documents show that field inspections  or even an applicants own paperwork  had alerted appraisal districts that the religious organization was seeking a full exemption on an unqualified property. Yet appraisers granted the requests anyway.

The Tarrant Central Appraisal District sent a letter to the New Hallelujah Church in 2011 noting the 1-acre limit but still approved the churchs request to exempt a 1.34-acre parsonage. Today, the tax-free property  complete with a pool and horse barn, according to a 2018 real estate listing  appraises at almost $600,000. New Hallelujah did not return phone calls.

More than an acre, Dallas Central Appraisal District field inspectors noted during a 2014 visit to Christian Holy Temples clergy residence. Despite the warning, the 1.65-acre parsonage in DeSoto was still approved.

Elizabeth Sarles, assistant manager of property records and exemptions, said the Dallas district would ask the organization to reapply and limit its parsonage to a single acre  one of four tax breaks improperly granted on clergy residences in the county that the Chronicle found and Dallas appraisers said they have already begun correcting.

Although appraisers have the authority to ask the owners of exempt properties to reapply for their tax breaks periodically, many dont. As a result, once granted, an improper tax break can linger for years, quietly accruing tens of thousands of dollars in unmerited tax benefits.

INTERACTIVE Tax Sanctuaries: Documents tell the story Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos. Houston Chronicle Through public documents, the Chronicle found more than 30 clergy residences that were granted a 100 percent tax break even though they didn't qualify. View those documents here with our interactive scroller. CLICK TO OPEN THIS INTERACTIVE

According to records and correspondence, the El Paso Central Appraisal District granted an over-1-acre parsonage exemption to the local Catholic diocese three decades ago. Appraisers said it didnt run afoul of the acreage prohibition because it bordered an orphanage that is still being used at the Catholic Church, Chief Appraiser Dinah Kilgore said in an interview.

But records show St. Margarets Orphanage closed decades ago. And El Paso generally doesnt ask religious organizations to reapply once the exemptions are granted, Kilgore said.

It takes a lot of time, a lot of money, and it creates a lot of bad will. So its not something we readily do, she said.

A spokesman for the Catholic Diocese in El Paso said it considered the parsonage to be two residences but acknowledged it was a single undivided tract with just one clergy member living there. The parsonage was one of three identified by the appraisal district as being over 1 acre in El Paso County. The district said it will review the exemptions.

INTERACTIVE Map: Tax-free clergy homes across Texas and how much they cost taxpayers Houston Chronicle Religious organizations own tax-free homes worth at least a billion dollars in Texas thanks to an obscure state law. Here are some examples of the homes. CLICK TO OPEN THIS INTERACTIVE

Welcome oversight

When appraisers discover an improperly granted tax break, Texas law is clear: They must return the property to the rolls so the county tax collector can recover the money property owners got to keep instead of paying their share for government services.

Its mandatory  I dont think its discretionary, said Deborah Cartwright, former director of the state comptrollers Property Tax Assistance Division. If the chief appraiser discovers an erroneous exemption, the chief appraiser is required to go through the steps of correcting it through the notice process.

That can lead to clawing back up to five years worth of unpaid back taxes. Informed by the Chronicle of the improper tax breaks, chief appraisers in Bell, Denton, Dallas, Fort Bend, McLennan, Montgomery, Nueces, Tarrant and Waller counties said they will start the process of reviewing or removing erroneously granted exemptions. Two more vowed to investigate.

The burden of proof is on the property owners to demonstrate they are entitled to an exemption, but the appraisal districts must follow certain procedural steps when they deny one. Applicants may appeal any ruling, including in the court system.

We appreciate your review of these properties and the exemption process statewide, a Denton Central Appraisal District spokesman wrote after the Chronicle identified a parsonage property more than twice the legal size. We welcome oversight and review by the public and the media, and when necessary we are happy to take corrective action.

Others said that while they would demand the 1+-acre parsonages downsize to the legal limit or forfeit their tax break going forward, they were reluctant to recover money from previous years.

McLennan Countys Bobbitt said he would ask the districts unqualified parsonages to separate their parcels into two properties: a tax-free 1-acre parsonage, with the remainder going back on the rolls. But, he said he had no appetite for an unpopular back-tax fight.

Weve clawed back on some properties, but not religious, he said. Our thinking is that we should have caught it if its more than 1 acre, so were not going to penalize them.

Jon Shapley, Houston Chronicle/Staff photographer

When informed that the Dallas Central Appraisal District had improperly granted four parsonage tax breaks, Sarles, the assistant manager, said the agency would promptly split off the land over a single acre for each and update the tax rolls. Weve got em fixed, she said.

She also said the district wasnt inclined to claw back the previous five years worth of unpaid taxes. But after checking with the agencys lawyers, the appraisal district reconsidered and said it would notify the four property owners that some of their property would go back on the rolls back to 2017.

Some churches appear to have escaped repaying their mistakenly granted tax gains. Sitting on just over an acre, the $911,500 Dallas County parsonage occupied by the minister of Abundant Grace Church has Hollywood written all over it, according to a 2014 real estate listing promoting the saltwater pool and media room complete with its own popcorn stand.

Although the appraisal district said in correspondence with the church that it was removing the exemption from the portion of the property over an acre, records show Abundant Grace continued to receive a tax exemption on the entire parcel. Notified by the Chronicle of the error, Dallas appraisers said they were putting the small slice of land back on the rolls now. Abundant Grace did not respond to requests for comment.

After a 2011 review revealed that Inspiring Body of Christ Churchs tax-exempt 2.8-acre, 4,700-square-foot clergy residence that was occupied by embattled preacher Rickie Rush  featuring a pool and two wet bars  violated the 1-acre limit, Dallas appraisers ordered 1.8 acres placed back on the tax rolls. Yet the office conceded it never tried to do that for previous years, which would have allowed the tax collector to recover any back taxes the church had avoided paying.

I cant tell you why, Sarles said. That was 10 years ago.

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Chronicle research librarian Joyce Lee contributed to this report.

Page design by Jasmine Goldband and Jordan Ray-Hart
If Jalen McKee-Rodriguez runs for office again, the District 2 councilman has a strong endorsement from rapper Nicki Minaj.

The popular rapper, who turned 39 on Wednesday, called on her fans, who she calls Barbz, to vote for McKee-Rodriguez after he shared a birthday message to her from the dais at San Antonios City Hall. The video was later posted on Twitter and went viral.

It was a very special birthday (Wednesday) for a woman who is important to a lot of people worldwide, said Mckee-Rodriguez, who is seen in the video wearing a Nicki Minaj T-shirt beneath a red velvet blazer. She is a mother to not just one but a lot of sons, and unfortunately, she couldnt be here today. But she is an icon and a queen, the queen of rap. I would like to wish a happy belated birthday to the Nicki Minaj."

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez among The Roots 100 most influential African Americans

Minaj retweeted McKee-Rodriguezs birthday wish on Saturday. She called him a true king and encouraged her fans to either vote for McKee-Rodriguez or move to San Antonio to do it.

A true KING omg, Minaj told her 23.3 million followers. Barbz must assemble to vote for this great man at every election hes apart of. Barbz ACTIVATE!!!! If you cant vote in his city, MOVE THERE!

McKee-Rodriguez, a former math teacher, began his first term serving the East Side of San Antonio in June. He was wearing a red Santa hat and attending a District 2 toy giveaway when he saw Minaj's tweet over the weekend.

"We all screamed," McKee-Rodriguez told the Express-News on Monday. "It was so cool and unexpected."

McKee-Rodriguez is a huge fan of Minaj as is apparent from his multiple social media accounts. He said he loves her music, and his favorite album is her 2014 "The Pinkprint" release. But he loves her eccentricities the most.

Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News

Minaj is perhaps best known for her flowing quick-spoken rap style, her provocative lyrics and her unabashed defiance to speak her mind.

"Seeing her always be herself, even when it didn't always look normal, that's what's always been inspiring about her," McKee-Rodriguez said.

McKee-Rodriguez has often blended his love for Minaj into his professional life.

Last February, McKee-Rodriguez, still an educator at the time, recorded a parody rap math lesson using Minaj's song "Yikes" on TikTok. He changed the lyrics to teach students about the Pythagorean Theorem.

"As a teacher, I always tried to be my authentic self," said McKee-Rodriguez, who wore a leopard print sport coat to his swearing in ceremony at City Hall in June. "Now that I am a Councilman, I am continuing to be myself."

McKee-Rodriguez said this is the first time he's interacted with Minaj on social media and his comments last week at City Hall was meant as a 20-second joke.

While most of the feedback from his comments about Minaj at the meeting have been positive, some have criticized him for wasting time.

"As a full-time council person, I am allowed to have fun every few hours or so," McKee-Rodriguez said.

Timothy.Fanning@express-news.net
In one sense, Rebecca Becky Lemanski was carrying on a family tradition when she started classes at San Antonio Colleges Regional Fire Academy in 2017. Lemanskis grandfather, father and brother were volunteer firefighters.

But in another sense, she was blazing a trail  or trying to.

Women make up just 8 percent of the nations 1.1 million firefighters, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

Lemanski cannot recall encountering a female firefighter in her hometown in South Carolina.

I want to be that role model for little girls, said Lemanski, 31. I want them to look at me and go, Oh, shes doing it, I can do it, too, because I didnt have that, really, growing up.

Lemanski currently works one 48-hour shift a week at the Kirby Fire Department, but she aspires to work for a department in a larger city, like San Antonio or Austin.

But theres an obstacle in Lemanskis path:the Candidate Physical Ability Test, a nationally standardized assessment of physical fitness. While the Kirby Fire Department does not require candidates to pass the CPAT, most others do.

In major metropolitan areas such as San Antonio, candidates must score well on a written exam, pass the CPAT and withstand an extensive vetting process that could include a polygraph, a background check, a psychological evaluation and an interview with the fire chief before they are eligible to enter cadet training. Once they complete training, they are considered probationary firefighters, one step below full-fledged firefighters.

The CPAT is composed of a series of eight sequential events. Each one mimics a strenuous task often performed by firefighters: climbing stairs, breaching walls, dragging hoses, propping ladders against roofs and windowsills, hauling a victim or an incapacitated colleague to safety. To pass, candidates must complete every event to the proctors satisfaction within 10 minutes and 20 seconds.

Candidates are allowed two attempts per annual hiring cycle. Those who fail both times have to start from scratch the next year.

Its tough for everyone, Lemanski said of the CPAT. But, she added, I do think its probably tougher for women.

On ExpressNews.com: SAFD used telemedicine to save a 10-year-old girl

Hiring statistics seem to reflect her observations.

Nearly 95 percent of the 1,736 firefighters in the San Antonio Fire Department are men.

Valerie Frausto, assistant chief of administrative services, is the highest-ranking woman in the department. Like Lemanski, she has relatives who fight fires for a living, including several cousins and a brother-in-law.

Frausto, 47, said she always wanted a job in which she could help people and not be confined to an office, but firefighting did not initially seem like an option.

It was just a nontraditional career choice for females, she said.

Her feelings changed when she took some informational materials from a female recruiter at a mall one day in late 1998. Leafing through the pages, Frausto, who was studying for a degree in clinical laboratory science at San Antonio College and Our Lady of the Lake University, realized firefighting would satisfy her desire for meaningful work much more than testing blood ever could.

Seeing a female firefighter is what made me think that it was a real possibility, she said.

Jerry Lara /Staff photographer

Surrounded by guys

Frausto entered the San Antonio Fire Department Academy as one of three women in a class of 47 cadets. Today, 21 years after she graduated, she is the only female member of the departments command staff.

While Frausto is emphatic her gender never made her a target, there were subtle reminders of her status. Her first pair of boots had to be specially made because the supplier did not keep sizes that small  a womans 7  in stock then.

I still to this day get people that say, Well, how should I refer to you? Are you a firelady, a firewoman? Im like, Uh, firefighter. And then, just accidentally in conversation, Ill have firefighters say, Yes, sir, just because thats what theyre used to dealing with on a daily basis. Its very seldom that they deal with women because theres very few in the department, she said.

For her part, Lemanski praised her male colleagues in Kirby, though she acknowledged, it can be intimidating going into work knowing that youre surrounded by six guys all day, every day.

Its not easy, thats for sure, she conceded. But Im lucky I work with a bunch of men that treat me fairly equal. There is always that doubt in the back of my mind of being able to keep up and pull my own weight, but they are encouraging and always willing to help me out.

That said, Lemanski cautioned that her experience is not necessarily representative of that of other female firefighters.

I know of women that have had to file (complaints) throughout the country, she said.

She also recalled older instructors at the fire academy expressing sexist views.

One was very old school in the sense that (he thought) the three women in the class didnt belong there, and he was not shy about stating that fact, she said.

But Lemanski believes the tide is turning.

This newer generation is much more accepting of us, she said. For them, Im just a firefighter on the truck.

Still, more than four decades after the SAFD went co-ed in 1979, the department, like many others across the country, has a long way to go.

On average, 281 men and 32 women took the physical ability test annually in San Antonio from 2015 to 2021. Of those, an average of 94 percent, about 263, of the men and 63 percent, about 20, of the women passed.

Fire Chief Charles Hood is actively taking steps to recruit women and other minorities.

Its my belief that our firefighters and our apparatus  ought to be representative of the community that it serves, he said.

No hero without her

One of Hoods initiatives is the #HeroLikeHer program. Marketed with the catchy tagline, There is no hero without her, the programs nucleus is a summer camp for girls ages 6 to 17 that covers a range of basic skills: how to perform CPR, how to execute a rescue, how to investigate an arson case.

Everything is being taught by one of our female firefighters, paramedics or officers, Hood said. We want that visual for our children, and we want them to understand that its something that they can attain down the road.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio Fire Department hosts Hero Like Her Camp

In addition to running the summer camp, the #HeroLikeHer program hosts special events and provides mentoring and shadowing opportunities in the hopes of changing that mindset in young women that firefighters are boys said Joe Arrington, SAFD spokesman.

Frausto, who helps develop diversity, equity and inclusion programs for the department, said the percentage of women firefighters as of Sept. 1  5.1 percent  is much higher than when she was starting.

Jerry Lara /Staff photographer

Definitely, within the course of my career, I have seen the numbers increase, she said. But, she added, I dont necessarily think that it has to do specifically with #HeroLikeHer.  I think its just the combination of a different time and different culture, different generation.

However, a shortage of potential female recruits is not the only barrier standing in the way of integration.

Lemanski said the CPAT disproportionately trips up women, especially shorter women. She is 5 foot 11 but has failed the test five times, foiling her plans to pursue a firefighting career at a larger department.

The first of the CPATs eight events is by far the most challenging for Lemanski. In San Antonio, it entails climbing a stepmill for three minutes straight while wearing a 50-pound vest and carrying two 12.5-pound weights intended to approximate the physical burden of protective clothing and a high-rise pack, respectively. The vest is worn for the entirety of the CPAT.

The physical test is a challenge for many of her peers as well.

Statistically, the pass rate isnt as great (for females) as for males, Frausto said.

Frausto entered the fire service shortly before the CPAT replaced the Cooper Test in the early 2000s. She had no problems passing the Cooper Test, which involves completing a minimum number of sit-ups and push-ups and running 1.5 miles within a specific time frame.

The CPAT is a lot more challenging than the Cooper Test, she said. But, like Lemanski, she found the stepmill event especially difficult.

Lemanski feels disheartened by her poor results thus far. Until recently, three of the Kirby departments handful of full-time firefighters were women, she said. However, she is now the only one because her two female colleagues departed at the end of September. In contrast, 88 of the San Antonio departments 1,736 firefighters were women as of Sept. 1.

It is frustrating to not pass  when I know I can and do actually perform well on the job, Lemanski said.

Ken Lemanski, Rebecca Lemanskis father, encouraged his daughter to become a firefighter because of the emphasis on teamwork. But he said it has been hard for him to watch his child struggle so hard to meet her goals.

As a father thats got a daughter who wants to improve herself, Im concerned, he said.

One potential solution could be reformatting the CPAT to provide longer breaks between each of the eight events, which would allow candidates more time to recover from exertion, according to Ken Lemanski.

Because youre more interested in if they can do that skill than how fast they can do it, he explained.

He said the test is more challenging than basic fieldwork because it requires firefighters to complete each task continuously, rather than periodically, and individually, rather than as part of a team.

Granted, running up a flight of stairs, youre doing that by yourself, regardless, but if youre pulling a bunch of hose up 10 flights of stairs or whatever, youre going to have people helping you do that. So why are (people having to pull a bunch of hose by themselves) on the CPAT? he said.

Female mentors

To boost the passing rate for women, Arrington, the SAFD spokesman, said candidates have the opportunity to meet with female firefighters in the department before the test.

They are mentored on preparing and training to pass the exam, Arrington said.

Rebecca Lemanski recalled attending what she called a womens meeting for female candidates who had done well on the written exam.

If you obviously had a potential shot at moving on  they invited you out to the academy to meet with women firefighters to pick their brains and find out what the job is like as a female because, obviously, it is very male-dominated, she said.

That, she added, was what Ive noticed San Antonio does better than some of the other places.

On ExpressNews.com: Girl Scout grows garden, future with help of mentors

Jerry Lara /Staff photographer

Gender parity is likely out of the question, according to Frausto.

I think its always going to be a male-dominant career, and thats just because of it being physically demanding. Its a very tough job, tough career, especially for those with family, she said.

Lemanski doesnt necessarily think the CPAT should be reformatted to accommodate women better.

I dont want the standards changed for us because then well get looked down on and talked bad about, she said.

But she does think departments should strive to increase the number of women they hire.

Its kind of a Catch-22. Change the standards, but dont change the standards, she said.

Lemanski said diversity could serve two critical purposes: improving quality of care and dispelling culturally entrenched sexism by teaching both girls and boys that no one line of work is off-limits to them.

Theres been plenty of times where the patient is a woman, and they would rather talk to me versus talking to my male partner, Lemanski said.

Sexual assault victims might express such a preference. In addition, Lemanski said female patients might ask that a female medic or firefighter perform certain medical procedures  attaching electrodes to the chest to monitor the hearts electrical activity, for example.

She is considering starting the testing process for the sixth time next spring.

caroline.tien@hearst.com
Military and civilian workers entering bases in San Antonio will be required to wear masks again, starting today .

Joint Base San Antonios commander, Brig. Gen. Caroline Miller, issued the order over the weekend, citing an increase in coronavirus cases in the city. The joint base had lifted a previous mask requirement on Nov. 12 for those vaccinated against the coronavirus, citing improved community transmission rates.

The command announced the latest decision on social media Saturday afternoon, saying masks would be required due to a continued increase in COVID-19 cases in the local community. The order requires anyone entering a building to wear masks regardless of vaccination status.

On ExpressNews.com: In San Antonio, 23 Air Force recruits refused vaccine

In a two-part Twitter thread, JBSA said, In accordance with Secretary of Defense guidance, areas with substantial or high COVID-19 transmission rates will mandate mask wear inside all Department of Defense facililies.

The citys Metropolitan Health District website described the virus threat as mild, but the daily case rate, at 10.8 per 100,000, has been rising. The number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 was 203 on Monday and the number of patients on ventilators was up slightly from earlier in the week. New cases reached a seven-day average of 260 per day on Monday.

On ExpressNews.com: Texas National Guard has thousands of troops still not vaccinated  and doesnt want to talk about it

JBSA on Tuesday said the latest mask order, like the first, included buildings in the Randolph Field Independent School District but did not respond to a question on whether the school district remained out of compliance with it.

Unlike the other two military school districts attached to JBSA installations, Randolph Field ISD made masking optional for all staff and students at the start of the school year despite an order by Miller to require masks as virus cases caused by the delta variant were surging.

At the time, Miller had raised the commands health protection condition to Bravo-plus, but it was reduced to Bravo and remains at that level.

sigc@express-news.net
Marine Lance Cpl. Nayara Mazzarella, 22, added one more ingredient Friday to her future cooking portfolio  training with the nations top chefs.

She was one of 18 active-duty service members preparing a meal that represented all they had learned in five days of training at the Culinary Institute of America at the Pearl.

Mazzarella toiled away in an aisle of stainless-steel counters inside of the kitchen. She was surrounded by fellow trainees clad in chefs coats that bore their names and rank insignia. Mazzarella had one focus  a pan sizzling with a herb sauce for browned chicken. She slowly poured broth into the bubbling glaze under the watchful eye of Sgt.1st Class Jermaine Banks.

They called him the floor general.

Turn it down  let it simmer, Banks, 40, said. Taste it to your liking  thats the very last thing you need. Youre ready to go.

The lance corporal complied and lowered the blue flame to a low flicker. At first, the classes were a shock for Mazzarella, who is stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona. As she worked side by side with service members from all branches, her anxiety eased, and she latched onto the curriculum presented by the institutes chefs.

I learned a lot about how youre supposed to run a restaurant, Mazzarella said. I had a good experience. I really liked it a lot.

On ExpressNews.com: We are responsible: San Antonio charity hosts drive to help homeless and less fortunate

Fridays session was the last day of training hosted by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundations Advanced Culinary Training Program. The goal was to reinforce culinary fundamentals following the industrys best practices and contribute to the service members current and future mission effectiveness.

The foundation flies in 18 service members from around the world three times a year to expose them to what it takes become a level one professional chef.

Trainees also enhanced their culinary skills to aid in their transition to a possible career in the restaurant and food service jobs when they return to civilian life.

Edward Walden, a military veteran, is director of professional advancement at the foundation. Years ago, he attended the program, which offers exposure to the skills of a top chef and prepares them for the professional chef exam. He said the lessons help the active-duty students return to their bases as better cooks.

We want to reward and recognize our service members for the hard work and outstanding things that they do, Walden said. Sometimes its not the most glamorous thing, but its a vital part of any military mission.

On ExpressNews.com: Southwest Airlines CEO reflects on carriers 50th anniversary at San Antonio hotel where idea was born

Monday through Thursday, the attendees formed teams of two to learn a variety of cooking skills. They prepared sauces, soups and stocks. They demonstrated principles of sanitation and food safety. They displayed the appropriate way to present a plate.

On Friday, the teams had a test on their knowledge. They had two and a half hours to prepare and present a meal for the chefs. The meal consisted of a soup, salad and entree. The master chefs tasted the food, talked about the flavor palate and scored the dishes with instant feedback.

Chef Hinnerk von Bargen, professor of culinary arts, said the trainees would leave the technique-driven course with a foundation for when they retire from the military.

We see an amazing growth in them, the master chef said. And we see a complete change of attitude toward food.

On Friday morning, before the final test, instructors shouted out times left for each team to complete their recipes. The aroma of seasonings and spices filled the kitchen, where the cooks zeroed in on readying their dishes.

The foundations military program director, Derek O. Small, said the program is also hosted at culinary institute locations in Napa, California, and Hyde Park, New York. He watched as Airman 1st Class Sashana Byfield-Solomon, 24, carefully set out a stack of plates for her meal.

Jerry Lara /Staff photographer

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio Bond Girls find support during chemotherapy radiation treatments

Small, 57, said it was phenomenal to see how far the military had come to afford military members the chance to study at the prestigious school. The retired petty officer first class said the glimpse into the world of professional chefs wasnt afforded to him when he was a cook.

Early in his 20-year career, he struggled with being in the food service career field. Then he met a senior chief petty officer at Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island, who sent him to school and recognized the promise in the young Navy sailor.

Thats what were doing for these young men and women here is that same thing, Small said, giving them what most of us never had coming through the ranks. Im pumped up for them to have these opportunities.

vtdavis@express-news.net
The claim: If Roe is overturned and this 15-week ban in Mississippi is allowed to go into effect, Mississippi will still have a law on the books in which 39 countries  39 out of 42  in Europe have more restrictive abortion laws.  Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves.

Reeves made the statement on NBCs Meet the Press on Nov. 28.

PolitiFact rating: Half true. Reeves relied on a study that looked only at one part of each nations law  the part that defined the initial time period for elective abortions. Folding in the exceptions that many countries allow, the actual number could be one-third of what Reeves said.

Discussion

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of a pivotal Mississippi abortion law Dec. 1. With a conservative majority on the court, the future of Roe v. Wade, the rule that has guided abortion laws for five decades, is in question.

The Mississippi law makes most abortions illegal after 15 weeks, about two months earlier than the 24 weeks that the courts have generally approved.

About PolitiFact PolitiFact is a fact-checking project to help you sort out fact from fiction in politics. Truth-O-Meter ratings are determined by a panel of three editors. The burden of proof is on the speaker, and PolitiFact rates statements based on the information known at the time the statement is made. See More Collapse

The statute provides narrow exceptions for abortion beyond 15 weeks. It would be allowed to protect the life of the woman or if there was a serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function. A major bodily function includes functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, and digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine and reproductive functions.

LAST WEEK: U.S. Supreme Court leaves Texas 6-week abortion ban in effect but allows some challenges to proceed

There are different ways of categorizing abortion laws in Europe. Reeves relied on one analysis, but that study made no allowances for broad exceptions in countries laws that could extend the cutoff point for a legal abortion well past the 15-week mark. PolitiFact counted at least 15 countries where that could happen, with potentially 11 additional ones.

Reeves numbers are not as solid as he suggests.

Reeves office told us his data came from a report by the Charlotte Lozier Institute, an anti-abortion study center. Chief Justice John Roberts referred to it during oral arguments.

The authors made it clear that they werent looking at every European nation, just those that they consider to allow elective abortions. Elective is the key word. As the Lozier Institute defines it, it means when a woman can seek an abortion without meeting certain conditions.

This definition eliminated eight countries, including Britain (with a 24-week cutoff) and Finland (with a range of cutoffs from 12 to 20 weeks), because, the authors argued, the laws there required women to provide some justification for an abortion beyond it being their choice.

But their definition of elective can be subjective. In Britain, two medical professionals have to agree that a womans mental or physical health is at risk. In the Netherlands, a doctor has to agree with the womans claim that she faces a distressed situation. The Lozier Institute study counts the Netherlands, but excludes Britain. (Northern Ireland, the other part of the United Kingdom, is included.)

The great majority of European countries  27 by PolitiFacts count  have a basic cutoff point of 12 weeks. But nearly all those countries have exceptions that extend the period, often as long as 22 weeks.

What one makes of those exceptions influences the comparison between Mississippi and Europe.

On its face, a 15-week limit is more permissive than a shorter limit, said Carter Snead, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame. Some have suggested that the European laws are more permissive because of their various exceptions, but this strikes me as mere speculation, because to assess that claim we would need to compare how such exceptions are interpreted and enforced alongside the Mississippi laws exceptions.

The Lozier Institute took a narrow approach. Its study looked at one part of each countrys law  the baseline period during which elective abortions are legal. It didnt factor in the reasons that period could be extended or for how long.

Looking at abortion laws in their broader context reveals that comparable countries, which, on their face, set shorter time limits on abortion access than the United States, often provide greater flexibility in obtaining abortions after those limits pass, with exceptions for a broad range of circumstances, according to a brief from a group of law professors in support of an abortion clinic involved in the Mississippi case.

Two of the most flexible terms are socioeconomic conditions and the mental health of the woman.

With the help of several databases  one from the U.N., one from the World Health Organization and a list from the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard  PolitiFact examined the text of the laws of the countries the Lozier Institute examined, sometimes using Google Translate for our research.

Based on the text, there could be as few as 13 countries with shorter cutoff periods than Mississippis 15 weeks. Depending on how laws are applied, though, there might be 24 in that group. The gap between whats written and whats practiced creates a gray zone. Some studies suggest that Belgium offers more flexibility than meets the eye.

Even with those uncertainties, it is difficult to get to Reeves claim of 39 nations once laws with exceptions for the life circumstances and mental well-being of the woman are taken into account.
Sometimes, no matter how long we chase it, justice can be elusive.

This is the harsh lesson learned by the family of Emmett Till, the Black youth who was murdered in the moral wasteland of America in 1955. And a continuing harsh lesson for our nation.

For some, moral wasteland may sound like hyperbole, for the country was full of good and noble people then, just as it is today. But for Till and his family, the evil was real and relentless. What else to call a world where Till could be so brutally murdered  with no reckoning for his killers, Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Milam.

Till, 14, was tortured, shot and dumped in a river with a 75-pound cotton gin around his neck, for allegedly whistling at a white woman, Carolyn Bryant Donham, in Money, Miss. An all-white jury acquitted Bryant and Milam of the murder, which they confessed to in Look magazine in 1956.

The double horrors  the gruesome killing and failure to prosecute  have never been far from the Till familys consciousness. They returned to the family recently, when the Justice Department closed a second investigation into the killing without federal charges.

Investigators reopened the case in 2004, only to close it two years later for lack of evidence.

In 2017, officials began to re-examine the case after an author, Timothy B. Tyson, said Donham, 20 at the time of the murder, told him she lied about the whistling incident that led to the murder.

Nothing that boy did could ever justify what happened to him, Tyson quoted her as saying in his book, The Blood of Emmett Till.

Donham later denied recanting her testimony, and investigators, unable to determine the truth due to a lack of recording, closed the case.

The Till family, sorrowful more than 60 years after the murder, was robbed of closure once again, the investigations uncovering nothing beyond the pain and heartache that may never go away.

Today is the day that we will never forget, the Rev. Wheeler Parker, Jr., the cousin of the young victim, said at a press conference after the Justice Department closed its most recent investigation. For 66 years, we have suffered pain for his loss, and I suffered tremendously for the way that they painted him.

If the family feels bereft, heartbroken, the country should be just as distraught. Till was mutilated so brutally that his mother demanded an open casket so the country could witness hate and its handiwork. Jet magazine published photographs of the body, and the nation was shocked.

The shock helped lead to the civil rights movement of the 1960s, culminating with the Civil Rights Act of 1965. It was a moment of triumph, but the further we recede from 1965, the more the moment looks like just that  a moment.

Racism is an enduring stain on this nation.

Im not surprised, but my heart is broken, Thelma Wright Edwards, another cousin, told ABC News. I have no hate in my heart, but I had hoped we could get an apology. But that didnt happen, nothing was settled. The case is closed, and we have to go on from here.

Someone is lying, the author or the accuser.

But the real question is not whether the accuser lied about the incident, but whether she should have reported anything in the first place. Whistling at a young woman was not a crime; being Black was  and still is if you consider the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and so many others, or consider the rise in reported hate crimes in this nation.

Too often  in the case of Till, three times  justice is elusive in America.
NOUMEA, New Caledonia (AP)  Voters in the French island territory of New Caledonia chose overwhelmingly Sunday to stay part of France, in a referendum boycotted by pro-independence forces and closely watched around the South Pacific.

French President Emmanuel Macron hailed the result as a resounding confirmation of France's role in the Indo-Pacific, and announced negotiations on the territory's future status. Separatist activists expressed dismay, or resignation.

They had urged a delay in the vote because of the pandemic, and were angry over what they felt were French government efforts to sway the campaign. So they called on their supporters to stay away from voting stations.

And they did. Official results showed a staggering 96% of those who took part chose to stay in France. Overall turnout was less than 44%  barely half the numbers who showed up in a previous independence referendum last year, where support for breaking away was 46.7%.

Tonight we are French, and we will stay that way. Its no longer negotiable, said Sonia Backes, president of the Southern Province region and a fervent loyalist.

The vote was monitored by the U.N. and regional powers, amid global efforts toward decolonization and amid growing Chinese influence in the region. New Caledonia, colonized by Napoleons nephew in the 19th century, is a vast archipelago of about 270,000 people east of Australia that is 10 time zones ahead of Paris  and hosts a French military base.

Tonight France is more beautiful because New Caledonia decided to stay, Macron said in a national televised address.

He did not address the boycott. Noting that the electorate remains deeply divided, Macron pledged respect for all Caledonians," including those who voted to leave.

Sundays vote was the third and last in a decades-long process aimed at settling tensions between native Kanaks seeking independence and those who want the territory to remain part of France.

The process does not end with the last referendum. The state, separatists and non-separatists now have 18 months to negotiate a new status for the territory and its institutions within France.

We are reaching a new stage, Macron said, calling for negotiations on new structures to handle health crises, boost the economy, improve womens rights and protect the environment from climate change  a major concern in this island territory.

Pro-independence party FLNKS threatened to seek international recourse to try to invalidate the results, and said it won't start negotiating until it has time to analyze next steps.

The Kanak peoples right to self-determination of the wont end Sunday night or Monday morning, Jean-Philippe Tjibaou, son of a slain separatist leader, told public broadcaster France-Info. Speaking from a town that voted 100% for independence in the last two referendums but boycotted Sunday's vote, he said, We pursued the work of our elders. And our children will pursue it after us.

A tropical storm warning also dampened enthusiasm for the referendum. Lines snaked out of some polling stations, as winds whipped palm trees lining the streets of the regional capital Noumea. But turnout at others was barely a trickle.

The campaign and voting day were unusually calm because of the boycott call, though the state deployed 1,750 police and security forces in case of unrest.

While support for a yes vote seemed to be growing, the regions first coronavirus outbreak in September threw the political debate into disarray. Until then, New Caledonia had been one of the few virus-free places left on the planet.

Indigenous groups felt they couldnt campaign out of respect for their dead, and demanded that the referendum be postponed. But pro-France groups insisted it should take place as scheduled, to end uncertainty over New Caledonias future and boost its economic prospects.

Pro-independence activists announced they would refuse to take part, accusing the government in Paris of imposing the referendum date and violating neutrality by publishing a document seen as casting the consequences of independence in a negative light.

The vote to stay French is a boost for Macron both domestically  where hes expected to face a tough challenge from far-right nationalists in Aprils presidential election  and internationally.

France is trying to cement its presence in the Indo-Pacific region after it lost a multibillion-dollar submarine contract because of a partnership Australia formed with the United States and the U.K. The secretly negotiated submarine project, announced in September and aimed at countering Chinese ambitions in the region, was a huge blow to France.

Some countries in the region could appreciate France's balanced posture in what you could call a Chinese-American cold war, said Caroline Gravelat of the University of New Caledonia.

Others see France's role in South Pacific as outdated.

The U.N. and the Pacific Islands Forum sent delegations to observe the vote. New Caledonia is among 17 former colonies worldwide that the U.N. still categorizes as non-self-governing and slated for decolonization efforts. The others are primarily islands administered by Britain or the United States.

___

Angela Charlton contributed to this report from Paris.
CNN said it has terminated John Griffin, a long-time staffer and producer from Connecticut indicted last week on federal charges alleging he tried to lure women to his Vermont ski home to train their daughters to be sexually submissive.

The charges against Mr. Griffin are deeply disturbing. We learned of his arrest Friday afternoon and terminated his employment today, a CNN spokesperson said in a statement Monday to Hearst Connecticut Media Group.

Griffins attorney, Joseph Martini, declined to comment when reached on Monday.

Griffin, 44, of Stamford, was arrested Friday by the FBI after a federal grand jury in Vermont charged him with three counts of using a facility of interstate commerce to attempt to entice minors to engage in unlawful sexual activity.

The FBI's office in Albany, N.Y., announced the charges against Griffin Friday in a tweet.

"The allegations are deeply disturbing, and our office is committed to working with our partners at the United States Attorney's Office District of Vermont to ensure Mr. Griffin is held accountable for his actions," Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany office, said in a statement. "The FBI, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue to aggressively investigate those who victimize the most vulnerable in our communities."

According to his LinkedIn profile, Griffin had been a CNN employee since 2013.

Griffin was once a producer for the Chris Cuomo show and was most recently a producer for CNN senior political analyst John Avlon.

Property records indicate Griffin purchased the Vermont home on the eastern slope of Okemo Mountain through an LLC in February 2020, paying just under $1.8 million.

About two months later, Griffin began using the alternative website, alt.com, to seek women who were submissive and open-minded, according to his indictment.

Griffin then used messaging features on Kik and Google Hangouts to communicate with some of the women, pretending to be the parents of underage girls. In the communications, Griffin tried to persuade parents to let him train their daughters to be sexually submissive, the indictment stated.

In June 2020, Griffin told a mother of 9- and 13-year-old girls that she needed to have her daughters trained properly, the indictment stated. Griffin then transferred about $3,000 to the woman for plane tickets so she and her 9-year-old could fly from Nevada to Bostons Logan airport, the indictment stated.

The mother and child flew to Boston in July 2020. Griffin picked them up and drove them to his home in Ludlow, Vt., where prosecutors said the girl was forced to engage in illegal sexual contact.

The indictment details other allegations that Griffin tried to entice two other children over the internet to participate in sexual activity.

In April 2020, Griffin coordinated a virtual training session, where he instructed a woman and her 14-year-old daughter to remove their clothes during the video chat, prosecutors said.

In June 2020, prosecutors said, Griffin offered a trip to a woman and her 16-year-old daughter to his Vermont ski house for sexual training involving the child.

In one of the conversations, Griffin told someone claiming to be a father that he sexually trained girls as young as 7 years old, the indictment stated.

If convicted on each federal count, Griffin faces 10 years to life in prison.

Prosecutors in Vermont said the federal government intends to have Griffin forfeit his Ludlow home, his Tesla, a Mercedes and any other property used in the commission of the alleged crimes.
Fairfield, MT (59436)

Today

Bitterly cold. Variably cloudy with snow showers. Low -14F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 70%. Snow accumulations less than one inch..

Tonight

Bitterly cold. Variably cloudy with snow showers. Low -14F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 70%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
Agritechnica will not take place next year due to the 'deteriorating' Covid-19 pandemic situation, the event's organisers have confirmed.

The conditions for hosting one of the world's leading agricultural machinery exhibitions 'are no longer fulfilled', DLG (German Agricultural Society) said on Monday.

The agri-machinery trade show was due to take place in Hanover on 27 February 2022, and organisers were expecting more than 2,000 exhibitors.

But the next show has been pushed back by well over a year, and is now rescheduled to take place from 12 to 18 November 2023.

DLG said the health and safety of visitors, exhibitors, partners, members and staff was 'a top priority'.

Dr Reinhard Grandke, DLG CEO said: A justified exceptional situation has arisen, under which the trouble-free execution of Agritechnica is no longer possible.

"Together with the VDMA Agricultural Machinery Association and the trade fairs exhibitor advisory board, and following many discussions with both exhibitors and visitors, we have therefore decided to cancel next years Agritechnica.

"We have made this decision respecting our responsibilities towards the health and safety of all. We deeply regret the cancellation."

He added: "Many of our exhibitors, partners, visitors and members, as well as the entire DLG team, have already invested in extensive preparations.

"Our focus is now on preparing Agritechnica 2023 as well as the other national and international DLG events and trade fairs that are scheduled for next year.
The government has confirmed new outbreaks of highly-pathogenic avian influenza on numerous poultry farms in Lincolnshire.

Bird flu of the H5N1 strain was confirmed on Saturday (11 December) at one of the UK's biggest egg packing firms, located near Alford, East Lindsey.

Since then, two further outbreaks of avian influenza were confirmed yesterday at a second and third premises, all in the same area.

Defra explained that all birds on the infected premises will be humanely culled.

A 3km Protection Zone and 10km Surveillance Zone have been put in place around each of the premises.

Poultry farmer James Porter, who keeps one million broiler chickens in Navenby, told the BBC it was vital for 'everyone to play their part' in ensuring good biosecurity.

"It can spread so easily from site to site... hence why there are the rules now that you have to keep your birds indoors," he told the broadcaster.

Hundreds of thousands of birds have been culled as a result of recent UK-wide outbreaks, all recorded as being highly-pathogenic and extremely contagious among birds and poultry.

In England alone, the government has recorded 41 cases of avian influenza H5N1 since October.

Defra Secretary George Eustice told MPs last week that the UK was seeing its worst ever outbreak of highly-pathogenic avian influenza.

"This year we are seeing the largest-ever outbreak of avian influenza in the UK," he said, Our chief veterinary officer continues to lead the response to this episode."

The UK's chief veterinary officer recently agreed to bring in mandatory housing measures to protect poultry and captive birds.

The tougher rules, which came into force on 29 November, means that it is a legal requirement for all keepers across the UK to keep their birds indoors.

They build on the strengthened biosecurity regulations that were brought in across Britain as part of the Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) on 3 November and in Northern Ireland on 17 November.
Northern Irish farmers will soon be able to apply for grants of up to 250,000 as part of a scheme encouraging on-farm investments.

Northern Ireland's farming minister Edwin Poots announced that Tier 2 of the Farm Business Improvement Scheme - Capital (FBIS-C) will open from 10 January 2022.

Tier 2 is for projects costing over 30,000, and is primarily for construction projects and the purchase of higher value equipment linked to the needs in the farmer's business plan.

The scheme will a grant rate of 40 percent of eligible costs, with 250,000 being the maximum grant available.

Mr Poots said the focus of the pound fund was on larger-scale investment to 'encourage a step change' in the agriculture and horticulture sectors.

We want to drive transformational investment in future proofed, fit-for-purpose, modern infrastructure and equipment, guided by a robust business planning process within assisted farms," he said.

I will be inviting those farmers who submitted an expression of interest and who are ready to make a significant investment to transform their business to come forward with their application to the scheme when it opens on 10 January."

Only those businesses which submitted an expression of interest will be eligible to submit a full application for Tier 2 by the application closing date, on 1 April 2022.

Successful applicants will have a maximum of one year to complete their project.
Prince Charles has officially opened Wales's first school for veterinary science at Aberystwyth University, where he was a former student himself.

The Prince toured the new Veterinary Education Centre on Friday 10 December and spoke to some of the first cohort of students who began in September.

The centre represents an investment of more than 2 million in new teaching facilities on the Universitys Penglais campus.

Featuring brand new anatomy and study facilities, it was funded from alumni donations totalling 500,000 and the university's own funds.

As part of the visit, Prince Charles signed the same visitors' book that he signed back in 1969 while studying Welsh at the university.

This morning, The Prince was at Aberystwyth University to open their new Veterinary Education Centre. ????

The centre forms part of Wales first and only school of Veterinary Science and its inaugural students began their five-year degree in September. pic.twitter.com/Wk848oBqmr  The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall (@ClarenceHouse) December 10, 2021

After touring the centre, he unveiled a plaque to mark the official opening of the school.

He reminisced about his time as an Aberystwyth student in 1969 and said: "I have very special memories of that time and finding my way around Aberystwyth generally.

"I'm so impressed having seen what the school has done here and am delighted to have had a very small part to play in helping to open it."

He added: "I do hope [the students] will have great success in the future and the school will flourish."

The veterinary students will spend the first two years at Aberystwyth University followed by three years studying at the Royal Veterinary Colleges Hawkshead Campus in Hertfordshire.

The programme covers the full range of animals, from domestic pets to farm animals, in common with all other veterinary programmes.

Aberystwyth Universitys Chancellor, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd said: "We are immensely grateful to him for opening the School which is, without a doubt, of great national significance.

"Tremendous thanks go to the staff, students, donors, and all our partners who have enabled us to begin training vets in Wales for the first time."
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Two additions have been made to the cast of Sam Bahadur as Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra join Vicky Kaushal for the filming of the movie. Marking director Meghan Gulzars birthday, the announcement of the two actors joining the cast of Sam Bahadur was made on social media by the entire cast.

SamBahadur is based on the life of the 1971 Indo-Pak war hero and Indias first Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. Manekshaw served the Indian army for four decades and also made his contributions in five wars. He led the 1971 Indo-Pak war in the capacity of Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army. He was the first Indian Army officer to be promoted to the rank of Field Marshal.

While Vicky Kaushal will be portraying one of Indias the greatest war heroes on the silver screen, Sanya Malhotra will be essaying the role of Silloo Manekshaw, his wife. Fatima Sana Shaikh will be seen in the role of Indias first female Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the film.

While talking about the inclusion, director Meghna Gulzar said, I have much to celebrate... There is pride in the commemoration of 50 years of the historic win of our forces in the 1971 War. And its very exciting to have Sanya Malhotra and Fatima Sana Shaikh join the team of SamBahadur. Both their roles in the film require a great deal of sensitivity, dignity and composure and Im looking forward to the ladies bringing these characters to life.

Actor Vicky Kaushal also commented, Sanya and Fatima with their characters bring more character and substance to the story of SamBahadur and, I am very excited to be working with them together for the first time. Their characters have been one of the most influential personalities we have heard about and now, the audience will witness the story of their valor, commitment and resilience. I welcome both of them to our Manekshaw family and look forward to sharing the screen with two of the most talented and diligent actors of our generation

On portraying the role of Silloo, Sanya Malhotra said, Behind every great man is a woman and Silloo Manekshaw was that support and strength to Sam Bahadur. Im honoured to essay this role and bring to light her integral part and influence in this war heros life. Im also extremely thankful to Meghna Gulzar and really looking forward to this exciting journey with her.

Furthermore, Fatima Sana Shaikh expressed her happiness and excitement, Im very happy to join the SamBahadur family and take on the challenge of essaying the role of one of the most influential and talked about women in Indian history. What intrigued and excited me the most was the passion with which the makers hope to honour his memory and legacy through this film."
TOKYO, Dec 13, 2021 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu today announces an ambitious Global Strategic Partner Academy program designed to address increasingly critical skills shortages. With a focus on Fujitsu employees, apprentices and new recruits, the Global Strategic Partner Academy program will offer training, re-training and experience-based development opportunities in collaboration with global partners on a virtual platform.Fujitsu's objective is to create a global community of digital specialists to help its customers navigate challenges in their sector and in society. As a result, customers can ensure they remain at the cutting edge of technology innovation.Today, the global IT industry currently faces millions of unfilled vacancies for people with the digital skills needed for sustainable economic and social development. Demand is currently even stronger due to a widespread rebound for the global economy as the world looks ahead to the future easing of pandemic restrictions. A recent World Economic Forum paper identified challenges across Europe, North America, Singapore and Australia and in China the workforce gap now stands at 11.8 million workers annually. The IT industry is particularly exposed, with a long-standing skills shortage challenge. A September 2021 survey from industry analyst firm Gartner confirmed that talent shortages remain the most significant barrier to technology adoption.To address this challenge, Fujitsu - in collaboration with strategic partners ServiceNow, SAP, and Microsoft - is launching its Global Strategic Partner Academy. The initiative represents a significant investment to equip employees to deliver innovative digital transformation for customers long into the future.Fujitsu will open availability to existing and potential IT industry employees worldwide, providing recruits with lifelong skills development and career progression opportunities. As a result, it is lowering the barriers to entry in acquiring technology skills, promoting opportunities and support to socio-economic groups who may not normally consider careers in the IT sector.Tim White, Head of Global Services Business Group at Fujitsu, comments, "It is only by challenging and changing existing ways of working that Fujitsu can fulfil its Purpose - to make the world more sustainable by building trust in society through innovation. With the Academies we aim to create sustainability and improve society through technological innovation, in line with the UN's goals in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. By investing in people for the long term in this way, we democratize access to skilled digital jobs. Together - Fujitsu, our partners and our customers - we can jointly realize the full potential of the digital era."Joint approach with strategic partnersFujitsu's Global Strategic Partner Academy is designed and operated based on a close working relationship with strategic technology partners ServiceNow, SAP, and Microsoft. This ecosystem approach accelerates the dissemination of expertise in crucial business technologies. As a result, the Global Strategic Partner Academy will provide a focal point for the best practitioners of these technologies to continue to progress, equip and update their knowledge for future projects, while strengthening Fujitsu's overall service delivery capabilities.Contribution to achieving UN SDGsFujitsu's purpose is a promise to contribute to the vision of a better future empowered by the United Nation's Strategic Development Goals. In establishing the Global Strategic Partner Academy, Fujitsu contributes to achieving these goals through collaboration with its technology partners.SDG10 Reduced Inequalities: Diversity and inclusion (D&I) and inequality reduction are specific project themes of the Global Strategic Partner Academy. Fujitsu supports these goals by ensuring full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership for women and by enhancing the use of enabling technology to promote women's empowerment.SDG4 Quality Education: Fujitsu supports this goal by ensuring equal access for women and men to quality technical education (target 4.3) while also increasing the number of adults with relevant technical skills (4.4) and at the same time eliminating bias and ensuring inclusive access to vocational training (4.5).SDG8 Decent Work and Economic Growth: Fujitsu supports this goal by focusing on high-value-added sectors (target 8.2) and supporting decent job creation and innovation (8.3) that will achieve full and productive employment (8.5).About the Fujitsu AcademyThe Fujitsu Academy goes beyond developing and certifying based purely on knowledge. The approach also invests in experience to support employees being "customer ready" in the value they can bring. This is a long-term approach to underpin the strategic business focus, offering regular knowledge and opportunities to refresh experience and support employees throughout their careers. The Academy has been established and launched worldwide. It is inclusive and diverse in participation and approach, with the design team encompassing 15 different nationalities.Academy: Benefits to EmployeesThe Global Strategic Partner Academy will offer benefits to existing Fujitsu employees, ensuring that they can continuously expand their skillsets, progress in their careers, and bring the latest thinking to customer projects. This will also ensure that Fujitsu represents an attractive proposition for future employees.Academy: Content DevelopmentEvery worldwide academy will share content and standardize the description of roles, opportunities and career progression based on industry best practices. Their approach to building skills or expertise will also be the same for participants regardless of their geographic location.About FujitsuFujitsu is the leading Japanese information and communication technology (ICT) company offering a full range of technology products, solutions and services. Approximately 126,000 Fujitsu people support customers in more than 100 countries. We use our experience and the power of ICT to shape the future of society with our customers. Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 3.6 trillion yen (US$34 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021. For more information, please see www.fujitsu.com.Source: Fujitsu LtdCopyright 2021 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
EQS-Ad-hoc: Forbo Holding AG / Schlagwort(e): Aktienruckkauf

Ruckkaufangebot zum Festpreis beendet



13.12.2021 / 07:00 CET/CEST

Veroffentlichung einer Ad-hoc-Mitteilung gemass Art. 53 KR

Fur den Inhalt der Mitteilung ist der Emittent / Herausgeber verantwortlich.



MEDIENMITTEILUNG

AD-HOC-MITTEILUNG GEMASS ARTIKEL 53 DES KOTIERUNGSREGLEMENTS DER SIX EXCHANGE REGULATION Im Rahmen des Ruckkaufangebots zum Festpreis wurden Forbo insgesamt 74 835 Namenaktien angedient. Die Sistierung des Handels auf der zweiten Handelslinie wird per 14. Dezember 2021 aufgehoben. Baar, 13. Dezember 2021 Im Rahmen des vom Verwaltungsrat der Forbo Holding AG am 26. November 2021 unterbreiteten Ruckkaufangebots uber maximal 82 500 Namenaktien (5% des Aktienkapitals) zu einem Festpreis von CHF 1 745 je Namenaktie wurden Forbo bis zum Ablauf der Angebotsdauer am 10. Dezember 2021 (17.00 Uhr MEZ) insgesamt 74 835 Namenaktien (4,54% des Aktienkapitals) angedient. Die Sistierung des Handels auf der zweiten Handelslinie wird per 14. Dezember 2021 aufgehoben. MEDIENMITTEILUNG (PDF-FILE) Forbo ist ein fuhrender Hersteller von Bodenbelagen, Bauklebstoffen sowie Antriebs- und Leichtfordertechnik. Forbos Linoleum-Bodenbelage sind aus naturlichen Rohstoffen hergestellt, biologisch abbaubar und CO 2- neutral (cradle to gate), ohne Kompensation. Fur die Herstellung von heterogenen Vinylbelagen verwendet Forbo phthalatfreie Weichmacher der neuesten Generation, deren Grundschicht bis zu 45% rezykliertes Material enthalt. Der BioBeltTM ist ein biologisch abbaubares Transportband, das weitgehend durch Materialien aus nachwachsenden pflanzlichen Rohstoffen produziert wird. Das AmpMiserTM-Transportband ermoglicht Energie- und daraus resultierende CO 2 -Einsparungen von bis zu 50%. Fur Forbo als verantwortungsbewussten Hersteller ist der umsichtige Umgang mit allen Ressourcen fur eine nachhaltige Zukunft ein wichtiger Grundwert. Forbo beschaftigt rund 5 500 Mitarbeitende und verfugt uber ein internationales Netz von 25 Standorten mit Produktion und Vertrieb, 6 Konfektionierungszentren sowie 49 reinen Vertriebsgesellschaften in weltweit insgesamt 39 Landern. Der Nettoumsatz im Geschaftsjahr 2020 betrug CHF 1 117,7 Mio. Der Sitz der Gesellschaft befindet sich in Baar im Kanton Zug, Schweiz. Die Konzerngesellschaft Forbo Holding AG ist an der SIX Swiss Exchange kotiert (Valorennummer 354151, ISIN CH0003541510, Bloomberg FORN SW, Reuters FORN.S). Kontaktperson:

This E. Schneider

Exekutiver Verwaltungsratsprasident

Telefon +41 58 787 25 49

www.forbo.com

www.forbo.com -> Nachhaltigkeit

Ende der Ad-hoc-Mitteilung
Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR

Idorsia to further characterize lucerastat for the treatment of Fabry disease by continuing the open-label extension of the Phase 3 MODIFY study

Idorsia will consult with health authorities and share the data collected so far to define the regulatory pathway for lucerastat in Fabry disease

Allschwil, Switzerland - December 13, 2021

Idorsia Ltd (SIX: IDIA) today announced that after the planned interim analysis of the open-label extension (OLE) of the Phase 3 MODIFY study with lucerastat for the treatment of adult patients with Fabry disease, the study will continue. The company will consult with health authorities in the first half of 2022, and discuss the data collected up until the first interim analysis of the OLE study. The data includes the placebo-controlled 6-month treatment period with 118 patients in MODIFY, as well as the analysis of 107 patients who continued into the OLE, many of whom are treated with lucerastat for one year and some who have received treatment for up to 2 years.

While lucerastat (1000 mg b.i.d) did not meet the primary endpoint of reducing neuropathic pain during 6 months of treatment versus placebo, the company has made observations on renal function and cardiac echocardiography which, if confirmed with longer-term data, would indicate a treatment effect on the main organs affected by the disease.

Lucerastat demonstrated a substantial reduction in levels of the Fabry-disease biomarker plasma Gb3 after 6 months of treatment. A nominally significant (p<0.0001) difference in the change from baseline to month 6 in plasma Gb3 between lucerastat and placebo was observed, with a decrease of approximately 50% observed in plasma Gb3 in the lucerastat treatment group compared to an increase of 12% in the placebo group. Interestingly, a decrease in plasma Gb3 was observed in virtually every patient on treatment with lucerastat. Likewise, a nominally significant (p=0.02) difference in the percent change from baseline to month 6 in plasma lysoGb3 between lucerastat and placebo was also observed. The change in these Fabry-disease biomarkers was maintained or further improved with continued lucerastat treatment in the OLE.

Based on patient historical data, mean estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), a measure of kidney function, was decreasing prior to the study. During the 6 months of the MODIFY study, a slightly higher increase in eGFR was observed in the lucerastat group versus placebo, as measured by the eGFR slope. This potential effect of lucerastat on kidney function over 6 months of treatment was further evaluated at the interim analysis of the extension study. The average eGFR decline was

-2.75 mL/min/1.73m2 per year on treatment overall, while in the two years preceding the study (historical values), the decline was -3.55 mL/min/1.73m2 per year. In a subgroup of patients with an eGFR value of less than or equal to 90 mL/min/1.73m2 at baseline, denoting kidney function impairment, a slower decline of eGFR of -3.41 mL/min/1.732 per year was observed on treatment versus an historical decrease of -6.29 mL/min/1.732 per year.

Also, in several patients treated with lucerastat, especially those with a high left ventricular mass index (LVMI) at baseline, a decrease of LVMI with lucerastat was seen. These data need to be further characterized.

In MODIFY, of the 118 patients enrolled, 80 patients were randomized to lucerastat. Lucerastat was well tolerated. No clinically meaningful change in vital signs, ECGs, or marked laboratory abnormalities was observed. Two patients in each group (lucerastat 2.5%; placebo 5.4%) discontinued due to adverse events. Serious adverse events (SAE) were reported in 5 patients (6.3%) and 1 patient (2.7%) in the lucerastat and placebo groups, respectively. No SAE was fatal, and all were considered as not related to study treatment. The interim analysis of the OLE study, which included 114 patients treated for an average duration of 15 months, provided a safety and tolerability profile consistent with that observed during 6-month randomized treatment period.

Jean-Paul Clozel, MD and Chief Executive Officer of Idorsia, commented:

"I have been impressed to consistently see such a substantial decrease in plasma Gb3, in almost every patient treated with lucerastat, even after switching from enzyme replacement therapy. Accumulation of Gb3 is the main cause of organ damage in Fabry disease, therefore it stands to reason to me that decreasing plasma Gb3 should translate into a beneficial effect on the organs effected by Fabry disease. Following the analysis of the 6-month data from MODIFY and now the first interim analysis of the open label extension study, we have an indication that this is indeed the case."

Jean-Paul Clozel, concluded:

"We are in the very fortunate position to have a large cohort of patients on treatment. By now, many have been treated for 1 year and some for up to 2 years. By continuing to collect data we will further characterize the signal we have observed and determine whether lucerastat can offer benefit for the kidneys and the heart. In the meantime, we will discuss our results with health authorities globally to define the regulatory pathway forward for lucerastat in patients with Fabry disease."

About the MODIFY study(NCT03425539 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03425539))and its open label extension (NCT03737214 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03737214))

MODIFY was a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study to determine the efficacy and safety of lucerastat as an oral monotherapy in adult patients with Fabry disease. 118 patients were randomized in a 2:1 ratio to either lucerastat or placebo. At the end of the double-blind period, 107 patients entered in an ongoing open label extension study, which aims to determine the long-term safety and tolerability of lucerastat oral therapy and to further evaluate its clinical efficacy on renal and cardiac function, in adult patients with Fabry disease over a period of up to a further 48 months.

About lucerastat in Japan

The efficacy of lucerastat has been evaluated in an open-label Phase 3 study in 22 Japanese patients with Fabry disease. The results of the study are currently in preparation for scientific disclosure in a peer-reviewed publication.

Notes to the editor

About Fabry disease

Fabry disease is a rare, genetic, lysosomal storage disorder that results in reduced or absent a-galactosidase A (alpha-GalA) an enzyme that normally breaks down a fatty product known as globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) in the cells of the body. Over time, this results in an accumulation of Gb3 deposits throughout the body, leading to progressive pathophysiology in the cardiovascular system, and the nervous system as well as in organs, including the kidneys, heart, skin, ears, eyes, and lung. Symptoms of Fabry disease affect a patient's life expectancy and quality of life. Since the symptoms are non-specific, Fabry disease is often undetected or misdiagnosed. As the disease is progressive, early diagnosis is essential to manage the symptoms as soon as possible and reduce the risk of developing serious complications.

According to Delveinsight, the diagnosed prevalence of Fabry disease in 2018 was approximately 7,500 patients in the US and the EU-5 (i.e., France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK). Large genetic newborn screening programs have revealed a higher incidence of Fabry disease than that detected in the general population, suggesting an underestimation of the prevalence of Fabry disease. As the gene responsible for Fabry disease is found on the X chromosome (of which males have one, and females two), males with deleterious mutations have little or no residual alpha-GalA activity. Therefore, these male patients with Fabry disease experience a wider spectrum of symptoms, and in some cases, a greater severity. It is now widely accepted that women with Fabry disease are heterogeneous with respect to disease severity and may sometimes also develop life threatening complications of the disorder. Up to 70% of female carriers develop Fabry related symptoms at some point in their life.

There is an unmet need for a well-tolerated, disease-modifying, oral treatment that can be used regardless of GLA mutation and previous treatment. Current treatment approaches for Fabry disease include enzyme replacement therapy (ERT). ERT is given with frequent intravenous infusions of recombinant human agalsidase a or agalsidase  and may not adequately control symptoms. Migalastat, an oral chaperone therapy enhancing a-galactosidase A activity, is the other therapy that has been granted marketing authorization in the EU, Japan, and the US as an oral monotherapy for the long-term treatment of a subset of patients with Fabry who have an amenable mutation. Other treatments are aimed at alleviating individual symptoms, such as anticonvulsants, antidepressants, and opioids for severe pain. In advanced Fabry disease, hemodialysis and kidney transplantation may be necessary. Currently, treatment options do not adequately control Fabry disease for all patients. Therefore, an effective treatment with convenient administration could significantly change the treatment landscape for patients with Fabry disease.

Lucerastat in Fabry disease

Lucerastat, a small molecule glucosylceramide synthase inhibitor, is in development as a novel, disease-modifying substrate reduction therapy for Fabry disease, regardless of the patient's GLA variant. Preclinical studies showed that lucerastat is a soluble, bioavailable inhibitor of glucosylceramide synthase that reduces the accumulation of a-galactosidase A substrates in tissues affected by Fabry disease, including kidneys, liver, and dorsal root ganglia. In clinical pharmacology studies, lucerastat had reproducible pharmacokinetics, characterized by rapid absorption, quick elimination, and no evidence for saturation of absorption or elimination mechanisms. By working on the underlying disease mechanism and reducing the build-up of Gb3, lucerastat has the potential to alleviate symptoms of Fabry disease, independent of both previous ERT treatment and GLA mutation. Across Phase 1 studies, lucerastat doses up to 4000 mg were well tolerated and the safety profile was not affected by concomitant treatments.

The safety, tolerability, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacokinetics of oral lucerastat were evaluated in an exploratory study in adult patients with Fabry disease. In this single-center, open-label, randomized study, 10 patients with Fabry disease were randomized to lucerastat for 12 weeks on top of ERT and 4 to ERT only. A rapid decrease in plasma Gb3, a marker of Fabry disease, and its precursors was observed, demonstrating that lucerastat 1000 mg b.i.d. inhibits glucosylceramide synthase and provides alpha-GalA substrate reduction with a fast onset in adult patients with Fabry disease on ERT.

Key Literature

Guerard N., et al. Lucerastat, an iminosugar for substrate reduction therapy: tolerability, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacokinetics in patients with Fabry disease on enzyme replacement. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2018; 103(4):703-11.

Welford RWD., et al. Glucosylceramide synthase inhibition with lucerastat lowers globotriaosylceramide and lysosome staining in cultured fibroblasts from Fabry patients with different mutation types. Hum Mol Genet 2018; 27(19): 3392-3403

Germain DP. Fabry disease. Orphanet J Rare Dis. 2010 Nov 22;5:30.





About Idorsia

Idorsia Ltd is reaching out for more - We have more ideas, we see more opportunities and we want to help more patients. In order to achieve this, we will develop Idorsia into a leading biopharmaceutical company, with a strong scientific core.

Headquartered near Basel, Switzerland - a European biotech-hub - Idorsia is specialized in the discovery, development, and commercialization of small molecules to transform the horizon of therapeutic options. Idorsia has a broad portfolio of innovative drugs in the pipeline, an experienced team of professionals covering all disciplines from bench to bedside, state-of-the-art facilities, and a strong balance sheet - the ideal constellation to translate R&D efforts into business success.

Idorsia was listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ticker symbol: IDIA) in June 2017 and has over 1000 highly qualified specialists dedicated to realizing our ambitious targets.

For further information, please contact

Andrew C. Weiss

Senior Vice President, Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications

Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Hegenheimermattweg 91, CH-4123 Allschwil

+41 58 844 10 10

investor.relations@idorsia.com

media.relations@idorsia.com

www.idorsia.com (http://www.idorsia.com)

The above information contains certain "forward-looking statements", relating to the company's business, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "estimates", "believes", "expects", "may", "are expected to", "will", "will continue", "should", "would be", "seeks", "pending" or "anticipates" or similar expressions, or by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions. Such statements include descriptions of the company's investment and research and development programs and anticipated expenditures in connection therewith, descriptions of new products expected to be introduced by the company and anticipated customer demand for such products and products in the company's existing portfolio. Such statements reflect the current views of the company with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from any future results, performances or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated or expected.

Anhang
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Masan Group Corporation (HOSE: MSN, "Masan") today announced the signing of a USD350 million primary investment in The CrownX Corporation (the "Company", "TCX") by a consortium of investors, including TPG, Platinum Orchid (a wholly owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority) ("ADIA"), and SeaTown Master Fund, managed by a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Temasek Holdings (the "Transaction"). The Transaction marks the final capital raising at the TCX ecosystem, which has attracted over USD1.5 billion in investments from marquee global investors since its inception in 1H2020.

The Transaction implies a post-money valuation of USD8.2 billion for 100% of TCX's equity, an equivalent of USD105 (c. VND2,415,000) per share, representing a 12% valuation uplift versus the previous capital raising round. Post the completion of the Transaction, Masan will own 81.4% of The CrownX. The Company intends to use the proceeds from the Transaction to invest in growth initiatives and conduct a share buyback.

The mini-mall concept, a unique integrated format off or online offering a broad array of daily, essential products and services, provides The CrownX a cost-efficient model to win consumer wallet share across multiple consumer use cases. The next game changer will be developing fin-tech solutions including buy now pay later products for the underserved, mass market consumers by leveraging its loyalty platform with Reddi at the core.

Mr. Danny Le, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Masan Group said: "We have outlined our Point of Life vision for over 7 years now. The partnership with TPG, ADIA and SeaTown is a validation of our ability to bring to life our Point of Life vision. This marks the end of our capital raising activities at The CrownX as we shift our entire focus to scale up our Point of Life platform nationwide both off and online. We look forward to a 2023-2024 international IPO of The CrownX with 3 simple KPIs: i) increasing our share of the consumer wallet by expanding our network, ii) digitizing our entire platform to become a consumer tech company, and iii) double-digit profit margins."

"Powered by its rising middle class and rapid urbanization, Vietnam is well-positioned to be a significant driver of the next chapter of Asia's consumption story," said David Tan, Managing Director, TPG Capital Asia. "Having witnessed Masan's turnaround of WinCommerce (WCM), we believe that The CrownX is the platform to capture this opportunity. They will develop the ecosystem further to expand their services to create value for all Vietnamese consumers. Leveraging our deep experience investing across the consumer sector and in Southeast Asia, we look forward to working with the management team at The CrownX to accelerate the company's vision."

Hamad Shahwan Al Dhaheri, Executive Director of the Private Equities Department at ADIA, said: "In one of the fastest growing consumer markets globally, The CrownX is a proven, best-in-class operator with a strong management team, well-positioned to build the leading integrated omni-channel consumer ecosystem in Vietnam. This is yet another illustration of our global strategy of investing alongside leading partners such as the Masan Group and the wider shareholder base of The CrownX. Further building on our increasing focus on Southeast Asia, this commitment underscores our belief in Vietnam's strong underlying economic fundamentals."

Steven Chua, Deputy CIO at SeaTown Master Fund, said: "We are very excited to have the opportunity to partner with The CrownX and Masan organization through this investment. We see a compelling long-term consumption growth story in Vietnam and The CrownX is well-positioned to capture this growth through the company's transformative initiatives."

All corporate actions mentioned are subject to customary corporate and regulatory approvals. Credit Suisse (Singapore) Limited acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Masan Group.

MASAN GROUP CORPORATION

Masan Group Corporation ("Masan" or the "Company") believes in doing well by doing good. The Company's mission is to provide better products and services to the 100 million people of Vietnam, so that they can pay less for their daily essentials. Masan aims to achieve this by driving productivity with technological innovations, trusted brands, and focusing on fewer but bigger opportunities that impact the most lives.

Masan Group's member companies and associates are industry leaders in branded fast moving consumer goods, branded meat, modern retail, F&B retail, financial services, telecommunications, and value-add chemical processing, altogether representing segments of Vietnam's economy that are experiencing the most transformational growth.

TPG

TPG is a leading global alternative asset firm founded in San Francisco in 1992 with $108 billion of assets under management and investment and operational teams in 12 offices globally. TPG invests across five multi-product platforms: Capital, Growth, Impact, Real Estate, and Market Solutions. TPG aims to build dynamic products and options for its clients while also instituting discipline and operational excellence across the investment strategy and performance of its portfolio.

ADIA

Established in 1976, ADIA is a globally diversified investment institution that prudently invests funds on behalf of the Government of Abu Dhabi through a strategy focused on long-term value creation.

SEATOWN

SeaTown Holdings International ("SeaTown") is a Singapore-based investment manager focused on alternative, absolute return strategies. With over US$6bn of assets under management, SeaTown manages multi-asset and public credit strategies through open-end funds as well as private investments strategies in closed-end funds. SeaTown is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Seviora Holdings, and indirectly owned by Temasek Holdings.

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding Masan's expectations, intentions or strategies that may involve risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements, including Masan's expectations, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, some of which are beyond Masan's control, which may cause Masan's actual results of operations, financial condition, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions, future events or promises of future performance.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1708025/Masan_Group_s_mission_is_to_provide_better_products_and_services_to_the_100_million_people.jpg

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End-to-end support, from container shipping to logistics, fundraising and maritime expertise, have maximized hospital ships' life-changing impact for thousands of people

This month MSC Group and Mercy Ships are celebrating a unique ten-year partnership focused on bringing hope and healing in Africa.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211212005128/en/

MSC Group and Mercy Ships Celebrate 10 years of Partnership (Photo: Business Wire)

Mercy Ships is an international charity that uses hospital ships to provide free healthcare services and medical capacity building for poor and underserved communities without easy access to medical facilities, providing lifesaving and life-changing surgeries for thousands.

Operating hospital ships involves transporting large amounts of essential supplies across the world to provide safe surgery and training. Mercy Ship's partnership with the MSC Group and MSC Foundation helps meet these and wider needs, with the MSC Group's cargo business having grown to become a world leader in container shipping and logistics, while MSC Cruises is now the third-largest cruise brand in the world.

MSC Group has used these growing resources to provide Mercy Ships with rapidly increasing support over the past ten years, enabling it to concentrate its resources on delivering vital healthcare and medical training in sub-Saharan Africa.

Initially, the idea was to provide container shipping to keep the hospital ship Africa Mercy supplied, and a total of over 500 containers have been transported free of charge to date.

However, the strength of the MSC Group's commitment meant that its cargo businesses in Africa also immediately became involved to help the hospital ship establish its services effectively in every port. The infrastructure support and logistical expertise now provided on the ground ranges from MSC's local shipping agency and MSC/TiL terminals handling cargo, to MSC and MEDLOG offering free logistics, storage and inland transportation services. From the very start, this has included building a "wall" of empty containers around the docked ship to create a safe hospital compound.

MSC Cruises stepped in very soon afterwards, providing maritime best practice and ship management expertise to support the Mercy Ships crew. The MSC Group has in addition mobilized its client and partner networks to provide fundraising assistance, enabling the implementation of a program to combat Ebola amongst others.

In 2019, the partnership was extended to event sponsorships and programmatic funding through the newly formed MSC Foundation, including for a women's healthcare initiative in Sierra Leone and PPE shipments to Mercy Ships partners in 11 African nations during the COVID pandemic.

Thanks to this comprehensive end-to-end support, now led and coordinated by the MSC Foundation, Mercy Ships has been able to perform 19,740 surgeries and 218,100 dental procedures during the partnership, while providing medical training for 15,150 participants.

As Mercy Ships Founder Don Stephens explained, "MSC Foundation is our lifeline, literally. They bring all our consumables. That means everything we use for the galley, housekeeping, but especially the medical is shipped to us by MSC. That's MSC Foundation and Mercy Ships partnering together to go far. We're in this for a long-term partnership that will bring sustainable, transformational development to the people of Africa."

The partnership now includes the newest Mercy Ship, the Global Mercy which heads to Senegal in 2022, following final outfitting in the Port of Antwerp and a spring send-off from Rotterdam. MSC Group provided logistical support and the container delivery of supplies needed to build the Global Mercy

Celebrating the tenth anniversary of the partnership, Diego Aponte, MSC Group President, commented: "When embarking on this partnership, we understood that MSC's global reach, expanding ocean and landside networks and expertise in shipping and logistics would be a perfect fit for Mercy Ships, enabling us both to achieve greater impact. What Mercy Ships has been able to accomplish as a result is truly extraordinary! We are delighted to celebrate its success and are extremely proud of everything we are doing together."

EMBED VIDEO: https://vimeo.com/593485526/be4815fe9b

ABOUT MSC GROUP

A shipping conglomerate

Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and privately owned, the MSC Group is a global business engaged in the transport and logistics sector.

The Group encompasses a Cargo Division with MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), Terminal Investment Limited (TiL), MEDLOG, and a Passenger Division led by MSC Cruises and complemented by Mediterranean passenger ferries with Grandi Navi Veloci (GNV) and SNAV.

The MSC Group was founded in 1970 by Captain Gianluigi Aponte in Brussels, Belgium. Captain Aponte started the Company with one small conventional ship, the MV Patricia. As containerisation took place and the globalisation of the world economy evolved, MSC grew to become a leader in global container shipping.

Alongside the success of the container shipping business, the Aponte family sought to diversify the MSC Group, launching a highly successful cruises company, passenger ferries, and investing in port terminal infrastructure.

Today, the Group employs 100,000 people across the globe.

ABOUT MSC FOUNDATION

The non-profit MSC Foundation implements the MSC Group's marine conservation, humanitarian and sustainable development commitments worldwide, utilizing MSC's global reach and unique knowledge of the sea to protect and nurture our blue planet, its peoples and our shared cultural heritage.

Concentrating on four areas the Environment, Community Support, Education and Emergency Relief the Foundation encourages the sustainable management and protection of ecosystems, empowers vulnerable communities around the world to realize their full potential, promotes equitable and inclusive quality education to foster enduring individual and collective development, and helps disaster-struck populations toward recovery.

The Foundation works to achieve this both independently and with trusted partners: independently, by leveraging MSC Group engagement in designing and managing projects, connecting communities, raising awareness and mobilizing the financial support of thousands of people; and together with partners that have a strong innovative vision or track record for effective action.

ABOUT MERCY SHIPS:

Mercy Ships uses hospital ships to deliver free, world-class healthcare services, capacity building, and sustainable development to those with little access in the developing world. Founded in 1978 by Don and Deyon Stephens, Mercy Ships has worked in more than 55 developing countries, providing services valued at more than $1.7 billion and treating more than 2.8 million direct beneficiaries. Our ships are crewed by volunteers from over 60 nations, with an average of over 1,200 volunteers each year. Professionals including surgeons, dentists, nurses, healthcare trainers, teachers, cooks, seamen, engineers, and agriculturalists donate their time and skills. With 16 national offices and an Africa Bureau, Mercy Ships seeks to transform individuals and serve nations one at a time. For more information click on www.mercyships.org

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211212005128/en/

Contacts:

Raphael Weinberger

MSC Foundation

Chemin Rieu 12-14, 1208

Geneva, Switzerland

info@mscfoundation.org

https://mscfoundation.org



Laura Rebouche

U.S. National Media Relations Director

Mercy Ships

us.media@mercyships.org

https://mercyships.org/press


The launch was attended by YB Tan Sri Noh Bin Haji Omar, Minister of Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives; various directors from BlackBixon2Go Sdn. Bhd., the EV Bike subsidiary of Ni Hsin Group Berhad and Ni Hsin Group Berhad.

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13, 2021 - (ACN Newswire) - Ni Hsin Group Berhad's (formerly known as Ni Hsin Resources Berhad) ("Ni Hsin") subsidiary BlackBixon2Go Sdn Bhd ("BlackBixon2Go"), is pleased to announce the launch of BB2GO EV ("electric vehicle") Coffee Bike for use in the sale of BlackBixon coffee.These electric bikes are powered by a battery system specially configured to also provide the power for the coffee-making machine and is an extension of Ni Hsin's cafe@anywhere concept under its food and beverage business. The bikes are equipped with GPS for easy tracking of orders and locations of BB2GO EV Coffee Bikes by coffee lovers using the BB2GO app.BlackBixon2Go also signed an MoU with Acasia Communications Sdn Bhd ("Acasia") to digitalise the new business concept through its connectivity and cloud services, supporting BB2GO app. Acasia, an affiliate of Telekom Malaysia Group, is a collaboration among seven leading telecommunications providers offering a comprehensive suite of connectivity services and digital infrastructure in the ASEAN region.Mr. Khoo Chee Kong, Managing Director of BlackBixon2Go, said, "We have embarked on a transformation trail, from a traditional manufacturer of stainless-steel products to a new age business model riding on the EV Revolution with BB2GO EV Coffee Bike combining Malaysians' love for coffee and the desire to maintain a green and healthy environment. This business concept is apt and fitting for the street food industry, it's also very suitable for catering, open house and parties.""The BB2GO EV Coffee Bike is a totally self-sufficient bar that does not require an electrical outlet to power the coffee machine. The batteries from the EV Bike are technically configured to produce up to 400 cups of coffee and can be recharged after that. With BB2GO EV Coffee Bike you can be a barista, just as in a modern cafe, serving espresso coffee or cappuccino prepared in front of your customer's eyes."Ni Hsin's use of the electric bikes is part of the company's commitment to environmental, social and governance ("ESG") responsibilities as well as adopting a mindset change for business sustainability in the face of technological advancement. Ni Hsin is also observing, learning and innovating to improve the way it conducts business as part of its ESG responsibilities.The Company is planning to expand the BB2GO EV Coffee Bike concept across ASEAN and is also planning to manufacture and assemble the electric bikes in collaboration with an established EV manufacturer from China for the commercial and consumer market in Malaysia and ASEAN.Pictured (from left):- Mr. Khoo Chee Kong, Managing Director of BlackBixon2Go Sdn. Bhd.- Tan Sri Dato' Sri Haji Mohamed Apandi Ali, Non-Executive Chairman of BlackBixon2Go Sdn. Bhd.- En. Sofiyan Yahya, Chairman of Ni Hsin Group Berhad- YB Tan Sri Noh Bin Haji Omar, Minister of Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives- Dato' Seri Rosman Mohamed, Independent Director of Ni Hsin Group Berhad- Dato' Mohammad Radhi Bin Abdul Razak, Deputy Secretary General of Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives(https://www.acnnewswire.com/topimg/Low_NiHsin20211213.jpg)Source: Ni Hsin Group BerhadCopyright 2021 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
TOKYO, Dec 13, 2021 - (JCN Newswire) - Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) and Lawson, Inc. (Lawson) are pleased to announce a new collaboration in the supply of renewable energy to Lawson convenience stores. Details are explained below.Lawson will use renewables to power approximately 3,600 of its stores in the Kanto-Koshin District and the prefectures of Gifu, Shizuoka, Aichi and Mie.- MC will contract the construction of new solar-power facilities to West Holdings Corporation and supply the electricity generated by those facilities to Lawson's stores.- The total installed capacity of the facilities will be approximately 45 MW (enough to satisfy the electricity demands of roughly 9,000 households).- Supply of the electricity will commence in April 2022.- In the future, MC and Lawson plan to increase this supply of renewable energy to approximately 8,200 stores across Japan.This project's solar facilities will rank among the largest in Japan built through an off-site PPA.* The project also satisfies the conditions for carbon-offset additionality and will contribute to global growth in the use of renewables.Having now made ESG-focused management central to its operations, Lawson has conceived its own environmental vision called "Lawson Blue Challenge 2050!" This vision is dedicated to achieving a richer, healthier natural environment and helping Japan to meet its goal of decarbonizing by 2050. The targets set down under this vision are per-store CO2 reductions of 50% by 2030 and 100% by 2050, both in comparison to 2013 levels. Supplying the stores with renewable energy should prove instrumental in lowering CO2 emissions throughout the Lawson group.*Long-term power-purchase agreement through which new renewable-power-generation facilities are constructed in remote locations and the electricity generated by them is conveyed to the customers using existing power-transmission-and-distribution networks.Source: Mitsubishi CorporationCopyright 2021 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
AMSTERDAM, Dec. 13, 2021 ) .



The Business Combination is subject to approval of EFIC1's shareholders at a virtual extraordinary general meeting of shareholders (the "EGM") which will take place on Monday 31 January 2022 at 10:00 a.m. CET. In connection with COVID-19 and the protection of the health of all participants in the EGM, the board of EFIC1 has decided that shareholders can only attend the EGM virtually, in accordance with the temporary law regarding COVID-19.

EFIC1 TO BECOME AZERION

Subject to the approval of the Business Combination by the shareholders and certain other (waivable) customary closing conditions as agreed in the business combination agreement, as well as the completion of the Business Combination, the first day of listing and trading of shares in the combined company on Euronext Amsterdam under the new name "Azerion Group N.V." will be on 2 February 2022.

SHAREHOLDER CIRCULAR

EFIC1 has prepared a shareholder circular that includes the formal convocation of the EGM, including the agenda and the explanatory notes thereto, and relevant information for shareholders in relation to the Business Combination to facilitate a proper decision.

The agenda for the EGM includes among others proposals to (i) approve the Business Combination, (ii) appoint the members of the Management Board and the Supervisory Board, (iii) adopt the remuneration policy for the Management Board and the Supervisory Board, and (iv) adopt amendments to the articles of association of EFIC1 by two separate deeds of amendment.

The shareholder circular, together with all relevant EGM documentationand can be obtained - free of charge - via EGM@efic1.com.

SHARE REPURCHASE ARRANGEMENT EFIC1 PUBLIC SHAREHOLDERS

In connection with the Business Combination, shareholders of EFIC1 may require EFIC1 to repurchase some or all of the ordinary shares held by them. Such repurchase shall be effectuated if and when the general meeting resolves to approve the Business Combination at the EGM, after which the EFIC1 board shall resolve on the date of the EGM to repurchase these ordinary shares, assuming that the shareholders exercising their repurchase right have validly transferred such shares to EFIC1 in accordance with the transfer instructions given by EFIC1. For the avoidance of doubt, shareholders can require EFIC1 to repurchase their ordinary shares in accordance with these terms, irrespective of whether and how they vote at the EGM.

Any EFIC1 shareholders wishing to have their ordinary shares repurchased through the share repurchase arrangement are expected to receive approximately 9.95 per ordinary share repurchased, being the repurchase price per ordinary share after deduction of the estimated negative interest. However, the final repurchase price is subject to deduction of the actual negative interest paid.

Shareholders wishing to require EFIC1 to repurchase their ordinary shares, must instruct their financial intermediary to submit a repurchase request electronically through the system of Euroclear Nederland. Such requests can be submitted from 9:00 a.m. CET on 4 January 2022 until noon CET on 27 January 2022 (or at any earlier deadline communicated by the financial intermediary).

H.T.P. Capital Partners B.V., which owns an equivalent of 40 million in EFIC1's ordinary shares since the EFIC1 IPO, has committed to not exercise its option to have these shares repurchased. Its shares currently represent 10.5% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares. Detailed information regarding this share repurchase arrangement, including the transfer instructions and relevant terms and conditions, are included in the shareholder circular that is available on EFIC1's website.

EGM REGISTRATION, VOTING, PROXIES AND QUESTIONS

Pursuant to Dutch law and EFIC1's articles of association, the persons who will be entitled to attend the EGM and, to the extent applicable, give voting instructions or grant a voting proxy for the EGM are the persons who are registered as shareholder of EFIC1 in the administrations held by their financial intermediaries or in EFIC1's shareholders register on 3 January 2022 at 5:30 p.m. CET, after processing of all settlements on that date.

Shareholders who wish to exercise their voting rights at the EGM and/or attend the EGM are required to register within the registration period. The registration period starts on 4 January 2022 at 9:00 a.m. CET and ends on 24 January 2022 at 5:30 p.m. CET. Registrations can be made via ABN AMRO), via the shareholder's intermediary, by sending an email for such purpose to EGM@efic1.com, or for holders of shares who are registered in EFIC1's shareholders register (save for ordinary shares held through Euroclear Nederland), in the manner as communicated to them by EFIC1.

Voting during the EGM will not be possible. Voting rights can be exercised electronically by granting a proxy with voting instructions via www.abnamro.com/evotingto the civil law notary, no later than 24 January 2022 at 5:30 p.m. CET. Such a proxy form is available on www.efic1.com. This proxy form can also be used if a shareholder is unable to give its voting instruction through www.abnamro.com/evoting.

Shareholders who have registered for the EGM are invited to submit their questions relating to agenda items prior the EGM by sending an email to EGM@efic1.com. Questions can be submitted until 10:00 a.m. CET on 28 January 2022. EFIC1 aims to address these questions during the EGM.

The shareholders who submitted questions prior to the EGM in accordance with the procedure described above, also have the possibility to ask follow-up questions in writing via the webcast during the EGM. However, the chair of the EGM may limit the number of questions and combine questions (thematically or otherwise).

Further information on registering for and attending the EGM, voting, granting a proxy and raising questions is available in the shareholder circular on EFIC1's website.

WEBCAST

There will be a live webcast of the EGM that registered shareholders can attend. The shareholders who have registered themselves to attend the EGM will receive a confirmation email containing further instructions for attending the EGM via the webcast.

PRESS AND INVESTOR INFORMATION EFIC1

Press contacts: Marion Banide; +31; +49 (0) 172 842 7007).

Investor contacts: ir@efic1.comor +31 (20) 240 4240.

PROSPECTUS

More information about EFIC1 can be found in the EFIC1 IPO prospectus dated 22 March 2021 which has been approved by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets in the Netherlands and is available on www.efic1.com.

DISCLAIMER

This press release is for information purposes only. The information contained in this press release does not purport to be full or complete and, in particular, does not contain all the information that should be considered concerning the proposed business combination between European FinTech IPO Company 1 B.V. ("EFIC1") and Azerion Holding B.V. ("Azerion") pursuant to a business combination agreement between EFIC1, Azerion and its shareholders (the "Business Combination") and is not intended to form the basis of any investment decision or any other decision in respect of the Business Combination. No reliance may be placed by any person for any purpose on the information contained in this press release or its accuracy, fairness or completeness. EFIC1 will not be held liable for any loss or damages of any nature ensuing from using, trusting or acting on information provided. This press release does not constitute, and should not be construed as, an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to purchase the ordinary shares and/or warrants of EFIC1 and is not a recommendation to engage in any investment activities.

Before making any voting or other investment decisions, shareholders of EFIC1 and other interested persons are advised to read the shareholder circular, all relevant EGM documentation (including the proposed articles of association for the Business Combination) and the EFIC1 IPO prospectus dated 22 March 2021, that are made available by EFIC1, as these materials will contain important information about EFIC1, Azerion and the Business Combination.

This press release may include certain forward-looking statements, which are based on EFIC1's current expectations and projections with respect to future events and speak only as of the date hereof ("Forward-looking Statements"). By their nature, Forward-looking Statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future whether or not outside the control of EFIC1. Such factors may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such Forward-looking Statements. Accordingly, no undue reliance should be placed on any Forward-looking Statements.




Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - December 13, 2021) - Defence Therapeutics Inc. (CSE: DTC) (FSE: DTC) (OTC Pink: DTCFF) ("Defence" or the "Company"), a biotechnology company focused on the development of vaccines and therapeutics against cancer and infectious diseases, is pleased to announce that its AccumTM platform can potently enhance Cas9 delivery in target cells, which would have a significant positive impact on the CRISPR industry.

The CRISPR technology offers the potential to transform medicine, enabling both the treatment or prevention of many illnesses by deleting or inserting genes in a targeted manner. This technology is central to the biotech industry as it can be used to treat multiple illnesses such as cancer, viral diseases (HIV and Hepatitis B) as well as several genetic disorders. The essence of this technology is simple and requires two important tools: 1) a piece of genetic material to guide the editing process, and 2) the co-delivery of a Cas protein to cut/edit the DNA. Of all the Cas protein currently identified, Cas9 is the most widely used by scientists as it can easily find and bind to almost any desired target sequence, simply by giving a piece of RNA to guide it in its search.

Delivery of the Cas9 protein instead of a DNA-encoding sequence gives the advantage of decreasing off-target activity of Cas9. The current and existing protein delivery tools available today are inefficient at delivering proteins inside the nucleus of target cells. More specifically, any delivered protein ends-up being entrapped and degraded within small endosome-lysosome vesicles. Consequently, the pool of cytosolic Cas9 is low in magnitude making it difficult to reach the nucleus for efficient DNA editing activity. As such, multiple deliveries have to be attempted to reach enough nuclear Cas9 material.

The AccumTM platform is designed to accumulate a given molecule in target cells. The Defence team has tested AccumTM's ability to improve Cas9 delivery to cells. The obtained results, with only a single AccumTM dose and without any added use of a complex lipid formulation, are astonishing. The accumulation of AccumTM-linked Cas9 inside the nucleus of the cells was at least 9-fold higher of the free Cas9 when added to mammalian cells in vitro.

"We successfully provide another strong example of how versatile and powerful AccumTM is for delivering proteins of crucial importance. This observation is key to Defence as it's paving the path to strategic partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies in the field looking to improve their CRISPR/Cas9 editing approach," says Mr. Plouffe, CEO of Defence Therapeutics.

With such amazing data in hand, Defence will actively be looking to partner with major players in the field in order to move forward on CRISPR-based treatments designed for specific indications.

As per the report published by Fior Markets, the global gene editing market is expected to grow from USD 4.2 billion in 2020 to USD 13 billion by 2028, at a CAGR of 15.2% during the forecast period 2021-2028.

About Defence:

Defence Therapeutics is a publicly-traded biotechnology company working on engineering the next generation vaccines and ADC products using its proprietary platform. The core of Defence Therapeutics platform is the ACCUMTM technology, which enables precision delivery of vaccine antigens or ADCs in their intact form to target cells. As a result, increased efficacy and potency can be reached against catastrophic illness such as cancer and infectious diseases.

For further information:

Sebastien Plouffe, President, CEO and Director

P: (514) 947-2272

Splouffe@defencetherapeutics.com

www.defencetherapeutics.com

Cautionary Statement Regarding "Forward-Looking" Information

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include regulatory actions, market prices, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

Neither the CSE nor its market regulator, as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE, accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/107308
- NIVEA enters the world of NFTs (non-fungible token) to explore the value of touch

- Based on the belief that touch should be accessible to all, NFTs are offered for free

- Temporarily visual impaired artist uses touch to create digital artwork

LONDON, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The skincare brand NIVEA is tapping into the connected world of NFTs (non-fungible token) partnering with Italian visual artist Clarissa Baldassarri, to explore and showcase the value of touch through digital art. Clarissa has suffered from temporary visual impairment early on in her career as a painter. This inspired her to rediscover art through touch. Based on the belief that a conscious touch can provide new insight to the world, and that touch should thus be accessible to all, a limited edition of a NIVEA NFT art piece is available for free for the first people interested in it.

Touch is powerful - and it's free:

With a Nobel prize given to the science of skin receptors and the trending topic of touch deprivation during the pandemic, touch has received more attention lately. However, touch as a sense still ranks lower in most people's perception. Recent research* concludes that 88% of people would rank sight as their most important sense, followed by hearing. With "The Value of Touch", NIVEA wants to bring attention to the power of touch, using blockchain-based non-fungible token (NFTs) to discuss the value society currently attributes to it and spark a discussion about how touch can be valuable and powerful, even if freely available to all. NFT technology normally allows people to trade and own high-value tokens like art, collectibles, or real estate via cryptocurrencies and has recently become increasingly popular in the art world. NIVEA's NFT art will be minted on Polygon, a blockchain that uses proof-of-stake validation, with low power consumption and is optimized for environmentally friendly NFTs. NIVEA is the first mass brand to offer free NFTs that represent "The Value of Touch" with a piece of art directly related to touch through the artist and the creative process behind it.

Touch with purpose:

When loneliness begins to take up more space in people's lives, human touch and connection to others can make a fundamental difference. "The Value of Touch" is part of NIVEA's brand purpose "Care for Human Touch to Inspire Togetherness", launched in January 2021. Through this the brand supports human touch projects to promote the quality of life for people at risk of loneliness, like babies born preterm, visually impaired individuals, elderly with dementia, and girls in vulnerable situations. By 2025, NIVEA aims to invest 20 million Euro in human touch projects globally, with positive impact on the individual health and well-being of more than 150,000 people. Ultimately, each of these project outcomes cater to a strengthened sense of human connectedness and resilience, thereby alleviating feelings of loneliness. "Human touch is a powerful sense," says Tobias Collee, Global Vice President NIVEA. "It connects us physically and emotionally, to others and to the world around us. We want to support people in their journey to rediscover the world through touch."

Meet the artist: Clarissa Baldassarri

The artist behind NIVEA's NFT art piece is Clarissa Baldassarri, an Italian visual artist who suffered from temporary visual impairment early on in her career as a painter. The limitations she experienced inspired her to rediscover art. As part of her exploration of touch and the limits of perception, Clarissa created the NFT artwork using a special raised line drawing kit that consists of a stiff board covered with a layer of rubber and a thin plastic sheet. The piece's structure invites one to experience it through touch, thus making the physical piece accessible to a visually impaired audience. To create the raised line, Clarissa used a metal awl, an instrument traditionally used in the development of Braille texts. She was given this particular awl by her late friend Cecilia, a blind artist who first introduced her to the concept of seeing the world through touch. A short film produced by NIVEA documents the project and captures the artist's creation process.

"My relationship with art is experiential and visceral," says Clarissa. "My relationship with touch has returned to that of a child, when sight is no longer enough, and to know an object you have to touch it, handle it, risk getting burnt, stung or cut, because otherwise you would never discover it."

NIVEA's "The Value of Touch" NFT art can be claimed for free at nivea.com/thevalueoftouch.

More content about the project can be found at NIVEA's global Instagram page @nivea.

About Beiersdorf AG

Beiersdorf has stood for innovative, high-quality skin care products as well as pioneering skin research for nearly 140 years. Leading international brands such as NIVEA, the world's no. 1 skin care brand*, EUCERIN (dermocosmetics), LA PRAIRIE (selective cosmetics), and HANSAPLAST/ELASTOPLAST (plasters and wound care) are cherished by millions of people around the world day after day. Other renowned brands such as LABELLO, AQUAPHOR, FLORENA, 8X4, HIDROFUGAL, GAMMON, COPPERTONE, MAESTRO, CHAUL, and STOP THE WATER WHILE USING ME! round off our extensive portfolio. Through the wholly owned affiliate tesa SE, Beiersdorf is also a globally leading manufacturer of technical adhesive tapes and provides self-adhesive solutions to industry, craft businesses, and consumers.

The Hamburg-based company generated sales of 7,025 million as well as an operating result (EBIT) of 828 million in fiscal year 2020. Beiersdorf has more than 20,000 employees worldwide, who are connected by shared core values, a strong corporate culture and the Beiersdorf purpose "Care Beyond Skin." With its C.A.R.E.+ business strategy, the company pursues a multi-year investment program focusing on competitive, sustainable growth. The program is consistent with the ambitious sustainability agenda, with which Beiersdorf is generating clear added value for consumers, society, and the environment.

* Source: Euromonitor International Limited; NIVEA by umbrella brand name in the categories Body Care, Face Care, and Hand Care; in retail value terms, 2020.

Additional information can be found at www.beiersdorf.com.

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TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / December 13, 2021 / Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (TSX-V:BAY)(OTCQB:ATBHF) ("Aston Bay" or the "Company") is pleased to report the preliminary results of the recent ground electromagnetic (EM) geophysical surveys at the Company's high-grade Storm Copper Project on Somerset Island, Nunavut. The surveys identified numerous conductive anomalies throughout the Storm Copper area including multiple discrete conductors previously untested by drilling.

Highlights

Numerous shallow conductors identified coincident with drill confirmed high-grade copper mineralization

Seven new untested shallow conductors of interest identified

Seven new broad, untested deeper conductors of interest also identified

The survey confirms the growth potential of the Storm high-grade copper system

The 2021 EM surveys, commissioned by Aston Bay's partner American West Metals Limited ("American West"), targeted extensions along strike and at depth of known mineralization, and followed up on previous geophysical anomalies. The surveys were completed in August 2021 to enhance existing targets and identify new potential drill targets ahead of the proposed 2022 drilling campaign. Previous EM surveys have successfully identified several strong conductive anomalies that are associated with known copper mineralization in the Storm Project area, including a large conductive anomaly associated with the high-grade 4100N Zone (intercepts include 67.6 m @ 1.33% Cu from 43.4 m in hole ST99-47).

The 2021 EM surveys confirmed the correlation between elevated conductivity and high-grade copper mineralization at the main Storm Copper showings, producing numerous shallow conductors coincident with drill confirmed mineralization. Known high-grade copper mineralization at Storm is hosted in gently dipping Paleozoic carbonate rocks, along and adjacent to the northern and southern margins of a west-northwest to east-northeast trending, ~1 km wide, fault-bounded valley or graben. Inversion and plate modelling of the EM data also defined multiple prospective conductors associated with the Storm graben within areas previously untested by drilling.

Thomas Ullrich, CEO of Aston Bay commented, "The initial results of the 2021 geophysical surveys demonstrate the efficacy of ground EM as an exploration tool at Storm, and further reinforce our belief that undiscovered, blind zones of high-grade copper mineralization exist in underexplored areas of the Project. Utilizing modern instrumentation capable of resolving anomalies with improved resolution and at greater depth than previous surveys has enabled our partners at American West to identify multiple new conductors warranting follow up work, including several drill-ready targets. We look forward to continuing our work with American West's technical team to refine targets identified by the 2021 survey, and to plan additional geophysical surveys and new targets ahead of a proposed 2022 drill campaign."

Seven untested shallow conductors of interest were identified (Figures 1 and 2; dark blue rectangles): two east along strike from the 2200N and 2750N zones, two west-northwest along strike from the 4100N Zone, one immediately west of the drilled area of the 4100N Zone conductive anomaly, one northeast of the 4100N Zone, and one northeast of the 3500N Zone. All seven untested shallow conductors are located along or in close proximity to the bounding faults of the Storm graben, in areas of elevated density identified by the 2017 airborne gravity gradiometry (AGG) survey (see Aston Bay News Releases dated November 30, 2017 and June 21, 2018). The conductors east of the 2200N and 2750N zone are also associated with significant copper in soil geochemical anomalies.

Seven untested deeper conductors of interest were also identified in the Storm Copper area (Figures 1 and 2; dark green rectangles). These broad, low-amplitude anomalies are generally at least partially associated with areas of elevated density identified by the 2017 AGG survey. Six of the seven anomalies are located along or adjacent to the bounding faults of the Storm graben. The geometry and mostly gentle dips of the modelled deep conductors suggest that they may be related to stratiform type targets, and may be indicative of traditional sedimentary type copper mineralization at depth. Given the highly resistive nature of the host dolomites, even subtle conductors are considered to be prospective when combined with coincident geochemical or airborne gravity anomalies.

Figure 1. Plan view of the Storm graben area showing the 2021 ground EM survey results: shallow plate modelled conductors (dark magenta), deep plate modelled conductors (dark green), and previous drill results. Background image is EM resultant field channel 12.

Figure 2. Northwest-facing isometric view of the Storm graben area showing the 2021 ground EM survey results: shallow plate modelled conductors (dark magenta), deep plate modelled conductors (dark green), and previous drill results. Background image is EM resultant field channel 12.

BACKGROUND AND TECHNICAL DISCUSSION

Two distinct types of mineralization have been discovered at the Project to date (Figure 3).

Storm:

The copper mineralization at Storm is chalcocite dominant and occurs as massive sulphides in breccias and veinlets within, or immediately adjacent to, sub-vertical faults. Although chalcocite (and chalcopyrite) are relatively low in conductance (when compared to some other sulphides), the dolomite host rocks generally have no EM response and therefore the contrast between the two is sufficient to allow EM to be an effective targeting tool.

The are no other conductive lithologies present in the Storm area, which increases the confidence that any anomalies may be related to copper mineralization.

Seal:

The mineralization present within the Seal Deposit is stratabound where sphalerite occurs as massive sulphide replacement of the host dolomite and sandstone cements. Sphalerite and the host rocks generally have very low conductivity, and a test survey was completed to confirm if any contrasts between the different units were visible.

Figure 3: Schematic geological section and targeting model for the Storm and Seal Projects. The project currently contains stratiform zinc and structurally controlled copper mineralization, and it is believed a stratiform source of the Storm copper mineralization may be present at depth.

Success of Geophysical Surveys:

A number of geophysical techniques have been used to explore the Storm and Seal Project areas and wider tenure since the first copper and zinc discoveries in the early 1990's.

Electromagnetics were proven to be an effective exploration tool when the Storm area was first surveyed with airborne EM in 1997. This survey determined a clear relationship between known, outcropping copper mineralization with newly identified EM anomalies. Subsequent higher resolution airborne and surface EM surveys, backed up by drilling, further confirmed this association.

The 2021 EM surveys utilised a time domain electromagnetic (TDEM) system featuring low noise / high power and were completed using a fixed conventional loop configuration. A total area of approximately 18km2 was completed for 945 stations, with a nominal station spacing of 100m at the Storm Copper prospect and 50m at the Seal Zinc deposit. Infills on a number of prospects at Storm were completed at 50m spacings.

The results of three EM survey lines over the high-grade zinc-silver Seal deposit indicated that the known mineralization at Seal is not visible to this particular EM system, and therefore no anomalies could be identified in the vicinity of the deposit. While this work does not preclude other EM systems effectively being used to explore around Seal, the nearby Tier 1 Polaris Zinc-Lead deposit was discovered using gravity surveys, and this will continue to be the preferred geophysical tool for testing the extensive Seal stratigraphic horizon.

Further ground EM surveys will be planned for the 2022 season to screen the Tornado and Blizzard areas. These areas lie east along strike from Storm and have existing copper in soil and gravity (AGG) anomalies.

Methodology and QA/QC

The 2021 Storm Project surface time domain electromagnetic (TDEM) survey was completed using a fixed conventional loop configuration (in and out of loop), with a nominal station spacing of 100 m with 50 m infills at the Storm Copper prospect, and 50 m at the Seal Zinc deposit. Storm loops 1 through 10 were sized 1,000 m by 1,000 m oriented at a 0 azimuth. Seal loop 11 was sized 400 m by 200 m oriented at a 45 azimuth. A Geonics TEM57 MK-2 transmitter with TEM67 boosters was used in conjunction with a portable Honda generator to produce a maximum output of 1.2 kW or 20 A or 60V. The Storm loops carried a current of 13-14 A and the Seal loop carried a current of 19.5 A. An ARMIT Mk2.5 sensor and EMIT SMARTem 24 receiver were used to measure and collect vertical (Z) and horizontal (X and Y) components of the B-Field and its partial derivative dB/dt. EMIT Maxwell software was used for QC, data processing, modelling, presentation and interpretation of the results. Seequent Montaj software was used for additional interpretation and to produce coloured maps.

Prior to the survey, the transmitter and generator were checked for maximum output using calibrated loads. Receivers were calibrated and synchronized to the transmitter prior to and during data acquisition. Polarity of the primary field components was checked and corrected, as necessary. All data were inspected, validated, and inspected for abnormal or problematic noise. No abnormal or problematic noise was observed.

About the Storm Project

The Storm Project consists of 117 contiguous mining claims and 6 prospecting permits covering an area of approximately 302,725 hectares on Somerset Island, Nunavut, Canada. The Storm Project comprises both the Storm Copper Project, a high-grade sediment hosted copper discovery (intersections including 110m @ 2.45% Cu from surface and 56.3m @ 3.07% Cu from 12.2m) as well as the Seal Zinc Deposit (intersections including 18.8m @ 10.58% Zn, 28.7g/t Ag from 51m and 22.1m @ 6.62% Zn, 27.1g/t Ag from 27.1m). As well, there are numerous underexplored targets/prospects within the 120km strike length of the mineralized trend, including the Tornado copper prospect where 10 grab samples yielded >1% Cu up to 32% Cu in gossans.

American West Metals Limited has an option to earn an 80% interest in the Storm Project (see March 9, 2021, Aston Bay press release), and is sole funding the exploration activity currently underway.

For more information on the Storm Project, see the technical report "Initial Mineral Resource Estimate and Technical Report for the Seal Zinc Deposit, Aston Bay Property, Somerset Island Nunavut" by P&E Mining Consultants Inc. dated January 17, 2018 with an effective date of October 6, 2017, which was filed on the Company's SEDAR profile on January 17, 2018.

Qualified Person

Michael Dufresne, M.Sc., P.Geol., P.Geo., is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this press release.

About Aston Bay Holdings Limited

Aston Bay is a publicly traded mineral exploration company exploring for gold and base metal deposits in Virginia, USA, and Nunavut, Canada. The Company is led by CEO Thomas Ullrich with exploration in Virginia directed by the Company's advisor, Don Taylor, the 2018 Thayer Lindsley Award winner for his discovery of the Taylor Pb-Zn-Ag Deposit in Arizona.

The Company has acquired the exclusive rights to an integrated dataset over certain prospective private lands and has signed agreements with timber and land companies and other private landowners which grants the company the option to lease the mineral rights to over 10,000 acres of land located in central Virginia. These lands are located within a gold-copper-lead-zinc mineralized belt prospective for mesothermal gold deposits and Virginia gold-pyrite belt deposits, as well as VMS, sedimentary exhalative (SEDEX) and Broken Hill (BHT) type base metal deposits. Don Taylor, who led the predecessor company to Blue Ridge and assembled the dataset, has joined the Company's Advisory Board and will be directing the Company's exploration activities for the Blue Ridge Project. The Company is actively exploring the Buckingham Gold and Mountain Base Metals Projects in Virginia and is in advanced stages of negotiation on other lands in the area.

The Company is also 100% owner of the property Storm Project, which hosts the Storm Copper Project and the Seal Zinc Deposit and has been optioned to American West Metals Limited.

About American West Metals Limited

American West is a new Australian company with a vision to build a modern and clean base metals business. The Company recently completed its IPO and listed its securities on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on 13 December 2021 under ASX ticker AW1.

American West has acquired an interest in three base metals projects in North America which it believes have potential to generate significant economic resource inventories and robust mining proposals:

1. The West Desert Project in Utah, USA;

2. The Storm Copper and Seal Zinc Projects in Nunavut, Canada; and

3. The Copper Warrior Project in Utah, USA.



For further information on American West, see www.americanwestmetals.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements made in this news release, including those regarding the Option Agreement, grant of the Option and the expected closing date, American West's interest in the Storm Project and its other acquisitions and plans, plans for the upcoming field season, management objectives, forecasts, estimates, expectations, or predictions of the future may constitute "forward-looking statement", which can be identified by the use of conditional or future tenses or by the use of such verbs as "believe", "expect", "may", "will", "should", "estimate", "anticipate", "project", "plan", and words of similar import, including variations thereof and negative forms. This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect, as of the date of this press release, Aston Bay's expectations, estimates and projections about its operations, the mining industry and the economic environment in which it operates. Statements in this press release that are not supported by historical fact are forward-looking statements, meaning they involve risk, uncertainty and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although Aston Bay believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which apply only at the time of writing of this press release. Aston Bay disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by securities legislation.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT:

Thomas Ullrich, Chief Executive Officer

thomas.ullrich@astonbayholdings.com

(416) 456-3516

Sofia Harquail, IR and Corporate Development

sofia.harquail@astonbayholdings.com

(647) 821-1337

SOURCE: Aston Bay Holdings Ltd

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/677165/Aston-Bay-Reports-New-High-Priority-EM-Targets-at-the-High-Grade-Storm-Copper-Project-Nunavut
Company Will Be Issuing Restricted Shares To Holders Of Common Stock As Of January 15, 2022; Original Record Date Was December 10, 2021

Each Stockholder Of Record On the Distribution Record Date shall receive one share of restricted common stock for every 100 shares of common stock presently owned on that date.

Company Has extended It to January 15, 2022;

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / December 13, 2021 / Green Stream Holdings Inc. (OTC PINK:GSFI) ("the Company") (https://greensolarutility.com), an emerging leader in the solar utility and finance space, announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a special stock dividend (the "Distribution") to Green Stream Holdings Inc. stockholders of one share of restricted common stock for every 100 shares of common stock presently owned.

On October 1, 2021, the Board of Directors of Green Stream Holdings, Inc. (the "Company") authorized a stock dividend of one (1) share of the Company's common stock, par value $0.001 par value (the "Common Stock"), for each one hundred (100) shares of Common Stock held on December 10, 2021 (the "Record Date"). The Board of Directors of Green Stream Holdings, Inc. has extended the Record Date to January 15, 2022.

Applicable shareholders will receive: " one (1) share of the Company's common stock, par value $0.001 par value (the "Common Stock"), for each one hundred (100) shares of Common Stock held on January 15, 2022..."

The Distribution will take place in the form of a pro rata common stock dividend to each Green Stream stockholder of record on the Distribution Date.

No fractional shares of common stock will be distributed. Instead, Green Stream stockholders will receive a number rounded to the next highest number. The Distribution is intended to qualify as tax free to Green Stream stockholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

No vote or action is required by Green Stream's stockholders in order to receive the Distribution, which is subject to certain customary conditions, which conditions are expected to be satisfied on or prior to the distribution date.

About Green Stream Finance, Inc.

Green Stream Finance, Inc., a solar utility and finance company with satellite offices in Malibu, CA and New York, NY, is focused on exploiting currently unmet markets in the solar energy space, and is currently licensed in California, Nevada, Arizona, Washington, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Colorado, Hawaii, and Canada. The Company's next-generation solar greenhouses constructed and managed by Green Rain Solar, LLC, a Nevada-based division, utilize proprietary greenhouse technology and trademarked design developed by world-renowned architect Mr. Antony Morali. The Company is currently targeting high-growth solar market segments for its advanced solar greenhouse and advanced solar battery products. The Company has a growing footprint in the significantly underserved solar market in New York City where it is targeting 50,000 to 100,000 square feet of rooftop space for the installation of its solar panels. Green Stream is looking to forge key partnership with major investment groups, brokers, and private investors in order to capitalize on a variety of unique investment opportunities in the commercial solar energy markets. The Company is dedicated to becoming a major player in this critical space. Through its innovative solar product offerings and industry partnerships, the Company is well-positioned to become a significant player in the solar space.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is subject to the safe harbor created by those sections. This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. That includes the possibility that the business outlined in this press release cannot be concluded for some reason. That could be as a result of technical, installation, permitting or other problems that were not anticipated. Such forward-looking statements by definition involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Green Stream Finance, Inc. to be materially different from the statements made herein. Except for any obligation under the U.S. federal securities laws, Green Stream Finance, Inc. undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For All Inquiries Contact:

+1 (424) 280-4096

president@greenstreamfinance.com

Website: greensolarutility.com

Phone number: (646) 669-7007

SOURCE: Green Stream Holdings Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/677161/Green-Stream-Holdings-Inc-GSFI-Extends-Record-Date-For-Distribution-Of-A-Special-Common-Stock-Dividend
Liquidmetal Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB: LQMT), a leading authority on commercial applications of amorphous alloys, is pleased to announce that they have entered a strategic partnership that unites Liquidmetal's design, engineering, and manufacturing expertise with MacB Enterprises's world class technical sales team and European manufacturing and distribution network. Through this partnership, Liquidmetal will provide its portfolio of amorphous alloy products and solutions throughout Europe with a local approach.

"This partnership is a powerful combination. MacB's understanding of the European market and their strong technical team are uniquely complimentary to Liquidmetal's portfolio of amorphous alloy products and solutions. We believe this will help generate industry-leading solutions for a diverse group of clients including medical device makers, industrial companies, automobile manufacturers, and so many others in the European market," said Tony Chung, CEO for Liquidmetal.

"Upon learning of amorphous alloy technology, I immediately recognized its amazing properties and potential. We believe that it can be a solution for a wide array of applications throughout the European market. I am excited to be a part of Liquidmetal's team and look forward to a long and prosperous relationship," said John McCarthy, CEO for MacB.

About Liquidmetal Technologies

Lake Forest, California-based Liquidmetal Technologies, Inc. is a leading authority and developer of parts made with amorphous alloys, also known scientifically as Bulk Metallic Glasses or BMGs. The non-crystalline atomic structure of these materials imparts unique performance properties, including the ability to injection-mold with micron-level precision, lustrous finishes, high strength, hardness and corrosion resistance, and remarkable elasticity. Liquidmetal Technologies is the first company to produce amorphous alloy parts commercially, enabling significant improvements in products across a wide array of industries. For more information, go to www.liquidmetal.com.

About MacB Enterprises

Founded in 1982, Cork, Ireland-based MacB Enterprises is a leading supplier of mechanical fasteners and precision components to a variety of industries, including automotive, medical, electronics and engineering. MacB is ISO 9001 and IATF 16949 certified and manages a global supply base in support of its European manufacturing customers. For more information, go to www.macb.ie.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005024/en/

Contacts:

Isaac Bresnick

Liquidmetal Technologies, Inc.

949-635-2123

isaac.bresnick@liquidmetal.com
LONDON, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Brandessence Market Research, the warehouse robotics market reached USD 4518.4 million in 2020. The warehouse robotics market analysis promises a robust growth, at CAGR of 13.2%, promising a valuation of USD 10912.5 million by 2027 end. In the first part of 2020, the covid-19 pandemic disrupted supply chains globally. This resulted in production delays, major uncertainties, among other issues for manufacturers. in the second part of 2020, global manufacturers like FANUC Corporation, ABB, Toshiba Corporation, Yaskawa electric corporation automated their manufacturing facilities, signaling a growing intent on part of manufacturers to adapt to the next-generation trend in supply chain logistics.

The warehouse robotics market is undergoing interesting developments globally. According to the Logistics Management group, a supply chain think tank, among large budget companies, the spending on robotics has increased considerably. In 2020, 9% deployed robotics in warehousing management, while 19% are looking into the adoption of robotics. Despite these promising numbers, the use of robotics is down from 17% in 2019, to 9% in 2020. This is due to the limited increase in budget amidst the coronavirus pandemic, high-cost of adoption of robotics, and limited understanding of automation and robotics in production cycles. On the other hand, survey respondents reported packaging (up by 2%), transportation (up by 18%), and truck unloading (up by 4%) as key business applications of robotics.

Request a Sample Report: @ https://brandessenceresearch.com/requestSample/PostId/1764

Warehouse Robotics Market: Competitive Analysis

Key warehouse robotics market opportunities concentrate in the area of pick-pack tasks, full-stack, and hardware-agnostic systems. Furthermore, increasing demand for safety, and ability to operate alongside humans in unpredictable environments also remain key driver of growth. Notable developments in the market include the acquisition of ASTI by ABB. The acquisition valued at $190 million, promises an increased desire on the part of larger players to gain market share, with keen demand in development of industrial robots. Similarly, Dexterity launched its hardware-agnostic line up of robotic systems for warehousing in 2020. It has acquired customers like Kawasaki heavy industries, and promises to simplify automation deployment with end-to-end operational solutions.

Key Players

ABB

Kuka AG

Fanuc

Yaskawa Electric Corporation

Toshiba Corporation

Honeywell International Inc.

Amazon Robotics

International business machines

6 River Systems LLC

Locus Robotics

Others

Warehouse Robotics Market: Key Trends

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the share of online sales in total retail sales increased from 16% in 2019 to 19% in 2020. The increase is even more prominent in world's highest connectivity penetrated countries like South Korea. It reported total online share of 25.9% in 2020, rising from 20.8 in 2019. Moreover, the total valuation of e-commerce rose to $26.7 trillion in 2019, up 4% from 2018. According to Shamika Sirimanne, UNCTAD's director of Technology and Logistics, "These statistics show the growing importance of online activities". Growing demand for e-commerce has resulted in increased need to control shipping management, logistics, and operation related to shipping cycle management. The respondents in the first survey reported a growing need for automation in tackling challenges like dock-to-stock cycle time, and on-time shipping. Hence, growth of e-commerce remains a key trend fuelling growth of both automation, and subsequent investment in warehouse robotics.

The covid-19 pandemic has resulted in both cuts in spending globally, and also a cautious approach to the future. This has resulted in increased demand for proven and cost-effective solutions in the warehouse robotics market. According to a senior consultant, Donald Derewecki, with St.Onge, a supply chain solutions company, "Industries are going to spend money appropriate to their budgets, and operational needs. The positive here is that the cost of operation keeps declining, signaling a promising growth in small, and mid-sized companies." Another positive is management in the industry continue to acquire more information about robotics, and realize that the pressure for faster turnaround are only going to intensify as e-commerce takes over global supply chains.

Global Warehouse Robotics Market Segmentation:

By Type:

Autonomous Mobile Robot

Articulated Robots

Cylindrical And SCARA Robots

Collaborative Robots

Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV)

Others

By Functions:

Pick and Place

Palletizing and De-palletizing

Transportation

Packaging

Others

By End-User Industry:

E-commerce

Electronics and Electricals

Automotive

Pharmaceuticals

Food and Beverage

Chemical

Metal and Machinery

Others

Request for Methodology of this report: https://brandessenceresearch.com/requestMethodology/PostId/1764

News: Dexterity Launched New Warehouse Robots

On July 24th, 2020; Dexterity launched its "full-stack, hardware-agnostic" robotic systems for warehouses. The startup company said its robots allow customers to automate repetitive pick-pack tasks, and can handle complex manipulations in unpredictable environments. It adds that the robots utilize artificial intelligence, advanced control theory, computer vision, and the sense of touch to adapt quickly, making them safe to work alongside humans. Initial customers include Kawasaki Heavy Industries, a global food manufacturer and distributor, and a worldwide package delivery provider. Dexterity simplified automation deployments by managing the entire process for customers, from end-to-end system design and engineering to deployments with operational guarantees. Unlike existing robotics providers, Dexterity robots are adaptable, mobile and collaborative.

Warehouse Robotics Market: Key Warehouse Robotics Statistics

The robotic installation grew to 383,545 units in 2020, with a modest growth of 0.5%. The 2020 marked a third successful consecutive year for robotics, with a notable increase in 2018 and 2017, both. As mentioned earlier, 2019 remained a difficult year for end-industries, and noted a decline in robotic installation. In 2019, key end-industries like consumer electronics, and automotive also faced trade barriers, as the US, and China remained at loggerheads with each other. However, in 2020, the improved relationship, and other factors upped demand for robotic installations by 29% in electronics, while automotive industry noted an increase of 21%. Apart from these two key industries, the metal and machinery industry increased robotic installations by 11%, plastics and chemicals by 5%, and food and beverage increased demand by 3%.

In 2020, total robotic installation globally reached at 3,014,879. This follows a promising journey of growth in robotics, with increased demand for technological advancements, namely automation. During 2015-2020, the robotic installation around the world increased by 9% CAGR per year. Between 2005-2008, annual number of robotic installations reached 115,000 units, only to experience a drop to 60,000 during the global financial crisis. In 2010, the market again witnessed a promising increase with installations reaching 120,000 total units. The successfully journey of robotic installations continued till 2015, wherein the total installations doubled to 254,000 units, only to mark 300,000 total installations in 2016. The market reached a hallmark in 2018, with the total installations touching the 400,000 mark for the first time in 2018.

Among regions, Asia Pacific remains the largest landscape for growth for robotic installations. In 2020, the region noted 266,452 total installations, with a growth of 7%. The region continues to dominate total global installations, with an installation share of more than 50%. Europe warehouse robotics market witnessed a significant impact of covid-19 pandemic, with a decline of 8% in 2020, following the same trend in 2019. Despite lackluster total growth, key nations like Germany, witnessed steady demand contrary to the dominant trend. On the other hand, key countries like Italy, and France witnessed substantial reduction in demand with a drop of 23%, and 20% respectively in 2020. The robotic market in North America also witnessed decline amidst the pandemic. However, the decrease remained limited to 8% decline in United States in 2020. On the other hand, Canada, and Mexico witnessed more substantial declines.

North America

U.S.

Canada

Europe

Germany

France

U.K.

Italy

Spain

Sweden

Netherland

Turkey

Switzerland

Belgium

Rest of Europe

Asia-Pacific

South Korea

Japan

China

India

Australia

Philippines

Singapore

Malaysia

Thailand

Indonesia

Rest Of APAC

South America

Mexico

Colombia

Brazil

Argentina

Peru

Rest of South America

Middle East and Africa

Saudi Arabia

UAE

Egypt

South Africa

Rest Of MEA

Get Full Research Report: https://brandessenceresearch.com/warehouse-automation/warehouse-robotics-market

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The first System on Chip (SoC) developed by the Finnish SoC Hub consortium has been taped out. The project partners will focus next on improving the design, automation and performance of the SoC. The first of the three chips to be developed by the consortium will be ready for deployment in early 2022. The project contributes to strengthening Europe's technological sovereignty.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005527/en/

The bonding diagram image shows how the chip IO pads are wired to the package pins. The package is soldered to the printed circuit board. The layout picture depicts how the functional blocks are physically located on the chip. The IO pads that are bonded to the package pins are shown on the sides. Photos: SoC Hub. (Graphic: Business Wire)

The Finnish SoC Hub has set out to develop the domain of SoC design as a pioneer in Europe and to enhance Finland's competitive position. The SoC Hub initiative, coordinated by Tampere University, Finland, and Nokia, was launched last year. The co-creation activities carried out by the partners go well beyond the scope of a conventional research project.

"The SoC has been developed using the same methods that are used in industrial production, such as design for testability, extensive verification and focusing on system-level integration instead of single modules," says Ari Kulmala, professor of practice in SoC design at Tampere University.

According to Kulmala, the chip can also be tested by external stakeholders as it includes a development kit, and it can be integrated into a wide range of other systems.

One of the key goals of the SoC Hub project is to enable rapid prototyping for new ideas, for example, in the Internet of things (IoT), machine learning and 5G and 6G technologies in silicon.

The newly taped-out Ballast chip is the first in a series of three chips. The chip will be manufactured by TSMC, the world's largest manufacturer of semiconductor chips.

The chip is manufactured using TSMC's recent 22nm Ultra Low Leakage process, which is especially well suited for IoT and Edge devices. Ballast contains several different RISC-V CPU cores, a Digital Signal Processor, an AI accelerator, rich sensor-like interfaces and an extension interface to FPGA. A full software stack including drivers, software development tools and chip debugging support has also been implemented. The chip supports both real-time operating systems and Linux simultaneously.

"It has been a pleasure to work with the SoC Hub team. They have been extremely quick to develop the chip, and the quality of the work has been top class," says Bas Dorren, Director of Business Development at imec.IC-link, part of imec (an R&D hub for nano and digital technologies).

Another two chips taped out in the next two years

Considering its large size, the chip was created in a very short time. The ambitious goal was achieved thanks to the good team spirit and the expertise and experience of the specialists involved.

"A great deal of work has been done to enable seamless collaboration between the University and company partners. Several early career researchers have participated in designing Ballast and have therefore had the opportunity to apply the knowledge they acquired from their studies in an industrial project," says Timo Hamalainen, head of the Computing Sciences Unit at Tampere University.

Besides the development of the SoC, the first phase of the project was also a major undertaking, involving building the consortium and the preparation of the necessary software and licence agreements. Headed by Tampere University and Nokia, the consortium comprises CoreHW, VLSI Solution, Siru Innovations, TTTEch Flexibilis, Procemex, Wapice and Cargotec as partners.

In the project funded by Business Finland, three SoCs will be taped out by the end of 2023. Use cases for the chips will be planned together with the project consortium.

"In the next phases of the project, we will be able to focus even more on the systematics, automation and performance of the SoCs. Despite having achieved our first goal, we continue moving forward right away. The time to invest in SoC development is now, not tomorrow," emphasises Timo Hamalainen.

Tampere University

The multidisciplinary Tampere University is the second largest university in Finland. The spearheads of our research and learning are technology, health and society. The University is committed to addressing the greatest challenges that are facing our society and creating new opportunities. Almost all the internationally recognised fields of study are represented at the University. Together, Tampere University and Tampere University of Applied Sciences comprise the Tampere Universities community made up of more than 30,000 students and close to 5,000 employees. www.tuni.fi/en

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005527/en/

Contacts:

Inquiries:

SoC Hub consortium

sochub@tuni.fi

Timo Hamalainen

Head of the Computing Sciences Unit at Tampere University

timo.hamalainen@tuni.fi

Ari Kulmala

Professor of practice in System-on-Chip design at Tampere University

ari.kulmala@tuni.fi
"The Future is SUPERB"

TUSTIN, Calif., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sofwave Medical Ltd (TASE: SOFW), an emerging leader in energy-based non-invasive, aesthetic medical devices for practitioners worldwide, has been honored with the Elle Magazine's "2021 Future of Beauty Awards" and named Sofwave as one of the best in the In-Office Skin Treatment Category.

Sofwave is the latest technology to revitalize the skin through innovative stimulation of the production of new collagen. Sofwave Synchronous Ultrasound Parallel Beam Technology is FDA cleared for lifting the eyebrow, submental, and neck and reducing fine lines and wrinkles.

"We are honored to be recognized and featured in the latest edition of Elle," said Sofwave's Chief Digital Officer, Lina Omari. "This highly coveted industry award is further validation that Sofwave's breakthrough technology delivers exceptional results to physicians and their patients.

"Elle Magazine's prestigious industry award recognizing 2021's most exciting innovations in skin treatments showcases Sofwave Medical's pioneering advancement in energy-based technology," said Sofwave's Chief Executive Officer Louis Scafuri. "The SUPERB (Synchronous Ultrasound Parallel Beam) is a novel, industry-leading technology offering practitioners a non-invasive treatment for high demand lifting treatments of face and neck. We will continue to develop innovative products that advance the medical aesthetics industry and meet the needs of our customers and the needs of their patients."

About

Sofwave Medical Ltd. has implemented an innovative approach to wrinkle reduction and lifting using proprietary breakthrough technology. Synchronous Ultrasound Parallel Beam technology is FDA-cleared to improve facial lines and wrinkles, lifting the eyebrow, and lifting lax submental tissue (beneath the chin) and neck tissue providing physicians with smart yet simple, effective, and safe aesthetic solutions for their patients.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1224110/Sofwave_Logo.jpg

Related Links

https://www.sofwave.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1708335/FutureofBeauty_Awards.jpg

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Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - December 13, 2021) - SoLVBL Solutions Inc. (CSE: SOLV) ("SoLVBL" or the "Company"), a Canadian cybersecurity company, is pleased to announce the launch of a 12-month online marketing campaign through AGORACOM for the purposes of targeting new potential investors that would be specifically interested in the Company's business model, as well as engaging current shareholders. The Company is paying $0 in cash for the program due to AGORACOM's cashless and fully compliant shares for services program.

SIGNIFICANT EXPOSURE THROUGH AGORACOM DIGITAL NETWORK

In 2019, AGORACOM surpassed 600 million-page views, exceeded industry engagement metrics by over 400% and has served over 350 public companies.

The SoLVBL HUB containing multiple landing pages, videos, photos and other helpful information updated in real-time over the next 12 months and can be found at:

https://agoracom.com/ir/SoLVBLSolutionsInc

The SoLVBL HUB will receive significant exposure through continuous brand impression, content marketing, search engine marketing and social media engagement throughout the entire AGORACOM network. AGORACOM is the only small cap marketing firm to hold a Twitter Verified badge, averaging 4.2 million Twitter impressions per month in 2019.

MODERATED DISCUSSION FOR MANAGEMENT AND SHAREHOLDERS

The Company has also launched a "CEO Verified" Discussion Forum on AGORACOM to serve as the Company's primary social media platform to interact with both current and prospective shareholders in a fully moderated environment.

The SoLVBL discussion forum can be found at:

https://agoracom.com/ir/SoLVBLSolutionsInc/forums/discussion

Kaiser Akbar, CEO of SoLVBL commented: "We are very excited to start working with the AGORACOM team to leverage their innovative platform and hyper-targeted approach to help us tell the SoLVBL story to a much larger audience. As we continue to grow, and as we have now applied for a listing on the OTCQB market, George [AGORACOM Founder] and his team will be crucial to helping us reach a new and larger audience."

SHARES FOR SERVICE

Term: December 13, 2021 - December 31, 2022

Fees: $CDN 100,000 + HST to be paid via Shares for Services under CSE: Policy 6 (Distributions)

$20,000 + HST Shares for Services upon commencement December 13, 2021 for setup and creation of:

- Custom Hub

- Verified CEO + Other Officers and/or Staff

- Profile Page

- Advertising Modules (Banner, Skyscraper, Social Media Badges)

- Custom Zoom Background

- Multimedia Marketing Materials

- Messaging (Short, Medium and Long)

- Marketing Plan

$20,000 + HST Shares for Services at end of third month (March 13, 2022)

$20,000 + HST Shares for Services at end of sixth month (June 13, 2022)

$20,000 + HST Shares for Services at end of ninth month (September 13, 2022)

$20,000 + HST Shares for Services at end of term (December 31, 2022)

The deemed price of the securities to be issued will be determined after the date services are provided to SoLVBL in each period and are to be calculated using the closing price on the Canadian Securities Exchange on each of the dates as stated above. Share issuances to AGORA under this Shares for Services Agreement should be effected pursuant to the "consultant exemption" contained in Section 2.24 of National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions.

Each issuance shall be subject to a 4-month hold period.

About AGORACOM

AGORACOM is the pioneer of online marketing, broadcasting, conferences and investor relations services to North American small and mid-cap public companies, with more than 300 companies served. AGORACOM is the home of more than 7.7 million investors that visited 55.2 million times and read over 600 million pages of information over the last 10 years. The average visit of 8min 43sec is more than double that of global financial sites, which can be attributed to the implementation and enforcement of the strongest moderation rules in the industry.

About SoLVBL Solutions Inc.

SoLVBL is an innovative cybersecurity company. The company's mission is to empower, better, faster decisions by developing a universal standard for establishing digital record authenticity. The lead product Q by SoLVBL, is a proprietary software of the company, designed to be easy to use and adopt, economically priced and provide digital record authentication at lightning fast speed. Q by SoLVBL allows organizations to establish trust in their data. The company is currently pursuing the following verticals: chain of custody for digital evidence; including, NG-911, data used in the financial sector, medical applications and critical IoT infrastructures.

For more information, please visit SoLVBL.com .

For further information, please contact:

SoLVBL Solutions Inc.

Kaiser Akbar, President & CEO

100 King Street West, Suite 5700

Toronto, ON, M5X 1C7

E: kaiser.akbar@SoLVBL.com

T: 416-450-5995

Forward-Looking Statements

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

NEITHER THE CSE NOR ITS MARKET REGULATOR (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE CSE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: the ability of the Company to successfully achieve its business objectives, including, the implementation and success of Q by SoLVBL, and expectations for other economic, business and/or competitive, factors. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Except as required by law, SoLVBL assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/107466
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / December 13, 2021 / Music is a hard business to get into. There are a number of competing factors that lead to someone being unable to succeed in the business that can include not having the right sound for certain people, not finding the right company to support your business, and or not having the time or money to self promote in the early stages of your music career.

Even artists that make it to the top are under constant pressure to stay relevant and continue to produce new material. This causes constant strain and stress for even the most talented artists out there. Ojefe music, as both an artist and a music manager and producer, has been able to help launch many successful albums and careers throughout the years.

Ultimately, Ojefe's music production is proof that you can achieve whatever you want as long as you believe in yourself first, stay consistent, work smart, invest in your craft, maintain an image for the public, and never quit.

However, even with all of this inspiration, Ojefe's music production projects were not without obstacles. It is incredibly difficult to put yourself out there and believe in yourself to create something new and different in the music industry. This includes when helping yourself and others. Many people do not believe in your dream when it comes to business in general let alone in the music industry which is known for its obstacles. This caused the team to need to be able to self promote and believe in themselves.

The team at Ojefe's music production business has important advice to all of those looking to get involved in the music industry which is to have a good mindset. In their minds, nothing is guaranteed and because of that, you need to work hard day in and day out. This will, in turn, develop a good work ethic.

Omar Enrique Ramos, better known as Ojefe, is a different kind of musician and is the mastermind behind this music production business. From the Maryland area, Ojefe prides himself on being his own boss and helping others in the music industry follow their own dreams of music.

"I run a music business and I'm my own boss. I'm fully invested in myself with no manager. I performed my first show on October 14th 2018 and ever since then I've performed at least 60 times at different venues in major cities including Austin Texas, Miami, Detroit, Michigan, Atlanta, South Carolina, North Carolina, Washington D.C., New York City, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Silver Spring Maryland and Wheeling and Martinsburg West Virginia. I always deliver a high energy performance because at the end of the day I want everyone watching to know who I am before they leave," Ojefe remarks.

The group at Ojefe's music production company is excited for the new year and has many fun projects they are looking forward to. To find out more about Ojefe, follow them on Instagram here and check out their Youtube here .

CONTACT:

Paula Henderson

561-768-4444

phendersonnews@gmail.com

SOURCE: Ojefe's Music Producers

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/677253/Bringing-New-Artists-To-The-Forefront-Of-The-Music-Industry-Ojefes-Music-Producers-Is-Helping-People-Get-Into-A-Notoriously-Difficult-Industry
LONDON, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Scottish Medicines Consortium has accepted for use by NHS Scotland, Accord's Sixmo? (buprenorphine implant) as a substitution treatment for opioid dependence in clinically stable adult patients who meet the following criteria:

Adult patients in Scotland with opioid dependence who are clinically stable - and who require no more than 8mg/day of sublingual buprenorphine within a framework of medical, social and psychological treatment [1] .

with opioid dependence who are clinically stable - and who require no more than 8mg/day of sublingual buprenorphine within a framework of medical, social and psychological treatment . Sixmo is a subcutaneous implant inserted in the upper arm by a trained physician, providing uninterrupted buprenorphine treatment for six months

The prevalence of high-risk opioid use amongst adults in the EU is equivalent to 1.3 million opioid users[2], with Scotland having the highest drug death rate due to overdose in Europe (2019)[3]. Yet treatment rates across Europe are low, with only around 50% of people with opioid dependence receiving some form of substitution treatment (2019). Coverage varies greatly between countries[4].

Quote from Accord Joseph Dunford, Vice President, Speciality Brands: "We are extremely pleased that the SMC has accepted Sixmo (buprenorphine implant) for use within NHS Scotland as a substitution treatment for opioid dependence in adults in accordance with its Marketing Authorisation. At Accord, we understand the challenges and complexities faced by people in finding support and treatment for addiction and are committed to providing innovative formulations. The approval of Sixmo is excellent news for patients in Scotland."

Sixmo is delivered through an implant, placed under the skin by a trained physician, where it continuously releases buprenorphine into the body for a treatment cycle of six months.

Sixmo is the first implant formulation of buprenorphine licensed in the UK.

Notes to Editors

Further information on Sixmo (buprenorphine implant) can be found here: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/EPAR/sixmo

About Accord Healthcare in addiction management

Accord Healthcare is a dynamic pharmaceutical company, spanning both generics and speciality products, committed to addressing public health priorities. We are now bringing our expertise and patient-centric approach to address some of the ties related to addiction management.

At Accord Healthcare, we are sensitive to the diverse pasts and journeys of people living with addiction, as well as the related social stigmas, which can become barriers to recovery. We understand the challenges and complexities faced by the healthcare community in the support and treatment of patients with addiction.

About addiction

Addiction is a complex disease of the brain and body that involves compulsive use of one or more substances, despite serious health and social consequences. Addiction is a disease caused by a combination of behavioural, psychological, environmental and biological factors. Only by understanding the true complexity of addiction and uniting with everyone involved in its treatment will addiction by appropriately managed.

References:

1. Buprenorphine implant (Sixmo) Summary of product characteristics. European Medicines Agency https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/EPAR/sixmo . Last accessed 08.10.21.

2. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/fc8a3fcf-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/fc8a3fcf-en

3. European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (2021), Drug-related deaths and mortality in Europe: update from the EMCDDA expert network, Technical report, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourghttps://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/13762/TD0221591ENN.pdf Last accessed 08.10.21

4. https://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/13838/TDAT21001ENN.pdfpage=15. Page 15. Last accessed 08.10.21
NICOSIA, Cyprus, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Invest Cyprus has welcomed plans by Sword Group, an international consulting, services, and software company, to launch some of its operations in Cyprus.

George Campanellas, Chief Executive of Invest Cyprus, said the Sword Group's decision to open an office in Nicosia will bolster Cyprus's reputation as a central tech hub in the European market. The international software consultancy will be joining a number of leading names in the industry already established on the island.

With digital business trends gaining serious momentum during the pandemic, Sword Group has chosen Cyprus as its new hub to further support existing customers and expand into the European market.

Speaking on the decision, Nasser Hammoud, Operation Director at Sword Group for the Middle East & India, said, "Our intention in opening an office in Cyprus is to offer our existing European clients a second choice of location when it comes to providing Nearshore Support and Services."

Mr Hammoud continued ,"Cyprus provides a lucrative market for potential clients and new projects", and went on to highlight the island's prime location for expanding into the European market,

He added "We would also like to expand our client portfolio and distribution network by acquiring new projects and clients in Europe and the Middle East. It seemed like the ideal location as Cyprus acts as a bridge for business and trade between Europe and the Middle East."

"The support we have received from Invest Cyprus has been very positive and the team we collaborated with have been professional and friendly. We are looking forward to the future of Sword Group within Cyprus and we expect to see the island become a key tech hub in the region."

Mr Hammoud concluded, "Cyprus offers a wide range of incentives for tech companies and the support provided to businesses looking to open offices in the island made it all the more enticing."

Mr Campanellas, of Invest Cyprus, said "Sword Group joins a number of world-leading tech companies who have taken advantage of the strategic geographical location. Sword Group's new operations base will expand services for their current customer base but will also reward them with a number of new opportunities on the island."

"We are very pleased to be able to attract such formidable players in the tech sector, as Sword Group who are working to meet the rapidly growing demands of global businesses." said Mr Campanellas.

"At Invest Cyprus, we are committed to supporting businesses throughout all steps of their development on the island from setting up offices, expanding operations, relocating and launching businesses. We aim to ensure any and all business development is seamless and efficient."

"The decision of Sword Group to expand operations to Cyprus reflects the country's strong economic recovery following the pandemic and highlights the growing reputation of the island as a European tech hub, attracting significant global investment in the industry."

About Sword Group

Sword Group is an international Consulting, Services and Software company driving global leaders in their digital & technology transformation.

Sword has 2,000+ IT/Digital & Software specialists present over five continents supporting companies in the growth of their organisation in the digital age. Regionally, Sword has been present in Lebanon since 2001 with 80+ experienced staff and also in the UAE with 30+ skilled consultants. As a leader in technological and digital transformation, Sword Group has acquired a solid reputation with more than 20 years' experience in providing state-of-the-art software onshore and nearshore outsourcing services for prestigious clients in Europe, North America and the Middle East.

More information on Sword Group can be found here: www.sword-group.com/en

About Invest Cyprus

Invest Cyprus (Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency) is the national authority of the Government of Cyprus dedicated to attracting and facilitating foreign direct investment into the country. Its mandate is to raise awareness of Cyprus as a destination for FDI across the globe, providing certainty around all aspects of operating a business in Cyprus and supporting potential investors in developing their business case for investment into the country.

Investcyprus.org.cy

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SHENZHEN, China, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CZUR TECH CO., LTD, a Chinese smart hardware solution provider, has announced it will launch its latest crowdfunding campaign for the CZUR Mirror on Indiegogo on December 14. A true smart AI posture corrector, CZUR Mirror helps people of all ages adopt good sitting habits with 7 days.

Cervical spine issues affect a significant portion of the world's population. Despite this, existing products on the market do not fundamentally solve the problems that cause lower back pain and may even exacerbate the problem. Recognizing that 85 percent of the factors contributing to incorrect sitting posture are generated unconsciously, CZUR has developed the CZUR Mirror, an intelligent posture correction device that uses big data and AI to support good sitting positions. Unlike infrared or ultrasound systems, CZUR Mirror uses data analytics and AI technology to accurately detect and correct mistakes that lead to poor posture.

"At CZUR, we want to look after the health and wellbeing of every employee in a company. Incorrect sitting posture is the leading cause of issues with the cervical spine; however, this can easily be prevented by adopting good sitting habits. CZUR Mirror supports adults to develop healthy sitting habits with small changes every day, while also ensuring children adopt good posture that will accompany them throughout their lives", said Kang Zhou, CEO of CZUR.

Compact and easy to use

Sporting a sleek Red Dot Award-winning design, CZUR Mirror looks great and is compact enough to fit on any workstation. There's no set-up required: users simply tap on the top of the device, and CZUR Mirror will automatically launch Smart Mode and carry out 3D posture modeling. A custom mode is also available, which allows the device to adapt to different working set-ups, from an office desk to a drafting table.

Smart posture corrector powered by AI technology

By using visual AI technology, CZUR's posture corrector accurately identifies four common mistakes that lead to issues with the cervical spine: a bowed head, forward head posture, craning or tilting of the head and neck, and a sinking lower back. When it detects these issues, the device instantly sends out a voice or indicator notification to correct the habit.

The device can be adjusted with four different sensitivity settings. Also, the CZUR Mirror app generates regular sitting data visualization reports that highlight the frequency of poor posture and capture user progress.

Building lasting habits that support good posture

Existing posture correctors on the market need to be worn, which does not address the issues behind poor posture. These items are also costly and need to be replaced regularly. However, using CZUR Mirror, adults and children can build lasting habits and benefit from a lifetime of enjoyment, all with one purchase. CZUR Mirror helps users develop muscle strength and form muscle memory. Users can begin improving their posture within seven days and completely transform their sitting habits in as little as 60 days.

CZUR Mirror will be available as a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo from December 14. For more information, please follow CZUR on Facebook and YouTube , or visit https://www.czur.com/product/mirror

About CZUR

Founded in 2013, CZUR is a global technology company that develops smart hardware solutions for enterprises and individuals. Its smart office appliances include the latest technologies and human touch to improve work efficiency in work environments fundamentally. Its product lines cover hardware, PC services, cloud services, web services, app development, and algorithms.

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Expands MotorK's Presence and Customer Base in Spain

Regulatory News:

MotorK Plc (AMS: MTRK) ("MotorK" or "the Group"), a leading SaaS provider for the automotive retail industry in the EMEA region, today announced it has completed the acquisition of Dapda S.L. ("Dapda"), a Spanish leader in providing digital tools to automotive retailers.

Founded in 2005, Dapda provides innovative solutions and services to help a broad range of automotive retailers in Spain digitise their operations and generate and manage leads. The acquisition of Dapda will further diversify MotorK's customer base and increase its scale in Spain, a core market for MotorK. MotorK also plans to offer and roll out services from its integrated SaaS platform to Dapda customers across Iberia.

"We have long admired Dapda and are delighted that they are joining the MotorK family," said Marco Marlia, Co-Founder CEO of MotorK. "Dapda shares our commitment to the digitalisation of the automotive industry and together we will have an enhanced offering that will provide world class digital tools to the fast-changing automotive industry. We see great growth potential in the Spanish market and will be working closely together with our new partners to seize new opportunities in the country and meet the rising demands of our dealer and original equipment manufacturers ("OEM") clients across the EMEA region."

MotorK previously announced, on 8 October 2021, that the Group had entered into separate definitive agreements for the acquisition of three accretive businesses: Fidcar, Dapda, and FranceProNet. Total consideration tendered for the businesses amounts to up to 13.8 million in cash and stock, subject to certain performance-related conditions. The completion of the acquisition of Fidcar was announced on 3 December 2021, and the completion of the acquisition of FranceProNet is expected to conclude by the end of 2021 or early in 2022.

About MotorK Plc

MotorK (AMS: MTRK) is a leading software as a service ("SaaS") provider for the automotive retail industry in the EMEA region, with over 300 employees and eight offices in seven countries (Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Portugal, the UK and Israel). MotorK empowers car manufacturers and dealers to improve their customer experience through a broad suite of fully integrated digital products and services. MotorK provides its customers with an innovative combination of digital solutions, SaaS cloud products and the largest R&D department in the automotive digital sales and marketing industry in Europe. MotorK was founded in Italy in 2010 and has been recognised by multiple organisations as one of the fastest growing tech companies in Europe including Euronext TechShare, Tech Tour 50, Technology Fast 500 EMEA and the FT 1000. For more information, please visit: www.motork.io.

Forward-looking information disclaimer

This press release may include forward-looking statements. Other than reported financial results and historical information, all statements included in this press release, including, without limitation, those regarding our financial position, business strategy and management plans and objectives for future operations, may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limitation, any statements preceded or followed by or that include the words "targets", "plans", "believes", "expects", "aims", "intends", "anticipates", "estimates", "projects", "will", "may", "would", "could" or "should", or words or terms of similar substance or the negative thereof, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, projections and key assumptions about future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond MotorK's ability to control or estimate precisely, such as future market conditions, the behavior of other market participants and the actions of governmental regulators. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release and are subject to change without notice. Other than as required by applicable law or the applicable rules of any exchange on which our securities may be traded, we expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Important information

This press release contains information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the Market Abuse Regulation (596/2014).

category-financial-news

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005852/en/

Contacts:

MotorK Investor Relations

Andrea Servo CFO

+39 02 9175 7910

investors@motork.io

MotorK Corporate Communications

International

Camilla Scassellati Sforzolini/ Julia Leeger

Sard Verbinnen Co (SVC)

MotorK-SVC@sardverb.com

+44 7960 702 664/

+44 7963 380 446

Italy

Madia Reina

press@motork.io

madia.reina@motork.io

+39 371 3771779
The "Europe Healthcare Smart Beds Market By Application (Hospitals, Outpatient Clinics, Medical Nursing Homes and Medical Laboratory and Research), By Country, Growth Potential, COVID-19 Impact Analysis Report and Forecast, 2021 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The European Healthcare Smart Beds Market is expected to witness market growth of 8.4% CAGR during the forecast period (2021-2027).

The growing popularity of smart beds among consumers is anticipated to boost the demand for the healthcare smart beds market. People are evolving their lifestyles and are demanding unique products integrated with AI and advanced technology. Customers have also become conscious about their health which has a positive impact on the growth of the healthcare smart beds market. Companies are also excessively spending on the development of healthcare smart beds with various innovative features like a thermostat, blood pressure measuring device, air pressure, and other devices that are offering lucrative opportunities for the healthcare smart bed market.

Europe is witnessing a rise in the aging population, the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and the unveiling of technologically advanced beds, thereby opening new growth avenues for the regional market. The rising demand for smart beds for long-term care, the launch of IoT integrated smart beds robotic beds are contributing towards surging the growth of the healthcare smart beds market in this region. On contrary, fewer hospitals smart hospital beds in various nations of Europe and a growing preference for minimally invasive surgeries are some of the factors that are responsible for the decline in the growth of the healthcare smart beds market in this region.

Moreover, the availability and rising demand for advanced technology are some of the key trends in the market. Thus, various hospitals in Europe are adopting flexible and latest models and avoiding conventional hospital-centric models to tackle such clashing scenarios. Hospitals are now largely spending money on smart technologies for the precise treatment of patients which will help in speeding up the medical treatment and further recovery of the patient. These emerging trends are anticipated to bolster the growth of the healthcare smart beds market during the forecast period.

Though, it is anticipated that the rise in demand for technological-driven devices that provide significant data related to health will fuel the adoption rate of healthcare smart beds in the upcoming years. Smart beds integrate improved features along with innovation that helps in offering comfortable adjustments during connectivity and sleep. These features comprise smart home connectivity, tracking of sleep, atmosphere control, smart fabric innovation, movable bases, tracking of sleep, IoT, and programmed bedding firmness adjustment. Hence, the developments in smart hospital beds are offering lucrative opportunities for the market vendors and it is expected that the growth of healthcare smart beds will increase in the upcoming years.

The German market dominated the European Outpatient Clinics Market by Country in 2020, thereby, achieving a market value of $8.1 Million by 2027. The UK market is exhibiting a CAGR of 7.9% during (2021 2027). Additionally, the French market is poised to witness a CAGR of 10.4% during (2021 2027).

Based on Application, the market is segmented into Hospitals, Outpatient Clinics, Medical Nursing Homes and Medical Laboratory and Research. Based on countries, the market is segmented into Germany, UK, France, Russia, Spain, Italy, and Rest of Europe.

The market research report covers the analysis of key stake holders of the market.

Scope of the Study

Market Segments Covered in the Report:

By Application

Hospitals

Outpatient Clinics

Medical Nursing Homes

Medical Laboratory and Research

By Country

Germany

UK

France

Russia

Spain

Italy

Rest of Europe

List of Companies Profiled:

Stryker Corporation

Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc.

Invacare Corporation (Johnson Johnson Private Limited)

Paramount Bed Co., Ltd. (Paramount Bed Holdings Co., Ltd.)

LINET spol. s r.o. (WIBO Holdings GmbH)

Joerns Healthcare LLC

Stiegelmeyer GmbH Co. KG (Joh. Stiegelmeyer Co. GmbH)

Arjo AB

Volker GmbH

Favero Health Projects SpA

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/gxwonx

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005881/en/

Contacts:

ResearchAndMarkets.com

Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



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The "ePharmacy Market Size, Share Trends Analysis Report By Region (Middle East Africa, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America), And Segment Forecasts, 2021 2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global ePharmacy market size is expected to reach USD 169.3 billion by 2028 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18.4%

Factors driving the adoption of ePharmacy include the improved access to online web-based services, increasing awareness regarding e-commerce amongst consumers, rise in the number of internet users, and a surge in the aging population experiencing difficulty to visit pharmacies.

In addition, benefits, such as affordability, convenience, and ease in the availability of medicines, are boosting the adoption of these platforms.

High treatment costs are driving the demand for low-cost healthcare services, which, in turn, is bolstering the adoption of online pharmacies owing to the lucrative offers, such as price discounts, provided by them.

The COVID-19 pandemic has positively impacted the market growth and transformed the fortunes of ePharma companies owing to increasing consumer switch from traditional buying towards online purchases of general medications and medical devices, such as oximeters, thermometers, and health supplements.

As per an article published by Economic Times, in July 2021, the number of households utilizing ePharmacy services grew 2.5 times to 9.0 million during the pandemic. Thus, the ePharmacy segment has also gained significant growth during the lockdown period imposed due to the pandemic, as governments declared the delivery of medicines through e-commerce platforms as essential services.

ePharmacy Market Report Highlights

The global market will witness significant growth owing to the rising internet penetration and high adoption of e-commerce platforms

North America dominated the market in 2020 owing to the increased prevalence of chronic diseases, developed healthcare infrastructure, and penetration of IT in healthcare across the region

Industry players in this market have significantly expanded their customer base as well as their product service offerings to keep up with the growing needs of the consumers

The main focus of these players is on increasing the Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV) by catering to their healthcare needs in a comprehensive manner, as various online pharmacies have started offering additional services like e-diagnostics, e-consultation, and retailing of health wellness products

Furthermore, a rise in the number of strategic initiatives is aiding market growth. For instance, in August 2020, Amazon India announced the launch of Amazon Pharmacy in Bengaluru, India

This launch marked the entry of the company in the online medicine segment that has gained significant traction during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Key Topics Covered:

Chapter 1 Methodology and Scope

Chapter 2 Executive Summary

Chapter 3 ePharmacy Market Variables, Trends Scope

Chapter 4 ePharmacy Market: Regional Estimates Trend Analysis

Chapter 5 ePharmacy market: Competitive Analysis

Chapter 6 Competitive Landscape

The Kroger Co.

Walgreen Co.

Giant Eagle, Inc.

Walmart, Inc.

Express Scripts Holding Company

CVS Health

OptumRx, Inc.

Rowlands Pharmacy

DocMorris (Zur Rose Group AG)

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/1kn90g

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005884/en/

Contacts:

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Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470

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ATLANTA (dpa-AFX) - Coca Cola Company (KO) has reportedly recalled some of its Minute Maid drinks due to potential foreign objects in the containers, specifically metal bolts or washers. According to Fox Business, the company has recalled a limited quantity of refrigerated Minute Maid Berry Punch, Strawberry Lemonade, and Fruit Punch in 59-oz. cartons as they did not meet the company's 'high-quality standards due to the potential presence of foreign matter.' The recalled products were distributed in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New York, North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Maine and New Jersey, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The company said it is concerned that consumers may still have the products in their homes because of their long shelf life, which extends into 2022. 'We took this voluntary action because nothing is more important to us than providing safe, high-quality products to the people who drink our beverages,' the Coca-Cola spokesperson said in a statement. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil futures settled lower on Monday, weighed down by concerns about the outlook for energy demand amid worries about the impact of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus on global economic recovery.



Traders also looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement, due on Wednesday. The Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England will also announce their respective monetary policies this week.



West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended down by $0.38 or about 0.5% at $71.29 a barrel.



Brent crude futures drifted down $0.73 or nearly 1% to $74.42 a barrel.



The overall risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron remains very high for a number of reasons, the World Health Organization said in a technical brief issued on Sunday, referring to the virus' potential ability to evade immunity provided by antibodies.



According to reports, the Omicron coronavirus variant has been detected in more than 60 countries so far. Oxford University said vaccines showed to induce lower levels of protection against Omicron.



Iraq's oil minister said on Sunday he expected the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which will meet on January 4 to decided on their output policy, to maintain its current policy of gradual monthly increases in supply by 400,000 bpd.



Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Energy said on Friday it will sell 18 million barrels of crude oil from its strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) on Dec. 17, as part of a previous plan to try to reduce gasoline prices.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - December 13, 2021) - Provenance Gold Corp. (CSE: PAU) (OTCQB: PVGDF) (the "Company" or "Provenance") is pleased to report that it has signed a binding option to purchase the Eldorado Property in eastern Oregon from Nevada Select Royalty, Inc. ("Nevada Select"). Nevada Select is an arms-length subsidiary of Gold Royalty Corp. (NYSE: GROY), a leading growth and Americas-focused precious metals royalty company. Provenance has completed the first year's payment of the option to purchase. The Eldorado Property hosts a significant historical gold resource in eastern Oregon. The project area is located on top of a large gold placer area and is located in the mining friendly part of the state.

The Eldorado property was first explored in 1980 by Westley Mines. Exploration continued intermittently up until 1998 by Degerstrom, Ican Minerals, Billiton Minerals and lastly North Limited. There has been no work done on the property since 1998. Previous work on the property included 236 reverse circulation holes and 6 core holes for a total of 21,866.9 meters of drilling, including trenching, soil sampling, metallurgy, geophysics, and resource modeling.

Assay intervals from selected core holes show the overall tenor of the deposit, for example:

Hole Width g/t Au From To R96-C1 185m (607 ft) 1.57 g/t (.046 oz/t) 21m 206m RA-136 101m (331 ft) 2.02 g/t (.063 oz/t) 55m 156m RA-90 69m (226 ft) 3.05 g/t (.095 oz/t) 0m 69m RA-152 55m (180 ft) 2.33 g/t (.072 oz/t) 41m 96m

Mineralization remains open to depth and peripheral extensions of the deposit.

The project hosts three different historical resource estimates done by reputable engineering firms based in Denver. The first was done by Billiton Minerals USA after 150 holes had been drilled. Billiton estimated an open-ended resource of 776,000 ounces contained in 36,000,000 tons at 0.75 grams per ton (0.0219 ounces per ton) gold. The second resource estimate was calculated by Ican Minerals after they completed an additional 49 drill holes. Their resource estimate was 1,860,000 ounces contained in 90,000,000 tons at 0.76 grams per ton (0.022 ounces per ton) gold. Ican then subsequently projected the resource to contain 4,000,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 0.76 grams per ton gold (0.022 ounces per ton) gold.

Provenance believes the shallow gold resource would be amenable to open-pit mining and anticipates this acquisition will place the Company on a substantially more advanced footing.





Figure 1: Historic Placer Gold Trenches Expose Impressive Bedrock Mineralization

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5654/107503_d4a40105d471d955_001full.jpg

The Company plans to move the project forward as quickly as possible with confirmation drilling beginning within the first quarter of 2022.

Rauno Perttu, Provenance's CEO stated, "We have three exceptional Nevada projects that we will continue to advance, but this acquisition is significant for our Company. My site inspection made it clear the property is very open-ended. I am an Oregon registered engineering geologist familiar with both the improving positive regulatory climate in that part of Oregon and with Oregon geology. I was reassured by a veteran Oregon regulator that this project is very feasible.

I personally am excited about this project because, while I believe that with continued drilling, our Nevada projects will advance significantly and become large deposits of their own, this is already a major deposit, with average grades higher than many current open-pit gold operations. I am pleased that Nevada Select Royalties allowed us to undertake this opportunity, which they said was awarded to us because of our excellent track record in advancing the White Rock project that we acquired from them earlier. An exciting bonus of the Eldorado acquisition is that the historic drilling intersected several high-grade zones and our inspection found untested diatreme-like brecciation in the mineralized core area. The boiling zones of diatremes are excellent places to explore for high-grade gold, and we already have a major deposit drilled prior to our continued work."





Figure 2: Steve Craig, Project Manager Studies Mineralized Granodiorite and

Metasedimentary Host Rocks

To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5654/107503_d4a40105d471d955_002full.jpg

The Company has been granted an option to acquire the project for total consideration of US$2,000,000, which is payable as follows:

$75,000 upon entering into of the option agreement (Paid)

$125,000 upon the first anniversary

$400,000 upon the second anniversary

$400,000 upon the third anniversary

$500,000 upon the fourth anniversary

$500,000 upon the fifth anniversary

Upon exercise of the option, the Company will grant to Nevada Select a 3% royalty on net smelter returns from the project.

The above referenced resource estimates are considered historical in nature and as such are based on prior data and reports prepared by previous property owners. A qualified person has not done sufficient work yet to classify the historical estimates as current resources in accordance with current CIM categories and the Company is not treating the historical estimates as current resources. Significant data compilation, re-drilling, re-sampling and data verification may be required by a qualified person before the historical estimates on the project can be classified as a current resource. There can be no assurance that any of the historical mineral resources, in whole or in part, will ever become economically viable. In addition, mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Even if classified as a current resource, there is no certainty as to whether further exploration will result in any inferred mineral resources being upgraded to an indicated or measured resource category.

Rauno Perttu, P. Geo., a Qualified Person (as defined by National Instrument 43-101), and the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this News Release.

About Provenance Gold Corp.

Provenance Gold Corp. is a precious metals exploration company with a focus on gold and silver resources within North America. The Company currently holds interests in three properties in Nevada, USA. For further information please visit the Company's website at https://provenancegold.com or contact Rob Clark at rclark@provenancegold.com.

On behalf of the Board,

Provenance Gold Corp.

Rauno Perttu, Chief Executive Officer

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange, nor its regulation services provider, accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. This news release may contain certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When or if used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target, "plan", "forecast", "may", "schedule" and similar words or expressions identify forward-looking statements or information. Such statements represent the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social risks, contingencies and uncertainties. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements and information other than as required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/107503
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / December 13, 2021 / The Power Play by The Market Herald has announced the release of new interviews with C3 Metals, Metal Energy, and Sitka Gold discussing their latest press releases.

The Power Play by The Market Herald provides investors with a quick snapshot of what they need to know about the company's latest press release through exclusive insights and interviews with company executives.

C3 Metals (TSXV:CCCM) releases assay results from the Montana de Cobre and Cresta Verde zones

C3 Metals has provided an update on its drilling programs at the Montana de Cobre and Cresta Verde zones in southern Peru. The company has reported highly encouraging initial sulphide drilling results from the Cresta Verde Zone. Drilling continues to expand high-grade copper-gold oxide mineralization that is hosted in a shallow dipping skarn body at the Montana de Cobre zone. A total of 38 drill holes have been completed to date. Stephen Hughes, VP of Exploration at C3 Metals sat down with Dave Jackson to highlight the results.

For the full interview with Stephen Hughes and to learn more about C3 Metals' assay results, click here.

Metal Energy (TSXV:MERG) outlines drill plans for its two nickel assets

Metal Energy has announced its diamond drilling exploration plans for Q1 2022 on the company's Manibridge and Strange nickel projects. Drilling is expected to begin in January for Manibridge and February for Strange. Diamond drilling plans include an initial 3,000 metres in seven drill holes at Manibridge. Drilling plans for Strange include 1,500 metres in two drill holes. James Sykes, CEO of Metal Energy Corp. sat down with Caroline Egan to discuss the upcoming program.

For the full interview with James Sykes and to learn more about Metal Energy's drill plans, click here.

Sitka Gold Corp. (CSE:SIG) announces assay results from diamond drill hole DDRCCC-21-021 at the RC Gold Project

Sitka Gold has announced assay results from diamond drill hole DDRCCC-21-021 from the 2021 exploration program at its RC Gold Project. Highlights include 220.1 metres of 1.17 g/t gold from 6.0 to 226.1 metres. The drill results reflect what the company believes to be a structurally controlled, high-grade gold corridor that is running throughout this large intrusion-related gold system. The company is awaiting results for the remaining 5 drill holes. The RC Gold Project is located in the heart of Yukon's Tintina Gold Belt and of the Tombstone Gold Belt. Corwin Coe, P.Geo., CEO and Director of Sitka sat down with Caroline Egan to highlight the exciting drill results.

For the full interview with Corwin Coe and to learn more about Sitka Gold's assay results, click here.

Interviews for The Power Play by The Market Herald are released daily. To learn more about the companies featured in The Power Play or to explore our other interviews visit The Power Play by The Market Herald.

About The Market Herald

The Market Herald Canada is the leading source of authoritative breaking stock market news for self-directed investors. Our team of Canadian markets reporters, editors and technologists covers the entire listed company universe in Canada. We cover over 3,985 businesses, their people, their investors, and their customers. We write the stories that move the Canadian capital markets.

DISCLAIMER: Report Card Canada Media Ltd. ("Report Card") is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Market Herald Limited, an Australian company ("Market Herald"). Report Card is not an advisory service, and does not offer, buy, sell, or provide any other rating, analysis or opinion on the securities we discuss. We are retained and compensated by the companies that we provide information on to assist them with making information available to the public. All information available on themarketherald.ca and/or this press release should be considered as commercial advertisement and not an endorsement, offer or recommendation to buy or sell securities. Report Card is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority in any province or territory of Canada, will not be performing any registerable activity as defined by the applicable regulatory bodies and do not provide nor claim to provide investment advice or recommendations to any visitor of this site or readers of any content on or originating from themarketherald.ca. Market Herald and/or its affiliates and/or their respective officers, directors or employees may from time to time acquire, hold or sell securities and/or commodities and/or commodity futures contracts in certain underlying companies mentioned in this site and which may also be clients of Market Herald's affiliates. In such instances, Market Herald and/or its affiliates and/or their respective officers, directors or employees will use all reasonable efforts to avoid engaging in activities that would lead to conflicts of interest and Market Herald and/or its affiliates will use all reasonable efforts to comply with conflicts of interest disclosures and regulations to minimize any conflict. All the information on this document and/or the website - themarketherald.ca - is published in good faith and for general information purpose only. Report Card does not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability, and accuracy of this information. Any action you take upon the information you find on this document and/or website (themarketherald.ca) is strictly at your own risk. Report Card will not be liable for any losses and/or damages in connection with the use of our website. From our website, you can visit other websites by following hyperlinks to such external sites. While we strive to provide only quality links to useful and ethical websites, we have no control over the content and nature of these sites. These links to other websites do not imply a recommendation for all the content found on these sites. Site owners and content may change without notice and may occur before we have the opportunity to remove a link which may have gone 'bad'. Please be also aware that when you leave our website, other sites may have different privacy policies and terms which are beyond our control. Please be sure to check the Privacy Policies of these sites as well as their "Terms of Service" before engaging in any business or uploading any information.

CONTACT:

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themarketherald.ca

SOURCE: The Market Herald

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/677401/The-Power-Play-by-The-Market-Herald-releases-new-interviews-with-C3-Metals-Metal-Energy-and-Sitka-Gold
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - December 13, 2021) - Royal Fox Gold Inc. (TSXV: FOXG) ("Royal Fox" or the "Company") is pleased to announce, that further to its press release of November 30, 2021, the Company has closed a non-brokered private placement through the issuance of 28,300,000 charity flow-through units (each, a "FT Unit") at a price of $0.10 per FT Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of $2,830,000 (the "Offering").

The FT Units are being issued pursuant to a charity arrangement structured by Peartree Securities Inc. As a result of this arrangement, the entirety of the shares issued from the private placement were acquired by only two shareholders, each now owning 9.9% of the total shares outstanding of Royal Fox on a partial dilution basis.

Each FT Unit is comprised of one common share in the capital of the Company, issued on a flow-through basis (each, a "FT Share") and one-half of one whole common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"), issued on a non-flow-through basis. Each Warrant shall entitle the holder thereof to acquire one common share (each, a "Common Share") in the capital of the Company at a price of $0.08 per Common Share for a period of three (3) years from date of issuance. The FT Shares will qualify as "flow-through shares" within the meaning of subsection 66(15) of the Income Tax Act (Canada).

All securities issued pursuant to the Offering will be subject to a hold period of four months plus a day from the date of issuance and the resale rules of applicable securities legislation. The gross proceeds from the sale of the FT Units will be used by the Company to incur eligible "Canadian exploration expenses" that will qualify as "flow-through expenditures" as such terms are defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada).

The closing of the Offering is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary regulatory and other approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. In connection with the Offering, the Company paid a cash commission of $20,000 to an eligible finder for services rendered.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

About Royal Fox Gold Inc.

Royal Fox Gold Inc. is a mineral exploration company focused on the development of the Philibert Project near Chibougamau, Quebec. The Philibert Project comprises 110 mineral titles having a total approximate area of 5,393 hectares of highly prospective ground, 9km from IAMGOLD's Nelligan Gold project which was awarded the "Discovery of the Year" by the Quebec Mineral Exploration Association (AEMQ) in 2019.

To date, more than $10M (historical) have been spent on the Philibert Project, with more than 60,000 metres of drilling completed. The Company is focused on de-risking the asset and releasing a maiden NI 43-101 resource estimate which will incorporate results from both brownfield and greenfield exploration, combined with extensive historical data. The Philibert Project is owned by SOQUEM. Royal Fox is currently undergoing an ownership option process, details of which can be found in the corporate presentation available on the Company's website. More details are available in the corporate presentation of Royal Fox at: www.royalfoxgold.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

"Simon Marcotte", CFA

Simon Marcotte, President and Chief Executive Officer of Royal Fox Gold Inc.

For further information, please contact:

Simon Marcotte, CFA

President and Chief Executive Officer of Royal Fox Gold Inc.

+1-647-801-7273

Email: smarcotte@royalfoxgold.com

Cautionary Statements

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "would", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is provided, and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. For a description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change, unless required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/107484
Kolibri Global Energy Inc.(the "Company") (TSX:KEI, OTCQB:KGEIF) would like to remind its shareholders of the upcoming deadlines and essential details of its previously announced rights offering (the "Rights Offering") made to the holders of common shares of the Company ("Common Shares") of record at the close of business (Pacific Time) on December 1, 2021.

The rights ("Rights") will expire at 2:00 p.m. (Pacific Time) on December 29, 2021 (the "Expiry Time"), after which time unexercised Rights will be void and of no value.

However, most shareholders who own Common Shares through a broker or other intermediary will be required to exercise their Rights in advance of the Expiry Time, because many intermediaries have earlier cut off times.

The Company recommends that all shareholders contact their broker or financial advisor now, to ensure that they can participate by the applicable cut off time.

Further, it is important to note that December 27 and 28 are public holidays in Canada, and the Rights agent, Computershare Investor Services Inc., will not receive any exercises of Rights on those days.

Rights Offering Terms

The Company issued one Right (TSX:KEI.RT) for each outstanding Common Share. Each Right is exercisable to acquire 0.5435 Common Shares of the Company, upon payment of the subscription price of $0.07 per Common Share (called the "Basic Subscription Privilege"). Fractional shares will not be issued and any fractions will be rounded down to the nearest whole number. To illustrate: an eligible holder of 10,000 shares as of the record date would be issued 10,000 Rights, which would entitle the holder to subscribe for 5,435 shares (10,000 x 0.5435) for an aggregate price of C$380.45 (5,435 x C$0.07). Additional information is provided in the Company's rights offering circular dated November 23, 2021 (the "Rights Offering Circular"), which is available as set out below.

Shareholders who fully exercise their Rights will be entitled to subscribe pro rata for additional Common Shares in the Rights Offering, if available, as a result of unexercised Rights prior to the Expiry Time, subject to certain limitations set out in the Rights Offering Circular.

A rights offering notice ("Notice") and Rights DRS advice statements ("Rights DRS") were mailed to each registered shareholder of the Company resident in Canada and certain other eligible jurisdictions as at the record date. Registered shareholders who wish to exercise their Rights must forward the completed Rights DRS, together with the applicable funds, to the Rights agent, Computershare Investor Services Inc., on or before the Expiry Time. Eligible shareholders who own their Common Shares through an intermediary, such as a bank, trust company, securities dealer or broker, will receive materials and instructions from their intermediary.

Further details of the Rights Offering are contained in the Notice of Rights Offering and Rights Offering Circular, which were filed on SEDAR under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com and are available at the Company's website at www.kolibrienergy.com from your dealer representative or by contacting Gary Johnson by telephone at 805-484-3613, by email at gjohnson@kolibrienergy.com or at 3623 Old Conejo Road, Suite 207, Newbury Park, California 91320. The Company is also registering the offer and sale of the shares issuable on exercise of the Rights on a Form F-7 registration statement under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Shareholders in the United States should also review the Company's Registration Statement on Form F-7 which was filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and can be found at www.sec.gov and may also be obtained by contacting Gary Johnson by telephone at 805-484-3613, by email at gjohnson@kolibrienergy.com or at 3623 Old Conejo Road, Suite 207, Newbury Park, California 91320.

The Rights Offering is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including the acceptance of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction. No offer, solicitation or sale of these securities shall be made in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.

About Kolibri Global Energy Inc.

Kolibri Global Energy Inc. is an international energy company focused on finding and exploiting energy projects in oil, gas and clean and sustainable energy. Through various subsidiaries, the Company owns and operates energy properties in the United States. The Company's shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the stock symbol KEI and on the OTCQB under the stock symbol KGEIF.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is used in applicable Canadian securities laws and "forward-looking statements" as such term is used in the United States, including statements regarding completion of the Offering and the Company will receive all necessary regulatory, stock exchange and third party approvals in respect of the Rights Offering. Forward-looking information and statements are based on plans and estimates of management and interpretations of data by the Company's technical team at the date the data is provided and is subject to several factors and assumptions of management, including that required regulatory approvals will be available when required. Forward-looking information and statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause plans, estimates and actual results to vary materially from those projected in such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause the forward-looking information or statements in this news release to change or to be inaccurate include, but are not limited to, the risk that any of the assumptions on which such forward looking information is based vary or prove to be invalid and that the Company may not be able to receive of all necessary regulatory approvals, including the acceptance of the Toronto Stock Exchange for the Offering. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, other than as required by applicable law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005990/en/

Contacts:

For further information, contact:

Wolf E. Regener +1 (805) 484-3613

Email: wregener@kolibrienergy.com

Website: www.kolibrienergy.com
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / December 13, 2021 / Vox Royalty Corp. (TSXV:VOX)(OTCQX:VOXCF) ("Vox" or the "Company"), a high growth precious metals focused royalty company, is pleased to provide recent exploration updates from royalty operating partners Quantum Graphite Limited (QGL) ("Quantum"), Develop Global Limited (DVP) ("Develop"), Silver Mines Limited (SVL) ("Silver Mines") and ValOre Metals Corp. (VO) ("ValOre").

Spencer Cole, Chief Investment Officer stated, "This past month's exploration progress caps off a record year of partner-funded exploration on Vox's royalty projects with approximately 170,000 metres drilled across 18 separate projects. Based on operator guidance, Vox management expects resource upgrades will be forthcoming for South Railroad, Bowdens, Sulphur Springs, Pedra Branca, Pitombeiras and Kookynie projects over the next 6 months. 2022 is shaping up to be another tremendous year for organic royalty developments at Vox."

Key Exploration Updates

Maiden mineral resource estimate for a new deposit at the Uley graphite project by Quantum;

Strong infill and exploration drilling results at the Sulphur Springs copper-zinc project by Develop;

High-grade drilling results at the Bowdens silver project by Silver Mines; and

Resource expansion drilling success at the Pedra Branca platinum group metals ("PGM") project by ValOre.

Uley (Feasibility) - Maiden Resource Estimate for Uley 3 Deposit(1)

Vox holds a 1.5% gross revenue royalty on the Uley graphite project;

On November 18, 2021, Quantum announced: The maiden Mineral Resource Estimate (" MRE ") for the Uley 3 deposit following completion of the recent drilling program; The MRE confirms the continuation of graphitic mineralisation to the east of the Uley 2 deposit along strike to the north of drillholes previously targeting the Eastern Conductor / Uley 3 geophysical anomaly; and The respective classification and resource tonnes for both Uley 3 and the Uley 2 deposits are set out below (1) :



Resource(1) Classification Tonnes (kt) TGC (%) Density (t/m3) TGC (kt) Uley 3 Inferred 900 6.6% 2.1 59 Uley 3 Total 900 6.6% 2.1 59 Uley 2 Measured 800 15.6% 2.1 125 Indicated 4,200 10.4% 2.1 435 Inferred 1,300 10.5% 2.2 137 Uley 2 Total 6,300 11.1% 2.1 697 Uley Project Total Total 7,200 10.5% 2.1 757

Vox Management Summary: The ongoing drilling success and maiden mineral resource for the Uley 3 deposits continues to demonstrate the considerable geological prospects for the Uley graphite project. This resource update presents upside to the proposed 8-year potential mine life included in the 2019 Uley feasibility study.

Sulphur Springs (Pre-Construction) - Strong Drilling Results & Potential Exploration Decline

Vox holds a A$2/tonne production royalty (A$3.7M royalty cap) on the Sulphur Springs copper-zinc deposit and an effective uncapped A$0.80/tonne production royalty on the Kangaroo Caves deposit, which is part of the combined Sulphur Springs project;

On December 8, 2021, Develop announced: It has recently completed a 20,000m, A$10M drilling program at Sulphur Springs; It has received approximately 25% of the assays to date, which shows outstanding infill drilling results, which point to a significant increase in the Indicated Resource and identify a new zone of zinc-rich mineralisation in the hanging wall of the main deposits. Significant exploration intersections include: 49.0m @ 2.6% Cu-Equivalent (" CuEq ") (0.8% Cu, 0.2% Pb, 6.0% Zn, 16.1g/t Ag & 0.4g/t Au) from 232m (SSD132; West Lens Exp); 8.0m @ 1.9% CuEq (0.3% Cu, 0.2% Pb, 5.3% Zn, 27.6g/t Ag & 0.1g/t Au) from 300m (SSD144; West Lens Exp) ; 4.0m @ 2.3% CuEq (0.6% Cu,0.1% Pb, 5.8% Zn, 28.7g/t Ag & 0.1g/t Au) from 244m (SSD134; West Lens Exp); 20.0m @ 7.5% Zn, 0.4% Cu, 0.6% Pb, 36.5g/t Ag & 0.2g/t Au (2.8% CuEq1) from 208m (SSD134; H/W Zinc) ; 20.0m @ 7.2% Zn, 0.3% Cu, 0.4% Pb, 26.4g/t Ag & 0.2g/t Au (2.6% CuEq1) from 236m (SSD144; H/W Zinc) ; 8.0m @ 5.5% Zn, 0.1% Cu, 0.5% Pb, 30.1g/t Ag & 0.3g/t Au (1.8% CuEq1) from 236m (SSD133; H/W Zinc) ; The strength of the results has prompted Develop to start a review of the mine plan to consider the merits of establishing an underground operation ahead of the open pit; As part of the strategy, Develop may establish a 1,500m exploration decline in 2022 to accelerate drilling from underground, at an expected cost of A$7.5M - A$8.5M funded from existing cash reserves; and The outstanding drilling results from this campaign will help underpin a resource upgrade, which will be done in parallel with the strategic review of the mine plan, with the results of both expected to be released in the middle of 2022.

Vox Management Summary: These strong drilling results at Sulphur Springs continue to support Vox's confidence in the development likelihood of this growing Australian copper-zinc project. We eagerly anticipate the release of the remaining 75% of the drilling assays over the coming months and expect a significant resource upgrade and a potential construction decision in mid-2022.

Bowdens (Feasibility) - High-Grade Drilling Results

Vox holds a 0.85% gross revenue royalty on the Bowdens silver-lead-zinc project and a 1% gross revenue royalty over surrounding regional exploration tenure;

On December 3, 2021, Silver Mines announced: Drilling of the 30,000m resource program at the Bowdens silver project continues with wide and high-grade results returned from the Bundarra Zone; BD21035: 14.2m @ 374g/t silver equivalent (36g/t silver, 4.86% zinc, 2.35% lead and 0.23g/t gold) from 238 metres, Including: 4.6m @ 694g/t silver equivalent (72g/t silver, 8.76% zinc, 4.40% lead and 0.49g/t gold) from 245.4 metres; New quartz-sulphide vein style of high-grade mineralisation intersected: 3m @ 437g/t silver equivalent (52g/t silver, 5.57% zinc, 0.50% lead and 1.14g/t gold) from 294.4 metres, including: 1.4 metres @ 749g/t silver equivalent (78g/t silver, 9.14% zinc, 0.87% lead and 2.36g/t gold) from 296 metres; BD21036: 9m @ 296g/t silver equivalent (29g/t silver, 3.23% zinc, 1.86% lead and 0.55g/t gold) from 300.7m, including: 1.5m @ 470g/t silver equivalent (48g/t silver, 5.55% zinc, 3.69% lead and 0.30g/t gold) from 301.5m; 1m @ 615g/t silver equivalent (67g/t silver, 4.65% zinc, 3.32% lead and 2.58g/t gold) from 308m; and Drilling will continue into 2022 with four rigs operational to deliver a maiden underground Mineral Resource estimate as part of the initial scoping study of underground mining scenarios.

Vox Management Summary: These high-grade drilling results indicate that the 2022 underground scoping study, which supplements the feasibility-stage open pit project scope that is in final permitting phase, has strong potential to unlock meaningful incremental value for Vox's Bowdens royalty.

Pedra Branca (PEA stage) - Ongoing Resource Expansion Drilling Success

Vox holds a 1.0% net smelter return royalty on the Pedra Branca PGM project, the largest PGM deposit in South America according to ValOre;

On November 24, 2021, ValOre announced: 20 holes drilled totaling 2,316m, with a primary focus of resource expansion; All 20 completed holes intercepted the target ultramafic ("UM") intrusion, with assays received in full, and notable PGE intercepts returned in 16 of 20 core holes; Newly received near surface PGE interval highlights include: 127m @ 0.85g/t palladium + platinum + gold ("g/t 2PGE+Au") from 39m, incl. 27m @ 2.25 g/t 2PGE+Au from 55m in drillhole DD21SA42; 53m @ 1.19g/t 2PGE+Au from 2.0m, incl. 20m @ 2.13 g/t 2PGE+Au from 29m in drillhole DD21SA34; 22m @ 2.64g/t 2PGE+Au from 18m, incl. 6.0m @ 5.32 g/t 2PGE+Au from 29m in drillhole DD21SA37; 20m @ 1.67g/t 2PGE+Au from 40m in drill hole DD21SA33; Drill-confirmed PGE mineralization along the trend has increased in strike length from 215m to over 600m; Continuity of geology and PGE grade has been established between Northwest Target ("NW") and resource area, with 8 positive NW drill holes spaced ~60-90m apart; and Broad trends of near-surface PGE mineralization remain largely open.

Vox Management Summary: These drilling results are some of the broadest mineralised intersections drilled at Pedra Branca over the last few years and pave the way for a resource update in 2022. Vox management remains highly confident that the Pedra Branca deposit will continue to grow in 2022.

Qualified Person

Timothy J. Strong, MIMMM, of Kangari Consulting LLC and a "Qualified Person" under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical disclosure contained in this press release.

About Vox

Vox is a high growth precious metals royalty and streaming company with a portfolio of over 50 royalties and streams spanning eight jurisdictions. The Company was established in 2014 and has since built unique intellectual property, a technically focused transactional team and a global sourcing network which has allowed Vox to become the fastest growing company in the royalty sector. Since the beginning of 2019, Vox has announced over 20 separate transactions to acquire over 45 royalties.

Further information on Vox can be found at www.voxroyalty.com.

For further information contact:

Spencer Cole

Chief Investment Officer

spencer@voxroyalty.com

Kyle Floyd

Chief Executive Officer

info@voxroyalty.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Information

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate" "plans", "estimates" or "intends" or stating that certain actions, events or results " may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements".

The forward-looking statements and information in this press release include, but are not limited to, summaries of operator updates provided by management and the potential impact on the Company of such operator updates, statements regarding expectations for the timing of commencement of construction at and resource production from various mining projects, expectations regarding the size, quality and exploitability of the resources at various mining projects, future operations and work programs of Vox's mining operator partners, the receipt of future royalty payments derived from various royalty assets of Vox, anticipated future cash flows and future financial reporting by Vox, requirements for regulatory approvals and the ability and intention of the Company to make a normal course issuer bid and to repurchase its common shares for cancellation.

Forward-looking statements and information are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions that, while believed by management to be reasonable, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Forward-looking statements and information are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the ability of Vox to control or predict, that may cause Vox's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied thereby, and are developed based on assumptions about such risks, uncertainties and other factors set out herein, including but not limited to: the requirement for regulatory approvals and third party consents, the impact of general business and economic conditions, the absence of control over the mining operations from which Vox will receive royalties, including risks related to international operations, government relations and environmental regulation, the inherent risks involved in the exploration and development of mineral properties; the uncertainties involved in interpreting exploration data; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities; the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with Vox's expectations; accidents, equipment breakdowns, title matters, labor disputes or other unanticipated difficulties or interruptions in operations; fluctuating metal prices; unanticipated costs and expenses; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future; the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, commodity price fluctuations; currency fluctuations; regulatory restrictions, including environmental regulatory restrictions; liability, competition, loss of key employees and other related risks and uncertainties.

Vox has assumed that the material factors referred to in the previous paragraph will not cause such forward looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. The forward-looking information contained in this press release represents the expectations of Vox as of the date of this press release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. While Vox may elect to, it does not undertake to update this information at any particular time except as required in accordance with applicable laws.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Technical and Third-Party Information

Except where otherwise stated, the disclosure in this press release is based on information publicly disclosed by project operators based on the information/data available in the public domain as at the date hereof and none of this information has been independently verified by Vox. Specifically, as a royalty investor, Vox has limited, if any, access to the royalty operations. Although Vox does not have any knowledge that such information may not be accurate, there can be no assurance that such information from the project operators is complete or accurate. Some information publicly reported by the project operators may relate to a larger property than the area covered by Vox's royalty interests. Vox's royalty interests often cover less than 100% and sometimes only a portion of the publicly reported mineral reserves, mineral resources and production of a property.

References & Notes:

See below for information on the Uley Mineral Resource Estimate: The Uley 3 and Uley 2 Project Mineral Resource Estimates are dated 18 November 2021 and can be found at this link: https://quantumgraphite.wp.gate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Uley-3-Drill-Program-results-in-Mineral-Resource-Estimate-18Nov2021.pdf The November 2021 Uley 3 and Uley 2 Project Mineral Resource Estimates has been classified and reported in accordance with the 2012 Edition of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves" (" JORC Code, 2012 "). The Uley 3 mineralization wireframes were constructed using cross-sectional interpretations based on mineralized envelopes with an approximate 2% Total Graphitic Carbon (" TGC ") cut-off, while the Uley 2 Mineral Resource was based on optimization studies that supported a cut-off grade for resource reporting of 3.5% TGC. The information in this press release that relates to the Uley 3 Exploration Results and Mineral Resource estimate is based on information compiled by Mrs. Vanessa O'Toole who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (MAusIMM) and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity to which she is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in JORC Code, 2012.



SOURCE: Vox Royalty Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/677396/Vox-Provides-Exploration-Updates-from-Operating-Partners
CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Japan will on Tuesday release final October figures for industrial production, highlighting a light day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. The previous reading saw output down 5.4 percent on month and 2.3 percent on year, while capacity utilization dropped 7.3 percent on month. Australia will see November numbers for business confidence from NAB and for new home sales from HIA. In October, the business confidence index score was +21, while new home sales rose 11.1 percent on month. China will provide November numbers for foreign direct investment; in October, FDI was up 17.8 percent on year. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Advanced Clinical, a global clinical research services organization, continues to build upon its growth strategy in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region with the opening of a new office in Sydney, Australia.

In response to the growing demand for clinical development services in the APAC region, Advanced Clinical has opened a new Sydney office as the company strives to offer more localized support to clients in key markets across the globe.

"As we continue to expand into the APAC region, Sydney is a key strategic location to establish operations due to Australia's dynamic market of clinical clientele and talent," said Ivana Waller, Managing Director Europe/APAC and Senior Vice President, Global Development and Expansion. "We see this expansion as an opportunity for us to better integrate into the APAC region as we continue to grow and strengthen our clinical research offerings to our global network."

"Our exponential growth into the APAC region in this year alone is a prime example of our commitment to provide everyone with a better clinical experience," adds Julie Ross, President of Advanced Clinical. "Diversifying our global clinical programs enables us to provide more valuable resources to our stakeholders and enhances our differentiated and mid-market service offerings in the clinical research industry."

Australia is the third office that Advanced Clinical has opened in the APAC region in 2021, following the opening of offices in Tokyo, Japan and Singapore. Advanced Clinical will continue expansion efforts in APAC in subsequent months with plans for additional locations in South Korea and Taiwan.

Advanced Clinical has established European operations in Germany, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Romania, Poland, and Ukraine. Advanced Clinical's North American offices are headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with additional locations in Orlando, Florida, Boston, Massachusetts and Toronto, Ontario.

About Advanced Clinical

Advanced Clinical is a privately-held, single owner, global clinical research services organization, providing full-service CRO, FSP and Strategic Resourcing solutions for biopharmaceutical and medical device organizations. Our company is committed to improving all lives touched by clinical research and we address the hopes of patients and healthcare professionals with industry-leading services and technology in life sciences. Visit our website to learn more about how we deliver a Better Clinical Experience: www.advancedclinical.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211213005951/en/

Contacts:

Stephanie Swanson

Senior Director of Marketing

P: (312) 572-6000

sswanson@advancedclinical.com
The US hyperscale data center market is driven by the rapid growth in the cloud, the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, and machine learning which is driving investments from data center service providers. In terms of states, Virginia, Texas, Georgia, Ohio, and Oregon are home to over 50% of the total number of hyperscale data center facilities in the US. Virginia witnessed an investment of around USD 2.5 billion in hyperscale data center development in seven facilities. For instance, CloudHQ is investing in two data center facilities in Virginia, which are expected to be operational by Q4 2021. Moreover, Enterprises are adopting infrastructure configured or built to suit the application workloads handled by them. In the IT infrastructure segment, most of the revenue is generated by server systems, followed by storage and network infrastructure.

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.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - December 13, 2021) - Canadian Nexus Team Ventures Corp., (CSE: TEAM) ("Team" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of its Annual General Meeting held on December 10, 2021.

Annual General Meeting Results

All matters submitted to the shareholders for approval as set out in the Company's Notice of Meeting and Information Circular, dated November 5, 2021, were approved by the requisite majority of votes cast at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held on December 10, 2021 at 9:30am PST in virtual format and in person at the Company's Offices, including:

Election of nominees Arni Johannson, Sean Cote, Lisa Kowan and Jonathan Jackson to the Board of Directors of the Company;

Re-appointment of MNP LLP, Chartered Accountants as auditor for the ensuing year and authorization of directors to fix their remuneration; and

Approval of the 10% Rolling Stock Option Plan.

The Company would like to thank shareholders for their continued support.

Investment Policy Amendment

The Directors of Canadian Nexus continuously review the Company's Investment Policy in order to provide flexibility in the market and to increase shareholder value. In light of the current volatility in the market and economic conditions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company announces that its board of directors has adopted an amended and restated investment policy, which governs its investment activities and investment strategy. The investment policy provides the Company with additional flexibility to invest in any early-stage to mid-level emerging growth companies. The Company will continue to look for high-growth opportunities in varying sectors, including mining, emerging technology, media and the hospitality industry.

A copy of the investment policy will be posted on the company's SEDAR profile.

About Canadian Nexus Team Ventures Corp.

Canadian Nexus Team Ventures Corp. (CSE: TEAM) is an investment issuer that actively invests in a diversified portfolio of early-stage to mid-level companies and projects. Canadian Nexus leverages its extensive network of operators and global thought leaders to provide investors with a unique multi-opportunity portfolio.

Contact:

Arni Johannson, CEO

604-960-1878

Forward-Looking Statements:

This news release includes certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements about timing, future projects and future revenues are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by words such as "pro forma", "plans", "expects", "will", "may", "should", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "potential" or variations of such words including negative variations thereof, and phrases that refer to certain actions, events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others, statements as to the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, including the ability of the Company to obtain sufficient financing to fund its business activities and plans, delays in obtaining regulatory approvals (including of the Canadian Securities Exchange), changes in laws, regulations, and policies affecting the Company's operations and the Company's limited operating history.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements in this presentation or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise required by law.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/107515
The global community calls on the Taiwanese government to rectify the Tai Ji Men case and protect religious freedom and human rights

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13, 2021has been persecuted through both judicial and tax measures, and its sacred land intended for a spiritual center was illegally and forcibly auctioned last year. Tai Ji Men's shifusince its inception 55 years ago, in Washington, D.C., the world's political capital, to seek international support, reveal the truth about the bogus Tai Ji Men case , and call on the Taiwanese government to implement transitional justice.



On December 5, dozens of representatives of Tai Ji Men dizi, ranging in age from 10 to 80 years old, protested in front of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, the White House, and National Christmas Tree, hoping that by courageously stepping forward and revealing the truth, more people will understand this fabricated and unjust Tai Ji Men case , and they demanded the Taiwanese government to administer policies in accordance with the law, return Tai Ji Men's sacred land, which was forcibly confiscated, and protect people's religious freedom and human rights! Many other visitors expressed support for Tai Ji Men's worthy cause, and some even joined the protest, holding signs in support of universal human rights and religious freedom.

On the morning of December 6, the Center for Studies on New Religions, under the theme of "Human Rights and Anti-Corruption: The Tai Ji Men Case " in honor of International Anti-Corruption Day (December 9) and Human Rights Day (December 10). Several international scholars and experts, who are concerned about the Tai Ji Men case, as well as Tai Ji Men dizi, participated in the conference in person or virtually, with many more attending via Zoom and YouTube.

Prof. Massimo Introvigne, an Italian sociologist who is the founder and managing director of CESNUR, and the editor-in-chief of Bitter Winter, stated, "In the Tai Ji Men case , bureaucrats forgot, or willingly ignored, that they are 'civil servants' and should work at the service of the deeper aims of the state, human rights and the well-being of citizens. Instead, they believed they were called to protect bureaucracy for bureaucracy's sake, not to mention they tried to enrich themselves through the bonuses."

PierLuigi Zoccatelli, professor of Sociology of Religions at Pontifical Salesian University, Italy, criticized Taiwan's bonus system, saying, "Unless the bureaucrats are all angels, the system also becomes a machine to generate corruption." Prof. Zoccatelli remarked that corruption played a crucial role in the Tai Ji Men case , resulting in violations of Tai Ji Men's human rights, and that because Taiwan made the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Willy Fautre, co-founder and director of Human Rights Without Frontiers, pointed out, "It is obvious that in Taiwan there are abuses by the administrative power for private gain. What is at stake here is the system of bonuses which viciously leads to the over-collection of taxes and even the fabrication of tax evasion taxes. This is an abuse of power for private financial gain."

Camelia Marin, deputy director of the NGO Soteria Internationalshows and shares by standing for their case, for their rights, bringing hope to the many others around the world who have not yet found justice but are still persecuted." She urged the Taiwanese government to rectify the Tai Ji Men case: "Now is the time to solve it."

Alessandro Amicarelli, a London-based human rights lawyer and the president of the European Federation for Freedom of Belief." He believes that it is now time to move from prosecuting the innocent to prosecuting the rogue bureaucrats, who have wrongly prosecuted Tai Ji Men and violated their human rights.

Eight Tai Ji Men dizi spoke out against the persecution of themselves and their families by Taiwanese authorities, calling on the Taiwanese government to rectify the mistakes made by the unscrupulous government officials and return to Tai Ji Men the justice it deserves.

On the afternoon of December 6, Tai Ji Men dizi visited the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S. again. It was their fourth visit to this Office. They hoped to meet with Representative Hsiao, who could help pass on their concern and message about the Tai Ji Men case to the Taiwanese government to immediately resolve the issue. They protested for over two and a half hours, but no one from the office came out to respond to their demands.

On December 7, the first international press conference on the Tai Ji Men case was held in the world's political capital, and the news was published on Yahoo , the Toronto Sun , and other media outlets. Prof. Massimo Introvigne, an Italian sociologist and the editor-in-chief of Bitter Winter, introduced the event and explained that Bitter Winter is known for its support for Taiwan, and that the Tai Ji Men dizi (disciples) in the United States also love their country of origin. It is precisely because of their love for Taiwan that they want it to eliminate the ghosts of its authoritarian past and improve its international image as a truly democratic country where human rights prevail.

Prof. Introvigne had studied the Tai Ji Men case for years and emphasized, "The Taiwan government is not understanding the Tai Ji Men case in its proper terms. It's not a domestic or technical tax case, but it's a human rights case based on freedom of religion or belief." "It's a case impacting negatively on the international image of Taiwan," said Prof. Introvigne. He urged the Taiwanese government to resolve the Tai Ji Men case as soon as possible by saying, "We live in a historical moment when Taiwan needs the maximum support from its international friends. But a precondition for its support to be effective is for Taiwan to put its own house in order."

Willy Fautre, co-founder and director of Human Rights Without Frontiers, also stated that the Tai Ji Men case is not a technical tax dispute, but rather a case of human rights abuses. He said that the bureaucrats who pursued Tai Ji Men were motivated by corruption, including the immoral bonus system for tax collectors and enforcers. To restore human rights, Fautre insisted that these bureaucrats must be prosecuted and punished, and that the sacred land, which was wrongfully confiscated, must be returned to Tai Ji Men .

Tai Ji Men dizi demand that the Taiwanese government implement protection of human rights and freedom, rectify the Tai Ji Men case, return Tai Ji Men's sacred land, and restore the reputation of Tai Ji Men's shifu and dizi. Judy Lee, on behalf of worldwide Tai Ji Men dizi, said, "We are going to continue to reach out through the international community to put pressure on the Taiwanese government to correct the mistakes that were made 25 years ago. If it's not resolved, we will come back!"

Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy : Tai Ji Men is an ancient menpai (similar to school) of qigong, martial arts, and self-cultivation. It has carried forward the wisdom of Taoist philosophy, one of the highest philosophies of humankind. It is an international nonprofit cultural organization. Its contemporary zhang-men-ren (grandmaster), Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze established the Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy in 1966, and since then it has grown to 15 academies worldwide.

Dr. Hong teaches his diziculture and martial arts around the world while embodying what is true, good, and beautiful as well as spreading the ideas of conscience, love, and peace. Over the past half-century, the shifu and dizi have self-funded trips to over 300 cities in 101 nations to conduct more than 3,000 cultural performances and exchanges and have been recognized as "International Ambassadors of Peace and Goodwill ."

Media Contact:

Lily Chen

Representative

info@taijimenla.org

626-202-5268

http://www.taijimen.org/TJM2016G_ENG/index.php

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/78d887bf-54bc-4f4c-80f7-8ecea60b1714
Bumper, a London, and Sheffield, UK-based auto fintech startup, raised $12M in Series A funding.

The round was led by Autotech Ventures, with participation from Jaguar Land Rovers fund InMotion Ventures, and a group of prominent angel investors.

The company intends to use the funds to roll out its car repair financing platform across Germany, with plans to launch in Spain and the Netherlands in the next three months.

Founded in 2013 by James Jackson, CEO and cofounder, Bumper (formerly Auto Service Finance) provides an interest-free digital payment platform for vehicle repairs and services, enabling owners to spread their costs. It also delivers an instalment financing solution using proprietary AI enabled technology to facilitate real-time lending decisions. The company enables dealerships and garages to sell a larger proportion of red and amber work, reducing workshop downtime, with no risks or liabilities, while also creating greater customer loyalty. Bumper works with 2,500 franchised dealers, over 700 garages and major car brands across the UK and Republic of Ireland.

The company also has a tech development centre in Ankara, Turkey.

FinSMEs

13/12/2021
HealthCare.com, a New York City and Miami, Florida-based provider of data-driven insurtech platform, raised $180m in financing.

In details, the company closed:

a $130m Senior Non-Convertible Preferred, and

more than $50m of Series C Preferred equity in an round led by funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. with participation from existing investors Axis Capital, Second Alpha and Link Ventures and founders.

The company plans to accelerate its investment in data science, product development, and engineering and will also hire for several key roles.

Led by Don Loonam, Chief Executive Officer, HealthCare.com leverages its deep data assets and AI algorithms to matche individuals to a wide array of products in the healthcare space, including its own proprietary insurance plans and customizable insurance product bundles. The data-driven platform includes multi-product purchase options in one single transaction.

HealthCare.coms distributed workforce of more than 370 employees is based in more than 15 states, as well as Guatemala, Thailand, and the Netherlands. The original co-founders of HealthCare.com, including Jeff Smedsrud, Jose Vargas and Howard Yeh all remain active in senior leadership roles within the company.

In conjunction with the financing round, Brian Laibow, Managing Director and Co-Head of North America for Oaktrees Global Opportunities strategy, and Linda Ventresca, Chief Strategy Officer for AXIS Capital, a leader in specialty insurance and global reinsurance, have joined the HealthCare.com Board of Directors.

FinSMEs

13/12/2021
Sandboxx, a Washington, DC  based platform navigating military life, closed an $8M growth funding round.

Backers included Boathouse Capital (lead), PenFed Foundation and others.

Led by Sam Meek, CEO & Co-founder, Sandboxx is a military platform that gives service members a way to confidently navigate connections in the military life via linking service members to their loved ones, career content and lifestyle utilities.

The companys initial product, Sandboxx Letters, digitized the processes of sending physical letters, empowering service members to maintain meaningful bonds with family and friends back home during basic training.

The company also today announced that it supports more than 70% of this recruit pipeline via its Letters product and in-app basic training preparation content. Written in the app, Sandboxx prints and delivers these letters to all recruit installations faster than traditional mail  getting support to new service members days earlier. Each Sandboxx Letter contains reply stationery and envelope, along with additional items such as gift cards.

Entering the next phase, the company is now broadening its focus towards supporting service members beyond basic training. Beginning with new features such as a digital wallet for on-post shopping, a career advancement tracker and secure unit communications, Sandboxx has a roadmap of products dedicated to the success of military members from recruitment to retirement.

FinSMEs

13/12/2021
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.
Milford, New Zealand, Dec. 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

One visit same day cerec porcelain dental crowns Takapuna, North Shore announced by Auckland Family Dental Milford. Visit their website here https://www.aucklandfamilydental.co.nz/crowns

The practice is conveniently located at 2 Dodson Avenue, Milford, Auckland 0620 and welcomes patients from Takapuna, Glenfield and other North Shore Suburbs.

When a tooth has extensive decay, a large existing filling that has begun to develop decay around it, or a deep crack, it may be in danger of needing extraction. One visit same day cerec porcelain dental crowns are used to prevent that happening, if its not already too late.

A porcelain crown provides strength and support that the natural tooth no longer has, improving the function while saving the underlying tooth. Because Auckland Family Dental Milford Takapuna like to stay at the forefront of dental technology, and offer same day one visit dental crowns to North Shore patients, they use the CEREC 3D design and milling system.

In the old days they were known as caps. That was the term formerly used for a dental crown; these were usually made of gold. The term aptly describes what a crown is  a prosthesis that fits completely over the top of a tooth, covering it all the way down to the gum line. Kind of like a capor a crown.

Porcelain crowns are milled to match the original shape of the natural tooth before it was prepared for the crown. The color is precisely matched to the teeth.

So that the tooth winds up being the same size with the crown on it, the underlying damaged tooth needs to be shaved down on all sides and the top. This creates room for the crown. Once a tooth has a crown, you can use it normally, without worrying about its strength.

The goal of a crown is to return strength to a tooth, restoring its function. You may need a crown if you have, broken or fractured teeth, decayed teeth, teeth with large fillings, teeth with fractured fillings, severely worn teeth, chipped teeth, severely stained teeth, misshapen teeth, teeth that have had a root canal.

Interested parties can find more by visiting the above-mentioned website. For patients looking for Invisalign, ClearCorrect, Smilezy clear aligners and braces, more details of that expanded service can be found here https://nz.news.yahoo.com/dentist-near-pukekohe-updates-invisalign-033700051.html and here https://nz.news.yahoo.com/newmarket-parnell-orthodontics-dentist-updates-033700256.html



Website: http://www.milfordfamilydental.co.nz/
PERTH, Australia, Dec. 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wyloo Metals Pty Ltd (Wyloo Metals) has today provided the board of Noront Resources Ltd. (TSXV: NOT) (Noront) with a letter outlining a further improved offer to acquire up to 100% of the shares in Noront that it does not already own for Cdn$1.10 per share (the Revised Wyloo Offer). This is 47% above the Cdn$0.75 per share offered under the take-over bid for Noront proposed by BHP Western Mining Resources International Pty Ltd (BHP).



The Revised Wyloo Offer is the only proposal to Noront shareholders that provides the following distinguishing features:

True optionality for Noront shareholders: Shareholders will be provided with an attractive option of (i) accepting cash consideration of Cdn$1.10 per share for some or all of their shares, and (ii) continuing to participate in Noronts unrealized potential by remaining as a shareholder.

A superior offer price: The Revised Wyloo Offer represents a significantly superior price to that offered by BHP.

The Revised Wyloo Offer represents a significantly superior price to that offered by BHP. Greater deal certainty: Wyloo Metals does not intend to support any alternate offers for Noront. Without the support of Wyloo Metals 37.2% direct interest in Noront, a competing plan of arrangement cannot be successful, and a competing take-over bid will be unlikely to meet any minimum tender condition.

Wyloo Metals does not intend to support any alternate offers for Noront. Without the support of Wyloo Metals 37.2% direct interest in Noront, a competing plan of arrangement cannot be successful, and a competing take-over bid will be unlikely to meet any minimum tender condition. A world-class Board of Directors: Noront will be revitalized under the leadership of a new Board of Directors, led by Dr. Andrew Forrest AO.

The transaction will be effected via a statutory Plan of Arrangement under the Business Corporation Act (Ontario).

Importantly, the Revised Wyloo Offer continues to provide those shareholders who believe in the long-term potential of Noront with the opportunity to participate in Noronts continued growth by remaining as shareholders.

Update on discussions with BHP

Following an extensive period of discussion, Wyloo Metals and BHP have been unable to agree terms upon which Wyloo Metals would support a BHP offer for Noront. As outlined above, the Revised Wyloo Offer will deliver a superior outcome for Noront shareholders in terms of optionality, price and deal certainty.

Next steps

Wyloo Metals is confident that, after considering the Revised Wyloo Offer, the Noront Board will agree that:

the terms of the Revised Wyloo Offer are clearly financially superior and also provide greater optionality to Noronts shareholders than the take-over bid proposed by BHP;

the Revised Wyloo Offer has a greater certainty of success than the take-over bid proposed by BHP; and

the Revised Wyloo Offer would reasonably be expected to constitute a Superior Proposal under the terms of the support agreement between Noront and BHP.



Wyloo Metals notes that its ability to formalize the Revised Wyloo Offer is subject to the Noront Boards timely and good faith negotiation of an Arrangement Agreement in line with its fiduciary duties. Given Wyloo Metals and Noront recently agreed the form of such an Arrangement Agreement, Wyloo Metals believes that the Revised Wyloo Offer can be formalized on an expedited basis.

ADVISORS

Wyloo Metals has engaged Maxit Capital LP to act as its financial advisor and McCarthy Tetrault LLP to act as its legal advisor. Shorecrest Group has also been engaged to act as Wyloo Metals strategic communications advisor and proxy solicitation and information agent.

MEDIA CONTACT: AURORA STRATEGY SPOKESPERSON: Andrew Bennett David Ellis M +61 427 782 503 M 416 704 0937 P +61 8 6460 4949 P 416 704 0937 E abennett@tattarang.com E davide@aurorastrategy.com

ABOUT WYLOO METALS

Wyloo Metals is the metals and mining subsidiary of Tattarang, one of Australias largest private investment groups. Led by a multidisciplinary team of geologists, engineers and financial professionals, Wyloo Metals manages a diverse portfolio of exploration and development projects and cornerstone interests in a number of public and private companies. Wyloo Metals seeks to work closely with all stakeholders to accelerate projects through the development cycle while meeting the highest international environmental, social and governance standards. See more at: www.wyloometals.com.

Wyloo Canada Holdings Pty Ltd (Wyloo Canada), a wholly owned subsidiary of Wyloo Metals, currently holds an aggregate of 208,434,427 common shares of Noront, representing approximately 37.2% of the outstanding common shares of Noront. Wyloo Canada also holds warrants (Noront Warrants) to acquire 1,774,664 common shares of Noront at an exercise price of Cdn$0.35 per share. If the Noront Warrants are also fully exercised, Wyloo Canada would hold 210,209,091 common shares of Noront, representing approximately 37.4% of the outstanding common shares of Noront on a partially diluted basis.

DISCLAIMER

Some of the statements in this press release may be forward looking statements or statements of future expectations based on currently available information. Such statements are naturally subject to risks and uncertainties. Factors such as the development of general economic conditions, future market conditions, unusual catastrophic loss events, changes in the capital markets and other circumstances may cause the actual events or results to be materially different from those anticipated by such statements. Wyloo Metals does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness or updated status of such statements. Therefore, in no case whatsoever will Wyloo Metals and its affiliate companies be liable to anyone for any decision made or action taken in connection with the information and/or statements in this press release or for any related damages.

This press release is issued pursuant to National Instrument 62-103  The Early Warning System and Related Take-Over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues, which requires a report to be filed under Noronts profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) containing additional information with respect to the foregoing matters. A copy of such report may be obtained by contacting Wyloo Metals at info@wyloometals.com. The address of Wyloo Metals is PO Box 3155, Broadway Nedlands, WA 6009 Western Australia.
Beverly Hills, CA, Dec. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Neil Pentlands passion is print shop management software for the garment decoration industry.

Within DecoNetwork.com, Pentland is continually researching how to better enable screenprinting and garment embroidery businesses to more effectively manage their quoting, order workflows and processing to increase profits and expand their revenue.

Listen to the full interview of Neil Pentland with Adam Torres on Mission Matters Innovation Podcast.

How is the print-to-wear industry evolving these days?

"What entices me every day is experiencing the evolution of this great industry into smart online websites enabling the businesses to manufacture and deliver in days not weeks Pentland says industry innovations have made managing a print shop business much less stressful and more profitable. Ive talked to a lot of printers, and I'm astounded at their skills. It inspires me on a daily basis, and I know that by providing world-class business technology and solutions for them, we both win it is such a journey.

A rocky road with lessons learned

Pentland, who describes himself as something of a serial entrepreneur, started his technology career in 1982 as a computer consultant. In 1996, he started Atnet, the third ISP to launch on the Gold Coast, where he poured his passion for technology into developing internet solutions for businesses. Later, he launched Golden Orb Technologies, a tech company that earned Queensland Innovation Awards for online ecommerce solutions. Golden Orb was eventually rebranded as DecoNetwork, a niche business solution for the print-to-wear industry.

Having faced some troubling trials and tribulations himself, including being falsely accused and charged with a serious cold case crime (after many months in jail on remand, a not-guilty verdict resulted at his trial). Pentland says he knows what its like for ones life to be turned upside down, requiring years to regain balance and stability. His book, Operation Carye: Trials and Tribulations, is a tale of adversity, redemption and inspiration.

Whats ahead for DecoNetwork

Getting back to business, he says, If we're going to be ubiquitous throughout the industry, we need to enhance our relationships with garment and machine vendors so they can better experience the benefits we can deliver for them and their customers.

The USA largest Print-to-Wear Industry Trade Show Impressions Expo is coming up in January and Deconetwork will be there. Pentland notes, We're continually expanding our service with many updates and new features (for instance), besides allowing our licensees to create multiple websites that enable customers to create and order custom decorated apparel, the orders now flow into a scheduling calendar automatically keeping the consumer, the process workers and management informed as to the progress of their orders.

Visit DecoNetwork to learn more about innovations in the print-to-wear industry.



Media Communications

Inquiries: adamtorres@missionmatters.com

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Dublin, Dec. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Central & Eastern Europe Cybersecurity Market, By Solutions Type (Firewall, Antivirus & Antimalware, Risk & Compliance Management, Others), By Deployment Type, By Security Type, By End Use Industry, By Country, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The Central & Eastern European Cybersecurity Market was valued at USD4.95 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach USD11.02 billion by 2026, registering a CAGR of 14.35% during the forecast period.

Increased instances of data breaches, increasing government initiatives, expanding internet user base, rising cyberattacks in healthcare, BFSI, retail and government sectors for identity theft, financial gains, account access etc. to positively influence the Central & Eastern European Cybersecurity Market in the coming years.



Firewall captured 15.78% of the Central & Eastern European Cybersecurity Market share in the year 2020; however, secure web gateways segment is expected to grow at a higher pace due to their ability to identify and protect against advanced Internet-based attacks using web traffic inspection at the application layer.



Based on deployment type, the market is sub-segmented into on-premises and cloud. The on-premises segment held a market share of 56.20% in the year 2020. However, cloud segment is expected to grow at a significant pace during the forecast period due to widespread adoption of cloud-based storage platforms across the industries.



The major players operating in the Central & Eastern European Cybersecurity Market are Cisco Systems Inc., IBM Corporation, Fortinet Inc., Palo Alto Networks Inc., McAfee Corp, Sophos Group Plc, CrowdStrike Holdings Inc., FireEye Inc., Juniper Networks Inc., Check Point Software Technologies Inc, CyberArk Software Ltd., Trend Micro Inc., Zscaler Inc., Sonicwall Inc., Barracuda Networks Inc.

These companies are developing advanced technologies and launching new services to stay competitive in the market. Other competitive strategies include mergers and acquisitions and new service developments.



Years considered for this report:

Historical Years: 2016-2019

Base Year: 2020

Estimated Year: 2021

Forecast Period: 2022-2026

Objective of the Study:

To analyze the historical growth in the market size of the Central & Eastern European Cybersecurity Market from 2016 to 2020.

To estimate and forecast the market size of the Central & Eastern European Cybersecurity Market from 2021 to 2026 and growth rate until 2026.

To classify and forecast the Central & Eastern European Cybersecurity Market based on solutions type, deployment type, security type, end-use industry, company and country.

To identify dominant country or segment in the Central & Eastern European Cybersecurity Market.

To identify drivers and challenges for the Central & Eastern European Cybersecurity Market.

To examine competitive developments such as expansions, new product launches, mergers & acquisitions, etc., in the Central & Eastern European Cybersecurity Market.

To identify and analyze the profiles of leading players operating in the Central & Eastern European Cybersecurity Market.

To identify key sustainable strategies adopted by the market players in the Central & Eastern European Cybersecurity Market.

Report Scope:

In this report, the Central & Eastern European Cybersecurity Market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below:



Central & Eastern Europe Cybersecurity Market, By Solutions Type:

Firewall

Antivirus and Antimalware

Risk and Compliance Management

Identity & Access Management

Data Loss Prevention

Intrusion Prevention/Detection System

Encryption & Decryption

Secure Web Gateways

Email Filtering

Central & Eastern Europe Cybersecurity Market, By Deployment Type:

On-premises

Cloud

Central & Eastern Europe Cybersecurity Market, By Security Type:

Network Security

Endpoint Security

Cloud Security

Application Security

Content Security

Central & Eastern Europe Cybersecurity Market, By End-Use Industry:

BFSI

Defense

IT and Telecom

Healthcare

Retail

Energy and Power

Central & Eastern Europe Cybersecurity Market, By Country:

Czech Republic

Estonia

Lithuania

Poland

Croatia

Romania

Latvia

Hungary

Slovenia

Bulgaria

Albania

Montenegro

Company Profiles:

Cisco Systems Inc

IBM Corporation

Fortinet Inc

Palo Alto Networks Inc

McAfee Corp

Sophos Group Plc

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc

FireEye Inc

Juniper Networks Inc

Check Point Software Technologies Inc

CyberArk Software Ltd

Trend Micro Inc

Zscaler Inc

Sonicwall Inc

Barracuda Networks Inc



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/qxq8hl

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE:RS) announced that it has acquired Nu-Tech Precision Metals Inc. (Nu-Tech), a custom manufacturer of specialty extruded metals, fabricated parts and welded components. Founded in 1985 and headquartered in Arnprior, near Ottawa, Ontario, Nu-Tech serves a wide variety of markets across North America, including the nuclear, aerospace and military markets, among others. Nu-Techs broad product offering includes tube, pipe, engineered shapes and round and flat bar from pure metals and alloys of titanium, zirconium, copper, nickel, hafnium, niobium and steel. Nu-Techs annual net sales in 2020 were approximately $44 million. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.



Nu-Techs focus on specialty products with high levels of value-added processing aligns with our business model and strategy of investing in high quality, high margin businesses, commented Jim Hoffman, Chief Executive Officer of Reliance. Nu-Tech fits within Reliances methodology of acquiring immediately accretive companies with strong management teams, brand recognition and quality reputations. Nu-Tech has built a respected and established position in the key markets they serve through their proprietary processes and quality certifications. Further, Nu-Tech supports Reliances customer, product and geographical diversification strategy and increases our product breadth in specialty metals. We expect the acquisition of Nu-Tech will support growth in Reliances businesses serving the nuclear, aerospace and other industries, and we are very excited to welcome Nu-Tech to the Reliance Family of Companies.

About Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co.

Founded in 1939 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. is a leading global diversified metal solutions provider and the largest metals service center company in North America. Through a network of approximately 300 locations in 40 states and 13 countries outside of the United States, Reliance provides value-added metals processing services and distributes a full-line of over 100,000 metal products to more than 125,000 customers in a broad range of industries. Reliance focuses on small orders with quick turnaround and increasing levels of value-added processing. In 2020, Reliances average order size was $1,910, approximately 49% of orders included value-added processing and approximately 40% of orders were delivered within 24 hours. Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co.s press releases and additional information are available on the Companys website at www.rsac.com .

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain certain statements that are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements concerning Reliances acquisition of Nu-Tech as well as discussions of Reliances industry, end markets, business strategies and expectations concerning future demand and metals pricing and the Companys results of operations, margins, profitability, impairment charges, taxes, liquidity, litigation matters and capital resources. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as may, will, should, could, would, expect, plan, anticipate, believe, estimate, predict, potential, preliminary, range and continue, the negative of these terms, and similar expressions.

These forward-looking statements are based on management's estimates, projections and assumptions as of todays date that may not prove to be accurate. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including, but not limited to, those disclosed in reports Reliance has filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC). Risks and uncertainties related to the acquisition include, but are not limited to, the possibility that the expected benefits of the acquisition may not materialize as expected; disruption to existing business and operational relationships; and the failure to successfully integrate the acquired company. As a result, these statements speak only as of the date that they are made, and Reliance disclaims any and all obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Important risks and uncertainties about Reliances business can be found in Item 1A. Risk Factors of the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 filed with the SEC.

or Addo Investor Relations

(310) 829-5400
NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Troy Rosasco of Hansen & Rosasco, LLP has been named a New York Mass Torts Super Lawyer for 2021. Troy practices exclusively in the area of 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund claims and his law firm has offices in both Manhattan and Long Island. You can reach him at (855) 353-4907 and 911cancerclaim.com.

An honor bestowed only on those who undergo a rigorous selection process, Super Lawyer status is limited to less than five percent of attorneys who practice in specified areas of law. With its patented multiphase selection process, Super Lawyers uses both peer nominations as well as independent research to find the true standouts of the legal profession.

Every Super Lawyers candidate is evaluated based on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. Such indicators include professional activities, experience, education and employment background, and scholarly contributions. This is the fifth consecutive year Troy was selected as a Super Lawyer.

The legal profession recognizes Troy Rosasco as one of the leading 9/11 attorneys in the county. Mr. Rosasco attended Cornell University and St. John's University School of Law. He has been working with 9/11 victims and their families for more than two decades and has written and lectured extensively on the process of helping 9/11 victims obtain compensation for their losses.

He is a nationally recognized attorney that has appeared on various news networks, including NBC News, Fox News, and ABC News, and has been quoted in the New York Times, the New York Law Journal, the New York Daily News, and Newsday.

Hansen & Rosasco, LLP is a New York law firm that focuses its practice on helping people who have developed illnesses because of the tragic events of September 11, 2001. They represent the rights of a wide variety of clients, including downtown Manhattan workers, teachers, students, first responders, firefighters, police officers, construction workers, EMTs, cleanup workers, and others.

Medical professionals have linked exposure to the 9/11 toxic dust to various health conditions, including breathing and digestive issues and over 70 types of cancer.

Prospective clients can find out if they are eligible for compensation by calling the firm at (855) 353-4907. Calls are answered 24/7.

###

Contact:

Troy G. Rosasco, Esq.

Hansen & Rosasco, LLP

767 Third Ave

Suite 2410

New York, New York, 10017

Phone: (855) 353-4907

Related Images











Image 1: Troy Rosasco, Founding Partner and 9/11 Attorney





Troy Rosasco of Hansen & Rosasco, LLP has been named a New York Mass Torts Super Lawyer for 2021.









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GREENVILLE, S.C., Dec. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Capital Corporation is pleased to announce that BDV Solutions, LLC ("BDV", headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina) has partnered with Astara Capital Partners ("Astara", headquartered in New York, New York).

BDV's business solves the growing labor shortages that many employers throughout the U.S. are experiencing. BDV closes this labor gap by leveraging proprietary technology and processes in order to provide employment-based immigration services to foreign nationals. Given the continued rapid growth that BDV has been experiencing over the last several years, its leadership team recognized the need to partner with a firm that could help streamline that accelerated growth going forward.

Britt Vergnolle, Founder and CEO, commented, "We are excited to partner with the Astara team to deepen our capabilities and reach. I'm proud of what we have built at BDV and believe that Astara's experience building businesses and strengthening teams will accelerate our growth and deepen our service offering."

Devin Green, The Capital Corporation's COO, said "BDV is a highly technical, niche business that led us to customize certain aspects of our process in order to cater it to BDV's unique situation. We are thrilled with this partnership as Astara is positioned to be an excellent fit and we expect Astara to help the BDV team to unlock significant value in the years ahead."

The Capital Corporation, a leading investment bank headquartered out of Greenville, South Carolina, served as the exclusive investment banking advisor to BDV Solutions, LLC on the transaction.

About BDV Solutions, LLC: BDV (www.bdvsolutions.com) is a tech-enabled, turnkey provider of employment-based immigration services to foreign nationals and employers whose solutions help resolve labor shortages in industries across the United States. Since 2012, BDV has guided thousands of foreign nationals through the employment-based immigration process.

About Astara Capital Partners: Astara Capital Partners is an integrated team of investors and operators investing in the middle market. The firm brings capital, strategic, and operational resources to its investments to build sustainable value and position them for long-term success. More information about Astara can be found at www.astaracapital.com .

About The Capital Corporation: The Capital Corporation has been helping middle market companies achieve their financial objectives since 1991. With hundreds of closed transactions, The Capital Corporation is one of the most successful middle market investment banking firms in the country. The firm's experience, commitment, and unwavering focus to achieve such results separates the firm from its peers in the middle market. As an exclusive member of IMAP, The Capital Corporation is part of the world's largest alliance of independent M&A advisory firms. With more than 60 offices in over 40 countries, IMAP offers local expertise with unparalleled global connections. In 2020, IMAP ranked sixth in the world for completed transactions with values up to $500 million according to the Thomson Reuters Mid-Market League Table. For more information, please visit www.thecapitalcorp.com.

Contact: Devin Green, 864.672.8400, dgreen@thecapitalcorp.com

Related Images











Image 1: The Capital Corporation





www.thecapitalcorp.com









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SAN DIEGO, Dec. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gomez Trial Attorneys has hired trial attorney Jessica Lujan to work in our San Diego office.

Ms. Lujan was born and raised in the El Paso/Ciudad Juarez, U.S.-Mexico border. She is fluent in Spanish. Prior to earning her Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego School of Law, she earned her Bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame.

Her practice at Gomez Trial Attorneys focuses primarily on catastrophic personal injury, premises liability, and wrongful death cases. She has significant experience litigating personal injury matters for both injury victims and insurance defendants in state and federal court.

Prior to joining Gomez Trial Attorneys, Ms. Lujan worked for a leading San Diego law firm, where she represented a wide range of clients in complex business, international, tort, and elder abuse litigation. Her extensive knowledge of the insurance industry, government entity law, and the California Tort Claims Act make her a strong advocate for those she represents.

Ms. Lujan is passionate about supporting diversity efforts in the San Diego legal community. During law school, she was recognized through awards and scholarships for her academic performance, student mentorship, and leadership. She received the CALI Award for Excellence in Constitutional Law, served as a Judicial Extern for the Honorable Maria Salas-Mendoza for the Texas District Court, and published an article printed in the El Paso Bar Journal.

Gomez Trial Attorneys is one of California's leading plaintiffs trial firms. With seven offices throughout the state, Gomez Trial Attorneys has the resources, experience and knowledge to take on even the biggest defendants and most challenging cases. For more information about Gomez Trial Attorneys visit TheGomezFirm.com .

###

Media Contact:

Miranda Varoz

mvaroz@thegomezfirm.com

(619) 237-3490

Related Images











Image 1: Jessica Lujan joins the legal team of Gomez Trial Attorneys





Jessica Lujan has significant experience litigating personal injury matters for both injury victims and insurance defendants in state and federal court.









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AT-03 potently binds human AL and ATTR fibrils and is capable of binding diverse forms of systemic amyloid deposits in mouse models

AT-03 enhances macrophage-mediated phagocytosis of AL amyloid extracts ex vivo and in an in vivo mouse model

SAP-scFc, a precursor construct to AT-03, demonstrated significant amyloid reduction in a mouse model of AA amyloidosis

AT-01 uptake was observed in amyloidosis of the heart and other major organ sites in AL patients

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Dec. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Attralus, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing transformative medicines to improve the lives of patients with systemic amyloidosis, today announced encouraging new preclinical data for AT-03, the companys first-in-class pan-amyloid removal (PAR) therapeutic being developed for the treatment of systemic amyloidosis. Attralus also announced new clinical data from the University of Tennessee from its Phase 1/2 trial of 124I-AT-01, the companys pan-amyloid binding peptide in development as a radiotracer for the diagnosis of systemic amyloidosis. These data were included in poster presentations at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting taking place December 11-14, 2021, in Atlanta, GA.

These new data are encouraging and reinforce our confidence in the potential of our pan-amyloid removal technology to treat all types of systemic amyloidosis, as well as our pan-amyloid binding peptide radiotracer as the first amyloid-specific non-invasive diagnostic for systemic amyloidosis, said Gregory Bell, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Attralus. We look forward to building on these promising data as we advance our AT-03 and AT-01 development programs.

AT-03 Preclinical Study

The objective of this study was to characterize the preclinical profile of AT-03, including its binding to amyloid extracts and fibrils, biodistribution in mouse models of amyloidosis, mechanism of action (promotion of macrophage-mediated phagocytosis), and efficacy (amyloid clearance).

Results Summary

AT-03 is a fusion protein that potently binds human AL and ATTR amyloid extracts and is capable of binding diverse forms of systemic amyloid deposits in mouse models of the disease.

AT-03 demonstrated high affinity binding to amyloid extracts and mediates phagocytosis which is significantly enhanced with serum complement.

AT-03 enhances macrophage-mediated phagocytosis of AL amyloid extracts ex vivo and in an in vivo mouse model.

SAP-scFc, a precursor construct to AT-03, demonstrated significant splenic amyloid reduction in a mouse model of AA amyloidosis.

Current treatments for systemic amyloidosis reduce new amyloid formation and slow progression, but do not remove existing toxic amyloid fibril deposits, said Christophe Sirac, Ph.D., Professor, University of Limoges. These data demonstrate the potential of AT-03 to specifically bind to and remove toxic amyloid fibrils.

AT-01 Phase 1/2 Trial

The Phase 1/2 trial evaluated the ability of AT-01 to detect amyloid deposits by PET/CT imaging in adults with a confirmed diagnosis of AL amyloidosis. The trial enrolled 23 patients with systemic AL amyloidosis and 5 healthy patients. All patients received an IV infusion of <2 mg of AT-01 (<2 mCi) and images were acquired at 5-6 hours post injection using a Biograph PET/CT with a low dose CT. Efficacy endpoints included patient- and organ-based sensitivity of AT-01 uptake in the heart, liver, spleen, and kidney.

Results Summary

Patients with AL amyloidosis exhibited uptake of AT-01 in the heart, kidneys, spleen, liver, pancreas, lung, bone marrow and other sites, consistent with amyloid distribution in this patient population.

The patient-based sensitivity (patients with visual uptake in at least one anatomic site) was 96% (22/23).

124 I-AT-01 detected cardiac amyloid in 13 of 14 (93%) of patients with presumed cardiac amyloid by clinical criteria. 124 I-AT-01 detected hepatic amyloid in 3 of 3 of patients with clinical hepatic amyloid disease and renal amyloid in 7 of 10 patients with clinical renal amyloid disease.

I-AT-01 detected cardiac amyloid in 13 of 14 (93%) of patients with presumed cardiac amyloid by clinical criteria. I-AT-01 detected hepatic amyloid in 3 of 3 of patients with clinical hepatic amyloid disease and renal amyloid in 7 of 10 patients with clinical renal amyloid disease. In healthy subjects, radioactivity was observed in the parotid, salivary and thyroid glands, saliva, stomach lumen and urine in the ureters and bladder, consistent with the biodistribution of free radioiodide. No uptake was observed in the heart.

More than 80% of patients with systemic amyloidosis remain undiagnosed. The diagnosis of amyloidosis is a long, complex process, and current diagnostics do not capture the full disease burden at the time of diagnosis, said Jonathan Wall, Ph.D., Co-founder & Interim Chief Scientific Officer, Attralus. Non-invasive PET/CT imaging with 124I-AT-01 has the potential to improve detection of amyloid throughout the body, including the heart, kidney, spleen, and liver providing a more comprehensive picture of the disease.

Poster Presentation Details

Abstract Title: Pre-Clinical Characterization of a Novel Fusion Protein (AT-03), with Pan-Amyloid Binding and Removal

Presenter: Christophe Sirac, Ph.D., Professor, University of Limoges

Christophe Sirac, Ph.D., Professor, University of Limoges Session: 605. Molecular Pharmacology and Drug Resistance: Lymphoid Neoplasms: Poster I

605. Molecular Pharmacology and Drug Resistance: Lymphoid Neoplasms: Poster I Date/Time: December 11, 2021, 5:30 p.m.  7:30 p.m. ET

December 11, 2021, 5:30 p.m.  7:30 p.m. ET Location: Georgia World Congress Center, Hall B5

Abstract Title: Detection of Systemic AL Amyloidosis by 124I-p5+14 PET/CT imaging  Providing the Complete Picture for Diagnosis

Presenter: Jonathan Wall, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor and Director of the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicines Amyloidosis and Cancer Theranostics Program

Jonathan Wall, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor and Director of the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicines Amyloidosis and Cancer Theranostics Program Session: 803. Emerging Diagnostic Tools and Techniques: Poster II

803. Emerging Diagnostic Tools and Techniques: Poster II Date/Time: December 12, 2021, 6:00 p.m.  8:00 p.m. ET

December 12, 2021, 6:00 p.m.  8:00 p.m. ET Location: Georgia World Congress Center, Hall B5

For additional information, please visit the ASH Annual Meeting website.

About AT-01 Pan-Amyloid Diagnostic

AT-01 utilizes the companys pan-amyloid binding peptide as an amyloid-specific radiotracer to image all types of systemic amyloidosis by PET/CT imaging. In initial clinical trials, AT-01 has been shown to detect multiple types of amyloid deposits, including AL and ATTR, in major organs such as the heart, kidney, liver and spleen. Attralus obtained exclusive rights to commercialize 124I-AT-01 under a commercial license agreement with the University of Tennessee Research Foundation.

About AT-03 PAR Therapeutic

AT-03 is a fusion of the companys PAR-SAP (Serum Amyloid Protein) technology with a single-chain Fc. The PAR-SAP component mediates binding to all types of amyloid deposits, and the single-chain Fc stimulates the immune system to remove amyloid deposits that are bound by AT-03. Attralus obtained exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize AT-03 under license agreements with University of Limoges.

About Systemic Amyloidosis

Systemic amyloidosis encompasses a diverse group of rare diseases that occur due to accumulation of toxic amyloid deposits in tissues and organs, a consequence of aberrant protein misfolding events. These diseases are progressive, debilitating and often fatal. Systemic amyloidosis is significantly underdiagnosed due to low awareness, lack of specific symptoms, and no current disease-specific diagnostics. The two most common forms of systemic amyloidosis are immunoglobulin light-chain-associated (AL) amyloidosis and transthyretin-associated amyloidosis (ATTR). There is a significant unmet need for new therapies and diagnostics in systemic amyloidosis.

About Attralus

Attralus is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on creating transformative medicines to improve the lives of patients with systemic amyloidosis. The companys proprietary pan-amyloid removal (PAR) therapeutics are designed to directly bind to and remove toxic amyloid in organs and tissues. By targeting the universal disease-causing pathology in systemic amyloidosis diseases, PAR therapeutics have the potential to treat and reverse disease in patients with all types and stages of systemic amyloidosis. Attralus was founded by scientific experts in the field of amyloidosis and the company is headquartered in South San Francisco.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements related to Attralus continued development of AT-01 and AT-03, including the efficacy and therapeutic potential of AT-01 and AT-03. Words such as demonstrated, may, anticipate, estimate and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon Attralus' current expectations. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Attralus' actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties. Attralus expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Attralus' expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statements are based.

Contact:

Luke Heagle

Real Chemistry

(910) 619-5764

lheagle@realchemistry.com


US President Joe Biden and his administration are under pressure. The democracy summit was meant to change that. Heads of state from all over the world were pushed to help him, sources in Switzerland claim to the online magazine Nebelspalter (est. 1875)



Head of states were pushed to Joe Biden's Democracy Summit, sources in Switzerland claim

Most of them just followed half an hour of the two day summit

There was widespread head-shaking over Joe Biden's exploitation of the event for domestic political purposes and the Democratic Party platform



ZURICH, Switzerland, Dec. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- It was Dec. 9th, eight o'clock in the morning in Washington when Joe Biden addressed a good hundred heads of state in a studio yesterday. They were connected by video and lined up next to each other on a screen. The summit was supposed to be a great demonstration of global democracy. In his brief opening statement, however, Joe Biden turned the meeting into a domestic political event, praising his policies and in particular his various investment plans.

There was a reason that so many heads of state participated. The administration had pulled out all the stops to sign up a hundred heads of state. Sources familiar with the matter say that the U.S. Embassy in Bern made several approaches to the Swiss Federal Council - the Swiss government - and that the State Department in Washington got in touch with the Swiss Embassy to make sure that Swiss President Guy Parmelin would attend the summit at all costs.

Parmelin finally agreed and was present for Biden's opening statement and an initial discussion closed to the public. After half an hour, he, like the American president and most other heads of state, had better things to do, sources say. Since then, diplomats from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) have participated on behalf of Switzerland.

Promoting the Democratic program

No sooner had Joe Biden praised democracy and human rights in his opening remarks than he got around to talking about his domestic investment plans. And then followed the Democrats' entire governing agenda, from Racial Justice to Gender Equality to promoting unions and the LGBTQ+ community.

Apparently, numerous countries were not looking forward to serving as staffage for Joe Biden's domestic political profiling. Therefore, statements and panel discussions were added to the program, where for example EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, moderated or gave speeches. Joe Biden was no longer around, and left this to his Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

The US invited only states to the summit that hold elections and are allied with the US - in some cases like Angola or Iraq it was quite a generous choice. The meeting is to be repeated in December 2022. See the full article in German here. See the analysis of the Biden administration here.

Related Images

joe-biden-providing-his-opening.png

Joe Biden providing his opening remarks

Joe Biden and Anthony Blinken at the opening of the Democracy Summit on Dec 9th, 2021 (Source: Screenshot from YouTube by Dominik Feusi)

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/579c2004-501f-4373-9f1d-8fdbff05c8e9
Dallas, Texas, Dec. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WaterPure International, Inc. (OTC Pink: WPUR) today announced the company will publish an overview presentation on its off grid electric vehicle charging solution program developed for Alternet Systems, Inc. (OTC Pink: ALYI) this Thursday, December 16, 2021.

ALYI has already started deploying electric motorcycles and electric three-wheel vehicles in East Africa into the taxi and delivery markets as one component of ALYIs overall EV Ecosystem solution.

WPUR has recently refreshed its commitment to delivering water management technologies to the water utilities market and added electric technology innovations for the electric utilities market as an additional focus.

WPUR recently announced completing the acquisition of a company operating in East Africa, East African Development Partners (EADP). EADP brings existing contracts and relationships in East Africa that will contribute to WPURs business development focus in Africa. Dr Torno, in addition to being the CEO of ALYI, was the majority shareholder of EADP and has now joined the WPUR Board of Directors in conjunction with the acquisition.

ALYIs EV Ecosystem strategy is concentrating efforts first on developing solutions for the East African market where per capita transportation is low and EV solutions have the potential to be a first to market transportation solution rather than a replacement of an existing solution.

EV solutions rugged enough to endure the East African environment are also likely to be viable solutions everywhere else in the world, and ALYI does plans to expand globally.

ALYI has designed its EV Ecosystem solution to include democratized participation. ALYI has partnered with Revolt Token to finance ALYIs growth by offering participation in the EV Ecosystem through the sale of Revolt Tokens.

In a move to accelerate ALYIs EV Ecosystems expansion, ALYIs cryptocurrency funding partner, Revolt Token (RVLT) will now be developing direct investment partnerships with ALYI EV Ecosystem partners. WPUR is in discussions with RVLT now.

To learn more about Revolt Token and how to participate in ALYIs electric vehicle ecosystem through the purchase of Revolt Tokens, visit https://rvlttoken.com/ .

For more information and to stay up to date on ALYI's overall latest developments, please visit www.alternetsystemsinc.com .

To learn more, visit https://www.wpurinc.com/ .

Disclaimer/Safe Harbor: This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act. The statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events that involve risks and uncertainties. Among others, these risks include the expectation that any of the companies mentioned herein will achieve significant sales, the failure to meet schedule or performance requirements of the companies' contracts, the companies' liquidity position, the companies' ability to obtain new contracts, the emergence of competitors with greater financial resources and the impact of competitive pricing. In the light of these uncertainties, the forward-looking events referred to in this release might not occur.



Contact:

WaterPure International, Inc.

Sean Mathis

info@wpurinc.com

972-918-5256
Dublin, Dec. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Geospatial Market Growth Opportunities 2020-2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This research service covers the global geospatial market opportunity assessment across 20 applications, which are agriculture, automotive, aviation, banking & insurance, civil government/infrastructure, defense, disaster management, energy, forestry, healthcare, IoT, location-based services, logistics, maritime, operation/asset management, rail, security, telecommunication, natural resource monitoring, and weather forecasting.

The study covers the global geospatial industry landscape along with market forecast over the timeline of 2020 to 2030. The revenue estimation is done based on a top-down approach with only headquartered companies' estimated revenue taken for analysis. The present study consists of 7 regional forecast analyses and 20 application forecast analyses.

The research service discusses:

Key developments and market trends for each application.

Government/commercial award/contract details for each application.

Key developments and trends that are driving growth in the geospatial market are:

New products and developments, such as new services, navigation services, and connectivity services, location-based services, UAV used for field services, end-to-end services.

Data services, such as new earth observation and remote sensing satellite data services, UAV data services.

The demand for high-resolution data services at an affordable price.

Increasing government spending on near-real-time services across various applications, such as smart city, defense, civil infrastructure, maritime, weather monitoring, land use land cover, and natural resource monitoring.

Advanced data analytics solutions, such as AI, ML, image processing, and advanced sensors are used for providing low-cost end-to-end services.

As the UAV services can provide cost effective services, the demand for UAV data and services across various applications, such as mining, transportation, logistics, agriculture, disaster management, and healthcare applications will grow tremendously in the future.

Digital transformation and automation are leading the growth in the global geospatial market.

The demand for big data services for storage of large volumes of data with a secure platform is increasing.

The demand for LIDAR-based technology services to get precise 3D imaging and 3D mapping data is also increasing.

More start-ups are entering the geospatial market. From 2011 to 2020, 49.7% of the companies were working on the geospatial market. During the timeline from 2011 to 2020, 295 new companies entered the geospatial market. This is a positive indication that more new start-ups have started investing money in developing new solutions/services. In the future, more geospatial start-ups are expected to enter the market.

Growth Opportunity Universe

Growth Opportunity 1: Real-time Services for Government/Commercial Need, 2020

Growth Opportunity 2: Increasing Demand of LIDAR-based Services for 3D Mapping, 2020

Growth Opportunity 3: Data Analytics Solutions Used for End-to-end Services, 2020



Key Topics Covered:





Growth Opportunity Analysis

Geospatial Market Overview Geospatial Market Segmentation Geospatial Market Segmentation - Global Profile Key Competitors in Geospatial Market (Based on Revenue) Key Growth Metrics for the Global Geospatial Market Geospatial Market Distribution Channels Growth Drivers in Geospatial Market Growth Restraints in Geospatial Market Forecast Assumptions - Global Geospatial Market Geospatial Applications and Use Cases (Based on Overall Revenue) Emerging Technologies and Trends Emerging Technologies and Trends Discussion Revenue Forecast by Region - Geospatial Market Regional Revenue Forecast Discussion Regional Revenue Forecast Discussion Regional Geospatial Market Revenue Forecast by Tiers Regional Geospatial Market Revenue Forecast by Tiers - Discussion Global Geospatial Market Growth by Organization Global Geospatial Market Growth by Organization - Discussion Global Geospatial Market Revenue Forecast by Application Global Geospatial Market Revenue Forecast Global Geospatial Market Revenue Forecast by Application - Discussion Key Trends and Opportunities Competitive Environment Market Share Analysis

Defense

Natural Recourse Monitoring

Agriculture

Energy

Location-based Services

Maritime

Disaster Management

Aviation

Weather Forecasting

Operations/Asset Management

Rail

Logistics

Internet of Things (IoT)

Telecommunication

Forestry

Banking & Insurance

Civil Government/Infrastructure

Automotive

Security

Healthcare

Companies Mentioned

Airbus

DJI

Eagle View

Eart-i

Esri

Hexagon Geospatial

Kongsberg Geospatial

Maxar Technologies

Pixalytics

Planet

RMSI

Taranis

TomTom

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/owmm4w

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.
Los Angeles, Dec. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WWP Beauty, a world-class full-service supplier to the global beauty industry, is announcing the Grand Opening of their two newest Design Innovation Hub locations in Paris, France and Shanghai, China.

We are thrilled to launch the new Paris and Shanghai Design Innovation Hubs, that are aligned with our companys global expansion strategy and ongoing commitment to provide our customers with local service and the latest technologies in packaging, formula and accessories design and innovation. Our core values of sustainability, social responsibility, inclusivity, and diversity, are weaved into all of our company initiatives globally, including at these new locations, said Josh Kirschbaum, WWP Beauty, CEO.

WWP Beauty Design Innovation Hub Shanghai

Our WWP Beauty Design Innovation Hub Shanghai office is a modern space, housed in a recycled ocean container located in a future-focused and highly creative area within Shanghais Baoshan District. We chose this location because it is an excellent representation of the companys mission of building a more clean, inclusive, and sustainable future, and we hope that it inspires our designers and our customers, said William Jiang, WWP Beauty, APAC Managing Director.

WWP Beauty Design Innovation Hub Paris

Our seasoned team is so excited to have a creative and inspiring space where we can closely collaborate with our EMEA customers to create solutions for packaging, formulation, and accessories that will become the industrys next iconic beauty products, said Benjamin Dop, WWP Beauty, EMEA Managing Director.

# # #

About WWP Beauty

WWP Beauty is committed to developing future-focused, sustainable solutions for the global beauty industry through close collaboration, exceptional agility, and unparalleled scale. The companys full-service offering of formula, packaging, and accessories, paired with their in-house manufacturing capabilities allow them to stand out as the source for everything beauty. Through a worldwide team of beauty experts that span across North America, EMEA, and APAC, WWP Beauty offers their customers global support at the local level. To learn more, visit our website at www.wwpbeauty.com.

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NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized stockholder rights law firm, has launched an investigation into whether the officers or directors of SPX FLOW, Inc. (NYSE: FLOW) breached their fiduciary duties or violated the federal securities laws in connection with the companys acquisition by Lone Star Funds.



Click here to learn more and participate in the action.

On December 13, 2021, SPX FLOW announced that it had entered into an agreement to be acquired by Lone Star in a deal valued at approximately $3.8 billion. Pursuant to the merger agreement, SPX FLOW shareholders will receive $86.50 in cash for each share of SPX FLOW common stock owned. The deal is scheduled to close in the first half of 2022.

Bragar Eagel & Squire is concerned that SPX FLOWs board of directors oversaw an unfair process and ultimately agreed to an inadequate merger agreement. Accordingly, the firm is investigating all relevant aspects of the deal and is committed to securing the best result possible for SPX FLOWs stockholders.

If you own shares of SPX FLOW and are concerned about the proposed merger, or you are interested in learning more about the investigation or your legal rights and remedies, please contact Melissa Fortunato or Alexandra Raymond by email at mergers@bespc.com or telephone at (646) 860-9157, or by filling out this contact form. There is no cost or obligation to you.

About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.:

Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York, California, and South Carolina. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in commercial, securities, derivative, and other complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country. For more information about the firm, please visit www.bespc.com . Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
Dublin, Dec. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Autonomous Tractors Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global autonomous tractor market is projected to register a CAGR of 25.4% during the forecast period (2021-2026).

During COVID-19, the sector saw a sharp dip in the tractor business, and the most affected business was the dealership network due to the disruption in the supply chain and as manufacturing units were also not 100% active. Due to the travel restrictions, production was delayed and supply was being interrupted, which resulted in a sharp decrease in sales of the tractor business during 2019-2020.

Agricultural labor is decreasing as a result of the price of farm labor rising. Farmers are increasingly adopting agricultural mechanization as a substitute for manual labor with more cost-effective, easily available, and more efficient means of agricultural operation. Tractors are the primary source of power for driving agricultural machinery.

The semi-autonomous systems operate independently enough within reasonable distances that the farmer can intervene if any problems occur, and therefore, they are more realistic than fully autonomous equipment. Because of the presence of the operator on agricultural vehicles, the safety of such a semi-autonomous system can be easily ensured without the incorporation of costly sensors and complicated sensor fusion algorithms, making them the most feasible for farmers to purchase, especially in developing economies.

The North American and Asia-Pacific regions are identified to be the fastest-growing markets, and the companies located in these regions are increasingly launching new autonomous tractors, dominating the market with faster innovations and product launches.

Key Market Trends

Shortage of Farm Labor and the Declining Arable Land

Due to decreasing agricultural labor, the prices of farm labor are rising. The cost of farm labor has a direct relationship with the percentage of the total population of a country employed in agriculture, considering simple demand-supply economics, thereby affecting the agricultural tractors market. On average, developing economies have larger percentages of the population dependent on agriculture. However, the percentages have decreased over time as a large number of people are migrating to urban areas every year. According to the World Bank report, the world's rural population declined from 67% in 1960 to 45% in 2017.

As technologically assisted agriculture needs skilled laborers who are at an acute shortage of availability, farmers are adopting technologies such as autonomous tractors that can be productive, considering the current challenge. This scenario is one of the major factors that drive the market forward. According to the Indian Council of Food and Agriculture, the percentage of agriculture workers in India is estimated to decline by 25.7% in 2050.

According to the World Bank, the area of arable land per person decreased from 0.20 hectares in 2011 to 0.19 hectares in 2016. Thus, declining arable land pushed growers to increase their productivity per hectare of land available to meet the growing demand for food. All these changes in the agriculture field are boosting the use of autonomous tractors, which helps farmers increase their productivity and return on investment.

North America Dominates the Market

North America accounted for the largest share of the market in 2019. The higher disposable incomes of farmers, lack of trained farm labor, and well-developed technology are the primary reasons for the future expansion of the North American autonomous tractors market. Since North America is a developed region, the sizes of farms are usually large, and customer loyalty is high. The demand for high-powered tractors in the United States is starting to gain traction. The United States is the largest market for autonomous tractors in the North American region.

The government's support for sustainable production techniques such as precision farming, involving the integration of the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML), is boosting the demand for automated technologies. Therefore, this may result in the significant growth of the autonomous tractors market in the United States during the forecast period. Further, Canadian farmers are also showing interest in the adoption of autonomous tractors as they would save time and decrease operating costs. Therefore, this may indicate a positive sign for the growth of the market over the coming years.

Competitive Landscape

The autonomous tractors market is consolidated. The major players in this market are focused on innovation and launching new products globally. Since the inception of the market is very recent, it is considered to be a consolidated market with a few players holding the majority of the shares in the market. The market is dominated by CNH, AGCO, Yanmar, Mahindra & Mahindra, John Deere, and Kubota Corporation. These companies have strong distribution networks at the global level. The key strategies adopted by these companies to sustain their market positions are new product developments and acquisitions.

Key Topics Covered



1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Study Assumptions and Market Definition

1.2 Scope of the Study



2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY



3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY



4 MARKET DYNAMICS

4.1 Market Overview

4.2 Market Drivers

4.3 Market Restraints

4.4 Porter's Five Forces Analysis



5 MARKET SEGMENTATION

5.1 By Horsepower

5.1.1 Up to 30 HP

5.1.2 31 HP to 100 HP

5.1.3 Above 100 HP

5.2 By Automation

5.2.1 Fully Automated

5.2.2 Semi-automated

5.3 Geography

5.3.1 North America

5.3.2 Europe

5.3.3 Asia-Pacific

5.3.4 South America

5.3.5 Africa



6 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

6.1 Most Adopted Strategies

6.2 Market Share Analysis

6.3 Company Profiles

6.3.1 AGCO

6.3.2 John Deere

6.3.3 Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd.

6.3.4 Autonomous Tractor Corporation

6.3.5 CNH Industrial

6.3.6 Kubota Corporation

6.3.7 Dutch Power Company

6.3.8 Yanmar Co. Ltd.

6.3.9 Trimble Inc.

6.3.10 Kinze Manufacturing Inc.



7 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES AND FUTURE TRENDS



8 AN ASSESSMENT OF COVID-19 IMPACT ON THE MARKET

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/rmbum1
SPRINGDALE, Ark., Dec. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) is donating 600,000 meals (150,000 pounds of protein) and deploying other disaster relief efforts to help support parts of Kentucky, Tennessee and other states devastated by the recent tornadoes.



The company is partnering with Walmart to help feed families and relief workers in Mayfield, Kentucky, which is home to Tyson team members who work at its poultry complex in nearby Union City, Tennessee. Plans are also underway to provide food and other assistance in Bowling Green, Kentucky, as well as other nearby communities. Food will also be provided in Samburg and Dresden, Tennessee.

Were deeply saddened by the damage and loss of life caused by this powerful storm and we want to do our part to help, said John R. Tyson, executive vice president & chief sustainability officer of Tyson Foods. Were pitching in to help Tyson team members who have experienced storm damage, and we will continue to work with local community partners to learn where our resources and expertise can be best utilized.

Tyson Foods plans to locate its Meals That Matter disaster relief trailer at the Walmart Supercenter in Mayfield early this week and will have volunteers on site who will distribute food. The volunteers involved will include grill teams from Tyson Foods facilities in Humboldt, Tennessee, and Corydon, Indiana. Volunteers from Tyson locations in Arkansas will also assist.

Fridays storms resulted in temporary power outages at some western Tennessee farms that supply Tyson Foods. It also damaged a small number of chicken houses in northern Tennessee. There is no indication of any significant impact on Tyson operations.

B-roll of the Tyson Foods Meals That Matter disaster-relief trailer leaving Tyson headquarters for Kentucky can be downloaded here: https://vimeo.com/656250451/ddd84eca0c

About Tyson Foods

Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN) is one of the worlds largest food companies and a recognized leader in protein. Founded in 1935 by John W. Tyson and grown under three generations of family leadership, the company has a broad portfolio of products and brands like Tyson, Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farm, Ball Park, Wright, Aidells, ibp, and State Fair. Tyson Foods innovates continually to make protein more sustainable, tailor food for everywhere its available and raise the worlds expectations for how much good food can do. Headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas, the company had 137,000 team members as of October 2, 2021. Through its Core Values, Tyson Foods strives to operate with integrity, create value for its shareholders, customers, communities, and team members and serve as a steward of the animals, land and environment entrusted to it.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/87733da2-9861-4da8-a812-3be45011d67d

A video accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b9c18736-d3dc-46f3-a646-f8be22aa2949
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Following the launch of their own sex toy in partnership with sex tech company Bellesa just last month, Demi made the exciting sex toy giveaway announcement on Instagram , hashtagging #DemiClaus.



On an episode of their podcast, 4D with Demi Lovato, that aired last month, Demi, alongside sex educator Shan Boodram, had a candid conversation around normalizing the use of pleasure products and lifting the stigma around sex technology. The pair discussed how we need to be able to have open and candid conversations about sexual pleasure - and Demi's Naughty List does just that.

The Naughty List currently has over 400,000 signups. By joining Demi's Naughty List , entrants will receive free gifts to their inbox all month long from Demi and Bellesa. "Demi and Bellesa are giving away thousands of free toys, gift cards and more surprises! (Yes, seriously.)," the page reads.

"There is nothing more empowering than taking your pleasure into your own hands," Demi Lovato said in a statement last month, after launching the Demi Wand , a powerful and inclusive wand vibrator for all bodies. "We have spent far too long pretending we are not sexual beings - it's time for us to put this stigma to rest. We are all deserving of pleasure. We are all deserving of orgasms," they continued.

"It's been a rough 2021 for so many. We wanted to spread some joy this holiday season," says Michelle Shnaidman, CEO of Bellesa. "Last year, we gave away over $3M in prizes. This year, we're doing it even bigger. We're running an interactive map this year showcasing where in the world all of the different sign-ups are coming from."

Launched just weeks ago, the Demi Wand has quickly become the #1 best-selling direct-to-consumer sex toy for holiday season 2021. Early projections put it in rare air as one of the to-be best-selling direct-to-consumer sex toys for all of 2022.

Check out Demi's Naughty List here: demiclaus.com

Check out the Demi Wand here: demiwand.com

Images available here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1INERsLVy6QAPfL07mSxRDY9_5lktGvLU

Contacts

press@bellesa.co

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5867d26e-8745-4f29-bc78-0a743c560218
TOPEKA, Kan., Dec. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bankers Helping Bankers is a bankers-only platform for collaboration and education. Through data tools and dynamic user groups, Bankers Helping Bankers provides community bankers with a knowledge base focused on bank technology and emerging Fintech companies, as well as hot topics such as cryptocurrencies, banking as a service, and direct digital banking.

"Bankers Helping Bankers is about community banks coming together to address their shared challenges, operate more efficiently and discover new sources of income," said Dave Mayo, Chief Executive Officer of FedFis, the developer of the platform.

FedFis partnered with the Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT) to bring the idea for Bankers Helping Bankers to life. "The future of community banking depends on their collaboration. For decades, banking associations have offered the means of collaboration for bankers, mostly using face-to-face gatherings. But those means are no longer enough because the industry is changing too quickly. Bankers Helping Bankers is the next iteration of the traditional value proposition of associations - the promise that together we can accomplish more than we ever could alone," said IBAT President and CEO Christopher Williston.

"The community banking industry is moving at break-neck-speed and our bankers need a platform like this to help them navigate the emerging "fintech" products and services available to them, while at the same time being able to communicate and learn from bankers looking at, or already utilizing, these products on their same core," said Shawn Mitchell, President and CEO of CBAK. "We are really excited to be able to offer this to our members."

For more information and to register on Bankers Helping Bankers, visit www.bankershelpingbankers.com. For more information on Independent Bankers Association of Texas, visit www.ibat.org/. For more information on FedFis, visit www.fedfis.com. For more information on CBAK, visit CBAK.com.

Please contact Shawn Mitchell at CBAK, 785-271-1404 or shawn@cbak.com, with questions.

About CBAK

Founded in 1978, CBA represents Kansas community banks located in small rural and urban areas across Kansas. Collectively creating value for Kansas community banks through advocacy, education, and services for the benefit of their customers and the communities they serve.

About FedFis

FedFis provides financial institutions fintech data analytics and a strategy system which tracks Financial, M&A, and Vendor data (including technology vendors) on every bank and credit union in the United States. FedFis is committed to "truth in banking" by helping community bankers understand which products and services will best pair with their existing technology to drive the strategic outcomes for which they strive. They are first and foremost, a family business of precisionists. Fifth-generation bankers and technology experts with incredible depth and passion for the banking industry.

About IBAT

Formed in 1974, the Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT) represents Texas community banks. The Austin-based group is the largest state community banking organization in the nation, with membership comprised of more than 2,000 banks and branches in 700 Texas communities. Providing safe and responsible financial services to all Texas, IBAT member bank assets range in size from $27 million to $39 billion with combined assets statewide of nearly $256 billion. IBAT member banks are committed to supporting and investing in their local communities.

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Bankers Helping Bankers platform and forum for community bankers.









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TORONTO, Dec. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Galantas Gold Corporation (TSX-V & AIM: GAL; OTCQX: GALKF) (Galantas or the Company) is pleased to announce results from its ongoing 4,000-metre drilling program at the Omagh Project in Northern Ireland.



Drilling highlights:

Hole FR-DD-21-171 intersected 10.1 grams per tonne (g/t) gold (Au), 93.5 g/t silver (Ag) and 3.4% lead (Pb) over 6.5 metres (see Table 1 for details). This hole, drilled from surface, successfully targeted a potential dilation zone within the Joshua Vein and is located approximately 120 metres from hole OM-DD-15-155 drilled in 2015 which intersected 9.9 g/t Au over 21.6 metres (estimated true width of 13 metres) (see Figure 1).





Hole FR-DD-21-UG-172 drilled from the underground at the Kearney Vein intersected two zones of mineralization including 10.4 g/t Au, 50.5 g/t Ag and 2.4% Pb over 2.8 metres (see Figure 2).



Mario Stifano, CEO of Galantas, commented: We are very pleased with the continued success of our exploration program which continues to demonstrate high-grade mineralization at Omagh, particularly high-grade gold in wider dilation zones at both Kearney and Joshua veins. We look forward to providing further updates on drill results and our mine production plan in the near future as we advance this unique opportunity to significantly grow high-grade resources at Joshua and Kearney, which remain open on strike and to depth, while also producing gold.

Dilation zones which have potential for higher widths of mineralization have previously been identified within the Kearney underground development and are believed to be linked on shallow north-dipping planes (see press release on May 6, 2020). Figure 1 illustrates the location of hole FR-DD-21-171 on a potential dilation trend within the Joshua Vein, relative to other key intersections, including hole OM-DD15-155 drilled in 2015, which returned 9.9 g/t Au over 21.6 metres (estimated true width of 13 metres).

The dilation zones identified at the Joshua Vein, located approximately 400 metres from the main Kearney Vein, are expected to be incorporated into mine planning and future mine development, including potential plans to drill Joshua from underground to advance mining and resource expansion. The underground development in Kearney is 370 metres from the Joshua Vein, of which 152 metres have already been advanced in the cross cut, with 218 metres of development remaining to reach the Joshua Vein.

Table 1: Summary of drill results.

Hole ID Azimuth/

Dip (degrees) Intersect (m) (downhole) Est. true width (m) Intersect vertical depth (m) Gold (g/t) Silver

(g/t) Lead

(%) Core loss (%) FR-DD-21-UG-172 287.7/66.1 1.6 0.5 117 4.1 17.9 0.9 1.9 and 287.7/66.1 2.8 1.0 121 10.4 50.5 2.4 8 FR-DD-21-171 258.6/47.4 0.5 0.3 35 4 10.3 0.6 0 and 258.7/48.4 6.5 4.3 73 10.1 93.5 3.4 12 FR-DD-21-169 No significant mineralization FR-DD-21-167 No significant mineralization FR-DD-21-166 277.3/48.6 0.9 0.6 88 5.3 35.5 0 0 FR-DD-21-165 260.5/72 1.1 0.3 104 2.4 6.2 0 0 and 260.5/72 0.9 0.3 107 1.4 13.2 0 0

Notes:

Drill holes were HQ size and drilled using a triple tube method to maximize core recovery. The samples were analyzed (gold by fire assay and other metals by ICP-ORE) at ALS Laboratory Ltd (ISO 17025) of Galway, Ireland. Intersect vertical depths intervals are from ground surface to the top of the mineralized zone. Data has been rounded to 1 decimal place.



Figure 1: Joshua Vein long-section view showing the FR-DD-21-171 intersections and other key intersections that lie along the proposed dilation zone trend.

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/597a6f76-99d3-43d4-9a09-8632a5bf0148

Figure 2: Kearney Vein long-section view showing part of the resource model, the FR-DD-21-UG-172 intersections and other key vein intersections.

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/35a32716-9aa5-4821-b36b-a41b3c5ae9b8

Qualified Person & QA/QC

Scientific or technical disclosures in this press release have been reviewed and approved by Dr Sarah Coulter, who is considered, by virtue of her education, experience and professional association, a Qualified Person under the terms of NI 43-101. Dr Coulter is not considered independent under NI 43-101 as she is the Chief Geologist of Galantas Gold Corporation.

The Company systematically submits standards, duplicates and blanks as part of a QA/QC program. Verification of the data by the QP includes a review of the QA/QC results, with no issues being revealed.

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.

The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the retained EU law version of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 (the "UK MAR") which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The information is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of the UK MAR. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

About Galantas Gold Corporation

Galantas Gold Corporation is a Canadian public company that trades on the TSX-Venture Exchange and the London Stock Exchange AIM market, both under the symbol GAL. It also trades on the OTCQX Exchange under the symbol GALKF. The Company's strategy is to create shareholder value by operating and expanding Northern Ireland's first gold mine.

Enquiries

Galantas Gold Corporation

Mario Stifano: Chief Executive Officer

Email: info@galantas.com

Website: www.galantas.com

Telephone: +44 (0)28 8224 1100

Grant Thornton UK LLP (AIM Nomad)

Philip Secrett, Harrison Clarke, George Grainger

Telephone: +44(0)20 7383 5100

Panmure Gordon & Co (AIM Broker & Corporate Adviser)

Nick Lovering, Hugh Rich

Telephone: +44(0)20 7886 2500

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws, including the results of exploration programs and mine development planning for the Omagh Gold Project. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by Galantas in light of its experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that Galantas believes are appropriate in the circumstances. Many factors could cause Galantas actual results, the performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward looking statements or strategy, including: gold price volatility; discrepancies between actual and estimated production, actual and estimated metallurgical recoveries and throughputs; mining operational risk, geological uncertainties; regulatory restrictions, including environmental regulatory restrictions and liability; risks of sovereign involvement; speculative nature of gold exploration; dilution; competition; loss of or availability of key employees; additional funding requirements; uncertainties regarding planning and other permitting issues; and defective title to mineral claims or property. These factors and others that could affect Galantas forward-looking statements are discussed in greater detail in the section entitled Risk Factors in Galantas Management Discussion & Analysis of the financial statements of Galantas and elsewhere in documents filed from time to time with the Canadian provincial securities regulators and other regulatory authorities. These factors should be considered carefully, and persons reviewing this press release should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Galantas has no intention and undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements in this press release, except as required by law.
SAN MATEO, Calif., Dec. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts marked global *Giving Tuesday `21 by giving to those closest to home. On Tuesday, Nov. 30, the institution awarded Microsoft Surface tablets to more than 127 deserving students institution-wide. Recognizing the impact of COVID-19 and a shift toward distance education, Gurnick Academy acknowledged the situations many students face finding the resources to continue their education.

Students and faculty from each of the school's campuses were afforded the privilege to nominate one student facing financial hardships or other obstacles affording the technology to continue their online coursework. Nominators submitted students' names accompanied by statements for why students deserved to receive a tablet.

In all, there were more than 278 nominations with 127 names. The Corporate Office announced the lucky recipients on Tuesday, Nov. 30, and the tablets were distributed over the next several days by staff at their respective campuses.

"We didn't think that it would turn out to be such a success," said Zara J. Gourji, Gurnick Academy's Chief Process Officer of the initiative. "Gurnick's favorite season has always been winter, and in this spirit of the holidays, we wanted to help our students with something that's both practical and useful for learning," continued Gourji. "When we received the nominations, we were thrilled and excited that many students would benefit tremendously from this event."

"We are always looking for unique ways to support our students while at the same time recognizing those who are excellent contributors inside our school as well as thoughtful ambassadors for Gurnick in the healthcare community," said Burke Malin, Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts' Chief Operating Officer.

"Gurnick Academy believes in giving back to the communities it serves," said Danielle Palengat, the organizer for the effort and the Academy's Corporate Registrar and Student Services Manager. "Our students are the heart of our community, and we want to ensure they're always set up for success."

There were multiple deserving nominees, and many worthy individuals rose to the top. Andrea Frias, RN-BSN student from the Concord campus, was repeatedly mentioned as a candidate. One commented, "I have worked with Andrea for several years now, and I am confident she is going to be an amazing nurse. I have watched her manage work and home life while studying incredibly hard to learn everything she can. Andrea gives so much of herself to her friends and family, and she deserves to get something for herself."

*Giving Tuesday is a "global generosity movement."

# # #

Gurnick Academy is a private, post-secondary school offering quality allied-health and nursing programs on campuses within California.

Cindy R. Chamberlin, Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts Content Specialist, at cchamberlin@gurnick.edu .

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Andrea Frias, RN-BSN student from the Concord campus, receives her tablet as part of the school's Nov. 28 Giving Tuesday initiative. Frias' name was repeatedly given with one nomination saying, "I have worked with Andrea for several years now, and I









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WASHINGTON, Dec. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nearly 60 representatives of worldwide Tai Ji Men dizi (disciples) gathered in Washington, D.C., on December 5-7 to protest against the Taiwanese government's indifference to their case, a major case of religious persecution, and against its connivance with a few bureaucrats who have broken the law and abused their power. Over the past 25 years, Tai Ji Men has been persecuted through both judicial and tax measures, and its sacred land intended for a spiritual center was illegally and forcibly auctioned last year. Tai Ji Men's shifu (master) and dizi have exhausted all remedies available to them in Taiwan, but to no avail! Concerned that their families in Taiwan might be purged, Tai Ji Men dizi in the United States presented their case to several Taipei Economic and Cultural Offices around the world, but only received deceptive responses from the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Finance, National Taxation Bureau, and others. They had no choice but to hold the first international press conference since its inception 55 years ago, in Washington, D.C., the worlds political capital, to seek international support, reveal the truth about the bogus Tai Ji Men case , and call on the Taiwanese government to implement transitional justice.



On December 5, dozens of representatives of Tai Ji Men dizi, ranging in age from 10 to 80 years old, protested in front of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, the White House, and National Christmas Tree, hoping that by courageously stepping forward and revealing the truth, more people will understand this fabricated and unjust Tai Ji Men case , and they demanded the Taiwanese government to administer policies in accordance with the law, return Tai Ji Mens sacred land, which was forcibly confiscated, and protect people's religious freedom and human rights! Many other visitors expressed support for Tai Ji Mens worthy cause, and some even joined the protest, holding signs in support of universal human rights and religious freedom.

On the morning of December 6, the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR) and Human Rights Without Frontiers co-organized an international forum , under the theme of Human Rights and Anti-Corruption: The Tai Ji Men Case  in honor of International Anti-Corruption Day (December 9) and Human Rights Day (December 10). Several international scholars and experts, who are concerned about the Tai Ji Men case, as well as Tai Ji Men dizi, participated in the conference in person or virtually, with many more attending via Zoom and YouTube.

Prof. Massimo Introvigne, an Italian sociologist who is the founder and managing director of CESNUR, and the editor-in-chief of Bitter Winter, stated, In the Tai Ji Men case , bureaucrats forgot, or willingly ignored, that they are civil servants and should work at the service of the deeper aims of the state, human rights and the well-being of citizens. Instead, they believed they were called to protect bureaucracy for bureaucracys sake, not to mention they tried to enrich themselves through the bonuses.

PierLuigi Zoccatelli, professor of Sociology of Religions at Pontifical Salesian University, Italy, criticized Taiwans bonus system, saying, Unless the bureaucrats are all angels, the system also becomes a machine to generate corruption. Prof. Zoccatelli remarked that corruption played a crucial role in the Tai Ji Men case , resulting in violations of Tai Ji Men's human rights, and that because Taiwan made the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) part of its domestic law, it should enforce the Covenant and correct the injustices against Tai Ji Men .

Willy Fautre, co-founder and director of Human Rights Without Frontiers, pointed out, It is obvious that in Taiwan there are abuses by the administrative power for private gain. What is at stake here is the system of bonuses which viciously leads to the over-collection of taxes and even the fabrication of tax evasion taxes. This is an abuse of power for private financial gain.

Camelia Marin, deputy director of the NGO Soteria International (Denmark), conveyed her admiration for Tai Ji Men's efforts to insist on doing what is right: "Let me express my gratitude for the perseverance and optimism that Tai Ji Men shows and shares by standing for their case, for their rights, bringing hope to the many others around the world who have not yet found justice but are still persecuted." She urged the Taiwanese government to rectify the Tai Ji Men case: "Now is the time to solve it."

Alessandro Amicarelli, a London-based human rights lawyer and the president of the European Federation for Freedom of Belief (FOB), said, Corruption is at the very core of the Tai Ji Men case . He believes that it is now time to move from prosecuting the innocent to prosecuting the rogue bureaucrats, who have wrongly prosecuted Tai Ji Men and violated their human rights.

Eight Tai Ji Men dizi spoke out against the persecution of themselves and their families by Taiwanese authorities, calling on the Taiwanese government to rectify the mistakes made by the unscrupulous government officials and return to Tai Ji Men the justice it deserves.

On the afternoon of December 6, Tai Ji Men dizi visited the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S. again. It was their fourth visit to this Office. They hoped to meet with Representative Hsiao, who could help pass on their concern and message about the Tai Ji Men case to the Taiwanese government to immediately resolve the issue. They protested for over two and a half hours, but no one from the office came out to respond to their demands.

On December 7, the first international press conference on the Tai Ji Men case was held in the worlds political capital, and the news was published on Yahoo , the Toronto Sun , and other media outlets. Prof. Massimo Introvigne, an Italian sociologist and the editor-in-chief of Bitter Winter, introduced the event and explained that Bitter Winter is known for its support for Taiwan, and that the Tai Ji Men dizi (disciples) in the United States also love their country of origin. It is precisely because of their love for Taiwan that they want it to eliminate the ghosts of its authoritarian past and improve its international image as a truly democratic country where human rights prevail.

Prof. Introvigne had studied the Tai Ji Men case for years and emphasized, The Taiwan government is not understanding the Tai Ji Men case in its proper terms. Its not a domestic or technical tax case, but its a human rights case based on freedom of religion or belief. It's a case impacting negatively on the international image of Taiwan, said Prof. Introvigne. He urged the Taiwanese government to resolve the Tai Ji Men case as soon as possible by saying, We live in a historical moment when Taiwan needs the maximum support from its international friends. But a precondition for its support to be effective is for Taiwan to put its own house in order.

Willy Fautre, co-founder and director of Human Rights Without Frontiers, also stated that the Tai Ji Men case is not a technical tax dispute, but rather a case of human rights abuses. He said that the bureaucrats who pursued Tai Ji Men were motivated by corruption, including the immoral bonus system for tax collectors and enforcers. To restore human rights, Fautre insisted that these bureaucrats must be prosecuted and punished, and that the sacred land, which was wrongfully confiscated, must be returned to Tai Ji Men .

Tai Ji Men dizi demand that the Taiwanese government implement protection of human rights and freedom, rectify the Tai Ji Men case, return Tai Ji Mens sacred land, and restore the reputation of Tai Ji Mens shifu and dizi. Judy Lee, on behalf of worldwide Tai Ji Men dizi, said, We are going to continue to reach out through the international community to put pressure on the Taiwanese government to correct the mistakes that were made 25 years ago. If its not resolved, we will come back!

Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy : Tai Ji Men is an ancient menpai (similar to school) of qigong, martial arts, and self-cultivation. It has carried forward the wisdom of Taoist philosophy, one of the highest philosophies of humankind. It is an international nonprofit cultural organization. Its contemporary zhang-men-ren (grandmaster), Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze established the Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy in 1966, and since then it has grown to 15 academies worldwide.

Dr. Hong teaches his dizi (similar to disciples) methods to achieve physical, mental, and spiritual balance, and tens of thousands of families have benefited from his teaching. At Tai Ji Men, martial arts and wisdom have been passed down from the shifu (master) to his dizi. Through this time-honored tradition, the shifu and dizi promote the Tai Ji Men culture and martial arts around the world while embodying what is true, good, and beautiful as well as spreading the ideas of conscience, love, and peace. Over the past half-century, the shifu and dizi have self-funded trips to over 300 cities in 101 nations to conduct more than 3,000 cultural performances and exchanges and have been recognized as International Ambassadors of Peace and Goodwill .

Media Contact:

Lily Chen

Representative

info@taijimenla.org

626-202-5268

http://www.taijimen.org/TJM2016G_ENG/index.php

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/78d887bf-54bc-4f4c-80f7-8ecea60b1714
In July, the BMW Group, in collaboration with Amazon Web Services Inc. (AWS), called on the global quantum computing community to develop innovative quantum algorithms for four specific industrial challenges and to test them on real quantum computing technologies. One winning team has now been selected for each of the four identified areas. In all, around 70 teams from all over the world took part.

These winning teams have been selected for the four challenges:

Sensor positions for automated driving functions: Accenture Accentures winning team tackled the problem of optimizing the positioning of sensors for highly automated driving functions. Simulation of material deformations: Qu&Co. The jury concluded that the quantum computing start-up Qu&Co stood out with its approach to solving partial differential equations in the field of numerical simulation. Configuration optimization of pre-series vehicles: 1QBit and NTT. The winning team from 1QBit and NTT came out on top with hybrid algorithms for solving satisfiability problems in propositional logic for optimizing equipment configuration. Automated quality analyses: QC Ware. The QC Ware team stood out with its approach, drawn from the field of machine learning, that can be used in image recognition in the area of quality analysis.

The BMW Group worked closely with the Amazon Quantum Solutions Lab Professional Services team throughout the challenge. AWS also provided credits for the use of Amazon Braket, enabling the development and testing of the submitted quantum algorithms. Amazon Braket provides a development environment to explore and create quantum algorithms, test them on quantum circuit simulators and run them on different quantum hardware technologies.

The jury that oversaw the challenge and ultimately decided on the winning teams also included professors from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) as well as representatives of the BMW Group and AWS. TUM is an important partner for the BMW Group for research in the field of quantum computing. The BMW Group announced the establishment of the Quantum Algorithms and Applications endowed chair at TUM in June of this year. Algorithms close to specific use cases along the industrial value chain are being researched at the chair. The BMW Group is providing 5.1 million over a period of six years to fund the professorship, staff and equipment at TUM.

The BMW Group received submissions from all over the world from different areas such as international and national research groups, the start-up scene and established companies. The exceptionally high quality of the submissions enables new perspectives and offers potential for innovative approaches to solutions such as the development and further development of new algorithms. The expert jury took into account criteria such as comprehensibility, feasibility, scalability, innovation and benefit for the BMW Group when evaluating the submitted solutions.

All 15 finalists set themselves apart with their high innovation potential and have therefore been shortlisted for future projects. The four winners immediately gain the BMW Group as a customer and will be involved in the further development of the pilot projects. The company looks forward to working with these four winners.

Quantum computing is one of the most promising future technologies in the automotive sector. It has enormous potential for research into materials, for complex optimization problems and for the future of automated driving. The Quantum Computing Challenge once again underlines the BMW Groups active role in building a quantum ecosystem.

In June, the company was a founding member, along with nine other large corporations, of the Quantum Technology and Application Consortium (QUTAC). This aims to specifically accelerate the development of the technology in Germany and Europe. In November this year, the BMW Group and RWTH Aachen University jointly announced the establishment of the Quantum Information Systems endowed chair, where software and industrialization competencies will be created to realize a quantum advantage in the medium term..

The BMW Group Quantum Computing Challenge is structured around the Supplierthon methodology, which is the BMW Groups future-oriented supplier scouting method. It marks the companys first global crowd-innovation initiative on this scale. The crowd innovation approach enables innovative solutions to be found within a very short time and to validate them in cooperation with the specialist departments. The challenge also gave the BMW Group invaluable insights into the status quo of the global quantum ecosystem. This knowledge is crucial in determining the future direction of research on the future technology and the long-term establishment of the market for quantum computing. The successful challenge along with the extremely promising submissions encourage the company to continue to look to the crowd innovation approach in the future.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP)  Two cargo ships collided in the Baltic Sea off southern Sweden, leaving one person dead and another missing Monday. One of the vessels capsized and was being towed toward a Swedish port, authorities said. Two people have been detained as suspects.

The maritime administration said it received a pre-dawn alarm Monday that two cargo ships had collided south of Ystad in Sweden, close to the Danish island of Bornholm. The authority identified the ships as the Danish-flagged Karin Hoej and a British ship, the Scot Carrier. The Danish ship capsized fully and was floating upside down.

At least 11 boats and ships, an airplane and a helicopter searched for the missing crew members, but the Swedish Maritime Administration said it ended its operation Monday without locating the pair. A body was later found inside the capsized Danish ship, it said.

The capsized vessel was towed closer to land so divers from the Swedish Armed Forces and the Coast Guard, among others, can search it. Police also plan to take over the case and to examine the ship.

Despite fog in the area at the time, the cause of the collision was still unclear, the Swedish Maritime Administration said.

We have no idea when the work can be completed, the maritime agency said.

Swedish Coast Guard prosecutor Jonatan Tholin said prosecutors opened a preliminary investigation on potential charges of gross negligence in maritime traffic and gross sea drunkenness.

Prosecutors said a British citizen born in 1991 and a Croatian born in 1965 were detained suspects in the case, which also includes causing another persons death after the collision. Their names were not released.

Coast Guard press spokesman Valdemar Lindekrantz told Swedens TV4 that we suspect that parts of the British crew have not been sober.

According to the website MarineTraffic, the Scot Carrier was en route from Salacgriva in Latvia to Montrose in Scotland while the Karin Hoej had left Sodertalje in Sweden for Nykoebing Falster in Denmark.

TV4 reported that oil had started to flow into the water. However, the Swedish Coast Guard said there were no ongoing spills and it was carrying out work to prevent oil or other harmful substances from being released into the sea.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin appears to be on the verge of pleading guilty to violating George Floyd 's civil rights, a move that would remove him from a federal trial but could significantly increase the amount of time hell spend behind bars.

A notice sent out Monday by the court's electronic filing system shows a hearing is scheduled for Wednesday for Chauvin to change his not guilty plea. These types of notices typically indicate a defendant is planning to plead guilty, though nothing will be official until it happens in court.

Chauvin has already been convicted of state murder and manslaughter charges for pinning his knee against Floyds neck as the Black man said he couldnt breathe during a May 25, 2020, arrest. He was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in that case.

A message left with Chauvins attorney, Eric Nelson, was not immediately returned. The U.S. Attorneys Office had no comment.

Chauvin and three other former officers  Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao  were indicted earlier this year on federal charges alleging they willfully violated Floyds rights. They were set to go to trial in late January.

Chauvins plea could be a positive for the other three. They had asked the court to separate their trials from Chauvins, arguing that his presence would hurt them before a jury, but that request was denied. Mike Brandt, a local defense attorney not connected to the case, said a trial without Chauvin could reduce some of the inflammatory evidence jurors would see.

Brandt has also said that if Chauvin pleads guilty, he can be compelled to testify  which could benefit the others if he says he was the veteran officer who made the decision to do what he did.

The information sent out Monday gives no indication that the other officers intend to plead guilty. Messages left for their attorneys were not immediately returned.

Mark Osler, a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, said any potential prison time that Chauvin would face in the federal case would likely be served at the same time as his state sentence  but the federal term has the potential to be much longer, up to life in prison.

By claiming responsibility, Chauvin can reduce his federal sentence. Though rare, Osler said he could also arrange to serve his sentence in the federal system, which could benefit him since he has been in solitary confinement in Minnesota. Brandt added that Chauvin would still have notoriety in the federal system and might still need to be segregated.

Im guessing he actually negotiated something that would allow him to see the light of day before he leaves the earth, Brandt said.

But the federal system has no parole, so even with a reduced federal sentence, Chauvin could spend more time behind bars.

In Minnesota, defendants with good behavior serve two-thirds of their sentence in prison, and the remaining one-third on supervised release, also known as parole. Under that formula, hes expected to serve 15 years in prison on the state charges, and 7 1/2 years on parole.

Under sentencing guidelines, Chauvin could get a federal penalty ranging from 27 years to more than 33 years in prison, with credit for taking responsibility, Osler said. But the guidelines are not mandatory, and Osler estimated Chauvin would be sentenced toward the lower end of the range.

According to evidence in the state case against Chauvin, Kueng and Lane helped restrain the 46-year-old Floyd as he was on the ground  Kueng knelt on Floyds back and Lane held down Floyds legs. Thao held back bystanders and kept them from intervening during the 9 1/2-minute restraint.

Floyds arrest and death, which a bystander captured on cellphone video, sparked mass protests nationwide that called for an end to racial inequality and police mistreatment of Black people.

All four former officers were charged broadly in federal court with depriving Floyd of his rights while acting under government authority, but the federal indictment broke down the counts even further. A count against Chauvin alleged he 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.

It was not immediately clear if Chauvin plans to plead guilty to all or some of the federal charges against him in Floyd's death.

Osler said he's not surprised the other three former officers don't seem to be involved in this plea deal because they would likely face much lesser sentences than Chauvin if convicted.

If they were to plead guilty, Osler said, the other three would likely want a plea deal that would wrap up both the state and federal charges.

The other three men were also charged in state court with aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter. They are scheduled to go to trial in that case in March.

Chauvin is also charged in a second indictment, stemming from the use of force and neck restraint of a 14-year-old boy in 2017.

That indictment alleges Chauvin deprived the boy, who is Black, of his right to be free of unreasonable force when he held him by the throat, hit him in the head with a flashlight and held his knee on the boys neck and upper back while he was prone, handcuffed and not resisting. Information from the court gave no indication that Chauvin would be changing his plea in that case.

___

Find APs full coverage of the death of George Floyd at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd
RICHMOND, Va. (AP)  The information technology agency that serves Virginia's legislature has been hit by a ransomware attack that has substantially affected its operations, state officials said Monday.

Gov. Ralph Northam's spokeswoman, Alena Yarmosky, confirmed the attack on Virginia's Division of Legislative Automated Systems. In a brief statement provided to The Associated Press, Yarmosky said the governor had been briefed on the matter and directed executive branch agencies to offer help in assessing and responding to this ongoing situation.

The Division of Legislative Automated Systems, or DLAS, is the General Assembly's IT agency. The timing of the attack is particularly problematic, as lawmakers and staff are deep into preparations for a legislative session set to start in January.

The attack marks the latest in a ransomware scourge that has exploded over the past year, with attacks against governments, critical infrastructure and major corporations.

Cybersecurity researchers who track ransomware say theres no previous record of a state legislature suffering an attack.

It continues to show that no organization is safe form these ransomware attacks. Anybody anywhere can be hit, said Allan Liska, an intelligence analyst at the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

A top agency official told Virginia legislative leaders in an email obtained by The Associated Press that hackers using extremely sophisticated malware had accessed the system late Friday.

A ransom note with no specific amount or date was sent, according to the email sent Monday afternoon by Dave Burhop.

The agency was working with authorities to determine the scope of the issue and plan for possible remediation, Burhop wrote. All of the agency's internal servers, including those for bill drafting, the budget system and the General Assembly voicemail system, were affected, the email said.

Anything to do with bill drafting or bill referrals  all of that has been impacted," Senate Clerk Susan Clarke Schaar said.

Burhop's email said his agency was collaborating with law enforcement agencies including the FBI. An FBI spokesman declined comment.

The email also said cybersecurity firm Mandiant had been retained since a breach over the summer involving the use of an employee's credentials and was assisting in the investigation. A company spokesperson declined comment.

After upcoming meetings, we will provide additional information, including a course of action to this leadership group but please understand this likely will not be resolved quickly, wrote Burhop, who couldnt immediately be reached for further comment.

Brett Callow, a threat analyst at the firm Emsisoft, said Virginia is the 74th state or local government hit by ransomware attacks this year, though the first legislature hes ever seen attacked.

Honestly, Im surprised it hasnt happened before, Callow said.

Liska said its not uncommon for ransomware gangs to try to time their attacks to inflict maximum pain on the targets, like some hackers have done to school districts just at the start of a school year.

They are smart enough to do that, he said.

The website for the Division of Capitol Police was also down as a result of the attack. But a spokesperson said the agency was operational, with its critical communications functions unaffected.

Although DLAS does not fall within the purview of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, which oversees IT for the states executive branch, a VITA spokesperson said the agency was also helping with the response effort.

There were so far no indications that the attack had affected any executive branch agencies, the spokesperson, Stephanie Benson, said.
GREENWICH  The Planning & Zoning Commission is urging Chabad Lubavitch of Greenwich and its neighbors to work together and find common ground on plans for a new school.

The issue of noise and the potential for an intensification of activities was front and center during a recent review of plans to add a preschool and kindergarten to a location on Lake Avenue where the Jewish educational institution is expanding.

Chabad Lubavitch of Greenwich has moved its operations from central Greenwich to the Lake Avenue campus, which was formerly occupied by Carmel Academy.

Carmel Academy, which offered education rooted in the Jewish faith, ceased operating at the site in spring 2020. The Japanese School, which shares a parking lot with Chabad, is preparing to relocate in March.

As part of its plans, Chabad is looking to offer classes from pre-K through eighth grade in the coming years, with a maximum enrollment of 450 students.

Jackie Kaufman, a lawyer representing the neighborhood, said the Planning & Zoning Commission should craft specific conditions on any approvals regarding noise and student pickups and drop-offs at the campus.

Conditions in writing, she said at Tuesdays meeting of the commission, which she said could lead to specific enforcement measures.

We continue to see adverse impacts that the proposal will have, said Kaufman, referring to the proposed growth of the school. There have been instances of noise violations in the past, she said.

Multiple noise violations, which have been ongoing for the last several years, she said.

An attorney representing the Chabad school, Thomas Heageny, said Chabad would be moving into the Japanese School facilities in the near future, reducing amount of the time that the Chabad students and summer campers are outside.

There will be more interior space, reducing activity outside, he said.

Neighbor Brian Pennington said there were deep concerns about the future of the site, turning what was once a private school into a community center. He said there was a history of violations on the campus that did not inspire neighborhood confidence.

Pennington said approval of the application would be prove detrimental to the Rock Ridge Association.

Richard Potocki, president of the Rock Ridge Association, cited a petition with 204 signatures in opposition to the preschool application. You cannot ignore the voices of 204 people in the community, he said.

Rabbi Yossi Deren said the COVID-19 pandemic had caused disruptions to the schools operations and led to more outdoor programs. He said there was a false perception that Chabad ... is not willing to come to dialogue.

We are still reaching out to the neighbors, and we are ready to work hand in hand to maintain the tranquility of the neighborhood, Deren said. He noted Chabad is still in process of purchasing the site and said that being a tenant placed certain constraints on the organization.

Chairwoman Margarita Alban said Chabad and the neighborhood association should work together on the conditions for approval.

Im a great believer in people talking outside these sessions, she said. She said the attorneys representing the applicant and the Rock Ridge Association in the neighborhood should set up a meeting where people could try to get to ideas to resolve the concerns.

Alban said, Thats the best scenario for us, for people to work things out. ... Its do-able; we just have to figure it out.

The school application was tabled for further review.

rmarchant@greenwichtime.com
GREENWICH  The police department is mourning the loss of a retired police lieutenant, known for his excellent investigative work, who died last week.

Lt. Edward Joseph Duff, who spent 24 years on the Greenwich police force, died on Dec. 8. He was 94.

Duff, who was born in Greenwich on July 2, 1927, served in the U.S. Army as a sergeant from 1950 to 1952 with the Military Police in Korea and Japan, police said. Before that, he spent two years as a seaman in the U.S. Merchant Marines.

He joined the police department on July 1, 1953. He was assigned to the patrol and traffic divisions.

On Jan. 17, 1965, Duff was promoted to the rank of detective. He served in that capacity for over five years before he was again promoted to sergeant of the patrol division on Aug. 10, 1970, and then to the rank of lieutenant on March 19, 1972.

His personnel file reflects excellent investigative work over the years, police said. Letters from citizens and official commendations cite his many services to the town in clearing burglaries, larcenies, auto thefts, assaults and robberies.

In one police commission commendation, police said, Duff was cited for helping capture someone wanted for a holdup in Greenwich. His courage is in keeping with the tradition of law enforcement, and reflects great honor on his department and himself, police said the commendation said.

He retired April 1, 1977. Both of Duffs sons went on to be Greenwich police officers.

Police said a celebration of life for Duff will be held at a later date.

We join all members of the department in extending our sincere sympathy to the Duff family, police said.
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Support pages for the three Galaxy S22 models are up on Samsung.com

There still isnt much clarity as to when Samsung will unveil the upcoming Galaxy S22 series. For the past several years the schedule looked like this: a Galaxy Unpacked event in February and a launch in March.

According to unconfirmed information, this year the Unpacked event will be in February, but the launch will be pulled forward and will also take place in February. No time to lose then and Samsung is checking the final preparations off its to-do list. Earlier today we saw the SM-S908U pass through the FCC, now there is a support page for this model on Samsung.com.

Specifically, the sub-site for China. The S908U is the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, though the actual marketing name may be S22 Note instead of Ultra. Unfortunately, the support page doesnt confirm (nor deny) this rumor.



Support pages for the Galaxy S22, S22+ and S22 Ultra/Note are up on Samsung.com

We also found support pages for the SM-S901U and SM-S906U, aka the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22+. Note that U denotes a US model, so these really dont belong on Samsung China (the models for China end with 0).

From benchmarks spotted a couple of days ago, we know that the US models (U) and the Korean ones (N) will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. The international model is most likely getting the Exynos 2200 instead.

Anyway, before the Galaxy S22 series arrives, there is another important launch  the Galaxy S21 FE. The support pages for that one went up months ago, then they were pulled down, now they are back up again.

Source 1 | Source 2 | Source 3 (in Chinese) | Via | Header image
The Guam Department of Education met with the Guam Education Board Friday to discuss its strategic plan.

The strategic plan addresses fundamental weaknesses that made it difficult, if not impossible, for the department to implement activities and achieve stated goals and objectives within five years.

One of the priorities presented is that Guam DOE needs more engagement with families and the rest of the island community.

Guam Education Board member Maria Gutierrez said Guam DOE needs to continue to provide opportunities for parents and the rest of the community to provide input.

A few suggestions, such as having more outreach for families as many dont take advantage of the resources the department is offering, and engaging more with the Micronesian Resource Center and other organizations to support students families were mentioned.

Some of the other suggestions to enhance parental and community engagements included:

Establishing and maintaining practices to ensure families are regularly informed about school and department matters through numerous media platforms.

Promoting greater access and regular engagement of families and the rest of the community in classrooms, schools and department programs.

Activities.

Policies to raise the value of and maximize the impact of community partnerships.

Additionally, Guam DOE is providing training and support for families to assist in helping their childrens academic, social and emotional success in schools.

Guam DOEs goal is to have the plan finalized by January.
Operation Christmas Drop 2021 recently wrapped up, with gifts and supplies being delivered to 55 islands, according to the military.

For the first time, the South Korean air force joined the humanitarian and disaster relief training mission, the U.S. Air Force stated.

Operation Christmas Drop dates back to 1952 and is the longest running Department of Defense humanitarian and disaster relief training mission.

Each year, C-130 Hercules aircrews airdrop food, fishing equipment and clothing to remote islands in the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau. The drop zones stretch across a 1.8 million square nautical mile operating area and the goods reach more than 20,000 people.

At Osan Air Base, in South Korea, both nations aircrews met up for an academic session and together they conducted airdrop practice.

It was a valuable joint training event enabling the exchange of tactics, techniques and procedures improving inter-operability between the forces, said Maj. Joseph Park, 607th Air Support Operations Group air mobility liaison officer, who facilitated the event. It was a chance to learn from each other with a shared goal of maintaining trust, proficiency and readiness.

The mission "provides relevant and real training necessary for our airmen and partner nations in the Indo-Pacific region, said Gen. Ken Wilsbach.

The practice and execution of Operation Christmas Drop allows for training of low-altitude air drops, a critical training event that improves inter-operability and communication for future real world humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions, according to the military.
Former Gov. Carl T.C. Gutierrez is the president and CEO of Guam Visitors Bureau, permit czar, and chairman of the Governors Economic Strategy Council. Send comments or questions to GVB at communityrelations@visitguam.org.




Haiti - Insecurity : The dental surgeon Makindi Guerrier has died





The dental surgeon, Makindi Guerrier, who had been seriously wounded by bullets during an attempted kidnapping by armed individuals on December 4, 2021, https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35419-haiti-flash-dentist-makindi-warrior-seriously-injured-in-a-kidnapping-attempt.html died Sunday, December 12 from his injuries in a hospital in the Dominican Republic.



Remember that during this kidnapping attempt, he received 2 bullets, one of which was in the 7th cervical vertebra, which paralyzed him in all 4 limbs. Urgently transported to Mevs hospital, doctors had stabilized his condition, however, he urgently had to undergo a delicate surgery that could not be performed in Haiti to try to prevent him from being quadriplegic the rest of his life.



His family had to give up to have it transferred to the United States, not having sufficient resources to bear the high costs of the operation, https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35419-haiti-flash-dentist-makindi-warrior-seriously-injured-in-a-kidnapping-attempt.html



Subsequently, his relatives considered transferring him to Cuba, but the procedures were too long.



Finally, with his condition stable, Makindi Guerrier was transported on December 9 to a Dominican hospital where he finally passed away on Sunday afternoon, leaving behind his wife and two children.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35419-haiti-flash-dentist-makindi-warrior-seriously-injured-in-a-kidnapping-attempt.html



S/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Montana Accord : Installation of the National Transitional Council (list of members)





Sunday, December 12, 2021 in Petionville, as part of the Montana Accord for a "breakthrough" transition signed on August 30, 2021, the Montana Accord Monitoring Office (BSA), in the presence of company presenters civilian parliamentarians, including Senator Joseph Lambert and members of diplomatic missions proceeded to the installation of the National Transitional Council (CNT).



This Council, made up of 52 members, appointed by parties, political groups and civil society organizations, will have the task of electing a provisional President and a Prime Minister, then validating the Government's roadmap. transient and its composition.



Download the names of the members of the CNT (source Facebook BSA) : https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/Conseil-National-de-Transition.pdf



Let's recall that the Montana Accord "For a Haitian solution to the crisis" signed on August 30, 2021, currently includes the signatures of 418 civil society organizations, 105 popular organizations, 85 political parties and groups and 313 personalities.



Download the text of the August 30, 2021 agreement : https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/accord-30-08-2021.pdf



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Haiti - News : Zapping...





Post-Earthquake : 400,000 students without school for 4 months

Four months after the 7.2 on the Richter scale earthquake, which hit Haiti's southern peninsula hard on August 14th https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34681-haiti-earthquake-latest-assessment-of-civil-protection.html, nearly 400,000 students have still not been able to return to class, the reconstruction and rehabilitation work progressing very slowly...



Did you know ?

Haiti is ranked among the five countries that depend primarily on the transfer of the diaspora, alongside Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Tonga and Nepal. Nearly 50% of Haitian families live mainly on transfers from the diaspora.



Vocational training for disadvantaged young people

The Lorquet Foundation for a New Haiti, and the vocational and technical school "Haiti TEC", signed a partnership agreement protocol aimed at promoting technical professions in order to enable young people whose means do not allow them to learn a trade at their own expense in order to take charge of their future.



Laureate of the Jacques Roche Prize

The jury for the Jacques Roche Prize for Cultural Journalism at the Georges Castera Library in Limbe, awarded the 2021 Jacques Roche Prize to journalist Daphney Toussaint for her training and information work in the fields of music, cinema, crafts and art.



65 Chaplain police officers graduated

Friday, December 10, 65 police officers from the 3rd promotion "Marie Christine Jeune" from the "International Police Chaplain Human Rights" (Religious and humanitarian organization, Chaplain's mission is to help when the State is powerless) were graduated after 1 year and a half of training. These Chaplain policemen will work with the National Police of Haiti, will have to help elderly people in particular, act in working-class neighborhoods where the state is absent and in the event of disasters.



Training on the Right to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Gender Violence

Coming from the various communes of the Nippes department, around sixty heads of youth organizations participated in training sessions for trainers carried out by the Haitian Youth Observatory on the Right to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Violence Based on genre. These young people will have to reproduce these trainings within their community.



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ISIS mercenaries carried out a violent attack on military points and sites belonging to the " Liwa al-Quds " and the 17th Division in Damascus government forces, within the Al-Masrab desert, west of Deir al-Zor.

The attack resulted in killing of 7 members of the " Liwa al-Quds and the 17th Division", in addition to wounding about 17 others, who were transferred to Deir al-Zor Military Hospital, according to Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The attack coincided with violent clashes that erupted between the "National Defense Forces and Liwa al-Quds" from on one side, and ISIS mercenaries on the other side, in Jabal al-Bshri area southwest of Deir al-Zor.

Sh-S

ANHA
Global Leadership Coalition honors Mayor Volk

Hendersonville Mayor Barbara Volk has been recognized by the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition as a 2021 Global Statesman Award Winner.

Around 100 mayors involved with the USGLC from across the country are being honored during a virtual tribute event for their bipartisan leadership.

USGLC is proud to honor Mayor Volk because she has been an influential advocate for strengthening American global leadership to support our communities here at home," said Liz Schrayer, President and CEO of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. "Lets face it, mayors across the country are on the frontlines every day, addressing global issues that are now kitchen table issues  from the pandemic to our economy  that matter to their constituents. They uniquely understand that America simply cant ignore what happens outside our borders."

Volk has served on the Hendersonville City Council since 1989. Originally from Chicago, she moved to Hendersonville in 1975. She attended Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana, and earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics. She also received a degree as a medical record administrator from the allied health school at Bowman Gray School of Medicine in Winston-Salem. She is a professional registered parliamentarian and before retirement was self-employed providing computer services for small businesses and nonprofits. She and her late husband, Dr. James Volk, decided to relocate to Hendersonville after Dr. Volk received a job opportunity. They wanted to live in a town that is small and family friendly. The first female mayor of Hendersonville, she has served in the role since December 2009.
Balkcom announces campaign for state House seat

Jennifer Capps Balkcom

Jennifer Capps Balkcom, a Republican, announced on Monday that she will be a candidate for state House District 117, which encompasses the northern half of Henderson County.

The seat is currently held by Tim Moffitt, who announced earlier this month that he will run for the state Senate being vacated by Chuck Edwards, who is running for Congress.

It would be an honor to serve my community in the state legislature, Balkcom in a news release. If I am elected, I will bring Henderson Countys small-town conservative values and my decades of practical business experience to Raleigh.

A mortgage loan officer in Hendersonville, Balkcom has more than 20 years experience in the financial sector helping thousands of clients navigate the process of everything from buying a car to home ownership. Her family goes back many generations in Henderson County, she has strong ties to the community, and she is active in many area non-profits. She has served in many local leadership positions, including as vice president of the Hendersonville Womens Club, vice president of the Hendersonville Lions Club and treasurer of the Mortgage Bankers Association of Western North Carolina.

Balkcom currently serves on the Henderson County Planning Board and on the boards of the Advent Health Foundation and the Store House, a local faith-based nonprofit that serves needy families. Balkcom has also served on the boards of the Henderson County Education Foundation and St. Gerard House.

Balkcom graduated from Blue Ridge Community College with an associates degree in Applied Science in Business Administration. She and her husband, Clint, and their son, Douglas, live in the Naples area with their four dogs and several chickens. They attend Hendersonville First Baptist Church.

Also running for the Republican nomination for the House seat is Chelsea Walsh, a former county Republican Party chair who ran for a Hendersonville City Council seat in November.
Highlands man becomes seventh Republican to file for open congressional seat

Ken McKim

A 51-year-old Highlands man, calling himself "the most conservative candidate running," became the seventh Republican to announce a campaign for the 14th Congressional District seat that became open when incumbent Madison Cawthorn bolted for the newly drawn 13th Congressional District.



Born and raised in Texas, Ken McKim is the eldest son of 13 children and family values are of great importance to him. McKim has always been a strong leader who remains calm and confident under pressure, and he is admired for his ability to unite diverse personalities towards a common goal while always respecting individual freedoms.

The McKim family relocated to North Carolina in the mid 1990s and Ken felt as if he had returned to the land of his Scots-Irish ancestors.

McKim ran for the Texas State House at the age of 24 and has studied under several notable mentors. He worked as an intern for U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX) in Washington DC and as an intern for U.S. Rep. Daniel Webster (R-FL) in Tallahassee. He has also held the positions of election judge, precinct chairman, and vice chairman in county politics. Additionally, he was chosen from a national field of applicants to begin and head-up Paragon Project, a political action committee designed to elect conservatives to office.

Currently, he is the manager of a real estate and development company, he holds both a real estate brokers and a contractors license and enjoys remodeling and selling houses. He is a member, elder and Bible study teacher at Community Bible Church in Highlands.

McKim said he "is running on a platform of true conservatism, seeing that our nations founding documents and laws are adhered to, protecting individual liberties, controlling government spending and lowering taxes."

Also running for the Republican nomination for the seat are state Sen. Chuck Edwards, Navy veteran Wendy Nevarez, retired Army Col. Rod Honeycutt, Pisgah Inn owner Bruce OConnell, Republican Party activist Michele Woodhouse and Matthew Burril, a retired financial adviser who is the current chair of the Asheville Regional Airport Authority.
Principal of the Year is 'all in' for students

Described as "all in" for her students and school community, Edneyville Elementary School's Marsha Justice was honored as Henderson County public school system's Principal of the Year during a School Board meeting Monday.

Assistant Superintendent Scott Rhodes said the Principal of the Year is among the most significant awards the school system gives because it's voted on by all the principals.

Justice has been Edneyville's principal since Jan. 2, 2018. Before that she had served as assistant principal at Apple Valley Middle for 10 years. Justice began her teaching career as a biology teacher at East Henderson High in 1997, upon graduating from Western Carolina University with her Bachelors of Science. She then taught biology for five years at Saint Stephens High School before returning to Henderson County.

"She is all in for her students, she is all in for her school community," schools Superintendent John Bryant said. "She is a tremendous model for her fellow peers and is among the finest in our profession and certainly among the finest of her colleagues here in Henderson County schools."

In another recognition, Hendersonville Mayor Barbara Volk presented the Land of Sky Regional Council Excellence in Public Service to Bryant.
THE owner of an unauthorised wedding and party venue has been ordered to pay almost 16,000 for breaching a noise abatement notice.

Penny Holley, who owns the Copse in Mill Lane, Kidmore End, was prosecuted by South Oxfordshire District Council, the planning authority.

The 71-year-old began hosting functions for up to 120 people in 2016.

Oxford Magistrates Court heard how she was served with the notice in July 2018 after neighbours complained about music, singing and shouting coming from the property.

Officers installed noise monitoring equipment and spoke to several neighbours who said they had been disturbed.

Holley tried to prevent the problem by installing directional speakers in her disco barn, employing an extra member of staff and using a sound-proofed marquee.

However, after more complaints from neighbours, the councils environmental protection officers witnessed two breaches of the abatement notice in September 2019.

Holley was convicted of both offences under the Environmental Protection Act after a three-day trial in August and sentenced on November 26.

She was fined 400 for each offence and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of 80 and 15,000 towards the councils costs.

Sue Cooper, the councils cabinet member for environment, climate change and nature recovery, said: The disruption and stress caused by excess noise from neighbours should not be underestimated.

If it continues it can seriously affect peoples quality of life. The council wants communities to thrive together and will work to mitigate any noise problems people have with neighbours. However, if notices are breached, we have no option but to prosecute.

After being charged in 2019, Holley was ordered to stop holding events at the property. She appealed but planning inspector Paul Dignan, who heard the appeal at a virtual hearing in March, upheld the councils decision.

He said the use of the seven-

bedroom property for weddings had disturbed neighbours and harmed the characteristic tranquillity of the area.

Holley first let the main house part time in 2003 before moving into the adjacent three-bedroom cottage in 2007 when her husband Tim fell ill.

When rentals of the property, which also has a two-bedroom barn, increased, guests told her it would make a good wedding venue so in 2016 she obtained a licence to hold ceremonies from Oxfordshire County Council.

At the inquiry in March, Holley argued that the change was only intensification of the holiday letting use so the celebrations were covered by the consent she was granted in 2002 for leisure and assembly purposes.

She said the complaints from neighbours about traffic and noise were unreasonable and argued that the parties were incidental to the main use of the property.

Holley said that 120 guests made no more noise than 20 if they were well-behaved and disagreed with comments describing the venue as a party house.

She also argued that the council hadnt served the notice on her correctly as her address was misspelled and in any case she was immune from enforcement action.

Mr Dignan dismissed the appeal, subject to the address being

corrected.

Holley was ordered to remove a dining platform, an area of decking with a marquee, which the council said was built without consent, and tear down a wall of hay bales which she had erected as a sound barrier. She can still offer holiday lets to smaller groups.
A MAN killed his mother with a broken bottle on a country walk because he thought she was a demon, a court heard.

Daniel OHara-Wright, 23, was walking with his mother Carole in woodland at Watlington Hill on October 23 last year when he allegedly turned on her.

He then fled the scene and ran to a pond where he dumped personal belongings, Oxford Crown Court heard.

OHara-Wright, who denies murder, told police later that he had removed her eyeballs because he did not want her looking at him.

The court heard how he used a broken glass bottle and stick to murder his mother at the beauty spot, which is owned by the National Trust.

He then ran into a road and jumped on a passing drivers car before forcing her to take him to Christmas Common. When they arrived, OHara-Wright got out of the car and ran across the countryside.

Somehow he electrocuted himself so badly that he had to have an arm amputated.

Alan Blake, prosecuting, said: Daniel had not been diagnosed with any mental disorder but members of his family had observed some increasingly strange and erratic behaviour.

At a point early in the walk it appears that Daniel launched a ferocious attack on his mother and inflicted fatal injuries upon her.

He used sticks, a broken glass bottle and his feet.

He said OHara-Wright broke into a nearby farmhouse, where the occupants were enjoying a sauna before they found him naked and covered in blood inside their bathroom and called police.

Mr Blake said that when officers asked OHara-Wright if anyone else was hurt OHara-Wright replied: Ive hurt my mum. Later he said: It was kill or be killed.

He was taken to hospital where it was found he had sustained knife injuries to his throat and groin that were believed to have been self-inflicted.

The court head that while he was in hospital OHara-Wright assaulted a police officer and attacked a nurse with a spoon handle before trying to stab himself.

Two psychiatrists have separately examined him and concluded that he could claim to have been insane at the time of the killing.

OHara-Wright, of Uxbridge, west London, is being held in a secure hospital so cannot be at his trial.

His defence, led by Mark Graffius QC, is expected to argue that he was insane at the time of the killing and not responsible for his actions.

The trial continues.
Appointment

13 December 2021

MGM Resorts International has named Master Sommelier Douglas Kim Director of Wine with oversight of 350,000 bottles within the MGM Resorts active collection spanning hundreds of restaurants and bars at 13 iconic destinations in Las Vegas including Bellagio, ARIA, MGM Grand, Park MGM and Mandalay Bay.

Kim previously helmed two of the most prestigious wine programs in the country as Wine Director of Picasso Restaurant at Bellagio and Sommelier at Mandalay Bay's Aureole. During his time in those positions, Kim implemented a process around guest interactions to learn about their personal tastes further catering to the individual palates and creating a personalized, one-of-a-kind tasting throughout the dining experience.

About Douglas Kim

Growing up in Chicago, Kim developed a love for the culinary arts early in life, cooking with his older sisters while his parents worked. His passion for wine would be discovered during a mandatory three-week wine class in culinary school where Kim found he was more interested in wine philosophy than cooking. Upon learning the Court of Master Sommelier tests was one of the most difficult in the world to pass, he eagerly pursued the challenge and succeeded, earning his diploma twice and becoming one of the few double-certified Master Sommeliers in the world.

Kim began his hospitality career at Restaurant Charlie by Charlie Trotter in Las Vegas bringing his roots full circle as he commonly walked past Charlie Trotter's in Chicago located down the street from his parents' dry-cleaning business. His career was fast-tracked with a move to Aureole at Mandalay Bay - home to a wine collection topping nearly 3,000 selections in its iconic tower - where he would quickly rise among the ranks as its sommelier. Kim worked his way up to a position as Director of Wine at the two-Michelin starred Picasso Restaurant at Bellagio, working closely with Chef Julian Serrano on perfecting the pairing experience for its discerning guests.

In his personal life, Kim dedicates his time and knowledge to expanding both the market for wine and education opportunities in South Korea. He actively participates in exams and courses offered through the Court of Master Sommeliers Americas domestically and in South Korea.

Combining his passion for wine as well as years of education and experience, Kim plans to work with sommeliers across MGM Resorts' properties to build a wine program that maintains a breadth and depth of selections tapped into the tastes of travelers from every part of the globe.
Appointment

13 December 2021

Crowne Plaza Resort Salalah, Oman has appointed Anoop Joseph as its director of sales and marketing. He will head up both departments as he focuses on driving top-line revenue at the property.

Joseph has been in hospitality for more than 15 years, working as a senior sales account manager for The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts in Bangalore in 2006. In 2009 he moved to Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre as sales manager from 2011 to 2012.

He later started with IHG, first as director of sales for Crowne Plaza Kochi and then at Crowne Plaza Resort Salalah. Before returning to the resort again this year, he was multi-property DOSM for Marriott in Kochi.
Industry Update

Appointment

13 December 2021

Aaron Coburn

Appointed General Manager

At St Julien Hotel & Spa in Boulder - CO, USA

St Julien Hotel & Spa announces the appointment of Aaron Coburn as general manager of the hotel. Coburn brings an impressive track record in the hospitality industry. Thriving in the entrepreneurial mindset of upscale, independent properties, Coburn has held leadership roles at prominent Colorado hotels and resorts for more than 13 years. Prior to joining St Julien, Coburn served as general manager at Denver's The ART Hotel and, more recently, the general manager responsible for the opening of Clayton Members Club & Hotel in Denver.

Recent Appointments at St Julien Hotel & Spa Rich Byers - Executive Chef 13 December 2021  St Julien Hotel & Spa announces the appointment of Rich Byers as executive chef, leading Jill's Restaurant & Bistro, located within the hotel. With a passion for the culinary industry that began in childhood, born among the farmland and acclaimed restaurants of the New York Hamptons, Byers attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N. read more

Eric Daviau - Director Of Revenue Management 28 June 2018  Prior to joining the St Julien team, Daviau was the regional director of revenue management for Denver-based Sage Hospitality. In this position, Daviau managed revenue for more than 350 guestrooms across three boutique properties, and opened two of the properties for which he implemented new revenue management technology and systems. read more
Appointment

13 December 2021

Commonwealth Hotels announced today that Toni Pitts has been appointed the General Manager of the Hampton Inn by Hilton I-75 Lexington / Hamburg. Ms. Pitts brings expert leadership in all areas of hospitality experience to her new role as General Manager having previously served as general manager for Derby City Hospitality.

A talented leader in both operations and sales, Ms. Pitts built her career with various disciplines in key markets. In addition to Derby City Hospitality, she has served in various leadership roles with the Montgomery Board of Education, the Kentucky Orthopedic Associates, and Integrity Orthopedics. Ms. Pitts holds a certificate in nursing from Rowan County and resides in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky.
Supplier News

10 December 2021

On December 8, 2021, a jury determined that GuestTek breached its License Agreement with Nomadix by failing to pay Nomadix royalties it owed for licensing Nomadix's patented technology. The jury awarded Nomadix $6.5 million in damages. The jury's verdict resolves a breach-of-contract lawsuit Nomadix filed in 2016 in federal court. The parties' License Agreement dates back to 2010 and was part of the parties' settlement of a 2009 patent-infringement lawsuit Nomadix brought against GuestTek. In the trial on Nomadix's breach claim, GuestTek sought to invalidate Nomadix's patents, but that effort failed when the jury also determined that GuestTek's validity challenges constituted yet another breach of the License Agreement.

"The highlight from the trial for me was when Nomadix founder and internet pioneer, Dr. Leonard Kleinrock, took the stand and told the story of the company's founding and the early innovation created by the Nomadix team," said Mark Khandjian, chief financial officer at Nomadix. "We are pleased with the jury's verdict recognizing that GuestTek failed to uphold its end of the bargain under the License Agreement and making GuestTek accountable for its breaches."

This is the second time GuestTek has been held to have breached the License Agreement. In September of this year, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed an April 2020 judgment that GuestTek had breached the License Agreement by challenging Nomadix's patents before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Before the Ninth Circuit's affirmance, GuestTek had initiated seven separate proceedings at the PTAB to challenge Nomadix's patents; none of Nomadix's patents were invalidated.
SAN ANTONIO  In just two years, veteran-founded Black Rifle Coffee Co. says it will add nearly 80 company owned and franchised stores in the United States. And Texas is one of its biggest markets.

Black Rifle Coffee, which maintains corporate offices in San Antonio and Salt Lake City, plans to add seven stores in the Alamo City as well as nine coffee shops in Houston and 13 stores in Dallas Fort Worth, according to a presentation the coffee company gave to investors last month.

The company says its national expansion is possible with the $225 million that it hopes to raise from going public last month through a merger with Austin-based SilverBox Engaged Merger Corp.

In addition to coffee shops, the company says it will bolster its online sales of apparel and coffee, as well as its reach through retailers such as H-E-B, Walmart, Bass Pro Shops, Sams Club and CVS.

Black Rifle Coffee did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

However, the companys presentation gives some insight into how it promises to ultimately become a chain with more than 1,300 coffee shops in the United States.

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The company says its largest growth opportunities are in Texas and in the Midwest, according to the companys market research. It also sees potential for expansion in the West and South, including Louisiana, Oklahoma and Florida.

The company already has a store in Florida, Oklahoma and Georgia.

The secret to the companys expansion is a multi-pronged approach that includes coffee shops, retail and online sales.

The success of that model can be seen in San Antonio, Tom Davin, Black Rifle Coffees co-chief executive officer, told investors last month.

Last year, Black Rifle Coffee opened a stand alone coffee shop on Bitters Road and started selling its product at the local Bass Pro Shop. At the same time, the company introduced ready-to-drink coffee in convenience stores in and around the Alamo City.

Including online sales, Black Rifle Coffees total volume in the San Antonio market was $3 million, Davin said. The company is expecting $5 million in revenue in San Antonio by the end of the year, according to Davin.

TRY THE APP: Get alerts, breaking news and in-depth coverage on what's happening in Houston through our mobile app.

Two coffee shops are under construction in the San Antonio area and three are under negotiation, Davin said. Most of Black Rifle Coffees expansion will be outside of Loop 410 on the Northeast, North and Northwest sides.

By 2023, revenue in San Antonio is forecasted to be more than $20 million, Davin added.

According to its presentation to investors, Black Rifle Coffee is also planning stores in Converse and New Braunfels. The company already has a Boerne location.

One of the companys first of eight standalone coffee shops opened in June in the North Richland Hills area of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. According to its website, stores are also coming soon to Plano and Benbrook.

Black Rifle Coffee also opened its first Midland franchise on Dec. 6, Hearst newspapers reported.

Timothy.Fanning@express-news.net
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, on the eve of the trilateral meeting of the heads of state of the United States, Mexico and Canada last month, urged President Biden to begin aggressive engagement with Mexico.

He complained of the regulatory mistreatment of American investors in Mexicos energy sector. The situation, he said, requires immediate attention by your administration to prevent irreparable harm to Texas businesses and workers. He cited the situation of just one Texas company, Monterra Energy, whose fuel terminals in Mexico were closed by elements of the National Guard. He called on the administration to negotiate the immediate withdrawal of the militarized police force from the facilities of Texas companies.

The governor was not alone. In a letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., demanded that the Biden administration act to reopen American energy assets that have been illegally shut by Mexican militarized police. In addition to Monterra, the senator mentioned Sempra Energy of San Diego, which operates natural gas and natural gas liquids pipelines and terminals in Mexico, and Bulkmatic, an Indiana transportation company that operates a refined products terminal in Mexico, as facing similar operational threats.

Kennedy warned that Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, known as AMLO, seems intent on shutting down foreign competition to the state-owned oil company Pemex. Meanwhile, Kennedy complained, the Biden administration isnt doing anything to stop it.

A third recent protest about Mexicos energy policies to the Biden administration came from the House of Representatives. On November 3, 40 Republican House members cosigned a letter to the secretaries of Commerce, State and Energy, as well as the U.S. Trade Representative, exhorting them to elevate efforts to press Mexican authorities to stop discriminatory actions and provide U.S. companies . . . a level playing field.

On HoustonChronicle.com: In Mexico, U.S. energy firms face slow rolling expropriation

AMLO has made no secret of his desire to kill the energy reforms of his predecessor, Enrique Pena Nieto, which ended Pemexs monopoly and invited foreign competition and investment. His efforts to undermine the reform have been described by critics as slow rolling expropriation and left foreign investors who entered Mexicos energy markets in good faith in the lurch, to the detriment of Mexicans.

One of the egregious instances involves Talos Energy, a Houston offshore exploration and production company. Talos is the target of a state conspiracy to deprive it of most of the commercial rights to which it is entitled by virtue of its discovery of a major oil field on the Mexican side of the Gulf of Mexico. The field, known as Zama, holds an estimated 600 million barrels of recoverable hydrocarbons.

The Mexican government is to receive nearly 80 percent the revenues from the sale of Zama production, which is targeted at 150,000 barrels per day. At $70 a barrel, the foregone state royalties in a production-sharing agreement on sales of 150,000 barrels a day exceed $4 million a day or some $1.4 billion annually. Had standard industry practices been followed, Zama would have been producing two years ago. The government has willfully wasted two years and nearly $3 billion, damaging the finances of not only investors but of Mexico.

Neither Abbott nor Kennedy mentioned Talos in their letters advocating aggressive engagement with Mexico. Neither defined what they meant by aggressive engagement, but its clear that the U.S. needs to react more strongly to AMLOs expropriatory policies  which likely violate the spirit, if not the letter, of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a free trade pact.

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One suggestion: AMLO plays rough with American investors but he wants the U.S. regulator, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to play nice with his proposed acquisition of the controlling interest in the Deer Park refinery, now operated by Shell. Inform AMLO that the committees approval has been put on standby.

That small step should get the Mexican president's attention.

George Baker is the founding publisher of Mexico Energy Intelligence, a Houston-based industry newsletter. He is the platform director of Energia.com.

twitter.com/Energia_com.
Halliburton and Exxon Mobil are in talks over the latters attempt to sell a a stake in the huge West Qurna-1 oil field in southern Iraq, according to the countrys energy minister.

Iraq wants a U.S. partner for Exxons stake, Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar told reporters in Baghdad. If the talks with Halliburton fail, Iraq will step in to buy it, he added. He said a few days ago that Iraqi state company Basra Oil Co. is a potential buyer.

Basra Oil wants to acquire Exxon stake, but to maintain the balance of partners and market, we support a U.S. partner, Jabbar said.

Halliburton, which mainly provides oil-field services, has previously said its inaccurate that the company is interested in buying Exxons holding.

The minister said he expects OPEC+ to increase production by 400,000 barrels next month. He added that the emergence of the omicron coronavirus variant hasnt had much impact on global oil demand.

The 23-nation group, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, decided early this month to raise output in January by that amount. But it kept its meeting in session, meaning that the alliance can change its plan rapidly if oil-market conditions deteriorate.

Exxons exit

Halliburton surfaced as a potential buyer of the 32.7% stake in West Qurna-1, one of the worlds biggest oil fields, more than a month ago.

Exxon was among the first Western oil explorers allowed into Iraq in 2010 as the Middle Eastern nation sought to rebuild its energy industry following the fall of Saddam Hussein and years of conflict. Before that, Iraqs crude bounty had been mostly off limits to foreigners for around 40 years.

Exxon more recently soured on West Qurna amid tough contractual terms, OPEC supply constraints and ongoing political instability. Iraq is the cartels biggest producer after Saudi Arabia.

While Halliburton has long been one of Exxons primary contractors at the field, taking an actual ownership stake would be a rarity for a company focused on mapping, fracking and rehabilitating assets owned by other companies. West Qurna-1 is a 20 billion-barrel deposit.

Abdul Jabbar also said his ministry is in discussions with Chevron Corp. on the economic model of the contract for its potential investment in the southern city of Nasiriya. Hes expected to sign a deal with U.S. firm in the first quarter of 2022.

Iraqi National Oil Co. would be Chevrons partner in the oil exploration investment with a 40% stake in the venture. The U.S. oil giant will conduct exploration work in the city, with an estimated daily output of 600,000 barrels for at least 10 years, the minister said.
Halliburton denied reports that its in talks to buy Exxon Mobils stake in the huge West Qurna-1 oil field in southern Iraq.

The worlds biggest oil-fracking provider on Monday refuted comments made by Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar that Halliburton is vying for an ownership stake in the field. While Halliburton at one point held talks about providing services to a potential buyer, such discussions ended, said Emily Mir, a spokeswoman for the Houston-based contractor. We are not buying oil fields, she added.

Iraq appears eager to secure a U.S. buyer for Exxons stake in the field, one of the largest oil deposits in the world. While the oil major entered into an agreement to sell the asset to Chinese firms PetroChina Co. and CNOOC Ltd. in January, it has failed to get the Iraqi governments support for the deal. As a result of the delay, Exxon filed for arbitration against Basra Oil Co. with the International Chamber of Commerce earlier this year.

Abdul Jabbar told reporters in Baghdad Sunday that Iraq wants a U.S. partner for Exxons stake in the 20 billion-barrel deposit and would step in and buy the field if Halliburton does not. He said a few days ago that Iraqi state company Basra Oil Co. is a potential buyer.

Basra Oil wants to acquire Exxon stake, but to maintain the balance of partners and market, we support a U.S. partner, Jabbar said.

While Halliburton has long been one of Exxons primary contractors at the field, taking an actual ownership stake would be a rarity for a company focused on mapping, fracking and rehabilitating assets owned by other companies.

Halliburton previously held discussions with American investment firm Twelve Seas about providing services in Iraq, Mir said in an email. These discussions are typical course of business for us and similar to talks we have with customers everywhere  none of which call on us to buy an oil field, she said.

Exxons exit

Exxon was among the first Western oil explorers allowed into Iraq in 2010 as the Middle Eastern nation sought to rebuild its energy industry following the fall of Saddam Hussein and years of conflict. Before that, Iraqs crude bounty had been mostly off limits to foreigners for around 40 years. But the company soured on West Qurna amid tough contractual terms, OPEC supply constraints and ongoing political instability.

Abdul Jabbar also said his ministry is in discussions with Chevron Corp. on the economic model of the contract for its potential investment in the southern city of Nasiriya. Hes expected to sign a deal with the U.S. firm in the first quarter of 2022.

Iraqi National Oil Co. would be Chevrons partner in the oil exploration investment with a 40% stake in the venture. The U.S. oil giant will conduct exploration work in the city, with an estimated daily output of 600,000 barrels for at least 10 years, the minister said.

Iraq is OPECs biggest producer after Saudi Arabia. The minister said he expects OPEC and its allies to increase production by 400,000 barrels next month. He added that the emergence of the omicron coronavirus variant hasnt had much impact on global oil demand.

OPEC+, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, decided early this month to raise output in January by that amount. But it kept its meeting in session, meaning that the alliance can change its plan rapidly if oil-market conditions deteriorate.

Other highlights from the ministers comments:

Iraq is working to create a sovereign fund that aims to finance energy projects in the country to cut down imports

Iraq plans to capture all associated gas flaring, which ranges between 4 billion to 5 billion standard cubic feet per day

Current gas capturing projects in Iraq are worth $7 billion

Iraq in talks with Qatar to import gas via pipeline and also to invest in any gas-pipeline project from Qatar to Kuwait

Iraq set to award front-end engineering designs or FEED work to the U.S.; KBR Inc. is part of TotalEnergies SEs gas-capturing deal signed in September

Iraq is currently rehabilitating its export pipeline to Ceyhan that was damaged by ISIS, and is now 85% complete

On climate change, Iraq is committed to switching all liquid fuels used for power plants to gas

2021 Bloomberg L.P.
LyondellBasell on Monday named Peter Vanacker, CEO of the Finnish oil and renewable energy company Neste, as the new chief executive of the Dutch and Houston-based petrochemical giant.

Vanacker, who will start by June 2022, succeeds Bob Patel, who will retire from LyondellBasell at the end of this year to head Maryland chemical company W.R Grace. Ken Lane, LyondellBasells executive vice president of global olefins and polyolefins, will serve as interim CEO during the transition.

Peter's outstanding leadership and industry experience made him the Board's choice in an exceptional field of candidates who were considered as part of the comprehensive search process, said Jacques Aigrain, Board Chair. The Board is confident that his success in delivering value to shareholders, along with his strategic and forward-thinking mindset, will serve the Company well as we continue to drive growth and advance our climate and circularity goals.

Vanacker brings more than 30 years of industry experience to LyondellBasell. He has been CEO of Neste since Nov. 2018. Previously, he was the CEO and managing director of the CABB Group, a leading fine chemicals company, and the CEO and managing director of the Treofan Group, a polypropylene films company. He previously held various roles at Bayer AG, including executive vice president and head of its global polyurethanes business, working in Belgium, Brazil, Germany and the U.S.

RETIREMENT: LyondellBasell CEO Bob Patel to retire at end of year

He will take the helm of LyondellBasell at a pivotal moment in the petrochemical industry, which faces concerns about greenhouse gas emissions and plastic pollution. LyondellBasell in its 2020 sustainability report outlined plans to produce 2 million metric tons of recycled and renewable-based polymers each year by 2030 to reduce plastic waste.

I am thrilled to join LyondellBasell at such an exciting time for the Company, Vanacker said. I have long admired it as an industry leader in technology, product innovation and, more recently, circularity. Pulling from my own experiences, I will strive to build on the Company's momentum and work to continue offering great value to shareholders while advancing the Company's sustainability goals.

The leadership change comes six months after a chemical leak at LyondellBasells La Porte plant killed two and injured 30 workers. A month after the deadly accident, Patel announced plans to retire. Patel served as LyondellBasells CEO for six years after joining the company in March 2010.

LyondellBasell in October was fined $3.4 million by the Environmental Protection Agency and agreed to install pollution control and emissions monitoring equipment estimated to cost $50 million at six petrochemical manufacturing facilities, including in Channelview, Corpus Christi and La Porte, to resolve allegations that they violated the Clean Air Act and Texas air pollution control laws.

LyondellBasell in its most recent quarter made $1.8 billion, compared with a $114 million profit during the same quarter a year earlier. Third quarter revenue nearly doubled to $12.7 billion, from $6.8 billion a year earlier.
Chuck Blount / Staff

After trademark beef with Houston-based restaurant empire Pappas, San Antonios Papas Burgers has announced it has a new name for its award-winning restaurants: The Good News Burgers.

The Good News Burgers owner Robert Walker announced the new name Friday on Facebook, just a week after he received a cease-and-desist notice from the Pappas Restaurants chain.
The city of Conroe is moving forward with an economic development grant with Hewlett Packard Enterprise which is relocating it aviation department from California to Conroe.

The grant amount is $465,072 payable over seven years.

Executive Director of the Conroe Economic Development Council Danielle Scheiner said the grant is performance based.

According to information from the city, the company has entered into a 10 agreement to lease a dedicated hanger at Galaxy FBO. The $1.6 million project to relocate the department from San Jose will include office space buildout, conference and support services as part of the 19,000 square foot space.

On yourcouriernews.com: Conroe Airport director lauded for aviation vision as growth takes flight

The companys move to Conroe will bring about 11 jobs to the community.

The move to Conroe comes after Gov. Greg Abbott announced in December 2020 that the company was moving its global headquarters to Spring. The new campus is expected to open in early 2022.

According to information from Abbotts office, HPE already has a significant presence across Texas, with locations in Austin, Plano, and Houston  the latter of which is home to more than 2,600 employees and is the companys largest employment hub. HPE currently operates major product development, services, manufacturing, and lab facilities in Houston and Austin.

We are excited that Hewlett Packard Enterprise has chosen to call Texas home, and I thank them for expanding their investment in the Lone Star State by relocating their headquarters to the Houston region, Abbott said in a release. Hewlett Packard Enterprise joins more than 50 Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the Lone Star State, including 22 in the Houston area alone. That is because Texas offers the best business climate in the nation. Our low taxes, high quality of life, top-notch workforce, and tier one universities create an environment where innovative companies like HPE can flourish.

We look forward to a successful partnership with HPE, as together we build a more prosperous future for Texas.

cdominguez@hcnonline.com
DENVER (AP)  A mining company has agreed to pay Colorado $1.6 million to resolve its liability for natural resource damage related to the 2015 Gold King Mine spill that fouled rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.

The proposed consent decree with Sunnyside Gold Corp. follows Sunnyside settlements with New Mexico and the Navajo Nation earlier this year.

Attorney General Phil Weiser's office said Monday that a Denver federal court will decide whether to approve the decree after a 30-day public comment period.

Sunnyside admits no fault in the agreement.

Sunnyside operated a mine next to Gold King near Silverton that closed in 1991. A federal investigation found that bulkheads to plug that mine led to a buildup of water from Gold King containing heavy metals. A contractor for the Environmental Protection Agency inadvertently triggered the spill while attempting to mitigate the buildup.

The area has since been declared a Superfund site.

Sunnyside never owned or operated the Gold King mine and was not at fault for the August 2015 EPA-caused spill, Gina Myers, Sunnysides director of Reclamation Operations, said in an email. We are pleased to resolve this matter and to see funds going toward further efforts to improve water quality rather than protracted potential litigation."

Weiser, Dan Gibbs, executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, and Jill Hunsaker Ryan, executive director of state health department, will work with local governments and not-for-profit groups to determine how to allocate the money.
KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP)  Authorities in Florida arrested a 32-year-old woman Sunday in connection with the death of her mother.

The Osceola County Sheriff's Office says Natalie Marie Gonzalez is being charged with first-degree murder following the death on Saturday in a home in the Orlando suburb of Kissimmee.
A 20-year-old Houston man faces a capital murder charge in the fatal shooting of a construction worker he tried to rob, authorities said.

Jovanny Villegas was arrested hours after Mutalib Karim was killed Sunday morning while waiting for work. The 76-year-old man and another person were shot about 6:20 a.m. while they were in a parking lot at 4368 Telephone Road, near Winkler Drive.
Balloons soared skyward Sunday night from a crowded Baytown parking lot where mourners had gathered to honor a recent homicide victim.

Then the shooting started.

"We released the balloons and then boom-boom-boom," said vigil attendee Bernita Pace. "Nobody knew who it was coming from...It's a nightmare."

One person was killed and 13 others were injured when an unknown shooter or shooters opened fire around 6:40 p.m. on a crowd of people gathered for a vigil outside Yvonnes Famous Kitchen, a food trailer on the 1400 block of North Market Loop, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

Authorities on Monday identified the person killed as Disha Allen, a 25-year-old mother who lived in the Atascocita area. She was pronounced dead at a hospital.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Man accused of killing Harris County constable deputy in ambush was underaged at bar before shooting, police say

Allen had attended the event to support her friends family, said Shae Siler, the slain womans sister. Allen was a bystander randomly caught in the gunfire.

She was an amazing person. She cared for her family. She cared for her friends, Siler said. Its just very hurtful that my sister lost her life, especially trying to celebrate the life of someone else.

Allens daughter will celebrate her fifth birthday next week, Siler said. Allen is mourned by many, Siler said, including her parents, siblings, nieces and nephews. The young mother worked in security.

The victims mother told ABC13 that she helped care for Allens daughter, who has special needs. I feel its unfair that she leaves behind her daughter that will be 5 next week. Will never see her mom again, Leanna Goudeau told the news station. She had a lot on her plate already with my little granddaughter being special needs. She was responsible  a responsible single mother doing the best that she could do.

Last year, Siler recalled, Allen walked into her older sisters pandemic birthday party and declared that it was too boring. So she turned up the music and started dancing.

No matter what, she was going to be the life of the party, Siler said. She brought the best out of all of us.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Ex-Houston cop gets 45 days in jail for his role in Jan. 6 Capitol riot

In the last conversation with her sister, Siler said they were reminiscing about Jamal Narcisse, the recent homicide victim being honored at the balloon release.

The 29-year-old Baytown man was killed early this month in a domestic violence-related shooting. His mother hosted the Sunday vigil at her Louisiana-style food truck.

The shootings have rattled people in Baytown, a community of more than 75,000 people located along the Houston Ship Channel roughly 30 miles east of downtown.

Narcisse, also known as Lil Daddy, was an amazing father and uncle who loved his children, Siler said.

That was a tragic, tragic loss to not only their family but to the city, Siler said. That was the reason why a lot of the city showed up.

A candlelight vigil was scheduled to follow the balloon release, but the group didnt get that far, Pace said.

She was there with her son, 36-year-old Joshua Pace. They were standing several feet apart when bullets sprayed her truck and struck her son in both hips, Pace said. He is expected to survive, she told a Chronicle reporter Monday in a phone call from the hospital.

Pace said Narcisse had been a close friend of her other son, Jeremy, who was killed in a 2011 shooting.

"He kept me laughing," she said of Narcisse. "He had so much humor."

The sheriff's office has not identified the non-fatal shooting victims. Three were transported via LifeFlight to a local hospital in critical condition. One injured person may be a child, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.

Authorities believe those who fired the shots were traveling in a small, dark-colored sedan. There had been no arrests as of early Monday evening.

"There's been a lot of moving parts," Gonzalez said. "Very chaotic."

Another disturbance broke out Sunday night at the hospital where a group of people gathered in the wake of the shooting, according to officials. Baytown police called for crowd control assistance from deputies, a sheriffs office spokesperson said.

Siler said she was unable to enter the hospital where her sister died because a large group of law enforcement officers barricaded the door due to the altercation.

She said she felt that police should have been focused on finding the suspect instead of blocking the hospital.

It was very much an emotional, emotional night last night, Siler said Monday. There was a lot of words exchanged. It was not just me who felt like the police did not do their part.

Baytown police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

News reports show there have been several local and national cases in which gunfire erupted during a vigil or funeral.

Early this year, a teen was shot during a vigil for a 16-year-old boy killed at a Sunnyside apartment complex.

In Ohio, several people were shot in April while attending a parking lot vigil for someone who had been killed. In Memphis, someone was shot in November at a memorial marking the spot where rapper Young Dolph was gunned down.

Similar shootings happened this year in Orlando and St. Louis, according to media reports, among other places.

anna.bauman@chron.com
Balloons soared skyward on Sunday night in a crowded Baytown parking lot where mourners gathered to honor a recent homicide victim.

Then the shooting started.

"We released the balloons and then boom, boom, boom," said Bernita Pace. "Nobody knew who it was coming from...It's a nightmare."

Fourteen people were injured  one fatally and three critically  when an unknown suspect or suspects opened fire around 6:40 p.m. at an outdoor food truck on the 1400 block of North Market Loop where the group was holding the vigil, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

Authorities on Monday identified the person killed as Disha Allen, a 25-year-old Humble woman. She was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Pace said her 36-year-old son Joshua Pace was among those wounded in the spray of bullets. She was standing next to him when he was shot in both hips. He remains hospitalized but is expected to survive the gunshot wounds.

The sheriff's office has identified no other shooting victims. Three victims were transported via LifeFlight to a local hospital in critical condition. One injured person may be a child, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.

Authorities believe the suspect or suspects were driving a small, dark-colored sedan. No one has been arrested.

"There's been a lot of moving parts," Gonzalez said. "Very chaotic."

Another disturbance broke out at a clinic where several of the injured were taken.

The balloon release was held in honor of Jamal Narcisse. The 29-year-old Baytown man was shot to death in early December.

Pace and her son attended the vigil to support the family. She said Narcisse had been a close friend of her other son, Jeremy, who was killed in a 2011 shooting.

"He kept me laughing," Pace said about Narcisse. "He had so much humor."
A man accused of killing Harris County Precinct 4 Deputy Constable Kareem Atkins was underage in a Houston bar and with several others prior to the shooting in October that also wounded two other law enforcement officials.

The arrest Sunday morning of Eddie Alberto Miller in Richmond comes two months after the shooting, which authorities likened to an ambush. Investigators eyed Miller, 19, as a suspect in the shooting early on and believe he shot the three deputies as they tried detaining someone he knew, according to court documents.

Miller has been charged with capital murder in Atkins death. He also faces charges of attempted capital murder and aggravated assault of a police officer. Deputies Darryl Garrett, 28, and Juqaim Barthen, 26, were also shot. Constable Mark Herman said Monday that Garrett remains hospitalized.

Some days are good, some days are bad  he continues to fight the good fight, Herman said at a news conference at Houston Police Department headquarters.

All three deputies were working an extra security job Oct. 16 at 45 Norte Sports Bar in the 4400 block of North Freeway when they were shot around 2:15 a.m. from behind while detaining a possible robbery suspect, authorities have said. Police said they believe the weapon was an AR-15-style firearm.

Investigators were aware of Millers link to the shooting for several weeks prior to his arrest, Police Chief Troy Finner said.

Detective Erik Rossow said their investigation started with obtaining surveillance footage and transaction records from the bar  then learning that Miller was with a group of men who reserved a booth there.

Finner would not go into additional detail over what occurred in the moments prior to the shooting or what happened in the two months that followed to garner charges against Miller.

Atkins death marked the first fatal shooting of a Precinct 4 deputy in the agencys history.

His widow, Nadia Atkins, stood alongside authorities at the news conference and addressed her husbands death.

He was a great person, she said. He loved his job  to know that a kid took him, thats hard.

Atkins joined Precinct 4 in January 2019 and had recently returned from paternity leave.

Court records show Miller lived in Richmond and that he was arrested in the 4400 block of Williams Way, near the Southwest Freeway frontage road.

He was denied bail Monday in the capital murder case and is expected to return to court Tuesday.

nicole.hensley@chron.com
A man was shot and killed Sunday evening in a northwest Harris County convenience store, according the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

The man, who has been identified as Davion Potts, was shot several times while he was inside Primos Food Store at 14180 Tomball Parkway, near Bammel North Houston Road, authorities said.

Potts went into the store about 7:30 p.m. Another man followed him inside and then shot him, the agency said.

Several customers were in the store at the time of the shooting. No other injuries were reported.

Joel.Umanzor@chron.com
An elderly man died Sunday when his southwest Houston home caught fire, according to police.

The man was found around 11 p.m. when firefighters went to the 5100 block of Trail Lake Drive to extinguish the blaze. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Diane and Chuck McClaferty live and work on a Dripping Springs ranch. Its been in Chuck McClafertys family for 85 years. They raise beef cattle. They keep honeybees.

And a proposed four-lane highway would run right through the middle of their land.

If it comes to pass, theyll lose the cattle and the bees. Theyll lose the future theyve imagined for their children and grandchildren since they moved onto the ranch 28 years ago.

When you drive into Dripping Springs from Austin, theres a big water tower that says, Welcome to the gateway to Hill Country, Chuck McClaferty said. But theyre taking away the Hill Country and putting down pavement.

Dripping Springs is a quiet, small town where you escape the big city to gaze upon clear waters and dark night skies. At least it was.

The population of this Hays County city west of Austin has more than tripled to 7,500 since 2010, and the growing pains are showing.

The citys roads and wastewater treatment are overdue for upgrades. Its a fact that motivates those who want to upgrade them and scares those who fear the effects of development.

The county has yet to approach the McClafertys about buying  or even just taking  their land. But the couple and other affected ranchers have met with K. Friese and Associates  the firm contracted with Hays County to begin exploring the highways potential designs  and they see the writing on the wall.

Its going to cross Onion Creek in four places and destroy all of our ranches with the lighting, noise abatement, air pollution, Diane McClaferty said. All of us have livestock. All my neighbors have horses and cows.

Its just the way weve lived, she said. And now theyre just going to intrude on us and force on us this highway that doesnt make sense at all.

Growing pains

The existing roads havent kept pace with the influx of new homes and residents, leading to gridlock in rush hours. And although the population pressure has pushed the city to upgrade its wastewater treatment, environmentalists objections have slowed those plans.

Dripping Springs is known as a quaint town with several old family ranches and rolling hills. The town motto is the gateway to Hill Country. It holds the designation of the official wedding capital of Texas, and it hosts several breweries and distilleries, including one for Deep Eddy Vodka.

Snaking off the main roads  U.S. 290, FM 150 and RM 12  are quiet neighborhoods with ranch-style houses set back far from the street, copper weather vanes spinning on the roofs and junk cars rusting in the front yard.

The city proper, all 10 square miles of it, lies about 20 miles west of Austin, but its extraterritorial jurisdiction adds 100 square miles and extends all the way to Austins city limits.

Thats what has kept Austin from extending all the way to Dripping Springs, Mayor Bill Foulds said.

In the early 1980s, the city of Austin was trying to annex large areas of land, and people were constantly afraid of Austin, Foulds said.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Who's clamoring for Austin apartments? Houstonians, not Californians, survey finds

Dripping Springs had tracts 8 to 10 miles away that came into its extraterritorial jurisdiction, even though ETJs typically extend a half-mile beyond city limits, Foulds said.

A citys control over its ETJ is limited, he said, but we are able to keep Austin out of (residents) backyard.

Dripping Springs has only a couple of big-box stores  a Home Depot and an H-E-B  and the rest are mom-and-pop shops.

Yolanda Jones, who lives in a large white home with backyard views of hills and ranches, said neighbors realize development is inevitable.

All of us moved here from somewhere else because we love this lifestyle, the Gateway to Hill Country, she said, and we know other people want to live here, too.

A highway sign on the citys busiest road, U.S. 290, at the citys southern boundary reads: Dripping Springs  City limit  Pop (Population) 1,788. But that number hasnt been accurate since 2010. The most recent census data has the population at just under 7,500 people  an increase of 319 percent in just 10 years.

The Interstate 35 corridors massive growth in recent decades has meant that no matter how hard some people try, the quiet, charming Texas ranch life is beginning to deteriorate. Threats of four-lane highways, 3,000-home subdivisions and increased light and air pollution are a constant fog over the rolling Hill Country.

Were not opposed to roads or development, Jones said, but what we want is smart development, smart transportation, that solves the problems currently and in the future.

Housing

The city has experienced so much housing growth that its council enacted a moratorium on all development. It began Nov. 18 and has been extended until Feb. 20 to give city officials time to craft a comprehensive plan for the city.

Popping up adjacent to the once-quiet old neighborhoods are massive housing developments with hundreds  thousands, even  of new homes. Theres Headwaters, a master-planned community with cliff-side mansions that start at $500,000 and boast views of the Hill Countrys rolling green landscapes, and Caliterra, a 600-acre neighborhood with a pool complex. The citys two main bodies of water  Onion Creek and Walnut Creek  meander through Caliterra.

Its the latter subdivision where Kathy Epperson, Chris and Karen Hill, and Jones live  four members of a grassroots citizens alliance, Save Our Hill Country, which advocates for responsible development in and around Dripping Springs.

The backyards of the homes of Jones and the Hills have expansive views of the Hill Country, something they say they were promised when they purchased their homes in the new housing community around five years ago or less.

But for at least the past decade, county records show a proposed four-lane highway has been in the works that will expand FM 150. The project is still being designed, but it threatens to cut through Jones and the Hills backyard views. Also at risk: old family ranches, fragile wildlife habitats and at least one abandoned silver mine. Many say these make Dripping Springs a unique place to live.

Jones lamented what could befall the pristine Onion Creek.

Any time you have a big roadway like that, youre going to have oil, gas, windshield wipers, trash debris and debris from car accidents that could impact the creek and the wildlife, Jones said. Its going to be terrible.

On Houston Chronicle.com: How Austin became one of the least affordable cities in America

Jennifer Schaeffer, another Dripping Springs resident and a member of Save Our Hill Country, noted two deer-crossing signs at the edge of the floodplain. She said shes concerned about the implications for wildlife and auto collisions if the Southwest Loop or an accompanying roundabout at RM 12 and FM 150 move forward.

As the mayor takes in the moment for the city, he strikes a cautious tone.

This rapid growth was never anticipated at this volume by anyone.  We have to be careful what we ask for, Foulds said.

Waters and sky

Dripping Springs wastewater treatment plant is permitted to handle up to 400,000 gallons of water a day, and Foulds says the city treats only about 50 percent of that capacity. But all the new homes could overwhelm the plant. And to handle the extra effluent, the city wants to build 25-million-gallon ponds  something Save Our Springs, an environmental group based in Austin, has contested since city leaders first floated the idea four years ago.

Foulds says the city hopes to begin resolving the court disputes over the wastewater treatment plant in January.

Since 2014, Dripping Springs has been designated an International Dark Sky Community, which, according to the Dark Sky website, is a town that has shown exceptional dedication to the preservation of the night sky through the implementation and enforcement of a quality outdoor lighting ordinance, dark sky education and citizen support of dark skies.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Tesla's Texas problem: The 'perfect battle' between Elon Musk, auto dealers and lawmakers

Dripping Springs has a nighttime lighting ordinance that regulates everything from how long a buildings light can be on at night to the amount of light output a building is allowed during specific times at night.

Chris Hill, an astrophotography hobbyist who moved to Dripping Springs in part because of its Dark Sky designation, said hes concerned about the noise and air pollution that will inevitably accompany a huge road development.

The roundabout will have nine 30-foot light poles pushing out 250 watts of broad spectrum light each, and while the lights will be Dark Sky-compliant, when the light hits the ground it bounces off and creates a light dome, he said. And the noise nuisance is going to be extreme.

Moratorium

The development moratorium is meant to give city leaders time to draw up a new comprehensive plan. Foulds said the city needs to work with Hays County and Texas Department of Transportation leaders on road solutions. And it needs to continue litigating its wastewater treatment plant expansion, which has been locked in lawsuits for years.

But the moratorium doesnt extend to the citys ETJ, which includes the Caliterra subdivision. And it doesnt provide a long-term solution like one sought by County Commissioner Walt Smith, who is up for re-election in 2022.

We would love to say, Nobodys coming here, but we know better than that, Smith said.

He said over 18,000 platted home sites are not built yet but will be in the next seven to 10 years.

Roadways are one concern, but my biggest concern is just water, Smith added. How do you get water in those homes without draining the (Edwards) aquifer?

Diane McClaferty said she and her husband feel like theyre in the fight of our lives since they found out about the plans for the highway a few months ago. They attend city and county meetings, joined up with the Save Our Hill Country group and have organized with other ranchers who would be affected to try to stop the highway from happening.

Aside from their own land, the couple is worried that more highways and subdivisions will harm what Dripping Springs has always been.

But Smith cautioned that if Dripping Springs doesnt get a handle on its infrastructure problems, it could go the way of Austin in terms of traffic gridlock.

Or infrastructure is dire at this point, Smith said. As a community, just imagine the next five to seven years of sustained growth  we could possibly double our population by then without any additional transportation infrastructure.

The Save Our Hill Country alliance, which is trying to recall Smith or prevent him from running next year, says itll continue to monitor development agreements and infrastructure plans. And it will continue to attend meetings and to distribute flyers, email blasts and social media posts to pressure leaders to preserve the regions character as much as possible.

Its concerning to me, said Schaeffer of Save Our Hill Country, that we havent done our jobs to work as a county to facilitate smart growth and smart transportation in this area.

Foulds said thats the goal but that growth will persist regardless.

Cities either grow, or they go away, Foulds said.

Annie Blanks writes for the Express-News through Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. ReportforAmerica.org. annie.blanks@express-news.net
The man who was fired from his job after posting a TikTok video of himself making an offensive comment toward popular televangelist Joel Osteen has set up a GoFundMe account to raise money for nonprofits in Houston and Los Angeles. So far, the fundraiser has raised almost $4,600 as of Friday afternoon.

Nick Stanley posted a 16-second video of himself calling Osteen a piece of s earlier this week. The restaurant server said he was fired days after the video amassed more than 6 million views.

He said the money will go to two humanitarian organizations but does not name them on the GoFundMe page.

On HoustonChronicle.com: A man insulted Lakewood Church's Joel Osteen on TikTok. He said he was fired days later.

Should Stanleys fundraiser reach its $20,000 goal, he said the proceeds will be split evenly between the organizations in Los Angeles and Houston, the city where Osteen's Lakewood Church is based.

While so many of you have found it in the kindness of your hearts to create a GoFundMe for myself, I thought of something better, Stanley said on the GoFunMe page. Our country is experiencing economic hardships, and more people are falling on hard times than ever before.

In a live TikTok video on Friday, Stanley, who isnt from Texas, said he saw Osteen at the restaurant where he works several weeks prior to posting the video.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Some Texas religious leaders live in lavish, tax-free estates thanks to obscure law

Stanley said Osteen was taking photos with patrons when the TikTok user returned from break. Stanley thought to himself: There is no way I am going to let Joel Osteen walk away and think that hes a good guy.

I personally wanted to tell him how I feel, and so thats why I calmly walked over there, Stanley said.

In the original video, Stanley gets Osteen on camera long enough to say to the pastor: Hey man, you know youre a piece of s, right?

Osteen laughs and walks away, which Stanley said Friday surprised him.

Several days after he posted the video, Stanley said he was fired from his restaurant job. He still refuses to say where he previously worked.

Stanleys video was posted a week after a plumber found envelopes of money in a wall at Osteens Lakewood Church in Houston. Police believe the case is connected to an incident in 2014, when someone reportedly took $600,000 worth of checks and cash from a safe at the church.
Conservative candidates flipped two of the four open seats in Saturdays runoff elections for the Houston Independent School District board  a testament, some say, to the grip that national politics have taken over local education.

Pastor Kendall Baker edged out Trustee Holly Maria Flynn Vilaseca by less than 100 votes to win the seat in District 6. In District 7, Trustee Anne Sung lost to former PTO President Bridget Wade.

It will be the first time that a conservative has had a seat on the nine-person board since the last batch of trustees was elected in 2019.

About 5,300 people, less than 7 percent of registered voters, participated in the District 6 runoff, while over 12,400 people, about 12 percent of registered voters, turned out for the District 7 election, according to Harris County election statistics.

For the incumbents, the results were an indicator of just how deeply political talking points resonated with voters. Issues that sparked nationwide debate  such as the teaching of critical race theory and mask mandates in school  found themselves front and center of what are traditionally nonpartisan races.

Knocking on doors in District 7, it was pretty clear to me that the impression that voters have of public schools, if they dont themselves have children in public schools, is informed by Fox News and national news coverage that has nothing to do with what our kids are being taught, Sung said.

The fear that kids are being taught critical race theory or taught that they are victims is completely opposite of what were doing in HISD schools, Sung said.

Critical race theory  an academic framework most typically taught in colleges and universities  was banned by Gov. Greg Abbott in public schools this year. Opponents of the ban say it is not taught in Texas schools in the first place and accuse proponents of the law of trying to whitewash discussions of race and the countrys history.

Superintendent Millard House IIs mask mandate for students in public schools also drew the ire of local conservatives, mirroring similar battles that played out elsewhere across the country.

Wade says the results are proof that issues like these matter to everyday Houstonians.

It speaks to the fact that people want to have a say in their public education as taxpayers and parents and families, people want to be active participants and be heard, and so I think it was people crying out to be heard. That was the foundation from which everything came, Wade said.

Jasmine Jenkins, executive director of Houstonians for Greater Public Schools, a school board watchdog group, said the results were not entirely surprising, as Districts 6 and 7, which cover swaths of west Houston, tend to lean Republican.

She lamented, however, that national political talking points had made their way into local nonpartisan races.

School board races are nonpartisan for a reason, and here we saw particular vitriol being thrown by both parties in an attempt to grab power and saw real diversion away from actual education issues, Jenkins said.

I do think the Republicans, both nationally and here locally, were able to hammer home a very clear message that resonated with a lot of voters that ultimately led them to victory. Much like we see with Democrats nationally, here locally they were trying to defend their position without a clear and affirmative stance that resonated with voters, she said.

Baker spoke out against mask mandates and critical race theory during his campaign but said Sunday that he will take time to assess the situation in Houstons public schools before taking action.

He also attempted to put behind him sexual harassment allegations that cost him his job at the citys 311 center in 2013. He was suspended indefinitely after an inspector general report found that he made lewd comments and sexual advances toward subordinate female employees.

Baker has denied the allegations and said the Texas Workforce Commission cleared him of wrongdoing. A 2014 letter from the commission found that he was fired for a reason that was not misconduct connected to the work.

He was also a vocal opponent of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance in 2015 and was featured in ad campaigns saying that we have a moral obligation to protect women from the potential danger of perverted men, in reference to transgender people using public restrooms.

Were going to move forward in the best interest of all of the children, keeping all of the children safe and protected, keeping children first and parents voices first. Nothing will impede my ability to serve, Baker said. That chapter of my life is closed.

With nine people on the school board, Baker and Wade still remain in the minority and will not be able to unilaterally affect the districts direction. Both have said they want to put politics aside and work with the other trustees to improve educational outcomes for the students.

We are going to see very interesting dynamics play out on the board, which could be for good or for bad, Jenkins said, noting that school board issues rarely fall along the typical left-right spectrum.

Im optimistic enough to think that people can grow and adjust once theyre out of campaign mode and they can get work done for kids, Jenkins said.

Jackie Anderson, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, said members will continue to ensure that schools are safe and welcoming.

We want to state very clearly that there is no place in HISD for discrimination of any kind. The HFT and our community simply wont tolerate it, she said.

The HFT is disappointed in the results of the races in Districts 6 and 7 but said it expects all elected leaders to live up to their promises of higher pay for teachers.

Priority one for this new board must be to stabilize staffing and ensure a qualified and certified teacher is available for every student. We dont need anyone in Austin, D.C. or some new think tank to tell us what we must do to retain teachers. The answer is simple. Ask them. We stand ready to work with the district to achieve this very important goal, Anderson said in a statement.
Since the Supreme Court has given Texas the green light for its new legal approach that all but bans abortions, Gov. Gavin Newsom says, California will use the same theory to curtail guns  letting private citizens sue people who sell assault rifles and parts for untraceable ghost guns.

SCOTUS is letting private citizens in Texas sue to stop abortion?!, Newsom tweeted Saturday. If thats the precedent then well let Californians sue those who put ghost guns and assault weapons on our streets.

State officials will try to craft a measure that would allow residents to seek damages of at least $10,000, plus legal fees, against anyone who manufactures, distributes or sells an assault weapon or ghost gun kit in California.

If states can now shield their laws from review by the federal courts that compare assault weapons to Swiss Army knives, Newsom said in a news release late Saturday, then California will use that authority to protect peoples lives, where Texas used it to put women in harms way.

In seizing on Texass successful approach, Newsoms plan is likely to attract controversy along the lines of what embroiled lawmakers there after they banned all abortions after a heartbeat is detected, usually around six weeks into a pregnancy. The new law, which is already spurring droves of women to seek abortion access in California and other states, is unique in relying on enabling private citizens to sue abortion providers for the same amount Newsom is proposing in his new gun measure, $10,000.

President Biden criticized that citizen litigation path as the most pernicious aspect of the Texas abortion law because, he said, it creates a sort of vigilante system by encouraging the public to police the issue.

Newsoms office billed his gun announcement as a direct response to Fridays Supreme Court decision that largely allowed the Texas abortion measure to stand.

Jessica Levinson, a Supreme Court expert who teaches constitutional law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, told The Chronicle that Newsom is hoping again to be a quarter step ahead of public opinion and one step ahead of where he can go legally, as he was in his support of same-sex marriage and legalization of marijuana.

He is proposing to use a mechanism that he and many others have vilified. But I think its quite smart, right? I think its a big F you to the Supreme Court, Levinson said. If youre going to allow unconstitutional laws  or I should say in this case, constitutionally questionable laws  that are insulated from judicial review, then were going to use that to our advantage.

Newsom gave few details about his plan. Its prospects in the Legislature were not clear.

Assembly Member Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, said Sunday that he has been working with the nonprofit Brady Campaign,which advocates for gun control, on similar legislation that he plans to introduce when the Legislature reconvenes in January.

Ting called it a very simple issue: The gun industry needs to be held liable for the use of firearms to commit crimes, or gun-related incidents that result in injury or death. Almost every other industry in this country is held liable for what their products do, he said.

Ting said he fully supports the governors statement, on guns and hopes the Legislatures Democratic supermajority will get the proposal passed.

State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, said Sunday that its too soon to say what lawmakers will do, but noted that the supermajority has passed very, very strong gun safety measures. The governor and Legislature agree that well do whatever we can to drain the gun swamp, to reduce the number of guns in our society, particularly assault weapons, he said in a phone interview.

Newsom is clearly calling into question the Texas approach on abortion, he said. Wiener called the Supreme Court completely out of control in allowing a law like this to remain in effect.

If youre going to go down this slippery slope, this is where the slope leads, he said. I want all of this to go away, the Texas law and anything like it, but if the Texas law is going to move forward, of course were going to see other proposals relating to other constitutional rights.

The Supreme Courts decision on Texas law means there is no limit on the kinds of laws that can be adopted that create civil liability for the exercise of constitutional rights  including same-sex weddings, or criticizing a governor, said Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of UC Berkeleys School of Law.

UC Berkeley law Professor Khiara Bridges said the decision also subverts the constitutional guarantee that all citizens have the same rights, no matter where they live  with the prospect of a patchwork of rights in the nation, she said. People in Texas wont have abortion rights. People in California wont have gun rights. People in Florida wont have the right to practice non-Christian religions. People in Kentucky wont have the right to marry someone of the same sex.

Assault weapons and ghost guns have emerged as legal controversies in recent years after a series of contradictory court rulings and frustration about a lack of accountability after mass shootings.

An AR-15-style assault rifle that was illegal in California but purchased out of state was used in the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting that killed three people in 2019. The shooting at San Joses Valley Transportation Authority rail yard in May, in which nine people were killed, involved several legal handguns but illegal high-capacity ammunition.

Second Amendment advocates have been quick to challenge state and local efforts to curb access to guns and ammunition. Public opinion polls find Californians generally favor tightening the rules.

Levinson said Newsom probably expects gun legislation to face legal challenges, even up to the Supreme Court.

If the most efficient way to keep these devastating weapons off our streets is to add the threat of private lawsuits, Newsoms news release said, we should do just that.

San Francisco Chronicle staff writers Lauren Hernandez and Kellie Hwang contributed to this report.

Lauren Hepler is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hepler@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LAHepler
The claim: If Roe is overturned and this 15-week ban in Mississippi is allowed to go into effect, Mississippi will still have a law on the books in which 39 countries  39 out of 42  in Europe have more restrictive abortion laws.  Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves.

Reeves made the statement on NBCs Meet the Press on Nov. 28.

PolitiFact rating: Half true. Reeves relied on a study that looked only at one part of each nations law  the part that defined the initial time period for elective abortions. Folding in the exceptions that many countries allow, the actual number could be one-third of what Reeves said.

Discussion

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of a pivotal Mississippi abortion law Dec. 1. With a conservative majority on the court, the future of Roe v. Wade, the rule that has guided abortion laws for five decades, is in question.

The Mississippi law makes most abortions illegal after 15 weeks, about two months earlier than the 24 weeks that the courts have generally approved.

The statute provides narrow exceptions for abortion beyond 15 weeks. It would be allowed to protect the life of the woman, or if there was a serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function. A major bodily function includes functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, and digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions.

LAST WEEK: U.S. Supreme Court leaves Texas 6-week abortion ban in effect but allows some challenges to proceed

There are different ways of categorizing abortion laws in Europe. Reeves relied on one analysis, but that study made no allowances for broad exceptions in countries laws that could extend the cutoff point for a legal abortion well past the 15-week mark. PolitiFact counted at least 15 countries where that could happen, with potentially 11 additional ones.

Reeves numbers are not as solid as he suggests.

Reeves office told us his data came from a report by the Charlotte Lozier Institute, an anti-abortion study center. Chief Justice John Roberts referred to it during oral arguments.

The authors made it clear that they werent looking at every European nation, just those that they consider to allow elective abortions. Elective is the key word. As the Lozier Institute defines it, it means when a woman can seek an abortion without meeting certain conditions.

This definition eliminated eight countries, including Britain (with a 24-week cutoff) and Finland (with a range of cutoffs from 12 to 20 weeks), because, the authors argued, the laws there required women to provide some justification for an abortion beyond it being their choice.

But their definition of elective can be subjective. In Britain, two medical professionals have to agree that a womans mental or physical health is at risk. In the Netherlands, a doctor has to agree with the womans claim that she faces a distressed situation. The Lozier Institute study counts the Netherlands, but excludes Britain. (Northern Ireland, the other part of the United Kingdom, is included.)

About PolitiFact PolitiFact is a fact-checking project to help you sort out fact from fiction in politics. Truth-O-Meter ratings are determined by a panel of three editors. The burden of proof is on the speaker, and PolitiFact rates statements based on the information known at the time the statement is made. See More Collapse

The great majority of European countries  27 by Politifacts count  have a basic cutoff point of 12 weeks. But nearly all of those countries have exceptions that extend the period, often as long as 22 weeks.

What one makes of those exceptions influences the comparison between Mississippi and Europe.

On its face, a 15-week limit is more permissive than a shorter limit, said Carter Snead, a law professor at University of Notre Dame. Some have suggested that the European laws are more permissive because of their various exceptions, but this strikes me as mere speculation, because to assess that claim we would need to compare how such exceptions are interpreted and enforced alongside the Mississippi laws exceptions.

The Lozier Institute took a narrow approach. Its study looked at one part of each countrys law  the baseline period during which elective abortions are legal. It didnt factor in the reasons that period could be extended or for how long.

Looking at abortion laws in their broader context reveals that comparable countries which, on their face, set shorter time limits on abortion access than the United States, often provide greater flexibility in obtaining abortions after those limits pass, with exceptions for a broad range of circumstances, according to a brief from a group of law professors in support of the abortion clinic.

Two of the most flexible terms are socioeconomic conditions and the mental health of the woman.

With the help of several databases  one from the United Nations, one from the World Health Organization, and a list from the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard  PolitiFact examined the text of the laws of the countries the Lozier Institute examined, sometimes using Google Translate for our research.

Based on the text, there could be as few as 13 countries with shorter cutoff periods than Mississippis 15 weeks. Depending on how laws are applied, though, there might be 24 in that group. The gap between whats written and whats practiced creates a gray zone. Some studies suggest that Belgium offers more flexibility than meets the eye.

Even with those uncertainties, it is difficult to get to Reeves claim of 39 nations once laws with exceptions for the life circumstances and mental well-being of the woman are taken into account.
December 13, 2021 - Houston police are investigating the shooting of an armed suspect who fired shots at HPD officers at 10200 Valencia Drive about 2 p.m. last Friday (December 10).



The suspect, Marc Anthony Limon (H/m, 26), was transported to an area hospital in stable condition. Limon is charged with two counts of aggravated assault of a police officer in the 482nd State District Court. A July 2021 booking photo of Limon is attached to this news release.



HPD Officers C. Casarez, D. Garcia and D. Gil, who discharged their duty weapons, were not injured. Officers Casarez, Garcia and Gil are assigned to the Northeast Patrol Division and were sworn in as officers in November 2020, May 2021, and July 2006, respectively.



HPD Special Investigations Unit Sergeant J. Hekimian and Detectives N. Alvarado, T. Vaca, V. Praxedes, A. Flores and J. Kosler reported:



HPD patrol officers responded to a family disturbance call at a residence at the above address. The suspect was no longer on scene when officers arrived, but officers were given a description of him and the vehicle he was driving. While conducting the investigation, one of the officers saw the suspect, later identified as Limon, at a distance driving by. Officers caught up to Limon and attempted to conduct a traffic stop. The suspect refused to stop and fled from officers. Officers initiated a vehicle pursuit.



Limon drove back to the scene of the disturbance, exited his vehicle armed with a shotgun and fired several rounds at the officers. Fearing for their lives, Officers Casarez, Garcia and Gil returned fire and Limon was struck. Houston Fire Department paramedics responded to the scene and transported Limon to the hospital.



The Harris County District Attorney's Office was consulted and Limon was subsequently charged for his role in the incident.



As is customary in officer-involved shooting incidents in the Houston city limits, this case is being investigated by the HPD Special Investigations Unit, the Internal Affairs Division and the Harris County District Attorney's Office.


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BCC Calls for Submissions For Newly Created Alumni Award

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  In remembrance of Daniel Dillon, Berkshire Community College (BCC) and the BCC Alumni Association Board, together with Dillon's family, have created the annual Daniel Dillon '62 Heart of Service Alumni Award.

"Dan was an incredible individual who left a legacy of love, compassion and service to others. We at BCC are fortunate to have been a part of that legacy," said Toni Buckley, Director of Alumni Relations. "He was a fierce advocate for those who needed opportunity, and he strongly believed that education was one way for individuals to enjoy a better quality of life."

The award is designed to honor a BCC alumnus, former student or current student who has shown dedication to and made an impact on the community through service to others. The recipient will have demonstrated volunteer and professional engagement as a means of making Berkshire County a more equitable and inclusive place for all.

"Dan will live on in the memories we have of him, the stories we continue to share and the lasting good he did to make our community better," Buckley said.

According to a press release, Daniel Dillon, a 1962 Berkshire Community College (BCC) graduate, was affectionately known as a gentle giant  and a man who cared deeply for his community. His death in January 2021 was a devastating loss not only to his family and friends, but also to the BCC faculty, staff and students he impacted in so many ways.

After graduating St. Joseph Central High School and BCC, Dillon served two years in the U.S. Army. Upon his return, he became a draftsman at General Electric, where he also served as a union official. In 1977, Dillon was elected to the Pittsfield City Council and served three terms. He went on to serve as president of Berkshire United Way for 12 years and received the Francis X Doyle Award in 2005 for community service. For thirteen years, he coproduced and was master of ceremonies for the local United Cerebral Palsy telethon, and for many years he was vice president of both the Irish American Committee and the Irish Sister City Committee. Dillon also served on the Pittsfield Human Services Commission and the Success By 6 steering committee.

Following his retirement from Berkshire United Way, Dillon joined Greylock Federal Credit Union as relationship director and became instrumental in reviving the BCC Alumni Association. At the time of his death, Dillon served on the board of the BCC Foundation and on the development committee.
Dario Boente will teach Track Production, and Jenny Douglas will teach vocals. Joshua Paul Thompson will teach Songwriting & Producing, and Tony Lewis will teach Drums & Percussion. PreviousNext

BAAMS Welcomes New Faculty

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. The Berkshires' Academy for Advanced Musical Studies (BAAMS) Welcomed four new faculty members.

The growing nonprofit music school has offered both online and in-person music lessons for Berkshire youth.

Dario Boente: Track Production

Latin Grammy Nominee Argentinian born pianist and composer Dario Boente grew up in Argentina and Spain, immersed in the culture of tango and Jazz. He pursued his formal studies at Berklee School of Music (Boston), the Guildhall School of Music (London) and the New School Jazz and Contemporary Music Program (New York).

Dario has released 10 albums and compilations as a leader, featuring well-known Jazz musicians. He has also played, composed, and recorded with multi-Grammy winning musicians.

Dario has performed in more than 20 countries worldwide, and his compositions have been included in over two dozen albums and compilations.

Jenny Douglas: Vocals

Internationally-acclaimed vocalist, songwriter, and recording artist Jenny Douglas has toured and recorded with some of the world's all-time musical artists and musical acts, worldwide.

Born in Chicago, Jenny was later raised in Lexington, Ky. and went on to study theatre in college at Morehead University and Wright State University. Jenny has toured and recorded with Pink, Toto, Cher, Mick Jagger, Janet Jackson, Chaka Khan, Rob Thomas, John Cougar Mellencamp, Patty Austin, and many more.

Jenny has taught classes and seminars at USC, the School of Rock, and has mentored many students in several New York City schools.

Jenny's singing is featured on multiple music labels and she has performed live on all the major networks. She has also hosted various nationally televised awards shows

Joshua Paul Thompson: Songwriting & Producing

Joshua Paul Thompson, to date, has over 33 million recordings sold, 79 albums, and over 100 songs released.

A godson of renaissance man, Paul Robeson, by 16 years of age, he led his own group to perform at the World Youth Festival in Germany. As a Rutgers' University college student, he studied with and was mentored by the world-renowned "Jazz Professors."

Josh went on to win an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and soon started a small production company with friend and mentor, producer Gene Lennon.

Joshua has worked with a long list of popular and award winning artists including Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, and Alicia Keys.

He has multiple Awards for Platinum and Gold albums, Gold singles, as well as contributed his work to numerous Grammy awards-winning recording projects. Joshua is also the recipient of ASCAP's "Top 10" Award, multiple Grammy participation awards and has been honored by ASCAP as one of New York's 50 Best Writers.

Tony Lewis: Drums & Percussion

Tony Lewis grew up in the Bronx. Tony's early influences being around family and friends would prove to be a launching pad that led him to attend New York's LaGuardia High School of the Arts.

While a student at LaGuardia High School of the Arts Jazz program, under the directorship of Justin DiCioccio, Tony auditioned for and won a spot with The McDonald's Jazz Band where at the age of 16, Tony was featured and performed on "The Merv Griffin Show" with Dizzy Gillespie.

Shortly after attending New Jersey City University, Tony began his professional career as a drummer, recording artist, producer, and educator. Tony has toured, performed, and recorded with Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Sting, Little Richard, Sam & Dave, Cindy Lauper, The Temptations, Craig Harris, and more.
BHS President Retiring After Over 30 Years of Service

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  David E. Phelps, president and CEO of Berkshire Health Systems, announced Monday that he will leave BHS in early 2022.

"After engaging in thoughtful succession planning with the BHS Board of Trustees for the past three years and with the confidence that we now have a full complement of experienced executive leaders in place at BHS, I know that now is the right time is right for making this transition," said Phelps.

The Pittsfield native was appointed president of Berkshire Health Systems and Berkshire Health Care Systems in 1993. Phelps concludes a 31-year career of service to the local community, with 28 as the system's chief executive.

"Ensuring an orderly leadership transition has been incredibly important to Dave and Board members alike. We are sincerely grateful to Dave for working with us to facilitate a smooth process for his departure and are pleased that we will be able to share more about the appointment of a new CEO for Berkshire Health Systems later this week," said Bart Raser, chair of the trustees.

Raser highlighted successes from Phelps' career as CEO, including rehabilitating the financial resources of the once-troubled health system, implementing substantial technological and facility improvements such as the Crane Center for Ambulatory Surgery and the BMC Cancer Center, building BHS' affiliated long-term care company, developing important clinical partnerships like Berkshire Medical Center's membership in the Dana Farber Cancer Care Collaborative, and cultivating important relationships with local and state leaders that elevated the status and reputation of Berkshire Health Systems across the commonwealth.

"Today, we would like to recognize and celebrate Dave's tremendous accomplishments at BHS over more than 30 years. The scale of the transformation that Dave has achieved at our organization is a testament to his selfless leadership, his bright vision, and his tireless advocacy for the people of the Berkshires. There is no way to adequately thank him for all he has done to care for Berkshire County," Raser said.

In a letter to staff, Phelps said his decision has been under his consideration since 2018. He said he has been working in partnership with the trustees for more than three years to ensure the orderly transition of leadership.

He wrote that he is proud of the organization's commitment to "service, compassion, and excellence in patient care."

Phelps wrote that he was most proud of BHS' response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"What I'm most proud of is our organization's ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Your courage, dedication, and commitment to this community since March 2020 have been remarkable," he said. "You have always served Berkshire County well, but your continuing response to the pandemic has demonstrated just how lucky our community is to be able to depend on every one of you during this public health crisis.

"Working with you all has been the honor of a lifetime, and I am grateful for having been given the opportunity to serve our community alongside you. I wish you all the best."

In a letter to staff, Phelps said this decision has been under his consideration since 2018. He said he has been working in partnership with the BHS Board of Trustees for more than three years to ensure the orderly transition of leadership.

He wrote that he is proud of the organization's commitment to "service, compassion, and excellence in patient care."

Phelps wrote that he was most proud of the health system's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"What I'm most proud of is our organization's ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Your courage, dedication, and commitment to this community since March 2020 have been remarkable. You have always served Berkshire County well, but your continuing response to the pandemic has demonstrated just how lucky our community is to be able to depend on every one of you during this public health crisis."

Phelps has also served on the Board of the Massachusetts Council of Community Hospitals, Massachusetts Hospital Association, and as a member of the American Hospital Association's Regional Policy Board.

He is a former chairman of the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority, past president of the Massachusetts Council of Community Hospitals, and has served on the Massachusetts Health and Education Facilities Authority, Massachusetts Business Roundtable Healthcare Task Force and the Governor's Blue Ribbon Commission on Healthcare.

"Continually developing new opportunities to care for the people of Berkshire County alongside our exceptional providers and staff at BHS has been the honor of a lifetime," said Phelps. "I am incredibly proud of our entire organization's commitment to service, compassion, and excellence in patient care, and I am grateful to my colleagues and my community for having entrusted me with protecting, cultivating, and advancing the BHS mission for the past 28 years."
Clark Art Offering Free Admission in January

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  The Clark Art Institute will offer free admission for all visitors for the month of January 2022.

"We believe that the ability to see and appreciate art is fundamental to enhancing and understanding the human experience. As a means of encouraging people to make time in their lives to enjoy the power of art, we have decided to offer free admission throughout the month of January," said Olivier Meslay, Hardymon Director of the Clark. "We continually hear from people that the chance to walk our trails or visit our galleries has been particularly meaningful over the last two years and has helped to provide a source of respite and relaxation. As a way of saying 'thank you' to those who have visited, and as a way of saying welcome' to new visitors, we are pushing the doors of the museum wide open and hope people will visit often to tour our galleries and special exhibitions."

The free admission program is made possible through the support of Clark Trustees Andreas and Diane Halvorsen.

In addition to its full permanent collection, the Clark has three special exhibitions on view in January. Visitors can explore "Competing Currents: 20th-Century Japanese Prints" in the Clark's Eugene V. Thaw Gallery for Works on Paper through January 30, 2022 and "Hue & Cry: French Printmaking" and the "Debate over Colors" in the Clark Center galleries.

In addition, January visitors will be the first to see "Tomm El-Saieh: Imaginary City," the latest installment of the Clark's presentation of contemporary art in public spaces, opening on Jan. 29. The year-long exhibition is on view in multiple locations in the Clark Center and Manton Research Center.

The Clark's grounds, which are always open free of charge, provide miles of walking trails. In January, the Clark's Project Snowshoe program offers visitors the opportunity to borrow free snowshoes to explore the campus in winter. Snowshoes are available in adult and child sizes on a first-come, first-served basis.
The new Hotel Downstreet takes over on Main Street in North Adams.

Downstreet Hotel Replaces Holiday Inn in North Adams



The big green Holiday Inn letters were removed by crane on Monday morning. NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  The big green letters for the Holiday Inn were being taken down on Monday morning, three days after the 90-room hotel changed hands.

The new Hotel Downstreet was purchased by NA Hotel LLC on Friday for $4.45 million.

The limited liability company is headquartered in Rhode Island and represents Peregrine Group, a 20-year-old real estate adviser and property management company. Its portfolio includes the public/private 43-unit residential Parkside on Adams & Historic Substation in Boston and the Newport Yachting Center in Rhode Island.

The current green Holiday Inn signs were installed in 2011, part of a rebranding by Holiday Inn. The new Hotel Downstreet sign is up near the entrance and a banner will be put up until a new sign is fabricated.

Colin Kane, founding partner of Peregrine Group, and Sarah Eustis of gave the City Council last month the rundown on Monday on their plans for the 50-year-old property, which includes revamping and updating the hotel, reorienting the main entrance to the parking lot on Ashland Street and tearing down the one-story addition there that had been leased out to offices and businesses.

Kane said retail tenants will be sought for the Main Street facing spaces. The current tenants, including the North Adams Museum for History and Science, will have to move; Kane told the City Council the hotel will be patient and will help them find new locations.

The hotel will be managed by Main Street Hospitality Group, which operates the Porches and Red Lion Inn. CEO Sarah Eustis said the current staff will be kept on.

The hotel on the corner of Main Street was purchased in 2009 for $2.925 million by Larkin Realty of Burlington, Vt., as North Adams Hospitality LLC. It had operated in past years as the North Adams Inn and had opened as a Sheraton. The most recent valuation was for $3.8 million.

Peregrine and Main Street Hospitality said they have been in talks with Larkin for nearly three years. Efforts will be made to keep part of the hotel open during the renovation process. The restaurant is still open.
Baker Signs $4B Federal COVID-19 Relief Spending Bill

BOSTON  Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday signed a $4 billion spending plan that will put to work a portion of the state's direct federal aid from the American Rescue Plan Act.

It includes support for continued recovery across key priority areas, making substantial investments in housing and homeownership, healthcare, workforce development, premium pay for essential workers and infrastructure. The governor vetoed language in seven line items that he said would cause delays in putting funds to use and signed 86 of 88 outside sections.

He returned one outside section to the Legislature with proposed amendments and vetoed one outside section -- the requirement that the $500 million COVID-19 Essential Employee Premium Pay Fund consult with a 28-member panel on program design. The governor and Legislature had been at odds over this requirement. Baker says the veto will allow more immediate payments to frontline workers.

"The pandemic has had a significant impact on Massachusetts workers, families, communities, and businesses for nearly two years, and today's signing directs billions of dollars in relief toward those hardest hit across the Commonwealth," the governor said in a statement. "While this package falls far short of the investment I called for to address the housing shortage, the important investments included in this bill will help to accelerate Massachusetts' economic recovery and provide long-lasting benefits to infrastructure, healthcare, education systems, and small businesses."

The bill authorizes up to $2.55 billion in spending from the $5.286 billion ARPA Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Funds provided to Massachusetts in May 2021. This direct federal aid is intended to support urgent COVID-19 response efforts, replace lost revenue, support immediate economic stabilization for households and businesses, and address unequal public health and economic challenges in Massachusetts cities and towns. After accounting for spending in this bill and previously announced commitments, approximately $2.3 billion of the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Funds will remain to be further appropriated.

Coupled with the authorized ARPA dollars, $1.45 billion in spending is appropriated from the Transitional Escrow Fund, made up of state fiscal 2021 surplus funds. The bill assigns the secretary of administration and finance the responsibility of matching expenditures to the most appropriate funding source, which provides important flexibility in recognition of the significant federal rules and regulations associated with federal funds.

"The funding allocated in this bill addresses critical areas of need across the commonwealth, from addiction services to housing availability to environmental infrastructure," said Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito. "This relief will play a crucial role in the ongoing recovery of our residents and communities, especially those disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, and we are eager to put it to work."

Highlights of the plan include:

Housing

$150 million to finance the statewide production of housing for various populations, including seniors and veterans;

$150 million for public housing maintenance;

$115 million for rental housing production and to provide increased housing options to residents of disproportionately impacted communities;

$115 million to support housing production in disproportionately impacted communities through MassHousing's CommonWealth Builder Program and similar efforts;

$65 million to support expanded homeownership opportunities, focused on first-time homebuyers who are residents of disproportionately impacted communities.

Health Care

$400 million for addiction treatment and related behavioral health services, workforce, and infrastructure;

$260 million for fiscally stressed hospitals in disproportionately impacted municipalities;

$200 million for local and regional public health, including local boards of health staffing, technology, and training;

$50 million for workforce retention and capital improvements at nursing facilities and $30 million to support loan repayment, retention, and recruitment programs for human service workers;

$37.5 million for grants to reduce juvenile delinquency, youth homelessness, and summer jobs.

Workforce Development

$500 million to support the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund;

$500 million for premium pay for low-income essential workers;

$107.5 million for workforce and career technical skills training;

$24.5 million for workforce development and capital grants to YMCAs and Boys & Girls clubs.

Economic Development

$135 million to support cultural facilities and tourism assets throughout Massachusetts;

$75 million for grants to small businesses, $50 million of which will go to businesses reaching underserved markets and minority, women, and veteran-owned businesses and $25 million will be reserved for small businesses that did not qualify for prior programs.

Infrastructure Investment

$100 million to fund grants for water and sewer infrastructure improvements;

$100 million to improve culverts, dams, and other environmental infrastructure;

$90 million for marine port development;

$50 million to close the digital divide and increase broadband internet access;

$44.8 million for food security;

$25 million for greening gateway cities.

Education

$105 million for a variety of education supports, including recovery grants to state universities and community colleges, workforce support for special education schools, and support for recruiting educators of color;

$100 million for public school district HVAC grants;

$100 million for capital grants to vocational high schools and career technical education programs.

Of the 86 outside sections signed, one excludes federal Paycheck Protection Program loans, Economic Injury Disaster Loan advances, Shuttered Venue Operators grants, Restaurant Revitalization Fund grants, and Small Business Administration loans from taxable income for individual taxpayers for all applicable tax years, creating parity with corporate taxpayers.
The Philippines is no stranger to problems of every stripe, from natural diasters like typhoons and earthquakes to social issues like poverty and homelessness. But in every crisis, of course, there is opportunity. For all the challenges that our country faces, there are thousands of unsung heroes doing everything in their power to uplift the nation. They are flag-bearers of Filipino resilience.

New book highlights how change-makers in the Philippines respond to natural disasters, social issues, and other problems.

Unfortunately, such changemakers do not get highlighted enough. A new book from Bookshelf PH, a publishing house in the Philippines focused on books, eBooks, and audiobooks, aims to bring more attention to their work and the organizations they serve. Entitled Planting Greatness: Organizations Accelerating Social Impact in the Philippines, this work features change-makers of all kinds, including social entrepreneurs, non-profit leaders, heads of corporate social responsibility, and more.

According to Kyle Nate, the managing editor of Planting Greatness, the diversity of voices was intentional.

We want to showcase the many different ways that people are making an impact in the Philippines, so readers can find inspiration on their own journey to make a difference. On top of serving as a positive model, we want readersand even the featured leadersto recognize best practices that cut across all organizational types, said Nate, who has worked extensively with writers and brands to bring their books to market.

Joining Nate on the Planting Greatness core editorial team are writers Mio Borromeo, Pancho Dizon, and Monica Padillo, and illustrator Josephine Daluz.

In addition to the thirty plus featured business leaders, Planting Greatness includes a foreword from Jose Luis Oquinena, the chairman of Gawad Kalinga (GK), one of the foremost pioneers of social entrepreneurship in the Philippines, and Vicky Morales, veteran journalist and host of Wish Ko Lang!

Morales emphasized the importance of exposing oneself to positive stories in the media.

Its important to listen to our nations best changemakers and do our best to emulate them by paying it forward. By doing our small part to perform good deeds for others, we plant seeds of kindness, all of which will find their way to the people we care about the most and perpetuate the spirit of Filipino bayanihan, said Morales.

The range of companies featured in the book is wide and includes organizations beyond just social enterprises and foundations, such as corporates like Q2 HR Solutions, which was profiled for its Housepoints System. The company divides itself into 4 housessimilar to British School Manilas system, or yes, Harry Potterwith each earning points by demonstrating company values, including as it relates to corporate social responsibility.

We were eager to share our Housepoints System started by our founder Brendan John Whyte. While we know it may not be for everyone, we hope that it gives business leaders an idea of how they can incentivize social impact at their workplaces. As our peers in the book show, there really are a world of ways to get Filipinos excited about giving, said Med Sali-Gelacio, Q2s HR Director.

One of the key messages in the book was turning to an organizations core competencies, products, or services to make giving most efficient. One such example comes from none other than Victoria Court. The famed motel contributes to the gentrification of its communities by adopting nearby schools, and even turned its facilities into quarantine centers during the pandemic, among many initiatives through both the company itself as well as its charitable arm, Angelo King Foundation Inc.

Its easy to think of social impact as something that must be done on top of your core business. But we see itand we hope more do as wellas a key activity: By working hard to give back to our communities, we can create an environment in which we recognize the interconnectedness of all stakeholders, and contribute to everyones shared welfare, said Victoria Court Owner Atticus King.

GK Chairman Oquinena touches upon this idea in his foreword for Planting Greatness, and its one thats reflected in Bookshelf PHs partnership with NGOs Maleta Library. A portion of the proceeds from Planting Greatness will be used to fund the purchase of maleta libraries, which are mobile libraries that provide educational books to under-privileged children who would otherwise not have access to them.

That the book is itself a channel for social impact is a positive signal to Oquinena.

I hope the showcase of changemakers in the book leads to more collaboration among the leaders, readers, and anyone who wants to make an impact. The next few years are pivotal to the development of the Philippines, and itll take more cross-sectoral, interdisciplinary approaches to solving the greatest problems facing our nation, said Oquinena, who explicitly welcomed collaborations with GK.

The book can be purchased here: bit.ly/PlantingGreatnessBook
Only 11 months ago, US President Joe Biden suspended the Trump Administration's Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) - also known as "Remain in Mexico" - a policy that required refugees to wait in Mexico for hearings in US immigration court while complying with a court order and agreeing to changes and additions demanded by Mexico.

Last Week, the contentious policy was reinstated in its entirety by the Biden administration.



Following a pact with Mexico, the United States will begin sending asylum seekers from other Latin American nations to Mexico, where they will be forced to wait while their cases are reviewed.

AFP

The Biden Administration was obliged to revive MPP after a district court order in August cited a technical fault with the administration's attempt to cancel the programme. The administration claims it is now complying with the court ruling while also filing an appeal to have the programme terminated.



What does the policy of "Remain in Mexico" imply?

According to The Associated Press, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officially restarted MPP in El Paso, Texas, on December 6, with up to 50 migrants being returned daily to Ciudad Juarez.

Approximately 71,000 people were enrolled in MPP during the Trump administration, when the programme was originally adopted in January 2019, and were ultimately compelled to wait in Mexico for US hearings as a result of the policy.

Reuters

Thousands of people were left stranded or forced to reside in overcrowded shelters or improvised encampments in Mexican border cities such as Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez, and Matamoros, where they were often targeted for rape, robbery, extortion, and abduction by organised crime groups.



Migration specialists are concerned that the decision to resurrect the "Trump period policy" will once again put thousands of individuals in "enormous suffering" and put them at risk.

Is Biden's version of MPP any different?

While the MPP under the Biden Administration incorporates some humanitarian precautions, such as access to the COVID-19 vaccine, the program's core concept - forcing asylum applicants to wait in Mexico - remains intact.

Biden's version of the proposal includes migrants from Western Hemisphere countries, whereas Trump's version was mostly limited to Spanish-speaking countries in the hemisphere. Mexicans are still immune from the law.

The development is particularly noteworthy for Haitians, who in September established a huge camp near the Texas border town of Del Rio. Brazilians, who have generally escaped Trump's wrath, may be particularly hard hit.

In response to Mexico's worries that cases will languish in a judicial system that is already overburdened with 1.5 million cases, the US would strive to complete cases within 180 days.

Rather than relying on migrants to voice concerns on their own, US authorities will question them if they fear being deported to Mexico. Migrants who show signs of fear will be assessed and given 24 hours to find an attorney or agent.

Migrants will also be able to consult with attorneys prior to each hearing, according to US officials. The State Department is collaborating with Mexico to identify areas where attorneys in the United States can be contacted through video and phone.

Many US-based legal aid organisations that have represented asylum applicants awaiting deportation in Mexico have announced that they will no longer take such cases. Other lawyers will certainly come forward, according to US and Mexican officials, but advocates are sceptical.

What has Mexico's response been?

In his Aug. 13 judgement, US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointment in Amarillo, Texas, stated that the policy's reinstatement was contingent on Mexico's approval. After the Biden administration pledged modifications and additions, Mexico's foreign affairs secretary announced Thursday that it would allow repatriation "for humanitarian reasons."

AFP

COVID-19 vaccination shall be given to all migrants who are subject to the policy. Adults will receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccination, which is a one-shot immunisation. Children who qualify under US rules will receive the Pfizer shot, followed by additional shots when they travel to the United States for their first hearings.



During the talks, Mexican officials expressed concern about returning migrants to Tamaulipas state, which is located across the border from South Texas and is the busiest corridor for illegal border crossings. They requested financial assistance from the United States for greater shelter space, but only received vague promises.

Apart from El Paso, the strategy will eventually be extended to six other cities: San Diego and Calexico in California; Nogales, Arizona; and Brownsville, Eagle Pass, and Laredo on the Texas border.

Arrangements are being made to offer transportation to and from the Mexican border. For their own safety, migrants returning to Tamaulipas from Brownsville, Eagle Pass, and Laredo may be relocated further into Mexico.

For more on news and current affairs from around the world please visit Indiatimes News.
The Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro has built a bridge across a busy highway to ensure monkeys are able to safely cross a busy road and access more forest area.

Conservationists in Rio de Janeiro were becomingly increasingly concerned by a recent drop in population numbers of the threatened golden lion tamarin, Reuters reported.



Reuters

It should be noted that the Atlantic Forest of Rio de Janeiro state is the only place in the world where the golden lion tamarin still exists in the wild.



The vigorous conservation efforts over the past few decades have managed to increase the population of golden lion tamarin, bringing the species back from the brink of extinction. But an outbreak of yellow fever in 2018 wiped out 32% of the population, as per Reuters.

It is being reported that there are an estimated 2,500 golden lion tamarins in the wild.

There were fears that the animals had become isolated due to a highway - but it is now hoped that the bridge will help the monkeys circulate over a wider forested area.

Reuters

"Scientists have shown that the population living there would be completely isolated from the other side of the road and that would create a real problem in terms of conservation," Luis Paulo Marques Ferraz, executive director of the metapopulation project that works to protect the numbers of golden lion tamarins, told Reuters.



"Genetically that population would be isolated and that is really bad. We need a large forest protected and connected," he said.



The bridge, built last year, has been planted with trees, shrubs and plants in the hope of making a natural corridor attractive to the primates. The vegetation is still young and will take time to grow to a size usable for the monkeys.



Reuters

Conservation groups estimate that the monkeys have lost 95% of their original habitat in Brazil.



"Thats why this bridge here was so strategic and important for the conservation program," Ferraz said.

He added that a population of 2,000 golden lion tamarins should have at least 25,000 hectares of forest.

The current forest is cut up by pastures and roads and towns.

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Ryan Specialty Group, an international specialty insurance firm, has signed an agreement to acquire certain assets of Keystone Risk Partners LLC based in Media, Pennsylvania. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Keystone Risk Partners was founded in 2002, and the principals have been in the alternative market since the 1980s, navigating through both hard and soft market cycles. Over the years, Keystone has developed partnerships with agents and brokers across the nation by bringing value to their agencies through a variety of alternative risk insurance solutions including customized captive insurance and other risk management services.

Founded in 2010, Ryan Specialty is a service provider of specialty products for insurance brokers, agents and carriers. It provides distribution, underwriting, product development, administration and risk management services by acting as a wholesale broker and a managing underwriter.

The acquisition is expected to close later this month, subject to the completion of certain closing conditions. Dowling Hales served as exclusive financial advisor to Keystone.

Source: Ryan Specialty Group

Topics Mergers Excess Surplus Pennsylvania
Spanish insurer Mapfre on Friday signed a contract to make a $983.8 million contingency pay-out to Colombias Empresas Publicas de Medellin (EPM) over issues with the construction of the massive Hidroituango dam.

The funds will guarantee that the project can be finished, Colombia President Ivan Duque said at an event to mark the agreement, and will safeguard the fiscal health of EPM and the city of Medellin.

Construction of the 2,400-megawatt Hidroituango dam began in 2010 in Antioquia province, but in April 2018 part of the infrastructure collapsed, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people and delaying the projects completion.

The agreement cancels a recent ruling by the Comptroller General which held 26 people  including centrist presidential hopeful Sergio Fajardo, a former governor of Antioquia  responsible for $1.1 billion in damages for the delays in the project.

Today Hidroituango was saved, Duque said. This is a vital project for the energy security of our country.

Under the deal EPM will receive a $633 million payment in January 2022, in addition to a previously made $350 million payment.

Colombia trusted in Mapfre and Mapfre always comes through for its clients regardless of the size or complexity of the case, said the insurers Colombia president, Pablo Andres Jackson.

In July EPM said the project needed an additional 2.1 trillion pesos ($538.4 million) to complete construction and have two generation units functioning by the second half of 2022. Six other units should be operational between 2023 and 2025.

Investment in the project will total some 18.3 trillion pesos ($4.69 billion).

Fajardo came in third in the first round of Colombias 2018 presidential elections. Though the sanction from the comptroller general is now void, he still faces an embezzlement case in the Supreme Court of Justice.

($1 = 3,899.87 Colombian pesos) (Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; editing by Mark Porter)/

Topics Carriers Construction
Residents of a Waukesha condominium that could collapse are rushing to move their belongings out.

Police and firefighters cleared the six-story, 48-unit Horizon West Condominiums on Dec. 2 after an engineering report found its structural columns were compromised, echoing the condo collapse in Surfside, Florida, in June. Nearly 100 people died when that condo collapsed.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Friday that residents were being allowed inside one-by-one in four-hour shifts to move their belongings out. Only seven people could help per unit.

The Salvation Army has been providing some rooms but residents say theyre unsure where theyll go next or whether insurance will cover their living expenses.

Mary OHerron has lived in the building for 30 years. She had to fight back tears as she told the Journal Sentinel that shes living in a bed-and-breakfast with her sister, who also has a unit in the condo, but they must move out by Christmas Eve to an apartment that OHerron was still trying to secure as of this week.

(But) were walking away with our lives, she said.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Wisconsin Condominium
Lezaj to Lead New Zurich Middle Market Complex Casualty Unit

Zurich North America has created a Complex Casualty unit to support its customers in the upper middle-market segment. Steve Lezaj, a veteran insurance executive, has been appointed to lead this effort as national Complex Casualty underwriting director.

Lezaj joins Zurich from Travelers, where he most recently served as account executive director, responsible for leading a team in underwriting and managing complex, loss-sensitive business. His previous work experience includes account executive roles at Royal & Sun Alliance in Atlanta and Hartford Specialty Company in Los Angeles. Lezaj began his career as an actuarial analyst at Hartford Financial Services Group.

Marsh McLennan Appoints Bouchard Managing Director of Climate

Marsh McLennan reports that Francis Bouchard has joined the Marsh McLennan Advantage team as managing director of Climate. He will be responsible for the teams climate strategy and for developing services from across Marsh McLennan that help clients create resilient strategies. He will work with the companys four businesses: Marsh, Guy Carpenter, Mercer, and Oliver Wyman.

Prior to joining Marsh McLennan, Bouchard spent more than 20 years with Zurich Insurance Group in a series of global roles, most recently as the Group head of Public Affairs and Sustainability.

Bouchard will continue as chairman of SBP, a non-profit disaster resilience organization serving low-income populations. He is also a senior fellow of the Atlantic Council Resilience Center and a member of AGree Economic and Environmental Risk Coalition, which advocates for crop insurance reform.

Topics Casualty
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a bid by Johnson & Johnson to throw out a lawsuit brought by the state of Mississippi over allegations that the company failed to inform residents that its talc-based products increased the risks of developing ovarian cancer.

The justices left in place an April ruling by the Mississippi Supreme Court that let the lawsuit move forward.

In the case being pursued by Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, the state argues that J&J should have included a warning on its label for baby powder and other talc products about the risk of ovarian cancer. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in 2014 that no such label was required and the company has said that decision preempts state lawsuits like Mississippis.

A 2018 Reuters investigation found that J&J knew for decades that asbestos, a carcinogen, was present in its talc products. Internal company records, trial testimony and other evidence showed that from at least 1971 to the early 2000s, J&Js raw talc and finished powders sometimes tested positive for small amounts of asbestos.

The company said in May 2020 it would stop selling its baby powder talc in the United States and Canada, citing changes in consumer habits and what it called misinformation about the products safety amid numerous legal challenges.

In October, J&J put into bankruptcy tens of thousands of legal claims alleging its talc-based products caused cancer, offloading the potential liabilities into a newly created subsidiary.

J&J said the talc cases would be halted while the new entity saddled with J&Js talc liabilities navigates bankruptcy proceedings. Mississippi disagreed, telling the justices not to condone the companys effort for further delay.

Justice Samuel Alito did not participate in the Supreme Courts decision not to hear the appeal, likely because he owns J&J stock. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whose father  now retired  was a longtime lobbyist for the toiletries industry, also did not take part. Justices typically do not explain why they step aside in certain cases.

The Supreme Court in June turned down a separate J&J appeal seeking to overturn a $2.12 billion damages award to women who blamed their ovarian cancer on the companys baby powder and other talc products.

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham)

Topics Lawsuits
A grass fire in southwestern Oklahoma that forced evacuations was about 95 percent contained by late Friday, Dec. 10, emergency officials said.

There were no reported deaths or injuries due to the fire near Lawton, which burned about 2.5 square miles (6.5 square kilometers), according to Comanche County Emergency Management spokesperson Amy Hawkins. Hawkins said it want known how many people had been forced to flee.

Some roadways in the area were also closed due to smoke, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

Hawkins said they dont yet have an estimate on the number of structures damaged.

The cause of the blaze was also unknown, Hawkins said.

We probably wont know what started it, it could be something as simple as someone throwing out a cigarette butt, Hawkins said.

Winds were gusting to 25 mph (40 kph) in the area, according to the National Weather Service.

The weather service had issued a warning that weather conditions in the area were producing an increased risk of fire danger

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Oklahoma
A group of tornadoes that tore across the central U.S. on December 10 and 11 resulted in widespread damage in several states and could serve as the nations costliest tornado outbreak on record.

Based on preliminary assessments of the extensive property damage we are seeing across multiple states, this weekends tornado outbreak has the potential to be the costliest on record in the U.S, said Mark Friedlander, director of corporate communications at The Insurance Information Institute (III).

Preliminary reports from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) confirmed at least 52 tornadoes that moved through parts of six U.S. states  Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee  the largest of which touched down for more than 200 miles. Eighteen counties in Kentucky were impacted. according to FEMA.

Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas governors have declared states of emergency.

Insured Loss From Tornado Outbreak Estimated at $3 Billion by KCC

AM Best Sees Tornado Losses as Manageable for Insurers

The National Weather Services preliminary surveys found this tornado began in northeast Arkansas, crossing the Missouri Bootheel, northwest Tennessee and western Kentucky, where its been reported the most destruction occurred. The storm event served as the longest tornado track on record and the largest in Kentucky history.

This has been one of the toughest nights in Kentucky history, said Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear in a December 11 statement. Its hard to put into words.

Beshear said in a press briefing this morning that the state was hit by at least four tornadoes, with at least 64 confirmed deaths, although he said it could be a week before the final death toll can be calculated.

FEMA reported an additional four confirmed fatalities in Tennessee, two in Arkansas, two in Missouri and six in Illinois. This brings the overall death toll from the tornadoes to nearly 80, already exceeding the 76 fatalities from tornadoes during the entirety of 2020, according to III data.

While damage estimates are ongoing, FEMA reported damage to two nursing homes and some emergency response facilities in Arkansas and Tennessee, as well as factory and distribution center workers trapped in Kentucky and Illinois.

Its too early for insurance loss estimates, although modeling firm RMS, a division of Moodys, noted that catastrophic damage has been reported in the worst-affected areas.

Damage assessments are ongoing and the full extent of the damage is expected to be known in the coming days, the firm said on its website today.

Dave North, executive chairman of Memphis-based Sedgwick, the claims management firm, said Sedgwick offices had escaped damage in the tornadoes. But the company had sent out dozens of claims managers and adjusters to the hardest-hit areas in surrounding states to begin handling workers compensation claims.

Max Koonce, chief claims officer for Sedgwick, noted that Amazon is one of Sedgwicks biggest clients, and he expects to see several claims arising from Amazons Edwardsville, Illinois, warehouse, where at least six workers died in one of the storms.

Reuters reported that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will investigate the Amazon building collapse in Illinois to learn if there were any violations of workplace safety regulations.

One person died at a Monette, Arkansas nursing home and another inside a Dollar General store as tornadoes struck the town about 140 miles northeast of Little Rock. The heavily damaged nursing home housed 67 residents.

Probably the most remarkable thing is that theres not a greater loss of life, said Arkansas Governor Ada Hutchison.

In Mayfield, Kentucky, a candle factory was destroyed with workers still inside. Dwight Lovan, a recently retired judge of compensation claims in Owensboro, Kentucky, said its still early, but indications are that the tornado strike at the factory may result in the largest number of work-related death claims from a single work site.

The good news, Lovan said, is that the death toll at the candle factory appears to be much lower, about 20 killed, than initially feared. Kentuckys comp statutes allow death benefits of 40% of the workers average weekly wage for the widow, and 15% for dependent children. The state also allows as much as $85,000 in funeral and burial expenses.

Previously, the costliest U.S. catastrophe involving tornadoes, based on insured losses, occurred in April 2011. The tornado outbreak hit Tuscaloosa, Alabama, as well as other areas and cost $8.5 billion in insured damages based on 2020 dollars, according to III data.

III said in a May 2020 white paper that convective storms are the most common and damaging natural catastrophes in the U.S. According to Aon, U.S. insured losses from these storms have totaled at least $10 billion each year since 2008. In an average year, about 1,000 tornadoes are reported nationwide, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Photo: In this photo taken by a drone, buildings are demolished in downtown Mayfield, Ky., on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, after a tornado traveled through the region Friday night. A monstrous tornado killed dozens of people in Kentucky and the toll was climbing Saturday after severe weather ripped through at least five states, leaving widespread devastation. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP)

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Trends USA Windstorm
Alera Group acquired J&J Benefits Insurance Agency, an employee benefits consulting and health insurance firm serving clients in Utah and Idaho.

J&J Benefits joins Alera Group through Banasky, an Alera Group company in Utah. The J&J Benefits team will continue serving clients in their existing roles.

Salt Lake City, Utah-based J&J Benefits services small, medium, and large sized businesses, and has been in operation more than 30 years. The agency provides employee benefits and health insurance, including group health insurance.

Alera Group is an independent, national insurance and wealth services firm offering employee benefits, property/casualty, retirement plan services and wealth services.

Topics Mergers
A woman is suing the city of Portland, Oregon, alleging that tear gas deployed by police during summer 2020 demonstrations caused lasting damage to her menstrual health.

Lanora Vasquezs lawyer, Michael Fuller, filed the civil rights complaint this week in Multnomah County Circuit Court, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. The lawsuit requests a jury trial, up to $10,000 and a judgement that the city was negligent in its use of tear gas.

Deploying tear gas is by its very nature a very dangerous activity, Fuller said.

The city attorneys office declined to comment on the pending litigation.

Vasquez moved out of her home in Southeast Portland in August 2020 after experiencing months of cramping and irregularities to her menstrual cycle that she said were brought on by tear gas.

Vasquez said about two weeks after Portland police began using tear gas to disperse protesters downtown, going outside caused Vasquez debilitating pain, she said.

Vasquez said she is still experiencing problems with her menstrual cycles.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler barred the Portland Police Bureau from using CS gas, one kind of the toxic gas, in September 2020 after being criticized by residents about tear gas seeping into their homes.

Researchers continue to study the effect of tear gas.

Vasquez said she hopes her lawsuit will help those who are experiencing a similar health puzzle find the cause of their symptoms and get treatment.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Oregon
The rapid spread of the Omicron variant means Northern Ireland must brace itself for a Covid-19 storm, the First Minister has warned.

Paul Givan stressed the need for the population to bolster the regions defences by having their booster jabs.

The booster programme in Northern Ireland is being accelerated in response to the threat posed by Omicron and has opened up to all over-30s.

I think theres certainly a storm coming our way, said Mr Givan.

The expectation is the same trajectory that is happening in Great Britain is likely to occur here in Northern Ireland

You need to make preparation for that because we can see whats happening in London, where this new variant is now the dominant strain of new cases, that has increased rapidly over the past three to four weeks.

Similarly in Scotland that is the case as well, and with the movements that take place across the Common Travel Area, we have already a number of small cases in Northern Ireland, but the expectation is the same trajectory that is happening in Great Britain is likely to occur here in Northern Ireland.

He told BBC Radio Ulster: Thats why we need to take the steps that weve been advocating in terms of the booster jab over the next number of days and that will help prepare our defences for what is going to be needed to meet the challenges that are coming.

On Monday, Northern Irelands Covid certification became legally enforceable.

The scheme requiring people to prove Covid status to gain entry to a range of hospitality venues and larges attendance events was introduced late last month with a two-week grace period to allow businesses to adjust.

Northern Irelands Covid cert scheme became legally enforceable today. Picture: PA

Patrons wishing to enter nightclubs, pubs, restaurants and other licensed premises will need proof of vaccination or a negative lateral flow test or evidence of a previous Covid-19 infection.

Certification is certainly not a panacea and will need to be complemented by widespread adherence to public health advice. It does, however, offer another layer of protection to our citizens

The same rules will apply for entry to large indoor and outdoor events, such as concerts and sporting events.

The regulations behind the new system will be subject to a vote in the Stormont Assembly on Monday afternoon. It is unlikely the law changes will be voted down.

While the DUP opposed the scheme at the Stormont Executive last month  branding it a distraction that would have marginal effect in suppressing the transmission of Covid-19  the coalitions other four parties supported it.

If the parties vote the same way in the Assembly, the regulations should pass with ease in a straight majority vote.

Ahead of Mondays debate, DUP First Minister Mr Givan again questioned the evidential basis for mandatory certification.

Under the regulations, businesses that fail to administer the scheme will face fines ranging from 200 to 10,000.

Ahead of the vote, Health Minister Robin Swann appealed to MLAs to back the scheme.

He said the emergence of the Omicron variant had strengthened the case for introducing the system.

In a letter sent to all Assembly members, Mr Swann called for a respectful debate and said opponents should set out preferred alternatives.

While I am confident this measure will be supported by a majority of MLAs, I wanted to underline some key points, not least for those who have still to make up their minds, he wrote.

Firstly, it needs to be recognised that Covid certification is a public health measure. By introducing it, the Executive and the Assembly will be following public health advice.

The chief medical officer (Michael McBride) and chief scientific adviser (Professor Ian Young) have both recommended the initiative to help reduce the risk of infection in higher risk settings.

Mr Swann added that the rationale for certification was well captured in the Executives autumn/winter Covid-19 contingency plan issued by Mr Givan and Sinn Fein deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill in October.

Northern Ireland Health Minister, Robin Swann. Picture: David Young/PA Wire

In spite of the differences of opinion in the Assembly on this measure, I would appeal for a respectful debate on Monday, he said.

The situation we are now facing with Covid demands that of us all.

Certification is certainly not a panacea and will need to be complemented by widespread adherence to public health advice. It does, however, offer another layer of protection to our citizens.

I would encourage opponents of the scheme to spell out their preferred alternatives.

The letter continued: Simply shouting no whilst failing to come forward with any genuine alternatives is not a credible position and its not a luxury that I as Minister of Health, or any of us as MLAs, can afford in the midst of a public health emergency.

There have been no easy answers or simple policy choices in this pandemic. That has been the case for governments across the world.

It does not serve the public interest to be ducking decisions or constantly criticising from the sidelines.

I commend certification to you as a proportionate policy, that has been introduced in other jurisdictions, and can help keep people safer, business open and support our health service this winter.

The emerging Omicron threat demonstrates the continued risk from the virus and further strengthens the case for certification.
Both people accused of murdering Paul Jones at his home in Bandon Road did it because they had a joint animus against the victim, the prosecution claimed.

But Helen Joness lawyer said the prosecution only had a theory and the jury could not convict on that, while Keith OHaras senior counsel said he was acting in self-defence.

Keith OHara and Helen Jones both deny murdering Paul Jones at his home on Bandon Road, Cork, on September 4, 2019. Siobhan Lankford told the jury they knew that Helen Jones went to 108 Bandon Road that night with a knife and that when the door closed both of the accused were inside in the house when Paul Jones had 25 stab wounds inflicted on his torso and had his skull split open.

It is hard to imagine circumstances where a person who did that would not intend to cause death.

Siobhan Lankford told the jury: "Paul Jones (pictured) was never seen alive again. He died as a result of that attack perpetrated by both of the accused.

The States case is that Helen Jones told (her friend) Breda OReilly they had given Paul a beating. And that she sent her a Facebook message saying, Battered Paul. What Helen Jones said to Breda OReilly is tantamount to a confession that she went to the house and that she battered and beat Paul. She was worried he was dead. She got Breda to ring various hospitals to see if Paul was alive or dead.

We know the wound to the head was caused by the bill-hook. Mr OHara told you he utilised that weapon on Paul Joness head.

And we know 25 stab wounds were caused by a knife. Dr Mulligan said it was very unlikely the machete caused the stab wounds.

The logical inference is that two weapons were used. This is my view of the matter that both of the accused committed this murder.

I think there is no doubt Paul Jones remained in his house throughout all this. If he lunged at the woman he was doing so from inside his own house. He was wearing only his underwear. We know from the toxicology report that he was intoxicated He was certainly not planning on going out that night. He was in his underpants, he was maybe asleep. He was certainly not posing a threat to anyone.

Ms Lankford said that whatever about the relationship afterwards the co-accused were in a strong relationship at the time and had common interests and a joint animus against Paul Jones. She said witnesses saw Helen Jones bring a knife to the scene.

The State says two people wielded two separate weapons. According to Mr OHara he wielded a machete. The prosecution says Helen Jones wielded the knife. It was never found They were in the house probably for no more than five minutes. They emerged unscathed. Paul Jones was never seen alive again. He died as a result of that attack perpetrated by both of the accused.

'This was not a planned event'

Brendan Grehan SC for Helen Jones said of her appearance outside 108 Bandon Road on that night wearing a dressing gown and no shoes: You could not say she was dressed to kill.

Not alone was she not dressed for the occasion or armed for the occasion This is not like some kind of gangland murder where someone wants to bump off a rival drug baron She had a bit of a barney with her brother. She was giving out to him. That was it.

This was not a planned event. This was something that happened.

I am not here as some kind of second prosecutor of Keith OHara. In the legal sense I dont care about Mr OHara. I am here to protect the interests of Helen Jones.

Nobody else  other than Mr OHara  suggests Helen Jones stabbed Paul Jones. No one  not a single witness  says they saw her stab her brother. She believed he got a battering. She did not believe he was fatally injured, much less dead.

When she said (as a witness described her saying to Paul Jones as he lay on the floor) You got off lightly, you could not possibly say that to someone you had just killed, to someone you had just stabbed 25 times.

Mr Grehan said the prosecution was asking the jury to convict Helen Jones (pictured) on the evidence of Keith OHara and added that OHara lied about many things.

Mr Grehan said the prosecution had a theory that two people, each one wielding a weapon, killed Paul Jones. The prosecution is entitled to have theories but that is not something you can convict on, he said.

Mr Grehan called the jurys attention to descriptions of the knife in the hand of Helen Jones when she went to the door of 108 Bandon Road, saying witnesses variously called it a butter knife or a knife with a serrated edge. Against that, he said the chief state pathologist, Dr Sheila Mulligan, said the stab injuries could not have been caused by a butter knife or a knife with a serrated edge.

Mr Grehan said the prosecution was asking the jury to convict Helen Jones on the evidence of Keith OHara and added that OHara lied about many things. Mr Grehan said the only way that OHara could account for witness evidence of Helen Jones shouting stop was to say that this was "staged".

Mr Grehan said of OHara: Like a drowning man, he is literally grabbing at anything. Helen Joness senior counsel said she went to have a barney with her brother when dressed in her dressing gown. And he said that Keith OHara arrived on the scene and he is like a cowboy in the old west  acts first, asks questions later.

Self-defence

Tom Creed SC for OHara said of the head wound that it was a chop and not the kind of cleaving of the skull suggested by the prosecution where one was left picturing a butcher breaking through skin and bone.

The prosecution says he is an unreconstructed liar. Mr Grehan says the same. Can I just slow things down here, lets just focus on what happened. There was blood from Keith OHara on the handle  no fingerprints, no (skin) cells. He bled after he fell at MacCurtain Villas. Mr OHara is now (according to Mr Grehan) the evil psychopath.

He was only concerned about getting a small deal of hash from his buddy on Noonan Road, Mr Creed said. This was a reference to OHaras evidence that he got a taxi to go to Noonan Road to get a small bit of hash and then return home and it was never his intention to go to Bandon Road.

OHaras defence senior counsel said he had been accused by senior counsel for Helen Jones of sitting down with the book of evidence, seeing what there was against him and tailoring his testimony to address each aspect of it. If he was going to tailor his evidence he would have said Helen Jones stabbed him (Paul Jones) and hit him in the head with a cleaver and then she gave me (OHara) the cleaver outside.

But that is not what he said. He told what he said happened. It involved him striking Mr Jones because he believed he was a threat.

Tom Creed SC for Keith O'Hara (pictured) said it was his client's intention to get a taxi to go to Noonan Road to get a small bit of hash and then return home and it was never his intention to go to Bandon Road.

If he was concocting a story why would he not go the full Monty that she struck him on the head and then picked up the knife and stabbed him 25 times. But no, he said, I hit him on the head. But the prosecution says he is a liar. I have to suggest to you that the only piece of truth is what Keith OHara told you.

Mr OHara did what he did and he said he did it. But he said he did it because he was in fear that Paul Jones was going to hit Helen Jones with that implement. One is entitled to protect oneself or another from a violent attack. That is what is called self-defence.

I say, notwithstanding his disreputable past  as you have heard about  he told you what happened. He could have given you a spin, a story that would have completely absolved him. He did not.

Helen Jones, 54, of 27 Cahergal Avenue, Mayfield, Cork, pleaded not guilty to the charge of murdering Paul Jones  her 52-year-old brother at his home - on September 4, 2019, at 108 Bandon Road, Cork.

Her co-accused Keith OHara, 43, also of 27 Cahergal Avenue, also pleaded not guilty to the same murder charge.

Each defendant is additionally charged with a different count related to alleged trespass at the same time and place. Helen Jones is charged with trespass to cause serious harm while carrying a knife. Keith OHara is charged with trespassing to commit serious harm. The defendants also pleaded not guilty to these charges.

Mr Justice Michael McGrath will continue his address to the jury of 10 people at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork tomorrow.
Burma Myanmar Junta Jails Three Ethnic Shan Journalists

Jailed Kanbawza Tai staff Nann Nann Tai, Nan Win Yi, and Ko Tin Aung Kyaw and relative Ko Sai Sithu. / Supplied

A junta court has sentenced three detained Shan State media staff and a family member to three years in prison for allegedly spreading misinformation.

Kanbawza Tai Newss female editor Nann Nann Tai, also known as Nann Nway Nway Hlaing, her brother Ko Sai Sithu, female reporter Nan Win Yi and male publisher Ko Tin Aung Kyaw were detained in the Shan State capital, Taunggyi, on March 24.

They have since been held in Nyaungshwe Prison in the state.

Kanbawza Tai said a temporary prison court handed down the maximum sentences against the four under Article 505(a) of the Penal Code on Friday, which was Human Rights Day.

The article criminalizes spreading false news that could cause fear or criminal offenses against government employees.

Ko Zay Tai, editor-in-chief of Kanbawza Tai, told The Irrawaddy that Ko Sai Sithu was detained as a hostage when junta forces could not find him. Ko Sai Sithu was accused of being a news reporter.

The junta has been unjustly arresting and sentencing civilians. In another unjust case, jailing journalists on Human Rights Day with the highest penalty clearly show the juntas media repression, he added.

Ko Zay Tai faces an arrest warrant under Article 505(a).

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners reported that six other journalists are being held in the state and many more are in hiding since their news offices were raided.

Myanmar is second only to China for imprisoning media staff, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported on December 9.

Since the February 1 coup, there has been a significant media crackdown with at least 26 media staff incarcerated across the country, according to the report.

Ma Hmu Yadanar Khet Moh Moh Tun, a video journalist with the Myanmar Pressphoto Agency, and photojournalist Ko Kaung Sett Lin covering a flash mob protest in Yangon were severely injured and then detained after regime forces deliberately rammed protesters with a pickup truck this month.



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Burma Three Junta Motorboats Sunk in Upper Myanmar

A military boat from the junta flotilla under attack on Friday morning by PDFs in Mingin Township, Sagaing Region. Photo-Mingin-Tiger / Mingin-Tiger

Three Myanmar military motorboats have reportedly been sunk during a series of daring attacks over the past three days by civilian resistance groups in Kani Township, Sagaing Region.

The Peoples Defense Forces (PDF) used improvised bomb launchers and underwater bombs in the attacks.

Since December 2, eight military motorboats and gunboats escorting three barges reportedly transporting jade from Kachin State along the Chindwin River have come under attack from several PDFs in Mingin and Kani townships in Sagaing.

On Sunday, a combined force of Kani civilian resistance groups attacked the military flotilla using 20 underwater bombs. Later the same day, there was a firefight between the PDFs and the military convoy.

Dozens of junta soldiers were injured in the attacks, according to the PDFs. However, the number of military fatalities is unknown.

Kani-PDF said on Monday that one military vessel damaged by underwater bombs in Sundays attack sank on Monday morning near Maedin Village in Kani Township.

On Friday morning, two of the military motorboats in the 11 vessel flotilla were reportedly sunk after a 45 minute firefight with the Kani PDFs near Taung Koelone Village, a Kani-PDF leader told The Irrawaddy.

During the battle, the regime forces were forced to ground one of the motorboats after it sustained serious damage. The junta troops were then attacked on land with landmines. There were around seven regime casualties.

Three civilian resistance fighters suffered minor injuries in the shootout, according to the Kani-PDF.

By Monday, only seven of the 11 vessels in the flotilla were still moving downstream along the Chindwin River towards Monywa, according to the PDFs.

The military regime is now facing intensifying resistance and attacks from PDFs and ethnic armed groups across the country.



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Burma Villagers Missing After Myanmar Junta Arrests

The Yangon-Mandalay highway last year. / The Irrawaddy

The whereabouts remain unknown of about 10 villagers arrested last week by Myanmars junta forces after an attack on a highway police outpost in Meiktila Township, Mandalay Region.

The arrest of the Kankaung villagers came after a bomb attack on the Yangon-Mandalay highway by Mandalay civilian defense forces on Dec. 7.

The groups claimed three police officers were killed and five others injured in the attack. The junta also reported the deaths and injuries.

On Thursday, junta forces arrested about 10 villagers from near the outpost.

Relatives said the security forces last Thursday seized the villagers, who are aged between 20 to 40. They were badly beaten before being taken away.

We do not know where they are, a relative said.

A resistance fighter said those arrested had no links to the attack and should be released.

Suspects are normally taken to the 99 Regiment in Meiktila. Relatives are supposed to be allowed to see them, he added.

The combined force said the attack on the outpost was in response to the juntas vehicle ramming of peaceful protesters in Yangon on December 5.

Since the coup, junta forces have killed at least 1,329 civilians and detained more than 10,800 people, including students, politicians, elected leaders, activists and protesters, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which monitors the regime.



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Guest Column The Misguided US Democracy Summit

US President Joe Biden speaks during the closing remarks of the virtual Summit for Democracy in Washington, DC on Dec. 10, 2021. / AFP

The United States government under President Joe Biden is putting up the right fight in a counterproductive way in its online organization of a summit for democracy this week. Much touted since he won the election in November last year, President Bidens summit of democracies has proved controversial, with both good intentions and unintended consequences. The real battleground, as cliches about the benefits and drawbacks of democracy go, is to make the case that popular rule where citizens should have rights and freedoms for their own collective self-determination is ultimately preferable and superior than all other forms of government.

As has been pointed out and criticized widely, Bidens summit leaves out a range of countries that can be considered democratic if the likes of Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq and Pakistan are included. So far, some 110 countries are included. Countries that have been rolling back democracy with right-wing populist characteristics, such as India and Poland, are also in.

From Southeast Asia, only three countries have been invited, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. None of the mainland Southeast Asian countries  Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam  has made the list. As multiparty elections reportedly represent the main criterion for the guest list, autocratic countries like Brunei, Laos, post-coup Myanmar, and Vietnam are understandably excluded. But if Malaysia with its democratic backsliding of rights violations can be included, then why not Thailand? But then if Thailand can make the list, why not Cambodia?

Most glaring is the exclusion of Singapore, which in this region appears a long-functioning democracy. Despite its one-party dominance under the Peoples Action Party, Singapores parliamentary opposition is allowed ample political space and its popular rights and freedoms are generally respected with legal due process and a widely perceived judicial independence. Excluding Singapore from a patchy Southeast Asia seems misplaced much more than not including Thailand, which has gone through two military coups in 15 years under a military-arranged constitution, or Cambodia, which is practically a one-party elected dictatorship.

So the first self-inflicted shot in the foot of this summit comes from a blurry dichotomy between autocracy and democracy, underpinned by a problematic definition and classification. The polarization of the world into autocracies and democracies makes more critics and enemies than winning friends. Moreover, it is alienating. Countries that function under a democratic system, such as Singapore, could become resentful towards the US, while others that have slipped in democracy rankings and measurements, such as the Philippines and elsewhere, are encouraged without it being deserved.

Second, because this summit has China and Russia to a lesser extent written all over it, it allows these two authoritarian regimes to have a field day with the faults and flaws of democracy, pointing out the inherent US hypocrisy. While Russias foreign ministry put out a scathing anti-Western critique of the summit aimed mainly at the US and the European Union, Chinas pushback from its foreign ministry is methodical and comprehensive in exposing the shortcomings of democracy in America.

The Chinese leadership begins with lessons of meanings and definitions of democracy and how its objective should be the prosperity and welfare of its people. Chinas written lecture on the state of democracy in the United States then elaborates on structural problems in American democracy, its capture by a minority elite and broad dysfunctionality whereby vetocracy undermines checks and balances. It calls out entrenched racism, wealth disparity, the Capitol riots in January, COVID-19 mismanagement, and so on. It also attacks the supposed role of the US as the beacon of democracy and enumerates much that went wrong with the color revolutions.

By not focusing on whats wrong with autocracy in comparative terms, the Biden administration has put the onus on democracies with mixed perceptions and results. Perhaps the incumbent US president is looking for a Biden doctrine of sorts. If his predecessors of George W Bush had the global war on terror, Barack Obama the geostrategic pivot and rebalance, and Donald Trump America First, what is to be Bidens? While the Biden administration may be in search of an overarching theme, this democracy summit is unlikely to be it.

In some ways, this summit is where the Biden team may think they can marry democratic values with national interests, having their cake and eating it, too. They want to pursue geostrategic interests and push back Chinas authoritarian ways, while maintaining primacy vis-a-vis China and upholding human rights and fundamental freedoms. Yet doing so with this summit is not the way forward. It will be hard to sustain this kind of summit of democracies. In its aftermath, there will likely be acrimony and accusations about which countries are democratic, and which are not. Choosing democracy to galvanise friends and allies comes with big risks.

Democracies are not static. Some countries that are democracies today may slip and slide into undemocratic practices. The work to be done is to ensure more reversals from the autocratic side  how to turn autocracies to become more democratic and how to prevent democracies turning towards authoritarianism. These are the ultimate questions that may determine the global rivalry and competition between the US and China.

For Southeast Asia, democracy is clearly down but not out. From the Myanmar militarys brutal robbery of democratic rule from its people and Thailands latent military-backed royalist conservative regime manipulating constitutional ways to elected office to established and emergent authoritarianism around the region, democracy appears in unmistakable retreat. The hope ahead for democracies like Thailand that have been rolled back by military coups and autocratic rule is to promote newer, younger generations who demand basic rights and freedoms to cater to their digitalized lifestyles and 21st-century upward mobility.

Young people generally abhor top-down autocratic tendencies because their tastes and preferences require self-determination and attendant liberties. While many governments, such as Thailands, have found overt and camouflaged authoritarian practices appealing to keep power and perpetuate their vested interests, younger demographics in these countries do not. What the United States can do  apart from constantly nurturing and remedying the internal stress and strain of its own democracy  is to recognize and promote Millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha by speaking up for persecuted dissidents and opponents of repressive regimes, providing programmatic support and channels for youth movements to rise up for a better future, including the Milk Tea Alliance across Asian societies and three-finger political symbolism in Myanmar, Thailand, and elsewhere.

While authoritarian pasts have come back to haunt many societies over the past three decades, the newer and younger generations are the agents that can turn back the tide over the next 30 years. Theirs is a necessarily more open and pro-democracy future.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak is a professor and director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn Universitys Faculty of Political Science.

This article first appeared in The Bangkok Post

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Opinion Indian Armys Special Forces Under Scanner in Killing Of Civilians

Police guard an area after 14 civilians were killed by Indian security forces over the weekend in Nagaland on Dec. 6, 2021. / AFP

An anti-insurgency operation in northeast Indias Nagaland state bordering Myanmar went horribly wrong, resulting in the deaths of 14 civilians on Dec. 4. The incident sparked massive outrage in the region even as local organizations and human rights groups demand that the accused personnel from the Indian Armys elite 21 Para Special Forces Battalion be booked.

The episode could cast a shadow over the federal government-initiated peace process with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), a major rebel group in the region.

The Nagaland police have registered a first information report (FIR) against the 21 Para SF, calling it a case of murder. Police have pressed charges against the Army unit involved in the incident under sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 34 (a criminal act committed with a common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.

It is to be noted that at the time of the incident there was no police guide nor security forces did make requisition to the police station to provide police guide for their operation. Hence it is obvious that the intention of security forces is to murder and injure civilians, read the FIR filed by the state police, a copy of which has been reviewed by this writer.

At around 1530 hours, coal mine laborers of Oting village were returning to their native village Oting from Tiru in a vehicle Bolero pick-up. On reaching Longkhao between Upper Tiru and Oting village, security forces blankly opened fire at the vehicle without any provocation resulting in the killing of many Oting villagers and seriously injuring many others [sic], the FIR added.

Its pertinent to mention here that several states in Indias northeastern region, including Nagaland, come under the purview of the Armed Forces (Special Powers Act), 1958, better known as AFSPA. The law guarantees maximum impunity to security forces involved in anti-insurgency operations.

The AFSPA initially was applicable only to the Naga Hills, then a part of Assam, and was later extended to the rest of the northeast to curb ethnic armed insurgency. There are two more versions of the same law enacted for Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir as well.

The issue of human rights violations as a result of excesses allegedly committed by security forces has long been highlighted by activists and legal experts, a reason why AFSPA is seen as one of the most draconian laws in India since independence.

The AFSPA gives the armed forces wide powers to shoot to kill, make arrests on flimsy pretexts, conduct warrantless searches, and demolish structures in the name of aiding civil power, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in the aftermath of the Nagaland incident.

Several government-appointed commissions in India have recommended repealing the law. But in the face of resistance from the army, the government has failed to implement the recommendations. Several United Nations human rights bodies have also called for the repeal of the law. A 2019 report on Jammu and Kashmir by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights noted that the AFSPA remains a key obstacle to accountability, HRW added.

Demanding the immediate arrest of the accused personnel of Special Forces, the New Delhi-based Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) said, Insurgents traveling in a pick-up truck is unheard of and it is nothing but plain massacre of the civilians.

Since the FIR names the accused for the mass murder of the civilians, the law must take its own course and the accused ought to be handed over to the police for the offense of murder. Otherwise, mere statements of anguish or formation of Special Investigation Team or Court of Inquiry are simply not adequate to assuage the outrage against the massacre. The law must be seen [as] being applied equally to all murder accused, said RRAG director Suhas Chakma.

What army veterans say

In a statement to the media, the Indian Army claimed it received credible intelligence of likely movement of insurgents. It also said the cause of the unfortunate loss of lives is being investigated at the highest level. The Army has ordered a Court of Inquiry into the killing of civilians in Nagaland.

The 21 Para SF is a highly trained wing of the Indian Army with experience in operating in the northeast. Earlier, it was involved in the controversial surgical strikes in Myanmar in 2015, aimed at eliminating Indian insurgents holed up in the countrys border region.

Now, military veterans with experience in anti-insurgency operations in the northeast have taken strong exception to the manner in which 21 Para SF personnel handled the situation in Nagaland.

The Nagas are very friendly people. So are the Mizos, Manipuris and all of NE [communities]. No harm should come to them. Our task is to neutralize the anti-nationals. That is why CI [counter-insurgency] ops are specialized ops. One foolish high-handed move of shooting down civilians has put the clock back several years in CI ops. Special Forces should only operate across the IB [international border], said Brigadier BK Ponwar, a former commandant of the Indian Armys Counter-Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School, located in Mizorams Vairengte.

21 Para is a special force for tasks across the IB. Not doing Police Nakas [police check-posts]. CI ops concept is never open fire first. A civilian must never be killed, he stressed.

Some allegations emerged that rebels from the NSCN (Khaplang) faction were traveling in the pick-up van, but there has been no proof of that so far.

By the way, how many rounds were fired from the so-called NSCN (K) vehicle? Trigger-happy soldiers are very dangerous in CI ops. Now retaliation will follow. It will take many years to rebuild the confidence of the people, Brig. Ponwar added.

Upon his superannuation from the Indian Army in 2005, Brig. Ponwar, a highly decorated officer, was tasked to raise the Counter Terrorism of Jungle Warfare College (CTJWC) at Kanker in Chhattisgarh. CTJWC trains security forces in combating left-wing extremists, often referred to as Maoists, in central India.

Commenting on the Nagaland incident, which was widely covered by media and sparked massive protests in Nagaland, Brigadier Pradeep Sharma (retired), a national security and strategic affairs columnist, made the point that India, being a democratic country, gives the media freedom to raise relevant questions.

Here are some logical questions. Did the media fire the bullets at the mini truck? Did media ask the Nagas to protest violently. Did media lodge an FIR under section 302media is [just] reporting it [the incident]. Again, we are not Pakistan, where Army is god, Brig. Sharma said.

Jayanta Kalita is a senior journalist and author based in New Delhi. He writes on issues relating to Indias northeast and its immediate neighborhood. The views expressed are his own.

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Rural and remote communication solutions provider Pivotel plans to make Australia one of the first countries after the European Aviation Network to experience broadband connectivity in the sky.

Pivotel has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SkyFive, a specialist inflight connectivity company located in Germany, to evaluate and trial SkyFives Direct-Air-To-Ground (DA2G) solution.

Under this agreement, Pivotel will deploy a DA2G network powered by Nokias eNodeB and NECs iPasolink Microwave technology to provide coverage of around 50,000 square kilometres between Dubbo and Sydney.

The trial will also cover Flightcells onboard terminal. It will highlight how different technologies work together to transform air traveller experience, inflight operations, and enable data-intensive applications for public safety aviation.

Until now, providing low-latency broadband connectivity for commercial airliners, private aircraft and helicopters has been challenging. Traditional cellular networks are ground-facing and not optimised for airborne operation while satellite-based solutions provide limited bandwidth at slower speeds with expensive data.

Skyfives technology addresses this gap with its DA2G land-based mobile networks optimised for aerial coverage and covers the specific technical challenges associated with altitude and speed.

The networks provide data speeds of up to 100Mbps with less than 50 milliseconds of true end-to-end latency while also offering the ability to connect services on the ground at airports or heliports.

Commercial airlines and agencies are interested in participating in the trial, including the Royal Flying Doctors Service (South Eastern Section). The service will provide users with access to connectivity to their private network while also allowing Internet-based real-time applications such as streaming high-definition video, transmitting critical biometric data to hospitals, and other data driven services.

Our technical teams are working together to develop the ecosystem in the Oceania region to bring this outstanding technical solution to the aviation industry, says Pivotel CEO Peter Bolger.

With the fastest growing aircraft broadband connectivity solution globally, we are committed to keeping the population of Oceania at the cutting edge of technology and are confident that they will benefit from SkyFives global reach, expertise, and agility to create new value for the local aviation industry and its customers, comments SkyFive director of APAC business development Zoltan Losteiner.

In Europe, the European Aviation Network (EAN) currently covers 35 countries and utilises Nokias solutions and SkyFive technology to provide data services to passengers and crew travelling in high-altitude jet aircraft.

Recently, Skyfive launched a POC network in New Zealand where public safety use-cases are being demonstrated.

To make the trial possible, Pivotel and Skyfive have secured a scientific spectrum licence in the proposed A2G frequency band. The use of this dedicated radio frequency spectrum is the key enabler for both the performance and data security of DA2G communications.

Once the trial is successful, Pivotel plans to roll out a national DA2G network across Australia.
GUEST OPINION: WatchGuard Technologies, Attivo Networks and LogRhythm have announced their leading cyber security predictions for 2022 supporting businesses understand where their next set of threats will be and to ensure enterprises remain in step ahead of these risks.

WatchGuard Technologies six top predictions for 2022 are as follows:

1. State-sponsored mobile threats trickle down to the cybercrime underworld

Mobile malware certainly exists  especially on the Android platform  but hasnt yet risen to the same scale of traditional desktop malware. In part, we believe this is due to mobile devices being designed with a secure mechanism (eg, secure boot) from the start, making it much more difficult to create zero-touch threats that dont require victim interaction. However, serious remote vulnerabilities have existed against these devices, though harder to find.

Meanwhile, mobile devices present a very enticing target to state-sponsored cyber teams due to both the devices capabilities and information contained in them. As a result, groups selling to state-sponsored organisations are mostly responsible for funding much of the sophisticated threats and vulnerabilities targeting mobile devices, such as the recent Pegasus mobile spyware. Unfortunately, like in the case of Stuxnet, when these more sophisticated threats leak, criminal organisations learn from them and copy the attack techniques.

Next year, we believe we will see an increase in sophisticated cybercriminal mobile attacks due to the state-sponsored mobile attacks that have started to come to light.

2. Spear SMSishing hammers messenger platforms

Text-based phishing, known as SMSishing has increased steadily over the years. Like email social engineering, it started with untargeted lure messages being spammed to large groups of users, but lately has evolved into more targeted texts that masquerade as messages from someone you know, including perhaps your boss.

In parallel, the platforms we prefer for short text messages have evolved as well. Users, especially professionals, have realised the insecurity of cleartext SMS messages thanks to NIST, various carrier breaches, and knowledge of weaknesses in carrier standards like Signaling System 7 (SS7). This has caused many to move their business text messages to alternate apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and even Teams or Slack.

Where legitimate users go, malicious cybercriminals follow. As a result, we are starting to see an increase in reports of malicious spear SMSishing-like messages to messenger platforms like WhatsApp. Have you received a WhatsApp message from your CEO asking you to help him set up an account for a project hes working on? Maybe you should call or contact your boss through some other communication medium to verify its really that person! In short, we expect to see targeted phishing messages over many messaging platforms to double in 2022.

3. Password-less authentication fails long term without MFA

Its official. Windows has gone password-less! While we celebrate the move away from passwords alone for digital validation, we also believe the continued current focus of single-factor authentication for Windows logins simply repeats the mistakes from history. Windows 10 and 11 will now allow you to set up completely password-less authentication, using options like Hello (Microsofts biometrics), a Fido hardware token, or an email with a one-time password (OTP).

Though we commend Microsoft for making this bold move, we believe all single-factor authentication mechanisms are the wrong choice and repeat password mistakes of old. Biometrics are not a magic pill thats impossible to defeat  in fact, researchers and attackers have repeatedly defeated various biometric mechanisms. Sure, the technology is getting better, but attack techniques evolve too (especially in a world of social media, photogrammetry and 3D printing). In general, hardware tokens are strong single factor option too, but the RSA breach proved that they are not undefeatable either. And frankly, clear text emails with an OTP are simply a bad idea.

The only strong solution to digital identify validation is multi-factor authentication (MFA). In our opinion, Microsoft (and others) could have truly solved this problem by making MFA mandatory and easy in Windows. You can still use Hello as one easy factor of authentication, but organisations should force users to pair it with another, like a push approval to your mobile phone thats sent over an encrypted channel (no text or clear email). Our prediction is that Windows password-less authentication will take off in 2022, but we expect hackers and researcher to find ways to bypass it, proving we didnt learn from the lessons of the past.

4. Companies increase cyber insurance despite soaring costs

Since the astronomical success of ransomware starting back in 2013, cyber security insurers have realised that payout costs to cover clients against these threats have increased dramatically. In fact, according to a report from S&P Global, cyber insurers loss ratio increased for the third consecutive year in 2020 by 25 points, or more than 72%. This resulted in premiums for stand-alone cyber insurance policies to increase 28.6% in 2020 to $1.62 billion USD. As a result, they have greatly increased the cybersecurity requirements for customers. Not only has the price of insurance increased, but insurers now actively scan and audit the security of clients before providing cybersecurity-related coverage. In 2022, if you dont have the proper protections in place, including MFA on remote access, you may not get cyber insurance at the price youd like, or at all. Like other regulations and compliance standards, this new insurer focus on security and auditing will drive a new focus by companies to improve defences in 2022.

5. And well call it Zero Trust

Recently, a modern information security architecture has grown in popularity under the name of Zero Trust. A Zero-Trust approach to security basically boils down to 'assuming the breach.' In other words, assuming an attacker has already compromised one of your assets or users, and designing your network and security protections in a way that limits their ability to move laterally to more critical systems. Youll see terms like 'microsegmentation' and 'asserted identity' thrown around in discussions on Zero Trust. But anyone that has been around for long enough will recognise this trending architecture is built on existing, long-standing security principles of strong identity verification and the idea of least privilege.

This isnt to say Zero-Trust architecture is a buzz word or unnecessary. On the contrary, it is exactly what organizations should have been doing since the dawn of networking. We are predicting in 2022, the majority of organisations will finally enact some of the oldest security concepts all over their networks, and they will call it Zero Trust.

6. News of hackers targeting space hits the headlines

With renewed focus on the 'Space Race' and recent cybersecurity research concentration on satellite vulnerabilities, we believe a 'hack in space will hit the headlines in 2022.

Recently, satellite hacking has gained investigative attention from the cybersecurity community among researchers and at conferences like DEF CON. While satellites might seem out of reach from most threats, researchers have found they can communicate with them using about US $300 worth of gear. Furthermore, older satellites may not have focused on modern security controls, relying on distance and obscurity for defence.

Meanwhile, many private companies have begun their space race, which will greatly increase the attack surface in orbit. Companies like Starlink are launching satellites by the thousands. Between those two trends, plus the value of orbital systems to nation states, economies, and society, we suspect governments have quietly started their cyber defence campaigns in space already. Dont be surprised if we see a space-related hack in the headlines one day soon.



Carolyn Crandall, chief security advocate and chief marketing officer at Attivo Networks has also provided the following five predictions for 2022:

1. Ransomware will make Active Directory protection a top CISO-level concern

Active Directory is an essential element of an enterprises network infrastructure, but it is intrinsically insecure and notoriously difficult to protect. Attackers are well aware of its weaknesses and diligently target AD to increase their privileges, escalate their attacks, and mass encrypt data for ransom. Active Directory exposures are named as the top reason why ransomware attacks continue to be successful. Business leaders and IT decision-makers cannot afford to let visibility and organisational divides leave exposures unaddressed and open for attack.

2. Supply chain issues are forcing enterprises to order supplies months in advance, in larger quantities, and from new providers

The lack of supply will add complexity to new vendor management and qualifications as organisations adjust their purchases, and potentially standards, to support business operations. This change will introduce new supply chain security risks that could arise from software, hardware, and logistics security exposures.

3. Deception technology will experience rapid mid-market growth

Cyber-attacks are steadily becoming the biggest threat to businesses of all sizes. While larger companies more commonly have the resources to implement defence in depth security measures, mid and small-size companies remain ill-equipped to defend against advanced attack techniques, forcing them to decide where and what to protect. As a result, in 2022, many of these companies will turn to deception technology as an efficient, cost-effective method to respond to internal and external threats. A high signal to noise alert ratio and Innovations in machine learning will make managing decoys and concealment attractive for under-resourced businesses. Additionally, with an increase in SaaS-based offerings, mid-level companies will be able to take advantage of benefits of deception technology in greater numbers.

4. Ransomware defences must get a badly needed refresh

Ransomware 3.0 is here, characterised by double extortion, where cybercriminals not only encrypt files but also leak information online that can drastically impact everything from the companys image, profits, and stock price. Theres no longer a one-size-fits-all approach to defending against these attacks. With over 300 variants, stopping ransomware requires a multi-faceted approach. One that starts with protecting Active Directory and privileged credentials. In 2022, organisations will be unable to keep up with understanding how each group operates and instead, will need to improve their visibility to exposures and add detection measures that are based on technique. Setting up traps, misdirections and speed bump lures along the way will also serve as strong deterrents to keep an attacker from being successful.

5. The debate will increase on whether ransomware should be classed as an act of war or espionage

Depending on the answer, which will likely be driven by the level of violence, death, and destruction, this can have implications for businesses related to whether insurance companies will use this as an opportunity to opt-out of ransomware reimbursements. There will also be more discussions in 2022 related to inadvertent terrorist funding and retaliation.



Finally, Joanne Wong, VP of international marketing, APAC and EMEA at LogRhythm has also identified the following four predictions for 2022:

1. Zero Trust approach continues to gain traction amidst rising cyber threats

Businesses globally have had to accelerate their digital transformation journey and embrace a hybrid work reality over the past few months, and this trend is set to continue in the coming year. This means contending with even more vulnerabilities and security risks, which entails breaking away from conventional security approaches and adopting novel solutions.

Already, we have seen how the Singapore government has taken the first step in adopting a new Zero Trust cybersecurity approach across government applications and information technology systems. This will only extend across even more governments and private organisations, where everyone will take a step in the same direction and move towards Zero Trust  so they can maintain clear oversight over entire operations, adopting an 'assume breach' mindset and conducting verification at every step to mitigate any cyberthreats early on.

2. Growing adoption of 5G technologies increases cybersecurity risks

Asia Pacific has emerged as a frontrunner in the 5G race. Countries in the region  especially South Korea, China, Japan and Australia  have made significant progress in laying down the groundwork for their 5G network deployments. Come 2022, many will be looking to capitalise on the increased connectivity 5G technology offers to realise their digital transformation roadmaps and Smart City aspirations.

However, the growing adoption of 5G has also introduced new complexities to the current threat landscape. With 5G accelerating the push for the Internet of Things, cybercriminals can easily leverage insecure connections and hack into smart devices to infiltrate any networks for their own gain. Now more than ever, organisations will have to double down on their cybersecurity efforts and ensure that they are protected from all fronts. Otherwise, a successful cyberattack can easily undo progress made towards a 5G-enabled future.

3. Competition for top cybersecurity talent heats up

The digitalisation imperative will continue in the year ahead, and this brings with it new security challenges. Weve already seen a growing spate of cybersecurity attacks in recent years, highlighting how critical a robust cybersecurity strategy is for organisations. However, many organisations are facing an acute shortage of IT talent, and this is most keenly felt across specialised fields like cybersecurity.

Businesses are facing an urgent need to close this cybersecurity talent gap and many are pulling out all stops to attract and retain top talent to address their cybersecurity needs. Faced with a sparse talent market, many are looking towards diversifying access to a wider talent pool and even providing on-the-job training to upskill existing employees. People are the key to an organisations success in digital transformation, and only when they can tap on this valuable resource to secure their digital assets can they reap the rewards of this new digital future.

4. Individuals, not infrastructure, will be top threats at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar

Qatar has made significant investments in cybersecurity ahead of the FIFA 2022 World Cup. Much of the travel and ticketing for the event have been digitised and are vulnerable to attack from cybercriminals. We predict that in addition to large-scale outages or organisational attacks, cybercriminals will also be targeting the large number of high-value visitors to the tournament. Organisers will be prepared to manage the large attack surface surrounding the tournament, but what about individuals?

Phishing and social engineering will be used to steal personal and financial information that criminals can monetise. We predict that promotional emails or fake websites related to World Cup from the travel and hospitality industries will be used to capture personal data and compromise individuals. Cybercriminals will recognise the work that Qatar has done to be prepared for the tournament and may focus on exploiting human nature rather than digital infrastructure.
A serious vulnerability in the Log4j Java-based logging library is affecting many enterprise applications and cloud services.

The flaw, an unauthenticated remote code exploit, allows the complete takeover of systems using versions 2.0-beta9 up to 2.14.1 of the library.

Developed by the Apache Software Foundation, Log4j is used in software that does not use Java as well and products from Apple, Amazon, Cloudflare, Twitter and Steam are all susceptible.

Earliest evidence weve found so far of #Log4J exploit is 2021-12-01 04:36:50 UTC. That suggests it was in the wild at least 9 days before publicly disclosed. However, dont see evidence of mass exploitation until after public disclosure.  Matthew Prince ? (@eastdakota) December 11, 2021

In a tweet on Saturday, British infosec expert Kevin Beaumont said he was seeing widespread exploitation against his honeypots. "...intriguingly, [there was] an attempt against an Apache box before details of this became public," he added.

The vulnerability was first reported on 24 November by researchers from Alibaba Cloud and has been given the tracking number CVE-2021-44228. It has been dubbed Log4Shell or LogJam.

Apache has released version 2.15.0 as a fix.

In a blog post, Satnam Narang, a staff research engineer at security shop Tenable, said Log4Shell affected, but was not limited to, Apache Druid, Apache Flink, Apache Solr, Apache Spark, Apache Struts2 and Apache Tomcat.

GreyNoise is detecting a sharply increasing number of hosts opportunistically exploiting Apache Log4J CVE-2021-44228. Exploitation occurring from ~100 distinct hosts, almost all of which are Tor exit nodes. Tags available to all users and customers now. https://t.co/JF3tUkpIrq pic.twitter.com/CTMi0IWQ5j  GreyNoise (@GreyNoiseIO) December 10, 2021

"CVE-2021-44228 is a remote code execution vulnerability in Apache Log4j2," he said. "An unauthenticated, remote attacker could exploit this flaw by sending a specially crafted request to a server running a vulnerable version of log4j.

"The crafted request uses a Java Naming and Directory Interface injection via a variety of services including Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, Secure LDAP, Remote Method Invocation or Domain Name Service.

"If the vulnerable server uses Log4j2 to log requests, the exploit will then request a malicious payload over JNDI through one of the services above from an attacker-controlled server. Successful exploitation could lead to RCE."

The flaw was first seen to be affecting several versions of Minecraft, the popular sandbox video game, he added.

Amit Yoran, chairman and chief executive of Tenable, said: "The Apache Log4j Remote Code Execution Vulnerability is the single biggest, most critical vulnerability of the last decade. When all of the research is done, we may in fact learn that it is the single biggest vulnerability in the history of modern computing.

"This kind of vulnerability is a reminder that organisations must develop mature cyber security programs to understand cyber risk in a dynamic world.

"While details are still emerging, we encourage organisations to update their security controls, assume they have been compromised and activate existing incident response plans.

"The number one priority now is to work with your in-house information security and engineering teams or partner with an organisation that conducts incident response to identify the impact to your business."
WikiLeaks founder and publisher Julian Assange could seek permission from Britain's Supreme Court to contest the verdict of a two-bench High Court panel which, on Friday, reversed a lower court's decision to deny a US request for his extradition.

A decision on whether to extradite Assange based on Friday's court verdict rests with British Home Secretary Priti Patel. The hearing on Friday asked the lower court to cancel its January verdict and refer the matter to Patel. If she decides to uphold the decision made on Friday, then Assange can take recourse to the Supreme Court.

On 4 January, British District Judge Vanessa Baraister ruled that Assange should not be extradited, saying the risk he would commit suicide in a US jail were too high.

Assange faces criminal charges in the US for publishing classified information that was leaked to WikiLeaks by an American soldier, then known as Bradley Manning, but now, after gender reassignment surgery, known as Chelsea Manning.

If the Supreme Court does not allow him to appeal the decision, then he would have only one more way to fight against the extradition: an appeal to the EU Court of Human Rights.

Despite her verdict, Justice Baraister had opened the door for the US to get it reversed as she ruled that the reasons advanced by the Americans were justified. She dismissed his protestations that the US was seeking to prosecute him for political reasons, but said he was being pursued for crimes.

Some Australian politicians have asked the Morrison Government to intervene in the matter, with one Labor MP, Julian Hill, criticising the Biden administration for what he called the hypocritical detention of Assange, which he described as a political witch-hunt.

In a Facebook post, Hill described Assange as fighting for his life in London, as the United States seeks his extradition to face an effective death sentence.

The hypocrisy of the United States administration is profound and growing. President [Joe] Biden announced a new initiative on press freedom at his democracy summit, yet his government is hounding Assange for journalistic activities," he said.

This Australian, who exposed US war crimes, is treated worse than a war criminal. He is not receiving a fair trial. There will never be a legal solution to this case. It is an inherently political witch-hunt. The Australian government must stand up to the US and the UK and stop this extradition.

Julian Assanges fiancee, Stella Moris, speaks outside the High Court in London after it ruled to allow the extradition of the Wikileaks founder to the US pic.twitter.com/hWaMJsnqjs  PA Media (@PA) December 11, 2021

Assange was arrested by British police on 11 April 2019 and removed from the Ecuador embassy where he had taken refuge for seven years. His asylum was withdrawn shortly before he was arrested and he appeared in court shortly thereafter. The US made a formal request for his extradition on 6 June 2019.

The Australian, 50, one of the better-known hackers Australia has produced, is being held at Belmarsh Prison in the UK.

In a statement following the decision on Friday, the group Reporters Without Borders said: "We condemn todays decision, which will prove historic for all the wrong reasons.

"We fully believe that Julian Assange has been targeted for his contributions to journalism, and we defend this case because of its dangerous implications for the future of journalism and press freedom around the world. It is time to put a stop to this more than decade-long persecution once and for all. It is time to free Assange."

The British Government has not always been so receptive to US requests for extradition. In 2018, the US gave up appealing a decision by a court in the UK to oppose the extradition of British security researcher Lauri Love to face charges of allegedly breaching the computer networks of a number of American Government agencies.

And another British hacker, Gary McKinnon, was not extradited for accessing US Government computers in 2012, after a 10-year legal battle, because he was considered to be seriously ill.

Former British prime minister Theresa May, who was home secretary at the time, made the decision not to extradite McKinnon.
The Government has appointed Ms Elisha Parker to the NBN Co Board for a three-year term, bringing a regional perspective to the Board as NBN Co transitions from construction to operations.

Ministers Birmingham and Fletcher say Parker has entrepreneurial and leadership skills, and experience in regional and remote Australia. In addition she has 13 years experience as a Legal Practitioner admitted to the Supreme Court of Queensland.

Parker has held various Chair and Committee positions within the agricultural sector and has received many awards within the industry for leadership on regional issues, entrepreneurship, digital innovation and advocacy.

Parker is a director and founder of her own business, Cattlesales Pty Ltd, and through this has hands-on experience finding solutions to expand digital capabilities for regional and remote Australia. She also has been a non-executive director of AgForce Cattle Limited, and the Future Farmers Network.

The Ministers thanked retiring Board members for their contribution and congratulated Ms Parker on her appointment.

This first appeared in the subscription newsletter CommsWire on 9 December 2021.
This Week in Review

A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more.
Today

Some clouds. Low around 30F. Winds light and variable.

Tonight

Some clouds. Low around 30F. Winds light and variable.

Tomorrow

Partly cloudy in the morning then becoming cloudy with periods of rain later in the day. Much colder. High 52F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.
The atmosphere during the week-long meeting in the cavern-like setting of the World Forum in the Hague was both upbeat and workmanlike. A new court president, a new chair of the States meeting and a new prosecutor were all on the top table at the opening session of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC). U.S. Sanctions levied over a year ago against the former prosecutor Fatou Bensouda for her attempt to investigate alleged United States war crimes in Afghanistan are not only in the past but had also forced many states to proclaim their allegiance to international criminal justice and support for the courts work. Meanwhile, heavy Covid-19 restrictions meant only a limited number of NGOs monitoring states at this annual jamboree. Candidates for a variety of elections, including positions on the board of the Trust Fund for Victims and for new deputy prosecutors, meanwhile lobbied states delegates in corners, side events were held online, and controversies kept to a minimum.

State members of the ICC looked at the courts request for a 9.5% increase in its annual budget and agreed to less than half the additions, making it only a modest rise to nearly 155 million Euro. It is notable that it is an increase, says Elizabeth Evenson who monitored proceedings for international NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW), but its concerning, its less than what the Committee on Budget and Finance (CBF) recommended. And the decision comes against the backdrop of pleas from all the courts principals that more cash is needed because of an increase in workloads across the institution, with a doubling of trials predicted for 2022, and a number of changes in the Office of the Prosecutor.

The reality check though  as the CBF pointed out  is that as of the middle of 2021, the court was owed more than 60 million Euros in back payments from state members and until States in arrears demonstrate a willingness to substantially reduce outstanding contributions, budgetary increases will be restricted to what is essential only and, in the first instance, internal savings, efficiencies and prioritisation will be used to meet those essential requirements.. The considerable size of the accumulated arrears are mainly explained by the economic effects of coronavirus says Alexandrah Bakker, who runs the Lawyering Justice blog for Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG), a global pro bono law firm, meaning that theres no easy solution [to the budget crunch]; states are struggling so the court is struggling.

No ghosts no deceit

The new prosecutor Karim Khan had asked states for enough money to flesh out the substantial changes he is making in how his office should investigate and prosecute some of the most serious crimes in the world. At a press conference he justified decisions hes made  for example, to deprioritise the US and Afghan part of a broad investigation into crimes committed there since 2003  as a result of resource choices, not timidity in challenging a superpower. Ultimately, he said his office has spread itself too thin over 11 investigations and 16 preliminary examinations; theres a degree of realism everybody needs to get.

As part of that approach, he pledged no ghost teams, without going into details. He indicated that some investigations he inherited are less substantial than he might have expected, as he is conducting his review of all the investigations and preliminary examinations. He said he would not proceed and give an impression that there is activity [in his office] when there is not, because I think that is not honourable.

If we keep promising that we can do everything when weve got these resources, he continued, were lying, were deceitful. Were raising expectations and Im not going to whatever the consequences.

The detail of his decisions to proceed or not with crimes that met the gravity threshold would be backed up by written assessments from his teams assessing the likelihood of successful prosecution. Is there evidence to give rise to a realistic prospect of conviction? would be the yardstick for action, he said. Cases and the evidence supporting them dont get stronger while the ICC waits to issue an arrest warrant: The high watermark may well be before somebody is named and you have to make a call then, if the evidence is capable of proving the case beyond reasonable doubt.

Pragmatic approach

The prosecutors emphasis has been on complementarity  that states themselves have a responsibility to prosecute. He just appointed a new special adviser on mutual legal assistance. But how exactly the court will support states efforts to reduce the accountability gap, as Khan terms it, is not yet clear. We can try to help with our technical expertise as we move forward with investigations. This is something were doing with Venezuela, he said, referring to a recent agreement he signed with Caracas. The ideal is the state does it itself. If not, we can try to assist. And a positive complementarity to a degree, realising were not a development agency, said Khan. He now has to make that happen within the 49.5 million EUR the states have allocated his office.

Hes very honest about the fact that hes trying to be pragmatic, Bakker says. He has been delivering a difficult message, acknowledges Evenson. But it does not come as surprise, she says: victims groups have been well aware for many years now that the court doesnt have the resources it needs. And in other ways maybe hasnt had the capacity it needs to meet their very legitimate expectations on the institution. So, I dont think it will come as news. I think the new prosecutor clearly values being very transparent about decision making and saying clearly that some of these decisions are motivated by the need to prioritise in light of limited resources.

Will there be change?

Apart from the budget the ASP as a whole was dealing with the implementation of a damming Independent Expert Report published two years ago with nearly 400 recommendations for change. Evident was an NGO concern about the extent to which states parties should control the implementation process or mainly just monitor how an independent court gets on with it. They heard loud and clear the criticism of civil society.

Was this ASP the new prosecutors brief honeymoon with states? Nine years ago, Khans predecessor also enjoyed a bounce of fresh commitments as she took over as ICC prosecutor and states wanted to show their support for her vision. But the hard decisions will remain. Evenson says states are out of touch with what resources are needed for the courts workload: Im sceptical that anythings going to change fundamentally about the discourse around the budget needs of international justice. For that HRW is lobbying for a more strategic discussion as suggested in the experts review, to help states parties understand that theres a real limit to what their demand for prioritisation can bring about; its already compromising victims access to justice.

Recommended reading Karim Khan meets the states at the ICC
Chinese artificial intelligence start-up SenseTime said Monday it was postponing a $767 million initial public offering in Hong Kong after it was blacklisted by the United States over accusations of genocide in Xinjiang.

The US Treasury announced the ban on Friday, saying SenseTimes facial recognition programmes were designed in part to be used against Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, where UN experts and researchers estimate more than one million have been incarcerated in prison camps.

The blacklisting immediately cast a shadow over the companys upcoming IPO plans in Hong Kong, which had been due to take place a week later. It also illustrated the risks investors face from competing sanctions as relations between the worlds two biggest economies sour.

On Monday, SenseTime filed a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange saying it would postpone its listing to safeguard the interests of the potential investors as they weigh the impact of being placed on the blacklist.

SenseTime said it remains committed to listing in Hong Kong soon and would fully refund those who had already invested.

The US sanctions and blacklisting can prevent individuals from obtaining visas to the United States, block assets under US jurisdiction, and prevent the targets from doing business with US individuals or entities  effectively locking them out of the US banking system.

A blacklisting would make it all but impossible for US investment banks usually involved in Hong Kong listings to get involved, or for a US national to invest in the offering.

China on Monday decried the latest sanctions, which were also placed on two government officials in Xinjiang.

If the US insists on acting rashly, China will have to take effective measures to firmly fight back, foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters.

 Caught in the middle 

Washington says SenseTime is part of Chinas military-industrial complex. It had already placed the company on the US Department of Commerces blacklist in 2019 because its technology had been used for mass surveillance in Xinjiang.

It says SenseTime has developed and deployed facial recognition software that can determine a persons ethnicity, including whether someone looks Uyghur.

SenseTime criticised the latest blacklisting, saying in a statement over the weekend it was caught in the middle of geopolitical tension.

We strongly oppose the designation and accusations that have been made in connection with it. The accusations are unfounded and reflect a fundamental misperception of our Company, the firm said.

The plight of the Uyghurs has contributed to worsening diplomatic relations between Western powers and Beijing.

Human rights groups and foreign governments have found evidence of what they say are mass detentions, forced labour, political indoctrination, torture and forced sterilisation. Washington has described it as genocide.

After initially denying the existence of the Xinjiang camps, China later defended them as vocational training centres aimed at reducing the appeal of Islamic extremism.

Beijings use of technology to keep track of its citizens, and the companies that pioneer that tech, have come under increased international scrutiny in recent years.

China maintains vast and sophisticated surveillance programmes, both online and on the streets, with artificial intelligence and facial recognition software playing key roles.

During the coronavirus pandemic, SenseTimes software has been used to check commuter temperatures, determine if they are wearing a facemask, and can identify people even when their mouths are covered.

Founded in 2014 by academic Tang Xiaoou at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the company has gone on to become one of Chinas most valuable start-ups in just a few years.
Charles Ble Goude, a former right-hand man to Ivory Coasts ex-president Laurent Gbagbo, on Monday called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to help him return to the country following his acquittal.

It is your duty to see that I return to Ivory Coast. You have the authority, you have the power, you have the duty, he said in a speech to ICC judges.

Ble Goude and Gbagbo were both acquitted by the Hague-based court in March of charges arising from post-election violence in Ivory Coast in 2011.

Ble Goudes call for assistance to enable him to go home follows a demand he made in September for compensation from the ICC.

The West African nation was plunged into deadly violence after Gbagbo refused to accept defeat in the 2010 presidential elections.

The ensuing conflict claimed more than 3,000 lives and more than 200,000 people fled the country.

After he was ousted, Gbagbo was flown to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity, of which he was eventually acquitted.

Ble Goude, now 49, was acquitted on the same charges.

Gbagbo has since returned home from Europe and met with his erstwhile rival, President Alassane Ouattara.

But Ble Goude, who says he was the victim of a serious and manifest miscarriage of justice, is currently without a passport.

When I was acquitted, I was happy because for me it was the end of an ordeal, but I was very wrong. My ordeal continues today and continues, Ble Goude said in his statement to the ICC judges, which was passed on to AFP.

Today, citizen Ble Goude has become a stateless person, he added.

In July he was invited into the Ivorian embassy in The Hague to start the procedure to apply for a new passport.

Both Gbagbo and Ble Goude have been sentenced in absentia in Ivory Coast to 20 years in prison for crimes related to the deadly violence.

While the government in Abidjan has hinted that Gbagbos sentence will be dropped, it has not said anything about Charles Ble Goudes prison term.
France has listed agricultural traders Bunge and Cargill as the main soybean importers from deforestation risk areas, and deforestation risk is one of the main causes of global warming.

These companies have been identified as the French governments attempt to clean up the countrys agricultural supply chain, launching an online database to track soybean exports from Brazil to France.

This database Statistics show that about a quarter of Brazils soybean exports to France in 2018 came from deforested areas.

Brazil is the worlds largest producer of pulses, which are mainly used as livestock feed and oil. For decades, its production has been one of the reasons for tropical rain forest deforestation.

The Amazon and the Brazilian prairie are important buffer zones in response to climate change, serving as huge carbon storage reservoirs. According to statistics, in the year ending in July, the deforestation rate in the Amazon was the highest in 15 years. Brazil official data.

The online database was launched by the French Ministry of Ecological Transformation with the help of the supply chain transparency organization Trase and the environmental NGO Canopee, highlighting the worlds largest agricultural traders role in dealing with commodities that may be related to deforestation.

The report shows that Bunge accounts for 70% of the cargo, of which soybeans come from areas threatened by high-risk deforestation, while Cargill accounts for nearly 10%.

Bunge stated that it is committed to achieving a deforestation-free supply chain by 2025 and has already removed some farmers related to deforestation from its supply chain.

Cargill said that the platforms data did not reflect French imports, adding that it is committed to eliminating deforestation in the shortest possible time, but there is no single solution to the problem.

The French government stated that it invites traders and other companies to share their data to improve the quality of analysis.

Nico Muzi of Mighty Earth, an environmental movement organization, said that traders determine the state of the global soybean market, and if they feel pressured, they may make major changes.

According to the French website, about 411,000 tons of the 1.57 million soybeans or their products exported from Brazil to France in 2018 were related to the high risk of deforestation.

According to the governments Ministry of Ecological Transformation, France imports about 3 million tons of soybean meal each year, accounting for about 17% of the EUs total. Monitoring these import flows that pose a risk to forests will help address supply chain risks, it said.

Soon after the online database was released Global commitment Stop the destruction of the worlds forests at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

EU also Publish The draft regulations will force companies to prove that the products they sell to the EU will not lead to legal or illegal deforestation or forest degradation.

However, the data on the French website does not prove that soybeans are grown in deforested areas, the Ministry of Ecology said, adding that it will contact traders to learn about deforestation risks in their supply chains.

French supermarket group Carrefour is a member of the government working group that helped develop the platform. The company said that by 2025, it will use this data to eliminate deforestation-related soy livestock feed from its supply chain.

The group signed a soy manifesto with other leading French retailers last year to address the problems of deforestation and savannah destruction. British retailers and food companies followed suit, signing a similar declaration in November.
The head of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), one of the three major intelligence agencies in the UK, expressed concern about China and its digital renminbi. Sir Jeremy Fleming stated that the existing Chinese CBDC can be used to collect information from users, assuming that global transactions can be controlled and filtered.

The UK is worried about the progress of Chinas CBDC

The head of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), one of the UKs largest intelligence agencies, warned that the use of digital renminbi could have a negative impact on global transactions.Sir Jeremy Fleming statement If the currency expands to other countries and other participants use it like locals, it may have an adverse effect on the health of the financial system. Fleming said:

If implemented improperly, it will give a hostile country the ability to monitor transactions. It empowers them. .. Able to control the operation of these digital currencies.

GCHQ is responsible for protecting British information and coordinating the countrys cyber defense in the event of an attack.

China goes forward

Fleming further explained that China is promoting its digital renminbi Wallet is one of the payment options for the next Beijing Winter Olympics, whether it is a local or a foreigner. This may prompt foreigners to install and use RMB digital wallets to pay for goods and services during the event.

Flemings concerns are the result of Chinas development and progress in the digital currency field in recent years. Although some countries have written articles about the introduction of central bank digital currencies, and others have done so, no country is as advanced as China. Fleming emphasized:

China stole the march. ..[its]A lot of investment, open and secret, because it started to have a real impact on the way the rules of the road operate in the technological and digital environment. We must figure out what our response to all of this is.

There is still a lack of a framework for managing such currencies on a global scale, and Beijing has shown no intention of cooperating with other countries. However, Fleming talked about the importance of open trade and cooperation between the two countries.

What do you think of Flemings concerns about the digital renminbi? Tell us in the comments section below.

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"One Ordinary Day" episode 6 leads the viewers into the light that might give clarity to the never-ending unanswered questions. In the latest episode, Kim Hyun Soo (Kim Soo Hyun) causes a crisis as he collapses in the midst of the cross investigation.

'One Ordinary Day' Episode 6: Kim Hyun Soo Falls Weak in an Investigation

As he remembers the shock, fear and embarrassment felt on that "one ordinary day" that turned his life upside down, Kim Hyun Soo collapses on the ground.

Luckily, he isn't alone. Apart from his parents, his lawyer Seo Soo Jin (Lee Seol) and Shin Jung Han (Cha Seung Won) have enough trust in him.

Even with the prying eyes of the prosecution, Kim Hyun Soo is determined to prove his innocence with the help of his lawyers by his side.

Shin Jung Han Looks For Evidences and Entrusts Seo Soo Jin With the Trial

Because every evidence point to Kim Hyun Soo, which makes it difficult for them to prove the young man's innocence, Shin Jung Han starts investigating from various angles.

Interestingly, he finds Yoon Hyo Jeong (Na Eun Sam), a friend one who lives with the late Hong Guk Hwa (Hwang Se On), and her boyfriend, Eom Ji Jong (Lee Poon Woon), who's wasted from all the drugs he has taken. He is also the same man who provided medicine to Hong Guk Hwa's sleeping disorder.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 'One Ordinary Day' Episode 5: Cha Seung Won Takes One Step Forward Against Kim Shin Rok

Shin Jung Han, quick-witted as ever, records a phone call that could perfectly define the relationship between the three which he could use in the future. He also finds out through CCTV footage that Lee Cheol Ho (Hwang Sang Kyung), a delivery driver who followed Hong Guk Hwa and Kim Hyun Soo from the gas station to the Han River had a tainted criminal record, hinting at a suspect.

After interrogating him, he offered the delivery man to stand as a witness.

Kim Hyun Soo Cries For Help

Because Kim Hyun Soo had the hottest criminal record up to date, he is also under the watch of the inspectorate who is concerned with drug dealers inside prison.

Because of his dislocated shoulder and association with the lion inside prison, Do Ji Tae (Kim Sung Kyu), put his life at risk. He is then tortured to tell on Do Ji Tae and his drug business inside, but Kim Hyun Soo never opened his mouth. Not even when he was beaten up.

After that, another trial without careful consideration began and he was then once again accused of being a horrible rapist with no remorse. Kim Hyun Soo then cries, making the atmosphere chillier than usual as he screams his innocence into the court.

Kim Hyun Soo's Dilemma

During Kim Hyun Soo's trial, prosecutor Ahn Tae Hee pushes the poor boy to his limits. However, Kim Hyun Soo's lawyers Shin Jung Han and Seo Soo Jin fight fiercely to defend their client.

A moment later, Kim Hyun Soo takes the witness' stand by himself. When Ahn Tae Hee attacks him with her words, the court falls silent as he answers, "I don't know."

Feeling guilty all over his body after being questioned whether he really killed the victim. Kim Hyun Soo struggles and becomes miserable, his eyes full of tears, pain and injustice.

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Written by Elijah Mully.
Kim Seon Ho and Shin Min Ah's "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" and the beloved Kdrama "Vincenzo," starring Song Joong Ki and Jeon Yeo Bin, are reportedly in talks for an international remake.

The two top-rating series join a slew of Kdramas set to be released globally through adaptation.

'Vincenzo' and 'Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha' Added to the List of Kdramas that Will Have a Remake

tvN dramas gained the public's attention, especially the healing Kdrama and Song Joong Ki's "Vincenzo." Both series are among the broadcast network's top rating shows, with "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" scoring the finale episode with an average nationwide rating of 12.7 percent setting its new personal best.

On the other hand, crime drama reached its highest viewership rating with 18.4 percent.

Interestingly, Kdramas are expanding their base through international remakes.

According to a media outlet, Studio Dragon, the production team behind these mega-hit series revealed that they had received offers about the remake rights abroad.

"The popularity of 'Vincenzo' and the healing romance 'Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha', which have a complex genre character, prove that global audiences have already fallen in love with K-drama regardless of genre, the company explained, adding that the details are currently being discussed.

Kim Seon Ho and Shin Min Ah's Kdrama dominated weekly rankings of Good Data Corporation's most buzz-worthy dramas and actors since it made a debut back on August 28.

Apart from this, the lead stars' onscreen chemistry captured the hearts of Kdrama fandom, dubbing them as the "dimple couple."

"Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" not only highlights the heart-fluttering romance between Chief Hong and Yoon Hye Jin but also the heartwarming stories of people at the seaside village of Gongjin.

Screenwriter Shin Ha Eun previously explained what prompted her to write the series and why the viewers embraced the healing Kdrama.

"In these days, when emotional distance is difficult to get close to, I wanted to say that love still exists among people," she said, adding that "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" portrays a story based on "people's hearts" that harbors extreme emotions.

'Vincenzo' Bags Trophies at The Seoul Drama Awards 2021

IN CASE YOU MISSED: 'Vincenzo' Included in tvN's Notable Achievements for First Half of 2021

Following the triumphant finale of "Vincenzo," the tvN blockbuster series took home multiple titles at The Seoul Drama Awards 2021.

On October 21, at the MBC's Public Hall, hosted by ASTRO's Cha Eun Woo and Park Eun Bin, lead star Song Joong Ki received the Outstanding Korean Actor while the crime series bagged Excellent Korean Drama.

Apart from this, "Vincenzo" is also hailed as the top four in most-mentioned K-Dramas worldwide, with Ju Ji Hoon's "Kingdom" at the top spot, followed by "Itaewon Class" and "True Beauty" at second and third place.

Four Kdramas That Will Have American Remake

With "Vincenzo" and "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" being in talks to have an international remake, four other Kdramas officially confirmed an American adaptation.

First is the mega-hit K-zombie "Train to Busan," which stars Gong Yoo. With its new title, "Last Train to New York," the remake will be helmed by Indonesian director Timo Tjahjanto and produced by New Line Cinema, who worked with "The Nun," "Annabelle" and "The Conjuring" series.

"Crash Landing On You" will also have an adaptation and is now in its final planning and development stages, as cited by Studio Dragon CEO Kang Chul Ku.

Joining the list of Kdramas to have remakes are UI and Yeo Jin Goo's "Hotel Del Luna" as well as "W: Two Worlds" starring Lee Jong Suk and Han Hyo Joo.

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tvN's hit and inspiring series "Misaeng: Incomplete Life" that stars a number of accomplished actors today namely Im Siwan, Kang Ha Neul, Lee Sung Min, Byun Yo Han, Kang So Ra, and more became a phenomenal success for its excellent script.

The drama aired in 2014, and the cast even traveled to Amman,Jordan to film, which was shown in "Misaeng: Incomplete Life" episode 1. The series managed to finish its run with favorable reviews and success because it strongly depicted the complicated yet realistic relationships between people in and their ordinary life as office workers.

Lead actor Im Siwan bagged major awards namely Best New Actor, Jury Award, and Excellent Actor Award for his exceptional performance in "Misaeng." Other cast members Lee Sung Min, Kim Dae Myung, Byun Yo Han, and Kim Kyoung Young also received awards for their acting.

But now that the drama turned six years this 2021, what are the new projects of its cast that viewers should anticipate in 2022?

'Misaeng' Cast Update 2021: New Projects of Im Siwan, Kang Ha Neul, and More

Im Siwan

From being an idol to becoming one of the hard-working and now award-winning K-drama actors today, Im Siwan has definitely left a great impact through his "Misaeng" character as Jang Geu Rae.

He returned with another lead drama "The King in Love" in 2017 before he enlisted in the military. In 2019, Im Siwan joined Lee Dong Wook in thriller-mystery series "Strangers From Hell" and played the role of a famous sprinter in JTBC's "Run On" in 2020.

This 2021, Im Siwan is returning with more projects until 2022. His new drama "Tracer" will center its story about the allegations in the National Tax Service and is scheduled to premiere on January 7 on MBC and Wavve. He is also expected to make a movie comeback with "Emergency Declaration" and "1947 Boston."

Kang Ha Neul

Kang Ha Neul rose to fame when he appeared in the record-breaking series "Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo" in 2016. Many doors opened for him and his noteworthy performance in "When the Camellia Blooms" with Gong Hyo Jin gave him the ticket to be recognized in the acting field and later on received major awards in big awarding ceremonies in Korea.

He just finished his drama "River Where the Moon Rises" in the first half of 2021 and will be jumping to his new crime-mystery drama "Insider" and is about to have his big screen return with "The Pirates 2" which are both for release in 2022.

Byun Yo Han

Joining the circle of the award-winning actors is Byun Yo Han, on December 13, News 1 announced the good news that the star won Best Actor at the 22nd Busan Film Critics Association for the movie "The Book of Fish" which also gained nominations in various prestigious awarding ceremonies.

He appeared in "The Roots of Throne" and "Mr. Sunshine." Byun Yo Han focused on filming movies rather than series and this year, he has a total of four films produced namely "The Sun Does Not Move," "The Book of Fish," "On The Line," and "Hansan."

Kang So Ra

"Revolutionary Love" was Kang So Ra's latest drama appearance and made a cameo in "The Beauty Inside" episode 1 in 2020. The actress is currently on hiatus after she gave birth to her first child last April.

Meanwhile, Lee Sung Min's next project is with JTBC's "The Youngest Son of a Conglomerate" in 2022 where he will work with "Vincenzo" actor Song Joong Ki. Kim Dae Myung who won the Excellent Actor Award at the 2015 Korea Drama Awards for his role in "Misaeng" just wrapped up his medical drama "Hospital Playlist."

Who among these "Misaeng" cast are you excited to watch? Share it 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.
SALEM, Ore.  A convicted pedophile from Grants Pass died in state custody while serving his prison sentence, the Oregon Department of Corrections reported on Monday.

50-year-old Lloyd Brian Jones died Monday morning. He'd been serving time at Two Rivers Correctional Institution (TRCI) in Umatilla and died at a local hospital, DOC said.

"As with all in-custody deaths, the Oregon State Police have been notified, and the Medical Examiner will determine cause of death," the agency said.

Jones was handed over to state custody on December 29, 2016, from Josephine County. His earliest release date was January 22 of 2025.

According to court documents, Jones pleaded "no contest" to five counts in October of 2016, with all of the charges related to the abuse and sexual exploitation of several children. He'd been arrested just a few months earlier, in April.

Two Rivers is a multi-custody prison in Umatilla that houses about 1,800 adults in custody. It's one of several DOC facilities to see major COVID-19 outbreaks throughout the pandemic  with the largest number of positive cases of any facility  though the number of inmate deaths at the facility due to COVID-19 is not currently clear. The DOC has reported a total of 44 inmate deaths due to coronavirus.
MEDFORD, Ore.  A Medford man is behind bars on Monday after what detectives believe could be a series of sexual assaults, according to the Jackson County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies arrested 46-year-old Emilio Castillejos-Lopez on Friday morning after serving a search warrant at his home in the 3900-block of W Main Street in Medford. He was taken to the Jackson County Jail on 12 different charges for alleged sex crimes.

According to JCSO, deputies responded to a report of sexual assault in the Medford area on November 24. After taking the initial report, detectives found a possible previous victim of the same suspect.

The investigation eventually developed into probable cause to arrest Castillejos-Lopez for a number of charges, including rape, sex abuse, sodomy and luring a minor.

The Southern Oregon High Tech Crimes Task Force helped deputies with the search of Castillejos-Lopez's home and took digital devices to search for further evidence of sex crimes.

Though the investigation began last month, court documents indicate that most of the alleged crimes occurred in two separate spans between 2008 and 2019, beginning when the victim was under the age of 12.

In all, Castillejos-Lopez has been charged with with four counts of first-degree sexual abuse, two counts of second-degree sexual abuse, second-degree rape, first-degree sodomy, two counts of second-degree sodomy, second-degree sexual penetration, and luring a minor. His initial bail is set at $2,272,500.

Based on information gathered in the investigations, detectives believe Castillejos-Lopez may have other victims. Anyone with information can call Detective Tobias at (541) 774-6800 and reference case 21-6210. The case is still under investigation.
A seat belt violation in Pleasant Prairie quickly led to much more for a 52-year-old Zion, Ill., man.

John S. Miller faces five charges, including a felony count of possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine, following the traffic stop on Wednesday.

Miller continues to be held in custody in the Kenosha County Jail on a $5,000 cash bond. He is due in court Thursday for a preliminary hearing before Kenosha County Circuit Court Commissioner Larry Keating.

The felony charge carries a possible maximum prison term of 7.5 years and a fine of $100,000. Miller also is charged with misdemeanor counts of carrying a concealed knife, obstructing an officer, resisting an officer and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Miller is charged as a repeat-offender on all counts. Court records show a previous misdemeanor conviction of forgery in 2014 and a felony conviction for possession of a dangerous drug for sale and possession of a narcotic drug for sale in 2015, both in Maricopa County, Ariz.

According to the criminal complaint, a Kenosha County Sheriffs Department deputy stopped the defendants vehicle at 11:27 a.m. Wednesday when he observed Miller was not wearing a seat belt.

Miller failed to stop, and the officer saw him digging around the center console and leaning toward the passenger side with his right arm, the complaint states. When Miller did stop, the officer stated he was argumentative and continued to dig around him, so police ordered him to exit the vehicle. When the defendant refused, a Taser was deployed and police eventually were able to take him into custody.

Police found a folding knife clipped to Millers right side, and officers seized a black backpack from within the vehicle which had a bag inside covered in a white powder/crystal substance. Inside the bag, police found a digital scale covered in a white powdery substance, a new needle and several small baggies used to package narcotics, the complaint states.

Miller complained of knee pain and was taken to an area hospital. While there, police searched his coat and jacket and found a baggie within the jacket that had what later tested positive for methamphetamine in three separate baggies, according to the complaint.

The defendant told police he didnt immediately stop his vehicle because he did not want to block traffic, and when asked why he didnt comply with orders to exit, he said that deputies had no right to have him exit the vehicle, according to the complaint.

Police tested the substances found in all baggies, and they all had a positive result for methamphetamine. A total of 60 grams was seized, and police stated in the complaint that amount is consistent with possession with intent to deliver and not with personal use.

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In September, the American Nurses Association asked the Department of Health and Human Services to declare the national nursing shortage as a national crisis. At the same time, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses found 66 percent of ICU nurses were considering leaving the profession. Talk to any hospital, and youll hear of high turnover and struggles to fill shifts. So far, the solution has been to throw ever-increasing pay rates at nurses  yet somehow, theyre still walking away from hospitals and sometimes the entire profession. Its time to ask the obvious question: are we going about this the wrong way?

To know why nurses are walking away, we need to know what is driving them away and what would entice them to stay.

Looking beyond the burnout answer

Its a well-worn cliche at this point that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated burnout. Nurses have dealt with PPE and equipment shortages; many were redeployed to new areas; time and again, they cared for dying patients whose families couldnt visit to say goodbye. Today, in addition to the continuing COVID admissions, nurses must treat high volumes of patients who delayed care for the last year.

But its a mistake to think this is the only factor driving staff away. Nurse burnout was a problem long before anyone heard of the Sars-coV-2 virus. Many feel lean staffing models are inadequate to handle patient volumes and acuity. Some experienced nurses say they feel disrespected in the healthcare workplace, sidelined from front-line decisions, and silenced when it comes to process improvements. Seventy-two percent of nurses reported unprofessional behavior from a provider in the last year  and many report physical and verbal assaults from patients and their families.

The repercussions extend beyond low team morale and feelings of professional disengagement. Both new and experienced nurses are asking themselves if they need a change of workplace or a change of career. Some are exploring new pathways like research and teaching  choices that take them off the unit floor. Its a dangerous exodus that needs practical solutions.

How can healthcare systems retain their nurses? And how can nurses rejuvenate while staying in the medical field?

A new approach to solving nurse shortages

Current challenges wont vanish overnight, but several solutions are successfully keeping nurses connected and committed to their original mission.

Safer and supportive workplace cultures

Nurse bullying and poor staffing ratios are so common that theyve become a cliche. For decades now, nurses have complained about being expected to do the worst grunt work in the worst facility conditions of all healthcare workers. Just like any other workplace, a toxic culture will drive off employees. Hospitals serious about retention need to address bullying, listen to staff feedback, and consider augmented staffing models to lighten the load.

Nurse burnout is a cop-out term to take accountability off the company to provide a safe environment with appropriate staffing/ratios, adequate resources, and up to date, functioning equipment, said Helen Ianiello, an RN who works in underserved Indigenous communities. Safe means a non-toxic atmosphere where physicians, nurses, and ancillary staff treat each other with respect and look out for each other, especially when staff are in harms way  not one where all the physicians watch from the nurses station as the only three nurses in the unit are trying to hold down a combative patient.

Embracing travel or locum tenens

The healthcare industry tends to present locum tenens benefits from the facility side. Locums staff can relieve overworked, stressed-out, and burned-out providers, its true. But this kind of work also offers significant benefits for the nurses doing the relieving. They can take breaks between assignments to replenish their energies; they can take advantage of flexible scheduling to spend more time with their families or pursue side interests.

Travel nursing can also offer a refreshing change of pace that breaks through their jadedness. Visiting different parts of the country and working hands-on with diverse patient populations exposes them to new perspectives and helps them expand their clinical skillsets. For some, working locums becomes a long-term career choice; others return to full-time work after a few years.

Treating underserved communities

It might sound counterintuitive that many nurses find resource-poor environments enrich their sense of purpose. But nurses passionate about solving healthcare disparities often say its the best way to fulfill the altruism that drove them into nursing.

We get to know the people within the community on a first-name basis. We put so much effort into educating them so they dont return feeling worse, says Helen Ianiello. Through all the emotions  the fear, the frustration, the sadness, the anger  we build connections and hope. They are my purpose for doing what I do, for being who I am.

Sarah Swenson, a critical care nurse whos served as a U.S. Peace Corps nurse in Malawi and more recently in resource-challenged Tribal nations, noted the gratification of making a direct impact on severe disparities. The teamwork and ingenuity during this last year and a half has been so exciting to experience, she says of the pandemic. Working on the critical care response team has been so rewarding as I feel like Im really making a difference in areas where help is needed and appreciated.

Changing career abandonment into professional rejuvenation

Its time to move beyond mere hand wringing when it comes to the nurse shortage. The profession is at a make-or-break point. Hospitals must implement supportive workplace changes now and take steps to keep staff satisfied and morale positive. At the same time, disillusioned nurses can look beyond traditional job parameters to find new sources of inspiration and fulfillment. Only then will the most important player in this triangle benefit: the patients.

Morgan Haynes is a health care executive.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
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Welcome to an expedited episode of The Podcast by KevinMD. Monica Gandhi is an infectious disease physician and co-author of the New York Times opinion article, Why Hospitalizations Are Now a Better Indicator of Covids Impact.

Transcript

Kevin Pho, MD: Hi, and welcome to the show where we share the stories of the many who intersect with our health care system, but are rarely heard from. My name is Kevin Pho, founder and editor of KevinMD. Today in the show we have Monica Gandhi. She is an infectious disease physician and the director of the Center for AIDS Research at a university of California, San Francisco. And shes a co-author of the New York Times opinion piece, Why Hospitalizations Are Now a Better Indicator of COVIDs Impact. Monica, welcome to the show.

Monica Gandhi, MD: Thank you so much.

Kevin Pho, MD: Now for those who didnt get a chance to read your New York Times opinion piece, can you just summarize some of the key points?

Monica Gandhi, MD: Yes. So essentially, it was entitled, Why Hospitalizations Are Now a Better Indicator of COVIDs Impact, but what it was talking about is that the beginning of the pandemic, almost two years ago now, we tracked cases very closely. And the reason we did that, is that hospitalizations essentially followed a parallel sort of curve as cases. Certainly not everyone who was a case of COVID got hospitalized. It was more in vulnerable patients, older people, but it meant that as our cases went up, we could see hospitalizations across the country go up, and then the vaccines happened.

Now were at the one-year anniversary, actually, its sort of fascinating. It was December 11, 2020, was the first EUA issued by the FDA for the Pfizer vaccine, so this was published on the one-year anniversary of that. And with vaccinations, weve seen that cases go up, but at least in highly vaccinated regions, hospitalizations do not follow suit.

And in fact, the Delta variant really showed us this very clearly, that around the country, low-vaccinated regions cases and hospitalizations went up in the same way, high vaccinated regions like San Francisco Bay Area, cases went up but hospitalizations stayed low. And that decoupling of hospitalizations from cases is because the vaccines really prevent severe disease, which is what were all sworn to protect.

And so the final bit of the article is to say, lets track hospitalizations for our metrics of how we impose or take up and take down restrictions like masking. So for example, in Marin County, the health officer said, okay, Im going to release indoor masking. And he did it a month ago. Omicron came, cases have gone up, but the hospitalizations are staying very low. There are five hospitalizations in the entire county. So he said, Im not going to put back masks because Im going on hospitalizations. And San Francisco, right, five miles south have said, well, were keeping on indoor masking. So thats kind of all over the place in terms of our recommendations.

And then finally, the reason that we wrote this is the impact on children and their restrictions is quite high in the United States, especially with school closures, and a case in a child does not actually mean the same thing as a case in an unvaccinated older person. So it will also allow us to put our focus back on where the vulnerabilities lie with getting COVID severe disease after vaccination.

Kevin Pho, MD: You wrote in a piece that America is in the slow process of accepting that COVID-19 will become endemic. What does it mean for COVID to become endemic?

Monica Gandhi, MD: Well, what it means to me is that this is a highly transmissible respiratory virus. With each variant, we get more transmissibility, it seems, and its really impossible to eliminate or eradicate a virus like that. It isnt, actually, for lack of trying, to be fair, Australia, New Zealand tried elimination strategies, but it really is impossible. It just goes everywhere and it spreads very readily. And so thats what endemicity means that we live with a number of respiratory viruses, influenza, parainfluenza, RSV, multiple respiratory viruses that tend to get worse in the winter because were around each other more in the winter, tend to get better in warmer climates. And we live with them, but what we have to do with COVID is defang it, take away its ability to cause severe disease, because thats why we shut down all of society.

And the vaccinations have really done that to a large degree. And for those who are unvaccinated, and choose that status, we have treatments, oral treatments coming. And then finally, we have to get more global vaccine equity to prevent this everywhere. But it means living with it, and endemicity means it simply doesnt have the properties to eradicate. It has an animal reservoir. It looks like a bunch of other different respiratory ailments. It has a long infectious period, all three of those characteristics make it unlike smallpox, which was the only infection we could eradicate.

Kevin Pho, MD: Now learning to live with the virus long-term, you write, its going to require changes in both mindset and policy. Now, what are some examples of some of these changes that youre talking about?

Monica Gandhi, MD: Well, you know, we have been living on tenterhooks for the last two years. A lot of nervousness if theres a new variant, or cases are going up in a region. And by that fear, I think we have really made it difficult for people to make sort of wise risk calculus decisions. Like if they want to be together, even if theyre fully vaccinated, theres still a lot of fear. And that came about with the Omicron variant.

I think that the other second thing is when you look at the risks and benefits of any intervention that youre imposing on society for public health problems. So we basically close schools in this country, more than U.K. and Europe, at least in the blue states. And that was an intervention that was imposed because we thought that there was a benefit to slow community transmission.

It didnt end up benefiting community transmission in any study. Schools being open, especially with mitigation procedures, were not dangerous in terms of community spread, but beyond that, it led to collateral damage. And whats the collateral damage, mental illness increasing in children, eating disorders, learning loss for many. And that becomes a collateral damage aspect of the pandemic.

And so this two years in, now we have to say, if we learn to live with. The virus, what we do as a public health field is we do everything we can to prevent disease. That is so important. Prevent people from getting sick. We have a bunch of unvaccinated people that we still need to focus on in this country who are very susceptible to severe COVID, disabled people, not working people who are on disability. People also, who are retirees, who are not part of a vaccine mandate. Many, many, 10 to 20 million in that category alone, let alone those whove declined.

And so its really focusing on disease, now. Well still track cases, but this is actually what we do with influenza all the time. We track cases in health departments, but the public doesnt know about the cases. The public knows about hospitalizations. And health departments are tracking cases to figure out, oh, wait, we now need a booster shot. We now need to get serious, there are cases that are going up here. We need to do some more things, but it doesnt become the publics responsibility to look at cases.

Kevin Pho, MD: Now you mentioned Singapore, which is beginning to track hospitalizations over case counts. Can you talk more about that?

Monica Gandhi, MD: So Singapore is a very highly vaccinated country. I believe its 87% vaccinated. And because the virus is so transmissible, even despite quite a bit of other public health measures, masking, and capacity limits, and everything else, they saw that with Delta, their cases were still going up. They were mild or asymptomatic, just detected on surveillance screening. And they made a decision that their hospitalizations were staying low, and that what the public would know about then, and what they would report to the public, is hospitalizations.

And now the public no longer has the case counts every day, even though health departments do. And the publics watching hospitalizations and theyre feeling, oh, okay, Im seeing our highly vaccinated region have this low amount of hospitalizations, that makes me feel safer going into the winter and being around each other. And then the case counts are being tracked carefully by health departments. And they made this decision, I think, about a month ago. And they were very emblematic in a way with what happened with Delta because kind of like the Bay Area, they had a lot of cases, but they were so highly vaccinated, they didnt see an impact in hospitals.

Kevin Pho, MD: Now, one of the things that you imply was perhaps regional criteria for restrictions based on that regions vaccination rates, because as you know, the vaccination rates in our country, they vary wildly. So in your ideal situation, or your ideal world, how exactly would you report this?

Monica Gandhi, MD: You know, thats a great question. We didnt put that in the piece, and Ive been thinking about that a lot. It does seem that 80% vaccination rate among those eligible, and in most countries, its 12 and up, really has kept severe disease low in the Delta surge. And even 75%, there was a B-cell immunologist at the University of Rochester that actually tracked this for us, but it seemed like 75% to 80% was the kind of ideal vaccination rate. If you couple that with also hospitalizations rates being low, so say a vaccination rate of 75, 80% and a hospitalization rate of five to 10, over a hundred thousand. Thats at least the two criteria that Marin county is using for their mask mandates in their restrictions. So theyre almost approaching 90% vaccination, but they have about one over a hundred thousand people in the hospital. So putting those two together, if you want to come up with a vaccination rate and a hospitalization rate, I do 75 to 80% for vax, and hospitalization five to 10, over a hundred thousand in the hospital.

Kevin Pho, MD: So what about natural immunity? I see studies all over a map on this from people who promote boosters, and people who are less enthusiastic about boosters, but from your best interpretation of the data, where do we stand in terms of natural immunity, especially with the Omicron variant.

Monica Gandhi, MD: You know, Im not sure exactly what happened in this country, but most countries are acknowledging the sort of biologic fact that recovery from infection also confers protection against infection. And we have very good studies now, I think probably the most notable one, Ill skip the Israeli study because I think there are some interesting differences between Israel and us that they only use Pfizer and whatnot, but I think the best study was the Cleveland Clinic study that looked at healthcare workers over, I think, 50,000 employees in the Cleveland Clinic setting, and looked at those who had recovery infection, vaccinated, and compared those two. And the rate of reinfection was actually lower among those who had recovery from natural infection. Certainly, those who were unvaccinated, or didnt have infection, were at very high risk of getting infected. So thats probably the best prospective study. There was a case-control study by the CDC that wasnt actually very well done just in Kentucky, so that wasnt methodologically that great.

Monica Gandhi, MD: And then theres a Lancet ID review that really went over all the studies, immunologic, but also the clinical studies. Really looks like protective immunity is kind of the same essentially from after recovery, versus getting two doses of the vaccine. So its something that we have to reckon with in this country.

Switzerland is saying, OK, if youre naturally infected fine, you can get into your equal passes, if youve had vaccination out to 365 days, and then well reevaluate. Germany actually has quite harsh lockdowns on the unvaccinated, but they make exceptions for those who have recovered in terms of going into restaurants, whatnot. And this is actually all over the map in Europe. Almost all countries of acknowledged natural immunity. So I think it has to be acknowledged here because its reaching kind of a shriek, you know, of people feeling upset, including infectious disease doctors are like, yeah, I mean, wed love you to get vaccinated. But lets admit it, if youre recovered, theres a lot of research that shows that youre protected.

Kevin Pho, MD: Now my Twitter feed, and Im sure on your Twitter feed, Im seeing a lot of public health officials saying that fully vaxxed now means three vaccines. Whats your take on that?

Monica Gandhi, MD: You know, I definitely think that I agreed with the FDA and the CDC, ACIP, at the beginning. Over 65, those who are immunocompromised, those who are around immunocompromised or multiple medical conditions, need a booster. And then I really looked at the New England Journal Israeli study, and the most benefit for a booster was after the age of 50.

And the Omicron variant to me doesnt change that equation, because theres just a T-cell paper yesterday, actually from NIAID, from the NIH, that shows us that T-cells are just completely unfazed by the Omicron variant. In fact, only one T-cell was perturbed across the entire spike protein. So those 32 mutations across the Omicron variant dont hurt your protection against severe disease manifested by T-cells. And neutralizing antibody studies are just one part of the tip of the iceberg for immunity, but we have B-cells and T-cells.

So I dont think we have the data for the entire swath of the population. And certainly not down to 16, 17, which was approved by the CDC director the other day. And the reason I say that is, to be fair, there are some adverse effects of the vaccines of rare clots in Johnson and Johnson and all the adenovirus DNA vectors, rare myocarditis in the mRNA vaccinations. And a young man, 16, fully two-dose vaccinated, we dont have any data that shows that a third dose is necessary for their protection, or that its safe. So I would rather wait for clinical data on the younger who are healthy and immunocompetent, than make that recommendation. I know there have been statements that thats going to be called fully vaccinated, but were kind of an outlier in multiple ways in the US. And that would be quite an outlier from every other country.

Kevin Pho, MD: So I just want to follow up with that because I have a 16-year-old daughter, and of course, Pfizer just expanded their emergency youth authorization to 16 to 17-year-olds. So are you saying that this is an individual family decision, weighing the lack of data versus the potential side effects? Or is this something that youre recommending, just waiting a little bit until more data comes out? What are you telling your patients?

Monica Gandhi, MD: I would say absolutely an individual family decision. If I were in your shoes, I would feel more comfortable with a 16-year-old female getting vaccinated, a third dose, than a 16-year-old male. I just advised someone the other day that if they want their 17-year-old to have the third dose who is male, I would do a Johnson and Johnson because of the, again, rare risk factors that seem to be sex-specific with each vaccine. But I think it should be an individual decision until we have the clinical data, and you can make yours, and Ill make mine for my 13-year-old. For example, if they ever go down to that, I probably, since theyre males, Im not going to get them the third dose. Im happy with the second.

Kevin Pho, MD: So getting back to your opinion piece. So what are some of the obstacles preventing us from emphasizing hospitalizations over case counts?

Monica Gandhi, MD: I think there are two, number one, I want to stress that we in no way are not saying follow case counts, very important for health departments to do. Its actually what influenza surveillance does. Were doing the opposite that we do with influenza surveillance, and we wanted it to go more like influenza surveillance now that we have vaccines.

But number one, I think one issue is that we dont always classify hospitalizations accurately, as you well know, because youre a physician. We swab everyones nose who gets admitted to the hospital, in most centers, for COVID for infection control purposes. And they may be there for something else, but they have COVID on their ICD-10 list because its in their nose. And then that gets classified as a COVID hospitalization. Thats a misclassification if it was just in their nose and they were there for something else. So we need to be able to know what they were there for, are they asymptomatic with COVID, thats not a COVID hospitalization.

I think the other barrier, and I think this is something that Ive gotten a lot of concern about, is lets think about long COVID. And I think that thats terribly important, that at least what weve seen with long COVID, is that those symptoms are more after severe COVID not after breakthrough infections, mild breakthrough infections after your vaccinated and that the vaccine itself by providing adaptive immunity, minimizes viral spread, and the inflammation associated with long COVID symptoms. So at least I always push people to This Week in Virology, this episode 88, where they really go over, like 2000 ID physicians not seeing long COVID with mild breakthroughs, but I think thats a concern for people, and that we have to keep on exploring.

Kevin Pho, MD: Were talking to Monica Gandhi, shes an infectious disease physician and she co-wrote the New York Times opinion piece, Why Hospitalizations Are Now a Better Indicator of COVIDs Impact?

Monica, what are some of your take-home messages that you want to leave with the KevinMD audience?

Monica Gandhi, MD: You know, I want to leave that, though I think it feels really disappointing that we cant eradicate or eliminate a highly transmissible respiratory virus, were very lucky, in a way, that were sitting in this position less than two years later to have these highly effective and safe vaccines, oral treatments coming for those who decline vaccination, oral treatments like Paxlovid, and that we know so much more about the virus, not spread like fomites and other things that we should be eliminated in our concerns.

And we know so much more about the virus that we are in a place where health officials and doctors can help us live with it, and also move on in a way from the fear. Even the Omicron variant didnt get to be elevated luckily to how much fear we had at the beginning, because the vaccines, if you look at the complex immune system, do cover the Omicron variant, and thats very reassuring. And maybe its more mild, maybe thats because of immunity. We dont know, but thats Were going to have to track, but were in so much better of a place. And that feels like the beginning of a new year, 2022, with lots of tools to combat this. I know it took a long time, but were in a better place, and its okay to live with an endemic virus if we have these tools.

Kevin Pho, MD: Monica, thank you so much for sharing your time and insight. And thanks again for being on the show.

Monica Gandhi, MD: Thank you so much.

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Lets take a pediatrics patient as an example. She has a rare genetic disorder, heart problems, is G-tube dependent, and home-bound. The child is also on countless medications and requires 24-hour nursing. The family is rich and pays 100 percent of the childs medical care.

Parents want whats best for their children, right? I mean, their childs care is 100 percent private pay, so obviously, yes? Yes, but to the detriment of everyone involved.

Doctors, nurses, therapists, and even hospital admin and leadership are expected to bend over backward for the family and meet every request and demand they ask. Everyone involved is fearful, and evidence-based medicine is often thrown out of the window.

Conversations are being had between the family and individual doctors that are undocumented, resulting in doctors not knowing what other providers are planning for the child. Eventual disagreements happen that can eventually erode the managing teams cohesiveness.

I appreciate your help with my child so far, but Im letting you go. A mom doesnt like her childs current PCP because of something said? Gone, the next PCP is up to bat. The parents want only specific doctors and nurses they get along with, and they will fire anyone they dont like.

Do the parents demand private phone numbers? It happens all the time, and doctors are reluctant to share them for obvious concerns of privacy and the parents not respecting their time outside of the hospital.

But, the dad says, What if my son has an emergency? Who do I call? There is something called the ER, something everyone goes to in an emergency.

OK, but I want my child to have X, Y, and Z done because I read that these will all help my child. Labs, imaging, and anything else a provider can order are done when the family asks for it. You would think that patient-centered care and doing whats best for the patient is best practice.

Obviously, not in the parents eyes. The parents are driving the bus from the beginning to the end, and wanting everything under the sun done for their child is most often not what the child even needs. It can cause more harm than good. Doing whatever the parents want for their child leads to iatrogenic consequences, leading to further interventions to address these consequences. It becomes a vicious cycle that starts because the parents use their wealth and stature to make demands.

This is not how you practice medicine. Ive never believed that someones medical care should change just because of their ability to pay. Or if they are a celebrity. Every patient should be treated equally and receive the best medical care possible, evidence-based and necessary.

VIP medicine is not only abroad but is practiced at hospitals across the United States. VIP medicine is bad medicine. Theres no way around it.

Ton La, Jr. is a medical student and can be reached on LinkedIn.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
29 people died in Ireland as a result of a fire related incident in 2020. And although the advice is to test our smoke alarms weekly and carbon monoxide detectors once a month, many Irish households dont check either of these even once a year.

This is according to a new survey from Peopl.ie, a nationwide provider of home and life insurance, which found that 38% of households havent checked their smoke alarm in over a year, if ever, while this figure soars to 42% when it comes to carbon monoxide detectors.

The insurance provider is urging people throughout Kilkenny to take 5 minutes out of their day this week to run a few checks that could prevent a Christmas catastrophe, particularly as many of us will be using our gas boilers extensively over the winter period, and Christmas lights and candles will be commonplace in homes the length and breadth of the country in the coming weeks.

The survey of 1,000 respondents, conducted by iReach, revealed that although both preventative tools can be the difference between life or death, most people really give them very little thought  if at all.

Peopl.ie report that while smoke alarms are more prevalent in homes nationwide, installing carbon monoxide detectors and maintaining their use is still not widespread. The survey reveals that while 4% of households dont have a smoke alarm, as many as 22% dont have a carbon monoxide detector  with some respondents saying they dont even know what it is.

Commenting on these findings, Paul Walsh, CEO of Peopl Insurance said: Christmas lights, candles, late nights, and lots of cooking  all ingredients for the fun festivities most Irish households enjoy this time of year. However, without wanting to sound too like the prophet of doom, they can be also a recipe for disaster in some homes.

"In light of this, the survey findings are quite startling in the face of the damage that can be done to homes by accidental fire or the dangers posed by carbon monoxide from heating systems and fuel burning appliances. In 2020, there were over 5,000 fires attended by the fire brigade in homes around the country  with 89 of these being in Co. Kilkenny alone. Chimney fires and hot ashes, electrical issues, cooking and heating appliances, and smoking materials were all primary causes of these accidents.

"People do not always appreciate how quickly a fire can start and how they can become disorientated with the volume of smoke, even from a small fire. If someone is asleep in a room where a fire starts, the chances of coming out of it are very slim without a working smoke alarm. Its all very well to have a smoke alarm installed but if its not working properly, it will not protect you or your family.

"Thankfully, its easy to check our smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and it only takes a few short minutes to gain that peace of mind.

The Peopl.ie survey also found that older people are twice as likely to check smoke alarms than younger age groups.

Worryingly, more than 1 in 10 young adults never check their smoke alarm  this could be because they rely on their parents to do so, but some of these people will also be living in rented accommodation with others in their age group  which begs the question who in the group does check these things?

It seems our sense of responsibility and/or caution increases as we age, with the survey finding that those over 55 are the most likely to regularly check that both their fire alarm and carbon monoxide alarm are working properly. According to the survey, women are also marginally better than men at checking regularly, and those living in Connaught and Ulster are the most proactive in keeping their alarms up to date.

CO2 Dangers

The Peopl.ie survey revealed a need for greater discussion around highlighting of the dangers of CO2 poisoning in Irish homes.

Mr. Walsh continued: Carbon monoxide exposure presents a range of dangerous health risks, even death, so its startling to find that 22% of people dont have a monitor or alarm for this gas in their home, and that 4% dont even know what one is. Six people die in Ireland each year as a result of unintentional poisoning, I think if people knew this, most would see the absolute need for a detector in their home.

Tips for maintaining your alarms

Peopl.ie have the following advice for households this Christmas -

Mr. Walsh advised: We might all be familiar with a beeping or chirping sound coming from our alarms  dont ignore this or be tempted to remove the batteries and just leave it at that. It might be a sign of malfunction or that the batteries need to be changed. Make a habit to change the batteries in your alarms routinely.

"Ideally, there should be a smoke alarm on every level or floor of your home. When placing them, be sure to keep away from windows, doors, and ducts. Use the hoover to pick up any dust and debris which can collect around the alarm and interfere with the sensor. Some registered gas installers will supply and fit carbon monoxide alarms. If fitting the alarm yourself, follow the manufacturers instructions carefully.



"When it comes to maintaining heating appliances and preventing build-up of carbon monoxide in the home, dont take any short cuts when it comes to preventing carbon monoxide build up. Make sure all your fuel-burning appliances are installed by a qualified installer and get your boiler serviced every year. Ensure chimney and flues are swept/cleared annually and check that air vents in rooms and exterior walls are clear, open, and working properly. Don't use any appliances you suspect may be faulty and try keep any areas for storing fuel well ventilated.

Mr. Walsh concluded: When putting up your Christmas lights this year, maybe introduce a new habit of checking that the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in your home are working properly, or to install these if you havent already. Remember, these alarms could save your life.
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"Super Tuna," a new song released by Jin of BTS, has drawn protests from some Japanese internet users over the use of the words, "East Sea," in its lyrics, referring to the ocean between Korea and Japan. Courtesy of HYBE



By Lee Hyo-jin



A new song released by Jin of K-pop super band BTS has drawn protests from some Japanese internet users over the use of the words, "East Sea," in its lyrics, referring to the waters between Korea and Japan.



The two countries have long been at odds over the issue of the sea's name, with Korea using "East Sea" for the body of water, while Japan has been calling it, "Sea of Japan."



Jin released his self-written song, "Super Tuna," with a special music video through BTS' official YouTube channel, Dec. 4, to celebrate his 29th birthday.



The catchy song with lighthearted choreography immediately gained huge popularity on social media.



The video has had over 26 million views and has been on the list of the top 10 trending videos on YouTube for over a week, as of Monday. The hashtags, "SuperTuna" and "SuperTunachallenge," on Tiktok have accumulated over 140 million and 48 million posts, respectively.



But some Japanese internet users protested against the lyrics: "Where did my fish go? East Sea or West Sea?"



"It is extremely disappointing that Jin dropped a song using the words, East Sea, instead of Sea of Japan, the one and only name recognized internationally," a Japanese Twitter user wrote.



Another said, "If the lyrics have been confirmed by HYBE (BTS' agency), it means that the company is taking Japan lightly. We should strongly protest the company to modify the lyrics."



On the other hand, Korean internet users argued that it shouldn't be an issue for Jin, a Korean national, to call the waters, "East Sea." Some said the artist simply used the word because, "East Sea" rhymes with "West Sea."



"But whatever his intention was, Jin is promoting the name, East Sea, globally, and we should thank him for that," a Korean internet user wrote in a comment to a news article on Naver.



HYBE has not given any official statement about this issue.



Following the controversy, academic and activist Seo Kyung-duk, who has long been engaged in public campaigns to rectify inaccurate Korean history overseas, commented that the anger of Japanese internet users reflects their fear over the growing influence of Korea on the global stage.



"This incident shows their fear over the global influence of BTS, and increased cases overseas where the names, East Sea and the Sea of Japan, are used concurrently," the professor of general education at Sungshin Women's University wrote on Facebook, Monday.



"This seems to be the best moment for us to promote the term East Sea among the international community," he said, adding that he will soon create related videos for a public campaign.






Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo attends a meeting with global experts on the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul, Oct. 22. Korea Times file
Zara Rutherford, a 19-year-old Belgian-British pilot, lands at Seoul's Gimpo International Airport, Saturday, as part of her attempt to fly solo around the world. Yonhap



By Kwon Mee-yoo



Zara Rutherford, a 19-year-old pilot challenging the world record for the youngest woman to fly around the world, landed in Seoul's Gimpo Airport, Saturday, marking her first stop in Asia.



She flew the Shark ultra-light plane from Vladivostok, Russia, for six hours before landing in Seoul. The Belgian Embassy in Korea welcomed the Belgian-British pilot at the airport, which was nearly deserted due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.



"Today's flight was six hours with five hours above water. (The most challenging part of the flight) was probably coming into Korea because there was a lot of haze and it was harder to see, but that was fine," Rutherford said at an interview with The Korea Times at Gimpo Airport upon her arrival.



Rutherford, whose parents are also pilots, stepped inside a plane for the first time when she was just three months old and began learning to fly when she was 14. After graduating from high school, Rutherford decided to attempt a solo flight around the world instead of going straight to college.



"For me, it was always a dream to fly around the world. I just never thought that it would be possible. But finally, I was finishing school and I thought, 'I can try and do this,'" she said.



Her adventure-loving spirit comes from her family.



"We are always talking about adventures and stepping outside of your comfort zone, doing new things and learning new things. That's definitely where I got it from," Rutherford said.



The teen aviator organized the trip in about three months, after e-mailing many different companies for sponsorships and sorting out a route and logistics.



"My route fulfills the requirements from the Guinness World Records and that includes crossing two antipodal points. I chose a point in Colombia and a point in Indonesia. Because my plane is quite small, I can't fly straight over the Pacific or the Atlantic, which means I have to go very far north, like Alaska. So then for my route, I literally took a map of the globe and I had Colombia and Jakarta, and then I kind of just drew where I wanted to go and it was very fun," she explained.



Rutherford began her round-the-world solo flight journey at Kortrijk-Wevelgem Airport in Belgium on Aug. 18 and has been to Iceland, Greenland, Canada, the United States, Colombia and Costa Rica, before heading back to the U.S. to cross the Bering Strait to Russia.



Her original trip was planned to last 45 days, but weather and visa issues led to delays in Alaska and Russia.



"I was a bit anxious in Alaska and northern Russia because there's a point when it's too cold to keep going. I had to think about, 'Do I want to quit until it's summer or whether I try and keep going?'" she said.



"Luckily, I found a good weather window so I was able to keep going. Challenges come up and you just have to deal with them. There's nothing else you can do other than slowly keep going."





Teen aviator Zara Rutherford speaks to Korean media upon her arrival at Seoul's Gimpo International Airport, Saturday, as part of her attempt to fly solo around the world. Yonhap
This undated photo, released by Hanwha Defense, shows South Korea's K-9 self-propelled howitzer. Yonhap



Australia has signed a contract to buy 30 units of the K-9 Thunder self-propelled howitzer from South Korea, its manufacturer said Monday.



The Australian Army will also acquire 15 units of K-10 armored ammunition resupply vehicles under the deal signed between the nation's Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG) and Hanwha Defense Australia, according to Hanwha Defense, based in Seoul.



The contract is worth 930 billion won ($788 million), an industry source said.



Australia is the seventh country to purchase the South Korea-made howitzer. South Korea has exported around 600 units of the 155-millimeter K-9 artillery guns to Turkey, Poland, India, Norway, Finland and Estonia.






Minster of Trade Yeo Han-koo, left, shakes hands with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai at the Korea-U.S. FTA Joint Committee meeting held at Shilla Hotel in central Seoul, Nov. 19. Yonhap





By Kim Bo-eun







Washington is ramping up pressure on Seoul and other key allies in Asia to become part of a U.S.-led economic framework it is seeking to set up as a means to combat China's growing influence in the region.







Key officials in charge of U.S. economic policy are making a series of visits to Korea in a bid to ensure the country's participation in the initiative, as Seoul has been caught in the middle of the world's two superpowers while seeking its own best interests.







U.S. Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Jose Fernandez is on a trip to Tokyo and Seoul this week, and is expected to seek Korea's reaffirmation of its participation in the framework in a meeting with his counterpart Choi Jong-moon, Friday.







The U.S. State Department said last week that the under secretary will discuss collaboration on a positive economic agenda for the Indo-Pacific that increases prosperity for U.S., Japanese and ROK citizens, as well as other people across the region.







Fernandez's visit to Seoul will come a month after U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai visited Seoul, in a trip to allies in Asia that included Japan and India, on essentially the same mission. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo also visited Japan, Singapore and Malaysia in a similar timeframe, to introduce the new, U.S.-led Indo-Pacific economic framework.







Korea, which relies on the U.S. for defense capabilities while China is its largest trade partner, is seeking to increase its leverage, as Korean companies could face problems if the government chooses to prioritize one market over the other.







Recently, voices have grown urging Korea to reduce its trade dependency on China, after experiencing a supply crunch in diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), also called "urea water," which resulted from Beijing cutting exports of a key DEF ingredient.







On Monday, the finance ministry said it has officially initiated steps to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), as a strategic measure to better deal with the U.S.-Sino power struggle. The U.S. formerly led the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) as a means to contain China's growing influence, but withdrew from the multilateral framework in 2017, under the former Donald Trump administration. China and Taiwan have also applied to join the CPTPP.







The CPTPP, the successor to the TPP, is a free trade agreement between Canada and 10 countries in the Asia-Pacific region and South America  Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The CPTPP would be the one of the world's largest free-trade areas by GDP.







"Korea needs the utmost engagement with both the U.S. and China. With Washington, it needs to maintain a strong defense alliance and with Beijing, solid trade relations," Sejong University professor Kim Dae-jong said. "At the same time, Korea needs to join multilateral frameworks such as the CPTPP to expand its trade territory and gain greater leverage."


South African President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses a press conference after the G20 Compact with Africa conference at the Chancellery in Berlin, Aug. 27. Ramaphosa tested positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 12 and is receiving treatment for mild symptoms, the presidency said in a statement. Reuters-Yonhap



South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is receiving treatment for mild COVID-19 symptoms after testing positive for the disease Sunday, his office said.



Ramaphosa started feeling unwell and a test confirmed COVID-19, a statement from the presidency announced.



He is self-isolating in Cape Town and is being monitored by the South African Military Health Service, the statement said. He has delegated all responsibilities to Deputy President David Mabuza for the next week.



Ramaphosa, 69, is fully vaccinated. The statement didn't say whether he had been infected with the Omicron coronavirus variant.



Last week, Ramaphosa visited four West African countries. He and all members of his delegation were tested for COVID-19 in each of the countries during the trip. Some in the delegation tested positive in Nigeria and returned directly to South Africa. Throughout the rest of the trip, Ramaphosa and his delegation tested negative. Ramaphosa returned from Senegal on Dec. 8



Ramaphosa said his own infection serves as a caution to all people in South Africa to be vaccinated and remain vigilant against exposure, the statement said. Vaccination remains the best protection against severe illness and hospitalization, it said.



People in South Africa who have had contact with Ramaphosa on Sunday are advised to watch for symptoms or to have themselves tested, it said.



South Africa is currently battling a rapid resurgence driven by the Omicron variant, health officials say.



The country recorded more than 18,000 new confirmed cases Sunday night. More than 70 percent of the cases are estimated to be from Omicron, according to genetic sequencing surveys.



After a period of low transmission of about 200 new cases per day in early November, South Africa COVID-19 cases began rising dramatically. On Nov. 25, scientists in southern Africa confirmed the Omicron variant, which has more than 50 mutations. Omicron appears to be highly transmissible and has quickly become dominant in the country. So far, the majority of cases have been relatively mild and the percentage of severe cases needing oxygen have been low, say doctors. (AP)


Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Windy with occasional snow showers during the evening. Winds diminishing later on. Low 11F. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of snow 60%. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Windy with occasional snow showers during the evening. Winds diminishing later on. Low 11F. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of snow 60%. Higher wind gusts possible.
For much of high school, Logan Jeppesen wasnt planning on going to college.

Even though hed taken Gateway Technical College dual enrollment courses in high school and earned 10 credits, Logan was still unsure whether he would enroll in college after graduation.

That quickly changed, though. Logans high school teacher submitted his name for a Wisconsin Technical Excellence Scholarship  a full, three-year technical college scholarship  and he was selected to receive it.

When that happened, he decided to continue his college education at Gateway.

Initially unsure whether college was a good fit for him, Logan has become a strong advocate for Gateway and the benefits of a technical education.

Gateway is where I learned to love learning, says Logan. I am who I am today because of the folks at Gateway.

Logan earned two Civil Engineering degrees at Gateway, Highway Technology and Fresh Water Resources. He now uses skills gained through his degree every day in his chosen career field working at a local department of public works.

I love the atmosphere at Gateway  you build a connection with the instructors, the staff and the college, says Jeppesen. My instructors are basically family to me now.

Jeppesen said Gateway prepared him well for his career. He had a position lined up before he even graduated.

Gateway did a fantastic job of preparing me for my field  the skills I learned at Gateway I can apply every day in my work. Getting familiar with the land survey equipment, the GPS systems, having that foundation in the basics really helped me, says Logan.

It helped me during the interview process, too. When I was asked about what technology Ive used, what knowledge I have and when they started asking me questions about land surveying  I was confident. I was confident in my answers because of my training and how well I was prepared, and that was because of how I was taught at Gateway.

Logan says hes also attended other colleges but Gateway, by far, works the hardest to help its students succeed.

At Gateway, they genuinely work hard to make sure you understand before you leave the classroom. I had a lot of one-on-one work with my instructors, and that was invaluable to me.

Logans love of civil engineering began early in life. As a child, he pondered the world around him.

As a kid, I was always wondering how things work. I like drafting, AutoCAD, stuff like that. I like the process, and that inspired me to ask even more questions on how things work.

Engineering and civil engineering, theyre the science of how things work. I think I would have liked mechanical engineering, but civil engineering really seemed geared to me and what I like. I love the science of roadways and how curves and such are calculated. I love the chemistry and science of concrete. I love bridges and all that goes into building one. I realized this is where I want to go in life and this was the career for me.

Jeppesen said he also wanted a career where he could be out and about, working outside for at least part of the day. I wont want to sit in an office  I want to be outside, working.

Logan says hes happy he decided to come to Gateway, and he hinted he might return in the future.

I really liked the camaraderie of Gateway, and I feel you get a great education. There are hard courses, but there are some that are easy, too. Gateway has a great mix of staff and students, too  a real diversity. You end up learning a lot from other students, too.
The Republican chair of the Senate elections committee called on former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman Monday to wrap up the GOPs probe into Wisconsins 2020 election sooner rather than later, saying the repeated questioning of the elections results only serves to sow doubt in democracy and has led to threats against state and local election officials.

Sen. Kathy Bernier, chair of the Senate Committee on Elections, Election Process Reform and Ethics and a former county elections clerk, said the widely criticized investigation initiated by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos also threatens to undermine their own party.

Mr. Gableman is coming to my county and I will attend that meeting along with my concealed carry permit to be perfectly honest because it keeps jazzing up the people who think they know what theyre talking about, and they dont, Bernier, R-Chippewa Falls, said during a panel discussion at the Capitol assailing efforts to delegitimize the election and the civil servants who carried it out.

I think my advice would be to have Mr. Gableman wrap up sooner rather than later, because the longer we keep this up ... the more harm were going to do for Republicans, Bernier added.

Other participants in the discussion included Bob Bauer, who served as White House counsel under former President Barack Obama, and Ben Ginsberg, who worked as campaign counsel for several high-profile GOP campaigns including former President George W. Bush and Mitt Romney. Bauer and Ginsberg earlier this year created the Election Official Legal Defense Network, which provides legal assistance and advice to election officials facing challenges or threats.

Much of the panels discussion focused on how ongoing audits and investigations into the 2020 election, paired with unfounded claims of fraud by former President Donald Trump and many of his allies, have led to harassment and threats directed at local and state election officials.

Wisconsin has found itself really in the middle of a harmful and disturbing national trend that involves the intimidation of election officials  the people who are supposed to call balls and strikes in our elections, Ginsberg said.

Reuters reported last week that an article on Gateway Pundit, the far-right website known for spreading hoaxes, alleging thousands of fake votes had been discovered in Madison resulted in angry calls and death threats against Madison City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl.

Witzel-Behl is among 25 election officials who have been targeted by more than 100 threats arising out of the Gateway Pundit post, Reuters reported. Messages to at least five of the officials, including Witzel-Behl, were deemed serious enough to report to law enforcement.

A recount and court decisions have affirmed that President Joe Biden defeated Trump in Wisconsin by almost 21,000 votes. Reviews of the election by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau and the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty found no evidence of widespread fraud. Four voters out of roughly 3 million who cast ballots have been charged with fraud.

Gableman, who was hired by Vos earlier this year to conduct the probe into how the election was conducted, falsely asserted at a rally last year that the 2020 election was stolen, though he has also said he has no intention as special counsel of overturning the elections results.

Vos, R-Rochester, has allocated $676,000 in taxpayer funds to Gablemans review and earlier this year said the investigation, which was originally planned to be finished by the end of October, would likely carry over into next year.

The easiest way to wrap up Special Counsel Gablemans investigation is to get the Democrats to cooperate, Vos said in a statement Monday. Instead, invoking McCarthyism has been their only motive, trying to discredit the investigation rather than finding ways to improve the system, and prevent fraud going forward.

Slow-going probe

The former justices probe has been slowed by multiple court battles over Gablemans efforts to hold private meetings with local elections officials and state elections commission administrator Meagan Wolfe.

A hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 23 on Democratic Attorney General Josh Kauls request for a restraining order against Gablemans subpoena seeking a meeting with Wolfe. Last week, a Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge scheduled a hearing for Jan. 21 on Gablemans request that the Waukesha County sheriff compel the mayors of Madison and Green Bay to meet with him or face jail time.

Officials have balked at the request, although Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway has said she is open to testifying publicly about the citys handling of last years election.

Want to steal an election in Wisconsin? It's harder than you think The state has multiple, overlapping safeguards aimed at preventing ineligible voters from casting ballots, tampering with the ballots or altering vote totals.

Gablemans investigation has largely focused on private election grants from the Chicago-based Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL), funded by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, that Republicans say were used to unfairly increase turnout in the Democratic strongholds of Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Kenosha and Racine.

Court rulings have found nothing illegal about the more than $10 million in grants CTCL distributed to about 214 municipalities in 39 of Wisconsins 70 counties, including many in areas solidly won by former President Donald Trump. Nor did CTCL turn down grant requests from any of the Wisconsin municipalities that made them.

Gableman said last month he planned to look into the Wisconsin Elections Commissions decision last year to waive the states requirement to send special voting deputies to nursing homes. The commission voted in March 2020 to tell clerks they need not send poll workers into nursing homes to assist with absentee voting after many were turned away due to the pandemic.

Dealing with facts

Bernier, who has not joined some Republicans who have called for several members of the elections commission and Wolfe to resign, said more can be done to better administer elections in the state.

The fact of the matter is that were to a point of dealing with facts and not fiction. These made-up things that people do to jazz up the base is just despicable, and I dont think any elected legislator should ever play that game, Bernier said.

Bernier said one bill she is drafting would add a seventh, nonpartisan seat to the six-member elections commission. One of the challenges the commission faced last year came in the form of split 3-3 votes on several issues, which resulted in a lack of guidance to local election officials.
Dubai [UAE], December 13 (ANI/NewsVoir): India's Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Chemicals and Fertilizers, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya today invited global investors from the India Pavilion to invest and strengthen Make-in-India.

The Minister said, "Investors have tremendous opportunities in India because it is a strong democratic country, ease of doing business is a big facilitator, and under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the pace of development has increased.

Also Read | Indian Actresses and Their Mehndi Outfits: From Katrina to Anushka, Celebs Exude Utmost Elegance!.

Middle class is expanding, and consumption power is rising. The Prime Minister has invited the global investors to come to the country and invest to strengthen Make-in-India."

On India's fightback against Corona, the Health Minister said, "India is a world leader in vaccine manufacturing sector. Two Indian companies have not only done the R&D but manufacturing of the vaccines also in the country. Our vaccine manufacturing capacity is 310 million doses per month and 86% of the population have got first dose of the vaccine while 55% of the population above 18 years of age have got the second dose. This is India's strength."

Also Read | Rangmanch Farm: One of the Best Winter Picnic Spots Around Delhi NCR.

"PM Modi has further taken ahead the principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. We are providing 'India-made, India-researched' vaccines world over and helping everybody in getting protected against COVID," he added.

On India Pavilion, Dr Mandaviya said, "The Pavilion showcases India's rich culture and its 75 years of journey and provides detailed information on its industries and development. With its theme of a New and Self-reliant India, the Pavilion truly showcases the principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family) and rich cultural heritage of India."

In his tweet message from the India Pavilion, Dr Mandaviya said, "Met @FICCI_India officials at the #IndiaPavilion of #Expo2020Dubai. Discussed various issues related to pharma & health sector. Modi Govt is relentlessly working towards transforming, strengthening health sector of India & is increasing its strength, self-reliance in the sector." (twitter.com/mansukhmandviya/status/1470289246669787136?s=24)

Dr Mandaviya also met H.E. Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO, DP World and visited the pavilions of the UAE, the US and Saudi Arabia at EXPO2020.

To know more about India Pavilion at EXPO2020 Dubai, please visit

Website - www.indiaexpo2020.com

Facebook - www.facebook.com/indiaatexpo2020

Instagram - www.instagram.com/indiaatexpo2020

Twitter - twitter.com/IndiaExpo2020?s=09

LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/company/india-expo-2020/?viewAsMember=true

YouTube - www.youtube.com/channel/UC6uOcYsc4g_JWMfS_Dz4Fhg/featured

Koo - www.kooapp.com/profile/IndiaExpo2020

To know more about EXPO2020 Dubai, please visit www.expo2020dubai.com/en.

This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Belagavi, Dec 13 (PTI) Cutting across party lines, members of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Monday demanded a thorough probe into the death of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat along with his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu's Coonoor on December 8.

Also Read | iQOO 9 Specifications Reportedly Emerge Online, Launch Expected Next Year.

The winter session of the Karnataka legislature started here on Monday by paying tributes to noted personalities of the country and the State who passed away recently including General Rawat and Kannada film actor Puneeth Rajkumar.

Also Read | 'Why Are You Ashamed of Our PM?', Kerala HC Asks Petitioner Who Objected to PM Modis Image on Vaccination Certificate.

Mourning the demise of General Rawat, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the entire nation was in a state of shock and sorrow following the tragic death of the CDS and 12 others in the helicopter crash.

Stating that the death of the CDS was a great loss to the nation, Bommai said, "It is a common notion that the military equipment and machines are safe and secured but this incident has left everyone shocked."

Karnataka Panchayat and Rural Development Minister K S Eshwarappa asked the Centre to order a probe by a sitting Supreme Court judge to allay doubts.

"There is sorrow and anger among the people following the tragedy. I am not saying that there is any conspiracy but this incident requires a thorough investigation. It will upset everyone if the investigation does not happen. A sitting Supreme Court judge should probe the case," Eshwarappa said.

He said if "rogue elements" are involved in this incident, then they should be punished.

Hailing General Rawat as a valiant soldier, Eshwarappa said enemy nations "used to shiver seeing his determination".

Leader of opposition and Congress leader Siddaramaiah too demanded a probe into the incident.

"The matter needs to be investigated. There are doubts regarding the death of CDS General Rawat. The reason behind the helicopter crash should be probed," Siddaramaiah said.

Stating that the entire country is anguished by the demise of General Rawat and others, JD(S) MLA Bandeppa Kashempur said people always believe that defence helicopters are foolproof and safe to travel but yet the copter crash happened.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Sofia, Dec 13 (AP) Bulgaria's parliament on Monday formally approved the country's new centrist-led government in a bid to restore stability, tackle the coronavirus crisis and spur economic development in the poorest EU member country.

Lawmakers voted 134-104 to elect 41-year-old Kiril Petkov as prime minister.

Also Read | First Death Due to Omicron COVID-19 Variant Recorded in UK, Says PM Boris Johnson.

In a separate vote, legislators also approved the Cabinet  a coalition between Petkov's anti-corruption We Continue The Change party (PP) and three other left-wing and center-right groups.

Together, the PP party, leftist Bulgarian Socialist Party, the anti-elite There Is Such A People party, and the liberal group Democratic Bulgaria, will control 134 seats in Bulgaria's 240-seat parliament.

Also Read | COVID-19 Omicron Variant Could Cause Up to 75,000 Deaths in UK by April 2022 End, Warns Study.

Petkov, a Harvard-educated entrepreneur who served as minister of economics in the previous caretaker Cabinet, announced that transparency in public spending, zero tolerance for corruption and reforms in the judiciary will be the keystones of his government program.

He also pledged to keep Bulgaria on a pro-European and pro-NATO track.

What we will govern is not our money, but that of all Bulgarian citizens, Petkov said, and urged legislators to give their support so that once and for all the country will have an effective judicial system.

Other priorities of the new government include tackling the demographic crisis, the rising cost of living and boosting the slow coronavirus vaccination rate.

The country of 7 million has one of the world's fastest-shrinking populations, as well as the highest income inequality and the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rate in the 27-nation European Union.

I believe that after four years Bulgaria will be a different place, Petkov said after presenting the government programme. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Texas, December 13: One person was killed and 14 were injured in a vigil shooting in Baytown in the southern US state of Texas, Harris Country Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.

"(The) number of wounded individuals is now up to 14; one has been pronounced deceased, three being taken by Lifeflight in critical condition, and the remaining ones are said to have non/fatal injuries," Gonzalez said on Twitter. Also Read | Indonesia: Mount Semeru Volcanic Eruption Raises Alert for Other Active Volcanos in the Country.

Harris Country Sheriff Ed Gonzalez's Tweet

Update to shooting on N. Market Loop: told the number of wounded individuals is now up to 14; 1 has been pronounced deceased, 3 being taken by Lifeflight in critical condition, and the remaining ones are said to have non/fatal injuries. #HouNews https://t.co/ZDlSL7fGQu  Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) December 13, 2021

The shooting occurred on Sunday night when a vehicle approached a crowd attending a vigil for someone recently murdered and opened fire. Also Read | World's Biggest Blue Sapphire 'Queen of Asia', Weighing Around 310 kg, Unveiled in Sri Lanka.

Homicide and firearm investigators have been deployed at the scene, according to Gonzales.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Islamabad, Dec 13 (PTI) The US made mistakes in Afghanistan and Pakistan was blamed for America's failures and not given credit for the sacrifices it made in the global war on terror, Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Monday.

Addressing the opening session of the Margalla Dialogue 2021 seminar in Islamabad, organised by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) think-tank, Khan said Pakistan faced the biggest collateral damage in the Afghan war.

Also Read | Patagonia, US Fashion Brand, Chooses Khadi Denim For Its Apparels.

"Pakistan was held responsible for the shortcomings of the United States," he said.

Pakistan faced the biggest collateral damage in the Afghan war as it was the only US ally that suffered more than 80,000 casualties, displacement of millions of people and over 100 billion dollars economic losses, Khan said.

Also Read | Tesla CEO Elon Musk Named Times Person of the Year 2021.

Khan said Pakistan was blamed for the wrong reasons by the international community, whereas it remained silent on the Kashmir issue. He regretted that Pakistan was not able to effectively present its point of view before the world.

Noting that only military power was not a guarantee for national security, which was an all-encompassing concept, Khan asserted that, You can't have national security until there is inclusive growth.

Unequal distribution of resources leads to anarchy among the people who are left out of the mainstream development. The uplift of the underprivileged segment of the society was critical to ensure across the board national security," he said.

He also emphasised that rule of law and equality for all were the preconditions for democracy.

"Corruption, particularly of the elite, was detrimental to the development of a country," he said.

Khan stressed on research to promote original thinking within a society and said that lack of in-depth research led to reliance on second-hand information by the western think tanks on important issues such as Afghanistan.

He also talked about Islamophobia and urged for a strong response by Muslim think tanks to neutralise the concept that Islam and terrorism were linked.

Afghanistan has been under Taliban rule since August 15 when the Afghan hardline militant group ousted the elected government of President Ashraf Ghani and forced him to flee the country and take refuge in the UAE.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Chandigarh, Dec 13: Harnaaz Sandhu, Punjabi film actress and an alumna of Chandigarh's Post Graduate Government College, Sector 11, was named Miss Universe 2021, bagging the crown 21 years after Lara Dutta won the title in 2000. The 21-year-old's winning response to a question on climate change -- "This is the time to take action and talk less. ... Prevent and protect is better than repair and repent" -- helped her clinch the coveted title.

Sandhu was crowned by the outgoing Miss Universe, Andrea Meza of Mexico, at a glittering ceremony held on Sunday night at the Universe Dome in Eilat, Israel. She edged out Paraguay's Nadia Ferreira and South Africa's Lalela Mswane. This is India's third crown after Sushmita Sen in 1994 and Lara Dutta in 2000.

Sandhu's final statement at the pageant was about the pressures that young people face across societies today. She said: "The biggest pressure the youth of today is facing is to believe in themselves, to know that you are unique and that's what makes you beautiful. Stop comparing yourselves with others and let's talk about more important things that's happening worldwide.

"This is what you need to understand. Come out, speak for yourselves because you are the leader of your life, you are the voice of your own. I believed in myself and that's why I am standing here today."

Sandhu, whose mother is a gynaecologist, has a number of pageant titles to her name, such as Times Fresh Face Miss Chandigarh 2017, Miss Max Emerging Star India 2018 and Femina Miss India Punjab 2019. All You Need To Know About Miss Universe 2021 Winner Is Harnaaz Sandhu!

Watch Miss Universe 2021 Crowning Moment Video:

She has also starred in Punjabi films like 'Yaara Diyan Poo Baran' and 'Bai Ji Kuttange'.

Before setting out for Israel, Sandhu told IANS in an interview that she was going to make sure that she is the "best version of our country" and that she would make India proud this year.

She also stated that she was looking forward to strengthening relations between Israel and India and was super excited about the challenge. She said, "I have to bring back the crown home."

The Bollywood aspirant has kept her word and made India proud. Sandhu said, "One must keep growing through life as we all learn something every day. To believe in yourself is the key to success. I represented myself as the best version of myself."

Sandhu believes that pageants are a platform where women come forward to celebrate sisterhood and womanhood and people across the world celebrate their beauty queens and their successes with great pride. "According to me, it's all about being true to the self and people around you will definitely look at that spark in you," she stated.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 13, 2021 11:17 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (#TTP) terror group has intensified its targeted attacks on security personnel across the country, after ending a month-long ceasefire agreement.



Read: https://t.co/cKF8PtSb6S pic.twitter.com/qs3Vox6vDr IANS Tweets (@ians_india) December 13, 2021

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From P.F. Flyers and steel wheels to puka shells and punk rock, skateboarding has rolled through a multitude of ages, stages and styles. Now, this quintessential SoCal sport is preparing to ollie onto its biggest stage yet.

Two stages, actually.

The first: the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where skateboarding will make its debut. The second? On Broadway  with none other than Tony Hawk as choreographer.

Hawk is helping develop a musical version of Nick Hornbys 2007 novel, Slam, featuring onstage skateboarding plus music and lyrics by Mark Mothersbaugh, co-founder and frontman of Devo, whose frenetic tunes served as soundtrack to a generation of skaters.

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Tony Hawk (K.C. Alfred / San Diego Union-Tribune)

The Olympic Games? The Great White Way? Hardcore skaters may scowl over the mainstreaming of their four-wheeled art form (some still refuse to call it a sport), but theres no denying: skateboarding has grown up.

Unlike their party-hearty counterparts of yore, todays professional skater is more likely to down shots of wheat grass, not whiskey. Even Dogtown skateboard legend Tony Alva, once a hellion of rebellion, has come to embrace inner peace through daily meditation (and still rips on his board at age 61).

Of course, you dont have to be a pro to enjoy world-class skate tourism. Want a tropical skate vacation? Grand Caymans massive Black Pearl skate park awaits. Prefer to shred in Shangri-La? The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan opened its first skate park last year.

Here in L.A., quality skate parks are a given. The region gave birth to much of what skateboarding is today, and that heritage continues to draw nostalgia-seeking skaters from around the globe. The following short list, for skaters and spectators alike, offers a sampling of the best outdoor public skate spots in greater L.A. There are many excellent parks  Belvedere in East L.A. and the Cove in Santa Monica among them  but these have a unmistakable feature or vibe.

Garvanza Skate Park

Khordae Phillips, 14, skates in Garvanza Skate Parks graffiti-drenched bowl that attracts top skaters from around Southern California. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

Gnarly is probably the most overused term in skateboarding, but Garvanza merits the description. Although not well known to surf-styled skaters who hug the coast, this small Northeast L.A. spot offers something not often found in a neighborhood skate park: a beast of a bowl.

Steep, deep, with a rough, somewhat crusty surface (thanks partly to its ever-crumbling layers of colorful street art), gritty Garvanza is one of the few public bowls to offer a true backyard pool-riding vibe. Which is exactly why pros Tristan Rennie, 20, of Rialto and Nicole Hause, 21, of Oceanside make the trip.

Both Olympic hopefuls, known for their steely nerve and cloud-scraping aerials, prefer an edge to their skate parks, and Garvanza definitely delivers. While this is certainly not a spot for beginners  dropping into this bowl is akin to walking the plank into a shark-filled sea  the rest of the park has mellower features befitting mere mortals.

Spectator tip: Dont show up wearing a Thrasher T-shirt here, unless, of course, you can genuinely thrash.

Info: Garvanza Skate Park, 6240 Meridian St., Los Angeles; (213) 485-4833

Moorpark skate park

Skateboarders talk near a vertical pillar in the shape of an M for Moorpark at Poindexter Park. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

Many bowl skaters consider this to be Ventura Countys best skate park, and its easy to see why. Located within Poindexter Park, the Moorpark skate park (M.P. to the locals) offers a wide variety of terrain for all skill sets. The beginner area features walls low enough for newbies just learning to drop in, an important (and initially scary) maneuver one typically learns before graduating to more serious terrain.

For the more advanced, theres a sweet replica of a backyard pool  old-school skater heaven  designed by skate legend Lance Mountain. The biggest attraction is the canyon-like run that begins gently but quickly drops, curves and winds, giving the skater enough momentum to zip up and around a final, deep bowl.

Roscoe Roberts, 11, is framed by a palm tree in this double exposure photograph taken at Poindexter Park. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

Spectators: Keep an eye on Moorparks iconic M, positioned atop the parks highest pillar, as that spot usually inspires some of the parks most spectacular tricks.

Info: Moorpark skate park, 500 Poindexter Ave., Moorpark; (805) 517-6300

Nearby and also worth a visit is the Skateboarding Hall of Fame Museum, featuring a collection of historic skateboards and memorabilia, plus a cluster of small skate ramps if you want to get your shred on.

Info: Skateboarding Hall of Fame, 1555 Simi Town Center Way No. 230, Simi Valley; (805) 842-1444

Stoner Skate Plaza

The Stoner Skate Plaza is loved by locals who appreciate its many street features. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

If your town doesnt have a skate park, the entire town is one. So goes the adage repeated by countless skate park advocates, including the nonprofit Tony Hawk Foundation, in city council meetings far and wide. Although the modern generation enjoys more municipal support than in the past, skaters are still having to push to get skate parks built. And Stoner Skate Plaza (the name derives from its Stoner Avenue location) shines as a model on how to do that right.

This colorful, kick-flippin wonderland was inspired by the hugely influential (albeit illegal) skate scene at the nearby West L.A. Courthouse, a legendary hot spot for street skaters due to rows of concrete planters, small stages and stairs, a perfect proving ground that launched many pro careers. After Stoner opened in 2010, skater Alec Beck helped convinced the city to turn the courthouse into a legal skate plaza as well. A moonshot, but Beck landed it with aplomb.

Although Stoner is the probably top spot for street-style skate parks, the Eastsides El Sereno skate park, nestled under a bucolic hillside, offers street skating with a relaxed vibe.

Info: Stoner Skate Plaza, 1835 Stoner Ave, L.A.; (310) 479-7200

Info: El Sereno Skate Park, 4721 Klamath St., L.A.; (323) 225-3517

Vans Off the Wall Skatepark, Huntington Beach

Julian Jeang-Agliardi jumps a ramp at Vans Off the Wall Skatepark. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

Orange County has a treasure-trove of good skate parks, but Vans H.B., as its often called, stands out. With silky smooth concrete, steady ocean breezes and a bubbly, communal vibe, its no wonder so many skaters  pros and amateurs alike  favor this slice of skate park paradise.

The impressive layout includes an extensive street skating area with an array of challenges for the stair-jumping, rail-sliding crowd. The bowl areas are superior, especially after a recent, extensive renovation.

The Combi (named for its combined, or connecting, bowls, one round, the other with slightly squared corners) is deep, steep and scary, akin to a double diamond ski run. If youre not sure you can handle it, step aside and watch experts shred. The new flow area, designed to the rigorous-rad standards of the Vans Park Series pro tour terrain, offers a deep canyon of banks, bumps and curves that, when navigated correctly, help propel skaters round and round. A thigh burner for sure, but oh, what a stoke fest.

Spectator note: This is one of the rare gated skate parks that allow spectators to be in close proximity to the action. A welcome touch, but do keep an eye out for flyaway boards. Also, this park tends to have occasional closures for private events, so its best to call ahead before you go.

Info: Vans Off the Wall Skatepark, 7471 Center Ave., Huntington Beach; (714) 379-6666

Venice Beach Skate Park

Ethan DeMoulin at Venice Beach Skate Park, a classic park on the beach. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

Skaters in gorilla suits. Skaters in suits and ties. Silver-haired ladies skating in bunny ears and tutus. If theres one spot to strut your stuff on a skateboard, whatever your style, Venice is the place.

Built on the sand a short roll away from the Venice boardwalk, this immensely popular skate park draws skate tourists from around the world, and no wonder. Ocean breezes, pristine coastline views, the frequent soundtrack of drum circles and guitar riffs  this skate spot shouts L.A. like no other.

On top of that, the park and its surrounding area hold a special place in the hearts of many skaters due to its place in skateboard history, immortalized by Stacy Peraltas 2001 documentary Dogtown and Z Boys and, later, in the books, blogs and skater reunions that continue to stoke the stoke. (Geek out on the 256-page DogTown  The Legend of the Z Boys by C.R. Stecyk III and Glen E. Friedman for the deep-tracks version of this history.)

The skate parks compact design is top notch, with a variety of bowls and street features, plus an old-fashioned snake run  think roller coaster-bobsled mash-up  that serves as an emotional time machine for middle-aged rollers reconnecting with their 12-year-old skater selves. The bliss is real.

Liberty Lilley roller-skates down one of the bowls at Venice Beach Skate Park. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

But the parks best feature is its welcoming vibe. No matter your age, stage or skill level, the local rippers seem especially chill and give equal time to flailing outsiders. (Visiting skaters might consider returning the kindness by supporting the Venice Skatepark Foundation, which maintains the park.) Wheelchair skaters are also sighted here, amazing spectators and skaters alike with their eye-popping drops into the bowls.

Info: On the sand just beyond 1800 Ocean Front Walk, L.A.; (310) 396-6794, bit.ly/venicebeachskatepark

Barbara Odanaka is the author of Skateboard Mom and founder of the Mighty Mama Skate-O-Rama, which empowers women through skateboarding.
The House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack received a PowerPoint presentation from former President Donald Trump's White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, detailing recommendations for Trump to declare a national security emergency to retain the presidency.

According to The Guardian, the presentation, dated January 5, detailed ways to stage a coup, which implied that Meadows was aware of efforts by the former president and his allies to stop President Joe Biden's certification on January 6.

Meadows turned over a version of the PowerPoint titled "Election Fraud, Foreign Interference & Options for 6 Jan." The former chief of staff reportedly received it in an email. A source familiar with the matter noted that it was 38 pages long.

The PowerPoint presentation cited an issue on national security, election fraud, and interference from other countries for Trump to declare or pursue in order to retain the presidency for a second term.

The presentation also cited tactics such as riots, threats, censorship, and looting, among others.

READ NEXT: Donald Trump Told Sen. Tommy Tuberville to "Protect Yourself" Before the January 6 Capitol Riot; Senator Hid in a Closet During the Riot

January 6 Capitol Attack Documents

Select Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson said Mark Meadows has also turned over a January 5 email about having the National Guard "stand by," WSWS reported.

Some of the recommendations mentioned in the PowerPoint presentation were to declare a national emergency or declare electronic voting in all states invalid after the Senators, and Congress were briefed on foreign interference.

Former Vice President Mike Pence was also provided options to execute on January 6, such as seating Republican electors over the objections of Democrats in states where "fraud occurred."

Pence was also recommended to delay the certification to allow for a vetting and subsequent counting of only the legal paper ballots and reject Biden's electors. Pence reportedly declined to go ahead with such plans.

Donald Trump allegedly then pressed his lieutenants about how to stop Biden's certification from taking place, according to The Guardian.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump was recommended to declare a national emergency through claims that China and Venezuela had obtained control over the voting infrastructure in at least 28 states.

Former acting attorney general Jeff Rosen and his predecessor, Bill Bar, also determined that there was no evidence of voter fraud enough to change the outcome of the 2020 election.

Mark Meadows Providing the Powerpoint Presentation

A lawyer for Meadows, George J. Terwilliger III, said Meadows provided the document to the committee as he merely received it by email in his inbox and did nothing with it, The New York Times reported.

Terwilliger noted that the document was not covered by the executive privilege they were claiming. However, it was not yet clear who prepared the presentation. It reportedly appears to be based on the theories of Jovan Hutton Pulitzer, who is a Texas entrepreneur and self-described investor.

Pulitzer has appeared with retired Army colonel Phil Waldron on podcasts discussing election fraud. Waldron said he was not surprised that Meadows had received a version of the document. He noted that Meadows would have received the copy for situational awareness.

Mark Meadows has also turned over the cellphone he used on January 6 to his service provider, with more than 1,000 text messages in it.

READ MORE: Pres. Joe Biden Says He Does Not Care if People Think He's 'Satan Reincarnate' After Expressing Support On Bipartisan Probe of Capitol Riot

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Did Trump White House Put Coup Plan In A PowerPoint Presentation? - From MSNBC






Vice President Kamala Harris said she will not be distracted by the negative headlines and criticisms she has been getting, as she called them "ridiculous."

In an interview with San Francisco Chronicle published on Sunday, Harris said the criticisms were part of being a "high-profile" target in the Biden administration, New York Post reported.

"There is nothing about this job that is supposed to be easy," Kamala Harris noted.

READ NEXT: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki Disputes' Bullying' Claims on Vice President Kamala Harris; Says She Is a 'Joy to Work for'

Kamala Harris Blasts 'Ridiculous' Reports About Her

It can be recalled that Kamala Harris was criticized for spending more than $500 on cookware while she was on a trip to France last month. Other reports described her as a "bully," claiming that the vice president's behavior is behind the exodus of high-level staffers from her office.

On Sunday, Harris talked about these news headlines, particularly her buying a pot on her way to the airport, calling it "ridiculous." The vice president bashed the report from getting out after "a very significant and highly successful bilateral meeting in France."

Harris said that their meeting in France tackled issues on national security, climate, international norms, and "rules of everything from cyber to space."

Aside from talking about headlines, the vice president also brushed off several criticisms about her performance.

Harris faced several criticisms with the public, like in June, for laughing when a reporter asked her if she would visit the border after President Joe Biden tapped her to lead the White House efforts in addressing the causes of migration in the U.S.

"If something is coming to me, it's because it needs to be addressed and because by definition, it's not going to be easy," Harris noted, adding that if the issues coming at her were easy, then "it would have been handled" before it comes to her.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki earlier came to Harris' defense. Psaki said "right-wing" politicians were targeting the vice president and criticizing her because she is the first woman and the first woman of color to assume the second-highest role in the government.

"I think there's no question that the type of attacks - the attacks on her certainly, being the first she is many times over, is a part of that," Psaki noted.

Despite the criticisms, Kamala Harris on Sunday said she would love to travel around the country more next year.

"I have always felt that my responsibility as an elected leader is going out to the people, especially when their needs must be addressed and they must know that they are being seen and being heard," the vice president noted.

Former Kamala Harris Staff Claims Her Office Aides Face 'Soul Destroying Criticisms'

A former staff of Kamala Harris recently said her office aides had to endure a "constant amount of soul-destroying criticism."

According to The Washington Post, some former staffers, who worked for Harris before she assumed the vice presidency, expressed concerns about what they discovered while working for Harris years ago.

One of the issues was reportedly Harris' refusal to analyze briefing materials prepared by employees. As a result, the vice president would allegedly scold her employees if she appeared to be unprepared.

Another former staff also told The Post that it was clear that "you're not was not working with somebody who is willing to do the prep and the work."

The staffer noted that aside from the constant amount of "soul-destroying criticisms," staffers also have to put up with the vice president's lack of confidence.

"So you're constantly sort of propping up a bully, and it's not really clear why," the staff added.

READ MORE: VP Kamala Harris Comments on the Exit of Her Chief Spokesperson; Says She 'Can't Wait to See' What the Top Aide Will Do Next

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Joshua Summers

WATCH: Does Washington Doubt Kamala Harris' Leadership? - From WION
Former first lady Hillary Clinton predicted on Sunday that Donald Trump is planning to run once again for the President post in the 2024 elections.

Clinton made her comments in an interview with NBC's Today that aired on Sunday, saying that her 2016 rival for the post is launching another White House bid in 2024, The Daily Mail reported.

"If I were a betting person right now, I'd say Trump is gonna run again. I mean he seems to be setting himself up to do that and if he's not held accountable, then he gets to do it again," Clinton said in the interview.

READ NEXT: Ex-Pres. Donald Trump Rips Meghan Markle, Saying Prince Harry Was 'Horribly Used' by Her

Hillary Clinton Says Donald Trump's Victory Could End 'Democracy'

Aside from predicting Trump's bid for president in the 2024 elections, Hillary Clinton also noted said that Trump's victory in the forthcoming election could spell the "end" of democracy in the United States.

"I think that could be the end of our democracy [were Trump elected as president again]," Clinton underscored.

The former first lady also pointed out that she wants people to understand that Trump's bid for the president's post is a "make-or-break point." Furthermore, Clinton also noted that the country "will not be recognized" once Trump wins as the next president.

It can be recalled that Clinton battled Trump in the 2016 presidential elections. However, the former first lady and New York Democrat lost against the Republican trailblazer.

In the interview on Sunday, Clinton also mentioned that she would have won the 2016 election if former FBI director Jim Comey did not pull a "stunt" 10 days before the elections.

Clinton is referring to the "stunt" she mentioned was when the former FBI director announced in a letter to Congress on October 28 of 2016 that the bureau opened the investigation into Clinton's emails. The said letter was known to be a "critical factor" in Clinton losing the presidential post.

"I feel terrible about not stopping him [Donald Trump] and the people around him, but I feel like now, everybody can see for themselves what kind of leader he is," Clinton underscored.

Donald Trump on Running for President

Clinton's prediction about Trump running for the president post came weeks after former President Donald Trump dropped hints of running for the post in the forthcoming presidential elections.

"A very interesting time in our Country, but do not worry, we will be great again - and we will all do it together," Trump said in his Thanksgiving remarks.

Despite dropping hints, the former president has not yet formally announced that he will run for the top post in the federal government.

On November 8, the former president said in an interview that he will formally announce his election plans after the 2022 midterm elections.

READ NEXT: Ex-Pres. Donald Trump's Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows Sues House Select Committee as They Advance for Contempt Charges Against Him

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Written By: Joshua Summers

WATCH: Hillary Clinton: Trump Winning 2024 Election Could Be 'End Of Democracy' - From TODAY
The Miss Universe 2021 concluded on Sunday, crowing Ms. India, Harnaaz Sandhu, the evening's new queen, winning the third crown gathered by her home country.

Sandhu topped among the 80 women who competed for the crown in the 70th Miss Universe, which was touched by politics and the pandemic, ABC News reported.

Mexican Andrea Meza, the previously reigning Miss Universe, crowned her successor in Israel's Red Sea Resort located in the town of Eliat.

READ NEXT: Benicio Del Toro Partners With Exile Content Studio for TV Projects Featuring Latino and Hispanic Talent

Ms. India Wins Miss Universe 2021

India's Harnaaz Sandhu made her way to the top and claimed the crown, as she was one of the contestants who earned her spot on the competition's top 5 along with the candidates from South Africa, Paraguay, Colombia, and the Philippines.

During the final question to determine the 2021 Miss Universe, the candidates were given 30 seconds each to answer the same question. Each of the top three contestants wore sound-proof headphones, whenever a candidate will give her answer.

70th Miss Universe host, Steve Harvey, first asked South Africa the question: "What advice would you give to young women watching on how to deal with the pressures they face today?"

The three contestants answered differently but Ms. India's answer shone the brightest and caught the attention of the judges.

"Well, I think the biggest pressure the youth of today is facing is to believe in themselves. To know that you are unique and that's what makes you beautiful. Stop comparing yourselves with others and let's talk about more important things that are happening worldwide. This is what you need to understand. Come out, speak for yourself, because you are the leader of your life, you are the voice of your own," Ms. India said, adding that she believed in herself that is why she stood on the stage of Miss Universe today.

Several former Miss Universe queens also took to congratulated the new Miss Universe Harnaaz Sandhu.

Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach took to Twitter to congratulate Ms. India.

Congratulations Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu of India!  Our new Miss Universe! A deserving winner imho  #70thMissUniverse #MissUniverse #MissUniverso2021  Pia Wurtzbach (@PiaWurtzbach) December 13, 2021

"Congratulations Harnaaz Sandhu of India! Our new Miss Universe! A deserving winner imho," Wurtzbach said.

Congratulations INDIA, Harnaaz!  so well deserved! Can't wait to witness your reign. Welcome to the @MissUniverse sisterhood! #70thMissUniverse  Catriona Gray (@catrionaelisa) December 13, 2021

Meanwhile, Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray also congratulated Sandhu, saying that Ms. India deserved the crown and that she can't wait to see her reign.

Paraguay Grabs First Runner Up in Miss Universe 2021

As Ms. India won this year's Miss Universe, Paraguay's Nadia Ferreira, and South Africa's Lalela Lali Mswane. Paraguay placed first runner up in the competition while South Africa grabbed the second runner up spot.

According to the rules of Miss Universe, the first runner-up will take the place of Miss Universe in case the reigning queen will not be able to perform her duties.

Miss Universe 2021 was aired on Fox and was held in Eilat in Israel. The prestigious beauty contest was once again hosted by Steve Harvey.

READ NEXT: Travis Scott Claims He Did Not Hear Crowd's Desperate Pleas to Stop Deadly Astroworld Concert

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Written By: Joshua Summers

WATCH: The 70TH MISS UNIVERSE - Meet The Delegates (All 80) - From Miss Universe
One individual was killed, and 14 others were injured on Sunday after a suspect opened fire on a crowd in Baytown, Texas, authorities said.

1 dead, 14 injured After Shooting in Baytown

According to KHOU 11, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said that the victims had gathered at a celebration of life in Baytown when they were shot by the suspect.

Based on the report of ABC News, the shooting in Texas resulted in the death of one person, while 14 others were hurt. Officials said that out of the 14 injured persons, three of them were in critical condition as officials responded at the scene.

ABC's Texas station, KTRK, reported that the Harris County Sheriff's Office said after their initial investigation that a gunman opened fire on a crowd in the city of Baytown. The shooting incident happened in the 1400 block of N. Market Loop in Texas City.

Harris County Sheriff Gonzalez said that the crowd was composed of about 50 people who gathered just before 7 p.m. However, officials were still investigating the shooting incident that surprised the crows who gathered in honoring someone.

READ ALSO: Texas Girl Who Disappeared for Months Found Safe in a Foreign Country Alongside Her Father Fighting for Child's Custody

Investigation Continues in Texas Mass Shooting

KTRK reported that the HCSO's sergeant shared that the gathering was arranged by a mother who was holding a vigil for her son. Her son was killed at his home a couple of weeks ago. The gathering was stunned by an unidentified suspect who drove down the road, shooting rounds into the crowd.

He said that the suspect who was riding a vehicle started shooting into the crowd as they started to release balloons at the gathering.

"@HCSOTexas units responded to 1403 N Market Loop. Preliminary info: a large crowd gathered for a celebration of life. A vehicle approached and someone from the vehicle began shooting into the crowd. At least 8 people sustained injuries; 7 are non-fatal, but one has been," Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez posted on social media. However, authorities added some numbers after further investigation.

Gonzalez said the three who were in critical condition were flown to area hospitals for immediate medical attention. Meanwhile, some injured individuals sustained non-fatal injuries.

Moreover, Gonzalez said that some of the victims could be children, and the bounce house at the scene was full of kids when the shots were fired at the city in Texas.

There was no suspect or suspect vehicle description provided by authorities as they are still investigating the shooting incident, but Gonzalez asked the public with information regarding the shooting incident that they could help by calling HCSO or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477).

Furthermore, Gonzalez said that aside from the shooting incident, another disturbance broke out at a nearby clinic or hospital where the victims were transported for their treatment.

READ MORE: 3 Cuban Migrants Rescued by U.S. Coast Guard From Sinking Boat off Florida Keys

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Written by: Jess Smith

WATCH: 1 dead and multiple people injured in Texas shooting -CBS News
Oakland, CA On November 9, Galena Goins, Sonia Lopez, and Terry A. Jones-Jackson filed a nationwide class action and collective On November 9, Galena Goins, Sonia Lopez, and Terry A. Jones-Jackson filed a nationwide class action and collective lawsuit in the District Court for the Northern District of California alleging that their employer, United Parcel Service, systematically discriminated against them and women similarly situated on the basis of gender, age and disability. They claim that UPS violated federal and California labor law

Old boys club at Oakland hub

Violations of federal and California labor law

A history of workplace discrimination at UPS

The Complaint alleges that UPS was aware of the harassing and discriminatory treatment and failed to take appropriate steps to remedy the situation. The lawsuit names the womens supervisor, Richard Moreno as the the chief harasser, and retaliator in charge of small sort [the area in which all of the women worked],and seeks at least $250 million in actual, compensatory and punitive damages, among other remedies. This is not the first time UPS has been the subject of a race, age and gender discrimination lawsuit.The Oakland UPS sorting hub sounds like a workplace rife with discrimination and sexual harassment. Women who were regarded as too feminine and those chose to take advantage of the companys paid time off or flexible work schedule policy to work part-time to care for family were reportedly left especially vulnerable.According to the Complaint, female UPS employees are assigned to work in the back while the men work in more visible front-line positions with greater potential for promotion, higher pay and other benefits. These assignments are made in violation of seniority rules. UPS. UPS standard operating procedure according to Goins, is to hold back women from supervisory roles, full-time and overtime opportunities, regardless of their performance.As a consequence, female workers are allegedly left unsure of their position and whether they are likely to be bumped from their permanent positions despite their seniority. They must prove their commitment to UPS in a way no one else is, facing demotion if they take advantage of the companys flexible work or paid leave policies. They allege that they were punished when they complained.The isolation in which they work also leaves them exposed to impossible work standards and harassment. Goins, for example, alleges that Moreno began to harass her to force her out of her job because he wanted it to go to his friend, a male with less seniority. [H]e would pile on extra work and dump bags onto the ground, stand behind her and force her to work faster. He would yell and scream for Ms. Goins to take her ass back to small sort.She claims that she also witnessed sexual harassment. According to her, another supervisor would ask for hugs from younger women who worked at the hub and wore see-through clothing. The supervisor allegedly stared at women as if he were looking through their clothes.Goins claims that her performance was reviewed more frequently than that of her male co-workers. She was retaliated against in the review process and warned about failure to follow procedures, insubordination and inappropriate conduct. She was denied reasonable accommodations following knee surgery.Plaintiff Lopez also complained of sexual harassment. According to her, another supervisor would leer at female workers and position himself so that he could see under their clothing. She was berated and forced to work in unsafe situations. UPS took no action on her complaints.Jones-Jackson alleges that she was required to lift packages, and drag bags far in excess of her medical restrictions. Her health has deteriorated because of this. She was also allegedly denied promotion and pay opportunities provided to male co-workers who were similarly situated. UPS terminated her twice without the consent of the union and while she was on vacation.Their employers actions, the women allege, amount to violations of:Goins alleges that the illegal conduct at the Oakland sorting hub was not an isolated problem, but that it is endemic throughout the company and throughout the U.S.These kinds of allegations against UPS are not new. In 2019, UPS paid $2.25 million to settle an EEOC pregnancy charge. In 2017, UPS was sued for its practice of using background checks to make employment decisions without providing the results to job applicants or employees, in violation of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act . In 2013, a Texas jury awarded a female UPS worker $600,000 for gender and pregnancy discrimination. Testimony detailed a pattern of verbal harassment that included lewd comments.
Eugene Ryan from Ballycarroll, Portlaoise has been announced as the winner of the inaugural Guinness Sustainability Award at the 2021 Irish Malting Barley Awards.

The annual awards, which have been run since 1954, acknowledge excellence in malting barley production as well as promoting sustainability in the supply chain.

Organised by Boortmalt, one of the largest producers of malted barley in the world, the awards are hosted by Diageo Ireland, the largest user of malting barley in Ireland. Working in partnership to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and helping to create a more sustainable world, Diageo is committed to preserving the natural resources on which we all depend.

Eugene commented on the satisfaction on winning and what he has learned along the way.

I am absolutely delighted to receive this accolade for such an important subject. Along with my family on the farm, we have been very conscious of the need to do all we can to implement sustainable agricultural practices. With each passing year, we learn something new, and I know that we will continue to adopt even more sustainable farming practices in the near future to ensure that we are playing our part in protecting the planet to the best of our ability, he said.

Martina Henry, Global Head of Regenerative Agriculture, Diageo said: Sourcing both the right quality of grain, and grain that is produced in harmony with nature, is critical. The Irish Malting Barley Awards acknowledge excellence in our supply chain, and Eugene Ryan was chosen unanimously by the three independent judges as the stand-out winner of the Guinness Sustainability Award. We were impressed by Eugenes thorough and thoughtful submission. It demonstrated a holistic farm management approach and a mature awareness of the complementarity and delicate balance of farm economics, community and environment. Eugene also demonstrated a clear dedication to pursuing activities that support the optimisation, rather than competition, of these interests.

"We were extremely impressed with the high quality of efforts and advancements being made by barley farmers overall and there were several other highly commended entries to whom we offer thanks and congratulations on their commitment and hard work. Collectively, we are greatly encouraged for the future of barley farming in Ireland, continued Ms Henry.

The winner of the overall prize for excellence in malting barley production, and with it the Guinness Perpetual Cup, were John and Thomas Finn from Athy in County Kildare. The Finns were recognised by the judges for delivering consistently high quality barley.

More than 130,000 tonnes of barley are grown by passionate farmers for use at St. Jamess Gate each year, or 40,000 acres, which is the equivalent of 12,500 Croke park pitches. 100% of Irish barley used in the production of Guinness is sustainably sourced. The Malting Barley Excellence Awards bring together and recognise, the best growers from the main barley supply regions of Ireland and the best seed producers.

As part of its 10-year sustainability action plan, Spirit of Progress, Diageo says it is committed to working towards a low-carbon future, harnessing 100% renewable energy to achieve net zero carbon emissions across our direct operations, working with suppliers to reduce indirect carbon emissions by 50% and ensuring that every drink it produces will take 30% less water to make by 2030. For further information on our 2030 Spirit of Progress action plan, visit www.diageo.com

Boortmalt is the malting barley division of the Axereal group, Europes largest grain cooperative. Its plant in Athy is the largest producer of malting barley in Ireland.

Diageo Ireland is the largest purchaser of Irish grain of any brewer or distiller. In an average year, the company purchases in excess of 130,000 tonnes of Irish barley.
People being asked not to attend the Emergency Department (ED / A&E) at Tullamore hospital unless their visit is 'absolutely essential'

The HSE issued a statement on Monday, December 13 about the Offaly hospital which is in the same group as the Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise.

"The Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore is experiencing a very busy period with a significantly increased number of people requiring admission to the Hospital.

"The hospital is reminding members of the public to consider their care options before presenting to the Emergency Department (ED). We advise that the public only attend our emergency services if absolutely essential. If you are unwell, please go to your GP or pharmacy in the first instance. Importantly, please do not delay in seeking medical attention if you suspect you are having a heart attack or stroke. Our ED Services are available to you, please dial 999 or 112 in an emergency. For routine matters please contact your GP or out of hours by phone.

"If you have to attend the ED in emergency situation please ensure you wear a mask, practice social distancing and ensure you tell the triage personnel if you have any signs/symptoms of Covid-19," concluded the appeal from the HSE.

As of Monday morning, INMO trolley watch figures show that there were 23 patients on trolleys awaiting admission to the hospital.

The latest HSE figures say there was just one available general bed in the hospital and no available beds in the hospital's ICU.

The latest figures from the HSE show that there were 12 patients with confirmed cases of Covid-19 being treated in the hospital with one of those patients in ICU.

With the highest number of patients on trolleys since the pandemic began, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has called for bespoke plans to tackle overcrowding in each hospital.

This comes as 534 patients have been recorded on the INMO Trolley Watch. There were five patients on trollies at Portlaoise hospitals.

Phil Ni Sheaghdha, is INMO General Secretary.

Todays figures are a real nightmare before Christmas scenario. We need to see urgent mitigation measures from individual hospitals and the HSE to tackle the number of people on trolleys.

The warning signs that trolleys would go over five hundred once again have been very obvious. This is a predictable event.

Overcrowded hospitals reduce the ability to deliver safe care. With this pandemic it is even more important that the HSE take all necessary steps to avoid the overcrowded wards and emergency departments becoming the source of infection.

We are once again calling for a fully-funded workforce plan, and adequate health and safety measures including enhanced ventilation in our hospitals.

"The public service is under too much pressure to be expected to shoulder the entire burden of the pandemic alongside rising numbers of patients presenting at emergency departments. The HSE must seek full utilisation of private hospitals.

Our members are mentally and physically exhausted. They cannot head into yet another pandemic winter with trolley numbers out of control while the pandemic continues.

Decisive action and bespoke plans to tackle overcrowding, particularly in hospitals where we see persistent overcrowding is needed, said the General Secretary.
A landmark but derelict building in Stradbally that is controlled by NAMA should be purchased by Laois County Council for use as an enterprise hub.

Thats according to the Cllr Paschal McEvoy, Fianna Fail, who made the call at a recent meeting which was attended by the councils Director of Finance Gerry Murphy.

Cllr McEvoy tabled a motion at the Graiguecullen Portarlington Municipal District calling on the Council to make contact with the owners of the old Presentation convent in Stradbally with a view to purchasing the building and turning it into an enterprise hub and a facility to allow hot desking and remote working.

He told the meeting that the building was sold by a religious order to a private buyer who sold it on again but no development happened. He claimed it has been derelict for 15 years.

It is now in NAMA. It is a protected structure and a fabulous building. Something needs to be done with it. It is an eyesore at the moment, he said.

He thanked the Director of Finance for helping with other derelict buildings in the town and hoped something could be done with the convent similar to what has been achieved with the Mountrath Bloom HQ.

Ms. Angela McEvoy, Acting Director of Services in Housing and Planning, replied in writing indicating that its potential would be explored.

The site is on the Derelict sites register and is also a protected structure. The Planning Authority has served notice on the owner on this building requesting works to be carried out and are trying to engage with the owner in this regard.

Consideration of its potential for economic development opportunities will be undertaken by the Business Support Unit.

Cllr McEvoy welcomed this but added that he would continue to push for work to be done.

There must be money in Government for this type of building to be brought back into use as an enterprise hub. We have a perfect site, he said.

He said that given it is controlled by NAMA government agency, meant that the transition could be smoother.

I want to see it in the ownership of or leased by Laois County Council, he said.

Cllr Aisling Moran, Fine Gael, backed the call. She suggested that some musical dimension could be added given that Stradbally is home to the Electric Picnic. She suggested that different shops could also be accommodated and it could also be a location for housing.

She wanted a timeframe put on the work required to address dereliction

Cllr PJ Kelly, Fine Gael, also supported.

It is a fine standout building in Stradbally with a huge history. It would be wonderful to see something done with it to bring it back to life, he said.

Cllr Aidan Mullins, Sinn Fein, said he expected the proposal would have full backing from all councillors.

A building like that could be a major asset to Stradbally and surrounding areas, he said.

He added that it is good news that NAMA controls the building because they may be willing to dispose of it.

Mr Murphy explained that the site would remain on the derelict register until it was no longer derelict. He said various notices could be served with works listed and timeframes and deadlines are given. He said it may not be realistic to have the dereliction addressed within six months.
Laois woman and RTE presenter Claire Byrne is giving her full support to the proposed new hospice unit for the Midlands by taking up the role as Patron of the campaign for a unit in Tullamore.

Offaly Hospice said Claire officially came on board on Friday, December 10 the same day as 1 million was allocated to develop the unit in Tullamore.

Well-known RTE presenter Claire Byrne has become Patron of Offaly Hospice. Claire paid a visit to Tullamore on Friday last to see at first-hand the proposed site for the Midlands Regional Hospice on the grounds of the regional hospital.

Claire's interest in hospice care stems from the excellent care her late father Tom received from Laois/Offaly Home Care team.

Their specialist help allowed Tom remain at home with good quality of life and symptom control and for that Claire and her family are very grateful. Claire also recognises there are critical situations where patients cannot remain at home and the key gap in the service is the absence of a Specialist Hospice Unit.

Claire will be a very good Patron and great to have her support, she said.

Claire spoke about the death of her father and the care he received in the Sunday Independent. The 86-year-old passed away six months ago after a long battle with illness. All of Claire's family spent their final days with their dad in their home of Mountrath.

"We got such a shock and it seemed to happen quite quickly in the end.

"We knew he wasn't going to live forever, but he was just so vibrant and full of life. He was physically strong even towards the end of his life as well. That played into the notion that he would be around forever.

"All of those things create this false sense of security that you are never going to have say goodbye. But ultimately the day came when we did have to say goodbye and it hit hard.

"The loveliest part of that week leading to my father's death was being able to say goodbye. We all have busy lives in our family, but we got an opportunity to come back home together. It was just the six of us and my Mam and we were with my Dad, along with all the professional help that we had," she said.

Architect plans for the have been presented by Offaly Hospice to the HSE and show a 16 bed in patient hospice unit is feasible on the site offered by the HSE. Offaly Hospice, which funded the plans were informed of that welcome decision last Friday. The plans include all elements of an updated 2021 Design Brief put together by HSE estates and Midllands Palliative Care Consultants, Dr Michael Cushen and Dr Pauline Kane. It can now progress the Hospice Project to detailed planning and Planning Permission.

The Minister for Health announced the allocation of 1 million to help fund the planning process for the Level 3 unit.

The hospice will serve Laois, Offaly, Westmeath Longford as well as North Tipperary and East Galway, about 300000 people. See also page 16.
Three Maynooth College and University choirs will gather in the historic College Chapel of Saint Patricks College, Maynooth on Wednesday evening for the annual Christmas carol service.

The College Chapel Choir will be directed by Dr John OKeeffe, the Schola Gregoriana will be led by Dr Darina McCarthy and Maynooth University Chamber Choir will be under the direction of Dr Michael Dawson.

This renowned choral celebration of the Christmas season has been a highlight of the Advent calendar in Ireland since 1970.

Following public health guidance, a much-reduced congregation will attend this years carol service, which will also be livestreamed on the College website: www.maynoothcollege.ie.

The service will be led by the President of Saint Patricks College, Maynooth, Rev Professor Michael Mullaney who, when announcing this years event, said:

I am truly delighted that this years Christmas carol service can go ahead with a small in-person audience.

"I extend an invitation to everyone who can to join us online and enjoy hymns sung by our three talented choirs for this beautiful and moving celebration of the eternal message of Christmas.

This years carol service will be broadcast by Kairos as well as on the worldwide platform of www.shalomtv.tv.

Last year, due to coronavirus restrictions, the carol service did not have a live audience in the College Chapel, but was watched by 17,000 people online.
Maria McEvoy from Monasterevin managed to grab over 447 worth of goodies at the Lidl store in Christmas.

Lidl Ireland's annual festive fundraiser, trolley dash, has raised over 280,000 in support of charity partner Jigsaw, the national centre for youth mental health. In Kildare, over 13,830 was raised for the charity. The fundraising initiative now in its 7th year has received phenomenal widespread support from generous customers across Lidls stores.

Winning customers, the past week, took to the aisles to scoop their Christmas shopping as part of the festive fundraiser and bagged over 170 trolley loads of groceries just in time for Christmas.

Read more Kildare news

For two weeks annually in November, trolley dash tickets are sold in Lidl stores nationwide for just 1 each, offering customers the chance to win a supermarket sweep style dash around their local nearest Lidl store.

Since its inauguration in 2014 the festive fundraiser has raised over 2million for the supermarkets charity partners and given away trolley loads of Christmas groceries to the lucky winners.

Speaking about the success of this years trolley dash, Lidl Ireland Head of CSR, Owen Keogh said

Its an incredible milestone to have raised over 280,000 in this years Trolley Dash, its a fun and festive way to mobilise efforts in support of a super charity. With restrictions over the past two years, looking after local communitys big and small is more important than ever. The whole team at Lidl Ireland are heartened by the generosity and that so many customers wanted to contribute to a cause that has a real impact for those looking for support in times of need.

On receipt of the charity donation Joseph Duffy, CEO of Jigsaw, said:

We continue to see a significant increase in the demand for our services and supports across Ireland and it is so important that young people, their families, teachers and communities know that we are here to support them. Thank you so much to Lidl Ireland for this incredible donation from Trolley Dash, made possible by your generous customers - Thank you to everyone who bought a ticket and contributed in raising these vital funds, which will enable us to be there to support young people, when and where they need us.

Trolley dash is just one of many initiatives by Lidl Ireland to fundraise for Jigsaw  the National Centre for Youth Mental Health and engage customers and local communities with various activities.
THE WELFARE of children in one Limerick community has been given a significant boost after a new management agreement was reached.

Limerick Youth Service (LYS) with the support and assistance of Limerick City and County Council (LCCC) has agreed to extend its management of The Factory Southside Youth Space for an additional three-year period.

Serious concerns were raised earlier this year following news that the facility was due to close as the Council were disposing of the premises to a private company.

While The Factory Southside Youth Space has been sold to a private entity, the local authority has facilitated an arrangement for Limerick Youth Service to remain in the facility until 2024.

The Factory Southside Youth Space will continue to be an inclusive space for young people and the community with LYS continuing to develop youth programmes and initiatives," said a spokesperson for LYS.

Located in the Galvone Business Park, The Factory Southside Youth Space includes: two multi-sport playing areas, dance studio, an art space, activities, youth cafe, meeting rooms and outdoor facilities that are available to youth and community groups across Limerick city and county.

Funding has been provided through the Regeneration Programme and other public funding sources to support services located here.

LYS says it will continue to engage with the relevant statutory and community organisations to plan and develop appropriate youth and community facilities at alternative locations.

The organisation has thanked the young people, community, volunteers and staff for their support and commitment to The Factory Southside Youth Space in the years since it opened its doors in 2010.

A member of Youth Work Ireland and the Irish Association of Community Training Organisations, LYS has said it remains committed to connecting with young people and supporting them to reach their full potential.
A LIMERICK man who is wanted in the UK for allegedly murdering a scooter rider by running him over in his BMW has consented to his extradition.

At the High Court this Monday, Fiona Murphy SC, for Keith Anthony McCarthy said her client had consented to his surrender on two allegation warrants.

The 41-year-old, who is also known as Keith Galvin, is accused of deliberately running down Kerrin Repman (29) on April 15, 2020, in Harwich. Mr Repman's sustained fatal injuries after his motorbike was struck by a BMW.

Mr McCarthy is also accused of causing grievous bodily harm to a 79-year-old pedestrian, who suffered multiple broken limbs, during the same incident.

At a previous hearing of the High Court, Caroline Cummings BL, for the Minister for Justice, said the charge was murder because Mr McCarthy was accused of "murder with a motor vehicle of a man on a scooter where the rider was deliberately killed".

Upon conviction, both charges carry a maximum of a life sentence, she told Mr Justice Paul Burns.

A European Arrest Warrant was issued for Mr McCarthy on November 27, 2020, and he was arrested five days later in Midlands Prison, where he is serving a separate sentence.

Brian Storan BL, defending, said his client was legally "caught between two stools", in that he had been arrested at a time when the UK was still in the EU and subject to the then Withdrawal Agreement.

Mr Storan had said that his client, should he be surrendered to the UK, would now be going to "a new entity" after the completion of Brexit on December 31, 2020, and counsel told the court that he wanted assurances about his client's rights.

The barrister had argued that EAW Act did "not apply to the new [post-Brexit Trade] agreement" between the EU and the UK and that his client was "in limbo".

Counsel said that the UK was no longer subject to the EU framework agreement which underpins the EAW Act.

Mr Storan had sought clarification on two matters: whether or not his client could be charged with other alleged crimes if surrendered and whether Mr McCarthy would receive a reduction in any possible sentence in the UK for time already served in custody in Ireland. He said it would be "unfair or unjust to surrender [Mr McCarthy] under a system no longer in place."

Ms Cummings previously said the UK had given an international commitment to operate the Extradition Act as if it were still a member and that it was still a party to the European Convention of Human Rights.

She said that, irrespective of leaving the EU, the UK had incorporated the extradition act into UK law in the form of the "Trade and Co-operation Agreement that" now exists between the EU and the UK.

At that February hearing, Mr Justice Burns had said that the court would write to the UK authorities to see clarity on the status of EAW warrants post-Brexit.

Last March, however, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee enacted a statutory instrument to incorporate the EAW system into the new Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and the UK.

This Monday, Ms Murphy told Mr Justice Paul Burns that her client had now agreed to his surrender but requested that it be done after Christmas.

Mr Justice Burns then adjourned the matter to January 17, 2022, and remanded Mr McCarthy in custody until then.
A LIMERICK pensioner has appeared in court accused of sexually assaulting his then business partner after a social event.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded not guilty to the offence which took place in 2014.

The victim, aged in her 50s, took the stand in Kilmallock Court and said she was walking to her car with her friend at around 11.30pm on the date in question.

My friend was beside me. He (the defendant) came up beside me. We were talking about the business. My friend held back as we were talking business. The driver door was close to the wall. He was standing at the door of the car. He put his hand on my private area - quite forcefully. I told him: Stop. I like you like a brother, said the victim.

In the days following the incident, she said the defendant was very hostile.

I felt very unsafe and uncomfortable. Things were very strained. We kept our distance. I insisted on that. I knew I had to leave the business, said the victim.

Nikki OSullivan BL, who represented the pensioner, asked if she and the defendant became good friends and if she often called to his house? Yes, said the complainant.

The barrister asked if she had been drinking? Yes, red wine, a couple of glasses, said the victim.

Ms OSullivan said her instructions were that she had consumed significantly more than that. No, said the complainant.

Ms OSullivan asked if she was aware her client had developed some romantic feelings towards her? No, said the victim.

Ms OSullivan said the defendant will say he went in for a hug and it was romantic aspirations that were not reciprocated.

He denies this (sexual assault) ever happened, said Ms OSullivan. 100% it did, said the complainant.

The barrister asked which hand he used. The left hand, she replied.

Ms OSullivan said the reason for the defendant being surly after the incident was because she turned up late the next day leaving him to do all the work. This was denied.

The victim gave a number of reasons for waiting four years to make a complaint. These cannot be reported to protect the identity of the victim.

Inspector Pat Brennan asked why she had changed her mind in coming forward to gardai. It had an awful effect on me, she said.

The victims friend gave evidence that she couldnt see anything but she heard the complainant saying: Please stop. I am in business with you. Youre like a brother to me.

The victims brother, sister and a different friend all gave evidence in support of her complaint.

The last witness was the accused pensioner, aged in his 70s. He said he and his former business partner got on very well and he cared for her.

I went with her to her car because it was dark. She pulled down the window. I gave her a kiss and put my hand on her thigh. She got out of the car and threw her arms around me. She said I was like a brother to her and nothing could happen as we were business partners, said the defendant.

Insp Brennan put it to him he didnt put his hand on her thigh - that he inappropriately touched her private area.

No. I didnt get that far, he said.

But you planned to get that far, said Insp Brennan.

I just put my hand on her thigh. If she was cross she wouldnt have got out of her car, he said.

Insp Brennan said she screamed at him to stop and it was not to happen again.

In a follow up question, the accuseds barrister, Ms OSullivan, asked which hand he used when he put it on her thigh.

My right hand, said the defendant.

In summing up, Ms OSullivan said her client had developed romantic feelings for his business partner.

He gave her a kiss and put his hand on her thigh. She obviously was not interested. He was rebuffed. That was the end of the matter, said Ms OSullivan, who pointed to the four year delay in making the complaint.

She also referred to the victim saying his left hand was used and he said his right hand.

Addressing Judge Patricia Harney, Ms OSullivan said she cannot be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt.

Insp Brennan said the complainants friend heard the outburst and she told another friend what happened the following morning.

In his evidence he said he didnt get that far. He sexually assaulted her, said Insp Brennan.

Judge Harney said she found the complainants evidence to be truthful.

She was clear and unequivocal and did not gild the lily. I have no doubt she was telling the truth and what she said was corroborated. I believe he did put his hand on her crotch. It was telling when he said he did not get that far. He was essentially pushing his luck, said Judge Harney, who found the defendant guilty of sexual assault.

The judge ordered a pre-sanction report from the Probation Services and adjourned the matter until next year. Judge Harney imposed reporting restrictions on the media in attendance including reporting ancillary facts that may lead to the identification of those involved. She said the greatest possible care must be observed so the parties cannot be identified.
THE AGM of the ICMSA was held at Thomond Park last week. It was a fitting location for a send-off to Cregganes Ger Quain, who kept tackling and tackling co-ops over milk prices during his six year tenure as chairperson of ICMSAs dairy committee.

The meeting was chaired by ICMSA president Pat McCormack, who paid particular tribute to Mr Quain. Mr McCormack said that Mr Quain had worked long and hard in the interests of the family farms that were the backbone of the association and the wider rural economy.

He specified Mr Quains unwavering commitment to securing the highest possible milk price as the bedrock of what had been a hugely successful term as chairperson of the dairy committee.

Ger Quain was never distracted or diverted into side issues or peripheral matters; his focus was on the milk price that farmers receive and whether it was in line with what he and his team adjudged to be the highest price then possible according to the dairy markets.

Ger and his team quickly established themselves as the best in Ireland on milk price analysis and their expertise was made public and institutionalised by the setting up of the ICMSA interactive milk price tracker whereby any farmer can now simply log-on, input their own milk constituents and volumes, and at the touch of a button discover what every co-op in Ireland would have paid for their own individual supply.

Its a game-changer that has quickly become the industry standard metric and it was steered through and inspired by ICMSAs dairy team under the chairpersonship of Ger Quain, said Mr McCormack.

The modest Creggane dairy farmer said that his interest in farmer welfare and the cause of farming families would go on undimmed.

Instead of focusing on his time as dairy chair he took the opportunity to convey his sincere commiserations to the family and friends of the late Tom Leahy who died recently in a tragic accident on his farm in Murroe. The late Mr Leahy was a valued colleague of Mr Quains in Limerick ICMSA.

Due to Covid, there were 24 farmer-delegates there in person and hundreds participating via Zoom. John Jordan, CEO of Ornua, spoke as did Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue via Zoom. ULs Dr David Styles outlined the greenhouse gases situation with which the sector is grappling.

In his address, Mr McCormack said that there is an onus on media to establish the credentials of those purporting to speak on how farming must change to become more sustainable.

He said that the lack of real knowledge on display in matters concerning farming and the environment in the general media was quite staggering and would certainly not be tolerated on any other subject on which commentators hold forth.

The ICMSA President said that given the enormity of what was at stake, farmers  and the wider rural communities in which they live and work - were entitled to hold the general media to a reasonable standard.

He said: Time and again.vaguely defined environmental activists were given airtime on both State and commercial broadcasters to thrash farmers and by extension wider rural communities without ever having to demonstrate any working knowledge of farming or food production.

Mr McCormack said that having debated many of these activists for years, it was his firm conviction that most wouldnt know a heifer from a hoover.

He also said that there were very legitimate questions around the funding of several environmental NGOs and it was in everyones interest that NGOs concerned revealed in full the source of their funding  including from all arms of the State - and specifically whether any originated in corporations involved in the manufacture of so-called synthetic meats and milks. It is hoped a normal AGM can be held next year.
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NEARLY 200 homes in Limerick have been upgraded just in time for Christmas as part of the Energy Efficiency Upgrade Retrofit programme.

One hundred and seventy-nine Limerick City and County Council owned homes will now be warmer and more energy efficient thanks to a joint programme by the council and SSE Airtricity.

The programme partners up local authorities and energy companies to provide updates to council owned houses.

The project involved a deep retrofit of the houses with the council also carrying out other non-energy related improvements during the work.

The project means that homes will be more energy efficient and costs associated with oil and solid fuels have been eliminated.

Mayor of the City and County of Limerick Cllr Daniel Butler said: This is a very important project that the Council is involved in.

"We must provide the highest quality standards and maintenance for our housing stock, so that our tenants can be warm and comfortable and help improve their mental and physical wellbeing.

Retrofitting homes to the highest energy efficiency standards will help to make a significant contribution to a low carbon transition while also providing warmth and comfort to the people of Limerick.

"We are all aware of the challenges and dangers that Climate Change currently poses so it is imperative that we look to all possible solutions to reduce carbon emissions and improve the way we live and work.

"I would like to thank SSE Airtricity for working with us on this project and for their long term partnership with us.
CERVICAL cancer campaigner Vicky Phelan met former journalist Charlie Bird in Limerick today after his emotional appearance on the Late Late show last week.

Vicky reached out to Charlie after he spoke on the RTE show about his motor neurone disease (MND) diagnosis.

Mr Bird told host Ryan Tubridy that he was struggling to come to terms with his diagnosis.

Vicky also spoke openly on the Late Late show recently about her decision to cease chemotherapy and begin palliative care.

She praised Charlie's openness on the show and said she was looking forward to meeting him and his wife this week.

The tea & scones* have been had. The conversation flowed. We laughed. We cried. We hugged (apologies in advance to the Covid brigade!) We made plans to meet again 



I have also been roped in to climb Croagh Patrick with Charlie & Claire and the whole of Ireland, it appears pic.twitter.com/O9rENqFhnx  Vicky Phelan (@PhelanVicky) December 13, 2021

She tweeted: "What can I say except Bravo Charlie... You were so vulnerable sharing so openly the terror of living with a disease that you know is going to take everything from you - your voice, your swallow, your mobility...yet your love of life, family and friends shone through.

"I have no doubt that you brought comfort to so many and I really hope that you get comfort from all the love and support that is being sent your way from all over Ireland".

Vicky met with Charlie and his wife Claire in Limerick today with the campaigner saying she was looking forward to meeting him again.

The 47 year old mother-of-two spoke last month about the difficult decision she made to stop chemotherapy treatment so she could make the time she has left with her children as enjoyable and memorable as possible.

The Kilkenny native has lived between Annacotty and Doonbeg in recent years and is mother to 16-year-old Amelia and 10-year-old Darragh.

She told Ryan Tubridy that she "did not want to die" and that just a few weeks ago she did not think she would see Christmas.

She said: "I am a young woman and I have young children and that's what's made me fight for more time with them and I'm glad I've got the last four years, but you still want more, but I don't ever think too far ahead.

"Thats how real this is for me at this stage. I spoke to my oncologist when I made the decision not to have any more chemotherapy. I think he was hoping Id have a few more sessions.

"And I just said, no, I'm not doing this to my kids, Im not doing this to myself at this stage."
"UPDATE: The below draw for the Champions League Round of 16 has been voided and will be redrawn.

Manchester United have been handed a mouth-watering Champions League tie against Paris St Germain, but only after UEFA officials appeared to make a mistake during Mondays draw.

United were first erroneously drawn against Villarreal  a side they had already been paired with in Group F.

Former Arsenal forward Andrey Arshavin was asked to draw again, and neighbours Manchester City will instead head to El Madrigal, but for reasons which are unclear United were not then put in the pot of potential opponents for Atletico Madrid, who instead got Bayern Munich.

Round of 16 draw What are you most excited for?#UCLdraw | #UCL pic.twitter.com/FfrEuIFSxX  UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) December 13, 2021

UEFA has been contacted for comment on the draw procedures.

Liverpool will travel to face RB Salzbur,g while Chelsea will continue the defence of their title against Lille, with the first legs due to be played in late February and the return fixtures in March.

United and PSG were the last two sides left in the pot at the end of the draw, setting up a fascinating tie in which Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi can renew their long-standing rivalry.

United and PSG met in Group H of last seasons Champions League. Uniteds 2-1 win at the Parc des Princes was among the highlights of Ole Gunnar Solskjaers reign, though they lost the home fixture 3-1.

But this time the build-up will be dominated by Ronaldo and Messi, who have both changed clubs since then.

The pair have met in 36 previous games, with Messi finishing on the winning side 16 times compared to Ronaldos 11, with Messi also having 22 goals to Ronaldos 21 in those matches.

The intrigue does not stop there, of course, as Uniteds interim boss Ralf Rangnick will come up against Mauricio Pochettino, a man known to be interested in the permanent job at Old Trafford.

Having lost home and away to United to miss top spot in Group F by a single point, Villarreal will be back in Manchester next year to take on City.

The two sides last met in the group stages of this competition back in 2011, when Roberto Mancinis City won home and away.

Liverpool, who won all six of their Group B fixtures, will face a Salzburg club who are the first Austrian representatives to make it to the knockout rounds of the competition.

Whether or not there was a mistake that led to it, the tie between Atletico and Bayern looks to be the pick of the other fixtures.

Inter Milan will take on Ajax, Benfica face Real Madrid, and Sporting Lisbon play Juventus.
Chip maker Intel Corp. plans to invest 30 billion ringgit ($7.12 billion) to expand its production capacity in Malaysia, according to the countrys authorities.

The move will boost the companys advanced semiconductor packaging capabilities, while affirming its commitment to Malaysia, the Malaysian Investment Development Authority said Monday in a media invitation.

A press conference about the investment will be held Wednesday that will include Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger, it said.

The Wall Street Journal reported in August that according to people familiar with the matter, Intel had pitched factory projects in various Asian countries, including Malaysia.

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Huntsman spiders are large, fast spiders that live in warm climates throughout the world. They are named for the way that they catch their prey.

Unlike many spider species, huntsman spiders "don't build webs to catch prey," said Christy Bills, an entomologist and the invertebrate collections manager at the Natural History Museum of Utah. Instead, these spiders hunt down their prey.

There are thousands of subspecies in this family (Sparassidae). The average huntsman spider species is about 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) long with a leg span of up to 5 inches (12.7 cm), according to a 2009 article in the journal Biodiversity and Conservation . The giant huntsman spider (Heteropoda maxima), however, has a leg span of up to 12 inches (30 cm), making it the largest spider by diameter, according to the Proceedings of the Royal Society B (2017) . It is often described as being "the size of a dinner plate." (The largest spider by weight is probably the goliath birdeater tarantula (Theraphosa blondi), according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science .)

Peter Jager, head of the arachnology department at the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt, Germany, discovered the giant huntsman in a cave in Laos in 2001, according to his research published in the journal Zoosystema . Only a few people in the world have seen this behemoth arachnid.

Related: Huntsman spiders eat tree frogs after luring them into leaf traps

What do huntsman look like?

Because of their size, huntsman spiders are sometimes incorrectly identified as tarantulas. One way to tell a huntsman from a tarantula is by the position of the creature's legs. Most spiders' legs bend vertically under the body. "Huntsman spiders usually have legs that are splayed out to the sides, crablike," Bills said. In fact, huntsman spiders are also referred to as giant crab spiders.

An image of a female huntsman spider (Heterpoda venatoria) taken in a home in West Bengal, India. (Image credit: Getty Images )

Huntsman spiders' legs have twisted joints, which allow the appendages to extend forward like a crab's and their alignment allows the spider to move side-to-side, also similar to a crab. Males have longer legs, although females have larger bodies. "Colors and patterns vary," Bills said. The spiders' legs are typically gray or brown, and banded.

Many huntsman species' bodies have a flattened appearance, ideal for squeezing into tight places, according to the Australian Museum .

Classification/taxonomy

According to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), the taxonomy of giant huntsman spiders is:

Kingdom : Animalia

: Animalia Subkingdom : Bilateria

: Bilateria Infrakingdom : Protostomia

: Protostomia Superphylum : Ecdysozoa

: Ecdysozoa Phylum : Arthropoda

: Arthropoda Subphylum : Chelicerata

: Chelicerata Class : Arachnida

: Arachnida Order : Araneae

: Araneae Family : Sparassidae

: Sparassidae Genus & species: Heteropoda maxima

Where are they found?

The giant huntsman was found in Laos, and most huntsman species are native to Asia. They are also prevalent in Africa, Australia and South America, according to Science Alert . They live in some warm American states such as Florida, California and Texas, and, according to the University of Florida , it is presumed that they were introduced from Asia. Folklore stories claim the spiders traveled from Asia in boxes of bananas, and because of that, they are sometimes called banana spiders.

Related: Jumping spiders: Facts about the cutest arachnids on the planet

What environment do they live in?

Bills extolled the huntsman's speed: "They can often be quite large and very quick." In fact, the huntsman spider can move up to a yard (almost 1 meter) a second, she said. The spider typically lives under loose bark on trees, under rocks, in crevices and under foliage. Huntsman spiders, especially Australian species, are notorious for entering houses and cars. According to the Australian Museum, they have been "found hiding behind sun visors or running across the dashboard." These spiders can be social, and dozens will sometimes sit together on dead trees or stumps.

Giant huntsman spiders can be found in rock crevices. (Image credit: Getty)

What do huntsman spiders eat?

The huntsman runs after or ambushes its prey, killing it with venom and strong mouthparts, called the chelicerae. Once captured, the prey will be injected with deadly venom from glands within the spider's body, according to the University of Florida . The huntsman can also be a valuable spider because it eats cockroaches, in addition to other spiders and domestic insect pests.

Are huntsman spiders dangerous?

Huntsman are not deadly to humans. According to the Australian Reptile Park , although huntsman spiders are venomous and their bites can be painful to humans, they do not cause anything more serious than mild nausea or headaches . Usually localized swelling and pain are the only symptoms of a huntsman spider bite.

In most instances, a huntsman spider will attempt to run away from a human, rather than biting them, according to the Australian Museum. However, the females of these spiders are more likely to bite when they perceive a threat to their young.

In the event that someone does get bitten, they should try to remain as calm as possible. This is to prevent their heart rate from increasing and spreading the venom more quickly around the body. Applying an ice pack can reduce the pain caused by the bite, but a pressure immobilisation bandage is not needed, according to Australia Wide First Aid .

Huntsman spiders kill their prey with venom and strong mouthparts, called the chelicerae. Here's a closeup of the chelicerae. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

How do huntsman reproduce?

Compared to other spider species that eat their mates, huntsman spiders are downright romantic. According to the Australian Museum, their mating ritual can last for several hours and involves lengthy caresses and other demonstrations of interest. The male drums his pedipalps  antennae-like appendages near the mouth  against tree trunks before inserting them into the female to fertilize her eggs.

A female huntsman clutching onto a silk sac filled with hundreds of spider offspring. (Image credit: Elliekay/Public Domain )

After mating, the female lays up to 200 eggs and encases them in a large, oval, spun-silk sac. "Some huntsmans are dedicated mothers," Billa said. They "look after their egg sacs, guarding them fiercely."

Related: Photos: Spiders feast on deadly snakes

According to the University of Florida's Entomology and Nematology Department, some females carry the sac with them under their bodies, which severely restricts their movements. Others place the sac under a rock or piece of bark and stand over it, without eating, for up to three weeks. In both cases, females may become aggressive when guarding their egg sacs.

According to the Australian Reptile Park, at birthing time, the mother may tear the egg sac open to help her spiderlings emerge. She'll then stay with the babies for several weeks. Baby huntsmen are pale in color and darken with each molt. Huntsman spiders can live for more than two years.

Additional resources

Learn more about the giant huntsman at the Encyclopedia of Life.

Here is a handy guide to identifying huntsman spiders and other arachnids

Check out the World Spider Trait database for more information and research about spiders from around the world

This article was updated on Aug. 11, 2021 by How It Works staff writer Ailsa Harvey.
An illustration of the "shark-toothed" dinosaur Ulughbegsaurus uzbekistanensis, who lived in what is now Uzbekistan about 90 million years ago. (Image credit: Julius Csotonyi)

About 90 million years ago, a gigantic apex predator  a meat-eating dinosaur with serrated shark-like teeth  prowled what is now Uzbekistan, according to a new study of the behemoth's jawbone.

The 26-foot-long (8 meters) beast weighed 2,200 pounds (1,000 kilograms), making it longer than an African elephant and heavier than a bison . Researchers named it Ulughbegsaurus uzbekistanensis, after Ulugh Beg, a 15th-century astronomer, mathematician and sultan from what is now Uzbekistan.

What caught scientists by surprise was that the dinosaur was much larger  twice the length and more than five times heavier  than its ecosystem's previously known apex predator: a tyrannosaur, the researchers found.

Related: The 10 coolest dinosaur findings of 2020

The chunk of jawbone was found in Uzbekistan's Kyzylkum Desert in the 1980s, and researchers rediscovered it in 2019 in an Uzbekistan museum collection.

The partial jawbone of U. uzbekistanensis is enough to suggest that the animal was a carcharodontosaur, or a "shark-toothed" dinosaur. These carnivores were cousins and competitors of tyrannosaurs, whose most famous species is Tyrannosaurus rex .

The two dinosaur groups were fairly similar, but carcharodontosaurs were generally more slender and lightly-built than the heavyset tyrannosaurs, said study co-researcher Darla Zelenitsky, an associate professor of paleobiology at the University of Calgary. Even so, carcharodontosaurs were usually larger than tyrannosaur dinosaurs, reaching weights greater than 13,200 pounds (6,000 kg). Then, around 90 million to 80 million years ago, the carcharodontosaurs disappeared and the tyrannosaurs grew in size, taking over as apex predators in Asia and North America.

Two late Cretaceous dinosaur apex predators: a carcharodontosaur (left) and a tyrannosaur (right). (Image credit: Darla Zelenitsky)

The new finding is the first carcharodontosaur dinosaur discovered in Central Asia, the researchers noted. Paleontologists already knew that the tyrannosaur Timurlengia lived at the same time and place, but at 13 feet (4 m) in length and about 375 pounds (170 kg) in weight, Timurlengia was several times smaller than U. uzbekistanensis, suggesting that U. uzbekistanensis was the apex predator in that ecosystem, gobbling up horned dinosaurs, long-necked sauropods and ostrich-like dinosaurs in the neighborhood, the team said.

"Our discovery indicates carcharodontosaurs were still dominant predators in Asia 90 million years ago," study lead researcher Kohei Tanaka, an assistant professor at the Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Tsukuba in Japan, told Live Science in an email.

An illustration of the enormous carcharodontosaur Ulughbegsaurus with the smaller tyrannosaur Timurlengia. (Image credit: Julius Csotonyi)

Peter Makovicky, a professor of paleontology at the University of Minnesota who was not involved in the study, agreed that U. uzbekistanensis was likely at the top of the local food chain. "I think this bone is so big that this would have been a very large predatory dinosaur and very likely the apex predator in its ecosystem," Makovicky told Live Science.

Image 1 of 4 This chunk of jawbone is all that paleontologists have of the ancient dinosaur Ulughbegsaurus. (Image credit: Tanaka et al 2021) Image 2 of 4 This map shows where the Ulughbegsaurus fossil was found in Uzbekistan. (Image credit: Tanaka et al. 2021) Image 3 of 4 A reconstruction of Ulughbegsaurus's upper jaw and teeth. (Image credit: Dinosaur Valley Studios) Image 4 of 4 Study researchers Kohei Tanaka (left) and Darla Zelenitsky (right). (Image credit: University of Calgary)

The U. uzbekistanensis finding is the last known occurrence of a carcharodontosaur and a tyrannosaur living together before the carcharodontosaurs went extinct, the team said. The team found that U. uzbekistanensis has unique bony bumps above its teeth. However, it also has bony ridges on the sides of its jaw that were similar to the 79.5 million-year-old tyrannosaur Thanatotheristes degrootorum (whose name means " reaper of death ") from what is now Canada. It's unclear why both species have these ridges, but perhaps it's a case of convergent evolution , when species that aren't closely related evolve to have similar characteristics, Zelenitsky said.

The study was published online Wednesday (Sept. 8) in the journal Royal Society Open Science .

Originally published on Live Science.
Under Jerusalem: The Buried History of the World's Most Contested City

By Andrew Lawler

Doubleday. 426 pp. $32.50

- - -

Yehuda Amichai, Israel's most celebrated poet, wrote often about Jerusalem with language and imagery that ricochets off the ancient stone walls and into a reader's heart. Jerusalem was where Amichai lived after escaping Nazi Germany; it is where he died in 2000; it is where his accessible, imaginative, descriptive style transformed him into a sort of poetic prophet.

His long, gorgeous poem "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Why Jerusalem?" has a haunting refrain. "Why, of all places, Jerusalem?" he asks repeatedly. Why not New York, Athens, Egypt, Mexico, India, Burma? Why not Babylon, Petersburg, Mecca, Rome?

What is it about this city, where ordinary life rubs up against parading pilgrims, where bombs and crucifixions commingle with church bells and the muezzin's call, where the ground is heavy with history - in Amichai's words, "submerged and sunken" - that draws adventurers, scholars and ideologues like a magnet?

That question propels the narrative of Andrew Lawler's new book, "Under Jerusalem: The Buried History of the World's Most Contested City," a sweeping tale of archaeological exploits and their cultural and political consequences told with a historian's penchant for detail and a journalist's flair for narration.

Beginning when Abraham Lincoln was in the White House, and going up until the raucous headlines of today, Lawler introduces us to an array of men and women drawn to explore the hidden tunnels, broken cisterns, collapsing walls and sewage pits that lie under a small plot of land sacred to the world's Jews, Muslims and Christians.

"Under Jerusalem" is one of several new books chasing this Indiana Jones of a tale. And it's easy to sense the allure. The archaeologists and adventurers who came to excavate the past and claim its treasures were seeking scientific knowledge, professional glory and tangible proof of their connection to the ancient biblical text. At times, their eagerness led them to burrow and bulldoze through sacred space, even if, in so doing, they disrupted centuries of civilization and rocked the foundation - physically and spiritually - of Western faith traditions.

Today, controversy over excavations in the Old City is too often framed as simply a conflict between Jews seeking to legitimize their connection to Jerusalem and Muslims resistant to those claims. But in this "city of political hypervigilance," as Lawler calls it, the real story is far more complicated.

From the beginning, and for many decades following, it was in fact Christians - first from France, then from Britain, mostly Protestants - who swooped into the Holy Land and made a holy mess. In 1863, Louis-Felicien Joseph Caignart de Saulcy of France was the first to conduct an archaeological dig in the city, fueled by the conviction that "Jerusalem's ancient heritage belonged not to those who lived in and ruled there, but to foreigners like himself," Lawler writes.

Despite angering local Jews and Muslims and infuriating Ottoman authorities, de Saulcy managed to extract a sarcophagus from the Tomb of Kings that he believed was a consort of a Judean ruler from the 7th century B.C., take it to France and eventually display it in the Louvre. Never mind that experts questioned its true identification and significance. The discovery, Lawler writes, "opened the possibility that archaeology could yield concrete proof of scripture's accuracy at a moment when advances in geology and biology had put Christianity on the defensive."

This theme - that science can be used to verify religious beliefs and national claims - courses through this narrative like the streams flowing beneath the Old City. So does the political tumult that de Saulcy's discovery ignited. Fearful of France's influence, Britain very quickly launched its own archaeological strike force. Russia also sponsored digs, while Western philanthropists poured money underground - and still do.

One can see how Jerusalem natives, particularly the Muslims who retain authority over sections of the Old City, became so hostile to outside interference in the name of science. Their homes were damaged; their businesses disrupted; their autonomy questioned; their sacred space violated.

There is another, deeper reason for this antipathy, writes Lawler: "Excavating a cistern or searching for treasure might make sense to Jerusalem's Arabs, but excavating to find your heritage did not. You were your heritage, and there was no need to find that which you had not lost. This profound cultural divide between Westerners and Arabs - and, later, between Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs - would grow wider in generations to come, with devastating consequences for all those involved."

Would that Lawler had delved more deeply into this fascinating cultural divide and the questions raised. What lies behind the compulsion to locate Jesus's tomb or King David's palace or Solomon's temple? How do we balance the drive to uncover the past with reverence for the present? There is endless detail in this book about each excavation, contextualized with discussion of the ethical dimensions and methodological advances in the expanding field of archaeology. But there were times when I wished Lawler had stepped back to explore those larger, motivational questions more fully.

That said, he displays remarkable evenhandedness in cataloguing the politicization of archaeology today, especially considering that so many characters in this book believed that God - or Adonai, or Allah, or Jesus - was on their side. Lawler also carefully narrates the dramatic and consequential rifts between the increasingly powerful Orthodox Jewish rabbinate in Jerusalem and its largely secular, scholarly counterparts.

Tragically, we see positions harden and compromise made more difficult, whether it is in Yasser Arafat's refusal to acknowledge the Jewish historical claim to the Old City or in the growing influence exerted by the fundamentalist City of David Foundation, widely known by its Hebrew acronym Elad. Sadly, too, we hear in this story echoes of broader troubling trends, as the neutral pursuit of science slams into ideology, greed, nationalism and faith.

Why, of all places, Jerusalem? Amichai offers a partial, poetic answer: "In Jerusalem," he writes, "everything is a symbol." Lawler's timely book builds on that insight, showing how and why ordinary men and women, and great empires alike, continue to seek meaning in the dirt and debris beneath this magnetic, confounding city.

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Jane Eisner is the director of academic affairs at the Columbia Journalism School. She is writing a book about Carole King.
By Elizabeth D. Samet

Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 354 pp. $28

- - -

'Looking for the Good War" is a remarkable book, from its title and subtitle to its last words some 350 pages later. It is a stirring indictment of American sentimentality about war, written by an English professor who teaches Homer, Shakespeare and Styron to future officers of the U.S. Army. Elizabeth Samet is a professor of English at West Point. Her classroom high above the Hudson River must be a lively spot.

Samet is a fine writer with a gift for powerful arguments articulated in elegant prose. Her mission is to confront her compatriots with painful truths about our capacity to romanticize the wars in our history, and especially the one often referred to as "the good war" - World War II. She ends her introduction with one of many memorable passages: American "nostalgia for the war years remains a bulwark against doubt and disillusion, a great golden age to which we can always retreat to remember who we were and might be again, seeking safety through violent conflict because once we thought we found it there, retaining a faith in the American capacity for exceptional violence. Victory in the twentieth century's second global conflict transformed the world and at the same time condemned the United States to a futile quest for another [war] just as good, just as definitive, just as transformational." Even after half a dozen readings, these two long sentences still resonate.

Samet argues that in the decades since World War II, American attitudes have changed: A country once described as "the great nation of futurity," preoccupied with enthusiastic anticipation of its glorious future, has become nostalgic for a comforting past that the culture has oversimplified and mythologized. Samet finds "a particular irony in dwelling so stubbornly in the past."

She is particularly critical of two popularizing writers of history whose work has made a powerful impression on American culture: Stephen Ambrose and Tom Brokaw. Ambrose's volumes on the men who fought World War II, from Dwight D. Eisenhower to the Willies and Joes in the trenches, were enormously popular and, Samet argues, profoundly misleading.

"Ambrose carefully sculpted his stories, all of which share a worshipful tone and largely ignore contradictions or complexities that prove disruptive to a sentimental account of American decency and goodness. He promulgated a fantasy that American soldiers somehow preserved a boyish innocence amid the slaughter required to save 'the world from barbarism.' " After dismembering Ambrose, she gives readers an intriguing review of the sociological literature on the motivations of soldiers in combat. They fight to survive and to protect their comrades; heroic patriotism is not a common attribute of men at war.

She is equally tough on Brokaw, whose "The Greatest Generation" enshrined the heroic attributes of those who fought the war or supported it on the home front. For a distinguished television journalist with a fine reputation for his reporting skills, Brokaw seemed to let his enthusiasm for his parents' generation overwhelm his journalist's skepticism.

Samet faults Brokaw's historical analysis and is impatient with his cheerleading. He depicts "a country of unparalleled unity and commitment," she writes, but ignores "the fervor and reach of the nation's fascist sympathizers" and the many divisions of opinion in the country before and during the war. She accuses him of minimizing the impact of the Great Depression of the 1930s, a national trauma whose effects were felt by virtually every American. It "arguably did more than anything," including the war, to define the "greatest" generation. She is impatient with Brokaw's hyperbole, quoting his assertion that "this is the greatest generation any society has produced. I have the facts on my side." She responds that this sweeping statement "is impossible to prove, the narrative driven less by facts than by emotion."

Samet spent long hours watching the movies and reading the popular fiction of the 1940s and 1950s in search of clues about underlying American attitudes toward the war and its aftermath. Her purpose is to challenge what she bluntly calls the myths of "the good war."

One of her favorite sources is Studs Terkel's wonderful 1984 book of interviews with Americans who lived through World War II both in uniform and at home, " 'The Good War': An Oral History of World War II." She uses Terkel's explanation for why he put quotation marks around "the good war" as the epigraph of the prologue of her book: "Quotation marks have been added, not as a matter of caprice or editorial comment, but simply because the adjective 'good' mated to the noun 'war' is so incongruous."

Terkel's classic books, composed of edited transcripts of his many interviews with a rich variety of people, Samet writes, "derive their strength from contradiction and ambiguity," qualities absent from the works of Ambrose, Brokaw and other romanticizers of World War II. The voices Terkel quotes, all recorded decades after the war ended, "range from the deeply nostalgic to the bitterly disaffected." There was no consensus among Terkel's interviewees about a good war.

Samet's survey of books and movies that she consumed to try to discover a truer sense of the World War II years is intriguing reading. One senses that this was new territory for a writer who was born a generation after the war. She writes about these movies and novels like an anthropologist discovering cultural artifacts. She is struck by the explicit and implicit descriptions of wartime reality that she found in these works, which ranged from lowbrow to high-. Many contained ambiguous and even hostile portraits of home-front attitudes toward soldiers and the war and, after the fighting ended, grim accounts of how veterans' wartime experiences poisoned their postwar lives. She did not find a "good war" in these books and movies.

She is intrigued by the devices of "film noir" movies, a popular style in the 1940s and 1950s, whose stories often contradicted conventional morality and conveyed the message that "decency doesn't always win out and that heroes and villains can prove difficult to tell apart because their methods are very much the same." Were the films that embraced this cynicism just as American as the jingoistic war movies depicting American heroism in Europe and the Pacific?

She also discovered that writers and moviemakers regularly drew parallels between veterans' wartime experiences and crime and violence in postwar America: "Through the vehicle of the crime story - blackmail, heist, even murder - these works highlight the deep ambivalence, forgotten over time, that once characterized attitudes to the war itself and those who fought it."

By the end of her book, Samet has made clear her deep frustrations with the recurring American inclination to try another dose of military adventure to cope with difficult international problems. She blames this bad habit on "a misapprehension about the meaning of American violence in the world . . . [that] leads us repeatedly to imagine that the use of force can accomplish miraculous political ends even when we have the examples of Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan to tell us otherwise." That a West Point professor is comfortable making such harsh judgments is a striking sign of our interesting times.

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Robert G. Kaiser, a former managing editor of The Washington Post, reported for the paper from Vietnam in 1969-70.
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Ecuadors Ana Maria Barragan (Alba), Brazils Joao Paulo Miranda (Memory House) and Spains Meritxell Colell (Facing the Wind) will put awaited new feature film projects through San Sebastians Ikusmira Berriak, one of Spains foremost development labs.

Also selected for 2022s edition are a second reputed Latin American auteur, Argentinas Maximiliano Schonfield (Jesus Lopez) as well as Spains Irati Gorostidi (In the Rain) and a second Catalan filmmaker, Jaume Claret (Ella y jo).

As part of an eight-week residency, Ikusmira Berriaks six directors will attend a Tabakalera tutorial Artists Space over March 14-April 24, and then return for Septembers San Sebastian Festival.

Arguably the strongest lineup in Ikusmira Berriak history, next years selection rolls of a powerful and still building film-TV ecosystem in San Sebastian.

In the case of Ikusmira Beriak, this brings together the San Sebastian Festival, the most important film event in the Spanish-speaking world, the Tabakalera International Center for Contemporary Culture and the Elias Querejeta Zine Eskola, which collectively are constructing a round-the-year hothouse for new and emerging talent.

Barragan has developed her Ikusmira project Ivy at the Zine Eskola; Claret studied there and premiered his short Ella i jo at San Sebastians Nest short film competition; Gorostidi attended the Tabakaleras Artists Space and Mirandas Memory House proved a standout at San Sebastians 2020 New Directors strand, the festivals biggest sidebar. Schonfelds Jesus Lopez opened Horizontes Latinos, San Sebastians panorama of recent Latin American features.

A drill-down on the six titles making Ikusimira Berriaks 2022 cut:

Anekumen, (Irati Gorostidi, Spain)

As Spains transition to democracy comes under new and more skeptical focus  think Alberto Rodriguezs upcoming Modelo 77  Gorostidis bold debut feature examine the defeat of radical ideas of Spains 70s as a group of libertarian militants abandon their factory work to set up a free-thinking commune in the mountains of Navarre. Observing the fragmentation of the workers movement, the film chronicles the complex contradictions in the search for a reduced and isolated social model, Gorostidi comments.

Bandeira, (Joao Paulo Miranda, Brazil, France)

Consecrated by Memory House  the only Latin American feature chosen for 2020s Cannes Official Selection  Mirandas Bandeira was described when announced as a revenge thriller to be shot in the Amazon rainforest. The Ikusmira Berriak announcement confirms more details: The project turns on Jonas, a young indigenous gold digger whos convinced that hes the chosen one to bring prosperity to his community. But gold gradually plunges him into destructive madness, endangering his own people. Bandeira follows the same line as my previous films, where my characters always fight against a nature imposed on them, Miranda says.

Frankenstein, (Maximiliano Schonfeld, Argentina)

Inspired by a chapter of Mary Shelleys book, where the Monster surreptitiously observes the daily routine of a family on a farm, much like those shot in the past by the director in Argentinas Entre Rios, a voyage through landscapes and modes of existence, Schonfeld says. It also examines the clash between word and image and asks: Is there some kind of plan for us?

Ivy, (Hiedra, Ana Cristina Barragan, Ecuador, Mexico)

The third feature from Barragan whose debut, Alba, Ecuadors Oscar submission, world premiered at the 2016 Rotterdam Festival, winning the Lions Film Award, Ivy turns on a mother, Azucena, 31, who attempts to rekindle a relation with her son, Julio, whom she abandoned after giving birth at the age of 13. The tension between mother and son who physically seem almost the same age opens up a space to explore instinct, the Oedipus Complex and anger, Barragan told Variety in January, announcing that How To Get Away With Murder star Karla Souza will play the mother.

Far from the Trees, (Lejos de los Arboles, Meritxell Colell, Spain)

A leading light of Catalunyas newest generation of directors and producers, Colells potential third feature was presented at Ventana Surs Proyecta earlier this month. It focuses on Angelica, 50, who records the sounds and stories of the high Andes, which weave together in her fevered mind, capturing the present and past, reality and imagination of the places and people of the mountains and her childhood in Mexico. A journey through listening that will push Angelica to think about who she is, who she wants to be, and where she comes from, the synopsis runs.

Strange River, (Estrany Riu, Jaume Claret, Spain)

A film which, like so many new Spanish-language arthouse features, turns on the question of identity. Brothers Didac (14) and Biel (12) bike along the banks of the Danube with their family until Didac meets and is seduced by the mysterious Alexander. As the Danube grows in leaps and bounds, Biel senses he is losing his brother. A reflection on masculinity in brotherly relations, says Claret.

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The story of three women who embark on a European train-ride tour in honor of their dearly departed friend, Off the Rails is inevitably colored by the 2020 death of Kelly Preston, who delivers her final screen performance as a member of this sorrowful trio. Such sentimental circumstances, however, cant overshadow the creakiness of Jules Williamsons film, which despite its title Laughs, tears, healing and incessant Blondie songs are all part of its rickety package, none of which is likely to help it make inroads with audiences when it debuts in theaters and on VOD on Dec. 10.

A high tolerance for corniness and the sound of Debbie Harrys voice are prerequisites for Off the Rails, whose tale swiftly reunites lonely Kate (Jenny Seagrove), motherly Liz (Sally Phillips) and discontent actress Cassie (Preston) for the funeral of their fourth musketeer, Anna. Following a service at which Annas mother (a cameoing Judi Dench) speaks, the threesome are given their friends parting wish: Along with Annas teenage daughter Maddie (newcomer Elizabeth Dormer-Phillips), theyre to retrace their old European-odyssey steps on the way to the cathedral in Palma, Italy, where once a year light shines through a stained glass window in a phenomenon known as Gods Disco Ball.

Thus begins a Eurail journey during which Kate, Liz, Cassie and Maddie celebrate life, love and friendship at the same time that they struggle with (and gripe about) old age, terrible mistakes, lingering regrets and long-simmering conflicts, the most notable being the friction between Kate and Cassie thanks to the formers long-ago decision to sleep with the latters husband. Per feel-good dramedy dictates, every stop in France, Spain and Italy begets a wacky misadventure, be it drunken drag-bar karaoke, a broken hand, a scary plane ride, a stolen boat, lost passports and money, romantic run-ins with cute men (for Maddie, a hunky Italian; for Cassie, Franco Neros local mayor) or the impromptu delivery of a strangers baby. So formulaic are these wannabe-wild incidents that it almost feels like a computer program was fed plot points from similar prior movies, and spit this one out.

Jordan Wallers script saddles each protagonist with an issue to grapple with (and overcome), from Cassies concerns about a custody battle with her ex, to Lizs marital woes, to Kates lovelorn unhappiness. Despite much chit-chat about their heyday, however, theres no real sense of how American Cassie and British Liz, Kate and Anna ever became BFFs, nor why this particular vacation is so vitally important to their shared bond. The characters dynamic feels hollow at its core, and thats exacerbated by the cliched scenarios in which the women routinely find themselves. Temporarily recapturing ones youthful spirit while simultaneously accepting and embracing middle age has rarely felt this staid.

By the soundtracks umpteenth Blondie song (some of which are repeated), Off the Rails has run aground, undone by hackneyed schmaltz. Thats no fault of the cast, who do their best to bestow their two-dimensional roles with personality  especially Preston, whose vibrant presence certainly turns these proceedings rather melancholy, especially given their focus on lifes transience and the consequent need to cherish every moment. Theres something poetically apt about Prestons swan song being a film about saying goodbye while nonetheless also reconnecting with loved ones and the past, but thats not enough to make this wobbly affair a jaunt worth taking.

Reviewed online, Dec. 8, 2021. MPAA Rating: R. Running time: 94 MIN.

Running Time: Running time: 94 MIN.

MPAA Rating: R

Production

A Screen Media Films release of a Bill Kenwright Films production in association with Black Camel Pictures, Palma Pictures. Producer: Bill Kenwright, Arabella Page Croft. Executive producers: Naomi George, Sarah Sulick, Steve Potts.

Crew

Director: Jules Williamson. Screenplay: Jordan Waller. Camera: Mike Eley. Editor: Malcolm Crowe. Music: Mario Grigorov, Gary Hickeson.

With

Kelly Preston, Jenny Seagrove, Sally Phillips, Elizabeth Dormer-Phillips, Ben Miller, Franco Nero, Judi Dench.

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The mysteries of World War II continue to unravel to this day, and one native-born Laredoan has an artifact that his father brought back from the warfront that continues to puzzle him as he wants to find the rightful owners of the artifact in question.

Native-born Laredoan J. Gilberto Quezada, an educator, author and essayist, was born in the barrio El Azteca in 1946. His father was Pedro Quezada, who was 34 years old when he was drafted into military service during World War II. Pedro Quezada was honorably discharged and left a legacy of heroism for his family, and he also left his son a Japanese soldiers helmet with a bullet hole in it. And now he is now trying to find the family of the helmets rightful owner.

I do not want to cross that holy threshold when the time comes without taking care of this very important matter, Quezada said. It has to do with the Japanese steel helmet that papa brought home after the end of World War II. My father was discharged from the United States Navy on Friday, Dec. 7, 1945, and he brought the Japanese steel helmet home and kept it all these years until he passed away on March 30, 1997. After his death, my mother gave it to me for safekeeping. I do not know how or why my father obtained the Japanese steel helmet.

According to Quezada, he wants to return the Japanese steel helmet to the family of the soldier who proudly served his country. In efforts to do this, Quezada states that he has contacted Dr. Hisashi Shichijo, who is the Honorary Consul General of Japan in Dallas, by telephone and explained his plans to return the helmet to the rightful family members.

After exchanging various emails, asking what the letters under the helmet mean and what they read in efforts to understand who it may belong to, Quezada finally got a response to what the letter on the bottom meant.

Dr. Shichijo replied and said that the letters say, SATO, with some marks in between, Quezada said. The Japanese steel helmet also has a bullet hole on one side and the remains of dried blood are still visible. Dr. Shichijo was also kind enough to provide me with the website of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare to obtain the application form for research on lost artifacts.

Quezada states that late last month, he finally finished the application for the helmet and sent it over to the corresponding organization. He also contended that he would feel better that if the family of the Japanese soldier contacted him and asked for the helmet for them to keep if they wish.

He states that he does not want any monetary compensation from delivering the helmet back to the corresponding owners.

Quezada states that as the mystery continues, he has remained in contact with Schichijo, who has praised Quezada for his efforts to try to get the helmet to the corresponding individuals.

In his last email, Dr. Shichijo made the following comment, I want to thank you for your desire to return the item to the original owner. I hope they will find the owner's family. Please let me know if you have any questions, Quezada said. After all these years, I think that it is only fair and human to find the relatives of SATO, whether they are children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren, and let them have something that belonged to their father, grandfather or great-grandfather.

As Quezada waits for someone in Japan or elsewhere to rightfully claim the helmet, he does state that if an American museum asked him for the helmet, he is more than willing to hand it over. However, he hopes that this only happens after the family of the rightful owner of the helmet is contacted first.

If an American museum would ask for it to put on display, I would gladly donate it to them, Quezada said. But my first priority is to find the family of the deceased Japanese soldier. Besides the helmet, I do not have anything else that my father brought back from the war that would be considered valuable.

As he continues to have the helmet with him, he states that he just wants it to go to the right hands but does not speculate as much or theorize about how his father got it. Quezada states that he never asked his father about it when he was alive.

I have no theories about the Japanese helmet as to how my father ended up with it, Quezada said. Did my father shoot this Japanese soldier? Honestly, I do not know. Or was he killed by another American soldier? I do not know. Or did my father find the Japanese helmet on the battlefield? Again, I do not know. I wish that when my father was alive, I could have had the foresight to have asked him these questions.

Even though Pedro Quezada did write a diary when he was in boot camp and later served on the war front, none of his writings speak about the helmet as Quezada states that the writings, in Spanish, mainly focused on his journey in becoming an active service member and this his journey home from training. As well, Quezada states that even if there were more journal entries from time abroad, these are hard to know if they even exist as he only found about seven pages worth of text that.

My dad volunteered to fight to keep us free, Quezada said. The United States was attacked by Japan and many Americans died at Pearl Harbor. And my father put his life in harm's way to save our freedom, and I will never forget his love for our country.

Even though Pearl Harbor is a date that is more intertwined to the Quezada family than to other individuals, as it was what led to his father being called to action and also due to the Japanese soldier helmet, he does state that it is not a date he honors at all.

I do not honor Pearl Harbor's Day, Quezada said. As President Franklin D. Roosevelt so eloquently stated, Dec. 7 was a day of infamy. On this day, the Japanese government attacked us in a surprise cowardly attack. However, I honor those Americans who died at Pearl Harbor and all those Americans who died during World War II, and those Americans who proudly served their country, like my father, so that we could cherish our freedom.

Ironically, the date of Pearl Harbor seems to be synonymous with Quezadas service as he remained aboard the U.S.S. Electra (AKA 4) for about three more months after the end of World War II until his honorable discharge as a Seaman First Class from the United States Navy at the USN Personnel Separation Center in Camp Wallace, Texas, on Friday, Dec. 7, 1945.

According to Quezadas research, the U.S.S. Electra (AKA 4) was involved in 12 military operations on islands that belonged to Japan and other Asian military actions at that time.

jorge.vela@lmtonline.com
JERUSALEM (AP)  Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday made a historic trip to the United Arab Emirates, the first visit by an Israeli premier, as part of a blitz of regional diplomacy against the backdrop of struggling nuclear talks with Iran.

Israel has watched with concern as Iran has pushed a hard line against negotiators meeting in Vienna, at once demanding sanctions relief while accelerating its nuclear program.

In recent weeks, Israel has dispatched its top diplomat and its defense and spy chiefs to meet allies in Europe, the U.S. and the Mideast to push for a firmer approach to Iran. The Israeli outreach has been accompanied by repeated threats to take military action against Iran if diplomacy fails.

Bennetts trip to Abu Dhabi, where he will meet with Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed, is a milestone for both Israel and its new leader. Israel and the UAE last year signed a normalization deal brokered by the Trump administration under the Abraham Accords, a series of diplomatic accords with Arab countries that also included Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. Israel and the UAE have long shared common anxiety over Irans nuclear program. The deal to establish ties between the countries only increased tensions with the Islamic Republic.

Bennett was received by an honor guard and welcomed by the UAE's foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

I am very excited to be here, on the first official visit by an Israeli leader," Bennett said. "We look forward to strengthen the diplomatic relations between the countries."

Bennetts trip comes on the heels of a visit by the UAEs national security adviser, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Tehran, where he met with Irans new hard-line president, Ebrahim Raisi, in a bid to ease tensions. It was a major visit for the Gulf Arab federation that has long viewed Iran as its main regional threat. Several other regional political visits, by Syrias foreign minister and the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Turkey, have also taken place recently, all with an eye on the negotiations.

Israel, which is not a party to the talks in Vienna, has turned to its allies to work together and lobby negotiators seeking to rein in Irans nuclear program.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid recently visited Europe and Egypt and Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Mossad chief David Barnea flew to the U.S. to discuss the talks with leaders there. Earlier this year Lapid visited the UAE and inaugurated Israel's embassy there.

Israel sees the UAE as a crucial part of that outreach to its allies. Under Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabis powerful crown prince and long the de facto ruler of the Emirates, the UAE has embarked on a rapid expansion of its military forces to counter what it sees as the threat posed by Iran. During the recent Dubai air show, Sheikh Mohammed visited the pavilion of Israel Aerospace Industries, Israel's largest state-owned defense contractor.

The Emirates also hosts U.S. and French forces and its Jebel Ali port is the U.S. Navys busiest port of call outside of America.

The Vienna negotiations are working to revive the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and six world powers. That agreement, launched by President Barack Obama, granted Iran relief from stifling sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.

But three years later, President Donald Trump, with strong encouragement from then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, withdrew from the deal, causing it to unravel. Since then, the U.S. has reimposed sanctions and Iran has stepped up its nuclear activities -- amassing a stockpile of highly enriched uranium that goes well beyond the bounds of the accord.

Prominent voices in Israel, including a former defense minister and former intelligence head, are now indicating the U.S. withdrawal, especially without a contingency plan for Irans continuously developing nuclear plan, was mishandled.

Talks resumed earlier this month in Vienna after a five-month hiatus that came following Raisis election. But negotiators ended the round disappointed, claiming Iran had backtracked on progress made in previous rounds and had dug in with new demands on sanctions relief.

Iran also isnt slowing down advances in its atomic program, further raising the stakes in talks. In the midst of the negotiations, the U.N.s nuclear watchdog confirmed that Iran had begun enriching uranium up to 20% purity at its underground facility at Fordo  a site where enrichment is not permitted under the deal.

Israel considers Iran to be its greatest enemy and it strongly opposed the 2015 deal. It says it wants an improved deal that places tighter restrictions on Irans nuclear program and addresses Irans long-range missile program and its support for hostile proxies along Israels borders. Israel also says the negotiations must be accompanied by a credible military threat to ensure that Iran does not delay indefinitely.

Iran says its nuclear program is meant for peaceful purposes.

If successful, Bennetts visit to the UAE could give him a boost at home at a time when he is under fire for a recent trip by his family abroad amid COVID travel restrictions and when the legitimacy of his leadership is still being questioned by opposition lawmakers and the voters who support them.

Bennett, who leads a small nationalist party in parliament, rose to the prime minister post following a deal struck by a panoply of political factions working to oust Netanyahu, a long-serving leader who portrayed himself as the ultimate statesman and defender of Israel.
Longford and Westmeath Education and Training Board (ETB) has been granted 223,472 to support educationally disadvantaged learners in accessing and participating in community education under the Mitigating against Educational Disadvantage Fund (MAEDF).

Longford GOAL volunteer asks people to walk a mile for a great cause this Christmas Day A Longford volunteer for humanitarian agency, GOAL, is calling on people in the county to get moving for a great cause and walk or run a mile this Christmas.

The fund was first made available in 2020, and is managed by SOLAS, with over 500 community education projects funded through the 16 Education and Training Boards (ETBs).

The projects funded varied from those designed to help support online learning, connect communities and provide social support to the most disadvantaged.

The Fund has a strong focus on building the digital infrastructure of community education providers, including providing devices and software, and increasing their capacity to deliver online learning.

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD said: "In light of the great successes of the Mitigating Against Educational Disadvantage Fund in 2020, where 5.8m was allocated to support community education, and in recognition of the continuing challenges in relation to the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, I am delighted to announce that a further 6.85 million has been granted under this Fund again this year, comprising over 1,000 initiatives.

This Fund is specifically designed to tackle educational inequalities which continue to be highlighted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and support access to community education. I would like to thank all the education providers and learners who have engaged with the system - you continue to make a great difference in your communities and your positive work in changing Irish society is to be commended.

CEO of SOLAS, Andrew Brownlee, said: When it comes to the transformative power of education, it is often said that those who are left furthest behind must be reached first. The Mitigating Against Educational Disadvantage Fund does just that, by providing much-needed funding at a local level to directly address the causes and outcomes of the most disadvantaged learners in Ireland. The great work done around Ireland by ETBs and community partners, enabled by the MAEDF, tackles adult literacy issues and re-engages learners with education - and provides this support in digital-first ways that meets the complex needs of the learners at hand.

COVID-19 highlighted significant social issues across our communities, and its vital that these issues do not remain with us long-term. Importantly, the MAEDF targets funding on digital infrastructure, which is more needed than ever in post-pandemic Irish society.

Digital technologies make up 46% of the initiatives, with learning assistance accounting for 22%, COVID-19 recovery exceptional circumstances for 17%, and outreach/mentoring for 15%.

The four categories eligible for consideration under the 2021 MAEDF are:

Digital technologies - Supply of devices where deemed to be a barrier to learning Learner assistance fund  to help where appropriate with costs Out-reach and/or Mentoring - to assist with re-engagement with learners COVID-19 Recovery Exceptional Circumstances

The purpose of the Fund is to assist ETBs to increase their capacity, and that of community education providers, to address the decline in participation of disadvantaged learners particularly those on literacy and basic skills programmes at NFQ levels 1 to 3.

The Fund places a strong focus on community education as a mechanism to continue to support and engage with disadvantaged learners.

In addition, there is a focus on enabling the investment in building the digital infrastructure of providers and their capability to ensure that online learning/blended learning can be delivered in a way that meets the complex needs of learners.
With the highest number of patients on trolleys since the pandemic began, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has called for bespoke plans to tackle overcrowding in each hospital.

This comes as 534 patients have been recorded on the INMO Trolley Watch, including 13 patients at the Midland Regional Hospital Mullingar and 23 at the Midland Regional Hospital, Tullamore.

INMO General Secretary, Phil Ni Sheaghdha said: Todays figures are a real nightmare before Christmas scenario. We need to see urgent mitigation measures from individual hospitals and the HSE to tackle the number of people on trolleys.

The warning signs that trolleys would go over five hundred once again have been very obvious. This is a predictable event. Overcrowded hospitals reduce the ability to deliver safe care. With this pandemic it is even more important that the HSE take all necessary steps to avoid the overcrowded wards and emergency departments becoming the source of infection.

We are once again calling for a fully-funded workforce plan, and adequate health and safety measures including enhanced ventilation in our hospitals."

A spokesperson for the Ireland East Hospital Group has said that Regional Hospital Mullingars Adult and Paediatric Emergency Departments are both extremely busy this morning.

The spokesperson continued, "The hospital is in escalation and the teams are working to manage the current Adult and Paediatric In-Patient and Covid-19 Bed Capacity together with Scheduled Care. We would ask patients to consider their options before attending the Emergency Departments.

"If you do come to ED and are not triaged as seriously ill, you may need to wait for a long period to be seen. Adult and Paediatric Patients who require urgent care will be prioritised.

"Hospital Management would like to thank the public for their support and understanding during this period."
A Longford volunteer for humanitarian agency, GOAL, is calling on people in the county to get moving for a great cause and walk or run a mile this Christmas.

The event, which has taken place at Connolly Barracks every Christmas Day for decades, will be virtual this year due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, but organiser Tiernan Dolan says it will go ahead "come rain, hail, sleet or snow".

According to Tiernan, approximately a hundred people participate in the annual event, with last year's group socially distancing throughout.

He said, "It's a Longford tradition, the same people turn up year after year, some people who have come home for Christmas from all over the world come together for a quick meet up and to do something a little different."

Tiernan says it's important to remember to do things for others at this time of year, particularly as it's been such a trying time for so many people.

"At a time of plenty it's good to be able to give back a little bit, and even to get out of the house as well on Christmas day to sort of shake off the cobwebs for a period of time. You are doing something positive and not self-indulgent, just thinking about other people who are incredibly less well off than ourselves."

He has been abroad with GOAL fifteen times, to places such as Honduras and Haiti, and said, "I've seen where the money goes and it makes a huge difference. The need over there is even more so now than ever before, I think."

Although a donation of 10 per person is encouraged, any amount of money is greatly appreciated. "Every single cent is good. There's no particular goal on how much to raise, everything is very gladly accepted. We say ten euro here can be the equivalent of well over two hundred any place else. It does, it makes a huge difference. Even if they have one euro, it's more than welcome."

Usually participants walk from Connolly Barracks through the town at 12pm noon, but people can participate in other ways if preferred, for example by walking a mile at home.

According to Tiernan, the initiative has raised well over 100,000 to date.

"I've been involved with GOAL for a long time, the amount raised locally has been per capita the highest of any county in Ireland. Longford people are very generous, extremely generous, I couldn't praise them enough. I have hundreds of stories of being given money down the town before I went abroad as well. I can't thank the people enough for their support over many decades."



Tiernan expressed thanks to Gardai, all supporters, and Longford Leader photographer, Shelley Corcoran, for turning up to photograph the event every year, as well as former Officer Commanding of Connolly Barracks, Ciaran Dalton.
(Alliance News) - 4D Pharma PLC announced on Monday it has seen positive results from part A of its phase I/II trials for its asthma treatment known as MRx-4DP0004.

The Leeds-based pharmaceutical company said part A of the trial met its primary endpoint and said that the safety profile of its treatment was comparable to the placebo. No serious adverse events related to treatment were reported.

The treatment had previously demonstrated the ability to reduce airway inflammation in a pre-clinical model of severe asthma.

The phase I/II trial was a multi-centre, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in patients with partly controlled asthma taking long-term medication. The primary endpoint of part A was to evaluate the safety and tolerability of the treatment, with secondary endpoints evaluating clinical activity.

It enrolled 34 patients randomized at a one-to-one ratio to receive MRx-4DP0004 or a placebo twice daily for 12 weeks, in addition to their usual maintenance therapy.

4D Pharma said the treatment generated promising signals of clinical activity, which has supported progression into Part B of the study. Part B is expected to enrol up to 90 patients, informed by the clinical signals identified in part A.

Shares in 4D Pharma were down 1.5% at 58.51 pence on Monday in London.

By Heather Rydings; heatherrydings@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
(Alliance News) - Aferian PLC on Monday said it expects to report improved annual results in line with board expectations, while also announcing a new banking facility and a new chair.

For the financial year that ended November 30, the Leeds-based media technology company said it expects revenue of USD92.0 million, up 11% from USD82.7 million the previous year.

The company said it expects to report adjusted operating profit growth of more than 10%. Last year, this was USD10.5 million, so suggesting at least USD11.6 million for financial 2021.

Aferian said it had a strengthened net cash position of USD14.0 million as of November 30, up 47% from USD9.5 million a year before. Aferian added that this improved net cash position is despite its expectation that it will report a net working capital outflow for the year as a whole.

Aferian also announced a new committed loan facility of USD50 million, signed with Barclays Bank PLC, Silicon Valley Bank and Bank of Ireland Group PLC. The facility has a three-year term with options to extend by one or two years and offers a further USD50 million by way of an accordion.

Aferian said Mark Wells has been appointed the company's new non-executive chair, effective from January. Wells will replace Karen Bach who has been in the position for six years. Wells had previously worked as chief executive of California-based visual effects company, Image Metrics, as well as non-executive director for Kofax Inc, a California-based intelligent automation software provider.

Aferian said it expects to release its full-year results during the week starting February 7.

Shares in Aferian PLC were up 0.1% at 159.70 pence on Monday afternoon in London.

By Heather Rydings; heatherrydings@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
(Alliance News) - Fitch Ratings affirmed the UK's AA- rating and Stable outlook late on Friday, hailing the nation's "rapid economic recovery" but warning on the effects of the Omicron variant.

Key to the UK's long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating is its fast economic recovery following a lockdown which concluded earlier this year. Fitch also hailed the UK's speedy vaccination campaign and government wage and employment help measures.

For 2021, Fitch expects the UK economy to advance 6.9%, before easing to 5.0% growth in 2022.

"High household savings and robust labour market dynamics support the strength in household spending, and investment is incentivised by the capital allowance super-deduction. The tax increases scheduled for 2022 will partly fund the planned increase in departmental spending including on health and social care, as well as on environmental policies and the government's levelling up agenda for the north of England," Fitch explained.

There are risks, however, notably the emergence of the Omicron Covid-19 variant.

In a televised, pre-recorded address on Sunday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain "must urgently reinforce our wall of vaccine protection" as he set a new deadline of jabbing everyone over 18 by the new year.

The UK has already set out 'Plan B' Covid-19 measures, including the use of vaccine passports in large events.

"Over the medium term, growth will fall to 2.2% in 2023, before easing towards 2.0% as the output gap closes by 2026. Fitch estimates that the UK's potential growth rate is 1.4%, 0.2pp below pre-pandemic levels," the ratings agency added.

"We consider that Brexit has reduced medium-term growth prospects and weighs on the recovery in terms of trade volumes and adding to the current labour market constraints. Trade with the EU remains significantly below pre-pandemic levels, and acute labour shortages in sectors such as transportation and agriculture are exacerbated by a more rigid immigration regime, which could become a more permanent source of pressure for the labour market. Continued uncertainty over the implementation and evolution of the Trade Cooperation Agreement with the EU, including the current discussion regarding the Northern Ireland protocol, could exacerbate the challenges to medium-term growth."

The UK and EU are to step up efforts to reach an agreement on the Northern Ireland Protocol before Christmas after negotiators last week once again failed to reach an accord.

After another week in the laboured talks on solving the issues thrown up by the Brexit border deal, UK minister David Frost on Friday said he and European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic had still not reached agreement.

By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
4Global PLC - London-based data, services and software for sporting events and the promotion of physical activity - Says it has been awarded a USD500,000 contract with the Peruvian government commencing immediately. Says USD100,000 of the contract is expected to be delivered and recognised in the current financial year ending March 31, 2022 with the balance due next year.

Chief Executive Officer Eloy Mazon says: "We are delighted to have yet again been appointed to assist the UK Government providing technical advice on this significant Peruvian schools project and we very much look forward with enthusiasm to working with all parties to create outstanding outcomes. 4GLOBAL's appointment to this third project reflects the success of earlier projects where some outstanding results were achieved."

Current stock price: 87.53 pence, down 3.8% from 91.00p IPO price

By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Superdielectrics Group PLC - developing technology to build supercapacitors to help create clean and sustainable global energy - Now expects admission to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange to take place in mid-January 2022.

In November, Superdielectrics said it had expected to list in early December, through a placing of GBP20 million on admission.

WH Ireland remains the company's sole broker and nominated adviser.

By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
(Alliance News) - International Public Partnerships Ltd said on Monday it has made a AUD17 million investment into a Flinders University project.

The London-based investment company said the project was rewarded as part of a consortium that included Amber Infrastructure Group Holdings Ltd and Tetris Capital Pty Ltd.

The investment will give the company 100% of the equity and a 25-year lease arrangement with Flinders University for its health and medical research building. The facility will revert to the university at the expiry of the lease term.

International Public Partnerships said the total project is estimated to cost AUD255 million.

Tetris Capital will provide ongoing management services while Melbourne-based construction company Hansen Yuncken has been appointed by the university to carry out the project build.

National Australia Bank will provide 100% of the debt required to fund the project.

Shares in International Public Partnerships were down 0.2% at 168.20 pence on Monday morning in London.

By Heather Rydings; heatherrydings@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
(Alliance News) - Keller Group PLC has won a USD160 million deal connected to the development of an energy site in the Gulf Coast region of the US, the London-based geotechnical contractor said Monday.

"The contract is expected to mobilise in 2022 and conclude in 2023 and comprises ground preparation, primarily through soil stabilisation, for the construction of an energy facility," Keller said.

Shares in Keller were up 1.6% at 918.00 pence in London on Monday morning.

The pact was won by its Recon Services subsidiary, with the project similar to work that Recon has performed at other energy facilities in the region. Keller bought Recon back in July for an initial USD23 million in cash from Oaktree Capital Management.

Once the Gulf Coast project mobilises, Keller will pay an additional earn-out for the Recon acquisition. In July, the company said the acquisition consideration could rise to up to USD38 million.

"This contract award reflects Recon's and Keller's excellent track record using soil stabilisation and Keller's extensive experience in similar energy construction projects around the world. The addition of Recon to the group strategically aligns to our objective of increasing Keller's market presence in our chosen local markets, and leveraging the synergy opportunities available as a consequence of being part of the Keller Group," commented Michael Speakman, Keller chief executive.

By Will Paige; willpaige@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
(Sharecast News) - Stocks in London are being called to start the session a tad higher even after the Prime Minister warned that the country was facing a "tidal wave" of Covid-19 infections due to the new Omicron variant.

"There is a tidal wave of Omicron coming, and I'm afraid it is now clear that two doses of vaccine are simply not enough to give the level of protection we all need," Boris Johnson said on Sunday night.



Everyone aged 18 and over in England would have the chance to receive a booster shot before the New Year, he added.



Just hours before, the UK had raised its Covid alert level from three to four.



As of 0534 GMT, futures tracking the FTSE 100 were rising by 9.5 points to 7,305.50.



Over the weekend, the results of a study in South Africa appeared to show that two shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine only offered 22.5% efficacy in protecting against symptomatic infection from the omicron variant - although they could stave off severe disease.



Nevertheless, other studies showed that providing a third shot of the same vaccine could boost protection against omicron to as high as 75%.



No major economic data was scheduled for release in the UK or US on Monday.



Homeserve tidies up the house



Home repairs and improvement business HomeServe, said it had sold policies shared with Piedmont Natural Gas Company to the same affinity partner for around $22m. The deal between Homeserve and US-based Piedmont was due to expire next April. Homeserve decided to sell the policy book rather than continue managing it in a run-down to the end of the arrangement.



Dunelm revealed on Monday that chief financial officer Laura Carr will leave the group in June 2022 to take up a new position elsewhere. Dunelm also stated that it had continued to see "strong trading momentum" since its first quarter trading update back in October.
Passion meets compassion as Power Mac Center launches Project Mithi





Premier Apple partner Power Mac Center officially launched Project Mithi, an earnest call for customers to fulfill their aspirations with compassion. This Christmas, part of the sales of its 2021 holiday shopping catalogue until December 12 will be donated to Best Buddies Philippines, a nonprofit organization dedicated to nurturing genuine one-to-one friendships for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and providing them employment opportunities.









Project Mithi invites our customers to think of the desires of their hearts and reflect on how their dreams can be a source of warmth and love for others. Its been a difficult time for everyone, but even more so for the most vulnerable members of our society. And so, this Christmas, we aim to make a difference in the lives of Best Buddies beneficiaries to also raise awareness and promote inclusion and acceptance of our individual uniqueness, said Joey Alvarez, Power Mac Center Director of Product Management, Marketing and Space Planning.









Amazing deals all month long

The holiday catalogue helps customers check off their gift lists with specially curated lineups of tech items that are sure to make the receiver feel the warmth of the most wonderful time of the year. In partnership with Adam Elements, AfterShokz, Ambi, Aukey, Belkin, Bose, Catalyst, Elago, JBL, Laut, OtterBox, PanzerGlass, Popsockets, Sony, STM, SwitchEasy, Tucano, Zagg, and 59S, Power Mac Center is making gift-giving even more exciting with big discounts on Apple and non-Apple accessories and products featured weekly for the entire month of December.

Customers can get up to 15% off on select Apple accessories and Beats by Dre products via non-installment payments (cash, straight credit card, debit card, bank transfer, check, HomeCredit, GCash, GrabPay, WeChat, AliPay, PayMaya, Hello Money, UnionPay, BDO Pay, and Wirecard). This includes mice, keyboards, bags, notebook cases, watch bands, and iPhone and iPad cases.

Meanwhile, non-Apple products including select brands of audio accessories, sterilizers, mice, cleaning sprays, Mac accessories, cables, connectors, power banks, cable chargers, iPhone and iPad cases, and screen protectors are discounted up to 30% off.

Contests showcasing various kinds of love

In the spirit of merry-making, Power Mac Center also aims to spread love on social media. It is holding not one but three online contests to celebrate various kinds of love: inclusivity on Facebook, self-love on Instagram, and compassion on TikTok.

The Facebook contest Show A Talent With Your Buddy invites participants to showcase the unique talents of their buddies with intellectual and developmental disabilities to spread good vibes and promote meaningful social connections aimed at nurturing a more inclusive culture.

On Instagram, users must capture a photo using an iPhone that summarizes personal goals and dreams this holiday season to join Unwrap the Gift of Self-Love. The TikTok contest, meanwhile, encourages everyone to be an advocate of kindness and happiness anywhere they are. Participants must showcase how they can make others feel the love this holiday season.

Power Mac Center is giving away Apple devices including an iPad (9th Generation) and Apple Pencil (1st Generation), Beats Solo Pro Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones, and an Apple TV 4K 32GB, plus gift certificates for the most creative entries.

For more information about the deals and discounts available via Project Mithi and the full mechanics of the contests, go to powermaccenter.live <https://bit.ly/3DfjM0Y>. Browse through Power Mac Centers offerings, including the latest Apple devices, through <powermaccenter.com> and take advantage of its Enhanced Contactless or EC Shopping options at <https://bit.ly/3G3FBCH>. You may also join the Power Mac Center Viber community at <https://bit.ly/PMConViber> for daily updates on product promos and announcements.





Per DTI Fair Trade Permit No. FTEB-132192 Series of 2021.








FRANKFORT  The Benzie County Sheriffs Office is calling reports of somebody entering the water at Frankfort beach on Sunday evening a false alarm.

Benzie County Undersheriff Greg Hubers said the sheriffs office got a call around 6:30 p.m. about a person entering the water from the pier when there was dangerous wind and wave activity. The sheriffs office, as well as the Frankfort Police Department, Frankfort Fire Department and United States Coast Guard responded to the call.

Hubers said the search lasted for about two hours, with the Coast Guard helicopter searching the water and the Frankfort Fire Department searching the shore. A follow up beach search was done by the Frankfort Police Department today.

A caller had thought they saw somebody go off the pier, Hubers said. There were some other people close to the beach who said they saw several kiteboarders out there, but the kiteboarders left the beach before we got there. We werent able to confirm anybody went into the water from the pier.

Hubers said even though there was no confirmation that somebody entered the water from the pier, first responders did the search anyway out of an abundance of caution.

We treat every call like it happened, he said. Lake Michigan was angry; the water was really whipping up.

Hubers said the Coast Guard helicopter crew was already on a training mission when it responded.

While people still traverse the pier at Frankfort in the winter, the U.S. Army Corpse of Engineers warns that pier structures on the Great lakes become more dangerous during the winter months.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers urges caution around Great Lake piers, breakwaters and jetties, particularly during times of high wind and wave events, reads the Army Corps website. Many accidents and incidents near harbor structures occur during the turbulent weather season late in the year and higher than normal water levels pose an added threat. The lakeshore attracts local residents and visitors alike and some may not be aware of the powerful impacts that strong winds, storms and high water levels can bring.

Earlier in the year, the City of Frankfort installed several lights at the beach to warn visitors and residents of dangerous weather conditions that could make traversing the pier or swimming risky. Those lights are not active in the winter.

According to the Great Lakes Surf and Rescue Project, 38 people have drown in Lake Michigan in 2021, with two more people in unknown condition after drowning.
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. (AP)  Officials have released the name of a 46-year-old Steamboat Springs man who was killed when his plane crashed at the top of Emerald Mountain in northern Colorado.

Steamboat Pilot & Today reports Dr. Clint Devin was flying into Steamboat Springs from Cody, Wyoming, when he crashed Friday evening. Routt County Search and Rescue volunteers used snowmobiles to access the top of the mountain. Devin, who was the only one on board, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Indian model Harnaaz Sandhu was crowned the 2021 Miss Universe in a ceremony that took place on December 12 at Universe Dome in Eilat, Israel.

Curiously, there hasn't been a single Miss Universe from India in more than two decades, with Lara Dutta being the last Indian to win the prize 21 years ago, back in 2000.

As many as 80 contestants from various countries participated in the competition, with Miss Paraguay Nadia Ferreira being runner-up, followed by second runner-up Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane.

The person to hand the crown to Sandhu was Miss Universe 2020 Andrea Meza from Mexico, with the event having been live-streamed online and hosted by American television and radio presenter Steve Harvey.

Last year's competition was held in May as it had to be postponed for around five months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu ATEF SAFADI EFE

Israeli Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov expressed his joy for the fact that the event was held in Israel, who have been trying to promote their tourism through international events held in their country.

"Despite the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic placed in our path, we knew how to maintain the balance between health and the economy, to bring tourism back to Israel," Razvozov declared.

"We needed to create tourism anchors that will promote and present Israel to the world as a vaccination nation that invites tourists to visit. The Miss Universe pageant is, without [a] doubt, an important and significant anchor of this plan."

Who is Harnaaz Sandhu?

Sandhu is 21 years old, but she took her first steps into modelling several years ago, having won awards such as Times Fresh Face Miss Chandigarh 2017, Miss Max Emerging Star India 2018 and Femina Miss India Punjab 2019.

She was also crowned Miss Universe India 2021 in October and has participated in various Punjabi films such as Yaara Diyan Poo Baran and Bai Ji Kuttange.
Stimulus checks have been incredibly helpful for millions of people in the United States of America during the COVID-19 pandemic, but with these payments from federal government having now stopped, state governments are now responsible for providing their citizens with financial aid packages. Many people are left wondering what benefits are on offer where they live, as some states are offering a fourth stimulus check while other states have alternative options.

The financial support available in the USA goes beyond stimulus checks thanks to tax breaks, extended benefits programs, unemployment benefits increases, Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit and other creative initiatives in certain states.

Our comprehensive guide of all of the aid available in each of the United States' 50 states will make life slightly easier, as you'll be able to quickly see where stimulus checks are being prepared and how much money is being given out. We will also tell you how to qualify and apply for the payments.

Stimulus Checks Updates - Latest Stimulus news

A number of states have already sent out fourth stimulus checks, while others are preparing to bring in new legislation that will help Americans this December. With 2021 coming to an end, each state is already planning ahead for their future financial aid plans.

From Alabama to Wyoming, here is our comprehensive state-by-state guide of the stimulus checks and payments offered to citizens and where.

Alabama Stimulus

In the state of Alabama, the likelihood of another stimulus check is not high. The state government launched the 'Altogether' campaign, but this isn't providing residents or business with much COVID-19 relief. Updates from the Alabama state government are scarce, with the latest news out of the state being that Gov. Kay Ivey has signed into law numerous bills that would pave the way for the state to start the construction of new prisons using federal aid money

Want to know more? Find out the latest news about the Alabama Stimulus

Alaska Stimulus

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy wants to transfer the additional revenues the state earned in November from increased oil production to the pockets revenues, saying "it's entirely within our capacity to help residents manage their bills with a supplemental PFD of 1,236 dollars". PFD stands for Permanent Fund Dividend and the state government is pushing for this, in order to help families. The state is also looking to help residents with their winter heating bills.

Arizona Stimulus

In Arizona, there's bad news as there's little sign of the state offering a new form of financial aid amid COVID-19, with Governor Doug Ducey set to use federal money to encourage people to find employment rather than paying people not to work. The state's Back to Work Program is offering a one-off 1,000 dollar payment for unemployed persons who accept part-time work and 2,000 dollars to any unemployed person who takes on a full-time post.

Arkansas Stimulus

Arkansas has even gone to court in a legal battle against its own residents after ending federal unemployment benefits worth 300 dollars per week early. There were 26 states that ended this support early and Arkansas was one of them, suggesting this isn't a state keen to give our money to its citizens. But, Arkansas is providing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) initiative, which offers support for low-income families when it comes to buying food.

Want to know more? Find out the latest news about the Arkansas Stimulus

California Stimulus - Golden State Stimulus II

California is the state that has been the most helpful to its citizens so far, launching the Golden State Stimulus in two parts: Golden State Stimulus I and Golden State Stimulus II. The checks of Golden State Stimulus II were for between 600 dollars and 1,100 dollars and should have been received by October 31. But, some of those who filed taxes late or who were due to receive paper checks might instead receive their new stimulus check in December.

Want to know more? Find out the latest news about the California Stimulus

Colorado Stimulus

Colorado still has a range of programs for those in need of financial assistance. As the state government put it, "Despite the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines, the pandemic and its economic consequences continue to affect Colorado and we recognize that Coloradans still need human services". On the state government website, there are links for people to apply for: cash assistance (TANF), child care assistance, employment assistance, energy assistance (LEAP) and food assistance (SNAP).

Connecticut Stimulus

Connecticut's "Back to Work" plan involved the provision of a 1,000 dollar check to eligible applicants who got back into the workforce after eight weeks off of unemployment. This was announced by Governor Ned Lamont in September 2021 and still applies in December 2021.

Delaware Stimulus

Delawareans aren't receiving stimulus checks this December, but the state has spent 50 million dollars of federal stimulus money on job training for unemployed people and students, deciding that getting people back to work is the best economic stimulus.

Florida Stimulus

In Florida, there was a fourth stimulus check, of a 1,000 dollar payment. But, this was just for certain employees, such as teachers and first responders. These one-time payments for workers in Florida were a thank you to those who stepped up during the pandemic.

Georgia Stimulus

Georgia is another state that has looked after educators. The plan was for full-time teachers and administrators to pocket 1,000 dollars and part-time teachers to take 500 dollars. Payments were also expected for pre-K educators.

Hawaii Stimulus

In Hawaii, lawmakers sought to offer 2,200 dollars to teachers, yet it was vetoed by Governor David Ige, as he said that lawmakers didn't have the authority to instruct the Department of Education on how to utilise federal money. But, Ige has looked to help Hawaii residents through other payments and his island's government will use federal funds to offset some everyday costs for Hawaiians, such as in education.

Idaho Stimulus

In Idaho, taxpayers received a one-time tax refund of 50 dollars. But, this was just a one-time payment and is already long forgotten by residents who had hoped for a larger payment. Idaho was also one of the first states to withdraw from the federal unemployment benefits, so it has been tough there.

Illinois Stimulus

In Illinois, there were never any plans for a state-level stimulus check. But, the state has been generous with several of the other benefits, such as unemployment benefits, child tax credit and earned income tax credit.

Indiana Stimulus

Indiana governor Eric Holcomb ended unemployment benefits early, doing so on June 19. That was well ahead of the September 6 end date that was written in the American Rescue Plan. Jobseekers in Indiana took action against the state and a legal battle broke out. After much toing and froing, the end result was that Indiana kept paying federal unemployment benefits to those eligible until the federal end date, reluctantly. But, this isn't a state looking to provide much financial aid, if it can be avoided.

Iowa Stimulus

From the start, there were no plans in Iowa for a fourth stimulus check to be paid out at the state level. This was also one of the first states to pull out of the federal unemployment programs.

Kansas Stimulus

According to Internal Revenue Service records, the state of Kansas either refused, paid back or failed to cash over 17 million dollars in stimulus checks (12,921 checks). However, there is currently no new information on whether Kansas will be offering further stimulus checks.

Kentucky Stimulus

A rise in unemployment in Kentucky led to non-concrete talk of a new round of stimulus payments, but there is already good news in the state as a result of the cost-of-living adjustment of 5.9 percent next year, which is the largest increase since 1982. With 1,009,092 Kentucky residents receiving Social Security benefits at the last count, many Kentucky residents will receive a financial boost this way.

Want to know more? Find out the latest news about the Kentucky Stimulus

Louisiana Stimulus

Louisiana has suffered not only from the coronavirus but also from Hurricane Ida. As such, there is financial support for those in Louisiana. The Red Cross has worked to get emergency financial assistance to residents whose homes were severely impacted by Hurricane Ida, while survivors may be eligible for a one-time payment per household of 500 dollars from the government, as well as support for temporary housing.

Maine Stimulus

Maine is one of the states not planning another round of stimulus payments before the end of 2021.

Maryland Stimulus

Maryland was one of the most generous states in terms of coronavirus relief payments, with no state or local taxes levied on unemployment benefits. The state also gave out a stimulus check between 300 dollars and 500 dollars for those who filed for earned income tax credit. Plus, some 700m dollars were set aside for farmworkers and meat packers.

Massachusetts Stimulus

It seems that Massachusetts does not have another stimulus payment coming, with much of the coronavirus relief money in recent months having gone towards areas such as housing.

Michigan Stimulus

In a bid to boost the locals' economic situation in Michigan, the state sent 500 dollar hazard pay bonuses to their teachers. But, there was controversy as lawmakers also used the coronavirus relief funds to pay themselves these hazard pay bonuses, which they had to then return.

Minnesota Stimulus

It has just been reported in Minnesota that the state didn't actually lose any tax money during the coronavirus pandemic. This means there is a huge surplus and state legislators are working out what to spend this one. Some are calling for infrastructure investment, while Minnesotans hope there could be another stimulus check.

Mississippi Stimulus

Mississippi was one of the first states where the unemployment benefits stimulus payments ended early and there are currently no plans for more stimulus checks to be paid out. The conversation right now is instead on how to spend the 1.8 billion dollars from the American Rescue Plan.

Want to know more? Find out the latest news about the Mississippi Stimulus

Missouri Stimulus

Missouri residents haven't had much financial support, compared to other states. This was even one of the first states to end the federal unemployment benefits program.

Montana Stimulus

In Montana, state officials decided early on not to provide more stimulus checks, instead using coronavirus funding for local infrastructure projects, including 86 water and sewer projects around the state.

Nebraska Stimulus

In November of 2021, Nebraska's unemployment rate was just 2.2 percent. That's the lowest of all states, so there is little pressure on state lawmakers to send out more stimulus checks.

Nevada Stimulus

Nevada received a lot of federal funds, but this isn't going on a fourth stimulus check. But, the Child Tax Credit sees between 3,000 and 3,600 dollars per child handed to almost all working families in Nevada. Half of the credit is going out in monthly payments, which started going out in July and will continue until December 2021, while the remaining half will be given through 2021 tax refunds. The state of Nevada is doing very well in terms of its response from the COVID-19 pandemic, with the gaming industry in the state bringing in around a billion dollars a month, although they recognise that once stimulus checks are a thing of the past this may decrease.

New Hampshire Stimulus

An American family of three with no income in New Hampshire receives a grant worth 1,086 dollars per month. That is the main financial aid at this time.

New Jersey Stimulus

A fourth stimulus check is not expected in New Jersey, but residents could be entitled for 500 dollar tax rebates.

New Mexico Stimulus

Stimulus check payments were due by the end of November in New Mexico, as the state was providing stimulus checks to more than 4,000 low-income residents. They could collect up to 750 dollars in financial support. People could still apply as recently as October, but now that deadline has passed.

New York Stimulus

New York has taken some alternative approaches to supporting residents through this difficult time. Governor Kathy Hochul has brought in a higher Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payment as of October, for example. In New York, there is also a 2.1 billion dollar fund for undocumented workers who were unable to claim financial aid via the federal stimulus. And, the state will distribute 100m dollars to workers in tourism-related jobs that have disappeared, starting from November.

North Carolina Stimulus

There is currently no new information out of North Carolina regarding stimulus payments and other forms of financial aid.

North Dakota Stimulus

In August 2021, the US Department of Education gave the green light to North Dakota to use its American Rescue Plan funds to support K-12 schools and students, with 101m dollars allocated to the state in this area. Some payments took time to come out, though, and some of those eligible are still waiting.

Ohio Stimulus

There are no plans for a fourth stimulus check in Ohio, although the state has organised a number of alternative initiatives to help residents and these can be found on the state's website.

Oklahoma Stimulus

Oklahoma's approach was to try to ease unemployment numbers, which is why the state offered a one-time payment of 1,200 dollars to those who got off unemployment benefits and back to work.

Oregon Stimulus

There have been no new updates since August on COVID-19 related relief funds for Oregon residents.

Pennsylvania Stimulus

Pennsylvania hasn't offered residents new stimulus payments. Considering the state reportedly has 7bn dollars in unspent federal funds, this is causing some anger.

Rhode Island Stimulus

Workers in Rhode Island were hoping for a fourth stimulus check of 1,400 dollars for Social Security recipients. Despite online campaigns, it has not come to fruition.

South Carolina Stimulus

Through Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan Act, 8.8bn dollars was allocated to South Carolina. A lot of that money will go to education, but there is still some coronavirus relief money that hasn't yet been allocated. "We've got a lot of money we can use and we're in a great position to make some big steps, some transformative steps," said Governor Henry McMaster.

South Dakota Stimulus

South Dakota was the only state that chose not to receive the federally funded 300 dollar weekly unemployment benefit, in the form of the Lost Wages Assistance, which was issued for up to six weeks starting in August.

Tennessee Stimulus

In Tennessee, there have been a fresh round of payments, but only to some workers. A bill was passed by the Tennessee state legislature to give teachers hazard pay to show appreciation to educators during the pandemic. Full-time teachers were to get 1,000 dollars and part-time teachers will 500 dollars. These checks are due to be received before the end of 2021, so these checks should arrive in December if they haven't already.

Texas Stimulus

Nothing state-wide has been confirmed, but some school districts are increasing their teachers' pay. For example, Fort Worth and Arlington will increase the pay of district employees by four percent. Denton and Mansfile will increase pay by two percent, while Denton employees will also be given a bonus of 500 dollars.

Utah Stimulus

In July, it was announced that Utah households received the most valuable stimulus checks in the third round of payments, with the average check worth 2,784 dollars. That, plus the fact that the state had the second-lowest unemployment rate in November 2021, of 2.9 percent, means no more stimulus checks are planned.

Vermont Stimulus

It might not be a normal stimulus check as we've come to know them, but there is money to be made in Vermont for those who relocate to the state. The new worker relocation grants will reimburse up to 7,500 dollars to those who moved to the state after July 1 of 2021, while this money will also be available for those who move to the state as remote workers as of February of 2022.

Virginia Stimulus

There are no state-wide plans for a new stimulus check, but one small town in Virginia is planning to give their residents some more money themselves.

Washington Stimulus

Despite calls for a fourth round of checks in Washington, the state has cooled talks of such a possibility.

West Virginia Stimulus

In West Virginia, there were thousands of stimulus checks that were left unclaimed. The state government pushed for people to check their eligibility and it is still possible to do so. Elsewhere, the state government is focusing on helping residents in serious need through emergency housing vouchers.

Want to know more? Find out the latest news about the West Virginia Stimulus

Wisconsin Stimulus

Wisconsin brought in the Wisconsin Emergency Rental Assistance (WERA) program earlier in 2021, while the state also has an Emergency Assistance program that could see in-need families given a one-off payment.

Wyoming Stimulus

The likelihood of another stimulus check is not high in Alabama. The state government launched the 'Altogether' campaign, but this isn't providing residents or business with much COVID-19 relief. Updates from the Alabama state government are scarce, with the latest news out of the state being that Gov. Kay Ivey has signed numerous bills into law that would pave the way for the state to start the construction of new prisons using federal aid money.
France

Dec. 13, 2021

France

Germany

the Netherlands

Belgium

Alexandre Joly

the Netherlands

France

Hong Kong

Bangalore

Alexandre Joly

Alexandre Joly

PERTUIS,/PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The European Covid Green Pass has become the sesame of many events in our lives. It is now required in most European countries to gain access to public transport, restaurants, bars, cinemas, stadiums, or even whole areas in certain cities. However, in most cases, the Green Pass is read offline without an ID verification, which opens the way to many fraud attempts. For instance, people use a QR-code screenshot or simply use the QR-code of another person.To fight this issue, the Dutch government has decided that it is now mandatory to check the identity of the Green Pass owner whenever it is used. ScanID, a Dutch systems integrator and long-term partner of Elyctis, has built a solution that uses an Elyctis ID BOX One 121 to read the identity of each Green Pass holder. The application is able to support all types of IDs, including, of course, Dutch national ID cards and driving licenses, as well as ePassports and many other European e-ID documents. The Elyctis ID BOX One reads the MRZ from the document and uses its contents to access the biographic data from the chip: first and last name, month and year of birth, gender and nationality. At the same time, a reader accesses the data from the QR-code presented by the user, verifies its certificate and collects the same data. Access is only granted if the QR-code allows so and data match between the e-ID document and the Green Pass.Besides the European standard Green Pass, ScanID application is able to read national Covid passes issued by the health authorities in the UK,and. Also, as some QR-codes are known to be counterfeited, the application checks the reading against a blacklist before allowing access to customers. As a Green Pass only has a limited validity in time, the application checks if the dates of vaccination, test or recovery certificate are compliant with official regulations.The system is used in a wide set of circumstances. In some cases, the restaurants, bars and other venues directly check the Covid Pass and the identity of customers, in other contexts such as markets, a single access point is set up where the Covid Pass and the identity of people are verified before they are issued a wristband they can use to access various establishments., Elyctis CEO, declares: "Checking offline a barcode without ID verification is an incredibly light approach from the European authorities. We are happy to collaborate with ScanID to bring a better security in this verification for the health of all European citizens."Martijn van Ark, ScanID R&D Tech Lead, adds: "With the combination of Elyctis ID BOX One readers and our application, we are proud to say we are making access to various venues insafer and easier."About ElyctisCreated in 2008, Elyctis mission is to supply system integrators with mobile and fixed solutions to access data of eIDs (NIC, passport, resident permits, driving license). The company specializes in the development, industrialization, production and marketing of readers and software dedicated to Secure Identity Documents (e-passport, e-ID card, e-driver license,..). The company, which now employs 20 people, has a longstanding expertise in eID projects, as well as hardware and software developments, especially in the combination of optics, antenna design, high security software and integration. Elyctis sells its products through its network of distributors and systems integrators, to whom it provides a development environment to facilitate the use of its readers. Elyctis is headquartered in Pertuis,, and has sales offices inand, Elyctis founder and CEO is a laureate of Reseau Entreprendre in 2011, and a laureate of the Reseau Entreprendre Ambition program in 2016.More information at http://www.elyctis.com, CEO, Elyctis, +33 6 27 71 37 68, press@elyctis.comSOURCE Elyctis
Government Health Scheme

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The data shall, however, retain itson health-related personal information.In addition, the Indian government had earlier launched thethe world's largest government-funded, completely cashless, and paperless, health assurance scheme on September 23, 2018.The scheme aims for providing health coverage per beneficiary family up to Rs. 5 lakh per annum to nearly 10.74 crore needy families (as identified from Socio-Economic Caste Census [SECC] data of 2011).Almost 33 states and UTs have been employed AB-PMJAY except for the NCT of Delhi, West Bengal, and Odisha.The Health ID not only provides aof the person, but also includes the details of all the diseases diagnosed, investigations/tests done, doctors visited, and the medicines prescribed.This shall allow equity for an effective diagnosis, for even the poor and middle-class citizens in just one click.Source: Medindia
Vicky Kaushal is a man of many avatars. There is this certain charm about him that whatever role he picks, he nails it to the T. From playing the role of Sanjay Dutt's best friend, Kamli to stepping into the shoes of an Army officer in 'Uri', Vicky has always taken up challenging roles and has never disappointed us.

His next film is SamBahadur with Meghna Gulzar and the very picture of him as Marshal Sam Manekshaw was enough to create a buzz on social media. As the director is celebrating her birthday, Vicky announced and welcomed the film's female leads. He welcomed Sanya Malhotra and Fatima Sana Shaikh onboard leaving us excited to see the movie on big screens.

Taking to Instagram, Vicky shared a photo and wrote, "It's a very special day for us as we celebrate our director @meghnagulzars birthday and welcome the leading ladies @sanyamalhotra_ as Silloo Manekshaw & @fatimasanashaikh as Smt. Indira Gandhi to the #Sam family! @ronnie.screwvala @rsvpmovies."

As Sanya will be playing the role of Silloo Manekshaw, she shared the news on social media and wrote, "Behind every successful man is a strong independent woman who supports him in all his endeavours. Its with great honour that I get to play one such woman, Silloo Manekshaw, the wife of Indias first Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. Cannot wait to begin this journey with Meghna maam, Vicky, Fatima & @rsvpmovies!"

Whereas, Fatima said, "A woman who defines courage, power, and dignity! Its with great pride that I am joining the team of #Sam to depict the role of Indias first female Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi! Looking forward to begin this journey with Meghna maam, Vicky, Sanya & @rsvpmovies!"

Its great casting and knowing all the actors are masters of their art, we can expect a roller-coaster ride.

In 2019, the actor took to Twitter to share the first look of the movie and he looks completely unrecognizable. Talking about Manekshaw, he joined the British Army in the 1930s and served India after Independence. He was the Chief of Army Staff during the 1971 Indo-Pak War and retired as Field Marshal from the services in 1973.

Vicky's caption read as, The swashbuckling general & the first Field Marshal of India- SAM MANEKSHAW. I feel honored & proud of getting a chance to unfold his journey on-screen. Remembering him on his death anniversary & embracing the new beginnings with @meghnagulzar and @RonnieScrewvala.@RSVPMovies.

The swashbuckling general & the first Field Marshal of India- SAM MANEKSHAW. I feel honoured & proud of getting a chance to unfold his journey on-screen. Remembering him on his death anniversary & embracing the new beginnings with @meghnagulzar and @RonnieScrewvala.@RSVPMovies pic.twitter.com/ozyUO69wKV  Vicky Kaushal (@vickykaushal09) June 27, 2019

Are you excited about the movie? Let us know in the comments section below.
The world has been struggling with COVID 19 for around two years now but as the cases started to dip, people came back on the streets. There are reports of Kareena Kapoor Khan and Amrita Arora having tested positive for the virus. They were spotted attending many parties in Mumbai recently without following the Covid protocols. As they have come in contact with others, this might be a cause of concern.

Recently, the two friends were seen hanging out with Karisma Kapoor and Malaika Arora in Mumbai. According to reports, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has asked people who came in contact with Kareena and Amrita, to take the RTPCR test.

ANI has confirmed the report. "Actors Kareena Kapoor Khan and Amrita Arora tested positive for #COVID19. Both of them had violated COVID norms and attended several parties. BMC has ordered people, who came in contact with the two actors, to undergo an RT-PCR test: BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation). Vinayak Vispute, assistant commissioner of the H/West (Bandra West) ward said Kareena is currently in-home quarantine.

Actors Kareena Kapoor Khan & Amrita Arora tested positive for #COVID19. Both of them had violated COVID norms & attended several parties. BMC has ordered people, who came in contact with the two actors, to undergo RT-PCR test: BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation)



(File pic) pic.twitter.com/wKqoqgFM4x  ANI (@ANI) December 13, 2021

People are trolling the BFFs for partying without masks and are calling them out for their irresponsible behaviour.

 Viral Bhayani Instagram

 Viral Bhayani Instagram

 Viral Bhayani Instagram

A couple of months back, Kareena was brutally bashed for hiking her fee for playing Sita and these were just mere reports as nothing was officially confirmed. People started trolling her brutally as they felt she wouldnt be able to do justice to the role of Sita and also targeted her for asking Rs 12 crore for the role.



A source told Bollywood Hungama, Bebo who usually asks in the Rs 6-8 crores range for her films has quoted a sum of Rs 12 crores which have put the producers in a tizzy. In fact, right now, they are reconsidering their decision and also taking the film to a younger actress, as well. But talks are on and Bebo remains the first choice.

According to the source, "Sita will need at least 8-10 months of prep, shoot, and production. So she will be completely consumed by one film at that point but Bebo also realizes that this will be her biggest magnum opus till date, as it's a retelling of Ramayana from Sita's point of view.

Kareena reacted to all trolling and chose dignity. Just a few years ago, no one would talk about a man or woman actually getting equal pay in a movie. Now there are a lot of us being very vocal about it," she told the Guardian. She went on to add, I make it quite clear what I want and I think that respect should be given. Its not about being demanding, its about being respectful towards women. And I think things are kind of changing.

Its high time people stop trolling.
It is a proud moment for Indians today as Chandigarhs Harnaz Sandhu won the Miss Universe title and the crown is coming back home after a hiatus of 21 years. Lara Dutta was the last Indian woman who won the much coveted title in 2000 and now this Punjabi kudi is making the country happy.



While social media is abuzz about who Harnaz is, what is her history and some people have even speculated that who will sign her up in Bollywood, theres one particular video that is literally making Punjabis all over the globe crazy and happy. Right after she won the crown, Harnaz shouts Chak De Phatte in full glory and well, if thats not the current Punjabi domination in the world, then what is?

Many many congratulations #HarnazSandhu and thanks a ton for making India proud by winning #MissUniverse2021 and bringing back the crown after 21 long years... Chal De Phatte....!!! pic.twitter.com/gfbuAKfvlk  Pritam Kothadiya (@KothadiyaSpeaks) December 13, 2021

Chak de fatte   Abhayjit singh( ) (@abhayjitsandhu) December 13, 2021

Born in a Sikh family in Chandigarh, Harnaz has won several beauty pageants in the past before reaching here and was even crowned Miss Chandigarh in 2017. Heres looking forward to her reign.
The parties involved did not confirm the prices, although other market sources estimated that the price range was at $708-710 per tonne cfr Vietnam, or around $670 per tonne fob Vietnam.The sales were also under specific conditions, including prompt-loading for the Omani cargo and loading before the Tet Festival in January for the Vietnamese cargo, and were not typical spot deals, sources said.

"The Singaporean buyer must have found it to be a good deal for a low price," a buyer source in Singapore...
96% Pass Rate Among East Lansing Liquor Licensees Checking IDs - Not Selling Alcohol to Minors

96% Pass Rate Among East Lansing Liquor Licensees Checking IDs - Not Selling Alcohol to Minors

December 8, 2021 - Results are in for the recent mystery shopper program that checked East Lansing area liquor stores for checking identification and not selling alcohol to those underage. The Michigan Alcohol Responsibility Program (MI ARP) conducted this fall by the Responsible Retailing Forum (RRForum) on behalf of the Michigan Liquor Control Commission (MLCC) found that in East Lansing, 26 of 27 retail liquor licensees checked IDs - a 96% pass rate. This is above the MLCC's Enforcement Division's statewide average compliance rate of 86%.

The MI ARP is helping to enhance the MLCC's own highly successful Controlled Buy Operation Program by preparing licensees to pass compliance checks designed to curtail the sale of alcohol to minors. The MI ARP is sponsored by the MLCC through a funding grant award from the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association (NABCA)* of which the MLCC is a member as a state regulator. The program is administered by the RRForum.

"The mystery shopper program is intended to provide licensees 'teachable moments' in preparing them to pass a compliance check either by the MLCC or local law enforcement," said MLCC Chair Pat Gagliardi. "We want licensees to be the best they can be and to stay on top of making sure that their managers and staff are not selling or serving alcohol to minors, reminding them every day to check IDs every time."

The principal goal of the MI ARP is to educate licensees and their employees on the importance of checking IDs prior to the completion of every sale. Since the MLCC Enforcement Division's primary goal is compliance with the Liquor Control Code and Administrative Rules, this additional measure and program goal will, most likely, reduce the incidence of sales to minors thereby raising the compliance rate in Michigan overall.

The MI ARP provided East Lansing area licensees with on-the-spot feedback on actual staff ID-checking conduct as observed by young, legal-age mystery shoppers. If staff asked for and checked the shopper's ID, the licensee received a Green Card to display, showing that it had acted as a responsible retailer. Failure to check IDs resulted in a Red Card. Area liquor licensees also received a Community Report from the RRForum that provided mystery shopper aggregate results (specific licensees were not identified), along with responsible retailing resources.

The safe sale and service of alcohol not only protects public health and safety, it allows the industry to expand. In Michigan, the spirits industry has more than doubled within the last 10 years to a projected record of $1.92 billion in state spirit sales to retail licensees for fiscal year 2021. Safety is good for business. The MLCC applauds licensees who check IDs conscientiously.

The MLCC is partnering with the RRForum and the Michigan Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking, along with industry partners and local stakeholders to promote the responsible sale, service and consumption of alcohol in college communities and throughout Michigan.

* NABCA provides such awards to support efforts toward protecting public health and safety and strengthening responsible and efficient alcohol regulatory systems.

It is the mission of the MLCC to make alcoholic beverages available for consumption while protecting the consumer and the general public through the regulation of those involved in the importation, sale, consumption, distribution, and delivery of these alcohol products.
More than $150,000 in overdue water and sewer bills of City of Benton Harbor families paid through federal assistance program

Additional resources available to help with utility bills

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Dec. 13, 2021

CONTACT: Lynn Sutfin, 517-241-2112

LANSING, MICH. - The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) announced today that more than $150,000 in past due water bills of City of Benton Harbor residents have been paid through the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP). Additional resources are still available to assist families in paying their utility bills.

Through a grant from MDHHS, Southwest Michigan Community Action Agency paid $151,953 to the City of Benton Harbor to bring the accounts of 237 eligible families current through the program. Residents should see updates on their water bills this month.

"The Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program is providing critical support to qualified Benton Harbor residents, so they are not forced to choose between paying for water services and other necessities," said Elizabeth Hertel, MDHHS director. "Additional resources are available to help families with their utility bills and I encourage them to seek assistance."

The federally funded LIHWAP assists households who have had their water disconnected or are facing disconnection by paying the full cost that will reconnect or prevent disconnection of service even if it includes costs other than water, such as trash, cable or internet. A LIHWAP payment will guarantee service for at least 90 days after receipt of payment and will cover reconnection fees when services have been disconnected.

To qualify for LIHWAP, account holders must:

Be a residential account.

Be in arrears or disconnect status.

Be under 150% Federal Poverty Limit and/or actively receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Food Assistance Program/Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (FAP/SNAP), State Emergency Relief (SER) or Social Security Supplemental Income (SSI).

For the recent payment through LIWHAP, the City of Benton Harbor provided a list of customer accounts to MDHHS that were past due or in disconnect status for a data match to current benefit status to help determine eligibility and expediate the payment process. There are additional opportunities for residents who did qualify through this process to apply for the program by calling 211.

The State Emergency Relief program is also available to households having difficulties paying their water and wastewater bills.

For more information about how to apply for these programs and additional available resources, City of Benton Harbor residents should call 211.

Free bottled water continues to be provided by MDHHS and local, paid residents with 201,772 cases distributed to date. City of Benton Harbor residents are being encouraged to use bottled water for cooking, drinking, brushing teeth, rinsing foods and mixing powdered infant formula. This action is part of an accelerated, across-the-board effort to reduce the risk of exposure to lead in drinking water while the city replaces all lead service lines.

Community volunteers from the following organizations available to assist City of Benton Harbor residents pick up water at Benton Harbor High School, 870 Colfax Avenue as follows:

Tuesday, Dec. 14

12 - 2 p.m. - Volunteers from Abundant Life C.O.G.I.C.

4 - 6 p.m. - Volunteers from Ebenezer Baptist Church

Wednesday, Dec. 15

12 - 2 p.m. - Volunteers from Purpose Church Ministries

4 - 6 p.m. - Volunteers from Purpose Church Ministries

Thursday, Dec. 16

12 - 2 p.m. - Volunteers from Ebenezer Baptist Church

4 - 6 p.m. - Volunteers from Brotherhood of All Nations

Saturday, Dec. 18

12 - 2 p.m. - Volunteers from Boys & Girls Club of Benton Harbor

2 - 4 p.m. - Volunteers from New Covenant Community Baptist Church

4 - 6 p.m. - Volunteers from Harbor of Hope Seventh-Day Adventist Church

Sunday, Dec. 19

2 - 4 p.m. - Volunteers from Abundant Life C.O.G.I.C.

4 - 6 pm - Volunteers from Brotherhood of All Nations

Monday, Dec. 20

12 - 2 p.m. - Volunteers from Abundant Life C.O.G.I.C.

4 - 6 p.m. - Volunteers from New Covenant Community Baptist Church

Southwest Community Action Agency, 331 Miller Street, will host self-serve water pickup as follows:

Wednesday, Dec. 15, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 16, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 17, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 20, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Additional dates and locations for bottled water pick up will be added to make sure community needs are met. Information will be posted on Michigan.gov/MiLeadSafe.

To arrange water delivery to homebound or residents without transportation in the city of Benton Harbor, contact 211, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The upcoming schedule for bottled water pickup is:

The ongoing response in Benton Harbor includes the city, Berrien County Health Department, local community organizations, MDHHS and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.

MDHHS is engaging in a long-term effort to eliminate lead action level exceedances, educate communities on the effects of lead in drinking water, and remove lead service lines. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called for the replacement of lead service lines in Benton Harbor in 18 months and the Whitmer-Gilchrist Administration has provided just under $20 million to Benton Harbor to speed up their service line replacement timeline.

There is no cost to City of Benton Harbor residents for lead service line replacement. To assist with assuring the work can be completed as soon as possible, residents are encouraged to complete the Water Service Line Replacement Agreement available online. Contractors cannot begin work on any property without property owner authorization. Completed forms can be returned to Abonmarche, 95 West Main Street, Benton Harbor, MI 49022 or emailed to bvasher@abonmarche.com.

These efforts also include recently approved funds to remove lead from homes in the city. Families living in Benton Harbor can apply for this service by filling out and mailing in an application that is available online. Residents also can call 866-691-5323 to obtain information.

For questions about lead, MDHHS can be reached at 866-691-5323 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

# # #

Benton Harbor Utility Help flyer
Child care professionals encouraged to explore tuition-free opportunities

Child care professionals encouraged to explore tuition-free opportunities

Michigan Reconnect and T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Michigan join forces to host Dec. 15 webinar highlighting scholarships

December 10, 2021

Media Contact: Austin Fox, 517-526-2632

The Office of Sixty by 30 will be hosting an informational webinar on Dec. 15 at 6 p.m., with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) and Michigan Association for the Education of Young Children (MIAEYC) to highlight the benefits of the Michigan Reconnect and T.E.A.C.H. scholarships, so that eligible applicants can maximize the support and resources available to reach their education and career goals.

"Providing tuition-free education opportunities to meet the growing need for skilled talent in child care and early education career fields is a key component to Michigan's economic success," said Susan Corbin, Director of the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.

The early education and child care career field currently faces two distinct challenges - low wages and high turnover. Access to opportunities where teaching and child care professionals can maintain employment while furthering their education is essential to not only increase their compensation, but also to retain skilled talent in our state.

"The Michigan Reconnect and T.E.A.C.H. scholarships provide a great opportunity to help more Michiganders increase their education and paychecks, which in turn helps us meet the growing demand for quality child care in Michigan," said Orlene Hawks, Director of the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.

LARA regulates child care providers and is working to license more providers across the state to address critical shortages. Programs like Reconnect and T.E.A.C.H. are important tools in talent development that can be used for people to finish the degree or certification required to be licensed. LARA will briefly share licensing information and will be available to answer questions during the webinar.

Michigan Reconnect, which has nearly 88,000 accepted applicants since its launch in Feb. 2021, provides a tuition-free path to an associate degree or Pell-eligible skill certificate at an in-district community college for eligible adults without a college degree.

The is a statewide initiative designed to help Michiganders interested in pursuing a degree or credential in early childhood education (e.g., child care center teaching staff, preschool teachers, family child care providers, group home owners, center directors, early childhood professionals and administrators) meet their professional development goals while enrolled part-time.

"Combining a Michigan Reconnect and T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship allows students to maximize the amount of support they receive to earn a degree or credential in early childhood education," said Kelsey Laird, Director of Professional Programs for MIAEYC. "The scholarships work together to allow students to have more credit hours paid for and to provide additional financial and student counseling supports. This webinar will provide an overview of everything these programs can cover for students and break down the application process and requirements for both. Using Reconnect and T.E.A.C.H. together is a win-win for early childhood educators."

Child care professionals are urged to join representatives from these two scholarship opportunities on Dec. 15 to learn how they can return to school tuition-free at their in-district community college. Attendees will also be able to have their questions answered by the presenters.

Those interested in learning more are encouraged to register for the webinar at bit.ly/Reconnect-TEACH-webinar.

To learn more about Michigan Reconnect, visit michigan.gov/reconnect.
CHICAGO (AP)  A Chicago City Council committee on Monday recommended paying $2.9 million to a woman who was handcuffed while naked by police officers during a botched raid of her home in 2019.

The Finance Committee's unanimous approval to recommend the settlement for social worker Anjanette Young will be considered Wednesday by the full City Council, which almost always follows the committee's recommendations.

The city has never disputed Ms. Young suffered an indignity during the raid, city Corporation Counsel Celia Meza told the Finance Committee, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Kristen Cabanban, a spokeswoman for the city's legal department, said Young's attorney agreed to the settlement. The attorney, Keenan Saulter, didn't immediately reply to an Associated Press seeking comment.

The proposed settlement is an effort to make amends for a national embarrassment for the police department and a scandal for Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

Not only did the officers who raided Young's apartment not let her get dressed, but she was right when she repeatedly told them they were at the wrong address.

After the committee meeting, Cabanban said the investigation revealed that police forced Young to remain naked for 16 seconds and that what they put over her kept falling off before she was allowed to get dressed about 40 minutes after the officers arrived.

Meanwhile, Lightfoot's claims that she had no knowledge of the raid were proven false when emails revealed that her staff had told her. Lightfoot came under more criticism when city attorneys tried to get a court order to prevent a local television station from airing video of the raid at Young's home.

The episode was damaging to Lightfoot, who ran for office as a reformer only to be caught up in a scandal similar to the one that embroiled her predecessor, Rahm Emanuel, who just a few years earlier tried to prevent the release of dashcam video of the fatal police shooting of Black teenager Laquan McDonald.

Young filed a lawsuit in February that named the city and 12 police officers as defendants and contended that police officials had failed to independently investigate and verify the place to be searched. Young also filed a federal lawsuit against the city in connection with the raid, but that lawsuit was dismissed last year.

The proposed settlement was not a surprise, as the city's legal department said earlier this year that it was working to resolve the matter. Such a settlement became even more likely when the city's Civilian Office of Police Accountability called for the suspension or firing of eight officers in a report released last month.

The settlement will add to a staggering sum that the city has paid out in police misconduct cases in recent years. According to a 2016 AP analysis, the city had paid about $662 million on the cases since 2004, with the Chicago Tribune reporting in 2019 that the total had climbed to more than $750 million.

Since then, there have been other big payouts, including a settlement of more than $20 million to two men who had their murder convictions overturned after they were allegedly framed by the same detective. And settlements like the one for $1.2 million with the family of a teenager fatally shot by a police officer in 2014 that was announced by attorneys this month have become almost routine.
VARANASI, India (AP)  India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday took a dip in the sacred Ganges River before a crowd of thousands, as he opened part of a large-scale development project in the holy city of Varanasi, where his ruling party is looking to garner support ahead of key state elections.

The highlight of the opening ceremony was a $45 million corridor meant to facilitate pilgrims' visits to some of India's holiest sites. The corridor connects the river where pilgrims bathe, with the centuries-old Vishwanath temple.

Today history has been created by reviving the socio-cultural history of this ancient city, which is vibrant with Hindu philosophy as enshrined in our religious books, Modi said at the lavish opening event.

Modis Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been keen to consolidate its support ahead of next year's polls in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where Varanasi is located. Modi's far-right party currently holds power in the state  Indias largest with 230 million people  but is under immense pressure over its response to the pandemic and the struggling economy.

Varanasi, the most revered city for Hindus, is also the parliamentary constituency of Modi.

Called the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham, the mega-project was first commissioned in 2019 and built to create easy access between the temple and the river  both iconic sites for pilgrims, who often wade into the Ganges before offering the holy water at the temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, the god of destruction. Covering about 500,000 square feet, the project also includes 23 buildings and 27 temples.

On Sunday, the city was decked out ahead of the event with colorful lights adorning roads, buildings and the steps leading into the great river. Big LED screens were also put up in the city center for people to watch the event live.

I could have stayed back and witnessed the function from home. But then, I would have missed this festivity, Manoranjan Sinha, a resident of the city said, gesturing to large crowds around him that were shouting religious slogans and hailing Modi.

Politics was also on display as several of the BJP's senior leaders traveled to the state and offered prayers across various temples.

The BJP government has fulfilled its promise made to the people as it has restored the pristine glory of the temple. Every Hindu across India must be proud of it, cheered Yogi Adityanath, chief minister of the state and a Hindu monk.

Authorities demolished nearly 300 commercial and residential buildings to make way for the new promenade. Residents whose homes were knocked down were relocated and compensated, although some said they received less than the promised amount.

The corridor is one among a string of big-ticket religious projects announced by the BJP in recent years, with critics saying they are aimed at pleasing the partys Hindu base.

Last year, Hindus across India rejoiced when Modi broke ground on a long-awaited temple of their most revered god, Ram, at the site of a demolished sixteenth-century mosque in the northern town of Ayodhya. Modi and his party had long pledged to build a temple to Ram where the Mughal-era mosque once stood, in a long-running controversy.
Photo provided

More than 290 high school Business Professionals of America students attended the 2021 Region 7 Leadership Conference at Saginaw Valley State University on Dec. 10.



Their goal was to demonstrate business management, finance, marketing and technology skills, network with others, and be honored for their hard work. Many members of the Midland High Chapter of Business Professionals of America excelled at the conference. The top two teams and top five in individual events qualified for state level competition in March. The following are the results of the state qualifiers:



Team events  Top 2 teams advance to states



First: Financial Analyst Team-Emma Buschlen, Aly Hebert, Matt Hebert, Lauren Swanson



First: Economic Research Team-Jackson Keefe, Gavin Post, Ethan Santos



First: Global Marketing Team-Dalton DeBoer, Colter Mahabir, Zack Steger, Kendall Wenzell



First: Small Business Management Team-Nicoleta Dicusar, Janelle Harris, Morgan Hussey, Charlie Sabin



First: Presentation Management Team-Steven Hackbarth, Rori McCubbin-Green, Hannah, Monville



Second: Parliamentary Procedure Team-Mia Allen, Bo Brutyn, Claire Carpenter, Cole Carpenter, Lawrence Millward, Eva Poprave, Kiana Prany, Andrew Steger



Individual events - Top 5 advance to states



Mia Allen-First in Parliamentary Procedure Concepts, Second in Business Law & Ethics



Bo Brutyn-First in Fundamental Accounting



Emma Buschlen-Fifth in Human Resource Management



Zach Buschlen-Third in Entrepreneurship, Fourth in Business Meeting Management Concepts



Cole Carpenter-Third in Business Law & Ethics



Jade Dawson-First in Health Administration Procedures, Second in Management, Marketing, and HR Concepts, Fourth in Prepared Speech



Nicoleta Dicusar-Fourth in Entrepreneurship



Steven Hackbarth-First in Digital Marketing Concepts, Fourth in Fundamental Spreadsheet Applications



Janelle Harris-Third in Health Administration Procedures



Aly Hebert-Fourth in Business Law & Ethics



Matt Hebert-Third in Payroll Accounting



Morgan Hussey-Second in Advanced Interview Skills



Jackson Keefe-First in Entrepreneurship, Fourth in Digital Marketing Concepts



Emily Kraenzlein-Second in C++ Programming, Fifth in Business Law & Ethics



Colter Mahabir-First in Database Applications



Isla McCubbin-Green-First in Prepared Speech, Second in Interview Skills, Third in Business Meeting Management Concepts, Third in Management, Marketing, and HR Concepts, Fifth in Financial Math & Analysis Concepts



Rori McCubbin-Green-Second in Fundamental Desktop Publishing



Lauren McGuirk-Second in Health Administration Procedures



Emma Miller-Second in Graphic Design Promotion, Third in HR Management



Lawrence Millward-Second in Business Spelling, Third in Fundamental Spreadsheet Applications, Fourth in Management, Marketing, and HR Concepts, Fifth in Digital Communications & Design



Hannah Monville-First in Human Resource Management



Cecelia Poprave-First in Fundamental Spreadsheet Application, Second in Fundamental Word Processing, Fifth in Administrative Support Concepts



Eva Poprave-Third in Administrative Support Concepts



Gavin Post-Fifth in Health Administration Procedures



Kiana Prany-Second in Advanced Word Processing



Myah Shelton-Second in Prepared Speech, Third in Extemporaneous Speech



Andrew Steger-First in Presentation Management Individual



Zack Steger-Second in Database Applications



Matt Wenzell-Second in Banking & Finance



Diplomat Torch Awards were presented to members who submitted a Torch Resume documenting participation and service to BPA, school, and community. The following students were recognized and honored: Emma Buschlen, Zach Buschlen, Steven Hackbarth, Aly Hebert, Matt Hebert, Rori McCubbin-Green, Emma Miller, Hannah Monville and Lauren Swanson.



The 35 qualifying students will represent Midland High School at the 50th Annual BPA State Leadership Conference on March 10-13 in Grand Rapids, where they will compete with students from across Michigan, attend workshops designed to aid in professional development, and gain skills for their lives ahead in the world of work. Top students at the state conference will advance to the National Leadership Conference in Dallas, Texas, in May.



Chapter advisers for Midland High School are Jeanna Cronk and Melissa DeBoer
SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP)  North Macedonias ruling Social Democrats have elected Dimitar Kovachevski as their party's new leader and he is set to take over as prime minister if a coalition agreement remains intact.

Kovachevski takes over as party leader from Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, who relinquished the party post in the wake of a heavy defeat in mayoral and local government elections in late October.

Zaev, who served as party leader since 2013 and prime minister since 2016, has promised to resign as head of the government in the coming weeks. He had to renegotiate a coalition agreement with parties from the countrys ethnic Albanian minority to avoid a snap general election.

Kovachevski, 47, served as a deputy finance minister under Zaev. Party members overwhelmingly voted Sunday to approve him as the new leaders of the Social Democrats.

We must restore unity in the party and build policies based on social democratic values, Kovachevski told supporters. A fair chance must be given to everyone with professional ability. We must open up and seek new staff from both at home and abroad to build a new mentality in the management of the party and (state) institutions.

Opposition leader Hristijan Mickoski was re-elected as head of the conservative VMRO-DPMNE, in an election also held Sunday. The party is pressing for an early parliamentary election.

Zaev secured North Macedonias membership in NATO after ending a decades-old dispute with Greece over the countrys name but has been unable to advance ambitions to join the European Union, largely due to a historical dispute with another EU neighbor, Bulgaria.

Economic growth this year is expected to cancel losses from a pandemic-induced recession in 2020, but unemployment remains high at nearly 16% and North Macedonia has one of the highest rates of death per capita in the world due to COVID-19.

Parliamentary elections are not scheduled until 2024.
The Food Bank of Eastern Michigan is helping to bring two popup food pantries to the Upper Thumb during the week of Dec. 13.

The first free food distribution will take place Wednesday, Dec. 15, at the Port Hope Fire Department, 4250 N. Lakeshore Road, in Port Hope. The food giveaway starts at 10 a.m.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)  The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium says its appeal of the loss of its most important accreditation has been denied.

The zoo said Monday that the board of directors of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums denied the zoo's strong appeal " seeking the restoration of its accreditation or tabling of the issue until next year. As a result, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium cannot apply for accreditation again before September.

The accreditation denial in October by the association, considered the nations top zoo-accrediting body, was a major blow to the nation's second-largest zoo, an institution once widely admired in its industry and by the general public and associated with celebrity director-turned-ambassador Jack Hanna.

Zoo officials said earlier that the ruling would not affect operations or the experience of visitors, but the lack of accreditation would bar its participation in species survival and breeding programs, which will impact species conservation programs.

New president and chief executive officer Tom Schmid called Monday's decision disappointing but said the zoo was moving forward.

In the last nine months, the zoo team has moved mountains to make transformative changes that continue to make us a better zoo with new team members, new policies, and more oversights that were in place at the time of the AZA inspection in July, sad Schmid, who took over a week ago and participated in the appeal.

The accrediting group had cited concerns about the zoos animal programs department and inappropriate business practices by its former leaders. Investigations and reviews by the Ohio attorney generals office and the Ohio auditor are pending.

The accrediting body also voiced concerns about the zoos acquisition of ambassador animals. A recent documentary, The Conservation Game, raised questions about how celebrity conservationists, including Hanna, acquired exotic animals. The zoo has since cut ties with animal vendors who dont meet certain standards of animal care.

Former president and CEO Dan Ashe told The Associated Press in an interview last month that assuming the zoo had to reapply for accreditation in September 2022, the facility would be inspected in the fall or winter of next year with a decision tied to a hearing in March 2023.

Schmid said Monday that accreditation by a third-party professional association was important, so we are exploring all options to continue fulfilling our mission and to continue our work with endangered and threatened species that need our help.

Without question, the care and welfare of the animals remains our top priority, he said.

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BRIDGEPORT  Working for hours with shovels and flashlights, police officers had managed to dig down more than three feet in the dirt floor of a basement area under a Noble Avenue garage on Thursday but had still found no signs of the remains of Aryndel Castro.

It was hard work, it was a tight space and after a while we began to wonder if Shawn Gibson had lied to us about burying Castros body there, said Lt. Christopher LaMaine, of the information given to police by the man arrested the day before in connection with Castros murder.

But, LaMaine said, they kept digging and at about six feet down discovered the grisly remains.

It was both terrible at finding the remains but also satisfying because I knew we could finally give his family some closure, LaMaine said.

On Thursday, Gibson, a Hamden man who owns a rooming house in Bridgeport, was arraigned for murder in Castros 2013 killing. A second man, Terrance Boyd, of South Carolina, was arrested Wednesday and is awaiting extradition to Connecticut.

Castros family credited LaMaine with keeping a promise hed made to them years before. Its been a long eight years since my brother disappeared but we never gave up and thankfully the police never gave up, said Castros brother, Aneudi Rosa. Lt. (Chris) LaMaine told me eight years ago he was going to keep searching for my brother and never give up and he kept his promise and found my brothers killers.

The arrests came after an 8-year investigation that police said was often frustrating.

In September 2013, Castros mother had reported him missing to police.

LaMaine said the investigation began as a missing person case.

Castro was a transient, moving from apartment to apartment in the city and often homeless so it was difficult to trace his movements, he said.

But according to the arrest warrant affidavit, in 2014 detectives received information from an informant that Boyd, who was convicted in the 1980s of killing a 63-year-old New Canaan woman, had killed Castro.

In May 2014, the affidavit states that Boyd admitted to a detective that he had witnessed Gibson beat the 24-year-old Castro to death in a rooming house he owned on Noble Avenue.

But despite the information from Boyd we had to proceed cautiously, LaMaine said on Friday.

Because of Boyds background we couldnt just take his word that Castro was dead, we didnt want to go to a judge and get an arrest warrant for Gibson for murder only to have Castro show up sometime later, he explained.

Although he has investigated numerous murders in his time in the Detective Bureau, LaMaine said he had never had a case where there not only wasnt a body but no physical evidence at all that someone had been killed.

We didnt even have a single cell of DNA, so proving Ari was dead would have been very difficult, he said.

In this instance time actually helped their case.

As time went by and there continued to be no sign of Ari it became more and more likely that he was dead, LaMaine said.

Later in 2014, LaMaine attempted to interview Gibson but Gibson declined to talk to detectives after consulting with his lawyer.

Last month, the affidavit states that two witnesses came forward corroborating some of the information Boyd had given detectives. One of the witnesses had been afraid to talk earlier because of a threat by Boyd but now felt safe because Boyd was in South Carolina, the affidavit states.

At that point I though we had a good case, said LaMaine. We had the time element, it had now been eight years and Ari had not been seen, we had the statements from Boyd and other witnesses. I thought we had enough probable cause to go to a judge with to get arrest warrants.

According to a press release from police, police also had evidence to suggest that Gibson and Boyd purchased cleaning supplies multiple times from the Home Depot and rented vans from Home Depot and U-Haul in the days following the alleged murder. The vans, police said, were allegedly used to move Castros body.

Police would later learn that the men put Castros remains in a large plastic bag and initially took it to a house Gibson owned on Moffitt Street before trying to bury it in Beardsley Park but couldnt dig a deep enough hole, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.

But before getting the warrant, LaMaine said he wanted to take one more run at Gibson.

I wanted to tell him what we had against him in the hope it would put pressure on him to finally tell us where he put Aris body. And it did, he said.

LaMaine said Gibson led them to a basement-like area under a large, detached garage behind his cousins home on Noble Avenue, near Beardsley Park.

It was a completely enclosed area and we had to break through a covered window to get inside, LaMaine said.

Inside, the room had a dirt floor and ceiling clearance of about five feet.

Because it was so tight in there, we couldnt bring in power equipment and had to dig into the floor with shovels, he said.

As time went by, they began to wonder if Gibson had lied to them. As part of an agreement to lead them to the body, Gibson was given a $250,000 bond. Bonds in murder cases typically start at $1 million.

But we finally found Aris body. It was buried very deep but we found it, LaMaine said.
WASHINGTON (AP)  No U.S. troops involved in the August drone strike that killed innocent Kabul civilians and children will face disciplinary action, U.S. defense officials said Monday.

The Pentagon said that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has approved recommendations for improvements in strike operations from the generals who lead U.S. Central Command and Special Operations Command, based on the findings of an independent Pentagon review released last month. There were no recommendations for discipline made by the generals, said John Kirby, chief Pentagon spokesman.

The review, done by Air Force Lt. Gen. Sami Said and endorsed by Austin in November, found there were breakdowns in communication and in the process of identifying and confirming the target of the bombing, which killed 10 civilians, including seven children. But he concluded that the strike was a tragic mistake and not caused by misconduct or negligence.

Austin asked Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of Central Command, and Gen. Richard Clarke, head of Special Operations Command, to review Said's conclusions and come back to him with recommendations. The two commanders agreed with Said's findings, and they did not recommend any discipline. Kirby said Monday that Austin endorsed their decisions, including the lack of disciplinary actions.

None of their recommendations dealt specifically with issues of accountability, Kirby said. "So I do not anticipate there being issues of personal accountability to be had with respect to the August 29th airstrike.

The Aug. 29 drone strike on a white Toyota Corolla sedan killed Zemerai Ahmadi and nine family members, including seven children. Ahmadi, 37, was a longtime employee of an American humanitarian organization.

We know that there will be some who dont like this particular decision, but it wasnt an outcome that we came to without careful thought and consideration, said Kirby. He said that if Austin believed that accountability was warranted and needed, he would certainly support those kinds of efforts."

Steven Kwon, founder of Nutrition & Education International, the aid organization Zemari worked for, called the disciplinary decision shocking on Monday.

How can our military wrongly take the lives of ten precious Afghan people, and hold no one accountable in any way? he said. When the Pentagon absolves itself of accountability, it sends a dangerous and misleading message that its actions were somehow justified.

The intelligence about the car and its potential threat came just days after an Islamic State suicide bomber killed 13 U.S. troops and 169 Afghans at a Kabul airport gate. The U.S. was working to evacuate thousands of Americans, Afghans and other allies in the wake of the collapse of the countrys government.

Said concluded that U.S. forces genuinely believed that the car they were following was an imminent threat and that they needed to strike it before it got closer to the airport. He concluded that better communication between those making the strike decision and other support personnel might have raised more doubts about the bombing, but in the end may not have prevented it.

He made a number of recommendations, including that more be done to prevent what military officials call confirmation bias  the idea that troops making the strike decision were too quick to conclude that what they were seeing aligned with the intelligence and confirmed their conclusion to bomb what turned out to be the wrong car.

And he said the military should have personnel present with a strike team, and their job should be to actively question such conclusions. He also recommended that the military improve its procedures to ensure that children and other innocent civilians are not present before launching a time-sensitive strike.

Officials said McKenzie and Clarke largely agreed with Said's recommendations.

The U.S. is working to pay financial reparations to the relatives and surviving family members, and potentially get them out of Afghanistan, but nothing has been finalized. Asked why it was taking so long, Kirby said the U.S. wants to make sure that the family is gotten out as safely as possible, and that high level discussions about that are ongoing.
One year ago, the biggest vaccination drive in American history began with a flush of excitement in an otherwise gloomy December. Trucks loaded with freezer-packed vials of a COVID-19 vaccine that had proved wildly successful in clinical trials fanned out across the land, bringing shots that many hoped would spell the end of the crisis.

That hasnt happened. A year later, too many Americans remain unvaccinated and too many are dying.

The nations COVID-19 death toll stands at around 800,000 as the anniversary of the U.S. vaccine rollout arrives. A year ago it stood at 300,000. An untold number of lives, perhaps tens of thousands, have been saved by vaccination. But what might have been a time to celebrate a scientific achievement is fraught with discord and mourning.

National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins said scientists and health officials may have underestimated how the spread of misinformation could hobble the astounding achievement of the vaccines.

Deaths continue ... most of them unvaccinated, most of the unvaccinated because somebody somewhere fed them information that was categorically wrong and dangerous, Collins said.

Developed and rolled out at blistering speed, the vaccines have proved incredibly safe and highly effective at preventing deaths and hospitalizations. Unvaccinated people have a 14 times higher risk of dying compared to fully vaccinated people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated based on available data from September.

Their effectiveness has held up for the most part, allowing schools to reopen, restaurants to welcome diners and families to gather for the holidays. At last count, 95% of Americans 65 and older had had at least one shot.

In terms of scientific, public health and logistical achievements, this is in the same category as putting a man on the moon, said Dr. David Dowdy, an infectious-disease epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The vaccines first year has been rocky with the disappointment of breakthrough infections, the political strife over mandates and, now, worries about whether the mutant omicron will evade protection.

Despite all that, Dowdy said, were going to look back and say the vaccines were a huge success story.

On the very day that an eager nation began rolling up its sleeves, Dec. 14, 2020, the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 hit 300,000. And deaths were running at an average of more than 2,500 a day and rising fast, worse than what the country witnessed during the harrowing spring of 2020, when New York City was the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak.

By late February total U.S. deaths had crossed 500,000, but the daily death count was plummeting from the horrible heights of early January. With hopes rising in early March, some states began reopening, lifting mask mandates and limits on indoor dining. Former President Donald Trump assured his supporters during a Fox News interview that the vaccine was safe and urged them to get it.

But by June, with the threat from COVID-19 seemingly fading, demand for vaccines had slipped and states and companies had turned to incentives to try to restore interest in vaccination.

It was too little, too late. Delta, a highly contagious mutated form of coronavirus, had silently arrived and had begun to spread quickly, finding plenty of unvaccinated victims.

You have to be almost perfect almost all the time to beat this virus, said Andrew Noymer, a public health professor at the University of California, Irvine. The vaccine alone is not causing the pandemic to crash back to Earth.

One of the great missed opportunities of the COVID-19 pandemic is the shunning of vaccination by many Americans.

This fall, Rachel McKibbens, 45, lost her father and brother to COVID-19. Both had refused the protection of vaccination because they believed false conspiracy theories that the shots contained poison.

What an embarrassment of a tragedy, McKibbens said. It didnt have to be this way.

More than 228,500 Americans have died from COVID-19 since April 19, the date when all U.S. adults were eligible to be vaccinated. Thats about 29% of the count since the first U.S. coronavirus deaths were recorded in February 2020, according to an Associated Press analysis.

In all, two states  Florida and Texas  contributed more than 52,000 deaths since that date. Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, Wyoming and Idaho also saw outsize death tolls after mid-April.

Red states were more likely than blue states to have greater than average death tolls since then.

I see the U.S. as being in camps, Noymer said. The vaccines have become a litmus test for trust in government.

Wyoming and West Virginia, the states with the highest vote percentages for Donald Trump in 2016, have recorded about 50% of their total COVID-19 deaths since all adults were declared eligible for the vaccine in those states. In Oklahoma, nearly 60% of COVID-19 deaths occurred after all adults were vaccine-eligible.

There are exceptions: Notably, Hawaii and Oregon are the only Joe Biden-supporting states where more than half of the COVID-19 deaths came after shots were thrown open to all adults. North Dakota and South Dakota  both ardent Trump states  have kept their share of deaths after the vaccine became available across the board to under 25%.

California has seen more than 15,000 COVID-19 deaths since the state opened eligibility to all adults in mid-April. McKibbens father and brother died in Santa Ana, California, in their shared home.

McKibbens pieced together what happened from text messages on her brothers phone. Some of the texts she read after his death, including back-and-forth messages with a cousin who cited TikTok as the source of bad advice.

My brother did not seek medical attention for my dad, keeping him lying on his back, even as his breathing began to sound like a broken-down motor, said McKibbens, who lives across the country in Rochester, New York.

Her father, Pete Camacho, died Oct. 22 at age 67. McKibbens flew to California to help with arrangements.

Her brother was sick, too, but he refused to let me into the house because he said I shed coronavirus because I was vaccinated, McKibbens recalled. It was a strange new belief I had never heard before.

A friend found her brothers body after noticing food deliveries untouched on the porch. Peter Camacho, named for his father, died Nov. 8 at age 44.

For me to have lost two-thirds of my family, it just levels you, McKibbens said.

Important advice came too late for some. Seven months pregnant and unvaccinated, Tamara Alves Rodriguez tested positive for the coronavirus Aug. 9. Two days later, with many pregnant women falling seriously ill, U.S. health officials strengthened their guidance to urge all mothers-to-be to get vaccinated.

Rodriguez had tried to get vaccinated weeks earlier but was told at a pharmacy she needed authorization from her doctor. She never returned, said her sister, Tanya Alves of Weston, Florida.

Six days after testing positive, Rodriguez had to have a breathing tube inserted down her throat at a hospital near her home in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Her baby girl was delivered by emergency cesarean section Aug. 16.

The young mother never held her child. Rodriguez died Oct. 30 at age 24. She left behind her husband, two other children and an extended family.

Her children ask for her constantly, Alves said. I literally feel like a piece of me has been ripped out of me and even those words arent enough to describe it.

She urges others to get vaccinated: If you would know the terror of being hospitalized or having a loved one there ... if people would know, they would be afraid of this instead of fearing the vaccine.

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AP data journalist Angeliki Kastanis and AP medical writer Lauran Neergaard contributed.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
CANBERRA, Australia  Australia and South Korea signed a $720 million defense deal Monday as South Korean President Moon Jae-in became the first foreign leader to visit Australia since the pandemic began.

Worth about 1 billion Australian dollars, the deal will see South Korean defense company Hanwha provide the Australian army with artillery weapons, supply vehicles and radars.

It's the largest defense contract struck between Australia and an Asian nation, and comes at a time of heightened tensions between Australia and China. Australia recently announced a deal to build nuclear-powered submarines in a partnership with the U.S. and Britain  a move that China has strongly condemned.

Moon met with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison during his visit, and the two leaders agreed to upgrade the formal ties between their nations to a comprehensive strategic partnership."

The leaders also said they would work together on developing clean energy technologies, including hydrogen, and on facilitating the supply of critical minerals, which Australia has in abundance.

Morrison said the new defense contract would create about 300 jobs in Australia, where a division of Hanwha operates.

The contract that we have signed today, I think, speaks volumes about what we believe are the capabilities of the Korean defense industry," Morrison said.

Moon said South Korea had similar values to Australia when it came to its geopolitical outlook, but also that its relationship with China was important, particularly when it came to pursuing peace with North Korea.

Therefore, South Korea is focused on the steadfast alliance with the U.S. and also with China," Moon said. We want a harmonized relationship.

Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton said his government was committed to keeping the region safe and the new contract would help modernize the Australian army.

The prime ability of the new vehicles is to fire and move quickly, avoiding enemy counterattack, Dutton said. This project will mean a significant increase in the level of firepower and security for Australian artillery capability.

South Korea is Australias fourth-largest trading partner and fourth-largest export market under a free trade agreement that has been in force since 2014. This year marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley served as the personal escort Friday for former Sen. Elizabeth Dole, D-N.C., as she followed her husband's flag-draped casket into Washington's National Cathedral for the funeral of a son of the prairie, World War II veteran, senator, statesman and patriot.

In a sign of the military's pride in, and respect for, former Army 2nd Lt. Robert J. Dole of Russell, Kansas, Milley, the nation's highest-ranking officer, took over the escort duties that traditionally go to a ceremonial officer of lesser rank and assisted Elizabeth Dole as she struggled slightly in ascending the cathedral steps.

As members from all the services bore the casket to its place before the altar, the choir sang "The Wayfaring Stranger," the timeless folk song that depicts life as way-stop on the journey to the everlasting: "So I'm just going over Jordan, I'm just going over home."

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The Rev. Randolph Hollerith, dean of the cathedral, opened the service by noting that he had presided only five weeks earlier at the funeral of another Army veteran who came from humble beginnings in the Bronx -- former Joint Chiefs Chairman and Secretary of State Colin Powell. "We have indeed seen too much loss in recent days," he said.

Hollerith told the mourners, including former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Mike Pence and actor Tom Hanks, that Dole was "one of the greatest of the 'Greatest Generation'" and cited a biblical verse from Matthew 25 in summing up his life and career: "Well done, good and faithful servant, well done."

In his eulogy for Dole, who died in his sleep Dec. 5 at age 98, President Joe Biden recalled his Senate colleague of 25 years as a "genuine hero" and fierce partisan who also sought consensus on major issues such as voting and civil rights, food programs and the effort with the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y., to shore up the Social Security system in the 1980s.

"God, what courage Bob Dole had," Biden said, noting Dole's battle back from numerous surgeries following the grievous wounds he suffered in Italy during World War II.

He also recalled Dole's biting wit, once used to explain to his Republican colleagues why he voted against their move to defund Amtrak -- which Biden took home to Delaware every night. Biden said Dole told the GOP loyalists, "It was the only way to get Joe Biden the hell outta here at night."

Dole's legacy could be summed up with what he told a reporter his agenda would be when he first was elected to the House in 1960, Biden said.

"I'm going to sit and watch for a couple of days, and then I'm going to stand up and do what's right," Dole said.

"Now it's our job to start standing up for what's right," Biden said.

In her remarks at the funeral, Dole's daughter Robin also recalled her father's sense of humor in quoting from his last letter, written to a former staffer, on how he pictured the afterlife.

"I'm a bit curious to learn if I am correct in thinking that heaven will look a lot like Kansas," Dole wrote, adding that "I wonder if I will still be able to vote in Chicago."

Milley again escorted Elizabeth Dole behind the casket as the funeral ended and then went with her to the World War II Memorial on the National Mall for a ceremony honoring her husband, who was instrumental in securing approval for construction as head of the foundation that built the memorial.

Dole "did all but mix the concrete himself," Hanks told the small crowd,, and recalled how the former senator spent many a weekend in retirement greeting honor flights of veterans who came to visit the memorial.

Dole lost the use of his right arm in battle, but he "came to this plaza often to remember, to talk with veterans like himself and to their posterity, by greeting them with a shake to his left hand," Hanks said.

In his remarks, Milley went into the grim details of Dole's last battle as a 21-year-old lieutenant leading 2nd Platoon, India Company, 85th Infantry Regiment of the 10th Mountain Division, near the town of Castel d'Aiano in Italy's Apennine Mountains southwest of Bologna.

Their mission on Feb. 14, 1945, was to attack German positions on Hill 913. "They attacked without hesitation, led by Lt. Dole." In the course of that attack, "the world exploded around Lt. Dole," Milley said.

His radioman was mortally wounded and, as he sought to drag him to cover, machine gun bullets tore through Dole's back, leaving him unable to move his arms and legs. Others in the platoon managed to drag him to relative cover behind a stone wall, but he lay there for nearly 10 hours before medics could reach him, "not knowing whether he would live or die," Milley said.

Before finally securing Hill 913, the 10th Mountain would sustain 460 casualties, including 98 killed in action, Milley said.

"He left the battlefield in Italy, and his war was over but his fight was just beginning," he added, referring to the full body cast Dole endured for nearly a year, along with seven surgeries. "He suffered and endured and showed us all what hope can do.

"So why, why did Bob Dole do it? Why did Bob Dole raise his right hand in 1942 and swear allegiance to the United States of America? He did it for an idea, an idea that is America," Milley said. "He fought and lived for that idea.

"He served the Army, he served the state of Kansas, he served his political party but, above all, he served his country, he served his fellow Americans," Milley said. "Bob Dole always, always, put his country first."

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.

Related: Dole: 'Genuine Hero' Paid War's Price, Triumphed in Senate
SIMI VALLEY, California -- The United States and China are squaring off in a global competition with a scale unseen since the Cold War, as the two nuclear powers race for military dominance and new weaponry that ranges across the seas, space, cyberspace and beyond.

It's a rivalry that includes everything from what U.S. officials say are near-daily low-level attacks on satellites such as blinding them with lasers, to U.S. Navy operations challenging China's claims in the South China Sea, to a race fielding hypersonic missiles that can evade air defenses.

Stuck in the middle is Taiwan, one of the most valuable pieces on the geopolitical chess board -- and one many worry could be the flashpoint for war between the United States and China.

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A war with China over Taiwan would be larger than anything the U.S. military has faced in recent decades, when it has been focused on counterterrorism and counterinsurgency rather than preparing to fight against a peer adversary.

China has been stepping up military drills around the island in what Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recently said appear to be "rehearsals" for an invasion.

Defense officials and analysts worry Taiwan is not well enough defended, as lawmakers and commentators debate whether the U.S. military should intervene if China tries to take Taiwan by force.

"Nobody wants to see this develop into a conflict in this region," Austin said Dec. 4 at the annual Reagan National Defense Forum. "So we're going to do everything in our power to help prevent conflict and dial down the temperature whenever possible."

The status of Taiwan, an island that's a little bigger than the size of Maryland and home to roughly 23 million people, has been in limbo for more than half a century.

While Taiwan lacks assets that countries traditionally fight over, such as natural resources, it has taken on an outsize importance in U.S.-China competition as both countries see it as symbolic of their larger goal for regional dominance. The island's location off the coast of China and between southeast and northeast Asia would also make it a strategic asset during any global conflict.

U.S.-China tensions have been flaring over a raft of issues, from the COVID-19 pandemic to trade disputes to China's oppression of Uyghur Muslims, which the United States has declared a genocide.

Beijing's rapid military rise especially has caused alarm. U.S. officials point to its leaps forward on hypersonic weapons, an expanding nuclear arsenal and anti-satellite capabilities.

But even as the concerns stack up, it's Taiwan that is the focus of increasing tension, and the risk of escalation between China and the U.S.

Austin had a broader message for the national security elite gathered at the annual Reagan forum in Simi Valley, California, earlier this month: Don't panic.

The Taiwan Conundrum

Under decades-old policy, the U.S. maintains what's called "strategic ambiguity" toward Taiwan, remaining purposefully vague about whether it would come to the island's defense if China invades.

The policy is meant to deter China from attacking and discourage Taiwan from formally declaring independence -- a move opposed by Beijing -- by keeping them both guessing.

After the Chinese Revolution brought the Communist party to power in 1949, the previous government fled to Taiwan and established what they called the new, true capital of China in Taipei.

Since then, Beijing has considered Taiwan a breakaway province, and current Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed to pursue "reunification."

The United States sees Taiwan as a democratic bulwark against authoritarian China's expanist ambitions. However, as part of normalizing relations with China in the 1970s, the United States does not officially recognize Taiwan as an independent country.

In this Oct. 22, 2004 photo, Taiwanese soldiers stand in attention in front of a Patriot missile air defense system near the northern coastal town of Wanli, Taiwan. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)

But stepped-up Chinese war games around the island in recent months have made the thought of an invasion seem more realistic and reignited questions about how the U.S. would respond.

During October drills, China flew a record 56 military flights around Taiwan in one day, part of a total 149 flights over four days.

Earlier this year, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command chief Adm. John Aquilino testified during a congressional hearing that the possibility of China trying to invade is "closer to us than most think," though he declined to endorse a specific timeline. His predecessor, Adm. Philip Davidson, told lawmakers weeks earlier that he thought China could try to invade within six years.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the Reagan forum, Aquilino suggested there are elements of psychological warfare in China's near-constant drilling around Taiwan.

"It has a coercive nature.  It's a form of a pressure campaign," he told reporters.

While there's Chinese activity near Taiwan almost daily, Aquilino also said the spikes that make headlines are "a bit of a tit-for-tat" response to U.S. activities. For example, the October Chinese drills came after the United States and five of its allies conducted a massive naval exercise in the Philippine Sea that included two U.S. aircraft carriers, a British carrier and 15 other warships.

Bonnie Glaser, director of the Asia program at the German Marshall Fund think tank, said she does not believe war is imminent, despite the ramped-up military presence.

"The Chinese are training in a very realistic way," she told Military.com in a phone interview. "A rehearsal doesn't mean that they have the intention to invade."

Glaser pointed specifically to congressional testimony from Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, who told the Senate Appropriations Committee in June that China has "little intent right now or motivation" to take Taiwan "militarily."

But some lawmakers want deeper assurances that the U.S. is prepared.

The bipartisan annual defense policy bill that is on track to become law includes a similar statement of support for Taiwan. The National Defense Authorization Act would make it U.S. policy to "maintain the capacity of the United States to resist a fait accompli that would jeopardize the security of the people on Taiwan," while also specifying the policy should be consistent with the U.S. law that sets the basis for strategic ambiguity.

That does not go as far as some other lawmakers in both parties have proposed: preemptive authorization for U.S. military action to defend Taiwan.

How War Might Play Out

Should war over Taiwan come, it could include everything from clandestine skirmishes to all-encompassing combat.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I., predicted that China could start with tactics that fall below the traditional threshold of war, known as grey zone warfare, such as certain types of cyber operations.

"Looking at the issue of Taiwan in particular, I don't think it would be the traditional D-Day because that would take months to organize your landing forces, and we would know that, and we would have time to either take action or to negotiate," he said during a panel at Reagan.

Rather, Reed compared a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan to Russia's 2014 invasion of Crimea in Ukraine, saying it could entail "cyber operations, infiltrating, getting people in there quickly via air."

Ukraine serves as an easy stand-in for Taiwan, with the invasion of Crimea a warning that countries caught between great powers are serving as proxy battlefields. Despite Russia's claiming of Ukrainian territory, and international condemnation over the annexation, an equilibrium had been reached until earlier this year, when tens of thousands of Russian troops began amassing near the Ukrainian border, leaving western officials scrambling to head off a possible Russian invasion. Recent news reports said U.S. intelligence has found Russia is planning a military offensive for early 2022 that could include as many as 175,000 troops.

Much like when he spoke about Taiwan, Austin expressed hope at the Reagan forum for avoiding conflict, despite the escalation.

"There's a lot of space here for diplomacy and leadership to work," Austin said. "We're going to remain engaged with our allies in the region, our partners in the region, and we're going to continue to do everything we can to help provide Ukraine the capability to protect its sovereign territory."

Taiwan's ambiguous status in U.S. policy has made defense officials reluctant to go into detail about how the American military might step in during an invasion, and whether a clear military response would even be triggered.

About 375,000 U.S. sailors, soldiers, airmen, Marines and civilian personnel are focused on the Pacific, with hundreds of ships and more than a thousand aircraft spread across the region and U.S. military bases in Hawaii, Guam, South Korea and Japan.

In October, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen confirmed in an interview with CNN that a small number of U.S. troops are on the island training Taiwanese forces.

But Austin sidestepped a question at the Reagan forum about making those troops more visible. Instead, he spoke in general terms about how the U.S. is going to "look for ways to do more" to help Taiwan.

How many U.S. troops would be needed to defend Taiwan depends on an exact invasion scenario, Glaser said. For example, trying to remove Chinese forces after they land in Taiwan would mean an enormous commitment of military forces, compared to countering a Chinese blockade.

The United Kingdom's carrier strike group led by HMS Queen Elizabeth, and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces led by Hyuga-class helicopter destroyer JS Ise, joined with U.S. Navy carrier strike groups led by USS Ronald Reagan and USS Carl Vinson to conduct operations in the Philippine Sea, on Oct. 3, 2021. (Michael Jarmiolowski/U.S. Navy via AP)

The United States does not have enough military resources in the region to defend Taiwan from a full-scale invasion.

"We don't have enough force in place, and the forces we have are very vulnerable to Chinese attack," Glaser said.

Taiwan's own defenses also need to be hardened, officials said, particularly through arms sales.

The island government has traditionally been attracted to buying "shiny objects," such as fighter jets, rather than addressing a more urgent need to make the island "much less easy to swallow" by Chinese forces, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth told the audience at the Reagan forum this month.

"We need Taiwan to be investing in things like sea mines, in anti-ship missiles and coastal defense, and really working on the readiness of their forces," Wormuth said.

The Great Global Competition

Taiwan is only one of a dizzying number of facets of the competition between the U.S. and China.

Over the summer, China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile that was launched into space, circumnavigated the globe and hit a target. U.S. officials were at first reluctant to confirm details they said were classified, but have since been referring more and more to the test as they argue the United States is at risk of falling behind.

"Hypersonic weapons, especially at intercontinental ranges, greatly complicate the strategic warning problem," Gen. David Thompson, vice chief of space operations for the Space Force, said at the Reagan forum. "The ability to maneuver means you no longer know with confidence where it's going and cannot be prepared to deal with it unless you keep track of it throughout its flight, throughout its trajectory."

Thompson said he is confident the U.S. could "absolutely" catch up to China on hypersonic weapons.

Officials are increasingly discussing hypersonic weapons and space capabilities -- including the ability to sabotage satellites integral to both the military and civilians, such as the Global Positioning System, or GPS -- in terms of an arms race with China.

"The fact, that in essence, on average, they are building and fielding and updating their space capabilities at twice the rate we are means that very soon, if we don't start accelerating our development and delivery capabilities, they will exceed us," Thompson said.

He added that 2030 is "not an unreasonable estimate" for when China could overtake the U.S. in space.

The heated competition extends into cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and nanotechnology. Austin called on businesses and industry leaders to "work with us and help keep our country strong," promising to make it easier for those who are making advances to work with the Defense Department.

China has also been using less high-tech solutions to extend its power base. The country is building military bases and airstrips on islands in the South China Sea that are disputed territory, prompting the U.S. military to sail ships and fly aircraft around the islands in so-called freedom of navigation operations.

And China is leaning on diplomacy to help expand its military influence beyond the Pacific.

China's primary means of gaining an international foothold is its so-called Belt and Road initiative of investing in infrastructure, which U.S. officials say is really a trap to leave countries indebted to Beijing.

China has lent African countries hundreds of billions of dollars as part of the initiative, and one of those countries, Djibouti, is home to China's first overseas military base. China is also reportedly now eyeing a base along the Atlantic Ocean in Equatorial Guinea, according to The Wall Street Journal.

U.S. Southern Command chief Gen. Laura Richardson warned that a similar situation is unfolding in South America that could lead to Chinese military bases and Chinese-owned enterprises in the western hemisphere.

"China's playbook for Africa is taking place in Latin America now," she said on a panel at Reagan. "If we're not careful, what's happening in Latin America will in five or 10 years have the same impacts."

To critics, the military's focus on China offers a useful boogeyman to justify ever-increasing defense budgets. The defense budget, including both Pentagon and non-Pentagon funding such as Department of Energy nuclear weapons programs, is expected to jump from $740 billion in 2021 to $768 billion in 2022.

Both China and the United States say they don't want war, and it's unclear whether the U.S. would have the appetite to get into a massive conflict, particularly as the public remains weary following two decades of war in the Middle East.

But U.S. defense officials also continue to beat the drum about why the United States must win the competition with China.

"I don't want to see them eroding the current international order, which I think has kind of helped raise everybody's boats," Wormuth said. "Making it clear to China that they can't violate the laws of territorial sovereignty is why Taiwan matters, because we want the Indo-Pacific to remain stable and free."

-- Rebecca Kheel can be reached at rebecca.kheel@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @reporterkheel.

Related: US 'Very Concerned' About Russian Military Moves Near Ukraine, Austin Says
A German tax office has rescinded its case against a retired U.S. airman, who said his situation should serve as a wake-up call to the military over its failure to defend its personnel from potential financial ruin.

Earlier this month, an attorney for former Master Sgt. Matthew Larsen received notification from the Kusel-Landstuhl finance office that it was ending its pursuit of the American.

Still, Larsen said his victory reinforces his view that the U.S. military in Europe has failed to stand up for a growing number of American personnel who still find themselves ensnared in high-stakes fights with German authorities.

"The Air Force didn't win this case for us," Larsen told Stars and Stripes last week. "Neither did DOD or the embassy. This is something we fought strictly alone."

His final years of active duty were marred by threats of fines and even imprisonment if he didn't hand over his U.S. tax records to German authorities for inspection.

The State Department has said repeatedly that local tax offices are violating the NATO Status of Forces Agreement when they try to force U.S. personnel to pay German income taxes and penalties on their military pay and benefits.

Larsen drew the attention of tax officials because he is married to a German woman, which in their eyes can be justification for treating military personnel as taxable German residents despite their military visas.

In addition to being married to a German, factors that can put military members at tax risk include owning property, sending children to German schools or having lengthy tours of duty.

While talks aimed at resolving the diplomatic impasse drag on between Washington and Berlin, Americans remain targets and revenue sources for German garrison towns.

Bills have reached into the six figures in some cases, with German authorities taxing not only military salaries but also so-called privileges, such as access to free on-base schools for children, gym use, discounted gasoline and tax-free shopping at commissaries.

Larsen's case, which emerged in April 2020, put a spotlight on the increasingly aggressive tactics used by tax offices in areas where large numbers of U.S. troops are based.

But in a letter dated Nov. 29, the tax office wrote that the situation was "hereby resolved" and that Larsen didn't owe the money the Germans were seeking.

The decision marked a quick reversal. Days earlier, the tax office had issued a fine and a demand that Larsen submit his tax records, even though his tour in Germany had already ended and he was back in the United States.

The tax office didn't offer a reason for its decision to back down. German tax officials have said in the past that as a rule, they can't comment publicly on private cases.

Larsen said that at the outset, he was told by Army and Air Force legal offices that he would need to retain his own attorney because the military regards such cases as a private matter.

Faced with an $11,000 fine and possible imprisonment for failure to provide tax records, Larsen said he had no one but his attorney fighting on his behalf.

"Any feeling I had of being protected because I was in the U.S. military, that went right out the window with this case," he said.

The Army, which oversees all SOFA maters in Germany, did not respond to questions about what prevents it from providing legal support to affected personnel.

In Germany, military commands are often involved when situations arise with government authorities. For example, traffic violations and speeding tickets from the Germans are run through command offices before troops are informed, Larsen said.

"In this case, where something could evaporate somebody's entire life savings, something that can affect your security clearance and job, (military leaders) aren't involved at all," Larsen said. "This is huge stuff. It baffles me to no end."

This story originally appeared on Stars and Stripes.
11.12.2021 LISTEN

Member of Parliament for Binduri Constituency Abdulai Abanga has said, he will seek clarity on the controversial airport to be constructed in Upper East Region.

His response came after the Navrongo Member of Parliament Mr. Sampson Tangombu Chiragia criticized government for not making provision for the airport in the 2022 budget.

Speaking in an interview with this reporter on Thursday, December 9, 2021, the Binduri legislator said, even though he has no much information about the airport as at the time of this interview, he promised to follow up on it.

I will take it up and try and find out what the situation is regarding the setting up of the airport in the region. You are aware that our senior brother late Hon. Kofi Adda, may he rest in perfect peace. They started the airport idea and he worked so hard and really wanted to see the airport fully established but it didnt happen before his demise.

It will help all of us in the region and beyond in our transportation especially those of us coming from Upper East. Now we have to land in Tamale, drive 2,3,4 hours before we can get to our various destinations either to Bawku, Navrongo or to Sandema. So, definitely having the airport in any part of the region will give us an advantage and it will help us so much in our duties as MPs, as business people, and for the general public. So, I will also pick it up to find out what the thinking is and the policies with the government regarding that Airport."

He expressed confident that the airport will be constructed as promised by the NPP government.
The Upper East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Anthony Namoo, has called on the citizenry to rally behind the second term of Nana Akufo Addo and the NPP administration to develop the country despite party differences.

Mr Namoo lauded Ghanaians for the confidence they reposed in the President and the NPP as Party.

He stated that, though it was keenly contested, at the end of it all, the victory fell on them. Mr Namoo therefore expressed appreciation to the good people of Ghana, particularly the people of the Upper East Region who voted for the NPP Party.

He added that, in terms of the absolute vote they had an increase in 2016, even though they missed the target set for the region narrowly in 2020 elections nevertheless they are very grateful.

According to him, there is the need to bury all differences and put the bits and pieces together as one people with a common destiny saying, "all ranks within the party will come and go but the party will still stand."

Mr Namoo stated that, but for Gods intervention, the party would have been thrown out of power citing the numbers on both sides of Parliament.

He said in an interview with ModernGhana News in Bolgatanga, Capital of the Upper East, on the sidelines of one years election victory of Nana Akufo Addos second term.
MTN Ghana on Saturday, December 11, 2021, dashed a brand new 2021 edition of Hyundai Creta SUV to the ultimate winner of its South-East District in this years Mobile Money (MoMo) awards.

The annual awards event is held in December every year by the giant telecommunications network to reward its mobile agents, mobile money merchants, and mobile money agents.

At an entertaining event held on Saturday night at the Alisa Hotel, as many as 400 MoMo partners made up of 200 Agents, 120 Merchants and 80 Mobile Agents in the South-East District Of MTN Ghana received enviable prizes for their hard work.

This is in addition to the about 600 hundred Agents and Merchants rewarded by MTN in Takoradi and Kumasi in the last few weeks.

Addressing the many agents and merchants gathered for the 2021 MoMo Awards, Mr. Eli Hini who is CEO of Mobile Money Limited applauded the winners while encouraging non-winners to continue working hard for next year.

I would like to congratulate all the award winners and urge those who did not win this year to keep working harder since there is still an opportunity to be recognized next year, all other things being equal, he said.

Mr. Eli Hini further called on MoMo agents and merchants to continue helping to fight Mobile Money fraud in the country by putting in the necessary efforts to complement steps already taken by MTN Ghana.

We appreciate your role in helping us fight fraud and we urge you to keep up the good work to project a positive image for Mobile Money Limited and for that matter our mother brand MTN Ghana.

We therefore we urge you to provide an exceptional experience for our customers and most importantly ensure your place of operation is well secured to avoid burglars, Mr. Hini added.

At last nights event, the ultimate winner for the South-East District, Isaac Bediako received a brand new Hyundai Creta SUV amid excitement and cheers from his colleagues in the MoMo business.

Speaking to the media after receiving the keys to his new car, elated Isaac Bediako credited his hard work for the recognition as he extended his appreciation to MTN Ghana for how through MoMo, they have transformed his life.

He said with his latest prize, he will be motivated to work even harder.

The I.K Bediako Enterprise owner advised his colleague MoMo agents and merchants to take customers seriously to help grow their business.

Other agents and merchants on the night won TV sets, Mobile phones, Motorcycles, Tabletop fridges, Generator sets, CCTV Cameras, as well as Laptops.

About MTN Mobile Money:

MTN Mobile Money is a fast, simple, convenient, secure and affordable way of transferring money, making payments and doing other transactions using a mobile phone.

The service is offered by MTN in partnership with over 10 partner banks. You can use MTN Mobile Money to send and receive money, top-up MTN airtime, pay bills (DStv, ECG Postpaid, MTN Postpaid, School fees and more), buy & pay for insurance, pay employee salaries, pay for airline tickets and other goods and services.

Fight against MoMo Fraud:

In the wake of challenges relating to fraud, MTN Ghana has in the past year initiated several steps to fight the canker.

In April, MTN implemented the ID presentation for cash-out service. Even though there were some hiccups at the start leading to some agents being sanctioned, it was largely successful.

Also, this year, MTN took the fight against fraud to another level in collaboration with the relevant stakeholders to block the IMEIs of phones used in undertaking fraud.

Customers are urged to report suspected fraudsters by calling, 114, sending a text to 1515 or 419, or sending an email to: [email protected]
Ex-Ghana President John Dramani Mahama

13.12.2021 LISTEN

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) branch in Germany has blasted former President John Dramani Mahama while accusing him of being a hypocrite.

This is in reaction to comments the 2020 presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party made on taxes prior to the presentation of the 2022 budget statement by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.

this government has been on a spending spree, borrowing spree; today, debt is overwhelming us. Weve never been in debt to this extent ever before in our lives. Even at the time, we went HIPC, our debt-to-GDP was not almost 80 percent. Today, we are almost 80 percent of debt-to-GDP even with a rebased economy.

So, the economy has been run into a ditch and I know that in a few days time, they will read the budget and its the intention of this government to increase taxes and increase tariffs on electricity and water and all that, John Dramani Mahama said in November while wrapping up his thank you tour.

Recounting how the ex-president defended taxation in 2014 while he was in power, the NPP Germany says John Mahama is a hypocrite.

According to the chapter, the inconstancies of the former President are a threat to the country.

When he was in power in 2014 he came out to tell all Ghanaians how unpleasant it is to announce new taxes but rather termed it as a necessary yet unpopular decision. Today, these similar decisions are being taken and Mahama calls it an inhumane act and mismanagement. This can only spell how much of a hypocrite he (Mahama) is, part of an NPP Germany statement signed by Communications Director Nana Osei Boateng has said.

Read the full statement below:

Press Release

Npp Germany

06.12.21

MAHAMA'S INCONSISTENCY IS A THREAT TO THE NATION

Former president of Ghana, Mr. John Mahama has been on record about the recent budget as presented by the finance minister Hon. Ken Ofori Atta. He has made comments that seem to suggest that the current government is a poor economic manager because of the introduction of new taxes for 2022.

This event is making things crystal clear on how hypocritical Mahama is when it comes to things that matters to Ghana against his political ambitions. He is ready to sacrifice his motherland for his impromtu vision to make history by being the first returning president of the 4th republic instead of maintaining his already written history of being the poorest and the only one-time president of the 4th republic.

When he was in power in 2014 he came out to tell all Ghanaians how unpleasant it is to announce new taxes but rather termed it as a necesarry yet unpopular decision. Today, these similar decisions are being taken and Mahama calls it an inhumane act and mismanagement. This can only spell how much of a hypocrite he (Mahama) is.

The government has introduced new taxes as well as scrapped some. And this is explained as a better means to adjust and reshape our current economic structure, retune our income streams and create space for fiscal discipline among citizens and government. Mahama who has before been in this office and showed how poor he is at managing affairs cannot be the one to direct Ghanaian mentality towards hating a government that means good.

Ghana will rise above these times and it will be done through this effecient management not impotent castigations of a wornout politician.

God bless NPP

God bless His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

God bless Ghana.

...Signed...

Nana Osei Boateng

Npp Germany Branch Communications Director.
As the tributes continued to pour in for South Africa's Lindiwe Mabuza , who passed away on 6 December 2021, it was clear that she will be remembered for the many different roles she occupied during her lifetime. She was called ambassador, diplomat, feminist, poet, writer, freedom fighter, leader and educator, amongst others.

Born in 1938 in Newcastle, South Africa, she was undoubtedly an advocate for women's rights, and she foregrounded women's concerns at a time when the struggle against apartheid surpassed the rights of women .

Lindiwe skillfully linked her love for the creative arts with teaching moments. Close to her heart were innovative ways of teaching children to write about their experiences. She traveled across Scandinavia teaching children about the evils of apartheid  an ideology of racial segregation entrenched by white minority rule in South Africa.

Long before the demise of apartheid, from 1979 already, she was representing the African National Congress (ANC) in the Nordic countries and the US and is well recognised for her role in solidifying the international movement against apartheid. After democracy in 1994 she would become an ambassador, eventually serving as South Africa's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2001.

Intellectual cultural activism

For Lindiwe, art was an essential component of the apartheid struggle: We used it as a weapon, an extra weapon of the struggle.

It was the combination of the art of storytelling as teaching methodology, as a way of raising awareness, as a tool to network, that contributed to her leadership style. Examples of these are her networks and friendships with prominent African American artists such as Quincy Jones , Danny Glover and Harry Belafonte as well as Black leaders like the Reverend Jesse Jackson , Randal Robinson and Barbara Lee , to name a few. Mabuza used the name Sono Molefe for the book of struggle poetry. uHlanga poetry press

In 2017 she deservedly received the Arts and Culture Trust Lifetime Achievement Award for Arts Advocacy. The award traced her involvement in becoming the editor of the ANC Women's League publication Voice of Women in 1977, where she provided the platform for women to express themselves. She also used her position as broadcaster in the ANC's Radio Freedom to highlight women's plight. And she was responsible for promoting the Malibongwe book project . For this she invited women teachers, freedom fighters, nurses, students who were in the trenches of Tanzania, Angola, and Mozambique to submit in their own words their experiences as black women in the struggle. She edited the book  which was banned but appeared in Europe in 1980  under the name Sono Molefe.

Lindiwe believed that it was important for women to tell their own stories because they too played an important part in the history against oppression. She was indeed a feminist when the concept was not yet as popular as now.

Her love for storytelling is evident in her various poetry anthologies. She herself said :

Poetry is part of the struggle. You use the armed struggle; you use political methods  You recite a poem. It's better than a three-hour speech. It gets to the heart of the matter. It moves people.

This is so reminiscent of the struggle poetry and theatre that have such an integral part of the apartheid struggle era.

She published Voices that Lead: Poems 1976-1996 (1998); Letter to Letta (1991); Footprints and Fingerprints (2008); Malibongwe, One Never Knows  poetry and short stories by African Congress Women; From ANC to Sweden; and Africa to Me: Gedichte Englisch/Deutsch (1999). Mabuza discussing her O.R. Tambo book project.

Lindiwe never forgot the children and in 2007 she published a children's book South African Animals . In the same pedagogical tradition, she edited a book by 30 contributors titled Conversations with Uncle O.R.  Childhood Memoirs in Exile in which the contributors reflect on their experiences born, raised and educated in foreign countries.

It was important for her to give space and voice to the children whose experiences are often marginalised and even erased in the broader struggle for freedom and democracy.

Lifelong educator

Her life is a kaleidoscope of a lifelong educator and artistic creator intersecting with age, nationalities and gender. She used every opportunity to build movements with a consciousness and understood it is imperative that you archive these experiences in writing. She leaves behind a legacy of collaboration and networking.

Lindiwe was especially interested in marginalised children and women and had the ability to draw on her skills as educator and provide the platforms where they too could give expression in this masculine and patriarchal world.

Read more: Black feminist writers in South Africa raise their voices in a new book

Lindiwe Mabuza's life did not have an easy beginning, but she was able to use those disadvantages as a challenge and in the process, she did not leave others behind but continued to create opportunities and platforms for others. Her cultural and political work will continue to live in her publications.

Mary Hames does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

By Mary Hames, Researcher and Gender Equity Officer, University of the Western Cape
President of Regent University College of Science and Technology (RUCST) Prof. Ernest Ofori Asamoah has said, private universities have a crucial role to play in the unemployment situation facing Ghana.

According to him, there is the need for coordinated policies and efforts to sustainably solve the graduate unemployment menace.

He said this during the 15th graduation ceremony of the Regent University College of Science and Technology, under the theme: Mindset in an Emerging Economy, the role of Private Universities.

According to Prof E. Ofori Asamoah, approximately 8,108 out of 81,081 2021/2022 national service personnel deployed will be employed after their national service and may take up to 10 years (up to 2032) for the remaining 72,973 to be employed permanently.

He noted that this is premised on research conducted by the Institute of Statistics, Social and Economic Researchs (ISSER).

According to him, the report indicates that only 10 per cent of graduates in Ghana find work immediately after their mandatory national service and it takes the remainder about 10 years to secure permanent employment.

He stressed that bridging the gap of unemployment is possible through; entrepreneurial mindset and attitudinal change, curriculum tailored to meet industry needs, innovative financing and academic research driven by Industry and societal needs and private universities can focus on.

Prof E. Ofori Asamoah added his outfit intends to achieve that through Research, Innovation and Development and International Partnerships and Collaborations.

He added that, as part of the numerous local and international approaches to bridge the gap between industry and academia, it recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI).

The MOU would help promote research and innovation, industry-academia collaboration, training, and development. It would also help promote and strengthen the commercial and industrial interests in the country as well as prepare young graduates from the university to meet the needs and requirements of the job market.

The president emphasised that the MoU was also signed on the basis that the success of any economy rests on its entrepreneurs, enterprises, and creating an enabling environment.

Chancellor for the institution, Rev. Prof. Emmanuel K. Larbi, said, political leadership in African is pathologically self-seeking.

According to him, politicians do not seem to offer much hope for Ghanaians and the African continent.

He urged the graduands to demonstrate a new breed of leadership.

You must develop a discomfort for the status quo. Cultivate hard-work, perseverance, courage and discipline; render good and selfless service to your community and your country, and to all those you come in contact with, and do need your help.
The Group of Seven industrialised nations has warned Russia of massive consequences and severe costs if President Vladimir Putin launches an attack on Ukraine.

The meeting in the northern English city of Liverpool came as U.S. intelligence assesses that Russia could be planning a multi-front offensive on Ukraine as early as next year, involving up to 175,000 troops.

The Kremlin denies any plans to invade and says the West is gripped by Russophobia.

Moscow says the expansion of NATO threatens Russia and has contravened assurances given to it when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

G7 delegates said they were united in their condemnation of Russia's military build-up near Ukraine and they called on Moscow to de-escalate.

According to a draft statement from the G7, "Russia should be in no doubt that further military aggression against Ukraine would have massive consequences and severe cost."

"We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the right of any sovereign state to determine its own future," it added.

"Red line" that cannot be crossed

For Moscow, the growing NATO embrace of a neighbouring former Soviet republic - and what it sees as the nightmare possibility of alliance missiles in Ukraine targeted against Russia - is a "red line" it will not allow to be crossed.

Putin has demanded legally binding security guarantees that NATO will not expand further east or place its weapons close to Russian territory.

Washington has repeatedly said no country can veto Ukraine's NATO ambitions.

In 2014, Russia seized the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine, prompting the West to slap sanctions on Russia.

The Kremlin said on Sunday that Putin told U.S. President Joe Biden that Russian troops posed no threat and that Moscow was being demonised for moving troops around its own territory.
French president Emmanuel Macron will meet Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest this Monday, as France prepares to take up the rotating EU presidency, in a bid to find common ground with his opponent on issues such as investment, nuclear power and European defence.

Macron's trip to Hungary, which will allow the French president to complete his tour of the 26 other EU capitals, will take place in the context of a summit of the Visegrad group countries currently chaired by Orban.

Speaking before the weekend, Macron said: "[Orban] is a political adversary, but a European partner. Whatever our political sensitivities ... we must work together for Europe."

"It is very clear that on the subject of the rule of law, there will be disagreements," Macron added, but he believes on subjects of sovereignty and economic growth they will find useful compromises.

Viktor Orban has often been cited by Emmanuel Macron as the leader of a nationalist and sovereignist camp in the EU, which opposes "progressive" Europhiles.

Along with Poland, Hungary has adopted several laws that have been contested in Brussels, notably against the depiction of homosexuality to children under 18.

The search for common ground

Under Orban, Hungary's stance on homosexuality is cited as one of the most draconian regimes against the LGBT community in Europe.

And like Warsaw, Budapest is challenging the supremacy of European law over national legislation.

In response, the European Commission has launched several judicial procedures against both countries for infringing the rule of law and EU values - in particular a "conditionality" mechanism for European aid, which blocks the payment of subsidies for economic recovery in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The two leaders, however, had already found common ground when Emmanuel Macron hosted Viktor Orban at the Elysee Palace in October 2019, particularly on border protection and the need for united European defence.
A level 200 Student of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), Stephen Bernard Donkor has won the enviable Outstanding Student Journalist of the Year at the just-ended Third Edition of the National Communications Awards.

The prestigious event put together by RAD Communications and partners took place at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra on Saturday 11th December 2021.

Stephen Bernard beat stiff competition from other great student journalists including Efo Korku Mawutor, Akokoraba Nyarko Abronoma, Emmanuel Donkor and a host of others.

This win comes as no surprise as Stephen has won the heart and admiration of online and print media consumers in his line of duty as a Journalism student who writes thought-provoking articles on almost all the prominent online portals as well as the Dailies.

Earlier this year, he was adjudged Student Online Personality of the Year and Student TV Host of the Year at the Communications Students' Awards held at the Pentecost University. He continues to make great impact with his articles that bother on the need to come together as a people in making Ghana a better place among other social areas he normally advocates.

All this is a clear indication of the fact that Stephen Bernard deserves to be crowned the Outstanding Student Journalist of the Year. The National Communications Awards (NCA) is intended to promote communications, organizational, and national development by recognizing and rewarding outstanding communications companies, teams, and individuals from around the country.

Shortly after the awards, Stephen Bernard used the opportunity to thank God for wisdom, guidance and protection. "I am particularly thankful to God for this honour done me. It's a sign of greater things to come and wouldn't relent on my oars in championing every good initiative" he noted.

He further craved the indulgence of the gathering to dedicate the Awards to Mr. John Wesley Bessey, Mr. Ernest Asante Wiafe, Mr. Philip Donkor, Mrs. Margaret Oppong Donkor.

It didn't end there as he acknowledged the support of Mrs. Patricia Amoafo Wiafe and finally to Amanda Atunah for her contribution towards his success story. "Indeed, I would be doing myself a disservice if I fail to honour Mandy for her immense contribution, care and above all admonition," he stated. I thank my brother Bright Philip Donkor for his support as well not forgetting Kimberly Atunah. This is certainly a win for the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ).

Meanwhile, honorary awards were given to quite a number of people. Ace Broadcaster, Tommy Annan Forson received the Media Legacy Honour, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Jandel Limited, Ms. Afi Amoro won the Events Legacy Honour and the IT Leadership Award, Private Sector went to Business Transformation Consultant, Ebo Richardson.
Parliament is expected to sit on Mondays which is not a usual parliamentary business day until the house rises on December 21.

The decision follows the seeming delay in the approval process of the 2022 budget occasioned by entrenched positions held by the two caucuses in Parliament on aspects of the budget.

The two sides have however pledged to build consensus towards the approval of the budget.

To make this possible, the President has directed all ministers and deputies to be present in Parliament to assist in the passage of the appropriation bill.

The Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin announced the steps taken to ensure the passage of the Appropriation Bill.

We have agreed to have sitting on Monday and have also extended sitting and the necessary support systems will be put in place to ensure the pleasure of members even as they labour for the ensuing period.

I want to assure you that we have discussed these things and even ministers have been whipped to make time for committee sittings.

Meanwhile, the controversies surrounding the electronic transaction levy linger as some minority MPs have described the over GHC 241 Million allocation for revenue monitoring and assurance as dubious and needless.

Some Ghanaians and civil society groups have also expressed their misgivings about the said allocation.

For instance, the Chief Executive for IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, Franklin Cudjoe , has chastised the government over the allocation.

According to him, it doesn't support the reasons given for the proposed levy.

We tend to spend too much in this country to collect some of these taxes. And I think the government is compounding the problems of the e-levy just when some of us were beginning to understand some of the reasons given.

I think this GHS241 million allocation for this e-levy is needless. It flies in the face of the motive for this tax. So I'm appalled at this decision when in actual fact there is some supposed entity in place to do the collection.

---citinewsroom
13.12.2021 LISTEN

Member of Parliament for Builsa South, Dr. Clement Apaak has taken a swipe at President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over his celebration of the 2021 West African Secondary School Examination (WASSCE) results.

The President over the weekend shared his excitement about the outcome of the results while insisting that the high pass rate is an indication that the Free SHS Policy is working and proving critics wrong.

The 2021 WASSCE results of the second batch of the Akufo-Addo graduates show 54.08% of students recoding AI-C5 in English, as opposed to 51.6% in 2016, 65.7% recording AI-C6 in Integrated Science in 2021, as opposed to 48.35 in 2016, 54.11% recoding AI-C6 IN Mathematics, as compared to 33.12% in 2016 and 66.03% recording AI-C6 in Social Studies, as compared to 54.55% in 2016.

Lest we forget, the 2021 batch of students were the pioneer of the double-track system, which elicited a lot of vilification and unfounded criticism on its introduction, the president said in a release from the presidency.

Responding to the President's comments, Dr. Clement Apaak says it appears H.E Akufo-Addo is living on another planet.

Alleging that the results of the 2021 WASSCE were procured, the Builsa South MP insists that the President should stop celebrating and rather tell Ghanaians what he has done to address challenges of the education sector.

President Akufo-Addo should be telling us what he has done to address the challenges debilitating effective teaching and learning in our Secondary schools since he took over power, and retained it through ways and means even when Ghanaians rejected him, including beneficiaries of fSHS. He should stop gloating over results some suggest were procured through engineering, and comparing that to genuine results obtained by students under his predecessor, John Mahama.

Akufo-Addo must be living in another planet or his handlers must have misled him to compare the engineerned results procured through massive leakages, malpractices and cheating with the complicity of an examination body (WAEC), whose integrity is currently in question, to the authentic and organic results under John Dramani Mahama, Clement Apaak has said.

The Builsa South legislature added, John Mahama didnt procure and supply past examination questions and examiners reports as part of an effort to cover up monumental challenges affecting teaching and learning at the secondary school level: Obnoxious double track; Erratic academic calendar; overworked teaching and un-teaching staff; inadequate and unwholesome food; inadequate space and furniture; Culture of silence; lack of adequate core subject textbooks; delay is release of funds among others.

WAEC last week released the 2021 results noting that a total of 1,339 subject results and 174 entire results of some students who sat for the exam for School Candidates in Ghana have been cancelled

In addition, the entire results of 3,667 candidates have also been withheld pending the conclusion of investigations into various cases of examination malpractice detected during and after the conduct of the examination.

Also, the scripts of candidates from 194 schools in certain subjects have been withheld and are being scrutinized.
The Communications Director of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Sammy Gyamfi says the latest requirement for Ghanaians travelling into or outside the country is reprehensible.

It follows a press release from the Ghana Health Service (GHS) last week that confirmed the scaling up of Covid-19 protocols at the Kotoka International Airport to curb the importation of the virus in the midst of the Omicron variant.

In the statement, the GHS said Ghanaians travelling out or into the country after December 12, 2021, must present evidence of full vaccination.

Reacting to that directive, Sammy Gyamfi who disagrees says 'the madness must stop.'

According to him, vaccination must be by choice and not by force.

Vaccination must be by choice and not by force. The imposition of compulsory COVID vaccination requirement on all Ghanaians traveling into and out of Ghana by the Ghana Health Service is reprehensible and an affront to the 1992 Constitution, Sammy Gyamfi has said in a Facebook post.

According to him, he is ready to challenge the directive from GHS through every available legal means.

And some of us are determined to fight this madness through every available legal means no matter the cost or stigma, Sammy Gyamfi adds in his post while stressing that this is his personal view.
District Chief Executive (DCE) officer of Awutu Senya West, Hon. Joseph Aidoo has urged graduates to venture into the agriculture business.

According to him, government through the Planting for Food and Jobs has made huge investments creating the enabling environment for ready market; locally and internationally.

The vision of the NPP government has been to modernize agriculture, improve production efficiency, achieve food security and profitability for our farmers, all aimed at significantly increasing agriculture productivity in the country.

He noted that farming over the period has evolved contributing to the reduction of unemployment in the country.

Apart from agriculture providing us with food for consumption, it also provides raw materials that feed many of our local industries and some are even exported for foreign revenue.

He said this during this years 37th farmers day celebration at Awutu Fianko in the Awutu Senya West district, under the theme, "Planting for Food and Jobs: Consolidating Food Systems in Ghana.

The DCE emphasized that farming is a lucrative business sector of the economy.

He stressed that government as part of efforts geared towards motivating farmers and the larger youth community to venture into agriculture has initiated and implemented numerous interventions including distribution of seedlings, fertilizers, establishment of three greenhouse technology in the district, distribution of chemicals to combat the free fall armyworms among others.

The DCE added that a World Bank supported Ghana Production Safety Net Project (GPSNP)' aims to give alternate forms of livelihood to the rural poor in three central sillages by constructing a 75-acre degraded community land using coconut trees as part of a Climate Change Mitigation Intervention module.

Numerous among these, he stressed are opportunities in the agriculture sector for graduates and youths to take advantage.

Overall Best District farmer Benjamin Doudo, appreciated the award, saying his main objective is to contribute to the sustainability of food security in the country and that, is glad for the recognition.

However he expressed worry over the high cost of fertilizer and agric chemical products.

He therefore appealed to government to reduce the price of fertilizers for the farmers to increase their yields.

He was awarded items such as a fridge, TV set, cutlass among others.
Ghanas church leaders have declared a three-day national prayer and fasting for unity, understanding, peace and prosperity of the nation.

Prominent on the programme is praying against all forms of confusion, agitation, civil unrest, selfishness and partisanship among parliamentarians as they debate the 2022 budget.

It starts, Monday, 13 December 2021 to Wednesday, 16 December 2021 with the theme: Peace and goodwill towards all.

The prayer and fasting programme is being orgainsed by the Christian Council of Ghana, the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC), Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference (GCBC), Ghana Charismatic Bishops Conference (GCBC) and the National Association of Charismatic and Christian Churches (NACCC).

Among others, the prayer bulletin intends to pray that the Lord will bring unity and understanding between the two major political parties in parliament, i.e., the NPP and NDC.

It said concerning the debate on the 2022 budget, the church leaders will pray that the spirit of nationalism will override partisan interests among parliamentarians.

They will also pray that the Holy Spirit will move and touch parliamentarians to unite and function with one accord in the best interest of our nation, as they discuss the 2022 budget and other issues on the floor of parliament.

The other prayer topics on parliament are as follows:

Pray that our father will inject parliamentarians to receive divine wisdom, guidance and boldness to lead the two main political parties in parliament to make righteous decisions.

Pray for a peaceful outcome of the 2022 budget debate that will propel Ghana to dimensions of economic prosperity.

Pray for the fear of God among political leaders and parliamentarians in our nation.

Pray for righteousness to prevail in parliament in the name of Jesus.

Pray and plead the blood of Jesus over our parliament to destroy any spirit of confusion and selfishness and any stronghold that is prevailing there in the name of Jesus.

Pray against all forms of civil unrest and agitations in parliament as they continue to debate the 2022 budget in the name of Jesus.

Pray and declare that the purpose of God shall happen in Ghanas parliament and that no human or demonic will shall prevail.

Pray and declare that Ghanas parliament shall show forth the glory of God and that Gods presence shall always manifest in parliamentary proceedings in the name of Jesus.

Declare Gods favour over Ghanas parliament right now in the name of Jesus.

Pray against the high places of sin and corruption in our country. Declare that righteousness is taking over our government and political space in Jesus name.

Pray for truthful media reportage on parliamentarian proceedings devoid of lies and sensationalism.

The church leaders held a similar prayer and fasting session for the nation in April 2020.

---classfmonline.com
The Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) has threatened to embark on strike from January 6, 2021, over the non-payment of allowances.

CETAG on September 24, 2021, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government after reaching an agreement through negotiation on 2017-2020 Conditions of Service (CoS) for members of the Association.

The MoU contained the effective date of implementation as January 1, 2021, while payment of associated arrears of nine (9) months was to be paid in October, November, and December 2021.

With the year coming to a close and members of CETAG yet to receive any of the promised allowances, the leadership of the group has issued a statement announcing that it will embark on an industrial strike if things do not change in the first week of January 2022.

The leadership of Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) wishes to serve notice of the Association's intention to withdraw its services across all the 46 public colleges of education come 6h January 2022, part of the statement signed by CETAG national President Prince Obeng-Himah reads.

It adds, We, instructively, therefore serve notice that CETAG members across all the 46 Colleges of Education have resolved to embark on indefinite industrial action effective January 6, 2022, in response to Government's violation of the signed MoU as well as the roadmap for the payment of the agreed allowances, if the said payments are not made in full at the end of December 2021.

Read the full statement below:
The former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu has said the Minority Caucus in parliament has betrayed Ghanaians three times since the second term of President Nana Akufo-Addo started in January 2021.

In an article on the 2022 budget imbroglio, Mr Amidu, who described the behaviour of the Minority as one reminiscent of the biblical Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus Christ, said the first betrayal was the approval of some contentious ministerial nominees of the president despite having earlier vowed to reject them.

The second betrayal and sell-out came on 29 March 2021 when, without any tangible reason explaining its volte-face, the Minority Leader seconded the approval of the Minister of Finance nominee in a consensus voice vote in parliament, the former Attorney General wrote.

The third betrayal and sell-out began Nicodemusly, with what appeared to have been the repentance of Judas Iscariot in the first two betrayals of the Ghanaian electorate on Friday, 26th November 2021, when we, the people, were deceived into believing that the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy had been rejected by parliament because of the vigilance of the Minority caucus in parliament, Mr Amidu said.

He noted that the NDC Minority caucus had, unbeknown to the public, been assimilated into Nana Akufo-Addos one-party Kabuki dance ensemble.

The Minority and the Majority held a secret meeting on 30 November 2021 at which the Minority agreed to absent itself from the main parliamentary sitting that day to enable the Majority abuse the 1992 Constitution and Standing Orders of Parliament in purporting to rescind the rejected 2022 Budget of 26 November 2021, he alleged.

In his view, the Majority caucus, which has internalised the egoism of power of the government, has learnt to recruit the Minority for the Nana Akufo-Addo one-party Kabuki dance.

The Minority caucus has, since the beginning of the second term of the Nana Akufo-Addo government, accepted integration and has become the lizard that jumped from a high iroko tree to the ground [and] said he would praise himself if no-one did even when the electorate and its own ordinary members see them as traitors to the Constitutional role assigned an opposition party of 137 Members of Parliament in an equally split parliament.

The Minority enabled the appointment of the Minister of Finance together with any 2022 Budget hardships he inflicts upon Ghanaians. Judas Iscariot repented. The NDC can do the same, he said.

Read Mr Amidus full epistle below:

THE EGOISM OF POWER & THE LIZARD THAT JUMPED FROM A HIGH IROKO TREE TO THE GROUND  THE 2022 BUDGET: BY MARTIN A. B. K. AMIDU

Radix Malorum Est Cupiditas

THE FIRST BETRAYAL

On 3rd March 2021, the Minority in Parliament contrary to its own avowed negative evaluations approved the affected ministerial nominees of the President for appointment. The Ghanaian electorate, including some members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Executive and its mass followers outside Parliament, who had the benefit of viewing what transpired in Parliament during the vetting process through public broadcasting felt betrayed, and disappointed by the brazen sell out by the NDC caucus in Parliament to the Government in the approval process.

The Functional Executive Committee (FEC) of the NDC (NDC-FEC) held a crisis meeting the next day, 4th March 2021 and acknowledged in a press statement that:  whatever the disappointment and disagreements may be especially from among the rank and file of the party, care should be taken not to allow these to degenerate into unnecessary bickering at the expense of party discipline and cohesion. The statement added that:

We are also of the view that urgent action is required to deal with the matter and consequently we have initiated a consultation process with the Party's Council of Elders in this regard. It is in our collective interest as a party to address challenges facing the Caucus Leadership and the Backbench as a whole. This task will be tackled expeditiously so as to preserve the unity, cohesion and resilience of the NDC parliamentary Caucus.

The tempers of Ghanaians and the ordinary members of the NDC itself were not assuaged by this appeal. Consequently, the Minority Leader on 5th March 2021 had to make a public statement on behalf of the Minority caucus in Parliament to reject claims that the Minority caucus had been influenced with money to vote to approve the ministerial nominees. He was at pains to point out in the statement that the caucus will never make money or consideration the basis of their engagement with the ruling party:

The Leadership and entire Parliamentary caucus of the NDC wish to reiterate our commitment to the cause of the great National Democratic Congress. We expressly reaffirm our resolve to hold the Akufo-Addo government to account over the coming days, months and years for their stewardship to the Ghanaian people. This is nonnegotiable. You may be disappointed in this outcome but we will not disappoint or let you down in the future. The Caucus has never been and would never be for sale.

The Council of Elders of the NDC then met with the Leadership of the NDC on Tuesday, 9th March 2021, to discuss the developments in Parliament arising from the approval of some of the Ministers designate on 3rd March 2021. As a squeal to this meeting the Council of Elders met again on Tuesday, 9th March 2021 with the Leaderships of the NDC and the NDC caucus in Parliament following which the Chairman of the Council of Elders issued a statement collectively agreeing that the incident of 3rd March 2021 in Parliament where some ministerial nominees were approved was regrettable and unfortunate, and runs contrary to the principles and values of the party. (Emphasis supplied). In the words of the press statement signed by the Chairman of the Council of Elders:

The Caucus Leadership have since pledged to uphold the principles and values of the party in our collective bid to develop our country. . The Council urged the National leadership of the party to resolve issues relating to the Caucus leadership in Parliament and called on the rank and file of the party to remain calm, and provide the needed support to our Caucus in order to hold the Akufo Addo government strictly to the principles of probity and accountability.

Judas Iscariot could not keep faith with this first compact of integrity with the electorate facilitated by the Council of Elders for even one month.

THE SECOND BETRAYAL

The second betrayal and sell-out came on 29th March 2021 when without any tangible reason explaining its volte-face the Minority Leader seconded the approval of the Minister of Finance nominee in a consensus voice vote in Parliament. The real culprits behind the shameless compromises and sell out became public knowledge the next day, 30th March 2021 when the Squealer of the NDC appeared on Peace FM to admit the NDC-FECs responsibility and gave reasons for the betrayal by the Minority Caucus of the Ghanaian electorate. Peace FM reported the story as follows:

General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has revealed reasons why the Minority Caucus on the Appointments Committee approved Finance Minister-designate Ken Ofori-Atta. And it is shocking to the core as it is vain.

It was indeed shocking to the core as it was vain. The Squealer of the NDC said on air that:

We have strategies as a political party and some of the NDC leaders sat down and considered the approval of the nominee as to whether passing or failing him, which one will be in the interest of the party. So, we all decided that if we allow him to be the finance minister, it will be in the interest of the NDC....We realised during the vetting of the finance minister, he was exposed in all his wrong deeds...The banks he collapsed, PDS deal and bad financial decisions he superintended over; we needed him to be there to remind Ghanaians what he has wrought on this country. tell Nana Akufo-Addo that if it is this lame-back finance minister he wants to still be in control of the countrys finances, so be it, and that is why we told our people to approve him.

The capitulation of the Minority caucus in Parliament in approving the Minister of Finance nominee who is now bent on inflicting a draconian and harsh 2022 Budget with economic and social hardships on Ghanaians was the handy work of a former Minister of Finance of the NDC and the NDC-FEC as I have written and pointed out in my analysis available online and on my website as: The MPs Double Salary Criminal Investigation Docket Was Handled By the Attorney-General and Never By Martin Amidu As Special Prosecutor, at page 3 under the sub-title  The Double Salary & Other Criminal cases were Negotiated for Ministerial Approvals thereof.

THE THIRD BETRAYAL

The third betrayal and sell out began Nicodemusly with what appeared to have been the repentance of Judas Iscariot in the first two betrayals of the Ghanaian electorate on Friday, 26th November 2021 when We, the People, were deceived into believing that the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy had been rejected by Parliament because of the vigilance of the Minority caucus in Parliament. The NDC Minority caucus had, unbeknown to the public, been assimilated into Nana Akufo-Addos one-party Kabuki dance ensemble. The Minority and the Majority held a secret meeting on 30th November 2021 at which the Minority agreed to absent itself from the main parliamentary sitting that day to enable the Majority to abuse the 1992 Constitution and Standing Orders of Parliament in purporting to rescind the rejected 2022 Budget of 26th November 2021.

The latest in the Nana Akufo-Addo one-party Kabuki dance is that, as expected, a letter with reference number PS/CS/167 dated 10th November 2021 [sic] under the signature of the Clerk to Parliament and addressed to the Minority Leader has put an end to the Kabuki dance as far as the sham attempts by the Minority caucus to save face in the name of rescinding the rescission of the rejected 2022 Budget on 30th November 2021 is concerned. The two paragraphs of the letter state:

"Please refer to your communication dated 7th December 2021 on the Motion relating to a ruling of the Hon. First Deputy Speaker on Wednesday, 1st December 2021.

The Hon. First Deputy Speaker, pursuant to Order 13 (2) of the Standing Orders of Parliament, has directed that I inform you that the Motion is not admitted.

Meanwhile, the reality, substance and purpose of the Nana Akufo-Addo Kabuki dance were achieved in the acceptance by the Minority caucus on Tuesday, 7th December 2021 of the Majority decision on 30th November 2021 rescinding and approving the 2022 Budget. On 7th December 2021, the Minister of Finance laid before Parliament a modification to the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government for deliberations. The First Deputy Speaker directed that modification be made to the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of Government by attaching the modification submitted by the Minister of Finance to the original budget.

The Minority Leader acknowledged the modification laid by the Minister of Finance and in preliminary comments to the Speakers directives for modifications to the 2022 Budget was reported by Joy News to have said that the Minority was a very responsible opposition; declaring that and therefore, we engage and we are engaged with Government, appreciating that social consultation is important to save our country and the economy.

He also said that: Mr Speaker, we believe that the e-levy is punitive and it will undermine our quest to build a critical economy in seeking to tax (electronic financial) transactions, Mr Iddrisu said.  So, Mr Speaker, we on this side (of the House), we are unable to support the Government in its quest to impose an e-levy at 1.75 per cent on momo (mobile money) and affiliated transactions including remittances Therefore, we stand opposed, and at every level that e-levy is introduced, we will stand united to oppose it because of the effects on the core poor of the Ghanaian people.

On the next day, 8th December 2021 the NDCs Squealer told Ghanaians that the NDC MPs are using every legal means to reject the budget. In typical Orwellian doublespeak fashion, he prepared the publics mind for the obnoxious compromise with the Majority when he stated in his contradictory speech at the NDC Public Forum on the 2022 Budget that the approval of the Budget does not mean the e-levy has been approved since Select Committees have to further assess the fiscal policy. The General Secretary then gave the order of the FEC to the Minority caucus in Parliament in the following words:

So, we are at a stage where maybe from tomorrow, we will revisit the approval or non-approval of the budget. But whatever happens, we still stand by our position and we have agreed with our MPs that a boycott is not an option because if we boycott, what it means is that all these other stages will be a railroad. So, we will be present and undertake our key responsibility of holding the elephant accountable. (Emphasis supplied).

The Minority caucus had thus moved away from the draconian hardships and ills that afflict the 2022 Budget to concentrate on the E-Levy as its main objection to the rejected 2022 Budget which it treacherously facilitated to reinstate. The NDC Minority Leader was under instructions from the NDC-FEC to test the waters with the announcement he made on 2nd December 2021 at the 10th Anniversary launch of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications on the Minority accepting a 1% e-levy. This position was repeated by the NDC Squealer in his address to the NDC Public Forum on 8th December 2021. This explains the massive rescue operations undertaken by the NDC outside and inside Parliament to redeem the image of its Minority Leader after his speech at the 10th Anniversary launch of the Chamber of Telecommunications backfired. Anybody reading my last article  The Shameless Compromises of the One-Party Political Elite against the Ghanaian Electorate should have noticed that because I knew the real traitors behind the scenes, I portrayed the Minority Leaders speech as the NDC position and not his own.

The Ghanaian electorate had been hoodwinked with a circus of deceptions since 26th November 2021 of sham disagreements amongst the Nana Akufo-Addo one-party dance ensemble in Parliament. Rational and reasonable patriotic Ghanaians have always been on the alert to the machinations of such comprador political elites. Patriotic citizens were never deceived. Patriots unravelled every step in the betrayal process. We are now at the stage of what the two caucuses in parliament wanted and anticipated the most in the 2022 Budget season  the Budget Committee hearings and specially, the accompanying allowances of various forms and shapes. As usual, the Christmas calls and both sides must be one in the Kabuki dance against the interest of the Ghanaian electorate.

There were still ugly noises by the Minority on Friday 10th December 2021 about demands for the financial proposals in the 2022 Budget including the e-levy to be laid before the House for appropriate consideration to avoid hasty approval under a certificate of urgency. The Minority Chief Whip stated on Friday that: Mr Speaker, in the business statement from Tuesday to Friday, conspicuously missing was the financial bills including the Electronic Transaction bill. Parliament may rise on 21st December 2021 instead of 17th December 2021 ostensibly to give it time to consider outstanding estimates and other matters. But this is going to be business as usual amongst Nana Akufo-Addos Kabuki dance ensemble which has fully integrated the Minority caucus as it has been during each budget season. The Budget, as an important policy, and the Appropriation Act affecting the economic and social wellbeing of Ghanaians for the next year will be railroaded through Parliament and passed without prior consultation with affected stakeholders and We the People. We the People can go to hell. The next election is three years away in 2024.

CONCLUSIONS

The Majority caucus which has internalised the egoism of power of the Government has learnt to recruit the Minority for the Nana Akufo-Addo One-Party Kabuki dance. The Minority caucus has since the beginning of the second term of the Nana Akufo-Addo Government accepted integration and has become the lizard that jumped from a high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no-one did even when the electorate and its own ordinary members see them as traitors to the Constitutional role assigned an opposition party of 137 Members of Parliament in an equally split Parliament. The Minority enabled the appointment of the Minister of Finance together with any 2022 Budget hardships he inflicts upon Ghanaians. Judas Iscariot repented. The NDC can do the same.

The best defence for the 1992 Constitution is for all patriots to continue exposing the one-party political elite who are really comprador bourgeoises for neocolonialist interests for who they really are by putting Ghana First!

Martin A. B. K. Amidu
Ghanaian statesman, Martin A.B.K Amidu has alleged that the Minority caucus in Parliament has been recruited by the Majority Caucus to do the bidding of the President Akufo-Addo government in that dark and pretending to be what they are not in public.

According to the former Special Prosecutor, the Minority particularly in the second term of the President has over and again betrayed the people of Ghana.

Citing the approval of Ministers including Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, Martin Amidu says it is clear to him that the Minority in Parliament have joined heads with the Majority to become one party in Parliament.

The Majority caucus which has internalized the egoism of power of the Government has learnt to recruit the Minority for the Nana Akufo-Addo One-Party Kabuki dance.

The Minority caucus has since the beginning of the second term of the Nana Akufo-Addo Government accepted integration and has become the lizard that jumped from a high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no-one did even when the electorate and its own ordinary members see them as traitors to the Constitutional role assigned an opposition party of 137 Members of Parliament in an equally split Parliament, Mr. Amidu shares in his latest piece.

Disappointed about the happenings in relation to the Minoritys inconsistent stance on the Electronic Transaction Levy in the 2022 Budget, Martin Amidu notes that it is not too late for the NDC MPs to break away from doing the bidding of the Akufo-Addo government.

The Minority enabled the appointment of the Minister of Finance together with any 2022 Budget hardships he inflicts upon Ghanaians. Judas Iscariot repented. The NDC can do the same, the first Special Prosecutor has said.

He adds, The best defence for the 1992 Constitution is for all patriots to continue exposing the one-party political elite who are really comprador bourgeoises for neocolonialist interests for who they really are by putting Ghana First,

Read the full piece of the Special Prosecutor below:

THE EGOISM OF POWER & THE LIZARD THAT JUMPED FROM A HIGH IROKO TREE TO THE GROUND  THE 2022 BUDGET: BY MARTIN A. B. K. AMIDU

Radix Malorum Est Cupiditas

THE FIRST BETRAYAL

On 3rd March 2021, the Minority in Parliament contrary to its own avowed negative evaluations approved the affected ministerial nominees of the President for appointment. The Ghanaian electorate, including some members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Executive and its mass followers outside Parliament, who had the benefit of viewing what transpired in Parliament during the vetting process through public broadcasting felt betrayed, and disappointed by the brazen sell out by the NDC caucus in Parliament to the Government in the approval process.

The Functional Executive Committee (FEC) of the NDC (NDC-FEC) held a crisis meeting the next day, 4th March 2021 and acknowledged in a press statement that:  whatever the disappointment and disagreements may be especially from among the rank and file of the party, care should be taken not to allow these to degenerate into unnecessary bickering at the expense of party discipline and cohesion. The statement added that:

We are also of the view that urgent action is required to deal with the matter and consequently we have initiated a consultation process with the Party's Council of Elders in this regard. It is in our collective interest as a party to address challenges facing the Caucus Leadership and the Backbench as a whole. This task will be tackled expeditiously so as to preserve the unity, cohesion and resilience of the NDC parliamentary Caucus.

The tempers of Ghanaians and the ordinary members of the NDC itself were not assuaged by this appeal. Consequently, the Minority Leader on 5th March 2021 had to make a public statement on behalf of the Minority caucus in Parliament to reject claims that the Minority caucus had been influenced with money to vote to approve the ministerial nominees. He was at pains to point out in the statement that the caucus will never make money or consideration the basis of their engagement with the ruling party:

The Leadership and entire Parliamentary caucus of the NDC wish to reiterate our commitment to the cause of the great National Democratic Congress. We expressly reaffirm our resolve to hold the Akufo-Addo government to account over the coming days, months and years for their stewardship to the Ghanaian people. This is nonnegotiable. You may be disappointed in this outcome but we will not disappoint or let you down in the future. The Caucus has never been and would never be for sale.

The Council of Elders of the NDC then met with the Leadership of the NDC on Tuesday, 9th March 2021, to discuss the developments in Parliament arising from the approval of some of the Ministers designate on 3rd March 2021. As a squeal to this meeting the Council of Elders met again on Tuesday, 9th March 2021 with the Leaderships of the NDC and the NDC caucus in Parliament following which the Chairman of the Council of Elders issued a statement collectively agreeing that the incident of 3rd March 2021 in Parliament where some ministerial nominees were approved was regrettable and unfortunate, and runs contrary to the principles and values of the party. (Emphasis supplied). In the words of the press statement signed by Chairman of the Council of Elders:

The Caucus Leadership have since pledged to uphold the principles and values of the party in our collective bid to develop our country. . The Council urged National leadership of the party to resolve issues relating to the Caucus leadership in Parliament and called on the rank and file of the party to remain calm, and provide the needed support to our Caucus in order to hold the Akufo Addo government strictly to the principles of probity and accountability.

Judas Iscariot could not keep faith with this first compact of integrity with the electorate facilitated by the Council of Elders for even one month.

THE SECOND BETRAYAL

The second betrayal and sell out came on 29th March 2021 when without any tangible reason explaining its volte-face the Minority Leader seconded the approval of the Minister of Finance nominee in a consensus voice vote in Parliament. The real culprits behind the shameless compromises and sell out became public knowledge the next day, 30th March 2021 when the Squealer of the NDC appeared on Peace FM to admit the NDC-FECs responsibility and gave reasons for the betrayal by the Minority caucus of the Ghanaian electorate. Peace FM reported the story as follows:

General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has revealed reasons why the Minority Caucus on the Appointments Committee approved Finance Minister-designate Ken Ofori-Atta. And it is shocking to the core as it is vain.

It was indeed shocking to the core as it was vain. The Squealer of the NDC said on air that:

We have strategies as a political party and some of the NDC leaders sat down and considered the approval of the nominee as to whether passing or failing him, which one will be in the interest of the party. So, we all decided that if we allow him to be the finance minister, it will be in the interest of the NDC....We realised during the vetting of the finance minister, he was exposed in all his wrong deeds...The banks he collapsed, PDS deal and bad financial decisions he superintended over; we needed him to be there to remind Ghanaians what he has wrought on this country. tell Nana Akufo-Addo that if it is this lame-back finance minister he wants to still be in control of the countrys finances, so be it, and that is why we told our people to approve him.

The capitulation of the Minority caucus in Parliament in approving the Minister of Finance nominee who is now bent on inflicting a draconian and harsh 2022 Budget with economic and social hardships on Ghanaians was the handy work of a former Minister of Finance of the NDC and the NDC-FEC as I have written and pointed out in my analysis available online and on my website as: The MPs Double Salary Criminal Investigation Docket Was Handled By the Attorney-General and Never By Martin Amidu As Special Prosecutor, at page 3 under the sub-title  The Double Salary & Other Criminal cases were Negotiated for Ministerial Approvals thereof.

THE THIRD BETRAYAL

The third betrayal and sell out begun Nicodemusly with what appeared to have been the repentance of Judas Iscariot in the first two betrayals of the Ghanaian electorate on Friday, 26th November 2021 when We the People were deceived into believing that the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy had been rejected by Parliament because of the vigilance of the Minority caucus in Parliament. The NDC Minority caucus had unbeknown to the public been assimilated into the Nana Akufo-Addos one-party Kabuki dance ensemble. The Minority and the Majority held a secret meeting on 30th November 2021 at which the Minority agreed to absent itself from the main Parliamentary sitting that day to enable the Majority abuse the 1992 Constitution and Standing Orders of Parliament in purporting to rescind the rejected 2022 Budget of 26th November 2021.

The latest in the Nana Akufo-Addo one-party Kabuki dance is that, as expected, a letter with reference number PS/CS/167 dated 10th November 2021 [sic] under the signature of the Clerk to Parliament and addressed to the Minority Leader has put an end to the Kabuki dance as far as the sham attempts by the Minority caucus to save face in the name of rescinding the rescission of the rejected 2022 Budget on 30th November 2021 is concerned. The two paragraphs of the letter state:

"Please refer to your communication dated 7th December, 2021 on the Motion relating to a ruling of the Hon. First Deputy Speaker on Wednesday, 1st December, 2021.

The Hon. First Deputy Speaker, pursuant to Order 13 (2) of the Standing Orders of Parliament, has directed that I inform you that the Motion is not admitted.

Meanwhile, the reality, substance and purpose of the Nana Akufo-Addo Kabuki dance was achieved in the acceptance by the Minority caucus on Tuesday, 7th December 2021 of the Majority decision on 30th November 2021 rescinding and approving the 2022 Budget. On 7th December 2021 the Minister of Finance laid before Parliament a modification to the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government for deliberations. The First Deputy Speaker directed that modification be made to the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of Government by attaching the modification submitted by the Minister of Finance to the original budget.

The Minority Leader acknowledged the modification laid by the Minister of Finance and in preliminary comments to the Speakers directives for modifications to the 2022 Budget was reported by Joy News to have said that the Minority was a very responsible opposition; declaring that and therefore, we engage and we are engaged with Government, appreciating that social consultation is important to save our country and the economy. He also said that:

Mr Speaker, we believe that the e-levy is punitive and it will undermine our quest to build a critical economy in seeking to tax (electronic financial) transactions, Mr Iddrisu said.  So, Mr Speaker, we on this side (of the House), we are unable to support the Government in its quest to impose an e-levy at 1.75 per cent on momo (mobile money) and affiliated transactions including remittances Therefore, we stand opposed, and at every level that e-levy is introduced, we will stand united to oppose it because of the effects on the core poor of the Ghanaian people.

On the next day, 8th December 2021 the NDCs Squealer told Ghanaians that the NDC MPs are using every legal means to reject the budget. In typical Orwellian doublespeak fashion, he prepared the publics mind for the obnoxious compromise with the Majority when he stated in his contradictory speech at the NDC Public Forum on the 2022 Budget that the approval of the Budget does not mean the e-levy has been approved since Select Committees have to further assess the fiscal policy. The General Secretary then gave the order of the FEC to the Minority caucus in Parliament in the following words:

So we are at a stage where maybe from tomorrow, we will revisit the approval or non-approval of the budget. But whatever happens, we still stand by our position and we have agreed with our MPs that a boycott is not an option because if we boycott, what it means is that all these other stages will be a railroad. So we will be present and undertake our key responsibility of holding the elephant accountable. (Emphasis supplied).

The Minority caucus had thus moved away from the draconian hardships and ills that afflict the 2022 Budget to concentrate on the E-Levy as its main objection to the rejected 2022 Budget which it treacherously facilitated to reinstate. The NDC Minority Leader was under instructions from the NDC-FEC to test the waters with the announcement he made on 2nd December 2021 at the 10th Anniversary launch of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications on the Minority accepting a 1% e-levy. This position was repeated by the NDC Squealer in his address to the NDC Public Forum on 8th December 2021. This explains the massive rescue operations undertaken by the NDC outside and inside Parliament to redeem the image of its Minority Leader after his speech at the 10th Anniversary launch of the Chamber of Telecommunications backfired. Anybody reading my last article  The Shameless Compromises of the One-Party Political Elite against the Ghanaian Electorate should have noticed that because I knew the real traitors behind the scenes, I portrayed the Minority Leaders speech as the NDC position and not his own.

The Ghanaian electorate had been hoodwinked with a circus of deceptions since 26th November 2021 of sham disagreements amongst the Nana Akufo-Addo one-party dance ensemble in Parliament. Rational and reasonable patriotic Ghanaians have always been on the alert to the machinations of such comprador political elites. Patriotic citizens were never deceived. Patriots unraveled every step in the betrayal process. We are now at the stage of what the two caucus in Parliament wanted and anticipated the most in the 2022 Budget season  the Budget Committee hearings and specially the accompanying allowances of various forms and shapes. As usual the Christmas calls and both sides must be one in the Kabuki dance against the interest of the Ghanaian electorate.

There were still ugly noises by the Minority on Friday 10th December 2021 about demands for the financial proposals in the 2022 Budget including the e-levy to be laid before the House for appropriate consideration to avoid hasty approval under a certificate of urgency. The Minority Chief Whip stated on Friday that: Mr. Speaker, in the business statement from Tuesday to Friday, conspicuously missing was the financial bills including the Electronic Transaction bill. Parliament may rise on 21st December 2021 instead of 17th December 2021 ostensibly to give it time to consider outstanding estimates and other matters. But this is going to be business as usual amongst Nana Akufo-Addos Kabuki dance ensemble which has fully integrated the Minority caucus as it has been during each budget season. The Budget as an important policy, and the Appropriation Act affecting the economic and social wellbeing of Ghanaians for the next year will be railroaded through Parliament and passed without prior consultation with affected stakeholders and We the People. We the People can go to hell. The next election is three years away in 2024.

CONCLUSIONS

The Majority caucus which has internalized the egoism of power of the Government has learnt to recruit the Minority for the Nana Akufo-Addo One-Party Kabuki dance. The Minority caucus has since the beginning of the second term of the Nana Akufo-Addo Government accepted integration and has become the lizard that jumped from a high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no-one did even when the electorate and its own ordinary members see them as traitors to the Constitutional role assigned an opposition party of 137 Members of Parliament in an equally split Parliament. The Minority enabled the appointment of the Minister of Finance together with any 2022 Budget hardships he inflicts upon Ghanaians. Judas Iscariot repented. The NDC can do the same.

The best defence for the 1992 Constitution is for all patriots to continue exposing the one-party political elite who are really comprador bourgeoises for neocolonialist interests for who they really are by putting Ghana First!

Martin A. B. K. Amidu
France still wants a few dozen post-Brexit fishing licences to be granted by Britain, says French European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune, who also reaffirmed that the country had obtained 93 percent of the licences it had asked for.

"We still need a few dozen licences. No fisherman will be left behind," Beaune told CNews television on Monday.

"By Wednesday we will have a meeting with the fishermen to see how to secure the remaining licences."

Beaune insisted that France's firm position had allowed it to unblock the difficult negotiations and obtain 93 percent of the licences it aimed to get.

More protests threatened

Britain issued 23 additional fishing licences to EU vessels on Saturday in an attempt to resolve the months-long dispute over post-Brexit fishing rights for French fishermen.

But France believes it is entitled to around 80 more UK licences and a group representing fishermen in the key port of Boulogne-sur-Mer and others along the northern coast said late Saturday that they would launch protests.

Protests should be expected  protests that will target British imports, the local CRPMEM fishing industry group for the Hauts-de-France region said in a statement.

The group said its members were exasperated by the news of only 23 new licences and felt betrayed by the European Commission, which could launch legal action against Britain over the issue.

The CRPMEM said the protests would be in line with blockades of ports in Brittany, Normandy and the north of France which took place on November 26th.

Fishing boats briefly blocked ferries and other boats in Calais, Saint-Malo and Ouistreham on that day, while vehicles were also sent to disrupt traffic seeking to use the Channel Tunnel rail link.

France and Britain have clashed repeatedly this year over fishing as well as migrants crossing the Channel, post-Brexit trade arrangements and the sale of submarines to Australia.

London briefly deployed two gunboats in May when dozens of French trawlers massed off the Channel Island of Jersey to protest the licensing problems, prompting France to send two coastal patrol vessels.

(with AFP)
West African leaders have demanded that the junta in Mali sticks to its plans for February polls, threatening further sanctions if Bamako fails to commit to returning to democracy.

"The heads of state... decided to keep the (deadline) of February 27, 2022 for elections in Mali," president of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bloc Jean-Claude Brou told reporters in Abuja on Sunday, adding sanctions would be imposed in January if Mali did not move to stage polls.

Brou did not specify what new measures ECOWAS might take.

The head of Mali's government had earlier on Sunday promised he would provide the bloc with an election timetable by the end of January 2022.

The mediator for ECOWAS, former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, will travel to Mali in the coming days to discuss the situation.

The bloc suspended Mali following military coups in August 2020 and May 2021.

ECOWAS has frozen the financial assets and banned from travelling within West Africa all those it believes to be guilty of delaying the elections, in all about 150 people, including the prime minister and almost the entire government, and their families.

At a previous summit in November, West African leaders were informed by the head of Mali's transitional government, Colonel Assimi Goita that Malian authorities would not be able to respect their earlier commitment to hold elections by February.

National consultations

Goita justified postponing the election and holding a national consultation which, he said, would be "indispensable" for peace and stability.

In a two-page letter to ECOWAS, Goita hihglighted the need to "create the conditions for transparent and credible elections", including stepped-up security operations, a new electoral law and the beginning on Saturday of a series of national forums aimed at building a consensus for the return to civilian rule.

Several civil society organisations boycotted the consultations.

Mali's junta has cited persistent insecurity for delaying elections.

"The return to constitutional order is and will remain my absolute priority," Goita said.

The country has been plagued by jihadists and other armed groups, along with violence of self-proclaimed vigilantes and bandits.

Despite the deployment of UN, French and foreign forces, the violence has spread to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.

The regular forces are also accused of abuses, and there has been no improvement in Mali's security situation since the military took power.

Guinea under similar pressure

ECOWAS also decided to maintain sanctions against the junta that seized power in Guinea, overthrowing President Alpha Conde on 5th of September, demanding a timetable for the return of civilian rule there.

It suspended Guinea and called for elections to be held within six months.

Guinea's strongman, Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, has promised to return power to civilians. But he refuses to be dictated to by a transitional period.

(with AFP)
13.12.2021 LISTEN

But for the late Captain Kojo Tsikata (rtd), President Jerry John Rawlings would have succeeded in engineering another coup in the dying embers of his civilian presidency, ex-military officer Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe has revealed in an exclusive interview with Accra100.5FMs morning show Ghana Yensom aired on Monday, 13 December 2021.

Eulogising the late National Security Advisor, who passed away about a month ago, Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe, who said the late Tsikata was his uncle, mentioned: A lot of people just look at the negative side of Kojo but added: Hes got very positive sides [that] people dont know [about] and one of the cardinal things that he did for this nation is that but for Kojo Tsikata, the fourth republic would have been derailed.

Explaining what he meant by that, the founder member of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) said: Now, when we had our elections in the year 2,000; that was the election between Atta Mills and Kufuor, a lot of you have no idea what happened.

At a certain stage, he narrated, when Jerry Rawlings noticed that he was losing power  losing power means hes exiting [and] the NDC will not be in a position to win power at that particular time  what Rawlings did was that he got in touch with two commanders to move troops (and one of the commanders happened to be somebody I know very well; in fact, Ive been in the same unit with him years back)".

In fact, the instruction of Jerry Rawlings was that he [the military commander] should move a company to Broadcasting House [GBC] and then immediately take over the Broadcasting House and start playing martial music. And, when we say martial music, you people have not experienced that but Ive experienced it before. The moment you hear martial music on the radio, then theres something wrong, Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe pointed out.

He continued: Now, the young man, who was then the commander, gathered courage and contacted his superior officer and the superior officer advised him that he should try and talk to Kojo Tsikata that this is what he has been told by the Head of State, Mr Jerry John Rawlings.

He [commander] went to see Kojo. Mind you, at that time, Kojo was no longer in charge of National Security. Thats a very important point. And Kojo told him [the commander]; and I quote: Ignore him [Rawlings]; it is an unlawful command. You know, in the military, this means a lot  Ignore him; it is an unlawful command.

And the young man did just that and that saved the fourth republic, Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe recounted.

The retired military and medical doctor told Iddrisu Awudu that: Now, this got to the knowledge of President J.A. Kufuor; hes aware of that but he didnt probably know who really made that possible. It was Captain Kojo Tsikata.

So, when I say the man is a strategic thinker, this is one [of the examples], he demonstrated.

Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe also revealed that Mr Rawlings tried to puppet his successor but to no avail.

Now, when J.A. Kufuor won the elections, as an experienced politician and on the advice of other statesmen in the country then, they tried to get him [Kufuor] closer to Rawlings because Rawlings had been in office for years  but later J.A. Kufuor realised that Rawlings was trying to dictate to him, so, he broke off and that was what saved this country, Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe noted.

He added: Now, those of you who are so young might have noticed that the relationship between Jerry John Rawlings and J.A Kufuor was not cordial. Rawlings kept on attacking him all the time and that is the reason; he [Kufuor] refused to listen to him [Rawlings] before he acts as a Head of State.

So, in short, this is what I will say about Kojo Tsikta. But for Kojo Tsikata, the fourth republic would have been derailed and we would have been in another total mess.

classfmonline.com
Yaw Amoateng Afriyie

13.12.2021 LISTEN

President Nana Akufo-Addo, under section 17 (3) of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) Act 2013 (Act 865), has appointed Yaw Amoateng Afriyie, son of the late NPP stalwart Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie aka Sir John, as Acting Deputy Chief Executive Officer of GIPC.

Mr. Amoateng Afriyies appointment is subject to the constitutionally required advice of the governing board of GIPC in consultation with the Public Services Commission.

GIPC is Ghanas principal investment agency and has the mandate to attract, promote and retain inward investment into Ghana to stimulate wealth creation and unlock opportunities for the private sector.

Mr. Amoateng Afriyie is expected to assist the newly constituted board and Chief Executive Officer, Yofi Grant, to ensure Ghanas post-Covid recovery anchors on competitiveness, innovation, and the boards broader objectives aligning with Ghanas international obligations.

Before his appointment, Mr. Amoateng Afriyie worked in various senior capacities in the United Kingdom and Ghana as a Management & Political Risk professional. He possesses experience in commercial, tactical and strategic issues affecting business and investment in sub-Saharan Africa.

Until recently, he was Managing Director of Elmina Advisory Limited, a Ghana focused government affairs consultancy advising blue-chip companies and global consultancies to assess opportunities and manage the impact of politics and policy, macroeconomics and security in Ghana.

He has also worked as Head of West Africa at Africa Matters Limited (AML), a London based Africa focused consultancy; a Research Analyst at Conservative Campaign HQ  International Office; Researcher at Africa Practice, London; an External Consultant at FTI Consulting, a global business advisory firm; and an Anglophone West Africa Freelance Contributor at The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Mr. Amoateng Afriyie holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Global Business from The Said Business School, the University of Oxford, a Master's Degree (MA) in Conflict Resolution in Divided Societies from Kings College London and a Bachelor of Arts with Honours (BA Hons) in Politics and International Relations from the University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom.


Professor Richard M.K. Adanu, a Specialist Obstetrician Gynaecologist, has admonished medical students to be flexible and critical in their thinking to achieve the most in life.

"Take things one step at a time and be willing to seriously consider all available options before making a decision," she said.

Prof Adanu, Women's Reproductive Health Epidemiologist, and Fellow of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, said this at the Second Graduation Ceremony of the Accra College of Medicine (ACM) at the weekend.

He said students needed to always work hard at any task, especially when it was something they considered not enjoyable or crucial for their success.

The ceremony was on the theme: "Preparing High Level Professionals for National Development: In the face of COVID-19 challenges and through a win-win State-Private Partnership."

Eight students with Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery graduated.

The President of the ACM, Prof Afua A.J. Hesse, urged them to be guided by the values inculcated in them and strive to be the best in their fields of endeavour.

May you go and make your patients, parents, guardians, sponsors, and the ACM proud," she said.

Prof Emeritus Stephen Adei, the former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), advised the graduates to be humble and serve the Lord with their hearts and talents.

Also the Chairman of the Ghana Revenue Authority Board, asked the doctors to have faith in God and work in cooperation with nature to be more effective.

Prof Peter Donkor, the President of West African College of Surgeons, in a remark made on his behalf, called on the doctors to eschew greed and dishonesty and treat their patients as they would like their close relatives to be treated.

Ms Richarda Chempang Dokurugu won the Overall Best Student with six laurels including the Best Student in Children's Health, Overall Best Student in Women's Health, Ken and Angela Ofori-Attah's Prize for the Best Student in Psychiatry, as well as the Hesse Prize for Best Student in Ethics and Professionalism.

Ms Erica Ntiamoah-Mensah won three awards; The Kwaku Mensah-Bonsu's Prize for the Overall Best Student in Surgery, the Yeboah Hospital Prize for Best Student in Community Health, and the Ken and Angela Ofori-Attah Prize for the Best Student in Leadership.

Ms Avril Sey won the MDS-Lancet Laboratories Ghana Limited Prize for the Overall Best Student in Anaesthesia, Ms Esther Sophia Amankwa received the Best-Improved Student, and Ms Nusrat Afua Abonwaba Yamoah won the Bertha Ayi Foundation's Prize for the Best Student in Microbiology.

The Accra College of Medicine, established in 2015, seeks to provide world-class medical education that is relevant, research-oriented, and tailored toward solving Ghana and Africa's health problems.

GNA
President Nana Akufo-Addo Sunday opened the 60th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and urged members to rigorously pursue national and regional efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

He called on the Community to move rapidly into the domestic production of vaccines for the protection of its citizens, and for the growth and development of the economies of the bloc.

The meeting will deliberate and take decisions on political, socio-economic and security issues affecting the region.

As of December 8, 2021, the region recorded 674,556 cases of COVID-19 infections, with some 10,000 deaths, impacting all sectors of the economy.

The community risk a new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic with the emergence of the Omicron variant that has been found in three member states.

President Akufo-Addo said it was unfortunate that the discovery of the new variant Omicron in the region had led to impositions of travel bans, which are unjustified and unacceptable."

He expressed worry about the unavailability of vaccines, saying, "Despite our efforts, we have only six percent of our population receiving one dose, with two percent of the population fully vaccinated.

Whilst we remain grateful for the support from friends of the Community, we must continue to pursue national and regional efforts to fight COVID-19, and move rapidly into the domestic production of vaccines for the protection of our citizens, and for the growth and development of our economies, he told the members of the bloc.

President Akufo-Addo condemned the security trials in the region, particularly the deadly terrorist and kidnapping attacks in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Nigeria, that had caused many casualties amongst civilians and security forces, resulting in a significant number of displaced persons.

He told the gathering that significant efforts were being made at both national and regional levels to fight terrorism and extremism.

We must step up our efforts to deal with these tasks, which have been imposed upon us, and we must act in such a way that no one will doubt our resolve to protect our peoples, and the peace and stability of our countries, he said.

President Akufo-Addo congratulated the governments and people of Cape Verde and the Gambia for the successful conduct of their elections, which he said were credible, peaceful and transparent, despite recent events in the region.

He said the Abuja meeting would firm up remedies for the transition challenges in Mali and Guinea, after their suspension from ECOWAS, and welcomed the release of President Alpha Conde.

We will have the opportunity during our closed session to examine the political transition in both countries, and assess the next steps to take to help them on the path back to constitutional, democratic order, within the agreed deadlines.

President Akufo-Addo thanked his counterparts for the support that enabled Ghana succeed in her bid for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for the years 2022 and 2023.

Indeed, on the day, because of your support, Ghana obtained the highest votes. We will make sure that Africa's voice is heard loud and clear in the deliberations of the Council, both on matters affecting the continent and on global issues, and we will consult broadly to define Africa's interests.

It will be the position of Ghana, on the Council, that, having regard to the conflicts in our region and continent, now is not the time for the Security Council to reduce the number of peacekeeping operations on the continent. On the contrary, it should look to increasing them. The international community must not be caught in a 'penny wise, pound foolish' scenario, he stated.

He urged the Community to remain united, and pool our resources and energies to accelerate and strengthen our regional integration.

Our commitment to this goal has allowed us to tackle successfully most of the obstacles we have faced. Solidarity has been the backbone and the strength of our Community during our 46 years of existence, and it is needed now, He said.

Then meeting will consider among others, the 2021 ECOWAS Annual Report, the Report of 47th Ordinary Meeting of the Mediation and Security Council and the Report of 87th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers.

The session will see the Authority of Heads of State and Governments make a declaration on Climate, and the appointment of an ECOWAS Champion for the return of cultural artefacts.

It will also consider a special report on the ECOWAS Single Currency programme to be delivered by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, Chair of the Ministerial Committee on the Single Currency.

Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Chair of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers will present the Report of the Extraordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers on Proposals for the allocation of Statutory Positions of the 7-Member Commission, its Organizational Chart and the streamlining of Operational Costs.

GNA
Former Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu has taken a swipe at the Minority in Parliament.

He said the NDC MPs have betrayed Ghanaians three times this year.

In his latest piece, Martin Amidu noted that the first betrayal came when the Minority in Parliament contrary to its own avowed negative evaluations approved the affected ministerial nominees of the President for appointment.

According to him, the second betrayal and sell-out came on 29th March 2021 when without any tangible reason explaining its volte-face the Minority Leader seconded the approval of the Minister of Finance nominee, Ken Ofori-Atta in a consensus voice vote in Parliament.

The third betrayal according to Martin Amidu has to do with the Nicodemus attitude of the Minority towards the 2022 budget statement.

The former Special Prosecutor accuses the Minority of deceiving Ghanaians into believing that the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy had been rejected by Parliament because of the vigilance of the Minority caucus in Parliament.

Claiming that the Minority even plotted the November 30 no-show in Parliament with the Majority, Martin Amidu insists that the Minority caucus has since the beginning of the second term of the Nana Akufo-Addo Government accepted integration and has become the lizard that jumped from a high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no-one did even when the electorate and its own ordinary members see them as traitors to the Constitutional role assigned an opposition party of 137 Members of Parliament in an equally split Parliament.

Martin Amidu in his release concludes, Judas Iscariot repented. The NDC can do the same. The best defence for the 1992 Constitution is for all patriots to continue exposing the one-party political elite who are really comprador bourgeoises for neocolonialist interests for who they really are by putting Ghana First.

Read the full statement below:

THE EGOISM OF POWER & THE LIZARD THAT JUMPED FROM A HIGH IROKO TREE TO THE GROUND  THE 2022 BUDGET: BY MARTIN A. B. K. AMIDU

Radix Malorum Est Cupiditas

THE FIRST BETRAYAL

On 3rd March 2021, the Minority in Parliament contrary to its own avowed negative evaluations approved the affected ministerial nominees of the President for appointment. The Ghanaian electorate, including some members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Executive and its mass followers outside Parliament, who had the benefit of viewing what transpired in Parliament during the vetting process through public broadcasting felt betrayed, and disappointed by the brazen sell out by the NDC caucus in Parliament to the Government in the approval process.

The Functional Executive Committee (FEC) of the NDC (NDC-FEC) held a crisis meeting the next day, 4th March 2021 and acknowledged in a press statement that:  whatever the disappointment and disagreements may be especially from among the rank and file of the party, care should be taken not to allow these to degenerate into unnecessary bickering at the expense of party discipline and cohesion. The statement added that:

We are also of the view that urgent action is required to deal with the matter and consequently we have initiated a consultation process with the Party's Council of Elders in this regard. It is in our collective interest as a party to address challenges facing the Caucus Leadership and the Backbench as a whole. This task will be tackled expeditiously so as to preserve the unity, cohesion and resilience of the NDC parliamentary Caucus.

The tempers of Ghanaians and the ordinary members of the NDC itself were not assuaged by this appeal. Consequently, the Minority Leader on 5th March 2021 had to make a public statement on behalf of the Minority caucus in Parliament to reject claims that the Minority caucus had been influenced with money to vote to approve the ministerial nominees. He was at pains to point out in the statement that the caucus will never make money or consideration the basis of their engagement with the ruling party:

The Leadership and entire Parliamentary caucus of the NDC wish to reiterate our commitment to the cause of the great National Democratic Congress. We expressly reaffirm our resolve to hold the Akufo-Addo government to account over the coming days, months and years for their stewardship to the Ghanaian people. This is nonnegotiable. You may be disappointed in this outcome but we will not disappoint or let you down in the future. The Caucus has never been and would never be for sale.

The Council of Elders of the NDC then met with the Leadership of the NDC on Tuesday, 9th March 2021, to discuss the developments in Parliament arising from the approval of some of the Ministers designate on 3rd March 2021. As a squeal to this meeting the Council of Elders met again on Tuesday, 9th March 2021 with the Leaderships of the NDC and the NDC caucus in Parliament following which the Chairman of the Council of Elders issued a statement collectively agreeing that the incident of 3rd March 2021 in Parliament where some ministerial nominees were approved was regrettable and unfortunate, and runs contrary to the principles and values of the party. (Emphasis supplied). In the words of the press statement signed by Chairman of the Council of Elders:

The Caucus Leadership have since pledged to uphold the principles and values of the party in our collective bid to develop our country. . The Council urged National leadership of the party to resolve issues relating to the Caucus leadership in Parliament and called on the rank and file of the party to remain calm, and provide the needed support to our Caucus in order to hold the Akufo Addo government strictly to the principles of probity and accountability.

Judas Iscariot could not keep faith with this first compact of integrity with the electorate facilitated by the Council of Elders for even one month.

THE SECOND BETRAYAL

The second betrayal and sell out came on 29th March 2021 when without any tangible reason explaining its volte-face the Minority Leader seconded the approval of the Minister of Finance nominee in a consensus voice vote in Parliament. The real culprits behind the shameless compromises and sell out became public knowledge the next day, 30th March 2021 when the Squealer of the NDC appeared on Peace FM to admit the NDC-FECs responsibility and gave reasons for the betrayal by the Minority caucus of the Ghanaian electorate. Peace FM reported the story as follows:

General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has revealed reasons why the Minority Caucus on the Appointments Committee approved Finance Minister-designate Ken Ofori-Atta. And it is shocking to the core as it is vain.

It was indeed shocking to the core as it was vain. The Squealer of the NDC said on air that:

We have strategies as a political party and some of the NDC leaders sat down and considered the approval of the nominee as to whether passing or failing him, which one will be in the interest of the party. So, we all decided that if we allow him to be the finance minister, it will be in the interest of the NDC....We realised during the vetting of the finance minister, he was exposed in all his wrong deeds...The banks he collapsed, PDS deal and bad financial decisions he superintended over; we needed him to be there to remind Ghanaians what he has wrought on this country. tell Nana Akufo-Addo that if it is this lame-back finance minister he wants to still be in control of the countrys finances, so be it, and that is why we told our people to approve him.

The capitulation of the Minority caucus in Parliament in approving the Minister of Finance nominee who is now bent on inflicting a draconian and harsh 2022 Budget with economic and social hardships on Ghanaians was the handy work of a former Minister of Finance of the NDC and the NDC-FEC as I have written and pointed out in my analysis available online and on my website as: The MPs Double Salary Criminal Investigation Docket Was Handled By the Attorney-General and Never By Martin Amidu As Special Prosecutor, at page 3 under the sub-title  The Double Salary & Other Criminal cases were Negotiated for Ministerial Approvals thereof.

THE THIRD BETRAYAL

The third betrayal and sell out begun Nicodemusly with what appeared to have been the repentance of Judas Iscariot in the first two betrayals of the Ghanaian electorate on Friday, 26th November 2021 when We the People were deceived into believing that the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy had been rejected by Parliament because of the vigilance of the Minority caucus in Parliament. The NDC Minority caucus had unbeknown to the public been assimilated into the Nana Akufo-Addos one-party Kabuki dance ensemble. The Minority and the Majority held a secret meeting on 30th November 2021 at which the Minority agreed to absent itself from the main Parliamentary sitting that day to enable the Majority abuse the 1992 Constitution and Standing Orders of Parliament in purporting to rescind the rejected 2022 Budget of 26th November 2021.

The latest in the Nana Akufo-Addo one-party Kabuki dance is that, as expected, a letter with reference number PS/CS/167 dated 10th November 2021 [sic] under the signature of the Clerk to Parliament and addressed to the Minority Leader has put an end to the Kabuki dance as far as the sham attempts by the Minority caucus to save face in the name of rescinding the rescission of the rejected 2022 Budget on 30th November 2021 is concerned. The two paragraphs of the letter state:

"Please refer to your communication dated 7th December, 2021 on the Motion relating to a ruling of the Hon. First Deputy Speaker on Wednesday, 1st December, 2021.

The Hon. First Deputy Speaker, pursuant to Order 13 (2) of the Standing Orders of Parliament, has directed that I inform you that the Motion is not admitted.

Meanwhile, the reality, substance and purpose of the Nana Akufo-Addo Kabuki dance was achieved in the acceptance by the Minority caucus on Tuesday, 7th December 2021 of the Majority decision on 30th November 2021 rescinding and approving the 2022 Budget. On 7th December 2021 the Minister of Finance laid before Parliament a modification to the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government for deliberations. The First Deputy Speaker directed that modification be made to the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of Government by attaching the modification submitted by the Minister of Finance to the original budget.

The Minority Leader acknowledged the modification laid by the Minister of Finance and in preliminary comments to the Speakers directives for modifications to the 2022 Budget was reported by Joy News to have said that the Minority was a very responsible opposition; declaring that and therefore, we engage and we are engaged with Government, appreciating that social consultation is important to save our country and the economy. He also said that:

Mr Speaker, we believe that the e-levy is punitive and it will undermine our quest to build a critical economy in seeking to tax (electronic financial) transactions, Mr Iddrisu said.  So, Mr Speaker, we on this side (of the House), we are unable to support the Government in its quest to impose an e-levy at 1.75 per cent on momo (mobile money) and affiliated transactions including remittances Therefore, we stand opposed, and at every level that e-levy is introduced, we will stand united to oppose it because of the effects on the core poor of the Ghanaian people.

On the next day, 8th December 2021 the NDCs Squealer told Ghanaians that the NDC MPs are using every legal means to reject the budget. In typical Orwellian doublespeak fashion, he prepared the publics mind for the obnoxious compromise with the Majority when he stated in his contradictory speech at the NDC Public Forum on the 2022 Budget that the approval of the Budget does not mean the e-levy has been approved since Select Committees have to further assess the fiscal policy. The General Secretary then gave the order of the FEC to the Minority caucus in Parliament in the following words:

So we are at a stage where maybe from tomorrow, we will revisit the approval or non-approval of the budget. But whatever happens, we still stand by our position and we have agreed with our MPs that a boycott is not an option because if we boycott, what it means is that all these other stages will be a railroad. So we will be present and undertake our key responsibility of holding the elephant accountable. (Emphasis supplied).

The Minority caucus had thus moved away from the draconian hardships and ills that afflict the 2022 Budget to concentrate on the E-Levy as its main objection to the rejected 2022 Budget which it treacherously facilitated to reinstate. The NDC Minority Leader was under instructions from the NDC-FEC to test the waters with the announcement he made on 2nd December 2021 at the 10th Anniversary launch of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications on the Minority accepting a 1% e-levy. This position was repeated by the NDC Squealer in his address to the NDC Public Forum on 8th December 2021. This explains the massive rescue operations undertaken by the NDC outside and inside Parliament to redeem the image of its Minority Leader after his speech at the 10th Anniversary launch of the Chamber of Telecommunications backfired. Anybody reading my last article  The Shameless Compromises of the One-Party Political Elite against the Ghanaian Electorate should have noticed that because I knew the real traitors behind the scenes, I portrayed the Minority Leaders speech as the NDC position and not his own.

The Ghanaian electorate had been hoodwinked with a circus of deceptions since 26th November 2021 of sham disagreements amongst the Nana Akufo-Addo one-party dance ensemble in Parliament. Rational and reasonable patriotic Ghanaians have always been on the alert to the machinations of such comprador political elites. Patriotic citizens were never deceived. Patriots unraveled every step in the betrayal process. We are now at the stage of what the two caucus in Parliament wanted and anticipated the most in the 2022 Budget season  the Budget Committee hearings and specially the accompanying allowances of various forms and shapes. As usual the Christmas calls and both sides must be one in the Kabuki dance against the interest of the Ghanaian electorate.

There were still ugly noises by the Minority on Friday 10th December 2021 about demands for the financial proposals in the 2022 Budget including the e-levy to be laid before the House for appropriate consideration to avoid hasty approval under a certificate of urgency. The Minority Chief Whip stated on Friday that: Mr. Speaker, in the business statement from Tuesday to Friday, conspicuously missing was the financial bills including the Electronic Transaction bill. Parliament may rise on 21st December 2021 instead of 17th December 2021 ostensibly to give it time to consider outstanding estimates and other matters. But this is going to be business as usual amongst Nana Akufo-Addos Kabuki dance ensemble which has fully integrated the Minority caucus as it has been during each budget season. The Budget as an important policy, and the Appropriation Act affecting the economic and social wellbeing of Ghanaians for the next year will be railroaded through Parliament and passed without prior consultation with affected stakeholders and We the People. We the People can go to hell. The next election is three years away in 2024.

CONCLUSIONS

The Majority caucus which has internalized the egoism of power of the Government has learnt to recruit the Minority for the Nana Akufo-Addo One-Party Kabuki dance. The Minority caucus has since the beginning of the second term of the Nana Akufo-Addo Government accepted integration and has become the lizard that jumped from a high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no-one did even when the electorate and its own ordinary members see them as traitors to the Constitutional role assigned an opposition party of 137 Members of Parliament in an equally split Parliament. The Minority enabled the appointment of the Minister of Finance together with any 2022 Budget hardships he inflicts upon Ghanaians. Judas Iscariot repented. The NDC can do the same.

The best defence for the 1992 Constitution is for all patriots to continue exposing the one-party political elite who are really comprador bourgeoises for neocolonialist interests for who they really are by putting Ghana First!

Martin A. B. K. Amidu
France's influence in the Indo-Pacific came under the spotlight this autumn when a Franco-Australian submarine contract was dropped by Canberra in favour of a security alliance between the US, UK, and Australia: AUKUS. This edition of Paris Perspective looks at France's overtures towards allies in its former colonial neighbourhood and the state of relations between Paris and Beijing.

The poor handling of the AUKUS submarine deal in September left France clutching at straws when it came to asserting its presence in the Indo-Pacific.

China called the US-UK-Australian security pact irresponsible". Since then, France has been making diplomatic overtures to other regional powers - such as Indonesia, Vietnam and Korea - to push for more influence.

For Antoine Bondaz, research fellow with the Strategic Research Foundation in Paris, you have to look into the history of France's pivotal role in the Pacific that still endures today to understand its current position.

"I think it's very important to remind everyone about French interests in the region. France is not an observer in the Indo-Pacific. France is a resident power," Bondaz says.

"We have more than 1.7 million French people living on French overseas territories, from Reunion Island to French Polynesia.

"It [represents] more than 92% of the special economic zone and maritime domain of France and we have more than 7,000 soldiers permanently deployed in the region."

According to Bondaz, when it comes to the Indo-Pacific, France's role is about sovereignty not just business or cultural interests.

France's strategy in the Indo-Pacific

Yet following the very public diplomatic meltdown among regional allies that came in the wake of the AUKUS pact, many observers found it difficult to pin down France's strategy in the Indo-Pacific and how Paris plays off Beijing when trying to counter China's passive-aggressive dominance in its traditional sphere of influence.

"France decided to lay out its Indo-Pacific strategy a few years ago in 2018, when President Macron visited Australia," Bondaz explains. "And that strategy was very security and defence focused.

"That explains why [France's] ministry of the armed forces in 2019 were the first ministry to release its own Indo-Pacific strategy - it was a security strategy."

Then, between 2019 and 2020, says the researcher, that strategy diversified to include business interests, cultural interests and global interests.

The whole initiative was updated and presented in July of this year focusing much more on trade relations.

The AUKUS bombshell landed just one month later.

So has the US-UK-Australian security deal called into question the whole structure of France's Indo-Pacific strategy?

No, says Bondaz: "It forces France to be clear and recalibrate. Australia was one of the three key strategic partners with France in the region along with India and Japan..

"Australia is no longer a strategic partner. Relations have deteriorated to an all time low and [that's] not going to change in the foreseeable future."

According to Antoine Bondaz, every cloud has a silver lining and the AUKUS deal made France rethink its strategy, reach out to other Indo-Pacific countries.

"We're not going to leave the Pacific," he says. "We're still going to keep the Indo-Pacific strategy, but it's going to evolve a little bit."

The diplomatic dance between Paris and Beijing

When it comes to China, France has been running with the hare, and chasing with the hounds. Paris might have taken a firmer stance with Beijing recently, but France also needs to cooperate with China regarding the Paris Climate agreement, protection of biodiversity, and reform of the World Trade Organisation.

So where do things stand when it comes to direct relations between Paris and Beijing?

"It's ambiguous," says Bondaz. "French diplomats would call it tri-dimensional. The idea from a European view is that China is both a cooperation partner, an economic competitor and a systemic rival.

"It means that we are fully aware that we have to cooperate with Beijing on many issues from climate change to preventing the next pandemic," he adds.

Engagement with China "disappointing"

However, relations are always complicated between any EU state and China as all players have to try and balance their relationship with Beijing.

When Macron was running for the presidency, he had two priorities: "The first was to rebalance economic relations with China that are very unbalanced with huge trade deficits," Bondaz says, adding that very little has been achieved on that front, apart from the lifting of a beef embargo.

The second dimension was climate change.

"Some might say that, thanks to France, China stayed in the Paris agreement," quips Bondaz. But it's not because of France - it's because the US under the Trump administration pulled out of the climate deal, giving China a more vested interest in staying wtihin the Paris Agreement.

But for Bondaz, the results of Franco-Chinese relations since the beginning of Macron's presidency have been mixed "and a little disappointing."

Written, produced and presented by David Coffey.

Recorded and edited by Cecile Pompeani and Erwan Rome.

Antoine Bondaz is a research fellow at the Strategic Research Foundation in Paris.
13.12.2021 LISTEN

Former Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu has accused the Minority in Parliament of doing the bidding of the Akufo-Addo government.

He said the NDC MPs in parliament deliberately approved Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Attas nomination early this year just to inflict hardships with the 2022 budget.

In a statement, he makes the allegation that the Majority caucus who has internalized the egoism of power of the Government has learnt to recruit the Minority to do the bidding of President Nana Akufo-Addo in what he described as "One-Party Kabuki dance."

According to Mr. Amidu, the Minority caucus has since the beginning of the second term of the Nana Akufo-Addo Government accepted integration and has become the lizard that jumped from a high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no-one did even when the electorate and its own ordinary members see them as traitors to the Constitutional role assigned an opposition party of 137 Members of Parliament in an equally split Parliament.

The former Attorney General insists that he is convinced the Minority is in bed with the Majority in parliament and conspired to approve Ken Ofori-Atta as Finance Minister.

The Minority enabled the appointment of the Minister of Finance together with any 2022 Budget hardships he inflicts upon Ghanaians. Judas Iscariot repented. The NDC can do the same, Martin Amidu says in parts of his statement.

With several other allegations raised, the former Special Prosecutor recommends that the best defence for the 1992 Constitution is for all patriots to continue exposing the one-party political elite who are really comprador bourgeoises for neocolonialist interests for who they really are by putting Ghana First.

Read the full statement from Martin Amidu below:

THE EGOISM OF POWER & THE LIZARD THAT JUMPED FROM A HIGH IROKO TREE TO THE GROUND  THE 2022 BUDGET: BY MARTIN A. B. K. AMIDU

Radix Malorum Est Cupiditas

THE FIRST BETRAYAL

On 3rd March 2021, the Minority in Parliament contrary to its own avowed negative evaluations approved the affected ministerial nominees of the President for appointment. The Ghanaian electorate, including some members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Executive and its mass followers outside Parliament, who had the benefit of viewing what transpired in Parliament during the vetting process through public broadcasting felt betrayed, and disappointed by the brazen sell out by the NDC caucus in Parliament to the Government in the approval process.

The Functional Executive Committee (FEC) of the NDC (NDC-FEC) held a crisis meeting the next day, 4th March 2021 and acknowledged in a press statement that:  whatever the disappointment and disagreements may be especially from among the rank and file of the party, care should be taken not to allow these to degenerate into unnecessary bickering at the expense of party discipline and cohesion. The statement added that:

We are also of the view that urgent action is required to deal with the matter and consequently we have initiated a consultation process with the Party's Council of Elders in this regard. It is in our collective interest as a party to address challenges facing the Caucus Leadership and the Backbench as a whole. This task will be tackled expeditiously so as to preserve the unity, cohesion and resilience of the NDC parliamentary Caucus.

The tempers of Ghanaians and the ordinary members of the NDC itself were not assuaged by this appeal. Consequently, the Minority Leader on 5th March 2021 had to make a public statement on behalf of the Minority caucus in Parliament to reject claims that the Minority caucus had been influenced with money to vote to approve the ministerial nominees. He was at pains to point out in the statement that the caucus will never make money or consideration the basis of their engagement with the ruling party:

The Leadership and entire Parliamentary caucus of the NDC wish to reiterate our commitment to the cause of the great National Democratic Congress. We expressly reaffirm our resolve to hold the Akufo-Addo government to account over the coming days, months and years for their stewardship to the Ghanaian people. This is nonnegotiable. You may be disappointed in this outcome but we will not disappoint or let you down in the future. The Caucus has never been and would never be for sale.

The Council of Elders of the NDC then met with the Leadership of the NDC on Tuesday, 9th March 2021, to discuss the developments in Parliament arising from the approval of some of the Ministers designate on 3rd March 2021. As a squeal to this meeting the Council of Elders met again on Tuesday, 9th March 2021 with the Leaderships of the NDC and the NDC caucus in Parliament following which the Chairman of the Council of Elders issued a statement collectively agreeing that the incident of 3rd March 2021 in Parliament where some ministerial nominees were approved was regrettable and unfortunate, and runs contrary to the principles and values of the party. (Emphasis supplied). In the words of the press statement signed by Chairman of the Council of Elders:

The Caucus Leadership have since pledged to uphold the principles and values of the party in our collective bid to develop our country. . The Council urged National leadership of the party to resolve issues relating to the Caucus leadership in Parliament and called on the rank and file of the party to remain calm, and provide the needed support to our Caucus in order to hold the Akufo Addo government strictly to the principles of probity and accountability.

Judas Iscariot could not keep faith with this first compact of integrity with the electorate facilitated by the Council of Elders for even one month.

THE SECOND BETRAYAL

The second betrayal and sell out came on 29th March 2021 when without any tangible reason explaining its volte-face the Minority Leader seconded the approval of the Minister of Finance nominee in a consensus voice vote in Parliament. The real culprits behind the shameless compromises and sell out became public knowledge the next day, 30th March 2021 when the Squealer of the NDC appeared on Peace FM to admit the NDC-FECs responsibility and gave reasons for the betrayal by the Minority caucus of the Ghanaian electorate. Peace FM reported the story as follows:

General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has revealed reasons why the Minority Caucus on the Appointments Committee approved Finance Minister-designate Ken Ofori-Atta. And it is shocking to the core as it is vain.

It was indeed shocking to the core as it was vain. The Squealer of the NDC said on air that:

We have strategies as a political party and some of the NDC leaders sat down and considered the approval of the nominee as to whether passing or failing him, which one will be in the interest of the party. So, we all decided that if we allow him to be the finance minister, it will be in the interest of the NDC....We realised during the vetting of the finance minister, he was exposed in all his wrong deeds...The banks he collapsed, PDS deal and bad financial decisions he superintended over; we needed him to be there to remind Ghanaians what he has wrought on this country. tell Nana Akufo-Addo that if it is this lame-back finance minister he wants to still be in control of the countrys finances, so be it, and that is why we told our people to approve him.

The capitulation of the Minority caucus in Parliament in approving the Minister of Finance nominee who is now bent on inflicting a draconian and harsh 2022 Budget with economic and social hardships on Ghanaians was the handy work of a former Minister of Finance of the NDC and the NDC-FEC as I have written and pointed out in my analysis available online and on my website as: The MPs Double Salary Criminal Investigation Docket Was Handled By the Attorney-General and Never By Martin Amidu As Special Prosecutor, at page 3 under the sub-title  The Double Salary & Other Criminal cases were Negotiated for Ministerial Approvals thereof.

THE THIRD BETRAYAL

The third betrayal and sell out begun Nicodemusly with what appeared to have been the repentance of Judas Iscariot in the first two betrayals of the Ghanaian electorate on Friday, 26th November 2021 when We the People were deceived into believing that the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy had been rejected by Parliament because of the vigilance of the Minority caucus in Parliament. The NDC Minority caucus had unbeknown to the public been assimilated into the Nana Akufo-Addos one-party Kabuki dance ensemble. The Minority and the Majority held a secret meeting on 30th November 2021 at which the Minority agreed to absent itself from the main Parliamentary sitting that day to enable the Majority abuse the 1992 Constitution and Standing Orders of Parliament in purporting to rescind the rejected 2022 Budget of 26th November 2021.

The latest in the Nana Akufo-Addo one-party Kabuki dance is that, as expected, a letter with reference number PS/CS/167 dated 10th November 2021 [sic] under the signature of the Clerk to Parliament and addressed to the Minority Leader has put an end to the Kabuki dance as far as the sham attempts by the Minority caucus to save face in the name of rescinding the rescission of the rejected 2022 Budget on 30th November 2021 is concerned. The two paragraphs of the letter state:

"Please refer to your communication dated 7th December, 2021 on the Motion relating to a ruling of the Hon. First Deputy Speaker on Wednesday, 1st December, 2021.

The Hon. First Deputy Speaker, pursuant to Order 13 (2) of the Standing Orders of Parliament, has directed that I inform you that the Motion is not admitted.

Meanwhile, the reality, substance and purpose of the Nana Akufo-Addo Kabuki dance was achieved in the acceptance by the Minority caucus on Tuesday, 7th December 2021 of the Majority decision on 30th November 2021 rescinding and approving the 2022 Budget. On 7th December 2021 the Minister of Finance laid before Parliament a modification to the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government for deliberations. The First Deputy Speaker directed that modification be made to the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of Government by attaching the modification submitted by the Minister of Finance to the original budget.

The Minority Leader acknowledged the modification laid by the Minister of Finance and in preliminary comments to the Speakers directives for modifications to the 2022 Budget was reported by Joy News to have said that the Minority was a very responsible opposition; declaring that and therefore, we engage and we are engaged with Government, appreciating that social consultation is important to save our country and the economy. He also said that:

Mr Speaker, we believe that the e-levy is punitive and it will undermine our quest to build a critical economy in seeking to tax (electronic financial) transactions, Mr Iddrisu said.  So, Mr Speaker, we on this side (of the House), we are unable to support the Government in its quest to impose an e-levy at 1.75 per cent on momo (mobile money) and affiliated transactions including remittances Therefore, we stand opposed, and at every level that e-levy is introduced, we will stand united to oppose it because of the effects on the core poor of the Ghanaian people.

On the next day, 8th December 2021 the NDCs Squealer told Ghanaians that the NDC MPs are using every legal means to reject the budget. In typical Orwellian doublespeak fashion, he prepared the publics mind for the obnoxious compromise with the Majority when he stated in his contradictory speech at the NDC Public Forum on the 2022 Budget that the approval of the Budget does not mean the e-levy has been approved since Select Committees have to further assess the fiscal policy. The General Secretary then gave the order of the FEC to the Minority caucus in Parliament in the following words:

So we are at a stage where maybe from tomorrow, we will revisit the approval or non-approval of the budget. But whatever happens, we still stand by our position and we have agreed with our MPs that a boycott is not an option because if we boycott, what it means is that all these other stages will be a railroad. So we will be present and undertake our key responsibility of holding the elephant accountable. (Emphasis supplied).

The Minority caucus had thus moved away from the draconian hardships and ills that afflict the 2022 Budget to concentrate on the E-Levy as its main objection to the rejected 2022 Budget which it treacherously facilitated to reinstate. The NDC Minority Leader was under instructions from the NDC-FEC to test the waters with the announcement he made on 2nd December 2021 at the 10th Anniversary launch of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications on the Minority accepting a 1% e-levy. This position was repeated by the NDC Squealer in his address to the NDC Public Forum on 8th December 2021. This explains the massive rescue operations undertaken by the NDC outside and inside Parliament to redeem the image of its Minority Leader after his speech at the 10th Anniversary launch of the Chamber of Telecommunications backfired. Anybody reading my last article  The Shameless Compromises of the One-Party Political Elite against the Ghanaian Electorate should have noticed that because I knew the real traitors behind the scenes, I portrayed the Minority Leaders speech as the NDC position and not his own.

The Ghanaian electorate had been hoodwinked with a circus of deceptions since 26th November 2021 of sham disagreements amongst the Nana Akufo-Addo one-party dance ensemble in Parliament. Rational and reasonable patriotic Ghanaians have always been on the alert to the machinations of such comprador political elites. Patriotic citizens were never deceived. Patriots unraveled every step in the betrayal process. We are now at the stage of what the two caucus in Parliament wanted and anticipated the most in the 2022 Budget season  the Budget Committee hearings and specially the accompanying allowances of various forms and shapes. As usual the Christmas calls and both sides must be one in the Kabuki dance against the interest of the Ghanaian electorate.

There were still ugly noises by the Minority on Friday 10th December 2021 about demands for the financial proposals in the 2022 Budget including the e-levy to be laid before the House for appropriate consideration to avoid hasty approval under a certificate of urgency. The Minority Chief Whip stated on Friday that: Mr. Speaker, in the business statement from Tuesday to Friday, conspicuously missing was the financial bills including the Electronic Transaction bill. Parliament may rise on 21st December 2021 instead of 17th December 2021 ostensibly to give it time to consider outstanding estimates and other matters. But this is going to be business as usual amongst Nana Akufo-Addos Kabuki dance ensemble which has fully integrated the Minority caucus as it has been during each budget season. The Budget as an important policy, and the Appropriation Act affecting the economic and social wellbeing of Ghanaians for the next year will be railroaded through Parliament and passed without prior consultation with affected stakeholders and We the People. We the People can go to hell. The next election is three years away in 2024.

CONCLUSIONS

The Majority caucus which has internalized the egoism of power of the Government has learnt to recruit the Minority for the Nana Akufo-Addo One-Party Kabuki dance. The Minority caucus has since the beginning of the second term of the Nana Akufo-Addo Government accepted integration and has become the lizard that jumped from a high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no-one did even when the electorate and its own ordinary members see them as traitors to the Constitutional role assigned an opposition party of 137 Members of Parliament in an equally split Parliament. The Minority enabled the appointment of the Minister of Finance together with any 2022 Budget hardships he inflicts upon Ghanaians. Judas Iscariot repented. The NDC can do the same.

The best defence for the 1992 Constitution is for all patriots to continue exposing the one-party political elite who are really comprador bourgeoises for neocolonialist interests for who they really are by putting Ghana First!

Martin A. B. K. Amidu
TAMASCO and TAMASCANs are extremely proud of all the achievements this year particularly for icing the cake with the conspicuous presence of the Father of the nation and his deputy to mark the year-end. Obviously, last Saturday marked another milestone in the annals of TAMASCO history, bearing in mind that in retrospect down memory lane, not many schools in the entire Ghana are opportune enough for such a double honour of hosting both the President and Vice President of this Great country on their campus on the same day. It was a rare privilege of a singular honour that every TAMASCAN, old and new hugely cherished and are proud of. In fact, without doubt, this double blessing also emphasized and cemented the schools importance as the Nothern Light and academic pace setter as evident in its remarkable feat in the recent 2021 National Mathematics and Science Quiz competitions.

As a Gambian, I am particularly honoured and grateful to be associated with this Great institution, TAMASCO aka the Northern Light, which is a fountain of social discipline and academic excellence. At this juncture, my emotional and heartfelt thanks and appreciations goes to the former Vice President of Ghana, H.E. the late ALh Alieu Mahma (peace be upon him), who, was the mastermind of my going to TAMASCO. I recalled back in 1993, I had already secured my Sixth Form admissions at TI Ahmadiyya (AMASA) in Kumasi, only to be informed that the late Mr ALieu Mahama alias Lidras wanted me to go to TAMASCO, his old school, and hence I ended up in Tamale. Thus, now sharing the same alma matter with great people like Mr Alieu himself, the current Vice President Dr Bawumia, Prof Joshua Alabi, Alh Gbadamosi, Dr Muhammad Ibn Chambas, Hon Haruna Iddrisu (the Minority Leader of Ghana Parliament), and my dear OLevels Econs. teacher at Yendi Sec Sch, Mr Daniel Bukari to name but a few.

From the bottom of my heart, I want to extend my fervent thanks and appreciations to H.E. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia for sparing their precious time to grace TAMASCOs 70th anniversary and made us the enviable envy of others. Long live Great TAMASCO, long live Mother Ghana and THANK YOU Mr President for making us proud and humbled.

MANY THANKS to everyone who one way or the other contributed to this 70th anniversary success.

Alh Yahya Ceesay

Greenwich, London
The leadership of teacher unions, drivers, and private school heads have welcomed Government's mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy.

They described the strategy as timely following the recording of cases of Omicron variant of COVID-19 in the country but said broader consultations were needed for effective implementation.

As part of interventions to curb the spread of COVID-19, Government has made vaccination mandatory for some groups of workers, including drivers, teachers and security offices, from January next year.

The Government on November 28, also declared December as vaccination month with the objective of creating awareness and vaccinating about 20 million of the population to reach herd immunity.

In separate interviews with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), leaders of some of the association of workers targeted under the mandatory vaccination have called for intensive education before implementation.

Enock Kwesi Gyetuah, the National Executive Director of the Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS), said the policy, which had a national character would require private school owners to consult guardians of children before allowing them to be vaccinated.

Issues of vaccines and health in general, he said, did not fall within the remit of private school owners and that, the schools should rather consult the parents for consent note to show that they have really agreed to that.

He said nuances of cultural and religious beliefs needed to be addressed through education for parents of children in secondary school to welcome the policy.

We the council support it from all angles, but we have already informed our members to get approval from the parents, he said.

The General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Mr Thomas Musah, said the Association had not been engaged on the policy and, therefore, urged the Ghana Health Service to engage all stakeholders for the successful implementation of the policy.

In our tripartite meeting last year, we agreed on it that we must take steps to ensure that workers and their families are protected and so we will not kick against it (mandatory vaccination) as government all over the world are doing it to protect their people, he said.

Mr Musah emphasised the need for education and sensitisation before people were made to face sanctions for going against the policy, adding, when you are introducing a good thing and you want to bring in punishment, then you are calling for resistance.

Mr Abass Moro, the spokesperson for the Ghana Private Road Transport Union, said health authorities had to change the mindset of drivers before the mandatory vaccination policy could be effective.

Attempts to get comments from the leadership of the Public Service Workers Union (PSWU) of Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Events and Meetings Professionals Association of Ghana (EMPAG), were unsuccessful.

GNA
The United Volta Association (UVA) in New York, USA has donated to the tidal wave victims along the south-eastern coastal belt of Ghana  Keta, Kedzikorfe, Blekusu, Aflao and neighboring towns and villages.

Following the behemoth October 2021 tidal wave that swept through more than 500 homes, destroyed properties and displaced over 4,000 indigenes per AFP News, the organization activated its internal emergency funding mechanism dubbed Xornam DzroJust Save Me  and mobilized donations from members to procure some essential assorted household commodities such as detergents, hygiene, and antiseptics products for the sufferers.

The items were presented by UVA emissaries led by the Vice-President Mr. Mawuli Agbenu, Mad. Gladys Seshie (a.k.a Mama Lorlornyo) and Mr. Ben Wuli, on behalf of UVA President Mrs. Pearl Setranah and entire members.

The Keta Municipal Chief ExecutiveMr. Emmanuel Gemegah and his officials received the delegates and relief products were donated to the Assemblymen and some opinion leaders on behalf of the victims in the beneficiary communities at Anloga, Abutiakorfe, Kedzikorfe, Dzelukorfe, Tamakloe-Borme, Anyanui, Fuveme and Dzita-Agbledomi in the Volta Region on 9th December 2021.

In her presentation, Mama Lorlornyo conveyed her personal empathy and that of the entire association to her beleaguered clan-folks. She assured them of the associations unflinching support as they promised to return with more donations to ease their pain and agony.

Mr. Agbenu on his part, espoused their steadfastness, love, and exhibition of tenacious resilience in unity, that epitomized their ancestral Naketsi Deka No Dzome Bi Nu (literally, united we stand) appellation in the wake of their predicament.

The recipients expressed their deep appreciation to UVA members for their thoughtfulness that propelled them across the Atlantic Ocean to their aid in their distressing circumstances.

Surfing on the same tide of gratitude, the MCE and Assembly Members appealed to the public, corporate organizations, and other associations to emulate the gestures of UVA and other charitable entities for perpetual support in whatever form anyone can offer.

UVA is a non-profit, apolitical, welfare-seeking, and socio-cultural organization comprising of predominant Ewe-speaking dwellers from the tri-state New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

The association is one of the oldest Ghanaian ethnic groupings in the diaspora headquartered in the heart of New York City (NYC). As the pioneer Ewe organization, UVA is considered pivotal in the circles of its parental organization within the North American enclaves known as the Council of Ewe Associations in North Americathe CEANA for short. Both UVA and CEANA provide wider social and humanitarian interventions to their kith and kin within and without Eweland, but they do deliver from different administrative angulations.
The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Shani Alhassan Shaibu has expressed surprise over lamentation of hardship in Ghana.

According to him, the lifestyle of Ghanaians does not really show or reflect the supposed hardship and challenges that is being portraited by 'naysayers.'

"When I hear things are hard, I don't understand, what I see is that people are trying to adjust themselves to lives they used not to leave, which is people are now managing their resources very well, this is the time you see people dressing very well, eating properly, living decent lives so their demands for resources is very higher."

Alhaji Shani Alhassan noted that, this is not the period where people must waste their resources on unnecessary things.

He noted that most Ghanaians now value the monies they make and the conscious effort to use their resources wisely.

"Have you driven around town, have you seen the type of cars people drive in, do you see how people dress these days, do you see the good houses people live in, all these doesn't show that we are in hardship," he stated.

He made this pronouncement in an interview with 'My Northern Achiever' host, Abdul Jalil on Sagani TV monitored by this reporter.
In April, the leader of the Hungarian far-right Nasha Batkivshchyna party, Laszlo Torochkai, suggested that Hungarian authorities confiscate all cash from illegal migrants.

He stated this during a press conference.

Torochkai is the mayor of Asotthalom, near the Hungarian-Serbian border.

- Young strong men with large sums in their pockets, - says Torochkai about migrants. -

Migrants pay smugglers many thousands of euros to help them get to Austria. "

Torochkai is convinced that transporting illegal immigrants is an extremely profitable business.

According to the mayor, if all the money is taken away from migrants, they will "probably choose other routes", bypassing Hungary.

Organizers from Ukraine

Mr Torochkai is not the only mayor of Hungary to face an influx of illegal immigrants.

Kishkunhalash, a town near the Serbian border. Late last year, Hungarian police stopped a car with Polish license plates.

At the wheel - a Ukrainian. There are five more foreigners in the car. They say - from Syria. No documents and proofs of legality of stay in Europe.

Ukrainians detained on suspicion of human trafficking.

The police identify his accomplice.

He is trying to flee the country. But near the border. He is being detained in your area.

9 illegals in one car

Spring, the Hungarian city of Szekesfehervar. Police stop BMW. In this case, Georgian numbers. The driver runs away, gaining speed sharply.

Two police cars are blocking the road.

At the wheel - a Ukrainian. But the main thing is not that. Police were shocked to see that the car was smashed to the ground by illegals.

In the BMW, which was going to Austria - nine illegals from Syria.

Corrupt officials in consulates

But European law enforcement officers should not blame Ukrainian criminals for all the troubles. Thus, counterintelligence officers of the Security Service of Ukraine in Transcarpathia blocked the channel of illegal transportation of Russian citizens to the EU, Great Britain and the United States.

Under this scheme, Russians were granted Hungarian citizenship on fictitious grounds by Hungarian consulate staff in several European Union countries.

Illegals from Iraq

Via Poland - to Vienna. A popular courier truck. 27 illegal migrants were detained near Radziwill. Polish border guards post photos on Twitter.

And a few days ago, the Austrian police came across smugglers of people from Ukraine.

Lower Austrian police say they have detained 15 people transporting 200 to 300 Syrian, Lebanese and Egyptian migrants from the Hungarian-Serbian border. Among the detainees are citizens of Moldova, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

"The smugglers' route leads from Hungary through Slovakia and the Czech Republic through the border crossings in the Mistelbach area to Austria, where migrants are dropped off in the northern suburbs of Vienna," Austrian police said.

The suspects were detained while inspecting vehicles in Lower Austria and at a hotel in Vienna. Some of them tried to escape from the police, but were quickly overtaken. During the operation, law enforcement officers seized 14 of the 25 vehicles used to transport migrants. At the same time, it is unknown how many Ukrainians were detained for transporting illegals.

According to the investigation, the detainees transported more than 700 migrants, from whom they were charged a fee of 4,000-5,000 euros per person per trip. During the interrogations, the migrants admitted that they were trying to get to Germany. An investigation is currently underway.

Taras Zozulinskyy (Ukraine), Paa Kwesi Plange (Ghana)

"This article was developed with the support of the Money Trail Project (www.money-trail.org)
Advocacy group, the Strategic Thinkers Network (STRANEK Africa) has called on Parliament to conduct a full-scale investigation into the alleged cases of impersonation in the House.

Dome Kwabenya Member of Parliament (MP), Sarah Adwoa Safo, and the MP for Akuapem North Constituency, Nana Dokua Asiamah Adjei have been in the news lately over accusations of impersonations in Parliament during Majority's approval of the 2022 budget statement.

Although the Minority had launched investigations into the alleged impersonation, nothing is being said about it.

With STRANEK Africa taking an interest in the matter, it says Parliament must get to the bottom of the allegations to safeguard its integrity as an institution.

We contend that it is in the best interest of Parliament to fully investigate these allegations and publish the findings of the investigations for the general public and also bring those who may be culpable to book, part of a STRANEK Africa statement has said.

It adds, We, therefore, call for a full-scale investigation to determine whether Hon. Nana Dokua Asiamah Adjei was indeed in Parliament including Hon. Sarah Adwoa Safo and punishment ought to be meted out to perpetrators and accomplices if the investigation vindicates the allegations.

According to the group, the allegation of impersonation justifies the need to have a biometric register for Members of Parliament.

STRANEK Africa insists that this will go a long way to mitigate the lingering issues of impersonation or feigning presence in the House.

Read the full STRANEK Africa statement below:

For immediate release:

13.12.2021

STRANEK AFRICA CALLS FOR A FULL SCALE PROBE INTO THE ALLEGED CASES OF IMPERSONATION IN PARLIAMENT

STRANEK Africa is deeply concerned about the alleged cases of impersonation of two Members of Parliament on the majority side during the consideration of the 2022 budget.

It is alleged that Member of Parliament for Dome Kwabenya who doubles as the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Sarah Adwoa Safo was absent due to an extension of her leave granted by the President; the Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry and Member of Parliament for Akuapem North Constituency, Nana Dokua Asiamah Adjei, according our research, gave birth on Saturday, 4th December, 2021 in the United States of America. Hon. Sarah Adwoa Safo has come out to debunk the fact that she was absent from Parliament on the approval of the 2022 budget which the Minority side of Parliament claim to be investigating the alleged impersonation of Hon. Sarah Adwoa Safo.

STRANEK-Africa has taken notice of the silence of Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry and Member of Parliament for Akuapem North Constituency, Nana Dokua Asiamah Adjei who was allegedly absent at the approval of the controversial 2022 Budget but was counted as present.

STRANEK Africa is concerned because the allegations of impersonation in Parliament is something Ghanaians must take seriously. Apart from the fact that these acts are subversive and undermine our democracy it also undermines the integrity of Parliament as an institution at a time that Ghanaians are looking up to Parliament to exercise its oversight role over the Executive. If such allegations are proven to be true then it questions Parliaments moral authority to hold the Executive and other institutions of state accountable.

What is more worrying is that Parliament as an institution has failed to make a public statement on these developments.

We content that it is in the best interest of Parliament to fully investigate these allegations and publish the findings of the investigations for the general public and also bring those who may be culpable to book.

We therefore call for a full-scale investigation to determine whether Hon. Nana Dokua Asiamah Adjei was indeed in Parliament including Hon. Sarah Adwoa Safo and punishment ought to be meted out to perpetrators and accomplices if the investigation vindicates the allegations.

This also justifies the need to have a biometric register for Members of Parliament because it will go a long way to mitigate the lingering issues of impersonation or feigning presence in the House.

We are all involved in building our motherland, Ghana.

Signed.

Nii Tettey Tetteh

Executive Director

+233 559 042 914

Eyram Norglo

Deputy Director of Research

+ 233 266 119 773
Claude Gueant, Nicholas Sarkozy's former chief of staff, began a nine-month jail sentence on Monday over embezzlement of state funds between 2002-2004.

Gueant, 76, was incarcerated in the Prison de la Sante in Paris on Monday, his lawyer confirmed.

It relates to a conviction in January 2017.

Gueant was handed a two-year jail term, with one year suspended, after he was found guilty of taking money out of special police funds and using it to give away cash bonuses to ministerial staff members, including himself.

He was also fined 75,000.

Claude Gueant, who also served as interior minister from 2011 to 2012 under Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency, appealed the sentence, but his appeal was rejected in 2019 and he had been serving his sentence on parole.

Failure to pay

On 9th November this year, the Paris Court of Appeal revoked part of his suspended sentence and conditional release, judging the former minister had failed to make the necessary payments to reimburse his fine.

The court found Gueant could have "paid more" and "earlier".

"He pays what he can pay, which is 3,000 euros a month, he has no hidden money so he can't pay more," his lawyer Philippe Bouchez El-Ghozi argued.

El-Ghozi said he intended to refer the matter to the judge in charge of applying sentences to obtain an adjustment, underlining his client's "worrying" state of health.

Secret fund

Gueant was found guilty in 2017 of running a secret fund worth 210,000 while he was chief of staff to then-interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy.

The police chief at the time, Michel Gaudin, handed him 10,000 in cash every month from a police expenses budget. Gueant kept half for himself and paid out the rest in bonuses to three members of staff.

Gueant has also been found guilty of money laundering and tax fraud over the sale of paintings to a Malaysian lawyer.

He is under investigation for suspected involvement in the potentially illicit financing of Sarkozy's 2007 presidential campaign linked to Libya.
France's interior minister Gerald Darmanin has announced that steps will be taken to disband an ultra right-wing group known as the 'Zouaves', suspected to be behind violence at the campaign rally for presidential candidate Eric Zemmour on 5th of December.

"I have begun a procedure to disband this group known as the Zouaves, whose members were either part of the GUD (a former extreme right-wing student union), or the Action francaise -- two very well known right-wing movements," Gerald Darmanin announced on RTL radio on Sunday.

"We are expecting to have a judgment rendered in the presence of the parties involved, as we I did with the Generation Identitaire case," he said, referring to France's Council of State's decision in May to uphold the banning of the far-right anti-migrant group Generation Identity.

"If the judgement is in our favour, and we believe that we are right, then we will go ahead with disbanding this group in the presence of the council of ministers and the state, and once again I hope they will prove us right."

The interior minister said the same process had been undertaken to disband islamist groups such as the Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF), BarakaCity and the Sheikh Yassine collective, in the wake of the murder of teacher Samuel Paty in October 2020.

Investigation

Violence broke out at a political campaign rally organised by right-wing candidate Eric Zemmour in Villepinte, north of Paris on 5th of December, and an inquiry was launched.

During the meeting, several activists from the group SOS Racisme wearing T-shirts printed with "No to racism" said they were punched and chairs were thrown at them by people supporting Zemmour.

Around 50 people, identified by the police as being members of the Zouaves group, posed for photos outside the venue, according to witnesses.

They were shouting "we are at home," according to anAFP journalist at the scene.

"One of the attackers is a member of the Zouaves Paris group...he was recognised by other activists who attended the rally," the president of SOS Racisme Dominique Sopo told AFP.

The Zouaves group was also accused of violence during Yellow Vest protests on 1 December 2018 in Paris, and attacking a bar where antifascist groups gathered in June 2020.

(with AFP)
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has recorded seven more persons infected with the COVID-19 Omicron variant.

This brings the total number of cases to 41.

Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, said the cases were detected after conducting community testing.

The Service, initially, recorded 34 cases at the Kotoka International Airport.

He said after the country recorded 34 cases of the new variant, the Service had sequenced about 66 community samples, which were all negative.

It, however, identified the seven variants after the second round of testing.

The Director-General, said the dominant variant in the Ghanaian communities had, however, been the 'Delta'.

Dr. Kuma-Aboagye said the variant was first detected in Ghana on November 21 among passengers who arrived at the Airport from Nigeria and South Africa through genomic sequencing.

The good thing is that the variant has not been detected in any community in Ghana, but the danger is that if someone has the Omicron, and it is incubating, it will not be found at the Airport," he said.

The Director-General said a surge in the COVID-19 cases among international arrivals was expected largely due to an anticipated increase in the number of arrivals.

He encouraged Ghanaians to get vaccinated as vaccination was the best intervention for breaking transmission of any infectious disease, reduced hospitalisation and disruption of social and economic activities.

GNA
13.12.2021 LISTEN

Legal Aspects of Ghanas National Budget

The preparation of the annual national budget is one of the oversight constitutional duties of the President of Ghana. Accordingly, Article 179 (1) of the 1992 Constitution states, The President shall cause to be prepared and laid before Parliament at least one month before the end of the financial year, estimates of the revenues and expenditure of the Government of Ghana for the following financial year. Section 21 (3) of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921) also has similar rendition.

In accordance with the above constitutional provision and since the first term of the J.A. Kuffour Administration (2000-2004), the executive arm of Government has been presenting the countrys annual budget to Parliament in November each year for approval.

The only time an ensuing years budget is not presented to Parliament for approval at least one month before the end of a financial year is when the financial year ending is an election year. For example, because 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020 were election years, the budgets for the years following these election years were presented in Parliament for approval in March 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2021 respectively. In an election year, an incumbent President does not cause the draft budget to be prepared and laid before Parliament in advance of the election because one is omniscient tell which political party will win the election. This is so because the winning political partys manifesto is a poignant force in determining the budgetary estimates. The President presents the draft budget to Parliament through the Finance Minister.

The budget is prepared and presented to the legislature in the form of an Appropriation Bill. The budget is prepared in accordance with a procedure prescribed by Parliament [Article 179 (7) of the 1992 Constitution]. When approved by Parliament, the national budget becomes known as the Appropriation Act.

The 2022 Budget Approval Controversy in Parliament

Mindful of the fact that 2022 is not an election year, the Akuffo-Addo Administration fulfilled the provision of Article 179 (1) of the Constitution by presenting the 2022 national budget to Parliament on Wednesday, November 17, 2021 for consideration and approval by the legislative House. Unfortunately, this years parliamentary budget approval process has generated a huge controversy on the floor of Parliament and it became a wild fire in national discourse. Even though 2022 is not an election year and the year 2021 is fast ending, Ghana has not yet tied a bow on its 2022 budget approval.

The controversy emanated from the Executives intention to remove road tolls and impose an electronic levy on the people of Ghana. Under item 246 (iv) of the 2022 Appropriation Bill, the Executive proposes to impose an Electronic Transaction Levy (e-transaction levy) of 1.75 percent on the value of digital transaction and exempt daily transactions of a cumulative value of GH100 or less, per person subject to approval by Parliament. The incumbent Administration also seeks to charge zero rate tolls by removing toll charges on all public roads and reassign the current work force collecting road tolls effective immediately the Budget is approved by Parliament so that they do not become any worse off because of the policy [item 246 (v)] of the 2022 budget estimates.

These two provisions in the 2022 Appropriation Bill have led to the controversy because the e-transaction levy is irking to the public.

In fact, Article 174 (1) and 174 (2) mandate only Parliament to impose taxation on the people or waive taxes through the passage of an Act of Parliament. Contrary to these constitutional provisions and contrary to the 2022 budgetary statement that the road tolls shall be removed immediately Parliament approves the budget, the Executive removed the road toll collection less than 24 hours after presenting the budget to Parliament and it has not been restored since then. The Speaker of Parliament gave an order for the restoration of the road tolls upon the strength of Article 174 (2) but nothing changed.

The budget approval controversy became so alarming to the extent that for the first time in the political history of the country, the Members of Parliament who belong to the ruling political party had to walk out from the Appropriation Bill they prepared and laid before Parliament for approval. In the absence of the majority Members of Parliament (MPs of the ruling party), the opposition MPs disapproved the 2022 budget estimates subject to modification and removal of the estimates relating to some unacceptable taxes proposed to be levied on the people of Ghana.

Afterwards, the majority MPs also returned to the House and approved the 2022 budget in the absence of the minority MPs who also walked out. On this occasion, the First Deputy Speaker who sat as Speaker of Parliament counted himself as part of the majoritys quorum and sat at the same time as the Speaker of Parliament. The minority MPs later challenged this act of the First Deputy Speaker, grounding their arguments on the combined effects of Articles 102 and 104 of the 1992 Constitution as well as relevant Orders of the Standing Orders of Parliament. This leaves the budget hanging as the majority side of the House is trying to engage the minority MPs for a truce. Suffice to say in legal parlance that the 2022 budget approval process has ended ad nauseam.

The Resultant Societal Anger

Most Ghanaians who find the e-transaction levy of 1.75% as a nuisance tax are angry that Government intends to compound the existing economic hardship most of the people, especially the masses are going through. They cited the incessant fuel price hikes at the pumps and the suffering of the unemployed to back their rejection of the e-transaction levy while others argued that such a levy will lead to double taxation. Some Civil Service Organisations (CSOs) have also joined the unending debate and the stalemate regarding the 2022 Appropriation Bill. It is currently unclear whether or not the 2022 Appropriation Act is passed even as 2021 draws speedily to an end. The perplexity is that whereas the majority MPs are of the view that the 2022 budget approval is a done deal, the minority holds an opposing view.

What is the way out if the stalemate on the 2022 Budget continues?

Government machinery runs without ceasing so it is practically impossible to stop governmental financial transactions if the 2022 budget is not approved before or on December 31, 2021 and Government makes no alternative arrangements for public expenditure in the ensuing year. Methinks that if the budget is not approved, then the only way out is for the Akuffo -Administration to enforce Article 180 of the Constitution by presenting provisional estimates to Parliament for approval for the expenses covering the first three months of 2022 just as what happens in an election year.

Article 180 states, Where it appears to the President that the Appropriation Act in respect of any financial year will not come into operation by the beginning of that financial year, he may, with the prior approval of Parliament by a resolution, authorise the withdrawal of moneys from the Consolidated Fund for the purpose of meeting expenditure necessary to carry on the services of the Government in respect of the period expiring three months from the beginning of the financial year or on the coming into operation of the Act whichever is earlier. Section 23 of the Public Financial Management Act makes more explanatory provisions regarding the enforcement of Article 180 of the Constitution.

Alternatively and administratively, the President may cause the removal of the e-levy from the 2022 budget.

To this end, I hope cool heads will prevail and entrenched positions will be addressed in the interest of national development in ways that do not compound the existing economic hardship the people endure. Our political leaders know what to do so they should eschew the partisan politics and propaganda in their approach to the developmental agenda that the entire country will benefit from. No country develops with confusion. Jesus said, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand  Mathew 12: 25

~Asante Sana ~

Author: Philip Afeti Korto.

Email: [email protected]
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has supported Ghana's Covid-19 response with an amount of 82.5 million.

The support offered to the country by EIB is geared towards strengthening healthcare, the provision of specialist medical equipment and medicines across the country under the national Covid-19 Health Response Plan.

The concessional financing package, which comprises a 75 million facility from the EIB, and a 7.5 million grant from the European Commission, was signed at the Luxembourg Headquarters of the European Investment Bank, following President Akufo-Addo's official visit to Luxembourg on December 13, 2021.

The new facility was signed on behalf of Ghana by Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong and Ambroise Fayolle, European Investment Bank Vice President, in the presence of President Akufo-Addo, EIB President Werner Hoyer, and H.E. Sena Siaw-Boateng, Ambassador of Ghana to the European Union.

President Akufo-Addo welcomed the new agreement which represents the largest national EIB financing for Covid-19-related health investment in Africa.

Strengthened cooperation between Africa and multilateral development partners is crucial to share global best practice and ensure a rapid response to health, social and health challenges triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The European Investment Bank and the European Union are key partners for Ghana and I welcome their support for our national Covid-19 Health Response Plan, President Akufo-Addo said.

He continued, Ghanaian and EIB experts have worked tirelessly in recent months to finalize this initiative since President Hoyer and I met earlier this year.

Specialist healthcare and medical services will benefit from both the EIB's largest backing for Covid-19 health resilience in Africa and EU grant support.

He said Ghana has taken visionary steps to ensure that the impact of Covid-19 can be managed and long-term investment unlocked to strengthen both health services and access to finance my business.

A few months ago President Akufo-Addo and I confirmed EIB backing for the Development Bank of Ghana.

It is an honour to welcome our Ghanaian friends to our Luxembourg headquarters to demonstrate the impact of our joint response to improve Covid-19 healthcare and discuss how to further strengthen Team Europe's partnership to improve lives and opportunities in Ghana in the years ahead. said Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank.

Europe and Ghana stand side by side to tackle the health challenges triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The new Team Europe support for Ghana's COVID-19 Health Response Plan will strengthen public health and enhance resilience to the pandemic across Ghana in the months and years ahead through new investment backed by the European Union and European Investment Bank, said Jutta Urpilainen, European Union Commissioner for International Partnerships.

The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss recent EIB support for the retrofit of the Kpong Dam, Development Bank Ghana, and COVAX, explore future cooperation to support local vaccine manufacturing, and outline the EIB's strengthened engagement in Africa through a new dedicated development finance branch to be launched in the new year.

The EIB and EU-backed health investment will improve medical treatment for patients with Covid-19 at Treatment and Isolation Centres and Intensive Care Units, as well as measures to detect and contain the virus and slow down transmission.

The initiative will both enhance medical treatment during the pandemic and enhance public health in the years ahead.

Ghana was the first country in Africa to receive Covid-19 vaccines under the EIB and EU-backed COVAX initiatives. EIB experts also briefed President Akufo-Addo on plans to further accelerate the delivery of vaccines across sub-Saharan Africa.

EIB Strengthening Co-operation with Ghana

The EIB is finalising new support for business investment in Ghana with ECOBANK that is expected to be confirmed in the coming weeks.

This follows the formal agreement in May this year between President Akufo Addo and EIB President Werner Hoyer for EUR 170 million EIB backing for the new Development Bank Ghana.

This represented the largest ever EIB engagement in Ghana and the most significant support for a national development finance institution in Africa.

Once operational Development Bank Ghana will increase access to long-term finance and boost job creation for thousands of businesses in key sectors, including agribusiness, manufacturing, ICT tourism, and other services across Ghana.

The European Investment Bank is the world's largest international public bank and financed transformational investment across Ghana, including renewable energy at the Kpong Dam, business and services, since 1976.

Background information

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member States.

It makes long-term finance available for a sound investment to contribute towards EU policy goals.

---DGN online
Former Inspector-General of Police (IGP), David Asante-Apeatu has withdrawn the defamation case he filed against Net2 Television journalist, Justice Kwaku Annan.

David Asante-Apeatu sued Justice Kwaku Annan earlier this year over some comments he deemed defamatory during an episode of The Seat programme on Net 2 Television on June 16.

From the statement of claim, David Asante-Apeatu said Mr. Annan in the broadcast suggested that he is a fence for criminals in Nigeria and Ghana.

It adds that The Net2 TV journalists also claimed that the ex-IGP harbours as well as works in cahoots with criminals and is on the payroll of top criminals in Ghana.

Insisting the comments injured his reputation, the former IGP asked the court for damages; costs, including lawyers' fees.

Amid the hearing of the case, the IGP through his lawyers has decided to discontinue the case.

In a letter drafted by Lawyers of David Asante-Apeatu, they have said their client has decided to discontinue the defamation case.

PLEASE TAKE NOTE THAT the Plaintiff herein hereby discontinues his claim against the Defendant in the above mentioned (NOTICE OF DISCONTINUANCE) action with liberty," part of the letter has said.

However, Justice Charles Ekow Baiden, Justice of the High Court, who sat on the case recused himself from hearing the case between the former IGP and the Net2 TV journalist today.

According to him, the said notice of discontinuation is not on his docket and hence he is unable to act on it.
Johannesburg. 14th of December 2021 . Paramount K9 Solutions, a subsidiary of global aerospace and technology company, Paramount Group, announced that it has delivered specialist canines and handler training to SANParks Table Mountain National Park, in a move that will bolster the counter-poaching capabilities of the park.

Last week, Table Mountain National Park announced the establishment of a first-of-its-kind Sea, Air and Mountain (SEAM) Special Operations Ranger Team to strengthen the safety and security in the Park. At its core is the re-established K9 Unit boasting six new fully-trained K9s (from Paramount K9 Solutions) and a state-of-the-art special operations centre. This new team will cover multiple functions, including visitor safety, search and rescue and illicit wildlife crime such as abalone poaching.

Paramount K9 Solutions Anti-Poaching and K9 Training Academy located in Rustenburg trains tracker/sniffer dogs and their handlers for anti-poaching operations, for the protection of endangered wildlife species including elephant, rhino, pangolin and abalone.

The Academy provides anti-poaching reaction unit training, training of handlers and detection dogs for deployment at points of access to game reserves and borders, tracking dogs for field rangers and training special operations and dogs for rapid deployment teams.

Eric Ichikowitz, Senior Vice President of Paramount Group stated: The reality is that poaching is simply no longer solely a conservation issue. Poaching threatens the security and progress of the whole continent as it funds terrorism, insurgents, criminal cartels, human and drug trafficking. It is more than a decade ago that we realised that a man and dog solution was one of the best ways to combat poachers and as a result, the Anti-Poaching Training Academy was established. Since then we have grown from strength to strength as the valuable impact of specialist K9 and handler teams became apparent for all to see.

The SANParks Honorary Rangers, through their K9 Project Watchdog National Project, played a key role in the establishment of the SEAM centre through their sponsorship of the K9s, the refurbishment of K9 kennels and trailer, and the training of the rangers. The K9 Project Watchdog national project manages all canine related honorary ranger activity in the national parks.

Moira Shein, Chairperson of K9 Project Watchdog stated: The illegal wildlife trade not only threatens the survival of entire species, such as Rhinos elephants and abalone for future generations, it also threatens the livelihoods and often lives of many people in South Africa who depend on tourism for a living. Referred to as a 'game changer' in the war against rhino poaching, the K9 Anti-poaching unit is proving to be one of the most effective deterrents against poaching. An integral contributor to the success of these units is the support of the SANParks Honorary Rangers.

Paramount K9 Solutions specialises in the training and deployments of Belgian Shepherd dogs (Malinois), but the Academy also trains and deploys German Shepherds, Rottweilers and Bloodhounds. The Malinois were chosen for their sensitive noses, long endurance and ability to operate in extreme temperatures.

Specialist counter-poaching K9 and handler teams trained at the academy have been successfully deployed in national and private reserves across South Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa and as far as Malaysia.

Malcolm Greeff, CEO of Paramount K9 Solutions stated: Weve had the privilege to support the incredible work of SANParks K9 teams over many years. The establishment of the new SEAM team is another important milestone in the innovative solutions deployed by SANParks to effectively counter poaching in such a multi-threat environment. We are very proud of the many successes of the K9 and handler teams. They are without a doubt one of the best counter measures against the relentless onslaught of poachers.

About Paramount Group

Paramount Group is the African-based, global aerospace and technology company. It is a global leader in innovation and a trusted partner to sovereign governments around the world, providing groundbreaking solutions, products, services and consultancy. Please visit www.paramountgroup.com for more information and follow us on Twitter.

Paramount K9 Solutions is an innovative K9 training and anti-poaching academy. It pioneered the establishment of rapid response units, utilising helicopters and K9 teams. It was awarded a Guinness World Record for the world's first sky-diving anti-poaching dog, Arrow. The team also trained the world's first pangolin K9 and handler team.
The Minority Caucus has accused First Deputy Speaker Joseph Osei-Owusu of abusing his power over the decision to refuse to admit the Minoritys motion seeking to reverse the approval of the 2022 budget.

The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament through a letter issued on Friday, December 10, 2021, and signed by the Clerk of Parliament, Cyril K.O. Nsiah confirmed that he rejected the motion filed by the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, against his ruling reversing the rejection of the 2022 budget on December 1, 2021.

Please refer to your communication dated 7th December 2021 on the motion relating to a ruling of the Hon. First Deputy Speaker on Wednesday, 1st December 2021.

The Hon. First Deputy Speaker, pursuant to Order 13(2) of the Standing Orders of Parliament, has directed that I inform you that your motion is not admitted, part of the letter said.

In a reply to the letter, the Minority Caucus has in a letter to First Deputy Speaker said the decision was misconceived by relying on Standing Order 13(2) as the basis for the refusal of the motion.

With respect, the reliance on Standing Order 13(2) as basis for your refusal to admit the motion is misconceived and smacks of an abuse of discretionary power contrary to Article 296 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana which requires that in the exercise of such power you have a duty to be fair and candid, the Minority statement signed by its leader Haruna Iddrisu has said.

It adds, In any case, it is most curious that the Standing Order you seek refuge in merely gives you the authority to act in the absence of the Right Honourable Speaker.

It is not lost on us that this is the very privilege you recently denounced in your bizarre ruling of 1st December 2021 when you stated categorically that you are not a Speaker, you are MP for Bekwai.

Determined to fight the matter to the latter, the Minority says it will re-file the motion when Speaker Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin returns to Ghana from his medical trip.

Read the full Minority statement below:
The Chief of Kuyoli in the Tatale-Sanguli District of the Northern Region, Ubori Nambo Zakobiki, has been arrested by the Northern Regional Police Command.

According to the Command, the chief was picked up in the early hours of Monday, December 13 following his involvement in renewed chieftaincy dispute at Kuyoli on Friday, December 10, leading to the death of one with seven others sustaining various degrees of gunshot wounds.

The arrest of the embattled chief brings to 10 the number of persons arrested in connection to the renewed clash.

On Saturday, December 11, police in Tatale arrested some nine suspects over their alleged involvement in the clash at Kuyoli.

They were transferred to the Yendi Divisional Command and subsequently to the Northern Regional Police Command.

They have since been remanded into police custody to reappear on Friday, December 17.

The Chief of Kuyoli allegedly defied the orders of the Yaa-Naa to enskin a sub-chief.

This brought about confusion as one faction rejected the move to enskin a chief.

This resulted in sporadic fatal shootings between the two factions.

Meanwhile, calm has since been restored to the community.

---3news.com|Ghana
Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Majority Leader in Parliament, has assured Members of Parliament (MPs) that the construction of their Constituency Offices will begin in 2022.

He said the Parliament under the Parliamentary Service Office Support Project intended to construct 70 such offices, per year over a four-year period, beginning from 2022 and that all 275 constituencies would be provided with such offices.

Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu stated this in his response to a question on the floor of the House by Mr Mohammed Adamu Ramadan, MP, Adenta, on the current state of building of offices for MPs in their constituencies.

He said to further deepen the representational role of Parliament, the need had arisen for MPs to be provided with constituency offices that would be accessible by all citizens and residents irrespective of political affiliation.

He said providing MPs with constituency offices would facilitate and enhance their work in their constituencies.

It would also afford constituents a common platform to engage and interact with their representatives since oftentimes constituents who do not belong to the political parties of their MPs find it difficult to indeed, almost impossible to engage their representatives at the party office of the various MPs, the Majority Leader said.

He noted that the Government and the Leadership of the House recognizing the defect in the nation's governance architecture, had put measures in place to ensure the construction of offices for members of Parliament in all the 275 constituencies to serve as neutral grounds for fruitful engagements to upscale our participatory democracy.

In this regard, the Parliament under the Parliamentary Service Office Support Project intends to construct 70 such offices.

It is expected that all 275 constituencies would be provided with such offices over the period of four years, he said.

Accordingly, Mr Speaker, Parliament in the 2021 budget was allocated an amount of GHS45,500,000 for the construction of 70 constituency offices, which was to constitute the first phase of the project.

Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said further discussions on the issue, yielded the consideration that the amount that was programmed for the construction of the facilities, the unit cost certainly would not suffice given the current circumstances of the cost of building materials, which then meant that they would really had to increase the level of the allocations per unit.

He said for this year they had come to some estimation on the issue.

Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu noted that the Parliamentary Service Board had considered the proposals for the award of contract and that the contract had been referred to the Entity Tender Committee of the Parliamentary Service for considerations and report back to the Board.

He said the Entity Tender Committee subsequently met and recommended that the leadership of the House constitute a committee comprising of MPs with the requisite knowledge from both sides of the house to engage the Entity Tender Committee on the award of contract.

He said the Committee had been constituted and was yet to meet the Entity Tender Committee.

Mr speaker, I can assure Honourable Members that the decision for the construction of the facilities would factor in their concerns of all MPs and nothing would be done to subvert that; that is the concerns of MPs, he said.

He conceded that Parliament did not commence the construction of the project in 2021 however, provisions would be made in the rest of the three years to accommodate the allocation for 2021.

He appealed to the MPs to collaborate with their respective district assemblies for the acquisition of land for the MP's office project.

Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu, the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, sitting as Speaker, said all pieces of land acquired for the MP's Office Project should be registered in the name of Parliament.

He also suggested that when the MPs Constituency Offices became operational, the MPs should recruit staff, whose tenure of office would be similar to theirs; so that as they leave office, they leave with their staff.

GNA
13.12.2021 LISTEN

Executive Director of the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBRE), Gordon Newman Asamoah has condemned a directive from the leadership of the New Patriotic Party concerning the upcoming national delegates conference to be held in Kumasi in the Ashanti region.

He describes the order to remove erected campaign billboards and signages as dictatorial and non-democratic, an action he believes may hurt the long-standing democratic credentials of the party.

In a radio interview on Monday, December 13, Mr Asamoah stated, Ive read the directives, but do not want to wade into whether or not people will go by it. Such conferences are avenues for contestants to showcase their interests and themselves to delegates and party leadership. And so to order the removal of such campaign billboards and ban all activities associated with internal contests to me is non-democratic.

This is a clear sign of panic reaction. It depicts certain individuals and leaders have lost grounds and thus want to intimidate the new faces who have recently gained grounds. Over the years before nominations are opened, billboards are erected, this thing isnt new in politics.

The fact that youre a leader and feels threatened by another shouldnt make you give such directives. People easily take directives on the face value. But before such directives are issued, a lot goes into it."

The NPP on December 10, issued a directive indicating that no billboards and or sign boards, banners or any kind of outdoor signage with the images and or names of individual members, with or without the consent of the individual, shall be acceptable.

This, they say, applies to the area within the Greater Kumasi Metropolis. "All such displays, if put up already, should be removed," it stated.

Meanwhile some party supporters have called for a review of the directive, but party leadership says it is a step in the right direction.
The New Patriotic Party has a long history, coupled with a rich tradition and as such a delight to share. Dr. J.B. Danquah, the biological uncle of Ghanas current President. H.E Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, after his return in the early 1940s from London to Ghana, then Gold Coast, joined hands with Paa Grant, a merchant, and formed the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) in 1946. The UGCC aimed at attaining independence for Gold Coast, within the shortest possible time through constitutional means. The Party, as advised by Ebenezer Ako Adjei, called on Kwame Nkrumah, to serve as the secretary.

According to Kwame Nkrumah, he was kept in the dark about the Coussey Committee which was largely constituted of UGCC officials and therefore, broke away with other members of the UGCC to form the Convention Peoples Party (CPP). The Coussey Committee happens to have drafted the 1950 constitution for the first-ever elections that elected half of the Legislative Council of the Gold Coast. The CPP aimed at gaining independence now, hence the slogan, Self Government Now, which they eventually achieved after many struggles in 1957. The countrys name then changed from Gold Coast to Ghana.

The mid-1950s saw the birth of numerous political parties on tribal and religious lines, which include the Northern Peoples Party, led by Simon Diedong Dombo, a traditional ruler from Duori in the Upper West Region, Togoland Congress, Anlo Youth Organization, the Muslim Association Party, Ga Shifimokpee, among others.

Ghanas Parliament after independence on March 6, 1957, passed the Avoidance of Discrimination Act, 1957 (C. A 38), which banned all parties formed on tribal and religious lines and became operational from 31st December, 1957. This development sent a signal to the affected political parties that, the government only aimed at getting rid of them since the CPP was the only national party at the time. Therefore, they joined forces to form a national party.

The National Liberation Movement (a merger of UGCC and the Ghana Congress Party led by Danquah and Busia respectively), the Northern Peoples Party led by Dombo, Anlo Youth Organization, Muslim Association Party, Togoland Congress and Ga Shifimokpee amalgamated and became the United Party (UP), with Busia as the chosen leader. The UP later became the Progress Party (PP) and won the 1969 general elections and ruled, for 3 years after which Busias government was overturned. Ghana in the mid-1960s to the early 1980s experienced numerous military uprisings and unrest until Democracy was adopted in the 4th Republic in 1992, paving way for the multi-party system and the rule of law.

Mr. B J da Rocha with a few others saw the need to revive the Progress Party, with the late Mr. Steven Krakues residence as the meeting venue. On July 28, 1992, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was formed as a Centre-Right Party with a liberal-democratic ideology. The NPP has contested in the general elections with Prof. Albert Adu Boahen, John Agyekum Kufour and Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo as flagbearers in 1992-1996, 2000-2004 and 2008-2020 respectively.

The history of the NPP cannot be written without acknowledging Danquah, Busia and Dombo, all of blessed memory for their enormous contribution to the birth of the Party, hence the Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition." The inclusive nature of this tradition makes it distinctive, coupled with the support and sacrifices of Ghanaians from all walks of life, of which the Northern Caucus have been very instrumental. Regardless of the Northern Peoples Party having a greater number of Parliamentary seats, Chief Simon Diedong Dombo, Chief Bawumia and others were benevolent enough to authorize Dr. Busia as the leader of the party.

This boosted his popularity which subsequently saw him become a Prime Minister, where Former President John Agyekum Kufuor served as a deputy minister under his tenure. The chairman of the PFP, Alhaji Yakubu-Tali became the face of the party when Mr.Victor Owusu was encumbered by trumped up charges. After Mr. Owusu was discharged by the Commission of Enquiry, Alhaji Tali, although he had worked hard, willingly without resentment, allowed him to become the partys flagbearer. His sacrifice of party unity over self was pivotal for the partys future stability.

Throughout the history of the party, the Northern Caucus have consistently sacrificed for the greater good of the party, therefore it is only fair for the party to give them the mandate to lead in the 2024 general elections.

Deborah Acquah is a graduate of the Ghana Institute of Journalism. A communication expert, writer and a freelance journalist.
We had mentioned in Fridays closing report that Nifty and Sensex headed up. On Monday, the indices opened higher and ended with loss. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 1,007 stocks advanced, 1,037 declined and 66 remained unchanged with advance decline ratio of 0.97.

The trend of the major indices on Mondays trading are given in the table below:

The Subject Expert Committee has given nod for conducting booster dose on Indians.

Vedanta has withdrawn its appeal at Income Tax Appellate Tribunal to settle retrospective dispute.

Shriram Group has announced amalgamation of Shriram City Union with Shriram Transport Finance.

BPCL will collaborate with BARC to produce green hydrogen. SEBI has approved Emcure Pharmaceuticals IPO plan. SPARC's share saw a strong upmove today after its analyst meet. NDTV's shares were locked in upper circuit after it signed a Rs 750 crore with Taboola for 10 years.

CAMS shares were down 7% on huge volume. Bannari Amman Sugar Limiteds shares surged 17% after CARE ratings reaffirmed the credit ratings for the loans availed by company. Tega Industries listed at Rs 760 per share, at 68% premium to its issue price.

Shares of PB Fintech parent company of Policy Bazaar were down 4% after the one-month lock in period for anchor investors expired today.

The top gainers and top losers of the major indices are given in the table below:

The closing values of the major Asian indices are given in the table below
August 29, 2021

How The CIA Used ISIS-K To Keep Its Afghanistan Business

There is a larger story behind the recent terror events in Afghanistan. Here is an attempt to track it down.

Over the years several reports by the Afghan Analyst Network (AAN) about the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP or ISIS-K) show that it had grown out of militant groups from Pakistan. A report from 2016 describes extensively how they were fostered by the Afghan state:

The IS fighters who pioneered the Khorasan franchise of the IS were Pakistani militants who had long been settled in the southeastern districts of Nangarhar, in the Spin Ghar mountains or its foothills, bordering the tribal agencies on the Pakistani side of the Durand Line. Before choosing to join ISKP, these militants operated under different brands, mainly under the umbrella of the ever-loosening Tehrik-e Taleban Pakistan (TTP). The bulk of these militants had been arriving in Nangarhar since 2010 mainly from the Orakzai, North Waziristan and Khyber tribal agencies.

Pakistan alleges that the TTP is supported by RAW, India's secret services. It may have also helped to finance the ISKP outlet.

Hoping to use them against Pakistan, the Afghan government started to woo some of these fighters, according to influential tribal elders involved in helping relation-building from the districts that sheltered the guest militants.

...

However, efforts by the Afghan intelligence service, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), to woo Pakistani militants in Nangarhar have not been confined to Lashkar-e Islam or to militants from Khyber. Tribal elders and ordinary residents of Achin, Nazian and Kot testify that fighters from Orakzai and Mohmand agencies belonging to different factions of the TTP have been allowed free movement across the province, as well as treatment in government hospitals. When moving outside their hub in Nangarhars southern districts, they would go unarmed. In off-the-record conversations with AAN, government officials have verified this type of relationship between segments of the Pakistani militants and the NDS, as have pro-government tribal elders and politicians in Jalalabad. They described this state of affairs as a small-scale tit-for-tat reaction to Pakistans broader and longer-ranging, institutionalised support to the Afghan Taleban in their fight against the Afghan government.

The Afghan state's NDS was a CIA proxy agency. During the mid 1990s the intelligence chief of the Northern Alliance, Amrullah Saleh, had been trained by the CIA in the United States. After the U.S. overthrew the Taliban government Saleh became the head of the NDS. The NDS also had extensive relations with India's secret service.

While the U.S. pretended to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) consistent reports from various sides alleged that core ISIS personnel were extracted by unmarked U.S. helicopters from Iraq and Syria and transferred to Nangarhar where they reinforced the ISKP militants.

Hadi Nasrallah @HadiNasrallah - 1:18 UTC  Aug 28, 2021 In 2017 and 2020, Syrias SANA reported that that US helicopters transported between 40 and 75 ISIS militants from Hasakah, North Syria to an unknown area. The same thing was reported for years in Iraq by the PMU along with reports that US helicopters dropped aid for ISIS.

As Alex Rubinstein summarizes:

The list of governments, former government officials, and organizations in the region that have accused the US of supporting ISIS-K is expansive and includes the Russian government, the Iranian government, Syrian government media, Hezbollah, an Iraqi state-sponsored military outfit and even former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who called the group a tool of the United States ...

Like in Iraq and Syria the CIA's fostering of ultra-militant Islamists led to a backlash as the militants increasingly attacked the Afghan state. The U.S. military finally found it necessary to intervene against them. But the fighting against them on the ground was mostly done by the Taliban who for that purpose received direct support from the U.S. air force.

The Taliban operations were successful and a further spread of ISKP in east Afghanistan was prevented. Instead of openly taking more land ISKP then resorted to sensational suicide bombings against vulnerable targets in Kabul. In May 2021, for example, a car bomb placed in front of Hazara girl school in Kabul killed more than 90 people most of them children.

The CIA and the NDS had additional militants at hand to fight against the Taliban. They had grown and built special forces organized in several battalions (NDS-01 to -04 and the Khost Protection Force (KPF). These CIA controlled death squads had their own helicopter support:

As of 2018, the CIA is engaged in a program to kill or capture militant leaders, codenamed ANSOF, previously Omega. CIA manpower is supplemented with personnel assigned from United States Army Special Operations Command. In mid2019, the NGO Human Rights Watch stated that "CIA-backed Afghan strike forces" have committed "serious abuses, some amounting to war crimes" since late 2017.

The 2019 HRW report noted:

These strike forces have unlawfully killed civilians during night raids, forcibly disappeared detainees, and attacked healthcare facilities for allegedly treating insurgent fighters. Civilian casualties from these raids and air operations have dramatically increased in the last two years.

After the Taliban took Kabul it became clear that the CIA would have to shut down its 'counterterrorism' program and that it would lose control of a major part of its (drug) business in Afghanistan.

As Kabul was falling at least one of its Afghan units, some 600 soldiers, was ordered to help guard the airport of Kabul.

NDS 01 Unit @NDS_Afghanistan - 11:50 UTC  Aug 17, 2021 We will come

We will serve our countrymen as well .

#_ #Kabul #ANDSF

The CIA's Afghan forces manned the gates and guard towers:

The Americans have turned to several hundred commandos from the former Afghan governments National Directorate of Security to limit access through some airport gates, to keep the crowds from overwhelming the airport.

...

The former N.D.S. commandos are due to be among the last to leave the country in the evacuation, serving as a rear guard before being airlifted out, according to U.S. and former Afghan officials.

Some of the trigger happy unit got into a friendly fire incident with German soldiers. The CIA Afghan troops at the airport are set to be evacuated. Other units, including the KPF, were reported to be going to the Panjshir valley where a new 'Northern Alliance' under Amrullah Saleh and Ahmad Massoud is supposed to be build. The Taliban are trying to hunt them down.

On Thursday a suicide bomber attacked a gate at the airport in Kabul where many people were trying to get evacuated from Afghanistan. The Islamic State claimed responsibility:

Thursday's suicide bombing in Kabul and the following panic killed more than 150 civilians (some 30 of whom were British-Afghan), 28 Taliban fighters and 13 U.S. troops. Before the attack happened a Taliban spokesperson had told RT that they had warned the U.S. of an imminent ISPK attack.

It is difficult to understand why the U.S., after it had been warned, did not take more precautions against such an attack.

Most of the casualties of the attack were not caused by the suicide bomber but by guards on the wall and in the guard towers surrounding the airport. "Most victims" had gun wounds to their upper bodies and the bullets had come from above. This has now been confirmed by multiple sources:

Sangar |   @paykhar - 1:02 PM  Aug 28, 2021 "Most victims of #KabulAirportBlast were not killed by the blast but by bullets fired at them by the Americans."

Faisal of Kabul Lovers channel interviewed aid workers at Emergency Hospital in #Kabul and this is what they have to say:

Embedded video

U.S. media try to ignore those reports. Only deep down in a long New York Times piece one will find these lines:

For the first time, Pentagon officials publicly acknowledged the possibility that some people killed outside the airport on Thursday might have been shot by American service members after the suicide bombing. Investigators are looking into whether the gunfire came from Americans at the gate, or from the Islamic State.

It were neither the Americans at the gate nor the Islamic State but most likely the CIA's Afghan death squads in the guard towers who caused the massacre.

The Washington Post analysis of the attack is likewise misleading:

Multiple gunmen then opened fire on the civilians and military forces. A local affiliate of the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

Two days after the attack the CIA CNN published an interview by Clarissa Ward with an alleged ISKP commander said to have been recorded two weeks ago in a hotel in Kabul. Why the CNN blurred the man's face is left unexplained.

As RT mockingly headlines:

CIA tweets CIA interview with CIA: Viewers react to suddenly-released 'eerily prophetic' CNN interview with ISIS-K commander

Also a day after the airport attack the CIA killed an alleged ISKP 'planner' in Jalalabad who had nothing to do with the airport attack.

Dion Nissenbaum @DionNissenbaum - 10:43 UTC  Aug 29, 2021 Exclusive @WSJ video shows aftermath of US drone strike on Islamic State in Afghanistan, which used a "Flying Ginsu" missile. Pentagon says no civilian casualties. Eyewitness says a woman among the four injured.

Exclusive Video Shows Aftermath of U.S. Drone Strike in Afghanistan

The claim of a 'Flying Ginsu' missile, which contain no explosives, is inconsistent with the heavy shrapnel damage seen in the above linked video.

Now onto the big question.

If ISKP is, as shown above, a CIA/NDS product and if the guards at the airport who killed the 'most victims' in the attack are CIA led Afghan special forces why did all this happen?

We may find the answer in another New York Times piece headlined:

Amid Afghan Chaos, a C.I.A. Mission That Will Persist for Years

As the Afghanistan war wound down, the C.I.A. had expected to gradually shift its primary focus away from counterterrorism  a mission that transformed the agency over two decades into a paramilitary organization focused on manhunts and killing  toward traditional spycraft against powers like China and Russia. But a pair of deadly explosions on Thursday were the latest in a series of rapidly unfolding events since the collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban takeover of the country that have upended that plan. Like a black hole with its own gravitational pull, Afghanistan could draw the C.I.A. back into a complex counterterrorism mission for years to come.

The poor CIA - pulled back into an expensive 'counterterrorism' mission in Afghanistan and elsewhere that was supposed to end until ... well, until a CIA created terrorist outlet sent a suicide bomber to Kabul's airport and until CIA led Afghan forces shot up and killed a large crowd of refugees.

One might also call this the deep state's revenge for President Biden's order to retreat from Afghanistan.

This is the same deep state that had brought us four years of a fake 'Russiagate' when a different president was likewise inclined to call U.S. troops back home and to thereby limit the CIA's fields of operation.

To make their point absolutely clear the NYT's CIA authors in their last paragraph issue this not very subtle threat:

Any terrorist attack originating from Afghanistan would expose Mr. Biden to fierce criticism from his political opponents that it was a result of his decision to pull American troops from the country  yet another factor that is likely to bring intense White House pressure on spy agencies to keep a laser focus on Afghanistan.

White House pressure on the spy agencies? No, CIA pressure on the White House to let it stay in its Afghanistan business.

Posted by b on August 29, 2021 at 15:59 UTC | Permalink

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August 28, 2021

The Never Ending Lies About The War On Afghanistan

The U.S. military has lied for 20 years about the war in Afghanistan. Do not expect it to suddenly tell the truth.

Thursday's suicide bombing in Kabul and the following panic killed more than 150 civilians (some 30 of whom were British-Afghan), 28 Taliban fighters and 13 U.S. troops.

Before the attack happened a Taliban spokesperson had told RT that they had warned the U.S. of an imminent ISPK attack.

Repeating Pentagon claims the New York Times describes the attack:

At 5:48 p.m., the bomber, wearing a 25-pound explosive vest under clothing, walked up to the group of Americans who were frisking people hoping to enter the complex. He waited, officials said, until just before he was about to be searched by the American troops. And then he detonated the bomb, which was unusually large for a suicide vest, killing himself and igniting an attack that would leave dozens of people dead, including 13 American service members.

If the suicide bomber was so close to the inner perimeter checkpoint manned by U.S. forces why were so many Taliban, who manned checkpoints at the outer perimeter, killed in the incident?

The Times writes:

Just after the bomb went off, Defense Department officials said, fighters nearby began firing weapons. The officials said that some of the Americans and Afghans at Abbey Gate might have been hit by that gunfire.

What fighters nearby?

The BBC correspondent in Kabul has asked people who where there:

Secunder Kermani @SecKermani - 7:21 UTC  Aug 28, 2021 Our report from last night on the awful ISIS attack outside Kabul airport as families still search Kabul's morgues for their loved ones..

Many we spoke to, including eyewitnesses, said significant numbers of those killed were shot dead by US forces in the panic after the blast

Embedded video

The correspondent talks to the brother a London taxi driver who was in Kabul to fetch his family:

A: "Somehow I saw American soldiers, Turkish soldiers and the fire was coming from the bridges, from the towers."

Q: "From the soldiers?"

A: "Yeah, from the soldiers."

(Side note: Some of the towers around the airport were reportedly manned by members of the CIA's Afghan death squads.)

Another witness:

Narrator: "Noor Mohamed had been deployed alongside American forces."

A man holding up an identity card of a friend talks about his death in English.

A: "The guy has served U.S. army for years. And the reason he lost his life - he wasn't killed by Taliban, he wasn't killed by ISIS, he was (unintelligible)."

Q: "How can you be sure?"

A: "Because of the bullet. The bullet went inside of his head. Right here." (Points to the back of his head.) "He doesn't have any (other) injury."

The Pentagon did not respond to the BBC's request for comments.

Posted by b on August 28, 2021 at 8:59 UTC | Permalink

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December 13, 2021 The Fall Of Kabul Story Misses Some Damning Details On August 26, during the chaotic U.S. evacuation from the airport in Kabul, a suicide bomber blew himself up at an entrance to the airport. As I wrote at that time: Thursday's suicide bombing in Kabul and the following panic killed more than 150 civilians (some 30 of whom were British-Afghan), 28 Taliban fighters and 13 U.S. troops. The U.S. military at that time falsely claimed that additional shooting from outside of the airport had killed some of the people. That however did not explain the death of the Taliban guards who where outside trying to control the masses. A BBC correspondent in Kabul interviewed several witnesses of the incident who said that, after the suicide bomb went off, massive gunfire had come from the towers and walls around the airport. These were guarded by Afghan men who had worked in the CIA death squads (NDS 01, 02, ...) and who were later flown out of the country. In the following days more witnesses confirmed that account: Most of the casualties of the attack were not caused by the suicide bomber but by guards on the wall and in the guard towers surrounding the airport. "Most victims" had gun wounds to their upper bodies and the bullets had come from above. This has now been confirmed by multiple sources: Sangar |   @paykhar - 1:02 PM  Aug 28, 2021 "Most victims of #KabulAirportBlast were not killed by the blast but by bullets fired at them by the Americans."

Faisal of Kabul Lovers channel interviewed aid workers at Emergency Hospital in #Kabul and this is what they have to say:

Embedded video U.S. media try to ignore those reports. Only deep down in a long New York Times piece one will find these lines: For the first time, Pentagon officials publicly acknowledged the possibility that some people killed outside the airport on Thursday might have been shot by American service members after the suicide bombing. Investigators are looking into whether the gunfire came from Americans at the gate, or from the Islamic State. It were neither the Americans at the gate nor the Islamic State but most likely the CIA's Afghan death squads in the guard towers who caused the massacre. On Friday the New York Times published a 20,000 words long piece from Inside the Fall of Kabul.

bigger It was written by Matthieu Aikins who has been independently reporting from Afghanistan since 2008. I have found his previous writings mostly trustworthy, detailed and free of the usual mainstream spin. I therefore wondered how he would describe the suicide bomb incident. Aikins himself was involved in the evacuation when he one night accompanied a bus convoy of civilians to the airport: A group of my friends connected to Sayara, a research-and-communications company that contracted with the U.S. government, had gotten together to try to evacuate Sayaras local staff and others at risk. The list grew as they found donors who were willing to help get more people out  journalists, womens rights activists and even members of the girls robotics team, whose faces had been painted on the wall outside the U.S. Embassy. Soon they had raised more than a million dollars from places like the Rockefeller Foundation, enough to fly their own charter plane in. They got permission from the Ugandan government to bring people there while they waited for resettlement.

...

They needed someone on the ground in Kabul to get a convoy to the airport. Theyd been in touch with me, asking for information; Id been getting around through the crowds on my motorcycle and had a sense of what was going on there. Now one of my friends called and asked if Id be willing to lead the buses in. The convoy was supposed to enter a certain gate late at night. He had checked out the airport the day before and had noticed the CIA death squad units: Id ridden around the airport that afternoon to get a sense of the layout. On the north side, there was a road that ran along a wide sewage canal. Across the water, Hesco barriers and concrete walls were topped with guard towers, and on one I saw something I hadnt seen in days: the tricolor of the republic, fluttering in the breeze. While the army and police had surrendered and deserted en masse around the country, the Zero Units had remained mostly intact.

...

One was the Orgun Strike Force from the southeastern border, which had participated in some of the United States most secret missions, including covert operations inside Pakistans tribal areas across the border. They were led by a longhaired, mustachioed commander whose operations that summer Id been following on an Afghan government Facebook page. (A U.S. official requested that he not be identified by name, to protect his family.) The Orgun commander and his unit were given the ugly job of crowd control on the perimeter. Coming around the north side of the airport, still a long way from the main military gate, I hit a traffic jam, and as I threaded the bike through I saw the reason. The Zero troopers, in their desert tiger camo, had taken over the road. They stood in front of a narrow passage formed by concrete blast walls. This new entrance, which some dubbed Glory Gate, was supposed to be a low-profile one for U.S. citizens and other priority cases, but large crowds were gathering there. When people pushed too close, the troopers fired shots in the air or brandished steel cables. It is a gate similar to one where several days later the suicide bomber would attack. Here is Aikins describing that incident: On Aug. 26, an ISIS suicide bomber made his way through the crowd to the Marines at Abbey Gate and detonated his vest, killing 13 American troops. Jim and I went down to the site and then to the emergency hospital, where they were bringing in bodies on stretchers. Almost 200 people were killed; it seemed like too many for a single bomber. Some might have been trampled or drowned in the sewage ditch; according to several witnesses I spoke to, the Marines, who must have feared another bomber, also fired on those who panicked and tried to climb the walls. A doctor at a government hospital said that many of the casualties he saw had bullet wounds. (A spokesman said there was no evidence the Marines shot anyone during the evacuation.) That is all. This feels weird. The whole long piece is filled with detailed observations but the incident which killed so many is not worth more than that short paragraph? How could the witnesses have distinguished Marines at the gate from the CIA death squad soldiers, clad in similar uniforms, that were up in the towers and on the walls? Those were the ones who had fired. The spokesman's non-denial is awfully specific. When there is 'no evidence the Marines shot' it does not mean that other units under U.S. command did not shoot either. Why aren't the CIA units, which Aikins had previously described as guarding the place, not mentioned in this? I find this very unusual compared to Aikins' typical reporting style. My hunch is that the NYT editors, or Aikins on 'friendly advice' from someone, took out a more detailed description of the incident before the piece was published. I had looked out for a more detailed reporting of the incident but there seems to be some kind of omerta in the media that prevents the publishing of any reporting on it. Meanwhile the CIA's trigger happy Afghan baby killers have all been evacuated to the United States. They will of course happily integrate into the U.S. society and will have no trouble to adopt to their new circumstances. No one shall ever question that. Matthieu Aikins will hopefully write a book about the fall of Kabul and expand a bit on the mass shooting of Afghan civilians by soldiers under U.S. command. I for one would certainly pay for it. Posted by b on December 13, 2021 at 16:06 UTC | Permalink Comments
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  California regulators proposed major changes to the states booming residential solar industry Monday, including reducing the discounts homeowners with rooftop solar and storage systems get on their electric bills when they sell extra energy back to the power companies.

Californias successful program to get more people to put solar panels on their homes has been at the center of a fierce debate between the states major utilities and the solar industry, and the California Public Utilities Commissions proposed reforms have been highly anticipated.

The state's three major utilities  Pacific Gas & Electric, San Diego Gas & Electric, and Southern California Edison  say the savings solar customers get now are so great that those customers no longer pay their fair share for the operation of the overall energy grid.

The CPUC's proposal would reduce the incentives for going solar and roughly double, to 10 years, how long it takes Californians to make back what they paid to install the systems. Buying rooftop solar panels and a system to store extra power costs about $40,000, according to the solar industry.

The CPUC said the reforms are designed to make the program, known as net energy metering, more cost effective and to ensure energy grid operation costs are shared fairly. But the solar industry and its allies warned the changes will make it harder for the state to achieve its clean energy targets, including generating 100% of retail electricity from renewable or zero-carbon sources by 2045.

The proposal will move us backward on clean energy and block many Californians ability to help make our grid more resilient to climate change, Susannah Churchill, western senior regional director for Vote Solar, a political advocacy group that pushes for clean energy adoption.

California launched the program in 1995 with the goal of encouraging more homes to go solar. It worked. California now has 1.3 million solar systems on homes, far more than any other state, according to the solar industry. That number will only grow because since 2020 all newly constructed homes in California must have solar panels.

But as solar panels proliferated, and the cost of installing them went down, criticism of the program grew. The three major utilities say the current setup allows solar customers to sell their energy back into the grid for more than its worth. They say more needs to be done to make sure solar customers  most of whom still rely on power from utilities once the sun goes down  are paying for all the parts of the energy grid they use.

Power rates include many costs unrelated to energy generation, like transmission, distribution and even wildfire prevention work. When solar households pay significantly lower electricity bills  or no bills at all  theyre contributing less to those things. That means more of the cost is shouldered by other customers, often households and renters without the financial means to install solar.

The utilities and the state peg that cost at $3 billion. The solar industry disputes that number, saying it doesn't take into effect the savings for everyone when the utilities need to build fewer power plants and transmission lines due to more residential solar.

The CPUCs proposal would still allow residential solar customers to sell their excess energy back to the power companies, but at a significantly lower rate. Solar customers would also have to pay a grid charge based on how many kilowatts of energy they produce; it would cost $40 to $50 for most homes.

The charges arent as great as what the utilities wanted. Pacific Gas & Electric spokeswoman Ari Vanrenen called the proposal a step in the right direction to modernize California's outdated rooftop solar program. But she indicated the utility  the states largest  would like to see regulators put higher charges on rooftop solar customers, but she declined to give specifics.

Southern California Edison said the proposal would reduce the burden on non-solar customers. San Diego Gas & Electric declined to comment, with spokesman Anthony Wagner saying the utility needed more time to review the proposal.

CPUC Commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves said the reforms are aimed at creating fairness while ensuring the financial benefits are still strong enough to encourage people to go solar. Regulators also proposed creating a $600 million fund to help low income households afford solar and storage.

The changes would apply to new solar customers, but the new charges would be phased in over four years. People who already have panels on their homes wouldnt operate under the new system until theyve had their panels for 15 years. If they take advantage of a roughly $3,200 subsidy to build storage systems, they would move onto the new rate structure right away.

Residential rooftop solar reduces the demand on the electric grid up to 25% during the day, according to the CPUC. But California's peak household energy demand is from 6 to 9 p.m., when the state is mostly relying on fossil fuels to power the energy grid.

The CPUC's proposal encourages people who already have solar panels to switch to storage by raising the power rates during those peak evening hours. And it would allow anyone with rooftop solar to install panels that provide up to 150% of the power they typically need. That would encourage people to switch to electrical appliances or buy electric cars they can charge at home, CPUC Commissioner Guzman Aceves said.

How do we transform a program thats about distributed solar  capturing the sun  to a program that has to do with a period when the sun is down? Guzman Aceves said. Thats what this reform is about.

But the solar industry warned the higher costs will discourage people from going solar in the first place, said Bernadette Del Chiaro of the California Solar and Storage Association, which represents 700 businesses in the industry.

If you make solar more expensive, you make the battery more expensive. It is that simple, she said.

The CPUC commissioners could change the proposal before voting on it early next year.
SAN DIEGO (AP)  Navy prosecutors alleged Monday that a sailor charged with setting the fire that destroyed the USS Bonhomme Richard last year was disgruntled after dropping out of Navy SEAL training, while his defense lawyers said there was no physical evidence connecting him to the blaze.

Prosecutor Cmdr. Richard Federico told the court that text messages show Seaman Apprentice Ryan Sawyer Mays lied to family, friends and investigators about why he left SEAL training and that he was angry about being reassigned to the Bonhomme Richard. They also said he used foul language with a superior days before the blaze.

Mays denied igniting the amphibious assault ship that burned for nearly five days and injured dozens aboard.

Defense attorneys said fellow sailors considered Mays arrogant" because he had come from SEAL training. They disputed that Mays hated the Navy more than any other sailor assigned to deck duty like he was, which involves cleaning the ship.

The junior sailor was charged with aggravated arson and the willful hazarding of a vessel.

The fire that was the worst noncombat Navy warship blaze in recent memory.

The hearing will determine whether there is enough evidence to proceed with a military trial. Scheduled to testify Tuesday is a key witness for the government, a crew member who reported seeing Mays go down to the ship's lower storage area where investigators say cardboard boxes were ignited.

About 160 sailors and officers were on board when the fire started on the 840-foot (256-meter) vessel, which had been docked at Naval Base San Diego while undergoing a two-year, $250 million upgrade.

More than 60 sailors and civilians were treated for minor injuries, heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation. Left with extensive structural, electrical and mechanical damage, the billion-dollar ship was scrapped.

Defense Attorney Gary Barthel pointed out no DNA linked to Mays was found at the scene and he questioned why investigators concluded Mays did it just because they found a lighter among his belongings.

Were there other individuals on the ship with lighters?" Barthel asked the lead fire investigator for the Navy, who agreed there likely were.

Navy prosecutors argued the case was carefully investigated. They have collected more than 28,000 pages of material and hours of video to build their case.

Defense lawyers objected to the hearing, saying they were not given enough time to review the evidence against Mays.

Officials assessing the ships damage found three of four fire stations on the ship had evidence of tampering: Fire hoses had been disconnected and one was cut, according to court documents.

Investigators also found uncapped bottles containing small amounts of highly flammable liquid near the ignition site, including one that tested positive for a heavy petroleum distillate such as diesel, kerosene or jet fuel, according to the documents.

Mays told investigators he was in the hangar bay when he became aware of the fire, according to court documents. He described how he assisted firefighters, alerted at least one crew member of the threat and eventually helped fight the blaze, according to the documents.

Winds coming off San Diego Bay whipped up the flames that shot up the elevator shafts and exhaust stacks. Two explosions  one heard as far as 13 miles (21 kilometers) away  caused the fire to grow.

The fire sent acrid smoke wafting over San Diego for days.

Dozens of Navy officials, including several admirals, face disciplinary action for systematic failures that investigators said prevented the blaze from being put out sooner, according to investigators.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  Too young. Too weak. Too inexperienced.

Since taking power following his fathers sudden death 10 years ago this week, Kim Jong Un has erased those widespread doubts that greeted his early attempts to extend his familys brutal dynastic grip over North Korea.

Early predictions about a regency, a collective leadership or a military coup were crushed by an estimated hundreds of executions and purges targeting family members and the old guard. That ruthless consolidation of power, together with a larger-than-life personality seemingly made for carefully packaged TV propaganda, has allowed Kim to make clear that his authority is absolute.

But as North Koreas first millennial dictator marks a decade in rule this Friday, he may be facing his toughest moment yet, as crushing sanctions, the pandemic and growing economic trouble converge. If Kim can't uphold his public pledge to develop both nukes and his moribund economy, something many experts see as impossible, it could spell trouble for his long-term rule.

The modest economic growth he achieved for several years through trade and market-oriented reforms was followed by a tightening of international sanctions since 2016, when Kim accelerated his pursuit of nuclear weapons and missiles targeting the United States and its Asian allies.

After basking in the global spotlight at summits with former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018 and 2019, Kim is now stuck at home, grappling with a decaying economy worsened by pandemic-related border closures.

Negotiations with Washington have been deadlocked for more than two years after he failed to win badly needed sanctions relief from Trump. President Joe Biden's administration seems in no hurry to cut a deal unless Kim shows a willingness to wind down his nuclear weapons program, a treasured sword he sees as his biggest guarantee of survival.

While still firmly in control, Kim appears increasingly unlikely to achieve his stated goals of simultaneously keeping his nukes and bringing prosperity to his impoverished populace. Kim laid out this goal in his first public speech as leader in early 2012, vowing that North Koreans would never have to tighten their belts again.

How Kim handles the economy in the coming years could determine the long-term stability of his rule and possibly the future of his familys dynasty, said Park Won Gon, a professor of North Korea studies at Seouls Ewha Womans University.

The nuclear weapons program, the economy and the stability of the regime are all interconnected. If the nuclear issue doesnt get resolved, the economy doesn't get better, and that opens the possibility of disquiet and confusion in North Koreas society, Park said.

Kim desperately needs the removal of U.S.-led sanctions to build his economy, which has also been damaged by decades of mismanagement and aggressive military spending.

But meaningful U.S. relief may not come unless Kim takes concrete steps toward denuclearization. Despite his pursuit of summitry, Trump showed no interest in budging on sanctions, which he described as Washingtons main leverage over Pyongyang, and its unclear if Kim will ever see another U.S. president as willing to engage with the North as Trump was.

Their diplomacy fell apart after their second summit in February 2019, when the Americans rejected North Koreas demand for a major removal of sanctions in exchange for dismantling an aging nuclear facility, which would have amounted to a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities.

The two sides havent met publicly since a failed follow-up meeting between working-level officials in October of that year. Two months after that Kim vowed at a domestic political conference to further expand his nuclear arsenal in the face of gangster-like U.S. pressure, urging his people to stay resilient in the struggle for economic self-reliance.

But the global COVID-19 crisis has hampered some of Kims major economic goals by forcing the country into a self-imposed lockdown that crippled its trade with China, its only major ally and economic lifeline.

South Koreas spy agency recently told lawmakers that North Koreas annual trade with China declined by two-thirds to $185 million through September 2021. North Korean officials are also alarmed by food shortages, soaring goods prices and a lack of medicine and other essential supplies that have accelerated the spread of water-borne diseases like typhoid fever, according to lawmakers briefed by the agency.

Talks with the United States are in limbo. The Biden administration, whose pullout from Afghanistan underscored a broader shift in U.S. focus from counterterrorism and so-called rogue states like North Korea and Iran to confronting China, has not offered much more than open-ended talks.

The North has so far rejected the overture, saying Washington must first abandon its hostile policy, a term Pyongyang mainly uses to refer to sanctions and U.S.-South Korea military exercises.

North Korea is not going to surrender its nuclear weapons, no matter what, said Andrei Lankov, a professor at Seouls Kookmin University. The only topic they are willing to talk about is not the pipe dream of denuclearization but rather issues related to arms control.

Kim may benefit, however, from the Washington-Beijing confrontation, which increases North Koreas strategic value to China, Lankov said. China is willing to keep North Korea afloat by expanding food, fuel and other aid, and that reduces pressure on Kim to negotiate with the United States.

Instead of growth, North Korea will have stagnation, but not an acute crisis, Lankov said. For Kim Jong Un and his elite, its an acceptable compromise.

North Korea has been taking aggressive steps to reassert greater state control over the economy amid the countrys pandemic border closure. This rolls back Kims earlier reforms, which embraced private investments and allowed more autonomy and market incentives to state enterprises and factories to facilitate domestic production and trade.

There have also been signs that North Korean officials are suppressing the use of U.S. dollars and other foreign currencies in markets, an apparent reflection of worry about depleting foreign currency reserves.

Restoring central control over the economy could also be crucial for mobilizing state resources so that Kim could further expand his nuclear program, which would otherwise be challenging as the economy worsens.

While Kim has suspended the testing of nuclear devices and long-range missiles for three years, he has ramped up testing of shorter-range weapons threatening U.S. allies South Korea and Japan.

Nukes brought Kim to this mess, but hes maintaining a contradictory policy of further pushing nukes to get out of it, said Go Myong-hyun, a senior analyst at Seouls Asan Institute for Policy Studies.

The U.S.-led sanctions regime will persist, and a return to a state-controlled economy was never the answer for North Korea in the past and wont be the answer now. At some point, Kim will face a difficult choice over how long he will hold on to his nukes, and that could happen relatively soon," Go added.
Avicii still stays inside his family and fans' hearts, with his father recently opening up about him again years after his death.

Avicii, whose real name was Tim Bergling, left the industry too soon when he died by suicide in April 2018. He hanged himself during a vacation in Oman.

Following his death at that time, his family released several statements thanking all the DJ's fans for supporting him throughout his short-lived music career. One of which addressed the mental health struggles he went through before his passing.

His father also shared the same sentiments recently, saying Avicii battled with his mental health for a long time before dying at the young age of 28.

Avicii Never Wanted To Be Avicii, Says Father

In an interview with the Sunday Times, Avicii's father Klas Bergling disclosed more details about his son and how he took his life years ago. Per the patriarch, the event made him realize there were things he failed to see.

Bergling described Avicii as a serious child who dealt with anxiety rooted from his teen years when he suffered from acne problems.

"He was a shy person. He wasn't the one that went into a room with lots of people and started talking or holding speeches," he said. Unfortunately, it reportedly became a problem.



In order to get away with his personal issues, Avicii relied on alcohol which became all-consuming for the DJ. His alcohol issues progressed quickly, and he was hospitalized numerous times due to pancreatitis. His doctors then treated him with opioids to help alleviate the pain.

However, it sparked his new vice, causing him to rely on drugs.

READ ALSO: DJ CharlestheFirst Found Dead Inside Hotel Room At 25: Was Foul Play Involved?

After those events, Bergling started worrying, especially since he noticed changes in his son's personality.

"It was one of the worst moments of my life because you really feel you've betrayed your son. But it had to be done. It was naive. I've heard a thousand times that the fight starts when you're sober," he went on.

Despite helping Avicii while he underwent rehabilitation, his father had no idea that his son's mental issues were still there. The EDM DJ eventually announced his retirement since he felt avoiding the stage would help him fully recover.

In the end, it never happened.

Currently, Bergling still struggles with Avicii's death, calling it part of the trauma. After all the things his son went through, he realized Avicii never wanted to be Avicii at all - he wanted to be Tim Bergling instead.

READ MORE: Bronski Beat Founder Steve Bronski Dead At 61: Was His Cause Of Death Suicide?

 2015 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
There's a simple reason why a local business is named Faith Printing.

We changed it to Faith Printing from its previous name, It's Easy with Jesus Printing, which was very hard to say on the phone, co-owner JaNell Lyle said. But some people don't always hear the 'f' in 'Faith' so they think we're 'Safe Printing.'

Lyle runs the machines and her husband, James, does the job quotes, and together with one absolutely fantastic employee, they have been serving customers since 2011.

The Lyles began their career in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1991, when JaNell Lyle began transcribing audio tapes of their church pastor's sermons and putting them into books so the sermons could be widely distributed. Other area pastors heard about what Lyle was doing and asked her to perform the same service for them.

We had to buy a machine for this and a machine for that, Lyle said. You can't make a whole lot of money just doing books, so we decided we could do business cards and bookmarks and things like that, and we ventured on into business.

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The Lyles relocated to central Illinois when an area church asked the couple to supply its printing needs. The Lyles bought property in Franklin and constructed a building to house their printing equipment. The job with the church never really panned out, Lyle said, but we already had a lot of people wanting printing, so we just stayed up here. We feel like it's home now.

Faith Printing started doing so many jobs for Jacksonville clients that the Lyles decided to move their operation to 880 S. Main St.

As the business name implies, the couple's Christian faith plays a major role in their operations.

We try and do the best quality of work because we feel that's what the Lord would want us to do, Lyle said. We do the best that we can and don't say 'oh well, it's OK, nobody's going to notice.' If we notice that something is wrong, we try and fix it.

Speaking of fixes, Faith Printing relies on the Lord when something goes wrong.

When a machine goes down we definitely pray over it, Lyle said. The Lord always comes through with somebody who knows how to fix it.

The Lyles also use the business as a way to reach out to people who are having difficulty in their lives.

While people are waiting for their stuff they often want to talk about their lives, and sometimes what they are going through is sad, Lyle said. We get a feel for whether they would like to pray about a situation. After we pray, they often come back and tell us the prayer worked.

A major portion of Faith Printing's business comes from book publishing. The company prints music, genealogy, history, self-help, teaching, fiction and other types of books  primarily in paperback but occasionally in hard cover  for more than 300 authors across the United States and in several foreign countries.

Truth Book Publishers, which the Lyles also own, is Faith Printing's publishing house. Author manuscripts arrive at Truth Book Publishers and, if the author needs editing work, which we always suggest, the firm's on-staff editor, an Illinois College graduate, does that work for the author, Lyle said. Then Faith Printing goes to work producing the book.

We put it into the book form and then we do what I call the 'decorating,' we add the ISBN number and copyrights, Lyle said. If they choose to have a distributor, we send it off to a company in New York that we use. We also do e-books and we suggest that people do both when they have a book, and that way you are reaching everybody.

Books published through Faith Printing are featured on Amazon and Barnes and Noble websites, Lyle said. Several of the authors for whom they publish recently have been doing numerous book signings across the country. Lyle enjoys looking for the books she's published while traveling and said it's exciting to see them sold in so many locations.

Lyle enjoys her work and derives the greatest pleasure from satisfied customers.

You're always worried that they're not going to like something that you like, Lyle said. When they are pleased it's like, 'Oh yes, they love it!' Especially when you put so much work into it.

We appreciate all of our customers, they are just super, Lyle said. Everyone is so kind, especially after all of this COVID-19 stuff. So we are grateful for them.

It's a good thing the Lyles enjoy their work because there are not many days off in their lives.

We run a business so there is no spare time, Lyle said. It's seven days a week, and even when we're not here, we're always working.

And what would title would Faith Printing's chief publisher use for a book about her life?

She Hung in There, No Matter What, Lyle said with a chuckle.
It was an encounter along Illinois Route 78 near Chandlerville that lasted just seconds.

But it left a lasting impression on a driver going from Cass County to Tazewell County that night.

"When it hit the shoulder, it looked back at me," he said. "I said to myself out loud, '(expletive)ing Bigfoot!'."

Even those who consider the idea of some super-sized primate wandering through the woods to be hokum are finding their interest piqued. Witness Patrick Garver's report has drawn the attention of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization and has been making the rounds on various social media sites, both pro- and con-Bigfoot existence.

The legend of a huge creature lumbering through isolated, wooded areas dates at least as far back as the Salish Indians. They told stories about encounters in the Pacific Northwest with "se'sxac"  an ape-like man from 6 to 15 feet tall who walked upright, occasionally emitting a high-pitched noise. By the 1950s, the nickname "Bigfoot" was born as more sightings were reported and hunters ran across massive footprints that couldn't be explained.

But let's get back to Cass County.

Garver was driving the stretch of road about 10:30 p.m. Nov. 29, heading north.

"I saw a large animal jump into the road about 40 yards ahead. When it hit the road, I could see very large legs spread wide in a dead run with large, swinging, hairy arms. The arms switched back and forth close to the ground as its body was leaning forward. It leaped across the road in two jumps," he told investigators for the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, a scientific research group founded in 1995.

Garver said it was about two seconds before the creature vanished into the darkness.

"I could see it clearly," he said. "It was very large and, even though it was hunched over nearly horizontal, it still was close to being wider than my car and nearly to the top of my windshield. It blocked out the lights of (a) car ahead."

He recalled it having shiny black hair and a huge stride.

"It was running and leaping very fast," he said. "Nearly as fast as a white-tail deer."

He continued driving until he reached Havana, where he stopped to send a text his wife and children about what he experienced.

Garver also shared the story of the encounter with a co-worker. Instead of being incredulous, the co-worker told of local tales of a clan of Bigfoot living in the area and said there have been multiple sightings by hunters, fishermen and barge operators.

It was the first sighting report Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization investigator Matthew Moneymaker recalled from Cass County  although unexplained tracks were found in a creek bed near Chandlerville in 1991. Neighboring Sangamon County has generated 13 reported sightings since 1976, the most recent in September 2017 near Rochester.

Moneymaker is founding director of the organization and has been involved with a number of documentaries about Sasquatch, as well as co-host of the program "Finding Bigfoot" that appeared on Animal Planet Channel for seven years.

"This is a very reliable sighting," he said. "I spoke extensively with the witness by phone. He was not particularly interested in the Bigfoot subject, but he recognized what he was seeing."

There have been four encounters noted in Morgan County: A runner reported a sighting south of Jacksonville in August 2006; sounds and a sighting were reported near Murrayville in July 2006; a motorist said he saw a Bigfoot near Lake Jacksonville in November 2005; and a resident in January 1986 recalled a previous possible sighting in a pasture east of Jacksonville.

Of the 301 reports of sightings or Bigfoot-related phenomenon in Illinois, Madison County leads the way with 24. The latest was in August 2017, when a motorist reported seeing a creature crossing the road near Troy. Additional reports since 1972 have come from near Godfrey, outside Hamel, near Edwardsville, near Alton, west of St. Jacob, and near Granite City.

Other reports from west-central Illinois counties, according to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization's database:
On Friday, a tornado rated EF-3 touched down just to the northwest of the Interstate 270 and Interstate 255 interchange at 8:28 p.m., moving northeast. The tornado rapidly intensified after it crossed 255, plowing into a five-year-old Amazon warehouse, located at 3077 Gateway Commerce Center Drive East, with an estimated 150-mile per hour winds.

Multiple reports of people being injured and deceased were reported by arriving firefighters, finding that 150 yards of the building had collapsed. This location was the most damaged along the 3.65-mile track, with at least six deaths recorded so far. Vehicles parked in the rear of the warehouse were strewn eastward and multiple, large high-tension towers were destroyed.

Edwardsville was one of many communities affected by a stream of tornados that affected six states, including Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi.

In the wake of these tragedies, there are several relief charities those who want to give back to can make donations to in order to help those affected.

The Red Cross Disaster Relief is one place you can help people affected by disasters like tornados by making a gift. Those interested in helping people specifically affected by the recent tornadoes are asked to write "Southern and Midwest Tornadoes" in the memo line of a check and mail it with a completed donation form to the address on the form or their local Red Cross chapter. Additionally, to make a financial donation or schedule an appointment to give blood or platelets, also currently critical, visit redcross.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS.

The Edwardsville Community Foundation has activated its Relief fund in response to the severe weather event. When Amazon asked Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritkzer where to give in the wake of the tragedy, according to the Belleville News-Democrat, he said ECF. Funds will go toward assisting the community in its efforts to recover from this event. Donations can be made at edwardsvillecommunityfoundation.org and phone calls can be made to 855-464-3223.

The Salvation Army has activated its Emergency Disaster Services personnel to meet the immediate needs of survivors and first responders affected by the recent tornadoes. With a presence in every zip code in the country, the Salvation Army claims to be "uniquely positioned" to respond with a clear understanding of each impacted area's needs. To make a financial gift to support ongoing disaster relief efforts from the Salvation Army, visit helpsalvationarmy.org or donate by phone at 1-800-SAL-ARMY (1-800-725-2769).

United Way, which includes a chapter in Greater St. Louis, says it will pledge 100% of donations it receives through the disaster recovery fund to help support communities affected by the Dec. 11 tornadoes, the non-profit wrote in a press release. United Way is working with emergency management, disaster partners and local communities to support services for families impacted by the devastating storms. Right now, the organization said, money is needed the most and 100% of funds will go directly to recovery efforts, the United Way said. Donations can be made directly to local United Way chapters by entering your zip code at unitedway.org or you can select to have funds go where they're most needed.

Additionally, Feeding America, which helps supply food to the St. Louis Area Foodbank and area foodbanks, has set up a link for their chapter in Kentucky that will help the group feed hungry Kentuckians who might be without power and meals over the weekend.
MANCHESTER  Two people were injured Sunday in a crash on U.S. 67 in Scott County.

According to Illinois State Police, Richard Burton, 40, of Manchester was going east on Alsey-Manchester Road about 9:05 p.m. Sunday when he failed to yield at U.S. 67. The car he was driving collided with a sport utility vehicle being driven south on U.S. 67 by Meadow Hawkins, 19, of White Hall, according to police.
Walking for Wellness: 7 a.m.-1 p.m., Jacksonville High School Bowl, 215 S. Church St. Free | Indoor walking program open each day Jacksonville schools are in session.

Produce and Bakery Giveaway: 9 a.m.-noon, Jacksonville Food Center, 316 E. State St. Free | For Morgan County residents.

Blood Drive: 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Jacksonville Community Center, 1309 S. Main St. | To donate, contact ImpactLife Springfield 800-747-5401 or visit www.bloodcenter.org and use code 61209 to locate the drive. Masks and appointments are required. Donors choose t-shirt or $10 gift card.

Free Noon Meal: 11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Salvation Army, 331 W. Douglas Ave. | Meals in to-go containers and can be picked up at side door.

Walking for Wellness: 12:30-3 p.m., First Christian Church, 2106 S. Main St. Free | Indoor walking program offered year-round Monday-Thursday. For more information, call 217-243-6445.

Spirit of Faith Soup Kitchen: 3:30-4 p.m., Spirit of Faith Soup Kitchen, 105 E. Dunlap St. Free | Serving meals to go for anyone in need.

Craft Class for Adults: 6:30 p.m., Jacksonville Public Library, 201 W. College Ave. Free | Make holiday cards and snowmen for hot chocolate. Call 217-243-5435 to register or stop in to sign up.

Tuesday

Cancellation: Jacksonville Christian Women will not meet at Hamiltons because of increase in COVID-19 numbers. Next meeting tentatively scheduled January 18.

Walking for Wellness: 7 a.m.-1 p.m., Jacksonville High School Bowl, 215 S. Church St. Free | Indoor walking program open each day Jacksonville schools are in session.

Produce and Bakery Giveaway: 9 a.m.-noon, Jacksonville Food Center, 316 E. State St. Free | For Morgan County residents.

Free Noon Meal: 11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Salvation Army, 331 W. Douglas Ave. | Meals in to-go containers and can be picked up at side door.

Walking for Wellness: 12:30-3 p.m., First Christian Church, 2106 S. Main St. Free | Indoor walking program offered year-round Monday-Thursday. For more information, call 217-243-6445.

Spirit of Faith Soup Kitchen: 3:30-4 p.m., Spirit of Faith Soup Kitchen, 105 E. Dunlap St. Free | Serving meals to go for anyone in need.

Movie Night for Adults: 6:30 p.m., Jacksonville Public Library, 201 W. College Ave. Free | Film screening of "News of the World." Masks required. For more information, call 217-243-5435 or go to jaxpl.org.
As the U.S. Supreme Court ponders whether to overturn Roe v. Wade, all eyes are on Justice Amy Coney Barrett  and her religious beliefs.

Vanderbilt University law professor Suzanna Sherry said in The Hill newspaper that Barrett shouldnt ponder abortion cases because her Catholic faith prevents her from rendering an impartial judgement.

Its one of the dumbest arguments Ive heard from a law professor in a long time.

Judges arent interchangeable cogs in a machine called justice. Each views the law through the lens of their own life experiences, knowledge and philosophy.

Personally, I always admired the late U.S. Sen. Paul Simon's approach. The Lutheran minister's son rarely talked publicly about his personal faith, but he lived it.

I remember talking to him years ago when he mentioned having visited former Chicago Alderman Thomas Keane in a federal prison in Kentucky. Keane was there after being convicted of 17 counts of mail fraud and one count of conspiracy in secret land deals. Newspapers criticized Simon for associating with a convicted felon. But Simon did it because he believed Jesus commanded his followers to visit those in prison.

The senator told me he met so many other former Illinois politicians during that penitentiary visit that it "felt like old home week."

His approach to faith was void of any sanctimony. But it certainly affected how he conducted himself as a senator. You could also see it in his own personal integrity and how he chose to treat others.

I pressed him once about whether those in public office must ever set religious positions aside to govern others. He said they do. He noted that if they didnt, a Catholic judge could never preside over a divorce case. (Catholic dogma does not allow for divorce.)

In the case of Barrett, law professors have pointed to a law journal article she wrote as a young lawyer about Catholic judges and the death penalty. In the article, Barrett noted that judges are obliged by oath, professional commitment, and the demands of citizenship to enforce the death penalty, but they are also obliged to adhere to their churchs teaching on moral matters. They are therefore morally precluded from enforcing the death penalty.

Whats a Catholic judge to do, then? According to Barretts article, the judge must recuse herself. She can neither enforce the death penalty and violate her religious conscience, nor fail to enforce it and violate her oath of office.

What does all this have to do with abortion? Barrett tells us in the same article that in the context of abortion the case for a Catholic judges recusal is even stronger. Unlike the death penalty, the Catholic churchs prohibitions against abortion and euthanasia are absolute.

On the current abortion case before the court, Sherry says Barrett should recuse herself if she has any integrity at all.

The scribes and pharisees would be hard-pressed to produce the level of sanctimony of an outraged American law professor.

Its not particularly surprising that Barretts views on recusal as a 49-year-old Supreme Court justice are different than when she was a young law clerk. Its also worth noting that when an appellate judge chooses not to vote she is still impacting the case by denying her vote to one side or the other. So, in effect, its not really a neutral stand.

In our democracy, there is a constant balancing between the clauses of the Constitution that prohibit the establishment of religion and those that guarantee the free exercise of it.

Some religious conservatives have bought into the false notion that our founding fathers intended for the United States to be a Christian state. Thats a myth. Some of our founders like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine did not identify as Christians. In fact, Paine called Christianity a fable. Thomas Jefferson used his razor to slice passages out of his Bible that he didnt agree with. Thats hardly a conventional approach to scripture.

On the other hand, some secular liberals contend it was the intent of the drafters of the Constitution that matters of faith should in no way inform those governing the nation. This ignores the deep religious beliefs of men like Patrick Henry and Samuel Adams.

So, the tension between the religious and the secular dates back to the beginning of the republic and the Supreme Court itself.

John Jay, our nations first chief justice, was president of the American Bible Society.

What did he say of the role of religion and the judiciary? Real Christians will abstain from violating the rights of others.
Shatner marvels at Blue Origin flight frenzy, finite Earth View Photo

LOS ANGELES (AP)  William Shatners durable role as an avatar of spaces promise drew a frenzy of attention when fiction became fact with his rocket ride.

The Star Trek actor says he was as surprised by it as he was gratified by the 10-minute, suborbital jaunt made possible by billionaire Jeff Bezos. The experience is the subject of Shatner in Space, a hour-long special out Wednesday on Amazon Prime Video.

It details last Octobers flight that made Shatner, 90, the oldest person to reach space and explores what the streaming service called the growing friendship between Shatner and Bezos. The Amazon empire founder credits Star Trek with igniting his interest in space travel.

Shatner, whose decades-long career includes The Defenders, T.J. Hooker and Boston Legal along with the original Star Trek series and films, wanted to be part of Bezos Blue Origin launch last July, its first with passengers. Shatner saw joining trip No. 2 akin to being named vice president when the Oval Office was the dream.

He discussed his change of heart and the flights impact in an Associated Press interview, shifting between philosopher and blunt storyteller who, at one point, invoked 1937s Hindenburg blimp explosion. Remarks were edited for length and clarity.

AP: The zest for adventure can ebb with the years, but it hasnt with you. How do you explain it?

SHATNER: Well, Ive been doing a lot of foolish things, according to my wife, in the last many years. Im probably an adrenaline junkie. A couple of years ago I drove a motorcycle across the country, and I recently went down 60 feet underwater and visited with four tiger sharks. Im no stranger to thinking, Oh, geez, I can die here. But I didnt feel the necessity of going up into space. Why do I want to put myself in that position? Its uncomfortable. Ive got, my wife calls them velvet sheets, I can just snuggle in. Then I thought a little further about it, the idea of weightlessness and going into space and just the feeling, and (decided) Ill do it. When it caught peoples imagination I was absolutely shocked. I was as shocked about that as I was about the flight itself.

AP: But youre Capt. Kirk.

SHATNER: I know. But thats 55 years ago. There have been other things since then. The acquisition of knowledge was shocking, its popularity was shocking. Everything about it was extraordinary.

AP: Before the flight, you gave interviews in which you fretted about the dangers of the flight. Was that joking or jitters?

SHATNER: Werent you brought up on the Hindenburg burning? Its burning hydrogen. Thats what theyre putting in the (rocket) tank.

AP: You had an emotional conversation with Jeff Bezos immediately after the flight. What touched you so deeply?

SHATNER: I immersed myself in the last 50 years in the connectivity of the Earth and how connected everything is. Everything is beautiful on Earth, and we have destroyed millions of (living) things. And then I saw the Earth giving life and I felt such sadness. I saw how finite the Earth is. And you and me are little dots, not as large as ants. We are insignificant on this insignificant planet. And yet we are aware, we are observers of that insignificance. And thats significant.

AP: Star Trek depicted advanced human behavior that weve yet to achieve. How do you see the world politically, environmentally?

SHATNER: Human beings resist change, probably part of our indigenous makeup. But change is happening so quickly, and more quickly than we imagined. The tipping points of these changes have happened in the last 50 years, and it takes longer than 50 years, I guess, for mankind to say, My God, the poles are melting.

AP: Are you optimistic about the future?

SHATNER: I interviewed Bezos several times while shooting this documentary, and Im hopeful that some of that will be in there. The last line he told me, which is what reverberates in my head, is, You have to hope. Without hope, what is there? So hes busy trying to get industry up into space, up into geocentric orbit, which we have the technology to do.

AP: Many decades have passed since Star Trek, but people still see Capt. Kirk as part of your public persona. Is that something you wish for or not?

SHATNER: Somebody once said, You get the career you deserve. And to change those words, you get the life you deserve. You made a decision based on what you knew at the time. You liked the guy, you didnt like the guy; you wanted to live in the city. Whatever the instances were that you turned left instead of right. You cant regret having made a decision because it was based on your need, whatever it was.

By LYNN ELBER

AP Television Writer
Scholz, Polish prime minister discuss migration, energy, EU View Photo

WARSAW, Poland (AP)  Germanys new chancellor, Olaf Scholz, stressed Sunday that Europe wont tolerate attempts at undermining the territorial integrity of its nations and said that diplomatic tools like the Normandy Format should be used to de-escalate tensions after Russia massed troops near Ukraines border.

Scholz was speaking alongside Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Warsaw, where the two leaders held talks about migration, energy, European Union matters and fears of potential Russias aggression on Ukraine.

Were watching the troop movements along the Ukrainian border with great concern, and we are making it very, very clear that the borders in Europe cannot be violated and that we consider the integrity of the borders of countries to be inviolable  and that no one should think that they could simply be violated without serious consequences, Scholz said.

France and Germany took the lead in brokering a 2015 peace deal between Ukraine and the Russia-backed rebels, in whats known as the Normandy Format.

Scholz said the Belarus government of President Alexander Lukashenkos apparent pushing of Middle East migrants at Polands and EUs eastern border is inhumane and a major current challenge that Europe has the duty to reject.

He vowed solidarity with Poland against this inappropriate manner of hybrid warfare. Poland has sealed the border with Belarus to prevent thousands if illegal crossings into the EU.

Referring to the intensifying rule-of-law dispute between Polands government and the European Commission, the EUs executive arm, Scholz stressed that the 27-nation bloc is united by the principles of democracy and said it would also be very good and helpful if the continuing discussions could soon lead to a very good, pragmatic solution, and the EU would therefore continue to be bound by these principles of democracy and the rule of law.

Morawiecki said he briefed Scholz on Polands proposals for solving the standoff.

The European Commission is withholding pandemic recovery funds from Poland saying the governments policies erode judicial independence there.

Regarding the divisive Nord Stream 2 pipeline that is to carry Russian gas directly to Germany, Morawiecki repeated Polands position that it exposes Europe and Ukraine to pressure from Moscow, and said it was best for it not to be opened.

Scholz insisted the pipeline was a purely energy project whose role will be diminishing with the development of renewable energy sources in Germany. Germanys regulator has suspended the approval procedure for the completed pipeline because of legal issues.

Scholz was greeted by Morawiecki, with military honors, in front of the Polish premiers office. It was one of Scholzs early visits after he was sworn in with his coalition Cabinet on Wednesday.

They also discussed complex bilateral relations under Germanys new government. The good neighborly ties are still overshadowed by World War II, especially under Polands current right-wing government, which is saying Germany owes Poland compensation for wartime damages.

Agnieszka Lada-Konefal, the deputy director of the German Institute for Polish Affairs in Darmstadt, Germany, expects Scholzs government to continue dialogue and contact with Poland, which is an important member on EUs eastern flank and Germanys fifth-largest trading partner.

The visit comes 30 years after the two parliaments ratified a treaty on good neighborly relations and friendly cooperation.

On Friday, Scholz met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris and later with EU and NATO officials in Brussels.

Scholz, a 63-year-old center-left politician, became Germanys ninth post-World War II chancellor, opening a new era for the EUs most populous nation and largest economy after Angela Merkels 16-year tenure.

His government is made up of a coalition of his center-left Social Democrats, the environmentalist Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats.

________

Emily Schultheis in Vienna contributed to this report.

By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA

Associated Press
Floods in northern Spain blamed for 2 deaths, lost crops View Photo

MADRID (AP)  More than 50 people were evacuated Monday from areas in northern Spain hit by record flooding following heavy rain and snowfall.

Spanish authorities blamed the flooding of swollen rivers for the deaths of at least two people since Friday, and the regions of Navarra and Aragon remained under severe weather warnings.

In Novillas, a village of 520 near the borders of both regions, local authorities ordered the evacuation of 55 residents as the Ebro River overflowed. The rivers water level had swelled up to 8.5 meters (27 feet) in some areas, breaking a record set during flooding six years ago.

In the Aragon regions capital, Zaragoza, authorities prepared for floodwaters to hit the city of 680,000 on Tuesday. Upstream, in Navarra, an area known for its vegetable crops, residents appraised their flood-related losses.

The combination of a heavy, dayslong storm and thawing snow brought a surge in the Ebro River and its tributaries, Spanish meteorological services said.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday linked the floods to the growing effects of climate change in the Iberian Peninsula.

He also announced that the Cabinet would issue a catastrophic zone declaration that frees special emergency funds for the areas affected by the storms.

___

Follow APs coverage of climate change at https://apnews.com/hub/climate
Germany wants EU sanctions slapped on Bosnian Serb leader View Photo

BERLIN (AP)  The European Union should slap sanctions on Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik for his efforts to get Serb-dominated areas in Bosnia to secede from the Balkan country, Germanys new foreign minister said Monday.

Annalena Baerbock, who took office last week, told reporters in Brussels that the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina was worrying and the Bosnian Serb secession attempts were unacceptable.

For me personally, this means () that the existing sanctions regime should now also be used against Mr. Dodik, Baerbock said after a meeting of EU foreign ministers, where she pressed for the measures to be imposed.

Her comments followed a vote Friday by the Bosnian Serb parliament to launch a series of steps that could weaken war-ravaged Bosnias central authority.

The United States has already placed a travel ban and assets freeze on Dodik and threatened more sanctions in case Bosnian Serbs further weaken Bosnias central institutions.

The idea of the EU imposing sanctions on Dodik has support among most of the blocs 27 members, but any move to subject him to asset freezes and travel bans requires unanimity, and Hungary and Slovenia are blocking such a move.

The 1992-1995 Bosnian War left more than 100,000 people dead and millions homeless during the worst bloodshed in Europe since World War II. It started after Bosnian Serbs, with the help of the Serb-led Yugoslav army, tried to create ethnically pure territories in Bosnia with an aim of joining Serbia.
Biden On Tornado Tragedy: Were Going To Get Through This

President Joe Biden View Photo

President Biden delivered remarks regarding the tornadoes that ripped through several states.

Biden was Mondays KVML Newsmaker of the Day. Here are his words:

I want to provide an update on the deadly and devastating tornadoes that moved across several states in central United States, including touching down across 227 miles of Kentucky alone.

Im monitoring the situation very closely since early this morning. This is likely to be one of the largest tornado outbreaks in our history.

Earlier today, I called the governors of the states that have been  experienced severe impacts of the storms, including Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, as well as Tennessee.

I also spoke with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Governor Beshear and I started off the morning together, and he said as wa-  I was watching it on television while talking to him  like all of you have  and he  his comment was, It looks like a war zone but worse.

Jill and I pray  and Im  sincerely mean this  pray for those who have lost loved ones and for those who are uncertain of the fate of their loved ones. And the debris that you see scattered all over the hurricanes [tornados] path.

They lost their homes. They lost their businesses. And its a tragedy. Its a tragedy. And we still dont know how many lives were lost or the full extent of the damage.

But I want to emphasize what I told all the governors: The federal government will do everything  everything it can possibly do to help.

Ive spoken several times today with the head of FEMA  of the  the Federal Emergency Management Agency  as well as the director of FEMA, whos already been deployed  already deployed emergency response personnel to these states, search-and-rescue teams, water and other supplies. And FEMA is on the ground working with each of the states to assess the damages and focus on federal support where it is needed most and how we can get there most rapidly.

I also  and, apparently, its just been announced  but I also approved the emergency declaration that was requested a couple of hours ago by Governor Beshear of Kentucky. Thats going to accelerate federal emergency assistance for Kentucky right now, when its urgently needed.

And I stand ready to do the same for the governors of the other states  and Ive made it clear to them  if they request emergency declaration.

Ive also requested that FEMA offer additional federal resources, including help with temporary housing, where homes have been wiped out or too badly damaged to live in.

And I also asked FEMA Director to let the states know  what they may not be aware of  what they might be entitled to, because they dont necessarily know all thats available from the federal end.

Were going to continue to se-  receive  I, personally, am receiving regular updates. And my staff is continuing to reach out to the mayors, the county officials, and other local leaders in these states affected by the tornadoes.

And my heart goes out  I was told that, earlier this morning  that one of the  the equivalent of a county executive  one of the folks in Kentucky was lost in this tornado.

I want folks in all these states to know: Were going to get through this. Were going to get through this together. And the federal government is not going to walk away.

This is one of those times when we arent Democrats or Republicans. Sounds like hyperbole, but its real. Were all Americans. We stand together as the United States of America.

And so, I say to all the victims: Youre in our prayers, and all those first responders, emergency personnel, and everyone helping their fellow Americans; that this is the right thing to do at the right time, and were going to get through this.

The Newsmaker of the Day is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML.
A safe place. For LGBT asylum seekers, a new shot at life View Photo

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP)  The church volunteers assembled furniture and hung decorations in the newly renovated apartment building. They laid out nearly every necessity, down to the bath towels, bed linens, cooking supplies and televisions.

Over Thanksgiving weekend, the first residents of the home in Worcester, Massachusetts moved in: three gay men seeking asylum in the U.S.

I dont even have the words, said Alain Spyke, 26, who fled Jamaica after being continually harassed and threatened by a local gang for being gay. To come into this country and have a safe space to escape all the hardships and trauma? Not everyone has that opportunity.

A Massachusetts church group thats uniquely focused on support for immigrants fleeing their countries due to their sexual orientation has opened a new, permanent home for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender asylum seekers.

The LGBT Asylum Task Force, a ministry of Hadwen Park Congregational Church in Worcester, raised more than $500,000 to purchase and renovate a dilapidated, three-story former group home on the citys well-heeled west side.

Its the ministrys biggest investment amid long-running efforts to help LGBT immigrants, said Al Green, the task forces director.

The group typically houses asylum seekers in rented apartments throughout New Englands second-largest city, but as the effort has grown over the years, its become challenging to coordinate services and foster community among the new immigrants, he said.

The task force covers rent and provides a $500 monthly stipend for immigrants, at least until they can receive work authorization, a process that can take around two years, Green said. The group also connects asylum seekers with immigration lawyers, sets them up with bank accounts and health insurance, and helps prepare them for entering the workforce.

We found that giving folks stability has helped them better prepare for their asylum cases, said Green, who is also from Jamaica and participated in the program. They know theyre in a safe place until they can get on their feet.

The church effort is one of the few programs providing wide-ranging and long-term help to LGBT asylum seekers once theyre in the U.S., says Pastor Judith Hanlon of Hadwen Park Congregational Church, who co-founded the ministry.

Groups like the Rainbow Railroad in Toronto, Canada, help LGBT individuals escape persecution in their home countries. Temporary shelters like Casa de Luz in Tijuana, Mexico, provide safe havens for gay and transgender migrants on the perilous border journey. And groups like the LGBT Asylum Project in San Francisco focus on providing legal help while others like the Trans Queer Pueblo in Phoenix, Arizona, focus on community building and advocacy.

The church ministry started in 2008, when the United Church of Christ congregation rallied to support a single gay immigrant from Jamaica.

As the churchs reputation spread, migrants from Jamaica and the dozens of other countries where homosexuality is explicitly outlawed began arriving, oftentimes unannounced, Hanlon said. The task force is currently assisting 21 LGBT immigrants but has helped more than 400 over the years, with all so far winning asylum, she added.

Among the recent arrivals is Orville Howden, a 39-year-old gay man who says he fled Jamaica last October after his roommate was killed for being gay. He moved into the new house along with Spyke recently.

A longtime restaurant server, hes hoping to get a job in interior design when he gets his work authorization.

In another apartment rented by the church, a 25-year-old Muslim woman from Uganda said her parents forced her to marry a man 30 years her senior after discovering she had a long-term girlfriend.

The woman, who asked only to be identified as Aisha, arrived last December after searching online for ways to get out of her forced marriage.

She says she appreciates the group doesnt impose Christianity or require her to attend church services. Theyre really accepting me as I am, and thats been heartwarming, she said.

The new homes opening comes as immigrant and gay rights activists push President Joe Bidens administration to make good on his campaign promise to undo harmful policies enacted under former President Donald Trump.

The Biden administration has rescinded a rule that made it harder for migrants, including LGBT persons, to qualify for asylum because of domestic abuse or gang violence, said Ari Shaw, a director at the Williams Institute, a research center at the UCLA School of Law focused on sexual orientation and gender identities.

But other harmful Trump-era policies also remain in effect, such as the use of Title 42 of the U.S. Code to justify denying asylum claims based on coronavirus concerns, Shaw said.

Following a court order, the Biden administration also recently announced plans to reinstate Trumps Migrant Protection Protocols, which forced many asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while their asylum claims were being processed.

The Department of Homeland Securitys guidance includes a new exemption for gay and transgender individuals, although theres concern among advocates about how that will be implemented in practice.

A DHS spokesperson said exceptions for LGBT persons and other particularly vulnerable individuals will be considered case-by-case. The agency also noted that Biden issued an executive order in February committing to improving the asylum process and combatting the sexual and gender-based violence and other root causes of migration.

DHS doesnt track LGBT asylum claims, but a study earlier this year from the Williams Institute estimated LGBT individuals filed at least 11,400 applications from 2012 to 2017, with more than half of those coming from Central America.

Overall, approval rates for all asylum applications haven risen since Biden took office in January, the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University has found.

Back at the Worcester home, Spyke says hes still wrapping his head around the freedoms America affords.

In Jamaica, his family ostracized him after finding out he was gay and he faced harassment, even in popular tourist destinations like Montego Bay.

Now living in the U.S. for nearly two years, Spyke says he finally felt comfortable enough to kiss another man in public for the first time just this April.

It felt really cool, he said. Id never dare to do that in Jamaica.

By PHILIP MARCELO

Associated Press
Supreme Court rejects appeal over press access in Wisconsin View Photo

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a conservative think tank over Gov. Tony Evers decision to exclude the groups writers from press briefings.

The justices acted without comment Monday, leaving in place lower court rulings that said the decision is legal.

The John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy filed the lawsuit in 2019 alleging that Evers, a Democrat, violated its staffers constitutional rights to free speech, freedom of the press and equal access.

Former Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, had joined in the institutes bid for high-court review. Evers defeated Walker in 2018.

Last year, a federal judge rejected the groups arguments, saying MacIver can still report on Evers without being invited to his press briefings or being on his email distribution list. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld that ruling in April.

Former Republican Gov. Scott Walker had urged the Supreme Court to take the case, arguing that the ruling in favor of Evers allows censorship because it permits picking and choosing which reporters attend press events that have long been open to reporters but closed to the general public.

The appeals court ruled that Evers media-access criteria was reasonable and he was under no obligation to grant access for every news outlet to every news conference.

MacIver had argued that Evers was excluding its staffers and violating their free speech rights because they are conservatives. Evers said they were excluded because they are not principally a news gathering operation and they are not neutral.

MacIvers attorney Daniel Suhr responded to the action by saying politicians should not censor their news coverage by hand-picking who covers them.

When asked to comment on the Supreme Courts action, Evers spokeswoman Britt Cudaback referred to the governors legal filing in the case.

MacIver covers legislative meetings and other events at the Capitol as well as some Evers news conferences. But the institute sued after being excluded from a media briefing Evers gave for reporters on his state budget proposal in 2019. Evers wasnt present, but members of his administration provided information to reporters on embargo ahead of his budget speech to the Legislature that evening.

The appeals court noted that a limited number of reporters were allowed into the event. Reporters from The Associated Press, along with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Wisconsin State Journal, were among those present for that briefing.

Former governors, including Walker, also limited the number of reporters and news outlets that could attend budget briefings and other events.
OCEAN CITY, Md. (AP)  A group of women is going all the way to the top with their challenge of a beach town ban on topless sunbathing, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to rule against allowing men but not women to show all that skin.

Ocean City, Maryland, passed its ordinance in 2017 after one of the plaintiffs, Chelsea Eline, contacted local police and asserted a right to go topless, The Daily Times reported.

The three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond ruled unanimously in August that the ordinance is constitutional, noting that courts across the country have upheld such measures. The court then denied a request to rehear the case.

Town leaders are within their rights to impose a restriction on women but not men in order to protect public sensibilities, Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. wrote. Chief Judge Roger Gregory concurred, noting that U.S. Supreme Court precedent requires upholding the ban. But he suggested the court should reconsider the issue.

At first glance, Ocean Citys ordinance seems innocuous enough.  But we must take care not to let our analysis be confined by the limits of our social lens, Gregory wrote. Suppose the ordinance defined nudity to include public exposure of a womans hair, neck, shoulders, or ankles. Would that law not run afoul of the Equal Protection Clause?

The petition asks whether protecting traditional moral sensibilities is a governmental interest so important that it merits discriminating against all women. It urges the justices to declare that the ordinance violates the equal protection clause because the discriminatory gender classification contained in the ordinance does not further an important governmental interest, and is not narrowly tailored to achieve its objective.

This petition was filed Dec. 1, and the court has until Jan. 7 to respond, according to the U.S. Supreme Court docket.
BRUSSELS (AP)  European Union foreign ministers on Monday debated ways to counter the threat of a possible new Russian invasion of Ukraine and what measures to take if Moscow decides to send its troops across the border.

U.S. intelligence officials say Russia has moved 70,000 troops toward Ukraines border and is preparing for a possible invasion early next year. Moscow denies it has any plans to attack Ukraine and rejects Western concerns as part of a smear campaign.

The European Union stands united in support of Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said after chairing the meeting. Any aggression against Ukraine will come with political consequences and with a high economic cost for Russia.

Borrell said no decisions about sanctions against Russia were taken but that the ministers discussed what measures they might take should an invasion happen and how the EU would coordinate with the United States and Britain.

Lithuania warned that Russias troop movements of late were no mere menace.

We are convinced that Russia is actually preparing for the all-out war against Ukraine, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said.

If carried out, it would be an unprecedented attack on a country that shows a Western direction. That means that the answer has to be unprecedented from the Western countries as well, Landsbergis said.

But the EUs big powers, France and Germany, and other members of the 27-country bloc further from Russias borders do not share the same assessment as the U.S., Poland and the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. They acknowledge Russias troop movements but do not consider an attack imminent.

In 2015, France and Germany brokered a peace agreement that helped end large-scale hostilities in Ukraines east, where Ukrainian forces have been fighting Russia-backed separatists since 2014, when Russia annexed Ukraines Crimean Peninsula.

Efforts to reach a political settlement to the separatist conflict, which has killed more than 14,000 people in seven years, have failed. Sporadic skirmishes continue along the tense line of contact. Russia so far refuses to meet France and Germany for more peace talks on the conflict.

Monday's meeting was a prelude to a busy week of diplomacy in Brussels focused on Ukraine. EU leaders meet Wednesday with their counterparts from Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Moldova. An EU summit on Thursday will also focus on what actions might be necessary.
Associated Press Writer

They were the rebels among rebels.

Four Texas House Democrats stayed behind when 58 of their colleagues fled Monday, protesting the new Republican leadership's plan to take up a divisive congressional redistricting bill.

There was Sylvester Turner, a trial lawyer and front-runner to become the next mayor of Houston who often fills the chamber with the sound of his preacher-like, passionate speeches. GOP House Speaker Tom Craddick, citing Turner's natural leadership abilities, named him speaker pro-tem in January and appointed him to the powerful appropriations committee.

Vilma Luna, an attorney from Corpus Christi, remained locked down with 88 Republicans while more than 50 Democrats took over a Holiday Inn in Oklahoma, their numbers enough to block a quorum and stop business. She's described as one of the body's brightest minds and Craddick named her vice chair of the budget-writing panel.

Often clad in leather and his eyes shrouded in dark shades, Ron Wilson of Houston is among Craddick's closest allies. A lawyer and lover of hip-hop music, Wilson is known for his mastery of the parliamentary rules his fellow Democrats used to make their point. The Lamborghini-collecting Ways and Means Committee chairman, too, did not go.

A retired businessman relentless in his love for education, Roberto Gutierrez of McAllen also didn't join the walkout. A representative for more than a decade, he was among the minority members who supported Craddick's speakership and was rewarded with a seat on the Appropriations Committee.

All four said they respected their colleagues for standing up for what they believed, but said walking wasn't right for them. On Tuesday, three Democrats who were intentionally absent a day before returned, one escorted by state troopers.

"Let there be no mistake, we are Democrats," Turner said alongside those who returned _ Helen Giddings of DeSoto, and Al Edwards and Harold Dutton of Houston.

Turner agreed that redistricting should not be debated in the House when the budget and other serious issues are pressing and there are only three weeks left.

But his seat on the 10-member joint budget conference committee was too important to walk away from, he said.

"I weighed heavily about it," Turner said. "When you have thousands of children depending on us, we have frail and disabled who hope we'll help, you have poor pregnant women who hope we can provide services for them, how do I justify staying away and allow the others to craft the budget without me being at the table?

"I just couldn't do it."

Luna, vice chair of the Appropriations Committee, stayed to negotiate with senators about welfare and other services for the poor and disabled at risk of falling victim to Texas' $9.9 billion shortfall.

"Agree with it or not, I believe that my being here strikes a balance," Luna said. "I think every Democrat here has a role to play."

Wilson said he believes too much pressure from Washington about redrawing the political district lines has both sides struggling, especially since Democrats are still adjusting to giving up this year the House power they held since Reconstruction.

"I was elected to serve the people of District 131. They sent me here to do a job. I can't do a job, that job, if I'm not here," Wilson said.

Gutierrez met with senators to work on school funding.

"The education of our children and the whole state was more important to me," he said.

In Oklahoma, the rebel Democrats stood by their decision, saying congressional leaders should keep their nose out of Texas House business. They worked on budget, school finance and other issues from a hotel conference room.

Republicans, meanwhile, applauded the four who didn't go.

GOP members, led by Craddick, gave the Democrats a standing ovation Monday night and hugged them on the House floor.

"I admire them," said Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas. "They put the public policy debate and their responsibilities in a limited session over the pressure of partisan politics."

Hear, hear, said Craddick.

"Those people are heroes in this episode because they really have done what's right," he said.
Taylor Hill/Getty Images

Colbie Caillat, the bubbly artist responsible for the multi-platinum album COCO, has announced a new tour in honor of its 15th anniversary. On March 17, 2022, she will arrive in San Antonio to perform the entirety of the album at the Majestic Theatre.

Caillat is a two-time Grammy winner with six full-length albums to her name. The artist shared her excitement about the upcoming shows in a press release.
The tiny heartbeat thrummed in my ear, a motorboat surrounded by feathers.

The sparrow, cupped gently in a park interpreter's hand, was brought from face to face around the circle of onlookers.

That's the advantage of this park  you can get out here and get close to animals, Kenn Sutton of Spring Branch said after he heard the sparrow's heart during a birding program at Guadalupe River State Park.

It's not the only park that offers the chance to get close to nature. The 18 state parks and natural areas in the Texas Department of Parks & Wildlife Hill Country Region are filled with wildlife, and more than 1.8 million visitors flock to those parks each year to see them.

Texas has such great parks, and the Hill Country has such diversity, said Bruce Torgerson of Schertz, as he flicked his fly-fishing line into the Blanco River in Blanco State Park.

I could care less if I catch a fish or not, I'm just happy to be wetting a line, he said.

People wet their lines, walked their dogs, and watched the wildlife in the Hill Country region second only to parks in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in fiscal year 2012, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

The Hill Country Travel Region ranging from north San Antonio to Lake Brownwood and west to Kickapoo Cavern  drew 1,824,345 visits. Three of the parks  Garner, Enchanted Rock and Inks Lake  were in the top 10 for the state.

Some of the other Hill Country parks, however, remain relatively undiscovered  hidden gems that can be found and explored in relative peace and quiet.

Climbing down into Kickapoo Cavern in Brackettville means backing down rock shelves into an initial shallow crevice. Ducking under a ridge of rock, flashlight beams get lost in a huge open room of limestone rubble.

Humidity is over 90 percent, making glasses fog up instantly.

But hiking deeper into the quarter-mile-long cavern reveals huge limestone columns carved into fantastic shapes by trickles of water.

This undeveloped park only drew 2,234 visitors in 2012, putting it in the bottom five of all parks statewide, despite having one of the largest bat populations in the area. Stuart Bat Cave holds more than 500,000 Mexican free-tailed bats that fly out of a hillside each night.

Possibly the most dramatic bat viewing, however, is at the Devil's Sinkhole in Rocksprings.

It's only accessible by bus. The bats funnel out of a 150-foot tube, rocketing up into the evening past a patio overhanging the cavern's mouth.

The bats have been known to bounce off onlookers and land on the deck before shaking it off and getting back in the air.

Another hidden spot is the Hill Country State Natural Area in Bandera. Somewhat overshadowed by nearby Garner, Enchanted Rock and Lost Maples, the trails are quiet and peaceful for hikers and horseback riders alike.

Even though Government Canyon State Natural Area is within the San Antonio city limits, the park had the fourth-fewest visitors of any park in the Hill Country.

On the far west side of the city, the park often hosts groups of cavers exploring the hillsides for cracks in the limestone hills. Anyone interested in caving should first contact a local caving organization, such as the Bexar Grotto.

Choosing a park to visit can be determined by finding a program the park offers. For example, Blanco State Park supplies fishing rods, reels and bait for adults and children the day after the section of the Blanco River is stocked with trout.

Aidan Kellner, 4, enthusiastically swung his fishing pole toward the water, only to see his hook, baited with canned corn, sail up and into a nearby tree.

His parents, Scott and Mara Kellner of Spring Branch, gingerly fished the line out of the branches, while grandparents Sergio and Gloria Hernandez of San Antonio, watched the show. Aidan and brother Gavin, 4, were fishing for the first time.

I don't want them to just be stuck inside, Mara Kellner said. She and her parents reminisced about camping at Pedernales Falls and Inks Lake when she was in high school.

Elsewhere, kids and adults circled a picnic table covered with fishing equipment. Park ranger Laura Cude and her assistants helped each of them straighten out tangled lines and bait hooks.

Cude said she had grown up in the park, visiting it from her home in San Antonio throughout her youth. I'm really nested in this park. This is my home, Cude said.

The fishing program has become popular in the six months since it was revived after a three-month dormancy, Cude said.

Whether it is fishing, hiking, camping, caving, biking or birding, getting outdoors is the biggest attraction of the state park system.

Denise Franklin of Cibolo brought her six children to the birding program at Guadalupe River State Park. As ranger Craig Hensley explained how rounded edges on the wings of sparrows meant they were older, her children looked on wide-eyed, eager to feel the birds in their hands.

They talk about it for weeks afterward when we come to one of these, Franklin said, It's been great, and it's great for the kids to be outdoors.

It's amazing to hear the heartbeat of one of God's creatures, said Hannah Franklin, 11.

Joshua Trudell is a freelance writer in San Antonio.
Ross D. Franklin, STF / Associated Press

On December 8, Southwest Airlines announced new nonstop flights from San Antonio International Airport (SAT) to Oklahoma City's Will Rogers World Airport (OKC). The new flight service is set to begin on Monday, April 25.

The incoming flights will take off on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays at 10 a.m. and will land in OKC at 11:35 a.m. Return flights will depart from Oklahoma City at 7 p.m. and touch down in San Antonio at 8:45 p.m.
By Jerri-Lynn Scofield, who has worked as a securities lawyer and a derivatives trader. She is currently writing a book about textile artisans.

Following a November decision by a federal court in Louisiana blocking Bidens mandate of Covid-19 vaccines for health care workers, some hospitals have dropped their vaccine requirements, in a bid to ease severe labour shortages, according to todays Wall Street Journal, Some Hospitals Drop Covid-19 Vaccine Mandates to Ease Labor Shortages.

These hospital chains include Advent Health, the Cleveland Clinic, HCA Healthcare Inc, Intermounain Healthcare, and Tenet Healthcare Corp. Per the WSJ:

Labor costs in the industry have soared, and hospitals struggled to retain enough nurses, technicians and even janitors to handle higher hospitalizations in recent months as the Delta variant raged. Vaccine mandates have been a factor constraining the supply of healthcare workers, according to hospital executives, public-health authorities and nursing groups. Many hospitals already struggled to find workers, including nurses, before the pandemic. The shortages were compounded by burnout among many medical workers and the lure of high pay rates offered to nurses who travel to hot spots on short-term contracts.

Large numbers of nurses, in particular, have voted with their feet, opting to quit or be fired, rather than get jabbed. The WSJ reports:

More recently, thousands of nurses have left the industry or lost their jobs rather than get vaccinated. As of September, 30% of workers at more than 2,000 hospitals across the country surveyed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were unvaccinated. Its been a mass exodus, and a lot of people in the healthcare industry are willing to go and shop around, said Wade Symons, an employee-benefits lawyer and head of consulting firm Mercers U.S. regulatory practice. If you get certain healthcare facilities that dont require it, those could be a magnet for those people who dont want the vaccine. Theyll probably have an easier time attracting labor.

Some hospital executives have applauded the federal courts decision to void the mandate. According to the WSJ:

I dont think the mandates were helpful and I think the court in Louisiana did everyone a service, said Alan Levine, chief executive officer of Ballad Health, which runs 21 hospitals in Tennessee and Virginia. Mr. Levine said his company has about 14,000 employees, some 2,000 of whom are unvaccinated or didnt request an exemption to the requirement. That many people having to be terminated would have been devastating to our system, Mr. Levine said.

In spite of dropping their vaccine mandates, some hospitals continue to urge their staff to get vaccinated, according to the Journal:

We continue to strongly encourage our colleagues to be vaccinated as a critical step to protect individuals from the virus, HCA spokesman Harlow Sumerford said. He said a majority of HCAs roughly 275,000 employees are fully vaccinated.

Not all hospitals have eliminated their vaccine requirements. Kaiser Permanente and Northwell Health continue to require Covid-19 vaccinations and have fired staff who refuse to comply. Per the WSJ:

Not all hospital systems have scratched the mandate. Kaiser Permanente, which runs 39 hospitals and hundreds of medical offices in California and other states and employs nearly 210,000 people, said it gave employees until Dec. 1 to get vaccinated. So far, 98% of staff are vaccinated, but on Wednesday the hospital system terminated 352 employees, and another 1,500 face termination in early January unless they become fully vaccinated or receive an exemption, Kaiser said. Northwell Health, New York states largest healthcare provider with 77,000 employees, said its mandate remains in place. In October, Northwell told The Wall Street Journal that 1,400 employees had been terminated for refusing to get vaccinated.

I assume that given the tight health care labour market, most of those terminated have been able to find new jobs. But that may depend on where these workers are located. Some states have imposed vaccine requirements, and health care workers must still comply with local laws. Given the nationwide shortage of health care workers, the possibility is I suppose open for those who dont want to get jabbed to relocate accordingly.

Hospitals that have suspended vaccine requirements following the federal court decision have implemented additional safety measures to attempt to stem Covid-19 disease transmission between staff and patients:

The Cleveland Clinic, which has 19 hospitals in Ohio and Florida and about 65,000 U.S. employees, and Utah hospital giant Intermountain Healthcare also said they would suspend vaccine requirements following the courts actions. The Cleveland Clinic said it would add safety measures, such as periodic testing for unvaccinated employees who care for patients. Intermountain said 98% of its workforce had complied with the federal mandate. [Jerri-Lynn here: my emphasis.]

The highlighted phrase suggests that, even at this late stage of the pandemic, U.S. health care workers arent tested regularly for Covid-19 as a matter of course. And further that the testing question is left up to the hospital  or individual  to decide. If thats indeed the practice, that strikes me as insane  especially given that we know even vaccinated people can pass along the disease (not to mention, catch it themselves), sometimes without exhibiting any symptoms and therefore, having no awareness theyre infected. Shouldnt all health care employees, whether or not vaccinated, be tested periodically?

I linked today to a Guardian article about the UKs shortage of certain types of home test kits, No more lateral flow home test kits available, says NHS England. Im also aware of White House press secretary Jen Psakis gaffe last week about rapid test kits, Jen Psaki Accidentally Tells the Truth About How Expensive Covid Rapid Tests Are in U.S.. But surely, the testing regimen for health care workers is different. Surely?
By Andrea Germanos. Originally published at Common Dreams

Amazon was accused Saturday of putting corporate profits above worker safety following the tornado-caused partial collapse of a St. Louis-area warehouse that left at least six people dead.

Time and time again Amazon puts its bottom line above the lives of its employees, said Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), in a statement. Requiring workers to work through such a major tornado warning event as this was inexcusable.

Appelbaums remarks came after an outbreak of over 20 devastating tornadoes late Friday tore through multiple states and killed dozens of people. In addition to Illinois, affected states included Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee.

Among the buildings struck was an Amazon facility in Edwardsville, Illinoisa community about 30 minutes from St. Louis. Local officials said Saturday that at least six people died from the collapse.

Local KMOV reported:

The walls on both sides of the building collapsed inward, causing the roof to fall. The 11-inch-thick, 40-feet-tall walls could not sustain the tornado that hit the building Friday night. The National Weather Service confirmed that it was a category EF-3 tornado that went through Edwardsville Friday night. Winds picked up to as much as 150 mph.

The number of workers inside the building at the time of collapse is not yet determined. Edwardsville Fire Chief James Whiteford said at a press conference late Saturday that one person was injured and 45 people were rescued.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

By Saturday evening, first responders had shifted from an emergency response to a recovery effort. While they would continue to go through the rubble during daylight hours over the next three days, Whiteford said he doesnt know whether any other victims will be found inside.

Shortly before the facility was hit the National Weather Services Storm Prediction Center warned of an increasing damaging wind and tornado threat for the area.

702pm CST: Technical discussion within Tornado Watch for portions of eastern Missouri and western Illinois including the St. Louis Metro area the tornado and damaging wind threat is increasing. https://t.co/fiICIQyQF3 pic.twitter.com/63slr001FK  NWS Storm Prediction Center (@NWSSPC) December 11, 2021

As some observers pointed out on social media, Amazon has previously failed to close warehouses in the face of extreme weather events:

In the last 6 months, Amazon has repeatedly refused to shut down warehouses in the midst of extreme weather events: the June heatwave, Ida in September, now this tornado. There are injuries and reports of deaths in the warehouse. Fucking nightmare. https://t.co/uWnHxjCBh7  Nantina Vgontzas (@nantarsya) December 11, 2021

This is the third time in six months Amazon workers have been working in the path of deadly weather. Warehouse workers also had to go in during record-smashing heat in the PNW and the deadly Ida floods in NYC. Just like those disaster, last nights tornadoes were well forecast https://t.co/1gmUzYkJ9b  Brian Kahn (@blkahn) December 11, 2021

How many workers must die for Amazon to have a policy for extreme weather events? sociologist Nantina Vgontzas tweeted Saturday. Its currently up to local management and this is clearly disastrous. Condolences to the families and survivors of this horrific, avoidable tragedy.

In his statement, Appelbaum called the event another outrageous example of the company putting profits over the health and safety of their workers, and we cannot stand for this.

Amazon cannot continue to be let off the hook for putting hardworking peoples lives at risk, he said, vowing that his union would not back down until Amazon is held accountable for these and so many more dangerous labor practices.

Adding to the fresh scrutiny of the online giants labor practices, as Bloombergreported Saturday, are its policies regarding employees mobile phone access. From the reporting:

Amazon had for years prohibited workers from carrying their phones on warehouse floors, requiring them to leave them in vehicles or employee lockers before passing through security checks that include metal detectors. The company backed off during the pandemic, but has been gradually reintroducing it at facilities around the country.

After these deaths, there is no way in hell I am relying on Amazon to keep me safe, one unnamed worker from another Amazon facility in Illinois told Bloomberg. If they institute the no cell phone policy, I am resigning.
George Orwell outside the whale New Statesman. Ian McEwan.

John le Carres Novels Werent Just Spy Thrillers  They Were High Literature Jacobin Im 1/3 through reading Silverview, his last.

The innovative technology that powered the Inca BBC

Airborne DNA used to detect insect species in breakthrough for ecologists Guardian

Winter storm is set to dump EIGHT FEET of snow on Northern California and will also bring rain and winds to rest of Golden State as forecasters warn of power cuts Daily Mail

Troopical forests can regenerate in just 20 years without human interference Guardian

Loktak Lake: The Human and Environmental Costs of Hydropower The Diplomat

Dont let shelved assets gather dust. Make them into new lifesaving drugs Stat

The lasting images of 2021 WaaPo

#COVID-19

Continue to be engrossed by these endless events where celebrities and other rich people prance around indoors without masks, while all the workers and staff have their face covered. Its absolutely the new normal. And whatever it is, it has nothing to do with The Science: pic.twitter.com/Dk6YN7bbua  Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) December 12, 2021



Class Warfare

California Dreaming

New York State of Mind

Now that certified election results are in, I am still waiting for NGO world to reckon with how much Asians swung toward the Republican Party in NYC. The shift is honestly stunning.  Ross Barkan (@RossBarkan) December 12, 2021

Woke Watch

Is Wokeness Almost Over? American Conservative

COP26/Climate Change

Julian Assange

Jim @Acosta was celebrated by liberals for pretending to be endangered by Trump even though nobody ever cared about that harmless blowhard. Meanwhile, here he is justifying the prosecution of Julian Assange, 1,000 times the journalist Acosta is:https://t.co/7f11mi8UvR  Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) December 12, 2021

Biden Administration

2024

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is making moves to run in 2024, so is billionaire J.B. Pritzker, so is Pete Buttigieg. What a joke. https://t.co/kdLXiEt3o1  Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) December 13, 2021

The Supremes

G7

G7 ministers issue warnings to Iran, Russia Deutsche Welle

Russia

Vladimir Putin says he drove a taxi after fall of Soviet Union Deutsche Welle Its actually surprising how little Putin-era Russia has focused on Americas catastrophic meddling in Russia in the 1990s, esp compared to US media freakout over Kremlin meddling-bots. Problem is, Putin owes his rise to US meddlings top beneficiaries: Yeltsin & Chubais. https://t.co/tVnFXLePN5  Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) December 12, 2021

Old Blighty

India

Pakistan

The hype and the fury Dawn

China?

Antidote du Jour. mgl: Were better equipped today to rescue species like the golden-shouldered parrot than we were a century ago. Russell McGregor. 100 years ago, this man discovered an exquisite parrot thought to be extinct. What came next is a tragedy we must not repeat

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
(Natural News) The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) has published a new study warning about the dangers of 5G technology, including how it directly contributes to the symptoms commonly associated with the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19).

For the study, Beverly Rubik and Robert R. Brown referenced an earlier paper published in May 2020 that showed a statistically significant correlation between the intensity of radio-frequency radiation and mortality from SARS-CoV-2 in 31 countries throughout the world.

They also highlighted a U.S.-based study showing that areas of the country with 5G infrastructure already in place and operating showed significantly higher rates of serious illness and death attributed to covid, all independent of population density, air quality and latitude.

Only 5G matched three different causal analyses used in the study. Population density, air quality and latitude, meanwhile, only matched one or two analyses each, meaning 5G was the verified culprit in negative covid outcomes.

Rubik and Brown used these findings to draw a comparison between the bioeffects of WCR (wireless communications radiation), including 5G, and the symptoms commonly attributed to covid, which they then used to create a list of overlapping physical effects.

Symptoms from both WCR and COVID-19 included blood changes such as short-term rouleaux (blood clumping), and long-term reduced hemoglobin (in severe COVID-19 cases); oxidative stress and injury in tissues and organs; immune system disruption, including suppression of T-lymphocytes and elevated inflammatory biomarkers; increased intracellular calcium, which facilitates virus entry and replication; and arrhythmias (heart beat irregularities), reported LifeSiteNews.

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Wireless radiation exposure reduces levels of master antioxidant glutathione

One particularly disturbing finding in Rubik and Browns study is the observable decrease in glutathione, the bodys master antioxidant, upon exposure to 5G and really all wireless radiation. (RELATED: Donald Trump funneled billions of American taxpayer dollars into subsidizing a more rapid 5G rollout.)

At least two other study have found that WCR exposure correlates to greatly diminished glutathione levels, the symptoms of which just so happen to match those of the Fauci Flu.

Rubik and Brown made specific notes in their paper about how the finding of low glutathione levels in Chinese Virus patients further supports oxidative stress as a component of covid infection.

WCR is already widely recognized as a physiological stressor that causes detrimental health effects ranging from increased cancer risk and DNA damage to learning and memory problems.

Sure, correlation does not always mean causation, but in this case it is more than probable that WCR  and particularly the early activation in 5G in Wuhan, the epicenter of the plandemic  is directly contributing to the spread and severity of the Wuhan Virus.

The evidence for the connection between COVID and 5G, as well as other forms of wireless communications radiation (WCR), consisted of two main findings: the statistical correlation between COVID-19 symptoms / mortality and area-specific WCR intensity, including that of 5G; and the overlap between WCR effects on the body, and COVID-19 symptoms, LifeSiteNews further reported.

One reader commented that 5G radiation apparently stirs up the graphene hydroxide found in the injections, causing bleeding and clotting.

Graphene hydroxide is a metal and is affected by 5G, this person added. Graphene hydroxide never leaves your system and accumulates with every shot or booster.

Another wrote that while taking NAC (N-Acetyl L-Cysteine) is powerful, as mentioned in the article, vitamin D plays a much bigger role in protecting against covid and other respiratory ailments.

If you are already low in vitamin D as a great many are, as soon as your body is attacked by a virus, those reserves get depleted further which then puts you in a very dangerous area, this person added.

More news about the devastating health effects of 5G can be found at 5Galert.com.

Sources for this article include:

LifeSiteNews.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) made headlines for all the wrong reasons again last week, this time to deny what practically anyone with an Internet connection or a TV knows: Crime is spiking all over the country.

What she doesnt know or, at least, wont admit, is that the crime spikes are directly related to people who share her left-wing, Marxist ideology: Criminal reform prosecutors bought and paid for by that chief anarchist, billionaire George Soros, who long ago should have been sentenced to busting rocks for the rest of his life for trying to foment the collapse of America.

AOC, as she is known, was blasted by Republicans and business leaders after an interview in which she cast doubt on whether rampant so-called smash-and-grabs are actually occurring.

A lot of these allegations of organized retail theft are not actually panning out, Ocasio-Cortez said in an interview with The Washington Times last week.

I believe its a Walgreens in California cited it, but the data didnt back it up, she added.

The idiocy drew immediate pushback from Republicans and retail outlets, chains and organizations including Walgreens, whose businesses are frequently targeted in Marxist cesspools like San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Organized retail crime is one of the top challenges facing the company, Walgreens told The Washington Times, going on to note that it has evolved beyond shoplifting and petty theft to the sale of stolen and counterfeit goods online.

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I dont know what data she is talking about, said Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.)

But you dont really need much data from someplace in San Francisco or California. All you need to do is walk down the street to the CVS in Eastern Market, he said, making reference to an area of Washington, D.C. about a mile from the Capitol. Ive seen on multiple occasions when Ive been in there buying things, someone will come in and raid a shelf and walk out.

Fox News added:

Indiana Republican Rep. Jim Banks said Ocasio-Cortezs comments were tone-deaf and offensive to the family of Oakland security guard Kevin Nishita. The former San Jose police officer was shot and killed in November while defending a news crew reporting on a smash-and-grab crime.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association also took issue with her remarks in a comment to The Washington Times.

Respectfully, the Congresswoman has no idea what she is talking about. Both the data and stack of video evidence makes fairly clear that this is a growing problem in need of solutions, Jason Brewer, RILA senior executive vice president of communications, told Fox News in an email. If she is not concerned with organized theft and increasingly violent attacks on retail employees, she should just say that.

Meanwhile, as such crimes and violence have ramped up over the past two years, L.A. residents  especially the liberal elite  are finally starting to take notice, mostly because the crime is beginning to seep into their neighborhoods (and isnt it funny how problems become an issue to the left only when they are directly affected).

The Los Angeles Times provided more detail:

Crews of burglars publicly smashing their way into Los Angeles most exclusive stores. Robbers following their victims, including a star of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and a BET host, to their residences. And this week, the fatal shooting of 81-year-old Jacqueline Avant, an admired philanthropist and wife of music legend Clarence Avant, in her Beverly Hills home.

The fact that this has happened, her being shot and killed in her own home, after giving, sharing, and caring for 81 years has shaken the laws of the Universe, Oprah Winfrey, expressing her grief over Avants killing to her 43 million Twitter followers, noted. The world is upside down.

The Times speculated: Some wonder if this could be a turning point for California, which for decades has been at the center of the movement for criminal justice reform, rolling back tough sentencing laws and reducing prison populations.

It should be a turning point, but because most voters in the state refuse to connect the bad policies to a bad political party that enacts them, nothing is going to change.

It is astounding that residents of California can be ruled by a supermajority of Democrats and not blame them for bad policy outcomes.

Read more stories like this at Chaos.news.

Sources include:

FoxNews.com

LATimes.com

WashingtonTimes.com
(Natural News) New research out of Brown University has found that keeping children masked and locked up at home away from their friends has resulted in a 23 percent decline in their cognitive abilities.

These and other Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) restrictions have been so destructive to childrens health that many of them are no longer able to communicate, either verbally or non-verbally.

For their research, Brown scientists analyzed 1,070 assessments given to 605 children in March 2020 when the lockdowns and mask mandates first began. Between March 2020 and July 2021, another 154 assessments were made from 118 children.

Another 39 children born in 2018 and 2019 who lived through the plandemic were also analyzed as part of the research. The three most accepted indicators of childhood development  early learning composite (ELC), verbal development quotient (VDQ), and non-verbal development quotient (NVDQ)  were all considered.

The components of a childs early learning correspond to his or her fine motor, visual reception, receptive, and expressive language scales, reported Great Game India (GGI). This scale can be considered the scale thats equivalent to IQ score for early ears.

What they learned from this compilation is that, on average, childrens IQ levels dropped by nearly one-quarter as a result of the governments saving lives fascism. (RELATED: Masks also cause a loss in oxygen uptake, which further damages childrens brains.)

The results show that the early average results decreased by 23% from 100% in 2019 to 80% in 2020 and finally 77% in 2021, GGI further explains.

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At the same time, the level of verbal development also dropped significantly, from an average of 100 in 2018 to 90 in 2020 and in 2021 down to around 70  Nonverbal development quotient has been reduced similarly: from 105 in 2019 to 100 in 2020 and approximately 80 in 2021, respectively.

Mask mandates have greatly damaged childrens normal development

The study concluded that children born during the plandemic now have significantly reduced verbal, motor and overall cognitive performance compared to children born pre-pandemic.

One of the most damaging aspects of the plandemic for children has been the mask mandates, particularly at school. Children are supposed to socialize and be close to their friends and peers, not distanced and told to treat others like the walking plague.

The study explained this in detail, warning that masks worn in public settings and in school or daycare settings may impact a range of early developing skills, such as attachment, facial processing, and socioemotional processing.

According to the authors, the worst-off childhood demographic are young boys and children from poorer families who saw the lowest cognitive test scores as a result of the plandemic tyranny.

Wealthy parents can reduce the effects of pandemic much more effectively, GGI explained.

Comparing yearly mean scores since 2011, controlling for age, gender, demographic, and socioeconomic indicators, we find striking evidence of declining overall cognitive functioning in children beginning in 2020 and continuing through 2021, the study explains.

We find that males appear significantly more impacted than females, and that higher socioeconomic status (SES, as measured by maternal education) helps buffer against this negative impact.

On a more individual level using longitudinal pre- and during-pandemic trends in the same children from 2018 to 2021, the researchers observed a clear and noticeable decline in averages once the plandemic was launched.

There are sensitive periods in early childhood development in which language development and emotional development are really rapidly developing for the first few years of life, warned Ashley Ruba, a postdoctoral researcher from the University of Wisconsin  Madisons Child Emotion Lab, to CNN back in August.

As for the oxygen deprivation component, masks inhibit the normal exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide (CO2), which causes further brain damage.

More of the latest news about the Chinese Virus plandemic can be found at Fascism.news.

Sources for this article include:

GreatGameIndia.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Dr. Mattias Desmet, a professor of psychology at Ghent University in Belgium, has put together a thesis that could explain why so many people are still going along with the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) shamdemic.

Desmet calls it Mass-Formation, a phenomenon in which individuals become so detached from reality and healthy relationships with each other that they end up latching onto artificial ideas that bond them back together, but in a synthetic way.

By demoralizing society with a steady stream of filth (i.e., LGBTQ, Hollywood, financial terrorism, corrupt religion), the social engineers were able to successfully sever the ties that used to bind society together. This created a sense of lostness among many, and what Desmet describes as Free-Floating Anxiety (FFA).

There needs to be a lot of socially isolated people or people who experience a lack of social bond, Desmet says. People who experience a lack of sense making. Unable to come to sensible conclusions.

There is a lot of Free-Floating Anxiety (FFA). Free-Floating because theres nothing to connect their anxiety to. No focal point. Unable to identify whats causing is, so no way to deal with it. Theres also a lot of Free-Floating Psychological-Discontent. People may experience their daily lives as lacking any purpose or meaning.

Covid has become many peoples identity

FFA, Desmet contends, is one of the most painful psychological phenomena to experience, often leading to panic attacks. It is an unfocused, confused state of mind in which there is something causing that anxiety, but the brain does not know what it is.

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This is where the plandemic comes into play. At just the right time, the powers that be launched a crisis that gave peoples aimless anxiety an object. It gave them a newly discovered purpose: defeating a virus by wearing a mask, staying away from other humans, and getting vaccinated.

If a large segment of people is willing to follow this strategy to deal with this object of anxiety no matter the cost, then in a second step people start a collective and heroic battle with this Object of Anxiety and in that way a new kind of social bond emerges, and with that a new kind of sense making or purpose, Desmet says.

Suddenly life is all directed towards battling this Object of Anxiety. This creates new sense of connectedness with others in the Mass-Formation.

All of this has been done before, it is important to note. In the late 1970s, Russia staged a plandemic that, much like the current one, was used to usher in a medical police state.

And that is the final solution, by the way: to completely take over the planet and subdue everyone who lives on it under absolute authoritarianism. That is the goal of the plandemic, the Omicron (Moronic) variant, and every other aspect of this sham.

Because many people have become attached to the idea of the virus, their entire existence and even identity hinges upon the narrative surrounding it. The Branch Covidians are now bonded to the fiction, and there is no detaching some of them from it  probably ever.

The resistance to understanding the narrative is false or wrong is driven by the fear of returning to the state of Free-Floating Anxiety and wanting to continue to experience the mental intoxication, Desmet warns.

This explains why arguing based on facts will not work. Facts no longer matter to them. Given the facts, they are be unable to come to sensible conclusions, even in their own best interests  Mass-Formation is also similar to mass-hypnosis in terms of peoples willingness to put up with things normally intolerable.

The latest news about the engineered destruction of society can be found at Collapse.news.

Sources for this article include:

ThomasCasey.Wordpress.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Nevada Highway Patrol officers appear to have stolen the life savings of a former Marine and Iraq war veteran because they are legally allowed to do so under scandalous civil forfeiture laws.

The only good news here is that his case has been picked up by the Institute for Justice, which has filed suit against the Nevada department as well as the federal Drug Enforcement Agency who was given the Marines money so they could get a kickback, per the legal organizations website:

Stephen Lara did everything right. He served his country in the Marines for over 16 years, including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is devoted to his two daughters and has been saving to buy a house where they can live with him. But his plans came crashing down last winter, when the Nevada Highway Patrol seized his life savings. The officers knew they had no evidence of any crime, but they took Stephens money anyway to hand over to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), in the anticipation that the federal agency could take Stephens money and kick back a portion of the proceeds to the Highway Patrol through a program called equitable sharing.

The institute went on to point out that Lara has never been accused of any crime by the Nevada State Patrol or the DEA, the latter of which has sat on his money for months while ignoring the legal deadlines requiring the agency to return it.

The legal organization went on to report that until only recently, Lara lived near his ex-wife and two daughters in a small California town close to Reno, Nev., which is situated along the California state line. When the COVID-19 pandemic began he was laid off from a job working for a local hospital and was forced to move into his parents home in Lubbock, Texas. He would return to California for one weekend per month to spend time with his kids, sometimes taking along his life savings.

It was on one of these trips in February 2021 that Stephens life was turned upside down, the institutes press release stated.

The organization explained how it all went down:

On his drive from Texas to California, a Nevada Highway Patrol officer engineered a reason to pull him over, saying that he passed too closely to a tanker truck. The officer who pulled Stephen over complimented his driving but nevertheless prolonged the stop and asked a series of questions about Stephens life and travels. Stephen told the officer that his life savings was in the trunk. Another group of officers arrived, and Stephen gave them permission to search his car.

They found a backpack with Stephens money, just where he said it would be, along with receipts showing all his bank withdrawals. After a debate amongst the officers, which was recorded on body camera footage, they decided to seize his life savings.

Gave the police permission to check his vehicle; told officers he had a wad of money on him and that it was his life savings; told cops where the money was; had receipts for all of the withdrawals.

None of that mattered: The cops essentially stole his money and then for good measure, left him on the side of the road without enough money to even afford gas to drive home, says the press release.

Since then, months have passed and the DEA has missed the deadlines set by federal law for it to either return the money or file a case explaining what the government believes Stephen did wrong. Despite that, the DEA continues to hold on to Stephens money, says the legal organization.

This legalized theft  and thats what it is  has to stop. Which party in Washington or in the states will step up and repeal it?

Read more news like this at BigGovernment.news.

Sources include:

IJ.org

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) The Global Risk Assessment report released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence claimed that China plans to at least double the size of its nuclear stockpile.

China is building a larger and increasingly capable nuclear missile force that is more survivable, more diverse and on higher alert than in the past, the report said. This includes nuclear missile systems designed to manage regional escalation and ensure an intercontinental second-strike capability?.

Intel report says China has counter space weapons capabilities

The report didnt give much detail about Chinas nuclear plans and focused instead on the efforts made by the Chinese military to match, if not exceed, current U.S. technology.

According to the report, China has counter space weapons capabilities that will allow the country to gain the military, economic and prestige  benefits that U.S. has accrued from space leadership.

Beijing continues to train its military space elements and field new destructive and nondestructive ground- and space-based anti-satellite weapons?, the report said. (Related: China developing killer satellites and directed energy weapons to challenge US in space.)

China, which already has ground-based anti-satellite missiles and lasers, probably intends to blind or damage sensitive space-based optical sensors?, the report hypothesized.

The report also predicted that China will be able to have its own operational space station in low Earth orbit between 2022 and 2024. It also speculated that China will conduct exploratory missions to the moon, with aims of establishing a robotic research station on the lunar surface.

The report also revealed that Chinas military  the Peoples Liberation Army  is expanding its ambitious space goals and reaping major economic benefits in the process. It said that China will continue efforts to spread its influence and undercut that of the U.S.

China will drive wedges between Washington and its allies and partners, and foster new international norms that favor the authoritarian Chinese system, the report stated. Chinese leaders probably will, however, seek tactical opportunities to reduce tensions with Washington when such opportunities suit their interests.

The risk report also put forth that China will maintain its major innovation and industrial policies in an effort to upgrade its military and provide economic growth.

Beijing sees increasingly competitive US-China relations as part of an epochal geopolitical shift and views Washingtons economic measures against Beijing since 2018 as part of a broader US effort to contain Chinas rise, the report stated.

Overall, the report alleged China is strengthening its military, economic, technological and diplomatic efforts to secure what it views as its territory and regional preeminence, and pursue international cooperation at Washingtons expense?.

Unclassified DIA report details Chinas space advances

An unclassified report released on Jan. 15, 2019, by the Defense Intelligence Agency highlighted one of Pentagons major concerns: Chinas military is becoming increasingly adept at militarizing commercial space technologies.

China is conducting sophisticated satellite operations and probably is testing on-orbit dual-use technologies that could be applied to counterspace missions, said the DIA in its first unclassified report made public on Chinas military power.

According to the DIA report, Chinas space advances in support of civil, economic and political goals could provide the nation a significant edge in military operations.

Space operations probably will form an integral component of other PLA campaigns, the DIA report said, referring to the Peoples Liberation Army.

The DIA report suggested that China is building up space capabilities as a way to deter the U.S. or others from intervening in military conflicts in the Asia-Pacific region.

Independent analysts have revealed considerable details about Chinas growing arsenal of counterspace capabilities such as directed-energy anti-satellite weapons and satellite jammers. The DIA report said these developments continue even though the nation has not publicly acknowledged the existence of any new counterspace programs since it confirmed it used an anti-satellite missile to destroy a weather satellite in 2007.

U.S. communications, reconnaissance, navigation and early warning satellites could be among the targets of attacks, the DIA report said.

Air Force report takes broader look at militarization of space

A day after the DIA report came out, the Air Force also released an unclassified report created by the National Air and Space Intelligence Center that takes a broader look at the militarization of space.

It mentioned both China and Russia as nations that are developing new space capabilities to achieve military goals and reduce their reliance on U.S. space systems.

These countries continue to develop, test and proliferate sophisticated anti-satellite weapons to hold U.S. and allied space assets at risk, said the Air Force report.

China has military units that have begun training with anti-satellite missiles, the report noted, while Russia is developing an airborne laser weapon system intended for use against space-based missile defense sensors.

The report also cautioned that other capable competitors in space are likely to emerge. Reduced cost, increased access, and proliferation of space systems will drive more countries to integrate these systems into military capabilities.

Follow NationalSecurity.news for more news and information related to national security and the intelligence community.

Sources include:

TheSun.co.uk

SpaceNews.com
(Natural News) For military strategists wondering how the Chinese military might be able to get the upper hand immediately on any opponent, a new report suggests one possible answer: ballistic missiles hidden aboard cargo ships.

Disguised as regular shipping containers, they can be sneaked on board a vessel to blend in seamlessly with the hundreds of others on board, The U.S. Sun reported this week citing a video posted to the site, adding that they could be the perfect cover.

The sheer number of container ships in the world makes them harder to pinpoint than warships in the event of war, the outlet said, adding:

Like the fabled Trojan Horse, the missiles would be quietly smuggled into or near an enemy port on a civilian vessel before being unleashed in a surprise attack.

Rick Fisher, senior fellow in Asian military affairs at the International Assessment and Strategy Center, told The Sun Online while Chinese have not officially confirmed they have the missiles  it is likely they have them.

And it was warned in a study by Stockton Center for International Law that the weapons could violate naval laws.

Previously, retired U.S. Navy Capt. Jim Fanell, a former Pacific Fleet intelligence chief, said that disguised missile containers would certainly pose a significant threat to American and allied warships.

News of the secretive missiles comes as China continues to spend billions on beefing up its military. In 1990, for instance, China spent less than $10 billion; but in 2020, Beijing spent nearly $253 billion to modernize and expand its military and especially its naval capabilities to include the construction of new aircraft carriers, destroyers and amphibious assault vessels.

A mock-up of the missiles first appeared at an arms fair in 2016 and since then there has been speculation since they may now be in service with Chinas armed forces, The U.S. Sun reported.

Fisher said that the missiles fit in with Chinas overall military strategy of using deception to gain an advantage.

Chinese strategic preferences for surprise would strongly argue for acquisition of the missiles, he told the outlet, adding that the weapons would be placed aboard nondescript small Chinese ships in order to mount surprise missile raids against shore defenses to assist follow on amphibious or airborne invasion forces.

He added that shipping container missile launchers are likely to be smuggled in through seaports or highway ports of entry, taken to a climate-controlled location within range of U.S. military bases, and brought out to be utilized at the start of any conflict.

The container missiles give Chinese President Xi Jinping a range of options including using larger container ships, thousands of fishing ships or stored containers in ports, to undertake military or terror mission strikes in a manner that can be denied if desired.

The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) is fully capable of using containerized missiles to sow chaos when desired, he added.

For example, Fisher said that China could store the container-launchers near the Port of Seattle, then utilize an electromagnetic pulse weapon to debilitate American naval platforms.

The EMP blast might take out electronics on the [submarines] and all over the base without having to launch a nuclear missile from China, he said.

Washington would be in chaos, would not know against whom to retaliate, and perhaps China uses American distraction to begin its real objective, the military conquest of Taiwan, he added.

U.S. intelligence officials told The Sun that the weapons placed in the containers are an advanced anti-ship missile called the YJ-18C, which is a version of the Russian Club-K weapon, the outlet reported.

If this capability is confirmed, it will require a completely new screening regime for all PRC flagged commercial ships bound for U.S. ports, Fanell, the retired U.S. Navy captain, told The Sun.

Read more stories like this at MilitaryTech.news.

Sources include:

Statista.com

The-Sun.com

NationalSecurity.news
(Natural News) In what are the Communist Chinese leaders strongest comments yet, as well as the biggest indication that they dont fear Joe Biden one iota, Beijing has pledged to fire on any American forces that come to the defense of Taiwan, which also likely means that China is planning to attack the island democracy sometime in the near future.

The threat was issued via the Chinese governments official Communist Party outlet, the Global Times, which stated that the Peoples Liberation Army will heavily attack U.S. troops who come to Taiwans rescue should war break out between the two countries.

The Washington Free Beacon notes:

The latest threat to attack the United States during any standoff between China and Taiwan was issued Thursday in the Global Times, an official Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece that prints the regimes propaganda.

Chinas latest threat to escalate tensions with Taiwan comes on the heels of remarks by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who said the United States is prepared to counter an attempt by China to forcefully seize Taiwan and bring it back into the Communist countrys orbit. The long-simmering standoff comes as the Biden administration confronts Russian attempts to invade Ukraine, a situation that could also prompt U.S. intervention.

It is credible that the [Peoples Liberation Army] will heavily attack U.S. troops who come to Taiwans rescue, the Global Times noted. Such credibility is increasingly overwhelming the deterrence that U.S. troops may have.

Chinas ambition to bring Taiwan, a democracy, back under ChiCom leadership did not change during the Trump administration, but Beijing did not issue bellicose statements and threats during Donald Trumps presidency, either, because President Xi Jinping knew that Trump would not be deterred by it and in fact, was liable to remind the Chinese of American military capabilities.

However, under the hapless Joe Biden, who reads teleprompter messages mindlessly (like End of Message) because his mind is shot, obviously, Beijing is no longer intimidated, as evidenced by the direct threat against American troops.

If Washington supports the Taiwan authoritys path of seeking secession and encourages the Taiwan authority to rely on it, then reunification by force will definitely happen. The more the U.S. and the island of Taiwan collude, the sooner reunification by force will come, the propaganda outlet noted.

In response to questions from reporters on Tuesday, Sullivan pointed out that the U.S. objective is to ensure that a takeover of Taiwan by force never happens.

The Global Times editorial responded directly to Sullivans remarks.

Mr. Sullivan, please be advised to sort out your mind carefully and think about what bargaining chips you do have in your hands to intimidate the Chinese mainland which is determined to achieve national reunification and has various strategic tools to resist blackmail, the editorial said.

You will find your hands empty. Therefore, dont have a big mouth, Mr. Sullivan, otherwise you will only create more embarrassment for your country, the editorial said.

To that end, China  as well as Russia  are said to be years ahead of the United States in the realm of hypersonic weapons, which is a huge advancement in the ballistic missile age.

NationalSecurity.news reported on the advancements:

If Russian President Vladimir Putin decides to send in his 100,000 or so troops massed on the border of Ukraine at any point in the near future following his video chat with our feeble, hapless leader, Joe Biden earlier this week, there wont be much the United States or even NATO can do about it.

Oh, and ditto for China, should Beijing decide to launch an attack on Taiwan to reunify the island democracy with the mainland (never mind that the Chinese nationalists escaped there post-World War II to form their own country after losing a civil war to the Communists).

Both reportedly have either tested or deployed hypersonic missile systems that can evade our defenses and carry nuclear payloads.

So maybe that is what is driving Chinas new confidence. That, and Bidens incapacity.

Read more stories like this at MilitaryTech.news.

Sources include:

FreeBeacon.com

NationalSecurity.news
(Natural News) The British government has admitted that getting vaccinated for the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) destroys the human immune system and prevents recipients from ever acquiring full, true immunity  even if the person catches and later recovers from the Chinese Virus.

The latest COVID-19 vaccine surveillance report (Week 42) from the U.K. Health Security Agency reveals that N antibody levels in the jabbed appear to be lower in people who acquire infection following two doses of vaccination.

What this means is that the injections do not stop a person from becoming infected, nor do they stop transmission of disease. In fact, the fully vaccinated are actually more susceptible to testing positive and getting sick from Chinese Germs.

What the British are saying is they are now finding the vaccine interferes with your bodys innate ability after infection to produce antibodies against not just the spike protein but other pieces of the virus, writes Alex Berenson on his Substack blog.

Specifically, vaccinated people dont seem to be producing antibodies to the nucleocapsid protein, the shell of the virus, which are a crucial part of the response in unvaccinated people.

In other words, the fully vaccinated are much more vulnerable to contracting mutations in the spike protein even after they become infected and recover. These same people will continue to get sick from the Fauci Flu for the rest of their lives as well because their immune systems now lack the ability to develop real immunity.

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Moving forward, only the fully vaccinated are likely to succumb to covid infections

As far as the new Omicron (Moronic) variant is concerned, only people who received the injections are catching it so far.

There is not yet even one single case of Moronic that has been identified in an unvaccinated person, suggesting that the non-jabbed may be immune to it while the jabbed are not.

The non-jabbed will also likely be immune to any other variants that may pop up in the months and years to come, while the fully jabbed will probably succumb to every single one that comes along.

 the virus is likely to select for mutations that go in exactly that direction, because those will essentially give it an enormous vulnerable population to infect, Berenson explains.

And it probably is still more evidence the vaccines may interfere with the development of robust long-term immunity post-infection.

It will likely take some time for the consequences of all this to fully manifest. For now, the deception that getting injected helps to save lives will probably continue, at least among those who got injected and are now in denial about what they have done to their bodies.

As they continue to get sick over time, however, perhaps some will wake up to the fact that their immune systems are now ruined for life. Many will get sick again and again from the latest variants, and some will die.

Jesus IS coming to put an end to all this evil, wrote one commenter at Berensons blog. Hold the line.

If this isnt IT, it sure is a great dress rehearsal! responded another about the Mark of the Beast implications of all this madness.

Another wrote that her heart breaks for all of the young people and children who are getting injected, many of them with no awareness about what they are doing to their bodies.

I literally cant comprehend the stupidity of people who feel so confident that these rushed vaccines, produced by companies who could never before get a product to market (largely due to safety issues) are safe and effective,' wrote another.

Dumber than dirt!

More of the latest news about the Chinese Virus vaccine deception can be found at Genocide.news.

Sources for this article include:

AlexBerenson.substack.com

Service.gov.uk

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Dr. Matt Hepburn of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) flaunted on national television an implantable microchip, which he claimed is designed to stop coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in its track.

That tiny green thing in there, you put it underneath your skin and what that tells you is that there are chemical reactions going on inside the body and that signal means you are going to have symptoms tomorrow, Hepburn told Bill Whitaker of CBS news program 60 Minutes.

Its like a check engine light.

Microchip is now in late-stage testing

Hepburn, recruited by DARPA eight years ago, said the microchip is now in late-stage testing. (Related: DARPA awards $40 million for research into memory-controlling implants.)

Its not some dreaded government microchip to track your every move, but a tissue-like gel engineered to continuously test your blood, said Hepburn, an infectious disease physician and retired army colonel.

Hepburn related that the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt had been hobbled last year when 1,271 crew members tested positive for COVID-19. He hinted that the spread of the virus would have been prevented if everyone on board had their health monitored with the subdermal implant.

Sailors would get the signal, then self-administer a blood draw and test themselves on site. We can have that information in three to five minutes, he said. As you truncate that time, as you diagnose and treat, what you do is you stop the infection in its tracks.

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DARPA is a research and development agency of the Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. Thus, its technologies are mostly for military purposes. But with the mainstream media touting the implantable microchip as a way to finally end the pandemic, using it in civilians is very much a possibility.

There lies the problem. DARPA is not exactly a trusted agency.

In 2016, MailOnline reported that DARPA is already working on microchips that can be implanted into soldiers brains to make them more resilient to warfare. (Related: DARPA rumored to be genetically modifying humans to create zombie super soldiers.)

The agencys reputation was further damaged the following year when it was found investing $100 million into gene drive research in an effort to procure genetic extinction technologies. Andrea Crisanti, an Imperial College London professor who pioneered the gene drive research, admitted that he has been hired by DARPA on a $2.5 million contract.

Many countries [will] have concerns when this technology comes from DARPA, a US military science agency, an unnamed United Nations diplomat told the Guardian at the time.

DARPAs collection of weird and controversial projects over the years

DARPA was created on February 7, 1958, by then-President Dwight Eisenhower in response to the Soviet launching of Sputnik 1 in 1957. The agency collaborates with academia, industry and government partners to formulate and execute research and development projects and expand the frontiers of technology and science.

While the agency is credited with the advent of internet and global positioning system (GPS), it has also been involved in some weird and controversial projects.

DARPAs Engineering Living Materials program sought to create building materials that can be grown where needed and have the ability to repair themselves when damaged. As researchers make progress with 3D-printed organs and tissues, DARPA hopes to use similar technologies to create hybrid materials that can shape and support the growth of engineered cells.

The agencys Blood Pharming program was projected to increase the efficiency of production and lower the high costs associated with growing red blood cells. Blood pharming is the process of creating red blood cells from cell sources in a lab rather than inside a human body. The program would have greatly increased access to transfusable blood for soldiers and hospitals around the world and reduced the risk of disease transmission during a transfusion. The program was no longer listed in recent budget documents.

In 2006 DARPA wanted to implant transmitters in insects to use them for surveillance. The Hybrid Insect Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems program was run by teams from the University of Michigan and Cornell University. In 2009, Cornell engineers revealed a prototype of a radioactively-powered transmitter for cyborg insects.

The agency also funded research on solutions for the negative effects war can have on soldiers. The Systems-Based Neurotechnology for Emerging Therapies program is tasked with creating an implanted, closed-loop diagnostic and therapeutic system for treating, and possibly even curing, neuropsychiatric illness, according to a DARPA press release. The program wants to make a brain implant that will help soldiers struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injuries, anxiety, substance abuse and more.

Recognizing the effect the weight of soldiers loads can have on them, DARPA began working with robotics company Boston Dynamics to create the Legged Squad Support System (LS3). DARPAs website states that the programs goal is to develop a robot that will go through the same terrain the squad goes through without hindering the squads mission.

DARPA also invested in researching space travel. Project Orion is a program from 1958 intended to research a new means of spaceship propulsion. This hypothetical model of propulsion relied on nuclear bomb detonations to power a craft forward and was supposedly capable of hitting astonishing speeds. However, DARPA officials were worried about nuclear fallout. The project was dropped when the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963 outlawed detonations of nuclear weapons in outer space.

Follow MilitaryTechnology.news for more news and information related to technologies developed by DARPA.

Sources include:

WakingTimes.com

CBSNews.com

MilitaryTimes.com
(Natural News) A new Channel 4 documentary called Vaccine Wars: The Truth About Pfizer blows the lid on the drug giants corrupt monopolization of the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine market.

The film makes the case that Pfizer paid off experts to spread lies about its competitors injections, including the viral vector jab from AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford.

The allegations accuse Pfizer of making false claims about the AstraZeneca jab, including that it causes cancer. It is also alleged that Pfizer is charging 3,000 percent more per injection than the shots actually cost to produce, which is price gouging.

Pfizer is said to have bribed doctors and others to scare patients out of taking the AstraZeneca jab due to fears that it could damage their immune system. Meanwhile, the Pfizer jab is triggering myocarditis in young people.

The film further explains that Pfizer discussed these malicious strategies at a presentation last year. Attendees brainstormed ideas before launching a plan of attack against AstraZeneca, which is trailing the other jab manufacturers in terms of rollout and popularity.

There are widespread concerns across Europe where AstraZenecas injections are available that the shots cause blood clots and other serious health problems. Some countries are no longer administering them for this reason.

Pfizer hatched secret deal with U.K. government eliminating all liability for the company in the event of a legal dispute

Concerning the claim that Pfizer is massively overcharging for its injections, the company released a statement claiming that this is grossly inaccurate, and that there are other costs associated with clinical studies, manufacturing and global scaling and distribution that people are overlooking.

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Since the other claims could not be refuted as easily, Pfizer said that those were taken out of context and not actually presented by the company itself but by some other group that put the slide show together.

A spokesperson from the company claims that a foreign third party is responsible for the presentation slides outlining these tactics, which were presented by an independent scientific committee as part of a Canadian vaccine educational program.

What we do know for sure is that Pfizer signed a special contract with the government of the United Kingdom eliminating all liability in the event of a legal dispute.

What this contract basically established is that should problems arise with Pfizers injections, U.K. authorities now have no way to take the matter to court. Instead, anything that arises in dispute must be dealt with through a secret arbitration panel.

The U.K. are [sic] legally bound to not say whether it is in dispute with Pfizer, what the dispute is on or how the secret arbitration will turn out, reported Great Game India. The U.K. apparently remains the only developed country that has agreed to abide by this demand by Pfizer.

Unlike Pfizers injection, AstraZenecas is supposedly sold at cost. For this reason, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the companys jab to be the Vaccine for the World.

The investigation into Pfizer comes as a result of the companys stakeholders pocketing what is estimated to be 3.9billion of profit from the latest vaccine frenzy caused by the arrival of COVID variant, Omicron, Great Game India further reported.

The pharmaceutical giants stocks rose 7.4 percent in the seven days to November 30 after South Africa warned the world about the mutated strain on November 24.

In the days following the corporate medias announcement about Omicron (Moronic in anagram form), investment firm Vanguard Group Inc. raked in the most cases from Pfizer shares, upping the total value to 1.3 billion.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has also been raking in the dough, seeing a portfolio increase of 257,000 in just one week.

More of the latest news about Pfizer can be found at Corruption.news.

Sources for this article include:

GreatGameIndia.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Drs. Paul Elias Alexander and Geert Vanden Bossche have published another fascinating article that breaks down how Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines are putting evolutionary pressure on the disease, causing it to continue mutating and spreading.

The recent unveiling of the so-called Omicron (Moronic) variant is the latest example of this. Assuming Moronic is even real, we already know that at least so far, it is only spreading among the fully vaccinated.

How can this be if the injections work to stop the spread? The answer is that the injections are fueling the spread, as well as the constant mutation of SARS-CoV-2 to become more infectious, though likely less deadly in the process.

There is, indeed, no reason to accept or believe that identical conditions of suboptimal population-level immune response (due to the vaccine) on SARS-CoV-2 infectiousness combined with widespread infectious pressure (due to vaccination during a viral epidemic / pandemic) would result in a different outcome, the former Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) advisor and virologist write.

Countries which have implemented mass vaccination programs have created the conditions as excellent breeding grounds for more infectious variants, they add. These countries will exhibit a high level of hospitality to Omicron and its peers.

You may recall that Bossche remains one of the most outspoken opponents to vaccination during an alleged pandemic. He has warned again and again that trying to stop the virus rather than let it fizzle out on its own is an effort in futility that will only worsen the problem.

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He and Alexander both now warn that serious consequences are being borne by this vaccination effort. And those consequences will continue to worsen the more that governments push people to get injected repeatedly in this endless wild goose chase to stamp out the virus.

We wish to speculate that if we were seeking to take a very harmless virus that causes self-limiting infection or diseases (so it is non-noxious) and to then convert it (transform it) into a devastating biological weapon that could inflict mass casualties and destruction, then the approach would be simple and would be similar to the approach being used today in the US and other nations: we would continue mass population vaccination with a sub-optimal vaccine and suboptimal population-level immune pressure while within an ongoing pandemic with pathogen all around circulating, exerting tremendous infectious pressure, as is the case now, they write.

The virus will eventually escape from vaccine-mediated immunity targeting the receptor binding domain (RBD) on the spike!

While this is written theoretically, they clarify, it is evident already that at least some of it is coming true. Everywhere that the jabs are being widely taken is seeing a massive uptick in hospitalizations and deaths, while the lowest vaccinated areas of the world are faring the best.

Even the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now admitting that there is no real benefit to getting vaccinated in terms of health outcomes. So why, then, are countries like Israel  and soon the United States  demanding that people take not just three but four injections to stay boosted, as they call it?

Do we know how the human immune system will respond to multiple boosting? Was this studied? No, the vaccine developers failed to study these and other questions, and the FDA has failed in ensuring they do and did, the duo further writes.

What the vaccine developers have failed to do, and the FDA failed to ensure, for the safety of the populations is catastrophic.

The latest news about Chinese Virus injections can be found at ChemicalViolence.com.

Sources for this article include:

LifeSiteNews.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Once upon a time, California was literally the embodiment of the American Dream, where people went to pursue their lifes ambitions and, for many, reach their pinnacle of success.

But those days disappeared long ago after left-wing Democrats became a supermajority and imposed at will their anarchy-creating criminal reform policies that amount to little-to-no enforcement of laws on the books.

And today, the situation has gotten so bad in the states largest cities that the head of the police union in one of them  Los Angeles  is warning tourists to stay away during the holiday season amid rising crime and homelessness.

My message to anyone thinking about coming to Los Angeles, especially during the holiday season, is dont, Jamie McBride of the LA Police Protective League, said in an interview this week, according to Big League Politics.

We cant guarantee your safety. It is really, really out of control. I said it to people before, its like that movie Purge, you know, instead of 24 hours to commit your crime, these people have 365 days to commit whatever they want, McBride added, essentially admitting that the LAPD has been hampered by left-wing politics to the point where they are no longer effective.

Big League Politics notes further:

Los Angeles has witnessed a spree of violent crime increases and wide-scale smash and grab robberies, with law enforcement largely powerless to arrest thieves and burglars under municipal orders intended to advance the cause of racial justice.

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McBride has blamed progressive Governor Gavin Newsom for the uptick in violent offenses and crime in California, who he accused of advocating for the criminals.

The outlet noted further that a 2020 survey found that Los Angeles was the worst-ranked city for retail theft, meaning more theft occurred there than in any other American city.

Los Angeles is home to the largest homeless population of any city in the developed world, with the citys socioeconomic structure distinctly split between the penniless masses and wealthy professionals connected to the industries of media, business, and progressive Democratic politics, Big League Politics added. Tourism has been damaged by Los Angeles reputation for violent crimes, with those visiting the city often targeted by criminals.

L.A.s homeless problem has been growing for years, thanks to left-wing Democratic policies, as Natural News reported in November 2017:

Up and down the entire west coast, homeless rates are beginning to skyrocket as more and more people struggle to afford housing. In Seattle, for example, some 400 unauthorized tent camps are quickly popping up in public parks, underneath bridges, on freeway medians and along sidewalks.

In San Diego, government officials are now forced to scrub down sidewalks due to a deadly outbreak of hepatitis A. In Anaheim, an astonishing 400 people spend the nights sleeping on a bike path that runs alongside Angel Stadium. Organizers in the city of Portland recently had to use incense to mask the smell of urine in a parking lot where vendors set up shop.



Meanwhile, the Democrat left is only breeding more of this kind of behavior, pushing garbage, failed political ideologies over American republicanism, which has a two-century track record of success.

Millennials are increasingly turning away from capitalism and toward socialism and even communism as a viable alternative, Marion Smith, the executive director of Victims of Communism, said at the time.

This troubling turn highlights widespread historical illiteracy in American society regarding socialism and the systemic failure of our education system to teach students about the genocide, destruction, and misery caused by communism since the Bolshevik Revolution one hundred years ago, Smith added.

America is circling the drain, and it was all caused by left-wing lunacy. Patriots had better buck up and prepare to fight for our country or were going to lose it all.

Read more stories like this at Collapsifornia.com.

Sources include:

NaturalNews.com

BigLeaguePolitics.com
(Natural News) Someone on Twitter (possibly a bot) by the name of Lars McMurtry has issued a call for genocide against the unvaccinated.

The CDC should roll out a new program: Get the shot or get shot, the tweet reads.

The unvaccinated need to be rounded up and lined up in front of open trenches. Their choice is simple. America has had enough of their virus. We need to get back to normal life.

Jenna Ellis, the former top attorney and senior legal adviser to President Donald Trump, responded to the tweet pointing out that it is literally calling for mass genocide.

Are you paying attention yet? she asked.

Others also responded, one of them pointing out that it only took two years to go from two weeks to flatten the curve to calls for pitchforks and firing squads against the non-compliant.

Vaccinated people act like they died on the cross for our sins, wrote another. Common sense is not common.

Should someone tell them that the Omicron emerged among the vaxxed? asked another.

Hasnt this guy been watching and listening? asked another.

Even vaccinated people are still catching the virus and its not just from unvaccinated people. This virus isnt ever, ever going away. This is how big pharma and the politicians are making money and pushing the country into socialism.

One Twitter user actually put up a historical photo of people being lined up and shot as they fell into actual trenches dug for their bodies and remains.

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History always repeats itself when evil is allowed to flourish, reads the caption.

It took a while, but Twitter eventually suspended the Lars McMurtry account for promoting the killing people who refuse to roll up their sleeves for a Fauci Virus shot.

California congressional candidate Steve Cox calls for the unvaccinated to be shot

Other Twitter users who posted similar content, however, have not yet been removed.

Texas musician Five Times August tweeted a series of photos showing leftist on Twitter calling for the unvaccinated to be gassed like the Jews were in Nazi Germany, or left to die without health care.

Im just saying, Five Times August wrote, it may be time to think long and hard about which side of history youre aligning yourself with.

Someone named Jeanine Reiter Kolkemo wrote the following about the unvaccinated:

I am ready to say let them die. You make a choice to not get your shot for any reason other than a doctors note, you should not be allowed healthcare. You are like the brats in class that ruin it for everyone.

Steve Cox, who is running as an independent in Californias District 39 (Chino Hills), tweeted a rant about how he, too, believes that the unvaccinated should be shot for non-compliance.

Whenever anyone says we all die from something (or a variation thereof) to justify not taking precautions to help protect others in this pandemic, we should be allowed to shoot them, Cox wrote.

Why are you crying? We all die from something. For you, its that bullet in your gut.'

This demon is running for Congress, just to emphasize that a second time. And as of this writing, his Twitter account is still active and running, apparently not in violation of any of Twitters community standards.

Berlin playwright, novelist and political satirist C.J. Hopkins is also on board with this hate campaign. His Twitter account is loaded with iconography that promotes targeting the unvaccinated as part of the new normal in Germany.

If things dont change come the 2022 midterms, the only options left are submit to the tyrants or dont, wrote one Natural News commenter about the growing escalation of left-wing hate and violence against the unvaccinated.

The latest news about the lefts calls for mass genocide against the unvaccinated can be found at Evil.news.

Sources for this article include:

WND.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) There is potentially some good news on the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) front. The new Omicron (Moronic) variant is fast-spreading among the fully vaccinated, and reports indicate that it is much milder than the so-called Delta variant.

Should the Moronic variant end up becoming the dominant strain, then perhaps the whole thing will fizzle out and finally end after nearly two years of police state tyranny.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) released a press release on the second identified case of Moronic, revealing that the infected Minnesota resident recently returned from domestic travel.

 variant was found through MDH variant surveillance program, which is one of the strongest surveillance programs in the nation, a press release further explained.

Just like the first case of Moronic that was identified in California, this second case in Minnesota occurred in someone who had received all of the vaccine injections pushed by the government.

The person with the Moronic variant is an adult male, is a resident of Hennepin County, and had been vaccinated, the press release further explained.

The person developed mild symptoms on Nov. 22 and sought COVID-19 testing on Nov. 24. The persons symptoms have resolved.

In other words, Moronic is mild and not really a concern, at least in the short term. What becomes of the fully vaccinated later on down the road remains to be seen.

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According to reports, the Minnesota man spoke with MDH case investigators and reported having traveled to New York City where he attended the Anime NYC 2021 convention at the Javits Center from Nov. 19-21.

This person was then advised by MDH to isolate from others while Minnesota epidemiologists continue to investigate in collaboration with New York City and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Now, officials are warning of an outbreak of Moronic in New York City within the next few days  almost like it was planned all along.

Is Omicron a cover for the impending market crash?

Coincidentally (or perhaps not), the global markets took a plunge on the very same day that the Moronic variant was announced. Some news outlets said the one caused the other, but perhaps the one was a cover for the other.

The fake financial markets have been teetering on the brink for a while now, and massive overleveraging threatens to topple the whole house of cards in a way that has never before occurred in history.

Suspiciously, the markets took a major tumble at the beginning of plandemic, and again when the variants started popping up. Now, the Moronic variant appears out of nowhere and the markets are once again losing stability.

Could it be that all of this is just a decoy for the inevitable crash of the global financial system? Time will tell, but keep this in mind and read between the lines as the situation unfolds.

Zero Hedge seems to think that Wall Street algorithms dumped right as Moronic was announced, which is another way of looking at it. One thing is for sure: Something fishy is afoot and Moronic was waiting in the wings as a distraction or excuse.

It wasnt just stocks: everything tumbled  yields, cryptos, you name it, the news outlet warned.

So for all those confused what they should be doing here, let us repeat, what we have been saying and what Rabobank said just moments ago  Omicron will of course be used as an argument for more stimulus ahead. Those selling stocks on this news clearly have not been paying any attention to what happened in the past year.

More of the latest news about the Chinese Virus can be found at Pandemic.news.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) The conflict in the eastern borders of Ukraine is now escalating to a new level. Russia recently deployed military forces along its border with Ukraine, indicating that a full-scale war is now a possibility. Moscows decision to send troops in the disputed region projects a bleak end to the seven-year conflict which has claimed thousands of lives.

Russian officials defended the countrys deployment of troops. Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told reported on April 9 that the country was simply taking precautions, given the situation in the dangerous [and] explosive region. He added that the situation in eastern Ukraine was extremely unstable and the dynamics  create the danger of a resumption of full-scale hostilities.

Presidential Executive Office Deputy Chief of Staff Dmitry Kozak echoed a similar sentiment the day before. He said that Russia would be forced to defend its citizens living in eastern Ukraine when an all-out war breaks out, and spoke of the beginning of the end for Ukraine. According to Russian data, at least 640,000 residents of the disputed Donbas region in Ukraines east have Russian passports.

The government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed disagreement over granting separatist-held territories more autonomy for fear of giving Russia a stronger foothold in the region. On the other hand, a Kremlin readout reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin accused its southwestern neighbor of resuming dangerous provocative actions in Donbas. Putin made the claim during an April 9 call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Meanwhile, tensions between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists spiked up following a recent escalation of conflict. Kyiv said several soldiers were killed as a result.

Moscow has been exhorting Kyiv to implement a peace deal brokered by France and Germany in 2014 and 2015. The deal outlined a number of stipulations  including local elections in Donbas, withdrawal of foreign troops and the return of the Russian border to Ukrainian control.

Violence inevitable with the deployment of troops, collapse of peaceful negotiations

Moscow-based military analyst Konstantin Sivkov remarked that a diplomatic solution to the Donbas problem requires a radical change in the position of the Kyiv authorities. He explained: If the Kyiv authorities agree to the recognition of the federal structure of Ukraine  [and] agree to the equal status of the Russian language in Ukraine along with the Ukrainian language, then the whole problem will be resolved. (Related: The cheering section for World War III.)

However, another analyst expressed a more pessimistic view. The ceasefire is over, and [with it] President Zelenskys strategy of negotiating something with Moscow, Institute of International Relations associate professor Mykola Kapitonenko said. He elaborated that Russia considers the peace deal dead, so it now has to do something to improve its negotiating leverage  by means of military power. Learning from previous experience, Ukraine should get ready for the worst-case scenario, Kapitonenko commented.

New Europe Center Director Alyona Getmanchuk meanwhile remarked that Ukraine clearly wants a diplomatic solution to the problem. However, she remarked that Zelensky made the mistake of being too naive when dealing with Russia. The director of the Kyiv-based think tank elaborated: [Zelensky] was too native by thinking that he could reach a good deal with Putin  on Ukrainian terms.

The U.S. voiced out its concern over increased Russian presence in the disputed areas. According to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, Washington expressed worry over the increase of Russian troops in eastern Ukraine since 2014 alongside potential Russian aggressions. She told reporters during a press briefing that the U.S. is discussing these matters with its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

German Chancellor Angela Merkel meanwhile called on Putin to de-escalate tensions in the disputed area. A BBC report said Merkel discussed the conflict in Ukraine with the Russian leader during an April 8 phone call. She then exhorted Putin to pull his troops back from eastern Ukraine to stem the tide of potential violence.

Zelensky meanwhile posted on his Telegram channel: Playing with muscles in the form of military exercises and possible provocations along the [Ukrainian] border is a traditional Russian affair. It seeks to create an atmosphere of threat and, at the same time, of pressure. The Ukrainian leader continued that expediting his countrys membership in NATO would help prevent a deeper conflict with Russia.

However, both Russian officials and pro-Moscow analysts are of the opinion that adding NATO in the mix would exacerbate the tensions and serve as a recipe for disaster. Sivkov explained: If the U.S and NATO begin to support Ukraine  Russia will certainly enter a military conflict. (Related: Russia tells West to fear its nuclear arsenal.)

Visit WWIII.news to read more articles about the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Sources include:

WSJ.com

Reuters.com

BBC.com
China has revealed its plan to reduce emissions in "digital infrastructure," such as data centers and high-speed (5G) telecommunications networks, with essential benchmarks set for the country's carbon-neutrality goal of 2060.

Optimizing

According to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the government will optimize the building layout of data centers and 5G networks to strengthen its carbon-reduction programs and caution local governments to prevent unregulated expansions.

"Data centers and 5G are strategic resources and public infrastructure that support future economic and social development, and they are also the most important part of the new infrastructure's energy conservation and consumption reduction," the top economic planner said in a statement released late Wednesday with three state agencies.

Emission Goals

In September of last year, China established a goal of reaching peak emissions by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2060. Carbon-intensive industries in the United States, such as steel, nonferrous metals, and cement manufacture, will meet the first objective by 2025.

According to the NDRC, data centers with non-real-time functions now situated in the eastern regions will be shifted to new clusters in the western areas to use the vast availability of wind and solar resources.

Related Article: US and China Surprised Everyone as the Giants Came to a Climate Agreement at COP 26



No Special Treatment

According to the strategy, local governments should not give data centers outside national data-center clusters special treatment inland, finance, or tax concerns.

Digital Expansion

China's ambition for digital infrastructure expansion has resulted in increased carbon emissions. According to environmental activist organization Greenpeace, they are expected to reach 310 million tonnes by 2035, up from 123 million in 2020. Even after other vital industries have reached their peak-emission timelines, this will continue to climb.

China has the world's largest 5G network and, behind the United States, the world's second-largest data-center sector. Since the Covid-19 outbreak, China has prioritized the development of new digital infrastructure, including 5G networks, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain, to enhance employment and economic growth.

According to Greenpeace, data centers and 5G networks utilized 201 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of power in 2020, approximately similar to the combined consumption of Beijing and Shenzhen.

Electric Consumption

According to a Greenpeace East Asia prediction, this will reach 782 billion kWh by 2035, or approximately 5 to 7% of national electricity consumption, up from 2.7 percent in 2020.

Like most power-hungry businesses, China's digital infrastructure industry relies mainly on "dirty" power plants. According to government figures, coal accounted for around 57% of the country's electrical generation in 2020. According to Greenpeace, coal-fired power plants provide about 61% of the electricity used to run China's digital infrastructure.

"China's digital infrastructure sector is fast increasing, and transitioning the industry away from coal is vital to the country's national climate goals," said Wu Xueying, Greenpeace East Asia's climate and energy campaigner.

Working on Similar Technology

The government will also work on related technology to construct more power-efficient data centers, according to the NDRC. According to the proposal, future big and mega-sized data centers' average power use effectiveness (PUE) should be around 1.3 by 2025. In the business, a ratio of one is considered excellent.ndrc

According to the report, the total rate of data center use between the eastern and western areas should also be more balanced. As additional data centers are transferred from the east side, the Western regions should increase their participation from 30% to more than 50% by 2025.

Some IT firms have made efforts to lessen their carbon impact. GDS Holdings, which is home to some of the world's major cloud service providers, including Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings, has set a carbon-neutral by 2030.

Pledge

Chindata and AtHub, two of China's largest data-center providers, have likewise pledged to use 100% renewable energy by 2030.

"Policymakers can assist support this transition by requiring the use of 100% renewable energy and giving financial incentives for businesses to switch to wind and solar," said Ye Ruiqi, a climate and energy campaigner with Greenpeace East Asia. "Digital technology, not an increasing source of emissions, should be a solution to the climate challenge."

Related Article: "No More Blah Blah"- Greta Thunberg Calls Out World Leaders During UN Climate Summit

For more news about making the environment sustainable, don't forget to follow Nature World News!
When four wild bison arrive in north Kent in the spring of 2022, rangers will be in charge of the first wild bison to roam the UK in thousands of years. Bison are Europe's biggest land animals, with males weighing up to a ton. They were extinct in the wild a century ago but are now being reintroduced across the continent.

"They are amazing animals, genuinely gentle giants," says Donovan Wright, a colleague who spent 20 years in southern Africa dealing with rhinos, cape buffalo, and other huge animals. "The Kent project is unique, but it is no less significant."

"How incredible will it be to track the UK's largest land animal on foot right here in [Kent]?" Wright adds. It would be fantastic to be able to experience something like this only five miles from Canterbury, and it would help people reconnect with nature."

Related Article: USFWS Considers Reintroducing Bison to Montana Refuge



Reintroduction Training

Gibbs and Wright have recently returned from reintroduction training with wild bison herds in the Netherlands. Wilder Blean is a 1 million Kent initiative managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust and the Wildwood Trust, using funding from the People's Postcode Lottery. The bison's primary goal is to rewild a thick, former commercial pine forest.

"Bison are keystone species because they peel the bark off trees by rubbing up against them and eating it," Wright explains.

"They also create wonderful tracks through the foliage just by their sheer size, and they like dust bathing, resulting in large open spots. All of this is excellent for pioneer plants, insects, and sand lizards," Wright says, adding that the insects dwelling on the dead wood left behind are also fantastic for woodpeckers and bats.

Reaching the Netherlands

The rangers went to the Kraansvlak project in the Netherlands, where people could freely wander through an area populated by 14 bison, and no harmful incidents have ever occurred. However, studying the animals' behavior was an essential aspect of the training to assure their safety.

"You read the animals," Gibbs adds, "so if they're giving you indicators that they're not particularly comfortable with your presence, you back away."

All indications to look for are staring, attentive ears, head flicking up and down, pawing the ground, or the herd fanning out.

Keeping in Check

The animals in Kent will wear GPS collars, just as the bison in Kraansvlak, but these might be broken, so rangers will require tracking abilities to guarantee they can find the animals without scaring them.

The rangers also learned how to herd the bison into a corral to be checked for health. "There are a few trade secrets, such as specific meals," Gibbs explains, but they've kept under wraps, so the public doesn't try to attract the bison needlessly.

The Kraansvlak rangers required five years to be satisfied that the public could access the bison habitat alone, but Wright hasn't set a timeline for the Kent project. "We're doing it very slowly," he says.

A young bull will create the Kent herd from Germany, and the matriarch will be an older female from the Highland wildlife park in Scotland. "She looks stunning, and we're convinced she'll be an outstanding leader for the group," Gibbs adds.

Also Read: A Third of Wisconsin's Wild Wolves Killed in 60 Hours After Being Removed From Endangered List

For the most recent news about animal conservation, don't forget to follow Nature World News!
Pfizer is spending $6.7 billion to buy a drugmaker that is developing treatments for inflammatory conditions like Chrohns disease but has no products on the market.

The pharmaceutical giant said Monday it will pay $100 in cash for each share of Arena Pharmaceuticals in a deal already approved by the boards of both companies.

Shares of Arena nearly doubled after the deal was announced Monday.

Pfizer believes that Arena will bolster its expertise in inflammation and immunology. It plans to pay for the acquisition with cash on hand.

Arena has a potential treatment for ulcerative colitis in late-stage clinical testing that it also is testing to treat Chrohns disease. The company is developing possible treatments is in dermatology and for acute heart failure.

The sale price appears reasonable, given that Arena sales are expected to approach $3 billion in 2030, said Dr. Vamil Divan, an analyst for Mizuho Securities USA.

Divan likes Pfizers aggressive use of cash that the company has or will receive from its COVID-19 vaccine and potential treatment.

Pfizer has said it expects to book about $36 billion in sales this year from its vaccine, Comirnaty. The drugmaker also has developed a potential pill treatment for the virus that could be approved soon.

We assume they will look to continue to aggressively use their COVID cash for bolt-on deals like Arena that can boost the companys mid-late stage pipeline, Divan wrote in a research note.

Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc., based in Park City, Utah, has lost nearly $461,000 through the first nine months of this year. Most of its revenue comes from royalties.

Arenas stock rose 83% to top $90 Monday, surpassing a high for the year of around $85 that the shares had reached in February.

Pfizer shares climbed nearly 4% to $54.78 while broader indexes slipped.
WESTPORT  A homeowner was displaced Friday evening after a fire in the basement ceiling caused significant damage to portions of the home on a small road in the north part of town, according to the Westport Fire Department.

The Westport Emergency Communications Center sent emergency personnel to a reported fire alarm at the house around 5:20 p.m. Friday. While units were responding, the center also received a call from the homeowner stating there was smoke in the house.
ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (AP)  A Michigan judge declined Monday to move the 15-year-old charged with killing four students at Oxford High School out of an adult jail, but she agreed that the jail needs to ensure the boy can't hear or see grown-up inmates.

Ethan Crumbley's attorney, Paulette Loftin, argued during his probable cause conference in Rochester Hills District Court that her client should be moved back to a juvenile facility, saying that he should not be considered a menace to other juveniles.

This is someone who has never been in trouble before," Loftin said. "This is not someone who has a history of assaulting kids his age or any other negative contact with his peers. This one isolated incident is all that were looking at here today.

But District Judge Nancy Carniak sided with Assistant Oakland County Prosecutor Marc Keast, who countered that the nature of the charges and security risks mandate that Crumbley be held in an adult facility. Crumbley is charged as an adult with killing four classmates and injuring seven other people in the Nov. 30 shooting at Oxford High School, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Detroit.

This cannot be compared to any other case that this court or any other court in this county has seen before, and calling this an isolated incident quite frankly does not do it justice, Keast said. This was a mass murder at a school, judge. This was planned. it was pre-meditated. The defendant didnt just attack other individuals, he targeted juveniles.

Keast said he would contact the jail after Mondays hearing and make sure that the defendant is neither within sight nor sound of any adult at the jail.

Carniak adjourned the probable cause hearing to Jan. 7 to review witness statements and other evidence from prosecutors and investigators. At that time, she could make a decision on whether to order a competency exam for him if such an exam is requested by his attorneys.

Monday's conference was a procedural hearing to prepare for a Dec. 20 preliminary hearing, which also will be moved to a later date.

Crumbley's parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, also being held at the jail, are accused of failing to intervene on the day of the tragedy and are charged with involuntary manslaughter. They face hearings Tuesday.

The morning of the shooting, school officials met with Ethan Crumbley and his parents at the school after a teacher found a drawing of a gun, a bullet and a person who appeared to have been shot, along with messages stating, My life is useless and The world is dead.

The school district's superintendent has said the Crumbleys flatly refused to take their son home.

The gun used in the shooting also was bought days before by James Crumbley and their son had full access to it, prosecutors said.

___

Williams reported from West Bloomfield, Mich.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Partly cloudy and windy this evening. Cloudy with diminishing winds late. Low near 10F. Winds WNW at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Partly cloudy and windy this evening. Cloudy with diminishing winds late. Low near 10F. Winds WNW at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
Phylogenetics is an analytical tool that quickly analyzes genomic data to provide invaluable insights into the evolution and spread of a pathogen, thereby allowing public health officials and governments to respond to it in a timely fashion.

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, phylogenetics, like many other pre-pandemic tools, became redundant owing to the massive scale of genome sequencing data of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) deposited across online databases since 2020.

Study: Pandemic-scale phylogenetics. Image Credit: majcot / Shutterstock.com

About the study

In a recent preprint study published on the bioRxiv* server, researchers developed a phylogenetic package that incorporated several pandemic-specific optimization and parallelization techniques. The package comprises four programs UShER, matOptimize, RIPPLES, and matUtils.

To build a comprehensive SARS-CoV-2 phylogeny, SARS-CoV-2 genome sequence data was gathered from major online databases such as the global initiative on sharing all influenza data (GISAID) and GenBank. The GenBank MN908947.3 sequence was used as the reference for rooting the tree and for calling variants in individual samples. In experiments, the sampling date metadata was used to derive two subtrees including a 100K-sample tree and a 1M-sample tree.

All experiments conducted throughout the study were performed on the Google Cloud Platform (GCP) for easy reproducibility. Since this phylogenetic package was memory-efficient, CPU-optimized E2 instances could have been used.

In lieu, memory-optimized instances were used in the package for some competing tools, whereas iso-cost comparison was done to ensure that the hourly cost remained about the same for both instances. Strong and weak scaling analyses were performed for UShER, matOptimize, and RIPPLES using the 1M-sample tree and e2-high CPU-32 instances, varying the number of instances from 2 to 32.

Innovative optimizations realized in (A) UShER, (B) matOptimize and (C) RIPPLES for phylogenetic placement, tree optimization and recombination detection, respectively. The left side shows a representative illustration of the prior approaches and the right side illustrates the approach used in our tools.

Performance results of UShER, matOptimize, and RIPPLES

Speedup analysis highlighted the magnitude of improvement in runtime and peak memory that this phylogenetic package achieves relative to state-of-the-art tools. For phylogenetic placement, as compared to IQ-TREE2, UShER achieved 1439-fold speedup and 1300-fold improved memory efficiency, as well as placed 1000 new samples on the 100K-sample tree in just 15.4 seconds using 92 MB of RAM.

For tree optimization, as compared to TNT, matOptimize completed its optimization in just over one hour and remained more parsimony-optimal even after 24 hours. For recombination detection, placing a new sample on the 1M-sample tree using UShER and flagging it as a recombinant using RIPPLES took 35.65 seconds on average, which enabled real-time monitoring of the virus for recombination.

UShER maintained a strong scaling efficiency of over 85% in placing 100K new samples on the 1M-sample tree until 512 vCPUs were used, after which it dropped to 72.6% at 1024 vCPUs.

For matOptimize, its strong scaling efficiency rapidly deteriorated with parallelism. For instance, with 1024 vCPUs, the entire matOptimize run required only 11.5 minutes, with the parallel search phase requiring 7.5 minutes in total and less than 1.5 minutes on each iteration.

The authors anticipate improvement in strong scaling efficiency as the tree grows. RIPPLES achieved a strong scaling efficiency of over 80%, the highest of all programs, for comprehensively detecting recombinants from the 1M-sample tree at all parallelism levels. All the tools showed weak scaling efficiency of above 70%, as determined during weak scaling analysis.

Conclusions

The current study addressed the unmet needs imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and developed a phylogenetic package for comprehensive phylogenetic analyses of SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19 phylogenetics has been crucial for genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, as well as for their identification and naming, thus supporting their potential relevance in epidemiological studies.

This tool, therefore, helps in estimating the reproduction number (R 0 ) of the SARS-CoV-2 or its particular variant. In addition, phylogenetics may establish transmission links between seemingly unrelated SARS-CoV-2 infections.

Of all the programs of the phylogenetic package, UShER and RIPPLES showed the potential to empower individual research labs to incorporate their SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences onto a global phylogeny, discover evidence for recombination from a massive search space, and subsequently provide a real-time response. RIPPLES could also be used in high-performance computing (HPC) setting to detect recombination events from the vast SARS-CoV-2 phylogeny within a few hours. With matUtils, it was possible to rapidly query and visualize massive SARS-CoV-2 phylogenies.

Overall, these tools showed the potential to empower the global scientific community to study the SARS-CoV-2 evolution and transmission at an extraordinary scale, resolution, and speed.

*Important notice

bioRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
In France, four coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines, developed by Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Janssen-Cilag, have received emergency use authorization (EUA) and a rapid vaccination program had commenced to protect its citizens from the infection. The COVID-19 pandemic has been caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which has been characterized as highly transmissible, virulent, and has a high mortality rate.

In January 2021, elderly people and frontline workers, who were at a high risk of COVID-19 infection, were prioritized for SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. However, gradually, it was extended to younger age groups down to 12 years of age. Although the vaccination coverage rapidly increased, it slackened significantly by the end of the summer.



Study: Evaluating COVID-19 booster vaccination strategies in a partially vaccinated population: a modeling study. Image Credit: Studio Romantic/Shutterstock

The need for booster vaccines

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants occurred due to mutations. Scientists have categorized the variants as variants of concern (VOC) and variants of interest (VOI). In February 2021, SARS-CoV-2 Alpha VOC became dominant in metropolitan France, which was replaced by Delta VOC. At present, the Delta variant has become the dominant circulating strain and has been characterized as more virulent and transmissible than the original SARS-CoV-2 strain. It can also evade the immune response induced by vaccines or natural infection. Many studies have reported that the efficacy of the available COVID-19 vaccines has been lower in the case of the Delta strain compared to other SARS-CoV-2 variants. Previous studies have also shown waning of immune protection, elicited via vaccines or natural infection, with time. Owing to these reasons many countries have recommended COVID-19 booster shots for already vaccinated individuals.

France's government had initially recommended COVID-19 booster dose for people who are above 65years as well as other vulnerable groups, six months after completion of the two-dose vaccination regime. However, more recently, the eligibility for the booster dose has been extended to all adults.

Effectiveness on hospitalizations of vaccination strategies varying in the allocation of 200,000 daily doses between primary vaccination and booster shots, over the period from September 1st, 2021 to March 1st, 2022, compared to a baseline scenario in which all vaccination is stopped on September 1st, 2021. (A, C, E) Vaccine efficacy decreased only for people aged 65 years and older. (B, D, F) Vaccine efficacy decreased for all age groups. (A,B) Daily new hospitalizations, (C, D) proportion of hospitalizations avoided, (E, F) proportion of hospitalizations avoided by age group. A prioritization strategy of (150k/50k) means 150k daily doses for primary vaccination and 50k daily booster doses until 90% coverage of one target population is reached, then all 200k daily doses are allocated to the other target population.

Effectiveness

In Europe, the number of COVID-19 cases has again started to increase. In this scenario, along with constraints in the global supply of vaccines, researchers believe it is extremely important to evaluate the effectiveness of booster vaccination campaigns. Researchers have used a deterministic, age-structured, compartmental model for this assessment. In this model, they fitted data that were associated with hospital admission and deaths. The authors validated sero-prevalence data in France to determine the effect of primary and booster vaccination strategies on morbidity and mortality.

This study is available on the medRxiv* preprint server. In this study, scientists made two assumptions, i.e., waning of immunity and enhanced virus transmissibility in winter.

Researchers compared vaccination strategies based on prioritization between primary vaccination and booster vaccination. This study revealed that the most beneficial strategy was to distribute all available doses of COVID-19 vaccines predominantly for primary vaccinations and the remaining doses for boosters. This result also emphasizes the fact that higher population immunity plays a greater part in protecting vulnerable groups than in protecting individuals.

The current study reported that in the scenario where if the effectiveness of vaccines were to be decreased among all age groups, the most effective approach to reduce hospitalization and death due to COVID-19 would be to provide booster vaccines for the 30-49 age group. In another scenario, where if the effectiveness of the vaccine were to be reduced for individuals aged 65 years or above, a different boosting vaccination could result in varying outcomes, in terms of, hospitalization and mortality. Therefore, this study suggested two mechanisms based on which healthcare policymakers could decide on which group to target for booster vaccination.

Researchers suggested that the decision must be made on the basis of immunization of vulnerable groups who are prone to severe infection and those with a high risk of transmission. The latter group will help reduce transmission of infection and, thereby, protect the population from further infection. Therefore, an optimal booster vaccination strategy would be based on protecting the vulnerable group as well as the population at large by inhibiting viral transmission. Researchers assumed that a recovered individual would not be reinfected again. Although some studies have reported on the breakthrough infection, not much evidence is available on the risk of re-infection after having recovered from COVID-19.

Conclusion

The model presented in this study helped determine the optimal vaccination strategy related to the primary and booster vaccination approach. Although this study has drawn a conclusion based on the data from metropolitan France, the authors believe that the observations would hold true for other countries as well. The emergence of the Omicron variant has indicated the importance of vaccination coverage throughout the world. Rapid global vaccination will help contain the COVID-19 pandemic sooner.

*Important notice

medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
As the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to mutate and spread across the world, various types of surveillance are necessary to monitor outbreaks and the emergence of new variants. In particular, these strategies are key to identifying SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) that are resistant to neutralization by the polyclonal antibodies elicited by natural infection or by vaccination.

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* discusses a computational program that can be used to substitute for actual experimental evidence of the biologic impact of new mutations. This program, which has been described as an escape calculator, has the potential to become an essential component in global surveillance strategies that aim to rapidly characterize VOCs.

Study: An Antibody-Escape Calculator for Mutations to The Sars-Cov-2 Receptor-Binding Domain. Image Credit: ETAJOE / Shutterstock.com

Background

When a pandemic is progressing, time is of the essence. SARS-CoV-2 has already mutated many times, with clusters of mutations occurring at key antigens, notably the spike glycoprotein. These pose challenges to pre-existing immunity in vaccinated or recovered individuals.

The spike protein is responsible for viral binding to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor and viral entry into the host cell via endocytosis that is mediated by virus-cell membrane fusion. Mutations in the spike protein, especially at the receptor-binding domain (RBD), reduce viral neutralization by antibodies, as shown by the Beta and Delta VOCs.

Much time and effort are required to understand the extent to which immunity is compromised by these mutations using neutralization assays. This has caused delays in the characterization of most of these new variants, beyond the speed with which they are identified by genomic sequencing.

Deep mutational scanning experiments are one way to avoid this lag, as these can be designed to assess mutational impacts on antibody binding or neutralization for new mutations. The goal of these experiments is to examine every possible change at each residue in the important functional regions of the spike antigen to determine the effect it could have on the antigenic properties when encountering a monoclonal-specific antibody.

This approach is difficult to adopt in the case of the SARS-CoV-2 spike antigens, as VOCs typically show multiple mutations. Furthermore, the effects of these mutations are difficult to assess in combination, even with this relatively high-throughput experimental method.

About the study

In response, the researchers in this study collected previously published deep mutational scanning data for a number of antibodies to determine how mutations in the RBD of the spike effect neutralization.

This escape calculator tool allows investigators to understand how random combinations of antigens affect the antigenicity of the spike RBD, in visual as well as quantitative terms. The calculator uses simple transformations of experimental data to map combined escape mutational effects without relying on complicated calculations.

By taking the sum or average of all mutational effects due to single-residue mutations at the RBD, in terms of monoclonal antibody binding by the antigen, the calculator produces a summary of escape from antibodies at each site.

Study findings

Using site-specific escape maps, the researchers found that these monoclonal antibody escape maps showed which mutations are correlated with each other and which are independent in their effects. For instance, three RBD-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies of LY-CoV016 (etesevimab), LY-CoV555 (bamlanivimab), and REGN10987 (imdevimab) have been affected by mutations at each RBD site.

Earlier studies have described these changes in binding for each site. These antibodies bind distinct sites, or epitopes, on the RBD including LY-CoV016 to the class 1 epitope, LY-CoV555 the class 2 epitope, and REGN10987 the class 3 epitope. As a result, different sets of mutations are required to produce escape from neutralization by each of these antibodies.

Thus, mutations at residue 417 cause LY-CoV016 escape; site 484 for LYCoV555, and sites 444446 for REGN10987. This means that a cocktail with equipotent concentrations of all three could be rendered ineffective by looking at the escape maps for each of these. This is the escape map for the antibody mix.

This polyclonal escape map will show the highest peaks at the sites where mutational escape to the individual antibodies is greatest. This can now be transformed to understand what would happen if one of these antibodies is rendered non-neutralizing, simply by inserting a mutation at its epitope. The peaks at this site will vanish, as will the peaks at other sites that are also bound by the same antibody.

This allows the researchers to visualize the correlations between the epitope targeted by the mutation and other sites that recognize antibodies that bind to this epitope as part of its target binding site. Other escape epitopes remain intact since they are bound by other antibodies.

If a second antibody is also eliminated by mutations at its epitope, the two correlated peaks on the escape map will also disappear. Therefore, different possibilities can be explored with this tool.

The authors of this study encourage other researchers to try different scenarios to understand how this tool works. They have collected deep mutational scanning data for 33 human antibodies to produce an escape calculator that will help understand realistic possibilities for mutational escape from individual antibodies or from a polyclonal mix that resembles human sera.

The 33 antibodies used here are from multiple patients infected during the first year of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. While assuming that an equipotent mix of these would be equivalent to the neutralizing activity of human sera for experimental purposes, the researchers point out that this is unlikely to be the case.

Escape map for a hypothetical polyclonal mix consisting of an equipotent mixture of three monoclonal antibodies targeting distinct epitopes on the SARS-CoV-2 RBD. (A) Experimentally measured escape maps for three antibodies, and the mean of these maps (thick black line). Each point on the x-axis represents a site in the RBD, and the y-axis represents the total measured escape by all mutations at that site scaled so the maximum for each antibody is one. (B) Escape map if the contribution of antibody LY-CoV555 is ablated.(C) Escape map if the contributions of antibodies LY-CoV555 and LY-CoV016 are ablated. An interactive version of this figure is at https://jbloomlab.github.io/SARS2_RBD_Ab_escape_maps/mini-example-escape-calc/.

The escape map shows the interesting fact that the escape peak at 484 is the largest of all since antibodies to this epitope were most common in the immune humoral response during this period. Many smaller peaks were also observed at other sites, as antibodies tend to bind to somewhat unpredictable antigenic sites.

By introducing mutations at different sites and reducing the peaks in relation to the strength of antibody binding at each site, it would be possible to understand what the escape map would look like for such a mix and predict how compound mutations would affect neutralization.

In the Beta VOC, for instance, three RBD sites (417, 484, and 501) are altered. The resulting escape map for this VOC, therefore, exhibits loss of binding from the mutated sites and others that target epitopes, including these sites. Other antibodies targeting sites 444446, for example, continue to show neutralizing activity because they do not bind to the above sites.

The escape map fits actual neutralization data from experimental neutralization assays using human sera against SARS-CoV-2 variants and allows quantitative scoring of residual polyclonal antibody binding for each set of mutations.

The simple and intuitive approach used by the calculator seems to accurately reflect the dominant features of polyclonal antibody escape in the RBD.

With respect to the new Omicron variant, the escape calculator indicates a wide-ranging change in the binding epitopes due to its 15 mutations in the RBD. The binding score provided by the calculator is very low compared to all other variants so far.

This suggests that the Omicron variant will resist neutralization by existing antibodies. Furthermore, this variant was provided a score similar to that of an engineered spike protein with multiple mutations intended to provide a picture of the maximum possible antibody escape mutational profile at 20-80-fold reduced neutralization by sera from infected-recovered or vaccinated individuals.

The greatest loss of antibody binding is at sites 484, 446, and 417, whereas other mutations at sites like 346, 378, 444, and 504 could eliminate whatever is left.

Implications

The escape calculator presented here, which is based on experimental data for 33 monoclonal antibodies, aims to predict the antigenic effects of sets of mutations to the SARS-CoV-2 RBD. It was designed on the basis of aggregating this data to identify the most vital antigenic sites in the RBD and distinguish correlated and independent mutations.

This interactive tool provides a visual representation that allows easy understanding of the effects of single or combined mutations by clicking on different sites.

This interactivity provides an intuitive understanding of the antigenic structure of the RBD, and shows how the calculator is performing simple transformations directly on experimental data.

Despite the limitations of this early model, it was able to produce scores of binding activity that bore an uncanny resemblance to actual experimental neutralization activity. Moreover, the shift in antigenic sites occurs in some manner similar to the underlying design of the escape calculator, such as the presence of clustered mutations that produce additive rather than redundant escape effects in VOCs.

This may be due to the fact that the escape calculator is based on RBD mutations as compared to antibodies to the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 variant. The RBD is the dominant target of neutralizing antibodies, with a common antibody response observed against the early viral variants worldwide, thus providing common ground for experimental data and this calculator.

The scientists point out that the reference sequence to determine mutations is shifting month by month as the pandemic progresses, with respect to antibody escape. This will make it necessary to classify serum antibody data used in the calculator by RBD variant. To study the escape map for each such case, only that antibody data that is relevant to the sera being studied will have to be gathered.

*Important notice

bioRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
University of Queensland researchers have discovered an exercise 'sweet spot' that reverses the cognitive decline in aging mice, paving the way for human studies.

After more than a decade of research, led by Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) Emeritus Professor Perry Bartlett and Dr Dan Blackmore, the team found 35 days of voluntary physical exercise improved learning and memory.

We tested the cognitive ability of elderly mice following defined periods of exercise and found an optimal period or 'sweet spot' that greatly improved their spatial learning." Dr Dan Blackmore, Queensland Brain Institute

The researchers also discovered how exercise improved learning.

"We found that growth hormone (GH) levels peaked during this time, and we've been able to demonstrate that artificially raising GH in sedentary mice also was also effective in improving their cognitive skills", Dr Blackmore said

"We discovered GH stimulates the production of new neurons in the hippocampus  the region of the brain critically important to learning and memory.

"This is an important discovery for the thousands of Australians diagnosed with dementia every year."

Dementia is the second leading cause of death of all Australians, and with no medical breakthrough the number of people with dementia is expected to increase to around 1.1 million by 2058.

Professor Bartlett said the findings provide further proof that loss of cognitive function in old age is directly related to the diminished production of new neurons.

"It underlines the importance of being able to activate the neurogenic stem cells in the brain that we first identified 20 years ago," Professor Bartlett said.

The team were able to explore how the production of new neurons changed the circuitry in the brain using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

"Using MRI, we were able to study the brain following exercise, and for the first time identify the critical changes in the structure and functional circuitry of the hippocampus required for improved spatial learning," Dr Blackmore said.
On March 31, 1977, as a measles epidemic swept through Los Angeles, the county health department issued an ultimatum to the parents of the county's 1.6 million schoolchildren: Get your kids vaccinated within a month or keep them home.

The "no shots, no school" warning was a novel threat at the time. Since the 1920s  and smallpox  no major city in the United States had locked the unvaccinated out of school.

The threat  voiced most audibly by Dr. Shirley Fannin, whom the Los Angeles Times described as "the energetic, no-nonsense physician" in charge of communicable disease control  brought results. About 40,000 county schoolkids were excluded  sent home or forced to sit in the school auditorium all day. Within a week most had been vaccinated. The epidemic, which had killed two children, caused brain damage in five and left scores hospitalized with pneumonia, fizzled out.

By demonstrating that the public would acquiesce with rigorous enforcement of school vaccine mandates, the L.A. school system had a powerful influence on the country. President Jimmy Carter launched a national initiative to get measles and other recommended vaccines to all American children. Federal health officials twisted arms, shaming reluctant states, one by one, into tightening their vaccination rules. By 1981, 95% of U.S. schoolchildren had received the recommended vaccines. Over the next two decades, the U.S. nearly eliminated diseases like polio, rubella, measles and tetanus.

The Los Angeles Unified School District announced in September that it would exclude schoolkids 12 and older from campus on Jan. 10 unless they were vaccinated against covid-19. On Friday, however, the district decided to suspend the enforcement until next fall, according to school board member Jackie Goldberg. About 28,000 kids  roughly 14%  had yet to show proof of vaccination, she said. To provide those children with teachers for online learning would have deprived vaccinated kids at some schools of proper instruction, and "that wouldn't have been fair."

Goldberg, who grew up in the Inglewood section of Los Angeles, is troubled by vaccine hesitancy. She remembers the 1977 measles outbreak: "We were terrified. Kids were dying," she said. At the time, many Angelenos had no health care, and the county's free vaccination clinics were seen more as a gift than as what some consider them today  an imposition.

Before then, vaccination rates were low in Los Angeles for two reasons: Lower-income people couldn't afford or get access to vaccines, and many people were indifferent to the risks of measles, considering the disease a normal part of childhood since most children suffered no permanent effects. Some people were opposed to vaccines in general, but "they were thought to be kooks, and there were so few of them," said Dr. Peter Krause, a Yale University epidemiologist who worked on an outbreak of measles at the UCLA campus in 1977. Well into the 1990s, only about 0.5% of children in California were exempted from the vaccine requirements because their parents opposed or mistrusted vaccination.

What was different then? No social media, of course. And partisan politics played no role in vaccination rates. Dr. James Cherry, 91, who has taught in UCLA's pediatric infectious diseases department since 1973, can't recall meeting any anti-vaccine Republicans during the 1977 pandemic. He finds it remarkable to hear Govs. Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida fighting mandates aimed at stopping a virus that has killed more than 790,000 Americans.

"The thing just blows the mind," he told me. "Measles was bad, bad for a lot of reasons, but covid is a hell of a lot worse. And we could prevent virtually all deaths by vaccination."

Today, the clever use of social media by anti-vaccine activists has revealed the vulnerability of the vaccination effort. Public health departments are understaffed and overwhelmed by work and attacks of vitriol and violence. And fighting endemic infectious diseases has never been easy.

But now, the politics seem even messier than the disease, let alone the vaccines. Battles over covid vaccination mandates could ripple outward to threaten vaccine mandates long in place for diseases that are still deadly at worst, and costly nuisances at best.

Refusing mask and vaccine mandates has become integral to many Americans' identity, creating a base to which GOP politicians have responded.

Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), who fought for state laws to close loopholes that people opposed to vaccines used to avoid vaccinations against childhood diseases, is still hopeful reality will win out. But the process may look less like public consensus than an angry majority turning on anti-science rebels.

"People are going to get frustrated, tired of the persistence of these diseases, and there will be more general public pressure for mandates," he said. "The question is, 'How many people will die in the process?'"
Thought Leaders Dr. Georg Meisl Research Associate University of Cambridge

According to the WHO, more than 55 million people are currently living with dementia worldwide. In this interview, we spoke to Dr. Georg Meisl about his latest research that helped to identify the cause of Alzheimers progression.

Please can you tell us about what inspired your career in biophysical chemistry and how this led to your latest research into Alzheimers disease?

I trained as a physical chemist and wanted to apply myself to an important real-world problem. Neurodegenerative disease was an area where I felt I would be able to make a difference. The latest research has been made possible by over 10 years of work by myself and many others.

During this time we have gradually worked our way from being able to understand the processes that are important in neurodegenerative diseases first in the test tube and then in increasingly complex systems, such as cells and lab animals. Now we have for the first time been able to use the techniques we developed during this period to gain new insights into the disease directly from using patient data.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), currently more than 55 million people are living with dementia worldwide with Alzheimers disease contributing to 60-70% of these cases. Why is Alzheimers disease so common in today's world and why is new research into this disease critical?

We are getting better and better at managing other diseases often associated with age, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, and therefore dementia is gaining increasing attention.

We have not yet been able to develop effective treatments for the majority of dementias. Improving our understanding of these diseases will enable us to become better at designing drugs against them.

Image Credit: PopTika/Shutterstock.com

Despite Alzheimers disease having such a devastating effect on people worldwide, what causes its progression was unknown until now. Why has research into the mechanisms behind Alzheimers proven challenging?

It is a complicated process, likely involving many different factors. Research is further complicated by the fact that the disease takes decades to develop in humans. Such a long timescale is generally not feasible to reproduce in lab experiments, like lab animals or in the test tube, so they are often not great models of disease.

Can you describe how you carried out your latest research into Alzheimers disease? What did you discover?

We developed a mathematical model that allows us to analyze patient data, from many different methods of measuring disease progression, and thereby figure out what the most important mechanisms driving disease progression are. Being able to analyze patient data directly avoids the above-mentioned issues, but was previously not possible, because we had neither the right mathematical models nor detailed enough patient data.

We found that aggregates multiply exponentially, meaning one aggregate becomes two aggregates after a certain amount of time, which then becomes four after the same amount of time has passed again, then 8, and so on. It is this exponential multiplication step within brain regions that controls the speed of progression, rather than the spread of aggregates from one region to another.

Most research into Alzheimers disease has relied heavily on animal models but for your research you used post-mortem brain samples as well as PET scans from living patients. What were the advantages of using human data compared to animal models?

Lab animals are great for answering certain questions about disease. However, Alzheimers takes decades to develop in humans. Such a long timescale is generally not feasible to reproduce in lab animals, so they are often not great models of disease.

Ultimately, using human data wherever possible and lab animals where not, is likely the best strategy.

Image Credit: 3D rendering of a PET brain scan to quantify the amounts of tau protein aggregates. Credit Prof Keith Johnson and Justin Sanchez, Massachusetts General Hospital

How could your research also help in the development of new potential treatments?

The better our understanding of the mechanisms of disease the more likely we are to be able to develop drugs against it. We hope that the new insights into Alzheimers disease in this work, and the new approach of analyzing data more generally, will contribute towards improving our understanding of disease.

Do you believe that your research could also be used to help us better understand other neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's?

My mathematical models are aimed at helping us better analyze human data to get insights into disease mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases in general.

Parkinsons disease, as well as other rarer forms of dementia, should be amenable to this approach.

What are the next steps for you and your research?

Application of my mathematical models to other neurodegenerative diseases, and to better understand the early stage of Alzheimers disease, are projects we are currently undertaking. Much is still unknown in this space and being able to analyze human data in a way that gets at the underlying mechanisms of disease is an exciting prospect with transformational potential.

Where can readers find more information?

Popular science article I wrote about the work: https://theconversation.com/alzheimers-our-research-sheds-light-on-how-the-disease-progresses-in-the-brain-170683

The scientific paper: https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/sciadv.abh1448

About Dr. Georg Meisl

Dr. Georg Meisl is an Austrian chemist and biophysicist working at the University of Cambridge where he uses chemistry, physics, and mathematics to develop new approaches for answering important biological questions.

He started his work as a researcher of neurodegenerative diseases in 2011 and has since worked at the University Hospital in Zurich, at the University of Sydney, at Lund University, and been a Research Fellow at Sidney Sussex College Cambridge. He has co-authored over 70 scientific publications in this space and developed publically accessible software to allow his models to be used by experimental researchers.
Oanh Meyer was a postdoctoral fellow studying the experiences of caregivers for those with dementia in 2012 when her research took a very personal turn.

That year, her mother, a Vietnamese immigrant, began to show signs of dementia and paranoia that seemed to be linked to the trauma she had suffered during the long war in Vietnam, when bombing raids often drove her to hide underground and she lived in fear of Communist troops.

Growing up as a Vietnamese American, Meyer had noticed a reluctance to address mental health issues in her community, an issue she pursued in her studies. She conducted her doctoral research at the University of California-Davis on disparities in mental health care among Asian Americans.

Now an associate adjunct professor at the Alzheimer's Disease Center at UC Davis Health, Meyer, 45, is leading an investigation into the link between trauma and dementia in the Vietnamese community. With a $7.2 million grant from the National Institute on Aging, the five-year study, which could begin recruiting as early as this month, will follow more than 500 Vietnamese elders in Northern California, measuring how early life adversity, trauma and other factors correlate with memory and cognition.

When Vietnam's 20-year war ended with the fall of Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City, in 1975, the United States began evacuating the first of some 1.4 million Vietnamese immigrants. The links between post-traumatic stress disorder and dementia have been studied in other groups, but never in the Vietnamese American population, said Meyer.

Her mother, Anh Le, left the day before the fall of Saigon with her mother and several sisters. Meyer was born in New Jersey soon after, and the family later moved to Oklahoma and then California. Le was 76 when she started experiencing memory loss and paranoia. She was diagnosed with dementia in 2015.

We interviewed Meyer in her Davis home. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: How did you get interested in the link between trauma and dementia in the Vietnamese population?

In 2013, I did a small, qualitative study where I interviewed several family caregivers who were Vietnamese, and they were taking care of a family member with dementia.

I started hearing all these stories about the trauma that a large percentage of them had faced, or that their family members had faced. At the same time, I remember when my mom was going through her early stages, she was always very paranoid, and that's a symptom of the dementia. She was specifically paranoid about the Communist military being outside of her house. She would close all the shades and peek out the front door and make sure all the doors were locked.

That made me think: All this trauma that these Vietnamese people have faced throughout their lives, how is that influencing them now? The more I started doing the research, the more I found this link between trauma and PTSD and dementia.

Q: Have there been studies of dementia in Vietnamese Americans?

We don't know anything about the number of Vietnamese people with dementia. This would be the first look into what this population looks like.

Hopefully, in the future, we can look at demographic shifts and changes and see, has dementia changed over time? We're hoping to start building some knowledge about this population and the prevalence of cognitive impairment and dementia.

Q: What makes this a good time to study this issue?

A lot of the Vietnamese who came to the U.S. are now becoming older adults. And so those individuals now are at the age where they would likely get dementia if they were going to.

Q: What do you find most interesting about this study?

Their trauma was related to the war and it lasted throughout their early lives. So we can look at the timing of trauma and also tie that to dementia. And then we can look at people who faced that trauma but dont have any cognitive impairment and look at what factors differentiate these groups of people who all pretty much underwent some type of trauma. There might be some resilience factors.

Q: What are you hoping the impact of this study will be?

If we can find a link between early-life trauma for the Vietnamese population and dementia, we can get a sense of who might be at risk. We can help those individuals and maybe their family caregivers.

I think it can help us understand the health of refugees in general. There's such a growing population of refugees continuing to come to the U.S.  from Afghanistan, for example. Being able to understand the Vietnamese experience could help us understand other experiences of refugees, and some of the cognitive health issues that might come up for those populations in the future.

Q: Asian Americans face a lot of barriers to accessing mental health services. Is this true of Vietnamese immigrants who need dementia care?

With mental health and with dementia, there is this stigma. I worked with Vietnamese family members who were caregivers and they were like, nobody wants to talk about it. There's this kind of unspoken rule that you just don't talk about things that can bring shame to the family.

There's this model-minority stereotype that suggests that Asian Americans came here, they had nothing, and they worked really hard and now they're doing really great. But there's a lot of heterogeneity even within what you think of as Asian American Pacific Islander. So I think what happens is that groups that are not doing well don't get the support that they need, whether it's in terms of funding or services.

Q: How have you seen this play out with your mother?

When she started showing the signs and symptoms, we tried to talk to her about it and she just felt like, "Oh, its just a normal part of aging. Its nothing serious." And I remember talking to her primary care physician about it, too. He was this older Vietnamese man and he didnt really make a big deal out of it.

Sometimes primary care physicians dont have training in Alzheimers and dementia. So either he did not recognize it or culturally he was trying to save face for her and not cause her to feel distress by giving her a diagnosis.

Q: It must be hard to cope with your mom having experienced trauma and now also having dementia.

It definitely can be hard. But I think I just put on my scientist hat and just try to remember, "Oh, these are the behavioral manifestations of this illness." Its very challenging and stressful, and thats why caregivers need a lot of support. But I think having my research and just trying to remind myself of whats happening at a neurological or biological level helps, for sure.

This story was produced by KHN, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.
Introduction

Hanoi Medical University Hospital (HMUH) in Vietnam is a general hospital that forms a part of Hanoi Medical University. The hospital was established in 2007 and specializes in medical care and treatment, training, research, and international cooperation. Hanoi Medical University Hospital has more than 400 beds and receives more than 500,000 outpatient visits every year. It is consequently one of the largest and busiest hospitals in Northern Vietnam.

The dedicated hospital laboratory at Hanoi Medical University Hospital requires a high analytic throughput of clinical samples to support the diagnosis and treatment of the hundreds of thousands of patients seeking healthcare. Each year the laboratory performs 2,700,000 immune and chemistry tests.

It is thus paramount that the analysis of clinical samples is conducted with speed to minimize the delay in the provision of test results to physicians and patients. However, high testing throughput must be achieved without compromising quality. The data provided by the laboratory is often critical in determining the treatment a patient receives, and so accuracy is paramount. To optimize the number of tests undertaken per day whilst ensuring reliability, the hospital laboratory uses the latest analytical technology to evaluate the samples it receives.

Want to Learn More?Learn more about how Automated QC can reduce hands on time in your facility

The Atellica Laboratory Diagnostics Solution is a key example, with its automatic quality control (QC) function freeing up the time of laboratory technicians to process more samples for testing. The gains in productivity and efficiency achieved through automated quality control by the Atellica Laboratory Diagnostics Solution directly benefit patients' healthcare at the Hanoi Medical University Hospital since diagnoses can be made sooner and treatment adjustments made promptly.

Quality Control

Quality Control (QC) processes are essential in any testing environment for detecting any potential errors in the testing system. This is particularly critical in the hospital laboratory where the results obtained can directly influence a patient's management.

Laboratory testing of patient samples can be a complex procedure, depending on clinical analysis, microbiological study, or blood bank testing, in addition to the usual facets of laboratory analysis. There are many opportunities for the introduction of artifacts during sample collection, preanalytical handling, and storage of the samples.

The impact of preanalytical factors on test results has been reported in multiple cases1,2. Quality control analyses are thus vital to confirm the quality and integrity of the samples received for testing so that the precision and accuracy of patient sample results can be assured.

Quality control analyses are also critical for identifying potential errors in patient results arising during the testing protocol  these including reagent matrix effects as well as calibration misalignment within the testing function. Maintaining accurate and frequent checks of laboratory sample testing through quality control is vital to ensuring that patient testing is performed correctly and produces accurate results. Repeated quality control testing is a fundamental aspect of testing and adds to the time required to provide results.

The Atellica Laboratory Diagnostics Solution with Auto-QC function system offers considerable time saving, increasing laboratory staff productivity. In addition, it allows labor and consumable costs to be reduced by 85% per year and obviates the need for manual interference, which carries the risk of error. Together these labor-saving functions significantly reduce the lead-time to patient results being provided.

References
Introduction

Surat Thani Hospital is the main hospital of Surat Thani Province in Thailand. It houses 660 beds and a Medical Education Center that trains doctors for the Faculty of Medicine of Thammasat University.

As a public hospital, it is required to analyze numerous samples for diagnostic and disease monitoring purposes. It is estimated that the hospital laboratory conducts around 1.5 million tests per year. A wide range of different analyses is conducted, requiring many different reagents. It is vital that a continuous supply of all the necessary reagents is maintained to avoid any unnecessary delay in the provision of test results.

It is vital that an accurate record of all reagents being used and delivered is maintained to know how much each reagent is available in-house at any time. With numerous analyses being conducted all the time, maintaining such an inventory is a challenging and time-consuming task. The task is compounded by the need to ensure that reagents are used in the correct order to avoid keeping reagents beyond their expiry date.

On switching to the Atellica Solution analytical system, the Surat Thani Hospital benefited from a huge gain in the availability of laboratory staff as the immense burden of manually maintaining the inventory was removed. The Atellica Solution Inventory Manager1 uses barcodes on all reagents to provide ongoing, automated real-time tracking of each reagent that is used and supplied.

Atellica Solution with Inventory Manager

The Atellica Solution2 provides scalable, automation-ready immunoassay and clinical chemistry analyzers featuring patented bidirectional magnetic sample-transport technology. The broad assay menu combined with the flexibility to create over 300 customizable configurations, means the system can be readily used to meet a wide range of clinical testing requirements.

Used in conjunction with the Inventory Manager, it provides real-time status of the levels of stock of reagents and consumables across multiple laboratory locations. It thus enables streamlined workflow management across several teams to ensure effective usage and restocking of supplies. This automated manual inventory management facility obviates the need for manual checks, freeing up laboratory staff to be more productive. Specifically, the Atellica Solution saved 54% of total time invested per month in inventory management. The Atellica Solution Inventory Manager thus enables improved use of resources and personnel time, resulting in cost savings, and improved laboratory quality.

Atellica Inventory Manager uses automatic detection of stock usage and prioritizes utilization according to the earliest expiry date. In addition, auto adjustment to the required inventory level is now possible. A rapid inventory check, achieved through scanning reagent boxes in the refrigerator, eliminates the need for manual counting and simplifies inventory check-in, check-out, consumption tracking, and ordering using cloud-based software and radio frequency identification (RFID) technology.

The software ensures that optimal inventory levels are maintained at all times by initiating automated order processes based on stock usage and other customized criteria. The system can be applied to any reagent or consumable in the laboratory, providing complete control.

At the Surat Thani Hospital, inventory management had always been conducted manually. In addition to the ongoing demand on resources to undertake the necessary inventory checks, errors were starting to be identified.

These errors in inventory checks were most likely a consequence of staff being under pressure to complete the inventory assessment as quickly as possible in order to spend as little time as possible away from productive tasks. This highlighted the need to find a solution for maintaining the inventory more easily.

Want to Know More? Want to learn more about all of the ways Atellica Solution can help your laboratory? Click here

The extensive manual work of managing the inventory was felt particularly hard at Surat Thani Hospital, where there was already limited laboratory staff available to meet the vast testing demand.

To address this workflow issue, Atellica Solution with Inventory Manager1,2 was installed at the hospital. This eliminated the need for much of the previously required manual labor, enabling staff to focus on processing the clinical samples sent to them for analysis and provide clinicians with the results more quickly. As a result, this case study observed a 66% improvement in productivity among hospital laboratory technologies.

All new reagents and consumables delivered to the hospital were pre-labeled with an RFID barcode that could be scanned easily. This enabled automated check-in as the software updated the lot numbers, expiration dates and date received. The records were automatically updated as products were used, so it was clear when stock levels required replenishing. Furthermore, there was no longer the risk of reagents being wasted due to being stored beyond the expiry date.

Atellica Solution with Inventory Manager provided Surat Thani Hospital with double benefit; it freed up staff resources to focus on sample testing and streamlined the inventory management process, removing the risk of errors during inventory checks. As a consequence, Atellica achieved a 9 out of 10 net promoter score. This customer experience metric reflects the success the solution had within the customers unique hospital setting and indicates the potential rewards it could have applied elsewhere.

This demonstrates how the multiple features of the Atellica solution can address workflow issues in the laboratory. The system has the potential to transform care delivery in laboratory diagnostics; it can save time, improve productivity and reduce manual interference with its associated risk of error and artifacts.

References
(Newser)  Laurie Steves made the drive alone from Port Orchard, Wash., to San Francisco this May. Kind of. As Heather Knight writes in a lengthy story for the San Francisco Chronicle, she had the ashes of her son Zachary in the car. The 25-year-old had died of a fentanyl and ketamine overdose five months prior, and Laurie was determine to spare one of her other children from the same fate. In San Francisco, Jessica DiDia awaited. And who knows what else. Laurie hadn't seen her in 9 years, and the 34-year-old was homeless and addicted to fentanyl. After a weeks-long search the two finally reconnect, but their meetings are fraught, and by the end of July, Laurie realizes her daughter didn't want to get clean. Jessica has been using drugs since her teens but tells Knight the first time she tried fentanyl was in 2019, an experience in which she overdosed and was saved by cops who injected her with Narcan eight times.

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She kept on using, and says she has OD'd no less than 50 times. Knight follows Laurie and Jessica's story, but she also places it into the context of San Francisco and the criticism the city has gotten about not doing enough to get dealers off the streets and get the addicted help. She writes, "In 2020, 712 people died of drug overdoses, compared with 257 who lost their lives to COVID-19, 48 who were victims of homicide and 30 who lost their lives in traffic collisions. When the pandemic struck, just about the entire city government flew into action, but the drug crisis had seen comparatively little response." Or, as Jessica puts it, "You get by with doing drugs and suffer no consequences. I like it here." (Read the full story for much more.)
(Newser)  Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa tested positive Sunday for COVID after coming down with mild symptoms. He felt a little under the weather after a memorial service for former Deputy President FW De Klerk, and is now being cared for by the South African Military Health Service, per an official statement. Ramaphosa, who is fully vaccinated, tested negative after returning from a tour of West Africa on Dec. 8, CNN reports. Hes now isolating in Cape Town until doctors give him the all-clear. President Ramaphosa says his own infection serves as a caution to all people in the country to be vaccinated and remain vigilant against exposure, the statement read.

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Members of Ramaphosas delegation on the trip tested positive for COVID in Nigeria and returned to South Africa, USA Today reports. South African scientists identified the omicron variant that appears to be fueling another wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Those scientists say they dont believe the variant is causing more severe illness, per Reuters. More than 70% of the 18,000 new cases reported are believed to be from the omicron variant. However, the sharp increase in cases hasnt come with a sharp demand for oxygen. Ramaphosa remains in good spirits, according to the statement, which cautions South Africans that vaccination remains the best protection against severe illness and hospitalization. (Read more South African President Cyril Ramphosa stories.)
(Newser)  Six people died in an Amazon warehouse in Illinois on Friday when six states were hit by a devastating swarm of tornadoes. Austin J. McEwen, 26, was a cargo driver for the company who was sheltering with colleagues in a bathroom when he was killed, Reuters reports. Employees tell the news outlet that's where supervisors told them to take shelter as emergency alerts started rolling in. Some employees also say they got those alerts on their cellphones, which they had kept with them despite a company policy prohibiting them doing so, but Amazon disputes that and says there is no such policy. The mother of another victim, 29-year-old Clayton Cope, tells the Daily Beast she urged him to take shelter, but "he just said he needed to tell someone that [the tornado] was coming."

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Larry Virden, 46, also died at the warehouse. His girlfriend of 13 years tells the New York Post he was not allowed to leave until the storm blew over. "We heard the tornado didnt touch down until 8:39 so he had 20 minutes to get home," she says. "I told him where we live, it was only lightning at the time. After that, I got nothing from him." She says she doesn't blame the company for the death of Virden, a father of four, "but its that what-if situation: what if they would have let him leave? He could have made it home." The other warehouse victims have been identified as Illinois resident Kevin D. Dickey, 62, and Missouri residents Deandre S. Morrow, 28, and Etheria S. Hebb, 24. MEAWW has more on the victims here. No one else is believed to be missing in the warehouse, KIRO 7 reports. Meanwhile, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos released a statement on the devastation only after social media outcry. (Read more tornado stories.)
(Newser)  You may have read a review or two by a food critic panning a restaurant. It's a safe bet you've never read a review quite as scathing or memorable as the one by travel writer Geraldine DeRuiter at her blog The Everywhereist. The headline provides a sense: "We Eat at The Worst Michelin Starred Restaurant, Ever," it reads. The distinction goes to the restaurant Bros in Lecce, Italy, which does indeed have a coveted Michelin star. For the record, the chef is defending the experience as something akin to abstract art. The details:

The review: DeRuiter and friends went to the restaurant for dinner and were served 27 "courses" over more than four hours. She sets the parameter early: "Im not talking about a meal thats poorly cooked, or a server who might be planning your murderthat sort of thing happens in the fat lump of the bell curve of bad," she writes. "Instead, Im talking about the long tail stuffthe sort of meals that make you feel as though the fabric of reality is unraveling."

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The courses: They included edible paper slivers, dollops of "meat molecules" served via eyedroppers, "frozen air" (which melted before it could be eaten), shots of vinegar, a tablespoon of crab, and fried cheese balls with what the servers emphasized was "rancid" ricotta, per Today and the Washington Post. At one point, they were served "reconstituted orange slices" alongside actual orange slices, but the latter were only for decoration and not to be eaten, per the CBC. DeRuiter writes that she felt like she "was a character in a Dickensian novel. BecauseI cannot impart this enoughthere was nothing even close to an actual meal served."

They included edible paper slivers, dollops of "meat molecules" served via eyedroppers, "frozen air" (which melted before it could be eaten), shots of vinegar, a tablespoon of crab, and fried cheese balls with what the servers emphasized was "rancid" ricotta, per Today and the Washington Post. At one point, they were served "reconstituted orange slices" alongside actual orange slices, but the latter were only for decoration and not to be eaten, per the CBC. DeRuiter writes that she felt like she "was a character in a Dickensian novel. BecauseI cannot impart this enoughthere was nothing even close to an actual meal served." Weirdest part: That would be the "chef's kiss," meaning citrus foam served in a plaster cast of the chef's mouth, without utensils. The latter detail is crucial because it meant patrons had to "slurp" the foam out of the fake mouth with their own mouths.

That would be the "chef's kiss," meaning citrus foam served in a plaster cast of the chef's mouth, without utensils. The latter detail is crucial because it meant patrons had to "slurp" the foam out of the fake mouth with their own mouths. Chef's defense: After the review went viral, various outlets reached out to Chef Floriano Pellegrino, and he responded with a rudimentary drawing of a horse, a famous painting of a horse, and then a piece of abstract art. See it in full here. "Being able to draw a man on a horse does not make you an artist," he writes. "The result of your talent can be beautiful to look at, but it is not art." It eventually concludes: "Contemporary art does not provide you with answers, but offers you great questions. Contemporary cuisine should do the same."

After the review went viral, various outlets reached out to Chef Floriano Pellegrino, and he responded with a rudimentary drawing of a horse, a famous painting of a horse, and then a piece of abstract art. See it in full here. "Being able to draw a man on a horse does not make you an artist," he writes. "The result of your talent can be beautiful to look at, but it is not art." It eventually concludes: "Contemporary art does not provide you with answers, but offers you great questions. Contemporary cuisine should do the same." Critic responds: DeRuiter tells the CBC she is "delighted" by the chef's response. "Once I step away from the hilarity of it, I do believe that he is making a rather legitimate statement about the nature of art, inherently," she says. Then again: "Is food inherently art? And if so, what role does the patron play in that? And can we completely disregard the patron if we are a chef? And can we say what the patron believes is entirely unimportant?"

DeRuiter tells the CBC she is "delighted" by the chef's response. "Once I step away from the hilarity of it, I do believe that he is making a rather legitimate statement about the nature of art, inherently," she says. Then again: "Is food inherently art? And if so, what role does the patron play in that? And can we completely disregard the patron if we are a chef? And can we say what the patron believes is entirely unimportant?" Cost: The check for the party of eight was more than $1,500, notes the Post. No word on the size, or even existence, of a tip.

(Read more Michelin star stories.)
(Newser)  We all agree, for the most part, that the spread of misinformation has worsened today's politics and handling of contemporary health issues like COVID. What we may not all agree on, however, is the role that social media plays in promoting that spread. Andrew Bosworth, for instance, a longtime Facebook executive who's set to become chief technology officer of parent company Meta in 2022, blames society, not his social network, for magnifying the problem. "Individual humans are the ones who choose to believe or not believe a thing," Bosworth said during a Sunday interview with Axios on HBO. "They are the ones who choose to share or not share a thing."

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Bosworth was asked specifically about Facebook's role in exacerbating vaccine hesitancy in the age of COVID, a question that made him bristle. "That's their choice," he said of Facebook users who opt to listen to bad information from family and friends rather than credible sources. "They are allowed to do that. You have an issue with those people. You don't have an issue with Facebook. You can't put that on me." He added that even if Facebook pumped "every single dollar" it had into fighting misinformation on its channels, someone would still find a way to exploit the system.

Insider cites two reports from September that shed light on the problem. One shows that troll operations working ahead of the 2020 election got their misinformation out to about 140 million Americans, while the second found that Facebook posts originating from iffy sources saw six times more user engagement than posts coming from reputable news sources. Still, Bosworth suggests it's a supply-and-demand issue that Facebook can't, and shouldn't, fully control. "People want that information," he said. "I don't believe that the answer is 'I will deny these people the information they seek and I will enforce my will upon them.' At some point the onus is, and should be in any meaningful democracy, on the individual." Watch his take here. (Read more Meta stories.)
(Newser)  If you're vying to become Miss Universe, it's expected you'll have to wear a swimsuit, brag about your accomplishments, and answer some questions. During Sunday's competition in Eilat, Israel, Miss India was instead thrown by a rather unusual request from host Steve Harvey. "I hear you do some pretty good animal impersonations," Harvey said to a baffled Harnaaz Sandhu, per Insider. "Let's hear your best one."

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Sandhu, 21, was surprised by the ask"Oh, my God, Steve, I was not expecting to do this on the world stage," she told Harveybut obliged with some cat's meows into the mic, after telling the audience to "brace yourself, everyone." "I have to do this, I have no other option," she "joked," per Insider, which notes her meows were "impressive."

The request made to Sandhu, who has long been an advocate for women's rights, specifically around the issues of health and hygiene at camps, stood in stark contrast to those made of other contestants, including Brenda Smith, the contender from Panama who spoke of nabbing a job at the United Nations, and Emma Collingridge, the UK's representative, who talked about her fight against gender-based violence after being inspired by Medusa's origin story.

Twitter responded immediately to Harvey's request with snark and criticism. "Dude ... A cat A CAT," one remarked. CNN notes that Sandhu did get the chance to offer a more intellectual response later in the competition regarding her thoughts on climate change, and her answer apparently served her well: She was crowned the winner of the night. Harvey has seen Miss Universe controversy before: In 2015, he was the subject of online outrage after initially announcing that Ariadna Gutierrez from Colombia was the winner, when she was really the first runner-up, per USA Today. That year's winner was actually Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach. (Read more Miss Universe stories.)
(Newser)  Some hospitals facing staff shortages and surges in COVID cases have decided that unvaccinated workers are better than no workers. Hospital operators, including some of America's largest, have been dropping vaccine mandates to retain or attract workers, the Wall Street Journal reports. President Biden's workplace vaccine mandate has been frozen in court since last month and the American Hospital Association estimates that only around 42% of US hospitals currently have COVID vaccine mandates in place, despite studies that link higher vaccination rates to fewer COVID deaths at health facilities including nursing homes.

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Wade Symons at consulting firm Mercer tells the Journal that the health-care industry has seen a "mass exodus" of thousands of nurses who don't want to get vaccinated, and facilities without mandates "could be a magnet for those people." HCA, Advent, and Tenet are among the hospital operators that suspended vaccine mandates after the court decision last month. Others have kept theirs in place, including Kaiser Permanente, which fired 352 employees last week. Some operators say they were short-staffed even before the pandemic and it would be devastating to lose large numbers of employees over vaccine mandates.

John Palmer with the Ohio Hospital Association says several hospital systems in the state have suspended mandates while they wait to see how court cases involving the federal mandate play out. He tells WOSU that vaccination rates are high among hospital employees. For those that remain unvaccinated, hospitals are looking at increasing COVID testing requirements for workers dealing with patients and restricting areas where employees can go. "Those are some of the precautions that hospitals are going to be looking at doing and then obviously waiting on the outcome of what happens at these lawsuits and where hospitals, as employers, can make decisions," Palmer says. (Read more COVID-19 stories.)
(Newser)  Two people were arrested after cargo ships collided in the Baltic Sea near Sweden, causing the smaller one to capsize. The body of one crew member of the capsized Danish boat, the Karin Hoej, was found inside. The other crew member is missing. A distress call was made around 3:30am Monday. An airplane, a helicopter, and at least 11 boats and ships searched until the effort was called off Monday night, the AP reports. "It is very cold and dark," said a spokesman for the Swedish Maritime Administration, with water and air temperatures of about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Screams could be heard from the water after the collision, he said. The chief rescue official said the Karin Hoej appeared as if it had been run over.

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The larger craft is a British ship, the Scot Carrier. One of the people detained is British, the other Croatian. Swedish coast guard officials told the BBC there are "some criminal suspicions, including gross drunkenness at sea" involving the Scot Carrier. The cause of the accident wasn't clear, officials said, though there was fog in the area. Efforts to turn the Karin Hoej upright, helped by the Scot Carrier, failed, and the Danish ship was towed to shore by the coast guard, per World Cargo News. In Sweden, a conviction for causing death by gross negligence brings a prison sentence of up to six years. The Karin Hoej, which had no cargo aboard at the time, was headed to a port in southern Denmark. The Scot Carrier was on its way to the east coast of Scotland. (Read more cargo ships stories.)
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The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister has directed the Housing Ministry to distribute 2,000 housing units to Bahraini citizens before the end of the month.

The ministry will begin implementing the royal order to make necessary preparations for the distribution of the units in East Sitra City, Khalifa City, Salman City and East Hidd City, starting from today.

HRH Prince Salman announced at the weekly Cabinet meeting which he chaired at Gudaibiya Palace.

It is part of the royal orders framework to build 40,000 housing units for Bahraini families across the Kingdom.

The announcement coincides with the celebrations of the Kingdom of Bahrains 50th National Day and the 22nd anniversary of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifas ascension to the throne on Thursday and Friday, 16 and 17 December, respectively.

The Cabinet extended its congratulations to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and HRH Prince Salman on the celebration of National Day, in commemoration of the establishment of the modern Bahraini state during the era of its founder, Ahmed Al Fateh, as well as the anniversary of His Majestys Accession to the Throne.

The Cabinet also congratulated Bahraini citizens on this national occasion, praising the Kingdoms comprehensive achievements led by HM King Hamad.

It commended the outcomes of the talks held by His Majesty the King and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, noting the importance of the latters visit to Bahrain and its role in further bolstering bilateral relations.

The talks affirmed the united position of the two Kingdoms towards various regional and international issues and developments.

The Cabinet lauded the outcomes of the second meeting of the Saudi-Bahraini Coordination Council, co-chaired by HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister and HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The Council aims to improve integration between the two Kingdoms across various fields within the framework of well-established bilateral relations.

In this regard, the Cabinet outlined the topics addressed during the Saudi-Bahraini Coordination Council which includes; a package of major investment projects in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the investment of $5 billion from several Saudi authorities and funds in development projects within the Kingdom.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

BNP Paribas Middle East & Africa announced the appointment of Rami Falah as General Manager of BNP Paribas Bahrain Conventional Retail Branch (CRB) with immediate effect.

Rami will also continue as Head of Islamic Banking, for BNP Paribas Middle East & Africa.

He reports to Amine Bel Hadj Soulami, CEO, BNP Paribas Middle East & Africa, based out of the regional Headquarters in Bahrain.

Rami Falah, a Bahraini national, initially joined BNP Paribas in 2004 as a Senior Relationship Manager.

He was promoted to Head of Islamic Banking in 2006, a position he has held since.

He began his career with Arab Bank as a Junior Credit Analyst, Compliance & Credit Control in 1996, before becoming a Relationship Manager within the financial institution's department.

Amine Bel Hadj Soulami, Head of BNP Paribas Middle East & Africa said Over the past 17 years, Rami Falah has significantly contributed to BNP Paribas.

As Head of Islamic Banking, Middle East & Africa, he has worked on landmark international deals, overseeing everything from product design to delivery, in the service of sustaining and deepening our relationships with our Islamic Finance clients.

He has the right capabilities to support our business in Bahrain, and drive further growth across our corporate and institutional activities. 
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

LuLu Hypermarket announced its support to the national Forever Green campaign recently launched under the patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, Wife of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, President of the National Initiative for Agricultural Development (NIAD).

The campaign aims to expand green areas in Bahrain and contribute to the fight against climate change.

Starting December 12, LuLu customers can support the nationwide campaign for the greening of Bahrain by purchasing a tree or shrub cutting from a specially chosen selection of plants that are conducive to growth in Bahrain climate.

As part of their support of the campaign, LuLu customers will get one plant cutting free for every purchase.

This special offer will run till December 31, 2021, at all the LuLu hypermarkets across the Kingdom.

In this connection, the campaign and a Farmers Market was inaugurated at Lulus Dana Mall by the Secretary-General of NIAD, Shaikha Maram Al Khalifa.

The grand green inauguration of the LuLu Forever Green initiative is part of its support for local agricultural initiatives and Bahraini farmers.

The Farmers Market will feature fresh produce  vegetables, herbs, fruits and eggs as well as dairy products from Bahraini farms which are today at the peak of their production season.

Shaikha Maram expressed her sincere thanks to LuLu Group for joining the national campaign and for their continued support of Bahraini Farmers.

She also emphasized how much of a difference this collaboration has made in improving the skills of farmers who now focus on growing products based on demand and feedback from retailers like LuLu Hyper Market.

LuLu Hypermarket is deeply aware that it can make a huge difference to Bahrains climate with sustainable initiatives such as the Forever Green campaign and support of Bahraini farmers, said LuLu Group Director, Juzer Rupawala.

We see this as an opportunity to partner with the NIAD which is doing amazing work under the patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, Wife of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, President of NIAD Consultative Council, to help the Kingdom achieve its agricultural goals that are consistent with the 13th and 14th sustainable development goals.
NEWTOWN - As the damage caused by the coronavirus crisis became apparent in the behavior of school kids early this year, a Sandy Hook nonprofit saw an opportunity to highlight its peer-based programs about red-flag behavior to a captive national audience.

What family hadnt felt the effects of isolation and disorientation when schools went remote and kids were confined to the home during the pandemic lockdown?

Suddenly Sandy Hook Promises signature Know the Signs programs about spotting early clues of a youth in crisis could be applied to wider mental health problems beyond school-based violence.

The group released a trio of provocative PSAs, advocating its programs for youths in pandemic distress, and urging early intervention before the turmoil led to harm of self or others.

We came out with a set of PSAs called The Kids Are Not Alright because we started to see a significant increase of life-safety tips coming into our life crisis center in Miami, said Nicole Hockley, co-founder and CEO of Sandy Hook Promise, whose first-grade son was among the 26 victims of the Sandy Hook massacre. Kids were saying every day on our anonymous reporting system, Im stuck at home, Its not a safe place, Im getting abused here, Im dealing with stress on a daily basis.

Hockleys hope as she faces the ninth remembrance on Tuesday of the day in 2012 when 20 first graders and six educators were slain at Sandy Hook Elementary School is that awareness of red flag signs will increase to the point where peers intervene early in the trajectory of a youths crisis, before the youth has developed a plan and the means to carry it out.

This is why we talk about upstream violence prevention, Hockley said.

Tuesdays anniversary comes at a time of heightened awareness about school-based violence after a fatal shooting in Michigan left four teenagers dead. Connecticut has seen a wave of school-based threats and several incidents of violence, including a stabbing at Hamden High School and reports of gunfire at Danbury High School that were unfounded. In Norwalk, a series of non-credible threats against Norwalk High has prompted increased police presence.

Police have responded with increased presence at affected schools, including Newtown High School, where a discarded piece of paper was found with a concerning reference to the Sandy Hook shooting. The school said no credible threat to staff or students existed.

Even so, Newtown schools will break with the tradition to have class as usual on the anniversary, and opt to conduct class remotely on Tuesday to avoid a repeat of 2018, when a bomb threat on Dec. 14 forced the evacuation of Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Hockley said the coronavirus crisis was continuing to vex school kids who are trying to reconnect with each other after losing a year of school to remote learning.

Gov. Ned Lamont agrees.

Last week, Lamont linked the wave of threats and school-based violence with mental health stress and the upheaval of social lives caused by the coronavirus, saying the COVID pandemic has caused rising tensions among youths.

Lamont and the state education department pledged Connecticuts resources to any district in need.

Meanwhile in Newtown for parents of loss such as Hockley there is no escaping the pain of the hardest day on the calendar.

On the one hand, she said, her heart will never heal. On the other hand, she said, her spirit can draw strength from living with purpose.

The murder of our children is something we are never going to recover from; were always going to be triggered and react, Hockley said. However, we can make sure that our childrens legacy is in the saving of lives of other children, even though I would much rather have my son back.

rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342
DANBURY  A late resident has donated more than $142,000 to the citys career fire department.

The donation from Ruth M. Pearce came as a surprise to the Danbury Fire Department, Chief Richard Thode said. Hes not sure exactly how the department will use the donation, but expects itll go toward community programs and firefighter safety in respect for Ruth and her brother that some members worked with, he said.

The department may put the money toward smoke or carbon monoxide alarms for the community, he said.

This womans generosity to her community should turn full circle in something getting back to the safety of the community, Thode said.

Pearce died at 80 in March 2020 and was predeceased by her parents and brother James, according to her obituary. She bequeathed the money to the fire department as part of her will, according to a letter to the chief.

Paul Rotello, the City Council minority leader, called the donation extraordinary.

This is not a wealthy woman, he said. This is not a foundation. This is a personal gift for a woman who had very personal reasons to support the fire department.
H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media

DANBURY  A woman has been charged in connection with the fatal overdose of a city resident, police said.

On July 3, police started investigating the death of a 22-year-old Danbury resident who died from a drug overdose involving several substances, including fentanyl, according to the Danbury Police Department.
After four years in a Washington state prison for first-degree burglary, Chelsey Johnson learned she was eligible for a work-release program that would shave the final year off her sentence.

She was excited by the prospect, but also scared. Then 31, she had spent half her life either doing drugs or doing time.

"I knew I needed to make massive changes," Johnson said. "The whole time in prison I didn't get into any trouble. I got my GED and graduated from their college program. But I'd never done anything on my own before."

She turned to Carolyn Presnell, a fellow inmate she befriended who was released shortly after Johnson arrived.

At that time in 2019, Presnell was a house manager with Weld Seattle. The nonprofit operates a sober transitional housing program for people who have been incarcerated or those recovering from addiction. Residents live in properties donated by real estate developers who are awaiting permitting or demolition.

That Presnell also had been incarcerated was no coincidence. The entire Weld Seattle staff has been a part of the population it serves.

For the first six months, Johnson had to wear an ankle monitor and report regularly to a corrections officer. Weld Seattle helped her navigate a strict schedule and plan her future.

"We had house meetings every week, where we always made three goals," Johnson said. "I needed to get my license back. I needed credit cards. I needed to pay off fines. I needed to buy a car. They helped me to transition to life out in the world in little baby steps by teaching me how to set goals and hold myself accountable."

After half a year, Johnson went on to manage her own Weld Seattle house. During the 18 months she was with Weld, she bought a car and got a job at a restaurant, where she's now a general manager.

Her success story isn't the norm.

Laws, regulations and other restrictions make it difficult for people with criminal records to secure jobs and housing, with homelessness 10 times more common among people released from state prisons than the general public, according to a 2018 report from the research and advocacy nonprofit Prison Policy Initiative.

And a history of structural racism in the criminal justice system has disproportionately affected Hispanic people and especially Black people, who are more likely to receive longer sentences than white people, according to a 2020 report on structural racism and health disparities from the American Heart Association.

Within three years, an estimated 68% of people released from state prisons are rearrested, according to a 2018 report from the Department of Justice. But among the more than 300 people who have gone through the Weld Seattle housing program since it started in 2017, less than 3% have been rearrested, and 60% have moved directly to permanent housing.

"Our success rates are things of myth, but a lot of the reason is baked into our structure" to help people stay sober and reintegrate into society, said Jody Bardacke, Weld Seattle's housing program manager.

"We have a lot of rules, including that everyone is in some kind of a recovery program," he said. "We have weekly meetings and a lot of group discussion. But the reality of it is that most of the work lies with the individual, and we're really clear about that."

Like all staff members, Bardacke knows from experience. He was briefly jailed and has spent time in rehab programs for drug and alcohol addiction and transitional housing.

Weld Seattle residents, who pay $500 a month in membership dues, sometimes stay for only a couple months, while others stay up to a year or go on to become house managers for up to two more years.

The nonprofit also runs a jobs program and is the leading partner in the 1426 Project, a resource center providing help with housing, jobs, legal issues and health and wellness to people re-entering the community after incarceration. It is due to open in 2022, with Presnell as director.

Weld Seattle recently received a grant for the housing program through funding from the AHA's Bernard J. Tyson Impact Fund, which invests in local, evidence-based efforts to reduce social and economic barriers to health equity.

For Johnson, Weld Seattle's support led her not only to find housing and work, but also a reconnection with her family, whose trust she finally regained.

"You can't be in that program and not fall in love with it," she said. "They understand where you're coming from, what you're going through and how to get you going again."

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BROOKFIELD  There has been a hazmat spill at the Candlewood Lake School Construction Site in town, according to a release. No one was placed at risk from the spill, the town said.

On Friday afternoon, Dec. 10, Brookfield leadership was informed of a hydraulic fluid spill caused by a burst hose from a concrete pump truck on the site of the new school project, which led to a leak of an estimated 5 to 15 gallons of hydraulic fluid located to the far northwest corner of the property, at the new Candlewood Lake Elementary School construction site on the Huckleberry Hill School property, according to a report on the towns website Sunday evening.

At no time were students, staff or neighbors placed at risk from the spill, the report said.

After identifying the leak was in fact hydraulic fluid, the owners project manager, Rob Tencza of Arcadis Inc., notified the owners construction manager, Gus Kotait of O&G Industries and the Town of Brookfield land use offices, both of which responded immediately, according to the release.

The Brookfield land use office reported the spill to the fire marshal, the fire chief and volunteer fire department, all dispatched to help contain the fluid, according to the report.

The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection emergency response coordinator and Moran Environmental, of Newtown, deployed to the site and were on the scene within 45 minutes of notification, the report said.

The spill was kept contained to a limited area by the fire department through the use of absorbent pads and booms, and the fluid on the grounds surface was quickly picked up by vacuum trucks operated by MER. The success of this cleanup operation was a direct result of a collaborative effort which relied heavily on interagency cooperation, according to the report.

Brookfield's Schools' Facilities Director Dan Caldwell, and Brookfields Chief Sanitarian Paul Avery consulted directly with Licensed Operator, Water Systems Specialties RD Lemay about the schools water systems and subsequently made notification to the Connecticut Department of Public Health of the incident, the report said.

The wells that service the school are not in the vicinity of the spill, so Huckleberry Hill Elementary School is deemed safe for students and staff on Monday, Dec. 13. Neighboring wells are sufficiently far enough away so as not to be a health concern, the report said.

State and local officials will be onsite on Monday to collect soil samples, direct any additional mitigation measures and to review and direct the scope of soil removal and remediation to protection of local wetlands and water sources, the report said.

Questions regarding this matter should be directed to the first selectman's office at 203-775-7301 or the superintendent of schools office at 203-775-7621.
XPRIZE 'Feed the Next Billion' Semi-Finalist Umami Meats Bolsters CULT's Exposure to Cell Cultured Sustainable Seafood

VANCOUVER, BC, Dec. 13, 2021 /CNW/ - CULT Food Science Corp. ("CULT" or the "Company"), an innovative investment platform with an exclusive focus on clean, lab-grown food that is advancing the development of novel technologies to provide a sustainable, environmental, and ethical solution to the global factory farming and aquaculture crises, is pleased to announce that it has completed a strategic investment into Singapore-based Umami Meats ("Umami"). An XPRIZE semi-finalist, Umami is focused on deploying their proprietary technology to reduce the product development costs of cell-based growth serum, which is currently one of the major challenges and bottlenecks in the commercialization and consumer adoption of cell cultured seafood and represents over 80% of total current production costs.

With the cell-based seafood market projected to reach $17.3 billion by 20301, Umami is working to position itself as the leading technology platform for making cell-based seafood more affordable to produce at commercial scale and, therefore, more accessible for the mass market. Umami's initial focus will be on developing efficient approaches for the cell-based production of Japanese Eel, Yellowfin Tuna, and Red Snapper. Their future pipeline includes Halibut, Grouper, and Mahi-Mahi.

According to the OECD, the contribution of the ocean economy to global value added is estimated to be US$1.5 trillion annually.2 CULT views its capital deployments into the cultured seafood industry, especially those focused on high-value seafoods, as a pillar of its investment thesis due to its high expectation for generating above-average returns. This is supported by the aforementioned size of the global marketplace, which management views is ripe for disruption.

Management Commentary

"We are excited to have CULT Food Science backing our vision for a sustainable seafood future, enabled by our cultivated fish production technology. With their strong industry knowledge and network of advisors, we believe this investment will help accelerate our development timeline and path to scale," said Mihir Pershad, Chief Executive Officer of Umami.

"We are pleased to invest in Umami Meats as we believe cultivated seafood represents a largely misunderstood opportunity. We believe that their novel technology and intellectual property will be enormously valuable as cell-based seafood grows and we look forward to helping accelerate their scientific development," said Francis Rowe, Chief Financial Officer of CULT.

Endnotes: 1. Umami Meats. (2021). Cultivating the Future of Sustainable Seafood [DocSend Slides]. https://docsend.com/view/mj766jyshdngzdjx 2. STI Policy Note (April 2016), "The Ocean Economy in 2030", OECD, https://www.oecd.org/sti/futures/Policy-Note-Ocean-Economy.pdf, Web, 12 December 2021.

About CULT Food Science

CULT Food Science Corp. is an innovative investment platform with an exclusive focus on clean, lab-grown food that is advancing the development of novel technologies to provide a sustainable, environmental, and ethical solution to the global factory farming crisis. The first-of-its-kind in North America, CULT Food Science aims to provide individual investors with unprecedented exposure to the most innovative start-up, private or early-stage cultivated meat and cultured dairy companies around the world.

Additional information can be found by viewing the Company's website at www.cultfoodscience.com or its regulatory filings on www.sedar.com .

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Company,

CULT FOOD SCIENCE CORP.

"Dorian Banks"

Dorian Banks, CE

Forward-Looking Information:

Information set forth in this news release may involve forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that relate to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address a company's expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", and "intend", statements that an action or event "may", "might", "could", "should", or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include but are not limited to the following risks: those associated with marketing and sale of securities; the need for additional financing; reliance on key personnel; the potential for conflicts of interest among certain officers or directors with certain other projects; and the volatility of common share price and volume. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. For further information on risk, investors are advised to see the Company's MD&A and other disclosure filings with the regulators which are found at www.sedar.com .

SOURCE CULT Food Science Corp.

For further information: Cult Food Science Corp., Tel: +1 (604) 687-2038, Email: [email protected]
AutoTrader.ca's Top Searched Vehicles for 2021 reveal Canadians stayed true to their taste in

cars amid unprecedented market challenges

AutoTrader.ca Top Searched Vehicles for 2021 (CNW Group/autoTRADER.ca)

TORONTO, Dec. 13, 2021 /CNW/ - According to data released today from AutoTrader.ca, Canada's largest and most trusted automotive marketplace, luxury and mainstay car brands remained the top vehicle choices for Canadians in 2021, despite pricing and availability shifts in the market. AutoTrader's 2021 Top Searched vehicle list revealed that perennial favourites, the Ford F-150, Ford Mustang and BMW 3 Series held strong as Canada's top three vehicles for the second year in a row. Overall, while there were some shifts in rankings, the same 10 cars Canadians sought in 2020 appeared in this year's list as well.

With over 10 million Canadians visiting AutoTrader.ca to browse hundreds of thousands of vehicles for sale each month, AutoTrader.ca mines and analyzes its search data each year, to capture the pulse of Canadian car buyers' interests and provide insights into their most coveted car selections.

2021 Top Searched Vehicles in Canada

Ford F-150 Ford Mustang BMW 3 Series Porsche 911 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Honda Civic Toyota RAV4 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Chevrolet Corvette BMW M

In 2021, long-term impacts of the pandemic manifested in the automotive sector, including most notably, a global shortage of microchips, which put strain on new car inventory. This, paired with pent-up consumer demand, led to record high new and used vehicle pricing in Canada. Despite these market shifts, Canadians remained loyal to their favourite cars, suggesting that these factors were not deterrents for car shoppers.

"When it comes to vehicles, Canadians like what they like and we found this consistency to be a reassuring sign for the industry, demonstrating consumers were willing to weather the storm," says Jodi Lai, Editor-in-Chief, AutoTrader.ca. "While cars continued to dominate 80 per cent of the Top Searched list, the truck is still king with the Ford F-150 claiming the top spot nationally for the seventh year in a row, and the Toyota RAV4 remaining a fan favourite in the SUV category."

Provincial Search Overview

2021 provincial search data revealed key regional preferences for car shoppers across the country.

BC balances luxury with utility

Last year British Columbians were the most curious Canadians when it came to luxury vehicles with the most luxury cars searched versus any other region. However, in 2021, the more economical Toyota RAV4 (#4) replaced the luxury BMW X5 as the sole SUV on the list. British Columbia now shares top honours with Ontario as provinces with the most luxury selections in the Top 10.

Trucks gain traction in Alberta

The Ford F-150 was still number one for Albertans, but unlike last year, this wasn't the only truck on the radar. The Toyota Tacoma landed at #8 on the province's Top 10 list. Alberta has long favoured larger vehicles, and this year was no exception, with half of the region's list consisting of trucks and SUVs. The return of a second truck (last seen in 2019), along with new entrants, like the Toyota 4Runner (#9), indicated a return to the region's tried and true vehicle preferences.

Function over style in Saskatchewan

In a province that prioritizes utility over all else, it's no surprise that Saskatchewan again had the most trucks on their Top 10 list versus any other province this year. Reigning champion, the Ford F-150 was the most preferred vehicle in Saskatchewan, with other truck favourites, such as the GMC Sierra 1500 (#5), Chevrolet Silverado 1500 (#6), and Toyota Tacoma (#7) all making the list. Similar to last year, luxury vehicles were absent from the Top 10, as Saskatchewan opted to flex muscle.

Cars continue to rule in Ontario

Eighty per cent of the Top Searched list in Ontario was made up of cars once again this year. Ontarians showed a penchant for the finer things, with half of its vehicle searches consisting of luxury nameplates, rivaling British Columbia. In Ontario, the Ford Mustang ranked #1, unlike the rest of Canada where the popular Ford F-150 truck took top spot (with the exception of Quebec).

Quebec lusts for luxury

For the first time ever, a luxury car ranked #1 in Quebec. This year the sleek and sporty Porsche 911 jumped from seventh place in 2020 to first place, dethroning the beloved Honda Civic, which had maintained top position for the past four years. The number of luxury vehicles on the list remained consistent year-over-year, with the BMW 3 Series (#5) and Mercedes-Benz C-Class (#7) joining the Porsche 911 (#1) on the list. Car interest also rose among Quebecers, accounting for 60 per cent of the region's Top 10.

Manitoba Stays Steady

Although it was a new year, consumer habits remained similar in Manitoba. In top spot was the Ford F-150 followed by the Ford Mustang, keeping consistent with last year's top picks. The Honda Civic moved into third position, shifting the Toyota RAV4 to fourth. Manitobans loved their SUVs this year, with the Toyota RAV4 (#4) Honda CR-V (#5), Jeep Wrangler (#6) and Jeep Grand Cherokee (#7) included on this year's list.

The bigger the better in the Maritimes

It was go big or go home in the Maritimes as vehicle upsizing trends continued. The Toyota Highlander (#9) replaced the BMW 3 Series (#9), reflecting a growing interest in larger vehicles like SUVs and trucks for the region. Atlantic Canada also prioritized practicality over luxury, as the loss of the BMW 3 Series marked an absence of luxury on the Maritimes list.

Trend Spotting

In addition to mining its marketplace data for insights and trends, each year AutoTrader.ca conducts ongoing consumer research studies to provide an up-to-the minute view of the evolving automotive landscape. This year's research explored the impact of COVID-19 on Canadian car shopper intent and provides a glimpse into what can be expected in 2022. Observations and predictions include:

Canadians still hesitant about public transportation, prioritizing personal modes of travel: A study deployed by AutoTrader.ca in October 2021, assessed the impact of COVID-19 over a year and a half after the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic. Following another study conducted in 2020 that found COVID-19 had an impact on declining consumer usage of public transit and ridesharing, new research revealed comfort levels with public transit remained low. While more than half of car shoppers thought the situation was improving (55%), many still stated they were using public transit (45%), cabs (44%), ridesharing services (42%) and carpooling (39%) less often compared to pre-pandemic. In contrast, Canadians opted to walk (40%) and drive themselves (36%) more often than before. Along with the pent-up demand due to early shutdowns, appetite to purchase a vehicle remains high, as almost 1 in 5 Canadians are still looking to buy a vehicle within the next six months.

Global microchip shortage disrupted supply chain, shifted consumer behaviour and pricing patterns: The global shortage of microchips had strong implications in the automotive sector in 2021, fuelling an ongoing shortage of new vehicles in the market. AutoTrader.ca found 4 in 5 car shoppers were aware and willing to make significant adjustments as a result, with 42 per cent willing to travel further, and 31 per cent of these shoppers, open to travelling over 400 kilometres to find the right vehicle. This behaviour was backed up by site analytics showing users are indeed widening their search radius. The scarcity of new vehicles also had a subsequent impact on the used vehicle market - nearly a third of shoppers surveyed (27%) were willing to switch from purchasing new to purchasing used. The microchip shortage, paired with pent-up demand for vehicles, prompted increases in vehicle pricing, with average new and used vehicle prices reaching a record high of $49,900 and $31,875 respectively in November 2021. As production levels slowly improve, and overall factors stabilize, prices are expected to normalize accordingly. With the shortage top of mind, Canadians leveraged tools like the marketplace to help bridge the gap sourcing inventory, comparison shopping and reviewing price guidances, with the AutoTrader.ca marketplace recording a 20 per cent lift in traffic for 2020, and then another 12 per cent increase in traffic for 2021, year-over-year.

Some Canadians saved more due to lock-down, with one-third seeking to upgrade their vehicle budget: While COVID-19 understandably generated greater concern around finances, almost half of car shoppers (48%) said the pandemic allowed them to save more than they normally would, according to research from AutoTrader.ca. The Bank of Canada estimated that there was an extra $100 billion in Canadians' savings accounts. Among those who were able to save more, 63 per cent planned to use it to purchase a vehicle, and a third of these shoppers (34%) planned to buy a more expensive vehicle than initially budgeted. In the aftermath of the pandemic, price continued to be a priority for consumers, as a third of Canadians surveyed (34%) ranked price as the #1 consideration when it comes to buying a vehicle ahead of factors like fuel economy, safety and brand.

There has been a seismic shift away from traditional sedans to larger SUVs, crossovers, and trucks: In recent years, more Canadians opted for a 'bigger is better' mindset when it came to vehicle preference. AutoTrader.ca found that 30 per cent of car shoppers intend to upsize to a larger vehicle from their current car. Among those who plan to upsize, nearly half (48%) intend to upsize to a SUV, while a third (32%) said they would pivot to a truck. Respondents cited more cargo space, better seating comfort, and more seats as the top reasons for going big. Searches for SUVs increased almost two per cent in 2021, in line with a three per cent growth in share of segment on the marketplace. This upsizing trend has been prevalent in automaker lineups, which included more releases of larger SUVs and trucks, and a decline in smaller vehicles. The compact sedan and hatchback segment continued to get smaller, as automakers replaced their entry-level models with subcompact SUVs.

Electric vehicle popularity charging ahead: 2021 was another big year for electric vehicles (EVs), as popularity for electrification continued to grow. According to research conducted among AutoTrader.ca marketplace users, interest to own an electric vehicle is high, with 64 per cent of non-owners open to buying an EV for their next vehicle. The top reasons Canadians provided for going electric included fuel efficiency/savings, environmental friendliness and low maintenance. In addition to the growing inventory of electric vehicles, automakers are expected to release more SUV, adventure and purpose-built enthusiast EVs, and 2022 will mark the first year fully electric trucks will be available to purchase, with the GMC Hummer, Ford F-150 Lightning and Rivian R1T vying to be the first on the market. While less than 1 in 10 (8%) consumers surveyed currently own an EV, that number is expected to rise in the coming years, as marketplace searches for electric and hybrid fuel types more than doubled, and EV inventory grew 31 per cent year-over-year.

"While 2021 saw volatility in market conditions, it also demonstrated how well equipped consumers and the industry are to adapt," says Ian MacDonald, Chief Marketing Officer, AutoTrader.ca. "Canadians looked for ways to make the best of the situation, leveraging tools like the marketplace and travelling the extra distance needed to bridge the gap. The stability seen in this year's search insights, paired with what we know about abundant shopper activity, is an indication that the market is set to bounce back in 2022 and as microchip production ramps up, gradually return to normality."

Methodology: Analysis was performed based on site analytics from AutoTrader.ca using Canadian search data from January 1 to November 30, 2021. Year-over-year analysis was based on data from January 2020 to November 2021. AutoTrader.ca commissions independent third-party research to understand Canadian car shopping habits amongst both car intenders and past purchasers. Throughout the year, AutoTrader.ca also surveyed its users to maintain a pulse of car shopping behaviours over the course of 2021.

About TRADER Corporation:

TRADER Corporation is a trusted Canadian leader in online media, managing automotive consumer marketplaces. The company's primary online destinations include: AutoTrader.ca and AutoHebdo.net. AutoTrader.ca offers the largest inventory of new cars and used cars in Canada, receiving over 25 million average monthly visits to the marketplace and more than 6 million mobile app downloads. Visitors buy or sell cars, trucks or other motorized vehicles quickly, easily and conveniently. Buyers can search based on vehicle model, make, colour and geographic location to find the deal that is right for them. AutoTrader.ca is also an online destination for auto enthusiasts, featuring news and reviews from award-winning automotive journalists. Follow AutoTrader.ca on LinkedIn , Facebook , Instagram and YouTube .

SOURCE autoTRADER.ca

For further information: Press contacts: Hannah Choat, 416.889.3743, [email protected]; Jessica Huynh, 647.985.5378, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.tradercorporation.com


MEK GLOBAL LIMITED AND PHOENIXFIN PTE. LTD., File No. 2021-18

TORONTO, Dec. 13, 2021 /CNW/ - The Commission issued an Order in the above named matter.

A copy of the Order dated December 13, 2021 is available at www.osc.ca

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

GRACE KNAKOWSKI

SECRETARY TO THE COMMISSION

SOURCE Ontario Securities Commission

For further information: For Media Inquiries: [email protected]; For General Inquiries: 1-877-785-1555 (Toll Free), [email protected]

Related Links

https://www.osc.ca/


In UK, the COVID-19 alert level has been increased from Level 3 to Level 4 "in light of the rapid increase in Omicron cases", British chief medical officers said in a joint statement.

As per the World Health Organization (WHO), the new Omicron coronavirus strain found in 63 countries will surpass Delta in spreading speed. As of December 9, 2021, cases of human infections with this variant have been identified in 63 countries across all six WHO regions, read the overview by the WHO, reported Sputnik. It is not clear yet, why the new strain is spreading so fast, the organization added. However, given the current available data, it is likely that Omicron will outpace the Delta variant where community transmission occurs, the document said.

The Omicron variant might reduce the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines based on preliminary data, but this strain is less dangerous than Delta, the organization assumed, reported Sputnik. There are limited available data, and no peer-reviewed evidence, on vaccine efficacy or effectiveness to date for Omicron. Preliminary evidence, and the considerably altered antigenic profile of the Omicron spike protein, suggests a reduction in vaccine efficacy against infection and transmission associated with Omicron, the statement said.

In the UK, COVID-19 alert level was raised to the second-highest tier amid increasing Omicron cases on Sunday. Britains COVID alert level has been increased from Level 3 to Level 4 in light of the rapid increase in Omicron cases, British chief medical officers said in a joint statement. The statement also said, Early evidence shows that Omicron is spreading much faster than Delta and that vaccine protection against symptomatic disease from Omicron is reduced.

Just hours after the development, UK PM Boris Johnson said in a TV statement, No one should be in any doubt, there is a tidal wave of Omicron coming. He further informed the nation about the booster target set by his administration under which booster shots of Covid-19 vaccines will be provided to willing adults by the end of December.
LOS ANGELES (AP)  William Shatner's durable role as an avatar of space's promise drew a frenzy of attention when fiction became fact with his rocket ride.

The Star Trek actor says he was as surprised by it as he was gratified by the 10-minute, suborbital jaunt made possible by billionaire Jeff Bezos. The experience is the subject of Shatner in Space, a hour-long special out Wednesday on Amazon Prime Video.

It details last October's flight that made Shatner, 90, the oldest person to reach space and explores what the streaming service called the growing friendship between Shatner and Bezos. The Amazon empire founder credits Star Trek" with igniting his interest in space travel.

Shatner, whose decades-long career includes The Defenders, T.J. Hooker and Boston Legal along with the original Star Trek series and films, wanted to be part of Bezos' Blue Origin launch last July, its first with passengers. Shatner saw joining trip No. 2 akin to being named vice president when the Oval Office was the dream.

He discussed his change of heart and the flight's impact in an Associated Press interview, shifting between philosopher and blunt storyteller who, at one point, invoked 1937s Hindenburg blimp explosion. Remarks were edited for length and clarity.

AP: The zest for adventure can ebb with the years, but it hasn't with you. How do you explain it?

SHATNER: Well, I've been doing a lot of foolish things, according to my wife, in the last many years. I'm probably an adrenaline junkie. A couple of years ago I drove a motorcycle across the country, and I recently went down 60 feet underwater and visited with four tiger sharks. I'm no stranger to thinking, Oh, geez, I can die here. But I didnt feel the necessity of going up into space. Why do I want to put myself in that position? Its uncomfortable. Ive got, my wife calls them velvet sheets, I can just snuggle in. Then I thought a little further about it, the idea of weightlessness and going into space and just the feeling, and (decided) Ill do it. When it caught peoples imagination I was absolutely shocked. I was as shocked about that as I was about the flight itself.

AP: But you're Capt. Kirk.

SHATNER: I know. But thats 55 years ago. There have been other things since then. The acquisition of knowledge was shocking, its popularity was shocking. Everything about it was extraordinary.

AP: Before the flight, you gave interviews in which you fretted about the dangers of the flight. Was that joking or jitters?

SHATNER: Werent you brought up on the Hindenburg burning? Its burning hydrogen. Thats what theyre putting in the (rocket) tank.

AP: You had an emotional conversation with Jeff Bezos immediately after the flight. What touched you so deeply?

SHATNER: I immersed myself in the last 50 years in the connectivity of the Earth and how connected everything is. Everything is beautiful on Earth, and we have destroyed millions of (living) things. And then I saw the Earth giving life and I felt such sadness. I saw how finite the Earth is. And you and me are little dots, not as large as ants. We are insignificant on this insignificant planet. And yet we are aware, we are observers of that insignificance. And thats significant.

AP: Star Trek depicted advanced human behavior that we've yet to achieve. How do you see the world politically, environmentally?

SHATNER: Human beings resist change, probably part of our indigenous makeup. But change is happening so quickly, and more quickly than we imagined. The tipping points of these changes have happened in the last 50 years, and it takes longer than 50 years, I guess, for mankind to say, My God, the poles are melting.

AP: Are you optimistic about the future?

SHATNER: I interviewed Bezos several times while shooting this documentary, and Im hopeful that some of that will be in there. The last line he told me, which is what reverberates in my head, is, You have to hope. Without hope, what is there? So hes busy trying to get industry up into space, up into geocentric orbit, which we have the technology to do.

AP: Many decades have passed since Star Trek, but people still see Capt. Kirk as part of your public persona. Is that something you wish for or not?

SHATNER: Somebody once said, You get the career you deserve. And to change those words, you get the life you deserve. You made a decision based on what you knew at the time. You liked the guy, you didn't like the guy; you wanted to live in the city. Whatever the instances were that you turned left instead of right. You cant regret having made a decision because it was based on your need, whatever it was.
TRENTON, N.J. (AP)  Two teenagers were arrested on charges stemming from a shooting in September in New Jersey's capital city that left two people dead and two wounded, authorities said.

A 17-year-old male from Trenton and a 16-year-old male from Hamilton were each charged with murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, aggravated assault, theft by receiving stolen property and firearms, the Mercer County prosecutor said.
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP)  As coronavirus infections and deaths soar in Hungary, the country's journalists and public health professionals are demanding more detailed data on the outbreak from the government, with some experts saying that greater transparency might boost lagging vaccination rates.

Information is often hard to find in the country of over 9 million people, where infection rates have broken records and daily deaths per capita are among the highest in the world.

Although Hungary has secured vaccine doses from China and Russia in addition to those provided by the European Union, nearly a third of its adults still have not received a single shot. That hesitancy is something immunologist Andras Falus said can be partly attributed to official communications about the pandemic being "extremely poor, inconsistent and totally incapable of maintaining trust."

"A significant proportion of the population no longer believes when they receive real data, or resign themselves to not paying attention to the data because they feel almost viscerally that it is inconsistent and unreliable, said Falus, professor emeritus at Semmelweis University in Budapest.

On Friday, the government's official coronavirus website reported 166 daily deaths, 6,884 new infections and 6,939 virus patients being treated in hospitals, 573 of whom were on ventilators.

While governments in many countries like the U.S. and others in the EU publish detailed online dashboards showing pandemic trends through interactive maps, graphs and other data, Hungarys website features neither geographic breakdowns of data nor visualizations showing rises or drops in indicators.

Illes Szurovecz of the Hungarian news website 444.hu says the information released by the conservative government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban does not provide a clear picture of how the outbreak is developing and that it is opaque and difficult to follow.

Theres a lot we dont know, Szurovecz said. If there was more detailed data, people would be better able to judge how severe the pandemic is and how dangerous the virus is. ... Doctors from different parts of the country would be better able to compare their results and care could be improved.

In lieu of more comprehensive data from official channels, Szurovecz and his colleagues track what few numbers the government releases and create detailed data visualizations on trends in the pandemic. Without that, he said, it would be virtually impossible to look back in Hungary today and see how the pandemic has gone.

Lacking official information on how hospitals are faring, many journalists have tried to report from inside COVID-19 wards to get a clearer picture.

But Hungarys government has barred journalists from entering medical facilities to report on the pandemic and prohibited medical staff from giving interviews, something journalists say has made it impossible to report on worsening conditions, creating a false picture of the situations severity.

Experts and journalists have requested regional and municipal breakdowns of infections, deaths and vaccination rates, along with information from individual hospitals on how many patients are in ICUs and how many have been vaccinated and with which vaccines.

That kind of information could be used to formulate localized responses to outbreaks and determine where vaccination campaigns should focus their attention, said Falus, the immunologist.

If there had been more data ... the responses would have been much more effective, he said. "We could have known which cities and which counties had particularly virulent infections."

Hungary's government defended its data practices, saying in an email that it was setting an example by communicating on a daily basis epidemiological data.

This is one of the reasons behind the cooperation of the population, successful disease control and the fact that we are the first in the EU in terms of booster vaccination, a government spokesperson wrote, adding that criticisms of its pandemic response were politically motivated.

Yet last month, Hungarys own National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information asked the government to release infection data at the municipal level to mayors, writing that both local leaders and the public need to know the figures in order to make informed decisions about how to protect themselves against the pandemic.

Similar problems were reported earlier in the pandemic in the Czech Republic, where mayors said they lacked details about the numbers of infected people in their communities that harmed mitigation efforts like distributing personal protective equipment.

Those issues were ultimately remedied late last year.

Trust of official statistics also has been a problem in Russia, where some experts have criticized official data on COVID-19 infections and deaths provided by the state coronavirus task force, arguing the reported numbers were likely an undercount.

Data analysts have pointed to inconsistencies in Russias virus statistics that they say suggest manipulation. While the task force reported over 9.9 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and 287,180 deaths as of Friday  the highest death toll in Europe so far  a report released last week by the state statistics agency Rosstat put the overall number of virus-linked deaths between April 2020 and October 2021 to over 537,000  almost twice the official toll.

In Hungary, journalists and experts have often taken matters into their own hands in an effort to procure more detailed information, despite efforts by the government to withhold data.

After the government denied a freedom of information request earlier this year, news site 444.hu filed a lawsuit to get detailed figures on daily hospitalizations, deaths and the number of those treated in hospital ICUs during previous surges.

A court in November ruled that the data had been unlawfully withheld, ordering its release.

Scott Griffen, deputy director of the Austria-based International Press Institute, said that his group continues to condemn the Hungarian governments efforts to block media access to information on the pandemic."

Withholding such data was "fully in line with Orbans policy of controlling the message, restricting public debate, and hindering the ability of independent media to do their job, Griffen said.

Hungary's government has argued that virus testing is an ineffective means of controlling the pandemic, and that only mass vaccination can save lives. It also contends that the country's high official death rate is the result of broader criteria for attributing deaths to COVID-19.

During comments in Hungary's parliament this week, an opposition lawmaker asked Orban why the COVID-19 death rate in Hungary was so much higher than some of its neighbors.

Anyone who says that more people die in Hungary than elsewhere is also saying that our doctors are doing a worse job, Orban said, and I will defend them against your accusations.

___

Associated Press writers Dasha Litvinova in Moscow and Karel Janicek in Prague, Czech Republic, contributed.

___

Follow AP's pandemic coverage a t https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
MILFORD  Christmas took on a nautical feel in the city this past weekend.

The Downtown Milford Business Association and The Milford Arts Council teamed up to create a lobster trap Christmas tree fashioned with artistic buoys created by residents. The tree was lit Sunday and will remain in place through the New Year.

The Milford Arts Council could not be more excited to bea part of this amazing community project, said Paige Miglio, MAC executive director.

Miglio praised DMBA Executive President Makayla Silva for bringing this project to the arts council after seeing similar ones in her travels over the past year or two.

She suggested partnering with the City of Milford to bring the idea here, and we couldn't be happier, Miglio said.

Miglio said the organizations originally planned to auction off some of the buoys that were to be donated back to the MAC after being displayed, however, once she saw everyone's beautiful work, we knew we had to keep them in the family and hope they will be collected and cherished for generations.

This project will certainly grow and become another tradition for our community much like the City Tree Lighting along the town Green, the DMBA Lamplight Stroll, and the Walnut Beach Fairy Frolic, Miglio added.

Silva said the lobster traps were donated by Briarpatch Shellfish Company, which is a local oystering company.

Because there is no longer lobstering in Milford, they no longer use the lobster traps, and they said they would lend it to us, which is pretty cool, said Silva.

In total, 200 buoys were purchased by the Milford community to be placed on the lobster trap Christmas tree.

brian.gioiele@hearstmediact.com
ANSONIA  A 14-year-old boy was charged Monday in connection with a threat that prompted a lockdown and dismissal at Ansonia High School earlier in the day, police said.

The teen, who police said was a student at the school, was charged with first-degree threatening and second-degree breach of peace, Ansonia police said in a statement.

Ansonia Public Schools in collaboration with the Ansonia Police Department will not tolerate any behaviors/actions that put our students, staff, and community at risk, said schools Superintendent Joseph DiBacco in a statement, adding that the schools and police will not tolerate any behavior that puts the community at risk.

Todays response was to an Ansonia students actions; swift and immediate action will be taken - the appropriate consequences will be administered up to and including expulsion and arrest, DiBacco said.

The incident began around 11 a.m. when the high schools school resource officer was notified about a threat made on social media, police said.

Working in conjunction with the Ansonia Board of Education the school was placed into lockdown and the students were safely dismissed from the school, the statement said. During the investigation, a suspect was identified and placed under arrest.

Police said the incident was isolated.

The threat comes amid a wave of school threats and rumors of school threats that have led to lockdowns and heavy police responses throughout the state. Several other districts have also reported a handful of arrests in connection with their incidents.

They come at the heels of the school shooting late last month at Oxford High School which left four students dead.
NEW HAVEN, Ind. (AP)  Two northeastern Indiana police officers were stabbed Monday morning by a man they were trying to take into custody, police said.

The 18-year-old man, Brandon M. Gardner, was charged with two counts each of battery and criminal recklessness, three counts of resisting law enforcement and one count of residential entry  all felonies  and a misdemeanor criminal mischief charge, The Journal Gazette reported.
JOHANNESBURG (AP)  South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has postponed getting a booster shot of a COVID-19 vaccine because he has tested positive for the disease and is recuperating from mild symptoms, his office announced Monday.

Ramaphosa is receiving medical treatment for his symptoms and is self-isolating in Cape Town, according to his office.

South Africas regulatory authority last week approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to be used as a booster shot, opening the way for third doses to be administered to adults in order to battle the current surge driven by the omicron variant.

The presidents infection is causing him to delay a vaccine booster shot which he was scheduled to receive this week," his office said in a statement issued Monday.

Ramaphosa reiterates his call to everyone in the country to be vaccinated, as vaccination dramatically reduces the chances of serious illness, hospitalization or death, the statement said.

South Africas 7-day rolling average of daily new cases has risen over the past two weeks from 7.6 new cases per 100,000 people on Nov. 28 to 32.7 new cases per 100,000 people on Dec. 12, according to Johns Hopkins University.

More than 70% of the new cases since mid-November are omicron, according to nationwide tests, experts say.

In general, the new omicron cases have resulted in milder disease, with fewer hospitalizations and less severe cases requiring oxygen or intensive care, according to doctors and official figures. Despite the rising numbers of cases, South Africas death rate has not gone up, although experts warn it could increase in the next few weeks.

News that Ramaphosa has contracted COVID-19 has sparked different reactions from citizens, with some saying they hope it will encourage more people to get vaccinated.

Moreen Mokhethi, 60, a resident of Tembisa, east of Johannesburg, said she hopes that the president testing positive for COVID-19 will convince people to be more careful about contracting the virus.

My worry is that a lot of people, like in Tembisa where I live, seem not be scared of the virus anymore. There are many weddings and events now because it is the festive season, so it (the virus) might spread some more, said Mokhethi.

Robert Matlala, 28, who said he was fully vaccinated, said he hoped Ramaphosa contracting COVID-19 would encourage more people to get vaccinated.

I hope some people who are not taking this thing seriously will see that anyone can get it. I recently got my second shot, so I feel a little bit safer, said Matlala.

South African health experts agree that vaccinations are important in battling the new wave driven by omicron.

Everything we know points to what the president experienced  when you get it (COVID-19) when vaccinated, it tends to be much less serious," said Francois Venter, infectious diseases professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

Ramaphosa, 69, ended his four-nation tour of West Africa last week, returning from Senegal on Dec. 8 when he tested negative. He tested negative throughout the African tour but some members of his delegation had to return back home after testing positive for the virus in Nigeria.

On Sunday, Ramaphosa was not feeling well and tested positive, his office announced.

___

Follow APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
SEATTLE - Groups trying to discourage Americans from getting the coronavirus vaccine have raised tens of thousands of dollars for the efforts from Amazon.

AmazonSmile, a charitable-giving arm that donates a half percent of every purchase from its online store to the nonprofit of a shopper's choice, gave more than $42,000 to a dozen anti-vaccine nonprofits last year, according a Washington Post analysis of its tax returns.

While it's a relatively small amount - particularly out of the more than $60 million it shared with nonprofits overall - these groups are able to stretch funds in large part thanks to the nature of spreading viral messages on social media, said Imran Ahmed, chief executive of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, an advocacy organization that's focused on fighting vaccine misinformation.

"They are able to do a lot of damage with very little money," Ahmed said.

Even as Amazon has encouraged its workforce to get vaccinated, it will continue to fund groups that oppose vaccination, spokeswoman Stacey Keller said in an emailed statement.

"We respect that our customers have a wide variety of viewpoints on this matter, which is why the charities in question continue to be included in the list of organizations customers can choose from as part of AmazonSmile," Keller said.

(Amazon founder and chairman Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

Amazon has faced criticism for indifference to the promotion of coronavirus misinformation before. This past summer, Amazon customers posted reviews of ivermectin on the site that touted the horse dewormer as a covid-19 treatment, even as the Food and Drug Administration has warned against human use of the animal version of the product. And it has faced criticism for publishing books on the topic.

It's part of a larger issue of the tech giant's inability to control its platform, which has been plagued with issues including counterfeits and fake reviews as it pushed for bigger selection on its marketplace.

Founded in 2013, AmazonSmile lets almost all nonprofits participate, excluding those that are included on a list of hate groups from the Southern Poverty Law Center, as well as those on the list of groups suspected of ties to terrorism compiled by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control. The groups must also qualify as a charitable organization, often called a 501(c)(3), with the Internal Revenue Service.

And according to the terms of AmazonSmile's Participation Agreement, Amazon says it won't give to organizations that in "engage in, support, encourage, or promote . . . other illegal, deceptive, or misleading activities."

Keller declined to comment on whether the activities of the groups to which AmazonSmile is sending money is deceptive or misleading.

AmazonSmile, like other private foundations, is required to include a list of grants it gave on its tax returns, which are public. However, AmazonSmile's list of grants is more than 1,700 pages of tiny text that can't be searched with computer tools - and sorted by the amount of the donation, not alphabetically, making it difficult to figure out how much was given to specific groups.

In total, AmazonSmile doled out $60.5 million in 2020 to about 300,000 groups including the American Red Cross, Nature Conservancy and the Wounded Warrior Project, according to its tax filing.

Some of the groups that oppose vaccines and government-mandated vaccinations actively pursue AmazonSmile dollars. The Web homepages for the National Vaccine Information Center and Physicians for Informed Consent include prominent messages encouraging visitors to shop at AmazonSmile, using the program's logo. AmazonSmile donations represent about 2% of total revenue for Physicians for Informed Consent, or $3,626, according to that group's tax filings.

AmazonSmile has faced previous criticism for funding controversial groups. In 2014, the Seattle Times reported that the program funded groups seeking to undermine lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality, even as the company offered benefits to same-sex partners of its employees and covered transgender surgical procedures. In 2019, the Guardian raised questions about the program funding anti-vaccination groups.

And last year, Popular Information, a newsletter, reported that Amazon had paid the National Vaccine Information Center $41,533 over several years through AmazonSmile, according to internal documents from the group it had obtained.

That group was again the biggest anti-vaccine beneficiary of AmazonSmile's largesse in 2020, receiving $12,675. That group laid out plans to sow distrust in coronavirus vaccines a year ago, before they became widely available.

Amazon also paid Children's Health Defense, a group founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that sued to block a Washington D.C. law that allows minors to be vaccinated without their parents' knowledge, $10,969 last year.

Amazon gave Informed Consent Action Network, which offered legal support to challenge vaccine requirements this past spring, $2,970.41 in 2020.

Del Bigtree, the founder of the Informed Consent Action Network falsely claimed that coronavirus vaccines - which had just begun to be distributed in the United States - were "dangerous" at a private October 2020 conference hosted by the National Vaccine Information Center and observed by researchers from the Center for Countering Digital Hate.

Other vaccine opponents at the conference promoted supposed alternative treatments, like inhaling hydrogen peroxide, which does not in fact treat the coronavirus and can be harmful.

And last winter, after Kennedy shared dubious claims about the coronavirus, Instagram permanently banned him for "repeatedly sharing debunked claims about the coronavirus or vaccines," according to Raki Wane, a spokeswoman for Meta, the Facebook parent company that also owns Instagram.

AmazonSmile contributions to Informed Consent Action Network account for less than 0.1% of the group's annual budget, Bigtree said in an emailed response to questions. And Bigtree, who prefers the description "vaccine-risk aware" to "anti-vax," said there would be "no impact on ICAN if the AmazonSmile funds stopped."

None of the other groups responded to requests for comment.

Contributions via the AmazonSmile program make up a few percentage points, at most, of the anti-vaccine groups' annual budgets, as reported in their tax filings.

Still, "Amazon is directly funding the disinformation that is being bombarded at people" and could endanger their lives, Ahmed said.

In an emailed response to an inquiry from The Washington Post, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called on Amazon to stop.

"Amazon has allowed COVID-19 misinformation to spread on its platform, while AmazonSmile is funding groups that spread dangerous COVID-19 and anti-vax misinformation," Warren said. "I've called on Amazon to use its power to stop it, but they refuse to act. Amazon must put public health ahead of profits - this needs to end now."

Covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths persist nationwide as the country closes in on 50 million reported coronavirus infections since the start of the pandemic. Those infections are rising as nearly two-thirds of the country has received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine and more half the country is fully vaccinated, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And a CDC study published in September found that people who were not fully vaccinated this spring and summer were more than 10 times more likely to be hospitalized, and 11 times more likely to die of covid-19, than those who were fully vaccinated.
The former secretary to the government of the Federation, SGF, Pius Anyim Pius has revealed his preparedness to reposition Nigeria if give...

The former secretary to the government of the Federation, SGF, Pius Anyim Pius has revealed his preparedness to reposition Nigeria if given the chance to become President.

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Anyim, who was a former Senate President, made his 2023 ambition known while speaking with journalists shortly after his consultations with the former Justice of the Supreme Court, JSC, Sidi Bage Muhammed on Sunday.

Anyim, who was given a civic royal reception alongside his delegation, appealed for the support of the monarch, adding that Nigeria will not remain the same under his administration if given the chance in the forthcoming 2023 general election.

The former Senate President said there will be massive employment of youths, and that the country will be repositioned to catch up with the future, adding that Nigerians will be proud of the laudable achievements his administration will bring if given the opportunity.

Anyim said: In the next few years, the type of employment we will be talking about will not be the type we are talking about right now.

And sir, we need to reposition this country to catch up with the future, so that we can preserve the future for our children. That is what I stand for, that is what I want to bring to the table and thats why I have come he said.

We are in a new season, a season that will set out a new future for the younger generation, a season that will refocus Nigeria, a season that will reunite Nigeria, a season we must not make mistakes about, a season we must bring everybody together to have a sense of nationhood. We have no other country than this country he stressed.

In his remark, the Emir, Justice Sidi Bage Muhammed assured Anyim of his royal partnership.

I want to assure you that I will not be part of the people that will discuss those issues that will not matter. We shall educate our people. I wish you well in your endeavours the Emir noted.

The highlight of the event was the presentation of the Royal Gift from the Emir to Senate Pius Anyim Pius.
Nollywood star, Alexx Ekubo, has expressed his surprise after getting a gift of N100,000 from his colleague, Linda Osifo. According ...

Nollywood star, Alexx Ekubo, has expressed his surprise after getting a gift of N100,000 from his colleague, Linda Osifo.

According to the actor, he was deeply touched by her gesture, as he revealed that he had jokingly told her that he was broke.

The actor, while sharing a screenshot of the credit alert on Sunday, gave the details that led to Osifos kind gesture.

He wrote, So I ran into @lindaosifo at an event last night. She asked how I was and I said I was broke. She laughed and said, send me your account details.

I jokingly did and boom! today she sent this. Im deeply touched for many reasons. She really didnt have to. I love you so much Linda, and for this and more, I gat you for life.(sic)

Ekubo then revealed that he wanted to give out the money to someone who really needs it. He asked his fans to share their account number in the comments section.

The actor said, Please, I want to give this to someone who really needs it. Please, comment your account number the N100,000 is all yours. (sic)
The Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, has called for action to be taken concerning the security challenges in the north. The Governor ...

The Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, has called for action to be taken concerning the security challenges in the north.





The Governor who shared on social media urged government to move from complacency, pointing out that security in the North is an emergency.





This is as he lamented the recent acts of banditry and killings in Katsina and Sokoto states while extending his condolences to the families of the victims.





He said, It is high time we take the challenge of securing the north very seriously.





The recent heightened acts of banditry and killings in Katsina and Sokoto states remind us that the security in the North is an emergency, and the government must move from complacency into action.





On behalf of the government and people of Bauchi State, I extend my sincere condolences to the families who have lost loved ones in such gruesome situations.





May Allah forgive the deceaseds shortcomings and grant their souls eternal rest.
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has barred unvaccinated corps members from its camps nationwide. Brigadier General Shuaibu I...

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has barred unvaccinated corps members from its camps nationwide.

Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim, NYSC DG, who announced this, said the measure will take effect from the next orientation camp, which is a few weeks from now.

While addressing 2021 Batch C Stream Two Corps Members and Camp Officials, he said prospective corps members will now need to show evidence of vaccination from coronavirus before they would be allowed to register.

The DG said the scheme was trying to be careful not to allow the spread of the disease owing to the detection of the Omicron COVID variant in the country.

He warned that there is nothing like two weeks break after leaving the Orientation Camp, urging corps member to add value to themselves by acquiring skills that would make them business owners, instead of seeking for the scarcely available salaried jobs.

lbrahim also warned them to avoid embarking on night and unauthorised journeys, but break any journey extending beyond 6:00pm and pass the night in a safe place.

We have NYSC Corps Lodges, Secretariats and Army barracks, find out where they are and make sure you pass the night there for journeys that will take you beyond six to get to your destination, he noted.
The Nigerian Navy has allowed one of its personnel, OSCOMP Abdulgafar Ahmad, aka Cute Abiola, to return to his family after serving one-mo...

The Nigerian Navy has allowed one of its personnel, OSCOMP Abdulgafar Ahmad, aka Cute Abiola, to return to his family after serving one-month extra duty.

Our correspondent gathered that the popular Instagram comedian was freed on Monday to reunite with his family.

Lawyer to Cute Abiola, Fatai Adebanjo, confirmed the development on Monday evening.

Cute Abiola was arrested on November 15, 2021, for wearing police uniform in one of his skits and for ridiculing the Nigeria Police Force in the process.

He was, however, was given a light punishment of a one-month extra duty after a military trial, according to aval spokesperson, Commodore Suleman Dahun.

Cute Abiola has been placed on one-month extra duty after he was tried. He will be in charge of cleanship; supervising painting, electricians, carpentry, cutting of grasses, and others. He will be supervising civilians, Dahun had said.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Monday turned back unvaccinated staff members from its Jabi, Abuja headquarters. Many work...

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Monday turned back unvaccinated staff members from its Jabi, Abuja headquarters.





Many workers and visitors without the COVID-19 vaccine cards were prevented from accessing the complex in compliance with the directive of the Presidential Steering Committee that unvaccinated federal workers would not be allowed into their offices from December 1.





Addressing journalists on the reason for the enforcement, the secretary of the Commission, Mr George Ekpungu, said the exercise became necessary following the emergence of the Omicron variant in the country.





He said the EFCC Chairman, Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa, had given the directive for the enforcement to ensure all staff were vaccinated.





Ekpungu said, You will agree with me that the cases of COVID-19 are on the increase worldwide and we must be on the lookout in order to ensure that our staff are safe.





We have been sensitising staff internally but felt the need to make it public to encourage others to copy from us. The chairman and management have promised to decide on measures to be taken about those who have refused to be vaccinated.





The COVID-19 protocols were not instituted by the EFCC. They are international and national protocols. For those who said they will not take the vaccine, they will continue to stay locked out until they take a decision. We also have vaccines at our clinic here for those who are interested, he added.
Manchester United boss, Ralf Rangnick has delivered his verdicts on Cristiano Ronaldo after the forward scored the only goal of the match as...





Manchester United boss, Ralf Rangnick has delivered his verdicts on Cristiano Ronaldo after the forward scored the only goal of the match as the Red Devils defeated Norwich City 1-0 over the weekend.





Rangnick also said that he has no imminent plans to rest Ronaldo as Manchester United near the halfway point of the 2021/22 Premier League season.





Ronaldo has so far scored 13 goals in all competition for Man United since he rejoined the club from Juventus.





The Portugal captain was not at his optimum level against Norwich, but Rangnick said he was pleased with the players mentality.





I dont know, Rangnick said at his post-match press conference when asked about the prospect of resting Ronaldo.





So far, I am happy with his body language, his input on the team.





He wants to win games, this is what it is all about, and the way that he won the penalty and converted the penalty, that is why we are happy to have him.





Man Uniteds next game is against Brentford on Tuesday.
Folasade Yemi-Esan, the head of service of the federation, says permanent secretaries and chief executive officers in ministries, departme...

Folasade Yemi-Esan, the head of service of the federation, says permanent secretaries and chief executive officers in ministries, departments and agencies will be held responsible if they fail to handle disciplinary cases against staff.

In a memo with reference no: HCSF 3065/Vol.1/125 and dated December 6, 2021, the head of service said there has been a rise in the number of cases instituted against the government as a result of sloppy handling of disciplinary cases.

It has been observed with great concern that there is an increase in court cases arising from dismissal and termination of appointment of staff without proper administrative procedures by some MDAs, she said.

This has led to avoidable litigation leading to court judgements against government with huge consequential financial burden.

In most cases, the office of the head of the civil service of the federation (OHCSF) is joined as defendant in the litigations instituted by the aggrieved staff or their unions. The consequential appearance by the legal officers depletes the limited resources of the office.

In the light of the above development, all MDAs are strongly advised to follow due process in handling staff matters, especially disciplinary cases.

As you are aware, there are useful extant rules, regulations and guidelines that guide disciplinary processes. Specifically, Public Service Rules (PSR) issued by OHCSF and guidelines on appointments, promotion and disciplines issued by the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) are very useful. Circular, Ref. No. FCSC/CHMN/CL/17/WI.1/41 dated 24, October, 2013, issued by the Commission, is also useful.

Yemi-Esan added that in cases where there are doubts, the office of the head of the civil service of the federation should be contacted for guidance.

Henceforth, permanent secretaries and chief executive officers (CEOs) whose poor handling of disciplinary matters leading to avoidable court cases, consequential financial implication and embarrassment to government shall be personally held liable, she said.

The chief of staff to the president, the ministers, the secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), permanent secretaries and all the heads of government agencies, were copied in the circular.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has tested positive for COVID-19 after exhibiting mild symptoms. Ramaphosa was said to have felt u...

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has tested positive for COVID-19 after exhibiting mild symptoms.

Ramaphosa was said to have felt unwell on Sunday after leaving a memorial service for FW de Klerk, the former South African deputy president, in Cape Town.

According to a statement issued by the South African presidency, Ramaphosa is in good spirits and is being monitored by doctors.

The South African president, who is fully vaccinated, is expected to remain in self-isolation and has assigned his responsibilities to David Mabuza, the deputy president.

Ramaphosa was quoted as saying that his positive status is further indication that vaccination is pertinent.

Vaccination remains the best protection against severe illness and hospitalisation, the statement reads.

People who have had contact with the president today are advised to watch for symptoms or to have themselves tested.

The South African presidency said Ramaphosa and his delegation were tested for COVID-19 after returning from a four-country visit to West Africa.

The president and the delegation returned to South Africa from the Republic of Senegal on Wednesday, 8 December 2021, after obtaining negative test results, the statement reads.

The president also tested negative on his return to Johannesburg on 8 December.

President Muhammadu Buhari received the South African president on December 1 at the presidential villa in Abuja.

His visit was on the same day that Nigeria reported three cases of the Omicron COVID variant.

Despite the scare generated by the new COVID-19 variant, we have been able to hold successful meetings, while observing strict COVID-19 protocols, through fraternal cooperation and understanding, Buhari said after the meeting.
Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

Snow showers early will become steadier snow overnight. Low 26F. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 80%. 1 to 3 inches of snow expected. Heavier amounts in persistent snowbands..

Tonight

Snow showers early will become steadier snow overnight. Low 26F. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 80%. 1 to 3 inches of snow expected. Heavier amounts in persistent snowbands.
Yes. We need to do more to get this wave under control.

No. The vaccine is here and we're done with mask rules.

I never stopped wearing my mask.

Vote

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WASHINGTON  Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Monday announced 60 finalists, including two in New Orleans, for $1 billion in economic development grants tied to the Biden administration's coronavirus relief package and aimed at improving job training and regional industry partnerships.

There were 529 applicants for the grants. That means roughly 11% of submissions made it to the next round, which will ultimately choose 20 to 30 regional coalitions for up to $100 million in grants that could shape manufacturing, clean energy and life sciences hubs around the country. Twelve of the finalists were from places tied to the coal industry.

The two local projects include one submitted by the New Orleans Bioinnovation Center. It's a joint venture between New Orleans and Baton Rouge that proposes turning southeastern Louisiana into a "national leader in health sciences, with a focus on addressing obesity and chronic disease." The second, submitted by the Greater New Orleans Development Foundation, envisions a cluster of "green hydrogen" projects that would help reduce or eliminate the carbon footprint of the industrial corridor between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

The finalists were predominantly coalitions made up of government, academic and economic partnerships. They will receive $500,000 each to help plan for the next round, with applications due in March. The deadline for choosing the winners is September.

"This program will bring communities back in regions across America," Alejandra Castillo, assistant commerce secretary for economic development, said in an interview. She said the program was designed to bring different local partners together "to leverage their assets."

In addition to New Orleans, the city-led finalists are: Indianapolis; Newark, New Jersey; Tucson, Arizona; Manchester, New Hampshire; and Phoenix.

Other finalists include universities in Alabama, Maine, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Kansas. There are also economic partnerships and industry-specific organizations such as the Wisconsin Paper Council.

White House senior adviser Gene Sperling, who is overseeing coronavirus relief, said interest far exceeded the expected 150 applicants.
With winter break looming and a noticeable uptick in positive coronavirus cases among students, Tulane University will offer virtual education to any undergrad that wants it for the final week of school.

The move, announced Sunday, is aimed at easing anxiety around final exams and the coming winter holiday. The recent positives, at least some of which have been identified as the omicron variant, have produced only mild or undetectable symptoms, according to a message university leaders sent to students, faculty and staff.

"If this uptick had occurred mid-semester, we would likely not be suggesting any change in practice or policy," the note says. But coming at the end of the semester, a rash of new cases "is greatly adding to the complexity and anxiety surrounding the increase."

Tulane classes will end Dec. 21. Students who wish to continue attending class in person will have that option, a spokesperson said.

Coronavirus cases across the metro area and state have remained low for several weeks, but worries about the omicron variant's transmissibility have prompted new restrictions in other countries.

Tulane, which has a robust testing and contact-tracing program, saw daily case counts jump sharply last week.

In late November and early December, positive cases among the Tulane community had been hovering at a handful or fewer each day. But on Dec. 7, the number jumped to 14, then 37 the following day. It remained above 20 for each of the next two days, before dipping to 15 on Saturday, the most recent day for which data was available.

Tulane's rate at which tests have resulted in positive cases  1.7% on a seven-day average  is nearly double that of New Orleans as a whole, but roughly in line with Louisiana's overall positivity rate of 1.8%.

The city's dashboard warns, however, that cases in New Orleans are increasing. The seven-day average of new daily cases has risen to 49 as of Monday, after holding below 30 new cases a day through November.

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Still, cases remain far below previous peaks of the disease. During the peak of the delta variant wave in August, more than 300 people a day were reporting new COVID cases.

Tulane students who have tested positive are being isolated off campus until Dec. 23.

The first sign of growing concern came last week, when Tulane health officials reinstituted an indoor mask mandate. The mandate had been lifted earlier this fall as case counts plunged.

Tulane officials also urged any students traveling out of town for the holidays to get tested before they leave and when they arrive back on campus.

Neighboring Loyola University is also seeing a rise in student cases, according to a note sent by university leaders to students, faculty and staff. Loyola currently has 47 active student cases, all of whom are experiencing mild or no symptoms.

Loyola is already in exam week and many classes have already wrapped up in-person instruction. There have been no changes to policy or practice.

"We believe that our vigilance in masking and taking basic precautions allow us to safely finish these last few days in person," the note from Loyola Vice President of Student Affairs Alicia Bourque says.

Tulane's new virtual option for the remainder of the semester will vary in how it is implemented from class to class. No similar uptick was seen in graduate or professional students. For those students, the dean of each school will announce a policy.
Samsung is gearing to release Snapdragon-powered editions of the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus in China and the US. The pair, along with the Galaxy S22 Note, have also appeared in more hands-on photos. All photos appear to be of dummy units.

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Earlier today, we reported that Ice Universe had shared a prototype or a dummy unit of the Galaxy S22. Now, @heyitsyogesh has leaked two photos of the entire Galaxy S22 series in two colours. While neither Ice Universe or @heyitsyogesh state they are dummy units, the uniformity of their camera sensors confirms as much.

Incidentally, the SM-S901U and SM-S906U have appeared on Samsung China's website and at the FCC. Thought to be the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus respectively, previous leaks point to the pair featuring the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. The inclusion of Snapdragon SoCs in Chinese and US versions of Galaxy S smartphones is common, with Samsung usually reserving Exynos chipsets for Europe and South Korea.

The FCC also confirms that Samsung will release LED View cases for the entire Galaxy S22 series, not just the Galaxy S22 Note. The regulatory body also reiterates that the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus have smaller batteries than their predecessors. Seemingly, the former has a 3,700 mAh capacity, and the latter a 4,500 mAh one. Both capacities are approximately 300 mAh smaller than those in the Galaxy S21 and the Galaxy S21 Plus.
Injury Attorney Kenneth J. Allen and Allen Law Group are again sponsoring Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indianas Kidstop program.

Kidstop provides safe, fun and educational activities for students before and after their school day in four different school systems throughout Northwest Indiana. Allen and Allen Law Group have donated over $50,000 toward Kidstop since 2015.

Boys & Girls Clubs president and CEO Ryan Smiley said Kidstop supports elementary-aged students during the critical time immediately after school.

Children are most at risk when left unsupervised right after the school day, Smiley said. Kidstop solves that problem by providing care, guidance and learning opportunities for kids in a happy and healthy environment.

Smiley noted the difficulties parents often face when seeking quality childcare and the comfort Allens support provides them.

Financial stability for many families requires affordable childcare. And finding affordable childcare is often an insurmountable challenge for working families in our community, Smiley said.
"Then I reached in the water and I felt the leg. I pulled her upside down out of the water and handed her to the Lake County sheriff's officer that was on the embankment to get her to an ambulance."

Shaffer said the 8-month-old girl wasn't crying when he pulled her from the water and had a terrified look on her face after being underwater for approximately 90 seconds.

"I didn't know if she was breathing. I just wanted to get her out of the water and into the medic's hands," Shaffer said. "(The children) did nothing wrong. They were in a bad situation that they shouldn't have ever been put in."

Ultimately, Shaffer had the opportunity to see both girls, conscious and alert, in the back of an ambulance before they were taken to a Region hospital.

Both children later were transferred to Comer Children's Hospital in Chicago, police said.

Shaffer, a father of three and a former officer in the East Chicago and Dyer police departments, choked up as he thought about what might have happened to the two girls if he hadn't been right there when the car plunged into the water.
LAKE STATION  The appearance of a beautiful woman to a native Mexican in the 1500s is being relived at Catholic churches in Northwest Indiana.

The feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe was celebrated over the weekend at St. Francis Xavier Parish with Masses of the Roses, mananitas, or morning songs, folkloric dancers and reenactments of that encounter between a woman and Juan Diego.

Maria Ramirez came to this country when she was 3, but for as long as I can remember, Our Lady of Guadalupe has been a part of my life. Growing up, this has been part of my Mexican culture. It gives us comfort and joy.

In the Catholic calendar, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is Dec. 12, but some churches precede the Mass of the Roses that day with a novena, or nine days of prayer.

I go every year to the novenas, Ramirez said. Everything I ask for has been granted.

Maria Gonzalez called Guadalupe the mother of Mexico.

Macario Fuentes added, We call her the reina, queen, of Mexico. We give thanks for all she has done for us.
GARY  Five people were wounded in three separate shootings last weekend, police said.

Gary police were dispatched about 4:50 p.m. Friday to the 300 block of Lincoln Street for a report of a gunshot victim, Cmdr. Jack Hamady said.

Officers spoke with several witnesses and learned a 47-year-old Merrillville man had been shot in the abdomen area and was taken in a private vehicle to a local hospital, he said.

One witness told police a couple of people were heard arguing before gunshots rang out. Another witness said the Merrillville man was found outside wounded after the gunfire, police said.

Police were dispatched about 3:50 a.m. Saturday after a 29-year-old woman arrived at the hospital with a gunshot wound to her foot, Hamady said.

The woman told police she'd been shot at a location in the Brunswick neighborhood, but no crime scene was located. The woman was taken to the hospital in a private vehicle, police said.

About 3 a.m. Sunday, three Gary men were wounded in a shooting at the Corvette Lounge, a private club in the 5600 block of West Fifth Avenue, police said.
Andreshak wants to start a nonprofit organization to attract more and larger donors. He hopes to have all of this seasons coats distributed by the Christmas break, which begins Dec. 17.

One hundred percent of all donations go to buy and then distribute clothing to children in Northwest Indiana, Andreshak stressed.

Coats had been distributed earlier to Frankie McCullough Academy and Beveridge Elementary School. Later stops were at Williams and Banneker at Marquette elementaries.

At one time, Andreshak said, he had accepted used clothing, but, as he learned, people have different definitions on what gently used means.

For Andreshak, this collection drive is about giving back and being inspired. He learned that from his parents, Vernon and JoAnn Andreshak of Schererville. The couple is retired but continues to help their son by collecting and storing donations.

Eric Worthington, in his first year as Glen Park Academy principal, called the coat drive a great thing. Brian has a good heart and this has become his passion.
Kuebler expects that number to increase with improved technology used to monitor airport operations.

Kuebler is the 72-year-old airports third director, having been hired in 1991 after his predecessor died in office. Kuebler was working at the airport at the time and decided he needed experience with job interviews. After he landed the directors job, he didnt have to worry about interview experience.

It was a busy first two months. The first month, he had to draft an annual budget. The second month, the airport switched from being a county department to being controlled by an airport authority. Thats a quasi-governmental agency with more financing options to help the airport grow.

The airport authority has its own property tax rate. That, along with a fee for services like refueling aircraft, helps finance airport operations.

Revenue bonds can help, but a tax-increment financing district could help airport officials react quicker to meet corporate needs, he said.

Weve done a lot of things at the airport in the last 30 years, and right now theres a lot left to be done, Kuebler said.
VALPARAISO  As the days get shorter and the air gets colder, Valparaiso is reminding residents what to do once the "impending" snow returns.

The mayor's office issued a news release offering a refresher on snow emergency plans as well as the city's snow removal map.

The release explained that if there are two or more inches of snow on the ground, vehicles cannot be parked on city streets. Drivers are asked to use garages, driveways and parking lots until plows have been able to clear the snow.

During the plowing process, some snow will "inevitably" be pushed into driveways, however pushing snow back into the roads violates city ordinance. Instead, public works recommends residents clear an open spot to the left of the driveway, giving street snow a place to collect.

The release also asked community members to keep an eye on elderly neighbors who may need help clearing snow. The Valparaiso Police Department offers a program that checks on residents during severe weather. To register yourself or someone else contact Captain Joe Hall at Jhall@valpopd.com or 219-462-2135.
It was illegal for Brown to possess any firearms because he has been a felon since his 2011 conviction for armed robbery in Illinois.

Brown told police after his arrest that he found the two guns only three hours earlier in the backyard of some Chicago residence and was intending to turn them over to Chicago police,

But he never got to do that because he first drove to the Walmart, about 1,000 feet east of the Illinois-Indiana state line.

The store is frequented by Chicago residents attracted to Walmarts discounted prices and Indianas lower taxes.

Hammond police officer Coty Sparks, who was working as a security guard at the store, noticed Brown and a female smoking marijuana late that afternoon outside the pharmacy doors.

Court papers state Brown has been smoking marijuana since age 11 with only one break in his habit  the seven years and three months he spent in an Illinois prison for his armed robbery.

He told court officials he also uses ecstasy, another recreational drug, on a daily basis.

Sparks told the pair to put out their marijuana cigarettes and leave the property.
The group typically houses asylum seekers in rented apartments throughout New Englands second-largest city, but as the effort has grown over the years, its become challenging to coordinate services and foster community among the new immigrants, he said.

The task force covers rent and provides a $500 monthly stipend for immigrants, at least until they can receive work authorization, a process that can take around two years, Green said. The group also connects asylum seekers with immigration lawyers, sets them up with bank accounts and health insurance, and helps prepare them for entering the workforce.

We found that giving folks stability has helped them better prepare for their asylum cases, said Green, who is also from Jamaica and participated in the program. They know theyre in a safe place until they can get on their feet.

The church effort is one of the few programs providing wide-ranging and long-term help to LGBT asylum seekers once theyre in the U.S., says Pastor Judith Hanlon of Hadwen Park Congregational Church, who co-founded the ministry.
Though I didnt know it at the time, my crying fits at home and in the hospital were autistic meltdowns. I would find out many months later that what I had experienced was a cycle of sporadic hemiplegic migraines, which can lead to a coma or, in rare cases, even death. I often wonder if I would have been treated differently by medical staff if I had had an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis then, or if I still would have been dismissed as an anxious woman who didnt know how to manage her pain.

Research also suggests that undiagnosed autism has been harmful for women. In a 2016 study of 14 women, many told us that the fact that their autism went unrecognized for so long had a very real and negative impact upon their mental health, said Dr. William Mandy, D.Clin.Psy., Ph.D., an associate professor in clinical psychology at University College London. A lack of a diagnosis means a lack of appropriately targeted support, which can place an autistic individual under huge stress.

The published research on the experiences of autistic mothers is very limited. Two small qualitative studies in 2016 and 2017 consider pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. The interviews of autistic mothers in these studies reveal challenges they had with sensory issues during breastfeeding and childbirth, and adapting to motherhood and infant care. Many said they felt unfairly judged by midwives and other caregivers on parenting skills and decisions.

Dr. Simon Baron-Cohen, Ph.D., a professor of developmental psychopathology and the director of the Autism Research Center at the University of Cambridge, and his colleagues have multiple studies underway to investigate the experience of autistic motherhood beyond the perinatal period. Presented at the 2016 International Meeting for Autism Research, their unpublished research involved an online survey of more than 300 autistic mothers. The study found the majority of them had extreme anxiety when talking to professionals about their children, encountered disbelief when they disclosed their diagnosis to professionals and struggled with daily parenting tasks.

It should now be a routine requirement for autism researchers to collaborate with autistic people in every project, Dr. Baron-Cohen said. Without the input of autistic mothers, we would have missed key issues  such as the fact that autistic mothers have increased rates of postnatal depression and have been falsely accused of Munchausen syndrome by proxy on the assumption that they were making up their childrens autism. He hopes this research will lead to more awareness of autistic motherhood experiences and the development of policy documents to improve the woefully inadequate services available for autistic mothers.

Many autistic women are highly attuned to their children, said Lana Grant, author of From Here to Maternity: Pregnancy and Motherhood on the Autism Spectrum, a book aimed at helping autistic mothers with the challenges of pregnancy and motherhood. They may see their child struggling with the same things that they struggled with as a child. They read up on everything they can about a behavior or condition and then they go to the professionals for help. Instead, they are seen as too knowledgeable and hysterical, Grant said, and dismissed as trying to tell professionals how to do their job.

She was already the mother of five of her six children (three of whom are on the autism spectrum) when she got her autism diagnosis at 38. Autistic mothers are their own worst critics, Grant said. She recommends that autistic mothers find a support network of other mothers on the spectrum, including those who are out and proud on social media, like her.
Now, VATs are always accompanied by border adjustments: Importers must pay the tax on the goods they import, while exporters get a rebate equal to the tax paid on what they export. This makes perfect sense when you think of a VAT as a sales tax. You wouldnt want a situation where shoppers at Walmart pay sales tax only on American-made goods, while Chinese products are exempt. And you also wouldnt want to charge sales tax on U.S. goods being sold to other countries.

This point is widely misunderstood. U.S. businesses, in particular, often look at the border adjustments imposed by countries with VATs and see them as tariffs and export subsidies that give their competitors an unfair advantage. They are, however, wrong on the economics. And the World Trade Organization considers VAT-related border adjustments legal, because they are necessary to carry out a domestic policy that, in principle at least, doesnt distort international trade. That is, border adjustments dont tilt the playing field; they actually level it.

So what does all this have to do with carbon tariffs? You can think of national policies designed to limit greenhouse gas emissions as ways to induce a countrys residents to take into account the emissions resulting from the production of the goods they consume. This is obviously true if a nation imposes a carbon tax, or a cap-and-trade system, in which businesses must purchase licenses to pollute. Its also true, although in a harder-to-measure sense, when countries impose regulations like mileage and clean-energy standards.

The point is that many climate-change policies can be seen as a form of tax on domestic consumers. And as with a VAT, both the economics and, I believe, the law (Im not a trade lawyer, although I think I understand this issue) say that border adjustments, in this case a carbon tariff, are appropriate parts of a climate strategy. That is, if a country lacks an adequate climate policy, the price of goods imported from that country should reflect an estimate of the greenhouse gases emitted during their production.

What might make carbon tariffs slightly trickier than VAT border adjustments is the likelihood that an important part of climate policy will involve regulations rather than a straight carbon tax. In that case, while a carbon tariff remains clearly justifiable as a way to level the playing field for domestic and foreign producers, setting the appropriate level of the tariff wont be easy  it wont be as simple as charging the same VAT rate on imports as that imposed on domestic products. A fair bit of estimation and imputation will be involved, and there will no doubt be arguments about the numbers.

But while getting border adjustments right will be tricky, this trickiness isnt a reason to do nothing. Carbon border adjustments are clearly the right thing to do, and better to do them imperfectly than not at all.

So two cheers for carbon tariffs.

Wait  why only two cheers? Because carbon tariffs affect only goods that are exported and hence are only a partial solution to the problem of countries that dont do their part in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The Biden administration on Wednesday released a blueprint showing how the nation could move toward producing almost half of its electricity from the sun by 2050  a potentially big step toward fighting climate change but one that would require vast upgrades to the electric grid.

There is little historical precedent for expanding solar energy, which contributed less than 4 percent of the countrys electricity last year, as quickly as the Energy Department outlined in a new report. To achieve that growth, the country would have to double the amount of solar energy installed every year over the next four years and then double it again by 2030.

Such a large increase, laid out in the report, is in line with what most climate scientists say is needed to stave off the worst effects of global warming. It would require a vast transformation in technology, the energy industry and the way people live.

The report is consistent with climate and energy plans laid out by President Biden during his campaign last year, when he said he wanted to bring net planet-warming emissions from the power sector to zero by 2035. He also wants to add hundreds of offshore wind turbines to the seven currently in American waters. And last month, he announced that he wanted half of all new cars sold to be electric by 2030 in a White House event with executives from three of the nations largest automakers  a goal that will depend in large part on whether there will be enough places to plug in those cars.
Death toll rises in U.S. tornadoes

At least 90 people were killed by devastating storms across six states on Friday night, including at least 80 in Kentucky. The largest of the tornadoes, which left more than 220 miles of devastating destruction, will ultimately be the longest tornado in certainly U.S. history, Andy Beshear, Kentuckys governor, said. Follow the latest updates here.

Scores of people remained unaccounted for last night, and there was dwindling hope of finding them alive as recovery workers across the middle of the country resumed their search efforts. The tornadoes tore through parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee, the National Weather Service said.

At least 300 National Guard members were going door to door, though many of these communities dont have doors anymore, Beshear said. Instead, he added, they were looking for survivors by going rubble to rubble. More than $2 million has been donated to help with recovery efforts, and the first grants will go toward funeral costs, he said.
After the president, a former nude model, tries to cover up a major discovery, two astronomers leak the news to a New York newspaper known for its Gothic banner, which the new film Dont Look Up calls The New York Herald: A comet is going to destroy the earth in six months.

The journalists are sober and passionate as they get down to work in a glass conference room. They publish the blockbuster, then send the pair of scientists off to an influential morning news program, The Daily Rip  think Morning Joe, with a dash of Live With Kelly and Ryan  to promote the news. And thats when things start to go awry. Keep it light, fun, one producer tells the scientists, who are played by Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio. As soon as they sit down, the Joe Scarborough proxy, played by an irresistible Tyler Perry, leans in to ask whats really on his mind: Is there life on other planets?

After putting up with the morning-show-style banter for much of the segment, Jennifer Lawrences character has had enough. Maybe the destruction of the entire planet isnt supposed to be fun, she yells. Maybe its supposed to be terrifying and unsettling and you should stay up all night, every night, crying.

The clip of her losing it on the air earns wide attention  as a meme that gets likes and laughs on social media. Her boyfriend, a reporter for a sardonic news site called Autopsy, moves fast to make the most of her outburst under a two-sentence headline thats its own kind of internet cliche: You Know the Crazy Chick Who Thinks Were All Going to Die? I Actually Slept With Her.
Mr. Lamb is an unabashed moderate, and his politics and personal style are decidedly more buttoned-down than Mr. Fettermans  more high school principal than pro wrestler. He has expressed frustration with his partys left flank for advocating policies that are unworkable and extremely unpopular, such as defunding the police. He speaks kindly of Mr. Manchin, with whom he did a fund-raiser this year. He contends that Mr. Fetterman leans too far left, and he characterizes himself as a normal Democrat who can appeal to working-class voters and suburban moderates alike.

There are other, lesser-known Democrats in the mix, too. A state lawmaker, Malcolm Kenyatta, hails from North Philly. Young, Black, progressive and gay, with a working-poor background, he has pitched himself as the candidate to energize the partys base voters, especially those who tend to sit out nonpresidential elections.

Commissioner Val Arkoosh of Montgomery County is based in Philadelphias upscale, voter-rich suburbs. She leans liberal on policy and has been endorsed by Emilys List. An obstetric anesthesiologist, she hopes to position herself as a sensible alternative to Dr. Mehmet Oz, the celebrity physician who jumped into the Republican primary contest about two weeks ago. She is also betting that the growing threat to abortion rights will help her rally suburban women, whom she sees as a natural base.

Wherever this race ultimately leads, there will be lessons for other Democrats looking to compete in tough battleground areas.

The Georgia primary for governor could prove even more clarifying about the state of the G.O.P.  though not in a good way. The Republican incumbent, Brian Kemp, is running for re-election. But he is high on Mr. Trumps drop-dead list for refusing to help overturn the results of last Novembers election.

Desperate to see Mr. Kemp unseated, Mr. Trump lobbied former Senator David Perdue, who also lost his re-election bid last cycle, to challenge the governor. Last week, Mr. Perdue entered the race. Mr. Trump promptly endorsed him, slagging Mr. Kemp as a very weak governor who cant win because the MAGA base  which is enormous  will never vote for him.

This contest is not about Mr. Kemps politics or governing chops. Both he and Mr. Perdue are staunch conservatives and fierce partisans. And Mr. Perdue is not some hard-charging outsider looking to overthrow the establishment or push the party to the right or redefine conservatism in some fresh way. In his announcement video, Mr. Perdue blamed Mr. Kemp for dividing Republicans and costing them Georgias two Senate seats. This isnt personal. Its simple, said Mr. Perdue. He has failed all of us and cannot win in November.
The recovery efforts are just beginning for those in the path of the devastating tornadoes that tore through six states on Friday night. Local and national volunteers and aid groups are prepared to rescue and feed and give shelter to those who have been affected by the storms, which killed at least 90 people.

The tornado outbreak created almost unfathomable levels of destruction across Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee, the authorities said. From a flattened candle factory in Kentucky to a ravaged Amazon warehouse in Illinois, the storms showed no mercy for those who were in its path. Kentucky in particular was hit hard by the storms.

Here are some ways you can help relief efforts.

Before you give, do your research.

Before you make a donation, especially to a lesser-known organization, you should do some research to make sure it is reputable. Sites like Charity Navigator and Guidestar grade nonprofits based on transparency and effectiveness. The Internal Revenue Service also allows you to search its database to find out whether an organization is eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions. And if you suspect an organization or individual of committing fraud, you can report it to the National Center for Disaster Fraud, part of the Justice Department.

Here are some local groups that are pitching in.

Blood Assurance, which collects blood donations across its locations in the South, is asking people to make appointments because of a critical need for supply in Tennessee and Kentucky.
But after the Nazis came to power, Composition With Blue was confiscated as degenerate in the merciless purge of modern art from German museums that was orchestrated by Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. More than 20,000 works were seized from about 100 museums and stored in a wheat silo in Berlin. Composition With Blue still bears the inventory sticker identifying it as entartete Kunst, or degenerate art.

Judged by the Nazis to be marketable abroad, the painting was then given to Karl Buchholz, one of a select group of art dealers appointed by Adolf Hitler to sell degenerate works to foreign buyers. Buchholz sent it to his New York-based business partner Curt Valentin to sell in the United States.

Among the potential customers Valentin contacted was Alexander Dorner, the former director of the Hanover museum, who had fled the Nazis and headed the Rhode Island School of Design Museum. Dorner was keen to buy the works that had been confiscated from the museum he once led. But he recognized that Composition With Blue had belonged, not to the museum, but to a private person and he declined, according to research conducted for the heirs by Gunnar Schnabel, a German lawyer, and Monika Tatzkow, a provenance researcher.

Valentin then sold it to Albert E. Gallatin, a New York collector, in 1939. Gallatin appears to have believed that the painting belonged to the Hanover museum before it was seized. In the face of public criticism of U.S. collectors who purchased art confiscated from German museums, he is quoted in The New York Times on Oct. 29, 1939, saying that if the Nazis were one day ousted, it is proposed to restore these paintings, should their return be desired, to the museums where they once hung.

Mondrian, who left Paris in 1938, before World War II broke out, ended up in New York, where Gallatin lived. In December 1939, he wrote to Gallatin, saying, I was very glad to hear about the exhibition that you arranged of my work, and that my Hannover-picture is so well placed now. He later agreed to restore the painting for Gallatin  evidence, according to Rub at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, that Mondrian acknowledged and accepted Gallatins ownership.

The heirs, however, argue that as World War II still raged, Mondrian didnt realize that he retained a valid claim to property seized by the Nazis, perhaps because he assumed incorrectly that expropriations by the German government in power had been legal. In fact, the heirs argue, even under Nazi law, confiscating art from non-German private individuals was prohibited.
Humphrey Davies, an award-winning translator into English of some of the most important and renowned works of contemporary Arabic literature, including novels by the Egyptian Nobelist Naguib Mahfouz and the prominent Lebanese writer Elias Khoury, died on Nov. 12 at a hospital in London. He was 74.

The cause was complications of pancreatic cancer, his daughter, Clare Davies, said.

Mr. Davies was a key figure in introducing contemporary Middle Eastern writers to an English language audience, rendering their prose into English with crisp and precise translations rich in nuance and sensitivity to the original. He displayed remarkable breadth, translating nonfiction and medieval works as well.

Mr. Davies translated more than 30 books from Arabic, among them novels by Mr. Khoury, including Gate of the Sun (1998; translated in 2005) and Yalo (2002; translated in 2009), each of which won him the prestigious Banipal Arabic Literary Translation award. His 2018 translation of Mr. Khourys My Name is Adam (2016) brought him the English PEN Translates award.

He also translated works by the Egyptian novelists Alaa Al Aswany and Mohamed Mustagab, along with Thebes at War (1944, translated in 2003) a classic of contemporary Arabic literature by Mr. Mahfouz, who won the 1988 Nobel Prize for Literature.
THE FORTUNE MEN

By Nadifa Mohamed

Mahmood Hussein Mattan was the last man to be executed by hanging in Cardiff, Wales, in 1952. A seaman from British Somaliland residing in Cardiff, Mattan was wrongfully convicted of the murder of Lily Volpert, a Jewish shopkeeper and moneylender, in the predominantly immigrant community of Tiger Bay.

In her third novel, The Fortune Men, shortlisted for the Booker Prize, the Somali-British writer Nadifa Mohamed returns to this real-life case to explore the centuries-long histories of the British Empire, of Somali presence in Britain, of the nations anti-Black violence, of the institution of prison in the West. Its a subject close to the authors heart; Mohamed has compared Mattans biography to her own fathers, both merchant sailors who were born in the same city and came to England at the same age. You can see those young men who were thrown into postwar Britain, she told The Guardian, and found humor here, found love here, found terror here.

Mohamed balances colonial history and violence with the evocative interior lives of Mahmood and Violet Volacki, a fictionalized Volpert. The opening chapters follow each of their lives in Tiger Bay  a heterogenous community populated by immigrants from various former colonies: West Africans, Maltese, Sikhs, Muslims, Chinese, Yemenis, Somalis, poor whites  from the days leading up to her murder through his hanging. Violet never married and is the only income provider for her all-female household, which includes her sister and niece. Their ancestors were Russian Jews who came to Wales in the early 1920s to escape persecution.

Image Mahmood, who is illiterate and speaks only limited English, is destined to an outcome that he cannot foresee or understand.

Mahmood lives a short distance from his wife and three sons, in a boardinghouse with West Indian immigrant seamen, with whom he has no common language, culture or religion. There he is nicknamed the Ghost because of his constant ambling at night, when  to avoid police harassment  he has learned to wander unnoticed. Mahmoods path to Cardiff began in his teens, with a long journey from Somaliland down to South Africa, to a port where he boarded a merchant navy ship traveling around the British Empire. In Cardiff, his marriage to a poor white teenager named Laura meets hostility: They could only find black-walled, squalid places to rent as a mixed couple. Against this backdrop, Mohamed brilliantly depicts the complexities of community within the Black diaspora, in a region where Mahmoods Somalihood matters to the West Africans and West Indians who take him for an Arab rather than one of them.
America approaches 800,000 deaths

As the pandemic nears the end of a second year, the U.S. stands on the cusp of surpassing 800,000 deaths from the coronavirus.

No group has suffered more than older Americans. Seventy-five percent of those who have died in the U.S. are 65 or older. Covid-19 has killed one in 100 Americans in that age group. For people younger than 65, that ratio is closer to 1 in 1,400.

The heightened risk for older people has dominated life for many, partly as friends and family try to protect them. You get kind of forgotten, said Pat Hayashi, 65, of San Francisco. In the pandemic, the isolation and the loneliness got worse. We lost our freedom and we lost our services.

Many have watched others in their communities go back to life as normal, and companies have pushed to get people back into the workplace. Theres all these ways  subtle, overt, direct, indirect  that we are not taking the needs of older people in this pandemic into account, said Louise Aronson, a geriatrician and the author of Elderhood.
A Chinese artificial intelligence company called SenseTime said on Monday that it had postponed its $770 million initial public offering after its work for Beijing landed it on an American government blacklist.

The company said in a filing with Hong Kongs stock exchange that it remains committed to completing a listing but did not offer a new timetable. It said investors who had applied to buy shares could get refunds.

SenseTime is one of a number of Chinese companies that has drawn condemnation from American officials and human rights groups for the help they provide the Chinese government in its fast-growing and widening surveillance systems.

The company in particular has drawn scrutiny for the services it provides to Chinas efforts to track and suppress Uyghurs and other largely Muslim ethnic minorities who live in a western Chinese region called Xinjiang. The New York Times reported in 2019 that SenseTimes A.I. technology had been used as part of an effort to identify and track Uyghurs using facial recognition.
When the Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing decided to delist its shares in the United States, it was an abrupt reversal that illustrated the growing rift between Wall Street and Chinas rapidly growing corporate sector.

Barely six months ago, Didi had been the latest Chinese start-up darling to go public on the New York Stock Exchange, following the path of such companies as Alibaba and Baidu to list its shares in the worlds premier financial hub.

Now Didis move to relocate its listing to the Hong Kong stock exchange almost certainly heralds more departures, and few other Chinese start-ups are likely to pursue an I.P.O. in the United States any time soon.

Combined with banks growing footprint in China and Beijings increasing control over Hong Kong, it adds up to a simple truth: American investors will still have little trouble handing over their money to Chinese companies, but it will have to be on Chinas terms.
An appeals court in France on Monday ordered the Swiss bank UBS to pay a penalty of 1.8 billion euros (about $2 billion) for helping rich clients evade taxes  less than half the penalty the bank had been ordered to pay two years ago in a sensational case that prosecutors had likened to the plot of a James Bond movie.

Judges had originally ordered UBS in 2019 to pay 3.7 billion  the largest fine in French history  for carrying out what prosecutors said was a long-running scheme to help wealthy French clients illegally hide huge sums of money from the authorities, using cloak-and-dagger tactics.

The court on Monday cut the financial penalty but upheld the charges against UBS. The penalty consists of a 1 billion confiscation order and 800 million in damages.

UBS has denied wrongdoing, and it said it would appeal the latest ruling to Frances highest court. It made a failed attempt earlier this year to get the case overturned on constitutional grounds. In seeking a reduced penalty, UBS lawyers argued that while some of its Swiss bankers met with wealthy French clients, they did not unlawfully solicit them to evade taxes.
You have to see chocolate as a condiment and not as a candy, said Maria Martinez, the chef of Chocobar Cortes NYC, who was born in Brooklyn but raised in Quebradillas, in northwest Puerto Rico. Her mofongo at Cafe Ghia, a Bushwick, Brooklyn, restaurant that closed in 2017, regularly drew long lines every morning.

In a phone interview from his home in San Juan, Ignacio Cortes, Carloss father and the companys chief executive, said Cortes chocolate has been available in the United States in scattered groceries and bodegas since 1951, and is now distributed in 20 states. We are a reference for the first and second generations who came to New York, he said, a reference to what they left and what they long for.

Pablo Garcia Smith, who offers food tours of San Juan, said that Chocobar serves as a generational bridge, linking abuelas with young people and Instagram influencers. The restaurants  in San Juan and now in New York  close the loop of nostalgia. (Last summer, Cortes sold chocolate bars wrapped in comic strips of La Borinquena, an Afro-Puerto Rican superhero created in 2016.)

The Mott Haven neighborhood has experienced a rush of development from within the community, or gentefication, from the Spanish word gente (people). Chocobar shares a block with the Lit. Bar, a wine bar and a much-needed bookstore; Beatstro, a hip-hop bistro that hosts break-dancing battles; Famous Nobodys, a streetwear boutique; and the Thinkubator, a job training nonprofit thats about to open a cafe.
Open-fire cooking is what put the chef Francis Mallmann on the map. He has restaurants in his native Argentina, in Chile, France, Uruguay and also in Miami, and he runs lessons on his seven fires techniques for roasting and grilling. Now, for the first time, he will be giving more than six hours of online instruction in a series of lessons on the YesChef platform, which also offers classes from Nancy Silverton, Edward Lee and Dario Cecchini. Mr. Mallmanns At the Edge of Uncertainty includes more than 40 new recipes and a 50-minute documentary about the chef and his newfound interest in vegetables, available starting Dec. 14.

YesChef, annual all-inclusive pass, $180 (that price includes two all-inclusive passes in December), yeschef.me.

Follow NYT Food on Twitter and NYT Cooking on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest. Get regular updates from NYT Cooking, with recipe suggestions, cooking tips and shopping advice.
A new Covid-19 pill from Merck has raised hopes that it could transform the landscape of treatment options for Americans at high risk of severe disease at a time when the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is driving a surge of cases in highly vaccinated European countries.

But two weeks after a Food and Drug Administration expert committee narrowly voted to recommend authorizing the drug, known as molnupiravir, the F.D.A. is still weighing Mercks application. Among the biggest questions facing regulators is whether the drug, in the course of wreaking havoc on the viruss genes, also has the potential to cause mutations in human DNA.

Scientists are especially worried about pregnant women, they said, because the drug could affect a fetuss dividing cells, theoretically causing birth defects. Members of the F.D.A. expert committee expressed those same concerns during a public meeting on Nov. 30.

Do we want to reduce the risk for the mother by 30 percent while exposing the embryo and the fetus to a much higher risk of harm by this drug? Dr. James Hildreth, the president of Meharry Medical College in Tennessee, said at the meeting. My answer is no, and there is no circumstance in which I would advise a pregnant woman to take this drug.
Public health authorities in Denmark and Norway on Monday released grim projections for the coming wave of the Omicron coronavirus variant, predicting that it will dominate both countries in a matter of days. Although scientists dont yet know how often the variant causes severe disease, they say its rapid rate of spread will lead to an explosion of cases and could potentially increase pressure on hospitals, even if it proves to be mild.

The reports follow similarly worrisome findings from England released over the weekend, although researchers caution that the trend could change as the variant comes into clearer view. Its not yet certain how often Omicron infections will send people to the hospital, or how many hospitalized patients are likely to die. And while Omicron can partly evade immune defenses, researchers have yet to determine how well vaccinations and previous infections will protect people against severe disease.

The authors of both new reports also observed that swift actions now, such as booster campaigns and reducing opportunities for Omicron to spread, could lessen the variants impact.

American researchers have yet to release models of Omicrons rise in the United States. But experts point out that the country is similar to Norway and Denmark in terms of vaccination levels and certain Covid risk factors, like the average age of the population.
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia  In early November, I flew to southern Africa to report a series of stories about the state of the Covid-19 pandemic in the region, including one about the remarkable work being done to stanch the emergence of new coronavirus variants. My last afternoon there, South African scientists announced the discovery of the Omicron variant. Hours later, I got on a plane in Johannesburg to head home to Canada.

By the time I landed for my connection in Amsterdam on the morning of Nov. 26, the world had gone into full panic mode and I was swept up in a chaotic, at times frightening, tangle of orders and conflicting rules that seemed driven more by fear than medical science.

My firsthand journey through Covid response measures has shown me that, two years into this, we have yet to learn how to anticipate how both viruses and people will behave, or how to plan accordingly. We are going to need to get much better at both if we are to get through the next pandemic with less loss of life, and less suffering.

When my plane touched down in Amsterdam, a flight attendant informed us that passengers would need to be tested for Covid before we could continue our journeys. Five hours later, we were still on the tarmac, the plane sealed up tight, with more and more travelers shedding their masks.
Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.

If you thought The New York Timess Travel coverage was grounded on the tarmac during the pandemic, think again.

With travel regulations changing by the day  and, sometimes, by the hour  the desk has been busier than ever trying to keep readers informed. There are actually more reporters on staff than there were before the pandemic, said Amy Virshup, the Travel editor. In April 2020, a new section called At Home, which helped readers cope with confinement, replaced the eight- to 10-page Sunday Travel section. (At Home ran until May 2021.) But travel stories have continued to run in other sections of the paper, such as an article on why airline customer service has been so terrible during the pandemic, which landed on the cover of the Business section.

But readers who opened The Times on Nov. 22 were in for a surprise  and a dose of wanderlust. After a year and a half, Travel was back in print with a feature about fly fishing in Italy. The redesigned one-page section will run every Monday. (On this weeks page, a writer journeys through coastal Virginia, New York, New Orleans and other locales to learn about the lore surrounding oysters.)

In a conversation, Ms. Virshup and Elisabeth Goodridge, the desks deputy editor, discussed their goals for the section, returning to traditional Travel stories and how the pandemic might change their coverage. Their answers have been edited.
During the 1970s, when he shot his first Super 8 shorts and his first full-length feature, Almodovars disinhibited imagination allowed him to revise plots on the fly as the friends who played his characters dropped in and out of shoots. From the beginning, his work defied every principle of Francoism. His 1975 short, The Fall of Sodom, used some 30 men in cross-dress and makeup to re-enact the moment in Genesis when Sodomites surround Lots house. All that could be done only in the countryside because they would have taken us to jail, Almodovar said.

At 72, the self-taught filmmaker remains at the peak of his powers. His 2019 film Pain and Glory earned two Academy Award nominations, the sixth and seventh for his movies. Parallel Mothers seems poised to bring him more. He has built a production company that ensures his artistic freedom, has nurtured some of Spains greatest actors and has created comedies that rival those of film masters Billy Wilder and Luis Bunuel. Like them, he has a genius for making the outrageous seem ordinary. But where Wilder dripped acid on romance and Bunuel roasted the bourgeoisie, Almodovars movies are rarely cynical. Instead, he favors love and empathy. He has probably done more than any other director to transform the cinematic portrayal of gay and transgender people, and he has deliberately dismantled the machista perspective on women in film. And now with Parallel Mothers, he is directly confronting the legacy of Franco for the first time.

When Auria woke from her nap, Almodovar was ready with a rewrite. He would have Smit tell Cruz that the girl was tired and had been put to bed, a fiction that was also a truth. But as if she sensed that her leverage had disappeared, the little star behaved like an angel. After their first take, Cruz blew her kisses. They were back on schedule.

Almodovar was among the first wave of Spaniards to catch Covid-19 in early March 2020. The virus hit him like a bad cold: low fever, muscle aches, upset stomach, headaches. Nothing terrible. Financially, however, Spains strict lockdown felt like a catastrophe. At the time Parallel Mothers was nothing more than a forgotten file on his computer. Instead, he was scheduled to shoot a short film, The Human Voice, with Tilda Swinton in early April. The meticulously constructed set waited inside a warehouse on the outskirts of Madrid. But lockdown prevented him from using it. Would he need to abandon the project and trash months of work?

Ever since Pedro and his younger brother, Agustin, pooled all their resources to start the production company El Deseo in 1986, they have guarded Pedros artistic independence. No one can insist that he cut a trans character or redesign a controversial poster or skip the hand-painted kitchen tiles. El Deseo owns the negatives and the copyrights to all but three of his films. This kind of artistic control, however, requires careful financial management. Pedros films usually cost around 10 million euros. On my side I always need to handle the money with a kind of whip, as if it were an animal, Agustin told me. If they lost too much on The Human Voice, the beast could inflict significant wounds, affecting El Deseos budget for future films.

Agustin began helping Pedro with his shoots in the 1970s, when he was a university student. A former professor of mathematics, he is one of the first people to read Pedros scripts and has done cameos in all of Pedros feature films. From the start, he was unruffled by Pedros frank portrayal of gay relationships. The fact that Agustin is the producer for my films makes everything easier for me, in every sense, Pedro told me. Not only during the shooting, during the creation of the film, but also after. Together the brothers manage all the important decisions affecting Pedros career. Michael Barker, the co-president of Sony Pictures Classics, remembers noticing a strange feature in El Deseos contracts during the 1980s. They each signed the name Almodovar exactly the same, he said. You never knew if this was Agustin or this was Pedro.
It begins with a montage that jumps from enthusiastic retailers touting the benefits of the LuLaRoe lifestyle to footage from the 2020 trial of the Stidhams. The rest fills in what comes between these two points, with a particular focus on the individuals victimized and brainwashed by the company, many of whom are interviewed, along with experts on entrepreneurship, linguistics and cults.

One could go on about the fraudulent American dream that LuLaRoe represents  a sort of up-by-the-bootstraps mentality with a social media assist and the ideals of womens empowerment, all of which are taken advantage of by manipulative crooks.

But unless youre really hankering for a visual component and video testimonies, youd be better off simply reading the article than watching this thoroughly formulaic explainer.

The Rise and Fall of LuLaRoe

Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 45 minutes. Watch on Discovery+.
As far as were concerned, we built two beautiful buildings, and we spent $400 million, he said. You know, thats a lot of money. He dismissed the environmental concerns with an expletive.

The scientists say that construction of the ferry pier would probably disrupt the crabs, who like quiet water. There are also fears that dredging during construction  and the waves in the wake of high-speed ferries  would release carcinogens like mercury, lead and dioxin that are trapped in the creek bed. Coney Island Creek Park is across the water from another park that is a former industrial dump.

Concerns about the environmental impact arose almost as soon as the city issued a feasibility study in 2018, offering two locations for the pier: one to the east and the other to the west of the narrow waterway that connects the creek with Gravesend Bay. The Economic Development Corporation, a semi-independent city agency in charge of the ferry project, ultimately settled on the location to the west, saying it had more water depth and was less exposed to adverse weather.

Several scientists from the parks department told The New York Times they had given their superiors extensive data showing the negative effects of ferry service from Coney Island Creek.

The scientists said their comments were not reflected in an environmental-impact statement sent to regulators to help determine whether to issue a permit. They said the document concluded instead that there would be no significant environmental impact.

Anessa Hodgson, a parks department spokeswoman, said that the environmental impact statement went through several rounds of review and that comments from the public were also taken into account. The department came to the ultimate concurrence with the conclusions outlined in the environmental-impact statement from the economic development agency, she said.

The Economic Development Corporation said in an email that it took environmental concerns seriously and that construction would not have proceeded without full approval by the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Army Corps of Engineers.
People take for granted that Assembly members mail out newsletters, said Mr. Nadler, who was elected to the Assembly in 1976. Nobody did so before Dick. He invented the concept. He wrote them and then he had them printed and sent out, and I dont think the Assembly paid for that until later.

Mr. Gottfried, who entered office during the last years of Gov. Nelson Rockefellers 14-year tenure, recalled the urgency of taking a series of high-stakes votes when Gov. Hugh Carey was trying to save New York City from the brink of bankruptcy in the 1970s.

Everyone had a sense of the importance of what we were doing and the potential that at any given point things could really fall apart, he said.

He wont forget a 45-minute phone call he received in the late 1980s from Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, who was upset because Mr. Gottfried had told an administration official that he believed Mr. Cuomo was at war with the Legislature. I looked at my clock and I thought, My God, this is the budget season in Albany, doesnt the governor have more important things to do than be on the phone with me?

Then there were his dealings with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who resigned in August following sexual harassment allegations. Mr. Gottfried, who engaged in grueling negotiations with Mr. Cuomo over his medical marijuana bill, took a 20-second pause to choose his words.

I certainly had, as many people did, a lot more friction with Andrew Cuomo because that was often his style, he said. I think Ill leave it at that.
Businesses across New York City were mixed on Gov. Kathy Hochuls new mask mandate, with some welcoming the new rule while others groaned over even tighter restrictions.

The statewide mandate, which went into effect Monday, requires all indoor businesses to ask customers for proof of full vaccination or enforce mask-wearing at all times. The new rule comes as the state grapples with the threat of a winter surge in coronavirus cases.

Individuals are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving either the second shot of the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines or the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to the state and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Children ages 5 to 11 statewide will only need to show proof of one dose to be admitted to places requiring full vaccination, the state said.

Im not telling them to put a mask on, said Eva Dayton, the owner of Consignment Brooklyn in Boerum Hill. Im not telling you what to do. Im not a law enforcement person, Im a business owner.
Fare capping is absolutely a program whose time has come, and its going to benefit so many riders, said Lisa Daglian, the executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the M.T.A., a watchdog group. It levels the playing field.

With OMNY  short for One Metro New York  riders can tap a credit card, smartphone or OMNY card on an electronic reader to access the subway, a more modern fare system that many other public transit systems around the world have already adopted. OMNY readers are available at all 472 subway stations and on all 5,800 buses, and fare capping would apply to both modes of transportation.

If I do happen to ride enough in a week tapping my card and I get a free ride out of it, I wouldnt turn that down, said Amy Kowell, 32, who lives in Brooklyn and works in the financial district in Lower Manhattan. Its definitely appealing.

Ms. Kowell, who was entering the Parkside Avenue station in Brooklyn on her way to go shopping on Saturday, said the subway is the main way she gets around the city and that she likes OMNY because it spares her the trouble of making sure she has a MetroCard with enough of a balance. Depending on her schedule, she said, she typically takes about 10 to 15 trips per week.

The M.T.A. introduced the system in May 2019 on a handful of subway and bus routes. Today, Mr. Lieber said, more than 25 percent of all fare payments are made using the OMNY system.
This article is part of Times Opinions Holiday Giving Guide 2021. For other ideas on where to donate this year, please see the rest of our guide here.



NASHVILLE  At this point, youre probably trying very hard to tread more lightly on this weary and fragile earth. But no matter how much organic produce you buy, or how much plastic youve eliminated, or how many native trees youve planted, the future seems bleaker and bleaker. The relentless destruction of wildlife habitat picks up pace. The extinction of species escalates. The rapidly heating planet has gone into overdrive.

Its easy to feel powerless in a situation like this. For the companies raking in piles of money in a fossil-fuel-based economy  and for the politicians whose campaigns they fund  thats the whole point. If even the people who are trying to do better by the planet give up in despair, what hope is there for making the kinds of global changes that must be made to preserve our planets remaining biodiversity and prevent the worst effects of climate change?

Fortunately, saving the planet isnt something were obliged to manage on our own. Our collective efforts can make a huge difference, even as the greatest differences will be made in ways that are far beyond the reach of average citizens. And in supporting these efforts, we are far from powerless.

I dont mean simply voting for green candidates. Im talking about supporting the environmental nonprofits that turn donations into collective action. The nonprofit news sources that inform the public about environmental hazards in their own community. The legal organizations that hold industry accountable and push for greater conservation measures in the private sector and at every level of government. The conservancies that work to protect ecosystems while they are still intact.
To the Editor:

Re Teachers Cant Stop the Shootings, by Sarah Lerner (Opinion guest essay, Dec. 8):

As a recently retired high school principal of 27 years, I understand Ms. Lerners concerns. I have had to deal with situations in which students drawings and/or writings prompted a follow-up. That always included meeting with the student and parents immediately and requiring that the student undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

During the meeting the parents would be asked if there were guns in the house and if the student had access to any weapons. The students backpack and locker would be checked, and the student could not return to school until the evaluation was completed and indicated that the student did not pose a threat.

No system is perfect, but it needs to be made clear to students and parents that all threats are taken seriously. Teachers know their students, and what they see and hear is critical and can save lives.

Lorraine Brooks

Nanuet, N.Y.

To the Editor:

I read Sarah Lerners essay with great interest and sadness. I would love to see a complete ban on military-style weapons. However, with many of our representatives campaigns being funded with N.R.A. money, we are unlikely to see that. Nor can we easily prevent parents from giving guns to their offspring as gifts.
Night sky enthusiasts are gearing up to enjoy one of the best meteor showers of 2021, the Geminids, which peak on Monday night into Tuesday morning.

Along with the Perseids in the summer, the winter Geminids are one of the most anticipated meteor showers of the year, producing potentially a hundred or more spectacular streaks per hour that shoot across the heavens.

The Geminids originate from an asteroid called 3200 Phaethon that orbits the sun every 1.4 years, scattering pieces of itself as it travels. Those tiny rocks slam into our atmosphere, creating trails of dazzling light as they burn up. As Earth plows into Phaethons debris field, the resulting meteors all appear to streak from a spot in the sky, called a radiant, where the constellation Gemini sits, hence the meteor showers name. Other showers originate from comets.

While you may get a good look at them tonight, the Geminids presented an unusual spectacle for a few lucky viewers in December 2020.
Hundreds of female gymnasts who were sexually abused by Lawrence G. Nassar, the former team doctor of the national gymnastics team, have agreed to a $380 million settlement with U.S.A. Gymnastics and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, ending the latest dark chapter in one of the biggest child molestation cases in history.

The settlement, announced on Monday during U.S.A. Gymnastics bankruptcy proceedings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana, is among the largest ever for a sexual abuse case. The funds would seek to compensate more than 500 abuse victims, including Olympic gold medalists like Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney and Aly Raisman. A number of those victims were abused by their coaches or others in the sport.

No amount of money will ever repair the damage that has been done and what these women have been through, said Rachael Denhollander, a Nassar survivor and member of a survivors committee involved in the settlement negotiations. But at some point, the negotiations have to end because these women need help  and they need it right now.

Many of the girls and women abused by Nassar have battled mental health issues, including anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, and some have attempted suicide because of the abuse, which Nassar perpetrated under the guise of medical treatment. Denhollander, a lawyer, said it was unclear how much money each survivor would receive from the settlement because an independent mediator would consider many factors, including the length of time and the severity of the abuse, when calculating a dollar amount per person.
SYDNEY, Australia  In October, Thea-Mai Baumann, an Australian artist and technologist, found herself sitting on prime internet real estate.

In 2012, she had started an Instagram account with the handle @metaverse, a name she used in her creative work. On the account, she documented her life in Brisbane, where she studied fine art, and her travels to Shanghai, where she built an augmented reality company called Metaverse Makeovers.

She had fewer than 1,000 followers when Facebook, the parent company of Instagram, announced on Oct. 28 that it was changing its name. Henceforth, Facebook would be known as Meta, a reflection of its focus on the metaverse, a virtual world it sees as the future of the internet.

In the days before, as word leaked out, Ms. Baumann began receiving messages from strangers offering to buy her Instagram handle. You are now a millionaire, one person wrote on her account. Another warned: fb isnt gonna buy it, theyre gonna take it.
LONDON  History comes hurtling to life in Best of Enemies, the latest attempt from the prolific playwright James Graham (Ink, Quiz) to put flesh on the bare bones of the past. Chronicling a sequence of televised face-offs that transfixed the United States in 1968, Graham once again shows a gift for mining the annals of politics and journalism for real theatrical gems. The result, at the Young Vic through Jan. 22, is the most riveting play in London just now.

It helps that the personalities involved in those 10 TV debates were William F. Buckley Jr. and Gore Vidal, two richly articulate men of any dramatists dreams. On the one side was Buckley (played here by David Harewood), founder of The National Review and a conservative grandee; on the other was Vidal (Charles Edwards), the pleasure-seeking novelist and playwright with two homes in Italy and a withering disregard for the Christian values Buckley espoused.

Ideological opposites, the pair were brought together by ABC to restore the flagging ratings of a network dryly referred to early in the play as the almost broadcasting company. Drawing inspiration from a 2015 film documentary of the same name, Graham sets their increasingly barbed exchanges against the backdrop of a tumultuous summer. Were reminded, via Luke Hallss video design, of the riots and protests that were tearing at America, just as Buckley and Vidal tore into one another. (Bunny Christies set is a horseshoe-shaped soundstage with screens perched above the action.)
EL CENTRO, Calif.  Californias coronavirus numbers contain what appears to be, at first glance, a pandemic paradox.

Imperial County is a poor and overwhelmingly Latino agricultural region in the states southeastern corner. Its demographics are generally linked to lower-than-average Covid-19 vaccination rates.

But the county, which is along the border with Mexico, has an immunization rate that ranks seventh out of the states 58 counties, the highest coverage level in Southern California.

Imperial Countys surprisingly high demand for vaccinations has been a mystery for several months, as CalMatters first reported. Some experts cautioned that the numbers may have been boosted by Americans who live in Mexico crossing the border to get their shots.
[explosion] In one of the final acts of its 20-year war in Afghanistan, the United States fired a missile from a drone at a car in Kabul. It was parked in the courtyard of a home, and the explosion killed 10 people, including 43-year-old Zemari Ahmadi and seven children, according to his family. The Pentagon claimed that Ahmadi was a facilitator for the Islamic State, and that his car was packed with explosives, posing an imminent threat to U.S. troops guarding the evacuation at the Kabul airport. The procedures were correctly followed, and it was a righteous strike. What the military apparently didnt know was that Ahmadi was a longtime aid worker, who colleagues and family members said spent the hours before he died running office errands, and ended his day by pulling up to his house. Soon after, his Toyota was hit with a 20-pound Hellfire missile. What was interpreted as the suspicious moves of a terrorist may have just been an average day in his life. And its possible that what the military saw Ahmadi loading into his car were water canisters he was bringing home to his family  not explosives. Using never-before seen security camera footage of Ahmadi, interviews with his family, co-workers and witnesses, we will piece together for the first time his movements in the hours before he was killed. Zemari Ahmadi was an electrical engineer by training. For 14 years, he had worked for the Kabul office of Nutrition and Education International. NEI established a total of 11 soybean processing plants in Afghanistan. Its a California based NGO that fights malnutrition. On most days, he drove one of the companys white Toyota corollas, taking his colleagues to and from work and distributing the NGOs food to Afghans displaced by the war. Only three days before Ahmadi was killed, 13 U.S. troops and more than 170 Afghan civilians died in an Islamic State suicide attack at the airport. The military had given lower-level commanders the authority to order airstrikes earlier in the evacuation, and they were bracing for what they feared was another imminent attack. To reconstruct Ahmadis movements on Aug. 29, in the hours before he was killed, The Times pieced together the security camera footage from his office, with interviews with more than a dozen of Ahmadis colleagues and family members. Ahmadi appears to have left his home around 9 a.m. He then picked up a colleague and his bosss laptop near his house. Its around this time that the U.S. military claimed it observed a white sedan leaving an alleged Islamic State safehouse, around five kilometers northwest of the airport. Thats why the U.S. military said they tracked Ahmadis Corolla that day. They also said they intercepted communications from the safehouse, instructing the car to make several stops. But every colleague who rode with Ahmadi that day said what the military interpreted as a series of suspicious moves was just a typical day in his life. After Ahmadi picked up another colleague, the three stopped to get breakfast, and at 9:35 a.m., they arrived at the N.G.O.s office. Later that morning, Ahmadi drove some of his co-workers to a Taliban-occupied police station to get permission for future food distribution at a new displacement camp. At around 2 p.m., Ahmadi and his colleagues returned to the office. The security camera footage we obtained from the office is crucial to understanding what happens next. The cameras timestamp is off, but we went to the office and verified the time. We also matched an exact scene from the footage with a timestamp satellite image to confirm it was accurate. A 2:35 p.m., Ahmadi pulls out a hose, and then he and a co-worker fill empty containers with water. Earlier that morning, we saw Ahmadi bring these same empty plastic containers to the office. There was a water shortage in his neighborhood, his family said, so he regularly brought water home from the office. At around 3:38 p.m., a colleague moves Ahmadis car further into the driveway. A senior U.S. official told us that at roughly the same time, the military saw Ahmadis car pull into an unknown compound 8 to 12 kilometers southwest of the airport. That overlaps with the location of the NGOs office, which we believe is what the military called an unknown compound. With the workday ending, an employee switched off the office generator and the feed from the camera ends. We dont have footage of the moments that followed. But its at this time, the military said that its drone feed showed four men gingerly loading wrapped packages into the car. Officials said they couldnt tell what was inside them. This footage from earlier in the day shows what the men said they were carrying  their laptops one in a plastic shopping bag. And the only things in the trunk, Ahmadis co-workers said, were the water containers. Ahmadi dropped each one of them off, then drove to his home in a dense neighborhood near the airport. He backed into the homes small courtyard. Children surrounded the car, according to his brother. A U.S. official said the military feared the car would leave again, and go into an even more crowded street or to the airport itself. The drone operators, who hadnt been watching Ahmadis home at all that day, quickly scanned the courtyard and said they saw only one adult male talking to the driver and no children. They decided this was the moment to strike. A U.S. official told us that the strike on Ahmadis car was conducted by an MQ-9 Reaper drone that fired a single Hellfire missile with a 20-pound warhead. We found remnants of the missile, which experts said matched a Hellfire at the scene of the attack. In the days after the attack, the Pentagon repeatedly claimed that the missile strike set off other explosions, and that these likely killed the civilians in the courtyard. Significant secondary explosions from the targeted vehicle indicated the presence of a substantial amount of explosive material. Because there were secondary explosions, theres a reasonable conclusion to be made that there was explosives in that vehicle. But a senior military official later told us that it was only possible to probable that explosives in the car caused another blast. We gathered photos and videos of the scene taken by journalists and visited the courtyard multiple times. We shared the evidence with three weapons experts who said the damage was consistent with the impact of a Hellfire missile. They pointed to the small crater beneath Ahmadis car and the damage from the metal fragments of the warhead. This plastic melted as a result of a car fire triggered by the missile strike. All three experts also pointed out what was missing: any evidence of the large secondary explosions described by the Pentagon. No collapsed or blown-out walls, including next to the trunk with the alleged explosives. No sign that a second car parked in the courtyard was overturned by a large blast. No destroyed vegetation. All of this matches what eyewitnesses told us, that a single missile exploded and triggered a large fire. There is one final detail visible in the wreckage: containers identical to the ones that Ahmadi and his colleague filled with water and loaded into his trunk before heading home. Even though the military said the drone team watched the car for eight hours that day, a senior official also said they werent aware of any water containers. The Pentagon has not provided The Times with evidence of explosives in Ahmadis vehicle or shared what they say is the intelligence that linked him to the Islamic State. But the morning after the U.S. killed Ahmadi, the Islamic State did launch rockets at the airport from a residential area Ahmadi had driven through the previous day. And the vehicle they used   was a white Toyota. The U.S. military has so far acknowledged only three civilian deaths from its strike, and says there is an investigation underway. They have also admitted to knowing nothing about Ahmadi before killing him, leading them to interpret the work of an engineer at a U.S. NGO as that of an Islamic State terrorist. Four days before Ahmadi was killed, his employer had applied for his family to receive refugee resettlement in the United States. At the time of the strike, they were still awaiting approval. Looking to the U.S. for protection, they instead became some of the last victims in Americas longest war. Hi, Im Evan, one of the producers on this story. Our latest visual investigation began with word on social media of an explosion near Kabul airport. It turned out that this was a U.S. drone strike, one of the final acts in the 20-year war in Afghanistan. Our goal was to fill in the gaps in the Pentagons version of events. We analyzed exclusive security camera footage, and combined it with eyewitness accounts and expert analysis of the strike aftermath. You can see more of our investigations by signing up for our newsletter.
Both parties delivered heaps of hyperbole in their emails. One Republican, for instance, declared that Democrats wanted to establish a one-party socialist state, while a Democrat suggested that the partys Jan. 6 inquiry was at imminent risk because the G.O.P. could force the whole investigation to end early.

But Republicans included misinformation far more often: in about 15 percent of their messages, compared with about 2 percent for Democrats. In addition, multiple Republicans often spread the same unfounded claims, whereas Democrats rarely repeated one anothers.

At least eight Republican lawmakers sent fund-raising emails containing a brazen distortion of a potential settlement with migrants separated from their families during the Trump administration. One of them, Senator John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana, falsely claimed that President Biden was giving every illegal immigrant that comes into our country $450,000.

Those claims were grounded in news that the Justice Department was negotiating payments to settle lawsuits filed on behalf of immigrant families whom the Trump administration had separated, some of whom have not been reunited. But the payments, which are not final and could end up being smaller, would be limited to that small fraction of migrants.

The relatively small number of false statements from Democrats were mostly about abortion. For instance, an email from Representative Carolyn Maloney of New York said the Mississippi law before the Supreme Court was nearly identical to the one in Texas, banning abortions after 6 weeks, but Mississippis law bans abortion after 15 weeks and does not include the vigilante enforcement mechanism that is a defining characteristic of Texas law.
WASHINGTON  Roe v. Wade has had a rough two weeks at the Supreme Court.

On Dec. 1, at arguments over its fate in a case from Mississippi, the five most conservative justices showed no interest in doing anything short of overruling it.

Then, on Friday, those same five justices allowed a Texas law that bans most abortions after six weeks to remain in place and seemed to shut down any effective way to challenge it in federal court. That law, which has been in place since Sept. 1, is flatly at odds with Roe, which established a constitutional right to abortion and prohibited states from banning the procedure before fetal viability, or around 23 weeks of pregnancy.

A decision in the Mississippi case is not expected until late June. If the court overrules Roe, an increasingly real possibility, it will have to explain why it is departing from the principle of stare decisis, which is legal Latin for to stand by things decided.

At his 2005 confirmation hearings, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said the Supreme Court should be wary of overturning precedents, in part because doing so threatens the courts legitimacy.
These applicants are not anti-vaxxers who object to all vaccines, Justice Gorsuch added. Instead, the applicants explain, they cannot receive a Covid-19 vaccine because their religion teaches them to oppose abortion in any form, and because each of the currently available vaccines has depended upon abortion-derived fetal cell lines in its production or testing.

The Free Exercise Clause protects not only the right to hold unpopular religious beliefs inwardly and secretly, he wrote. It protects the right to live out those beliefs publicly.

New York State estimates that about 4 percent of its health care work force  or 37,000 workers  have left their jobs as a result of the vaccine mandate, which was issued by Gov. Kathy C. Hochul on Aug. 26 and went into effect about a month later. Because of the pending court cases, workers who had requested religious exemptions were permitted to work until Nov. 22, but then had to get vaccinated, go on leave or resign.

Ms. Hochul has since declared a state of emergency in light of a serious shortage of medical workers in upstate New York exacerbated by these job losses. She has called the National Guard to assist in short-staffed nursing homes as coronavirus cases increase. It is unclear how many of these workers left specifically for religious reasons, but state data shows that about 4,000 additional health care workers have left or been placed on leave for being unvaccinated since the ban on religious exemptions went into effect.

The ruling from the Supreme Court came in a pair of challenges brought by doctors, nurses and other health care workers who said the requirement violated their right to the free exercise of religion. They argued that the availability of a medical exemption meant that the state was discriminating against religious practice, citing decisions of the Supreme Court striking down limits on religious gatherings that the justices in the majority said were more restrictive than ones imposed on secular gatherings.

A federal judge in Brooklyn ruled against the challengers in the case before him, but another federal judge, in Utica, N.Y., ruled for the challengers in a second case.

In a consolidated appeal in the two cases, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in New York, refused to block the requirement.
The U.S. Coast Guard suspended a 31-hour search for a passenger who fell off a cruise ship near Mexico, the authorities said on Sunday.

The woman, who was not immediately identified, was aboard a Carnival cruise ship when she fell on Saturday morning from the balcony of her stateroom, Carnival Cruise Line said in a statement. The company said the ship had been on a three-day cruise to Ensenada, Mexico, and the Coast Guard said the woman fell near there.

Carnival did not provide further details of how the woman fell overboard.

On Saturday, the Coast Guard said that it had deployed a cutter called the Forrest Rednour as well as a helicopter, and that it was working with Mexicos Navy to find the woman.

Crews started searching early in the morning on Saturday and into Sunday, the Coast Guard said. It led a search of about 520 square nautical miles, it said.
A city in South Korea plans to test a system that uses facial recognition technology and data from more than 10,000 surveillance cameras to help track people infected with the coronavirus.

The system will be tested in January in Bucheon, a metropolitan area of 800,000 people on the edge of Seoul, the countrys capital. City officials hope the system can help trace the recent movements of people who test positive, their interactions with other people and whether masks were worn.

Bucheon is not the first city to explore the use of facial recognition as it tries to cope with the heavy demands on labor and resources that contact tracing often entails. Moscow has used the technology to check whether people placed under quarantine have tried to leave their homes.

The details of the system being tested in South Korea were outlined in a proposal by the city of Bucheon that was approved in February by the federal Ministry of Science and Information and Communications Technology.
HONG KONG  A Hong Kong court on Monday sentenced the former media mogul Jimmy Lai and seven other prominent pro-democracy activists to prison for their roles last year in trying to commemorate Beijings June 4, 1989, crackdown on peaceful protesters in Tiananmen Square.

The sentences  between four months and 14 months  were the latest example of the wide-ranging crackdown on dissent and free speech in the city, a former British colony that once had significantly stronger civil liberties than the rest of China. While this case was not prosecuted under a stringent national security law imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing last year, several of the defendants, including Mr. Lai, also face separate charges under that law.

Mr. Lai and the other activists  including Chow Hang-tung, Gwyneth Ho and Lee Cheuk-Yan  gathered on June 4 last year in Victoria Park before an annual vigil organized by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, a pro-democracy group. The alliance had hosted those vigils, a potent symbol of Hong Kongs differences from the rest of China, in the park for three decades. But the government banned the gathering last year, citing the coronavirus pandemic, and again this year.

Mr. Lai received 13 months in prison from the judge, Amanda J. Woodcock. Mr. Lee, a former lawmaker and leader of the alliance, received the heaviest sentence, 14 months. A former chairman of the opposition Democratic Party, Wu Chi-wai, was sentenced to four months and two weeks.
SRINAGAR, Kashmir  Militants fired on a police bus in the Indian region of Kashmir on Monday, killing at least two officers and wounding more than a dozen, the police said, just three days after a similar attack left two policemen dead.

Kashmir, disputed between India and Pakistan, has long endured clashes between separatist insurgents and government forces, and the violence has escalated recently as strict security protocols imposed in 2019 and pandemic restrictions have been lifted. Pakistan, which contains a part of Kashmir, also claims the Indian portion, and there have been repeated conflicts along the boundary separating them.

The attack on Monday, on the outskirts of the largest Kashmiri city, Srinagar, took place in a highly guarded area home to major Indian security establishments operating in the region. In the attack three days earlier, gunmen fired on a squad of officers patrolling streets in northern Kashmir.

Jammu and Kashmir was Indias only Muslim-majority state, with a degree of autonomy, until August 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modis government drastically changed the regions political status. It stripped the region of its autonomy and its status as a state, and placed it under the direct control of New Delhi.
SEOUL  The meeting was low-key, a presentation last month by South Korean officials to about 50 villagers gathered in a community hall on the countrys southeastern coast.

The government, the audience was told, planned to build a test version of a small nuclear reactor at a new atomic research complex  the countrys largest ever  that is under construction in the village of Gampo. The modular reactor, to be completed by 2027, would be similar to those that power seagoing vessels like icebreakers and container ships.

But that may not be the only ambition for this advanced technology. The project, nuclear experts say, could potentially allow South Korea to fulfill a long-held dream of developing a nuclear-powered submarine. Its something that its most powerful ally, the United States, has opposed for decades.
Ms. Stojberg said she was very surprised by the 60-day prison sentence, which cannot be appealed.

Its the only scenario I had not prepared for because I thought it was completely unrealistic, she told reporters. But thats where we are, and I will serve my punishment, and I do that with my head held high, and then we will move on.

Ms. Stojberg was the minister of immigration and integration from 2015 to 2019 under a previous center-right government. Legislators will now decide whether she can continue to serve as a member of the 179-seat Folketing, the Danish Parliament.

At the center of the trial was a statement Ms. Stojberg issued in 2016, after extensive coverage in the Danish media about so-called child brides at asylum centers, that the Danish Immigration Service was going to separate asylum-seekers in marriages where one person was underage, even if they had children. Some 23 couples, many of whom had fled to Denmark to escape wars in Syria and Iraq, were subsequently separated by immigration officials.

They have to be separated, she said at the time to the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, because I will not accept that in my system there could be examples of coercion.

One of the couples affected  a 17-year-old pregnant woman and a 26-year-old man  filed a complaint with the ombudsman of the Danish Parliament, who ruled that the separations were illegal.
GENEVA  Genevas chief prosecutor said Monday that a criminal investigation into allegations that Spains former king, Juan Carlos, laundered illegal commission payments from Saudi Arabia related to a high-speed rail deal has been closed because of insufficient evidence.

But a Swiss private bank, Mirabeau, which was involved in the three-year investigation, was fined over a reporting failure related to the case.

The prosecutor, Yves Bertossa, said he had established that Saudi Arabia had paid $100 million in August 2008 into an account opened a month earlier at Mirabaud in the name of a Panamanian foundation whose beneficial owner was Juan Carlos.

But Mr. Bertossa said in a statement that he had been unable to prove a clear link to a contract awarded three years later to Spanish companies for a high-speed rail connection in Saudi Arabia.
JERUSALEM  The Israeli prime minister met the crown prince of Abu Dhabi on Monday on the first official visit by an Israeli leader to the United Arab Emirates, a historic encounter that would have been unimaginable a few years ago and showcased the rapid realignment of the Middle East, driven by shared fears of a nuclear Iran.

Naftali Bennett, the Israeli prime minister, spent four hours with the de facto Emirati leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed  two hours longer than planned. They met in Abu Dhabi amid renewed tensions between the United States and Israel, which opposes revived efforts by Washington to persuade Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief.

Im flying back to Israel, very optimistic that this relationship can set an example of how we can make peace here in the Middle East, Mr. Bennett said in a video released shortly before his departure to Israel.

Ostracized for years by all but two Arab countries, Israel began to establish formal relationships with four others, including the United Arab Emirates, in August 2020. Mr. Bennetts visit was a testament to both the speed at which Israel has consolidated some of those relationships in the 15 months since, and the primacy of concerns about Iran for some Arab leaders, even above their longstanding demands for a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
An Indian plastic surgeon is being praised as a hero without a cape after spending much of his life performing over 37,000 free procedures to correct childrens cleft palates and cleft lips.

According to the CDC, cleft lip and cleft palate are birth defects that occur when a babys lip or mouth do not form properly during pregnancy. These defects cause a variety of problems, which range from the inability to access milk as babies, to bullying and discrimination later on in life. Both birth defects can be corrected with the help of plastic surgery, but these procedures are, unfortunately, not available to the poor families who need them most. In India, one plastic surgeon has emerged as the benefactor of tens of thousands of babies and children, correcting their cleft lips or cleft palate for free, and thus giving them the chance at a much better life.

Photo: Facebook

Born into a humble family in Varanasi, in Indias Uttar Pradesh state, Dr. Subodh Kumar Singh had to overcome adversity himself during his childhood, which inspired him to dedicate his career to helping the needy, rather than seeking financial gain. After losing his father, a railway clerk, when he was only 13-years-old, Subodh and his three older brothers had to provide for the family by selling homemade candles, soaps and goggles on streets and in local shops.

Subodhs brothers quit their education to support the family, but they made sure that he could continue his studies and fulfill his dream of becoming a doctor. Although he helped his sibling as much as he could, working several jobs while pursuing his education, Subodh Kumar Singh graduated from the Institute of Medical Sciences, completed his post-graduation in general surgery, and specialized in plastic surgery.

My childhood gave me the strength to build resilience and develop an understanding for people who undergo a daily struggle, Dr. Singh told The Better India. The hardships made me perceive their emotions and relate to them. Becoming a doctor put me in a position to help many. I wanted to make the lives of the less privileged people better.

Realizing that babies and children born with cleft lips and palates required help, the plastic surgeon started organizing free medical camps and helping as many sufferers as he could. His efforts were soon noticed by Smile Train, a global initiative focused on cleft surgery. With their support, and that of other NGOs, Dr. Singh could help even more people.

These babies cannot access milk as required. Many die due to malnourishment and often have their growth stunted. The children find it difficult to use the tongue to speak, causing speech problems, Dr. Subodh Kumar Singh said of the conditions he corrects. The children often drop out of school due to their speech or being bullied. They find it challenging to seek jobs or find acceptance. On many occasions, the mother is blamed, cursed and abandoned for conceiving a child with a cleft lip. It also has psychological effects on parents. But surgery can solve it all.

Ever since he started his pro bono journey 2004, Dr. Singh has performed over 37,000 procedures on both children and adults. With the help of Smile Train, he has also been able to train dozens of other doctors across India to correct these birth defects and hopes to one day be able to set up a national center for correcting cleft lip surgeries.

I feel proud to have the power to change the lives of many, Dr. Subodh Kumar Singh said. One surgery positively impacts more than one family and the life of an individual. Nothing gives me more joy than to reunite the families who accept their daughter-in-law after the surgery and do not blame her for the deformity.

Dr. Singhs career is reminiscent of that of Nepalese eye doctor Sanduk Ruit, aka the God of Sight, who has single-handedly managed to restore the eyesight of over 100,000 people across two continents.
A German Federal Court recently ruled that a man who broke his back by falling down the stairs from his bedroom on his way to his home office should be covered by his employers workplace accident insurance.

According to court documents published last Wednesday, Germanys Federal Social Court ruled in favor of an unnamed area sales manager who broke his back in an accident that occurred in his home in 2018. The man was allegedly walking down the stairs from his bedroom on his way to his home office when he slipped on his spiral staircase and broke a thoracic vertebra. The plaintiffs lawyer argued that his client, who typically starts his workday without eating breakfast, was headed for his home work station, which makes his accident work-related and should be covered by insurance.

Photo: succo/Pixabay

Interestingly, online documents show that a lower court had previously ruled that the mans walk from his bedroom to his home office qualified as an uninsured preparatory act that only precedes the actual insured activity, and thus was not covered by work accident insurance. However, the employee appealed the decision to a higher court, which overturned the decision.

Apparently, the Covid-19 pandemic had a part to play in the recent ruling, as the employee pointed out that many people are currently required to work from home in Germany and should be covered by work accident insurance.

The Federal Social Court ruled that in exceptional cases a path to the company can also exist in a domestic area if the apartment and workplace are in the same building. Additionally, the court also considered whether the employee wanted to carry out an activity serving the company in the performance leading to the accident event.

Photo: Robystarm/Pixabay

The recent ruling sparked a heated online debate, both in Germany and abroad. While some consider the decision just, seeing as not all work is conducted on company premises  think postmen, deliverymen, garbage collectors, etc.  so workers should be covered by insurance wherever they conduct their work. Others, on the other hand, wondered if this ruling would open the gates to home office inspection by employers, to check for potential hazards.

Its worth noting that German legislation is different from US legislation and that in the European country even the commute from home to the workplace is covered by accident insurance. In this case, the court merely decided that the mans walk down the stairs counted as a commute to work.
It almost beggars belief that Ireland has not completed a territorial just transition plan and accompanying programme to 84.5 from the EU Just Transition Fund, according to Independent TD for Laois-Offaly Carol Nolan who compared the delay to a famous Samuel Beckett play.

Deputy Nolan was speaking after the Minister the Environment, Eamon Ryan, confirmed that work on the draft plan remains incomplete in his Department, despite informing her in July that the plan would be ready for public consultation this Autumn.

It is completely unacceptable that Government and in particular, Minister Ryans department have yet to formulate the draft plan.

"We have to remember that I was told as far back as June 2020 by the former Minister for the Environment, Richard Bruton, that work was underway in developing the plan that would enable us to access 84 million from the EU Just Transition Fund.

"Since then, and this was also confirmed to me in July by Minister Eamon Ryan, his Department has been supported to develop the Territorial Plan through technical assistance under the European Commissions Structural Reform Support Programme," she said.

Dep Nolan said consultants were also selected by the Commission to assist in developing an evidence base to inform the selection of investment priorities for inclusion in the Territorial Plan and they had extensive engagements with national and regional stakeholders to inform their work.

She said these included the Just Transition Commissioner, the Midlands Regional Transition Team, Local Authorities, Regional Assemblies, ICTU, BnM, ESB, relevant Government Departments, NESC, IDA, Enterprise Ireland, Solas and the Education and Training Boards.

Despite all of this engagement, we are now told by Minister Ryan that he only intends to launch a public consultation before the end of the year to inform the further development and finalisation of the plan during the course of 2022.

"At this rate our communities in Offaly, Laois, and beyond who desperately need funding, might as well be Waiting for Godot, concluded Deputy Nolan.
A VILLAGE and rural parish in Offaly are planning for the future.

Offaly Local Development Company are assisting the Pullough Planning Group to carry out a survey which will guide Pullough in the coming years.

The group is a joint initiative of over ten local organisations in Pullough.

Over the past month each household has received the confidential questionnaire and have submitted their answers.

These answers will be analysed by staff from OLDC and the results will be presented to the local groups in early Spring.

Then a five year plan will be put together to guide Pullough when taking on projects and requesting funding.

Authorities such as Leader, Waterways Ireland and Offaly County Council can then assist the community to fulfil their ambitions.

Pullough Planning Group would like to thank Siobhan, Declan and all the team at OLDC for their continued support to Pullough, said a spokesperson for Pullough Planning Group.

Locals can still complete the survey dropped or online at https://tinyurl.com/pulloughsurvey until this weekend.

Meanwhile, Cllr John Clendennen told the recent meeting of Birr Municipal District that it's important to get Village Renewal Funding for Pullough.

"When should we make an application for the funding?" he asked. "I don't want us to miss the boat." There was no answer immediately forthcoming to his question.
Offaly schools are set to benefit from a cut of 45 million in funding for minor works at primary and special schools.

The funding was Minister for Education Norma Foley on Monday with 1.14m allocated to Offaly schools.

Once-off Covid-19 minor works funding of 17m is also announced for post-primary schools.

Given that each school setting is different, individual schools are best placed to decide how best to use this funding to address their particular needs.

Arrangements are now being made for the payment of these grants to schools.

Offaly-based Minister in the Department of Agriculture, Pippa Hackett, welcomed the news.

This funding for minor works in schools is very welcome during this time of Covid. Im delighted to see Offaly schools receiving 1.14m. Schools can decide for themselves how best to spend this money, given that they all have different needs. Keeping our schools open and our children safe is a vital part of our response to the Covid crisis," Senator Hackett said.

Minister Foley said: This significant increase in funding for schools will enable them to address both their minor works requirements and also to address small-scale ventilation improvements at school level as a short-term mitigation measure, should they require to do so.

Minor works funding is important in terms of supporting the operation of schools generally and particularly within a Covid-19 environment. Schools may also apply for emergency works grant assistance to address larger-scale issues on a permanent basis.

This funding also provides an opportunity for schools to enhance their outdoor learning environments for use as the weather permits.

The works that can be undertaken under the primary minor works scheme include maintenance and small-scale improvements to school buildings and grounds, improvement or replacement of mechanical and electrical services, the purchase of standard furniture and physical education equipment, the purchase of floor coverings and window blinds and the purchase of IT related equipment etc.

Separately, Independent Laois-Offaly TD Carol Nolan also welcomed more funding for Laois and Offaly, announced by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris.

The Laois-Offaly Education Training Board (ETB) will receive 321,410 under the Mitigating against Educational Disadvantage Fund (MAEDF).

I am delighted for Laois-Offaly ETB and the news that it will receive an allocation of 321,410," Deputy Nolan said.

"I have been fighting to have the area of educational disadvantage tackled and appropriate measures put in place to reduce it for the last number of years and it remains a key political priority of mine.

"We all know that Covid has exposed the inequalities within schools in terms of accessing vital equipment or enabling greater levels of participation. Hopefully this grant will go some way toward addressing those issues within Laois and Offaly.

"As I understand it the funding will resource projects to help support online learning, connect communities and provide social support to the most disadvantaged.

"The Fund also has a strong focus on building the digital infrastructure of community education providers, including providing devices and software, and increasing their capacity to deliver online learning, and that is something I want to welcome, even if remains the case too many rural schools and areas still suffer with poor or relatively patchy broadband, concluded Deputy Nolan.
A new festive tradition began in County Offaly this week when an Anglican priest hung a sandbag on her mantlepiece instead of a Christmas stocking, to raise awareness of the hunger crisis in flood-hit South Sudan. Rev Fran Grasham is priest-in-charge of Geashill and Killeigh Parishes.

Normally deployed in flood prevention, the sandbag is being used as a reminder that extreme weather exacerbated by climate change is a powerful driver of poverty and hunger, especially in flood-prone countries such as South Sudan.

In October, South Sudan saw its worst flooding in nearly 60 years, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to abandon their homes. Unusually heavy rainfall in recent months caused the Nile to burst its banks, leaving huge swathes of rich farmland under water. As well as destroying homes, the flooding killed livestock and destroyed crops, worsening a food crisis which has left 2.4 million people at risk of falling into famine.

With her sandbag Christmas stocking, Rev Grasham is giving her backing to Christian Aid Irelands Christmas appeal which this year focuses on the hunger crisis in South Sudan. The Church of Ireland is one of Christian Aids sponsoring churches and Rev Grasham has always supported its work to end extreme poverty.

Christian Aid is working through local partners to respond to the hunger and flooding crisis in South Sudan. The charity is providing emergency life-saving support including blankets, mosquito nets, water purification tablets and cash to flood-affected families as well as cash, seeds, farming tools and fishing kits to families struggling to get enough food to eat.

Christian Aid Ireland Chief Executive Rosamond Bennett thanked Rev Grasham and all her parishioners who support the charitys work to relieve poverty in South Sudan and around the world:

For many years, Rev Grasham has stood in solidarity with people living in desperate situations. This year, her sandbag stocking is helping to raise awareness of the impact that flooding is having on an already terrible hunger crisis in South Sudan.

To support Christian Aids Christmas appeal, visit www.caid.ie/Christmas or call 01 496 7040 to make a telephone donation.
The Irish Pharmacy Union (IUP) has expressed its concerns over what it described as a shortage of pharmacists throughout the country.

It said that a growing shortage of pharmacists could see community-based chemists left with no choice but to implement shorter opening hours, as well as closures on weekends and bank holidays, unless action is taken to tackle the burgeoning problem.

The IPU also pointed to the fact that there are only 240 places in pharmacy third-level courses at present.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, IPU secretary-general Darragh O Loughlin explained the dilemma that many Irish pharmacies face: if there is no pharmacist available or present, a pharmacy is legally not allowed to open its doors.

He added: "It is becoming increasingly difficult for community pharmacies to attract and retain young pharmacists into the sector."

"If this is allowed to develop, it could impact on patient care in the future."

In addition to the small number of places, Mr O' Loughlin said that one factor that is exacerbating the situation is that community pharmacies face increasing competition for graduates from other sectors, such as clinical roles within the HSE and research positions in pharmaceutical companies.

He also confirmed that the IPU has sought a meeting with the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Simon Harris, to discuss a solution to the issue, as well as a meetings with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland.

The IPU made headlines last week after it revealed (along with the Irish College of General Practitioners) that an IT glitch accidentally caused multiple booster appointments.
Eighteen palliative organisations nationwide will benefit from 10million in funding of end-of-life care.

The aim of the funding, announced today by the Minister for Health, is to increase "the equitable access to palliative services" across Ireland.

Minister Stephen Donnelly said, "We are rightly, very proud of our palliative care services in Ireland. We have seen the availability and range of services grow significantly over the last 20 years. At the same time, we are aware that the provision of services is not equally spread across the country.

Anam Cara and First Light are two organisations which will benefit from 50,000 each, while 150,000 will go to the Jack and Jill Children's Foundation, as well as 300,000 shared between the Irish Hospice Foundation and the Irish Cancer Society.

Three million euro of the funding will be equally distributed to progress the development of hospices in Drogheda, Cavan and the Midlands, which are in the planning stages at present.

Minister Donnelly said, "The development of these units will result in a hospice serving every region of the country."

Over 5million will also be distributed to the members of the Voluntary Hospice Group to support the valuable work of members.

The minister said, "We value the essential palliative care services provided by members of the Voluntary Hospice Group and this funding is in recognition of, and to support, their valuable services.

Two hundred thousand euro will be provided to the Waterford Hospice Foundation to clear the debt on the new 20 bed specialist inpatient unit, the removal of which will allow the organisation to direct funds to patient services.
The federal government has planted less than half a per cent of the two billion trees it pledged to put in the ground across Canada by 2030, The Canadian Press has learned.
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BERLIN (AP)  A German court on Monday convicted eight people over their role in a data processing center installed at a former military bunker that hosted sites dealing in drugs and other illegal activities.



The data center at the former bunker in Traben-Trarbach, a picturesque town on the Mosel River in western Germany, was raided and shut down in September 2019. It was set up as what investigators described as a bulletproof hoster, meant to conceal illicit activities from authorities eyes.



The state court in nearby Trier convicted all eight defendants of forming and membership in a criminal organization, the news agency dpa reported. However, they were all acquitted of being accessories to some 250,000 crimes that were allegedly committed via the websites the data center hosted.



The main suspect was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison after a trial that lasted more than a year. The other defendants were handed punishments ranging from four years and three months in prison to a one-year suspended sentence.
During his inaugural visit to Poland, new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sought closer ties with Warsaw, despite disagreements between the two sides on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and future of the EU.
Just three days after former Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas was found dead in his home at the age of 33, his former team paid tribute to him.


The aftermath of a string of deadly tornadoes in Kentucky should be declared a major federal disaster by the US government, the state's governor is reported to have told Washington officials.
The Queensland Ombudsman is assessing complaints about border travel, but will not confirm whether an investigation similar to..

Sydney Morning Herald 10 Dec 2021
Tamil Nadu government has asked all the colleges to vaccinate eligible students in order to avoid an increase in COVID-19 cases on campus.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have signed a defense deal worth one billion Australian dollars as the two countries mark 60 years of diplomatic relations.
The former media mogul and other prominent pro-democracy activists were previously convicted of inciting others to take part in an unauthorized assembly.
In an eerie resemblance to the hit Netflix show Squid Game, teachers in South Dakota competed in a "dystopian" scramble for one-dollar bills in a bid to fund improvements in their schools.
Anne Sacoolas is due to face criminal proceedings in the UK after being charged with causing Harry Dunn's death by dangerous driving.
A Pentagon review of the airstrike, which killed 10 Afghan civilians, concluded it was a tragic mistake and not caused by misconduct or negligence.


Manitoba is asking the federal government to send intensive care unit nurses to the province to help with the fourth wave of COVID-19, officials said in a news release Monday.
In the first tranche of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan after its takeover by the Taliban, India on Saturday sent medical supplies to that country. The medical supplies were sent on a return flight that had brought 10 Indians and 94 Afghans to Delhi from Kabul on Friday. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the consignments will be handed over to WHO representatives in Kabul.
National has appointed former senior Bill English and John Key staffer Cameron Burrows to be the party's new chief of staff.Burrows is well known in Parliament having advised former prime ministers John Key and Bill English. He...
Kamala Harris recently talked about her role as vice president, her relationship with Joe Biden, and the controversy she faced after her meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Newsy 06 Dec 2021

Watch VideoAll private employers in New York City will have to require their workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the mayor..
Jerusalem Post 12 Dec 2021

The visit will be the first-ever by an Israeli prime minister to the Gulf state, and comes as tensions with Iran continue to grow.
In the week ending December 10th 2021, a report by HFR stated that hedge funds declined in November, posting the largest single-month decline since March 2020, as equities fell sharply late in the month driven by fears of new restrictions related to the Omicron coronavirus variant. The investable HFRI 500 Fund Weighted Composite Index fell -1.6 percent in November, reversing the prior month's advance, while the HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index (FWC) fell -2.2 percent, according to data released by HFR.

BarclayHedge also said that hedge fund industry posted a monthly loss in November, down -1.22% for the month. For the year to date, the hedge fund industry gained 8.89% through November. The S&P 500 Total Return Index advanced 23.18% over the same period.

Meanwhile, the Goldman Sachs Hedge Fund Trend Monitor said that hedge funds started the year off with a bang, but they've been struggling in the last six months. U.S. equity hedge funds are up 13% year to date but only 3% for the last six months. Additionally, the most popular hedge fund long positions have lagged the S&P 500 by 16 percentage points since February, which may explain why hedge funds are struggling.

In new launches, the S......................

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ARCADIA TWP.  Arcadia's Pleasant Valley Community Center plans to host its first holiday event this week.

The Light Our Valley Event will be held from 3-6 p.m. on Thursday. The event is the first of its kind and will include the lighting of Christmas lights at the community center building, a bonfire courtesy of the Arcadia Fire Department, caroling, horse-drawn wagon rides courtesy of the Bear Mountain Boys, bake sale and other festivities, according to a news release.

In addition, in the community center gym, there will be an unveiling of the final plans for the rehabilitation of Sunset Station. This is because Arcadia's access to Lake Michigan  like other lakeshore communities  has been devastated by high waters.

There will also be a tribute during the event to Harriet Quimby who was the first American woman to get her pilot's license and to fly the English Channel. Currently, a committee is working to save her childhood home in Arcadia Township  which has local, national and international historical significance.

In addition to the events listed above, Janice McCraner, the town supervisor will be reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas." Spiked hot cocoa will also be available.
BERLIN (AP)  A German court on Monday convicted eight people over their role in a data processing center installed at a former military bunker that hosted sites dealing in drugs and other illegal activities.

The data center at the former bunker in Traben-Trarbach, a picturesque town on the Mosel River in western Germany, was raided and shut down in September 2019. It was set up as what investigators described as a bulletproof hoster, meant to conceal illicit activities from authorities eyes.
The following includes reports from the Midland County Sheriff's Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by Reporter Tess DeGayner.

Wednesday, Dec. 8

11:36 p.m.  Deputies assisted the Homer Township Fire Department by checking a business that was reported to be on fire. The building was checked and was not on fire.

11 p.m.  Officers were dispatched regarding domestic violence near the 500 block of Quincy Drive.

10:30 p.m.  Officers were dispatched regarding an attempt-to-locate report and a be-on-the-lookout report.

9 p.m.  A deputy made contact with a Warren Township male who stated his 13-year-old daughter was picked up by her mother. The male stated this was a violation of the child custody order. The male wanted a report on file and a well-being check on his daughter.

7:49 p.m.  Deputies spoke with a 16-year-old female in Lincoln Township regarding being a victim of online fraud. The complainant reported the incident to her financial institution and was advised there was no monetary loss. The 16-year-old and her parents were provided with resources to prevent further fraudulent activity.

1:56 p.m.  A Jerome Township man surrendered an old firearm to the Sheriff's Office that was corroded due to the flood.

1:29 p.m.  Officers responded to an animal bite near the 3700 block of Wingate Road.

1:23 p.m.  Officers were dispatched for a suspicious situation near South Saginaw Road and Salzburg Road.

12:09 p.m.  Officers made an arrest for trespassing near the 2100 block of Eastlawn Drive.

10:32 a.m.  The Sheriffs Office received a referral from the Department of Health and Human Services regarding alleged inappropriate contact between siblings in Ingersoll Township. The alleged contact occurred 4-5 years ago. Contact was made with the mother of the siblings, who advised they are handling the matter and they do not wish to have law enforcement involved at this time.

10:27 a.m.  A 41-year-old Bay City woman reported that employees of a Lee Township mobile home park started to move her son's belongings out of their residence improperly. The park had left a note explaining that they started to move belongings at the wrong residence. The woman was advised to work with management or the civil courts due to it being a civil matter.

9:35 a.m.  Officers were dispatched for found property near the 800 block of South Saginaw Road.

8:23 a.m.  The animal control deputy was dispatched to North Meridian Road to check for a stray dog in Jerome Township. The dog was taken in by a local business, and the owner was located.

7:39 a.m.  Officers responded to a property damage crash near Eastman Avenue and Pheasant Ridge.

6:35 a.m.  Officers responded to an alarm near the 700 block of George Street.

12:05 a.m.  A deputy assisted jail staff with an inmate who had to be transported to MyMichigan Medical Center in Midland to treat a medical condition.
Midland County had 120 new COVID-19 cases reported from Dec. 11-13.

COVID-19 numbers reported from Dec. 11-13

Midland County: 120 cases were added; pandemic total is 11,757 cases, 1,069 probable cases, 155 deaths and 14 probable deaths.

Bay County: 183 cases and five deaths were added; pandemic total stands at 16,903 cases, 1,470 probable cases, 433 deaths and 21 probable deaths.

Gladwin County: 40 cases were added; pandemic total stands at 3,297 cases, 638 probable cases, 83 deaths and four probable deaths.

Isabella County: 104 cases and one death were added; pandemic total stands at 9,164 cases, 1,717 probable cases, 140 deaths and 10 probable deaths.

Saginaw County: 386 cases and three deaths were added; pandemic total stands at 31,478 cases, 2,547 probable cases, 710 deaths and 29 probable deaths.

The state added 16,143 cases and 160 deaths from Dec. 11-13. Overall, Michigan is at 1,396,467 cases and 25,240 deaths.

Recovered

According to the Midland County Health Department website, which was updated Dec. 6, 10,184 Midland County individuals have recovered from COVID. The state reported that as of Dec. 10, a total of 1,146,495 persons statewide have recovered.

Testing

Midland Countys seven-day rolling positivity rate for Dec. 3-9 was listed at 14.8% and Gladwin Countys was listed at 18.4%. Our 12-county region was listed at 20% and Michigan was at 17.7%.

MyMichigan Health statistics

As of Dec. 13, MyMichigan Medical Center in Midland was listed as having an 85% bed occupancy, with 63 COVID patients and 12 in the ICU. MyMichigan Medical Center in Gladwin was listed as having a 32% bed occupancy with three COVID patients and none in the ICU.

Both medical centers reported having at least 15-30 days worth of personal protection equipment (N95, surgical masks, gowns, gloves and eye protection) on hand.

As of Dec. 13, MyMichigan Heath reported a total of 112 patients hospitalized due to COVID, 28 of which were vaccinated, 122 unvaccinated. There are also 27 patients across the system in the ICU, two of whom are vaccinated, 25 are unvaccinated. Of the 13 patients on ventilators, two are vaccinated and 11 are unvaccinated.

Schools

As of Dec. 13, Midland Public Schools reported 247 staff/students were close contacts to an individual who was confirmed COVID-19 positive, and 44 staff/students tested positive for the virus.

MPS schools with one or more positive cases on Dec. 10 were Dow High (6), Midland High (6), Jefferson Middle (6), Northeast Middle (4), Adams Elementary (1), Central Park Elementary (11), Chestnut Hill Elementary (6), Plymouth Elementary (1), Siebert Elementary (1) and Woodcrest Elementary (2).

Bullock Creek School District reported on Dec. 13 that two staff members and 11 students were current positive cases. There were also 51 students and one staff member in quarantine.

Bullock Creek schools with one or more confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Dec. 13 include Bullock Creek Elementary (1), Pine River Elementary (1), Bullock Creek Middle (1) and Bullock Creek High School (9).

Midland County vaccinations

Midland County Health Department is hosting a weekly walk-in COVID vaccination clinic from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every Tuesday in December. Clinics by appointment will be available 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Friday on the second floor of the Midland County Services Building, 220 W. Ellsworth St., Midland. Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are available at the clinics. The health department will vaccinate anyone who needs a first or second dose; those who need their second dose must bring their vaccination card.

Following FDA approval, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is urging all eligible Michiganders to get a Johnson & Johnson, Moderna or Pfizer booster vaccine if they have received their primary COVID-19 vaccines.

Following CDC approval, MDHHS is urging all eligible Michiganders 16 and up to get the Pfizer booster vaccine if they have received their two primary COVID-19 vaccines. Currently, Pfizer is the only authorized vaccine for under age 18.

Eligible individuals may choose which vaccine they receive as a booster dose. Some people may prefer the vaccine type they originally received and others may prefer to get a different type of booster vaccine. CDCs recommendations now allow for this type of mix and match dosing for booster shots. Consult your healthcare provider if there is a question which vaccine is appropriate for you.

Michiganders should bring their COVID-19 vaccine card or immunization record with them when getting their booster dose, which is available at any vaccine provider. Downloadable immunization records are accessible free at the Michigan Immunization Portal. To obtain their record, Michiganders must create a MILogin account at Michigan.gov/MiImmsportal and upload a valid government issued photo ID such as a driver's license, state ID or passport. If you do not have records in the portal, contact your healthcare provider or local health department.

Future COVID-19 vaccine clinics in Midland County are listed at www.co.midland.mi.us/HealthDepartment/COVIDVaccineInformation.aspx. Those with questions may call 989-832-6380 or email MCDPH@co.midland.mi.us.
People dont like to think about unexpected illnesses and injuries, or a time when they are so sick that they are unable to make decisions about their medical and/or mental health care. Whom would you trust to make those decisions for you? And what should those decisions be?

Q. What is advance care planning?

A. The central feature of advance care planning is selecting another adult as your patient advocate. Advance care planning also includes an ongoing process of discussing with your patient advocate and your health care provider what is important for you to live well. Talking with your patient advocate about your current state of health and what medical interventions you would like and those you would like to avoid is also included in this process.

Q. Who should consider advance care planning?

A. Any adult, whether or not they have health issues, should consider creating an advance care planning document. People often only think of this document if they have an illness or have reached a certain age; however, unexpected life events can occur at any time. This document can be an important guide to the patient and their loved ones when unforeseen circumstances arise.

Q. What do I need to include in my advance care planning document?

A. You should include your choice of patient advocate and successor advocate(s); a statement that gives your patient advocate authority to make decisions about your health care; and your signature and date witnessed by two adults, who must also sign and date the document. You may also choose to include preferences for treatment, but that is not required by law.

Q. Am I required to choose a family member as my patient advocate?

A. No. You may choose any adult, age 18 or older, as your patient advocate. It is important that this person know you well and agree to act in the critical role.

Q. I have a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care. Is that the same as an advance care planning document?

A. Yes, a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care is an advance care planning document. Other names for this legal document include Designation of Patient Advocate, Advance Medical Directive and Five Wishes. You may choose to create this document with the assistance of your attorney or you may choose to use the free form provided by MyMichigan Health or other health organizations.

Q. Does my advance care planning document go into effect on the date that I sign it?

A. No. You maintain the right to make your own treatment decisions as long as you are of sound mind. Should there ever be a time when you cannot make your own decisions, an evaluation by either two physicians or a physician and a licensed psychologist is needed to enact your advance care planning document and put your patient advocate in the role of making health care decisions for you. If you regain your ability to make your own decisions, then your patient advocate steps back from the role of decision maker.

Q. How does an advance care planning document differ from a financial power of attorney or a will?

A. In an advance care planning document, you give authority to another adult to make decisions about your health care should you be unable to make those decisions. A financial power of attorney and a will are focused on your financial concerns.

Q. Who should have a copy of my advance care plan?

A. It is very important that your patient advocate have their own copy of this document. If you select successor advocates, please share a copy with them, as well. You may also choose to share your document with your loved ones so that they understand who may make decisions about your health care for you. Additionally, sharing your document with your health care provider and your preferred hospital is important.

Q. Does MyMichigan Health offer help to make my advance care plan?

A. Yes. Trained staff at MyMichigan Health and many community agencies are available to assist you with your document.

Amy Bailey-Sheets, L.M.S.W., is an advance care planning specialist at MyMichigan Health.
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Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The president of the Libyan Presidential Council, Mohamed al-Manfi, Monday reaffirmed the council's commitment to unify efforts to achieve free, fair and transparent elections to meet Libya's aspirations for stability
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The UN Secretary General's Special Adviser on Libya, Stephanie Williams, affirmed the importance of respecting the recommendations of the Libyan political dialogue and the holding of elections, as well as the achievement of the Libyan people's aspirations for the construction of a unified and democratic state
Airport operator Fraport has signed a long-term agreement with German utility provider EnBW to power Frankfurt Airport using an offshore wind farm.

Under the corporate power purchase agreement (CPPA), EnBW will guarantee 85MW from its 900MW He Dreiht wind farm in the North Sea. The CPPA comes into force in the second half of 2026 for a 15-year term. Reports have estimated that the agreement could offset as much as 85% of the airports power consumption.

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With the expiry of the previous subsidies under the German Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), CPPAs are helping to provide developers of renewable energy projects with a reliable source of funding while enabling purchasers to quickly achieve their climate targets.

Frank Mastiaux, the CEO of EnBW, said, Long-term power purchase agreements are a market response to advancing the energy transition even without government support. PPAs equally benefit purchasers, project developers and the climate. For us, they are the key between renewables-generated power and our major customers.

The He Dreiht wind farm is scheduled to go into operation in 2025 with around 60 turbines with a capacity of 15MW each. In comparison, Germanys first offshore wind farm, built in 2011, had a capacity of 2.3MW per turbine.

The green electricity supplied to Fraport will be harnessed to operate the three terminals and several other buildings at Frankfurt Airport. It will also be used to illuminate the apron and four runways, and to charge a fleet of more than 500 electric vehicles (EVs) on the airfield.

Dr Stefan Schulte, Fraports CEO, said, Renewables such as wind and solar are the focus of our climate strategy. They provide the firm foundations for a comprehensive package of measures to systematically reduce our CO2 emissions. Our clearly defined goal is to make Frankfurt Airport carbon-free by 2045. The power sourced from this new offshore wind park will play a central role. As an airport operator, we are especially reliant on a dependable, stable source of power that can be scaled up to meet our growing needs. In EnBW, we have found a strong partner. Compared with the conventional energy sources on which we have previously depended, the new CPPA unlocks potential savings of up to 80,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year.

For over a year, Fraport has produced multiple megawatts of eco-friendly electricity itself, via an on-site photovoltaic array. Further arrays are to be built alongside the runways and on existing and new building roofs. The energy mix also includes power from wind parks where EEG subsidies have expired.

In addition to transitioning to renewables, Fraports climate protection strategy foresees improvements to the energy efficiency of existing infrastructure, smart climate control systems and LED technology, and further electrification of the vehicle fleet.
It's being reported today that Apple is facing an investigation in Poland over whether its new rules on privacy and personal data processing for iOS devices violate competition law, Polish antimonopoly watchdog UOKiK said on Monday.

Apple rolled out an update of its iOS operating system in April with new privacy controls designed to limit digital advertisers from tracking iPhone users.

The Polish regulator said Apple's new rules have significantly reduced the ability of third-party apps to obtain personal data in order to send personalized adverts.

"We want to examine whether Apple's actions may be aimed at eliminating competitors in the market for personalized advertising services, the objective being to better sell their own service," UOKiK President Tomasz Chrostny said in a statement.

"We will investigate whether this is a case of exclusionary abuse of market power." For more, read the full Reuters report.

Last week Patently Apple posted a report titled "A new report claims that Apple has reached a Quiet Truce with Developers over the iPhone's App Tracking Transparency feature." The report noted that "Months after implementing the iPhone's App Tracking Transparency feature, companies including Snap and Facebook have been allowed to keep sharing user-level signals from iPhones, as long as that data is anonymized and aggregated rather than tied to specific user profiles."

Apple's latest moves behind the scenes may have already been implemented to avoid issues with US and international regulator concerns.
Hollard Ghana, with subsidiaries Hollard Insurance and Hollard Life Assurance, has signed a formal agreement with the University of Energy and Natural Resources for the next three years, to execute its corporate social investment initiative, Hollard X Academia, to enable student corporate readiness beginning January 2022.



The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) provides the platform for enhanced collaboration between the countrys favourite insurance group and the university to enable a better future for the academic community through Hollards Streetwise Finance, mentoring, engagement, and resources sharing programmes.



Speaking at the socially distanced ceremony, Group Chief Executive Officer of Hollard Ghana, Patience Akyianu described the partnership as a vital corporate social investment initiative into the communities within which the business operates.



I am excited to kickstart our first Hollard X Academia partnership with the University of Energy and Natural Resources. Partnerships form an integral part of our business as an unconventional company. With our business purpose to enable more people to create and secure better futures, were aiming for a triple win for the university, its students and Hollard. With this initiative, we have carefully created 5 modules that we believe will greatly benefit Academia. These modules

include the Hollard Prize, Hollard Scholar Programme, Hollard Streetwise Finance Engagements, Hollard Corporate Experience and Thought-leadership Events.



As a company that does well by doing good, we understand the role of tertiary education in nation-building. This initiative will provide students with a privileged experience to ready them for the job market, she added. On his part, Vice-Chancellor of UENR Prof. Elvis Asare-Bediako expressed his appreciation to Hollard Ghana for the opportunity.

We are thankful for this collaboration, especially being the first institution selected for the Hollard x Academia initiative. As a public institution, we desire to partner organizations to enhance the learning experiences of our students as well as the exchange of academic and corporate resources. Regarding the exciting modules under Hollard X Academia, we believe our entire student population will be motivated and prepared adequately for the future through the Hollard experience. I commend Hollard for such a gesture and look forward to the next three years engaging with them, he noted.



About Hollard Ghana

The countrys favourite insurance group is Hollard Ghana, with subsidiaries Hollard Insurance and Hollard Life Assurance. The group combines its deep local knowledge of the market having previously operated in Ghana for 25 years as Metropolitan Insurance with the world-class expertise of an international insurance brand in 18 countries across the world. With feet firmly planted on Ghanaian soil but headquartered in South Africa, Hollard delivers innovative insurance solutions customized to the unique risks Ghanaians face. Hollard offers various life and general insurance products including funeral, personal accident, motor, business, travel, home, and more; and can be reached via the following means: 0501603967 (Hollard Insurance) and 0501533698 (Hollard Life). Beyond various nationwide office branches and Hollard 2U franchise shops, Ghanaians can find Hollard at Shell Fuel Station Welcome Shops, Melcom stores and online at www.hollard.com.gh and www.jumia.com.gh for all their insurance needs.

Source: peacefmonline.com









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President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said the free senior high school (SHS) policy implemented by his administration has proved to be a success and must be sustained as a permanent feature of the educational system.

He said the performance of free SHS students in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) had shown that the government was upholding quality in the implementation of the policy.



A look at the WASSCE results of the first batch of the free SHS graduates, the Akufo-Addo graduates, and those whose results have just been released gives further evidence of why the free SHS policy has been a success so far, he noted.



President Akufo-Addo said five years after the implementation of the policy, which had guaranteed a minimum of SHS education for 1.6 million Ghanaian children, he was very proud of the policy and its results so far.



TAMASCO



Speaking at the 70th anniversary of the Tamale Senior High School (TAMASCO) over the weekend, the President indicated that the performance of the 2021 batch of students, who were the pioneers of the double-track system, which elicited much vilification and unfounded criticism of its introduction, was one of best results in the history of the country.





In 2017, the government launched the free SHS policy, with the aim of increasing access, lifting financial burden off parents, among other things.



President Akufo-Addo (2nd from left) being assisted by Dr Bawumia (left) and Rev. Edward Azika (2nd from right), the Headmaster of TAMASCO, to cut the anniversary cake, while Dr Ibn Chambas (right) applauds



There were some who described it as a waste, some said it would destroy our Ivy League schools and some also indicated that the policy was going to compromise the quality of SHS education. None of these happened and I am sure they have eggs on their faces now, or should have, President Akufo-Addo said.

He reiterated the governments commitment to invest more in education to empower every Ghanaian and meet the human resource needs of the country, saying that the most efficient way to create a society of opportunities that would guarantee the future of the country was to invest more in education.



TVET/STEM



On the development of technical and vocational education and training (TVET), the President indicated that the government would expand the free SHS policy to cover all first-year students in public TVET schools next year.



He added that technical universities and about 34 National Vocational Training Institutes (NVTIs) would also be rehabilitated and upgraded to boost technical and vocational training.





He further expressed the governments resolve to invest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education to prepare the country for a future of robotics and artificial intelligence.



President Akufo-Addo said the government had begun the construction of 20 STEM centres across the country.



Support school



A diplomat, Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas, who chaired the event, called on old students of the school to support the management to develop the school.



He also urged parents to invest in their childrens education, so that the latter would become people of whom society could be proud.



For his part, the Headmaster of TAMASCO, Rev. Edward Azika, said the performance of the school in the WASSCE kept improving every year and asked for the construction of more infrastructure to enable the school to increase its enrolment.



He thanked the government and the old students for their contribution towards the development of the school.



Anniversary celebration



The anniversary, on the theme: "TAMASCO @70: Leading secondary education in Northern Ghana, brought together old students, chiefs, parents and well-wishers.



Among the key personalities who graced the event were the Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who is an old student, and a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Professor Joshua Alabi.









Source: graphiconline.com









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

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The 60th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has opened in Abuja, Nigeria, with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo urging member states to rigorously pursue national and regional efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

In line with that, he encouraged member states to pursue the domestic production of COVID-19 vaccines, not only to protect their citizens but also help grow the economies of the bloc.



The session, which began yesterday, will deliberate and take decisions on political, socio-economic and security issues affecting the region.



COVID-19 situation



As of last Wednesday, the region had recorded 674,556 cases of COVID-19 infections, with some 10,000 deaths, impacting all sectors of the economy.



The region risks a new wave of the pandemic with the emergence of the Omicron variant that has been found in three member states.





President Akufo-Addo said it was unfortunate that the discovery of the Omicron variant in the region had led to the imposition of travel bans which are unjustified and unacceptable".



He also expressed worry over the unavailability of vaccines, saying "despite our efforts, we have only six per cent of our population receiving one dose, with two per cent of the population being fully vaccinated.



Security concerns



President Akufo-Addo condemned pockets of insecurity in the region, particularly the deadly terrorist and kidnapping attacks in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Nigeria, which he said had caused many casualties among civilians and the security forces, resulting in a significant number of displaced persons.



We must step up efforts to deal with these attacks which have been imposed upon us, and we must act in such a way that no one will doubt our resolve to protect our people and the peace and stability of our countries, he said.



The President congratulated the governments and the people of Cape Verde and The Gambia on the successful conduct of their elections, which he described as credible, peaceful and transparent.



He said the Abuja meeting would firm up remedies for the transition challenges in Mali and Guinea after their suspension from ECOWAS, as he also welcomed the release of President Alpha Conde of Guinea.



He expressed appreciation to his colleague Presidents for their support for the election of Ghana onto the non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the years 2022 and 2023.



Indeed, because of your support, Ghana obtained the highest votes. We will make sure that Africas voice is heard loud and clear in the deliberations of the council, both on matters affecting the continent and on global issues, and we will consult broadly to define Africas interests, he added.



The ECOWAS Chairman further urged member states to remain united and pool our resources and energies to accelerate and strengthen our regional integration.



Our commitment to this goal has allowed us to successfully tackle most of the obstacles we have faced. Solidarity has been the backbone and the strength of our community in our 46 years of existence, and it is needed now, he said.



Agenda



The meeting will consider, among others, the 2021 ECOWAS annual report, the report of the 47th Ordinary Meeting of the Mediation and Security Council and the report of the 87th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers that includes the proposal to open land borders on January 1, next year.



It will also make a declaration on the climate and the appointment of an ECOWAS Champion for the return of cultural artefacts.



It will also consider a special report on the ECOWAS single currency programme to be delivered by Ghanas Finance Minister, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, who chairs the ministerial committee on the single currency.



The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, who also chairs the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, will present the report of the Extraordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers on proposals for the allocation of statutory positions of the seven-member commission, its organisational chart and the streamlining of operational costs.









Source: graphiconline.com









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

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To climax the week-long Annual Thanksgiving Service 2021 of Jospong Group of Companies (JGC) and Zoomlion, the Presiding Bishop of Action Chapel International (ACI), Bishop James K. Saah, has stated that thanksgiving has the capacity to change any situation.



He said this could be likened to yeast on bread dough which increases the dough, adding that thanksgiving also increases the blessing of the thanks giver.



Bishop Saah who made the observation on Friday, December 10, 2021, admonished Ghanaians to be careful not to hold back thanksgiving due to God.



He explained that thanksgiving is a formal public expression of thanks to God.

Quoting from Genesis 8:22 to buttress his point, he said thanksgiving operates by the law of sowing and reaping.



If you sow thanksgiving, God gives you something back, adding that thanksgiving is in words and deeds



"There is no increase when thanksgiving is brushed aside, he advised.



According to the man of God, people who walk in thanksgiving have increased immunity against diseases, saying that thanksgiving can bring the dead to life.



The Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR), Mrs Cecilia Abena Dapaah, who represented the Vice President, H.E. Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, said Jospong Group of Companies was being led by an indefatigable humble and God-fearing person, a reason the group has instituted an annual thanksgiving service.



"Dr Siaw Agyepong and his executives have found the key and the key is praise and worship," she added.



"So the secret and the success of Jospong is that they worship God, she noted.



"The annual thanksgiving is of great importance and I see it as a spiritual renewal to the group", Mrs Dapaah said.



She said the company wants to celebrate their gratefulness to God openly so this corporate thanksgiving should be preserved forever.



Jospong Group of Companies/Zoomlion which has become a household name started from a humble beginning, she indicated.



Mrs Dapaah noted that that the government in its capacity has provided an enabling environment to make the private sector including Jospong to thrive.



The company as of now recycles waste and as well turns waste into compost, she said.



She went on to add that Zoomlion would soon have the capacity to turn waste into green energy, and thus appealed for support for Dr Siaw Agyepong and his JGC.



Early on in a welcome address, the Executive Chairman of JGC, Dr Joseph Siaw Agyepong, indicated that the thanksgiving service has been held annually to acknowledge the faithfulness of God in the groups operations, and also appreciate God for sustaining them.



As a company, it is our custom to gather like this at the end of every year to celebrate the goodness of the Lord over our businesses, employees, families, the President and his executives and appointees in government, chiefs, partners and other stakeholders, he said.



According to him, the Akufo-Addo administration has given real meaning to the truism that the private sector is the engine of growth.



Through His Excellencys transformational leadership and relevant policy interventions, an enabling environment for the private sector to grow has been created.



Our achievements this year are largely due to the enabling environment that the government of His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has created.



He stated that the enabling environment created empowers the private sector to do more, advising that we in the sector should not waste it nor take it for granted.



He applauded President Akufo-Addo and his government, for his immense contribution to the environmental sanitation space in the country.



The governments achievement in this sector is unprecedented and historic and it is worthy of note that since independence, over 60 years ago, it is during this administration that Ghana has experienced massive environmental infrastructural improvement.



Thirty-six (36) plants were commissioned within a year! These are 16 IRECoPs, 14 Medical waste treatment plants, 4 wastewater treatment facilities in Tema, Takoradi, Tamale and Kumasi, and decommissioning and reengineering of the two major landfill sites in Kpone in Accra and Oti in the Ashanti region with technical support from our American Partners using very modern technology



He said the above projects have significantly helped to address the sanitation infrastructural deficit in the country and bridged the gap between waste collection and disposal with its accompanying consequences.



Dr Siaw Agyepong also praised his workforce for their hard work towards the growth of JGC and Zoomlion.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/ghana









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

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Statistics available at the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service indicate that 1,047 girls were defiled, while 305 women were raped in 2020.

The Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Mr Isaac Ken Yeboah, has described the statistics as alarming.



He disclosed the data in a speech read on his behalf by the Director of DOVVSU, Chief Superintendent of Police Ms Owusuwaa Kyeremeh, at the inauguration of an interviewing room for people who suffer domestic and gender-based violence (GBV) for the Madina DOVVSU.



Although Mr Yeboah did not share figures on cases of defilement and rape in the past, he said about 15,000 cases of violence against women were reported to law enforcement agencies annually.



The number of reported cases, he indicated, was less than the actual number of incidents that occurred.



Interviewing room



The interviewing room has been set up in line with the vision of DOVVSU, which is to create an environment where domestic violence and other forms of abuse will be freely reported and collaborate with stakeholders to provide coordinated timely responses for victims.



It is expected to provide a congenial environment, such as privacy, to encourage victims and survivors of GBV to freely share their ordeal with investigators to facilitate investigations and prosecution of perpetrators.



From right: Chief Superintendent of Police Ms Owusuwaa Kyeremeh, Director of DOVVSU; Mr Cosmos Allan Anyan, Chief Superintendent of Police; Ms Hilda Mensah, UNICEF, and Ms Sophia Eva Ennim, Superintendent of Police, the outgoing Madina DOVVSU Coordinator in the interviewing room



The room is furnished with comfortable seats, a play area, learning items for children, flowers and other materials to make especially children feel at home and cared for.



Speak up



While expressing grave concern over violence against women, some of which ended in tragedy, Mr Yeboah said he was optimistic that the facility would help women and girls speak to the police in a manner that would increase their access to justice.



He said he was hopeful that the enabling environment offered by the interviewing room would encourage more affected people to speak up and seek justice.



Another measure, he said, was the need to focus on the root causes of violence founded on gender-based power, inequalities and gender-based discrimination.



Addressing these causes must be a priority to all of us, he said.



He said while GBV disproportionally affected women and girls, it also affected men and boys, although the latter often did not willingly report their ordeal.



He stressed that GBV, irrespective of the victim, was a major obstacle to gender justice, posed a serious threat to democratic development and public health and was a critical barrier to achieving the UN sustainable development goals, economic growth and peace.



If women, girls, men and boys are not safe, they cannot be full citizens nor fully participate in the development of our society. In Ghana, the level of violence perpetrated against women and girls is alarming, he stressed.



UNICEF



A child protection specialist who is in charge of the Justice for Children programme at UNICEF, Ms Hilda Mensah, said the interviewing room concept would strengthen the paths to justice for thousands of victims of GBV and make justice accessible to the most vulnerable groups in society.



She said from the beginning of the year, one in five girls between 15 and 19 had reported experiencing at least one act of sexual violence in Ghana.



She said many of those victims were unable to speak about their ordeal because the law enforcement agencies lacked the space to make the victims speak up freely.



The private interview room, she said, would provide space for girls and boys to feel safe and more comfortable when telling their stories.



The Madina Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent of Police Mr Cosmos Allan Anyan, commended UNICEF for supporting the police to strengthen access to justice for the vulnerable.



He said the Madina DOVVSU handled cases of GBV in Madina, Adenta and their environs.



The facility is one of three interviewing rooms being sponsored by UNICEF, with support from Global Affairs Canada.



Apart from Madina, the Kasoa and Ashaiman DOVVSU in the Central and the Greater Accra regions, respectively, have also benefited from the interviewing room project.









Source: graphiconline.com









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

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The West African regional bloc, Ecowas, has expressed strong concerns over delays in Mali's transition to civilian rule.



It warned of additional economic sanctions if "no concrete progress" was made to hold fresh elections scheduled for late February.



Mali witnessed military coups in August 2020 and May 2021, with the most recent leading to the overthrow of President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane.



Ecowas also warned that there were no clear indications of a return to constitutional order in neighbouring Guinea - three months after the military toppled President Alpha Conde.



Guinea's military junta had pledged to hold elections within six months of taking over power.



But the bloc said Guineas leaders have assured them that a National Transition Council will be in place by the end of December and that council will propose a timetable.



The regional leaders, who met in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, also discussed the deteriorating security situation in the region where armed groups have stepped up violence in several countries including Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and Nigeria.

Source: BBC









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

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Ghanaian businessman and philanthropist, Dr Osei Kwame (Despite), has been honoured as "African Entrepreneur of The Year" at the 11th Edition of the African Achievers Awards.



The ceremony took place last Friday, 10th December 2022 at the Kensington Palace in England, and was patronised by distinguished guests and influential personalities from across the continent.



The African Achievers Awards is one of Africas most prestigious awarding bodies which honours great African Achievers including African leaders, young achievers, community builders and captains of industries - whose work has had a meaningful impact on building the Africa of our dreams.



Although, Dr. Osei Kwame Despite was unable to attend the reception in person, he was represented by his son, General Manager of Despite Media Group: Kennedy Osei, who received the award on his behalf. Dr Fadda Dickson, Roger Quartey, Diana Hamilton, some friends and colleagues were also present to commemorate the occasion.



Dr Osei Kwame started his career as a small trader, dealing in padlocks, feeding bottles and other merchandise. From cassettes and films, to music production, in 1999, Despite took his love for Ghanaian culture to the next level by establishing the nation's very first non-English radio station, Peace FM 104.3.



Today, he owns Despite Media Group; a media house, comprising of four radio stations and UTV, Ghana's most patronised channel.



As a serial entrepreneur, he continued to establish businesses that serve Africans worldwide. Neat Foods and Atona Foods provide Ghanaians at home and abroad with simple, effective ways to prepare our most treasured delicacies and beverages.



Dr. Kwame Osei has always been a solution-oriented thinker, driven to create products and services that are accessible to the masses. As a result, his multiple business ventures have evolved into the conglomerate giant known as Despite Group of Companies (DGC).



His achievements in business have not only contributed to the advancement of Ghana's economy, but have also impacted the lives of many.



He fondly gives back to the community through his numerous charitable activities that promote social welfare. Some of these, noteworthy activities include;



- The construction and renovation of hospitals,



- The construction and renovation of buildings for Ghana Police Service



- An annual donation to widows in various communities



- Education Scholarship funds



- The provision of medical support and food for the less privileged



Aside his personal hobby of collecting luxury vehicles and exotic cars, Dr. Osei Kwame Despite is a philanthropist at heart, and perhaps this is what makes him such an admirable business man.



It is evident that Dr Osei Kwame Despite will continue to leave his mark in humanity and raise the flag of Ghana to a global platform, with world-class products and brands that promote our rich African culture.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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

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Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.
At the third edition of the National Communications Awards 2021, Edward Asare won the Digital Professional of the Year.



The award was to honour and recognize his astute exploits as a refined Digital Marketer with vast experience and exposure.



Edward Asare is a Digital Marketer with UBA Ghana Limited and also doubles as a Blogger.



Edward Asare has been a trailblazer in the Digital Marketing field and his excellent understanding of how businesses can drive profit by capitalizing on social media and the web has won him several acknowledgements, plaudits, and awards.



Winning the NCAs Digital Marketing Professional on Saturday Night at the Labadi Beach Hotel was not the first time he was been recognized for his work.



He was named Digital Influencer of the Year 2020 at the Ghana Youth Excellence Awards in 2020, and he was nominated for Youth Blogger of the Year and Digital Marketer of the Year.



Receiving his plaque and giving out his acceptance speech, an elated Edward Asare who doubles as the Digital Marketer at UBA Ghana Limited said:



I am so grateful for this award and I dont take it for lightly at all. I am humbled that what I do is getting recognized by people.

Edward Asare is also an experienced blogger who owns and manages the blog site edwardasare.com.



In 2021, his blog site (edwardasare.com) was listed in Avance Medias Top 50 Blogs in Ghana.



He is a Linkedin Pro who understands how corporate entities and individuals can position themselves by creating a brand image that has a competitive advantage.



As a graduate of the University of Ghana, Edward Asare is skilled in Corporate Communications, Public Relations, Copywriting, Digital Media Consultancy.



ALSO READ Guinness Ghana to lead conversations on Progressive Portrayal of Women with virtual panel discussion

As a Social Media Manager Pro, Publicist, and Influencer, Edward Asare has an excellent track record in social media marketing which involves the repositioning, endorsing, and placing of brands strategically for growth and awareness creation.



Edward Asare has a huge following across all major social media platforms with verified accounts.



LinkedIn: Edward Asare

Twitter: @EdwardAsare_

Facebook: @EdwardAsaredotcom

Instagram: edward.asare_

Source: Peacefmonline.com/ghana









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

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Under the theme of "Connection, Glory, Future", the Huawei ICT Competition is sailing through its 6th year in Sub-Saharan Africa, with 15,000 students from up to 500 top universities and colleges in 17 countries participating, making it the largest ICT skill competition in the region.



At the current stage, 6 countries have completed the country-level Huawei ICT Competition. Outstanding teams will compete in the Sub-Saharan African finals, which is scheduled to kick off in February, 2022.



Over the past 5 years, the competition has attracted over 80,000 passionate ICT students, with 21 teams entering the global finals, further incentivizing contestants to excel in this field.



The 2019-2020 Competition marks a historic milestone for Sub-Saharan Africa. Two teams from Nigeria won the Grand Prize of both the Network Track and Cloud Track, while 3 teams from Kenya, Uganda, and Mauritius were joint first prize winners.



Globally the Huawei ICT Competition 2021-2022 has covered over 70 countries worldwide, with a total of over 130 teams competing. The global finals are expected to happen in May of 2022.



To encourage broader participation, the 2021-2022 competition will still be virtual. Besides the traditional Network and Cloud Track, it will also officially introduce an Innovation Track. Contestants will design innovative solutions targeting general well-being, such as environment protection and closing social gaps, by utilising Huawei technologies including Huawei Cloud.



Last year, the Mazingira Team, from Kenya took part in the invitational competition. They presented a solution called Wildfire PrediTec, to detect, analyse, predict and prevent wildfires, designed on Huawei IOT and AI platforms.



The Huawei ICT Competition also opens up bigger opportunities to participants. As of today, the competition-related training helped over 350 students receive job offers.



With a series of talent development campaigns in Sub Saharan Africa, including the ICT competition, Huawei hopes to skill up more than 700,000 ICT professionals by 2023. The aim is to bridge the ICT talent gap, increase academia-industry communication, and advance the digital transformation of industries.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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

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Member of Parliament for Bortianor-Ngleshie Amanfro constituency, Slyvester Tetteh has rebutted critics' convictions that the 2022 Budget and Economic Policy Statement hasn't been approved and is hanging since the Minority didn't participate in the approval process.



According to the MP, nothing can be done to undo what happened in Parliament on Tuesday, November 30, 2021 where the Majority, by a 138 representation in a quorum, voted in favor of the budget, although the Minority had earlier rejected it through similar process.



The Minority voted against the budget on Friday, November 26, after the Majority staged a walkout from Parliament but their decision was later quashed by the Majority votes.



Speaking to Nana Yaw Kesseh on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'', Hon. Slyvester Tetteh picked a heated debate with seasoned journalist Kwesi Pratt, a panelist on the programme, on whether the 2022 budget has been approved or not.



Kwesi Pratt argued that the budget cannot be said to have been approved because the Minority has filed a motion against it.



In reply, the MP stated emphatically that Parliament is currently considering estimates and that, so far as the budget is concerned, the decision of the House clearly shows it has been okayed, and with the Speaker having passed a ruling in support of the Majority's decision, it cannot be overturned.



''Let me place on record that the policy statement of government 2022 has been passed. We are considering estimates; that's procedure in Parliament. If any person has any opinion that we haven't passed it, he should carry on with that but, as far as me as a Member of Parliament representing the good people of Bortianor-Ngleshie Amanfro; I serve on two Committees...yesterday, we commence the estimates with the NDC [in Parliament]. If we haven't passed the policy, why consider estimate? They should stop throwing dust into the eyes of Ghanaians'', he stressed.



He however noted that any opposition member who seeks to challenge the budget approval can go ahead with it but ''per the true records of Parliament, we have passed the policy. We consider estimates. We will pass an appropriation and we move on!''





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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

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The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) says it has banned all activities associated with internal party contests which include Parliamentary and Presidential Primaries campaigns ahead of its National Delegate Conference.



In a statement, the Party stated that its impending National Delegates Conference is expected to be held between 18th and 20th December 2021 at Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.



According to the NPP, they cherish the tradition of democratic competition and the belief that well-meaning aspirants will appreciate the need for such measures, which are necessary to enable a clear focus on the aims of the Conference.



At a meeting held on Thursday 9th December 2021, the National Steering Committee of the Party, acting under Article 10 (10) (1) of the Constitution of the Party and in furtherance of the Code of Conduct issued under Article 18 to regulate and guide the activities of members prior to the opening of nominations, has banned the display of paraphernalia and advocacy for individual aspirants at the upcoming National Annual Delegates Conference.



The Party continued that no billboards and or sign boards, banners or any kind of outdoor signage with the images and or names of individual members, with or without the consent of the individual, shall be acceptable. This applies to the area within the Greater Kumasi Metropolis. All such displays, if put up already, should be removed, the NPP Director of Communications, Yaw Buaben Asamoa disclosed said in the statement.



Read the full statement below;



NPP Bans All Activities Associated with Internal Party Contests, Parliamentary and Presidential Primaries. Institutes a Vaccination Policy at its 2021 National Annual Delegates Conference*



At a meeting held on Thursday 9th December 2021, the National Steering Committee of the Party, acting under Article 10 (10) (1) of the Constitution of the Party and in furtherance of the Code of Conduct issued under Article 18 to regulate and guide the activities of members prior to the opening of nominations, has banned the display of paraphernalia and advocacy for individual aspirants at the upcoming National Annual Delegates Conference.



Prior to and during the Conference on 18th to 20th December 2021, no billboards and or sign boards, banners or any kind of outdoor signage with the images and or names of individual members, with or without the consent of the individual, shall be acceptable. This applies to the area within the Greater Kumasi Metropolis. All such displays, if put up already, should be removed.



Furthermore, no t-shirts, flyers, brochures, and or souvenirs, branded and or embossed with the portraits and names of individuals, shall be allowed within the precincts of the Conference, including but not limited to places of accommodation for delegates. Any person, with or without their consent, whose image is flaunted on any advocacy material and who does not take active steps to desist from any public displays of aspiration for position within the precincts of Greater Kumasi, runs a higher risk of disqualification in the event nominations are declared opened.



The 2021 National Annual Delegates Conference is a time of renewal for the Party. Though we cherish the Party tradition of democratic competition, we believe well-meaning aspirants will appreciate the need for such measures, which are necessary to enable a clear focus on the aims of the Conference. The true spirit behind the Conference is to enhance Party unity around the singular effort of working closely with Ghanaians as we recover from Covid-19 and rebuild our economy in new ways to feed into a future of shared growth. The Party will also be focused on dealing with constitutional amendments proposed by members.



The Conference represents the end of a five-month long, but fruitful process. Starting in August 2021 under strict Covid-19 protocols, 275 Constituency Annual Delegates Conferences and 16 Regional Annual Delegates Conferences have been held, bringing together nearly 300,000 people, a feat unequalled in this era of Covid-19.



In response to enhanced protocols due to the fourth wave of Covid-19, attendees to the National Conference, are advised to take jabs of vaccine immediately, wherever they may find themselves. The Party is humbly requesting the Ghana Health Service to publish a list of places where shots of vaccine can be received in order for Party members to take jabs before the Conference date. There will also be medical personnel at the Conference venue to support compliance with the Protocols. All must carry their vaccination cards with them.



Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year



Signed



Yaw Buaben Asamoa

(Director of Communications)









Source: peacefmonline.com









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

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The decision of the former member of parliament for Tema East constituency in the Greater Accra Region, Hon Daniel Nii Kwartei Titu-Glover to contest for the national organizer position in the NPP, has sparked new hope and excitement among NPP grassroots. The exclusive information intercepted by the Daily Ghanaian Guide in recent days has been confirmed by the sudden appearance of posters of the member of parliament.



Many NPP supporters, sympathizers, and delegates who spoke to this newspaper in confidentiality preferred Hon Titu-Glover to the rest of the aspirants. Their reasons being that the national organizer of NPP must be a hardworking and mature politician who is well respected and respectful.



In the estimation of these NPP interviewees, Hon Titu-Glover stands tall in all the above-mentioned qualities. For most of them as well, Hon Titus-Glover brings on board the long-lost organizational style of Mr. Agyenim Boateng, Mr. Lord Commey, etc.



We will vote for Hon Titus-Glover to be able to break the 8, anonymous NPP delegates.

Source: peacefmonline.com









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

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President Nana Akufo-Addo has said, as part of his fight against corruption, his government, through the Attorney General, is prosecuting some high-profile persons for various offences including fraud, economic crime, procurement breaches and money laundering.



Speaking at the National Anti-Corruption Conference on Friday, 10 December 2021, President Akufo-Addo said the Office of the Attorney General and the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), in addition to the countless cases being prosecuted around the country, have successfully prosecuted a number of high-profile cases, including a case of stealing in the Republic vs. Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie & Others.



Many other high-profile prosecutions involving corruption, economic crime, fraud, procurement breaches and money laundering, like the Republic vs. Alhaji Collins Dauda & 4 Others in the Saglemi Scandal; Republic vs. Ernest Thompson & Others; Republic vs. Dr Kwabena Duffuor & Others are ongoing. It is worthy to note that these cases have, as their sole object, the principle of holding public officers to account, and involve sums in excess of $850 million and GH2 billion, he added.



The President also said the Attorney General, on behalf of the government, is currently leading the effort to enact a law on the conduct of public officers.



He said, inasmuch as public officials are required to declare their assets upon taking office as a tool of fighting corruption, I am, however, of the candid opinion that existing legislation on corruption, relating to the conduct of public officers in Ghana, appears to be inadequate to deal extensively with public office accountability.



According to the president, the need to lay down a set of far-reaching and a more fit for purpose set of regulations for the conduct of public officers, which will give effect to the provisions of Chapter 24 of the Constitution on conduct of public officers, is, in my view, now self-evident.



To this end, he revealed that the Attorney General, over the past four months, has undertaken various stakeholder consultations with a number of public sector organisations, civil society and other interest groups to this end.



When passed into law, President Akufo-Addo indicated that the Conduct of Public Officers Act will follow the example of legislation in other jurisdictions like the United States Ethics in Government Act of 1978, Public Officers Ethics Act of Kenya, and the U.K. Constitutional and Governance Act of 2010, in addressing issues regarding financial portfolios held by public officers before assuming public office, links to family business, improper enrichment, care of public property, professional practices, property, investments/shareholdings and other assets, self-dealing, partiality in the performance of duties, use of public or confidential information to further private interest, amongst others.



The Bill provides a gamut of stringent administrative measures and sanctions to deal with violations of the law, ranging from a bar against holding public office for limited and indefinite periods to penal measures. The Bill also seeks to strengthen the role of CHRAJ in the investigation of allegations of contravention of or non-compliance with the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, including conflict of interest, non-declaration of assets, and illicit enrichment, the President added.



Updating the Conference about some of the important contributions of the Office of Attorney General in the detection and prosecution of high-profile corruption cases, as well as in the protection of the public purse, the President acknowledged that the states tight purse is very much affected by the award of judgment debts, in various unconscionable transactions.



The recent example of a financial house claiming payment of interest of some GH1.3 billion after 11 years, from a transaction involving a meagre GH268,000 in 2008, even after the state had already paid some GH79 million, comes to mind.



Through the effort of the Attorney General, the Supreme Court declared further payment as unlawful, saving the State some two hundred and thirty million dollars (US$230 million), he said.



He also told the gathering about how, on 31 July 2021, the Attorney General succeeded in setting aside a judgement debt in excess of US$15.3 million imposed by the High Court, Kumasi, in an action arising out of the activities of the erstwhile Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining about two years ago.

Source: classfmonline.com









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The Sekondi High Court has rescinded its decision to effect the arrest of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Jomoro, Madam Dorcas Afo Toffey (mother of Ghanaian musician Fantana).



The court, presided over by Justice Sedinam Agbemava, rescinded the decision when the MP appeared before the court last Thursday.



The court, on December 6, 2021, issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Madam Toffey for failing to appear in court to provide documents on her alleged dual citizenship before the December 7 Parliamentary elections, which amounted to contempt of court.



Context



The court fixed December 20, 2021, to look into the contempt case while the substantive matter of alleged dual citizenship before her contesting as a candidate in the 2020 general election would continue on February 16, 2022.



MrJoshua Emuah Kofie of Nuba-Mpataba in the Jomoro Constituency initiated contempt proceedings against the MP.





In the case, Madam Toffey was ordered by the court to furnish and deposit documents, indicating that she had renounced her alleged Ivorian citizenship.



She, however, filed a stay of execution, which was dismissed by the court.









Source: GNA









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A Deputy Communications Director of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) Richard Nyamah has accused the National Democratic Congress (NDC) of hypocrisy regarding the implementation of the free senior high school program.



He indicated that the NDC went to the Supreme Court in an attempt to stop the implementation of the policy.



They also sponsored over 40 anti-free SHS adverts just to make the policy unpopular, he added.



NDC went to the supreme court to stop this, you placed 40 adverts to campaign against free SHS, he said on the New Day show onTV3 with host Johnnie Hughes on Monday, December 13.



Mr. Nyamah was reacting to Tamale North Lawmaker, Alhassan Suhuyinis call to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to stop patting himself on the back with the implementation of the free senior program and address the challenges facing the program.



He said Mr. Akufo-Addo must be reflective, open-minded, and accept the concerns raised against the implementation to address the issues.



Mr. Suhuyini was also speaking on the same show after Akufo-Addo, has expressed utmost satisfaction with the Free Senior High School policy, introduced by his administration in September 2017, said the NDC is not against the free SHS but want the problems resolved.



According to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, five (5) years on following the implementation of the Free Senior High School program, which has guaranteed a minimum of Senior High School education for 1.6 million Ghanaian children, I want to state, without any equivocation, that I am very proud of the policy and its results thus far.



Speaking at the 70 the anniversary celebration of the Tamale Senior High School (TAMASCO) in Tamale, on Saturday, 11 th December 2021, the President stressed that the experiences of developed nations have shown that the most efficient way to create a society of opportunities, and, thereby, guarantee the future of a nation, is by investing in education and skills training of the youth.



Without an educated populace, he stated that Ghana cannot transition from the status of a developing to a developed nation, adding that it is the people of Ghana, Ghanaians like you and I, and especially the youth of today, who are going to build Ghana.



The results of the 2020 and 2021 WASSCE results, the President stated, give further evidence of why the Free SHS policy has been a success so far.



There were some who described Free SHS as a waste; some said it would destroy our Ivy League Schools, and some indicated that the policy was going to compromise the quality of senior high school education. None of these have happened, and I am sure they have eggs on their faces now or should have, President Akufo-Addo stated.



He continued, The 2021 WASSCE results of the second batch of the Akufo-Addo graduates shows 54.08% of students recording A1-C6 in English, as opposed to 51.6% in 2016; 65.70% recording A1-C6 in Integrated Science in 2021, as opposed to 48.35% in 2016; 54.11% recording A1-C6 in Mathematics, as compared to 33.12% in 2016; and 66.03% recording A1-C6 in Social Studies, as compared to 54.55% in 2016. Lest we forget, the 2021 batch of students were the pioneers of the double-track system, which elicited a lot of vilification and unfounded criticism on its introduction.



Another indication of the value of the Free SHS policy, he stated, is the dramatic increase in the percentage of students from TAMASCO, who have qualified to attend University.



In 2015, it was 29.2%; in 2016, it was 31.4%; in 2017, it was 34.7%; in 2018, it was 31.3%; in 2019, it was 46.3%; and in 2021, it was 45.8%. Surely, Chairperson, there can no longer be any controversy about the validity of the Free SHS policy and its consequential measures. It is working, he said.



The President, thus, appealed to all Ghanaians to forgo partisan, parochial considerations, which confer little benefit, and all agree that Free SHS has to be a part of our national educational architecture, for, at least, a generation, if not forever. Our nation will be empowered and enriched.



But Suhuyini who is also a former teacher and broadcaster said You dont taunt those who say we have a problem over here.



Those who raise issues get taunted by the president, it tells you that there is something wrong. The attitude of the president is wrong. The president must stop the chest-beating.













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

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The Minority Caucus in parliament has betrayed Ghanaians three times since the second term of President Nana Akufo-Addo started in January 2021, former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu has observed.



In an article on the 2022 budget imbroglio, Mr Amidu, who described the behaviour of the Minority as one reminiscent of the biblical Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus Christ, said the first betrayal was the approval of some contentious ministerial nominees of the president despite having earlier vowed to reject them.



The second betrayal and sell-out came on 29 March 2021 when, without any tangible reason explaining its volte-face, the Minority Leader seconded the approval of the Minister of Finance nominee in a consensus voice vote in parliament, the former Attorney General wrote.



The third betrayal and sell-out began Nicodemusly, with what appeared to have been the repentance of Judas Iscariot in the first two betrayals of the Ghanaian electorate on Friday, 26th November 2021, when we, the people, were deceived into believing that the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy had been rejected by parliament because of the vigilance of the Minority caucus in parliament, Mr Amidu said.



He noted that the NDC Minority caucus had, unbeknown to the public, been assimilated into Nana Akufo-Addos one-party Kabuki dance ensemble.



The Minority and the Majority held a secret meeting on 30 November 2021 at which the Minority agreed to absent itself from the main parliamentary sitting that day to enable the Majority abuse the 1992 Constitution and Standing Orders of Parliament in purporting to rescind the rejected 2022 Budget of 26 November 2021, he alleged.



In his view, the Majority caucus, which has internalised the egoism of power of the government, has learnt to recruit the Minority for the Nana Akufo-Addo one-party Kabuki dance.



The Minority caucus has, since the beginning of the second term of the Nana Akufo-Addo government, accepted integration and has become the lizard that jumped from a high iroko tree to the ground [and] said he would praise himself if no-one did even when the electorate and its own ordinary members see them as traitors to the Constitutional role assigned an opposition party of 137 Members of Parliament in an equally split parliament.



The Minority enabled the appointment of the Minister of Finance together with any 2022 Budget hardships he inflicts upon Ghanaians. Judas Iscariot repented. The NDC can do the same, he said.





Read Mr Amidus full epistle below:



THE EGOISM OF POWER & THE LIZARD THAT JUMPED FROM A HIGH IROKO TREE TO THE GROUND  THE 2022 BUDGET: BY MARTIN A. B. K. AMIDU



Radix Malorum Est Cupiditas



THE FIRST BETRAYAL



On 3rd March 2021, the Minority in Parliament contrary to its own avowed negative evaluations approved the affected ministerial nominees of the President for appointment. The Ghanaian electorate, including some members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Executive and its mass followers outside Parliament, who had the benefit of viewing what transpired in Parliament during the vetting process through public broadcasting felt betrayed, and disappointed by the brazen sell out by the NDC caucus in Parliament to the Government in the approval process.



The Functional Executive Committee (FEC) of the NDC (NDC-FEC) held a crisis meeting the next day, 4th March 2021 and acknowledged in a press statement that:  whatever the disappointment and disagreements may be especially from among the rank and file of the party, care should be taken not to allow these to degenerate into unnecessary bickering at the expense of party discipline and cohesion. The statement added that:



We are also of the view that urgent action is required to deal with the matter and consequently we have initiated a consultation process with the Party's Council of Elders in this regard. It is in our collective interest as a party to address challenges facing the Caucus Leadership and the Backbench as a whole. This task will be tackled expeditiously so as to preserve the unity, cohesion and resilience of the NDC parliamentary Caucus.



The tempers of Ghanaians and the ordinary members of the NDC itself were not assuaged by this appeal. Consequently, the Minority Leader on 5th March 2021 had to make a public statement on behalf of the Minority caucus in Parliament to reject claims that the Minority caucus had been influenced with money to vote to approve the ministerial nominees. He was at pains to point out in the statement that the caucus will never make money or consideration the basis of their engagement with the ruling party:



The Leadership and entire Parliamentary caucus of the NDC wish to reiterate our commitment to the cause of the great National Democratic Congress. We expressly reaffirm our resolve to hold the Akufo-Addo government to account over the coming days, months and years for their stewardship to the Ghanaian people. This is nonnegotiable. You may be disappointed in this outcome but we will not disappoint or let you down in the future. The Caucus has never been and would never be for sale.



The Council of Elders of the NDC then met with the Leadership of the NDC on Tuesday, 9th March 2021, to discuss the developments in Parliament arising from the approval of some of the Ministers designate on 3rd March 2021. As a squeal to this meeting the Council of Elders met again on Tuesday, 9th March 2021 with the Leaderships of the NDC and the NDC caucus in Parliament following which the Chairman of the Council of Elders issued a statement collectively agreeing that the incident of 3rd March 2021 in Parliament where some ministerial nominees were approved was regrettable and unfortunate, and runs contrary to the principles and values of the party. (Emphasis supplied). In the words of the press statement signed by the Chairman of the Council of Elders:



The Caucus Leadership have since pledged to uphold the principles and values of the party in our collective bid to develop our country. . The Council urged the National leadership of the party to resolve issues relating to the Caucus leadership in Parliament and called on the rank and file of the party to remain calm, and provide the needed support to our Caucus in order to hold the Akufo Addo government strictly to the principles of probity and accountability.





Judas Iscariot could not keep faith with this first compact of integrity with the electorate facilitated by the Council of Elders for even one month.





THE SECOND BETRAYAL



The second betrayal and sell-out came on 29th March 2021 when without any tangible reason explaining its volte-face the Minority Leader seconded the approval of the Minister of Finance nominee in a consensus voice vote in Parliament. The real culprits behind the shameless compromises and sell out became public knowledge the next day, 30th March 2021 when the Squealer of the NDC appeared on Peace FM to admit the NDC-FECs responsibility and gave reasons for the betrayal by the Minority Caucus of the Ghanaian electorate. Peace FM reported the story as follows:



General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has revealed reasons why the Minority Caucus on the Appointments Committee approved Finance Minister-designate Ken Ofori-Atta. And it is shocking to the core as it is vain.



It was indeed shocking to the core as it was vain. The Squealer of the NDC said on air that:



We have strategies as a political party and some of the NDC leaders sat down and considered the approval of the nominee as to whether passing or failing him, which one will be in the interest of the party. So, we all decided that if we allow him to be the finance minister, it will be in the interest of the NDC....We realised during the vetting of the finance minister, he was exposed in all his wrong deeds...The banks he collapsed, PDS deal and bad financial decisions he superintended over; we needed him to be there to remind Ghanaians what he has wrought on this country. tell Nana Akufo-Addo that if it is this lame-back finance minister he wants to still be in control of the countrys finances, so be it, and that is why we told our people to approve him.



The capitulation of the Minority caucus in Parliament in approving the Minister of Finance nominee who is now bent on inflicting a draconian and harsh 2022 Budget with economic and social hardships on Ghanaians was the handy work of a former Minister of Finance of the NDC and the NDC-FEC as I have written and pointed out in my analysis available online and on my website as: The MPs Double Salary Criminal Investigation Docket Was Handled By the Attorney-General and Never By Martin Amidu As Special Prosecutor, at page 3 under the sub-title  The Double Salary & Other Criminal cases were Negotiated for Ministerial Approvals thereof.



THE THIRD BETRAYAL



The third betrayal and sell out began Nicodemusly with what appeared to have been the repentance of Judas Iscariot in the first two betrayals of the Ghanaian electorate on Friday, 26th November 2021 when We, the People, were deceived into believing that the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy had been rejected by Parliament because of the vigilance of the Minority caucus in Parliament. The NDC Minority caucus had, unbeknown to the public, been assimilated into Nana Akufo-Addos one-party Kabuki dance ensemble. The Minority and the Majority held a secret meeting on 30th November 2021 at which the Minority agreed to absent itself from the main parliamentary sitting that day to enable the Majority to abuse the 1992 Constitution and Standing Orders of Parliament in purporting to rescind the rejected 2022 Budget of 26th November 2021.



The latest in the Nana Akufo-Addo one-party Kabuki dance is that, as expected, a letter with reference number PS/CS/167 dated 10th November 2021 [sic] under the signature of the Clerk to Parliament and addressed to the Minority Leader has put an end to the Kabuki dance as far as the sham attempts by the Minority caucus to save face in the name of rescinding the rescission of the rejected 2022 Budget on 30th November 2021 is concerned. The two paragraphs of the letter state:



"Please refer to your communication dated 7th December 2021 on the Motion relating to a ruling of the Hon. First Deputy Speaker on Wednesday, 1st December 2021.



The Hon. First Deputy Speaker, pursuant to Order 13 (2) of the Standing Orders of Parliament, has directed that I inform you that the Motion is not admitted.



Meanwhile, the reality, substance and purpose of the Nana Akufo-Addo Kabuki dance were achieved in the acceptance by the Minority caucus on Tuesday, 7th December 2021 of the Majority decision on 30th November 2021 rescinding and approving the 2022 Budget. On 7th December 2021, the Minister of Finance laid before Parliament a modification to the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government for deliberations. The First Deputy Speaker directed that modification be made to the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of Government by attaching the modification submitted by the Minister of Finance to the original budget.



The Minority Leader acknowledged the modification laid by the Minister of Finance and in preliminary comments to the Speakers directives for modifications to the 2022 Budget was reported by Joy News to have said that the Minority was a very responsible opposition; declaring that and therefore, we engage and we are engaged with Government, appreciating that social consultation is important to save our country and the economy.



He also said that: Mr Speaker, we believe that the e-levy is punitive and it will undermine our quest to build a critical economy in seeking to tax (electronic financial) transactions, Mr Iddrisu said.  So, Mr Speaker, we on this side (of the House), we are unable to support the Government in its quest to impose an e-levy at 1.75 per cent on momo (mobile money) and affiliated transactions including remittances Therefore, we stand opposed, and at every level that e-levy is introduced, we will stand united to oppose it because of the effects on the core poor of the Ghanaian people.



On the next day, 8th December 2021 the NDCs Squealer told Ghanaians that the NDC MPs are using every legal means to reject the budget. In typical Orwellian doublespeak fashion, he prepared the publics mind for the obnoxious compromise with the Majority when he stated in his contradictory speech at the NDC Public Forum on the 2022 Budget that the approval of the Budget does not mean the e-levy has been approved since Select Committees have to further assess the fiscal policy. The General Secretary then gave the order of the FEC to the Minority caucus in Parliament in the following words:



So, we are at a stage where maybe from tomorrow, we will revisit the approval or non-approval of the budget. But whatever happens, we still stand by our position and we have agreed with our MPs that a boycott is not an option because if we boycott, what it means is that all these other stages will be a railroad. So, we will be present and undertake our key responsibility of holding the elephant accountable. (Emphasis supplied).





The Minority caucus had thus moved away from the draconian hardships and ills that afflict the 2022 Budget to concentrate on the E-Levy as its main objection to the rejected 2022 Budget which it treacherously facilitated to reinstate. The NDC Minority Leader was under instructions from the NDC-FEC to test the waters with the announcement he made on 2nd December 2021 at the 10th Anniversary launch of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications on the Minority accepting a 1% e-levy. This position was repeated by the NDC Squealer in his address to the NDC Public Forum on 8th December 2021. This explains the massive rescue operations undertaken by the NDC outside and inside Parliament to redeem the image of its Minority Leader after his speech at the 10th Anniversary launch of the Chamber of Telecommunications backfired. Anybody reading my last article  The Shameless Compromises of the One-Party Political Elite against the Ghanaian Electorate should have noticed that because I knew the real traitors behind the scenes, I portrayed the Minority Leaders speech as the NDC position and not his own.



The Ghanaian electorate had been hoodwinked with a circus of deceptions since 26th November 2021 of sham disagreements amongst the Nana Akufo-Addo one-party dance ensemble in Parliament. Rational and reasonable patriotic Ghanaians have always been on the alert to the machinations of such comprador political elites. Patriotic citizens were never deceived. Patriots unravelled every step in the betrayal process. We are now at the stage of what the two caucuses in parliament wanted and anticipated the most in the 2022 Budget season  the Budget Committee hearings and specially, the accompanying allowances of various forms and shapes. As usual, the Christmas calls and both sides must be one in the Kabuki dance against the interest of the Ghanaian electorate.





There were still ugly noises by the Minority on Friday 10th December 2021 about demands for the financial proposals in the 2022 Budget including the e-levy to be laid before the House for appropriate consideration to avoid hasty approval under a certificate of urgency. The Minority Chief Whip stated on Friday that: Mr Speaker, in the business statement from Tuesday to Friday, conspicuously missing was the financial bills including the Electronic Transaction bill. Parliament may rise on 21st December 2021 instead of 17th December 2021 ostensibly to give it time to consider outstanding estimates and other matters. But this is going to be business as usual amongst Nana Akufo-Addos Kabuki dance ensemble which has fully integrated the Minority caucus as it has been during each budget season. The Budget, as an important policy, and the Appropriation Act affecting the economic and social wellbeing of Ghanaians for the next year will be railroaded through Parliament and passed without prior consultation with affected stakeholders and We the People. We the People can go to hell. The next election is three years away in 2024.



CONCLUSIONS



The Majority caucus which has internalised the egoism of power of the Government has learnt to recruit the Minority for the Nana Akufo-Addo One-Party Kabuki dance. The Minority caucus has since the beginning of the second term of the Nana Akufo-Addo Government accepted integration and has become the lizard that jumped from a high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no-one did even when the electorate and its own ordinary members see them as traitors to the Constitutional role assigned an opposition party of 137 Members of Parliament in an equally split Parliament. The Minority enabled the appointment of the Minister of Finance together with any 2022 Budget hardships he inflicts upon Ghanaians. Judas Iscariot repented. The NDC can do the same.





The best defence for the 1992 Constitution is for all patriots to continue exposing the one-party political elite who are really comprador bourgeoises for neocolonialist interests for who they really are by putting Ghana First!







Martin A. B. K. Amidu













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

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The Creative Arts Agency, in collaboration with Global Entrepreneurship Network-Ghana (GEN-Ghana), will host the Creative Art Access to Finance Town Hall on Wednesday, December 15, 2021.



The town hall meeting, scheduled to take place at the Conference Room of the Creative Arts Agency begins at 9:45am prompt. With regards to COVID-19 protocols, only a select invitees would be attending in person with majority of attendees participating virtually while Joy FM would broadcast the event live and stream on other social media platforms.



The impressive panel line-up includes Lawrence Agyinsam, CEO, Ghana Exim Bank; David Tetteh, Consultant to Ghana Stock Management Exchange on Listings and New Products; Hannah B. Acquah, Founder/CEO TKC Africa Ltd (Business and Investment Consulting Firm); and Sewu-Steve Tawia, Investor at Asime Ventures and Accra Angels Network. The panel shall be moderated by Odelia Ntiamoah, Head of Joy Business.



In addition to the panel, there shall be keynote addresses and a questions and answers segment.



The overarching objective of this town is to drive investments from both local and international investors into the Ghanaian creative art industry. The town hall event will bring together heads of investment funds and financial institutions to connect with established and aspiring creative arts professionals in an interactive format to have a conversation, share information and knowledge on the various access to financial capital options for the creative sector in Ghana.



We will also use the Town Hall event to create the platform for some of the successful creative art professionals to share their experiences on how they raised capital, the mistakes they made, challenges they faced and how they dealt with those challenges. The town hall will be climaxed with a Q and A session to give the participants the opportunity to interact with the panellists and special guests, a statement signed Stephen Gyasi-Kwaw Country Founder/MD, Global Entrepreneurship Network-Ghana (GEN-Ghana) said.



Participants will be informed about the funding/financing options for the creative industries, which will also help them to make informed choices in sourcing for financial capital to start and grow their businesses in the creative arts sector. Register at www.genghana.com/townhall in advance to join virtually via zoom

Source: Peacefmonline.com/ghana









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

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Miss South Africa, Lalela Mswane, has finished second runner-up in the Miss Universe contest held in Israel.



The annual pageant was won by Miss India, Harnaaz Sandhu, with Paraguay's Nadia Ferreira finishing as first runner-up.



South Africas government withdrew support for Ms Mswane in the contest, to protest against Israel's treatment of Palestinians, although organisers said the pageant should not be politicized.



The arts and culture ministry said that "the atrocities committed by Israel against Palestinians are well documented" and it could not "in good conscience associate itself with such".



Israel has in the past denied committing atrocities against Palestinians.



Minister Nathi Mthethwa said that Ms Mswane should have withdrawn for the sake of South Africa's global standing.



The pageant has tweeted a video of the moment Miss South Africa was announced the second runner-up:













The second runner up is...South Africa! #MISSUNIVERSE



The 70th MISS UNIVERSE Competition is airing LIVE around the world from Eilat, Israel on @foxtv pic.twitter.com/xOtBjXiN8i



 Miss Universe (@MissUniverse) December 13, 2021

Source: BBC









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

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Heavy equipment is used as repairs to a bridge and road that was washed out by flooding are underway on the Coquihalla Highway near Carolin Mine Road, northeast of Hope, B.C., on December 10, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Democratic candidate for governor Joe Cunningham is launching a campaign to keep all of Charleston County in the state's 1st Congressional District during the ongoing redistricting, and wants residents to lobby lawmakers with complaints about how the current voting lines are being drawn in Columbia.

Cunningham, a one-term congressman who previously held the 1st District seat anchored in Charleston, has been a vocal opponent of the proposed redistricting maps, blasting Republicans over the proposed lines during a hearing in Columbia last month.

The current lines move many Black and Democrat-voting precincts out of the 1st District boundaries held by freshman Republican Nancy Mace into Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburns Black majority 6th District.

On Dec. 13, Cunningham launched his "Keep Charleston Together" campaign, which aims to "raise awareness of the Legislature's proposed gerrymandered congressional maps."

He is encouraging voters to "urge their legislators to draw a fair congressional map," according to keepcharlestontogether.com, the website for the effort.

"We've launched this campaign to alert voters in the 1st District who would be moved into the 6th District," Cunningham told The Post and Courier. "Most of them have absolutely no idea what's about to happen. And we're going to change that."

The website provides office numbers, emails and Twitter accounts for Republican state Sens. Chip Campsen, Sandy Senn and Luke Rankin, all coastal Republicans, and encourages voters to reach out to them.

Rankin is chairman of the state Senate Judiciary Committee and Campsen sits on the committee.

In South Carolina, legislators are responsible for redrawing their own representation lines, as well as for the states seven U.S. House seats, after every census. While the state House and Senate have adopted their new lines, the new congressional seat lines arent expected to be debated until after legislators return in January.

Cunningham has been a vocal opponent of gerrymandering since he ran for Congress in 2018. That year he became the first Democrat in four decades to win the 1st District seat. In 2020, he lost by 1 percentage point to Mace.

Since his defeat, Cunningham has spoken out about hyper-partisanship and said the current map proposals would create more extremist representatives in Congress.

"The politicians in Columbia, they're just trying to stack numbers, that's all they care about," Cunningham said. "They just want to win for their team. But they don't see the destruction of democracy that ensues afterwards. This is the kind of map that produces politicians like Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Lauren Boebert, R-Colo."

Cunningham's plan to keep Charleston County together in the 1st Congressional District would take long-standing African American voters out of Clyburn's district, which he has held since 1993.

Cunningham said he had not spoken to Clyburn about trying to influence the remap but added that voting rights is an issue important to both of them.

When asked about Cunningham's advocacy campaign, Clyburn's office declined to comment on redistricting efforts.

"I don't have a vested interest in this other than wanting government to function and true public servants to be elected to office, instead of political hacks," Cunningham said.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is seeking input on how to change flood insurance, an influential program that both sets standards for resilience in building across the country and encourages repeated building in vulnerable areas.

FEMA's open call for comments from the public will last until Jan. 27, and participants will have the opportunity to write in and attend a virtual meeting this week. In particular, the agency is looking for feedback on how the program can update its land-use rules to better fit the floods of the future.

Right now, FEMA's flood insurance rules and the flood risk maps that underly them have major blind spots around climate change, using historical data that don't consider future sea level rise and stronger rains. In parts of the country like the Charleston region, where swelling rivers and rising tides can collide with each other, the blind spots are worse because flood maps only consider one or the other.

But FEMA's call for public input and a recent announcement that the agency is looking at several aspects of the insurance program are hopeful signs, said Joel Scata, a water and climate attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council.

"I think this request for information is an acknowledgement by FEMA (that flood insurance is) not working as a program should," he said.

Flood insurance was originally meant as a safety net for those caught in disasters that the private market won't insure, and is required to get a mortgage on many homes in the Lowcountry. But it can serve to trap flood survivors in a cycle of destruction and repair, which The Post and Courier exposed in its 2020 report "Fixed for Failure."

At the same time, the flood insurance program has been financially insolvent roughly since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It carried $20.5 billion in debt as of August 2020, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Together with the Association of State Floodplain Managers, NRDC petitioned FEMA earlier this year to reconsider how it regulates development in the communities that are part of the flood insurance program. FEMA accepted that petition, and in asking for public comment now, is starting the process to potentially change the federal rules around the program.

"Right off the bat, we are at a place we haven't been in 40 years, pretty much, in terms of updating the minimum standards of (flood insurance)," said Chad Berginnis, executive director of the floodplain group.

Among other rules, flood insurance regulations determine how high a building should be when it's located in a floodplain. Cities and towns can choose to add on extra height to get a break on their insurance premiums, but advocates are hoping that FEMA will make the additional height standard nationally, to acknowledge that floods are worsening over time, Scata said.

Another nonprofit, Anthropocene Alliance, would like to see building discarded altogether in 100-year-storm floodplains, said co-founder Stephen Eisenman. He said that height rules can have unintended consequences, such as when houses are lifted by piling dirt on home lots  creating mounds that push more floodwaters into older developments.

FEMA is also considering a national standard that would dictate what homeowners have to say about their flood histories when selling their houses. That would be a major step because right now each state sets its own rules. South Carolina dictates that sellers have to disclose any FEMA claims they've made, a change that came after The Post and Courier's reporting, but not how bad the damage was.

Eisenman's group is right now running a "Flood FEMA" campaign, encouraging flood survivors to inundate agency officials with their personal stories. But the point isn't just to pressure officials, he said.

"I think (FEMA) wants to make these changes," Eisenman said. "Some of them may worry developers or politicians allied with local developers, and (the agency) needs to know the public supports them."

Information on how to participate in FEMA's Dec. 15 online meeting is available at bit.ly/3pNArEi. Those who wish to write in with comments can do so at bit.ly/3DSq5ry.
Coastal Pediatric Associates, one of Charleston's largest pediatrician offices, says they have vaccinated more than 1,900 children between the ages of 5 to 11 in the past three weeks since the shot became available. The staff are overwhelmed.

Beth Thelan, director of clinical operations for CPA, said the office had vaccines for the younger age group lined up a day before they were officially recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"In the past year, our volume has increased over 17 percent," Thelan said. "But the biggest challenge we have had is getting enough vaccines from the state health agency to cover the level of demand. Our clinics are full for the next two weeks."

CPA, which has four locations in the Charleston area, is part of a national trend of overwhelmed pediatric health care providers across the U.S., as many are understaffed and appointments are in high demand.

According to the CDC, kids age 5 to 11 years old in the U.S. make up nearly a quarter of all initiated vaccinations in the past 14 days. Currently in South Carolina, 8.8 percent of kids in this age group have received at least one shot compared to 16.7 percent nationwide according to data analyzed by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

At the height of the pandemic, CPA says they were constantly changing the flow of operations, setting up tents outside of their offices for sick visits and bumping up telehealth operations. When the weather started to change colder they had to revert to in-office visits, seeing sick and more healthy patients at opposite times of the day to minimize COVID-19 exposure.

When summer came and the number of new COVID-19 cases decreased significantly, the number of appointments fell, too. Now, the organization says they are back in full swing and overwhelmed with high demand for COVID-19 vaccinations.

"We never turned away any patients," Thelan said. "When some of the other pediatric practices in the area closed to sick patients, we never closed our doors and even welcomed patients that were being seen by other providers."

The organization had to pivot once again at the beginning of fall, accommodating new COVID-19 cases and other viruses in schools, along with vaccinating youths aged 12-17. They have given out approximately 1,600 of those vaccinations since the rollout earlier this spring.

To handle the current high demand for appointments, CPA has adopted a third party phone system, diverting any calls in their queue longer than 10 minutes to a call system.

Thelan said that on any given day they would have at least 100 patients in their call queue and wait times amounting up to 20 minutes.

The organization has offered incentives for staff and nurses to work extra hours or come in on off days to participate in vaccination clinics.

Currently CPA is seeing at least 4,000 patients a week across all four clinics.

"We are overwhelmed," said Thelan. "We are offering incentives just like anyone else that doesn't have enough staff."

Others, like Dr. John Sperry from Charleston Pediatrics, say they kept their doors open with help from a government issued protection plan.

Charleston Pediatrics is a smaller office and saw an 80 percent drop off in appointments a few months into the pandemic. Presumably, because people were wearing their masks.

"We were lucky," said Sperry. "We never laid anybody off and kept our doors open through the whole pandemic."

Now Sperry says they are back working at pre-pandemic levels, not overwhelmed and continuing to encourage patients to wear their masks and get vaccinated.

"We have a practice that is quite vaccine positive," said Sperry. "I have always asked everybody about vaccines. The occasional patient gets really angry with me."
Kingstree, SC (29556)

Today

A few passing clouds. Low around 35F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

A few passing clouds. Low around 35F. Winds light and variable.
COLUMBIA  Disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh, who is accused of dozens of financial crimes, will have an opportunity to leave jail for the first time in weeks after a judge on Dec. 13 set his bail at $7 million.

But Murdaughs release appears to be a longshot. Dick Harpootlian, a lawyer representing him, said the high bail is tantamount to no bond because his client no longer has any money.

The decision by Circuit Judge Alison Renee Lee came days after the state grand jury handed up 21 new charges against Murdaugh, whose case has for months captured international attention and tabloid headlines far beyond the rural community where his family long wielded influence.

His virtual bond hearing marked the first time that Murdaugh, 53, has spoken publicly since his wife and son were slain in June and he was accused of attempting to stage his own death in September. It came just days after the state grand jury handed up 21 new charges accusing him of funneling millions of dollars of his clients money into a personal bank account; he now faces a total of 48 counts.

Before the latest indictments, a different judge twice denied bail for Murdaugh, deciding he was a risk to himself. Lee, however, said that Murdaugh had a right to bail and set an amount higher than prosecutors requested. She said if he is released, Murdaugh would be required to stay under house arrest, agree to drug testing, participate in drug and mental health counseling, and not contact witnesses.

"I am a little reluctant, but it's my duty and responsibility to follow what the law provides," Lee said.

At the hearing, Murdaugh said he was no longer a risk to himself and is embarrassed by allegations that he enlisted a former client to shoot him on the side of the road over Labor Day weekend.

Murdaugh, who is charged with insurance fraud in connection with the plot, said he had fallen into a dark place. He was experiencing withdrawal from opioids and had just disclosed his addiction to his law partners, who had confronted him over misappropriated funds.

But after three months sober, he said, he now has a clear head and wants to begin putting his misdeeds behind him. He said the time since the shooting plot represents his longest stretch sober in two decades.

"I made a terrible decision that I regret, that I'm sorry about and frankly that I'm embarrassed about. I'm not in that place now," Murdaugh said. "I want to deal with these charges appropriately and head on. I want to repair as much of the damage I've done as I can."

Murdaugh, 53, currently faces a total of 48 charges including fraud, computer crimes, money laundering and forgery related to allegations that he diverted clients settlement money for his own benefit. The state grand jury has accused Murdaugh of stealing some $6.2 million since October 2015.

If convicted on all counts, Murdaugh faces up to 506 years in prison and $3.5 million in fines, said Creighton Waters, the state grand jury's chief attorney.

According to the indictments, Murdaughs scheme took several forms. He allegedly lied to one client about the size of the settlement they were due to receive and told others that they had to pay expenses like liens and expert fees  money that he is accused of pocketing instead. In each of them, the funds allegedly flowed to a bank account named Forge.

Murdaughs legal team has insisted he used the money to fund a decades-long opioid addiction. Waters said the funds were used for loan payments, credit card bills, personal expenses and "checks to associates."

The Forge account, opened in 2015, was named to mimic Forge Consulting, an Atlanta-based company that South Carolina lawyers routinely use to handle settlement funds. The Forge scheme was discovered when a check made out to the spoof account was found on Murdaughs desk in September, according to a lawsuit filed by his former law firm, Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrick.

The discovery prompted the firm to start looking into Murdaughs finances, expanding the scope of an already tangled saga. Murdaugh began to attract international attention after his wife, Maggie, and son Paul were shot dead at the familys hunting lodge on June 7. No one has been arrested in connection with the killings.

The Murdaugh name long carried weight in the familys native Hampton County. Murdaughs father, grandfather and great-grandfather served as the top prosecutor in a five-county region for more than 80 years, and from Hampton, a town of fewer than 3,000 residents, the family founded a law firm that became one of the states most influential.

Murdaughs legal career began to unravel in September. Thats when the firm says its partners confronted him about the Forge checks and he admitted to stealing money from the firm and his clients. The firm notified law enforcement and the state Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which investigates lawyer misconduct. The state Supreme Court subsequently suspended Murdaughs law license.

Amid his public fall from grace, Murdaugh was arrested in September after confessing he had a hitman shoot him in the head in a bid to leave a $10 million life insurance payout for his surviving son, Buster. Murdaugh, who is facing insurance fraud charges in connection to the shooting, survived and later checked into rehab for an opioid addition.

A month later he was again arrested on charges he secretly stole $3.4 million from a pair of wrongful death settlements that were owed to the sons of Gloria Satterfield, the Murdaugh family's longtime housekeeper and nanny who died after falling at their estate. Eric Bland, an attorney for Satterfield's family, said they had recovered $7.5 million in various settlements since the scheme came to light this year.

Murdaugh apologized through Harpootlian to Satterfield's relatives for the first time at the bond hearing. Harpootlian said his client would agree to awarding the family an additional $4.3 million judgment, essentially securing them a place in line as his assets are distributed. Such a judgment would have to be approved by the court-appointed receivers who control Murdaugh's finances.
One of the happiest developments of 2021 has been the national movement of parents pushing back against woke education. As Stanley Kurtz says:

Nothing can beat parents organized to halt the erosion of core American ideals like freedom of expression or equality before the law. Thankfully, a record of early successes is rapidly building a larger movement to take back our schools.

But Stanley warns that the movement risks committing overreach in the form of book banning:

Lately, some parents and public officials fighting woke education have considered pulling books from the shelves of public-school libraries. That isnt always inappropriate, even for strong defenders of free speech. Libraries serving K-12 students legitimately take criteria like age-appropriateness and community standards into account when it comes to explicit sexual material. Because those lines are notoriously difficult to draw, battles over sexually explicit school library books are sure to play out for years.

However:

Bracketing the issue of age-appropriateness and explicit sexual content, I want to suggest that the best way to deal with woke school library books is not to ban them, but to balance them. If Ibram X. Kendis How to Be an Antiracist is on your school-library shelf, dont ban it. Have your library buy a copy of John McWhorters Woke Racism: How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America, instead. If your school library has a copy of Michelle Alexanders The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, have it order a copy of Heather MacDonalds The War on Cops: How the New Attack on Law and Order Makes Everyone Less Safe. And so on.

Banning books because of the ideas they promote isnt just bad policy. Its also bad politics. Stanley explains:

Our woke elites are only too eager to paint parents pushing back at woke excess in our schools as intolerant book-burners. Why not turn the tables by reviewing school libraries for leftist advocacy books, then balancing them with a more conservative point of view? Keep leftist political books, then dare your opponents to ban the new conservative books youve ordered. I hope both sides hesitate to ban. The end result would be school libraries filled with both points of view  a big win, as far as Im concerned.

I agree.
According to this report, the White House cut off the video feed of a Taiwanese official after she showed a map that labeled Taiwan in a different color than China. Taiwanese Digital Minister Audrey Tangs map was shown for about a minute at Joe Bidens Summit for Democracy before the video feed of her presentation was removed, say people apparently familiar with the situation.

Taiwans presentation showed a color-coded map that ranked global openness to civil rights. Taiwan was labeled as green or open, while some other countries in Asia were marked as closed, repressed, obstructed or narrowed.

No honest color-coded map depicting which Asian countries are open could assign the same color to Taiwan and Red China. And democracy/openness was supposed to be the issue under consideration at the meeting. This was, after all, a Summit for Democracy.

Its fair to wonder how serious Team Biden is about democracy if the administration (1) kowtows to the worlds most powerful enemy of democracy by (2) censoring (3) an ally thats a democracy.

Reuters says the White House feared that showing the map at the conference might conflict with U.S. policy of strategic ambiguity as to whether Taiwan is independent, given that the conference was sponsored by the administration. The State Department claims, however, that confusion with screen sharing caused the feed to drop in an honest mistake.

Reuters take is based on sources who say the map generated an instant email flurry among U.S. officials and that the White House National Security Council angrily contacted the State Department, concerned that the map appeared to show Taiwan as a distinct country. Reuters explanation for the cutting of the video is certainly more plausible than the State Departments.
We have written here and here about Eric Zemmours candidacy for the presidency of France. Zemmour is a French patriot who is concerned about mass immigration from the third world. This makes him a virtual Satan in the eyes of the New York Times; the second linked post discusses a Times attack on Zemmour.

Yesterday the Times printed another assault on Zemmour. The headline delivers, in the eyes of Times reporters, the ultimate insult: Echoes of Trump at a Rally for Frances Far-Right Upstart. The main theme of the article is that Zemmour is a far-right extremist. The reader cant escape it:

Zemmour, the polarizing far-right polemicistcandidate of the traditional far right Zemmour, a French far-right candidate the traditional far rightreduce the cost of adherence to the far rightthis quest to stake out a position on the extreme right may also backfiregradually spread far-right ideas across society, especially through Fox-style news networkshave now embraced his more extremist ideasdesigned to popularize his extreme ideasThe cool is a way to defuse and neutralize otherwise extremely violent ideasMr. Zemmour risked being overwhelmed by the extremism of his own supporters

So, we get it: Eric Zemmour and his voters are far-right extremists. Now, I dont have much respect for the intelligence of people who rely on the New York Times for their news. If they had any sense they wouldnt do that. But even dim-bulb Times subscribers might wonder, What positions does Mr. Zemmour hold that are so extreme and so far to the right?

This is actually the only Zemmour policy position mentioned in the Times article:

The main economic proposal he outlined last weekend  slashing business taxes  is unlikely to speak to working-class voters.

Even in the fun-house mirror world of the New York Times, cutting business taxes doesnt make a candidate a far-right extremist. Skepticism of mass third-world immigration and pride in Frances history explain the Timess hysterical opposition to Zemmour, but the paper never mentions any specific Zemmour policy proposal on immigration or any issue other than corporate taxation. And as for opposition to mass third-world immigration, Zemmours skepticism is hardly outside of the French mainstream. On the contrary, he speaks for many, likely most, Frenchmen, which is why the left fears his candidacy.

What the Times does do, in lieu of discussing his policy positions, is smear Zemmours followers as thugs who brutally attack anti-racism demonstrators, a characterization that the paper adopts uncritically. Thus:

At one point during the rally, antiracism activists were attacked in the sort of brawl rarely seen at French political events.  dozens of his supporters attacked antiracism activists. The violent brawl could stain his image  Midway through his speech, dozens of sturdy militants threw punches at several activists from SOS Racisme, an antiracism organization

But wait! If you read almost to the end of the Timess anti-Zemmour screed, you find that the anti-racism protesters started the melee by attacking Zemmour:

Prosecutors have opened investigations into the violence, including one against a man who lunged at and grabbed Mr. Zemmour as he walked toward the stage.

I dont think Zemmour is likely to win the French presidential election, but the fact that leftists worry about his appeal is apparent from the amateurish hit jobs we see in the left-wing press.
Its not a scoop to say that Donald Trumps opinions about individuals, including whether to support or denigrate them, are based almost entirely on how the individuals in question have treated Donald Trump. Nor is it a scoop to say that Trumps view of how individuals have treated him is based these days almost entirely on whether they embrace his unsupported claim that he won the 2020 election.

Benjamin Netanyahu is the latest victim of this manifestation of Trumps narcissism. In an interview with Israeli journalist Barak Ravid, the former U.S. president lashed out at the former Israeli prime minister, who is also his former pal. According to Ravid, Trump told him:

Nobody did more for Bibi. And I liked Bibi. I still like Bibi. But I also like loyalty. The first person to congratulate Biden was Bibi. And not only did he congratulate him, he did it on tape. And it was on tape.

Trump added:

Ill tell you what  had I not come along I think Israel was going to be destroyed. Okay. You want to know the truth? I think Israel would have been destroyed maybe by now. And the first person that congratulated Joe Biden, because this was an election in dispute, its still in dispute. The first person that congratulated was Bibi Netanyahu, the man that I did more for than any other person I dealt withBibi could have stayed quiet. He has made a terrible mistake. Early, okay? Lets use this. He was very early. Like earlier than most. I havent spoken to him since. F*** him.

Where to begin? Lets start with the fact that Netanyahu was not the first foreign leader to congratulate Joe Biden. Among the foreign leaders who congratulated Biden before Netanyahu did are Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Indias Narendra Modi, Ukraines Volodymyr Zelensky, and Japans Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga,

F*** all of them too, I guess.

Second, the notion that Israel would have been destroyed but for Donald Trump is delusional. Pre-Trump, Israel survived the best efforts of its enemies to destroy it for almost 70 years. It would have survived for four more without Trump. It will even survive Joe Biden.

Who was going to destroy Israel, absent Trump? No one. No enemy had the capacity to, and by the time Trump came along Israel had fewer enemies than ever before because important powers previously hostile to the Jewish state now regarded Iran as a serious threat and Israel as a counter-balance.

Trump deserves credit for leveraging that sentiment into deals between Israel and some of its former enemies. But lets pretend that Trump saved Israel from destruction. That claim makes his assertion that he won the 2020 presidential claim seem reasonable.

Third, Netanyahu had good reason to congratulate Biden. The former VP was about to become the president of Israels most important ally. Netanyahu knew he would have to deal with Biden. Only Trump among politicians of any note thought that Biden might not take office in January 2021.

As Netanyahu said when told of Trumps ridiculous statements to Ravid:

I highly appreciate President Trumps big contribution to Israel and its security. I also appreciate the importance of the strong alliance between Israel and the U.S. and therefore it was important for me to congratulate the incoming President.

Exactly.

Trump didnt stop with his condemnation of Netanyahu. He also praised Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority  an entity that would gladly destroy Israel if it could.

According to Trump, Abbas wanted to make a peace deal and Netanyahu did not. This may be true at some level. Certainly, there is a peace deal of some sort that Abbas would like to make and Netanyahu would not.

But what sort of a deal? To a competent, rational world leader, that question matters. Im not sure it did to Trump. Maybe he just wanted a deal, any deal, so he could boast of being the man who finally brokered a Middle East peace deal.

In any case, Trumps discussion of Abbas is over-the-top. He says:

I will be honest, I had a great meeting with him, Abbas, right. I had a great meeting with him. And we spent a lot of time together, talking about many things. And it was almost like a father. I mean, he was so nice, couldnt have been nicer.

Is it possible that Trump really views Abbas with this much naivety? Is Trump really this big a sucker? Ill give him the benefit of the doubt and attribute the father-son pabulum to his desire to make Netanyahu look like the bad guy as retaliation for congratulating Joe Biden.

Trump also said:

I thought the Palestinians were impossible and that the Israelis would do anything to make peace and a deal. I found that not to be true.

Did Trump really believe that the Israelis under Netanyahu (or any other prime minister) would do anything to make a deal? If so, this betrays a frightening ignorance.

And if Trump misread Israel and Netanyahu this badly, what/who else did he misread?

North Korea? Did Trump think Kim Jong-un was desperate to make a deal with him? It didnt turn out that way.

Iran? Did Trump believe the mullahs were desperate to make a deal? Quite possibly. This would explain why Trump blew up the Iran nuclear deal with no apparent alternative strategy for slowing Irans march to becoming a nuclear power other than the non-existent desire to make a deal with Trump.

We already knew that Trump was incorrigibly narcissistic. His interview with Ravid suggests that hes also something of a fool.
Access Bank will convene a meeting of its shareholders by the order of the Lagos division of the Federal High Court, putting it on track for a transition to a holding company.

The meeting holds Thursday at the lenders Lagos head office, with attendance expected to be by proxy in fidelity to Covid-19 protocols. It will be streamed live on the lenders website, according to a regulatory filing at the Nigerian Exchange on Friday.

Increasingly, banks in Nigeria are adopting the holdco model, which enables them to branch out into non-banking business and diversify earnings at a time lenders are facing depletion of income.

The structure also permits the emerging parent company, in this case to be known as Access Holdings Plc, to own controlling stakes in all its subsidiaries and influence the decision-making process even though it will not be involved in the day-to-day running of the units.

On Wednesday, Sterling Bank announced its receipt of tentative approval from the central bank to transform to a holding company, joining rivals FBN Holdings, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, the FCMB Group and GTCO, which completed its own restructuring earlier this year.

Access Bank, Nigerias biggest lender by asset base, has consummated several mergers and acquisitions deals across Africa this year and is hoping 30 per cent of the groups profit for 2021 will come from operations outside its home market Nigeria.

With the holdco structure, the emerging entity will be amply protected from the risk of exposure, given that the parent company will not be liable should any of its subsidiaries go under.

ALSO READ: Access Bank to merge newly acquired Zambian unit with African Banking Corp

Once the special resolutions are passed at the meeting, Access Bank will proceed to obtain approvals from regulators including the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Securities and Exchange Commission, and thereafter apply for a final holdco licence, according to the scheme of arrangement.

The process is to be completed by April 15, 2022, when the holdco shares will be listed in Lagos.
Nigeria is hoping to have the widest 5G in Africa in 2022, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, has said.

Mr Pantami said this at the auction of the 3.5 gigahertz (Ghz) spectrum in Abuja on Monday.

Three telecom firms are bidding for two slots approved by the NCC, after meeting all requirements for participating in the licensing process.

MTN Nigeria, Mafab Communications Ltd, and Airtel Networks Ltd, participated in the software-based simulated auction, using the Ascending Clock Auction System for the mock session.

Each bidder went through a bidding room after participating in an opening round.

The State Security Services (SSS) was tasked with monitoring the representatives of the companies, who would not be allowed to leave the room until the process is over.

The NCC on Friday held a mock auction where all bidders participated.

The commission fixed the price for the bid at N75 billion ($197.4 million).

Mr Pantami said 5G technology can solve some of the security challenges in the country, since the technology provides real time services and platforms.

Let us not forget that Nigeria has the largest digital economy in Africa, Nigeria has the largest telecommunications market in Africa, Nigeria has the largest internet subscribers in Africa, Nigeria has the largest broadband and we hope that by 2022, Nigeria will have the widest 5G coverage in Africa, he said.

It is because of this and looking at the general benefits of the 5G deployment globally, Nigeria as a country, being the giant of Africa, feels it is necessary for us to kickstart the process of 5G deployment.
Popular instagram comedian, Abdulgafar Ahmad, popularly known as Cute Abiola, has been released from the custody of his employers, the Nigerian Navy.

Cute Abiolas lawyer, Fatai Adebanjo, broke the news to PREMIUM TIMES on Monday evening saying that his client has been released and is free to join the family

He said:  Cute Abiola has been released, he has been given his keys to his cars and finally allowed to join his family.

The comedian, who is also a Naval personnel, was arrested at his duty post (office) on November 14 for violating the Armed Forces Social Media Policy.

The Conditional release

The comedian was given a conditional release on December 3, but was not given access to his family and lawyers.

Mr Adebanjo said he went to the Naval office in the company of Cute Abiolas family and his friends where the comedian was being detained.

According to the lawyer, the Navy allowed them access to the place where he was, but to his chagrin, the comedian was not allowed to join his family home despite being released.

He said: We got there, me, his wife, his mother, and a friend. When we got there we were given access to Cute Abiola, but to my greatest surprise, they ( Nigeria Navy) did not allow him to go home with us.

The Naval spokesperson, Suleman Dahun, also confirmed Cute Abiolas release in a telephone interview with this newspaper.

Mr Dahun said the skit maker would face a one-month extra duty punishment, after facing trial.

Mr Dahun said the comedian will be in charge of cleaning, supervising painting, electricians, carpentry, cutting of grasses, and others. He will be supervising civilians.

Cute Abiola became a household name in 2015 and has featured in several comedy skits and movies.

Cute Abiola is not a stranger to controversies.

This is not the first time the Instagram comedian would be arrested by his employers.
Fourteen people have escaped after being kept for days in a camp by bandits affiliated to kingpin, Bello Turji, in Sokoto State.

Sources said the residents escaped from the camp in Suruddubu in Isa Local Government Area on Saturday when their captors went out for other operations.

The Chairman of the LGA, Abubakar Yusuf, confirmed the development to Premium Times in a telephone interview.

Yes. Theyve been taken to the General Hospital in Isa for medical check up and would be sent home. We are happy that they are gradually escaping and we will keep praying and supporting our troops to win against these people (bandits), he said.

Mr Yusuf said he had mobilised the hospital to give prompt medical attention to those wounded by the bandits and those who escape from their abductors.

Mr Yusuf said eight of the escapees are from Sabon Birni Local Government Area while three are from Isa Local Government Area, both in Sokoto State while the remaining three are from Kaura Namoda Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

ALSO READ: Buhari mourns as Sokoto buries 23 travellers killed by bandits

A journalist who is from the area said the victims escaped when the bandits went out to attack some villages in the area.

The police spokesperson in Sokoto, Sanusi Abubakar, did not respond to several calls and SMS sent to him on the issue.
Sudans October 25 coup was a miscalculation on the part of the military. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan dissolved the government and the Sovereignty Council, suspended the Constitutional Charter of 2019 and imposed a nationwide state of emergency in an effort to ease tensions between political parties. This move received global condemnation.

On November 21, after a month of mass demonstrations, the military reinstated Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, reversing the coup with the signing of a new transitional agreement.

Despite this accord, protests have continued rejecting the militarys role in governing Sudan. Protesters are refusing an all too familiar civil-military political arrangement. Without a support base to legitimise and give credibility to this agreement, there is widespread concern and speculation about its durability and how it will be implemented.

It is not surprising that while the international community heralds this new agreement as a celebration, Sudanese remain doubtful. They see it as a way of legitimising the coup.

From the start, there was limited consultative engagement with Sudanese civil society and grassroots movements to determine the objectives of the mediation. There was no sense of legitimacy or even transparency regarding the mediation efforts from all parties involved. Hence it was a political agreement devoid of domestic buy-in or support.

The African Union, United Nations (UN) and United States, as the most visible mediating actors, had a primary objective of restoring the civilian-military partnership. Mediating actors had repeatedly called for a return to the status quo ante, yet Sudanese protesters strongly rejected the militarys role under the slogan No negotiation, No partnership, No compromise. It soon became evident that the international community was tone-deaf in its attempt to mediate the political deadlock.

Before October 25, it was apparent that the Sudanese model of a shared civilian-military governing body was flawed and that there were inherent cleavages and directly competing interests. The coup took place just a month before the military was meant to hand over chairmanship of the transitional ruling council to the civilians.

Now that the agreement has been signed, there are serious concerns around its implementation as confrontations between civilians and state security actors arise with grassroots movements planning weekly demonstrations. There is a high level of awareness, especially among Sudanese youth, of the transitional challenges that created governance vacuums allowing the military to justify seizing control. This awareness is leading to an absolute refusal to accept the military as legitimate partners in this transition to democratic rule.

However, the challenge is that implementing any of the objectives of the transitional period and those included in the transitional roadmap, such as security sector reform, stabilising the economy and judicial reforms, requires consensus from all actors, civilian and military alike.

Whatever semblance of trust existed that the military were only custodians of the transition was shattered with the coup. Burhans constitution of a sovereign council on November 11 was further proof that there was no intent to hand over power and cede the militarys grip on politics. Recent reminders offer no guarantees that the military will commit to this accord.

The most significant point of contention when it comes to moving forward with this transitional agreement centres on calls for justice and accountability. Arguably, the previous transitional governments biggest shortcoming centred on investigation and prosecution of the June 3 massacre. Similarly, the crackdown on protesters since the coup  resulting in the deaths of over 40 protesters  will continue to shape Sudanese politics for the rest of the transitional period.

There has been some effort to respond to calls for accountability. Mr Hamdok fired the director-general of the police and his deputy, Khaled Mahdi Ibrahim El-Emam and Ali Ibrahim, over the crackdowns of the past month. This may be a first step towards accounting for the recent excessive use of force against civilians.

The reinstated prime minister has also sought to reverse the appointments of previous regime veterans in key institutions and ministries made during the military coup. Hamdok has halted the firing of civil servants and called for a review of all appointments made during that period.

This is an important step to ensure that control of key institutions doesnt reside with members of Omar al-Bashirs disbanded National Congress Party. Although some initial steps have been taken to alleviate instability, greater flexibility is urgently needed from all actors to lift the current political deadlock.

For Hamdok, weakening the militarys governance role by constituting a technocratic government and cabinet devoid of anyone linked to the previous regime or military is a crucial step. Yet it is a challenging task where the same political elite has controlled the space for decades.

Overall, all actors need to be more flexible while engaging and negotiating the fine print of the transitional agreement. A more pragmatic effort is required from the Forces of Freedom and Change, the Sudanese Professional Association and political parties to negotiate the concessions to be made.

Simultaneously, for those leading the civilian demonstrations, a first step would be to identify and choose mediators at domestic, regional and international levels who clearly understand their objectives and wont compromise the mediation effort.

Lastly, resolving this political deadlock is not a tripartite affair between Hamdok, Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemediti), leader of the Rapid Support Forces. International and regional actors need to continue mediating the crisis keeping in mind the primary objective  how best to manage and improve civil-military relations in a country with six decades of military rule.

Maram Mahdi, Research Officer, Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Pretoria

(This article was first published by ISS Today, a Premium Times syndication partner. We have their permission to republish).
Elisha Zira is a civil servant based in Abuja, Nigerias Federal Capital Territory (FCT), who earns less than N100,000 as monthly salary.

In January 2020, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphomas, a type of cancer that starts in immune cells of the lymphatic system. And since then, he has almost turned into a street beggar for lacking the required financial muscle to confront the money-consuming disease.

Since the diagnosis, I have been receiving treatment at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH) and I have been hospitalised many times. I have passed through six circles of chemotherapy which is 12 times the administration of the drugs.

I have spent nothing less than N1.5 million since I started treatment and my monthly salary is not even up to N100,000, Mr Zira said.

He decried the poor coverage of cancer treatment by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), saying: The only thing NHIS covered through my treatment period have been some laboratory tests. Anything outside this is not covered by the health scheme.

My treatment is costing me almost N2 million already and I am not done with it yet. If the NHIS covers cancer treatment, I wont be looking for help everywhere. The drugs for treating cancer are very costly and they cant be found randomly, so I have to book through the pharmacists that can access them.

If not for the help I have been getting from people, you can as well guess what would have happened to me by now, he lamented.

In a similar development, Mabel Jonah, a businesswoman, who for the fear of stigmatisation refused to give her additional details, narrated her ugly experience in her attempt to fund her treatment to this newspaper.

When it all started, I had to sell everything I owned, I had to pay with almost everything, said Mrs Jonah, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in May, 2020.

Breast cancer, the most common type of cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women around the world, has continued to claim lives in Nigeria.

Mrs Jonah said the aftermath of the diagnosis has changed the course of her life forever. She said her ailment started tearing a deep hole into her pocket after she learnt that her NHIS plan can only cover consultations and minor drugs but not for proper treatment.

I started my treatment with six sessions of chemotherapy which is very expensive. For my test, application of the medication and the medication itself, I was paying almost a million per session every three weeks. To make it worse, the drugs are not available in any hospital so you have to order them. I did this six times before traveling to the United Kingdom for my surgery, she narrated.

When I got back, I continued with the remaining four sessions of the chemotherapy which makes it a total of 10 sessions. Afterward, I started radiotherapy which I did at the National Hospital because that is the only hospital that has equipment for radiotherapy. For five weeks of radiotherapy, I paid about N600,000.

The ordeal of Mrs Jonah and Mr Zira largely mirrors the financial burden and emotional troubles many cancer patients in Nigeria cope with in the absence of government support and investment into cancer treatment.

Failure of NHIS

Due to the huge out-of-pocket spending for health services, which sometimes leaves poor Nigerians in penury, the government established the NHIS in 2005.

However, 16 years after and despite billions of naira pumped into the scheme since inception, millions of Nigerians, and mostly civil servants, who have been enrolled into the scheme like Mr Zira, say they are not getting quality services.

They say the scheme fails to cover key treatments for serious ailments such as cancer which is very expensive and has left many cancer patients and their families with no option than to sell properties to raise funds.

Some cancer patients also rely on foreign aid and raising funds through social media, a situation health experts blamed on the countrys fragmented health insurance system.

A cursory look at the cancer treatment regimen covered by NHIS shows mostly interventions for peripherals without significant impacts on the patients.

A recent study, which is titled Access to Care and Financial Burden for Patients with Breast Cancer in Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria and published in Journal of Clinical Oncology in 2019, shows that at least 72 per cent of breast cancer patients in Nigeria pay out-of-pocket for their treatment, in comparison with at least 45 per cent in Ghana, and just 8 per cent in Kenya, where most of the costs are covered by the countrys health insurance scheme.

Grim statistics

No doubt, poor access to screening and diagnostic services has been found to be the most critical aspect of cancer care and part of the many reasons for alarmingly high mortality rates for cancer in Nigeria and Sub Saharan Africa, when compared to other countries.

About 70,000 deaths are recorded from cancer annually in Nigeria.

In 2020 alone, 78,899 cancer-related deaths were recorded in Nigeria, according to Globocan statistics. Women often bear the brunt as breast and cervical cancers are responsible for more deaths than any others in Nigeria.

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While 34,200 men died from cancer in 2020, 44,699 women succumbed to the disease, according to Globocan data.

Estimates from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation suggest that the cancer death rate in Nigeria was 113.7 per 100,000 people in 2017.

Besides, experts believe the cancer figures are underreported because many patients cannot afford the costs and often abandon hospital tests and treatment, meaning they will not be captured in the data.

More interventions, poor outcomes

Rauncie Chidebe is the executive director of cancer advocacy organisation, Project PinkBlue, who described the NHIS interventions in cancer care management in Nigeria as insignificant.

Mr Chidebe, who is a member of the World Cancer Day advisory group, a Geneva-based group and hosted by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), said though Nigeria has rolled out unique plans for cancer treatment, these plans have not translated to actual interventions because the government does not see cancer treatment as a priority.

He said, for instance, NHIS only provides coverage for minor drugs that do not include major cancer treatments which he believes cancer patients are in dire need of.

Meanwhile, in 2018, the Nigerian government reportedly launched a $250 million National Cancer Control Plan for 2018-2022 with the goal of reducing cancer prevalence and mortality rates.

According to the government, the plan aims to increase the number of comprehensive cancer care centres in the country that can offer radiotherapy as part of treatment for cancer patients.

It added that the plan provides direction as to how the countrys health ministry envisions cancer control efforts in the next five years.

The plan stipulates that Nigeria needs N60 billion to fight cancer. Part of the idea is to have a national screening starting from a pilot of national breast screening.

But two years away from 2023, advocates say the plan is still on paper with no real implementation.

To be honest, funding is a serious issue for cancer treatment. The NHIS is not covering the major treatment drugs and services. The trust fund is being delayed by several administrative bureaucracy. On the other hand, the annual health budget has never been enough, said Mr. Chidebe.

Plans underway -Minister, NHIS

Contacted for clarifications on what NHIS covers with regards to cancer, the schemes spokesperson, Emmanuel Ononokpono, said such information is not in his purview and so could not speak on the issue.

But the executive secretary of the NHIS, Mohammed Sambo, during a retreat earlier in the year, said the scheme is expanding coverage of essential healthcare services for all Nigerians.

NHIS on its part is currently reviewing its benefits package to accommodate some drugs and services for Cancer and other communicable and non-communicable diseases, Mr. Sambo said.

He said the scheme is working with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on the actual valuation of its comprehensive benefits package.

In that package, we already have some of the new generation chemotherapy, chemo drugs and others are included, he said.

While we are doing this, we need to look at how we are going to finance the new package, otherwise we are going to deplete the pool we have been able to put together.

Earlier in 2019, while participating at a National Health Dialogue organised by PREMIUM TIMES, Nigerias health minister, Osagie Ehanire, announced plans to institute a cancer treatment fund towards reducing the financial burden of treating cancer,

There will be a creation of a fund, either a cancer treatment fund or whatever we decide to call it. It is important and can be driven by investment or donation, the minister said.

The minister said the new fund will help reduce the cost of treatment and diagnosis, noting that the funding plan will draw support from the private sector.

But two years after the pronouncement, cancer communities in Nigeria say they are yet to start benefiting from the fund.

Bagudu speaks

Speaking during a recent walk against cancer, the founder of Medicaid Cancer Foundation, Zainab Bagudu, confirmed that efforts are ongoing to ensure the inclusion of cancer treatment into the countrys health insurance scheme.

Mrs Bagudu, who is also the wife of Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu, said: For a very long time, we have been working with the NHIS to ensure that cancer care in all its ramifications is included in the health scheme. By cancer care I mean, screening, diagnosis, treatment and even palliatives.

Presently, there is a list of drugs one can obtain under the NHIS, some surgeries and even screenings like mammography. Although we are not where we want to be yet, we are confident that soon more progress will be made.

Also corroborating the minister, Mrs Bagudu said the federal government has begun the process of disbursement of the fund, noting that for the first time in the history of Nigeria a cancer health fund was created by the incumbent Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, where over N730 million was set aside for the use of indigent cancer patients.

I am on the committee so I personally know what is happening, and plans are underway for the disbursement of the fund to the six tertiary units that were selected to control the fund, she said.

This is worrisome. The ripple effect is that cancer patients will continue to pay out-of-pocket for treatment and those who cannot will be left at the mercy of God. If we dont make cancer control a priority, youll be surprised at the kind of cancer deaths that will happen in this country in the next 5 years.

Aside poor funding and testing, Mrs Bagudu said awareness level on cancer is still very low especially in rural communities, which she says partly contributes to late diagnosis.

Majority of Nigerians in the rural areas still access care from traditional medical healers before going to the hospital so we need to include our primary healthcare centres in these awareness campaigns.

There is a need to provide screening services at the PHC level where our people in the village can go when they see lumps, where we can teach them what to do and we can most importantly provide them with solutions.

The Director of Clinical Services at the National Hospital, Abuja, Aisha Umar, said cancer patients account for 40 per cent of patients received at the hospital.

But the problem is that they come late because of this the outcome is not the way we expect.

We want people to be aware that there is a disease called cancer that can kill if discovered late. if cancer is diagnosed in the first, second stages the outcome is better but most times, we see it in the third and fourth stages and the outcome is not usually good, she said.
MTN and Mafab Communications Limited have won the bid for the 5G spectrum auctioned by the Nigerian government Monday.

The Nigerian Communications Commission conducted the auction at the Transcorp Hotel in Abuja for the available two slots for the 3.5 GHz spectrum.

MTN Nigeria, Mafab Communications Ltd, and Airtel Networks Ltd participated in the bid using the Ascending Clock Auction System.

On Monday, each firm went through a bidding room after participating in an opening round.

The State Security Services (SSS) was tasked with monitoring the representatives of the companies who were not allowed to leave the room until the process was over.

The commission fixed the base price for at $197.4 million. The two winners got the nod of the regulator at $273 million, the spokesperson for the NCC, Ikechukwu Adinde, told PREMIUM TIMES.

Earlier at the event, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, said Nigeria is hoping to have the widest 5G in Africa in 2022.

Mr Pantami said this at the auction of the 3.5 gigahertz (Ghz) spectrum in Abuja on Monday.

Mr Pantami said this at the auction of the 3.5 gigahertz (Ghz) spectrum in Abuja on Monday.

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Mr Pantami said 5G technology can solve some of the security challenges in the country, since the technology provides real time services and platforms.

Let us not forget that Nigeria has the largest digital economy in Africa, Nigeria has the largest telecommunications market in Africa, Nigeria has the largest internet subscribers in Africa, Nigeria has the largest broadband and we hope that by 2022, Nigeria will have the widest 5G coverage in Africa, he said.

It is because of this and looking at the general benefits of the 5G deployment globally, Nigeria as a country, being the giant of Africa, feels it is necessary for us to kickstart the process of 5G deployment.
The remains of the late Jimoh Oyewumi Ajagungbade III, the Soun of Ogbomosoland, were interred on Sunday in the palace, according to Islamic rites.

Tholiat Ayilara, the Chief Imam of Ogbomoso, who led other Muslim clerics, conducted the prayer around 4.30 p.m.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the 95-year-old Oyewunmi, who is the 20th Soun of Ogbomoso, joined his ancestors in the early hours of Sunday.

Among some of the early dignitaries that paid condolence visit to the palace on Sunday were Rauf Olaniyan, the State Deputy Governor, former governors Rasheed Ladoja and Adebayo Alao-Akala.

Others were Abdulfatai Buhari, Ayoade Adeseun, and Segun Ogunwuyi, the Chief of Staff to Governor Seyi Makinde.

NAN, however, reports that scores of sympathisers had been visiting the palace since the news of the death of Mr Oyewunmi filtered into town.

Reports from the town showed that the residents were in a mournful mood over the unexpected death of the oba, whom many described as a lover of peace, whose 48 years reign witnessed tremendous growth and development of the town.

In his condolence, Mr Alao-Akala described the death of the monarch as a personal loss.

In a statement he personally signed and made available to journalists on Sunday in Ibadan, Mr Alao-Akala said: The sudden demise of my father and traditional ruler of my hometown, Ogbomoso is a personal loss to me.

Mr Alao-Akala said that the late traditional ruler was an all-round figure in his life, adding he was a father, mentor and teacher.

The former governor said that the late oba did not hesitate to spare the rod when need be to whip him back into line as at when necessary.

As the Bobagunwa of Ogbomosoland, a honourary title Chief to Kabiyesi, Oba Jimoh Oyewumi Ajagungbade III, I became a member of the inner recces of the palace.

And I saw first hand, a just and fair King who led Ogbomosoland with the fear of God. Kabiyesi never ruled over Ogbomoso, he led us into global fame and recognition, he said.

The former governor said that the late traditional ruler brought Ogbomosoland to international reckoning, adding he also brought about a huge deal of development.

According to him, Mr Oyewunmi would be sorely missed as a great man of exemplary character, a witty and never compromising King.

He was a man who held on the noble virtues of culture and tradition till he breathed his last, Mr Alao-Akala said.

(NAN)
Former presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress ADC), Pat Utomi, has blamed the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the hardship Nigerians are going through.

He said Nigerians have been duped by the nations two dominant parties in their quest for a good government to cater for them.

Mr Utomi stated this on Sunday while appearing on Politics Today a programme on Channels Television.

Drawing from the economic and social figures released by local and foreign organisations over the years, Mr Utomi, a professor of political economy, argued that there may not be any difference if the ruling APC and the PDP remained peoples choices in subsequent polls.

With high expectations, the APC was voted into power in 2015 after 16 years of the PDP rule. But six years down the line, some Nigerians believe not much has changed.

Mr Utomi lamented the gradual slide of Nigeria into collapse with little or no effort from a government that promised to fight corruption to a standstill.

Did you see the numbers just this week on leakages out of OECD figures about corruption in West Africa? You dont even have to try. You can see it every day.

You know, what pains me is that many of us threw everything we had into this business, because we thought were going to create an anti-corruption regime. We ended up with a more corrupt regime than I think we have ever had in Nigeria. I can prove it. I can bring you the numbers from everywhere OECD reports and so on, Mr Utomi noted.

With an emphasis on President Muhammadu Buhari-led government, Mr Utomi, a member of the Third Force Movement, which seeks to reposition Nigeria, said the country has not really been governed with a sense of direction.

Nigeria is not being governed. And if you look and listen to the conversation that youve been having, it shows you the tragedy of the fact that its a triumph of politics. Nigerian people are hardly in these conversations. Political parties dont have programmes, they dont have exactly a direction to make a difference in peoples lives that they have set up.

In that kind of situation. You can only get what we have today in Nigeria. Now, for the avoidance of doubt, whether its PDP, APC, the truth of the matter is this is the most miserable place to live on Earth today. All the statistics say so, he said.

Mr Utomi, who was announced last week as President of the Shadow Cabinet set up by the National Consultative Front (NCFront), questioned the constant exchange of blame by the APC and PDP rather than policies for national growth.

He challenged both parties to start addressing the issue of the collapse of culture and moral standards among its members.

Given the prevalent realities of the country backed by indices and statistics, he also accused Nigerias political class of lack of empathy.

With instances of the Roll Back Malaria Programme and the drastic cut of government officials expenses during Mr Obasanjos tenure, Mr Utomi extolled the leadership prowess of the former military cum civilian leader.

If they had empathy, you would see, look, all these numbers that we are throwing out about the poverty rates; if politicians running Nigeria are politicians, they would respond in terms of their behaviour, to the fact that poverty is the number one thing ruling Nigeria.

But look at the motorcades of governors. Look at their presidential jets as they fly around the plane. It shows that there is a complete disconnect between the political class and the people and the pain that people suffer.

Look, President Obasanjo, as military head of state when oil prices came down, he says look, were going to cut our coat according to our clothes not according to our size. And he comes down as president to Peugeot 504 and thats what he rode as president of Nigeria and everybody else was Peugeot 504 and below, he said.
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that a stronger executive-legislative partnership would deepen democracy in the country.

Mr Buhari stated this while declaring open, the Maiden Distinguished Parliamentarians Lecture 2021 held in Abuja on Monday.

The lecture, which was organised by National Institute for Legislative and Democracy (NILDS), had a theme The Legislature, Legislative Mandate and the People.

The president was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha.

Mr Buhari, while noting that presidential democracy in Nigeria had experienced successful transitions from one administration to the other, also said it had witnessed a smooth handover from an incumbent to the opposition party.

He, however, said the executive arm of government would continue to build on the existing good working relationship with the legislature to ensure that the interest of every Nigerian was advanced and public good delivered.

Our democracy has similarly been confronted by several challenges, some novel, that required hitherto unanticipated solutions, while others, though familiar, required adaptation to meet prevailing circumstances.

In other situations, the executive-legislative relationships have come into focus especially, as it concerns the exercise of powers enshrined in the Constitution and the practice of checks and balances.

He said with the review of the 1999 Constitution, the introduction of the lecture offered a veritable platform to enunciate outcomes of research, comparative analysis and best practices in the countrys quest to enthrone good governance.

Mr Buhari thereafter urged the National Assembly and NILDS to ensure that the outcome of the lecture was well documented and circulated.

I similarly charge you to ensure that this lecture series is sustained and targeted at addressing key national and constitutional issues in a manner that would strengthen our democracy, eliminate grey areas and enthrone best practices, he said.

In his remarks, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila of the House of Representatives, said democracy thrived when competing views and opposing visions of the future could be freely espoused, assessed and critiqued in the marketplace of ideas.

This is so that only those positions that could withstand critical analysis became policy and law.

Mr Gbajabiamila was represented by Deputy Whip of the House of Representatives, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha.

This lecture series is in furtherance of the shared commitment of the 9th National Assembly and the Institute to expand the civic space and enlarge the marketplace of ideas where citizens can engage constructively to find solutions that will shape our nations future, he said.

Also speaking, former Senate President Ken Nnamani, who was chairman of the occasion, said the critical role of the National Assembly required that the lawmakers were knowledgeable enough to assist the president to execute projects that would make the lives of Nigerians worth living.

Also contributing, the Director-General of NILDS, Abubakar Sulaiman, said the lecture series had been initiated by the National Assembly as a bi-annual event.

This, Mr Sulaiman said, was to broaden legislative experience by bringing together eminent speakers to share knowledge and encourage thought-provoking conversations on issues of national importance, especially those having relevance to the legislature.

We believe that such an engagement undertaken at regular intervals, is critical to improving legislative openness and in the process encourage citizens participation and dialogue to raise the awareness and interest of citizens to participate in the work of parliament.

(NAN)
Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, has debunked the public perception of the 9th National Assembly as a rubber stamp of the executive.

Mr Lawan said this at the Distinguished Parliamentarians Lecture in Abuja on Monday.

He spoke at a lecture he tagged, The Legislature, Legislative Mandate and The People- The Reality and The Public Perception, organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS).

According to him, Nigeria has three arms of government that are constitutionally equal but the people are heavily represented at the legislature than the other arms.

He said that for the peace and development of the nation, the three arms of government must work together as the failure and success of one arm of government will be attributed to all.

According to him, the legislature, being the first arm of government constitutionally, the closest and as well the most accessible by the people, easily lends itself to public scrutiny and sometimes take the blame even for government decisions that fall outside its legislative competence.

He explained that the three arms of government have a responsibility to each other and an obligation to Nigerians, thus must have a cordial relationship based on mutual respect for constitutional rights and mandate to succeed.

He said the cooperation of the 9th Assembly with the executive had improved efficiency in lawmaking; as at (of) November 2021, about 2,500 Bills have been introduced; 769 in the Senate and 1,634 in the House of Representatives.

He said the number of Acts gazetted increased as compared with different regimes since 1999; Olusegun Obasanjo (1999-2006) 82 Acts; Umar Musa YarAdua (2007-2009) 38 Acts; Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (2010-2015) 40 Acts and Muhammdu Buhari(2015-date) 84 Acts.

Mr Lawan said the salaries of the members of the National Assembly was approved by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) which is included in the budget allocated to the National Assembly.

The total salary of a senator is about N1.5 million and N1.3 million for a member House of Representatives.

The average office running cost for a senator and a member House of Representatives is N13 million and N8 million, respectively.

He pointed out that the budgets of the National Assembly since 1999 have never gone above N150 billion, which accounts for about 3% of the annual budget.

On the issue of constituency projects and zonal intervention projects, he stated that the system allows legislators to nominate projects for implementation in their constituencies but they do not implement them.

In line with their legislative mandate, they exercise oversight over the process. Corruption in Nigeria is a complex issue.

Though corruption in any arm of government is not acceptable and must be condemned, to, however, single out one arm of government without any hard evidence is to undermine the authority of that institution.

The purchase of operational vehicles for members of the National Assembly has received extensive media attention, Mr Lawan noted.

He said if civil servants from rank of assistant director and above are entitled to official vehicles and some ministers have a convoy of cars, he doesnt see why the allocation of a Toyota camry and a Land Cruiser to members would be such a hideous proposition.

He said the major factor that contributed to the negative perception of the legislature was political apathy, arising from the school of thought that politics is a dirty game and politicians are dirty.

He said the 9th Assembly would continue to improve public perception on the legislature.

(NAN)
The Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN), on Monday, criticised the Court of Appeal for frustrating an appeal filed by Walter Onnoghen to challenge a controversial order of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) suspending him from office as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) in 2019.

President Muhammadu Buhari, acting on the strength of an ex-parte order issued by the CCT, suspended Mr Onnoghen was suspended from office on January 25, 2019.

The suspension order was shrouded in series of controversies. It was found to have been issued privately by the CCT chairperson on January 23, 2019 in the absence of not just the defence team but also behind the prosecution team.

Mr Onnoghen had filed several appeals against separate interlocutory decisions of the CCT, one of which challenged the CCTs order for his suspension.

But the Court of Appeal in Abuja refused to deliver its decisions until after the CCT had convicted and ordered Mr Onnoghens removal from office.

In its decisions delivered on May 11, 2019, the Court of Appeal faulted the order on different grounds including that it was issued before Mr Onnoghen was arraigned before the CCT on the six counts of the breach of code of conduct for public officers.

It also held that the CCTs order suspending Mr Onnoghen from office was obtained in the proceedings shrouded in secrecy and clandestine manoeuvre.

But the court refused to set aside the order on the grounds that it had become academic, since the CCT trial had been concluded as of that time.

Judiciary, victim of its silence

Speaking on Monday at a valedictory court session in honour of Abdul Kafarati, a former Chief Judge of the Federal High Court who died in February 2021, Chris Uche, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said the judiciary became a victim of its silence.

The Court of Appeal we recall refused to deliver its ruling in the matter for over three months, Mr Uche said.

Mr Uche, who served as a member of Mr Onnoghens legal team at the CCT, spoke on behalf of the BOSAN.

He relived the lurid circumstances that preceded Mr Onnoghens ouster, which began with the midnight raid on the homes of Supreme Court and High Court judges by State Security Service (SSS) agents in October, 2016.

Having got away successfully with that, referring to the raid on judges homes, they were emboldened to attempt to the unthinkable, and that is what is known today as the Onnoghen saga, the body said.

A sitting Chief Justice of Nigeria was removed from office with a questionable ex-parte order by a Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, and all stood by, Mr Uche wondered.

Few judges are courageous

Speaking on the independence of the judiciary, the BOSAN said: there have been systematic efforts to erode the independence of the judiciary by way of intimidation, coersion, arm-twisting, divide-and-rule tactics and outright harassment.

Mr Uche, who represented BOSAN chairperson, Adegboyega Awomolo, noted that in most cases involving the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), very few judges are bold enough to decide (matters) according to the law because of the entitlement mentality of the prosecuting agencies.

He alerted judges of possible interference with electoral matters as the 2023 general elections beckon, urging the judiciary to guard its independence.

The judiciary must asset itself, and indeed liberate itself through the protection of its decisional independence, Mr Uche added.

Encomiums for late Kafarati

In a tribute the to the deceased judge, Mr Uche described the former Chief Judge as a courteous judge, who had a reputation for listening quietly to lawyers as they canvass argument.

It was only in his rulings and judgements that you will see the courage, wisdom and experience of the late jurist, he said.

In his eulogy, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, John Tsoho, said Mr Kafarati introduced innovations toward speedy and effectual adjudication of causes and matters.

Justice Kafarati was a revered gentleman, a great family man; a humane, articulate, peaceful and quiet by nature, Mr Tsoho said.

By his demise, death has dealt unfairly with our beloved Justice Abdu-Kafarati, the CJ lamented.

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The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, praised the late jurist for his examples of humility, hard work and excellence.

Mr Malami was represented at the event by Tijjani Gazali, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and acting Director of Civil Appeals at the Federal Ministry of Justice.
Leaders of West African countries have agreed to the reopening of all land borders in the region by January 1, 2022. They also welcomed the reopening of already opened borders.

This was part of the resolutions reached at the 60th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, held in Abuja on Sunday.

The Heads of states and government welcomed the reopening of land borders in ECOWAS for the free movement of persons, the leaders said in a communique.

At a virtual meeting of sectoral ministers, the reopening of the borders was recommended based on the economic effect the closure has had on the economy of the region.

They noted at the meeting that in addition to the closure of borders on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, the member states facing security crisis had also tightened security checkpoints within and at the borders of their respective countries.

This resulted in a loss of 6.7 per cent of the GDP of ECOWAS States between 2020 and 2021, the officials estimated. This corresponds to about $50 billion.

The ECOWAS Commissioner for Trade, Customs and Free Movement,

Tei Konzi, said the reopening of borders for economic recovery has now become a fundamental issue as the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 in West Africa adversely impacted the volume of trade and mobility of persons.

The hasty closure of borders in a bid to tackle the pandemic suspended the implementation of community integration texts on the free movement of persons and goods.

Some ECOWAS member states shut their borders two years ago for different reasons including to stem the spread of COVID-19.

Ghana shut her bodies in the wake of the pandemic. The border closure in Ghana led to protests by traders (in Elubo West and Aflao town) who lamented the effect on their businesses.

Nigeria had in 2019 shut its land borders due to the smuggling of illegal drugs, arms and agricultural products. It reopened four borders in 2020. Recently, 11 members of Nigerias House of Representatives sponsored a motion, seeking to reopen all the borders.

Also, the border closure between Guinea Conakry and Senegal is said to have had a negative impact on the collection of revenue in the Upper River Region.

The West African leaders, at their meeting, also urged member states to implement the adopted ECOWAS guidelines on harmonisation and facilitation of cross border trade and transport and mitigation of health sin the ECOWAS region as it relates to COVID-19.

They also urged members to enhance the coordination, collaboration and cooperation through border agencies among member states sharing contiguous borders.

They called on member states to Adopt mutual recognition of PCR test at borders; harmonise the validity period of test results in member states and provide equipment and facilities at all points of entry.

They welcomed the upcoming ministerial meeting of concerned member states led by the President of Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Kabore, on the obstacles affecting intra-community trade on the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor.
The Nigerian police, on Monday, detained a journalist and founder of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), Fisayo Soyombo, the newspaper said in a statement.

According to the statement signed by Damilola Ayeni, the journalist was invited in connection to a report exposing a Commissioner of Police, Joseph Egbunike, who approved the establishment of a police transit camp in six states, a project the newspaper said was either non-existent or little work done.

Mr Egbunike was in charge of the panel set up by the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali, to investigate the embattled Commander of the Police Intelligence Unit, Abba Kyari.

Fisayo Soyombo, Founder of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), is currently being detained at the Force headquarters, Abuja, by the police.

Soyombo was on a long trip on November 23 when he received an SMS that read:

Good Afternoon sir, this office is conducting an investigation in which your name and phone number featured, in view of this, you are to interview the Head, IGP Monitoring Unit on the 29th November, 2021 by 1000hrs at 1st Floor, Force Hqtrs, Abuja. Thanks.

Knowing he committed no offence, he honoured the police invitation on Monday, days after returning from the trip, only to discover it was in connection to a story exposing the award of transit police camp projects that do not exist to the tune of the contract sums, FIJ said in a statement.

Police spokesman, Frank Mba, neither responded to phone calls nor text messages when contacted on the matter.

However, PREMIUM TIMES learnt that Mr Soyombo had been granted bail and was in the process of perfecting the bail conditions at the time of this report.

More details shortly.
The leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has sued the State Security Service (SSS) over allegations of gross violation of his fundamental human rights.

Mr Kanu is being held by the SSS at its headquarters in Abuja, after the Nigerian government repatriated him from Kenya in June this year, an action his lawyers termed abduction.

He is standing trial on charges bordering on treasonable felony and terrorism before a federal court in Abuja.

Maxwell Opara, one of Mr Kanus lawyers, told journalists on Monday that, a medical doctor engaged by the SSS has extracted Nnamdi Kanus blood samples over 21 times.

In the new suit, Mr Opara said despite a subsisting order by the trial judge, Binta Nyako, compelling the spy agency to allow Mr Kanu change his clothes and practice his Jewish faith, the SSS flagrantly ignored the orders.

The Director-General of the SSS, Yusuf Bichi, and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, were listed as Respondents in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1585/21.

Mr Opara, while briefing reporters on Monday, recounted his last visit to the SSS detention facility, where his client reportedly complained bitterly about the doctor extracting his blood, whom he suspected to be a quack.

Nnamdi Kanu said his demand for the security agency to grant him access to his medical record was repeatedly refused, Mr Opara said.

How Kanus rights are being violated

In an affidavit of urgency deposed to by Mr Kanus younger brother, Emmanuel, the SSS is said to have subjected the IPOB leader to solitary confinement which is a form of mental and physical torture.

This action, he said, subjects the applicant (Mr Kanu) to inhuman and degrading treatment and in turn constitutes a violation of Section 34(1)(a) Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The respondents (SSS and AGF) have deprived the applicant access to facility and material to practice his faith and ultimately prevented the Applicant from praying and/or practicing his faith, and the aforesaid constitute a breach of the Applicants right to practice his religion.

The applicant is a Nigerian citizen who is entitled to the enjoyment of the fundamental rights enshrined in chapter 4 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended and Article 5 and 8 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and enforcement) Act Cap A9 Vol. 1 LFN.

The respondents have deprived the Applicant access to facility and material to practice his faith and ultimately prevented the Applicant from praying and/or practicing his faith, and the aforesaid constitute a breach of the applicants right to practice his religion.

The respondents prevented the applicant from having access to a medical practitioner and legal practitioner of his choice.

The respondent subjected the applicant to solitary confinement which is a form of mental and physical torture and as such subjects the applicant to inhuman and degrading treatment and in turn constitutes a violation of Section 34(1)(a) Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended and Article 5 of the African Charter on Human and People Rights (Ratification and enforcement) Act Cap A9 Vol. 1 LFN.

The applicants right not to be subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment and torture/humiliation is enshrined in Section 34(1)(a) Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended and Article 5 of the African Charter on Human and People Rights (Ratification and enforcement) Act Cap A9 Vol. 1 LFN, the affidavit read in part.

Relying on Order (ii) Rule (i) of the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 209, Mr Kanu Junior said the law empowers any person who alleges that any of the fundamental rights to which he is entitled to is being, has been, or is likely to be infringed upon to apply to the court for a redress.

The respondents have no justification to have subjected the Applicant to indignity, humiliation, mental torture and inhuman and degrading treatment.

Prayers

Mr Kanu urged the court to order the SSS and the AGF to immediately allow him access to medical facility and material for the practice of his religion.

His other prayers read, An order of this court directing the Respondents to immediately allow the Applicant to appointing an independent Medical Practitioner of his choice from a certified government hospital to review the Applicants medical files.

An order directing the Respondents to allow the Applicant access to a medical practitioner of his choice and a legal practitioner of his choice.

An order of this court directing the Respondents to immediately remove the Applicant from solitary confinement.

The IPOB leader prayed for An order of perpetual injunction restraining the Respondents, their authorised agents by whatever name so called, from further disturbing or interfering with the rights of the Applicant to dignity of human person and freedom thought, conscience and religion or in any way infringing on the constitutional rights of the Applicant as guaranteed by law or from making any attempt capable of violating the Applicants rights as guaranteed under the Constitution.

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Background

At the last sitting in Mr Kanus trial on December 2, the trial judge, Mrs Nyako adjusted the hearing date in the suit to January 19, 2022, after his defence team staged a walk-out on the judge on November 10.

Ifeanyi Ejiofor, who led other defence lawyers on the walk-out on the judge in the previous proceedings, had applied for an abridgement of time in the trial for an urgent hearing of his pending applications.

One of such applications challenges the competence of the charges instituted against his client.

But, the prosecuting lawyer, Shuaibu Labaran, opposed the request for abridgement of time, informing the judge he had filed a counter-application.

After listening to arguments by the two opposing lawyers, the judge said the courts diary was already congested due to her busy schedule, and adjourned the suit till January 19, bringing the date forward by one day.
The Nigerian police have released Fisayo Soyombo, journalist and founder of online newspaper, FIJ, who was detained earlier on Monday.

FIJ made this known in a tweet shortly after it announced his detention.

We can confirm that our Founder @fisayosoyombo has been released by the Force Headquarters.

He was released on bail at exactly 6:26pm today and is to return on January 13, 2022.

Our only offence here is that we published a TRUE story, the newspaper tweeted on its verified Twitter handle.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported how the Nigerian Police Force detained the journalist following a publication which his paper indicted a senior police officer.

In a statement signed by Damilola Ayeni, the journalist was invited in connection to a report exposing a Commissioner of Police, Joseph Egbunike, who approved the establishment of a police transit camp in six states, a project the newspaper said was either non existent or little work done.

Mr Egbunike was in charge of the panel set up by the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali, to investigate embattled Commander of the Police Intelligence Unit, Abba Kyari.

Fisayo Soyombo, Founder of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), is currently being detained at the Force headquarters, Abuja, by the police.

Soyombo was on a long trip on November 23 when he received an SMS that read:

Good Afternoon sir, this office is conducting an investigation in which your name and phone number featured, in view of this, you are to interview the Head, IGP Monitoring Unit on the 29th November, 2021 by 1000hrs at 1st Floor, Force Hqtrs, Abuja. Thanks.

READ ALSO:

Knowing he committed no offence, he honoured the police invitation on Monday, days after returning from the trip, only to discover it was in connection to a story exposing the award of transit police camp projects that do not exist to the tune of the contract sums, FIJ said in a statement.

Journalist intimidation

The Nigerian police are known for their constant intimidation and violation of rights of journalists whose reports do not favour them.

The Force had on several occasions detained journalists for those report which the police often link to criminal investigation.

Other journalists suffer inhuman treatment during coverage of protests and other demonstrations which are perceived to be anti-government.
The desperate need of the hour in Nigeria, across all racial and religious boundaries, is the enthronement of righteousness and it must start in the church Righteousness exalts a nation, sin is a reproach to any people. Proverbs 14:34.

In December 2005, I enlisted in a small group of tourists who visited the city of Kimberly, South Africa, in the wake of a political turmoil that rocked the boat of the African National Congress (ANC), the South African leading political party. Our tour guide, a local, escorted us round some very impressive monuments that replicated the memory that many South Africans hold very dearly of their famous heroes.

Kimberley is a prospecting city famous for its quality diamonds, being the largest man-made excavation in the world, with an impressive variety of tourist attractions. It is the capital city of the Northern Cape and it is surrounded by five of South Africas big rivers, two of them being the Orange and Vaal Rivers.

Thus, we reached a small bungalow that stood in the centre of the city square. Unknown to us, this had been scheduled by our tour guide as part of the historical monuments we must experience. As we proceeded into the house, we found a small room, a conference-like section of the house, where about six to eight chairs were arranged around a large rectangular table. What in the world are we doing in this room was the thought that held me bound. That was when the tour guide said something that has refused to leave me for the past sixteen years. He said, and I quote, right in this room sat the eight people who decided the fate of the nation of Zimbabwe. What? Yes, you heard me right, said the tour guide. On a particular day in history, some men, eight in number, sat in this room, to fashion out the destiny of tens of millions of people in the nation of Zimbabwe. Given this preceding analogy, let me now tell us where we are.

Where we are?

After this experience in Kimberly, South Africa, the engineer in me quickly constructed a bridge between the Kimberly experience and the narratives of present-day Nigeria, where a nation filled with some of the most brilliant human beings on earth has been traumatised and transformed into a butt of jokes in the committee of great nations by a handful of vultures and predators. With a palpable nepotism in the land, occasioned by the advent of a ferocious Fulani hegemony, all men of conscience, men who once pretended to be men, have all gone absent without official leave (AWOL), and the remnants of the once glorious Nigeria are now designated as the worlds poverty capital, the country with the fourth most deadly terrorist group, and the third most terrorised country on earth, next only to Afghanistan and Syria, in that order.

The truth is that the walls of Nigeria have completely broken down. See Nehemiah 1-3. The walls of a nation stand for the defence systems of that nation. Without an iota of doubt, we all can see the way things have become in Nigeria in terms of defence and security. This nation is being massively rocked by terrorism, armed banditry, police brutality, foreign invasion and just name it. These are all signposts that the wall of the nation has collapsed, and broken down.

Second, the gates of Nigeria are burnt by fire (See Nehemiah 1:3 again). The gates of a nation stand for the spiritual authority of such nation. In every nation, the church is the spiritual authority. When there is crises and the church speaks, God must hear, and solutions must come. Sadly, we all can see how many years we have been praying for Nigeria. We thank God for some things he has done, because were it not because of the prayers of the church, Nigeria would have become history.

However, the spiritual authority of the Nigerian church that should be at the cutting edge of impact and positive influence has been significantly weakened. Consequently, evil people have taken over our nation with reckless abandon. Corrupt and evil politicians are calling the shots and they seem to be growing bolder by the day. The truth is, the gates of Nigeria have been burnt. What is the overall consequence of these two crises? The glory of Nigeria has been weakened.

Why are we here?

Nigeria is at this crossroad of darkness because at all levels, in the church and outside of the church, righteousness has taken a flight out of the nation. The church that should be the light of the world has shifted position. The world is now the light of the church. It is so bad now that many among the church leaders in Nigeria have forsaken their first love totally, and are now wining and dining with mammon, while a lot of pastors, including some of our church leaders, are actually involved in unbelievable dimensions of occultic practices, rituals and sacrifices, that millions of Nigerian Christians have always failed to accept as reality. Thus, Nigeria is where it is today because evil and wickedness have eaten deep into the fabrics of the church and the society at large.

In July 2020, I woke up from a frightening night vision about Nigeria. I saw a stretch of neighbourhood in Nigeria looking desolate. It was a scene reminiscent of the war-ravaged city of Mogadishu. Shops and businesses were emptied; roads were waterlogged, refuse-littered, dirty, smelly, stinking and messy. Some roads leading to major streets were flooded with human blood. Buildings were rickety and ramshackled; and the surviving people standing aloof on streets stood in a panic mood. There was no food or drink to buy or eat, as I combed building to building, and shop to shop. It was a terrible sight. For the evil our sins have brought upon the land, we now need to know where are going, and what we must do to get there, and to avoid the coming holocaust.

Where we are going?

The lord has asked me to announce to Nigerians that a new wave of glory is coming. The Muhammadu Buhari led government was a cane of judgement released upon Nigeria, and it is supposed to last for seven years (2015-2022). During this period, the Lord told me that the nation would experience unprecedented poverty and desolation that no government policy would be able to resolve. I do not know what will happen after 2022. But the year 2022 is a prophetic turning point for Nigeria that we must not miss. Something major will happen in Nigerian in 2022 that will shake the nation to her roots.

The Lord has given me this scripture in Haggai 2:9: The glory of the latter house shall be greater than the former, and in Nigeria will the Lord bring peace. There is a coming glory that will strengthen our walls and sharpen our gates. But weve got a responsibility. Weve got to rise up and work. It is time to forget the past and face the future and work. God is asking me to tell every Nigerian youth and adult that the coming glory will be triggered by hard work. Now, whether Nigeria breaks up or not is not the issue here. The issue is: Even if Nigeria breaks up, each of the emerging nations must still do the following works, otherwise they would end up as pathetic as the present Nigeria. But since we do not have the luxury of the timeline of Nigerias breakup, if it would ever break up, we must still come together to work hard. If we work hard on the present caricature, the glory of the present Nigeria will still break out. What type of works will help us out?

Works of righteousness

The church must repent. All church leaders, pastors and ministers and Christians who have gone after mammon and occultism must repent. There must be a conscious desire to change and turn from wickedness and evil in the church.

Works of Unity

The church must unite. I am of RCCG, I am of Deeper life is a recipe for disaster. Fathers and church leaders must humble themselves and receive corrections from one another to build bridges of unity and collaboration.

Work of Intercession

There is no scientific solution that can confront Satan when he is in charge of a territory. Nigerias present problems have far-reaching demonic altars sustaining them, and these altars only bow to the forces of ferocious intercession. There is presently in Nigeria, several occultic altars that are being serviced by blood, and except by the mercies of God that only prayers can release, these altars will continue to grow stronger, and when these happen, the nation would continue to fall into pieces. Therefore, the church must wake up and church leaders must prioritise around solid intercessions at all times and in all their church programmes.

Works of Love

The church must become kingdom-minded. The resources in the church must be used to change the lives of the poor among us, and this must also be taken further into the larger society.

Works of Governance

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The church must unite and deploy all available resources to create new socio-political movements that will create enabling environments for credible technocrats and experts in the church to contest for political offices nationally.

The desperate need of the hour in Nigeria, across all racial and religious boundaries, is the enthronement of righteousness and it must start in the church.

Righteousness exalts a nation, sin is a reproach to any people. Proverbs 14:34.

Ayo Akerele, a leadership and system development strategist and minister of the word, writes from Canada and can be reached through ayoakerele2012@gmail.com.
Omicron appears to be a politically divisive variant of the COVID-19 virus. The common lies about the omicron variant targeted at Africa are not backed by scientific evidence. Instead, they reify the existing ideology that often depicts Africa badly. Western countries fear of doom coming from Africa fuels their overaction. Europe and its powerful allies are acting as if they are the exact representations of overbearing patriarchy

Containing the spread and impact of COVID-19 is a herculean task for Africa and African governments. It is even more challenging when Western countries and their allies deliberately conspire to allow politics and economic nationalism, instead of science, to define the global response to a virus that we know little about. The origin, transmission and severity of the coronavirus, in all its manifestations, are still matters of contention among experts. From the day South African medical scientists raised the alarm about discovering the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, the Western world came out in full force to display its racist diplomacy against Africa. Critical thinking and scientific inquiry were jettisoned, and the new variant was inappropriately dubbed the African COVID-19.

Politics indeed plays a role in health affairs, but it should not define the response to an epidemic requiring an evidence-based mechanism of containment. Viruses do not know colour, creed, nationality, or race. As revealed by COVID 19, humans across all strata and genealogies are exposed to this deadly disease. Singling out a group to target and discriminate against it is a folly taken too far.

On November 26, the World Health Organisation (WHO) labelled omicron a variant of concern, the fifth version (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta having come before it) of the virus to be thus marked out. Omicron has generated quite a stir globally in the past few weeks and has put Africa and Nigeria in the middle of it all. There were earlier predictions that the coronavirus would continue to mutate, and so this did not come to public health experts as a surprise. What may have caused the uproar was the Wests response to the new variant.

Immediately South Africa announced this new variant, the West flinched back to its protectionist and nationalistic mode, and Africa became a target of opprobrium and discrimination. The narrative and actions of affluent Western countries immediately toed Africas dominant historical narrative as a dangerous place with exotic diseases that threaten other parts of the world. Usually, one will assume that the global community should praise South Africa for its openness and scientists for working hard to identify this new variant. But that was not the case. Fuelled by self-destructive nationalism, the West was in a hurry to shut down the world on South Africa and other southern African countries, and later even countries in West Africa, including Nigeria.

Reacting to this, WHOs Executive Director posits that, Its really important that there are no knee jerk responses here, especially with relation to South Africa. South Africa is picking up interesting and important information for which we are doing the proper risk assessment and risk management. We have seen in the past that when there is any mention of a variant then everyone is closing borders and restricting travel. It is really important that we remain open and focused on characterising the problem, not punishing countries for doing outstanding scientific work and being open and transparent about what they are seeingAfricand what they are finding.

Furthermore, CBS News reported that Dutch health authorities announced last Tuesday that they found the new Omicron variant of coronavirus in cases dating back 11 days, indicating that it was already spreading in western Europe before the first cases in southern Africa were identified. The RIVM health institute found omicron in samples dating from November 19 and 23. Also, in many European, North American, and Asian countries, omicron was seen in numbers sizeable enough to be of concern, but the reaction that followed did not target these countries but only African ones.

The irrational reaction of the West in this issue of omicron is tangentially related to how they have handled the vaccination in poorer countries. They are yet to show real commitment to the vaccination in Africa and other developing countries generally. This has resulted in a threatening disparity. This wide gap between vaccination rates in the West, put at 70 per cent of the population, against the less than 7 per cent for Africa, is a reason for unbridled protectionism.

The statements, so far, from the West have all the trappings of intellectual and scientific incoherence. Once Africa is involved, the West suspends logical reasoning backed by scientific evidence and wears the cap of self-protectionism, discrimination, and fearmongering to paint Africa in a bad light. The West acts as if when a variant is linked to a place it is detected first in, it must create many stigmas, and they (a healthy privileged population) have the right to blame someone. Its imperative to highlight that when a new variant is detected in a specific place, it doesnt mean it originated there; it may simply imply that professionals in the health area there did a good job and noticed it before anybody else.

Besides, that a variant starts in one place does not mean that the variant will become very established in another area to warrant the knee jerk reaction that followed omicron announcement. There is a precedent for this. Southern Africa suffered a wave of the Beta variant at the end of 2020, but it never became established elsewhere. Alpha swept across Europe but never became based in southern Africa. A variant spread in one place and not another as much, may be more evolutionary, and environmental. For COVID-19, a crucial part of the environment is the immune system, which is person specific.

This knee jerk response of clamping down on some countries where omicron is found (many countries outside of Africa where scientists found it had not received the same level of punishment or ostracisation that African countries did) and shutting down flights from these countries are only justified due to the idea of stopping or delaying omicron from reaching these countries.

The pertinent question at this point is, why is Africa targeted? Why are Africans enraged about the barrage of bans from the West? We must note with great emphasis that in 2020 when COVID-19 left Wuhan, it first infected many people in the U.S. and Europe before it reached Africa. However, African countries did not discriminate against those Western countries, nor did they ban flights from them in a knee jerk reaction, as these countries are doing now. Africans saw thousands of people infected in the West who died from COVID-19. But they did not discriminate or target the West for ridicule. Why is the West doing this to Africa now? This is only an extension of the dialogue of the imbalance between Africa and the West. Unfortunately, what ought to be a scientific debate has been overwhelmed by racist diplomacy and economic nationalism.

The irrational reaction of the West in this issue of omicron is tangentially related to how they have handled the vaccination in poorer countries. They are yet to show real commitment to the vaccination in Africa and other developing countries generally. This has resulted in a threatening disparity. This wide gap between vaccination rates in the West, put at 70 per cent of the population, against the less than 7 per cent for Africa, is a reason for unbridled protectionism. Part of the protectionist policies was in shutting out Africa from the rest of the world, starting with air travel. Some countries banned flights from Southern Africa from coming to Europe, and other African countries were added later. The case of Nigeria being on the list, with its negligible number of omicron cases, makes no sense.

Canada was the first country to ban Nigerian flights, despite the fact that there are no direct flights between the two countries. Nigerians are, however, more incensed by the British governments red-listing of their country. But, before the British government put Nigeria on the red list, there were more cases of omicron in the U.K. than in Nigeria, and there are even more cases in many European countries, but the UK did not put those countries on the red list. One can only imagine, given this approach, that had the first COVID-19 virus  first identified in China last year  originated in Africa, it is now clear that the world would have locked Africa up and thrown the key away. There would have been no urgency to develop vaccines because Africa would have been expendable. This virus is already on three continents, and nobody is locking away Belgium, Denmark or Isreal. Why is the West locking away Africa?

I implore western countries that have placed restrictions on travel to and from Africa to change that policy immediately. The U.K. should revert to the status quo and allow Nigerians and British citizens to travel to the U.K. and vice versa, especially during this Christmas festivities. The stress and cost of quarantining citizens who probably are free of the omicron variant of the coronavirus, just because of unscientific sentiment,s are unwarranted.

The implications of this locking of Africa are enormous. They are psychological  the emotional impact of Africans feeling discriminated against  and economic and social. The loss in productivity and revenue to businesses in the aviation and allied industries in Nigeria within the period of the ban will affect the economy in the long run. Given the timing of this ban, many Nigerian families abroad that have planned to travel back to the country to celebrate Christmas with their families may have to call off their travel plans.

Perhaps, if the government had been challenging this hatred, as it did with the case of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Nigeria would have gotten more respect. Nothing stops developing countries from engaging with the West more challengingly, if they act condescendingly towards them. There is a need for mutual respect from all countries and continents, devoid of patriarchal sentiments and tendencies bordering on ideological apartheid and unnecessary supremacy inclinations.

Omicron appears to be a politically divisive variant of the COVID-19 virus. The common lies about the omicron variant targeted at Africa are not backed by scientific evidence. Instead, they reify the existing ideology that often depicts Africa badly. Western countries fear of doom coming from Africa fuels their overaction. Europe and its powerful allies are acting as if they are the exact representations of overbearing patriarchy  they rape, exploit, and use Africa as a resource base, whilst condemning it as a hell on earth.

The COVID-19 crisis is not about to end. There may be other mutations with even stranger names in the near future. Yet, one thing is clear: the gains of globalisation may be eroded by the history of this virus. Both the West and Africa stand to lose. Chinas interests will advance, as it keeps dealing with the virus as a scientific and economic challenge with hidden benefits. Africa must rise and seek collaborations and cooperation, instead of looking up to the West for salvation.

This discriminatory treatment of Africa should spur a renewed sense of Pan-Africanism and bring all African countries together to work for their collective good. Reliance on the West to solve Africas problems reifies Africas perception as a problem continent and the concomitant fear that goes with those negative sentiments about Africa that persists in the West. Africa has allowed the West to tell its story for too long, and it is time Africa takes back control of its narrative and engage with the world on better terms. Sometimes, it is difficult to blame the West for their knee jerk reactions to African issues. It comes from their existing perceptions of Africa as a corrupt haven, where poverty and disease are ravaging the continent that cannot help itself. Although this perception is not entirely accurate, Africa still engages from weak and needy positions with the world.

I implore western countries that have placed restrictions on travel to and from Africa to change that policy immediately. The U.K. should revert to the status quo and allow Nigerians and British citizens to travel to the U.K. and vice versa, especially during this Christmas festivities. The stress and cost of quarantining citizens who are probably free of the omicron variant of the coronavirus, just because of unscientific sentiments, are unwarranted. If the West insists on this path, a retaliatory action may be inevitable and the next time African countries identify a variant of the COVID-19, they know exactly what not to do.

Dakuku Peterside is a policy and leadership expert.
the Federal Government, state governments, the judiciary, Nigerian Bar Association and the National Human Rights Commission should henceforth ensure scrupulous observance of the human rights of the Nigerian people guaranteed by the Constitution and other relevant laws. As a converted democrat, President Buhari should direct Mr Malami (SAN) to ensure that the judgments of all competent courts are complied with

No doubt, Nigeria has ratified and enacted a few human rights treaties of the United Nations. Apart from the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, which was domesticed in 1983, the Federal Government has merely ratified other conventions of the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States. However, in 2014, the Federal Government appointed the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice as the National Authority to ensure compliance with all judgments of the Ecowas Court, in line with Article 24 of the amended Protocol of the Court. But the current Attorney-General, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), has failed to ensure compliance, with not less than 40 judgments of the regional court that are yet to be complied to.

With respect to the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights, the Federal Government has deliberately refused to join 10 other African States that have made Declarations to enable aggrieved individuals and Non-Governmental Organisations to access the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights, in accordance with Article 34 (6) of the Protocol for the Establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights. And in spite of the claim that Nigeria operates under the rule of law, the Federal Government and its agencies have refused to comply with over 100 judgments delivered by municipal courts in favour of victims of human rights violations. Curiously, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN) has endorsed such official impunity by insisting that national security supersedes the rule of law under the Buhari administration.

Indeed, it is common knowledge that the notorious Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police Force was disbanded last year following the nationwide protests against police brutality. But the brutalisation of hapless Nigerians in the Federal Capital Territory and the 36 States of the federation has continued unabated. The efforts of the National Human Rights Commission to halt the infringements of human rights of citizens are usually ignored by security forces. Notwithstanding the powers conferred on the Commission to enforce the socio-economic rights of the Nigerian people it has limited its activities to the half-hearted enforcement of political and civil rights of citizens.

In order to create a human rights law regime in the country, some laws have conferred powers on certain bodies and individuals to protect the human rights of citizens. Indeed, section 60 of the Police Establishment Act, 2020 provides for the appointment of lawyers to man the human rights desks in the over 5,000 police stations in Nigeria. But for reasons best known to the authorities, the lawyers have not been appointed. Furthermore, Section 34 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and Section 70 of the Police Establishment Act, 2020 have imposed a mandatory duty on Chief Magistrates to visit police detention centres and judges designated by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to conduct visits to all other detention facilities on a monthly basis, with a view to preventing the illegal arrest and detention of citizens. But the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, the Honourable Justice John Tsoho has refused to designate the judges, while Chief Magistrates have not been provided with vehicles to conduct the visits to police stations in all the states of the federation.

In the same vein, Section 21 of the Nigerian Correctional Services Act 2019, which provides for regular visits to all correctional centres by designated persons, including the national officers of the Nigerian Bar Association. The purpose of such visits is to decongest the correctional centres. But the statutory Prison Visitors have not conducted any visit since the law was enacted in 2019. Whereas section 470 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act requires the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee, headed by the Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory, to decongest the nations correctional centres, Mr Malami (SAN) has set up an illegal Prison Decongestion Committee headed by a retired Chief Judge of the Court.

In view of the foregoing, the Federal Government, state governments, the judiciary, Nigerian Bar Association and the National Human Rights Commission should henceforth ensure scrupulous observance of the human rights of the Nigerian people guaranteed by the Constitution and other relevant laws. As a converted democrat, President Buhari should direct Mr Malami (SAN) to ensure that the judgments of all competent courts are complied with in accordance with Section 287 of the Nigerian Constitution and Article 24 of the Amended Protocol of the Ecowas Court. In addition, the Federal Government should make a Declaration to enable aggrieved citizens to access the African Court after exhausting domestic remedies.

Femi Falana (SAN) is interi, Chairman of Alliance on Surviving Covid 19 and Beyond (ASCAB).
Gombe State Governor, Inuwa Yahaya, has said the digitalisation of land administration embarked upon by his government is aimed at improving urban planning and supporting infrastructural development and other critical areas in the state.

The governor stated this while declaring open a two-day stakeholders engagement workshop on land administration, organised by the Gombe Geographic Information System (GOGIS).

Mr Yahaya explained that it is an established fact that a just and efficient land administration system is necessary in order to guarantee ownership and security of tenure, provision of security, support land and property taxation, monitor land transactions as well as reduced incessant disputes associated with land.

A good land administration system is also essential in order to improve urban planning, support infrastructural development and proper environmental management, he said.

He observed that Nigeria, like Gombe State, is faced with the challenge of ensuring proper and orderly land administration which his administration is doing everything necessary to change the archaic process of land management.

You may wish to recall that while campaigning for election as the governor of this great state, we noted with great concern, some of these challenges which includes poor physical development planning, endemic corruption in land administration and unacceptable bureaucratic bottlenecks which have hampered the overall development of the state.

During the campaigns, we stressed the need to correct all irregularities in land administration so as to ensure sustainable use and proper management of our land.

Accordingly, one of the promises we made as contained in our manifesto, is that we will ensure the maintenance of accurate database of all lands in the state and ensure speedy acquisition of land title documents.

To achieve these, we pledged that, if elected, we will strengthen the Gombe State Geographical Information System (GOGIS) through adequate funding, staffing and equipping to enable the Agency deliver on its mandate, he said.

He added that while the immediate past administration established GOGIS, it did not see to its proper take-off despite engaging consultants and contractors, thereby expending hundreds of millions in the process without any visible results.

He said, Today, all of you can bear testimony to the efforts we have made since assuming office to change the narrative by ensuring the successful take-off of GOGIS as an important agency of government through the provision of a state-of-the-art office accommodation, operational vehicles and other necessary equipment including modern ICT infrastructure thereby ensuring proper implementation of the first phase of its establishment as an institution. Similarly, we awarded the contract for the second phase of its take-off which includes full digitalisation of land administration in the state.

The governor said his administration has embraced the use of modern technology by awarding the contract for the aerial survey of the entire state using orthophoto technology in order to fast-track the issuance of digital certificates of occupancy as obtained in other states.

He said when completed, the project will upgrade the existing aerial photographs and Geographical maps of the state by producing high resolution (GIS) imagery which will enable clear identification of property boundary for the ease of application and issuance of digital certificate of Occupancy, C of O.

Furthermore, in accordance with the provisions of the Land Use Act of 1978, we inaugurated the Land Reform Committee and charged it with the responsibility of identifying measures that needs to be taken in order to address all injustices, inconsistencies and corrupt practices encumbering efficient land administration and development in our dear state, he said.

Mr Yahaya remarked that based on the recommendations of the committee, his administration initiated bold reforms in order to right the wrongs.

We signed Executive Order 4 in 2020 which seeks to check uncontrolled alienation of communal lands, ensure provision of basic physical and organisational infrastructure and expanded the radius of all existing urban areas, while creating new ones in all the local government areas of the state.

Furthermore, following our realisation of the need to align with modern realities in metropolitan development, we initiated the Gombe Capital Special Development Zone project aimed at providing befitting structures, access roads and other facilities while also ensuring strict compliance with development control regulations in and around the state capital.

He stressed that land transactions, buildings and building plans approval were temporarily suspended at the area designated as Gombe Capital Special Development Zone pending the completion of layout auditing exercises and proper verification and re-certification of all land titles in the affected layouts.

He said as soon as these exercises are completed, the suspension will be lifted to allow individuals proceed with the development of their plots in line with the requirements of the law.
The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Kwara branch, has called for the release of its member, Zubair Erubu, who was abducted on Thursday night in his farm house.

This is contained in a statement jointly issued on Monday in Ilorin by the NMA Chairman, Baba Issa; and the Secretary, Tijani AbdulRasheed.

According to them, Mr Erubu was abducted in his farm house in Ago-Oja in Asa Local Government Area of Kwara State on December 9.

Erubu practices Medicine with diligence and most of his practices, particularly at his private Fadima Clinic.

He is a humanitarian, who renders medical services to the indigents at his farm house without receiving anything.

Erubu is dedicated to helping the poor and the helpless people in the society.

It is disheartening that somebody who has consecrated his life to helping others is the same that is now being hunted, abducted and incarcerated by these bandits.

NMA appeals to the Kwara State Government and the security agencies to work individually and collectively to ensure the safe release of Dr Zubair Erubu to his family, they said.

The NMA leaders also appealed to the security agencies to ensure the safety of other medical doctors and healthcare professionals working in the state and Nigeria in general.

The unfavorable security environment has been one of the reasons for the exodus of health professionals out of Nigeria.

ALSO READ: NMA advises Anambra government on Cholera

The government needs to put adequate measures in place to protect those that have decided to stay in the country.

We appeal to the abductors of Dr Erubu to unconditionally release him uninjured to his family, because doing this is the best thing to pay back a man who has devoted all his life, so far, to the service of humanity, they said. (NAN)
The coroner inquest into the circumstances leading to the death of Jumoke Oyeleke was stalled Monday following the absence of the police witness at the magistrate court in the Ogba area of Lagos.

The deceased was hit by a stray bullet fired allegedly by the police on July 3 at Ojota during the Yoruba nation rally.

At the last sitting in November, a witness at the rally, Tunde Abass, told the coroner that the police fired live bullets at the protesters and the 25-year-old died after she was hit by one of the bullets.

The project manager said during the protest, the police began firing water cannons at the protesters and then switched to tear gas canisters. And then switched to live bullets.

When Ms Oyelekes lifeless body was discovered, Mr Abass said the police took her away in a white vehicle.

Adjournment

According to the deceaseds family lawyer, Taiwo Olawanle, the matter was slated for police to call their witnesses. However, police failed to bring any witness to court.

The hearing has been adjourned to December 20 for the police to bring forward their witnesses.

The coroner, M.K.O Fadeyi, warned the police not to toy with the inquest.

Although an autopsy conducted on the deceased stated that she died of missile injury to the chest. However, the police have denied involvement in her death, insisting that officers never fired a single live bullet during the protest.
HAMBURG, Germany, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Skincare brand NIVEA is tapping into the connected world of NFTs (non-fungible token) to showcase the value of touch through digital art. NIVEA believes in the importance of touch for mental and physical health, putting the accessibility of touch for all in the spotlight through a limited edition of a NIVEA NFT art piece that is available for free.

- Temporarily visual impaired artist uses touch to create digital artwork

Non-fungible touch

NFT technology normally allows people to trade and own high-value tokens like art, collectibles, or real estate via cryptocurrencies and has recently become increasingly popular in the art world. With the "Value of Touch", NIVEA wants to bring attention to the power of touch, using NFTs to discuss the value society currently attributes to it, and to spark a discussion about how touch can be valuable and powerful, even if freely available to all.

The artist behind NIVEA's NFT art piece is Clarissa Baldassarri, an Italian visual artist who suffered from temporary visual impairment early on in her career as a painter. The limitations she experienced inspired her to rediscover art through what she calls a conscious touch.

NIVEA's NFT art will be minted on Polygon and will be available as a limited edition for free via a dedicated NIVEA website. NIVEA is the first mass brand to offer free NFTs that represent the value of touch.

Touch with purpose

When loneliness takes up more space in people's lives, human touch and feeling connected to others can make a fundamental difference. "The Value of Touch" is part of NIVEAs brand purpose "Care for Human Touch to Inspire Togetherness", launched in January 2021. Through this the brand supports human touch projects to promote the quality of life for people at risk of loneliness. By 2025, NIVEA aims to globally invest 20 million Euro in human touch projects with positive impact on the individual health and well-being of more than 150.000 people. Ultimately, each of these project outcomes cater to a strengthened sense of human connectedness and resilience, and thereby alleviates feelings of loneliness.

NIVEAs "The Value of Touch" NFT art can be claimed for free at nivea.com/thevalueoftouch.

More content about the project can be found at NIVEAs global Instagram page @nivea.

Additional information can be found at www.beiersdorf.com.

#CareForHumanTouch #TheValueOfTouch

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Related Links

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SOURCE Beiersdorf AG
MANILA, Philippines, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- PLDT, Inc. the Philippines' largest fully integrated telecommunications company leads digital inclusion among Asian telcos.

In the latest Digital Inclusion Benchmark conducted by the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA), PLDT ranked 12th out of 150 companies, joining global businesses like Apple, Cisco, Samsung, and Alphabet in the Top 15.

While being the sixth telco following Telefonica, Orange, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom and Telia, PLDT is the top ranked telco from Asia (excluding China) and the highest ranking company headquartered in a developing nation.

"We are proud to be ranked globally with the world's biggest tech companies in promoting a more inclusive digital economy and society. We are encouraged to see that our efforts have been recognized and this recognition motivates us even more to pursue efforts to connect and empower Filipinos digitally," said Melissa Vergel de Dios, Chief Sustainability Officer of PLDT.

From 100 companies in the first iteration, WBA shortlisted and ranked in the second Digital Inclusion Benchmark 150 most influential technology companies in the world on their efforts across four indicators  enhancing digital skills, fostering trustworthy use, innovating openly and ethically, and improving access to technology.

The WBA favorably noted the PLDT group's initiatives on skills development where it ranked second among companies surveyed. The Infoteach Program, in partnership with the UP Open University (UPOU), provides nationwide digital literacy training for students. The Digital Farmers Program trains small-scale Filipino farmers on using technology to improve harvest and market crops. The Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program (SWEEP) is the country's longest-running industry-academe linkage helping to produce industry-ready graduates or technopreneurs. The School-in-a-Bag is a portable digital classroom that brings education to children in far-flung communities. The said programs address narrowing of the digital divide and the inclusion of marginalized sectors.

PLDT also showed strong performance on the "use" category, placing 10th among companies evaluated. The WBA recognized the company's investments in its cybersecurity defenses. The alliance also noted PLDT's commitment to keeping a safer online space for its customers, particularly, children where the company has partnered with like-minded organizations to spread awareness on and curtail online abuse and exploitation of minors.

Overall, PLDT is one of only 27 companies that received passing marks in this year's benchmarking. PLDT remains committed to tearing down the barriers that are currently excluding billions of people globally from accessing and productively harnessing digital technologies.

SOURCE PLDT Inc.
MINSK, Belarus, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As an enterprise in CBIP, the New Era Biotechnology Co., Ltd. participated in the fourth edition of the China International Import Expo (CIIE) which opened in Shanghai on November 5, 2021.

Located in Minsk, capital of the Republic of Belarus and a major hub of the Silk Road Economic Belt, CBIP is helping boost cooperation between China and Belarus. In recent years, China and Belarus have carried out fruitful exchanges and cooperation in the field of traditional medicine, and CBIP lately saw new achievements in facilitating cooperation between the two countries in fighting Covid-19 and developing Chinese pure herbal medicine. With the support from the governments of the two countries, CBIP has played an increasing role in promoting regional cooperation and economic and trade exchanges between the two countries, and also serves as a platform for international production capacity cooperation and science and technology innovation along the Belt and Road. Currently, it is home to 80 enterprises.

In March 2021, the Jintai Institute of Culture and Economics of China, led by Dr. Cai Chuanqing, founded the New Era Biotechnology Co., Ltd. in CBIP. It is the 69th company in CBIP, and the first engaged in Chinese pure herbal medicine in it. Belarus' unique folk medicine tradition and rich medicinal plant resources provide broad prospects for the two countries to cooperate in traditional medicine.

In June 2021, Belarus issued a presidential decree on improving the business environment of CBIP. The presidential decree allows enterprises in CIBP to provide medical services using traditional Chinese herbal therapies without mandatory registration with and license from Belarusian authorities.

Media Contact:

Ms. Xing Nizhen

Tel: 0037533-6249999

E-mail: novaerabiotech@mail.ru

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SOURCE The New Era Biotechnology Co., Ltd.
Odoo, a leader in open source all-in-one business software, has the localized solution for KSA e-invoicing Phase One already available for their customers. This solution assists all current and future Odoo customers to comply with ZATCA quickly and efficiently. While a traditional ERP is expensive and frequently fails to adapt to the unique needs of a business, Odoo's flexible and simple software allows for the entire e-invoicing solution to be implemented within just a few days.

"As ZATCA announced violations and penalties in relation to e-Invoicing in KSA, our Odoo team is ready to assist taxpayers rapidly so that in just days we make sure they are compliant with the e-invoicing regulations and requirements," says Pavitra Singh, Managing Director of Odoo Middle East DMCC. "We've assisted already the majority of our Saudi Arabian customers to be compliant and avoid any costly penalties."

The Kingdom has been one of Odoo's most important and successful regions, and the team continues returning to Riyadh, Jeddah, and Khobar to host their Roadshows, a series of events all around the world that are organized after the release of a new version of the software. With over 7 million users worldwide, the IT giant believes that the FATOORA e-invoicing project is an important step towards building a robust digital economy in KSA, and reaching the ambitious 2030 vision goals set by its leaders.

With Odoo's ERP software their KSA customers, the likes of Siefco, Al Bassami International Group and Saudi Red Bricks Company, will be able to manage their finances and stay automatically compliant with the local tax laws with ease and efficiency. On top of that, businesses can manage not just their accounting books, but also their marketing, HR, sales and all other business processes across Odoo's 60+ business applications.

About Odoo

Odoo is a leading provider of all-in-one open source business software for companies worldwide ranging from startups (1 user) to large enterprises (300,000+ users). Founded in 2005, Odoo thrives in a unique and fully open ecosystem combining the resources of its community and partners to deliver a full range of easy-to-use, integrated, and scalable business applications. The software is available online on www.odoo.com .

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SOURCE Odoo Middle East DMCC
PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Direct Commerce, Inc. (DCI), a global pioneer in enterprise P2P automation, announced today the closing of a Series B financing round with investment from W3 Capital. The funding and new partnership with W3 Capital will support key growth initiatives including new features across DCI's P2P platform and investments in composable architecture for enterprise finance.

Bruce Hanavan, CEO and Founder of Direct Commerce

Founded in 2000 by tech entrepreneur Bruce Hanavan, DCI was among the first players in Accounts Payable and Procurement automation technology, setting global standards for e-Invoicing, Workflow, Dynamic Discounting and other accounts payable automation tools. Today they continue to lead innovation across the P2P process including complex workflow, vendor management and dispute resolution. Through enterprise-scale tools and technologies, DCI automates the world's largest companies, transforming complex processes in order to meet critical business requirements without strain on IT resources.

"The possibilities in Procurement and AP Automation continue to evolve," Hanavan said. "It's our job at DCI to take on the complexity that comes with enterprise processes. We have to deliver solutions that both meet enterprise requirements and deliver more than our clients thought possible."

"We are impressed by the fact that Direct Commerce's solutions are being adopted by some of the largest, most recognizable enterprises in the world," said Rob Wadsworth, partner at W3 Capital. "Direct Commerce's advanced, composable AP technology, along with their approach to both customer and vendor engagement are clearly meeting and exceeding the demands of the marketplace - particularly among large, complex enterprises."

DCI's technology is currently deployed in the world's largest enterprises across multiple industries. DCI's clients today use the company's automation modules such as e-Invoicing, Dynamic Discounting, Vendor Management, Dispute Resolution and more to unify and streamline finance processes. With supplier adoption rates that greatly exceed industry standards, their e-Invoicing and Supplier Portal modules have transformed forward-thinking enterprises within industries where paper and emailed PDFs still predominate. Their Dispute Resolution module is the only one of its kind, driving down costs while processing millions of transactions through complex enterprise workflows. Going forward, DCI will continue to innovate in the areas of data capture, vendor management, and payments. They will also continue advancing their composable technology platform which allows enterprise leaders to unify business processes using the best products on the market, regardless of vendor, while delivering the highest possible customer ROI.

Seabrook Partners LLC acted as the exclusive financial advisor and Reed Smith LLP acted as legal counsel to DCI. Latham & Watkins acted as legal counsel to W3 Capital.

About Direct Commerce, Inc.



Built on the leading edge of fintech, Direct Commerce delivers Source-to-Pay Automation for Global 1000 companies around the world. We drive fast ROI through customer-centered innovation and value-driven solutions for some of the biggest names in business. Our teams are built for the world ahead, merging two decades of experience with cutting-edge technology to deliver products that meet and exceed client goals. We don't just build paperless solutions for our clients. We partner with customers to build their best future by freeing up resources, enhancing B2B relationships, and creating new ways to do business for the years ahead.

www.directcommerce.com

About W3 Capital



W3Capital provides equity financing for lower middle market businesses seeking to fund ownership transition and business expansion. As a family office investing personal capital, W3C is not pressured by typical private equity investment horizons or distracted by fund raising activities. Team members Rob, Steve and Jay Wadsworth work directly with senior management teams and apply their investing experience, public and private company management experience and proven entrepreneurial success to help lead companies to their full potential.

www.w3cap.com

About Seabrook Partner LLC



Seabrook Partners is an independent investment bank that provides strategic and financial advice to established and growing middle-market companies. The firm advises on M&A, capital formation, and restructuring transactions for technology, business services and government services companies. Seabrook is headquartered in the Washington, D.C. region and is a FINRA registered broker dealer. www.seabrookpartnersllc.com

SOURCE Direct Commerce, Inc

Related Links

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BEIJING, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading AI-powered infrastructure and service provider of intelligent video production, Moviebook, has recently been recognized in the 2021 China Digital Economy Report by Jazzyear. The annual report titled 'Walk to the Depth', noted Moviebook as being a good example of a diverse profit model with flexible product service ideas. This recognition comes alongside Moviebook's notable placement on Leiphone.com's prestigious Best Digital Business Innovation Technology Award list for the Best AI Digital Intelligence of 2021.

Released on December 7, the 100+ page Walk to the Depth: 2021 China Digital Economy Report presents a comprehensive review of China's entire digital industry, with an in-depth look at over 2,000 companies. In recent years, this report has been regarded as one of the country's more authoritative studies of trends in technology and the digitization of business and culture. The highlighting of Moviebook as being a leader in the field of artificial intelligence speaks volumes to the company's progress in recent years and is an indicator of Moviebook's potential.

Companies of all types are increasingly looking for ways to incorporate AI into their operations. The issue, however, is in progress from just an idea to full implementation. Moviebook fully recognizes this challenge and is therefore committed to helping companies of all shapes and sizes reach a level of digital transformation that can help them grow. To this end, it have developed a dual product strategy.

The dual product strategy relies on the underlying generative AI and digital twin technologies to create a broader range of products and services that allow for both standardization and customization. Moviebook's expertise in smart video technology is proving to be especially important for e-commerce, as, combined with AI, digital twin, XR, and other technologies, it can better engage with consumers to improve user experience and customer retention levels. Moviebook is able to automatically fabricate digital products in two dimensions or three dimensions with standardized and reusable AI digital twin technology model to achieve real interactive experience. Meanwhile, it can also create digital shop assistants with different roles setting such as after-sale service, patrol and shop guide. Consumers are allowed to put digital products into certain scenes or to associate them with other products to generate immersive experienced video in three dimensions.

A recent report by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology entitled 'White Paper on China's Digital Economy Development', showed that by 2020, China's digital economy reached close to RMB 40 trillion, accounting for 38.6% of GDP. Following a strong upward trend, 'data' has become a key asset in the digital era but can also be considered a pain point for business owners. Increasingly, the quality, usability, credibility, and amount of data available is proving a challenge for digital businesses that often rely on third-party data collection and processing service providers. AI tools rely heavily on data and therefore are inhibited by the lack of accurate, quality, real-time data that could improve the effectiveness of these tools and create meaningful value for consumers.

In August this year, Moviebook and home appliance manufacturing giant, Haier Zhihu, established a strategic cooperation agreement. This agreement outlined details for cooperating to include Moviebook's AI and smart video technology in the next generation of smart home appliances. As detailed in the Report by Jazzyear, Moviebook's commitment to sourcing a diverse profit model is evident in the company's movements towards partnering with forward-thinking traditional businesses to enhance their products and create more opportunities for future growth.

About Moviebook

Moviebook, a leading AI-powered infrastructure and service provider of intelligent video production, aims at empowering monetization capacity for clients from new retail, media, education, and culture through intelligent vision. Building on technological advantages in fields of computer vision, computer graphics, among others, Moviebook significantly improves the production efficiency of visual content and innovates ways of presenting and interacting with such content. By applying AI technologies to videos, Moviebook is pioneering a wide variety of application scenarios for intelligent video production technologies.

For more information, please visit: http://www.moviebook.cn/about/index.

SOURCE Moviebook
British Airways announced today it will begin nonstop service from Portland to London Heathrow five days a week starting on June 3, 2022. The flight becomes the sixth British Airways service to London from a key Alaska market on the West Coast joining Los Angeles; San Diego; San Francisco; San Jose, California; and Seattle.

Finnair announced last week its new nonstop flight between Seattle and Helsinki that's scheduled for service three days a week beginning June 1. Finnair's nonstop to Seattle joins its existing service to the Finnish capital from Los Angeles. Finnair will also increase its Los Angeles-Stockholm service to four nonstop flights a week beginning May 1.

By summer 2022, Alaska's oneworld partners will offer more than 100 nonstop flights every week from the West Coast to Europe including nonstop service to London, Madrid, Barcelona, Stockholm and Helsinki. Once in Europe, journeys can continue throughout the Continent and other parts of the world with convenient connections through our partners' hubs.

"By deepening our partnerships with oneworld alliance members, we're providing exciting travel opportunities to Europe and beyond," said Nat Pieper, senior vice president of fleet, finance and alliances at Alaska Airlines. "Our guests will love the 100 weekly nonstop flights between our West Coast gateway airports and major European cities, enjoying oneworld benefits along the way."

"Since joining oneworld in March, Alaska Airlines has positioned oneworld as the leading alliance on the West Coast," said Rob Gurney, oneworld CEO. "With the new oneworld member airline flights to Europe and extensive connections at Alaska's hubs, the possibilities are endless for customers planning that long-awaited trip to Europe."

oneworld flights between the U.S. West Coast and Europe for summer 2022:

oneworld Partner City Pair Frequency American Airlines Los Angeles  London Heathrow 2x Daily Seattle  London Heathrow Daily British Airways Los Angeles  London Heathrow 2x Daily San Diego  London Heathrow Daily San Francisco  London Heathrow 2x Daily San Jose, CA  London Heathrow 5x Weekly Seattle  London Heathrow 2x Daily Portland  London Heathrow 5x Weekly Finnair Los Angeles  Helsinki 3x Weekly Los Angeles  Stockholm 4x Weekly Seattle  Helsinki 3x Weekly Iberia Los Angeles  Barcelona 4x Weekly Los Angeles  Madrid 5x Weekly San Francisco  Barcelona 4x Weekly

Many of the benefits MVP elite flyers on Alaska currently enjoy with their status seamlessly carry over to the oneworld tiers when they travel on any of the 13 member airlines. Those guests can take advantage of a variety of privileges, including priority check-in, access to international first and business class lounges, preferred boarding, fast track through security, baggage benefits and more.

With Alaska's highly-acclaimed Mileage Plan program, our flyers can earn and redeem miles with more than 20 oneworld member airlines and additional airline partners for travel to more than 1,000 destinations around the world.

Alaska remains committed to Next-Level Care for our guests and employees by implementing more than 100 ways to maintain the highest standard of safety  from clean planes to clean air in the cabin with hospital-grade air filtration systems. For everyone's safety on board, Alaska continues to enforce the federally mandated mask policy, even for those who are fully vaccinated.

About Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines and our regional partners serve more than 120 destinations across the United States, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica and Mexico. We emphasize Next-Level Care for our guests, along with providing low fares, award-winning customer service and sustainability efforts. Alaska is a member of the oneworld global alliance. With the alliance and our additional airline partners, guests can travel to more than 1,000 destinations on more than 20 airlines while earning and redeeming miles on flights to locations around the world. Learn more about Alaska at newsroom.alaskaair.com and blog.alaskaair.com. Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK).

SOURCE Alaska Airlines

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LEESBURG, Va., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- AM LLC (AM), a public health firm working with K-12 schools, and federal, state, and local health departments, has been awarded new service contracts in Minnesota and Tennessee. As the Omicron variant takes hold in the U.S., AM will work with local communities to limit the spread of COVID-19 through testing, sample processing, and reporting. They also will ensure that state-wide vaccination sites are safe and running within established safety guidelines.

In Tennessee, AM was awarded an exclusive service contract with the state's Department of Health (TDH), Vaccine Preventable Diseases and Immunization Program to conduct vaccination site assessments, reviews, and support. AM will assist front-line workers at state-run vaccinations sites and will both recommend and put in place the improvements needed to ensure quality and safety.

In Minnesota, through an award by the state's Department of Health (MDH), AM will open and operate community pop-up COVID-19 testing sites throughout the state and in vulnerable population settings (e.g., retirement and group homes, schools, other child settings, etc.). AM will also process the test samples and report the results back to MDH and other stakeholders.

"We are not out of the woods yet on COVID-19 and demand from states across the country tells us there is still concern about existing variants like Omicron and the possibility of new ones," said AM LLC CEO and founder, Dan Gabriel. "Fortunately, our strength at AM stems from having successfully reduced the overall effect of the virus with strategies like testing, and contact tracing. We are in a strong position to bring the worst aspects of this pandemic to a close."

AM offers a full range of COVID-19 prevention strategies and solutions for all COVID-19 mitigation phasescontact tracing, testing, vaccination, and program evaluation. Their life-saving services include rapid staff deployment, technology infrastructure set up, stakeholder and community-based organizations collaboration, outreach, and referral campaigns, and data analysis and reporting. AM has a proven track record in the rapid deployment of a well-qualified, highly motivated workforce that reflects the racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic make-up of the communities they serve.

Counties, states, or K-12 partners that are interested in partnering with AM for COVID-19 mitigation support should contact Dr. Christopher Orlea at [email protected] .

About AM LLC

AM LLC was purpose-built to work with partners addressing large-scale public health challenges. AM LLC can design and quickly deploy tailored and scalable workforce solutions to help your organization with all aspects of contact tracing, testing, and vaccine programming. Learn more at https://amllc.co/.

Media Contact: Alexandra Phelps | [email protected] | 703-966-0831

SOURCE AM LLC
LONDON, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Brandessence market research, the testing inspection and certification industry is poised to grow to USD 271.97 Billion by 2027 end. The testing inspection and certification market size to reached a valuation of 198.52 Billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at 4.6% CAGR during the 2020-2027 periods. Growing demand for construction and engineering, food & healthcare, energy and commodities, product & retail, and transportation remain promising arena for growth.

Testing Inspection and Certification Market: Competitive Analysis

TIC market remains a consolidated, and yet innovative landscape. The increased consumer satisfaction associated with certifications like ISO, Six-Sigma, and Agile remain prominent drivers of innovation for end-consumers. Furthermore, growing advancements in key sectors like manufacturing and construction also remain promising aspect of growth. The increased in-take of robotics in manufacturing is likely to drive greater need for safety as robotic collision incidents continue to plague major firms adopting the technology. Some major key players for Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) market are SGS S.A. (Switzerland), Bureau Veritas S.A. (France), DNV GL, TUV Rheinland AG Group (U.S.), Dekra Certification GmbH, BSI Group, TUV Sud AG (Germany), Dekra SE (Germany), SAI Global Limited, Eurofins Scientific SE, MISTRAS Group, Inc., Element Materials Technology Ltd. (U.K.),ALS Limited, Underwriters Laboratories (UL), Exova Group PLC, Intertek Group Plc. (U.K.), Eurofins Scientific SE (Luxembourg), Lloyd's Register Group Limited (U.K.), APPLUS+ (Spain)

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Scope of Testing Inspection and Certification Industry:

The TIC industry continues to remain an important mediator between private companies, and authorities. On one hand, companies do like the additional interference of regulatory authorities in their business processes. On the other hand, in order to assure quality, and gain access to government certifications, and grants, companies regularly are required to undertake inspections, and certifications. Furthermore, certifications show a tremendous potential for commercialization for companies. On one hand, these ensure industry-wide quality assurance to ensure product quality, assure key stakeholders in the industry like consumers, and government agencies, and meet regulatory requirements. Various consumer studies continue to confirm that certifications like ISO have tremendous positive impact on product quality, and indirectly help its branding, and drive sales. The growing need for brands to distinguish themselves from competitors in the price-conscious online arena also remains an important driver for growth.

According to a study published in an international business journal in 2021, the increased testing, inspection and certification market demand is likely to remain even across all regions. The study estimated that in 2026, India is likely to register 43,947 certifications, while USA registers 37,325, and Brazil registers 22,744. Certification methods like ISO continue to offer key advantages to businesses of all sizes. These key benefits include building consumer confidence, meet regulatory requirements at lower costs, gain global market access, and reduce costs across the board.

According to the 2020 Survey of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), 12 standard management certification issued by the organization witnessed an 18% increase in demand. Moreover, standard certifications like ISO 9001, and ISO 14001 witnessed record growth, while issuing 916,842 and 348,218 certificates respectively. Certifications like 9001 demonstrate the commitment of companies to provide high quality products, and services to customers, while meeting regulatory requirements, and promising continuous improvement. On the other hand, standards like ISO 45001 became crucial for companies to enhance health & safety of employees during the coronavirus crisis. The certification provides a stringent standard to ensure safe and non-hazardous workplaces for employees. Furthermore, other standards promoting environmental management, information security, and quality management in general remain most popular with end-users.

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Testing Inspection and Certification Market: Key Trends

Certifications like Six Sigma continue to grow in popularity among employees. The method pioneered by Motorola, delivered over $17 billion in savings to the company in 2005. The process was later adopted by GE, and Honeywell. The process became well-known globally, when Jack Welch, the iconic CEO of GE announced that the company had saved $350 million in the first year of Six-Sigma adoption. The company went onto note that the certification saved them over a billion dollar. Today, the certification has made way for Lean Six Sigma certification, which addresses concerns like process flow, waste issues, among others.

Similarly, in the IT industry, Google has touted Agile certification for professional, as well as organizational growth. According to Google's CEO Sunder Pichai, and Microsoft's CEP Satya Nadella are among two most well-known names who have combined business management skills with technical expertise to reach the pinnacle of professional success. Moreover, certifications like Scrum report an average salary of $100,500, and report an increase in salary within a short duration of certification, across all age-groups, experience levels, and roles. Similar findings are reported by third parties, which continue to make business skills an integral part of growth for highly-sought after IT professionals.

Testing Inspection and Certification Market: Regional Analysis

The TIC market report is segmented into key regions including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. Among these, the North America is expected to gross highest share of total revenues during the forecast period. Growing demand for testing, inspections, and certifications in the technology sector, and increased risks created by the coronavirus pandemic remain key drivers of growth. The North America region is also expected to witness major growth of environmental certifications, as increased environmental concerns driven by changes in leadership remain prominent. ISO 9001 standard certification has undergone tremendous upheaval in the last few years worldwide. The ISO 9001 certifications witnessed 20% decline worldwide in 2018, while decreasing from a total of 1,058,504 to only 878,620 total certifications. Despite estimated highest gross of revenues, countries in North America region like the US have witnessed a deep in ISO certifications in recent years. Similarly, UK, Germany, and others have also witnessed a decline in certifications issued. The lack of clarity on some issues related to the ISO certifications remain a major restraint to growth in regions like North America, Europe, among others. On the other hand, countries like India, China, Russia, among others continue to drive demand for ISO certifications, and similar processes globally.

North America

U.S.

Canada

Europe

Germany

France

U.K.

Italy

Spain

Sweden

Netherland

Turkey

Switzerland

Belgium

Rest of Europe

Asia-Pacific

South Korea

Japan

China

India

Australia

Philippines

Singapore

Malaysia

Thailand

Indonesia

Rest Of APAC

South America

Mexico

Colombia

Brazil

Argentina

Peru

Rest of South America

Middle East and Africa

Saudi Arabia

UAE

Egypt

South Africa

Rest Of MEA

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NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Avista Capital Partners ("Avista"), a leading private equity firm focused exclusively on healthcare, today announced that it has become a signatory to the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), joining the leading international network of institutional investors committed to developing a more sustainable global financial system.

The Principles for Responsible Investment provide a framework for navigating the increasing relevance of environmental, social and corporate governance ("ESG") issues to investment practices. By joining the 4,500 plus existing signatories, Avista will advance its existing ESG policy rooted in firm accountability and transparency, while pledging to align its investment decision-making and ownership practices to the aspirational ESG standards detailed in the PRI.

"At Avista, we have always believed that incorporating ESG factors into our investment process and company culture allows us to deliver superior returns and better fulfill our fiduciary obligation to all of our stakeholders," said Amanda Heravi, Managing Director and Head of IR and ESG at Avista Capital Partners. "Because of this, we continually strive to improve and evolve the prism through which we examine our corporate responsibility. Becoming a signatory of the PRI will help us to define an even stronger framework for responsible action that resonates across Avista's investment process, ownership period, and firm-wide operating philosophy."

The PRI was developed in early 2005, when then United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan invited 20 investors from institutions across 12 countries and 70 interdisciplinary experts to join a process to create this enduring framework. The resulting principles were launched in April 2006 and, since then, the number of signatories has grown from 100 to over 4,500.

"We are very pleased to welcome Avista Capital Partners as a signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment," commented PRI's CEO Fiona Reynolds. "It is great to see Avista's commitment to incorporating ESG factors into its investment processes and company culture, and we look forward to working together in the future and continuing to drive important responsible investment considerations."

The six key principles are:

Principle 1: We will incorporate ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes.

Principle 2: We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices.

Principle 3: We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest.

Principle 4: We will promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry.

Principle 5: We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles.

Principle 6: We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles.

ABOUT AVISTA CAPITAL PARTNERS

Founded in 2005, Avista Capital is a leading New York-based private equity firm with over $6 billion invested in more than 40 growth-oriented healthcare businesses globally. Avista partners with businesses that feature strong management teams, stable cash flows and robust growth prospects  targeting product and technology businesses with clear scale potential across six sub-sectors experiencing strong tailwinds. The team is supported by a group of seasoned Strategic Executives enhancing the entire investment process through strategic insight, operational oversight and senior counsel, which helps drive growth and performance, while fostering sustainable businesses and creating long-term value for all stakeholders. For more information, visit www.avistacap.com.

About Principles for Responsible Investment:

The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) is the world's leading proponent of responsible investment. Supported by the United Nations, it works to understand the investment implications of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors and to support its international network of investor signatories in incorporating these factors into their investment and ownership decisions. The PRI acts in the long-term interests of its signatories, of the financial markets and economies in which they operate and ultimately of the environment and society as a whole. Launched in New York in 2006, the PRI has grown to more than 4,500 signatories, managing over $121 trillion AUM.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Daniel Yunger and Hallie Wolff

Kekst CNC

212.521.4800

[email protected] / [email protected]

SOURCE Avista Capital Partners
CRANBURY, N.J., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Contemporary Pediatrics, a trusted multimedia platform featuring clinical articles, case studies and practice management tips for pediatricians and other children's health care providers, is pleased to announce the latest member of its Strategic Alliance Partnership (SAP) program.

"By expanding our Strategic Alliance Partnership program with the addition of Lurie's Children's Hospital, we have created a wonderful opportunity for collaboration on pediatric care initiatives," said Mike Hennessy Jr., president and CEO of MJH Life Sciences, parent company of Contemporary Pediatrics. "It is an honor to have this prestigious institution join our program."

Founded in 1882, the hospital is committed to the idea that all children need a protective, nurturing environment in which to grow and deserve the same opportunities to reach their potential, which is why it is dedicated to combating racism and health inequality. Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago continues to rank among the top children's hospitals in the nation and as the top children's hospital in Illinois, ranking in all 10 specialties. It is the pediatric training ground for Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Last year, the hospital served more than 220,000 children from 48 states and 49 countries. Research at Lurie Children's is focused on improving child health, transforming pediatric medicine and ensuring healthier futures through the relentless pursuit of knowledge.

The Contemporary Pediatrics SAP program builds a community of advocacy groups, medical associations, and medical institutions to foster collaboration and an open exchange of information among trusted peers, for the ultimate benefit of patients and their families. As part of this joint effort, Contemporary Pediatrics, will work with partners to share exclusive information and improve patient outcomes.

For a full list of Contemporary Pediatrics SAP partners, click here.

For more information on Lurie's Children's Hospital, click here.

About Contemporary Pediatrics

Contemporary Pediatrics provides pediatricians with timely, trusted, and practical information to enhance their care of children. The multimedia platform features relevant clinical and peer-reviewed articles, summarized guideline updates, case studies, and sensible practice management tips that pediatricians can apply immediately. Contemporary Pediatrics is a brand of MJH Life Sciences, the largest privately held, independent, full-service medical media company in North America, dedicated to delivering trusted health care news across multiple channels.

Media Contact

Alyssa Scarpaci, 609-716-7777

[email protected]

SOURCE Contemporary Pediatrics
Key Market Dynamics:

Market Driver

Market Challenges

The innovation and portfolio extension leading to product premiumization and increasing cases of vision disorder are some of the key market drivers. The global luxury eyewear market requires regular innovations, as customers are looking for innovative products that offer an optimal level of usage. Key vendors in the market are focusing on enhancing the quality of their products to attract brand-conscious customers. The growing health awareness among consumers regarding vision care to protect the eyes from the harmful effects of UVA and UVB rays is driving the demand for premium eyewear. These advances in technology will drive the market during the forecast period.

However, factors such as threat from counterfeit products will challenge market growth. The growing market of fashion products and their increasing demand are driving the counterfeit luxury eyewear market, particularly in developing regions. The increasing penetration of e-commerce has further propelled the sales of counterfeit products. Customers are often unable to distinguish between genuine and counterfeit products that look similar. The availability of a large number of counterfeit products in the luxury eyewear segment lowers the trust of customers in e-commerce websites. Therefore, counterfeit products adversely impact sales volume and pricing. This negatively impacts the economy and consumer trust.

To learn about additional key drivers, trends, and challenges available with Technavio. Read our FREE Sample Report right now!

The luxury eyewear market report is segmented by product (eyeglasses and sunglasses) and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA). North America will be the leading region with 34% of the market's growth during the forecast period. The US is the key country for the luxury eyewear market in North America.

View our sample report for additional insights into the contribution of all the segments and regional opportunities in the report.

Some Companies Mentioned with their Offerings

Alexander McQueen Trading Ltd. - The company offers different types of luxury sunglasses such as McQueen Graffiti Rectangular Sunglasses, Selvedge flat top sunglasses, and others.

- The company offers different types of luxury sunglasses such as McQueen Graffiti Rectangular Sunglasses, Selvedge flat top sunglasses, and others.

CHARMANT Inc. - The company offers different types of luxury eyewear, including optical glasses and sunglasses.

- The company offers different types of luxury eyewear, including optical glasses and sunglasses.

Essilor International SAS - The company offers different types of luxury eyewear from brands like EYEZEN and others.

- The company offers different types of luxury eyewear from brands like EYEZEN and others.

Fielmann AG - The company offers different types of luxury eyewear under the brand name spectacles.

- The company offers different types of luxury eyewear under the brand name spectacles.

Fosun International Ltd. - The company offers different types of luxury sunglasses under the brand name Wolford.

- The company offers different types of luxury sunglasses under the brand name Wolford. To gain access to more vendor profiles with their key offerings available with Technavio, Click Here

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The fitness equipment market has been segmented by product (cardiovascular training equipment, strength training equipment, and other equipment), end-user (individual users and health clubs and gyms), and geography ( , APAC, , MEA, and ). Reflective Sportswear Market: The reflective sportswear market has been segmented by product (apparels, footwear, and others), distribution channel (offline and online), and geography ( North America , Europe , APAC, South America , and MEA). Download Free Sample Report

Luxury Eyewear Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Decelerate at a CAGR of 3.97% Market growth 2021-2025 USD 3.30 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 4.30 Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA Performing market contribution North America at 34% Key consumer countries US, China, France, Germany, and UK Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Alexander McQueen Trading Ltd., CHARMANT Inc., Essilor International SAS, EssilorLuxottica, Fielmann AG, Fosun International Ltd., Kering SA, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, Safilo Group Spa, and Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd. Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and future consumer dynamics, market condition analysis for forecast period. Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Key Topics Covered:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market Sizing

Five Forces Analysis

Market Segmentation

Customer landscape

Geographic Landscape

Vendor Landscape

Vendor Analysis

Appendix

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provide 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 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.

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Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email:[email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio
CHICAGO, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Mobility as a Service Market by Service (Ride-Hailing, Car Sharing, Micro Mobility, Bus Sharing, Train), Solution, Application, Transportation, Vehicle, Operating System, Business Model, Propulsion & Region  Forecast to 2030", published by MarketsandMarkets, the Mobility as a Service Market size is projected to reach USD 40.1 billion by 2030 from an estimated USD 3.3 billion in 2021, at a CAGR of 32.1% from 2021 to 2030.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Mobility as a Service Market"

108  Tables

47  Figures

201  Pages

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The growth of the Mobility as a Service Market is influenced by factors such as increasing smart city initiatives, growing adoption of on-demand mobility services, need to reduce CO2 emissions, improved 4G/5G infrastructure, and penetration of smartphones. Therefore, the Mobility as a Service Market is expected to witness significant growth in the future.

Four-wheelers segment to hold largest market share during the forecast period.

The four-wheelers segment is projected to be the largest vehicle type segment due to the growing popularity of ride hailing and car-sharing services across the globe. Apart from conventional ride-sharing transport modes, MaaS also offers the use of autonomous and electric cars. With rapid developments in electric and autonomous cars, along with increasing acceptance from consumers, the four-wheelers segment is likely to continue to witness strong growth over the forecast period. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), the market share of battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids is expected to be around 5-10% of all passenger cars across the European Union by 2030. Luxury cars are also accessible using MaaS, which would otherwise not be possible.

Insurance services are expected to be fastest-growing segment from 2021 to 2030.

Insurance companies play a vital role in a transit user's life and mobility. The move towards MaaS is gaining momentum; however, it is early to predict with certainty how it will affect the dynamics of auto insurance. The present form of insurance is likely to be replaced by commercial insurance of fleets of MaaS vehicles. Selling insurance products to end-users could allow MaaS providers to maintain their position in the market, especially in developing economies. The insurance services market will see a successive increase with the growth of MaaS as more vehicles will be integrated. Hence, by solution type, the insurance services segment is projected to register the highest CAGR of 37% during the forecast period.

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Integrated Starter Generator (ISG) is expected to be the fastest growing technology in global Start-stop system market

The ISG system combines the conventional automotive starter and alternator into a single unit, which is attached directly to the crankshaft of the engine. The starter used is a low-speed DC motor, and the alternator used is a variable speed three-phase AC motor. One of the advantages of ISG is that it replaces both the conventional starter and alternator with a single electric device. ISG technology supports the start-stop and the recuperative braking capability in high voltage. This makes ISG more efficient than a conventional generator, resulting in up to 20% reduced overall fuel consumption. Hence, its growth is projected to be the fastest in the global market, compared to other Start-stop technologies.

Europe is estimated to lead Mobility as a Service Market in 2021.

Currently, Europe contributes a share of approximately 32% to the overall market. It is the largest market since it has been an early adopter of MaaS. Countries such as the UK, Germany, France, and the Netherlands have been continuously investing in smart transportation infrastructure. Developed economies such as Finland and Germany are early adopters of MaaS, making Europe the largest market. Also, countries such as the UK, France, and the Netherlands have been investing in smart transportation infrastructure, thereby ensuring the market's growth in Europe. Planned investments to improve urban transport and traffic infrastructure are expected to drive the European MaaS market. The region is expected to hold a dominant share in the MaaS market for the next 3-4 years as well as post-2025.

Key Market Players:

The Mobility as a Service Market is dominated by major players such as Moovit Inc. (Israel), MaaS Global Oy (Finland), Citymapper (UK), Mobilleo (UK), SkedGo Pty Ltd (Australia), UbiGo (Sweden), Splyt (UK), Qixxit (Germany), Communauto (Canada), and Tranzer (Netherlands).

Browse Related Reports:

Ride Sharing Market by Type (E-hailing, Station-Based, Car Sharing & Rental), Car Sharing (P2P, Corporate), Service (Navigation, Payment, Information), Micro-Mobility (Bicycle, Scooter), Vehicle Type, and Region - Global Forecast to 2026

Semi-Autonomous and Autonomous Vehicles Market by Level of Automation (Level 1, Level 2&3 & Autonomous Vehicles), ADAS Features, Components (AI, Radar, LIDAR, Camera and Ultrasonic Sensor), Fuel Type (ICE, EV), and Region - Global Forecast to 2022 & 2030

About MarketsandMarkets

MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions.

Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model  GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve.

MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets.

Contact:

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MarketsandMarkets INC.

630 Dundee Road

Suite 430

Northbrook, IL 60062

USA: +1-888-600-6441

Email: [email protected]

Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/mobility-as-a-service-market.asp

Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com

Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/mobility-as-a-service.asp

SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- VYRD, a new insurance company serving homeowners in Florida, has today launched as a joint venture between SiriusPoint Ltd. ("SiriusPoint" |NYSE: SPNT), a specialty insurer and reinsurer; and insurtech company bolt. VYRD will use cutting-edge technology to bring more choice and innovative solutions to customers in Florida, where demand for homeowners' insurance capacity outpaces supply.

Florida residents have faced rising prices resulting from the cost of hurricanes and other weather-related loss activity, worsened by the increased cost of litigation in the Sunshine State. These challenges create an opportunity for a new, technology-enabled property insurance company to alleviate the pressure on existing insurers and offer the market comprehensive coverage at competitive rates. VYRD will initially distribute these innovative new products through the independent agency network and affiliated partners.

VYRD is the first Florida-domiciled Property and Casualty insurer licensed in the state in 3 years. Led by CEO David Howard, VYRD's leadership team brings more than 75 years of combined experience insuring homes in Florida and the Gulf Coast.

SiriusPoint has extensive experience in Florida, and has been reinsuring the Florida homeowners market since 1980. Among the ~150 carriers bolt serves as a key technology partner for, 19 are Florida homeowners insurers, another 13 offer condo coverage in Florida, and 12 offer Florida auto. VYRD is partnering with more than a dozen companies based in Florida or with deep roots in the Sunshine State to provide services including actuarial rate development, underwriting, policy and claims administration and inspections.

David Howard commented, "As a 35-year resident of Florida, I understand the challenges facing homeowners and agents and look forward to creating a new carrier that provides solutions for both as we experience some of the best and worst weather that Mother Nature has to offer. VYRD aims to combine deep expertise, financial strength and the latest technology to meet the unique needs of Florida homeowners."

"The timely launch of VYRD offers the homeowners of Florida much needed choice when protecting their homes," said Sid Sankaran, CEO of SiriusPoint. "In partnership with bolt, we are responding to market needs and building on our commitment to investing in technology-enabled businesses that are game-changers in the insurance market."

SOURCE VYRD
GUANGZHOU, China, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Onion Global Limited ("Onion Global", the "Group" or the "Company") (NYSE: OG), a next-generation lifestyle brand platform that incubates, markets, and distributes the world's fresh, fashionable, and future brands to young people in China and across Asia, today announced that in September 2021 it launched Harper's BAZAAR cosmetics, a cosmetics brand that operates under Harper's BAZAAR Korea, on its O'Mall platform and has generated GMV of over RMB2 million in the two months since its debut. Onion Global's well-established upstream supply chains and precision marketing strategies helped the brand build a solid foundation for establishing a long-term brand image in the China cosmetics market.

Mr. Cong (Kenny) Li, Founder, and CEO of Onion Global commented, "Based on Onion Global's deep insights of the entire beauty and cosmetics sector, the focus on beauty in modern-day China from younger females is growing intensively. This drove Harper's BAZAAR cosmetics to be one of Onion Global's strategic partners for tapping into the new consumption industry in China. The growing number of our collaborations between global brands is yet another testament to our strong capabilities in new brand incubation and brand management, underpinned by our in-depth consumer insights and forecasts in the new consumption market. We also boast a competitive cultivation of omnichannel marketing channels through both key opinion consumers (KOCs) private traffic and public domain traffic pools. As of the end of the third quarter of 2021, we have an extensive community of 740,000 KOCs that can create large impressions within their respective social network, influencing consumers' views on fashion trends, life quality, and purchase decisions. Our model of transferring product users into product influencers proves to be an efficient and cost-effective path for new brands to reach consumers, and ultimately brand reputation spreads. We will continue to cultivate more KOC's in the beauty and cosmetics sector and build our core technological barriers to provide the hottest products through our omnichannel strategy to meet the growing needs of the younger generation."

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company's beliefs and expectations, the Company's forecasts, general observation of the industry and business outlook, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and a number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "expects," "anticipates," "target," "aim," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "potential," "estimates" "continue," "is/are likely to," or other similar statements. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Onion Global's filings with the SEC. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and Onion Global does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

About HARPER'S BAZAAR Cosmetics

Harper's BAZAAR Cosmetics launched its cosmetics product line in March, 2020. Hearst, a leading global, diversified media, information, and services company with more than 360 businesses is the parent company of Harper's BAZAAR and has authorized Harper's BAZAAR Korea to produce and operate Harper's BAZAAR cosmetics.

About Hearst

Hearst is a leading global, diversified media, information and services company with more than 360 businesses. Its major interests include ownership in cable television networks such as A&E, HISTORY, Lifetime and ESPN; global financial services leader Fitch Group; Hearst Health, a group of medical information and services businesses; transportation assets including CAMP Systems International, a major provider of software-as-a-service solutions for managing maintenance of jets and helicopters; 33 television stations such as WCVB-TV in Boston and KCRA-TV in Sacramento, California, which reach a combined 19% of U.S. viewers; newspapers such as the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle and Times Union (Albany, New York); and nearly 250 magazines around the world, including Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Men's Health and Car and Driver, and digital services businesses such as iCrossing and KUBRA.

For more information, please visit: https://www.hearst.com/.

About Onion Global Limited

Onion Global Limited (NYSE: OG) is a next-generation lifestyle brand platform that incubates, markets and distributes the world's fresh, fashionable and future brands, which we refer to as "3F brands," to young people in China and across Asia. The Company's mission is to be the dream factory of lifestyle brands for young people. The Company's platform offering an integrated solution to develop, market and distribute new and inspiring branded products, thereby reshaping the lifestyle shopping and consumer culture in China. Onion Global Limited has been listed on New York Stock Exchange since May 2021.

For more information, please visit: http://ir.msyc.com/.

Investor Relations Contact

In China:

Onion Global Ltd.

Investor Relations

E-mail: [email protected]

Christensen

Mr. Eric Yuan

E-mail: [email protected]

Tel: +86-10-5900-1548

In United States:

Christensen

Ms. Linda Bergkamp

E-mail: [email protected]

Tel: +1-480-614-3004

SOURCE Onion Global Limited

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Number of outstanding borrowers [1] from loan book business as of September 30, 2021 decreased by 3.1% to 2.8 million from 2.9 million as of June 30, 2021 , as a result of the Company's deployment of a conservative and prudent strategy

as of decreased by 3.1% to 2.8 million from 2.9 million as of , as a result of the Company's deployment of a conservative and prudent strategy Total outstanding loan balance from loan book business [2] decreased by 14.4% to RMB3.0 billion as of September 30, 2021 , compared to the outstanding balance as of June 30, 2021

decreased by 14.4% to RMB3.0 billion as of , compared to the outstanding balance as of Amount of transactions from loan book business for this quarter decreased by 12.1% to RMB3.4 billion from the second quarter of 2021

for this quarter decreased by 12.1% to from the second quarter of 2021 Weighted average loan tenure for our loan book business was 4.3 months for this quarter, compared with 4.4 months in the second quarter of 2021

[1] Outstanding borrowers are borrowers who have outstanding loans from the Company's loan book business as of a particular date. [2] Includes (i) off and on balance sheet loans directly or indirectly funded by our institutional funding partners or our own capital, net of cumulative write-offs and (ii) does not include auto loans from Dabai Auto business.

Third Quarter 2021 Financial Highlights:

Total revenues were RMB347 .4 million ( US$53.9 million ), compared to RMB849.4 million from the same period of last year

.4 million ( ), compared to from the same period of last year Net loss attributable to Qudian's shareholders was RMB94.2 million ( US$14.6 million ), compared to an income of RMB592.3 million from the same period of last year, or net loss of RMB0.37 (US$0.06) per diluted ADS

( ), compared to an income of from the same period of last year, or net loss of per diluted ADS Non-GAAP net loss attributable to Qudian's shareholders[3] was RMB99 .1 million ( US$15.4 million ), compared to an income of RMB576.4 million from the same period of last year, or non-GAAP net loss of RMB0.39 (US$0.06) per diluted ADS

[3] For more information on this Non-GAAP financial measure, please see the table captioned "Unaudited Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results" set forth at the end of this press release.

"Amid fast-evolving market conditions in the third quarter, we continued to execute a prudent operational strategy in our cash credit business, generating total transaction volume of approximately RMB3.4 billion during the period," said Mr. Min Luo, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Qudian. "We also made steady progress with our early childhood education business, with 7 WLM KIDS activity centers in operation as of December 12, 2021. Looking ahead, we will operate and grow our WLM KIDS business in a thoughtful and measured manner. We will continue to improve the quality of our products and services, while exploring new business initiatives and investment opportunities."

"Owing to our stringent credit risk control measures and strategic shift toward better quality borrowers, our asset quality remained stable with the D1 delinquency rate[4] continuing to stay below 5% at the end of the third quarter. We also maintained a solid balance sheet with sufficient liquidity. Going forward, we are confident that our strong fundamentals will help us pursue and sustain long-term growth," said Ms. Sissi Zhu, Vice President of Investor Relations of Qudian.

[4] "D1 delinquency rate" is defined as (i) the total amount of principal and financing service fees that became overdue as of a specified date, divided by (ii) the total amount of principal and financing services fees that was due for repayment as of such date, in each case with respect to our loan book business.

Third Quarter Financial Results

Total revenues were RMB347.4 million (US$53.9 million), representing a decrease of 59.1% from RMB849.4 million for the third quarter of 2020.

Financing income totaled RMB285.5 million (US$44.3 million), representing a decrease of 41.4% from RMB487.3 million for the third quarter of 2020, as a result of the decrease in the average on-balance sheet loan balance.

Loan facilitation income and other related income decreased by 95.0% to RMB8.8 million (US$1.4 million) from RMB177.2 million for the third quarter of 2020, as a result of the reduction in transaction volume of off-balance sheet loans during this quarter.

Transaction services fee and other related income increased to RMB20.9 million (US$3.3 million) from RMB6.6 million for the third quarter of 2020, mainly as a result of the reassessment of variable consideration.

Sales income and others decreased to RMB7.3 million (US$1.1 million) from RMB139.0 million for the third quarter of 2020, mainly due to the decrease in sales related to the Wanlimu e-commerce platform, which we are in the process of winding down.

Sales commission fee decreased by 55.5% to RMB8.0 million (US$1.2 million) from RMB18.1 million for the third quarter of 2020, due to the decrease in the amount of merchandise credit transactions.

Total operating costs and expenses increased to RMB273.2 million (US$42.4 million) from RMB100.0 million for the third quarter of 2020.

Cost of revenues decreased by 47.4% to RMB104.6 million (US$16.2 million) from RMB198.8 million for the third quarter of 2020, primarily due to the decrease in costs associated with the loan book business and the decrease in cost of goods sold related to the Wanlimu e-commerce platform.

Sales and marketing expenses decreased by 49.3% to RMB32.9 million (US$5.1 million) from RMB64.8 million for the third quarter of 2020, primarily due to the decrease in marketing promotional expenses.

General and administrative expenses increased by 170.4% to RMB157.7 million (US$24.5 million) from RMB58.3 million for the third quarter of 2020, as a result of the increase in staff salaries primarily relating to WLM Kids business.

Research and development expenses decreased by 21.6% to RMB40.1 million (US$6.2 million) from RMB51.1 million for the third quarter of 2020, as a result of the decrease in staff salaries.

Provision for receivables and other assets was a reversal of RMB19.2 million (US$3.0 million), compared to a loss of RMB89.5 million for the third quarter of 2020, mainly due to the decrease in past-due on-balance sheet outstanding principal receivables compared to the third quarter of 2020.

As of September 30, 2021, the total balance of outstanding principal and financing service fee receivables for on-balance sheet transactions for which any installment payment was more than 30 calendar days past due was RMB132.7 million (US$20.6 million), and the balance of allowance for principal and financing service fee receivables at the end of the period was RMB308.9 million (US$47.9 million), indicating M1+ Delinquency Coverage Ratio of 2.3x.

The following charts display the "vintage charge-off rate." Total potential receivables at risk vintage charge-off rate refers to, with respect to on- and off-balance sheet transactions facilitated under the loan book business during a specified time period, the total potential outstanding principal balance of the transactions that are delinquent for more than 180 days up to twelve months after origination, divided by the total initial principal of the transactions facilitated in such vintage. Delinquencies may increase or decrease after such 12-month period.

Current receivables at risk vintage charge-off rate refers to, with respect to on- and off-balance sheet transactions facilitated under the loan book business during a specified time period, the actual outstanding principal balance of the transactions that are delinquent for more than 180 days up to twelve months after origination, divided by the total initial principal of the transactions facilitated in such vintage. Delinquencies may increase or decrease after such 12-month period.

Total potential receivables at risk M1+ delinquency rate by vintage refers to, with respect to on- and off-balance sheet transactions facilitated under the loan book business during a specified time period, the total potential outstanding principal balance of the transactions that are delinquent for more than 30 days up to twelve months after origination, divided by the total initial principal of the transactions facilitated in such vintage. Delinquencies may increase or decrease after such 12-month period.

Current receivables at risk M1+ delinquency rate by vintage refers to, with respect to on- and off-balance sheet transactions facilitated under the loan book business during a specified time period, the actual outstanding principal balance of the transactions that are delinquent for more than 30 days up to twelve months after origination, divided by the total initial principal of the transactions facilitated in such vintage. Delinquencies may increase or decrease after such 12-month period.

Income from operations decreased to RMB82.8 million (US$12.9 million) from RMB767.8 million for the third quarter of 2020.

Net loss attributable to Qudian's shareholders was RMB94.2 million (US$14.6 million), or net loss of RMB0.37 (US$0.06) per diluted ADS.

Non-GAAP net loss attributable to Qudian's shareholders was RMB99.1 million (US$15.4 million), or non-GAAP net loss of RMB0.39 (US$0.06) per diluted ADS.

Cash Flow

As of September 30, 2021, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of RMB1,693.3 million (US$262.8 million) and restricted cash of RMB287.3 million (US$44.6 million). Restricted cash mainly represents (i) security deposits held in designated bank accounts for the guarantee of on-and-off balance sheet transactions; and (ii) cash held by the consolidated trusts through segregated bank accounts. Such restricted cash is not available to fund the general liquidity needs of the Company.

For the third quarter of 2021, net cash provided by operating activities was RMB87.2 million (US$13.5 million), mainly attributable to proceeds of financing income. Net cash used in investing activities was RMB1,412.7 million (US$219.2 million), mainly due to purchase of short-term investments and partially offset by net proceeds from collection of loan principal. Net cash used in financing activities was RMB120.9 million (US$18.8 million), mainly due to the repurchase of convertible senior notes.

Update on Share Repurchase and Convertible Bond Repurchase

As of the date of this release, the Company has repurchased and cancelled total principal amount of convertible senior notes of US$237.5 million. The Company has cumulatively completed total share repurchases of approximately US$574.0 million.

Conference Call

The Company's management will host an earnings conference call on December 13, 2021 at 7:00 AM U.S. Eastern Time (8:00 PM Beijing/Hong Kong Time). Details for the conference call are as follows:

Title of Event: Qudian Inc. Third Quarter 2021 Earnings Conference Call Conference ID: 7996943 Registration link: http://apac.directeventreg.com/registration/event/7996943

For participants who wish to join the call, please complete the online registration 15 minutes prior to the scheduled call start time. Upon registration, participants will receive the conference call access information, including participant dial-in numbers, a Direct Event Passcode, a unique Registrant ID, and an e-mail with detailed instructions to join the conference call.

Additionally, a live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available on the Company's investor relations website at http://ir.qudian.com.

A replay of the conference call will be accessible approximately two hours after the conclusion of the live call until December 20, 2021, by dialing the following telephone numbers:

United States: +1-855-452-5696 (toll-free) / +1-646-254-3697



International: +61-2-8199-0299

Hong Kong, China: 800-963-117 (toll-free) / +852-3051-2780



Mainland, China: 400-632-2162 / 800-870-0205 (toll-free)



Passcode: 7996943



















About Qudian Inc.

Qudian Inc. ("Qudian") is a leading technology platform empowering the enhancement of online consumer finance experience in China. The Company's mission is to use technology to make personalized credit accessible to hundreds of millions of young, mobile-active consumers in China who need access to small credit for their discretionary spending but are underserved by traditional financial institutions due to lack of traditional credit data or high cost of servicing. Qudian's credit solutions enable licensed, regulated financial institutions and ecosystem partners to offer affordable and customized loans to this young generation of consumers.

For more information, please visit http://ir.qudian.com.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We use adjusted net income/loss, a Non-GAAP financial measure, in evaluating our operating results and for financial and operational decision-making purposes. We believe that adjusted net income/loss helps identify underlying trends in our business by excluding the impact of share-based compensation expenses, which are non-cash charges, and convertible bonds buyback income. We believe that adjusted net income/loss provides useful information about our operating results, enhances the overall understanding of our past performance and future prospects and allows for greater visibility with respect to key metrics used by our management in its financial and operational decision-making.

Adjusted net income/loss is not defined under U.S. GAAP and are not presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. This Non-GAAP financial measure has limitations as analytical tools, and when assessing our operating performance, cash flows or our liquidity, investors should not consider them in isolation, or as a substitute for net loss / income, cash flows provided by operating activities or other consolidated statements of operation and cash flow data prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

We mitigate these limitations by reconciling the Non-GAAP financial measure to the most comparable U.S. GAAP performance measure, all of which should be considered when evaluating our performance.

For more information on this Non-GAAP financial measure, please see the table captioned "Unaudited Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results" set forth at the end of this press release.

Exchange Rate Information

This announcement contains translations of certain RMB amounts into U.S. dollars ("US$") at specified rates solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise stated, all translations from RMB to US$ were made at the rate of RMB6.4434 to US$1.00, the noon buying rate in effect on September 30, 2021 in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board. The Company makes no representation that the RMB or US$ amounts referred could be converted into US$ or RMB, as the case may be, at any particular rate or at all.

Statement Regarding Preliminary Unaudited Financial Information

The unaudited financial information set out in this earnings release is preliminary and subject to potential adjustments. Adjustments to the consolidated financial statements may be identified when audit work has been performed for the Company's year-end audit, which could result in significant differences from this preliminary unaudited financial information.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Among other things, the expectation of its collection efficiency and delinquency, contain forward-looking statements. Qudian may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the SEC, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Qudian's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: Qudian's goal and strategies; Qudian's expansion plans; Qudian's future business development, financial condition and results of operations; Qudian's expectations regarding demand for, and market acceptance of, its credit products; Qudian's expectations regarding keeping and strengthening its relationships with borrowers, institutional funding partners, merchandise suppliers and other parties it collaborate with; general economic and business conditions; and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Qudian's filings with the SEC. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and Qudian does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:



In China:



Qudian Inc.

Tel: +86-592-596-8208

E-mail: [email protected]

The Piacente Group, Inc.

Jenny Cai

Tel: +86 (10) 6508-0677

E-mail: [email protected]

In the United States:

The Piacente Group, Inc.

Brandi Piacente

Tel: +1-212-481-2050

E-mail: [email protected]

QUDIAN INC. Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations





















Three months ended September 30, (In thousands except for number



2020

2021 of shares and per-share data)



(Unaudited)

(Unaudited)

(Unaudited)





RMB

RMB

US$















Revenues:













Financing income



487,330

285,536

44,315 Sales commission fee



18,073

8,037

1,247 Sales income and others



138,971

7,326

1,137 Penalty fee



21,258

16,746

2,599 Loan facilitation income and other related income

177,161

8,776

1,362 Transaction services fee and other related income

6,629

20,944

3,250















Total revenues



849,422

347,365

53,910















Operating cost and expenses:













Cost of revenues



(198,787)

(104,551)

(16,226) Sales and marketing



(64,792)

(32,878)

(5,103) General and administrative



(58,308)

(157,678)

(24,471) Research and development



(51,100)

(40,071)

(6,219) Changes in guarantee liabilities and risk assurance liabilities(1) 362,413

42,773

6,638 Provision for receivables and other assets



(89,466)

19,167

2,975 Total operating cost and expenses



(100,040)

(273,238)

(42,406) Other operating income



18,375

8,693

1,349















Income from operations



767,757

82,820

12,853 Interest and investment income, net



(38,786)

(125,501)

(19,477) Foreign exchange loss, net



(2,596)

(229)

(36) Other income



613

15

2 Other expenses



(3,462)

(2,176)

(337)















Net (loss)/income before income taxes



723,526

(45,071)

(6,995) Income tax expenses



(131,264)

(50,347)

(7,814)















Net (loss)/income



592,262

(95,418)

(14,809) Net (loss)/profit attributable to non-controlling

interest shareholders



-

(1,248)

(194)















Net (loss)/income attributable to Qudian

Inc.'s shareholders



592,262

(94,170)

(14,615)































(Loss)/Earnings per share for Class A and Class

B ordinary shares:













Basic



2.34

(0.37)

(0.06) Diluted



2.22

(0.37)

(0.06)















(Loss)/Earnings per ADS (1 Class A ordinary

share equals 1 ADSs):













Basic



2.34

(0.37)

(0.06) Diluted



2.22

(0.37)

(0.06)















Weighted average number of Class A and Class

B ordinary shares outstanding:













Basic



253,523,668

253,649,009

253,649,009 Diluted



268,752,268

266,458,506

266,458,506















Other comprehensive (loss)/income:













Foreign currency translation adjustment



(13,991)

(234)

(36)















Total comprehensive (loss)/income



578,271

(95,652)

(14,845)















Total comprehensive (loss)/income

attributable to Qudian Inc.'s

shareholders



578,271

(95,652)

(14,845)















Note

(1):The amount includes the change in fair value of the guarantee liabilities accounted in accordance with ASC 815,"Derivative", and the

change in risk assurance liabilities accounted in accordance with ASC 450, "Contingencies" and ASC 460, "Guarantees".

QUDIAN INC. Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

































As of June 30,

As of September 30, (In thousands except for number



2021

2021 of shares and per-share data)



(Unaudited)

(Unaudited) (Unaudited)





RMB

RMB US$ ASSETS:











Current assets:











Cash and cash equivalents



3,133,623

1,693,311 262,798 Restricted cash



296,915

287,298 44,588 Short-term investments



5,024,942

6,090,132 945,174 Short-term loan principal and financing service fee

receivables



3,150,299

2,741,639 425,496 Short-term finance lease receivables



88,805

62,046 9,629 Short-term contract assets



26,422

13,020 2,021 Other current assets



679,604

1,222,449 189,720 Total current assets



12,400,610

12,109,895 1,879,426













Non-current assets:











Long-term finance lease receivables



3,818

1,807 280 Operating lease right-of-use assets



526,259

653,719 101,456 Investment in equity method investee



367,148

218,944 33,980 Long-term investments



243,668

255,308 39,623 Property and equipment, net



436,007

556,825 86,418 Intangible assets



8,733

9,375 1,455 Long-term contract assets



6,154

2,072 322 Deferred tax assets, net



68,231

56,315 8,740 Other non-current assets



463,042

567,844 88,127 Total non-current assets



2,123,060

2,322,209 360,401













TOTAL ASSETS



14,523,670

14,432,104 2,239,827



























QUDIAN INC. Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

































As of June 30,

As of September 30, (In thousands except for number



2021

2021 of shares and per-share data)



(Unaudited)

(Unaudited) (Unaudited)





RMB

RMB US$













LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY











Current liabilities:











Short-term lease liabilities



51,388

64,738 10,047 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities



415,047

375,851 58,332 Guarantee liabilities and risk assurance liabilities(1)



3,252

1,184 184 Income tax payable



34,354

52,639 8,169 Total current liabilities



504,041

494,412 76,732













Non-current liabilities:







Deferred tax liabilities, net



12,182

27,647 4,291 Convertible senior notes



817,685

687,108 106,637 Long-term lease liabilities



369,666

488,060 75,746 Long-term borrowings and interest payables



145,312

145,312 22,552 Other non-current liabilities



-

3,268 507













Total non-current liabilities



1,344,845

1,351,395 209,733 Total liabilities



1,848,886

1,845,807 286,465



























Shareholders' equity:











Class A Ordinary shares



132

132 20 Class B Ordinary shares



44

44 7 Treasury shares



(352,533)

(348,534) (54,092) Additional paid-in capital



4,010,672

4,013,840 622,938 Accumulated other comprehensive loss



(56,247)

(56,480) (8,766) Retained earnings



9,063,688

8,969,516 1,392,048 Total Qudian Inc. shareholders' equity



12,665,756

12,578,518 1,952,155













Non-controlling interests



9,028

7,779 1,207













Total equity



12,674,784

12,586,297 1,953,362













TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS'

EQUITY



14,523,670

14,432,104 2,239,827



























Note:

(1) The amount includes the balance of the guarantee liabilities accounted in accordance with ASC

815,"Derivative", and the balance of risk assurance liabilities accounted in accordance with ASC 450,

"Contingencies" and ASC 460, "Guarantees".

QUDIAN INC. Unaudited Reconciliation of GAAP And Non-GAAP Results





















Three months ended September 30,





2020

2021 (In thousands except for number



(Unaudited)

(Unaudited)

(Unaudited) of shares and per-share data)



RMB

RMB

US$































Total net (loss)/income attributable to Qudian Inc.'s shareholders

592,262

(94,170)

(14,615) Add: Share-based compensation expenses



6,663

7,167

1,112 Less: Convertible bonds buyback income



22,490

12,082

1,875 Non-GAAP net (loss)/income attributable to Qudian Inc.'s shareholders 576,435

(99,085)

(15,378)















Non-GAAP net (loss)/income per sharebasic



2.27

(0.39)

(0.06) Non-GAAP net (loss)/income per sharediluted



2.16

(0.39)

(0.06) Weighted average shares outstandingbasic



253,523,668

253,649,009

253,649,009 Weighted average shares outstandingdiluted



268,752,268

266,458,506

266,458,506

SOURCE Qudian Inc.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SKUx , an innovative fintech company redefining the way consumer offers are delivered, redeemed, settled and reported, today announced the appointment of Jay Loeffler as company president. A highly successful growth strategist and industry innovator, Loeffler joins SKUx from Valpak and SKULocal, where he served as Chief Revenue Officer. Loeffler was already a member of the SKUx board of advisors.

"SKUx is redefining the future of product offers, rewards and loyalty for consumer manufacturers, brands and retailers," said Loeffler. "SKUPay payment-based offers deliver new levels of value and convenience for consumers, while solving decades-old problems plaguing the multi-billion-dollar consumer offers and coupon industry. I'm excited to be part of our industry's fintech transformation."

While at Valpak, Loeffler led the fusion of social influencer marketing and traditional direct mail. He also created a subsidiary grocery brand, SKULocal, which has become the fastest growing division of Valpak over the past 5 years, serving major clients such as Procter & Gamble, Kraft, Unilever, Kellogg's, Sam's Club, Blue Bunny, Mars, Bayer, Shutterfly, Overstock.com, Total Wine and HEB grocery stores. Prior to Valpak, Loeffler served in a variety of leadership roles with Cox Target Media.

"Jay is a dynamic business leader with deep relationships and knowledge within consumer brands, retail, promotions and direct marketing," said Jim Sampey, SKUx Co-Founder and CEO. "His track record for introducing and advancing breakthrough innovations that drive growth and performance for clients is a perfect fit for our mission at SKUx."

Loeffler joins SKUx as the company advances a new fintech category of payment-based offers, called SKUPay. SKUPay is set to replace today's outdated world and process of coupons, rebates, promotional offers, and settlement, solving long-term industry challenges for retailers, consumer brands, and marketing agencies and unlocking billions of dollars in value currently being lost to fraud and inefficiency. SKUx delivers a powerful end-to-end payments-based system across offer delivery, redemption, settlement and reporting that requires no special integration by retailers or brands.

SKUPay turns consumer offers into currency that can be redeemed as part of the normal payment process wherever mobile payments are accepted. It replaces coupons and promotional offers with trusted single-use, serialized offers that can be targeted down to the product SKU or UPC level. Retailers are reimbursed on a daily basis rather than waiting weeks or months for clearance and settlement. Marketers have unparalleled and near immediate visibility into their campaigns, allowing them to optimize performance and stay within predetermined budgets.

About SKUx

A leading fintech innovator, SKUx gives brands and retailers the power to deliver secure, intuitive digital offers anywhere, anytime, at the speed of today's consumer. SKUx transforms virtually any coupon, rebate, or promotional offer into payment-based offers for the world's leading retailers, brands, and marketing agencies. Leveraging Hedera Hashgraph distributed ledger technology, the company's patent-pending Smart Incentives platform as a service combines offer details, serialization, funding, and settlement to increase customer trust, loyalty and create new opportunities for consumer engagement. The result  new incremental revenue, improved efficiency, and laser sharp transparency for all industry stakeholders. For more information, visit www.skux.io.

Media Contact:

Kevin Sugarman

[email protected]

SOURCE SKUxchange LLC
DUBLIN, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Residential Facilities for The Elderly in South Africa 2021" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report focuses on residential facilities/old age homes for old people in South Africa and includes information on the funding of facilities with a focus on those that are subsidised by government.

There are profiles of 27 companies, NGOs and associations including Rand Aid, Algoa Bay Council for the Aged, Flower Foundation Retirement Homes, Botshabelo Haven, Free State Care in Action and Life Esidimeni.



Residential Facilities for the Elderly

South Africa's elderly population aged 60 and over continues to increase as a percentage of the population and currently sits at 5.4 million people. There is much demand for accommodation and care for the elderly, and not enough supply, especially for affordable care, and old people continue to lack access to adequate healthcare, social support, and other basic services.

Government's social grant payments for old people and subsidies provided to residential care facilities are insufficient to cover increasing costs, forcing many facilities to close.

Funding Issues

Hundreds of organisations providing social care services across South Africa are struggling financially and have had subsidies cut. Various associations and non-profit organisations' funds are insufficient to cover the costs of providing services to elderly citizens and they came under increased pressure as fund-raising activities did not take place due to the pandemic.

This has resulted in growing deficits and closures. Only a small percentage of South Africans are financially able to retire comfortably. The development of private retirement accommodation and care is a growing sector.

High Demand

Demand for care among the elderly is expected to escalate, but South Africa is ill prepared and there is a shortage of affordable residential facilities. The shortage of trained and experienced nurses, and care workers places further challenges on the sector and various associations and old aged homes have called on government to review its funding model.

Key Topics Covered:



1. Introduction



2. Description of the Industry

2.1. Industry Value Chain

2.2. Geographic Position



3. Size of the Industry



4. State of the Industry

4.1. Local

4.1.1. Corporate Actions

4.1.2. Regulations

4.1.3. Enterprise Development and Social Economic Development

4.2. Continental

4.3. International



5. Influencing Factors

5.1. Coronavirus

5.2. Economic Environment

5.3. Rising Costs

5.4. Labour



6. Competition

6.1. Barriers to Entry



7. SWOT Analysis



8. Outlook



9. Industry Associations



10. References

10.1. Publications

10.2. Websites

Summary of Notable Players

Residential Facilities for Older Persons Contact Details

Organogram

Residential Facilities for the Elderly

Company Profiles

Afrikaanse Christelike Vroue Vereeniging

Algoa Bay Council for the Aged

Association for the Aged (The)

Badisa

Boiketlong Old Age Home

Botshabelo Haven

Cape Peninsula Organisation for the Aged

Executive Welfare Council of the Afm of Sa (The)

Flower Foundation Retirement Homes

Free State Care in Action

Kwabadala Residential Care Facility

Life Esidimeni (Pty) Ltd

Mangaung Society for the Care of the Aged

Methodist Homes for the Aged (Bloemfontein) Npc (The)

Methodist Homes for the Aged (Eastern Cape) Npc

Methodist Homes for the Aged Npc

Neighbourhood Old Age Homes

Pietermaritzburg and District Association for the Care of the Aged

Rand Aid Association

Residentia Foundation

Silver Crown Old Age Home

Sonop Old Age Home

South Africa Red Cross Society Npc (The)

Suid-Afrikaanse Vrouefederasie

Thekolohelong Welfare Centre

Yade Caring Action Npc

Zanele Mbeki Frail Care Centre

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/2weyyz

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com


DUBLIN, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "State-Owned Enterprises in South Africa 2021" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report focuses on South Africa's major state-owned entities and includes information on the major enterprises, their performance and the factors that influence them including the pandemic, economic factors, their debt and performance levels and leadership issues.

There are profiles of 24 public entities which include major SOEs such as Transnet, Eskom, South African Airways and Denel, and other entities under state ownership and control such as the Development Bank of Southern Africa and Independent Development Trust.

State-owned Enterprises South Africa:

The ongoing financial and operational crises faced by a number of major state-owned enterprises (SOEs) casts doubt on their practicality and survival. Total SOE debt stands at a staggering R692.9bn. The most recent budget review indicated that SOEs have reported poor growth, high costs and elevated debt servicing costs, and several appear to be at risk of defaulting on their debts. Prospective reforms and increasing private-sector participation provide some hope for South Africa's SOEs.



Corruption:

The Zondo Commission of Inquiry into allegations of state capture in the public sector, including organs of state, has outlined corruption at the highest echelons of entities such as Transnet, Eskom, SAA and Denel and provides some explanation for the extent of the financial mismanagement at these enterprises. The poor performance of SOEs continues to reflect crumbling infrastructure, poor and ever-changing leadership, corruption, wasteful expenditure and mismanagement of funds.



Major Changes:

The government announced in June that it plans to sell 51% of South African Airways to a private consortium and that it would retain a minority stake. The proposed sale will amount to the first privatisation in decades and represents a major shift from the state's stance on SOE control and ownership. Government will also now permit independent power producers to increase self-generation without obtaining a licence from 1MW to 100MW. Both announcements represent a major shift in government's stance and indicate an awareness of the SOEs' limitations.



Key Topics Covered:



1. Introduction



2. Description of the Industry

2.1. Industry Value Chain

2.2. Geographic Position



3. Size of the Industry



4. State of the Industry

4.1. Local

4.1.1. Corporate Actions

4.1.2. Regulations

4.1.3. Socio-Economic Development

4.2. International



5. Influencing Factors

5.1. Coronavirus

5.2. Economic Environment

5.3. State Capture and Corruption

5.4. Government Guarantees and Support

5.5. Environmental Concerns

5.6. Labour



6. Competition



7. SWOT Analysis



8. Outlook



9. References

9.1. Publications

9.2. Websites



Appendix

Summary of Notable Players

Company Profiles

Air Traffic and Navigation Services Company Ltd

Airports Company South Africa Soc Ltd

Alexkor Soc Ltd

Armaments Corporation of South Africa Soc Ltd

Broadband Infraco Soc Ltd

Denel Soc Ltd

Development Bank of Southern Africa

Eskom Holdings Soc Ltd

Financial Sector Conduct Authority

Independent Development Trust

Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa Ltd

Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa

Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa

Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa Soc Ltd (The)

Sef Soc Ltd

South African Airways Soc Ltd

South African Broadcasting Corporation Soc Ltd

South African Forestry Company Soc Ltd

South African Nuclear Energy Corporation Soc Ltd (The)

South African Weather Service

Suid-Afrikaanse Poskantoor Soc Ltd

Telkom Sa Soc Ltd

Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority

Transnet Soc Ltd

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ld6afm

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com


NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, TIME names Elon Musk the 2021 Person of the Year.

time.com/poy

#TIMEPOY

TIME Editor-in-Chief and CEO Edward Felsenthal writes, "Person of the Year is a marker of influence, and few individuals have had more influence than Musk on life on Earth, and potentially life off Earth too. In 2021, Musk emerged not just as the world's richest person but also as perhaps the richest example of a massive shift in our society."

Felsenthal continues, "Musk's rise coincides with broader trends of which he and his fellow technology magnates are part cause and part effect: the continuing decline of traditional institutions in favor of individuals; government dysfunction that has delivered more power and responsibility to business; and chasms of wealth and opportunity. In an earlier era, ambitions on the scale of interplanetary travel were the ultimate collective undertaking, around which Presidents rallied nations.For creating solutions to an existential crisis, for embodying the possibilities and the perils of the age of tech titans, for driving society's most daring and disruptive transformations, Elon Musk is TIME's 2021 Person of the Year."

See the cover, featuring a photograph by Mark Mahaney for TIME: https://we.tl/t-pVb88bToD6

In his letter to readers, Felsenthal writes, " Elon Musk's spacefaring adventures are a direct line from the very first Person of the Year (then called Man of the Year), Charles Lindbergh, whom the editors selected in 1927 to commemorate his historic first solo transatlantic airplane flight over the Atlantic. For us at TIME, it has also been a year of building on the past to forge the future." https://bit.ly/3oP5b8J

Felsenthal on the choice: https://bit.ly/3IL5N73

Read the cover story: https://bit.ly/3pOWfj2

In the cover story, which includes an exclusive interview with Musk, TIME's Molly Ball, Jeffrey Kluger and Alejandro de la Garza write, "His startup rocket company, SpaceX, has leapfrogged Boeing and others to own America's spacefaring future. His car company, Tesla, controls two-thirds of the multibillion-dollar electric-vehicle market it pioneered and is valued at a cool $1 trillion. That has made Musk, with a net worth of more than $250 billion, the richest private citizen in history, at least on paper. He's a player in robots and solar, cryptocurrency and climate, brain-computer implants to stave off the menace of artificial intelligence and underground tunnels to move people and freight at super speeds."

On how Musk has spent a lifetime defying the haters; now, it seems, he's finally in position to put them in their place, Molly Ball, Jeffrey Kluger and Alejandro de la Garza continue, "For 2021 was the year of Elon Unbound. In April, SpaceX won NASA's exclusive contract to put U.S. astronauts on the moon for the first time since 1972. In May, Musk hosted Saturday Night Live. In October, car-rental giant Hertz announced it planned to add 100,000 Teslas to its fleet.amid Musk's sale of 10% of his Tesla stock, a process that roiled markets, cost him billions and should produce enough tax revenue to fund the Commerce Department for a year. The sale was prompted by a Twitter poll Musk posted in a fit of pique over liberal Senators' proposals to tax billionaires. Many people are described as larger than life, but few deserve it. How many of us truly exceed our life span?....How many will leave a mark on the worldmuch less the universefor their contributions rather than their crimes? A few short years ago, Musk was roundly mocked as a crazy con artist on the verge of going broke. Now this shy South African with Asperger's syndrome, who escaped a brutal childhood and overcame personal tragedy, bends governments and industry to the force of his ambition. To Musk, his vast fortune is a mere side effect of his ability not just to see but to do things others cannot, in arenas where the stakes are existential."

PLUS - TIME Names the 2021 Athlete, Entertainer, and Heroes of the Year:

ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Simone Biles - https://bit.ly/3GuFWi0

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

Olivia Rodrigo - https://bit.ly/3pE8fnj

HEROES OF THE YEAR

Vaccine Scientists - https://bit.ly/31QlsBz

See the covers: https://we.tl/t-OFqzZ76tgw

The December 27, 2021/ / January 3, 2022 Person of the Year issue of TIME goes on sale on Friday, December 17.

About TIME



TIME is a global media brand that reaches a combined audience of more than 100 million around the world. A trusted destination for reporting and insight, TIME's mission is to tell the stories that matter most, to lead conversations that change the world and to deepen understanding of the ideas and events that define our time. With unparalleled access to the world's most influential people, the immeasurable trust of consumers globally, an unrivaled power to convene, TIME is one of the world's most recognizable media brands with renowned franchises that include the TIME100 Most Influential People, Person of the Year, Firsts, Best Inventions, World's Greatest Places and premium events including the TIME100 Summit and Gala, TIME100 Health Summit, TIME100 Next and more.



MEDIA CONTACT



Kiasia Truluck, TIME

[email protected]

SOURCE TIME
The soul-changing journey and challenge of a lifetime saw competitors launching from the Spanish port of San Sebastian in La Gomera, Canary Islands to spend anywhere between 29-60 days at sea on average finishing in Nelson's Dockyard in Antigua-Barbuda from January onwards. The crews will be exposed to all of nature's elements  facing a multitude of weather conditions, up to 40ft waves and experience rare wildlife sightings.

36 international teams  including five-person, all-female and solo crews  from countries including the Netherlands, the United States of America and Great Britain are taking on the race after years of preparation.

This year, three teams from the fleet  Anna Victorious (GB), Migaloo (NL) and Foar From Home (US)  are rowing to raise awareness and funds to help support Talisker's pledge for the protection and preservation of sea forests with environmental organization Parley for the Oceans.

The teams will be rowing for One For The Sea, an initiative launched by Scotch whisky brand, Talisker, to help support the protection and preservation of 100 million square metres of sea forest by 2023 alongside Parley. One For The Sea aims to empower people across the world to reconnect with the beauty and fragility of the sea and recognize our collective responsibility to take action.

Anna Victorious are a group of four friends from the UK, choosing to row One For The Sea in memory of the late wife of one crew member, to continue her passion for the sea and her desire to protect it for future generations. Joining them are Migaloo  a two-man crew from the Netherlands  rowing One For The Sea to support their ongoing work to address ocean conservation. The third ambassador team, Foar From Home, are four veterans from the USA, choosing to row One For The Sea because of their fundamental belief in the power of the ocean and its benefits that transcend visual beauty.

How can you get involved?

Donations can be made by visiting oneforthesea.com/donate. Each donation will support Parley's direct impact work to help protect and preserve sea forests.

You can support the teams by following their social channels:

Anna Victorious (GB): IG @doitforanna | TW: @AnnaVictorious2 | FB: @doitforanna

Migaloo (NL): IG: @team_migaloo | FB: @TeamMigaloo2021

Foar From Home ( USA ): IG: @foar_from_home | TW: @FFH2021 | FB: @foarfromhome

Follow: @atlanticcampaigns for full race updates

The One For The Sea ambassador teams join 33 other crews rowing in this year's Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.

Rob Murray from Anna Victorious, said:

"We are thrilled to be embarking on our journey across the Atlantic to help raise awareness and funds for ocean preservation for One For The Sea. As a team, we have a deep-rooted passion for the sea. Our crossing is in memory of crewmate, Ed's, wife, Anna, who campaigned for ocean preservation. We hope to continue that passion for the sea through our work with Talisker and Parley for the Oceans throughout our crossing, and for many years to come."

Aidan Scherpbier from Migaloo, said:

"We have been actively campaigning for ocean protection and preservation for a number of years. We are excited to continue that work for One For The Sea as part of our Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge crossing  we believe education and creating awareness are fundamental to helping address ocean conservation."

Paul Lore from Foar From Home, said:

"Living on the east coast in the USA, we personally understand the importance of protecting our world's oceans. We hope our Atlantic crossing for One For The Sea inspires awareness and action around the world, as well as at home in Amelia Island. We believe in the incredible power of the ocean, and its far-reaching benefits  we can't wait to experience that intimate connection with the ocean, and its wildlife, and to channel those experiences into our roles as One For The Sea ambassadors."

To date, the Talisker x Parley collaboration has helped to conserve 40 million square metres of marine ecosystems. Kelp sea forests cover over 25% of the world's coastline and are found fringing every continent except Antarctica. They play a critical role in ocean health by sequestering carbon dioxide, regulating pH, harbouring microorganisms, and providing habitat and nourishment for marine life and keystone species.

The first distillery on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, Talisker Whisky is made by the sea. For nearly 200 years, the spirit and energy of the vast ocean that surrounds the distillery has created and shaped the signature maritime and briny notes you can taste in its whisky today. In their partnership, Talisker Whisky and Parley for the Oceans are unified in a shared love for the oceans and a joint commitment to support their preservation for future generations.

Talisker Whisky have sponsored the Atlantic Challenge for eight years and share the same love for adventure and the world's oceans. Talisker has a rich history with the sea  in 1830 Talisker Whisky was founded by the MacAskill brothers who rowed from Eigg to the Isle of Skye to find the perfect spot for their distillery in Scotland. Just like the Talisker distillery, this row represents what it means to be made by the sea.

Lieke Hompes, Global Head of Marketing Talisker, said:

"As a whisky made on the shores of the Isle of Skye in Scotland, we have a personal connection with the power and beauty of the ocean. Our One For The Sea campaign aims to inspire people around the world to feel the amazing connection to the sea, and galvanise them to take action to help protect and preserve it for future generations.

We are thrilled to work with our One For The Sea teams this year to help them raise funds and awareness for ocean preservation as part of their crossing and we wish them and the entire fleet a journey of a lifetime!"

Carsten Heron Olsen, CEO of Atlantic Campaigns, said:

"We are so excited to see off our fleet of Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge Rowers, 2021 from the shores of San Sebastien, La Gomera. These rowers, from all over the world, are embarking on an incredible journey that started many months and years ago as they began their fundraising campaigns. The teams have been working tirelessly to fundraise for some incredible causes, and race start marks the culmination of all that hard work as they embark across the Atlantic Ocean. This journey offers a unique opportunity that few others will ever experience. We look forward to welcoming them safely onto the shores of Antigua in a few weeks and months' time."

For more information visit oneforthesea.com

NOTES TO EDITOR

For further PRESS information about Talisker please contact:

[email protected]

For further information about Atlantic Campaigns and the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge please contact: [email protected]

For further PRESS information about Parley please contact:

Sara Jaurequi at Parley: [email protected]

To learn more about Talisker, Parley and Atlantic Campaigns, as well as the full Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge fleet list, 2021, please follow THIS link.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1708413/Talisker_Whisky.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1708417/Talisker_One_for_the_Sea_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Talisker Whisky
For more information, click here.

Breakthrough Performance and Modern Security Backed by AMD EPYC 7003 series processors

During the exhibition, Inventec will demonstrate two server solutions based on AMD EPYC 7003 series processors: the Steelix 2U24Bays warm storage server and the Horsea 2U2P server.

Steelix is a high-density storage server that delivers efficient computing performance with a revolutionary single socket solution. The high-density 2U form factor supports 24x 3.5'' HDDs and 4x 2.5'' SSD hot-plug drives for greater flexibility and scalability while Steelix optimizes serviceability with a hot-swappable fan module.

Also on display is Inventec's Horsea server, the alternative high-performance 2U server system based on dual socket 7nm AMD EPYC 7003 series processors. Highly adaptable and serviceable, Horsea is a top virtualization solution with optimal TCO, enhanced security, and greater scalability unleashed by the latest PCIe Gen4 and OCP 3.0 technologies.

Industry-leading Workload-optimized Platforms Equipped with 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processors

In its Intel showroom, Inventec will showcase the Inventec Seadra, a high-performance, high efficiency 2U2P server system that utilizes the latest generation of Intel Xeon Scalable processors.

Inventec Seadra has the ability to accommodate up to 6x PCIe Gen4 x16 slots and 1x OCP 3.0 slot. Seadra supports TDP of up to 270W and offers high bandwidth network communications capabilities, while reducing TCO  suitable for handling diverse scenarios, including virtualization, hyper-converged storage, cloud computing, and high-end enterprise servers.

Furthermore, attendees can discover the Inventec Solrock, a 2U4N server with 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors, and the E200G4, a high-performance edge AIoT device backed by an 11th Gen Intel Core TigerLake-UP3 CPU. The E200G4 supports outstanding computing capability for AI and Edge IoT systems and features Intel Iris Xe graphics that can decode over 40 video streams at 1080p resolution and 30fps.

Behind the Scenes of Inventec's Groundbreaking 5G Smart Factory

In the third showroom, Inventec will demonstrate the vast applications of its cutting-edge 5G smart factory. Featuring 5G ultra-reliable low latency communications (uRLLC), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and support for massive machine-type communications (mMTC), Inventec's 5G Smart Factory is continuously implementing intelligent manufacturing systems, enables AOI detection, AR/XR smart assembly, AGV auto loading operation, robotic and AI process collaborations, predictive maintenance and remote management, among others.

Inventec's virtual exhibition is the first of its kind organized by Inventec Enterprise Business Group (EBG) and will run until 13 December 2022. To participate, visit https://ebg.inventecvirtual.com/

About Inventec Data Center Solutions (Inventec EBG)

Established in 1998, Inventec Data Center Solutions (Inventec EBG) has been focusing on the design and manufacturing of server systems in Inventec Corporation. Over the decades, Inventec EBG has been a key server system supplier of the global branding clients.

For more information, visit: https://ebg.inventec.com/en.

Follow "Inventec Data Center Solutions" on LinkedIn and Wechat to receive the latest news and announcements.

Inventec logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Inventec Corporation.

AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, EPYC and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

Intel, the Intel logo, and other Intel marks are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries.

All trademarks and logos are the properties of their respective holders.

SOURCE Inventec Corporation
30% of the market's growth will originate from Europe during the forecast period. Germany and the UK are the key markets for private security services in Europe. Market growth in Europe will be faster than the growth of the market in other regions. European countries such as France and the UK have been witnessing a rise in the terror threats from various terror groups recently. Europe witnessed the largest number of right-wing attacks in the last 2 decades. These factors will facilitate the private security services market growth in Europe over the forecast period.

Download Free sample Report for more insights on the market share of various regions

One of the key factors driving growth in the private security services market is rapid urbanization. The movement of people to urban areas has increased in the last few decades. The shift is more prominent in emerging economies, as most people find better employment opportunities in urban areas compared with rural areas. The growth of the urban population will increase the construction of residential and commercial complexes in urban areas, which will necessitate the need for private security services. Emerging economies such as India, China, and Nigeria will contribute significantly to the growth of the urban population between 2020 and 2050. The growth of the urban population will also necessitate the need for advanced security measures in cities to curb criminal activities. Hence, rapid urbanization will increase the demand for private security services, which will drive the growth of the global private security services market.

Subscribe to our "Lite Plan" billed annually at USD 3000 that enables you to download 3 reports a year and view 3 reports every month.

The shortage of private security personnel will be a major challenge for the private security services market during the forecast period. The demand for private security services is increasing significantly due to the rapid growth of the urban population across the world. However, private security service providers are facing a shortage of skilled private security personnel, which affects their financial health. This is a challenge for the growth of the market as the expansion of private security services is dependent on manned guarding. Factors such as a lack of career path, the disparity in pay packages, and long working hours are leading to the shortage of private security personnel across the world. The shortage of security personnel is raising the cost of labor, which is increasing the cost of private security services for clients. Hence, the shortage of private security personnel is a challenge for vendors across the world.

Private Security Services Market: Segmentation Analysis

This market research report segments the private security services market by End-user (industrial, residential, financial institutions, and others), Service (manned guarding, electronic security services, and cash services), and Geography (North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA).

The private security services market share growth by the industrial segment will be significant during the forecast period. The industrial segment is the largest adopter of security services such as manned guarding and electronic security systems. Rising urbanization and the increasing population are creating significant demand for various products, which is leading to an increase in the number of manufacturing activities globally. The rising manufacturing output is the result of the expansion of manufacturing plants, which is creating significant demand for private security services.

Download this Private Security Services Market report to uncover new strategies to make the most of future growth opportunities.

Related Reports on Industrials Include:

Global Smart Grid Cyber Security Market

Global Generation Management Systems Market

Some of the key topics covered in the report include:

Market Challenges

Market Drivers

Market Trends

Vendor Landscape

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

Competitive scenario

Private Security Services Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 4.71% Market growth 2021-2025 USD 53.58 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 3.97 Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA Performing market contribution Europe at 30% Key consumer countries China, US, India, Germany, and UK Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled ADT Inc., Allied Universal, GardaWorld Security Corp., ISS AS, Loomis AB, Monitronics International Inc., Prosegur Compania de Seguridad SA, SECOM Plc, Securitas AB, and SIS Group Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and future consumer dynamics, market condition analysis for the forecast period Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses 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.

Contacts

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio
Global technology leader to benefit from dynamic catering platform positioned for growth

TROY, Mich., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- 365 Retail Markets ("365") a leading provider of self-service commerce technology to the foodservice industry, today announced the acquisition of Spoonfed, a Glasgow-based company whose software is used by global contract caterers, restaurant chains and independent caterers across the US, UK and western Europe.

Spoonfed is a web-based software subscription service, founded in Scotland by Willie Biggart and Murray McNicol. The company has grown rapidly since its launch in 2013 and is now used by many global brands and institutions, including 3 of the top 10 globally ranked universities. It delivers significant efficiencies for a wide range of catering activities. With the help of software entrepreneur Steven Wojciechowski, they have created a dynamic software solution to support their clientele.

Founded in 2008, 365 Retail Markets provides a full suite of self-service technologies for food service operators. Today, the Company's technology solutions  end-to-end integrated SaaS software, payment processing and point of-sale hardware  power food retail spaces at corporate offices, manufacturing and distribution facilities, and more, providing compelling foodservice options for consumers. 365's technology solutions include a growing suite of frictionless smart-stores, vending, and dining point-of-sale options to meet the expanding needs of its customers.

Spoonfed's technology has synergies with 365's existing product offering, and 365 CEO Joe Hessling believes it will add further value to their expanding suite of solutions for their customers. "We are proud of the significant growth we have achieved to-date as we drive value for stakeholders across the foodservice industry as well as corporate campuses, and we see tremendous opportunities ahead," said Hessling. "We have built a fantastic relationship with the Spoonfed team, and they share our vision for the business. They are an excellent cultural fit with our team at 365, and we are thrilled to partner with them as we embark on this next chapter of our Company's growth targeting international markets, higher education, and business dining sectors."

The deal involves 365 Retail Markets assuming full ownership of Spoonfed thus providing an exit for the investor base, including main backers Equity Gap and Scottish Enterprise. 365 will provide the capital, international network, and support for Spoonfed to realize its full potential particularly in the US and European markets as part of the broader 365 product portfolio. Biggart and McNicol will remain involved in driving the business, working alongside Allison Sutera, Chief Growth Officer at 365.

Murray McNicol co-founder of Spoonfed said "Workplace catering is an unsung sector, working tirelessly in the background to serve its customers. At Spoonfed, we simply want to make their day better by providing the best tools to help them produce and deliver great food, without worrying about the admin. In particular, during the Covid-19 period, we've worked hard to develop the right solutions to enable caterers to emerge in good shape to face the new workplace landscape. It's terrific that Joe Hessling and the 365 Retail Markets team have recognized the efforts of our whole team and we are delighted to work with them to help build on the success of their outstanding self-serve product suite."

About 365 Retail Markets

365 Retail Markets is the global leader of self-service technology and services for the Contract Foodservice industry. 365 has won many awards for their innovation and growth, including being named to the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. several times. Through our combination of MicroMarket, vending, and dining technologies, we offer the best-in-class point-of-service platform for the workplace. 365 offers a consolidated approach to operators seeking a streamlined system that consumers love to use. 365 has been pioneering innovation in the industry since 2009 and continues to revolutionize the market with superior technology, strategic partnerships and ultimate flexibility in customization and branding. 365 is committed to capturing every single transaction, every single time, by delivering products that are secure, scalable, and reliable. For more information about 365 Retail Markets, visit www.365retailmarkets.com. You can also follow 365 Retail Markets on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

About Spoonfed

Spoonfed is a leading provider of catering software to the institutional market, where customers include both selfoperated organizations and the leading global contract catering providers, in turn serving global brands in the business, education, defense and leisure sectors, as well as retail and restaurant operators. Combining an intuitive, white-labelled online ordering platform with comprehensive back of house management, caterers benefit from a richly featured solution, configured to their needs. For more information about Spoonfed, visit getspoonfed.com. You can also follow Spoonfed on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Media Contacts

365 Retail Markets

Navreet Gill

[email protected]

Spoonfed

Jason Rose or Jane Lynchehaun at Hot Tin Roof PR

[email protected] / [email protected]

07591 537271 / 0131 225 7880

SOURCE 365 Retail Markets, LLC
PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A new and entirely digital Magazine known as "Undeniable Truth" is now launched and readily available for the human family to enjoy. "The time has come to take an honest and realistic look at the weak and falsehood loaded claim of superiority embarked upon by the so called 'white supremacists' and all hate filled individuals and groups in America as well as around the globe," says Dr. Henry I. Balogun, Publisher of "Undeniable Truth."

Available Issues Dr. Henry I. Balogun

The mission of Undeniable Truth is to correctly re-write historical wrongs, anomalies, and misinformation. We cannot shy away or be allowed to be intimidated. "If we fail to address the pain and blatant disregarding behaviors of the past; if we continue on the path of embracing a never-ending brutality, pain-inflicting attitude and unnecessary termination of life including all form of act of man's inhumanity to fellow members of the human family, next generation will never see any reason to change," Dr. Balogun emphasized. "If nothing is done, hate would never allow authentic and genuine integration and interaction among the children of God to grow."

Undeniable Truth believes that arrogant inspired division among the human family and better-than-them-attitude, coupled with in-your-face propaganda of we are ordained to rule the world, need to be surgically and methodically investigated, discredited, condemned, and removed. "The anemic foundation of the superiority of most Europeans and the white supremacists' gangsters has never been touched until now," says Dr. Balogun. Undeniable Truth is dedicated to correcting what needs to be corrected in the interest of sound love and unity.

To have forcefully took over land of unsuspecting people who thought they were just being accommodating, without asking for compensation  cash, kind or promissory note was largely unknown to the world. The European settlers who landed on the Island of Kunta Kinteh in the Gambia between 1400 and 1600 were uninvited. They came with hidden agenda that had nothing good planned for Africans but pain, mental anguish, and a never-ending ocean of unnecessary bloodshed.

We were told that the uninvited Europeans brought Christianity to Africa. Still, Undeniable Truth discovered that Christianity was brought to Africa by those who were there side-by-side with Christ. We were told that European settlers brought education to Africa, Undeniable Truth discovered the Truth. Higher Institution of learning was first established in Africa before the so-called evil of colonization changed history. What about the 20 Africans who were forcefully brought to Jamestown in the United States through conniving and deceptive means in 1619? Undeniable Truth discovered that they were stolen and brought for servitude. The real slaves were the first set of European slaves whose history was swept under the rug to dehumanize Africans.

How did we come up with calling each other "people of color" or "community of colored people," thereby feeding into the narratives and the divisive desire of "white supremacists" and all hate groups?

What about Truth about exploration, which was never told or published! Many Africans explorers who came to the "New World," now known as the United States, later became slave owners of white slaves. How did that story become so twisted, disregarded, and washed away? "Time will not allow us to name many atrocities perpetrated to prove ill-informed superiority, but you can read the stories in Undeniable Truth."

There is no doubt that superiority is a misnomer built on arrogant behaviors, perception, and attitude. To get your free copy of this incredible Magazine, go to www.undeniabletruthnews.com, create an account, log in and click on the "My Account" link and when you get to the My Account page, click on "Access Your Free Copy."

Media contact:

Henry Balogun

[email protected]

215-704-8223

SOURCE Dr. Henry I. Balogun
HEFEI, China, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- At the recent AI Healthcare Ecological Summit, the Vice President of the Jieshou People's Hospital shared iFLYTEK's AI-supported chronic disease management system that supports effective and efficient monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment of those with chronic diseases. Given the large population who suffer from chronic diseases, it's of great significance to attend to the perpetuated and personalized needs of the patients. To address this vulnerable group, cutting-edge AI technologies are being utilized to conduct long-term management and effective treatment.

As the number of patients grow, healthcare needs have increased beyond the capacities of many hospitals. In Jieshou, among the 500,000 residents who are covered by the city's medical system, there are nearly 73,000 people with hypertension who collectively require 290,000 follow-up visits a year. To address these extenuating needs, the Jieshou People's Hospital worked with iFLYTEK Healthcare to develop a digital medical system where artificial intelligence has been adopted to enable automatic hierarchical hypertension management.

Through wearable devices, the digital medical system collects health data from patients in real-time, automatically evaluates their health conditions, and recommends relevant intervention plans. Through the system, doctors and nurses in Jieshou can focus their attention to the more severely impacted patients, making chronic disease management more efficient and effectivealleviating the shortage of grassroots general practitioners while better attending to those with hypertension and other chronic diseases.

Since 2018, roughly 7,000 smart blood pressure monitors have been deployed in Jieshou, with 72% of patients with hyperextension covered by the system having since stabilized their conditions. Thanks to over 1.73 million automatic interventions conducted by the system's AI smart assistant, the rate of hospitalization for chronic diseases has been decreasing, reducing the pressure on grassroots medical organizations.

The AI-supported medical system developed by iFLYTEK Healthcare has lessened the demands of chronic disease management and provided patients with medical flexibility, aiding in the distribution of effective medical services with a limited number of medical workers. Through such collaborative efforts, iFLYTEK Healthcare committed itself to aid in managing chronic by developing AI solutions to meet the individualized needs of patients and hospitals. In the future, iFLYTEK Healthcare will continue to strive towards developing solutions that better meet the needs of doctors and patients in close coordination with the pressing needs of grassroot medical institutions.

For more information, please visit www.iflytek.com/en.

SOURCE iFLYTEK
PLEASANT GROVE, Utah, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Alianza Inc. introduced Managed Specialty Lines, a new, fully managed, end-to-end, cloud-based plain old telephone service (POTS) replacement solution for service providers. With Managed Specialty Lines, communication service providers can quickly and efficiently address the expansive market opportunity to replace obsolete copper POTS lines with a proven carrier-grade VoIP solution to support their customers' business-critical communications needs backed by an industry-leading technology consortium.

In 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) gave the go-ahead to telecom providers to sunset their wholesale POTS lines in the United States. With many business-critical and life safety systems today still running on degrading copper POTS lines, businesses are looking to their communication service providers to find and deploy an alternative, modern cloud solution.

Developed with managed services partner Albion Ventures and solutions partner 10T Solutions, Alianza's Managed Specialty Lines is a fully-managed solution with best-of-breed components. Managed Specialty Lines gives service providers a managed facilities-based voice network (MFVN) to support critical applications including blue light phones, elevator phones, fire alarms, burglar alarms, point-of-sale terminals, security gates, utility meters, machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, and more.

Managed Specialty Lines features:

Innovative Cloud Platform: The Alianza Cloud Communications Platform delivers carrier-class high availability, provisioning, and fully automated carrier service management.

The Alianza Cloud Communications Platform delivers carrier-class high availability, provisioning, and fully automated carrier service management. Le ading-Edge Customer Premises Equipment (CPE): All CPE is provided by Albion Ventures including an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), a specialized 10T Solutions Gateway, and a 10T Solutions LTE router with an optional 5G router upgrade, to seamlessly connect with the best signals across multiple wireless providers and provide always-on primary or backup wireless connectivity.

All CPE is provided by Albion Ventures including an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), a specialized 10T Solutions Gateway, and a 10T Solutions LTE router with an optional 5G router upgrade, to seamlessly connect with the best signals across multiple wireless providers and provide always-on primary or backup wireless connectivity. "No Worry" Installation: Professional on-premises installation, project management, and coordination with local authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) and specialty vendors, including site surveys, radio frequency (RF) engineering, and CPE provisioning.

Professional on-premises installation, project management, and coordination with local authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) and specialty vendors, including site surveys, radio frequency (RF) engineering, and CPE provisioning. Comprehensive Monitoring and Management: Critical systems and devices are monitored 24/7 by Albion Ventures for incident, problem, and event management. Proactive notifications, hardware replacement, and technical support are included.

Because Alianza's voice technology is in the cloud, and the CPE is fully managed, no additional resources are required by the service provider to deploy and scale this solution. Businesses connected with this new solution benefit from a lower-cost, future-proof, and compliant network connection for their communications.

John Condenzio, Chief Revenue Officer of Albion Ventures, commented, "Managed Specialty Lines is uniquely positioned to support the growing demand for a fully managed, next-generation network alternative to high-cost, copper-based services and aging infrastructure. This professional services and technology platform offers customers a comprehensive solutions package including advanced program management and extensive telephony, networking, and RF engineering expertise, providing a highly scalable, ready to deploy solution."

"We are proud to offer a highly differentiated solution in the Specialty Line market based on decades of experience, ingenuity, and an amazing group of partners," said Jatin Garg, CEO and Founder of 10T Solutions. "The components have been carefully designed with low latency algorithms to be better, faster, and cheaper than the competition, with years of trouble-free service."

The 10T modular solution consists of 4G LTE or future-proof 5G cellular routers supporting dynamic best network selection algorithms, a pathway to enable IoT services, plus a specialized gateway that natively supports the vast majority of legacy protocols required when interfacing with specialty lines.

"Managed Specialty Lines is a great addition to our full-stack product portfolio, which now provides a full range of communications services  from legacy voice services to modern cloud UC services," said Justin Cooper, EVP Product and Customer Success for Alianza. "The solution is purpose-built for CSPs and provides them with a new revenue opportunity and the ability to win a larger share of an enterprise's communications spend."

Availability and Pricing

Managed Specialty Lines is available now in the US and Canada. Pricing is available on a quotation basis only, as it is dependent on the number of ATA ports and locations required, and the number of lines.

For more information, visit www.alianza.com/solutions/managed-specialty-lines or get in touch.

About Alianza

Alianza delivers the only true cloud-native, carrier-grade communications platform built for service providers. Our proprietary full-stack cloud communications platform offers wholesale residential and business communications services, including voice, video conferencing, collaboration, text messaging, and standalone UC softphones. Our team of experts are passionate about transforming communications delivery and ensuring first-rate customer experiences for more than 200 service providers worldwide. As a result of the platform's exceptional quality and always-on availability, our service providers can innovate quickly and address the evolving demands of their end user customers in a way that is easy to manage, easy to consume, and highly profitable. Learn more about our solutions at alianza.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Contact

Hanna Miller

Vice President, Marketing

[email protected]

Kathleen Keith for Alianza

[email protected]

(707) 529-4507

SOURCE Alianza Inc
LONG BEACH, N.Y., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- December 13, 2021: After reports that Amazon prohibited workers from leaving its' warehouse before the deadly tornado struck, the largest law firm in the world solely focused on Amazon issues is providing consultations in Edwardsville, Illinois on Tues., Dec. 14, 2021, to victims and their families.

On December 12 & 13, 2021, BusinessInsider.com, Independent.co.uk, the New York Post, the Daily Beast and others revealed that Amazon stopped employees from leaving its' warehouse and when the tornado struck the warehouse, people died in Amazon's warehouse collapse.

As a result, CJ Rosenbaum, AmazonEmploymentLaw.com, decided to immediately offer to help Amazon employees and their families in any way possible.

CJ stated that "if people want to know what their rights are under federal law, the least I can do is use my experience with Amazon, employment law, injury and, unfortunately, wrongful death litigation, to provide advice to anyone that wants to talk."

CJ Rosenbaum's flight lands in St. Louis at 8am on Dec. 14, 2021 and he will meet with anyone that wants to talk at the Townplace Suites hotel in Edwardsville, Illinois starting at 9am. Meetings can be scheduled by calling 212-256-1109 or people can just come to the hotel.

CJ Rosenbaum is the founding partner of Rosenbaum Famularo & Segall, P.C., the largest firm in the world focused solely on Amazon. Their employment law website, AmazonEmploymentLaw.com provides information about discrimination and other areas of Employment Law and a history of cases against Amazon. CJ is an experienced trial lawyer and was also the Chairperson of the largest nationwide group of lawyers dedicated to Employees' Rights and successfully represented employees against Walmart, McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Sears, the NYPD and other huge entities.

About Rosenbaum Famularo and Segall P.C.

Rosenbaum Famularo, P.C., is a law firm based in Long Beach, New York, dedicated to helping people and companies that sell products on Amazon.com and also helps current and former Amazon employees. The firm has staff in New York, Florida and North Carolina and relationships with lawyers and law firms around the US.

Jennifer McDonald, 516-323-1448

AmazonEmploymentLaw.com

Rosenbaum Famularo & Segall, P.C.

138A East Park Avenue

Long Beach, NY 11561

SOURCE Rosenbaum Famularo & Segall, PC
ALPHARETTA, Ga., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Avanos Medical, Inc. (NYSE: AVNS) today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire OrthogenRx, Inc., an emerging leader in viscosupplementation therapies for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis (OA) pain, for a total consideration of $160 million. The purchase price consists of $130 million in cash at closing plus an additional $30 million in contingent cash consideration, payable upon the achievement of growth milestones related to the company's commercial hyaluronic acid (HA) therapy products, GenVisc 850 and TriVisc.

The treatment of OA knee pain with HA therapy represents a commercial opportunity of $1 billion in the U.S. The addition of GenVisc 850 and TriVisc  both approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and indicated for the treatment of OA knee pain in patients who have failed to respond adequately to conservative, non-pharmacologic therapy and simple analgesics  will complement Avanos' pain portfolio of COOLIEF* Cooled Radiofrequency treatment for knee OA.

HA injections are a nonsurgical option that clinicians use to treat millions of patients impacted by pain and sustained discomfort due to knee OA. These injections can play a key role in the continuum of care for patients, often providing interim pain relief before transitioning to the next level of treatment options, including COOLIEF*.

"The acquisition of OrthogenRx enhances our chronic pain portfolio by providing continuum of care treatment options for patients living with knee OA," said Avanos Chief Executive Officer Joe Woody. "This business is a clear strategic fit for Avanos, and one that will further strengthen our relationships with healthcare providers as we seek to become their preferred partner in treating musculoskeletal pain."

Michael Daley, PhD, and J. David Owens, OrthogenRx, Inc. Co-Presidents and Co-Chief Executive Officers, offered the following comment: "We are extremely proud of our team's accomplishments, and finding a partner such as Avanos with a similar culture, dedication and focus on patient care is exciting and important for OrthogenRx. This is truly a synergistic integration that creates value for all stakeholders as well as future opportunities for our existing products and pipeline."

The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2022, subject to customary closing conditions including clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976. Avanos will finance the acquisition through a combination of funds from its existing credit facility and available cash. The company estimates that the new business will contribute approximately $65 million in 2022 revenue and will be immediately accretive to gross and operating margins.

Alston & Bird LLP is serving as legal counsel to Avanos. Canaccord Genuity LLC is serving as financial advisor to OrthogenRx and Blank Rome LLP is serving as its legal counsel.

About Avanos Medical:

Avanos Medical, Inc. (NYSE: AVNS) is a medical technology company focused on delivering clinically superior breakthrough medical device solutions to improve patients' quality of life. Headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, Avanos is committed to addressing some of today's most important healthcare needs, such as reducing the use of opioids while helping patients move from surgery to recovery. Avanos develops, manufactures and markets its recognized brands in more than 90 countries. For more information, visit www.avanos.com and follow Avanos Medical on Twitter (@AvanosMedical), LinkedIn and Facebook.

About OrthogenRx :

OrthogenRx, Inc. is a medical device company focused on the development and commercialization of treatments for knee pain caused by osteoarthritis (OA). OA is the most common cause of knee pain, causing sufferers significant pain and disability. OrthogenRx aspires to provide every patient with the products they need and assist in getting them back to a life without OA knee pain. Learn more at www.orthogenrx.com, www.genvisc850.com and www.trivisc.com.

GenVisc 850 and TriVisc are registered trademarks of OrthogenRx, Inc.

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains information that includes or is based on "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include all statements that do not relate solely to historical or current facts, and can generally be identified by the use of words such as "may," "believe", "will," "expect," "project," "estimate," "anticipate," "plan" or "continue" and similar expressions, among others. The "forward-looking statements" include, without limitation, statements regarding the acquisition's impact on the Company's chronic pain portfolio including Company revenues and gross and operating margin, the timing of the closing, and the Company's source of funds for the acquisition. Forward-looking statements are based on the current plans and expectations of management and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Actual results could differ materially from those expected as a result of a variety of factors, including weakening of economic conditions that could adversely affect the level of demand for products; pricing pressures generally, including cost-containment measures that could adversely affect the price of or demand for products; shortage in drugs or other disruptions in our supply chain; changes in foreign exchange markets; legislative and regulatory actions; changes in reimbursement levels from third-party payors; product liability claims; and changes in the competitive environment. Additional information concerning these and other factors that may impact future results is contained in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and other periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Avanos Medical, Inc.
PHOENIX, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Best Western Hotels & Resorts today announced that its Board of Directors has elected John L. Kelly as Board Chairman for 2022. Kelly, who previously served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, brings decades of hospitality experience and 28 years of Best Western ownership to his role as Chairman. His deep knowledge of the brand coupled with his extensive industry experience make Kelly the ideal candidate to usher Best Western Hotels & Resorts into its next chapter in 2022.

John L. Kelly, Chairman of the Board for Best Western Hotels & Resorts

"I'm pleased to announce John Kelly as Best Western's new Chairman of the Board," said Best Western Hotels & Resorts President and CEO Larry Cuculic. "John has been a trusted member of our organization for close to three decades and I believe he will deliver tremendous value as we embark on a new chapter for our organization. Our future together is ours to make, and I look forward to working alongside John and his colleagues on the Board of Directors as we continue to grow the Best Western brand, deliver industry-leading customer care to our guests, and drive superior revenue to our hoteliers."

Kelly owns and operates the Best Western Plus Yukon in Yukon, Oklahoma. The property has achieved incredible quality assurance scores, achieving nine perfect scores in the past nine years. The property has also received numerous accolades from Best Western Hotels & Resorts including eight consecutive outstanding quality awards and four MK Guertin Awards.

During his time as a Best Western owner, Kelly has served in numerous leadership roles for the brand, receiving the All-Star Governor Award in 2007 and 2011. He previously served as a member and former Chairman of the Best Western Reservation and Technical Committee and has represented the Board of Directors on the brand's Membership Development Committee. Kelly was elected to the Board of Directors in 2016 to represent the interests of hotel owners in District V, which includes Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

"It is a privilege to be elected as the Chairman of the Board for Best Western Hotels & Resorts," said Kelly. "My membership with this remarkable organization has been a point of pride throughout my career and I am honored to serve in this leadership role on behalf of our family of hoteliers. Our organization has shown tremendous strength throughout the pandemic, and with the hope of recovery on the horizon, I look forward to working with my fellow Directors to help lead our family into a brighter future. I believe the best is yet to come for Best Western Hotels & Resorts."

In addition to Kelly's work with Best Western, he has also been an active member of his community, serving on the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Hotel & Lodging Association, the State of Oklahoma Tourism Advisory Committee, the El Reno Airpark Authority, the El Reno Visitors and Tourism Advisory Committee, and was elected to the El Reno City Council.

Kelly's diverse background in hospitality includes serving as the managing partner of a restaurant company; designing, building, operating, and owning hotels; and initiating sales strategies to favorably position hotels for potential contracts. Kelly received a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the University of Oklahoma and served as a Naval Aviator in the US Navy for 12 years (active and reserve).

In addition to the election of Kelly as Chairman of the Board, the Board of Directors also elected Danny Lafayette as Vice-Chairman and Phil Payne as Secretary-Treasurer. Recently, Viral (Victor) Patel and Mahmood (Mike) Merchant were also appointed to the Board of Directors as Directors for District III and District VI respectively.

Together with his fellow Board members, Kelly will play a crucial role in driving Best Western Hotels & Resorts' recovery, growth, and future successes.

About Best Western Hotels & Resorts:

Best Western Hotels & Resorts headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, is a privately held hotel brand within the BWH Hotel Group global network. With 18 brands and approximately 4,700 hotels in over 100 countries and territories worldwide*, BWH Hotel Group suits the needs of developers and guests in every market. Brands include Best Western, Best Western Plus, Best Western Premier, Executive Residency by Best Western, Vib, GLo, Aiden, Sadie, BW Premier Collection and BW Signature Collection. Through acquisition, WorldHotelsTM Luxury, WorldHotels Elite, WorldHotels Distinctive and WorldHotels Crafted collections are also offered. Completing the portfolio is SureStay, SureStay Plus, SureStay Collection and SureStay Studio franchises**. For more information visit www.bestwestern.com, www.bestwesterndevelopers.com, www.worldhotels.com and www.surestay.com.

* Numbers are approximate, may fluctuate, and include hotels currently in the development pipeline.

**All Best Western, WorldHotels and SureStay branded hotels are independently owned and operated.

Media Contact

Katie Ray

Senior PR Manager

602.957.5526

[email protected]

SOURCE Best Western Hotels & Resorts
PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- For people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), brushing teeth or visiting the dentist doesn't have to be so overwhelming. That's according to InfiniTeach, developers of the All Smiles Shine app. About 1 in 54 children are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and some research shows that those with ASD have a higher risk of dental disease.

"Oral health habits can be hard for many people with ASD, largely due to sensory sensitivities," said Barbie Vartanian, Executive Director of Project Accessible Oral Health (PAOH). "In addition, self-soothing habits, such as teeth grinding or eating sugary foods, can also affect dental health. This is often compounded by communication challenges that make it difficult to relay concerns about teeth, resulting in delays in care. The All Smiles Shine app offers evidence-based solutions to help."

The All Smiles Shine app was created in partnership with PAOH and Delta Dental to help the autism and intellectual and developmental disabilities communities learn about oral health care, practice preventive care at home, and prepare for an upcoming visit to the dentist. App features include:

At-home videos that support preventive care practices, a flossing and brushing tracker with rewards, and how to prepare for a dental visit.

Personalized sensory preferences, interests and calming tools to share with the dentist.

Picture schedules, breathing exercises, emotion identifiers and more.

Caregiver tips and tricks for daily brushing, flossing and healthy eating.

"Utilizing technology to encourage a better self-care oral health program holds the hope of improving the health of those with autism spectrum disorder," says Dr. Mark S. Wolff, Dean of the Penn Dental Medicine, the administrative home of PAOH.

All Smiles Shine is uniquely designed to help alleviate anxiety and encourage better habits through evidence-based autism interventions and best practices in technology development, as identified by the National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorder. By embedding these evidence-based practices into the app, people with ASD and their families, can customize the experience to their needs.

"This is just the beginning. The All Smiles Shine app will evolve to meet the ongoing needs of the autism community and children with dental anxiety," said Holli Seabury, EdD, executive director of the Delta Dental Foundation. "We hope you'll choose to grow with us."

Download All Smiles Shine from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Project Accessible Oral Health (PAOH)
TORONTO, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Fleet Complete, a global provider of telematics technologies and solutions for fleet, asset, and mobile workforce-based businesses, announced today that its solution for recording drivers' hours of service, BigRoad electronic logging device (ELD), is now officially third-party certified in Canada.

The solution was certified by FPInnovations, a third-party certification body with the ISO/IEC 17065 standard required by Transport Canada to test and certify ELD.

BigRoad ELD solution is officially certified in Canada. (CNW Group/Fleet Complete)

This third-party certification confirms that the BigRoad ELD solution meets all requirements outlined by the Canadian ELD Technical Standard to comply with the federal ELD mandate.

As of June 12, 2021, Transport Canada's Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service (HOS) Regulations require all federally regulated motor carriers to be equipped with a compliant and certified ELD. Giving the industry time to adapt, full enforcement in Canada will begin on June 12, 2022.

"We have been providing our ELD solution to clients in North America for years, and we are very proud to support this Canadian government initiative for certified ELDs," comments CEO of Fleet Complete, Tony Lourakis. "By assuring quality electronic logging devices on the market through rigorous third-party testing, we're helping improve road safety for commercial drivers and the public."

Fleet Complete's BigRoad ELD solution has already been supporting Canadian Federal Cycle and Jurisdiction Enhancements, as well as Canadian ELD Personal Use and Yard Move. It also includes Canadian ELD output file requirements to provide complete support when stopped for a roadside inspection or asked to transfer record of duty status logs (RODS) to a safety official.

For more information on Fleet Complete's BigRoad ELD solution, please visit https://www.bigroad.com/eld/electronic-logging-device-compliance or https://www.bigroad.com/canadian-eld-mandate

Social Media

Twitter: @FleetComplete

LinkedIn: Fleet Complete

Facebook: Fleet Complete

About Fleet Complete

Fleet Complete is a leading global provider of connected vehicle technology, delivering mission-critical fleet, asset, and mobile workforce management solutions. The company is servicing over 600,000 subscribers and over 40,000 businesses and government organizations in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Australia, and across Europe. It maintains key distribution partnerships with AT&T in the U.S. and Mexico, TELUS and Rogers in Canada, Telstra in Australia, Telia in Denmark, COSMOTE in Greece, and Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile) in multiple European countries. Fleet Complete cultivates strong OEM partnerships with global market leaders, such as ConMet, Cummins, Ford, General Motors, Mitsubishi Australia, and Toyota, among others. It remains one of the fastest-growing companies globally, having won numerous awards for innovation and growth.

For more information, please visit www.fleetcomplete.com/

SOURCE Fleet Complete

Related Links

https://www.fleetcomplete.com/


NEWARK, Del. and NANJING, China, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Biosion, Inc. ("Biosion"), a global, clinical stage biotech company announced today that OBI Pharma Inc. (4174.TWO) ("OBI Pharma") and Biosion have signed an exclusive license agreement providing OBI Pharma worldwide rights, excluding China to Biosion's proprietary anti-Trop2 humanized monoclonal antibody, BSI04702 . The license agreement enables OBI Pharma to conduct further preclinical and clinical development, registration, and commercialization of BSI04702 as an Antibody Drug Conjugate and other derivative products. Under the terms of the agreement, OBI Pharma will pay license fees to Biosion, including an upfront payment, future development milestones and net sales royalties. The specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"The licensing of our anti-TROP-2 mAb to OBI Pharma for global development further exhibits the strength of our discovery engine and proprietary SynTracerTM HT-endocytosis platform to identify superior mAbs, ideal as ADCs" said Dr. Hugh Davis, Chief Operating Officer of Biosion, Inc. and President of Biosion USA. "We are looking forward to partnering with OBI Pharma to advance BSI-04702 into the clinic and making a difference for patients worldwide."

BSI04702 is an anti-TROP2 humanized monoclonal antibody with differentiated properties relative to existing mAbs that bind TROP-2. It was created through Biosions proprietary Discovery engine and SynTracer HT-endocytosis Platform.

About Biosion, Inc.

For more information and full pipeline details, please visit www.biosion.com.

About OBI Pharma, Inc.

For more information and full pipeline details, please visit www.OBIPharma.com.

Media and Investor Contact:

Frank Liu, Ph.D.

Senior Director, Business Development

Biosion USA, Inc.

Phone: +1-302-998-5126

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Biosion, Inc.

Related Links

www.biosion.com


On November 6, at a family gathering in a private villa in Nuremberg, Germany, gourmet, and wine taster Oliver Gabay warmly entertained his friends.

Oliver Gabay has his own villa, swimming pool, and music room. Food, wine, music, photography, and tourism are the eternal themes on his social media platforms. During cooking delicious food, Oliver Gabay shared his story with Haier refrigerator from China with his friends.

As a great lover of gourmet food, Oliver Gabay has high requirements for the storage and preservation of refrigerators. Over the years, he has been using refrigerators from other European brands. When he decided to buy a new refrigerator, he compared different refrigerator brands and finally purchased a Haier French door refrigerator at the Media Market.

More and more German middle class is no longer limited to local European brands, Japanese or Korean brands when buying household appliances.

It does not mean that the quality of the local brands in Europe was not good, but that the Chinese brands reacted more quickly in terms of the innovation speed and the variety of functions. As a result, many Europeans' understanding of Chinese household appliance brands began with Haier.

On the one hand, Haier refrigerators, washing machines, and other products can often be seen in the department stores of many European countries. Haier is the first Chinese brand to enter the European market. On the other hand, Haier's Smart Home and the Ecosystem brands being launched have changed the traditional way of life in Europe, and their innovations open up more possibilities.

For example, during the epidemic in 2020, Haier Smart Home quickly launched customized products in line with the European market demands, including sterilized refrigerators, air conditioners, and washing machines. In this respect, Haier has won a war of innovation.

Haier has a better supply chain in the world. Other brands might face all kinds of problems such as logistics and transportation issues, parts and components shortage when they entered Europe, but these problems hardly exist in Haier. It is the main reason why Haier's sales in Europe continued to increase during the epidemic.

For the middle class in Europe, the popularity of Haier refrigerators is not enough. However, if looking at the growth trend, it is obvious that Haier has the fastest growth rate.

In the first half of this year, the revenue of Haier series products in Germany increased by 76% compared with the same period last year, and the growth rate was higher than that of the industry's average rate in the same period. If it were not for the recognition of consumers, Haier would not have achieved this achievement.

When visiting Haier's exhibition stand in IFA Berlin in the past few years, people always found that Haier's new products were more advanced than other brands in this industry.

As a typical middle class, Oliver Gabay's consumption behavior deserves more attention. European, Japanese and Korean brands need to study how Haier attracts users carefully. Otherwise, more and more European users may choose Chinese brands in the future.

SOURCE Blue technology
FOSHAN, China, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bright Scholar Education Holdings Limited ("Bright Scholar" or the "Company") (NYSE: BEDU), a global premier education service company, today announced that it has adjourned the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders held on December 10, 2021 at 10:00 a.m., Beijing Time (GMT+8) until further notice.

About Bright Scholar Education Holdings Limited

Bright Scholar is a global premier education service company, which primarily provides quality international education to global students and equip them with the critical academic foundation and skillsets necessary to succeed in the pursuit of higher education. Bright Scholar also complements its international offerings with Chinese government-mandated curriculum for students who wish to maintain the option of pursuing higher education in China.

IR Contact:

GCM Strategic Communications

Email: [email protected]

Media Contact:

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +86-757-6683-2507

SOURCE Bright Scholar Education Holdings Ltd.
- Broadstone Acquisition Corp. and Vertical Aerospace expect to complete their business combination, subject to Broadstone shareholder approval and the satisfaction or waiver of other closing conditions

- Extraordinary general meeting of Broadstone shareholders to be held on December 14, 2021, at 10:00 AM, New York time

- Gross proceeds of at least $300 million including a fully committed PIPE predominantly from key strategic investors including American Airlines, Avolon, Rolls-Royce, Honeywell, and Microsoft's M12

- Transaction will provide required capital to certify the VA-X4, develop a manufacturing facility and build out Vertical's commercial platform and scale production

- Vertical Aerospace is one of the world's leading aeronautical engineering businesses and is developing an electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft, the VA-X4

- Redeeming shareholders may elect to withdraw their redemption by contacting Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company at any time until the extraordinary general meeting of Broadstone shareholders

LONDON, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Broadstone Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: BSN, BSN-UN and BSN-WT) ("Broadstone"), a special purpose acquisition company, today announced that, subject to shareholder approval and the satisfaction or waiver of other closing conditions, it expects to complete its previously announced business combination with Vertical Aerospace Ltd. ("Vertical"), raising at least $300 million in gross proceeds.

Vertical's VA-X4 aircraft is a four passenger, one pilot eVTOL projected to be capable of transporting a pilot and four passengers across distances of a range over 100 miles at top speeds of over 200 miles per hour, while producing minimal noise and zero operating emissions, with low cost per passenger mile.

Vertical is targeting the highest global certification for its VA-X4, which is expected to achieve the equivalent safety standard of a passenger jet by 2024 (based on the expected standards promulgated by the CAA and EASA).

The VA-X4 is expected to open up advanced air mobility to a whole new range of passengers and transform how we travel. Find out more: www.vertical-aerospace.com

Proxies received to date indicate shareholder support for all proposals to be voted on at the Extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders. However, shareholders may change or revoke their proxies prior to or at the Extraordinary General Meeting.

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Founder and CEO of Vertical Aerospace said: "The closing of this listing will be a landmark moment for Vertical Aerospace. We have some of the industry's leaders as our partners and a world-class team that can make zero emission aviation a reality. It will be fantastic to reach this milestone and I am so proud of what the team has achieved."

Hugh Osmond, Chairman of Broadstone said: "Vertical Aerospace is revolutionizing air transport and pioneering cutting-edge technologies that will change the way that people travel - and support the path towards Net Zero. We are pleased to be in a position to close this business combination and excited for the future of Vertical Aerospace."

Broadstone also announced that shareholders who have elected to redeem their shares may withdraw their redemption requests at any time until the vote in connection with the business combination at the Extraordinary General Meeting which is scheduled to be held virtually via a webcast www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/BSN2021 and in New York on December 14, 2021, at 10:00 AM, New York time, at the offices of Winston & Strawn LLP, 200 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10166. Shareholders who wish to withdraw a redemption request should contact Broadstone's transfer agent, Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, by email at [email protected].

Broadstone Shareholder Vote

Shareholders who own shares of Broadstone as of the record date of November 10, 2021 should submit their vote promptly and no later than 11:59 p.m. New York time on December 13, 2021. Shareholders who need additional copies of proxy materials, to obtain proxy cards or have questions regarding the proposals to be presented at the Extraordinary General Meeting may contact D.F. King toll-free at (800) 515-4479 (individuals) or (212) 269-5550 (banks and brokers) or send an email to [email protected].

The proxy statement/prospectus is available at www.sec.gov. Broadstone shareholders are encouraged to read the definitive proxy statement/prospectus as it contains important information about the proposed transaction and the proposals to be voted on at the Extraordinary General Meeting.

The business combination, if approved by Broadstone's shareholders, is expected to close on December 16, 2021. Vertical expects its ordinary shares and warrants to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols "EVTL" and "EVTLW", respectively.

About Vertical Aerospace

Vertical is pioneering electric aviation. The company was founded in 2016 by Stephen Fitzpatrick, an established entrepreneur best known as the founder of OVO, a leading energy and technology group and Europe's largest independent energy retailer. Over the past five years, Vertical has focused on building the most experienced and senior team in the eVTOL industry, who have over 1,700 combined years of engineering experience, and have certified and supported over 30 different civil and military aircraft and propulsion systems.

Vertical's top-tier partner ecosystem is expected to de-risk operational execution and its pathway to certification, allow for a lean cost structure and enable production at scale. Vertical has received conditional pre-orders for a total of up to 1,350 of its VA-X4 aircraft from American Airlines, Avolon, Bristow and Iberojet, which includes conditional pre-order options from Virgin Atlantic and Marubeni, and in doing so, is creating multiple potential near term and actionable routes to market. In June 2021, Vertical announced a SPAC merger with Broadstone Acquisition Corp (NYSE: BSN). Find out more here.

About Broadstone Acquisition Corp.

Broadstone Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: BSN ) was set up by serial entrepreneurs, operators and investors, Hugh Osmond, Edward Hawkes, and Marc Jonas. It was established to combine with a UK/European business with a strong management team, significant growth prospects, and the opportunity to become a market leader in its sector. Broadstone's executive team has an extensive track record in value creation. The combination of a strong internal team, a network of external resources and the experience of the management team enables Broadstone to support rapid, substantial, and lasting growth.

For more information

Vertical Aerospace  UK/Europe - Nepean

Gavin Davis - [email protected]

Samuel Emden - [email protected] / +447816 459 904

Vertical Aerospace  USA - FTI

Hamm Hooper & Kayt Pitts - [email protected] / +1 773 786 7286

Broadstone - Edelman

Iain Dey & Olivia Adebo - [email protected] / +44 7976 295906

Additional Information and Where to Find It

This communication relates to a proposed business combination between Vertical Aerospace Group Ltd. (together with its affiliates, "Vertical") and Broadstone Acquisition Corp. ("Broadstone") (the "proposed business combination"). This communication does not constitute (i) solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of the proposed business combination or (ii) an offer to sell or exchange, or the solicitation of an offer to buy or exchange, any security of Vertical, Broadstone or any of their respective affiliates, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, sale or exchange would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

This communication does not contain all the information that should be considered concerning the proposed business combination and is not intended to form the basis of any investment decision or any other decision in respect of the proposed business combination. Before making any voting or investment decision, investors and security holders are urged to read the registration statement, the proxy statement/prospectus and all other relevant documents filed or that will be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") in connection with the proposed business combination as they become available because they will contain important information about the proposed business combination.

In connection with the proposed business combination, Vertical has filed a registration statement on Form F-4 with the SEC, which includes a proxy statement of Broadstone in connection with Broadstone's solicitation of proxies for the vote by Broadstone's shareholders with respect to the proposed business combination and a prospectus of Vertical. Broadstone also will file other documents regarding the proposed business combination with the SEC. Broadstone's shareholders and other interested persons are advised to read the definitive proxy statement/prospectus and documents incorporated by reference therein filed in connection with the proposed business combination, as these materials will contain important information about Vertical, Broadstone, and the proposed business combination. The definitive proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials for the proposed business combination were mailed on December 2, 2021 to shareholders of Broadstone as of the record date for the extraordinary general meeting.

Shareholders and investors will be able to obtain free copies of the registration statement, proxy statement/prospectus and all other relevant documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC by Vertical and Broadstone through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov, or by directing a request to: [email protected]. In addition, the documents filed by Vertical may be obtained free of charge from Vertical's website at https://vertical-aerospace.com/ or by written request to Vertical at Vertical Aerospace Group Ltd., Unit 1, Camwal Court, Chapel Street, Bristol, BS2 0UW, and the documents filed by Broadstone may be obtained free of charge by directing a request to: [email protected].

Participants in Solicitation

Vertical and Broadstone and their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Broadstone's shareholders in connection with the proposed business combination. Additional information regarding the interests of those persons and other persons who may be deemed participants in the proposed business combination may be obtained by reading the proxy statement/prospectus regarding the proposed business combination. You may obtain free copies of these documents as described in the preceding paragraph.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This communication includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Broadstone's and Vertical's actual results may differ from their expectations, estimates and projections and, consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as "expect," "estimate," "project," "budget," "forecast," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "may," "will," "could," "should," "believes," "predicts," "potential," "continue" and similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, Broadstone's and Vertical's expectations with respect to future performance and anticipated financial impacts of the proposed business combination, the satisfaction of the closing conditions to the proposed business combination, and the timing of the completion of the proposed business combination. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Most of these factors are outside Broadstone's and Vertical's control and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: (1) the occurrence of any event, change, or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the definitive business combination agreement (the "Agreement"); (2) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Broadstone and Vertical following the announcement of the Agreement and the transactions contemplated therein; (3) the inability to complete the proposed business combination, including due to failure to obtain approval of the shareholders of Broadstone and Vertical, certain regulatory approvals, or satisfy other conditions to closing in the Agreement; (4) the occurrence of any event, change, or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the Agreement or could otherwise cause the transaction to fail to close; (5) the ability to implement business plans, forecasts and other expectations after the completion of the business combination, and identify and realize additional opportunities; (6) the potential inability of Vertical to produce or launch aircraft in the volumes and on timelines projected, (7) the potential inability of Vertical to obtain the necessary certifications on the timelines projected; (8) the potential that certain of Vertical's strategic partnerships may not materialize into long-term partnership arrangements, (9) the impact of COVID-19 on Vertical's business and/or the ability of the parties to complete the proposed business combination; (10) the inability to list Vertical's ordinary shares on the NYSE following the proposed business combination; (11) the risk that the proposed business combination disrupts current plans and operations as a result of the announcement and consummation of the proposed business combination; (12) the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the proposed business combination, which may be affected by, among other things, competition, the ability of Vertical to grow and manage growth profitably, and retain its key employees; (13) costs related to the proposed business combination; (14) changes in applicable laws or regulations; (15) the possibility that Vertical or Broadstone may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; and (16) other risks and uncertainties indicated from time to time in the final prospectus of Broadstone for its initial public offering and the proxy statement/prospectus relating to the proposed business combination, including those under "Risk Factors" therein, and in Broadstone's other filings with the SEC. Broadstone cautions that the foregoing list of factors is not exclusive. Broadstone cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Broadstone does not undertake or accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

SOURCE Broadstone Acquisition Corp.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Carenet Health, a provider of 24/7 healthcare engagement and telehealth solutions, is welcoming three additional leaders to its executive team this month. The move is part of the organization's plan to fuel expansion in 2022.

David Mulligan has joined Carenet as Executive Vice President (EVP)  Technology. Mulligan is a seasoned technology executive, most recently serving as chief operating and chief technology officer at PhyzData Healthcare Solutions. During his tenure as CIO at Acelity (formerly KCI), he led IT teams in the U.S. and around the world, including the UK, Netherlands, Germany, India and Australia. He is an Arizona State University graduate with a B.S. in applied mathematics, and he received his MBA from Regis University.

Brad Richardson has been named EVP  Sales at Carenet. Richardson is an executive sales leader with more than 25 years of success in helping large corporations achieve world-class business partnerships. Previously, he was global vice president for business development at Sykes Enterprises, where he was responsible for financial services sales and client relationship management for Sykes Americas and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa). Richardson is a Lake Forest College alumnus.

Christopher Rogers has joined Carenet as EVP  Client Operations. Rogers is a service delivery, customer care and acquisitions integration expert with 20+ years of international and domestic experience, primarily in the healthcare, financial services, communications and technology industries. Most recently, he served as executive integration advisor for Sitel Group and chief security officer and deputy CIO at Sykes Enterprises (acquired by Sitel Group). He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and has served on a number of prestigious executive advisory boards, including the Forbes Technology Council.

Carenet Health President Mick Mazour said adding these professionals to the company's already high-caliber leadership team will better equip the company for organic and external growth and solution enhancements. "Our team members, markets, client base and reputation have put Carenet on an excellent path. What's next is going to be one of the most exciting times in our company's history."

More Information: Carenet Health is one of the healthcare industry's leading consumer engagement and telehealth partnersproviding consumer engagement, clinical support, virtual care and advocacy solutions on behalf of 250+ of the nation's premier health plans, providers, health systems and Fortune 500 companies. One in four Americans have access to Carenet's services. Carenet is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, with additional office locations in New Mexico, Maine and the Philippines. Visit carenethealth.com.

SOURCE Carenet Health
SHANGHAI, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CARsgen Therapeutics Holdings Limited (Stock Code: 2171.HK), a company focused on innovative CAR T-cell therapies for the treatment of hematologic malignancies and solid tumors, today announces that at the 2021 American Society of Hematology ("ASH") Annual Meeting, the Company presented two posters with study results for CT053, an autologous CAR T-cell product candidate against B-Cell Maturation Antigen (BCMA), which include (1) the sustainable efficacy and safety results from the Phase I/II study in China (LUMMICAR-1) and (2) an integrated analysis in participants with relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma (R/R MM) by high-risk factors. Details are listed below.

Poster #2821: Sustainable Efficacy and Safety Results from LUMMICAR STUDY 1: A Phase 1/2 Study of Fully Human B-Cell Maturation Antigen-Specific CAR T Cells (CT053) in Chinese Subjects with Relapsed and/or Refractory Multiple Myeloma

BCMA is a promising therapeutic target in multiple myeloma (MM). CT053 is an autologous CAR T-cell product candidate incorporating a fully human BCMA-specific single-chain variable fragment with fine-tuned binding affinity and a high monomer ratio.

LUMMICAR STUDY 1 is a multi-center, open-label Phase I/II clinical trial in China. The primary endpoint of this trial is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of CT053 and to identify the recommended Phase II dose. Secondary endpoints are to evaluate efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetics. Efficacy is assessed according to the International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) 2016 criteria.

As of July 8, 2021, 14 heavily treated participants with R/R MM received CT053 infusion. Three participants received 1.0108 CAR+ T cells, and 11 participants received 1.5108 CAR+ T cells. All participants had received at least 3 prior regimens, with a median of 6 prior regimens. 50.0% (7/14) of the participants had high risk cytogenetic abnormalities, 14.3% (2/14) of the participants had extramedullary disease (EMD), and 14.3% (2/14) of the participants had International Staging System (ISS) III.

Safety

CT053 was generally well-tolerated. No  Grade 3 cytokine release syndrome (CRS) or neurotoxicity was observed. No dose limiting toxicity (DLT) and no treatment-related death was reported. No immunogenicity was identified.

Efficacy

As of July 8, 2021, the median follow-up time was 13.6 months (range from 4.2 months to 22.4 months). The overall response rate (ORR) was 100% (14/14). Of these patients, 78.6% (11/14) achieved stringent complete responses (sCR) with minimal residual disease (MRD) 10-5 negative, and 9 patients reached sustained CR/sCR for more than 12 months. A total of 92.9% (13/14) of patients achieved at least very good partial responses (VGPR). The 12-month progression-free survival (PFS) rate was 85.7% (12/14). The median duration of response (mDOR) and the median progression-free survival (mPFS) had not been reached. For patients without EMD, the CR/sCR rate was 91.7% (11/12) and the 12-month PFS rate reached 100%, which demonstrate better treatment trends.

Conclusion

These results demonstrate that CT053 CAR T cells achieved a deep and durable response, with an acceptable safety profile in patients with R/R MM (50% of patients had high risk cytogenetic abnormalities).

Poster #1751: Integrated Analysis of B-cell Maturation Antigen-Specific CAR T Cells (CT053) in Relapsed and Refractory Multiple Myeloma Subjects by High-Risk Factors

Prior results from studies of CT053 (three investigator-initiated trials [IITs]) and the LUMMICAR STUDY 1 demonstrated deep and durable responses in heavily treated patients with R/R MM as reported at the 2020 ASH Annual Meeting. Here, we summarized and analyzed the integrated efficacy and safety from these studies stratified by high-risk factors, including EMD, high-risk cytogenetic abnormalities, and ISS III.

The data cut-off for the IIT studies and the LUMMICAR-1 study were June 30, 2021 and July 8, 2021, respectively. A total of 38 patients received CT053 infusions (1 patient received 0.5108, 4 patients received 1.0108, 32 patients received 1.5108, and 1 patient received 1.8108 CAR+ T cells). All patients had received  2 prior regimens against multiple myeloma with a median of 6 prior regimens (range 2-12). A total of 31.6% of the 38 treated patients had EMD, 50.0% had high-risk cytogenetics, and 28.9% had ISS stage III disease.

Efficacy

In the 13.9 months median follow-up time, the ORR was 92.1% (35/38), with 78.9% (30/38) of patients achieving CR/sCR and 86.8% (33/38) of patients achieving at least VGPR. The mPFS and mDOR were 22.7 months and 24.0 months, respectively.

Based on the results of the analysis stratified by high-risk factors, the CR/sCR rate, mPFS, and mDOR were 58.3%, 9.3 months and 9.2 months, respectively, in patients with EMD, whereas the measures in patients without EMD were 88.5%, 25.0 months and 24.0 months, respectively. The mPFS and mDOR in patients with high-risk cytogenetics were 15.6 months and 18.3 months and were both 13.3 months in ISS III patients, while mPFS and mDOR had not been reached in patients without these two high-risk factors. These results suggest that the presence of the high-risk disease characteristics of EMD, high-risk cytogenetics, and ISS stage III at baseline might affect the clinical benefits. See the following table for details.



EMD status High-risk cytogenetics ISS stage



EMD (n = 12) Non-EMD (n = 26) HR-cyto (n = 19) Non-HR-

cyto (n = 19) ISS III (n = 11) Non-ISS III (n = 27) Total (N=38) Median follow-

up time, months 9.3 14.9 12.9 15.4 12.2 15.4 13.9 ORR, n (%) 11 (91.7%) 24 (92.3%) 16 (84.2%) 19 (100%) 9 (81.8%) 26 (96.3%) 35 (92.1%) CR/sCR,

n (%) 7 (58.3%) 23 (88.5%) 14 (73.7%) 16 (84.2%) 8 (72.7%) 22 (81.5%) 30 (78.9%) mPFS, months (95%CI) 9.3 (2.8, NR) 25.0 (15.6, NR) 15.6 (10.1, 25.0) NR (11.2, NR) 13.3 (0.9, NR) NR (15.6, NR) 22.7 (13.3,

NR) mDOR, months (95%CI) 9.2 (2.8, NR) 24.0 (14.8, NR) 18.3 (9.2, NR) NR (10.3, NR) 13.3 (7.6, NR) NR (14.8, NR) 24.0 (13.3,

NR)



















Abbreviations: EMD, extramedullary disease; HR-cyto, high-risk cytogenetic abnormalities; NR, not reached; ISS, international staging system.

Safety

No DLT or treatment-related death occurred. The incidence of Grade 1 or 2 CRS was 73.7%, and no  Grade 3 CRS occurred. One (2.6%, 1/38) patient with ISS stage III and EMD developed Grade 3 neurotoxicity (epilepsy), which fully resolved after methylprednisolone treatment.

Conclusion

The results demonstrate that CT053 represents a promising treatment option for patients with R/R MM, including those with high-risk disease, and it is generally well-tolerated.

Dr. Zonghai Li, Founder, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Scientific Officer of CARsgen Therapeutics Holdings Limited, pointed that, "Thanks to Dr. Wenming Chen and Dr. Chengcheng Fu for sharing the study results of CT053 at the ASH Annual Meeting. Thanks to all researchers dedicated to this project. I hope that CT053 can reshape the treatment paradigm for multiple myeloma and become a foundational treatment for multiple myeloma patients, and thus benefit patients as soon as possible."

About CT053

CT053 is an upgraded fully human, autologous BCMA CAR T-cell product candidate for the treatment of R/R MM. It incorporates an upgraded CAR construct engineered by CARsgen that features a fully human BCMA-specific single-chain variable fragment with lower immunogenicity and increased stability, which reduces the self-activation of CAR T-cells in the absence of tumor associated targets.

CARsgen has completed the Phase I trials and is conducting the pivotal Phase II portions of a Phase I/II clinical trial (LUMMICAR STUDY 1) in China and a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial (LUMMICAR STUDY 2) in North America to evaluate the safety and efficacy of CT053 for R/R MM. CARsgen plans to submit for marketing approval to the NMPA in the first half of 2022 and to the U.S. FDA in the first half of 2023. The Company also plans to conduct additional clinical trials to develop CT053 as an earlier line of treatment for MM.

CT053 received Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) and Orphan Drug designations from the U.S. FDA in 2019, as well as the PRIority MEdicines (PRIME) and Orphan Medicinal Product designations from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in 2019 and 2020, respectively. CT053 also received Breakthrough Therapy designation from the NMPA in 2020.

About CARsgen Therapeutics Holdings Limited

CARsgen is a biopharmaceutical company with operations in China and the U.S. focused on innovative CAR T-cell therapies for the treatment of hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. The Company has built an integrated cell therapy platform with in-house capabilities that span target discovery, antibody development, clinical trials, and commercial-scale manufacturing. CARsgen has internally developed novel technologies and a product pipeline with global rights to address major challenges of CAR T-cell therapies, such as improving the safety profile, enhancing the efficacy in treating solid tumors, and reducing treatment costs. The Company's vision is to become a global biopharmaceutical leader that brings innovative and differentiated cell therapies to cancer patients worldwide and makes cancer curable.

SOURCE CARsgen Therapeutics
With over 500 successful deployments and boasting a 99% customer retention rate, Centric has partnered with hundreds of brands, retailers and manufacturers across multiple consumer goods verticals and gained considerable product-specific best-practices. Leveraging industry expertise combined with a Silicon Valley approach to innovation and close customer alliances, Centric is now bringing market-driven, user-friendly solutions to perfumes, cosmetics and personal care.

Centric's flagship platform, Centric PLM is packed with industry-led digital transformation solutions that enable all types and sizes of perfume, cosmetics and personal care companies to boost product innovation, improve supplier collaboration, optimize product development and develop & proof packaging while ensuring product quality and compliance.

"We're operating in such a high pace environment that it's important we can rely on our back-end systems, like Centric PLM, to help set our business up to meet our customers' needs today and well into the future. Centric PLM will provide us with a comprehensive end-to-end solution to help us handle large volumes of product launches, while making sure we meet strict compliance regulations," said David Cumberland, Head of Finance at MECCA.

Asaf Hen, VP IT and Information Systems at AHAVA, a leading Israel-based global cosmetics brand explains, "When we spoke to major cosmetic brands using Centric PLM, like Kiko Milano, we realized that we could learn from others, and we want to do that. This is exactly why we went with Centric Software."

"We work in close partnership with our customers to innovate industry-led solutions, which has resulted in the development of features that address specific challenges of creating and selling perfumes, cosmetics and personal care products," says Chris Groves, President and CEO of Centric Software. "We're looking forward to building more relationships with customers in these industries who need next-generation digital transformation solutions."

Learn more about Centric Cosmetics and Personal Care PLM

Request a Demo

Centric Software (www.centricsoftware.com)

From its headquarters in Silicon Valley, Centric Software provides a Product Concept to Consumer Digital Transformation Platform for fashion, retail, footwear, luxury, outdoor, consumer electronics and consumer goods including cosmetics and personal care and food and beverage. Centric's flagship Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) platform, Centric PLM, delivers enterprise-class merchandise planning, product development, sourcing, quality and product portfolio optimization innovations specifically for fast-moving consumer industries. Centric Visual Innovation Platform (CVIP) offers highly visual digital board experiences for collaboration and decision-making. Centric Retail Planning is an innovative, cloud-native solution powered by Armonica Retail S.R.L., that delivers an end-to-end retail planning process designed to maximize retail business performance. Centric Software pioneered mobility, introducing the first mobile apps for PLM, and is widely known for connectivity to dozens of other enterprise systems including ERP, DAM, PIM, e-com, planning and more as well as creative tools such as Adobe Illustrator and a host of 3D CAD connectors. Centric's innovations are 100% market-driven with the highest user adoption rate and fastest time to value in the industry. All Centric innovations shorten time to market, boost product innovation and reduce costs.

Centric Software is majority-owned by Dassault Systemes (Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), the world leader in 3D design software, 3D digital mock-up and PLM solutions.

Centric Software has received multiple industry awards and recognition, including being named by Red Herring to its Top 100 Global list in 2013, 2015 and 2016. Centric also received various excellence awards from Frost & Sullivan in 2012, 2016, 2018 and 2021.

Centric Software is a registered trademark of Centric Software Inc. All other brands and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE Centric Software

Related Links

www.centricsoftware.com


ALBANY, N.Y., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Manufacturers of ceramic tableware are observing notable surge in the demand for handmade dinner sets, which are considered best for serving curries, desserts, and large meals. Furthermore, they are increasing efforts to provide dishwasher safe, lead-free, and microwave safe ceramic tableware.

The ceramic tableware market is experiencing increased consumer inclination for bright and simple shades of ceramic tableware. Hence, leading market players are including innovative design patterns and nature-inspired colors in cutleries. Furthermore, they are offering multi-sensorial experience to consumers by providing hand-painted dinner sets.

Companies are also providing exclusive hand-painted ceramic tableware, which include serving bowls, plates, cups, and home decor. These efforts are helping players to expand their customer base, which, in turn, is driving substantial business prospects in the global ceramic tableware market. A study by Transparency Market Research (TMR) projects the global ceramic tableware market to expand at a CAGR of 6.7% during the forecast period (2021 to 2031).

Request Brochure of Ceramic Tableware Industry Research Report at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=63561

Companies in the ceramic tableware market are observing profitable business opportunities in North America, owing to improved disposable income of regional populace, thereby increasing the demand for home decor and kitchen products. As ceramic cookware is considered healthier than other options, the use of these products is increasing in Asia Pacific, owing to which, enterprises are projected to witness prominent growth prospects in this region. Furthermore, improving disposable income of consumers in many emerging economies such as China and India is expected to play a substantial role in the regional market growth.

Request a Report Sample at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=63561

Ceramic Tableware Market: Key Findings

Manufacturers Experience High Demand Opportunities Due to Expansion of Tourism Industry

The tourism industry has been expanding at a rapid pace globally. Increase in the number of people travelling for leisure activities, businesses, and other purposes has created substantial demand from varied hotel establishments, which is a key part of the tourism industry. Moreover, growth in the number of new hotels is creating the demand for tabletop products, opening new prospects for the ceramic tableware market.

Increase in Product Development Activities Create Lucrative Prospects in Ceramic Tableware Market

Owing to unique designs of handmade crockeries, several businesses across the globe are inclining toward the use of such products in place of mass-produced dinnerware. Furthermore, major manufacturers are increasing their R&D activities to develop more durable, unique, and sustainable ceramic tableware. These factors are expanding the horizon of the ceramic tableware market.

Expansion of eCommece Industry to Aid in Market Growth

eCommerce is expanding globally at a rapid pace. Hence, companies operating in the global ceramic tableware market are capitalizing on this opportunity to sell their products online using different eCommerce platforms. Online platforms are helping market companies in fulfilling the needs of large customer base from all across the globe.

Request for Analysis of COVID-19 Impact on Ceramic Tableware Market at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=covid19&rep_id=63561

Ceramic Tableware Market: Growth Boosters

Rise in the number of restaurants, hotels, and other dining options, and expansion of the home decor segment are bolstering the prospects of manufacturers of tableware products

Surge in the trend of online shopping of ceramic tableware is helping in market expansion

Increase in use of classic round plates and rectangular plates for innovative dish & plating techniques by chefs to serve starters and desserts is generating promising sales opportunities for companies in the global ceramic tableware market

Ceramic Tableware Market: Key Players

Some of the key players in the global ceramic tableware market are





Bernardaud

Cuisinart

Meyer Corporation Group

Abert SpA

Villeroy & Boch

TCL Ceramics Limited

Noritake

Guangdong Songfa Ceramics

Wedgewood

Mikasa

VISTA ALEGRE

Portmeirion Group PLC

Degrenne

Fiskars Group

Lenox Corporation

Libbey Inc

RAK Ceramics

ROSENTHAL GMBH

Staatliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Meissen GmbH

Steelite International

Tognana Porcellane

WMF GmbH

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Global Ceramic Tableware Market: Segmentation

Ceramic Tableware Market, by Product Type

Dinnerware

Plates



Bowls



Others

Beverageware

Mugs



Cups & Plates



Others

Cookware

Others

Ceramic Tableware Market, by Technology

Slip Casting

Spagless

Jiggering

Pressure Casting

Isostatic Casting

Others

Ceramic Tableware Market, by End-use

Residential

Commercial

Restaurants/Hotels



Cafe



Bars



Others

Ceramic Tableware Market, by Pricing

High

Medium

Low

Ceramic Tableware Market, by Distribution Channel

Online

E-commerce Websites



Company-owned Websites

Offline

Hypermarket/Supermarket



Specialty Stores



Others

Ceramic Tableware Market, by Region

North America

U.S.



Canada



Rest of North America

Europe

U.K.



Germany



France



Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific (APAC)

China



India



Japan



Rest of Asia Pacific

Middle East & Africa (MEA)

GCC Countries



South Africa



Rest of Middle East & Africa

& South America

Brazil



Rest of South America



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DUBLIN, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Research Report on China's Automotive Wiring Harness Industry, 2022-2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

According to this analysis, the global market share of Japanese automotive wiring harness manufacturers Yazaki and Sumitomo Electric adds up to over 50%, and the global market share exceeds 60% if Fujikura and Furukawa electric are also included. In addition, three South Korean automotive wiring harness enterprises, Kyyngshin Industrial, Yuratech and Yujin together account for over 10% of the global market share, and other large enterprises include Leoni ag, Delphi and lear.

According to the analysis, China has been the largest automobile producer and seller in the world for 12 successive years with the development of its automobile industry. The development of China's automobile industry also promotes the development of domestic automotive wiring harness enterprises. Most of the domestic automotive wiring harness enterprises are featured with lower production capacity and fewer matching models, providing products for some domestic OBM. As for some domestic OBM automobile enterprises with large annual production volumes including BYD, GWM and Geely, these enterprises all own subordinate automotive wiring harness manufacturers. Most foreign-funded vehicle manufacturers in China have stricter requirements for automotive wiring harnesses, so they mainly choose international wiring harness giant manufacturers in China. In addition, Japanese automobile brands prefer purchasing products from Japanese automotive wiring harness manufacturers while Korean automobile brands prefer those from Korean manufacturers.

Consumption of automotive wiring harnesses per automobile rises with the advancement of automobile electronic technology. According to this market research, in 2010, each automobile was assembled with on average fewer than 70 sets of wiring harnesses in China. In 2020, however, the number reached over 80 sets for each vehicle, and especially each new-energy automobile was assembled with over 100 sets of wiring harnesses, the cost of which used by new-energy vehicles was 20-50% higher than that used by general automobiles. In 2020, the production volume of automobiles reached about 24.625 million in China. According to the analyst's estimation, the demand for automotive wiring harnesses exceeded 2 billion sets and the market size was about CNY 90 billion. The production volume of new energy vehicles reached 1.456 million in 2020, an increase of over 17.3% YOY. New energy vehicles became one of the major driving forces in the future development of the automotive wiring harness industry in China. Meanwhile, China exports a large amount of automotive wiring harnesses every year, occupying an important position in the global automotive wiring harness market.

According to the analyst, in 2022-2030, China will remain one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, and the production volume and ownership of automobiles will keep growing. Meanwhile, China's automotive wiring harness market is estimated to keep developing.

Major improvements in this report compared with the previous versions:

Impact of COVID-19 on the automotive wiring harness market

Forecast data updated to 2030

Updated financial data of the companies

Interviews with automotive wiring harness companies

Interviews with experts in the automotive wiring harness industry

Topics covered:

Economic and Policy Environment of China's Automotive Wiring Harness Market

Automotive Wiring Harness Market Status of China's Import and Export of Automotive Wire Harness, 2016-2020

Import and Export of Automotive Wire Harness, 2016-2020 Analysis on Major Automotive Wiring Harness Manufacturing Companies in China

Key Driving Forces and Market Opportunities for China's Automotive Wiring Harness

Automotive Wiring Harness Forecast on the Key Driving Forces, Challenges, and Opportunities for China's Automotive Wiring Harness, 2022-2030

Automotive Wiring Harness, 2022-2030 Major Participants in China's Automotive Wiring Harness Market and their Reasons for Success

Automotive Wiring Harness Market and their Reasons for Success Forecast on the Revenue of China's Automotive Wiring Harness Market, 2022-2030

Automotive Wiring Harness Market, 2022-2030 Strategies Adopted by the Major Participants in the Market to Increase Their Market Share in the Industry

Forecast on the Segment to Dominate the Automotive Wiring Harness Market by 2030

Competitive Status of China's Automotive Wiring Harness Market

Automotive Wiring Harness Market Impact of COVID-19 on China's Automotive Wire Harness Market

Automotive Wire Harness Market Major Adverse Factors Faced by China's Automotive Wire Harness Market

Companies Mentioned

Baoding MIND Electronics Appliance Co., Ltd.

China Auto Electronics Group Ltd.

Comba Telecom

Delphi

Deren Electronics

Furukawa Electric

Haoda Auto Parts ( Zhejiang ) Co., Ltd

) Co., Ltd Huachen Antai

Huangshan Jinma

Huizhou GP Wiring Technology Co., Ltd.

Jiangsu Huakai

KunShan Huguang

LEONI AG

Liuzhou Shuangfei

Nantong Youxing

PKC Harness Electric (Suzhou) Co., Ltd.

Shandong Haiyun Electronics Co., Ltd.

Shanghai Jinting Automobile Harness Co., Ltd.

Shenzhen Deren Electronic Co., Ltd.

Sumitomo Electric

Wuhan Youde Automobile Electric Co., Ltd.

Yazaki

Yujin

Yuratech

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/akbxnj

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



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SOURCE Research and Markets

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NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) today announced the results of its fourth annual One Million Meals1 campaign to fight hunger in partnership with Feeding America. CIT customers, employees, social media fans and others joined in to support the donation of 1.5 million meals to people in need and helped CIT exceed its original campaign goal by 50%.

"We're grateful to everyone who joined our One Million Meals campaign and helped us provide 1.5 million meals to people in need this holiday season," said CIT Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Gina Proia. "With the support of our stakeholders each year, we've donated 6.5 million meals to Feeding America since 2018, making a significant impact in our communities and in the fight against hunger."

Stakeholders drove support for One Million Meals through a variety of actions that CIT recognized with donations to Feeding America. Individuals engaged with campaign-related content on CIT's Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram pages, and customers opened new accounts or services with CIT Bank and OneWest Bank, or financed equipment through CIT's digital Small Business Solutions platform. Additionally, CIT employees participated in a companywide, virtual baking competition and supported local food banks with donations and volunteering.

"More than 38 million people  including 12 million children  are facing food insecurity," said Lauren Biedron, vice president of Corporate Partnerships at Feeding America. "CIT's contributions are helping provide nourishment for people facing hunger this holiday season and we are grateful for their continued support to communities across the country."

About CIT

CIT is a leading national bank focused on empowering businesses and personal savers with the financial agility to navigate their goals. CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) is a financial holding company with over a century of experience and operates a principal bank subsidiary, CIT Bank, N.A. (Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender). The company's commercial banking segment includes commercial financing, community association banking, middle market banking, equipment and vendor financing, factoring, railcar financing, treasury and payments services, and capital markets and asset management. CIT's consumer banking segment includes a national direct bank and regional branch network. Discover more at cit.com/about.

About Feeding America

Feeding America is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of more than 200 food banks, 21 statewide food bank associations, and over 60,000 partner agencies, food pantries and meal programs, we helped provide 6.6 billion meals to tens of millions of people in need last year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; brings attention to the social and systemic barriers that contribute to food insecurity in our nation; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry.

1$1 helps provide at least 10 meals secured by Feeding America on behalf of local member food banks. CIT committed to donate up to 1.5 million meals.

MEDIA RELATIONS:

Lexa Tutela

212-461-5305

[email protected]

SOURCE CIT Group Inc.

Related Links

www.cit.com


LONDON and NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Clayton, Dubilier & Rice announced today that Gordon Riske will be engaged as an Operating Advisor to CD&R funds effective January 1, 2022 after he steps down as Chief Executive Officer of KION GROUP AG, a global provider of materials handling equipment and warehouse automation solutions and software. Mr. Riske will work with CD&R's Industrials team in Europe to source new investments and advise the funds' portfolio businesses.

Mr. Riske joined KION Group in 2007, becoming CEO one year later. Under his leadership, the company, headquartered in Frankfurt/Main, has become a leading supplier of warehouse automation and software active in more than 100 countries and with approximately 10 billion in revenue and 40,000 employees. In 2013 he led the successful listing of KION Group on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, where its shares are listed in the MDAX index. More recently, Mr. Riske refocused the company's strategy on the growth sectors of automation, digitalization, high-performance energy systems, and sustainability. Since the global financial crisis in 2009, revenues of the KION Group more than tripled and EBITDA grew almost tenfold during his tenure.

"Gordon is a talented leader with a strong track record of driving growth and operational excellence in industrial enterprises," said Dave Novak, CD&R's Co-President who also leads the Firm's European business. "We particularly appreciate his highly successful repositioning of KION Group towards automation solutions and digital transformation, which we consider highly relevant to our funds' industrial investment strategy as we continue to invest in building our industry vertical expertise across Europe."

"The Industrial sector is an important market for our firm, and our goal is to be the preferred partner for families, entrepreneurs, and corporate sellers," said Bjorn Killmer, CD&R Partner. "Gordon will reinforce the funds' efforts to identify attractive investment opportunities, establish trust-based partnerships with sellers, and work closely with management teams to create value in our portfolio companies."

"CD&R has long been recognized for building strong, growing, and sustainable businesses," said Mr. Riske. "I look forward to working with the talented CD&R team of investment and operating professionals and contributing to the continued success of the CD&R funds and their portfolio companies across Europe."

Mr. Riske's career has included several leadership positions at German headquartered industrial companies. He served as Chairman of the Management Board of Linde Material Handling GmbH, Chairman of the Executive Board of Deutz AG, and Chairman of the Management Board of robotics company Kuka Roboter GmbH. He was born in Detroit, USA, and holds and electrical engineering degree from the Lawrence Institute of Technology in Southfield, Michigan, USA. He also holds a BBA from the Oekreal School of Business, Zurich, Switzerland, and participated in an MBA program with the GSBA, Zurich. He is a non-executive member of the Board of Directors of Atlas CopCo AB, Stockholm, Sweden, a non-executive member of the Board of Director of Weichai Power Co., Ltd., Weifang, People's Republic of China, and member of the Executive Board of the non-profit Hertie-Stiftung GmbH, Frankfurt, Germany, and Executive Vice President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany.

About Clayton, Dubilier & Rice

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice is a private investment firm with a strategy predicated on building stronger, more profitable businesses. Since inception, CD&R has managed the investment of approximately $40 billion in more than 100 companies with an aggregate transaction value of more than $175 billion. In Europe, CD&R has been active for more than 20 years and has since invested $10 billion USD in over 20 transactions. Current CD&R Funds' portfolio companies in Europe are Belron Group S.A. (owner of Carglass brand), Huntsworth, Kalle, Mobilux (parent company of BUT and Conforama France), Motor Fuel Group, SIG, Socotec, Wolseley UK, Wm Morrison Supermarkets, WSH, and UDG Healthcare. The Firm has offices in New York and London.

For more information, please visit www.cdr-inc.com.

SOURCE Clayton, Dubilier & Rice

Related Links

http://www.cdr-inc.com/


BEIJING, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On December 13th, Cloopen (NYSE: RAAS), China's leading multi-capability cloud-based communications solution provider, announced the wholly-owned acquisition of Zhuge Inc. ("Zhuge"), a new generation of user-centric intelligent data solution provider. After completing the acquisition, the two parties will achieve an upgrading of product and service capability, to more effectively assist in the intelligent transformation of enterprise clients' marketing and services through integrating the core technical capabilities of "communication+data+intelligence".

Mr. Changxun Sun, founder and CEO of Cloopen, said, "We are thrilled to welcome Zhuge to our group. Zhuge is a new generation of agile and open data intelligent service provider. In the past six years, Zhuge has continuously innovated and upgraded its products, focused on business scenarios, empowered businesses based on data intelligence, and helped enterprises realize data-driven growth and digital advancement of their organizations, which is highly compatible with Cloopen's mission and development plans. The addition of Zhuge strengthens the technology Cloopen has accumulated in the database arena and reinforces its competitiveness in the field of enterprise marketing and service. Moving forward, by leveraging their respective technical capabilities of intelligent communication and data intelligent products, Zhuge's products and services will achieve impressive synergy with Cloopen's, and act as an important factor for Cloopen to build a closed-loop enterprise marketing and service."

Mr. Miao Kong, founder and CEO of Zhuge, shares his belief in the cooperation between Cloopen and Zhuge by stating, "I am very excited to be joining the Cloopen family. As one of China's earliest user-centric behavior analysis platforms, Zhuge has become the leading data intelligent technology company in the country in the fields of behavior analysis and customer data management after six years of development, witnessing and experiencing the high-speed iteration and change in market demand and its own platform. From only the Internet industry valuing digitization and intelligence in the past to all industries beginning to emphasize the digital economy, hundreds of thousands of enterprises have needed to reconstruct their relationship with consumers, using the digital transformation process to cut costs and increase efficiency throughout their operations. I believe integrating with Cloopen is an excellent start given our complementary and mutually beneficial advantages. It allows for more possibilities, along with continuous improvement, in order to create better data intelligence and marketing service products, that bring value to more enterprises, realize the digitalized and smart upgrade of business operation and truly enable the launch into the era of the digital economy."

The combined products and capabilities of Cloopen and Zhuge create an impressive space for the possibilities of integration. Cloopen provides communication services for tens of thousands of enterprises, as a key means for these organizations to reach their customers. Meanwhile, it has accumulated an impressive amount of business data and understanding of users' behaviors after de-identification. The integration with Zhuge will effectively promote the in-depth evolution of Cloopen in the direction of cloud-based marketing products. Zhuge's product technology will enhance Cloopen's capability in data middleware, thus enabling the company to help enterprise clients to have a deeper understanding of their users and user activities as well as the impact of their marketing programs in order to better achieve the conversion of traffic from the public to the private domain and ultimately improve their marketing efficiency. Zhuge will further advance Cloopen's competitiveness, systems and development efficacy in the area of data intelligent tracking across its suite of cloud-based communications solutions.

Today, the era of the industrial Internet has arrived. The infrastructure attributes of communication, data and intelligence in the industrial Internet are increasingly prominent, and the space for possibilities and imagination in enterprise services is increasingly broad. The acquisition of Zhuge is a key step for Cloopen to open up the whole value chain of enterprise marketing and service. Through this acquisition, Cloopen will accelerate the integration of the core competence of "communication+data+intelligence", and then more effectively help enterprises realize digital and intelligent transformation in their marketing and service process.

Cloopen Group Holding Limited

Investor Relations

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Cloopen Group Holding Limited

Related Links

www.yuntongxun.com


BEIJING, Dec. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cloopen Group Holding Limited ("Cloopen" or the "Company") (NYSE: RAAS), a leading multi-capability cloud-based communications solution provider in China, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the entire equity interests of Zhuge Inc. ("Zhuge"), a user-centric intelligent data solution provider, for a mix of cash and shares consideration. The shares issued will account for less than 1% of the Company's outstanding share capital on a fully-diluted basis. The shares will be issued under a private placement pursuant to an exemption or exclusion from the registration requirements under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

The transaction is expected to be completed in December 2021, subject to customary closing conditions. There is no assurance that the transaction will be completed within the anticipated timeframe, or at all. Shareholders are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this announcement.

Mr. Changxun Sun, the Company's Founder, Chairman of Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are thrilled to welcome Zhuge to our group. Over the past six years, Zhuge has dedicated itself to assisting clients in achieving data-driven growth, echoing our commitment to drive the digital transformation of our enterprise customers. To that end, Zhuge has continuously upgraded and innovated its products with a view to support more use cases. We expect the integration of Zhuge to strengthen our data capability and reinforce our competitive edge in intelligent enterprise marketing and customer service solutions. Going forward, together with Zhuge, we will offer a more comprehensive and synergistic product portfolio leveraging our respective expertise in enterprise communications and data intelligence."

Mr. Miao Kong, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Zhuge, commented, "As one of the first user-centric behavior analysis platforms in China, we have accumulated extensive knowledge in behavioral analytics and customer data management. Enterprises in China have undergone digital transformation with an increasing focus on improving the customer experience and operational efficiency by applying data-driven insights. Together with Cloopen, we believe that we will be able to capitalize on this industry trend and provide enterprises with more advanced intelligent data products and services."

About Cloopen

Cloopen Group Holding Limited is a leading multi-capability cloud-based communications solution provider in China offering a full suite of cloud-based communications solutions, covering communications platform as a service (CPaaS), cloud-based contact centers (cloud-based CC), and cloud-based unified communications and collaborations (cloud-based UC&C). The Company's mission is to enhance the daily communication experience and operational productivity for enterprises. The Company aspires to drive the transformation of enterprise communications industry by offering innovative marketing and operational tactics and SaaS-based tools.

For more information, please visit https://ir.yuntongxun.com .

About Zhuge

Zhuge Inc. is a user-centric intelligent data solution provider headquartered in China. Zhuge focuses on providing integrated one-stop data collection, management and journey analytics products and solutions that are easy to use and cover the entire user lifecycle. Leveraging insights into user behavioral data, Zhuge assists enterprises in improving marketing strategies and upgrading product portfolios. Zhuge serves enterprises of all sizes through public cloud SaaS development and private cloud deployment.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements made under the "safe harbor" provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "confident" and similar statements. Cloopen may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed with or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Any statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Cloopen's beliefs and expectations as well as its financial outlook, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current expectations and involve factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such factors, risks and uncertainties include, but not limited to the following: Cloopen's goals and strategies; its expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of its brand and services; its ability to attract new customers or retain existing ones; its ability to continue developing solutions and the markets its solutions target; its ability to maintain collaborations with mobile network operators; its ability to enhance or upgrade its existing solutions and introduce new ones in a timely and cost-effective manner; its ability to maintain the compatibility of its solutions across devices, business systems and applications and physical infrastructure; relevant government policies and regulations relating to Cloopen's corporate structure, business and industry, as well as the industries in which its customers operate; and general economic and business condition in China. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in Cloopen's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release is current as of the date of the press release, and Cloopen does not undertake any obligation to update such information, except as required under applicable law. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, and you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

Company Contact

In China:

Cloopen Group Holding Limited

Investor Relations

E-mail: [email protected]

The Piacente Group, Inc.

Yang Song

Tel: +86-10-6508-0677

E-mail: [email protected]

In the United States:

The Piacente Group, Inc.

Brandi Piacente

Tel: +1-212-481-2050

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Cloopen Group Holding Limited

Related Links

www.yuntongxun.com


AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ClosingLock, the leading wire fraud prevention platform for the real estate industry, has completed its acquisition of select assets of Columbus, OH-based SafeWire. SafeWire provides software to title companies to combat wire fraud in real estate transactions.

"This acquisition allows ClosingLock to offer SafeWire's customers a broader portfolio of tools to combat wire fraud. We remain committed to our mission of ending wire fraud in real estate, and this acquisition moves us closer to that goal." says Andy White, CEO and co-founder of ClosingLock.

Chris Sauerzopf, CEO of SafeWire, says "We came up with the idea of SafeWire in 2016 because this problem terrified us. As a title company owner, we had no clue how this was happening. The idea that a member of our staff could have a bad day and potentially send money to the wrong account was something that frightened us and would have been devastating to both our clients and our business.

We chose to partner with ClosingLock for several reasons. Andy and his team are great people with an aligned vision of fraud-free real estate transactions for everyone. They have built an incredible business and have a product that far exceeds any other competitors in the space. We look forward to ending all fraud in real estate transactions together."

ClosingLock is modernizing the real estate world's way of transferring information to eliminate wire fraud. The company provides a secure, easy-to-use platform for title companies, law firms, and other financial services to protect themselves and their clients from wire fraud

For more information please contact:

Abigail White, VP of Communications, [email protected]

SOURCE ClosingLock
NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Coalition of Abused Scouts for Justice ("Coalition") announced today that it has entered into a settlement agreement with another of the Boy Scouts of America's (BSA) primary insurers, Century Indemnity Company and its affiliated companies for $800 million, bringing the total compensation fund for the more than 82,500 sexual abuse survivors to more than $2.6 billion, the largest sexual abuse settlement fund in history.

Coalition Co-founder Ken Rothweiler of Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg & Jeck, P.C. stated: "The settlement announced today is the result of months-long and hard-fought negotiations between Coalition attorneys and various other parties. We have always said that our goals in this situation are two-fold: making sure that current and future scouts are protected and building the largest compensation fund possible. Today was another step in the right direction."

The announcement today significantly increases the value of the BSA's proposed plan of reorganization for survivors during the open voting period that ends December 28, 2021.

John Sakowicz, former Boy Scout from Ukiah, California, stated: "My reasons for voting 'yes' are manifold. First, it's a historically large settlement at more than $2.6 billion. Right now, the BSA is bleeding cash, and voting no means years of protracted litigation, individual lawsuits, several local council bankruptcies, and many survivors left with nothing. This plan is equitable to all of us, no matter how complex our case or whether it has passed the statute of limitations. The Coalition is focused on not making the perfect the enemy of the goodthis plan is real, it's here, it treats all scouts fairly and provides closure."

Earlier this year, the Coalition announced settlements with the Hartford Financial Services Group, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and a group of more than 250 Local BSA Councils. The new settlement also increases the Local Councils' contribution to the settlement fund by an additional $40 million. These agreements have also been agreed to by the BSA, the Local Councils, and the Future Claims Representative. Negotiations with other insurers are ongoing.

Coalition Co-founder Anne Andrews of Andrews & Thornton stated: "Not only is the Coalition creating the biggest possible compensation fund for survivorsit's the only fund on the table, and it vanishes with a 'no' vote. The Coalition also continues to work with the Boy Scouts of America on accountability and safety measures to ensure that no child will have to endure the horrific harm and abuse our clients have suffered."

Coalition member Adam Slater of Slater Slater Schulman LLP added: "With this significant settlement, the Coalition has grown an already historic compensation fund to be distributed to all survivors. Furthermore, our plan will continue to focus on protecting current and future scouts, and elevating survivor voices to the highest levels of decision-making throughout the BSA organization. It is the only clear path to justice and closure for our clients and the survivor community."

Gregory Nowicki, an Eagle Scout from Lackawanna, New York, stated: "To me, supporting this plan means closure for everybody. We've had decades of holding in things, and this entire experience is about realizing it wasn't just you. You're not alone. This allows us to close a chapter, it allows scouting to survive and move forward in the right direction. A no vote will delay this process five, ten or more years, and many survivors are beyond the statutes of limitation and would be left in the dark. What I care about is closure for everybody, and a 'yes' vote allows that to happen in the quickest possible way."

Virtual Information Meetings for Survivors

The Coalition is hosting weekly virtual meetings to keep the survivor community apprised of updates ahead of the December 28, 2021 deadline to vote for the plan. The next virtual meeting will take place Tuesday, December 14, 2021, at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT. For information on the benefits of the plan, instructions on how to vote, or access to the next virtual meeting, visit scoutingabusesurvivors.com .

About The Coalition

The Coalition of Abused Scouts for Justice includes approximately 18,000 abuse survivors, represented by 27 law firms who collectively represent more than 63,000 sexual abuse survivors of the Boy Scouts of America nationwide. The Coalition's goals include: ensuring fair and equitable treatment for abuse survivors; establishing the largest possible compensation fund for survivors, to be distributed as expeditiously as possible; and focusing on the future of the BSA, including youth protection.

Media Contact

Andrew Merrill / Brian Schaffer / Joan Vollero

[email protected]

SOURCE The Coalition of Abused Scouts for Justice
Through its collaboration with Cologix, Console Connect is increasing its interconnection footprint across Canada with availability of the automated platform to Cologix's customers across all 20 Canadian data center locations. The collaboration enables Cologix's Canadian customers to directly connect to Console Connect's Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) platform, providing on-demand access to international connectivity across the Console Connect fabric to more than 650 data centers in over 50 countries.

With Console Connect, Cologix's Canadian customers can automate connectivity at the network edge to their customers, partners and employees around the world. Customers can also experience the flexibility and speed of on-demand, private connectivity using the Console Connect self-service portal, bringing them instant and direct access to major cloud platforms as well as direct links to 20 data center locations across Canada.

The platform supports the growing cloud connectivity requirements of enterprises in Canada. Using either the secure Console Connect web portal or its API, Cologix's Canadian customers can quote, order, deliver and manage their network connections to leading cloud platforms including Amazon Web Services, Alibaba Cloud, Google Cloud Interconnect, IBM Cloud, Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute and many others.

Mr. Michael Glynn, Vice President of Digital Automated Innovation, Console Connect, said, "Console Connect is expanding its presence and reach across North America, enabling more buisneses in the region to access and experience our on-demand networking services. I am pleased to welcome Cologix to the Console Connect ecosystem, while growing the availability of our platform in Canada with our first PoP in Montreal."

Ms. Laura Ortman, Cologix's President & Chief Revenue Officer, said, "We are delighted to collaborate with Console Connect to extend its reach across Canada and welcome Console Connect as a new platform to our MTL7 facility. We look forward to working together to enable our customers to connect to the cloud globally and support international business growth in Canada with greater access to carriers and customers."

Key Facts

Console Connect platform provides on-demand access to international connectivity to more than 650 data centers in over 50 countries.

Console Connect offers direct access to a large ecosystem of local and global cloud, SaaS, IX and IoT providers. Through the platform's MeetingPlace feature, users can order and provision partner services, such as remote peering, colocation, SaaS and business applications, as well as access a range of home-grown features and solutions.

Organizations can access over 100 networks with low latency connectivity using the Meet-Me-Room at Cologix's MTL7 facility, powered by high-count, diverse and scalable fiber. The facility provides direct access to Cologix's network-dense ecosystem with 200+ Canadian-based networks and almost 600 networks across Cologix's footprint.

facility, powered by high-count, diverse and scalable fiber. The facility provides direct access to Cologix's network-dense ecosystem with 200+ Canadian-based networks and almost 600 networks across Cologix's footprint. MTL7's uniquely efficient design facilitates rapid power deployments, with cutting-edge technology including hot aisle containment and modular in-row cooling.

Eco-friendly renewable green energy facility.

Cologix offers 11 data centers in Montreal with direct onramps to cloud services such as Amazon Web Services  Direct Connect, Google Cloud Interconnect, Microsoft  Azure ExpressRoute, IBM Cloud and Oracle FastConnect.

Through the Cologix platform, customers have access to the company's North American ecosystem including four cloud gateways in Ashburn, VA, Columbus, OH, Montreal, QC and Silicon Valley, CA. The Cologix platform offers a robust ecosystem of 1600+ customers and 29 direct onramps to all major public clouds.

About Cologix Inc.

Cologix provides carrier and cloud neutral hyperscale edge data centers and services across North America. Cologix is the interconnection hub for cloud service providers, carriers and a rich ecosystem of partners who want to deploy applications at the very edge across Canada and the U.S. With a growing portfolio of next generation facilities that meet the unique requirements for hyperscale growth with deep connectivity, Cologix offers massive scale and tailor-made data center solutions to accelerate customers' digital transformation. Follow Cologix on LinkedIn and Twitter or visit cologix.com.

About Console Connect

Console Connect by PCCW Global is an easy-to-use platform for the Software Defined Interconnection of businesses, applications and infrastructure. It allows users to self-provision private, high-performance connections between a global ecosystem of enterprise, carrier, cloud, SaaS, IoT, UCaaS, Security-as-a-Service, IX and other Network-as-a-Service partners.

Console Connect is the only digital platform that is underpinned by one of the world's largest private MPLS networks and a Tier 1 global IP network that is ranked in the top 10 for IPv4 and IPv6 peering, delivering higher levels of network performance, speed and security to meet the digital needs of today's interconnected businesses.

Accessible from 650+ data centres in 50+ countries worldwide, the platform is integrated with all major hyperscale cloud providers, including AWS, Google Cloud, IBM Cloud, Microsoft Azure and more. Through the Console Connect portal or via its API, users can find, purchase and access a broad range of home-grown and third party software solutions. For more information visit www.consoleconnect.com.

SOURCE Cologix Inc.

Related Links

http://www.cologix.com


"Eva's project economics are strong and have improved compared to the May 2020 Feasibility Study," commented Gil Clausen, Copper Mountain's President and CEO. "The current inflationary environment prevalent globally, particularly for some material and labour supply in Queensland Australia, has resulted in some Project capital cost escalation. We believe this impact will ease as the local economy opens fully after COVID-19 restrictions lift, materials flow regularly, and labour pressures relax over the next six to 12 months."

"The Company will continue to adhere to a disciplined project execution plan to closely manage capital expenditures and the project schedule. With that approach, our Board has now formally approved the plan to construct the Project subject to advancing detailed engineering to 80% completed; obtaining committed project financing; and the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in Queensland, Australia. Upon satisfaction of these items, the Company will be able to fix a construction start date. We expect this detailed engineering work to require approximately six months to complete during which time the Company will secure commitments on certain critical long lead-time equipment. This project execution plan approach reduces development risk but will have a four to six-month extension to the original project schedule. The Company now anticipates Eva Mine commissioning in late 2024, provided the above conditions are met," added Mr. Clausen.

Mr. Clausen continued, "We will fund the expenditures for moving the Project through detailed engineering and to secure long lead items with current cash on hand. We expect to fund the full development of Eva through conventional bank project debt financing and internal cash flow. The project financing process is well advanced, with closing expected for mid- 2022. We are excited to formally advance Eva, which is expected to add over 100 million pounds of copper production per year, given the ever increasing and important role copper will play in a green economy and the limited number of other copper projects currently in development globally."

Summary of Metrics

The December 2021 Update compared to the May 2020 Feasibility Study is provided below.



Unit December 2021 Update May 2020 Feasibility Study Development CAPEX A$M 836 705 C1 cash cost (1) US$/lb 1.53 1.44 After-tax NPV (8%)(2,3) US$M 622 437 After-tax IRR(2,3) % 35 29







Foreign exchange AU$/US$ 1.40 1.55 Long-term Copper Price(2,3) US$/lb 3.39 3.04 Long-term Gold Price(2,3) US$/oz 1,598 1,362

1) The Company reports the non-GAAP financial measure of C1 cash costs per pound of copper to manage and evaluate its operating performance. For further information, see "Cautionary Note Regarding Non-GAAP Performance Measures". 2) Metal prices for the Dec 2021 Update is based on the forward curve to 2028 (2024 of US$4.30/lb and US$1,706/oz Au; 2025 of US$4.25/lb Cu and US$1,598/oz Au; 2026 of US$4.00/lb and US$1,598/oz Au; 2027 of US$3.75/lb and $1,598/oz Au) and long-term consensus pricing thereafter of US$3.39/lb Cu and US$1,598/oz Au. 3) Metal prices for the May 2020 Feasibility Study were based on consensus pricing of Year 1 of US$3.03/lb Cu and US$1,434/oz Au and Year 2 and long-term prices of US$3.04/lb Cu and US$1,362/oz Au.

Eva's after-tax net present value (NPV), based on an 8% discount rate is now $622 million, a 42% increase compared to the May 2020 Feasibility Study. The main factor for the value growth is higher metal prices, offset by a stronger Australian dollar and higher capital. A variance analysis comparing the after-tax NPVs in the December 2021 Update and the May 2020 Feasibility Study is provided below.

Total initial development capital for the Project is estimated to be approximately A$836 million, including a contingency of A$76 million. A summary of the total initial development capital by area in Australian Dollars is provided below.

In Australian Dollars December 2021 Update May 2020 Feasibility Study Variance (%) Mining 145.5 157.1 (7.4)% Processing Plant 291.5 233.9 24.6% Infrastructure 188.4 148.9 26.5% Construction Indirects 37.8 24.5 54.5% Project Delivery 43.9 37.7 16.6% Owner's Costs 53.3 38.2 39.7% Sub-total 760.4 640.3 18.8% Contingency 76.0 64.3 18.2% Total CAPEX 836.4 704.6 18.7%

Initial development capital in the December 2021 increased by approximately 18.7% compared to the May 2020 Feasibility Study. A summary of the variances by main area is provided below.

Cost increases in steel, mechanical, concrete, and construction labour were the most significant drivers in the higher capital costs, particularly in the processing area. Raw material and finished equipment costs have been impacted by shortages as COVID restrictions remain tight, especially in Queensland. Higher estimated infrastructure costs were mainly driven by an expanded camp facility, power infrastructure, and water development, with lower mining equipment costs marginally offsetting the overall higher capital costs in other areas. The total life of mine sustaining capital in the December 2021 Update is estimated to be US$46.6 million, compared to US$33.8 million in the May 2020 Feasibility Study. This increase in sustaining capital is mainly due to higher sustaining mining equipment costs as well as appreciation in the A$ to US$ exchange rate. Sustaining capital is comprised of rehabilitation costs and mining equipment.

The average life of mine C1 cash cost per pound of copper in the December 2021 Update is estimated to be US$1.53, net of by-product credits. This cost compares to US$1.44 per pound of copper in the May 2020 Feasibility Study. The increase in C1 cash cost is due to A$ to US$ exchange rate appreciating from 1.55 to 1.40.

Project Plan

The Company has formally approved the development of Eva, contingent on completing detailed engineering to at least 80%, which is expected to take approximately six months, project financing committed, and the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in Queensland, Australia. The advancement of detailed engineering will minimize project execution risk and allow the Company to establish a more significant component of fixed-price contracts for major scope elements. The Company also intends to place deposits on long lead capital equipment during this period. Total project expenditures for the first half of 2022 are estimated to be approximately A$40 million. Detailed engineering is planned for completion, to at least an 80% level, in Q3 of 2022.

The Company's current cash will fund the near-term project expenditures. The Company also plans to finance the development expense of Eva through conventional project bank debt and internal cash flow. Copper Mountain continues to advance the project financing process and expects it to close mid-2022.

About Copper Mountain Mining Corporation

Copper Mountain's flagship asset is the 75% owned Copper Mountain Mine located in southern British Columbia near the Town of Princeton. The Copper Mountain Mine currently produces approximately 100 million pounds of copper equivalent per year, with average annual production expected to increase to about 140 million pounds of copper equivalent. Copper Mountain also has the 100% owned development-stage Eva Copper Project in Queensland, Australia and an extensive 2,100 km2 highly prospective land package in the Mount Isa area. Copper Mountain trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "CMMC" and Australian Stock Exchange under the symbol "C6C".

Additional information is available on the Company's web page at www.CuMtn.com.

On behalf of the Board of

COPPER MOUNTAIN MINING CORPORATION

"Gil Clausen"

Gil Clausen, P.Eng.

President and Chief Executive Officer

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This document may contain "forward looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this document, and Copper Mountain does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities legislation.

All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Generally, forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect our expectations or beliefs regarding future events.

In certain circumstances, forward-looking statements can be identified, but are not limited to, statements which use terminology such as "plans", "expects", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "forecasts", "guidance", scheduled", "target" or variations of such words, or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative of these terms or comparable terminology. In this document, certain forward-looking statements are identified, including production and cost guidance, economics, including capital and operating costs, for the Project, anticipated timing for the completion of detailed engineering for the Project, Eva Mine commissioning and the closing of project financing, expectations regarding the funding of the development of the Project, anticipated production at the Copper Mountain Mine and Eva, expectations regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on operations, financial condition and prospects, anticipated metals prices and the anticipated sensitivity of the Company's financial performance to metals prices, events that may affect its operations and development projects, anticipated cash flows from operations and related liquidity requirements, the anticipated effect of external factors on revenue, such as commodity prices, estimation of mineral reserves and resources, mine life projections, reclamation costs, economic outlook, government regulation of mining operations, and business and acquisition strategies. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, achievements, and opportunities to differ materially from those implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include, among others, the successful exploration of the Company's properties in Canada and Australia, market price, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions, the reliability of the historical data referenced in this document and risks set out in Copper Mountain's public documents, including in each management discussion and analysis, filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Copper Mountain's business and operations are unknown at this time, including Copper Mountain's ability to manage challenges and restrictions arising from COVID-19 in the communities in which Copper Mountain operates and its ability to continue to safely operate and to safely return the business to normal operations. The impact of COVID-19 is dependent on a number of factors outside of the Company's control and knowledge, including the effectiveness of the measures taken by public health and governmental authorities to combat the spread of the disease, global economic uncertainties and outlook due to the disease, and the evolving restrictions relating to mining activities and to travel in certain jurisdictions in which Copper Mountain operates. Although Copper Mountain has attempted to identify important factors that could cause our actual results, performance, achievements and opportunities to differ materially from those described in our forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause our results, performance, achievements and opportunities not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, believes that the information and assumptions used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements.

Cautionary Note Regarding Non-GAAP Performance Measures

This document includes certain non-GAAP performance measures that do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. These measures may differ from those used and may not be comparable to such measures as reported by other issuers. The Company believes that these measures are commonly used by certain investors, in conjunction with conventional IFRS measures, to enhance their understanding of the Company's performance. These performance measures are intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. These measures have been derived from the Company's financial statements and applied on a consistent basis. The calculation and an explanation of these measures is provided in the Company's latest MD&A and such measures should be read in conjunction with the Company's financial statements.

SOURCE Copper Mountain Mining Corporation
SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cora , a proud B Corp best known for their natural and organic cotton tampons, pads, and other personal care, today announced their partnership with United Way to donate premium feminine care products to women and girls nationwide. Cora's giving efforts have been at the core of the company since its founding, and this new partnership will expand the domestic reach of Cora's mission.

When Cora co-founder Molly Hayward was traveling in India and Kenya, she discovered how menstruation negatively affects girls and women who are unable to afford period care products. To compensate, they resort to using old rags, newspaper, animal dung and tree bark, all of which can cause infections and reproductive health problems. According to UNESCO, 1 out of every 10 menstruating youth are unable to attend school during their menstrual cycle due to a lack of access to menstrual products and resources, and for impoverished communities, schools have poor water and lack sanitation and hygiene infrastructure, making it difficult for youth to safely manage their menstrual cycle.

Period poverty affects almost 17 million menstruators in the United States. During the midst of the pandemic and growing movements for social justice, Cora re-evaluated its domestic giving and determined the need to broaden its efforts in the United States. Now, Cora is expanding their domestic give-back program by partnering with United Way to direct their period care product donations to communities within the United States. The initial donation of five million products will be shared amongst recipient organizations including: United Way of Southeast LA in New Orleans, LA; Second Harvest of Silicon Valley in San Jose, CA; United Way for Southeastern Michigan in Detroit, MI; Metro United Way in Louisville, KY; Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern WI in Madison, WI; and Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin in Madison, WI.

"At Cora, we're on a mission to eliminate period poverty so all menstruators can experience their periods safely and with dignity, with full understanding of their body and how to care for it," shared Molly Hayward, co-founder and chief brand officer at Cora. "Through our partnership with United Way, we will be able to provide our products to more menstruators, especially to diverse individuals in the communities United Way serves."

"United Way believes that a community is only as healthy as the people who call it home. We are grateful to Cora for helping provide personal care products to keep our communities healthy," said Myeta Moon, Director of Health, United Way Worldwide. "Along with our generous partners, United Way works to expand access to quality, affordable care, give parents the tools they need to raise healthy children, and get everyone more active and eating better."

Since the company's inception, Cora has integrated give-back into its DNA, and for each month's supply of Cora products purchased, the brand provides a month's supply of pads to a menstruator in need. Cora has given over 15 million period products to individuals in need around the world, including in Kenya, India, the United States, and Europe.

About Cora

Founded with a mission to shake-up the outdated feminine care category and deliver comfort through the uncomfortable, Cora is a leading provider of clean period, bladder, and body care products. The brand's portfolio includes tampons, pads, and liners made with organic cotton as well as reusable options such as Cora Cup, period underwear, and the new Cora Disc. With every Cora purchase, the company provides period products and body literacy resources to people who might otherwise go without. Because every body deserves comfort. Cora's products are available at Cora.life and at national retailers such as Target, CVS, Kroger, Safeway, Albertsons and Amazon. For more information, visit www.cora.life .

About United Way Worldwide

United Way fights for the health, education and financial stability of every person in every community. With global reach and local impact, we're making life better for 48 million people annually. United Way is the world's largest privately funded nonprofit, working in 95% of U.S. communities and 40 countries and territories. That's why we're the mission of choice for 2.5 million volunteers, 7.7 million donors and 45,000 corporate partners in some 1,200 communities. In the wake of COVID-19, we're helping people stay in their homes, stock their pantries, and protect their lives and livelihoods. And we're working to build resilient, equitable communities. Learn more at UnitedWay.org .

SOURCE Cora
BOSTON, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Creatio, a global vendor of one platform to automate industry workflows and CRM with no-code and a maximum degree of freedom, today announced its partnership with Computer Bauer GmbH. Computer Bauer GmbH is a Munich based company, an expert for all IT matters for its customersfrom minor user problems to strategic consulting and the implementation of complex requirementswith more than 25 years of industry experience.

Creatio offerings include a no-code platform (Studio Creatio), CRM applications (marketing, sales and service), industry workflows for 20 verticals and marketplace add-ons. Creatio is recognized as a Leader and Strong Performer in multiple Gartner and Forrester reports. Creatio products receive raving end-user reviews on peer-to-peer portals.

Alexander Lovenjak, Member of the Executive Board at computerbauer: "Creatio ideally complements computerbauer's product range. In addition to a flexible, modern IT environment, we can offer our customers a future-proof and powerful CRM system. Beyond the typical CRM functions, Creatio with its low-code architecture enables us to design business and sales processes individually according to the needs of our customers' users and to create efficient workflows."

"The partnership between Creatio and computerbauer is aimed to provide businesses with tools to automate workflows at speed and scale. Organizations are advantaged when they equip their teams with solutions that empower all employees to own their automation, thus boost efficiency in the workplace and strengthen companies' adaptability to change. Our alliance can provide businesses exactly what they need," said Alex Donchuk, Senior Vice President, Global Channels at Creatio.

About computerbauer

Computer Bauer GmbH specializes in supporting tax firms, companies and associations. With innovative products, competent consulting and comprehensive services, we contribute to the success of our customers every day and ensure that you are always optimally equipped for the challenges of the digital age. In doing so, we are at your side as an expert contact for all your IT needs - from minor user problems to strategic consulting and the implementation of complex requirements.

As an IT service provider and application service provider (ASP), we take on responsibility for the management of your IT environment. For hosting your applications and data, we operate our own data center with state-of-the-art hardware in Munich. You will receive comprehensive support from our experienced support team. computerbauer is a certified Microsoft partner and has more than 25 years of industry experience.

For more information, please visit www.computer-bauer.de.

About Creatio

Creatio is a global vendor of one platform to automate industry workflows and CRM with no-code and maximum degree of freedom. Millions of workflows are launched on our platform daily in 100 countries by thousands of clients. Genuine care for our clients and partners is a defining part of Creatio's DNA.

For more information, please visit www.creatio.com.

Media Contact:

Vera Mayuk

+1 617-765-7997

[email protected]

SOURCE Creatio
Most targeted industry shifts from the financial and insurance sector in 2020

CAMBRIDGE, England, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Darktrace, a global leader in cyber security AI, today reported that the information technology (IT) and communications sector was the most targeted industry globally in 2021, as uncovered by Darktrace's security researchers.

Darktrace's data is developed by 'early indicator analysis' that looks at the breadcrumbs of potential cyber-attacks at several stages before they are attributed to any particular actor and before they escalate into a full-blown crisis. Darktrace's findings show that its artificial intelligence autonomously interrupted an average of 150,000 threats per week against the sector in 2021.

The IT and communications sector includes telecommunications providers, software developers, and managed security service providers, amongst others. Darktrace also defends several backup vendors and has observed a growing trend of hackers targeting backup servers in an attempt to deliberately disable or corrupt backup files by deleting a single index file that would render all backups inaccessible. Attackers could then launch ransomware attacks against the clients of the backup vendor, preventing recovery and forcing payment.

In 2020, the most attacked industry across Darktrace's global customer base was the financial and insurance sector, showing that cyber-criminals have shifted their focus over the last 12 months.

"Over the last 12 months, it is clear that attackers are relentlessly trying to access the networks of trusted suppliers in the IT and communications sector. Quite simply, it is a better return on investment than, for example, going after one company in the financial services sector. SolarWinds and Kaseya are just two well-known and recent examples of this. Sadly, there is likely to be more in the near term," commented Justin Fier, Darktrace Director for Cyber Intelligence and Analysis.

The findings of this research mark one year since the compromise of U.S. software company SolarWinds rattled the security industry. This landmark supply-chain attack made thousands of organizations vulnerable to infiltration by inserting malicious code into the Orion system. Over the last 12 months, there has been a continued spate of attacks against the IT and communications sector, including the high-profile attacks on Kaseya and Gitlab.

Threat actors often use software and developer platforms as entry points into other high-value targets, including governments and authorities, large corporations, and critical infrastructure. Darktrace found that the most common attempted break-in method was through email, with organizations in the sector receiving an average of 600 unique phishing campaigns a month in 2021. Contrary to popular belief, the emails sent to these organizations did not contain a malicious payload hidden in a link or attachment. Instead, cyber-criminals used subtle and sophisticated techniques sending 'clean emails' containing only text attempting to coax recipients into replying and revealing sensitive information. This method is effective because, by compromising these email accounts, hackers can then exploit the trusted relationship between the software supplier and the intended targets.

These methods easily bypass legacy security tools that rely on checking links and attachments against blocklists and signatures. AI can stop these emails from reaching employees' inboxes by identifying the full range of anomalies, including even the most subtle indicators.

"The reality is that attackers are patient and creative. They will usually go right through the front door by compromising trusted suppliers in the IT and communications industry. To downstream customers, it appears as business as usual and is just another application or piece of hardware from a trusted supplier," continued Fier. "There is no magic solution to finding attacks embedded in your software suppliers, so the real challenge for organizations will be to operate while accepting this risk. Getting a sense of what is normal for the software you are trusting will be paramount. AI is perfectly suited for this job; spotting the subtle changes presented by a piece of software that has been compromised will be key to fighting this problem in the future."

About Darktrace

Darktrace (DARK.L), a global leader in cyber security AI, delivers world-class technology that protects almost 6,000 customers worldwide from advanced threats, including ransomware, and cloud and SaaS attacks. The company's fundamentally different approach applies Self-Learning AI to enable machines to understand the business in order to autonomously defend it. Headquartered in Cambridge, UK, the company has 1,600 employees and over 30 offices worldwide. Darktrace was named one of TIME magazine's 'Most Influential Companies' for 2021.

SOURCE Darktrace
SANTA ANA, Calif., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- DATAMARK, the public safety geographic information systems (GIS) team of Michael Baker International, announced today the appointment of Chris Friel, GISP, to Director of Client Success. In his new role, Mr. Friel will oversee a team of industry leaders and trusted experts to develop strategies that lead to positive outcomes for both clients and internal DATAMARK team members. He will focus on delivering an impeccable client experience that lasts throughout the customer journey. The firm also announced the creation of its Client Success Team, composed of Client Success Advocates whose mission is to assist DATAMARK customers in achieving their goals as they relate to public safety GIS.

"As Director of Client Success, Chris will leverage nearly three decades of experience working in the GIS and public safety industries to create an enhanced experience for our DATAMARK customers," said Jason Bivens, Vice President at DATAMARK. "I am confident that under his leadership, the DATAMARK Client Success Team will provide our customers with the best experience from sale to contract delivery and beyond. This new and growing team will manage client relations and provide our internal team with insights based on their input and feedback, allowing us to make improvements to our products and workflows, while addressing customer needs."

Mr. Friel joined DATAMARK in 2019 and has previously served as a Business Development Manager and Director of Strategic Accounts, assisting the firm in capturing numerous strategic projects across the U.S. He also served as Business Development Manager at Avineon, Inc., Senior Account Executive  State and Local Government at Esri, Program Manager  GIS Integration Services at Quantum Spatial, Vice President at GIS Solutions, Inc. and Program Leader  Information Science and Management at Fish and Wildlife Research Institute.

Mr. Friel holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography/GIS from Northern Michigan University and a Master of Science degree in GIS and Cartography from Western Illinois University.

About DATAMARK

As trusted advisors in public safety, DATAMARK brings comprehensive, real-world expertise in police, fire, EMS and 9-1-1 leadership roles to Next Generation 9-1-1 transitions. The DATAMARK team leads the industry by shaping rules and legislation, and by building a suite of products and services that ensure accurate emergency response location data in life-critical situations. DATAMARK empowers its team and stakeholder partners to foster trusted relationships and cultivate data integrity for informed decision making. DATAMARK, the public safety GIS team of Michael Baker International, has decades of proven experience in mission-critical government addressing projects. The team works with clients to solve their complex needs, from data quality checks and addressing to workflow analysis and more. Learn more about the company at www.datamarkgis.com and follow DATAMARK on Twitter , LinkedIn and Facebook .

About Michael Baker International

Michael Baker International is a leading provider of engineering and consulting services. The firm's Practices encompass all facets of infrastructure, including design, civil engineering, planning, architecture, environmental, construction and program management. For more than 80 years, the company has been a trusted partner, providing comprehensive services and solutions to commercial clients and all branches of the military, as well as federal, state and municipal governments. Embracing emerging technologies and the latest innovations  like intelligent transportation and design-build project delivery  Michael Baker is an industry leader that delivers expertise and quality. The firm's more than 3,000 employees across nearly 100 locations are committed to Making a Difference for clients and communities through a culture of innovation, collaboration and technological advancement. To learn more, visit https://mbakerintl.com/ .

Contact: Julia Covelli

[email protected]

(866) 293-4609

SOURCE DATAMARK
PHOENIX, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- DATAMARK, the public safety geographic information systems (GIS) team of Michael Baker International, announced today that four counties and one tribal nation within Arizona have selected the firm for significant Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) projects. Executed in partnership with TerraSystems Southwest, DATAMARK's GIS services partner in Arizona, the project includes Navajo, Apache, Cochise and Coconino counties, as well as the White Mountain Apache Tribe. The approximately $400,000 contract is set for completion in February 2022.

"The State of Arizona is taking huge strides in its preparation for Next Generation 9-1-1," said Sandy Dyre, ENP, CPM, Client Success Manager and Arizona Account Manager at DATAMARK. "The utilization of DATAMARK software and services in multiple locations allow local jurisdictions to work together on their GIS data improvements more easily, facilitating a smoother transition to NG9-1-1 and ultimately increasing public safety."

Each locality will deploy the DATAMARK VEP Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution as a means for GIS data creation, remediation and validation. DATAMARK VEP is the only cloud-native solution built for public safety GIS. The software solution provides a highly configurable, user-friendly interface to perform location data validations, make edits and implement quality control in alignment with National Emergency Number Association (NENA) NG9-1-1 data standards and GIS industry best practices. DATAMARK VEP supports data from local and regional GIS data providers and neighboring 9-1-1 authorities, ensuring seamless and accurate data across borders. In addition, the localities will have access to DATAMARK MSAG Generator, the company's most recent product on the market designed to create a spatially accurate Master Street Address Guide (MSAG).

About DATAMARK

As trusted advisors in public safety, DATAMARK brings comprehensive, real-world expertise in police, fire, EMS and 9-1-1 leadership roles to Next Generation 9-1-1 transitions. The DATAMARK team leads the industry by shaping rules and legislation, and by building a suite of products and services that ensure accurate emergency response location data in life-critical situations. DATAMARK empowers its team and stakeholder partners to foster trusted relationships and cultivate data integrity for informed decision making. DATAMARK, the public safety GIS team of Michael Baker International, has decades of proven experience in mission-critical government addressing projects. The team works with clients to solve their complex needs, from data quality checks and addressing to workflow analysis and more. Learn more about the company at www.datamarkgis.com and follow DATAMARK on Twitter , LinkedIn and Facebook .

About Michael Baker International

Michael Baker International is a leading provider of engineering and consulting services. The firm's Practices encompass all facets of infrastructure, including design, civil engineering, planning, architecture, environmental, construction and program management. For more than 80 years, the company has been a trusted partner, providing comprehensive services and solutions to commercial clients and all branches of the military, as well as federal, state and municipal governments. Embracing emerging technologies and the latest innovations  like intelligent transportation and design-build project delivery  Michael Baker is an industry leader that delivers expertise and quality. The firm's more than 3,000 employees across nearly 100 locations are committed to Making a Difference for clients and communities through a culture of innovation, collaboration and technological advancement. To learn more, visit https://mbakerintl.com/ .

Contact: Julia Covelli

[email protected]

(866) 293-4609

SOURCE DATAMARK
BANGALORE, India, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Defibrillator Market is Segmented by Type (Automatic External Defibrillators, Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators, Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillator, Advanced Life Support (ALS)), Application (Hospital, Public Access, Home Healthcare, Other). The report covers global opportunity analysis and industry forecasts from 2021 to 2027.

In 2020, the global Defibrillator market size was USD 13900 Million and it is expected to reach USD 17430 Million by the end of 2027, with a CAGR of 3.3% during the forecast period 2021-2027.

Major Factors Driving The Growth Of The Defibrillator Market Are:

The primary growth factors for this defibrillator market are the rising occurrences of cardiac illnesses and regulatory revisions mandating the use of defibrillators in all ambulances and emergency rooms.

The rising emphasis on public-access defibrillators, as well as defibrillator training and awareness campaigns, is expected to fuel the growth of the defibrillator market. Emerging markets, as well as the development of S-ICDs and MRI-compatible ICDs and CRT-Ds, are likely to provide growth possibilities for defibrillator market players.

Furthermore, the rising geriatric population, which is at an increased risk of developing targeted diseases, is propelling the defibrillator market forward.

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Trends Influencing The Growth Of The Defibrillator Market :

The defibrillator market is predicted to increase due to the increasing prevalence of sudden cardiac arrest. Furthermore, the Defibrillator Market is expected to grow due to the increasing prevalence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests and the comfort provided by external defibrillators over the forecast period. Furthermore, in industrialized countries, strong government rules are driving the installation of external defibrillators in public locations.

For instance, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (2020), more than 250,000 people die in the United States each year as a result of sudden cardiac arrest. To reduce mortality due to sudden cardiac arrest, all states in the United States have endorsed and implemented broad public access regulations. According to the American Heart Association, public access to defibrillators saves around 20,000 lives each year.

In COVID19, defibrillators were proven to be particularly beneficial in reviving abrupt cardiac arrest, which increased demand for defibrillators in a pandemic situation. In the coming years, it is expected that timely supportive policies and rising adoption will provide the defibrillators market with a lucrative growth platform.

However, product failures and recalls, rising pricing pressure on companies, and a lack of awareness regarding sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) are all limiting the defibrillators market's growth.

Browse the Table of Contents and List of figures at: https://reports.valuates.com/reports/QYRE-Othe-2K482/defibrillator

Defibrillator Market Share Analysis:

Based on region, North America held the largest defibrillator market share of about 50%, followed by Europe, and Asia-Pacific, both having a share of about 45 percent.

Increased installation of external defibrillators in hospitals, as well as public places such as schools, hotels, streets, train stations, and other locations, with the goal of preventing fatalities from sudden cardiac arrest, is a major factor driving North America's defibrillator market share.

Based on product, the Automatic External Defibrillators segment held the largest defibrillator market, with a share over 45%.

Based on application, the Hospital segment is expected to hold the largest market share followed by Public Access, Home Healthcare, etc. This is due to the fact that hospitals are the first line of treatment for any condition, including cardiac arrests. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 659,000 Americans will die each year from cardiovascular disease by 2021.

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Leading Players in the Defibrillator Market

Medtronic

Abbott

Boston Scientific

Biotronik

Physio-Control

Nihon Kohden Corporation

Zoll Medical

Cardiac Science

Philips Healthcare

PRIMEDIC

Schiller

Sorin Group

HeartSine Technologies

Defibtech

Others

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SIMILAR REPORTS

- The global home medical equipment market was valued at USD 30,545.34 Million in 2019, and is estimated to reach USD 56,457.87 Million by 2027, registering a CAGR of 6.1% from 2020 to 2027.

- The global Medical Electronics market size is projected to reach USD 5256.6 Million by 2027, from USD 4506.3 Million in 2020, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 2.6% during 2021-2027.

- In 2020, the global Heart Rate Monitors market size was USD 13030 Million and it is expected to reach USD 17970 Million by the end of 2027, with a CAGR of 4.7% during 2021-2027.

- The global Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) market size is projected to reach USD 6487.9 Million by 2027, from USD 4757.5 Million in 2020, at a CAGR of 4.5% during 2021-2027.

- The U.S. cardiac resynchronization therapy market was valued at USD 965.6 Million in 2019, and is projected to reach USD 983.3 Million by 2027, registering a CAGR of 4.9% from 2020 to 2027.

- In 2020, the global Medical Battery market size was USD 2040.8 Million and it is expected to reach USD 2908.5 Million by the end of 2027, with a CAGR of 5.2% during 2021-2027.

- The global Nanomedical Devices market size is projected to reach USD 2861.7 Million by 2027, from USD 1758.2 Million in 2020, at a CAGR of 6.7% during 2021-2027

- The global Point-of-Care Diagnostics market size is projected to reach USD 35370 Million by 2027, from USD 23310 Million in 2020, at a CAGR of 5.7% during 2021-2027

- The U.S. patient monitoring market was valued at USD 12,200.96 Million in 2019 and is projected to reach USD 22,583.40 Million by 2027, registering a CAGR of 5.21% from 2020 to 2027.

- In 2020, the global Holter ECG Monitoring market size was USD 396.6 Million and it is expected to reach USD 596.4 Million by the end of 2027, with a CAGR of 6.0% during 2021-2027.

- Global and Japan Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillators Market Insights, Forecast to 2027

- Global Metal Implants and Medical Alloys Sales Market Report 2021

- Global Portable Defibrillators Market Research Report 2021

- Global Pacemakers and Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators Sales Market Report 2021

To see the full list of related reports on the Defibrillator

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CHICAGO, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Dimethyl Carbonate Market by Application (Polycarbonate Synthesis, Battery Electrolyte, Solvents, Reagents), End-Use Industry (Plastics, Paints & Coatings, Pharmaceuticals), Grade (Industry, Pharmaceutical, Battery), Region - Global Forecast to 2026", published by MarketsandMarkets, the Dimethyl Carbonate Market is projected to grow from USD 847 million in 2021 to USD 1,148 million by 2026, at a CAGR of 6.3% from 2021 to 2026. Growing demand for lithium-ion battery electrolytes is expected to drive the global dimethyl carbonate market.

Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=24544228

Browse in-depth TOC on "Dimethyl Carbonate Market"

281  Tables

36  Figures

244  Pages

View Detailed Table of Content Here: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/dimethyl-carbonate-market-24544228.html

By application, the polycarbonate synthesis segment is estimated to account for the largest share of the dimethyl carbonate market in 2020. Dimethyl carbonate is used to manufacture polycarbonate by the well-established and rapidly expanding non-phosgene melt process. Polycarbonate is used across industries such as automotive and electrical & electronics due to its superior physical properties such as heat resistance, impact resistance, structural stability, and optical transparency. The growing demand from polycarbonate from the automotive and electrical & electronics industries is driving the market for dimethyl carbonate across the globe.

The plastics segment is estimated to account for the largest share of the dimethyl carbonate market in 2020.

By end-use industry, the plastics segment accounted for the largest share of the dimethyl carbonate market in 2020. Dimethyl carbonate is used as an intermediate in polycarbonate synthesis. PC has become an important environment-friendly and recyclable form of commercial polymer with numerous uses in different industries such as automotive, electrical & electronics. The growing demand for plastic products specially the polycarbonate is expected the drive the demand of dimethyl carbonate across the globe.

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Asia Pacific is estimated to account for the largest share of the global dimethyl carbonate market in 2020

The Asia Pacific region accounted for the largest share of the dimethyl carbonate market in 2020. China, India, Japan, and South Korea are major countries contributing to the increased demand for dimethyl carbonate in this region. In China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and Taiwan, dimethyl carbonate is mainly used in the production of polycarbonates, while in India, it is primarily consumed by the pharmaceutical, paints & coatings, and agrochemical industries to manufacture different products such as medicines, paints, and pesticides.

Ube Industries Ltd. (Japan), Merck KGaA (Germany), Kowa Company Ltd. (Japan), Kishida Chemical Co. Ltd. (Japan), Shandong Shida Shenghua Chemical Group Co., Ltd. (China), Guangzhou Tinci Materials Technology Co., Ltd. (China), Haike Chemical Group (China), Arrow Chemical Group Corp. (China), and Panax Etec (Korea) are some of the leading players operating in the dimethyl carbonate market.

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Browse Adjacent Markets: Specialty Chemicals Market Research Reports & Consulting

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Polycarbonate Resin Market by Application (Electrical & Electronics, Optical Media, Consumer, Automotive, Sheets, Films, Packaging, Medical, and Others) and by Region (Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, North America, and RoW) - Trends & Forecast to 2020

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/polycarbonate-resin-market-1326.html

Battery Electrolyte Market by Battery Type and State of Electrolyte [Lead-acid (Liquid Electrolyte, and Gel Electrolyte), Lithium-ion (Liquid Electrolyte)], and Region (APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and MEA)- Global Forecast to 2023

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/battery-electrolyte-market-78609093.html

About MarketsandMarkets

MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions.

Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model  GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve.

MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets.

Contact:

Mr. Aashish Mehra

MarketsandMarkets INC.

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Suite 430

Northbrook, IL 60062

USA: +1-888-600-6441

Email: [email protected]

Research Insight:https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/dimethyl-carbonate-market.asp

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SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ed Morse Automotive Group announced today that it has acquired four dealerships and a parts center in Illinois and Missouri. The locations of these new acquisitions will be in Red Bud and New Athens, Illinois and one in Saint Robert, Missouri. Ed Morse Automotive Group purchased the dealerships from Norman Roy and Sellers-Sexton Automotive.

These new dealerships will be:

Ed Morse Ford formerly Sellers-Sexton Ford at 341 VFW Memorial Drive, Saint Robert, Missouri .

formerly Sellers-Sexton Ford at 341 VFW Memorial Drive, . Ed Morse Chevrolet Buick GMC formerly Weir Chevrolet Buick GMC at 1507 S. Main Street, Red Bud, Illinois .

. Ed Morse Ford formerly Weir Ford at 1615 S. Main Street, Red Bud, Illinois .

formerly Weir Ford at 1615 S. Main Street, . Ed Morse Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram formerly Weir Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram at 801 New Baldwin Road, New Athens, Illinois .

. Ed Morse Parts Center formerly Weir Parts Center at 1450 W. Market Street, Red Bud, Illinois .

"This is our second expansion into the great state of Missouri, and we've been so impressed with our results that we wanted to continue our growth not only there but into Illinois. When our organization makes an acquisition and enters a new market, we pride ourselves on not only delivering on our promises to support the community but making significant capital improvements. These enhancements will provide our new employees with greater opportunities to be successful and provide our customers with a world-class experience," said Teddy Morse, Chairman and CEO of Ed Morse Automotive Group.

The Ed Morse Automotive Group is headquartered in Delray Beach, Florida, and has been family-owned for 75 years. These acquisitions will add 217 employees to its over 1,400 plus employee base, growing their locations to 27 dealerships, 51 franchises and 14 automotive brands.

About Ed Morse Automotive Group

The Morse family has been in the automotive business since 1946 when Ed Morse founded Morse Motors. 75 years later, Ed's grandson, Chairman/CEO Teddy Morse continues to build on the legacy and family tradition. Headquartered in Delray Beach, Florida and with recent acquisitions into Texas, Missouri, Illinois and Oklahoma, Ed Morse Automotive Group is considered to be one of the nation's fastest growing and most respected automotive dealer groups. www.edmorse.com

Media Contact:

Glen Calder

561-635-8422

[email protected]

SOURCE Ed Morse Automotive Group
BROOKLYN, N.Y., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The edtech nonprofit ReadWorks announces the appointment of two new Board members, Gina Cervetti and Karim (Kam) Moolani, each bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience in the education and nonprofit sectors.

Cervetti worked for three years as an assistant professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder before moving in 2011 to her current role as Associate Professor of Literacy, Language, and Culture at the University of Michigan School of Education, where her research focuses on the interface of literacy and content-area learning.

Moolani is currently a Managing Director at Silver Point Capital in Connecticut. Since 2014, he has served on the New York Metro Advisory Board at the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), a nonprofit providing educational programs for middle school, high school, and college students, as well as adults.

"I am delighted to welcome our new Board members and am thankful for their commitment to ReadWorks' mission," said Daria Wallach, Board Chair. "Gina's expertise in the education research field and Kam's years of service in the nonprofit sector will strengthen our organization for years to come."

Cervetti received her Ph.D. in educational psychology at Michigan State University and worked for several years as a postdoctoral scholar and researcher at the University of California, Berkeley. Through her academic endeavors, Cervetti has become well acquainted with ReadWorks and is excited to play a role in the future growth and development of the organization.

Prior to joining Silver Point, Moolani was a Vice President in the Corporate and Asset Finance Group at Macquarie Bank. Before joining Macquarie, he was an associate in the Special Situations Group at Oaktree Capital Management. Moolani began his career as an analyst in the Principal Investing Practice at McKinsey & Company. He graduated with honors from the University of Western Ontario's Richard Ivey School of Business with a B.A. in Finance.

"Gina and Kam have been instrumental in our work over the last year as members of ReadWorks' Advisory Council and our team is grateful to have them work even more closely with us in the future," Terry Bowman, Executive Director, said. "ReadWorks' focus is to help mitigate the gaps in opportunity that have worsened during the pandemic. Growing our Board enables us to better respond to this crisis, especially in the communities most impacted."

Last year, ReadWorks welcomed two new Board members, Howard Schiller of Monroe Investment Partners, LLC and Cathy James of Enterprise Asset Management.

To learn more about ReadWorks or sign up for a free account visit: ReadWorks.org

Contact:

Rebecca Vaughn

ReadWorks

[email protected]

About ReadWorks

At ReadWorks, our mission is to ensure that all children become successful, joyful readers by working to bridge the gap between research and practice in reading instruction. Through our digital platform, we provide K-12 teachers and students with content, curricular supports, and the tools they need to succeed in reading - for free. As a result, over 1 million teachers and 13.1 million students are using ReadWorks today. Log on to ReadWorks.org to access our free resources.

SOURCE ReadWorks
DALLAS, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Electric Vehicle Market size is projected to grow from 4,094 thousand units in 2021 to 33,946 thousand units by 2029, at a CAGR of 27.1%. The Global Electric Vehicle Market 2022 for all the individuals, key organizations and foremost industries that are looking for innovative statistics and crucial insights about the electric vehicles. This report provides an insightful inspection of the global electric vehicle industry in accordance to the industry-riven perspectives, creative patterns, drivers, limitations and opportunities present in the respective industry. Furthermore, it specifies an instructive data related to prime players functioning over the world electric vehicle market.

Impact of COVID-19 on Global Electric Vehicle Market

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, several nations across the globe had experienced a full lockdown which in turn has affected the vehicle product at the automobile industry. Due to the severe impact of the coronavirus pandemic, various manufacturing units of the vehicles were close, and their contracts have captured a megahit. But still, the excitement among the automakers is at the highest peak in order to produce vehicle product with restricted items and vital measures. With the releasing of the COVID-19 vaccinations all over world, conditions get normal in recent months, the overall Electric Vehicle(EV) vendors did not grapple because demand for zero emigration cars gain during the beginning of the previous year. This further shows a massive rise in demand for electric vehicles in the topmost regions.

Find a PDF sample report of Global Electric Vehicle Market: https://calibreresearch.com/report/electric-vehicle-market-172112#request-sample

Global Electric Vehicle Market Size:

A new evaluation on the Electric Vehicle Market is labelled as Global Electric Vehicle Market Report 2022 by product types (Passenger Cars, Commercial Vehicles), by main regions, by applications and well-established players along with forecast to 2029. It is a complete set of necessary statistics and predictions that are enchanting to boost development tactics and performance graph of the electric vehicle market at the universal platform. The report also explains the current and futuristic status of the global electric vehicle market through the deep classification of the specified industry.

As per the investigative report, the Global Electric Vehicle Market size is predicted to increase from 4,094 thousand unites in this year to almost 33,946 thousand units by 2029, along with a powerful CAGR of 27.1 %.

Global Electric Vehicle Market Segmentation: Overview

Global Electric Vehicle Market: By Major Companies

Tesla (US)

BYD ( China )

Volkswagen AG ( Germany )

BMW Group ( Germany )

Nissan Motors ( Japan )

Product Segment Analysis: Global Electric Vehicle Market

According to the above given classification, the global Electric Vehicle request is segregated on the product type, vehicle type and key regions. Based on the product type it is split into battery electric vehicle (BEV), plug-in mongrel electric vehicle (PHEV) and mongrel electric vehicle (HEV). While, by vehicle type, the global electric vehicle market divided as passenger bases, marketable vehicles and two wheelers. Whereas, the vehicle class segment includes mid-priced and luxuriant class. With the involvement of specialized expenditures offered by the governing authorities across the world in order to construct EV charging stations as well as many Hydrogen fuelling stations alongside impulses delivered to buyers will definitely implement numerous openings for OEMs to extend their profit margin and topological dominance.

Have Any Question about Electric Vehicle Market 2022

Global Electric Vehicle Market: By Product Types

Passenger Cars

Commercial Vehicles

Global Electric Vehicle Market: Vehicle Class

Mid-priced

Luxury

Global Electric Vehicle Market: Top Speed

<125 MPH

>125 MPH

Global Electric Vehicle Market: Drive Type

Front-Wheel Drive

Rear Wheel Drive

All Wheel Drive

Global Electric Vehicle Market: EV Charging Point Type

Normal Charging

Super Charging

Global Electric Vehicle Market: V2G

V2B or V2H

V2G

V2V

V2X

Global Electric Vehicle Market: Propulsion

BEV

PHEV

FCEV

Global Electric Vehicle Market: Regional Analysis

The geographical section of the global electric vehicle market report demonstrates, individual industry impacting elements at the country level alongside the on-going regulatory norms and policies that are hindering the present and upcoming domestic industry dynamics of the global electric vehicle market. Take a look at the regions/countries covered in the global electric vehicle market.

Browse Full Report here: https://calibreresearch.com/report/electric-vehicle-market-172112

Global Electric Vehicle Market: Drivers & Constraints

Reportedly, the robust request in the Asia Pacific region is expected to witness excellent growth depending on the highest demand for lowest, profitable and low-emigration vehicles. While, on the other hand, the request in the North America and European territory is fastest increasing request as the government companies and increasing performance of the various passenger vehicle member. Even though, the low availability of EV charging stations as well as hydrogen energy units, improved prices indulged in original investments and also the performance constraints could hamper the growth of the global electric vehicle market.

The Global Electric Vehicle Market Highlights as follows:

The report notifies the competitive benefits related to the overall Electric Vehicle market.

The study document has been designed with an idea to deliver a large set of industrial opportunities to the existing vendors and interested aspirants.

An up-to-date industry trends and global Electric Vehicle dynamics are also uploaded in this report.

Precious strategies used by the leading vendors have been elaborated alongside the deep estimations.

It promotes the prominent investment pockets and industry shares of the global Electric Vehicle market report.

Competitive Landscape: Global Electric Vehicle Market

This recent analysis on the global Electric Vehicle market is extremely valuable guide for the new entrants and important players to get knowledgeable information regarding the competitive landscape of the worldwide Electric Vehicle market. This competition assessment is immensely significant in recognizing the footprints of the top manufacturers who are continuously working in the global Electric Vehicle Market. Apart from identifying the industry players, the report also studies their company profiles, revenue contributions, intensified infrastructure and powerful position in the international marketplace. With illustration of recently used strategic initiatives and cost-effective perspective will further enhance the growth possibilities for the entire Global Electric Vehicle Market.

Besides this, the world Electric Vehicle industry research report comprised of a systematic survey on the all the necessary events and industrial happening that are carried out throughout the operational-based evaluation of the global Electric Vehicle Market. These events are pivotal collaborations that are operated by numerous industry-oriented entities, mergers of topmost manufacturers and the use of acquisition programs that are needed to accelerate the growth performance of the global Electric Vehicle industry.

Research on Global Electric Vehicle Market includes following ingredients:

On-Board Charge

Fuel Stack

Battery Cells & Packs

Power Control Unit

Fuel Processor

Motor

Battery Management System

Air Compressor

Power Conditioner

Reducer

Humidifier

Get More Related Reports Here:

Track Inspection Vehicles Market: The is segmented into by Type (Portable Track Inspection Vehicle, Ordinary Track Inspection Vehicle)By Application(High-Speed ,Railway, Heavy Haul Railway, Conventional Railway Urban Transport) Regions and Forecast 2029

Recreational Vehicle Market: The is segmented into by Type (Towable RVs, Motorized RVs)By Application(Residential, Commercial) Regions and Forecast 2029

Racing Vehicle Market: The is segmented into by Type (Racing Cars, Racing Motorcycle, Racing Trucks Others)By Application(F1, NASCAR, WRC, Grassroots Car Racing, Other) Regions and Forecast 2029

Finally, the new study on the global Electric Vehicle market report showcases the extraordinary performance of the highly crucial aspects and various other substantial components of the Electric Vehicle market. Detailed guidance on the series of vital companies functioning inside each of the geographical economy also indicates the competitive dynamics of the world Electric Vehicle market. This report is nothing but a comprehensive and in-depth investigation of the whole Electric Vehicle market globally. For the years, 2021 to 2029, the descriptive analysis also offers global Electric Vehicle industry predications for each of the object, geographies and end-use industries.

Contact:

Calibre Research

3626 North Hall Street (Two Oak Lawn),

Suite 610, Dallas, TX 75219 USA.

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://calibreresearch.com/

Tel: +1-214-661-1669

SOURCE Calibre Research
Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, recently announced a total global investment of significantly more than $3.5 billion in innovation and capacity in its Electronics business. The company will enable capacity expansion and new technology and materials innovations to capitalize on the growth opportunities driven by AI, Big Data, IoT, 5G, and more. At CES, senior executives, industry experts, and partners will present "Tech Talks" on topics including the future of computing, metaverse, data analytics and sharing, bioelectronics and smart antenna broadband connectivity.

"We are pushing the boundaries of science and technology to make more exciting consumer applications possible," said Kai Beckmann, Member of the Executive Board of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and CEO Electronics. "Electronics starts with us. Together with our customers we contribute significantly to the electronics industry and beyond through our materials and solutions. We accelerate the development of technologies that facilitate and enrich everyday life. This is how we create a sustainable digital world of tomorrow."

Tech Talk Schedule CES 2022

at EMD Electronics Booth 8907 at the Las Vegas Convention North Hall

Thursday, January 6

10:30 am PST

Digital Optics and Metaverse  The Demise of the Square Screen

This panel will discuss the materials and technologies needed to realize truly immersive experiences, bringing the virtual and real world together through VR, XR and AR applications in new form factors that will move away from traditional digital square screens. Panelists will present the challenges and opportunities to deepen human connection regardless of physical distance, bringing people together in a wide variety of virtual realities  from workplace tools to games and community platforms.

12:00 Noon pm PST

Data as a Game Changer for Manufacturing Excellence

Kai Beckmann, Member of the Executive Board of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and CEO Electronics; Shyam Sankar Chief Operations Officer at Palantir; David Anderson, President SEMI Americas; and Laura Matz, CEO of Athinia, will discuss how data analytics can help solve some of the most pressing challenges for the semiconductor industry today, which have a direct impact on the electronics devices used every day. They will discuss the new Athinia platform, which will deliver a secure collaborative data analytics platform for the semiconductor industry helping to solve critical challenges such as chip shortages, improve quality and supply chain transparency, and time to market.

Friday, January 7

10:30 am Pacific

The Race to the Future Computing Paradigm

Consumer electronics are becoming more personalized and smarter, which require machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI). To support the explosion of data, performance and functionality in electronic devices and data centers, new computing paradigms such as neuromorphic and quantum computing are making inroads. Daniel Franke from M Ventures, the corporate venture capital fund of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and partners from SEEQC and MemryX will participate in an exciting debate on the future of computing and its impact on consumers.

12:00 Noon pm PST

Smart Antenna Satellite Broadband Connectivity  A Solution for the Digital Divide

Connectivity with low-earth-orbit satellites via affordable smart antennas offers a solution to providing universal connectivity access. The liquid crystal-based solution, licriOn, is enabling a new generation of electronically beam-steered antennas that easily connect with stationary and moving satellites. In this talk, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, together with its developing partner NexTenna of will join to showcase the huge potential of licriOn-powered smart antennas to advance digital living, even in the most remote places on Earth.

In addition to the Tech Talks, attendees will have the opportunity to see the eyrise Dynamic Liquid Crystal Glazing in action and meet with experts on AI, neuromorphic computing, quantum computing, metaverse and bioelectronics.

All Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, press releases are distributed by e-mail at the same time they become available on the EMD Group Website. In case you are a resident of the USA or Canada please go to www.emdgroup.com/subscribe to register for your online subscription of this service as our geo-targeting requires new links in the email. You may later change your selection or discontinue this service.

About EMD Electronics

EMD Electronics is the North American electronics business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. EMD Electronics' portfolio covers a broad range of products and solutions, including high-tech materials and solutions for the semiconductor industry as well as liquid crystals and OLED materials for displays and effect pigments for coatings and cosmetics. Today, EMD Electronics has approximately 2,000 employees around the country, with regional offices in Tempe (AZ) and Philadelphia (PA). For more information, please visit www.emd-electronics.com.

About Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading science and technology company, operates across healthcare, life science and electronics. Around 58,000 employees work to make a positive difference to millions of people's lives every day by creating more joyful and sustainable ways to live. From advancing gene editing technologies and discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices  the company is everywhere. In 2020, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, generated sales of  17.5 billion in 66 countries.

The company holds the global rights to the name and trademark "Merck" internationally. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the business sectors of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany operate as EMD Serono in healthcare, MilliporeSigma in life science, and EMD Electronics in electronics. Since its founding in 1668, scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have been key to the company's technological and scientific advances. To this day, the founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed company.

Your Contact

[email protected]

602-282-1000

SOURCE EMD Electronics
Paul Goranson, enCore Chief Executive Officer said, "We truly appreciate the confidence in enCore Energy Corp. shown with the execution of our second uranium sales agreement. At enCore, we are building a production pipeline strategy focused on US based ISR uranium production. We have been expanding our growth strategy organically with our near-term production assets in South Texas and through transactions with the assets that Azarga Uranium Corp. will bring to the merged company. This agreement affirms that growth strategy, and it provides a long-term relationship with a large domestic nuclear power utility as it advances sustainable clean energy generation."

enCore and Azarga Uranium Arrangement Update

Following a vote by Azarga Uranium shareholders with over 99% of votes cast in favour of the transaction, enCore and Azarga Uranium are working to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals required to complete the transaction, whereby enCore will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Azarga Uranium. As previously announced on November 23, 2021, an extension to the arrangement agreement was executed to allow the parties to obtain regulatory approvals, including approval from the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the "NRC") and the final order of the Supreme Court of British Columbia (the "Final Order").

The parties expect to receive approval from the NRC on or about December 28, 2021 and to close the transaction shortly thereafter.

Azarga expects to apply to the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Vancouver for the Final Order on December 16, 2021 at 9:45 a.m. or as soon thereafter as counsel may be heard.

About enCore Energy Corp.

enCore Energy Corp., a U.S. domestic uranium developer focused on becoming a leading in-situ recovery ("ISR") uranium producer, is led by a team of industry experts with extensive knowledge and experience in all aspects of ISR uranium operations. enCore Energy's initial opportunities are created from the Company's South Texas licensed and past-producing Rosita and Kingsville Dome ISR production facilities, under development, and multiple satellite projects in South Texas plus the changing global uranium supply/demand outlook and opportunities for industry consolidation. Large uranium resource endowments in New Mexico add to the asset base for long term growth and development opportunities.

About Azarga Uranium Corp.

Azarga Uranium is an integrated uranium exploration and development company that controls ten uranium projects and prospects in the United States of America ("USA") (South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado), with a primary focus of developing in-situ recovery uranium projects. The Dewey Burdock in-situ recovery uranium project in South Dakota, USA (the "Dewey Burdock Project"), which is the Company's initial development priority, has been issued its Nuclear Regulatory Commission License and Class III and Class V Underground Injection Control permits from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Company is in the process of completing other major regulatory permit approvals necessary for the construction of the Dewey Burdock Project.

Cautionary Statements

Certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking information or statements under applicable securities legislation and rules. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently identified by such words as "may", "will", "plan", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "intend", "indicate", "scheduled", "target", "goal", "potential", "subject", "efforts", "option" and similar words, or the negative connotations thereof, referring to future events and results. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements related to enCore's growth and business strategy, the uranium purchase agreement with Duke Energy Corporation, the timing of certain regulatory approvals and the anticipated completion of the transaction, the terms of the transaction and receipt of certain regulatory approvals, including approval from the NRC and the Final Order.

Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of enCore and/or Azarga Uranium to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: any inability of the parties to satisfy the conditions to the completion of the transaction on acceptable terms or at all; receipt of necessary stock exchange, court, NRC and other regulatory approvals; the ability of enCore and Azarga Uranium to achieve their stated goals and objectives; the costs associated with the companies' objectives; risks and uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic and measures taken to attempt to reduce the spread of COVID-19; and the risks and uncertainties identified in enCore's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and Azarga Uranium's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2020, each filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although management of each of enCore and Azarga Uranium has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Neither party will update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information that are incorporated by reference herein, except as required by applicable securities laws. enCore and Azarga Uranium caution readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and it does not undertake any obligation to revise and disseminate forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof, or to reflect the occurrence of or non-occurrence of any events.

This press release is not and is not to be construed in any way as, an offer to buy or sell securities in the United States. The distribution of the enCore common shares in connection with the transactions described herein will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 (the "U.S. Securities Act") and the enCore common shares may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the enCore common shares, nor shall there be any offer or sale of the enCore common shares in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

Neither the TSX, the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX and TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

www.encoreuranium.com www.azargauranium.com

SOURCE enCore Energy Corp.
NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BizVibe has made available 1,000+ company profiles for the IoT manufacturers and suppliers category on its B2B platform. Companies listed in this product category are primarily engaged in manufacturing or supplying various types of IoT products (such as IoT chips, IoT devices, etc.). Companies which provide IoT services are also included in the category.

Get Free Access to These 1,000+ Profiles

Snapshot of BizVibe's IoT company profiles and categories.

Each profile is free to view and packed with high-quality insights, providing businesses with detailed company information. Users can take advantage of these insights to identify, target, and connect with the right IoT manufacturers and suppliers. This company information includes employee insights, company competitors, the impact of emerging trends and challenges, the latest news, and more.

Free Insights Included for all IoT Manufacturer and Supplier Profiles:

List of product and service category offerings and primary operating industries

Risk of doing business score across four different metrics

List of key executives and their roles within the company

Company financials and general organizational information

Global, national, and regional competitors

List of key clients

Top trends and challenges within operating industry and expected influence on business impact

Latest company news with the ability to sign up for timely news alerts

Get Started to View Free Company Insights

IoT Companies on BizVibe

BizVibe's platform contains 30M+ company profiles, spanning across 200+ countries, categorized into 40,000+ products and services. There are 1,000+ company profiles related to IoT manufacturers and suppliers on BizVibe, covering 5+ product and service categories. Each company profile contains detailed insights dedicated to helping procurement and sales teams find trusted suppliers and target sales prospects.

Examples of IoT manufacturer and supplier company profiles that can be discovered on BizVibe include:

Industrial IoT manufacturers

IoT infrastructure manufacturers

IoT chip manufacturers

IoT device manufacturers

Get Free Company Profile Access for all Categories

Company Profiles for Buyers and Sellers

BizVibe's modern B2B platform is designed to help both global buyers and sellers. Powered by the latest best-in-class solutions, BizVibe provides outstanding product features for both category managers and sales professionals.

Features for Buyers:

Quickly discover the right suppliers

Create short lists and custom alerts

Mitigate supplier risk and evaluate suppliers

Send RFIs/RFPs

Learn how BizVibe helps buyers: https://www.bizvibe.com/find-suppliers

Features for Sellers:

Target the right sales prospects

Qualify leads

Analyze buyer potential

API integration and data enrichment

Learn how BizVibe helps sellers: https://www.bizvibe.com/sellers

About BizVibe

BizVibe has been conceptualized and built by a team based out of Toronto, Bangalore, and London. We are a branch of Infiniti Research and have dedicated units in all three locations. BizVibe helps buyers find the most relevant suppliers from around the world and help sellers target prospects who need their products and/or services. For more information, please visit www.bizvibe.com and start for free today.

Contact

BizVibe

Jesse Maida

Email: [email protected]

+1 855-897-5880

Website: https://www.bizvibe.com/

SOURCE BizVibe
LAS VEGAS, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Everi Digital, the online gaming division of Everi Holdings Inc. (NYSE: EVRI) ("Everi" or "the Company"), a premier provider of land-based and digital casino gaming content and products, financial technology, and player loyalty solutions, announced today a new partnership to bring its award-winning gaming content to Atlantic Lottery Corporation's ("ALC") online casinos.

Everi's exciting three-reel mechanical and video slot content is now available online across the New Brunswick province. The Company is securely delivering its iGaming slot content to ALC via the proprietary Spark Remote Game Server ("Spark RGS"). Over the past three years, Everi Digital has extended the footprint of the Spark RGS and, in addition to ALC, provides its content to the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec, as well as operators in the states of Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Company is a leading provider of iGaming content and has consistently grown its reputation for creating compelling content. Everi's digital gaming catalog now features more than 50 engaging titles. Two of the Company's industry-recognized titles available at launch via the alc.ca online casino include Atomic Meltdown, a three-reel, five-line game, and El Dorado The Lost City, a five-reel, 40-line game featuring a "reel match" bonus.

"Our valuable new partnership with ALC allows Everi Digital to expand the footprint of our state-of the-art Spark RGS platform and deliver high-performing content to online players in Atlantic Canada," said David Lucchese, Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing, and Digital for Everi. "Everi's strong and growing digital game presence continues to resonate with players in all of our current markets. We're confident that as we further extend our online presence to include most of Canada, our distinct games will prove popular with ALC's online players."

Atlantic Lottery's alc.ca platform is the only regulated online casino in Atlantic Canada. The alc.ca platform experienced record sales in 2020-21 and continues to grow, demonstrating the rapidly growing importance of the Atlantic Lottery Corporation's online presence. By offering competitive games within a regulated environment, Atlantic Lottery also provides players access to robust responsible gambling features.

"Our agreement to bring Everi's unique digital slot and video content to alc.com is another example of Atlantic Lottery's continued commitment to invest in its digital channels," said Robert Lalonde ALC Manager, iGaming. "Our fast-growing alc.ca platform is part of our overall emphasis on modernizing our player experiences to allow us to effectively compete in this highly contested market."

About Everi

Everi's mission is to lead the gaming industry through the power of people, imagination, and technology. Focused on player engagement and assisting our casino customers to operate more efficiently, the Company develops entertaining game content and gaming machines, gaming systems, and services for land-based and iGaming operators. The Company is also the preeminent provider of trusted financial technology solutions that power the casino floor while improving operational efficiencies and fulfilling regulatory compliance requirements, including products and services that facilitate convenient and secure cash and cashless financial transactions, self-service player loyalty tools and applications, and regulatory and intelligence software. For more information, please visit www.everi.com , which is updated regularly with financial and other information about the Company.

About Atlantic Lottery Corporation

Atlantic Lottery was founded in 1976 and is jointly owned by the Atlantic Canadian provinces, with 100% of profit being returned to four governments: New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. Atlantic Lottery offers players a wide range of regulated gaming options, including traditional draw games, Scratch'N Win, breakopen, video lottery and several interactive games online through its alc.ca portal.

Join Everi on Social Media

Twitter: https://twitter.com/everi_inc

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/everi

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EveriHoldingsInc/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everi_inc

Contacts:

Everi Media Relations

Dona Cassese

VP, Marketing

(702) 556-7133 or [email protected]

Mike Young

Corporate Communications Specialist

(702) 518-9179 or [email protected]

Everi Investor Relations

William Pfund

SVP, Investor Relations

(702) 676-9513 or [email protected]

JCIR

Richard Land, James Leahy

(212) 835-8500 or [email protected]

SOURCE Everi Holdings Inc.
LONDON, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The EY organization today announced a significant expansion of the organization's strategic relationship with ServiceNow to help companies be more agile and productive in an era of rapid change. With the pace of investment increasing, EY US and ServiceNow are expanding their relationship to better meet the needs of customers. Both will invest in and develop new offerings aimed at streamlining complex enterprise operations, with a strong focus on addressing emerging challenges in finance and tax services. The expanded alliance is expected to increase the business value of the relationship and help accelerate the EY organization's goal of creating a US$1b business with ServiceNow by 2025.

Carmine Di Sibio, EY Global Chairman and CEO, says:

"As the breadth and depth of the relationship between the EY organization and ServiceNow continues to increase, we could not be more excited about the new opportunities this expanded collaboration will present. Together, we will make great strides in automation, efficiency and helping ensure both EY and ServiceNow clients and people have a frictionless technology experience."

Bill McDermott, ServiceNow CEO, says:

"Leaders in every industry recognize their technology architecture is their business architecture. The EY organization's deep functional and industry vertical experience will help accelerate adoption of the ServiceNow platform. Together we will deliver substantial value to customers as they digitally innovate their businesses to capitalize on the biggest market opportunity ever."

Revolutionizing finance and tax services

The shift to the new world of work, anticipated tax reform initiatives and an explosion of data have made the highly complex tax and finance functions even more complicated. As a result, companies are rethinking how they can automate tax and finance processes to make work flow across multiple departments and systems. In fact, 83% of senior global executives say their finance talent will shift from technical focus to data, process and technology skills over the next three years.

EY teams and ServiceNow will address these opportunities by helping companies identify and automate internal financial workflows to unlock productivity and deliver great experiences for their employees. EY teams and ServiceNow will streamline reporting, documenting and approval processes for finance professionals, incorporating new or evolving requirements while decreasing opportunity for error. Clients across the financial services, life sciences, manufacturing, and power and utilities industries, and the public sector are already benefiting from the alliance.

Building digital skills for the future

As part of the expansion, the companies will also recruit and develop new sources of technically skilled talent as demand for ServiceNow developers, analysts and consultants grows. EY teams and ServiceNow will look to traditionally under-represented communities, specifically neurodivergent individuals (e.g., individuals with autism, Asperger's, dyslexia and ADHD etc.), to fill a variety of critical roles. As part of a global program, EY teams will extend its existing EY Neuro-Diverse Centers of Excellence (CoE) and will establish the ServiceNow Neurodiversity Delivery Center. The program will train participants, who will engage directly with ServiceNow Customer Outcomes and the EY ServiceNow Practices for a range of technology roles, including developers, testing analysts and consultants. Along with similar existing skills development programs from ServiceNow, individuals from the ServiceNow Neurodiversity Delivery Center will use their often-untapped capabilities, such as analytical thinking, complex problem-solving and technology design, to fill critical positions for the EY organization. The offering will be expanding further to both EMIEA and India over the next six months, following the initial US launch.

Powering the digital economy

In addition to finance and tax services, EY teams and ServiceNow will deliver offerings and services focused on a broad range of business and industry-specific areas, including operational technology and efficiency, HR service delivery, risk management, risk and compliance, and business services.

EY teams will help implement the ServiceNow platform to enhance operational efficiency and user experience for EY professionals and clients. EY teams will also expand their use of ServiceNow solutions with plans to implement ServiceNow Customer Workflows and Creator Workflows that will power the EY managed services for tax and payroll outsourcing, as well as wealth management.

For more information, visit ey.com/servicenow.

About EY

EY exists to build a better working world, helping create long-term value for clients, people and society and build trust in the capital markets.

Enabled by data and technology, diverse EY teams in over 150 countries provide trust through assurance and help clients grow, transform and operate.

Working across assurance, consulting, law, strategy, tax and transactions, EY teams ask better questions to find new answers for the complex issues facing our world today.

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via ey.com/privacy. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.

This news release has been issued by EYGM Limited, a member of the global EY organization that also does not provide any services to clients.

SOURCE EY

Related Links

http://www.ey.com


BRONX, N.Y., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Fairstead, a purpose-driven, vertically integrated real estate company committed to sustainable development and the creation and preservation of high-quality housing, and Invesco Real Estate, a global real estate investment manager, today announced the companies have acquired 1,904 affordable units across 48 buildings and 2.3 million square feet in the Bronx in what is the largest deal of its kind in New York this year by both portfolio and investment size.

"Fairstead is committed to creating high-quality, sustainable housing, and an important part of our strategy is preserving and enhancing existing affordable housing stock so it can remain a great place to live for the long-term," said Jeffrey Goldberg, CEO of Fairstead. "We are proud to be serving thousands of Bronx families, giving them peace of mind that their homes will remain affordable and providing them with access to important social services and programming."

Invesco Real Estate is committed to being good stewards of the environment and to implementing ESG+R best practices. It understands that the societal impact of the built environment is an important factor in creating and stabilizing communities and maintaining social cohesion. Invesco Real Estate believes that affordable housing is one sector where it can have an impact in local neighborhoods, helping to drive change. Currently, the firm owns over 5,000 affordable housing units in ten states across the country.

The portfolio was previously managed by Property Resources Corporation (PRC) and includes properties in Longwood, Tremont, Crotona Park, and Morrisania. PRC is one of New York City's most prominent developers of market rate and affordable housing with over 6,500 units representing over $1 billion built or redeveloped throughout its history in addition to a current pipeline of projects of more than 2,000 units totaling $600 million of development. PRC chose Fairstead because of their dedicated track record creating positive social, economic, and environmental change for residents.

"PRC is immensely proud of the work our team has done over 50 years to build and preserve affordable housing in the Bronx," said Ben Linde, PRC Principal. "We are grateful that the sale of this portfolio will enable us to build upon that legacy and extend our ability to provide homes and create stability for even more families, both in the Bronx and throughout the New York area."

Fairstead recently announced a new $500 million equity commitment to strategically grow the company's operations, including expanding its multi-family housing portfolio and enhancing the firm's prop tech, sustainability, and community impact programming. Fairstead works with community leaders, advocates, and residents to provide programming and services that improve resident health outcomes, provide financial literacy, offer job training, bolster internet access, and provide opportunities for civic engagement, and will bring this programming to the Bronx portfolio.

"Fairstead and Invesco Real Estate are bringing in new capital to this portfolio through an innovative capital structure that will allow us to make strategic investments to improve the sustainability of the buildings and enhance the lives of residents through social services and programming," said Brett Meringoff, Managing Partner, Development, at Fairstead.

Berkadia and Deutsche Bank provided innovative capital solutions for Fairstead and Invesco Real Estate.

"Berkadia is thrilled to once again partner with the innovative team at Fairstead to deliver this landmark deal in New York," said Matthew Napoleon, Senior Managing Director, Berkadia. "This deal exemplifies Fairstead's creative and thoughtful approach to affordable housing," added Gemma Geldmacher, Senior Director.

"DB is committed to providing innovative capital solutions to create and preserve affordable housing properties nationwide. We are thrilled to be able to partner with Fairstead to support the long-term preservation of affordable housing in New York," said Jeffrey Baker, Director, DB. "DB is proud to partner with Fairstead to provide acquisition capital for this portfolio. We are highly confident in Fairstead's ability to preserve affordable housing in such a high need area for many years to come and know that this will have a significant positive impact for the Bronx community," added Charles Seymour, Director.

Through Fairstead's Community Impact work, the company will continue to support the longstanding partnership PRC established with the Renaissance Youth Center in Morrisania, and work with local organizations for additional programming.

"The Renaissance Youth Center has been serving the South Bronx for 20 years with innovative and fun programming that today reaches 4,000 young people every week. We are thrilled to partner with Fairstead to continue our work with this portfolio, bringing music classes and enriching engagement to its families," said Bervin Harris, President and CEO of Renaissance Youth Center.

Fairstead is now the owner and property manager of the 48 properties, which are a mix of five- and six-story existing and newly constructed buildings, some with ground-floor community retail. All the units are operated under a regulatory agreement serving residents earning between 30% and 100% of the area median income (AMI). Fairstead will preserve the affordability of these units, provide upgrades to the buildings, and deploy social services and community programming.

The transaction was led by Victor Sozio, Executive Vice President, Investment Sales, Ariel Property Advisors, and Shimon Shkury, President, Ariel Property Advisors, representing both Fairstead and PRC.

"Ariel Property Advisors is proud to work with PRC and Fairstead on what is the largest affordable housing deal in New York this year," said Victor Sozio. "We look forward to Fairstead's continuation of PRC's responsible stewardship of these affordable units, as well as Fairstead's plans to enhance the experience of residents with programming and services."

This purchase is part of Fairstead's ongoing commitment to creating and preserving affordable housing across the nation. Last week, Fairstead announced the acquisition of Gateway, 160 apartments in Lake Jackson, Texas, where it will preserve and expand its affordability. In November, Fairstead acquired the Essex Plaza portfolio in Newark, New Jersey, adding 691 affordable units to its portfolio. Fairstead will invest more than $27 million for sustainable renovations and improvements, as well as on-site support services for seniors. The Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority (ARHA) recently announced that it had selected Fairstead in partnership with Mill Creek Residential and The Communities Group to redevelop the Samuel Madden Homes in Old Town Alexandria, where the company will create a sustainable mixed-use community with affordable, workforce and market-rate housing.

Please click here for photos of the Bronx portfolio.

About Fairstead:

Fairstead is a purpose-driven vertically integrated real estate developer specializing in creating sustainable, high-quality housing. Since 2014, Fairstead has acquired or developed more than $4 billion in property. With offices in New York, Maryland, and South Carolina, Fairstead's team manages 90+ communities across the country and runs its comprehensive real estate platform, which includes acquisitions and development, venture capital investments in prop tech, design and construction, energy and sustainability, property management, marketing, and leasing. The firm also administers one of the industry's most proactive community impact programs to provide on-site support services to residents. For more information, visit www.fairstead.com.

About Invesco Real Estate:

Invesco Real Estate is a global leader in the real estate investment management business with $87.0 billion in real estate assets under management, 597 employees and 21 regional offices across the U.S., Europe and Asia (as of September 30, 2021). Invesco Real Estate has been actively investing in core, value-add and opportunistic real estate strategies since 1983. Invesco Real Estate is the real estate investment center of Invesco Ltd., an independent investment management firm dedicated to delivering an investment experience that helps people get more out of life.NYSE: IVZ; www.invesco.com.

About Property Resources Corporation:

PRC is a full-service real estate development firm specializing in all classes of multifamily housing. Established in 1971, it has a track record of success with ground up, resident-in-place preservation and adaptive re-use housing development. With dedicated, in-house design, construction management, property management, and development divisions, PRC is capable of taking on any scale project in the New York metropolitan area. www.prcny.com

SOURCE Fairstead
Key Market Dynamics:

Market Driver

Market Trend

The rising awareness about eye makeup and increasing working women population are some of the key market drivers. The demand for eye makeup products is increasing because of factors such as dynamic fashion trends; the availability of new, effective, and safe products; and the growing awareness about eye makeup products. Millennials account for a significant share of the demand, as they are tech-savvy and are updated about the latest fashion trends. The demand for beauty and personal care products, including fake eyelashes, is further driven by factors such as rapid urbanization, personal grooming concerns, and the growing consciousness about fashion and health. To cater to this increasing demand, manufacturers are continuously launching new and innovative products. Hence, the rising awareness about eye makeup will be one of the significant drivers for the growth of the false eyelashes market during the forecast period.

The introduction of customizable false eyelashes is one of the key trends that will positively impact the growth of the market during the next five years. Changing customer needs have compelled vendors to focus on the development of customized false eyelashes. Customers can choose from different types of false eyelashes based on their shape, size, pattern, length, band, and design. As customized false eyelashes are made according to individual consumer needs and preferences, they are more expensive than regular eyelashes.

To learn about additional key drivers, trends, and challenges available with Technavio. Read our FREE Sample Report right now!

The false eyelashes market report is segmented by distribution channel (offline and online) and geography (North America, APAC, Europe, South America, and MEA). APAC will be the leading region with 38% of the market's growth during the forecast period. China is a key country for the false eyelashes market in APAC.

View our sample report for additional insights into the contribution of all the segments and regional opportunities in the report.

Some Companies Mentioned with their Offerings

American International Inc. - The company offers false eyelashes product brands such as Andrea.

The company offers false eyelashes product brands such as Andrea.

Amorepacific Group Inc. - The company offers false eyelashes product brands such as etude house.

The company offers false eyelashes product brands such as etude house.

e.l.f. Beauty Inc. - The company offers false eyelashes product brands such as Starstruck.

The company offers false eyelashes product brands such as Starstruck.

Esqido Ltd. - The company offers false eyelashes products such as ESQIDO Mink Lashes.

The company offers false eyelashes products such as ESQIDO Mink Lashes.

Huda Beauty FZ-LLC - The company offers false eyelashes product brands such as Olivia.

The company offers false eyelashes product brands such as Olivia. To gain access to more vendor profiles with their key offerings available with Technavio, Click Here

Related Reports:

Natural Cosmetics Market: The natural cosmetics market has been segmented by type (personal care, skin care, and others) and geography (APAC, Europe , North America , MEA, and South America ). Download Free Sample Report Now

The natural cosmetics market has been segmented by type (personal care, skin care, and others) and geography (APAC, , , MEA, and ). Eyelash Extension Market: The eyelash extension market has been segmented by type (mechanical eyelash and handmade eyelash) and geography ( North America , Europe , APAC, South America , and MEA). Download Free Sample Report Now

False Eyelashes Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 5.88% Market growth 2021-2025 USD 386.93 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 6.10 Regional analysis North America, APAC, Europe, South America, and MEA Performing market contribution APAC at 38% Key consumer countries US, China, Canada, UK, and Germany Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled American International Inc., Amorepacific Group Inc., e.l.f. Beauty Inc., Esqido Ltd., Huda Beauty FZ-LLC, KISS Products Inc., LOreal SA, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, Shiseido Co. Ltd., and The Estee Lauder Co. Inc. Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and future consumer dynamics, market condition analysis for forecast period. Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Key Topics Covered:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market Sizing

Five Forces Analysis

Market Segmentation

Customer landscape

Geographic Landscape

Vendor Landscape

Vendor Analysis

Appendix

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provide 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 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/

SOURCE Technavio
BOCA RATON, Fla., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida Atlantic University's College of Engineering and Computer Science recently launched a new "Professional Ph.D. Program in Computer Science," designed specifically for working professionals.

This is the first-of-its-kind program in Florida that offers courses in a flexible format that includes evenings, weekends and online material using FAU's learning management system. FAU utilizes the latest distance-learning technologies for off-campus student communication including online lectures, homework, projects and exams, which allows participants to pursue their academic goals while remaining employed.

"We are excited to offer this one-of-kind advanced degree program in a field that is in such high demand in Florida as well as nationwide," said Stella Batalama, Ph.D., dean, College of Engineering and Computer Science. "Our accelerated program is ideal for busy working professionals as it offers convenience, flexibility and a high-quality graduate computer science curriculum that is delivered by faculty experts who are leaders in research and technology."

The Professional Ph.D. Program in Computer Science takes approximately three years to complete and is fully online. The program offers students the advanced technical expertise they need to be successful in research and technical leadership positions within industry and the public sector. Typical paths include senior positions in computer science-related fields, careers as research scientists at high-tech companies and research labs and academic careers in higher education.

Topics of study include software engineering, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and cryptography, machine learning and data analytics, spatial database and data mining, computer networking, cloud computing, Internet of Things, smart health, bioinformatics, and more.

"Our new Ph.D. Program in Computer Science will enable students to solve complex problems, think critically and serve as leaders in decision making," said Hanqi Zhuang, Ph.D., chair and professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. "Graduates will advance their careers in a growing field to serve in leadership positions within industry, academia, and public and private institutions."

Full-service and all-inclusive, the Professional Ph.D. Program in Computer Science fees cover all program costs, including tuition, meals for on-campus, Saturday classes, course materials, and graduation activities. The cost is $800 per credit hour (total 42 credit hours).

"Employment of computer and information research scientists is projected to grow 22 percent from 2020 to 2030, much faster than the average for all occupations," said Mihaela Cardei, Ph.D., associate dean for graduate studies and a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. "Obtaining a Ph.D. in this ever-evolving field will provide our graduates with a leading-edge to qualify for top leadership roles at technology companies and other organizations. In addition, earning a Ph.D. is typically the best path for those who want to enter academia to fill roles such as researcher or professor."

The College of Engineering and Computer Science also offers a "Professional M.S. in Computer Science Program," designed specifically for working professionals who want to advance their careers with an accelerated graduate program while continuing to work. The program can be completed on campus or fully online. Courses are offered in the evenings, weekends and online using Canvas. Students can complete the program in one year.

The Professional M.S. in Computer Science Program offers the latest advances in various areas such as deep learning, artificial intelligence, data science, advanced programming methodologies, software engineering, database systems, cybersecurity, Internet of Things and smart systems, cloud computing, and healthcare informatics.

The Professional M.S. in Computer Science Program requires a minimum of 30 credits. The cost is $800 per credit hour (total 30 credit hours). The program offers a flexible payment plan and financial aid payment methods are available.

For more information about these programs, please visit eng.fau.edu/professional or contact Wendy Burrion at 561.297.3549, email [email protected].

Media Contacts

Gisele Galoustian

Senior Media Relations Director, Research and Health

[email protected]

Phone: 561-985-4615

SOURCE Florida Atlantic University
Fiberstar built a toolbox of methylcellulose-free solutions for meat alternatives Tweet this

Since the plant-based boom, companies have been seeking alternatives for methylcellulose. At the same time, the market realizes there is no one-to-one substitution. As a result, Fiberstar built a toolbox of methylcellulose-free solutions for meat alternatives that satisfies a range of product requirements. The new Citri-Fi TX20, which provides firmness, thickening power and meat-like texture is a key instrument in this toolbox. "We cater to a variety of customers ranging from those who need allergen-free options to those who are trying to create healthier products without coconut or palm fat," explains Mr. Haen. "These plant proteins work synergistically with Citri-Fi to create the meat-like texture, succulence and hot bite that customers expect."

Also, in this toolbox is the standard Citri-Fi 100 citrus fiber line which binds water and emulsifies to create the juicy texture. When used in these new methylcellulose-free solutions, they provide additional benefits including heat and freeze/thaw stability. The Citri-Fi products are sustainably derived from citrus fruit. The process, which is free from chemical modifications, produces a high fiber product containing equal amounts of soluble and insoluble fiber which gives it superior functionality compared to other similar plant fibers on the market.

Additional Citrus Fiber Benefits

Fiberstar's new methylcellulose-free solutions are clean label and have no E-number. The labeling options include citrus fiber, dried citrus pulp or citrus flour. Citri-Fi is allergen-free, gluten-free and Non-GMO Project certified.

"R&D will continue to pioneer new clean label solutions using our citrus fiber technology," states Dr. Brock Lundberg, Ph.D., President of R&D and Food Applications. "Our long-standing expertise and nimble technical team shorten our customer's time to market which sets us apart from others in the industry."

About Fiberstar, Inc.: Fiberstar, Inc. www.FiberstarIngredients.com is a privately held innovative biotechnology Company focused on enhancing food performance by manufacturing and marketing value-added, plant-based food ingredients. Its largest brand, Citri-Fi, is a natural, high performing citrus fiber sustainably produced from citrus fruit. The physical process, which is free from chemical modifications, creates high water holding and clean emulsification properties which benefit meat, dairy, bakery, dressings, sauces, frozen food, beverages, pet food, dairy alternatives and meat substitutes. Citri-Fi is GRAS, non-allergenic, non-GMO Project certified and has no E-number. Headquartered in River Falls, Wisconsin with manufacturing in Florida and Wisconsin, Fiberstar sells products globally in over 65 countries.

Contact:

Jennifer Stephens

[email protected]

SOURCE Fiberstar, Inc.
BROOKLYN, N.Y. and SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A new report from First Street Foundation and global engineering and consulting firm Arup provides new insights for communities at risk of flooding. While previous studies by First Street Foundation have provided flood risk data for individual homeowners, this report offers a data-driven assessment of flood-related risks on the commercial market. Titled " The 4th National Risk Assessment: Climbing Commercial Closures ," the report employs novel techniques to assess the risk of flood damage to 3.6 million retail, office, and multi-unit residential properties across the United States and related economic impacts, considering today's climate and the changes anticipated to happen over the next 30 years.

The report identifies the economic impact to metropolitan areas and states from lost days of productivity and output caused by damage to retail and office buildings as well as the associated closures due to repair times. Altogether, the report provides investors, business owners, financial institutions, and economists with crucial data on the extent of flood risk to commercial and multi-unit residential properties and helps to quantify economic loss associated with that risk in ways not previously possible.

Key findings from the report include:

A total of 729,699 retail, office, and multi-unit residential properties face risk of flood damage in the contiguous United States

The annual costs to repair or replace damaged buildings could grow by roughly 25% from $13.5 billion in 2022 to over $16.9 billion by 2052 due to climate change

in 2022 to over by 2052 due to climate change Flood damage to commercial buildings could result in 3.1 million days of lost business operation in 2022 due to repairs, growing to 4 million days by 2051  an increase of 29%

Damage to commercial buildings has both revenue and downstream consequences for metropolitan areas and states. The annualized financial impact to local economies is expected to grow by 26.5% from $49.9 billion in 2022 to $63.1 billion in 2052

Commercial real estate supports the economic heart of American cities and multi-unit residential properties also play an important part in keeping the economy moving by housing members of America's workforce, many of whom have had to work from home during the pandemic. As the frequency and severity of floods accelerate along with the changing climate, gaining a more comprehensive understanding of the total risk posed to these buildings and understanding the uneven effects of climate change across different metros and states is vital. This study is arming individual commercial and multi-unit residential property owners, investors, and policy makers with important data, which can be used to guide investment, adaptation measures, and policy change.

"Business needs consistency and predictability in order to plan, invest, and grow their operations and allow communities to thrive," said Matthew Eby, Founder and Executive Director of First Street Foundation. "In partnership with Arup, we are demonstrating that American businesses and local economies face much more uncertainty and unpredictability when it comes to the potential impact of flooding on their bottom line than they may realize. Flooding that leads to lost days of operation and lengthy repair times for local businesses could have significant broader national and even global economic consequences."

"As climate change continues to accelerate, flood risk will pose an economic threat to more commercial and multi-residential properties across the country," said Ibbi Almufti, chair of Arup's global working group on climate risk and resilience. "Arup and First Street Foundation are joining forces to provide important knowledge for businesses, property owners, and investors to forecast potential losses over the next three decades. This new report will provide the most comprehensive and up to date understanding of flood risk to various American communities and can embolden action to mitigate the effects of climate change."

The report aggregates property-level data at the metro and state level. Additional data, including the future flood risk to individual properties, can be accessed from First Street Foundation and more detailed risk analysis can also be requested.

First Street Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) research and technology group working to define America's growing climate risk. The Foundation uses transparent, peer-reviewed methodologies to calculate the past, present, and future climate risk of individual homes and properties across the United States. The Foundation's data addresses an asymmetry of information in the U.S., empowering Americans to protect themselves from increasing climate risk.

Arup is the creative force at the heart of many of the world's most prominent projects in the built environment and across industry. Working in more than 140 countries, the firm's designers, engineers, architects, planners, consultants, and technical specialists work with our clients on innovative projects of the highest quality and impact.

SOURCE First Street Foundation
ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida Community Loan Fund, a statewide nonprofit lending institution, announced a $1.1 million financial assistance award from the U.S. Treasury Dept. Community Development Institutions (CDFI) Fund.

FCLF received the largest FA award in Florida  the organization's 7th consecutive award under the core CDFI Fund program. The CDFI Fund award will allow FCLF to offer innovative financing to nonprofits and smaller for-profit entities developing affordable housing. A portion of the funds will help finance projects that provide housing or other services for Floridians with disabilities. Nationally, 244 CDFIs won awards totaling $180.3 million.

"The CDFI Fund award will allow us to equip organizations that develop affordable housing with better and more flexible financing options to make their projects successful," said CEO Ignacio Esteban. "This award will make it possible for FCLF to continue to address the unique affordable housing development needs in the South Florida market."

FCLF has a well known reputation of providing patient, affordable capital for community and economic development throughout Florida, creating a high social impact. To date, FCLF has delivered $494 million in financing into projects totaling $1.3 billion.

About Florida Community Loan Fund. Florida Community Loan Fund is a nonprofit, multifaceted financing entity with a 25-year history of providing flexible capital and expertise to nonprofit and mission-aligned for-profit entities that benefit people and places outside the economic mainstream across Florida. FCLF is nationally recognized for its work as a certified CDFI and CDE through the U.S. Dept. of Treasury and as a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta. www.fclf.org.

Media Contact: Janet de Guehery, [email protected]

Twitter @FCLFOrg

SOURCE Florida Community Loan Fund (FCLF)

Related Links

http://www.fclf.org


DENVER, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Voyager Space, a global leader in space exploration, today announced Dirk Hoke has joined the company's advisory board. Hoke served as the CEO of Airbus Defence and Space (Airbus) for five years as well as on the company's executive council. He joins a renowned group of industry experts guiding Voyager as it continues its mission to create a vertically integrated, publicly traded NewSpace company.

Before joining Airbus in 2016, Hoke worked at Siemens, where he held various executive-level positions. His career spans 25 years and five continents in various industries, often focusing on digitalization.

"Dirk brings a unique set of skills and global experience to the advisory board at Voyager," said Dylan Taylor, Chairman and CEO of Voyager Space. "Having someone like Dirk who can provide guidance on both commercial and government space applications, coupled with his knowledge of the global digital space is incredibly valuable to us. We are grateful to have his insight and support as part of our advisory board."

Hoke holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Technical University of Brunswick, Germany. He is a member of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader Class of 2010 and went on to become a member of the Baden Entrepreneur Talks in 2013. Hoke is currently based in Nuremberg, Germany where he runs his own firm focused on consulting and investment across a wide range of industries, with a focus on digital transformation and leadership.

"Voyager is leading the industry when it comes to acquiring companies that are not only creating innovative technologies, but they are delivering on those technologies and making real, tangible progress in the marketplace," said Hoke. "I am very much looking forward to working with the team at Voyager as they continue to expand their capabilities to support a diverse set of customers and take on some of the world's most important challenges through the implementation of space solutions."

The news of Hoke's appointment comes shortly after Voyager announced a series of company achievements including NASA's selection of Voyager Space company Nanoracks to build a first-of-its-kind commercial space station with Lockheed Martin, as well as Lockheed Martin's awarding of a $94 million subcontract to Voyager Space company Valley Tech Systems for an advanced solid-propulsion subsystem for its Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) contract with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA).

About Voyager Space

Voyager Space is a global leader in space exploration. Voyager's long-term mission is to create a vertically integrated, publicly traded NewSpace company capable of delivering any space mission humans can conceive. The firm's first-in-industry model is uniquely tailored to support the growth needs of commercial space companies by replacing traditional private capital models with a longer-term approach that provides permanent capital. To learn more about Voyager Space, please visit: https://voyagerspace.com/ and follow @VoyagerSH on Twitter.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements." All statements, other than statements of historical fact, including those with respect to Voyager Space, Inc.'s (the "Company's") mission statement and growth strategy, are "forward-looking statements." Although the Company's management believes that such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee that such expectations are, or will be, correct. These forward-looking statements involve many risks and uncertainties, which could cause the Company's future results to differ materially from those anticipated. Potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, general economic conditions and conditions affecting the industries in which the Company operates; the uncertainty of regulatory requirements and approvals; and the ability to obtain necessary financing on acceptable terms or at all. Readers should not place any undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve these known and unknown uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Company's control and which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Any forward-looking statement reflects the Company's current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

SOURCE Voyager Space
MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. (NYSE American: VINE) today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 2,200,000 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $10.00 per share, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses payable. All of the shares are being offered by Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. In addition, the underwriters have been granted a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 330,000 shares of common stock from Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. at the initial public offering price. The shares are expected to begin trading on the NYSE American on December 14, 2021 under the ticker symbol "VINE," and the offering is expected to close on December 16, 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. co-owners Julianne Hough and Nina Dobrev, together with newly appointed Chief Executive Officer Janelle Anderson, are scheduled to be at the NYSE to ring the closing bell on December 16, 2021.

The Oak Ridge Financial Services Group, Inc. is acting as lead book-running manager and as representative for the proposed offering, with Boustead Securities, LLC serving as co-manager.

A registration statement relating to these securities was declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on December 13, 2021. The offering is being made only by means of a prospectus. Copies of the preliminary prospectus may be obtained from The Oak Ridge Financial Services Group, Inc. at 701 Xenia Avenue South, Suite 100 Golden Valley, MN 55416, by calling Jake Newsom at (763) 923-2278 or by emailing [email protected], or from Boustead Securities, LLC at 6 Venture, Suite 395, Irvine, CA 92618, by calling Brinson Lingenfelter at (949) 375-6879 or by emailing [email protected].

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About Fresh Vine Wine, Inc.

Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. is a premier producer of low carb, low calorie premium wines in the United States that positions its wines in the "better for you" segment which seeks to appeal to consumers' emphasis on a healthy lifestyle. Fresh Vine Wine's varietals currently include its Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Rose.

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Fresh Vine Wine, Inc.
"This is a big leap in the U.S. for Sukin, and one we're happy and prepared to take," said Doug Hosking, President, Americas, BWX Ltd., the brand's parent company. "By aligning with this legendary American retailer, we're introducing Sukin to a much wider potential customer base. It's an exciting new chapter, one we know will fuel both growth and exposure."

Launched in Australia in 2007, and introduced in the U.S. in 2018, Sukin was far ahead of the "clean curve" that has gained so much traction in the past few years. With an extensive "No" list, a commitment to recyclable packaging and carbon neutrality and a pledge to protect the reefs that surround its native land, the brand has led the way in what it truly means to be an eco-conscious beauty company.

Encompassing a wide range of products for face, hands, body and hair, the unisex range boasts a number of bestsellers, including its beloved Signature collection launching in Walmart. The alcohol-free Signature Hydrating Mist Toner, an award-winning celebrity favorite, is so popular that there's one sold every 40 seconds.

With so many options for meeting a multitude of skin concerns, and a new alliance with Walmart, Sukin Naturals is poised for major American impact.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SUKIN, PLEASE CONTACT:

TRACTENBERG & CO.

Dana Kaynes | [email protected]

Emily Lanzillo | [email protected]

ABOUT SUKIN

Since its inception in 2007, Sukin has provided natural and effective products that are good for you, your wallet, and the environment. Vegan, cruelty-free, carbon-neutral, grey water safe, and made with recyclable packaging, Sukin was one of the first to say 'No' to artificial additives and harsh ingredients that can cause harm to people and the environment. Sukin is available nationwide in the US at select retail stores including Target, Sprouts, Amazon, iHerb, Thrive Market, and SukinNaturals.com.

For more information about Sukin, visit https://sukinnaturals.com/ ,

Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/sukinskincare_usa/ and

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Sukin-Natural-Skincare-USA-101996211294670

ABOUT BWX

BWX is a global, natural beauty company with a portfolio of leading natural brands in Australia, USA, Canada, UK, China, and select other international markets. Founded and headquartered in Australia, BWX's expertise is in innovation, product development, manufacturing and marketing of natural products. BWX's family of natural brands provides consumers with a natural choice for personal care without compromising on performance. BWX inspires the advancement of plant and mineral-based science without causing unnecessary harm to the planet. It also says NO to testing its products on animals and believes in giving. The company is actively involved in giving back to causes relating to the environment, social responsibility and empowering women.

SOURCE BWX
NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In October, 1,700 people virtually attended Gerber Technology's annual ideation conference, which marked the beginning of Gerber and Lectra becoming stronger together as one company. Gerber and Lectra announced interoperability between Lectra's Modaris and Gerber's AccuMark software as well as the launch of new AccuMark and YuniquePLM v9 releases. Lectra's Retviews, Kubix and FashionOnDemand solutions were also introduced to the Gerber audience for the first time during the event.

ideation 2021 was made possible by 25 technology, media and industry association partners who sponsored the event, inducing WhichPLM, 3DLOOK, and Kornit Digital.

"This year's ideation marked the official uniting of two companies with rich histories in innovation," said Ketty Pillet, Vice President of Marketing, Americas for Lectra. "This is only the beginning of what we'll be able to accomplish together to help our customers perform better and respond to market challenges faster."

Each year ideation is the place where the fashion, furniture, technical textiles and sign and graphics industries meet to discuss announcements, innovations, and latest trends and challenges that are shaping the future. This year's ideation kicked off with introductions from Lectra CEO, Daniel Harari and a keynote address from Deborah Weinswig of Coresight Research.

One of the main highlights of this event were the Fashion and Sign and Graphic industry round tables. These discussions hosted some of the top industry leaders and focused on what is going on in the industry and how we can navigate for the future. Participants in the fashion roundtable included: Colleen Hau from Carhartt, Mike Todaro from Americas Apparel Producers Network, Matthew Wallace from DXM Inc. and Leonard Marano from Lectra.

"Favorite part was the Fashion RoundTable forum," one participant said. "I took so many notes from those industry leaders and their knowledge! Awesome that they answered questions people were asking in the live time too."

This year's conference also marked Gerber's first-ever Pitch Competition. Six teams developed collections using Gerber and Lectra solutions and pitched their collection to a panel of judges composed of fashion experts, which included Bob D'Loren, Chairman and CEO of Xcel Brands, Jeff Karly Drouillard, Parsons Alum and Recent CFDA FFGS20, Sebrie Springs and Kimberly Carney, FashWire, and Christina Liedtke, Founder, Astouri. The two winners, FRWL by Nicole Lee from the Brooklyn Fashion Incubator and Virago Lorica Segmentata Collection from FABRIC, walked the runway for a live fashion show at the Gerber Innovation Center during a Customer Appreciation event.

Gerber and Lectra also hosted an Executive Forum which gathered 35 executives from various companies, including Steve Lamar from AAFA, Isaac Presburger from Preslow S.A., Goor Moshe from Twine, Michael McDonald from SPESA, Karen Williams from Savitude and Sherri Barry from FABRIC, to discuss what's currently happening in their industries and how they see the future evolving.

"Two years ago, Gerber's ideation conference introduced me to their microfactory that they were displaying in their Innovation Center," said Sherri Barry of FABRIC. "ideation ended up being life changing for me because there were people of likeminds there that were willing to share and collaborate and help me and our fashion incubator come up with a solution for our designers where they could sustainably manufacture using technology. Fast forward two years, the microfactory and OnDemand manufacturing is a reality at FABRIC."

Registrants are still able to access all the sessions through the ideation platform .

About Gerber Technology, a Lectra Company

For companies that breathe life into our wardrobes, car interiors, furniture and more, Lectra crafts the premium technologies that facilitate the digital transformation of their industry. Lectra's offer empowers brands, manufacturers and retailers from design to production, providing them with the market respect and peace of mind they deserve. Founded in 1973, the company reported revenues of 236 million euros in 2020 and is listed on Euronext (LSS).

In June 2021, Lectra acquired Gerber Technology, a USA-based company founded in 1968. Like Lectra, Gerber Technology develops software and automation solutions for fashion, automotive, furniture and other businesses across the globe.

By uniting, Lectra and Gerber Technology will become the ultimate Industry 4.0 partner for their customers.

For more information, please visit www.lectra.com.

Contact: Ketty Pillet

Tel: +1 860-896-6036

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Gerber Technology
DUBLIN, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Pharmaceutical Quality Management Software Market - A Global and Regional Analysis: Focus on Deployment Models, Applications, End Users, and Country-Wise Analysis - Analysis and Forecast, 2021-2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global pharmaceutical quality management software market report highlights that the market was valued at $472.6 million in 2020 and is expected to reach $3,717.7 million by the end of 2030. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 22.91% during the forecast period from 2021 to 2030.

Global Pharmaceutical Quality Management Software Market Industry Overview

The manufacture of drugs and pharmaceutical products passes through various processing steps, each of which requires monitoring to ensure the safety, efficacy, and quality of the manufactured product. Traditional paper-based quality management systems are associated with various drawbacks that can be overcome by software-based quality management systems.

While the pharmaceutical quality management software market is still in its niche stage, the market is anticipated to grow rapidly owing to increasing technology adoption in the pharmaceutical industry, increasing cost of drug manufacturing, and evolving regulations.

Currently, a few large pharmaceutical companies have adopted electronic quality management systems in order to automate their processes. With increasing technology adoption in the pharmaceutical industry, going forward, smaller companies are expected to implement software-based systems from the beginning itself.

The COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated the digital transformation of the pharmaceutical industry. This positive impact is attributed to factors such as travel restrictions and the emerging concept of working and communicating remotely.

Global Pharmaceutical Quality Management Software Market Drivers

The factors driving the growth of the market include the increasing cost of drug manufacturing, constantly evolving regulations, and growing technology adoption in the pharmaceutical industry. Pharmaceutical companies spend up to billions of dollars in the manufacture of a new drug, thereby increasing the demand for automating manufacturing processes.

The benefits associated with paper-based quality management systems are overcome by software-based quality management systems, presenting a lucrative market for pharmaceutical quality management software.

Furthermore, increasing demand by pharmaceutical companies to comply with regulatory requirements in order to compete with other players in the market is another factor driving the growth of the market.

Global Pharmaceutical Quality Management Software Market Challenges

The factors restraining the growth of the global pharmaceutical quality management software include security concerns pertaining to on-cloud deployment and the lack of well-established regulations governing pharmaceutical quality management software systems. Data breach incidents cause the pharmaceutical industry to suffer both monetary losses as well as breaches of customer trust.

Additionally, while emerging economies in Asia-Pacific and Rest-of-the-World present a huge potential for growth of the pharmaceutical quality management software market, currently, market penetration in the region is challenging owing to factors such as lack of technology integration in the pharmaceutical industry and high upfront costs associated with the purchase of software.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic has countered these challenges and thus, positively impacted the digital transformation of the pharmaceutical industry.

Global Pharmaceutical Quality Management Software Market Opportunities

Synergies between pharmaceutical QMS developers and local end users and the development of solutions based on platform-as-a-service business model hold immense potential for the growth of the global pharmaceutical quality management software market.

The development of solutions based on the platform-as-a-service model is a novel model for running applications such as quality management software wherein a third party maintains the hardware and software infrastructure and delivers it to users over the internet. The software developers are adopting the PaaS solutions due to their simplicity, scalability, and reliability.

Key Market Players and Competition Synopsis

In the past few years, the global pharmaceutical quality management software market has witnessed several strategic and technological developments undertaken by the different market players to attain their respective market shares in this emerging domain.

Some of the strategies covered in this segment are funding activities, mergers and acquisitions (M&As), partnerships, alliances, and business expansion, regulatory and legal activities, and new offerings. The preferred strategy for companies has been partnerships followed by funding activities.

Some of the key players operating in the market include

ANTARES VISION S.p.A

AssurX, Inc.

AXSource

CLARIVATE PLC.

ComplianceQuest

Dassault Systemes

EtQ Management Consultants, Inc.

Honeywell International Inc.

Ideagen Plc.

IQVIA HOLDINGS INC.

LogicGate, Inc

MasterControl

PTC Inc.

Sarjen Systems Pvt. Ltd.

Qualio

Veeva Systems Inc.

Market Dynamics

Market Drivers

Increasing Cost of Drugs Manufacturing

Constantly Evolving Regulations

Growing Technology Adoption in Pharmaceutical Industry

Market Restraints

Security Concerns Pertaining to On-Cloud Deployment

Lack of Regulations for Pharmaceutical Quality Management Software

Market Opportunities

Synergies Between Pharmaceutical Quality Management Software Developers and Local End User

Development of Solutions Based on Platform-as-a-Service Business Model

Opportunities Analysis (Short-, Mid-, and Long-Term Duration)

Market Outlook

Key Findings and Opportunity Assessment

Key Findings

Opportunity Assessment

Growth Scenarios

Realistic Growth Scenario

Optimistic Growth Scenario

Pessimistic/Conservative Growth Scenario

Industry Analysis

Key Trends

Potential Analysis

Short-Term Potential (2-4 Years)

Mid-Term Potential (5-10 Years)

Long-Term Potential (8-12 Years)

Case Studies

Case Study: Alphazyme and Qualio

Case Study: AL Andalous and AmpleLogic

Patent Analysis

Patent Analysis, by Year

Patent Analysis, by Country/Cluster

Impact of COVID-19 on Global Pharmaceutical Quality Management Software Market

Impact on Adoption of Pharmaceutical Quality Management Software

Impact on Market Size

Scenario Comparison Analysis

Future Outlook and Recommendations

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/633qrd

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com


DUBLIN, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) - Market and Technology Forecast to 2029" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Markets will reach US $23.42 bn through 2029 from US$15.75 bn in 2021. The major growth of the market is anticipated from 2023 to 2027 when the majority of deployments of SIGINT will take place in, ground-based SIGINT, space and unmanned aerial systems, and maritime SIGINT.

The report offers a detailed analysis of the global SIGINT market over the next eight years, and provides market size forecasts. Furthermore, it covers key technological and market trends in the industry and analyzes factors influencing demand for SIGINT systems.

Most nations are yet to develop entire SIGINT systems and are investing inorganically. An integration of COMINT and ELINT using all sorts of platforms will be the key development in coming years and emphasis will be to develop policy and procedures to bring the entire SIGINT system under one roof.

In the US and European nations, emphasis is put more on ELINT and combining COMINT with ELINT is a growing field of technical and operation strategy. The US is stronger in developing maritime SIGINT looking forward to growing tensions in the South China Sea. After coming back from wars in Afghanistan the US and NATO countries will show a reduction in ground-based tactical SIGINT needs. The future will be to fight wars with electronic countermeasures using space warcraft and UAVs.

China is investing heavily in spacecraft and UUVs for SIGINT and electronic warfare. Movements by China in the South China Sea region have been disruptive enough for other nations. To counter China's ambitious policies Japan and India are working on respective SIGINT policies to include more space programs, SIGINT aircraft, and maritime SIGINT. This will increase the demand for SIGINT in Asian markets.

Current Technologies SIGINT

Communication intelligence (COMINT)

Electronic intelligence (ELINT)

Foreign Instrumentation Signals Intelligence (FISINT)

Technologies used for Signal Interception and Analysis

COMINT Systems

ELINT Systems

Signals intelligence operational platforms

SIGINT or Intelligent Satellites

Airborne Platforms

Maritime Platforms

Ground Platforms

Technologies used in SIGINT

Radio Signal Receivers and Networking Systems

Software Defined Radio (SDR)

Sensors and Sensor Systems

Software, Applications, and Interface

Data Integration and Processing Platforms

Need for Cybersecurity

Implementation of AI in SIGINT

CubeSats

Radio Frequency Mapping (RFM)

Current Market Overview SIGINT

Key SIGINT Programs

SIGINT Alliances

UKUSA Agreement

SSEUR

Afghanistan SIGINT Coalition (AFSC)

Maximator

Our Eyes

Pacific Alliances

Strategic Interpretation of World SIGINT Markets

Companies Mentioned

Aurora Insight

Avantix SAS

BAE Systems

Black River Systems Co. Inc.

Boeing

General Dynamics

HawkEye 360

Horizon Technologies

IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries)

Inmarsat

Kleos Space

L3 Harris

Leonardo SPA

Northrop Grumman Corp.

PAL Aerospace

Raytheon

Rockwell Collins

Rohde & Schwarz

SAAB

SRC Inc.

TCI Technology

Thales

Unseenlabs

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/jrtwjf

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com


DUBLIN, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Smart Water Management Market by Water Meter (AMR, AMI), Solution (Enterprise Asset Management, Network Management, Smart Irrigation), Service (Professional, Managed), End User (Commercial & Industrial, Residential), and Region - Forecast to 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Global Smart water management Market size to grow from USD 13.8 Billion in 2021 to USD 22.4 Billion by 2026, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 10.1% during the forecast period.

The presence of various key players in the ecosystem has led to competitive and diverse market. The growth of the SWM market is expected to gain traction in the next five years, which can be attributed to factors, such as rapid urbanization generating enormous pressure on water utilities for quality and continuous water supply and related services; rapid adoption of advanced technologies for innovating smart solutions to cater to the growing water industry challenges; rising concern for sustainable living leading to the development of regulations and laws by governments across the globe to reduce water consumption; and developing water treatment solutions.

Developed economies across the globe are facing a major challenge in the form of aging infrastructure, which generates a huge demand for its replacement with smart water infrastructure solutions, offering precise control over water resources through real-time data.

The solution segment to record a larger market share during the forecast period

In the smart water management market by offering the solutions segment is expected to record a larger market share during the forecast period With technology becoming more advanced with time, water utilities are adopting smart solutions to integrate various business processes, accelerating them toward growth. Integrating various advanced technologies with the existing operations helps them increase the operational efficiency of the entire water network even with low infrastructure investment.

These technologies and smart infrastructure are used to develop innovative solutions for customers in the smart water industry. During the forecast period, the adoption of smart solutions fare is expected to surge due to the rising awareness about the quality of water, scarcity of natural freshwater resources, rising consumer demands, and technological advancements.

Residential segment is expected to have a higher growth rate during the forecast period

By end-user the residential segment is expected to have the highest growth rate during the forecast period. The demand for freshwater in residential areas has shown unprecedented growth due to the world's growing urban population, changing lifestyles, and eating habits leading to higher water consumption. The increase in water consumption is more pronounced in urban settings with high population density with the presence of production industries that contribute toward major water consumption.

The rising demand for quality water services is expected to propel the demand for SWM solutions in residential areas. The solutions for SWM in residential areas are more focused on supplying quality water to the consumers, as water and sanitation access rates are higher in residential areas, leading to the rising demand for improved city planning and infrastructure with an efficient water supply and drainage system. In residential areas, the demand for quality water and improved sanitation services is rising due to concerns, such as poor health conditions resulting from contaminated water consumption.

Key Topics Covered:

Market Dynamics

Drivers

The Increasing Need for Insightful Approaches to Oversee Natural Water Resources with Urban Areas Becoming Increasingly Smarter and Technologically Advanced

Need for a Significant Reduction in Loss due to Non-revenue Water

Stringent Regulatory and Sustainability Mandates Concerning the Environment

Rising Need to Replace the Aging Water Infrastructure

Restraints

Lack of Digitally Skilled Workforce

Reduced Shelf-Life of Smart Meters

Opportunities

Increasing Role of Smart Water Management in the Smart City Revolution

Government Initiatives and Regulatory Implementations for Promoting SWM Solutions

Challenges

Difficulty in Technology Implementation Over the Legacy Infrastructure

High Initial Investments and Lower Return on Investment

Company Profiles

ABB

Aquamatix

Badger Meter

Citytaps

Elentec

Fluid

Fracta

Fredsense

Honeywell Elster

Hydropoint

I20

IBM

Itron

Landis+Gyr

Lishtot

Neptune Technology

Oracle

Schneider Electric

Siemens

Suez

Syrinix

Takadu

Trimble Water

Xenius

Xylem

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/3pyuri

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"A diverse and engaged workforce is critical to our success in putting HAP's members at the center of all we do," said Michael Genord, M.D, president and CEO of HAP. "HAP prides itself on the fact that our team members are the best brand ambassadors we have. Their engagement is one reason why our members rank HAP so highly in member satisfaction surveys. We're excited that Marc is on board to play a critical role in maintaining and enhancing that engagement  among his many other responsibilities  as we continue to spread the word that HAP is a great place to work."

Before joining HAP, Ahlquist served as director of human resources at Credit Acceptance Corporation, a 2,000-employee auto loan finance company based in Southfield, Mich. Prior to that, he held HR leadership positions at Beaumont Health, Oakwood Healthcare, Healthsource Saginaw and Kelly Services, a worldwide leader in staffing solutions.

Ahlquist is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) from the Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI) and is designated as a Senior Certified Professional by the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM-SCP). He holds an MBA from Wayne State University and a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Michigan - Dearborn.

About Health Alliance Plan

Health Alliance Plan (HAP) is a Michigan-based, nonprofit health plan that provides health coverage to individuals and companies of all sizes. For 60 years, HAP has partnered with leading doctors and hospitals, employers, and community organizations to enhance the health and well-being of the lives it touches. HAP offers a product portfolio with six distinct product lines: Group Insured Commercial, Individual, Medicare, Medicaid (using the HAP Empowered name), Self-Funded and Network Leasing. HAP excels in delivering award-winning preventive services, disease management and wellness programs, as well as personalized customer service. For more information, visit www.hap.org.

SOURCE Health Alliance Plan
HRI will pay $1.075 billion in cash for the operating assets of The Mirage Hotel and Casino, subject to customary working capital adjustments. The iconic hospitality and entertainment brand will enter into a long-term lease agreement with VICI Properties Inc. for the real estate property of The Mirage.

"We are honored to welcome The Mirage's 3,500 team members to the Hard Rock family," said Jim Allen, Chairman of Hard Rock International. "When complete, Hard Rock Las Vegas will be a fully integrated resort welcoming meetings, groups, tourists and casino guests from around the world to its nearly 80 acre center-Strip location."

Prior to 2020, Hard Rock International had no previous involvement with the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. HRI purchased the licensing and naming rights for Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas in May 2020 and vowed to bring the iconic brand to the Las Vegas Strip when the right opportunity presented itself.

Barclays served as exclusive financial advisor to Hard Rock International in connection with the transaction, and Jones Day served as legal advisor to Hard Rock International together with Fox Rothschild LLP and McDonald Carano LLP as special gaming counsel.

About Hard Rock International

Hard Rock International (HRI) is one of the most globally recognized companies with venues in 67 countries spanning 249 locations that include owned/licensed or managed Hotels, Casinos, Rock Shops, Live Performance Venues and Cafes. HRI also launched a joint venture named Hard Rock Digital in 2020, an online sportsbook, retail sportsbook and internet gaming platform. Beginning with an Eric Clapton guitar, Hard Rock owns the world's largest and most valuable collection of authentic music memorabilia at more than 86,000 pieces, which are displayed at its locations around the globe. In 2021, Hard Rock was awarded the Top Employer in the Travel & Leisure, Gaming, and Entertainment Industry by Forbes, designated as a U.S. Best Managed Company by Deloitte Private and The Wall Street Journal and named the top performing hotel brand in J.D. Power's North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Study for the third consecutive year. In 2020, Hard Rock was honored as one of Forbes Magazine's Best Employers for Diversity and a Top Employer for Women. Hard Rock Hotels & Casinos also received first place ranking in the 2020 Casino Gaming Executive Satisfaction Survey conducted by Bristol Associates Inc. and Spectrum Gaming Group. Hard Rock destinations are located in international gateway cities, including its two most successful flagship properties in Florida and home to the world's first Guitar Hotel in South Florida, Global Gaming's 2020 Property of the Year. The brand is owned by HRI parent entity The Seminole Tribe of Florida. For more information on Hard Rock International, visit www.hardrock.com or shop.hardrock.com.

SOURCE Hard Rock International
NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- High Road Capital Partners (www.highroadcap.com) announced today that its portfolio company John Henry Foster Minnesota (jhfoster.com) has completed the acquisition of Sensors Inc. and Sensors Integration Corp. (collectively, "Sensors"), its second acquisition under High Road's ownership.

Sensors (www.sensorsincorporated.com) is a leading distributor and integrator of industrial sensing products and systems, including machine vision, process control and monitoring, barcode scanning, and safety guarding solutions. Sensors provides technical service and support for OEMs, system integrators, and end users, and also offers its own patented line of product and package verification, vision and lighting, and safety systems.

John Henry Foster Minnesota ("JHFoster") was acquired by High Road Capital Partners Fund II, L.P., in May 2019. JHFoster is a leading value-added distributor of motion control parts and accessories, compressed air systems, collaborative robots, industrial robotics, and electrical automation products to manufacturers in the upper Midwest. The company is headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota.

"We are pleased that Sensors is joining the JHFoster family of companies," said Nicholas Martino, CEO of JHFoster. "This acquisition will provide access to supplier relationships that will continue to offer the best solutions for both companies' customer bases. Both companies will benefit from the expertise and resources that each has developed over the years, and this knowledge-sharing will certainly benefit our customers and suppliers," Mr. Martino said.

David Kotula, President of Sensors, added, "We are excited to join the JHFoster team and look forward to leveraging our resources and capabilities to support the growth initiatives of the combined companies."

Sensors Inc. and Sensors Integration Corp. will continue to operate locally and nationally under the Sensors brand and remain headquartered in Delano, Minnesota. JHFoster will continue to serve its five-state territory from its primary location in Eagan, Minnesota.

JHFoster's acquisition of Sensors Incorporated closed on December 2, 2021. Ben Schnakenberg, Partner, led the transaction for High Road and was assisted by Tom Cassidy, Vice President, and J.P. Christiano, Associate. Transaction consideration was not disclosed.

High Road has completed 70 transactions  20 platform investments, 37 add-on acquisitions, and 13 exits  since its founding in 2007.

For further information, please contact Ben Schnakenberg of High Road Capital Partners at (212) 554-3269.

High Road Capital Partners

High Road Capital Partners is a private equity firm focused on the smaller middle market. High Road was formed in 2007 and has raised over $470 million of committed capital since inception. High Road targets niche-leading companies with revenues of $5 million to $100 million and EBITDA of $1 million to $10 million. Post acquisition, High Road works in partnership with management to take companies to the next level through a combination of organic growth initiatives and add-on acquisitions. www.highroadcap.com

John Henry Foster Minnesota

Founded in 1938, John Henry Foster Minnesota (JHFoster) is a leading value-added distributor of motion control parts and accessories, compressed air systems, collaborative robots, industrial robotics, and electrical automation products. JHFoster customizes products and solutions to automate manufacturing applications for companies in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Iowa. The company is headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota, with an advanced robotics design and training facility and UL 508A-certified control panel shop also in Eagan; facilities in Fargo, North Dakota, and Hiawatha, Iowa; and a fully equipped team of mobile service technicians throughout the five-state area. jhfoster.com

SOURCE High Road Capital Partners
HONG KONG, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is today (Monday) pleased to welcome the listings of the first ETFs to track the MSCI China A50 Connect Index.

A total of three new ETFs that track the MSCI China A50 Connect Index are listing on HKEX, available in HKD, USD and RMB counters.

Listing Date Stock Code ETF Name 13/12/2021 3003 (HKD) CSOP MSCI China A 50 Connect ETF 2839 (HKD) / 82839 (RMB) / 9839 (USD) ChinaAMC MSCI China A 50 Connect ETF 14/12/2021 3111 (HKD) / 83111 (RMB) E Fund (HK) MSCI China A50 Connect ETF

HKEX Co-Head of Markets Wilfred Yiu said: "We warmly welcome the listing of these new ETFs tracking MSCI China A50 Connect Index. They will join increasingly diversified Connect product ecosystem in Hong Kong, enriching choice for investors around the world, and providing another investment option for those seeking exposure to China assets. HKEX looks forward to working with its clients and the market on continuing to build Hong Kong's attractiveness as an offshore RMB hub and international trading, risk management and capital raising centre."

Since its launch in 2014, Stock Connect, the landmark mutual market access programme linking the Hong Kong and Mainland China equity markets, has become the key channel for international investors to access the A-shares market and has helped facilitate the inclusion of Chinese A-shares into key global indices. Nowadays, over 70% of international holding of A-shares are through Stock Connect.

In October, HKEX successfully launched the MSCI China A50 Connect Index Futures, providing an efficient risk management tool for investors to manage their Stock Connect A-shares equity exposure in Hong Kong. The notional open interest of the contract exceeded US$2 billion in the first month of launch, with daily average trading volume of 11,927 contract in November.

The MSCI China A50 Connect Index is designed to have a comprehensive representation of the Chinese economy by including 50 of the largest stocks in the China A-share large-cap universe, and targeting at least two stocks from each sector. The index comprises 50 Stock Connect eligible underlying stocks and historically has a high correlation to the performance of main MSCI A-share indices.

Hong Kong's ETF market continues to go from strength to strength. The average daily turnover of ETFs for the first 11 months of 2021 was HK$7.8 billion, an increase of 20% when compared with HK$6.5 billion for the same period last year. The ETF market is also seeing growing and broader exposure to China's economy, with assets under management of China-focused ETFs accounting for 25% of the Hong Kong ETF market as of end-November.

Further information about Hong Kong-listed ETPs is available on the HKEX website.

About HKEX

HKEX is one of the world's major exchange groups, and operates a range of equity, commodity, fixed income and currency markets. HKEX is the world's leading IPO market and as Hong Kong's only securities and derivatives exchange and sole operator of its clearing houses, it is uniquely placed to offer regional and international investors access to Asia's most vibrant markets.

HKEX is also the global leader in metals trading, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, The London Metal Exchange (LME) and LME Clear Limited. This commodity franchise was further enhanced with the launch of Qianhai Mercantile Exchange (QME), in China, in 2018.

HKEX launched the pioneering Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect programme in 2014, further expanded with the launch of Shenzhen Connect in 2016, and the launch of Bond Connect in 2017.

www.hkexgroup.com

SOURCE Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX)
BOSTON, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Coalition for Parental Choice held a State House Rally in Boston on Thursday to highlight impacts of proposed legislation that would allow for vaccinations of children in schools without parental knowledge or consent.

Coalition for Parental Choice Coalition for Parental Choice

The bills, often referred to as "The Community Immunity Act," (S.1517/H.2271/H.2411), would place severe restrictions on parental rights including access to children's vaccination records, access to physician approved medical exemptions and more. The bills impacts are not limited to COVID-19 vaccinations but include any current and future state approved vaccinations.

Despite Massachusetts vaccination rates hitting record highs of over 97% for the 2019-2020 school year, these bills severely restrict access to education for those in need of medical exemptions and the 1% of Massachusetts students who use a religious exemption. These restrictions disproportionally impact minority students and traditionally disadvantaged communities.

The group consisted of over 200 residents from across Massachusetts who have been working to educate state legislators about potential impacts of these bills on children, families, and access to education.

"With Massachusetts immunity rates among the highest in the country, the legislature is trying to solve the wrong problem." Said Allison Chapman. "Instead of taking away my rights as a parent to make informed healthcare decisions for my child, they should be making sure there are school nurses in every school to keep our children safe and healthy."

"I call upon our legislators to reject these flawed and draconian pieces of legislation which undermine fundamental parental rights, refuse to make allowances for religious beliefs and try to shoehorn individualized medical decisions into a simple checklist." Said Dr. Sylvia Fogel. "These bills do not protect public health. They will have no meaningful impact on vaccination rates, but they will put at risk individualized medical care, education, and opportunities for a variety of marginalized communities."

"These bills attempt to prevent disease with a "one size fits all" regulation that does not respect the rights of individual liberty and choice. Said Dr. Paul Jehle, Senior Pastor of The New Testament Church.

FACT SHEET

https://coalitionforparentalchoice.com

Contact: Nolan Carrier

617 840-5948

[email protected]

SOURCE Coalition for Parental Choice
"Germany, France, Austria, and Sweden are setting benchmarks in AV development and driving early adoption of regulations in Europe," said Deexeta Mohan Kumar, Mobility Research Analyst at Frost & Sullivan. "The UNECE and governing bodies are working on the regulatory framework to support the strong AV ecosystem in the region. Similarly, Singapore, China, and Japan are at the forefront of large-scale testing and deployment of L3 to L5 AVs in Asia-Pacific (APAC). However, the same cannot be said for the other APAC countries, such as India and Malaysia, as they lack government funding and have an insufficient physical and digital infrastructure."

Kumar added: "Technology developers work with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and tiered suppliers to develop and integrate autonomous driving features in vehicle platforms. Collective efforts by technology participants and OEMs to deploy convenience features such as adaptive cruise control (ACC) in vehicles are likely to help the AV industry meet regulatory compliance in Europe by 2024."

The global harmonization of AV regulations will be instrumental in ramping up L3 to L5 deployment, presenting lucrative growth opportunities for AV market participants in areas such as:

Harmonized guidelines for vertical market expansion : Global adoption of L3 and above AVs depends on a unified regulatory framework, standardization of ADAS deployment, and autonomous driving features such as driver monitoring, piloted driving, and autonomous parking.

: Global adoption of L3 and above AVs depends on a unified regulatory framework, standardization of ADAS deployment, and autonomous driving features such as driver monitoring, piloted driving, and autonomous parking. Regulating L2+ and L3 piloted driving : Regulatory bodies should set L2+ as a standard level and define market deployment guidelines.

: Regulatory bodies should set L2+ as a standard level and define market deployment guidelines. L4 robotaxis and shuttles for consumer deployment by 2024: Technology participants and OEMs can work together to develop and test advanced systems on public roads to deploy L4 robotaxis and shuttles.

Global Autonomous Vehicles Regulatory Growth Opportunities is the latest addition to Frost & Sullivan's Mobility research and analyses available through the Frost & Sullivan Leadership Council, which helps organizations identify a continuous flow of growth opportunities to succeed in an unpredictable future.

About Frost & Sullivan

For over six decades, Frost & Sullivan has helped build sustainable growth strategies for Fortune 1000 companies, governments, and investors. We apply actionable insights to navigate economic changes, identify disruptive technologies, and formulate new business models to create a stream of innovative growth opportunities that drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion.

Global Autonomous Vehicles Regulatory Growth Opportunities

PBBE

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Srihari Daivanayagam, Corporate Communications

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SOURCE Frost & Sullivan
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Inkling , a global leader in digital learning solutions, today announced that it won nine Excellence in Technology awards from Brandon Hall Group  five in the Learning and Development Category and four in the Future of Work Category. These included three Gold awards, two Silvers and four Bronzes for collaborative authoring, leadership in operational learning, modern mobile learning and integration with partner apps for extended enterprise learning. Including the 11 HCM Excellence Awards Brandon Hall awarded in September, Inkling has won a total of 20 Brandon Hall awards in 2021 spanning the Human Capital Management (HCM) and Technology categories, and more than 50 Brandon Hall awards in the last three years.

"The workplace has changed dramatically over the past two years, with more companies adopting digital learning strategies and shifting to a hybrid approach with both on-premise and remote workers as they try to combat one of the worst labor shortages in decades. This work environment introduces new challenges for organizations that still rely on in-person training and traditional training and knowledge tools," said Inkling CEO Jeff Carr. "Inkling has helped its customers address these challenges head-on, with operational learning solutions that support real-time learning in the flow of work and give workers the personalized digital tools they need to succeed on the job. We are honored to receive recognition from Brandon Hall Group as one of the top award winners in the Learning and Development category for our innovations that help businesses build a more knowledgeable, confident and engaged workforce, and ultimately create an environment where workers feel supported and appreciated."

Inkling was recognized in the Learning and Development category with five awards:

Gold

Best Advance in Unique Learning Technology: "Inkling Expands Its Leadership in Operational Learning with Unique, Innovative InkForms Application"

Best Advance in Content Authoring Technology: "Inkling Adds Innovative Forms Building Tool to Complement its Habitat Collaborative Authoring Platform"

Silver

Best Advance in Unique Learning Technology: "Inkling Connect Brings Learning to the Learners Anywhere, Anytime in Any System"

Bronze

Best Advance in Performance Technology Support: "Inkling InkForms Moves Performance Support Out of the PC and Out to the Floor"

Best Advance in Learning Management Technology for External Training: "Extending Inkling Functionality with Partner Micro Apps for Extended Enterprise Learning"

And in the Future of Work category, Inkling received four awards:

Gold

Best Advance in Business Strategy and Technology Innovation: "A Strategic Plus One System; Inkling Connect Helps Drive Strategic System Consolidation"

Silver

Best Advance in Technology Innovation for the Remote Workforce: "Inkling InkForms Brings Learning to the Learners in Remote Work Locations"

Bronze

Best Advance in Business Automation: "Delivering Modern Digital Learning to All Corporate Systems with Inkling Connect"

Best Advance in Business Automation: "Inkling Improves Business Automation by Connecting Learning to Operations"

"Technology has never been more critical for success in human capital management than it is today. We were thrilled to see many new innovations in all areas, but especially related to the future of work," said Brandon Hall Group Chief Operating Officer and awards program head Rachel Cooke. "Thanks to the many innovations from our Excellence in Technology winners, organizations have many compelling options as they make important decisions on how to leverage technology to drive their people strategies."

"HCM solution providers must be experts and visionaries in technology, but they also must have the ability to anticipate the diverse needs of employers as they work to adapt to ongoing change," Brandon Hall Group CEO Mike Cooke said. "This requires a blend of curiosity, empathy and agility that is difficult to achieve. We have seen an extraordinary level of insight and creativity from our Excellence in Technology winners that has been exciting to see."

A panel of veteran, independent senior industry experts, and Brandon Hall Group senior analysts and executives evaluated the entries based upon the following criteria:

Product: What was the product's breakthrough innovation?

Unique differentiators: What makes the product unique and how does it differ from any competing products?

Value proposition: What problem does the product solve and/or what need does this product address?

Measurable results: What are the benefits customers can expect to experience as a result of using this product?

About Brandon Hall Group, Inc.

Brandon Hall Group operates the largest and longest running awards program in Human Capital Management. As an independent HCM research and analyst firm they conduct studies in Learning and Development, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Talent Acquisition and HR/Workforce Management. These benchmark studies help organizations by providing strategic insights for executives and practitioners responsible for growth and business results.

Coupling the research studies with the best practice from the awards, Brandon Hall Group has helped more than 10,000 clients globally and more than 28 years of delivering world class research and advisory. At the core of our offerings is a membership program that combines research, benchmarking and unlimited access to data and analysts. Membership enables executives and practitioners to make the right decisions about people, processes, and systems, coalesced with analyst advisory services which aim to put the research into action in a way that is practical and efficient.

Brandon Hall Group has also launched professional certifications for business and human capital management professionals to upskill themselves and gain credentials for career advancement. ( www.brandonhall.com )

About Inkling

Inkling is a leading, global, modern learning platform designed for today's learners and today's work. The company delivers your most critical knowledge to your people in the flow of work, anytime, anywhere, and on any device. With easy content authoring, simplified learning paths, a modern learning experience, and meaningful insights, Inkling's modern operational learning platform delivers learning flawlessly and with simplicity. Named a Hot Vendor and Leader in Strategy for Learning by Aragon Research and a Training Industry Top 20 Training Delivery Company, Inkling also has earned several Excellence in Technology and Human Capital Management and Innovation awards from Brandon Hall Group. Leading brands trust Inkling to help them efficiently onboard employees, ensure continued performance enablement, and successfully execute corporate initiatives while providing new levels of visibility into critical operating metrics. Founded in 2009, Inkling is based in San Francisco.

For more information about Inkling, visit www.inkling.com .

SOURCE Inkling
The other source of isoflavones market is poised to surpass USD 460 million by 2027 growing at a CAGR of 13.5%. Green tea is gaining popularity both in terms of beverage and supplements. Attractive and flexible packaging will boost the market. Green tea contains natural isoflavones and acts as aid in cardiovascular diseases, obesity, and reduces LDL cholesterol.

Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/3077

Some major findings of the isoflavones market report include:

The nutraceutical application segment accounted for over 40% share in 2020 and is anticipated to register a significant CAGR in the coming years owing to the growing health consciousness among the consumers and its consumption around the world.

Cosmetics application of isoflavones exceeded USD 9.5 billion in 2020 and is anticipated to witness a significant CAGR over the upcoming years due to shifting consumer demand towards natural ingredients in the cosmetic industry.

in 2020 and is anticipated to witness a significant CAGR over the upcoming years due to shifting consumer demand towards natural ingredients in the cosmetic industry. Chickpea based Isoflavones demonstrated a lucrative CAGR of over 16.5% over the projected period as chickpeas has a wide variety of healthy characteristics and acts as aid in blood regulation & decreased cardiovascular risks.

North American market exceeded USD 17 billion in 2020 and is poised to achieve a moderate CAGR through 2027 driven by shifting consumer towards vegetarianism and growing soy production in the region.

Browse key industry insights spread across 260 pages with 377 market data tables and 30 figures & charts from the report, "Isoflavones Market by Source [Soy (Food & beverages, Nutraceuticals, Cosmetics), Chickpea (Food & beverages, Nutraceuticals, Cosmetics), Red Clover (Food & beverages, Nutraceuticals, Cosmetics)] Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook, Application Potential, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2021 - 2027" in detail along with the table of contents:

https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/isoflavones-market

Europe isoflavones market exceeded USD 10.5 billion in 2020 and is projected to register a lucrative CAGR in the coming years. Increasing inclination towards vegetarianism & non-GMO products should drive industry outlook. Fast paced life along with sedentary lifestyles is the main cause of cardiovascular diseases & diabetes. Companies are offering various products in the pharmaceutical & nutraceutical sectors providing generic & prescribed products and will lead to competition in the market which will enhance product portfolio. Increasing soy demand in Europe will accelerate the industry expansion in the region.

Browse the Toc of this report @ https://www.gminsights.com/toc/detail/isoflavones-market

About Global Market Insights

Global Market Insights Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider, offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy, and biotechnology.

Contact Us:

Arun Hegde

Corporate Sales, USA

Global Market Insights Inc.

Phone: 1-302-846-7766

Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Global Market Insights Inc.
TUCSON, Ariz., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- There is an adage that says many cases are won or lost in the process of voir dire or jury selection. Lawrence Huntoon, M.D., Ph.D., who has been an expert witness in many trials concerning sham peer review, explains how the process works, in the winter issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons.

The origin of voir dire predates the landmark Commentaries on the Laws of England by Sir William Blackstone in the late 1760s, writes Dr. Huntoon. Its primary purpose is to exclude potential jurors who will be biased against the physician's case.

Attorneys try to design questions that help to reveal bias, willingness to follow the law, attitude toward justice and fairness, and reasoning ability. One question proposed by Dr. Huntoon for excluding a juror for cause is "Do you work a night shift?"

"A trial involving sham peer review involves complex issues (medical staff bylaws, peer review process, National Practitioner Data Bank, Health Care Quality Improvement Act, and breach of contract/tort claims), which are outside the knowledge and common experience of most jurors." Many find the explanations to be tedious and boring. "Jurors who work a night shift and who normally sleep during the daytime may find it especially challenging to stay awake during the trial."

Dr. Huntoon explains the types of challenges, the ways in which the process may vary between jurisdictions, techniques such as looping and deconditioning, and visual clues.

"Voir dire is the most important part of any trial," Dr. Huntoon concludes. "It requires thoughtful strategy and planning. The more that physicians and their attorneys know about the voir dire process in sham peer review cases, the better chance they have of winning their case."

The Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons is published by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), a national organization representing physicians in all specialties since 1943.

SOURCE Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS)

Related Links

http://www.aapsonline.org


"Chicago is experiencing impressive growth in the biotech industry," says Tony Iannessa, Co-Founder of Helix and CEO of BIG Construction. "As of last year, companies were seeking 658,000 square feet of lab space in the Chicago area, up from 175,000 square feet the previous year, and we expect that growth to continue exponentially. As Helix, we are incredibly excited to meet this growing demand by advancing the availability of new and retrofitted spaces in the Chicago region."

Recently ranked among the top ten cities for biotech by Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, Chicago is emerging as a thriving hub for the life sciences, with the Midwest seeing billions of dollars of investment to accelerate innovation and research. This year alone, the state of Illinois gave more than $15 million to five universities and three ventures to build or renovate lab spaces in the Chicago area. Already a fast-growing sector in recent years, the COVID-19 crisis has only accelerated the need for both funding and available lab facilities, with life sciences companies seeking more than three times more lab space than in previous years.

"We are thrilled to combine our expertise under the Helix umbrella to support this important sector here in Chicago," says Jon Helman, Co-Founder of Helix and President of GCI General Contractors. "We know that Helix Construction will play a key part in making the Chicago region an important player in the life sciences industry."

By joining BIG Construction's local real estate knowledge with GCI's extensive experience in building cutting-edge lab facilities, the two companies bring a combined 34 years of successful project execution to Helix Construction.

Employing a staff of over 200, GCI's work in the Bay Area has focused on interiors, site renovation, infrastructure, labs and sustainable building. The firm has built over 1,000,000 square feet of life sciences space to date, contributing over 120 years of cumulative lab experience to projects for some of the largest biotech campuses, universities, and start-ups in the country. GCI has completed $384 million in work at Genentech's Bay Area campus alone, and has been honored as the 2017 Supplier of the Year and the 2020 Outstanding Supplier for Innovation. Other recent projects include a fast-paced build-out of a Stanford University COVID-19 lab.

With a staff of 30 employees, BIG Construction has a strong reputation in Chicago for delivering high quality projects and utilizing proprietary tools to help clients make informed decisions. Specializing in interior built environments, BIG has executed a variety of projects, including the headquarters for GrubHub and Home Chef and multiple-use spaces for Motorola.

Helix has aggressive growth plans for the Chicago area, beginning with a $25 million new R&D facility for a research institution in Lake County, followed by a lab expansion and lab renovation in Skokie, and a $30 million chemical lab facility in the northern suburbs.

"As Helix, we look forward to bringing a shared vision and powerful combination of expertise, innovation and community focus to the growing life sciences industry in Chicagoland," says Iannessa.

To find out more about Helix Construction, visit www.helixbuilds.com.

About Helix Construction

Chicago-based Helix Construction is a joint venture partnership, bringing together San Francisco's GCI General Contractors and Chicago's BIG Construction to provide superior laboratory and life sciences construction services to the region. With a cumulative 34 years of experience in the construction industry, Helix combines local real estate knowledge with extensive lab expertise to execute complex projects and contribute to Chicago's future as a biotechnology hub.

SOURCE Helix Construction
"We will see elevated growth through our plans for international and digital expansion."

An industry leader, Linda has helped drive growth as the CEO at The Limited, Lane Bryant /Cacique and J. Jill and has served on the board of Sally Beauty since 2017.

Heasley stated "Janie and Jack is a wonderful brand that has separated itself from other brands in the marketplace through exceptional product and innovative marketing. I look forward to working with the leadership team to bring this successful, extraordinary brand to new customers globally."

Currently, 98% percent of the business is domestic, with strong interest developing from the Middle East, the UK and Europe.

Heasley said "the company is in the midst of upgrading its technology infrastructure and performance marketing through investment into a CDP, customer segmentation software and tokenization. We aspire to build out our unified commerce platform to deliver best-in-class customer experiences across all channels of engagement."

Since its founding in 2002, Janie and Jack has built a modern classic iconic brand that creates lasting memories for its customers. With a focus on elevated design and details, the brand offers sizes from newborn through tween.

Janie and Jack has been one of the premier childrenswear apparel brands in the United States for years. The company experienced strong growth while owned by Bain Capital as a division of Gymboree until 2017. Gap Inc. acquired the company in 2019, only to sell to Go Global Retail in a COVID-related reduction of their brand offerings.

The company has 117 stores along with their online flagship store, and more than 800 employees across the United States

About Go Global Retail

Founded in 2016, Go Global Retail is a brand investment platform for global investors into the consumer sector. Laser-focused on identifying attractive brands, investing appropriate capital and creating value for both investors and acquisitions, Go Global partners include Investment, Retail and Operational Executives working together to create a holistic approach to grow great brands through digital transformation in the ever-evolving world of global retail. For more information, visit www.goglobalretail.com

About Janie and Jack

Janie and Jack is a design house with every kid at its heartbecause individual style starts early. Each season collections feature modern twists on classic fashion. Janie and Jack is known for family moments, thoughtful details and memorable gifts. Visit Janie and Jack stores nationwide for kids' clothing from newborn to size 6 and janieandjack.com for up to size 16. For more information, visit www.janieandjack.com

Media Contact:

Go Global Retail

Jeff Nicosia

[email protected]

Links to Linda Heasley headshot  Large / Small

SOURCE Go Global Retail
Mr. Vanacker will assume his role no later than June 2022, upon satisfaction of the notice period under his current employment agreement, at which time he will also join the Company's Board of Directors. The Board also announced that Kenneth (Ken) Lane, executive vice president, Global Olefins & Polyolefins (O&P) for LyondellBasell, will serve as interim CEO upon Mr. Patel's retirement.

"Peter's outstanding leadership and industry experience made him the Board's choice in an exceptional field of candidates who were considered as part of the comprehensive search process," said Jacques Aigrain, Board Chair. "The Board is confident that his success in delivering value to shareholders, along with his strategic and forward-thinking mindset, will serve the Company well as we continue to drive growth and advance our climate and circularity goals."

Mr. Vanacker brings more than 30 years of industry experience to his new role, including serving as President and CEO of Neste, an industry-leading renewable products company that has seen substantial growth and transformation under his leadership since 2018. Prior to that role, Mr. Vanacker was CEO and Managing Director of the CABB Group, a leader in the fine chemicals global market, and he was CEO and Managing Director of Treofan Group, a global leader in the polypropylene films business. He previously had a succession of roles at Bayer AG, including as EVP and Head of the Global Polyurethanes business and member of the Executive Committee of Bayer Material Science, now Covestro. During his tenure with Bayer, Peter worked across various subsidiaries, including in Belgium, Brazil, Germany and the United States. He is the Chair of the Advisory Board for the European Institute for Industrial Leadership and a member of the Supervisory Board of Symrise AG.

"I am thrilled to join LyondellBasell at such an exciting time for the Company," said Mr. Vanacker. "I have long admired it as an industry leader in technology, product innovation and, more recently, circularity. Pulling from my own experiences, I will strive to build on the Company's momentum and work to continue offering great value to shareholders while advancing the Company's sustainability goals. I look forward to joining this strong leadership team, engaging with its devoted employees, and moving the Company forward, together."

"We are very pleased that Ken will serve as Interim CEO during the transition period. He brings a wealth of Company knowledge, leadership and dedication to his work. On behalf of the Board, I thank him for stepping up to help ensure business continuity and continued robust financial and operational performance during the transition period. I would also like to thank Bob again for his service to the Company, its people and other stakeholders, and wish him the very best for the future," Mr. Aigrain said.

Mr. Lane joined LyondellBasell in July 2019 and oversees the O&P Americas and O&P Europe, Asia & International (EAI) segments. Prior to joining LyondellBasell, Mr. Lane held a variety of positions with BASF, including president of the Monomers Division and president of BASF Catalysts. Before BASF, Mr. Lane also held a number of positions with BP Chemicals. He will continue to serve in his current role while also acting as interim CEO.

About LyondellBasell

LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB) is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, improving the safety, comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road, and ensuring the safe and effective functionality in electronics and appliances. LyondellBasell sells products into more than 100 countries and is the world's largest producer of polypropylene compounds and the largest licensor of polyolefin technologies. In 2021, LyondellBasell was named to FORTUNE Magazine's list of the "World's Most Admired Companies" for the fourth consecutive year. More information about LyondellBasell can be found at www.lyondellbasell.com.

SOURCE LyondellBasell
SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Magnachip Semiconductor Corporation ("Magnachip Corp." or the "Company") (NYSE: MX), the U.S. (Delaware) parent of Magnachip Semiconductor, Ltd., and South Dearborn Limited, a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and Michigan Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation, which are investment vehicles established by Wise Road Capital LTD and certain of its limited partners ("Wise Road"), today announced that they received permission from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States ("CFIUS") to withdraw their joint CFIUS filing in relation to their proposed transaction (the "Merger") and will be terminating their previously announced definitive merger agreement.

This course of action resulted from the inability of the parties, despite months of effort, to obtain CFIUS's approval for the Merger. In connection with the termination of the merger agreement, South Dearborn will pay the Company a termination fee of $70.2 million, of which $51 million will be paid promptly and $19.2 million will be deferred up to March 31, 2022. In connection with the termination of the merger agreement, the parties will be releasing each other from all obligations with respect to the proposed merger transaction as well as from any claims arising out of or relating to the merger agreement.

The Company also intends to have Magnachip Semiconductor, Ltd., the Korean operating subsidiary of the Company, withdraw its application concerning the Merger that had been submitted to the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy under Article 11-2 of the Act on Prevention of Divulgence and Protection of Industrial Technology.

"While we are disappointed by the termination of our merger agreement, we are confident that Magnachip remains well positioned to create value for our shareholders as an independent public company," said YJ Kim, Magnachip's Chief Executive Officer. "This outcome does not impact the sound long term fundamentals of our business and our ability to accelerate our MX 3.0 strategy. In fact, over the past eight months our team has continued to advance our previously announced 2020-2023 plans for sustainable and profitable growth. We will share further details about the plan progress on a call that will be scheduled for January 6th, 2022. I would like to thank our customers for their ongoing trust and Magnachip's employees for their commitment to delivering industry-leading products."

Magnachip's Board of Directors (the "Board") is actively engaged in determining the best way to return and enhance value to shareholders. Accordingly, in order to allow adequate time to evaluate all options, the Board has adopted a limited-duration shareholder rights plan (the "Rights Plan") and declared a distribution of one right ("Right") for each outstanding share of common stock. The Rights Plan is effective immediately and will expire on December 12, 2022, unless earlier redeemed, exchanged or amended. The record date for the Rights distribution is December 23, 2021. The Rights will generally become exercisable only if any person or group acquires 12.5% (or 20% in the case of a passive institutional investor) or more of the Company's outstanding common stock (the "triggering percentage"). If a person or group acquires the Company's outstanding common stock in an amount above the triggering percentage, each Right will entitle its holder (other than the acquirer(s)) to purchase for $80, a number of shares of the Company's common stock having a market value of twice such price. Alternatively, in the event the Rights become exercisable, the Board may elect to exchange one share of the Company's common stock for each outstanding Right (other than Rights owned by the acquirer(s)). In addition, if the Company is acquired in a merger or other business combination transaction after a person or group acquires 12.5% (or 20% in the case of a passive institutional investor) or more of the Company's outstanding common stock, the Rights would entitle the Company's stockholders, other than the acquiror, the opportunity to purchase for each share of common stock owned, $80 worth of shares of the other party's common stock having a market value of twice such price.

The Rights Plan is designed to enable all shareholders to realize the long-term value of their investment in the Company and has been adopted to protect all shareholders from opportunistic efforts to obtain control of the Company, without appropriately compensating the Company's shareholders, following termination of the Merger while the Board evaluates go-forward options for the Company. The Rights Plan was not adopted in response to any specific effort to obtain control of the Company. The plan does not prevent the Board from considering or accepting an offer to acquire the Company, however, if the Board believes that such action is fair, advisable and in the best interest of shareholders of the Company as a whole.

A copy of the Rights Plan and a summary of its terms will be filed on a Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In addition, in light of the termination of the Merger, the Company will be holding a 2022 Annual Meeting, the details of which will be provided as soon as practicable.

Advisors

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC served as exclusive financial advisor and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Richards, Layton & Finger, PA and Kim & Chang served as legal counsel to Magnachip.

About Magnachip Semiconductor Corporation

Magnachip is a designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor platform solutions for communications, IoT, consumer, industrial and automotive applications. The Company provides a broad range of standard products to customers worldwide. Magnachip, with more than 40 years of operating history, owns a portfolio of approximately 1,200 registered patents and pending applications, and has extensive engineering, design and manufacturing process expertise. For more information, please visit www.magnachip.com. Information on or accessible through Magnachip's website is not a part of, and is not incorporated into, this release.

About Wise Road Capital

Wise Road Capital is a global private equity firm that invests in leading technology companies. The firm focuses on identifying opportunities in enabling technologies for global urbanization and smart & green life through close cooperation with companies across several main themes, including smart city, intelligent manufacturing and renewable energies. Wise Road Capital strives to build a healthy international ecosystem around these key themes through its investments and its international management team that has a combination of industry and investment expertise.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are subject to the safe harbor created thereby. Statements that are not historical or current facts, including statements about beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as "may," "will," "will be," "anticipate," "estimate," "plan," "project," "continuing," "ongoing," "expect," "believe(s)," "intend," "predict," "potential," "future," "strategy," "opportunity" and similar words or phrases or the negatives of these words or phrases. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, and important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, including, but not limited to: legal proceedings, judgments or settlements, including those that may be instituted against the Company, the Company's board of directors and executive officers and others following the announcement of the termination of the transaction; disruptions of current plans and operations caused by the termination of the proposed transaction; potential difficulties in employee retention due to the termination of the transaction; the response of customers, suppliers, business partners and regulators to the termination of the transaction; and other risks and uncertainties and the factors identified under "Risk Factors" in Part I, Item 1A of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, and updated in subsequent reports filed by the Company with the SEC. These reports are available at www.magnachip.com or www.sec.gov . Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update them in light of new information or future events.

CONTACTS:

In the United States: In Korea: So-Yeon Jeong Mina Jeong Jeong Consulting Managing Partner, Allison Partners Tel. +1-408-712-6151 Tel. +82 10 6282 0677 [email protected] [email protected]



Or





Dan Zacchei / Joe Germani

Sloane & Company

[email protected] /

[email protected]



SOURCE Magnachip Semiconductor Corporation

Related Links

http://www.magnachip.com


"The Mattamy team is truly excited about bringing this new community to life in the high-growth northwest Valley," says Don Barrineau, President of Mattamy's Phoenix Division. "The location will offer incredibly convenient access to everything homeowners need. Bonita Ranch is going to offer expansive amenity areas and together with thoughtfully designed floorplans, we expect the community to appeal to a wide range of owners including families and empty-nesters."

The all-new floorplans that Mattamy will introduce at Bonita Ranch will include a mixture of 45'-wide and 50'-wide single-family homes, many of which will have a north-south orientation. The community will offer more than 20 acres of natural open space and include three parks with ramadas, seating areas, play structures and a trail system of connected landscaped paseos linking the amenity areas as well as the surrounding area.

Located in the northwest Loop 303 corridor, off Jomax Rd. and 147th Ave. in Surprise, AZ, the community offers close proximity to major employment centers including the upcoming Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and is located in the highly ranked Dysart Unified School System.

Bonita Ranch is expected to open for sale in late 2023.

For more information:

https://mattamyhomes.com/arizona/phoenix/

About Mattamy Homes

Mattamy Homes is the largest privately owned homebuilder in North America, with 40-plus years of history across the United States and Canada. Every year, Mattamy helps more than 8,000 families realize their dream of home ownership. In the United States, the company is represented in 11 markets  Dallas, Charlotte, Raleigh, Phoenix, Tucson, Jacksonville, Orlando (where its US head office is located), Tampa, Sarasota, Naples and Southeast Florida  and in Canada, its communities stretch across the Greater Toronto Area, as well as in Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton. Visit www.mattamyhomes.com for more information.

SOURCE Mattamy Homes Limited

Related Links

https://mattamyhomes.com/


WALLINGFORD, Conn., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- McCann Systems, leaders in collaboration and experiential AV technology, is proud to announce the hiring of 18 new employees along with a regional expansion to Buffalo, New York.

Josh Bittner, SVP of Sales and Marketing with McCann Systems, noted, "As McCann Systems continues to add new clients and expand offerings to our current clients, it was abundantly clear that we needed to add additional talent to our team. With these hires, we have accomplished that. We added talented, passionate individuals across all disciplines and regions." He continued, "We are thankful that our clients continue to trust us with their technology needs, allowing us to grow and bring more amazing people to the McCann family. Our expansion into Buffalo is particularly exciting as we feel that market is growing and needs a world-class integration firm."

Tom Treichel, President and COO, adds, "We are continuing to see companies in our space grow by acquisition. We believe the best way to support our clients and employees is to bring on like-minded people who will truly embrace the McCann Systems brand and deliver our clients the level of service they are accustomed to."

Tom Bigliani and Maria Fernandez add to the New York sales team, and Jeff Phipps joins them with an AV Service role. Field Application Engineers Jason Turk and Scott Woodruff support the Buffalo team.

In New Jersey, Colin Panzenhagen, Brittany Mota, and John-Paul Dal Pan join the team as Fabrication Tech, CAD Designer, and FAE, respectively.

Richard Glidden bolsters the service team in Minnesota, while Brett Nelson adds to the CAD design team in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Carl Mozdziak (Fabrication), Tyler Weed (AVSS), Hannah Hirsch (AVSS), Logan Evans (Associate FAE), Alberto Vera (AVSS), and Chris Kopec (Senior Design Engineer) have joined the Connecticut Regional Operations Center. Finally, Senior Design Engineer Joseph Coda and Installation Tech Nick Enright have joined the Boston regional office.

About McCann Systems:

McCann Systems, founded in 1996, was established to design, integrate, and elevate innovative audiovisual technologies and communications solutions for companies worldwide. In-house AVIXA CTS experts create a strong national footprint with a global reach, spanning North America with regional design and service offices. Connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Contact:

Matt Wilson

Director of Marketing

[email protected]

980-258-2390

SOURCE McCann Systems
BOSTON, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Mightier , an accessible and clinically proven video game system that helps children learn coping skills to improve their emotional health, today announced a $17 million Series B funding round. The round was led by DigiTx Partners with participation from the Sony Innovation Fund by IGV* and Boston-based PBJ Capital. To date, Mightier has raised $29 million.

Since its launch in 2018, Mightier has helped over 50,000 families with children who struggle with anxiety, tantrums and anger, as well as clinical diagnoses such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Developed by clinicians at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Mightier pairs video games with clinically validated strategies to help children learn the coping skills they need to regulate their emotions by playing and interacting with biofeedback.

Mightier is a clinically validated, at-home solution families can access immediately that has been shown to help over 80% of children within the first three months. This latest funding will help Mightier expand its team and scale its proven technology to reach more children who struggle with their emotions. The funds will also help Mightier expand its reach into the healthcare industry through a strategic partnership the company entered with Magellan Health earlier this year.

Children's behavioral and emotional health struggles have exacerbated due to the pandemic, and there is a shortage of clinicians to meet the rising need. Just last week, the United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy issued a 53-page public report on children's mental health noting that the pandemic has intensified mental health struggles that were already widespread during the spring of 2020. This report comes on the heels of an urgent warning from leaders of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Children's Hospital Association, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry declaring the mental health crisis among children a national emergency.

"The mental and emotional health struggles of children in the US have been a longstanding issue that has worsened during the past two years and the current support systems available have not met the rising demand," said David Kim, MD, Managing Director of DigiTx Partners. "We are drawn to Mightier and its leadership team because of its proven ability to help families experiencing those struggles with an innovative, easy-to-use solution that provides immediate impact. We are excited to support a company positioned to play a meaningful role in the future wellbeing of our children."

"Families need more options to support the emotional needs of their kids now more than ever. Mightier is the only evidence-based solution that can serve families anywhere in the country in the comfort of their homes with fun, engaging content and a community of kids, caregivers and experts who understand them," said Craig Lund, co-founder and chief executive officer at Mightier. "Our new investors bring valuable health care and gaming expertise to the company to help us scale our program to reach even more families and kids in need of support."

Mightier's technology has been tested in several clinical trials and has consistently shown to improve behavior. After 12 weeks of Mightier's program, families have reported positive changes in three key areas  child outbursts, child oppositional behavior, and parental stress. In its partnership with Magellan Healthcare, Mightier began offering its video game program to health plans and employers. In the last year, Mightier has also collaborated with the managed health care company on several studies and pilot programs to research the impact of video games on improving children's mental health and, more specifically, the success of using Mightier to support children with autism. The later study, completed in May of this year, found Mightier led to a 45% improvement in symptoms for children on the autism spectrum.

For more information about Mightier's program visit mightier.com .

About Mightier: Mightier is a Boston-based startup on a mission to empower every child to build emotional strength. Mightier pairs video games with clinically validated strategies to build emotional resilience and confidence. The approach is backed by a decade of clinical research at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School and has been shown to reduce outbursts by 62 percent, oppositional behavior by 40 percent, and family stress by 19 percent. For more information, visit Mightier.com .

* Innovation Growth Ventures Co., Ltd. (IGV) is managed by Sony Innovation Fund and Daiwa Capital Holdings.

SOURCE Mightier
DENVER, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Morphy's has prepared an incomparable selection of firearms, militaria and important American historical objects for its December 14-17 auction. The 2,400-lot sale features a spectacular array of museum-quality Civil War swords and militaria, early advertising and historical memorabilia, exceptional sporting arms, and military arms that include World War I and World War II issues.

USS Arizona BB39 lifebuoy, or life ring, recovered during Dec. 7, 1941 Japanese military's attack on Pearl Harbor by a Hawaiian contract mechanic, Ernest K. Morita, who was nearby during the attack, transported the wounded to Fort Shafter Hospital, and personally retrieved the lifebuoy. It has remained in the Morita family ever since. Previously unknown to the militaria hobby and fresh to the market. Estimate $30,000-$50,000 Silver Abraham Lincoln Indian Peace Medal, first struck in 1862 and one of relatively few such medals ever distributed. Bas-relief image of Lincoln on obverse; scalping scene on reverse. Estimate $20,000-$30,000

The sale starts with items from America's Revolutionary War era and post-colonial days. There are muskets, bayonets, pistols and powder horns, including an example from French and Indian War period that was professionally engraved with the image of a map of New York. Its detail shows many important forts, churches, and other buildings of its time and comes with a letter of provenance stating it once hung on the wall of Unity Lodge in Lebanon Valley, New York, home of Major Elisha Gilbert. Estimate: $7,000-$10,000

Collectors can expect to see the finest Civil War-era presentation swords ever to appear for public sale. Highlights include the presentation sword of Lt. Col. Daniel M. Ray, a Southern-born Union loyalist mentioned more than 65 times in the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, $8,000-$12,000; the high-grade 1860 Ames presentation sword of Dr. James Kent, who commanded the well-known Independent Blues of Selma, Alabama, $6,000-$10,000; and the Civil War marked Model 1860 cavalry saber with original scabbard that belonged to Edward Gustave Mathey, who survived The Battle of the Little Bighorn. Estimate: $15,000-$25,000

Two items of Lincoln memorabilia are worthy of special note: an 1862 silver Abraham Lincoln Indian Peace Medal, one of relatively few such medals ever distributed, $20,000-$30,000; and Lincoln's personal "Fry's Travelling Companion" whiskey flask, which was inscribed and gifted to Lincoln in 1861. Estimate: $8,000-$15,000

A silent witness to the Dec. 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, a lifebuoy, or life ring, that was recovered from the Battleship USS Arizona is fresh to the market after remaining for 80 years in the same Honolulu family. It was retrieved from the attack site by a contracted local mechanic named Ernest K. Morita, who had reported to work at the Pearl Harbor Submarine Base  across from Battleship Row  one hour before the fateful attack. After the massive explosion  which resulted in the deaths of 2,403 U.S. personnel  Morita transported gravely wounded sailors to Fort Shafter Hospital. At the site of the attack, he personally recovered the lifebuoy. The ring has remained with subsequent generations of the Morita family, unknown to the hobby until now. Estimate: $30,000-$50,000

Edged-weapon collectors will want to look sharp and bid aggressively on two superlative Bowie knives, including a presentation-grade Collins & Co., 15-inch Bowie knife. It is one of perhaps only three such knives of its style known to exist. Estimate: $15,000-$25,000

The exciting mid-December event also includes a trove of percussion, single-shot, bolt-action and semi-automatic rifles; lever-action carbines, handguns, and over-under, slide-action and side-by-side shotguns; plus combination guns. Destined for the winner's circle, a circa-1927 Boss & Co., "London Best" side-by-side 12-bore game shotgun is estimated at $20,000-$30,000.

View the auction catalog online at www.morphyauctions.com. Questions: call 877-968-8880, email [email protected]

Media Contact:

Sarah Stoltzfus, 877-968-8880

[email protected]

SOURCE Morphy Auctions
NORTH BILLERICA, Mass., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) recently named Audrey Muhammad, college success instructor at Durham Technical Community College in Durham, NC, as the recipient of the 2021 NABSE $10,000 Scholarship Award, which is sponsored by Curriculum Associates. This inaugural award, The Dr. Charles Mitchell, Jr. Leadership Scholarship, will help support Muhammad as she pursues an advanced degree in educational leadership at Wilmington University.

"We offer our congratulations to Ms. Muhammad on being the recipient of the inaugural award and wish her continued success in her educational endeavors," said Dr. Fadhilika Atiba-Weza, executive director of NABSE. "NABSE is proud to present this scholarship in honor of Dr. Charles Mitchell, Jr., a founding member of our organization, whose recognition of the importance of leadership contributed to the formation of NABSE. In addition, we thank Curriculum Associates for its support and look forward to our continued partnership."

Muhammad has been an educator for the past 28 years. Prior to her current role, she worked for Toledo Public Schools in Ohio and San Bernardino Unified School District and West Contra Costa Unified School District in California. During this time, she served as a high school English teacher, mentor teacher, and facilitator of various education workshops. She is also the author of numerous books, including How to Set Worthy Goals and Rhymes of the Times: Black Nursery Rhymes, and is the publisher of the inspirational Virtue Today Magazine.

"It is truly an honor to be the first recipient of the NABSE scholarship sponsored by Curriculum Associates, a company that is willing to invest in educators and education," said Muhammad. "As an educator and author, I plan to use my award to complete my doctoral degree in educational leadership. I also plan to have a positive impact in the field of education by helping to redesign our school system to include more project-based learning and culturally responsive teaching."

"There is no one more deserving of this honor," said Dr. Nardos King, president of NABSE. "We are excited for Audrey and know she will reach her goal of obtaining a doctorate in educational leadership."

Muhammad was recognized with the scholarship last month during the awards banquet at the 49th Annual NABSE Conference in Los Angeles.

"Audrey Muhammad is a dedicated and passionate educator who has made a mark on all of the school communities she has served," said Rob Waldron, CEO of Curriculum Associates. "Alongside NABSE, we congratulate her on receiving this award and are proud to help support this next step in her career."

To learn more about NABSE and the 2021 NABSE $10,000 Scholarship Award, visit NABSE.org/Scholarship-Award/. To learn more about Curriculum Associates, visit CurriculumAssociates.com.

About NABSE

The National Alliance of Black School Educators is the nation's premier nonprofit organization devoted to furthering the academic success for the nation's childrenparticularly children of African descent. NABSE boasts an outreach to a distinguished group of preeminent educators, including teachers, administrators, superintendents, as well as corporate and institutional members. Founded in 1970, NABSE is dedicated to improving both the educational experiences and accomplishments of African-American youth through the development and use of instructional and motivational methods that increase levels of inspiration, attendance, and overall achievement.

About Curriculum Associates

Founded in 1969, Curriculum Associates, LLC designs research-based print and online instructional materials, screens and assessments, and data management tools. The company's products and outstanding customer service provide teachers and administrators with the resources necessary for teaching diverse student populations and fostering learning for all students.

Contact:

Kati Elliott,

KEH Communications,

(410) 975-9638,

[email protected];

Charlotte Fixler,

Curriculum Associates,

(978) 901-6066,

[email protected]

SOURCE Curriculum Associates, LLC

Related Links

www.curriculumassociates.com


AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Real-time capability and capacity software startup Runn.io has raised a US$1.41mil Seed round. Investors in this round include Venture Capital firm GD1 as well as Wavemaker, NZGCP, K1W1, and Marlborough Angels. Through clever integration of 'the employee voice' - including features that ensure employees are doing work that's most meaningful to them - Runn.io believes its solution will help modern organizations thrive within a post-Covid world of work.

40% of Runn.io's customers are US-based (including Fortune 1000 and 500 customers); with a further 30% in Europe, including the UK and Denmark. Users include startups, SMEs and corporates. With 600% growth in revenue this year; Runn.io will use the funding to further build its product out and accelerate growth.

"Covid has fast-tracked an environment in which we need modern solutions for managing people. In many ways, Runn.io has built the right product at the right time," comments GD1 Co-managing Partner John Kells.

Built to handle complexity

"By nature, technical companies often manage a high number of projects simultaneously with people moving between these," explains Tim Copeland, Co-Founder of Runn.io. Disconnected systems or complex spreadsheets are often stress-tested when projects go on hold, priorities change and people leave a company/team.

Runn.io enables cloud-based planning, tracking and forecasting of capability and capacity through a powerful, user-friendly UI. "Our cloud-based interface comes with features that make it easy to deal with complexity and change. A handy scenario planning feature allows users to quickly see how winning or losing new work will affect resourcing and the company's bottom line, or what skill sets a company might need to hire based on their future sales pipeline," explains Copeland.

Combatting 'The great resignation'

He adds: "Talent is a scarcity in today's economy and will be for some time. Runn.io was built with employees in mind. It helps employers understand demand and available capacity, including the impact of project and milestone changes on their greatest asset - their people. They can optimize the workload of individuals and teams, and avoid the kind of bottlenecks and delays that prevent them from doing better work," he says.

"Runn.io is as flexible as work environments are unpredictable; and we're super proud to be supporting modern organizations navigate high levels of uncertainty and ambiguity with ease," concludes Copeland.

Also see: https://www.runn.io/

SOURCE Runn.io
DUBLIN, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Mallinckrodt plc, (OTCMKTS: MNKKQ) a global biopharmaceutical company, today announced results of a retrospective, observational medical chart review study assessing real world treatment outcomes among cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) patients who initiated therapy with extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP). Investigators presented the findings during a poster presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society for Hematology, taking place virtually and live in Atlanta, Ga. from December 11-14. The poster is available here on the company's website.

In the United States, ECP is FDA-approved for the palliative treatment of the skin manifestations of CTCL that is unresponsive to other forms of treatment. UVADEX (methoxsalen) Sterile Solution is used in combination with the THERAKOS CELLEX Photopheresis System and approved for use as a monotherapy. Safety and efficacy beyond six months have not been evaluated by the FDA.

The retrospective medical chart review study assessed the results of ECP in CTCL-diagnosed patients who initiated ECP treatment between January 1, 2017 and February 28, 2019. ECP was assessed as both a monotherapy and as a concomitant therapy. Physicians selected patients who were 18 years of age or older when they initiated ECP treatment, received at least three months of ECP treatment and had response data charted and available. Five U.S. clinical sites participated in the study and enrolled a total of 52 patients with a median age at ECP initiation of 69 years. Twenty-six patients (50 percent) were diagnosed with Sezary syndrome and 19 (36.5 percent) were diagnosed with mycosis fungoides. The median body surface area (BSA) involvement with plaques/patches was 77.5 percent at diagnosis.1

The study examined patient data from CTCL diagnosis to 18 months post-initiation of ECP. Clinical outcomes collected every three months during treatment for up to 18 months included the BSA affected, appearance of new skin lesions and the physician-rated Clinical Global Impression-Improvement (CGI-I) scores. Patients may have been on concomitant therapies at the time of ECP treatment.

"It is important to continually evaluate real world patterns and outcomes of ECP treatment for CTCL to better understand patients' response to ECP," said Michael Girardi, M.D., FAAD, lead investigator and Director of the Photopheresis and Phototherapy Unit at the Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center and Yale-New Haven Hospital.

The data analysis found that 19 patients (36.5 percent) had at least a 50 percent reduction in affected BSA with a median time to response of 6.5 months. New skin lesions appeared in 13 patients (25 percent) within a median time of 5.9 months from the initiation of ECP. Among those patients with available data, 27 out of 51 patients (52.9 percent) at three months and 16 out of 20 patients (80 percent) at 18 months, reported as improved (minimally, much or very much) in CGI-I severity scores.1 If exact timepoint was unavailable, physicians were advised to enter the date from closest visit ( four weeks). Per the Prescribing Information, there is no clinical evidence to show that treatment with UVADEX beyond six months provides additional benefit.

The limitations of this retrospective chart review include that the study relied on real world medical charts which could be missing data or may have used site-specific measurement schedules and procedures. Due to the retrospective nature of this analysis, it is hypothesis-generating; no formal conclusions should be drawn. Not all benefit from the analysis may be solely attributable to ECP treatment as patients may have been on multiple therapies at the time of ECP treatment. The study was granted a waiver for ethics review by the WCG [IRB], and when required, by the local IRB at each site.

"As a pioneer in immunomodulation therapy, Mallinckrodt is committed to furthering knowledge and data on the treatment outcomes for CTCL," said Steven Romano, M.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at Mallinckrodt. "The results of this retrospective medical chart review analysis support the importance of continued collection of real-world data to help inform patients' treatment options."

The study was funded by Mallinckrodt.

About Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma (CTCL)

Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is an umbrella term for a group of non-Hodgkin lymphomas involving T lymphocytes that localize in the skin. It is a relatively rare cancer that mostly impacts men between the ages of 40 and 60 and there are about 2,500 to 3,000 new cases of CTCL in the U.S. each year.2 The age of onset is typically greater than 50 years, with the incidence rising significantly in the later decades of life.3 CTCL causes visible skin symptoms ranging from a small rash to extensive redness, peeling, burning, soreness, and itchiness all over the body, CTCL falls into different categories based on the severity of the disease and symptoms.4

About Therakos Immunotherapy

Therakos immunotherapy is delivered through CELLEX systems to harness the power of the patient's immune system to treat the skin manifestations of CTCL, and is used by academic medical centers, hospitals, and treatment centers in more than 25 countries. Therakos photopheresis systems are fully integrated closed systems and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved for the palliative treatment of the skin manifestations of CTCL in persons who have not been responsive to other forms of treatment.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

CAUTION: READ THE THERAKOS CELLEX PHOTOPHERESIS SYSTEM'S OPERATOR'S MANUAL PRIOR TO PRESCRIBING OR DISPENSING THIS MEDICATION.



UVADEX (methoxsalen) Sterile Solution should be used only by physicians who have special competence in the diagnosis and treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma and who have special training and experience in the THERAKOS CELLEX Photopheresis System. Please consult the CELLEX Operator's Manual before using this product.



CONTRAINDICATIONS

UVADEX is contraindicated in:

Patients exhibiting idiosyncratic or hypersensitivity reactions to methoxsalen, other psoralen compounds, or any of the excipients

Patients possessing a specific history of a light-sensitive disease state, including lupus erythematosus, porphyria cutanea tarda, erythropoietic protoporphyria, variegate porphyria, xeroderma pigmentosum, and albinism

Patients with aphakia because of significantly increased risk of retinal damage

Patients that have contraindications to the photopheresis procedure

WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS

Patients who are receiving concomitant therapy (either topically or systemically) with known photosensitizing agents such as anthralin, coal tar or coal tar derivatives, griseofulvin, phenothiazines, nalidixic acid, halogenated salicylanilides (bacteriostatic soaps), sulfonamides, tetracyclines, thiazides, and certain organic staining dyes such as methylene blue, toluidine blue, rose bengal, and methyl orange may be at greater risk for photosensitivity reactions with UVADEX

Oral administration of methoxsalen followed by cutaneous UVA exposure (PUVA therapy) is carcinogenic. Methoxsalen also causes DNA damage, interstrand cross-links and errors in DNA repair

Methoxsalen may cause fetal harm when given to a pregnant woman. Women of childbearing potential should be advised to avoid becoming pregnant. If UVADEX is used during pregnancy, or if the patient becomes pregnant while receiving UVADEX, the patient should be apprised of the potential hazard to the fetus

Severe photosensitivity can occur in patients treated with UVADEX. Advise patients to wear UVA absorbing, wrap-around sunglasses and cover exposed skin or use a sunblock (SPF 15 or higher), and avoid all exposure to sunlight for twenty-four (24) hours following photopheresis treatment

After methoxsalen administration, exposure to sunlight and/or ultraviolet radiation may result in "premature aging" of the skin

Since oral psoralens may increase the risk of skin cancers, monitor closely those patients who exhibit multiple basal cell carcinomas or who have a history of basal cell carcinomas

Serious burns from either UVA or sunlight (even through window glass) can result if the recommended dosage of methoxsalen is exceeded or precautions are not followed

Exposure to large doses of UVA light causes cataracts in animals. Oral methoxsalen exacerbates this toxicity

Safety in children has not been established

Thromboembolic events, such as pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis, have been reported with UVADEX administration through photopheresis systems for treatment of patients with graft-versus-host disease, a disease for which UVADEX is not approved

ADVERSE REACTIONS

Side effects of photopheresis (UVADEX used with THERAKOS Photopheresis Systems) were primarily related to hypotension secondary to changes in extracorporeal volume (>1%)

ABOUT MALLINCKRODT

Mallinckrodt is a global business consisting of multiple wholly owned subsidiaries that develop, manufacture, market and distribute specialty pharmaceutical products and therapies. The company's Specialty Brands reportable segment's areas of focus include autoimmune and rare diseases in specialty areas like neurology, rheumatology, nephrology, pulmonology and ophthalmology; immunotherapy and neonatal respiratory critical care therapies; analgesics and gastrointestinal products. Its Specialty Generics reportable segment includes specialty generic drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients. To learn more about Mallinckrodt, visit www.mallinckrodt.com .

Mallinckrodt uses its website as a channel of distribution of important company information, such as press releases, investor presentations and other financial information. It also uses its website to expedite public access to time-critical information regarding the company in advance of or in lieu of distributing a press release or a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosing the same information. Therefore, investors should look to the Investor Relations page of the website for important and time-critical information. Visitors to the website can also register to receive automatic e-mail and other notifications alerting them when new information is made available on the Investor Relations page of the website.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS RELATED TO FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This release includes forward-looking statements related to an ongoing, retrospective study in ECP. The statements are based on assumptions about many important factors, including the following, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements: final results of the underlying study; satisfaction of regulatory and other requirements; actions of regulatory bodies and other governmental authorities; changes in laws and regulations; and other risks identified and described in more detail in the "Risk Factors" section of Mallinckrodt's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings with the SEC, all of which are available on its website. The forward-looking statements made herein speak only as of the date hereof and Mallinckrodt does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events and developments or otherwise, except as required by law.

CONTACT

Media Inquiries

Lisa Wolfe

Green Room Communications

914-588-4733

[email protected]

Investor Relations

Daniel J. Speciale

Vice President, Finance and Investor Relations Officer

314-654-3638

[email protected]

Government Affairs

Derek Naten

Vice President, Government Affairs & Patient Advocacy

[email protected]

Mallinckrodt, the "M" brand mark and the Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals logo are trademarks of a Mallinckrodt company. Other brands are trademarks of a Mallinckrodt company or their respective owners. 2021 Mallinckrodt. US-2100806 12/21

References

_____________________________

1 Girardi M., Johnson A., Carlson K., et al. Response to Extracorporeal Photopheresis in Patients with Cutaneous T-cell Lymphoma: A Retrospective Medical Chart Review. Poster presented at the: American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting; December 11-14, 2021.

2 Bradford P, Devesa S, Anderson W, Toro J. Cutaneous lymphoma incidence patterns in the United States: a population-based study of 3884 cases. Blood. 2009;113(21):5064-5073.

3 Kim YH, Liu HL, Mraz-Gernhard S, et al. Long-term outcome of 525 patients with mycosis fungoides and Sezary syndrome: clinical prognostic factors and risk for disease progression. Arch Dermatol. 2003;139:857866.

4 Trautinger F, et al. Eur J Cancer. 2006;42(8):1014-1030.

SOURCE Mallinckrodt plc

Related Links

http://www.mallinckrodt.com


LONDON, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) plc today announced new data from the DREAMM-9 (DRiving Excellence in Approaches to Multiple Myeloma) phase I trial and two GSK collaborative studies investigating the potential use of Blenrep (belantamab mafodotin-blmf), a first-in-class anti-BCMA (B-cell maturation antigen) therapy, in combination with standard of care therapies in earlier lines of multiple myeloma treatment. These data were presented at the 63rd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition.

Collectively, the data from these trials suggest that with an optimized dose, schedule and combination treatment, corneal events associated with belantamab mafodotin-blmf may be reduced in patients receiving earlier lines of therapy. These data will be used to help inform further studies evaluating the potential of belantamab mafodotin-blmf in a broader patient population.

DREAMM-9 trial (abstract #2738)  Preliminary results from this phase I trial evaluating a quadruplet combination treatment regimen of belantamab mafodotin-blmf with standard of care (bortezomib, lenalidomide and dexamethasone [VRd]) in transplant-ineligible patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (n=36) demonstrated lower rates of corneal events in the cohorts with extended dose schedules and lower doses, while maintaining a high ORR.

Dosing across the five cohorts in DREAMM-9 trial varies. Cohort 1 is 1.9 mg/kg Q3/4W; Cohort 2 is 1.4 mg/kg Q6/8W; Cohort 3 is 1.9 mg/kg Q6/8W; Cohort 4 is 1.0 mg/kg Q3/4W and Cohort 5 is 1.4 mg/kg Q3/4W. An ORR of 100% was observed in Cohorts 1 (n=12), 3 and 5 (n=6) and an ORR of 83% was observed in Cohorts 2 and 4 (n=5/6). At least 50% of patients in each cohort achieved a very good partial response (VGPR) or better, with the highest rates observed in Cohorts 1 and 5 (100% in each). In Cohort 1, 7 out of 9 patients achieved minimal residual disease (MRD)-negative status at the first test after a VGPR.

Hesham Abdullah, Global Head of Oncology Development, GSK, said: "We remain committed to addressing unmet needs by evaluating belantamab mafodotin-blmf in earlier lines of treatment in combination with standard of care therapies, as well as assessing different dosing regimens to optimize efficacy and safety in these settings. These promising data at ASH, while early-stage, underscore the importance of exploring the potential of belantamab mafodotin-blmf as part of combination regimens to improve outcomes for patients with multiple myeloma."

There were no new adverse events (AEs) associated with belantamab mafodotin-blmf in DREAMM-9. The majority of patients experienced treatment-related AEs, which were generally managed with dose modifications. The most common AEs leading to dose modifications were thrombocytopenia, neutropenia and corneal AEs. All patients experiencing corneal AEs remained on treatment.

Dr Saad Z. Usmani, Chief of Myeloma Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and DREAMM-9 principal investigator said: "For patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who are not eligible for a stem cell transplant, the exploration of novel frontline combination therapies are critical to improving survival. We believe these initial results from the DREAMM-9 clinical trial demonstrate the potential of combination therapy with belantamab mafodotin-blmf, with a majority of patients achieving a very good partial response or better and consistent safety findings, underscoring how this may become an important treatment regimen for these patients."

BelaRd trial (abstract #2736)  Preliminary results from the BelaRd trial evaluating the triplet combination of belantamab mafodotin-blmf with lenalidomide and dexamethasone (Rd) demonstrated an ORR of 100% (n=18) across the three cohorts (2.5 mg/kg Q8W, 1.9 mg/kg Q8W, 1.4 mg/kg Q8W), furthering evidence of the potential of belantamab mafodotin-blmf in transplant-ineligible patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. A trial being led by the Hellenic Society of Hematology in collaboration with GSK in treatment-naive patients, BelaRd found no new safety signals. Across all three dosing cohorts, no grade 3 or greater corneal AEs were observed.

ALGONQUIN (abstract #1653)  Updated results from ALGONQUIN, a trial led by the Canadian Myeloma Research Group in collaboration with GSK, evaluating belantamab mafodotin-blmf in combination with pomalidomide/dexamethasone (PomDex) in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (2.5 median prior lines of therapy) were also presented. Across all dosing cohorts (n=54), belantamab mafodotin-blmf plus PomDex resulted in an ORR of 88.9%, with 72.2% achieving a VGPR or better and a median progression-free survival (mPFS) of 17 months (95% CI, 14.5-not yet reached). Belantamab mafodotin-blmf administered as 2.5 mg/kg Q8W (n=12) demonstrated an ORR of 83.3%, with a mPFS that has not yet been reached (95% CI, 11.3-not yet reached). This dosing schedule has been selected for the Part 2 cohort expansion based on optimized safety and efficacy. The current FDA-recommended dose of single-agent belantamab mafodotin-blmf is 2.5 mg/kg administered Q3W.

The combination therapy of belantamab mafodotin-blmf and PomDex in the ALGONQUIN trial demonstrated a safety profile that is consistent with the known safety profiles of belantamab mafodotin-blmf and PomDex individually. Among patients evaluable for safety (n=56), treatment-related AEs were reported by 96.4% of patients; the most frequent non-ocular grade 3 or greater events included neutropenia and thrombocytopenia. Serious AEs were observed in 50% of patients, with one fatal event due to acute respiratory distress syndrome. Two patients (3.6%) discontinued due to AEs, including one case of leukoencephalopathy (2.5 mg/kg Q4W; unlikely related to treatment) and elevated ALT (2.5 mg/kg Q12W, possibly related to treatment).

Blenrep is an anti-BCMA treatment that received accelerated and conditional approvals in the US and the EU, respectively, for adult patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least four prior therapies, including an anti-CD38 antibody, a proteasome inhibitor and an immunomodulatory agent. Blenrep is not currently approved in any other treatment setting, including in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma or for use in combination with other multiple myeloma therapies.

About DREAMM-9

DREAMM-9 is a randomized, multi-cohort, dose and schedule evaluation trial to investigate the safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and clinical activity of belantamab mafodotin-blmf administered in combination with standard of care (bortezomib, lenalidomide and dexamethasone [VRd]) in patients with transplant-ineligible newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. Initial results were presented at ASH and included five cohorts evaluating different doses of belantamab mafodotin-blmf in combination with VRd: 1.9 mg/kg Q3/4W (Cohort 1), 1.4 mg/kg Q6/8W (Cohort 2), 1.9 mg/kg Q6/8W (Cohort 3), 1.0 mg/kg Q3/4W (Cohort 4) and 1.4 mg/kg Q3/4W (Cohort 5). All patients received VRd Q3W until cycle 8, followed by lenalidomide plus dexamethasone Q4W.

About BelaRd

BelaRd is phase I/II, open-label trial designed to assess the safety and clinical activity of different belantamab mafodotin-blmf doses in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone (Rd) in treatment-naive, transplant-ineligible, newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. The trial, which is being conducted in Greece, is comprised of two distinct parts: Part 1 will evaluate different doses of belantamab mafodotin-blmf in combination with Rd in up to three cohorts and will determine the recommended Part 2 dose to be further evaluated for safety and clinical activity in the dose expansion cohort (Part 2). The recommended Part 2 dose will be used for future trials in the transplant-ineligible, newly diagnosed multiple myeloma setting. Part 2 of the trial will also evaluate an alternative dose modification schedule to assess the impact on corneal adverse events.

About ALGONQUIN

ALGONQUIN is a phase I/II trial being conducted in Canada and is investigating belantamab mafodotin-blmf in combination with PomDex in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma who had received 2 prior lines of treatment, were exposed to lenalidomide and a proteasome inhibitor and were refractory to their last line of therapy. This trial consists of a Part 1 dose-finding portion and a Part 2 expansion phase. Initial data from the Part 1 phase of the trial was presented at ASH 2020 and identified 2.5 mg/kg in combination with standard dosing of PomDex as the maximum tolerated dose. At ASH 2021, updated safety and efficacy data and additional dosing cohorts used to identify the recommended Part 2 dose were presented. The following dosing of belantamab mafodotin-blmf was evaluated: 1.92 mg/kg or 2.5 mg/kg Q4W, 2.5 mg/kg loading dose followed by 1.92 mg/kg Q4W from cycle 2 onwards, 2.5 mg/kg Q8W or Q12W and 2.5 mg/kg or 3.4 mg/kg split equally on day 1 and 8 Q4W. Pom was administered at 4 mg on days 1-21 and Dex was administered at 40 mg (20 mg for age > 75 years) weekly.

About multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma is the second most common blood cancer in the US and is generally considered treatable, but not curable.1,2 In the US, more than 32,000 people are estimated to be diagnosed with multiple myeloma this year and nearly 13,000 people will die from the disease.3 Research into new therapies is needed as multiple myeloma commonly becomes refractory to available treatments.4

About B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)

The normal function of BCMA is to promote plasma cell survival by transduction of signals from two known ligands, BAFF (B-cell activating factor) and APRIL (a proliferation-inducing ligand). This pathway has been shown to be important for myeloma cell growth and survival. BCMA expression is limited to B cells at later stages of development. BCMA is expressed at varying levels in myeloma patients and BCMA membrane expression is universally detected in myeloma cell lines.5

About Blenrep

Blenrep is an antibody drug conjugate comprising a humanised BCMA monoclonal antibody conjugated to the cytotoxic agent auristatin F via a non-cleavable linker. The drug linker technology is licensed from Seagen; monoclonal antibody is produced using POTELLIGENT Technology licensed from BioWa Inc. a member of the Kyowa Kirin Group.

INDICATION

BLENREP is indicated for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least 4 prior therapies, including an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody, a proteasome inhibitor, and an immunomodulatory agent.

This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on response rate. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in a confirmatory trial(s).

IMPORTANT US SAFETY INFORMATION



WARNING: OCULAR Toxicity

BLENREP caused changes in the corneal epithelium resulting in changes in vision, including severe vision loss and corneal ulcer, and symptoms such as blurred vision and dry eyes.

Conduct ophthalmic exams at baseline, prior to each dose, and promptly for worsening symptoms. Withhold BLENREP until improvement and resume, or permanently discontinue, based on severity.

Because of the risk of ocular toxicity, BLENREP is available only through a restricted program under a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) called the BLENREP REMS.

WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS

Ocular Toxicity: Ocular adverse reactions occurred in 77% of the 218 patients in the pooled safety population. Ocular adverse reactions included keratopathy (76%), changes in visual acuity (55%), blurred vision (27%), and dry eye (19%). Among patients with keratopathy (n = 165), 49% had ocular symptoms, 65% had clinically relevant visual acuity changes (decline of 2 or more lines on Snellen Visual Acuity in any eye), and 34% had both ocular symptoms and visual acuity changes.

Keratopathy: Keratopathy was reported as Grade 1 in 7% of patients, Grade 2 in 22%, Grade 3 in 45%, and Grade 4 in 0.5% per the KVA scale. Cases of corneal ulcer (ulcerative and infective keratitis) have been reported. Most keratopathy events developed within the first 2 treatment cycles (cumulative incidence of 65% by Cycle 2). Of the patients with Grade 2 to 4 keratopathy (n = 149), 39% recovered to Grade 1 or lower after median follow-up of 6.2 months. Of the 61% who had ongoing keratopathy, 28% were still on treatment, 9% were in follow-up, and in 24% the follow-up ended due to death, study withdrawal, or lost to follow-up. For patients in whom events resolved, the median time to resolution was 2 months (range: 11 days to 8.3 months).

Visual Acuity Changes: A clinically significant decrease in visual acuity of worse than 20/40 in the better-seeing eye was observed in 19% of the 218 patients and of 20/200 or worse in the better-seeing eye in 1.4%. Of the patients with decreased visual acuity of worse than 20/40, 88% resolved and the median time to resolution was 22 days (range: 7 days to 4.2 months). Of the patients with decreased visual acuity of 20/200 or worse, all resolved and the median duration was 22 days (range: 15 to 22 days).

Monitoring and Patient Instruction: Conduct ophthalmic examinations (visual acuity and slit lamp) at baseline, prior to each dose, and promptly for worsening symptoms. Perform baseline examinations within 3 weeks prior to the first dose. Perform each follow-up examination at least 1 week after the previous dose and within 2 weeks prior to the next dose. Withhold BLENREP until improvement and resume at same or reduced dose, or consider permanently discontinuing based on severity. Advise patients to use preservative-free lubricant eye drops at least 4 times a day starting with the first infusion and continuing until end of treatment. Avoid use of contact lenses unless directed by an ophthalmologist. Changes in visual acuity may be associated with difficulty for driving and reading. Advise patients to use caution when driving or operating machinery. BLENREP is only available through a restricted program under a REMS.

Thrombocytopenia: Thrombocytopenia occurred in 69% of 218 patients in the pooled safety population, including Grade 2 in 13%, Grade 3 in 10%, and Grade 4 in 17%. The median time to onset of the first thrombocytopenic event was 26.5 days. Thrombocytopenia resulted in dose reduction, dose interruption, or discontinuation in 9%, 2.8%, and 0.5% of patients, respectively. Grade 3 to 4 bleeding events occurred in 6% of patients, including Grade 4 in 1 patient. Fatal adverse reactions included cerebral hemorrhage in 2 patients. Perform complete blood cell counts at baseline and during treatment as clinically indicated. Consider withholding and/or reducing the dose based on severity.

Infusion-Related Reactions: Infusion-related reactions occurred in 18% of 218 patients in the pooled safety population, including Grade 3 in 1.8%. Monitor patients for infusion-related reactions. For Grade 2 or 3 reactions, interrupt the infusion and provide supportive treatment. Once symptoms resolve, resume at a lower infusion rate. Administer premedication for all subsequent infusions. Discontinue BLENREP for life-threatening infusion-related reactions and provide appropriate emergency care.

Embryo-Fetal Toxicity: Based on its mechanism of action, BLENREP can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. Advise pregnant women of the potential risk to a fetus. Advise females of reproductive potential to use effective contraception during treatment with BLENREP and for 4 months after the last dose. Advise males with female partners of reproductive potential to use effective contraception during treatment with BLENREP and for 6 months after the last dose. Pregnancy testing is recommended for females of reproductive potential prior to initiating BLENREP.

ADVERSE REACTIONS

The pooled safety population described in Warnings and Precautions reflects exposure to BLENREP at a dosage of 2.5 mg/kg or 3.4 mg/kg (1.4 times the recommended dose) administered intravenously once every 3 weeks in 218 patients in DREAMM-2. Of these patients, 194 received a liquid formulation (not the approved dosage form) rather than the lyophilized powder.

Patients received BLENREP at the recommended dosage of 2.5 mg/kg administered intravenously once every 3 weeks (n = 95). Permanent discontinuation due to an adverse reaction occurred in 8% of patients who received BLENREP; keratopathy (2.1%) was the most frequent adverse reaction resulting in permanent discontinuation. Dosage interruptions due to an adverse reaction occurred in 54% of patients who received BLENREP. Adverse reactions which required a dosage interruption in >3% of patients included keratopathy (47%), blurred vision (5%), dry eye (3.2%), and pneumonia (3.2%). Dose reductions due to an adverse reaction occurred in 29% of patients. Adverse reactions which required a dose reduction in >3% of patients included keratopathy (23%) and thrombocytopenia (5%).

The most common adverse reactions (20%) were keratopathy (71%), decreased visual acuity (53%), nausea (24%), blurred vision (22%), pyrexia (22%), infusion-related reactions (21%), and fatigue (20%). The most common Grade 3 or 4 (5%) laboratory abnormalities were lymphocytes decreased (22%), platelets decreased (21%), hemoglobin decreased (18%), neutrophils decreased (9%), creatinine increased (5%), and gamma-glutamyl transferase increased (5%).

Serious adverse reactions occurred in 40% of patients who received BLENREP. Serious adverse reactions in >3% of patients included pneumonia (7%), pyrexia (6%), renal impairment (4.2%), sepsis (4.2%), hypercalcemia (4.2%), and infusion-related reactions (3.2%). Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 3.2% of patients, including sepsis (1%), cardiac arrest (1%), and lung infection (1%).

USE IN SPECIFIC POPULATIONS

Lactation: Because of the potential for serious adverse reactions in the breastfed child, advise women not to breastfeed during treatment with BLENREP and for 3 months after the last dose.

Females and Males of Reproductive Potential: Based on findings in animal studies, BLENREP may impair fertility in females and males.

Geriatric Use: Of the 218 patients who received BLENREP in DREAMM-2, 43% were aged 65 to less than 75 years and 17% were aged 75 years and older. Keratopathy occurred in 80% of patients aged less than 65 years and 73% of patients aged 65 years and older. Among the 95 patients who received BLENREP at the 2.5-mg/kg dose, keratopathy occurred in 67% of patients aged less than 65 years and 73% of patients aged 65 years and older.

Renal or Hepatic Impairment: The recommended dosage has not been established in patients with severe renal impairment (eGFR 15 to 29 mL/min/1.73 m2) or end-stage renal disease (ESRD) with eGFR <15 mL/min/1.73 m2 not on dialysis or requiring dialysis. The recommended dosage has not been established in patients with moderate or severe hepatic impairment (total bilirubin >1.5  ULN and any AST).

Please see full Prescribing Information, including BOXED WARNING and Medication Guide for BLENREP here.

Dr Usmani has provided consulting services to GlaxoSmithKline.

GSK in Oncology

GSK is focused on maximizing patient survival through transformational medicines. GSK's pipeline is focused on immuno-oncology, cell therapy, tumour cell targeting therapies and synthetic lethality. Our goal is to achieve a sustainable flow of new treatments based on a diversified portfolio of investigational medicines utilizing modalities such as small molecules, antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates and cell therapy, either alone or in combination.

About GSK

GSK is a science-led global healthcare company. For further information please visit www.gsk.com/about-us.

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Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements

GSK cautions investors that any forward-looking statements or projections made by GSK, including those made in this announcement, are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Such factors include, but are not limited to, those described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for 2020, GSK's Q3 Results and any impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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1 CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, Vol. 70, Issue 1, Han/Feb 2020 Pages 7-30.

2 Kazandjian D. Multiple myeloma epidemiology and survival: A unique malignancy. Semin Oncol. 2016;43(6):676681. doi:10.1053/j.seminoncol.2016.11.004.

3 SEER Cancer Facts & Figures 2019. Available at: https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/mulmy.html. Accessed October 2021.

4 Nooka AK, Kastritis E, Dimopoulos MA. Treatment options for relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma. Blood. 2015;125(20)

5 Lonial, S, et al. Belantamab mafodotin for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (DREAMM-2): a two-arm, randomized, open-label, phase 2 study. Lancet Oncol. 2020; 21(2):20721.

SOURCE GlaxoSmithKline plc
- Big Data analyses have produced novel insights that may improve the prognostication of patients with AML and CLL

- These results may be used to identify high-risk patients and to make better-informed treatment choices in the future

- The new data is presented at the 63nd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH)

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

Does RAD21 Co-Mutation Have a Role in DNMT3A Mutated AML? - Raul Azibeiro Melchor Universitario de Salamanca: "We studied gene-gene interactions in ~3600 patients with AML. We discovered that a mutation in the RAD21 gene has a positive effect on outcome in a particular group of patients. These results provide insight into the molecular landscape of AML. In long term, results may be used to improve prognostication and inform treatment choices in patients with AML."

Harmony Alliance provides a machine learning researching tool to predict the risk of relapse after first remission in AML patients treated without allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation - Marta Sobas, Medical University of Wroclaw: "We have developed a machine learning tool to more accurately predict the risk of relapse in these particular patients. We used data from 842 patients with AML to develop the tool. Based on patient characteristics such as age, gender, molecular genetic mutations, and cytogenetic abnormalities, the tool graphically provides the probability of Relapse-Free Survival over time."

Impact of Gender on Molecular AML Subclasses  a HARMONY study - Tommaso Matteuzzi, Universita di Bologna: "We searched for gender differences in mutational patterns in ~2800 AML patient. HARMONY data is harmonized, ensures data comparability and allows meaningful analyses of gender imbalances. We studied AML molecular subclasses with advanced clustering methods observing differences in mutational patterns between males and females".

Different prognostic impact of recurrent gene mutations in IGHV-mutated and IGHV-unmutated chronic lymphocytic leukemia: a retrospective, multi-center cohort study by ERIC, the European Research Initiative on CLL, in HARMONY - Larry Mansouri, ERIC European Research Initiative on CLL: "Two major subtypes of CLL are based on the mutational status of the immunoglobulin heavy variable genes. We discovered mutations within several genes that constitute a high-risk profile in patients with M-CLL. This may help to identify patients with an unfavorable prognosis, with obvious implications for therapy choice."

More information: https://bit.ly/3pCDmiY

SOURCE HARMONY Alliance
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A former UCLA Student has accused Dr. Edward Wiesmeier, UCLA Health Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Health from 1981-2006, of sexual assault in a lawsuit filed today by law firm McGrath Kavinoky in Los Angeles. The suit alleges that when the female student visited the UCLA Student Health Center (now the Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center) for routine gynecological care in the early 2000s, she was subjected to sexual contact by Dr. Wiesmeier, and in a later appointment, to an excruciatingly painful and sexually abusive procedure. Dr. Wiesmeier retired from the university in 2007.

Dr. Wiesmeier is one of five UCLA physicians identified as having had multiple complaints of inappropriate behavior in a Special Report commissioned by UCLA in the wake of hundreds of lawsuits filed against UCLA Health by victims of Dr. James Heaps. Heaps is accused of 21 felony criminal counts of assaulting victims over a two-decade period. The Special Report also detailed a series of complaints by UCLA employees about Wiesmeier.

Attorney Jennifer McGrath, who represents the victim in the lawsuit, said, "UCLA has admitted that Dr. Wiesmeier was engaged in medically unnecessary touching of young women's intimate body parts. We may never be able to determine how many sexual assaults could have been prevented had UCLA Health only acted responsibly."

Darren Kavinoky, who represents the victims along with McGrath, said, "The victim of this alleged assault has had her life changed forever by a doctor seeking sexual gratification. No woman should ever be subjected to this, and no institution should protect doctors that commit these heinous acts. The statute of limitations on seeking justice for these victims expires at the end of December, so we encourage anyone with information about abuse at UCLA Student Health to come forward now."

McGrath Kavinoky is a Los Angeles based law firm currently litigating hundreds of cases against Dr. James Heaps on behalf of victims.

Read the complaint at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/01yjbzcgaf74big/2021-12-09%20Complaint.pdf?dl=0

SOURCE McGrath Kavinoky
DUBLIN, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Medtronic plc (NYSE: MDT), a global leader in healthcare technology, today announced the results of a study published in Osteoporosis International that demonstrate a decrease, and in some cases elimination of oral opioids, and decrease in payer costs following balloon kyphoplasty (BKP) or vertebroplasty (VP) procedures in patients suffering from spinal fractures, known as vertebral compression fractures (VCF).1 This study, sponsored by Medtronic, is the first published study to evaluate the effect of BKP and VP on opioid reduction as a primary outcome.

An estimated 800,000 VCFs occur in the United States every year.2 They are associated with debilitating pain, spinal deformity, increased mortality, and increased healthcare-resource utilization in elderly patients.3-5 VCFs are often treated with conservative medical management (CMM), including bed rest, back bracing, and prescription oral opioids. These treatments have been shown in clinical studies to have limited effectiveness in reducing pain and improving function long-term compared to interventional treatments like BKP and VP.6-10

Both BKP and VP treat painful pathological fractures of the vertebral body due to osteoporosis, cancer, or benign lesions. The goal of BKP and VP is to relieve pain and stabilize VCFs. BKP is supported by a robust body of evidence showing important clinical benefits compared to conventional medical management, which include better pain relief and improved quality of life and function.6,7,8,9 These procedures have also been shown to reduce the need for prescription opioids.8

This study, titled, "Trends in opioid use following balloon kyphoplasty or vertebroplasty for the treatment of vertebral compression fractures," evaluated the effect of BKP or VP on post-procedure opioid prescription fills and payer costs in patients with VCF through a retrospective claims analysis of a large, nationally representative insurance-claims database. Clinical characteristics, opioid-prescription patterns, and payer costs for subjects who underwent either BKP or VP to treat VCF were evaluated beginning six months prior to surgery through seven-months follow-up that included a 30-day post-operative medication washout period to account for the management of post-surgical pain.

The analysis found that 57.1% of patients decreased use of oral opioids, with 48.7% discontinuing use altogether and 8.4% reducing prescription refills post-procedure when compared to the six months prior to the procedure. Additionally, patients who decreased or discontinued opioid prescription fills post-procedure significantly reduced total payer costs over six-month follow-up relative to baseline, with average savings of $6,759.1 Conversely, patients who maintained, increased, or newly started opioids in follow-up slightly increased their payer costs ($160) relative to baseline.

"Our observations are consistent with the existing body of evidence showing a decrease in opioid use following balloon kyphoplasty or vertebroplasty procedures to treat spinal fractures, said Dr. Joshua Hirsch, corresponding author and practicing physician at Massachusetts General Hospital. "Previous studies drew their conclusions from small study populations and clinical trials that were not necessarily designed to measure opioid use as a primary outcome. This study is unique in that it evaluates the impact of these procedures on opioid prescription fills as primary outcome, using a larger, real-world study population."



"Given the current opioid epidemic and ongoing pain management crisis, we believe there is a need to better explore solutions that effectively address pain and support the elimination of oral opioids," said Anu Codaty, vice president and general manager, Interventional Pain within the Neuromodulation business, which is part of the Neuroscience Portfolio at Medtronic. "Based on the findings of this study, there may be an added benefit for this patient population in reducing opioid-based harms."

Medtronic has more than a 40-year history of developing innovative medical devices that have been shown to alleviate pain in different disease states, including BKP, VP, Spinal Cord Stimulation and Targeted Drug Delivery.12 These therapies may help patients manage their pain without the use of oral opioids.

About Medtronic

Bold thinking. Bolder actions. We are Medtronic. Medtronic plc, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is the leading global healthcare technology company that boldly attacks the most challenging health problems facing humanity by searching out and finding solutions. Our Mission  to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life  unites a global team of 90,000+ passionate people across 150 countries. Our technologies and therapies treat 70 health conditions and include cardiac devices, surgical robotics, insulin pumps, surgical tools, patient monitoring systems, and more. Powered by our diverse knowledge, insatiable curiosity, and desire to help all those who need it, we deliver innovative technologies that transform the lives of two people every second, every hour, every day. Expect more from us as we empower insight-driven care, experiences that put people first, and better outcomes for all. In everything we do, we are engineering the extraordinary. For more information on Medtronic (NYSE:MDT), visit www.Medtronic.com and follow @Medtronic on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties such as those described in Medtronic's periodic reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.

References

Ni, W., Ricker, C., Quinn, M., Gasquet, N., Janardhanan, D., Gilligan, C. J., & Hirsch, J. A. (2021). Trends in opioid use following balloon kyphoplasty or vertebroplasty for the treatment of vertebral compression fractures. Osteoporosis International. Medtronic Data on File. Business Insights & Analytics, September 2019 . Brunton S, Carmichael B, Gold D, et al. Vertebral compression fractures in primary care: recommendations from a consensus panel. J Fam Pract. 2005;54(9):781-788. Ong KL, Beall DP, Frohbergh M, Lau E, Hirsch JA, et al. Were VCF patients at higher risk of mortality following the 2009 publication of the vertebroplasty "sham" trials? Osteoporosis Int. 2018;29(2):375383. doi:10.1007/s00198-017-4281-z Burge R, Dawson-Hughes B, Solomon DH, Wong JB, King A, Tosteson A. Incidence and economic burden of osteoporosis-related fractures in the United States , 2005-2025. J Bone Miner Res. 2007 Mar;22(3):465-75. doi: 10.1359/jbmr.061113. PMID: 17144789. Berenson J, Pflugmacher R, Jarzem P, et al. Balloon kyphoplasty versus non-surgical fracture management for treatment of painful vertebral body compression fractures in patients with cancer: a multicentre, randomised controlled trial. Lancet Oncol. 2011;12(3):225-235. Wardlaw D, Cummings SR, Van Meirhaeghe J, et al. Efficacy and safety of balloon kyphoplasty compared with non-surgical care for vertebral compression fracture (FREE): a randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2009;373(9668):1016-1024. Boonen S, Van Meirhaeghe J, Bastian L, et al. Balloon kyphoplasty for the treatment of acute vertebral compression fractures: 2-year results from a randomized trial. J Bone Miner Res. 2011;26(7):1627-1637. Van Meirhaeghe J, Bastian L, Boonen S, et al. A randomized trial of balloon kyphoplasty and nonsurgical management for treating acute vertebral compression fractures: vertebral body kyphosis correction and surgical parameters. Spine. 2013 38(12),971-983. Klazen C, Lohle P, de Vries J, et al. Vertebroplasty versus conservative treatment in acute osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (Vertos II): an open-label randomised trial. Lancet. 2010;376(9746):1085-1092. Data on file: FREE Study, Opioid Use Internal Calculations Deer T. Atlas of implantable therapies for pain management. New York, NY : Springer Science and Business Media, LLC; 2011.

UC202210659EN

Contacts:





Michelle Claypool Ryan Weispfenning Public Relations Investor Relations +1-763-526-9452 +1-763-505-4626

SOURCE Medtronic plc
EAST HANOVER, N.J., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Novartis today announced the introduction of T-Charge, the company's next-generation CAR-T platform that will serve as the foundation for various new investigational CAR-T cell therapies in the Novartis pipeline. At the 63rd American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition (ASH) 2021, Novartis will present early clinical data from ongoing Phase I clinical trials with YTB323 (anti-CD19) and PHE885 (anti-BCMA), the first Novartis CAR-T cell therapies developed using this platform. Notably, initial efficacy data show a complete response rate of 73% (95% CI: 44.9, 92.2) at month three for the 15 patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) who received dose level two of YTB3231. For the 11 patients with multiple myeloma who received the two highest doses of PHE885, the best overall response was 100%2.

The T-Charge platform preserves T cell stemness, the ability to self-renew and mature, which results in a product containing greater proliferative potential and fewer exhausted T cells3,4. With T-Charge, CAR-T cell expansion occurs primarily within a patient's body (in-vivo), eliminating the need for an extended culture time outside of the body (ex-vivo)3,4. These unique characteristics of the T-Charge platform may lead to better and more durable responses, improved long-term outcomes and a reduced risk of severe adverse events1-4.

"With T-Charge, we aim to build on the vast knowledge gleaned from early investment in CAR-T research and trials. Our ambition now is to go beyond incremental advances, to further reimagine CAR-T cell therapy and give patients a higher likelihood of durable responses with the ultimate potential for a cure," said Jay Bradner, President of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research. "We are encouraged by these promising early clinical data from the first CAR-T cell therapies produced using the T-Charge platform as we look to accelerate their development and delivery to patients."

Phase I YTB323 clinical study1

YTB323, an investigational, autologous CD19-directed CAR-T cell therapy developed using the T-Charge platform, showed promising results in the diffuse large B-cell lymphoma arm of a first-in-human, multicenter, Phase I dose-escalation study. Patients received a single treatment of YTB323 at two dose levels (DL). The median administered doses were 2.5106 CAR+ cells (DL1; n=4) and 12.5106 CAR+ cells (DL2; n=16). Of the 15 patients who received YTB323 treatment at DL2 at least three months prior to the data cut-off, the complete response (CR) rate was 73% (95% CI: 44.9, 92.2), including two patients who were in CR prior to treatment with YTB323.

For the 20 patients evaluable for safety, there were no new safety signals beyond those previously known to be related to CD19-directed CAR-T cell therapy. All AEs were reported regardless of the study drug relationship. Six patients experienced CRS including five of grade 1/2 and one of grade 4. Five patients had neurological adverse reactions (AR), of which two events were considered serious (both at DL2; one experienced grade 3 immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) and the other experienced grade 2 seizure that resulted in a grade 3 ICANS). Recruitment for this trial is ongoing. These data will be presented in an oral session at the ASH annual meeting (Abstract #740; Monday, December 13, 3:00 PM EST).

"The introduction of CAR-T cell therapy led to unprecedented efficacy results for patients facing limited treatment options and a poor prognosis. Unfortunately, some patients with late-stage B-cell malignancies relapse or do not respond after initial response when treated with traditional CAR-T cell therapies," said principal investigator Ian W. Flinn, MD, PhD, Director of the Lymphoma Research Program at Sarah Cannon Research Institute in Nashville. "As part of a community of researchers, physicians and patient advocates, I am hopeful about the promise of novel and next-generation CAR-T cell therapies."

Phase I PHE885 clinical study2

PHE885, an investigational, autologous BCMA-directed CAR-T cell therapy developed using the T-Charge platform, demonstrated promising results in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma in a first-in-human Phase I, multicenter, dose-escalation study. Fifteen patients were evaluated for efficacy and safety and the fixed doses received were 2.5106 (n=4), 5106 (n=10) and 14.3106 CAR-T cells (n=1). Although the follow-up period was brief, PHE885 shows encouraging initial clinical activity with a best overall response of 100% for patients receiving the 5106 or 14.3106 CAR-T cell dose, with responses deepening over time. With a median follow-up of 3.5 months, eight of 15 patients had ongoing responses at the time of data cutoff. Of the evaluable patients at three months post administration, 34% (2/6) were MRD-negative by next-generation sequencing (NGS) at 10-6; 43% (3/7) were MRD-negative at 10-5.

All patients experienced CRS with two patients experiencing grade 3 CRS. No patients experienced grade 4 or 5 CRS. All neurotoxicity events (n=4) were nonserious, grade 1-2, reversible, and temporally associated with CRS. Recruitment for this trial is ongoing. These data will be presented in a poster presentation session at the ASH annual meeting (Abstract #3864; Monday, December 13, 6:00 PM EST).

Results from pre-clinical studies of YTB323 and PHE885 that served as the scientific rationale to initiate these Phase I clinical trials will also be presented at the meeting (Abstracts #2848 and #2770).

About T-Charge1-4

T-Charge is a next-generation CAR-T platform, innovated at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR), that will serve as the foundation for various new investigational CAR-T cell therapies in the Novartis pipeline. By implementing the T-Charge platform, we aim to revolutionize CAR-T cell therapy with new products that have the potential to offer patients a higher likelihood of better and more durable responses, improved long-term outcomes and a reduced risk of severe adverse events. The T-Charge platform preserves T cell stemness (T cell ability to self-renew and mature), an important T cell characteristic closely tied to its therapeutic potential, which results in a product containing greater proliferative potential and fewer exhausted T cells. With T-Charge, CAR-T cell expansion occurs primarily within the patient's body (in-vivo), eliminating the need for an extended culture time outside of the body (ex-vivo). The T-Charge platform, which implements important process efficiencies, will be rapid, compared with traditional CAR-T, and reliable, through simplified processes and streamlined quality control. Multiple CAR-T therapies, including YTB323 and PHE885, are being developed using the Novartis T-Charge platform.

About Novartis commitment to Oncology Cell Therapy

Novartis has a mission to reimagine medicine by bringing curative cell therapies to patients worldwide. Novartis has a deep CAR-T pipeline and ongoing investment in manufacturing and supply chain process improvements. With active research underway to broaden the impact of cell and gene therapy in oncology, Novartis is going deeper in hematological malignancies, reaching patients with other cancer types and evaluating next-generation CAR-T cell therapies that focus on new targets and utilize new platforms.

Novartis was the first pharmaceutical company to significantly invest in pioneering CAR-T research and initiate global CAR-T trials.

Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as "potential," "can," "will," "plan," "may," "could," "would," "expect," "anticipate," "look forward," "believe," "committed," "investigational," "pipeline," "launch," or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential marketing approvals, new indications or labeling for the investigational or approved products described in this press release, or regarding potential future revenues from such products. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that the investigational or approved products described in this press release will be submitted or approved for sale or for any additional indications or labeling in any market, or at any particular time. Nor can there be any guarantee that such products will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, our expectations regarding such products could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures and requirements for increased pricing transparency; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; general political, economic and business conditions, including the effects of and efforts to mitigate pandemic diseases such as COVID-19; safety, quality, data integrity or manufacturing issues; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of our information technology systems, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Novartis

Located in East Hanover, NJ Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation  an affiliate of Novartis  is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people's lives. As a leading global medicines company, we use innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the world's top companies investing in research and development. Novartis employs nearly 15,000 people in the United States. For more information, please visit https://www.novartis.us.

Novartis and Novartis US is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @Novartis at https://twitter.com/novartisnews and @NovartisUS at https://twitter.com/NovartisUS.

For Novartis multimedia content, please visit https://www.novartis.com/news/media-library.

For questions about the site or required registration, please contact [email protected]

References

Flinn, I. et al. A First-in-Human Study of YTB323, a Novel, Autologous CD19-Directed CAR-T Cell Therapy Manufactured Using the Novel T-Charge platform, for the Treatment of Patients (Pts) with Relapsed/Refractory (r/r) Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL). Oral Presentation #740. 2021 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dec 11-14 , Atlanta, GA and Virtual. Sperling, A. et al. Phase I Study of PHE885, a Fully Human BCMA-Directed CAR-T Cell Therapy for Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma Manufactured in<2 days Using the T-Charge. Poster #3864. 2021 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dec 11-14 , Atlanta, GA and Virtual. Engels, B. et al. Preservation of T-Cell Stemness with a Novel Expansionless CAR-T Manufacturing Process, Which Reduces Manufacturing Time to Less Than Two Days, Drives Enhanced CAR-T Cell Efficacy. Abstract #2848. 2021 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dec 11-14 , Atlanta, GA and Virtual. Bu, D. et al. Identification and Development of PHE885: A Novel and Highly Potent Fully Human Anti-BCMA CAR-T Manufactured with a Novel T-Charge Platform for the Treatment of Multiple Myeloma. Abstract #2770. 2021 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dec 11-14 , Atlanta, GA and Virtual.

###

Novartis Media Relations

E-mail: [email protected]

Julie Masow Head, US External Engagement +1 862 579 8456 [email protected] Jamie Bennett Director, US External Engagement +1 862 217 3976 [email protected] Fiona Phillips Novartis Oncology Communications +1 862 217 9396 [email protected]



Novartis Investor Relations

E-mail: [email protected] North America Sloan Simpson +1 862 778 5052







SOURCE Novartis US
NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Pernod Ricard USA announced a $200,000 donation to Restaurant Workers' Community Foundation (RWCF), an organization whose mission is to help strengthen opportunities in the workforce and increase professional career advancement by addressing quality-of-life issues that disproportionately affect restaurant workers, 40 percent of whom live on poverty-level wages. This is the second year in a row that Pernod Ricard USA has made a holiday donation to support the important work of RWCF.

Since the start of the pandemic, businesses throughout the hospitality industry have been forced to close, putting many bartenders, waiters, hosts and kitchen staff out of work. Pernod Ricard USA acknowledges the challenges these critical members of our community continue to face and the responsibility of the wine & spirits industry to support them.

"At Pernod Ricard, we exist to unlock the magic of human connection, and because of that we see responsibility as going far beyond responsible consumption. It includes a responsibility to support the professionals who introduce our brands to consumers and create the convivial atmospheres in which our brands can be enjoyed," said John Barrett, Chief Commercial Officer of Pernod Ricard USA. "Our decision to make a second donation to the Restaurant Worker's Community Fund this year recognizes the systematic challenges workers throughout the hospitality industry continue to face due to the pandemic. We know that the industry as a whole is only as resilient as the professionals who make each and every establishment thrive."

"As people within our community struggle with long-term loss of income due to forced closures, suspended businesses and reduced hours, this generous donation from Pernod Ricard USA will work to provide structural solutions to the ongoing quality of life-crisis facing the hospitality industry during the pandemic," said John deBary, Co-Founder and Board President of the Restaurant Worker's Community Foundation. "This donation will be dispersed among our various funds across the hospitality industry including Core Mission Work, COVID-Relief Grantmaking and Racial Justice Fund Grantmaking."

Pernod Ricard USA encourages consumers to remember their local bartenders and restaurants this holiday season and consider making their own contributions to the Restaurant Workers' Community Foundation .

About Pernod Ricard

Pernod Ricard USA is the premium spirits and wine company in the U.S., and the largest subsidiary of Paris, France-based Pernod Ricard SA., the world's second-largest spirits and wine company. Pernod Ricard employs approximately 19,000 people worldwide, is listed on Euronext (Ticker: RI) and is part of the CAC 40 index. The company's leading spirits include such prestigious brands as Absolut Vodka, Avion Tequila, Chivas Regal Scotch Whisky, The Glenlivet Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Kahlua Liqueur, Malibu, Martell Cognac, Olmeca Altos Tequila , Beefeater Gin, Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal, Monkey 47 Gin, Plymouth Gin, Seagram's Extra Dry Gin, Malfy Gin, Hiram Walker Liqueurs, Midleton Irish Whiskey, Powers Irish Whiskey, Redbreast Irish Whiskey, Aberlour Single Malt Scotch Whisky; Lillet; Smithworks Vodka, Jefferson's Bourbon, Smooth Ambler Whiskey, Rabbit Hole Whiskey, Pernod and Ricard; such superior wines as Jacob's Creek, Kenwood Vineyards, Campo Viejo and Brancott Estate; and such exquisite champagnes and sparkling wines as Perrier-Jouet Champagne, G.H. Mumm Champagne and Mumm Napa sparkling wines.

Pernod Ricard USA is headquartered in New York, New York, and has more than 1,000 employees across the country. As "creators of conviviality," we are committed to sustainable and responsible business practices in service of our customers, consumers, employees and the planet. Pernod Ricard USA urges all adults to consume its products responsibly and has an active program to promote responsible drinking. For more information on this, please visit: www.responsibility.org.

About Restaurant Workers' Community Foundation  www.RestaurantWorkersCF.org

@RWCFUSA on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn

Restaurant Workers' Community Foundation is an advocacy and action nonprofit created by and for restaurant workers. RWCF was founded in 2018 to advocate for  and raise funds for other nonprofits working toward  gender equity, racial justice, fair wages, and healthy work environments in the restaurant industry. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, RWCF's additional focus is on supporting workers in crisis and small business owners with the Restaurant Workers COVID19 Crisis Relief Fund.

RWCF is America's first nonprofit using the community foundation model to support people in a particular labor segment. We are a community dedicated to making the restaurant industry more hospitable to everyone. In our normal model (prior to the establishment of the crisis relief fund) one third of the funds we raise goes to our own community-building and advocacy efforts, one third to grantmaking to other nonprofits (ones that provide career training, advocate for fair wage policies and worker rights, or provide services for restaurant workers related to gender and racial equity, and mental health and substance abuse) and one third is allocated to an impact investing fund, with which we aim to positively affect worker rights in the industry.

SOURCE Pernod Ricard USA
TUCSON, Ariz., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Many physicians sense that something is just not right about what is happening in medicine, states Jenny Powell, M.D., who became president of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) in October. "Now many of my colleagues find themselves at a crossroad, feeling alone and confused," she writes in the winter issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons.

Dr. Powell runs a busy, direct-pay private family practice with two locations (all clinical, no hospital) in rural Missouri. But "I have been not immune to the issues facing Hippocratic physicians throughout not only the country but the world."

"Physicians who take their Hippocratic Oath seriously must now search through piles of junk to find good studies, good information, that which has not been colored by political or financial gains. There has never been a more important time for like-minded physicians, nurses, and other medical caregivers to 'hang together.'"

"We've seen some strange things happen lately," she observes. "Shakespeare wrote in The Tempest in 1610, 'Alas, the storm is come again! My best way is to creep under his gaberdine; there is no other shelter hereabouts: misery acquaints a man with strange bed-fellows.'"

Physicians must stand together against a system that would tell all physicians how they may diagnose and treat, with what they may treat and whom they may treat, and that if they resist, they will be silenced," she states. "These are the times that try physicians' souls."

The Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons is published by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), a national organization representing physicians in all specialties since 1943.

SOURCE Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS)
HONG KONG and SHANGHAI, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (hereafter "Ping An" or the "Group", HKEX: 02318; SSE: 601318) announced the Group has won the Hong Kong Corporate Governance Excellence Award 2021 in the category of Main Board Companies  Hang Seng Index Constituent Companies. This is the sixth time Ping An has been recognized for this prestigious award.

The Hong Kong Corporate Governance and ESG Excellence Awards 2021 is co-organized by The Chamber of Hong Kong Listed Companies and the Centre for Corporate Governance and Financial Policy at Hong Kong Baptist University.

The judge commented: "As a previous winner of the award, Ping An continues to manifest strong leadership of the board which comprises skilled professionals who guide the Group to become an integrated financial services powerhouse with good leverage on technology that it is today. The absence of a controlling shareholder frees the Group from undue influence by a single interested party, and there is strict observation of laws and regulations about connected transactions and corporate governance. The board devotes close attention to building the right positioning, personnel, process and culture for the Group, and to developing a strong risk management framework based on big data extraction and AI to monitor risks. Its unique management structure with 3 Co-CEOs with clear division of business oversights helps steer the group through the market uncertainties in the past years with clear focus and corporate conciseness to generate strong returns to shareholders."

As China's first joint stock insurance company and an A+H dual listed company, Ping An has adopted global best practices in governance. It is ensuring stable operation of the Group through a series of innovative governance measures and proper disclosures. Ping An has developed a disclosure management system that categorizes different major events for level-by-level approval, creating a transparent, efficient and organized process. For three consecutive years, the Group has been ranked level A, the highest grade, by the Shanghai Stock Exchange for information disclosure.

Ping An values shareholder returns and the need to protect investors. From 2019 to 2021, Ping An has approved buyback schemes for A-shares. Two schemes have cumulatively bought back more than 130 million shares to date, costing close to RMB10 billion. Ping An also continues to improve the level of cash dividends. Due to sound performance and adequate solvency, an interim dividend of RMB0.88 per share was paid in 2021 representing a year-on-year increase of 10%.

In terms of risk management, Ping An established a distinctive "251" risk management framework to prevent and resolve major financial risks. Specifically, "2" refers to the dual risk matrix management and control system of the group and subsidiaries; "5" refers to information security risk, asset quality risk, liquidity risk, operational compliance risk and brand reputation risk; "1" refers to a collaborative risk management and control platform of unified standards and requirements for the whole group in terms of the overall risk governance structure, management system and information systems. As part of Ping An's strategic plan that covers financial + technology, the Group has fully integrated digital technology in its financial risk management and continuously promotes intelligent risk management and control.

Driven by its sustainability strategy, Ping An has integrated core ESG philosophies and standards into its corporate governance and management framework. It has built a scientific and professional sustainability management framework to guide its business practices. The Board of Directors oversee all ESG issues to ensure long-term and stable development of the business as well as greater sustainable value for shareholders, investors and other stakeholders. The Group announced its Green Finance+ initiative to support sustainable community development. Ping An's green investment and green credit totaled RMB208,886 million and RMB53,278 million respectively, as of September 30, 2021. Ping An's premiums for green insurance totaled RMB25,109 million in the first nine months of 2021. In October 2021, Ping An announced plans to achieve operational carbon neutrality in 2030.

About Ping An Group

Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. ("Ping An") is a world-leading technology-powered retail financial services group. With over 225 million retail customers and nearly 634 million internet users, Ping An is one of the largest financial services companies in the world. Ping An focuses on two over-arching domains of activity, "pan financial assets" and "pan health care", covering the provision of financial and health care services through our integrated financial services platform and our ecosystems in financial services, health care, auto services and smart city services. Our "finance + technology" and "finance + ecosystem" transformation strategies aim to provide customers and internet users with innovative and simple products and services using technology. As China's first joint stock insurance company, Ping An is committed to upholding the highest standards of corporate reporting and corporate governance. The Group is listed on the stock exchanges in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Ping An ranked 6th in the Forbes Global 2000 list in 2021 and ranked 16th in the Fortune Global 500 list in 2021. Ping An also ranked 49th in the 2021 WPP Kantar Millward Brown BrandZTM Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands list.

For more information, please visit www.group.pingan.com and follow us on LinkedIn - PING AN.

SOURCE Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd.

Related Links

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DALLAS, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Priority Aviation, Inc. (USOTC: PJET) PJET has recently reorganized its business focus to concentrate on delivering university student life solutions starting first with an App positioned as the Airbnb or VRBO of student housing, Student Housing By Owner or SHBO.

The development of the SHBO App is complete, and the App is now undergoing an internal quality review. The App is expected to launch in production before the end of the year.

PJET is building a brick-and-mortar component of its business to physically trial and prove parameters for its technology solutions. The company has reached terms to fund and build a student housing residential building in Texas that will support a small private university with an enrollment of approximately 1200 students.

PJET also recently announced that it will add an EV pilot to its brick-and-mortar pilot. PJET has ordered ten electric scooters from Alternet Systems, Inc (USOTC: ALYI) that will be deployed for use on the same campus with a mobile app to access the scooters. PJET will use the pilot to generate data for a more comprehensive technology solution that can be scaled to any university.

PJET CEO Steven Rash says the company will have revenue in 2022: "Our intellectual property and brick and mortar assets have value, and that value can be transformed into revenue in a number of ways. And that revenue can be scaled by expanding the revenue model to additional campuses. We will trial a number of revenue models making real revenue along the way. While it's premature to nail down a revenue forecast at this time, we will collect data from our pilot revenue and in turn make a revenue forecast. When thinking about revenue, I think investors need to consider the 21 million US university student population and the 500 million global student population and consider the potential revenue that can be derived serving student life with sustainable technology solutions."

21 million U.S. college students are estimated to have over $376 billion in spending power. In 2020, students spent $39 billion on food alone. Annual student spending on clothes and accessories is estimated at $67 billion. Universities themselves spend approximately $1 billion annually advertising to the university student demographic.

PJET's Student Housing App design includes an artificial intelligence engine intended to integrate a network of businesses addressing the student living ecosystem.

PJET is majority owned by ACI Conglomerated which also controls North American Cannabis Holdings, Inc. (USOTC: USMJ) and Puration, Inc. (USOTC: PURA).

About the Emerging Growth Conference

The Emerging Growth conference is an effective way for public companies to present and communicate their new products, services and other major announcements to the investment community from the convenience of their office, in a time efficient manner.

The Conference focus and coverage includes companies in a wide range of growth sectors, with strong management teams, innovative products & services, focused strategy, execution, and the overall potential for long term growth. Its audience includes potentially tens of thousands of Individual and Institutional investors, as well as Investment advisors and analysts.

All sessions are conducted through video webcasts and take place in the Eastern time zone.

Company Website  www.pjet-info.com

Disclaimer/Safe Harbor: This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act. The statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events that involve risks and uncertainties. Among others, these risks include the expectation that any of the companies mentioned herein will achieve significant sales, the failure to meet schedule or performance requirements of the companies' contracts, the companies' liquidity position, the companies' ability to obtain new contracts, the emergence of competitors with greater financial resources and the impact of competitive pricing. In the light of these uncertainties, the forward-looking events referred to in this release might not occur.

Contact:

Steven Rash

[email protected]

+1 (800) 861-1350

SOURCE Priority Aviation, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.pjet-info.com


DALLAS, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Prospera Financial Services, Inc. ("Prospera" or "the firm"), a boutique wealth management firm supporting a nationwide network of independent advisors, today announced that it has acquired Dorsey & Company, Inc., a New Orleans-based firm with approximately $1.4 billion in assets under management. The firm will maintain the Dorsey and Company brand and operate as a Prospera OSJ.

The move underscores Prospera's impressive growth trajectory in recent years and signals its interest in making future acquisitions, just as many similarly sized peers have been sold to larger firms during the industry's ongoing consolidation wave. Excluding this transaction, Prospera has nearly 150 financial advisors across the country, with approximately $14.6 billion in assets under management.

Tim Edwards, Prospera Co-CEO and Managing Partner, said, "We are delighted to team with Dorsey & Company, whose boutique approach to service and shared culture make them a perfect partner for us going forward. In an era when many firms our size have been absorbed by larger industry players, Prospera is proud that we've been able to go against the tide by becoming active acquirers and continuing to expand. We look forward to sustaining our record of service-driven growth and success."

Dorsey & Company was founded in 1959 by George Dorsey, who later handed the reins over to his son, Philip. In building a reputation for developing close, trusting relationships with its clients, the firm has benefited from the family's steady and guiding hands over the years.

Raymond A. Thompson took over as President and CEO of the firm following Philip's passing in 2019. Mr. Thompson will continue in a leadership role and become Branch Manager of the OSJ.

Together, the firms offer clients and advisors a number of complementary skill sets. Dorsey & Company has a recognized fixed income expertise, while Prospera's services compare favorably to the offerings provided by many large firms throughout the industry, including:

Practice management expertise

Comprehensive succession planning assistance

Marketing strategy and execution support

Research from top analysts

Industry-leading insurance solutions platform

Mr. Thompson said, "We are excited to join the Prospera family. I have developed a strong relationship with the members of its leadership team over the years, and I'm thoroughly convinced that they will only build on our long history of delivering high-quality, personalized and conflict-free strategies to our clients. Our advisors look forward to having access to expanded resources and expertise that will enhance Dorsey & Company's already first-class service and help them grow their businesses."

Mr. Edwards continues, "I'm excited to welcome Ray and the rest of the Dorsey & Company team to Prospera. The firm is a perfect complement to ours, further enhancing Prospera's distinctive value proposition and vision, which allows advisors to define their brand, chart their own success story and, ultimately, thrive. As we continue to grow the firm and welcome new financial advisors through recruiting and acquisitions, we will not stray from what has made us so special up to this point  a nimble, responsive and personalized-service approach that drives success for the advisors we support."

About Prospera Financial Services

Founded in 1982, Prospera Financial Services, Member FINRA, SIPC and a registered investment advisory, offers the flexibility and resources only found at some of the nation's largest broker-dealers. Headquartered in Dallas, TX, Prospera was named Broker-Dealer of the Year by Investment Advisor Magazine in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2018 and 2019. Prospera is a 3-time winner and 5-time finalist for WealthManagement.com's Industry Awards as well as a ThinkAdvisor Luminaries award winner in its inaugural year. The firm supports independent financial advisors nationwide. For more information about Prospera, visit www.joinprospera.com.

Media Contacts

Michael Dugan or Joseph Kuo

Haven Tower Group LLC

424 317 4852 or 424 317 4851

[email protected] or [email protected]

SOURCE Prospera Financial Services
ZURICH, Switzerland, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Rejuveron Life Sciences AG, a Zurich-based biotechnology company developing technologies for healthy aging, today announced that it has strengthened its support to a near-majority holding in Endogena Therapeutics Inc., an endogenous regenerative therapeutics company. Rejuveron has funded a further $20m in the $29 million series A financing round to enable Endogena to progress treatments targeting degenerative diseases of the eye.

In January, Rejuveron already provided $4.75 million as part of Endogena's $8m series A-1 financing round and is the largest shareholder in Endogena, alongside major investor DEFTA Partners.

The new funding will enable Endogena to progress its lead program, EA-2353, a photoreceptor regeneration treatment for retinitis pigmentosa (RP) through first-in-human trials in the USA and to advance EA-2351, a treatment for geographic atrophy (GA) to IND.

Subject to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of its IND application, Endogena's lead program, EA-2353, will enter first-in-human trials in the first half of 2022. In May, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted orphan drug designation for EA-2353 which provides benefits including market exclusivity once approved, exemption of FDA application fees, and tax credits for qualified clinical trials.

EA-2353 is an endogenous photoreceptor regeneration treatment for RP that works by selective regulation of the endogenous adult stem- and progenitor cells for controlled tissue repair.

RP is a group of inherited diseases causing slow and progressive retinal degeneration and loss of vision, for which there is currently no cure for the majority of patients. It is the leading cause of inherited blindness, with an estimated 1.5 million people worldwide presently affected. Endogena's novel, small-molecule approach is gene-independent, which has significant advantages in this condition that has multiple genetic causes. It leverages an artificial intelligence-driven drug discovery platform and has the potential to become a paradigm shift in treating degenerative conditions related to aging and genetic disorders.

EA-2351 is a novel pre-clinical candidate for the treatment of GA, an advanced form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). GA is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in the developed world and it has been estimated that almost 9% of the population older than 45 years of age is affected. Dry-AMD is characterized by extensive retinal pigment epithelium degeneration. There is a high unmet medical need in AMD patients as there are no approved treatments for the condition.

Christian Angermayer, Chairman of Rejuveron Life Sciences AG, said: "Endogena Therapeutics' approach for endogenous regenerative medicine is a novel treatment paradigm for common degenerative diseases that are becoming more prevalent due to demographic changes with aging populations. Rejuveron is focused on advancing treatments that focus on the biology of ageing and Endogena has transformative potential for age-related degenerative diseases. Regenerative therapies will have a more prominent role in expanding the healthspan of our aging population, which is facing the increasing burden of social, economic and healthcare challenges of age-related demographic shifts."

Matthias Steger, CEO of Endogena, said: "We are on the brink of a critical milestone in our development as we progress our first program into the clinic. This would not be possible without the substantial support of Rejuveron and DEFTA. Our small molecule drug discovery expertise, AI-driven platform combined with our state-of-the-art stem cell know-how will enable us to advance breakthrough therapies in several indications."

Elona Baum, Managing Director of DEFTA Partners, said:

"DEFTA Partners is a strong supporter of funding innovation in age related diseases and is pleased to be working with Rejuveron to support Endogena's innovative pipeline."

About Rejuveron

Rejuveron is a biotechnology company creating therapies to improve healthy aging. Its experienced drug discovery and development team applies a deep understanding of the biology of aging, alongside technological advances in biopharmaceutical R&D, to progress a new generation of medicines that will help people to age better and live longer.

Through its subsidiary companies, each uniquely focused on preventing, repairing, or reversing the hallmarks of aging, Rejuveron is advancing a pipeline of programs that range from drug discovery to the clinic.

Co-founded in 2019 by entrepreneurial scientist, Matthias Steger, and visionary investor, Christian Angermayer, Rejuveron has state-of-the-art incubator laboratory facilities and offices at its headquarters in Zurich's Bio-Technopark (Switzerland) and in New York (USA).

More information: www.rejuveron.com

Follow us on LinkedIn

More information about Endognena: www.endogena.com

SOURCE Rejuveron Life Sciences AG
CHICAGO, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) Market by Product (Software, Services, Devices, Cardiology, Neurological, Blood Glucose, Neonatal, Weight, Temperature, Neuro) End User (Providers, Hospitals, Clinics, Home Care, Patients, Payers) - Global Forecast to 2025", published by MarketsandMarkets, the global Remote Patient Monitoring Market is projected to reach USD 117.1 billion by 2025 from USD 23.2 billion in 2020, at a CAGR of 38.2% between 2020 and 2025.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) Market"

149  Tables

34  Figures

189  Pages

Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=77155492

The rising geriatric population and the growing need to expand healthcare access, cost benefits of telehealth and remote patient monitoring, benefits of RPM to reduce the burden on medical resources, advancements in telecommunications, growing incidences of chronic diseases, and increasing investments in telehealth and RPM are the major factors driving the growth of this market. However, the regulatory variations across regions, healthcare fraud, and informal usage of social media practices is expected to restrain the market growth during the forecast period.

Software and services to dominated the remote patient monitoring market in 2019

Based on the product, the RPM Market is segmented into software & services and devices. The software and services segment accounted for the largest share of the global market in 2019. The large share of this segment is mainly due to the increasing reimbursement for RPM programs and the rising number of chronic illnesses, thus leading to the growing adoption of RPM services across the globe.

Providers segment accounted for the largest share of the remote patient monitoring market, by end user, in 2019

Based on end users, the global RPM Market is broadly segmented into providers, payers, patients, and other end users. The providers segment accounted for the largest share of the global market in 2019. This can be attributed to the increased adoption of remote monitoring in chronically ill and old aged patients, advancements in RPM monitoring devices, and the increasing number of RPM services offered by providers.

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North America is the largest regional market for remote patient monitoring in 2019

In 2019, North America accounted for the largest share of the remote patient monitoring market, followed by Europe. The large share of North America in the RPM market can be attributed to the rising prevalence of chronic conditions, the need to reduce healthcare expenditure, and the increasing overall & geriatric population.

Prominent players in the Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) Market are BioTelemetry Inc. (US), Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Netherlands), Medtronic (Ireland), GE Healthcare (US), Cerner Corporation (US), Siemens Healthineers AG Germany, OMRON Healthcare (Japan), Boston Scientific Corporation (US), Abbott Laboratories (US), Resideo Life Care Solutions (US), Vivify Health, Inc. (US), ALTEN Calsoft Labs (France), Preventice Solutions (US), Bio-Beat Technologies (Israel), VitalConnect (US), Welch Allyn (US), Teladoc Health Inc. (US), Dexcom Inc. (US), iRhythm Technologies, Inc. (US), and VivaLNK Inc. (US).

Speak to Analyst: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/speaktoanalystNew.asp?id=77155492

Browse Adjacent Markets: Healthcare IT Market Research Reports & Consulting

Browse Related Reports:

mHealth Solutions Market by Connected Devices (Glucose & Blood Pressure Monitor, Peak Flow Meter, Pulse Oximeter), Apps (Weight Loss, Women Health, Diabetes Management, Mental Health), Services (Remote Monitoring, Consultation) - Global Forecast to 2025

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/mhealth-apps-and-solutions-market-1232.html

Medical Wearables Market by Device (Vital Signs Monitoring, Blood Pressure Monitor, Glucose Monitor, ECG Monitor, Pulse Oximeter), Product (Smartwatch, Patches, Wristbands), End User (Hospitals, Nursing Homes, Ambulatory) - Global Forecast to 2025

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/medical-wearables-market-52426876.html

About MarketsandMarkets

MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions.

Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model  GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve.

MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets.

Contact:

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MarketsandMarkets INC.

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USA: +1-888-600-6441

Email: [email protected]

Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/remote-patient-monitoring-market.asp

Visit Our Web Site: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com

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SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
WASHINGTON, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- "Reveries  In Search of Love, Hope, & Courage" by Alexandra Villard de Borchgrave is available on Amazon as an uplifting gift to bring comfort in these challenging times. The beautiful images of nature, accompanied by poetic paths, take the reader on a spiritual journey of self-reflection in soothing meditations meant to inspire hope and healing.

John Gizzi's review in Newsmax headlines, "Poems of Hope Needed Now More Than Ever," and states, "de Borchgrave finds hope in all the dedicated caregivers, to whom 'Reveries' is dedicated."

Alexandra de Borchgrave writes from the heart, "With all the world in disarray/one tender blossom survives/ In the deepest crevasse of the human soul/ the kindness of heart still thrives."

The Light of Healing Hope Foundation which Alexandra de Borchgrave founded in 2010, has gifted over 63,000 inspirational books to over 100 hospitals and hospices nationwide to comfort patients and their families.

3000 copies of "Reveries" are being distributed by the Foundation to medical centers including Johns Hopkins, NIH, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Children's National Hospital, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and Capital Caring Health Hospice. Caregivers and patients have expressed their gratitude for these gifts.

"Your new offering takes us beyond the temporals of life: ...it invites us to what it means to be human and experience the eternal in creation; what it means to be fully alive, to face the light and the shadows together. You will be counted amongst our blessings."  Rev. Dr. Alice V. Thompson, Pastoral Care Coordinator, CalvertHealth Medical Center.

"Thank you for the lovely donation of "Reveries: In Search of Love, Hope, & Courage." The books will bring an inspiring light to our cancer patients and their caregivers during their time at the pavilion." Sarah Hoehlein, Director of Residential Living at the Hackerman-Patz Patient and Family Pavilion/ Johns Hopkins Medicine.

"The poetry brings sunshine to my day, fills my heart with warmth. I started my day with sadness dealing with my illness but now I feel so much better. The book is the best medicine!" Infusion Center patient, Sibley Memorial Hospital/ Johns Hopkins Medicine.

The Foundation provides inspirational books for patients of all ages to nurture spiritual healing from within that is such a vital part of physical healing.

For more information:

www.lightofhealinghope.org

[email protected]

SOURCE Light of Healing Hope Foundation
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- RHP Properties, the nation's largest private owner and operator of manufactured home communities, has announced the acquisition of Holiday Park I and Holiday Park II, both located in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. This expands the company's manufactured home portfolio to 12 communities in Wisconsin and brings the company's total of manufactured home communities to 301 nationwide. The announcement was made by Ross Partrich, CEO, RHP Properties.

Both Holiday Park I and Holiday Park II are all-age, pet friendly communities, with more than 80 homes each. Set in a wooded location, the communities are nearby to parks and recreational amenities such as the Green Circle Trail. Stevens Point is home to major employers such as the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, as well as Sentry Insurance and Delta Dental of Wisconsin.

"RHP Properties is pleased to announce the purchase of these two communities in Wisconsin, providing much-needed housing options to the bustling Stevens Point area," said Partrich. "Many people make our manufactured home communities their lifelong home, and for good reason. We provide peace of mind for our residents with amenities such as on-site maintenance and snow removal. We also offer RHP Social, our community programming that brings residents safely together, with COVID-19 protocols, to socialize through family friendly events such as holiday parties, barbeques and more, building a true community for our residents."

About RHP Properties

Founded in 1988, RHP Properties is the nation's largest privately held owner and operator of manufactured home communities with managed assets of more than $6B, including 301 manufactured home communities nationwide, totaling about 71,209 homes in 28 states.

Headquartered in Farmington Hills, Michigan, RHP Properties employs more than 1,000 professionals. For more information visit www.rhp.com.

SOURCE RHP Properties
The UN Refugee Agency estimates that nearly 2 million people were forced to flee their homes during the first six months of 2021. Notably, forced migration is not specific to any one geographic region: Humanitarian crises around the globe are putting people at extreme risk; asylum seekers and refugees are braving unsafe conditions to start new lives; and political unrest is creating entire populations of stateless people with little emergency assistance.

HIAS is uniquely qualified to address the modern refugee crisis and has helped more than 4.5 million people escape persecution. The organization facilitates application processes, resettles the most vulnerable people from all over the world, and works with U.S.-based social-service organizations to welcome refugees into local communities.

HIAS first partnered with Rosetta Stone in 2019 to help refugees more easily enter into American society through language instruction. Rosetta Stone and HIAS then extended their collaboration in 2021 to continue assisting HIAS' clients with their education, social integration efforts and employment opportunities. HIAS and its clients have access to language lessons in 25 languages, including English, Arabic, Spanish, and more.

"Our partnership with Rosetta Stone has given refugees additional tools to acclimate to their new lives and navigate the resettlement process with increased confidence and language skills," said Mark Hetfield, President and CEO of HIAS. "We are excited to continue this partnership and continue to provide opportunities to our staff and clients to communicate more easily and create welcoming communities."

Bahati Buzindu, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and HIAS client, shared, "Rosetta Stone is really helping me understand what other people are talking about, and I've been encouragingand teachingother refugees to use it, too!"

"Refugees come from all walks of life: They are doctors and farmers, interpreters and caregivers; some speak multiple languages, while others were denied a formal education. Regardless of a person's skill set, adjusting to a new home is incredibly difficult, especially after being forced to flee one," said Jennifer Gu, COO of IXL Learning, Rosetta Stone's parent company. "HIAS and Rosetta Stone's partnership is an important step toward helping resettled people grow new language skills, and empowering them to ease into communities and lead independent lives."

Through Rosetta Stone, learners practice new languages in an immersive environment that helps them build the fluency and confidence to speak. Lessons are filled with real-world images and audio from native speakers that accelerate language acquisition. Additionally, the TruAccent speech engine compares voices to native speakers, gives immediate feedback on pronunciation, and helps refugees feel confident participating in real-world conversations.

As part of the partnership, Rosetta Stone also provides HIAS employees with training on how to effectively administer language learning to users for maximum effectiveness. Additionally, HIAS and its affiliate network staff use Rosetta Stone to learn the native languages of the refugees they support, to better understand them and serve their needs.

To speak with HIAS, please contact Meredith MacKenzie de Silva at West End Strategy Team: [email protected].

About Rosetta Stone

Rosetta Stone is dedicated to changing people's lives through the power of language education. The company's innovative digital solutions drive positive learning outcomes for the inspired learner at home or in schools and workplaces around the world. Founded in 1992, Rosetta Stone uses advanced digital technology to help all types of learners read, write, and speak 25 languages. Rosetta Stone joined the IXL Learning family of brands in 2021.

About HIAS

HIAS is the international Jewish humanitarian organization that provides vital services to refugees and asylum seekers in 16 countries. We advocate for the rights of all forcibly displaced people to rebuild their lives and seek to create a world in which they find welcome, safety, and opportunity. Join us at HIAS.org .

Contact:

HIAS: Meredith MacKenzie de Silva, [email protected] , (202) 412-4270

IXL: Eric Bates, [email protected]

SOURCE IXL Learning
CHICAGO, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Laura McAllister Cox, the Chief Compliance Officer of Rush Street Interactive, Inc. (NYSE: RSI) ("RSI"), which operates the BetRivers and PlaySugarHouse online casino and sportsbook brands, has been named to this year's Top 10 List of the Most Influential Women in iGaming by iGaming Business (iGB).

The well-respected iGB media group created these awards to showcase the industry's most accomplished women and inspire others to progress their careers within the industry. iGB, the publishing division of ICE London organizer Clarion Gaming, introduced the list in 2018 to try to redress the gender imbalance that exists at the highest levels of the gaming industry. The women selected are champions of diversity and women who continually strive to raise the profile of the entire industry. Those named to this year's Top 10 List were selected by a panel of judges made up of iGaming industry leaders from around the globe.

"I am honored to be a member of this year's list of women who have played key roles in transformations within their companies and the gaming industry," said Laura McAllister Cox, Chief Compliance Officer of RSI. "At RSI I am extremely proud of the diverse and high quality team we have brought together, and am always mindful of creating an organization and culture that provides equal opportunities for women and other underrepresented groups."

"In addition to being an accomplished attorney and respected compliance champion for the gaming industry, Laura brings her vision and uses her voice on a daily basis to shape and strengthen how RSI embraces diversity, equity and inclusion throughout all aspects of our business," said Richard Schwartz, Chief Executive Officer of RSI.

Laura McAllister Cox joined Rush Street Gaming in early 2016 and was named Chief Compliance Officer at RSI on February 8, 2021. She has been in the gaming industry for more than four decades and says: "Women in gaming have come a long way."

About RSI

RSI is a trusted online gaming and sports entertainment company focused on regulated markets in the United States and Latin America. Through its brands, BetRivers.com and PlaySugarHouse.com, RSI was an early entrant in many regulated jurisdictions and is currently live with real-money mobile, online and/or retail operations in twelve U.S. states: Pennsylvania, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Michigan, Indiana, Virginia, Colorado, Iowa, West Virginia and Arizona. RSI is also active internationally, having been recognized as Sportsbook Operator of the Year at the SBC Latinoamerica Awards 2021, where it offers its online casino and sportsbook in the regulated gaming market of Colombia on RushBet.co. RSI offers, through its proprietary online gaming platform, some of the most popular online casino games and sports betting options in the United States. Founded in 2012 in Chicago by gaming industry veterans, RSI was named the 2020 Global Gaming Awards Digital Operator of the Year and the 2021 EGR North America Awards Casino Operator of the Year, Customer Services Operator of the Year and Social Gaming Operator of the Year. RSI is committed to industry-leading responsible gaming practices and seeks to provide its customers with the resources and services they need to play responsibly. For more information, visit www.rushstreetinteractive.com.

SOURCE Rush Street Interactive
KRAKOW, Poland, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ryvu Therapeutics (WSE: RVU) a clinical-stage drug discovery and development company focusing on novel small molecule therapies that address emerging targets in oncology, today announced updated clinical and preclinical data demonstrating the single-agent activity of its two lead oncology drug candidates, RVU120 and SEL24 (MEN1703) at the 63rd American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting, held December 11  December 14, 2021, in Atlanta, as well as at the 44th Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) held December 7  December 10, 2021.

Presented data included updated clinical results for RVU120, a selective CDK8/19 inhibitor being developed for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumors. The first-in-human (FIH) Phase 1b dose-escalation trial (CLI120-001), which is currently enrolling patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (HR-MDS), has thus far demonstrated an acceptable safety profile and preliminary signs of efficacy for RVU120.



With a data cutoff of November 16, 2021, data highlights include:

A Complete Remission (CR) in an AML patient harboring mutations in DNMT3A and NPM1. Supportive translational data were also presented demonstrating the anti-leukemic activity of RVU120 in PDX AML models bearing DNMT3A and NPM1 mutations.

An erythroid response (ER) in a HR-MDS patient who had relapsed after several lines of previous treatment; as of the data cutoff, this patient remains on study treatment with stable disease for more than 15 months. Supportive translational data were also presented demonstrating that RVU120 induces erythroid differentiation in (Lin-) CD34+ cells.

Acceptable safety profile in 6 patients completing safety evaluations for cycle 1. None of these patients experienced dose-limiting toxicity (DLT). A total of 12 serious adverse events (SAEs) have been reported  none were deemed to be related to the study drug.

An additional poster on the potential efficacy of RVU120 in hormone-negative breast cancer models was presented at the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, which showed that oral administration of RVU120 demonstrated strong anticancer activity in a TNBC xenograft model.

Ryvu licensee Menarini Group presented updated Phase 2 data for SEL24 (MEN1703) (DIAMOND-01, ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03008187), showing pharmacodynamics (PD) and genomic profiling in the First-in-Human Diamond-01 trial.

"We are delighted to present data update at the ASH and SABCS conferences, including clinical responses in the Phase Ib trial of RVU120, and exciting translational data for this project", said Pawel Przewiezlikowski, Chief Executive Officer of Ryvu Therapeutics. "We have managed to achieve several important development milestones across our pipeline in 2021, highlighting our commitment to challenge current treatment paradigms and develop therapeutics that address clinical limitations of current treatments in oncology. In 2022, we expect to achieve additional clinical milestones for our two lead oncology drug candidates, RVU120 and SEL24, as we remain focused on developing new and innovative therapeutics for patients suffering from cancer."

Posters presented at the 63rd ASH Annual Meeting & Exposition included:

CLI120-001 Phase Ib Study of RVU120 (SEL120) in Patients with AML and High-Risk MDS: Updated Safety/Efficacy Results from Initial Dose Escalation (Publication Number: 3418)

(Publication Number: 3418) RVU120 (SEL120) CDK8/19 Inhibitor - a Drug Candidate for the Treatment of MDS Can Induce Erythroid Differentiation (Publication Number: 1518)

(Publication Number: 1518) Inhibition of Cyclin Dependent Kinase 8 (CDK8): A Novel Approach to Target the Leukemia Initiating Cells (LICs) in T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (T-ALL) (Publication Number: 2250)

(Publication Number: 2250) Preclinical and Clinical Signs of Efficacy of RVU120 (SEL120), a Specific CDK8/19 Inhibitor in DNMT3A-Mutated AML (Publication Number: 2371)

(Publication Number: 2371) SEL24(MEN1703) Inhibits PIM/FLT3 Downstream Target in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Patients: Results of the Pharmacodynamics (PD) Assay and Genomic Profiling in the First-in-Human Diamond-01 Trial (Publication Number: 3436)

(Publication Number: 3436) Selective CDK8/CDK19 inhibitor RVU120 demonstrates efficacy against hormone-independent breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo (#1766), presented at the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Posters are available on-line here.

About Ryvu Therapeutics

Ryvu Therapeutics is a clinical stage drug discovery and development company focused on novel small molecule therapies that address emerging targets in oncology. Internally discovered pipeline candidates make use of diverse therapeutic mechanisms driven by emerging knowledge of cancer biology, including small molecules directed at kinase, synthetic lethality, and immuno-oncology targets. RVU120 is a selective CDK8/CDK19 kinase inhibitor with potential for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumors currently in Phase I clinical development for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome, and Phase I/II for the treatment of r/r metastatic or advanced solid tumors. SEL24 (MEN1703) is a dual PIM/FLT3 kinase inhibitor licensed to the Menarini Group, currently in Phase II clinical studies in acute myeloid leukemia.

The Company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Krakow, Poland, Ryvu is listed on the main market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, and is a component of sWIG80 index. For more information, please see www.ryvu.com .

SOURCE Ryvu Therapeutics
INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sanctuary Wealth, home to the next generation of elite advisors, continues to grow its leadership team as it welcomes Carmen Maria Irazola as Director, Head of Global Marketing and Digital Strategy. Having been born in this country, raised in both the US and Peru, and studied in Europe, she brings a true global focus to her work. Carmen is an accomplished and growth-focused marketing executive with a successful track record in developing omnichannel marketing and communications strategies, identifying and securing new business opportunities, establishing strong brand/company reputations, and driving business transformation through end-to-end marketing functions.

"Sanctuary has made several moves in the past year that demonstrate our commitment to continuing to aggressively expand both nationally and globally, as demonstrated by our partnership with Azimut Group and the launch of both Sanctuary Global in Miami and Sanctuary Global Family Office in Los Angeles," said Jim Dickson, CEO and Founder of Sanctuary Wealth. "Adding Carmen to our team will greatly enhance our efforts on the global stage. She has proven herself to be a leader with an entrepreneurial mindset capable of leading strategic communication initiatives and developing and implementing successful marketing strategies."

Prior to joining Sanctuary Wealth, Carmen Maria Irazola served as Chief Marketing Officer for Falabella, the multinational chain of department stores with operations in Chile, Peru, Colombia, Brazil and elsewhere. She originally joined the firm in 2005 as a purchasing manager, rising through the ranks to oversee all of the conglomerate's marketing efforts. As CMO, she provided leadership in conceptualizing, planning, constructing, and executing effective integrated marketing as well as advertising strategies. Among her accomplishments were strengthening and promoting Falabella to become the number one brand in Peru.

"I'm very pleased to be joining Sanctuary at such a pivotal stage in the company's evolution," said Carmen Maria Irazola, Director, Head of Global Marketing and Digital Strategy. "The senior management team here has developed a culture that allows individuals to flourish while the business continues to grow. I'm very excited to be a part of this and making a vital contribution to Sanctuary's global growth."

Her educational background includes study of Advanced Digital Marketing at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, degrees in marketing and business administration from Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, and a master's degree in marketing and fashion administration from European Institute of Design in Barcelona, Spain. Carmen's areas of expertise include marketing planning, digital and social media marketing, resource mobilization and management, and creation and execution of integrated marketing campaigns.

About Sanctuary Wealth

Sanctuary Wealth (sanctuarywealth.com/) is the advanced platform for the next generation of elite advisors, who have the entrepreneurial spirit to build and own their own practices and desire the freedom to deliver the tailored service their clients deserve. Sanctuary's ecosystem of partnered independence provides a complete technology and operations platform, as well as support from a community of like-minded advisors and the resources of invaluable affiliated businesses. Currently, the Sanctuary Wealth network includes partner firms across 22 states with over $18.5 billion in assets under advisement. The Sanctuary Wealth Group includes the fully owned subsidiaries Sanctuary Advisors, a registered investment adviser, and the broker-dealer Sanctuary Securities, as well as Sanctuary Asset Management, Sanctuary Insurance Solutions, Sanctuary Global, and Sanctuary Global Tax and Family Office.

CONTACT: Michaela Morales

JConnelly

973 224 7152

[email protected]

SOURCE Sanctuary Wealth
"Santa's reindeer are healthy, in great shape and ready to fly on Christmas Eve." AVMA President Dr. Jose Arce

"After a full examination and review of their medical records, I'm pleased to say that Santa's reindeer are healthy, in great shape and ready to fly on Christmas Eve," Dr. Arce said.

(View Dr. Arce's vlog highlighting his trip to the North Pole.)

The reindeer's annual exam includes a health check about a month prior to their Christmas Eve flight to make sure they're healthy and not showing any signs of diseasesuch as brucellosis, tuberculosis or chronic wasting diseasethat can affect their ability to fly or make other animals sick.

"It's important that we make sure the reindeer aren't harboring any diseases that they could then potentially spread to animals in other parts of the world," said Dr. Arce. "At the same time, making sure they're healthy also means that they're less likely to catch any diseases themselves on that long flight around the globe."

In addition to presents for children around the world, Santa is required to bring with him an official "North Pole Certificate of Animal Export" that allows him to freely cross borders and ensure health officials that his reindeer pose no threat to animal or public health.

Dr. Arce will make a follow-up trip to the North Pole on Christmas Eve to provide a final pre-flight checkup and to inspect the reindeer upon their return on Christmas morning.

Dr. Arce's work is consistent with the role veterinarians play every day to ensure the health of animals, people and the environment across the globe. Far from just being "dog and cat doctors," veterinarians work with all kinds of species, in all types of environments, to make the world a healthier place for all forms of life.

While unavailable for comment due to his busy work schedule, Santa issued a statement, saying, "Without my reindeer there simply would be no Christmas. Proper veterinary care ensures that, year in and year out, my team and I can safely deliver presents to boys and girls around the world. Dr. Arce has definitely earned his place on my 'nice list' this year.

"Ho ho ho," Santa added.

Veterinarians: Become one of Santa's E.L.V.E.S.

While only one veterinarian can be the official veterinarian of the North Pole, every veterinarian can help the cause by volunteering to be part of Santa's emergency veterinary staff on Christmas Eve. AVMA members can download a badge to let their clients and communities know they are part of Santa's Emergency Landing and Veterinary Expert System (E.L.V.E.S.) support team.

As part of the E.L.V.E.S. team, veterinarians are ready to assist with any emergencies that might arise during the reindeer team's all-night Christmas Eve flight, or just provide a safe place for the reindeer to rest and refuel before continuing to deliver presents.

Veterinarians are invited to help spread holiday cheer by displaying their official E.L.V.E.S. badge on their clinics' social media channels and educating clients on the various ways that veterinarians help keep all animals healthyeven reindeer.

AVMA members can visit the AVMA website to download the official E.L.V.E.S. badge.

For more information on Dr. Arce's role as North Pole Veterinarian, including answers to kids' questions about reindeer, visit avma.org/Santa.

For more information about the role veterinarians play in global health, or to schedule an interview with Dr. Arce about his role as North Pole Veterinarian, contact Michael San Filippo, AVMA media relations manager, at 847-732-6194 (cell/text), or [email protected].

The AVMA, founded in 1863, is one of the oldest and largest veterinary medical organizations in the world, with more than 97,000 member veterinarians worldwide are engaged in a wide variety of professional activities. Visit www.avma.org for more information.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Michael San Filippo

Media Relations Manager

American Veterinary Medical Association

Cell: 847-732-6194

[email protected]

SOURCE American Veterinary Medical Association
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Council of Ministers, in its session held today, 12 December 2021, under the chairmanship of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz approved the budget for the fiscal year 2022, with a total expenditure of SAR 955 billion, total revenues of about SAR 1,045 billion, and a surplus of about SAR 90 billion.

On this occasion, His Excellency the Minister of Finance Mr. Mohammed Al-Jadaan, extended his thanks and gratitude to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and HRH the Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz for approving the budget. Mr. Al-Jadaan pointed out that the government's responsible policies and procedures in addressing COVID-19 pandemic have managed to contain its humanitarian, financial, and economic impact by providing strong support to the health and private sectors, while maintaining fiscal sustainability for the medium- and long-terms. His Excellency indicated that such policies have had a positive impact on the gradual recovery of the local economy showing a fast-paced growth in several areas.

Al-Jadaan pointed out that budget 2022 reflects the government's determination to promote post-pandemic economic growth, and to allocate resources on health, education and the development of core services, in addition to the continuation of social support and benefits. Al-Jadaan indicated that the budget comes as part of the reform process to develop the management of public finances while maintaining the previously-announced spending ceilings in a manner that ensures fiscal sustainability in the medium term and a strong financial position that enables the state to respond to any emergency changes and absorb unexpected economic shocks.

Al-Jadaan stated that the budget estimates for the FY 2022 show that total revenues will reach SAR 1,045 billion, an increase of 12.4% compared to the projected revenues in 2021. Total expenditures are estimated at around SAR 955 billion, with SAR 90 billion in surplus (2.5% of GDP). These surpluses will be directed to boost government reserves, support national development funds and the Public Investment Fund, consider the possibility of accelerating the implementation of some strategic programs and projects with economic and social dimensions, or to partially repay the public debt based on market conditions.

On public debt, His Excellency explained that the public debt indicators are expected to improve in 2022, declining to around 25.9% of GDP, down from 29.2% in 2021, as a result of expectations of budget surplus and GDP growth, provided that borrowings are used to repay the debt principal that is due to be repaid in the future, or to capitalize on favorable market opportunities to support reserves or fund capital projects that can be accelerated through annual issuances. He also stated that the debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to remain at appropriate levels in 2024 reaching 25.4%. He added that the government is working on developing a risk management framework that aims to follow and monitor the key developments in the local and global economy to identify the risks arising from them, and then evaluate their consequences.

Al-Jadaan indicated that the government's target for FY 2022 and the medium term is to support the ongoing gradual recovery in economic activity, while maintaining the initiatives that have been in place in recent years, in addition to upholding the commitment to achieving the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 by reducing the primary reliance on oil revenues, diversifying the economy, and developing non-oil revenues and ensuring their sustainability. His Excellency highlighted the progress made, during the last period, in implementing the Vision Realization Programs and the mega projects, as well as investment projects in various sectors, including infrastructure projects.

The Minister of Finance highlighted that the Kingdom is witnessing ongoing economic growth supported by the economic enablers directed to the private sector. The most important of which are the effective development contribution made through the projects and programs of the Public Investment Fund and the National Development Fund, the progress in the implementation of the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NDLP), the National Investment Strategy, the "Shareek" Program, the Financial Sector Development Program, and privatization program. He emphasized that the success of these enablers will reflect positively on public finances by stimulating and diversifying economic growth, thereby improving non-oil revenues and reducing the burden on the government spending, particularly, with the private sector leading investment and employment.

The Minister underlined the significant increase in activity performance indicators until the end of Q3 2021, which reflects the progressive recovery paired with a rapid increase in COVID-19 immunization rates. This contributed to the further easing of the precautionary measures in the Kingdom. He explained that preliminary estimates for 2021 indicate a 2.9% growth in real GDP, driven by a rise in non-oil GDP, which is expected to record a growth of 4.8%. Estimates for the FY 2022 indicate a 7.4% growth in real GDP, driven by the increase in oil GDP as per the OPEC+ Agreement, in addition to the expected improvement in non-oil GDP with the continued recovery of the economy and the implementation of the initiatives and programs that enhance economic growth and diversification.

On Fiscal Sustainability Program, His Excellency explained that the gains and fundamental transformations in the management of public finances approach over the past period entailed shifting from the fiscal balance phase to a phase that seeks maintaining fiscal sustainability through effective planning tools that are mindful of spending requirements over a longer period of time. Helpful in protecting this planning and the ability to perform the spending planned in the medium-term is reducing the linkage to external factors, including fluctuations in the oil markets, so as not to cause confusion to those plans. The program is expected to achieve several economic benefits, as it will contribute to the continuation of the achievement of stable growth rates in the non-oil economy, mitigate the effect of energy price volatility on the economy, in addition to the enhancement of the private sector's ability to plan investments with clarity. On public finances, the program will contribute to the enhancement of the effectiveness of fiscal planning, raising the efficiency of government spending, utilizing budget surpluses in boosting reserves or in investment spending that ensures the diversification of the economy and achieves the sustainable growth objectives in the medium- and long-terms.

In conclusion of his statement, His Excellency explained that the budget 2022 is the culmination of planning and collaboration across various government entities. Efforts have been made, capabilities have been harnessed, and energy has been channeled in order to develop this budget in a proper manner, through which the budget can meet its strategic objectives and be presented in the highest levels of transparency and clarity. These efforts are underpinned by the government's direct commitment regarding the current financial and economic situation through issuing budget-related reports, such as: the quarterly, semi-annual and annual reports, as well as the pre-budget statement, budget statement and the Citizen's Copy, all in accordance with the Saudi Vision 2030.

SOURCE Saudi Ministry of Finance
DALLAS, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Service King is continuing to break industry boundaries with advancements in the technology space. And now, with the addition of Jaime Jaramillo as its new chief information officer (CIO), the best-in-class brand is well-positioned to stay ahead of the digital curve.

Service King welcomes Jaime Jaramillo as its new chief information officer

Jaramillo joined Service King in June with nearly 20 years of experience as CIO for leading consumer products companies. Over his career, Jaramillo has worked for PepsiCo, Frito Lay, Borden Dairy, Belcorp and Varsity Brands, holding international and U.S. positions as a leader in technology and digital transformation. He first started his career in management consulting where he worked for global firms, such as Accenture and Booz Allen & Hamilton, for nearly 10 years prior to his CIO roles.

"Jaime brings an extensive portfolio of experience in the digital space to Service King, and we're excited for him to join us in living out our mission of 'building for tomorrow,'" said Service King CEO David Cush. "He comes at the perfect time as we focus on creating the future of innovation in order to become the most efficient and technologically advanced collision repair operator across the globe."

To build upon the brand's efforts of extending the use of state-of-the-art, digital-first experiences to its customers, such as its 24/7 contactless Self-Schedule Service, Jaramillo will oversee advanced analytics by using new technology tools, such as OPS Trax and CCC One, to discover data insights and trends to improve the overall production process. This will increase Service King's visibility with vendors and overall order efficiency within each facility  creating a more streamlined system from beginning to end of the repair process.

"I'm thrilled and honored to join Service King as CIO during such an exciting time for the brand," Jaramillo said. "I look forward to utilizing my previous experience, overseeing the people, processes and technologies of many companies' IT departments, in order to create an even more seamless experience for customers in all of Service King's markets."

To learn more about Service King, visit serviceking.com.

About Service King Collision

Service King Collision, which is now celebrating 45 years of experience in the automotive repair industry, is a leading national operator of comprehensive, high-quality auto body collision repair facilities. The organization is consistently recognized for its commitment to customer satisfaction, quality workmanship and giving back to the industry through innovative training and recruiting initiatives. Service King traces its roots back to Dallas, Texas and founder Eddie Lennox who opened the very first Service King in 1976. Today, Service King operates locations in 24 states and the District of Columbia across the U.S.

For more information and to find a local Service King, visit serviceking.com and follow Service King on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Media Contact:

Mark Carrigan, Service King Collision

Jami Sharp

972.930.9933

[email protected]

SOURCE Service King
MILWAUKEE, Wis., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ademi LLP is investigating SPX FLOW (NYSE: FLOW), for possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law in its transaction Lone Star.

Click here to learn how to join the action: https://www.ademilaw.com/case/spx-flow-inc or call Guri Ademi toll-free at 866-264-3995. There is no cost or obligation to you.

Ademi LLP alleges SPX FLOW's financial outlook and prospects are excellent and yet SPX FLOW shareholders will receive only $86.50 per share an all-cash transaction valued at $3.8 billion, including the assumption of debt. The merger agreement unreasonably limits competing bids for SPX FLOW by prohibiting solicitation of further bids, and imposing a significant penalty if SPX FLOW accepts a superior bid. SPX FLOW insiders will receive substantial benefits as part of change of control arrangements.

We are investigating the conduct of SPX FLOW's board of directors, and whether they are (i) fulfilling their fiduciary duties to all shareholders, and (ii) obtaining a fair and reasonable price for SPX FLOW.

If you own SPX FLOW common stock and wish to obtain additional information, please contact Guri Ademi either at [email protected] or toll-free: 866-264-3995, or https://www.ademilaw.com/case/spx-flow-inc.

We specialize in shareholder litigation involving buyouts, mergers, and individual shareholder rights throughout the country. For more information, please feel free to call us. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Contacts

Ademi LLP

Guri Ademi

Toll Free: (866) 264-3995

Fax: (414) 482-8001

SOURCE Ademi LLP
NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Redwire Corporation ("Redwire" or the "Company") (NYSE: RDW). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980.

The investigation concerns whether Redwire 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]

On November 10, 2021, Redwire announced it would not be releasing Q3 2021 earnings that day as previously scheduled and did not provide any explanation for the delay. After the market closed, Redwire announced that the delay was due to claims by an employee of accounting issue and that its Audit Committee would commence an investigation into those claims.

On this news, Redwire's stock price fell $1.92 per share, or 16.12%, to close at $9.99 per share on November 10, 2021.

Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Paris, and Tel Aviv, 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, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz 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.pomlaw.com.

CONTACT:

Robert S. Willoughby

Pomerantz LLP

[email protected]

SOURCE Pomerantz LLP
HOUSTON, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Shell Oil Company (Shell), the largest fuel network in the U.S., and PDI, the management software company in charge of the Fuel Rewards program, have announced AAdvantage, the American Airlines loyalty program, is joining the Fuel Rewards program as its first airline partner. The addition of AAdvantage means that its members will now be able to earn two AAdvantage miles for every gallon of fuel they purchase at Shell.

AAdvantage members who join Fuel Rewards will also receive 100 AAdvantage miles after joining and making their first fill-up at Shell.

"Covid has changed a lot about travel, but with some light at the end of the tunnel, we know many people are anxiously awaiting and even planning for their next trip. Shell and American wanted to partner together to help travelers make the most of that trip by allowing them to earn airline miles with every fill-up at their local Shell," said Greg Lemen, Director Loyalty Partnerships and New Business Development for Shell Retail US.

Below is a breakdown of how consumers can sign up to participate and take advantage of the Fuel Reward program's travel-specific benefits:

Visit www.fuelrewards.com/aa and sign up for the Fuel Rewards program

Visit www.aa.com/loyalty/enrollment/enroll and enroll in the AAdvantage  program

program Link both Fuel Rewards and AAdvantage  accounts

accounts Save money at the pump with the Fuel Rewards program and earn two AAdvantage  miles for every gallon of fuel purchased at Shell

"PDI is continuously looking for new Fuel Rewards program partners, and we're thrilled to welcome AAdvantage to provide benefits for its members and Fuel Rewards loyalty members," said Bobby Spence, Vice President and General Manager for Fuel Rewards at PDI. "This is a first-time airline partnership for PDI, and we look forward to helping travelers, whether by plane or car, maximize their benefits while getting to their next destination."

Consumers who join the Fuel Rewards program will also earn savings on participating purchases related to dining, in-store rewards, online shopping, events, rental cars and more.

Sign up for the Fuel Rewards program at www.fuelrewards.com and never pay full price for gas again, and follow @Shell_OnTheRoad to keep up with the latest news.

About Shell

Shell Oil Company is an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell plc, a global group of energy and petrochemical companies with operations in more than 70 countries. In the U.S., Shell operates over 14,000 Shell-branded stations across 50 states and employs more than 17,000 people working to help tackle the challenges of the new energy future.

ABOUT FUEL REWARDS

The Fuel Rewards program is the premier national loyalty program that connects national and regional brands with millions of consumers who enjoy earning cents-per-gallon savings at the pump. PDI Marketing Cloud Solutions powers and runs the Fuel Rewards program that serves over 25 million members and has helped them save over $2 billion on their fuel purchases to-date. As part of a national coalition loyalty program, Fuel Rewards members earn rewards on everyday purchases from a variety of retailers and can redeem cents-per-gallon rewards at over 14,000 Shell locations across the U.S. To learn more about the Fuel Rewards program and to become an issuing partner, visit www.fuelingloyalty.com.

ABOUT PDI

Professional Datasolutions, Inc. (PDI) software helps businesses and brands increase sales, operate more efficiently and securely, and improve critical decision-making. Since 1983, PDI has proudly served the convenience retail and petroleum wholesale industries. Over 1,500 companies, representing more than 200,000 locations worldwide, count on PDI's solutions and expertise to deliver convenience and energy to the world. For more information about PDI, visit us at www.pdisoftware.com.

INQUIRIES:

Edelman for Shell

Stephanie Sebo

+1 (501) 551-7380

SOURCE Professional Datasolutions, Inc.

Related Links

pdisoftware.com


GAINESVILLE, Fla., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Shirley Codada, MD, FAAHPM, Chief Medical Officer of Haven, North Central Florida's legacy mission-driven provider of hospice and palliative care, will lead an expanded community-based palliative care initiative across Haven's 18-county service area, announced Haven President and Chief Operating Officer Pauline Taylor, RN, MHA.

"The pandemic has fundamentally changed how and where seriously ill patients want to receive the care and assistance they want and need," observed Codada, who was named Haven's senior physician last July. "We will be partnering with nursing homes, hospitals, physician practices and assisted living communities to ensure every patient who can benefit from Haven's multi-disciplinary team of palliative care experts can receive the compassionate, comprehensive care we can provide wherever a patient calls home."

While Haven long has offered palliative care services throughout North Central Florida, "this initiative will marry best practices in palliative medicine with Haven's teams of local physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, nurses aides, social workers and chaplains to meet the greater community need we see today," added Taylor. "It's about Haven's 40-year commitment to the communities we serve and constantly evaluating how we can best meet community need for serious illness, hospice and grief and bereavement care."

Joining Haven in summer of 2021, Dr. Codada brings a substantial background in both hands-on patient care and medical education to her leadership role at Haven.

She came to Haven from one of the nation's largest hospice and palliative care providers, where she served as Regional Medical Director for a number of hospice programs across North Florida and Georgia.

"My commitment is to work tirelessly to help disseminate knowledge of hospice and palliative carewhether to medical students, fellow physicians and nurses, or patients and families," Dr. Codada stated. "By doing so, I know I help ensure patients have access to early palliative and and hospice care, ensuring greater comfort, dignity and support for patients and family alike."

Earlier in her career, Dr. Codada held positions as the Medical Director of the Palliative Care Program at Naples Community Hospital in Naples, FL; Assistant Member of the Supportive Medicine Department at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL; and Associate Medical Director of the Barbara Ziegler Palliative Care Program and Gold Coast Hospice for the North Broward Hospital District in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Dr. Codada received her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL, and did her residency in internal medicine at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, PA. For her Bachelor of Science at Barry University in Miami Shores, FL, she majored in biology and minored in chemistry and graduated magna cum laude. She obtained her Associate in Arts degree from Miami-Dade College in Miami, FL, where she also graduated magna cum laude. Dr. Codada is board certified in Internal Medicine and Hospice and Palliative Medicine and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. She is licensed to practice medicine in Florida and Georgia.

About Palliative Care: Palliative care is specialized medical care for people living with a serious illness. It is focused on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of the illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family. Palliative care is provided by a specially-trained team of doctors, nurses and other specialists who work together with a patient's other doctors to provide an extra layer of support. Palliative care is based on the needs of the patient, not on the patient's prognosis. It is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness, and it can be provided along with curative treatment.

About Haven: Haven is the source for patients, their families and their healthcare providers to find answers to their advanced illness challenges. In addition to providing comfort through the compassionate delivery of hospice services, Haven offers Advance Care Planning, Palliative Care Consultations and Transitions services with a patient-centric focus. When health becomes a challenge, we will be your haven. For more information, visit www.beyourhaven.org or call 800-727-1889. Serving advanced illness needs in Florida since 1979 and licensed as a not-for-profit hospice since 1980.

SOURCE Haven Hospice
GLEN MILLS, Pa., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Speakman, a manufacturer of premier plumbing products, is now available at Lowe's, one of the largest home improvement retailers. A selection of Speakman shower products is now offered in-aisle at select Lowe's stores as well as online at lowes.com.

"The Speakman brand has been delivering shower innovations for over 150 years. The presence of Speakman shower heads in thousands of high-end hotel and resort properties around the world is a testament to the performance and quality of its products," says Adam Horwitz, Speakman's Chief Marketing Officer. "We are thrilled that Lowe's has chosen our brand and that consumers will now be able to conveniently purchase our shower heads in store and online to get the same premium experience at home that guests enjoy at a luxury hotel."

The Speakman Difference

Speakman shower heads demonstrate exceptional performance when it comes to thermal retention and optimized spray coverage, meaning they excel at retaining a consistent water temperature of the spray streams once the water leaves the shower head, and through strategically placed streams, the technologically enhanced spray force creates a powerful but nevertheless water-saving spray. The proprietary high-quality spray control maximizes the spray at every pressure range without inducing air to deliver the most powerful spray that easily rinses shampoo even from full and thick hair.

"We use a lot of fancy words like thermal retention and spray coverage to describe the Speakman showering experience," adds Horwitz. "However, it is usually best that we let customers talk about the experience because they use words and phrases like 'joy', 'can't start my day without it' and 'exhilarating' to describe taking a Speakman shower. We are thrilled to be able to offer more people a better showering experience thanks to our partnership with Lowe's."

Speakman Products at Lowe's

Each Lowe's store will showcase the curated Speakman offering, which includes the standouts of the brand's portfolio. Depending on personal preference, consumers can choose between shower heads, hand showers and combos that feature Speakman's proprietary technologies: the rotating and massaging multi-function Anystream 360 Spray Technology delivers exceptional flow and coverage to provide a spa-like experience in the home; or Exhilaration Spray Technology featuring a turbine impeller and four settings consisting of four distinct sprays.

These specific Speakman products are now available at Lowes in store and online:

 The Icon Anystream Shower Head is the signature Speakman showerhead design, constructed of solid brass with a clean, contemporary frame and equipped with water-saving performance technology. 48 sprays, 3 spray patterns and infinite spray setting create a powerful experience that you can tune to your own personal preference.

 The Anystream Filtered Shower Head features an internal filtering system that can remove up to 99% of chlorine and other harmful contaminants from the shower waterprotecting skin and hair from premature damage. The filter lasts for 10,000 gallons or six months and can easily be replaced. Superior Anystream technology with 50 sprays, 8 massage jets, and 3 spray patterns guarantees a premium shower experience.

 The Neo Exhilaration Dual Shower Head and Hand Shower impresses with 688 water streams combined. The spa-like experience can be personalized with a selection of 25 settings, 5 from each shower, including pause plus 4 unique spray patterns. The patented turbine-driven spray delivers a customized full-body massage.

The complete Speakman offering at Lowe's also includes the Neo Anystream Dual Shower Head, Neo Multi-Function Hand Shower, Neo Exhilaration Hand Shower and Neo Exhilaration Shower Head.

About Speakman

Based in Pennsylvania and over 150 years old, Speakman pioneered the invention of the modern shower head. Today the company is part of the Professional Plumbing Group and pursues innovation with a focus on performance and sustainability. Speakman produces a full line of well-designed, commercial-grade bath and showering products for the residential, commercial and hospitality markets, as well as safety equipment including emergency showers and eye washes for commercial use. Products are available through major plumbing wholesalers and online retailers. For more information, visit speakman.com.

PRESS CONTACT: Mirjam Lippuner, 920-395-8998, https://speakman.com

SOURCE Speakman
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SPX FLOW, Inc. (NYSE: FLOW), a leading provider of process solutions for the nutrition, health and industrial markets, announced today it entered into an agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of Lone Star Funds ("Lone Star") in an all-cash transaction valued at $3.8 billion, including the assumption of debt.

The purchase price represents a premium of nearly 40% over SPX FLOW's closing stock price on July 16, 2021, the last trading day prior to the publication of an article in the July 19, 2021, edition of The Wall Street Journal stating that the Company received an unsolicited purchase offer.

"We are pleased to have reached this agreement with Lone Star, which is the result of a comprehensive review of alternatives, including a robust sale process, conducted by our Board in consultation with independent advisors," said Robert F. Hull, Jr., Chairman of the SPX FLOW Board of Directors. "As part of the process, SPX FLOW held discussions with multiple strategic and financial parties and evaluated the transaction against the Company's standalone prospects, performance and outlook. We believe this transaction is the right path forward and achieves our goal of maximizing value for SPX FLOW shareholders."

"SPX FLOW has transformed its business and made important progress executing against our strategic plans, and we believe this transaction with Lone Star is an exciting culmination of those efforts for our shareholders," said Marc Michael, SPX FLOW President and CEO. "In Lone Star, we have a partner that brings additional perspective and expertise to support the continued implementation of our strategic initiatives as we deliver reliable outcomes for customers and provide them the high-quality products and services they expect from us. This transaction is a testament to the achievements of our employees, and I would like to thank them for all they do to make SPX FLOW the premier process solutions company. We look forward to working with Lone Star to complete the transaction and delivering significant, immediate and certain value to our shareholders."

"We are excited about the opportunity to partner with SPX FLOW," said Donald Quintin, President, Lone Star Opportunity Funds. "This acquisition is consistent with Lone Star's strategy to invest in businesses with substantial runway for growth. We have great respect for SPX FLOW's talented employees and their commitment to innovation and serving customers. We look forward to working with Marc and the entire team to help advance SPX FLOW's strategy and capture the opportunities ahead."

Transaction Details

The transaction was unanimously approved by the SPX FLOW Board of Directors and is expected to close in H1 2022, subject to receipt of certain regulatory approvals, including expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, as well as SPX FLOW shareholder approval and other customary closing conditions. The transaction is not subject to a financing condition.

Upon completion of the transaction, SPX FLOW will become a privately held company and SPX FLOW's shares will no longer trade on The New York Stock Exchange.

As a condition to the transaction, SPX FLOW has agreed to suspend payment of its quarterly dividend, effective immediately.

Advisors

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is serving as exclusive financial advisor to SPX FLOW and Winston & Strawn LLP is serving as its legal advisor. Citi, RBC Capital Markets, LLC, and BofA Securities Inc. are serving as financial advisors to Lone Star, and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and Kirkland & Ellis LLP are serving as legal advisors.

About SPX FLOW, Inc.

Based in Charlotte, N.C., SPX FLOW, Inc. (NYSE: FLOW) improves the world through innovative and sustainable solutions. The company's product offering is concentrated in process technologies that perform mixing, blending, fluid handling, separation, thermal heat transfer and other activities that are integral to processes performed across a wide variety of nutrition, health and precision solutions markets. SPX FLOW had approximately $1.4 billion in 2020 annual revenues and has operations in more than 30 countries and sales in more than 140 countries. To learn more about SPX FLOW, please visit www.spxflow.com.

About Lone Star

Lone Star, founded by John Grayken, is a leading private equity firm advising funds that invest globally in real estate, equity, credit and other financial assets. Since the establishment of its first fund in 1995, Lone Star has organized 21 private equity funds with aggregate capital commitments totaling approximately $85 billion. The firm organizes its funds in three series: the Commercial Real Estate Fund series; the Opportunity Fund series; and the U.S. Residential Mortgage Fund series. Lone Star invests on behalf of its limited partners, which include institutional investors such as pension funds and sovereign wealth funds, as well as foundations and endowments that support medical research, higher education, and other philanthropic causes. For more information regarding Lone Star Funds, go to www.lonestarfunds.com.

Additional Information About the Acquisition and Where to Find it

This communication is being made in respect of the proposed transaction involving SPX FLOW and Lone Star. A stockholder meeting will be announced soon to obtain stockholder approval in connection with the proposed merger. SPX FLOW expects to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") a proxy statement and other relevant documents in connection with the proposed merger. The definitive proxy statement will be sent to the stockholders of SPX FLOW and will contain important information about the proposed transaction and related matters. INVESTORS OF SPX FLOW ARE URGED TO READ THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT AND OTHER RELEVANT MATERIALS CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT SPX FLOW, LONE STAR, AND THE PROPOSED MERGER. Investors may obtain a free copy of these materials and other documents (when they are available) filed by SPX FLOW with the SEC at the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov, at SPX FLOW's website https://investor.spxflow.com/ or Scott Gaffner, Vice President, Investor Relations and Strategic Insights, SPX FLOW, 13320 Ballantyne Corporate Place, Charlotte, North Carolina 28277.

Participation in the Solicitation

SPX FLOW and its directors, executive officers and certain other members of management and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from its stockholders in connection with the proposed merger. Information regarding the persons who may, under the rules of the SEC, be considered to be participants in the solicitation of SPX FLOW's stockholders in connection with the proposed merger will be set forth in SPX FLOW's definitive proxy statement for its stockholder meeting. Additional information regarding these individuals and any direct or indirect interests they may have in the proposed merger will be set forth in the definitive proxy statement when and if it is filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed merger.

Forward-Looking Statements

All statements made in this release, other than statements of historical fact, are or may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. These statements are forward-looking statements under the federal securities laws. We can give no assurance that any future results discussed in these statements will be achieved. These statements are based on current plans and expectations of SPX FLOW and involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these statements. Actual results could differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement as a result of various factors, including, without limitation: (1) conditions to the closing of the transaction may not be satisfied and required regulatory approvals may not be obtained; (2) the transaction may involve unexpected costs, liabilities or delays; (3) the business of SPX FLOW may suffer as a result of uncertainty surrounding the transaction; (4) the outcome of any legal proceedings related to the transaction; (5) SPX FLOW may be adversely affected by other economic, business, legislative, regulatory and/or competitive factors; (6) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement; (7) risks that the transaction disrupts current plans and operations and the potential difficulties in employee retention as a result of the transaction; (8) the failure to obtain the necessary debt financing arrangements set forth in the commitment letter received in connection with the transaction; and (9) other risks to consummation of the transaction, including the risk that the transaction will not be consummated within the expected time period or at all. If the transaction is consummated, the SPX FLOW's stockholders will cease to have any equity interest in SPX FLOW and will have no right to participate in its earnings and future growth. Additional factors that may affect the future results of SPX FLOW are set forth in its filings with the SEC, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, which are available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date thereof.

SPX FLOW Contacts

Investor Contact:

Scott Gaffner

VP, Investor Relations and Strategic Insights

704-752-4485

[email protected]

Media Contact:

Melissa Buscher

Chief Communications & Marketing Officer

704-449-9187

[email protected]

Lone Star Contact:

Christina Pretto

Managing Director, Communications and Public Affairs

212-849-9662

[email protected]

SOURCE SPX FLOW, Inc.
By working alongside bariatric surgeons, SBI is growing a portfolio of solutions with medical devices that meet bariatric surgeons' needs while delivering repeatable and consistent results. Bariatric surgeons across the country including California, Florida, Ohio, Kentucky, Alabama, Michigan, and North Carolina have used the Titan SGS since it was cleared by the FDA in April 2021 1 .

The Titan SGS is designed to help surgeons achieve more consistent and symmetrical gastric sleeve pouch anatomy, setting patients up for the best possible outcomes. This first-of-its-kind design offers surgeons performing sleeve gastrectomy procedures the industry's longest continuous staple cutline of 23 centimeters. Surgeons can complete the sleeve pouch anatomy in a single firing reducing the risk of anatomy variations associated with multiple, overlapping short-cartridge staple lines.

In October 2021, the FDA issued new guidance on surgical staplers, which now fall under a Class II designation that includes guidelines for labeling regarding risks associated with staple line crossing. Titan SGS was cleared by the FDA under these more stringent Class II guidelines.

The first bariatric surgeon to use the Titan SGS was Aaron Hoffman, MD, FACS, Division Chief of General Surgery at the University of Buffalo (UBMD) Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Since this first use, surgeons are gaining confidence in the reproducibility of gastric sleeve anatomy from using Titan SGS.

Jon L. Schram, MD, board-certified physician specializing in bariatric surgery and weight loss management at Spectrum Health in Michigan had this to say about the Titan SGS technology: "Every sleeve looks just like the last perfect! This is so much easier to teach and learn than expected. Because of COVID-19, we have been forced to move more of our sleeves to outpatient. Doing a better sleeve has made this very doable."

Gustavo Bello, MD, FACS from AdventHealth Medical Group Weight Loss and Bariatric Surgery at Orlando recently used the Titan SGS during sleeve gastrectomy cases and said, "The Titan SGS the sleeve anatomy now looks exactly like the pictures in the medical textbooks."

John Oldham, MD, Medical Director of Bariatrics for Baptist Health in Louisville, KY said, "In my 20 plus years of bariatric surgery, the Titan SGS is a game changer. Sleeves are amazing, exactly how you would want them to look." Prior to switching to the Titan SGS stapler, Dr. Oldham utilized the Standard Clamp technology from Standard Bariatrics.

Surgeons interested in learning more about Titan SGS stapling technology or about applying for training and use can contact Ronald Galovich, Chief Commercial Officer of Standard Bariatrics. at 513.620.7751 or [email protected].

About Standard Bariatrics, Inc.

Standard Bariatrics, Inc., is a Cincinnati-based surgical procedure company focused on the innovative development and commercialization of medical devices. Driven by a passionate group of surgical innovators, the company continues to release surgical solutions designed to address significant market opportunities. A seasoned team of medical and management professionals, Standard Bariatrics has more than 175 combined years of experience in developing and commercializing novel medical device technologies with a record of achieving both clinical and economic excellence for patients and providers.

Standard Bariatrics is supported through early investment from Queen City Angels and CincyTech, and Series A lead investors RiverVest, River Cities Capital, Hatteras Venture Partners and Emergent Medical Partners and more recently Series B investors U.S. Venture Partners (USVP).

For more information, visit https://www.standardbariatrics.com or call 513.620.7751.

Indications for Use, K210278: "The Titan SGS linear cutter is intended for longitudinal transection and resection of gastric tissue for sleeve gastrectomy pouch creation." Goodman, Multisite Study of Titan SGS Stapler in Longitudinal Gastric Resection. 2020. Toro, Lin, Patel, et al. Association of Radiographic Morphology with Early Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease and Satiety Control after Sleeve Gastrectomy. Journal of American College of Surgeons. Sep: 219(3):430-8.2014.

SOURCE Standard Bariatrics
BASEL, Switzerland, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Syngenta AG ("Syngenta") announced today that the previously announced cash tender offer by Syngenta Finance N.V. (the "Issuer") for any and all outstanding 4.375% Notes due March 28, 2042 (CUSIP: 87164K AB0 / ISIN: US87164KAB08) (the "Notes") (the "Offer"), expired at 5:00 p.m., Eastern time, December 10, 2021 (the "Expiration Time"). At the Expiration Time, valid tenders had been received in the amount set forth in the table below.

Title of Security

CUSIP / ISIN

Numbers

Aggregate Principal

Amount Outstanding

Aggregate Principal

Amount Tendered

Total

Consideration (1)

















4.375% Notes due

March 28, 2042

87164K AB0/ US87164KAB08

US$65,895,000

US$36,661,000

US$1,040





(1) Per US $1,000 principal amount of Notes validly tendered and accepted for payment.

The Issuer expects to accept for payment all Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn in the Offer and expects to make payment for the Notes tendered prior to the Expiration Time in same-day funds on December 15, 2021.

HSBC Continental Europe served as the dealer manager for the Offer. D.F. King & Co., Inc. served as the tender agent and information agent for the Offer.

Holders who would like additional copies of the Offer to Purchase may call or email the Information Agent at (212) 269-5550 (banks and brokers), (888) 605-1958 (all others) or [email protected]. Copies of the Offer to Purchase are also available at the following website: https://sites.dfkingltd.com/syngenta.

Questions regarding the terms of the Offer should be directed to HSBC Continental Europe at +44 20 7992 6237 (Europe), +1 888 HSBC 4LM (toll free),+1 212 525 5552 (collect) or [email protected].

Contact Information







Media Relations Head of Global Media Relations [email protected] Saswato Das

[email protected]

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This document may contain forward-looking statements, which can be identified by terminology such as 'expect', 'would', 'will', 'potential', 'plans', 'prospects', 'estimated', 'aiming', 'on track' and similar expressions. Such statements may be subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from these statements. For Syngenta, such risks and uncertainties include risks relating to legal proceedings, regulatory approvals, new product development, increasing competition, customer credit risk, general economic and market conditions, compliance and remediation, intellectual property rights, implementation of organizational changes, impairment of intangible assets, consumer perceptions of genetically modified crops and organisms or crop protection chemicals, climatic variations, fluctuations in exchange rates and/or commodity prices, single source supply arrangements, political uncertainty, natural disasters, and breaches of data security or other disruptions of information technology. Syngenta assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changed assumptions or other factors.

SOURCE Syngenta n.v.
CHICAGO and WICHITA, Kan., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- TCS Education System, a Chicago-based nonprofit system of colleges that work collaboratively to advance institutional sustainability, student success, and community impact, announced today the Kansas Health Science Center - Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (KHSC-KansasCOM) has received pre-accreditation status from the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) and is now recruiting students for its inaugural class to begin August 2022.

The product of a collaborative partnership between TCS, KHSC and Wichita's Riverside Health Foundation, KHSC-KansasCOM will be the state's first private, nonprofit college of osteopathic medicine and is expected to create $1 billion in economic impact over the next 12 years in a region where nearly one-third of the population is medically unserved. Local physicians who have joined the faculty will lead a patient-centered approach to deliver an engaging, modern learning experience in August 2022.

"TCS was founded on the idea that fostering student excellence starts by supporting critical institutional functions," says Michael Horowitz, Ph.D., president and founder of TCS Education System. "This endorsement from COCA underscores our commitment to success across our System. We are thrilled to bring our proven model of institutional excellence to KHSC-KansasCOM and look forward to working closely with the experienced administrators and faculty, as they educate the next generation of osteopathic physicians."

KHSC-KansasCOM will prepare up to 85 physicians-in-training in the first cohort through an integrated curriculum that includes training in advanced technologies, artificial intelligence, and early clinical experiences. KansasCOM will be eligible for full accreditation following the inaugural graduation in 2026.

"In today's healthcare landscape, innovation is desperately needed," says Vadim Levitin, chair of the KHSC Board of Trustees. "This new college will take cutting-edge medical education from Wichita directly to the rural hospitals and clinics who could benefit from additional support, through clinical rotations across the state and beyond."

Based in the heart of downtown Wichita, KHSC-KansasCOM's 116,000 square foot campus will feature innovative learning spaces, an osteopathic skills training center, standardized patient teaching rooms, large lecture halls, small group study rooms, a virtual anatomy lab, and much more.

About TCS Education System:

TCS Education System (TCS) is an integrated, nonprofit system that works collaboratively to advance institutional sustainability, student success, and community impact. Founded in 2009, the System consists of six distinct communitiesThe Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Pacific Oaks College & Children's School, The Colleges of Law, Saybrook University, Kansas Health Science Center, and the TCS System Office. TCS utilizes strategic partnerships in order to foster economies of scale, academic innovation, risk mitigation, and resourceful business solutions, in order to maximize the educational experience of students. To learn more, visit www.tcsedsystem.edu.

About Kansas Health Science Center:

Kansas Health Science Center is a nonprofit organization committed to developing strong, innovative education programs in emerging areas of health care. Opening the Kansas Health Science Center - Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2022, KHSC strives to positively impact the health landscape in Wichita and the state of Kansas through directly addressing the disparity in access to healthcare. Learn more.

SOURCE TCS Education System
LIVONIA, Mich., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants (TSFR), a Michigan-based family-owned restaurant group with an expansive portfolio of casual dining, fast casual, quick service and family dining restaurants throughout the state, announced today that it has been recognized as one of The Detroit Free Press' 2021 Top Workplaces. 2021 marks TSFR's fourth consecutive year receiving the award.

The Detroit Free Press recognized 174 of the Top Workplaces in Michigan as determined solely through employee survey results that measure 24 factors in seven categories, including company leadership, communication, career opportunities, cultural environment, managerial skills, pay and benefits. TSFR, which employs more than 6,500 employees throughout Michigan, ranked 14th in the large business category.

"TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants is extremely honored to be named a Top Workplace in Michigan for a fourth consecutive year," said Mark Schostak, executive chairman of TSFR. "The repetition of this recognition is a testament to our accountable culture and commitment to training and development. This moment would not be possible without our engaged team that delights our guests and believes in our vision to Lead the Way, and we are grateful to our employees for their continued loyalty and persistence."

Each company in the 2021 list was ranked among groups of similar size organizations to most accurately compare results. The large business category compares organizations with 500+ employees.

As a part of its benefits package, TSFR offers a 100 percent tuition-free education to eligible team members as well as their spouses, children and grandchildren. The truly unique program encourages lifelong learning and equips team members with skills to build a successful career. Employees and family members may use the benefits to enroll in an associate, bachelors or masters degree program through Cleary University's online program.

About TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants

Livonia, Mich.-based TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants is a family-owned restaurant group with an expansive portfolio of casual dining, fast casual, quick service and family dining restaurants throughout the state of Michigan. With a commitment to quality operations, TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants is an industry leader in attracting, developing and retaining the most talented workforce that proudly delights its guests and sets an unmatched standard of excellence. For the past four decades, TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants has expanded its restaurant catalog to include 63 Applebee's (including the world's only co-branded Applebee's/IHOP, inside Detroit's Millender center), 22 Olga's Kitchen restaurants, 3 Olga's Fresh Grilles, 1 Olga's Express, 12 MOD Pizza restaurants, and 8 Del Taco restaurants. Additionally, in May 2019 TSFR increased its portfolio to include 56 Wendy's locations across Michigan. For more information, visit www.teamschostak.com .

SOURCE TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants (TSFR)
The Transaction implies a post-money valuation of USD8.2 billion for 100% of TCX's equity, an equivalent of USD105 (c. VND2,415,000) per share, representing a 12% valuation uplift versus the previous capital raising round. Post the completion of the Transaction, Masan will own 81.4% of The CrownX. The Company intends to use the proceeds from the Transaction to invest in growth initiatives and conduct a share buyback.

The mini-mall concept, a unique integrated format off or online offering a broad array of daily, essential products and services, provides The CrownX a cost-efficient model to win consumer wallet share across multiple consumer use cases. The next game changer will be developing fin-tech solutions including buy now pay later products for the underserved, mass market consumers by leveraging its loyalty platform with Reddi at the core.

Mr. Danny Le, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Masan Group said: "We have outlined our Point of Life vision for over 7 years now. The partnership with TPG, ADIA and SeaTown is a validation of our ability to bring to life our Point of Life vision. This marks the end of our capital raising activities at The CrownX as we shift our entire focus to scale up our Point of Life platform nationwide both off and online. We look forward to a 2023-2024 international IPO of The CrownX with 3 simple KPIs: i) increasing our share of the consumer wallet by expanding our network, ii) digitizing our entire platform to become a consumer tech company, and iii) double-digit profit margins."

"Powered by its rising middle class and rapid urbanization, Vietnam is well-positioned to be a significant driver of the next chapter of Asia's consumption story," said David Tan, Managing Director, TPG Capital Asia. "Having witnessed Masan's turnaround of WinCommerce (WCM), we believe that The CrownX is the platform to capture this opportunity. They will develop the ecosystem further to expand their services to create value for all Vietnamese consumers. Leveraging our deep experience investing across the consumer sector and in Southeast Asia, we look forward to working with the management team at The CrownX to accelerate the company's vision."

Hamad Shahwan Al Dhaheri, Executive Director of the Private Equities Department at ADIA, said: "In one of the fastest growing consumer markets globally, The CrownX is a proven, best-in-class operator with a strong management team, well-positioned to build the leading integrated omni-channel consumer ecosystem in Vietnam. This is yet another illustration of our global strategy of investing alongside leading partners such as the Masan Group and the wider shareholder base of The CrownX. Further building on our increasing focus on Southeast Asia, this commitment underscores our belief in Vietnam's strong underlying economic fundamentals."

Steven Chua, Deputy CIO at SeaTown Master Fund, said: "We are very excited to have the opportunity to partner with The CrownX and Masan organization through this investment. We see a compelling long-term consumption growth story in Vietnam and The CrownX is well-positioned to capture this growth through the company's transformative initiatives."

All corporate actions mentioned are subject to customary corporate and regulatory approvals. Credit Suisse (Singapore) Limited acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Masan Group.



MASAN GROUP CORPORATION

Masan Group Corporation ("Masan" or the "Company") believes in doing well by doing good. The Company's mission is to provide better products and services to the 100 million people of Vietnam, so that they can pay less for their daily essentials. Masan aims to achieve this by driving productivity with technological innovations, trusted brands, and focusing on fewer but bigger opportunities that impact the most lives.

Masan Group's member companies and associates are industry leaders in branded fast moving consumer goods, branded meat, modern retail, F&B retail, financial services, telecommunications, and value-add chemical processing, altogether representing segments of Vietnam's economy that are experiencing the most transformational growth.

TPG

TPG is a leading global alternative asset firm founded in San Francisco in 1992 with $108 billion of assets under management and investment and operational teams in 12 offices globally. TPG invests across five multi-product platforms: Capital, Growth, Impact, Real Estate, and Market Solutions. TPG aims to build dynamic products and options for its clients while also instituting discipline and operational excellence across the investment strategy and performance of its portfolio.

ADIA

Established in 1976, ADIA is a globally diversified investment institution that prudently invests funds on behalf of the Government of Abu Dhabi through a strategy focused on long-term value creation.

SEATOWN

SeaTown Holdings International ("SeaTown") is a Singapore-based investment manager focused on alternative, absolute return strategies. With over US$6bn of assets under management, SeaTown manages multi-asset and public credit strategies through open-end funds as well as private investments strategies in closed-end funds. SeaTown is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Seviora Holdings, and indirectly owned by Temasek Holdings.

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding Masan's expectations, intentions or strategies that may involve risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements, including Masan's expectations, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, some of which are beyond Masan's control, which may cause Masan's actual results of operations, financial condition, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions, future events or promises of future performance.

SOURCE Masan Group Corporation
"SB8's ban on abortions after six weeks infringes upon our members' rights to engage with their chosen religion and to participate in religious rites and rituals," argued The Satanic Temple's Director of Campaign Operations Erin Helian. "In accordance with our Third Tenet, The Satanic Temple will push back against the Texas legislature's violation of our members' bodily autonomy and freedom of choice."

The Satanic Temple is also engaged in another lawsuit before the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas against the state of Texas for impeding the free exercise rights of a member seeking an abortion. The member was met with state-mandated interventions prior to the procedure, designed by the legislature to discourage people from seeking abortions. Texas's current state laws require doctors to administer legally mandated, though not medically necessary, procedures before obtaining an abortion. The mandate forces patients to be given a sonogram, to be provided the results of that test, to be given a narrative written by the Texas legislature about the supposed meaning of the sonogram results, and a mandatory waiting period following the sonogram before the abortion can be administered. These steps aim to manipulate those seeking abortion care into altering their decision, thus interfering with freedom of choice and bodily autonomy.

"The Temple will work tirelessly to do our best to protect the religious rights of members who want to engage in TST's abortion ritual," added Helian.

About The Satanic Temple

The Satanic Temple, subject of the critically-acclaimed documentary, Hail Satan?, and the academic analysis of modern Satanism, Speak of the Devil, confronts religious discrimination to secure the separation of church and state and defend the Constitutional rights of its members. In response to Oklahoma and Arkansas placing a Ten Commandments statue on Capitol grounds, TST offered its bronze Baphomet statue to stand alongside the Christian monuments. TST hosts the "After School Satan" club to counter the Evangelical "Good News Clubs" in public schools across the country to promote a plurality of religious viewpoints. The mission of The Satanic Temple is to encourage benevolence and empathy, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practical common sense, oppose injustice, and undertake noble pursuits for the individual will. For more information about The Satanic Temple, visit https://thesatanictemple.com/ .

Media Contact:

Karen

[email protected]

SOURCE The Satanic Temple
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today The Urgent Company , the consumer brands subsidiary of Perfect Day, announced the acquisition of Coolhaus , the leading women-owned ice cream brand in the grocery store, and a pioneer in dessert innovation and novelties. Coolhaus joins The Urgent Company's family of brands, including Brave Robot, Modern Kitchen and California Performance Co ., in a move that expands its product portfolio, deepens its commitment to a better food system, and cements its growing leadership in the dairy aisle.

The Urgent Company

Coolhaus and The Urgent Company's teams came together out of a shared passion for a more sustainable, equitable food future and are committed to using this acquisition as an opportunity to amplify their missions in this exciting next chapter for both companies.

Coolhaus exists to be the household ice cream brand of the future and inspire the next generation of diverse creators. Since 2009, Coolhaus has disrupted frozen dairy with innovative novelties, bringing its social mission to the forefront of its delicious products. One core tenet of its work toward this mission is creating ice cream for positive change--specifically to empower entrepreneurs with diverse backgrounds -- including its flavors that give back. As Coolhaus joins The Urgent Company, merging resources and structure, this social impact will expand. Coolhaus is sold in more than 6,000 stores nationwide, including Whole Foods, Thrive Market, Walmart, Sprouts, Kroger, and National Co-op Grocers.

The Urgent Company exists to make more sustainable products without compromise. The Urgent Company and Coolhaus teams will make that environmental mission even bigger as they plan to transition Coolhaus traditional dairy products to use Perfect Day animal-free dairy in the months ahead. Perfect Day animal-free whey protein generates up to 97% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than traditional dairy protein.

"Bringing together our social and climate missions is deeply personal. We know the work we do now will determine if our children can continue to enjoy the food we eat and the planet we inhabit for years to come," said Paul Kollesoff, general manager and co-founder of The Urgent Company. "We're inspired by what Natasha, Ryan, and the Coolhaus team have accomplished so far and are thrilled to welcome them to The Urgent Company and build this next chapter together."

"We created Coolhaus to make better products for everybody. Our ability to lead with purpose and move the dial for consumers becomes even stronger by joining The Urgent Company," said Natasha Case, founder of Coolhaus. "For us, this is about the long game. The integration of Perfect Day protein into our line of beloved dairy ice cream and novelties is going to elevate our product into the next generation of foods making a difference for our families and our planet."

As part of the acquisition, the Coolhaus team will join The Urgent Company, deepening the company's commitment to and perspective on inclusivity in the food industry with its incredible women-led and founded and LGTBQIA+ pride values. Natasha Case will join The Urgent Company as its new President of Brand Experience, bringing her passion, strategic thinking, and unparalleled leadership to this next chapter of how The Urgent Company brings brands and impact to the world. Ryan Bennett will also join as Senior Vice President of Operations and Integration, bringing important expertise to how the companies work together efficiently for greatest impact.

The Urgent Company acquired Coolhaus from Sunrise Strategic Partners, a Boulder, CO-based accelerator of emerging brands and other shareholders. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Raymond James acted as financial advisor to Coolhaus on the deal.

The Urgent Company's first brand, Brave Robot ice cream, debuted in 2020 and was met with immediate demand. Now offered in more than 5,000 grocery stores in the U.S. and with one million pints sold, Brave Robot has quickly become the number one growth driver in the plant-based ice cream category (Source: IRI Total US Food - 12W). The company's other brands, Modern Kitchen and California Performance Co., both launched in fall 2021. The Urgent Company plans to launch an exclusive animal-free dairy CoolHaus x Brave Robot co-branded novelty with a key national retail partner in 2022.

For more information, visit theurgentcompany.com.

ABOUT THE URGENT COMPANY

The Urgent Company is a new type of CPG company, one with a singular focus on the next generation of consumer brands that harness the latest in innovation and science to create revolutionary, delicious, and sustainable animal-free foods with less impact on the planet. The Urgent Company made its marketplace premiere with the launch of Brave Robot, a revolutionary ice cream made with Perfect Day's non-animal whey protein, which uses science and a little bit of technology to remove animals from the equation without sacrificing the indulgent taste and texture of dairy. The Urgent Company strives to be different, while making a difference. They exist for the future and believe that if things don't change now, there will be nothing left for tomorrow. Visit theurgentcompany.com to learn more.

ABOUT COOLHAUS

Coolhaus is the leading women-owned ice cream business at grocery and a pioneer in dessert innovation and novelties with its thoughtfully-crafted, super-premium and innovative ice cream and plant-based frozen desserts. Their social mission is to inspire the next generation of women and LGBTQ founders, entrepreneurs and creators of diverse backgrounds to feel empowered to turn their dreams into realities in an equitable environment.

Media contact:

Lauren Flanagan

[email protected]

313-460-5333

SOURCE The Urgent Company
CHICAGO, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Vistria Group is excited to announce the launch of a new podcast series, The Future of Capitalism. The podcast is available now on all streaming platforms and can be accessed here .

The first three-episode volume features discussions with Harvard Business School University Professor Rebecca Henderson, CalPERS CEO Marcie Frost, and Connecticut Treasurer Shawn Wooden.

"Capitalism has driven extraordinary growth, innovation and opportunity for humankind, but the system is far from perfect," said Martin Nesbitt, Senior Partner and co-CEO at The Vistria Group. "Vistria was founded on the belief that investment success is inextricably linked to the prosperity of our communities. We're excited to advance this dialogue with like-minded thought leaders who are committed to advancing purpose across the investment landscape."

Over the past several years, The Vistria Group has convened academics, investors, policymakers, and entrepreneurs in the pursuit of advancing the dialogue around the Future of Capitalism. The firm's podcast is an effort to expand the conversation to a broader set of stakeholders.

"We are pleased to be able to showcase the ideas and solutions that can contribute to a more equitable and sustainable form of capitalism," said Mona Sutphen, Partner and Head of Investment Strategies at The Vistria Group.

The Future of Capitalism podcast showcases a variety of perspectives and approaches to these challenges. Hear from Rebecca Henderson, Harvard Business School University professor and author of Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire, on how non-financial metrics are taking hold as a measure of business success. CalPERS CEO Marcie Frost talks with Marty Nesbitt about how the nation's largest pension fund is tackling topics such as board diversity and Connecticut Treasurer Shawn Wooden highlights how he views Environmental, Social, and Governance considerations as material during the investment decision process.

"Our investment philosophy is predicated on the view that every business in America relies on a functioning and thriving society to succeed, so focusing on solutions to ensure stability for future generations is critical," said Kip Kirkpatrick, Senior Partner and Co-CEO of The Vistria Group. "We know this will be a long journey, but we hope you will enjoy listening and exploring these issues with us."

Access the podcast here . We welcome your feedback and engagement on this new initiative.

About The Vistria Group

The Vistria Group is a Chicago-based private investment firm focused on investing in middle market companies in the health care, education, and financial services sectors. Vistria's team is comprised of highly experienced operating partners and private equity executives with proven track records of working with management teams in building innovative, market-leading companies. For more information, please visit www.vistria.com.

SOURCE The Vistria Group
Title: The Best Neighborhoods to Stroll in Shinjuku, Tokyo

URL: https://viewer.stroly.com/1629273968/?room=stroly

Title: Tales and Histories in Shinjuku, Tokyo

URL: https://viewer.stroly.com/1627543807/?room=stroly

The Story Behind Exploring Post-Covid Tourism

The tourism industry has been hit hard by the pandemic as people spend more time at home. There's an urgent need for local governments and tourism organizations to consider methods to promote virtual tourism. By using digital tourism maps, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Stroly are able to conduct a proof of concept. These experiments collect information on how to provide relevant information on tourism and sightseeing for people at home. The digital maps also provide a way for people to communicate with others using the same map in real-time.

Proof of Concept Outline by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Stroly

Objective: To study the ideal form of tourism with a perspective on post-Covid, such as stress-free tourism and promoting sustainable ways of travel.

Method: Provide digital tourism maps of the Shinjuku area.

Target Area: Shinjuku, Tokyo .

. Target Users: Users who spend time at home, both in Japan and overseas.

and overseas. Implementation Period: October 20, 2021 (Wednesday) - December 31, 2021 (Friday).

(Wednesday) - (Friday). Other: Analysis of usage status through the provision of digital maps.

About the Digital Tourism Maps

In this proof of concept, we've released three digital tourism maps of the Shinjuku area. These maps offer users a virtual sightseeing experience from Shinjuku through digital maps available on the web.

About Stroly: A Digital Map blishing Platform

Stroly is a digital publishing platform that digitizes illustrated maps for effective area branding by linking these maps to relevant location information. Stroly's platform is accessible through web browsers without downloading an app.

The Stroly platform offers a variety of features on its digitized maps, such as the "spot function" which highlights recommended spots in an area, a "chat function," and a "stamp rally function." So far, more than 9,000 maps from 45 countries around the world are available through Stroly.

Contributors are able to easily communicate points of interest on their maps through the Stroly platform. A heat map function helps map contributors check what areas users have visited while using the map.

This new style of tourism promotion helps reduce costs in printing and distribution of physical maps while reducing the strain on environmental resources.

About Stroly's New Features

Together with this proof of concept, we've released an "event information display function" where you're able to share event information through the "spot function." This functionality not only informs users of relevant information but also general and seasonal event information.

About the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Pitch Event "UPGRADE with TOKYO"

Beginning in 2019, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has hosted the "UPGRADE with TOKYO" pitch event for startups. This event aims to promote collaboration between the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and startups through public-private sector cooperation.

Startups who are recognized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government as contributors to resolving Metropolitan Government issues are considered for collaboration. Stroly won the first round of the competition held in December 2019, and this current experiment is being carried out based on Stroly's proposal.

Information Disclosure Site for General Users

Stroly's Landing Page: https://stroly.com/goshinjuku/

About Stroly, Inc.

Website: https://biz.stroly.com/

Mail: [email protected]

The map platform is available for free.

Basic and Premium Plans are available for business use. Please contact Stroly for details.

SOURCE Stroly Inc.
The seed funding round, which was oversubscribed and closed within just four days, will help Trellus focus on its next phase of growth. Trellus is expanding beyond its same-day delivery service with plans to launch a local marketplace to help small businesses compete with big-box retailers and Amazon. The Trellus Marketplace will provide merchants with an easy-to-use e-commerce tool, allowing Trellus to not only deliver products but sell them as well.

"Trellus is designed to help Long Island's small businesses compete against e-commerce behemoths, by driving new customers to merchant websites and providing on-demand deliveries with a network of drivers," said Adam Haber, CEO and co-founder. "Consumer demand for fast and convenient local delivery from their favorite stores is growing, but too many independent retailers lack the ability and resources to compete on time-savings."

Launched in early 2021, Trellus has grown steadily from the startup's Nassau County headquarters, expanding into Suffolk and Queens, with Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Greater New York City area on the horizon. At present time, 130 Long Island businesses are using Trellus same-day delivery service and that number is consistently growing. Businesses currently on the platform range from specialty goods, such as florists, chocolatiers, and toy shops, to professional services, including attorneys and accountants. Liquor stores and breweries are especially drawn to Trellus for the platform's tracking and photo proof of delivery, complete with ID scan and signature. Customers likewise receive real-time tracking texted to their phone, so they know exactly when to expect their same-day delivery.

Rather than dipping into small business profits per transaction, Trellus provides its same-day delivery service by charging merchants a predictable low monthly subscription fee and a flat delivery fee based on mileage.

"The proprietary platform and technology we are building is centered around the needs of small and home-based businesses to make online sales and same-day local delivery a simple and efficient process," said JR Jensen, Trellus CTO and co-founder. "We are gathering insights and feedback daily from merchants, working non-stop to update our platform to solve the day-to-day logistical pain points small businesses face."

In addition to expanding its same-day delivery platform, Trellus plans to grow its sales and customer success teams, who will provide best-in-class experiences for merchant partners.

"Trellus is here to connect small businesses with a faster and more affordable way to deliver their products. We are building a team to keep up with our rapid growth," said Brian Berkery, COO and co-founder. "As our network grows, we are offering exceptional driver compensation and competitive sales associate opportunities with unlimited potential for growth."

Trellus will also continue investing in search engine optimization and consumer-facing social media to draw customers to local merchants online. It's all part of the company's mission to serve small businesses with real solutions that make a real difference to their bottom line, thereby uplifting local economies and keeping jobs in local communities.

About Trellus Inc.

Headquartered in Nassau County, NY, Trellus Same-Day Local Delivery & Marketplace has created an integrated same-day delivery system that makes it possible for small, independent retailers and home-based businesses to provide fast, reliable local delivery. As a team of business owners, Trellus understands the importance of small and home-based businesses to local economies, and supports local, by keeping jobs, sales, and services in communities.

Learn more about Trellus Same-Day Local Delivery & Marketplace at:

www.bytrellus.com or call 1.833.LocalLi (562-2554)

SOURCE Trellus
"The quality and pace of innovation at UbiQD is exciting, and fun to be part of," said Cottrell. "Just in the past month, I've reviewed more than 10 invention disclosures from the team, which is incredibly fast for a company of this size. The quantum dot industry is still in its early stages and there are many opportunities for innovation."

As UbiQD rolls out new greenhouse products and plans the launch of a new line of quantum dot glass-based solar window products next year, the company has increasingly focused on building a team of sales and marketing professionals to engage with customers. Since hiring Eric Moody to lead the effort, UbiQD has also added an East Coast Sales Manager, West Coast Sales Rep, and a digital marketing firm.

"Growers understand the importance of light, and most want more and better photons for their crops," said Moody. "In my previous role, I encountered many customers who either couldn't afford energy efficient lighting, or didn't have the electrical infrastructure to implement lighting products in their greenhouses. What excites me most is how we bring both sustainability and enhanced profitability."

These critical additions to the UbiQD leadership team continue to advance the company's mission to make lasting positive impacts.



About UbiQD, Inc.

UbiQD (pronounced 'ubiquity') is an advanced materials company powering innovation in agriculture, clean energy, and security. Our quantum dots enable products that harness the power of color and light. Headquartered in Los Alamos, New Mexico, UbiQD is licensing technology developed at leading research institutions, including Los Alamos National Laboratory, M.I.T., University of Washington, and Western Washington University. To learn more, please visit: https://www.ubiqd.com

MEDIA CONTACT

[email protected]

505.310.6767

SOURCE UbiQD, Inc.
ATLANTA, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- UC Asset LP (OTCQX: UCASU) announces the company's management team has just concluded the phase I due diligence on a piece of cannabis property in Oklahoma, and already reduced the target price by almost 60%.

"Our LOI with the seller, came into effect on December 6, gave us 60 days to conduct our due diligence," explains Greg Bankston, managing general partner of UC Asset. "Last week our management team traveled to Oklahoma for a thorough on-site inspection. Based on our findings, we successfully challenged its revenue projection, which leads to us convincing the seller to reduce the target price to $900,000, from the original asking price of $2.2 million."

Bankston confirms UC Asset may request further reduction of the purchase price, depending on the findings of its due diligence in the coming weeks.

"Our management's goal is to acquire the best properties at best prices," says Larry Wu, founder of UC Asset. "Our company's acquisition strategy includes applying a high standard of due diligence on any target acquisitions, in an effort to protect the interest of our investors."

If UC Asset acquires the property, the firm will lease the property to licensed growers, implementing a business model similar to those of established public companies, such as Power REIT (NYSE: PW). In February 2020, Power REIT announced expanding its portfolio in greenhouses for both food and cannabis cultivation. In less than 2 years since this announcement, its stock price has soared from $8.45 (February 03,2020) to $63.10 (December 10, 2021), an increase of 750%.

With a goal to replicate Power REIT's success, UC Asset has developed a pipeline of deals of cannabis properties. Bankston confirms that the company has located another similar property in Oklahoma, a number of properties in California, as well as opportunities in Georgia the firm's home state.

The company has also entered into an umbrella LOI deal to invest into cannabis properties operated by OTC company PURA Inc (OTC: PURA).

"Our team is extremely excited about the upcoming year," exclaims Bankston. "We are working round the clock to bring the best out of these deals. Our ultimate goal is to secure properties that will allow us to join Power REIT and a select group of other forward-thinking investors, as trendsetters in providing opportunity for cannabis cultivation while creating remarkable profit for our investors."

About UC Asset LP

UC Asset LP is a limited partnership formed for the purpose of investing in real estate with innovative strategies, concentrating in metropolitan areas of Atlanta, GA. For more information about UC Asset, please visit: www.ucasset.com

Disclaimer:

This News Release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to differ materially from any these statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any those forward-looking statements. Except as otherwise required by the federal securities laws, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements after the date of this news release. None of such forward-looking statements should be regarded as a representation by us or any other person that the objectives and plans set forth in this News Release will be achieved or be executed.

For More Information Contact:

Christal Jordan | Executive Director, UC Asset LP

[email protected] | 678-499-0297

SOURCE UC Asset LP
SKOKIE, Ill., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- UMF Corporation today announced that Lenir Aguilar, guest room attendant at the Hilton Daytona Beach, has earned the company's second annual Guest Room Attendant (GRA) Excellence Award. UMF established the GRA Excellence Award in 2020 to acknowledge the crucial role GRAs play in ensuring hotel guest safety, satisfaction, and loyalty in the COVID-19 era.

Lenir Aguilar, guest room attendant (GRA) at the Hilton Daytona Beach, and recipient of UMF Corporation's GRA Excellence Award

"Hilton Daytona Beach's housekeeping staff are a key part of our commitment to deliver the reliable and friendly service our guests expect with the added confidence of industry-leading hygiene practices created to keep guests and staff safe," said Omayra Muniz, Hilton Daytona Beach's director of housekeeping. "Lenir is a consummate team player and model GRA who is always willing to help her colleagues, even chipping in on laundry. Her rooms are perfection: spotless and neatly organized. During periods of short staffing, she took on extra shifts, maintaining the same high levels of cleanliness even when she was responsible for 25 rooms. With the highest productivity in the department, in a specific month during the pandemic, Lenir worked many hours of overtime with the spirit of hospitality and a smile on her face. She is very early in her hospitality tenure and is tremendously committed and responsible; she deserves everything good that happens to her in life!"

In accordance with CDC guidelines, the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) launched its Safe Stay program in response to COVID-19. The AHLA's cleaning and disinfecting protocols require that housekeeping pay particular attention to "high-touch, hard non-porous items including television remote controls, toilet seats and handles, door and furniture handles, water faucet handles, nightstands, telephones, in-room control panels, light switches, temperature control panels, alarm clocks and luggage racks." Additional protocols include:

Frequent cleaning and disinfection in all public spaces, with an emphasis on frequent contact surfaces and objects.

EPA approved cleaning and disinfection protocols are in place to clean guest rooms, with particular attention paid to high-touch items.

Rooms are 'sealed' or mechanisms/notices are in place for clean rooms not to be entered between guests.

Frequent cleaning and disinfection in all high traffic back of house areas, with an emphasis on employee dining rooms, locker rooms, restrooms and kitchens.

"While room cleanliness has always been at the top of the list when it comes to hotel guest satisfaction, guests and staff are more discriminating than ever when it comes to infection prevention," said UMF CEO George Clarke. "Housekeeping staff such as Ms. Aguilar are essential to carrying out industry-recommended cleaning and disinfection protocols, placing them front and center in the fight against COVID-19 and multiple other bacteria and viruses that can wreak havoc throughout properties. Ms. Aguilar's commitment to consistently carrying out best practices and helping her fellow GRAs, even when she was regularly picking up extra shifts and rooms, is the epitome of GRA excellence."

Notably, four additional GRAs were selected as finalists for this year's award. They are:

Sanela Muharemovic , Hyatt Regency, Atlanta, Ga.

, Hyatt Regency, Maryann Rich , Hampton Inn & Suites DeLand, Fla.

, Hampton Inn & Suites Gricelda Buenrostro , Swissotel, Chicago

, Swissotel, Glenys Mora , Miami Beach Edition, Fla.

Added Clarke, "GRAs are so often hidden in the shadows, and it is time to shine a spotlight on them. We look forward to continuing this important acknowledgement in the years to come."

As this year's award recipient, Ms. Aguilar will receive an all-expenses paid trip for two, including airfare, to a location of her choice within the 48 contiguous states.

About UMF Corporation

UMF Corporation is the leader in the research and development of high-performance products, programs and training for the infection prevention and commercial cleaning markets. Through extensive testing, exhaustive analysis and the commitment of significant human and financial resources, new antimicrobial technologies have been merged with innovative product designs that are redefining the future of clean. http://www.perfectclean.com, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter.

SOURCE UMF Corporation
NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- With the November grand opening being a tremendous success, there is no doubt that Wuish Kitchen & Bar will only grow in popularity through December on into 2022. The combined elegant and casual atmosphere will be one both tourists and native New Yorkers will want to experience first-hand. However, it isn't the modern, chic environment visitors will be speaking about for the days after  it is the impressive variety of cultural flavors and tastes.

Wuish Kitchen & Bar Wuish Kitchen & Bar

On top of having delectable, memorable dishes, the restaurant's name is also a good point of discussion. The name "Wuish" comes from the Canton pronunciation of Wui, which means "gather together" in Chinese. There is no doubt this space will become a go-to eatery and bar in New York City where family and friends can "gather together" for years to come.

The Early Bird of Wall Street

Wuish wanted to stand out on Wall Street. Therefore, it is one of the first restaurants to open---six o'clock every morning. Physically connected to the Four Point Hotel, Wuish has an open dining area available and a comfortable lounge. The restaurant also offers American-style breakfasts for those who would prefer to slowly explore Asian Fusion dining.

Discovering "Dim Sum" Lunch

Once the cultural flavors of a "Dim Sum" lunch are experienced, it will become a Regular topic of discussion. Wuish offers a huge variety of Dim Sum lunch dishes that can also be served as a brunch meal.

For those just beginning to dip their toes into the Dim Sum experience, Dim Sum is a meal of many small platters. Along with different kinds of dumplings, spring rolls, buns, congees and snacks are available as well as Asian tea.

Entree from the "Imperial Era"

Wuish has received incredible praise for their dinner specials  especially the Peking duck. This meal is an authentic Chinese meal inspired by the Imperial Era. The dish has grown in popularity over the years and symbolizes Chinese cuisine recognized all over the world. The Peking duck is one to try when visiting Wuish for dinner, but realistically  every dish available will make you feel as if you've entered an authentic eatery in China.

Full Bar & Private Party Room

The elegant restaurant Wuish has a fully stocked bar, which is perfect for cocktails with loved ones as well as impressive list of craft beer. On top of having a large selection of liquor, wine, and beer, Wuish offers private parties of up to eighty people, good for events and wedding parties.

www.wuish.com, hours: 6am-10pm Daily

6 Platt Street, New York, NY 10038, Reservation: 212-273-9296.

Media Contact:

Felicia Guo

212-574-4417

[email protected]

SOURCE Wuish Kitchen & Bar
RESTON, Va., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Leidos (NYSE: LDOS), a FORTUNE 500 science and technology leader, today announced it has been awarded a prime contract by the U.S. Air Force to support the service's counter-small unmanned aerial system (C-sUAS) efforts. This single-award, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract has a total estimated value of $82 million. It includes a one-year period, as well as four one-year options. Work will be performed at various CONUS locations.

"The complex and rapid proliferation of small, unmanned aircraft systems by adversaries presents new risks and challenges for our armed forces," said Will Johnson, Leidos Senior Vice President, Logistics and Mission Support. "We are proud to support the Air Force's mission to increase the operational capability of fielded and future C-sUAS equipment."

Through this contract, Leidos will support the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center and enhance the air base defender's capability to detect, identify, track and defeat small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS). This will take place through a wide range of system and software maintenance, development, and deployment tasks. Leidos' innovation and agile technologies will play a critical role in enhancing base security capabilities, while enabling a fully connected defense solution to combat anticipated threats to air bases worldwide.

Headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center is one of six centers reporting to the Air Force Materiel Command and provides test and evaluation, life cycle management services and sustainment for every major Air Force weapon system.

About Leidos

Leidos is a Fortune 500 technology, engineering, and science solutions and services leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets. The company's 43,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Va., Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $12.30 billion for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2021. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

Statements in this announcement, other than historical data and information, constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be very different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended January 1, 2021, and other such filings that Leidos makes with the SEC from time to time. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.

Contact:

Melissa Duenas

(571) 526-6850

[email protected]

Thomas Doheny

(571) 474-4735

[email protected]

Jalen Drummond

(571) 992-5046

[email protected]

SOURCE Leidos Holdings, Inc.
DETROIT, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- We are pleased to announce that US Behind the Walls has opened a Detroit, Michigan regional office at 400 Renaissance Center, Suite 2600 Detroit, MI 48243. The founder and Executive director of the organization is Michael Andersen, CEO president of Tyco Media Group Beverly Hills, California, and has appointed Cynthia Haynes from Flint, Michigan as the community board member for the state of Michigan.

US Behind The Walls Is A Criminal Justice Reform Non-profit Focused On Restorative Justice. Likewise, US Behind the Walls is a bipartisan organization that is working to help resolve these inefficiencies and injustices. Our plan is to introduce three initiatives to the ballot during the 2022 midterm election. The first would be to reaffirm that Michigan's felony murder law was abolished in 1980 and see that it applies retroactively to everyone that was charged and sentenced under that Statute previous to its abolishment. The second initiative would give inmates earned time credits for good behavior and positive programming. The third initiative is to reform the Michigan parole board with the goal of making it more transparent and representative of the community.

We believe these initiatives will help ensure that the Michigan Criminal Justice system becomes more responsive, accountable, and fair to its residents, community, and those incarcerated. We believe that the public should have more say in the criminal justice system and Michigan Second Chance Initiative is the first step in that process.

US Behind the Walls believes that today's criminal justice system is financially and socially untenable. Social stratification is weighed unfairly against people with lower incomes. Laws have been written that disproportionately punish people of color much more harshly and severely.

It is a system plagued by high recidivism rates and incarceration costs that exceed the investment our society has placed into educating our youths. The system solves no problems, but instead has a devastating effect on the families and children of those incarcerated. It perpetuates the school-to-prison pipeline where the sons replace the absent fathers in prison.

Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder spoke this truth to power in his 2013 speech to the American Bar Association, when he, as the nation's Chief Law Enforcement Officer, articulated and admitted these facts.

Today a vicious cycle of poverty, criminality, and incarceration traps too many Americans and weakens too many communities. And many aspects of our criminal justice system exacerbate these problems, rather than alleviate them.

Too many Americans go to prison for far too long, for no good reason. It's clear, at the basic level, that the 20th-century criminal justice solutions are not adequate to overcome our 21st-century challenges. And it is well past time to implement common-sense changes that will foster safer communities from coast to coast.

See: Attorney General Eric Holder Delivers Remarks at the Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association's House of Delegates SF, CA Monday, August 12, 2013

On the opposite side of the political spectrum, former President Donald Trump supported criminal justice reform efforts as well. During a White House Press conference President Donald Trump shared his take on the issue, in pushing for is hallmark criminal justice reform bill, The First Step Act of 2018, the President stated.

Americans from across the political spectrum can unite around prison reform legislation that will reduce crime while giving our fellow citizens a chance at redemption, so if something happens and they make a mistake, they get a second chance at life," Trump told reporters at a White House event.

See: White House Press Briefing, November 7, 2018

The Republican president's prodding ensured passage of this reform legislation and President Trump signed the First Step Act on December 18, 2018, which reduced mandatory minimum sentences, required officials to try to place inmates in prisons near family, expanded drug treatment programs for prisoners and parolees, and allowed some federal prisoners to finish their sentences early with good behavior. This bipartisan legislation was the most consequential criminal justice reform effort on the Federal level in over 40 years.

About Us

US Behind the Walls national headquarters is located in Los Angeles, California with regional offices in Detroit, Chicago, Miami, and Washington DC and supported by organizations and companies nationwide including NAAB Radio's station with over 50 million listeners with a scheduled broadcast titled Equal Justice, which is broadcast every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 11 am to 11:30 PST covering the wrongfully convicted and also an "Ask the Lawyer" segment. You can tune in to listen on any device anywhere at https://naabradio.com/inside-justice/

US Behind the Walls Lobbying and Prison Reform Organization

Press contact

[email protected]

usbehindthewalls.org

Tel: 213-589-3330

SOURCE US Behind The Walls
The grants awarded through the Challenge, which is a premier part of the American Rescue Plan, are designed to accelerate economic recovery from the COVID pandemic and to create industry clusters that will be resilient to future economic shocks. The GREATER MSP Partnership's proposal is centered on accelerating growth of the bio-innovation industry cluster in Minnesota.

"Advancing to the final round of this national competition is a big win for the region that's shared with more than 50 organizations involved in the proposal," said GREATER MSP President and CEO Peter Frosch. "This amazing coalition is working on a plan to accelerate job growth and racial equity by growing Minnesota's bio-innovation sector  one of the fastest growing segments of the global economy. It's a bold move to keep our region and state at the forefront of innovation," Frosch added.

The Bold North BioInnovation Cluster proposal is a plan for investing in Minnesota's next globally-leading economic sector. Bio-innovation builds on two existing sectors of strength in human health and food and agriculture. New opportunities for growth exist in adjacent domains, including sustainability, data and computing, and advanced manufacturing. The application submitted by the GREATER MSP Partnership is focused on creating a vibrant economic sector that addresses historic inequities and racial disparities, with a stated vision to build America's most inclusive bio-innovation cluster.

"The GREATER MSP Board and every investor organization is proud and excited about the news we're moving forward with Build Back Better," said Tim Welsh, GREATER MSP Board Chair and Vice Chair, Consumer and Business Banking, U.S. Bank. "This effort demonstrates the power of partnership to create new, bigger opportunities for our community than we've imagined in the past. It's one way we're taking action to build a more inclusive and competitive economy," Welsch added.

The application included 40 letters of support, and more than 250 individuals contributed thousands of hours to the effort since the challenge was announced in late July. The collaboration included industry, government, education, nonprofit, and community leaders who worked together to create a cohesive vision for the region's Bold North BioInnovation Cluster. "Our Partnership's proposal is an articulation of our region's vision to lead the world in inclusive economic growth, and to build a globally leading bio sector that will create tens of thousands of great jobs in this market decades to come," Frosch said.

Each of the finalists announced today will be awarded up to $500,000 in technical assistance to further develop regional projects. Today's announcement triggers a 3-month sprint to submit the final application, which is due March 15, 2022.

About GREATER MSP

GREATER MSP is the economic development partnership for the 15-county Minneapolis Saint Paul region. Over 300 leading businesses, universities, cities, counties, philanthropies, and others are working together to accelerate the competitiveness of the regional economy and drive inclusive economic growth through job creation, capital investment and the execution of strategic initiatives. For more information go to greatermsp.org.

SOURCE GREATER MSP
CHICAGO, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In-depth analysis and data-driven insights on the impact of COVID-19 included in this Americas data center colocation market report.

The US hyperscale data center market is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 3% during the period 20202026.

Key Highlights Offered in the Report:

Increasing interest was shown by hyperscale data center operators such as AWS, Apple, and Facebook to power their data center infrastructure with renewable energy sources and to operate carbon-neutral facilities by 2040.

Did you know? Support infrastructure vendors operating in the data center market such as Schneider Electric, Cisco, Vertiv Group, Caterpillar, Aecom, and others provided strong support for data center operators in the supply of infrastructure solutions during the pandemic irrespective of internal and external challenges faced.

Support infrastructure vendors operating in the data center market such as Schneider Electric, Cisco, Vertiv Group, Caterpillar, Aecom, and others provided strong support for data center operators in the supply of infrastructure solutions during the pandemic irrespective of internal and external challenges faced. The adoption of liquid immersion cooling is likely to grow as organizations are increasingly deploying artificial intelligence and machine learning workloads. Liquid immersion and direct-to-chip cooling are experiencing over 30% YoY market growth.

Edge data centers are also being set up at unconventional locations by data center operators. In October 2020 , American Tower announced the American Tower Edge Data Center initiative, wherein it deployed six edge data centers in its cell towers in Colorado , Pittsburgh , Atlanta , Florida , and Texas .

, American Tower announced the American Tower Edge Data Center initiative, wherein it deployed six edge data centers in its cell towers in , , , , and . The rise in demand across industries has led data center suppliers to sign M&A contracts to expand their portfolios. In December 2020 , COPT Data Center Solutions signed a deal with The Blackstone Fund for the acquisition of a 90% share in six data centers owned by COPT Data Center Solutions.

Key Offerings:

Market Size & Forecast by Investment | 20202026

Market Size & Forecast by Power Capacity | 20202026

Market Size & Forecast by Area | 20202026

Market Dynamics  Leading trends, growth drivers, restraints, and investment opportunities

Market Segmentation  A detailed analysis by infrastructure, IT infrastructure, electrical infrastructure, mechanical infrastructure, cooling systems, cooling technique, general construction, and geography

Competitive Landscape  31 key IT infrastructure providers, 31 key support infrastructure vendors, 26 key construction contractors, 24 key data center investors, and 5 new entrants

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US Hyperscale Data Center Market  Opportunities Assessment

The US hyperscale data center market is driven by the rapid growth in the cloud, the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, and machine learning which is driving investments from data center service providers. In terms of states, Virginia, Texas, Georgia, Ohio, and Oregon are home to over 50% of the total number of hyperscale data center facilities in the US. Virginia witnessed an investment of around USD 2.5 billion in hyperscale data center development in seven facilities. For instance, CloudHQ is investing in two data center facilities in Virginia, which are expected to be operational by Q4 2021. Moreover, Enterprises are adopting infrastructure configured or built to suit the application workloads handled by them. In the IT infrastructure segment, most of the revenue is generated by server systems, followed by storage and network infrastructure.

US Hyperscale Data Center Market by Infrastructure

IT Infrastructure

Electrical Infrastructure

Mechanical Infrastructure

General Construction

US Hyperscale Data Center Market by IT Infrastructure

Server Infrastructure

Storage Infrastructure

Network Infrastructure

US Hyperscale Data Center Market by Electrical Infrastructure

UPS Systems

Generators

Transfer Switches & Switchgears

PDUs

Other Electrical Infrastructure

US Hyperscale Data Center Market by Mechanical Infrastructure

Cooling Systems

Racks

Other Mechanical Infrastructure

US Hyperscale Data Center Market by Cooling Systems

CRAC & CRAH Units

Chiller Units

Cooling Towers, Condensers, & Dry Coolers

Economizers & Evaporative Coolers

Other Cooling Units

US Hyperscale Data Center Market by Cooling Technique

Air-Based Cooling Technique

Liquid-Based Cooling Technique

US Hyperscale Data Center Market by General Construction

Core & Shell Development

Installation & Commissioning Services

Building & Engineering Design

Physical Security

DCIM/BMS

US Hyperscale Data Center Market by Geography

South-Eastern US

Western US

South-Western US

Mid-Western US

North-Eastern US

Key Drivers and Trends fueling Market Growth:

5G Deployment & Hyperscale Data Centers

Rising Investment in Hyperscale Data Centers

Cloud & Connectivity Drive Demand for Hyperscale Data Centers

IoT & Big Data Drive Demand for Hyperscale Data Centers

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Key IT Infrastructure Providers

Arista Networks

AccelStor

Atos

Broadcom

Cisco Systems

DataDirect Networks

Dell Technologies

Extreme Networks

Fujitsu

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)

Hitachi Vantara

Huawei Technologies

IBM

Intel Technologies

Infortrend Technology

Inspur

MiTAC Holdings

NetApp

Nimbus Data

Pivot3

Micron Technology

QNAP Systems

Quanta Cloud Technology (Quanta Computer)

Samsung

Super Micro Computer

Synology

VIOLIN (Storcentric)

Juniper Networks

Lenovo

Western Digital

Wiwynn (Wistron Corporation)

Key Support Infrastructure Vendors

ABB

Airedale International Air Conditioning

Asetek

Bloom Energy

Caterpillar

Condair Group

Cormant

Cummins

Cyber Power Systems

Data Aire

Delta Power Solutions

Eaton

FNT Software

Generac Power Systems

Green Revolution Cooling (GRC)

HITEC Power Protection

KOHLER

Legrand

Mitsubishi Electric

Natron Energy

Nlyte Software

Rolls-Royce Power Systems

Schneider Electric

STULZ

Rittal

Toshiba

Trane ( Ingersoll Rand )

) Tripp Lite

Vertiv Group

Yanmar

ZincFive

Key Construction Contractors

AECOM

Arup

Balfour Beatty US

BlueScope Construction

Corgan

Clune Construction

DPR Construction

Fortis Construction

Gensler

Gilbane Building Company

Fluor Corporation

HDR Architecture

Holder Construction Group

HITT Contracting

Hoffman Construction

Jacobs Engineering Group

JE Dunn Construction Group

Linesight

M+W Group (Exyte)

Morrison Hershfield

Mortenson

Rogers-O'Brien Construction

Structure Tone (STO Building Group)

Syska Hennessy Group

The Walsh Group

Turner Construction Company

Key Data Center Investors

Apple

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Aligned

Compass Datacenters

CyrusOne

COPT Data Center Solutions

CoreSite Realty

DataBank

Digital Realty

EdgeCore Internet Real Estate

Equinix

Facebook

Flexential

fifteenfortyseven Critical Systems Realty

GIGA Data Centers

Google

H5 Data Centers

Microsoft

NTT Global Data Centers (Ragingwire Data Centers)

Iron Mountain

QTS Realty Trust

Switch

Stack Infrastructure

Vantage Data Centers

New Entrants

Cirrus Data Services

Novva

PointOne

Quantum Loophole

Yondr

Explore our data center knowledge base profile to know more about the industry.

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"One of the primary growth drivers for this market is the advantages offered by waterborne coatings", says a senior analyst for the materials industry at Technavio. Waterborne coating is extensively used in automobiles, oil and gas, aerospace, and medical and healthcare sectors because of its excellent resistance to heat and abrasion, along with providing superior adhesion. In addition, these water-friendly coatings release fewer organic compounds, are cost-effective in nature, and do not require additives, thinners or hardeners, in turn, becoming the most viable choice for end-users operating in several industries, particularly, construction and marine sectors.

"Factors including stringent regulations on use of solvent-based coatings and developments in end-user industries are expected to drive the market's growth during the forecast period. However, volatile raw material prices and costs associated with waterborne coatings are expected to limit the market's growth during the the forecast period." according to Technavio

View Report Outlook to Find More Interesting Factors Impacting the Market Growth

Waterborne Coatings Market Segment Highlights

By Product

The waterborne coatings market is segmented by product into water-soluble paints, emulsion latex coatings, and water-based alkyd coatings.

The water-soluble paints was the largest product segment of waterbornes coatings market nin 2020 and will continue to retain the dominance in the market.

Water-soluble paints contain alcohol, glycol ethers, and other oxygen-containing solvents which are miscible with water.

The growth of this segment can be attributed to the increasing focus on environment-friendly paints and coatings.

By End-user

The market is segmented by end-user into architecture, general, automotive, wood, and others.

The architecture end-user segment held the highest waterborne coatings market share in 2020. The segment will continue to account for the largest market share during the forecast period.

Architectural waterborne coatings are mainly designed for roof coatings, wall paints, or deck finishes. These coatings ensure excellent corrosion and temperature resistance, durability, and low fire-hazard risks.

The growth of this segment can be mainly attributed to these coatings gaining popularity due to lower concentrations of VOC content.

Download Sample Report Now and Get More Information on the Segments and their Contribution

Waterborne Coatings Marke Regional Highlights

APAC was the largest revenue-generating segment in waterborne coatings market in 2020 and will continue to contribute the highest market growth during the forecast period.

48% of the growth will originate from the APAC region. The growth can be attributed to the surging use of waterborne coatings in the flourishing automotive and automotive aftermarkets industry, particularly, in India and China .

and . In addition, factors such as the growth in the housing sector, rapid industrialization, and expansion of the architecture industry contribute to the waterborne coatings market in the region.

Market growth in APAC will be faster than the growth of the market in other regions.

Need More Insights on the Regional Market Share Contribution, Request for Sample Report Right Here!

Notes:

The waterborne coatings market will witness a Year-over-Year growth rate of 3.20% in 2021.

The market is fragmented due to the presence of many established vendors holding significant market share.

The research report offers information on several market vendors, including Akzo Nobel NV, Axalta Coating Systems Ltd., BASF SE, Covestro AG, Henkel AG and Co. KGaA, Kansai Paint Co. Ltd., Nippon Paint Holdings Co. Ltd., PPG Industries Inc., Sika AG, and The Sherwin-Williams Co.

Vendors are deploying growth strategies such as investing heavily in R&D activities for the development of advanced, environment-friendly products to compete in the market.

For Personalizing this report to cater your business requirements, Speak with our Analysts

Related Reports:

Paints and Coatings Market by Resin Type, Technology, Application, and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025

Marine Coatings Market by Type, Chemistry, Application, and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025

Cool Roof Coatings Market by Product and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025

Flat Glass Coatings Market by Technology and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026

Waterborne Coatings Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 4.04% Market growth 2021-2025 USD 14.50 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 3.20 Regional analysis APAC, Europe, North America, MEA, and South America Performing market contribution APAC at 48% Key consumer countries China, US, Germany, India, and UK Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Akzo Nobel NV, Axalta Coating Systems Ltd., BASF SE, Covestro AG, Henkel AG and Co. KGaA, Kansai Paint Co. Ltd., Nippon Paint Holdings Co. Ltd., PPG Industries Inc., Sika AG, and The Sherwin-Williams Co. Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and future consumer dynamics, market condition analysis for the forecast period Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses 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/

SOURCE Technavio
The exterior landscaping of Watercrest Myrtle Beach boasts a PGA-worthy putting green with purposeful awnings for shade, and individual gardening stations to appeal to horticulturists and nature lovers alike. The illuminated walking paths are surrounded by lush lawns and interwoven amongst rock-scaped ponds and gorgeous arbors to create destinations and relaxing gathering spaces.

"It's a great honor to be recognized by the City of Myrtle Beach for the exceptional landscape design and aesthetics at our newly-constructed Watercrest Myrtle Beach community," says Jeremy Cairns, Vice President of Construction Management for Watercrest Senior Living Group. "We are grateful to all of our partners for their hard work, particularly to Gregory Duckworth with Environmental Concepts for our award-winning landscape design."

Ideally located at 6151 Colline Verdi Way, Watercrest Myrtle Beach is a 98-unit, luxury senior living campus comprised of 76 assisted living and 22 memory care residences with resort-style amenities and exceptional care. The comfortably, classy design includes a stunning promenade, fireplace, signature water wall, cigar and scotch lounge, multiple dining venues, Southern style outdoor living spaces, Art Studio and Gallery, and the coveted Spa W. The community offers residents world-class wellness amenities including a resort-style pool, light and salt therapy, state-of-the-art fitness and physical therapy center, beautifully landscaped walking paths, therapeutic live moss walls and a putting green.

Watercrest Myrtle Beach will be open for tours and holiday festivities as the team prepares for the arrival of future residents. The community is hosting a Christmas Jubilee on December 16th with lunch served at 12pm. Reservations are requested, please contact the community at 843.936.4020.

With multiple senior living projects in development throughout the southeast, Watercrest Senior Living Group is setting new standards of quality for seniors and their families in the development of upscale senior living communities. Watercrest Myrtle Beach is one of two senior living development projects partnered between Watercrest, Corecam Capital Partners, and Peninsula Alternative Real Estate.

About Watercrest Senior Living Group

Watercrest Senior Living Group was founded to honor our mothers and fathers, aspiring to become a beacon for quality in senior living by surpassing standards of care, service and associate training. Watercrest communities are recognized for their luxury aesthetic, exceptional amenities, world-class care, and innovative memory care programming offering unparalleled service to seniors living with Alzheimer's and dementia. A certified Great Place to Work, Watercrest specializes in the development and operations of assisted living and memory care communities and the growth of servant leaders. For information, visit www.watercrestseniorliving.com.

About Corecam Capital Partners

Corecam Capital Partners is a Direct Investments Platform focused on Private Equity, Real Estate and Venture Capital. Corecam Capital Partners targets private investment opportunities alongside its investors and provides access to its proprietary deal sourcing. All investments are structured in-house by a team of investment professionals located in Zurich, Vienna, Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City.

About Peninsula Alternative Real Estate

Peninsula Alternative Real Estate ("PARE") is a leading private equity firm in the Student & Senior housing space and a vertical within Peninsula Investments Group. PARE provides equity and mezzanine financing to leading developer-operators in the student housing, senior housing, and multifamily space following institutional quality processes developed over the last decade.

SOURCE Watercrest Senior Living Group
NEW DELHI and AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Oracle today announced that Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO), a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company, has chosen Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) to power its next-generation Cargo Reservations, Operations, Accounting and Management Information System (CROAMIS) Application suite. This will allow Wipro to offer CROAMIS as part of Wipro FullStride Cloud Services, to customers worldwide, aiding faster modernization of the air cargo industry amidst growing demand for rapid cargo transportation services. Wipro chose OCI for its superior performance, high availability, built-in security, and lower cost.

Wipro is an Oracle Cloud Service partner. Through its comprehensive portfolio of services, presence across six continents and over 220,000 employees, Wipro harnesses the power of cognitive computing, hyper-automation, robotics, cloud, analytics, and emerging technologies to help clients across multiple industries, including travel and transportation, adapt to the digital world.

"There has been significant change in the supply chain, particularly in key industries such as pharma and e-commerce, which need goods to be moved rapidly around the world. While this has led to air cargo gaining share, it has also created the need for this industry to fast-track its modernization through the use of cloud and other digital technologies," said Gopi Krishnan, Vice President and Managing Partner, Domain & Consulting Services, Consumer Sector, Wipro Limited. "Now, with CROAMIS on OCI, we will further strengthen our position as the technology partner of choice for many air cargo organizations. We envision its use will help our customers to scale faster, achieve increased business efficiencies, accelerate their pace of innovation, benefit from greater security, and reduce their data storage and outbound data transfer cost."

Wipro has migrated its CROAMIS application to the Oracle Cloud and will offer it as a modular SaaS solution based on a combination of Oracle Exadata Cloud Service and Oracle Exadata Database Cloud Service leveraging OCI's fast, flexible, and affordable compute capacity. As such, organizations will be able to more quickly and easily automate the complete air cargo lifecycle spanning: cargo capacity planning, sales, revenue management, cargo ground handling operations, warehouse management, freighter and charters, customer services, cargo revenue accounting, and billing.

"Developing and deploying commercial software can be a complicated and costly proposition," said Hwa Cheong Wong, VP-ISV, JAPAC, Oracle. "To do this successfully in the cloud, independent software vendors (ISVs) need extreme speed, security, and scalability, as well as cost transparency. That's why an increasing number of the world's top ISVs, such as Wipro, are turning to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. Migrating its business-critical CROAMIS application to Exadata Cloud Service and Database Cloud Service using OCI's flexible compute capabilities, will enable Wipro to achieve levels of performance and economics that exceed that of any other cloud platform and, in turn, deliver a better experience for its customers worldwide."

"Global supply chain dynamics have gone through a significant transformation due to the pandemic. The gap between demand and capacity has been a serious issue during the pandemic, and this has added tremendous cost pressure on the industry. Moreover, the move to eCommerce demands goods to be moved quickly, which adds extra pressure on cargo operators", said Sanchit Vir Gogia, Chief Analyst, Founder & CEO, Greyhound Research. "As a result, these operators are looking at digital technologies that allow a more unified working across the value chain and reduce administrative burden. Cloud is the natural choice for such digital transformation engagements to help improve the speed of innovation and reduce costs."

Wipro CROAMIS Application will be available in the Oracle Cloud Marketplace by the end of 2021, making it easier for air cargo organizations to engage these new services, modernize their business processes and benefit from superior cloud economics.

About Oracle

Oracle offers integrated suites of applications plus secure, autonomous infrastructure in the Oracle Cloud. For more information about Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), please visit us at www.oracle.com.

Trademarks

Oracle, Java, and MySQL are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation

SOURCE Oracle

Related Links

www.oracle.com


The acquisition of WinBack provides Wishpond with an intuitive and user-friendly automated SMS marketing product and cart abandonment tool for Shopify merchants that can be sold to Wishpond's existing e-commerce clients and create a stickier offering.

Winback is Wishpond's fourth acquisition this year and is expected to be an immediately accretive acquisition to the Company, generating recurring revenue with healthy gross margins and positive cashflows.

VANCOUVER, BC, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Wishpond Technologies Ltd. (TSXV: WISH), (OTCQX: WPNDF) (the "Company" or "Wishpond"), a provider of marketing-focused online business solutions, is pleased to announce that it has entered into an asset purchase agreement (the "APA") pursuant to which a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company will acquire (the "Acquisition") certain assets and specific liabilities relating to the Winback.chat ("Winback") product of AtlasMind Inc. ("AtlasMind") for total consideration of US$700,000 paid entirely from cash on hand. Based out of New York, Winback is a SMS marketing solutions platform including a cart abandonment tool for use with Shopify.

"We're very pleased to announce our fourth acquisition this year," said Ali Tajskandar, Chairman and CEO of Wishpond. "The synergistic attributes of this tuck-in acquisition are apparent and can be leveraged immediately with Wishpond's existing customer base to drive sales and customer retention. The ability to sell and add this product to Wishpond's existing packages will create a higher value product to our customers, resulting in higher MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue) and increased retention and long-term value."

Winback offers a SMS platform for small-medium sized businesses with a focus on providing cart abandonment solutions. Winback is currently an exclusive app to Shopify whose product installs with one click. Winback's technology is triggered when a shopper browses but doesn't add anything to their cart. Winback's customers can achieve 35x return on their investment. The product is extremely intuitive and user-friendly making it a great fit with Wishpond's target customer base.

WinBack is a healthy company with growing recurring revenue, generating strong EBITDA margins of over 20%, and positive cash flows. Winback's current revenue run-rate is over US$450,000, from a diversified customer base of over 350 monthly paying customers, most of whom are based in the United States. WinBack will continue to maintain its own brand and will maintain existing client relationships, while Wishpond will provide operational support. WinBack's offerings are expected to enhance Wishpond's current product offerings and increase customer lifetime value

Wishpond previously acquired certain other assets and specific liabilities from AtlasMind related to its Brax.io business. Please refer to the press release of the Company dated September 1, 2021 related thereto for additional information.

The Acquisition is expected to close in early January 2022 and is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Grant of Stock Options

Wishpond also advises that the Company's Board of Directors has authorized, pursuant to its Stock Option Plan, the grant of incentive stock options ("Options") to certain employees and an officer to purchase an aggregate of up to 310,000 common shares in the capital of the Company at an exercise price of $1.26 per Share. The Options are exercisable for a 10-year term from December 10, 2021.

WISHPOND TECHNOLOGIES LTD.

Per: "Ali Tajskandar"

Ali Tajskandar, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

About Wishpond Technologies Ltd.

Based out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Wishpond is a provider of marketing-focused online business solutions. Wishpond's vision is to become the leading provider of digital marketing solutions that empower entrepreneurs to achieve success online. The Company offers an "all-in-one" marketing suite that provides companies with marketing, promotion, lead generation, and sales conversion capabilities from one integrated platform. Wishpond replaces entire marketing functions in an easy-to-use product, for a fraction of the cost. Wishpond serves over 3,000 customers who are primarily small-to-medium size businesses (SMBs) in a wide variety of industries. The Company has developed cutting-edge marketing technology solutions and continues to add new features and applications with great velocity. The Company employs a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business model where substantially all the Company's revenue is subscription-based recurring revenue which provides excellent revenue predictability and cash flow visibility. Wishpond is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker "WISH", and on the OTCQX Best Market under the ticker "WPNDF". For further information, visit: www.wishpond.com.

Cautionary Disclaimers

This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction. Any securities referred to herein have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to a U.S. Person absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and applicable state securities laws.

Notice Regarding Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements in this news release related to the Company are forward-looking statements and are prospective in nature. Forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts, but rather on current expectations and projections 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. These statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "may", "should", "could", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "anticipate", "expect", "believe" or "continue", or the negative thereof or similar variations. Forward looking statements in this news release include statements with respect to the closing of the transactions contemplated in the APA, that: the total purchase price is anticipated to be approximately US$700,000; Wishpond's intention to pursue a strategy to grow inorganically through tuck-in acquisitions of innovative and complementary technology companies, as well as statements regarding anticipated financial results. There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and Wishpond's plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information, including: (i) COVID-19 risks; (ii) difficulties and delays associated with integrating and growing the Winback business; (iii) other factors beyond the control of the Company; (iv) results from due diligence investigations conducted in connection with the transactions contemplated by the APA; and (v) risks outlined in Wishpond's publicly filed documents available on SEDAR. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In this news release, the term "EBITDA" (the "Non-GAAP Financial Measure"), which is a financial measure that is not defined by International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") is used by Wishpond to evaluate the performance of Winback and its business. The Non-GAAP Financial Measure may also be used by financial institutions and credit rating agencies to assess Winback's performance and ability to service debt. The Non-GAAP Financial Measure does not have standardized meanings prescribed by generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") and is therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. The intent of the Non-GAAP Financial Measure is to provide additional useful information to the Company; however, the measure does not have any standardized meaning under IFRS. The measure should not, therefore, be considered in isolation or used in substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. Other issuers may calculate the Non-GAAP Financial Measure differently.

The Company defines "EBITDA" as earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization excluding items such as other non-operating income or expenses, financial income or expenses, hedging operations, exploration expenses, impairment of assets and foreign currency exchange differences. EBITDA should not be construed as an alternative for Operating Income but reconciled to Net Income as determined in accordance with IFRS. The Entities believe EBITDA is a meaningful indicator of operating profit, shown as a percentage of its revenue, and provides a measure of consistency over time and is an indicator management uses internally to measure performance.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Wishpond Technologies Ltd.
DUBLIN, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Digital Twin Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global digital twin market was valued at USD 7.53 billion in 2020, and it is expected to reach a value of USD 46.08 billion by 2026, registering a CAGR of 35.01% over the forecast period, 2021 - 2026.

The surge in adoption of 3D printing technology, increasing demand for digital twins in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, and the growing propensity toward the adoption of IoT solutions across various industries are anticipated to drive the adoption of such solutions during the forecast period.

Key Highlights

The promise of digital twins lies in improving collaboration and workflows across different types of groups, like product design, sales, and maintenance teams, and engineering disciplines. For example, the US Airforce has made extensive use of digital twins to design and build a new aircraft prototype in over a year, a process that traditionally drags on for decades. Further, IoT sensors have created a potential space for engineers to test and communicate with sensors integrated with the operating products, hence delivering real-time prescriptive system functioning and timely maintenance.

Additionally, digital twins technology helps in improving physical product design for the entire product lifecycle through pre-analysis of the actual product in its development stage. In industrial internet of things (IIoT), digital twin technology find out error and changes of large machinery equipment through its analytic software connected with IoT components such as smart sensors and networks.

The tools for building digital twins are growing in power and sophistication. It is now possible to design complex what-if simulations, backtrack from detected real-world conditions, and perform millions of simulation processes without overwhelming systems. Further, with the number of vendors increasing, the range of options continues to grow and expand. Moreover, data from real-time asset monitoring technologies such as LIDAR (light detection and ranging) and FLIR (forward-looking infrared) can now be incorporated into digital twin simulations.

The outbreak of covid-19 has provided a new application opportunity for the market, which stands for the market growth adoption. The digital twin technology is gathering momentum in health care diagnosis. Digital twins are upending traditional health care by modeling conditions and attributes of a particular patient using machine learning data aggregated from a variety of patients.

The market growth is also expected with various partnerships and acquisitions driven recently. In June 2021 , Waylay announced that it has partnered with the top-tier Salesforce Implementation Partners for Waylay Digital Twin, its powerful no-code IoT asset monitoring solution for Salesforce. The selected implementation partners boost consulting and implementation capacity and bring decades of Salesforce expertise to the Waylay Digital Twin projects.

Key Market Trends

Surge in Adoption of 3D Printing Technology in Manufacturing Anticipated to Fuel the Demand

3D printing technology has already brought revolutionary changes in the manufacturing industry through its fast model building capability and flexible printing materials. With the introduction of digital twin technology, the advantage of 3D printing has gone even more ahead in various manufacturing industries such as automotive, aerospace, medical and utility industries.

Vendors in the market, are involved in partnerships and collaborations to integrate their 3D printing capability with digital twin technology, where they are targeting to lower the production and manufacturing cost through pre-testing and predictive analysis of goods.

Using software such as Netfabb and Siemens NX, manufacturers can carry out simulations and tests on the digital twin and eliminate the need for multiple physical prototypes. Using sensor data, manufacturers can track and trace the conditions inside the 3D printer making a part. With every new layer and source of data, the digital twin becomes more complete.

Digital twins can also be used for the creation of 3D printers themselves. For instance, Siemens helped HP create a digital twin of its Jet Fusion 5200 3D printer to help simulate airflow patterns through the machine. The data generated allowed HP to optimize its cooling channel topology for ideal ventilation.

Several developed and developing nations are focused on leveraging their 3D printing adoption with the implementation of digital twin technology. The US, China , Japan , China , Germany , and the UK are some of the major countries adopting this technology with their existing base of the 3D printing industry.

North America to Witness Significant Market Share

The IoT industry in aerospace, automotive, and manufacturing is mainly dominated by North America . This region has developed economies such as the US and Canada , where massive investments are found in R&D activities, thus contributing to the development of new technologies such as smart sensors, edge analytics, 3D printing, and digital twin.

. This region has developed economies such as the US and , where massive investments are found in R&D activities, thus contributing to the development of new technologies such as smart sensors, edge analytics, 3D printing, and digital twin. While manufacturing has begun to embrace digital twin technology, construction remains largely a 2D industry and one that hungers for technological innovation. With 3D visual digital twin technology, off-site experts now have access to on-site views into the nitty-gritty of projects - taking off where Google street view ends.

Recently, in June 2021 , Cupix announced the availability of CupixWorks 2.0, a major update to its leading product, CupixWorks. CupixWorks 2.0 is the industry's most advanced 3D digital twin platform, enabling building owners, general contractors, and project managers to build smarter, transforming any construction site into an easy-to-manage project, creating value across the entire life cycle of a property.

, Cupix announced the availability of CupixWorks 2.0, a major update to its leading product, CupixWorks. CupixWorks 2.0 is the industry's most advanced 3D digital twin platform, enabling building owners, general contractors, and project managers to build smarter, transforming any construction site into an easy-to-manage project, creating value across the entire life cycle of a property. Further, it has been expected that increased demand for digital twins by owners and operators of buildings and infrastructure will create new market opportunities for digital technologies and digitization of the AEC industry. Autodesk has been on a tear, expanding its support for digital twins across the building industry. For starters, Autodesk launched Tandem, a digital twin platform that promises to connect the dots between project owners and architectural, engineering, and contracting (AEC) teams.

Companies Mentioned

ANSYS, Inc.

Cal-Tek SRL

Cityzenith Inc.

General Electric Company

IBM Corporation

Lanner Group Limited (Royal Haskoning DHV)

Mevea Ltd.

Microsoft Corporation

Rescale, Inc.

SAP SE

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/y1rl13

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ZeroAvia is on track to achieve commercialization for its hydrogen propulsion technology in 2024. Initially, the company is targeting a 500-mile range in a 10-20 seat aircraft used for commercial passenger transport, package delivery, agriculture, and beyond. This funding round targets the next segment of 40-80 seat aircraft, targeting turboprops by 2026 and regional jets by 2028. The funding will also allow ZeroAvia to further ramp up presence across its US, UK, and continental Europe locations.

"We are very excited to welcome our new investors, including one of the world's largest airlines in United, into the ZeroAvia family," said ZeroAvia CEO Val Miftakhov. "As we prepare for ground and flight testing of our first commercial intent product in the coming weeks, this backing by our investors will enable us to accelerate delivery of our engine for larger aircraft. We are tremendously grateful to all our investors who are helping us achieve our mission - a world where every aircraft is powered by hydrogen-electric engines, delivering a true zero-emission future for flying."

"Hydrogen-electric engines are one of the most promising paths to zero-emission air travel for smaller aircraft, and this investment will keep United out in front on this important emerging technology," said Scott Kirby, CEO of United. "United continues to look for opportunities to not only advance our own sustainability initiatives but also identify and help technologies and solutions that the entire industry can adopt."

''Aviation remains crucial to efficient global travel and trade. The resulting carbon emissions are however significant. ZeroAvia offers a credible and compelling pathway to zero-emission aviation, enabling the long-term future of the industry," said Kevin Eggers of AP Ventures. ''ZeroAvia is pioneering practical clean aviation solutions in a meaningfully short time frame. We are excited to work alongside established industry companies, such as United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and British Airways to further this historic transformation.''

Throughout the past few weeks, ZeroAvia has made significant progress towards achieving its goal of zero-emission aviation. This investment round follows significant commercial momentum for the company, including partnerships with Alaska Airlines , Rose Cay , Hindustan Aeronautics Limited , ASL Aviation Holdings , Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Regional Jet division and Rotterdam the Hague Airport .

Also in the last few weeks, ZeroAvia CEO Val Miftakhov addressed the UK Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, as well as the UK Parliament , calling for a focus on delivering zero-emission aviation as soon as possible to ensure the industry's climate change impact can be tackled. This followed the company's second annual Hydrogen Aviation Summit , the largest event examining the future of hydrogen in the sector.

About ZeroAvia

ZeroAvia is a leader in zero-emission aviation, focused on hydrogen-electric aviation solutions to address a variety of markets, initially targeting 500 mile range in 10-20 seat aircraft used for commercial passenger transport, cargo, agriculture, and more. Based in the UK and USA, ZeroAvia has already secured experimental certificates for its two prototype aircraft from the CAA and FAA, passed significant flight test milestones, and is on track for commercial operations in 2024. The company's expanding UK operations are supported by grants from UK's Aerospace Technology Institute and Innovate UK, and ZeroAvia is part of the UK Government's Jet Zero Council. For more, please visit ZeroAvia.com, follow @ZeroAvia on Twitter , Instagram , and LinkedIn .

SOURCE ZeroAvia
Ramallah, Dec 13 : Palestine is seeking to increase the annual trade exchange with Jordan to $500 million, state authorities have announced.

"Palestine seeks to raise the volume of trade with Jordan following understanding reached recently between the two sides," Amjad Ghanem, Palestinian Authority cabinet's Chief of Staff, told the media on Sunday.

On Thursday, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye and his Jordanian counterpart Bisher al-Khasawneh chaired the meetings of the sixth session of the Jordanian-Palestinian joint higher committee, Xinhua news agency reported.

The meetings, which were held in the West Bank city of Ramallah, resulted in signing nine memoranda of understanding and executive programs, including cooperation in fields such as social development, culture and education, as well as free zone and electronic connection between the two sides, according to the Palestinian news agency.

According to official Palestinian reports, Jordanian exports to the Palestinian market amounted to $152.2 million in 2020, down by 6.3 per cent in 2019.

Meanwhile, Palestinian exports to the Jordanian market totaled $50.5 million in 2020, up by 6.4 per cent in 2019.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Varanasi, Dec 13 : Varanasi, dressed in its best, has rolled out the red carpet for Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will inaugurate the ambitious Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, a mega project that is expected to boost tourism in the ancient city in a big way, on Monday.

With a paved 75-metre-wide corridor, the ambitious project worth more than Rs 900 crore, connects Kashi Vishwanath temple and Ganga River.

As many as 23 buildings, constructed at a cost of around Rs 339 crore, will also be inaugurated.

The buildings will provide a variety of facilities to the pilgrims visiting the temple, including yatri suvidha kendras, tourist facilitation centre, Vedic kendra, Mumukshu bhavan, bhojshala, city museum, viewing gallery, food court, among others.

The project, whose foundation stone was laid by the Prime Minister in 2019, connects the main temple with Lalita Ghat. Grand gateways and ornamental arches have been built in heritage architecture style in four directions, facing the ancient temple at its core.

The project involved the purchase and acquisition of more than 300 properties around the temple. Nearly 1,400 shopkeepers, tenants and homeowners were rehabilitated amicably to pave way for the construction. Around Rs 450 crore was spent on the purchase of buildings.

During demolition of buildings to pave the way for the project in 2018, over 40 ancient temples were found buried under the layers of concrete and plaster. They have now been conserved and made part of the project.

The project is now spread over a massive area of about over five lakh square feet while the earlier premises was limited to just around 3,000 square feet.

The architect of the project is Bimal Patel, who is also in-charge of the Central Vista redevelopment project in New Delhi. He said that without tampering with the original structure of the temple, beautification work was carried out and world-class facilities had been put in place.

About 70 per cent of the 5.50 lakh square feet area of the project has been kept for green cover.

Meanwhile, top spiritual gurus like Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Awadheshanand Giri, Yoga guru Baba Ramdev and Swami Rambhadracharya along with Tamil Nadu's Adheenams, Karnataka's Lingayat and Veerashaiva sects will join Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he opens the corridor project at a grand function amid chanting of Vedic mantras in Varanasi on Monday.

Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi since 2014, has been decorated ahead of the mega event titled 'Divya Kashi,Bhavya Kashi'.

Facades of buildings located on streets leading to the shrine have been painted in uniform light pink colour and illuminated.

After the inauguration, the Prime Minister will hold an informal meeting with several chief ministers on a river cruise and witness Ganga 'aarti' and grand festivities being hosted at Varanasi ghats.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
New Delhi, Dec 13 : The Lok Sabha on Monday is likely to discuss and pass the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2021. The government had introduced the Bill in the lower House on December 6.

Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will move the Bill to further amend the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, and to be taken into consideration. She will also move that the Bill be passed by the House.

The opposition members will, however, move a statutory resolution that this House (Lok Sabha) disapproves of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021 promulgated by the President on September 30, 2021.

Under rule 193, further discussion in the Lok Sabha will take place on climate change, which was raised by Kanimozhi Karunanidhi last week.

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan will move a motion for election of two members to the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru from the Lok Sabha.

Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav will move a motion to elect one member to the Employees State Insurance Corporation from the house.

Minister of state Rajveen Chandrasekhar will make statements regarding the status of implementation of the recommendations contained in the various reports of the Standing Committee on Labour, Textiles and Skill Development pertaining to the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

Several ministers will lay papers related to their ministries. Reports of various standing committees will be also tabled in the Lok Sabha.
Kanpur : , Dec 13 (IANS) The professor, who had absconded after killing his wife and two children earlier this month, has been found dead.

The professor's body was found afloat at Siddhanath Ghat along the Ganga in Kanpur's Chakeri area. The body has been sent for autopsy.

DCP (West) BBGTS Murti said that Prof Sushil Kumar may have jumped into the Ganga to end his life, hours after the triple murder.

Sleeping pills, identity cards and car keys were recovered from his bloated body. A forensic team has joined in the investigations and the viscera will be sent for further examination since the body was found in a highly decomposed state on Sunday afternoon.

It may be recalled that on December 3, the professor had strangled his wife, Chandra Prabha, and used a hammer to kill his son, Shikhar, 21, and daughter Khushi, 16, at Divinity Homes apartment in Kalyanpur.

He had planned the murder in detail and sedated his family members with a poison-laced drink.

After the professor went missing, he was caught on CCTV cameras at Atal Ghat and later his mobile location was traced to Sarsaiya Ghat on the Ganga. Massive search operations were launched and divers were pressed into service along the Ganga from Kanpur to Fatehpur, till he was finally found afloat nine days later near Ganga banks at Chakeri.

Immediately after committing murders on December 3, Sushil Kumar had messaged his brother that he had wiped out his family under severe depression. A 10-page suicide said that he was upset over the emergence of Covid variant Omicron.

"No more counting bodies now. I am consciously destroying myself by killing my family. No one else is responsible," wrote the 55-year-old professor, Sushil Singh, who was head of the forensic science department at a private medical college in Mandhana.
Chennai, Dec 13 : A Coimbatore-based college has registered a case against a Kerala-based YouTube channel for having aired fake news over the death of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat.

The channel, according to the Coimbatore-based college in its complaint, had aired a three-minute video depicting students of a particular community studying in Coimbatore college celebrating the death of the General and other Armed Forces personnel in the crash.

After the video went viral, the police commenced an investigation on the same. College management, however, clarified that the video was shot on December 7, a day prior to the crash which took place on December 8, and that the students were celebrating the fresher's day in College.

The management also clarified that on December 9 the whole college had mourned the sad demise of CDS General Rawat and other personnel.

The Tamil Nadu Police have started an investigation against the Kerala-based YouTube channel based on the complaint filed by the Coimbatore college on Sunday. The police have already communicated to the Kerala Police on the channel and a team of Tamil Nadu Police is to travel to Kerala in a few days' time for investigating the case.

A senior officer with the Coimbatore police told IANS, "It is totally fake news and how can someone air such news depicting students of a particular community celebrating the death of the General and others in the crash. It would lead to communal polarisation and stringent action will be taken against the channel office-bearers."
Houston, Dec 13 : One person was killed and 13 others were injured following a drive-by shooting at a vigil in the US state of Texas, authorities said.

The incident took place on Sunday evening in Baytown, a suburb city near Houston, reports Xinhua news agency.

The victim was pronounced dead at an area hospital and of the injured, three are currently in critical condition, The Houston Chronicle reported.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the shooter drove up and opened fire on a crowd that gathered at the vigil.

One of the injured may be a child, said Gonzalez.

Local media reported that the vigil, named the Celebration of Life ceremony, was held by a woman in honour of her son killed at home a few weeks ago.

The number of mass shootings in the US increased during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

There have been 599 mass shootings as of November this year, the Archive said.

There were 611 in 2020 and 417 in 2019.
New Delhi, Dec 13 : Expressing deep concern at exploitation of children, civil society organisations have come together and launched India Child Protection Forum (ICPF) - a national alliance aimed at strengthening child protection mechanisms and enforcement of child rights in the country.

The ICPF was launched by Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi in New Delhi. Noted social activist and former IPS officer Amod Kanth, who founded Prayas, was made national convener of the ICPF.

To deliberate on different aspects of child trafficking and sexual abuse, the Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation organised a four-day National Symposium on Prevention of Child Trafficking and Child Sexual Abuse at the Constitution Club.

The consultation saw participation of more than 70 civil society organisations from across the country, such as Prayas, Shakti Vahini, Bachpan Bachao Andolan and Prajwala.

Civil society members pledged to keep individual differences aside and unitedly work together with a joint strategy to ensure rights and wellbeing of children. This led to the formation of ICPF.

Welcoming the formation of ICPF, Satyarthi said: "India Child Protection Forum is the beginning of a bigger resolution, a bigger pledge. The Forum has been formed with the objective of fulfilling shared determination, dreams and ideas. It is a coalition of various civil society organisations that will work to end child abuse and child slavery. The Forum will change the social thinking and policies towards the children and will spread the social consciousness. Through the Forum, we will try to build an India where no child will be exploited in any way." He also emphasised on the need of expanding compassion towards children.

"All the histories that have been created in the world, all the pages of change that have been written, have been written by ordinary people. It is only deep compassion towards children that will bring the excellence that we are all striving for," he said.

The pandemic has disrupted the access to healthcare, nutrition, education, water and sanitation, social and child protection for a large section of our population. This in turn has rendered children more vulnerable to deprivation, abuse and exploitation. Working together under the banner of ICPF, civil society organisations will be able to address the emerging concerns.

Highlighting ICPF's objectives, Kanth said: "The Forum will work towards providing social protection to children who are deprived of basic facilities in our country. The number of such children in the country is more than three crore. We will try to get those children who are unable to go to school due to social, economic disparities, admitted to schools. We will ensure that children are free from any kind abuse and exploitation. The Forum is the beginning of a larger action plan to give a strong protective cover to the children. Its impact will be far-reaching. With the efforts of civil society organisations towards government schemes, policies, laws, we will try to reach the most marginalised children." Other civil society organisations, who are now a part of ICPF, had independent deliberation on ways to prevent child trafficking and sexual abuse at the grassroots level, discussed challenges posed by new emerging forms of trafficking including use of online medium and the role of civil society organisations. Law makers, civil society organisations, heads of agencies and child rights experts also participated in the consultation.

The speakers made multiple important suggestions and pressed for immediate passage of the Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2021.
New Delhi, Dec 13 : President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday led the nation in paying tributes to the security personnel who laid down their lives fighting terrorists during the 2001 Parliament attack.

Kovind tweeted: "I pay homage to the brave security personnel who laid down their lives on this day in 2001, defending the Parliament of the world's largest democracy against a dastardly terrorist attack. The nation shall forever remain grateful to them for their supreme sacrifice." Remembering the bravehearts, the Prime Minister tweeted: "I pay my tributes to the security personnel who were martyred in the line of duty during the Parliament attack

in 2001. Their service to the nation and supreme sacrifice continues to inspire every citizen." Paying homage, Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted in Hindi: "I salute the courage and valour of all the soldiers, who made their supreme sacrifice to protect the temple of Indian democracy, Parliament House, in the cowardly terrorist attack. Your unparalleled valour and sacrifice will always inspire us to serve the nation." Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted: "My tributes to those brave security personnel who sacrificed their lives during attack on the Parliament House in 2001. The nation will remain grateful for their courage and supreme sacrifice in the line of duty." On the 20th anniversary of the attack, a programme was organised on the Parliament premises to pay homage to the bravehearts who made the supreme sacrifice.

Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Defence Minister Rajanth Singh, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Arjun Ram Meghwal, among others paid tribute to the victims of the attack.

Families of the deceased were also present at the event.

On December 13, 2001, five terrorists stormed the Parliament complex and opened indiscriminate firing. Nine people, including eight security personnel were killed while fighting the terrorists.

All the five terrorists were neutralised by the security forces.
New Delhi, Dec 13 : AAP has refused to take on board four Punjab Congress ministers, who have been intending to join the party ahead of 2022 Assembly polls, due to their alleged involvement in the illegal sand mining activities in the state.

"Four senior ministers of Punjab Congress have been approaching Aam Aadmi Party for a while now, but we have refused to accept them as serious allegations of sand theft have been raised against the four time and again," AAP MLA and party's Punjab Co-in-charge Raghav Chadha said in a virtual brief on Monday morning.

Aam Aadmi Party is an honest party and it does not need sand mafias, he added. Illegal sand mining is a major political issue in Punjab against which the Kejriwal-led party has been constantly attacking the Congress government there. In order to counter the problem of sand theft and liquor in the state, the Punjab government has introduced "Mission Clean".

On December 4, Chadha posted a tweet, alleging that illegal sand mining was being carried out in Chamkaur Sahib -- Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi's constituency under the former's patronage.

"Illegal sand mining in Charanjit Singh Channi's constituency has been exposed. It is the biggest expose which will shake Punjab's politics," his tweet along with a live video of sand being mined illegally read.

On Friday, he also announced that the AAP will reward Rs 25,000 to the Punjab Chief Minister if he acts against every site where illegal sand mining is being done, alleging that Channi has complete information about the whereabouts of illegal mining in his state.

Punjab, along with the states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Goa is slated to go to polls for 117 seats in early 2022. In the 2017 Punjab Assembly elections, Congress had bagged a clear majority by winning 77 seats, while the AAP had got 20, BJP 3, SAD 15 and Lok Insaaf party 2 seats.
Jammu, Dec 13 : A Pakistani intruder was killed by the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel in the R.S. Pura sector of Jammu, officials said on Monday.

"Alert BSF troops neutralized a lady Pakistani intruder last night," BSF said.

The BSF said that troops noticed suspicious movement in the R.S. Pura area and warned the intruder many times not to cross the International Border (IB), but the intruder kept running towards the Border Fencing aggressively.

"Alert BSF troops fired and neutralized the intruder near BSF fencing inside IB and thwarted the infiltration attempt," the BSF said.
A US sponsored two-day virtual democracy summit wrapped up last week. It was promised by President Joe Biden during his election campaign last year, as he wanted to show that the US has departed from the "America First philosophy of his predecessor Donald Trump and instead will focus on an event that was more about starting a global conversation about how best to halt backsliding than producing immediate results or expanding democracys reach.

Biden and fellow leaders announced initiatives to stem autocracies from misusing big tech to stifle dissent, enhance election integrity, bolster independent media and other modest efforts that the president said would "seed fertile ground for democracies to bloom around the world".

But he also acknowledged that he path ahead was difficult for democracies amid a rise of authoritarianism around the globe. "We know how hard the work is that's going to be ahead of us, but we also know that we are up to the challenge," he said in remarks to close the virtual meeting.

However, Biden has been criticised over the guest list of the summit as well as that the summit was targeted at China and Russia and not other autocratic governments and it also missed out on inviting the middle-eastern leaders.

Chinese and Russian Criticism Both China and Russia fiercely criticised the summit, with their ambassadors writing a joint essay ahead of the gathering. They wrote the Biden administration's decision to hold the summit reflected a 'Cold-War mentality' that may stoke up ideological confrontation and cause rift globally.

China, irate over Taiwan's participation, produced a long white paper on the advantages of the Chinese model of democracy. It extoled that there is no fixed model of democracy; it manifests itself in many forms. But the West propagate the principles of One Person, One Vote and party competition underlying the western electoral system as the sole criterion for democracy.

The White House also faced scrutiny over nations invited to the summit. According to CIVICUS Monitor, a group that monitors civic freedoms across the globe, only 5% of the population of the 111 countries represented at the summit live in countries where the right to free speech, right to protest and other core civic rights are fully respected.

Several countries identified due to concerns raised by civil society groups and the US State Department for their serious anti-democratic trends or human rights concerns - including India, Iraq, Pakistan, Poland, Ukraine and the Philippines - were invited.

In its 2021 report on political freedoms, Freedom House lists Washington's duplicity on the issue more clearly. The report gives Hungary a score of sixty-nine, putting it in the "partially free" category. But Ukraine receives an even more insipid score of sixty-continuing its steady decline over the past several years. India's score is sixty-seven; the Philippines - fifty-six; Kosovo - fifty-four; and Pakistan, a dismal thirty-seven-barely keeping that country out of the "unfree" category.

Critics say that the tactic for smaller countries with highly questionable democratic credentials to get Washington's invite for the democracy summit was to obediently follow the US lead on important international issues.

Jen Psaki, the White House Press Secretary, described the invitations as not intended as a 'stamp of approval' but the administration's desire to seek a diverse range of voices and faces and representatives at the discussion.

The US stance As per the protagonists of The Summit for Democracy, it had a larger geopolitical ambition. It reflects a prominent view within the Biden administration that assembling a global coalition of democracies can counter China's rise and continued Russian aggression.

Biden has repeatedly made a case that the like-minded allies and US need to show the world that democracies are a far better vehicle for societies than autocracies. It is a central tenet of Biden's foreign policy outlook. But his first year in office has been a period that he says has been marked by a "backward slide" for democracy around the globe.

The initiative, also called for establishing a voluntary written code of conduct meant to guide government and tech companies on human rights criteria for export and licensing policy. Under the global charter for digital public goods, governments, civil society groups, software engineers and tech companies would declare principles for open source tech products. Biden also pledged that the US would spend up to $424 million in the next year around the world to support independent media, anti-corruption work and more.

However, the choice of panellists to reflect US's views also courted controversy. Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, spoke on how to use 'technology for democracy'. John Brothers, president of the billionaire investment giant T. Rowe Price, which holds a massive portion of Venezuelan debt, moderated a discussion on 'responsible investment'. Kent Walker, president of Global Affairs for Google, which has publicly admitted to censoring the World Socialist Web Site, spoke of how private enterprises can aid 'democracy.' Critics assert that the people who could be described as holding a completely contrary position on these issues were invited to speak on how to tackle them, which seems quite farcical.

Biden said it was also a moment for the United States to look inward about shoring up its own democratic institutions, he said, that the sacred right to vote, to vote freely, the right to have your vote counted is the threshold liberty for democracy. But this dos not match with what is really happening in the US, movements like Black Lives Matter raised the issue of racial and colour discrimination, on which the Summit was completely silent.

The overall conclusion seems to be that the Summit for Democracy would have been more effective had it remained focused on strengthening and defending democracy rather than highlighting contradictions between democracies and authoritarian rules.

As some critics pointed out behind the pretences of defending democracy against meddling autocrats, lies Washington's drive to maintain its global economic hegemony. The case for democracy is simple: Democracy is the only political vehicle, which could protect minority voices while also protecting the rights of journalists, citizens, and opposition leaders to criticise their government. It also underlined the continuous efforts by President Biden to leave a political legacy.

(Asad Mirza is a political commentator based in New Delhi. He writes on Muslims, educational, international affairs, interfaith and current affairs.)
Bengaluru, Dec 13 : Three persons, who arrived from London to the KempeGowda International Airport (KIAL) in Bengaluru, have tested positive for Covid-19 in RT-PCR tests, health department sources said on Monday.

As per the protocol 30-year-old woman and 6-year-old two boys have been taken to designated hospital and kept under isolation. Since they have arrived from a high risk zone, the samples have been sent for genomic sequencing.

So far, three patients have tested positive for Omicron variant in the state. Two have travel history and one did not have any travel history. The health department initiated a series of measures to contain the infection from the new variant.

However, the state health department officials have heaved a sigh of relief as all primary and secondary contacts of the third person who tested positive for Omicron variant have tested negative for Covid-19. The authorities are waiting for their second test results.

The third Omicron positive patient had come with a negative RT-PCR report from South Africa on December 1. He also tested negative in Covid-19 test at the KempeGowda International Airport (KIAL) in Bengaluru.

However, after reaching home he developed Covid symptoms; he voluntarily went to the lab for swab tests. The government had made it compulsory for people to take two doses of vaccinations for going to the mall, cinema theater, and commercial establishments.
Peshawar, Dec 13 : The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terror group has intensified its targeted attacks on security personnel across the country, after ending a month-long ceasefire agreement.

In the latest such incident, unidentified gunmen shot dead a policeman, who was guarding a polio vaccination team in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province on Sunday, making it the second consecutive killing in two days.

On Saturday, two men, associated with the TTP, shot dead a policeman, who was guarding another polio vaccination team in the same area.

"Two gunmen riding a motorbike opened fire on a policeman who was guarding a two-member female polio vaccination team in Sheikh Uttar area, killing him on the spot," said Sajjad Khan, district police chief of Tank area.

Sunday's attack was not claimed by any organisation, but the militant group said they had carried out the earlier one.

The latest attacks come as the TTP refused to give any extension to the month-long ceasefire agreed with the Pakistan government.

The group accused the Pakistani authorities of violating the terms of the agreement and rejected any possibility of extending the agreement any further.

In an audio statement, Noor Ali Mehsud, a senior leader of the TTP, said that no progress was made in the fresh negotiations with government.

Mehsud was heard calling on his TTP fighters to restart their attacks as the ceasefire agreement term had ended and that it would not be extended any further.

TTP has had a rigid standing against the polio vaccination campaign in the country. It claims that the vaccination campaigns are a western conspiracy to sterilise children.

It should be noted that late Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden's hideout in Abbottabad, KP, was found through a similar polio vaccination campaign, which was carried out by doctor Shakil Afridi.

The menace of terrorism has haunted Pakistan for decades now, while polio has remained rampant. Pakistan has been struggling to curb the spread of the virus, making such polio vaccination drives pivotal to the cause.

The World Health Organization (WHO) made it mandatory for all people travelling from Pakistan to have polio vaccination certificate.

Pakistan government maintains that it would call on TTP to extend the ceasefire agreement, insisting that it is ready to abide by the agreed terms of the agreement.

However, the country's leadership has also warned that any terror activity by the group will be dealt with accordingly.
Mogadishu, Dec 13 : Forces of the Somali National Army (SNA) have killed five al-Shabab terrorists in security operations which were conducted in the southern part of the country.

The SNA commanders told Radio Mogadishu on Sunday that several al-Shabab hideouts were also destroyed in the operations which took place in the past 24 hours at Gambarey, Dawacale, and Geediyan villages in the Lower Shabelle region, reports Xinhua news agency.

"The army also drove out some of the terrorists who were causing serious problems to the locals," said the state-owned radio as the SNA commanders vowed to continue with the onslaught until their forces flush out the militants in the area.

According to the state-owned radio, the villagers welcomed the ongoing security operations, saying they were delighted with the current military achievements which will result in peace in the area.

The SNA backed by the African Union Mission in Somalia drove al-Shabab out of Mogadishu in 2011.

But the terror group is still capable of conducting attacks, targeting government installations, hotels, restaurants and public places.
Varanasi, Dec 13 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday braved the December chill and took a holy dip in the Ganga river before formally inaugurating the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor complex.

The Prime Minister reached the Kaal Bhairav temple first and offered elaborate prayers. 'Kaal Bhairav' is known as the first deity of Varanasi and also known as 'Kashi ke Kotwal'.

He then went to the banks of the Ganga river and waded into waist deep water to take the holy dip. He offered prayers to the Sun God and the Ganga River. He also collected the waters of the holy river for the 'Jal Abhishek' at the temple.

Locals gave a rousing welcome to Modi, showering flower petals and raising slogans of 'Modi, Modi' and 'Har Har Mahadev'.

The Prime Minister, who is on a two-day visit to Varanasi, will inaugurate the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor constructed at a cost of around Rs 339 crore.

The buildings will provide a variety of facilities to the pilgrims visiting the temple, including yatri suvidha kendras, tourist facilitation centre, Vedic kendra, Mumukshu bhavan, bhojshala, city museum, viewing gallery, food court, among others.

The project, whose foundation stone was laid by the Prime Minister in 2019, connects the main temple with Lalita Ghat. Grand gateways and ornamental arches have been built in heritage architecture style in four directions, facing the ancient temple at its core.

The project involved the purchase and acquisition of more than 300 properties around the temple. Nearly 1,400 shopkeepers, tenants and homeowners were rehabilitated amicably to pave way for the construction. Around Rs 450 crore was spent on the purchase of buildings.

During demolition of buildings to pave the way for the project in 2018, over 40 ancient temples were found buried under the layers of concrete and plaster. They have now been conserved and made part of the project.

The project is now spread over a massive area of about over five lakh square feet while the earlier premises was limited to just around 3,000 square feet.

The architect of the project is Bimal Patel, who is also in charge of the Central Vista redevelopment project in New Delhi. He said that without tampering with the original structure of the temple, beautification work was carried out and world-class facilities had been put in place.

About 70 per cent of the 5.50 lakh square feet area of the project has been kept for green cover.

Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi since 2014, has been decorated ahead of the mega event titled 'Divya Kashi,Bhavya Kashi'.

Facades of buildings located on streets leading to the shrine have been painted in uniform light pink colour and illuminated.

A grand Kashi will be seen after crores of years now. Ayodhya is progressing with Ram Temple.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
December 13 : Vicky Kaushal is looking forward to his next film Sam Bahadur directed by Meghna Gulzar, who is celebrating her birthday today. Wishing the filmmaker on her birthday, Vicky called it a special day for one more reason.

Taking to her Instagram handle, Vicky wished Meghna Gulzar and announced the film's female leads. The actor, who will play Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw in the film, welcomed Sanya Malhotra and Fatima Sana Shaikh onboard. While Sanya will play his onscreen wife Silloo Manekshaw, Fatima will essay the role of Smt. Indira Gandhi.

Taking to his Instagram handle, Vicky shared a photo, wherein he can be seen seated with Sanya Malhotra and Fatima Sana Shaikh while Meghna can be seen standing behind them, leaning on the couch. All four can be seen in white outfits. Sharing the picture, Vicky wrote, "It's a very special day for us as we celebrate our director @meghnagulzars birthday and welcome the leading ladies @sanyamalhotra_ as Silloo Manekshaw & @fatimasanashaikh as Smt. Indira Gandhi to the #Sam family! @ronnie.screwvala @rsvpmovies."

An elated Sanya shared the news on her Instagram handle and wrote, "Behind every successful man is a strong independent woman who supports him in all his endeavours. Its with great honour that I get to play one such woman, Silloo Manekshaw, the wife of Indias first Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. Cannot wait to begin this journey with Meghna maam, Vicky, Fatima & @rsvpmovies!"

Fatima also took to her Instagram handle, and wrote, "A woman who defines courage, power and dignity! Its with great pride that I am joining the team of #Sam to depict the role of Indias first female Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi! Looking forward to begin this journey with Meghna maam, Vicky, Sanya & @rsvpmovies!"

Announcing the new cast, Megna Gulzar wrote 50 years ago, this week, India triumphed in the historic 1971 war. Another reason it is also special for us is that we welcome @sanyamalhotra_ as Silloo Manekshaw and @fatimasanashaikh as Smt. Indira Gandhi to our #Sam family! Eager to experience this very special journey!

Commenting on the new addition, the birthday girl Meghna Gulzar said, "I have much to celebrate... There is pride in the commemoration of 50 years of the historic win of our forces in the 1971 War. And Im very exciting to have Sanya Malhotra and Fatima Sana Shaikh join the team of Sam Bahadur. Both their roles in the film require a great deal of sensitivity, dignity and composure and Im looking forward to the ladies bringing these characters to life."

Vicky Kaushal added, Sanya and Fatima with their characters bring more character and substance to the story of SamBahadur and, I am very excited to be working with them together for the first time. Their characters have been one of the most influential personalities we have heard about and now, the audience will witness the story of their valour, commitment and resilience. I welcome both of them to our Manekshaw family and look forward to sharing the screen with two of the most talented and diligent actors of our generation.
Chennai, Dec 13 : Actor Vishal has shot for 24 hours straight to complete the second schedule of director Vinoth Kumar's Tamil action entertainer 'Laththi'.

Says a source close to the unit of 'Laththi', "Vishal began shooting from Sunday morning and it went on right till the morning of Monday. With this, the second schedule comes to an end. The unit will now move to Hyderabad for the third schedule which will be for a perid of 40 days." The source also informs that a high-octane stunt sequence for the film will be choreographed by stunt choreographer Peter Hain during the third schedule.

"It is unclear as to when exactly they will leave for Hyderabad as the dates haven't been decided. But it will be worked out and they will leave shortly," the source informed.

The film, which has actress Sunaina playing the female lead, has music by Sam C.S. and is being produced by two of Vishal's close friends, Ramana and Nanda.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Canberra, Dec 13 : Visiting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday agreed to continue to work together to secure a stable supply chain of critical minerals as they met in Canberra for a summit.

Australia is rich in resources and energy, including iron ore, coal and liquefied natural gas, and the leaders' agreement is expected to boost South Korea's competitiveness in the electric vehicle and secondary battery industries, which are crucial in the carbon-neutral era, according to the presidential palace in Seoul.

"This is an area where Australia and Korea are already working very closely together to build those reliable, trusted supply chains in these critical minerals and rare earths that we know will power the new energy economy and the global economy into the future," Morrison said at a joint press conference with Moon following the talks, which came as the Covid-19 pandemic has caused major disruptions to global supply chains.

The leaders also agreed to upgrade the bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of formal diplomatic ties this year, reports Yonhap News Agency.

Moon arrived in Canberra on Sunday, becoming the first South Korean president to pay a state visit to Australia in 12 years.

He is also the first foreign leader that the country has invited since the start of the pandemic, officials said.

During their talks, Moon and Morrison agreed to partner in future industry areas related to carbon neutral technology and the hydrogen economy.

They also agreed to expand their countries' cooperation in defence, defence material, digital transformation and their response to the pandemic to contribute to regional stability, peace and prosperity.

The leaders agreed on the importance of dialogue and diplomacy for complete denuclearisation and lasting peace on the peninsula.

They also noted Australia's decision to allow visits by fully vaccinated South Koreans starting this Wednesday and expressed hope the move will lead to increased exchanges and business between the two countries.

On the summit's sidelines, the two sides signed a contract under which the Australian Army will buy 30 units of the K-9 Thunder self-propelled howitzer and 15 units of the K-10 armored ammunition re-supply vehicles from South Korea's Hanwha Defense.

Moon later paid his respects at the Australian National Korean War Memorial.
Mumbai, Dec 13 : Actors Sharib Hashmi and Gauahar Khan's comedy-drama titled 'Sorry Bhaisaab' is releasing on December 16 on Amazon miniTV.

Directed by Sumit Ghildiyal and Suman Adhikary, the short film is a relatable humorous take on the desires, motivations and aspirations of the middle class and their eternal quest for things to make their lives better.

It is produced by Arre Studio.

Talking about the film, Harsh Goyal, Head of Amazon Advertising said, "At Amazon miniTV, we always try to bring fresh, engaging and relatable content for viewers. We are delighted to partner with Arre Studio once again to bring yet another heartwarming and entertaining short film. This is a great addition to our library of award-winning short films." Adding to that Niyati Merchant, co-founder and COO, Arre said, "'Sorry Bhaisaab' showcases the desires and aspirations of a common middle-class family with a relatable plot. This short film is a very special project for us, as we endeavour to narrate different and unique stories that touch audiences' hearts and entertain them thoroughly."
Jaipur, Dec 13 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's comment that India is a country of Hindus and his definition differentiating between Hindu and Hindutva has triggered a major controversy.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi in his tweet said, "Rahul & INC fertilised the ground for Hindutva. Now they're trying to harvest majoritarianism. Bringing 'Hindus to power' is a 'secular' agenda in 2021. Wah! India belongs to all Bharatiyas. Not Hindus alone. India belongs to people of all faiths & also those who have no faith." Elaborating the difference between Hindu and Hindutvawadi, Rahul Gandhi at a Jaipur rally on Sunday said, "Two words cannot mean the same thing. Every word has a different meaning. In our country's politics today the meaning of Hindu and Hindutva is the same. These are not the same thing, they are two different words and they mean completely different things. I am a Hindu but not a Hindutvawadi. Mahatma Gandhi was a Hindu and Nathuram Godse was a Hindutvawadi, he added.

"No matter whatever happens, Hindu seeks and spends his whole life in search of truth whereas Hindutva spends his whole life in search of power and getting empowered. He will kill anyone for the sake of power. The path of Hindu is 'Satyagraha' while the path of Hindutva is 'Sattagraha.' Clarifying Rahul's comments, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said, "A person who believes in truth, non-violence, love, brotherhood and tolerance is a Hindu. Hindus do not hate anyone and respect all religions. However, Hindutva believes in spreading violence, intolerance and hatred. The difference between a Hindu and a Hindutvawadi is the same as that between Gandhi and Godse," he said.

Gehlot further said, "In real sense, Hindus believe in truth, non-violence and harmony. Bigotry and extremism is not acceptable in any religion. Rahul Gandhi's thinking is that the politics of hatred and violence being done by BJP-RSS in the name of Hindutva by spoiling the basic nature of Hindu religion should be ended in the interest of the country." Owaisi raised the issue to target the Muslim-minority votes, a traditional vote bank of the Congress.

Earlier, BJP too attacked the Congress after Rahul Gandhi's speech and said that his perception of Hindu and Hindutva is beyond comprehension.

BJP state president Satish Poonia said, "Rahul Gandhi gave a strange interpretation of Hindu and Hindutva. Everyone knows that Hindu philosophy is a way of life, it is a matter of pride for any Indian to be Hindu and Hindutvawadi." "Maharana Pratap, Shivaji, Maharaja Suraj Mal, who fought against the Mughals, were Hindutvawadis. There were many names and unnamed martyrs who fought against the British also." "This peculiar interpretation of Rahul Gandhi about Hinduism and Hindutva is beyond comprehension. We are all proud to be Hindus and Hindutvawadi. The way Rahul tried to create a divide seems that he is against Hindus, Hindutva and nationalism," he further added.

Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat also attacked Rahul Gandhi for his comments and said that Rahul Gandhi does not know the difference between Hindu, Hindutva and Hindutvawadi. It is like calling a human being a human being. He is calling Hindutvawadis as killers and terrorists. Which Hindu will accept this allegation, he asked.
Kohima, Dec 13 : The Konyak civil society organisations here on Monday said that no ex-gratia or compensation from the government would be accepted until justice was delivered to all the 14 victims, including the survivors and family members of the December 4 incident.

The Central government and the state government had earlier announced a total ex-gratia of Rs 16 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh to the kin of the slain and injured civilians respectively after the December 4 firing by the security forces that left 14 civilians killed and 30 others injured in Mon district of northern Nagaland.

The Civil Society Organisations (CSO) including Konyak Union, Oting Village Council, Konyak Students' Union, Konyak Nyupuh Sheko Khung and other leaders separately told the media that all the security personnel who were involved in the firing incident should be punished immediately. They also demanded the immediate repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Power) Act, 1958 (AFSPA).

In separate statements, the civil society organisations also demanded to allocate a site to erect a monolith in respect of the victims.

They said the site would be used as 'Genocide Park' in order to commemorate the 14 innocent lives.

The CSOs warned that if their demand for allocation of a site was not met at the earliest, the Konyaks would be compelled to take extreme courses of action.

Since December 4, the CSOs have been organising various commemorative and protest events across Nagaland, including in capital city Kohima.

As part of this programme, a candlelight march would be held across villages of Mon district on Monday in collaboration with Konyak Baptist Bumeinok Bangjum (KBBB).

This will be followed with a mass public rally on December 16 and a reminder of the earlier memorandum would be submitted to the Government of India through the state government.

The Nagaland government last week has decided to hold a special session of the Assembly on December 20 to discuss and pass a resolution for repealing the AFSPA.

Meanwhile, the Special Investigation Team (SIT), formed by the state government to probe the December 4 incident, has requested the people having any information on the incident to contact it.

"Any person having photos, videos, of suspicious activities from primary source or any other information connected with the incident in original not forwarded (secondary source), may kindly share it in the interest of police investigation," a notification said.

The 5-member SIT has started its investigation under the overall supervision of Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order, Sandeep M. Tamgadge.

Meanwhile, the Army has also initiated the court of inquiry into the incident, which rocked the entire country.
Bhopal, Dec 13 : Days after the Union Cabinet gave its nod for interlinking of two rivers- Ken and Betwa, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has described it as the first step towards realising the vision of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's 'River Link campaign' to tackle drought and floods simultaneously.

Chouhan said the development will change the fate of lakhs of farmers and about 12 lakh hectare lands of both -- Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh -- will get the benefit.

"This project will become the lifeline of Bundelkhand. With this, 8.11 lakh hectares of unirrigated area will get the benefit of irrigation in nine districts along with Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh," he added.

On December 8, the Union Cabinet approved interlinking Ken-Betwa rivers and assessed the total cost at Rs 44,605 crore for the project, which will be completed in eight years.

As per the project, it will generate 103 MW hydropower and 27 MW solar power. This involves transfer of water from the Ken to the Betwa river through the construction of Daudhan Dam and a canal linking the two rivers, the Lower Orr Project, Kotha Barrage -and Bina Complex Multipurpose Project.

"The land of Bundelkhand is very fertile, which has been a victim of drought due to lack of water. This water will change the fate and picture of the people of Bundelkhand. The project is going to prove to be a life-giver for the people of Bundelkhand running far and wide for water during summer," Chouhan said ahead of leaving for Varanasi, where the Prime Minister Narendra Modi will assess the development works done in BJP-ruled states.

Both Ken and Betwa rivers originate from Madhya Pradesh. The Ken river originates from the Kaimur hills of Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh and after traversing a distance of 427 km, joins the Yamuna River in the Banda district of Uttar Pradesh. The Betwa also originates from Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh and covers a distance of 576 km and joins the Yamuna in Hamirpur district of Uttar Pradesh.

The first of its kind of project is expected to give benefit to several districts falling in both - Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. As many as nine districts of MP such as Raisen, Vidisha, Sagar, Damoh, Chhatarpur, Panna, Tikamgarh, Shivpuri and Datia along with Banda, Mahoba, Jhansi and Lalitpur districts of UP will get the benefit of drinking water besides irrigation.

The decision of interlinking has come at the time when the campaign for Assembly elections in UP is in its full swing, while the Assembly polls in MP are scheduled in 2023.

IANS pd/shb/
Gaza, Dec 13 : A senior Palestinian official has accused Israel of impeding the process of reconstruction in the besieged Gaza Strip, which is ruled by the Hamas.

Naji Sarhan, undersecretary of the ministry of housing and public works, told a news conference in Gaza city that the reconstruction plan "is going very slowly", and Israel is "fully responsible", reports Xinhua news agency.

The Palestinian side had earlier accused Israel of not showing any commitment to reconstructing what had been destroyed in an offensive by Israel in May.

On May 10, Israel and Hamas engaged in an 11-day large-scale aerial offensive on the Gaza Strip.

During the conflict, more than 250 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed.

The wave of conflict ended after Egypt brokered a ceasefire agreement between the Hamas-led militants and Israel on May 21.

According to the official figures, around 1,800 housing units in the Gaza Strip were destroyed, and 16,800 units had been damaged during the 11-day attack.

"Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip, home of more than 2 million Palestinians, exacerbated the humanitarian, economic and social crises," Sarhan said, adding that the latest wave of tension caused a direct loss of $420 million.

"Qatar and Egypt have pledged a financial grant of $500 million each for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip," Sarhan said, adding that Germany donated $9 million and other states donated $20 million.

After the conflict, Egypt sent engineers, construction equipment, and Egyptian workers to help remove the rubble of the destroyed buildings. But Israel tried to ban the shipment of raw materials to Gaza "to pressure Hamas to lessen its demands for reaching a permanent truce agreement. But under international pressure, Israel allowed the shipment of all materials for the first time in years", Sarhan told Xinhua in November.

The progress of Gaza's reconstruction, which may last for several months, depends on the political situation and field conditions, he added.
'When dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity' -- Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People India takes pride in its association in the historic struggle for liberation of Bangladesh.

The bolstering Bangladesh-India ties and enhanced ties owes it to history around 1970-71 -- fifty years back. Perhaps it also relates to India's undiluted rivalry with Pakistan.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh ventilated that spirit when he said on Sunday, December 12, the 'partition' of India based on religious differences was a historic blunder.

The emergence of Bangladesh as an independent nation is certainly seen as a corrective course to that blunder.

I visited Dhaka in December 2017. My Late father and another friend of mine had advised me to visit the famous Sheikh Mujib Memorial. The military dictator Major General Ziaur Rahman had assumed power after the 1975 massacre.

Bloodstains on the walls and on the peeling green plaster certainly brought to fore the story of one of the most horrific killings of political stars and the family members in the sub-continent.

A sense of chill ran through our spine as three Indian journalists encountered the 'bullet marks' at House No.10 in Dhanmondi locality of Bangladesh capital. This is the place where Sheikh Mujibar Rahman, Father of the Nation of Bangladesh, and his 18 family members, including three sons and a young grandson were assassinated in a ruthless exercise by the 'right-wing' military officers -- of course in cold blood.

This house has been a witness to the history of the making of Bangladesh, its struggle, language movement.

A gentleman standing nearby and a staffer at the Memorial spoke softly: "It was the witness to hours of deliberations among Mujib's close associates. Today, sadly though -- this house has become an enduring symbol of love and admiration people feel for Bangabandhu." One could not agree more.

This is a place today where hundreds of Bangladeshis -- young and old -- feel they can renew their commitment to nation building.

Among those killed were Mujib himself, his wife Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib, their three sons Sheikh Kamal, Sheikh Jamal and minor Sheikh Russel; the newly married brides of Kamal and Jamal -- Sulatana and Rosy and Bangabandhu's brother Sheikh Abu Naser.

In 2015, it was reported that at least seven months before the 'Bangabandhu' was assassinated along with his family members, a former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) official had met him here and warned against the conspirators.

"These are my own children and they will not harm me," Mujib had reportedly told Rameshwar Nath Kao, who met him in December 1974 with the approval of the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Mujib's two daughters, Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana, were in West Germany in August 1975 and so they survived.

So much was the 'hatred' and influence of diabolic motivation, that a number of Mujib's household staff and personal aides were also gunned down.

The massacre had taken place in the early hours of August 15, 1975, when a group of Bangladesh Army personnel went to his residence and carried out their mission -- resulting in a military coup.

As one tried to interact briefly with a set of young visitors, most could not conceal their emotion. The moist eyes and cracking lips would tell what has been going on in their hearts.

"The master bedroom forces any visitor to halt for a while in homage to the Bangabandhu," Abdul Habib, a civil engineering student, had said.

In 1981 -- the house was formally handed over to Sheikh Hasina -- who not without good reason is rightfully called 'Daughter of Democracy'.

The bloodstains and bullet marks on the walls, stairs and floor are easily distinguishable as these have been carefully 'preserved' under glass panels.

On the table lies a book, a guitar, with a gaping bullet hole through the middle and in the family dining-room -- a bottle of Coke, two jars of pickle, and a Raleigh cycle that belonged to Mujib's youngest son, Russel.

There are also three vintage model telephone sets, some outfits of Mujib and his family members.

The house is now maintained as a museum by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Museum, a trust headed by Hasina herself.

About 70 staffers, including tourist guides, maintenance staff and others work here. Often Prime Minister Hasina herself clears the names of those who would work or get associated with the living memory of her family.

"Our courageous Prime Minister often breaks down after coming here," said one female worker.

Rather helplessly, we looked on as she also started wailing.

The entry-floor focuses on Bangabandhu's life and political career. The brave revolt against injustice and of course the turbulent events during the Pakistani rule.

The newspaper clippings from pre-1971 days depicting the snaps help one recount the history.

At places there are photographs of Mujib with world leaders, including Indira Gandhi, the then Indian Prime Minister who had played a stellar role in the eastern neighbour's valiant fight against Pakistan.

The shenanigans related to the now infamous 'Agartala Conspiracy case' against Mujib in 1968 marked the rise, in meteoric manner, of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

There are a few quotes of Bangabadhu even bearing his signature.

One of them dated, May 30, 1973 runs: "As a man, what concerns mankind concerns me. As a Bengali, I am deeply involved in all that concerns Bengalis".

Another such heart touching comment is: "I yearn for nothing less than the love of seventy-five million Bengalis".

These words perhaps serve as testimony to Indian leaders' often claiming that religion alone cannot be the basis of a creation of two or more nations.

(Nirendra Dev is a New Delhi-based journalist. He is also author of books, 'The Talking Guns: North East India' and 'Modi to Moditva: An Uncensored Truth')
Addis Ababa, Dec 13 : Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union (AU), has called for supporting initiatives in the manufacture of essential medicines and vaccines beyond Covid-19 in the continent as this was key to global health security.

Mahamat made the remarks at the Vaccines and Global Health Security Session of the Group of Seven Foreign and Development Ministerial meeting, according to an AU statement.

Mahamat stressed that the availability of vaccines against Covid-19 and the virus' different variants is vital for Africa and the rest of the world, reports Xinhua news agency.

Regarding the delivery of vaccines, the AU Commission chairperson pointed out that Africa has seen disproportionate delays, in comparison with the rest of the world, when it came to vaccines ordered from the market and those pledged under COVAX, the global vaccine equity mechanism.

"Only 7 per cent of Africans have been vaccinated, compared to 70 per cent of people around the world," Mahamat said.

According to the AU Commission chief, when the Covid-19 pandemic started in early 2020, Africa requested to have the same access to vaccines at the same price when they became available.

"Two years later, we witnessed that these assurances of global solidarity were ignored," Mahamat said.

He further questioned the global community's commitment and solidarity with Africa, regarding which he singled out the recent treatment of Southern African countries in connection with the Omicron variant.

"Now more than ever, the world must honor its commitments with urgency. Vaccine nationalism is self-defeating and suicidal in a global pandemic," said Mahamat.

Noting that the continent with a population of 1.3 billion accounts for about 14 per cent of the world's population, but produces less than 0.1 per cent of global vaccines, he emphasised the need to enable Africa's capabilities.

In April this year, the AU launched the Partnership for African Vaccine Manufacturing, which aimed at ensuring timely access to vaccines to protect public health security.
New Delhi, Dec 13 : Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was so deeply shocked by an article that appeared in the UK's 'Sunday Times' newspaper that, as she later recalled to its editor, Harold Evans, it set her "on a campaign of personal diplomacy in the European capitals and Moscow to prepare the ground for India's armed intervention" in the then East Pakistan.

The 9,000-plus-word article, which appeared on June 13, 1971, exposed the brutality of Pakistan's suppression of the uprising led by the Mukti Bahini. Written by Anthony Mascarenhas, a Pakistani journalist who was born in a Goan Catholic family in Belgaum (present Belgavi in Karnataka), its back story is as fascinating as the impact it had.

It forced the reporter's family into hiding and changed history, according to an article by Mark Dummett on BBC News. The detailed article appeared on December 16, 2011, the 40th anniversary of Pakistan's surrender to India.

Mascarenhas exposed for the first time the scale of the Pakistan army's brutal campaign to suppress the breakaway eastern province in 1971. It is one of the most influential pieces of South Asian journalism of the past half century, BBC said. And it helped turn world opinion against Pakistan and encouraged India to play a decisive role.

Not that this was ever Mascarenhas' intention. He was, as Evans noted in his memoirs, "just a very good reporter doing an honest job".

He was also very brave. Pakistan, at the time, was run by the military, and he knew that he would have to get himself and his family out of the country before the story could be published - not an easy task in those days, the BBC report said.

When the war in what was then East Pakistan broke out in March 1971, Mascarenhas was a respected journalist in Karachi (he was the assistant editor of the Karachi newspaper 'Morning News'), on good terms with Islamabad's ruling elite. He was also a member of the port city's minuscule community of Goan Catholics, and he and his wife Yvonne had five children (a daughter and four sons).

The conflict was sparked by elections, which were won by an East Pakistani party, the Awami League led by Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, which wanted greater autonomy for the region.

The Pakistani army decided it would be a good idea to invite some Pakistani reporters to the region to show them how they had successfully dealt with the "freedom fighters".

Eight journalists, including Mascarenhas, were given a 10-day tour of the province. When they returned home, seven of them duly wrote what they were told to.

But one of them refused, BBC reported.

Clearly it would not be possible to do so in Pakistan. All newspaper articles were checked by the military censor, and Mascarenhas said to his wife he was certain he would be shot if he tried.

Pretending that his family was visiting London to meet his ailing sister, Mascarenhas first got them to move and then he himself slipped into Kabul on foot from Peshawar. From Kabul, he flew to London, where he headed straight to the Sunday Times and the editor's office.

"He'd been shocked by the Bengali outrages in March, but he maintained that what the army was doing was altogether worse and on a grander scale," Evans was to recall in his memoirs. Coincidentally, his brother was posted in the UK embassy in Islamabad, so Evans had a fair idea of what was happening and therefore believed Mascarenhas' account.

Mascarenhas had informed him he had been an eyewitness to a huge, systematic killing spree, and had heard army officers describe the killings as a "final solution". Evans promised to run the story, but first Yvonne and the children had to escape Karachi, according to the BBC report.

They had agreed that the signal for the newspaper to start preparing for the publication of the article was a telegram from Mascarenhas saying that "Ann's operation was successful".

To avoid suspicion, Mascarenhas had to return to Pakistan before his family could leave. But as Pakistanis were only allowed one foreign flight a year, he then had to sneak out of the country by himself, crossing by land into Afghanistan, the BBC report said.

The day after the family was reunited in their new home in London, the 'Sunday Times' published his article, spread across two pages, under the one-word banner headline 'Genocide'.

Mascarenhas' article was - from Pakistan's point of view - a huge betrayal and he was at once accused of being an enemy agent. Pakistan continues to deny its forces were behind such atrocities as those described in detail by Mascarenhas, and blames the notion on what it insists is Indian propaganda.

In Bangladesh, of course, he is remembered more fondly, and his article is still displayed in the Liberation War Museum in Dhaka.

"This was one of the most significant articles written on the war. It came out when our country was cut off, and helped inform the world of what was going on here," Mofidul Huq, a trustee of the museum, was quoted by BBC saying.

(Sanjeev Sharma can be reached at Sanjeev.s@ians.in)
A cable sent by US diplomats in Dhaka on April 6, 1971 to then Secretary of State William Rogers as the Pakistani military was carrying out a genocide in what was then East Pakistan, marked a defining moment for Washington's role during Bangladesh's fight for independence.

Putting on record their dissent at the risk of their careers, the diplomats exposed Washington's hypocrisy and denounced its policy of ignoring the genocide and the suppression of democracy while backing Pakistani dictator Yahya Khan.

Their efforts to "salvage our nation's position as a moral leader of the free world" were ultimately futile.

The cable is called "The Blood Telegram", and although it is a fitting metaphor for the massacre the diplomats were writing about, it was named after Consul General Archer Blood who supported the message of dissent by 20 diplomats in Dhaka, whom he described as "among the finest US officials in East Pakistan".

Blood warned the administration of President Richard Nixon about its support for General Khan, whom he called "the likely loser" saying that it "would be foolish".

Here is the text of the diplomatic cable from US National Archives: Dacca, April 6, 1971, 0730Z

1138. Subj: Dissent From US Policy Toward East Pakistan.

1. Aware of the task force proposals on "openness" in the Foreign Service, and with the conviction that US policy related to recent developments in East Pakistan serves neither our moral interests broadly defined nor our national interests narrowly defined, numerous officers of AmConGen (American Consulate General) Dacca, USAID (US Agency for International Development) Dacca and USIS (US Information Service) Dacca consider it their duty to register strong dissent with fundamental aspects of this policy. Our government has failed to denounce the suppression of democracy. Our government has failed to denounce atrocities. Our government has failed to take forceful measures to protect its citizens while at the same time bending over backwards to placate the West Pak dominated government and to lessen likely and deservedly negative international public relations impact against them. Our government has evidenced what many will consider moral bankruptcy, ironically at a time when the USSR sent President Yahya (Khan) a message defending democracy, condemning arrest of leader of democratically elected majority party (incidentally pro-West) and calling for end to repressive measures and bloodshed. In our most recent policy paper for Pakistan, our interests in Pakistan were defined as primarily humanitarian, rather than strategic. But we have chosen not to intervene, even morally, on the grounds that the Awami conflict, in which unfortunately the overworked term genocide is applicable, is purely internal matter of a sovereign state. Private Americans have expressed disgust. We, as professional public servants, express our dissent with current policy and fervently hope that our true and lasting interests here can be defined and our policies redirected in order to salvage our nation's position as a moral leader of the free world.

2. Our specific areas of dissent, as well as our policy proposals, will follow by septel (separate telegram).

3.Signed: Brian Bell, Robert L. Bourquein, W. Scott Butcher, Eric Griffel, Zachary M. Hahn. Jake Harshbarger, Robert A. Jackson, Lawrence Koegel, Joseph A. Malpeli, Willard D. McCleary, Desaix Myers, John L. Nesvig, William Grant Parr, Robert Carce, Richard L. Simpson, Robert C. Simpson; Richard E. Suttor, Wayne A. Swedengurg, Richard L. Wilson, Shannon W. Wilson ---

4. I support the right of the above named officers to voice their dissent. Because they attach urgency to their expression of dissent and because we are without any means of communication other than telegraphic, I authorize the use of a telegram for this purpose.

5. I believe the views of these officers, who are among the finest US officials in East Pakistan, are echoed by the vast majority of the American community, both official and unofficial. I also subscribe to these views but I do not think it appropriate for me to sign their statement as long as I am principal officer at this post.

6. My support of their stand takes on another dimension. As I hope to develop in further reporting, I believe the most likely eventual outcome of the struggle underway in East Pakistan is a Bengali victory and the consequent establishment of an independent Bangladesh. At the moment we possess the good will of the Awami League. We would be foolish to forfeit this asset by pursuing a rigid policy of one-sided support to the likely loser.

(Consul General Archer) Blood (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed @arulouis)
Kochi, Dec 13 : Action will soon be initiated against Kerala government pleader Rashmitha Ramachandran for her alleged distasteful remarks against country's first Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Bipin Rawat, who along with 12 others died in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu on December 8, state Advocate General Gopalakrishna Kurup hinted on Monday.

Last week, state BJP president K. Surendran had demanded that the Pinarayi Vijayan government take strong action against those defaming Gen Rawat in the social media.

When the country is mourning the demise of Rawat and others, pleader Rashmitha Ramachandran has come out with a derogatory remark which is "anti-national", but no action has been taken despite complaints being made against her, he had said.

Kurup after meeting Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, here, was asked by the media if there will be any action against the government pleader.

"Of course there will be a natural action, but at the moment am unable to spell out the nature of action," said Kurup.

Surendran had asked Vijayan to immediately remove her from the list of government pleaders and wished to find out if the Vijayan government also has the same view of that of the lady advocate.
Tel Aviv, Dec 13 : Israeli soldiers on Monday killed a Palestinian man, while two others were injured in the West Bank city of Nablus, medics and witnesses said.

The head of the Emergency and Ambulance Department at the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, Ahmad Jibril, told reporters that 31-year-old Jamil al-Kayyal was shot dead, and two other men were moderately injured, reports Xinhua news agency.

Palestinian eyewitnesses said that a special Israeli army force stormed al-Ain refugee camp and the old city of Nablus to arrest wanted Palestinian activists, who are involved in carrying out attacks against Israel.

The Israeli soldiers also arrested a third man from his home in the refugee camp, they said.

Israeli media reported that several Palestinian gunmen opened fire at the Israeli troops to prevent them from proceeding into the city of Nablus, but no injuries were reported among the soldiers.

On Friday, a Palestinian demonstrator was killed and dozens were injured during clashes with Israeli soldiers near Nablus, medics and eyewitnesses said.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement that the demonstrator succumbed to a severe injury.

Every Friday, the Palestinians organise rallies and protests against the Israeli government's policies of expanding settlements and confiscation of lands, and the demonstrations usually turn into clashes with soldiers.
Mumbai, Dec 13 : The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government has slammed the Centre's decision to shift the national headquarters of the 63-year autonomous body, Dattopant Thengadi National Board for Workers Education & Development (DTNBWED), from Nagpur to New Delhi.

The move came in a terse letter - with a punitive threat - from the Union Labour Ministry to the Director-General of DTNBWED, ordering to initiate the shifting process, from Nagpur to the body's swank new building at Rohini in the capital.

"A compliance report in this regard may be furnished to the Ministry. Appropriate action shall be initiated for any disobedience of the orders of the Ministry," said the November 25 letter signed by an Under Secretary Atul Kumar Singh.

Slamming the Centre, Shiv Sena's Kishore Tiwari, accorded a MoS status, demanded why all Bharatiya Janata Party's union ministers from the state like Nitin Gadkari, Narayan Rane, Piyush Goyal, Raosaheb Patil-Danve, Bharati Pawar, Kapil Patil and Bhagwat Karad, besides Ramdas Athawale are "mum" on the major move.

"If they don't have the courage to speak up for the state, it is clear they are willy-nilly supporting the Central move and are acting against their home-state," said Tiwari sharply.

Sena's labour leader Dr Raghunath Kuchik - holding a MoS rank - said Maharashtra is the country's hub of finance, trade, commerce and industry, which employs huge labour, and the decision reeks of a 'conspiracy' between the Centre and the Opposition state BJP leaders.

"Why didn't they do it when Devendra Fadnavis was the CM? It indicates the sheer desperation of the BJP which lost power here in 2019 and now they are working against the interests of the workers, the people and the state," Dr Kuchik said pointedly.

Nationalist Congress Party National Spokesperson and Minister Nawab Malik termed the move "as another example of the BJP government's animosity" towards the state in the past two years.

"Maharashtra is creating waves on all fronts and developing at a fast pace which some people cannot digest. Now, they are going all-out to degrade the state's importance by such moves, but they will not succeed," Malik said grimly.

Strongly condemning the move, State Congress General Secretary Sachin Sawant said right from the beginning the BJP-led Central government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been diluting the importance of Maharashtra and the DTNBWED move is the latest in the series.

He pointed out that since 1958, the DTNBWED - with 50 branches in India - has been engaged in empowerment of organised/unorganised labour by creating awareness on various socio-economic issues and implementing government schemes.

"All these years, no Central government had any problem with its (DTNBWED) headquarters remaining in Nagpur. The Modi government's decision is out of a grudge against Maharashtra and must be opposed," urged Sawant.

Incidentally, the movement started over five years ago when the then Union MoS Labour Bandaru Dattatreya renamed the erstwhile Central Board for Workers Education as 'DTNBWED', and former Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had inaugurated its new building in Rohini (New Delhi), in August 2016.

Its mission is to educate the country's workforce for their effective participation in the country's socio-economic-industrial development, create awareness on various best practices for employers-employees and government, train them in trade unionism techniques, conduct programmes for the labour in all sectors in national, regional unit and village levels, etc.

DTNBWED is named after the late Thengadi - a RSS Pracharak from Wardha (Maharashtra) - and a right-wing trade unionist, who was a vocal proponent of 'Swadeshi Economics'. He passed away in Pune in 2004, aged 83.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in)
Jaipur, Dec 13 : Four fresh cases of Omicron variant of Covid-19 have been detected in Rajasthan which took the total number of infected people in the state to 13, health officials said on Monday.

After Maharashtra, the state now stands second in the country with the highest number of Omicron-infected patients.

Maharashtra has 18 patients infected by the new variant while Rajasthan has tested 13 patients positive for Omicron.

Out of them, 9 later tested negative and were sent home.

A total of 42 Omicron-infected patients have been found across the country, so far.

As per Jaipur CMHO Narottam Sharma, "Besides four members of a family who tested positive for Omicron after returning from South Africa, their family members in Adarsh Nagar Janata Colony had also come in contact with them. While five people were earlier found infected with Omicron, the report of the remaining four people has been also found positive." Meanwhile, reports of genome sequencing of people who have returned from abroad in the past few days are yet to come in Jaipur. This includes those who returned from Ukraine, four family members who returned from Germany and two persons who returned from the US. Samples of these people have been sent for testing.

Besides Rajasthan and Maharashtra, three Omicron patients each in Gujarat and Karnataka, two in Delhi, one each in Chandigarh, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh have been found.

According to reports, out of all the Omicron infected cases found in India, most of the cases are asymptomatic including the 13 cases detected in Rajasthan.
Seoul, Dec 13 : Three workers were found dead after an explosion took place at a chemical factory in the South Korean city of Yeosu on Monday, firefighters said.

Fire broke out at 1.37 p.m. at a petrochemical manufacturing factory in the Yeosu Industrial Complex in Yeosu, 450 km south of Seoul, reports Yonhap News Agency.

While a total of seven people were working at a chemicals storage facility of the factory, three of them were found dead at a nearby plant, apparently due to the strong impact of the explosion.

The four others were confirmed to be safe, according to authorities.

Authorities have issued a level-2 warning, which enables them to call in support, including firefighters, from other areas.

But the call had been lifted as of 5.11 p.m. (local time), as firefighters had put out the fire completely.

Authorities said they are now looking into the exact causes of the accident.
San Francisco, Dec 13 : Billionaire Elon Musk took to Twitter to take a dig at Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin who recently faced criticism for partying in a nightclub despite knowing she had been exposed to Covid-19.

The meme shows a man in a bar asking a woman, "What do you do?". She replies, "I'm the Prime Minister of Finland," and the man reacts in shock.

Marin, 36, apologised recently after a gossip magazine released images of her partying till nearly 4 a.m. only hours after her Foreign Minister was diagnosed with coronavirus.

"I have been informed on Saturday night about Minister Haavisto's corona infection and at the same time received an assessment that there is no need for special measures. In this context, I was not instructed to avoid contacts," she said in a tweet.

Soon she noted that she should have double-checked the Covid-19 norms and she also expressed sorry for not realising that she needed to check the guidelines.

Musk last week tweeted that he is hiring Artificial Intelligence (AI) engineers who are passionate about solving day-to-day problems through AI.

"As always, Tesla is looking for hardcore AI engineers who care about solving problems that directly affect people's lives in a major way," Musk tweeted along with a link to apply for the job.

Interested candidates can apply by filling in fields like name, email, exceptional work done in software, hardware or AI, dropping their resume in the PDF format and hitting the Apply option.

As per the website, Tesla's AI and Autopilot unit develops and deploys autonomy at scale in vehicles, robots and more.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Patna, Dec 13 : Prof Mohamad Quddus, the Vice Chancellor of Maulana Mazharul Haque Arabic and Persian University (MMHAPU) Patna, has once again written to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the alleged irregularities in printing of answer sheets. He has blamed an official of Governor House and another person for applying pressure on him for payment of Rs 6 lakh to an agency that printed answer sheets.

Quddus alleged that Vijay Singh, private secretary to the Bihar governor, applied pressure on him to sanction money to an outsourcing company which facilitated printing of answer sheets of the university.

"We wrote to principal secretary of the Chief Minister on December 9 (Second letter) seeking forensic investigation of the phone numbers of Vijay Singh and Atul Srivastava. We have also given three phone numbers -- 9415010066, 9919888608 and 6394819121 for the same," Quddus said.

"Atul Srivastava has used three mobile phones to call me for the payment. Vijay Singh used the exchange of Governor House to call me and applied pressure on me to pay up. I have urged the Chief Minister to initiate forensic investigation of Atul Srivastava, Vijay Singh and my phone numbers to find proof. Beside, also check the visitors log book of the Governor House to know how many times Atul Srivastava visited there," Quddus added.

The alleged scam was unearthed on November 20 when Quddus wrote to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and demanded an inquiry. He alleged that the then additional Vice Chancellor Surendra Prasad Singh hired an outsourcing company named RSS Service Patna for printing of answer sheets. RSS Service further sourced the printing of answer sheets to a Lucknow based press.

Quddus pointed out that the university has been paying Rs 7 per answer sheet to the company named BK printing press for a long time.

"Singh during his tenure increased the printing rate from Rs 7 to Rs 16 per answer sheet. He had also given an order of 1.60 lakh copies for printing at a total cost of Rs 28 lakh," Quddus said.

"As the exam date was announced, we paid Rs 22 lakh to the printing press. Atul Srivastava and Vijay Singh are now applying pressure on me to pay the remaining Rs 6 lakh," he said.

Following the first letter of Quddus, Nitish Kumar had sent Education Minister Vijay Chaudhary to meet Governor Phagu Chauhan, but nothing happened.

Despite Surendra Prasad Singh facing corruption charges, the Governor House awarded him the best vice chancellor in Bihar, just days after Quddus wrote the first letter to the Chief Minister on November 20.

Surendra Prasad Singh filed a defamation suit against Quddus in the Patna district court a week ago.
Chennai, Dec 13 : The Keeranur police of Pudukottai district in Tamil Nadu arrested a local level functionary of Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) for circulating on social media a "malicious" video on the IAF copter crash which killed General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 armed forces personnel.

NTK leader Balasubramanian (32) was arrested following a complaint filed by a BJP functionary K. Rajendran of Kottukaranpatti. He was presented before a Judicial magistrate court and was remanded in judicial custody.

Balasubramanian, who is the spokesman of NTK in Viralimalai Assembly constituency, is booked under sections of the Information Technology (IT) Act and IPC for promoting enmity between different groups on religion, race, place of birth, and residence.

According to the complainant, the NTK leader had posted a video in which he had linked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to the IAF chopper crash that claimed the lives of Gen Rawat and others on December 8.

The BJP leader in his complaint said that the "mischievous" post of the NTK leader was against the sovereignty of the country.
Mumbai, Dec 13 : As the year draws to a close, Aparshakti Khurana, for whom 2021 had been a professionally and personally fulfilling year, says that for him it's time to explore opportunities for lead roles.

The actor made his debut as a lead this year with the social comedy 'Helmet' and also returned to radio with the successful show 'Ishq Mein Kabhi Kabhi'.

Talking about the way forward for him as an actor, Aparshakti said, "I think it is a good time to concentrate on lead roles, and not just any characters or roles that are greatly rewarding and satisfying to me and to my audience. I have been around for a long time and garnered the necessary experience one needs to better his stance." After having juggled several content formats, the actor will make his OTT debut in the coming year with the release of 'Stardust' helmed by Vikramaditya Motwane.

The actor, who is all charged up for the coming year, said, "I want to do good content and be a part of stories that allow me to exhibit my acting skills in an all new avatar. Not only this, I look forward to extending my work in my various loves that I have including singing." The actor is currently busy shooting his next project 'Dokha Round D Corner', produced by T Series and stars R. Madhavan, Darshan Kumar and marks the debut of Khushalii Kumar.
Bengaluru, Dec 13 : The Karnataka police have arrested four persons in connection with providing a fake RT-PCR certificate to a 66-year-old South African national who tested positive for Covid-19, sources in the Health Department said on Monday.

The South African, who was undergoing quarantine in a five star hotel after testing positive for Covid-19, had managed to escape to his country by producing a fake RT-PCR negative report before the authorities.

According to police, two employees who worked in a software company in Bengaluru owned by the South African, and two staff members of a private lab, have been arrested for making the fake RT-PCR report.

However, the South African fled to his country via Dubai through the fake report.

The High Ground police who took up the investigation on the basis of the RT-PCR report submitted at the KempeGowda International Airport (KIAL) by the South African national had questioned the private lab staff.

After they were taken into custody, they revealed the names of two others.

The South African had come to Bengaluru on November 20. He tested positive for Covid-19 at the KIAL airport. Later, his samples were sent for genome sequencing. He was asked to remain in quarantine until the results came. But, he wanted to return to his country.

He had approached two of his employees and in turn they had approached a private lab near Electronics City. They bribed the lab technicians and swapped the swab samples of the South African with those of a healthy person. They had prepared a fake negative RT-PCR report by November 26.

The very next day he submitted the fake negative RT-PCR report to the hotel and airport authorities and flew to South Africa. His genome sequencing reports came on December 2 making him one of the first two persons in the country to test positive for the Omicron variant.

All primary 24 contacts and 240 secondary contacts have been traced and samples were taken by Urban Primary Health Centre officials. All have tested negative.
New Delhi, Dec 13 : The Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Monday raised the issue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Twitter account being compromised on Sunday during the Zero Hour in the house.

"If the Prime Minister's account can be compromised, then how can the Twitter accounts of the common man be protected?" he asked.

He also said that at a time when the government is planning to ban cyrptocurrencies, the PM's Twitter handle is compromised and a link has been tweeted that the government is going to recognize cryptocurencies. "The government should clarify in the Parliament whether it is going to recognise crytocurrency or not," he added.

During the zero hour, Trinamool Congress leader Pratima Mondal raised the issue of the new Covid variant Omicron and said that a silent pandemic has engulfed our country. She also raised the issue of education during Covid-19 times, online schooling and the lack of digital facilities and literacy in the country.

"More funds should be allocated to education and psycho-social support be provided to those who lost their parents," she suggested.

Raising a demand to take back the Citizen Amendment Act (CAA), BSP's Kunwar Danish Ali said that as Prime Minister Modi took back the three controversial farm laws, similarly he should take back the CAA, and also to ensure that cases lodged against students and activists be withdrawn.

Shiv Sena's Vinayak Raut raised the issue of unseasonal rain in Maharashtra and highlighted its severe impact as he requested appropriate relief from the National Disaster Relief Fund.

During the Zero Hour, members of the Congress and other likeminded parties also staged a walkout from the House in protest against their demand for a reply from the government on the issue raised by the Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

She raised the issue of passage in the question paper of Central Board of Secondary Examination on December 11, 2021 which was derogatory and regressive for women and asked CBSE to withdraw the question and tender an apology.

Chowdhury said they were walking out in protest against the Government's lackadaisical attitude.
Belagavi : , Dec 13 (IANS) Former Karnataka minister and senior Congress leader K.J. George on Monday said the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is planning to table the anti-conversion bill with an "ulterior motive", claiming the population of Christians in the southern state has come down.

"The population of the Christian community has come down in the state. I request the Chief Minister (Basavaraj Bommai), and the government not to bring a legislation in this regard (anti-conversion)," he said.

"This law will encourage moral policing. Hinduism is strong in the country. Even after the arrival of Mughals and Portuguese, the population of Hindus is more in the country," he said.

George further said "the Constitution is very clear on forceful conversions. It does not give room for it. It also provides opportunity for those who want to get converted to another religion", adding: "We also oppose forceful conversions." Meanwhile, Opposition leader Siddaramaiah stated that his party (Congress) does not support the proposed Anti-Conversion bill.

"The BJP's intentions are cruel and political. There is no necessity to bring the law at this juncture. The party is targeting one community. We will oppose the bill," he said.

Reacting to this, former Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa said Siddaramaiah has made it a habit to oppose everything.

"The anti-conversion law will be introduced in the session. Such laws are already in place in many states. Even Congress leaders are appreciative and supporting the bill," he said.

He further stated that he welcomed the statement of minister Sunil Kumar's statement on bringing new law prohibiting "Love Jihad".
Mumbai, Dec 13 : Actress Himanshi Choudhry, who is receiving a positive response for her role in the web series 'Inside Edge 3', says she never feels insecure or overshadowed in a multi-starrer since she has had a career in TV.

Himanshi is now gearing up for two projects with Tigmanshi Dhulia and Anurag Kashyap.

When asked if working in a multi-starrer where actors like Vivek Oberoi, Richa Chadha, Aamir Bashir are the face of the story, and if she feels insecure, in conversation with IANS Himanshi explained her thoughts.

"I am from a background of television where I was part of many TV series. Now, see the idea of any series whether it is on TV or web, it is always ensemble cast. It is always episodic and in few episodes on specific tracks, some character becomes important. Since the beginning of my career, I have done that, my mindset is such, where I do not feel overshadowed by other actors. I have no insecurity," Himanshi told IANS.

The actress earlier appeared in TV series like 'Lavanya', 'Banoo Main Teri Dulhann', 'Tu Aashiqui', web series like 'Out of Love', 'Hostages', among others.

Now that she is gearing up for her next with both her favourite directors Tigmanshu and Anurag for projects like 'Six Suspects' and 'Dobaaraa', respectively, Himanshi shares how working with her dream directors enhances her work.

Produced by Ajay Devgn Productions, 'Six Suspects' is the adaptation of Vikas Swarup's novel into a web series. The film 'Dobaaraa' is a directorial venture of Anurag that also features Taapsee Pannu.

"I have always admired both Tigmanshu and Anurag for the kind of films that they made so far. Quite interestingly their style of working is very different because they are also actors, be it Tishu or Anurag. Their understanding of performance and how to play the right note to extract the performance from an actor is interesting. I first worked with Tishu during 'Out Of Love'. Since then there is a bonding we have. Anurag does not really direct an actor but lets the performance flow. Looking forward to both the releases now," Himanshi signed off.
Bhubaneswar, Dec 13 : Ahead of panchayat polls, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday launched various development projects worth Rs 2,556.13 crore in Cuttack and Khordha districts, officials said.

Visiting the two districts to launch the distribution of smart health cards to beneficiaries covered under the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY), Patnaik launched the projects spread over various sectors including roads, bridges, drainage, education, health, livelihood, irrigation, energy, women and child development.

He first inaugurated 40 projects worth Rs 93.28 crore and laid the foundation stones for 95 projects worth Rs 1,474.88 crore in Cuttack. Later, he visited Begunia in Khordha district, where he inaugurated 126 projects costing Rs 85.53 crore and laid the foundation stones for 406 projects worth Rs 902.44 crore.

Addressing a gathering at Baliyatra ground in Cuttack city through a video message, the Chief Minister said his government is taking steps for developing the SCB Medical College as a world-class healthcare institution. The medical college would be a milestone in the country's health care sector in the coming days, he said.

Remembering Biswanath Pandit, labour leader from Cuttack, Patnaik announced that the Biswanath Pandit Central Library would be redeveloped as a state-of-the-art library near the Puri-Angul bus stand in the city.

At Begunia, the Chief Minister said Khordha was the land of the first freedom struggle. Saluting the brave peasant soldiers known as Paikas who fought for the Odia people, he said, "We will continue our fight for the rights of the Odia people." The Naveen Patnaik government is demanding that the Centre recognise the 'Paika rebellion' as the first war for Indian Independence. Recently, the state assembly had adopted a resolution to recommend to the Centre to declare the 'Paika Bidroha' (Paika rebellion) of 1817 as the 'first War of Independence'.

The Chief Minister has been launching the BSKY smart health card distribution programme in various districts by either visiting the district or through video conferencing. So far, 26 out of 30 districts have joined the initiative.
Hyderabad, Dec 13 : On the occasion of his birthday, the makers of Venkatesh Daggubati's upcoming movie 'F3' released a motion poster from the movie.

The birthday glimpse of Venkatesh Daggubati from 'F3' features him styled in 'Jodha Akbar' avatar. The 'Drushyam' actor is seen enjoying his happy time, showing off a bunch of currency notes, as a group of fakirs cheers him with their dance moves. With Charminar in the backdrop, the motion poster looks interesting.

'Here's the Special Birthday Video of @VenkyMama sir from #F3Movie. Have a #FUNtastic Birthday with Tons of Energy as always!", the tweet from 'F3' production banner Sri Venkateswara Creations read.

Billed to be a comedy entertainer, 'F3' is the sequel to the blockbuster 'F2'. Helmed by Anil Ravipudi, 'F3' stars Venkatesh, Varun Tej, Tamannah Bhatia, and Mehreen Pirzada in the lead roles.

Venkatesh, who has appeared in movies of multiple genres, has a wide range of fandom. His recent OTT release 'Drushyam-2' gained a good response, and the 'Gharshana' actor is all set to entertain the audience with 'F3', which is slated for release during the summer of 2022.
New Delhi, Dec 13 : One of the four Swarnim Vijay Mashals or the 'Flame of Victory' which had been set forth on a nationwide journey from the National War Memorial on December 16, 2020 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reached its penultimate destination, Air Force Station Hindon on Monday.

The Mashal was received by Air Marshal Amit Dev, Air Officer Commanding in Chief of Western Air Command and other senior officers of the Indian Air Force.

War Heroes of 1971, ACM S.K. Kaul who got a Mahavir Chakra, ACM Tyagi who was posted in 28 squadron during the war, Air Marshal Manjit S. Sekhon who got a Vir Chakra, Kamlesh Jain, spouse of Wg Cdr M.K. Jain who was posthumously awarded a Vir Chakra, Manisha Arora Kapoor, daughter of late Sqn Ldr G.K. Arora who got a Shaurya Chakra and Vikram Wahi, brother of late Flt Lt V.K. Wahi who was posthumously awarded a Vir Chakra for his action in the war, graced the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, ACM Kaul and Air Marshal Sekhon recounted their personal experiences and the immense contribution made by the Indian Air Force during the war which was instrumental in ensuring that the war was swift and decisive.

All the veterans lauded them for setting the highest military standards for future generations to imbibe. The Vijay Mashal will now travel to the National War Memorial where the flames will be merged with the Eternal Flame at the National War Memorial.
Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 13 : Despite adverse market conditions due to Covid-19, the principal IT hub of Kerala, Technopark's software IT exports grew by 7.7 per cent during the previous fiscal, according to official figures from the IT hub.

The exports grew from Rs 7,890 crores in 2019-20 to Rs 8,501 crores in 2020-21.

The IT complex opened shop in the mid nineties and since then the available IT space has crossed 10 million square feet, in which 460 companies of various size and shape provide direct employment to 63,000 people.

The CEO of Kerala IT Parks, John M Thomas, said the growth in software exports shows the strength and resilience of the AIT companies even in adverse market conditions.

"With the ongoing campus modernisation efforts at Technopark and completion of big ongoing infrastructure development projects, we are expecting higher export growth both by enabling organic growth of existing firms and by attracting new global corporations," said Thomas.

In recognition of its excellent financial stability, CRISIL had upgraded Technopark's credit rating to A Plus earlier this year, which incidentally was the highest credit rating achieved by the park in the past one decade.

The park's financial health remained robust despite the offering of relief to companies for rent payment and forgoing rental escalation for the fiscal due to Covid-19.
Amaravati, Dec 13 : The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday granted interim anticipatory bail to retired IAS officer K. Lakshminarayana in a case relating to alleged irregularities that took place in the AP State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) during the previous TDP regime.

The former director of APSSDC had approached the high court for anticipatory bail. The court granted him the same for 15 days.

The CID, probing the alleged irregularities, had searched the house of Lakshminrayana in Hyderabad on Friday.

The former bureaucrat, who was a key official in the TDP government headed by Chandrababu Naidu, fainted during the CID searches and was admitted to a hospital in Hyderabad.

The CID had also served a notice on Lakshminarayana directing him to appear before it at its headquarters in Mangalagiri for further inquiry on Monday.

The CID is probing misappropriation of Rs 242 crore in executing one of the projects. The agency filed an FIR against the retired IAS officer and 25 others including former Special Secretary, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Department, and the then ex-officio Secretary to Chief Minister and MD and CEO of APSSDC, Ghanta Subba Rao.

They were accused of alleged diversion of Rs 242 crore by Designtech and Siemens Projects through various shell companies.

The APSSDC claimed that it had procured software worth Rs 242 crore from Designtech Systems but the probe revealed that no such software was provided to it.

On a complaint by APSSDC's current Chairman K. Ajay Reddy, the CID started a probe in July and registered a case on December 9 under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act.

Meanwhile, the CID on Monday registered a case against Vemuri Radhakrishna, managing director of Telugu newspaper 'Andhrajyothi' and news channel ABN-Andhrajyothi.

A zero FIR was registered at CID police station in Mangalagiri on a complaint by a CID official that Radhakrishna, along with some others, had reached Lakshminarayana's house in Hyderabad on December 10 when the searches were being conducted and they tried to obstruct them from discharging their official duties.

The FIR has named Radhakrishna, a lawyer, a reporter and a videographer.
Kanpur : , Dec 13 (IANS) A 16-year-old girl, who is computer savvy, managed to send her GPS location to her family after she was kidnapped and held captive by car-borne men in the city which helped the police rescue her.

The girl was kidnapped by car-borne men who dragged her inside the vehicle while she was walking, administered some injection after which she lost consciousness and kept her hostage at a house in Mathura Nagar of Rawatpur area on Saturday.

On regaining consciousness, the girl sent her GPS location to her family while informing them about her kidnapping.

Police raided the house and rescued her safely. The accused and his three friends, two of whom are minors, had fled but were later caught by police.

The 16-year-old girl, a resident of Mati, is doing an animation course. The girl's mother told police that her daughter had come in contact with a teenager on Instagram and he had asked her to meet him at Motijheel but she refused.

The boy, accompanied by two teenage girls, came to meet the girl at her residence and left after staying there for some time.

On Saturday evening, the girl had gone to the computer institute to attend classes and got suspicious when she noticed a white car without a number plate following her.

After some time, the car stopped in front of her and its occupants dragged her inside, gave her some injection and sped away.

On regaining consciousness, she found herself locked in a room. She took out her mobile phone that had been kept in an inner pocket and first sent her GPS location to her mother through WhatsApp and then called her informing what had happened and that she was in trouble.

Her family, relatives and police tracked her location to a house in Mathura Nagar, Rawatpur, and rescued her safely.

The two teenage girls and a boy, Saurabh Sharma a.k.a. Ramji, were later detained by police.

An FIR has been registered against the accused under the relevant IPC sections and the statement of the girl has also been recorded.

ACP Nazirabad Santosh Kumar Singh, said, "The detained girls will be questioned after recording their statements to ascertain the motive behind the kidnapping."
Bengaluru, Dec 13 : Former Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has come down heavily on the Opposition leader Siddaramaiah, and calling him "Mr Terminator" while charging that the coalition government of the Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) collapsed because of his conspiracy.

Venting out his ire against the Congress leader, Kumaraswamy condemned Siddaramaiah's statement that Congress did not go to JD-S for alliance, before the coalition of Congress-JD-S came to power in 2018.

Later, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to wrestle the power from the coalition later and formed its own government under the leadership of former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa.

"Being constructive is being human. Being destructive is being a demon. You know only destruction. You do not have constructive ideas," Kumaraswamy wrote on Monday on a social media platform.

"The Congress leaders had come to our door steps to request to take up leadership with an intention to keep the BJP away from power. You did not know the decisions of your party leaders Siddaramaiah," he questioned.

"Siddaramaiah says he did not come to the door steps of our party. Who had invited you? Who begged for our coalition? When Congress central leaders were attempting to form coalition government, who was conspiring against it Mr Terminator? " Kumaraswamy questioned.

Kumaraswamy further attacked him by questioning who supported the Congress and JD-S leaders to quit their political parties and join hands with the BJP? "You have brought down the government installed by the high command. Now, you are coming out with one lie after the other. You answer who got the team ready to bring BJP into power in Karnataka?" Kumaraswamy said.

He accused Siddaramaiah of going against decisions of Congress high command, conspiring against Rajya Sabha Opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge and former Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara.

Now, he is busy conspiring against Congress state president D.K. Shivakumar.

Of late, Siddaramaiah is seeing scathing attacks against him within the party and from opposition parties.

Senior Congress leader B.B. Chimmanakatti recently chided him for choosing Badami constituency for being unable to win from the Chamundeshwari constituency from where he contested traditionally.

Sources say the "war" within the Congress party has intensified between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar who have eyes on the coveted post of the Chief Minister if Congress comes to power in 2023 assembly elections.
New Delhi, Dec 13 : Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar on Monday told the Lok Sabha that the country is headed towards the goal of Universal Health Coverage with 'Whole of Society' approach.

Applauding the healthcare workers' exemplary work during the challenging Covid times, Dr Pawar said: "The concept of 'Health For All' is a guiding motto under which we work as 'health soldiers. Building a healthcare system that is resilient and sturdy forms the foundation of Prime Minister's vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat." Speaking at Universal Health Coverage Day 2021 with the theme 'Leave No One's Health Behind: Invest in Health Systems For All', she said that the all-encompassing Ayushman Bharat Yojana aims at "Sabka Saath and Sabka Viswas" with focus on the wellness and quality of care. While primary healthcare with the aim of providing services close to the community was launched in 2018, this was strengthened with AB-PMJAY in September 2018, Ayushman Digital Mission and PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission this year, she added.

Dr Pawar noted that while Covid led to delay in several activities all over the world, in India, work on Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) increased despite the pandemic. More than 81,000 HWCs have been operationalised as on date, and the target of 1.10 lakh HWCs will be completed by end of March 2022.

The union minister felicitated the states under the categories of 'Best AB-HWC - Primary Healthcare Team Awards', 'Best Performing State/UT under Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav', 'Screening of NCDs and common cancers at AB-HWCs', 'Creation of Digital Health IDs' and 'PMJAY-NHA Awards'.

She appreciated the states and all frontline healthcare workers and the development partners for the achievement of more than 133 crore vaccination doses under the nationwide Covid vaccination drive. Dr Pawar also launched a coffee table book on good and replicable healthcare practices, and training manuals for primary healthcare team on expanded package of services.
New Delhi, Dec 13 : The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a plea by the West Bengal government challenging the Calcutta High Court decision to protect BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari from arrest in cases registered against him, after he switched from the Trinamool Congress to BJP.

A bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and A.S. Bopanna noted the observation of the high court is in support of an ad-interim stay granted. "We are not inclined to use our special powers under Article 136," said the bench, clarifying that it would not opine on the merits of the case.

Senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee, counsel for West Bengal government, contended that the high court jumped to a conclusion, as it took a prima facie view that Adhikari was being victimised by filing of criminal cases against him. He, questioning the high court order, added that a blanket order was passed so that nothing could be done in future and contended the state government would have to get leave of the court before arresting Adhikari in such cases.

The counsel emphasised that while the order is required to be reasoned, those reasons must be sustainable in law, which was not there in this matter.

Adhikari was allegedly accused of hooliganism, gathering an unlawful assembly, and also violating Covid-19 guidelines, amongst other things. He had moved the high court claiming the West Bengal government was abusing the police machinery by registering six FIRs against him at four different police stations.

The counsel for the state government vehemently argued that merely because the complaints were made after he switched to the BJP from the Trinamool, these cases cannot be termed malicious.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Adhikari, pointed out before the top court that the hearing before a single judge bench of the high court went for nearly a month before the order was passed. He added that it seems uncharitable to say the judge after one month of hearing jumped to a conclusion.

"Dr Dhawan coined the term 'regime revenge.' That's exactly what is happening....He contested against the incumbent Chief Minister and that became a big prestige issue...".

The high court, in September this year, had observed the state government was attempting to implicate Adhikari by filing criminal cases against him, and granted him interim protection from arrest in six FIRs registered against him.

The top court said it is open for the state to file counter affidavit before the high court and seek expeditious hearing.
San Francisco, Dec 13 : Leading automaker Toyota will charge drivers $8 a month or $80 annually for using their key fobs to remotely start its cars.

According to a report in The Drive, Toyota models 2018 or newer will need a subscription in order for the key fob to support remote start functionality.

"Toyota's the first company to charge for full use of your physical key fob -- either $8 a month or $80 a year at the Remote Connect plan's current price," the report noted.

When buying a new Toyota, buyers have the option to trial Toyota's Connected Services.

"These can include features like emergency assistance, hotspot connectivity, and app-based services like remote vehicle unlocking and starting," according to the report.

News of Toyota's decision surfaced on Reddit last month after a user spotted some wording in Toyota's 'Remote Connect' marketing materials that suggested an ongoing subscription would be required for drivers to start their car remotely with their key fob.

"The key fob's proximity-based radio frequency (RF) remote start function will not work without a paid subscription to Toyota's 'Remote Connect' suite of connected services," the report noted.

The 'Remote Connect' service lets drivers use their smartwatch, smart home devices, or smartphone to start their cars.
New Delhi, Dec 13 : Modernisation of Armed Forces and total self-reliance in the defence sector were subjects close to India's first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen Bipin Rawat's heart, said Defence Minister Rajanth Singh, pointing out "it is everyone's responsibility now to work tirelessly to achieve the objective even sooner".

In his address on Monday while virtually inaugurating nation-wide events of the Department of Defence Production (DDP), Singh also paid rich tributes to CDS Gen Rawat and other Armed Forces personnel who lost their lives in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu on December 8, and extended his condolences to the family members.

Sharing his insights on what freedom means to a nation, Singh said, freedom is not just a thing to be attained or earned, it is also a thing to maintain, for which one has to strive continuously.

"Freedom is not a goal, but a path. To a sovereign nation, freedom means the ability and capacity to take any decision related to defence and socio-economic development. In any situation, we can take a decision only when we are completely self-reliant," he stressed.

Singh was of the view that while India attained freedom in the fields such as agriculture, education and health post-Independence, not much attention was paid towards the defence sector.

He said, before the government came to power in 2014, the defence sector lagged behind due to lack of investment, innovation and research and development. This led to dependency on imports to meet the defence requirements of the country and affected the strategic autonomy, he added.

Singh pointed out that the current government understood the importance of self-reliance in defence and has been making constant efforts to achieve 'Aatmanirbharta' in the sector.

"The defence sector has entered into a new era due to the policies, vision and mindset of this government," he added.

Saying that this government does not shy away from taking bold decisions in the interest of the nation, Singh listed out a number of policy reforms aimed at promoting self-reliance in defence manufacturing.

He made special mention of the corporatisation of Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), saying that the move will make OFB more effective and efficient and unleash its true potential.

Other reforms mentioned by the Singh include setting up of Defence Industrial Corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu; increasing the FDI limit to 74 per cent through automatic route, and 100 per cent through Government route under certain circumstances; unveiling of draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020; notifying two positive indigenisation lists of over 200 items; earmarking of about 64 per cent of its modernisation funds under the capital acquisition budget for 2021-22 for procurement from domestic industries and launch of Innovations For Defence Excellence (iDEX) initiative.

Singh appreciated the fact that the private sector has contributed to about 90 per cent of country's defence exports. He exuded confidence this active and continued partnership between the government and the private sector will help to soon achieve 'Make in India, Make for the World' as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He hoped that the week-long events will generate awareness among people about the progress made in the defence sector, instil national spirit and further strengthen their trust in the country's defence preparedness.

Present on the occasion, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar said, the week-long events will make people aware of the achievements, resolve and vision of DDP.

He reiterated the resolve to continue to move forward without any comprise to achieve 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'.

As a run up to the DefExpo-2022 and with an aim to reach out to a larger audience in India and abroad, a Virtual Exhibition named 'Path to Pride' was launched to showcase the journey of 75 years for 'Aatmanirbhar' defence manufacturing through 75 stories of growth and evolution across the domains of land, naval, air, missile and electronic systems.

This virtual interactive platform offers a repository of India's defence capabilities, indigenisation efforts, future readiness and policy reforms, augmenting India's emergence as the global defence manufacturing hub.

This exhibition has virtual events lined-up for seven days with seven Ps -- Pratigya, Prarambh, Pratishthan, Parivartan, Parakram, Protsahan & Prayas -- designed to engage respective stakeholders from the government, manufacturers, innovators and masses.

Singh inaugurated several iconic events of the Department of Defence Production (DDP), as part of the Ministry of Defence dedicated week from December 13-19, 2021 to celebrate 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' commemorating 75 years of Independence.

A virtual exhibition, 'Path to Pride', public exhibitions, curated museums and a booklet showcasing 75 resolutions of DDP were inaugurated/launched by Singh.

Congratulating DDP for organising the week-long nation-wide events, he said, it will be helpful in spreading information about the efforts towards making India a net defence exporter from a net defence importer.
Chandigarh, Dec 13 : "Receiving a cancer diagnosis can feel like a death sentence. I am doing this ride to show it is possible to live your dreams, even with cancer. The ailment does not have a barrier. But you have got to create your own opportunities, no one else will do that for you." This was the key message given by Luke Grenfell-Shaw, a 26-year-old man from Westbury-on-Trym, who has set off on a challenging cycle ride from Bristol in the UK to Beijing to raise funds for cancer charities.

Addressing an inspirational interactive session held at Advanced Pediatric Centre at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here, Luke said: "This expedition would be seriously challenging even for someone living without cancer.

"However, I want to show that despite a cancer diagnosis you can set your own horizons; that you need not be labelled and limited by it, rather it is your dreams that determine your achievements." Organised by Amita Trehan, Professor in Pediatric Medicine, Advanced Pediatric Centre, with an intent to motivate others battling with the ailment, the session was well participated by equally inspiring others from the PGIMER, including 10-year-old Sukhnaaz, on treatment for leukemia, a 10th class student Dev, a survivor of leukemia, and Ashutosh, a student of pharmacy from Panjab University.

The session was also attended by Brig. Bakshi from Cankids, an NGO helping Luke's journey in India, as well as the doctors and supportive care staff from the hematology oncology unit in the Pediatrics Department.

Sharing his life's journey with the audience, Luke Grenfell-Shaw elaborated, "While teaching English in Siberia in 2018, I noticed an ache in my shoulder. At first he presumed it was a pulled muscle, but later it was diagnosed to be a stage IV sarcoma (a rare cancer which had spread from his shoulder blade to his lungs) at the age of 24." Speaking to an audience sitting in rapt attention, he further shared, "I was determined to take charge of my life and live it to the maximum. So, I founded a charity called CanLive on October 19, 2019, aiming to raise awareness and funds during the ride from Bristol in the UK to Beijing, China.

"Already covering 18,000 km, the tandem trip has provided me an opportunity to share the experience with friends, family, and with other young CanLivers, people living with cancer who are inspired to live life to the full and maximize their longevity." Luke's inspirational story was complemented by equally interesting and encouraging stories from other cancer survivors.

Sukhnaaz impressed the audience with her mesmerizing singing, and her fluency in multiple English accents. Her bright-lit face and her spirited demeanor was a clear testimony that 'there is life beyond cancer provided you do not give up'.

Dev, a cyber security buff who cured from the ailment, wanted to raise awareness about the myths and misconceptions prevalent in society regarding the disease.

Narrating an emotional account of discrimination that he faced due to the ailment he was suffering from, he seemed a man on a mission.

A very suave and polished Ashutosh, who got cured of cancer six and a half years ago, and now pursuing a degree in pharmacy also seemed dedicated to the cause and has a support group to give hope to those fighting their battle with the disease.

Aptly summing up the session, Amita Trehan said, "It's extremely gratifying for us as doctors to listen to these inspirational stories. As we also get emotionally involved with our patients, these kinds of positive life accounts rejuvenate us and reiterate our faith in the nobility of this profession."
Chennai, Dec 13 : Pointing out that everybody has to fight their own silent battles, actress Samyuktha Hegde on Monday urged people not to judge others on the basis of what they saw.

The actress, who will be seen opposite actor Prabhu Deva in the upcoming Tamil film 'Thael', took to social media to highlight that it was no cakewalk for people who were lean and were trying to gain weight as well.

She wrote on her Instagram page, "Dear friend with a different body type, Thank you for constantly acknowledging how lucky I am to be skinny. Thank you for not even considering my body concerns. Thank you for always ignoring my efforts at being fit and calling me blessed. Thank you for not appreciating my efforts for transforming my body from 45 to 50 kilos. Thank you for telling me 'You can eat anything and it won't even show'. Thank you for letting me know that a 'skinny to fit' journey doesn't matter, it's only the 'fat to fit' that counts. Regards, Your skinny friend." "Everyone is fighting their silent battles, don't make judgements based on what you see, some people are trying to lose weight while some are trying to gain, some stay fit their whole lives by constantly putting efforts. No one is LUCKY.

"No one was born perfect and there is no journey to attain perfection cause it does not exist. Being healthy mentally and physically is important, training and nourishing your body is important, taking care of the one thing you were born with is the most important!" the actress said.
New Delhi, Dec 13 : The Gujarat government has informed the Supreme Court that it has received 22,557 applications for payment of ex-gratia compensation to the families who lost a loved one to Covid-19 pandemic and sanctioned compensation in 16,175 cases. However, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare website records cumulative deaths in Gujarat as 10,098.

Gujarat's Commissioner of Relief and Ex-officio Additional Secretary, Revenue, in an affidavit filed on December 9, said: "It is submitted that till date, 22,557 applications have been received for payment of ex-gratia compensation, out of which sanction order has been passed for 16,175 cases. It is further submitted that out of the 16, 175 cases which have been sanctioned, DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) has been done for 14,215 cases." The Gujarat government submitted that in accordance with the directions of the top court, the state is making all endeavours to ensure that publicity about the ex-gratia compensation scheme is done through radio, print, and electronic media as well as through official social media handles.

"The link to the online portal has been provided on multiple government websites of all district collectorates, as well as VCEs (Village Computer Entrepreneurs) of e-gram centres at the village level," it added in the affidavit.

The government added: "The hon'ble court was further apprised vide the affidavit dated December 4, that 12,718 applications had been received, out of which sanction order has been passed for 7,145 cases, of which DBT was done for 6,515 cases." The state government submitted in the top court that it is bound by directions passed by the court and reiterates its commitment in its battle against Covid-19 to ensure that victims of the pandemic are paid compensation, at the earliest, in a simplified manner.

The top court is hearing a plea filed by advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal in connection with compensation for Covid victim families. The Supreme Court in its October 4 judgment, had approved Rs 50,000, ex-gratia for the kin of Covid victims, which was recommended by the National Disaster Management Authority.

Previously, the top court had issued notice to several states over the abysmally low disbursal rate of Covid compensation. On November 29, the Supreme Court expressed concern at state governments grappling with various issues in connection with Rs 50,000 ex-gratia distribution to next of kin of Covid victims.

It had also directed the Chief Secretaries of various state governments to furnish full particulars to the Centre, Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Disaster Management Authority, and scheduled the matter for further hearing in December.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
New Delhi, Dec 13 : The Supreme Court on Monday pulled up the Gujarat and Maharashtra governments on various issues associated with Covid compensation scheme, during the hearing in a matter where it is monitoring disbursal of Rs 50,000 to the kin of those who succumbed to the disease.

A bench of Justices M.R. Shah and B.V. Nagarathna, against the backdrop of lack of publicity given by state governments, noted that common man would struggle to learn about the compensation scheme. They took exception to the Gujarat government's failure to give adequate publicity -- through print and electronic media -- to the compensation scheme.

The bench queried whether there were adequate advertisements to inform people about the compensation scheme? As the Gujarat government counsel contended that publicity was given through All India Radio (AIR), Justice Shah shot back: "Who listens to AIR?... You must give advertisements to newspapers, especially vernacular dailies." The Gujarat government counsel assured these steps will be taken by Tuesday.

"Look how people are struggling to get compensation," Justice Shah told counsel, asking him to use FM channels, local newspapers, and vernacular dailies to advertise about the scheme regarding Covid compensation.

The bench made it clear that steps should be taken and it will hear the matter the day after Tuesday.

The bench then asked about the status of compensation disbursement in Maharashtra and was told that the state has received 87,000 applications and till Monday, 8,000 applications were approved, and disbursal is in process.

As counsel assured the top court that 50,000 more persons will be paid compensation by December 31, the bench said: "You started only after we told you to do something... whether any wide publicity is given to the portal or not?" The counsel assured the bench that wide publicity has been given to the scheme.

The bench also did not appreciate the fact that the Maharashtra government had merely compensated just 8,000 out of 87,000 applicants, in a state which had witnessed more than a lakh deaths. "It's unfortunate that you have paid compensation to only 8,000 despite 87,000 applying for it," it said.

The top court made these observations on a plea filed by advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal. The Supreme Court in its October 4 judgment, had approved Rs 50,000, ex-gratia for the kin of Covid victims, which was recommended by the National Disaster Management Authority. Previously, the top court had issued notice to several states over the abysmally low disbursal rate of Covid compensation.

On November 29, the Supreme Court expressed concern at state governments grappling with various issues in connection with Rs 50,000 ex-gratia distribution to next of kin of Covid victims. It had directed the Chief Secretaries of various state governments to furnish full particulars to the Centre, Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Disaster Management Authority, and scheduled the matter for further hearing in December.
New Delhi, Dec 13 : Months after a tunnel connecting Delhi Assembly (Old Secretariat) to the historic Red Fort was found, a hanging house was discovered inside the Vidhan Sabha premises on Monday.

Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel told the press that the hanging house was found after a hollow wall was demolished.

An inspection will be carried out and the archaeological department will be informed about the same, he added.

The tunnel was found in the month of September. Goel had told the media then that the British must have used it to transport convicts on death row. Therefore, he said, discovery of the hanging house was highly probable.

However, no official statement has been issued by the archaeological department over the same.

The tunnel was also destroyed due to sewer work and Delhi metro construction.

This British era iconic building was established in 1912 -- a year after the national capital came to Delhi. It was designed by E Montague Thomas to hold the Imperial Legislative Council and subsequently the Central Legislative Assembly (after 1919), till the newly constructed Parliament House of India in New Delhi was inaugurated on January 18, 1927.
New Delhi, Dec 13 : Ending atrocities and discrimination against the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes is a top priority for the Central government, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Virendra Kumar said on Monday while launching launching a National Helpline Against Atrocities (NHAA) here.

The Union Minister said the helpline will ensure registration of every complaint as an FIR, and will be available round the clock on toll-free number -- 14566, across the country in Hindi, English and regional language of the states and union territories.

The helpline number will ensure proper implementation of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and can be accessed by making a voice call either from a mobile or land line number of any telecom operator across the country.

Also available as a web based self-service portal, the NHAA will generate informed awareness about the various provisions of the Prevention of Atrocities (PoA) Act, 1989 and the Protection of Civil Right (PCR) Act, 1955 that are aimed at ending discrimination and provide protection to all.

A docket number shall be given for each complaint received from the complainants regarding non-compliance of the PCR Act, 1955 and the POA Act, 1989.

The status of the grievance can be tracked by the complainant on the portals.

The system will ensure that every complaint is registered as an FIR and all registered complaints are investigated and all chargesheets filed are prosecuted in the courts for decision within the given timelines in the Act.
Jaipur, Dec 13 : A minor addicted to online games Free Fire Pubg Dragon Squad and Teen Patti killed his younger cousin and buried his body. He has been arrested by the Rajasthan police, confirmed police officials on Monday.

The accused, after killing his cousin, created a fake ID on Instagram and asked for a ransom of Rs 5 lakh by messaging his uncle, said Nagaur SP Abhijit Singh.

He said that on December 9, a complaint was lodged in the Ladnu police station, alleging that his 12-year-old nephew who left the house on December 8 morning with his mother's phone, had not reached home yet.

Police started an intensive search for the missing boy and a special team was constituted at the police station level and cyber cell under the supervision of Additional Superintendent of Police Vimal Singh Nehra and other officials.

The SP said that on the second day of the incident, the uncle of the missing boy living in Assam got a message on Instagram asking for a ransom of Rs 5 lakh. On informing the police, the SHO Rajendra Singh asked him to keep the caller engaged.

At the same time, the team traced the IP location from the cyber technology of Instagram ID, which turned out to be the village of the kidnapped child.

Due to the ID of Instagram being generated at the time of the incident and the IP location of the kidnapped child's village, the name of the minor came to the fore in the investigation, who was reportedly demanding a ransom.

Detained and interrogated psychologically, the minor said that he and his cousin used to play online games Free Fire Pubg Dragon Square and Teen Patti. Online payment in this game had to be given in the form of tokens. He had gone to the farm with his 12-year-old cousin on the day of the incident. In a fight over online payment, he strangled him to death, then out of fear, threw him into a ditch and threw soil on him.

Due to the need to recharge to invest money in online games, he made a plan to demand ransom and asked his uncle for a ransom of Rs 5 lakhs by creating a fake ID. The dead child's body and mobile phones of both the children were recovered through the detained minor.

The accused in fact showed his uncle the slippers and phone cover of the deceased and then also clicked a picture of him after taking his body out of the ditch to show that the boy was in his hold, said police officials.
Srinagar, Dec 13 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences to the families of the policemen martyred in a terrorist attack on the outskirts of Srinagar on Monday and sought details on the incident.

"PM @narendramodi has sought details on the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. He has also expressed condolences to the families of those security personnel who have been martyred in the attack," the Prime Minister's Office said in a tweet.

Terrorists on Monday evening attacked a police bus at Srinagar's Pantha Chowk, killing two police personnel and injuring 12 others, including four critically. The bus was fired upon from multiple directions. The injured policemen have been rushed to the hospital. The area has been cordoned off and an operation has been started to nab the attackers.

Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has condemned the terrorist attack in Srinagar and expressed condolences to the families of the deceased.

"Terrible news of a terror attack on a police bus on the outskirts of Srinagar. I unequivocally condemn this attack while at the same time send my heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased & prayers for the injured," he tweeted.

Former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said the attack on the police bus has exposed the false narrative of normalcy.

"Terribly sad to hear about the Srinagar attack in which two policemen were killed. GOIs false narrative of normalcy in Kashmir stands exposed yet there has been no course correction. My condolences to the bereaved families," she said in a tweet.

People's Conference leader Imran Raza Ansari has also condemned the attack and prayed for the recovery of the injured cops.

"Sad news coming in from Zewan area. I condemn the attack on Jammu and Kashmir Police in strongest possible words. Such mindless acts of violence only add to the misery of Kashmir. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured. May Allah grant Jannah to the bravehearts!" Ansari tweeted.
New Delhi, Dec 13 : Union Minister of State for Public Grievances Jitendra Singh on Monday hailed the high disposal rate of the newly created Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) benches of Jammu and Srinagar, saying in a span of just 15 days, more than 100 cases had been disposed of by the Srinagar bench while the Jammu bench had disposed of over 6,000 cases in over one year.

Reviewing the functioning of the newly created benches with CAT Chairman Manjula Das in the national capital, Singh said Jammu and Kashmir is the only Union Territory in the country to have two CAT benches.

The Minister said having two CAT benches signify the impetus the government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gives to Jammu and Kashmir, and the well-being of the government staff so as to keep them a motivating force which would ultimately accelerate the development of the union territory.

The Srinagar CAT bench was inaugurated by Jitendra Singh on November 23 this year while the Jammu bench was inaugurated by him in June last year. They deal exclusively with service matters of government employees.

The Minister said the two benches will go a long way in not only reducing the burden of various courts but would also provide to the persons covered by the Administrative Tribunals, speedy relief in respect of their grievances and service matters.

It is worth highlighting that both the buildings of CAT at Jammu and Srinagar respectively, have been allotted by the union territory government.

He also said that the Narendra Modi government is committed to transparency and "justice for all". The people-friendly reforms undertaken in the last seven years have benefitted the entire country including the people of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.

He further said that more than 800 central laws, which were not applicable to Jammu and Kashmir earlier, have been made applicable after August 5, 2019 for the benefit of people of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, so that they can enjoy the same rights as people in the rest of India.
Mumbai, Dec 13 : OMC Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) have collaborated to scale up alkaline electrolyser technology for the production of green hydrogen.

At present, electrolyser plants are imported.

This is a first of its kind initiative to support the country's commitment to achieve renewable energy targets and reduce greenhouse gas emissions Refineries use large quantities of hydrogen for de-sulphurisation to make petrol, diesel and other chemicals. Presently, hydrogen is made at the refinery via steam reforming of natural gas, but this results in high CO2 emission. Consequently, refiners are setting up large scale electrolysers to produce green hydrogen from water and thereby decarbonise hydrogen production.

"We have been extensively leveraging technology in all our activities," BPCL Chairman and Managing Director Arun Kumar Singh said.

"Today, through collaboration with BARC, we intend to scale up 'Indigenous Alkaline Electrolyser Technology' and look forward to commercialising it for large use especially in refineries. This will be another step towards 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' in our journey for achieving net zero emissions by 2040." Bharat Petroleum has plans to expand its portfolio of renewable energy with solar, wind and biofuels. Furthermore, the company intends to meet power requirement for new projects in its refineries, primarily from renewable sources.
New Delhi, Dec 13 : The Supreme Court on Monday observed that herbs/medicines meant to enhance male potency do not attract the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and comprising Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli, granted bail to Bharat Chaudhry, an accused in a narcotics case. He was granted bail by the lower court, which recorded that test reports of the seized material were awaited and it was not established whether the tablets which, according to the accused, were sexual enhancement tablets, would qualify either as a narcotic or psychotropic substance.

However, the Madras High Court on November 2, 2020, cancelled the bail so granted, saying that test reports did not totally negate the fact that seized contraband goods were not narcotic substances.

Chaudhry then then moved the top court challenging this order.

The top court said: "A large number of the tablets that have been seized by the DRI admittedly contain herbs/medicines meant to enhance male potency and they do not attract the provisions of the NDPS Act." The Chief Justice-headed bench added that in the absence of clarity on the quantitative analysis of the samples, the prosecution cannot be heard to state, at this preliminary stage, that the petitioner has been found to be in possession of commercial quantities of psychotropic substances as contemplated under the NDPS Act.

"Most importantly, none of the tablets were seized by the prosecution during the course of the search conducted, either at the office or at the residence of A-4 (Chaudhry) at Jaipur, on 16th March, 2020," it noted.

It further added that reliance on printouts of WhatsApp messages downloaded from the mobile phone and devices seized from the office premises of the accused cannot be treated at this stage as sufficient material to establish a live link between him and two other accused, when even as per the prosecution, scientific reports in respect of the devices is still awaited.

"In the absence of any psychotropic substance found in the conscious possession of A-4, we are of the opinion that mere reliance on the statement made by A-1 to A-3 under Section 67 of the NDPS Act is too tenuous a ground to sustain the impugned order dated 15th July, 2021," the bench said.

Citing that "quantitative analysis of the samples could not be carried out for want of facilities", the top court said order cancelling bail to Chaudhary is not sustainable.

It also granted bail to another accused Raja Chandrasekharan, saying since the charge sheet has already been filed and he has remained in custody for over a period of two years. "It is deemed appropriate to release him on bail, subject to the satisfaction of the trial court," added the bench.

Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Chennai Zonal Unit, had seized about 1,37,665 tablets of different types collectively weighing 90 kg (approx.) described as psychotropic substances from four locations, all situated in Chennai.

Two accused made a statement that they had colluded with suppliers in Nagpur and Rajasthan and procured tablets composed of psychotropic substances for exporting and sending through courier service to customers in the US under the guise of herbal tablets, on orders received from Chaudhary.

Officers of DRI, Jaipur Unit conducted a search at his residence at Jaipur on March 16, 2020 and seized some incriminating material. He was arrested on March 17.
Chandigarh, Dec 13 : Former Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday said he felt sad and bad about Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi over the way he was being treated by the Congress party.

"I feel sad for him that despite having a tremendous potential, he is being made to be subservient to the whims of the PCC President Navjot Sidhu", Singh said, while remarking, "Channi will eventually end up as a night watchman only".

Reacting to the appointment of Sidhu as the Chairman of the Congress Election Committee for Punjab, with Channi being made to work under him, Amarinder said it was unprecedented that a Chief Minister was made subservient to the PCC president.

"No self respecting leader should accept such humiliation," the former Chief Minister remarked, while suggesting that Channi should resign than face such humiliation and insult.

He pointed out as how the Congress had claimed that it had appointed a Scheduled Caste as the Chief Minister but has now made him subservient to the PCC president. "Was he just a showpiece to get the SC votes?" he asked.

"Just because someone is behaving like a spoilt child and throwing tantrums day in and day out, you are submitting to all his blackmail and in the process insulting and humiliating your Chief Minister, who is doing a good job", he said, while remarking, "the Congress is going down the dumps".
Mumbai, Dec 13 : Lending major SBI on Monday said it has tried to dissuade employees from joining the proposed two-day bank strike called on December 16 and 17.

The SBI requested its staff members to reconsider their decision and refrain from participating in the strike on the said date in the interest of customers, investors, and the bank.

"Considering the ongoing pandemic situation, resorting to a strike will cause great inconvenience to the stakeholders," the bank said in a statement.

"Bank endeavours to make available normal functioning in its branches and offices banking services to all customers during 16th or 17th December 2021." However, the SBI also requested its customers to undertake transactions well in advance and use the digital channels for payments or money transfer and other related services in the likelihood of services being interrupted or being partially available.
Srinagar, Dec 13 : J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha directed the authorities concerned to provide best possible to the policemen injured in the terrorist attack on a Jammu and Kashmir Police on the outskirts of Srinagar on Monday.

"Strongly condemn the cowardly terrorist attack on J&K Police bus in Srinagar. My homage to our brave martyred police personnel. We are committed to ensure that perpetrators are punished. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families.

"Directed the concerned authorities to provide best possible treatment to the injured. I pray for their speedy recovery. Our police and security forces are determined to neutralize the evil forces of terrorism," the Lt Governor's office tweeted.

Terrorists on Monday evening attacked a police bus at Pantha Chowk in Srinagar killing two police personnel and injuring 12 others, four of them critically. The injured policemen have been rushed to the hospital, the area cordoned off, and an operation has been started to nab the attackers.
Aizawl/Kohima, Dec 13 : The Assam Rifles troopers have erected a huge 47-feet Christmas star -- the largest in the northeastern region, ahead of Christmas, in Mizoram, officials said on Monday.

An Assam Rifles official in Aizawl said that the Lunglei Battalion of the 23 Sector Assam Rifles has constructed a humongous "Christmas Star" at Lunglei in Mizoram.

The star of Bethlehem measuring 47 feet in height is the largest "Christmas Star" of the northeast. It marked the occasion of "Advent Christmas", and is a beacon of hope with aim to spread a message of positivity and togetherness for local populace, an Assam Rifles statement said.

The Christmas celebrations across the northeastern region last year was subdued due to the Covid restrictions which forced the people to remain indoors.

The imposing star overlooking Lunglei has attracted many visitors within the first week of its presence. The local residents have been invited to visit the Star of Bethlehem. It is also becoming a popular attraction among them for picnics and family outings.

The locals have been highly appreciative of the efforts of Assam Rifles towards spreading the spirit of Christmas.

Meanwhile, the Planning and Coordination Department of the Nagaland government on Monday has launched the second edition of the 'Nagaland for Green Christmas' campaign this year, urging the citizens to celebrate a sustainable and environment-friendly Christmas.

In Kohima, the Planning and Coordination Department requesting the people to celebrate a sustainable and environment-friendly Christmas said that the key objective of this campaign is to align the Christmas festival celebration to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals dissemination and spark action among the residents in Nagaland for making this Christmas and beyond, sustainable.

An official statement said that the 'Nagaland for Green Christmas' is the need of the hour for "our state primarily because, while it is the most wonderful time of the year, it's not the most environmentally friendly. With a little know-how, we can host a state-wide sustainable and eco-friendly Christmas".

"From the type of tree we buy to the food we eat, everything - no matter how big or small - can make a huge difference. The key is to incorporate small changes and considerations into our normal routine - think about the items we buy, how we use them and how we dispose of them as well," the statement said.

As part of this campaign, SDG Coordination Centre has opened up the 'Green Christmas Contest 2021' which will be taking applications till December 25.

Over six million Christians live in Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya while there are a significant number of Christians in the other northeastern states of Manipur, Tripura, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.

Latest updates on Christmas 2021
New Delhi, Dec 13 : The Supreme Court on Monday said the district judiciary is expected to be the foundational court, and therefore, should have the freedom of mind to decide a case on its own merits, rather "rendering conviction on a moral platform".

A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M.M. Sundresh said at times, courts do have their constraints and different decisions are being made by different courts, namely, trial courts, on the one hand and the appellate courts, on the other. However, it added that if such decisions are made due to institutional constraints, they do not augur well.

The top court said: "The district judiciary is expected to be the foundational court, and therefore, should have the freedom of mind to decide a case on its own merit or else it might become a stereotyped one rendering conviction on a moral platform. Indictment and condemnation over a decision rendered, on considering all the materials placed before it, should be avoided." The bench said every case has its own journey towards the truth and it is the court's role to undertake this and the truth has to be found on the basis of evidence available before it. "There is no room for subjectivity nor the nature of offence affects its performance. We have a hierarchy of courts in dealing with cases," it added.

Justice Sundresh, who authored the judgment on behalf of the bench, said an appellate court shall not expect the trial court to act in a particular way depending upon the sensitivity of the case. "Rather it should be appreciated if a trial court decides a case on its own merit despite its sensitivity," he noted, adding that the appellate court is expected to maintain a degree of caution before making any remark.

The top court made these observations while setting aside an order of the Karnataka High Court which reversed a trial court order acquitting two men accused of murdering a police officer in 2001. The accused were sentenced to life imprisonment. The accused filed the appeals in the top court challenging this order.

The top court said: "Certainly, the court of first instance has its own advantages in delivering its verdict, which is to see the witnesses in person while they depose. The appellate court is expected to involve itself in a deeper, studied scrutiny of not only the evidence before it, but is duty bound to satisfy itself whether the decision of the trial court is both possible and plausible view." The top court noted when two views are possible, the one taken by the trial court in a case of acquittal is to be followed on the touchstone of liberty along with the advantage of having seen the witnesses. "Article 21 of the Constitution, also aids the accused after acquittal in a certain way, though not absolute," it added.

The Karnataka government had filed an appeal in the high court, which reversed the acquittal order and noted that the trial court had "no idea of the concept of dying declaration and the principle governing it".

The top court noted that the high court should have refrained from making strong comments on the judgment made by the trial court. "Thus, the appeals are accordingly allowed. Consequently, the orders of conviction passed by the high court stand set aside," said the bench.
Los Angeles, Dec 13 : Despite the threat of celebrities, publicists and the American television network NBC boycotting the 79th annual Golden Globes, the show will go on - although it's unclear in what form, reports "Variety".

On Monday, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HSPA), which has been under attack ever since the Los Angeles Times reported last winter that it did not have a single Black member, announced its nominations for its January 9 dinner. The event does not have a broadcast partner at present because of scrutiny over the glaring lack of diversity among its voters.

The organisation's interim President Helen Hoehne informed viewers on YouTube, where about 10,000 people were watching, according to "Variety", that the HFPA had instituted changes to reform its outdated practices, including adding 21 new members.

Hoehne then introduced a surprise presenter - American rapper Snoop Dogg -- to kick off the nominations. And in the words of "Variety", wearing dark sunglasses just after 6 a.m. in Los Angeles, Dogg struggled with the teleprompter, butchering many of the nominees' names.

In the end, Kenneth Branagh's "Belfast" and Jane Campion's "The Power of the Dog" led all films, with seven nominations each. On the TV side, HBO's corporate family drama "Succession" picked up five nominations, more than any other show.

For Campion, it was her second Golden Globe nomination for Best Director after 1993, when she made the cut with "The Piano". The only other woman on the list is Maggie Gyllenhaal for "The Lost Daughter".

The nominations' only Indian connection - although a tad distant - is for the Best Actor in a Television Drama for the French-Moroccan Tahar Rahim, who essayed the character of the notorious Charles Sobhraj in the Netflix series, "The Serpent".
Chennai, Dec 13 : AIADMK's expelled interim General Secretary V.K. Sasikala has expressed concern over the rising prices of potash and called upon the Central and state governments to take steps to reduce them.

In a statement on Monday, the former aide of late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa said that paddy has been sown in over around 10 lakh acres of farmland during the Samba- Thaladi season in Tamil Nadu and the rising prices of potash is affecting its cultivation.

Generally one bag was applied per one acre of paddy cultivation and with the rising prices and shortage, the application of potash has gone down in farms across Tamil Nadu, she said.

Sasikala, who is trying hard to come back to the AIADMK, has used the rising price of potash as a major issue to get support of the farming community of Tamil Nadu.

AIADMK leader and former Chief Minister K. Palaniswami and his close associates had come out against her strongly, but there were reports of Sasikala gaining the support of several AIADMK leaders of south Tamil Nadu with the silent blessings of AIADMK Chief Coordinator and former Chief Minister, O. Panneerselvam.

Panneerselvam and Sasikala are from the powerful - and predominantly agrarian - Thevar community, and to connect with it, she has hit on this issue.
DAMASCUS, Oct. 16, 2019 (Xinhua) -- UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen speaks to reporters after a meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem in Damascus, Syria, on Oct.16, 2019. Geir Pedersen said on Wednesday that the recently-form Image Source: IANS News

Beirut, Dec 13 : UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen said on Monday that the UN is working on finding appropriate ways to allow Syrian refugees to return to their homeland, a statement by Lebanon's presidency reported.

"This is a priority for the UN during the deliberations taking place in Geneva, in which Lebanon was invited to participate," Pedersen added during his meeting at Baabda Palace with Lebanese President Michel Aoun.

The UN special envoy expressed appreciation of the UN and the international community for the care provided by the Lebanese state to the displaced Syrians despite the difficult economic conditions prevailing in Lebanon, Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, Aoun told Pedersen that the international community must assume its responsibilities by securing the return of displaced Syrians to their homeland instead of staying in Lebanon and relying on financial support from international organisations.

The Lebanese President also gave an overview to UN special envoy about the difficult economic and living conditions in Lebanon which were further exacerbated by the presence of a big number of Syrian refugees on Lebanese territories.

More than 1 million Syrian refugees are registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Lebanon, while the Lebanese government estimated the true number of Syrians in the country at 1.5 million.
Gandhinagar, Dec 13 : Gujarat on Monday detected its fourth Omicron case in 'Diamond City' Surat.

A 42-year-old diamond trader from the gem hub of Ashwani Kumar Road tested positive for the new variant following his long travel history in South Africa.

"The 42-year-old male patient is into diamond business since years and a frequent traveller to South Africa. He returned from the country to Surat on December 2 and was reported Covid-19 positive on December 8. We sent his samples on that day for genome sequencing and today it showed him to Omicron positive," Deputy Municipal Commissioner, Health, Ashish Nayak told IANS.

"The patient is asymptomatic and he was initially admitted in the hospital for three days but thereafter we have placed him in home isolation," he added.

"He has three kids and wife, all of whom were Covid-19 negative on December 8, but once again, we will have them tested. The entire family has been kept in isolation and closely monitored. The area where he lives has been marked as micro containment zone. His four fellow travellers were also tested for Covid-19, but all were negative," Nayak added.

Sources said that the diamond trader also visited Kenya and the UAE before flying back to Surat, via Delhi.

The Surat Health Department has been put on an alert following the entry of the Omicron.
Sofia, Dec 13 : Bulgarian legislators on Monday elected a new government led by 'Continue the Change' nominee Kiril Petkov, almost one month after the country's early parliamentary elections.

The cabinet was backed by 134 members in the 240-seat National Assembly. Petkov's Continue the Change signed a coalition agreement with socialists-dominated BSP for Bulgaria, There Is Such A People, and Democratic Bulgaria last week.

According to the Bulgarian Constitution, the National Assembly will elect government by a majority of more than one-half of the present legislators, Xinhua news agency reported.

Petkov, born in 1980, has been a Harvard-educated entrepreneur. From May 12 to September 15, 2021, he served as caretaker Economy Minister. He then established Continue the Change with caretaker Finance Minister, Assen Vassilev to run in the parliamentary elections.

"Zero tolerance towards corruption will be the motto of our government," he told the legislators while presenting its priorities.

In the field of economy, Bulgaria has to catch up with its European partners, he said, adding that the country has to be a centre of innovation and competitiveness.

He also noted that overcoming the Covid-19 crisis will be one of the urgent tasks of his government.

Vassilev, who also graduated from Harvard, became Deputy Prime Minister for European Union funds and Finance Minister, along with four other Vice Prime Ministers.

Meanwhile, three cabinet members of the caretaker government became ministers in the new government. Twelve other ministers were also named.
New Delhi, Dec 14 : An NRI woman infected with coronavirus infection ran away from a Covid-dedicated hospital in Noida district of Uttar Pradesh. However, after five hours of search, the Noida police brought her back to the hospital.

An NRI woman living in Noida's Sector-137 had arrived here from Singapore with her four-year-old child. The Rapid Action Team brought the woman to the hospital located in Sector-39 on Sunday after she reported Covid-like symptoms and was detected positive for the infection.

"A woman with her four-year old child came to the hospital for Covid testing and was found positive for the infection. But she ran away from the hospital on Sunday night. However, she made the excuse of buying milk for her child when came back to the hospital after several hours," said Rajeev Baliyan, station incharge, Noida Sector-39 police station, to IANS. He also rejected the report of Omicron variant detected in her.

According to the report, the hospital staff tried to contact the woman after she went missing from the hospital but her phone was switched off. Finding no clue about the woman, the hospital administration filed a complaint with the Sector-39 police station. Following which a team of Noida police and healthcare workers went to her residence where she could not be found. However, she returned back to the hospital around 2 a.m in the morning.

At nearly 2 a.m. in the morning, the woman was re-admitted to the hospital, said Sushma Chandra, Chief Medical Superintendent, district hospital.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Moscow, Dec 14 : Russian President Vladimir Putin informed British Prime Minister Boris Johnson of his assessments of the current situation in Ukraine during a phone call.

Johnson expressed concern over the alleged large-scale movement of Russian troops along the Ukrainian borders, the Kremlin said in a statement on Monday.

Putin gave Johnson specific examples of how authorities in Kiev undermined the implementation of the Minsk agreements, "which are an uncontested basis for resolving the internal crisis in Ukraine." The Russian President also pointed to the "discrimination against the Russian-speaking population" in Ukraine, Xinhua news agency reported.

He underlined the need to immediately begin negotiations on clear and internationally legal agreements against the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's further eastward expansion and against the deployment of weapons in Russia's neighbours, primarily Ukraine.

The Russian side will present draft documents on this issue, Putin added.
Dhaka, Dec 14 : Bangladesh is set to observe the Martyred Intellectuals' Day on Tuesday in a befitting manner.

Bangladesh Prime Minister (PM), Sheikh Hasina on Monday said that the anti-liberation forces started the politics of killing, coup and conspiracy in the country.

The killers carried out repression and tortures against free thinkers, teachers, writers, journalists and politicians, she added.

President Mohammad Abdul Hamid and the PM paid deep respect and rich tributes to the sons of the soil on the occasion of the Martyred Intellectuals' Day.

Hasina said the terrorist and militant groups carried out a reign of terror in the country from 2001 to 2006. They unleashed arson terrorism in the country to thwart the national election of January 5, 2014, and they are still hatching conspiracies, she added.

She said the anti-liberation forces assassinated Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (famously referred to as 'Bangabandhu') and most of his family members on August 15, 1975, which was a heinous killing.

"We have brought the killers of the martyred intellectuals under trial and have been executing the verdicts. No conspiracy can divert the nation from this process. Those who wanted to save the heinous war criminals will also be brought to justice one day," Hasina added.

The nation will remember forever the sacrifice of martyred intellectuals, she said and called upon the people to be united against the conspiracies of the killers of 1971 and war criminals and Jamaat-clique for continuation of development.

In separate messages on the eve of the day, the President and the Prime Minister urged the people to come forward being imbued with the ideology of the martyred intellectuals and spirit of the Liberation War to build a non-communal, happy and prosperous 'Sonar Bangla'.

President Abdul Hamid, in his message, said the intellectuals, as the conscience of the nation, had played a very significant role with their sharp writings and intellect-based spirit to create public opinion in favour of the Liberation War, provide suggestions to the war-time Mujibnagar government in advancing the war towards its successful end.

But it is unfortunate that the occupation forces of Pakistan and their local collaborators had brutally killed the country's eminent intellectuals, including academicians, physicians, litterateurs, journalists and artists on December 14,1971, just on the eve of the victory, causing an irreparable loss to the nation, he added.

The President called upon all to be imbued with the ideology of the martyred intellectuals and build a non-communal society based on spirit of the Liberation War.

In her message, PM Sheikh Hasina said martyred intellectual day is a shameful chapter in the history of Bangladesh as the Pakistani occupation forces, anti-liberation forces and their local collaborators killed eminent intellectuals at the fag end of the Liberation War to turn the nation into a brain-empty state.

Sheikh Hasina said when the country was close to the final victory under the leadership of the greatest Bangalee of all times, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the intellectuals were killed by the occupation forces and their local cohorts like Al-Badars, Al-Shams and Razakars.

The Bangladesh premier said Professor Mofazzal Haidar Chowdhury, Munier Choudhury, Anwar Pasha, Shahidullah Kaisar, Gias Uddin, Fazle Rabbi, Abdul Alim Chowdhury, Siraj Uddin Hossain, Selina Parveen and Joytirmay Guha Thakurada were among those who were killed by the occupation forces and their collaborators.

Just two days ahead of the country's cherished victory on this day 50 years ago, the occupying Pakistan army in collusion with their local collaborators -- Al-Badr, Al-Shams and Razakars -- butchered the most prominent intellectuals of the country in a bid to cripple the newly emerging nation of Bangladesh.

A memorial erected in memory of the martyred intellectuals at Mirpur in the capital has been readied, as national leaders and people from all walks of life will pay their tribute by placing wreaths there.

The national programmes have been chalked out to observe the Martyred Intellectuals' Day with due respect.

M Abdul Hamid and Sheikh Hasina will issue separate messages on the occasion.

The Pakistani troops and their Bengali-speaking collaborators belonging to Razakars or other auxiliary forces killed a number of intelligentsia throughout the nine-month long Liberation War.

But the Pakistan occupation force visibly engaged the infamous Gestapo like Al-Badr and Al-Shams personnel on December 14, 1971, to carry out a clandestine systematic campaign to kill the best academics and professionals like doctors, engineers and journalists to turn the newborn nation to a state of brainlessness.

The then Bangladesh government and victorious freedom fighters, however, came to know about their last brutal massacre only when the Pakistani troops surrendered on December 16, 1971, and their top accomplices mostly belonging to Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing went into hiding to resurface years later.

Those who were exposed to the killers' wrath on December 14, 1971, included Alim Chowdhury and Fazle Rabbi, journalists Shahidullah Kaisar, Sirajudddin Hossain, Nizamuddin Ahmed, S.A. Mannan and Selina Parveen and litterateur Monier Chowdhury, Govinda Chandra Dev, Jyotirmoy Guha Thakurta, Santash Chattacharjee, Anwar Pasha, Mofazzal Haider Chowdhury and Prof Muniruzzaman.

Most of the December 14 victims were picked up from their houses, blindfolded, and killed from December 10--14, 1971.

As per programmes, wreaths will be placed at 7.05 a.m. at Mirpur Martyred Intellectuals Memorial and several television channels, including Bangladesh Television (BTV) and private TV channels will air it from the site.

Led by the Liberation War Affairs Minister, members of the martyrs' families and the valiant freedom fighters will place wreaths at the Intellectuals Memorial at 7.22 a.m. and Rayer Bazar Boddho Bhumi at 8:30 a.m.

From 8.30 a.m. on the day, people from all walks of life will lay wreaths at the Intellectual Memorial maintaining proper health rules.

Different television channels, including Bangladesh Television (BTV) and Bangladesh Betar will hold special discussions on the occasion of Martyred Intellectuals Day highlighting the significance of the day. The Ministry of Liberation War Affairs has requested the public not to use mike or loudspeaker in the area of the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial to maintain the sanctity of the Martyred Intellectuals Day.

Marking the day, ruling Awami League and other political parties have chalked out various programmes.

As part of the party programme, Awami League will hoist black flag at the party's Bangabandhu avenue central office, Bangabandhu Bhaban in Dhanmondi and other offices of the party across the country in the morning and keep the national and party flags at half-mast. It will place wreaths at Intellectual Memorial in Mirpur at 8 a.m.

Leaders and workers of Awami League will place wreaths at Bangabandhu's portrait at Bangabandhu Bhaban at 8.30 a.m. and at Rayer Bazar Boddho Bhumi at 9 a.m.
Budapest, Dec 14 : Visiting French President Emmanuel Macron and his host, Hungary's Prime Minister (PM) Viktor Orban, emphasised partnership but acknowledged their differences in a joint press statement delivered here.

Last week, Macron described Orban as a "political adversary but a European partner" with whom it was possible to find compromise, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Hungarian PM, who opened Monday's press event, quoted the French President's words and assured him that his government also considered European partnership of utmost importance.

Thanking Macron for his visit, Orban recalled that the last time a French President traveled to Hungary was in 2007.

"Hungary's relationship with France is based on respect," the Hungarian PM said, listing three major areas where there was agreement with the French President.

"We both love our country, we are working to strengthen Europe and we have set ourselves the goal of creating strategic autonomy for Europe," Orban reiterated.

"We support the policy of common European defence capabilities, nuclear energy and a strong European farming sector," he added. The two countries' economies both depend heavily on nuclear power and Budapest and Paris are pushing the EU to promote nuclear energy and recognise it as a green investment.

Macron said the two countries agreed on the need for a strong Europe.

The French President's visit came on the eve of France's takeover of the six-month rotating Presidency of the EU Council on January 1, 2022.

"We will have the opportunity to exchange views on the digital transition," which is an important ambition of the French Presidency, Macron said, stressing the importance of dialogue on contentious issues. The current sources of disagreement and tension between the two leaders include LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) rights and migration.

On the latter issue, the French President said that Europe will have to come up with a new initiative and that he will discuss this in detail with Polish Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki during their scheduled meeting later in the day.

"We need to think together as Europeans in order to find solutions for defending our borders in a more effective way, and we also need to think about ways of taking joint action," he added.

According to the European Commission, Hungary fails to uphold EU standards on the rule of law and democracy, a charge denied by Budapest.

In Budapest, Macron was scheduled to attend a meeting of the leaders of the Visegrad Group of countries (Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia), and to meet the leaders of Hungary's opposition parties.
Moscow, Dec 14 : Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian held a phone conversation to discuss the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

The top diplomats on Monday reaffirmed their common position to restore the nuclear deal in its original balanced text, approved by the United Nations Security Council, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

They stressed that this is the only correct way to ensure the rights and interests of all participants in the deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Xinhua news agency reported.

Multilateral negotiations to save the Iran nuclear deal resumed on November 29 in Vienna, Austria.
New York, Dec 14 : The tornadoes that ripped through six US states, namely Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee, over the weekend have killed scores of people, leveled entire towns and left recovery teams facing weeks of clearing rubble, while scientists are assessing the once-in-a-century levels of destruction on a swath extending 250 miles, according to US media.

"The storm may also end up as one of the deadliest in US history," The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. In one town of 2,700 people, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, the list of residents who were unaccounted for was eight pages long. At least 56,000 people in Kentucky were without power, and houses in many places were missing roofs, doors and windows, according to the Governor.

In all, the National Weather Service received reports of 37 tornadoes across these six states. Though it may take several more days before scientists can officially assign severity rankings to the tornadoes, they said debris might have been hurled as high as 30,000 feet into the air, the cruising altitude of many passenger jets. Meanwhile, the total fatality is yet to top 100 and may end up less than initially feared, Xinhua news agency reported.

US President Joe Biden approved federal funding over the weekend to help parts of Kentucky hammered by the deadly tornadoes, with a disaster declaration for the state following a request from its Governor. The spate of tornadoes that struck six states included one that hit Kentucky the hardest. Beshear said "the storm event was the longest tornado track on record and the largest in Kentucky history." The declaration makes federal funding available for storm victims in the western Kentucky counties of Caldwell, Fulton, Graves, Hopkins, Marshall, Muhlenberg, Taylor and Warren, as well as for state and "eligible local governments and certain private non-profit organisations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work" there, a White House news release said on Sunday.

The assistance available to residents affected by the storm includes "grants for temporary housing and home repairs" and "low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses." Biden also ordered federal aid to supplement recovery efforts. He said on Saturday that his administration is "ready to do the same for the Governors of the other states" affected by the storm if they request an emergency declaration.

A combination of the main tornado's enormous path as it tore from Arkansas to Kentucky, its sheer power and the high number of smaller whirlwinds that accompanied it made for an overwhelming force that left devastated communities in its wake. December tornadoes are uncommon but not unheard of, but the explosion of twisters across the states over the weekend might be unprecedented, reported USA Today on Monday.

"Tornadoes do happen at this time of year, but the number in which they happened and the intensity in which they happened Friday night is what is rare," Dan DePodwin, Director of forecast operations for weather forecasting services provider AccuWeather, was quoted as saying. "On average, in December, there are roughly two dozen tornadoes (nationwide). We're going to surpass that just on the one night Friday." A three-year average of 47 tornadoes has been reported in the US during December, according to the Storm Prediction Center. The multi-state outbreak is shaping up to be unusual, especially in how much farther north than usual it occurred. In addition, the number of fatalities that the outbreak may have caused is exceptionally rare, as the month of December rarely sees tornado fatalities at all.

"The unusual warmth in the north that preceded the outbreak was one of the main ingredients that drove it to occur. It's typically not so warm this time of year for that region, so outbreaks are usually unable to form," reported AccuWeather on Sunday, while quoting DePodwin as saying that "I think the warm December certainly played a role. We haven't had a lot of cold fronts make their way all the way down into the Gulf of Mexico yet." The Gulf of Mexico being at or above normal this time of year can further aid in the transport of warmer air northward, which is what helped fuel the multi-state outbreak. As the warmer air from the Gulf moved north, a very strong low pressure area was moving out of the Rockies and into the Great Lakes region. This pulled the warm and moist air even farther northward, said AccuWeather.

Four main ingredients needed for severe weather were prevalent to ignite the outbreak, DePodwin said, adding that "you need moisture, which we had from the Gulf of Mexico. You need instability, rising air. You need colder air aloft, we had that. You need some type of lifting mechanism, a cold front in this case. And then you need some type of turning in the atmosphere or wind shear, as we call it."
Damascus, Dec 14 : Three civilians from the same family were killed by US forces in the eastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zour, the state news agency SANA reported.

The US forces conducted a large-scale airdrop in the town of Al-Busayrah and surrounding areas in the countryside of Deir al-Zour, with the help of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, killing the three victims in Al-Busayrah on Monday, the report said.

The US forces also conducted house raids in the countryside of Deir al-Zour and abducted people to unknown locations, the report added.

There was no confirmation yet from the US side, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to SANA, the US forces carried out a similar operation in the area on December 7, during which it rounded up people with the help of the SDF, and destroyed the homes it had raided.

The US forces have been active in Syria since 2014 fighting terror groups. The Syrian government has repeatedly slammed it as a presence of occupation, accusing the US of stealing Syrian oil and gas as well as wheat crops.
ez1095 2021 Software From Halfpricesoft.com Has Just Been Updated With Network Versions The latest version of ez1095 2021 software will easily accommodate multiple offices or computers when processing 1095 forms with the network version.

Employers and tax professionals that need to process ACA (Affordable Care Act) forms 1095 in multiple offices, are accommodated with a network version for new 2021 ez1095 software from Halfpricesoft.com. ez1095 can process forms 1095C, 1094C, 1095B and 1094B in-house.. It has also been approved by the IRS to generate the efile documents that customers can upload to the IRS for ACA form electronic filing.

ez1095 software also allows customers to import data from external files and makes it easy to print ACA forms for recipients. Priced from just $195 per installation (cost differs with network and efile version). ez1095 can also support multiple company accounts on the same computer at no additional charge.

The latest version of ez1095 2021 software will easily accommodate multiple offices or computers when processing 1095 forms with the network version. said Dr. Ge, the Founder of Halfpricesoft.com.

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What weve found is that technology can be an effective tool in preventative care. The app had a positive impact on parents attitudes toward storybook reading and the way they read with their children."

Piedmont Universitys Dr. Monica Harn is one step closer to developing an app that will help parents support their childrens language and literacy development.

Harn, professor and director of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, is the co-author of A Self-Managed Internet Parent Training Program for Interactive Storybook Reading: Extension to a Public School Setting, which appears in the October 2021 edition of the peer-reviewed journal, Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups.

The article is the latest in a series of research focused on the use of technology in the prevention of speech-language disorders.

What weve found is that technology can be an effective tool in preventative care. The app had a positive impact on parents attitudes toward storybook reading and the way they read with their children, Harn said.

Harn and her fellow researchers have developed an app called Success with Stories that is at the center of their research. The app teaches parents about language and literacy development, developmental milestones their child should be reaching, and how they can use storybook reading to support their childs progression most effectively.

For instance, oftentimes a parent will simply read their child a book, said Harn.

To make the most of story time, parents need to have conversations with their child that help the child link whats happening in the book back to their own life.

In addition, parents should point to letters and words as they read to help their child build phonological awareness and restate their childs remarks about the story in more complex language to help the child expand his or her vocabulary.

The app is steeped in evidenced-based research, Harn said. These strategies work to promote language and literacy.

The app has been designed to help empower parents to be actively involved in their childs language and literacy development while removing barriers such as the lack of transportation or work schedules that prohibit parents from attending appointments with speech-language pathologists.

The app is currently in the prototype phase. Harn is pursuing grants that would allow the app to be made available to speech-language pathology professionals and parents.

For the recently published article, Harn and co-authors Lekeitha R. Morris and Asthyn Jones tested the app in a Headstart classroom. The researchers found that parents were excited to use the app, but they needed help with registration and onboarding.

We cant just provide technology and expect that it will be used  thats the biggest takeaway of this latest article, Harn said. We need to understand the processes in a school system and provide parents with the support they need to successfully utilize this technology.

As Harn and her colleagues continue their research, they will focus on ways to support and build confidence in parents, all to the benefit of their children.

If you empower parents with activities in the home and make them feel more confident, it will change their behavior and impact everything they do, including engaging in their education, Harn said.

Harns research spills over into her work at Piedmont University, where students are learning that to effectively treat children, they need to understand parents needs.

Harn joined Piedmont Universitys faculty in fall 2021. She previously worked as chairperson of Lamar Universitys Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, which serves more than 200 students in undergraduate and graduate programs and the regional community through a speech and hearing clinic.

Piedmont currently offers a Bachelor of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders. A Master of Science program is scheduled to launch in 2023.

For more information, visit piedmont.edu/program/communication-sciences-disorders.
Dr. Deepti Ghiya "When our mind is not functioning the way it should, we struggle in all other facets of our life."

Oak Health Center, Southern California's premier comprehensive mental health outpatient care organization, is pleased to welcome Dr. Deepti Ghiya, M.D., to its Fullerton office. Dr. Ghiya spent 4 years in an academic setting at Stony Brook University where she completed her training and served as chief resident. After her experience in an academic setting, she worked for 4 years in a large community private practice.

Dr. Ghiya has a passion for treating women during different phases of their life and has spent significant time with OBGYN specialists to provide integrative care to patients with reproductive mental health needs.

She practices an integrative model of treatment that combines medication and alternate treatments such as nutrition modification, yoga, exercise, and mindfulness techniques. With this approach, she aims to optimize both the mind and body for each of her patients.

Dr. Ghiya is continually fascinated by the relationship between the mind and body. She explains, When our mind is not functioning the way it should, we struggle in all other facets of our life.

In her nearly 10 years of experience, Dr. Ghiya has focused on evidence-based treatment and specialized in womens mental health, nutritional psychiatry, and college mental health.

To make an appointment with Dr. Ghiya, patients may call the Oak Health Center Fullerton office at 714-706-0206 or send an email to mailto:contact@oak.care [contact@oak.care __title__ contact@oak.care]

More information about the growing Oak Health team is available at https://www.oak.care/our-team

About Oak Health Center

Oak Health Center offers comprehensive mental health outpatient care through our team of psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, psychologists, therapists, and tele-behavioral health clinicians. With the increasing prevalence of mental illness, the company is looking to make a positive impact on this struggling population. To learn more, visit http://www.oak.care.
FREZZOR New Zealand, a global health and nutritional products company with operations in New Zealand, USA, Europe, and China, announced today the launch of its FREZZOR 100% East Cape Manuka Oil that expands its existing range of highly popular functional Manuka honey products.

According to the company's founder and CEO, Noel Turner, "Our company is committed to bringing the best and most biologically active products from New Zealands pure, pristine environment to the rest of the world, and Manuka-based products have to be at the top of the list." He said, "we are very excited about the prospect of introducing our 100% East Cape Manuka Oil to the North American and global marketplace expanding our broader manuka-based businesses and product range."

When asked about the significance of using East Cape Manuka Oil compared to other Manuka oil from other regions of New Zealand, Turner indicated significant regional differences in the quality and potency of the oil found within manuka plants used for production. Turner went on to say that independent research has proven that the variety of native manuka found in the East Cape of New Zealand has excellent health-promoting properties, such as its potent antibacterial and antifungal activity; for example, it is incredibly effective against the fungal organism that causes time when it is topically applied to the skin. He also said that the research has focused on the antibacterial effectiveness against acne-causing bacteria. Turner said, "not only is it effective against acne-causing bacteria, but it does so without causing the irritation that is common with other "over-the-counter" skin treatments.

Turner said that this regional effect is only found in the Manuka Oil, which is steam distilled from the manuka trees, but is not necessarily true for manuka honey because the biological activity comes from the manuka flower and not the oil. He said that highly potent antibacterial effects, which are commonly associated with manuka honey, can be found in honey from many different regions of New Zealand.

Over the past several years, a great deal of New Zealand Government and private sector investment has gone into the testing of the effectiveness of manuka oil from the East Cape region, and that has led to the development of a pharmaceutical industry making pharmaceutical grade Manuka Oil.

In recent years the New Zealand Government has signaled its intent to make Manuka Oil that is produced from the East Cape region of New Zealand a high priority investment for future economic development.

One of the driving factors in the future development of New Zealand's manuka oil industry is based on several research papers that show East Cape manuka oil is significantly more potent in its antibacterial and antifungal activity than its widely popular cousin, the Australian tea tree oil that is commonly used for similar applications.

Noel Turner said that the similarity between Australian Tea Tree Oil and New Zealand Manuka Oil is very strong and understand the historical confusion, which has resulted in some even referring to Manuka as New Zealand Tea Tree; however, he cautioned that the two were totally unrelated species and should not be confused or substituted for each other. "The research," he said, "on the benefits for treating common fungal infections of the skin was overwhelmingly positive for East Cape manuka oil, while the same could not be said for Australian Tea Tree Oil.

Turner said there were several uses for manuka oil beyond the obvious topical antifungal application. Manuka oil is commonly used in aromatherapy for meditation and focusing concentration; he noted that manuka oil has a pleasant "earthy and "fresh cut grass" aroma, which reminds him of the smell from his native New Zealand Forest after a Spring shower.

FREZZOR 100% East Cape Manuka oil (10ml bottle) is now available from frezzor.com, walmart.com, ebay.com, and amazon.com.

About FREZZOR Inc.

FREZZOR is committed to producing world-class high-quality nutrition from the pure pristine environment of New Zealand to the global marketplace.
"Crafting a top-tier facial matching algorithm has proved to be a major milestone in providing very secure authentication while never having access to user personal identifiable information," said Miguel Lourenco, co-founder and CTO of YooniK.

YooniK has announced today that the latest version of their facial authentication algorithm YooniK Face was independently ranked as top 5 for accuracy in the combined business regions of Europe and Americas in live-to-live photo comparison of the latest NIST vendor test report.

In less than a year, error rates of the YooniK Face authentication algorithm in the various NIST tracks have been reduced by up to 50%, making it part of the very select class of algorithms with false rejection rates under 0.40% for 99.9999% accuracy. Matching accuracy in live-to-live comparisons takes special importance in YooniK products, whose customer journey is based on a live selfie for a one-time enrolment and, again, live pictures for every authentication process.

As part of its developer-first approach, the company additionally made their products available for direct online SaaS subscription, providing free developer plans for integration in industry-specific workflows in minutes.

Focusing on a decentralized approach to biometric authentication, with the new accuracy results and novel SaaS offering, the company consolidates its position as a top-tier vendor worldwide and sets the stage to provide frictionless user authentication that is completely private, with applications in banking, retail, digital workplace, and hospitality.

"At YooniK were putting together the next big authentication revolution for a truly frictionless experience: enable anyone, anywhere, to authenticate to any device with any account with a simple look -- handsfree and in full privacy. Crafting a top-tier facial matching algorithm has proved to be a major milestone in providing very secure authentication while never having access to user personal identifiable information," said Miguel Lourenco, co-founder and CTO of YooniK.

About YooniK

YooniK simplifies all customer interactions with private, convenient, and secure face authentication on any device. With top-tier matching accuracy and featuring a decentralized zero-knowledge privacy architecture, YooniK solves a longstanding privacy challenge: it breaks with decades of centralized biometric databases while enabling a fully hands-free experience, thus bringing unprecedented levels of privacy, convenience, accuracy, and user trust when adopting face authentication in daily routines.

For more visit the company website, its LinkedIn, or join their developer community in Discord.

Press Contact

press@yoonik.me

Investor Relations

investors@yoonik.me
Acqueon, a leading conversational engagement software company, today announced that Avaya (NYSE: AVYA), a global leader in solutions to enhance and simplify communications and collaboration, will offer Acqueon Engagement as part of its Avaya OneCloud capabilities. Acqueon Engagement is the company's omnichannel campaign management software available in the cloud. Acqueon has been a member of the Avaya DevConnect ecosystem of Experience Builders since 2013. The companies have now elevated their partnership to integrate Aqueon Engagement with Avaya solutions for proactive customer acquisition and customer retention. The combined capability will benefit the Avaya customer base and assist transitions to the cloud.

Acqueon will preview the integration of Acqueon Engagement with Avaya at the Avaya ENGAGE 2021 user conference held December 12-15, 2021 at the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Florida booth 157. The benefits of this integration include:



Analytics and AI-driven best time to contact and best channel to use

Centralized campaign management supporting multiple Proactive Outreach systems

TCPA-optimized, patent-pending, accelerated dialing as an additional option for dialing customers where consent is not on file

Advanced campaign management capabilities including multi-touch sequences and next best action

"We are thrilled to expand our relationship with Avaya and bring our campaign management capabilities to its large customer base," said Manu Yegnaraman, Acqueon VP of Alliances. "Our joint solution will help Avayas customers redefine their proactive customer engagement strategies while being respectful of privacy and compliance regulations."

"The expansive capabilities of our Avaya OneCloud platform now offer our customers additional best-in-class outbound capabilities for their sales, service, and collections departments," said Eric Rossman, Avaya VP of Technology Partners and Alliances. "We look forward to sharing a preview of Acqueon Engagement at Avaya ENGAGE 2021 as part of the innovative solutions delivering optimal customer and employee experiences for organizations of all kinds."

About Acqueon

Acqueon's conversational engagement software lets customer-centric brands orchestrate campaigns and proactively engage with consumers using voice, messaging, and email channels. Acqueon leverages a rich data platform, statistical and predictive models, and intelligent workflows to let enterprises maximize the potential of every customer conversation. Acqueon is trusted by 200 clients across industries to increase sales, improve collections, and re-engage with otherwise-defecting customers.

For more information, go to https://www.acqueon.com or follow us at https://www.linkedin.com/company/acqueon.

Trademark Note: Names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
The Economic Development Reform Coalition of Southern California - Redondo Beach (EDRCSC - Redondo Beach) submitted over 6,600 signatures by residents of the City of Redondo Beach to the Redondo Beach City Clerk in support of The Redondo Beach Cannabis Regulation & Public Safety Measure (also the Measure). The 6,605 signatures submitted is more than 47% of the 14,024 votes cast in Redondo Beachs March 2021 Municipal Election.

Over five years ago, the residents of Redondo Beach overwhelmingly passed Proposition 64 for the legalization of cannabis for adults over the age of 21 with nearly 65% of the vote. Yet in the past five years as support for legal and regulated cannabis continues to grow, there has been no real progress to provide qualified patients and adults over the age of 21 in Redondo Beach reasonable access to legal, high quality and tested cannabis products. That is until the filing of The Redondo Beach Cannabis Regulation & Public Safety Measure.

The Redondo Beach Cannabis Regulation & Public Safety Measure is a voter ballot measure being proposed by Redondo Beach resident, Samuel Nicosia. Samuel is a consumer of cannabis (in his case medical cannabis) that is tired of only being able to purchase legal, high quality and tested cannabis products in cities like Los Angeles and Long Beach and tired of seeing cannabis-related tax revenue flow out of Redondo Beach. The Measure is being backed by EDRCSC - Redondo Beach with funding from Catalyst Cannabis Co. and Tradecraft Farms, two cannabis companies that are highly successful and highly committed to the local community. Both Catalyst Cannabis Co. and Tradecraft Farms hope to successfully win permits and operate cannabis retailers in Redondo Beach under the Measure. However, the standards set by the Measure will not be easy standards to meet by just any cannabis company. Indeed, The Redondo Beach Cannabis Regulation & Public Safety Measure includes the highest standards for cannabis regulations in California and only the best of the best cannabis businesses can receive permits under the Measure. In other words, the Measure is the gold standard for local cannabis regulations in California, exactly what the citizens of Redondo Beach deserve. To illustrate:



Under the Measure, the maximum number of cannabis retailers would be limited to three (and may not be increased by City Council); this is based on the ratio of one retailer per 20,000 residents and is designed to provide reasonable access without oversaturation.

Cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, and testing would not be permitted unless the City Council, at its discretion, established permit limits, regulations, and zoning rules for those cannabis businesses.

The Measure would prohibit the establishment of cannabis retailers within 1,000 feet of any school or day care and 600 feet of any youth center (including parks used by children), limit cannabis retailers to non-pedestrian-based commercial zones, and uses a stringent merit-based process to select permit winners that provides extra points for cannabis retailers located over 1,500 feet away from schools and day cares.

The Measure requires cannabis products to be independently tested to ensure public health and safety.

Cannabis businesses would have to comply with various safety and security requirements, including but not limited to, alarm systems, 24-hour security, and 24-hour security cameras with live remote access by the Redondo Beach Police Department.

Fees under the Measure fully cover the costs of administering and enforcing its cannabis regulations, and the Measures merit-based process to select permit winners encourages applicants to provide a voluntary contribution of 2% of their revenue to public schools, parks, and public / nonprofit community organizations serving the City.

Despite all these great features, some members of the Redondo Beach City Council appear to be opposed to The Redondo Beach Cannabis Regulation & Public Safety Measure. Notwithstanding some members of the City Council opposing the Measure, EDRCSC - Redondo Beach wants to work with the Redondo Beach City Council on ensuring The Redondo Beach Cannabis Regulation & Public Safety Measure becomes law and provides maximum community benefit to the citizens of Redondo Beach. Accordingly, the Redondo Beach City Council should adopt the Measure or place it on the ballot at the soonest opportunity and not wait until March 2023. EDRCSC - Redondo Beach encourages all residents of Redondo Beach that support The Redondo Beach Cannabis Regulation & Public Safety Measure to reach out to their City Councilmembers and let them know the City Council should also support the Measure and adopt the Measure immediately. Most importantly for the City Council, they can and should develop and place on the ballot an additional tax regime specifically for cannabis businesses. For that task, the City Council has EDRCSC - Redondo Beachs full support.

Samuel Nicosia, Proponent for The Redondo Beach Cannabis Regulation & Public Safety Measure, states, I am so proud of this moment. EDRCSC - Redondo Beach has brought the highest-quality regulations to Redondo Beach that could provide reasonable access to legal and tested cannabis. They also proved without a doubt that other residents actually want the same by gathering over 6,600 signatures in less than two months. I encourage my fellow residents to reach out to the City Council and let them know to support The Redondo Beach Cannabis Regulation & Public Safety Measure and adopt it immediately.

Barry Walker, CEO of Tradecraft Farms, states, We are excited for the City of Redondo Beach. This is where we work, where we play, and where we live. We have nothing but respect for the City Council and Staff. We look forward to working closely with them and having this well thought out Measure immediately adopted or placed on the ballot. As demonstrated by the over 6,600 signatures that EDRCSC - Redondo Beach just submitted to the City, we believe the people of Redondo Beach will overwhelmingly support it.

Elliot Lewis, CEO of Catalyst Cannabis Co. states, We do this for the People. Win or lose we sleep well at night knowing we brought what the majority of Redondo Beach residents wantreasonable access to legal and tested cannabis. When legislators fail to act, Catalyst Cannabis Co. will relentlessly advocate to bring the People cannabis into their City.

Paid for by The Economic Development Reform Coalition of Southern California - Redondo Beach Committee major funding from:

Dub Brothers Management LLC

South Cord Management LLC and affiliated entities

777 S. Figueroa Street, Ste. 4050, Los Angeles, CA 90017

Phone: 757.652.0460 | Email: damian.martin.esq@gmail.com
We just love children and we want their minds to expand through thinking.

Authors Allison Morancie-Davidson and Navine Johnson creatively foster the imagination of young readers in The Little Girl Who Wanted To Take The Moon Home ($14.99, paperback, 9781498441001; $5.99, e-book, 9781498441018).

Authors Morancie-Davidson and Johnson delightful story follows a little girl named Gracie as she becomes amazed with the power of the moon. Young readers will witness Gracies captivating pursuit to reach the moon, attempting to touch, hold, and keep the glowing night moon as her own. This cleverly written and fully illustrated story is sure to capture a young readers attention by teaching about the moon while instigating curiosity and imagination.

We just love children and we want their minds to expand through thinking, said Morancie-Davidson.

Morancie-Davidson and Johnson met at the Faith Evangelistic Ministry in New York, New York. Since meeting at the churchs young adult ministry, theyve shared a tight friendship. After months of discussion, this talented author team collaborated to create childrens books with a faith-based background. Their other book is called, Jesus You Are More. Both Morancie-Davidson and Johnson reside in New York City.

###

Xulon Press, a division of Salem Media Group, is the worlds largest Christian self-publisher, with more than 15,000 titles published to date. The Little Girl Who Wanted To Take The Moon Home is available online through xulonpress.com/bookstore, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com.


Face Mask Outreach at Airpark Auto Pros Small auto repair shop in Gaithersburg is recognized for putting people before profits as Airpark Auto Pros is named one of the "Most Inspiring Companies of the Year" by Inc.

Airpark Auto Pros, a small auto repair shop in Gaithersburg, MD is receiving national attention for putting people before profits. At the height of the pandemic, when hand sanitizer and face masks where hard to come by, the shop couldnt even afford to stay open all weekbut they found a way to purchase 1,500 cloth face masks and gave them away.

In an industry that is known for selling unneeded services, over-charging, bait-and-switch, increasing prices without informing the customer, disrespecting women, and prioritizing profit over people, this shop set out to be an example, and show that a business can be successful while maintaining uncompromising integrity, ethics and moral principles people over profits.

John Burley, Owner of Airpark Auto Pros said,

We may not be able to change a whole industry, but we can be a model for other small businesses, demonstrating that being honest, fair, upfront and people-first can still be a profitable business. We hope to make a ripple that has a positive impact beyond our small shop. To have this recognized by a national organization as reputable, acclaimed, and significant as Inc. is truly an honor. This validation means the world to us.

Inc.s Best in Business Awards honor companies that have gone above and beyond to make a positive impact. Airpark Auto Pros has been named to the Inc. Magazine 2021 Best in Business list in the Consumer Services category.

They're smart, strategic leaders in their industries. But more than that, the companies on our annual Best in Business list have heart--and they're pouring it into the people and communities around them.  Inc.

The list, which can be found in the Winter issue of Inc. magazine, recognizes small- and medium-size businesses that have had an outstanding influence on their communities and their industries.

Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc., says,

What began for us during the pandemic as an effort to showcase companies that were helping the community has grown into a recognition of social, environmental, and economic impact. The companies on this years list are changemakers with heart  and theyre pouring the best of their business into the people and communities around them.

Rather than relying on quantitative criteria tied to sales or funding, Inc.s editors reviewed the companies achievements over the past year and noted how they made a positive difference in the world. They then selected honorees in more than 49 industries  from finance to software to engineering to consumer services. It was extremely competitive, with around 2,700 entries and an acceptance rate in the low single digits  a huge success for the selected honorees like Airpark Auto Pros.

About Inc. Media

The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across various channels, including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the Inc. 5000 allows these founders a chance to engage with their peers in an exclusive community with the credibility to help drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com.

About Airpark Auto Pros LLC

Airpark Auto Pros is an award-winning 10-bay auto facility in Gaithersburg, Maryland providing high quality, certified auto services, maintenance, and upgrades for foreign and domestic vehicles. Certified Technicians handle everything from a basic brake pads to high-end electronic systems, performance upgrades, and full engine replacement. The company is known for providing exceptionally honest service and is a business of uncompromising integrity, ethics, and moral principles. For more information, visit http://www.airparkautopros.com.
AIS employee 'Rosies' sewed and packed face masks for distribution to support the Sew the Mask program. The masks were distributed free of charge throughout the country. AIS is so honored to receive this recognition, AIS Co-Founder and CEO Bruce Platzman said. Im very proud of our team of more than 800 people who, during this particularly difficult year, met unexpected challenges with incredible courage, commitment and hard work.

Massachusetts-based AIS, the largest manufacturer of commercial office furniture and seating in New England, has been named to the Inc. 2021 Best in Business list and received a silver medal in the 2nd annual awards programs manufacturing category.

The list, which can be found in the winter issue of Inc. magazine (on newsstands Dec. 14), recognizes small- and medium-size privately held American businesses that have had an outstanding influence on their communities, their industries, the environment or society as a whole in the past 12 months.

More than 2,700 businesses submitted applications to this years awards program. AIS was among the 147 companies to be named to the prestigious 2021 Inc. Best in Business list.

AIS is so honored to receive this recognition, AIS Co-Founder and CEO Bruce Platzman said. Im very proud of our team of more than 800 people who, during this particularly difficult year, met unexpected challenges with incredible courage, commitment and hard work. Together, we pivoted to produce products that helped organizations and communities during the COVID-19 pandemic while fortifying the critical importance of manufacturing within our regions economy.

Deemed an essential employer by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, AIS was a leader in battling the pandemic regionally and across the nation. Within weeks, the company had converted its seating manufacturing line inside its Leominster, Massachusetts-based headquarters into a mask-making powerhouse. AIS also launched a nationwide mask-making program called Sew the Masks. Another area of AISs 600,000 square-foot facility was converted into a manufacturing and shipping production line for screens to support social distancing. Additional products and services were launched to help people and organizations navigate new realities brought about by the pandemic.

Building on the momentum of the Sew the Masks program and AISs long history of supporting local businesses, AIS focused on accelerating the return of the New England economy. Dubbed, ReNew England, AIS has taken the concept of buy local to a corporate level and is spearheading a campaign to encourage regional companies to join forces and help accelerate New Englands recovery from the economic turmoil caused by the pandemic.

Bruce and I started AIS in 1989 because we saw a need for quality, well-designed, affordable furniture, delivered quickly. This business model and work ethos has served us well through the years but never more so than during the challenging times brought about by the pandemic, AIS Co-Founder and Chairman Arthur Maxwell said. Were proud of what our team has achieved, both as a company and for the larger community and industry, and were grateful for the Inc. recognition.

Inc.s editors reviewed applicants achievements over the past year and noted how they made a positive difference in the world. They then selected honorees in nearly 50 different industries  from finance to software to engineering to fashion, and more. The applicant pool for the awards program was extremely competitive.

What began for us during the pandemic as an effort to showcase companies that were helping the community has grown into a recognition of social, environmental and economic impact, Inc. Editor in Chief Scott Omelianuk said. The companies on this years list are changemakers with heart  and theyre pouring the best of their business into the people and communities around them.

WORK DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE PANDEMIC

Early in the pandemic, in response to supply chain issues resulting in a shortage of face coverings, AIS quickly produced and donated thousands of face masks to first responders and frontline workers throughout New England. As the countrys shortage of face masks continued to grow, AIS increased production and distribution, and then established the nationwide Sew the Masks initiative based on World War II icon Rosie the Riveter. Partnering with the United Way of North Central Massachusetts (UWNCM) in this effort, the company activated internal production lines and close to 1,000 volunteer Rosies in 45 states to create masks at their home sewing machines for donation and distribution to first responders, frontline workers and other people in need.

With the help of the Rosies and in collaboration with UWNCM, AIS fulfilled 100% of requests for masks from all corners of the country. The not-for-profit program ultimately provided more than $3 million worth of high-quality masks to more than a half million people and over 500 organizations in nearly every state. AIS was recognized on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives by Massachusetts Congressman James McGovern for the Sew the Masks program.

Our AIS sewers at our factory in Massachusetts, combined with our team of nationwide Rosies, along with our local United Way, were the heartbeat of the project in the fight against the spread of COVID-19, Platzman said.

AIS also rapidly manufactured and shipped more than 150,000 Lexan screens for essential employers and personnel including first responders, hospitals, medical suppliers, government agencies, biotech firms, IT companies, customers and others around the country.

As demand for dividers increased, AIS also expanded its product portfolio with PET screens. Made from Polyethylene Terephthalate, a form of polyester made from plastic bottles, this environmentally friendly and lightweight material offered yet another solution for dividing space.

During the crisis, AIS continued to manufacture and ship its core product  office furniture  to support the operational needs of essential companies, local, state and federal agencies, and other critical providers and suppliers. AIS also strategically introduced additional products and programs designed to help its dealers navigate the new reality in the wake of the pandemic, including desks that meet social distancing requirements and a quick-ship program to get products to end users as fast as possible.

As a lean, fast-paced organization in an industry that typically has a lengthy design process and product implementation timeline, we were purposeful as we adapted to market conditions and consumer needs, AIS President Nick Haritos said.

This rapid deployment of the companys resources helped to propel the furniture manufacturing industry into the spotlight as many other industries began to recognize the commercial furniture industry as a major contributor of the tools needed to contain the coronavirus.

Despite obstacles related to the pandemic, and the allocation of considerable resources to the manufacture of masks and screens, AIS exceeded industry performance. While the office furniture industry saw an overall decrease of 23.4% in revenue (according to BIFMA), AIS experienced just a 5.8% reduction in sales compared to 2019, with 2020 sales of $212 million.

In recognition of AISs pandemic response, MassEcon  the states private-sector partner in promoting business growth in Massachusetts  named AIS a Local Impact Corporate Hero.

WORK WITH RENEW ENGLAND

Building on the momentum of Sew the Masks and AISs long history of supporting local businesses, AIS focused on accelerating the return of the New England economy. Dubbed, ReNew England, AIS has taken the concept of buy local to a corporate level and is spearheading a campaign to encourage regional companies to join forces and help New England recover from the economic turmoil caused by the pandemic.

ReNew England is designed to expedite economic growth across the region by buying and sourcing locally. Grounded in the multiplier-effect principle and reinforcing the premise that buying locally and regionally can accelerate the rebound of a regions economy, this initiative is gaining considerable support.

AIS has always sourced local suppliers as much as possible  and weve doubled down on efforts to do so. Our purchases have generated an estimated 2,720 jobs throughout our region through our up- and down-stream suppliers, Platzman said.

Additionally, AIS has continued to hire new workers, adding more than 150 employees in the past 12 months. More than 300 women work at AISs Leominster location. In total, the company employs over 800 people whose backgrounds represent 32 countries, making AIS one of the most diverse employers in Massachusetts. The company is the largest manufacturer and employer in Leominster.

Were growing, hiring and proud to be a Massachusetts-based manufacturer, Haritos said, and were gratified to receive the Inc. award, which reinforces the work that were doing within our communities and across the industry.

The full list of 2021 Inc. Best in Business honorees for gold, silver, bronze and general excellence across industries and categories are featured online at https://www.inc.com/best-in-business/2021.

To learn more about AIS, visit http://www.ais-inc.com.

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ABOUT AIS

AIS, headquartered in Leominster, Massachusetts, is a leading North American manufacturer of commercial office furniture and boasts one of the most impressive stories of growth and success in the furniture industry. Founded in 1989, the company whose sales now exceed $200 million annually is known for offering market-relevant, feature-rich product lines that entice designers and support the diverse needs of end-users while offering exceptional value. AIS is an innovator that leads the industry in sustainable lean manufacturing, lead-time performance and manufacturing flexibility. AISs BIFMA-compliant products meet or exceed industry standards for safety and durability. Products also are SCS Indoor Advantage Gold certified. The companys Leominster headquarters and manufacturing facility boast a rooftop of more than 10,000 solar panels, returning 50 percent or more of energy used to the power grid. AIS has permanent showrooms at its Leominster headquarters and in Chicago, New York City and Washington, D.C. With these and other locations across the U.S., the company has over 1 million square feet of office, showroom and factory space. AISs more than 800 employees represent over 32 countries around the world and make AIS one of the largest and most diverse employers in central Massachusetts. Over the past five years, AIS has created more jobs in the region than any other company. AIS and its employees also lead in giving back to their communities; the Boston Business Journal has recognized AIS with its Corporate Citizenship Award since 2019. For more information, visit http://www.ais-inc.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

ABOUT INC. MEDIA

The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across various channels, including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the Inc. 5000 allows these founders a chance to engage with their peers in an exclusive community with the credibility to help drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com.
Blockchain-based platform enables secure exchange of pre-and post-payment information

Aliaswire, a provider of digital payment and credit solutions for businesses and financial institutions, and Nacha today announced that Aliaswire will join the Phixius Peer-to-Peer Network for the exchange of payment-related data.

Established and operated by Nacha, the Phixius Peer-to-Peer Network allows participants to instantaneously exchange and verify payment-related information to enable more efficient and secure electronic payments. Peers in the Phixius network receive several important benefits, including a single source for verification and exchange of payment-related data, improved automation, revenue potential, with enhanced risk management and regulatory compliance.

Nacha welcomes Aliaswires participation in Phixius, an important and growing Peer-to-Peer network, said George Throckmorton, Nacha managing director and executive director of Afinis Interoperability Standards. Data verification of consumer and business account information is a priority for Aliaswire and other Phixius participants, and we look forward to more companies joining as they learn about the benefits of the Phixius Network.

Aliaswire supports billers, financial institutions and small businesses, and their merchant service providers. Its DirectBiller digital bill pay platform equips banks to offer commercial clients modern, custom-branded billing and payment experiences to their customers. DirectBiller manages the end-to-end process from invoicing through payment reconciliation and integrates with banks treasury management systems and billers ERP systems. Aliaswires PayVus small business credit card issuing platform combines merchant acquiring and issuing to generate new revenues while opening up access to credit for small businesses.

As a business that is focused on taking the friction out of everyday payment processes, we are very pleased to participate in Phixius, said Jed Rice, CEO of Aliaswire. The ability to embed this technology into DirectBiller to securely verify bank accounts enables Aliaswire to help our billers and bank channel partners achieve compliance with Nacha's Web-Debit requirement. We also believe Phixius provides a foundation for future payment innovation, and we are excited to be part of that.

To learn more about Phixius, go to Phixius.com.

About Nacha

Nacha governs the thriving ACH Network, the payment system that drives safe, smart, and fast Direct Deposits and Direct Payments with the capability to reach all U.S. bank and credit union accounts. Nearly 27 billion ACH Network payments were made in 2020, valued at close to $62 trillion. Through problem-solving and consensus-building among diverse payment industry stakeholders, Nacha advances innovation and interoperability in the payments system. Nacha develops rules and standards, provides industry solutions, and delivers education, accreditation, and advisory services.

About Aliaswire, Inc.

Aliaswire is a fintech company based in Boston with a history of innovation in payments. The company supports leading financial institutions and merchant services providers with bill pay through DirectBiller and small business credit solutions through PayVus. For more information, visit https://www.aliaswire.com/.
Great Freddy Velez, a great-grandfather and Vietnam veteran from Asbury Park, New Jersey who now enjoying his retirement in sunny Florida with Rosa, his wife of forty-five years, has completed his new book I Might Be Wrong, But Im Not: a lighthearted yet pointed compilation of insight and opinion that began as a productive outlet for the PTSD he has battled since his military service.

The author writes, When I have episodes of the past, Dr. Lewis recommended I walk, get out of the house, read, exercise, or write. He said, 'Write about what you see, what you hear, people making fools of themselves, good people, bad people, funny people, coworkerspeople in general. I may sound homophobic, prejudiced, racist, a son of a b, but I just got my own humor. It sounds f up, but its still humor. A veteran putting his PTSD to good use. I want to dedicate this book to all my vet brothers and sisters and to people who like to travel and read.

Published by Page Publishing, Great Freddy Velezs engrossing book is a thought-provoking option for avid self-help readers.

Readers who wish to experience this engaging work can purchase I Might Be Wrong, But Im Not at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.

About Page Publishing:

Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing understands that authors should be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.
Barbara Kristof, a former editor and teacher from Austin, Texas, her sister Rosemary Woods, a retired social worker living in San Antonio, Texas, and artist Barbara Kelley, also of San Antonio have completed their new book Meili and Wenling: a heartwarming story of friendship sure to become a favorite for young readers.

Meili and Wenling is the story of a giant panda and a young Chinese girl whose lives become intertwined after Wenling visits the pandas at the Wolong National Nature Reserve. It is at Wolong, which sprung like magic out of the panda book Wenlings grandmother gave her on her fifth birthday, that Wenling and Meili meet for the first time.

From the very first moment they are together, Meili and Wenling communicate in a way that only the two of them understand, and Meili becomes that still, small voice inside Wenlings head that leads her to make good decisions and take the right actions.

In this story, a family of giant pandas and a family of humans create together a kind of magical place that is built on the love and trust they feel for each other.

Published by Page Publishing, Barbara Kristof and Rosemary Woodss engrossing book with its enchanting illustrations is a delightful addition to any childrens library.

Readers who wish to experience this engaging work can purchase Meili and Wenling at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.

About Page Publishing:

Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing understands that authors should be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.
Crypto changed my life: it gave me financial freedom, allowed me to provide for my family, presented a path for me to start my own business with an amazing team, and have fun along the way.

Ben Armstrong, Founder of BitBoy Crypto, the most popular crypto content channel with more than 5 million followers, wins Influencer of the Year (tie) and 5 other awards out of 10 distributed at this year's Blockchain Influencer Awards. Other awards that Armstrong and his team won include Best Daily Show (Around the Blockchain), Funniest Influencer (second straight year), Best Interviews, Most Educational, and The Golden Update (3 years in a row).

The Blockchain Influencer Awards, held at the DCentral Miami Conference during Art Basel Week, recognizes prominent social media influencers in the cryptocurrency and blockchain technology space. Nominees for the Influencer Awards were determined by organizers and attendees, with voting open to everyone.

The awards come on the heels of BitBoy Crypto launching BitLab Academy, a premium crypto asset education course, and the premiere of The Internet is Rotting Away, aa short video special about a major flaw in the internet's current design that threatens users freedoms and how blockchain technology can fix it.

BitBoy Crypto is the go-to resource, especially for Ethereum and other altcoins, delivering daily content on the latest crypto news, project reviews, and cryptocurrency trading advice with an in-studio, high-quality viewer experience that includes a rundown graphic of upcoming talking points, akin to something youd see on ESPN.

Ben Armstrong founded the BitBoy Crypto YouTube Channel in January of 2018 when he decided to go "full-time crypto" and focus all of his time and energy on expanding the reach of the crypto community. Since then, BitBoy Crypto has become one of the most recognized sources for opinions, news, and the latest updates on cryptocurrencies.

BitBoy Crypto Founder Ben Armstrong commented, When I started this channel three years ago, my mission was to simply be the resource I didnt have when I got started in cryptocurrency. Crypto changed my life: it gave me financial freedom, allowed me to provide for my family, presented a path for me to start my own business with an amazing team, and have fun along the way. Ultimately, my mission was to help educate people in this space so they could achieve their personal goals. Fortunately, I have been able to do that and help more people than I could have ever imagined possible, thanks to the Bitsquad. Thank you, BIA for assembling a cohort of influencers in the space and recognizing the hard work were all doing, and thank you to the other influencersa rising tide lifts all seas. Im looking forward to continuing to provide value for my followers!

For media inquiries, please contact Phil(at)melrosepr(dot)com or (310) 260-7901

About BitBoy Crypto

Ben Armstrong of BitBoy Crypto is an investor, crypto influencer, and thought leader. Ben Armstrong founded the BitBoy Crypto YouTube Channel in January of 2018 when he decided to go "full-time crypto" and focus all of his time and energy on empowering people to find financial freedom through crypto-assets. Since then, BitBoy Crypto has become one of the most recognized news channels for the latest updates on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Over the last two years, the BitBoy Crypto brand has expanded to include a separate news division. BitBoyCrypto.com is a website dedicated to educating and informing the public on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. BitBoyCrypto.com features exclusive stories that provide a different perspective on the news than many readers get from traditional crypto news sources.
Dallas has become a huge magnet for Fortune 500 companies. Some of the countrys top employers, including Toyota North America, Charles Schwab, CBRE among others have relocated or plan a move in the near future because of states affordability, relaxed regulations and tax structure...

Calibre One, a leading global executive search boutique firm specializing in building leadership teams for innovators, entrepreneurs and companies undergoing a technology or digital transformation, announces it has opened its first office in Dallas, Texas. Industry veteran, Scott Garner, who has been appointed as Calibre Ones newest partner, will head the newly formed Texas operations. Garner will manage senior-level search engagements while cultivating client business relationships across various technology segments along with handling all day-to-day operations.

Dallas has become a huge magnet for Fortune 500 companies. Some of the countrys top employers, including Toyota North America, Charles Schwab, CBRE among others have relocated or plan a move in the near future because of states affordability, relaxed regulations and tax structure, said Tom Barnes, managing partner. Were very excited to have Scott on board to lead our Texas office during this high growth time. Hes a great fit for our clients and Calibre One as we continue to expand our presence throughout the country.

His nearly 20-year recruiting career  working in both the retained agency and in-house sides  spans segments, industries and organizations from boutique firms to leading Fortune 500 companies to startups to PE and VC backed companies. Prior to Calibre One he spent four years as a technology practice leader at Korn Ferry and has held executive recruiting and leadership roles with Affiliated Computer Services, Xerox, Intel Corporation and Marsh & McLennan Companies. He also previously founded and managed his own executive search consultancy, Garner Executive Search, Inc. in Dallas, and has developed a niche within the systems and devices, software and IT services segments. On a global level, Garner has successfully placed hundreds of technology executives in six countries and has served technology clients in different countries.

A resident of McKinney, Texas, Garner holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in human resources management from Baylor University and is member of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) along with multiple professional networking organizations.

About Calibre One

Founded in 1999 by some of the executive search professions most experienced recruiters, Calibre One is a leading transatlantic executive search boutique specializing in building diverse leadership teams for innovators and companies undergoing digital transformation, including broad technology, financial services, life sciences, and media. Its team members bring an exceptional level of knowledge, integrity, and tenacity to everything it does. This is underscored by Calibre Ones transparent, consultative approach and proven methodology. Calibre One offers a 360-degree view to the entire process, along with the analytics to help identify the right candidate and reduce risk. The Calibre One process includes a proprietary measure that aligns client and candidate diversity and inclusion objectives, every search, every time. Through its relentless pursuit of excellence, Calibre One leaves no stone unturned. For more information, please visit http://www.calibreone.com.
PayBito envisions a decentralized platform where obtaining a loan against collateral can be as simply done as stated.

PayBito, a global crypto assets exchange, asserts that clients may avail themselves of a loan in PayBito crypto bank against their crypto collateral. A crypto-collateralized loan increases the borrowers financial flexibility by giving them access to additional liquidity without the need to divest their assets.

This attractive loan option facilitated by PayBito allows clients to remain invested in their portfolio and continue to generate liquidity to finance other private investments (private company, real estate, etc). This has recently created quite a stir among crypto owners. This is reflected in the increased registration requests converting to requests for financing terms for borrowing.



Getting a Crypto Loan

Once onboarded onto the Paybito ecosystem, clients may request financing terms for borrowing. The process flow for this may be summarized as follows:

(i) PayBitos terms state that the Bitcoin (BTC) in the client account acts as the collateral against the loan. When a sum is loaned, the corresponding amount in BTC is transferred from the client BTC wallet to a designated collateral wallet which will now hold the said client BTC. BTC collateral can only be withdrawn from the clients collateral wallet once the loan is repaid, which can be made over the following 12 months.

(ii) PayBito accepts only Bitcoin worth the sum requested in the loan petition against the borrowed sum. No other cryptocurrency is accepted as collateral.

(iii) Users with loan health featuring above 70%, may avail the option of withdrawing the excess collateral back into their BTC wallets. In such a case they may also use those to borrow additional amounts towards yet another loan.

PayBito Offering

PayBito provides the borrowers with the following options and amenities:

1. Loan amount between USD 0.5 million -USD 2 million

2. Loan in multiple fiat currencies (USD, INR, AED, SGD)

3. Round the clock monitoring and support

4. Swift conversion from fiat to cryptocurrency

5. Senders and recipients get notified of the benefits of settlement within seconds of transfer.

6. Finally, PayBito charges a nominal processing fee in the entire cycle.

PayBito envisions a decentralized platform where obtaining a loan against collateral can be as simply done as stated, stated Raj Chowdhury, Founder, and CEO of PayBito.

Crypto loans provide great speed and flexibility in the lending and borrowing services. Besides, there exists total transparency in movements of funds owing to the underlying blockchain technology, he further explains.

Crypto lending allows the borrower swift conversion without immediate liquidation of their digital assets. Crypto lending makes for a beneficial instrument for borrowers with its ability to short an asset by buying it on one exchange and selling it on another thus benefiting by margin trading.

On the recent work front, PayBito allies with an Asian enterprise, providing white label cryptocurrency exchange software. Earlier this year, PayBito has also worked with a Canadian equity broker in expanding its Middle-East base. PayBito has recently offered a demo version of its white label cryptocurrency on its website.

The collateralization of cryptocurrency is one way of tapping the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) platform to swiftly avail of funds without liquidation of the original assets. In spite of over-collateralization which is one drawback of this lending scheme, the process in itself is lauded for the speed and simplicity of the operation and ease of conversion.

About PayBito:

PayBito is a leading cryptocurrency asset trading platform operating globally. The platform is designed and managed by a team with rich experience in Banking security systems, Cryptocurrency trading, and Blockchain technology. It is available in the web version as well as in iOS and Android stores. PayBito services include white label cryptocurrency exchange, white-label payment gateway, exchange affiliate, and coin listing. PayBito offers some of the best rates and top-notch security in the crypto world.
Cybereason, the XDR company, today announced the keynote speakers at DefenderCon 2021, a conference celebrating cyber Defenders. Cybereason Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder Lior Div and General Joseph Dunford (ret), the 19th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will headline the event. DefenderCon 2021 takes place Tuesday, December 14, 11:00 am - 4:00 pm ET.

In their keynote address, titled We Are All Defenders, Div and General Dunford will have a conversation about how technology and cybersecurity has changed the military, how cybersecurity affects national security and how military strategies can be applied by Defenders to improve security. In addition, Div and General Dunford will discuss how to win as one in the fight against state sanctioned and state-ignored criminal gangs who are being provided safe haven in Eastern European countries.

In a second keynote session titled XDR Means 10X: The Future of Detection and Response, Yonatan Striem-Amit, Cybereason CTO & Co-founder, and Dr. Anton Chuvakin, Strategist and Security Leader at Google Cloud, will provide a first look at Cybereason XDR powered by Google Chronicle.

Cybereason was founded in 2012 with a mission to reverse the attacker's advantage and return the high ground to the defender. And DefenderCon 2021 celebrates all that defenders do to secure an expanding attack surface that becomes bigger everyday. Defenders have the most demanding job in cybersecurity and by working closely with security professionals at organizations around the world on a daily basis, we are putting cyber gangs on notice that their next cyber attack will likely be their last one, said Div.

About Cybereason

Cybereason is the XDR company, partnering with Defenders to end attacks at the endpoint, in the cloud and across the entire enterprise ecosystem. Only the AI-driven Cybereason XDR Platform provides predictive prevention, detection and response that is undefeated against modern ransomware and advanced attack techniques. The Cybereason MalOp instantly delivers context-rich attack intelligence across every affected device, user and system with unparalleled speed and accuracy. Cybereason turns threat data into actionable decisions at the speed of business. Cybereason is a privately held international company headquartered in Boston with customers in more than 40 countries.

Learn more: https://www.cybereason.com/

Follow us: Blog | Twitter | Facebook

Media Contact:

Bill Keeler

Senior Director, Global Public Relations

Cybereason

bill.keeler@cybereason.com

(929) 259-3261
The International Association for Quantitative Finance (IAQF) and Northfield Information Services have named Dilip B. Madan, Professor Emeritus of Finance at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, the 2021 IAQF/Northfield Financial Engineer of the Year (FEOY). The award will be presented to Professor Madan at a celebration on February 3rd, 2021 in New York City.

Upon his acceptance of the award Madan remarked, I am delighted to receive this esteemed recognition and honored to join the FEOY community, many of whom are dear friends, great teachers and intellectual giants. My own commitment to the quantitative and mathematical aspects of the discipline of Finance goes back a long way and remains as fresh as ever. I look forward to the continuing developments and thank IAQF for its stewardship in the field.

Northfield President Dan diBartolomeo commented on the news, The choice of Dilip Madan for the FEOY could not be more appropriate. Many contributions have enriched both the academic literature and industry practice. I have always found Dilips work incredibly thoughtful and engaging in both written and oral presentation.

The annual IAQF/Northfield FEOY Award, established in 1993, recognizes individual contributions to the advancement of quantitative finance. A nominating committee of approximately 100 people, consisting of all the IAQF governing boards, submits nominations, which are reviewed in a two-step process by a selection committee of 25 members. The selection committee includes the IAQF board of directors and senior fellows and was chaired by Dr. Cliff Asness, an IAQF senior fellow and 2019 FEOY award winner.

About Dilip Madan

Dilip Madan is Emeritus Professor of Finance at the Robert H. Smith School of Business. He specializes in Mathematical Finance. He serves as consultant to Morgan Stanley, since 1996, and Norges Bank Investment Management, since 2012. He has also served as a consultant to Caspian Capital, Wachovia Securities, Meru Capital, Citigroup, Bloomberg, and the FDIC. He is a founding member and Past President of the Bachelier Finance Society. He received the 2006 von Humboldt award in applied mathematics, was the 2007 Risk Magazine Quant of the year, received the 2008 Medal for Science from the University of Bologna, held the 2010 Eurandom Chair and was inducted into the Circle of Discovery of the College of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences in 2014. He was Managing Editor of Mathematical Finance 2006-2013, is on the Advisory Board of Frontiers of Mathematical Finance, is Co-editor of the Review of Derivatives Research, and Associate Editor of the Journal of Credit Risk and Quantitative Finance among other Journals. His work is dedicated to improving the quality of financial valuation models, enhancing the performance of investment strategies, and advancing the efficiency of risk allocation in modern economies. Recent major contributions have appeared in Frontiers of Mathematical Finance, Mathematical Finance, Finance and Stochastics, Quantitative Finance, the Journal of Computational Finance, The International Journal of Theoretical and Applied Finance, The Journal of Risk, Mathematical and Financial Economics, the Annals of Finance among other journals.

Previous Award Recipients

Madan joins a prestigious list of recipients of the IAQF/Northfield Financial Engineer of the Year Award. They include: Cliff Asness, Michael Brennan, Fischer Black, Phelim Boyle, Douglas Breeden, Michael Brennan, Peter Carr, John Cox, Emanuel Derman, Darrell Duffie, Robert Engle, Paul Glasserman, John Hull, Jonathan Ingersoll, Robert Jarrow, Hayne Leland, Martin Leibowitz, Bob Litterman, Bob Litzenberger, Andrew Lo, Francis Longstaff, Robert Merton, Richard Roll, Stephen Ross, Mark Rubinstein, Eduardo Schwartz, Jim Simons, Jack Treynor, and Oldrich Alfons Vasicek. Myron Scholes received a lifetime achievement award in 2001.

About the International Association for Quantitative Finance (IAQF)

The IAQF (Formerly the IAFE) is the not-for-profit, professional society dedicated to fostering the profession of quantitative finance by providing platforms to discuss cutting-edge and pivotal issues in the field. Founded in 1992, the IAQF is composed of individual academics and practitioners from banks, broker dealers, hedge funds, pension funds, asset managers, technology firms, regulators, accounting, consulting and law firms, and universities across the globe.

Through frank discussions of current policy issues, sponsoring programs to educate the financial community and recognizing the outstanding achievements in the field, the IAQF acts as a beacon for the development of quantitative finance. Throughout its history, the IAQFs leadership has positioned it to respond to the evolving needs of the financial engineering and quantitative finance communities.

About Northfield Information Services

Northfield is a market leader in providing investment professionals analytical and operating efficiency tools to enhance individual portfolio and firm-wide performance. Founded in 1985, Northfield has developed open, analytical models to identify, measure, and control risk. These risk models cover most marketable securities traded world-wide. Based upon award-winning research and sound investment theory, Northfields products and services have stood the test of time from users within the global institutional investment community. With more than 300 clients worldwide with offices in Boston, Chicago, London, and Tokyo, Northfield is a preferred partner for institutional investors and asset managers.
What God has done for me through His son Jesus Christ, is what am I doing for Him. We all go through trials and tribulations in our life. We cannot deal with it alone. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, there is a change that comes upon us. We are lifted out of the situation we are in.

Author Pernell Stoney explains the importance of ones testimony in What He has done and still doing for ME: He will do the Same for YOU ($12.49, paperback, 9781662831096; $5.99, e-book, 9781662831102).

Pernell Stoney penned a refreshing book that shares inspiring and relatable testimonies. Through his words, he demonstrates how a persons testimony is not only one of the most powerful things in life but how it can change someone elses life. He presents real life experiences of people that accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior and what He has done for them. Stoney shows what each had endured and how their lives changed for the better. The authors great hope is that he encourages readers to do the same.

The life changing experiences I endured inspired me to write this book, said Stoney. What God has done for me through His son Jesus Christ, is what am I doing for Him. We all go through trials and tribulations in our life. We cannot deal with it alone. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, there is a change that comes upon us. We are lifted out of the situation we are in.

Pernell Stoney is a retired solider of 22 years from the United States Army. He graduated from the New York Institute of Photography in addition to graduating from Global University Berean School of the Bible, where he studied Biblical Theology. Currently, Stoney is a personal trainer and a member of the army of the Lord, teaching what God has laid on his heart for His people. Proudly taking the gospel to four corners of the world by fulfilling the great commission (Matthew 28:16-20 NIV,) Stoney believes his heart is ministering to the people in South Africa, but will go where the Holy Spirit leads him.

Stoneys effort, http://www.8anewbeginning.com, is continually looking for partners/supports to help fund the teams ministering. He explains that the Word of God is free but getting the message to the people is a costly endeavor. He is appreciative and thankful for contributions and prayers.

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Xulon Press, a division of Salem Media Group, is the worlds largest Christian self-publisher, with more than 15,000 titles published to date. What He has done and still doing for ME: He will do the Same for YOU is available online through xulonpress.com/bookstore, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com.


This donation  and our associated partnership with the NFFF  is an example of our continued commitment to the firefighter community, said Jeff Fackler, NA Business Development Director  DuPont Personal Protection

DuPont Water & Protection today announced it is making a charitable contribution as part of a donor partnership with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) to support the foundations ongoing efforts to honor fallen firefighters and provide resources to their families. Now through the end of 2022, DuPont Water & Protection will donate a portion of its proceeds  up to $100,000  to NFFF for every thermal liner made with Nomex Nano and every particulate protective hood made with Nomex Nano Flex sold in the US and Canada by authorized licensees.

Were committed to honoring our fallen heroes and helping to support their families who need and deserve our continued assistance as they rebuild their lives, said Troy Markel, Chairman of the Board, National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. We are grateful for the support from DuPont, which will allow us to continue this important work and to provide help to our firefighters in reducing future injuries and deaths.

DuPont is committed to constantly innovating its products to offer firefighters the most advanced, state-of-the-art FR protection. Nomex Nano in thermal liners reduces weight and bulk while maintaining thermal protection performance (TPP) and significantly improving total heat loss and drying rate. With its higher air permeability, Nomex helps to reduce heat stress, which is a significant contributing factor in on-duty firefighter deaths. And Nomex Nano Flex in particulate protective hoods maintains breathability and situational awareness while improving TPP and providing 95%+ particle filtration with moisture transport. This added particle protection addresses an unseen threat, as more than half of career firefighter line-of-duty deaths are from cancer due to chronic chemical and smoke exposure.

This donation  and our associated partnership with the NFFF  is an example of our continued commitment to the firefighter community, said Jeff Fackler, NA Business Development Director  DuPont Personal Protection. We will continue to innovate in our offering of advanced personal protection solutions to help keep firefighters safe.

Every day, firefighter apparel made with DuPont Nomex fiber helps protect those who put their lives on the line. For more information, visit DuPont personal protective equipment solutions for emergency response.

DuPonts contribution to NFFF was made in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of September 11 and the 40th Anniversary of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend. This year, NFFF held their annual National Memorial Service on October 3, 2021, in Emmitsburg, MD, and honored 215 fallen firefighters.

About National Fallen Firefighters Foundation

The United States Congress created the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to lead a nationwide effort to honor Americas fallen firefighters. Since 1992, the non-profit Foundation has developed and expanded programs that fulfill that mandate. Our mission is to honor and remember Americas fallen fire heroes, provide resources to assist their families in rebuilding their lives, and work within the fire service community to reduce firefighter deaths and injuries. https://www.firehero.org.

About DuPont Water & Protection

DuPont Water and Protection is a global leader in creating water, shelter and safety solutions for a more sustainable world; enabling its customers to win through unique capabilities, global scale and iconic brands including Kevlar, Nomex, Tyvek, Corian Design, GreatStuff, Styrofoam, and FilmTec.

About DuPont

DuPont (NYSE: DD) is a global innovation leader with technology-based materials and solutions that help transform industries and everyday life. Our employees apply diverse science and expertise to help customers advance their best ideas and deliver essential innovations in key markets including electronics, transportation, construction, water, healthcare and worker safety. More information about the company, its businesses and solutions can be found at http://www.dupont.com. Investors can access information included on the Investor Relations section of the website at investors.dupont.com.

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12/13/21

DuPont, the DuPont Oval Logo, and all trademarks and service marks denoted with ,  or  are owned by affiliates of DuPont de Nemours, Inc. unless otherwise noted.
Law Office of Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP For more information about the class action lawsuit against Woodward HRT, Inc., call (800) 568-8020 to speak to an experienced California employment attorney today.

The Los Angeles employment law attorneys, at Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP, filed a class action lawsuit against Woodward HRT, Inc., alleging the company violated the California Labor Code. The lawsuit against Woodward HRT, Inc. is currently pending in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Case No. 21STCV42692. To read a copy of the Complaint, please click here.

According to the lawsuit filed, Woodward HRT, Inc. allegedly (a) failed to pay minimum wages, (b) failed to pay overtime wages, (c) failed to provide legally required meal and rest periods, (d) failed to provide accurate itemized wage statements, and (e) failed to reimburse employees for required expenses, all in violation of the applicable Labor Code sections listed in California Labor Code Sections  226, 226.7, 510, 512, 1194, 1197, 1197.1, 2802, and the applicable Wage Order(s), and thereby gives rise to civil penalties as a result of such alleged conduct.

California Labor Code  226 provides that every employer shall provide employees with an accurate itemized wage statement in writing showing, among other things, gross wages earned. Defendant allegedly failed to provide wage statements that identified the correct gross and net wages earned. Specifically, wage statements allegedly failed to identify the accurate total hours worked each pay period and when the hours were added up, they did not equal the total hours worked during the pay period.

For more information about the class action lawsuit against Woodward HRT, Inc., call (800) 568-8020 to speak to an experienced California employment attorney today.

Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP is a labor law firm with law offices located in San Diego County, Riverside County, Los Angeles County, Sacramento County, Santa Clara County, Orange County and San Francisco County. The firm has a statewide practice of representing employees on a contingency basis for violations involving unpaid wages, overtime pay, discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination and other types of illegal workplace conduct.

***THIS IS AN ATTORNEY ADVERTISEMENT***
With twenty years of study in this area and after being asked to leave two churches, I asked God what to do and the answer was to write this work.

Author Stanley Smith prepares readers to overcome challenges using a defense of spiritual power in Pastors in the Hands of an Angry God ($10.99, paperback, 9781619046016; $5.49, e-book, 9781619046023).

Smith offers a thought-provoking writing about battling spiritual warfare with the Word of God. Through this powerful teaching, Christian readers will learn to recognize attacks and become equipped with Gods truth.

With twenty years of study in this area and after being asked to leave two churches, I asked God what to do and the answer was to write this work, said Smith. It is my feeling that we have taken a soft approach to this topic. I want to put the fire back in our pulpit, and reach the whole city.

At the age of sixteen, Stanley Smith accepted the Lord as his Savior at a Billy Graham meeting in Rockwell City, Iowa. After high school he contemplated going into the ministry but instead, decided to go to South Dakota State University to study mechanical engineering. Upon graduation, he became a design engineer; designing air tools, material-handling equipment, and quality-control equipment for several companies.

During his time in Michigan, he received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. After 30 years of being part of the engineering community, Smith retired and devoted his time to teaching in churches with much energy spent in the area of spiritual warfare. As a result, he was asked to leave the church. He continued studying spiritual warfare and wrote the manuscript for this book.

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Xulon Press, a division of Salem Media Group, is the worlds largest Christian self-publisher, with more than 15,000 titles published to date. Pastors in the Hands of an Angry God is available online through xulonpress.com/bookstore, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com.


As violence in schools and districts continues to be top of mind for educators, students and families, G2 Secure remains a critical component for school safety and security, said Gary LeCroy, Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy.

Galaxy Next Generation, Inc. (OTCQB:GAXY) ("Galaxy" or the "Company), a technology provider enabling seamless environments for school communities, announces G2 Secure was recognized in three distinguished education award programs.

Leading education industry media brands T.H.E. Journal and Campus Technology honored G2 Secure in their New Product Award programs, while Christian School Products named G2 Secure a 20212022 Top Product for readers.

The 2021 New Product Awards honor the outstanding product development achievements of manufacturers and suppliers whose products or services are considered to be noteworthy in the transformation of education technology. Christian School Products 20212022 Top Products note some of the hottest products and services in education.

A rise in violence following school re-openings in the spring of 2021 heightened safety concernson top of pandemic-related health safety concerns. For district leaders, school safety, security and communication needed during an emergency situation are no longer a nice to have.

G2 Secure, a one-touch safety and security solution, enables instant communication during emergencies. With G2 Secure, district leaders can lock down doors to create safe zones within classrooms, send visual alerts throughout the building and communicate within and outside the building. The solution builds upon the technology behind G2 Visual Alerts, which provides instant campus communication to students and staff by overtaking the screen of any enrolled device.

Its an absolute honor to win not just one or two, but three awards, said Gary LeCroy, Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy. As violence in schools and districts continues to be top of mind for educators, students and families, G2 Secure remains a critical component for school safety and security.

To learn more about Galaxy Next Generation, please visit http://www.galaxynext.us.

About Galaxy Next Generation, Inc.

Galaxy Next Generation (OTCQB:GAXY) is a provider of interactive learning technology solutions that allows the presenter and participant to engage in a fully collaborative instructional environment. Galaxy's products include Galaxy's own private-label interactive touch screen panel as well as numerous other national and international branded peripheral and communication devices. Galaxy's distribution channel consists of 22+ resellers across the U.S. who primarily sell the Company's products within the commercial and educational market. Galaxy does not control where resellers focus their resell efforts, although generally, the K12 education market is the largest customer base for Galaxy productscomprising nearly 90% of Galaxy's sales. For additional information, please visit our website at: http://www.galaxynext.us.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are based on the current plans and expectations of management and are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks that could significantly affect the company's current plans and expectations, as well as future results of operations and financial condition. A more extensive listing of risks and factors that may affect the company's business prospects and cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the reports and other documents filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Dana Carter Cataldi, Founder of Gather Homes Whether were helping people buy or sell a home or giving back to our community through one of our many initiatives, Gather Homes facilitates genuine relationships that naturally grow beyond the initial need

Gather Homes today announced its partnership with Side, the only real estate technology company that exclusively partners with high-performing agents, teams, and independent brokerages to transform them into market-leading boutique brands and businesses. The alliance will ensure that Gather Homes, a company founded on the principles of true collaboration and sincere trust, is powered by the most advanced platform in the industry.

Gather Homes was founded by Dana Carter Cataldi, whos built her business and reputation on referrals since 2007 and doubled her business during the COVID-19 pandemic. Shes been named by The Wall Street Journal and RealTrends among the top 250 real estate agents nationwide for 10 consecutive years, and shes been featured by the Super Agents Live podcast, Top Agent Magazine, and Los Angeles Magazine. Gather Homes guides buyers and sellers  and community initiatives  throughout Los Angeles.

Partnering with Side will ensure Gather Homes remains on the cutting edge of the evolving real estate market while continuing to deliver premium services to its clients. Side works behind the scenes, supporting Gather Homes with a one-of-a-kind brokerage platform that includes proprietary technology, transaction management, branding and marketing services, public relations, legal support, lead generation, vendor management, infrastructure solutions, and more. Additionally, Gather Homes will join an exclusive group of Side partners, tapping into an expansive network from coast to coast.

Whether were helping people buy or sell a home or giving back to our community through one of our many initiatives, Gather Homes facilitates genuine relationships that naturally grow beyond the initial need, said Carter Cataldi. Sides team and technology support us as we collaboratively write each clients story of home, and since Side partners exclusively with top-performing agents, the partnership also helps us achieve our mission of elevating industry standards.

Side is led by experienced industry professionals and world-class engineers who develop technology designed to improve agent productivity and enhance the client experience. Based on its belief that homeownership is a fundamental human right, Side is on a mission to improve the public good by providing top-performing real estate agents, teams, and indie brokerages with the best system, support, service, experience, and results.

About Gather Homes

The professionals at Gather Homes know that everyone has a connection to make, a voice to be heard, and a story to write. Their passion is providing clients with the insight and curated information needed to make confident decisions about their next chapter. With diligence and commitment to being supportive and flexible, they employ a strategic and tried-and-true process to achieve each clients real estate goals. Gather Homes is headquartered in Los Angeles. To learn more, visit gatherhomes.com.

About Side

Side transforms high-performing agents, teams, and independent brokerages into successful businesses and boutique brands that are 100% agent-owned. Side exclusively partners with the best agents, empowering them with proprietary technology and a premier support team so they can be more productive, grow their business, and focus on serving their clients. Side is headquartered in San Francisco. For more information, visit http://www.sideinc.com.
Aventura World group enjoying travel to Egypt in 2021 We see travelers are showing a strong resolve to make real their travel dreams and experiences after the months of lock-downs and restrictions. They want to get back to actually living the adventures on their 'life's list' of things to do and places to see.

Group travel specialist Aventura World  a company of the Central Holidays family of travel brands  is pleased to share insight into the types of travel and destinations that groups are booking. According to the company and based on new groups that have been traveling in the recent months as destinations have re-opened, groups scheduled to travel this month, and groups already booked or are in the booking cycle for the coming year, 2022 is poised to be a huge bounce-back year for international travel.

We see travelers are showing a strong resolve to make real their travel dreams and experiences after the months of lock-downs and restrictions. They want to get back to actually living the adventures on their 'life's list' of things to do and places to see. Many have taken time to develop their passions over the past year and months  from new hobbies and skills to new likes and preferences  and they have grasped hold of what they cherish most  like sharing time with family and friends and taking time to do the things they want in life, such as travel, said Ian Scott, President of Aventura World.

At Aventura World, we are seeing this all play out, not only in the surge of groups that we have welcomed as destinations started opening in the latter part of this year, but also in the new groups booked and looking to book travel programs for 2022. Much of this is motivated by a resolve to live life to the fullest, and while this next phase of travel may look different in the new normal, travel has risen in rank for many to 'priority-level' as they redefine their wants and needs for a happy and fulfilled life," continued Scott.

Some trends group travel brand Aventura World sees are as shared by Ian Scott include:



Continued increase in travel throughout Europe as a major bounce-back region, as well as travel to perceived "safe" destinations, such as Greece and Croatia. -- It is undeniable, that as destinations throughout Europe started re-opening, travelers showed they were ready to explore these traditionally high-demand destinations again. We are pleased to report that Aventura World took group travelers to destinations including Italy, Spain, France, Greece, and Croatia. In fact, just last month we had a spectacular group trip with more than 50 traveler-participants who raved about their fabulous experiences, the fantastic sites, and the exemplary work of our tour directors. We see programs to these destinations continue to garner increased-interest and requests for trips in 2022.

Lifetime trips to bucket list destinations, such as Egypt and Turkey. As life experiences continue to gain clout over retail purchases, trips of a lifetime  such as the opportunity to explore Egypt are growing. -- This destination in particular is showing a very strong comeback for Aventura World, backed by its parent company Sakkara Group International (SGI), based in Egypt. Over the months, many travelers have added to their intrigue about the mysteries of Egypt while feeding their wanderlust via virtual tours. People have heard the stories and legends, seen the movies and documentaries, and now they want to live it for themselves. Additionally, travelers are looking forward to the opening of the long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Lucky travelers can now be among the first travelers to visit the 5.2-million-square-foot museum that will display the greatest collection of King Tutankhamens treasures in one place when it opens in 2022. Egypt undoubtedly has all the makings of a bucket list destination, which is no wonder that it keeps growing in requests.

Group travel itself has becomes a trend as well as more outdoor, active, and one-of-a-kind experiences. -- Group travel has historically been one of the first sectors to bounce-back after any world issues and while this pandemic has been unprecedented, we are seeing signs of group travel bouncing back in 2022. It is motivating to hear the positive feedback from travelers sharing how they felt very safe in traveling as all were vaccinated, and that they appreciated the precautions taken by our tour directors, local guides, and choice hotels  all that made them feel extremely comfortable. The bottom line is that people often tend to feel safer traveling in groups. As well, they enjoy the peace of mind of traveling with a long-established company that has offices and representatives in foreign destinations  as opposed to being on their own. Now more than ever this type of reliability is cherished by travelers.

To contact Aventura World or to request additional information email: sales@aventuraworld.com.

About Aventura World

A valued leader in the US group travel marketplace since 1972, Aventura World is a distinctive travel company focused on elevating group travel beyond traditional sightseeing to delivering culturally rich, interactive, and in-depth destination experiences each and every time. The company is known for providing excellent client service, destination expertise, and meticulously planned tour and travel packages. As part of Aventura Worlds international awareness program, the group travel brand presents travelers with a unique insiders perspective and provides enriching moments that bring each destination to life. Backed by the strength of Sakkara Group International, Aventura World offers the reliability and security that its clients are booking and traveling with a strong, long-established, robust group tour operator with a time-honored history as well as an ongoing commitment to providing the best in travel. For additional details, visit AventuraWorld.com.

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Havis Launches Wide Console Accessories for Vehicle-Specific and Universal Consoles Our goal was to maximize the usability of this additional space," said Brett Young, Havis National Sales Manager for Public Safety. "Users have different requirements, and this advancement allows them to tailor this extra space to fit their needs."

Havis, Inc., a leading designer, and manufacturer of mobile office solutions, is excited to release a new line of accessory options for vehicle-specific & universal wide consoles.

Havis wide consoles for SUVs & truck applications feature a 3.3" wide section of fixed equipment mounting space on the passenger side. This latest suite of accessory options allows users to customize this additional mounting space to personalize their vehicle layout and complement the traditional 9" wide equipment mounting section.

Our goal was to maximize the usability of this additional space," said Brett Young, Havis National Sales Manager for Public Safety. "Users have different requirements, and this advancement allows them to tailor this extra space to fit their needs."

Accessory options for the 3.3 wide section include a passenger side arm rest, a flashlight mount, equipment brackets, filler plates, and accessory pockets. The adjustable passenger side armrest improves comfort for dual occupancy vehicles. The flashlight mount fits the Streamlight Stinger and its charger and positions it for easy access. Equipment brackets optimize mounting space and easily accommodate the most popular radios, controls, and other equipment. Filler plates close gaps in the mounting area and are available in 1/2" increments. Lastly, accessory pockets come in various lengths and depths and are ideal for small devices such as phones and tablets.

ABOUT HAVIS

Havis, Inc., is a privately held, ISO 9001 certified company that manufactures in-vehicle mobile solutions for public safety, public works, government agencies, and mobile professionals. For more than 90 years, our mission has been to increase mobile worker productivity with industry-leading products built to the highest safety and quality standards. The Havis patent and trademark portfolio demonstrates a commitment to developing innovative products and solutions for mobile industries worldwide. Havis currently employs more than 300 people, with headquarters in Warminster, PA, and additional locations in Plymouth, MI, and across the globe. For more information on Havis, please call 1-800-524-9900 or visit http://www.havis.com.
Ideal Option, a national leader in outpatient evidence-based treatment for addiction to fentanyl, methamphetamine, alcohol and other substances, is now welcoming new patients in Kellogg and Sandpoint. Both new clinics are co-located with the Panhandle Health District (PHD), which provides over 40 different public health programs to families, individuals and organizations in northern Idaho.

In 2021, Ideal Option received the IROC (Idahos Response to the Opioid Crisis) award from the State of Idaho to open two hybrid satellite clinics in the Idaho Panhandle to assist in the states goal to expand access to MAT. Through collaboration with the Panhandle Health District, Kellogg and Sandpoint were identified as the communities that would benefit most from treatment services to address SUD.

We are grateful to have been chosen to receive the IROC award funded by the State Opioid Response Grant to expand our coverage in Northern Idaho and get the residents of Shoshone and Bonner Counties the help they need, stated Katie Olson, Program Evaluator and Epidemiologist at Ideal Option. Co-locating with the Panhandle Health District is a huge opportunity for us to make addiction treatment more visible and accessible.

According to the Idaho Office of Drug Policy, 1,900 Idahoans died of overdose-related deaths in the first year of the pandemic, compared to 264 deaths in 2019. In 2020, the North Idaho region was the second highest opioid prescribing region in the state, according to the Board of Pharmacy. There were enough opioids prescribed that 88% of residents in the region could have had their own individual prescription.

Getting people the help they need in treatment and recovery is a top priority in our response to the increase of substance use in our community, said Kelsey Orlando, Program Manager at PHD. Partnering with Ideal Option to have treatment services available in two of the counties we serve is exciting to meet the needs of our region.

The new Ideal Option clinic in Kellogg is open Tuesdays, 9 a.m.  3 p.m., and is located at 35 Wildcat Way, Kellogg, ID 83837. The new Ideal Option clinic in Sandpoint is open Wednesdays, 9 a.m.  3 p.m., and is located at 101 W Pine St., Sandpoint, ID 83863. Both locations are found inside their respective Panhandle Health District buildings.

Most forms of insurance are accepted, including Medicaid and Medicare. Patients can make an appointment by calling 1.877.522.1275 or visiting http://www.idealoption.com.

About Panhandle Health District

Panhandle Health District provides over 40 different public health programs to families, individuals and organizations in northern Idaho. From food and drinking water safety to health education and disease control, public health services are critical to ensure our community is a safe and healthy place to live, work and play. The PHD team is made up of nurses, nutritionists, environmental health specialists, health educators and many other dedicated professionals with a common goal to deliver vital public health services. Panhandle Health District is one of seven health districts in the state of Idaho.

About Ideal Option

Headquartered in Kennewick, Washington, Ideal Option was founded in 2012 and has since helped nearly 50,000 patients through a network of over 70 office-based medication-assisted treatment (MAT) clinics across 10 states. With a mission to serve under-served communities, Ideal Option accepts all forms of insurance including Medicaid and Medicare. Financial assistance and payment plans are also available.

Ideal Option's team of medical providers carry certifications in Addiction and Emergency Medicine, Internal, OB/GYN, and Family Medicine, among other specialties. The company also employs social workers, caseworkers, counselors, and mental health practitioners. This holistic approach helps drive positive outcomes, including family stability, stable housing, improved overall health, and reduced rates of recidivism.

In all the communities it serves, Ideal Option collaborates with existing stakeholders and providers to improve the continuum of care. This approach includes partnerships with emergency rooms and county jail systems, where individuals with substance use disorder often appear, as well as collaborating with numerous support agencies and municipal programs addressing social needs such as housing, mental health, and nutrition support.
Its exciting to see both the similarities and differences between the North American and European markets. For both North America and Europe, 78% of respondents reported that they expect their company to have strong financial performance in 2022.

The Incentive Research Foundations Industry Outlook for 2022: Merchandise, Gift Cards and Event Gifting reports an optimistic outlook for 2022 tempered by the lingering effects of Covid, cancellations, and uncertainty in 2021. For the first time ever, this IRF signature study was expanded include European participants.

Its exciting to see both the similarities and differences between the North American and European markets. For both North America and Europe, 78% of respondents reported that they expect their company to have strong financial performance in 2022, said Stephanie Harris, IRF President. When we drill down into how gift cards, merchandise and event gifting are being used, we see some very different trends in Europe compared to North America.

The IRF surveyed 481 industry professionals, with 275 coming from North America and 206 originating from Europe. Tracking key metrics over twelve years, the study provides trends in economic optimism, budgets, and award types for incentive programs. Key findings in Industry Outlook for 2022: Merchandise, Gift Cards and Event Gifting include:



Budgets & Spending Are Up: Overall incentive budgets are expected to increase by 34% in 2022, with merchandise increasing 30% and gift cards 34%. Per-person spend increased to $806 from $764.

Optimism is Increasing: 63% of North Americans respondents believe the U.S. economic outlook is strong for 2022, compared to only 50% going into 2021.

Cancellation Rates Also Increased: Merchandise and gift card program cancellations rose from 29% in 2020 to 44% in 2021.

Merchandise Priorities Vary: North Americans place a higher emphasis on logoed brand merchandise, while Europeans are more likely to give office accessories as a gift.

Differences in Gift Card Selection: Europeans are more likely to give gift cards for accessories, jewelry, beauty products, travel, and grocery. North Americans are more likely to give big box retailer cards and coffee cards.

Shifts in Event Gifting Sourcing: Online retailers have surpassed corporate sales as the primary purchase source of event gifts.

To view or download a copy of the study, visit the Industry Outlook for 2022: Merchandise, Gift Cards and Event Gifting webpage.

The release of the IRFs Industry Outlook for 2022: Merchandise, Gift Cards and Event Gifting was supported by IRF Research Advocacy Partner, Tango Card.

About the IRF:

The Incentive Research Foundation (TheIRF.org) funds and promotes research to advance the science and enhance the awareness and appropriate application of motivation and incentives in business and industry globally. The goal is to increase the understanding, effective use, and resultant benefits of incentives to businesses that currently use incentives and others interested in improved performance.
Dr. Tate Trujillo of Kids Town Pediatric Dentistry Pediatric dentistry is my calling. When you know you are meant for something, then you go for it.

There are big things happening around Kids Town Pediatric Dentistry. And they are pleased to announce that this popular pediatric dental office has just reopened its newly remodeled location in Syracuse, Utah. Young patients will be able to enjoy the welcoming and engaging surroundings that will make them feel like they have been transported to the oceanside rather than just the dentists office. Plus, the beautiful space is filled with the latest technology to enhance the overall patient experience.

But, thats not all.

Kids Town Pediatric Dentistry is also pleased to announce their new associate, Dr. Tate Trujillo. With an interest in dentistry, he started out as a dental assistant for Kids Town back in 2012. It was then that he realized just how much he enjoyed working with children. "Pediatric dentistry is my calling. When you know you are meant for something, then you go for it," Dr. Tate said. And that is exactly what he did.

Graduating with his undergraduate degree from Weber State University, Dr. Tate went on to attend dental school at the University of Utah. Upon graduation, he was accepted to - and graduated from - a pediatric dental residency in Yakima, Washington, a satellite NYU Langone program, where he received extensive education in pediatric dentistry.

Now, Dr. Tate is back at Kids Town Pediatric Dentistry ready to fulfill his role as an associate dentist.

At Kids Town Pediatric Dentistry, the entire team is dedicated to ensuring their young patients have a positive and rewarding dental experience. They understand that setting a solid foundation for a lifetime of successful oral health starts now. And, with the combination of the newly remodeled Syracuse location and the addition of Dr. Tate to the team, Kids Town is making strides in the way pediatric dentistry serves younger populations.

About Kids Town Pediatric Dentistry

Kids Town Pediatric Dentistry provides a comprehensive list of high-quality dental services for children. They offer an atmosphere that caters to children and the latest technology to enhance their overall dental experience.

Their services include, but are not limited to, the following:



Cleanings and exams

Crowns

Fillings

Sealants

Pulp Therapy

Space Maintainers

Tooth Extractions

Laser Dentistry

Pediatric Sedation

Dental Emergencies

Kids Town Pediatric Dentistry has 3 convenient office locations:

Roy Office

3540 West 6000 South, Suite 200, Roy, UT 84067

Layton Office

2940 North Church Street, Suite 301, Layton, UT 84040

Syracuse Office

780 South 2000 West, Building F2, Syracuse, UT 84075

To learn more, visit their website at https://www.kidstowndental.com or call their office at (801) 217-3359.
Upon the Throne: Chambers of His Imagery: a powerful reminder of the importance of obeying Gods word. Upon the Throne: Chambers of His Imagery is the creation of published author Larry W. Walters Jr., a former certified minister with the Association of Jewish and Christian Believers and chaplain who taught prisoners and visiting prison ministers.

Walters Jr. shares, Centuries have come and gone since the Genesis account, and as time has moved further from God, mankind has moved further away from the Creator. Humanism and traditions have replaced the precepts, laws, and statutes that were handed down so that we might meet the standard of holiness expected by this Creator. In the passage of time, the very nature of this Creator has been obscured and veiled to those who would seek this divine presence. This inability to know the One True God has led to perversions of scripture, exegesis, doctrinal contrivances, and biblical conundrums. Legalism resulted in disobedience rather than acceptance of divine law as a response to the grace of God. Finally, man is no longer held accountable for his actions; The devil made me do it! is our defense.

Upon the Throne: Chambers of his Imagery seeks to reconnect us back to the One True God, exposing the nature of God and Satan and uncovers the ancient path which leads to the One True God.

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Larry W. Walters Jr.s new book is an engaging exploration of Gods word and the dangers of turning from Gods laws.

Walters Jr. shares a personal series of reflections and compelling discussion of scripture in hopes of empowering others to accept God back into their lives. The author challenges the reader to reexamine current perspectives regarding the doctrines of God, the Holy Spirit and Satan, so that understanding becomes aligned with Holy Writ.

Consumers can purchase Upon the Throne: Chambers of His Imagery at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about Upon the Throne: Chambers of His Imagery, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.
Every Child Needs a Lily: a potent reminder of the responsibility one carries for the young ones in their care. Every Child Needs a Lily is the creation of published author Lillie White-Evans, a retired educator who also served in Educational Management/Administrative and Instructional programs such as elementary supervisor, Grantwriter Management, and 504/ADA Specialist.

White-Evans shares, Every Child Needs a Lily showcases how a student from a Rural Southern School setting in the state of Louisiana, whose name happens to be Lillie, paid forward the love, kindness, and biblical lessons shown to her by her former teachers and administrators as she worked later as an educator in a nearby city. She practiced in her home, school, community, and church. Testimonies of some of her students and persons who are recipients of her work and services are included. Also included is the testimony of the mentee, who inspired the writing of this book by saying, Every child needs a lily.

This book explores the impact of how consistent mentoring in a one-on-one setting of students over a period of time that includes acts of kindness, biblical truths, and life experiences can build high self-confidence and develop qualities of high achievements in students before entrance to colleges.

The ultimate goal of this book is to challenge other educators as well as other professionals to commit to helping at least one child become the best they can be. The answer to the growing number of social ills in our society cannot rest only with schools. Other community agencies and more individuals must increase programs and activities for children and youth to eliminate the many social ills plaguing America. Statistics prove that it takes at least one person to encourage a child to succeed.

The stories and testimonies are enshrouded with a background of a childs artwork to solidify the child in the title, a young human being who can grow with the help of a lily. A lily becomes any person who invests time, money, talents, and biblical truths in a child or individual. Although each mentor will develop goals and objectives unique to his expertise, tips for getting started are included.

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Lillie White-Evanss new book is an encouraging tribute to the legacy each educator leaves for their students.

With personal testimonies and thoughtful reflections, White-Evanss encouraging message will resonate with educators everywhere.

Consumers can purchase Every Child Needs a Lily at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about Every Child Needs a Lily, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.
Katherine Lee, Esq. We are thrilled to have Katherine join the firm. With strong pedigree, a keen wit, and client-focused experience that includes clerking for a federal California judge and a past-life working in the banking and fine art sectors, Katherine is a fantastic addition to the SLG team.

Structure Law Group, LLP is pleased to announce the addition of highly regarded attorney, Katherine Lee, to their business litigation team. We are thrilled to have Katherine join the firm. With strong pedigree, a keen wit, and client-focused experience that includes clerking for a federal California judge and a past-life working in the banking and fine art sectors, Katherine is a fantastic addition to the SLG team, said Los Angeles business litigation attorney, Ethan Solove.

Katherine Lee has several years of business litigation practice. Ms. Lee 's core practice focuses on business and real estate litigation. Ms. Lee has experience in all phases of litigation and has successfully advocated on behalf of clients up to and through trial, she prides herself on thoughtfully managing the relationship between her clients and the courts and protecting whats important to her clients. Ms. Lee also represents corporations and financial institutions in litigation involving complex commercial issues, including employment disputes, restrictive covenant and unfair competition litigation.

Ms. Lee received her J.D. from the University of Boston College School of Law. While in law school, Ms. Lee spent a semester at Bucerius Law School, the top business law school in Germany, where she obtained her Certificate in Leadership and Management for her studies in international corporate governance and commercial transactions. During law school, Ms. Lee clerked for the Honorable David O. Carter in the Central District of California where she drafted orders for cases arising from intellectual property disputes and failed mergers. Ms. Lee also worked at Goldman & Pease in Boston, where she was involved in real estate litigation, business formations, advising condominium associations, and writing orders for the Zoning Board of Needham. Prior to law school, Ms. Lee received her Bachelor of Science from UC Berkeley in 2013, majoring in environmental science, policy, and management with a minor in public policy. Following her undergraduate career, Ms. Lee worked in the banking industry, for a start-up and in the modern art space.

Ms. Lee can be reached at:

klee@structurelaw.com or (310) 818-7500

1801 Century Park E, Suite 475, Los Angeles, CA 90067

About Structure Law Group, LLP:

Structure Law Group, LLP is a California business law firm with offices located in Silicon Valley and Los Angeles. SLG solves complex problems in a pragmatic and effective fashion and provides legal services to companies of all sizes as well as individual entrepreneurs with a national and international practice. They are committed to providing an exceptional client experience through innovative, timely, and cost-effective legal services and solutions. SLG is a dedicated team of business attorneys that use their extensive knowledge to serve the best interests of their clients.

Structure Law Group, LLP attorneys are a dedicated team of professionals with extensive experience in the areas of:



Blockchain & Cryptocurrency

Business Transactions

Business Litigation

Construction Contracting & Payment Claims

Corporations

Debtor & Creditor Rights

E-Commerce

Employment

Immigration EB-5 Fraud Litigation

Limited Liability Companies

Mergers & Acquisitions

Partnerships

Real Estate

Start-ups & Financing

Technology Licensing & Protection of Intellectual Property

For more information about the firm please go to http://www.structurelaw.com, visit our blog at http://www.sanjosebusinesslawyersblog.com or contact us as shown below:

Krystle Warren

Structure Law Group, LLP

(408) 441-7500

kwarren@structurelaw.com

http://www.structurelaw.com
Monster Energys Sean Suga OMalley Knocks Out Raulian Paiva at UFC 269 "I havent grappled or sparred in three weeks. I was lying in bed one night, 99 percent sure I was going to pull out of this fight." - Sean O'Malley

He cant be stopped! Monster Energy congratulates Sean Suga OMalley on defeating Raulian Paiva at UFC 269 in Las Vegas on Saturday night. In the Main Card fight in the bantamweight division, the 27-year-old from Helena, Montana finished his opponent with a spectacular first-round knockout that earned the UFCs $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.

Earlier on the Prelims card, Monster Energys Dominick Dominator Cruz went the distance against Pedro Munhoz for a unanimous decision victory in a bantamweight division bout that won the UFCs Fight of the Night Bonus.

UFC 269: Oliveira vs Poirier took place on Saturday night in front of 20,000 spectators at sold-out T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The last major UFC event of the year was broadcast live on ESPN pay-per-view to a global audience and attended by numerous celebrities including actor Jared Leto.

In the opening fight on the main card, Monster Energys OMalley (15-1) came in as the betting odds favorite after knocking out Kris Moutinho at UFC 264 in July. He faced one of the toughest tests of his career in Raulian Paiva (21-4) from Brazil, who stepped into the Octagon on a three-fight winning streak.

It only took one round for OMalley to add another spectacular finish to his record. From the start, the rising MMA star evaded Paivas leg kicks and fired back with jabs and one-two combinations from a distance. As the energetic Las Vegas crowd chanted Sean OMalley, he landed a huge right hand that wobbled his opponent.

From that moment, OMalley pressed on with damaging combinations that rendered Paiva defenseless. Referee Jason Herzog called an end to the fight at 4:42 minutes with OMalley as the winner by TKO. The knockout marks the only time Pavia has lost by KO in his eight years as a professional and earned OMalley the UFCs $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.

In his post-fight interview, OMalley revealed that he almost withdrew from the fight against Pavia because of a rib injury. I havent grappled or sparred in three weeks. I was laying in bed one night, 99 percent sure I was going to pull out of this fight. I couldnt grapple, I couldnt spar. All I could do was run and hit mitts and I just knew how many people wanted to come out here and wanted to watch me fight and I just couldnt pull out, said Monster Energys OMalley at UFC 269.

Saturday nights win brings OMalleys professional record to 15 wins and one loss, with a whopping eleven wins earned by knockout. The Montana native made his mark in the Legacy Fighting Alliance franchise before making his UFC debut in 2017. He earned a spot in Dana Whites Contender Series and counts among the sports rising stars.

Whats next for O Malley? I want to fight Petr Yan. I know hes the champ and you have to beat certain people to get that fight, but thats a fight I want eventually, said OMalley in his post-fight interview.

Earlier on the nights preliminary card, Monster Energys Dominick Cruz (24-3) battled Brazils Pedro Munhoz (19-7) for three rounds. In the bantamweight division bout, Cruz survived a difficult first round against Munhoz, who stunned and dropped the ex-champion several times in the opening minutes.

Despite absorbing massive damage, Cruz regained control and proceeded to out-strike his opponent for the rest of the fight. Cruz landed heavy blows and kept hitting Munhoz with fast combos all the way to the final seconds of the epic showdown. When all was said and done, Cruz earned the victory by unanimous decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). The bout also received the UFCs coveted Fight of the Night bonus.

Cruz now commands a two-fight win streak after his split decision victory over Casey Kenney at UFC 259 in March. In his post-fight interview, the former bantamweight champion said: Thank you to the ref, Marc Goddard, for giving me a chance to rebound. Thats good reffing tonight.

Sean Suga OMalley and Dominick Dominator Cruz count amongst Monster Energys elite UFC athletes along with Kamaru Usman, Jon Bones Jones, Donald Cowboy Cerrone, Jorge Gamebred Masvidal, Chris The All American Weidman, Rose Namajunas, Tony Ferguson, Marlon Vera, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Maycee The Future Barber, Paulo The Eraser Costa, Stipe Stone Cold Miocic, Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, Jessica-Rose Clark,, Valentina Shevchenko., Brandon Moreno, and Giga Ninja Chikadze..

For more on Monster Energys MMA athletes visit http://www.monsterenergy.com. Follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

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About Monster Energy

Based in Corona, California, Monster Energy is the leading marketer of energy drinks and alternative beverages. Refusing to acknowledge the traditional, Monster Energy supports the scene and sport. Whether motocross, off-road, NASCAR, MMA, BMX, surf, snowboard, ski, skateboard, or the rock and roll lifestyle, Monster Energy is a brand that believes in authenticity and the core of what its sports, athletes and musicians represent. More than a drink, its the way of life lived by athletes, sports, bands, believers and fans. See more about Monster Energy including all of its drinks at http://www.monsterenergy.com.
New Deal Distillery's Old Tom Gin bridges Portland's craft distilling scene & Oregon's winemaking tradition. Excellent on ice with an orange twist or when mixed in Old Tom classics. Distilled with over 20 botanicals & barrel-rested in pinot noir barrels, New Deal Distillery's award winning Old Tom Gin bridges Portland's craft distilling scene & Oregon's winemaking tradition to create a sippable spirit that is excellent on ice with an orange twist or mixed in Old Tom classics.

New Deal Distillerys Old Tom Gin wins Platinum in Sip Magazines 2021 Best of Northwest Barrel Aged Gin category. Distilled with over 20 botanicals and barrel-rested in French oak, this amber colored gin bridges Portland's craft distilling scene and Oregon's winemaking tradition.

New Deals founder, head distiller, and self-proclaimed young Tom, Tom Burkleaux tinkered and experimented with this gin recipe for years before finally making it a part of New Deals permanent line of spirits this past May. Embracing their proximity to the Willamette Valley, this final rendition of Old Tom Gin is aged in Oregon wine barrels and slightly sweetened in the traditional style, creating a warm, toasty, and highly sippable spirit. Burkleaux explains that while Old Tom is not a new style of gin, it is a style thats continually evolving. Old Tom is a large and diverse category that has historically encompassed both barrel aged and sweetened gins, and we set out to combine the two.

So, why is it called Old Tom Gin? In 18th century England, before London Dry Gin stole the show, Old Tom was the gin of choice. It was so popular that several prohibitive laws were enacted to curb its consumption but this only drove the gin scene underground. Since gin was nearly outlawed, pubs secretly selling this mothers ruin would alert interested parties to its availability by putting a wooden plaque of a tomcat outside their building. After a coin was deposited through a slot in the wall, the bartender would slyly pour a shot through a pipe out to the patron. Some say its this reference to the old tomcat plaque that gives Old Tom Gin its name. However, like much of the history of spirits and cocktails, the exact answers are not known. There are other theories, some having to do with a tomcat falling into a vat of gin or an older distiller named Tom.

What is known for sure is that aging a spirit in wooden barrels affects its overall flavor profile  the gin can take on barrel characteristics like vanilla, clove, oak and smoke. For this reason, Old Tom Gin is often popular with whiskey fans as the gin takes on some of the same notes of barrel aged whiskey and can be enjoyed similarly when served on ice or simply sipped neat. Curious to try this fascinating (and award winning) spirit? New Deal's Old Tom Gin can now be shipped right to your door in 40+ states: https://shop.newdealdistillery.com/product/new-deal-old-tom-gin/

More about New Deal Distillery:

New Deal Distillery has been making high quality, craft-distilled spirits, inspired by the DIY culture of Portland, Oregon since 2004. All of their artisan spirits are made in small batches with Bull Run water and natural and organic ingredients, sourced locally whenever possible. For more information visit newdealdistillery.com or email info@newdealdistillery.com.
Northeast Delta Human Services Authoritys Louisiana Partnership For Success Manager KShana Hall stands with some of the Mind Motivation student essay contest winners. "By partnering with organizations like Mind Motivation and Pelican State Credit Union, we are able to address the mental, academic, social, health and wellness, and financial literacy needs of our youth in different, comprehensive ways," Dr. Sizer said.

Northeast Delta Human Services Authority (NEDHSA) has partnered with Mind Motivation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, to conduct an essay contest aimed at underage drinking prevention and financial literacy among youth. This initiative is another facet of NEDHSA's Office of Prevention & Wellness Louisiana Partnerships For Success work as it offers evidence-based practices to help children overcome adverse experiences. On Thursday, December 9, the contest winners were announced, comprising of second and third-grade students from Clara Hall, Swayze, Burg Jones Lane, Robinson, and Madison James Foster Elementary Schools, a total of 30 students.

As part of the essay contest, participants were asked to describe what motivates their minds to stay healthy and away from alcohol and drugs in one paragraph in their own words. Also, the participants wrote in a separate paragraph why saving money is essential to them. The school administrators selected the winners.

NEDHSA Executive Director Dr. Monteic A. Sizer said collaborations and projects like this show the variety of resources and innovations we use to help our regions youth become resilient, overcome adverse childhood trauma, succeed academically, and be able to live and thrive.

"This is another example of our agency creating and executing prevention and wellness efforts to help address and lead to the reduction of negative Social Determinants of Health," Dr. Sizer said. "There is a direct correlation between poor school performance and negative health outcomes. By partnering with organizations like Mind Motivation and Pelican State Credit Union, we are able to address the mental, academic, social, health and wellness, and financial literacy needs of our youth in different, comprehensive ways."

NEDHSA, Mind Motivation, and Pelican State Credit Union conducted mentoring sessions on underage drinking prevention, financial literacy, and mind motivation. Additionally, Pelican State Credit Union will allow the contest winners to open bank accounts, and Pelican State Credit Union will deposit a small amount of money for each A on the students' report card until high school graduation. At that time, the student then becomes eligible to apply for the Pelican State Bank scholarship.

Mind Motivation President and CEO Corey Bradford said the value of partnering with NEDHSA is that in addition to recognizing the students for their hard work we are able to motivate and educate them in regards to the dangers of alcohol.

We can encourage and guide them in a positive direction while simultaneously arming them with the valuable information to enhance their chances of success when it comes to some of lifes challenges, Bradford said. We are blessed to be able to partner with NEDHSA in this initiative.

Principal of Burg Jones Lane Elementary School Lashondra Allen said it's important that "our children know that despite what they hear and see about their neighborhood on the news that they can make a difference and change that."

"Having people from outside our community come in and pour into them is just the example that they need. If students can physically see that some individuals and organizations believe that they can achieve and care enough to reward them, I believe that this helps to build confidence and resilience in our students," Allen said. "It fosters in them the belief that others outside of their school and home families are genuinely invested in their success. Hopefully, it guides them to one day do the same and pour into individuals while making a difference in their community."

The collaboration with Mind Motivation helps NEDHSA continue its work for the child and adolescent population in the region. NEDHSA has a number of evidence-based programs operating in almost every school district in the region, including head start programs and programs such as Al's Pals that NEDHSA has funded in the Monroe City Schools and Madison Parish Schools for the 2021-2022 academic year.

Dr. Sizer added, "We're creating ecosystems to help reduce the early onset of mental illness, drug addiction, violence, suicide, teen pregnancy, school expulsion, to name a few. We are doing this because we know these things are highly correlated with adult poverty, homelessness, high unemployment, and early death.

-END-

For more information, contact DeRon Talley at (318) 237-9973 or email deron.talley@la.gov.
Patrice Nussbaum, a lifelong writer who has a passion for politics, has completed her new book Aged Out": an intriguing tale about a government that required that individual sacrifices must be made for societys betterment. The evolution of this ideology gave rise to the long accepted mandate of eliminating citizens at age seventy, thereby efficiently dealing with the costly realities of aging.

Nussbaum writes, I didnt have a lot of money. No one did anymore. Taxes were very high on our guaranteed incomes, and with Stephen gone, I was only getting half the amount wed gotten together. The last-year perks and equality laws didnt leave me any needs that werent met. With the Aged Out Program, things had gotten better in that respect. Money was not really needed much anyway. All our basic needs were met. Everyone got food, housing, and health care. But anything beyond the norm had to be paid for in one way or another. One way or another could mean many different things.

Published by Page Publishing, Patrice Nussbaums invaluable work details how Naia has just turned sixty-nine, and shes desperate to find a way to stay alive. Her society requires her to be aged out one month after she turns seventy.

Naia encounters a myriad of characters as she goes through her journey to survive being aged out. Some want to help her; others have their own agendas that conflict with Naias goals. Ultimately, Naia pursues and achieves an outcome that might be real or the product of a fevered mind, but when death comes, the reader must decide if Naia has been quietly aged out or has died a heros death that changes the world. Aged Out combines the sociopolitical issues of Atlas Shrugged and 1984 with the suspense of Brave New World and Logans Run, the mania of A Clockwork Orange and the science fiction creativity of Star Trek. The reader will be constantly caught off guard throughout.

Readers who wish to experience this intriguing book can purchase Aged Out" at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.

About Page Publishing:

Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.
I have a deeply rooted sense of responsibility that stems from a desire to protect the industry that has made my dreams come true. ~ Paul Porter, founder

Premier Pools and Spas is excited to announce two new service franchises: St. George, UT, and South Atlanta, GA. PPAS is the worlds largest swimming pool builder, and winner of several awards, including the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals (APSP) International Award of Excellence for Design. Theyre a nationwide brand with the customer care of a family-owned business.

Founder of PPAS, Paul Porter, and the President of Premier Franchise Management, Aaron Gurley, are selective about who becomes a Premier franchise owner. Because at Premier, gaining quality people comes before producing a quantity of exceptional work. So theyre proud to present Dave Justice as the owner of South Atlanta, and Jarrod Mallory, Richard Holm, and Justin Harwood as owners of St. George, UT.

I have a deeply rooted sense of responsibility that stems from a desire to protect the industry that has made my dreams come true.

~ Paul Porter, founder

Premier continues to expand its reputation for excellent customer service as it expands into these new locations. Each Premier franchise is backed by an institution with 30 years of experience, so South Atlanta and St. George residents can be sure theyre choosing the best.

Premier has been offering franchise opportunities since 2014 to like-minded entrepreneurs with great work ethic and vision for a bright future. If you're interested in owning a Premier franchise, please visit premierpoolsfranchise.com or call (844) 366-2102.

South Atlanta, GA | Owner: Dave Justice

Dave Justice first discovered PPAS when he responded to a job ad to join the Premier Build location in Atlanta South as part of their sales and design team. It was there where he realized the potential benefit and opportunity of establishing a Premier Pool Service location to handle the increasing number of pools being built across Atlanta. And two years later, he made it happen.

When asked what he most looked forward to about owning a Premier Service franchise, he said, The opportunity of growing a business alongside my wife of 32 years. I also look forward to creating a team of people to provide exceptional pool service and helping them reach their goals.

Dave met his wife of 32 years, Vonda, at West Coast Baptist College, where he received a Masters Degree in Education. Together they have two childrenJordan and Annalisa.

St. George, UT | Owners: Jarrod Mallory, Justin Harwood, & Richard Holm

Jarrod, Justin, and Richard have been entrepreneurs their whole life, but their journey with Premier began a year ago when they first opened a build franchise. Now, with the addition of a service franchise, they have their customers pool needs covered on all fronts.

Together theyre really excited about expanding their service operation alongside their build operation. They were looking for a company that fostered its franchises and shared the same values of work ethic and family that they hold. PPAS was the perfect match for them. As builders and servicers of pools, they pride themselves on quality of service and look forward to a long and lustrous career with Premier.

Our St. George pool builders can custom build your pool and outdoor living space with 3D design, so you know what your pool will look like when completed. Contact owners Jarrod Mallory, Richard Holm, and Justin Harwood to see how they can help you with your swimming pool dreams.

About Premier Pools & Spas

Founded in 1988, Premier Pools & Spas (PPAS) has a reputation for first-class results within the customers budget. PPAS builds and services swimming pools and spas for homeowners across the country.
Raines International, a leading executive search and talent advisory firm, has developed Raines Engage, a new program featuring neuroscience-backed sessions on making equitable decisions in the hiring process. The programs content and delivery methodologies demonstrate how unconscious bias interferes with decision-making and include mitigation strategies to help senior talent and hiring leaders make better decisions in high-stakes situations.

With the most competitive talent market in our generation, mandates for better and more substantial DEI action, and the need for accelerated hiring processes, Raines Engage is directed toward human resources and business leaders, particularly those responsible for talent pipelines, to drive change in how talent is hired and retained.

Our clients need better talent acquisition outcomes, and executives want to train their teams to be the best in the business, said Raines Chief Executive Officer Dan Smith. This program helps clients beat their competition in attracting the best talent in the most dynamic hiring environment most of us have ever seen. Were incredibly proud to offer this program in a way that drives adoption.

As part of Raines broader programming on equitable decision-making, the first session in the Engage series explores the interplay between diversity, equity, inclusion, and unconscious bias. Sessions are led by Raines Senior Vice President Kathryn Bardi. Starting today, the hourlong interactive session is included in all of Raines C-Suite searches and is available as an additional service offering for non-C-suite searches and clients.

Even leaders with the best intentions fall privy to unconscious bias  all humans do. Understanding the science behind how biases operate in the brain allows leaders to take necessary steps to ensure equitable hiring processes, Bardi said. Were leveraging research on how the brain works to help executives make better decisions. Our clients agree that the stakes have never been higher.

Bardi joined Raines in 2020 from Bain & Company where, as the Senior Manager  People and Organization, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, she led the firms global efforts on unconscious bias mitigation, inclusive culture, and employee engagement. Prior to Bain, Bardi was a Senior Research & Solutions Consultant at the NeuroLeadership Institute, where she designed human capital initiatives for Fortune 500 companies, operationalizing neuroscience research to inform leadership development, business transformation, and diversity & inclusion.

The Raines Engage program is part of Raines Advisory Practice, led by neuroscience experts and MBAs. Additional offerings from the Advisory team include Executive Assessments, Senior Team Alignment, Succession Planning, DEI educational offerings, and DEI strategy.

About Raines International:

Raines International is an advisory firm committed to making a difference with executive search, organizational consulting, and talent management solutions. Headquartered in Miami with ten offices across the Americas, Raines specializes in senior-level leadership recruitment and assessment and DEI advisory across industries and functions.
"Its wonderful to see such enthusiasm for our reduced-calorie chocolate that eliminates refined sugar that is such a health risk when heavily consumed," says Glenn Gardone, President and CEO of RED Chocolate.

Through the ups and downs over the last year, one thing has remained certain. Our love for chocolate never goes away!

Case in point. RED Chocolate grew exponentially during the pandemic. In 2020, sales increased by 3,000%, an incredible feat when many businesses were suffering. They exceeded expectations in their first year by hitting store shelves in Rite Aid, Walmart, and giant grocery chains with their indulgent low-calorie chocolate.

And 2021 continues to look bright for the Master European Chocolatier as their better-for-you chocolate was in Sams Club earlier in the year, and will be found in Costco December/January, making them one of the fastest-growing confectioneries in the industry. The company revenue is over $15 million.

When we hit shelves in Q4 of 2019, we brought our expert chocolate-making skills to the U.S. and the reception has been overwhelmingly positive, said Glenn Gardone, President and CEO. Its wonderful to see such enthusiasm for our reduced-calorie chocolate that eliminates refined sugar that is such a health risk when heavily consumed. RED offers a better and more flavorful alternative. Stay tuned for more limited-edition offerings that well be releasing soon.

According to IRI data, the healthier-choice/reduced sugar candy category is up 16.6%. To no surprise, RED has easily found a loyal following within the category, growing 10 times over the past year.

The first year, 2020, as the pandemic swept the nation, RED arrived in 3,000 stores. Since the start of 2021, RED is available in 10,000 stores across the U.S. The offerings include no added sugar, reduced calories, and less fat. The recipe deliciously makes the dark chocolate 40% less in calories and the milk chocolate 30% less compared to other popular chocolates on the market.

Ethically sourced and produced in a custom-designed environmentally-conscious facility, the full bars and grab-n-go come in classic dark, classic milk, and delicious flavors such as orange and almond. The diamond-shaped pralines are available in either a smooth nut or a coconut filling. RED is Weight Watchers-friendly, keto-friendly, gluten-free, kosher, palm oil-free, and non-GMO.

RED Chocolate is made with cocoa from the Ivory Coast of Africa, whose farmers select, roast, and grind the cocoa beans to perfection. The European brand is one of the first to masterfully use the natural sugar from the cocoa bean itself and naturally occurring sugars from fruits such as melons to lightly sweeten their recipe, receiving more than 10 invention patents in the process.

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About RED Chocolate:

RED Chocolate has come over from Europe and is taking the U.S. by storm. The chocolate brand was one of the highest performing products on their debut showing on the Home Shopping Network channel, nearly selling out of stock in a short ten minutes. RED Chocolate has also been featured on major outlets such as Life & Style, Spoon University, BuzzFeed, and many more. RED Chocolate is available in most major grocery chains, Amazon, and their own site, https://red-chocolate.com/. Follow the brand on Instagram @redchocolate.


SIUEs 10th Chancellor Dr. James T. Minor. "Its a tremendous season to go forward in public higher education, and Im excited about SIUE being at the forefront.

The appointment of Southern Illinois University Edwardsvilles 10th Chancellor, Dr. James T. Minor, was approved by the SIU Board of Trustees during its regularly scheduled December meeting.

Im excited, humbled and extraordinarily honored for the opportunity to serve SIUE and the SIU System, said Minor. I am appreciative of the boards confidence, as well as President Dan Mahonys confidence, in my leadership for the next chapter at SIUE. I am also deeply grateful for the engagement and the work of campus constituents who served on the search committee. Its a tremendous season to go forward in public higher education, and Im excited about SIUE being at the forefront.

Minor pointed to the many opportunities SIUE presents with its strong academic programs, being located in a dynamic metropolitan region, and its community of amazing educators.

He spoke of the symmetry in strategic priorities of the Illinois Board of Higher Education, the SIU System and the tremendous ongoing work at SIUE related to retention and degree completion, preserving affordability, and impact and outreach.

How we operationalize those priorities at SIUE will be determined once Im on the ground and have the benefit of listening and engaging the campus community, Minor shared. The shorthand for the plan will be to focus on accomplishing the institutions core mission by ensuring that a greater percentage of students who enroll cross a commencement stage. That means SIUE will have an increasingly positive impact on the local community, region and state.

Minors appointment is historic as he becomes the institutions first African American chancellor.

Throughout the interview process, it hadnt occurred to me that this fact would be part of the narrative associated with my appointment, he reflected. Im certainly proud and recognize the symbolic significance, but that must now be converted into realizing greater inclusion in the University and it being understood as a place for everyone to accomplish their educational and professional goals.

Minor also underscored the Universitys momentum, which he looks forward to joining.

Im going to join conversations and efforts that are already in progress, he noted. My role will be to facilitate and, to the degree possible, accelerate progress advancing strategic priorities on campus as we pursue clear and quantifiable goals.

Minor will assume the chancellor role on March 1, 2022. He arrives on campus after having most recently served as assistant vice chancellor and senior strategist in the Office of the Chancellor at California State University.

He holds a doctorate in educational leadership and policy analysis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as a bachelors in sociology from Jackson State University and a masters in sociology from the University of Nebraska.

Minor succeeds Randy Pembrook who has served as SIUEs chancellor since 2016 and will retire in 2022.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville provides students with a high-quality, affordable education that prepares them for successful careers and lives of purpose to shape a changing world. Built on the foundation of a broad-based liberal education, and enhanced by hands-on research and real-world experiences, the academic preparation SIUE students receive equips them to thrive in the global marketplace and make our communities better places to live. Situated on 2,660 acres of beautiful woodland atop the bluffs overlooking the natural beauty of the Mississippi Rivers rich bottomland and only a short drive from downtown St. Louis, the SIUE campus is home to a diverse student body of more than 13,000.
Steven P. Brennan, Ph.D. Dr. Brennan will utilize his decade of experience at global manufacturing and consulting firms to help clients plan, execute, routinize, and communicate compliance with EU REACH, EU RoHS Directive, UK REACH, and EUs CLP.

The Acta Group (Acta) is pleased to announce that Steven P. Brennan, Ph.D, has joined our firm in our Manchester, England, office as Senior Manager, REACH. In his new role, Dr. Brennan will utilize his decade of experience at global manufacturing and consulting firms to help clients plan, execute, routinize, and communicate compliance with European Union (EU) Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), EU Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive, the United Kingdoms (UK) version of REACH (UK REACH), and EUs Classification, Labelling and Packaging Regulation (CLP).

From his experience as an in-house chemical regulatory leader with innovative multi-national technology and manufacturing companies, Dr. Brennan understands the budgetary, logistical, and competitive challenges faced by regulatory professionals. He assists clients in developing and executing UK and EU compliance goals on time and on budget -- always with careful and savvy alignment with global product release strategies. Dr. Brennan assists clients with compliance assessments, supply chain impact assessments, substance registration, application for authorization, and finding or developing safer alternatives and technologies where hazards have been identified. Dr. Brennan is an experienced REACH Only Representative and REACH consortium manager.

Prior to joining Acta, Dr. Brennan was Head of Chemicals & REACH with a UK consulting firm, and a REACH Specialist with Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 manufacturing firms. Dr. Brennan holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Queens University, Belfast, Northern Ireland.


The winner of the World Photographic will be announced at the WPC Awards Ceremony in Rome, Italy, on March 28, 2022.

Professional Photographers of America (PPA) and the Federation of European Photographers (FEP) have announced the teams from 35 countries participating in the 2022 World Photographic Cup. The competition aims to unite photographers in the spirit of friendship and cooperation.

Each country is represented by one team chosen by a national association of professional photographers. Teams pick their own photographers and images to enter. They may submit up to three images in each of six categories: Commercial (including advertising, architecture, industrial, fashion), Illustrative, Nature, Portrait, Reportage, and Wedding. Teams may choose to enter the images of a single photographer in multiple categories, but no single photographer may have multiple images entered into a single category. Click here to see Team USA's images!

Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals are awarded to the individual creator in each category for first, second, and third place. Teams are awarded points based on an aggregate score of the top ten images in all categories, and the World Photographic Cup is awarded to the national team that receives the highest overall score. The 2022 Team USA finalist photographers are:

Commercial

Sharon Fuente, CPP

Roben Bellomo, M.Photog.Cr.

Armando Munoz, M.Photog.

Illustrative

Erich Caparas, M.Photog.M.Artist.

Ben Shirk, M.Photog.M.Artist.Cr.

Shannon Squires-Toews, M.Photog., CPP

Nature

Dori Arnold, M.Photog.Cr.

Joe Campanellie, M.Photog.Cr., CPP, F-ASP

Cheryl Moore, CPP

Portrait

Kimberly Smith, M.Photog.M.Artist.Cr., CPP

Shannon Squires-Toews, M.Photog., CPP

Myra Thiessen, M.Photog.

Reportage

Kevin Dooley, M.Photog.

Moses Slovatizki

Ted York, M.Photog.Cr., CPP

Wedding

Michael Anthony, M.Photog.

Johnathan Fusco

Kenneth Mendoza

The WPC top-ten finalist images in each category will be formally announced alongside the Best of Nation Awards as part of Imaging USA, the premier conference in the photography industry. Then, the winner of the World Photographic will be announced at the WPC Awards Ceremony in Rome, Italy, on March 28, 2022.

"When it's all said and done, the World Photographic Cup is about uniting the worldwide photographic community," PPA CEO David Trust said. "But every team participating wants to do their best to bring home the Cup. We have three of them proudly displayed at PPA headquarters. With that in mind, announcing the members selected for Team USA is a fun moment for us, and past team members have said it is one of their greatest honors, which we love to hear."

For more information on the World Photographic Cup and to view the finalist images from around the world, visit WorldPhotographicCup.org.

About PPA:

Professional Photographers of America (PPA) is the largest and longest-standing nonprofit photography trade association. Founded in 1868, we help over 30,000 professionals elevate their craft and grow their businesses using a suite of benefits, including resources, education, networking, and insurance. Learn more at PPA.com.


The winners of the sixth annual Community Leadership Awards were announced Monday, December 13th, and included community leaders from organizations like Zapier, Leidos, Commvault, Motorola, and more. The Community Roundtable, the leading global resource for the community management industry, presented the awards virtually. As the recognized leader in community management research, training, and thought leadership, The Community Roundtable is uniquely qualified to evaluate and reward individual and organizational contributions to the industry.

The Community Leadership Awards recognize excellence in online community management across five categories: Outstanding Community Program, Outstanding Community Dashboard, Outstanding Community ROI, Outstanding Community Design Element, and Best Recognition + Reward Program. Members of TheCR Network  the world's premier resource for community professionals  were recognized in six individual categories. Two additional awards, Community MVP and Outstanding Community Achievement were awarded based on peer nominations. In total, 14 organizations and individuals were recognized for outstanding efforts in community management.

2021 proved to be another unprecedented year in the community management space, said Jim Storer, Co-Founder, and COO at The Community Roundtable. The community leaders recognized this year provided invaluable guidance and vision for their organizations, amid near-constant change.

The winners of 2021 Community Leadership Award are:

Outstanding Community Dashboard 2021: Cloudera

The Outstanding Community Dashboard award recognizes a community dashboard that exhibits the most impressive and engaging design, sharing metrics and measurement in an impactful way that contributes to the overall narrative of a community program.

Outstanding Community ROI 2021  The Conference Board

The Outstanding Community ROI award recognizes a community that has best demonstrated significant ROI for their business/organization through innovative community management practices.

Outstanding Community Program 2021  AAMC

The Outstanding Community Program recognizes an exceptional community program that supports new member on-boarding, including communications, training, mentoring, and more.

Outstanding Community Design Element 2021  ESRI

The Outstanding Community Program award recognizes a design element in an online community program that demonstrates meaningful engagement through thoughtful design.

Best Recognition + Reward Program 2021: Blue Prism

The Best Recognition + Reward Program award recognizes outstanding community recognition, reward, and gamification programs that increase engagement

Community Champion 2021: Nick Frunzi, Chief Customer Officer, ESRI

The Community Champion award recognizes an outstanding community stakeholder or executive.

Community MVP 2021: Rachael Silvano, Community Operations Manager, Zapier

The Community MVP award recognizes excellence in community management  including outstanding efforts, willingness to share with peers, achievements, and excellent community results.

Community Detective 2021: Christine Vazquez, Associate Director, Professional Development International Foundation of EBP

Community Detective awards the member who helps source group knowledge and expertise by regularly asking thoughtful and meaningful questions in TheCR Network.

Community Explorer 2021: Lisa Allison, Senior Community Strategist, Analog Devices, Inc.

Community Explorer awards the member who charts new territory in the community management industry. They take best practices, research, and community models to experiment and advance the industry.

Community Pack Leader 2021: Tracy Maurer, Senior Manager, Community and Knowledge Management, Commvault

Community Pack Leader awards the member who consistently leads the most discussions, online, in-person, and on virtual calls, and shows leadership around a topic or initiative in TheCR Network.

Community Journaler 2021: Tammy Triplett, Enterprise Community Manager, Leidos.

Community Journaler awards the member who works out loud the most regularly and with the most depth.

Community Power User 2021: Lori Harrison-Smith, Enterprise Community Strategist, Motorola Solutions

Community Power User awards the most active member in TheCR Network who contributes on a regular basis in a wide variety of ways, from sharing their expertise to supporting and encouraging other members.

Community Rookie of the Year 2021: April Uzarski, Senior Tech Community Manager, Xandr

Community Rookie of the Year awards a Network member who has fewer than three years of industry experience, is new to TheCR Network, and is a power user  regularly collaborating and contributing inside the Network.

About The Community Roundtable: The Community Roundtable is the leading, global resource for the community management industry. The Community Roundtable helps organizations from Fortune 500s to start-ups and associations recognize, define and leverage the power of their communities. Through the industrys only comprehensive community management research, The Community Roundtable provides training, events, and consulting to help companies recognize real ROI from their community programs. TheCR Network  the world's premier resource for community professionals, connects hundreds of community practitioners worldwide for networking, professional development, and support. Learn more at communityroundtable.com
Not only are we excited about acquiring three Impressive Cleaners, but we are also thrilled to be helping out a family-owned and operated business, Justin Sharbutt said. We are fortunate to have made a seamless transition."

Tide Cleaners, the nations leading on-demand dry cleaning and laundry service franchise, recently acquired three Impressive Cleaners stores in the state of Colorado. Experienced franchise professional Justin Sharbutt and his team will soon convert the current Impressive Cleaners in Centennial, Aurora and Denver into Tide Cleaners locations. With the latest acquisition of a plant and two drop store locations, Sharbutt now operates 50 Tide Cleaners with six additional locations currently under development.

Tide Cleaners, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, is a brick-and-mortar dry cleaning and laundry concept. Agile Pursuits Franchising, Inc., a subsidiary of Procter & Gamble, launched the first Tide Cleaners location in 2008. The company began franchising in 2011.

Sharbutt is the ultimate entrepreneur with more than 60 franchise locations across three brands in two states. Sharbutt and his partners opened their first Tide Cleaners in 2015. Since then, hes built an empire with more than 50 locations across Texas and Colorado. Sharbutts latest venture is unique in that he saw a market to acquire and convert other dry cleaning brands, into Tide Cleaners.

Not only are we excited about acquiring three Impressive Cleaners, but we are also thrilled to be helping out a family-owned and operated business, Sharbutt said. The father-son duo we conducted business with ran an incredible operation, and we are fortunate to have made a seamless transition into Tide Cleaners. By keeping the original locations intact, we are also serving the community with no disruption as we continue to remodel.

Sharbutt is excited for the three new locations and grateful to be a part of a company like Procter & Gamble that helped support to make the deal happen.

The recently acquired locations help us expand our footprint in Colorado and serve a wider market, Sharbutt said. I think its such a blessing to have a renowned brand behind us, like Procter & Gamble. Not many franchisees have the opportunity we do. Procter & Gamble has shown time and again that they really believe in this concept and are pouring a lot of support into this one-of-a-kind endeavor.

Tide Cleaners has 229 outlets across the nation. All locations are designed and equipped to provide a wide variety of services for their consumers. Tide Cleaners provides everything from dry cleaning, laundry, wash and fold, household item cleaning, and wedding dress cleaning, plus alterations and shoe cleaning and repair.

In addition to the six additional locations currently under development, Sharbutt plans to open another 50+ Tide Cleaners across Colorado and Texas.

We are thrilled to continue growing across the state of Colorado, said Andrew Gibson, President of Tide Cleaners. Acquiring and converting three dry cleaners to Tide Cleaners is no small feat. Justin and his team have worked tirelessly to make this deal happen, and we are here to help them continue to grow in Colorado.

Visit http://www.tidecleaners.com to learn more about the services Tide Cleaners has to offer.

For franchising information and opportunities, visit https://tidecleaners.com/en-us/partnerships/franchise.

About Tide Cleaners

Tide Cleaners represents Tide, Americas number one laundry detergent, which has been a trusted brand for more than 70 years. Agile Pursuits Franchising, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Procter & Gamble, launched Tide Cleaners, a brick-and-mortar dry cleaning and laundry concept, in 2008 with headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Tide Cleaners business model provides numerous solutions to make getting clean clothes more convenient for busy people. Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, the company has 229 outlets in more than two dozen states and over 1,800 locker locations across the U.S.

About Procter & Gamble

P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always, Ambi Pur, Ariel, Bounty, Charmin, Crest, Dawn, Downy, Fairy, Febreze, Gain, Gillette, Head & Shoulders, Lenor, Olay, Oral-B, Pampers, Pantene, SK-II, Tide, Vicks, and Whisper. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit https://www.pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands.
The Consorzio di Tutela Vini dAbruzzo is delighted to present a Restaurant Week in New York City, partnering with various restaurants from December 13th through the 20th.

Throughout this time period prestige, yet approachable restaurants in both Manhattan and Brooklyn will promote wines from the Consorzio Tutela Vini DAbruzzo highlighting Montepulciano DAbruzzo DOC, Cerasuolo DAbruzzo DOC and Pecorino DAbruzzo DOC.

The selected restaurants include notable Chef-driven Italian Osterias and new American restaurants such as Celeste, Macchina, Nonna Beppa, Estuary, Bella Blu, Keste, La Prive, Maiella, Milos Wine Bar, Marini Osteria and others. The participants at each restaurant will be presented with wines for tasting throughout the aperitivo hour and learn about classic pairings for each. Some of the pairings include recipes such as Abruzzese Bruschetta, Stuffed fried olives, Abruzzese Stuffed Artichokes, Pizza fritta, Gnocchi carrati and others.

With the Restaurant Week in New York the Charming Taste of Europe will end the first year of the campaign. The Charming Taste of Europe is proud to have participated in tastings and promotional activities across the United States and looks forward to another year full of events and happenings aimed at educating consumers, media, and trade professionals about the benefits and high quality standards of these European products.

To learn more about the Charming Taste of Europe campaign, visit charmingtasteofeurope.eu which spotlights the characteristics of these European products. Pages dedicated to the Charming Taste of Europe can be found on social networks such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. The member organizations invite everyone to join the social media campaign using the hashtag #charmeu.

About the Charming Taste of Europe:

Europe, a place with timeless charm, is the birthplace of some of the highest-quality products in the world. The Charming Taste of Europe is a special project that introduces exquisite specialties to the United States and Canada, such as Italian and French wines, and fresh fruits from Greece, that showcase Europes charm, beauty, culture, history, art, heritage and unmistakable tastes.

The mission of the Charming Taste of Europe, co-funded by the European Union, is to increase awareness of the merits and quality standards of select European wines and fresh fruits with promotional activities in the competitive markets of the U.S. and Canada. The Charming Taste of Europe is promoted by the Consortium for the Protection of Wines of Abruzzo, the Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Kavala (Kavala COOP), the Agricultural Cooperative of Rachi Pieria (Agios Loukas) and the Union of Sweet Bordeaux Wines. These European agricultural products, famous around the world for their outstanding qualities, will continue to be promoted with initiatives and events for consumers, journalists and trade professionals. For more information visit charmingtasteofeurope.eu

To Follow The Charming Taste of Europe Campaign:

Website: charmingtasteofeurope.eu

Facebook: @CharmingTasteofEU

Instagram: @charmeu_usa

YouTube: The Charming Taste of Europe

Hashtags: #thecharmingtasteofeu and #charmeu

Activity included into the - "The Charming Taste of Europe", Campaign co-founded by the European Union - Reg. (UE) 1144/2014 - N. 101015721 - REG. 1144/2014_CHARMEU_101015721

The content of this promotion campaign represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility. The European Commission and the European Research Executive Agency (REA) do not accept any responsibility for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
Visit Alexandria, Federal Conference & Carpenter's Shelter Caring for people not only during the winter months but throughout the year is so important to us at Federal Conference, said Phillip Saims, vice president of sales at Federal Conference.

Federal Conference and Visit Alexandria are pleased to announce that the 4th annual Gingerbread Decorating Event on Wednesday, December 8, 2021 raised nearly $600 for Carpenters Shelter, an Alexandria based organization for homeless and at-risk individuals. The industry event had record participation from meeting planners around the Washington D.C. region and was sponsored in part by the Embassy Suites Old Town.

Bringing people together around an important cause such as Carpenters Shelter is part of our mission within the city of Alexandria, said Carla Bascope-Hebble, vice president of sales at Visit Alexandria. The hospitality and meeting planner industry was hit hard over the past two years, but we wanted to keep this tradition moving forward and focus on the positive impact it makes.

Caring for people not only during the winter months but throughout the year is so important to us at Federal Conference, said Phillip Saims, vice president of sales at Federal Conference. The meeting and conference industry has the most caring individuals who truly enjoy helping others.

The public is encouraged to vote for the best gingerbread house via Federal Conferences Facebook page. The team with the most likes will receive a prize from Visit Alexandria, inclusive of tickets to a cruise on the tall ship Providence, overnight accommodations at the Embassy Suites Old Town and gift cards to Oak Steakhouse located in Alexandria. Voting ends December 20, 2021 at 3 p.m.

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About Federal Conference

At Federal Conference, Our Expertise Is Your Event. We deliver more than 3,000 meetings, conferences and tradeshows per year around the world for corporate, association, and government clients. Our planning team is industry certified and experienced in creating innovative event programs that increase attendance, maximize revenue, and deliver an exceptional experience for all participants. We leverage best-in-class solutions for event planning, site selection, registration, housing management, and onsite delivery to make every event extraordinary and stress free.

About Visit Alexandria

Visit Alexandria is the nonprofit tourism marketing organization for Alexandria, Virginia. Recognized as a Top 5 Best Small City in the U.S. for the third consecutive year alongside Charleston and Santa Fe by the Conde Nast Traveler Readers Choice Awards, Alexandria hums with a cosmopolitan feel and a walkable lifestylea welcoming weekend escape on the Potomac River waterfront minutes from our nations capital. Founded in 1749, Old Town Alexandria is the nations third oldest locally designated historic district, boasting more than 200 independent restaurants and boutiques alongside intimate historic museums and new happenings at the waterfront. At the heart of it all is bustling King Street, a walkable mile recognized as one of the Great Streets of America. Walk in the footsteps of George Washington and Americas Founding Fathers while learning about Black history and African American changemakers that have shaped the history of Alexandria and the U.S. Learn more at VisitAlexandriaVA.com.
Were grateful that CB Insights has recognized the strides weve made to ensure that patients and their loved ones have the ability to understand what will be happening during their emergency department visit.

CB Insights named Vital, the AI-powered software increasing productivity and improving patient health in hospital emergency rooms, to its third annual Digital Health 150, which showcases the 150 most promising private digital health companies in the world. This year's Digital Health 150 was unveiled live during CB Insights' annual Future of Health event.

The 2021 Digital Health 150 cohort has raised roughly $14.9B in aggregate funding across 522 deals since 2016, and includes startups at various investment stages of development, from early-stage to well-funded unicorns. Companies this year include startups working on data integration & analytics, hybrid virtual / in-person care, digital therapeutics, clinical intelligence, and more.

"This year's Digital Health 150 is one of our most expansive yet, spotlighting 16 categories including virtual care, clinical trials tech, and workflow automation, as well as adding new categories such as home health tech and computer-aided imaging," said Brian Lee, SVP of CB Insights' Intelligence Unit. "Last year's class has seen more than 20 exits, raised an additional $18.6B in aggregate funding, and announced over 250 partnerships since being recognized, and we're excited to see the future success of this year's winners."

COVID-19 made it clear that we must simplify and humanize medical care and communication, especially in the hospital setting, said Vital co-founder and CEO Aaron Patzer. Were grateful that CB Insights has recognized the strides weve made to ensure that patients and their loved ones have the ability to understand what will be happening during their emergency department visit.

Through an evidence-based approach, the CB Insights research team selected the Digital Health 150 from a pool of over 11,000 companies, including applicants and nominees. They were chosen based on several factors, including data submitted by the companies, company business models and momentum in the market, and Mosaic scores, CB Insights' proprietary algorithm that measures the overall health and growth potential of private companies.

Vital is a modern software for hospital emergency departments that makes it easier to coordinate care and prioritize patients. Launched in 2019 and co-founded by the creator of Mint.com, Aaron Patzer, and Emergency Medicine Physician at Emory Healthcare, Justin Schrager, Vital is now used in more than 80 hospitals across 15 healthcare systems nationwide, including CommonSpirit Health and Emory Healthcare. The service is on track to serve one million patients and caregivers by the end of this year.

2021 Digital Health 150 Investment Highlights:



Unicorns: 17 of the 150 companies (11%) are valued at or above $1B as of their latest funding rounds.

Funding trends: In 2021 year-to-date (YTD), these 150 private companies have raised $9.2B in equity funding across 153 deals (as of 11/19/21).

Mega-rounds: Since 2020, there have been 39 mega-round ($100M+) equity investments to this years Digital Health 150, with 31 (79%) of them taking place in 2021 YTD.

Global representation: 23% of the 2021 Digital Health 150 are based outside the US. After the US, the UK is home to the most Digital Health 150 companies (9), followed by India (4). This years winners are based in 18 countries, including China, Israel, Nigeria, Germany, Argentina, and New Zealand.

Top VC investor: General Catalyst is the most active investor in this years Digital Health 150 companies, having invested in 39 deals since 2016.

About Vital

Vital is a modern software for hospital emergency departments that makes it easier to coordinate care and prioritize patients. Using artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP), Vital engages patients in their emergency department and inpatient visit, improving patient satisfaction, keeping patients in-network, and generating millions in additional revenue. Founded by Mint.com creator Aaron Patzer (@apatzer), and Emory Emergency Physician Dr. Justin Schrager, Vital is HIPAA-compliant, and a cloud-based software that sits on top of any existing electronic health record system (EHR): Epic, Cerner, Meditech, and more. The companys investors include Transformation Capital, First Round Capital, Threshold Ventures (formerly DFJ Venture), Bragiel Brothers, Meridian Street Capital, Refactor Capital, Vivek Garipalli, SV Angel, Jay Desai (Founder of PatientPing), Brian Manning, and Nat Turner and Zach Weinberg (Founders of Flatiron Health). For more information please visit vitaler.com or follow us on Twitter (@Vital_EHR).

About CB Insights

CB Insights builds software that enables the world's best companies to discover, understand, and make technology decisions with confidence. By marrying data, expert insights, and work management tools, clients manage their end-to-end technology decision-making process on CB Insights. To learn more, please visit http://www.cbinsights.com.

CB Insights Press Contact:

press@cbinsights.com

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Blythe, CA (92225)

Today

Clear to partly cloudy. Low around 40F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Clear to partly cloudy. Low around 40F. Winds light and variable.
Topic, the streaming service from First Look Media, has acquired the US and Canadian TVOD rights to Giedre Zickytes documentary The Jump for release in March 2022.

Director and producer Zickyte, alongside producer Uldis Cekulis, tells the story of one of the Cold Wars biggest political muddles in a film which won the Best Documentary Award at the Warsaw Film Festival.

On Thanksgiving Day, 1970, Lithuanian sailor Simas Kudirka defected by jumping off a Soviet vessel aboard a US Coast Guard Cutter and asking for asylum. Through eye-witness reports, rare archival footage and a revealing conversation with Kudirka himself, The Jump takes us through everything that happened after the jump, from Kudirkas trial by the Soviets for treason to protests begging for his freedom - and the twist of fate that changed everything.

Ryan Chanatry, general manager, Topic, said: Simas Kudirka is the kind of risk-taker our viewers will immediately be fascinated by. His story, told beautifully by Giedre, is a compelling reflection on the sacrifices we make to better our lives and the hold that our historic roots have on us.

The Jump is a co-production of Moonmakers, VFS Films, Faites Un Voeu, in association with Naked Edge Films. Jennifer Liang, VP of Acquisitions at Topic, negotiated the deal with MetFilm Sales, which is handling international sales.
Lisa Barlow says she's a "great friend" to her Real Housewives of Salt Lake City co-star Jen Shah.

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The television personality appeared on Sunday's episode of Watch What Happens Live, where she gave an update on her friendship with Shah amid Shah's legal issues.

Shah and her assistant Stuart Smith were arrested in March and charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The pair both pleaded not guilty to the charges in April, but Smith changed his plea to guilty in November.

On WWHL, Barlow was asked to explain why she considers herself a better friend to Shah than Shah is to her.

"You know, with my conversations with Jen, mostly they revolve around Jen," Barlow said. "I'm a great friend to her, and I feel like there were some things that happened before at my kids' photoshoot and after that were very upsetting to me. We just needed to address it."

Barlow confirmed she is still in touch with Shah, despite her upsetting Shah with some previous comments about the legal situation on WWHL.

"I used to speak to Jen a lot. Since I was here last, we don't speak as much," Barlow said. "I think I upset her."

"I believe in innocent until proven guilty, and I feel like, you know, there's tough allegations against Jen but she's gonna fight through it," she added.

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Barlow said Shah was "really upset" after she brought up Smith's name on WWHL and that she apologized to Shah for her comments.

On WWHL in November, Barlow said she "never questioned" Shah's business practices.

Real Housewives of Salt Lake City is in its second season on Bravo. The series also stars Mary Cosby, Heather Gay, Meredith Marks, Whitney Rose and Jennie Nguyen.
The New York Film Critics Online has voted Netflix's Power of the Dog the Best Picture of 2021.

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The organization also bestowed six other awards on the western.

Jane Campion earned the Best Director and Best Screenplay honors for helming the film, while co-stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Kodi Smit-McPhee picked up the prizes for Best Actor and Supporting Actor respectively.

The cast, which also included Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst, was named Best Ensemble, and Ari Wegner won the award for Best Cinematography.

Passing was another big winner with NYFCO.

Rebecca Hall scored the accolade for Best Debut Director for directing the Netflix drama, and Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga were named Best Actress and Supporting Actress respectively for their performances in the film.

Ariana DeBose was deemed Breakthrough Performer for her work in 20th Century Studios' West Side Story, which also earned the prize for Best Use of Music.

Drive My Car (Janus Films) was voted Best Foreign Language Feature, Flee (Neon) was chosen Best Documentary and The Mitchells vs. The Machines (Netflix) was named Best Animated Feature.

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The group's Top 10 films of 2021 in alphabetical order are Belfast, Don't Look Up, Dune, King Richard, Licorice Pizza, The Lost Daughter, Passing, Pig, The Power of the Dog and West Side Story.
Porterville, CA (93257)

Today

Plenty of sunshine. High around 60F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low near 40F. Winds light and variable.
The Athens Symphony Orchestra performed their annual Christmas concert at the Classic Center Theatre on Saturday, Dec. 11 and Sunday, Dec. 12. This year, the concert was able to be held in person. (Courtesy/Susan Dinwiddie)
True vintage is hard to come by in an age warped by fast fashion and nonstop trends, but Dynamite Clothing is a place where customers can pause, breathe life back into the pieces they explore and express who they are through unique and carefully curated clothing.
Brattleboro, VT (05301)

Today

Partly cloudy. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low around 30F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low around 30F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.
STRATFORD  The towns health care workers are stretched thin, with little respite on the horizon. And the situation is not unique to Stratford, according to health director Andrea Boissevain.

Many of our staff have had to leave vacation, comp time on the table because weve been so busy and not been able to take time off, she said.

Boissevains staff has been running town vaccination clinics for the past year, while also attending to ongoing public health concerns from restaurant inspections to running lab tests for suspected sexually transmitted infections.

The department also is shorthanded, having been unable to fill a full-time nurse position since August. The result is the departments one full-time and one part-time nurse are increasingly overworked and relying on help from volunteers, Boissevain said.

Other nearby health departments in Fairfield and Trumbull are facing similar challenges.

Fairfield assistant health director Jill Mitchell said her department doesnt have any staffing shortages, but is also dealing with a high workload. To make matters worse, shes expecting to have to replace several employees soon.

My department at the moment doesnt (have any staff shortages), but I know its going to happen momentarily, within the next few weeks, she said. People are going to be resigning or retiring. And I really dont know where Im going to get those nurses from, to tell you the truth.

Mitchell said the field isnt particularly attractive to enter right now. Like Boissevain, she said contact tracing, particularly from schools, is a time consuming process. School nurses she said, have to contact students families and advise them on best practices.

The impact of the schools is so great she described the process as all-encompassing. While the Fairfield schools arent seeing increased transmissions, the resuming of normal activities outside school such as sleepovers has led to increased cases, she said.

In Trumbull, sanitarians and health inspectors are assisting with COVID vaccination clinics. But its still not enough to offset the workload, according to Health Director Lucienne Bango.

The town doesnt have a nursing staff shortage but Bango said filling other health department positions has been a struggle.

Another issue were having is filling sanitarian positions, or health inspector positions, she said.

And volunteers have been getting harder to find since many have returned to work.

Bango said she would like to hire additional staff if the town receives a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Such a grant, an Epidemiology Laboratory Capacity (ELC) Grant, is intended to help local health departments fight communicable infections. Boissevain plans to use an ELC grant to fill her vacancy, since the new hire would be responsible for vaccinations and contact tracing, which are necessary but time consuming.

But while the CDC grant could help Stratford with its staffing, it is hardly a blank check from the federal government. For example, Boissevain said Stratford can only offer benefits for the person who gets hired, not their family.

The open position pays $38 an hour, but it is open because the previous nurse took a better-paying job elsewhere because the position offered benefits for her family, Boissevain said.

It was a great opportunity. She had more responsibility, greater pay, and it was city funded, and it wasnt grant funded, she said.
Guilford  A month after a pony was inadvertently fed a carrot that he could not chew, Trinket has died, according to his owner.

The mini Shetland pony had been gravely ill for the past three weeks after someone inadvertently fed him the carrot that brought on choke, a life-threatening condition that occurs when something gets lodged in a horses esophagus.

The carrot created the problem because the elderly animal had no molars and could not chew it, according to Trinkets owner, Martha Russo.

Its a terrible loss on so many levels, said Robert Hartmann, president of the Guilford Keeping Society.

Trinket and his companion equine, Frosty, 30, lived on the The Medad Stone Tavern property, which is under the auspices of the Guilford Keeping Society.

First, he was a rescue and second, he solved a big problem we were having with Frosty, the other horse who had been there for decades, who was having a hard time finding a good companion, Hartmann said of Trinket.

The 33-year-old pony was admitted to New England Equine Practice in New York state Nov. 16. With concerns about mounting bills and the desire to reunite him with Frosty, Russo brought him home on Dec. 6.

On Trinkets first day home, he was able to eat solid food for the first time and supporters were hopeful. He was on medications for the pneumonia in both his lungs, and his stomach and bruised esophagus

On Sunday, Russo said in a text, Thank you for bringing attention to this matter and overwhelming support from the community. Russo did not want to comment further.

A GoFundMe page collected some $11,600 for Trinkets care. On the site, Russo wrote a note to supporters Saturday.

It is with heavy heart and sadness I announce Trinkets passing last night due to complications from his choke treatment. Thank you to everyone for giving this special pony a chance.

He brought smiles to many and spent his last day going for his anticipated walks and teaching a teen to halter and blanket himself. Any donations left after Expenses will be forwarded to rescue charities. Again, thank you for your support, the post says.

Christie Baker, owner of Flowers on the Green in Guilford, created a tribute for Trinket that is displayed outside the barn at Medad Stone Tavern.

My heart is sad for Marty and her sweet boy, she said in a text, referring to Martha Russo. I felt compelled to pay tribute to them both.

Hartmann acknowledged the community support.

Its us at our best, said Hartmann. Its so reassuring, especially at the holiday season, to see this.

Its a shame, he added. He was given a great life.

Hartmann noted how much Frosty had missed his friend.

Frosty grieved when he left and I cant imagine whats going to happen now, he said. The loss is felt on a number of different levels.

From him being a rescue, being given a fabulous life, for having a great attitude and clearly happy and the other horse is happy, Hartmann said.

They were two different characters and brought a lot of life and charm and grace to that barn, he added.

Trinket was fed the carrot despite a sign at the Medad Stone Tavern that said, Please Do Not Feed the Horses. Since the incident, more signs have been posted, in addition to notices about the property being private.

Hartmann said that during the last month the community rallied around Trinket and Russo and her boyfriend, John Oboyski, did everything possible to try and save the pony.

Its been an incredible ride and everybody feels it, he said. The beautiful thing was, there was this great effort to make things better and it was kind of against the odds because he was so close to death.

Marty and John have been consistent in their recognition, throughout, their appreciation of the outpouring, he said. They cant believe the compassion, even though they know Guilford, they know the people in it. You would expect nothing less.

Contact Sarah Page Kyrcz at suzipage1@aol.com
After 21 long years, the Miss Universe crown has returned to India as Harnaaz Sandhu was crowned the winner of the 70th edition of the pageant, which was held in Eilat, Israel. The 21-year-old Harnaaz Sandhu from Punjab became the third woman to win the Miss Universe 2021 title for India after Lara Dutta (2000) and Sushmita Sen (1994).

Harnaaz Sandhu had represented India in the 70th Miss Universe pageant in 2021 and advanced to the final selection stages while competing with Lalela Mswane of South Africa and Nadia Ferreira of Paraguay.

Miss Universe 2021 Harnaaz Sandhu's Movies

Apart from winning the title for the nation, the Indian model has featured in two Punjabi movies, one as a lead actress in the feature film 'Yaara Diyan Poo Baran,' which released in 2021 and directed by Upasna Singh Bhardhwaj. She was also a lead actress in 'Bai Ji Kuttange', a Punjabi feature film directed by Smeep Kang that released in the same year.

After all of the typical rounds, which included national costumes, swimwear, as well as a series of interview questions to assess the contestants' public speaking abilities, the final announcement was made. Harnaaz Sandhu was bestowed with the title this year by Andrea Meza, the previous Miss Universe from Mexico.

During the final announcement, Harnaaz, who donned a shimmery slit gown, held the hands of her competitor from Paraguay. When the pageant's host Steve Harvey declared the winner, she burst into tears and was then given a bouquet of flowers as well as the treasured crown.

In 2017, Harnaaz Sandhu was crowned Miss Chandigarh, and in 2018, she was crowned Miss Max Emerging Star India. She went on to represent Chandigarh at Miss Diva 2021 in September despite missing out on Femina Miss India 219 by 11 positions.

She just won the Miss Diva Universe India 2021 title and was honoured by Bollywood actress Kriti Sanon. Other than acting, dancing, swimming and horseback riding are among the hobbies of the 21-year-old winner, who is currently pursuing her master's degree in Public Administration.

(Image: AP)
A woman, who was found infected with COVID-19 in Kolkata after returning from the UK, tested negative for the Omicron variant of coronavirus, a health department official said on Monday.

She contracted the Delta Plus strain of coronavirus, he said.

The woman was found positive for the disease on December 10, and her sample was sent for genome sequencing to ascertain whether she had contracted the new Omicron variant, which has been classified as a highly transmissible virus of concern.

"We have received the report of the UK returnee. She is infected with Delta Plus which is prevalent in the state," the official said.

The woman, a resident of Alipore area of the city, is undergoing treatment at a private hospital here.

A Bangladesh returnee had also tested positive for COVID-19 in the state, and his sample was sent for genome sequencing.

"Genome sequencing result of his sample is awaited," the official said.

The man is undergoing treatment at the Beleghata ID and BG Hospital, he added.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Harnaaz Sandhu Crowned Miss Universe 2021, Title Comes Back To India After 21 Years

India's Harnaaz Sandhu has been crowned the Miss Universe 2021, which was being held in Eilat, Israel. Harnaaz Sandhu entered the finals and competed against the contestants of Paraguay and South Africa. Harnaaz has now been crowned the winner of the Miss Universe beauty pageant. The esteemed crown is coming back to India after 21 years, with Lara Dutta winning the title back in 2000.

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Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Hails PM Modi For 'wonderful Gift' Of Kashi Vishwanath Corridor

With a message of congratulations, Spiritual leader and founder of the Art Of Living Foundation, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on Sunday hailed the new Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, saying lakhs of people will visit this holy site for ages. Taking to Koo, the spiritual leader said Prime Minister Narendra Modi 'has given such a gift to the country'. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is also among a large number of spiritual leaders, saints and seers who are slated to attend the inauguration of the mega project in the heart of Varanasi on Monday.

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Owaisi Laments Opposition's Silence On Babri Demolition Clean Chit: 'Who Broke My Masjid?

Stoking the Babri Masjid demolition again, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday, slammed the Opposition for not challenging the clean chit given to all 32 accused. Addressing a rally in Kanpur, he fumed, "They turned a blind eye as it was my Masjid being tarnished, not theirs". Urging all Muslims to unite, Owaisi asked Akhilesh Yadav if he would appoint a Muslim Deputy CM. The 403-seat UP assembly where Yogi rules with an iron-clad majority of 314 seats, is up for grabs in February 2022.

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Elon Musk Amused At Finland PM Sanna Marin Going Clubbing, As She Lands In COVID Row

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has reacted after Finland Prime Minister Sanna Marin was seen partying in a Helsinki nightclub. Taking to Twitter, Musk tweeted a meme related to Sanna Marin partying even as COVID-19 crisis looms in Finland. The meme shows a man asking a girl "what do you do?" to which the girl replies "I'm the Prime Minister of Finland". The meme shows the man reacting in shock.

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Who Is Harnaaz Sandhu? Know All About The Miss Universe 2021 Winner From India

As the 21-year old Harnaaz Sandhu from Punjab brings the title of Miss Universe to India after 21 years, it has become a proud moment for the country. Sandhu who was representing India at the 70th Miss Universe 2021 bagged the crown after Lara Dutta who was named Miss Universe in 2000.

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NCP Pitches Alternative For BJP In Centre; Envisages 'govt Under Sharad Pawar Leadership'

On the occasion of Sharad Pawar's 81st birthday, NCP envisaged that opposition parties would form a government at the Centre in 2024 under his leadership. Speaking at a ceremony on December 12, NCP spokesperson and Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik pitched his party supremo as an "alternative" to PM Modi.

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CBSE Stirs Row With 'anti- Women' Question In Class 10 Board Exam; Congress Slams BJP

In a shocking development, the CBSE 10 Std Board Exam stirred controversy when one of its reading passages had several 'anti-women' sentences, endorsing retrograde views. The exam held on Saturday had a passage that lamented the loss of parental authority in the twentieth century with the 'emancipation of women'. The question has led to outrage among students and parents alike.

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IAF Helicopter Crash: Havaldar Satpal Rai's Mother Inconsolable Over Son's Sudden Demise

The mortal remains of Army Havaldar Satpal Rai, who died in the IAF helicopter crash along with Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika and 10 others, arrived at Bagdogra airport in West Bengal on Sunday. His remains were taken to his native village in Takdah, near Darjeeling town, where he was paid final tributes by several natives and his family. Sontu Rai, mother of deceased Havaldar was seen inconsolably grieving the loss of her son.

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UP Polls: Big Boost For Akhilesh Yadav As Two Sitting MLAs Jump Ship To Samajwadi Party

In a major boost for Akhilesh Yadav on December 12, BJP MLA Digvijay Narayan and BSP MLA Vinay Shankar Tiwari joined Samajwadi Party ahead of the UP polls. While Narayan lost from Khalilabad in the 2012 polls against a Peace Party candidate, he tasted success in 2017. On the other hand, Chillupar legislator Vinay Shankar Tiwari was expelled from BSP on Monday for indulging in indiscipline and misbehaving with senior office-bearers of the party. An influential leader in the Gorakhpur region, he had unsuccessfully contested against UP CM Yogi Adityanath in the 2009 Lok Sabha election.

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Biden-Putin Face-to-face Meet 'unlikely', Says Blinken Amid Russia-Ukraine Border Tensions

The United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated on Sunday that an in-person meeting between President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin is "pretty unlikely," after the Russian President has asked for a meeting following their video conference last week. According to Blinken, who spoke on NBC's "Meet the Press" when presenter Chuck Todd questioned what it would require for Biden to meet with Putin one-on-one, US secretary indicated that it would not occur since Russia is continuing to build its military near its border with Ukraine, The Hill reported.

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A Pakistani assailant was involved in a terror attack that killed two policemen and injured 14 others in Srinagar on Monday, Republic Media Network has learnt. While confirming the hand of the Pakistani assailant in the attack, Kashmir Inspector General of Police (IGP) Vijay Kumar told Republic that the police has identified all terrorists who were involved in the attack.

While speaking with Republics editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami, amid the ongoing investigation, Kashmir IGP Vijay Kumar informed that "the terrorist involved in the attack was a Pakistan trained terrorist." He added that police are conducting the investigation and are determined that they "will eliminate all involved in this attack."

While iterating the series of the events of the attack, IGP, Vijay Kumar informed that in a cowardly act, terrorists fired on a police vehicle in the dark and three of them fled the site after the attack.

LeT behind terror attack

The responsibility of the ghastly attack was taken by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). In the cowardly attack, a group of terrorists opened fire on a police vehicle in the Pantha Chowk area of Srinagar on Monday. In the attack, two policemen were martyred and 14 were left injured. Police have initiated a counter operation after the attack.



#SrinagarTerrorAttack | The terrorist involved was a Pakistani terrorist and a Pakistan trained terrorist. We will eliminate all involved in this attack: Vijay Kumar, IGP Kashmirhttps://t.co/RZHKU3wOei  Republic (@republic) December 13, 2021

Earlier today (December 13), Srinagar police had neutralised two LeT terrorists, including a foreign terrorist in a brief chance encounter at the Rangreth area of Srinagar. Both the terrorists were involved in several terror crime cases and civilian atrocities and played a key role in several recent killings in Srinagar City, J&K police stated.

"Based on specific inputs regarding the movement of terrorists in the general area of Rangreth, surprise Naka checking points were established tactically by Srinagar Police in the area. During Naka checking at one such Naka manned by a small team of Srinagar Police, two suspected persons on noticing the police party fired indiscriminately upon them. However, the fire was effectively retaliated, leading to a brief encounter. In the ensuing encounter, two terrorists were neutralised on spot," a statement by J&K police informed.

(Image: ANI/Republic)
Seconding Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Conference president and former Jammu and Kashmir CM Farooq Abdullah opined that partition was a "historical mistake". Speaking at the inauguration of Swarnim Vijay Parv at India Gate in the national capital on December 12, Singh stressed that the 1971 war was a reminder that Indias partition on religious lines was a historic mistake. Talking to the media on Monday, Abdullah blamed this on the unreasonable demands of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Moreover, he claimed that Muslims living in India had to bear the negative consequences of partition.

Farooq Abdullah remarked, "I think that mistake also happened because Muhammad Ali Jinnah wanted that 39% reservation (for Muslims) should be given instead of 26%. At that time, Congress did not agree to this. But they understood that we cannot stay together. Sir Iqbal convinced him that demanding Pakistan is necessary. I myself feel that the division of India was very wrong. To be divided into so many parts- Bangladesh, India and Pakistan was a very big historical mistake."

"Not just Kashmiris, all Indian Muslims have to suffer the repercussions of this. It is before you. If the nation was one, we would have had the strength and these difficulties wouldn't be there. Brotherhood would have prevailed. Religious problems increase due to the rift between India and Pakistan," he elaborated.

RSS calls for 'undoing' partition

On November 25, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat gave a clarion call for undoing partition citing that it was the only way to address the pain of the people. He was addressing the launch of Krishnanand Sagar's book 'Vibhajan Kalin Bharat Ke Sakshi (The witnesses of partition-era India) in Noida. Maintaining that partition was accepted back then only to avoid bloodshed, he contended that neither India nor Pakistan was happy as a consequence. Asserting that this is a matter of our existence, he stressed, "We have to integrate what has been disintegrated".

RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat opined, "We have got independence to give the world something. But we will be worth giving something to the world when we reverse this bad chapter in history and follow the path of our Param Vaibhav. It is our duty. India's PM is bound to India's Constitution. He has to take all the people along. He has to take into account the current situation."

Earlier, PM Modi had announced that every August 14 will be observed as the 'Partition Horrors Remembrance Day'. Describing partition as "one of the biggest tragedies" of the last century, he recalled that millions of people were displaced whereas many lost their lives due to "mindless hate and violence". Speaking from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day, he opined that the announcement will serve as a fitting tribute to the people who suffered during the partition.

Image: PTI
The Black Axe mafia gang operating from Nigeria has infiltrated the country's political system and carried out scams spreading well beyond the national borders. The most-feared organised crime syndicate has been active in Nigeria for decades and BBC has laid hands on several leaked documents, which indicated the involvement of prominent politicians and businessmen with the "cult" group outlawed in the African continent. Among the most noteworthy findings were emails that revealed the 2019 APC party candidate for political office, Augustus Bemigho was a senior member of the Black Axe gang and orchestrated millions of dollars worth of internet scams.

"We have removed him close to 1millon dollars," one email sent to Bemigho said, as quoted by BBC. The mail also contained the full name, contact details and instructions to claim the amount. As per the report, Bemigho scammed two victims from the mails indicating that they were defrauded around $3.3 million.

The mails also had graphics of violent acts carried out by the gang, which were too ghastly to publish. The data obtained from the mails clearly painted a picture of the gang's actions from 2009 to 2019. Additionally, the in-depth and shocking presence of the Nigerian Black Axe in the state politics of its region has also emerged in the documents collected.

Mafia politics

As per BBC, in Benin City, approximately 64,000 (Rs 64 lakh) was funnelled into the Neo-Black Movement of Africa (NBM) to "protect votes" and secure the victory of the governor in the 2012 elections. Notably, the NBM is a registered company in Nigeria considered by some western law enforcement to be similar to Black Axe. The documents suggested that "80 slots were allocated to NBM Benin Zone for immediate employment by the state government." An activist in Benin City, Kurtis Ogebebor, described the current political scenario of Nigeria as "mafia politics."

"Cultism seems to be at all levels of our government, from the lowest to the highest. You find them everywhere," Ogebebor, who works to prevent young people from being recruited by gangs like Black Axe, told BBC.

Meanwhile, NBM has strongly denied involvement with gangs like Black Axe, saying that group members are "expelled immediately" on proved association with cults. Locally in Nigeria, Black Axe is known for punk crimes and brutality with alleged links to politics. Although, international investigation organisations like Interpol and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), have suggested otherwise. In recent months, more than 35 NBM members have been arrested in the US and South Africa on charges of fraud worth millions of dollars.

(Image: Unsplash (representative)
Germanys new chancellor, Olaf Scholz, came to Warsaw on Sunday for talks with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki about migration, energy, European Union matters and tensions east of the blocs border.

He was greeted by Morawiecki, with military honors, in front of the Polish premier's office. It was one of Scholzs early visits after he was sworn in with his coalition Cabinet on Wednesday.

Speaking during a news conference following the meeting Morawiecki said the pair discussed the border issues with Belarus, accusing the country's President Alexander Lukashenko of an "artificially-induced migration crisis and the use of people as human shields, as weapons".

He said that he and Scholz had "discussed future possible scenarios and issues of potential sanctions" on Belarus, and that the issue would be discussed "at the next meeting of the European Council".

The pair also discussed the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that will carry Russian gas directly to Germany - Poland is a vocal opponent of the pipeline, and has said it makes Europe dependent on Russia's deliveries, and exposes it to pressure from Moscow. Germany's regulator has suspended the approval procedure for the completed pipeline because of legal issues.

Morawiecki said he was convinced the pipeline could be used as a way of "putting pressure on Ukraine and the European Union".

"We point to these risks, we point to the possibility of blackmail and the possibility of tightening the political and energy loop on Ukraine, which in turn may have far-reaching political consequences for Poland and for the European Union," he said.

The visit comes 30 years after the two parliaments ratified a treaty on good neighborly relations and friendly cooperation.

IMAGE: AP

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
In a large airborne operation near Deir Ez-Zur in eastern Syria on Monday, the United Forces killed three civilians and kidnapped a number of people in the town of Busayra, Syrian state news agency SANA and the Syrian Human Rights Observatory reported. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) carried out the military offensives to oust the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorists from Deir Ez-Zur province.

The SDF-US allied forces have also been fighting the ISIL in its stronghold Old City of Raqqa, the terror factions de facto capital in Syria. Across the besieged enclave in Deir Ez-Zur, there has been conflict going on between the Shiite militancy and the Russian and Iran-backed Bashar-al-Assad governments forces. The US-aligned Syrian forces in recent months have advanced towards the south and west bank of the Euphrates, close to the Deir al-Zor province to uproot terrorism.

As the American soldiers with the SDF forces launched a heliborne operation in the vicinity of the Al Busayrah city located in the eastern part of the Syrian province, they targeted the residential houses in the town. It remains unclear whether the US military acted on the intelligence about the threat but the official Syrian news agency (SANA) reports that the soldiers abducted many civilians from their homes and transported them to an unknown location.

Syrians protest against Turkish Armed Forces

In parallel to the airstrikes, residents of the Khirbet Al-Hayat, a village in the Aleppo countryside started the protests against the Turkish armed forces for their occupation of areas in Aleppo province. Syrians were seen demonstrating with Syrian national flag and placards chanting slogans against what they described as villainous actions of the Turkish armed forces and Turkey's aggression against Syrian territory, which they asserted was a violation of international law, SANA reports.

The leader of Lebanons Iran-backed Hezbollah, an organisation designated as a terrorist organization by several countries including Australia last month, has earlier declared that its faction will keep its military presence in Syria. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the powerful Shiite group leader had reportedly declared in a video message: No one can force us out of Syria, Nasrallah vowed. We will stay there until further notice.

(Image: AP)
Muttahida Qaumi Movement's (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain has appealed to PM Narendra Modi and his government to come for the freedom of Sindh and Balochistan on a war footing basis. While addressing the Muhajir Martyrs' Day gathering organised by the UK MQM chapter in London, Hussain said that the partition of India was the fault of our forefathers, who committed a huge sin for which Muhajirs are paying the cost. He appealed to PM Modi and the people of India to help liberate Sindh the same way East Pakistan was liberated.

The MQM chief said that the people of Pakistan-occupied territories - Sindh and Balochistan - are in a miserable state and looking forward to the worlds largest democracy, India, for help. Hussain noted that the terror-exporting ghoulish military of Pakistan has converted Pakistan into a safe haven for terrorist organisations like the Taliban, ISIS, LeJ and etc. The peace of the region and the entire world is seriously at stake, Hussain said adding that the silence over the demands of the people of Pakistan-occupied territories of Sindh and Balochistan will be tantamount to allowing the demonic military of Pakistan to play with the lives of the millions of people all across the globe.

Further, Altaf Hussain said that the partition of India was the biggest mistake of human history. He said that every year festival, Pakistan and India, soldiers exchange gifts and hug each other but when we talk of friendship between the two nations, we are accused of being pro-India. Hussain appealed PM Modi and his government that the partition of India was the fault of forefathers, who committed a huge sin for which Mujahirs are paying the cost.

The land there has been narrowed for them, India must open doors for Mujahirs. I promise we will reverse the mistake and repay the debt of kindness by our deed, the MQM chief said.

'We will not form a union with Pak but will form a union with India'

He also went on to say that the partition was not by the poor Mujahirs but by the Muslim Nawabs, feudal lords and the rich elite who had become agents of the British. Together they divided India while those who had lived together for thousands of years became enemies of each other, he said. Hussain added that just as the elite of Sindh today has become agents of Punjab and the army using the Sindhi card to keep Sindh enslaved for their vested interests, Sindh has been turned into a satellite colony of Punjab and its land and resources are robbed by the ghoulish military of Pakistan.

The MQM founder said the doors of jobs are being closed for the Muhajirs. He also added that the Sindhi elite are working to enslave the poor Muhajirs. Hussain appealed to PM Modi, the government of India and the people of India to help liberate Sindh in the same way that East Pakistan was liberated.

We promise that we will not form a union with Pakistan but will form a union with India like the European Union, he said.

Hussain also stated that Punjab and the army have sold Balochistan and Sindh to China. Please save Sindh and Balochistan and help the people to get freedom from Pakistan and China, he said. Pakistan has become an open threat to world peace and will torment the whole world through its terrorism, Hussain added.

(With inputs from ANI)
Australia has inked a contract to purchase 30 units of the K-9 Thunder self-propelled howitzer from South Korea, according to the manufacturer. The Australian Army will also get 15 K-10 armoured ammunition resupply vehicles as part of a deal struck between the country's Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG) and Hanwha Defense Australia, according to Hanwha Defence Australia. Yonhap reported citing an industry source that the contract is valued at 930 billion won ($788 million).

The South Korean-made howitzer has been purchased by Australia for the seventh time. South Korea is also said to be in talks with Egypt to export the howitzer, potentially paving the way for the artillery system's first foray into the Middle Eastern and African markets, according to the media agency. South Korea's Defense Program Acquisition Administration (DAPA) and the CASG inked a memorandum of understanding to deepen ties in the arms procurement sector ahead of a signing ceremony in Canberra during President Moon Jae-visit there.

In a statement, DAPA Chief Kang Eun-ho, announced, "Through the MOU and the K-9 howitzer export deal, both countries also agreed to promote the collaboration of different weapon systems based on the interoperability of the howitzers."

Australia, Korea working very closely together to build reliable, trusted supply chains: Morrison

President Moon Jae-in and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison agreed at the summit in Canberra on Monday to continue working closely to secure a sustainable supply chain of key minerals. Australia is rich in minerals and energy, including iron ore, coal, and liquefied natural gas, and the leaders' agreement is likely to increase South Korea's competitiveness in the electric vehicle and secondary battery industries, which are critical in the transition to a carbon-free future.

"Australia and Korea are already working very closely together to build those reliable, trusted supply chains in these critical minerals and rare earths that we know will power the new energy economy and the global economy into the future," Morrison said in a press conference, following the talks.

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of established diplomatic ties this year, the leaders also agreed to elevate the bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership. Moon landed in Canberra on Sunday, becoming the first South Korean president in 12 years to undertake a state visit to Australia. He is also the first foreign leader summoned by the country since the outbreak began, according to officials. Moon and Morrison decided to collaborate in future industry areas relating to carbon-neutral technologies and the hydrogen economy during their discussions.

They also pledged to expand their nations' defence, digital transformation, and pandemic response cooperation in order to contribute to regional stability, peace, and prosperity. Morrison voiced his support for Moon's efforts to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula, including a statement to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War. The presidents agreed on the necessity of discussion and diplomacy for the peninsula's complete denuclearization and long-term peace.

(With inputs from agencies)

Image: AP
Israel, on Sunday, added the UK, Belgium and Denmark to its travel ban list in light of the rapid surge in Omicron COVID-19 cases in the three European countries, top Israeli health officials informed. The announcement was made by Israel's Head of Public Health Services, Dr Sharon Alroy Preis, in a press briefing attended by Israeli Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz and Health Ministery director-general Prof Nachman Ash, local media reported. Presently, around 50 African nations are on the list and new nations are expected to be added in the next 72 hours.

As per Israel's new travel restrictions, citizens cannot travel to 'red' countries unless they obtain special permission. Additionally, when citizens return from the said nations, they will be subjected to a mandatory one week quarantine, irrespective of their COVID-19 vaccination status, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had said during the Cabinet's weekly meet that the countrys main aim is to delay the penetration of the Omicron variant.

"Two weeks ago, when we decided to tighten restrictions to enter the country following what was then a new coronavirus mutation, some said we were exaggeratingand now everyone understands we were not," Bennett had said while opening the Cabinet's weekly meeting, local media reported.

We already know that Omicron has arrived and is in Israel, but at the moment, following our measures, the numbers are still relatively small," the Israeli PM noted while adding that stringent monitoring and borders are crucial to prevent cases from drastically spiking.

Israel extends travel restrictions by 10 days

Earlier, Israels Cabinet approved the extension of 10 days to the existing travel restrictions which were announced at the end of last month to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant. While the measures were normally set to expire on Sunday, Horowitz announced the extension and called it a difficult but necessary step, as per The Jerusalem Post. Horowitz also urged people to avoid any non-essential trips.

Presently, Israel remains closed to almost all foreign nations with limited exceptions. Israelis returning from other nations will be required to quarantine for a minimum of three days if fully vaccinated and seven days if they are not.

The new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was first flagged by South African scientists on 24 November and the World Health Organization designated it as a Variant of Concern on November 26.

(Image: Unsplash/PTI)
In a new document outlining the virulence and transmissibility of the Omicron B.1.1.529 highly divergent COVID-19 Variant of Concern, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the Omicron strain appears to have a growth advantage and will spread at a much faster rate than the hypervirulent Delta strain.

Omicron is spreading faster than the Delta variant in South Africa where Delta circulation was low, but also appears to spread more quickly than the Delta variant in other countries where the incidence of Delta is high, such as in the United Kingdom, WHO cautioned in a report documented by the Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution.

Although, the global health body said that whether the Omicrons observed rapid growth rate in countries with high levels of population immunity is related to immune evasion, intrinsic increased transmissibility, or a combination of both, remains uncertain at this time. But the WHO warned countries that Omicron will outpace the Delta variant where community transmission occurs, adding there are limited data to ascertain the intensity of the severity of the COVID-19 disease caused by Omicron.

The overall risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron 'remains very high for a number of reasons, WHO warned. First, the global risk of COVID-19 remains very high overall, and second, preliminary evidence suggests potential immune escape against Omicron induced infection and high transmission rates, which could lead to further surges with severe consequences, it explained.

In its document on 'technical brief & priority actions for member states', WHO says #Omicron appears to have a growth advantage over Delta variant



Therapeutic interventions are expected to remain effective, it says pic.twitter.com/IuAGdEyYga  ANI (@ANI) December 13, 2021

Altered antigenic profile of Omicron spike reduces vaccine protection: WHO

Citing the preliminary findings from South Africa, WHO said that as seen in the Omicron cases there, the symptoms may be less severe but it is too early to say as the variant is in the initial phases of the spread.

All cases reported in the EU/EEA to date have been mild or asymptomatic, it remains unclear to what extent Omicron may be inherently less virulent, informed WHO.

The health body also stressed that the vaccine efficacy on B.1.1.529 to date is not fully known as there is limited available data and no peer-reviewed evidence.

WHO emphasised that the considerably altered antigenic profile of the Omicron spike protein suggests a reduction in vaccine efficacy against infection and transmission associated with Omicron. The incidence of reinfection has increased in South Africa, warned WHO. Those who had developed the antibodies from previous COVID-19 infection had a lower neutralisation activity on Omicron in case of reinfection, the global health body stressed.

The monoclonal antibodies that proved effective in the case of Delta variant will need to be tested individually, for their antigen binding and virus neutralization, WHO informed adding that enhanced surveillance with rapid testing and stricter contact tracing of cases suspected cases with Omicron Variant Of Concern is strongly advised to interrupt chains of transmission.
During the recently concluded US President Joe Biden's Summit for Democracy from last week, a video feed of Taiwans minister Audrey Tang was stopped after a map in her slideshow presentation displayed Taiwan in a different colour than China, which indicated Taiwan as its own. In the virtual summit, Tang had exhibited a map from the South African NGO CIVICUS, which has presented the world in colour codes like green or red, based on civil rights records of openness. Other Asian nations were categorised as "closed," "repressed," "obstructed," or "narrowed," but Taiwan was labelled as "green" or "open," The Hill reported.

As per the inside sources, the colour-coded map that showed Taiwan in a different hue than China caused serious concern among White House officials. It is worth noting that China, Laos, Vietnam, as well as North Korea were all marked "closed" and were coloured red. The video feed of Tang was purportedly cut, keeping only the audio, due to the sensitivities around the "one China policy," Taiwan News cited a Reuters report. According to media reports, White House officials were concerned that this map might jeopardise Washington's "one-China" policy.

The interruption in the video was 'an honest mistake': US

The United States has a policy of "strategic ambiguity" when it comes to Taiwanese sovereignty, which means it does not take a stand on whether Taiwan is a part of China or not. It does, however, acknowledge the "one-China" policy, which states that the People's Republic of China is China's sole government, The Hill reported. Furthermore, after the video ended, a disclaimer came on the screen which stated, Any opinions expressed by individuals on this panel are those of the individual, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States government, as per i24 News.

The US State Department, on the other hand, claimed that the film was removed due to "an honest mistake," and that the nation has respected Minister Tang's involvement, which demonstrated Taiwan's world-class experience on problems of open government, human rights, and combatting disinformation. Meanwhile, Audrey Tang also stated that she did not believe that the cut was done intentionally due to her presentation, while the Taiwanese foreign ministry claimed the interruption as technical difficulty, i24 News reported.

In addition to this, on Friday, while speaking spoke at the virtual Democracy Summit, President Biden emphasised the importance of making democracies more transparent, responsible, and robust to the buffering forces of despotism. Biden appreciated everyone in his concluding comments for attending the two-day summit and for reiterating their commitment to the shared ideals that are the foundation of national and international strength. He reaffirmed the democratic norms that underpin the international system and have served as foundational elements of global growth and prosperity, as per media reports.

(Image: Twitter/ @audreyt/ AP)
Denying that Russia has plans of launching a military offensive military in order to seize Ukrainian territory, President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, Dec. 12 accused Britain and its allies of demonizing Russia on a global platform. Russian leader reacted strongly against the UKs warning to Moscow at the G7 ministerial conference, where British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Russias invasion of Kyiv will have massive consequences.

As per the reports, the Russian presidents official spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, spoke on behalf of the Moscow leader as he said that UK and allies were furthering their aims of demonizing Russia once again. Kremlin had also repeatedly accused Washington of their role in the provocation.

Joe Biden administration's rising concern about a Russian invasion of Ukraine is based, in part, on US intelligence that Moscow is planning a military offensive involving an estimated 1,75,000 troops as early as next year. The officials estimated the timeline based on the heavy build-up of troops, tanks, and artillery massing on Ukraines frontier. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had also echoed concerns of military conflict, citing his countrys intelligence service that unveiled Russias coup d'etat plans on Kyiv. At a news conference in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, Zelensky told reporters that he has received intel, as well the audio intercepts prove that the Russian President was planning to overthrow him.

UK, allies send dire warning to Russia, mull economic sanctions

In a dire warning to Russia at the G7 summit, UKs Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, as the host in Liverpool, said: We have sent a very clear, united message to Vladimir Putin. We want Russia to stop its aggression with respect to Ukraine, Associated Press reported. She insisted that the group of seven countries was looking at all the options including economic sanctions against Russia. Foreign ministers from the United States, Britain, and the rest of the G-7, joined by the European Unions foreign affairs chief, issued a joint statement declaring themselves united in our condemnation of Russias military buildup and aggressive rhetoric towards Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the broadcaster NBC News: We are prepared to take the kinds of steps we have refrained from taking in the past. G7, led by the UK, called on Russia to de-escalate, pursue diplomatic channels, and abide by its international commitments on transparency of military activities.
The United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated on Sunday that an in-person meeting between President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin is "pretty unlikely," after the Russian President has asked for a meeting following their video conference last week. According to Blinken, who spoke on NBC's "Meet the Press" when presenter Chuck Todd questioned what it would require for Biden to meet with Putin one-on-one, US secretary indicated that it would not occur since Russia is continuing to build its military near its border with Ukraine, The Hill reported.

During the conversation with Todd, Blinken added that not only the US but its allies and partners in Europe are seeking for from Russia is de-escalation. They are looking for Russia to pull back its forces from the border. Further, he went on to say that the US expects Russia to participate in fair and reasonable diplomacy as well as in diplomatic conversation with the Europeans and Ukraine in order to end the situation in eastern Ukraine and reclaim Ukraine's borders, as per the press release from US Department of State.

'We will definitely see each other': Putin assured Biden

In addition to this, during the video conference, Biden and Putin decided to hold additional meetings in the future, according to the Kremlin on Sunday. Putin reportedly assured Biden, "(We will) definitely see each other, I would really want that to happen," Russian media reported. Meanwhile, on Sunday, Blinken had reaffirmed the US and its allies' warning and stated that if Russia maintained its "reckless and aggressive" activities against Ukraine, it would suffer "massive consequences," Daily Mail reported.

Furthermore, in their video conversation, Biden had warned that if Russia acted militarily against Ukraine, the US and its allies will retaliate with severe economic as well as other actions. According to The Hill, administration officials have stated that a military response from the United States is now not on the agenda.

G7 nations denounced Russia's activities along the Ukraine border

Meanwhile, The Hill reported that the Group of Seven nations (G7)  Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States have issued a statement on Sunday denouncing Russia's activities along the Ukraine border and stated, "We call on Russia to de-escalate, pursue diplomatic channels, and abide by its international commitments on transparency of military activities as President Biden did in his call with President Putin on 7 December." Further, the statement reads that the nations reaffirm their support for France and Germany's initiatives under the Normandy Format to fully implement the Minsk Agreements in an attempt to end the war in eastern Ukraine, ANI reported.

(Image: AP)
Governor of California, Gavin Newsom on Saturday expressed his dissatisfaction at US Supreme Court's decision to uphold Texas' six-week abortion ban and said that he would use a similar model to launch a crackdown on gun manufacturers in his state. In a statement released by the California Office of Governor on December 11, Newsom expressed "outrage" on the apex court's ruling to allow the controversial law to remain in effect. However, the court allowed abortion providers and supporters the right to challenge the law in federal court, CNN reported.

"I am outraged by yesterdays U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing Texass ban on most abortion services to remain in place, and largely endorsing Texass scheme to insulate its law from the fundamental protections of Roe v. Wade," Guv. Newsom said in a statement released by his office on December 11.

"But if states can now shield their laws from review by the federal courts that compare assault weapons to Swiss Army knives, then California will use that authority to protect peoples lives, where Texas used it to put women in harms way," he added.

It is to be noted that Guv. Newsom's announcement comes in the light of a federal judge ruling that overturned the ban on the manufacture and sale of specific assault-style rifles, the Associated Press reported. The ban was reversed in June, saying that the law was "unconstitutional." Speaking about the potential legislature, Newsom informed that he has directed his staff to work with the provisions and the Attorney General on a bill "that would create a right of action allowing private citizens to seek injunctive relief and statutory damages of at least $10,000 per violation plus the cost and attorney's fees." The law will be applicable for anyone who manufactures, distributes or sells assault weapons or ghost gun kits or parts in the State of California.

"If the most efficient way to keep these devastating weapons off our streets is to add the threat of private lawsuits, we should do just that," Guv. Newsom said in his statement.

SC upholds Texas six-week abortion law

It is pertinent to mention that the Texas six-week abortion law has become a controversy since passed on September 1. As per the policy, abortions are banned from being performed after the fetus' cardiac activity is detected by medical professionals, which happens within six weeks after pregnancy and about which the mother is often unaware. Under such circumstances, the mother is forbidden from getting the fetus aborted. Additionally, the law also allowed individuals from Texas and elsewhere to sue abortion providers who violated six weeks mark.

US President Joe Biden's administration, doctors and women's rights activists have largely lambasted the law as it makes no exception for pregnancy under rape or incest, among many other reasons. In the light of the law, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have pointed that the six-week fetus doesn't develop a "heartbeat" but rather an "electronically induced flickering of tissues" that later becomes heartbeat, BBC reported. In the latest by 8-1 ruling on Friday, the US SC has allowed lawsuits from providers can proceed, which will be taken up at district court, where the providers can challenge the stay order or constitutionality of the law.

(With inputs from AP)

(Image: AP)
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Qatar Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on Sunday, 12 December. During the call, Blinken lauded the continued efforts of Qatar in supporting the safe transit of US citizens, lawful permanent residents and Afghans from Afghanistan. During the phone call, the two sides reviewed the latest developments regarding the situation in Afghanistan.

Blinken speaks to Qatar Foreign Minister

The US State Department spokesperson Ned Price in a statement informed that Blinken spoke to Qatar Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani. During the phone call, Qatari Foreign Minister and US Secretary of State Blinken discussed bilateral and regional issues including Iran. Informing about his phone call with the Qatar Minister of Foreign Affairs, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tweeted, "Spoke with Qatars Minister of Foreign Affairs @MBA_AlThani_ to commend Qatar for its continued efforts to support the safe transit of U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents from Afghanistan."

"Secretary Blinken and the Foreign Minister also reviewed the latest developments regarding the situation in Afghanistan and discussed other bilateral and regional issues, including Iran," Ned Price said in a statement.

Spoke with Qatars Minister of Foreign Affairs @MBA_AlThani_ to commend Qatar for its continued efforts to support the safe transit of U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents from Afghanistan.  Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) December 13, 2021

After the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, the US has time and again expressed gratitude to Qatar authorities for their help in facilitating the evacuation of US citizens and lawful residents from the war-torn nation. Earlier in August, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken thanked Qatar's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani for helping in the evacuations of US citizens from Kabul. Regarding his phone call with Qatar Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Blinken tweeted, "During my call with Qatar's Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Foreign Affairs @MBA_AlThani_, I thanked him again for Qatars continued support to transit U.S. citizens, @USEmbassyKabul personnel, & foreign nationals from Afghanistan. Qatar has gone above & beyond with its help."

During my call with Qatar's Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Foreign Affairs @MBA_AlThani_, I thanked him again for Qatars continued support to transit U.S. citizens, @USEmbassyKabul personnel, & foreign nationals from Afghanistan. Qatar has gone above & beyond with its help.  Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) August 28, 2021

Last month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani led the fourth US-Qatar Strategic Dialogue in the US. In this year's dialogue, both sides discussed regional and global issues and advanced bilateral cooperation in various areas including health, humanitarian assistance, international development, labour, security cooperation, climate change, trade and investment, the US State Department informed in a statement. The US and Qatar signed several accords, including Arrangement of the Protection of US interests in Afghanistan and an MoU on Cooperation to Host Individuals at Risk Due to the Situation in Afghanistan. Both sides discussed challenges in Afghanistan and the extraordinary teamwork between the two countries on the evacuation from Afghanistan to the US through Qatar.

Image: AP
Now in its 60th year, the longevity of White House Historical Association is partly due to the popularity of the official White House Christmas ornament collection. Ornament sales are a major funding source for the nonprofit, nonpartisan historical association, which was created in 1961 by first lady Jacqueline Kennedy to help pay for White House restoration and acquisition projects. Every year since 1981, after first lady Nancy Reagan gave her approval, the historical association has designed an ornament honoring a president or a key White House anniversary.

"These are really education objects. Each one has elements related to that specific presidency," said Stewart McLaurin the president of the White House Historical Association. "Traditionally, I'll tell you, the best sellers tend to be ornaments that depict the actual White House in some way or a Christmas tree," McLaurin added.

The ornaments have become collectibles, with about a million now sold annually, the association said. The 2019 White House Christmas ornament is one of those that depicts the White House, specifically the south side, to honor President Harry Truman, who added the Truman balcony to the top floor as part of a major renovation and expansion of the executive mansion during his presidency.

Clifton Truman Daniel, Truman's oldest grandson, told the AP that his grandfather took some flack over the balcony addition. But it has become very popular with first families. The 2021 official White House ornament  the 41st in the series  honors President Johnson with its reproduction of a painting of the Blue Room tree the family had in December 1967. Johnson's wife, Lady Bird, had commissioned the watercolor for that year's White House Christmas card. The back of the ornament features Johnson's quote that "our mission is at once the oldest and the most basic of this country: to right wrong, to do justice, to serve man."

"That's what Lyndon Johnson's presidency was all about, trying to make a better life for that next generation," said Luci Baines Johnson, the daughter of President LBJ.

The memories of a busy December 1967 in the White House come rushing back when Luci Baines Johnson looks at this year's annual Christmas tree ornament honoring her father from the White House Historical Association. Luci's sister Lynda, the eldest of President Lyndon B. Johnson's two children, was about to get married  at the White House, and the president spent the days leading up to Christmas racking up miles on a last-minute trip to Australia, southeast Asia and Europe.

"There were many men and women who had not done their Christmas shopping who were on that trip," Luci Baines Johnson told The AP. "So my father stops in the Azores asks to have the PX (The Exchange) open at four o'clock in the morning."

President Johnson also looked forward to spending the holiday, the presidential family's first in the White House, with his infant grandson, Patrick, Luci's child. "My mother said, and I think it just rings so true for me. That every day in the White House is a gift, but never more so than at Christmas," Luci Baines Johnson said. "And I think that's what that White House ornament may bring to many people's homes who love our nation's home."

The White House is not involved in designing the ornaments, which since 1981 have been made by ChemArt, a veteran-owned company in Lincoln, Rhode Island. The 2022 official ornament will honor Richard Nixon, the 37th president, with a design set to be unveiled at his presidential library in Yorba Linda, California, on Presidents Day.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Commentators say the article is highly unusual given the degree of influence Xi usually exerts over state media.

Portraits of China's former top leaders from left Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao and current President Xi Jinping are seen at a military camp in Beijing, Nov. 11, 2021.

A recent article in Chinese Communist Party (CCP) mouthpiece the People's Daily praising former leaders but not Xi Jinping hints at a potential power struggle in the corridors of Zhongnanhai, analysts said on Monday.

The article summarizes the achievements of the post-1979 economic reform era under late supreme leader Deng Xiaoping and references a ground-breaking 1978 third plenary session lauded by liberal CCP commentator Bao Tong as revolutionary, because delegates seized control of the proceedings and overturned Deng's attempts to control discussions.

It also insists that the process of economic reform and opening up to the rest of the world came as a result of the party's reflections on the "serious deficiencies" that led to the Cultural Revolution, an era of top-down rule by late supreme leader Mao Zedong, political denunciations, mass detentions and social turmoil, kangaroo courts and factional violence on the streets.

The 4,000-character piece, signed by Qu Qingshan, dean of the Central Party History and Documentation Research Institute, quotes Deng repeatedly on the need for economic development, as well as crediting former presidents Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao - both leaders who rose to power from different support bases from current leader Xi Jinping - with furthering his work.

There is no mention of Xi, an unprecedented move for an official CCP news organization, which have largely dedicated themselves to singing Xi's praises on every front page since he warned state media in February 2016 that their primary job is to serve the ruling party.

In what appears to be a sideswipe at Xi's aggressive "wolf-warrior" diplomacy in the name of national "self-confidence" in recent years, Jiang's personal brand of ideology, the "Three Represents," is credited with "defending socialism with Chinese characteristics in the face of a complicated domestic and international situation."

It also credits Deng with building a new kind of diplomacy on the back of economic development, and lauds the CCP's ability to correct its own "mistakes" and "turn around a crisis."

The party's reckoning with the mistakes of the Cultural Revolution ushered in a new revolution that sparked people's "enthusiasm, initiative and creativity," the article said, making China stronger.

It said Deng's "reform and opening up" approach was a "magic weapon" for the party, and the key to determining the country's future.

Unprecedented omission

Chinese political commentator Willy Lam said the omission of Xi's name was unprecedented, and very strange.

"[The author] thinks that in the nine years since Xi Jinping took power, he hasn't made much contribution at all to reform and opening up, when compared with Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin," Lam told RFA. "Qu Qingshan is clearly speaking on behalf of people inside the CCP."

"He may not oppose Xi Jinping, but he certainly opposes Xi's revival of Mao era politics in recent years, his rolling back of Deng Xiaoping's approach, and his highly conservative political and economic policies," he said.

Critic and author Yao Bo said the article's publication could be an indicator of growing dissatisfaction with Xi's leadership in CCP party ranks.

"Many in the party who originally supported Xi Jinping have come to reject his economic and foreign policy and his methods lately," Yao told RFA. "They think he is rolling back all of [Deng's] economic reforms and opening up."

"It's not just about their personal vested interests; there is also a sense that there has to be some sense of [collective] responsibility over what is happening in the party," he said.

"They think he's driving China backwards ... we've known this for some time; this is just a clearer expression of opposition [to Xi's direction]."

Return of Mao-era politics

Bao Tong, a former top CCP aide to late ousted premier Zhao Ziyang, has described the third plenum of the 11th Party Congress as "the revolution they never had," seen from the point of view of rank-and-file delegates.

"The Third Plenum was a uniquely lively meeting," Bao wrote in 2008. "It started a chain reaction. The frenzied debates in the Central Committee led to similar discussions at local and grass-roots levels, to a healthy hubbub within the Party and in society at large."

"The entire impetus for reform sprang directly out of this process of everyone talking at once," he wrote.

Under Xi, CCP cadres have been punished for deviating from the centrally established party line, whether in public or private conversation.

Nonetheless, there has also been considerable push-back in public over growing attempts by the CCP under Xi to paint only a positive picture of China, and delete, censor or retaliate against any form of utterance that doesn't toe the party line in public.

China's rubber-stamp parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC), voted in 2018 to abolish any limits to Xi Jinping's term in office, ushering in a new era of imperial-style rule, both within and outside party ranks.

Since Xi took the helm of the party in 2012, formally assuming the presidency in March 2013, authorities in China have stepped up nationwide "stability maintenance" measures targeting anyone with a critical opinion of the government and cracking down on civil society groups fighting discrimination and social injustice.

And in a move reminiscent of the Mao-era Anti-Rightist campaigns, more than 300 lawyers, law firm staff, rights activists and relatives have been detained, questioned, or placed under surveillance or other restrictions in a nationwide police operation targeting the legal profession launched in 2015.

Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
A court in Hong Kong on Monday handed down a 13-month jail term to pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai for "inciting" others to take part in a banned candlelight vigil for the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre.

The District Court sentenced Lai, who founded the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper, alongside barrister and vigil organizer Chow Hang-tung, who was jailed for 12 months, and former Stand News journalist Gwyneth Ho, who received a six-month sentence.

All three had earlier pleaded not guilty to the charges, but were convicted last week.

Chow, who headed the now-disbanded vigil organizing group, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, was also convicted of "participating in an illegal assembly" by attending the event, along with fellow activist and former journalist Gwyneth Ho.

Lee Cheuk-yan, the former chairman of vigil organizers the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, now disbanded, was also jailed for 14 months for organizing last year's vigil during which thousands of people gathered to light candles and sing songs in Hong Kongs Victoria Park in defiance of a ban on public gatherings linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former Alliance spokesperson Richard Choi was jailed and former protest leader Joshua Wong, who is currently in jail on a separate charge, were both handed 10-month sentences, while several other defendants were given sentences ranging from four months, two weeks, to nine months.

Two other activists in the case, Nathan Law and Sunny Cheung, have already fled the city.

Law, a former pro-democracy lawmaker now campaigning on behalf of the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement in exile, told U.S. President Joe Biden's Summit for Democracy that Hong Kong had become a police state since the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) imposed a draconian national security law on the city from July 1, 2020, ushering in an ongoing crackdown on political opposition and public dissent.

"Most democratic campaigners in Hong Kong with whom I've worked, such as Joshua Wong, Benny Tai and Jimmy Lai, are detained and facing life imprisonment as I speak," Law told the summit, sparking vitriolic criticism from Beijing, which slammed the U.S. for giving a platform to a "Hong Kong fugitive."

"My experience embodies a prime example of how a city once believed to be the freest in Asia can deteriorate into an authoritarian police state right in front of our eyes," he said.

He warned the international community that they should unite to defend democratic values to push back against growing CCP influence overseas.

The 32-year-old Alliance stands accused of acting as the agent of a foreign power, with leaders Chow Hang-tung, Albert Ho and Lee Cheuk-yan arrested on suspicion of "incitement to subvert state power," and the group's assets frozen.

The annual vigils it hosted often attracted more than 100,000 people, but the gatherings were banned in 2020, and the group disbanded in September, the latest in string of civil society groups to disband following investigation by national security police.

The law forms part of Beijing's claims that recent waves of popular protest for greater democracy and against the erosion of Hong Kong's promised freedoms were instigated by hostile foreign powers intent on undermining CCP rule and destroying social stability in Hong Kong.

Jimmy Lai and several senior journalists at the now-defunct Apple Daily face charges of "collusion with foreign forces" under the law, after the paper called in editorials for sanctions against Chinese and Hong Kong officials.



Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
China was not invited to the meeting and has not yet responded to the groups' joint statement.

The HMS Elizabeth and naval ships from the Netherlands, the US and Japan conduct joint exercises in the Pacific Ocean in August 2021.

The Group of Seven industrialized nations has voiced concern over tensions in the South China and declared shared interest in maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region after an inaugural meeting of G7 foreign ministers with their counterparts from ASEAN.

The G7 comprises the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan. Its top diplomats meeting in Liverpool, England, held a videoconference Sunday with counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The meeting was hosted by the U.K. which holds the G7 chairmanship this year.

The chairs statement said G7 and the 10-member ASEAN bloc discussed the situation in the South China Sea, and concerns were expressed on the land reclamations, activities, serious incidents in the area, including damage to the marine environment, which have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions, and may undermine peace, security, and stability in the region. The statement stopped short of naming any specific country.

China, which has been accused of such activities, was not invited to the meeting and has not yet responded to the statement, which was also posted on the ASEAN secretariats website.

The participants called for an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea that is in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea).

The ministerial meeting was called amid division among ASEAN member countries about AUKUS, a new trilateral partnership between the U.S., U.K. and Australia which has been criticized by China as potentially stoking a nuclear arms race in Asia.

Malaysia and Indonesia have expressed deep concerns about the new alliance that would eventually see Australia acquiring nuclear-powered submarines  although not nuclear weapons -- from the U.S. and the U.K.

Just a few days before the meeting, Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto reiterated his countrys position on AUKUS is that of course Southeast Asia should remain nuclear free, and the fear among Southeast Asian nations is that this will spark an arms race.

Carl Thayer, emeritus professor at the University of New South Wales, said Sundays meeting was held at the U.K.s initiative and could reflect the direction of British foreign policy.

It was the United Kingdom exercising its prerogative as the chair of the G7 and that it has its own independent policy toward the Indo-Pacific, Thayer said.

In March, the U.K. government outlined its security, defense, development and foreign policy for the next two decades. Observers say there was a clear tilt to the Indo-Pacific. This summer, its flagship aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth deployed for the first time to the South China Sea.

The U.K. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the deployment demonstrated British power and commitment at sea, in the skies and over the land while furthering the U.K.s interests and strengthening its partnerships.







Meanwhile, in a move likely to annoy China, Harbour Energy, a U.K. oil and gas company, announced that a production plan is being put together after successful drilling in two blocks off the shore of Indonesia.

The company said on Dec. 9 that a successful appraisal drilling campaign in Natuna Sea Block A and Tuna Block would be supporting future production.

Harbour did not provide details but local media in Indonesia quoted Benny Lubiantara, deputy planning officer of the governments special task force for upstream oil and gas business activities, as saying that his department and Premier Oil would begin to discuss a proposed plan of development in January 2022.

Premier Oil is Harbours operational name in Indonesia. It merged with Chrysaor to become Harbour Energy plc in 2021.

With the Russian partner Zarubezhneft it drilled two appraisal wells in East Natuna sea on the Indonesian border with Vietnam which show good hydrocarbon potential.

Since the beginning, SKK Migas has categorized the two wells as key wells, said Benny. In addition to increasing national oil and gas reserves, these findings also emphasize the territorial sovereignty of the Republic of Indonesia," he added.

Earlier this month, an Indonesian lawmaker revealed that Beijing demanded that Indonesia stop oil and gas drilling in Tuna Block.

The bloc lies inside Indonesias exclusive economic zone (EEZ), about 10 nautical miles from the Indonesia-Vietnam maritime border, but overlaps with the nine-dash line that Beijing uses to demarcate its territorial claims in the South China Sea.

For two months of September and October, a Chinese survey ship  Haiyang Dizhi 10  was conducting maritime seabed survey near Tuna Block despite protests by Indonesian agencies.

The U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken begins a two-day visit on Monday to Jakarta.

Prior to the visit, his office issued a statement saying the U.S. support(s) Indonesias strong efforts to safeguard its maritime rights and stand up to PRC (China) aggression in the South China Sea, including in its exclusive economic zone around the Natuna Islands.
Ye Hein Zaw faces up to five years in prison for conspiracy to assault a foreign official.

Phyo Hein Htut (L), and Ye Hein Zaw (R), who were charged by U.S. authorities on Aug. 6 with conspiracy to assault and make a violent attack upon a foreign official.

One of two Myanmar nationals arrested in August in connection with a plot to attack the countrys ambassador to the United Nations has pled guilty for his role in the conspiracy, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York.

Ye Hein Zaw entered his plea in White Plains Federal Court before U.S. District Judge Philip M. Halpern on Dec. 10, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement, admitting guilt to a plot to injure or kill Myanmars ambassador to the United Nations in a planned attack that was to take place on American soil.

Zaw now awaits sentencing for his crime, Williams said. I commend the tireless efforts of our law enforcement partners at all levels of government to ensure the safety of foreign diplomats and officials in the United States and bring the perpetrators of this plot to justice.

U.S. authorities revealed the plot to kill Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, a key critic of Myanmars military junta, on Aug. 6, after they arrested a security volunteer, Phyo Hein Htut, 28, and Ye Hein Zaw, 20, who is said to have been an intermediary who sent money from an arms dealer in Thailand to bankroll the attack.

The alleged goal was to remove Kyaw Moe Tun as Myanmars permanent representative to the U.N. Both suspects are Myanmar citizens residing in New York.

In last weeks statement, the U.S. Attorneys Office said Ye Hein Zaw admitted that shortly after agreeing to the plan, he transferred approximately U.S. $4,000 to his co-conspirator as an advance payment on the plot to attack Kyaw Moe Tun. Later, he said, he and the co-conspirator discussed how the planned attackers would require an additional U.S. $1,000 to conduct the attack and, for an additional payment, could kill the ambassador. In response, he agreed to pay the additional money.

Ye Hein Zaw pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to assault and make a violent attack upon a foreign official, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 10, 2022. Phyo Hein Htut faces the same charges.

Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun has previously told RFA that he learned of the plot from the Burmese community in New York who have rallied around him since he gave a high profile address Feb. 26 to the U.N. General Assembly, appealing to the international community to end the military dictatorship and help restore democracy in Myanmar. The junta has demanded he step down as an ambassador, which he has refused to do.

On Feb. 1, Myanmars military seized power in a coup, alleging that the National League for Democracy engineered a landslide victory in the November 2020 election through widespread voter fraud. The junta has yet to provide evidence of its claims and has violently repressed anti-coup protests, killing at least 1,329 people and arresting nearly 8,000 others, according to the Bangkok-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

A decision by the U.N. credentials committee about who represents Myanmar at the world body was recently deferred, in what analysts said was a win for the countrys shadow National Unity Government.

Reported by Joshua Lipes.
The victims bank had identified two merchants through which the fraudsters had received the funds. Markets Trading handled two payments totaling $15,000 in March 2018, while in May of the same year a company named Binmarket received four payments worth $11,000 from the victim to the fraudsters. In the case of all six payments, Connectum was the merchant acquirer, the intermediary between the merchant and the victims credit card company.

An internal investigation by Connectum found that the transactions were facilitated by one of our partners, Leonidov wrote to the victim. His email did not name the partner but described it as a third party processor registered in the United Kingdom, which processed the funds via our accounts.

The company had business relationships with Connectum Limited between the end of 2017 and beginning of 2019, but there was no direct affiliation between Connectum and Golden Markets platform, Markets Trading or Binmarket, he added.

That the payments were being processed by a third party did not absolve Connectum of its obligation to monitor them, according to financial crime expert Graham Barrow.

They still have a duty under money-laundering regulations to monitor all transactions going through the accounts and identify any suspicious transactions, Barrow told RFA.

In July 2017, one of the two merchants handling the victims payments, Markets Trading, was the subject of a public warning by the FCA, Connectums regulator. Published on the FCAs website, the statement warned that it believed Markets Trading may be providing financial services or products in the UK without our authorization.

Providing financial services without a license is a criminal offence in the UK, punishable with up to two years in prison. As such, the FCAs warning should have triggered a review within Connectum, according to Barrow.

If youve got a client that has been served with notice by the FCA, or [about which] the FCA has provided an unauthorized trading notice on its website, then you absolutely should be reviewing that relationship with a view to exiting it, Barrow said. Clearly if youre processing payments for somebody providing unauthorized services, that puts you as a de-facto accomplice.

In January 2019, a British judge ordered that Markets Trading be put into involuntary liquidation.

On May 22, 2018, Binmarket processed $11,000 paid by the victim to the scam. Once again, Connectum was the merchant acquirer for the transaction and the money passed through its accounts. Unlike Markets Trading, Binmarket was never the subject of an FCA warning. However, three weeks earlier, it had been the subject of a warning on the website of Finlands Financial Supervisory Authority.
Lobsang Thinley had shared teachings by the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, defying official warnings to stop.

A court in western Chinas Sichuan province has sentenced a Tibetan monk to five years in prison for sharing books and teachings by Tibets spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, RFA has learned.

Lobsang Thinley, a monk in his early 20s from Kirti monastery, was taken into custody on July 1 by police in Ngaba (in Chinese, Aba) county, with his family left uninformed of his whereabouts for several months after his arrest, according to Tibetan sources.

He was charged with disseminating teachings by the Dalai Lama and sharing books about him, Kyisar Lhudup, a Tibetan living in exile in Paris said, citing contacts in the Ngaba region.

It came to light in September that he is now being held at the Mianyang Prison in Sichuan, and that authorities informed his family in a letter that he had been sentenced to five years in prison, Lhudup said.

They were also told they could visit him and bring him some food, Lhudup said, adding that no family members or legal representatives had been present at Thinleys trial.

Thinley had run into trouble with police in the past for sharing teachings by the Dalai Lama and was detained and released several times before, Lhudup said. This caused his family and other relatives great concern, but he was undeterred by warnings from the police and continued his activities right up until his arrest in July," he said.

This latest five-year sentence comes as Chinese authorities ramp up a political crackdown in Ngaba, Lhudup added.

For fear of retaliation, his relatives have remained tightlipped about Thinley's sentence. Information about it was therefore delayed for a while in reaching outside contacts, and it is difficult now to ascertain the current situation in Ngaba, he said.

Tibets exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is widely reviled by Chinese leaders as a separatist intent on splitting Tibet, a formerly independent Himalayan country which was invaded and incorporated into China by force in 1950, from Beijings control.

The Dalai Lama, who now lives in exile in India, says only that he seeks a greater autonomy for Tibet as a part of China, with guaranteed protections for Tibets language, culture and religion.

Chinese authorities maintain a tight grip on Tibet and Tibetan regions of western China, restricting Tibetans political activities and peaceful expression of ethnic and religious identity, and subjecting Tibetans to persecution, torture, imprisonment and extrajudicial killings.

Reported by RFA's Tibetan Service. Translated by Dorjee Damdul. Written in English by Richard Finney.
MINSK -- Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka has replaced the long-serving chief of the Central Election Commission (TsVK) ahead of an expected referendum on constitutional amendments he initiated following unprecedented rallies across the country last year questioning the official results of a presidential election that declared him the winner.



Lidzia Yarmoshyna, 68, who ran the TsVK for 25 years and who has been accused by the Belarusian opposition of being behind many cases of election fraud, was replaced on December 13 by Ihar Karpenka, the leader of the pro-Lukashenka Communist Party of Belarus.



Yarmoshyna was appointed to the post in 1996 after Lukashenka removed her predecessor, Viktar Hanchar. Later in 1999, Hanchar disappeared along with businessman Anatol Krasouski. Their whereabouts are still unknown.



The Siberian-born, 57-year-old Karpenka used to be a lawmaker and deputy mayor of Minsk. In October 2012, he was elected as the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus.



Lukashenka promised to change the constitution a year ago amid mass protests following the August 2020 election that opposition leaders and the West say was rigged. He has pledged to hold the vote in February.



In September he said the changes "are aimed at making the constitution more harmonized and balanced by redistributing the powers of the president, the parliament, and the government and establishing a constitutional status for the All-Belarus People's Assembly."



But he gave no details of the draft constitution or the role that the All-Belarus People's Assembly would assume, and opponents have expressed doubt about the amendments, calling them a sham exercise to help him to cling to power after the opposition rejected his election victory.

Opposition and public outrage over what they saw as a rigged vote sparked months of protests, bringing tens of thousands into the streets demanding Lukashenka step down and new elections to be held.



Security officials have cracked down hard on the demonstrators, arresting thousands, including dozens of journalists who covered the rallies, and pushing most of the top opposition figures out of the country.



Several protesters have been killed in the violence and some rights organizations say there is credible evidence of torture being used by security officials against some of those detained.

Lukashenka has denied any wrongdoing with regard to the election and refuses to negotiate with the opposition on stepping down and holding new elections.



The European Union, the United States, Canada, and other countries have refused to recognize Lukashenka as the legitimate leader of Belarus and have imposed sanctions on him and several senior Belarusian officials in response to the "falsification" of the vote and the postelection crackdown.
SOFIA -- Bulgaria's parliament has confirmed a government led by Kiril Petkov after his new anti-corruption We Continue the Change party (PP) sealed a governing coalition deal with three other factions.



Lawmakers on December 13 voted 134-104 in favor of Petkov's nomination, then the structure and composition of his proposed government was approved in rapid succession.



The moves would give Bulgaria its first regular cabinet since the decade-long rule of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov ended in April amid public anger over corruption.



We Continue The Change, which won but fell far short of a majority in repeat elections in mid-November, reached a coalition agreement on December 10 with the leftist Bulgarian Socialist Party, the anti-elite There Is Such A People party, and the liberal anti-corruption group Democratic Bulgaria.



The next day, President Rumen Radev handed over a mandate to Petkov, the co-leader of We Continue The Change, to form a new government.



Petkov then presented the members of his proposed government and announced that "zero tolerance for corruption" will be the motto of his cabinet.



An overhaul of the country's anti-corruption agency, boosting COVID-19 vaccinations, and taking steps to shield citizens from rising energy costs would be among the main priorities of his cabinet, he said.



Borisov stepped down in April after he lost a majority in parliament following months of anti-corruption protests against him and his GERB party.



The move led to a political deadlock that has resulted in three parliamentary elections this year.



Elections in April and July failed to produce governments because of unclear majorities and disagreements between political parties on a new cabinet, leaving the European Union's poorest member state in the hands of an interim administration.



In the November 14 vote, We Continue The Change won 67 seats in the 240-seat parliament, while Borisov's GERB party took 59 seats.



Five other parties entered the fragmented legislature, including the ethnic Turkish MRF party with 34 seats, followed by the Socialists with 26 legislators, There Is Such A People with 25 seats, Democratic Bulgaria with 16 seats, and the pro-Russian nationalist group Vazrazhdane with 13 seats.
Saudi Arabia and Iran have held a new round of talks aimed at mending badly strained ties, the Jordanian state news agency reported on December 13, as the Saudi envoy to the United Nations accused Tehran of playing "games" in its dialogue with Riyadh.



Shiite-led Iran and Sunni-controlled Saudi Arabia are bitter rivals in the struggle for influence in the Middle East and support allies in proxy wars in Yemen, Syria, and elsewhere.



The two Muslim-majority nations cut diplomatic relations in 2016 after Iranian protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions following Riyadhs execution of a Shiite cleric.



The Saudi kingdom has described the direct discussions launched earlier this year with Tehran as cordial but exploratory, while an Iranian official in October said they had gone a "good distance."



The latest round of talks, held at the level of experts in Amman, ended on December 13 and touched upon confidence-building measures, specifically regarding Iran's nuclear program, according to Jordans Petra news agency.



There was no immediate confirmation from Tehran or Riyadh.



But in a video interview published on December 13, Saudi Arabias UN envoy Abdallah al-Mouallimi told a Saudi newspaper that no major results had been achieved in the negotiation process.



"We would like to push these discussions toward substantive issues that involve the behavior of the Iranian government in the region," Mouallimi told Arab News.



"But as long as the Iranians continue to play games with these talks, they are not going to go anywhere," he said. "The Iranians take a long-term attitude toward these talks. We are not interested in talks for the sake of talks."



Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates' de facto ruler, Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, hosted the Israeli prime minister on December 13, with the issue of Iran expected to be on the agenda for their talks.



Prime Minister Naftali Bennett arrived in the U.A.E. the previous day, marking the first time an Israeli prime minister has made an official visit to the Sunni-ruled Persian Gulf state.



The trip comes after a U.S.-mediated formalization of Israeli-Emirati relations was achieved last year and amid intense diplomacy as world powers try to revive a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran that was hobbled by a U.S. pullout and reimposition of sanctions in 2018.



Israel and Abu Dhabi have long cooperated secretly on security, but they only formalized relations in September 2020.



A statement on state news agency WAM said Sheikh Mohammed voiced hope for "stability in the Middle East" and that Bennet's visit would "advance the relationship of cooperation toward more positive steps in the interests of the people of the two nations and of the region."



The Israel Hayom newspaper, citing unidentified officials, said Bennett was expected to brief Sheikh Mohammed on intelligence regarding Iranian-supplied militias and drones in the region.

With reporting by Reuters
NUR-SULTAN -- Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev has awarded close associates and relatives of his predecessor, Nursultan Nazarbaev, who continues to wield power ahead of the 30th anniversary of the former Soviet republic's independence.



The presidential administration said on December 13 that Nazarbaev's daughter, lawmaker Darigha Nazarbaeva; writer Sabit Dosanov, who is related to Nazarbaev by marriage; a relative of Nazarbaev's nephew, Serikzhan Seitzhanov; poet and composer Myrzatai Zholdasbekov, who is the author of a song praising Nazarbaev, and several of Nazarbaev's closest associates were awarded state orders and medals.



The announcement comes amid an ongoing crackdown on opposition and rights activists across the country, many of whom have been detained on charge of violating laws on public gatherings in recent weeks.



Local activists say that the incarcerations are connected to the upcoming Independence Day on December 16, a date that coincides with two sensitive anniversaries in modern Kazakh history: the 1986 anti-Kremlin demonstrations in Almaty, known as the Zheltoqsan revolt, and a deadly 2011 police crackdown on protesting oil workers in the southwestern town of Zhanaozen when at least 16 oil workers died.



After ruling the country with an iron fist for almost 30 years, Nazarbaev announced his decision to retire in March 2019 and picked Toqaev as his successor



A day after his resignation, the name of the Kazakh capital was changed to Nur-Sultan to honor Nazarbaev, which sparked protests across the country.



Nazarbaev continues to wield considerable influence as chairman of the Security Council and enjoys almost limitless powers as "elbasy" -- leader of the nation.



Under Toqaev, Kazakhstan continues to clamp down on freedom of speech and harass opposition members.
BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz authorities have detained four individuals, including a woman and a police official, suspected of kidnapping a Turkish businessman for ransom.



The State Committee for National Security (UKMK) said late on December 12 that the group allegedly stopped a Turkish businessman at the Bishkek airport on his arrival on December 1 and took him to a police station at the airport.

There, all his belongings, including valuables, were confiscated and he was taken blindfolded to a house where he was kept against his will for five days.



The kidnappers demanded $3 million ransom for the businessman's release, the UKMK said.



According to the UKMK, the kidnapping was organized by the businessman's friend and business partner.



One of the suspects is the chief of the aviation transportation directorate of the Interior Ministry at Bishkek's airport.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 as the demise of "historical Russia," a comment that could fuel speculation about his foreign policy intentions amid a buildup of tens of thousands of Russian troops in regions bordering Ukraine.



"It was the disintegration of historical Russia under the name of the Soviet Union," Putin said of the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union while speaking in a documentary film called Russia. Recent History that aired on state television on December 12.



Putin, a former agent of the Soviet KGB security service, has previously lamented the collapse of the Soviet Union, calling it the "the greatest geopolitical disaster of the 20th century." The comments in the documentary, however, reveal how much he feels the disintegration of the Soviet Union devastated Russia's power.

READ MORE: Special Section On The Fall Of The U.S.S.R.



His comments in the documentary come at a time when tensions with the West are severely strained.



Moscow forcibly seized Ukraine's Crimea region in March 2014 and is backing separatists in parts of Ukraine's eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, jointly known as the Donbas, in an ongoing conflict that has killed more than 13,200 people since April 2014.





Adding to that, the West has accused Russia of massing troops near Ukraine in recent weeks as a possible prelude to an invasion as early as next month. The Group of Seven countries warned Moscow on December 12 of massive consequences and severe costs if it attacked Ukraine.



Russian officials say the country has the right to move its forces anywhere it wants within the country and denies it is preparing any advance. In turn, it has accused Kyiv of provocation and NATO of looking to expand eastward.



Putin has demanded legally binding security guarantees that NATO will not expand further east or place its weapons close to Russian territory.



Deputy Foreign Ministry Sergei Ryabkov appeared to push the Russian position even further on December 13, warning that there would be a confrontation if the United States and NATO don't give the guarantees Moscow seeks.



Officials in both Washington and at NATO have said that no country can veto the NATO aspirations of any country.

Last week, when talking to the presidential council on human rights in Moscow, Putin accused Kyiv of "something that reminds us of genocide."



The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv responded on Twitter on December 13 by saying Putin's accusation was "false,...dangerous, and irresponsible."



"Russia's proxy authorities in occupied Donbas have committed human rights abuses, illegally imprisoned Ukrainian citizens, suppressed free speech and forced Ukrainians to take Russian passports," the embassy said.



"The world knows this, and Russia's lies about Donbas are another obvious attempt to shift blame for the suffering Russia has caused," it added.



In the documentary, Putin also spoke about the personal impact the collapse of the Soviet Union had on him.



He said the period of economic and social instability that followed put many into poverty and even impacted his life, claiming he was occasionally forced to drive a car to earn extra money, something many across the country did to supplement their incomes.



"Sometimes I had to earn extra money," he said. "I mean, earn extra money by car, as a private driver. It's unpleasant to talk about, to be honest, but unfortunately that was the case."



Russia was the main cog in the Soviet Union, which grew to include 15 republics from the Baltics in the west to Central Asia.



The Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991 amid deep economic problems.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters
MOSCOW -- Four defendants in a high-profile case involving almost 400 kilograms of cocaine found on the premises of the Russian Embassy in Argentina in 2018 have been found guilty.



A jury at the Dorogomilov district court in Moscow on December 13 convicted alleged mastermind Andrei Kovalchuk; the former maintenance department chief at the embassy in Argentina, Ali Abyanov; and businessmen Vladimir Kalmykov and Ishtimir Khudzhamov of buying and storing at the embassy school in Buenos Aires cocaine that they planned to sell in Europe.



The convicted men face up to 25 years in prison each.



None of the defendants is or was a diplomat.



In February 2018, Argentinian Security Minister Patricia Bullrich said 389 kilograms of cocaine were found in bags seized in December 2016, following a tip from the Russian ambassador and three Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officers.



The cocaine was replaced with flour and the luggage was flown in 2017 to Russia, where two men were arrested when they came to pick it up, Bullrich said at the time.



The FSB said earlier that three suspects had been detained in Russia and two in Argentina in what both countries said was a joint operation.



They said the alleged mastermind -- later identified as Kovalchuk, a former technical worker at the Russian Embassy in Argentina who then resided in Germany -- was wanted under an international arrest warrant.



Germany extradited Kovalchuk to Russia in July 2018.



Russia's Foreign Ministry said later that Kovalchuk had never worked either for the ministry or for the Russian Embassy in Argentina.



In August 2018, Bullrich said all 389 kilograms of the confiscated cocaine were burned in a crematorium in Buenos Aires.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that any "destabilizing action" by Moscow against Ukraine would be a "strategic mistake" with "significant consequences," a spokesman said.



Johnson "emphasized" to Putin in a December 13 phone call that Britain is committed to "Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty," the spokesman said, adding that the prime minister "expressed the United Kingdom's deep concern over the build-up of Russian forces on Ukraine's border, and reiterated the importance of working through diplomatic channels to deescalate tensions and identify durable solutions."



Johnson's remarks echoed concerns expressed by foreign ministers from the Group of Seven leading economies about Russia's buildup of military forces on its border with Ukraine. The G7 ministers urged a diplomatic solution to the standoff.

Russian media quoted the Kremlin on December 13 as saying that Putin and Johnson agreed to continue talks through different channels.



The phone call came amid high tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Officials in Kyiv say they fear a possible Russian invasion.



Russia, which seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and backs pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, denies it has any such plan.



Mutual recriminations between Russia and Ukraine have been rising for weeks.



Washington says it believes Russia may be planning to use alleged "provocations" by Ukraine to justify military aggression.



Ukraine on November 26 accused Russia of being behind an alleged coup plot against President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, which the Kremlin denied.

Based on reporting by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, Reuters, AP, AFP, RIA Novosti, and TASS
An 18-year-old graduate of a religious school near Moscow has detonated an explosive device inside the facility, wounding himself and 11 other teenagers.



Moscow region police officials said Vladislav Struzhenkov, who was employed by a convent in the city of Serpukhov, detonated the explosive device on December 13 at the entrance to the Orthodox high school on the grounds of the convent.



The authorities in Serpukhov said that the alleged bomber lost a leg, adding that one teenager who sustained wounds during the explosion remains hospitalized while all others were released from hospitals after they were examined and received medical assistance.



Investigative Committee spokeswoman Olga Vrady said investigators were currently unable to interrogate the suspect, as he was in very serious condition as doctors "fight to save his life."



According to Vrady, investigators have searched the suspect's apartment and confiscated items and substances that "will be assessed by experts," and are currently interrogating the suspect's relatives and friends, as well as the high school's staff members.



The Investigative Committee has launched a probe against Struzhenkov, accusing him of "attempted murder" and "illegal possession of explosive substances."

The Interfax news agency quoted a source close to law enforcement as saying that, according to preliminary investigations, the suspected bomber had been bullied while a student at the institution.

With reporting by RIA Novosti, Interfax, Baza, 112, and TASS
A court in Moscow has handed lengthy prison terms to two men after a jury found them guilty of killing the notorious crime kingpin Yaponchik (The Little Japanese) more than 12 years ago.



The Moscow City Court on December 13 sentenced Dzhambul Dzhanashia to 15 years, and Murtaz Shadania to 16 years in prison for the killing of Vyacheslav Ivankov.



The 69-year-old died in October 2009 from wounds he suffered in a sniper attack that occurred while he was leaving a restaurant in the Russian capital about three months earlier.



The Georgian-born Ivankov was a professional criminal and a crowned "thief-in-law," a title traditionally given among criminal groups in former Soviet republics to kingpins.

Shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, he was unexpectedly released from prison in Russia where he had been serving a 14-year prison term for illegal firearm possession, forgery, and drug trafficking.



In March 1992, Ivankov moved to the United States, where he was arrested in 1995 and sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of extortion, fraud, and illegally entering the country.



He was extradited to Russia after spending almost 10 years in the U.S. prison system. He was tried and acquitted on murder charges in Moscow.



Ivankov was buried on October 13, 2009, at Moscow's Vagankovo cemetery, the resting place of many notable Soviet and Russian luminaries. The funeral was widely covered by the media as hundreds of kingpins representing criminal syndicates from all over the former Soviet Union attended.

Ivankov's assassination is thought to have been part of an ongoing gang war between Ivankov's close associate, notorious Moscow crime boss Aslan Usoyan, also known as Ded Khasan (Grandfather Khasan), and Georgian crime boss Tariel Oniani.



Usoyan, 75 and also Georgian-born, was similarly shot dead by a sniper while leaving a Moscow restaurant in January 2013.

With reporting by Interfax and TASS
A Swiss court has published its decision to allow the extradition of a Kremlin-linked Russian businessman to the United States.



The Federal Criminal Court in Zurich on December 13 made public its November 16 ruling that upheld a previous rejection of Vladislav Klyushin's argument that he was a victim of a U.S. political campaign to prosecute him on trumped-up insider-trading charges.



The court also said it had no reason to question the independence of the U.S. judicial system and that U.S. authorities had presented sufficient grounds for seeking to try Klyushin.



Oliver Ciric, Klyushin's lawyer, questioned whether the Swiss court gave the case adequate consideration.



"We filed an appeal on December 6. We consider that the Swiss Federal Criminal Tribunal didn't fully review the political case argument," he said in an e-mail to RFE/RL.



Klyushin, the owner of M13, a Russian company that offers media monitoring as well as cybersecurity services, was arrested in Valais Canton in March on the U.S. arrest warrant.



In the United States, Klyushin is suspected of making tens of millions of dollars along with accomplices by hacking into confidential information about listed U.S. companies.



Klyushin's extradition to the United States was approved in June after the Swiss Federal Office of Justice rejected a Russian request to extradite Klyushin to Moscow to face trial there.



The United States slapped Russia with sanctions in April for interfering in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, hacking, and supporting pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine.



The website of M13 says its services are used by the Russian presidential administration and government.

With reporting by Mike Eckel in Prague and Reuters
According to Lego, they plan to invest over US$1 billion into the project, spurred by growing demand for its products in Asia  it has seen double-digit growth in the region since 2019.

About the carbon-neutral lego Vietnam plant

The Lego Group will build its first carbon-neutral factory near the Southeast Asian countrys main business hub, Ho Chi Minh City.

In a statement, the company aims to achieve 100% energy consumption through solar panels on its roof and on a nearby farm.

Additionally, the company, together with VSIP, will plant 50,000 trees in Vietnam to compensate for vegetation removed during construction.

We are very grateful for the support of the Vietnamese government in helping us achieve our ambition to build our first carbon-neutral factory, Legos chief operations officer Carsten Rasmussen said.

Construction on their new site will start in 2022 and is slated to start production in 2024. The project is expected to create over 4,000 new jobs over a period of 15 years.

This will be the Danish toy giants second factory in Asia after it opened its first plant in China in 2016, and its sixth manufacturing site in the world.

Lego locates factories close to its major markets, and this new project will expand the companys global supply chain footprint.

According to Lego, this strategy allows for the flexibility to respond quickly to shifts in consumer demand, shorten the supply chain, and reduce the environmental impact caused by long-distance shipping.

Lego building on strong bilateral ties between Denmark and Vietnam

Both Vietnam and Denmark have had a long history, with 2021 being the 50th year of its diplomatic relations.

Denmarks Ambassador to Vietnam and Laos, Mr. Kim Hjlund Christensen said:

During the past 50 years, both countries benefited economically and culturally from developing close ties  from development cooperation to trade and investment.

This is the largest investment in Vietnam made by a Danish company, and it shows the confidence and optimism we have in the future of this important partnership, added Christensen.

Vietnams pursuit of green energy excellence

Vietnam is the ASEAN regions leader in the adoption of solar and wind power capacity since 2019.

Supported by strong government and public support, the nation of 97 million is on the way to establishing itself as a global leader in renewable energy production.

Due to high governmental participation in the energy sector, government policies are essential for renewable development, especially given its capital intensiveness and high-risk exposure.

The country boasts generous economic incentives such as feed-in tariffs, tax exemptions, and investment subsidies.

These policies have strongly incentivized industry uptake, according to a study by Do et al (2021), published in the journal Energy for Sustainable Development.

The Vietnamese appeal

Within developing ASEAN nations, Vietnams labor costs are the third-lowest, with the average monthly wage hovering around US$248 in 2017, according to KPMG (as informed by Fitch).

This, together with its geographic proximity to the rest of Asia, makes it a viable location for richer countries looking to take advantage of lower labour costs by shifting their supply chains to the country.

Notably, this is amid a backdrop of US-China trade tensions, which has seen more US companies look towards SEA to avoid China.

However, due to the effects of lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Vietnam, like the rest of the world, faced drastic socio-economic setbacks.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimated that the pandemic would affect the livelihoods of up to 10.3 million (11%) of the nations workers.

Nevertheless, Vietnams GDP growth is among the highest in the ASEAN region, at +6.42% (USD$ 224 billion) in 2020, beaten only by Cambodia. Furthermore, their currency, the Viet Dong, is rather stable, with a volatility of around 1.15%  an average percentage for the region.

According to a 2020 report by Deloitte, companies investing in projects related to environmental sustainability in Vietnam can enjoy generous corporate income tax (CIT) rates of 10%  17%, from between 10 to 15 years. Other goodies include tax holidays, CIT reductions in the following years, import duty exemptions, and land rental fee exemptions.

Vietnams forward-thinking renewable energy policies, governmental support, lower labor costs, and multiple economic incentives are undoubtedly why MNCs such as Lego have chosen to set their operations up in the developing nation.
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Good morning, Bay Area. Its Monday, Dec. 13, and law enforcement is looking to online marketplaces to figure out where stolen retail goods are being sold. Heres what you need to know to start your day.

December is usually one of the wettest months in the region. There are two storms in the forecast for the Bay Area: the first is the atmospheric river pushing south from the North Bay through the Central Coast through Tuesday. Its the biggest storm to hit Northern California in weeks, and its going to make Monday traffic a lot sloggier than usual.

A smaller storm system is expected to blow through on Wednesday. Farther east, the peaks surrounding Lake Tahoe could see as much as 10 feet of snow from the storm  a blessing, some said, after an unseasonably dry autumn.

Reporter Kellie Hwang tells where storms will hit the hardest.

 Californias homeless face misery when it rains. As another winter storm marches through the state, unsheltered people are bracing for the worst.

 Dramatic photos in the Chronicles archives show how the North Bay weathered the 1986 floods.

Faith in hard times

Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle

Delbra Taylor spent six years living out of her car near a Dennys in Oakland.

For years, the 70-year-old prayed she would find an apartment. Many homeless seniors like her lack the income to afford housing in the Bay Areas increasingly expensive cities.

When reporter Sarah Ravani first met Taylor during the pandemic, she was living in a federally sponsored trailer set up for seniors and medically vulnerable people. Now, the East Oakland native has the keys to a subsidized apartment, close to the church where she has attended services for nearly 60 years.

Read more from Ravani.

 Also: They grew up in Oakland. How did they end up unhoused?

What to eat

Elena Kadvany / The Chronicle

The taquero behind Mission District favorite Papalote has opened a brand-new snack shop. La Snackeria de la Mission, located just blocks away from Papalote, is takeout-only, dishing up ceviche, elotes and mangonadas.

Owner Victor Escobedo plans to host local Latinx chefs in the space to preserve the culinary cuisines brought to San Francisco by other immigrants.

If the Mission isnt that accessible, there are plenty of other eats around the Bay Area. Restaurant critic Soleil Ho has dozens of suggestions for readers in our Top Burritos guide.

Around the Bay

Philippe Newman

 The Bid: Can you guess how much this fixer-upper Peninsula cottage sold for in November?

 The vaccines arent failing: Current COVID vaccines should keep the pandemic from reverting back to the worst days of COVID. Heres what studies show about their effectiveness.

 Out with the old: Two East Bay refineries want to ditch crude oil for biofuels. Critics say there are better alternatives.

 Retail thefts: Where do stolen goods go when thieves try to sell them? The clues may lie in plain sight on eBay, Facebook and other websites.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

 From Justin Phillips: Its time to retire the defund the police slogan.

 Anne Rice: The best-selling author of vampire novels, who died Saturday, had deep ties to the Bay Area. Here are six things to know about that connection.

 Bad Reporter: Chronicle cartoonist Don Asmussen died last week after a years-long battle with brain cancer. Here is his obituary, in his own words.

 Rabbits, hamsters and mice, oh my: Animal shelters around the Bay Area are taking in an overwhelming surge of pocket pets. Theyre baffled why owners are abandoning them.

Madam vice president

Lexey Swall/Special to The Chronicle

Vice President Kamala Harris wants people to know she doesnt care about their opinions on her wired headphones.

Harris team says she has more important things to worry about than ridiculous headlines. On the eve of her first anniversary in office, she faces scrutiny over how she does the job, high-profile staff departures and hot-button issues including abortion and immigration policy.

The native East Bay resident and former California attorney general sat down with reporter Tal Kopan for a wide-ranging interview on her tenure so far as vice president.

 Plus: A peek into Kamala Harris West Wing office.

Bay Briefing is written by Gwendolyn Wu and sent to readers email inboxes on weekday mornings. Sign up for the newsletter here, and contact the writer at gwendolyn.wu@sfchronicle.com.
At eight months pregnant, sleeping on the floor of a tiny Oakland apartment was just too hard on Diatha Bell.

The recently arrived Haitian immigrant and her two daughters had endured much since August, when they bid goodbye to the rest of their family and left home in Chile  days without food, falls on rough terrain and a near drowning while walking between Colombia and Panama as they headed for the Texas border. Now, Bell had all kinds of pains. And she feared what sleeping on the floor meant for the health of her unborn child.

We decided to leave (the apartment) because there was nothing for us there, Bell said in Creole, translated by Laure Bottinelli of Partners in Health, a Boston health care nonprofit.

But Bell and her daughters, ages 9 and 11, had nowhere to go. Beyond the people in the apartment, they didnt know a soul in this new city, and their money ran out a long time ago.

Recently arrived immigrants who end up homeless and penniless are often invisible.

Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle

While Oakland has more than half of Alameda Countys homeless population, the official count does not indicate how many are immigrants. The data is simply not collected, said Katie Haverly of EveryOne Home, the organization that oversees Alameda Countys homeless count.

Yet Bells predicament is not uncommon, said Aron Oqubamichael of the community organization Black Alliance for Just Immigration. Just last week I received a message about a (homeless) Haitian family in Oakland, Oqubamichael said. They have problems with everything  housing, food and education.

If the homeless safety net is already frayed, it is in tatters for those who have recently crossed the border and are undocumented or seeking asylum. They dont qualify for Section 8 housing grants, CalFresh or any cash assistance. Families like Bells, who risk their lives to make it to one of the richest countries in the world, find themselves in a new humanitarian crisis.

As she prepared to leave the crowded Oakland apartment, Bell called a volunteer at a local food pantry and explained her situation. It was a long shot, but maybe he could help her.

The familys life changed one day in 2016 when eight men burst into their home in Haiti, held them at gunpoint and took every cent Bell had made selling oranges.

Fearing they would become regular targets of this local gang, Bell and her husband left for Chile, a country Haitians could enter without visas. But without a work visa, they struggled to provide for their family. Then, over the summer, after life in Haiti became more untenable because of the assassination of the president, natural disasters and increased gang violence, rumors spread that Haitians could find work in the United States. Many headed to the southern U.S. border.

The family had only enough money for Bell and her daughters to make the costly trip north from Chile. The plan was for Bells husband and son to follow once theyd saved some more. So, in early August, Bell left Santiago with her two girls.

The journey from Chile took six weeks, crossing through 10 countries mostly by bus. But once their caravan dropped them off at the notorious Darien Gap, a 60-mile stretch of untamed rain forest separating North and South America, thats when the real peril began. Bells 11-year-old daughter, Guelandia, recounted the difficulties of navigating thick jungles and muddy hillsides on foot.

There was mud, it rained, and the path was  tiny, she said in Spanish.

Guelandia said they had to walk along the edge of precipitous cliffs, cross gushing rivers and guard against gangs who preyed on migrants like them. Her pregnant mother fell many times. Guelandia often felt like crying but didnt.

Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle

We had to be strong to make it through, she said.

Somewhere before Panama, Bells 9-year-old daughter, Mara, and another child in the group were swept away in a harsh river current. Mara had learned to swim in Chile and was able to cling to a rock until the migrants could form a human chain and rescue her. The other child drowned, Bell said.

When the family reached the Texas border in mid-September, it joined an unfolding crisis. About 15,000 other migrants had arrived at the same point, to Del Rio, Texas, where armed agents kept them pinned in a makeshift camp just past the river that separates the U.S. from Mexico.

There were many, many Haitians, Bell recalled. The place (was) packed.

She and her daughters found a spot under the Del Rio bridge, where Bell said they stayed for one week without food or water. After days of complaining that her belly hurt, Bell said she and her daughters were finally permitted into Texas on Sept. 23. She said authorities handed her a notice to report to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office within 60 days and put her family on a bus that dropped them at a taxi stand in Del Rio. From there the family was on its own.

Without commenting on this case, a Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said most asylum seekers who arrive at the border are detained until an asylum officer can adjudicate their claims.

Before getting on the bus, Bell called the one contact she had in the U.S.  the uncle of a cousin in Oakland. He paid for the family to fly to the Bay Area from Texas, and it was his floor that Bell and her daughters ended up sleeping on.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Weeks passed until Bell was able to see a doctor. Finally, in October, doctors at Oaklands Highland Hospital determined she had a high-risk pregnancy, she said, and told her to come back every few days for monitoring. While grateful for the medical care, she was unsure if she would soon get a big bill. Next, Bell went in search of housing.

She found her way to the Emeryville Citizens Assistance Program, where volunteer Mary Maultsby-Jeffrey conducted an intake interview. Maultsby-Jeffrey tried to connect the family with resources by calling Alameda County Social Services Agency, local community organizations, even the countys 211 hotline, but kept coming up short.

I thought it would be a lot easier, Maultsby-Jeffrey said, adding that 211 was not helpful at all.

Its a problem that Oqubamichael of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration knows well. Whenever an asylum seeker comes to our office, we have to tell them  there is no means to support asylum seekers, no programs, he said.

Finding housing for this population is next to impossible, he added.

It is not easy to rent a house because every landlord asks (migrants) for meaningful income to support them to pay the rent, Oqubamichael said. They are left in limbo.

While Bell and her family might qualify for federal resettlement assistance, so far no one has been able to help her figure out how to access these services. Meanwhile, her husband and 4-year-old son, who began the journey a few weeks later, made it to Mexico but havent been allowed to cross into California. So Bell and her daughters are navigating their to-do list solo.

In addition to securing stable housing and enrolling the girls in school, Bell is hoping to find an attorney before her first immigration court date in February. With government resources so far inaccessible, shes had to depend on the kindness of strangers to keep her and the girls from sleeping in a park.

The food pantry volunteer quickly pooled some money from his friends and booked an Airbnb in Oakland for the family for nine nights. He also helped them set up a GoFundMe that has raised almost $10,000  money that Bell is hoping she can stretch to cover rent, living costs and any medical bills in one of the nations least affordable regions.

Mara and Guelandia are eager to start school, and the Oakland Unified School District has programs directed at youth without stable addresses and those who are here seeking asylum. The last time the girls were in a classroom was before the pandemic. Yet Bell isnt worried. Her daughters are smart, she said, and after all they have been through, public school will be a breeze.

San Francisco Chronicle reporter Kevin Fagan contributed to this report.

Deepa Fernandes is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: deepa.fernandes@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @deepafern
Frederic Larson/San Francisco Chronicle

I have to admit that when I read cookbooks, I often skip over the pantry section, the part that outlines of all the things youll probably need to cook the recipes. With perhaps just a bit of cheffy arrogance, I assume that I have everything, so I rarely think about what goes into writing that part of a book. But a conversation with Los Angeles chef Diep Tran changed my mind: She told me that the process of developing the Red Boat Fish Sauce Cookbook pantry section with her partner, the writer Tien Nguyen, and Red Boat founder Cuong Pham, was a constant struggle over what terms to explain and what to leave as-is. Intrigued, I decided to ask Tran and Nguyen to talk to me about the process and just why the pantry section is the soul of a cookbook.

It was Tran who thought up the idea of a cookbook for Red Boat, the Hayward-based fish sauce company that she develops recipes for, on the occasion of the companys 10th anniversary. In it, she fits the fish sauce and other products, like fish sauce salt, into recipes for American holiday turkey, pasta marinara and bitter melon soup. From the get-go, she and Nguyen set out to make a book that was intentional about the way it handled its material: Rather than acting as tour guides who assume their readers know nothing about Vietnamese food, Tran said, they decided to write like your auntie whos teaching you how to make your favorite dishes. It may seem like a subtle difference, but its apparent in the pantry section.
Several San Francisco locations of Burger King were hit with a $1.9 million citation from Californias Labor Commissioners Office in 2020 over wage theft. Now a year later, workers have come forward to say theyre still waiting for that money, according to a nonprofit that helped organize the former staffers.

The citation accuses the franchisee Golden Gate Restaurant Group of not paying minimum wage, not paying overtime and not allowing meal and rest breaks, among other violations. It impacts more than 230 people who worked at five San Francisco Burger Kings from 2016 to 2019.

Separately, San Franciscos Office of Labor Standards Enforcement determined that Golden Gate failed to make required health care payments on behalf of 235 employees from 2016 to 2018. The city and Golden Gate settled for more than $800,000 in 2020.

Trabajadores Unidos Workers United and Legal Aid at Work, two nonprofits working with the former Burger King employees, are now making the fight public after learning that Golden Gate has sold or closed all of their Bay Area Burger King locations. Owner Monu Singh did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the Labor Commissioners Office hasnt scheduled a hearing yet for the case.

Workers have yet to see any of the $1.9 million citation because Golden Gate filed an appeal against the decision. The health care settlements payment plan is so gradual that workers havent seen much of the $800,000, either  the final payment for that isnt due until 2031.

Adriana Rendon, who worked as a cook at one of the Golden Gate-operated Burger Kings for seven years until 2018, described a stressful environment without paid breaks.

Because there was so little personnel on the site, I had to be working in the front also delivering food to customers, she said through an interpreter. We were practically working two to three positions.

She cried when she recalled not being able to take a sick day when her daughter felt ill. At the last minute, she had to find a babysitter. Without health insurance, she would have had to pay out of pocket on minimum wage if she wanted to bring her daughter to a doctor.

Kim Ouilette, an attorney at Legal Aid at Work, said its common for fast-food franchises to disregard labor laws and shut down operations in an attempt to evade paying citations  though its unclear if that happened with Golden Gates Burger King locations.

When workers are brave enough to speak up and enforce their rights, these corporations try to shift assets or even go out of business entirely to avoid liability, and then open up under a new name, Ouilette said in a statement.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

In the past several years, local nonprofits have helped workers in wage theft cases against Yank Sing, Burma Superstar, Gordo Taqueria and other Bay Area restaurants. Most recently, famed Chinatown spot Z & Y Restaurant settled a wage theft case for $1.61 million. An Economic Policy Institute study in 2017 found that 17% of low-wage workers in the 10 most populous states are paid less than minimum wage.

Since leaving Burger King, Rendon said shes held multiple jobs where the employers respected her rights. Shes hoping to put future money from the Golden Gate Restaurant Group toward a bigger apartment. She currently rents a one-bedroom space for herself and her two children.

Living here in San Francisco is very expensive. Not only do you need to put down a deposit but you also need at least two months of rent ready, she said. This would be really impactful for me and my kids.

Janelle Bitker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: janelle.bitker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @janellebitker
With coronavirus cases exploding statewide during the omicron variant surge, California health officials announced Wednesday they are extending the states universal indoor mask mandate for an additional month, through Feb. 15.

The state reimposed indoor masking rules in public spaces for everyone regardless of vaccination status on Dec. 15. At that time, officials said the rule would last until at least Jan. 15.

But Department of Public Health officials at the time said that California will make further recommendations as needed in response to the pandemic, and with omicron fueling a record spike in coronavirus cases, the state on Wednesday opted to extend the requirement further.

Heres what you need to know:

What are the dates of the new mask mandate?

It began Wednesday, Dec. 15, and now lasts until at least Tuesday, Feb. 15. As far as metrics to lift the mandate, health secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said, Were looking at where we are with our hospital system. Were looking to see if that pressure is going to continue.

What are the requirements?

Officials have announced these rules:

 All people must wear masks in public settings in California, regardless of vaccination status.

 The state requires people attending mega-events attended by 1,000 or more that dont require COVID-19 vaccination to show proof of a negative test taken within one day for an antigen test, and within two days for a PCR test. Previously, the window was 72 hours.

 The state recommends that travelers returning to California get tested for the coronavirus three to five days after arrival.

Are there any exceptions in the Bay Area?

No. All nine Bay Area counties are fully aligned with Californias indoor mask mandate.

Before the state reinstated the rule in December, some Bay Area counties had been allowing people in offices and gyms where everyone is fully vaccinated to go maskless. San Francisco, Sonoma, Alameda and Marin county officials negotiated with the state and received permission to preserve those exemptions.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

But in late December, with data showing omicron was infecting vaccinated people in significant numbers, those counties revoked those exemptions. The rules took effect Dec. 30.

Do I have to wear a certain kind of face covering?

While state rules still allow cloth masks, health officials have been discouraging them in favor of surgical masks or even more protective respirators like N95 and KN95 masks.

I think its really important that we continue to talk about quality of masks so that the public can make a decision, Ghaly said Wednesday. That when they reach for a mask, they dont reach for the old cloth one theyve been using for months.

He said parents should pay attention to those guidelines for their children.

I would urge all parents who have the capability to get their kids into a better mask to do so, Ghaly said. Kids have become accustomed to wearing masks at school. By upgrading their mask, were doing them a favor.

Chronicle staff writers Catherine Ho and Aidin Vaziri contributed to this report.

Kellie Hwang is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kellie.hwang@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KellieHwang
Cases of the highly contagious omicron coronavirus variant have risen to 24 in California nearly two weeks after it was first discovered in San Francisco, but health officials immediate concern remains a winter COVID-19 surge from the delta variant. Experts hope that progress in vaccinations and treatment will keep the case curve flatter than the previous two surges, resulting in fewer hospitalizations and deaths.

Resources on COVID-19 in California: For detailed maps and city-by-city Bay Area data, check out The Chronicles Coronavirus Tracker.

Latest updates:

No more mask-free offices or gyms: The state indoor mask mandate that takes effect Wednesday will override Bay Area mask exemptions. That means that people in offices and gyms in San Francisco, Marin and all other Bay Area jurisdictions must mask up again, local officials said  even if everyone is vaccinated.

California to reimpose statewide indoor mask mandate as omicron arrives: California will reimpose indoor mask mandates in public settings for all residents, regardless of vaccination status, starting Wednesday until Jan. 15, Health and Human Services Sec. Dr. Mark Ghaly announced Monday. Read the full story here.

NBA halts Chicago Bulls season due to COVID-19 outbreak: The Chicago Bulls next two games against the Detroit Pistons and the Toronto Raptors have been postponed after a COVID-19 outbreak on the team. Ten players and additional staff members are in the NBAs health and safety protocols.

S.F. closes some vaccination and testing sites due to rain: Citing inclement wet weather, the citys public health department suspended operations at a handful of city-run vaccination and coronavirus testing sites on Monday: the Alemany Farmers Market, Bayview Opera House, 20 Norton in the Excelsior, and Unidos en Salud.

Risk from omicron  very high,  says WHO: Omicron will overtake the delta variant of the coronavirus in areas where community spread happens, according to a technical brief published by the World Health Organization, yet there are still many unknowns about the mutation. The report also said that available vaccines appear to be less effective against it. The overall risk related to the new variant of concern ... remains very high for a number of reasons, the technical brief said. First, the global risk of COVID-19 remains very high overall, and second, preliminary evidence suggests potential humoral immune escape against infection and high transmission rates, which could lead to further surges with severe consequences.

UK records first omicron death: The United Kingdom has confirmed the first known death from the omicron variant of the coronavirus, the BBC reported Monday. It is not known if the person was vaccinated but health officials said the variant is also driving up hospitalizations in the country at an alarming rate. What we now know about omicron is that its spreading at a phenomenal rate, something that weve never seen before, its doubling every two to three days in infections, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said. He added that the variant now accounts for 20% of all cases in the country, and 44% in London. We expect it to become the dominant COVID-19 variant in the capital in the next 48 hours, Javid said.

Marin offers rapid tests for all school children for holiday break: Each student and school staff member will receive a two-test kit, with one to be used upon return to school and the other if and when the student, staffer or a family member has symptoms, the Marin Independent Journal reported. Marin has already been focused on learning results from rapid tests, which are generally taken at home, so that officials can keep better tabs on case numbers.

Washington D.C. reports four confirmed omicron cases: Health officials on Sunday confirmed four unrelated cases of the omicron variant of COVID-19 in the District. Three of the cases were in women who traveled domestically over the Thanksgiving weekend, and the fourth in a man with no known travel history. All the patients were fully vaccinated, but their booster status is unknown.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

How the pandemic changed Californias energy-use habits, county by county: Electricity consumption in California has been on a downward trend in recent years, especially during the pandemic as businesses and factories shut down. In contrast, residential electricity use increased in nearly every California county during the pandemic. Read the full story here.

Russia retreats from COVID bill creating restrictions for the unvaccinated: Russian officials said Monday that the countrys legislature was withdrawing a bill that would have restricted access to public spaces, including flights and trains, for people who remain unvaccinated, the Associated Press reported. The bill had engendered outrage among many in Russia, which is struggling to get people vaccinated. Less than 50% of the nations 146 million people have been fully vaccinated to date.

Omicron tidal wave coming, British prime minister says: Everyone in England over age 18 will be offered COVID-19 vaccine booster shots starting this week, accelerating the original target for the end of January, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Sunday. Online appointments had previously been limited to people 30 and older, the BBC reported. No one should be in any doubt, there is a tidal wave of omicron coming, Johnson said in a televised statement. The update came hours after the United Kingdoms COVID alert level was raised to 4, indicating a high or rising level of transmission, due to the spread of omicron. The U.K. has not been at that level since May. Im afraid were now facing an emergency in our battle with the new variant omicron, Johnson said.

What we know so far about vaccines vs. omicron: Less than three weeks after omicron was identified and given a name, scientists already have the first evidence that the highly mutated coronavirus variant may be better than any of its predecessors at evading immunity from vaccines or previous infection. Early laboratory studies from around the world show a potentially dramatic drop in the bodys frontline antibody response to the variant among people who are fully vaccinated or previously infected. That finding, translated to real-world experience, could mean people will be more likely to get breakthrough infections with omicron than with delta or other variants. Read the full story.

Anna Buchmann is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: anna.buchmann@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @AnnaBGedit
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP)  More health care workers arrived in New Hampshire this weekend to help relieve pressure at a hospital with an overwhelmed intensive care unit.

WMUR-TV reports that about two dozen health care workers arrived at Elliot Hospital in Manchester Saturday and began helping shortly after. They're from the National Disaster Medical System, with the work funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP)  North Macedonias ruling Social Democrats have elected Dimitar Kovachevski as their party's new leader and he is set to take over as prime minister if a coalition agreement remains intact.

Kovachevski takes over as party leader from Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, who relinquished the party post in the wake of a heavy defeat in mayoral and local government elections in late October.

Zaev, who served as party leader since 2013 and prime minister since 2016, has promised to resign as head of the government in the coming weeks. He had to renegotiate a coalition agreement with parties from the countrys ethnic Albanian minority to avoid a snap general election.

Kovachevski, 47, served as a deputy finance minister under Zaev. Party members overwhelmingly voted Sunday to approve him as the new leaders of the Social Democrats.

We must restore unity in the party and build policies based on social democratic values, Kovachevski told supporters. A fair chance must be given to everyone with professional ability. We must open up and seek new staff from both at home and abroad to build a new mentality in the management of the party and (state) institutions.

Opposition leader Hristijan Mickoski was re-elected as head of the conservative VMRO-DPMNE, in an election also held Sunday. The party is pressing for an early parliamentary election.

Zaev secured North Macedonias membership in NATO after ending a decades-old dispute with Greece over the countrys name but has been unable to advance ambitions to join the European Union, largely due to a historical dispute with another EU neighbor, Bulgaria.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Economic growth this year is expected to cancel losses from a pandemic-induced recession in 2020, but unemployment remains high at nearly 16% and North Macedonia has one of the highest rates of death per capita in the world due to COVID-19.

Parliamentary elections are not scheduled until 2024.
Regarding Dont believe RFK Jr.s conspiracy theories (Letters, Dec. 10): Thank you for publishing Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s insightful commentary.

A letter in response disparages RFK Jr. with the conversation-stopping, thought-arresting term conspiracy theory, inimical to critical inquiry.

Abundant evidence corroborates the assertion that Sirhan Sirhans bullets did not kill Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, including Lisa Peases meticulously documented book, A Lie Too Big to Fail: The Real History of the Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.

Whose interests were served by extinguishing this popular, principled presidential candidate?

As to RFK Jr.s lifelong public interest advocacy, the left praised him back when he took on Monsanto and other corporations that pollute rivers and the food supply.

Oddly enough, once he started challenging abuses by pharmaceutical giants, hes dismissed as an anti-vaxxer (another conversation-stopping, thought-arresting term).

His core values havent changed, as his well-referenced 2021 book The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health demonstrates. Big Pharma is simply doing a better job of indoctrinating otherwise intelligent social justice promoters.

Marilyn Langlois, Richmond

End domestic violence

Regarding The crime we arent talking about (Open Forum, Dec. 10): The essay by Melissa Doiron-Min on domestic violence was gut-wrenching and appalling.

This long-standing and seldom acknowledged epidemic should be at the front end of conversation concerning violence in the U.S. and around the world.

The vast amount of the abuse of women and children is committed by men who use their physical capacity and social dominance to control womens lives so abusively.

It is not surprising that this power is asserted in the control of womens reproductive lives as well. Men, who have collectively never had to experience even one second of pregnancy, are always at the forefront of creating laws and social norms depriving womans reproductive agency.

Millions of women have suffered or died over the years as a result of unsafe illegal abortions or from the experience of pregnancy itself. Millions of other women have anguished over having their reproductive choices determined by the society or the men in their lives.

Recent laws in Texas and other states can be characterized in one way that clarifies the role of male violence in womens lives: They in effect protect the paternity rights of men who rape women into pregnancy. Disgusting.

John Stedman, San Francisco

Parklets need rules

Regarding Bureaucracy may kill popular parklets (Front Page, Dec. 8): Im a big fan of outdoor cafes and love the idea of parklets.

However, many parklets are violating Americans with Disabilities Act standards and making access difficult or impossible for people with disabilities, both inside and around them.

Disabilities werent suspended for the pandemic.

Furthermore, many parklets dont seem well-ventilated, especially when plastic siding meets wooden roof without any space between them, as is often the case. That makes utilizing parklets more risky than eating indoors, where there are at least some ventilation standards.

Regulation of restaurant parklets is needed for ventilation and for accessibility.
THOR, Iowa (AP)  The small north-central Iowa town of Thor took a hit last week when two buildings along its main street were gutted by fire.

The fire was discovered late Friday night, first in Thors old Humboldt Trust and Savings Bank building, T he Messenger reported. Soon, the entire building and the vacant building next to it were engulfed in flames.
BOSTON (AP)  Republican Gov. Charlie Baker signed a $4 billion COVID-19 relief bill Monday that targets money from the states portion of the American Rescue Plan Act as well as surplus funds from Fiscal Year 2021 to help with the states ongoing economic recovery from the pandemic.

The bill makes investments in housing and homeownership, health care, workforce development, premium pay for essential workers, and infrastructure. Supporters of the legislation say it directs investments to communities disproportionately harmed by the pandemic.

The pandemic has had a significant impact on Massachusetts workers, families, communities, and businesses for nearly two years, and todays signing directs billions of dollars in relief toward those hardest hit across the Commonwealth, Baker said in a written statement.

While this package falls far short of the investment I called for to address the housing shortage, the important investments included in this bill will help to accelerate Massachusetts economic recovery and provide long-lasting benefits to infrastructure, healthcare, education systems, and small businesses, he added.

Baker announced earlier this month he wont seek a third term as governor, saying the decision frees his administration to focus on the pandemic response.

Highlights of the new law include: $150 million for housing for a range of groups, including seniors and veterans; $400 million for addiction treatment and related behavioral health services; $500 million for premium pay for low-income essential workers; and $100 million for grants for water and sewer infrastructure improvements.

Other spending priorities are: $135 million to support cultural facilities and tourism; $260 million for fiscally stressed hospitals; and $75 million for grants to small businesses. Of those grants, $50 million will go to businesses reaching underserved markets and minority, women, and veteran owned businesses.

Baker vetoed a section of the legislation he said would create administrative obstacles for the distribution of payments, including a requirement to consult first with a 28-member advisory panel. Vetoing this section allows the administration to immediately start the process of distributing funds, according to Baker.

The federal aid is intended to support urgent COVID-19 response efforts, replace lost revenue, support immediate economic stabilization for households and businesses, and address unequal public health and economic challenges.

Earlier this year, lawmakers transferred the states allocation of federal relief funds into a separate state fund. The Legislature then held a series of public hearings before deciding how best to spend the billions.

They sent the bill to Baker earlier this month recommending how the money should be spent.

After accounting for spending in the new law and earlier spending commitments, about $2.3 billion of coronavirus fiscal recovery funds will remain to be further appropriated, according to the administration.
TIRANA, Albania (AP)  Albanias former chief prosecutor has been arrested in Italy following his conviction for hiding money from illegally owned properties, police reported Monday.

Ex-prosecutor general Adriatik Llalla, 52, left Albania after a court sentenced him to two years in prison for hiding property and giving false information on the asset declarations Albanian officials must submit every year.

A statement from Albanian police said that following communication between the Interpol offices of Albania and Italy, Lllalla's whereabouts and arrest was made possible, a move which aims at extraditing him to our country.

The statement did not say where in Italy Llalla was arrested.

After the court issued its verdict last month, Llallas lawyer had asked for the sentence to be suspended for health reasons. The request was denied, and an international arrest warrant was issued.

Llalla resigned from his role as Albanias most senior prosecutor in December 2017.

In 2018, prosecutors sequestered Llallas apartment in the capital, Tirana, and just over two hectares (5.4 acres) of land belonging to him. The properties had a total value of more than 98 million leks (some $900,000) at the time, according to prosecutors.

Llalla could not account for the money behind his buying and selling the land and his purchase of an apartment, Albanian prosecutors said. He also failed to justify his familys expenses in the United States and Germany, they said.

Llalla was the first high-ranking person to be sentenced by newly formed judicial institutions that were established to address corruption in Albania.

Fighting corruption has been post-communist Albanias Achilles heel, strongly affecting the countrys democratic, economic and social development.

In 2018, the United States barred Llalla from entering the country because of alleged corruption.

His conviction barred him from holding any public post for five years.

___

Follow Llazar Semini at https://twitter.com/lsemini
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Alert: Settlement: Insurer for Boy Scouts of America would contribute $800 million into fund for victims of child sexual abuse
Jacki King, the womens minister at Second Baptist Church in Conway, Arkansas, first felt a call to ministry as a college student.

She decided to follow it, giving up her pre-med major and her spot on a college softball team for ministry training at a small Bible school with a mostly male student body. She picked Criswell College because it was where her pastor was a dean. She wanted to teach the Bible the way he did.

King thought at the time she only had two options for ministry  marrying a pastor or serving as an overseas missionary.

I really didnt want to be married to a lead pastor, she said.

But God, as the saying goes, had other plans.

She met Josh King, an aspiring preacher at Criswell, fell in love and married him. They went into ministry together with his pastor role opening doors for her. Today, King is an author as well as a Bible teacher, and worries that too much of the conversation about womens roles in the church is focused on what they cannot do  namely, serve as senior pastor in a Southern Baptist church  rather than what they can do.

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This story is part of a series by The Associated Press and Religion News Service on womens roles in male-led religions.

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The Bible shows women and men as partners and portrays women leading in the early church, King said, pointing to Phoebe, who is mentioned in the New Testament book of Romans, along with other women leaders.

Women are part of the Great Commission, she said, a reference to Jesus command to spread his teaching around the world.

Few congregations could function without the work of female members. Still, there is tension in the Southern Baptist Convention over the role of women, mainly over how to put a section of the denominations statement of faith, known as the Baptist Faith and Message, into practice. That section, based on the SBCs interpretation of Bible verses like 1 Timothy 2:12 and Titus 1:5-9, deals with leadership in churches.

While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture, the statement reads. But local Southern Baptist churches, because they are governed autonomously, are free to decide how to implement that teaching.

For some in the nations largest Protestant denomination, the statement of faith means the senior pastor must be a man, but staff and other pastoral roles can be filled by women, including teaching the Bible to both men and women. For others, pastoral duties, especially preaching, are limited to men, and women are only allowed to teach the Bible to other women and children.

These two views clashed in spring 2019, when Beth Moore, then a beloved Southern Baptist womens Bible teacher, tweeted about speaking at a Mothers Day church service. It led to a social media firestorm and renewed criticism of women preachers and teachers from more conservative Southern Baptists. In the spring of 2021, Moore left the SBC, citing a number of concerns, including how the denomination has handled sexual abuse allegations, as well as sexism and racism within its ranks.

At the end of the day, there comes a time when you have to say, this is not who I am, she told Religion News Service at the time.

This ongoing fight has left some women leaders who feel called to ministry in a bind.

Until we stop debating or demanding an ever-narrowing conformity, we will continue to circle a revolving door of unnecessary controversy, said Katie McCoy, a womens ministry director for a state convention and former seminary professor, in an email.

Jacqueline Scott, a member of Dorrisville Baptist Church in Harrisburg, Illinois, and womens Bible study teacher, said being a leader is a natural outgrowth of her faith, and she has always felt called to encourage people to reach their potential.

Ive realized that being a leader is just something that is almost ingrained, she said. You dont even realize that youre doing it.

Scott believes her faith frees her from some of the limitations society puts on her gender. But she said Christians put up boundaries too, restricting what people can do for God and how they share the Gospel  forgetting everyone has a place in the churchs mission.

Still, Scott believes the Bible limits the role of pastor to men and she thinks they are better suited for that role. On the other hand, do I believe that women can be preachers? she said. Yes, I do.

In 2019, King, McCoy and other faithful Southern Baptists launched the SBC Womens Leadership Network to foster female leaders across the evangelical denomination.

I get to have tons of conversations with women across our convention about  how theyre serving and how their creativity and resilience is changing communities and schools and churches, King said. None of that is platformed. None of that is shared to the world.

King pointed to the examples of Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong, legendary missionaries in Southern Baptist life. Two of the largest denomination-wide offerings are named after the women.

Leadership is more than high-profile ministries, McCoy said. It can look like women hosting college students for the holidays, mentoring young moms and organizing community service projects, she said.

Leadership is influence, not necessarily position, McCoy said.

Called to ministry at 22, McCoy, who holds a doctorate in systematic theology, said her parents, professors and peers encouraged her to pursue leadership in Baptist life. Today, she is the new womens ministry director for Texas Baptists, recently making the jump from an SBC seminary to the state convention.

Texas Baptist churches seemed to have worked out how to cooperate despite their differences over the role of women, and they do it without the controversy  or perennial acrimony  the SBC experiences, McCoy said. It is a local church matter and not a test issue for joining the state convention, she said.

Many of our 5,300 churches are just as conservative as the SBC, affirming the same confessional documents, McCoy said, adding that others allow women to preach or teach, but limit pastor and elder positions to men.

When McCoy previously worked at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, she said she felt valued by the administration and supported by President Adam Greenway but felt limited as an employee of an SBC seminary.

I felt that, as a woman, I couldnt grow beyond where I was, McCoy said.

Despite her credentials, McCoy knew teaching in the School of Theology wasnt an option. It would be, she said, at best, fodder for the next alarmist documentary, and at worst, a call for investigations and resignations at the SBCs national gathering.

If the SBC ever looks around and realizes it has lost a generation of women leaders, it wont be because those women drifted into liberalism. It will be because theyre exhausted, she said.

Instead, McCoy was named an assistant professor of applied theology and womens studies, but in the School of Educational Ministries, which prepares students for church ministry more practically. She doesnt fault Greenway.

I do, however, fault a religious culture that so caters to its fundamentalist fringe that it views women teaching theology courses as a more imminent threat to its doctrinal purity than decades of infighting and rancor, McCoy said.

Ashley Allen, a womens ministry professor and the director of news and information at Southwestern seminary, does not feel restricted by the denominations beliefs.

I abide by what Scripture says, Allen said. But at the same time, Scripture provides opportunities for me as a woman.

In college, Allen knew she was being called to a Christian vocation, but she refined that calling through the example and guidance of the ladies at her church  many of whom didnt carry a title.

They were what I define leadership to be now, which is influencing, Allen said. When you are influencing somebody else, youre leading them  good or bad.

Men, including a seminary dean, a professor and a state convention leader, also championed Allen along her career path. Allen said they invested in her, ran interference and recommended her for different positions.

Today Allen is doing the influencing, and she would like to see more women in Southern Baptist life fostering leadership among their peers in whatever it may be, but really coming alongside those ladies and giving them opportunities to be able to serve and to use their gifts.

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through The Conversation U.S. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
CANBERRA, Australia (AP)  Australia and South Korea signed a $720 million defense deal Monday as South Korean President Moon Jae-in became the first foreign leader to visit Australia since the pandemic began.

Worth about $1 billion in Australian dollars, the deal will see South Korean defense company Hanwha provide the Australian army with artillery weapons, supply vehicles and radars.

Moon also confirmed South Korea isnt considering joining the U.S.-led diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, and said North Korea was holding up efforts to declare a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War.

The defense contract is the largest struck between Australia and an Asian nation, and comes at a time of heightened tensions between Australia and China. Australia recently announced a deal to build nuclear-powered submarines in a partnership with the U.S. and Britain  a move that China has strongly condemned.

Moon met with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison during his visit, and the two leaders agreed to upgrade the formal ties between their nations to a comprehensive strategic partnership."

The leaders also said they would work together on developing clean energy technologies, including hydrogen, and on facilitating the supply of critical minerals, which Australia has in abundance.

Morrison said the new defense contract would create about 300 jobs in Australia, where a division of Hanwha operates.

The contract that we have signed today, I think, speaks volumes about what we believe are the capabilities of the Korean defense industry," Morrison said.

Moon said South Korea had similar values to Australia when it came to its geopolitical outlook, but also that its relationship with China was important, particularly when it came to pursuing peace with North Korea.

Therefore, South Korea is focused on the steadfast alliance with the U.S. and also with China," Moon said. We want a harmonized relationship.

Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton said his government was committed to keeping the region safe and the new contract would help modernize the Australian army.

The prime ability of the new vehicles is to fire and move quickly, avoiding enemy counterattack, Dutton said. This project will mean a significant increase in the level of firepower and security for Australian artillery capability.

South Korea is Australias fourth-largest trading partner and fourth-largest export market under a free trade agreement that has been in force since 2014. This year marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Moon said South Korea wasn't considering joining the boycott of the Winter Olympics and that Seoul hadnt received any requests from the U.S. to not send its officials. He said China had a crucial role in stabilizing peace and resolving the nuclear standoff with North Korea, which counts Beijing as its only major ally and economic lifeline.

Moon has called for a potential four-way declaration between the Koreas, the United States and China to formally end the Korean War, which stopped on an armistice and without a peace treaty, to help break a deadlock in nuclear talks with the North.

But he said Monday that North Korea was holding up that process because it was demanding an end to U.S. hostilities first.

And because of that, we are not able to sit down for a discussion, a negotiation, on the declarations between South and North Korea, and those between North Korea and United States, Moon said. And we hope that talks will be initiated. We are making efforts towards that.

South Korean officials had seen the Beijing Games as a potential stage for such a declaration, but the U.S.-led boycott seems to have dashed such hopes. Australia, Canada, and Britain have said they will join the diplomatic boycott of the games in protest of Chinas human rights record.

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin criticized Australia over its attempts to boost its defenses, at a daily briefing.

Wang accused Australia of trying to divert attention, draw ideological lines and set up imaginary enemies in the name of democracy and freedom.
BERLIN (AP)  A Nobel laureate in literature, Jewish students and other prominent figures in Austria want the country's new interior minister removed from office because of allegedly antisemitic comments he made during a regional election campaign more than a decade ago.

Gerhard Karner, who became interior minister a week ago when predecessor Karl Nehammer became Austria's new chancellor, said Monday that he regrets what he said and wouldn't say it now, but he rejected allegations of antisemitism.

According to a report in German news weekly Der Spiegel, the conservative Karner once accused Austria's center-left Social Democrats of working against the country with gentlemen from America and Israel, and described them as climate poisoners.

Der Spiegel quoted a spokesperson for the minister as saying Karner was referring to suspected dirty campaigning by an Israeli political adviser.

An open letter from a group that included Jewish students, academics, Nobel Prize-winning playwright Elfriede Jelinek and others expressed dismay at Karner's appointment.

The antisemitic dimension of this comment is obvious, the letter stated

We are convinced that this person is completely unsuited to the office of interior minister and call on the government to put our security in the hands of moderate politicians, the letter added.

Karner said in a statement that fighting antisemitism and every form of extremism has been a deeply personal concern of his for decades.

He said he has arranged a personal meeting with Austria's main Jewish leader, Oskar Deutsch, who had asked for him to clarify what he said over 13 years ago, when Karner was a regional official with the conservative Austrian Peoples Party..

If things I said then were understood ambiguously, I regret that, Karner said. The comments were never in any way intended to go in this direction, and I would not make them now.

Karner already faced criticism over a museum in the town of Texingtal, where he served as mayor in recent years, dedicated to Engelbert Dollfuss  an admirer of Italian fascism who became Austria's increasingly authoritarian leader from 1932 to 1934. Karner has said the museum will be reworked next year.
HOLDERNESS, N.H. (AP)  Navigating her boat toward a wooden platform floating in an idyllic New Hampshire lake where On Golden Pond" was filmed, biologist Tiffany Grade spotted what she had feared.

An olive brown loon's egg with black speckles was sitting on an nest, abandoned by its parents and with no chance to hatch. Gently scooping it up with gloved hands, Grade placed the egg in a zip lock bag and packed it into a cooler.

The egg was sent to a lab in Canada to test for chemicals including Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, that have been found in other Squam Lake loon eggs, the fish there and a tributary of the lake.

Grade is investigating the potential link between PCBs and population declines of the fish-eating birds known for their sharp beaks, black and white speckled backs, iridescent greenish heads and haunting calls.

These are chemical contaminants," said Grade, who works for the Loon Preservation Committee in New Hampshire. We dont know what the effects are but some of those eggs are at levels that have exceeded (those) known to cause health and reproductive problems in other bird species ... That is enough to make us worried and dig into it more.

The presence of PCBs on a lake in the shadow of the White Mountains demonstrates how these heat-resistant chemicals once used widely in electrical equipment and other industrial applications continue to pose a threat to wildlife more than four decades after being banned in the United States.

PCBs, a class of more than 200 chemicals used for almost 50 years, have been found in wildlife around the world, such as Icelandic killer whales, shorebirds along the Great Lakes and bottlenose dolphins along the East Coast and in the Mediterranean. Scientists have found they can make some animals more vulnerable to diseases including cancer and can disrupt growth, energy production and reproduction.

There is five decades of research showing that PCBs have had health impacts on both wildlife and humans, said Keith Grasman, a biology professor at Calvin University in Michigan who has studied pollutant impacts on birds in the Great Lakes and other places. While their concentrations in the environment have declined in many situations ... we still see issues with these legacy compounds.

In New York, researchers found chickadees and song sparrows that ate insects contaminated with PCBs along the Hudson River sounded a bit different than ones in uncontaminated areas in the Adirondacks. Cornell University researchers believe the PCBs interfere with development in part of the birds brain responsible for song and could have consequences for breeding.

PCBs continue to move up the food chain, with animals at the top often harboring the highest concentrations.

The Marine Mammal Center responds to 800 stranded marine mammals yearly along 600 miles (965 kilometers) of California coast. A 2020 study of stranded adult sea lions concluded that PCBs and DDT, which also was banned decades ago, are contributing to cancer rates as high as 23%.

That rate of cancer is mostly unprecedented in wildlife, said Cara Field, medical director of the center, adding that the disease caused a complete systemic breakdown in the animals and their blubber had much higher levels of PCBs than those without cancer.

Fish-eating birds, too, have suffered from exposure to PCBs.

In recent decades, studies at a Superfund site in Massachusetts, on islands in the New York harbor and at contaminated sites in the Great Lakes found significant levels of PCBs in common terns, endangered Roseate terns, Caspian terns, herring gulls and double-crested cormorants. Scientists found that PCBs, sometimes combined with other chemicals, suppressed the birds' immune system, increased infertility and reduced chick survival compared to unpolluted sites.

At Squam Lake  site for the 1981 movie starring Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn and now a tourist destination  Grade and colleagues at the Loon Preservation Committee, which has been working since 1975 to protect New Hampshire's loons, want to know why they are producing so few chicks.

The population crashed between 2004 and 2005  from 16 pairs to nine  and has been slow to recover. This year, there were only 14 pairs recorded on the lake, c ompared to 312 in other parts of the state. Only three chicks survived  still less than half the productivity of other New Hampshire lakes.

The committee, which began testing Squam Lake eggs in 2007, found PCBs and other contaminants were up to six times higher than eggs tested elsewhere in New Hampshire, Maine and New York. The nonprofit also found PCBs in a tributary emptying into the lake and in their crayfish, which led to a theory that PCB-laced oil used to control dust on dirt roads decades ago may have reached the waterways.

The loon egg contamination prompted the state to test the lake's smallmouth bass and yellow perch. And high PCBs levels led to a 2020 health advisory limiting the amounts of fish eaten by anglers.

"We would not have suspected that Squam Lake would have been a place in which this was a problem, said Ted Diers, administrator of the state's Watershed Management Bureau. There is no industry. It just opens up lots of questions that we truly can't answer at this point.

Loons, a threatened species in New Hampshire, face myriad challenges.

Shore-prowling predators such as raccoons raid their nests. Territorial disputes kill the birds. Ingesting lead fishing tackle poisons them. Their nest sites lose out to development. And a warming climate can overheat loons and flood their nests.

Researchers have also found PFAS fire retardants, the pesticide chlordane and other chemicals in loon eggs. But PCBs were in the greatest concentrations, although Grade says more work's needed to assess what's causing the bird's poor reproductive outcomes.

Contaminants aren't the only thing these loons are dealing with. They are dealing with a lot, she said. "That is not easy to separate. It is a lot easier if you are sitting a bird down in the lab and dosing it with contaminants and seeing what happens. That obviously is not what we are doing."

Anne Kuhn, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency scientist who has researched contaminants in wildlife, agreed it could be a challenge to tease out the impact of PCBs on Squam Lake loons.

Her own work found that mercury, often from coal-fired power plants, combined with shoreline development and human activities in New Hampshire lakes, were hurting loon populations. But mercury alone was not.

Similarly, said EPA research biologist Diane Nacci, it could be that PCBs and other chemicals working together are causing the problem

Any one stressor might not be enough to affect reproduction in loons but together that might be the straw that broke the camel's back, Nacci said.

For now, Grade collects abandoned eggs on Squam and other New Hampshire lakes and tests them for contaminants, searching for elusive answers that could help the loons survive. They are an absolutely charismatic birds," she said. Its hard to imagine any New Hampshire lake without loons.

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Follow Michael Casey on Twitter: @mcasey1
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP)  On a recent afternoon at Bismarck Public Schools Career Academy, students were grouped around electrical circuits and various motor vehicles as part of the districts career and technical education program.

Others completed classwork on their computers, while some donned welding helmets and watched sparks fly at work stations.

The career academy, housed on the Bismarck State College campus, has several floors of classrooms, computer labs and hands-on learning spaces, ranging from a mechanic shop to hospital rooms, for students looking to explore career and education options outside of a four-year degree.

About 2,000 students from BPS and other area schools are enrolled in the academy, and the number is projected to keep growing. That has prompted the school district to look to expand its career and technical education facilities and programs, and also the grades to which those programs are offered.

BPS has applied for a $10 million matching grant from the state of North Dakota to expand its career and technical education program in response to that increased interest and rising enrollment. The district is waiting on the results of the grant application process. The grant and subsequent matching funds from the district would go toward repurposing existing space at the Hughes Educational Center, which houses administration and the Life Education Program; an expansion at the Career Academy building; and a building in the Silver Ranch area.

The district would be required to provide matching funds for the grant and plans to use the Hughes buildings valuation of $14 million as its portion. The total cost of the expansion is estimated at about $15 million, with $5 million financed by district funds and private donations.

Technical education

The Career Academy and Technical Center has been headed by Dale Hoerauf for the past 12 years. He said that over the last 10 years or so, theres been a shift to promoting broader career and educational options for kids outside of a four-year university degree.

Students at the Career Academy have the option to take classes in aviation, welding, graphic design, health care or other fields. The classes provide more options for students, including those who might not do as well in a traditional classroom setting, Hoerauf said. Even if students dont pursue a career in a specific trade, theyve still learned valuable life skills, he said.

Bismarck High School junior Bailey Schmitt and Century High School senior Olivia Tomanek were working on the starter motor of a Toyota the afternoon of Nov. 19. The two said they typically partner up in their automotive tech class and that theyve enjoyed learning more about vehicles. Tomanek said she has always been interested in cars and was initially interested in taking the class in case she ever needed to perform some work on her vehicle.

Now Im learning so much more than I ever thought I would, she said.

Schmitt said she thought she wanted to go into construction when she started at the Career Academy, but after she started driving, she wanted to learn how to fix her car. She thinks she might become a mechanic in the future.

Students also can take their core classes such as English and science at the Career Academy through the learning lab. Those classes are personalized to each student, so a teacher comes up with individual lesson plans for a few dozen children, English teacher David St. Peter said. Math and science teacher Tammy Anderson said she has a student in the welding program, so shes trying to incorporate welding into his classwork.

Expansion plans

But the facility is running out of space.

The medical careers section was built too small initially; the program was an if you build it, they will come scenario, Hoerauf said. Interest in the health sciences has grown during the coronavirus pandemic. The health care classroom features a hospital-like setup with realistic dummies for students to practice on, but there are just six bedside settings.

Hoerauf in the future also wants to increase program offerings by adding HVAC -- heating, ventilation, and air conditioning -- electrician and dental assistant programs, which he says are in demand.

Enrollment in the districts career and technical education program increases about 11% annually, according to the district. The desire to expose students to these career pathways earlier also is driving the proposed expansion.

The extra space is not only needed for existing programs, but also to get middle school students involved. The current program is structured so that freshmen and sophomores can take exploratory courses to discover what paths they like. Juniors and seniors take more specialized classes, Hoerauf said.

Prairie Rose Elementary Principal Tabby Rabenberg wrote the application for the districts career and technical education grant, which is through a bill passed during the special legislative session last month. House Bill 1505 allocates federal coronavirus aid to school districts as grants to build career and technical education centers. Rabenberg also has helped spearhead the expansion into lower grades.

Bringing this to middle school is going to give students the opportunity to try out and learn more about a career that they might be interested in and find out if they love it or dont love it, and parents dont have to pay for it, she said.

Rabenberg said the Hughes expansion would also help with space constraints for middle schools, where enrollment is expected to exceed capacity by the 2025-26 school year. BPS also is building two elementary schools in north Bismarck to address a rising number of students.

The district also has plans to bring career and technical education to elementary students in the future. Rabenberg said the district received a separate $10,000 grant for a makerspace at Prairie Rose Elementary, which high school students at the Career Academy are helping to develop. A makerspace is a place to learn about the design process, and the goal is for students to learn how to improve upon their creations, Rabenberg said.

Were trying to create an alignment K-12 for career and technical education, she said.
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP)  Bulgarias parliament on Monday formally approved the countrys new centrist-led government in a bid to restore stability, tackle the coronavirus crisis and spur economic development in the poorest EU member country.

Lawmakers voted 134-104 to elect 41-year-old Kiril Petkov as prime minister.

In a separate vote, legislators also approved the Cabinet  a coalition between Petkovs anti-corruption We Continue The Change party (PP) and three other left-wing and center-right groups.

Together, the PP party, leftist Bulgarian Socialist Party, the anti-elite There Is Such A People party, and the liberal group Democratic Bulgaria, will control 134 seats in Bulgarias 240-seat parliament.

Petkov, a Harvard-educated entrepreneur who served as minister of economics in the previous caretaker Cabinet, announced that transparency in public spending, zero tolerance for corruption and reforms in the judiciary will be the keystones of his government program.

He also pledged to keep Bulgaria on a pro-European and pro-NATO track.

What we will govern is not our money, but that of all Bulgarian citizens, Petkov said, and urged legislators to give their support so that once and for all the country will have an effective judicial system.

Other priorities of the new government include tackling the demographic crisis, the rising cost of living and boosting the slow coronavirus vaccination rate.

The country of 7 million has one of the worlds fastest-shrinking populations, as well as the highest income inequality and the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rate in the 27-nation European Union.

I believe that after four years Bulgaria will be a different place, Petkov said after presenting the government program.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP)  Burundis government has signaled that it wont allow a recently appointed United Nations special rapporteur on human rights into the East African nation.

Foreign Minister Albert Shingiro last week told reporters, and separately told a meeting with diplomats, that Burundi would never allow the special rapporteur to investigate the country, which was rocked by deadly political violence and a crackdown on dissent around the 2015 national election.
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP)  Canadian political and military leaders delivered an apology to victims of military sexual misconduct on Monday.

Streamed online from National Defense Headquarters, the apology followed the federal governments $600-million Canadian ($468 million) settlement with tens of thousands of current and former Armed Forces members who experienced such behavior while serving.

It also came as Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus government and military leadership face questions and criticism over their perceived failure to address allegations of inappropriate  and criminal  sexual misconduct among some of the militarys top leaders.

Defense Minister Anita Anand led the 40-minute apology, which at one point was being watched by about 8,000 people, acknowledging successive governments failed to protect those who willingly signed up to protect Canada.

I apologize to the thousands of Canadians who were harmed because your government did not protect you, nor did we ensure that the right systems were in place to ensure justice and accountability, she said. For far too long, your government failed to dedicate enough time, money, personnel and effort to deal with sexual harassment, sexual assault and discrimination based on sex, gender identity and sexual orientation in the military and the department.

Anand, who took over as defense minister in October from Harjit Sajjan who was criticized for not doing more to address such behavior among top military officials, promised real action, saying: Things can change, they must change, and they will change.

While the minister went on to praise the dedication of Canadas current military and Defense Department leadership, she stopped short of providing any specific details on how real change will come.

Reservist Sam Samplonius, a survivor of military sexual assault who is co-chairperson of Its Not Just 700, a support and advocacy group for victims of military sexual assault and trauma, welcomed Mondays apology.

I was hoping that they would maybe broaden onto what things that theyre doing," she said. However, I also can understand how they really wanted to concentrate on the apology, part of that.

Samplonius said she and others are hoping the government and military leadership will provide an update, after many broken promises and missed opportunities in the past.

Trudeau underscored the importance of the moment while facing questions about why he wasnt delivering it himself.

There have been many discussions around the right way to move forward, and Im very pleased that the chief of defense staff and the minister are the ones making this apology," Trudeau said.
Jeffrey T. Barnes/AP

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP)  A car that was stuck partly submerged near the brink of Niagara Falls after a daring rescue attempt last week went over the falls this weekend and cannot be seen from the shore, state parks officials said Monday.

A U.S. Coast Guard swimmer who descended by a cable from a hovering helicopter pulled a woman from the car Wednesday. State park police said the woman, who did not survive, likely drove into the river on purpose.
BEIJING (AP)  China on Monday marked the 84th anniversary of the Nanking Massacre, in which hundreds of thousands of civilians and disarmed soldiers were killed by Japanese troops in and around the former Chinese capital.

A People's Liberation Army honor guard bearing large funeral wreaths marched slowly past a memorial showing the figure 300,000, China's official death toll in the events of December 1937, as solemn music played. Troops, students and 3,000 attendees then stood at rigid attention to observe a minute of silence.

Addressing the gathering, Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan said they had came together to learn from history and open up a new chapter of our future.

The ceremony aimed to showcase our lofty commitment to a peaceful development path, said Sun, the only woman on the ruling Communist Party's 25-member Politburo.

In 2014, Chinas top legislature designated Dec. 13 as national day of remembrance for massacre victims. Survivors, just 61 of whom are still living, were among those observing the date.

The website of the official Xinhua News Agency appeared in black and white to mark the occasion, while popular online shopping and social media sites such as Taobao and WeChat displayed black backgrounds.

China frequently criticizes Japan for not showing sufficient contrition for the brutality of its expansionist campaign that swept across Asia during the first half of the 20th century. The ruling party has often allowed anti-Japanese sentiment to build domestically to shore up its legacy as a defender of Chinas sovereignty and national dignity.

In 1937 and throughout World War II, the Communists were based at Yan'an in northern China, far from the front lines, while most of the fighting and dying was done by Chiang Kaishek's Nationalist forces backed by the U.S.

This years commemoration comes at a time when relations with Japan are generally stable and criticisms have been muted, despite a major downturn in Chinas relations with Tokyo's key ally, the United States.

A 1946 international postwar tribunal concluded at least 200,000 civilians were killed by Japanese troops in a weekslong frenzy of murder, rape, looting and arson after Nanking  Chinas capital at the time  fell on Dec. 13, 1937, after bitter street fighting in Shanghai. The city's name is now spelled Nanjing under the pinyin romanization system.

Some right-wing Japanese politicians have downplayed the death toll or denied outright that the Nanking atrocity happened.

Increasingly, it is China that has raised alarms in Asia with its more assertive military and diplomatic posture, particularly over territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas, along with its growing military harassment of Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy it claims as its own territory.
BEIJING (AP)  Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will hold a virtual summit this week to discuss bilateral relations and international issues, amid tensions between Moscow and the West over the massing of tens of thousands of Russian troops near its border with Ukraine.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin mentioned no specific topics and said details would be released after Wednesdays video meeting.

The two heads of state will give full review of China-Russia relations and cooperation in various fields this year," Wang said at a daily briefing on Monday.

Wang added the leaders will also make top-level designs for the development of bilateral relations next year.

U.S. President Joe Biden warned Putin during a call last week that Russia would face painful sanctions that will do resounding economic harm if it again invaded Ukraine.

Putin responded that Russian troops are on their own territory, and they dont threaten anyone, according to his foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov.

In recent years, China and Russia have increasingly aligned their foreign policies to counter U.S. domination of the international economic and political order. Both have faced sanctions over their internal policies, China over abuses against minorities, especially Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, and for its crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. Beijing and Washington also remain at odds over trade, technology and China's military intimidation of Taiwan, which it claims as its own territory.

Wang said the bilateral meeting of the U.S. rivals was expected to further enhance the high-level mutual trust between the two sides."

Putin has sought guarantees that an expansion of the NATO military alliance would never include Ukraine, a demand rejected by the U.S. and its NATO allies.
PORTLAND, Maine (AP)  Fishing industry managers are recommending the already-diminished U.S. cod fishery face another reduction in catch limits.

Cod fishing was once a huge industry in New England, but it collapsed due to overfishing and environmental challenges.

The regulatory New England Fishery Management Council said on Dec. 10 it has called for a reduction of the commercial Georges Bank cod catch from about 2.4 million pounds (1.1 million kilograms) to about 540,000 pounds (245,000 kilograms) next year. Georges Bank is one of two key areas where fishermen catch cod. The other is the Gulf of Maine, which would remain at about 590,000 pounds (268,000 kilograms) next year under the council's recommendation.

The council said the Georges Bank and Gulf of Maine cod stocks remain overfished. The Gulf of Maine stock shows "few older fish in the population and few incoming recruits," the council said in a statement.

U.S. fishermen caught more than 100 million pounds (45 million kilograms) of cod per year in the 1980s. The catch was less than 2 million pounds (900,000 kilograms) in total last year.

The fish are often used in fish and chips. The U.S. seafood market has turned to foreign sources, from countries such as Iceland and Russia, to meet demand.
MILAN (AP)  Rescue workers in Sicily have recovered four more bodies in the rubble of buildings that collapsed following a gas leak explosion, bringing to seven the number of confirmed dead, firefighters said Monday.

Firefighters and civil protection agency volunteers were digging with their bare hands in the search for two more people believe still buried inside the pile of collapsed concrete and metal, more than a day and a half after the blast that authorities traced to a gas line.
As expected, the long-running Dr. Oz Show will end in the wake of host Dr. Mehmet Ozs announcement late last month that hes running for U.S. Senate.

The daily hourlong talk show, syndicated across the country by Sony Pictures Television, will end Jan. 14 after 13 seasons, Sony said in a statement Monday.

As the Los Angeles Times previously reported, the program will be replaced by The Good Dish, a one-hour syndicated show co-hosted by Ozs daughter Daphne Oz, Top Chef judge Gail Simmons and Food Network star Jamika Pessoa. It will debut Jan. 17 in the Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Dallas markets.

The Dr. Oz Show was promptly pulled from several of those markets  specifically those that reach Pennsylvania TV households  after the celebrity heart surgeon announced his intention to run for the states open Senate seat as a Republican, in hopes of replacing retiring Sen. Pat Toomey.

The move brings Ozs unrivaled name recognition and wealth to a political race that is expected to be among the nations most competitive and could determine control of the Senate in next years election, the Associated Press reported.

The decision to pull the 10-time Emmy-winning program is necessitated by the FCCs equal-time provision for broadcast TV stations. If a declared candidate for political office is given free airtime on a TV station, the same opportunity has to be given to other contenders, the L.A. Times reported.

Observing that rule would have been a logistical nightmare for TV stations that run Dr. Oz, and TV stations would have likely replaced the show with other programming during the campaign.

Oz  a longtime New Jersey resident  did not acknowledge his talk shows end Monday on Twitter but instead took aim at ABCs The View and the Philadelphia Inquirer, accusing them of trying to cancel him after learning his party affiliation.

Meanwhile, Sonys revelation of the shows conclusion was couched in an announcement about The Good Dish, which grew out of weekly segments on The Dr. Oz Show. The show is touted as offering simple shortcuts, money-saving tips, must-have trends and effortless how-tos that will make life easier, more delicious and more fun, according to a press release.

Audiences have been loving what Daphne, Gail and Jamika have been serving up during their weekly segments on The Dr. Oz Show for years, said Sony Pictures Televisions Zack Hernandez, the senior vice president and general sales manager of U.S. syndication sales.

We have long believed The Good Dish would make an excellent stand-alone series and are delighted to be able to deliver this fresh take on the cooking genre to our station partners and their viewers across the country.


BRUSSELS (AP)  The European Union imposed sanctions Monday on a group of private Russian military contractors it accuses of fomenting violence and committing human rights abuses in the Middle East, Africa and Ukraine.

EU foreign ministers agreed to slap asset freezes and travel bans on eight people involved with the Wagner Group, including founder Dmitry Utkin, and three energy companies linked to the group in Syria.

The activities of this group reflects the Russian hybrid warfare. They represent a threat and create instability in a number of countries around the world, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters after chairing the meeting.

EU headquarters said in a statement that the Wagner Group has recruited, trained and sent private military operatives to conflict zones around the world to fuel violence, loot natural resources and intimidate civilians in violation of international law, including international human rights law.

It accused those targeted of serious human rights abuses, including torture and extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and killings, or in destabilizing activities in some of the countries they operate in, including Libya, Syria, Ukraine (Donbas) and the Central African Republic.

The EU said the group is also spreading its malign influence elsewhere, notably in the Sahel region of Africa. The EU warned that Wagner Group mercenaries pose a threat to the countries they work in, wider regions and to the 27-country EU itself.

The Wagner Group, owned by a confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been accused by Western governments and U.N. experts of human rights abuses in the Central African Republic and involvement in the conflict in Libya.

EU lawmakers say the group should be treated as a proxy organization for the Russian state. France and Germany have complained about the presence of Wagner Group fighters in Mali.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said the company has a legitimate right to be in Mali because it was invited by the transitional government, and he insisted the Russian government is not involved.
GUATEMALA CITY (AP)  Guatemalan families awaiting word on the fate of relatives involved in a deadly migrant smuggling accident in southern Mexico are now also living with the terror of extortionists telling them their loved ones have been kidnapped.

In the vacuum of official information following Thursdays deadly crash that left 55 migrants dead, opportunists are demanding money from their families for information.

In its desperation, one Guatemalan family had published its phone number on social media hoping for information about their missing relative. On Monday, they shared with an AP reporter a screen capture showing a Mexican phone number demanding $3,000 if they wanted to see him again.

The caller even sent what appeared to be an altered photo that superimposed the relatives face on the body of another migrant.

The extortion is especially cruel because the families are distraught, poor and in most cases in debt for thousands of dollars for the failed smuggling attempt.

Were scared, said the brother of one migrant, who though living in the United States requested anonymity out of fear. It says there are 40 kidnapped. We dont know if my brother could be there.

On Thursday afternoon, a semi-trailer packed with migrants flipped in the southern Mexico state of Chiapas. It was believed to have been speeding, lost control on a curve and smashed into a steel pedestrian bridge, spilling bodies across the road.

Authorities have struggled to make identifications and in that lack of official information, criminals have entered looking for profit.

The Guatemalan government made phone lines available for families of few resources, many of whom do not speak Spanish, but families say theyve been told nothing official.

Guatemala sent a high-level delegation including Foreign Minister Pedro Brolo to Mexico on Friday. They met with the injured in Chiapas and then went on to Mexico City to meet with Mexico Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard.

Guatemalas government announced three days of mourning for victims Monday.

Thousands of Guatemalans continue to migrate north, hoping to reach the United States. Experts estimate 300 to 500 leave daily and pay smuggling on average $10,000. To come up with that money they often sell their belongings, hand over the deeds to their homes and take loans from relatives.

Those who successfully arrive in the U.S. provide a critical income source to Guatemala in the money they send home to their families. The more than $11 billion Guatemalans send home annually accounts for more than 14% of Guatemalas gross domestic product.

From January through November, nearly 15,000 Guatemalans were deported from the United States by air. During the same period, another 58,000 were deported from Mexico by land and air.
HANOVER, N.H. (AP)  A former Dartmouth College student was indicted by a grand jury for allegedly shooting out most of the lights on a menorah at the college with a BB gun last year.

The former student, 20, of New York, has been charged with criminal mischief. The Valley News reports he's accused of damaging seven of the nine lights on a menorah on the Dartmouth Green on Dec. 15, 2020. His lawyer had no comment.
GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP)  Georgia Lord, mayor of Goodyear for the last decade, has died.

The city of Goodyear confirmed Lord's death. In a statement, city officials said she died Sunday afternoon at her home surrounded by family. Lord had recently broken her hip in a fall. Her health declined after that.

She was 83.

Officials described her as a powerful advocate for the city. She moved there in 1997 but didn't get involved in local politics for several years. In 2005, Lord won a seat on the Goodyear City Council that year. In 2011, she was elected mayor and held the position until her death.

One of her last achievements was the development of Goodyear Civic Square at GSQ, a community gathering site set to open next year. The development will include a city hall, library and space for festivals and concerts.

Gov. Doug Ducey ordered all state flags lowered to half-staff Monday in her honor. He called Lord an inspiring woman and a proven leader who cared deeply about the City of Goodyear.

Lord was preceded in death by her husband Ronald. She is survived by four children, four grandchildren, and four great grandchildren.
Gonzalo Fuentes/AP

BERLIN (AP)  The European Union should slap sanctions on Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik for his efforts to get Serb-dominated areas in Bosnia to secede from the Balkan country, Germany's new foreign minister said Monday.

Annalena Baerbock, who took office last week, told reporters in Brussels that the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina was worrying and the Bosnian Serb secession attempts were unacceptable.
THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP)  Court authorities in the northern Greek town of Katerini late Monday jailed three people pending trial over an attack on a high school principal by vigilantes opposing virus restrictions.

Another eight suspects were released on condition that they present themselves regularly at a local police station, keep at least 400 meters (yards) away from schools and don't leave the country.

The attack occurred Friday near Katerini, some 70 kilometers (43 miles) southwest of Thessaloniki. Police said a group of people grabbed and handcuffed the 61-year-old principal ahead of a daily COVID-19 entry check of students at the school and forced him into a car. They drove him to a precinct where they invited police to charge him with ostensibly breaching constitutional freedoms.

Instead, police detained the suspected vigilantes. No trial date was set.

The suspects  nine men and two women  face criminal abduction charges, and lesser accusations including assault, disrupting the functioning of a school, using insulting language and breaking health regulations.

Greece has managed to tame a recent spike in infections with new restrictions on unvaccinated people, although daily COVID-19 death figures remain high. Roughly a quarter of the adult population remains unvaccinated, and the government recently announced an inoculation mandate for people aged over 60.

Vigilante groups have recently appeared in the northern city of Thessaloniki and nearby towns, one calling themselves The Custodians and wearing black uniforms, arguing that the restrictions are illegal and should be opposed by those defending the constitution.

The government has vowed to crack down on the groups, and on gangs that sell counterfeit vaccination certificates.

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Full coverage of the pandemic: https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
SRINAGAR, India (AP)  A gun attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Monday killed two police and wounded a dozen others, police said, hours after government forces killed two militants in a brief shootout.

Gunmen sprayed with bullets a bus carrying police on the outskirts of Srinagar, the regions main city, wounding fourteen officers, the police said in a statement. It said the injured were evacuated to a hospital where two of them died.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP)  State workers will get a little extra time to celebrate the Christmas and New Year's holidays.

With Christmas Day and New Year's Day falling on Saturday this year, many businesses will honor the holiday on Friday, Dec. 24 and Friday, Dec. 31.
ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP)  A group of writers gathered in a room at the Great River Regional Library Thursday evening, sipping cups of Somali tea and enjoying slices of pie as they perused poetry displayed in little glass centerpieces at the front of the room.

The event celebrated the work of immigrants enrolled in a weekly English language learner class operating out of the La Cruz Community Center. Since 2020, the adult basic education class has been teaching students English and other life skills through the medium of poetry, the St. Cloud Times reported.

Walking around the tables you could read poems about Somalia, adjusting to life in the United States and the emotional journey of leaving ones homeland and family.

As the class transitioned online in the pandemic, teacher and literary accountability specialist Kelly Travis said the class would read poems together and talk about the feelings some poetry stirred up.

Sometimes they would write poems in class, and other days they would come in and type their poems to improve their computer skills. Then the students would email the poem to their teachers, learning how to write an email and navigate an inbox.

Travis said many of the students have been in the class for five or more years, and some move on and return later. Usually students are working full-time, parenting and come with previous education, whether it be here in the U.S. or in the county they emigrated from.

Pre-pandemic classes like these were very popular, but now Travis said theres no wait list.

All these (students), they dont have to do it. And it shows how much they want to learn English and how much they want to assimilate, and how much they want to go to school, she said. Its something that they take pride in. They have their own goals and come through it.

Thursday was the first time the class hosted an event like this. Head teacher Mary Mulbah said they wanted to engage the students with the greater St. Cloud community.

Throughout the pandemic, Travis said she and Mulbah noticed students needed more mental breaks while taking the class online, and partnered with community health worker and psychotherapist Kahin Adam to incorporate a weekly Journaling for Healing component.

(Somalia is) known as a nation of poets, Adam said. For centuries Somalis are using poetry to express their feelings and the things they want to tell other community members.

Adam said writing helps people organize their thoughts and gives meaning to traumatic experiences. Journaling can also reduce stress by releasing negative emotions.

I remember when they were really writing and they were talking about their personal stories, it was really very difficult to listen, he said. But at the same time, at the end of the day, when they wrote and then we reflected and summarized the things that they wrote, you can tell the relief to say it together  and understand that, Hey, I understand what you write, thank you for being vulnerable.

Mulbah said teaching poetry is hard at first, because you have to teach both what different poetry styles and genres are, and also how to express what youre feeling in English.

Its kind of neat to see word choice, their reaction to poetry, because I think just like when you read a book, you know, everybody has a different reaction to it, she said.

Although some students chose not to put their names on the poems displayed Thursday, having the space to share that poetry was meaningful, Mulbah said.

I wanted  to show them, Look what weve done, right? Because when you write something in your notebook, oftentimes it gets crumpled up or put away and you dont look at it again, she said. Our students too sometimes have low self-esteem where they think, I dont know English.  Maybe we gave you a vocabulary list, or maybe we gave you a structure, but you did this, you wrote it down, you practiced. And you did it over and over and over again. So its cool to see the product of what theyve done and for them to see that.
When Sushma Dwivedi started seriously thinking about performing wedding rites and other Hindu religious blessings in New York City and elsewhere, she knew who she needed to talk to - her grandmother.

Together, they went through the mantras that are recited by pandits, the priests who perform Hindu religious rituals, to find the ones that resonated with what Dwivedi was trying to do -- offer Hindu blessings and services that were welcoming of all, irrespective of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, any of it.

Her grandmother isnt a pandit  in India, as well as in Indian diaspora communities, thats been a domain that is largely populated by men, with cultural mores at play. But she had a wealth of religious knowledge, of ritual, of proper pronunciation, to share with her granddaughter.

And that her grandmother played an integral role in Dwivedis understanding and practice of Hinduism reflects a larger religious reality. Those who study the religion and its traditions say that while there arent a lot of women priests (although that is changing in India and in other places), women in Hinduism globally continue to take on leadership roles in other ways - building communities, taking on positions in organizations, passing on knowledge.

We just jammed together and sort of went through scriptures. ... And in that sense, thats the old school-est Hindu way on Earth, right? You pass it down, Dwivedi said.

After all, it was through her grandparents, immigrants from India, that Dwivedi had been exposed to Hinduism while growing up in Canada. They helped build a Hindu mandir, or temple, in their Montreal community, and made the religion an integral part of her life from childhood.

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This story is part of a series by The Associated Press and Religion News Service on womens roles in male-led religions.

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Hinduism encompasses a range of practices and philosophies, and has a pantheon of divine figures encompassing both male and female. People can call themselves Hindus and yet practice in different ways from each other. There is no central authority, like an equivalent to the role the pope plays in Catholicism.

So leadership, in India as well as Indian immigrant communities, is decentralized and diverse, encompassing religious scholars, Hindu temple boards and more, said Vasudha Narayanan, a religion professor at the University of Florida who studies Hinduism in India and in the Indian diaspora.

I would also say that women sometimes create the spaces where they can be leaders in all these other ways, she said.

Theyre women like Dr. Uma Mysorekar, who serves as president of the Hindu Temple Society of North America. It runs one of the oldest Hindu temples in the United States in the Flushing section of New York Citys Queens borough.

Mysorekar, trained as a physician, got involved with the temple in the mid-1980s, and has been part of its administration for years, as it expanded its facilities as well as its programming. There are programs for seniors as well as young adults; the temple kitchen is available on food delivery apps.

Being an administrator wasnt her intention when she started, Mysorekar said.

I didnt get involved to become a president. But when the circumstances were forced in, I did accept that challenge.

Shes convinced that in Hinduism, women can be leaders simply by virtue of their ability to communicate the faith to others, notably to children.

How many women have led ... going back to times immemorial, and what they have contributed, it should give you that exemplary feeling, she said. Its not that women have to be priests to be leaders, women have to be able to spread the teachings.

And in this modern age, when so much vital activity occurs online, women are making a difference there, too, said Dheepa Sundaram, assistant professor of Hindu studies, critical theory and digital religion at the University of Denver.

If you look at social media spaces, you see a lot of women leading different kinds of groups now, she said.

She pointed to shubhpuja.com as an example, a site co-founded by a woman, Saumya Vardhan, that allows people all over the world to connect with pandits in India, who perform pujas, the religious rituals, that can be seen via videoconferencing.

Were seeing women carve out different spaces in the spirituality ecosystem to find a way to actually gain power in that ecosystem, she said.

And there are examples of women making inroads even when it comes to being pandits, of pushing back against patriarchal restraints.

Manisha Shete, 51, a female priest who has been working as the coordinator at Jnana Prabodhini, a Hindu reformist school in Pune in western India that trains men and women to perform rituals, first began to officiate at religious ceremonies in 2008.

Her aspirations stemmed in part from an interest in Indias ancient scriptures; after getting married, she studied

After my wedding, I studied Indology  the history, culture, languages and literature of India.

During my research work at the Sanskrit language department in Jnana Prabodhini ... I felt that I can do this and I should do it. It was my favorite subject, Shete told The Associated Press.

Shete said at her school in Pune, where the course for the priesthood can extend up to 18 months, 80% of the students were women, including many who had been housewives and many others who voluntarily their jobs to enter the school.

She said the demand for female priests is growing in urban areas, especially among young women, and she often gets requests even from Indian families overseas to conduct rituals.

People have started accepting women priests. Every reform comes with some obstacles. But it is happening.

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through The Conversation U.S. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP)  Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian man during clashes that erupted in the West Bank city of Nablus early Monday, the official Palestinian news agency reported.

Citing medics, Wafa news agency identified the slain man as Jamil Kayyal, 31, adding that he was hit by a gunshot in the head.

Israeli media reported that paramilitary Border Police, aided by army soldiers, entered Nablus to arrest a wanted Palestinian and the clashes erupted when a group of Palestinians threw explosives toward the forces. There were no casualties among the Israeli troops, which arrested the wanted man.

The Israeli military referred a request for comment to the Border Police, which did not respond immediately.

Online videos appeared to show Kayyal lying on the ground, bleeding, after the forces left the neighborhood.

The Israeli military often conducts arrest raids in the West Bank, even in territories that are under control of the Palestinian Authority, the internationally recognized entity that has limited autonomy in parts of the area. The near-daily raids are in search for Palestinian militants, and are often followed with clashes that are sometimes deadly.

The Palestinians want the West Bank and east Jerusalem, which Israel captured and annexed in 1967, as part of a future state. Peace negotiations between the two sides ground to a halt more than a decade ago.
SUMTER, S.C. (AP)  Authorities in South Carolina are searching for a pig that they say has been wreaking havoc in people's yards.

On Monday, police in Sumter posted on their Facebook page that the department had received calls over the weekend about a large, pink and elusive pig suspected of causing damage in some neighborhoods.
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP)  French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday affirmed his commitment to strengthening the external borders of the European Union, a point of common agreement at talks he held in Hungary's capital with the leaders of the bloc's eastern nations.

The summit in Budapest of the Visegrad 4 group of Central European countries hosted Macron as France is set to take over the EUs rotating 6-month presidency on Jan. 1.

While his views on migration found welcome ears among the more conservative leaders of the V4 governments, Macron's visit also highlighted rifts within the 27-member EU over the scope of its authority and its fundamental values.

The host of the summit, Hungary's right-wing populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, is one of the EU's fiercest critics of immigration.

But he and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who was also present, have been in conflict with Brussels over the EUs attempts to rein in governments seen as violating rule of law and democratic standards, values that Macron is eager to champion.

In a news conference following the meeting, all five leaders emphasized the necessity of revamping the EU's migration policy, while Macron reaffirmed his views on migrants, saying there is a clear convergence of views with the V4 leaders.

Macron called for changes in the passport-free Schengen area to improve the protection of external borders and limit flows of migrants from one EU country to another, and to streamline the process of sending those who dont qualify for asylum back to their home countries, people who have no right to stay in the EU."

Yet political rifts remain between the staunchly pro-EU French leader and Orban, who together with Morawiecki has challenged the bloc's jurisdiction over the affairs of its 27 member nations.

The EUs executive arm continues to withhold tens of billions of euros in COVID-19 economic recovery funds from Poland and Hungary over concerns about corruption and judicial interference. It has also threatened to impose additional sanctions if the two countries fail to live up to rule of law requirements.

Macron, a centrist who favors deeper European integration, acknowledged that he had political disagreements with the Hungarian leader, and earlier in the day insisted that respect for the rule of law, media pluralism, and the fight against discrimination are at the heart of the European project, a reference to claims by Orbans critics that he has eroded democratic institutions in Hungary and seized control of large parts of the countrys media.

Yet Macron, the first sitting French president to visit Hungary since 2007, struck a conciliatory tone when he emphasized the need for dialogue and finding points of agreement with political opponents.

At the summit, he and the V4 leaders  which also included Slovakia's Prime Minister Eduard Heger and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis  agreed on the need to make nuclear energy a fundamental part of the EU's goals to reduce carbon emissions.

Orban said that agreement had also been reached on the need for strategic autonomy in Europe, which included developing a European defense industry, increasing energy autonomy through nuclear energy and building self-sufficient agricultural capacities.

Earlier on Monday, Macron met with Hungarian President Janos Ader, where according to the French presidency he expressed his concerns over the rights of LGBTQ people in Hungary, an issue which has raised the ire of some politicians in Europe concerned with recent Hungarian legislation that some saw as homophobic.

He also met with opposition leaders opposing Orban, like Gergely Karacsony, Budapests liberal mayor, and Peter Marki-Zay, an opposition candidate who is planning to challenge Orban for the post of prime minister during Hungarys general election in the spring.

At a news conference following that meeting, the opposition leaders said that they had raised issues of corruption and rule of law in Hungary, as well as the countrys increasingly close ties to eastern countries like China and Russia.

Macron is likely to seek a second term in France's presidential election on April 10. Among his chief challengers at this point are two hard-right nationalists, journalist Eric Zemmour and Marine Le Pen, who have both met in recent months with Orban and embrace many of his policies.

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Corbet reported from Paris.
BRAZIL, Ind. (AP)  A man who pleaded guilty to attacking a 13-year-old girl who was attending an Indiana University violin camp has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder for allegedly trying to hire his jail cellmate to kill the victim's parents and a dozen other people.

Dongwook Ko, 19, allegedly provided a hit list and a map to the 39-year-old man who was his cellmate at the Clay County Detention Center in Brazil, Indiana, The Herald-Times reported, citing court records filed Friday along with conspiracy to commit murder charge.

Ko, of Bloomington, believed his cellmate was a gang member who would arrange the torture and killings of 14 people connected to his conviction in the 2019 attack on the girl, court records state.

Ko appeared Monday morning in a Clay County court for an initial hearing. A message seeking comment on the allegations was left Monday by The Associated Press for one of Kos attorneys.

The victims parents, defense witnesses, two prosecutors and a journalist who covered the case were among the targeted individuals on a list the cellmate provided to police, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The cellmate told police Ko offered to pay $20,000 for the torture and killing of the people on the list and that he would arrange to post the mans $2,500 bail so he could get released and carry out the killings with help from the mans uncle.

The cellmate agreed to wear a recording device while talking with Ko about carrying out the plan and investigators allowed the man to use an iPad to call his uncle to arrange the killings, but the person on the other end of the call was actually a sheriffs department detective, the affidavit states.

Ko reportedly told the detective on the call to start with the girl's father, whose name was at the top of the list, and then work his way through the others in order. He provided details, indicating that some victims were to be tortured, according to the affidavit.

Ko pleaded guilty this year to criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon for attacking the girl with a pocketknife in July 2019 as she was playing her violin alone in a Merrill Hall practice room during IUs Summer String Academy. Authorities said Ko knew the victim from the previous summers violin camp.

A Monroe County judge last month sentenced Ko to eight years of home detention, followed by two years of probation and ordered him to get psychological treatment. But just days later, immigration agents picked up Ko, a South Korean resident, at his mothers Bloomington home and took him into custody.

Because he had been convicted of a felony, Kos temporary U.S. residency visa was revoked and he was ordered deported to South Korea. Ko will remain in Indiana to face the murder conspiracy charge.
BOSTON (AP)  A man charged with fatally stabbing a teen during a Caribbean festival in Boston this summer was held without bail Monday, prosecutors said.

Omara Shears, 44, pleaded not guilty during his arraignment in Suffolk Superior Court on a charge of first-degree murder in connection with the death of Javare Sommerville, 17, of Boston, on Aug. 28.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP)  Ronald Greenes mother chastised Louisiana lawmakers Monday for not acting quickly enough to hold state troopers accountable for her son's deadly 2019 arrest, saying the Black motorists death at the end of a high-speed chase was a murder that's been covered up, sugarcoated and mired in bureaucracy.

Im so damn mad at the fact that Im talking to people who have it in their power to make things happen," Mona Hardin said through tears. Ive been wandering around in a cloud of confusion just wondering: What does it take for the state of Louisiana to recognize the murder of a man? What does it take to get answers?

Hardin's testimony underscored the tension building in Louisiana as federal and state prosecutors prepare to seek the first criminal charges in the case.

Troopers initially blamed Greene's death on a car crash on a rural roadside outside Monroe. But long-withheld body-camera video obtained and published by The Associated Press in May instead showed white troopers punching, stunning and dragging Greene as he pleaded for mercy and repeatedly wailed, I'm scared!

A federal civil rights probe into the case has since broadened to include the beatings of several other Black motorists and whether state police brass broke the law to protect troopers. Greenes death was among at least a dozen cases over the past decade in which an AP investigation found state troopers or their bosses ignored or concealed evidence of beatings, deflected blame and impeded efforts to root out misconduct.

All the dots are connected," Hardin told the Senate Select Committee on State Police Oversight. "Ronnies not the first. Ronnies not the last. But why do we have to sugarcoat the murder of a man just to get people off the hook?

State police commanders earlier described several changes the agency enacted in the wake of Greene's death, including a new investigative unit that will probe uses of force by troopers.

We dont have the luxury of getting this wrong, said Lt. Col. Kenny VanBuren.

But the ongoing criminal investigations prevented lawmakers from delving more deeply into what ranking officials knew and when they knew it in the wake of Greene's in-custody death  questions that remain at the heart of the federal inquiry.

Two state troopers invited to address the advisory panel  Kory York and John Clary  did not attend Monday's hearing, drawing an exasperated rebuke from State Sen. Cleo Fields, who grilled Col. Lamar Davis, the state police superintendent, about their disrespectful absence.

During one heated exchange, Fields raised the specter of summoning Clary from his home. How far does he live from here? the Democratic lawmaker asked.

York and Clary remain in the crosshairs of both federal and state prosecutors, and their attorneys advised them against appearing Monday.

Clary, the ranking officer at the scene of Greene's arrest, withheld a critical 30-minute body camera video of the in-custody death for more than two years, according to state police records obtained by AP.

York, meanwhile, can be seen on video dragging Greene by his ankle shackles and leaving the heavyset 49-year-old face down with his hands and feet restrained for more than nine minutes.

Lawmakers did hear from Sgt. Albert Paxton, the lead state police detective who pushed early on for state criminal charges to be brought in Greene's death but was rebuffed by his chain of command. His testimony was cut short, however, by a state police attorney who stopped Paxton from answering questions specific to the Greene case.

Fields, in a recent interview, said he could not stomach watching the footage of Greene's death in its entirety.

The state police failed, and this, in my view, was a cover-up, he told AP. We need to not only offer an apology, we need to fix this. No mother should ever go through this in the future.
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP)  A North Carolina police officer was shot in the leg and wounded on Monday while responding to a domestic dispute, authorities said.

According to a news release from the Greensboro Police Department, officers responded to a call at around 1:55 p.m. from a restaurant on the city's west side regarding a domestic dispute call.
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP)  A state Senate redistricting plan is in limbo amid a standoff over Native American priorities for achieving fair representation and efforts by lawmakers to avoid competitive pairing of incumbents in the next election.

The Senate canceled a floor session Monday amid discussions between legislators and Indigenous tribal leaders.

States must redraw their congressional and legislative districts every 10 years to reflect new population numbers, and New Mexico lawmakers are in the midst of a special legislative session on redistricting.

A broad coalition of Native American communities is backing a plan to shore up voting-age, Native American majorities in three state Senate districts in northwestern New Mexico and reinforce robust minority-Indigenous voting blocs in two additional districts.

Left intact, the proposal from Indigenous groups would leave Republican state Sen. Joseph Sanchez of Bosque outside the boundaries of his current district, potentially to compete in a neighboring district against GOP Senate minority leader Greg Baca of Belen.

Leading state legislators including Democratic Senate President Mimi Stewart are backing amendments that diverge from the consensus Native American proposal in an effort to avoid several incumbent pairings.

We tried very had to maintain the majority of the Native consensus map but deal with issues of pairing and deal with issues of drastic changes to our seats, Stewart told a Senate panel.

Native American leaders emerged Monday from an hourslong meeting with several senators to say the tribes remain steadfast in their recommendations.

The easiest solution is to support the tribal consensus plan, said Casey Douma, a Laguna Pueblo tribal member and co-leader of a redistricting alliance of 19 Indigenous pueblos and the Jicarilla Apache Tribe. To undo that in a very short time, negates months of work.

Indigenous leaders say their recommendations emerged from several months of painstaking conversations aimed at preserve communities of common interest and ensuring minority voters have a fair shot at electing candidates of their choice.

Those conversations did not give weight to incumbent politicians and whether they are paired in future elections, noted Acoma Pueblo Gov. Brian Vallo.

State Sen. Harold Pope of Albuquerque urged colleagues Sunday not to tamper with the Native American blueprint for redistricting.

This was a herculean task for our Native American communities to develop this consensus," he said. "They worked with us, lets honor it.

The amendments that stray from the Native American recommendations were endorsed on a 7-2 committee vote Sunday with bipartisan support, over emphatic objections by representatives of tribal governments.

New Mexico is home to 23 federally recognized Native American communities. Tribal leaders are seeking to bolster Native American influence in the political process amid dissatisfaction with public education, access to basic household infrastructure and economic opportunities.

Regis Pecos, a former governor at Cochiti Pueblo and advocate for Indigenous educational initiatives, urged legislators to honor tribal recommendations on redistricting, noting New Mexico's leading example in enshrining requirements for tribal consultation into state statute  as well as past laws and policies that harmed Native Americans.

I just simply want to reflect on the long history of intentional enactment of laws that have prohibited the speaking of our languages in our schools, the prohibition of the free exercise of religion, the laws and policy disconnecting us from our homelands, Pecos said. You have provided consultation as part of the statutory framework.
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP)  The New Mexico Department of Health on Monday announced the states first identified case of the COVID-19 omicron variant.

Health officials said the case was identified Sunday and involves a Bernalillo County woman.
GLEN JEAN, W.Va. (AP)  A decline in ramps, or wild leeks, in West Virginia national parks has led the National Park Service to ban harvesting of the plants at three parks starting next year.

Ramp harvesting will not be allowed within New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, Gauley River National Recreation Area and Bluestone National Scenic River as of Jan. 1, the agency said.
PIERRE, S.D. (AP)  Gov. Kristi Noem said Monday she has drafted legislation to create a moment of silence at the beginning of each day in South Dakota public schools, a move she said would restore protections for prayer in the classroom.

A draft of the bill said it will provide students and teachers with a reprieve from the frenzy of daily life and set a tone of decorum conducive to learning. Students and teachers can can engage in voluntary prayer, reflection, meditation or other quiet, respectful activity during the minute of silence, the bill states.
CLINTON, N.C. (AP)  Deputies have apprehended a North Carolina man in connection with a double homicide, a sheriff's office said Monday.

A news release from the Sampson County Sheriffs Office says it received information on Sunday night saying a suspect wanted for questioning in a double homicide in Alamance County may be at a residence in Clinton.

Deputies and officers from the Clinton Police Department went to the address and found Alfonza McDuffie, 45, of La Grange, the news release said. McDuffie was taken into custody without incident and detained until authorities from the Alamance County Sheriffs Office could arrive and take him into custody, authorities said.

McDuffie is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony larceny of a motor vehicle. The Alamance County Sheriff's Office said McDuffie is accused of killing Delfonia Wright and Tomeka Spaulding in Alamance County on Sunday, and then stealing Wrights car.

McDuffie is being held without bond in the Alamance County jail. Online records didn't indicate if he has an attorney.
ST. JOHN, Ind. (AP)  A Northwest Indiana police officer jumped into a retention pond and pulled two young children from a partially submerged vehicle that had plunged into its murky waters during a pursuit.

St. John Officer Darrell Shaffer spotted the vehicle around 11:25 p.m. Sunday after Lake County police reported it had fled during a traffic stop, said Roger Patz, a St. John police spokesman.

The driver allegedly fled from Shaffer on local roads into Illinois before returning to Indiana on Interstate 94, Patz said.

The female driver lost control of the vehicle, which went airborne, "plunging into the retention pond, Patz said.

Shaffer jumped into the water and could see the driver was still seated in the vehicle, Patz said. Shaffer then noticed a child seat and felt around underwater until he found one child.

He then felt the leg of a second child and pulled that child above water to safety, Patz said.

Both children are under 5 years old, he said.

The driver, who was not identified by police, was ordered out of the vehicle and taken into custody, The Times of Northwest Indiana reported.
CAIRO (AP)  Clashes between Yemeni government forces and the country's Houthi rebels attacking the key central city of Marib left a senior military commander dead Monday, officials said.

The development is a big blow to the forces of Yemen's internationally recognized government, who have been fighting for months against the Iranian-backed Houthis attempt to take Marib. The Houthis launched an offensive earlier this year on the city in an effort to complete their control over the northern half of Yemen.

Maj. Gen. Nasser al-Dhaibani, who headed military operations of the governments armed forces, was killed on the front line in the Balaq mountain range, south of the city of Marib, said the two officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Al-Dhaibani was inspecting government troops and allied tribal fighters trying to stave off the Houthi attack at the time. Government forces had earlier advanced a few kilometers (miles) following fierce battles south of the city, one of the officials said.

The rebels stepped up attacks on Marib in recent weeks, sending waves of fighters to try and breach government defenses. Hundreds died in the clashes, mostly rebels, the official added.

A Saudi-led coalition, which is fighting on the side of the government forces, said it launched at least 35 airstrikes on rebel positions around Marib over the weekend, killing at least 200 Houthis. At least three more airstrikes hit the rebels in Yemen's western coast, it said.

The Houthi offensive on Marib came as they suffered blows elsewhere in the country. Last month, government forces took the district of Hays and a major highway linking the contested port city of Hodeida with the rebel-held capital of Sanaa.

Yemens civil war began in 2014 when the Houthis took Sanaa and much of the northern part of the country, forcing President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadis government to flee to the south, then to Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi-led coalition, backed at the time by the U.S., entered the war months later to try restoring Hadi to power. Despite a relentless air campaign and ground fighting, the war has deteriorated into a stalemate, killing more than 130,000 people  civilians and fighters  and spawning the worlds worst humanitarian crisis.

The escalating violence in Marib and elsewhere in Yemen comes as the United Nations has stepped up efforts to relaunch negotiations between the warring sides to find a resolution to the conflict.

The U.N. special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, met with Omani officials and the chief Houthi negotiator, Mohammed Abdul-Salam, in Omans capital of Muscat, the U.N. mission said Monday, without specifying when the meeting took place. Oman has long acted as mediator in Middle East disputes.

The U.N. mission said Grundberg discussed ways to de-escalate the violence in Yemen and relaunch a political dialogue aimed at reaching a comprehensive and inclusive settlement.
SEATTLE (AP)  A powerful weekend storm that dumped several feet of snow in the Cascade mountains has prompted concern for officials at the Northwest Avalanche Center.

We saw several feet of snow fall over pretty much the entire range, said Dennis DAmico, the centers forecast director.

Six skiers traveling in a closed area at Crystal Mountain ski resort Saturday triggered an avalanche and were trapped, resort officials said. Five of the skiers climbed out but 66-year-old Robert Weisel was not breathing when pulled from the snow. He died at the scene.

This is a known area where avalanches occur and its also an area where folks can travel safely at other times of the year, DAmico told KOMO-TV.

Officials with Alterra Mountain Company, the ownership group for Crystal Mountain, said it was the first time in the four years since they have owned the resort that a person was killed during an avalanche.

The incident has sparked concerns about the rest of the Cascades, considering the mountain range is essentially all under considerable avalanche danger, officials said.

Considerable literally means dangerous avalanche conditions exist, DAmico said. Forecasters plan to survey the site and interview the survivors to understand what happened. Were going to figure out whether its a human triggered or natural avalanche.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)  A person affiliated with Minnesota State University, Mankato has the state's second confirmed coronavirus case involving the omicron variant.

University President Edward Inch has sent a letter to faculty, staff and students telling them that the Minnesota Department of Health had notified school officials that the omicron variant was confirmed in a vaccinated person at the university and that individual had recently tested positive.

The individual is doing fine and is following appropriate isolation protocols, Inch wrote.

Inch encouraged everyone to get vaccinated and receive a booster. In addition, the university will make COVID-19 testing available on campus Tuesday.

Face masks were required at Saturday's commencement ceremony Saturday.

Meanwhile, top executives from nine Minnesota health system are making an urgent appeal to the public with a full-page ad in newspapers across the state encouraging COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters, mask wearing and social distancing and coronavirus testing.

The chief executives say the state's health care system is overwhelmed and cannot continue to carry the burden of what they see as avoidable illness and death.

The ad is signed by CEOs from North Memorial Health, Mayo Clinic, Fairview Health Services, CentraCare, Hennepin Healthcare, Children's Minnesota, Allina Health, Essentia Health and HealthPartners.
DURHAM, N.C. (AP)  Two young men were killed and four other young people were injured in a shooting early Monday in Durham, police said.

Officers responding to a report of a shooting around 3 a.m. found a Hyundai SUV crashed into a utility pole and six people who had been shot, police said in a news release.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)  A man was fatally shot early Monday outside a home in Kansas City just west of Marlborough Park, police there said.

The shooting happened around 12:15 a.m. Monday, when gunshots were reported in the area, police said in a news release. Arriving officers found evidence of a shooting, police said, but someone had driven the shooting victim to a hospital, where he died. Police later identified the man as 34-year-old Corey Haley.
ROME (AP)  Pope Francis agreed Monday to meet with the commission that published a ground-breaking report into clergy sexual abuse in the French Catholic Church and, separately, expressed sadness over the sudden downfall of the archbishop of Paris, according to French bishops who met with him.

Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, president of the French Bishops Conference, told reporters that Francis had agreed in principle to meet with the independent commission members but that a date had to be found.

The head of the commission, Jean-Marc Sauve, had said the members would be received by the pope. But the reported Dec. 9 date came and went without an audience.

The French report estimated that some 330,000 children were victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, scout leaders or other Catholic-affiliated lay employees from 1950-2020.

The estimate is based on broader research by Frances National Institute of Health and Medical Research into sexual abuse of children in the country,. Yet the methodology of the report has been criticized since the estimates are far higher than other similar national reports into the problem in the Catholic Church.

French bishops, however, have accepted the report and vowed to try to repair the damage, announcing they will compensate victims even by selling off assets given the churchs institutional responsibility.

Francis has said he hadnt read the 500-page report, which so far is available in its entirety only in French. But Moulins-Beaufort said Francis appreciated the dignity of our attitude by making victims the focal point of the churchs response.

He encouraged us and thanked us, the archbishop said.

He said he and his fellow bishops also asked Francis if he had anything to add about the sudden resignation of the archbishop of Paris, Monsignor Michel Aupetit.

Francis on Dec. 2 removed Aupetit from the influential post after the 70-year-old Aupetit offered to step down over media reports that he had a sexual relationship with a woman in 2012. Aupetit agreed he had an ambiguous relationship but denied it was sexual. French media also said there were governance problems in the archdiocese.

Francis on Dec. 6 said he had accepted the resignation because the gossip about Aupetit had made it impossible for him to govern the archdiocese. He said he had accepted the resignation not on the altar of truth but on the altar of hypocrisy.

The comment raised eyebrows, since it implied that Francis was willing to act on mere gossip. It also suggested that Francis blamed some in the French clergy for exposing Aupetits sins while hiding their own.

Moulins-Beaufort said Francis paid tribute to Aupetits pastoral efforts and just told of his sadness from the situation and from the decision he had to make.

Aupetit has lashed out at the French media coverage of his downfall, which in the past week has included an unsubstantiated allegation in the Paris Match tabloid of another inappropriate relationship with a consecrated virgin. During his farewell Mass last week, Aupetit recalled that one headline had said he had lost himself because of love."

It's true, it's true," he said to applause from the pews. The archbishop of Paris lost himself because of love ... for Christ."

___

Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed.
PONTOTOC, Miss. (AP)  Authorities have uncovered the remains of a Mississippi woman following a tip from an inmate who revealed the location of her body prior to his execution on other crimes last month.

On Sunday, police discovered what's believed to be the body of Felicia Cox on land that had once belonged to her family in Pontotoc County. The remains will be taken to the state crime lab for an autopsy and DNA testing to confirm identity, according to Pontotoc County Coroner Kim Bedford.
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP)  Colombian police killed at least 11 people during protests that broke out in September of last year, following the death of a taxi driver who was beaten to death while in police custody, a report backed by the United Nations found.

The 182-page report published on Monday says that on Sept. 9-11, 2020, police in Colombia committed a massacre against civilians in low income neighborhoods. It says violence spun out of control because officers reacting to protests in front of police stations were unprepared to handle large crowds and were not given orders by their superiors to refrain from using firearms.

According to the reports authors, 75 people were injured by firearms during the three nights of protests in which police officers were also filmed destroying private property, and a total of 14 people were killed by police, protesters who hijacked a bus and civilians using firearms.

Seventeen police stations in Colombias capital city were set on fire and destroyed by protesters on Sept. 9-11 after videos emerged on social media of two policemen detaining a 44-year-old taxi driver who was drinking on a sidewalk, and beating him repeatedly while an onlooker begged for them to stop. Taxi driver Javier Ordonez died that night from his injuries.

Everyone made mistakes on the 9th and 10th of September, except for the victims of this tragedy, said Carlos Negret, a lawyer and human rights expert who led the fact-finding report. Police acted with disproportionate use of force and went after the poorest people in the city, he said.

The report was commissioned last year by Bogotas city government, which held a public ceremony where it asked for forgiveness from the victims families.

It is based on interviews with more than 90 witnesses, police officers and members of the victims families and received technical assistance and financial support from the United Nations.

The findings come as police in Colombia face greater scrutiny for their behavior during protests and different sectors call for the reform of an institution that has long been deployed to fight drug trafficking gangs and guerrilla groups in rural areas, and is poorly equipped to handle large crowds of civilians in urban areas.

Earlier this year, dozens of people died in protests over tax hikes and inequality that included roadblocks and small pockets of violent protesters, mixed among mostly peaceful crowds. According to evidence gathered by Human Rights Watch, police in Colombia could be implicated in 25 of those deaths.

Mondays report calls on the Colombian government to reform the countrys laws so that municipal governments have greater control over police forces. Currently, Colombias police forces are run by the Ministry of Defense and only takes orders from the national government.

The report points out that so far, four police officers are facing murder charges for the deaths that occurred in the September 2020 protests, though there are still no convictions and none of the officers charged with murder is in prison. The report also calls on Colombian prosecutors to investigate the role that high-ranking officers may have had in the violent response to the protests in September.
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP)  A small yet profound object tied to slavery and unearthed by a team of researchers and students at the College of Charleston this spring has been named one of the top discoveries of the year by Archaeology Magazine.

Found on the site of a 19th-century kitchen, the slave badge, also known as a slave tag, is a diamond-shaped medallion that acted as a work permit in Charlestons city limits. It allowed enslaved people to be hired out for part-time work in the urban city center by their master to perform specific jobs, like mechanic, porter and fisherman.

The slave badge, which was discovered on what is now the College of Charleston campus, was issued in 1853 to an unknown servant.

The person who wore the small metal badge, most likely around their own neck, lived in a time when their identity  and the identity of other enslaved African Americans  was stamped into a piece of copper and reduced to their occupation and badge number.

Theirs was 731.

The badge itself is a rare fragment of history, and its archaeological discovery is as noteworthy as fossilized footprints found in New Mexico and an ancient Egyptian city discovered beneath the sands after thousands of years, according to the editors of Archaeology Magazine.

The list of top 10 discoveries made in 2021 will appear in the magazines January/February 2022 issue.

We felt the tag had to be included because its a reminder of an individual who may otherwise have been lost to time and to the dehumanizing system of enslavement, said Marley Brown, associate editor of Archaeology Magazine.

Brown continued, Whats more, the fact that the College of Charleston team recovered the object from its archaeological context provides a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the person who may once have worn it  a real gift considering many of these tags have no provenance.

Its discovery was also a bit of a surprise.

The reason there was ever an excavation site at 63 Coming St. was because there were plans to build a solar pavilion there. Because the school received federal dollars from the U.S. Department of Energy through the S.C. Department of Energy to complete the project, it meant the site required a cultural resource survey before construction could begin.

The digging began in February, and in March, while sifting through the dirt below, the slave badge surfaced.

Other artifacts were found at the site, too, like pottery, animal bones and an old ceramic soda bottle.

But the slave badge was an explicit reminder of slavery, Americas original sin.

You felt the evil, said Jim Newhard, a classics professor, landscape architect and director of the colleges Center for Historical Landscapes. It redoubled in my mind that not only was this artifact an expression of enslavement, so were the other objects we were recovering.

Grant Gilmore, an associate professor and Addlestone Chair in Historic Preservation, told the magazine that most slave badges, including those held by private collectors, have no origin story beyond what is listed on the badge itself.

That this badge was found in a specific Charleston kitchen could provide new clues to discover more about the person assigned that badge. Gilmore told the publication that an enslaved person living in that house may have discarded the tag in the hearth or someone on loan from across town may have lost it one day.

The nearly 4-centimeter square slave badge is also a physical reminder of how urban slavery worked in Charleston, said Bernard Powers, director of the colleges Center for the Study of Slavery in Charleston.

This discovery confirms the idea that Black labor was integrally involved in shaping the contours of the land, erecting the citys buildings and providing the human connections that made Charleston the vital center of production and exchange it became and remains today, Powers said in a statement after the badge was found earlier this year.

While other Southern cities had similar hired labor arrangements for enslaved workers, Charleston is the only one that produced such tags or badges, Gillmore told the magazine.

Slave badges were dated and were issued annually and became a source of tax revenue for the city. Costs for tags in 1865 ranged from $10 to $35.

The day the slave badge from 1853 was discovered, Newhard said he temporarily paused the work at the site to help students understand the artifact and better recognize the site as a whole.

He said he wanted them to see the importance and value of the work they were doing.

We knew we were excavating a space inhabited and used by enslaved people. Intellectually, everything that we were collecting was possessed or used by those people, Newhard said. The tag, however, puts an agent to that scene.

Even though the badge may have allowed an enslaved person to move more freely in the urban landscape and earn a small income for his or her family, Newhard said the badge was still an object worn as a mark of enslavement.
Joe Phelan/AP

BANGOR, Maine (AP)  Max Linn, a former U.S. Senate candidate from Maine who shook up a high-profile race with his antics during debates, has died. He was 62.

Linn died on Saturday, according to his lawyer. He died of an apparent heart attack, the Bangor Daily News reported.
OGDEN, Utah (AP)  A Utah firefighter who uses medical marijuana for chronic back pain has sued the city of Ogden, saying he was unlawfully suspended from duty for refusing to surrender his prescription card.

Levi Coleman said in a November lawsuit the fire department and city discriminated against him in violation of the Utah Medical Cannabis Act, the Standard-Examiner reported.

Coleman has been a firefighter and EMT with Ogden since 2011. He reported his use of the drug in August, under a new policy requiring employees to report prescriptions or over-the-counter medications that warn of possible impairment.

He underwent a fit for duty evaluation, which he said did not include a drug test or a physical fitness test. The report nevertheless found the use of medical cannabis created potential impairment that could interfere with his performance, the suit states. He was then suspended without pay, tantamount to a firing.

Fire and city officials declined Friday to comment directly on Colemans allegations. Mark Johnson, the citys chief administrative officer, said officials have general concerns about people who may be driving fire trucks or providing lifesaving care.

We have some great concerns policy-wise with public safety individuals taking any form of controlled substances, Johnson said. So I think its a lot muddier than its being made out to be.

Coleman said in the suit that other controlled substance prescriptions have not resulted in suspensions. The Standard-Examiner could not immediately reach his attorney.

In the first report on the case, the Salt Lake Tribune reported that state law prohibits an entity from taking action against an employee, unless the person is impaired on the job.

This firefighter is following state law. The employer is not, said Jack Tidrow, president of the Professional Firefighters of Utah told the Tribune. We just want to correct this as quick as we can.
RALEIGH (AP)  Four LGBTQ+ books available in some North Carolina public school libraries have come under fire from Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson or parent groups who say the books are R-rated if not X-rated. One parent even compared the content to the erotic adult novel 50 Shades of Grey.

Robinson posted a video in October highlighting three books that feature LGBTQ+ protagonists: Melissa (which was formerly called George), Lawn Boy and Gender Queer: A Memoir.

Then, Wake County parents filed nine criminal complaints last week with the Wake County Sheriffs Office, accusing the school system of distributing obscene and pornographic material. Those three books, as well as All Boys Arent Blue, are among the books being targeted in the complaints.

Others, though, say the books are appropriate for the intended audiences and can be important in helping students learn.

The News & Observer read and analyzed all four books  Melissa, Lawn Boy, All Boys Arent Blue and Gender Queer: A Memoir  to detail what is in each of them. Heres what we found:

MELISSA (FORMERLY GEORGE)

Author: Alex Gino

Audience: Written for elementary school-age children.

Synopsis: Melissa is the story of a 10-year-old transgender girl who struggles to come out to her family, friends and classmates. She deals with bullies and comes up with a plan to play a girls part in the school play: Charlotte the spider in Charlottes Web. Her best friend is very accepting, while her mother and teacher struggle with her identity.

The main character is referred to as George throughout the book, though she says early on that she calls herself Melissa when nobodys around. At the end of the book, her friend begins to call her Melissa. Melissa goes to the zoo with her best friend wearing makeup, a skirt and pink underwear, and she uses the womens bathroom.

The book officially became titled Melissa in October. Gino, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, said, Theres a whole bunch of cisgender people who havent read the book and the only name they have for this trans girl is the wrong name. I feel bad about that.

Adult language: The word porn is written once, as is the phrase grow some balls. There is no other language that could be considered explicit anywhere else in the nearly 200 pages.

Sexual scenario: In the first few pages, Melissa takes fashion magazines from the dumpster and reads them in the bathroom. Her brother makes a joke alluding to masturbation and dirty magazines, though the word masturbation is not used.

What opponents have said: The American Library Associations Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) makes a yearly list of the most frequently banned books in the United States. Melissa (called George on these lists) was the most-often banned book in the U.S., according to the group, between 2018 and 2020.

LAWN BOY

Author: Jonathan Evison

Audience: Geared toward young adults.

Synopsis: Lawn Boy is a coming-of-age story about a 22-year-old named Mike Munoz who is growing up in poverty. He has an older brother with a severe developmental disability and a single mother. They live in a trailer on a Native American reserve. Mikes best friend spews blatant racism, homophobia, misogyny and xenophobia throughout the book.

The novel is told in first person through Mike, a landscaper who spends the majority of the book worrying about his financial status. Hes hoping to get enough money to take out a waitress at a local restaurant.

Toward the end of the book, Mike forms a friendship with his towns male librarian. They become closer and share moments of intimacy: discussing personal parts of their childhoods with one another and squeezing one anothers hands when emotions begin to bubble up. In the books last few pages, Mike kisses him and realizes that he is attracted to men. The book ends with Mike coming out to his family (he says Im gay), and the librarian becomes his boyfriend.

Adult language: Profanity, including the f-word, and a slang term for male genitalia occur frequently. Also used are derogatory slurs for gay people and undocumented immigrants. Almost every time these words and phrases are used, Mike speaks up and says how thinking about people in this way is wrong.

Sexual scenarios: There are three scenes involving sexual situations. When Mike kisses the man at the end of the book, he says, I wont bore you with the particulars and Im not writing erotica here. Mike has a sexual experience involving oral sex with another boy when he is 10 years old at a youth group gathering at their church. A one-page scene lightly details Mikes experience having sex with a girl in high school.

What opponents have said: Lawn Boy drew concerns from a parent in October at a Wake County school board meeting. The man said he saw this book in his childs school and asked that the school board launch a thorough review of the books available to students and the process by which books are chosen.

The school district has a process for parents to review and object to any material or books, said Lori Roach, a spokesperson for the Wake County Public School System, in response to The N&Os inquiry about the book.

Note: A second book named Lawn Boy, written by Gary Paulsen, is intended for middle schoolers and focuses on a boys lawn-mowing business.

ALL BOYS ARENT BLUE

Author: George M. Johnson

Audience: Geared toward young adults.

Synopsis: All Boys Arent Blue is a memoir written by a queer, Black author. These two topics grace every page of the memoir, and the word queer is written frequently and in a celebratory manner.

Johnson grew up in New Jersey among a family with other queer  gay and transgender, specifically  members in it. While the family wasnt perfect in talking about and interacting with its queer members, they were loving and fully accepting at all times.

Adult language: Both the n-word and a derogatory term for gay people appear throughout the book. Sometimes the whole word is written, and sometimes the word is censored (n***** and f**).

Johnson became a part of a Black fraternity in college, and conversations about hazing take place a few times and alcohol and drug use are discussed. Other profanity, including the f-word, appears throughout the book.

Sexual scenarios: There are three sexual experiences detailed in this book. The first scene, which spans three pages, involves two boys, George and his cousin, and includes oral sex and masturbation. The writer notes that this was an abusive situation, and he was a victim of the older cousin.

The second scene, which spans four pages, involves consensual anal sex between two men. Johnson considers this the loss of his virginity.

The third scene, which spans three pages, involves consensual sex between two adult men. Johnson speaks candidly about the pain that anal sex can bring.

What opponents have said: A Florida school board member filed a criminal complaint in November accusing the district of violating obscenity laws for having this book in school libraries, the Orlando Sentinel reported. While North Carolinas Robinson has not targeted this book, it was one of the books mentioned in the nine criminal complaints that the group Moms for Liberty filed with the Wake County Sheriffs Office.

GENDER QUEER: A MEMOIR

Author: Maia Kobabe

Audience: The author has said that the book is intended for high schoolers.

Synopsis: Gender Queer: A Memoir is a graphic novel autobiography that explores Kobabes path to identifying as nonbinary and asexual, which took decades to determine. By the end of the book, Kobabe decides to use Spivak pronouns, which are e/em/eir.

This book contains the most sexual content of the four, and the fact that it is a graphic novel contributes to this. There are a few sexual scenes in this book, as well as a few illustrations involving nudity and erotic scenarios.

Adult language: The words porn, orgasm and masturbate show up often throughout this book. The words are sometimes used in erotic and sexual scenarios, though they are often used in Maias thoughts or in conversations with friends and family. Profanity, such as the f-word, occurs infrequently in the book.

Sexual scenarios: There are five illustrated sexual scenarios, spanning nine pages of the 239-page book. In one, Maia uses a sex toy with a partner. This scene is introduced by a sequence of sexts. Another illustration involves an erection, and the word boner is used.

One illustrated panel involves two men  who are assumed to be naked  kissing. You see one mans naked buttocks. Another scene involves a vibrator, and another features two nude men with erections.

Illustrated nudity: There are two scenes of illustrated nudity in non-sexual scenarios. In one, Maia is shown naked. In the other, Maia is nude and bloodied. This illustration comes from a traumatic gynecology appointment.

What opponents have said: Robinson showed sexually explicit illustrations from this book in an October video, calling it an example of what he was criticizing as filth. Parents also have read aloud sexual passages at a recent Wake County school board meeting.

The book is available at some North Carolina public school libraries, according to library catalogs.

THE SEXUALIZATION OF OUR STUDENTS

Robinson stood by his statements as video surfaced of him demeaning the transgender and LGBTQ+ community using words like filth and garbage. He has since said the filth hes talking about refers to pornography, not LGBTQ+ people themselves nor the fact that the books feature LGBTQ+ characters.

Over the last year, my office has been discussing issues such as these. One of the main themes within my offices report on indoctrination in North Carolina was the sexualization of our students, Robinson told The N&O through a spokesperson. We are glad to see parents exposing what is going on in their childrens schools. Regardless of whether the materials are homosexual or heterosexual, they do not belong in our public school systems.

There are graphic novels and memoirs available in some school libraries that contain heterosexual themes, both written and illustrated, that Robinson did not mention as being problematic.

But parent Jessica Lewis read aloud descriptions of heterosexual and homosexual sex acts from several books at this weeks Wake County school board meeting. She accused school leaders of allowing sexual grooming to happen by making the books available to students.

Why do our kids have access to this obscenity in our libraries? Lewis said after reading a passage about heterosexual oral sex from the book Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. Who is going to be held accountable for this? Let me be clear: This is not about identifying genders. This is about no matter what gender you are, these books have no business being in our libraries.

REALLY IMPORTANT FOR KIDS TO READ

Still, others say books that address topics such as sexuality are important for helping students learn and grow.

Id like to say to parents that we recognize that this is a delicate balance, said Amy Halberstadt, head of N.C. States Family Affect, Beliefs & Behaviors Lab. Books that are developmentally appropriate are really important for kids to read. They can begin conversations and learn in conjunction with their friends and family. Having books that introduce these topics can be really helpful for family conversations.

Carmen Maria Machado is the author of Her Body and Other Parties, a collection of short stories, and In the Dream House, a memoir. In a guest essay in the New York Times, she said the desire to ban books featuring LGBTQ+ characters can be dangerous.

They want to shield their children from anything that suggests a world beyond their narrow perception, Machado wrote. As anyone can tell you  as history can tell you  this is ultimately a fools errand. Ideas dont disappear when theyre challenged.

Max Matthews is a board member at Safe Schools NC, a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to creating safe and positive learning environments. Matthews, who uses all pronouns respectfully, said they didnt have access to books like these in their youth  and it made learning about their sexuality and gender identity difficult and isolating.

A book can be pivotal in helping a child to feel less isolated as they process and navigate their identity and sexuality, Matthews said. If youth dont at least have access to such crucial resources, they may turn to truly harmful avenues that place their lives at risk.
EL CENTRO, Calif.  Californias coronavirus numbers contain what appears to be, at first glance, a pandemic paradox.

Imperial County is a poor and overwhelmingly Latino agricultural region in the states southeastern corner. Its demographics are generally linked to lower-than-average COVID-19 vaccination rates.

But the county, which is along the border with Mexico, has an immunization rate that ranks seventh out of the states 58 counties, the highest coverage level in Southern California.

Imperial Countys surprisingly high demand for vaccinations has been a mystery for several months, as CalMatters first reported. Some experts cautioned that the numbers may have been boosted by Americans who live in Mexico crossing the border to get their shots.

Still, the level of vaccine coverage in Imperial County  74% of all residents are reported to be fully immunized, compared with 64% statewide  is apparently high enough to have kept major COVID-19 surges at bay this year.

Before the vaccines, Imperial County had been battered by the coronavirus. Even now, because of the severity of the outbreaks it suffered in 2020, Imperial County has lost a higher share of its population to COVID-19 than anywhere else in the state.

But while the San Joaquin Valley, which is demographically similar, has endured a seemingly endless onslaught of COVID-19 spikes in 2021, Imperial County has been largely spared. And for that, experts credit the shots.

Dr. Timothy Brewer, an infectious-disease expert at the University of California, Los Angeles, said he thought that Imperial County might have embraced vaccines in part because of the horror its residents dealt with last year.

With 1 in 5 people in the county having tested positive for the coronavirus at some point during the pandemic, almost everyone probably knows a family member, friend or colleague who has gotten the virus  if they have not had it themselves.

They were hit early, and they were hit hard, and its possible that because of that, people recognize the importance of getting vaccinated, Brewer said. This wasnt an abstract problem.

COVID-19 hospitalizations in Imperial County have recently begun to inch upward, but it is hard to know whether that will continue or for how long, particularly given the emergence of the omicron variant. And it is not yet clear how high demand for booster shots will turn out to be in the county.

On a recent weekday, I drove two hours east from coastal San Diego to El Centro, a town of about 44,000 people and the capital of Imperial County.

El Centro is essentially how you would imagine a middle-class desert community  plenty of strip malls and mud-colored buildings with flat roofs. But there was no doubt that agriculture was the main game here.

Alongside the highway were hay bales and tractors to tend to the rows of crops stretching to the horizon. Tracts of multistory homes looked out not on parks but plowed fields.

Joe Mathews, a columnist for Zocalo Public Square, recently wrote about unusually high vaccination rates in Imperial Valley as well as in Salinas Valley, another agricultural center. He argued that an unlikely alliance between growers, labor groups, local governments and community advocates helped get people quickly immunized.

In Imperial County, there was widespread collaboration to try to spread the word about the vaccines, said Rosyo Ramirez, deputy director for the community health division of the countys public health department.

The health department partnered with local clinics and other community organizations to administer shots, opening pop-up sites at churches, farms, hospitals and the U.S.-Mexico border, she said.

Public health didnt do this alone. It was a community effort, she said.

The effect has been a stunning bucking of trends. In Imperial County, the vaccination rate for Latinos is almost 20 points higher than it is statewide. The vaccination rate for people ages 18-49 in the county also far exceeds Californias overall rate.

The demographic most represented in Imperial County, which is young adult Latinos, has really embraced getting vaccinated, which is terrific, Brewer said.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
BEIJING (AP)  China and U.S. had a very good year for collaboration on dealing with climate change, but Washington is still pushing Beijing to adopt more ambitious carbon reduction goals, the top U.S. diplomat in China said.

David Meale, the American Embassy's No. 2 official, said that what China does on burning coal will be crucial to whether the world can meet its target of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) by the end of the century, as set by the 2015 Paris climate accord.

China, the worlds largest energy consumer and biggest producer and consumer of coal, emits 27% of the world's carbon dioxide, the most of any country.

So far, however, China has shown no intention of moving up its timeline to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2060  10 years later than many nations  and for carbon emissions to peak by 2030 or before, said Meale, the embassy's charge daffaires.

The Senate has yet to approve President Joe Bidens nominee for ambassador to Beijing, former senior State Department official Nicholas Burns.

It has been a very good year for our collaboration," Meale said, citing the close relationship and regular communication between climate envoys John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua.

China has at times appeared to indicate it would tie cooperation on climate change to other issues between the countries. However, Meale cited the U.S.-China deal to work harder together to cut emissions this decade, reached last month at COP26 in Glasgow, as an indication of China's willingness to engage.

This is a very positive outcome and one we plan to build on in our bilateral engagement going forward and ... get to a place where things are speeded up, where the numbers look better," he said.

While Washington and Beijing have many areas of disagreement, this is one area where we are cooperating and cooperating very productively, Meale said.

Meale spoke to reporters at a briefing on Friday but his comments were embargoed until Monday.

While no country is where we need to be" on carbon reduction, China plays an outsize role because of its heavy dependence on coal, Meale said.

The 1.5 Celsius goal that the world is working toward is in danger and if were going to get where we need to go, were going to have to keep raising our ambition, keep taking new steps and nowhere is that going to be more important than in what China does," he said.

"So there is an extraordinary need for engagement, exchange of expertise, collaborative thinking to ask ourselves, how can China step up its ambition and step up its timeline so that we can rescue the 1.5 goal, Meale said.

China's actions will hopefully give confidence to other countries about where the world is going on the climate change question, will also inspire them raise their own ambition," he said.

In an address this year to the United Nations, Chinese leader Xi Jinping said China would not build new coal-fired plants overseas. Bu it appears China will proceed with those plants for which it has already signed contracts, and it remains unclear whether Chinese banks will continue to finance such projects in future, U.S. diplomats said.

Xi's pledge had no effect on domestic developments and China has continued to build coal-fired plants within the country at a rapid pace. With the growing use of solar and wind power, China has slightly cut its dependence on coal as a proportion of energy production from more than 70% to around 57%.

China has also ramped up coal production in recent months to ensure a steady supply for winter heating, something Meale called a challenging short-term development."

What it is bringing focus to is one of the fundamental challenges of transitioning away from hydrocarbons (for which) we need effective transition plans and actions," he said.

Decades of rapid economic growth have dramatically expanded Chinas energy needs. However, Meale said the U.S. has already shown that a country can continue to grow its economy while reducing emissions.

We're all going to have to look at the tradeoffs and the transitions and how to get those right. That is absolutely true of the United States. It brings up difficult political issues and it brings up difficult questions of science," he said.

Xi's absence from the Glasgow talks drew criticism from President Joe Biden and questions about Chinas commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Xi has not left China in almost two years.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)  The murder trial of a man accused of killing a woman and her two children is set to begin this week after a jury failed to reach a verdict in his first trial earlier this year.

Trial was to begin Monday for Marvin Esquivel Lopez, television station WHO 13 reported. Esquivel Lopez, who is also known to federal immigration authorities as Marvin Escobar-Orellana, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the 2019 deaths of 29-year-old Rossibeth Flores-Rodriguez and her two children  11-year-old Grecia Daniela Alvarado-Flores and 5-year-old Ever Jose Mejia-Flores.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)  Oklahoma tribal leaders said Monday that Gov. Kevin Stitt's decision to not renew hunting and fishing license compacts with the Cherokee and Choctaw nations is part of an ongoing dispute between the tribes and the Republican governor.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton said in a joint statement with Choctaw, Muscogee, Chickasaw and Seminole nation leaders that Stitt was undermining collaboration with them.

This is consistent with what weve seen from the governor since the (U.S.) Supreme Courts McGirt decision, which found that Oklahoma lacks jurisdiction over serious crimes committed on tribal reservations by or against tribal citizens, Hoskin wrote.

The state has asked the court to reverse the decision.

Stitt and tribal leaders had clashed earlier over Stitt's desire to renegotiate tribal gambling compacts that he claimed were expiring. Federal and state courts ruled against Stitt in lawsuits over the gambling question.

Hoskin and Batton said their tribes have paid $38 million to the state since separately agreeing with then-Gov. Mary Fallin to the licensing compacts that went into effect in 2016.

Under previous administrations, compacts regarding hunting and fishing licenses were a routine matter," Batton said. Unfortunately, Gov. Stitt has once again decided to let his personal concerns outweigh what is best for the people he was elected to represent, putting conflict above cooperation.

Stitt spokesman Charlie Hannema said Stitt believes all Oklahomans should be treated equally.

Personal attacks on the governor will not deter him from protecting the interests of all 4 million Oklahomans, including the states wildlife and natural resources, Hannema said in a statement.

Hannema said the Cherokee and Choctaw nations were offered the opportunity to purchase the licenses at the same price as non-tribal members, $25 for a hunting or fishing license, or $42 for a combination license.

A year ago, Stitt signed one-year extensions of the compacts, saying they helped capture federal funds "for conservation efforts across our state while promoting hunting and fishing opportunities for citizens of the (tribes)," according to statements released at the time.

After purchasing the licenses, the Cherokee Nation provided them at no charge to tribal members while the Choctaw Nation charged $2 each for them.

The tribes have guaranteed hunting and fishing rights on their reservations under their treaties with the United States.
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP)  Tunisian President Kais Saied has prolonged the suspension of parliament and announced a national referendum, almost five months after dismissing his government and granting himself sweeping powers.

The announcement, he said, was an answer to many Tunisians demand for political change.

To those who are calling for a return (to the old system): we will never go back to what came before, said Saied.

In a televised speech Monday evening, Saied unveiled his plans to organize a nationwide, popular consultation, that will be held both online and offline from January to March 2022.

The consultation will then be reviewed by a committee and will form the basis for a national referendum on political reform that will take place on July 25, 2022. The referendum will be held across Tunisia and will reflect the will of the people, said Saied.

July 25 is both Tunisias Republic Day and when Saied froze parliament, dismissed his government and took on executive powers this summer. In September, Saied partially suspended the countrys post-revolutionary constitution and gave himself the power to rule by decree, raising fears of democratic backsliding. Critics have called Saieds measures a coup detat.

In Mondays speech, Saied also extended the suspension of Tunisias parliament until the next legislative elections, planned for Dec. 17, 2022. The elections will be held in the framework of the referendum results.

Saieds timeline marks symbolic dates in the North African nations calendar.

Since July, Saied changed the anniversary date of Tunisias 2011 revolution  when former autocratic ruler Zine el Abidine Ben Ali fled the country  to Dec. 17 to mark the day in 2010 when fruit seller Mohammed Bouazzi set himself alight, setting off the series of uprisings in Tunisia that led to what is now known as the Arab Spring.

Saied has frequently said Tunisias revolution ended in January 2011, usurped by corrupt and self-serving political forces that redirected Tunisias democratic path.

Saied announced his exceptional measures following antigovernment protests, and have proven widely popular with a Tunisian public fatigued by economic decline and years of political deadlock which have failed to answer some of the key demands of the 2011 revolution.



Bouazza Ben Bouazza contributed to this report in Tunis
WASHINGTON (AP)  Luci Baines Johnson recalls December 1967 as a hectic time in her father's White House.

Her sister Lynda, the eldest of President Lyndon B. Johnson' s two children, was about to get married at the White House, and the president spent the days leading up to Christmas racking up miles on a last-minute trip to Australia, southeast Asia and Europe. He also looked forward to spending the holiday with his infant grandson, Patrick, Luci's child.

Those memories and more come rushing back when Luci Baines Johnson looks at this year's annual Christmas tree ornament from the White House Historical Association. It honors her father.

The holidays are a time for "remembering, remembering the people you love, trying to make sure you reach out to them, she told The Associated Press. So to have the White House Historical Association remember the people my sister and I loved and say that they value them is a extraordinary gift to us.

The 2021 official White House ornament  41st in the series  honors President Johnson with its reproduction of a painting of the Blue Room tree the family had in December 1967. Johnson's wife, Lady Bird, had commissioned the watercolor for that year's White House Christmas card.

The back of the ornament features Johnson's quote that "our mission is at once the oldest and the most basic of this country: to right wrong, to do justice, to serve man.

Every year since 1981, when first lady Nancy Reagan first gave approval, the historical association has designed an ornament honoring a president or a key White House anniversary.

The association is working its way through all 46 presidents; Johnson was the 36th.

The 2022 official ornament will honor Richard Nixon, the 37th president, with a design set to be unveiled at his presidential library in Yorba Linda, California, on Presidents Day.

Ornament sales are a major source of money for the nonprofit, nonpartisan historical association, which was created in 1961  60 years ago  by first lady Jacqueline Kennedy to help pay for White House restoration and acquisition projects.

The ornaments have become collectibles, with about 1 million now sold annually, the association said. Sales figures were not provided.

Stewart McLaurin, president of the association, said it used to be that people in Washington would pop into the association's gift shop near the White House to buy ornaments to give away as Christmas presents.

That still happens, he said. But with the reach of the internet, "now we get orders from literally all over the country and around the world with people buying them. And once you start giving them to someone, its really hard to stop. They always expect to get the one the next year.

The White House is not involved in designing the ornaments, which since 1981 have been made by ChemArt, a veteran-owned company in Lincoln, Rhode Island.

So what happens when the association runs through every president? McLaurin speculated that the series would be reset to George Washington and start over with a new set of ornaments.

The ornaments that go on to become best-sellers depict either the White House or a Christmas tree. Those have been the two icons that seem to be the most popular, McLaurin said.

The 2019 White House Christmas ornament is one of those that depicts the White House, specifically the south side, to honor President Harry Truman. He added the Truman balcony to the top floor as part of a major renovation and expansion of the executive mansion during his presidency.

Clifton Truman Daniel, Truman's oldest grandson, told the AP that his grandfather took some flak over the balcony addition. But it has become very popular with first families.

First lady Jill Biden said she sometimes hides behind a pillar on the balcony to watch her husband, President Joe Biden, come and go on the presidential helicopter. Johnson's daughters, Luci Baines Johnson and Lynda Johnson Robb, recently joined Jill Biden to hang the ornament for their father at the White House.

Truman, of course, is known for more than a balcony. Among his accomplishments is a plan to aid the economic recovery of western Europe after World War II.

But as Daniel noted, it's very hard to put the Marshall Plan on an ornament.

___

Associated Press deputy Washington bureau chief Jack Auresto and Associated Press video journalist Nathan Ellgren contributed to this report.
MADISON, Wis. (AP)  Wisconsin Assembly Democratic Minority Leader Gordon Hintz announced Monday he would be leaving his leadership position on Jan. 10.

Hintz, of Oshkosh, has been leader of minority Democrats since September 2017. Democrats, who hold 38 of the Assembly's 99 seats, will vote to elect a new leader.

Hintz, in a statement, said he wanted to have more time for his family, including two children under age 5, and for his legislative district.

Democrats have next-to-no power in the minority, unable to stop Republicans from passing whatever bills they want. One of the most powerful tools Democrats do have, if they remain united, is blocking Republicans from having the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto.

That veto-blocking power has been important during much of Hintz's tenure as leader, which also corresponded with Democrat Tony Evers being governor. Evers was elected in 2018 and since he's been in office none of his vetoes have been overturned by the Legislature.

Hintz was also an outspoken opponent of the deal signed by former Republican Gov. Scott Walker with the technology giant Foxconn. Evers reworked that deal to shrink the amount of tax credits the Taiwan-based company could qualify for.

Hintz, 48, is up for reelection to his seat in November.
Caltrans closed Highway 1 on the Big Sur Coast, between Ragged Point in San Luis Obispo County and Deetjen's Big Sur Inn in Monterey County, at 8 p.m. Sunday.

The closure is expected to remain in effect until Tuesday, when the transit agency will assess the conditions.

The closure comes as an atmospheric river dumps rain in the area and is expected to last most of the week. Officials issued evacuation warnings around the Dolan Fire burn scar at 5 p.m. Sunday, as mudslides and downed trees and power lines are possible.

Caltrans said it's working with local agencies to minimize travel into Big Sur to allow residents and businesses to evacuate in the safest conditions possible. The closure of Highway 1 comes at the request of the California Highway Patrol.

For traffic updates on other state highways in Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties, call Caltrans district 5 public affairs at (805) 549-3318 or go to https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-5.

Monterey County issued an evacuation warning around 5 p.m. Sunday for the Dolan burn scar area and areas in and around River Road in Salinas until Tuesday morning, as Sunday's atmospheric river storm system dumps heavy rain in the county.

Forecasters say rainfall will likely meet thresholds for increased risk of debris flow activity, especially in areas near the fires of Aug. 2020. Properties and people located below or downstream of the burn areas are at an increased risk.

Areas affected by the warning include Pine Canyon Road, Trimble Hill, Mesa Road, Manzanita Way, Wildwood Way, Redding Drive., Belmont Circle, the southwest end of Berry Drive, Limekiln Road and the 800 Block of River Road.

For large animal evacuation resources and information contact the SPCA for Monterey County at (831) 646-5534.

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will explore creating a municipally owned internet service provider for underserved county residents.

Supervisors Cindy Chavez and Susan Ellenberg propose the county operates the ISP alone or with other local government partners. The service would offer affordable, reliable high-speed broadband service to underserved areas primarily in East San Jose and South Santa Clara County.

The county would explore making the service available to the more than 680,000 residents and small businesses that currently only have one provider as an option for high-speed internet.

The supervisors said in a statement released Sunday more than 73,000 Santa Clara County residents and businesses do not have internet access at the speeds necessary for reliable Zoom calls, virtual classrooms, telehealth appointments or many other functions.

Chavez and Ellenberg will discuss their proposal at a news conference at noon Monday outside San Antonio Elementary School, at 1721 E. San Antonio St., in San Jose.

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors meets virtually at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. The meeting can be accessed at https://sccgov-org.zoom.us/j/91575966226.

The San Ramon City Council on Tuesday will decide whether to spend $1 million and amend the city's agreement with Contra Costa Transportation Authority to manage design and construction of the Bolliger Canyon/Iron Horse Trail Bicycle Pedestrian Overcrossing Project.

The money, which would come from the city's beatification fund, would bring the cost of the project to $22,719,650 - most of which is from state, federal and Measure J funding.

A staff report for Tuesday's meeting said design is approaching completion, and "some augmentation of the original budget may be required, and staff recommends that a contingency fund also be developed to allow smooth flow of the project, should unforeseen changes result in cost increases."

The San Ramon City Council meets virtually at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The meeting can be found at https://cityofsanramon.zoom.us/j/97160145461 (webinar ID: 971 6014 5461) or on the city's YouTube channel.

The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors will likely name Ellen McDonnell, who's been serving in the role on an interim basis since August, the county's public defender on Tuesday.

McDonnell has done the job since former public defender Robin Lipetzky announced her retirement.

McDonnell has worked in the Contra Costa office for 20 years, beginning as graduate law clerk and working her way up to chief assistant public defender for two years prior to taking over the top job temporarily in August. She's overseen a $36 million-dollar annual budget and a personnel roster of 145 employees.

McDonnell holds a Juris Doctor from University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Spanish and Italian from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. She has been a member of the California State Bar since 2001,

The supervisors meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday. The meeting can be seen at https://cccounty-us.zoom.us/j/87344719204 or on the county website at www.contracosta.ca.gov.

The California Highway Patrol is reporting a fatal vehicle collision occurred Sunday night on State Route 116 at Guerneville Road in Santa Rosa.

The incident was first reported at 10:04 p.m., noting that a vehicle had gone down an embankment, according to the CHP.

No other information about the incident was immediately available.

We're deep into the holiday season here in the Bay Area, and the opportunities to observe, take wonder and revel are multiplying. Here is a chronological list of the theater, dance and musical events from Dec. 13 through the end of the year.

The National Weather Service forecast for Monday for the San Francisco Bay Area calls for rain with up to one inch of rainfall possible in urban areas, with more expected in higher elevations. Rain and a possible thunderstorm is forecast overnight, with rain likely until 10 a.m. Tuesday. Daytime highs Monday will be in the 50s, with overnight lows in the 40s.

A wind advisory is in effect for the Bay Area until 7 a.m. Monday, and a high surf advisory is in effect until Wednesday morning.

A weaker storm system is forecast to arrive mid week, bringing light precipitation and colder temperatures.

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A four-bedroom home in a quiet San Francisco neighborhood shocked real estate agents Richard Woo and Holly Phan when it sold for $1 million over its asking price three days after it was listed, KPIX reported Friday.

The home, reportedly located west of Twin Peaks near Mount Davidson, was originally listed for just under $2.5 million but ended up selling for $3.5 million, the agents told KPIX.

We were all very surprised, because they were not just over  they were way over, Woo said of the offers.

The 2,400 square-foot home is newly updated and boasts a two-car garage, stunning views and close proximity to hiking trails. But Patrick Carlisle, the chief market analyst for Compass, told KPIX the overbid might be part of a growing trend in not only San Francisco but also the Bay Area region at large.

Its been one of the most ferocious markets in history this past year, Carlisle told the outlet, explaining that limited housing inventory has resulted in more competition among buyers, which in turn can cause prices to skyrocket. Though a fair number of new listings have come on the market, theyve been snatched up faster than ever  maybe at the fastest rate in history. Virtually every segment in the Bay Area has gone bananas.

And the size of the abode apparently doesnt matter. Last month, a 328 square-foot cottage in the Seabright neighborhood of Santa Cruz was listed for $988,000 and ultimately swiped up for an all-cash offer of $1 million after multiple bids. The home has just one bedroom and one bathroom  with a converted living space in the garage  but listing agent Walter Stauss said its prime location close to the beach was likely what led to so many offers.

He added that the housing market hasnt slowed down at all; hes noticed many Bay Area buyers are keen on coming down to buy primary or secondary homes in Santa Cruz County.

The work-from-home thing has a bigger effect than anyone anticipated, Stauss told SFGATE. Silicon Valley is a huge job market. The fact that people don't have to commute anymore and can enjoy the Santa Cruz lifestyle is a big deal. I don't see that changing at all.

Earlier this year, dozens of people camped overnight on the sidewalk to purchase newly-built townhouses in Santa Clara costing $1.2 million. Vanguard agent Alan Thuma told SFGATE the market was hot going into spring, and the trend has been ongoing as many companies delay their plans to return to the office.

According to the most recent data from the California Association of Realtors, sales of homes in San Francisco County have increased by 27.5%, while median home prices have risen by $72,000 in the last month.

SFGATE Local Editor Tessa McLean contributed to this report.
LATEST Dec. 14, 6:30 p.m. Monterey County has issued evacuation orders in areas near the River fire burn scar in Salinas. Residents can learn more about evacuation orders here.

Santa Cruz county has issued an evacuation warning for parts of the CZU Burn Scar, Felton Grove and Paradise Park. Residents have been warned of flooding and mudslides.

Dec. 13, 3:30 p.m. The San Mateo Consolidated Fire Department said it responded to flooding at a home in Hillsborough on Monday and rescued one resident.

Dec. 13, 2 p.m. The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for a large portion of the greater Bay Area, including the East Bay hills and the Diablo Range, East Bay interior valleys, northern Monterey Bay, San Francisco, San Francisco Bay shoreline, San Francisco peninsula coast, Santa Clara Valley including San Jose and the Santa Cruz Mountains.

The weather service warned excessive runoff due to heavy rainfall may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams and other low-lying and flood-prone locations.

"Creeks and streams may rise out of their banks," the weather service said. "Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas. Low-water crossings may be flooded. Storm drains and ditches may become clogged with debris. Extensive street flooding and flooding of creeks and rivers are possible."

Dec. 13, 1 p.m. Impressive rainfall rates of up to 0.58 inch per hour were recorded in the East Bay as an atmospheric river swept the Bay Area Monday, the National Weather Service said.

Images taken around the East Bay showed flooded roadways. "Expect traffic hazards and flooding of low lying areas and roadways in the near term around the greater Oakland area," the weather service warned.

Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE

Dec. 13, 12:30 p.m. A potent atmospheric river kicked up high winds around the San Francisco Bay Area on Monday afternoon with winds nearing 80 mph in isolated locations.

Top wind speeds as of 11:30 a.m. included a 79 mph gust in the Santa Cruz Mountains and a 77 mph wind in Alameda County, the National Weather Service said.

NBC News reporter Kris Sanchez shared video footage on Twitter showing white caps on Lexington Reservoir on the edge of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Los Gatos.

A wind advisory is effect for the San Francisco Peninsula, East Bay, South Bay and Santa Cruz County through 4 p.m. Monday with southerly winds of 15 to 25 mph and isolated gusts up to 55 mph in the forecast, the weather service said.

Dec. 13, 11:45 a.m. Caltrans said at 11:31 a.m. the Interstate 80 eastbound and westbound off-ramps are closed at Ashby Avenue in Berkeley due to flooding.

Dec. 13, 11:30 a.m. The storm was hung up over the Santa Cruz Mountains late Monday morning, and the National Weather Service extended a flash flood warning for San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties through 11:45 a.m. Monday.

"The Santa Cruz Mountains are getting pounded with some pretty steady rain right now," said Jeff Lorber, a forecaster with the National Weather Service. "I'm seeing some rainfall rates of a quarter inch to half inch an hour, which is going to continue over the next couple hours. They have some impressive rainfall totals, they have some amounts over 5 inches and up to 7 inch totals. I havent seen any reports of major debris flows, but there was a report of some rocks and mud that dropped onto a road in the mountains."

Cal Fire

Dec. 13, 11:11 a.m. Cal Fire's San Mateo-Santa Cruz unit said a section of Highway 92, the road between Interstate 280 and Half Moon Bay, is flooded and closed from Spanish Town to the 12000 block of the highway at Repettos Greenhouse Florist. The agency shared video footage showing a lake of water covering the roadway.

Dec. 13, 11 a.m. National Weather Service forecaster Jeff Lorber told SFGATE just before 11 a.m. that the heaviest rain in the San Francisco and Oakland areas would be winding down by late this morning.

"Weve already received mostly 2 to 3 inches around San Francisco-Oakland area," Lorber said.

The storm is expected to push south of the Bay Area into the Santa Lucia Mountains late Monday afternoon, overnight Monday and into Tuesday morning.

In the wake of the storm, a colder air mass is filtering into the Bay Area, creating instability in the atmosphere and increasing the chances for thunderstorms.

"With these cells, you could see brief bursts of hail and heavy rain," Lorber said. "You could hear a rumble of thunder and see some lightning. Thunderstorm activity is not going to be widespread."

Send storm photos and videos to agraff@sfgate.com.


First of all, the city needs to add mechanisms and policies to call for investment into industrial parks including enterprises using high-tech materials, equipment, and solutions.

The Ho Chi Minh City Business Association said that due to the lack of land funds, many supporting enterprises have lost the opportunity to deeply participate in the global supply chain.

To help enterprises, the city authorities have run off their feet setting up an industrial park with an appropriate land fund to support supporting enterprises to invest or expand production development scale so that these enterprises can compete with other rivals on prices, product quality and technology set forth by foreign-invested enterprises (FDI).

According to a representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Business Association, 18 available export processing zones, industrial parks, and high-tech zones can currently be used as the land fund for supporting industry enterprises.

However, the land area, as well as the criteria and investors, are not suitable for enterprises in the supporting industry.

The Ho Chi Minh City Business Association pointed out that only large enterprises and FDI enterprises can fulfill the criterion that enterprises produce high-tech products with outstanding quality and features as well as meet the prescribed conditions on the ratio of research expenditures, the rate of labor whereas small and medium enterprises dont have enough capital for high technology, but can only partially apply it by purchasing high-tech equipment to produce normal products such as buying jeans washing machines, fabric cutting machine, shoe sole cutting by modeling software program with high accuracy and outstanding productivity.

Moreover, many enterprises have been registered in the city's existing high-tech zones and industrial parks. Additionally, city authorities also dont approve the registration of enterprises causing pollution while the new areas have not been implemented yet. As for the land fund in the residential area, new production facilities - especially manufacturing plants in key industries of the city - cant be set up.

Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City Electromechanical Association Do Phuoc Tong said that supporting enterprises are facing difficulties in land and capital.

Last but not least, the pre-tax technology development fund is allowed to be established, but the control procedures are quite tight, so it is not attractive to enterprises.

As for technology selection, enterprises are quite confused due to the lack of reliable sources. Plus, enterprises find it difficult to recruit and retain skilled workers.

Also according to the Ho Chi Minh City Business Association, it is very urgent to remove difficulties for enterprises in the supporting industry in particular, and small and medium-sized enterprises in general. First of all, the city needs to add mechanisms and policies to call for enterprises using high-tech materials, equipment and solutions in industrial parks and economic zones.

On the other hand, businesses are allowed to enjoy preferential policies and contribute to a rapidly increasing proportion of enterprises employing high technology for the city's economic growth.

Regarding settlement issues, the city is currently planning to establish a new industrial park with the name "High-tech applied supporting industry zone".

However, according to many businesses, the city needs to subsidize part of the land rent for supporting enterprises that pour investment in this new industrial park.

Next, city authorities will create conditions for businesses to associate production by setting up the main goal of the zone. Thus, both buyers and sellers of supporting industry products are required to produce on-site products.

Only production links can create value chains and high economic efficiency. Investors who want to open their facilities in industrial parks and export processing zones need to satisfy the requirements for high technology applications. If an enterprise cant select a partner, they are still given land in industrial parks for them to choose an investor.

Many people believe that at present, enterprises in the supporting industry dare not to invest in the production of auxiliary products if they cant seek buyers. Small and medium enterprises can only produce products to orders and need more support from the government for the successful production of supporting industries.

In addition, the city needs to assign an agency to research accurate, reliable, and responsible information on high technology for businesses to choose and apply. Because at present, businesses are quite confused at choosing technology, reliable supplier addresses to buy, warranty, training, technology transfer; therefore, without reliable sources of IT information, businesses do not dare to pour money.

Lecturer Huynh Thanh Dien from Nguyen Tat Thanh University said that in order to reduce the rental cost of premises for supporting enterprises, there should be mechanisms and policies to support costs for infrastructure investors in return for low rental rates. Supporting mechanisms can be implemented such as support for site clearance and infrastructure investment from the funding of the city's stimulus program. When infrastructure investors receive support, they must be bound by rental prices by the city's appraisal board.

By Minh Xuan - Translated by Anh Quan
Occurred on December 4, 2021 / South Atlantic Ocean



Info from Licensor: "Two twin charted LATAM Dreamliners rendezvoused with the total solar eclipse over the South Atlantic Ocean--east of the Falkland Islands, west the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, north of Coronation Island and north of Antarctica. This began around 3:30am Chilean time with totality occurring at 4:03am Chilean time. Totality lasted 1m 55s. I was aboard the nicknamed 'Gold' plane seated in seat 17A--port side of the aircraft. We were cruising at an altitude of 40,000 feet while the 'Blue' Dreamliner was 1,000 feet higher (dimly seen in the video). We intercept the coordinates (lat.,long., and alt.) of where the shadow of the Moon would sweep us from behind and overtake us as its speed is over 1,000mph. We essentially bisected the elongated, oval shadow backward. It swept and enveloped us. Only cruise ship out of six that I know saw the eclipse on the horizon in a clearing. It soon rose into a blanket of clouds. We experienced the longest totality nearing 2 minutes where expeditions to Union Glacier experienced at most 40 seconds. The bright "star" to right of the eclipsed sun was the planet Mercury. The redness to the right is where totality is not happening yet. Similar to a sunrise or sunset. After it ended the other side of the Moon's shadow cone can be seen with a red edge followed by yellow and then white. This was a miraculous mission as Falkland Island air traffic control would not authorize emergency landing for our planes as they originally did. The governor of the Falklands overruled it. We were left scurrying to hire newer, longer-range planes: thus the Dreamliners came at the last hour. It was the seat of your pants action and this perfectly choreographed air and (celestial) sky show couldn't have been framed better out of a plane window. This was my second total solar eclipse from an airplane and it didn't let me down as heard in my visceral narrative. I was the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse Project Manager for AAS (American Astronomical Society). That event of August 21, 2017, was the most-watched event in U.S. history--millions saw it. The next where even more may see it (weather-permitting) can reach 145 million in the narrow path of totality and the rest of the USA will see a partial eclipse (eclipse glasses or safe solar filters will be necessary). I don't think I saw a more exhilarating eclipse coordinated by T.E.I. Tours and LATAM Airlines. I was lucky to be aboard and was humbled by the event."
Benjamin Chota, Nkasi district Chief Medical Officer in the region, on Sunday added that the first three cases of cholera were reported at Korongwe ward dispensary in the district on December 2.

Dar Es Salaam, Dec 13 (IANS) At least 37 cases of cholera have been reported in Tanzania's southern highlands region of Rukwa, a medical official has said.

"After the three cases were reported a team of medical experts collected samples from the three patients and tests showed that they suffered from cholera," Chota told a news conference.

He said Nkasi district authorities created a makeshift site for treating cholera patients where 37 cholera patients were admitted to by December 10.

"Twenty-five of the cholera patients were treated and discharged and 12 patients are still receiving treatment at the makeshift site," the official added.

Peter Lijualikali, the Nkasi District Commissioner, urged medical personnel in the district to ensure that the deadly disease was contained before it spread to other parts of the district.

--IANS

int/khz/
Students of such grades who test positive for Covid-19, live in high-risk areas and are not staying in the city at the moment, will continue to study online in accordance with guidelines of the city's health sector, Xinhua news agency cited the Vietnam News Agency as reporting.

Ho Chi Minh city, Dec 13 (IANS) Nearly 150,000 students from 9th and 12th grades in Vietnam's southern Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), the country's largest Covid-19 hotspot, returned to school on Monday after a long time of learning online due to pandemic restrictions.

HCMC is home to 205 high schools, of which 176 would welcome 12th graders back. Meanwhile, as many as 224 secondary schools out of the total 286 in the southern city would open for 9th graders,

Under a pilot programme, the city will hold in-person classes for 9th and 12th graders from Monday until December 25, before allowing more students to come back to school.

Between late October and early December, the southern city finished inoculating more than 709,600 children aged 12-17 years, according to the municipal centre for disease control.

HCMC is now Vietnam's largest Covid hotspot with nearly 488,000 infections and 18,750 deaths as of Sunday, as per the data from the country's Ministry of Health.

--IANS

int/sks
Thalapathy Vijay has wrapped up his portions in the upcoming magnum opus action entertainer Beast. The actor hugged director Nelson Dhilipkumar on the sets and expressed his happiness on the last day of the shoot. Earlier, Pooja Hegde had also announced that she completed shooting for her scenes in the biggie.

Pooja had said that the film will be a hilarious entertainer in Nelson and Vijay's style. Produced by Sun Pictures, Selvaraghavan, Aparna Das, Kingsley, Shine Tom Chacko, Lilliput Faruqi, and Yogi Babu are also playing pivotal characters in the film. Sources say that although Vijay and Pooja have completed their scenes, Nelson has a few more sequences left to be shot.

Anirudh Ravichander is scoring the music for Beast while Manoj Paramahamsa is handling the camera.

Besides the Tamil version, Beast is also all set to release big in Telugu for the Summer Holidays 2022.
Sify.com Movies Reviews Hollywood West Side Story

West Side Story review: Lacks the 'Steven Spielberg' stamp

A vital and vibrant remake of the 1957 original Broadway musical of the same name

Source: SIFY By: IANS Critic's Rating: 3/5 Monday 13 December 2021

Movie Title West Side Story review: Lacks the 'Steven Spielberg' stamp Director Steven Spielberg

Star Cast Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, Rita Moreno, Corey Stoll, Brian d'Arcy James, Josh Andres Rivera, Iris Menas

Steven Spielberg's 'West Side Story' is a vital and vibrant remake of the 1957 original Broadway musical of the same name and its faithful 1961 film adaptation whose dramedy theme was famously based on William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet.

Set in early 1950, in the backdrop of the gentrification of the Upper West Side neighbourhood of Manhattan in New York City, the story concerns the feud between rival street gangs; The white Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks, each wanting to control the Upper West Side Neighbourhood.

The film begins with a witty flourish with members of the Sharks gang being taunted by the white gang because the turf that they're fighting over is changing and shrinking beneath their feet.

Amidst their conflict, Maria (Rachel Zegler), the younger sister of the Shark leader Bernardo (David Alvarez) falls in love with Tony whom she fondly calls Anton (Ansel Elgort), after their paths cross on the dance floor. Their first meeting at the ball seems extremely staged and obligatory.

While they romance, she is unaware that Tony, freshly out of prison for killing another man, is the friend of the current Jet boss Riff (Mike Faist), and is the sworn enemy of her brother. But when she realises this, it is too late.

Bernardo is not happy that his sister is attracted to a gringo, a white American, and with their long-standing enmity with the Jets, he challenges Riff for a duel and insists that Riff invite Tony to the rumble.

During the fight, the situation goes out of control. And Bernardo and Riff are killed. And then the tragedy of errors concludes the drama just like in Romeo and Juliet.

This 156-minute script is engaging but very perfunctorily it spends a valuable amount of time on the songs and the general rambling of the working-class Puerto Ricans. In the bargain, the romance and the killings all appear obligatory.

On the performance front, every actor gives their sincere best. Elgort and Zegler make a brilliant pair but they lack on-screen chemistry. He is the 'by-the-book' type of guy, and she being spontaneous, does not reflect on screen, simply because they do not share much screen time together.

The only time you would invest while watching the film is during the scenes between Tony and Valentina, the widow of the drugstore owner who mentors Tony.

All the other actors are good dancers, and they fit their roles in the musical. In fact, the fight scenes too appear like a well-choreographed dance.

On a separate note, imagine what happens when you are in the company of a multi-language speaking crowd, and all of a sudden, a few speak in their own tongue, not bothering to translate the conversation for your benefit. It makes you feel like an unwanted guest.

The same is the case here when the Puerto Rican characters speak in Spanish. The spoken words are not translated and subtitled. Must say, it is a strange directorial choice. Much of the flavour of the film is lost with the missing subtitles.

Overall, this film is brilliantly mounted, with good production values, picture-perfect shots, seamless editing, and excellent music, but it lacks the exquisite 'Steven Spielberg' stamp on it.
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James Packers scandal-ridden and COVID-smashed casino empire, Crown Resorts, is pushing its financial prospects and rebirth story - inclusive of an early-2022 opening of the Sydney Barangaroo casino and the potential sale of the UK casino Aspinalls.

But its a tough sell for Crowns new executive team - a group of cleanskins headed by former Lend Lease boss, Steve McCann - that marched into the management ranks this year replacing the Packer appointees.

The good news is that McCann thinks he is near enough to getting approval for Sydney that he can taste its revenue and that the birth of a reformed Crown is in the final stages of labor.

Poker face; new Crown CEO Steve McCann. Credit:Janie Barrett

What is unclear for investors is what a reformed Crown will look like, what it will earn and what it will be worth.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison acknowledged his government failed to swiftly roll out the COVID-19 vaccine, but that the Commonwealth ultimately overcame the problems plaguing the inoculation program.

Mr Morrison was in Melbourne on Tuesday morning to announce an mRNA manufacturing facility in partnership with pharmaceutical company Moderna and the Australian and Victorian governments.

Mr Morrison promised government intrusion in citizens lives would be temporary. Credit:Chris Hopkins

He echoed statements he made at the Sydney Institute on Monday night, where he conceded the government did not get everything right in the pandemic but did not admit to specific mistakes.

When asked on Tuesday what the Commonwealths biggest failure over the past two years had been, the Prime Minister said there were problems with the vaccine rollout earlier in the year, but that had since been rectified.

When youre in a crisis, its not unusual to have setbacks, Mr Morrison said. The proof of managing a crisis is being able to overcome it, and we did overcome it, and we were able to achieve those vaccination rates that we hoped to achieve.

Australia is on track to becoming the most vaccinated country with 88.1 per cent of the eligible population fully vaccinated against the virus.

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The federal government had initially planned to roll out the vast majority of vaccines through GPs and pharmacists, but state governments, particularly in Victoria and NSW, hav ended up inoculating more than 50 per cent of their populations.

This Christmas were about to head into is a gift that Australians have given to themselves by the way theyve worked with the settings that weve put in place, Mr Morrison said.

Mr Morrison told the Sydney Institute that his opponents on the left would draw precisely the wrong lesson from the pandemic by pursuing a more expansive government role and a reach into society in economic, social and cultural policies.

This would be a profound misjudgement, in light of both our liberal democratic inheritance and what now lies in front of us as we secure our recovery, he said.

"The reach of government in this pandemic is not some new norm; it has a use-by date."
Former Anglican Church Archbishop of Perth Roger Herft has been defrocked following an internal inquiry which determined he had failed to address child sex abuse claims against priests under his watch when he was the Bishop of Newcastle.

The Episcopal Standards Board of the Anglican Church determined Mr Herft, who has not been accused of any abuse himself, was no longer fit for Holy Orders and he should be defrocked.

Former Anglican Archbishop of Perth Roger Herft has been defrocked. Credit:Paul Kane

The ruling means Mr Herft, who retired from his Perth position in 2017, is no longer recognised as an ordained member of the Anglican Church.

The Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia and Adelaide Archbishop Geoffrey Smith said in a statement the standards boards decision had been based on findings from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
The pent-up tension was almost too much for some.

Ten-year-old Annabelle Hinde and her five-year-old sister, Elsie, could not contain their excitement as they leapt at their grandmother after her flight from Melbourne touched down in Brisbane on Monday morning.

For many, Qantas flight QF604 was somewhat of a relief mission, after months of family separation and dislocation.

Jenny Hinde hugged her grandchildren under the glare of TV cameras
The NSW government is scrambling to keep a controversial $40 billion rail corporation from unravelling and exposing it to a multibillion-dollar hole in the state budget.

NSW Treasury was in turmoil on Monday night after the NSW Auditor-General refused to sign off on the states finances unless a solution was found to what she described as significant accounting issues. It comes the same week as the government is scheduled to hand down its half-yearly budget update.

In a dramatic turn of events, Auditor-General Margaret Crawford also pulled out of an appearance scheduled for Thursday at a parliamentary inquiry into the Transport Asset Holding Entity (TAHE) because of the need to delay signing off on audits of the rail corporation and the states finances.

About $40 billion of rail assets, including trains, are owned by the governments Transport Asset Holding Entity. Credit: James Alcock

She is already almost two months late in signing off on the states finances due to major outstanding matters with TAHE.
Gittins notes that, from the point of view of interest costs, the budget deficits incurred and in prospect are not a great cause for worry. Deficits are not the problem per se; they need to be financed properly. This is not happening. The government is not paying for the resources it wishes to command but is simply issuing promises it will. It is banana republic financing. Mike Bush, Port Macquarie Independent challenge is of Liberals own making The Prime Minister says independents are only running against Liberals at the next election (Independents name policies that would earn their votes, December 13) and people will see that for what it is. Indeed, Prime Minister, I see disaffected small l moderates. Wendy Young, Glebe Scott Morrison moans publicly that independent candidates are only running against Liberals  I think people see that for what it is. People certainly do, PM. In particular, they see intelligent and true liberal-minded women who are looking for a future in which their lives are not ruled by old and new secret deals dreamed up by two stuck-in-the-mud minority political parties. Sue Dyer, Downer (ACT) Yes, PM, independents are running against your incumbents. Heres why. Under your current leadership or, rather, lack of it, the Liberal Party has taken a sharp right and is accelerating away from its core morality. You had your chance to give the electorate an effective federal integrity commission, to respond to the climate challenge in a scientifically based way, to treat women with respect, to discipline  rather than reward  wayward politicians, but you and your colleagues have blown it every time. The fact that you find it difficult to understand that intelligent, capable, disaffected Liberals taking matters into their own hands are not acting for another party shows just how out of touch you really are. Elisabeth Goodsall, Wahroonga

Independents are choosing to run in the seats where they see their best chances of winning, and those are the seats whose occupants have been sitting on their backsides for too long and not delivering the leadership our nation needs. Rory McGuire, Pyrmont Do we really need more independents in Parliament? Have we not seen enough chaos? George Fishman, Vaucluse Even better, vote for independent women and get the gender balance going in the right direction too. Angela Namoi, Crows Nest As suggested by Luca Belgiorno-Nettis (Yes, Australian politics needs a shake-up, but independents arent the answer, December 13) a vote for an independent is not a sensible option. Unfortunately, they could hold the balance of power, thus disrupting or delaying the work of the Parliament for a minority. Use your vote wisely and vote for one of the major parties that, if in government, can bring about change without the independents. Denis Suttling, Newport Beach Labor needs to differentiate itself

Sean Kelly (Is Albanese all at sea? , December 13) asks voters: What is the tangible difference between the Coalition and Labor going into the 2022 federal election? He concludes that Labor hasnt figured it out, and if it hasnt figured that out, how will most voters? Following its 2019 defeat, Labor is still running scared, trying to make itself a small target for the Coalition. Labor remains intimidated by PM Scott Morrison, despite his failings. In 2019, he spun the Coalition from certain election defeat to a miraculous election victory. The danger for Labor is that if voters dont see too many differences in Labor policies compared with those of the Coalition, they will go with the devil they know in 2022. Geoff Black, Caves Beach Sean Kelly argues that Labors policies dont go far enough to counter the backlog of policies the Morrison government has failed to put in place. I would have thought Labors policies on climate change, a federal watchdog, the Uluru Statement and childcare would have been enough, considering the moral decay of the Morrison government. Voters should not need to be reminded of the rorts, pork barrelling, cover-ups and scandals engulfing the Coalition. Graham Lum, North Rocks Vaccination policy Is it too much to hope that by December 15 the state government might mandate all establishments and businesses that allow unvaccinated people inside to post that information on their front doors? I urge all vaccinated citizens to boycott those establishments. Richard Fry, Marrickville Just as I and my immune-compromised friend were considering going out again, the rules change to allow unvaccinated people to go to restaurants and cafes. Well, thats two people who wont be adding to the hospitality industrys coffers this Christmas. Thanks, Dom. Maureen Partridge, Baulkham Hills

Premier, when you announced the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions, Omicron was an unknown. Now it is a major threat. Please show flexibility and sense and delay the relaxation of restrictions. Failing to do that may eventually compel you to reintroduce lockdowns  a far less attractive alternative. Flexibility will score you more points than adherence to irrelevant promises. Naomi Roseth, Mosman School test fails What an indictment of NAPLAN testing is the finding that the tests need context students can relate to (Read the room: Local angles may redraw the states NAPLAN map, December 13). How many students have been labelled as underperforming by such results? What resources misdirected? What opportunities stymied? I wonder if the apparent urban conventional bias has also affected students from migrant or disadvantaged communities. Michael Berg, Randwick Send Assange home The suffering of Julian Assange is worse than incarceration in the hulks awaiting their fate on the muddy banks of the Thames during the 19th century (Assanges legal torment has gone on long enough, December 13). Lord Justice Holroyde should revert to colonial practices and sentence Assange to transportation to Botany Bay for his misdemeanour, whereupon Prime Minister Albanese could welcome him ashore with a ticket of leave. Steve Johnson, Elizabeth Beach

Light up the boards The city revamp is reported to include digital billboards for advertising and event information (Digital footprint to refresh CBD, December 13) as well as 340 digital bus shelters. I hope these shelters will at last provide real-time information on the wait time for the next buses and not just more advertising. Real wait times are displayed for light and heavy rail, so can we please have the same for buses in the city for a start? Judith Campbell, Drummoyne Voters fooled I agree with your correspondents comment about privatisation: The public pays while private enterprise profits (Letters, December 13). Voters are so easily bamboozled. Like moths to a flame, they are drawn to the prospect of modest tax cuts (often financed by the privatisation of their assets), only to find that they have to pay thousands of extra dollars for road tolls, hospitals and schools. And who benefits from this sleight of hand? The big businesses that benefit from both the tax cuts and the privatisation. Tom Orren, Wamberal Heights Your correspondent has eloquently stated my exact thoughts on our state governments privatisation obsession. We used to have a Department of Public Works, which built our infrastructure. This had many public benefits: it employed and trained its workforce, providing traineeships and apprenticeships, and boosted government coffers, reducing the need for higher taxes for workers. Privatisation has delivered no tangible benefits for us; only higher fares, various and expensive tolls, etc. Kim Smith, Rozelle

Wandering with wonder I love to wander through local pop-up shops in our collective stores. They are Aladdins caves full of imaginative wonders to purchase. I admire the ingenuity and effort on display. After my meandering and purchasing of Christmas gifts, I enjoy a coffee at a local cafe; a social occasion with smiles shared that helps out local businesses. Such a happy morning shows that Alice Clarke is right (Shop small so that your gift choices give twice, December 13). No need to endure noisy, crowded shopping centres. Bea Hodgson, Gerringong Farrelly a rare talent Elizabeth Farrelly has displayed a rare artistry of vocabulary, vista and vitality (Elizabeth Farrelly departs The Sydney Morning Herald, smh.com.au, December 12), but it is her ability to connect the external with the internal, the built environment with the community that dwells in it, the physical surrounds with the spiritual essence, that I have admired most. Meredith Williams, Northmead When a freshly dismissed pundit is apparently gobsmacked by the seriousness with which professional integrity must be taken and attempts to spin it as a small, inadvertent misdemeanour, its a good indication theyll do really well in politics. Peter Fyfe, Enmore
An internal Queensland Jetstar flight and various Brisbane shops are among the growing list of new COVID-19 exposure sites, rounding off a turbulent border reopening day for the state.

Flight JQ967 from Cairns to Coolangatta on Friday, December 10, is an exposure concern, with passengers in rows 20-24 considered close contacts and all other passengers are casual contacts.

Gold Coast Airport and Cairns Airport have also been listed as low-risk contact sites on that day.

Queenslands newly appointed Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard speaks at Mondays press conference. Credit:Dan Peled/Getty Images

The Apple Store at Westfield Carindale in Brisbanes south was also added as a casual contact site late on Monday, along with the Foodworks at Morningside and Shell service station at Bulimba.
A teenager who stabbed and killed another young man during a brawl that was sparked by offensive hand gestures has been ordered to serve 6 years in custody.

Lindim Aliti stabbed Thomas Tran, 20, in the heart with a knife near a mall in Oakleigh on June 29 last year as rival groups of teenage boys and young men ran through the Melbourne suburb.

Thomas Tran and his mother Amy. Credit:Nine News

The violence came after two men in a car and a man standing outside a pizza shop raised their middle fingers at each other, and then vowed to meet again that night once they had recruited reinforcements through social media and phone calls.

The Supreme Court heard that about 7.45pm, a group of four clashed with a group of seven in a brawl, and that the smaller group  despite some being armed with knives and poles  fled and were chased by members of the larger group.
Emergency room doctors say a gap in services for people with mental health and addiction conditions is behind a dramatic increase in presentations at inner-city hospitals.

A study by St Vincents Health, which runs busy emergency rooms in Sydneys Darlinghurst and Melbournes Fitzroy, shows vulnerable patients being admitted in growing numbers with acute health problems that could have been prevented.

Erin Longbottom says vulnerable patients need better care in the community to prevent emergency department admissions. Credit:Louise Kennerley

Data collected by the two hospitals shows emergency room admissions of vulnerable patients  with drug and alcohol problems, mental ill health, Indigenous patients and long-term homeless people  increased by 61 per cent in the eight years to 2020, compared with 11 per cent among general patients.

Erin Longbottom, a nurse manager at St Vincents Sydneys homeless health unit, said there was a real lack of resources to support people with complex mental health conditions that had been compounded by the pandemic.
First published in The Sydney Morning Herald on December 15, 16, 18 & 19, 1931

THE SENATE.

Mr. Hardys Campaign.

HARDEN, Monday.

Mr Charles Hardy spoke here this afternoon to the biggest political meeting ever held in Harden. The hall was packed, and the crowd overflowed into the street. Remarkable enthusiasm was displayed.

Politician Charles Hardy standing next his plane before departing on an aerial election tour, NSW, December 2, 1931. Credit:Staff photographer

Mr Hardy said that the extreme industrial policy now advocated by Labour meant disaster. A generation of farmers would be of more value to Australia than a generation of industrialists, who, under a suicide tariff policy, would be industrialists in name only. Their factory would be the street corner. Save the farmer, said Mr Hardy, and you will save Australia.

Mr. Hardy had a very bumpy trip by plane from Sydney.
The chairman of the NSW gaming regulator has formally called on Premier Dominic Perrottet and his government to launch a royal commission-style inquiry into poker machine money laundering, crime and problem gambling.

The move by Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority chairman Philip Crawford to call in writing for a commission of inquiry represents the most dramatic escalation yet of a scandal involving allegations that organised crime is washing hundreds of millions of dollars through some of the states 95,000 poker machines.

Premier Dominic Perrottet is facing pressure to launch a judicial review into poker machines and wide scale money laundering. Credit:SMH

It places intense pressure on Mr Perrottet to act to fight money laundering or risk undermining the states gaming watchdog and police, who also back an inquiry. It also raises questions about why state Opposition Leader Chris Minns has been largely silent on the issue.

In his letter to the Perrottet government, dated November 30, Mr Crawford said a special commission of inquiry into money laundering in hotels and registered clubs was needed because authorities had recently uncovered clear evidence that money laundering appears to be just as prevalent in hotels and clubs as  in the casino industry, if not more so.
Women in the NSW public sector earn almost $4000 less than men, with the gender pay gap now the widest it has been in a decade.

The NSW Public Service Commission on Monday released its 2021 Workforce Profile Report revealing the gender pay gap had doubled since last year.

The gender pay gap in the NSW public sector is the widest it has been in a decade. Credit:Andrew Dyson

Across the 430,000-strong public service, which includes teachers, nurses, police and ambulance officers, women make up more than 65 per cent of employees.

This year the difference in median remuneration between men and women in the public sector was 4.1 per cent or $3905, compared to 2.2 per cent or $2053 in 2020.
PHILIPSBURG:--- The Immigration and Border Protection Services Mobile Control Unit have received newly designed work uniforms on Monday, December 6th. The uniform change, which carries the organizational logo, was as a result of the decision taken to place the Border Protection and Mobile Unit under the leadership of IBPS and brand the division with its own identity. This initiative forms part of Minister of Justice Anna E. Richardsons goal to enhance the Ministry and its respective departments.

For quite some time, Ive been content with the design of the new uniforms. As such, I congratulate the Management Team of IBPS for seeing my vision through as we continue to enhance the ministry step by step, stated Minister Richardson.

Within the next coming weeks, the workers at St. Maarten border points will receive new standard uniforms as the Ministry was already awaiting an order placed, however, these will be for a temporary period. In 2022, Minister Richardson intends to implement one standard uniform design for the entire IBPS division. The purchase of the newly designed uniforms was possible via funds received from the standing agreement between the governments of St. Maarten and the Netherlands on strengthening border control.
The iconic Mexican singer Vicente Fernandez died this Sunday, December 12 at the age of 81, leaving an impressive legacy of more than 50 years of songs, phrases and films that reflect the pride of being Mexican and of fighting against adversity.

"El Charro de Huentitan" was born on February 17, 1940 in the town of Huentitan El Alto, Jalisco, Mexico.

His parents were Ramon Fernandez and Paula Gomez de Fernandez. He sang for the first time in a contest in Guadalajara when he was 14 years old in which he won the first prize. As a child I watched Pedro Infante's films and dreamed of being like him. He married his wife Refugio Cuquita Abarca Villasenor on December 27, 1963 and with her he had four children: Vicente, Gerardo, Alejandro and Alejandra.

He began his career in some mariachi groups such as Mariachi Amanecer by Pepe Mendoza, and Mariachi by Jose Luis Aguilar (Felipe Arriaga) where he performed in restaurants. Through these groups he became friends with Felipe Arriaga and acted on the radio program Amanecer Tapatio.

At the end of 1965 he moved to Mexico City and knocked on doors until he got an audition at the then CBS Studios and finally entered the number 1 station in Mexico at the time, XEX.

Shortly after the death of Javier Solis, on April 19, 1966, record companies began contacting Vicente Fernandez in search of a new ranchera music star.

The idol of Mexico

In the summer of 1966 when Fernandez signed his contract with CBS Mexico (today SONY MUSIC) recording his first hits: Tu Camino y El Mio, Perdoname and Cantina del Barrio . The albums Soy de Abajo , Ni en Defensa Propia and Palabra de Rey followed. In 1971 he entered the cinema with the Mexican production, "One and a Half Against the World" and three years later he would star in his most famous film, "La Ley del Monte" .

His popularity became legendary in 1976 when composer Fernando Z. Maldonado performed Volver, Volver, as well as De Que Manera te Olvido and Sentimental y Ranchero in 1980.

"But I'm still the king"

Vicente Fernandez has received various awards during his musical career:

The Distinction of Mister Amigo in 1977 in Brownsville, Texas.

The Billboard in 1990 for the album Vicente Fernandez and the classics of Jose Alfredo Jimenez.

The America of Univision Music Award for Regional Mexican Male Artist of the Year four times, between 1990 and 1993.

The Billboard Latin Music Award for Greatest Hits Album of the Year for Story of an Idol Volume II in 2001.

She was certified double platinum by the RIAA in 2000 for a number of hits like Too bad you're an alien, I'm going to get out of the way, and Our clothes got in the way.

More than 76 million records sold.

A star with his name placed on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California in 1998.

Phrases from "Chente" Fernandez that you can use to inspire yourself

Through his songs Vicente Fernandez left us great pieces of wisdom through the songs he performed over 50 years of artistic career.

What are your favorites?

About living in the moment

"Life is a glass of liquor and nobody enjoys it forever. It ends if you drink it in one go. Just as if you drink it slowly", Life is a glass of liquor .

About self-esteem

"I have no throne or queen, or anyone who understands me, but I am still the King", The King .

About giving it all

"As long as you don't stop clapping, your 'Chente' won't stop singing."

On the importance of the road

"The important thing is not to get there first, but to know how to get there", El Rey .

About talent

"Talent is a gift from God, fame is the result of man's work"

On not giving up

"I am one of the men who fear nothing, and even if I am lost, I do not know how to crack."

About emotional intelligence

"I am a man, but it is also for men to know how to feel pain."

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WASHINGTON (AP)  The Air Force has discharged 27 people for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, making them what officials believe are the first service members to be removed for disobeying the mandate to get the shots.

The Air Force gave its forces until Nov. 2 to get the vaccine, and thousands have either refused or sought an exemption. Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said Monday that these are the first airmen to be administratively discharged for reasons involving the vaccine.

She said all of them were in their first term of enlistment, so they were younger, lower-ranking personnel. And while the Air Force does not disclose what type of discharge a service member gets, legislation working its way through Congress limits the military to giving troops in vaccine refusal cases an honorable discharge or general discharge under honorable conditions.

The Pentagon earlier this year required the vaccine for all members of the military, including active duty, National Guard and the Reserves. Each of the services set its own deadlines and procedures for the mandate, and the Air Force set the earliest deadline. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said the vaccine is critical to maintaining the health of the force and its ability to respond to an national security crisis.

None of the 27 airmen sought any type of exemption, medical, administrative or religious, Stefanek said. Several officials from the other services said they believe that so far only the Air Force has gotten this far along in the process and discharged people over the vaccine refusal.

As a result, they were formally removed from service for failure to obey an order. Stefanek said it is also possible that some had other infractions on their records, but all had the vaccine refusal as one of the elements of their discharge.

It is not unusual for members of the military to be thrown out of the service for disobeying an order discipline is a key tenet of the armed services. As a comparison, Stefanek said that in the first three quarters of 2021, about 1,800 airmen were discharged for failure to follow orders.

According to the latest Air Force data, more than 1,000 airmen have refused the shot and more than 4,700 are seeking a religious exemption. As of last week, a bit more than 97% of the active duty Air Force had gotten at least one shot.

Members of the Navy and the Marine Corps had until Nov. 28 to get the shots and their Reserve members have until Dec. 28. Army active duty soldiers have until Wednesday, and members of the Army National Guard and the Reserves have the most time to be vaccinated, with a deadline of next June 30.

Across the military, the vaccine reaction has mirrored that of society as a whole, with thousands seeking exemptions or refusing the shots. But overall the percentage of troops  particularly active duty members  who quickly got the shots exceeds the nationwide numbers.

As of Dec. 10, the Pentagon said that 96.4% of active duty personnel have gotten at least one shot. The number plummets to about 74%, however, when the Guard and Reserve are included. According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 72% of the U.S. population 18 and older have gotten at least one shot.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has made it clear that the Guard and Reserve are also subject to the mandate, and has warned that those who fail to comply risk their continuing members in the military. But that has proven to be contentious.

Oklahomas Republican governor and the state attorney general have already filed a federal lawsuit challenging the military mandate for the state's Guard. Gov. Kevin Stitt  the first state leader to publicly challenge the mandate  is arguing that Austin is overstepping his constitutional authority.

Stitt had asked Austin to suspend the mandate for the Oklahoma National Guard and directed his new adjutant general to assure members that they would not be punished for not being vaccinated.

Austin rejected the request and said unvaccinated Guard members would be barred from federally funded drills and training required to maintain their Guard status.

Oklahoma's adjutant general, Brig. Gen. Thomas Mancino, posted a letter on the state Guard's website, however, warning his troops that those who refuse the vaccine could end their military careers.

Anyone ... deciding not to take the vaccine, must realize that the potential for career ending federal action, barring a favorable court ruling, legislative intervention, or a change in policy is present, Mancino wrote.
LONDON (AP)  Long lines formed Monday at vaccination centers across England as people heeded the governments call for all adults to get booster shots to protect themselves against the omicron variant, and as the U.K. recorded its first death of a patient infected with omicron.

In a televised announcement late Sunday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said everyone 18 and up would be offered a third vaccine dose by Dec. 31  less than three weeks away, and a month earlier than the previous target. Johnson said boosters would reinforce our wall of vaccine protection against an anticipated tidal wave of omicron.

U.K. health authorities say omicron cases are doubling every two to three days in Britain, and that the variant will replace delta as the dominant coronavirus strain within days. Health Secretary Sajid Javid told lawmakers Monday that omicron will be dominant in London within 48 hours.

While omicron is acknowledged to be much more transmissible than previous coronavirus variants, its unclear both how virulent it is and whether the expected wave of infections will inundate the countrys state-funded health care system

Barely two weeks after it was identified in South Africa, 10 people are in British hospitals with omicron-related COVID-19. The British government raised the countrys coronavirus threat level on Sunday, warning that the rapid spread of omicron adds an additional and rapidly increasing risk to the public and health care services.

Scientists in South Africa say the variant may cause less severe disease than the delta variant but caution that it's too soon to be certain. Health authorities around the world are watching Britain closely to see what an omicron surge looks like in a country with an older, more highly vaccinated population than South Africas.

The idea that this is somehow a milder version of the virus, I think thats something we need to set on one side and just recognize the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population, Johnson said as he visited a vaccination center in London. So the best thing we can do is all get our boosters.

The U.K. Health Security Agency says existing vaccines appear less effective in preventing symptomatic infections in people exposed to omicron, though that effectiveness appears to rise to between 70% and 75% after a third dose.

More than 80% of people age 12 and up in Britain have received two vaccine doses, and 40% of adults have had three. But the acceleration of the booster program will be a huge challenge, requiring almost 1 million doses given out each day  more than the previous high of around 850,000 a day. Some 750 soldiers and thousands of volunteer vaccinators will be drafted to give the shots at doctors offices, hospitals, pharmacies and pop-up vaccination centers.

Many routine procedures will be postponed as Britain's National Health Service swings into high gear for the boosters.

While the online booster appointment system will not be open to under-30s until Wednesday, adults could  and did  show up at a walk-in centers to get a booster starting Monday.

At St. Thomas' Hospital, on the south bank of the River Thames in London, the lines of people waiting for booster shots stretched across Westminster Bridge toward Parliament. At the Gordon Hospital walk-in clinic in central London, most of those lining up were in their 20s and 30s.

Sam Collins, 30, said he was not especially worried about omicron, but Id just prefer to be triple vaxxed.''

Also my partner has just had a baby and shes not vaccinated, so if I can be extra vaccinated, then that will help, he said.

The governments appointment-booking website struggled to keep up with demand, and also ran out of rapid at-home virus test kits, which have been distributed free to households during the pandemic.

The British government's Dec. 31 booster target applies to England. The other parts of the U.K.  Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland  are also expected to speed up their vaccination campaigns.

While omicron is spreading around the world, Britain may be especially affected because it ordinarily has high levels of travel to South Africa. The omicron outbreak is also more visible in Britain because U.K. is also a world leader in genomic sequencing, which identifies and tracks new variants.

Researchers in the U.K. have sequenced about 13.3% of all positive cases, compared with 3.8% in the U.S., according to GISAID, which promotes rapid sharing of data on COVID-19 and the flu. While Iceland and Denmark have sequenced a greater percentage of their positive cases, the size of the U.K.s population and the scope of its outbreak mean that Britain has sequenced many more cases.

This surveillance provided key evidence that Johnson and his chief medical officers used in deciding to tighten pandemic restrictions and ramp up the U.K.s vaccination program.

Johnsons Conservative government is requiring vaccine certificates to enter nightclubs and reintroducing restrictions that were lifted almost six months ago. Masks must be worn again in most indoor settings and as of Monday, people were urged to work from home if possible.

Many scientists say those measures are unlikely to be enough and are calling for tougher ones. But cafes, pubs and shops in city centers fear that plummeting numbers of commuters will hammer their businesses in the usually busy pre-Christmas period.

Johnson is facing a major rebellion from unhappy Conservative lawmakers when Parliament votes on the new virus restrictions. The measures are still highly likely to pass with support from the opposition Labour Party.

Robert Read, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Southampton, said it was still unclear how severe cases of COVID-19 from omicron are but omicron probably requires much larger amounts of antibody in the blood in order to thwart the virus as much as possible.

We need to get those third doses into as many adults as we possibly can, just in case this virus turns out to be a raging bull rather than a pussy cat, Read told radio station LBC.

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Pan Pylas in London contributed to this report.

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Follow APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
A 2-month-old whose family tried to protect her by putting her in a car seat. A 94-year-old Korean War veteran from Arkansas. A longtime florist in Tennessee who recently started on her new adventure as an airport security worker. An Amazon warehouse worker in Illinois. A Kentucky judge known for his common sense.

These were among the dozens of people killed during Friday nights tornadoes that ripped through five states in the Midwest and South. There were dozens of confirmed deaths in Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri and Tennessee, but those numbers were expected to rise. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday at least 74 had died in his state alone.

Here are some of the people who perished during the tornadoes.

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Douglas Koon, his wife, Jackie, and their three children huddled in his mother-in-laws bathroom in Dawson Springs, Kentucky, as the storms approached. The tornado hit the house directly, flinging the family around and tossing a bathtub in the air that was shielding two of his sons. The couple put their infant daughter, Oaklynn, in a car seat to protect her, and she appeared to be OK on Saturday.

Its the most traumatic thing Ive been through, I felt like I was helpless in protecting my kids, Douglas Koon told MSNBC in an interview on Saturday. But by Sunday, the baby was having seizures, and doctors noticed a brain bleed after she was taken to the hospital. They believed she had a stroke, Koon said in a Facebook post.

Its not looking good at this point, he wrote. The machines are keeping her alive.

Early Monday morning, the family posted that the infant had died.

In a text message to The Associated Press on Monday, Koon said he was struggling to process everything that Im going through.

A family member has set up a GoFundMe account for Koons family and his mother-in-law, Sheila Rose, who lost her home.

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Lisa Taylor had worked 14 years as a florist at the same family-owned shop in Memphis, Tennessee, when she left in October to start a new career at the airport with the Transportation Security Administration. Co-workers at Rachels Flowers congratulated her with balloons on a sign that read, Good Luck, Lisa.

Taylor, 54, stayed in touch with her friends at the flower shop, making plans to return part-time over the holidays to make some extra money. Then the phone rang Saturday, just as the power came back on at the shop after violent storms passed through overnight. Taylors longtime boyfriend was calling with tragic news. A large tree had fallen through her roof overnight, killing Taylor as she slept in bed.

She had just gotten started on her new adventure and shes just been taken, said Angie Morton, who worked as a florist alongside Taylor for several years.

A single mother of two children now in their 20s, Taylor took her new government job for higher wages and the extra stability that came with health insurance and other benefits, friends said.

But she had a creative spark that made her a natural when it came to working with flowers, Morton said, whether she was helping grieving families design funeral arrangements or using bits and pieces of broken, castoff jewelry to add some custom sparkle to high school girls prom corsages.

She really liked to bling everything up, Morton said. She would take stuff other people would throw in the trash and make beautiful things out of it. If she found an earring in a store that didnt have a matching pair, she would think, I know theres somebody who that would be perfect for her corsage.

Charles Newell, deputy emergency management administrator for Shelby County, Tennessee, said she was the only known storm death in the county that includes Memphis.

Rachel Greer, the flower shops owner, was helping plan floral arrangements for Taylors funeral. She said Taylors daughter had requested a sea of purple flowers such as lavender roses and chrysanthemums to match her mothers favorite color.

Meanwhile customers were dropping by the shop to offer condolences and leaving notes. One of them read: Lisa was a light in a dark world.

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Annistyn Rackley was an outgoing and energetic southeast Missouri 9-year-old who loved swimming, dancing and cheerleading, according to Sandra Hooker, the girls grandaunt.

The two became close over the past four years as Hooker offered the girl support during doctors visits and blood draws required by a rare liver condition that still didnt keep Annistyn from activities.

Annistyn, her parents and her two younger sisters, took shelter Friday night in a windowless bathroom in their new home west of Caruthersville, Missouri. To prove theyd gotten to the familys safe space, the girls mom texted Hooker a photo of the three in and next to the bathtub  all of them smiling, 9-year-old Annistyn holding her favorite doll.

Fifteen minutes later, Sandra Hooker said, a tornado splintered the home, carrying the family members dozens of yards through the air into a field where first responders found them in mud. Annistyn died, and the others were injured. The mother, Meghan Rackley, and their middle daughter, 7-year-old Avalinn, remained hospitalized Monday.

Hooker called Annistyn a special angel and said the girl delighted in donning outfits and makeup for cheer competitions and with learning new dances from TikTok. She did cartwheels and splits in front of Hooker.

I would just gasp because she could do the splits all the time, and she would just laugh, Hooker said. She loved dancing.

Hooker teaches gifted students at the same elementary school where Meghan Rackley teaches kindergarten in Caruthersville, which is nestled next to the Mississippi River in whats known as Missouris Bootheel region.

Hooker said Annistyns parents learned when she was 2 months old that she had a rare liver disorder in which bile ducts dont develop properly, sometimes making it hard to fight off illness.

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Golden Wes Hembrey, 94, died when a tornado destroyed the nursing home in which he lived in Monette, Arkansas.

His nephew, Mike Hembrey, said the Korean War veteran and retired farmer had been in the nursing home since 2016 because of Alzheimers disease. But he remembered his uncle as engaged with his extended family throughout their younger years.

He was outgoing, his nephew said. Hed be out in the yard playing with us. But dont make him mad. When he was mad, he was mad.

He liked cutting up, telling jokes, said niece Kristie Carmichael.

The Hembreys said Jimmie Hembrey had visited his brother the day before the tornado and found him to be in good health.

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Graves County Deputy Jailer Robert Daniel was supervising inmate workers at a candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, when the tornado struck. His boss said Monday that Daniel had been focused on the prisoners in his care when he was killed as the twister wrecked the plant.

Daniel, 47, had worked at the county jail for a few years previously and was rehired a few months ago, Graves County Jailer George Workman said. The seven inmates Daniel was overseeing at the factory Friday night were part of a brand-new work program and had just begun their jobs three days earlier.

After the storm hit, the inmates told Workman's deputies that it was Daniel who literally had pushed them all to safety, guiding them through a doorway and against a wall in an interior part of the plant. Workman said the last inmate through the door told deputies that Daniel was behind him one moment, and suddenly he was gone.

He was physically still in the act of trying to get them to safety. And thats when it hit, Workman said. It takes a tremendous person to be able to lay their own life down for somebody else. But he did and he was doing it for the right reasons.

All of seven of the inmates in Daniel's care survived, Workman said, with two of them suffering broken legs.

A cousin, Mark Saxton Sr., said Daniel was a native of the Mayfield area that was devastated by the storm.

He loved his community, Saxton said. He was a great family man. Everybody who met him just loved him. Hes the type of person you want to be associated with.

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Brian Crick, a judge for two western Kentucky counties, was known for his sound judgment when it came to solving problems, a fellow judge said.

Crick, 43, was a district judge for Muhlenberg and McLean counties who handled criminal misdemeanor cases, traffic court and juvenile cases, said Circuit Judge Brian W. Wiggins. Wiggins said he has known his fellow judge since 2005, when Crick was a public defender. He later was in private practice before taking the bench in 2011.

Many of the defendants who came before him werent represented by attorneys, and Crick was very good about seeing to it that their rights were protected, Wiggins said. He had a very common sense approach. He was very level-headed about how to handle cases and how to talk to people.

Wiggins was killed when the storm hit his family's home in Muhlenberg County. He is survived by a wife and three children, all of whom made it through the storm without major injuries, Wiggins said. He was just a consummate family man ... very engaged with his children and his wife. They were number one to him.

We are especially heartbroken to get the news, Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice John Minton said in a statement. This is a shocking loss to his family, his community and the court system and his family is in our prayers.

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Two of June Penningtons children said the Manila, Arkansas, resident was devoted to her four children and nine grandchildren and had a particular soft spot for animals.

Pennington, 52, was working as an assistant manager at a Dollar General store in nearby Leachville, Arkansas, when it was hit.

She didnt love anything as much in life as her kids and grandkids, said Christie Pennington. She was truly selfless and loved whole-heartedly.

David Benefield, the oldest of June Penningtons four children, said he was born when his mother was only 14.

She was a kid raising a kid. We were just like best friends, he said. Its crazy how close you become.

Her children remember her as someone who would do anything that we asked her to do, Benefield said. Even after her children were grown, they said June Pennington wanted to spend as much time with them as possible.

Christie Pennington said her mother adopted dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, turtles and even a ferret.

If there was ever an animal in need of a home, we took it in, she said.

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Clayton Lynn Cope, 29, had been working at Amazon for more than a year before the storm killed him at a company facility in southwestern Illinois.

Five other workers also died at the facility located outside St. Louis.

Cope, who lived in nearby Alton, Illinois, had joined the Navy after graduating high school and was an avid outdoorsman who also liked to ride motorcycles and play video games. He had a special place in his heart for his dog, Draco, said his younger sister, Rachel Cope.

He would go out of his way for anyone, Cope said in a written message.

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Ollie Borgmann, 84, was a sweet and typical grandmother who had lived in her home in Defiance, Missouri, for decades.

A tornado blew through the home she shared with her 84-year-old husband, Vernon, on Friday night, blowing the house off its foundation, as well as that of a neighbors house in the town located about 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of St. Louis.

Her son, Mark Borgmann, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that his brother, Keith, was on the phone with their father during the powerful storm when the line went dead. The next thing Vernon Borgmann remembers is waking up in a nearby field surrounded by debris. He suffered scratches and bruises but will be OK, said Mark Borgmann.

When Ollie Borgmann was found by rescuers, she was awake. She died later at a hospital.

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Lovan reported from Louisville, Kentucky. Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. Associated Press writers Travis Loller in Nashville, Tennessee; John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas; Terry Wallace in Dallas; Sophie Tareen in Chicago; Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska; Mike Schneider in Orlando, Florida; and Jeff Amy in Atlanta contributed to this article.
Hearst Connecticut Media file photo

NEW CANAAN  Two vehicles parked in a driveway were damaged over the weekend as thieves attempted to steal one that was left unlocked, police said Monday.

Minutes before 8 a.m. Saturday, officers were sent to Douglas Road for a reported attempted car theft, Chief Leon Krolikowski said.
Hazleton, PA (18201)

Today

Scattered snow flurries and snow showers possible this evening. Becoming mostly clear later. Low 23F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 30%..

Tonight

Scattered snow flurries and snow showers possible this evening. Becoming mostly clear later. Low 23F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 30%.
A number of 12 Romanian companies have presented at the end of the last week business solutions that would contribute to resolving the climate crisis, as part of Black Sea ClimAccelerator Demo Day, according to a release sent on Monday.

The Black Sea ClimAccelerator Programme is targeted to supporting eco-innovating start-ups in Romania and Bulgaria by mentorship, specialty consulting and non-refundable financing. The programme is financed with the support of EIT Climate - KIC and organized by Impact Hub Bucharest and Raiffeisen Bank Romania, as well as The Climate Vertical and Volta, as main partners, together with Innovation Starter in Bulgaria.

The 12 Romanian companies and the solutions proposed by them are: PolyMore - solution for the automatic detection of incorrectly sorted waste; Verdoo - solution to offer anyone the possibility to benefit from exclusive discounts and plant trees 100% free for each product bought online; MallTaranescu - digital solution that implements the short food chain, ensuring access to small producers to the market, as well as delivery of products to consumers; 2030 Builders- platform that helps companies to implement sustainability in their organizational culture through the involvement of employees; Zero Waste Store Bucharest - shopping in a way that doesn't generate trash and reduces waste; WasteBill - the easiest to use software for waste management; Caminota - natural products for plastering and finishing, based on clay; EcoTree - B2B digital platform for waste management; EV SPOTS - application for the first network of fast-charge EV stations with 100 pct renewable energy; Foldo - 100% recyclable furniture to help parents furnishing the children's home, easily and quickly; R-Create- first end-to-end solution for reusable packaging, which offers online stores an alternative to resource waste caused by single-use packaging; Verde - marketplace that facilitates the continuous provision of restaurants with fresh ingredients, without storage, straight from local farms and local producers.

Black Sea ClimAccelerator is part of an ecosystem of 7 consortiums of over 30 countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South America. AGERPRES.
Monday, December 13, 2021 marks the 38th anniversary of the repose of Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann, Dean of Saint Vladimirs Orthodox Theological Seminary and one of the 20th centurys leading Orthodox Christian theologians, agerpres reports.

Father Alexander was born in Estonia in 1921 to a family of Russian emigres. He spent his youth in France, where he completed his secondary and university educations. He also finished theological studies at the Orthodox Theological Institute of Saint Sergius in Paris, which at that time was the center of Russian Orthodox scholarship after the turmoil of the Russian Revolution of 1917.

Ordained to the priesthood in 1946, he taught Church history at Saint Sergius Institute until 1951, when he was invited to join the faculty of Saint Vladimirs Seminary, at that time located in New York City. He was soon recognized as a leading exponent of Orthodox liturgical theology, which sees the liturgical tradition of the Church as a major sign and expression of the Christian faith.

Father Alexander received his doctorate on July 5, 1959 from Saint Sergius Institute, having defended his dissertation, Tserkovny Ustav: Opyt Vvedeniia v Liturgicheskoe Bogoslovie [The Churchs Ordo: Introduction to Liturgical Theology]. He held honorary degrees from Butler University, General Theological Seminary, Lafayette College, Iona College, and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology.

In addition to teaching at Saint Vladimirs, Father Alexander held positions as adjunct professor at Columbia University, New York University, Union Seminary, and General Theological Seminary and was a popular guest lecturer at many universities throughout the country. He was also active as a representative of the Orthodox Church in the ecumenical movement, and held positions in the Youth Department and the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches.

Appointed Dean of Saint Vladimirs Seminary in 1962position he held until his reposehe was instrumental in educating a generation of Orthodox Christian priests. During his tenure, the seminary achieved widespread recognition as a center of Orthodox theological studies.

Father Alexander was active in the establishment of the Orthodox Church in America as an autocephalous Church in 1970, at which time the former Metropolia became officially independent from the Russian Orthodox Church, dedicating itself to the unity of the Orthodox Church in North America.

While committed to the cause of an Orthodox Church that would be united and American, he always remained concerned with the fate of believers in the Soviet Union. For 30 years, his sermons were broadcast in Russian on Radio Liberty, gaining Father Alexander a broad following across the Soviet Union and elsewhere. Alexander Solzhenitzyn, while still in the Soviet Union, was one of his auditors and remained his friend after emigrating to the West.

Over a dozen books written by Father Alexander have been published in multiple languages and continue to be widely circulated. Among them are Introduction to Liturgical Theology; Ultimate Questions; Church, World, Mission; and many articles and tracts.

His classic book For the Life of the Worldrecently reprinted by SVS Presshas been translated into numerous languages and remains one of the most popular works on Christianity for the general public.

The title of this work was selected as the theme of the Orthodox Church in Americas 19th All-American Council, held in Saint Louis, MO July 23-27, 2018, and served as the inspiration for His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhons recent work, Of What Life Do We Speak? Four Pillars for the Fulfillment of the Apostolic Work of the Church. He also completed a major study on the Eucharist only weeks before his death.
The Standing Bureau of the Chamber of Deputies has approved on Monday a request from the Institute of the Romanian Revolution of 1989 referring to displaying some photographs taken during the days of the 1989 Revolution in Romania, agerpres reports.

Therefore, the monitors in the Chamber headquarters will display a series of photographs from that period.At the same time, in the hall of the Chamber of Deputies there will be setup an exhibition showcasing these photos, "meant to bring back to the memory of those visiting the Palace of Parliament the sacrifice of the Romanian people to overthrow the Ceausescu dictatorial regime," the request mentions.
The Judges Section concerned with discipline matters of the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) decided on Monday to exclude from magistracy Judge Cristi Danilet of Cluj Tribunal, for his behaviour allegedly shown on several social networks, agerpres reports.

The decision is not final.Also on Monday, by unanimity of votes, the CSM judges rejected the disciplinary suit drawn up by the Judicial Inspection against Cristi Danilet for voicing certain opinions in the work "900 days of continuous siege on the Romanian magistracy."
On Monday, the Department of Sustainable Development received the United Nations (UN) award for innovation in public service at the "United Public Service Forum 2021" gala in Dubai.

According to a press release sent to AGERPRES, the Department of Sustainable Development was named the winner, the innovation and excellence in serving the public interest and the significant contribution to improving the Romanian public administration in implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals being thus recognized."We are truly grateful for this award. The vision of a sustainable Romania relies primarily on the strength of partnerships. Yes, we have created a strong inter-institutional framework that can implement effective public policies but we know very well that we can do nothing without the cooperation of citizens, without a truly social movement that has the power to change and shape mindsets. Many of our endeavors have been inspired by great practices in other states, and we hope, in return, to be an inspiration to others. We will continue with the same determination and energy to create Sustainable Romania," state councilor Laszlo Borbely, the coordinator of the Department of Sustainable Development, was quoted as saying in the release.The ceremony, which took place in Dubai, began with the speech of the Minister of State for Government Development and Future in the United Arab Emirates, Ohood Khalfan Al Roumi, and with the speech of the Under-Secretary-General for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance with the United Nations, Catherine Pollard.The event was also attended by Daniela Grigore Gitman, Secretary of State for Inter-Institutional Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Senator Leonard Azamfirei and representatives of the Diplomatic Corps.State Councilor Laszlo Borbely had a bilateral meeting on Monday with Catherine Pollard, who appreciated on this occasion the active role that the Department of Sustainable Development has at regional level in promoting the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda, the release further informs
The Minister of Health, Alexandru Rafila, spoke on Monday, during a debate with members of the Roma community, on the topic of anti-COVID vaccination, the importance of mutual trust and advanced the idea of appointing a honorary counsellor at the Ministry to facilitate communication, agerpres reports.

"I really want to ask you to go together to the community or communities, to nominate a person from your side to be an honorary counsellor at the Ministry of Health and through whom we can keep in touch so that we don't do things only on a theoretical level. Let's go together to the communities and see what kind of information or what channels of information we can use so that the information and clarifications reach all members of the Roma community and not only," said the Minister.He participated in an online debate organized by the National Agency for Roma together with the head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, and the chairman of the National Coordinating Committee for Vaccination Activities against COVID-19 (CNCAV), Valeriu Gheorghita.Raed Arafat said vaccination was "the only safe way" to overcome the pandemic. "Even with the new strain, there are indications that it reduces the possibility of a serious form of illness," he said.In his turn, Valeriu Gheorghita detailed how a vaccination caravan can be organized in a community.The president of the National Agency for Roma, Iulian Paraschiv, also spoke about the causes of the low vaccination rate inside the Roma communities."The high percentage of unvaccinated people in Roma communities is due to the fact that they did not have access to information, they did not have a dialogue with doctors in the community," he said.According to Iulian Paraschiv, 1,000 Roma from the public administration and communities participated in the online discussion on Monday.
The Minister of Justice, Catalin Predoiu, stated on Monday, during an online meeting with the representatives of the European Commission, that he will propose the Government to notify Parliament in relation to the draft law on the dismantling of the Section for the investigation of magistrates (SIIJ) and to the modification of the justice laws during the parliamentary session that begins on February 1 next year.

According to a press release of the Ministry of Justice sent to AGERPRES, Minister Catalin Predoiu had a technical working meeting with representatives of the European Commission, where they analyzed the current stage of fulfilling the recommendations included in the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) Report, published on June 8. The meeting took place after last week's talks in Brussels with Vera Jourova, Vice-President of the European Commission, and Didier Reynders, Commissioner for Justice.On this occasion, according to the same source, they reviewed the delays in the CVM agenda, in 2021 and the prospects for their recovery in 2022. The topics of interest for the representatives of the European Commission were: the dismantling of the SIIJ, the modification of the justice laws, the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code.Catalin Predoiu and the representatives of the Commission discussed the technical aspects of the CVM objectives, the different ways of achieving them, as well as the possible timetable for fulfilling these objectives."We have reviewed the situation of the delays registered in 2021 in achieving the objectives of the CVM, especially the abolition of the SIIJ and the adoption of the laws of Justice, as well as the various technical projections for their recovery in 2021. The Ministry of Justice will fulfill all its obligations in achieving these objectives. The CVM can be achieved to the extent that the political will expressed in the governing programme will be transformed into votes in Parliament for the bills the Government will submit it in the field of the CVM. The Ministry of Justice will continue to cooperate of a loyal and transparent manner with the Supreme Council of Magistrates and the European Commission in achieving the CVM objectives. The Ministry will also propose the Government to submit the draft law on the abolition of the SIIJ to Parliament and the modification of the justice laws during the parliamentary session that will begin on February 1, 2022," Catalin Predoiu said at the end of the meeting.The meeting was attended by William Sleath, head of the General Secretariat of the European Commission, Julien Mousnier, head of unit within the General Secretariat of the Commission, and Maria Arsene, representative of the European Commission in Bucharest. On behalf of the Ministry of Justice, along with Catalin Predoiu, Madalina Manolache, head of the European Affairs and Human Rights Directorate, also participated.
Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu attended a meeting of EU heads of diplomats in Brussels on Monday, expressing "concern" over security developments on Ukraine's eastern border with Russia, "which is of concern at European and Euro-Atlantic level", with effects on the Black Sea region, according to a Foreign Ministry (MAE) release sent to AGERPRES.

Aurescu called for "an appropriate response from the EU, which must remain united and firm, and the necessity to send a clear message about the actions of escalation, respectively the examination of options for EU action, including sanctions if necessary, in case Russia continues to escalate the situation." He also stressed that the EU must support the right of any state to choose the course of its foreign and security policy.European foreign ministers also discussed the internal situation in Belarus and the instrumentalisation of migration by the Minsk regime on the EU's eastern border. Regarding the management of the migration situation, Aurescu stressed the importance of continuing the steps in relation to the countries of origin and transit in order to prevent possible increases in the number of migrants in Belarus.At the same time, the Romanian official reminded that the internal situation in Belarus, which continues to deteriorate, must be constantly kept in mind.Bogdan Aurescu emphasized the importance of keeping developments in Belarus on the EU agenda and in this regard particularly appreciated the interaction he had with the representatives of the opposition in this country, on Sunday. On that occasion, he reiterated his concern about the deteriorating internal situation in Belarus, the continuing serious human rights violations, and welcomed the country's aspirations and commitment to democratic values and civil liberties. The minister of foreign affairs stated that Romania intends to make a second voluntary contribution through the European Endowment for Democracy, after the 100,000 euros in 2020, for the support of independent media and civil society, respectively to the International Accountability Platform for Belarus, as well as further providing scholarships for students persecuted by the Lukashenko regime. He also recalled the 2020 initiative of President Klaus Iohannis, together with his Polish and Lithuanian counterparts, to establish a Support Plan for a Democratic Belarus, which was then developed by the European Commission and made public in May 2021.Discussions on EU-Africa relations took place ahead of the summit scheduled for February 17-18, 2022. Minister Aurescu welcomed the adoption of sanctions on the Wagner group, which take into account both its destabilizing actions in Africa and in relation to Ukraine.Minister Bogdan Aurescu voiced a greater involvement of the EU in Central Asia, given its relevance from the perspective of the Union's foreign policy objectives, based on the strategy adopted during Romania's presidency of the EU Council (2019), which provides the right framework for the development of these relationships. He pointed out that the EU and the states in the region share common risks, but also significant development potential, stressing that the EU must support increasing their resilience.On the sidelines of the Brussels meeting, Bogdan Aurescu, along with other EU counterparts, attended an informal working breakfast with Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, on geopolitical issues.At the same time, within the EAC, he participated in a working lunch of the European Foreign Ministers with the chief diplomat of the State of Qatar.
Speaking at an International Symposium dedicated to the pastoral care of Romanians abroad last week, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel stressed that the Mother Church supports and encourages her spiritual sons and daughters from abroad and understands the difficulties they face in their struggle to ensure a better future.

The Symposium combined a live in-person event at the Palace of the Patriarchate in Bucharest with a virtual online component, basilica.ro reports.

Hierarchs, priests, state authorities, academicians and scholars shared ideas regarding the life of Orthodox Romanians abroad.

Pastoral care of Romanians Everywhere: The Mission of the Mother Church for the Romanian People

The International Symposium on Theology The pastoral care of Romanians outside Romania: ecclesial responsibility and ethnic unity, organized by the Romanian Patriarchate, through its Theological-Educational Department, in cooperation with the Faculty of Orthodox Theology Justinian Patriarch of the University of Bucharest, with the support of the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs, represents one of the significant events occasioned by the Solemn Year of the pastoral care of Romanians outside Romania.

This academic event takes place between December 8-11, 2021, at the Patriarchates Palace in Bucharest and brings together representatives of state institutions, hierarchs, priests, professors and specialists from Romania and abroad.

The papers of the symposium are structured in the following sections:

Communities of Romanian Orthodox believers in the vicinity of the countrys borders: pastoral and missionary priorities;

Romanian Orthodox communities in the diaspora: pastoral and missionary priorities;

The Church  the spiritual family of Romanians everywhere today (means of communication and communion between Romania and the Romanian diaspora);

Education and pastoral care of Orthodox children and young people in the Romanian diaspora;

State-Church cooperation for the communion of Romanians everywhere.

One can talk about the history of Romanian migration outside the country from the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Following the changes that took place after the First World War, as well as the emigration of some Orthodox Romanians from Transylvania, Banat, Crisana and Bukovina to the United States and Canada, before 1918, many Romanian Orthodox communities were formed in different countries of the world.

During the interwar period (1918-1939), and then, due to the establishment of the communist regime (March 6, 1945), many families left Romania, settling in other parts of the world.

However, after the fall of the communist regime in December 1989, but especially after 2007, with Romanias accession to the European Union, the number of Orthodox Romanians in the diaspora increased more and more.

Therefore, the pastoral care and special appreciation are shown by the Romanian Patriarchate towards the Romanian Orthodox communities outside the country has been materialized, in recent years, by setting up numerous parishes and new dioceses to meet the multiple spiritual needs of Romanian Orthodox believers in Bessarabia (Republic of Moldova), Serbia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Central and Northern Europe, Western and Southern Europe, the Americas, Australia and New Zealand, as well as by establishing representations (Jerusalem and Brussels) and Romanian Orthodox communities (Mount Athos, Syria and Lebanon, Cyprus, Turkey, South Africa, Japan, Croatia, Slovenia, United Arab Emirates / Dubai).

In the current context of the global migration phenomenon, the Romanian Orthodox Church is currently developing and intensifying its mission and pastoral responsibility towards Orthodox Romanians outside Romania, which it considers its faithful sons and an integral part of the Romanian Orthodox communion everywhere.

In this sense, through the co-responsibility of all the hierarchs of the Holy Synod and, especially, of the Romanian Orthodox hierarchs who pastor the clergy and the faithful outside Romania, the Romanian Orthodox Church carries out a rich liturgical, pastoral, missionary, cultural and social work in the parishes, monasteries, cultural and social-charitable institutions of the Romanian Orthodox communities located in the vicinity of Romania and the Romanian diaspora.

Given the large number of Romanians outside Romania (currently estimated at almost ten million, respectively, six million Romanians living in historical or traditional communities in neighbouring countries of Romania and four million Romanians living in church communities in the diaspora), the Romanian Patriarchate supports the efforts of Orthodox Romanians temporarily or permanently settled abroad, to preserve their religious, ethnic, linguistic and cultural identity.

In this sense, the Mother Church supports and encourages her spiritual sons and daughters from abroad and understands the difficulties they face in their struggle to ensure a better future.

At the same time, however, these Romanian Orthodox believers often live in increasingly secularized and individualistic societies, often viewed with coldness or suspicion, which does not inspire a sense of peace and contentment.

Therefore, their participation in the liturgical life of the parish, as well as in the cultural events and social-philanthropic actions organized by the parishes in the Romanian diaspora, is an extraordinary comfort and joy.

Through the parish activities, the Orthodox faith is professed, the Romanian traditions are transmitted, and the Romanian language is cultivated, all these contributing to the preservation of the ecclesial, cultural and ethnic identity of Romanians outside Romania.

Simultaneously, the harmonious coexistence of Romanian migrants with the citizens of the adopting countries in necessary, for social integration in the host countries, but without the cultural assimilation of the Romanians.

We hope for a harmonious coexistence of Romanian migrants with the citizens of the adopting countries, especially now when, in many places in the world, the medical, moral, spiritual and economic crisis is manifested by social tensions that can degenerate into interethnic and interreligious conflicts.

Many of the Romanians who live far from Romania want to stay permanently in touch with their loved ones who remained at home so that the tremendous geographical distances do not produce spiritual distancing or alienation of some from others.

They want to preserve the unity of the family, consisting of a man, a woman and children because the family blessed by God is the most precious intimate space in which conjugal love is expressed, but also parental, filial and fraternal love.

In this sense, the increase of spiritual communion and fraternal cooperation between Romanians working or studying outside Romania and their loved ones in the country is a necessity.

It is also essential to educate the young generation in the spirit of love for God, the Church and the nation and to cultivate fundamental virtues in the souls of children and young people, such as love and compassion, solidarity with people in difficulty, meekness, sincerity, courage and trust.

By the decision of the Holy Synod of February 25, 2009, the first Sunday after the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos was dedicated to Romanian migrants, as a sign of the permanent pastoral care of the Romanian Orthodox Church towards Romanians permanently or temporarily settled abroad.

As a spiritual mother who never abandons her sons and daughters, we assure them that the Romanian Orthodox Church will continue to be by their side through worthy hierarchs and missionary priests in the diaspora, supporting them both through her constant prayers and her concrete pastoral, social-philanthropic and cultural activities.

We congratulate the organizers and bless all the participants of the International Symposium on Theology The Pastoral Care of Romanians outside Romania: ecclesial responsibility and ethnic unity, hoping that this academic event will contribute to maintaining and cultivating Romanian unity, to the glory of the Most Holy Trinity, the dignity of the Romanian people and joy Romanians everywhere.

 Daniel

Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church
President Klaus Iohannis attended a videoconference meeting on Monday with European Council President Charles Michel, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins, in preparation of Wednesday's Eastern Partnership Summit and Thursday's European Council meeting, agerpres reports.

The Presidential Administration informs that the main topics addressed were those on the agenda of the European Council, namely European coordination in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, crisis management and resilience, energy prices, EU security and defence, external aspects of migration and foreign relations, with a focus on the situation on the borders with Ukraine and Belarus.According to the quoted source, in his speech, President Iohannis spoke in favor of continuing the close coordination of the EU member states, based on scientific data, including the new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The head of state highlighted the progress being made in adapting vaccines and the rapid access of member states to them.With regard to the significant increase in energy prices recently, Iohannis emphasized the need for this topic to remain high on the agenda of the European institutions and called for a careful analysis of the functioning of the internal energy market so as to avoid its distortions. The head of state also recalled the need to find solutions to protect vulnerable consumers and stressed the importance of linking this discussion with the EU's climate change goals."The President of Romania reiterated our country's support for nuclear energy and natural gas, as options for an accessible energy transition, including in the context of the preparation of new legislative proposals of the European Commission," said the Presidential Administration.In terms of security and defence, the head of state emphasized the idea of strengthening the role of the European Union in this field, in close cooperation and complementarity with NATO, by strengthening the transatlantic relationship. In this context, President Iohannis referred to his recent conversation with the President of the United States of America, Joseph R. Biden, in B9 format, and underscored the importance of coordination and unity in both the EU and NATO with regard to Russia's actions in the Eastern Neighborhood.During the preparations for the Eastern Partnership (EaP) Summit, President Klaus Iohannis emphasized the need for the European Union to have a high level of ambition through the Joint Declaration to be adopted on this occasion, which would contain a strategic vision for the post-2020 period of the EaP.At the same time, the head of state reiterated the need for the European Union to support partners who want and are firmly committed to reforms, such as the Republic of Moldova, whose leadership is oriented towards reform and a strong European commitment.
In the news item titled "OMV Petrom: Neptun Deep gas project could require investments of 16 billion euros" broadcast on the English newswire at 13:09, the paragraphs on the Neptun Deep investment are to be modified, as the amount of 16 billion euros is aimed at all upstream projects in the Black Sea and not only Neptun Deep, according to a rectification sent by OMV Petrom, agerpres reports.

We hereby resume the news item in its correct form:OMV Petrom: Upstream projects in Black Sea could require investments of 16 billion eurosBucharest, Dec 13 /Agerpres/ - The development of upstream projects in the Black Sea could require total investments of EUR 16 billion, said on Monday Ionut Ciobotaru, vice-president of Business Development at OMV Petrom.Ciobotaru participated in the Romanian International Gas Conference, organized by the Romanian Oil and Gas Federation of Romania and the Energy Policy Group."At the moment, we are the second largest producer of gas in the EU and we hope to reach the first place, because we have the gas from the Black Sea and we have a history of gas," Ciobotaru said.The improvement of gas interconnections with other countries is also essential."The Neptun Deep project represents a huge opportunity for Romania, not only for energy security. Such a project (...) will create many jobs and will bring a lot of gas and taxes to the state, and we as a country can use these resources not only to become the largest gas supplier in the EU, but also to finance the energy transition in the coming period," said OMV Petrom official.In his opinion, Romania has the potential to become the first gas producer in Europe.Regarding Neptune Deep, he said: "If the final investment decision is 2023, we estimate that production will start in 2027. If everything is prepared faster, we can move faster. The project will generate other horizontal investments and other jobs."Last week, company officials said the reserves in Neptune Deep amounted to 100 billion cubic meters of gas.
Cantwell wrote FAA Administrator Steve Dickson asking him to review the "concerns raised by these whistleblowers, and implement necessary changes to improve safety in the aviation industry." She said she plans more hearings on aviation issues in 2022.

The FAA said Monday it "takes all whistleblower allegations seriously and does not tolerate retaliation against those who raise safety concerns."

Cantwell's report also cites whistleblowers who said GE Aviations GE9X engine program "suffered from undue pressure on production staff acting on behalf of the FAA." A GE spokesman said the company "thoroughly investigated these claims" and "found no undue influence."

Last month, three U.S. House Democrats asked Dickson to provide more details on the agency's oversight of the Boeing 737 Max and questioned whether the manufacturer had been held fully accountable.

The Senate report said the 737 Max crashes and U.S. grounding, lifted in late 2020, "cost Boeing more than $20 billion and inflicted significant reputational harm to the U.S. aviation safety oversight system."
Bayer has lost three appeals against verdicts that sided with users of Roundup, awarding them tens of millions of dollars each. Bayer has pinned hopes for relief on the conservative-majority Supreme Court, which has a reputation for being pro-business.

Bayer asked the Supreme Court to review the verdict in Hardemans case, which was upheld by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in May. Hardeman had regularly used Roundup for 26 years at his home in northern California before being diagnosed with a form of non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

There are more than 25,000 related claims that Bayer has not settled yet.

Bayer, which also makes aspirin, Yasmin birth-control pills and the stroke prevention drug Xarelto among other products, has argued that the cancer claims over Roundup and its active ingredient glyphosate go against sound science and product clearance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA has upheld guidance that glyphosate is not carcinogenic and not a risk to public health when used as indicated on the label.

Bayer has said it should not be penalized for marketing a product deemed safe by the EPA and on which the agency would not allow a cancer warning to be printed.
Americans as a whole remain much less likely than they were in the spring to report that theyre always or often avoiding nonessential travel, staying away from large groups or avoiding other people as much as possible. But the poll shows that those who are vaccinated are far more likely than the unvaccinated to say they are still practicing those behaviors.

David Cotton, a vice president of Public Health Research and Evaluation at NORC who did not personally work on the poll, said those results suggest a large portion of Americans remain willing to take precautions more than a year into the pandemic.

In some ways I find that encouraging, that there are so many people who continue to persist and follow the science and take care of one another, Cotton said.

Not everyone has returned to the activities that they did regularly before the pandemic, especially things like seeing movies and going to the gym. Among those who say they did so at least monthly prior to the pandemic, 84% say they will visit friends and family in the next few weeks, 80% will shop in person for nonessential items, 73% say they will attend religious services, and 73% say they will go to a bar or restaurant.
Most of the Miss Universe contestants were already in the country before the new regulations came into effect. But those who came afterward were given special permission to enter, albeit with a mandatory 72-hour quarantine period.

Throughout the run-up to Sundays contest, all contestants were tested for the coronavirus every 48 hours and required to obey strict mask requirements.

Amid all the safeguards, Frances contestant, Clemence Botino, tested positive for COVID-19 shortly after arriving in Israel. After 10 days in quarantine, she was declared virus free last week and allowed to rejoin the competition.

Last years pageant was delayed due to the pandemic before Meza was crowned in May for her abbreviated tenure.

Sundays contest was hosted by U.S. TV personality Steve Harvey. Organizers said the pageant was expected to reach an estimated 600 million viewers via the FOX network in 172 countries.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Kim desperately needs the removal of U.S.-led sanctions to build his economy, which has also been damaged by decades of mismanagement and aggressive military spending.

But meaningful U.S. relief may not come unless Kim takes concrete steps toward denuclearization. Despite his pursuit of summitry, Trump showed no interest in budging on sanctions, which he described as Washingtons main leverage over Pyongyang, and its unclear if Kim will ever see another U.S. president as willing to engage with the North as Trump was.

Their diplomacy fell apart after their second summit in February 2019, when the Americans rejected North Koreas demand for a major removal of sanctions in exchange for dismantling an aging nuclear facility, which would have amounted to a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities.

The two sides havent met publicly since a failed follow-up meeting between working-level officials in October of that year. Two months after that Kim vowed at a domestic political conference to further expand his nuclear arsenal in the face of gangster-like U.S. pressure, urging his people to stay resilient in the struggle for economic self-reliance.
Kenney, a Democrat, said he visited New York two weeks ago, where dining and other indoor establishments have required vaccine proof since August, and found the requirements easy to navigate.

I was in New York two weeks ago and it was not an issue at all. Bring your ID and vaccination card and everything went smoothly, Kenney said. Thats why were doing this to stop the real serious thing, which would be shutting down.

Patrons and employees will have to start showing their vaccination cards Jan. 3 to enter establishments where people eat together indoors, including movie theaters and cafes or bars inside larger establishments like stores or hotels.

Bettigole said for the first two weeks of the mandate, patrons will have the option to show a negative COVID-19 test from the last 24 hours to enter.

But starting Jan. 17, proof of full vaccination for patrons will be needed.

The city mandate allows some extra time for children ages 5-11 and employees to get vaccinated. The city is asking that those groups have a first dose by Jan. 3 and a second dose by Feb. 3.
Holmes said there had been no drills during their time at the factory to prepare people in case of a storm.

We havent had one since weve been there, he said.

Ferguson, the company spokesperson, said drills were commonplace and workers followed the guidance when they found shelter.

There were regular drills and the employees went to the shelter, which is an interior part of that building, he said. They were there long enough even for attendance to be taken. But, he said, the tornado was of such rare size and strength that it had great destructive power.

The company said in a statement on its website that it had started an emergency fund to help employees and their families.

Were heartbroken about this, and our immediate efforts are to assist those affected by this terrible disaster, CEO Troy Propes, the son of Mary Propes, said in the statement. Our company is family-owned and our employees, some who have worked with us for many years, are cherished.
Rocky Mountain Health Plans, a UnitedHealth Group company (NYSE: UNH), is donating $300,000 to YouthZone to foster positive youth development for teens across Colorados Western Slope. The three-year contribution will help YouthZone expand its services to school-based settings and deliver mental health and substance abuse support to at least 470 youth and their families annually.

Supporting youth mental health has never been more important than it is today, during the pandemic. We are proud to add YouthZone as a partner in the Healthy Youth/Strong Colorado Fund to expand the available mental health and wellness programs for youth in Western Colorado, said Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser. Id like to thank Rocky Mountain Health Plans and UnitedHealth Group for this meaningful contribution and for their partnership to support youth mental health and wellness in Colorado.
Eurazeos investment will support the continued expansion of Beekman 1802 across multiple channels, categories, and geographies, leveraging and further enhancing the brands storytelling capabilities and products. As part of Eurazeos investment, Marc Rey, former CEO of Shiseido Americas, will join the Companys Board of Directors as Chairman, alongside Adrianne Shapira, Managing Director, and George Birman, Principal at Eurazeo.

Adrianne Shapira, Managing Director, Brands, said:

Brent, Josh and the entire Beekman team have created a truly special brand that resonates with todays beauty consumers seeking aspirational yet accessible products that are clean and effective. With kindness at its core, Beekman is also spreading beauty from within. We are thrilled to partner with Beekman to propel their next chapter of growth, leveraging our deep industry expertise to help them reach consumers on a global scale in the years ahead.

Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell, Beekman 1802 co-founders, added:
The grand opening of Moderes brand experience center marks the companys expansion within the direct-to-consumer channel. Its a significant milestone in the continued growth of our business, Ishaq added. In addition to offering an enhanced, immersive product experience to both new and loyal customers, this hands-on concept also will help us gain valuable insights into how consumers interact with our products and obtain real-time feedback on new products in development  an ideal complement to our dynamic e-commerce channel.

Modere is a portfolio company of Z Capital Partners, L.L.C., the private equity fund management platform of Z Capital Group, L.L.C. (together with its affiliates, "ZCG"), a leading privately held investment firm. The opening of this brand experience center is the latest achievement in what Asma and her talented team have created with Modere, said James Zenni, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of ZCG. The city of New York embodies the vibrancy of the Modere brand, and this new center offers new opportunities to engage directly with customers, increase brand awareness of Moderes live clean mission, and showcase its R&D expertise and award-winning product innovation to further advance the companys business goals.
The statement came after President Joe Biden spoke to Putin in a video call last week and said he had made clear that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would have devastating consequences for Russia's economy.

Moscow denies having any plans to attack Ukraine and accuses Kyiv of its own allegedly aggressive designs.

Ahead of Blinken's current trip, which at eight days will be his longest overseas journey since taking office, State Department officials had said they expected his focus to shift from challenges posed by Russia to those posed by China as he moved from the G7 meeting in Liverpool across the globe to Southeast Asia.

It was not immediately clear if Patrushev's presence on Indonesia would change that. In Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, Blinken is aiming to highlight the importance of ensuring freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, on which many of Chinas neighbors have accused Beijing of encroaching.

In his meeting with Widodo, Blinken expressed support for Indonesias leadership in the Indo-Pacific as the worlds third-largest democracy and a strong proponent of the rules-based international order, the State Department said.
The appeals court ruled that Evers media-access criteria was reasonable and he was under no obligation to grant access for every news outlet to every news conference.

MacIver had argued that Evers was excluding its staffers and violating their free speech rights because they are conservatives. Evers said they were excluded because they are not principally a news gathering operation and they are not neutral.

MacIver's attorney Daniel Suhr responded to the action by saying "politicians should not censor their news coverage by hand-picking who covers them.

When asked to comment on the Supreme Courts action, Evers spokeswoman Britt Cudaback referred to the governors legal filing in the case.

MacIver covers legislative meetings and other events at the Capitol as well as some Evers news conferences. But the institute sued after being excluded from a media briefing Evers gave for reporters on his state budget proposal in 2019. Evers wasnt present, but members of his administration provided information to reporters on embargo ahead of his budget speech to the Legislature that evening.
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding Sangamo's current expectations. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the therapeutic potential of giroctocogene fitelparvovec (SB-525), including its potential clinical benefit to patients with hemophilia A and its potential as an alternative to the standard of care for patients with hemophilia A, the anticipated implementation of a protocol amendment for, and the response to the clinical hold of, the Phase 3 AFFINE study of giroctocogene fitelparvovec and the expected timing thereof, and other statements that are not historical fact. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Sangamos actual results may differ materially and adversely from those expressed in these forward looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to: the evolving COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the global business environment, healthcare systems and the business and operations of Sangamo and Pfizer, including the initiation and operation of clinical trials; the research and development process; the uncertain timing and unpredictable nature of clinical trial results, including the risk that any protocol amendment for the Phase 3 AFFINE trial of giroctocogene fitelparvovec may not be accepted by the relevant review bodies in a timely manner, or at all, each of which could further delay or preclude further patient dosing in the trial, as well as the risk that therapeutic effects observed in the preliminary results of the Phase 1/2 Alta study will not be durable in patients and that final clinical trial data will not validate the safety and efficacy of giroctocogene fitelparvovec; reliance on results of early clinical trials, such as the Phase 1/2 Alta study, which results are not necessarily predictive of future clinical trial results, including the results in the Phase 3 AFFINE study; the unpredictable regulatory approval process for product candidates across multiple regulatory authorities; the manufacturing of products and product candidates; the commercialization of approved products; the potential for technological developments that obviate technologies used by Sangamo and Pfizer in giroctocogene fitelparvovec; the potential for Pfizer to terminate the giroctocogene fitelparvovec program or to breach or terminate its collaboration agreement with Sangamo; and the potential for Sangamo to fail to realize its expected benefits of its collaboration with Pfizer, including the risk that Sangamo may not earn any additional milestone or royalty payments under its collaboration with Pfizer. These risks and uncertainties are described more fully in Sangamo's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and the most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2021. The information contained in this release is as of December 12, 2021, and Sangamo undertakes no duty to update forward-looking statements contained in this release except as required by applicable laws.
St. Louis County Council member Tim Fitch, a Republican, is the main proponent behind removal of party affiliation from county elections. He is currently revising his bill. Given his partys perennial problems holding sway in elections for County Council, county executive and prosecuting attorney, its understandable why he would want to take the partisan stamp away from candidates names. Even if his motives are purely selfish, that doesnt mean the goal is wrong.

Candidates stepping forward to serve in public office deserve to be heard on their own merits and not win or lose elections based on presumptions about where they stand because of their party affiliation. Plus, when elected officials are freed from the bonds of party affiliation, they are better able to vote their consciences rather than fearing punishment for failing to toe the party line.
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Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists.
North African nation Morocco has purchased several Israeli Skylock Dome AUD (Anti UAV Defense) vehicles. Some had already been delivered when the purchase was announced, a few days before the Israeli prime minister visited to sign a mutual defense and information sharing agreement. This will lead to diplomatic relations and Israeli investment in Morocco so that this Moslem nation can develop high-tech industries. Israel has long had unofficial relations with Morocco, which included sharing information on Islamic terrorist threats. Because of the 2020 Abraham Accords, it has become easier for Moslem nations to establish diplomatic or defense relationships with Israel, something Arab oil states see as imperative because of the mutual threat from Iran and the realization that Israel is a Semitic state where half the population are Arabs. Most of the Israeli Arabs are Jews expelled from their homelands in the late 1940s.

Skylock was seen as a good investment for Morocco because the system is combat proven against Iranian UAVs used during the early 2021 Hamas/Israel ten-day war with Israel where there were ample opportunities to test new Israeli AUD systems. Israel is a leader in the development of AUDs, mainly because it is the one country that faces the widest variety of UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) types, and the most attacks using UAVs.

In preparation for a large-scale use of different type UAVs against Israel from Iran backed Hamas in the south or Hezbollah (Lebanon) and Iran (Syria), Israel had developed numerous ways to detect and destroy or disable hostile UAVs. During the recent ten-day war Israel detected and defeated six Hamas UAV attacks. There may have been other Hamas UAVs launched that never got near the border because of UAV malfunctions or operator error. The six UAVs that were a threat were all detected and taken down via missiles, usually from Iron Dome but one was an air-to-air missile, and at least one UAV was disabled using a technology that Israel would not discuss. This was probably one of the electronic AUD systems, which Israeli tech companies have developed over the last few years. One of the new (to large-scale combat) systems Israel would discuss was one that received data from all sensors (radars or electronic detection systems) and, in real time, created a single database/map display of all enemy systems detected. One feature of this new systems software was an accurate estimate of where UAVs were launched from. This provides an opportunity to attack the UAV operator or launch site. This system was already causing more losses to Hamas rocket launching teams, who thought the Israelis were just getting lucky. Now Hamas knows that luck had nothing to do with it. Israel has often sought to come up with defenses against new enemy weapons or tactics with a multi-system solution. Nowhere has this been more evident than when it comes to the growing threat from armed UAVs.

For over a decade, many if not most new AUD systems have come from Israel. Many specialize in the use of multiple sensors and systems to detect and disable UAVs. The best and most recent example of this is Skylock, an AUD system using multiple sensors and EW (Electronic Warfare) equipment, plus a short-range laser, to detect, identify and jam or take over unidentified UAVs trying to enter military bases, airports, or industrial facilities. Skylock uses a combination of radar, electro-optical (visual) and electronic signal monitoring sensors capable of detecting the smallest UAVs, especially quad-copters, approaching a restricted area. Another Israeli approach is to use an interceptor UAV that can drop a net on a UAV but the preferred method is to jam the UAV control signals or, if possible, seize control and land it.

A growing number of AUDs are built to deal with any small UAV. One of the more effective, and expensive of these AUDs is the Israeli Drone Dome system. These cost $3.4 million each and consist of a 360-degree radar system, an electro-optical day/night surveillance unit and a wideband (most frequencies drones use) detector. With all this Drone Dome can reliably detect any small quadcopter or fixed-wing UAV within 3,500 meters. Most quadcopters and UAVs encountered are larger and can be detected out to ten kilometers. Once spotted, Drone Dome can use a focused jamming signal that will disrupt any radio control signals and force the drone to crash or operate erratically. Drone Dome has an optional laser gun that can be aimed by Drone Dome to destroy the drone at ranges up to 2,000 meters. In a combat zone, you can also employ machine-guns to bring down the drone. Many buyers do not purchase the laser option and depend on Drone Dome being able to reliably detect all manner of small quadcopters from several manufacturers.

What makes Skylock and Drone Dome different is their heavy use of electronic sensors to detect and jam the control signals used by UAVs, leaving the laser as a last resort. Several such AUD systems are already in service and effective because they are good at detecting UAVs electronically, and either jamming those control signals or taking over the control signals and capturing (by making it land) the UAV. American troops in Iraq and Syria were asking for AUD systems that used lasers and better UAV detection systems as well those with jammers to disable UAVs. There is also a need for AUDs that can detect and destroy UAVs that do not use control signals and basically go on pre-programmed missions. This can be to take photos or deliver a small explosive. Usually, it is to take photos and return. Drone Dome is one of several AUD systems equipped to detect and locate UAVs operating in pre-programmed mode and destroy or disable them quietly with a vehicle-mounted laser.

AUDs like Drone Dome also use one or more radar systems and one or more sensor systems for detecting UAV control signals or visual images that pattern recognition software can quickly identify. While commercial UAVs are more common, the basic design principles have not changed. AUDs are constantly evolving to better detect and disable or destroy unwanted UAVs. The best ones are recent models that tend to be very expensive and used only for extreme situations, like UAV defense in combat zones. Airports, especially the large ones are going to have to join the military in buying the latest AUDs, which at least lowers the AUD price and inspires even faster innovation and development.

Morocco needs Skylock to defend key installations, like the home of the royal family. The threat is coming from Algeria sponsored Polisario irregulars and Islamic terrorists. Morocco is already using Israeli UAVs to patrol areas where Polisario is operating. Morocco also purchased 36 American AH-64E helicopter gunships and hundreds of laser guided missiles to arm them. These are used against armed Polisario groups discovered in Morocco.

Algeria created Polisario in the 1960s and Polisario and so well-subsidized it, back when Algeria was a radical state, that Polisario created enough diehards to keep the violence against Morocco going and lots of people in the disputed Western Sahara region unhappy. This situation also provided recruits and sanctuary for al Qaeda and other Islamic radicals. Since the 1990s the UN has been trying to work out a final peace deal between Polisario and Morocco. During the 1990s Algeria said it cut off all support for Polisario. But that, and UN efforts to mediate the differences have just not worked. The contested area called Western Sahara is largely desert with a current population of less than 600,000. Logic would have it that the area is better off as a part of Morocco. But until the 1990w there were still thousands of people in Western Sahara plus refugees who would rather fight for independence than submit to Morocco.

Some resistance is tribal and cultural, with the Moroccans seen as another bunch of alien invaders. Western Sahara was administered until 1976 as a Spanish colony. Most Western Saharans have now made peace with Moroccan rule, especially since Morocco has been spending a billion dollars a year on infrastructure and other improvements and doing so for decades. Western Sahara is a much nicer place because of that. Polisario still has several thousand armed men based in the refugee camps and refuses to accept Moroccan rule of Western Sahara. Thinly populated border areas between Western Sahara and Algeria are often occupied by some Polisario gunmen, Polisario has become an outlaw organization with no real purpose. If the fighting breaks out again, Morocco could defeat Polisario, but Polisario still has a sanctuary in the Algerian and Mauritanian refugee camps. There Polisario discourages any talk of peacefully returning to Western Sahara, even though a growing number of the camp inmates are quietly doing that. The refugee camps have become police states run by Polisario and tolerated, until now, by Algeria. As more veteran Algerian Islamic terrorists are captured or surrender, the information they provide keeps pointing back to Polisario as a major source of support for AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) and its lucrative smuggling (drugs, people, weapons) from the south into Algeria. Polisario was hoping to avoid a major confrontation with Algerian security forces over this, but that is becoming more difficult to do with their major supporters in the Algerian government gone.
OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of aa (Superior) of Minnesota Life Insurance Company and its subsidiary, Securian Life Insurance Company, together referred to as Securian Financial Insurance Group (Securian). AM Best also has affirmed the FSR of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICR of a+ (Excellent) of Securian Casualty Company (Securian Casualty), and the FSR of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICR of a (Excellent) of Canadian Premier Life Insurance Company (Canadian Premier) (Toronto, ON).

Concurrently, AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term ICR of a (Excellent) of Securian Financial Group, Inc. (SFG) (Delaware) and the Long-Term Issue Credit Rating (Long-Term IR) of a (Excellent) of SFGs $500 million, 4.8% senior unsecured notes, due 2048. AM Best also has affirmed the Long-Term IR of a+ (Excellent) on the $125 million, 8.25% surplus notes, due 2025, issued by Minnesota Life Insurance Company. The outlook of the aforementioned Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. All companies named above are headquartered in St. Paul, MN, except where specified.

The ratings reflect Securians balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strongest, as well as its strong operating performance, favorable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).

Securians risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Bests Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), is assessed at the strongest level, and supports the groups insurance, business and investment risks. The companys quality of capital is good, supported by retention of its XXX/AXXX reserves, organic earnings growth and manageable financial leverage and interest coverage metrics that are supportive of its ratings. Invested assets are of high credit quality, with good sector diversification and modest allocations to higher risk assets. Securians earnings trends have been generally stable, despite some higher mortality related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Premium growth has compared favorably with life industry averages, and is also supported by recent product offerings and acquisitions. Securian is among the market leaders in its target segments, and has effectively used acquisitions to expand its presence. Lastly, the company benefits from diversification provided by Securians holding company, SFG, which includes the asset management and distribution businesses, along with its insurance operations.

The ratings of Securian Casualty reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate ERM. Securian Casualty has an established presence in the contractual liability market, and continues to leverage its resources to support future product and market expansions. Securian Casualty remains a significant contributor and provides added diversification to Securian Financial Group.

The ratings of Canadian Premier Life reflects its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate ERM. Since its acquisition by Securian in 2017, Canadian Premier has become increasingly integrated within the enterprise. Earnings trends have been good, though modest relative to the group. These ratings also reflect its strategic importance and support from its parent, which demonstrated its support via a capital contribution in 2020 and its 2021 acquisition of Armour Group, Inc., a distributor and third party administrator in the financial institution market.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Bests website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Bests Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Bests Credit Ratings, Bests Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Bests Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright  2021 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211210005528/en/

Frank Walko, CPA, FLMI

Financial Analyst-L/H

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5072

frank.walko@ambest.com



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Senior Financial Analyst-P/C

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Source: AM Best
FILE PHOTO: Oil barrels are pictured at the site of Canadian group Vermilion Energy in Parentis-en-Born, France, October 13, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau

By Scott DiSavino

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Oil futures eased on Monday on worries that rising coronavirus cases around the world could reduce crude demand as new doubts emerged about the effectiveness of vaccines against the Omicron variant.

Brent futures fell 76 cents, or 1.0%, to settle at $74.39 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 38 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $71.29.

The Omicron variant, reported in more than 60 countries, poses a "very high" global risk, with some evidence that it evades vaccine protection, according to the World Health Organization.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries raised its world oil demand forecast for the first quarter of 2022 but left its full-year growth prediction steady, saying the Omicron variant would have a mild impact as the world gets used to dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Governments around the world, including most recently Britain and Norway, were tightening restrictions to stop the spread of the Omicron variant.

At least one person died in Britain after contracting Omicron, the first publicly confirmed death globally from the swiftly spreading variant.

In China, a major manufacturing province, Zhejiang, was fighting its first COVID-19 cluster this year, with hundreds of thousands of citizens now in quarantine.

"China is the worlds largest importer of crude oil, and those barrels could come under pressure rather quickly if Covid were to spread unchecked in the worlds most populous country," said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho in New York.

OPEC and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, will meet on Jan. 4 to decide on their output policy.

Iraq's oil minister on Sunday said he expected OPEC at its next meeting to maintain its current policy of gradual monthly increases in supply by 400,000 barrels per day (bpd).

Saudi Arabia's energy minister said oil markets could face a dangerous period as reduced investments in exploration and drilling threaten to cut crude production by 30 million barrels per day by 2030.

In the United States, meanwhile, crude output from the Permian basin, the biggest U.S. oil shale formation, is expected to hit a record high in January, according to government data.

In Europe, natural gas prices surged 11% on Monday on colder forecasts and worries that Gazprom PAO's Nord Stream 2 gas pipe from Russia to Germany will remain shut if Russia renews aggression against Ukraine.

That pipeline would help boost supplies of gas in Europe where stockpiles were at extremely low levels for this time of year.

Analysts have said those higher gas prices should support oil demand and prices as European manufacturers and power generators switch from scarce and expensive gas to oil to fuel their facilities.

Traders will also focus this week on monetary policy decisions expected to be taken by the European Central Bank (ECB), the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan, potentially including early halts to stimulus packages.

(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Additional reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in London and Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo; Editing by Marguerita Choy, David Goodman and Nick Zieminski)
TOKYO, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Stroly, Inc., (Head office: Kyoto, Japan, CEO: Machi Takahashi, hereinafter referred to as "Stroly"), is a company that develops a digital map platform linked to location information. Since Wednesday, October 20, 2021, Stroly has offered digital tourism maps with three different themes (post-Covid, stress-free, and sustainable tourism) as a proof of concept with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. These themes aim to study tourism and how to promote travel around Tokyo.

Title: Neo-Shinjuku, TokyoURL: https://viewer.stroly.com/1627543732/?room=stroly

Title: The Best Neighborhoods to Stroll in Shinjuku, TokyoURL: https://viewer.stroly.com/1629273968/?room=stroly

Title: Tales and Histories in Shinjuku, TokyoURL: https://viewer.stroly.com/1627543807/?room=stroly

The Story Behind Exploring Post-Covid Tourism

The tourism industry has been hit hard by the pandemic as people spend more time at home. There's an urgent need for local governments and tourism organizations to consider methods to promote virtual tourism. By using digital tourism maps, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Stroly are able to conduct a proof of concept. These experiments collect information on how to provide relevant information on tourism and sightseeing for people at home. The digital maps also provide a way for people to communicate with others using the same map in real-time.

Proof of Concept Outline by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Stroly

Objective: To study the ideal form of tourism with a perspective on post-Covid, such as stress-free tourism and promoting sustainable ways of travel.

Method: Provide digital tourism maps of the Shinjuku area.

Target Area: Shinjuku, Tokyo.

Target Users: Users who spend time at home, both in Japan and overseas.

Implementation Period: October 20, 2021 (Wednesday) - December 31, 2021 (Friday).

Other: Analysis of usage status through the provision of digital maps.

About the Digital Tourism Maps

In this proof of concept, we've released three digital tourism maps of the Shinjuku area. These maps offer users a virtual sightseeing experience from Shinjuku through digital maps available on the web.

About Stroly: A Digital Map blishing Platform

Stroly is a digital publishing platform that digitizes illustrated maps for effective area branding by linking these maps to relevant location information. Stroly's platform is accessible through web browsers without downloading an app.

The Stroly platform offers a variety of features on its digitized maps, such as the "spot function" which highlights recommended spots in an area, a "chat function," and a "stamp rally function." So far, more than 9,000 maps from 45 countries around the world are available through Stroly.

Contributors are able to easily communicate points of interest on their maps through the Stroly platform. A heat map function helps map contributors check what areas users have visited while using the map.

This new style of tourism promotion helps reduce costs in printing and distribution of physical maps while reducing the strain on environmental resources.

About Stroly's New Features

Together with this proof of concept, we've released an "event information display function" where you're able to share event information through the "spot function." This functionality not only informs users of relevant information but also general and seasonal event information.

About the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Pitch Event "UPGRADE with TOKYO"

Beginning in 2019, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has hosted the "UPGRADE with TOKYO" pitch event for startups. This event aims to promote collaboration between the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and startups through public-private sector cooperation.

Startups who are recognized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government as contributors to resolving Metropolitan Government issues are considered for collaboration. Stroly won the first round of the competition held in December 2019, and this current experiment is being carried out based on Stroly's proposal.

Information Disclosure Site for General Users

Stroly's Landing Page: https://stroly.com/goshinjuku/

About Stroly, Inc.

Website: https://biz.stroly.com/Mail: info@stroly.jpThe map platform is available for free.Basic and Premium Plans are available for business use. Please contact Stroly for details.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tokyo-x-stroly-a-proof-of-concept-with-digital-tourism-maps-examines-tourism-with-a-perspective-in-a-post-covid-world-301441978.html

SOURCE Stroly Inc.
TICKERS: GBR; GTBDF, K; KGC

Source: Streetwise Reports (12/9/21)

Shares of Great Bear Resources Ltd. traded 24% higher after the company reported it entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Kinross Gold for CA$1.8 billion. Existing Great Bear shareholders will be given the option of receiving CA$29.00 per share in cash, shares in Kinross or a pro-rata combination of both, plus a contingent value right.



Vancouver, B.C.-based explorer Great Bear Resources Ltd. (GBR:TSX.V; GTBDF:OTCQX), which is focused primarily on gold exploration at its wholly owned flagship Dixie property near Red Lake, Ont., yesterday announced that "it has entered into a binding agreement with Kinross Gold Corp. (K:TSX; KGC:NYSE) under which Kinross has agreed to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Great Bear."

The company advised that under the terms of the agreement, current Great Bear stockholders will in aggregate receive upfront consideration totaling approximately CA$1.8 billion. The firm stated that on a fully diluted basis this equates to CA$29.00 per share.

The report indicated that existing Great Bear shareholders will have the option to receive the full amount of CA$29.00 per share in cash or 3.8564 Kinross Gold shares for each Great Bear common share owned, or a combination thereof. Great Bear mentioned that the transaction agreement stipulates that the total aggregate upfront cash consideration will not exceed 75% of the upfront consideration, or CA$1.4 billion.

The firm explained that the CA$29.00 per share purchase price is 31% above the prior day's closing share price on December 7, 2021 and is 40% above the 20-day volume weighted average price (VWAP) on the TSX Venture Exchange.

In addition, for each common share owned, "Great Bear shareholders will also receive contingent consideration in the form of contingent value rights (CVRs) providing for further potential consideration equal to 0.1330 of a Kinross share." It is estimated this will add another CA$58.2 million in aggregate consideration, or about CA$1.00 per Great Bear common share on a partially diluted basis. Great Bear advised that payment of the addition contingent consideration is predicated upon Kinross Gold making a public announcement verifying that the Dixie project resource has been verified as having a Measured & Indicated resource of 8.5 Moz Au or higher.

Great Bear Resources' President and CEO Chris Taylor commented, "The acquisition of Great Bear by Kinross is an outstanding opportunity for our shareholders, partners at Wabauskang and Lac Seul First Nations, and the local communities of Northern Ontario."

CEO Taylor continued, "The Transaction delivers a compelling premium for Great Bear's shareholders, reflecting the top tier nature of the Dixie project, while offering beneficial exposure as Kinross shareholders to a high-quality operating portfolio and growing production baseKinross has the financial strength, technical expertise, and commitment to the highest ESG practices to advance the Dixie project at the pace and scale that this industry-leading discovery deserves."

Kinross Gold Corp's President and CEO J. Paul Rollinson stated, "The Dixie project represents an exciting opportunity to develop a potentially top tier deposit into a large, long-life mine complex. In addition to the prospect of developing a quality, high-grade open pit mine, we also believe that a significant portion of the asset's value is its longer-term potential, which includes the view of a sizeable underground operation."

"Kinross has the strong technical expertise and experience to successfully advance the project from exploration to development and unlock considerable value for our shareholdersThe Dixie project has multiple high-potential mineralized zones which remain open along strike and at depth, and we are confident that the asset has strong untapped upside with numerous avenues for growth," Rollinson added.

For the transaction to be complete, approval by 66 2/3% of the votes cast by the Great Bear shareholders is required. After that, the transaction will be implemented by way of a court-approved plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia). The company must also properly account for minority shareholder approval as regulations require. Great Bear's Board of Directors has already reviewed and unanimously approved the arrangement and determined that the transaction is favorable to, and in the best interest of the company and its investors. The company reported that it expects the transaction to close in Q1/22, subject to ordinary closing conditions and various regulatory approvals.

Great Bear Resources is a gold exploration company headquartered in Vancouver, B.C. The company is focused primarily on advancing its wholly owned "flagship" Dixie project near Red Lake, Ont. The firm has conducted a significant amount of exploration drilling at the property in order to define and expand the resource at this high-grade disseminated gold discovery which was made in 2019. The company's efforts are proceeding with infill drilling and in continues to evaluate new regional targets at the property.

Kinross is a senior gold mining company headquartered in Toronto. The firm owns interests in mines and projects in the U.S, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ghana, Mauritania and Russia. The firm is a major gold developer producing around 2.1 Moz Au eq annually and has a market cap of about $7.5 billion (CA$9.34 billion). The company shares trade under the ticker symbols "K" and "KGC" on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges, respectively.

Great Bear Resources Ltd. started off the day with a market cap of around $1.05 billion (CA$1.33 billion) with approximately 57.84 million shares outstanding. GTBAF OTC shares opened 23% higher today at $22.289 (+$4.2292, +23.42%) over yesterday's $18.0598 closing price and reached a new 52-week high price this morning of $22.5432. The stock has traded today between $22.2356 and $22.5432 per share and is currently trading at $22.3938 (+$4.3640, +24.20%).

[NLINSERT]

Disclosure:

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Two F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, arrive at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Dec. 3, 2021. (Jose Miguel Tamondong/ U.S. Air Force)

TOKYO  A group of Air Force fifth-generation fighter jets from Alaska are in Japan to train alongside Marine Corps and Japanese aircraft and demonstrate their ability to disperse and fight far from home.

F-35A Lightning IIs from Eielson Air Force Bases 354th Fighter Wing arrived at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni on Dec. 3 for Operation Iron Dagger, according to a Thursday news release from Pacific Air Forces.

The pilots are training with the III Marine Expeditionary Force and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force to improve teamwork and communication, according to the release.

Operation Iron Dagger supports U.S. Indo-Pacific Commands dynamic force employment concept through Agile Combat Employment, which supports the National Defense Strategy effort to conduct training with allies while maintaining global peace and security, a PACAF spokeswoman, Capt. Veronica Perez, told Stars and Stripes via email on Thursday.

Agile Combat Employment, or ACE, focuses on the ability to move aircraft rapidly to a network of smaller airfields in the Western Pacific to avoid being targeted by Chinese missiles in the event of war.

Perez, citing operation security, said she could not disclose many of Iron Daggers details, including the number of F-35As or their expected length of stay. However, a spokesman for Japans Ministry of Defense, speaking Monday on a customary condition of anonymity, said the fighters are expected to remain in the area for several weeks.

This operation gives our Airmen an opportunity to train with the Marines and their 5th generation aircraft, as well as potential opportunities to integrate and fly with allies in the region, Perez said.

The 1st Marine Air Wing, the aviation combat element of III MEF, has two squadrons of fifth-generation aircraft at MCAS Iwakuni, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 and Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 242. Both fly the F-35B, the short-takeoff, vertical-landing version of the Lightning II. The Air Forces F-35A is a conventional aircraft that requires a runway to take off and land.

In October, Marine F-35Bs made the first fighter landings aboard the JS Izumo, a Japanese helicopter carrier whose flight deck was upgraded to withstand the higher temperatures of vertical operations.

Japan has about 20 F-35A stealth fighters stationed at Misawa Air Base in the northeast. Japan is committed to purchasing 147 of the stealthy, multirole fighters, including as many as 42 F-35Bs.

Perez referred all questions about Japans Iron Dagger participation to the Japanese military. A JASDF spokesperson told Stars and Stripes in a Monday phone call that they werent aware of the exact number or types of Japanese aircraft involved in the exercise.

The Iron Dagger exercise is operating from MCAS Iwakuni but may involve other locations due to the nature of the training, according to Perez.

Citizen groups in Iwakuni objected to the exercises, claiming they are making residents anxious, according to Japanese newspaper The Mainichi on Thursday. One group complained that the Japanese government didnt issue prior notification about the exercises, while another cited concerns over noise pollution.
An MQ-9 Reaper drone operated by the New York Air National Guards 174th Attack Wing flies a training mission over central New York in 2016. The New York Air National Guard failed to pay rent to Syracuses Hancock Airport for five years after it received federal permission to fly Reaper drones out of the airport. (Eric Miller/Air National Guard)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (Tribune News Service)  The New York Air National Guard failed to pay rent to Syracuses Hancock Airport for five years after it received federal permission to fly Reaper drones out of the airport.

In December 2015, the guards 174th Attack Wing became the first in the nation allowed to operate an unmanned aircraft at a commercial airport.

The 174th was given a special federal exemption to take off and land its MQ-9 Reaper drones from the same runways used by passenger airlines and the traveling public.

But public records show the 174th Attack Wing never held up its end of the deal, running up an unpaid bill totaling almost $2 million by this September.

Neither airport officials nor the Air National Guard can provide an explanation about what happened.

Jason Terreri, the airports executive director, said he discovered the missing payments in 2019, soon after he started working in Syracuse.

Terreri said he tried for more than a year to negotiate a new rent agreement with the New York Air National Guard, including back payments.

But it wasnt until Rep. John Katko and other members of Congress intervened in September with top military brass that the Air National Guard finally agreed to pay up.

Katko, R-Camillus, sent a Sept. 10 letter to the top generals at the National Guard in Washington, D.C., and New York state.

Katko wrote that the delays in this process have long surpassed reasonable bounds, and they have had real and growing negative effects.

The longer this process drags on, chances grow that the airport will need to plug this gap in its finances by raising landing fees or other charges, which would in turn harm SYRs ability to attract new carriers and routes, the letter said.

Reps. Elise Stefanik of Northern New York and Tom Reed of Corning also signed the letter.

At about the same time, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumers staff exchanged a series of emails with the National Guard asking for the issue to be resolved.

The Air National Guard finally signed a new joint use agreement with the airport this month, agreeing to pay $1.8 million in back due rent from October 2016 through September 2021.

The guard also agreed to a four-year rental agreement that started Oct. 1 at an annual rate that increases from $373,000 to $396,000 for the 2024-25 fiscal year.

The money pays for maintenance and repair of the airports runways and ramps, including snow removal. Syracuse Hancock International Airport has an annual operating budget of about $28 million.

Terreri told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard that without the steady income, the airport would have to consider a long-term increase in its landing fees, the charge airlines pay each time one of their planes touches down at the airport.

Those increased fees are often passed along to consumers in the form of higher airfares.

We managed it so that it doesnt impact the rates and fees to the airlines, Terreri said, referring to the delayed rent payments. But at some point, youve got to get that money back. That would be billed through the airline rates and charges. Thats why it was so important to get this wrapped up.

Terreri said he doesnt know why the New York Air National Guard stopped making its payments. The state pays 25% of the cost, and the federal government pays the remaining 75%.

The airport and Air National Guard agreed informally to a new rental agreement in December 2020, Terreri said. But the National Guard stalled on signing it until Katko and the other members of Congress intervened.

Eric Durr, a spokesman for the New York Air National Guard, confirmed that the military has signed a new agreement and paid its back rent to the Syracuse airport. Durr said he did not know the reasons why the payments lapsed.

The Air National Guards 174th Attack Wing is based at Hancock Field, adjacent to the civilian airport.

The military shared the same runways with commercial passenger planes at Hancock Airport for decades, pausing in 2010 when the wing transitioned to drones after flying F-16 fighter jets in Syracuse.

mweiner@syracuse.com

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Army Guard troops with the 301st Chemical Battalion and Air Guard troops with the 123rd Airlift Wing continue search and rescue missions in Mayfield, Ky., on Dec. 12, 2021. (Brett Hornback/U.S. Army)

WASHINGTON  About 300 National Guard troops are supporting relief efforts after tornadoes ripped through Kentucky on Friday night leaving at least 70 people dead, according to the states Guard.

Gov. Andy Beshear, who referred to the storm as the states most devastating, most deadly tornado event, declared a state of emergency Friday.

Every resource is being deployed, the Kentucky National Guard said in a statement. The National Guard is being positioned to search for survivors in multiple counties.

The Air and Army National Guard troops were mobilized to help with search and rescue efforts, clearing roads and assisting law enforcement after the storm, the Guard said.

We want to make sure everybody is being safe with all of the downed power lines and trees, Sgt. Justin Sims of the Guards 438th Military Police Company said in the statement. Many of the roads are blocked off and so MPs have helped secure the roads and let authorized personnel in so they can continue the mission.

The Guard has also brought in search dogs and rescue teams, looking through fallen houses and a candle factory in Mayfield, Ky., where more than 100 people were working when the tornado struck, according to the statement.

Noting Monday is the National Guards 385th birthday, chief Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the efforts of Kentuckys Guard troops are a visible, tangible way to acknowledge the contributions that the Guard has made to our national security and national defense.

Throughout the whole year, wherever you look, there's the National Guard, he said. Whether it's helping vaccinate Americans, dealing with cleanup after natural disasters to helping out customs and border officials down at the southwest border  they have been literally woven into the fabric of this entire year in terms of response and assistance to their fellow citizens.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is also responding to mission assignments from the Federal Emergency Management Agency connected to storm damage, support of critical public facilities, assessing infrastructure and helping with emergency power and generator staging and installation, Kirby said.

We do not anticipate activations from other states with respect to this particular natural disaster, Kirby said.
Buy Photo Soldiers of the 2nd Brigade Engineer Battalion burn their unit colors at Camp Casey, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 10, 2021. The annual ceremony reenacts the battalions actions during the Korean War in 1950. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)

CAMP CASEY, South Korea  Soldiers of the 2nd Brigade Engineer Battalion paid tribute to their forebears by setting ablaze their unit colors and recalling a desperate fight of the Korean War.

The annual Burning of the Colors ceremony Friday evening on a field at Camp Casey, roughly 15 miles from the border with North Korea, reenacts the battalions actions on Nov. 30, 1950. The battalion typically conducts the ceremony at its home station in Fort Bliss, Texas. This year, it took place in South Korea because of a unit rotation.

The significance of this is coming home for us, where the battle actually took place, battalion commander Lt. Col. Jim Pence said after the ceremony.

During the Korean War, the engineer battalion, then part of the 2nd Infantry Division, became surrounded as Chinas intervention in the war stalled the U.S. Armys northward advance.

The Sapper Steel battalion was formed Nov. 29, 1950, and ordered to defend a ridge near the divisions command post south of the Kunu-ri pass in North Korea.

As the 2nd ID retreated, the engineer battalion was ordered to defend the area and later became the divisions rear guard.

Surrounded by enemy forces and with limited manpower, the battalion commander, Lt. Col. Alarich Zacherle, ordered the Army's heavy equipment destroyed using magnesium grenades and gasoline.

The battalion also set fire to its colors and 25 combat streamers to prevent them from becoming a war trophy.

Of the 997 troops in the battalion, just 266 remained by Dec. 1, 1950. Only one officer was present at roll call; Zacherle had become a prisoner of war. About 95% of the battalions equipment was destroyed.

In addition to burning the colors Friday during the nighttime ceremony, the engineer battalion fired flares and blank rounds to represent the Battle of Kunu-ri.

Pence said the situation became desperate as his predecessor was surrounded by Chinese forces, and there was no guarantee that those colors would have escaped the battle.

The importance of this was to remember those who came before us and honor their legacy, he told Stars and Stripes after the ceremony. I think its always important for us to remember those courageous warriors who came before us.

Roughly 33,739 U.S. troops were killed in action during the Korean War, according to the Defense Casualty Analysis System. About 28,500 U.S. troops are now stationed on the divided peninsula.
A sailor gets swabbed for COVID-19 testing aboard the USS Hershel Woody Williams in the Atlantic Ocean in June 2021. U.S. naval bases in Italy are waiting for COVID-19 test kits to arrive before starting mandatory testing of unvaccinated sailors, officials said Dec. 13. (Eric Coffer/U.S. Navy)

U.S. naval bases in Italy are waiting for COVID-19 test kits to arrive before starting mandatory testing of unvaccinated sailors, and theres no clear timetable for delivery of the kits, according to Navy officials.

In November, the service ordered all unvaccinated personnel to be self-tested at least weekly for COVID-19. The order specified that testing could begin as soon as Nov. 28 if testing kits were available.

Navy Region Europe Africa Central spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Comer said Monday that Naval Air Station Sigonella and Naval Support Activity Naples have not yet received the kits.

He could not provide an expected date for kit delivery or the start of testing. It was unclear Monday how many Navy bases or ships had started testing.

Meanwhile, Italy continues to grapple with a surge in COVID-19 cases. The Health Ministry reported 19,215 new cases of the virus and 66 deaths on Sunday. That was down slightly from the day before, when there were 21,042 new cases and 96 deaths.

Three regions  Calabria, Bolzano and Friuli Venezia Giulia, which is home to Aviano Air Base  are considered yellow risk zones. That designation requires additional restrictions, such as mandatory mask-wearing outdoors.

Campania, home to NSA Naples, and Sicilia, home to NAS Sigonella, remain in the white zone.

But eight regions  including Campania, Sicilia and Lazio, home to another U.S. Navy base in Gaeta  have seen a rise in the number of COVID-19 patients placed in intensive care, the Ansa news agency reported Monday.

At the end of November, about 9,500 active-duty sailors, or roughly 4% of the total, were unvaccinated, the Navy said.

Unvaccinated naval reservists face weekly testing beginning Dec. 28, also if supplies are on hand. The order did not address civilians or contractors, saying that guidance for them would be issued later.

Alison Bath Alison Bath reports on the U.S. Navy, including U.S. 6th Fleet, in Europe and Africa. She has reported for a variety of publications in Montana, Nevada and Louisiana, and served as editor of newspapers in Louisiana, Oregon and Washington.
President Joe Bidens commission on reforming the Supreme Court did not make any recommendations in its final report. Biden did not ask it to. It did, however, show what is on the minds of legal experts of varying political stripes.

What they are worrying about, more than anything else, is the courts legitimacy. Some version of that word appears more than 70 times in the report. Among the questions it takes up: Would packing the court reduce its legitimacy? Would term limits for the justices harm it? Has partisanship already lowered it to a dangerous level?

The high courts legitimacy is also a main subject of debate in the highest-profile case before it this term: the case about Mississippis ban on abortion after 15 weeks. In 1992s Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Supreme Court based much of its argument for reaffirming Roe v. Wade on the theory that reversing itself under fire would compromise the publics perception of its legitimacy and thereby endanger the rule of law. Justice Stephen Breyer echoed this point during the oral arguments over the Mississippi ban.

The main counter-arguments are that the justices should reach a legal judgment without trying to head off or even predict a public response, and that Roe itself has undermined the courts legitimacy by dragging it into a partisan mire. As a longtime critic of Roe, these are the arguments I find persuasive. In the long run, both the court and U.S. politics will be better off if the grave error of 1973 is erased.

Theres something missing from the discussion of legitimacy and Roe, though, something that the commission report gets admirably clear: The term has a lot of different, and sometimes incompatible, meanings. Before we ask what decision in the Mississippi case would be best for the courts institutional interest, we have to consider what sort of institution it is supposed to be.

For much of U.S. history, the court played a role that was important but much more limited than the one it has performed during the last few decades. It set aside few laws  only two federal laws in the first seven decades under the Constitution. As Americans struggled over monumental issues such as religious pluralism and the size of government, the court was mostly a bystander.

Over the last century, and particularly since World War II, the court has read the Constitution as giving it a much larger role in superintending the policies of the federal and state governments. As it accumulated more power, its conception of itself changed accordingly, as did everyone elses conception of it.

The new Supreme Court declared itself supreme in the exposition of the law of the Constitution. It flirted with ending the death penalty in the name of evolving standards of decency found neither in the Constitution nor even in public-opinion polls. It ended widespread practices that had endured for decades without being considered unconstitutional.

Some of the courts most grandiose descriptions of its role came in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, one of the cases at issue now. Americans belief in themselves depended on their respect for the court, it claimed. It summoned the contending sides of a national controversy to end their national division over abortion.

Americans didnt follow that order, of course. The sides have kept contending. But this exalted view of the Supreme Court found influential adherents. In the 1990s, Kathleen Sullivan, then a professor at Stanford Law School and later its dean, suggested that one of the few outside checks on judicial decisions  the possibility of constitutional amendments to undo their effects when desired by a supermajority of the public  should be considered suspect. Such amendments were a kind of mutiny against the authority of the Supreme Court.

Overruling Roe would be a blow to this grand version of the courts identity. It would strip away the pretension to political and moral leadership that it has built up over the years. It would amount to an admission that its attempt to impose its will on the public had failed.

Worse, it would be an admission that the attempt had deserved to fail, because Roe substituted the courts will for the Constitution. Todays court would be saying, in effect, that Casey was an act of desperate obstinacy.

The Supreme Court would still have the power to set aside laws. It would be taken less seriously as an oracle. Those who say that the institution would lose some of its clout are not wrong about that. What they dont see is that it would be a good thing.

Bloomberg Opinion columnist Ramesh Ponnuru is a senior editor at National Review and a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.
Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday announced new investment commitments from an array of private companies to help address the root causes of migration from Central America. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)

WASHINGTON  Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday announced new investment commitments from an array of private companies to help address the root causes of migration from Central America, aiding her efforts on a daunting task on which she has been longing to show progress.

With the pledges from companies including PepsiCo, Mastercard and Cargill, Harris' office said such entities have now committed to invest $1.2 billion in the poverty-stricken and violent region since she issued a "call to action" for private-sector help in May.

The announcement comes amid staff departures and other reports of turmoil in Harris' office. Her portfolio includes several challenging assignments, including a charge from President Joe Biden to address the root causes of migration at the southern border during a large spike in illegal crossings.

"Six months ago, we had a commitment of $750 million. Today we have a commitment of over 1.2 billion," Harris said in remarks Monday afternoon at a meeting with chief executive officers.

She added, "This is not about us coming in and telling anyone what they should do. It is about being partners and assisting and helping to facilitate the natural desire of the people in these nations. This is important work. This is good work. I think this reflects the best of who we are as the United States recognizing our responsibility as neighbors to these countries in the Western Hemisphere."

Ahead of the meeting, Harris' office detailed new investments from seven companies.

It said, for example, that PepsiCo, the global food and beverage company, would invest $190 million in northern Central America through 2025, including improvements to its manufacturing plans in the region. The company already has a long-standing presence in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, including a regional manufacturing hub in Guatemala.

Harris' office also said that Cargill, a global food corporation, would invest an additional $150 million in the region with the aim of improving "farmer livelihoods and building economic resilience" in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.

Meanwhile, Parkdale Mills, one of the largest providers of spun yarns and cotton consumer products in the world, plans to spend $150 million to build a new yarn spinning facility in Honduras, according to Harris' office.

Other investments are being announced by CARE International, Grupo Mariposa, Parkdale Mills, JDE Peet's and PriceSmart.

In addition, three other companies that announced initial investments in May  Mastercard, Microsoft and Nespresso  are announcing further plans in the region.
Buy Photo Sarah Russell, an Air Force spouse, created the Mental Health Peer Alliance at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder last year. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)

KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa  Air Force spouse Sarah Russell created her own kind of mental health support group after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder last year.

Kadena has an adequate share of therapy and Defense Department health programs, Russell said, but she wanted to supplement her treatment with something less serious, revolving around fun activities and making new friends.

I was told by one of the psychiatrists I had seen outpatient that they didnt offer group therapy here, she recently told Stars and Stripes. I decided that I would try to start something, a peer-to-peer social support group.

She founded the Mental Health Peer Alliance in September 2020. Its events typically draw six to eight members, but over 400 people belong to their closed Facebook group.

A group like Russells supplements treatment found on base, sort of like Alcoholics Anonymous, said Air Force Maj. Emily Graze, the 18th Wings mental health flight commander and a licensed psychologist. When it comes to mental health, you can never provide too many services, she told Stars and Stripes on Nov. 5.

Theres always room to advance and provide more, Graze said.

The military has a need for mental health services that it often fails to meet, according to an August 2020 Defense Department Inspector Generals report.

Approximately 14% of all active-duty service members  203,040 of them  had diagnosed mental health disorders in 2017, according to the report. By contrast, 18.9% of all adults in the United States that year had a mental illness.

However, the report found the DOD falls short of its duty to provide access to timely and ongoing mental health care, although the Military Health System is taking steps to improve, according to the report. It did not specifically address the availability of group therapy.

In June 2020, Russell, 34, of Sacramento, Calif., began acting irrationally, suffering from paranoia and delusions surrounding her marriage, she said during an interview with Stars and Stripes in November. She told base security forces her husband was following her and had hacked her phone.

I was suffering from paranoid delusions, she said.

The mother of four was admitted to the mental health unit at U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa on Camp Foster.

Russell discovered she has a family history of the disorder, which is characterized by unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, concentration, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

After her diagnosis, Russell received medication that helped her control the disorder, she said. Then she discovered art therapy and made new friends who were going through similar difficulties. This seemed to put her mind at ease.

Making an authentic friend and art therapy were a couple things that helped me heal mentally, she said. Friendships can change people, improve quality of life and even save lives.

Russell left the hospital after nine days. She focused, first, on making sure she was well. She found the best medication for her and went to counseling with her husband, which improved their marriage.

Next, Russell wanted to bring like-minded people together and began researching beneficial activities for a group setting, she said.

She came up with four criteria for activities: exercising, volunteering, socializing and taking productive risks, like teaching, learning a skill or overcoming some small phobia. The Mental Health Peer Alliance was born.

The group meets at Kadena twice a week for activities like art therapy, exercise for mothers and small children, yoga, game nights and service projects like beach cleanups.

Just having us exist on social media, I think, gives hope to people, that theyre truly not alone, she said.

The group is open to any adult who has suffered from depression or anxiety, Russell said. No formal diagnosis is necessary.

Nikita Restrepo, 28, an Air Force spouse from Miami, arrived in Okinawa over the summer. She responded to a social media post about the group because she has social anxiety and is prone to depression.

We started painting and it was actually therapeutic, and Im not usually a painter, she said. I was like, I enjoyed this; I want to do this more.

For more information, request to join the groups Facebook group at www.facebook.com/groups/mhpaokinawa.
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, the Chinese national flag is flown at half mast as officials preparing for a memorial ceremony for the Nanking Massacre victims at the Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Nanking, in eastern China's Jiangsu Province, Monday, Dec. 13, 2021. China on Monday marking the 84th anniversary of the Nanking Massacre, in which it says hundreds of thousands of civilians and disarmed soldiers were killed by Japanese soldiers in and around the former Chinese capital. (Ji Chunpeng//Xinhua via AP)

BEIJING  China on Monday marked the 84th anniversary of the Nanking Massacre, in which hundreds of thousands of civilians and disarmed soldiers were killed by Japanese troops in and around the former Chinese capital.

A People's Liberation Army honor guard bearing large funeral wreaths marched slowly past a memorial showing the figure 300,000, China's official death toll in the events of December 1937, as solemn music played. Troops, students and 3,000 attendees then stood at rigid attention to observe a minute of silence.

Addressing the gathering, Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan said they had came together to "learn from history and open up a new chapter of our future."

The ceremony aimed to "showcase our lofty commitment to a peaceful development path," said Sun, the only woman on the ruling Communist Party's 25-member Politburo.

In 2014, China's top legislature designated Dec. 13 as national day of remembrance for massacre victims. Survivors, just 61 of whom are still living, were among those observing the date.

The website of the official Xinhua News Agency appeared in black and white to mark the occasion, while popular online shopping and social media sites such as Taobao and WeChat displayed black backgrounds.

China frequently criticizes Japan for not showing sufficient contrition for the brutality of its expansionist campaign that swept across Asia during the first half of the 20th century. The ruling party has often allowed anti-Japanese sentiment to build domestically to shore up its legacy as a defender of China's sovereignty and national dignity.

In 1937 and throughout World War II, the Communists were based at Yan'an in northern China, far from the front lines, while most of the fighting and dying was done by Chiang Kaishek's Nationalist forces backed by the U.S.

This year's commemoration comes at a time when relations with Japan are generally stable and criticisms have been muted, despite a major downturn in China's relations with Tokyo's key ally, the United States.

A 1946 international postwar tribunal concluded at least 200,000 civilians were killed by Japanese troops in a weekslong frenzy of murder, rape, looting and arson after Nanking  China's capital at the time  fell on Dec. 13, 1937, after bitter street fighting in Shanghai. The city's name is now spelled Nanjing under the pinyin romanization system.

Some right-wing Japanese politicians have downplayed the death toll or denied outright that the Nanking atrocity happened.

Increasingly, it is China that has raised alarms in Asia with its more assertive military and diplomatic posture, particularly over territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas, along with its growing military harassment of Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy it claims as its own territory.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in visits Yongsan Garrison in Seoul, South Korea, June 13, 2017. (Sean Harp/U.S. Army)

The United States, North Korea and China have agreed in principle to declare a formal end to the Korean War, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Monday.

Speaking during a four-day summit in Canberra Australia, Moon said the countries all support the idea of ending the 1950-53 war, though Pyongyang is still demanding "a prerequisite that the U.S. should fundamentally drop its hostile policy."

The end-of-war declaration itself is not an ultimate goal," Moon said before adding that he hoped the proclamation would generate "significant dialogue momentum" between the countries.

The Korean War ended with an armistice agreement rather than a peace treaty between China, North Korea and the U.N. Command. The agreement was intended to ensure a complete cessation of hostilities and to bring about a final peaceful settlement.

Moon alluded to the possibility of including China in four-party talks during a speech before the U.N. General Assembly in September.

Since broaching the subject on the world stage, South Korean diplomats have met with their U.S. and Chinese counterparts to discuss the proposition. Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi responded positively to the idea following a meeting with South Korean national security adviser Suh Hoon, the presidential Blue House said in a statement earlier this month.

The U.S. confirmed it was ironing out the details of an end-of-war declaration in recent weeks. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said at a press conference Nov. 17 she was very satisfied with the consultations  on the best way forward to ensure the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Moon, who will step down in May, has pushed to formally end the Korean War before his term ends. Supporters of the plan to end the decades-long impasse argue that such a declaration would normalize relations with North Korea and jump-start denuclearization talks with the communist regime.

In November, 23 U.S. House lawmakers, all Democrats, in a letter to the White House wrote that while North Koreas nuclear weapons continue to pose a threat to peace and security around the world, a forever state of war does not resolve this issue, nor does it serve the national interest of the United States and our allies.

However, critics argue that a declaration would pander to an unchanging Pyongyang and lead to the withdrawal of the roughly 28,500 U.S. troops on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea has long called for full withdrawal of the U.S. troops and has denounced the joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises, which it says is a rehearsal for an invasion of its country.

In a separate letter to the White House, 35 House Republicans said they were gravely concerned with the plan, arguing that an end to hostilities should come at the culmination of comprehensive and long-term talks with North Korea after eliminating its nuclear arsenal and demonstrating verifiable improvements on its human rights record.

Opening the door for considering for the removal of U.S. troops from the Korean peninsula before the North has fully denuclearized would have disastrous consequences for U.S. national security, erode our combined deterrence, and jeopardize the lives of tens of millions of Americans, Koreans, and Japanese, they wrote Dec. 7.

South Koreas Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the Republicans letter and said the declaration has nothing to do with the U.S. force presence in Korea and the status of the United Nations Command.

Stars and Stripes reporter Yoo Kyong Chang contributed to this report.
From second left, Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares Bueno, Croatia's Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, Portugal's Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Slovenia's Foreign Minister Anze Logar during a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels on Monday, Dec. 13, 2021. (Virginia Mayo/AP)

BRUSSELS  The European Union imposed sanctions Monday on a group of private Russian military contractors it accuses of fomenting violence and committing human rights abuses in the Middle East, Africa and Ukraine.

EU foreign ministers agreed to slap asset freezes and travel bans on eight people involved with the Wagner Group, including founder Dmitry Utkin, and three energy companies linked to the group in Syria.

"The activities of this group reflects the Russian hybrid warfare. They represent a threat and create instability in a number of countries around the world," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters after chairing the meeting.

EU headquarters said in a statement that "the Wagner Group has recruited, trained and sent private military operatives to conflict zones around the world to fuel violence, loot natural resources and intimidate civilians in violation of international law, including international human rights law."

It accused those targeted of "serious human rights abuses, including torture and extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and killings, or in destabilizing activities in some of the countries they operate in, including Libya, Syria, Ukraine (Donbas) and the Central African Republic."

The EU said the group is "also spreading its malign influence elsewhere, notably in the Sahel region" of Africa. The EU warned that Wagner Group mercenaries pose a threat to the countries they work in, wider regions and to the 27-country EU itself.

The Wagner Group, owned by a confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been accused by Western governments and U.N. experts of human rights abuses in the Central African Republic and involvement in the conflict in Libya.

EU lawmakers say the group should be treated as a "proxy organization" for the Russian state. France and Germany have complained about the presence of Wagner Group fighters in Mali.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said the company has a "legitimate" right to be in Mali because it was invited by the transitional government, and he insisted the Russian government is not involved.
U.S. Army Europe and Africa Command Sgt. Maj. Robert V. Abernethy, left, has been selected to serve as the next senior enlisted leader of U.S. European Command, the military announced Dec. 13, 2021. He will replace Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Phillip L. Easton at EUCOMs Patch Barracks headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. (United States European Command)

Army Command Sgt. Maj. Robert V. Abernethy was named the next senior enlisted leader of U.S. European Command, the military announced Monday.

Abernethy currently serves as command sergeant major at U.S. Army Europe and Africa headquarters in Wiesbaden, Germany.

He will replace Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Phillip L. Easton at EUCOMs Patch Barracks headquarters in Stuttgart, said the office of the senior enlisted adviser to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Easton has served in his position at EUCOM since August 2019. A date for the change in responsibility hasnt yet been announced.

AS EUCOMs senior enlisted leader, Abernethy will be responsible for advising the commander on issues affecting the force, such as professional development and quality of life in the enlisted ranks.

The position also involves mentorship of senior enlisted leaders in the NATO alliance.
Buy Photo Then-Master Sgt. Matthew Larsen, wife Kathrin and son Jayden stand in front of their house in Reichweiler, Germany, on March 11, 2020. A German tax office recently decided to stop pursuing its case against the recently retired airman. (Brian Ferguson/Stars and Stripes)

A German tax office has rescinded its case against a retired U.S. airman, who said his situation should serve as a wake-up call to the military over its failure to defend its personnel from potential financial ruin.

Earlier this month, an attorney for former Master Sgt. Matthew Larsen received notification from the Kusel-Landstuhl finance office that it was ending its pursuit of the American.

Still, Larsen said his victory reinforces his view that the U.S. military in Europe has failed to stand up for a growing number of American personnel who still find themselves ensnared in high-stakes fights with German authorities.

The Air Force didnt win this case for us, Larsen told Stars and Stripes last week. Neither did DOD or the embassy. This is something we fought strictly alone.

His final years of active duty were marred by threats of fines and even imprisonment if he didnt hand over his U.S. tax records to German authorities for inspection.

The State Department has said repeatedly that local tax offices are violating the NATO Status of Forces Agreement when they try to force U.S. personnel to pay German income taxes and penalties on their military pay and benefits.

Larsen drew the attention of tax officials because he is married to a German woman, which in their eyes can be justification for treating military personnel as taxable German residents despite their military visas.

In addition to being married to a German, factors that can put military members at tax risk include owning property, sending children to German schools or having lengthy tours of duty.

While talks aimed at resolving the diplomatic impasse drag on between Washington and Berlin, Americans remain targets and revenue sources for German garrison towns.

Bills have reached into the six figures in some cases, with German authorities taxing not only military salaries but also so-called privileges, such as access to free on-base schools for children, gym use, discounted gasoline and tax-free shopping at commissaries.

Larsens case, which emerged in April 2020, put a spotlight on the increasingly aggressive tactics used by tax offices in areas where large numbers of U.S. troops are based.

But in a letter dated Nov. 29, the tax office wrote that the situation was hereby resolved and that Larsen didnt owe the money the Germans were seeking.

The decision marked a quick reversal. Days earlier, the tax office had issued a fine and a demand that Larsen submit his tax records, even though his tour in Germany had already ended and he was back in the United States.

The tax office didnt offer a reason for its decision to back down. German tax officials have said in the past that as a rule, they cant comment publicly on private cases.

Larsen said that at the outset, he was told by Army and Air Force legal offices that he would need to retain his own attorney because the military regards such cases as a private matter.

Faced with an $11,000 fine and possible imprisonment for failure to provide tax records, Larsen said he had no one but his attorney fighting on his behalf.

Any feeling I had of being protected because I was in the U.S. military, that went right out the window with this case, he said.

The Army, which oversees all SOFA maters in Germany, did not respond to questions about what prevents it from providing legal support to affected personnel.

In Germany, military commands are often involved when situations arise with government authorities. For example, traffic violations and speeding tickets from the Germans are run through command offices before troops are informed, Larsen said.

In this case, where something could evaporate somebodys entire life savings, something that can affect your security clearance and job, (military leaders) arent involved at all, Larsen said. This is huge stuff. It baffles me to no end.
Afghan people sit as they wait to leave the Kabul airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 16, 2021, as thousands of people mobbed the citys airport trying to flee the Taliban. (Wakil Kohsar, AFP via Getty Images/TNS)

When desperate Afghans fought their way into Kabuls international airport during the last two weeks of August, most of those lucky enough to get past Taliban checkpoints, the crush of their panicked compatriots, and U.S. military and diplomatic gatekeepers found a spot on a departing airplane.

U.S. passports and visas paved the way for some. But many simply managed to get there, some with a slip of paper showing the right connections, and others with only the look of despair and determination on their faces.

Since the final military plane departed Aug. 31, Biden administration officials from the president on down have repeatedly pledged to continue helping all at-risk Afghans left behind.

But the fairly indiscriminate fire hose of departures in August has now become a painfully slow drip of prioritized passengers. U.S.-organized charter flights that began in late September have evacuated only about 3,000 Afghans, compared with tens of thousands in August.

The administration says the process is now limited by the realities on the ground in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, along with the constraints of U.S. immigration law and its own capacity to deal with the situation. It is prioritizing U.S. citizens and residents and those with Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) in their Afghan passports, indicating they had worked as interpreters or in other capacities for the U.S. government, or have progressed beyond a certain point in the SIV application process.

The evacuation in August was of a mass quantity over a very short period of time, a senior State Department official said. Theres no way were going to be able to duplicate that scope and scale ... when we dont have people in the country, theres not really a functioning airport, and arguably there are tens if not hundreds of thousands [of Afghans] who would fall into the broad category of at risk. 

Were doing as much as we can, when we can, said the senior official, one of a half dozen involved in the effort across the administration who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue.

Critics blame the slowdown on what they say is a lack of official compassion, competence and fidelity to the administrations own promises.

U.S. veterans have appealed on behalf of members of the Afghan security forces whom they trained and fought alongside. Universities and students have written to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging immediate action to help save Afghanistans scholars, students, and civil society actors, including womens rights activists, from life, and possible death, under the Taliban.

The White House, together with the State Department, have purposefully crafted the narrowest possible criteria for being evacuated to the U.S., said Alexa Greenwald, who heads evacuation efforts for Sayara International, one of a number of nongovernmental organizations working to get Afghans out of the country. They want to resettle as few Afghans as possible.

For some, the seeds of the current situation were sown early this year, when Biden ordered a full U.S. departure, set a quick deadline, and failed to start mass evacuations long before Taliban fighters reached Kabul on Aug. 15. It was just one bad decision after another, said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, the top minority member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

And along the way, they repeatedly misled the public and made promises they failed to keep. Its created a lot of distrust, both with these outside groups as well as members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.

McCauls office, and those of many other lawmakers, continue to field appeals from desperate Afghans stuck inside the country.

- - -

What the U.S. government calls the August Non-combatant Evacuation Operation, or NEO, brought more than 74,000 Afghans to this country. Most were neither citizens, U.S. residents nor SIV holders.

They were authorized for admission to the United States under a provision of U.S. immigration law called humanitarian parole, ordered by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Aug. 23, while the NEO was underway. It allows admissions for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit to the United States.

Invoked at the discretion of the administration, humanitarian parole is rarely used for mass admissions. It allowed 130,000 Vietnamese into the country in 1975, and 6,600 Iraqis in 1996, after the Persian Gulf War.

As with those crises, the mass Afghanistan parole was temporary, and applied only to those who left during the NEO. Advocates representing thousands of Afghans still inside the country have called for the administration to reopen it to allow them in.

But officials say parole is not a long-term solution. In addition to being politically unpalatable and beyond the capabilities of an intake system struggling with those already here, immigration law specifies that humanitarian parole is not to be used in place of the normal refugee process.

After medical screening, immunizations and security vetting, about 70,000 who received parole status were flown to the United States and distributed to military bases across the country for resettlement by nongovernmental agencies.

More than half of them have now been settled around the country, a process slowed by the inability of refugee agencies  with staff and capabilities shrunken after the Trump administration severely limited refugee admissions  to cope with the large numbers. The parole is good for two years, during which the Afghans can apply for permanent U.S. status.

Thousands of others evacuated during the NEO were on flights that landed in countries that responded to U.S. requests to temporarily take them, including Poland, North Macedonia, Albania, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates and others.

Many of them are now stuck in those places, in part because there are not enough physicians with the necessary U.S. government certification, or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services vetters, available to deal with them.

The U.S. plan, after the NEO, was to charter flights out of Afghanistan in a far more organized manner. But the numbers so far have been small, and seats have been given out in strict order of priority.

The chartered aircraft belong to Qatar Airways, the only carrier that has been permitted by the Taliban to land with any regularity in Kabul. Some weeks, there have been two flights; other times, only one.

It seems theyve drawn a line in the sand in who they want to take, said one person involved in the private effort, speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of antagonizing U.S. authorities. I get that there are lots of external limitations around the flights and bureaucracy, but there are also limitations that have been imposed internally.

Who gets a seat is determined by the State Department, with first priority going to U.S. citizens  nearly all of them Afghan Americans, followed by permanent residents. As of Dec. 6, the United States had brought in 470 citizens and 417 residents along with their families  limited by U.S. law to spouses and minor children.

The administration has said that all of the American citizens it knows of in Afghanistan have now left or been given an opportunity to leave. Those who have chosen to stay, officials said, are primarily Afghans with ineligible extended family members they do not want to leave behind.

Most of those aboard the flights fall into the third priority category, those who hold physically or electronically issued SIVs or who have progressed beyond a certain point in the application process.

Others on the U.S. charters, or in spare seats on occasional Qatari government-organized flights that have their own lists of priority evacuees, include eligible family members left behind on previous flights, Afghan employees of the U.S. Embassy or other U.S. government agencies, or those for whom special pleading in the United States has succeeded.

Qatar has insisted that everyone on board one of its charter flights have a passport, both U.S. and Qatari officials said. Officials said that the Taliban has been surprisingly cooperative, for the most part, in issuing Afghan passports and has not, to date, refused to allow any manifested passenger to leave.

In the meantime, there are no commercial flights in or out of the country, and the already small number of charters is likely to shrink as winter sets in. The Kabul airport has no radar or air traffic control system, and flights can only land during the daytime. Set in a bowl amid mountain ranges, its visibility will decrease with the cold weather; the city is already becoming filled with winter smog and smoke as Afghans burn whatever they can find to stay warm.

When the snow and ice come, there is little besides shovels to clear the runways. There are no functioning aircraft de-icers in Afghanistan, according to U.S. and Qatari officials.

At the current rate, it will take months, perhaps years, to evacuate everyone in the three priority categories, let alone those who fall outside them.

We are grateful that there are examples of people getting out, said Krish OMara Vignarajah, president of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, a private group that is helping resettle Afghans who make it to the United States.

But its troubling when you think of the denominator, which is not just tens of thousands but hundreds of thousands of at-risk Afghans, she said.

Some have been able to leave the country on their own, or with help from rescue and humanitarian organizations still operating inside the country. An estimated 4,000 to 5,000 a day cross the largely desert terrain along Afghanistans western border to enter Iran, joining the several million Afghans already there, according to the Iranian government and to Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, who visited both the western Afghan border area and Tehran in recent weeks.

Land borders to the north with Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China are closed and heavily patrolled by those countries. Pakistan, to the east and south, has sporadically allowed Afghans to enter by land, but only those with preexisting visas or guarantees by countries such as the United States that they will leave immediately.

Some organizations have arranged charter flights from airports other than Kabuls, primarily from the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif. But they have had great difficulty persuading other countries to let them land, and U.S. officials have declined to intervene to advocate for flights whose passengers they are unable to vet or vouch for with no presence on the ground in Afghanistan.

Some countries in Latin America and elsewhere have allowed entry in the belief  shared by many Afghans  that they are serving as a brief way station for more or less automatic entry into the United States, according to U.S. officials. Many may be disappointed.

At recent congressional hearings, senior officials have been criticized for failing to bring enough people to safety, while simultaneously risking the admission of terrorists.

Hundreds, maybe thousands of Americans have been left behind to the enemy, where they still remain, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told Mayorkas when he testified last month, even as Hawley charged that the quick admission of so many Afghans as part of the NEO posed an unbelievable security risk.

Others say such disputes about numbers and eligibility, along with excuses about resettlement capacity, the law and an overburdened bureaucracy, should not distract from the larger question of what Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., called the moral imperative to do more for the Afghans.

I really believe that some proactive and creative thinking, combined with a sense of urgency, could achieve better results, Blumenthal, who has advocated on behalf of groups trying to secure U.S. support for private evacuation flights, said in an interview. A great nation keeps its promises, he said.

There are two avenues currently open to those at risk and still in Afghanistan  asylum or refugee admission  both of which require first getting out of Afghanistan, and both of which can take years. Although the administration has implemented measures to expedite both the refugee and asylum processes for Afghans, other laws and proposals over the past few months to ease their path to U.S. admission  including making all eligible for SIV status  have not succeeded.

In floor speeches Thursday, Blumenthal and Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Joni Ernst of Iowa, called for the administration to step up its efforts and break through red tape, and for Congress to stop dismissing legislation that would help.

But senior administration officials said that direct evacuation from Afghanistan will not pick up until airports are open, more flights are available, and the United States has more officials to process those who get out to a third country. Even then, one said, it could take years for the United States just to process the tens of thousands believed to be eligible for SIV status.

For everyone else  those who worked for a U.S. government agency or U.S.-funded organization, the U.S.-trained Afghan military commandos, the women, civil society leaders and journalists and many thousands of others who are believed to be at risk  there is likely to be a significant, if not an indefinite, wait. Some who make it out on their own, or with the help of advocates on the outside, may never be admitted.

The Washington Posts Abigail Hauslohner contributed to this report.
A member of the commandos unit of the Syrian Democratic Forces stands on a sand berm in the eastern part of Syria's Hasakah province during what was thought to be a security threat on the road between Raqqa and Dashisha on Aug. 3. (Nicole Tung/The Washington Post)

Just after midnight on June 8, Israeli warplanes streaked across the country's northern frontier for a highly unusual airstrike deep inside Syrian territory. The jets fired missiles at three military targets near the cities of Damascus and Homs, killing seven soldiers, including a colonel described in local news accounts as a "hero martyr" and an engineer who worked at a top-secret Syrian military lab.

The Israel Defense Forces, following standard practice, declined to comment on the incursion into Syrian airspace. But intelligence analysts in Western capitals quickly observed a distinction in the operation: While previous Israeli attacks in Syria nearly always targeted Iranian proxy forces and arms shipments, the June 8 strike was aimed at Syrian military facilities  all with links to the country's former chemical weapons program.

An explanation emerged in the weeks that followed. According to current and former intelligence and security officials briefed on the matter, the June 8 strike was part of a campaign to stop what Israeli officials believe was a nascent attempt by Syria to restart its production of deadly nerve agents.

Israeli officials ordered the raid, and a similar one a year earlier, based on intelligence suggesting that Syria's government was acquiring chemical precursors and other supplies needed to rebuild the chemical-weapons capability that it had ostensibly given up eight years ago, according to four current and former U.S. and Western intelligence officials with access to sensitive intelligence at the time of the strikes. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss classified material and their understanding of Israeli deliberations.

The attacks reflected grave concerns that arose within Israeli intelligence agencies beginning two years ago, after a successful attempt by Syria's military to import a key chemical that can be used to make deadly sarin gas, the officials said. The worries grew as intelligence operatives spotted activity at multiple sites that pointed to a rebuilding effort, the officials said.

Asked for comment, Israeli officials would neither confirm the attacks nor elaborate on the reasons behind them. Syria strongly condemned the Israeli attacks at the time, and government officials have repeatedly denied using, or making, chemical weapons since 2013.

The prospect of a reconstituted chemical weapons program in Syria is regarded as a direct threat to the security of Israel, and perhaps other neighboring countries. While Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad famously used chemical weapons against his own citizens dozens of times since the start of the country's civil war, Syria's once-vast chemical arsenal was originally intended for use in a future war with Israel.

"It is a strategic weapon for the regime," said a Western intelligence official, summarizing the consensus among spy agencies that closely monitor Syria's weapons procurement efforts.

  

The first of the two Israeli airstrikes occurred on March 5, 2020, and targeted a villa and compound in a suburb southeast of the city of Homs, about 100 miles north of Damascus, the officials said. Syria's third-largest city, Homs was a previous hub for Syria's chemical-weapons production.

The strike on the villa was directly tied to Syria's successful procurement the previous year of a large quantity of tricalcium phosphate, according to two Western intelligence officials. The chemical, commonly known as TCP, has numerous nonmilitary uses, including as a food additive. But it can be readily converted into phosphorous trichloride, a heavily regulated compound that is restricted from import into Syria because of its known use as a precursor for sarin and other nerve agents.

The ultimate recipient of the TCP, the officials said, was a Syrian military unit known as Branch 450, a division of Syria's top military laboratory, the Scientific Studies and Research Center. The SSRC oversaw production of Syria's chemical weapons from the 1980s until at least 2014, when the program was officially dismantled under an agreement brokered by the United States and Russia.

Intelligence intercepts in the months following the March 2020 strike led to the discovery of additional sites, and what Israelis believed to be an ongoing effort to rebuild Syria's chemical weapons capability, the two Western officials said.

"There were more signs of them going back into production," one of the officials said.

The June 8 strike targeted a military storage bunker near An Nasiriyah, a desert village north of Damascus, and two additional sites near Homs. Of those two, one was described as an auxiliary facility for the SSRC's military laboratory in Masyaf, about 40 miles northwest of Homs.

Syrian news reports listed seven military casualties from that strike, including a Syrian colonel  posthumously promoted to brigadier general  identified as the "hero martyr" Ayham Ismail. The dead officer was said to be a military engineer assigned to the Masyaf complex.

Whether the attacks were fully successful in disrupting Syria's plans is unclear. Israeli officials intended the strikes to be preemptive, knocking out the country's production capabilities before actual weapons could be made, the two Western intelligence officials said. Any effort to bomb an existing stockpile of nerve agents risks unleashing plumes of lethal gases that can spread to nearby towns and villages.

Senior officials in both the Trump and Biden administrations became aware of the attacks and the underlying intelligence shortly after the strikes, current and former officials said.

U.S. intelligence officials long suspected that Syria was retaining, if not rebuilding, key aspects of its chemical-weapons capability. State Department officials in 2019 publicly accused Syria of secretly continuing its chemical-weapons program, citing in particular a chlorine-gas attack against opposition fighters that year.

The Biden White House is nearing completion of a comprehensive Syria policy review, one that is expected to call for punishing Assad for both past and ongoing violations of Syria's treaty obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention.

"The administration has stated that it will hold Assad accountable for his actions," said Ambassador James Jeffrey, a veteran U.S. diplomat who oversaw diplomacy with Syria during the final two years of the Trump administration. "This should certainly include the evidence presented by [former Secretary of State Mike] Pompeo and others ... that Assad is trying to reconstitute his chemical weapons."

Human rights groups and independent investigators have previously accused the Assad regime of maintaining at least a latent ability to attack civilians with poison gases.

"Syria still has a chemical weapons stockpile, retains the capacity to produce chemical weapons today, and has the ability to carry out chemical weapons attacks on civilians," said Steve Kostas, a lawyer for the Open Society Justice Initiative, a nonprofit that seeks prosecution for perpetrators of chemical warfare. Kostas cited as evidence Syria's "undeclared production capacity" and repeated efforts to obstruct fact-finding missions by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the Hague-based international watchdog that investigates chemical attacks.

At the time of the outbreak of Syria's civil war in 2011, Damascus controlled one of the world's largest and most advanced stockpiles of chemical weapons, including hundreds of tons of binary sarin and VX, two of the deadliest chemical warfare agents ever made.

The Syrian government repurposed its chemical arsenal for use in attacks against anti-Assad rebels, and it shocked world in August 2013 with a massive sarin attack that killed an estimated 1,400 civilians  mostly women and children  in the Damascus suburbs. Faced with a threatened military strike by President Barack Obama, Assad agreed to renounce chemical weapons and to allow international inspectors to oversee the destruction of his entire weapons stockpile, along with all production centers and manufacturing equipment.

In an unprecedented international operation, some 1,300 tons of chemical agents were hauled out of Syria to be destroyed in incinerators aboard a specially modified U.S. ship in the Mediterranean Sea.

Yet Assad continued to use chemical weapons  chiefly the common industrial chemical chlorine, a crude substitute for deadlier nerve agents  in more than 200 attacks against rebel strongholds. The attacks persisted despite warnings by the Obama administration and despite two airstrikes on Syrian military installations ordered by President Donald Trump.

Assad also preserved a small portion of his sarin stockpile and used some of it on at least two occasions after 2017, U.S. intelligence officials later concluded. Since 2018, there have been numerous reports about alleged Syrian efforts to manufacture new chemical weapons, but without proof.

Weapons experts note that allegations about secret biological and chemical programs often turn out to be inaccurate, as U.S. intelligence agencies discovered after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. Syria's efforts to obtain the dual-use chemical TCP, is not, on its own, a smoking gun, observed Greg Koblentz, an associate professor and biodefense expert at George Mason University's Schar School of Public Policy and Government.

"Syria's procurement of this chemical, even through black-market channels, is not indicative of a nefarious purpose," Koblentz said. In the case of Syria, however, the allegation appears more credible because of the Assad regime's well-established record of cheating on its treaty obligations, he said.

"Syria has been hiding key components of its chemical weapons program ever since it signed the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2013," Koblentz said.

In the beginning, Assad may have decided to preserve his best weapons as a kind of insurance policy against the collapse of the regime. But now that Syria has regained control over most of its territory, he said, "it makes sense that the Assad regime would want to rebuild its chemical-weapons program to serve once again as a strategic deterrent against its longtime adversary, Israel."
A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon flies over Syria in 2017. A top-secret U.S. military strike cell in Syria launched thousands of bombs and missiles on Islamic State targets but skirted protocols meant to protect civilians, The New York Times reported Dec. 12, 2021. ( Paul Labbe/U.S. Air Force)

A clandestine U.S. military strike cell that directed attacks on Islamic State targets in Syria repeatedly skirted protocols meant to protect civilians, leading to numerous bad strikes, according to a new report.

At times made up of fewer than 20 people, the top-secret unit was called Talon Anvil. From 2014 to 2019, it worked 24/7 to find and strike enemy convoys, car bombs and fighting positions, The New York Times reported Sunday.

Although the vast majority of its targets were jihadi fighters, the units disregard for military safeguards led repeatedly to attacks that killed people who had no part in the battle, said unidentified military and intelligence officials quoted in the report.

They were ruthlessly efficient and good at their jobs, said a former Air Force intelligence officer in the report who worked on missions from the U.S. almost daily from 2016 to 2018. But they also made a lot of bad strikes.

Four officials who interacted directly with the unit on hundreds of strikes during the war spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the outfit, which never officially existed, the Times reported.

On shifts often led only by a Delta Force noncommissioned officer, the unit frequently hit targets with little supporting evidence, partly because of a lack of experience at running a strike cell, officials told the Times.

Talon Anvil frequently sidestepped formal procedures meant to limit unintended harm, the officials said.

Two sources said members of the unit also had a habit of turning drone cameras away from strikes at key moments to prevent collection of video evidence that might be used in investigations.

The latest Times report on the unit comes in the wake of another asserting that the military had hidden details from the public and senior officials about a special operations strike in 2019 that killed dozens of women and children.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered an investigation into that strike, which the Times said was carried out by Talon Anvil. Officials told the newspaper that was part of a yearslong trend.

Several current and former senior special operations officers, however, denied the existence of a widespread pattern of carelessness about measures to limit civilian casualties.

The military has often touted the precision of its air campaign and surgical strikes during the anti-ISIS war.

Some critics even complained early on that strict rules President Barack Obama had imposed to curtail civilian casualties were slowing progress against the militant group.

But in 2016, shortly before Obama left office, procedures were relaxed and commanders on the ground were given greater authority to approve strikes, officials said at the time.

Less stringent procedures were used for dynamic strikes ordered in self-defense for ground troops in combat or for quick repulsion of developing threats, officials in Iraq told Stars and Stripes at the time.

Talon Anvil circumvented the measures for preplanned strikes by improperly using the self-defense justification on numerous missions, even when targets were far from the fight, officials told the Times.

In Syria, the civilian casualty rate increased significantly each year Talon Anvil operated, Larry Lewis, a former adviser to the Pentagon and State Department, told the Times.

The rate was 10 times that of similar operations in Afghanistan, much higher than expected from a U.S. unit, said Lewis, who helped author a 2018 report on civilian casualties.

Not everyone in the coalition was onboard with the loose application of protocols, the Times reported.

Pilots refused to drop bombs on questionable targets, senior CIA officials complained to special operations leaders and Air Force intelligence analysts sometimes argued with the strike cell over whether targets were fighters or children.

On occasion, even cell members refused to participate in strikes, officials told the paper. But they said the chain of command ignored reports they made expressing concerns.

Lewis accused Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, the commander of the mission against ISIS in 2016 and 2017, of being dismissive of reporting by media outlets and human rights organizations.

Townsend, now head of U.S. Africa Command, denied the accusations in a phone interview with the Times and pointed to his order that monthly civilian casualty reports be made public.

He blamed the deaths and injuries of noncombatants on the misfortunes of war, not negligence. He also said outside groups that investigate civilian casualties had not been rigorous in their work.

But despite U.S. pledges to investigate allegations of civilian casualties, some strikes involving Talon Anvil appear to have undergone little scrutiny, the Times reported.

In particular, it cited a bombing in March 2017 that likely killed or injured women and children.
Marine Corps Cpl. Christophe Strickland (left), and Cpl. Ethan Gentry (right), both mortarmen with 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, play with Afghan children on Fort Pickett, Va., on Nov. 18, 2021. (Corey Mathews/U.S. Marine Corps)

WASHINGTON  The last of the Afghan refugees housed at overseas U.S. military bases have been transported to other locations more than three months after American forces conducted their final flights out of Afghanistan on Aug. 30, chief Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Monday.

About 69,000 refugees were transported to bases in Europe and the Middle East for screening before they were flown to the United States to complete their visa process. There are now about 31,000 Afghan evacuees still living on seven military bases in the United States, Kirby said. The number is down from 34,000 on Dec. 6.

At the peak of the evacuation mission, the military had the capacity to house 64,000 Afghan refugees at eight installations in the U.S. when evacuations began in the final weeks of the 20-year U.S. involvement in Afghanistan.

On Nov. 17, Fort Lee, Va., ceased its participation in Operation Allies Welcome, the name of the mission supporting Afghan evacuees in their transition to America, Kirby said.

We now have fewer Afghans on military bases than ever before, and more now have processed out than we have waiting to get processed, he said last week.

The bases in the U.S. that continue hosting Afghans are Fort Bliss in Texas, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey, Fort McCoy in Wisconsin, Camp Atterbury in Indiana, Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, and Fort Pickett and Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia.

Kirby could not say last week how much longer the mission will last and which base might be next to end its evacuee-support operations. Fort Lee was the first to help with the mission, and the first to end operations.

We continue to work with nonprofits and aid organizations as well as the State Department and [Department of Homeland Security] to continue the relocation of the remaining Afghans, he said Monday.

In total, the U.S. helped evacuate about 120,000 people out of Afghanistan, which included Afghans who had helped Americans during the 20-year conflict.
WASHINGTON  The U.S. Postal Service pursued a project to build and secretly test a blockchain-based mobile phone voting system before the 2020 election, experimenting with a technology that the government's own cybersecurity agency says can't be trusted to securely handle ballots.

The system was never deployed in a live election and was abandoned in 2019, Postal Service spokesman David Partenheimer said. That was after cybersecurity researchers at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs conducted a test of the system during a mock election and found numerous ways that it was vulnerable to hacking.

The project appears to have been conducted without the involvement of federal agencies more closely focused on elections, which were then scrambling to make voting more secure in the wake of Russian interference in the 2016 contest. Those efforts focused primarily on using paper ballot so the voter could verify their vote was recorded accurately and there would be a paper trail for auditors  something missing from any mobile phone or Internet-based system.

The secrecy of the Postal Service's mobile voting project alarmed election security officials and advocates who fear it could spark conspiracy theories and degrade public faith in the democratic process. Those concerns have grown immensely since the 2020 election, bolstered by baseless claims of election fraud by former president Donald Trump and his supporters.

Matt Masterson, who was then a senior adviser to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the federal government's chief liaison to state and local election officials, said he was never aware of the Postal Service program while in office.

"If you're doing anything in the election space, transparency should be priority number one. There should be no guessing game around this," Masterson said.

"It's scandalous for a government entity to conduct research into the security of blockchain online voting, which shows how insecure it is, but then hide the results and deprive the public and officials of these findings for over two years," said Susan Greenhalgh, senior adviser on election security for Free Speech for People, which advocates for election security and opposes mobile voting.

CISA declined to comment for this story.

A May 2020 assessment from federal agencies, including the FBI and CISA, found that mobile voting systems carried high risks to the "confidentiality, integrity, and availability of voted ballots."

The Postal Service plays no role in administering elections, but is responsible for managing ballots sent by mail, a category that has grown substantially during the past decade. The agency declined to share any long-range plans for the blockchain-based voting system. Such a system might reduce the burden of mail balloting, especially for military voters overseas. But it would also reduce a revenue boost the agency typically gets for election season mail.

The Postal Service was awarded a public patent for the concept in August 2020, but had not previously revealed that it built a prototype system or tested it. The patent application predated the administration of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who came under fire from congressional Democrats and election administration experts over mail-slowing procedures implemented in the run-up to the November 2020 vote.

Former postmaster general Megan Brennan, who was in office when the mail agency began developing the mobile voting system, did not respond to a request for comment.

The Postal Service had discussed for years developing an electronic voting system with state and local voting officials, said Tammy Patrick, a senior adviser at the government watchdog group Democracy Fund and the former federal compliance officer at the Maricopa County, Ariz., elections department. Such a system might have lightened the burden for some military and overseas voters who cast ballots by mail in a system that's notoriously slow.

But those discussions were theoretical, Patrick said, to help facilitate voting access for military and overseas voters, or for disabled individuals. Some states already allow some forms of electronic voting for such voters, though vanishingly few people are eligible to use them.

USPS spokesman Partenheimer said in an emailed statement that the agency's patent for the program was "exploratory in nature and did not proceed to a production model."

"Blockchain technology's potential to strengthen digital transaction security is a concept we have explored on our journey to better meet our customers' current and future needs, and to bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds," Partenheimer said. "But we don't have plans to advance this system."

The Postal Service system allowed people to cast votes on an Internet-connected mobile app similar to how they might add items to an online shopping cart or fill out an online survey. The votes were designed to be anonymous and to be recorded in multiple digital locations simultaneously. The idea is that each of those digital records would act as a check to verify the accuracy of the other records. This is essentially the same method that cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin use to ensure transactions are accurately recorded.

But the system didn't protect against the numerous ways hackers might fake or corrupt votes, the University of Colorado researchers said. Those include impersonating voters, attacking the blockchain system itself so votes can't be trusted, flooding the system with information so it becomes too overwhelmed to function, and using techniques that undermine voters' privacy and the secrecy of the ballot. The researchers were able to successfully perform all those hacks during a mock election held on campus.

"Based on our research, this actually causes more problems than it solves," Shawn M. Emery, one of the researchers and a PhD candidate in cybersecurity, said. "If three researchers can do this much damage, I can't imagine what a nation-state actor with millions of dollars in its budget could do in order to break this election system in multiple ways."

The Colorado researchers were made to sign a nondisclosure agreement that prevented them from identifying the organization that built the prototype voting system, they said. In a paper describing the testing and presented at an academic conference, they said it was built by "a U.S. government organization, that has requested to remain unnamed [and] plays an important role in national elections."

Cybersecurity advocates and election officials have long warned that mobile or online voting is the least secure method of casting ballots because there's no physical record of the vote and no way for voters to verify their ballots were recorded accurately or for auditors to double-check them after the fact.

It would also be far easier for hackers to infect voters' phones or laptops with malicious software that alters such votes rather than to compromise election machines, which are supposed to be completely segregated from the public Internet.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., described mobile voting as "about the worst thing you can do in terms of election security in America, short of putting American ballot boxes on a Moscow street," during a Senate floor speech last year.

There has nevertheless been a concerted push to expand mobile voting in recent years, spurred by the hope of making voting more convenient and accessible, especially for people who rarely exercise their franchise or have disabilities that make voting difficult.
A federal jury on Friday awarded $22.5 million to an Army veteran in a lawsuit claiming earplug manufacturer 3Ms military-issued product caused damage to his hearing. It was the eighth such case to reach a verdict and involved the largest amount of damages to date. (Facebook)

A federal jury on Friday awarded $22.5 million to an Army veteran in a lawsuit claiming earplug manufacturer 3Ms military-issued product caused damage to his hearing. It was the eighth such case to reach a verdict and involved the largest amount of damages to date.

Theodore Finley filed a lawsuit under Texas law against 3M in January 2020 that stated he used the companys combat arms earplug version 2 during his service from 2006 to 2014. He now suffers from noise-induced hearing loss and bilateral tinnitus, or a ringing in the ears.

There are more than 272,000 similar cases pending as part of multidistrict litigation assigned to U.S District Court in the Northern District of Florida.

So far, seven other cases have gone to trial, with three juries siding with 3M. The combined total of damages awarded by four other juries is about $30 million. There are two other cases ongoing in Florida.

The jury on Finleys case decided on $7.5 million in damages for his past and future pain and suffering and $15 million in punitive damages, finding the company was fraudulent, negligent and liable for a defective product, among other allegations, according to the court documents. Magistrate Judge Gary R. Jones in Tallahassee presided over the trial.

"Juries continue to find that 3Ms earplugs were defective and that they are responsible for causing irreparable hearing damage to those who served our country, according to a statement from Finleys lead attorneys, Bryan Aylstock of Aylstock Witkin Kreis & Overholtz, PLLC, Shelley Hutson of Clark, Love & Hutson GP, and Christopher Seeger of Seeger Weiss LLP. This is also the second jury in a row that found beyond a reasonable doubt that 3Ms conduct was reprehensible and deserving of severe punishment.

Minnesota-based 3M issued a statement that stated the company is disappointed in Fridays verdict.

Juries differ, each case must be proved on its individual facts and our successes thus far illustrate the heavy burden plaintiffs must meet in proving the elements of their claims. We remain confident that the [combat arms earplug version 2] product was safe and effective to use and will continue to defend ourselves throughout this litigation, according to the statement.

3M also stated the lawsuits are about halfway through a process known as bellwether trials, which sends a series of cases to trial that are representative of the other cases included in the group. The process can be used to determine an appropriate settlement.

In November, a jury awarded active-duty Army Sgt. Guillermo Camarillorazo more than $13 million, the second-largest amount of damages of the series of trials.

The cases focus on a product called the combat arms version 2 dual-sided earplug. Work on designing the earplug began in the 1990s with the company Aearo Technologies, which was later acquired by 3M. The earplugs were used in the military until 2015. The company never issued a recall on the product and version 4 of the earplug remains in use by the military, according to 3M.
(TNS)

WAYNE TOWNSHIP, Pa. (Tribune News Service)  Dozens of volunteers armed with small-scale American flags gathered atop the Cochranton Cemetery hill Sunday afternoon, ready to fan out and scour the hillside.

"We're putting new flags on veterans' graves," explained 9-year-old J.D. Parker.

Parker's friend, 10-year-old Fletcher Erdley, said the reason for the flags was clear.

"They do a good job," Erdley said of the nearly 600 veterans whose graves received new flags ornamented with evergreen bouquets and red ribbons thanks to the volunteer effort led by scouts and families from Cochranton's Cub Scout Pack 224 and officials from Cochranton Area Redevelopment Effort (CARE).

Plenty of others contributed as well, according to Melissa Mack Maruska, the CARE board member who organized the event. Among the "lots of help" that made the event possible, Maruska cited a number of area pageant winners, James L. Steen Jr. American Legion Post 836, Pampas Creek Perennials, and the Crawford County Veterans Services Office (VSO).

"Cochranton shows up for these kinds of things," Maruska said as the group made its way down the hill with new flags and came back up about an hour later loaded down with old ones. "It's a great little town."

The cemetery is home to veterans from throughout the nation's history, according to Maruska, even some from the Revolutionary War.

Their graves are regularly marked with flags, but the ones placed there on Memorial Day were showing some wear. Inspired by Wreaths Across America, which places wreaths on veterans' graves a week before Christmas each year, Maruska led the effort to spruce up the flags honoring hundreds of Cochranton's veterans.

The ornamented flags were originally to be placed last year, according to Maruska, but the plan was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Supply issues nearly threw things off once again this year: With the event approaching, Maruska realized earlier this week that she was short by about 140 flags. Unsure where to find so many on such short notice, she called John Amato, owner of the J. Amato and Son Army-Navy store in Meadville. He quickly put her in touch with the county's VSO, which came through with the flags.

The flags removed on Sunday will be evaluated with those still in good condition saved for future uses, Maruska said. Those that are worn excessively will be disposed of by Post 836, and the newly placed flags will likely be removed in spring.

The event was scheduled to come just before Christmas, but standing at the crest of the cemetery hill, flags and ribbons gleaming in the bright sunlight of an unseasonably warm day, Maruska said the timing was fortuitous in another respect.

"At a time when people need to be reminded of our heroes, this was a great way to bring the town together and show them how many heroes we have," she said. "It's a lot."

mcrowley@meadvilletribune.com

(c)2021 The Meadville Tribune (Meadville, Pa.)

Visit The Meadville Tribune (Meadville, Pa.) at meadvilletribune.com

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Weather Eye

with John Maunder

The following data sets and comments are from the climate4you.com website developed by Professor Ole Humlum who is a Danish Professor Emeritus of Physical Geography at the University of Oslo, and Adjunct Professor of Physical Geography at the University Centre in Svalbard.

The website climate4you.com which he edits endeavours to provide an ongoing climate data website which is updated monthly.

It uses data of significant national and global sites such as NASA, WMO, NOAA, UEA, NCDC, IPCC, BoM, SIDA, UAH, NIWA.

The objective of the website is to provide information on meteorological and climatological issues of general and specific interest.

Recent global air temperature change, an overview

All temperature diagrams shown below have 1979 as a starting year. This roughly marks the beginning of the recent period of global warming, after termination of the previous period of global cooling from about 1940. In addition, the year 1979 also represents the starting date for the satellite-based global temperature estimates (UAH and RSS).

For the three surface air temperature estimates shown (HadCRUT, NCDC and GISS) the reference period differs. HadCRUT refers to the official normal WMO period 1961-1990, while NCDC and GISS as reference instead uses 1901-2000 and 1951-1980, respectively, which results in higher positive temperature anomalies.

For all three surface air temperature records, but especially NCDC and GISS, administrative changes to anomaly values are quite often introduced, even for observations several years back in time.

Some changes may be due to the delayed addition of new station data, while others probably have their origin in a change of technique to calculate average values. It is clearly impossible to evaluate the validity of such administrative changes for the outside user of these records.

In addition, the three surface records represent a blend of sea surface data collected moving ships or by other means, plus data from land stations of partly unknown quality and unknown degree of representativeness for their region.

Many of the land stations have also moved geographically during their existence, and their instrumentation changed.

The satellite temperature records also have their problems, but these are generally of a more technical nature and therefore correctable. In addition, the temperature sampling by satellites is more regular and complete on a global basis than that represented by the surface records.

It therefore is realistic to recognise that the temperature records are not of equal scientific quality. At the same time the big efforts being put into all five temperature databases should be gratefully acknowledged by all interested in climate science.

On this background, the present website has decided to operate with three quality classes (1-3) for global temperature records, with 1 representing the highest quality level:

Quality class 1: The satellite records (UAH and RSS).

Quality class 2: The HadCRUT surface record.

Quality class 3: The NCDC and GISS surface records.

*********************

The satellite records (UAH and RSS)

Global monthly average lower troposphere temperature since 1979 according to University of Alabama at Huntsville (UAH), USA. This graph uses data obtained by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) TIROS-N satellite, interpreted by Dr. Roy Spencer and Dr. John Christy, both at Global Hydrology and Climate Center, University of Alabama at Huntsville, USA. The thick line is the simple running 37 month average, nearly corresponding to a running 3 yr average. The cooling and warming periods directly influenced by the 1991 Mt. Pinatubo volcanic eruption and the 1998 El Nino, respectively, are clearly visible. Reference period 1991-2020.

The HadCRUT surface record

Global monthly average surface air temperature since 1979 according to Hadley CRUT, a cooperative effort between the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research and the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit (CRU), UK. The thin line represents the monthly values, while the thick line is the simple running 37 month average, nearly corresponding to a running 3 year average. An introduction to the dataset has been published by Brohan et al. (2005). Base period: 1961-1990.

The NCDC and GISS surface records

Global monthly average surface air temperature since 1979 according to the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), USA. This time series is calculated using land surface data from the Global Historical Climatology Network (Version 2) and sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies from the United Kingdom MOHSST data set and the NCEP Optimum Interpolated SSTs (Version 3). The thick line is the simple running 37 month average, nearly corresponding to a running 3 year average. Base period: 1901-2000.

**************************************

For further Infomation about a wide range of weather/climate matters see my new book Fifteen shades of climate... the fall of the weather dice and the butterfly effect. The book is available through the web site amazon.com. Just Google fifteen shades of climate for details.

www.amazon.com/dp/B08NDR1GFD?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Have you ever wondered who the medical experts are that oversee all aspects of your Covid PCR tests in the diagnostic laboratories in New Zealand?

These highly qualified registered health professionals are medical laboratory scientists - MLS.

To become a MLS involves four years of intensive university medical education coupled with a six to 12 month practical internship depending on the laboratory discipline that is chosen to specialise in.

Many of our NZ scientists continue on to further study gaining a Postgraduate diploma (PG Dip), or a Masters of Medical Laboratory Science (MMLSc) and a few standouts go on to complete a PhD in Medical Laboratory Science.

This ensures that the public of New Zealand can have total confidence that their testing samples are being analysed with the safeguard of a regulatory environment with accountability and expertise that gives confidence and certainty about the validity of any test result that these health professionals release.

It is totally at odds with both this training requirement and the strict regulatory environment that our diagnostic laboratory facilities operate under to see that Covid PCR extraction and testing can now be performed in an unregulated environment within a Port board office in the Hawke's Bay, says New Zealand Institute of Medical Laboratory Science President Terry Taylor.

Does that mean that a non-medical trained member of the public can now do a medical procedure or intervention on someone else with no accountability or regulated responsibility?

It would be an expectation at the very least that any Covid PCR surveillance testing scenario would involve the onsite oversight of a registered medical laboratory scientist with an Annual Practising Certificate and the appropriate facility accreditation standards from IANZ.

All the other public and commercial diagnostic laboratory providers in New Zealand are required to abide by the appropriate regulations to ensure they are compliant with the various health acts and staffing registrations.

So, the question remains why do some commercial business entities think they dont have to follow the same strict guidelines?

I am in no way an expert in dealing in the logistics around a port business and would never think that I was and step into that role without the appropriate qualifications and regulations behind me and I would expect that same business to enforce that, says Terry.

"Yet here is a classic example of ignoring exactly that within a business setting with a specialised and highly regulated medical professional activity.

The New Zealand Institute of Medical Laboratory Science (NZIMLS) was formed in 1946 and is an incorporated society that represents the professional affairs of the nearly 4000 medical laboratory scientists, technicians and other associated medical laboratory workers and industry representatives in New Zealand.

The NZIMLS publishes the New Zealand Journal of Medical Laboratory Science, provides a CPD program and activities, professional qualifications, and an advisory role to a variety of agencies and health working groups.

Basic things that we as medical laboratory scientists are experts at like monitoring consumable storage conditions, internal and external quality control, participation in regulated quality assurance programmes, audit assessments and appropriate professional development are part of our every-day role. Plus, we have the ingrained clinical pathway routes to follow when things dont go to plan.

I would implore the business leaders throughout the motu to work with, and not against the expert medical laboratory testing opinion and advice of this group of clearly undervalued registered health professionals, says Terry.

To have unregulated testing without falling under wider regional management only adds to the fragmentation of the COVID testing and surveillance response.

To learn more about NZIMLS go to https://www.nzimls.org.nz/
Farmers in Bay of Plenty are being urged to be a little bit selfish to avoid fatigue and prevent quad bike injuries over the busy summer months.

New figures from ACC show as of October 31, there have been 142 quad bike-related injuries in Bay of Plenty this year. That follows 170 last year, and 164 in 2019.

With accidents consistently spiking nationwide over the summer months, farmers are being encouraged to stay vigilant during the longer days.

Our farmers are experts, theyre internationally recognised as leaders in a lot of fields, says ACC injury prevention programme leader James Whitaker.

But from time to time, they might feel a bit pressured, they might rush things and take a bit of a shortcut.

Farmers know the safest and most logical way to go about their work  theyve just got to slow down a bit and think before they get stuck in.

ACC covers about 23,000 farm-related injury claims in New Zealand every year, including about 2500 quad bike-related injuries.

Farming is statistically one of the most dangerous industries in New Zealand, accounting for about 10 per cent of all workplace-related accidents.

However, Whitaker says 90 per cent of all accidents in New Zealand are preventable, and farming is no different.

A recent study funded by ACC for the rural wellbeing programme Farmstrong found 58 per cent of recently-injured farmers linked their accidents to stress, while 25 per cent said stress was a major factor.

Whitaker says farmers need to be a little bit selfish to keep themselves fresh over the summer  taking time out, getting enough sleep, and eating well.

It might be tempting for people to take shortcuts sometimes or to push themselves too hard, but if they get injured, who gets harmed?

There are heaps of flow-on effects for friends, family, workmates and others.

Northland farmer Chris Biddles knows all about the dangers of quad bikes and fatigue.

In 2019, on a ridge above his Te Kopuru farm near Dargaville, Biddles drove past the only safe turning spot and, without thinking, attempted a new route down.

His 500kg quad bike flipped, catapulting him down the hill and rolling after him. His ankle was crushed, his right shoulder broken in half.

"I was really tired and because of that I made a dumb decision. That's the danger of fatigue. You do something you wouldn't normally do.

Biddles had 10 surgeries on his injured leg and at one stage was taking as many as 19 pills a day.

But following an infection in January this year, he decided to have the leg amputated.

He stressed it was not quad bikes themselves that were dangerous, but the decisions people make on them that can be.

Last year, ACC covered 2466 claims for quad bike injuries, as well as 12 claims for quad bike-related deaths.

There have been 74 quad bike-related deaths since 2006, and on average one-in-five quad bike accidents result in a fatality.

January is consistently the most dangerous month for quad bike-related injuries.

Whitaker says it is especially important during the holiday period to be aware of children or other family members who arent as used to the rural environment.

If you take the time to just slow it down a little bit, have a hmmm, and then get stuck in, youll prevent heaps of injuries.

ACC has just agreed to provide a subsidy for the potentially life-saving crush protection devices for quad bikes till January 2023.

These devices attach to the back of a bike and help prevent people from getting stuck or crushed if their bike overturns.

They might not look the coolest, but that little ring on the back of your bike is potentially going to save your life, so its worth doing, Whitaker says.

The scheme was first introduced in June 2019 and offers a subsidy of more than $200 for up to two devices.

For further information on the scheme, visit acc.co.nz/quadsubsidy
Police have now released the name of the woman who died in a crash in Tauranga last week.

She was 65-year-old Maree Annis Geary of Otumoetai.

"Police extend their condolences to her family and friends at this difficult time," says a police spokesperson.

Emergency services were called to the crash on Chapel Street around 5pm on Wednesday, December 8.

Police say the investigating is in its early stages and initial indications are that three vehicles were involved in the crash.

One of the vehicles involved crashed into Tauranga Harbour.

Maree died after the crash, while three other people were treated for varying injuries.

One person was in a serious condition and another in a moderate condition.

One other person was assessed at treated at the scene.

Police serious crash analysts are still in the early stages of the investigation and the exact cause was yet to be determined, says a police spokesperson.

Officers are working with CCTV operators and members of the public to establish the events leading up to the crash.

"Enquiries into this incident are ongoing."
Samples of the unusual plastic-like substance that has washed up on beaches along the Coromandel Peninsula have been sent to scientists for testing.

On Saturday, Matarangi Beach residents collected six bags of the white strips of what appeared to be shredded paper but felt like plastic, along a 100 metre stretch of their beach.

Today, Thames-Coromandel District Council Civil Defence controller Garry Towler says samples are being sent to the Waikato Regional Council for their scientist to confirm what it is.

Fresh samples were gathered today and are being sent over to Hamilton. The results probably wont be back today. We should know by tomorrow.

Matarangi Beach resident Peter Collins says he was made aware of the substance when a lady posted a picture on their local Facebook page on Thursday.

"The photo was of the woman holding of a handful of the stuff she had picked up off the Matarangi Beach," says Peter.

She asked what is this? I went down to have a look and saw that its the whole length of Matarangi Beach. Over one kilometre long."

The unusual plastic-like substance that has been washing up on beaches along the Coromandel coast. Photo: Peter Collins.

Wondering if it could be plastic Peter immediately tried contacting the local district and regional councils.

After feeling fobbed off and given the run-around, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

If it is plastic it will wash off back to sea and harm our marine life and wild birdlife, says Peter.

The Waikato Regional Council Pollution said they didnt want to have to deal with it and dont have a budget and that I needed to contact the local council.

Peter then contacted the Thames Coromandel District Council.

They are arguing with WRC Pollution team still and not committing to anything. On Wednesday the beach was crystal clear. This happened after that king tide on Thursday. TCDC said contact Waikato Regional Council Pollution Team. WRC says its a local litter issue.

Still not knowing if it was plastic or not, and unable to engage anyone from the councils to come have a look and see if it was plastic, Peter felt something needed to be done.

Ive flame tested it. It melts and isnt breaking down, just brittle, says Peter.

Council determined via phone and recording that it was plastic litter.

About 30 members of the community joined in to help him with a beach clean-up on Saturday meticulously picking out the white plastic-like material that was caught up in seaweed along the beach and washed up into the sand.

Matarangi Beach residents helping to collect the white plastic-like substance from their beach on Saturday. Photo: Peter Collins.

On Sunday, Peter heard from others that the strange substance was also appearing on many other Coromandel beaches - Whangapoa Beach, Matarangi Beach, Rings Beach, Opito Beach, Kuaotunu Beach, and Otama Beach.

He asked people across Facebook to go check their beaches, and learned it was also at Waiheke Island and at St Lennards Beach.

Coromandel MP Scott Simpson at Matarangi Beach on Sunday recording his thoughts on video. Photo: Peter Collins.

On hearing about it on Sunday morning, Coromandel MP Scott Simpson drove over from Thames to take a look for himself.

I brought some back with me to Thames, says Simpson.

Once its dried out its clear its organic, not plastic. But when its wet it has the texture of plastic.

When I first saw it on the beach on Sunday it looked and felt like plastic. I can absolutely understand why local people are concerned about it.

It was on the foreshore environment and it didnt look like it was part of the foreshore environment. But when I took it away and it had dried  and Im just a lay person  it looked organic.

On Sunday evening, Thames-Coromandel District Council Emergency Management Unit sent out a message saying they had had confirmation from Waikato Regional Council that the shredded plastic looking substance, washing up on the East Coast is organic matter and that it was dead seagrass.

Peter says he and other Matarangai residents were surprised that the council could determine that it was organic not plastic without seeing it for themselves.

There has been discussion from amongst the community about what the substance could be.

Ideas range from the king tide bringing ashore dead sea grass, or perhaps its from artificial sea grass from sea mats placed in the Whangapoa harbour.

Matarangi Beach residents helping to collect the white plastic-like substance from their beach on Saturday. Photo: Peter Collins.

Its nothing anyone here has seen before, says Peter. So many now are saying on Facebook that its not organic. We need to know. If its sea grass, has dredging killed it all? Its then an important part of the ecosystem.

I called the unit, asked how they tested it, says Peter.

They were not sure, and said they told by Garry Towler that its sea grass. They had no idea if it was tested."

Garry is the Thames-Coromandel District Council Emergency Management Unit Team Civil Defence Controller.

Ive told them that hundreds of volunteers have stood down due to the letter. They're getting back to me," says Peter.

Peter got in touch with a marine scientist at Otago University and sent samples by courier on Monday morning.

He has also sent samples to SunLive which will be sent on to marine scientists based in Tauranga.

He says that the locals are wondering whether to just keep collecting it until they get results back.

I cant find any test places in Whitianga, even DOC cant help locally, says Peter.

Its going to be devastating if we wait for weeks or days and find out it is man-made.

Simpson is very pleased he made the one hour trip over from Thames on Sunday to look for himself.

It would have been really wrong to not go and have a look. Anything that could be an environmental disaster we need to know immediately.

Waikato Regional Council Communications Team Leader Wendy Valois has told SunLive on Monday afternoon that the regional council will be examining the material, and that the regional council hadnt told anyone from the district council on Sunday that it was organic.

Until they see it under the microscope our scientists wont determine what it is, says Wendy.

We have a number of scientists who will be looking at it when the sample arrives. They will be looking to determine under a microscope whether it is man-made or a naturally occurring substance.

Wendy doesnt know how a communication sent out from Thames-Coromandel District Council on Sunday was able to have included in it that the Waikato Regional Council had confirmed that the material was organic when the regional council hadnt yet accessed it.

The unusual plastic-like substance that has been washing up on beaches along the Coromandel coast. Photo: Peter Collins.
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What just happened? MGM is preparing to use virtual reality to get a leg up in the job market. Starting in January, select MGM employment centers will be equipped with virtual reality headsets. The idea is to let job applicants try out their role before signing on with the company in an effort to limit attrition.

In other words, the VR experience should give them a pretty good idea of what to expect from the position, and if they dont like it, they can save both sides time and money by not accepting the gig and looking for something that is a better fit elsewhere.

Laura Lee, MGM Resorts' chief HR officer, told Business Insider that with the VR experience, applicants can throw a headset on and really experience the job. She added that she "absolutely" expects that some candidates will take themselves out of the running after trying out a role in VR.

MGM is working with VR firm Strivr on the experience, who has also worked with FedEx, Verizon, Bank of America and Walmart on enterprise VR training.

Past efforts by MGM Resorts to prepare new employees for what to expect on the job included showing them day-in-the-life videos and hosting chats with existing employees, but nothing has approached this level of insight. We also haven't seen this many people quitting their jobs in a long time, leading to a nationwide labor shortage.

Lee said some hospitality staff have complained that guests are ruder during the pandemic. As such, MGM will include some difficult guest interactions in its VR simulation to gauge how potential applicants handle such situations.
(Photo : by NASA via Getty Images) JEZERO CRATER, MARS - FEBRUARY 18: In this handout image provided by NASA, the first high-resolution, color image to be sent back by the Hazard Cameras (Hazcams) on the underside of NASAs Perseverance Mars rover after its landing in the area known as Jezero crater on February 18, 2021 on the planet Mars. A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, paving the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith.



NASA astronauts' new high-tech vacuum sleeping bags seek to provide a solution to their vision problems as the space agency gears up for long-term missions to the Moon and, later on, Mars.

NASA Astronauts and Vision Problems

Although NASA has been sending astronauts to the International Space Station or the ISS to stay for a couple of months for years now, the solution to their vision problems after going back to Earth remains to be seen.

As per the report by GenSide UK, the strange effect of staying in space for a prolonged time was first discovered way back in 2005.

During that time, a NASA astronaut, John Philips, flew back to Earth with a significant decrease in his eyesight after staying in the ISS for six months. His vision went from 20/20 to 20/100 after his space mission.

After which, there have been a couple of theories that have emerged from the incident.

However, the reason behind it has only been unraveled after research, which was led by a professor of radiology and biomedical engineering at the University of Miami, Noam Alperin, investigated it.

The study went on to figure out that the eyesight problem from staying in outer space after a few months is caused by a change in the chemistry of the brain of a person.

To be precise, the research found out that the cerebrospinal fluid in some parts of the brain of astronauts increases, which then results in significant vision loss.

The additional fluid in the brain specifically causes the eyeballs of humans to permanently flatten, which end up in vision problems, or worse cases, blindness.

NASA Astronauts' Vacuum Sleeping Bags

With all that said, a group of scientists from the Southwestern Medical Center of the University of Texas or UT focused to study the issue that NASA astronauts are facing with regards to their eyesight.

As per the report by Republic World, the United States space agency reached out to UT to unfold a solution to the raging eyesight problem amongst their astronauts.

It comes as NASA is also looking forward to bringing back humans to the Moon, and soon after, the Red Planet.

The study of the scientist-led them into developing a vacuum sleeping bag that could prevent the flattening of the eyeballs of those who will stay in space for a couple of months.

Read Also: China Space Program to Use Powerful Nuclear Reactor for Mars Missions! 100x More Efficient Than NASA's

NASA Astronauts' Sleeping Bags: How it Works

Essentially, the sleeping bags for the astronauts of NASA helps prevent their bodily fluids from floating to their brains.

To do this, the researchers included a vacuum or a suction function in the sleeping bag in lieu of gravity on Earth.

It is worth noting that such vision problems on our home planet are impossible to happen as the fluids from our heads go down to our bodies once we get out of bed.

On the flip side, at least half a gallon of bodily fluids of folks in outer space stay on their head. The sleeping bag seeks to prevent the chemicals from messing up with their heads.

Related Article: Terraforming Mars With Artificial Magnetic Field? Experts Say it's Possible Through Martian Moon Phobos, But How?

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Teejay Boris

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
(Photo : Ford) Ford Mustang Mach-E

Ford Mustang Mach-E is having an "incredible demand" these days, and the car company's CEO confirmed it, Jim Farley, soon to up its production to 200,000 units per year starting 2022. The venture would match that of the F-150 Lightning's goal of also 200,000 units, something that would create a massive fleet of Ford EVs on the streets.

Ford Mustang Mach-E Raising Production by 2022, 200,000 Cars Per Year

Ford is looking to up its game and tries to meet the "incredible demand" of the market now, with the Mustang Mach-E EV of the company. According to a tweet by Ford CEO Jim Farley, one of the company's focus and goals by 2022 is to raise its production to 200,000 units per year, which would happen in the coming months.

Farley mentioned that the 200k goal of the company is three times the initial production rate of the Mustang Mach-E, and this was because it was not that popular before. The arrival of the Ford F-150 Lightning has helped raise the company's brand, making it a name to be considered for buying an electric vehicle.

Read Also: Ford F-150 Lighting EV Reservation Reaches 200,000! Expert Claim This Massive Backlog Could be an Issue

Its hard to produce Mustang Mach-Es fast enough to meet the incredible demand, but we are sure going to try. So starting in 2022 we are increasing production and expect to reach 200,000+ units per year for North America & Europe by 2023. That's 3x our 2021 output.  pic.twitter.com/xSMbuHxdEN  Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) December 10, 2021

Ford Production 2022: Bringing Massive Numbers for Public Sale

The public sale or units would be up to 200,000 for both the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning trucks, and this goal would be a hard thing to do and the focus of the company. Farley has not laid out the plans of Ford in detail, but his statement says a lot about the future of the EV and its fleet from the famous home-grown American brand.

Ford's F-150 and Mustang Mach-E

The popularity of Ford has risen again this year after launching one of the most popular pickup trucks in existence, the Ford F-150 Lightning, and all of its electric glory. The company's vehicles are becoming popular again, and now it is joining the wave of electrification, something that changes the track of Ford from its original V6 and V8 engines.

Ford has even ventured on to make its electric charging stations already, inviting the rising fleet of EVs from the company to use its compatible charging heads, but was said to resemble Tesla's. Nevertheless, this was a big step for Ford, especially as they have been silent during the first wave of electric vehicles were released by different companies.

It is known that Ford has stakes on Rivian, and it alone can help the company in its growth, but it seems that it is looking for more. The future is electric, so they say, and Ford is all about moving forward and creating their mark on the world's future, focusing on electrification and technology on the initially known mechanic vehicles.

Related Article: Ford F-150 Lightning EVs Stops Accepting Preorders, Reservations As Production Issues Might Hinder Delivery

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Isaiah Richard

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
(Photo : LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images) (Photo : Unsplash/Marques Thomas @querysprout.com) Amazon website

Amazon has disabled several affected features of AWS, especially after its initial outage that has caused a lot of websites and services on the internet to crash and be inaccessible. The company has looked into the problem and aims to create a fix to address this issue immediately so that it would return its regular operations for its clients and users.

Amazon AWS Internet Outage: What Happened?

The famous e-commerce company has addressed this issue in a release that explains what happened during the past weeks, especially as outages have come continuously. Amazon said that the company is still working on a fix to the issue, and soon it will bring the solution to the problem that it has temporarily disabled from the outage.

The issue focused on the automated scaling feature of the AWS, leading to internal networks having problems in the technology that has caused the problems. Amazon's services, along with other companies that used this, which has faced this problem.

Latent issues and internal tools also appeared to be having a hard time working (as per Engadget), and the company is taking its time to look into its system for a deep fix.

Read Also: AWS to Enhance Singapore's Space Industry Through Cloud Technologies! Here are the New Partnership's Details

AWS Internet Outage: Fix Coming?

The release of Amazon has detailed the fix that it would do and the actions the company took to address the problem. It has demonstrated its intent to give its clients and users the service that was once the top feature of the company.

It was noted on the document that the problem lies in the internal features of the AWS in the Northeastern Virginia region but has affected services on a global scale.

Amazon's AWS Effect on The Internet

Amazon has only finished its famous "re:Invent 2021" event that talked about the many features that the tech company will bring to the table, featuring its popular web services platform. Initially, there was an IoT RoboRunner program of the company that would focus on robotics and expands the scope of Amazon as a tech maker.

Amazon's popularity is because of the cloud platform that it also offers in this program, mainly as AWS and Azure are two of the top internet platforms in the world. It is a global program that is offered worldwide, having its features workable for the needs of its clients and the users that make use of it.

AWS indeed has a massive effect on the internet as it is a widely-used platform from popular websites, including that of Meta and its products, under Mark Zuckerberg's company. The problem is not fixed now, but Amazon promises that it will soon be available to the public with a seamless operation for both the provider and source.

Related Article: Snapchat, Facebook Messenger and Other Social Media Sites are Down as AWS Suffer Outage Again

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 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
If no new global rules are implemented regarding the technology, artificial intelligence weapons will soon reach city streets, campaigners have warned.

Calls to Regulate Legal Autonomous Weapons

Many have expressed their concern regarding the use of artificial intelligence on weapons programmed to kill targets with no human intervention.

Hopefully, an upcoming U.N. conference may ease the concerns. Delegates will discuss banning weapons that target people without "meaningful human control."

However, activists are pessimistic about the outcome. Although some countries rejected the rise of 'slaughterbots' or 'killer bots' like New Zealand, several major military powers don't appear enthusiastic on calls to regulate autonomous legal weapons.

Among the countries that have resisted efforts to regulate lethal autonomous weapons (LAWs) is the United States. Instead, the U.S. has suggested establishing a "non-binding code of conduct." While it may set out some principles, there would be no legal obligation to follow them.

A global treaty has also been rejected by China and Russia. The prospect of meaningful restrictions is dim since a global treaty would require unanimous agreement at the U.N. meeting. Ultimately, the resistance to strong new restrictions will prove self-destructive.

MIT's A.I. researcher and co-founder of The Future of Life Institute (FLI), Max Tegmark, also aired his concern to The Next Web, saying that armed militarily dominant nations will be the biggest losers because killer robots are cheaper.

"They'll be small, cheap and light like smartphones, and incredibly versatile and powerful. It's clearly not in the national security interest of these countries to legalize super-powerful weapons of mass destruction," Tegmark remarked.

Also Read: There's A Real-Life Robocop-But It Hunts Down People Breaking Social Distancing Rules

Moreover, FLI visualizes how these unregulated killing machines will rule the future. They depict mass executions at polling stations, killer robots used in heists, and drones with facial recognition that target people.

The dystopian vision Tegmark describes may one day come true. LAWS may have already killed soldiers without a human operator's permission. In the future, Tegmark anticipates that most of the weapons will be used by and on civilians:

"If you can buy slaughterbots for the same price as an AK-47, that's much preferable for drug cartels, because you're not going to get caught anymore when you kill someone," Tegmark added.

It's unlikely an international ban will emerge this week, but Tegmark believes individual nations may gradually enact new rules. In time, he hopes LAWs will be so stigmatized that each military power is compelled to ban them. They may be able to develop A.I. weapons of mass destruction if they don't.

What are Lethal Autonomous Weapons (LAW)?

Described as "lethal autonomous weapons systems," or "killer robots," "slaughterbots," are weapons systems that use artificial intelligence (A.I.) to identify, select, and kill human targets without any human assistance and intervention.

As part of an attack system, "slaughterbots" are pre-programmed to kill specific "target profiles." The weapon is then deployed into an environment where artificial intelligence searches for those profiles using sensor data, such as facial recognition.

When the weapon encounters someone who matches the algorithm's target profile, it will fire and kill them.

Related Article: Super-Intelligent AI is Hard to Control, According to Researchers | Here's Why it's Beyond Human Comprehension

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Written by Thea Felicity

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Raya is responsible for all National Security related activities across techUK, specifically in the established programmes of Defence, Cyber Security and Justice & Emergency Services. Raya will leverage relationships with existing stakeholders across the three programmes, and will build new relationships between techUK and key stakeholders who are of interest to member companies.

Prior to joining techUK, Raya worked in Business Development for an expert network firm within the institutional investment space. Before this Raya spent a year in industry working for a tech start-up in London as part of their Growth team which included the formation and development of a 'Let's Talk Tech' podcast and involvement in London Tech Week.

Raya has a degree in Politics and International Relations (Bsc Hons) from the University of Bath where she focused primarily on national security and counter-terrorism policies, centreing research on female-led terrorism and specific approaches to justice there.

Outside of work, Raya's interests include baking, spin classes and true-crime Netflix shows!
Restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic played a vital role in minimizing the amount of flu cases across the country in 2020.

However, with many of the mandates previously in place a year ago having now been lifted or modified, the country isnt likely to be as lucky this flu season.

Flu numbers last year were at a record low, said Dr. Jeremy Knott, a family medicine physician with Our Lady of Lourdes. It was a combination of a few things like wearing masks, social distancing and other general precautions including handwashing and limited gatherings.

Seasonal influenza activity in the United States remains low but continues to increase, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's weekly flu surveillance report dated Dec. 4. According to the report, most influenza A(H3N2) infections have occurred among children and young adults ages 5-24; however, the proportion of infections occurring among adults age 25 and older has increased in recent weeks.

As of Dec. 4, Lafayette ranked No. 3 on the Walgreens Flu Index with a 253 percent increase week over week in flu activity, while the report shows flu activity being 335 percent higher nationwide this season compared to last season during the same period. The report cites recent holiday gatherings and travel as factors in the increase in flu activity.

More people are getting together this year, Knott said. More people are in close proximity to each other compared to last year.

The Walgreens Flu Index provides state and market-specific information regarding flu activity and is compiled using retail prescription data for antiviral medications used to treat influenza across Walgreens locations nationwide.

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In addition to Lafayette, Baton Rouge is No. 4 and New Orleans is No. 8, while Knoxville, Tennessee, is first among the top 10 designated market areas on the index. Louisiana is second among the top 10 states/territories with flu activity according to the index.

This Lafayette high school scored the states highest simulated performance score While use of the states simulated school performance scores will be limited because of pandemic impacts, the Lafayette Parish School System

We have already seen the increase nationwide, Knott said. Some states like New Mexico have seen a higher rate than they did two years ago. It hasnt had a classic affect, but the flu is certainly a real threat.

Annual flu shots are the best way to protect against flu, according to Knott, and the CDC recommends everyone six months and older to get a flu vaccine. Early reports show that flu vaccination uptake is down this season as well, compared to last year.

The flu shot is controversial because some people want to know whats the real benefit, Knott said. Everyone knows someone who got the shot and still caught the flu. But the main goal is to prevent serious illness from the flu. The flu shot lowers a persons chances to catch the flu slightly, but it lowers the chances of being hospitalized with severe illnesses significantly.

+3 Mark Ballard: Anti-vaxxers shooting blanks when it comes to passing resolutions Within two weeks of Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards March 11, 2020, suspension of most business activities in hopes of slowing the spread of

The time is now to reduce the chances of being sick with the flu, according to Knott.

This is the time to be proactive, Knott said. The main thing being asked is is it covid? If youre not feeling well, you have a fever, cough, or congestion, dont just say Oh, I have a runny nose. You should be wearing a mask and washing your hands.
The Louisiana Board of Regents on Monday approved new rules governing how high school students earn college credit.

The credit, called dual enrollment, is supposed to mirror classes taken by college students.

Why aren't more Louisiana high school students earning college credit? 'The answer is money' It seems like a no brainer  high school students earning up to a year of college credit, which means big savings for students, families and t

However, Higher Education Commissioner Joseph Rallo and others questioned whether all the courses carry the needed rigor.

Under one of the changes, dual enrollment instructors who are not college faculty will have to undergo training by the college on how to deliver and grade the course.

That stems from concerns that even instructors who meet the technical requirements may not be suitable for teaching a college class.

The new rules were praised by a wide range of education officials.

During a joint meeting of the regents and the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, state Superintendent of Education John White applauded the new rules.

So did Scott Richard, executive director of the Louisiana School Boards Association.

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Richard and White rarely agree on key public school issues.

In a statement, Richard said the changes will not disrupt programs that local school boards have invested in.

He said the new rules also give higher education and public schools the flexibility to address special cases, like courses for at-risk students or those pursuing career and technical education programs.

Rallo noted that dual enrollment is gaining popularity.

In 2009, about 9,600 students took the courses compared to more than 23,000 now, including private school students.

Another change will require students who need remediation in English or math to be doing so while they are taking dual enrollment courses.

That means students who score less than an 18 in ACT/English can enroll in a math class for dual enrollment if they are also addressing their reading or writing deficiencies.

Those who score less than a 19 on ACT/math can enroll in an English, foreign language, history or humanities class for dual enrollment if they are also addressing their math deficiencies.
After months of work, Supt. Sito Narcisse is forging ahead with an ambitious plan that would automatically enroll public high school students in Baton Rouge in a series of college-level, dual enrollment courses where they could earn as many as 60 hours of college credit  enough for an associates degree  by the time they graduate.

Narcisses Pathways to Bright Futures plan is part of a larger early college movement that is blurring the lines between high school and college with the aim of increasing the number of young people who eventually earn a post-secondary degree.

Some parents and school staff in Baton Rouge, however, are already raising a host of concerns. Some worry about compelling high schoolers to take college-level courses when many already struggle with their current courses  as evidenced by low passage rates on end-of-course exams. There are also concerns about the diminished role and job security for teachers currently teaching the high school versions of those courses.

Another concern is whether all these new dual enrollment courses will come at the expense of Advanced Placement, in which many local high schools have invested heavily in recent years.

And finally theres concern about how many universities, particularly ones outside Louisiana, will accept these dual enrollment credits, and whether they will see their value when judging applications from Baton Rouge students.

Dual enrollment debate sparked over plan for out-of-state college to teach EBR virtual students After igniting controversy with a memo calling for all ninth-graders to take dual enrollment courses through an out-of-state university, the l

These concerns emerged at a Dec. 2 East Baton Rouge Parish School Board meeting as the board debated whether to hire ASU Prep Digital, a K-12 online school connected to Arizona State University, to take over part of EBR Virtual Academy, the districts online school.

In an explanatory memo, Narcisse laid out his plans to vastly expand dual enrollment, starting with next years ninth-grade  Narcisse later removed that passage and claimed it was a typo. ASU Prep Digital also runs a nationwide dual enrollment program for more than 42,000 students.

Narcisse plans to formally announce the proposal on Tuesday. After that, he plans to hold a series of town hall gatherings to explain what he wants to do.

Exposing kids to as many options as possible to accelerate their learning is a great thing, Narcisse said Friday in an interview with The Advocate.

He said that the districts he worked at before Baton Rouge all had early college programs and that they offered more dual enrollment classes in more schools than Baton Rouge currently does.

Narcisse rejects much of the recent criticism as misinformation and conspiracy-mongering, especially around the future of Advanced Placement.

For the last time, Im not getting rid of AP, he said with some exasperation.

He admitted that he prefers dual enrollment and the fact that students earn college credit if they pass the course. In Advanced Placement, students dont just earn college credit for taking the course; they have to score well on an AP exam, and even then may not earn it.

Belinda Davis, who serves on the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and has a child at Baton Rouge Magnet High, recently took to social media to express her concerns. She discussed a meeting earlier that week with Narcisse where she and others heard him explain how the plan would work.

In an interview, Davis said she still has many concerns and she said there are other BESE members who do as well.

I have concerns about whether it is legal for him to mandate dual enrollment, and if that might violate a childs (Individualized Education Plan), Davis said.

She said she applauds the general goal of increasing participation in dual enrollment but does not like how it forces the issue and does not allow parents straightforward ways to opt out of the classes. She said it runs the risk of angering parents and leading them to look at other educational options.

Another concern is whether the way these dual enrollment classes are structured will mean teachers are underused and adrift, she said.

I cannot understand how that teacher is going to have a meaningful role in instruction, Davis said. You are going to have to show that to me.

Kim Hunter Reed, Louisianas commissioner of higher education, and Roland Mitchell, dean of LSUs College of Human Sciences & Education, have both issued statements of support.

Reed said that, to succeed in todays economy, students need more education than they have in the past and expanding dual enrollment is a key way of getting there.

In Louisiana, we want a high quality dual enrollment experience to be a reality for every student, whether they aspire to complete a technical credential or a four year degree, Reed said.

Mitchell had similar things to say.

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The creation of more options, choices and access for students through early exposure to college will further expand the readiness of students entering colleges and universities across the state and eliminate traditional barriers to higher education and career attainment, he said.

Next school year, Narcisse aims to have for all incoming ninth-graders, roughly 2,500 of them, automatically enrolled in a total of four dual enrollment courses, two in the fall and two in the spring. Those courses would be world geography followed by world history, as well as a foreign language taken over two semesters. Dual enrollment courses in high grades would be added as next years ninth-graders advance through high school.

Narcisse is quick to point out that, while students are supposed to take the course, college credit is optional. That means students can complete the entire course and decide once they get their grade whether its good enough to be placed on a college transcript. If they decide it is not, then the course counts only as a high school credit.

But the superintendent on Friday indicated that he sees no reason to allow next years ninth-graders to be able to take instead the traditional high school-level courses theyve been taking for years.

Glen Oaks High School is piloting the concept. In August, about 70 ninth-graders enrolled in world history and French courses taught by visiting instructors from Baton Rouge Community College. School officials say about 90 percent of those in the world history course have a C or better in the course and are on track to get credit, but they are still awaiting grades for the French course.

Narcisse said multiple higher education institutions will be participating in the future, not just BRCC, and he said dual enrollment classes will be done in a variety of ways from in-person to remote.

For its part, BRCC said it is working to get ready, said BRCC Chancellor Willie Smith.

Were scaling up to make sure that we have enough full-time faculty and adjunct faculty so that we can provide the capacity, Smith said.

When the program goes districtwide, there will be a few ninth-graders not automatically enrolled in these dual enrollment courses.

Latasha Levatino, a project manager with the school system who is helping to organize the initiative, said the exceptions include students who are repeating ninth-grade and transitional ninth-graders, or T-9s, students who are learning on a high school campus but have yet to be promoted from eighth-grade.

Neither category is very big. In 2018, the last year data is available, 323 ninth-graders in the school system were held back. And last year there were only 37 T-9s.

Levatino also said some students may opt to take a career track, meaning they would take a different set of dual enrollment courses, with three out of four focused on career-oriented courses. And students who enroll late in the school year may be too late to join the dual enrollment course and will have to try again at a later date, she said.

At Glen Oaks High, there are many ninth-graders not taking dual enrollment. On Oct. 1, the north Baton Rouge high school had 123 ninth-graders on its rolls, about the same as early in the school year, but only 70 students in dual enrollment. Levatino said she was not sure why there were 50-plus Glen Oaks ninth-graders not currently in those college-level courses.

Dual enrollment? The rules are changing The Louisiana Board of Regents on Monday approved new rules governing how high school students earn college credit.

Traditionally, dual enrollment courses have had strict eligibility requirements. In 2017, the Louisiana Board of Regents raised the bar, requiring students have at least a 3.0 GPA to enroll and at least an 18 on the ACT or a comparable school on another standardized test. Enrollment in dual enrollment in Louisiana declined 8% the year after the new requirements went into effect.

Since 2019, the Board of Regents has been rethinking those requirements. In 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic hit, the board lowered the minimum GPA to 2.5 and waived the ACT requirement. A special Dual Enrollment Task Force is working on rules for the future.

Current policy does allow early colleges to establish their own eligibility requirements, and they can be substantially lower. These are high schools designed so that students can earn lots of college credits, enough to potentially earn an associates degree at the same time they earn their high school diploma.

The Board of Regents for years recognized only two such schools, one in Lafayette, one in Ascension Parish. Both operate on community college campuses are relatively small in size and are selective in who they will allow to enroll. In 2019, they accounted for 101 of the 148

Louisiana students that year who earned an associates degree while still in high school.

In 2020, they were joined by a new program, BRCC and the Early College Academy in East Baton Rouge Parish. It originally required that incoming students scored well on their middle school LEAP tests, but that requirement was later removed.

Narcisse said he wants to limit barriers to entry as much as possible. He said he thinks high school students will rise to the challenge of college-level work if given the right support, which he said he plans to provide.

Smith with BRCC agreed.

I know there is some apprehension about ninth-graders taking college courses, but we have made it our mission to help students succeed and make it to the finish line, Smith said.
CSL has at last confirmed it is in talks about a possible acquisition of Swiss pharma firm Vifor, setting the stage for what would be the Australian biotech giants largest takeover to date.

After weeks of intense speculation about the takeover process, CSL released a brief statement on negotiations on Monday. CSL confirms that it is in discussions with Vifor Pharma Ltd regarding a potential transaction, however at this time there remains no certainty that any transaction will result and, if a transaction does result, when such a transaction would occur, the company said.

CSL has confirmed it is in talks with the Swiss company. Credit:Eddie Jim

CSL closed 0.4 per cent lower at $297.27.

Vifor, which specialises in iron supplement and kidney disease treatments, is led by former CSL board member Abbas Hussain.
Rupert Murdochs News Corp Australia is in the final stages of securing a wagering partner for the launch of its bookmaking business, with two local outfits and an international company competing to take part in the joint venture.

Multiple wagering sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because talks are confidential, said News Corp was close to a deal on working with a bookmaker that would provide the technology infrastructure needed to launch its operation locally in exchange for a stake in the business. The newly formed company is not expected to take a bet for the first half of 2022. News Corp declined to comment.

News Corp is close to securing a partner or its soon-to-launch wagering business. Credit:Shutterstock

News Corp Australia has planned to form a wagering company for more than one year. The media company, which publishes The Australian and The Herald Sun, asked for expressions of interest among Australias established bookmakers last year. It was then in advanced talks earlier this year with a consortium backed by high-profile bookmaker Matthew Tripp to launch the new wagering outfit. Wagering sources have said there are currently three contenders in the final stage including Betmakers (which is closely linked to Mr Tripp) and an international outfit.

But despite previous discussions between News Corp and Lachlan Murdochs Fox Corp about a licensing deal for its FOX Bet brand (which has driven growth at the company), the sources say the new company is not expected to adopt the brand name.
I believed for a long time that the differences, the quarrels among Christians didnt matter a lot for the individual, that you live your life and stay out of it. But then I began to realise that it wasnt an easy thing to do, Rice told The Associated Press then. I came to the conclusion that if I didnt make this declaration, I was going to lose my mind.

Rice married the poet Stan Rice, who died in 2002, in 1961. They lived amid the bohemian scene of Haight-Ashbury in 1960s San Francisco where Rice described herself as a square, typing away and studying writing at San Francisco State University while everyone else partied. Together they had two children: Christopher and Michelle, who died of leukemia at five in 1972.

It was while grieving Michelles death that Rice wrote Interview With the Vampire, turning one of her short stories into a book. Rice traced her fascination with vampires back to the 1934 film, Draculas Daughter, which she saw as a young girl.

I never forgot that film, Rice told the Daily Beast in 2016. That was always my impression of what vampires were: earthlings with heightened sensibility and a doomed appreciation of life.

Though Rice had initially struggled to get it published, Interview With a Vampire was a massive hit, particularly in paperback. She didnt immediately extend the story, following it up with a pair of historical novels and three erotic novels penned under the pseudonym A. N. Roquelaure. But in 1985, she published The Vampire Lestat, about the Interview With a Vampire character she would continually return to, up to 2018s Blood Communion: A Tale of Prince Lestat.
Epidemiologists warn a rule requiring Victorian shoppers to wear masks indoors should not be scrapped this week given growing Christmas crowds and uncertainty about the severity of the Omicron strain.

Premier Daniel Andrews announced last month a requirement for retail customers to wear masks would be lifted by Thursday unless there was a significant jump in hospitalisations.

However, this public assurance is now under a cloud, with state government officials refusing to comment on whether it will proceed as planned, citing the legal requirements of the new pandemic laws.

Victorias state of emergency powers expire at 11.59pm on Wednesday and will be replaced by the governments new pandemic laws. The first major announcement of coronavirus restrictions under the legislation is expected in the coming days, but whatever is announced, epidemiologists say that the mask-wearing rule should stay for now.
Sixty people tested positive to COVID-19 overnight after attending a nightclub in Newcastle last week, in what is one of the largest transmission events of the virus ever seen in the state.

There are now 84 cases linked to The Argyle House nightclub last Wednesday. The cases are believed to be the Omicron variant of the virus as a person at the club was also on a party cruise earlier in the week and genomic sequencing has since determined attendees were infected with the variant.

Hundreds of people have been deemed close contacts after attending The Argyle House nightclub in Newcastle. Credit:Darren Pateman

NSW Health said it had identified 680 people who had checked in to the venues between 9pm on Wednesday and 3am on Thursday, all of whom have been deemed close contacts.

However, Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said there was concern some attendees might not have checked in to the club.
Police have released CCTV footage of two men believed to be fleeing after shooting dead a well-known gang figure in Sydneys west in January.

The footage, gathered by NSW Police homicide squad detectives as part of their investigation into the death of underworld figure Amar Kettule, shows two black-clad men sprinting away from the crime scene.

Police have released CCTV footage relating to shooting of gang figure Amar Kettule.

Mr Kettule, 34, who was a member of the True Kings gang, was killed about 2.40am on January 10 on Ware Street in Fairfield. He died at the scene despite efforts to revive him.

Appealing for public assistance, investigators have now released CCTV footage of the men and of a white Toyota Corolla seen on Reserve Street at Smithfield later that day.
Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll has warned action will be taken against anyone who disregards the vaccination mandate that will bar unvaccinated patrons and staff from certain venues.

Unvaccinated patrons and staff will not be allowed to enter many hospitality and entertainment venues, such as cafes and clubs, from Friday.

Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll has warned police will hand out fines if there was no compliance. Credit:Fairfax Media

Other venues that also fall under the mandate include stadiums hosting crowds of more than 5000, convention centres, festivals and state-owned galleries.

The mandate is an attempt to curb the virus spread and impact on the economy after Queensland opened its borders to interstate travellers.
Moreland City Council will change its name next year after voting in favour of a motion to drop the current title, which is derived from a Jamaican sugar plantation that used slave labour.

The move will cost at least $500,000 between 2022 and 2024 as the inner-northern Melbourne council updates signage, bins, staff uniforms and its online platforms.

The City of Moreland takes in suburbs such as Brunswick (pictured) and Coburg. Credit:Paul Jeffers

Despite opposition from three councillors, six councillors voted in favour of starting community consultation on a new name next year during a special meeting on Monday night.

The councils four Greens councillors, Socialist councillor Sue Bolton and deputy mayor and Labor councillor Lambros Tapinos voted in favour on Monday night.
State Liberal leader David Honey has hit out at Mark McGowan, accusing the Western Australian Premier of playing Russian roulette with WA lives.

With the Premier poised to announce the timetable for easing border restrictions once Western Australia reaches an 80 per cent double dose COVID vaccination rate, Mr Honey said the State Government had negligently failed to put in place any public health campaign to alert thousands of people that they now need a booster shot.

Governments internationally are now strongly urging their citizens to have a third COVID vaccination as overseas experience shows that vaccine efficacy diminishes within six months, he said.

WA Premier Mark McGowan will announce the plan for bringing down WAs COVID border. Credit:Trevor Collens

This means that over the coming weeks many hundreds of thousands of Western Australians will have reduced protection against COVID as they pass this six-month double dose threshold.
Washington: A video feed of a Taiwanese minister was cut during US President Joe Bidens Summit for Democracy last week after a map in her slide presentation showed Taiwan in a different colour to China, which claims the island as its own.

Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Fridays slide show by Taiwanese Digital Minister Audrey Tang caused consternation among US officials after the map appeared in her video feed for about a minute.

Civicus map of Asia showing Taiwan in a separate colour from China. Credit:Civicus

The sources, who did not want to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the video showing Tang was cut during a panel discussion and replaced with audio only at the behest of the White House.

The White House was concerned that differentiating Taiwan and China on a map in a US-hosted conference  to which Taiwan had been invited in a show of support at a time when it is under intense pressure from Beijing  could be seen as being at odds with Washingtons one-China policy, which avoids taking a position on whether Taiwan is part of China, the sources said.
Cheyenne, WY (82001)

Today

Snow this evening will give way to lingering snow showers late. Low -3F. N winds shifting to SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 100%. Snow accumulating 3 to 5 inches..

Tonight

Snow this evening will give way to lingering snow showers late. Low -3F. N winds shifting to SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 100%. Snow accumulating 3 to 5 inches.
Batavia, NY (14020)

Today

Windy with intermittent light snow and snow showers. Low 23F. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of snow 70%. 1 to 3 inches of snow expected. Heavier amounts in persistent snowbands..

Tonight

Windy with intermittent light snow and snow showers. Low 23F. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of snow 70%. 1 to 3 inches of snow expected. Heavier amounts in persistent snowbands.
A rescue boat navigates by the capsized Danish cargo ship Karin Hoej after it collided with British cargo vessel Scot Carrier in the Baltic Sea, between Ystad and Bornholm, early on Dec. 13, 2021. (Johan Nilsson/TT via AP)

2 Crew Missing After Danish and British Ships Collide in Icy Baltic

STOCKHOLM/COPENHAGENTwo Danish crew members of a capsized barge were missing in the freezing Baltic Sea on Monday after an overnight collision with a British vessel in a busy maritime route off Sweden.

With the pair unlikely to survive long in water temperatures around 4 Celsius, rescue boats and a helicopter hunted for hours. There was also hope they might still be inside an air pocket within the hull of the overturned Karin Hoj.

The 55-metre Danish barge and 90-metre Scot Carrier were sailing in the same direction off the island of Bornholm when they crashed in fog and darkness at 3.30 a.m. (0230 GMT), maritime agencies in Denmark and Sweden said.

At least nine boats and a helicopter combed waters near the wreckage-strewn site, while the overturned Karin Hoj was towed away to shallower waters where Swedish divers were ready to investigate the hull without risk of being dragged down.

Denmarks Joint Operations Centre (JOC) said it was still possible the pair were inside an air pocket.

The Danish Meteorological Institute said the fog was not dense and conditions were not unusual for the time of year. Swedens Coastguard said an investigation was looking into possible gross negligence behind the disaster.

With events seeming to have unfolded fast, the JOC said there was no sign lifeboats or other emergency equipment were used by the Karin Hojs two-person crew.

A rescue boat navigates by the capsized Danish cargo ship Karin Hoej, right, after it collided with British cargo vessel Scot Carrier in the Baltic Sea, between Ystad and Bornholm, early Monday morning, on Dec. 13, 2021. (Johan Nilsson/TT via AP)

The Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare said people cannot normally survive much more than an hour without protective gear in waters that cold.

Collisions Rare

I can confirm an accident has happened but I do not know the circumstances, Soren Hoj, managing director of Rederiet Hoj which owns the Karin Hoj, told Reuters.

The barge was sailing from Sodertalje in Sweden to Nykobing Falster in southern Denmark.

The British-registered Scot Carrier was sailing to Montrose on Scotlands east coast, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.

It was operating under its own power and its crew were safe after the crash.

Danish authorities said the Scot Carriers captain had been subjected to an alcohol test as a standard procedure, which would be delivered to Swedish police.

Its owner Scotline said it could not comment on details but was assisting local authorities.

The Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) said the Danish vessel was empty of cargo and it was unclear what if anything the British ship was carrying.

The waters between Sweden and Denmark see large amounts of maritime traffic. Collisions are rare though in 2006 a small Danish vessel sank after a crash with a Swedish boat, with all the crew rescued alive after bailing overboard.

By Anna Ringstrom & Nikolaj Skydsgaard
Italian firefighters and rescuers search for survivors among the rubble of a collapsed building, in Ravanusa, Sicily, Italy, on Dec. 12, 2021. (Italian Firefighters Vigili del Fuoco via AP)

3 Dead, 6 Missing in Explosion in Sicily Caused by Gas Leak

MILANFirefighters in Sicily were digging through the rubble of a collapsed apartment building Sunday in the search for six missing people after an explosion apparently caused by a gas leak killed at least three, authorities said.

The building was occupied by nine members of an extended family, and two visiting relativesa heavily pregnant woman and her husbandwere also on the premises when the explosion occurred late Saturday in the town of Ravanusa, firefighters said.

Two women were rescued overnight. One of them, 80-year-old Rosa Carmina, told La Repubblica daily that the lights went out suddenly and the ceiling and floors collapsed. Her sister-in-law, who lived on the floor above her, also survived and was rescued from beneath a pile of rubble.

The explosion also collapsed three other buildings that appear to have been unoccupied, and shattered windows in three more.

It was certainly a gas leak that created created a bubble of methane, the head of Sicilys civil protection agency, Salvatore Cocina, told ANSA. He said that a preliminary finding indicates that the functioning of an elevator may have set off the explosion, which was then fed by a gas space heater.
Protesters throwing the statue of Edward Colston into Bristol Harbour during a Black Lives Matter protest rally in Bristol, England, on June 7, 2020. (PA Wire/PA Images)

4 Face Trial in Bristol Over Toppling Statue During BLM Protest

Four people accused of causing criminal damage to a statue of 17th-century British merchant Edward Colston went on trial on Monday.

The bronze statue of Colstonan English merchant, philanthropist, and member of Parliament who was involved in the Atlantic slave tradewas toppled during a Black Lives Matter protest on June 7, 2020, before being dumped in Bristol Harbour and later recovered by Bristol City Council.

Three menMilo Ponsford, 25, Jake Skuse, 36, and Sage Willoughby, 21and 29-year-old woman Rhian Graham, were charged with damaging the Colston statue and its plinth together with others unknown.

(LR) Jake Skuse (grey suit), Rhian Graham, Milo Ponsford, and Sage Willoughby, who are accused of criminal damage over the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston, arrive at Bristol Crown Court ahead of their trial on Dec. 13, 2021. (Rod Minchin/PA)

The defendants denied the charge on March 2 and were on unconditional bail.

Setting the trial date in March, Judge Peter Blair, who will also preside over the trial, suggested the defendants set aside seven to eight days, saying the court estimated the trial may take more than a week.

Legal representatives of three of the defendants said they would fight the charges vigorously, while supporters gathered outside the court.

Supporters outside Bristol Crown Court ahead of the trial of Jake Skuse, Rhian Graham, Milo Ponsford, and Sage Willoughby, in Bristol, England, on Dec. 13, 2021. (Rod Minchin/PA)

On Saturday, five stores in Bristol sold limited-edition T-shirts designed by famed street artist Banksy, who wrote on Twitter that all proceeds to the defendants so they can go for a pint.

The grey T-shirts have a picture of Colstons empty plinth with a rope hanging off, with debris and a discarded sign nearby and Bristol written above.

The protest that resulted in the toppling of Colstons statue was part of the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, United States.

The toppled statue of Edward Colston lies on display in M Shed museum in Bristol, England, on June 7, 2021. (Polly Thomas/Getty Images)

The vandalised statue has been assessed to have sustained 3,750 ($4,850) worth of damage. Its been on display at the M Shed museum since June 4 alongside placards used during the protest. Marvin Rees, mayor of Bristol, said the temporary exhibition aims to start a conversation about our history.

Independent body We Are Bristol History Commission is tasked with making recommendations on the long-term future of the statue, which will be informed by a public survey.

Mary Clark and PA contributed to this report.
Volunteers help Martha Thomas (2nd L) salvage possessions from her destroyed home, in the aftermath of tornadoes that tore through the region, in Mayfield, Ky., on Dec. 13, 2021. (Gerald Herbert/AP Photo)

64 Confirmed Dead, Over 100 Missing After Tornadoes Hit Kentucky

At least 64 people were killed when four or more tornadoes struck Kentucky late Dec. 10, Gov. Andy Beshear told a press conference on Dec. 13.

Authorities believe the death toll may increase to 80.

As of Dec. 13, at least 105 Kentucky residents are still unaccounted for as National Guard personnel and hundreds of other local first respondents search for survivors, clear debris, and give food and water to those who lost their homes.

At least four tornadoes struck Kentucky just before the weekend, with one staying on the ground for more than 200 miles.

Early estimates peg the number of homes damaged or destroyed in the thousands. Deaths have been confirmed in eight Kentucky counties and damage surveyed in 19 counties. The city of Mayfield was essentially razed while other areas, including Bowling Green, saw significant damage.

Its hard when your whole life gets taken away in a few minutes, Deborah Gibson of Bowling Green told the Lexington Herald-Leader after her apartment was torn apart.

Beshear said, With this amount of damage and rubble, it may be a week or even more before we have a final count on the number of lost lives.

Laura Croft searches through debris near the location where her mother and aunt were found deceased after tornadoes ripped through several U.S. states in downtown Dawson Springs, Ky., on Dec. 13, 2021. (Jon Cherry/Reuters)

Volunteers stand near donated supplies at Redemption City Church after tornadoes ripped through several U.S. states in downtown Dawson Springs, Ky., on Dec. 13, 2021. The church building was converted into a night shelter and supply waypoint by locals looking to offer aid in the affected region. (Jon Cherry/Reuters)

President Joe Biden on Dec. 12 declared a major federal disaster in Kentucky due to the devastation, which removes limits on the amount of aid that can be given to the state and its residents.

The storms also struck Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri, and Tennessee. National Weather Service teams are surveying the affected areas. Tens of thousands of people are without power, including about 30,000 homes in Kentucky.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Dec. 13 asked Biden for an emergency declaration in nine counties affected by the storm.

Our emergency officials, first responders, and law enforcement brought hope where there was none in the aftermath of these storms, Lee said in a statement. Our effort now will be to bring as much relief as possible to these devastated communities.

Tennessee has recorded at least four deaths from the tornado outbreak.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a disaster declaration for multiple counties impacted by the storms, and said his office was working with the White House and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to access federal resources. Six people died in Edwardsville after the roof of an Amazon warehouse collapsed.

Recovery operations continue after the partial collapse of an Amazon Fulfillment Center in Edwardsville, Ill., on Dec. 12, 2021. (Tim Vizer/AFP via Getty Images)

Destruction along Reelfoot Lake in the aftermath of tornadoes that through the region, in Samburg, Tenn., on Dec. 12, 2021. (Gerald Herbert/AP Photo)

Missouri, which has recorded two deaths, saw hundreds of homes and buildings damaged or destroyed.

We are deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life caused by this powerful-sustained storm system, and we are praying for the family and friends of those we have lost, Gov. Mike Parson said in a statement.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he witnessed the damage while flying over some of the communities.

As you fly over some of the communities that are impacted, theres swaths of houses that are destroyed. People are displaced, he said on CNN.

Several people have died in Arkansas.

The toll seemed worse initially, particularly at a candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky. But 94 survivors have been reached, with eight workers dead and another eight still missing, Beshear said.

A similar situation played out in Monette, Arkansas, where a nursing home was struck.

It was like heaven sucked up the roof and all the contents of it, Hutchinson said, but just one life was lost. That was just a miracle.
A man plugs in his electric car at a charging station at Lansdowne Mall in Peterborough, Ont., on June 17, 2018. (The Canadian Press/Doug Ives)

Aggressive Zero-Emission Vehicle Quota Plan Draws Fire From Critics

Environment Minister Stephen Guilbeault wants to put a mandate in place by early 2023 that would require auto dealers to meet increasingly higher annual goals for selling zero-emission vehicles. In a plan critics say is impractical, the federal government aims to have half of all new passenger cars sold in Canada be zero-emission by 2030, and to achieve 100 percent by 2035.

Roughly 3 or 4 percent of new cars sold in Canada are zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), commonly called electric vehicles (EVs), Guilbeault recently told The Canadian Press, noting that he wants to mandate increases to those percentages in order to cut carbon emissions and to push Canada to develop such vehicles for the global market. Federal consultations are ongoing to determine how the mandate should work.

Ian Lee, professor of business at Carleton University, believes the policy to force people to buy electric cars will have unintended consequences such as a greater aftermarket in automobile parts to make old gasoline vehicles last longer. He says its also likely that a mandate would push many Canadians to import gas vehicles from the United States.

You only become successful because you build a better product, because youre providing more value. Thats the only way we will succeed, and its not because youre forcing Canadians, Lee said in an interview.

Its buyer beware when it comes to EVs because the price tag is high and charging stations are few, Lee says.

Theres a huge resistance from consumers, and I just dont buy the argument that its because the auto dealers arent trying to sell them or because theres a lack of incentives. Theres people that dont have confidence yet on electric cars, and Im one of them, he said.

In fulfilling its election platform, the Liberal government will spend $1.5 billion over the next four years on incentives for buyers to purchase ZEVs. Transport Minister Omar Alghabra recently indicated that the maximum price of new vehicles qualifying for rebates will rise above its current $55,000 limit in order to include pickup trucks and SUVs.

British Columbia and Quebec have their own sales mandates through a ZEV credit system, which the federal government may emulate. These provinces also issue rebates, though some experts criticize that approach.

Christopher Ragan, founding director of the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University, said in a September 2020 paper that subsidizing EVs disproportionately benefits wealthier households and that spending those tax dollars on public transit would do more to reduce emissions.

EVs should not be considered as the primary or even an important way for Quebec to reduce its carbon footprint, Ragan said. He estimated that having one million electric vehicles on Quebec roads by 2030 would reduce the provinces overall carbon emissions by just 3.6 percent.

The Grid Is Incapable

Plugging in millions more EVs would require large increases in electricity production and the grid to carry it, something Lee says has been largely ignored.

The grid is incapable.  Youve got the cart before the horse. Lets say we even force everybody to buy electric carsif there isnt enough electricity or juice in the grid to fuel the cars, what have you done? You have created shortages and brownouts and blackouts and energy blackouts, he said.

There is no way you can displace the gargantuan amounts of oil and gas [in vehicles] without using nuclear, which most environmentalists are completely opposed to, including Mr. Guilbeault.

According to Natural Resources Canada, consumers used 9,090 petajoules of energy in 2017, with 18 percentroughly 1,636 petajoulesused through gasoline in vehicles. Replacing any fraction of this with electricity will prove costly. The Darlington Nuclear Generating Station, built at a cost of $23 billion in 2020 dollars, generates 70 petajoules annually, based on 2017 figures.

Former natural resources minister Seamus ORegan told CBC News in September 2020 that we have not seen a model where we can get to net-zero emissions by 2050 without nuclear. In November 2020, ORegan joined then-economic development minister Navdeep Bains to announce funding of $20 million to Terrestrial Energy in Ontario to continue development of a small modular reactor.

During the recent UN Climate Change Conference in Scotland, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said exploring nuclear was among the options being considered as we try to get off fossil fuels.

The necessity of nuclear power pits Guilbeault against environmentalists and likely his own preferences, however. Guilbeault was with Greenpeace for 10 years and was a founding member of Equiterre, both organizations that oppose nuclear energy. In 2018 he tweeted, its time to close Pickering #Nuclear Plant and go for #renewables.

The Canadian Environmental Law Association and 100 other groups protested the grant in an open letter in November 2020. The signatories called nuclear power a dirty, dangerous distraction from addressing climate change, and one which would create environmental risks and financial liabilities for Canadians.

The Pickering facility produces 85 petajoules each year, based on 2019 figures, and more must follow to charge up millions of EVs. However, it takes 10 to 19 years to design and build a nuclear plant, a time frame too long for any 2030 targets. Most viable hydroelectric projects were developed decades ago, and the output of solar and wind power generation is as unreliable as the weather.

Ironically, these renewables leave large environmental footprints in their setup and disposal, as do EV batteries themselves.

An Extraordinarily Inconvenient Fact

A 2019 study by Mark Mills of the Manhattan Institute revealed that more than 500,000 pounds of earth must be dug and moved to get enough lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, and copper ore for a 1,000-pound EV battery. Extraction in Congo, home to 70 percent of the worlds cobalt, has included child labour, harsh working conditions, pollution, and birth defects.

Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, says affordability is an increasing issue for Canadians and that environmental arguments cant justify a heavier burden due to government mandates.

Just to make the battery alone, is it acceptable when we dig up 500,000 pounds of the Earths crust? asked McTeague.

Answer that question and youll find the politicians run for the hills because the people proposing that know that is an extraordinarily inconvenient fact that they want to suppress. Im all about environment, but I want to talk about all environmental impacts, not just the ones they cherry-pick.

McTeague says that supply chain issues have already hindered car dealerships and that federal mandates 13 months from now would only add to the burden.

Well still have most manufacturers, regardless of what theyre building, playing catch-up with total demand, and so Im not sure how something like this is at all achievable, much less practical, he said.

Government mandates and quotas sound a little bit beyond authoritarian, he adds.

It sounds like its really premised on a world of magic and make-believe, that they can simply wish these things and they will happen.  You cant force something to happen. It is physically impossible, economically improbable, and environmentally unacceptable for them to go down this road.
Long ago, when I first met my sister-in-law-to-be, a student in her early 20s, she asked me where Id grown up. I told her that Id spent my elementary school years in Boonville, North Carolina, and that wed moved to Winston-Salem when I was in high school.

She pondered my remarks for a moment and then said, Those are strange names.

Her comment nearly made me burst out laughing. We were speaking in the den of her familys home in Milwaukee, near a community called Wauwatosa and a short distance from the Menomonee and the Kinnickinnic rivers.

Talk about strange names!

Like her, most of us are accustomed to the place-names surrounding us, so familiar in our ears that we rarely pause to reflect on their origins or meaning. In my case, I knew that Boonville was so named because Daniel Boone once spent a couple of nights there while exploring the Yadkin River Valley and sometimes spelled his name Boon.

The significance of the names of some other places Ive lived, like San Diego (Saint Didacus of Alcala), Charlottesville (named after the wife of Englands King George III), and Front Royal (origins debatable), I knew because I investigated them. But until now, I had no idea that Staunton (pronounced Stan-ton by the natives), Virginia, where I once spent two years, was named for Lady Rebecca Staunton, the wife of a colonial governor.

Though we may be ignorant of the stories behind the names of our towns, cities, counties, rivers, and mountains, they often contain miniature lessons in history that can help us better understand where we live and those who came before us.

From delving into commonplace names like New York and Boston to gritty American handles like Frog Level, North Carolina; Bugtussle, Kentucky; and Hell, Michigan, we can learn about our ancestors and our broader history.

The Old Country

Early settlers in America often named their settlements after the places and people theyd left behind. New Hampshire, New Jersey, and New England reference the British Isles. Over time, as other pioneers pushed west, they saluted other European cities as well, like Paris, Texas; Florence, Alabama; and Berlin, Wisconsin.

Some places were named after cities in the old country. A map of Paris, Texas, in 1885. (Public Domain)

Charleston in South Carolina, Virginias Williamsburg, Baltimore, and Raleigh were named for people rather than places. Surely these honorifics bestowed on kings and nobles also acted as lifelines for men and women so far from home, reminding them not only of the part they themselves were playing in empire-building but also of the leaders and rulers who stood behind them.

Classics, the Bible, and a New Nation

The Greeks, Romans, and Hebrews influenced American nomenclature as well. Sparta, Athens, and Rome became American place-names, and settlements like Salem, Bethany, Bethel, Bethlehem, and Lebanon acquired their names from the Bible, which so many of these early settlers knew well and loved.

In the wake of their Revolution, Americans garlanded their towns with the names of their heroes. Today, for example, 88 cities and towns in the United States bear the name of our countrys first president. The names of Founding Fathers like Jefferson, Monroe, and Madison also dot the countryside.

Eighty-eight cities and town are named after our Founding Fathers. Portrait of James Madison, circa 1810, the fourth president of the United States and one of the authors of The Federalist Papers. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Other lesser-known personages were also honored in this fashion. An example: The town in the Smoky Mountains where I lived for 20-odd years, Waynesville, received its name from a Colonel Robert Love, who had served under Mad Anthony Wayne during the Revolution. Another example: Virginias Warren County, which I currently call home, pays homage to Dr. Joseph Warren, the man who sent Paul Revere on his famous night ride and who gallantly died fighting the British at Bunker Hill.

Hundreds more places around the country honor the memories of the patriots who founded our nation.

Native American Names

Of our 50 states, 27 bear the names of Native American tribes or the terms used by those tribes to describe a region. Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, the Dakotas, Tennessee: These and others are Indian words adapted into English.

Mississippi, one of the 27 states names originating from a Native American word, welcomes you. (WebTV3/CC BY-SA 3.0)

In addition, many of our rivers have retained the names bestowed on them by natives. Cities, too, like Tucson and Tuscaloosa, pay their respects to the tribes who once lived there or to famous warriors and Native American statesmen. By their names, national parks like Nez Perce and Sequoia salute Native American culture.

Homespun Poetry

Sometimes geographical features, business establishments, or whimsy come into play. In North Carolina, for instance, we have Bat Cave, Flat Rock, Chimney Rock, and Kill Devil Hills down on the coast, where the Wright Brothers first launched their airplane. Tennessee has Pigeon Forge; and Hershey, Pennsylvania, is so called because of Milton Hershey and the chocolate company he established there.

The chocolate company is responsible for the name of Hershey, Pennsylvania. (Cascade Creatives/Shutterstock)

The unincorporated town of Whynot, North Carolina, provides a perfect example of the breezy way we sometimes crown a place with a name. Legend has it that when citizens of this town were arguing over a name, asking Why not this one? and Why not this one? an exasperated man stood up and said, Why not name the town Whynot and lets go home?

New Versus Old

In this swift run through American place-names, we might pause and notice a remarkable circumstance common to all these places.

Americans named their communities, cities, and states. Think about this for a moment. In the old countries from which these people emigrated, the ancient places of their birth had long borne the names by which we know them today. Canterbury, Hampshire, London, Marseilles, and Naples received their identities in the mists of time.

But in this New World, the explorers and settlers themselves chose the names of places, like Adam and Eve naming the animals in the Old Testament. The names chosen might be as stately and historically significant as Washington, D.C., or as straightforward and blunt as Deadwood, South Dakota, so named because someone found dead trees in a gulch. But whatever the case, Americans are the inventors of these names.

As a result, these names and their origins tell us much about the history of our country. Nearly every one of them contains some nugget of the past that, if investigated, can lead us to hidden pockets of gold.

Tracking the Stories Behind the Names

Suppose, for instance, youre a high school student living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. You wonder about the origins of the name of your city. You Google Pittsburgh and find that the name derives from a British prime minister, William Pitt the Elder, 1st Earl of Chatham. You read a bit about him, and then discover that a General Braddock and his subordinate Major George Washington fought and lost a disastrous battle near your city during the French and Indian War. You read on, learning about the Whiskey Rebellion, the glass industry, steamboats, the Great Fire, the Underground Railway, and the steel industry.

Whats in a name? Just possibly, an entire book of people and events.

Belonging

Our American names are part of the glue holding us together as a people, even when we pay them no attention. Atlanta, San Antonio, Los Angeles, Culpeper, Corpus Christi, Deadhorse, Greasy Corner, Bear Dance: Behind such names is the tale of a place and a people that have shaped us and defined who and what we are.

We can find poetry in these names. We can find history. And most of all, we can find home.
Arizona School Board President Demoted, Under Investigation Over Google Drive Dossier of Parents and Children

'There appear to be bad actors involved'

A Scottsdale, Arizona, School Board President connected to a Google Drive dossier of parents and their children has been demoted to board member. While the Scottsdale Police Department (SPD) determined that no criminal conduct has been committed, the Scottsdale Unified School District is now conducting its own internal investigation.

On Nov. 9, a report surfaced that Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) Governing Board President Jann-Michael Greenburg had been connected to a Google Drive dossier filled with photos and personal information of about 47 people, primarily parents who were openly critical of school board policies. The information discovered in the Google Drive included background checks, divorce papers, photos of license plates, mortgage documents, trade certifications, screenshots of Facebook posts, and photos of some of their children.

It has been alleged that Mark Greenburg, Jann-Michaels father, created the digital dossier.

The District has retained an independent forensic investigation firm to conduct and analyze district data stored on our servers to determine if District resources were misused in the creation, maintenance, or modification of an unauthorized Google Drive, Lori Bird, General Counsel Scottsdale Unified School District told The Epoch Times. Once the investigation is completed the independent firm will provide their analysis and conclusions to me. The information will be made public to the extent allowed by law.

SPD detectives also briefed the FBI, the Arizona Attorney Generals Office, and the Maricopa County Attorneys Office so they could determine if any criminal acts might fall under their respective jurisdictions.

On behalf of Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, Katie Connor said they can offer no comment at this time.

While the active link to the Google Drive became private around 11 a.m. on Nov. 9shortly after the Greenburgs were contacted by local mediaThe Epoch Times has obtained videos and screenshots of documents and images found in the Google Drive. During the course of its investigation, The Epoch Times has also uncovered credible evidence that seems to discredit Jann-Michaels claim he had no knowledge of the Google Drive.

Google Drive Dossier Contents

One video shows Mark Greenburg wearing motorcycle apparel and a bodycam, standing in front of a bathroom mirror. When Mark goes into the kitchen, Jann-Michael can be seen eating at the counter. From the conversation, Jann-Michael appears to know where his father is going. As he is leaving, Mark tells his son they will talk later.

Screenshot of Mark Greenburg, father of Scottsdale Unified School District School Board President Jann-Michael Greenburg, disguising himself before going to take photos of parents at an Aug. 24 School Board Meeting at Coronado High School. (Daily Independent YouTube video)

Jann-Michael caught in the bodycam video as Mark Greenburg prepares to go take photos of parents at an Aug. 24 School Board meeting held at Coronado High School for the Google Drive Dossier. (Daily Independent YouTube video)

The video then shows Mark at Coronado High School taking photos of parents who had to wait outside to give public comments one at a time at an Aug. 24 school board meeting. Mark is then approached by three women.

The lengths you have to go to to not be recognized, Mark jokes with the women. Its like wearing an aquarium on your head. He adds that [the parents] dont like having their picture taken.

One of the women (wearing sunglasses and a mask) warns Mark that while standing in line she overheard a woman named Amanda Ray saying she had already complained to the police about him. Shes worried about you being here and that you have threatened her in the past, the woman tells Mark.

Screenshot of SUSD parent Jill Lassen warning Mark Greenburgafter he took photos of parents on school property at Coronado High School where parents waited to give public comments at an Aug. 24 school board meetingthat one of the parents has already called the police about him. (Daily Independent YouTube video)

She doesnt know that its me though, Mark tells her. She was, like, one of the first cars here and I pulled my motorcycle directly facing her car. But she has no idea I have a motorcycle, and I covered up my license plate. Shes just a lunatic.

The woman has been identified as SUSD parent Jill Lassen. About an hour into public comments at the Nov. 30 SUSD School Board meeting, Lassen was critical of the parents who exposed the dossier story to the media and of the school board for not protecting one of your own.

Jill Lassen, delivering critical remarks about the parents who exposed the dossier story to the media during public comments at the SUSD School Board Meeting on Nov. 30, 2021. (SUSD Recording of LiveStream Board Meeting)

Thank you so much for doing this, Mark tells Lassen before leaving the school property. This is not fun. But Ill tell you, I mean it. Its not about Jann-Michael. If the District falls into their hands it will be the end.

A graphic of Amanda Wray, which appears to have been created by Mark Greenburg and shared with Jann-Michael, was discovered in the Google Drive. Wrays photo was superimposed with information gathered on her in an effort to slander her name in the public.

Screenshot of post found in the Google Drive dossier created by Mark Greenburg and shared with Jann-Michael Greenburg who can edit, slandering Amanda Wray, who contacted police about her fear of Mark Greenburg. (Courtesy of Kim Stafford)

Another screenshot of the same image at a different time shows Mark Greenburg has removed, Jann-Michael Greenburg as an Editor.

Screenshot showing where Mark Greenburg has removed Jann-Michael Greenburg as an Editor of the image of Amanda Wray. (Courtesy of Kim Stafford.)

In another video, Mark Greenburg is heard reading comments posted in a private Facebook group called SUSD Community Advocacy Network (CAN). Jann-Michael can be heard talking with his father about the posts. Mark cites a comment by Tracey Davis, who said the women in this community are sick and tired of being bullied. Greenburg then reads the response by someone with the screen name of Carrie Carrie, who said he seems mentally ill and probably shouldnt be around children. People like him and Mark Allen [sic] Greenburg hiding their attacks behind the first amendment is scary.

Screenshot of video made by Mark Greenburg while he reads social media posts to his son Jann-Michael. (Daily Independent YouTube video from Google Dive)

Then Greenburg reads from a post by Edmond Richard.

Screenshot from video made by Michael Greenburg of social media post left by Edmund Richard. After reading the post, Greenburg can be heard saying he wants Edmund to die. (Daily Independent YouTube video from Google Dive)

The existence of Mike Norton and Mark Greenburg and others simply shows the issue is not a one-time event, Greenburg reads aloud. Then there is a pause. I really want Edmund to die, Greenburg says. Ill be so happy, Ill have a [expletive] party.

A third video shows Mark Greenburg scrolling through more posts from the private CAN Facebook page. Again, Jann-Michael can be heard in the background talking to his father about the posts.

Screenshot from video made by Mark Greenburg of social media posts. (Daily Independent YouTube video from Google Dive)

Im making a movie, Mark tells his son, a screen movie for you.

The Victims Respond

This is unacceptable, Amy Carney told The Epoch Times. In the drive, there are body cam videos from the board presidents father, taken on school property, as well as video of Mr. Greenburg stating that he hopes a dad in our district dies and that hell throw an effing party when he does, which are absolutely not open source or public documents. Its unfortunate that bodycam footage and other personal videos found on the drive are considered open source by the Scottsdale Police.

Carney, a mother of six, is running for a seat on the SUSD Governing Board in the November 2022 midterms. Carney was also one of the 47 people on whom a file was kept in the Google Drive dossier.

Screen captures of files in a Google Drive, created and filled by Mark Greenburg of parents who spoke critically of his sonScottsdale Unified School District School Bard President Jann-Michael Greenburg. (Courtesy of Kim Stafford)

Shiry Sapir is another SUSD parent on file in the dossier.

Shiry Sapir, a Scottsdale mother and 2022 candidate for running for Superintendent of Public Instruction and head of the Arizona Department of Education. (Courtesy of Shiry Sapir)

I expected to be in there because I am running for Superintendent of Public Instruction and Im running to head the Department of Education in Arizona, Sapir told The Epoch Times. But the rest are non-political opponents so Im not sure what his intent was. Thats what were trying to figure out. What was his intent in filing all of this information on parents?

In the wake of the extended school lockdowns due to COVID -19, Sapir pulled her children out of the public school system last year, saying she didnt trust the public schools anymore because of the curriculum that they have.

They really created a situation where its us against them, parents against the system, Sapir said. Im not going to play with my kids with my enemy. Its just not going to work this way. So until they come to the table and they are on the same team as us, I shouldnt be sending my kids to our adversaries, and thats how it feels. Everything we want, they deny. They have tremendous contempt for the parents. This dossier really showed that.

This was not the first time Jann-Michael was caught expressing contempt for SUSD parents. After a parent concluded her comments at an Aug. 4 school board meeting, Jann-Michael was caught on an open mic saying Jesus [expletive] christ, people.

Kim Stafford is another parent on file in the dossier.

I am the parent to whom Jann-Michael Greenburg sent a screenshot of his entire desktop, Stafford told The Epoch Times. That had the open link to the Google Drive.

The Beginning of the End

According to Stafford, discovery of the Google Drive came inadvertently, after she became aware of a false accusation Jann-Michael had made about her in an email sent to Carney, whom Stafford did not know at the time. In the email, Jann-Michael alleged that Stafford sent a letter to a private high school claiming he was a Christian-hating atheist and that this was why she left the school district. None of that was true, Stafford said. Carney, SUSD School Board Vice President Julie Cieniawski, and Scottsdale Unified School District Superintendent Scott Menzel were copied on the email.

In response, Stafford sent an email to Jann-Michael and copied everyone he included in his email to Carney. She denied his allegation and demanded he retract the false charge, to correct the record with anyone else he had told, and to redact her name from public records. It was during the course of the heated email exchange that ensued that Stafford discovered a desktop screenshot at the bottom of one of the emails from Jann-Michael.

Screenshot of desktop showing viewing user as Mark Greenburg with an opened tab for Jann-Michael Greenburgs SUSD email account. (Courtesy of Kim Stafford)

A screenshot of the desktop image shows the name of the viewing user (lower right) as Mark Greenburg. However, one of the opened tabs at the top of the image (upper right) is clearly that of Jann-Michaels official SUSD email account. The link to the Google Drive account can be seen in the upper-left.

Close up of a screen capture of Mark Greenburg as a Google Drive user. (Courtesy of Kim Stafford)

A screenshot of desktop image showing the open tab of Jann-Michael Greenburgs official SUSD email account. (Courtesy of Kim Stafford)

The Epoch Times also discovered that at the very end of the virtual meetingwhile trying to share content with the other participants in the meetingJann-Michael Greenburg admitted that for the publics note that my brother originally set up my Microsoft Word, so my brothers name is Mark Greenburg. That is why it says Mark Greenburg as opposed to my name, Jann-Michael Greenburg. Just so that everyone knows theres not a ghost typing for me.

Screenshot from Aug. 17 virtual meeting where Jann-Michael Greenburg admits to using the name Mark Greenburg when on his computer. (SUSD Recording of LiveStream virtual Board Meeting)

Staffords Discoveries

Using the open link, Stafford gained access to the Google Drive. Once inside, she discovered the files of the 47 parents. Stafford also found scanned copies of Jann-Michaels aforementioned accusatory emailin various iterationswhich had been printed on official SUSD letterhead. Stafford also found a screenshot of her Aug. 11 email to Jann-Michael, imported to the Google Drive the same day by Mark Greenburg.

Screenshot from an email sent to Jann-Michael Greenburg in response to his false allegations against her. (Courtesy of Kim Stafford)

Stafford also found a file with her name on it. Inside, she found screenshots of comments she posted on the private SUSD Open Facebook group and profile photos of her husband from her personal Facebook page. She was horrified to find a screenshot of a photo of her 13-year-old daughtercreated, owned, and modified by Mark Greenburg on Aug, 3labeled Kim Staffords kid.

Photo found in the Google Drive Dossier of Kim Staffords 13-year-old daughter (face obscured) titled Kim Staffords Kid. (Courtesy of Kim Stafford)

That was the single most disturbing document I saw, Stafford confessed. For what purpose would anybody take a screenshot of somebodys juvenile child and put it in a Google Drive? Any parent can imagine the horror going through my brain. It made me angry and completely horrified and I still want an answer as to why they would do this.

Asked how Mark Greenburg was able to slip into the private CAN Facebook group to spy on their conversations, Stafford said he created multiple fake profiles.

Fake Accounts created by Mark Greenburg to spy on conversations of parents in a private Facebook group. (Courtesy of Kim Stafford)

During a special Nov. 15 meeting of the SUSD School Board, Jann-Michael Greenburg was demoted from his role as president in a 41 vote. Greenburg was the only one to vote in his own favor. He was replaced by Board Member Patty Beckman on an interim basis until the end of Greenburgs term.

Screenshot of Jann-Michael Greenburg making a statement at the Special Nov. 15 SUSD School Board meeting where he was ousted from his position as Board President in a vote of 4-1. (SUSD Recording of live stream board meeting)

There appear to be bad actors involved and I am confident our law enforcement professionals will quickly resolve these issues, Greenburg said at the meeting. Social media in todays political environment can cloud judgment and generate fear that can cause all of us to react hastily as I believe has occurred here. I do believe that we do not have all the facts and without all the facts we cannot make a decision that is in the best interest of the district.

This is Far From Over

While believing there are numerous ethical lapses with Jann-Michaels abuse of his position, Stafford was not surprised to find that Scottsdale Police Department determined there was no criminal activity. However, she would be surprised if the internal investigation does not turn up any sort of violation of policy.

How could a governing board member have copies of un-redacted district communications in a non-district Google Drive that he doesnt own that was shared with non-district personnel and open to anyone with the link? Stafford asked rhetorically.

Were all very upset, Sapir said. He knows who we are and we know who he is. Were not afraid of him. Hes an elected official. He is accountable to us, not the other way around.

Amy Carney, mother of six and 2022 SUSD Governing Board candidate, was one of the 47 people on whom a file was kept in the Google Drive dossier. (Courtesy of Amy Carney)

The question that needs to be addressed is what was the Greenburgs intent with collecting information on parents in the district? Carney said. This is far from over, as the parents and community members of Scottsdale Unified will continue to seek the resignation of Jann-Michael Greenburg as long as he sits on the board despite SPD closing its investigation.

Since the story first broke, Jann-Michaels website related to his position on the school board has gone dark, as did his Twitter account and his personal Facebook page.

Screenshot of Filed Statement of Interest dated March 18 by Jann-Michael Greenburg as a candidate for reelection in 2022. (Statement of Interest on Maricopa County website)

While Jann-Michael filed his Statement of Interest on March 18 as a candidate to seek reelection in 2022, The Epoch Times discovered Jann-Michael also filed (pdf) to seek an At Large position for the Maricopa County College District on Nov. 3.

Screenshot of Form filed Nov. 3 by Jann-Michael Greenburg seeking to be a candidate for higher office as At Large member for the Maricopa County Community College District in the 2022 midterms. (Candidate application on Maricopa County website)

The Epoch Times also reached out to Jann-Michael Greenburg, New Interim SUSD School Board President Patty Beckman, SUSD Board Vice President Julie Cieniawski, Scottsdale Unified School District Superintendent Scott A. Menzel, and the Maricopa County Attorneys Office.
The First United Methodist Church is seen destroyed at sunrise in the aftermath of a tornado in Mayfield, Ky., in this picture taken with a drone, on Dec. 13, 2021. (Adrees Latif/Reuters)

At Least 64 People Confirmed Dead in Kentucky After Barrage of Tornadoes

MAYFIELD, Ky.At least 64 people, including six children, lost their lives in Kentucky after a raft of tornadoes tore through six states, with power still out for thousands and strangers welcoming survivors who lost everything into their homes.

While the toll from the deadly twisters was lower than initially feared, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said he expects it to increase as searchers continue to sift through a flattened landscape of twisted metal, downed trees, and homes reduced to rubble.

It may be weeks before we have counts on both deaths and levels of destruction, Beshear told reporters, adding that the victims ranged in age from 5 months to 86 years old, and that 105 people were still unaccounted for.

A water tower for the town is seen destroyed in the aftermath of a tornado at sunrise in Mayfield, Ky., in this picture taken with a drone, on Dec. 13, 2021. (Adrees Latif/Reuters)

Tornado damage is seen in Mayfield, Ky., after extreme weather hit the region, on Dec. 12, 2021. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

On Monday, Beshear said officials were working to confirm that eight people had perished when a candle factory in Mayfield, a town of about 10,000 in the southwestern corner of Kentucky, was hit in the storm.

Out of the 110 workers who had been toiling at the Mayfield Consumer Products LLC factory, 94 were believed to have made it out alive, according to the owners of the business, the governor said.

We feared much, much worse, he said. I pray that it is accurate.

In the hard-hit small town, the tornado destroyed not only the candle factory but also the police and fire stations. Homes were flattened or missing roofs, giant trees uprooted and street signs mangled.

Kentuckys emergency management director, Michael Dossett also at the briefing, said 28,000 homes and businesses remained without power.

More than 300 National Guard personnel and scores of state workers were distributing supplies and working to clear roads so that mountains of debris can be removed in the aftermath of the disaster, the governor said.

He added that authorities were coordinating an unprecedented amount of goods and volunteers, and President Joe Biden was expected to visit the state but no date had been set.

Beshear, at times chocking up, said the search, rescue, and recovery process in the swath of destruction has been an emotional roller coaster for all those involved, including him.

You go from grief to shock to being resolute for a span of 10 minutes and then you go back, he said.

Biden on Sunday declared a major federal disaster in Kentucky, paving the way for additional federal aid, the White House said.

Responders stand at the site of a roof collapse at an Amazon distribution center after a tornado hits Edwardsville, in Ill., on Dec. 11, 2021. (Lawrence Bryant/Reuters)

While Kentucky was hardest hit, six workers were killed at an Amazon.com Inc. warehouse in Illinois after the plant buckled under the force of the tornado, including one cargo driver who died in the bathroom, where many workers told Reuters they had been directed to shelter.

A nursing home was struck in Arkansas, causing one of that states two deaths. Four were reported dead in Tennessee and two in Missouri.

By Gabriella Borter
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (R) looks on as South Korean President Moon Jae-in signs the official visitors book at Parliament House on December 13, 2021 in Canberra, Australia. (Lukas Coch - Pool/Getty Images)

Australia Signs Historic, Billion-Dollar Defence Contract With South Korea Amid Increasing Regional Tensions

Australia has signed-off on a historic $1 billion weapons contract with South Korea as Prime Minister Scott Morrison held formal talks with President Moon Jae-in in Canberra.

The first international leader to visit Australia since the country reopened its borders, Moon and first lady Kim Jung-sook arrived in the capital on the weekend before a formal welcome and meeting at Parliament House on Dec. 13.

The new deal with South Korea defence giant Hanwha, which will provide 30 self-propelled howitzers and 15 armoured ammunition supply vehicles for the army in Geelong, Victoria, is Australias largest defence contract with an Asian country.

(It) is one of several projects that will modernise the Australian Army, ensuring it continues to maintain a capability advantage now, and into the future, Defence Minister Peter Dutton said.

We are committed to keeping our region safe while protecting our interests in a rapidly changing global environment.

The contract is expected to create at least 300 jobs in the greater Geelong region when the construction starts in 2022, according to the plan first announced during the 2019 federal election.

Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton reacts during a bilateral meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at Parliament House on December 13, 2021 in Canberra, Australia. (Lukas Coch  Pool/Getty Images)

Moons visit comes amid a time of concerns about Beijings expansion in the Indo-Pacific region.

There is a lot of concern from many countries within the region in relation to some of the bullying from the Chinese government, Dutton told Sky News. We want peace and stability to prevail in our region, and that is why we have close relationships with people of shared values. It is very important and probably more so than ever.

The defence minister said ties between Australia and South Korea is quite a remarkable one and is deepening.

Its a very important visit; it comes at the end of his term, he said, referring to Moons expected conclusion of presidential term next year.

As the two countries mark 60 years of diplomatic relations this year, the visit also sees their ties updated to comprehensive strategic partnership status, which Australia already has (or its equivalent) with ASEAN, China, Fiji, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (2nd R) with First Lady Jenny Morrison (R) pose for photographs with South Korean President Moon Jae-in (2nd L) and First Lady Kim Jung-sook (L) at Parliament House on December 13, 2021, in Canberra, Australia. (Lukas Coch  Pool/Getty Images)

The updated ties reflect the depth and breadth of our cooperation and people-to-people links, and common aspirations to work even more closely together in our region, Prime Minister Morrison said.

Our comprehensive strategic partnership with the Republic of Korea is underpinned by our joint commitment to defence and security cooperation.

President Moon and the first lady will lay wreaths at the Australian War Memorial and the Australian National Korean War Memorial, in commemoration of the sacrifices Australia made in the Korean War.

As Australias fourth-largest trading partner, South Koreas major imports from Australia include iron ore, coal, natural gas, and beef, while its exports to Australia include cars and refined petroleum. Bilateral trade accounted for around $41.3 billion of Australias international trade in 2019 (4.5 percent of total), according to government statistics.
Minister for Trade Dan Tehan speaks to the media during a press conference in Sydney, Australia on May 21, 2021. (AAP Image/Joel Carrett)

Australias Trade Minister Confident With Nations Urea Supply

Federal Trade Minister Dan Tehan is confident Australias urea supply will be unaffected as the federal government seeks to secure the crucial diesel exhaust ingredient from other countries.

Tehan has also urged businesses not to hoard Adbluea brand of diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) containing urea used in many trucks and modern diesel vehiclesin order to prevent disruptions to the nations freight and logistics sector.

There is obviously issues around containers, shipping disruptions which were also working through, Tehan told ABC radio on Dec. 13.

But from everything that were seeing, there is a clear supply which we can bring to Australia and given we have seven weeks already in stock, we are very confident we will be able to get the urea that we need into the country.

Last month, the federal government imported 27,000 litres of urea from South Korea.

Australia is also speaking with Indonesia and will approach Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Japan, to secure further urea supplies.

Ive spoken to my Indonesian counterpart and there is some supply in Indonesia that we should be able to access in the coming weeks, Tehan told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

This follows the banning of urea exports from China as it prioritises domestic supply.

Analysts estimate about three-quarters of urea produced in China is made with coal, while the rest uses natural gas, reported Reuters.

While Australia has previously imported 80 percent of its urea from China, countries like Indonesia and South Korea appear to be good alternatives for Australia, David Leaney, an International Supply Chain Management lecturer at Australian National University told News Corp.

Weve got pretty good trade relations with Indonesia and since theyre one of the worlds biggest suppliers (of urea), its a good opportunity to see what we can do in terms of bilateral or multilateral trade arrangements, Leaney said.

Weve got good trade relationships with South Korea as well.

Leaney added that the geographical closeness of Indonesia is more appealing for Australia as urea is a cheap commodity for its volume.

What you dont want is transporting cheap stuff using expensive transport a long way because then transport becomes a too higher percentage of the total price youre paying, he said.

Meanwhile, the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) said the shortage was a wake-up call for an over-reliance on concentrated international supply chains.

We need to increase our domestic manufacturing capacity to increase Australias resilience to international supply chain shocks, VFF infrastructure and transport committee chair Ryan Milgate said in a media release (pdf).

Milgate added that the agricultural supply was already under strain with truck driver shortages and global supply chain disruptions.

As farmers produce essential perishable goods, the supply of critical inputs like Adblue is essential to maintaining our food security.

Its critical the AdBlue supply chain including manufacturers, the fertiliser industry, transport operators and government work together to address the shortages, Milgate said.

National Road Transport Associations chief executive Warren Clark previously called on the federal government to form a task force of industry groups to look at options to mitigate the situation in the immediate term.

If we learned one thing from COVID-19 its that a lack of coordination only compounds problems, Warren said in a statement.

Our industry isnt the only one that will be affected, but we will be hit first and hardest.
People maintain social distance while they queue outside a Natwest bank in Wimbledon, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), London, Britain, on May 1, 2020. (Hannah McKay/Reuters)

Bags of Cash: NatWest Fined $351 Million Over Money Laundering

LONDONNatWest has been fined 265 million pounds ($350.9 million) for failing to prevent the laundering of nearly 400 million pounds, capping the first criminal money laundering case against a British bank.

The fine would have been north of 300 million pounds, but a deduction was made for the banks guilty plea, the judge said.

A criminal gang deposited hundreds of millions of pounds in cash at around 50 branches of NatWest, prosecutors for Britains financial regulator said on Monday, with at least one individual outlet receiving more than 40 million pounds.

Couriers walked through the streets of British towns carrying bags of cash they then deposited at the banks branches before the scheme was busted by police, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) told the judge.

One person in Walsall arrived at a branch with so much cash in bin liners700,000 pounds0151that they broke and the money had to be repacked in hessian bags, the FCAs lawyer Clare Montgomery said, adding the cash also did not fit in the branchs floor-to-ceiling safes.

The state-backed bank had previously pleaded guilty in October to three criminal charges of not adequately monitoring customer accounts between 2012 and 2016.

NatWest is Britains biggest business bank and is still majority taxpayer-owned after a 45 billion pound-plus state bailout during the financial crisis.

The FCA said NatWest failed to monitor suspect activity by a clientFowler Oldfield, a Bradford-based gold dealer, and jeweler liquidated after a police raid in 2016that deposited about 365 million pounds, including 264 million in cash.

At its height, as much as 1.8 million pounds was being deposited in cash daily, and the customer became NatWests most lucrative in the area, Montgomery said.

NatWest failed to properly investigate numerous warnings generated by its financial crime systems, miscategorised the customer as lower risk than it was, and staff investigating the warnings lacked sufficient experience and knowledge, the FCA lawyer said.

One rule designed to flag suspicious activity was disabled by NatWest because it created too many alerts, so the bank decided it should be deactivated, Montgomery said.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) at one stage raised concerns at the sheer quantity of Scottish bank notes being deposited many miles away in England, which it said was an indicator of potential crime, the FCA said.

One of the banks cash centres in Washington, north-east England, voiced concern about the high volume of Scottish notes being deposited and said they had a musty smell, which the judge said could be indicative of storage rather than regular business use.

The NCA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The judge said she would also issue a confiscation order for 460,000 pounds gained by NatWest from Fowler Oldfield.

One person working at a NatWest Basingstoke cash centre who was close to retirement warned the activity was the most suspicious he had seen in his career, the FCA said.

How could they possibly have missed all this? That would be a perfectly reasonable question. To which the answer is, they didnt miss it, John Kelsey-Fry, lawyer for NatWest, told the court.

The protections in the bank actually worked to the extent that the relevant activity was identified, it was highlighted. It did not escape the banks systems, it did not go under the radar. The quality and adequacy of that scrutiny is another matter.

The relationship manager who was responsible for the suspect account was dismissed, but not due to any suggestion of complicity in illegal activity, Kelsey-Fry said.

He got so close that he lost his sense of perspective and judgment, and was completely taken in.

($1 = 0.7551 pounds)

By Iain Withers
Beijing Threatens Congress

Senator Schumers bill makes Beijing see red

News Analysis

While Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden have talked (albeit remotely) about improving relations between their two countries, a new Sino-American battle has started.

On one side is the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Peoples Congress (Chinas rubber-stamp legislature), others in Beijing, and Chinas Ambassador to the United States, Qin Gang. On the other side are Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and many in the U.S. Congress.

The issue is Schumers massive U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA). The senator has put it forward as a cudgel with which to beat China on trade, technology, and cybersecurity attacks, among other things. The Chinese side has made it clear that if this bill becomes law, Beijing will retaliate.

Schumers massive bill (2,276 pages) passed the Senate in June 2021. It has yet to pass the House of Representatives. It very much reflects the growing anti-China sentiment in Congress, on both sides of the aisle, and gathers under its umbrella several smaller bills that had already been introduced. Prominent among these are the Endless Frontiers Act, originally put forward by Sen. Todd Young (RInd.), and the Meeting the Chinese Challenge Act, originally put forward by Senators Sherrod Brown (ROhio) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa).

The composite bill, not surprisingly, has a great variety of provisions. Among them, it would insist on buy American. It would ban to the extent legally possible the purchase of Chinese-made drones and electric vehicles, and forbid any government server to connect to a Chinese social network such as TikTok. It would include measures to thwart cybersecurity attacks on any U.S. government agency and mandatory sanctions in response to any Chinese cybersecurity attacks, as well as any state-sponsored thefts of intellectual property and technology. It is estimated to affect some $250 billion in trade and economic activity generally.

Beijing has vowed to retaliate should the bill become law. Chinas Foreign Affairs Committee has described the USICA as an attempt to contain Chinas development under the banner of innovation and competition. Though Beijing has yet to divulge how it would retaliate, few doubt, given its actions in the past, that it would hesitate to do so. Few, however, expect tariffs.

After the strains China suffered during the 2019 trade war between China and the Trump White House, the last thing Beijing wants is to move matters in that direction. And given the tough line taken by U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai in her recent talks with Vice Premier Liu He, Beijing knows that Washington could take that path again. China hands suspect that Beijings response would target exports of parts needed by domestic U.S. manufacturers.

While the nature of the threats remains vague, Chinas Washington embassy has swung into action. Ambassador Qin Gang has expressed his outrage and that of his government. He has identified some 260 bills in Congress that he describes as having negative China content. He has summed them up, singling out the USICA, as an attempt to hijack China-U.S. relations and gravely damage Americas own interests. He has also marshalled his staff to lobby (threaten?) all U.S. firms of significance, but especially those that already have interests in China, to defeat Schumers bill and other pieces of legislation like it.

All this anxiety may go nowhere. The bill still waits a vote in the House, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has yet to indicate when or even if such a vote will take place. Congress has a great deal of business to complete, so this issue may wait quite a while to get her attention, much less the attention of Biden.

Indeed, should it pass the House and arrive at the presidents desk, there are no assurances that he will sign it into law. He has at times talked tough on China, but its wide range of provisions could easily run afoul of other administration initiatives or important cabinet secretaries. Still, it does seem as though Congress has the proverbial bit in its teeth when it comes to China, and with the mid-term election looming in 2022, all politicians will take note of the publics clear anti-China feeling.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Beverly Hills Firefighters Sue Over COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.Two Beverly Hills firefighters and a nonprofit group are suing Los Angeles County and the city of Beverly Hills, alleging the countys health care worker coronavirus vaccination mandate should be declared void and that the city has no authority to question religious exemptions to the mandate.

The Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit was brought Dec. 10 by Beverly Hills firefighters Josh Sattley and Ettore Berardinelli Jr. and the organization Protection for the Educational Rights of Kids (PERK). PERKs website states it is a grassroots organization dedicated to empowering educators and parents to take an active role in education-centered legislation.

The plaintiffs also seek unspecified compensatory damages.

But the city says the work of emergency first responders puts them on the front lines of patient care.

While we have not yet seen the lawsuit, the city remains committed to protecting the health of our residents and visitors during this ongoing pandemic, a Beverly Hills spokesman said.

A representative for the county couldnt be reached for comment.

In August, Muntu Davis, the countys health officer, issued an order requiring that all health care workers in Los Angeles County get a COVID-19 vaccine, including firefighters. The suit alleges Daviss actions were arbitrary and capricious because he failed to consider evidence of the coronavirus shots effectiveness and necessity as well as the costs of the mandate, including short- and long-term side effects that have allegedly been linked to them.

These actions are blatantly unlawful, the suit alleges. Muntu Davis does not have the authority to order thousands of workers to get a medical treatment. The city does not have that power either.

While some employers have recognized requests for religious and medical exemptions, the city of Beverly Hills wants universal vaccination, according to the suit.

It subjected firefighters who requested a religious exemption, like Mr. Sattley and Mr. Berardinelli, to cross-examination designed to undermine their credibility and to pressure them, under threat of prosecution, to give up their religious freedom and get the shot, the suit states.

Sattley objected to the vaccine mandate and has been on unpaid leave for months, the suit states. Berardinelli received a religious exemption, but has been under constant review by the city and subjected to retaliation, the suit alleges.

While extending his religious exemption earlier this fall, the city assigned Berardinelli, who recovered from a COVID-19 infection and believes he has natural immunity, to a different job that receives far fewer calls, according to the suit.

Questioning the sincerity of ones religious beliefs to deny a request for an exemption to the mandate constitutes religious discrimination and violates federal and state civil rights laws, the suit states. It also violates the mandate itself.

Moreover, the city and county should not be in the business of cross-examining people about their religious beliefs, the suit states.
A group of union workers from Kellogg's picket outside the cereal-maker's headquarters as they remain on strike in Battle Creek, Mich., on Oct. 21, 2021. (Emily Elconin/Reuters)

Biden Deeply Troubled by Kelloggs Plans to Replace Striking Workers

President Joe Biden expressed concern about reports that the Kellogg Company is planning to permanently replace striking workers after the cereal manufacturer announced its intent to do so after union staff rejected a tentative agreement that would have ended the months-long job action.

I am deeply troubled by reports of Kelloggs plans to permanently replace striking workers, Biden said in a Dec. 10 statement. Permanently replacing striking workers is an existential attack on the union and its members jobs and livelihoods.

Collective bargaining is an essential tool to protect the rights of workers that should be free from threats and intimidation from employers.

Bidens criticism was prompted by Kelloggs plans to replace roughly 1,400 striking workers after the company and the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers International Union failed to reach a new contract agreement.

We have made every effort to reach a fair agreement, including making six offers to the union throughout negotiations, all of which have included wage and benefits increases for every employee. It appears the union created unrealistic expectations for our employees, Chris Hood, president of Kellogg North America, said in a statement.

The prolonged work stoppage has left us no choice but to hire permanent replacement employees in positions vacated by striking workers. These are great jobs and posting for permanent positions helps us find qualified people to fill them. While certainly not the result we had hoped for, we must take the necessary steps to ensure business continuity. We have an obligation to our customers and consumers to continue to provide the cereals that they know and love.

Joining Biden in taking aim at Kellogg was Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who posted a video on Twitter on Dec. 12 of striking workers voicing their concerns and Sanders addressing a crowd, calling Kellogg just another major American corporation trying to destroy the lives of working Americans, while claiming in a caption that the companys move to replace striking workers was motivated by greed.

The strike started because of disputes over pay, benefits, and the prospect of more jobs being moved to Mexico. Kellogg workers at four plants in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Nebraska walked off the job on Oct. 5.

The union stated that workers overwhelmingly voted to reject the tentative agreement and that the strike would continue. Just days earlier, Kellogg said a tentative deal had been reached, but that workers would have to vote to approve it.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
President Joe Biden speaks in the White House in Washington on Dec. 13, 2021. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Biden to Travel to Kentucky to Survey Storm Damage

President Joe Biden is planning to travel to Kentucky Wednesday to assess storm damage in Ft. Campbell, Mayfield, and Dawson Springs.

The trip comes in the wake of devastating tornadoes that ripped through the South and parts of the Midwest Friday leaving fatalities across five different U.S. states.

At least 64 people were killed in Kentucky alone, and there were at least another 14 deaths in Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri.

The storm hit a candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, with more than 100 employees still inside the building at the time the tornado struck.

Across the state, more than 26,000 homes and businesses were without electricity, according to poweroutage.us. More than 10,000 homes and businesses have no water, and another 17,000 are under boil-water advisories, Kentucky Emergency Management Director Michael Dossett told reporters.

But I want to emphasize what I told all the governors: The federal government will do everythingeverything it can possibly do to help, said Biden.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Monday Biden will go to Kentucky to get an update of work being done on the ground and assess what is needed from the federal government.

The president is not expected to make a speech and told reporters he will not use the storm to push for his legislative agenda.

No Im not looking to make that argument, Biden says when asked how much climate change played a role and whether thats an argument hell make to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on the need to pass the presidents Build Back Better spending plan.

We cant say it was with absolute certainty that the tornadoes were because of climate change, but it certainly is one of the worst disasters.

Over the weekend, Biden approved Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshears request for an emergency disaster declaration, making federal funding available for the state.

Beshear also announced the deployment of about 180 guardsmen, including search and extraction.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has also deployed urban search and rescue teams and mobile communication operation vehicles to assist with response.

The federal agency has also distributed dozens of generators, 30,000 meals, 90,000 bottles of water, 45,00 blankets, and 2,100 cots to the people of Kentucky.

Disaster survivors can seek assistance at ww.disasterassistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The logo for Facebook appears on screens at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square, N.Y., on March 29, 2018. (Richard Drew/AP Photo)

Big Oops: Facebook Lawyers Reveal Why Company Must Be Broken Up

Commentary

More than any principle, freedom of speech is what makes America, America. Other defining characteristics existmany extremely important as wellbut once we have lost the ability to express our opinions openly, we are no longer the semblance of a democratic republic. Other principles are automatically undermined.

For some time now, this freedom has been under assault, via the cancel culture and other forms of suppression, including, lately, business censorship, most often in the name of supposed misinformation.

Fact-checkers abound to keep us on the straight and narrow of their version of truth. The Washington Postthe newspaper, we now know and even they finally admit, lied about TrumpRussia collusion on its front page for nearly two yearsembarrassingly features one of these fact-checkers, doling out Pinocchios to one and all.

Worse yet are the social media companies. Facebook and Twitter (of Hunter Biden fame) have hundreds, maybe thousands of such censors, commonly recent graduates of our increasingly biased educational system, operating under various euphemisms and cut-outs, making sure everything is according to their Hoyle.

Facebook has chosenin search, one supposes, of plausible deniabilityto outsource its fact-checking.

Fighting misinformation is an ever-evolving problem, and Facebook cant do it alone. We rely on independent fact-checkers to review and rate the accuracy of stories through original reporting, which may include interviewing primary sources, consulting public data and conducting analyses of media, including photos and video.

The company they have chosen for this work is IFCN-certified. In case you missed it, thats the International Fact-Checking Network, which was launched [by Poynter] in 2015 to bring together the growing community of fact-checkers around the world and advocates of factual information in the global fight against misinformation.

Ah, those advocates of factual informationthey always know better.

Or do they?

Enter John Stossel.

The well-known journalist had posted a video on Facebook that, in his words, reported facts suggesting that government mismanagement probably played a bigger role in causing Californias wildfires than climate change.

Working through a fact-checker, a group called Climate Feedback got the video branded as false and misleading for Facebooks nearly 1.7 billion users.

Stossel felt he was being defamed. His claim was arguable. Many thought it was accurate. He tried to get the company to walk their branding back, but, receiving no response, ultimately sued.

The results of the suit, so far, are surprising to say the least.

Anthony Watts, who founded the worlds most popular website on climate, Watts Up With That, puts this surprising turn succinctly:

In its response to Stossels defamation claim, Facebook responds on Page 2, Line 8 in the court document that Facebook cannot be sued for defamation (which is making a false and harmful assertion) because its fact-checks are mere statements of opinion rather than factual assertions.

Opinions are not subject to defamation claims, while false assertions of fact can be subject to defamation. The quote in Facebooks complaint is,

The labels themselves are neither false nor defamatory; to the contrary, they constitute protected opinion.

So there you have it. The cats out of the proverbial bag. According to Facebooks own lawyers, fact-checking isnt fact-checking. Its opinion.

But didnt we always know that? Isnt Mark Zuckerbergwell, lets be honesta big, fat liar when he hides behind pompous pronouncements on his companys devotion to factual accuracy, whether homegrown or outsourced?

What he is pushing is his own party line, like most of us, but he is pushing it on an audience of approximately five times the number of people who reside in the United States of America.

The misinformation claim is being used for propagandistic purposes on a level never seen before with terrifying consequences, both real and potential. (Think COVID.)

Attempts have been made in Congress to rein this in by toughening Section 230, a legalism that defines the degree to which companies such as Facebook (now Meta) and Google (now Alphabet) are liable.

Though well-meaning, this is misconceived and, at most, a temporary patch for a problem that is much larger, especially now that Facebook is telling us their censorship is merely the assertion of protected opinion. If true, they can censor virtually anything they wish.

At the time antitrust legislation was written, no one, with the possible exception of H.G. Wells, could have conceived of the reach of these companies. At this point, they are virtually uncontrollable.

But this very assertion that their fact-checking is actually opinion provides a possible entry point. As in the case of Stossel, these companies are intruding on, indeed actually erasing, the constitutionally protected right of free speech.

Yes, they are private companies, but should they be under these completely unforeseen circumstances with their ability to cross national borders easily, sometimes undetected, and even go into space?

Recently, it was revealed their cousin Apple made a secret deal with China to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars and who knows what intellectual property. The latter could have tremendous national security implications. No one stopped the Cupertino, California-based company or, as far as we know, even tried.

Ultimately, the way to really prevent these American techno giants from running amuck and dominating our lives to extraordinary degrees is to break them up or turn them into public utilities open to all to express themselves. The only exceptions to this openness would be criminal behavior or pornography.

Beyond correcting the fascistic tendencies of their censorship, making social media public utilities might also help undo or ameliorate the extraordinary amounts of harm these companies have already done to our children by addicting them.

Unfortunately, it is unlikely something like this can be easily effectuated because these companies are, with Big Pharma, the biggest political donors extant. But in the end, the people have the power to get this done. It is, as always, up to us.

Meanwhile, Stossels lawsuit is worth watching.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
California and Abortion Returning to the States

Commentary

The most contentious issue by far in America the past five decades has been abortion. Thats because the U.S. Supreme Court, in its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, not only made it a new right, but took almost all powers to regulate it away from the states. That produced subsequent decisions, contradictory and complicated, further nationalizing the issue.

It was the late liberal court icon Ruth Bader Ginsberg who explained the problem before she joined the court in 1993. In a 1992 speech, she said, Suppose the Court had stopped there, rightly declaring unconstitutional the most extreme brand of law in the nation, and had not gone on, as the Court did in Roe, to fashion a regime blanketing the subject, a set of rules that displaced virtually every state law then in force. Would there have been the 20-year [now almost 50-year] controversy we have witnessed? A less encompassing Roe  might have served to reduce rather than to fuel controversy.

The fact is the United States was designed to operate as a federal system, with the 50 states each operating under local democratic control. There was no Soviet-style centralized regime imposed from above.

The Supreme Court currently is considering a case that might return abortion to the states, following RBGs advice to reduce rather than to fuel controversy. From Mississippi, it is Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, No. 19-1392.

Legally in California, there would be no change, because in 2002 the legislature passed Senate Bill 1301, which effectively codified Roe as state law, regardless of what happened at the federal level.

I remember the discussion at the time, and it was anticipated President Bush would appoint enough conservative justices to the court that it would overturn Roe. Hence AB 1301. He did appoint Justice Samuel Alito, who is pro-life, and Chief Justice John Roberts, who seems to be on the fence. But then President Obama appointed two pro-choice justices, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, and the issue was not taken up.

President Trump changed the situation by appointing three likely pro-life justices: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. But one always must be careful in predicting court actions, which can turn in unexpected directions, as Roe itself did.

Several articles in recent days reported on how California would respond, including in the New York Times, AP, and the San Francisco Chronicle. The latter wrote, The newly created California Future of Abortion Councila group of 40 organizations including Planned Parenthood, Black Women for Wellness Action Project and the ACLUreleased a list of 45 recommendations to prepare for a seismic shift in abortion access, from a package of potential new legislation to funding for out-of-state people traveling west for help to a call to train more health providers to perform the procedure.

Given how easy it is to cross state lines in modern America, the number of abortions in the country, currently around 1 million a year, might not change much. But there will be further consequences, especially for California.

First, the decision if it happens would further advance the ongoing return to federalism we see in such things as dealing with COVID-19, education policy, and the minimum wage. America is a very diverse country of 330 million people, and expecting every state to behave exactly the same way always was an impossible goal.

Second, if the highly contentious abortion issue does go back to the states, then future battles over abortion also will return to the states. Currently, most states simply go along with Roe, except in cases originating in more conservative states such as Mississippi and Texas. But if the states again have wide leeway, then abortion could become a divisive issue again even in California.

The divide might be along lines people may not realize. In California, Latino residents, now the largest ethnic group at 39 percent in the 2020 Census, generally are more conservative than white and Asian residents on social issues, despite a majority still voting Democratic. Its a similar situation with black residents, now 6 percent of the population. In the 2008 initiative banning same-sex marriage (since overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court), white and Asian residents were opposed, but a majority of black and Latino residents put it over the top.

Will Latino and black pro-lifers push the Democratic Party in a different direction, or maybe join Republicans? How will the Democratic leadership respond?

There are already indications Latino and black residents are moving, albeit slightly, in the Republican direction due to the far-left march of the Democrats. Will that continue if Roe is gone?

Republicans, too, could be affected. In California, in recent years the issue has gone into the background. Governors Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger were pro-choice, as were candidates Meg Whitman and Neil Kashkari. But John Cox and Larry Elder are pro-life, and both could be running again for the spot next year. For the first time in decades, being pro-life could be a litmus-test issue for the CA GOP.

Third, we should expect ballot initiatives regulating abortion to be put up every election cycle. If justices on the California Supreme Court overturn such initiatives, they could expect recall efforts against them.

If the court finally gets rid of Roe because of the defects RGB detected, California politics will get a lot more interesting.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
An empty classroom is seen at Hollywood High School in Hollywood, Calif., on Aug. 13, 2020. (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)

California Schools Phase out D and F Grades for High School Students

As high school students transition out of distance learning imposed by pandemic restrictions, several California districts are dropping the use of D and F grades in an attempt to reengage students in school and boost entry into the states public colleges.

Los Angeles Unified, Oakland Unified, Sacramento City Unified, and San Diego Unified are among the districts phasing out D and F grades for high school students.

If students fail a test or dont finish their homework, they will be given another chance to retake the test or receive an extension on submitting assignments.

Our hope is that students begin to see school as a place of learning, where they can take risks and learn from mistakes, instead of a place of compliance, stated Nidya Baez, assistant principal at Fremont High in Oakland Unified, according to statements obtained by Bay City News.

Right now, we have a system where we give a million points for a million pieces of paper that students turn in, without much attention to what theyre actually learning, Baez said.

According to Bay City News, if students do not pass the final exam or finish homework by the end of the semester, they would earn an incomplete. The news outlet reported that the aim is to encourage the learning of course material without compromising students ability to enter the University of California and California State University should students receive a poor grade.

Advocates of such competency-based learning suggest that assessment should be based on what students have learned instead of how they perform in tests.

The announcement of grading changes come after some public schools in California gave students the option of changing their letter-based grades to pass/fail grades.

Sam Davis, board director of Oakland Unified School District, told ABC News that the D grade should be dropped but students should still be given the appropriate grade if they fail.

D grades are not valid for college eligibility at UC and Cal State but obviously if students dont master the material, they shouldnt be getting credit for the class, then they would be getting an F, Davis told ABC in a Dec. 9 interview.

According to reports obtained from educators, ABC pointed out that many students sitting at a D only work enough to avoid getting an F grade.

In an interview with ABC, Alix Gallagher, director of strategic partnerships and policy analysis for California Education, emphasized the importance of rapid specific feedback to help students improve.

Gallagher told Bay City News that grades vary from teacher to teacher, and that instruction, rather than grading, is what leads to learning.

In the same report from Bay City News, math and science teacher Debora Rinehart said that not reporting Ds and Fs is the equivalent of lying about a students progress.

I will work with any student before or after school or even on the weekend to help them learn. However, I will never lie about their knowledge level, Rinehart stated.
A pumpjack works at a wellhead on an oil and gas installation near Cremona, Alta., in a file photo. (The Canadian Press/Jeff McIntosh)

Canada Falls Short in Top 10 Ranking of Most Attractive Regions for Oil Investment in North America

Investors point to uncertainty related to Canada's environmental regulations as deterrant

No Canadian province made it into the top 10 most attractive jurisdictions in North America for oil and gas investment, according to a recent survey, while Texas and Oklahoma take the top spots.

The Canada-US Energy Sector Competitiveness Survey 2021, which polled senior executives from the petroleum sector, found that U.S. states are much more appealing to oil and gas investors compared to Canadian provinces and territories.

The message from investors is clearCanadas onerous and uncertain regulatory environment continues to hurt the investment attractiveness of the countrys oil and gas industry, Elmira Aliakbari, director of the Fraser Institutes centre for natural resource studies and co-author of the survey, said in a press release.

The annual survey, conducted between May and August, ranks 22 jurisdictions in North Americafive Canadian provinces and territories and 17 U.S. statesbased on how government policies affect the sentiment for oil and gas investment.

Texas and Oklahoma ranked 1st and 2nd respectively, while Alberta took the 12th spot. Saskatchewan, in the 11th position, is Canadas highest-ranked province.

According to survey respondents, regulatory factors continue to impede Canadas energy competitiveness.

The barriers are high tax rates, uncertainty over environmental regulations, costly regulatory obligations, and the interpretation and administration of regulations governing the upstream petroleum industry as well as concerns over political stability and security of personnel and equipment, the survey said.

Compared to Texas and Oklahoma, in which 13 percent and 20 percent of respective respondents indicated uncertainty in environmental regulations as a deterrence to investment, the proportion for Alberta was 65 percentmore than three times that of both Texas and Oklahoma.

A further comparison between Alberta and Texas indicated that 71 percent of respondents identified regulatory duplication and inconsistencies as another key deterrent to investment in the provinces oil and gas sector, compared to only 10 percent for the U.S. state.

On average, the authors found that 76 percent of respondents were deterred by environmental regulations in Canada, compared to 49 percent for the United States. Additionally, 72 percent of the respondents for Canada believed that regulatory duplication and inconsistencies deter investment, compared to 45 percent for the United States.

The cost of regulatory compliance was also a major turn-off, with 56 percent of respondents identifying the cost of regulatory compliance as a deterrent to investment in Alberta compared to only 9 percent for Texas.

Overall, 70 percent of respondents for Canadas provinces indicated the cost of regulatory compliance as a deterrent, compared to 43 percent for the 17 U.S. states.

The rankings of other provinces and territories include Newfoundland and Labrador (16th), British Columbia (18th), and the Northwest Territories (20th).

Overall, our analysis of the 2021 survey results indicates that negative sentiment of the industrys senior executives regarding key factors driving petroleum investment decisions continue to be higher in many Canadian provinces than in competing American jurisdictions, the survey reads.

Jairo Yunis, a policy analyst at the Fraser Institute and co-author of the survey, says the results of the survey indicate trends that the Canadian government cannot overlook.

Policies matter, and when investors are clearly indicating they would rather invest in American states instead of Canadian jurisdictions, policymakers should take note, he said.
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) headquarters Connaught Building is pictured in Ottawa on Aug. 17, 2020. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Canada Revenue Agency Offline as a Precaution Due to Global Security Vulnerability

The Canada Revenue Agency says it has taken its online services offline after it learned of a possible security threat.

The agency says on its website that it became aware of a security vulnerability affecting organizations around the world and decided to take services offline as a precaution.

It says there is no indication the agencys systems have been compromised, or that there was any unauthorized access to taxpayer information.

Further details about the nature of the security vulnerability werent provided, but on Friday, it was reported that a flaw was uncovered in a utility thats ubiquitous in cloud servers and enterprise software used across industry and government.

Cybersecurity firms said companies and governments were scrambling to patch their systems, with some calling it the worst computer vulnerability in years.

The CRA says it is working to secure its systems and apologizes for the inconvenience.

We understand that this interruption may be inconvenient to some Canadians. Our services will be available as soon as possible, the agency said on its website Saturday.

Meanwhile, southern Ontario transit agency Metrolinx said the GO Transit website had been brought back online Saturday after a 17-hour outage in response to a cyber threat.

The Crown transit agency said it took the site down on Friday after it was informed by the federal government about the global cyber vulnerability.

With files from The Associated Press
Signage reflecting a product shortage is displayed at the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. in Halifax, Dec. 10, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Andrew Vaughan)

Champagne Problems: Alcohol Authorities in Canada Warn of Holiday Liquor Shortages

Canada is facing alcohol shortages ahead of the holidays due to supply chain issues, a situation prompting some provincial liquor authorities to urge customers to shop earlyor be prepared to try a new libation.

Supply chain experts say the inventory crunch stems from issues with production, transportation and demand.

Yet with much of the backlog impacting imported booze, Canadian wineries, distilleries and breweries are encouraging people to buy local.

Our larders are full, said Carolyn Hurst, chair of the Ontario Craft Wineries and co-owner of Westcott Vineyards. Every winery in Ontario has lots of product and were shipping every day. We have no problem getting our product to store shelves.

Its a different story for imported alcohol.

While some types of booze are fully stocked, others varieties are running low or out of stock altogether.

Part of the problem is production. Adverse weather events like fires and droughts have impacted crops in some wine-producing regions.

Labour shortages have also curtailed production of alcohol, especially varieties that are more reliant on manual work.

Production has also been hamstrung by shortages of packaging materials like bottles, screw caps and cans.

Evolving consumer demand, the availability of raw materials such as glass and aluminum and challenging growing conditions in some areas of the world such as France and New Zealand have impacted some vendors production schedules, Nick Nanos, chief supply chain officer for the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, said in a recent statement.

We encourage customers to shop early this year for the best selection of gifts and holiday favourites, be flexible about choice, and take the opportunity to try something new.

Meanwhile, transportation problems are also impacting booze availability.

A global container shortage, congestion in ports and blank sailingswhen a cargo vessel skips or cancels a port of callhave all contributed to inventory backlogs.

Supply dropped off because of production issues and then there was a huge scarcity of transportation infrastructure, said Saibal Ray, a supply chain management expert and professor in the Bensadoun School of Retail Management at McGill University.

Wine shipments are even more problematic because they require temperature-controlled containers.

Even once imported liquor arrives in Canada, flooding in British Columbia has curbed road shipping along major trade routes, with Australian and New Zealand wines particularly impacted.

Meanwhile, a pandemic-fuelled rise in demand has only worsened the industrys transportation and production challenges.

Research published last month in the medical journal JAMA Network Open said sales of alcohol soared during the pandemic.

The study found alcohol sales in Canada surpassed pre-pandemic estimates over a 16-month period of the pandemic by 5.5 per cent or $1.86 billion.

One example of an unexpected rise in demand was champagne sales in New Brunswick.

The province recorded an unexpected boom in champagne and sparkling wine sales during the latter half of the pandemic, New Brunswick Liquor Corp. spokeswoman Marie-Andree Bolduc said.

This unprecedented increase in demand has unfortunately left us in a situation where we will likely be out of some of our most popular champagnes in the lead up to Christmas, she said in an email.

French brands Veuve Clicquot and Moet & Chandon will be hard to come by in the province, Bolduc said.

The increase in pandemic-era alcohol sales coupled with the usual holiday bump in sales could leave store shelves bereft of some products.

In Nova Scotia, liquor store shelves are already running low on champagnes, scotches, U.S.-produced whisky and some wines from New Zealand, Chile and Argentina.

We do have  signs on shelves where we are experiencing shortages that tell customers that the product is temporarily out of stock due to supply shortages, said Beverley Ware, a spokeswoman for the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. We recommend alternatives that they can purchase.

While some products arent available at all, she said in other cases it may be as simple as recommending a different package sizea can as opposed to a bottle or a 12-pack rather than a six-pack.

Saskatchewan is also experiencing alcohol supply chain issues, but continues to have a high availability rate of 96 per cent for the top 500 products sold in the province, said David Morris, a spokesman with the Saskatchewan Liquor & Gaming Authority.

The main impact has been on products imported through the ports in Vancouver, he said in an email, noting that wine from Australia, New Zealand and South American countries have been most affected.

Although there are some products currently impacted, customers shopping in both private and public retail stores across the province will continue to have access to a wide variety of beverage alcohol products throughout the busy holiday season.

By Brett Bundale
Actor Jussie Smollett after his court appearance at Leighton Courthouse in Chicago on March 26, 2019. (Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)

Chicago to Still Go After Jussie Smollett for $130,000 in Police Costs: City

The city of Chicago confirmed it will continue to pursue a lawsuit against actor Jussie Smollett, who was convicted last week on multiple felony charges stemming from a hate crime hoax in early 2019, in a bid to collect more than $100,000 in costs that were incurred by the citys police department.

A jury found Smollett, who appeared in Empire, guilty on five of six charges during his trial on Dec. 9.

After the guilty verdict was handed down, the city of Chicago confirmed to news outlets on Dec. 10 that it would seek to recoup its losses.

The City filed a civil lawsuit against Jussie Smollett to recover costs incurred by the Chicago Police Department investigating what the City believed to be Smolletts false police reports that he was a victim of a hate crime, the citys statement, dated Dec. 11, reads.

While using a different standard of proof, the jurys finding of guilt convicting Jussie Smollett of criminal charges stemming from the incident confirms that the City was correct in bringing its civil lawsuit.

The City intends to continue to pursue its lawsuit to hold Smollett accountable for his unlawful actions and to demand that he compensate the City for costs incurred by the Chicago Police Department which took his false claims of harm seriously.

Chicago officials didnt respond to a request by The Epoch Times for additional comment by press time.

In 2019, the city of Chicago filed a civil action against Smollett, 39, after he refused to reimburse the department for about $130,000 after its two-week investigation into the hoax. Smollett has long said the incident wasnt fabricated and pleaded not guilty at trial, although two Nigerian brothers who said they took part in the hoax said in court earlier this month that Smollett was the mastermind.

Smollett was found guilty of five Class 4 felonies for telling police officers and detectives a series of lies from the hoax that he attempted to blame on supporters of former President Donald Trump. In Illinois, a Class 4 felony carries a maximum prison term of 3 years.

A lawyer for Smollett, Nenye Uche, said the former actor is planning an appeal.

We feel 100 percent confident that this case will be won on appeal, Uche told reporters last week. Unfortunately, thats not the route we wanted, but sometimes thats the route you have to take to win, especially a case where we remain 100 percent confident in our clients innocence.

Abimbola Abel Osundairo and Olabinjo Ola Osundairo, the two Nigerian brothers, filed lawsuits against Smollett in 2019 and accused him of defamation.
A laboratory test at the Transgene biotech firm, which is working to develop a neoantigen cancer vaccine, in Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France, on Nov. 17, 2021. (Patrick Hertzog/AFP via Getty Images)

Chinese Couple Arrested Over Scheme to Smuggle US Cancer Vaccine Data to China

A Chinese scientist in California had been secretly passing confidential mRNA cancer vaccine research to her husband to benefit his lab in China, a federal agent is alleging in a recently filed criminal complaint.

For about five years, Chen Lianchun, who resides in San Diego, had been sending documents from her employer that were marked confidential to her husband Wu Chenyan, who ran a biotech laboratory in China, according to the complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California on Dec. 8.

Chens work as a bench scientist performing early-stage mRNA cancer research would be extremely useful in leapfrogging Wus project of developing a generic mRNA vaccine, a representative from Chens employer told the FBI, according to court documents. The employer wasnt identified in the filing.

Wu drew the FBIs attention as early as December 2019, when his name appeared on a PowerPoint presentation on the phone of a Chinese defendant who had been convicted of violating U.S. export controls. The Chinese-language presentation, with Wu the presenter, gave a summary of the mRNA research progress of his lab, TheraMab, along with his investment plans.

In May, Wu was stopped by customs at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport during a transfer flight from China.

An inspection found in his suitcase up to 1,000 tubes of unlabeled, undeclared, and improperly packaged biological and chemical materialsitems that Wu said were part of his lab equipment for setting up a new lab in San Diego, after shutting down his decade-old lab in China late in 2020, according to the court document.

He told the FBI in June that he didnt declare the items because he did not consider the chemicals to be dangerous to him, because he uses them all the time, the filing states.

The couple had both been with the unnamed company for more than a decade. Chen was employed at the firm from 2011 through September, and Wu was an employee at the companys U.K. branch from 1999 through 2010.

Questioned by FBI agents in April, Chen claimed that she wasnt involved in drafting the 2019 TheraMab presentation and denied any knowledge of mRNA technology, according to the court document. She insisted that she hadnt passed any proprietary information to Wu, saying that she only worked on the early stage of the mRNA project at her company, which didnt involve research or program trials.

Despite the couple both vouching for Chens lack of affiliation with TheraMab, the two had been exchanging emails attaching Word documents and PowerPoint presentations containing DNA sequence data, virus testing results, and weekly progress of Chens work, according to the filing.

In November 2013, Wu emailed Chen with a text that states, I need new vector sequences and sequence to be cloned, to which Chen replied with a file with the DNA sequence data consistent with the research that Chen had been working on for Company A at the time, the court document states.

The FBI logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington on July 5, 2016. (Yuri Gripas/AFP/Getty Images)

In May 2018, Wu forwarded an email from Chen from his Hotmail account to his TheraMab email account that contained a PowerPoint presentation, PCR Results with second extracted DNA, with the label of Chens employer firm and a confidential marking, according to the filing. The email also contained a word document detailing what work Chen had conducted and planned to do in the previous and following week.

Wu received two similar emails from Chen in the succeeding weeks. The company is investigating whether those files qualify as trade secrets, the court document states.

The FBI agent also highlighted social media communications that further confirmed Chens involvement in the lab.

In 2019, an unknown person sent Chen a voice message on Chinese social media WeChat, congratulating the couple on developing a new medicine. Chen followed up by asking for funding, according to the filing.

My husband is looking for investors. He has designed a medicine that uses RNA method to treat cancer, she wrote in a reply. Animal test result is pretty good. More money is needed to move forward. Contact me if you want to know more.

Chen faces one count of felony charges for making false statements, while Wu has been accused of smuggling hazardous materials to the United States.

Protecting U.S. tech and pharmaceutical fields from theft of trade secrets to benefit China has been a growing concern for the United States.

In April, a hospital researcher was sentenced to 33 months in prison for stealing at least five trade secrets from the Nationwide Childrens Hospitals Research Institute in Columbus, Ohio. His wife, also a lab researcher at the institute, was sentenced to 30 months in prison in February for her role as a co-conspirator.

This past July, two Chinese hackers were indicted for stealing sensitive information worth millions of dollars. The intrusions had targeted vulnerabilities in biotech companies known for COVID-19 related research, according to prosecutors.
Robert Destro, former assistant secretary for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, in Washington on Dec. 8, 2021. (York Du/The Epoch Times)

The Chinese Regime Is Committing At Least 3 Genocides: Former Senior State Department Official

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is committing at least three genocides, which are aimed at eradicating Falun Gong adherents, Uyghurs, and Tibetans, according to a former senior State Department official.

The people youre dealing with in China are human traffickers.  Theyre committing genocide against their own people, Robert Destro, former assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights, and labor, told EpochTVs American Thoughts Leaders program on Dec. 8. Genocide is more than killing  its the systematic destruction of a community.

Falun Gong

Destro said that while the Falun Gong spiritual group isnt an ethnic community, the CCP has targeted its adherents with systematic attempts to wipe them out, to disperse them, to force them underground, which is considered to be genocide.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline involving meditative exercises and moral teaching based on three core principles: truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. Practitioners have been brutally persecuted by Chinas communist regime since 1999.

Falun Gong meditation was considered to be something that brought people closer to authentic Chinese culture, according to Destro. But in 1996 or 1997, the Chinese Ministry of State Security realized that the number of Falun Gong practitioners in China likely surpassed Party membership numbers, which prompted the persecution. According to estimates at the time, the practice had about 70 million to 100 million adherents in China by the end of the 1990s.

In a totalitarian society like that, you cant have a rival organization with a rival view of what China stands for  [its an] existential threat, he said.

Destro, now a law professor at The Catholic University of America, said theres no question that Falun Gong meets the definition of a religious community under U.S. law and that if adherents were persecuted in the United States such as they are in China, everybody would be up in arms.

The CCPs systemic campaign of repression against Falun Gong practitioners has been labeled a cold genocide by experts because of the regimes gradual and persistent efforts to annihilate the faith group over the past two decades. This term is used in contradistinction to a hot genocide, which aims to eliminate a group in a short period.

In 2006, allegations emerged of the CCP killing Falun Gong practitioners to sell their organs for transplant. Since then, numerous investigations have confirmed grisly details of this atrocity.

Destro said organ harvesting is a form of human trafficking and of organized crime. But if its done with the purpose of eradicating a certain community, then it becomes genocide.

The China Tribunalan independent peoples tribunal chaired by Sir Geoffrey Niceconcluded in 2019 (pdf) that the Chinese regime has been committing forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience for years and on a substantial scale. The report stated that it was certain that the organs are being sourced from imprisoned Falun Gong adherents and that theyre probably the principal source.

Uyghurs

The human rights violations suffered by Uyghurs in Xinjiang, China, range from snatching people off the street and then putting them in a camp, and then making them work, to snatching them off the street, putting them in a camp, and harvesting their organs, Destro said.

On Dec. 9, an independent peoples tribunal, known as the Uyghur Tribunal, ruled that the Chinese regime has committed genocide against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the far-west Xinjiang region.

The Uyghur Tribunal found that the CCP has implemented a deliberate, systematic, and concerted policy to lower the Uyghur population in the region through an array of repressive acts, including mass internment, family separation, sterilizations, and forced labor.

Its just mind-boggling when you look at the scope and depth of the human rights depravity that weve got going on there, Destro said of the CCPs campaign in Xinjiang.

According to Destro, Uyghurs will have a fate similar to Tibetans, whose culture has been consistently targeted by the Chinese regime for elimination. This is part of the definition of genocide, he said.

Tibetans

In 1950, the CCP took over Tibethistorically home to the Tibetan ethnic group with unique Buddhist traditionsand has since initiated a campaign to strip the region and its peoples of its unique cultural and religious heritage.

In an effort to eliminate Tibetan culture, the CCP has used population control, prohibited teaching children the Tibetan language, and attempted to take control of the training of Buddhist monks, as well as the succession and reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, according to Destro.

He said that the Western press hasnt covered Tibetan human rights violations in a continuous manner, which is the reason why people often dont hear about the issue.

Destro said when dealing with China, the Western world shouldnt consider business separated from human rights, and nations should avoid buying products made with forced labor.

American law currently forbids the importation of anything thats made with slave labor, he said. Are we going to enforce that rule or not? If were not going to enforce it, then dont tell me about diplomatic pressure on China. Its complete window dressing at that point.
President Joe Biden speaks in the White House, in Washington, on Dec. 13, 2021. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Court Rebuffs Biden Administrations Bid to Lift Block Against CMS COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

A federal appeals court on Monday turned down an attempt by President Joe Bidens administration to lift a preliminary injunction against its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers.

The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected the bid, which had been made in a motion by Department of Justice lawyers.

The ruling was unsigned and did not contain an explanation for the rejection.

U.S. Circuit Judge Jane Kelly, an Obama nominee, said she would have granted the motion.

The mandate in question was issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in November. It required every facility that receives Medicare or Medicaid funding to force workers to get a vaccine by Jan. 4, 2022, affecting some 17 million workers.

But the rule was blocked by a preliminary injunction from U.S. District Judges Matthew Schelp that was later expanded by another Trump nominated judge. The judges said CMS likely lacks the authority to promulgate a vaccination rule.

The Biden administration on Nov. 30 asked the appeals court to block the injunction, claiming district courts lack jurisdiction to enjoin enforcement of a condition on Medicare funding.

The preliminary injunction rests on a series of errors and should be immediately stayed pending appeal, the motion stated. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra has explicit statutory authority to require facilities voluntarily participating in Medicare and Medicaid to meet health and safety standards for the protection of patients, it added.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Nebraska Attorney General Douglas Peterson disagreed, telling the court in a response that the government did not successfully show it would successfully succeed in the case and that it would be irreparably injured absent a stay.

Preventing defendants from enforcing CMSs unlawful mandate pending appeal will inflict no cognizable injurylet alone irreparable harmon them, they wrote in the filing.

The court sided with the states, which also include Alaska, Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, and New Hampshire.

The court made the right decision, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, said in a statement. This mandate would have only worsened the workforce shortage in our healthcare system, leaving Iowans without the care they need. President Biden should rescind this unlawful rule and respect the personal liberties and freedoms of our healthcare workers.

CMS has suspended enforcement of the mandate following the injunctions.

The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new ruling, though it has said it remains confident it will ultimately prevail in court.

Two other Biden administration mandates have also been blocked for now by courtsone that was aimed at every business with 100 or more workers, and another designated for every federal contractor.
In this file photo, a cruise ship sits anchored in the Port of Long beach, Calif., on Oct. 27, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Cruise Ship Returns to Long Beach as Crews Call Off Search for Missing Woman

SAN DIEGOAfter more than 31 hours of searching for a woman who went overboard on a Carnival cruise ship near Ensenada, Mexico, the U.S. Coast Guard said Dec. 12 it was standing down pending additional information.

The passenger, who was in her 20s, was reported overboard from the balcony of her stateroom aboard the Carnival Miracle at about 3:30 a.m. Saturday, according to Coast Guard Petty Officer Adam Stanton.

The Coast Guard conducted first light searches Sunday morning with negative results, authorities tweeted at 10:36 a.m. Coast Guard assets were moving back to U.S. waters.

The Carnival cruise ship returned to Long Beach on Sunday morning.

We advised Carnival Miracle guests this morning of an overboard incident involving one of our guests from the balcony of her stateroom, Carnival said in a statement Saturday.

After assisting the U.S Coast Guard with a search, the ship has been released and is proceeding to Ensenada and will then return to Long Beach as scheduled on Sunday morning. Our thoughts are with the guest and her family, and our Care Team is providing support.

U.S. Coast Guard personnel from the San Diego sector joined the Mexican Navy in the search.

The Coast Guard tweeted Saturday that an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter was involved in the search over ocean waters, and later said that the USCGC Forrest Rednour is scheduled to continue the search throughout the night.

The cruise had left from Long Beach on Thursday, on a ship that can carry up to 2,100 passengers.
Daniel Morgan: Axe-Murder Victims Family Set to Sue the Met

The family of a private investigator whose murder 34 years ago remains unsolved are preparing to take legal action against the Metropolitan Police over the case.

Daniel Morgan was killed with an axe in the car park of the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham, southeast London, on March 10, 1987.

In June, an independent panel accused the Met of a form of institutional corruption for concealing or denying failings over the case.

The forces commissioner Dame Cressida Dick apologized to Morgans family, saying it was a matter of great regret that no-one has been brought to justice and that our mistakes have compounded the pain suffered by Daniels family.

The BBC on Monday reported the family had said in a statement they were saddenedif not surprised to find out they had been let down again all concerned by a lack of follow-up action.

The Morgan family added they had no choice but to file a civil claim against the Met in order to achieve some semblance of accountability, with the broadcaster reporting a letter of claim had been sent to the force.

A spokesman for the Met said: We can confirm that the Metropolitan Police Service has received a letter of claim, dated 7 December, and is currently considering its response.

Since the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel published its report six months ago, a dedicated team within the Met has been established and is progressing its response to those recommendations specific to the Met, while engaging with other lead organizations named in the report.

We remain committed to this work and expect to fully report our progress to the Home Secretary and Mayoral Office in the Spring 2022.
The advice I leave here for my future great-grandchildren is the same Id give to my children and grandchildren if they were to ask me.

First things first:

1. Make the Lord our God your No. 1. Know Him personally, accept Him, pray to Him, and worship Him. I regularly pray for all of you. When I hear the 2020 song The Blessing by Elevation Church Worship, I cry every time. The lyrics speak to my soul. If you dont know it, look it up on YouTube.

2. Be loyal to the United States of America. Specifically, show your allegiance to our flag and national anthem. Never, ever disrespect our flag or the national anthem; many people bled and died for it. Be grateful to our servicemen and women, and honor them in every way you can. If you can serve our country in the armed forces or another way, please do. Vote every time.

3. Dedicate yourself to our family. My elders and yours leave a long legacy for you. Celebrate our wonderful family members, especially your parents and grandparents, but also aunts, uncles, and cousins. Always help each other when you can. We have some great traditions, like taking a family photo every Thanksgiving Day and making old family recipes. I hope you continue those but also make some of your own for your family. Stick up for each other!

4. Make lasting friendships. Be there for them and support them, encourage them. Share yourself with those you can trust. You can be there for each other over the years.

5. Serve others in your community. Your parents can tell you about how Pop and Grandmom as well as your own parents and grandparents served through a variety of organizations. Give generously of your time and give monetarily as you are able. Choose those organizations whose causes you are passionate about. I hope you become a Rotarian!

6. Take care of yourself, emotionally, spiritually, physically, and intellectually. When all these are in balance, you will be healthy. No one else can do this for you! Encourage each other to do this.

7. Be mindful of your values. Create what you want to be. Be honest, have integrity. This will require your thoughtfulness, but its worth the effort.

8. Choose worthwhile work that fits your gifts, and do it with excellence. I am teased a bit by your parents for my pickinessthats what they call it when I do something perfectly. Make your bed every day, and do it well! Try to bring your best effort to everything you do.

9. Be careful of your money. Do your very best to avoid debtit is truly a millstone. This requires you to live within your means, so have a budget that covers your expenses, gives you a chance to save, and provides some opportunity to give. Understand the difference between getting the least cost and the greatest value.

10. Have fun!

Deborah M. Bowen, North Carolina

__________________

What advice would you like to give to the younger generations?

We call on all of our readers to share the timeless values that define right and wrong, and pass the torch, if you will, through your wisdom and hard-earned experience. We feel that the passing down of this wisdom has diminished over time, and that only with a strong moral foundation can future generations thrive.

Send your advice, along with your full name, state, and contact information to NextGeneration@epochtimes.com or mail it to: Next Generation, The Epoch Times, 229 W. 28th St., Floor 7, New York, NY 10001
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is seen at a press conference in Boulder, Colo., on March 23, 2021. (Chet Strange/Getty Images)

Democrat Governor Declares COVID-19 Emergency Over

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has declared that the COVID-19 emergency is over and at this point, its unvaccinated peoples own darn fault if they become infected with the CCP virus.

Everybody had more than enough opportunity to get vaccinated, Polis told Colorado Public Radio last week. Hopefully its been at your pharmacy, your grocery store, a bus near you, [or at] big events. At this point, if you havent been vaccinated, its really your own darn fault.

Polis, a Democrat, said he wont implement another statewide mask mandate due to the Omicron variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. Since it was discovered several weeks ago, one Omicron variant death has been confirmed thus far, occurring in the UK.

Those who get sick, its almost entirely their own darn fault, he said. I dont want to say that nobody [will get the CCP virus if they are] vaccinated, but its very rare.

The governor also said hell leave masking mandates up to individual counties and municipalities.

Just to put it in perspective, of the about 1,400 people hospitalized, less than 200 (or 16 percent) are vaccinated, Polis said. And many of them are older or have other conditions. Eighty-four percent of the people in our hospitals are unvaccinated, and they absolutely had every chance to get vaccinated.

I still encourage everybody who hasnt been vaccinated to get protected. And for those who are, make sure to get that booster after six months. The data [show] its important and very likely even more so with this Omicron variant.

The emergency is over. You dont tell people to wear a jacket when they go out in winter and force them to [wear it]. If they get frostbite, its their own darn fault.

For those who havent been vaccinated, thats your choice, he said.

I respect that, Polis said. But its your fault when youre in the hospital with COVID.

The governors comments come after new restrictions were implemented in several Denver-area counties, including one that mandates businesses to require masks indoors or to require customers to provide proof of vaccination for COVID-19.

Over the weekend, Colorado data show that the number of people hospitalized in Colorado who tested positive for the CCP virus has continued to drop. Currently, about 1,329 people are hospitalized, which is down by about 230 over the past week or so.

Meanwhile, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, issued an order that would require masks or proof of vaccination inside all businesses, which started on Dec. 13.
A man walks through the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, empty of tourists as only essential staff and journalists are allowed to work during the coronavirus pandemic March 24, 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Democrats Politicized House Discipline in 2021; GOPers May Look to 2023 to Even the Score

America has never before seen a year like 2021 in the House of Representatives, and not only because of the Jan. 6 incident.

Early in February, Republicans warned Democrats that dire consequences would follow their unprecedented decision to remove newly elected Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) from two committee assignments as punishment for statements she made in years past.

I think you are, frankly, overlooking the unprecedented nature of the acts that youve decided upon, and where that may lead us when the majority changes, said Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), senior GOP member of the House Rules Committee, of the 230199 vote in which a handful of Republicans joined all Democrats in condemning Greene.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) speaks during a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 5, 2021. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Democrats claimed Greene had encouraged political violence and spread groundless conspiracy theories about school shootings and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. The Georgia Republican had previously disavowed some of the statements and did so of others during the February controversy.

The Democrats action was unprecedented because disciplining members of the House for misconduct traditionally was typically done either by party leaders or, more recently, through an ethics committee with equal representation for both parties.

No House member had ever been removed from a committee for something he or she said on the House floor, on the campaign trail, or as a private citizen.

The Greene vote followed close on the heels of a statement by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) regarding the Jan. 6 incident that the enemy is within, which many House Republicans took to be an implicit accusation against them.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 13, 2021. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Tempers might have cooled even after the Pelosi statement and the Greene vote, but the atmosphere of tension and mistrust worsened in the following weeks and months as numerous Republicans were fined thousands of dollars for not going through metal detectors before entering the House floor.

No Democrats were similarly fined despite Republican claims that many, including Pelosi, had also ignored the metal detectors. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) and Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) subsequently filed a suit in federal court challenging Pelosis claim of authority to levy such fines against House members. The suit is pending.

Things really came to a head in November, however, when Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) was kicked off two committees and censured by Democrats for posting an anime video showing him attacking Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). Gosar denied meaning harm to any person and claimed Democrats mischaracterized the video.

Rep. Paul Gosar walks onto a subway to the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on Nov. 17, 2021. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Rules for thee but not for me. This is part of a larger pattern, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) charged during floor debate on the Gosar punishment. More recently, McCarthy said Greene and Gosar will get their committee assignments back if Republicans regain control of the House next year.

With Republicans now appearing to be headed to a potentially historic victory in the 2022 mid-term election that could restore their majorities in the House and Senate, the dire consequences Cole warned Democrats about are a real possibility in 2023.

As Ive said many times on a number of issues  if they are going to cross this bridge, then what is fair for one side is fair for the other, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) told The Epoch Times. All of that is on the table and is something that we should look to do, just based on the ridiculous things they have done to our Republicans.

Rep. Jim Jordan arrives for a Republican conference meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jun. 7, 2018. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The decision will be made by the House Republican Conference, of course, based on what the then-Speaker McCarthy will want to do, but I think he has been clear as well. He said the same things I haveif theyre going to do this stuff, then its fair game for the other side as well.

Jordan is the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee and is sometimes mentioned as a potential rival to McCarthy for the speakers gavel in 2023.

Former Virginia Attorney General and former Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli also views GOP action in 2023 as vital.

Unfortunately, the Democrats are actively using the power of the House to single out and persecute Republicans based on standards they are not applying to themselves, he said.

The most glaring example of this is leaving Rep. Eric Swalwell onof all thingsthe Intelligence Committee, even after he has literally slept with a Chinese spy! The only way this sort of behavior will stop is after a Republican majority aggressively uses the same powers to punish people like Swalwell.

Cuccinelli also pointed to House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), who encouraged Democratic activists to harass and intimidate members of President Donald Trumps Cabinet, and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), who attacked the judicial system in the wake of the Kyle Rittenhouse acquittal. Cuccinelli is the national chairman of the Election Transparency Initiative.

A veteran Democratic strategist told The Epoch Times, however, that Pelosi and other House Democratic leaders had no choice but to impose penalties on Greene and Gosar.

Whats most important is showing the Democratic base and every American that there are standards in the halls of Congress, that there are consequences to likening your fellow member to a terrorist or killing them in an anime, said Christy Setzer, a former national campaign spokesperson for then-Vice President Al Gore.

The bigger risk than Republican retaliation is in looking weak and ineffectual. Setzer is the founder and president of the Washington-based New Heights Communications firm.

Robin Biro, a former regional campaign director for President Barack Obama and a U.S. military veteran, said, The important thing to remember with situations like these is that turnabout is always fair play.

Biro said he supported Gosars censure for a crass tweet, but noted that he recently lost his own race for mayor of Tucker, an Atlanta suburb, in part [due] to a crass long-since-deleted military humor meme that I posted 11 years ago.

The lesson here is that the internet is forever. In my case, I apologized for posting a crass meme 11 years ago  while GOP members like Gosar so often get a pass for online behavior far more egregious, he said.

Veteran conservative political strategists interviewed by The Epoch Times described how they believe Republicans should proceed in 2023 on the issue.

Rep. Eric Swalwell has been accused in the past of having an inappropriate communication and possible relationship with a communist Chinese spy, said Brian Darling, former counsel to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). Darling is the founder of the Washington-based Liberty Government Affairs.

Rep. Eric Swalwell leaves the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 11, 2021. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has been accused of repeated anti-Semitic remarks. During a House hearing in June, Rep. Donald Norcross (D-N.J.) was accused of calling Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) a racist.

If Democrats are held to the same standard they are applying to Republicans, expect a number of House members to lose committee assignments and a possible expulsion or two. It is very dangerous when the party in power starts a process of punishing only members of the minority party.

Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist, a former adviser to then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), told The Epoch Times that Republicans must ensure Democrats pay a price for their actions.

I think it is extremely important that you need to make it clear that there is not just a tit-for-tat, but something beyond, If you censure two, we censure two,' Norquist said. I dont know what the proper response is, but we need to think it out, and we need to not have [Greene] giving us advice on who we go after.

Norquist suggested that the choice Republican leaders should give Democrats is either to change the rules to prevent this stuff in such a way they can only be changed by a supermajority, or we can go back to the old days with the ethics committee.

U.S. Capitol Police install a metal detector outside the House of Representatives Chamber in Washington on Jan. 12, 2021. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Other GOP House members and strategists offered somewhat different responses when asked whether Republicans should retaliate in kind in 2023.

Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, told The Epoch Times that its vital that Republicans manage the lower chamber of Congress in a way that maintains legislative decorum.

I think one of the things that has always made me proud to be a Republican is the fact that when we govern, whether its the U.S. House of Representatives, its rules and traditions, or something as fundamental as its calendar, we are the party of the rule of law, we are the party of doing things right, Fleischmann said.

We are the party of being fundamentally straightforward, and I think thats where the American people will look to us and return us to the majority.

Fleischmann condemned what he called Democrats one-way partisan enforcement in the way they are governing the House.

Sadly, it seems like there is one standard for Democratic members who say and do things versus for Republicans, he said.

Former Rep. David McIntosh (R-Ind.), who is now president of the conservative Club for Growth, said he believes the key for Republicans is to lay out an agenda about how they are going to build the economy back, create opportunity for parents and their kids in the schools, restore law enforcement and public safety, and not spend their time on petty things the way the Democrats do.

Similarly, Family Research Council (FRC) President Tony Perkins said: The key characteristic of the left is that it cannot entertain debate. They have to silence opposition. And thats what were seeing from the left all the way from Congress into the media.

I would never advocate that Republicans, when they take control, operate in the same way. In fact, I think it would be helpful when it comes to the legislative process that we have the ability to have debate.  A republic thrives on vigorous but civil debate.
Department of Justice Has Different Standards for Different Subjects

Commentary

Theres much to learn about the administration of justice as appliedor misappliedby the Biden White House and the Garland Department of Justice.

Their conception of justice is revealed by the sharp contrast in the standards applied to distinctly discrete subjects, each of whom reflects sharply opposed belief systems with regard to the communication of true objective facts. One such subject is Andrew McCabe, who has consistently sought to distort, suppress, and hide the truth, and another is James OKeefe, who has with equal consistency sought to expose hidden truths.

What better indicia are there that the rule of law is a thing of the past and irrelevant than the rewarding of one of the nations most prominent alleged perjurers and enemies of an independent and objective federal policeMcCabewhose vindication has nothing to do with the merits of the case and everything to do with politics.

As deputy director of the FBI, and later as acting director, McCabe demonstrated his contempt for constitutional legal principlessuch as the Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination and the Sixth Amendment right to effective counselconsidered as essential cornerstones to a free society by the framers and enshrined in Bill of Rights, when, as reported by Greg Re for Fox News, he counseled Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn to forgo the presence of an attorney during a hostile interrogation masquerading as an amicable interview.

In 2016, The Wall Street Journal identified McCabe in a possible conflict of interest. The very senior FBI executive was running an investigation directly involving Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton while his wife was receiving $675,000 in campaign contributions from the director of the very same Democratic Party.

Had McCabe opted to recuse himself from the Clinton investigation, he would have, in all likelihood, retired with his full pensionor perhaps he would today be the director of the FBI.

Instead, an investigation by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, released in February 2018, found several instances of lack of candor by McCabe while providing sworn testimony. Subsequently, Inspector General Michael Horowitz referred the matter to the U.S. attorney in Washington for criminal prosecution.

The order to fire McCabe didnt arise from a political source, nor did it come from the Trump White House. Rather, it came from the FBIs Office of Professional Responsibly (OPR), the bureaus version of Internal Affairs.

Historically impervious to outside influence and virtually impossible to tamper with, OPR has always ruled severely in such cases. A finding of lack of candor results in dismissal.

Many, many special agents have learned this harsh truth. McCabe had been treated in this instance as would any FBI special agent and received no special treatment for being in upper management. Rather, the lesson was that the system works. Democracy will prevail, and those who try to subvert the agencybe they the deputy director or director of the FBIwill ultimately be brought down.

However, the lesson has now proved to be incorrect. Wait for a shift of the political winds, and the system will be pervertedhe who tried to subvert the agency has ultimately been absolved. Concurrent with a no-doubt lucrative run as a CNN commentator, McCabe has been formally absolved of wrongdoing by a Garland Department of Justice (DOJ) settlement.

McCabes pension has been fully restored, and all references to his having been fired for cause are to be removed from official FBI files. Also, a strong message was sent to special counsel John Durham that in todays DOJ, his criminal referrals of high-profile anti-Trump players may be destined for the dustbin of politicized justice.

Adding insult to injury, more than $500,000 in legal fees will be paid by the DOJ to McCabes attorneys, the white-shoe law firm of Arnold and Porter. The firm issued a statement on Oct. 14 announcing that the taxpayer-funded legal fees would be applied to its in-house foundation, the implication being that the firm is being reimbursed directlythat McCabes legal fees werent out-of-pocket and that he didnt incur personal legal expenses requiring reimbursement.

And virtually unreported by media outlets was the DOJs settlement with Trump national security adviser John Bolton. An adviser whose loyalty was such that he timed the release of his memoirs to ensure both maximum damage to his former boss, former President Donald Trump, and maximum financial gain for himself.

McCabe, Boltona pattern emerges.

As noted by Andrew Goudsward in the National Law Journal on Oct. 15, While the Justice Department has not commented publicly on either suit, both settlement agreements included subtle, narrow repudiations of the alleged conduct of the Trump administration.

In sharp contradistinction to the McCabe settlement are the recent FBI executed search warrants on Project Veritas Director James OKeefe and several of his journalists, demonstrating, in no uncertain terms, that the truth doesnt pay.

Its discovery and dissemination will cause the full force of a now politicized federal law enforcement establishment to be unleashed. On Nov. 5, U.S. Magistrate Sarah Cave signed search warrants directed against Project Veritas, agreeing to seal the supporting affidavits and related documents. Executing the warrants on the following day, FBI agents seized cellphones with data, potentially compromising confidential journalistic sources. First Amendment organizations not known to be aligned with ideological politics, such as the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, have intervened in the cases legal proceedings in support of transparency and journalistic rights.

The purported justification for the government action appears to arise from a diary maintained by (and subsequently lost by) Ashley Biden, daughter of President Joe Biden. Compounding the governments seemingly tenuous justification for search and seizure in a constitutionally protected domainthat of the First Amendmentare leaks to The New York Times, as reported by Andrew McCarthy on Nov. 12 in The National Reviewapparently calculated to cast the organization in a negative light.

Veritas has long been an irritant to the left, using undercover techniques to expose unethicaland often illegalpractices. It has also provided a safe platform for whistleblowers to disseminate information hitherto concealed from the general public.

Todays new and politicized FBI appears to select its targets based on ideological, rather than criminal, activity. Violent fugitives crossing the border from Central America can be left to their own devices. Angry parents, now redesignated as domestic terrorists, are currently the subjects of choice for our national police force.

The fact that Department of Justice Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray are comfortable enough in their positions to have the temerity and will to eviscerate, wreak havoc on, and play fast and loose with the First Amendment, executing search warrants against journalists who use daring techniques to expose uncomfortable truths, is chilling indeed.

And thats no doubt the intent, to create a chilling effect on others who may be so inclinedothers who may think twice now about exposing the darksideto revealing the absence of ethics in the activities of those currently wielding the reins of power.

The McCabe settlement rewrote history, virtually erasing from official records the acts that prompted a criminal referral by the Department of Justices own inspector general. It remains to be seen whether taxpayer dollars will also be used to defray OKeefes legal expenses.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks at his company's factory in Fremont, Calif., on June 22, 2012, as the car company began delivering its Model S electric sedan. (Noah Berger/Reuters)

Elon Musk Named Times Person of the Year for 2021

Billionaire Elon Musk has been named Time magazines Person of the Year for 2021, as the worlds richest man transforms life on-planet by shifting the way people move around, and off-planet by planning a city on Mars.

The richest man in the world does not own a house and has recently been selling off his fortune. He tosses satellites into orbit and harnesses the sun; he drives a car he created that uses no gas and barely needs a driver, the magazine said of Musk.

With a flick of his finger, the stock market soars or swoons. An army of devotees hangs on his every utterance. He dreams of Mars as he bestrides Earth, square-jawed and indomitable.

Musk, 50, became the worlds richest man, overtaking Amazons Jeff Bezos earlier in the year, with a current net worth of $254 billion, by riding on his almost 17 percent share in the worlds most valuable automaker, Tesla. Tesla has a market cap of $963 billion, which had been reduced from a $1 trillion valuation just two months back.

Teslas fall mostly resulted from a series of Musk tweets that ended with the capricious billionaire selling off shares worth $12 billion, based on a poll in which he asked his Twitter followers whether he should sell a 10 percent stake in Tesla. This action was initiated as a response to a Democratic proposal to tax the unrealized gains of billionaires, which Musk did not agree with.

Besides Tesla, Musk is the founder and CEO of SpaceX, which made history this year by completing a trip to space and back with an all-civilian crew. Musk is on course to send a lunar lander to the moon, followed by a tourist mission around the satellite in 2023.

Musk wants to send the first unmanned flight to Mars in 2024, after which he expects to land humans on Mars in 2026, part of his plan for eventual colonization of the planet.

The goal overall has been to make life multi-planetary and enable humanity to become a spacefaring civilization, Musk said.

And the next really big thing is to build a self-sustaining city on Mars and bring the animals and creatures of Earth there. Sort of like a futuristic Noahs ark. Well bring more than two, thoughits a little weird if theres only two.

Musks other ventures include brain-chip startup Neuralink and the Boring Co.

For creating solutions to an existential crisis, for embodying the possibilities and the perils of the age of tech titans, for driving societys most daring and disruptive transformations, Elon Musk is TIMEs 2021 Person of the Year, Edward Felsenthal, Times editor-in-chief said.

Musk had a difficult childhood in South Africa and has been diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome. After overcoming a personal tragedy, he went on to found companies such as PayPal with Peter Thiel.

His global ambitions, and the pace with which Musk moves, have had some consequences as well. Tesla and SpaceX have been hit with sexual harassment lawsuits, with the automaker getting sued for poor working conditions. There have been multiple regulatory violations including investigations into Teslas Autopilot software, which has been involved in a number of crashes.

Teslas expansion in China has been met with criticism from a broad array of people from different political perspectives. At present, the company faces scrutiny from Chinese Communist Party regulators who want access to the massive amounts of user data collected by the automaker.

Musk has been accused of being a bit hard on people.

He is a savant when it comes to business, but his gift is not empathy with people, his brother and business partner, Kimbal Musk, told Time.

Musk also believes theres an erosion of freedom in the United States at present. Although vaccinated, Musk doesnt agree with mandates.

He wants eternal glory for doing great deeds, and he is an asset to the human race because he defines a great deed as something that is great for humanity, says Robert Zubrin, founder of the Mars Society.

With 66.2 million followers on Twitter, Musk is significantly influential. Some of his tweets have wiped off billions from market value, while others have boosted seemingly insignificant trends like meme stocks.

Time magazine defines the Person of the Year as someone who affected the news or our lives the most, for better, or worse.

Other winners of the recognition were vaccine scientists, named Heroes of the Year, Olivia Rodrigo, named Entertainer of the Year, and Simone Biles, named Athlete of the Year. Last years Person of the Year award went jointly to then-candidates Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Evergrande Crisis: Another Opportunity for Beijing to Exert Control

What a credit downgrade means for Chinas beleaguered property sector

News Analysis

Chinese leader Xi Jinping vowed to rein in Chinas real estate sector and keep housing affordable. He said, Houses are for living in, not for speculation.

While affordable housing would be nice, this is one more step away from free markets, and another example of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) tightening its control over civil society.

Experts are using terms like controlled landing or limited detonation to express their belief that the CCP will prevent an Evergrande collapse from taking down the whole Chinese economy, and spilling over to the rest of the globe. Far from comforting, this raises the issues of market control and counting on the CCP to save the world.

Fitch rating agency downgraded property developers Evergrande and Kaisa, cutting their rating to restricted default after they both missed payments. Kaisa is carrying $12 billion of debt and missed payments of $400 million in offshore bonds. The company is meant to be organizing a restructuring of payments, but few details are available. Kaisa is expected to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with leading financial advisory and asset management firm, Lazard, which represents a group of shareholders.

Evergrande has $300 billion of debt, including offshore bonds of $19 billion, which are similarly threatened with default. The company has already missed $82.5 million in bond payments.

An Evergrande default could cause a severe downturn in the property sector, which accounts for up to 30 percent of the Chinese economy. Experts claim that Chinese regulators have been working to manage the Evergrande crisis as a limited detonation, minimizing the fallout damage to the rest of the financial sector.

Since the beginning of the Evergrande saga, a number of smaller real estate companies have gone bankrupt. In spite of a widely reported belief that the CCP will intervene, so far, no state-owned property firms have stepped in to increase Evergrandes liquidity.

A crane stands at the construction site of Evergrande Cultural Tourism City, a China Evergrande Group project whose construction has halted, in Suzhous Taicang, Jiangsu Province, China, on Oct. 22, 2021. (Aly Song/Reuters)

High-yield bonds in Chinas real estate sector have suffered their worst year on record. On average, they have lost more than a third of their value. Meanwhile, the largest, most distressed companies like Evergrande, Kaisa, and Fantasia have experienced an 80 percent decline. According to JPMorgan, as of October, there had already been 11 defaults this year.

Land sales are down more than 55 percent year-on-year, and housing sales have decreased by 25 percent. In order to contain the fallout, JP Morgan suggests that regulators will need to stabilize physical demand and financial markets. JP Morgan also warns that unless regulators take action, bondseven from higher quality companiesmay begin trading at lower prices. This could make it difficult for all companies, regardless of credit rating, to obtain financing. A lack of ready financing could prove a drag across the entire economy.

The managing director of China Beige Book International, Shehzad Qazi, predicted that the real state sector would be stressed for the near- or medium-term future, but a collapse was very unlikely. Qazi went on to say that Beijing is taking steps to safeguard the rest of the property sector from an Evergrande collapse. Head of research for the Asia-Pacific CBRE, Henry Chin, similarly expressed his expectation that the CCP would ensure a controlled landing.

Among the steps that Beijing is taking to prevent the sector from collapsing is supporting bond issues by property developers, to fund mergers and acquisitions of distressed firms. Additionally, less indebted firms are being encouraged to pay off maturing offshore debt by issuing corporate bonds. And finally, the CCP is working to increase the demand for houses. Mortgage lending in October increased by more than 34 percent, compared to September, reaching $31 billion.

In short, the CCPs solution to Chinas debt problem is to create more debt. To avoid default on distressed bonds, it recommends issuing new bonds and using the proceeds from the new bonds to pay off the old bonds.

Vice Premier Liu He said the way to solve the housing crisis and develop a healthy real estate sector would be for regulators to focus on stabilizing land prices, house prices, and stabilize expectations. In other words, the premier is advocating increased government control of the market, protecting the real estate sector from the basic rules of supply and demand. Furthermore, stabilizing expectations suggests that in addition to controlling the market, the CCP aims to control how people think about the market.

In a market economy, investors face the risk associated with the particular company or industry they invest in. They are also confronted with systemic risk, which is inherent in the greater economy. In the case of Evergrande and China, it is almost impossible to predict the risk because there is no way of anticipating what the regulators will do. The success or failure of any investment at this point, inside or outside of the real estate sector, is largely dependent on decisions taken by the CCP.

This underscores, once again, that China is not capitalist and that socialism with market characteristics means the CCP, not market forces, controls the economy and civil society.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
A nurse prepares a dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to be injected at the Andras Josa Teaching Hospital in Nyiregyhaza, Hungary, on Jan. 24, 2021. (Attila Balazs/MTI via AP, File)

Fauci: Omicron Can Evade Vaccines, Boosters Can Help Raise Immunity

Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the Biden administration, said the Omicron variant of the coronavirus appears to be able to evade the protection of antibodies induced by vaccines, in an interview with ABC on Dec. 12.

It appears to be able to evade some of the immune protection of things like monoclonal antibodies, convalescent plasma, and the antibodies that are induced by vaccines, Fauci told This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos.

Preliminary data show that when you get a booster, for example, the third shot of an mRNA [vaccine], it raises the level of protection high enough that it does do well against the Omicron, Fauci said.

While Fauci noted that the level of severity with the Omicron variant appears to be a bit less than that in the Delta, he said confounding factors may be at play such as underlying protection in the community due to prior infections.

On Dec. 8, Pfizer/BioNTech revealed that three shots of their mRNA vaccine were able to neutralize the Omicron variant in a preliminary study.

Although two doses of the vaccine may still offer protection against severe disease caused by the Omicron strain, its clear from these preliminary data that protection is improved with a third dose of our vaccine, Albert Bourla, Pfizer chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

The study found a 25-fold increase in the level of antibodies in those who had received three shots as opposed to two Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines.

Furthermore, the Dec. 8 news release stated that 80 percent of the spike protein recognized by the immune systems T cells will still be neutralized by the bodys T cells, meaning that two doses may still induce protection against severe disease.

The pre-print of a South African study (pdf) released earlier last week found that the two-shot course of the Pfizer vaccine induced a 22.5 percent efficacy against symptomatic infection by the Omicron variant which is essentially compromising the ability of the vaccine to protect against infection.

While the two-shot Pfizer series may not prevent infection with Omicron, it should still be sufficient for protection against severe disease, although this estimate is difficult to validate, according to the team led by lead researcher Alex Sigal.

Researchers based at the Africa Health Research Institute in Durban gathered blood plasma samples from 12 participants. The results showed that Omicron produced a 41-fold reduction in the level of neutralizing antibodies in those who had completed the two-shot Pfizer/BioNTech series compared with the original strain caused by the CCP virus (Chinese Communist Party virus).

According to Bloomberg, the team was the first to demonstrate that the Omicron variant could largely, but not entirely, evade antibodies induced by the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. The study supported Pfizers claim that a third booster shot could raise immunity.

Pfizer/BioNTech expects a variant-specific vaccine for Omicron to be available by March 2022.
Federal Judge Blocks Tennessee Law Banning Schools Mask Mandates

A federal judge has temporarily blocked Tennessees government from enforcing a law that prohibits mask mandates in schools.

U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw, an Obama appointee, on Friday issued a preliminary injunction in favor of a group of parents who argued that their children with disabilities are more susceptible to serious COVID-19 complications without universal masking.

The judge wrote in his 54-page opinion that it is in the publics interest to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Tennessees schools, and that the state of Tennessee has proffered absolutely nothing to suggest that any harm would come from allowing individual school districts to determine what is best for their schools.

Tennessees new state law, according to Crenshaw, offers no protection to students, let alone those that are disabled. Whats worse, the judge wrote, the state law honors the federal disability rights laws more in its breach than in its observance.

As a part of the federal system, Tennessee certainly has the prerogative to enact laws protecting its citizens, but that right is limited by the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, which provides a clear rule that federal law shall be the supreme Law of the Land, Crenshaw added.

The school mask restriction was a part of a legislative package, which bans government entities from implementing mask mandates unless in a specifically dire situation. Under the new law, signed by Gov. Bill Lee in November, it would require the governor to declare a state of emergency and the county to report at least 1,000 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents within a 14-day period for a mandate to be implemented.

Lee in August signed an executive order that required school districts to allow families to opt out of any universal mask mandates or requirements. The order was extended through Nov. 5 and was suspended after the mask-restricting bill became law.

While local decision-making is important, individual decision-making by a parent on issues regarding the health and well-being of their child is the most important, Lee said in August when he signed the order. Districts will make the decision they believe are best for their schools, but parents will have the ultimate decision-making for their individual childs health and well-being.

Lee also argued that it does not help mitigate the COVID-19s impact on hospitals by forcing children, who rarely experience severe COVID-19 symptoms, to wear masks.

Our hospitals are struggling under the weight of COVID but those hospital beds are filled with adults. Requiring parents to make their children wear masks to solve an adult problem is in my view the wrong approach, he said.

Lees office said it could not comment on pending litigation.
Federal Leaders Begin Doing the Rounds After Domestic Border Reopens

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and opposition leader Anthony Albanese will take advantage of Queenslands domestic border reopening and begin doing the rounds to visit key seats in preparation for the expected-election next year.

The Australian Labor Partys (ALP) Anthony Albanese began his unofficial campaign in Caboolture, north of Brisbane, on Dec. 13.

According to The Australian, Albanese is expected to target the electorate of Longman, north of Brisbane; Flynn, around Gladstone; and Leichhardt, covering Cape York and Cairns in the northernmost point of the state.

Queensland was a critical state that contributed to Prime Minister Morrisons Liberal-National Coalition party to victory in 2019. The government currently holds 23 out of 30 seats, compared to the ALPs six.

Todays border reopening is such welcome news for all those families who have been separated for so long, and Queenslanders who have been desperate to get home, the prime minister told The Australian.

I cant wait to be back on the ground this week. I want to see Queenslanders back in charge of their own lives, able to travel again, and most importantly spend time with loved ones.

Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers conceded that the ALP needed to work harder to win the votes of Queenslanders.

There is no way we can win the election without doing better in Queensland, weve recognised that for some time, he told the Nine Network.

Anthony Albanese is an honorary Queenslander; he comes back every time he can. He has a real affinity with Queenslanders.

The pandemic is expected to be a key factor in the battle for Queensland, with state ALP Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk winning a resounding election victory earlier this year largely in response to her handling of the pandemica move that may affect the federal vote.

At the same time, several minor parties, including the United Australia Party, Liberal Democrats, and One Nation, have taken a hard line against government-mandated restrictions and border closures.

This comes after thousands again took to the streets along the border of Queensland and New South Wales (NSW) over the weekend in response to vaccine mandates and government restrictions, including closing the state border.

The closure of the interstate border has had a huge impact on communities in the Coolangatta-Tweed region, which used to see several thousand individuals cross the border every day.

After five months, the Palaszczuk government opened the border on Dec. 13 to vaccinated domestic travellers.

However, travellers will need to prove they have received two doses of the vaccine, received a negative PCR test within 72 hours of crossing, take another test on the fifth day after entering the state, and complete a border entry pass.

Meanwhile, unvaccinated travellers will need to go into hotel quarantineat their own expensefor two weeks.
Fighter Jet the F-35A lightning flies across at Avalon Airport on March 01, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia.(Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

First F-35A Fighter Jets Touch Down in Northern Territory

The first four of a new squadron of F-35A Lightning ll fighter jets landed at RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory on Thursday.

The new fighters will be permanently based in the Territory and replace the ageing F/A-18A/B Classic Hornets that have been in operation for 33 years.

This comes as part of the Morrison governments ongoing investment in the Tindal base to boost the Australian Defence Forces capacity to defend Australias interests, as well as strengthen the nations Air Force capabilities in the Indo-Pacific, which includes India, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, and New Zealand.

Defence Minister Peter Dutton said that the No.75 Squadron, which had previously operated the Classic Hornet aircraft, would operate the new multi-role fighter jets from the Top End because it is a strategically important location for national defence and regional engagement.

By the time the Air Force is scheduled to declare F-35A Final Operational Capability in December 2023, sixteen of the fifth-generation multi-role fighters will be based at Tindal, and they will be well practised at operating with our partners in the region, he said.

A RAAF F-35A Joint Strike Fighter sits on the tarmac at Avalon Airport for the Australian International Airshow 2019 on Feb. 26, 2019. (Bowen Zhang/Epoch Times)

The F-35A-equipped 75 Squadron will capitalise on frequent opportunities to bolster interoperability with U.S. rotational aircraft deployments and other Enhanced Air Cooperation activities that will take place in the Top End as announced at this years AUSMIN.

AUSMIN stands for Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations, and is the primary forum for bilateral consultations with the U.S. These consultations are held regularly both in the U.S. and Australia, providing opportunities to discuss perspectives and approaches on regional and global issues in order to deepen bilateral foreign security and defence cooperation.

According to airforce.gov.au, some key features of the F-35A are a low observable design, internal weapons and fuel carriage, advanced radar, electro-optical infrared sensors, advanced voice and data link communications, and the ability to employ a wide range of air-to-surface and air-to-air weapons.

Global security and aerospace company, Lockheed Martin, will assist with aircraft maintenance at the Tindal base, while F135 engine manufacturer, Pratt & Whitney, will help Defence to ensure the base is set up for the long term engine maintenance.

Along with the Tindal base, F-35A fighter jets will also be operating from RAAF Base Williamtown near Newcastle in NSW, and Australia has committed to 72 of the aircraft utilised across both bases, all of which should be fully operational by 2023.
Britain's Health Secretary Sajid Javid speaks to reporters at Downing Street in London in a file photograph. (Tom Nicholson/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Fully Vaccinated to Include Boosters: UK Official

People attempting to use COVID-19 passes will soon need a booster shot, a top UK official said Monday.

Sajid Javid, the countrys health secretary, told Parliament in a prepared statement that the emergence of the Omicron virus variant shows two jabs are not enough to prevent symptomatic infection.

Multiple small studies performed on human samples in recent days suggest people with a primary vaccination regimen have little to no protection against Omicron infection.

Boosters, though, can protect against Omicron, Javid asserted, citing an analysis by the UK Health Security Agency that suggests boosters are 70 percent effective against symptomatic infection.

Other data also indicate boosters can help restore some of the lost protection, though none of the papers have yet been peer-reviewed.

Because of the threat of Omicron, we are moving to Plan B in England, subject to the will of Parliament, Javid said.

If lawmakers approve, people must wear masks in indoor public places and work from home if they can.

To get into nightclubs and large events, meanwhile, people need a COVID pass.

Passes can be obtained by obtaining a negative test within the past 48 hours or getting fully vaccinated, a term that now refers to getting two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

The latter requirement will change, according to Javid.

Once all adults have had a reasonable chance to get their booster jab, we intend to change this exemption to require a booster dose, Javid said.

Lawmakers will vote on Plan B on Tuesday.

People stand in line outside a COVID-19 vaccination center at St Thomas Hospital in London, Britain, on Dec. 23, 2021. (May James/Reuters)

Some panned the new proposal, including MP Marcus Fysh, a British conservative.

Reminder: vaccine passports dont actually work. They are a psy-opp to get people to get vaccinated. Im all for vaccination. Just be straight with people about its benefits and safety  which are good  and stop playing these silly and dangerous games, he wrote on Twitter.

Javid said the passes are not passports, since they are available to the unvaccinated.

His statement came a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the nation that due to Omicron, its now clear that two doses of vaccine are simply not enough to give the level of protection we all need.

Health officials and experts initially promoted the vaccines as being highly effective against infection and severe disease but a quickly-growing body of evidence shows the shots perform poorly against infection, particularly the Omicron variant.

Theyre holding up better against severe disease, but studies and real-world data show a drop from the initial months.

Omicron is a variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, the virus that causes COVID-19. The variant was first identified by South African scientists last month and dates back to at least October, according to genomic sequencing of positive tests in Africa.

People who got COVID-19 from Omicron have since been detected in dozens of countries, including the UK.

Health officials there have confirmed over 4,700 cases, including 10 people in England who required hospital care.

One person with Omicron died, officials said earlier Monday.

Most patients with Omicron in developed countries have been vaccinated; a small number have received booster shots.

Officials havent released the deceased persons vaccination status, age, or other details yet. Most of the hospitalized patients, though, had received two doses of a vaccine, officials said.

Simon Veazey contributed to this report.
The UK's Foreign Secretary Liz Truss speaks at a press conference at the G-7 Foreign Ministers meeting in Liverpool, England, on Dec. 12, 2021. (Jon Super/AP Photo)

G-7 Raises Concern Over Chinas Coercive Economic Policies and Human Rights Issues

The Group of Seven (G-7) foreign ministers on Dec. 12 expressed concern over Chinas coercive economic policies and the challenges posed by the Chinese regime in the East and South China Seas, as well as the human rights violations linked to Beijing, during their first meeting with ASEAN nations.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who chaired the meetings, said discussions on China covered a range of issues and challenges, including human rights issues in Hong Kong, where China is accused of oppressing democratic freedom, and Xinjiang, where its accused of targeting the Uyghur ethnic minority.

In a statement, Truss said the ministers also spoke of the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the issues in the South China Sea, such as those related to the land reclamations, activities, serious incidents in the area, which may undermine peace and stability in the region.

The G-7, which comprises the United States, the UK, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, and Japan, and their ASEAN counterparts, reaffirmed its shared interest in maintaining a free and open IndoPacific region and encouraged intensified cooperation in promoting maritime security, Truss said.

The ministers also called for North Korea to refrain from provocative actions and engage in a diplomatic process to have complete, verifiable, and irreversible abandonment of all its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles.

We urge the DPRK [Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea] to respect human rights for all and to resolve the abductions issue immediately, Truss said.

Though the G-7 ministers welcomed the resumption of negotiations in Vienna on restoring the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which aimed at reviving the Iran nuclear deal, they urged Iran to halt its nuclear escalation and seize the opportunity now to conclude a deal.

Meanwhile, Japans Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and his Australian counterpart, Marise Payne, have agreed to boost the countries special strategic partnership to a higher level to achieve the Free and Open IndoPacific goal, according to the Japanese foreign affairs ministry.

The two ministers, who met at the sidelines of a G-7 Foreign and Development Ministers Meeting, emphasized that Japan and Australia would continue to assist in building quality infrastructure in the IndoPacific region, including by utilizing the framework of Japan, Australia, and the United States.

Australia and the United States have also reaffirmed their efforts to promote peace and prosperity in the IndoPacific and aim to deepen their alliance amid concerns over Chinas military and economic ambitions in the region.

Separately on Dec. 11, Australia, Japan, and the United States signaled that they will jointly fund an undersea cable to improve internet connectivity to three Pacific nationsthe Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, and Nauru.

The proposed undersea cable will provide faster, higher quality, and more reliable and secure communications to approximately 100,000 people across three countries, a joint media statement between the six countries reads.

Mimi Nguyen Ly contributed to this report.
G7 Foreign and Development Ministers pose for a group photo in Liverpool, England, on Dec. 12, 2021. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is hosting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other Group of Seven counterparts for weekend talks in the northwest England port city of Liverpool as the wealthy nations club faces growing tensions with Russia, China, and Iran. (Olivier Douliery/Pool via AP)

G7 Must Get Tougher Against Coordinated Aggression by China and Russia

Beijing and Moscow are closely allied and moving quickly in Eastern Europe and Asia

News Analysis

The G7 group of the worlds wealthiest democracies met recently and denounced Russian troop movements that appear to be gearing up for an invasion of Ukraine.

The group of democracies warned Moscow of massive economic consequences if Russian troops invade the Eastern European democracy more than they already have.

What the G7 did not mention on Dec. 12 is likely coordination between Moscow and Beijing, which increasingly train their military forces together. Beijing has significant influence over Moscow due to Russias reliance on China as an export market for Russian oil and gas.

Russian troop movements are grabbing public attention when the bigger strategic threat is the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and its control over the worlds biggest economy and one of the worlds most powerful militaries.

Beijing could be encouraging Moscow in its territorial aggression in order to distract the West from the bigger threat of the CCPs growing power. Nobody knows. What is certain is that Beijing is doing next to nothing to discourage the aggressive excesses of its allies, including Iran and North Korea.

The CCPs leadership of the worlds rogue dictators, not to mention its human rights abuse and territorial aggression, has divided the G7with Japan, Germany, and Italy taking a weak position on Five Eyes proposals for a unified G7 diplomatic boycott of the Olympic games, for example. The Winter 2022 Olympics is scheduled for Beijing, and a diplomatic boycott is the least the G7 could do.

Even Washington continues to allow Chinese companies to list without the same reporting requirements as businesses from other countries, including the United States. This puts Chinese companies at an advantage over U.S. companies. Only on Dec. 2 did the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) even require U.S.-listed Chinese companies to disclose state ownership. Much more is needed.

In addition to this low-hanging fruit, the types of economic consequences imposed against Russia, if it invades Ukraine, should also be made against China for its continued illegal claims and occupations of the entire South China Sea. That sea is roughly equal in size to all of India.

Finally, Beijing should face severe economic consequences for its triple genocide against Uyghurs, Tibetans, and Falun Gong. But instead, U.S. sanctions are piecemeal against individual officials and companies.

Because of Chinas more powerful economy, the G7 countries are likely worried about the economic effects of sanctions to themselves, and so are making the ethically and strategically indefensible choice to continue empowering Beijing through relatively unmitigated free trade with the worlds most powerful dictatorship.

At least there is some growing recognition of the CCP threat, however. According to Reuters reporting on Dec. 12, While Russian President Vladimir Putin keeps the West guessing over Ukraine, it was the might of Chinese President Xi Jinping that garnered the long-term strategic focus at the G7 meeting.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said to reporters that We have been clear at this meeting this weekend that we are concerned about the coercive economic policies of China.

Banners are displayed at the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco to condemn the Chinese Communist Party on Chinas National Day on Oct. 1, 2020. (Ilene Eng/The Epoch Times)

An official who attended the talks told Reuters, there were very, very intense discussions especially on China.

Reuters described Russia as the tactical focus on talks, while China was recognized as the longer-term strategic threat.

According to a U.S. State Department official who spoke with Reuters, Its tremendous that theres such a focus on the Indo-Pacific here.

More specifically, the situations in Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Taiwan, and Lithuania were discussed by the foreign ministers in attendance.

Officials said that There was serious discussion about G7 coordinated action to counter China over disinformation and to support countries snared in what critics cast as Chinas global debt-trap web, according to Reuters.

In June, the G7 scolded both China and Russia for what could be increasingly coordinated forms of aggression, which now arguably includes Iranian designs on Iraq and Syria, and North Korean nuclear weapons proliferation.

But talk is cheap.

In June, China responded that small groups like the G7 no longer rule the world.

Of course, the G7 never sought to rule the world, instead seeking to fulfill the U.N. principles of 1945 and 1948, according to which autocracies would gradually evolve into sovereign democracies that respect each others borders and trade freely.

The CCPs allegation that the G7 seeks to rule the world is a Freudian slip that reveals more about its own hegemonic ambitions, proven by Rush Doshi in his book of this year, The Long Game: Chinas Grand Strategy to Displace American Order.

To stop this illiberal end, the G7 should stop talking and start doing, by becoming a powerful and democratic counterweight to the growing power of China and Russia. To do so, it must move more quickly and decisively.

Russia was kicked out of the group, then the G8, after its 2014 invasion of Crimea in Ukraine. China should also be ejected from international organizations for its attempted takeover of the South China Sea and human rights abuse.

The United States is supposedly leading on the China issue, with the largest European economies and Japan dragging their heels. According to Reuters, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Southeast Asia this week in an attempt to forge a united front against China in the Indo-Pacific.

But Blinken and his boss, President Joe Biden, are moving far too slowly to effectively contain Beijing. If the United States and the G7 do not act more quickly, expect an eventual Chinese hegemony on a global level to be a done deal.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
An Indian soldier guards near the site of an attack on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, on Dec. 13, 2021. (Mukhtar Khan/AP Photo)

Gunmen Kill 2, Injure 12 in Attack on Police Bus in Kashmir

SRINAGAR, IndiaA gun attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Monday killed two police and wounded a dozen others, police said, hours after government forces killed two militants in a brief shootout.

Gunmen sprayed with bullets a bus carrying police on the outskirts of Srinagar, the regions main city, wounding fourteen officers, the police said in a statement. It said the injured were evacuated to a hospital where two of them died.

Reinforcements of police and soldiers cordoned off the area and launched a search for the attackers. No rebel group immediately claimed responsibility for the assault.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and both rivals claim the region in its entirety. Rebels have been fighting against Indian rule since 1989.

The attack came hours after police killed two suspected militants in a brief shootout in another neighborhood of Srinagar.

Shortly after the shootout, clashes erupted in the area as dozens of local residents joined in chanting slogans against Indian rule. Police fired shotgun pellets and tear gas to disperse stone-throwing protesters. No injuries were immediately reported.

Police set up multiple checkpoints in the area of Rangreth following the shootout and clashes.

Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels, and government forces have been killed in the conflict.
Harvards Lawfare Programs Are an Omen of Elections Decided Not at Pollsbut in Court

Before the Donald Trump-inspired challenges of the 2020 presidential election, Democrats and liberals alleged fraud and formally contested the results of the 2000, 2004, and 2016 Republican-won presidential elections. Those earlier challenges spurred the creation of a network of election litigators on the leftwhat J. Christian Adams, a conservative ex-Justice Department attorney pitted against them, calls a linear build-out of some 30 groups responsible for a lot of sudden changes in election law last year amid the pandemic.

For the closely fought 2020 presidential election, 29 largely Democrat-controlled states and the District of Columbia loosened voting laws, most expanding access to mail voting, according to the liberal Brennan Center for Justice. In response, after former President Trumps efforts to contest his narrow loss, 19 largely conservative states tightened their voting laws, the Brennan Center reports. The latest changes have provoked a wave of litigation, overwhelmingly from the left.

Now Harvard Law School, in seeming recognition of the power of this lawfare strategy, is gearing up for a future where elections are regularly decided not at the ballot boxbut in the courts. Two programs at Harvard Law show close ties between the school, the Democratic Party, and liberal activist groups with an interest in fighting elections through the judicial system.

Adams, whose nonprofit Public Interest Legal Foundation describes itself as dedicated to election integrity, says: This is just the next phase: Lets set up an elite training academy. This is their Naval Academy of election litigators.

Reporting the launch of the Election Law Clinic in April, Harvard Law Today said participating students will get course credit for working on political campaigns, as well as hands-on litigation and advocacy work across a range of election law areas, with an initial focus on redistricting and voter suppression cases. Clinic offerings include federal and state litigation projects, as well as some advocacy opportunities.

In an interview with RealClearInvestigations, Ruth Greenwood, the clinics new director, said its creation was driven by student demand: As more people graduate and devote their careers to election law, it made sense for this premier law school to ensure that it has graduates ready to hit the ground running as election lawyers from day one.

Greenwood stressed that she believes elections should be decided by the voters, not their lawyers. But other legal academics worry about what the advent of Harvards Election Law Clinic will mean. Glenn Reynolds, the libertarian University of Tennessee law professor known for his Instapundit blog, tells RealClearInvestigations that if institutions such as Harvard start turning out significantly more students with expertise in election law, those lawyers will create a demand for their expertise and election litigation.

Thats just how the law works, he says.

The backgrounds of those staffing the putatively nonpartisan Election Law Clinic show a distinct progressive tilt. Greenwood is a former fellow of the Democratic National Committees Voting Rights Institute and also worked at the Campaign Legal Center, which receives its funding from major liberal groups such as ActBlue, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Ford Foundation, and George Soross Open Society Foundations.

Greenwood is a proponent of congressional Democrats landmark proposed voting legislation, H.R. 1. She speaks glowingly of the bill as the biggest step the federal government has taken to protect the right to vote since the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965. H.R. 1 not only includes bans on partisan gerrymandering and practices that suppress the vote, but also introduces better campaign finance regulations and ethics protections.

Republicans fiercely oppose the bill on constitutional groundsthat it would put local elections under national controlas well as practical ones, in that Democrats in control at the national level could dispense with GOP-backed voting requirements.

Adams has called H.R. 1 a partisan weapon masquerading as a civil rights law. Even left-wing groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have opposed the legislation, seeing its campaign finance and disclosure regulations as violating the First Amendment.

Theresa Lee, the Election Law Clinics litigation director, was formerly the senior staff attorney in the ACLU Voting Rights Project. The clinic also touts instructor Daniel Hessel, who has litigated election law cases with the Campaign Legal Center and environmental cases with the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Nicholas Stephanopoulos, an attorney who provides strategic advice for clinic cases [and] helps to litigate some of these matters, wrote a piece this year for Democracy Docket, the organization run by Marc Elias, a top election lawyer for the Democratic Party. In it, Stephanopoulos argues that Congress should refuse to seat a candidate who benefits from voter suppression (or gerrymandering) under Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution. And he defines voter suppression as policies that make it hard for people to register and vote.

Elias promoted the piece in the run-up to his ultimately unsuccessful effort to prevent Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks from assuming the vacant seat in Iowas 2nd Congressional District after her narrow win over Democrat Rita Hart.

Elias, who worked for the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign and Democratic National Committee (DNC), is perhaps best known for commissioning opposition research firm Fusion GPS to produce the fraudulent Steele dossier while Elias was at Democrat law firm Perkins Coie. Elias left Perkins Coie in August, shortly before his partner, Michael Sussmann, was indicted on charges of lying to the FBI in concealing his affiliation with the Clinton campaign and DNC while dishing dirt about alleged Trump-Russia collusion.

Harvard Laws ties to partisan electioneering dont end with the Election Law Clinic. It also boasts the Democracy and the Rule of Law Clinic, started in 2016. Students receive course credit for an externship with Protect Democracy, a nonpartisan nonprofit founded by former White House and Department of Justice attorneys and dedicated to preventing our democracy from declining into a more authoritarian form of government. According to the news outlet The Independent, the group, which got its name from a line in President Barack Obamas farewell speech, was founded by Obama administration lawyers to oppose then-President Trump.

If its mission doesnt conflict with its description as a nonpartisan nonprofit organization, Protect Democracys structure might. Protect Democracy consists of two organizations under the same umbrella. While the Protect Democracy Project is a nonpartisan organization with a 501(c)(3) tax status, its partner organization United to Protect Democracy is a 501(c)(4) partisan entity. Both groups are listed at the same address a few blocks from the White House. Despite the 70 employees listed on their website, the address isnt an officeits a mailbox service that hosts hundreds of organizations.

This arrangement of a partisan organization and nonprofit partner typically raises questions about the extent to which the organization and funding of both groups is fungible. The work of the purportedly nonpartisan Protect Democracy Project suggests a strong political agenda. In 2019, it gave a $300,000 grant to Whistleblower Aid. That organization supported Eric Ciaramella, the intelligence community official whose name was suppressed by congressional Democrats, as well as major and social media, before and after it was disclosed by RealClearInvestigations. Ciaramella leveled the complaint that led to Trumps first impeachment.

The work of Protect Democracy came into sharp relief this year when Time magazine published a secret history of the 2020 election detailing how a well-funded cabal of powerful people, ranging across industries and ideologies, working together behind the scenes to influence perceptions, change rules and laws, steer media coverage, and control the flow of information, coordinated to deliver a Biden presidential victory. The article asserted that this cabal was not rigging the election; they were fortifying it.

According to Time, Protect Democracy played a major role in this effort that united CEOs, liberal activists, and labor unions, including running a public relations campaign aimed at downplaying fears about the pandemic-driven mass increase in mail-in ballots, and assuring voters that a prolonged ballot-counting process wasnt a sign of problems.

The percentage of Americans who voted by mail more than doubled between the 2016 and 2020 elections, according to MITs Election Lab, a triumph for Protect Democracy and mail votings Democrat supporters. Im fairly convinced at this point that the Democratic strategy and the Democratic advantage in vote-by-mail was just crucially and critically important to Bidens win, Tom Bonier, CEO of TargetSmart, a Democratic data firm, told The Guardian.

Although Republican lawmakers were deeply skeptical of the practices that accompanied this surge in voting by mail, they were largely unsuccessful in stopping them. Those procedures include dropping signature matching requirements to verify ballots, allowing third parties to collect and return mail ballots (known as ballot harvesting), and allowing mail-in ballots to be counted after Election Day.

Protect Democracys putatively nonpartisan arm, the Protect Democracy Project, owns a software company, VoteShield, that monitors voter databases.

VoteShield analyzes public voter files regularly, comparing each review to historical trends, notes a fact sheet from the company. It then uses statistics to detect potential anomalies and reports those potential anomalies to the public officials responsible for administering elections. The analyses are made available to state and local election officials free of charge.

VoteShields website promotes this monitoring as a defense against state voter databases being hacked by Russians. Its website quotes testimony from Obama administration officials to the Senates Select Committee on Intelligence in that panels investigation of Russian Active Measures Campaigns and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election.

The media and partisan amplification of these warnings resulted in a widely believed conspiracy theory that Russia tampered with vote tallies in order to get Donald Trump elected. An Economist/YouGov poll in 2018 found that 67 percent of Democrats believed this was definitely true or probably true, even though there is no evidence the Russians altered any votes.

VoteShields website states, We support election administrators of all parties in maintaining complete and accurate voter files and touts a collaborative partnership with Iowas Republican Secretary of State Paul Pate. Pate, who was the first secretary of state to use VoteShield, tells RealClearInvestigations the Iowa voter database being used by VoteShield is public information, but adds that it has to be used for genuine bona fide political research. Pates office has been collaborating with VoteShield since 2018. Earlier this year, Pate, who served as president of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) from 2019 to 2020, nominated his offices collaboration with VoteShield for a NASS IDEAS (Innovation, Dedication, Excellence & Achievement in Service) Award.

VoteShields website claims it is monitoring voter databases in 23 states. RealClearInvestigations spoke to an official in the secretary of states office of one of the states VoteShield claims to monitor, who asked not to be named. The official said the state had been approached by VoteShield but was surprised to see it on VoteShields website, since it had never come to any arrangement with VoteShield. We do not have any kind of official agreement with these guys to utilize their stuff.  The only thing that we came to an agreement on is, well, you guys can use whatever publicly available data we have, and said, If you see something, fine, but they never provided anything that has been of use to us ever.

This official also added the states election security team looked at the company and determined it was super liberal. The team was worried collaborating with VoteShield could undermine public confidence that the states elections were being administered in a nonpartisan fashion.

Jason Snead, the executive director of the Honest Elections Project and former senior policy analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation, notes that this kind of security software analyzing state voter databases isnt unprecedented. Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia participate in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), which aims to improve the accuracy of Americas voter rolls. But ERIC is administered by state election officialsits not a private entity, nor one sitting under an entity linked to a partisan partner.

VoteShields website lists information about its privacy policies and security practices, and in response to a query the company confirmed, VoteShield does not have access to any voter data that is not publicly available and that it holds no government contracts.

Adams notes that the growing number of election litigators and monitors on the left presents challenges to the work that he does; he acknowledges that his Public Interest Legal Foundation settled a lawsuit brought against it by Protect Democracy in 2019 after erroneously naming Virginia voters it said were noncitizens. But he argues that there are far fewer organizations on the right able to hold the left accountable when mistakes are made or election laws abused.

Now that Harvard Law is jumping into the fray, Adams foresees more politicized election lawfare. He points to an article he wrote in 2015two years before the creation of Protect Democracyheadlined Does Harvard Teach Law Anymore? That year Harvard Law added courses in legislation, regulation, and international and comparative law to its core curriculum even though those were politically charged fields of law not widely practiced. Six years ago, Adams asked a question he says is now more relevant than ever.

The course catalog at Harvard reveals a great divide emerging in American legal education, he wrote. Is law school about learning to practice law, or fundamental transformation?

This article was written by Mark Hemingway for RealClearInvestigations.
A staff member prepares a Pfizer vaccine for clients at the St Vincent's COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic in Sydney, Australia, on July 01, 2021. (Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)

Health Minister: Enough Boosters For All Australians

Health Minister Greg Hunt has assured that there are enough vaccines for booster shots despite the timeframe between the second dose and the booster shot being brought forward by a month.

The minister announced at the press conference at Mornington Village pharmacy on Dec. 12 that 4.1 million Australians will be eligible to receive the boosters, with 683,000 booster shots currently already administered.

Hunt assured that there would be enough booster doses going around despite the timeframe between the second dose and the booster shot being shortened to 5 months, as per ATAGIs recommendations.

We have 151 million doses that have been set aside for boosters. Theres enough for all Australians, he said.

From Dec. 12, all Australians over 18s are eligible to receive their booster shot as long as they have been fully vaccinated for five months, as per ATAGIs recommendations. Apart from Pfizer, TGA has also approved Moderna as a booster vaccination option.

Secretary of the Department of Health Professor Brendan Murphy said it did not matter if the vaccine for the primary course doses is not the same as the booster shots.

The evidence would suggest that theres no clear difference. So, it depends whats available, and people sometimes might have a preference.

Therefore, those that have Pfizer as their primary course can take Moderna or Pfizer boosters, and the same applies to those with Moderna and Astra Zeneca as their primary vaccination courses.

Murphy reasoned that the ATAGI brought forward the timeframe from six months after finding that there is some decline in protection to the Omicron at six months.

They felt bringing it forward to five months was worth doing, and particularly based on some data out of Israel which showed that is a very good time.

The news of booster shots comes as the University of Melbourne at The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity released a new study on Dec. 13 regarding three confirmed cases of second infections of COVID-19 in Melbourne.

The three patients lived in the same household and were diagnosed with COVID-19 in Jul. 2021.

All three had also been diagnosed with COVID-19 12 months prior in Jul. 2020, during the second wave of Jun.  Oct. 2020; introduced into Victoria following a hotel quarantine breach in May 2020.

There had been a large COVID-19 outbreak at the workplace of patients 1, and 2. Patient 1 had worked during the acquisition period  the period during which one is still asymptomatic while infectious co-workers were present.

After genomic sequencing, the team found that the virus in the 2021 infection differed from the virus found in the infection in 2020, confirming the patients were infected by a different strain of the virus after the first infection rather than viral shedding.

Second infections with COVID-19 are thought to affect fewer than 1 percent of people that have recovered following an infection. Prior to this case, no other confirmed cases of second COVID-19 infections have been reported in Australia.

Professor Benjamin Howden, Director of the Public Health Laboratory at the University of Melbourne and colleagues, wrote that the three patients had no known immunocompromising conditions and were not eligible for COVID-19 vaccination at the time of either of their infections. Furthermore, illness severity was similar during the first and second infections; with neither respiratory support nor hospitalisation required.

The report suggested that people who have recovered from COVID-19 may be less likely to seek vaccination.

The study concluded that the occurrence of second infections in Australia, where the incidence of COVID-19 has been relatively low, indicates that more should be done to spread public awareness of reinfection.

Doctors should encourage recovered patients to be vaccinated, and that public awareness of the possibility of reinfection should be promoted to encourage vaccination, testing, and protective behaviours.

As of Dec. 12, 93.3 percent of Australians have received their first dose, with 89.2 percent fully vaccinated.
Students pick up their school books at Hollywood High School on Aug. 13, 2020 in Hollywood, Calif. (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)

California High School Teachers React to Phasing Out of D and F Grades

SANTA CLARA, Calif.Some of Californias largest school districts are dropping D and F grades for high school students. While the hope is that this will help students reengage in school after distance learning and boost their chances of acceptance into the states public colleges, some educators find lowering the bar both offensive and detrimental.

School districts in San Diego, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Sacramento are among several districts that are eliminating grades below a C beginning this school year.

Our hope is that students begin to see school as a place of learning, where they can take risks and learn from mistakes, instead of a place of compliance, according to Nidya Baez, assistant principal at Fremont High School in Oakland.

In Oakland, high schools are gradually moving toward the new system. Parents, students, and teachers need time to understand whats expected of them, and they must buy in to the change, according to Baez.

The districts see dropping Ds and Fs as a way to help students who have been most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially black, Latino, and low-income students. But Californias K12 schools already show some of the lowest performance in the nation. According to U.S. News and WalletHub, California schools rank, at best, 40th among the states.

To some teachers, the low grades signal that a student didnt learn the material of a given class and needs extra help.

Not reporting Ds and Fs is the equivalent of lying about a students progress, said Debora Rinehart, a math and science teacher at St. Theresa School in Oakland. I will work with any student before or after school or even on the weekend to help them learn. However, I will never lie about their knowledge level.

Brenda Lebsak, a teacher and former board member of Orange Unified School District in Southern California, told NTD Television that some parents and students view lower standards as offensivethat it suggests that they arent smart enough to achieve higher grades.

Lebsak also foresees issues with lowering the academic bar for students.

Not ever having a consequence  is just going to incentivize kids to do the least amount thats expected, she said.

In Santa Ana, Alma Tedraza, a mother of eight, said the change isnt fair for the kids who work hard. During a meeting with some parents, teachers, and the superintendent at Segerstrom High School, she asked the superintendent how these policies are decided.

He basically said, ultimately, he makes the decision, Tedraza told The Epoch Times. They are trying not to impact the emotional part of the student, but in the long run its going to impact their lives.

She learned that the policy would apply not just in high schools, but to all grade levels.

Araceli Justiniani, a grandmother and community member, also attended the meeting.

To my surprise, each student that spoke, they were really against this change. Some of the students were really upset, Justiniani told The Epoch Times. One student said, Im not an A student. For me, its hard, but I tried to do my best, and I dont think this is fair.

Another student said I am trying to go to college, and Im working very, very hard. And what youre doing is damaging our education. Because when the universities find out what is happening in this district, its going to damage our reputation.

Tedraza said the superintendent noted his intent for the change to be temporary and for it to become effective immediately. But Tedraza and Justiniani worry that if some parents support it, the policy will be prolonged.

He said that 60 percent of the students were failing in Santa Ana. So they wanted to give the students a motivation to stay in school and not just drop school, Justiniani said.

According to Tedraza and Justiniani, the superintendent said he based his decision on students data from quarantine, as many of them struggled to focus on distance learning while schools were shut during the pandemic.

Although education reform advocates have been pushing for grade elimination for years, some school districts appear to view the pandemic as an opportunity to put it into action.

What does a grade mean? Its a mix of things, and its different from teacher to teacher. It can actually be radically different, said Alix Gallagher, director of strategic partnerships at Policy Analysis for California Education.

She said those who get Ds or Fs become discouraged or disengage even further, never learning the material that they initially missed.

Instruction is what leads to learning. Not grading. Theyre separate. Thats the problemwe have a disconnect between instruction, learning, and grading, Gallagher said.

A Los Angeles Unified spokesperson informed The Epoch Times that teachers base grades on what students learn and whether or not they met the expectations of a given class.

For example, rather than automatically giving an F to a struggling student, the teacher provides more opportunities to succeed on make-up tests, by redoing assignments, or extending deadlines. This new approach is teaching students that failure and trying again are part of learning and succeeding in school, the spokesperson said.

Bay City News contributed to this report.
Media mogul Jimmy Lai, founder of Apple Daily, leaves the Court of Final Appeal by prison van in Hong Kong, China on Feb. 9, 2021. (Tyrone Siu/File Photo via Reuters)

Hong Kong Media Tycoon Jimmy Lai, 7 Others Jailed Over Tiananmen Vigil

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai and seven other activists were sentenced on Dec. 13 to jail terms ranging from four to 14 months for their respective roles in a banned Tiananmen Square vigil last year.

Lai, 72, the founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, is already serving a 20-month sentence for taking part in pro-democracy protests in 2019. The media mogul, who was separately convicted last week of inciting others to participate in an unauthorized assembly, was sentenced to a term of 13 months.

Prominent barrister Chow Hang-tung, 36, and former journalist Gwyneth Ho, 31, received sentences of 12 months and six months, respectively.

The three had pleaded not guilty to all charges relating to the banned rally in 2020.

Hong Kong traditionally holds a candlelight vigil every year to memorialize the victims of the bloody massacre at Beijings Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, when the communist regimes leader sent troops to quash protesting students who called for a more open society.

The former British colony had been the only place on Chinese soil to host large-scale public commemorations, but Hong Kong police have banned the vigils for the past two years, citing the COVID-19 pandemic.

A man holds a poster of the famous Tank Man during the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, during a candlelit remembrance in Victoria Park in Hong Kong on June 4, 2020. (ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images)

If commemorating those who died because of injustice is a crime, Lai said in a letter read by his lawyer on Dec. 13, then inflict on me that crime and let me suffer the punishment of the crime, so I may share the burden and glory of those young men and women who shed blood on June 4 to proclaim truth, justice, and goodness.

Let us not delude ourselves that this is all about COVID-19, Chow said in her mitigation plea, according to local media outlet Hong Kong Free Press. She described the conviction as one step in the systemic erasure of history, both of the Tiananmen Massacre and Hong Kongs own history of civic resistance.

If those in power had wished to kill the [movement] with prosecution and imprisonment, they shall be sorely disappointed. Indeed what they have done is breathe new life into the movement, rallying a new generation to this long struggle for truth, justice, and democracy, she said.

People moved by conscience cannot be deterred by jail.

Vice-chairwoman of Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, Chow Hang Tung, 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)

Five others had previously pleaded guilty in connection with the banned vigil.

Former lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan, 64, received the heaviest sentence: 14 months.

If there was a provocateur, it is the regime that fired at its own people, Lee told the court on Dec. 13. If I must go to jail to affirm my will, then so be it.

Lee, who is already behind bars for participating in two protests in 2019, was the chairman of the now-dissolved Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, an organizer of the Tiananmen vigils.

Three other former members of the organization, Richard Tsoi Yiu-cheong, Leung Yiu-chung, and Simon Leung Kam-wai, received terms of 12 months, nine months, and nine months, respectively.

Former lawmaker Wu Chi-wai was sentenced to four months and two weeks.

The new jail terms make little difference to most of the defendants, who are already behind bars for protest-related charges, since they will serve their sentences concurrently.

Police arrest a protester in the Mong Kok area of Hong Kong, on Nov. 10, 2019. (Sung Pi-lung//The Epoch Times)

Hong Kong police have arrested more than 10,000 people related to the mass pro-democracy protests that rocked the city in 2019. Those protests were triggered when the city government announced plans to allow extraditions to mainland China, but the demonstrations broadened to demand greater democracy and freedoms.

While the extradition plan was later aborted, the regime imposed a national security law on the city last year. The sweeping legislation, which criminalizes four broadly defined categories of offensesincluding secession, subversion, and collusion with a foreign countryhas been used as a tool to further crush dissent in the city. Most of the citys once-lively pro-democracy camp have been charged or convicted under the national security law or similar statutes.

Activists including Lai, Ho, Chow, and Lee face separate charges under the national security law that might lead to up to life in prison.

Their sentences on Dec. 13 drew condemnation from the New York-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch. The groups executive director, Kenneth Roth, wrote on Twitter that the Hong Kong court did Beijings dirty work in sentencing the activists.

Thousands of participants take part in a memorial vigil in Victoria Park on June 4, 2020, in Hong Kong, to honor the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. (Sung Pi-lung/The Epoch Times)

Sixteen other activists are already serving sentences of four to 10 months relating to the vigil held last year. Two democracy campaigners who face similar charges, Nathan Law and Sunny Cheung, have fled Hong Kong.

On June 4, 2020, thousands of Hongkongers defied the ban and took part in a memorial vigil in Victoria Park.

The communist regime in Beijing has never provided a full accounting of the 1989 suppression of students protests in Tiananmen Square. Thousands are estimated to have perished.

The Hong Kong Epoch Times staff, Frank Fang, and Reuters contributed to this report.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, left, received by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed at his private palace in Abu Dhabi, on Dec. 13, 2021. (Haim Zach/Israel Government Press Office via AP)

Israeli PM Very Optimistic Following Historic Meeting With UAEs Crown Prince

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is returning home very optimistic after meeting with Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed at his private palace in Abu Dhabi, according to Bennetts office.

It was the first time ever an Israeli premier held an official visit with a de facto ruler from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Bennett described the meeting as historic, explaining that a number of regional issues were discussed during his stay.

Im finishing a good visit here in the United Arab Emirates, Bennett said. Throughout the day, we had meaningful, in-depth and straightforward talks about our two nations, about the region and about our economy and technology and what we can do together.

Im flying back to Israel, very optimistic that this relationship can set an example of how we can make peace here in the Middle East, he added.

The meeting comes amid concern about ongoing advances in Irans nuclear program, which was also on the agenda and was among the reasons for the diplomatic move. The two countries, however, made no mention of the nuclear program in a joint statement.

Israel and the UAE have long shared common anxiety over the program, but the UAE has been working on improving relations with Tehran.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, left, received by an honor guard and the UAE Foreign Minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi, on Dec. 12, 2021. (Haim Zach/Israel Government Press Office via AP)

Ahead of renewed talks, Israel said last month it will not be bound by any new deal. The country has been outspoken in its criticism of the global nuclear talks with Iran, which are aimed at restoring a 2015 nuclear deal that placed curbs on the countrys nuclear program in exchange for relief from sanctions.

The deal unraveled after President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from it in 2018, and Israel says it would be a mistake to return to the agreement.

In November, Bennett described Iran, which denies it is pursuing nuclear arms, as being at the most advanced stage of a nuclear weapons program.

The mistake we made after the first nuclear deal in 2015 will not repeat itself, he said in statements at the security forum in Herzliya, Anadolu Agency reported. From the moment the deal was signed, it was like a sleeping pill for us, he added.

White House officials said last week it is preparing for other options in case diplomacy with Iran fails. The talks were stalled several times since resuming in late November. A new round of discussions resumed on Dec. 9, with Irans top negotiator saying he was sticking to positions Tehran set out previously.

Iran is serious about reaching an agreement if the ground is paved (toward a deal)  The fact all sides want the talks to continue shows that all parties want to narrow the gaps, chief negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani told reporters after an opening meeting with world powers on Dec. 9.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

From NTD News
Israels Bennett Makes First Official Visit to UAE

JERUSALEMIsraeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday made a historic trip to the United Arab Emirates, the first visit by an Israeli premier, as part of a blitz of regional diplomacy against the backdrop of struggling nuclear talks with Iran.

Israel has watched with concern as Iran has pushed a hard line against negotiators meeting in Vienna, at once demanding sanctions relief while accelerating its nuclear program.

In recent weeks, Israel has dispatched its top diplomat and its defense and spy chiefs to meet allies in Europe, the United States, and the Mideast to push for a firmer approach to Iran. The Israeli outreach has been accompanied by repeated threats to take military action against Iran if diplomacy fails.

Bennetts trip to Abu Dhabi, where he will meet with Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed, is a milestone for both Israel and its new leader. Israel and the UAE last year signed a normalization deal brokered by the Trump administration under the Abraham Accords, a series of diplomatic accords with Arab countries that also included Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco. Israel and the UAE have long shared common anxiety over Irans nuclear program.

Bennett was received by an honor guard and welcomed by the UAEs foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

I am very excited to be here, on the first official visit by an Israeli leader, Bennett said. We look forward to strengthen the diplomatic relations between the countries.

Bennetts trip comes on the heels of a visit by the UAEs national security adviser, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Tehran, where he met with Irans new president, Ebrahim Raisi, in a bid to ease tensions. It was a major visit for the Gulf Arab federation that has long viewed Iran as its main regional threat. Several other regional political visits, by Syrias foreign minister and the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Turkey, have also taken place recently, all with an eye on the negotiations.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (R) and Israeli Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked (L) arrive for the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, on Dec. 12, 2021. (Tsafrir Abayov/AP Photo)

Israel, which is not a party to the talks in Vienna, has turned to its allies to work together and lobby negotiators seeking to rein in Irans nuclear program.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid recently visited Europe and Egypt and Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Mossad chief David Barnea flew to the United States to discuss the talks with leaders there. Earlier this year Lapid visited the UAE and inaugurated Israels embassy there.

Israel sees the UAE as a crucial part of that outreach to its allies. Under Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabis powerful crown prince and long the de facto ruler of the Emirates, the UAE has embarked on a rapid expansion of its military forces to counter what it sees as the threat posed by Iran. During the recent Dubai air show, Sheikh Mohammed visited the pavilion of Israel Aerospace Industries, Israels largest state-owned defense contractor.

The Emirates also hosts U.S. and French forces and its Jebel Ali port is the U.S. Navys busiest port of call outside of America.

Israel considers Iran to be its greatest enemy and it strongly opposed the 2015 nuclear deal. It says it wants an improved deal that places tighter restrictions on Irans nuclear program and addresses Irans long-range missile program and its support for hostile proxies along Israels borders. Israel also says the negotiations must be accompanied by a credible military threat to ensure that Iran does not delay indefinitely.
Tornado damage is seen in Mayfield, Ky., after extreme weather hit the region on Dec. 12, 2021. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Kentucky Death Toll Estimate to Drop as Company Announces 90 Workers Alive

Biden declares major disaster

Everyones hopes for a lower death toll in Kentucky came true on Sunday night as the candle factorywhere 110 workers were working an overnight shift on Friday as a deadly twister hitannounced that it has been able to reach 90 survivors.

The companys HR staff worked through the night Saturday into Sunday to call the emergency contact numbers for the missing as more power and phone lines came back online.

Sadly, eight employees were also confirmed dead, while another eight are still missing, according to company spokesperson Bob Ferguson.

Many of the employees were gathered in the tornado shelter and after the storm was over, they left the plant and went to their homes, Ferguson said. With the power out and no landline, they were hard to reach initially. Were hoping to find more of those eight unaccounted as we try their home residences.

Workers said they had been told to huddle in a central hallway area, the strongest part of the building, as the storm approached. Some had already left earlier in the night following a warning siren.

Although state authorities have yet to officially confirm the report, the announcement means there will likely be a sharp drop in the number of estimated deaths for Mayfield, a city of about 10,000 in western Kentuckybringing much-needed relief to families and the community just 40 hours out from what the governor described as the most devastating event in Kentuckys history.

We are still hoping as we move forward for some miracles, to find more people, and to hopefully have a lower death count than what we expect, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear told reporters Sunday night after the companys announcement. He added that it would be pretty wonderful if confirmed, adding that authorities are working to verify the information.

Troy Propes, CEO of the candle factory, said on Sunday that Mayfield Consumer Products had already seen two miracles on Saturday, when two workers were pulled out of the rubble. One colleague had remained with a trapped survivor, holding their hand until rescuers could get to them, he told ABC News.

Beshear said that as cell phones remain down for many communities, authorities are having a hard time confirming the numbers of missing, dead, and injured.

We know were going to have at least four counties that are in double digits. Again the best that we can hope for would be the 50 [confirmed fatalities], he said of the states death count. Were still finding bodies.

Thousands have been left without a home as four twisters hit the state, including one with an extraordinarily long path of about 200 miles in Kentucky and another 20 miles across state borders, authorities said.

The outbreak has also killed at least six people in Illinois, where an Amazon distribution center was hit; four in Tennessee; two in Arkansas; and two in Missouri.

But Beshear said that despite the destruction, he is firstly grateful. He thanked first responders for their incredible heroism, and Americans from other cities and states for their outpouring of love. Kentuckys requests for assistance, including for ongoing search and rescue efforts, have all been met, he said.

I want to thank everybody for standing with the people of Kentucky, we feel it. In fact, one of our biggest challenges right now is organizing the amount of people that want to help, want to donate  thats the best challenge that any of us could ask for.

The states Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund had already received $2.3 million dollars from 18,031 donations, of which every penny of which will go to families, starting with grants for funeral assistance, the governor added.

Disaster Relief

Beshear also thanked President Joe Biden who called me three times Saturday and immediately granted the federal state of emergency, which allowed FEMA to move resources in quickly to start with initial response efforts.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, who was visiting impacted regions, told reporters, You cant understand how this has impacted these communities until youre there, which is why its so important for me to be here, to see it for myself, so we can make sure were providing the right level of assistance to help with your response and your ongoing recovery.

She told Kentuckians that FEMA is ready to help communities as they face housing, power, and fuel shortfalls.

We did receive a few moments ago a request from the governor for a major emergency declaration, she added, hinting that it would be approved soon.

Biden approved the disaster declaration just hours later for impacted individuals in Caldwell, Fulton, Graves, Hopkins, Marshall, Muhlenberg, Taylor, and Warren counties.

The major emergency declaration is going to begin to help individuals. You can go to disasterassistance.gov, well also assist with long-term repair of critical infrastructure destroyed in the storm, Criswell said.

New Normal?

When asked by reporters if the disaster presented a new normal for Kentucky, in reference to concerns about climate change, Beshear said, Right now, I cant process whether this is a new normal or not, were just trying to identify the dead, locate the living, reunite families, trying to give people a place to stay and something to eat  All the rest of it, over time, we can talk about.

He then asked the media to, Please, just focus on our people and the help that they need and deserve.

He also told residents, I wish I understood why weve gotten hit with the pandemic, a historic ice storm, flooding, and now the worst tornado in our history, all within a span of 19 months. What I do know is in Kentucky, were good people and we care about one another. And thats why people were out in the storm helping their neighbors and others they dont know  Its why we have opened 13 shelters, but only have six open anymore because we take each other into our homes.

Were going to grieve together, were gonna dig out and clean up together. We will rebuild and move forward together, the governor said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Labs With No One to Run Them: Why Public Health Workers Are Fleeing the Field

There were days, nights and weekends in the early months of the pandemic when Denise Von Bargen was the only person running covid tests at the public health lab in Ventura County. She once had eight or nine employees to assist her, but, one by one, they had all retired or left for other jobs.

Like other public health laboratories in California charged with broad-scale disease testing and surveillance, the Ventura lab received federal and state money for new equipment and short-term hires to bolster its response to covid-19. But the funding was temporary, and Von Bargen, the director, could not use it to increase the salaries of her employees, who could earn more money doing less work in the private sector.

Operations deteriorated further last month, after the lab lost its license to run routine tests that check the countys ocean water for deadly bacteria. It appears to have been a clerical error: The licensing paperwork changed, and the staff typically responsible for submitting the application had quit.

The biggest threat to [public health labs] right now is not the next emerging pathogen, said Donna Ferguson, director of the public health lab in Monterey County, but labs closing due to lack of staffing.

Across California, public health departments are losing experienced staffers to retirement, exhaustion, partisan politics and higher-paying jobs. Even before the coronavirus pandemic throttled departments, staffing numbers had shrunk with county budgets. But the decline has accelerated over the past year and a half, even as millions of dollars in federal money has poured in. Public health nurses, microbiologists, epidemiologists, health officers and other staff members who fend off infectious diseases like tuberculosis and HIV, inspect restaurants and work to keep communities healthy are abandoning the field. Its a problem that temporary boosts in funding cant fix.

The brain drain is sapping community health oversight in ways big and small. The people who staff public health labs, for example, run complex tests for deadly diseases that require specialized training most commercial labs lack. While their work is largely unseen by the public, they touch almost every aspect of society. Public health labs sample shellfish to make sure it is safe for eating. They monitor drinking water and develop tests for emerging health threats such as antibiotic-resistant bacteria. They also test for serious diseases, such as measles and covid. And they typically do it at a fraction of the cost of commercial labs  and faster.

Public lab directors are typically required to hold doctorates, and they must have appropriate credentials for their labs to be certified.

Ferguson said it feels like theres a revolving door on her lab, as recent college graduates join for a few months to gain experience, at a starting pay of $19 an hour, and then move on to higher-paying jobs at hospitals. Its all but impossible to hire qualified staffers for part-time roles, like the ones created with temporary bursts in funding, because of the training required. In California, many lab positions require a public health microbiologist certificate from the Department of Public Health.

California has 29 public health labs, down from nearly 40 before the 2008 recession. A lab in Merced has been without a director for months and could soon close. While theres no official count of how much the field has shrunk, nearly every lab is missing key staff members, said Godfred Masinde, who is president of the California Association of Public Health Laboratory Directors, lab director for San Francisco and filling in as lab director in Fresno County. Dozens of public health microbiologist positions are unfilled around the state.

We have funding now; we have equipment, Masinde said. But we dont have the staff to run the equipment.

His San Francisco lab typically runs 100,000 tests for gonorrhea and chlamydia each year, and 150 to 200 tests for syphilis every day, Masinde said. While California also has state-run labs, he noted, they simply dont have the capacity to pick up the slack for shuttered county labs.

Counties are struggling to recruit and retain staffers for other positions as well. An informal survey conducted by the California Directors of Public Health Nursing found that at least 84 public health nurses have left their jobs since March 2020. Many retired, part of a graying workforce challenged with recruiting nurses into an obscure field requiring special accreditation.

Public health nurses are trained in nursing and community health, and often work with families, or community groups, not just individual clients. They do home visits after births, work on early childhood development and help respond to outbreaks of infectious disease. So providing more of a holistic approach, and also addressing the social determinants of health, said Michelle Curioso, public health nursing director for Kern County and president of the California Directors of Public Health Nursing. Like lab staffers, public health nurses must be specially certified to work in public health departments.

In California, the average annual salary for a registered nurse is more than $120,000, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, while public health nurse job postings in several counties offer salaries starting around $65,000.

Nursing shortages have been particularly severe in rural California. In Butte County, several public health nurses retired earlier than expected, said Monica Soderstrom, Buttes director of public health nursing, and two young nurses who went on pregnancy leave decided not to return after finding jobs with higher wages. It has been difficult to fill our vacant positions, said Soderstrom, as we are competing with hospitals and clinics paying sign-on bonuses due to covid staffing needs.

The loss of top county health leaders  department directors and health officers charged with leading the pandemic response in local communities  has been particularly stark, mirroring a sobering national trend. Seventeen of Californias 58 counties have lost their health officer since March 2020, and at least 27 have lost a director or assistant director. The director and deputy director of the state Department of Public Health also resigned.

The collective expertise lost with those departures is hard to overstate.

Take, for example, Dr. Robert Bernstein, who moved to California in 2018 to become health officer for rural Tuolumne County after more than two decades working in public health for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and the Florida Department of Health, among other organizations. In California, health officers must be physicians, and are charged with enforcing state and local statutes and protecting the public from health hazards.

In March 2020, just as the pandemic was making its first surge across the state, Bernstein was asked to resign by the county board of supervisors. According to Bernstein, supervisors were upset that he had ordered rabies vaccines for two children bitten by bats  including a bat that tested positive for rabies  against their parents wishes. The county declined to comment on the matter, saying it is legally prohibited from discussing personnel matters.

Bernstein moved to Butte County and became health officer after his predecessor resigned in May 2020. Bernstein watched as colleagues in neighboring counties, facing menacing public threats over covid-related health orders, began quitting, seemingly one after the next. In some communities, public health officers also faced rude and derisive pushback from local elected officials, even as law enforcement leaders openly refused to carry out their health directives.

You might, as a public health officer, have the authority and responsibility to recommend or even mandate certain public health actions, Bernstein said, but you need a partnership with those in authority to carry [them] out.

By September this year, Bernstein was disillusioned with the dynamic and the notion that his family could get caught up in the covid rancor. I just decided that as a dad of 16-year-old triplets, I dont need me or the kids to be threatened in any way, and I can do good public health work at the state level or federal level or even international level, Bernstein said.

Michelle Gibbons, executive director of the County Health Executives Association of California, said local departments are seeing the cascading effects of those top-level defections, with midlevel managers hesitant to move into senior positions, even though top officials can command salaries of more than $200,000.

The state budget this year included $3 million for an assessment of Californias public health infrastructure, and public health leaders believe it will show that staffing and training are major issues. Still, the budget did not include additional long-term funding for health departments. Amid negative headlines and a lobbying blitz, Gov. Gavin Newsom eventually agreed to add $300 million a year for public health, a handshake deal not scheduled to begin until July.

Advocates warn that the timing matters: Many public health workers are hanging on to see their communities through the pandemic and will leave once it ebbs. Were going to see a huge wave of retirements when this is over, said Kat DeBurgh, executive director of the Health Officers Association of California.

In Ventura County, Von Bargen, exhausted by the pandemic, has been trying to retire for a year. She didnt want to abandon the lab she fought so hard to keep open, and it took that long to find a replacement. Her successor will start early next year, at which point Von Bargen, too, will join the ranks of former public health employees.

This story was produced by KHN, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.
Darrell Brooks appears in Waukesha County Court in Waukesha, Wis., on Nov. 23, 2021. (Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/Pool via Getty Images)

Legislators Want Governor to Remove Milwaukee DA Over Parade Massacre

A group of Republican Wisconsin lawmakers is turning up the heat on Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, whose lenient bail policiesthey sayput a career criminal back on the street, allowing him to allegedly plow his vehicle into the Waukesha Christmas Parade, on Nov. 21, killing six people and injuring 61.

Sixteen lawmakers who represent Waukesha County in the Wisconsin Legislatureincluding Senate President Chris Kapengasent a letter to Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, asking him to remove Chisholm from office.

We hope this tragedy never happens to another Wisconsin community, because it never should have happened in Waukesha, read the letter, which has not generated a response from Gov. Evers.

A criminal complaint filed Nov. 29 in Waukesha County Circuit Court alleges Darrell E. Brooks Jr., 39, of Milwaukee, mowed down dozens of Christmas parade participants and spectators.

Police said Brooks zig-zagged his vehicle as he sped down the parade route, leaving injured and dying victims in his wake. No motive has been given.

Brooks was charged with six counts of first-degree intentional homicide and is being held in lieu of $5 million bail.

He is due in court for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 14.

Killed in the attack were members, and a volunteer, from the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies group, a bank employee, and an 8-year-old boy.

Three children remain hospitalized in fair condition at Childrens Wisconsin-Milwaukee Hospital, spokeswoman Tami Hughes told The Epoch Times.

Brooks had been in Milwaukee jail and was released two days before the Christmas parade on $1,000 bail, an amount Chisholm later said was inappropriately low considering Brooks was charged with punching the mother of his child in the face and running her over with the same SUV allegedly used in Waukesha. Police said she had tire marks on her leg.

On Dec. 7, Milwaukee County prosecutors charged Brooks with three more felonies in the Nov. 2 attack, including intimidating a victim, intimidating a witness, and bail jumping.

Authorities allege Brooks tried to dissuade the victim from cooperating in the case.

Case Backlog Led to Release

Brooks had another open felony case at the time of the parade attack. He was charged in July 2020 with two counts of second-degree recklessly endangering safety with a weapon and possession of a firearm by a felon.

The criminal complaint says after a dispute with his nephew over a cell phone, Brooks fired a pistol into a vehicle in which the nephew and a companion were seated.

Due to a 350-case backlog, Milwaukee County was not able to meet Brooks demand for a speedy trial, so he was released in early 2021 on $500 cash bail. Brooks has a criminal record that stretches over two decades.

Chisholm has said his office is conducting an internal investigation of the bail in the Nov. 2 case.

The Milwaukee County court commissioner who set the $1,000 bail, Cedric Cornwall, was reassigned from criminal court and will now handle non-criminal cases.

Chisholm blamed an inexperienced assistant district attorney for requesting the low bail, but the Republican lawmakers say the blame lies with Chisholm, a Democrat first elected in 2007.

The Epoch Times contacted Chisholms office for comment, but has not yet received a response.

Chisholm has refused to step down after a flood of calls for his resignation, the letter to Gov. Evers read. Because of this, we are calling on you to remove John Chisholm as Milwaukee County district attorney.

It is clear to us as legislatorsand many people from the Waukesha County and Milwaukee County areas affected by the recent tragedythat District Attorney Chisholm has neglected his duty in his office.

The letter was signed by Republican Assembly representatives Cindi Duchow (Delafield), Adam Neylon (Pewaukee), Scott Allen (Waukesha), Mike Kuglitsch (New Berlin), Chuck Wichgers (Muskego), Janel Brandtjen (Menomonee Falls), Dan Knodl (Germantown), Barbara Dittrich (Oconomowoc), Joe Sanfelippo (New Berlin), and Cody Horlacher (Mukwonago).

Republican senators signing the letter included Kapenga (Delafield), Julian Bradley (Franklin), Alberta Darling (River Hills), John Jagler (Watertown), Dale Kooyenga (Brookfield) and Steve Nass (Whitewater).

Evers said he cannot take action without a certified complaint from a Milwaukee County resident. He earlier told reporters Brooks should not have been out on bail.

He told Milwaukees Fox 6 television: We have a process, simple: I get a letter from somebody in the county, requesting that process be initiated, and well initiate it.

Fox 6 reported Chisholm rebuffed the idea of stepping down, quoting him saying: When things get tough, when tough things occur, the response shouldnt be to quit, to run away from the problem.

The Waukesha County lawmakers pointed to Chisholms haunting words to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in 2007: Is there going to be an individual I divert, or I put into (a) treatment program, whos going to go out and kill somebody? You bet. Guaranteed. Its guaranteed to happen.

Chisholm was most recently on the ballot in November 2020, when he won a new four-year term with nearly 98 percent of the vote.

Under his leadership, Chisholm has fulfilled his own prophecyand innocent Wisconsinites have now paid and will continue to pay the price for his actions, the letter to Evers said.

The Epoch Times asked Evers office for comment, but has not yet received a reply.

Part of a Pattern

Low bail in felony criminal casesand the decision not to prosecute the majority of cases referred by policeare hallmarks of Chisholms tenure, according to an investigation by the news site Wisconsin Right Now.

Last year, there was a no process rate of about 60 percent for felonies and about 65 percent for misdemeanors, an overall increase of about 10 percent fewer cases charged over 2019, read the investigation, published in April 2021.

The trends for 2021, including for violent crime and gun non-prosecutions, are getting even worse, the investigation found. In fact, when it comes to guns, police are referring more firearms cases, but the DA is charging fewer of them. Police referrals of violent crimes are down, but the DAs no process decisions are rising more.

Brooks is not the only Milwaukee-area case involving a person, out on bail, who allegedly committed a violent crime in November 2021.

Police allege that Chadrick R. Marcinkiewicz, 32, stabbed Dominic Salas to death Nov. 23 on West Lincoln Avenue in Milwaukee.

At the time, Marcinkiewicz was out on $5,500 bail in a stabbing case from August 2021, court records show.

The morning of the homicide, Marcinkiewicz was in court for a preliminary hearing in the August stabbing, but the case was adjourned until Dec. 22. He is being held at the Milwaukee County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.

Chadrick Marcinkiewicz is charged with stabbing a man to death while out on bail from an August 2021 stabbing case. (Milwaukee County Sheriff)

Four days after the Waukesha parade massacre, police allege 20-year-old Donta L. Roberts of Milwaukee shot and killed another man while out on a $500 signature bond from a 2020 case.

Roberts is charged with first-degree reckless homicide. In the earlier incident, Roberts was accused of pointing a firearm at someone in the summer of 2020.

According to the Milwaukee Police Departments crime-statistics database, the city recorded 186 homicides through Dec. 12, level with last years rate, but 92 percent higher than the full year of 2019.

In 2021, total crime is up 28 percent, including a 145-percent increase in motor-vehicle theft, and a nearly 20-percent increase in larceny cases. Burglary and arson cases are down 18 and 14 percent, respectively. Total crime is up 36 percent since 2019.

In 2016, Milwaukee County became part of the Safety and Justice Challenge sponsored by the John and Catherine MacArthur Foundation.

The program is reimagining and rebuilding local criminal justice systemsreducing jail incarceration and increasing equity for all, according to its website.

Since 2015, the number of Milwaukee County cases with jail sentences fell 78 percent, to 596, according to the district attorneys data dashboard.

The average daily jail population in the county dropped from 2,325 in May 2016 to 1,401 in December 2020.

The district attorneys office received 5,031 violent-felony case referrals through Sept. 30, 2021, an 11-percent increase from the same period in 2020.
A tiny baby weighing less than a pound and born a week before the abortion limit has defied the odds to survive and thrive.

Mom Jessica Doxey, 30, was rushed to hospital when she was just 23 weeks pregnant and was diagnosed with life-threatening blood condition pre-eclampsia, a pregnancy complication marked by high blood pressure.

An emergency C-section was performed to save Jessica, who was warned her preemie son, who was just 15 ounces (435 g) at birth, was unlikely to survive. He was born so early, she said, doctors asked her if she wanted them to save her son.

Baby Kaio, who shares his name with his father, spent six weeks on a ventilator and 2 1/2 months in an incubator, replicating the womb. A few weeks before Christmas 2017, the Doxeys finally received the best present of all when little Kaio came home, aged 4 1/2 months.

At no point in my mind was I willing to give up on our little boy, said Jessica, a food scientist from Bakersfield, California.

Id been in so much pain over the last 72 hours but what kept me going was holding on to the belief that hed be okay.

The C-section took about an hour, and they had to use a general anesthetic to perform the surgery.

She added: When I woke up, I was really confused, and the doctors explained that Kaio was alive but weighed just 435 grams.

They even invited my husband in so we could share what they thought would be our first and last moments with him in case he didnt make it.

But, that thought hadnt even crossed our mind, and we were determined to save him.

Mom-of-three Jessica recalled that she went into labor prematurely with her first child, Stella, 6, at 36 weeks. Jessica said she was reassured it was unlikely to happen again, but at 23 weeks pregnant with Kaio, she was rushed into the hospital after suddenly developing a severe headache.

She was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia. It usually occurs towards the end of the pregnancy, but for Jessica, this wasnt the case, and her condition quickly worsened. A few days later, Jessica developed HELP syndrome, a pregnancy-related condition that affects the blood and liver.

Prior to the C-section, doctors gave Kaio a 40 percent chance of survival. However, once he was born, on July 7, that immediately dropped to a 10.

Jessica was discharged from the hospital a week after giving birth, and to give her newborn son the best chance of survival, she expressed breast milk for the entire 4 1/2 months and stored it in a special freezer at home, before bringing it into the hospital to feed her little son.

As time passed, baby Kaio became stronger, and Jessica and her husband, Kaio, 31, visited him around the clock, praying hed survive.

On Nov. 13, 2017, he came home, weighing 8 pounds 15 ounces.

For weeks it felt like it was my fault because it was my body, Jessica said. It felt like my failing and its hard to let that go when youre watching your child suffer. When youre in that situation, every good thing that happens youre afraid to enjoy it.

Being at home whilst Kaio was in hospital, it felt like my heart was in a different place. Often it would be 4 a.m. and Id suddenly panic and feel the need to be with him so Id rush to the hospital.

It was the hardest time of our lives, but that feeling of bringing him home was indescribable.

Walking through our front door with him in our arms it seemed like everything was right in the worldwe are truly grateful.

I want to raise awareness and let other mums who have premature babies know its not their fault and that they shouldnt blame themselves.

Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.

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The World Health Organization and the CDC have acknowledged that there have yet to be any known deaths from the Omicron variant of COVID-19, raising questions about the necessity of tightening government regulations. And in other news, after actor Jussie Smollett was found guilty of lying to police after faking a hate crime against himself, former president Donald Trump called Smolletts actions a hate crime in reverse. In this live Q&A with Crossroads host Joshua Philipp well discuss these stories and others, and answer questions from the audience.

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French President Emmanuel Macron delivers his statement at the end of the 5th France-Oceania Summit, held via video-conference, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, on July 19, 2021. (Yoan Valat/Pool via Reuters)

Macron Looking to Hold Social Media Platforms Accountable for Online Hate Speech

News Analysis

French President Emanuel Macron announced on Dec. 8 that the EU is considering new legislation to hold tech companies liable for hate speech that occurs on their platforms.

This is unprecedented European regulation to fight online hate, to define the responsibility of these large platforms for their content, said Macron, as reported by Reuters. Every day, we have to deal with issues such as anti-Semitism, racism, hate speech and online harassment. There is no international regulation on these subjects today, strictly speaking.

At present, the European Union does not possess any international laws restricting hate speech, though the Council of Europe recommends laws restricting hate speech through its subsidiary European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance.

The announcement comes at a pivotal moment for Macron, who is preparing for France to assume the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union on the eve of the 2022 French presidential election.

Though Macron has not announced a reelection bid, many French observers expect the president to run again.

This rare confluence of the European Union presidency with the national election season will be of crucial importance to Macron, whose political future might hinge on his ability to leverage the European Union presidency for decisive action at this late juncture of his first term.

The announcement about the regulation of hate speech has particular connotations in this election, as Macron faces two nationalist opponents whose critics have labeled them bigots and xenophobes: the National Rally candidate Marine Le Pen and the independent candidate Eric Zemmour, who announced his bid last month.

Though Macron did not mention these rivals in particular, his announcement comes amid a backdrop of polarized opinion regarding hate speech, with particular implications for the presidents political opponents.

Marines father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, has been convicted numerous times under existing French hate speech laws for his remarks on the Holocaust and Islam. Marine has taken great pains to distance herself from the more incendiary remarks of her father, but the controversy persists, with commentators still accusing the younger Le Pen of racism and extremism.

Zemmour, though not beleaguered by the family history of Le Pen, has nonetheless acquired a reputation as a firebrand and an outspoken proponent of French nationalism. His penchant for politically incorrect, controversial remarks has garnered comparisons to former U.S. President Donald Trump. Like Jean-Marie Le Pen, Zemmour has previously been convicted under existing French hate speech laws, having previously paid two fines and currently facing a third conviction for public insult and incitement to hatred or violence.

Throughout his term, Macron has struggled with consistently negative approval ratings, although this is typical for the French presidency, a notoriously thankless job. Despite his general unpopularity, Macrons position as a perceived centrist gives him some flexibility to triangulate among his rivals, and he is widely considered the front-runner of a prospective reelection bid.

However, Macrons hate speech proposals put him in tension with the longstanding French tradition of radical free speech, as established in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen and incorporated into the French constitution.

In 2015, after Islamist terrorists perpetrated a mass shooting of the headquarters of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, the subject of free speech became a cause celebre in France and abroad, even as some commentators accused Charlie Hebdo itself of hate speech.

Thus, by giving his public support to international EU hate speech regulation, Macron may inflict some measure of harm on his own potential reelection bid. With this new announcement, Macron has declared his support for a more comprehensive and trans-national hate speech regimen by announcing the new proposal.

However, it is not clear how such a proposal will be perceived in the nation of Voltaire and Houellebecq, a country that has long prided itself on brash opinions and radical politics, which may find these traditions in the crosshairs of hate speech regulators in Brussels.
Massive Software Flaw With Global Reach Forces Quebec to Shut Government Websites

MONTREALAlmost 4,000 Quebec government websites were shut down over the weekend as a preventative measure following threats of a cyberattack, the provinces minister of digital transformation said Sunday.

Eric Caire made the announcement at an afternoon press conference in Quebec City, during which he said all official government websites would be taken offline until further notice.

Were kind of looking for a needle in a haystack, Caire said. Not knowing which websites use the software, we decided to shut them all.

The closure comes on the heels of a recently discovered software vulnerability in a Java-based library of an Apache productknown as Log4jwhich the Department of National Defence said could affect thousands of organizations worldwide.

The Common Vulnerability Scoring System, also used widely around the world, has assessed the current threat at a 10 out of 10.

Caire said Quebec learned of the issue on Friday and has been working to identify which websites are at risk, one by one, before putting them back online.

Once a system has been analyzed, if it turns out that its not using the problematic library, the system is automatically back online, Caire said. If it uses it, a fix is made. Once we make sure the system is operational, it gets back online.

Caire said the government doesnt keep an inventory of which websites use the Apache software.

Its like saying how many government offices use 60-watt bulbs, we have to go around and look at each one of them, Caire said, without specifying how long the verification process will take.

The provinces Clic Sante portal used for booking COVID-19 vaccine appointments across Quebec was already back online as of Sunday afternoon, while the site for Revenue Quebec among others was still down.

Caire said the provincial vaccine passport system was never at risk, saying it doesnt require the Apache software.

Marc-Etienne Leveille, a cybersecurity expert for the international internet security company ESET, said global internet traffic has spiked significantly since Friday, adding hes noticed many users trying to find vulnerable services to hack.

He said while the softwares vulnerability should not impact the general public, websites storing personal datasuch as the Canada Revenue Agencyare more at risk of being compromised.

The vulnerability allows code to be executed over the internet, Leveille said.

The flaw allows it to bypass security, in other words, he said.

The province, however, has no current indication that systems have been compromised or personal data was accessed, Caire said at the news conference.

The Canada Revenue Agency, which took similar precautions by taking its web-based services offline after learning of the potential vulnerability on Friday, issued a statement saying nothing so far suggests its systems have been compromised.

Leveille welcomed the governments precautionary measures, saying it might have prevented major data breaches.

One of the big problems was that everyone was made aware of the flaw at the same time, Leveille said. The developers and its users didnt have time to correct the issue before people started to jump on the vulnerability. And since there are a lot of systems that use the software across the world, it will take many months to find which ones are vulnerable to that flaw.

Federal Defence Minister Anita Anand issued a statement Sunday saying the government is aware of the security risk and calling on Canadian organizations to pay attention to this critical internet vulnerability.

Out of an abundance of caution, some departments have taken their services off-line while any potential vulnerabilities are assessed and mitigated, Anand said. At this point, we have no indication these vulnerabilities have been exploited on government servers.

By Virginie Ann
Amateur archaeologist Lucas Schmid toted his metal detector onto a small hill beside a river gorge near the mountain village of Tiefencastel, Switzerland, and began probing the turf where an ancient battle had taken place. He would soon discover a Roman dagger from under the earth, which would lead to a remarkable excavation.

Rumor had it that a lost battle between the Romans and the Rhaetians had occurred here some 2,000 years agofor archeological excavations in 2003 had yielded traces of an ancient Roman army nearby, most of which it was assumed had been collected.

Schmidt had a hunch, though, that the area had not yet been meticulously picked clean of ancient artifacts. He began surveying the area in 2018; and one year later, in the spring of 2019, his metal detector picked up a faint signal on the hill that day.

Amateur archaeologist Lucas Schmid scours the landscape for artifacts near the mountain village of Tiefencastel, Switzerland. (Courtesy of Peter-Andrew Schwarz, University of Basel)

Assuming it was a small metal object at first, Schmid soon realized it was something much larger that was buried deeper beneath the earth. From under 12 inches of soil, he dug up an ornate Roman dagger with a cross-shaped handle and exquisite brass and silver inlay and adornments.

Schmids discovery of the Roman dagger led a team of archaeologists in September this year to begin exploring that region in southeastern Graubunden cantonwhere they discovered hundreds more artifacts, the aftermath of an ancient battle, scattered across 370,000 square feet. The excavation, which concluded by the months end, unearthed Roman coins, lead slingshot bullets, arrowheads, spearheads, pieces of shields and other defensive implements, and hobnails from heavy-soled Roman sandals, called caligae, according to Live Science.

As for the impressive Roman dagger found by Schmid, researchers believe it may have been buried by Roman legionaries as an offering of thanks for a victory. The artifact is now in possession of the Archaologischen Dienst Graubunden (ADG), as per Swiss law, and is currently being preserved and scientifically evaluated.

It is not only the outstanding individual objects such as the dagger (a pugio) that are interesting, but also the large number and composition of the found objects, study team member and archaeologist at the University of Basel Peter-Andrew Schwarz told Live Science via email.

He noted that the slingshot bullets were marked with letters indicating the Roman legion that made them, and that hobnails and other weapons found appeared to be of Roman make. Certain fragments of swords, shields, and spearheads, however, were determined to be implements of the opposing Rhaetians.

The Rhaetians were a confederation of Alpine tribes related to the Etruscanswho inhabited Italy prior to the founding of Rome. Some of the Rhaetians resisted the Roman expansion into their mountainous home territory, and records indicate armed clashes occurred between 50 and 30 B.C., said archaeologist Thomas Reitmaier, director of the ADG, Live Science reported.

Its believed that the finds near Tiefencastel could hark from this time but there is another possibility; the clashes might have occurred laterin 15 B.C. when Roman Emperor Augustus commenced a military campaign in the Alps which ultimately subjugated the Rhaetians. The fieldwork will continue next year, and we assume that more coins or other finds will come to light that allow an even more precise dating, Schwarz said.

As for Schmidwho worked as an archaeologist on a voluntary basis, and contributed over 70 days with the ADG excavationhe will be transitioning into a field of a different sort; as the former dental student recently qualified as a dentist, his future plans wont involve wielding his metal detector on a fulltime basis.

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Miss Universe 2020 Andrea Meza (R) crowns India's Harnaaz Sandhu as Miss Universe 2021 during the 70th Miss Universe pageant in Eilat, Israel, on Dec. 13, 2021. (Ariel Schalit/AP Photo)

Miss Universe Is Indias Harnaaz Sandhu, 70th Winner

EILAT, IsraelHarnaaz Sandhu of India was crowned the 70th Miss Universe on Sunday, topping a field of some 80 contestants.

The previously reigning Miss Universe, Andrea Meza of Mexico, crowned her successor, a Bollywood actress, in the Israeli Red Sea resort town of Eilat. The pageant was held in the middle of the night, wrapping up at 5 a.m. local time (10 p.m. ET) to accommodate the primetime schedule in the United States.

Sandhu said she was feeling overwhelmed because its been 21 years since India got Miss Universe crown and its happening right now.

The pageant included traditional displays of national costumes, swimwear, and a series of interview questions to test contestants public speaking skills. The top 10 showed off intricately bedazzled full-length gowns in either gold, silver, or bronze.

Indias Harnaaz Sandhu performs as she takes part in the National Costume portion of the Miss Universe pageant in Eilat, Israel, on Dec. 10, 2021. (Ariel Schalit/AP Photo)

Indias Harnaaz Sandhu waves after being crowned Miss Universe 2021 during the 70th Miss Universe pageant in Eilat, Israel, on Dec. 13, 2021. (Ariel Schalit/AP Photo)

Sara Salansky, an official with the Israeli Tourism Ministry, said the country was selected to host the contest earlier this year because of Israels successful coronavirus vaccination program.

The contest suffered a last-minute hiccup with the arrival of the Omicron variant, which resulted in Israel closing its borders to foreign tourists late last month.

Most of the Miss Universe contestants were already in the country before the new regulations came into effect. But those who came afterward were given special permission to enter, albeit with a mandatory 72-hour quarantine period.

Throughout the run-up to Sundays contest, all contestants were tested for the coronavirus every 48 hours and required to obey strict mask requirements.

Frances contestant, Clemence Botino, tested positive for COVID-19 shortly after arriving in Israel. After 10 days in quarantine, she was declared virus free last week and allowed to rejoin the competition.

Last years pageant was delayed due to the pandemic before Meza was crowned in May for her abbreviated tenure.

Sundays contest was hosted by U.S. TV personality Steve Harvey. Organizers said the pageant was expected to reach an estimated 600 million viewers via the FOX network in 172 countries.
December 25, 2016 | PG | 2h 7m

There was an African-American woman in the 1960s whose math skills not only outstripped all her male rocket-scientist colleagues at NASA, but also out-computed NASAs gigantic, room-sized IBM computer. This is how we spell role model.

Her staggeringly accurate calculations were solely responsible for sending Americas most famous astronaut into orbit and saving his life, and for keeping America from embarrassing itself in front of its heretofore superior, Cold War space-competitor, the mighty Russians.

At first glance, the movie title Hidden Figures appears rather blah and generic. Perhaps it should have been the titular counterpart to Men of Honor, about the first black Navy diver and been titled Women of Honor, since its about the first black, female mathematicians and engineers at NASAbecause there wasnt just one; there were three such math-brilliant African-American women working in the early-stage astronaut program during the Jim Crow era.

Actually, its a sneaky-good, word-play title: it encompasses the fact that 1) these women were able to figure out redacted numbers (figures that had been hidden from them), and 2) they were the figures responsible for putting a man into orbit, but were themselves hidden from the public eye and got no credit for their work.

The story, while decidedly formulaic, does what old-school Hollywood does well, which is to create films filled with feel-good tropes that seek to atone for Americas sexist-racist past by highlighting Americas unsung wizardly talent. Call it the singing of unsung heroes, through biopics. Erin Brockovich is a good example of this: an uneducated, single mom whose astounding people skills, ability to memorize in excess of 600 phone numbers, and brilliant but untrained legal talent sniffed out big corporation machinations and saved lives.

Then theres The Imitation Game, which also championed a math-wizard minority whose calculations saved millions of lives in World War II, and Red Tails, about the first African-American fighter pilots, whose aviation wizardry saved lives, also in WWII.

I Have No Idea Where Your Bathroom Is

The United States was embarrassed by Russias space progress, and so NASA hired the highest-IQ rocket scientists (figurative and literal) it could get its hands on. As author Tom Wolfe famously related in his book The Right Stuff, America was collectively depressed about the situation, knowing as we did that our rockets always blow up.

Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson) started out calculating rocket trajectories for the Apollo-series moon-shots, and then later saved famous astronaut John Glenns hide. We first see her as a small girl, blowing the collective minds of assembled classrooms and teachers with her rarified, chalkboard math hieroglyphics. She graduated college, summa cum laude, at age 18.

When she finally gets the job at NASA, we witness her particular form of cross-bearing: long, book-and paperwork-carrying, high-heeled sprints down long halls, across vast parking lots, and up and down staircases, to the colored only bathroomfar, far away from her deskonly to later get bawled out for tardiness.

She suffered all that (along with a male colleague labeling an empty coffee thermos as colored coffee) and still managed to out-math the whole males-only moon movement. Including her manager (Kevin Costner).

Favorite scene: Katherines given ridiculously redacted stacks of data to check by arrogant colleagues who think their calculations dont stink. She forthwith holds the sheets up to the light, sees through the black redaction ink, and discerns that they do in fact stink, big time.

Cream of the Crop

Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), who was Katherines supervisor, and their mutual friend Mary Jackson (R&B star Janelle Monae) were also trailblazing female African-American engineers working at NASA in the capacity of human computers, or as they were labeled, colored computers. Segregation at NASA put the colored computers in a separate room, with lower pay and nonstop discrimination.

Katherines fight to stand up for herself and her prescient, dead-on, virtuoso calculations; Marys court petition to get accreditation from the previously forbidden-to-Negros Hampton High School; and Dorothys outsmarting of segregationist librarians to acquire books on advanced Fortran computer-programming (not available in the librarys colored section) so as to avoid becoming IBM-obsolete are the films three narrative threads. Throw in a smidgen of romance and family.

Hidden Figures is largely a look at the racial tensions of the Civil Rights era, tonally similar to the The Help, and will most definitely provide role models for girls and minorities in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematicsand especially in the character-building areas of integrity, perseverance, and communication.

Wry Humor

At times overly saccharine, Hidden Figures has some fun humor. In a scene reminiscent of the one in American Sniper where a cop stops Navy SEAL Chris Kyle for speeding and ends up giving him a police escort to the Naval amphibious base at the outset of Americas response to the 9/11 attacks, here, after the womens car breaks down (Dorothy rolls up her sleeves and fixes it herself), an initially racist policeman gives the ladies an escort to the office upon finding out they work for NASA.

Says Mary, Were three Negro women chasing a white cop in 1961! Its highly likely Hidden Figures was released when it was, due to pressure on Hollywood to diversify its offerings.

Johnson, 97 years old when this film released, received a Presidential Medal of Freedom. She qualifies for having her picture in the dictionary next to the definition of rocket scientist.

Hidden Figures

Director: Theodore Melfi

Starring: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst

Running Time: 2 hours, 7 minutes

MPAA Rating: PG

Release Date: Dec. 25, 2016

Rated 3.5 stars out of 5
New Zealand contractors said it has been the worst season they had ever experienced. (Randy Fath/Unsplash)

New Zealand Announces Over 800 Border Exemptions for Agriculture and Tech Skilled Migrants

The New Zealand government announced border class exemptions for over 200 skilled agriculture workers and 600 tech specialists to relieve pressures created by COVID-19.

Agriculture Minister Damien OConnor said the government was aware that labour challenges remained and would continue working with the sector to meet them where possible.

Agriculture border exemptions include 200 mobile plant machinery operators, 40 shearers, and 50 wool handlers.

Shearing is a skilled trade, and while the sector is working hard to attract and train new people, this will help get our quality wool to overseas markets, OConnor said. Mobile plant machinery operators use large high-tech vehicles and are vital for the arable and horticulture sectors to get harvests in.

Rural Contractors New Zealand CEO Andrew Olsen said it was the worst season contractors had ever experienced, and they were relieved at the announcement, but that timing was now crucial.

I will continue to stress the urgency of getting the workers in ASAP in the New Year and from plane to paddock with as few obstacles as possible, he said. If we are still idling in low gear in six weeks, the opportunity will have been lost.

Olsen said he suggested to ministers that many contractors could self-isolate at rural farm properties to avoid the quarantine system, officially known as managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ).

This would allow the new operators to be able to perform their work in a non-contact manner, much as we saw during level 4 lockdown for essential service workers, Olsen said. There is still pressure on MIQ facilities, and this way, we could avoid some of the MIQ lolly scramble, minimise costs, and get our desperately needed imported staff to work sooner.

Sheep on farmland at the base of the crown range are seen in Queenstown, New Zealand, on June 25, 2020. (Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

The concerns around the quarantine system come after an earlier border exemption for 300 teachers brought in zero workers five months after the announcement, as reported by Stuff.co.nz.

Ministry of Education Secretary Iona Holsted said around 100 teachers had received a border exemption, but MIQ meant they had yet to enter the country.

We understand they are all in the processing queue, Holsted told Stuff.

Meanwhile, the government also announced border exemptions for tech specialists, targeting overseas talent in software development, product managers, cyber security, and interactive media.

The sector is now one of our top three exporters, and jobs in tech have been growing at twice the rate of the general economy. It has continued to expand during the COVID-19 pandemic, placing pressure on the demand for talent, Minister for the Digital Economy David Clark said.

While skills mismatch is the top challenge to address for the industry to grow, Clark acknowledged that the development of tech skills within New Zealand was fundamental as well.

As part of an Industry Transformation Plan partnership between Government and the tech industry; the sector has made a commitment to invest in developing domestic talent, rather than relying on overseas talent to fill the gaps, Clark said.
The Te Whanau O Waipareira vax team help vaccinate locals in Papakura as part of Whanau Ora campaign in Auckland, New Zealand, on Nov. 30, 2021. (Fiona Goodall/Getty Images)

New Zealand Man Under Investigation for Taking 10 COVID-19 Jabs in a Day

A man is being investigated by New Zealand (NZ) health authorities after receiving ten jabs in one day on behalf of other individuals.

The man is alleged to have visited several clinics and was paid to take the jabs, according to NZ-based news site, Stuff.

Astrid Koornneef, group manager of operations at the COVID-19 Vaccine and Immunisation Programme, said the Ministry of Health was very concerned about the situation and said individuals who have received more than two vaccine doses should seek clinical advice as soon as possible.

Having an inaccurate vaccination status not only puts you at risk it puts your friends, whanau, and community at risk, and the healthcare teams that treat you now in the future, Koornneef said in a statement to The Epoch Times.

In this photo illustration a vaccine pass is displayed on a phone for entry into a cafe in Auckland, New Zealand, on Dec. 03, 2021. (Photo Illustration by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Medical practitioners operate in a high-trust environment and rely on people to act in good faith to share information accurately to assist with their treatment, she added.

To assume another persons identity and receive a medical treatment is dangerous. This puts at risk the person who receives a vaccination under an assumed identity and the person whose health record will show they have been vaccinated when they have not.

This is not the first instance where individuals have sought to game the vaccination system.

In neighbouring Australia, a nurse in the city of Perth was charged over allegations she pretended to administer COVID-19 vaccines.

Christina Hartmann Benz was accused of making false records of vaccinations, after pretending to administer vaccines and then disposing of the still-full syringes.

These charges were dropped last week.

Australian authorities are also trying to stem the spread of fake vaccine passports. For example, a website was discovered that could generate a bogus certificate after users inputted their personal details and dates for their supposed first and second vaccination.

Meanwhile, in NZ, authorities are set to begin removing restrictions around Auckland, the nations most populous city.

The country has transitioned to a traffic-light system, with green, orange, and red levels that will outline what restrictionsincluding vaccine passports and social distancingindividuals and businesses must follow.

NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said businesses would likely need to continue implementing self-isolation requirements on any close contacts.

Lets prepare and plan for those difficult scenarios, but then have the flexibility to move (earlier), Ardern told AAP.

International border restrictions continue to remain, however, forcing national carrier, Air New Zealand, to axe around 1,000 flights to Australia in late November.
A nurse prepares a dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to be injected at the Andras Josa Teaching Hospital in Nyiregyhaza, Hungary, Jan. 24, 2021. (Attila Balazs/MTI via AP)

New Zealand Officials Probe Allegations Man Received 10 COVID-19 Vaccine Doses in 1 Day

A man who allegedly received as many as 10 COVID-19 vaccine shots in one day on behalf of other people is now being investigated, authorities in New Zealand say.

Astrid Koornneef, a manager of the countrys COVID-19 vaccine and immunization program, confirmed that the New Zealand Ministry of Health is aware of the alleged incident. An investigation is underway, she said.

We are very concerned about this situation and are working with the appropriate agencies, she told the New Zealand Herald. The ministry didnt elaborate on where the alleged incident occurred, and officials provided no other details.

The ministry recommended that anyone who has received more vaccine doses than recommended should seek clinical advice.

Medical practitioners operate in a high-trust environment and rely on people to act in good faith to share information accurately to assist with their treatment, Koornneef said.

The New Zealand news website Stuff.co.nz reported that the unnamed man visited several vaccination sites and was paid to receive the shots on behalf of other individuals, pretending to be them.

To assume another persons identity and receive a medical treatment is dangerous. This puts at risk the person who receives a vaccination under an assumed identity and the person whose health record will show they have been vaccinated when they have not, Koornneef said. This could affect how their health is managed in the future.

About 89 percent of New Zealand residents are fully vaccinated, according to data provided by the Ministry of Health. In October, New Zealand dropped its zero COVID strategy, a policy that is still being employed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in China.

At the time, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern acknowledged that her country cant eliminate COVID-19, which is caused by the CCP virus.

For this outbreak, its clear that long periods of heavy restrictions have not got us to zero cases, Ardern acknowledged in October. But that is okay. Elimination was important because we didnt have vaccines. Now we do. So we can begin to change the way we do things.

The Ministry of Health didnt respond to a request by The Epoch Times for additional comment by press time.
The logo of Alibaba Group is lit up at its office building in Beijing, China, on Aug. 9, 2021. (Tingshu Wang/Reuters)

Newspaper Says Alibaba Has Fired Employee Who Accused Former Co-Worker of Sexual Assault

BEIJINGChinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding has dismissed a female employee who accused a former co-worker of sexual assault earlier this year, Chinese regime-backed newspaper Dahe Daily reported late on Saturday.

Dahe Daily interviewed the employee, saying she had received notification of termination at the end of November, and published a copy of what she said was her termination letter.

The letter said the employee had spread false information about being assaulted and about the company not handling the case. It added this caused strong social concern and had a bad impact on the company.

I have not made any mistakes, and certainly will not accept this result, and in the future will use legal means to protect my rights and interests, the newspaper quoted the employee as saying in the interview.

Alibaba did not respond to a request for comment outside of working hours. A lawyer for the employee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Alibaba, Chinas largest e-commerce firm, was rocked by the sexual assault allegation in August after the female employee published an account on the companys intranet stating that she was assaulted by her co-worker and a client during a business trip.

Alibaba fired the co-worker accused of assault, but also dismissed 10 other employees for publicizing the incident.

Chinese prosecutors later dropped the case against the employees co-worker, stating that he committed forcible indecency but not a crime, but approved the arrest of the client in early September.
Northern Territory Government Backs Truly Green Hydrogen Project

The Northern Territory Government has granted major project status to a $15 billion (US$10.75 billion) project to produce green hydrogen in the Australian outback.

Expected to be at full capacity by 2027, the 10GW project will see the production of hydrogen at less than $2.80 (US$2) per kilogram, with a 410,000 metric tonne output capacity per year for domestic and export use.

Technology company Aqua Aerem will lead the world-first project, which will commence in 2022, and is expected to be producing commercial quantities of the gas as early as 2023.

Based at Tenant Creek, this will be the only truly green commercial hydrogen plant in Australia, employing Desert Bloom technology, which utilises atmospheric water capture and off-grid solar power to produce commercial quantities of renewable hydrogen at no expense to the scarce local water resources or environment.

In a media release on Monday, Aqua-Aerem co-founder and chief executive officer Gerard Reiter called the project transformative in the way it has solved water supply and solar/electrolysis integration problems that have so far impeded renewable hydrogen production.

With todays announcement, the pathway for green hydrogen becomes a reality, he said.

Our air-to-water technology, which solves this previously intractable water supply problem, is a world first; invented and developed here in Australia. This technology will open the door for green hydrogen projects to be located where the best renewable power sources are available, which is generally in the driest areas of the planet.

The Tenant Creek plant will utilise nearby existing gas and pipeline infrastructure that can be repurposed for hydrogen, and the project will be made up of modular and portable 2MW Hydrogen Production Units (HPUs)- about 4,000 at its peak- which generate water, heat, electricity, and hydrogen.

Reiter highlighted the multiple competitive advantages of the project.

It uses proven technology and has its own water supply. It benefits from the worlds best solar resources, does not require large sunk costs before it begins producing, and it is located at the energy corridor of rail, road and gas pipeline infrastructure linking directly to Darwin Port, he said.

It also offers the most direct, cost-effective route to Asian export markets.

Reiter added that the project will position Australia as a serious contender in the global hydrogen market, and give the Territory an economic boost, creating potentially a thousand jobs in construction and over a hundred full-time jobs in operation and maintenance of the project.

It will also promote skills development and education pathways and be a catalyst for new advanced manufacturing and regional development, he said.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner agreed that Desert Bloom hydrogen will be a major boost for the Territory.

Territorians will see the benefits on the ground in Central Australia and in the Top End with around 1000 jobs and $1 billion a year in export revenue from this project alone  its good news for the Territory.

Aqua Aerem is majority owned by Sanguine Impact Investment, which will be providing funding for the project.
Oil barrels are pictured at the site of Canadian group Vermilion Energy in Parentis-en-Born, France, on Oct. 13, 2017. (Regis Duvignau/Reuters)

Oil Steady but Omicron Risks Weigh

LONDONOil was steady on Monday, but new concerns about the Omicron coronavirus variant and doubts around the effectiveness of vaccines against it were weighing on prices.

Brent was up 6 cents, or 0.1 percent, at $75.21 a barrel by 0947 GMT, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 9 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $71.76 a barrel.

Both benchmarks posted gains of about 8 percent last week, their first weekly gain in seven.

The major oil contracts registered decent weekly gains, but it is noticeable that current prices are still way below the pre-Omicron levels, said Tamas Varga, oil analyst at London brokerage PVM Oil Associates.

The Omicron coronavirus variant, reported in more than 60 countries, poses a very high global risk, with some evidence that it evades vaccine protection, the World Health Organization says.

Oxford University also said vaccines showed to induce lower levels of protection against Omicron.

Producers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, next meet on Jan. 4 having agreed earlier this month to stick to their existing policy of monthly oil output increases.

Iraqs oil minister said on Sunday he expected OPEC at its next meeting to maintain its current policy of gradual monthly increases in supply by 400,000 bpd.

The market reacted little to an announcement last Friday by the U.S. Department of Energy that it will sell 18 million barrels of crude oil from its strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) on Dec. 17, as part of a previous plan to try to reduce gasoline prices.

WTI will probably test its recent high of $73.34 and then try to rise towards $78, the level before the Omicron fears led to a sharp sell-off late last month, said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities Co. Ltd.

Traders will also focus this week on monetary policy decisions expected to be taken by the European Central Bank (ECB), the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, and the Bank of Japan that could potentially include an early end to stimulus packages.

By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin
Omicron has become the variant of recent concern, though experts in South Africa say fears are overblown. (Fit Ztudio/Shutterstock)

Omicron Highlights Vaccine Limitations

As experts call for more vaccines to fight omicron, the pandemic continues unabated

The latest installment in the COVID-19 saga is a variant of the SARS-CoV2 virus dubbed omicron. Labeled a variant of concern by the World Health Organization (WHO), omicron was first reported at the end of November, and quickly triggered worry and restrictions across the globe.

Omicron was first noticed in South Africa, but cases are now found all over the world, and its said to be more contagious than the original COVID-19 strain. Although the South African health minister said symptoms are mild and the reaction toward omicron is being overblown, there are fears that the variant may be far more deadly than the original version of SARS-CoV2.

Health officials are calling to combat omicron with the same strategy theyve used to tackle the original COVID-19: more vaccines. On CBSs Face the Nation, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and current board member of Pfizer, says a booster offers the best protection available for omicron.

If you talk to people in vaccine circles, people who are working on a vaccine, they have a pretty good degree of confidence that a boosted vaccine, so three full doses of vaccine, is going to be fairly protective against this new variant, Gottlieb said.

Symptoms characterizing omicron include a scratchy throat, dry cough, and fatigue. But its not clear if the current crop of shots will be enough to keep omicron in check.

Consider the case of two Israeli doctors. Both received three doses of the Pfizer shot, but they also tested positive for omicron.

In fact, many omicron cases are found in fully vaccinated individuals.

Its not unusual for viruses to mutate. The big concern with omicron is how much it changed. According to National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins, this new variant has exhibited a record number of mutations that may interfere with vaccine effectiveness.

We do know that this is a variant that has a lot of mutationslike 50 of themand more than 30 of those in the spike protein, which is the part of the virus that attaches to your human cells if you get infected, Collins said during an appearance on Fox News Sunday.

Some experts say a new shot is necessary. Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said the current COVID-19 vaccines arent as likely to be effective against the new variant as they have been against Delta.

But dont expect a new product overnight. In an interview with the Financial Times, Bancel said scientists would have to first test the existing vaccines effectiveness against omicron. Then drugmakers would need a few more months to test and manufacture a shot specifically tailored to the new variant.

Work on an omicron shot is already underway. Pfizer and its German vaccine-making partner BioNTech said an updated version of its COVID-19 vaccine would be ready early next year if the omicron variant proves resistant to its current vaccine.

Pfizer and BioNTech have taken actions months ago to be able to adapt the mRNA vaccine within six weeks and ship initial batches within 100 days in the event of an escape variant, BioNTech stated.

Another omicron shot is being developed by the Maryland-based biotech company Novavax. Its updated formulation will be based on the spike protein specific to omicrons genetic sequence. The company plans to start testing next month.

Future Variants and Grave Concerns

More variants are expected to follow omicron, and presumably more vaccines will be manufactured to combat them. But will we ever be able to vaccinate our way out of the COVID pandemic? And how will the cumulative effect of all these experimental shots impact public health?

The unvaccinated are often blamed for spawning the omicron variant, but some experts suggest that the vaccinated may in fact be the real variant driver. In a Nov. 30 article, virologist and vaccinologist Geert Vanden Bossche wrote that the continued push of mass vaccination for COVID-19 will only expand the evolutionary capacity of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein beyond the omicron version.

At issue is the type of vaccines that were developed in response to COVID-19. Unlike conventional vaccines that provide immunity, COVID vaccines merely reduce symptom severity. Bossche predicts that this will result in vaccinated people spreading variants that are increasingly contagious and deadly.

Bossche has been warning about this problem for several months. In an open letter to the WHO from March 2021, he warns that the current strategy to vaccinate the population in the midst of a pandemic is at risk of resulting in a global catastrophe without equal.

I am not against vaccination, Bossche wrote. On the contrary, I can assure you that each of the current vaccines have been designed, developed, and manufactured by brilliant and competent scientists. However, this type of prophylactic vaccines are completely inappropriate, and even highly dangerous, when used in mass vaccination campaigns during a viral pandemic. Vaccinologists, scientists, and clinicians are blinded by the positive short-term effects in individual patients, but dont seem to bother about the disastrous consequences for global health.

Some research finds fault with the vaccines themselves. A study published in the Nov. 8, 2021, edition of the journal Circulation noted dramatic changes in the heart and blood vessels following a COVID-19 vaccine.

Researcher and cardiologist Dr. Steven R. Gundry noted that the changes persist for at least 2 1/2 months after the second vaccination.

Gundry concluded that the mRNA vaccines dramatically increase inflammation on the endothelium and T-cell infiltration of cardiac muscle and may account for the observations of increased thrombosis, cardiomyopathy, and other vascular events following vaccination.

Another study from the UK finds that those 60 and younger who have taken the COVID-19 vaccine are twice as likely to die as those who didnt take the jab.

However, regulators still insist that the shots are safe, and that getting more people vaccinated is critical to ending the pandemic. Even before omicron came on the scene, moderately or severely immunocompromised individuals were encouraged to receive four shots. Some experts predict that everyone may require a new shot every six months as protection begins to wane.
Emergency vehicles stage outside an Amazon fulfillment center after it was heavily damaged when a strong thunderstorm moved through the area in Edwardsville, Ill., on Dec. 10, 2021. (Jeff Roberson/AP Photo)

OSHA Opens Investigation Into Deadly Amazon Warehouse Collapse in Illinois

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) stated on Dec. 13 that it will investigate the partial collapse of an Amazon distribution center in tornado-ravaged Edwardsville, Illinois, over the weekend.

OSHA has six months to complete its investigation, issue citations, and propose monetary penalties if violations of workplace safety and or health regulations are found. No further information will be available until OSHA has completed their investigation, Department of Labor spokesman Scott Allen said in a statement. The Labor Department oversees OSHA.

The agency has had compliance officers at the Amazon facility since Dec. 11, Allen said.

Six Amazon workers were killed, one was injured, and about 45 people were rescued, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at a news conference on Dec. 11. The collapse was caused by a tornado that struck the building on Dec. 10 as part of a larger weather system that spawned numerous tornados across the central United States, leaving dozens of people dead and injured in Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

Pritzker on Dec. 13 issued a disaster declaration across central and southern Illinois. The move frees up state resources to help communities recover from the severe weather.

We are working directly with the White House and [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] to ensure access to all federal resources for this community, Pritzker said in a statement. And as local entities work to secure federal reimbursements and recovery dollars, we will assist every step of the way.

The Amazon facilitys walls on both sides collapsed inward and the roof collapsed downward, Edwardsville Fire Chief James Whiteford said at a news conference on Dec. 11.

In this aerial photo, destruction is seen along Reelfoot Lake in the aftermath of tornadoes that swept through the region, in Samburg, Tenn., on Dec. 12, 2021. (Gerald Herbert/AP Photo)

A spokesperson for Amazon, Kelly Nantel, told news outlets that OSHA investigates all workplace fatalities and we are supporting them, and Amazon is offering thoughts and prayers for the victims, their loved ones, and everyone impacted by the tornado  were continuing to support our employees and partners in the area.

Amazon officials didnt respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment by press time.

President Joe Biden said on Dec. 13 that he will travel to Kentucky on Dec. 15 to survey damage caused by the tornado outbreak.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that Biden isnt expected to give a speech during the visit, but will focus on meeting with local officials and trying to be a source of comfort to people who have gone through a devastating couple of days in their communities.

That visit is really about him receiving an update of the work thats happening on the ground, hearing directly from leaders on what they need more from the federal government, if anything, and hes going to be very responsive to that, she said.

Biden, who already has signed emergency declarations for Kentucky, said he stands ready to do the same for Illinois.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Chicago and Evanston police investigate a crime scene after a gunman went on a shooting spree before being killed by police during a shootout in Evanston, Ill., on Jan. 9, 2021. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Chicago Police Say 4 Dead, 24 Wounded in Weekend Shootings

At least four people are dead, and 24 others were injured in separate shootings across Chicago over the past weekend, police said.

On Dec. 11, a man who was identified as 26-year-old Siraj Mahadeva was shot and killed while standing on the porch of a friends house on the Northwest Side, officials told the Chicago Sun-Times. The man was found by his friend after the friend heard a loud sound at around 3:25 a.m., authorities said.

Mahadeva was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, officials said.

Another man was fatally shot around noon in the West Pullman neighborhood of the Far South Side on Dec. 11, authorities told news outlets. Ralph Williams, 38, was sitting in a vehicle near West 119th Street when two individuals approached the car before one opened fire, officials said.

Williams, who was hit in the back, was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he died, police said.

A 40-year-old man was shot and killed in the South Shore community on the Far South Side on Dec. 11. He was found dead at around 3:35 p.m. near a residence, police said. The man hasnt yet been identified.

A 21-year-old woman was found shot in the head at 10 a.m. on Dec. 11 in an apartment in the 2300 block of North Austin Avenue in Belmont Central, police told CBS2. She was pronounced dead at Loyola University Medical Center.

Officials told local media outlets that a 16-year-old male was shot and injured on Dec. 11 in Gresham on the South Side. The teen, who wasnt identified, was sitting in a vehicle when someone in another car opened fire, striking the teen in the back. He was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where his condition was stabilized, officials told the Sun-Times.

At around 2 p.m. in a separate incident on Dec. 11, two people were wounded during a drive-by shooting in Oakland on the South Side. A man and a woman were standing near the 1000 block of East 43rd Street when someone fired shots, police said.

The man, 45, was struck in the arm, torso, and leg, and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition. The woman, 64, was shot in the leg and was taken to the same medical facility, where she was stabilized, according to police.

Last weekend, officials said that at least nine people died and more than 30 were injured in shootings. At least 813 homicides have been reported this year in Chicago.
Police patrol Union Square in San Francisco on Nov. 30, 2021. Stores have increased security in response to a spike in thefts. (Ethan Swope/Getty Images)

Progressive District Attorneys Radically Change Rule of Law in California Cities

More than 50 prosecutors, support, and victim services staff have quit since the San Francisco District Attorney took office

LOS ANGELESAmid a wave of smash-and-grab robberies and other crimes, a former prosecutor is claiming that more than 50 prosecutors, support, and victim services staff have quit their jobs over San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudins progressive criminal justice reform policies.

The office is imploding, said the former prosecutor, who produced the list of those whove left their jobs since Boudin was sworn into office on Jan. 10, 2020.

Not all of them quit, but most of them quit. Some were fired, said the individual, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal. The list isnt up to date. I think more have left.

Boudin fired seven prosecutors during his second day on the job.

Another former investigative supervisor sued Boudin for wrongful termination last month, claiming retaliation for calling out improper and unlawful actions by two prosecutors.

Boudins office hasnt responded to inquiries by The Epoch Times.

The individual also cited a Sept. 24 court proceeding during which Superior Court Judge Bruce Chan raised concerns about actions taken in the District Attorneys Office.

For what its worth, let me say a few things, maybe with the forlorn hope that someone in the DAs office might pay attention, Chan said.

Court transcripts cite Chan as saying he wholeheartedly supports Boudins efforts to reform the criminal justice system, but he said: I cannot express in any more certain terms my disapproval of the manner in which the Office of the District Attorney is being managed.

Chesa Boudin (L), Leif Dautch (center), and Nancy Tung deliver their platforms for the office of San Francisco district attorney on Sept. 4, 2019. (Nancy Han/NTD)

We simply cannot have the current levels of inadvertence, disorganization, and expect there to be any public confidence in what we do here collectively.

Chan criticized the constant turnover in the office, saying, I hope that people in the District Attorneys Office will shift their focus from some of the bigger issues and concern themselves with the unglamorous yet necessary work of public prosecution.

The former prosecutor agreed with Chans comments in the hearing and accused Boudin of trying to downplay increased crime statistics.

Thats the thing thats really frustrating is that they know its worse. They know it, and theyre lying.

While progressive prosecutors contend that the reason why theres so many criminals is because our justice system turns them into criminals, its a backward argument, the person said. They argue that people keep getting arrested because cops keep arresting them and thats the problem.

Some believe that if the police would just leave people alone, they wouldnt commit crimes, the person said.

Crimes, especially property offenses, are vastly underreported because the public has lost faith in the justice system, the former prosecutor said.

They think that no one cares. They think that nothing is going to happen, the person said.

When police sometimes tell victims of property crimes theres no point in reporting these incidents because district attorneys likely wont do anything, unfortunately, theyre right, the person said.

People blame the cops for not wanting to take reports. Thats a symptom. The actual problem is that theres no prosecution. If you start charging cases, the cops will step up and do their jobs.

Union Square visitors look at damage to a Louis Vuitton store in San Francisco on Nov. 21, 2021. (Danielle Echeverria/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Crime Rates Rise

The San Francisco District Attorneys Office said recently that charges were filed against nine suspects in connection with organized retail theft at a Louis Vuitton store in Union Square.

These brazen acts will not be tolerated in San Francisco, Boudin said in the statement.

However, critics say the rising crime rates put Boudin at risk of being ousted in a June recall election.

Police reported that vehicle break-ins have increased 100 to 750 percent in parts of the city compared to last year, with the number of reported vehicle thefts reaching 1,891 in May 2021more than double the 923 reported in May 2020.

San Francisco also recorded one of the largest increases in burglaries among major cities last year, with a jump of 47 percenta trend that has continued this year. Fatal and nonfatal shootings in the first six months of this year were up more than 100 percent from the year-earlier period, increasing to 119 from 58, the citys police chief said at a July press conference.

More than 700 people died of drug overdoses last year in the city, a record that is likely to be surpassed this year, according to the chief medical examiner.

Zack Smith, a legal fellow in the Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation, has co-authored a series of reports on progressive prosecutors. He claims that the recent rise in organized thefts and other problems in San Francisco and Los Angeles are the result of extreme progressive policies.

I think you can draw a direct line to it, Smith told The Epoch Times. What do you expect to happen? Its going to lead to a breakdown in law and order. Its going to embolden criminals to commit these brazen types of thefts that weve seen.

In recent election cycles, several progressive candidates won their races against independent, traditional prosecutors, many of whom are from the same political party as these challengers.

A man in a Bad Boys Bail Bonds jacket waits outside the Sheriffs Department Inmate Reception Center in Los Angeles on Jan. 30, 2015. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)

Progressive District Attorney Policies

Boudin isnt alone in his views on criminal justice reform, and like other progressive district attorneysincluding George Gascon in Los Angeles, Marilyn Mosby in Baltimore, Rachael Rollins in Boston, Kim Foxx in Chicago, Larry Krasner in Philadelphia, and Steve Descano in Fairfax County, Virginiahes found himself at the center of controversy.

In line with the progressive policies of restorative justice, Boudin campaigned on a platform to end mass incarceration, eliminate cash bail, and vowed to create a panel to review sentencing and potential wrongful convictions. Following his election in November 2019, Boudin announced he would deemphasize the prosecution of drug cases, so-called quality-of-life cases, and property offenses.

Boudin has indicated he wants to shift the focus to more serious offenses and take on corporations. He has also suggested hiring public defenders as prosecutors.

He has refused to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and has threatened to prosecute ICE officers whom he accused of breaking sanctuary laws.

The people of San Francisco have sent a powerful and clear message: Its time for radical change to how we envision justice, Boudin said in 2019.

Boudin and the San Francisco District Attorneys Office claim they develop and implement data-driven policies and practices that promote justice, protect crime survivors, and that address the root causes of crime.

The San Francisco District Attorneys Office also strives to create policies that promote racial justice; end the criminalization of poverty; and combat mass incarceration by relying on incarceration as a lastand not firstresort, according to the DAs website. Many of these policies involve innovative approaches designed to remedy systemic problems. The Office gathers and relies upon data-backed evidence in making policy decisions.

One of Boudins first actions was to scrap the cash bail system.

The DAs office states Boudin doesnt believe anyone should be held in jail because theyre too poor to post bail. Under his policies, if someone poses a serious public safety risk, the DAs office will ask that the person remain in jail while their case is pending in the courts, according to the offices website.

Everyone who doesnt pose a serious public safety risk is released while their case is pending, although sometimes with conditions of electronic monitoring, GPS, or drug testing.

DA Boudins policy on ending cash bail in San Francisco was widely heralded as the most progressive bail policy in the nation. It plays an important step towards ending the criminalization of poverty and stopping mass incarceration, the website states.

George Gascon, then-San Francisco district attorney who took office as Los Angeles County district attorney on Dec. 7, 2020, speaks during a news conference in San Francisco on Dec. 9, 2014. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Los Angeles District Attorney

Since Gascon took office as Los Angeles district attorney in December 2020, the city has seen a 49 percent increase in homicides, recording 325 in the first 10 months this year, and a 16 percent jump in aggravated assaults. Auto thefts are also up 50 percent, accompanying a recent wave in follow-home robberies, according to police.

Multiple veteran prosecutors have sued Gascon, alleging retaliation for voicing criticism of the district attorneys policies.

Neither Gascon nor his office have responded to inquiries by The Epoch Times

Progressives worked hard to oust former Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey, a registered Democrat and the first female and first black American to head the District Attorneys Office.

It is political, Smith said, but this is a battle, not so much that all breaks down along Republican or Democratic lines, but between traditional understandings of law and order and hard-left ideologues.

Lacey was relatively left-leaning, but by no means radical, Smith said. She understood her job was to enforce the laws to prosecute crimes and to protect the safety of her community. But her policies were not radical enough for George Soros or George Gascon, and so because of that, Gascon challenged her and unfortunately ultimately defeated her.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who had backed Lacey for years, suddenly shifted their support to Gascon.

Progressive candidates are challenging other Democrats who arent necessarily hard-left ideologues like these individuals, Smith said.

Former Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley, who held the office for three terms from 2000 to 2012, told The Epoch Times that as Gascon continues to double down on his ill-conceived, soft-on-crime policies, crime will not only get worse in LA, but spread to neighboring areas as well.

What youre seeing now is a lot of these very, very horrible crimes being committed in the suburbs in multimillion-dollar homes in Beverly Hills, Hancock Park, on the street, you know, thats a very high-end area in Los Angeles.

They are going to the suburbs. Theyre going to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, he said. This is going to spread out and everyone in Los Angeles County is going to be experiencing this crime wave.

Then-Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley speaks during a news conference on Sept. 21, 2010. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Gascon wants to reduce incarceration and opposes enhanced sentences that impose additional jail time for people with long criminal histories, or who inflict great bodily injuries, use a gun, or are involved in gangs, Cooley said.

He wants to eliminate enhancements. He wants to reduce incarceration to the lowest possible point, and hes able to do that through his charging policies, he said. If you dont charge great bodily injury when someone is injured in a shooting, then theyre not going to get the extra time for great bodily injury.

Many of the suspects in armed follow-home robberies and these shoot-em-ups at the restaurants and the flash-smash-bash-dash robberies are juvenile gang members, Cooley said. They all know that juveniles, even if they commit multiple murders, will never ever be tried in adult court, even though theyre age 16 or age 17. They know this and they take advantage of it.

Thats why in Beverly Hills, theyve had a spate of robberies by juvenilesat gunpoint, armed robberiesand the juveniles are put out there by adults, because theyre not going to suffer any punishment. They will not even be charged with an armed robbery under Gascons policies. They commit an armed robbery, they stick a gun in someones face, they take their purse, they will not be charged with armed robbery, he said.

Kathleen Cady, a retired Los Angeles County deputy district attorney, said that when Gascon was sworn into office on Dec. 7 last year, he almost simultaneously issued nine new policies.

There were 61 pages of policies  and they all negatively impact public safety and victims, she said.

Some of those policies prohibit sentence enhancements and transferring minors to adult court for serious crimes such as murder and rape, as well as preventing prosecutors from the District Attorneys Office from attending parole hearings.

Ive represented well over 20 murder victims families where the murderer was a 16- or 17-year-olds, and in each and every one of those cases, the prosecutor is not allowed to ask the judge if the minor can go up to adult court, and the minor stays in juvenile court, Cady said.

Minors can only be held in custody until theyre 25 years old.

Cady, who represents crime victims of all political stripes, agrees the so-called reform movement behind Gascons campaign is very political, but said the response to his policies isnt.

Opponents arent banding together based on politics, she said.

Its not a right-versus-left issue at all. Its absolutely a public safety issue. It really has nothing to do with politics, it has to do with common sense and keeping the public safe, Cady said. I would call myself a liberal Democrat, but I am completely opposed to this particular reform movement, because reform means to make better. Nothing is better since he has come into office.

Cady said she isnt opposed to justice reform, but contends that Gascons vision of reform isnt working.

Im certainly not opposed to making things better. Most of us are not opposed to making things better. The problem is that his vision of what criminal justice reform is, is wrong. Its very mistaken, she said. He is using false statistics and what he claims to be data to inform his policies, which are blanket policies [that] do not allow for looking at individual cases, circumstances, [and] criminal histories.
Putin Has Tanks, the West Has Tongues

Commentary

Supposedly theres this united Western front against a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. Except France, as usual. But united in resolve and united in fatuity arent quite the same thing. Which I mention in case our leaders have overlooked it.

For instance, this weekend I got this press release saying, The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today met with Annalena Baerbock, Germanys Minister of Foreign Affairs, on the margins of the G7 Foreign and Development Ministers Meeting. The two ministers congratulated each other on their respective appointments and recognized that Canada and Germany are natural partners in the fight against climate change. Minister Joly also expressed her desire to work with Minister Baerbock to promote shared values through enhanced cooperation. The ministers affirmed their commitment to multilateralism and shared perspectives on G7 priorities. They discussed ways to ensure coordinated responses to the Russian military buildup on Ukraines border and to support the people of Afghanistan.

So its all under control. We have so many ways to ensure coordinated responses we have the luxury of choosing among them. Of course you might have done a double take on reaching and to support the people of Afghanistan. Would they be the ones on whom we bailed ignominiously and still cannot rescue some who helped us at great personal risk? Um yes.

OK then. Can we hear more about these ways to ensure coordinated responses to help them? Or, at the risk of seeming demanding, about ways to support them rather than to ensure coordinated responses which sounds bureaucratic, self-satisfied, and meaningless? Other than leaving with our tails between our legs but without the vast profusion of military hardware we abandoned in our panicky flight, then hurling meaningless imprecations because we are powerless to save Afghans either from the Talibans direct repression or its inept cruelty.

Awkward. I guess we could blast our way back in. Which the Canadian military is definitely as capable of doing as Germanys. And then we could nation-build or something. After we fix the weather, I mean.

None of which seems terribly pertinent to Ukraine. There we face defeat not by the low-rent tribal Taliban with improvised weapons but the mighty Red Army, or whatever they now call it. (Which if you care used to be the Workers and Peasants Red Army before being officially renamed the Soviet Army in February 1946, then the CIS Ground Forces for a year, then the Ground Forces of the Russian Federation.) Admittedly it couldnt beat the Taliban either, despite a willingness to scorch the Earth that we lacked. But it does now have nearly 300,000 persons on active duty and about 58 million billion tanks and artillery pieces ranging from obsolete rubbish to the Iskander M, and some scary special corps and the support of the Aerospace Forces, the Airborne troops and am I boring you?

I have a bad feeling Im boring Western politicians and possibly military personnel as well. Certainly, within the Canadian Armed Forces things like troops and equipment are merely a PR problem like senior officers conduct. Wikipedia, for instance, says the Red Army has about 19,000 main battle tanks. And buried in the fine print, Canada has 82. Which should last several minutes in combat. A figure our air force might well envy, as the Russian Air Force has roughly 4,500 aircraft while our 391 puts us sixth in the Americas behind the United States Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, U.S. Marines, and Brazil. Woot. Mind you we only trail Germany by about 74.

All these details will strike modern persons as beside the point, since if Russia invades Ukraine we will punish them not by fighting but by not fighting. We might also refuse to buy their natural gas and freeze in the dark to teach them a sharp one. Or we might refuse to buy their um what do you own that was made in Russia? Other than a lovely computer virus or two? What would you be willing to buy that was made in Russia? A monitor? Car? Breadbox?

Seriously. I went on Amazon recently to shop for breadboxes and I assure you none were made in Russia. They were all made in China. Which is another story.

Specifically, that Russia is now essentially a gas station for China. Or, for Lord of the Rings fans, Saruman to Xi Jinpings Sauron. Putin cares what Beijing thinks of his foreign policy. Which is: Way to go attacking the West. Well conquer you after we conquer them. For now you take Ukraine while we take Taiwan.

If I were Putin that plan would worry me enormously. But apparently he hates us too much to care.

Besides, fighting China would be hard. Fighting us over Ukraine would be a cakewalk, and he knows it. Do we?

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Rescuers work at the site of a gas explosion that caused several houses to collapse in Ravanusa, Italy, on Dec. 13, 2021. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters)

Rescuers Pull 4 More Bodies From Rubble After Sicily Explosion

RAVANUSA, ItalyRescuers have pulled four more bodies out of the rubble of houses destroyed by a suspected gas explosion in the Sicilian town of Ravanusa, bringing the total death toll to seven, the fire brigade said.

Two people are still missing from Saturdays blast, which demolished four houses and badly damaged another three.

Sniffer dogs located the four bodies, including a nurse who was nine-months pregnant, in the early hours and emergency services worked through the night to clear away the debris in order to reach them safely.

A flower is seen amongst the rubble at the site of a gas explosion that caused several houses to collapse in Ravanusa, Italy, on Dec. 13, 2021. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters)

The rubble has to be removed carefully piece by piece to avoid other possible collapses, which could hit both the fire-fighters  but also the people we are looking for, fire service spokesman Luca Cari told Reuters.

Authorities said the deadly explosion was likely triggered by a gas leak, although an investigation was underway to ascertain the cause.

Gas grid operator Italgas expressed its sorrow and condolences to people in Ravanusa. It said its emergency service had received no reports of gas leaks last week.

Ravanusa is a town of about 11,000 people near the southwestern Sicilian city of Agrigento, which is famous for its Greek temples.

By Antonio Denti
Retiring CHP Officer Recalls Her Dash From Cadet to Assistant Chief

In 1994, 23-year-old Helena Williams arrived at the California Highway Patrol Academy in West Sacramento determined to become one of a handful of female CHP cadets.

When the petite, 5-foot-tall, single mother of a spry 18-month-old boy joined the academy, she knew she couldnt achieve her goals alone. Supportive of her ambition, her father and other family members took care of her son Billy so she could concentrate on the intense physical training and academic studies required to be a CHP cadet, and eventually officer.

Williams knew that before cadet candidates can advance to their written exam, they must pass a Physical Ability Test (PAT), which includes 19 push-ups in one minute, 25 sit-ups in one minute, completing a 1.5 mile run in under 15 minutes, and a 300-meter run in 70 seconds.

After 28 weeks of tough, live-in training, Williamss grit paid off and she graduated from the CHP Academy and was assigned as an officer in Gilroy, where she received field training. Her journey to become a California Highway Patrol officer had become a reality, and she would go on to an accomplished 28-year career, a time she refers to as her dash.

(Courtesy of Helena Williams)

Williams worked graveyard shifts, something she would continue for nearly half her career as a CHP officer, in order to create a sense of stability for Billy and later, her daughter Gianna.

While it was tough juggling everything she had on her plate, Williams eventually worked her way back to Sacramento, where her father and family support network continued to help as her career took hold.

While she was working nights, her son would be asleep, and when she got home, she could take him to school, sleep while he was there, and pick him up at the end of the day.

It wasnt easy, but it was a way to have some sense of normalcy, like family dinners together, doing homework together, Williams recalled.

As her CHP career progressed, so did her personal and family life. Williams met and married her husband Jim, who also works in law enforcement for the Sacramento Sheriffs Department and will be running for Sacramento County sheriff in 2022.

Williams would eventually rise through the ranks to become one of two female assistant chiefs (AC), the departments second-highest-ranking officer, out of 32 ACs in the organization.

When I began this journey, I was a single mother, on welfare and just divorced. But with confidence, hard work, integrity, and courage, I was able to rise to the rank of assistant chief in an organization of 11,000 and have a place at the table, Williams said.

I would like other women, who may be in a similar position as I once was, to chase their dreams and change their stars!

(Courtesy of Helena Williams)

Finding Balance

When asked what it was like for both her and Jim to have leadership careers on the front lines of law enforcement, Williams said that over time, their relationship went from balancing schedules to something deeper.

She discovered that conversations about work became naturally honest and open, and that trust was at the heart of bringing each of their unique perspectives to the table for sometimes difficult discussions, even when they agreed to disagree.

When we were younger, navigating our careers, we were just trying to find some life balance, Williams said. Then, as we both became executives in our respective organizations, the discussions became more about things we can and cant control.

Now, she said, they talk more about the importance of leadership and legacy, things they feel they have control over, issues like how to motivate or retain their staff, or how to build the kind of law enforcement culture theyd like to accomplish now and for the future.

We also discuss how weve had to pivot to the necessary demands increasingly being placed on law enforcement right now, she said.

What we see on a day-to-day basis is the abnormal, the things the public doesnt want to see or deal with, and thats why we have law enforcement, Williams said. We protect you from things you dont want to experience, but, at the same time, were there if you do.

Making The Dash Count

Now that shes retired from the CHP, Williams says shes planning to spend more quality time with Jim and their 12-year-old daughter, Gianna. Having recently passed her mortgage originator exam, she is planning a second career that will be more leisurely than her responsibilities leading a team of first responders on the front lines of public safety.

Williams said shes thought a lot about author, speaker, and law enforcement veteran Gordon Grahams frequent references to The Dash, a poem by Linda Ellis. She uses the poem as an analogy for her tenure with the CHP from 1994 to 2021.

The meaning of The Dash is the time between your birth year and when you join our glorious Lord, Williams said. What did we do in between is what matters most, how we treated people, showing appreciation more, and how we lived and loved those in our lives.

In part of a LinkedIn post on her last day with the CHP, Williams shared some insights and advice:

My Dash with the patrol, represents a lot of accomplishments but what I am most proud of are the people, the relationships, the laughs, sorrows, and watching our people succeed, live, and grow, she wrote

The takeaway for me is that you can only control the controllable  and when you really evaluate what that means, you tend to realize a lot is in your control  teamwork, attitude, commitment, dedication, character, work ethic, accountability, grace, and the list goes on and on. Your legacy is in your control.
How the Cancel Culture Mobs Attempt to Silence Jordan Peterson Backfired

Commentary

Cancel culture is a misnomer for the ages. If it is anything, it is first surely not a culture, but its very opposite and antithesis. An anti-culture, or a movement to suffocate and injure real culture.

Like many other pernicious practices, it comes out of the horrid womb of woke politics. Its mode of operation is simple and, alas, well known. When it was a mere toddler its operations were localized. Mainly it was kept behind the ivy-darkened walls of the modern university, nursed by all the laboured and ersatz disciplines of the various and hollow studies departments. It emerged from the fallow field of identity politics and found ready home in all the morbid isms of our time, and the shower of every multiplying phobias. I wont list them. You know what they are, but all orbit around Planet Politically Correct, and all are empty.

The earliest demonstrations of the anti-intellectual cancel culture phenomenon usually revolved around bands of precious students ganging up to stop some speaker coming to a campus, under the ludicrous accusation that the particular speaker would create an unsafe space. That he or she would threaten to destabilize the hyper-ripe sensibilities of the various marginalized groups, force their erasure and buttress hegemonic discourse and cis-heteronormative privilege, this latter a piece of arcana known only to those who write and say such things. I have yet to meet a cis-het and it causes me no grief I have not.

It should be obvious that being a student at Yale or Harvard or Oxford, or others of near equal prestige, is to be among the most privileged and entitled young people in the world. The condemned speakers very presence on a campus was always characterized as threatening harm, or would make some feel uncomfortable or trigger traumas, or even expose vulnerable students to violence.

These claims might be appropriate for a threatened invasion, or some gang-swarm on a campus. But to haul them out as reasons to cancel a 20-minute talk from some mild (almost always) small-C conservative writer or commentator is pure garbage. To any adult such claims were screamingly obvious fictions, or if they were not fictions they were something even worsewillingly induced delusions. Mainly, however, cancellations and protests were just hard-left politics, an unsubtle and harsh reach to limit basic free speech, to muzzle any opinion their campus petty dictators didnt wish aired, and more than a gesture to bring universities and their professors, by confected scandal and demonstrations, to the hard lefts grim and one-dimensional way of thinking.

Jordan Peterson holds an Isaac Newton notebook in the Wren Library at Trinity College Cambridge in England on Nov. 20, 2021. (Courtesy of Jordan Peterson)

Cancel culture has had an infection velocity any malign virus would envy. It has long since left the academy, found a great fortress within Twitter and online, and now patrols or attempts to patrol newspapers, television shows, Hollywood (which has supinely taken a knee to all its vacuous obsessions), and received warm welcome among corporations, Facebook, much of the professions, and even on a person-to-person level.

Id like to do a full exposition of its imperial reach in this timid and regressive age, but instead I want to do a recount of one of its earlier and most famous episodes.

The Pronoun Wars

Once upon a time and in a place very near (from where I am bruising the laptop keyboard) in a province called Ontario and its oh-so-proudly tolerant and diverse city called Toronto, on the campus of its celebrated and eponymous University, there was a professor, a clinical psychologist. And his name was Jordan Peterson.

It was at the beginning of what history now calls the Pronoun Wars, denoted by one sage observer, and the greatest nightmare grammarians have ever endured, and sparked by the emergence of the trans movement. A concentrated account must suffice. Dr. Peterson, a near anonymous figure in those days, objected to the idea that he could be mandated to use any of the glittering array of new-fangled (and frankly ridiculous) bedspread of invented pronouns. It wasnt that he would not, in some person-to-person contact, agree to use a new pronoun to a student who requested it. His objection came from deeper sources: that the concepts behind the practice emerged from a mode of politics he regarded as pernicious. He emphatically declared that as either professor or citizen he would never submit to compelled speech.

Skipping over much, a band of fevered students charged him with transphobianot incidentally yet another term that has leaped into news and academic discourse, though you will not hear it much, even now, outside these progressive vaults. They interrupted Dr. Petersons lectures, assailed him with contempt and insult, harassed him when he attempted to argue his case, brought noise machines to drown him out, and askeddemandedhe be fired.

Now I must make a great jump, but as his story is well-known to many I think it permissible to do so.

The attempts to silence and ostracize Dr. Peterson failed in a divinely spectacular fashion. The woke, identity-politics mobIm going vernacular heregot its politically correct fat ass bitten as with the teeth of a monster crocodile. He ascended into fame with supersonic speed, wrote the book 12 Rules for Life that sold millions, and became the most famous academic in the worlda heralded icon to masses of people grateful for his advice, his multitude of Biblical and other lectures, and his articulated defiance of the bullying tactics and ideology of left dogma.

They tried to smother Peterson, and even his own University of Toronto was complicit in the early effort. But to their woe and heartburn resentment, unwittingly fed him Grade A oxygen and launched him to undreamt of fame and access to a worldwide audience. They had attempted to crush a sparrow and lo, they set a dragon in flight against themselves.

Just over a couple of weeks ago, Dr. Peterson had something of a triumphal return to the United Kingdom, to the singularly prestigious universities of Cambridge and Oxford, where he gave lectures to crowded halls, spoke of their famous unions, and met and conversed with some of the worlds premier thinkers. And, most particularly the visit to Cambridge University was a conscious upending of his previous time there. He had been invited to stay awhile with the Divinity Department. Shamefully, like in Toronto previously, there was a demonstration, the usual dull, dumb, dastardly charges that he would make the students unsafe that he was toxic etc., etc., boringly etc.

On that occasion the university caved. Cancel culture made its inglorious demands and they caved.

But now here, three years after his campaign against woke culture in general and cancel culture in particular, awakened, or rather reawakened Cambridge to its academic conscience. It repented, its professors returned to the dignity of their calling and reinvited the noble Prof. Jordan Peterson, not least for leadership as a main campaigner for intellectual integrity, free speech, and his great labours as a winged dragon warring against the censors and bullies of political correctness and all the ilk thereof.

He returned in triumph to the very university that earlier feared to host him.

You may have read about his two-week tour of Cambridge and Oxford in American and UK newspapers, heard or seen news of it on various television programs in both countries. Curiously, two weeks of a Toronto professor, world-class speaker, million-seller author, given great welcome by two of the worlds highest and most historic academies, hardly stirred if it stirred at all the newsrooms of the city he calls home. Toronto is a very big city and a very small place.

Its currently most famous citizen and pre-eminent intellectual is celebrated almost everywhere but in the city of his home.

A prophet is not You know the rest.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Salvadoran President Accuses US of Supporting Communist Opposition

The president of El Salvador on Dec. 12 accused the U.S. government of funding the communist opposition against him in order to destabilize his government.

US taxpayers should know that their government is using their money to fund communist movements against a democratic elected (and with a 90% approval rating) government in El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele, who won the presidential election in 2019, wrote on Twitter.

Its not working though, Bukele added, posting four pictures below his comment, including one aerial picture to purportedly show the protest against him on Dec. 12 wasnt widely attended.

Other footage and pictures of the Dec. 12 protest suggest it was more widely attended than what Bukele portrayed.

The other pictures posted by Bukele include protesters holding U.S. flags and show nearby alleged supporters of the left-wing opposition party Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN).

The FMLN conducted guerrilla warfare against the U.S.-supported government during the Salvadoran Civil War (19791992). It currently holds four seats in the 84-seat Legislative Assembly of El Salvador, whereas Bukeles party, Nuevas Ideas, holds 56 seats.

The Dec. 12 protest against Bukele was meant to denounce corruption, political persecution, lies, and the harmful policies of the fascist government of Bukele the dictator, according to an FMLN official.

Its unknown what concrete information Bukele has to link the United States to the opposition.

In an earlier tweet on Dec. 12, the Salvadoran president wrote, originally in Spanish: The United States Government makes a conceptual error: You cannot raise a dead person, no matter how many millions of dollars are invested. El Salvador does not want to go back to the past.

Bukeles accusations about U.S. meddling come after the U.S. Treasury targeted high-level Salvadoran officials for alleged corruption on Dec. 8 and 9.

The Treasury stated in a press release that Bukeles administration provided money to the criminal organizations MS-13 and Barrio 18 in 2020 to reduce gang violence.

The two officials who led the negotiations with the gangs, Osiris Luna Meza, chief of the penal system, and Amilcar Marroquin, vice-minister of justice and public security, are among those who received sanctions.

Bukeles chief of Cabinet, Martha Carolina Recinos De Bernal, has also been targeted by the Treasury. She allegedly awarded millions of dollars in inflated contracts related to the pandemic, which provided kickbacks to Salvadoran officials and some of Bukeles advisers.

Bukele wrote on Twitter, originally in Spanish: These daily accusations seem absurd. I didnt know they were so interested in El Salvador. Perhaps what they want is to correct the bad example.

El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt the cryptocurrency Bitcoin as its legal tender along with the U.S. dollar in September, and Bukele intends to develop the country into a crypto hub and build a Bitcoin City financed by issuing Bitcoin bonds.

Despite controversies, Bukeles approval ratings are very strong, with two polls in December showing 93.5 and 96 percent approval in his management of the pandemic.
Stuart Malcolm, a doctor with the Haight Ashbury Free Clinic, speaks with homeless people about the coronavirus (COVID-19) in the Haight Ashbury area of San Francisco, Calif. on Mar. 17, 2020. (JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)

San Francisco Overdose Deaths Nearly Triple Toll From COVID

SANTA CLARA, Calif.San Francisco continues to face a drug overdose epidemic, as the number of overdose fatalities in 2020 was nearly triple the number of COVID deaths.

The citys data reveals there were a total of 713 deaths from overdoses, compared to 261 COVID-19 deaths last year.

Bad is an understatement. I would say its horrific, it is negligent, it is an epidemic in and of itself, and it was not always this way, Jenny Shao, a freelance multimedia video journalist and San Francisco native, told NTD Television.

She says drug overdoses have been an ongoing crisis for the city but have gotten much worse over the past five years.

Before, you were able to walk through the streets  and you did not have to try and tiptoe over bodies, not knowing whether they were dead or alive. Shao said.

And, also, you did not have to hopscotch through anything like drug paraphernalia  and you were not literally walking through a scene, of say, The Night of the Living Dead, she said.

One drug addicts mother has described it as a Zombie Apocalypse. Her 32-year-old son is addicted to fentanyl, which has left him homeless and physically bent over so that he walks like an old man.

People have also described the city as like a Third World country, with human waste and needles littering the streets. City officials have made efforts to tackle the problem.

According to one report from the Department of Public Health, San Francisco distributes 4.45 million needles every year to drug users.

In July, San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced the city planned to invest $13.2 million to prevent drug overdoses. The plan seeks to open centers to provide beds and treatment for the intoxicated and expand access to buprenorphine, an opioid used to treat opioid-use disorder.

Recently, city officials have pushed to open safe injection sites as part of their overdose prevention program, which could start as soon as next spring.

But according to Shao, not a single center offers alternatives to drugs. She said thats like putting a Band-Aid on the problem and fast-tracking a way to self-destruction.

The idea is sobriety, and thats the golden key, she said. You do not want to be dependent on these drugs. And from what I understand of these harm-reduction sitesas the city likes to call themis that you are putting yourself at less risk, of say, overdose or harm. But, nevertheless, you are still locked in that state of constantly abusing yourself. And, so to speak, teetering on the border of death.

Shao says the city needs to invest in more mental health programs.
Satellite Images, Expert Suggest Iranian Space Launch Coming

DUBAI, United Arab EmiratesIran appears to be preparing for a space launch as negotiations continue in Vienna over its tattered nuclear deal with world powers, according to an expert and satellite images.

The likely blast off at Irans Imam Khomeini Spaceport comes as Iranian state media has offered a list of upcoming planned satellite launches in the works for the Iranian regimes civilian space program, which has been beset by a series of failed launches. Irans terrorist paramilitary organization Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) runs its own parallel program that successfully put a satellite into orbit last year.

Conducting a launch amid the Vienna talks fits the hard-line posture struck by Tehrans negotiators, who already described six previous rounds of diplomacy as a draft, exasperating Western nations. Germanys new foreign minister has gone as far as to warn that time is running out for us at this point.

But all this fits into a renewed focus on space by Irans hard-line leader Ebrahim Raisi, said Jeffrey Lewis, an expert at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies who studies Tehrans program. With Irans former leader Hassan Rouhani who shepherded the nuclear deal out of office, concerns about alienating the talks with launches that the United States asserts aids Tehrans ballistic missile program likely have faded.

Theyre not walking on eggshells, Lewis said. I think Raisis people have a new balance in mind.

Iranian state media did not acknowledge the activity at the spaceport and Irans mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment. The U.S. military, which tracks space launches, did not respond to requests for comment.

Satellite images taken Saturday by Planet Labs Inc. obtained by The Associated Press show activity at the spaceport in the desert plains of Irans rural Semnan province, some 150 miles southeast of Tehran.

A support vehicle stood parked alongside a massive white gantry that typically houses a rocket on the launch pad. That support vehicle has appeared in other satellite photos at the site just ahead of a launch. Also visible is a hydraulic crane with a railed platform, also seen before previous launches and likely used to service the rocket.

Other satellite images in recent days at the spaceport have shown an increase in the number of cars at the facility, another sign of heightened activity that typically precedes a launch. A building also believed to be the checkout facility for a rocket has seen increased activity as well, Lewis said.

This is fairly traditional pre-launch activity, he told the AP.

The activity comes after Irans state-run IRNA news agency on Dec. 5 published an article saying its space program had four satellites ready for launch. It described one, the low-orbit imaging satellite Zafar 2, as being under the final phase of preparation. Zafar, which means victory in Farsi, weighs some 250 pounds.

The Zafar 1, however, failed to enter orbit after a February 2020 launch at the spaceport. That launch used a Simorgh, or Phoenix, rocket, but it failed to put the satellite into orbit at the correct speed, according to Iranian officials at the time. Iran had spent just under 2 million euros to build the satellite.

Irans civilian space program has seen a series of setbacks and fatal explosions plague it in recent years.

Meanwhile, the IRGC terrorist organization in April 2020 revealed its own secret space program by successfully launching a satellite into orbit. The head of the U.S. Space Command later dismissed the satellite as a tumbling webcam in space that wouldnt provide Iran vital intelligencethough it showed Tehrans ability to successfully get into orbit.

Over the past decade, Iran has sent several short-lived satellites into orbit and in 2013 launched a monkey into space. But under Raisi, Irans Supreme Council of Space has met for the first time in 11 years, according to a recent report by state-run television.

Raisi said at the November meeting that it shows the determination of this government to develop the space industry. A high-ranking member of the IRGC who runs its aerospace program, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, attended the meeting along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.

The United States alleges such satellite launches defy a U.N. Security Council resolution calling on Iran to undertake no activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

Iran, which long has said it does not seek nuclear weapons, maintains its satellite launches and rocket tests do not have a military component. Tehran also says it hasnt violated the U.N. resolution as it only called upon Tehran not to conduct such tests.

But the possible launch also comes as tensions again rise over Irans nuclear program.

Today, Tehran enriches uranium up to 60 percent puritya short technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90 percent. Its stockpile of enriched uranium also continues to grow and international inspectors face challenges in monitoring its advances.

Lewis said he expects to see the space program accelerate given Raisis interest.

Theyre not constrained by worries about the Iran deal in the same way that Rouhani was, he said.

By Jon Gambrell
In this file photo, a cruise ship sits anchored in the Port of Long beach, Calif., on Oct. 27, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Search Called Off for Overboard Passenger From Carnival Cruise Ship

LONG BEACH, Calif.After more than 31 hours of searching for a woman who went overboard on a Carnival cruise ship near Ensenada, Mexico, the U.S. Coast Guard said Dec. 12 it was standing down pending additional information.

The passenger, who was in her 20s, was reported overboard from the balcony of her stateroom aboard the Carnival Miracle at about 3:30 a.m. Saturday, according to Coast Guard Petty Officer Adam Stanton.

The Coast Guard conducted first light searches Sunday morning with negative results, authorities tweeted at 10:36 a.m. Coast Guard assets were moving back to U.S. waters.

The Carnival cruise ship returned to Long Beach on Sunday morning.

We advised Carnival Miracle guests this morning of an overboard incident involving one of our guests from the balcony of her stateroom, Carnival said in a statement Saturday. After assisting the U.S Coast Guard with a search, the ship has been released and is proceeding to Ensenada and will then return to Long Beach as scheduled on Sunday morning. Our thoughts are with the guest and her family, and our Care Team is providing support.

U.S. Coast Guard personnel from the San Diego sector joined the Mexican Navy in the search.

The cruise had left from Long Beach on Thursday, on a ship that can carry up to 2,100 passengers.
Senator Urges Biden Administration to Recognize Natural Immunity

The White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) should acknowledge the immunity gained from prior COVID-19 infection in their messaging, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) said on Dec. 12.

Marshall, a doctor, has called for many Americans to get a COVID-19 vaccine, but also opposes vaccine mandates, such as the ones put forth by President Joe Biden and top officials in his administration. Instead of mandating vaccination, Marshall recommended being honest with people about the vaccines, including how studies indicate people with natural immunity, or the immunity that people have after recovering from COVID-19, gain little benefit from getting a vaccine.

The CDC needs to acknowledge natural immunity, Marshall said on NBCs Meet the Press. And really, the messaging coming out of the White House has to acknowledge natural immunity and be honest with America.

Host Chuck Todd challenged the senator, questioning whether he was encouraging people to get the virus that causes COVID-19.

Would you advise somebody to get the virus rather than get the vaccine? Todd asked.

Of course not, Marshall said. But if youve had the virus, that needs to be acknowledged and then a decision made with the patient and the doctor deciding if they should get the booster or not.

Maybe check their level of antibodies. Take into account what their health care situation is. A type II diabetic thats had the virus, I would check their level of antibodies and probably encourage them to get the booster. But a 19-year-old Navy SEAL who has a higher chance of getting pericarditis, a heart inflammation, than going to the hospital from the virus, I probably would have a different answer. So, you cannot have a one-size-fits-all recommendation from the federal government.

The CDC has estimated that, as of Sept. 21, nearly 30 percent of Americans have antibodies as a result of recovering from a COVID-19 infection. The agency also has estimated that there have been 146.6 million total infections as of September.

A slew of studiesincluding a recent one from Israelindicate that people with natural immunity have better protection over time against the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus than those who got a vaccine, but have never been infected.

Some research also suggests that people with natural immunity get a higher level of protection when they get a single vaccine dose, though some experts have argued that the boost is negligible and have noted that it may come with an added risk of side effects.

The CDC has acknowledged natural immunity in recent months, after spending little time discussing it throughout the pandemic. The agency said in November that immunity from vaccination and from prior infection both last at least six months, but alleged that no tests are available to reliably determine whether a person has natural immunity to the virus. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, has encouraged virtually everybody, including the naturally immune, to get vaccinated.

The Biden administration hasnt appeared to touch on natural immunity, and none of the federal vaccine mandatesmany of which are being held up by the courtsinclude opt-outs for people who are naturally immune to COVID-19.

Marshall said senior citizens, one of the groups most at-risk of dying from the disease, should get a vaccine booster and that people with prior infection should consider getting one.

If youre a senior citizen and havent gotten your booster yet, shame on you, he said. Please go do that. If you have underlying health care conditions, if youre diabetic, if youre overweight, please go get the booster, because youre going to get the virus and be exposed to it, Ill guarantee it.

And if you dont have that booster, we know the vaccines kind of run out after about five to six months. Natural immunity would help, and even those with natural immunity may want to consider getting the booster as well.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa sits beside Elita de Klerk, widow of former President FW de Klerk at the state memorial service in Cape Town, South Africa, on Dec. 12, 2021. (Mike Hutchings/Reuters)

South African President Receiving Treatment for Mild COVID-19

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has tested positive for COVID-19 and is receiving treatment for mild COVID-19 symptoms, his office said on Sunday.

The President is in good spirits but is being monitored by the South African Military Health Service of the South African National Defence Force, the office said in a statement.

The 69-year-old, who is fully vaccinated, is in self-isolation in Cape Town, with Deputy President David Mabuza delegated to take over responsibilities for the next week.

The president and his delegation recently returned from travel to Senegal on Dec. 8 before and after which they returned negative COVID-19 tests.

The President started feeling unwell after leaving the State Memorial Service in honour of former Deputy President FW de Klerk in Cape Town earlier today, the statement added.

At the memorial service, a mask-wearing Ramaphosa gave a eulogy to the last leader of South Africas white minority government, who helped negotiate a multi-party agreement for the nations transition to democracy and reconciliation.

In the past few days, a nationwide outbreak believed to be linked to the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus has been infecting around 20,000 people a day. South African scientists see no sign that the variant causes more severe illness. It is unclear which strain the president has been infected with.

According to his office, Ramaphosa said his infection is a reminder to people to remain vigilant against exposure to the novel coronavirus, and that he believes vaccination remains the best protection against severe illness and hospitalization.

Reuters contributed to this report.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks during an online New Year press conference with local and foreign journalists at the Presidential Blue House in Seoul on Jan. 18, 2021. (Jeon Heon-kyun/Pool Photo via AP)

South Korea Rejects Diplomatic Boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said his country wouldnt participate in the U.S.-led diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, citing a need for Chinas help to enable denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.

We have not received a request from any other country, including the United States, to participate in a diplomatic boycott. We are not considering a boycott measure, Moon told reporters after a summit with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Dec. 13.

The United States was first to announce a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, in protest of the Chinese regimes ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang. Australia, the UK, Canada, Lithuania, and New Zealand have since joined the protest. All the countries taking part in the diplomatic boycott will allow their athletes to compete.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China would take resolute countermeasures against the United States over the boycott effort, without being more specific.

Moon said that while South Korea values its alliance with the United States on a diplomacy and security affairs basis, his government must also consider peace and security on the Korean Peninsula.

We need the constructive efforts of China to enable denuclearization of DPRK [Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea]. Therefore, Korea is focused on the steadfast alliance with the U.S. and also with China, he said.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (R) looks on as South Korean President Moon Jae-in signs the official visitors book at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Dec. 13, 2021. (Lukas Coch  Pool/Getty Images)

Moon went on to clarify South Koreas interest in achieving a free and open IndoPacific region through a harmonized relationship with China.

There may be certain conflicts, and there may be some issues of competition. However, if you look at climate change and the supply chain issue and also in terms of pandemic and infectious diseases, there are global challenges, and these are domains where we do need to engage in cooperation and collaboration, he said.

When asked about the Korean Peninsula peace process, Moon said the relevant partiesthe United States, China, and North Koreahave expressed support in principle to an end-of-war declaration, but South Korea has yet to enter negotiations with its northern neighbor.

Moon noted that North Korea insists that any formal treaty to end the 195053 Korean War, which ended in an armistice, must first be preceded by an end to U.S. hostilities toward Pyongyang.

And because of that, we are not able to sit down for a discussion negotiation on the declarations between South and North Korea, and those between North Korea and the United States, Moon said.

During Moons visit to Australia, the two countries signed an AU$1 billion ($716.5 million) defense agreement to boost Seouls military efforts. Under the terms of the deal, South Korean defense company Hanwha Corp. will build 30 self-propelled howitzers and 15 armored ammunition resupply vehicles for Australia.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Members of the Supreme Court pose for a group photo at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC on April 23, 2021. (Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images)

Supreme Court Declines to Block New York COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for Health Care Workers

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to issue an injunction against New Yorks COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers, which doesnt allow them to seek a religious exemption.

New York state imposed the vaccine mandate for doctors and nurses in August, which allows only for medical exemptions, not religious ones. The religious exemption policy expired in November.

The latest decision suggests the high court lacks the appetite to wade into the matter of mandates. The Supreme Court has previously rejected other challenges, including one that focused on Maines lack of a religious exemption to vaccine mandates for health care workers.

Petitioners, which included Christian doctors, said New Yorks vaccine mandate violates the U.S. Constitutions First Amendment prohibition on religious discrimination on behalf of the government. They also argued that it violates federal civil rights law that requires businesses to accommodate employees religious beliefs.

Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch wrote they would have supported temporarily halting enforcement of New Yorks mandate.

Sometimes dissenting religious beliefs can seem strange and bewildering. In times of crisis, this puzzlement can evolve into fear and anger, Gorsuch wrote in his dissent.

One can only hope todays ruling will not be the final chapter in this grim story, Gorsuch continued. Cases like this one may serve as cautionary tales for those who follow.

In October, when the Supreme Court didnt take up the Maine vaccine case, Gorsuch wrote that healthcare workers who have served on the front line of a pandemic for the last 18 months are now being fired and their practices shuttered, adding that they have been terminated for adhering to their constitutionally protected religious beliefs.

Their plight is worthy of our attention, he argued.

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines both used fetal cell lines in their testing stages, while Johnson & Johnson used a human fetal cell line known as PER.C6. PER.C6 was developed from the retinal cells of an 18-week-old fetus that was aborted in 1985.

Other than Maine and New York, Rhode Island is the only other state that doesnt allow religious exemptions to the vaccine for health care workers.

New Yorks Department of Health on Aug. 26 ordered health care professionals who come in contact with patients or other employees to be vaccinated by Sept. 27. That deadline was delayed to Nov. 22.

The state has said that under the policy employers can consider religious accommodation requests and employees can be reassigned to jobs such as remote work.

The state said medical exceptions are meant for the small number of people who have had a serious allergic reaction to the COVID-19 vaccines and that longstanding health care worker vaccine mandates for measles and rubella have no religious exemptions.

Reuters contributed to this report.
When a friend challenged me to a reading contest on Goodreads a couple of years ago, I was reluctant. Did I really want my reading selections broadcast on the internet for friends and strangers to see? Despite this qualm, my arm was twisted, and I began recording the books I read, often giving them a starred rating based on how much I liked the book.

Let me be clear: Im rather stingy with my five-star ratings. A book really must speak to or move me before I will give it such high marks. Yet as I think back on the books that I have given a five-star ranking to, a common theme stands out: suffering.

Suffering may seem like a gloom and doom topic, especially during this time of year when everything is supposed to be joyous and bright. Yet during the holiday season is when many of us most struggle with suffering, whether it comes through the need that comes with the loss of a job, or the loneliness that results from a broken relationship or death, or the sadness of hurts and memories from past seasonal gatherings that rear their ugly heads. And how we deal with suffering in our own lives is what makes or breaks us as individuals.

Take just a moment to peer at my bookshelf of five-star favorites. Here, we see the suffering of Jane Eyre, in which Charlotte Brontes title character experiences painful loss and physical hardship because she believes it necessary to remain true to her principles. Next to it stands Lee Strobels The Case for Christ, which reveals the historical and academic evidence for the physical and mental sufferings of the one who gave birth to the largest religion in the world. Pandemia was recently added to this five-star shelf, and in this latest book from former New York Times reporter Alex Berenson, we see more clearly the sufferings of the COVID-19 pandemic that have been inflicted upon all of us through the dictates of our leaders and bureaucrats. And finally, A Path Through Suffering and The Path of Loneliness, both by the late author and speaker Elisabeth Elliot, demonstrate ways to overcome hurt and pain.

Its this last author who has particularly amazed me this year. Elliot, a well-educated linguist, was the wife of Jim Elliot, who was martyred in the 1950s along with four other missionary men by the tribe of natives they were trying to minister to in the jungles of South America. Their story reached mainstream America via Elliots biography of the men and continued through Life magazines photo essay on Elliots later life working among the very tribe who murdered her husband. The many works Elliot wrote on suffering emerged not only from this tragedy, but also through other losses, such as the death of her second husband from cancer.

When going through suffering, its easy to dismiss the help and advice of others with the thought that they have no idea what theyre talking about. But with Elliot, the case is different. She went through loss, through suffering, through pain, through loneliness. And instead of frantically seeking to push hurt aside and fill the painful void in our lives with other things, she counsels us to look up and find a refuge for our loneliness in God.

To stop our frantic getting, spending, and searching, she says in The Path of Loneliness, and simply to look at the things God has made is to move one step away from despair. For God cares.

If anyone had cause for bitterness over the loss and pain she endured, it was Elliot. Yet she tells us that it is possible both to accept and to endure loneliness [and by extension, all forms of suffering]. How do we do so? Elliot gives us the answer:

In circumstances for which there is no final answer in the world, we have two choices: accept them as Gods wise and loving choice for our blessing (this is called faith), or resent them as proof of His indifference, His carelessness, even His non-existence (this is unbelief).

Elliot obviously chose the first option, explaining that she accepts her suffering as a gift from God, and then gives it back to him as an offering in return. Thats a foreign concept in our society today, not only because we are encouraged to play the victimeven when receiving the smallest hurts and offensesbut because many Americans regularly relegate God to a corner of their lives, or not at all.

But what if we tried Elliots approach to suffering? Instead of continually bemoaning our troublesboth public and personalwhat if we accepted them as a gift from Goda gift that, although painful at the time, could turn into beautiful character or other benefits further down the road? Doing so gives us a completely different lens to view the world through, and in a world that is increasingly broken and strewn with victims who only wallow in their suffering, a few individuals who choose to do the opposite will make a world of difference.
Fear of missing out may be fueling young people's feelings of social disconnection during COVID-19

Most of us have spent more time on screens since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This increase in screen time may be especially pronounced among teens because of school closures, the cancellation of extracurricular activities, and restrictions on physical social interactions. This has led both parents and researchers to worry that the pandemic is making young people addicted to their phones and that this increased screen time is contributing to feelings of social disconnection and isolation.

In a study produced by our research team at the University of British Columbia, we found compelling evidence that young people dont see their screen time as an important factor contributing to their feelings of social disconnection.

Rather, most youths in our study reported that technology played a crucial role in helping them feel connected to others. However, the fear of missing out (FOMO) seems to be an important risk factor contributing to feelings of social disconnection.

Feeling Socially Connected During COVID-19

Our study collected data from 682 youths, aged 11 to 18, at two schools in Canada, using an online survey with questionnaires and open-ended questions.

We found that most youths (64 percent) reported feeling socially connected to others in the pandemic. This is important since extensive research has shown that individuals who are satisfied in their connections to others typically have better physical and mental health, and tend to live longer. A recent study by psychology researcher Natasha Magson and colleagues found that feeling socially connected was central to teens well-being during the pandemic.

Technology Helping to Maintain Relationships

In our study, youths who described feeling socially connected to others emphasized the role of technology in fostering and maintaining their relationships with others. For example, an 11-year-old boy explained:

The only thing COVID changed was not being able to see my friends as much in real life and not being able to do sports. But through social media and playing video games, I can still connect with my friends without actually seeing them.

For such young people, technologies such as FaceTime, social media, and video games allowed them to keep in touch with their friends and helped them foster feelings of social connection.

Despite most youths reporting feeling socially connected to others, just under a third (28 percent) of respondents described feeling socially disconnected from others in the time of COVID-19. Feeling socially disconnected puts youths at risk for life difficulties such as depression and loneliness.

Fear of Missing Out During COVID-19

We also found that fear of missing out played a unique and important role in contributing to young peoples feelings of social disconnection.

Worries about missing out on things others have or do have been around for a long time, as alluded to in the expression keeping up with the Joneses. Psychology researchers in recent decades have examined fear of missing out particularly in connection with social media.

For example, Mayank Gupta and Aditya Sharma, researchers in psychiatry and neuroscience, respectively, define fear of missing out as a phenomenon observed on social networking sites, that includes two processes of a perception of missing out, followed up with a compulsive behaviour to maintain these social connections.

While people may have been afraid of missing out long before social media, social media now provides a way for us to check up on what other people are doing and be hyper-aware of the things we may be missing out on.

Some psychologists have conceptualized fear of missing out on a scale, such that people can either assess themselves to be low or high in terms of this fear.

Research has shown fear of missing out drives social media use as a way of checking in on other people, and trying to relieve some of the anxiety of those with more fear experience about potentially missing out on things or being socially excluded.

Combatting FOMO in the Pandemic

While we know that social media can play an important role in helping youths feel connected to others, for those who report more fear of missing out, its possible that spending time online can intensify feelings of being left outand increase feelings of social disconnection.

Our research suggests that an important question for parents is What are you doing online and how is it making you feel? over and above How much time are you spending online?

Its important for young people to think critically about what they are doing online and how its making them feel. Connecting with others is great, but maybe passively scrolling through social media feeds is actually increasing their feelings of missing out, and making them feel more disconnected.

Natasha Parent is a doctoral student in human development, learning, and culture at the University of British Columbia in Canada. This article was first published on The Conversation.
Demonstrators wave flags as they protest against COVID-19 measures earlier this year in this file photo taken in Prague, Czech Republic, on Nov. 28, 2021. (David W Cerny/Reuters)

Thousands Protest in Prague Over COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate

A government decree making COVID-19 shots mandatory for elderly people and employees in certain sectors prompted a large demonstration in the Czech capital over the weekend.

The outgoing government released an order last week making COVID-19 vaccinations a requirement for the 60-plus age group, as well as medical personnel, police officers, firefighters, and medical students.

The order was due to become effective at the beginning of March, although it might end up being overturned as a new coalition government expected to be sworn in next week opposes such a measure for elderly citizens in the country and might cancel it.

Prime Minister Andrej Babis current administration will be replaced by a new government formed by five parties that won Octobers parliamentary election, led by Prime Minister-designate Petr Fiala.

About 4,000 people took to the streets in Prague on Dec. 12 after gathering on Wenceslas Square, one of the citys main squares, to demonstrate against the new CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus policy.

We are only against compulsory vaccination, which the government is trying to introduce with the support of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, organizers of the demonstration said, Prague Morning reported.

So far, close to 60 percent of people in the nation of 10.7 million have received the shot, compared to an average of about 66 percent in the European Union (EU). The Czech government said it had been considering compulsory shots for some time due to a lower number of citizens getting jabbed.

People wave the Czech national flag as they take part in a protest against COVID-19 measures earlier this year in Prague on Jan. 10, 2021. (Michal Cizek/AFP via Getty Images)

According to government data, more than 34,000 people have died from the CCP virus since the start of the pandemic nearly two years ago, and 2.3 million cases have been reported.

The country was facing a new surge in infections earlier in recent weeks, although the number of new cases has been on the decline for more than a week again.

The government decree in the Czech Republic was announced as other European countries, including neighboring Austria, already confirmed that it will require the shot for all citizens starting next year.

Austria became the first country in the EU to impose a full lockdown this winter and announce the blanket requirement that Austrians have to get vaccinated against the CCP virus as early as February 2022.

Massive crowds of people gathered across the country in recent weeks to demonstrate both against the lockdown and the coming vaccine mandate. Police said a demonstration in Vienna, the Austrian capital, drew 44,000 people over the weekend.

The Association Press contributed to this report.

From NTD News
The front steps of a house are all that remains after a tornado in Dawson Springs, Ky., on Dec. 12, 2021. (Michael Clubb/AP Photo)

Thousands Without Heat, Water After Tornadoes Kill Dozens

MAYFIELD, Ky.Residents of a Kentucky town devastated by a tornado could be without heat, water, and electricity in chilly temperatures for a long time, the mayor warned Monday, as officials struggled to restore services after a swarm of twisters leveled neighborhoods and killed dozens of people in five states.

Authorities are still tallying the devastation from Friday nights storms, though they believe the death toll will be lower than initially feared since it appeared many more people escaped a candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, than first thought.

This is a tough morning  but its ok, were still going to be all right, Mayfield Mayor Kathy Stewart ONan said on CBS Mornings.

But those who survived faced highs in the 50s and a low below freezing Monday without any utilities.

Our infrastructure is so damaged. We have no running water. Our water tower was lost. Our wastewater management was lost, and theres no natural gas to the city. So we have nothing to rely on there, she told CBS. So that is purely survival at this point for so many of our people.

Across the state, about 26,000 homes and businesses were without electricity, according to poweroutage.us, including nearly all of those in Mayfield.

Rick Vincent, of Newaygo, Mich., reads a sign placed on a pile of building rubble as he stops work at the end of the day in Mayfield, Ky., on Dec. 12, 2021. (Mark Humphrey/AP Photo)

Kentucky was the worst-hit by far in the cluster of twisters across several states, remarkable because they came at a time of year when cold weather normally limits tornadoes. At least 64 people died in the state, Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday. There were at least another 14 deaths in Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas and Missouri.

Authorities are still trying to pin down the full death toll, and the storms made door-to-door searches impossible in some places. There are no doors, said Beshear.

Were going to have over 1,000 homes that are gone, just gone, he said.

Over the weekend, Beshear had said that the states toll could exceed 100but he scaled that back after it appeared fewer people died in the candle factory than first thought.

This combination of satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies shows Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory and nearby buildings, after a tornado caused heavy damage in the area of Mayfield, Ky., on Jan. 28, 2017, top, and below on Dec. 11, 2021, (Satellite image 2021 Maxar Technologies via AP)

Initially as many as 70 people were feared dead in the factory, but the company said Sunday that eight deaths were confirmed and eight remained missing, while more than 90 others had been located.

Many of the employees were gathered in the tornado shelter and after the storm was over they left the plant and went to their homes, said Bob Ferguson, a spokesman for the company. With the power out and no landline they were hard to reach initially. Were hoping to find more of those eight unaccounted as we try their home residences.

Debris from destroyed buildings and shredded trees covered the ground in Mayfield, a city of about 10,000 in western Kentucky. Twisted sheet metal, downed power lines, and wrecked vehicles lined the streets. Windows were blown out and roofs torn off the buildings that were still standing.

Firefighters in the town had to rip the doors off the fire station to get vehicles out, according to Fire Chief Jeremy Creason on CBS Mornings.

Words cannot describe the bravery, the selflessness that theyve exhibited, he said of his employees. We had to try and navigate through all the debris up and down our streets. We were responding with ambulances with three and four flat tires.

Downtown churches were heavily damaged or destroyed. The Rev. Joey Reed of First United Methodist Church told CBS that he was able to hold a worship service Sunday with a colleague at a different church after the tornado ripped through his. He said he and his wife were in the church as a wall collapsed and the ceiling caved in.

Thanks be to God that the parts of the building that came down didnt come down on us, he said.

At the candle factory, night-shift workers were in the middle of the holiday rush when the word went out to seek shelter.

For Autumn Kirks, that meant tossing aside wax and fragrance buckets to make an improvised safe place. She glanced away from her boyfriend, Lannis Ward, who was about 10 feet away at the time.

Autumn Kirks comforts her children in Mayfield, Ky., on Dec. 12, 2021. (Bruce Schreiner/AP Photo)

Suddenly, she saw sky and lightning where a wall had been, and Ward had vanished.

I remember taking my eyes off of him for a second, and then he was gone, Kirks said.

Later in the day, she got the terrible newsthat Ward had been killed in the storm.

Four twisters hit Kentucky in all, including one with an extraordinarily long path of about 200 miles, authorities said.

In addition to the deaths in Kentucky, the tornadoes also killed at least six people in Illinois, where an Amazon distribution center in Edwardsville was hit; four in Tennessee; two in Arkansas, where a nursing home was destroyed and the governor said workers shielded residents with their own bodies; and two in Missouri.

At a Sunday service held in a church parking lot surrounded by rubble in Mayfield, residents came together to pray for those lost.

Our little town will never be the same, but were resilient, Laura McClendon said. Well get there, but its going to take a long time.
British Airways tail fins are pictured at Heathrow Airport in London, on May 17, 2021. (John Sibley/Reuters)

UK Airlines Say COVID-19 Travel Curbs Disproportionate

Leaders of Britains major airlines and travel companies have written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, complaining about the haphazard and disproportionate travel restrictions imposed after the detection of the Omicron COVID-19 variant and urging the government to help the travel industry survive the crisis.

Under restrictions introduced to slow the spread of Omicron, all travellers arriving in England are required to take a pre-departure CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus test and self-isolate until they receive a negative result from a post-arrival test.

In addition, people arriving in the UK from the 11 African countries currently on the UKs travel red list must spend 11 nights in a quarantine hotel at a cost of 2,285 ($3,029) for solo travellers.

In their joint letter, the chief executives of seven companiesincluding Ryanair and British Airwaysaccused Boris Johnson of breaking his promises to fix the high cost of PCR tests for travellers.

As leaders of UK airlines, we are deeply concerned about the haphazard and disproportionate approach by government to travel restrictions following the emergence of the Omicron variant, they wrote.

They said the timing of the restrictions, which came so close to Christmas, has undermined customer sentiment.

We and our customers feel sincerely let down, having believed a more pragmatic, evidence-led approach to travel, in line with the rest of the world, had been achieved and agreed by all concerned just a few months ago, the letter said.

Instead, the layering of additional travel restrictions, introduced at short notice without consultation or discernible strategy, have disrupted Christmas plans and [undermined] customer sentiment just before the crucial Christmas and New Year booking seasonup to 30 percent of tickets are sold.

The letter said that all emergency testing for fully vaccinated passengers should be removed at the formal review on Dec. 20 and a package of bespoke economic support measures should be provided immediately to bridge the sector through this crisis.

The letter urged Johnson to meet with the industry leaders to understand the problems that we and our customers are now facing because of these measures, which the transport secretary himself admitted risked killing off the travel industry.

The business leaders urged Johnson to act now to prevent this from happening.

Heathrow Airport said last week it had seen a high level of cancellations by business travellers concerned about being trapped overseas since the reintroduction of pre-departure testing was announced.

On Dec. 10, Heathrow Chief Executive John Holland-Kaye called for the rules to be relaxed so that travellers returning to the UK from red list countries are allowed to self-isolate at home over Christmas rather than be forced to stay in a quarantine hotel.

He also urged the government to reverse tighter testing requirements as soon as it is safe to do so.

PA contributed to this report.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits the Health at the Stowe vaccination center in central London, on Dec. 13, 2021. (Jeremy Selwyn/AFP via Getty Images)

UK Confirms 1st Death With Omicron COVID-19 Virus Variant

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Dec. 13 that at least one patient has been confirmed to have died with the Omicron variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes the disease COVID-19.

Speaking during a visit to a vaccination clinic in West London, Johnson said the Omicron variant is producing hospitalizations and sadly, at least one patient has been confirmed to have died with Omicron.

The UK Health Security Agency confirmed that 10 people in the UK have been hospitalized with the Omicron variant and that the majority had received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Details regarding the age and health condition of the patients werent released to the public.

Johnson said that Omicron now represents about 40 percent of COVID-19 cases in London and that tomorrow itll be the majority of the cases in the countrys capital.

The UK government has adopted a series of measures, known as Plan B, to slow the spread of the new variant, which was first detected in South Africa.

On Dec. 10, the government began enforcing a mask mandate in most indoor settings in the UK including cinemas, theatres, and churches. People have also been asked to work from home if theyre able to do so, and vaccine passports will be introduced for large-scale events and nightclubs beginning on Dec. 15.

The new regulations will be put to a debate and vote in the House of Commons on Dec. 14. With support from the main opposition Labour Party, the measures are certain to be approved, despite the prospect of a large rebellion by Conservative backbench MPs.

Johnson said MPs that are thinking of rebelling against Plan B measures need to recognize that theres no room for complacency in dealing with Omicron, as it is a very serious risk to public health, and that its spreading very fast.

He insisted that the measures are balanced and proportionate.

Johnson repeatedly declined to rule out further COVID-19 restrictions being introduced ahead of the Christmas holiday, as he said the goal is to offer a booster to every adult by the end of 2021.

We think the steps that we are takingso Plan B, combined with a hugely ambitious acceleration of the booster campaign, bringing it forward by a month so we offer a booster to every adult by the end of the yearwe think thats the right approach.

Earlier on Dec. 13, Health Secretary Sajid Javid told Sky News that there were 10 people in hospital in the UK with the Omicron variant.

He told the BBC that the government will throw everything at the booster vaccine programme to tackle the variant.

PA contributed to this report.
UN Secretary-General Calls to Ban Killer Robots

During a meeting in Geneva on Monday, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called upon the international community to ban lethal autonomous weapons

News Analysis

On Monday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened a conference in Geneva by calling for a ban on lethal autonomous weapons (LAWs).

I encourage the Review Conference to agree on an ambitious plan for the future to establish restrictions on the use of certain types of autonomous weapons, said the Secretary-General at the opening of Mondays meeting.

In recent years, with new advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence, there have been growing concerns about LAWs, which use programmed instructions to seek out and incapacitate targets, potentially without the oversight of a human controller.

The meeting in Geneva was occasioned by a recent U.N. reports conclusion that fully autonomous weapons may have debuted in Libya in March 2020, during a skirmish in which Turkish-produced autonomous drones were used to hunt fleeing partisans of Libyan General Khalifa Haftar.

Logistics convoys and retreating HAF [Haftar Affiliated Forces] were subsequently hunted down and remotely engaged by the unmanned combat aerial vehicles or the lethal autonomous weapons systems such as the STM Kargu-2 (see annex 30) and other loitering munitions, says the U.N. report. The lethal autonomous weapons systems were programmed to attack targets without requiring data connectivity between the operator and the munition: in effect, a true fire, forget and find capability.

Critics of LAWs portray a harbinger of unprecedentedly efficient violence and an outlet for policymakers and military leaders to avoid accountability for abuses. Whereas previously the movement relied on technical language, activists have become increasingly sensationalist in their attempts to raise awareness of the dangers of LAWs. In 2017, opponents of LAWs received an influx of press after releasing the short video Slaughterbots, which portrays a dystopian future of automated drone attacks on civilians

In 2015, the Future of Life Institute attracted attention after announcing an open letter to ban LAWs, signed by an unlikely coalition including Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking, Noam Chomsky, Jack Dorsey, and a legion of AI researchers, among others.

Proponents argue that LAWs can eliminate human error from target selection and that the use of these weapons has the potential to reduce total collateral damage relative to other weapons.

While many countries favor an outright ban on these technologies, the major powers of geopolitics are reluctant to support such a measure: The United States, China, Russia, and India find themselves as strange bedfellows in opposing international laws to restrict automatous weapons, while a growing chorus of smaller nations and activists make up the movement for their restriction. Last month, New Zealand became the latest of over thirty nations to call for a full ban on LAWs.

However, given the consensus of major world powers on the matter, any attempt to eliminate these technologies will face an uphill battle. With Mondays announcement, Secretary-General Guterres indicated his commitment to the movement, but he will face immense obstacles in his efforts to stop LAWs from becoming widespread in international warfare.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Update: Pennsylvania COVID-19 Patient Who Fought for Ivermectin Dies

Keith Smith of York, Pennsylvania, died at the age of 52 on Sunday evening from COVID-19 before getting his full Ivermectin treatment. He was supposed to receive three Ivermectin doses, but treatment was paused after two doses when his lab reports showed a decline in his condition, according to a blog his wife Darla Smith has been writing to provide updates on his condition.

Early into his hospital stay, Darla asked UPMC Memorial Hospital in York to administer the Ivermectin Keith had ordered before he went into the hospital. The hospital said Ivermectin is not part of its COVID protocol and would not give it to him. Darla went to court and a judge ruled that UPMC Memorial did not have to treat Smith with Ivermectin, but it must allow a doctor or registered nurse to administer the drug under the guidance of the telehealth doctor who prescribed the Ivermectin before Keith was hospitalized.

The process of getting a court order, including waiting over the Thanksgiving holiday, delayed the opportunity for Keith to be given Ivermectin by nine days, Darla said. The treatment was started seven days before he died; 17 days after he entered the hospital. Altogether, he was in the hospital for 21 days.

Darla doesnt know if Ivermectin would have saved Keiths life, but she would have liked to try the drug earlier, before he was placed on a ventilator.

This story, and others like it are not as much about the effectiveness of Ivermectin, but the right of patients and families to try a treatment without a court order, when time is of the essence and they are running out of hope.

Ivermectin is approved for the treatment of parasitic diseases but has been successful in treating COVID-19 patients. Although COVID-19 treatment is considered off-label use. It is legal for doctors to prescribe drugs for off-label uses.

There is insufficient evidence for the COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel to recommend either for or against the use of ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19, a February report from the National Institute of Health said. Results from adequately powered, well-designed, and well-conducted clinical trials are needed to provide more specific, evidence-based guidance on the role of Ivermectin in the treatment of COVID-19.

The Journal of Antibiotics in May published an article exploring the repurposing of approved drugs such as Ivermectin for use in COVID-19 cases.

Considering the urgency of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, simultaneous detection of various new mutant strains and future potential re-emergence of novel coronaviruses, repurposing of approved drugs such as Ivermectin could be worthy of attention, the paper, prepared through the Japan Antibiotics Research Association, concluded.

Another study, published in April 2020, titled The FDA-approved drug Ivermectin inhibits the replication of SARSCoV-2 in vitro, said Ivermectin has antiviral action against the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) clinical isolate in vitro, with a single dose able to control viral replication within 2448 h in our system. The study can be found in the National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Proponents of Ivermectin say the sooner it is administered, the better the outcome. But the Smith family was not given that chance.

Darla Smith has nothing nice to say about the hospital administration that fought her wishes to give her husband Ivermectin early.

But she calls UPMCs nurses angels who cared for Keith with compassion. UPMC Memorial Hospital did not respond to a request for comment.

In addition to his wife Darla, Keith Smith leaves behind two sons.

I am eternally grateful that I met Keith, Darla wrote in her blog. He is the ying to my yang, and every horrible thing about me has always been counterbalanced with his goodness. My mom told me tonight  he made me a better person. My momma knows, and shes right. He did. We had 24 and a half years of fun together. We rarely fought. I told the boys tonight as we gathered around Daddys bed, Keith and I gave them a glimpse into a true marriage, an equal partnership. We showed them what it is to completely love someone, flaws and all, and respect that person, as well. I told them that this is what I want for them both, and they should never, ever settle for anything elseMy heart will always have a Keith-sized hole in it. It will never go away. I will miss him until the day I expire.
Former Chinese Justice Minister Accused of Corruption

News Analysis

Chinas former justice minister and deputy police chief, Fu Zhenghua, was placed under investigation two months ago. He was allegedly involved in financial crimes and targeted petitioners, according to one victim who spoke with The Epoch Times. Fu was also allegedly involved in persecuting the Falun Gong spiritual practice.

On Oct. 2, Fu was placed under investigation for serious violations of party discipline and law. Fu was allegedly involved in receiving bribes and protecting suspects accused of financial crimes.

A former railway ministry executive, whos currently living in exile in Hong Kong, revealed Fus corrupt history to The Epoch Times, and exposed the dark side of the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) political and legal system.

Wang Jing, one of the founders of China Railway Duojing Investment Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as China Railway), told the publication that hes one of the few remaining former employees who can still speak out, despite being persecuted by Fu and his henchmen.

I am still wanted by them, so I have been hiding in Hong Kong.  We had dozens of employees wanted by them. Some were imprisoned [and went] crazy, some were imprisoned [and became] crippled, some ran away.

Fu Allegedly Received Bribes

According to Wang, in the late 1990s, the Ministry of Railways wanted to make money from the railway industry system by constructing modern transportation networks. Wang seized the opportunity to set up shell companies in Hong Kong and prepared to go public to finance the development of various business projects of China Railway.

Wang raised billions of dollars in 2007 by using backdoor listings of various China Railway projects through Hong Kong companies. Those behind his shell company partners had their eyes set on the huge amount of money raised on the stock market.

Wang Xinliangthe son of the former vice-chairman of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, Wang Zhaoguocontrolled a lot of China Railways shell companies that were listed in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, according to Wang Jing.

Wang Xinliang ordered his subordinates to seize over $108 million of funds from China Railway in Hong Kong.

Wang Jing said that the company has repeatedly reported the incident to the authorities. But Fu prevented the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau from filing a case against Wang Xinliang and his associates on several occasions. In 2008, Wang Xinliangs henchmen collaborated with a Beijing judge in an attempt to seize nearly $23.6 million in frozen bank deposits of China Railway Television Freight and Logistics Transport Company Limited, one of China Railways shell companies in Hong Kong.

The situation also involved business dealings in Inner Mongolia, and in May 2008, Hulunbuir Public Security Bureau accepted a report from China Railway and filed an investigation.

The Hulunbuir Public Security Bureau caught an alleged suspect and accomplice, He Gangqiang, on Sept. 6, 2008. According to the report submitted by the security bureau to the Supreme Peoples Procuratorate (SPP), Fu attempted to release He from the Beijing Xisanqi police station.

At that time, the Hulunbuir Public Security Bureau sent a report and a video to the SPP and the plaintiff (China Railway), Wang said.

The video, which was secretly shot by the security bureau while He was under investigation, revealed the collusion between He and Fu. The footage shows He giving a Japanese sword to Fu in the underground parking lot of Jingguang Building in Beijings Chaoyang District, on the eve of June 27, 2008.

A deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau (referring to Fu Zhenghua) had an unusual relationship with the suspect, He Gangqiang, the Hulunbuir police said in the report.

Wang Jing posted the police report and video online.

Fu then retaliated against the whistleblowers by filing a case against them, including Wang, in November 2008. Several China Railway employees in mainland China were arrested, and an arrest warrant was issued for Wang.

Wang left the mainland and fled to Hong Kong. I was almost killed by them. If I were still in the mainland, I would have already been killed, he said.

Fu Used His Influence in Hong Kong to Target a Petitioner

Wang said that even though he hid in Hong Kong, he was still targeted by Fu, Wang Xinliang, and others.

In 2009, Fu Zhenghua forged documents to falsely accuse me of trafficking in women and children and illegally obtaining a mainland identity card. Then he tried to influence the Hong Kong government through the Liaison Office to arrest me and deport me back to the mainland.

The Liaison Office is Beijings representative office in Hong Kong.

I was detained by the Hong Kong Immigration Department and held for 42 days. I wasnt freed until I applied to the Hong Kong court for judicial review and a writ of habeas corpus, he said.

Wang is unable to find employment or open a bank account in Hong Kong, and is constantly on high alert. He said that he could get kidnapped or assassinated by mainland public security officials and Hong Kong gang members.

Wang said the law and judiciary are merely tools of the CCP elite, and that China Railway employees have become victims of infighting among senior officials over their interests. Fu claimed that Wang Zhaoguos wife and the companys secretary intended to take all of the companys assets, according to Wang.

The Epoch Times reached out to the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau to verify Wang Jings allegations against Fu. The bureau staff claimed that they were not aware of the situation and their director couldnt be reached for comment.

Media Employees Attacked

Wang Jing also revealed that he was not the only victim of Fus persecution. He said that Fu did a lot of ruthless things, and many people were arrested, killed, and beaten, including two employees of Ming Pao, a Chinese-language newspaper.

On Feb. 26, 2014, Kevin Lau Chun-to, former editor-in-chief of Ming Pao, was attacked by two assailants in Hong Kong. He was stabbed six times and sustained serious injuries.

Wang said that Lau was targeted because he and another Ming Pao reporter, Chen Yang, did a story on China Railway and exposed the shady business dealings that involved Fu Zhenghua and He Gangqiang.

As a result, Lau was mutilated, stabbed several times in the legs and torso. He later spent a long time in the hospital and is now partially disabled.

Chens situation was even more tragic, Wang said. Fu Zhenghua instructed the Beijing public security officials to pose as kidnappers and take Chen Yang to a building in the suburbs of Beijing. There he was detained and tortured for three days and two nights. When he was released, they took off all his clothes and filmed him naked.

One of Chen Yangs kidneys was damaged and was later removed due to the injury. After that horrible experience, Chen never fully recovered. He was mentally affected and fell ill for a long time. His life was ruined by Fu Zhenghua, Wang said.

Wangs allegation matches the details in a complaint letter that Chen wrote to Chinas top disciplinary body, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, on May 6, 2013, which was published online.

Falun Gong Persecution

According to Minghui.org, a U.S.-based website dedicated to recording the persecution of Falun Gong in China, Fu was involved in the harassment, arrest, torture, and deaths of Falun Gong adherents.

On Dec. 10, which marks Human Rights Day, Falun Gong practitioners in 29 countries reported Fu and other human rights violators to their respective governments, requesting these countries to sanction the perpetrators, according to Minghui.org.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews speaks to the media at the daily briefing in Melbourne, Australia, on Aug. 12, 2020. (Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

Victorian Premier Makes Pandemic Declaration for the First Time

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has used newly approved pandemic-related powers to extend his states human biosecurity emergency period for another three months.

In a statement on Friday, Andrews confirmed the extension of the pandemic declaration would come into effect at 11.59 p.m. on Dec. 15, when the current state of emergency period comes to an end.

The emergency period has been in place for 640 days since it was first introduced on March 16, 2020, after which it has been extended every three months by the states chief health officer (CHO). But a change to the legislation now means this can be declared by the premier.

Andrews said he consulted with CHO Brett Sutton and Health Minister Martin Foley prior to making the declaration, with the former noting the widespread community transmission of COVID-19 in the state and thousands of active cases who require care.

The CHO also advised that protective measures were necessary to ensure the Victorian health system was not overwhelmed.

The pandemic powers officially became law on Dec. 7 after a mammoth 21-hour debate in the Victorian Parliament over recently added amendments.

Set to be the first of its kind, the pandemic law will strip the power to declare a pandemic from the CHO and be transferred to the premier, who will have the authority to extend it in three-month blocks.

It will also grant the Victorian government the power to create pandemic laws that can discriminate against Victorians based on personal attributes such as vaccination status, as well as social and economic factors.

Weve learned a lot over the past two years of this global pandemic, the premier said on Dec. 10.

Now, were applying these lessons to manage pandemics in the future, support our public health system, keep Victorians safe and keep our vaccinated economy open.

In early December, Andrews noted that the pandemic would not be over even after the expiration date of the state of emergency.

In order to protect the vulnerable, in order to keep us safe and keep us open, we have to recognise this is not over, there are still things that have to be done, rules that need to be in place, he said.

He also said vaccine mandates wont be forever but flagged they may still remain in effect until booster shots were rolled out and children under 12 were vaccinated.

Shadow Attorney-General Matt Bach pointed out that there was still no effective Parliamentary oversight despite the introduction of a bipartisan committee to review pandemic orders.

The Labor Governments most recent rushed amendments to its pandemic lockdown laws go nowhere near far enough, Bach told SkyNew on Wednesday.

The Premier would still have huge power to lock Victoria down again.

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said on Dec. 2 he was disappointed that the bill was passed and reaffirmed his commitment to scuttle it if he wins the 2022 election.

It is bad policy, bad laws, which are rammed through the parliament with no consultation or very limited consultation and that come at the expense of average Victorians.

In addition, Victorian health authorities are continuing to investigate nine possible Omicron cases of the virus as the state recorded 1,290 coronavirus cases and two deaths.

There are currently three confirmed cases of the new strain in the state, all of them linked to international travel.

The premier has reiterated the state is not chasing an Omicron zero strategy, describing it as unachievable.

Victorias double-dose vaccination rate for those 12 and up sits at 91.9 percent, as the state prepares to begin rolling out Pfizer doses to five- to 11-year-olds from January 10 after final approval from Australias immunisation advisory body.
Being aware of your vitamin D levels and increasing your levels if youre deficient are two of the simplest steps you can take to stay well. This includes helping to protect against infectious diseases like COVID-19, as a wealth of data show that vitamin D levels are strongly correlated with the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection.1

In the video above, John Campbell, a retired nurse and teacher based in England, details the findings of yet another study showing that people with higher levels of vitamin D are less likely to die from COVID-19  and suggesting that, theoretically, a mortality rate close to zero could be achieved if your vitamin D level reaches 50 ng/mL.2

This information has been largely ignored by major media, unfortunately, as it has the potential to save lives. The good news is that even if the press continue to ignore it, you can easily heed the advice given in a Nature study, and raise your vitamin D levels to the most protective range.3 This study advised above 50 ng/mL, while aiming for a level between 60 and 80 ng/mL may help prevent a wide range of diseases, including cancer.

Vitamin D Deficiency a Key Factor Behind Severe COVID-19

The study authors believe that low vitamin D levels are not a side effect of COVID-19 but rather are a predictor of infection. As vitamin D plays a role in immune function, the epidemic of vitamin D deficiency is increasing the spread of many diseases of civilization, such as heart disease,4 along with reducing protection against infections:5

One strong pillar in the protection against any type of virus infection is the strength of our immune system. Unfortunately, thus far, this unquestioned basic principle of nature has been more or less neglected by the responsible authorities.

It is well known that our modern lifestyle is far from optimal with respect to nutrition, physical fitness, and recreation. In particular, many people are not spending enough time outside in the sun, even in summer.

The consequence is widespread vitamin D deficiency, which limits the performance of their immune systems, resulting in the increased spread of some preventable diseases of civilization, reduced protection against infections, and reduced effectiveness of vaccination.

Deficiency of vitamin D3 is also one of the main reasons for severe courses of SARS-CoV-2 infections, they explained, pointing out that fatality rates tend to be elevated in populations with very low vitamin D3 levels, including elderly people, black people and people with comorbidities.6

In the early 20th century, it was discovered that a vitamin D level of 20 ng/mL was enough to stop osteomalacia, or rickets, and this level is still used today as a marker of sufficient vitamin D levels. However, its far too low for optimal health and disease prevention beyond rickets.

Its now known that vitamin D is necessary not only for healthy bones but for health throughout the body. As a powerful epigenetic regulator, vitamin D influences that activity of more than 2,500 genes, and vitamin D receptors are present all over the body, including in the intestine, pancreas, prostate and immune system cells.7 Vitamin D plays a role in numerous diseases, including:8

Cancer

Diabetes

Acute respiratory tract infections

Chronic inflammatory diseases

Autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis

Vitamin D Regulates Your Immune Response

Vitamin D receptors are present in nearly all cells of the human immune system, including monocytes/macrophages, T cells, B cells, natural killer cells and dendritic cells. Vitamin D has multiple actions on the immune system, including enhancing the production of antimicrobial peptides by immune cells, reducing damaging pro-inflammatory cytokines and promoting the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines.9

Cytokines are a group of proteins that your body uses to control inflammation. If you have an infection, your body will release cytokines to help combat inflammation, but sometimes it releases more than it should. If the cytokine release spirals out of control, the resulting cytokine storm becomes dangerous and is closely tied to sepsis, which may be an important contributor to the death of COVID-19 patients.10

Many COVID-19 therapeutics are focused on viral elimination instead of modulating the hyper-inflammation often seen in the disease. In fact, uncontrolled immune response has been suggested as a factor in disease severity, making immunomodulation an attractive potential treatment strategy.11

Vitamin D is highly relevant here, as it helps to regulate both your innate and adaptive immune systems. However, in order to gain this invaluable benefit, your levels need to be higher than what is officially recommended:12

Receptor binding engages the formation of the vitamin D3 response element (VDRE), regulating a large number of target genes involved in the immune response. As a consequence of this knowledge, the scientific community now agrees that calcitriol is much more than a vitamin but rather a highly effective hormone with the same level of importance to human metabolism as other steroid hormones.

The blood level ensuring the reliable effectiveness of vitamin D3 with respect to all its important functions came under discussion again, and it turned out that 4060 ng/mL is preferable, which is considerably above the level required to prevent rickets.

Vitamin D Is Protective Against ARDS

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a lung condition thats common in severe COVID-19 cases, which causes low blood oxygen and fluid buildup in the lungs. Along with cytokine release syndrome, ARDS is one of the deadliest complications of COVID-19, and vitamin D inhibits the metabolic pathways that may cause ARDS. According to the Nutrients study:13

Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a part of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), serves as the major entry point for SARS-CoV-2 into cells. When SARS-CoV-2 is attached to ACE2 its expression is reduced, thus causing lung injury and pneumonia.

Vitamin D3 is a negative RAS modulator by inhibition of renin expression and stimulation of ACE2 expression. It therefore has a protective role against ARDS caused by SARS-CoV-2. Sufficient vitamin D3 levels prevent the development of ARDS by reducing the levels of angiotensin II and increasing the level of angiotensin-(1,7).

In a previous review,14 researchers also explained that vitamin D has favorable effects during both the early viraemic phase of COVID-19 as well as the later hyperinflammatory phase,15 including ARDS. Based on many preclinical studies and observational data in humans, ARDS may be aggravated by vitamin D deficiency and tapered down by activation of the vitamin D receptor,16 they said. Based on a pilot study, oral calcifediol may be the most promising approach.

Even regular booster doses of vitamin D, regardless of baseline vitamin D levels, appear to be effective in reducing the risk of mortality in people admitted to the hospital with COVID-19, particularly for the elderly.17,18 Further, vitamin D influences several additional functions that also support a robust immune response:19

Decreases the production of Th1 cells, suppressing the progression of inflammation by reducing inflammatory cytokines produced

Reduces the severity of the cytokine storm by promoting the differentiation of regulatory T cells

Induces the production of antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin (LL-37), which fights respiratory viruses by disrupting viral envelopes and altering viability of host target cells

Reduces abnormal coagulation that often occurs in critically ill COVID-19 patients

COVID-19 Mortality Drops With Higher Vitamin D Levels

The featured study involved a meta-analysis of two data sets. One used long-term average vitamin D3 levels for 19 countries, while the other used data from 1,601 hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The hospital data included 784 patients who had their vitamin D levels measured within 24 hours of admission and 817 patients with previously known vitamin D levels.

A strong correlation was found between SARS-CoV-2 death rate and vitamin D level, such that mortality decreased significantly once vitamin D levels reached 30 ng/mL.20 Further, they noted, our analysis shows that the correlation for the combined datasets intersects the axis at approximately 50 ng/mL, which suggests that this vitamin D3 blood level may prevent any excess mortality.21

Given their findings, the authors recommend routine strengthening of the immune system of the whole population by vitamin D3 supplementation to consistently guarantee blood levels above 50 ng/mL (125 nmol/L).22 Researchers in Indonesia, who looked at data from 780 COVID-19 patients, also found those with a vitamin D level between 21 ng/mL (52.5 nmol/L) and 29 ng/mL (72.5 nmol/L) had a 12.55 times higher risk of death than those with a level above 30 ng/mL.23

Having a level below 20 ng/mL was associated with a 19.12 times higher risk of death. A majority of the COVID-19 cases with insufficient and deficient Vitamin D status died, they added.24

How Much Vitamin D Do You Need?

The best way to know how much vitamin D you need is to have your levels tested. Its possible to optimize your vitamin D levels via sensible sun exposure, but if this isnt an option for you then daily vitamin D3 supplementation of up to 10,000 units may be needed to reach a vitamin D level of 40 to 60 ng/mL.

However, if you have COVID, and you havent been tested, it is best to take the prescription form of vitamin D called calcitriol, which is the activated form of vitamin D, as it works immediately. The dose is 0.5 mcg the first day and then 0.25 mcg for one week. This is a prescription drug. You should also take 10,000 units of regular vitamin D which will start to kick in once you are off the calcitriol.

Its also important to note that vitamin D supplementation must be balanced with other nutrients, namely vitamin K2 (to avoid complications associated with excessive calcification in your arteries), calcium and magnesium. For another perspective, data from GrassrootsHealths D*Action studies suggest the optimal level for health and disease prevention is between 60 ng/mL and 80 ng/mL, while the cutoff for sufficiency appears to be around 40 ng/mL. In Europe, the measurements youre looking for are 150 to 200 nmol/L and 100 nmol/L respectively.

Given the impressive findings from the featured study and others, its mind-boggling why large-scale studies arent being immediately implemented to determine best dosages of vitamin D to protect against COVID-19. As Campbell said, The fact that medical authorities are not doing this, because its such a simple observational study, really is getting into the bounds of negligence.25
A new logo of German carmaker Volkswagen is unveiled at the VW headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, on Sept. 9, 2019. (Fabian Bimmer/Reuters)

Volkswagen CEO Keeps His Job, Company Ramps up EV Investments

Germanys Volkswagen Group on Thursday revealed a series of measures that include CEO Herbert Diess keeping his job, overhauling the board, naming a new China leader, and the company raising its five-year spending plan for electric mobility to take on Tesla Inc.

The Big Changes

The 63-year old Diess will continue as Volkswagen Group CEO but his responsibilities have seemingly been reduced. Diess will serve in a new role as the head of the legacy automakers software unit CARIAD, starting 2022.

The automaker also said Ralf Brandstatter, 53, will join the companys board and also lead the companys China business from August. Brandstatter replaces the current China CEO Stephan Wollenstein, who held the post for three years.

Volkswagen also said it will now spend $59 billion, up 50 percent from a previously announced plan to boost its overall electric mobility.

The automaker also set an ambitious target and said it expects that by 2026 one in four vehicles sold would have a battery-electric drive system. Besides Zwickau and Emden, it plans to electrify more sites in Europe.

The Volkswagen Group and its workforce are now facing the most important years of the transformation. Our starting position is rock solid, Volkswagens Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board Jorg Hofmann said.

We must now continue to [realize] this historical change with a view to the future issues in a fair manner, thereby setting an example for the entire industry. This requires the highest level of focus and speed.

Diess will continue to be a board member, the automaker said.

Why It Matters

The changes reflect Volkswagens aggressive transformation ambitions that were laid out under Diesss leadership, whose responsibilities are being trimmed following a recent clash with labor leaders in Germany.

Brandstatter, a younger company veteran who joined the automaker in 1993straight after securing a degree in industrial engineeringis being handed over more power, starting with China and a say in the board.

China is a key market for Volkswagen outside of Europe, although sales of ID. series of electric vehicle sales in China lag far behind the companys own target.

Volkswagen earlier this year said it aims to sell between 80,000 to 100,000 ID. in China.

By Rachit Vats

 2021 The Epoch Times. The Epoch Times does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
A man experiences the inside of the "Sarco" suicide device through using virtual reality glasses at the Amsterdam Funeral Expo in Amsterdam on April 14, 2018. (Jasper Juinen/AFP via Getty Images)

We Are Becoming Pro-Suicide

Commentary

Just what the world didnt needa suicide machine that promises to make users die pleasurably in just 30 seconds. Ready or not, its here. The Sarco Suicide Pod has been approved for use in Switzerland, a country that already accommodates suicide tourism, that is, for-pay clinics that people attend from around the world to be made dead.

The Swiss blessing of the life-extinguishing machinethe invention of the Australian suicide proselytizer Philip Nitschke (more about him below)received ubiquitous, and mostly noncritical, international media coverage.

For example, Yahoo News described the device as a 3-D-printed portable coffin-like capsule with windows that can be transported to a tranquil place for a persons final moments of life. Other than listing the phone number of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline1-800-273-8255no critics were quoted in the story nor were the many pronounced dangers to suicidal people in making self-termination seem desirable, described.

Ditto for the story published in Business Insider, which quoted Nitschke as happily chirping that people will now be able to commit assisted suicide without having to get any permission. EuroNews even quoted Nitschke extolling his device as democratizing the dying process. Nor is the machine to be restricted to the ill or disabled.

We consider it a right for all rational adults to be able to divest themselves of their life, Nitschke said.

Australian euthanasia activist Philip Nitschke (also known as the Australian Doctor Death), the inventor of a 3D-printed suicide machine, presented at the Amsterdam Funeral Expo, poses during a portrait session in Amsterdam on April 14, 2018. (Jasper Juinen/AFP via Getty Images)

Indeed, of the several stories I perused about the Sarco Pods approval, only The Washington Posts included a critic worrying that the machine could glamorize suicide. Alas, that horse is long out of the barn.

Consider the tragic case of Brittany Maynard. Most readers older than 20 will remember the young woman, stricken with terminal brain cancer, who was elevated by the media into an A-list international celebrity after announcing she had moved to Oregon to commit assisted suicide.

How famous did she become? People Magazine featured her at least twice in fawning cover stories and devoted 1,700 words to her obituarya novel-length tome for that publication. She was lauded by Rosie ODonnell and Whoopi Goldberg on The View. CNN named Maynard one of its 11 Extraordinary People of 2014 because she committed suicide, dying on her own terms.

What made Maynards suicide so special? The short answer is that she was glamorously beautiful, allowing for her death to be romanticized by the media and for assisted suicide to be popularized. If you doubt me, ask yourself: Would CNN have ever named Maynard extraordinary if she weighed 200 pounds, wasnt white (for the same reason kidnapped white girls almost always get more media attention than those of color), or was wrinkled? Would People have fawned all over her before and after her death? We all know the answer.

Thats not to say the elderly arent also the targets of suicide advocacy. Compassion and Choiceswhich used to be more honestly called the Hemlock Societyteaches people who decide they are simply done after eight or nine decades of a fully lived life how to starve themselves to death, known in euthanasia parlance as voluntary stop eating and drinking (VSED).

The sales pitch says, VSED can be chosen by a decisionally capable adult who has the physical ability to eat and drink but consciously refuses foods and fluids in order to advance the time of their death. Be it noted that advance the time of their death happens each time someone commits suicide.

Perhaps nothing illustrates societys increasing acceptance of suicidewith the still clear exceptions of the young and troubled military veteransthan the decades-long love affair the media has had with the suicide pods inventor.

For the past two decades, Nitschke has traveled the world holding how-to-commit-suicide seminars, events usually publicized favorably by local press. He also taught people how to obtain veterinarian drugs in Mexico that could be used to commit suicidea prescription followed by many elderly peopleand was again met with nary a word of condemnation beyond euthanasia opponents.

Yes, it is true that stories about Nitschke often call him Dr. Deathbut not in a condemnatory or sharply critical way. Indeed, he has often been honored, as when he was an invited guest presenter at Edinburgh Festival Fringethe worlds largest art festivalwhere he invited people on stage to take a deep inhale of the nitrogen gas used in his suicide pod. How positively avant-garde!

Perhaps Nitschkes undeserved respectability is best illustrated by what stories about him leave out. In 2001, he gave an interview to Kathryn Jean Lopez in the National Review in which he said that he hoped to concoct a peaceful pill, that is, a suicide formula that would be available in supermarkets.

He told Lopez that all people qualify for suicide facilitation, not just those with the training, knowledge, or resources to find out how to give away their life, and that someone needs to provide this knowledge, training, or recourse necessary to anyone who wants it, including the depressed, the elderly bereaved, [and] the troubled teen. Teen suicide is still a third rail in society. No wonder the media leave that part out!

But who knows for how long? In 2001, while in Australia on an anti-euthanasia speaking tour, I was featured in a front-page story in The Australian exposing Nitschke for selling Exit Bags, plastic contraptions sown with Velcro to tie around the neck and used in conjunction with taking an overdose of barbiturates.

That story helped force Nitschkes suicide facilitation activities out of Australiabut only for a time. These days, assisted suicide legalization laws are proliferating, including throughout Australia.

In this sense, the positive coverage of Nitschkes futuristic death contraption is just the next step. The sad fact is that as a culture, our societal opposition to suicideagain excepting the suicides of teenagers and military veteransis fading rapidly. Almost 50,000 people end their lives at their own hands in the United States every year. Its the 10th leading cause of death overall and the third among adolescents.

There are abundant reasons for this public health crisis. One of them, surely, is that self-destruction, per se, is no longer universally disapproved. In some cases, its extolled. For the sick and disabled, it even receives the imprimatur of the state. Unless current trends reverse, I dont see the ongoing suicide catastrophe ending anytime soon.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
WHO Says No Deaths From Omicron, So Why the Harsh Policies?

Commentary

The World Health Organization (WHO) has not documented a single death from the Omicron variant of the CCP Virus. This was confirmed by The Epoch Times, which was told by the WHO that, for Omicron, we have not had any deaths reported, but it is still early in the clinical course of the disease and this may change.

This is also backed by data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which likewise sent a report to The Epoch Times on the Omicron variant from Dec. 1 through 8, and also showed there were no documented deaths from Omicron.

Despite this, what were hearing from public officials is that this is the mutation to fearhide beneath your desk and put your mask on to make sure you dont spread it to grandma.

The data, however, just doesnt support this. In South Africawhere the variant originatedscientists have repeatedly said that Omicron appears to be only a mild illness.

Nikkei Asia reported that in South Africa, Hospital data show that COVID-19 admissions are now rising sharply in more than half of the countrys nine provinces, but deaths are not rising as dramatically and indicators such as the median length of hospital stay are reassuring.

In other words, it does seem that Omicron may be more prevalent in terms of people getting infected. But in terms of deaths, the danger is not thereSouth Africa has repeatedly said this and the WHO and the CDC acknowledge it.

If this is the case, then why all the panic, and why the strengthening of extreme state policies like lockdowns and forced vaccinationsincluding in New York City where outgoing mayor Bill de Blasio has announced vaccine requirements for employees at private companies.

Across the United States, National Guards are being mobilized, and called into hospitals to handle alleged spikes in cases. If you look at this, some people will say oh you see, the cases are so high, they have to even call in the National Guard. What they wont tell you is that the reason they have to call in the National Guard is that they contributed to this shortage by firing many unvaccinated nurses and medical workers.

There was a line from author Albert Camus in his book, Homage to an Exile, which is making the rounds now, since its being seen as relevant to policies on COVID-19. Camus stated, The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants, and it provides the further advantage of giving the servants of tyranny a good conscience.

Its a great quote, and relevant now. Because you can have government spread tyranny, as were seeing right now with governments locking people in their homes, with governments forcing mandates on children masks, with governments forcing people to inject things into their bodies they may not agree with, or they may even violate their religions in doing so, and so on.

Theyre forcing people to do this using a narrative on a virus that is not backed by science, by data, or by anything of the sort. Meanwhile, they tell you to trust the science and trust the data.

But what do they mean when they say that? Frankly, it seems like the slogan follow the science is not really about trusting science, because actual scientific data does not support these new measures.

The CDC and the WHO, in fact, are showing the opposite in terms of the dataso it looks like theres a discrepancy in terms of the information theyre using internally to inform their decisions and what theyre actually stating publicly.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Your Turn, Elon Musk

Commentary

Elon Musk is a man on a mission. His primary mission appears to be twofold: Mars and cars. Musk has other secondary missions. Hes interested in bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrency. Undoubtedly, he has other intellectual and cultural interests. Im reluctant to add to his very full agenda. But Musk has one more important mission to fulfill, which might be his most important of all.

Before I get to this mission, let me review some of Musks recent comments, which represent a new willingness on his part to speak out about politics. Previously, Musk had said he prefers to stay out of politics. He refused to be drawn into a debate over the Texas abortion law. Yet Musk seems to recognize the importance of politics, especially as it pertains to economic issues.

In a recent conversation with the Wall Street Journal, Musk forthrightly condemned the Biden administrations so-called Build Back Better bill. While the left terms this an infrastructure bill, most of the allocations have nothing to do with infrastructure. Basically, this is a mammoth spending bill aimed at fulfilling the lefts ideological priorities, such as a Green New Deal, and also at subsidizing constituencies whose political support the Democrats want to lock in prior to the midterm and 2024 presidential elections.

Honestly, I would just can this whole bill. Dont pass it, Musk said. I would just delete it. Delete. Musk went on to condemn the Biden administrations insane levels of spending, absurdly out of line with the federal governments incoming revenues, and he also flayed the lefts enthusiasm for shifting resources from billionaire entrepreneurs to the public purse.

It does not make sense, Musk said, to take the job of capital allocation away from people who have demonstrated great skill  and give it to an entity that has demonstrated very poor skill. Musk proceeded to make an insightful observation about government itself. Government is simply the biggest corporation, he said, with the monopoly on violence and where you have no recourse.

He gets it. And Musks interests also have a wider compass, as is clear from his remarks on birth rates in the West. Musk noted that many smart people think there are too many people in the world, while in reality its completely the opposite.  If people dont have more children, civilization is going to crumble. Musk wryly added that he himself is a father of six in order to set a good example.

Im with Musk on all of this. And yet Im a little frustrated to see Musk contenting himself with occasional pungent tweets and periodic quips in interviews when his country needs him and he could be doing so much more. Consider, by contrast, the aggressive political entrepreneurship of George Soros. Soros is active on behalf of the left worldwide, and he has donated $32 billion to his Open Society Foundations, of which about half has already been distributed, representing nearly two thirds of his entire fortune.

Soros wants to change the world, and hes doing it. Musk is also changing the world, through his entrepreneurial ventures, through his space program, but hes not doing the thing that he most needs to do right now. Lets remember that Musk has vastly greater resources than Soros. Musk is the richest man in the world, leaving even Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates in the dust. At this writing, his net worth is estimated at around $300 billion. Thats 300,000,000,000.

I want Musk to consider becoming the anti-Soros. Even that is putting it too negatively. What I mean is that Musk needs to do more to get into the fight over saving capitalism and saving America. Both are under siege right now from the Biden administration and the left. The Democrats have gone full socialist, and if they had their way they would irreversibly destroy free markets and, in the process, the country itself. Elon Musk can help to save it.

Musks failure so far to do so is not a failure confined to him: Its a failure that describes the entrepreneurial class itself. Entrepreneurs are a very focused breed. Joseph Schumpeter, in his classic work The Entrepreneur, describes these men (and most of them are men) zooming in laser-like on their novel projects, isolating themselves from the rest of society, seeking to convert their imagination into reality and to build something truly new.

In the process, however, entrepreneurs reveal their blind spot. Their blind spot is that they cant see that the success of their own efforts doesnt just depend on them or their own business. It also depends on the infrastructure of markets and opportunity that makes their success possible. To illustrate my point, lets consider what would have happened to Musks creative genius had he migrated not to America but, say, to Sri Lanka or Afghanistan.

In that case, Im quite sure, Elon Musk would not have become Elon Musk. Im quite sure Musk knows this, and hes deeply grateful for the opportunities that America has given him. And normally America offers these to immigrants like Musk and me without asking anything in return. Today, however, American exceptionalism is deeply imperiled, which is why immigrants like me are fighting as hard as we can to protect it.

Theres so much we need to do. Musk doesnt need to figure out what; Ive already got it figured out. We need a news network, not merely a cable news network but a lifestyle network, like CBS or ABC. We need an online university with a dream-team of the best scholars in the world that would offer a world-class education for a fraction of what it costs today to go to an elite college. We need a new, censorship-free alternative to Facebook and a new search engine that would break Googles monopoly.

Theres more. And Musk can do some of this, or all of it, without putting a serious dent in his portfolio. In sum, it would cost him very little, and it would help society a great deal. So this is an open invitation to Elon Musk to contact me. Ill give him my blueprint on what needs to be done. Ill even get it done. He doesnt need to quit his jobs and become, as he recently mused, an influencer. All he has to do is to invest in the project to save America. Its Elon Musks turn to join the fight.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Best Buy

Got a new TV during Black Friday but the speakers are subpar? A simple solution is a sound bar. Sound bars provide wide-range surround sound in a compact size, eliminating the need for bulkier speakers. The elongated Bluetooth-compatible sound system is ideal for those who want a home cinema experience out of the box for a budget-friendly price.

Right now the Samsung HW-A40R sound bar is on sale for $119.99 from Best Buy, marked down $80 from its original price.
EDWARDSVILLE  As a former Emergency Medical Technician, Danielle Frissie jumped at the opportunity to help the first responders and Amazon warehouse workers.

Frissie, a server at Bella Milano in the catering department, delivered 100 cold sandwiches, bags of chips and trail mix, apples, Gatorades and Monster Energy drinks to first responders and Amazon employees on Saturday morning.

A lot of people want to help, Frissie said. So Im just trying to let them know these first responders are taken care of.

Frissie wanted to deliver the sandwiches cold so they could be refrigerated and edible for a couple of days, if needed.

Once reports of the tornado destroying the Amazon warehouse and trapping workers made the rounds on social media, some of the first comments were local community members trying to help assist in any way possible.

Everyones constantly connected here in Edwardsville, Frissie said.

Along with the efforts by Frissie and Bella Milano, Frissie said that Docs Smokehouse was delivering hot food Saturday night. She added that local families dropped off plates of cookies and other treats, and Madison County pageant winners donated stacks of bottled water.

Im happy I work for a company that is invested in the community and that I have the backing behind me to pull this off, Frissie said. I just wanted to help.

According to Edwardsville Police Chief Michael Fillback, anyone wishing to make a donation of any sort to contact the Salvation Army, American Red Cross or visit the Edwardsville Community Foundation's website to contribute to its relief fund in response to the severe weather event.

The Public Works Department for the City of Edwardsville will begin removing debris from residential areas following the storm. If residents outside of Country Club View and Glen Echo subdivisions have storm debris, contact the Department of Public Works at 618-692-7535 and crews will assess your needs and assist if possible.

Residents that experienced significant damage to their home or property should contact the United Way by calling 211 and a representative will collect all needed information and direct it to the proper authorities.
EDWARDSVILLE  Even before it had ended, officials knew Friday nights storm had been tough on the area.

The gravity was clear early Saturday, with at least six fatalities in a collapsed Amazon facility in Edwardsville and storm debris throughout the area.
COLLINSVILLE - Some of the areas best musicians are teaming up for a night of holiday music and fun to help provide a meal and toys for 200 needy families in the Collinsville area.

On Dec. 14 from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., the second annual Jingle Jam will feature seven acoustic acts and will benefit the Collinsville Food Pantrys annual holiday drive. The drive provides the 200 families with a holiday dinner; at least three toys for each child in the household; and a ball, game and blanket.

The Jingle Jam is fast becoming a holiday tradition, said Collinsville Food Pantry Fund Committee Coordinator Judith Grantham. In addition to raising a pile of much-needed funds to help these families, its going to be some amazing music, and a ho-ho-whole lot of fun.

Old Herald Brewery & Distillery will host the event again this year. It will be live-streamed from their Facebook Page, www.facebook.com/oldherald, as it was last year. This years event will also feature a live audience and limited in-person seating is available at the venue, located at 113 E. Main St. in Collinsville.

Fifty tickets are available for $25 each, with 100 percent of proceeds benefiting the Food Pantrys holiday drive. Tickets are available now on Old Heralds Facebook page, www.oldheraldbrewing.com/store/event/jinglejam/.

Old Herald will provide a free beer to adults who bring a new, unwrapped toy. Additional food and beverages will be available for purchase, and the venue will donate a dollar for every pint of beer or cocktail purchased during the show.

There is no cost to view the livestream, but donations are encouraged by text at 44321. Even those who are unable to attend the show or watch the livestream can send a donation.

This years event features seven acoustic acts: Curt Copeland, Sara Gallagher, Clean Livin (John Lee and David Hall), Steve and Rhonda Evans, 10-String Dream, Dale Papp, and Scott Marlin. The musicians will join up for an all-star jam at the end of the night. All are donating their time and talents for the event.

This is going to be such a fun night for a great cause, and the music is going to be fantastic, said Scott Marlin, who is returning to play the event again this year. I love that theres a community of local musicians who are willing to donate their time and talents for this.
GLEN CARBON  This past Wednesday, Father McGivney Catholic High School and members of the Knights of Columbus 1143 celebrated the Immaculate Conception of Mary with an All-School Mass.

The mass was concluded with the Knights of Columbus presenting a check to FMCHS for $2,500.
picture alliance/dpa/picture alliance via Getty I

On Monday, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced it is investigating the collapse of the Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville. The collapse was caused by a tornado that struck the area and killed six Amazon workers.

On Saturday, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said six workers were killed, one was injured and 45 people were rescued safely. The storm was one of at least 30 across several states.
LITCHFIELD  HSHS St. Francis Hospital will host a live drive-thru nativity scene on Monday, Dec. 13 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the circle drive in front of the hospital.

Participants must remain in their vehicles at all times. Attendees will also receive free hot cocoa kits and Christmas activity bags for children.

In 1223, St. Francis of Assisi began the tradition of commemorating the birth of Christ with a live Nativity near the city of Greccio, Italy, said St. Francis Hospitals Director of Operations Aryn Hunter, who noted the history of the Nativity and the hospitals connection with St. Francis of Assisi. He was concerned that the hermitage would be too small for Christmas midnight Mass, so he set up an altar near the town square. He prepared a manger with hay and gathered live animals to illustrate the story of Jesus birth, and this is how the tradition of the Nativity started and is still portrayed today.

Volunteers from the hospital will take on the roles of Mary, Joseph and the three wise men in the Nativity scene.

Hunter said, we are excited to bring back this visual reminder and celebration of the birth of Jesus to our community and are honored to follow in St. Francis of Assisis footsteps.

In addition to this event, the campus of the hospital will be decorated with Christmas lights and a set of Christmas trees decorated by colleagues at the front of the building.

Our facilities team does a wonderful job with lighting and decorating St. Francis Hospital and its a treat every year for our colleagues to see. We welcome the community to come enjoy them this holiday season, too, Hunter said.

In case of inclement weather, event status updates will be posted on the hospitals Facebook

page, @StFrancisLitchfield. For more information about HSHS St. Francis Hospital, please visit

https://www.hshs.org/stfrancis/
On Friday, a tornado rated EF-3 touched down in Edwardsville, creating a 3.65-mile path of destruction that included the collapse of an Amazon warehouse in town that caused the death of six people so far, the National Weather Service reported.

Cars in the rear of the building were strewn eastward and power lines and several large high tension towers were also destroyed.

Neither Macoupin nor Madison counties are strangers to tornadoes. Jacksonville was last visited by a tornado in 2004, which did $4 million in property damage and injured one person. Madison County last saw a tornado in 2012 before Friday, with a tornado damaging more than 100 homes in 2011. Illinois is one of several midwest states that sees tornadoes somewhat often, although they are somewhat rarer in December.

Here are some quick facts to know about tornadoes.

Tornadoes can occur at any point in the year but are usually found following the jet stream, strong air currents that travel from the equator to the poles during spring. Tornadoes are most commonly found in April and May in southern states and are found more often in the summer in northern states like Illinois.

Most tornadoes form in the late afternoon, and like thunderstorms, tornadoes are formed when warm, humid air collides with cold, dry air. The warm air pushes through the colder air, creating an effect called an updraft. That updraft could begin to rotate if winds vary drastically in speed or direction, per National Geographic.

The rotating updraft, called a mesocycle, draws in more warm air from thunderstorms and the rotation speed begins to increase. Cool air from the jet stream provides more energy. A funnel cloud forms from the warm, damp air and this eventually descends from the clouds and when it touches land that's a tornado.

Most tornadoes don't move even six miles. The average tornado is 660 feet wide and moves about 30 miles per hour. Massive tornadoes can move 300 miles per hour.

The United States measures tornadoes on the Enhanced Fujita scale, which takes many variables into consideration and assigns wind speeds to a tornado, which is the foundation for the rating. The tornado that touched northern Illinois on Sunday is yet to be rated.

When a tornado touches ground near you, the CDC recommends going to the lowest floor in your home or going to a room without windows. Get under something sturdy like a table (to avoid things falling on you) and cover your body with something like a blanket to avoid broken glass.

Tornadoes are most commonly found in the United States in a strip of states from Texas to South Dakota. However, tornadoes are not rare in Missouri and Illinois and can reach as far east as Massachusetts and as far west as Montana.
The pioneer Interim National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande, has given an insight into the severe pressure mounted on the party by influential persons to make sure Muhammadu Buhari, now the President, did not emerge as the party's candidate for the 2015 election.

In his 559-page autobiography, titled 'My Participations', launched in Lagos on Thursday, Akande said persons like former President Olusegun Obasanjo and some unnamed elite, especially from the north, including royal fathers, were against Buhari becoming the party's candidate.

The former Osun State governor explained that an aristocratic leader from the North came to Osogbo, the state capital, to persuade the then governor, Rauf Aregbesola, to prevail on them to drop Buhari.

He, however, said the leaders of the newly formed party decided to go ahead with Buhari, given his charisma and the support he had garnered in his previous attempts, having contested the coveted position three times earlier. He said the emergence of the APC created a formidable structure for him and that Buhari's candidacy was in fact one of the bases for the merger of the constituent political parties.

Regardless of this, he noted that the party allowed anybody interested in the ticket to contest against Buhari at the convention, where he eventually won.

On Obasanjo's opposition to Buhari's candidacy, he wrote, When the party was ready and we were going around to all the leaders, someone reminded us that we had not seen Obasanjo and (former Head of State, Ibrahim) Babangida, and asked them to join us.

We also met Obasanjo and asked him to join us. He said he would not join us but that he had his sympathy for us. He said he had decided not to join any political party since he left the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party).

Behind the scene however, I understood he was pressurising some of our leaders not to use Buhari as our candidate. It got to a point when Bola Tinubu had to confront him thus: 'It is not fair sending me to Buhari. Buhari was a soldier and he was one of your junior offices in the army. Why don't you call Buhari and let him know how you feel about his intention to be President?'

I don't know whether Obasanjo stopped at it. From the start, he did not want Buhari to be President.

Also, on the opposition by the other elite, Akande wrote, It was apparent from the start that Buhari would be our choice for President. That was one of the bases for the merger. However, there were pressures from the elite, especially from the North, including royal fathers, piling pressure on us not to allow Buhari to be our presidential candidate.

A prominent aristocratic leader from the North stayed several nights in Osogbo, persuading Governor Aregbesola to prevail on us not to field Buhari. He threatened that if we did, there would be trouble in the North. We reviewed all these threats and decided to go through it with Buhari.

Akande also described the leader of pan Yoruba socio-political group Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, has a blank politically-minded leader who does not have what it takes to contest political positions.

He further said Adebanjo pestered APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to build him a house in Lekki, where he now resides.

He also stressed that contrary to what Adebanjo believed, the ruling APC did not have restructuring in its manifesto in 2014 when the party presented Buhari as its flagbearer, adding that APC only promised to support devolution of powers from centre to states.

On page 476, Akande wrote, APC did not have 'Restructuring' in its manifesto for the 2015 elections but promised to support devolution of powers from the centre to the states.

While the President (whether Obasanjo, Yar'Adua, Jonathan or Buhari) has the whole of Nigeria as his constituency, members of the National Assembly that have the powers to amend the Constitution imposed on Nigeria by the military represent constituencies individually from different ethnic nationalities.

It is therefore mischievous to place the responsibility for effecting 'restructuring' on the APC or its Presidency and not to appreciate that it would require deft negotiations among such members from different ethnic nationalities and constituencies or zonal and religious background before any political party or any ethnic nationality could successfully issue any fiat on the National Assembly to make laws on power devolution or on 'restructuring', whatever it might connote.

The APC chieftain further alleged that the trio of Adebanjo, Sir Olaniwun Ajayi, and the late Chief Olu Falae should have found younger Yoruba sons to represent the South-West at the 2014 National Conference convened by former President Goodluck Jonathan instead of pocketing generous allowances given to conference delegates.

Akande said, I was not surprised that three old men who were virulently opposed to our aspirations in the APC found their ways into the Jonathan Conference. These men  Sir Olaniwun Ajayi, Chief Ayo Adebanjo and Chief Olu Falae were once our leaders in the old Afenifere until the passage of Papa Adesanya.

They could not find any younger Yoruba to send to the conference to represent our interest. They believed, even in their old age, that they were the only people who could have gone there. Sir Ajayi, who was close to 90 at the time of the Conference, has since joined his ancestors. Chief Adebanjo celebrated his 90th birthday in 2018. Chief Falae is in his 80s. Note that Jonathan paid the conference delegates generous allowances!

Reminiscing on the formation of Afenifere, the ex-governor of Osun State recalled that Chief Olu Falae, a trained civil servant, who after retirement became decorated into leadership by his former military bosses, has since been trying to blindly straddle Nigeria's complicated politics.

The old Afenifere and PDP coalition was fronted by these three men and General Obasanjo. Chief Adebanjo, the most vociferous of them, is a blank politically-minded leader who recognises readily and always that he never has what it takes to aspire for high political positions.

He constantly harbours lumps of yellow hate-bile in his heart for any co-political leader with brighter chances for any major public office within or outside his political party. Adebanjo detests all past governors produced by his party since the UPN days and proudly says so in his regular pontifications. I always passed him for a mere political agitator among the old local party paid canvassers euphemistically called 'organising secretaries'.

Continuing, Akande alleged that Adebanjo coerced Tinubu to build a house for him in the Lekki area of the state.

One day, Sir Olaniwun was launching a book at Muson Centre, Lagos. After the book presentation, Tinubu said I should not go and that he would like to see me. We met in a small room where he also invited Sir Olaniwun Ajayi. 'Papa, you can see that this document is old, Tinubu said as he handed over a big envelope to Ajayi. This is your C of O (Certificate of Occupancy)!'

Tinubu told me later that after he presented Adebanjo's C of O to him, Adebanjo was always pestering Tinubu until he helped built a house on the plot. The street was also named in honour of Adebanjo and he is living in that house now at Lekki Phase One, Akande said.

When contacted on Friday, Adebanjo said he would give his response after carefully reading the book. I'm not going to depend on hearsay; I am going to give a written reply after reading the book, he said.

Efforts to get a reaction from Obasanjo on the statement made by Akande failed, as his media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, did not respond to the message sent to him.  Punch.
Fisayo Soyombo, the founder of Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) was today, Monday, December 13, 2021 detained at the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters, Edet House, Abuja.

Fisayo Soyombo who served as the pioneer editor of The Cable News Platform had on November 23, 2021, received a text message from the security agency but was reportedly out of the country.

This office is conducting an investigation in which your name and phone number featured, in view of this, you are to interview the Head, IGP Monitoring Unit on the 29th November 2021 by 1000hrs at 1st Floor, Force Hqtrs, it read.

The journalist honoured the invitation on Monday and discovered it was in connection to a story on the award of contracts for police camps.

FIJ had, in the report, alleged that Joseph Egbunike  now a deputy inspector-general of police  in his former role as Commissioner of Police in charge of budget and finance at the Nigeria Police Force headquarters joined other police chiefs to approve more than N1billion for sham police transit camps project in Benue, Bauchi, Plateau, Katsina and Kano State.

Egbunike headed the police panel that investigated ex-IRT head, Abba Kyari, after an FBI indictment for alleged fraud and conspiracy.

When FIJ visited the project locations, nothing or little had been done after three years of approval.

At the N245 million transit camp in Riyom, Plateau State, two uncompleted bungalows and a few mobile buildings on an expanse of land were found, he revealed.

Knowing he committed no offence, he honoured the police invitation on Monday, days after returning from the trip, only to discover it was in connection to a story exposing the award of transit police camp projects that do not exist to the tune of the contract sums.

Pro-Egbunikes lawyers petitioned the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali, over the story, demanding the prosecution of those behind the defamation.

The legal practitioners, led by Stefan Onome Okorodudu, claim to operate under Concerned Lawyers in defence of the Nigeria Police and its officers.

FIJ understands that 11 lawyers loyal to Egbunike petitioned Usman Alkali, the Inspector General of Police, over the story, asking for the prosecution of those behind it for defamation under the Penal Code.

The 11 lawyers loyal to DIG Egbunike are led by one Stefan Onome Okorodudu and they claim to operate under a joint mandate as Concerned Lawyers in defence of the Nigeria Police and its officers from the peddling and publication of falsehood.

Meanwhile, the Police have yet to offer any explanations on the use to which the transit camp funds were put, and why the structures in the five states do not represent anything close to the huge sums of money awarded for them.

It is unclear if police authorities are looking into FIJs revelations about the facilities meant to provide safe and comfortable accommodation for travelling officers and men.

According to a post on the Twitter handle of FIJ, Soyombo was released by the police around 6pm.

We can confirm that our founder, Fisayo Soyombo, has been released by the Force Headquarters, the post reads.

He was released on bail at exactly 6:26om today and is to return on January 13, 2022. Our only offence here is that we published a true story.
Rivers State governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has sacked the Commissioner of Health, Professor Princewill Chike for not seeking the State governments approval to host the preliminary session of Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, MDCN, in Port Harcourt.

The governor described the unilateral decision of the Commissioner to host the MDNC without the consent of the Rivers State government as most embarrassing.

Governor Wike announced the sack of Professor Chike when the chairman of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, Professor Abba Wasiri Hassan paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House, Port Harcourt on Monday.

The governor explained that the Rivers State government never requested to host the preliminary session of Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria in Port Harcourt. And stressed that the Commissioner of Health erred to have unilaterally scheduled to host the MDCN event at the same time when the State government is commissioning and flag off of projects.

Frankly speaking, I have never seen an embarrassment like this in my life. Everybody knows that it is not my nature to bring people and you cannot attend to them or host. So, whoever has done this will suffer for it.

Governor Wike said the request by the MDCN that State governors should establish one tertiary hospital in each of their senatorial districts will not be realisable due to paucity of funds.

"You have talked about siting tertiary hospital in each of the senatorial district, you know it is not possible. That is why in Nigeria we have a problem. When you go for your budget, you put all kinds of projects. You know it cannot work. Where will you get the money to site these in each of the senatorial district.

The governor explained that in a bid to improve citizens access to quality healthcare service delivery, his administration has embarked on construction of some zonal hospitals in Bori, Degema, Etche, Ahoada and Omoku.

He further stated that his administration has also invested huge amount of resources in the promoting medical education in the State, particularly, with the establishment of the Rivers State University College of Medical Sciences and the annual award of scholarship to 130 indigenes of the State studying medicine at PAMO University of Medical Sciences.

You'll agree that I have provided the necessary funds for all whatever you requested to give a standard medical college. Our partnership with PAMO is very interesting. In fact, every year Rivers State government offers scholarship to indigenes. This year we have approved 130.

Governor Wike used the occasion to canvass for the reduction of the money the Federal government gets from federation account to enable the States have more resources to drive their development.

The governor said States should be allowed to fix the amount they can afford to pay their workers, including medical personnel. He contended that one of the banes of the country federal system is the attempt to foist a uniform salary structure on the entire country.

I dont want to talk about the salary thing. It is part of the problem we have. If you want to work in Rivers State, Rivers state government should negotiate with you on what you should earn. Why should the man who is in Kogi earn the same thing with the man working in Rivers State? what is the house rent in Kogi? What is the house rent in Port Harcourt?

If we dont want to run true federalism, we should leave it. I cant sit here as governor of a state, you go to the federal government to negotiate, you come and give me to sign, I will not sign.

Chairman, Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, Professor Abba Wasiri Hassan, explained that they were in Rivers State for the ninth preliminary session of the council.

He commended Governor Wike for his positive attitude towards healthcare and medical delivery services in Rivers state, particularly, the huge investment in Rivers State University College of Medical Sciences, award of scholarship to indigenes of the state studying medicine and the construction of world class Dr. Peter Odili Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease Diagnostic and Treatment Centre in Port Harcourt.

The MDCN chairman urged governors to consider investing in tertiary hospitals in each of the senatorial district in the country in order to increase the number of hospitals available for the training of house officers and to check medical tourism.

Kelvin Ebiri

Special Assistant Media to the Rivers State Governor

December 13, 2021
Body of missing fisherman found

PHUKET: Search teams have found the body of the fishermen missing from the fishing boat that capsized off Phukets east coast late Saturday night.

marineSafetydeath

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Monday 13 December 2021, 09:17AM

Prakanchai Suparat, 64, was last seen in the water separated from his fellow crewmates after the Chokhongthong fishing boat struck a sunken vessel and took on water between Koh Tapao Yai and Koh Tapao Noi about 8:20pm Saturday night (Dec 11).

His two crewmates were rescued and brought ashore at Saphan Hin yesterday, but a search continued Mr Prakanchai.

A Royal Thai Navy helicopter, Marine Police and Kusoldharm rescue workers in a rubber dinghy all scoured Phuket Bay for Mr Prakanchai, and finally found a body matching his description among mangroves about one kilometre from the mouth of the Klong Koh Phi canal.

The body was brought back to Saphan Hin, where relatives confirmed it was that of Mr Prakanchai.

His body was taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital for post-mortem examination.
Swiss man, 57, killed by Phuket passenger van

PHUKET: A 57-year-old Swiss man was killed when the driver of a passenger van lost control while coming down a steep hill north of Promthep Cape this morning (Dec 13). The van swerved across the road and struck the Swiss man on his motorbike before slamming into a roadside power pole.

tourismtransportSafetydeathpolice

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Monday 13 December 2021, 03:19PM

Acting Lt Col Ying Pimprapat of the Chalong Police was called to the scene, on the coastal road south of Nai Harn Lake, at around 8am. Acting Lt Col Ying was told that a foreign tourist had been seriously injured in an accident.

Police along with paramedics from Rawai Municipality and an ambulance from Chalong Hospital arrived at the scene to find the Phuket-registered commercial passenger van, fitted with green licence plates, on its side beside the road.

The driver, Somchai Kobkoi, 44, was waiting at the scene.

A Phuket-registered Yamaha N-Max scooter-motorbike destroyed by the force of the impact was beside the power pole, which bore marks from the impact.

The Swiss man, from Lostallo, near the Italian border, was on the ground, seriously injured, unconscious and unresponsive, beside the motorbike.

Emergency responders performed CPR and rushed him to Chalong Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Acting Lt Col Ying reported an eyewitness explaining that the passenger van, registered as a taxi vehicle, was travelling downhill at high speed when the driver lost control.

The van swerved across the road and struck the motorbike driven by the tourist, then slammed into the power pole broadside, leaving the van on its side beside the road.

Acting Lt Col Ying said the witness statement was recorded as evidence, and that officers will check any CCTV in the area to confirm the exact cause of the collision.

The body of the Swiss man was taken to the morgue at Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town.

The Swiss Embassy in Bangkok has been informed of the accident so that the mans relatives can be informed of his death, Acting Lt Col Ying said.

* The Phuket News has confirmed the identity of the Swiss man who died in the accident but is withholding from publishing it until it has been confirmed that his next of kin has been notified.
Montreal, CA (H4T1V6)

Today

Snow this evening will give way to partly cloudy conditions late. Low -1C. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 90%. Snow accumulations less than one inch..

Tonight

Snow this evening will give way to partly cloudy conditions late. Low -4C. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 90%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
EDWARDSVILLE  A Cottage Hills man indicted Thursday could face natural life in prison if convicted on multiple sex assault charges.

Devin P. Brazier, 28, of Cottage Hills, was indicted Dec. 9 by a Madison County grand jury on three counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and aggravated criminal sexual abuse, both Class 2 felonies.

According to court documents, between Nov. 25, 2016 and Nov. 25, 2017 Brazier allegedly sexually assaulted a then eight-year-old girl.

He was originally charged Nov. 12 and had been previously charged in late May with predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, a Class X felony, and attempted predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, a Class 1 felony, in the sexual assault of the 11-month-old infant.

Other indictments issued Dec. 9 include:

 Kevin R. Allen, 19, of St. Louis, was indicted for home invasion. On July 6 Allen allegedly entered a home in Pontoon Beach, knowing two people were present, and threatened them with a gun. He also allegedly took a wallet and identification, an Xbox and keys to a 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser.

 Cody L. Seders, 19, of Godfrey, and Alexander J. Kuhn, 19, of Mt. Vernon, were indicted for an armed robbery in July in Alton. The charges were filed Nov. 18 but had been suppressed until last week. On July 22 the two allegedly took clothing and shoes from another man by use of force and armed with a semi-automatic handgun.

 Gregory A. Riddlespriger, 31, of East Alton, was indicted for aggravated domestic battery, a Class 2 felony. On Nov. 30 Riddlespriger allegedly strangled a household or family member.

 Walter J. VanDyke, 59, of East Alton, was indicted or offenses relating to motor vehicles, a Class 2 felony. On Aug. 9 VanDyke allegedly was found to improperly have a 1968 Chevrolet El Camino in Bethalto.

 Amil K. Rajput, 53, of Chesterfield, Missouri, was indicted for burglary, a Class 3 felony. On Nov. 1, 2019 Rajput allegedly entered a vehicle in the 3900 block of South Illinois 159 in Glen Carbon to commit theft.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  Prosecutors in the manslaughter trial of a Minnesota police officer charged in the shooting death of Daunte Wright walked jurors through the differences between her handgun and her Taser on Monday, seeking to raise questions about how an experienced officer could confuse the two.

Wright, 20, was killed on April 11 after being pulled over in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center for having expired license plate tags and an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror. Kim Potter, 49, is charged with manslaughter.

Potter, a 26-year police veteran who resigned two days later, has said she meant to use her Taser to stop Wright after he pulled away and got back in his car as officers tried to arrest him on a warrant for a weapons charge. Potter is white and Wright was Black. His death, which came while Derek Chauvin was on trial in nearby Minneapolis in George Floyd's death, set off several nights of angry protests in Brooklyn Center.

The defense has called the shooting a horrific mistake, but has also asserted that Potter would have been within her rights to use deadly force on Wright because he might have dragged another officer, then-Sgt. Mychal Johnson, with his car.

Sam McGinnis, a senior special agent with the state's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, highlighted how Potter's duty belt had holsters that require an officer to take deliberate actions to release the weapons. The gun holster has a snap, while the Taser holster has a lever. The handgun, which is black, is also twice as heavy as the yellow Taser, McGinnis said.

The Taser and gun have different triggers, grips and safety mechanisms, McGinnis testified. The Taser also has a laser and LED lights that display before it is fired, which he demonstrated for the jury, while the handgun does not, he said.

McGinnis also testified that Potter didnt perform a function test on her Taser at the start of her shift. Although the Brooklyn Center Police Departments policy is that officers are supposed to do that, McGinnis acknowledged under cross-examination that he didnt check to see how widely the departments officers complied.

Prosecutors asked to have the jurors handle a Taser, but Judge Regina Chu didn't allow it after Potter's attorneys objected. Chu said jurors can do so during deliberations if they want.

Earlier Monday, Dr. Lorren Jackson, an assistant Hennepin County medical examiner, testified that Potter's bullet caused injuries to Wright's heart and lungs and those caused his death. He said one can survive such injuries for only seconds to minutes.

After Wright was shot, his car drove away and collided seconds later with an oncoming car. Any injuries from the crash were insignificant in terms of what caused Wright's death, Jackson said.

Some officers testified last week that they weren't able to immediately approach Wright's car after it crashed because they weren't sure it was safe to do so. Prosecutors criticized Potter for not immediately radioing in what happened at the traffic stop.

Jackson testified that Wright had some cannabinoids, or THC and its metabolites, in his blood from smoking marijuana, but that they didn't factor in his cause of death. He said the level of THC metabolites in Wrights blood was on the high end of numbers he sees, but was still within a normal range for people who use marijuana.

Jurors were shown graphic images of Wrights body at the scene, as the assistant medical examiner found the body on the ground, with some medical equipment still attached from lifesaving efforts, and some dried blood from the gunshot wound.

They also saw autopsy photos, which Chu limited after Potter's attorneys objected earlier in the trial. Wrights mother, who has been present for much of the testimony, was not in court as the autopsy photos were shown.

The state is expected to rest its case midweek.

Separately, prosecutors filed two motions Monday, including one designed to limit the opinion of witnesses who are not testifying as experts. That came after Johnson last week testified that Potters actions were authorized under state law. Johnson was not testifying as an expert on the police use of force.

Prosecutors also asked Chu for permission to question police officers about union membership. They wrote that Potter had roles in the union, including as president, that gave her an elevated level of respect among her coworkers. They want to ask officers about it so jurors can evaluate any potential bias toward Potter.

The case is being heard by a mostly white jury.

State sentencing guidelines call for just over seven years in prison upon conviction of first-degree manslaughter and four years for second-degree, though prosecutors have said they plan to push for longer sentences.

___

Associated Press writers Mohamed Ibrahim in Minneapolis and Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed to this report.

___

Find the APs full coverage of the Daunte Wright case: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-daunte-wright
Westerly, RI (02891)

Today

Showers early, then partly cloudy overnight. Low 36F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Showers early, then partly cloudy overnight. Low 36F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Capita shares fell sharply this morning after the outsourcing giant warned that a slower than expected recovery from Covid was hitting revenues.

Despite winning several Government contracts, with revenues in that division rising the most at 11 per cent, other parts of the business have seen trade fall or slow down, denting overall growth.

Shares in FTSE 250 listed Capita fell 17 per cent to 37.5p in morning trading, making it the top faller on the UK midcap index.

Capita runs an array of public services, including the London congestion charge and the newer ultra low emissions zone (ULEZ)

Capita, which runs an array of public services, including the London congestion charge and the newer ultra low emissions zone (ULEZ), saw revenues in this division rise to 1.3billion in the 11 months the end of November.

The group, which also collects the BBC licence fee, said the revenue boost was mostly driven by new contract wins and renewals, including for the Royal Navy, HMRC, the Standards and Testing Agency, and the Ministry of Justice.

Last week, the Guardian reported that Capita managed to undercut the British Council to run the 110million Turing student exchange scheme.

The Turing scheme, announced in 2020 by Boris Johnson, replaced the EUs Erasmus student exchange scheme after the UK withdrew from the bloc.

But despite a raft of Government contract wins, Capita's 'experience' division, which handles customer service calls for private companies, saw revenues fall 8 per cent to 1.1billion as some firms decided to save cash and not renew the contract.

However, Capita highlighted some new contract wins with 'the RSPCA, a major UK bank, a FTSE 100 pensions client and Thames Water'.

Its non-core business, which includes travel and events, and security and legal services, also saw growth stall, with revenues up by just 0.4 per cent to 507million.

Overall, in the 11 months to the end of November, group revenues rose 0.6 per cent to 2.9billion.

Capita chief executive, Jon Lewis, said: 'We have continued in recent months to make progress with our corporate transformation, particularly in our Public Service division.

'However, Covid has continued to impact some businesses within our Portfolio division. This, combined with the anticipated revenue attrition in our Experience division has slowed the overall rate of top line growth this year.'

Capita also said it remained on track with its disposals programme, which saw it offload two specialist insurance businesses last month and its software solutions division in October.

It has now raised over 620million from various sales, leaving it close to hitting its 700million target.

'We have delivered our disposals programme, which now totals more than 620million proceeds for the year, strengthening our balance sheet and providing the funds to further reduce our outstanding financial debt in 2022,' Lewis added.
Talks between mining giant BHP and rival Wyloo over buying Canadian firm Noront have ended as a battle to get their hands on a supply of key metals used in electric cars heats up.

BHP, the world's largest listed miner, said that discussions over whether Australian company Wyloo would support BHPs offer of C$0.75 per share for Norton came to an end.

It comes as Wyloo, which is Noront's biggest shareholder, increased its offer for the company to C$1.10 a share, which is 47 per cent higher than BHPs offer.

Bidding war: For now, BHP's offer has the support of the Noront board

The move by Wyloo is the latest twist in the bidding war between the two miners for the supply of metals like nickel, cobalt and copper, all of which are used in the making of electric vehicle batteries.

With a stake of 37 per cent in Noront, Wyloo said it does not intend on supporting any other offer and that 'a competing take-over bid will be unlikely to meet any minimum tender condition.'

But for now BHP's offer has the support of the Noront board, although it requires the backing of at least 50 per cent of shareholders.

Following months of competing bids, Wyloo had been discussing supporting the offer by BHP.

At the heart of the tussle was Noront's Eagle Nest nickel asset in Canada's so-called Ring of Fire, a high-grade deposit of the metal, as well as copper and palladium.

Last month, BHP merged all its oil and petroleum business with Woodside in a deal that will create one of the largest independent energy companies in the world.

It is part of BHP's move away from fossil fuels following growing pressure from investors and environmental groups, which have lambasted the firm for being one of the most significant corporate contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will discuss Iran as well as bilateral issues during his landmark meeting with the de facto ruler of the United Arab Emirates on Monday, an Israeli envoy said, following outreach by the Gulf state to Tehran.

Shared concern about Iranian activity was among reasons for the formalisation of Israel-UAE relations last year under a U.S.-led regional initiative known as the Abraham Accords.https://f19e80c57622bf8d5f9b01f23cb9e6c6.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

With world powers now trying to renew an Iran nuclear deal, Abu Dhabi last week sent an top envoy to its Persian neighbour. A U.S. delegation is due in UAE this week to warn Emirati banks against non-compliance with Iran sanctions.

Iran is Israels arch-foe. But it has not been mentioned publicly by Bennett since he set off on Sunday for the first visit by an Israeli premier to UAE with pledges to promote bilateral commerce and other forms of civilian cooperation. read more

I suppose that it will not be a secret that this subject (Iran) will certainly come up in Bennetts meeting with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the Israeli ambassador to Abu Dhabi, Amir Hayek, said.

Israel Hayom newspaper, citing unnamed officials, said Bennett was expected to brief Sheikh Mohammed on intelligence regarding Iranian-supplied militias and drones in the region.

Hayek declined to elaborate on any discussion of Iran. The prime minister did not only come here solely to address the Iranian issue, he told Israels Army Radio in an interview.

Israel last month broached setting up joint defences against Iran with Gulf Arab states. Hayek said military sales to UAE are in the works, though Israeli industry sources say advanced Israeli air defence systems have yet to be offered.

Israel is in cooperation with a new friend, with a partner for the long-term, and the considerations will be both considerations of defence and also considerations of how you work with a country which is very, very, very friendly to Israel, Hayek said.

Israel-UAE bilateral trade in goods alone reached nearly $500 million so far in 2021  up from $125 million in 2020  and is expected to continue growing rapidly.

SOURCE: REUTERS
As Europe starts vaccinating younger children, countries are pursuing very different strategies in what will be a major test of parents willingness to get their kids inoculated.

One region in Italy is sending in clowns and jugglers to clinics, France and Germany are targeting only the most vulnerable kids, while Denmark has been administering shots even before the specially-designed vials and syringes have arrived.

Vaccination must be a game, a joyful moment when children can feel at ease, said Alessio DAmato, health chief of the central Lazio region, in a video as he declared Dec. 15 Vax Day for children in the region.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the use of Pfizer-BioNTechs lower-dose vaccine on the 5-11 age group last month, following the go-ahead for older children in May.

The first deliveries of the smaller paediatric vials will not arrive until Monday though. Timings for the rollout vary, but most countries are preparing to start getting shots into young arms a day or two after the first shipments arrive.

Belgium may not start roll-out until early January while the national authorities prepare to issue guidance.

Spain, which ranks among the worlds most-highly immunized countries with 90% of people aged 12 or over fully vaccinated, will start inoculating younger children on Dec. 15.

Inoculating children and young people, who can unwittingly transmit COVID-19 to others at higher risk of serious illness, is considered a critical step towards taming the pandemic. In Germany and the Netherlands, kids now account for the majority of cases.

The roll-out comes as the European Union battles a major wave of infections, accounting for well over half of global infections and 50% of deaths globally.

Some 27 million 5-11 year olds are eligible for the vaccine in the bloc of about 450 million.

PARENTS WORRY

But a major hurdle will be winning over parents.

In the Netherlands, 42% of almost 1,800 parents with kids in the 5-12 age range said they would not get their children inoculated and 12% said they would probably decline, according to a poll by Dutch current affairs television programme Een Vandaag. Only 30% said they would get their kids vaccinated.

A survey in Italy by polling firm Noto Sondaggi published on Dec. 5 found that almost two-thirds of those surveyed backed vaccinations, but the percentage dropped to 40% among parents with children aged 5-12 years old.

A lack of data on the effects on children was given as the main reason for the hesitancy, while a third thought that children would be less likely to get infected and 9% worried about long-term side-effects.

The U.S. roll-out has been sluggish since it started last month. Of the 28 million eligible U.S. children in that age group, around 5 million have received at least one dose.

Some parents have been concerned about reports of heart inflammation, a rare vaccine side effect seen in young men at higher rates than the rest of the population.

Last week, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it had not found any reports of the condition among 5-11 year-old recipients of the vaccine.

No serious safety concerns related to the vaccine have been identified in clinical trials, Pfizer and BioNTech have said.

The data show that it is safe, effective, and with results very similar to those for older children, said Dr Luigi Greco, a paediatrician and Lombardy regional manager for training for the Italian family paediatricians union.

Still, some governments are limiting the rollout until there is more data available.

In France, only kids who are overweight or who have a serious health condition will be offered access to vaccination to start with.

Germanys vaccination advisory commission STIKO said it could not make a general recommendation for the vaccine due to limited data available.

It recommended that children aged five to 11 with pre-existing conditions be given a shot.

CAPTAIN VACCINE

Some health authorities arent even waiting for the specially-made kits to arrive, however, instead using vaccines in stock for adults but extracting only a third of the dose.

When the Austrian capital Vienna last month opened the first 9,200 slots for inoculating kids, all the appointments were booked within days.

Denmark followed suit on Nov. 28, saying there was no time to lose. After less than two weeks, more than 49,000 children aged 6 to 11 had received their first shot, around 13% of that age group.

The German state of Saxony, among the hardest hit by surging COVID-19 infections, started vaccinating at-risk children under 12 years of age.

On Friday, Franz Knoppe travelled more than 100 kilometres (60 miles) to the Leipzig Heart Centre in the states most populous city from Chemnitz with his two children, aged seven and 11, for a kids vaccination drive.

We were so happy that vaccinations for children under the age of 12 are possible now, he told Reuters at the hospital.

Mathilda, who did not provide her last name, was at the hospital with her six-year old daughter Erna.

Its important to vaccinate the children and to offer safety, just like for adults, Mathilda said.

Regional authorities in Italy, meanwhile, are coming up with inventive ways to entertain and engage kids while they get jabbed and making it easy for parents to arrange a slot.

In Liguria, the authorities have created a cartoon superhero called Captain Vaccine who carries a doctors bag and dons a white coat with a big V printed on his chest. He stars in a comic to be distributed in vaccination centres.

SOURCE: REUTERS
This article was first published on NerdWallet.com.

From the time Erin Noon Kay was little, her mom taught her how to manage money. This is a good thing for every parent to do, but for Noon Kay, it was essential. She was born with cerebral palsy. And in addition to general budgeting, she needed to know how to navigate the confusing government benefits system.

Noon Kay  who founded Claiming Disability, a company that advocates for people with disabilities through outreach activities and media representation  explained that many people who are disabled dont handle their own finances. Instead, their finances will be managed by a nonprofit or their parents, meaning they don't learn the skills themselves.

I dont think were doing disabled people a service when we try to shelter [them] from the reality of their own life," says Noon Kay, 33. "Like if my mom would have sheltered me from all of these realities, it would have been a huge shock.

An often-overlooked area of financial management is credit. Having good credit (FICO scores of at least 690) means having access to options in an emergency  if, say, you lose your job or are unable to work.

But people with disabilities are already less likely to work full time and tend to earn less on average than those without disabilities, says Tom Foley, executive director of the National Disability Institute, or NDI. And he speculates that the disability community is one of the most credit-invisible groups, making emergencies harder to manage.

For some, going into debt is the only option

After all, the solution is not always as simple as spending less money: If you have a disability, some expenses that are often seen as luxuries are absolute necessities.

Foley gave the example of someones air conditioning going out in the middle of summer. If you have a disability and you live in Georgia, getting that fixed is not a luxury; its probably necessary for survival. Unfortunately, if you also have poor credit (FICO scores of 629 or lower), your options for covering such expenses are limited.

Its all of these things kind of conspiring to put someone in a really vulnerable economic situation, which makes it a lot harder to manage any debt, says Foley.

A 2017 NDI analysis of survey data from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, found that people with disabilities are much less likely to use credit cards than the general population and are much more likely to struggle with debt and to use "alternative credit services" like pawnshops and payday loans. Payday loans can come with APRs upward of 300%.

If you have bad credit, or no credit at all, there are alternatives to payday loans that will be easier to pay off. But those with good credit have even better options, including low-interest loans and 0% intro APR credit cards.

How to start building your credit

Building your credit can be a challenge if you're struggling financially. But its not impossible. Mostly, it comes down to learning how to manage any debt you acquire. In fact, Noon Kay credits her moms financial lessons with the good credit she has today.

Here's how you can get started:

Open an account that gets reported to the credit bureaus

Most credit scoring models dont keep track of rent or utility payments, but credit cards and loans are generally reported to the three major credit bureaus. Getting a credit card is one of the easiest ways you can be sure that your account will actually help your credit, and there are options for those with poor or thin credit. (More on that below.)

Make on-time payments

Once you have an account thats reported to the credit bureaus, make every payment on time because thats among the most important factors in your credit scores. If you have a credit card, you dont even have to pay off your entire balance. As long as you pay your minimum payment, youll be able to protect your credit.

But remember: Merely paying your minimum balance isn't a great long-term solution. Credit card interest is likely to be much lower than a payday loan, but the APR will still typically sit in the double digits.

If youre struggling to pay your minimum payment, be proactive and contact your credit card issuer first. The issuer might have a hardship program to help lower your monthly payments and keep your account in good standing.

Credit cards that can help

If your credit is less than ideal, you might have some trouble getting approved for many credit cards, including most rewards cards. But you do still have some options:

Secured credit cards

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Unlike other credit cards, secured cards require a cash deposit upfront. Once you close the account in good standing  or are able to upgrade it to a traditional unsecured card through responsible use over time  you'll be able to get that deposit back. Major issuers like Capital One and Discover offer secured credit cards.

Since the deposit reduces card issuers risk, it's easier for applicants with poor or no credit to get approved. In fact, it's possible to find secured cards that don't require a credit check at all, or even a bank account  although such products may have other drawbacks, like annual fees or no upgrade paths to higher-tier cards.

'Alternative' credit cards

Depending on your credit scores, you might be able to qualify for an unsecured alternative credit card that can use nontraditional underwriting standards to make approval decisions. These cards might still look at your credit history, but theyll also consider other factors like income, employment and banking information.

This isnt going to be the best option for everyone. If youre on a limited or fixed income, you might have some trouble getting approved. But it's an option to consider if your credit history is weaker than the rest of your financial history.

Become an authorized user

You can also build credit by becoming an authorized user on someone elses credit card account. Youll want to ask someone who has good financial habits and makes every payment on time, since youre building your credit by piggybacking off of theirs.

As an authorized user, you can get your own physical card and make purchases with it, although that's not required; your credit could see a benefit without you ever having to use the card.

But authorized users generally don't have the ability to make changes to the account, nor are they responsible for making payments on it. That liability falls to the primary account holder, meaning it's wise for the two of you to set rules and expectations in advance. If you rack up charges that the primary account holder cannot pay back, each of you may suffer negative impacts to your credit.

Caitlin Mims writes for NerdWallet. Email: cmims@nerdwallet.com.

The article For People With a Disability, Credit Is Key in a Crisis originally appeared on NerdWallet.
The hospitality industry pivoted again Monday with the launch of a new statewide mandate that requires masks be worn in all indoor public places.

But unlike in June 2020, when upstate restaurant dining rooms reopened after the initial pandemic shutdown, the same rules won't be implemented everywhere in the Capital Region. Last year, per an order from the governor's office, customers had to wear masks until seated; tables or bar seats for separate groups needed to be 6 feet apart or, if closer, separated by barriers; and all customers being served alcohol also had to order food. The rules were enforced by large squads of investigators, pulled from multiple state agencies, that at one point were making thousands of compliance checks a week, with fines and sanctions levied by the State Liquor Authority.

The new mask rule, issued Friday by Gov. Kathy Hochul to go into effect Monday, is open to interpretation and gives individual business owners the option of requiring proof of vaccination for entry instead of masks. This means customers are now facing different rules at different places when going out for a meal or a drink. And enforcement is on the county level.

The Lionheart Pub & Brewery, The Copper Crow, Savoy Taproom, Oh Bar and Waterworks Pub, all in Albany, are among those Capital Region bars and restaurants now requiring proof of vaccination for all customers; staff will be masked but customers do not have to be. The same goes for Taverna Novo in Saratoga Springs and Dee Dee's Tavern in Latham. A few area restaurants implemented such a policy weeks ago on their own, including 333 Cafe in Delmar, and Red Dot Restaurant & Bar in Hudson (Vaccination proof has been government-mandated for New York City restaurants for months.)

Other area restaurants are using entryway signs and posts on social media to ask customers to wear masks but are expressing anger with Hochul's order and its seeming inconsistencies.

"We feel it would be a logistical nightmare to mandate all guest be vaccinated with the number of guests we serve each day," Innovo Kitchen chef-owner John LaPosta said in an email to customers. The email included an image of Hochul with the words, "I am the supreme commander and I say you must wear a mask to enter, but you can take it off to eat and drink for hours because you can't spread COVID when you sit or eat ... just dumb."

The Crisp Cannoli in East Greenbush is asking customers to wear masks. Management will not police it, however, saying in a Facebook post, "We will comply but we are not enforcers of this directive, and neither will any of our customers who visit our establishment." It asks customers not to engage with one another over the issue, adding that those uncomfortable being in the bakery-cafe with others who may be unmasked can get curbside delivery from masked employees.

Hochul announced Friday she was instituting an indoor mask mandate for any business or venue that caters to unvaccinated patrons, arguing it would help slow a surge of COVID-19 cases.

Unlike last year's SLA-led enforcement, the mask mandate is being handled by county health departments, with business owners liable for a fine of up to $1,000 per violation.

Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin said Friday that his county lacks the resources to police the mandate and so will make no attempt to do so, adding in a statement, "If the state wants to enforce the mandate, the state will need to utilize state resources for those actions."

Vic Christopher, owner of multiple Troy restaurants and bars under the Clark House Hospitality umbrella, including Donna's Italian and the Lucas Confectionery, said he trusts his patrons will follow the mask rule but is relieved not to have to worry about enforcement.

"We don't have a rowdy, law-flouting group of customers," Christopher said. "In business, you're always terrified of the bogeyman of government agents coming after you, so at least we don't have to be looking over our shoulders for that."

A spokesman for Albany County Executive Dan McCoy said the county's response will be largely driven by complaints from the public about businesses not enforcing the mask rule.

"Albany County is reactivating its complaint hotline. Once active, those visiting Albany County businesses should utilize that hotline to report any violations, which will be followed up on by county staff to determine next steps in terms of any necessary enforcement," the spokesman said via email.

The public is divided on the matter. A poll posted on Dec. 6 on the Table Hopping blog asked how respondents would react to vaccination proof being required to dine in a restaurant. More than 675 people took the poll, with 61 percent saying they would be more inclined to dine out, 9 percent saying they'd go out less often and 30 percent vowing to avoid restaurants until a vaccination policy was rescinded.

"It's up to owners to decide what makes sense for their business model," said Melissa Fleischut, president and CEO of the New York State Restaurant Association.

Those with a quick-serve model, with most customers ordering food to go or picking up orders placed online or over the phone, are most likely choosing to require masks but not ask for vaccination proof, Fleischut said.

"With that setup and volume, it wouldn't be feasible to try to verify vaccination status for everyone," Fleischut said.

At sit-down restaurants, local managers and owners are divided.

Patricia Novo, owner of Taverna Novo, announced Monday morning that she is requiring proof of vaccination for entry, writing on Facebook, "We are doing what we feel is best for our employees and guests."

In contrast, DZ Restaurants' three dining spots, all located, in Saratoga Springs, like Taverna Novo, will require patrons to wear masks until seated. Vaccination status will not be questioned.

"I'm not going to put my 16-year-old hostesses in the position of having to ask for proof of vaccination," said Nancy Bambara, vice president and COO of DZ Restaurants. "Staff will be 100 percent masked, and guests will be until seated."

Bob Lee, owner of The Wishing Well in Wilton and The Brook Tavern in Saratoga, said masks will be required and, with tables still spaced farther apart than before the pandemic, he will not ask about vaccinations.

"Once seated, they can take their masks off," Lee said.

Some owners and managers, as well as Fleischut at the New York State Restaurant Association, said the state's explanation of the mandate is confusing and open to interpretation.

"It definitely seems like mixed signals," Fleischut said.

"It says people have to be masked when not 'actively eating or drinking.' To me, that sounds like you have to put the mask back on between sips of a drink or between bites of food. I'm not going to risk it," said longtime Waterworks Pub manager Scott Levine, who is now requiring vaccination proof from all patrons.

Others are holding off on immediately requiring customers to be vaccinated because of holiday parties that were booked before the new mask mandate was announced.

"If I make that change now, will we have to tell people they can't attend because they're not vaccinated? I'm not going to do that," said Dominick Purnomo of Yono's and dp: An American Brasserie in Albany, where a dozen such events are scheduled in the next few weeks. However, Purnomo said, "We may reevaluate after the first of the year if things continue to evolve  and they probably will."
ALBANY  Advocates are disagreeing on what will, or should, happen when the states eviction moratorium expires next month, offering opinions suggesting that the legislation will cease to exist - or that the state should do away with it entirely, claiming the law's ineffectiveness.

To extend the moratorium through Jan. 15, Gov. Kathy Hochul called lawmakers back to Albany for an extraordinary session in September. It was a bill that was more challenging to pass than most, said Ellen Davidson, a staff attorney at The Legal Aid Society.

As a result, she believes the eviction moratorium will expire in January without renewal from the state Legislature. Lawmakers havent given any indication that theyre committed to extending it, Davidson said.

The New York courts system is in agreement with that assertion. Lucian Chalfen, a spokesman for the Office of Court Administration, said in a written statement that they have no expectation that the moratorium will be extended.

Once the legislation expires and the courts are inundated with eviction cases, the system will be overwhelmed, according to Davidson. Chalfen said they are prepared, noting the system has increased its virtual capacity in anticipation of the court activity and appointed counsel for tenants fighting cases that will be eligible to be restored to court calendars once the moratorium ends.

If the courts go back to pre-COVID-19 operations, Davidson said, there is another concern about more people being exposed to the virus.

We get notices at legal aid once a day about someone in the court system who has tested positive, she said.

Unanswered questions remain about how the eviction moratoriums termination will play out for tenants. Renters wont automatically be stripped of their residences once the legislation expires and other protections could be made available to them.

Davidson criticized the closure of the Emergency Rental Assistance Program's (ERAP) application portal last month. The state fought off criticism throughout the pandemic for the way it managed the initiative.

Davidson said ERAP has been successful but hasnt been well-run. Every step has been hard. Its been challenging and has been sort of mystifying to the people whove applied.

Some are vehemently against extending the eviction moratorium. Cea Weaver, campaign coordinator for Housing Justice For All, a statewide movement of renters and homeless individuals seeking universal tenants rights, said that the current legislation doesnt work.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Despite $2.2 billion having already been distributed through ERAP, its estimated that 590,000 households remain behind on their rent, according to National Equity Atlas, an organization that develops data and policy. Of those households, 72 percent are people of color and 70 percent are low-income, the organization's statistics state.

Weaver is pushing a bill that would introduce good cause evictions statewide instead of advocating for the moratorium's extension.

The legislation prohibits landlords from failing to renew a lease, evict or attempt to remove a tenant from their dwelling for a reason that isnt considered a good cause. Tenants couldnt be evicted because their lease expires, for example.

Under the law, failure to pay rent, a violation of the tenancy, nuisance or allowing the residence to be used for illegal purposes are clauses that would constitute as a good cause eviction.

So far, similar protections have been enacted in Albany, Hudson, Poughkeepsie and Newburgh.

Theres still a real need for pandemic-related tenant protections, Weaver said.

The legislation would prevent retaliatory evictions once the moratorium ends. Landlords would need to justify rent increases above 150 percent of the consumer price index if a tenant chooses to challenge a change in their rent through litigation.

Rent stabilized tenants and public housing residents would not be covered under the proposed bill. Davidson said her organization isnt against extending the moratorium but wants to see permanent tenant protections implemented.
Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle

GALWAY  A man was shot with his own gun by an intruder who planned to rob him  but the victim was able to get off shots from another gun and left his assailant wounded, according to the Saratoga County Sheriff's Office.

The shootout took place Dec. 5 at a home on Jersey Hill Road. Deputies said a 33-year-old Amsterdam man and a 30-year-old woman went to the home planning to steal items from the resident, whom they knew.
PENOBSCOT, Maine (AP)  The last of five projects aimed at easing the passage for thousands of alewives to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Bagaduce River watershed to reproduce has been completed.

That means alewives will have an easier time this spring, thanks to the efforts of the towns of Penobscot, Sedgwick and Brooksville, along with the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries and several other organizations, the Bangor Daily News reported.
If building a reliable, affordable grid was a public relations stunt, New Yorkers wouldn't need to worry. In "N.Y.'s energy for change," Nov. 28, Basil Seggos, state Department of Environmental Conservation commissioner, and Doreen Harris, state Energy Research and Development Authority president and CEO, play a game of smoke and mirrors.

In their commentary, they lay out fairy-tale plans  colossal solar and wind buildout  to satisfy New York's growing electricity demand with sources that generate nothing most of the time.
In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, Americans understandably became obsessed with terrorist threats from abroad, particularly the safe haven of Afghanistan that was the launching pad for the attacks.

Today, however, perhaps the greatest threat to our nation comes from within, and we are ill equipped to fight it.

The U.S. has become a de facto safe haven for domestic terrorists because of essential constitutional protections, dated strategies, and inadequate funding and focus. The U.S. Constitution has, in effect, become a weapon against us. The First and Second amendments must be preserved, of course, but what can be done when our protected rights endanger the republic?

This is not merely a thought exercise, but a continual point of tension in U.S. counterterrorism efforts over the past two decades and well before that. I worked in the State Departments Bureau of Counterterrorism from 2008 to 2018, a decade in which domestic threats were steadily on the rise. In testimony before the House Homeland Security Committee, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray put into words what I had witnessed. The internal threat posed by anti-government and racially motivated groups, he noted, must become a greater focus of counterintelligence work. Wrays sober testimony is wise but understated. The U.S. must address this threat with greater urgency.

Safe havens are physical spaces, typically not well governed, that allow for extremists to organize, recruit, train, proselyte, spread propaganda and raise capital to plan attacks. Extremists of various ideologies have used U.S. safe havens to collect the tools of murder to kill their enemies. At the same time, their widely disseminated propaganda has spawned acolytes. Instead of tiny windows to operationalize an attack, American white supremacists and other anti-government types have wide-open avenues in the U.S. to create their mayhem.

Recent attacks in the U.S. show how our meek approach to combating domestic terrorism has costs lives and undermined our security. Dylann Roofs slaughter of nine Black worshippers in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015; Robert Bowers AR-15 attack in 2018, which killed 11 at a Pittsburgh synagogue; and the insurrectionists Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol each check the three boxes for what constitutes a terrorist act: targeting noncombatants, violence or threat of violence, and provoking fear among an audience that goes beyond the intended direct target.

Neither Roof, Bowers nor any insurrectionists have been charged with terrorism. Why? While the United States has a definition of domestic terrorism, it is still incredibly difficult to charge individuals with carrying out an act of domestic terrorism. That stems from the fact that there isnt a federal crime of domestic terrorism. This partially explains why the overwhelming majority of terrorists who have been successfully prosecuted in the United States have been linked to foreign terrorist organizations.

The reticence to treat domestic and international terrorism equally is inexorably linked to constitutional freedoms and a history of government overreach. The FBI violated U.S. law in the 1960s by spying on the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and others. Through an effort dubbed the counterintelligence program, the government treated peaceful civil rights activists as terrorists and trampled their constitutional rights. These painful memories rightfully linger and must give us pause, but they should not inhibit our ability to charge mass shooters like Roof, Bowers or the most dangerous insurrectionists with a terrorism count. We can protect individual rights while crafting a legal framework that allows for more robust efforts to snuff out domestic terrorism.

Those who have exploited the American safe haven have often hidden behind constitutional rights provided by the First and Second amendments. Of course, neither amendment is absolute. The First Amendment does not protect, for instance, the use of social media platforms to plan, foment and fund violence. And though anti-government groups wield absolutist interpretations of the Second Amendment, passing laws that curb access to guns is well within the mandate of federal and state governments. With this in mind, there are some actions the U.S. can take to disrupt Americas role as a safe haven.

First, we need to shift resources. This means devoting more FBI funds to understanding and then blunting the domestic threat, but without neglecting the still-virulent threats from abroad. We also should refocus foreign resources and personnel, such as the CIA, to engage with the transnational far-right threat. This would require adjusting our foreign intelligence collection structure so that we can decipher and then undermine this threat. We have already begun this recalibration of counterintelligence efforts, although we need the sort of domestic-international coordination that was notably lacking in the lead-up to the 9/11 attacks.

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Then the U.S. needs to update federal laws so that acts of terrorism can be categorized as such. Doing so will provide more pathways for prosecutors to charge suspects and their accomplices for their planned acts of domestic terrorism. Additional domestic terrorism charges could also serve to deter would-be terrorists.

We also need to deal with the social media platforms that enable the fundraising, recruiting and planning of attacks to occur with speed and ease. Social media platforms have become fertile ground for a terrorist ecosystem that knows no borders, as Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen has made quite clear. It has been used to groom future extremists and to launder hatred. The U.S. is a net exporter of white supremacy extremism, and Americas safe haven allows the fomenting of violence in the U.S. and abroad.

We should consider measures that would remove some of the legal liability protections social media companies have enjoyed. For instance, when Silicon Valleys algorithms recommend disinformation, conspiracy theories, hate or violent content, they should be held to account. If someone has become radicalized online through algorithms that direct them to extremist content, the creator of the content should be sued in civil court and the government should levy fines against the company, just as the U.S. government does when financial institutions allow money launderers to move ill-gotten funds.

This work must begin now, rather than after the next domestic terrorism attack, when emotions will be raw and government overreach most likely. The U.S. fell into this trap after 9/11, when overaggressive surveillance and torture of prisoners, many of whom were innocent, became tools of counter-terrorism. Those policies didnt make America safer. Instead, they created more radicalization and provided bad actors an effective recruitment and propaganda tool.

By developing a stronger framework with oversight and input from privacy and civil liberties experts, alongside counter-terrorism experts, we can better fight domestic extremists and ensure that our constitutional freedoms are not eroded.

Jason M. Blazakis is a professor of practice at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. He was director of the State Departments Counterterrorism Finance and Designations Office in the Bureau of Counterterrorism from 2008 to 2018. He wrote this for the Los Angeles Times.
ALBANY  An online testing system that's led to rampant fraud in New York's driver permit program was restarted in February despite warnings from county clerks and motor vehicle workers that they were seeing evidence of cheating as well as the widespread use of counterfeit identification documents.

Sources familiar with the matter said the online permit system, which was launched last year in order to keep New York's licensing system running during the coronavirus pandemic, was restarted, in part, on the advice of Boston Consulting Group, a firm that was hired by the administration of former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to assist the state during the pandemic.

State Sen. Daphne Jordan, R-Halfmoon, and Saratoga County Clerk Craig Hayner, both of whom had publicly warned about the potential for fraud tied to the Department of Motor Vehicles' identification verification processes, recently called for an audit of all online permit tests since August 2020, when a pilot program was launched.

"In fall of 2020 DMV piloted an online permit test capability by invitation only for a limited time period that closed in November 2020," said Darren Boyson, a spokesman for the agency. "DMV used the results of that pilot to develop an enhanced online capability that was released publicly in February 2021. (Boston Consulting Group), among other vendors, assisted in the design of that application."



The firm, which previously employed one of Cuomo's daughters, Mariah Kennedy Cuomo, had been retained to help multiple state agencies with pandemic-related work, including the vaccination rollout.

At the DMV, Boston Consulting Group provides "consulting and design services related to modernizing and restructuring DMV processes to adapt to the digital era and the realities of serving customers during the pandemic."

A person briefed on the matter said the online system was restarted in February without the security enhancements; those fixes weren't added until the end of October.

"Staff were told that BCG had made the call because the state was losing money," the person said. "With the state offices set up for appointment only, customers were going to county clerk offices for permits and permit tests. When the transactions are processed at a county clerk office, the clerks keep over 10 percent of the transaction fees."

The DMV declined to specify how much Boston Consulting Group is being paid by the state for its work with the agency, but the person briefed on the matter said staff have been told the sum is around $200,000 per day. The firm's contract with the state, which began in September 2019 and extends through August 2024, is for $134 million. New York is thus far obligated to pay Boston Consulting nearly $50 million, according to state records.

The Times Union reported Nov. 16 that the state inspector general's office is investigating schemes to illicitly obtain driving credentials for undocumented immigrants, who may have used the licenses to establish residency and receive unemployment benefits under the state's newly established Excluded Worker Fund, which lawmakers had complained was quickly drained and left thousands of people without pandemic-related unemployment benefits.

Some DMV workers had said the alleged cheating was exacerbated by the state's Green Light Law, which went into effect in December 2019 and has allowed thousands of undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses  something that more than a dozen other states also allow.

"We need to fix the Green Light Laws many deficiencies by enacting my legislation to provide a driving privilege license that cant be used for identification to help reduce ID fraud," Jordan said. "We also need a comprehensive audit of the states drivers permit program to ensure that all of the ongoing fraud and corruption  which are potentially spilling into the $2.1 billion Excluded Workers Fund  are rooted out and ended to help protect taxpayer dollars from waste, fraud, and abuse."

Workers for the state DMV last month said the agency had stepped up efforts to prevent widespread cheating in the online driver's permit program, including blocking individuals outside of New York from taking the online tests.

In August, the department issued an internal memo warning its Division of Field Investigation "has reported an increase in altered and counterfeit foreign passports being submitted," and that foreign passports should be authenticated using electronic scanning devices that have been issued to motor vehicle offices. In another memo, the department cautioned that investigators had detected counterfeit Ontario driver's licenses being used to obtain reciprocity licenses from New York.

The Times Union previously reported that many of the individuals suspected of exploiting the program to obtain pandemic-related state unemployment benefits may reside in other states or outside the country.

Spokesmen for the agency, citing security concerns, declined to detail how their agency recently began blocking individuals from taking the online tests from outside of New York, including in other countries.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

"To ensure the continued safety and integrity of the system, and to help prevent future fraudulent activity, we cannot provide these specifics on the security measures," Boysen said.

Investigators with the inspector general's office told motor vehicle workers in Albany in October that they suspected undocumented immigrants had been paying $3,000 or more to have someone take the online driver's permit tests for them, and were also using fraudulent residency documents and fake mailing addresses. Clerks had reported seeing online ads posted by individuals or organizations offering to help applicants complete the online tests.

The law creating the Excluded Workers Fund was passed by the state Legislature in April, the result of an effort started last year to provide unemployment benefits for undocumented workers and others who did not previously qualify for state or federal pandemic unemployment benefits.

After the program launched on Aug. 1  with applications in 13 different languages  Gov. Kathy Hochul said that the state Department of Labor had received more than 90,000 applications the first month, and approved more than half of those by Sept. 3. Nearly 100,000 applicants were expected to receive payments of $15,600, while another 200,000 or so were supposed to receive payments of $3,200.

In early September, Hochul announced the state Department of Labor had approved the distribution of more than $850 million from the $2.1 billion fund. At that time, $250 million had been released and an additional $600 million was going to be distributed pending verification of those applications, the governor said.

In early October, advocates complained that too many New Yorkers were being frozen out of the program, and asked for it to be expanded. That same month, the labor department posted a notice on its website that the fund that had benefited "thousands of New Yorkers statewide" was "nearing exhaustion," and that no applications would be accepted after Oct. 8.

The Department of Labor has declined to respond to questions about whether it is involved in the investigation of the fraud tied to the Excluded Workers Fund and, if so, how much fraudulent activity has been uncovered.

In an effort to stem the cheating, DMV added a security feature to the tests in late October that required the person taking the online test to be photographed four times during the exam. That enabled clerks to compare the images of the person who took the online test to the person standing before them.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly listed Daphne Jordan as a member of the Assembly. She is a state senator.
Horses and their riders parade down the streets of Pleasantville for the 2020 HoHoHo committee and Christmas on Horseback Christmas parade. This years parade will take place on Sunday, starting near the Pleasantville Dollar General at 2 p.m.
Members of the Erie Philharmonic perform Handels Messiah at the University of Pittsburgh at Titusville auditorium in 2019
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A woman has pleaded guilty to helping hide a dead body in a Virginia homeless encampment and will spend up to five years in prison
 

1
Like most of their content, a recent op-ed from The Kansas City Star today was hot garbage.

The out-of-the-loop scribe took a moment to "introduce" us to Justice & Manny even though our blog community has been talking about their political contest for about a year.

It was hard to decipher the main point of the screed beyond the author's self-obsession but this might have been the money line . . .

"I felt a bit like I was privy to something clandestine, even at this public meeting where obviously they hoped the lawyer, whoever she is, would show up. It was clear those attending are excited about having their voices heard and also about a chance to speak from a political seat. Theyre preparing to push hard for that. I couldnt help wondering: Are Dems ready for whats coming?"

We might talk about this more but the idea that a bunch of rubes out in Lake Lotawana are going to change nearly a century of municipal politics by way of mean tweets is laughable.

However . . .

YES, THERE IS A GOP RED WAVE COMING AND IT'S GOING TO BE BRUTAL FOR SUPER MINORITY MISSOURI DEMOCRATS!!!

Again, we've been noting and warning as much for most of this year.

Accordingly, here's the newspaper coming late to the party and still tagging people as "mask-less" in a place where there is no mask mandate . . .

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com news link . . .

Conservative We The People group wants seats on every Kansas City-area council, board OPINION AND COMMENTARY Editorials and other Opinion content offer perspectives on issues important to our community and are independent from the work of our newsroom reporters.

Even better, we share FURTHER READING from better sources about the RED WAVE that's building momentum and is now undeniable . . .

Biden polling plummets and 2022 midterm red wave gathers strength President Joe Biden 's job approval rating is in free fall - and it's not just Republicans saying so. A recent USA TODAY/Suffolk Pollfound 59% of voters disapprove of Biden's job performance, while Vice President Kamala Harris ' approval rating sits at an embarrassing 28%.

Minorities and women are leading the red wave For generations, the Democratic Party has taken the votes of women and minorities for granted. But on Nov. 2, voters sent a clear message: Don't count on it. Take Republican Winsome Sears , Virginia's Lieutenant Governor-elect. She's the first Black woman elected to hold statewide office in th e commonwealth's 400-year history.

Why the 2022 midterms look like the opposite of 2018 Today, everything is different. Pretty much every single indicator that pointed to a Democratic wave in the 2018 midterms now points to a Republican one in the 2022 midterms.

Developing . . .
And there is news of another collaboration...this time the Air Guard working with the Prison
Over the past day, December 12, Russian-occupation troops violated the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine four times.

Near Talakivka (17km north-east of Mariupol), the enemy fired hand-held antitank grenade launchers. Towards Krymske (42km north-west of Luhansk), occupiers launched attack, using grenade launchers of different systems and heavy machine guns. In the area of Popasna (69km west of Luhansk) and Katerynivka (64km west of Luhansk), the enemy opened fire from grenade launchers of different systems, heavy machine guns, and other small arms, the Joint Forces Operation Headquarters posted on Facebook.

A Ukrainian soldier received a mine-blast trauma, having tripped an enemy explosive device. He was taken to a medical institution. His health status is moderate.

Ukrainian defenders returned fire and forced the enemy to stop attacks.

As of 07:00, December 13, no ceasefire violations by the Russian-occupation forces were reported.

Joint Forces control the situation and continue to repel and deter the armed aggression of the Russian Federation.

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The Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov stated that Russia's invasion of Ukraine would mark the end of the current world and start a new era where no international rules exist.

Thats according to the Financial Times, Ukrinform reports.

"There will be a lot of coffins coming back to Russia," the defense minister warned.

He also added that nearly 100,000 Russian troops had been amassed along Ukraine's borders, about as many as in the spring and summer. Although Moscow is building field bases for 175,000 servicemen, many of the tents appear to be vacant, Reznikov said.

According to the minister, the war would be a disaster for Europe, as millions of Ukrainians are likely to flee to the EU, while Ukraines huge grain exports would be jeopardized.

It should be recalled that earlier, Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov declared that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could lead to a bloody massacre, and warned that the Russian military would be coming back to the homeland in coffins.

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Russian-occupation forces violated the Minsk Agreements 29 times over the past week and opened fire on Joint Forces positions. Four Ukrainian defenders were wounded in the shelling.

"The enemy, provoking the response of Ukrainian soldiers, threw disturbing fire almost along the entire contact line. The number of ceasefire violations by the Russian-occupation forces totaled 36, compared to 29 last week. The enemy launched eight attacks from weapons banned under the Minsk Agreements," the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reports.

As noted, the Ukrainian military returned fire 30 times, without using weapons banned under the Minsk Agreements. The occupiers were forced to stop shelling.

Three defenders were wounded, one was injured in action. The soldiers were promptly taken to medical facilities, where they are provided with the necessary medical care.

Over the past day, December 12, Russian-occupation troops violated the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine four times. A Ukrainian soldier received a mine-blast trauma, having tripped an enemy explosive device. He was taken to a medical institution. His health status is moderate.

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The World Bank believes that Ukraine has a favorable legal environment for attracting business investment in the development of state infrastructure.

According to Ukrinform, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Iryna Novikova said this during an online seminar on the benefits of public-private partnership, the Economy Ministry's press service said.

"Public-private partnership in Ukraine has become one of the most promising tools for attracting investment over the past few years. A number of successful reforms and innovations have been made to bring existing PPP legislation into line with international standards and practices. The public-private partnership helps implement priority and socially important infrastructure projects and improve the business climate in Ukraine," Novikova said.

She also added that an important result of the implementation of the first phase of the World Bank project is the strengthening of the institutional capacity of public authorities and local government agencies in the initiation, preparation and implementation of PPP projects.

During the webinar, representatives of the World Bank spoke about the potential of public-private partnerships to improve the quality of life in Ukraine, including the importance of involving private business in the development of social and economic infrastructure on PPP terms.

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In the next three years, with the active work of government and business and sufficient attention to the region, Ukraine may triple its exports to Colombia.

Head of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection Vladyslava Mahaletska made a relevant statement during her visit to Colombia, Ukrinform reports with reference to the Service.

According to her, the issues of export of Ukrainian poultry products, veterinary medicines, feed additives, confectionery, alcohol, beans, sunflower oil, and oilseed meal were discussed during the meetings.

In addition, imports of coffee beans, fresh flowers, fruit, fish and seafood from Colombia to Ukraine were discussed.

"Colombia can become one of the trade hubs for Ukrainian goods. After all, this country has many free trade agreements with the countries of the region  within the Andean Community of Nations, with the Triangle countries, Chile. Ukrainian goods are still represented here very poorly despite the significant potential," Mahaletska stressed.

As reported, the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Economy jointly work out mechanisms to open new markets for Ukrainian exports.

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The European Union shares the common understanding with the Ukrainian authorities that there is still a need for a more balanced approach to supporting renewable energy in Ukraine.

EU Ambassador to Ukraine Matti Maasikas spoke of this in an interview with Ukrinform.

We share the common understanding with the Ukrainian authorities that going forward, there is a need for a more balanced approach to the support of renewable energy  competitive auctions for the right to build and supply renewable energy. This is a proven way to ensure green energy production at the lowest possible price, Ambassador Maasikas said.

This model, he believes, along with others, such as direct supply of green energy to commercial and industrial consumers that see an advantage in paying premium for green energy, production of green hydrogen, and others, is what will drive Ukraines green transition in the future.

In Ukraine, the law on auctions is already in place and it is time to start practical implementation.

In addition, the ambassador said it was of utmost importance to protect and have a fair and transparent treatment of the investors that took a risk and already invested into the renewable energy in Ukraine under the green tariff regime.

As a state, Ukraine has made these investors a promise and struck a deal that involved the green tariff for a number of years in return for investments. To change this deal retroactively now, when the investments have been made and projects have been implemented, would undermine the trustworthiness of Ukraine and will severely damage investor confidence. It also risks to be overturned by the international arbitrage courts, Matti Maasikas said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Ukrenergo transferred UAH 19.3 billion to the Guaranteed Buyer to be paid to electricity producers operating on renewables. The funds came from the placement by Ukrenergo of the so-called "green bonds."

SE Harantovanyi Pokupets (Guaranteed Buyer - ed.) acts as an intermediary between renewable electricity generation companies and buyers of such electricity, also purchasing power for households.

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To resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine, it is important that the inhabitants of its occupied part identify themselves and answer the questions "Who are you?" and "Are you with Russia or with Ukraine?" believes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The statement came as the president was speaking in an exclusive interview with Dom TV, Ukrinform reports.

There is a saying: Someone is doing a leg split. They don't know what to do, take time to make a choice, and just cant make it, not realizing who they are. The most important thing in this story is to understand for yourself: you are Russian? Are you in Russia? I'm not talking about nationality, but about peoples internal choices. Are you Ukrainian? Is this your land? Is this your Homeland or are you a guest here? said the president.

He has stressed that Donbas will never be Russian territory.

"It just wont happen, ever. No matter how long it is occupied, you know? It's like a wall that Germany had. In any case, people and history will seize the moment  and this wall will fall. If someone cant reach an agreement, people will still seize the moment," Zelensky emphasized.

In this regard, it is important for the inhabitants of the occupied territory to identify themselves today.

I believe that if you live in the temporarily occupied territory of Donbas today and you think that "our way is right," "we are heading to Russia," "we are Russians," then it would be a big mistake to stay in Donbas... Because without Ukraine, there will be no civilization in this territory. Ukraine will keep developing, building things. And a part of Donbas in its occupied, cut-off form wont be developing at all. So people will never be happy there," the head of state added.

At the same time, the president stressed that "no one will be deporting anyone," noting that this should be an independent decision made by people.

"Therefore, I believe, for the future of your children and grandchildren  if you love Russia and have been in Ukraine all your life while feeling that its Russia, you must understand that in the name of your children and grandchildren you need to go and to look for a place in Russia. That would be the right thing to do," Zelensky said.

"But if you feel that you are Ukrainian and that Donbas is part of Ukraine, if you respect this flag, respect the Ukrainian language (even if you didnt master it in school, go read some books and everything will come, you may speak as you want), but if you feel that youre Ukrainian, stay there. Stay there and hold on, this land will be de-occupied in any case. This is history. So we dont say normal or not normal. We say: Who are you? Give an answer to your own self, the president concluded.

As reported earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky supports the idea of expanding the Normandy Four platform or creating another platform toward Donbas settlement with the participation of major world powers. However, in his opinion, the number of formats does not affect their quality as its Russia that must end the war.

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The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven and the EU High Representative issued a powerful joint statement in support of Ukraine amid Russian military buildup near Ukraines borders.

The statement was published on the website of the European External Action Service on Sunday, December 12.

"We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union, are united in our condemnation of Russia's military build-up and aggressive rhetoric towards Ukraine. We call on Russia to de-escalate, pursue diplomatic channels, and abide by its international commitments on transparency of military activities as President Biden did in his call with President Putin on 7 December," the statement said.

The Ministers reaffirmed their support for the efforts of France and Germany in the Normandy format to achieve full implementation of the Minsk Agreements to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

"Any use of force to change borders is strictly prohibited under international law. Russia should be in no doubt that further military aggression against Ukraine would have massive consequences and severe cost in response," the ministers stressed.

G7 and EU reaffirmed their "unwavering commitment" to upholding Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the right of any sovereign state to determine its own future.

"We commend Ukraines posture of restraint. We will intensify our cooperation on our common and comprehensive response," said the G7 top diplomats.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, a two-day meeting of G7 foreign ministers was held late last week in Liverpool, UK.

A joint response to Russia's aggression around Ukraine was one of the main issues on the ministerials agenda.

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Germany feels responsible for intensifying the Normandy format and maintaining Ukraine's transit role in Russian gas shipments to Europe.

This was stated by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz who spoke at a joint press conference with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Warsaw, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Scholz said discussing that the situation around Ukraine during the talks was "right and necessary" as "alarming new movements" are being observed along the Ukrainian border, where Russian troops have been amassed.

"It is therefore very important and understandable that the united Europe has made it clear  we do not accept and that we do not agree with whats happening there. We, as the European Union, Germany, and Poland, emphasize the inviolability of borders in Europe and the fact that everyone can rely on us not accepting violations of these borders ... No one should think they can simply violate borders without serious consequences," Scholz said.

The German chancellor considers it important to grasp any opportunity to de-escalate. This is especially true of the Normandy format, he added," which should continue to be used for good cooperation as a prospect and a tool for mutual discussion."

Scholz expressed regret that the situation over the recent years has not progressed as many had hoped, stressing that work needs to be further revitalized. Therefore, he noted, the issue will be brought up at the European Councils meeting

When asked, in the light of the Russian military buildup near Ukraine, about Germany's stance to Nord Stream 2, which is being actively opposed by Poland, Scholz offered no direct answer. At the same time, he said: Among the pipeline infrastructure we have today is a pipe that runs through Ukraine. We feel responsibility to this end... We will continue to feel this responsibility for making gas transit remain a successful business in Ukraine, and we will ensure that, the chancellor stressed.

He recalled that Germany had made efforts toward making sure the transit agreement is expended, and that it will pursue this work in the future.

The head of the German government also pointed to an earlier deal reached with the U.S. government to help Ukraine become a country that will be a great source of renewable energy and the relevant production needs." He added that specific discussions were ongoing on the issue.

It should be recalled that Scholz arrived in Warsaw in one of his first visits as Chancellor.

Despite all the contradictions, he stressed, Germany and Poland are neighbors and friends, partners in the EU and NATO.

Photo: @RegSprecher

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Deputy foreign ministers of Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania  Mykola Tochytskyi, Marcin Przydacz, and Mantas Adomenas  discussed the security situation in the region during a meeting within the Lublin Triangle in Lutsk on December 12.

Mykola Tochytskyi, Marcin Przydacz, and Mantas Adomenas discussed in detail the security situation in the region amid the migrant crisis on the EU's borders with Belarus and Russia's military escalation near the state border and in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. The diplomats stressed their readiness to further coordinate their actions  in cooperation with the EU and NATO  in order to effectively counter hybrid threats and prevent a new wave of Russian aggression against Ukraine, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reported.

In addition, the parties discussed the schedule of future contacts, signed a Joint Action Plan to Combat Disinformation for 2022-2023, and agreed on further steps to implement the Roadmap for Cooperation within the Lublin Triangle.

The Foreign Ministry stressed that the meeting of national coordinators confirmed the readiness of the Lublin Triangle participants to deepen the strategic partnership, confirmed their common approaches to regional security, demand and prospects of the Lublin Triangle to respond to current challenges and threats.

As reported, the Lublin Triangle is a platform for trilateral cooperation between the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Poland, and Ukraine, aimed at deepening regional cooperation in the security, economic and socio-humanitarian spheres.

The decision to create the Lublin Triangle was made on July 28, 2020, by the ministers of foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Lithuania, and Poland  Dmytro Kuleba, Linas Linkevicius, and Jacek Czaputowicz  who signed the declaration on the establishment of a new regional association.

The Lublin Triangle Joint Action Plan to Combat Disinformation for 2022-2023 provides for the preparation of regular joint reports on information challenges and threats, the development of a mechanism for a joint response to Russian destabilization campaigns, the exchange of experience, and the strengthening of institutional capacities to counter hybrid threats.

Photo credit: mfa.gov.ua

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During the meeting of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Senik, and the Assistant Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada Sandra McCardell, the Canadian side reaffirmed its readiness to use all possible mechanisms to deter Russia from expanding aggression against Ukraine.

Thats according to the Ukrainian foreign ministrys press service, Ukrinform reports.

"On December 10, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (CDTO) Dmytro Senik met with Assistant Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada Sandra McCardell. The interlocutors discussed cooperation on a wide range of issues on the bilateral agenda, including politics, security, and trade. Particular attention was paid to the threat of intensification of Russian aggression against Ukraine and specific steps within the framework of a comprehensive package to deter Russia from further aggressive actions," the statement said.

According to Sandra McCardel, Canada reaffirmed continued support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and its readiness to apply the existing instruments to prevent the conflict from escalating.

The parties coordinated further steps to prepare for the next stage of negotiations with Iran on ensuring that those responsible for the PS752 downing near Tehran are brought to responsibility and justice prevails for the victims and their families, the press service said.

It should be recalled that on January 8, 2020, a UIA passenger plane, flight PS752 (Tehran-Kyiv) was shot down shortly after taking off the Iranian capitals airport. All crew and passengers, a total of 176 people, citizens of Ukraine, Canada, Sweden, Iran, Afghanistan, and the United Kingdom were killed in the crash.

On January 11, the Iranian authorities, after a few days of denying involvement in the jet crash, admitted that the Ukrainian airliner had been mistakenly shot down by an anti-aircraft missile system.

On November 22, 2021, the military court of Iran launched hearings of the case.

In June 2021, the Iranian prosecutor's office indicted ten officials as part of the inquiry. The Superior Court of Justice of the Canadian province of Ontario has recognized the downing of the UIA plane as an act of terror.
The Cabinet of Ministers has dismissed Oleksandr Gogilashvili as Ukraine's deputy interior minister at his own request.

The text of a respective order has been posted on the government's website, according to Ukrinform.

It was reported earlier that Gogilashvili was involved in a scandal with police officers at the entrance to Donetsk region when his car was stopped and he was asked to present his documents. The video of the incident was posted on YouTube.

Ukraine's Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky said on December 11 said that he was initiating disciplinary proceedings against his deputy, Gogilashvili, due to the incident that occurred at a checkpoint in Donetsk region. He added that he would personally study all the details of what had happened, and "will make respective managerial decisions."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on December 12 urged the Cabinet of Ministers to consider Gogilashvili's dismissal from the post over the incident.

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The Ministry of Health will approve an additional dose against COVID-19 for at-risk groups of the population.

Thats according to Minister of Health Viktor Liashko, who spoke at a briefing on Monday, December 13, Ukrinform reports.

"Today Ill sign an order approving the position of the National Technical Group of Experts on Immunoprophylaxis, allowing the introduction of an additional dose of COVID-19 vaccine. I would like to emphasize that this is an additional dose, not a booster dose. The additional dose is administered in order to ensure better protection for the people who, due to their health status (such as immunosuppressed persons), see lower vaccine efficacy compared to that in relation to the general population," Liashko said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, throughout the entire pandemic period in Ukraine, 3,563,165 people contracted the coronavirus, 3,205,879 recovered, and 91,215 died.

In the past 24 hours, on December 12, Ukraines health officials confirmed 4,073 new COVID-19 cases across the country (377 involving minors and 37  medics).

As of December 13, the capital city of Kyiv and 11 regions remain in the yellow zone of quarantine restrictions, while 10 are still in the red zone.

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Ukrainian Pavlo Lacy has become this years best foreign cadet of the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, receiving a special award, the International Sword.

This was announced on Facebook by the British Embassy in Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.

Each year, the award is granted to cadets, who are not British nationals, with the best overall performance in military, academic, and practical studies.

This year, officers from 26 countries underwent studies at the Academy.

"The award was presented to the Ukrainian by Her Royal Highness Princess Anne at a solemn ceremony during the Sovereign's Parade. We sincerely congratulate Pavlo on this important achievement and wish him new successes," the embassy said in a statement.

On Twitter, the embassy wrote: "Ukrainian officers are winning this honour year after year. They train hard and theyre determined. A brilliant achievement for Pavlo Lacy. A great trend for the Ukrainian Armed Forces."

Ukrainian officers are winning this honour year after year. They train hard and theyre determined. A brilliant achievement for Pavlo Lacy. A great trend for the #Ukrainian Armed Forces. https://t.co/fRnQStkWZh  Melinda Simmons (@MelSimmonsFCDO) December 12, 2021

As Ukrinform reported earlier, last year, another Ukrainian cadet, Anton Sovenko of the Odesa Military Academy became the best foreign graduate of the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst.

In 2019, the Academy also handed the International Sword to a Ukrainian cadet, Artem Baranenko of the Petro Sahaidachnyi National Academy of Land Forces of Ukraine.

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(Photo : Beard Transplant Turkey: A Permanent Solution to Facial Hair Troubles)

Beard transplant Turkey procedures are some of the most sought-after treatments for growing a beard in an entirely natural way.

That's because beards have become increasingly popular over the past decade. Apart from making men look more masculine and stylish, they're quite popular with the ladies, as many women find men with facial hair more attractive.

Whether you have a patchy beard or can't grow facial hair at all because of genetics, hormonal imbalance, or scarring, plastic surgery is your only solution for growing a full beard.

Getting a hair transplant in Turkey might be your best bet since Turkish hair clinics offer top-notch care and excellent results at competitive prices.

High-Quality Beard Hair Transplantation at Dr. Serkan Aygin Clinic

If you're looking for a high-quality hair transplant in Turkey, you can't go wrong with Dr. Serkan Aygin Clinic. It's one of the most prestigious clinics in the country that attracts hundreds of national and international patients looking for quality, permanent solutions to hair loss.

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At Dr. Serkan Aygin Clinic, a beard hair transplant is performed under local anesthesia using a DHI (Direct Hair Implantation) method.

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New Zealand's largest city Auckland and other areas, which have been seriously affected by the latest community outbreak of the COVID-19 Delta variant, will further relax restrictions at the end of the year

WELLINGTON, Dec. 13 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Dec, 2021 ) --:New Zealand's largest city Auckland and other areas, which have been seriously affected by the latest community outbreak of the COVID-19 Delta variant, will further relax restrictions at the end of the year.

All regions under "red" in the "traffic light" COVID-19 protection framework, excluding Northland, will move into "orange" from 11:59 p.m. local time on Dec.

30, which means unrestricted life for the vaccinated people, as venues that use vaccine passes face no limits in the scale of gatherings.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a press conference on Monday that the areas to move from "red" to "orange" include Auckland, Taupo, Rotorua lakes districts, and Gisborne among other areas in the North Island.

The rate of COVID-19 vaccination in Northland is lagging behind the rest of the country so it will stay under "red" for a longer period, she said.
Geneva, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Dec, 2021 ) :The UN Human Rights Council decided Monday to hold a special session on conflict-torn Ethiopia this week, and will consider whether to appoint international investigators to probe widespread violations in the country.

The decision, which was slammed by the Ethiopian government, followed an official request by the European Union for the UN's top rights body to address the deteriorating situation in Horn of Africa nation, ravaged by over a year of conflict.

"In light of the aggravating situation, we believe the international community has a moral obligation to try to prevent further atrocities and ensure accountability and justice for victims and survivors," Lotte Knudsen, the EU ambassador in Geneva said in a statement.

The request came 13 months into a spiralling conflict between Ethiopian government forces and Tigrayan rebels that has left thousands dead and millions short of food.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borell voiced frustration in Brussels that the bloc had not managed to agree on sanctions that he said could have helped avert some of the violations.

The situation in Ethiopia is "one of my biggest frustrations because we were not able to react properly to the large scale human rights violations, mass rapes using sexual violence as a war arm, killings, and concentration camps," he told a meeting of the 27 EU foreign ministers.

- International investigation? - The EU, with the support of over 50 countries, called for the special rights council session in the hope of launching an international investigation into rights abuses in Ethiopia.

During Friday's session, the bloc will present a draft resolution calling on the council to create "an international Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia" to investigate a wide range of alleged violations and abuses by all sides in the conflict.

The team of experts should "establish the facts and circumstances surrounding the alleged violations and abuses, to collect and preserve evidence, and, where possible, to identify those responsible," the draft text said.

Ethiopia's foreign ministry slammed the decision and called on members of the council to "categorically reject and vote against the special session and its politically motivated outcome".

A council spokesman told AFP that since the special session has the backing of more than a third of the council's 47 member states, there is no way to stop it from going ahead.

However, members can of course vote against the resolution.
(@FahadShabbir)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Indonesian President Joko Widodo discussed strategic partnership, COVID-19 and the climate crisis during a meeting in Jakarta on Monday, the State Department said

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th December, 2021) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Indonesian President Joko Widodo discussed strategic partnership, COVID-19 and the climate crisis during a meeting in Jakarta on Monday, the State Department said.

"Secretary Blinken and President Jokowi emphasized the importance of the U.S.-Indonesia Strategic Partnership and discussed ways to strengthen the bilateral relationship," spokesman Ned price said.

"They also discussed bilateral and regional cooperation to address challenges to democracy and human rights, as well as the climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic."

Blinken arrived in Indonesia on Monday morning for a two-day visit to discuss bilateral relations and the pandemic response, Price said earlier in the day. The talks will also focus on the importance of an open and free Indo-Pacific region.

After Jakarta, the top American diplomat will head to Malaysia and Thailand.
European foreign ministers met Monday to coordinate what they warn would be an unprecedented economic sanctions regime if Russia launches a new military assault into Ukraine

Brussels, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Dec, 2021 ) :European foreign ministers met Monday to coordinate what they warn would be an unprecedented economic sanctions regime if Russia launches a new military assault into Ukraine.

Following a meeting of G7 ministers in Liverpool at the weekend, where the US and major allies warned the Kremlin of "massive" consequences, the 27 EU ministers gathered in Brussels.

They were expected to approve a list of Names and companies associated with Russia's private military company Wagner to be added immediately to existing sanctions regimes.

And they will signal their readiness to impose huge new measures targeting Russia's economy if a troop build-up near the Ukrainian border leads to direct military action.
Myanmar's military junta is blocking vital humanitarian aid needed by people who are at risk of being displaced or already have been, a prominent human rights watchdog said

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th December, 2021) Myanmar's military junta is blocking vital humanitarian aid needed by people who are at risk of being displaced or already have been, a prominent human rights watchdog said.

"Myanmar's junta has worsened a self-created humanitarian catastrophe by displacing hundreds of thousands of people and then blocking the critical support they need to survive. The generals are callously denying lifesaving assistance to people affected by conflict since the military takeover, seemingly as a form of punishment," Human Rights Watch (HRW) Asia researcher Shayna Bauchner said in a report released by the watchdog.

The report indicates that the junta and its security forces have been introducing new travel bans on humanitarian aid workers and attacking them as well as blocking roads, destroying non-military supplies and shutting down a number of communication services.

The country experienced a collapse of its infrastructure and a devaluation in its Currency which has led to the shortages of food, medicines and other essential products following the February 1 military coup.

Over 284,000 people displaced since the start of the crisis, around 22,000 of whom have fled to India and Thailand, the watchdog said.

"Governments should press Myanmar's junta to facilitate, not block, the delivery of assistance that millions of people depend on to survive. Regional bodies and donors should work closely with local groups and cross-border efforts to make sure aid is reaching those in need and not being diverted by generals neck-deep in atrocities," Bauchner stressed.

HRW is asking a number of non-governmental organizations and other "concerned governments" to help in stopping the junta from blocking vital humanitarian assistance.
WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th December, 2021) US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi must send the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention legislation that was already passed by the lower chamber of Congress to the Senate so that it can be passed there for President Joe Biden to sign into law, Congresswoman Ashley Hinson said on Monday.

"I was glad to see this legislation pass with broad bipartisan support in the House last week, but now Speaker Pelosi is refusing to send the bill to the Senate for consideration," Hinson, a Republican from Iowa, said in a press release. "It is past time to hold communist China accountable for their egregious human rights abuses."

The US leaders should have the moral courage to lead the way on this issue, not shy away from it, Hinson said.

"US leaders should have the moral courage to lead the way on this issue, not shy away."

The legislation that the US House passed on December 8 targets goods, wares, articles and merchandise imported directly from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or made by Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tibetans, or members of other persecuted groups in China.

The legislative text also accuses China of arbitrarily imprisoning as many as 1.8 million Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and members of other Muslim minority groups in a system of extrajudicial mass internment camps.
(@FahadShabbir)

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Monday that China, North Korea and the United States have agreed in principle to the declaration putting an end to the Korean War

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th December, 2021) South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Monday that China, North Korea and the United States have agreed in principle to the declaration putting an end to the Korean War.

Moon delivered the statement at a press conference with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison after bilateral talks in Canberra.

"Australia has also supported the end of war declaration proposal by the Korean Government and the relevant parties to this declaration. It would be the United States, China and Republic of Korea and North Korea.

And I believe, in principle, everybody agrees to the declaration," Moon told reporters.

The president also said that the declaration should establish a peace regime in the Korean Peninsula and put an end to the "quite unstable" armistice, stressing that it was important to initiate the talks between North and South Korea and between the US and North Korea.

The Korean War de-facto ended in 1953 after the US and Democratic People's Republic of Korea ratified an armistice without signing a peace treaty.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th December, 2021) Boeing has decided to advance the use of service modules for its CST-100 Starliner propulsion system following the successful test of its oxidizer isolation valves, the company announced in a press release.

"Following extensive testing and analysis of oxidizer isolation valves on Boeing's CST-100 Starliner service module propulsion system, Boeing has decided to move up service modules currently in production for its upcoming uncrewed and crewed flight tests to the International Space Station (ISS)," the company said on Monday.

The service module originally planned for its Crew Flight Test (CFT) will now be used for the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission, and the service module planned for the Starliner-1 flight will be used for CFT as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, Boeing said.

"NASA has been working side-by-side with Boeing on the service module valve investigation, including leveraging the agency's materials and propellants expertise to better characterize the potential causes of the issue," NASA Commercial Crew Program Manager Steve Sich said.

Ongoing investigations continue to validate the most probable cause of the valve problems as related to oxidizer and moisture interactions. NASA and Boeing will continue their analysis on the issue up to the scheduled launch of the uncrewed OFT-2 mission in August 2021, the release said.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th December, 2021) A US base near the Omar oil field in Deir ez-Zor Province in northeastern Syria was subject to rocket attack, Syrian pro-government newspaper Al-Watan reported, citing sources in the province.

After the attack, a plume of smoke was visible in the base area, the newspaper said.

The US military illegally controls territories in the north and northeast of Syria? in the provinces of Deir ez-Zor, Al-Hasakah and Raqqa, where the largest Syrian oil and gas fields are located. Damascus has repeatedly called the presence of the US military on its territory an occupation and state piracy with the aim of outright theft of oil.
WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th December, 2021) The United States will abstain from any assessments regarding the latest round of talks in Vienna, as it is premature to tell whether Iran has got back to a more constructive approach to the negotiations on the nuclear deal, Department of State deputy spokeswoman Jalina Porter said on Monday.

"I won't preview any certain assessment," Porter told a press briefing. "It is just too soon to tell whether Iran has returned to a more constructive approach at this moment."

The seventh round of the talks on Iran's nuclear program started in Vienna on November 29.

It continued over the weekend with US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley and his delegation entering indirect negotiations with Iran.

Porter said the US priority remains a constructive resumption of the nuclear talks with all JCPOA participants to reach and implement a rapid and mutual return to the 2015 agreement.

In May 2018, the United States withdrew from the JCPOA, signed by the US, China, France, Russia, the UK, Germany and the EU, and enacted hardline policies against Tehran. As a result, Iran largely abandoned its own obligations under the accord, too.
The year-long bicentennial celebrations, which kicked off on 13 December 2020, concluded on Saturday with simultaneous Masses in the 32 parish churches of Singapore.

By Robin Gomes

The Catholic Church in Singapore last week brought to a close its year-long celebrations of 200 years in the city-state. Bells in all 32 Catholic parish churches across the island pealed simultaneously for a minute at 6 pm on Saturday followed by Holy Masses.

All churches took the cue from the main Mass celebrated by Archbishop William Goh of Singapore in the Good Shepherd Cathedral the oldest Catholic Church in the country.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong shared the joy of Singapores Catholic community with his presence at the Mass in the cathedral in acknowledgement of the Churchs presence and its contribution to Singapore.

Among others present at the 11 December Mass were Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Marek Zalewski, the Prime Ministers wife, Ho Ching, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture and the president of Singapores Inter-Religious Organization.

Ignite and Shine with Faith was the theme of the year-long bicentennial celebrations, dubbed Catholic200SG, under the Archdiocese of Singapore, the islands only diocese. The last week, 4-11 December, was marked by a flurry of events and programmes leading up to Saturdays Masses.

Archbishop William Goh at the start of the Mass.

The beginning

French Saint Laurent Imbert, a member of the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris (MEP), is regarded as the Catholic priest to have celebrated the first Mass in the island-nation, after having landed on Singapore's shores on Dec 11, 1821.

He wrote back to Bishop Esprit Marie Joseph Florens, the Apostolic Vicar of Siam who had commissioned him: "I have reached Singapore on 11th instant, and have visited according to your Lordship's request the Catholics of this new settlement. There are only 12 or 13 in number and seem to lead a wretched life."

From there, he proceeded to Korea, where he was appointed Vicar Apostolic in 1836. He was martyred there on 21 September 1839 at the age of 43. He is among the 301 martyrs of Korea who were declared saints by Pope John Paul in 1984.

A Participatory Church

Today, Catholics in Singapore number some 300,000 and have made their presence and contributions felt in the city-state.

We are called to give thanks for what the Lord is doing through our Church, Archbishop Goh said in his homily. In spite of a downward trend in many countries where people are losing faith in God, the recent Census shows that we have grown in strength over the last five years, he told the faithful, whose number was small in keeping with the Covid-19 protocols.

The concluding Mass of Singapore's centennial celebrations.

Archbishop Goh expressed satisfaction that the Catholic200SG celebrations brought Catholics together in creative ways. The online events and videos notched up over 1 million views during the anniversary year. The 4-11 December festival saw 12,000 Catholics attend the various events and activities in the archdiocese, and another over 6,000 attended the concluding final Masses in churches across the 32 parishes.

State and religion

Prime Minister Lee expressed satisfaction he was able to join the Catholic community at Singapores cathedral. In a Facebook post he said he came to know from a video about the Catholic Churchs contribution to Singapore over two centuries, through education, healthcare and social welfare. In our multi-religious society, Catholics thrive and co-exist in harmony with the other religions, he added.

In terms of the ethnic composition of Singapores 3.52 million population, it is 74.3 per cent Chinese, 13.5 per cent Malay, 9 per cent Indian and the rest 3.2 per cent, according to the 2020 census.

Among residents aged 15 years and over, 31.1 per cent identified themselves as Buddhists, 8.8 per cent as Taoists, 18.9 per cent as Christians, 15.6 per cent as Muslims and 5.0 per cent as Hindus. Those with no religious affiliation made up 20.0 per cent.

Singapores majority Buddhist Chinese, Malay Muslims, and Indian Hindus have largely avoided conflict since race riots between Chinese and Malays left about 40 dead in the 1960s.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (2nd from right) speaking with Archbishop Goh

Archbishop Goh pointed out that even though the government is secular, it maintains neutrality and encourages cooperation among religions in the development of the social, moral and spiritual values of the people.

Religions here in Singapore are respectful and supportive of each other, he said, adding, We have very strong inter-religious harmony in Singapore, something painstakingly built over many generations.

A vibrant Church

The archbishop noted that the Church has grown internally over the last eight years, in terms of archdiocesan offices, reinforcement and new movements. Some new ones were added, and some expanded, such as Office of Young People engaging, especially those in colleges, universities and working adults. The Family Commission with 11 affiliates has been reconstituted, and now serves those engaged, married, divorced, and in bereavement.

With the starting of the new Council of Principals in Catholic Schools, the Archdiocesan Commission for Catholic Schools (ACCS) has been very active. The archdiocese has also reinforced its digital media, Catholic Radio and Catholic News. New movements have started such as the Catholic Leadership Centre, Catholic Architectural Guild, Catholic Social Workers Guild and others. Indeed, our Church is alive! Our lay Catholics are alive! Our organizations are alive. They are filled with the Holy Spirit, Archbishop Goh said.
The Vietnamese government has streamlined the merger and acquisition (M&A) process to encourage investment in new sectors of the economy. And for foreign investors that see establishing a business in Vietnam as too cumbersome, the M&A route provides a unique solution to many obstacles.

With an M&A, investors can enjoy preexisting access to consumers, locations, and distribution channels. This local knowledge can prove critical to successful operations within Vietnams vibrant but rapidly changing investment environment.

Its an increasingly popular investment route. M&A deals hit US$9.9 billion in 2018, according to the Vietnam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises. While significant, it did not outpace M&A deals in 2017. Still, M&A deals are expected to pick up in 2019, particularly in the retail sector.

Most recently, VinCommerce, part of the local conglomerate Vingroup, acquired Shop&Go, a 24/7 convenience store, while South Koreas GS25 store acquired Zakka Mart.

Deals like these should support the forecast 14 percent growth rate for M&A value this year. The General Statistics Office (GSO) projects total M&A revenue to reach US$484 billion by 2025. This growth will go beyond retail, and into real estate, renewable energy, and technology, among other sectors.

However, to successfully carry out M&As within Vietnam, it is important to recognize the legal foundation for M&As, and understand the procedures and restrictions associated with acquisitions.

Legal foundation for M&As

There is no unified legislation that governs M&As in Vietnam. M&As are governed primarily by two laws namely the Law on Enterprises and the Law on Investment. The Law on Competition and the Law on Securities are also used to govern M&As, but to a lesser extent.

More specifically, M&As within Vietnam are largely regulated by the Law on Enterprise No. 68-2014-QH13 and Law on Investment No. 67-2014-QH13. We describe the main articles directly below.

The Law on Enterprise No. 68-2014-QH13

Article 18 explains the rights of companies and individuals to establish an enterprise, purchase shares, and supply capital. There are some restrictions on who can participate, such as state officials, minors, and those prosecuted for criminal acts.

explains the rights of companies and individuals to establish an enterprise, purchase shares, and supply capital. There are some restrictions on who can participate, such as state officials, minors, and those prosecuted for criminal acts. Article 195 dictates the process and limitations of a merger. In the case of a possible conflict with the Law on Competition, a legal representative of the company must settle the issue with the administrative agency for competition. Once the merge has been completed, the newly formed company must submit notice to the national enterprise registration database.

2. The Law on Investment No. 67-2014-QH13

Article 25 establishes foreign investors rights to contribute capital and buy capital or shares.

establishes foreign investors rights to contribute capital and buy capital or shares. Article 26 spells out the procedure to contribute capital and buy capital or shares. The application for registration must be submitted to the Service of Planning and Investment for approval.

3. Law on Securities

This law governs the acquisition of shares in a public company including public tender offers.

Authorities responsible for enforcing the law are State Securities Commission (SSC), Vietnam Securities Depository, and the MPI.

4. Law on Competition

Vietnam recently passed the Competition Law, which took effect in July 2019.

The new law expands the scope of instances where a merger is required including total assets, revenue, transaction value, or market share of the participating party. It also proposes thresholds such as the participating party having assets and revenue of US $43 million.

The law also introduces a 30-day preliminary review where the competition authority decides whether the transaction can proceed, or an official merger evaluation is required.

Restrictions for M&As

Investors should also decide on whether the process will be a merger or an acquisition. A merger is when two companies join to form one company by transferring assets, rights, obligations and interests to the merged company and therefore terminating the merging companies.

Acquisitions require a change in ownership and are typically in the form of existing share purchases or new shares but also involve acquiring assets. For non-public companies, liability mainly stems from the failure to meet with the provisions set out in the agreement.

One of the advantages of executing a merger is that there are few restrictions. They are also an ideal option for investors that are time-constrained and without needing to step up a company.

Related services We can help you assess a potential business partner

The main control imposed by governing officials is on the size of the merged company. In this context, it is important to determine what percentage of market share the newly merged company will hold.

If it will possess more than 50 percent, the merger will be prohibited. If it is between 30 and 50 percent, a legal representative of the company must first obtain permission from the administrative agency for competition before implementing the merger.

In the case of capital and shares, investors must comply with the laws on securities for public and listed companies. If a company has been converted or equitized, it has to follow all regulations applicable to conversion and equitization. Lastly, the nature of the investment should conform to international agreements that Vietnam is part of.

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For acquisitions  getting information about the targeted company can still be challenging in Vietnam as the targeted company is not required to disclose information to a buyer. This can lead to larger wait times while the acquiring company does it legal and financial due diligence.

In addition, certain sectors such as banking, financial and insurance services are governed by specific regulations. If an acquiring company wants to acquire a company in these sectors it will be subject to additional regulations as per local law.

How to approach a merger step-by-step

There are three basic types of mergers: a merger of two foreign-owned companies; the merger of two local companies; and the merger of a locally-owned company with a foreign-owned one.

In addition, a merger contract is always necessary, which determines ownership after the merger. Once the merger contract has been completed, procedures for the merger takes approximately 30 days.

While executing a merger can become a detailed and daunting task, the actual steps required are not extensive. The government has worked diligently to make the process appealing and straightforward to encourage foreign investment. The following are the recommended steps for companies seeking to pursue investment in this manner:

Identify the feasibility and legality of the merger and consider the structure of the newly merged company. Sign a non-disclosure agreement to gain further information about the companys operations, finances, etc. With these details, the investor must administer due diligence and identify whether the company is sound. The two parties now have to negotiate terms and conditions of the merger, creating the contract and a draft of the charter. The contract must detail the parties involved and the specifics and timeline of the merger. Depending on the nature of the plan, it is advisable to obtain preliminary permission from the appropriate authorities. The company is required to notify all employees of the merger and provide creditors with a copy of the contract within 15 days. Submit the application to the licensing authority to receive an investment certificate or certificate of enterprise registration. The application will require a merger contract and a resolution and minutes of the merged company meeting and the merging companies meetings where the contract was approved. Based on the type of merger, certain post-merger actions may be required, such as opening an escrow account. The government will update the status of the company in the national enterprise registration database.

Capital contribution and purchasing shares

6. Submit an application for registration to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), which must contain details of the investment and either the passport or ID card of an individual or certificate of establishment of an organization.

7. Within 15 days of receipt, the investor will receive either approval or denial of the contribution/purchase.

How to approach an acquisition step-by-step

For acquisitions, the process depends on the type of ownership.

For example, an acquisition of a single-member limited liability company (LLC) by another single-member LLC involving foreign-owned companies does not involve any special procedures. There are, however, some additional steps:

Submit transfer of capital contribution documents to the MPI. The MPI can take up to 15 days to process. Once reviewed, they will issue an approval letter, ask for further information, or will ask to make amendments. After receiving the approval letter, the investors will begin steps involved in changing the owner.

For a single-member LLC acquisition of a multiple-member LLC, all company documents will need to be changed. For example:

Update the number of members including details of ownership. Submit documents related to forming the members council  the highest decision making body, and the inspection committee  the main supervisory board of the management structure. Any other documents related to tax, business registration and charter capital.

It is also important to note that a multiple-member LLC is limited to 50 individuals or organizations or a combination of both. This entire process can take up to 40 days.

For a locally owned company acquiring a foreign-owned company, a different set of rules apply:

The acquisition process is the same if a foreign investor wants to acquire a local company provided the World Trade Organization (WTO) has permitted an acquisition in that particular business sector. A ministry level approval is required if there is no WTO or local commitment for the particular business sector. This process can take up to three months.

Enterprise and investment laws come in effect January 2021  plan ahead

Vietnams National Assembly passed the revised Law on Enterprises and Law on Investment, which aims to make doing business in Vietnam less cumbersome. Both of these laws take effect on January 1, 2021, and are timely given the passage of new free trade agreements such as the EVFTA and the CPTPP, as well as Vietnam, ranking as the worlds second M&A attractive market as per Euromonitor International.

The amended Law on Investment provides updates on conditional business lines, investment incentives, support mechanisms while removing administrative approval for certain types of investment projects.

The law removes the need for an M&A approval if the transaction does not result in an increase of foreign investors ownership ratio in the target company. M&A transactions that result in an increase of foreign investors ownership ratio in the target company and exceed the 50 percent of shares or charter capital would be subject to an M&A approval.

The revised Law on Enterprises also offers protection of minority shareholders in a company.

The new laws will likely ensure that M&A activity remains strong in Vietnam. These changes demonstrate the governments ongoing development to simplify the administrative procedures making it easier for businesses keen to enter the Vietnamese market.

This coupled with the governments push to divest a number of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) bodes well for foreign investors. As of 2019, only 35 out of 127 SOEs were divested and we can expect further strong M&A activity going by the latest trends.

Regardless, M&As are a complex and detail-oriented task.

While this article provides an overview of the process, investors should carry out stringent due diligence checks and have an investment plan that is in full compliance with Vietnamese regulations.

Note: This article was first published in July 2019, and has been updated to include the latest developments.
Despite the pandemic, Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) activity in Vietnam rebounded in 2021, being driven by domestic companies.

Investors remain confident in Vietnam, paving the way for strong M&A activity for this year as well as 2022.

While challenges remain, such as border closures and the pandemic, Vietnams strong market fundamentals will likely ensure it remains an attractive M&A market.

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) provides a solution to several obstacles foreign investors face when they want to enter Vietnams market. During the pandemic, many partnerships were formed through M&As with domestic companies taking initiative in the market.

M&A activities were disrupted in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic, with total value dropping by 50 percent to about US$3.9 billion. However, in the first nine months of the year, M&A deals with total disclosed value have already totaled US$3 billion as per White & Case.

Upon facing economic and social challenges due to COVID-19, many businesses have identified M&A as an optimal solution to restructure, expand their ecosystems, and create value chains.

In the last six months of 2019 and 2020, the market witnessed notable acquisitions or restructuring of private corporations. The pandemic has resulted in a shift in the market trend towards more acquisitions than mergers.

Accordingly, from 2019 to 2021, more than 80 percent were purchases of shares for takeover and 9 percent were joint ventures while only 11 percent of M&A deals were mergers.

Key industries expected to grow strongly

According to a 2021 report by White & Case, the top three sectors by most deals for M&A activity were industrials and chemicals, consumer goods, and real estate. The industrial and chemicals sector generated a total of seven deals during the first three quarters of 2021. In the real estate market, M&A remains the quickest solution for foreign developers to enter the country and for local developers to expand their land portfolio.

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As for the housing real estate market, in 2021 there is a trend of developers seeking land funds via M&A deals in the suburban districts of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Neighboring provinces with good connections to Ho Chi Minh City, such as Binh Duong and Dong Nai, still have land to develop urban areas and megacities that can become the focus of the M&A market. Such provinces have been attracting investors from Japan, Singapore, and South Korea.

According to a survey by the CMAC Institute, industries expected to have the most active M&A activities in the coming years include consumer goods manufacturing, industry (energy), real estate, retail, ICT, and logistics.

Manufacturing, one of the sectors significantly impacted by COVID-19, continues to attract foreign investors given Vietnams low labor costs, strategic location, and many seaports nationwide. The trend of multinational corporations shifting investment from China to Vietnam will continue due to the influence of the US-China trade war, resulting in more potential relocations of manufacturing hubs to Vietnam.

In 2020, the US$240 million acquisition of Thipha Cable and Dovina Metal, two large Vietnamese electric cable manufacturers, by Thailands Stark Corporation was reported as the largest inbound private sector industrial transaction in Vietnam in the last three years.

Over recent years, renewable energy has become an interesting sector for M&A activity with the construction of mega plants in key provinces such as Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh, and Ninh Thuan. Buyers have also been active with acquisitions of onshore and offshore wind farms in the central highlands and central coastal regions, which boast significant potential given their ample wind resources.

For example, the joint venture in 2021 between Hung Bac Energy Investment JSC and North Investment Construction and Development JSC in Dak Nong province has confirmed the construction of three wind farms with a total capacity of 300MW and a total investment capital of US$456.5 million (VND10.5 trillion). The industry also attracts significant government support such as the extension of feed-in tariffs (FiTs) for wind-power projects from 2021 to the end of 2023, reducing financial risk for wind projects commissioned before the new deadline.

Key drivers of future M&A activities

There are various factors that are driving M&A activities in Vietnam in the next three years. Firstly, the large and growing consumer market (nearly 100 million people), with an emerging middle class, is expected to grow from 18 percent in 2020 to 25 percent and 30 percent by 2025 and 2030 respectively. This presents a huge growth potential in key industries such as retail, F&B, financial services, real estate, logistics, and health care.

Secondly, with the new government, current investors are anticipating that the approval process for long-delayed projects by local authorities will be faster. This tackles the issue facing foreign investors of a time-consuming merger control notification process which can take up to six months. Some other supporting factors are a stable socio-political landscape and expanding urbanization, contribute to the growth of the market.

Domestic firms lead market

Vietnam is witnessing changes with domestic firms rising to secure firm niches in the market. Different from the past where foreign investors were commonly the buyers, various Vietnamese enterprises have turned the tables to become the hunter pursuing an aggressive M&A strategy to acquire foreign enterprises.

The ratio of Vietnamese companies acting as buyers in M&A deals has jumped from 11.8 percent in value in 2018 to over 30 percent in 2019-2020. M&A deals are not only between Vietnamese enterprises or foreign investors but there is also the trend in which Vietnamese enterprises such as Vietnams giants Masan Group and Vingroup acquire foreign ones.

In 2020, Masan Group took over the tungsten division of H.C. Starck Tungsten, the worlds leading manufacturer with thermal resistance technology, as part of its plan to become a leading high-tech industrial material manufacturer. With the takeover deal, Masan Group has an ambitious plan of expanding its market from US$1.3 billion to US$4.6 billion.

In the same year, Vingroup acquired 51 percent of shares of Spanish BQ smartphone manufacturer, aiming to exploit the European advanced technologies and capability for the research and development (R&D) process.

To increase automobile manufacturing capability, VinFast, a subsidiary of Vingroup, took over Lang Lang car testing center in Australia, covering an area of 900 hectares. These M&A activities contribute to enhancing Vietnams position in the overseas M&A market, showcasing the countrys potential as both a buyer and seller.

Prominent M&A deals in 2019-2021

Domestic deals

There were 22 domestic M&A deals in 2019 and the first eight months of 2020. Masan Group was one of the first to stir up the retail market through M&A while Vinamilk, the countrys largest dairy producer, made an acquisition increasing its local market share via M&A. Meanwhile, Vingroup is focusing on restructuring and facilitating its industrial ecosystem.

In 2019, Masan Group and Vingroup agreed to merge VinCommerce (retail), VinEco (agriculture), and Masan Consumer Holdings (consumer goods) to create a retail and consumer goods leader in Vietnam. The new company will own a distribution network of 2,600 VinMart and VinMart+ stores in 50 provinces and cities along with a system of 14 high-tech farms of VinEco.

In 2019, Vinamilk announced that it had officially become the parent company of GTNFoods. After the transaction, Vinamilk owns 51 percent of Moc Chau Milk  a subsidiary of GTNFoods comprising 9 percent of the market share. With a large ecosystem, GTNFoods offers Vinamilk various advantages in resources and opportunities to expand the market and product portfolio. acquisition.

Of total M&A value, US$1.6 billion was made by domestic investors in the first 10 months of 2021.

Foreign deals

In addition, foreign investors from Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Singapore were active in the market with 19 deals between Japanese investors and Vietnamese companies in September 2020 alone.

Meanwhile, Thai investors were the most active. In 2020, Thailands Banpu, a leading integrated energy solutions company in the Asia-Pacific, acquired El Wind Mui Dinh, an onshore wind farm in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan. The $US66 million acquisition highlights Thai investors in Vietnams renewable energy considering that 80 percent of the countrys renewable power is generated in the province.

In addition, big deals included Japans Sumitomo Mitsui pouring US$1.3 billion into FE Credit, Singapores SK South East Asia Investment investing US$410 million in Vincommerce, and the UKs Barings and Chinas Alibaba pouring US$400 million into CrownX.

Opportunities and challenges in Vietnams M&A market

The rapidly expanding market of Vietnam offers various assets, such as a progressing integration into the global economy through participation in various free trade agreements (FTAs), namely the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement (EVFTA) and the upcoming Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and an affordable labor supply, has made foreign investment in the country worthwhile.

Vietnam does not have a unified law for M&As, rather M&A activities are governed by the Enterprise Law, the Investment Law, the Securities Law, and the Competition Law. Recent changes in these laws have posed additional challenges to potential buyers. For example, under the new Law on Competition, a substantially higher percentage of M&A deals are subject to merger control filing requirements, and the evaluation process could potentially add months of uncertainty to the timeline of a deal.

More favorable institutional reforms and policies are required for local businesses to grow into conglomerates and dive into the global market.

Outlook

M&As in Vietnam are expected to continue to grow under the impact of COVID-19, due to strong investor confidence with Vietnam experiencing positive GDP growth.

Movement restrictions and closed borders have continued to prove difficult to carry out due diligence with investors unable to visit business sites.

Though challenges remain, the M&A market has witnessed positive indicators and is projected to recover as the pandemic is gradually controlled. More deals in manufacturing, logistics, renewable energy, and real estate will continue to boost M&A activities in Vietnam.
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The Chinese regime recently carried out a live-fire bombing in the contentious waters of the South China Sea. According to Chinese state-backed media outlet Global Times, the H-6J bomber took part in the live-fire exercise by dropping bombs on islands located in the South China Sea as well as laying mines. The drill demonstrated the H-6Js bombing capabilities even though it can use land-attack and anti-ship cruise missiles.

The military exercise was organized by a regiment based in South Chinas Hainan Province that comes under the PLA Southern Theater Command. The media outlet cited analysts claiming that the drills would serve as a deterrent amidst provocations from Taiwanese independence activists and foreign forces.

Multiple bombers took off during the night, arriving at the target area of the drill by daybreak, while bracing for complex weather conditions like heavy clouds. The bombs hit islands and reefs in the region, causing large explosions. The bombers soon came back to the base, were resupplied, checked, and fueled. They then engaged in a second wave of bombing.

We have effectively tested the accuracy and reliability of both types of munitions. For the next step, we will pursue innovations in tactics and approaches with the realistic situation of the enemies taken into consideration, and make breakthroughs in using new types of weapons and equipment, Zhang Yanjie, a deputy commander of the regiment, told CCTV.

However, some experts question whether the drills actually did demonstrate the combat capability of H-6J.

Being a non-stealthy, large bomber, a H-6J might only be impactful in large wars and limited scenarios. For the H-6J to carry out bombing or mine-laying missions under such situations, the PLA Air Force first needs to establish air superiority, which is something that cannot be guaranteed in any conflict.

South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan have advanced air defense systems in the region to counter Beijings attempts to set up air dominance. This would make the role of H-6J very limited.

A bomber such as the H-6J would be extremely vulnerable to ship-launched U.S. Navy fifth-generation aircraft and would be easily seen by drones and networked ground surveillance systems. An aircraft as large as the H-6J could also be vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire coming from surface ships, depending upon how low it was flying to lay mines in littoral areas, Kris Osborn, Defense Editor for The National Interest, wrote in an article.

H-6J can carry a maximum of seven YJ-12 supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles and has a combat radius of 2,200 miles. It is said to be able to accurately attack moving maritime targets and can conduct all-weather combat missions.

Despite these capabilities, the H-6J is actually not that advanced when compared to U.S. bombers, said Qi Leyi, a Taipei-based military analyst and commentator, in an interview with RFA. It does have the advantage of being able to lay mines from the air very fast, which could be something difficult to deal with.

Leyi also pointed out that Beijing laying down mines to blockade Taiwan is one of the main ways for the PLA to invade the island.

Last month, the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense had published a report detailing its plans to counter Chinas gray zone threats. It accused Beijing of warplane incursions and ramming its coast guard vessels using speedboats. Beijing is also using cognitive warfare to influence public opinion in Taiwan.

Its intimidating behavior does not only consume our combat power and shake our faith and morale, but also attempts to alter or challenge the status quo in the Taiwan Strait to ultimately achieve its goal of seizing Taiwan without a fight, the report said.
A commanding officer for a U.S. Navy destroyer has been removed from his position, allegedly a result of refusing to comply with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine mandates.

Commander Lucian Kins, second in command of the destroyer USS Winston Churchill, was relieved of duty on Dec. 10. According to the Associated Press, while a spokesperson screened the exact reason for the termination, Kins was said to have lost the confidence of his commanding officers because he disobeyed a lawful order.

However, other officials that spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity said the event occurred because Kins requested an exemption on religious grounds, but after it was denied, the Commander still refused to accept injection.

Kins is said to be the first Navy officer who has been axed for refusing vaccination.

At the moment, Kins has been reassigned to the staff of Naval Surface Squadron 14. His post as the second in command of USS Winston Churchill has now been temporarily taken over by Lieutenant Commander Han Yi who will assume the role until a suitable replacement is found.

Like Kins, thousands of other defense personnel have signaled their hesitancy with regard to vaccine mandates. According to the latest Army data, approximately 50,000 military personnel have refused vaccinations.

The U.S. Air Force had set a vaccination deadline of Nov. 2, the Navy and Marine Corps on Nov. 28, and the Army on Dec. 15.

The Washington Post estimates there are a total of 1.3 million active-duty personnel in the army. While the Army alone has 14,000 unvaccinated personnel, the Air Force, Marine Corps, and the Navy account for roughly 25,000 additional unvaccinated members.

The Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve are estimated to have 10,700 unvaccinated troops.

Those who refuse injection could be subject to a wide range of disciplinary measures that include court-martial and non-judicial punishments. In October, Marines were warned that not getting vaccination could result in the person being processed for administrative separation.

The Army warned its members in November that unvaccinated individuals can get flagged and banned from promotions, re-enlistment, and Army schools. The U.S. Navy warned in October that unvaccinated employees will be forced out of service.
While COVID-19 ravaged and devastated most of the world, Taiwan was praised and viewed as a model to follow in the way it kept the pandemic at bay, allowing its citizens to largely go about their normal lives unaffected. However, the self-governed island now finds itself in the midst of political turmoil as four critical proposals hang in the balance.

Taiwans President Tsai Ing-wen found herself in hot water as she struggled to convince the public to veto four proposals that were put to a public decision on Dec. 11.

No. 4 Nuclear power plant

The first proposal Tsais Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has been pushing the public to reject is the reactivation of an unfinished fourth nuclear power plant. The DPP claims the plant is dangerous to public safety and should remain closed.

However, as reported by South China Morning Post, rampant energy shortages have resulted in periodic blackouts across the island. Backers of the proposal claim the blackouts have not only disrupted daily life and businesses, but have also threatened industrial production, particularly the output of big chip companies.

Taiwan is one of the worlds top producers of chips, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) leading the way as the worlds largest contract manufacturer of integrated circuits. Taiwans semiconductor companies have been thrust into the spotlight in recent months as a global chip shortage has crimped the production of cars and electronics, impacting consumer goods.



READ MORE:

US and Taiwan Reach New Agreement to Bolster Chip Technology

Tsais government maintains that restarting the shuttered nuclear plant could prove disastrous as it is located in an earthquake zone. Furthermore, the DPP claims there is nowhere on the island to safely dispose of hazardous nuclear waste.

The reactor, run by state-owned corporation Taiwan Power Company (Taipower), was decommissioned in May of this year after announcing its permanent closure due to a lack of used fuel storage capacity. The plant, named Guosheng unit 1, had a 40-year operating license due to expire on Dec. 27. However, due to Taiwans nuclear-phase out policy and enhanced safety protocols, the plant was forced to shut down months ahead of schedule.

Activists: Tsai breaking environmental protection promise

The second proposal calls for the protection of an algal reef in the northwestern province of Taoyuan where Tsais government is aiming to build a liquefied natural gas terminal. Activists claim the LNG terminal could harm various aquatic wildlife and endangered species and accuse the president of going against her promise of protecting the environment. Tsais government, however, claims the terminal is vital in ensuring power and irrigation supplies.

The project, which was halted for several years, has a fair chance of passing according to local polls. If passed, the proposal would help achieve the governments goal of using the LNG facility to boost its current energy production and produce half its total power by 2025. It would also help to supply Taiwans semiconductor plants which require vast amounts of energy and water.

If we cant build this third LNG terminal, we will really have an electricity supply problem, Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua told reporters last month.

Ban on American pork and decision on future referendums

The third proposal will ask voters whether or not to reinstate a ban on pork imported from the U.S. and treated with the additive ractopamine, a substance used to promote leanness.

According to the Center for Food Safety, ractopamine is associated with major health problems in food-producing animals, such as downer syndrome and severe cardiovascular stress. Furthermore, it has also been linked to heart problems and even poisoning in humans who consume large amounts of it.

SCMP reported that Tsai had lifted the ban in January, citing requests from the U.S. and the need to remove trade restrictions to qualify for membership of regional trade blocs. The main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), has urged the ban to be reinstated on food safety and public health grounds.

Lastly, the public will also decide on whether future referendums should be held at the same time as public office elections. While the KMT says the move would cut costs, Tsais government says it would lead to confusion and disorganization.

An uphill battle

Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation chairman You Ying-lung said that despite the Tsai governments all-out campaign to convince the electorate on these four proposals, survey results showed the administration was fighting an uphill battle.

In just a month, the approval rating of Tsai has dropped close to 8 percentage points, meaning her efforts to persuade the public to support her policies have been discounted, he said, adding that the governments and the DPPs popularity had also dropped 6 and 0.8 percentage points, respectively.
Days after cutting formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, the government of Nicaragua has received one million vaccines from the mainland Chinese government.

Government representatives returned to the Central American nation on Dec. 12 with news of the donation. State media also showed an Air China plane touching down with the first 200,000 doses of the countrys Sinopharm vaccine.

The Nicaraguan government formally cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan in a statement released on Dec. 9.

Taiwan is officially called the Republic of China (ROC)  which governed the mainland prior to 1949, when it was pushed back to the island by communist armies. Though it remains a de facto independent country, it is not formally recognized by most of the world and is not a U.N. member.

Now, Taiwans list of diplomatic allies  most of which are Pacific or Latin American nations  has dwindled from 21 to 14 since President Tsai Ing-Wen took office in 2016.

This has been further exacerbated as the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) has requested that under its One-China principle, all countries wishing to form diplomatic relations with it must first terminate official ties with Taiwan. The PRC views Taiwan as a rebel separatist force that must be reclaimed by any means necessary, even if that means utilizing military force.

Officials in Nicaragua said they were extremely grateful for restored relations with Beijing and reiterated the PRCs claim that: The Peoples Republic of China is the only legitimate government that represents all of China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory.

READ MORE:

Nicaragua Ends Diplomatic Relations With Taiwan, Recognizes Beijing Under One-China Policy

Laureano Ortega Murillo, the son of newly elected president Daniel Ortega told reporters on Dec. 13: We have come back with this great news that we have brought this generous donation of one million vaccines to the Nicaraguan people.

Currently, only 38 percent of the adult population in Nicaragua is fully vaccinated but approximately 67 percent have received at least one dose.

Accessibility to COVID-19 vaccines in countries across Central and South America remains extremely difficult as scarce supplies and travel to and from mostly poor rural areas have proven to be a challenging endeavor.
The U.S. government imposed new sanctions on Cambodia on Thursday, Dec. 8, as Communist Chinas sphere of influence, as well as its corruption and human rights abuses, continue to spread. The sanctions have put stress on U.S.-Cambodia relations, and raises concerns about the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) influence across Asia.

Military concerns

On Dec. 8, Cambodia was hit with an arms embargo established by the U.S. State Department, resulting in more trade restrictions on military and dual-use items for civilian and military use, the Commerce Department announced.

Commerce has placed new restrictions, including end-use and end-user restrictions, on exports and reexports to Cambodia, and in-country transfers within Cambodia, of sensitive items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), the department said.

According to sanctions expert Peter Kucik, any item that could be used for both civilian and military purposes would be restricted  the restrictions even apply to other third-world countries, who are now forbidden to sell certain products bought from the U.S. to Cambodia.

Hypothetically, a divide that could have a perfectly civilian use, but could also have a military purpose, would be restricted because if its used by the wrong party, it could be used for military purposes. Kucik explained.

The U.S. government cited developments in Cambodias military sectors potentially linked to Chinas military presence in the country.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has allowed access for the Chinese military to the Ream naval base in Sihanoukville for 30 years, and has provided the chance for China to build an airport and deep-sea port in Dara Sakor, near the province of Koh Kong.

The U.S. has also been banned from visiting the naval base at Sihanoukville after the U.S. previously imposed sanctions on senior Cambodian military officials.

In early November, an advisory to U.S. firms doing business in Cambodia issued a warning to businesses to be mindful of interactions with entities in corrupt business practices, criminal activities and human rights abuses. Two Cambodian officials were also suspected of planning to share funds from the Ream base construction project.

At the Ream naval base, structures that were previously funded by the U.S. were demolished in 2020. Later, in June, 2021, China was said to be aiding with the infrastructure of the base, as reported by the government-linked Fresh News.

In October this year, Hun Sen told Cambodians that the surge of Chinese workers coming to the country would ease as Chinese construction projects are completed, in an attempt to soothe anti-Chinese sentiment.

Cambodia has denied that its naval base would be used exclusively by China.

Several of Hun Sens closest associates, five military commanders and a timber tycoon, were also sanctioned by the U.S..

On Dec. 13, it was reported that Phnom Penh was reviewing their arsenal for any U.S.-made weapons and military equipment and will either store or destroy them.

A Chinese official said in a report by Khmer TImes that the U.S. tried to tarnish Cambodia and Chinas relations amid its imposition of the arms embargo against the Cambodian government.

Cambodia and the world

In a statement to Radio Free Asia (RFA), Hun Sens foreign affairs spokesman denied the reports of foreign military presence in Cambodia.

However, Kucik believes that the trade restrictions could inhibit other entities from cooperating with Phnom Penh.

It may be a stretch that violators get hauled into U.S. court, but people do get extradited from all over the world to the U.S., so its not intangible, there is a real risk. Kucik said. More realistically, and more fundamentally, you might kill your entire business model.

If you break U.S. law, youre never going to get anything from the U.S. again and U.S. firms would be on notice that youre off-limits, he added.

In their opposition to the U.S., Cambodia has leaned towards China as a dictatorship looms over the country. In 2017, opposition leader Kem Sokha was arrested for treason and his party was eliminated, due to their supposed conspiracy with the U.S. to overthrow Hun Sens government.

According to Paul Chambers, from the Center of ASEAN Community Studies at Naresuan University in Thailand, Cambodia has become an effective economic, military and political dependency of China. He has also stated that the allegations made by the U.S. should not be simply dismissed.

Chinas military presence in Cambodia could also contribute to tensions between the CCP and other nations around the South China Sea.

Hun Sen has well positioned Cambodia as a useful cog in Chinas attempts to dominate Southeast Asia and divide ASEAN, Chambers added.

According to CCP-run news outlet Xinhua, Cambodia, which will assume chairmanship of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), will push to promote the blocs spirit as a united family. However, it is feared that Cambodia may be disrupting ASEAN due to its chairmanship of the bloc for 2022.

Derek Chollet, an envoy of the U.S. State Department, discussed with Cambodian officials issues like Myanmar and China. The junta-led government of Myanmar also has its fair share of human rights abuses and corruption after the militarys takeover of the country.

We are concerned by the possibility of a PRC military facility, Chollet said, using Chinas official name, the Peoples Republic of China (PRC).

We believe its very important to be fully transparent about the intent and about the nature of that relationship, the scope of it as well, whats going on, he added.

On Dec. 7, Hun Sen met with a foreign minister of Myanmars military government, Wunna Maung Lwin, saying that Cambodia will engage directly with Myanmar to [seek] ways to restore good cooperation and solidarity in ASEAN.
Fresh from delivering a stern new warning to Russia over Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Indonesia on Monday to find a top aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin already in Jakarta for security talks.

Just a day after joining his Group of Seven foreign minister colleagues in issuing the blunt demand for Russia to step back from a military escalation near the Ukrainian border, Blinken began a 48-hour visit to Indonesia with his plane parking in the shadow of that of Putins national security adviser Nikolay Patrushev. Patrushev is considered the third most senior official in Russia's government.

Shortly before Blinken landed, the Russian embassy in Jakarta announced Patrushevs visit, saying he would be in the Indonesian capital for the same two days as the top American diplomat. The timing means that Patrushev's meetings will coincide with a major speech Blinken plans to give Tuesday on the Biden administration's Indo-Pacific strategy.

There was no indication that the two men might meet in Jakarta. Nor was there any indication that either would acknowledge the other's presence in Indonesia, which is the headquarters of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and a key regional security player.

Indonesia's foreign ministry downplayed the dueling visits. It just so happened that their arrival time to Indonesia coincided, said ministry spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah.

Blinken met Monday afternoon with Indonesian President Joko Widodo before a full slate of events on Tuesday, including the speech. The Russian embassy said Patrushev's main interlocutor in Indonesia would be Law and Security Affairs Minister Mohammad Mahfud.

Blinken traveled to Jakarta from a Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting in Liverpool, England, at which he and his counterparts told Russia on Sunday to de-escalate its military buildup near the Ukrainian border.

The G-7 called on Russia to de-escalate, pursue diplomatic channels, and abide by its international commitments on transparency of military activities, and praised Ukraines restraint.

The ministers warned on a joint statement that any use of force to change borders is strictly prohibited under international law. Russia should be in no doubt that further military aggression against Ukraine would have massive consequences and severe cost in response."

The statement came after President Joe Biden spoke to Putin in a video call last week and said he had made clear that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would have devastating consequences for Russia's economy.

Moscow denies having any plans to attack Ukraine and accuses Kyiv of its own allegedly aggressive designs.

Ahead of Blinken's current trip, which at eight days will be his longest overseas journey since taking office, State Department officials had said they expected his focus to shift from challenges posed by Russia to those posed by China as he moved from the G7 meeting in Liverpool across the globe to Southeast Asia.

It was not immediately clear if Patrushev's presence on Indonesia would change that. In Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, Blinken is aiming to highlight the importance of ensuring freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, on which many of Chinas neighbors have accused Beijing of encroaching.

In his meeting with Widodo, Blinken expressed support for Indonesias leadership in the Indo-Pacific as the worlds third-largest democracy and a strong proponent of the rules-based international order, the State Department said.

Blinken also plans to express deep U.S. concerns about developments in Myanmar, where a military junta took power shortly after the Biden administration took office. Last week, a court in Myanmar convicted democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was ousted in a de facto coup in February, on two charges. The proceedings were widely criticized as a further effort by the countrys military rulers to roll back the democratic gains of recent years.

As Blinken visits Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, Patrushev will be in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. One of Blinken's most senior aides, State Department counsellor Derek Chollet was in Cambodia last week following the U.S. imposition of an arms embargo on the country, citing deepening Chinese military influence, corruption and human rights abuses.
PHNOM PENH  As a top U.S. diplomat visited Phnom Penh on Friday, an angry Prime Minister Hun Sen urged Cambodias armed forces to recall or destroy American-made weapons and equipment in response to a recent arms embargo imposed by Washington.

The U.S. on Wednesday announced an arms embargo on Cambodia to address human rights abuses and corruption by Cambodian government actors, including the military, as well as the growing influence of the Peoples Republic of Chinas military in Cambodia.

Hun Sen responded on Facebook on Friday, posting two photos of himself and former U.S. President Donald Trump during an ASEAN gala in the Philippines in 2017, along with a message mocking the U.S. measures.

I would like to thank the U.S. for helping confirm my decision not to buy American weapons is a correct choice for Cambodian's national defense policies, the prime minister wrote, adding the embargo served as a reminder for future governments about the risk of relying on the U.S.

At the same time, I'd like to issue an order to all armed forces to re-inspect all weapons and military equipment currently in Cambodia's possession that you must collect all American-made ones either back to the warehouses or to be destroyed," he wrote.

Hun Sens comment came while U.S. State Department Counselor Derek Chollet was in Phnom Penh to discuss bilateral ties and Cambodias chairmanship of ASEAN starting next month.

In a media roundtable, Chollet declined to specifically respond to Hun Sens remarks, but suggested the Cambodian government was sanctioned in part for its lack of transparency surrounding its military ties with China and the Ream Naval Base in particular.

After razing at least two U.S.-built facilities, Cambodia said it was accepting Chinese assistance to expand the base on the Gulf of Thailand, but has sought allay U.S. fears that the overhaul could pave the way for permanent Chinese military presence in the country.

We believe it's important for them to be fully transparent about the intent and the nature of that relationship, the scope of it as well, including what's going on Chollet said.

Unfortunately, we've not seen the kind of progress we would have hoped for, he added, which is why the United States has announced several measures in response to make clear that we think that there's a threat not just to our interest, but also to the region, we would say, and to Cambodian interest if there's a deeper PRC-Cambodian military relationship.

In early November, the U.S. Treasury invoked the Global Magnitsky Act to sanction two Cambodian generals, including Navy Chief Adm. Tea Vinh, for alleged involvement in embezzling funds used in the naval base expansion project.

Several state-aligned mouthpieces ran a number of stories denouncing the U.S. war legacy in Cambodia on Friday. One of the reports interviewed locals in southeaster Svay Rieng province about how American bombing in the 1970s  and the unexploded ordinances left behind  continues to affect their lives.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday called the U.S. arms embargo on Cambodia as hegemonic and bullying practice, reiterating its support for Phnom Penh.

While in Phnom Penh, Chollet met Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn and Prime Minister Hun Sens office aide Kao Kim Hourn, who is tipped to be next Cambodia-appointed ASEAN Secretary-General next year. Chollet said he heard in great detail of Cambodias ambitious as ASEAN chair next year.

One of the frustrating things is we feel like these issues that come up and these differences stand in the way of us reaching our full potential as partners, the counselor said, adding that it was important for the country to talk openly about areas where we may disagree but stay focused on the future and areas where we can agree.

The Counselor also suggested Cambodia, which recently made an unpopular outreach to the military junta in Myanmar, should carefully engage with the regime. Hun Sen announced on Monday that junta chief Min Aung Hlaing would be invited to future ASEAN leadership meetings despite pressure to isolate the regime.

The US is not against engagement. For engagement's sake, we still have an embassy in Myanmar, Chollet said.

We're quite clear that the engagement needs to have a purpose that can't come for free, and we want to see genuine progress on the ground, he added.

We would expect any engagement forthcoming that it actually brings results and it's not just something that is a concession to the junta.
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Long after he was killed, Myrtle Green-Burton wouldnt let anyone wear her 17-year-old sons high school track team jacket.

James Earl Green, an aspiring Olympic runner, was supposed to receive the green and yellow coat at his graduation in Mississippi half a century ago. It became a symbol of his life  and her loss, said his sister Gloria Green-McCray.

She just kept it until it dry-rotted because that was all she really had to remember his dream  his vision, Green-McCray said of her mother.

A cross-stitch portrait of Green wearing his track jacket is now included with 115 others in a quilting project dedicated to memorializing lives lost to racial violence in the U.S. The two quilts are open for public viewing on weekdays through Dec. 17 at Jackson State Universitys Margaret Walker Center.



James Earl Green and 21-year-old Jackson State student Phillip Lafayette Gibbs were fatally shot on the Jackson State campus during a violent police response to a protest against racial injustice in 1970. Green was not a student at the historically Black university, but was walking through the campus on his way home from his grocery store job.

Twelve more people were injured. No officer ever faced criminal charges.

On a visit to Jackson States campus last week to see the portrait, Green-McCray, now in her late 60s, recalled her older brothers ambitions of running in college and then in the Olympics. In the weeks leading up to his death, graduating and getting that track jacket were all he could talk about, she said.

He didnt get the chance to wear it, she said, reaching out and running her finger across the tiny portrait.

The Stitch Their Names Memorial Project was started by Eugene, Oregon, high school math teacher Holli Johannes in July 2020 as so many around the U.S. reckoned with the countrys legacy of systematic racism in the wake of George Floyds murder at the hands of Minneapolis police. A group of 75 stitchers from across the U.S. and beyond worked together to construct the two quilts and a website containing biographies of each victim.

Johannes said they wanted to create a piece of art that would humanize the lives lost.

Each stitcher took a different, personalized approach: Some portraits are headshots, some full body. They include different backdrops and details to inform viewers about the victims lives.

Elijah McClain, 23, a massage therapist killed by police in Aurora, Colorado, in 2019, is pictured playing the violin next to a tabby cat. McClain loved animals and taught himself how to play the guitar and violin.

John Crawford III, 22, was killed by police inside a Beavercreek, Ohio, Walmart store in 2014. He is depicted with his two young sons.

Gibbs  killed in Jackson the same night as Green  is wearing a gray suit. He was studying to be a lawyer.

Ebony Lumumba, department chair and associate professor of English at Jackson State, said quilting has long been a powerful form of activism and of reclaiming history  especially for Black women in America, whose voices are often overlooked.

Its a history that sometimes supersedes what can be written down, said Lumumba, who is also the city of Jacksons first lady. Thats significant for our community because we have been denied the privilege of being documented for so many centuries and so this is one of the ways that we resist that.

At Jackson State, Green-McCray said she hadnt seen a quilt made since she was a little girl  the ones stitched by the women who raised her. She remembered how quilting was a form of storytelling for them. Her mother would piece together quilts using pieces of aprons, hats and dresses from her grandmother.

Each little piece represents something  each piece had a significant meaning, she said. It was not just a piece of cloth, but it was a piece of history, a piece of that person.

Green-McCray said the quilts would evoke memories, even of a time before she was born  a reminder of the struggle of survival.

Its like you re-live it, she said. My mother came from a family of sharecroppers, old slaves, and I can remember the history.

Green-McCray said if people dont learn about history, it repeats itself. When her brother was killed, everyone asked her, Do you think this will ever happen again?

At that time, we was thinking it was going to soon end, and it will never happen again, she said. Now today, you see them saying Black Lives Matter, and that really grieves my spirit. Weve come a long way, but we still got such a long way to go.
Benin voters are casting their ballots Sunday in a presidential election after a week of deadly violence against President Patrice Talon, who is seeking reelection.

Opposition parties accuse Talon, who is expected to win a second term, of manipulating the race in his favor by sidelining opposition leaders, most of whom are living in exile.

Although he points to strong economic growth while he has been in power, Talon has been accused by opponents of undermining the countrys standing as one of the most stable democracies in West Africa. Freedom House, a U.S.-based democracy advocacy group, lowered Benins annual ranking last year from free to partly free.

Talon, 62, a multimillionaire cotton tycoon first elected president in 2016, is facing two rivals, Alassane Soumanou and Corentin Kohoue.

Protests in several cities turned violent. Speaking to the local radio station, the mayor of the central town of Bante said some people were killed in gunfire Thursday there as security forces fired warning shots, according to Reuters. The mayor did not say how many people were killed during protests.

The U.S., German, French and Dutch embassies and the European Union delegation to Benin have called for calm and for the vote to be conducted in a free and transparent manner.
Over a dozen unmarried women huddled in a jail cell south of Dubai last year, locked up for the crime of giving birth, when a guard entered and declared them free.

The incident, described by one of the women, was among the first concrete signs that the United Arab Emirates had decriminalized premarital sex in an overhaul of its Islamic penal code.

But a year later, these unwed mothers remain trapped in limbo, fighting to obtain birth certificates for babies born in the shadows.

A new law that comes into effect in two weeks still does not offer unmarried women a clear path to acquiring birth certificates for their babies. At the same time, the law criminalizes women lacking such documents.

Although unwed mothers no longer face jail after the UAE legalized premarital sex in November 2020, they now face a maze of red tape.

Obtaining birth certificates for their babies is a costly process that the countrys poorest residents  foreign workers who clean offices, serve food and care for the children of other mothers  cannot afford. Expats outnumber locals by nearly nine to one in the Emirates.

We were so full of hope, said Star, one of those released from Sharjah Central Jail in December 2020 with her 3-month-old daughter. Then came trouble I didnt think Id have the strength to get through.

Star gave only her first name for fear of reprisals. She and six other unmarried women, most of them Filipinas, described their legal battles to The Associated Press.

Before last years law change, several had given birth at hospitals, where health authorities denied them birth certificates and called the police. Others withdrew to their shared apartments, scared and alone, to have their babies.

In the UAE, hospitals issue birth certificates only to married parents. Without the certificates, children are unable to receive medical care, attend school or travel. Their mothers, who lost work and residency during prosecution under the old law, become stranded. The number of undocumented children in the UAE is not known.

Lawyers say the obstacles stem from an enduring conservative mindset and lack of government coordination.

Some women even yearn for the previous punishment, typically one-year detention and deportation. While terrifying, it at least guaranteed a flight home and identity documents for their children.

It has only gotten harder since the law changed, said 25-year-old mother Sitte Honey. They wont take you to jail and they dont want you to give birth, she added, noting abortion is also forbidden. Were stuck.

Dirar Belhoul al-Falasi, a member of the UAEs advisory Federal National Council, argued last years decriminalization had an impact.

Prior to this, there was nothing in my hand to legalize what they have, he told the AP.

But now, there is a law  that we can help them with.

Under a new law that comes into force on Jan. 2, parents who fail to document their children face a minimum of two years in prison. It makes no reference to health authorities issuing birth certificates to single mothers. The law demands that parents marry or acquire travel documents and other paperwork to prove their childrens identities, without detailing how.

That has stoked panic among unmarried mothers who fear further punishment.

Last year, as lawyers scrambled to understand the opaque legal code, women like Star walked out of jail across the country. Conditions at the facilities varied and in some, mothers were separated from their children.

Star said her daughter was taken from her during detention. She said 15 women shared a single bathroom, subsisted on only rice and bread and were let out 30 minutes each day for fresh air. Other women described police interrogations about their sexual history as deeply humiliating.

But after these women were freed, they still couldnt get the one thing they wanted most: identity documents.

Maya, a 36-year-old mother, turned herself into authorities in November 2020 when she heard it would help her get a birth certificate for her 1-year-old. After several torturous weeks in Dubais Al Qusais Police Station, authorities became alerted to the law change and freed her. But they never granted legal status to her daughter, forcing her to ricochet from one government office to another in her quest.

These massive fundamental changes are highly welcome, but so much still needs to catch up, said Ludmila Yamalova, managing partner of LYLAW, a firm taking on cases of unwed mothers.

Emotionally and mentally, people are not prepared to accept the law as reality, she added, referring to health and law enforcement agencies.

Women continue to raise undocumented children in secret. Noraida Gamama, desperate to document her 3-year-old daughter, has plastered the door of her Sharjah apartment with signs warning her half-dozen roommates to check the peephole before answering to ensure its not a government official.

Living on expired visas and struggling to feed infants on wisps of income, many cant afford court fees and lawyers bills. It costs over $350 to open a birth certificate petition case independently at Dubais Family Court.

Ann, 36, works multiple part-time jobs, sleeping a few hours a night, to feed her undocumented 2-year-old girl. She recounted the agony of delivering her on the floor of a rented Dubai room. All I want is to give her a name, to bring her back to the Philippines where she could live a better life, Ann said.

Still, a growing number of women are taking their cases to court, with mixed success. A clerk at one Dubai court said the system handled over 50 baby cases daily.

When Honey discovered she was pregnant with her boyfriends child two years ago, she appealed to the Philippine Consulate to send her home. But while waiting for help that never came, baby Naya was born in her tiny apartment.

Lacking legal status after fleeing abusive employers who confiscated her passport, Honey has grown desperate to get out of Dubai. But authorities cannot repatriate her until Naya gets papers.

This is a nightmare. No money, no visa, no rent, no plan, Honey said.

To hasten her return, Honeys 47-year-old mother moved to Qatar as a housemaid, pulling together the money needed to open a case in Dubai last month. Shes still waiting for her first hearing and trying to get a written acknowledgement of paternity from her ex-boyfriend.

The process requires an unwed mother to provide a ream of personal documents, take a DNA test and testify before a judge. If the judge approves, the mother may request her childs birth certificate.

Some, like Star, have persevered and made it through.

That kind of joy is overwhelming, to know your daughter is not illegal anymore, Star said from her familys home in Davao City, Philippines. Its like Im breathing for the first time.
Benin has adopted a new law legalizing abortion in most cases, one of the few African countries to do so. A conservative country, the law was passed by parliament to prevent a wave of clandestine abortions that have resulted in deaths. Kouam Joel Honore has this report from Cotonou.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Jakarta on a 48-hour visit that includes talks with leaders about U.S.-Indonesia collaboration as well as a speech about the Biden administrations wider policy aims for the region.

Blinken met Monday with Indonesian President Joko Widodo as the top U.S. diplomat made the first of three stops in southeast Asia this week.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said Blinken and Widodo discussed ways to boost the U.S.-Indonesia relationship, as well as address challenges to democracy and human rights, as well as the climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The secretary congratulated the president on Indonesias G-20 presidency and expressed support for Indonesias leadership in the Indo-Pacific as the worlds third-largest democracy and a strong proponent of the rules-based international order, Price said in a statement, adding that Blinken also reiterated the U.S. commitment to ASEAN centrality.

Blinken also plans to go to Malaysia and Thailand in the coming days, seeking to reinforce ties with allies and promote freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

Chinas activities in the South China Sea have led to tensions. China vies with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam for sovereignty over parts of the resource-rich sea, which stretches from Hong Kong to Borneo.

Last month, China pledged to avoid dominance in the South China Sea, but experts said the pledge comes too late to convince smaller Southeast Asian claimants to the strategic waterway after years of Chinese expansion.

Blinken is scheduled to give an address Tuesday in Jakarta about the administrations approach to the Indo-Pacific region.

Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are members of ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

(State Department Bureau Chief Nike Ching and Ralph Jennings contributed to this report.)
Britain's Boris Johnson has a reputation as an escape artist  a political Houdini who defies rules and conventions and gets away with it.

Last May, he led Conservatives to an historic election victory against the country's main opposition Labour Party, making deep inroads into Labour heartlands in northern England in votes for devolved, regional and town governments, despite weeks of sleaze allegations relating to the awarding of government contracts to political allies and the refurbishment of his residence at 10 Downing Street by party donors in breach of the ministerial rules.

His skills, though, as an escapologist will be tested this week.

Even his supporters say Johnson is now facing the biggest crisis of his tumultuous premiership, and largely due to a series of unforced errors that are enraging voters as he seeks to persuade them of the need for tougher pandemic restrictions as the omicron variant of the coronavirus starts to spread. Infections from the omicron strain are doubling every two-and-a-half days.

By the end of this week Johnson could be fighting for his political life, brought low by a toxic mix of scandal, government chaos and infections, prompting growing doubts whether he will be the prime minister leading the ruling Conservatives into the next election, scheduled for 2024.

His tenure could be truncated well before then, though, depending on what unfolds the next five days.

A by-election Thursday in a safe Conservative seat in the English Midlands could seal his fate with vengeful allies of his predecessor in Downing Street, Theresa May, who he helped to oust, making it clear a defeat will trigger a formal effort to topple him as party leader and consequently as prime minister.

Pandemic revolt

Even before then, around 70 Conservative lawmakers are poised to rebel Tuesday and vote not only against the reimposition of tough pandemic restrictions but the introduction of new ones, including vaccine passports to enter nightclubs and venues hosting large events. Johnson has further enraged rebels by declining to rule out even more pandemic restrictions ahead of Christmas and he has even hinted at the possibility of imposing mandatory vaccines, to the fury of Conservative MPs.

The rebels say the country must learn to live with the coronavirus and that a cycle of fresh restrictions whenever a new variant appears is not sustainable, nor the right way to govern.

"Before knowing the extent to which the omicron variant will escape vaccines or cause harm, the Government is panicking and rushing to impose restrictions again, causing mental anguish and precipitating huge damage to swathes of our economy that bring meaning to our lives, our families and our friendships," said Steve Baker, a Conservative lawmaker and leading rebel.

Baker says Conservatives need to be truer to their belief in the freedom of the individual, and he has accused ministers of "creating a miserable dystopia."

"Instead of pursuing freedom under the law, ill-thought-through state impositions on our lives are becoming more widespread, minute and more frequent," he warned.

Johnson was always going to have a major challenge to persuade the sizable libertarian wing of his party  which includes some former ministers  of the need for renewed pandemic restrictions. But what has made his task much harder, and endangered his job, rests less with ideology and more with a seemingly never-ending series of missteps and U-turns as well as scandals and semi-public internecine skirmishes inside Downing Street that have roiled his government and propelled the main opposition Labour Party into a nine-point lead in opinion polls.

Party over?

Johnson's showmanship, once widely seen as an attribute, has also been misfiring as the public mood has soured. Last month, a rambling speech at a conference of the country's top business leaders led to widespread criticism. In the speech he lost his notes, had to apologize for losing his way and extensively praised an amusement park, known as Peppa Pig World, compared himself to Moses, and imitated the noise of an accelerating car.

The performance was dubbed an embarrassment by Conservative lawmakers, who urged him to get a grip and warned him that he was losing the confidence of the party.

"It was a flop. It was a ramble. There were lots of disjointed initiatives, some that obviously had no relevance at all," Juergen Maier, a former chief executive of Siemens, a German multinational conglomerate, told reporters.

Most Britons surveyed now tell pollsters Johnson should resign because of controversies over pandemic rule-breaking parties in Downing Street. An opinion poll for the Observer newspaper Sunday showed the prime minister is hemorrhaging public support and his personal ratings are tumbling, falling to minus 35%, down 14 points from what was already a record low of minus 21% last month.

Pollster Adam Drummond of Opinion, which conducted the poll, described the fall as "devastating." "Unless the Conservatives can turn these numbers around quickly, backbenchers might start asking if the party is over for the prime minister," he said.

The immediate cause for the hemorrhaging of public support have been revelations about lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street held last December, at a time the rest of the country was banned from participating in social gatherings and thousands of Britons were prohibited from visiting elderly relatives or deprived of the opportunity to comfort family members dying in hospital wards from COVID-19.

Figures released Monday suggested one in six people with dementia spent last Christmas alone.

The emergence of a video of Allegra Stratton, then Johnson's spokeswoman, practicing a mock press conference a year ago in which she and other prime ministerial aides are seen joking about how they would handle media questions, if they arose, about a Downing Street "Christmas party" has triggered public disgust.

Johnson has denied any knowledge about rule-breaking parties and has ordered his top civil servant to investigate whether they happened.

The revelations over Downing Street lockdown parties follow a string of rule-breaking incidents. A former minister, Owen Paterson, was forced to resign his seat last month for breaking rules and lobbying ministers on behalf of businesses paying him a retainer. Johnson sought to save Paterson, prompting uproar in the House of Commons.

The by-election Thursday is in North Shropshire, Paterson's former seat. The Conservatives have only lost it twice in 189 years, but some bookmakers now see the Liberal Democrats as the favorites to win. Education minister Nadhim Zahawi said Sunday by-elections are sometimes used by voters to "send a message"  what message the voters of North Shropshire send on Thursday, may well decide Johnson's fate.


Four people were due to go on trial in Britain on Monday in connection with the toppling of a statue of a 17th-century slave trader during anti-racism protests.

Demonstrators pulled down the bronze memorial to Edward Colston in Bristol, western England, on June 7 last year, then dragged it to the city's harbor and threw it in the River Avon.

The actions came as part of global Black Lives Matter protests prompted by the killing by a white police officer of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in the United States the previous month.

Four people were arrested following the toppling of the statue of Colston, a leading figure in the Royal Africa Company, which forcibly moved large numbers of West Africans.

Their trial on charges of criminal damage to the listed monument is due to start at 1000 GMT at Bristol Crown Court on Monday, according to court documents.

The defendants -- Rhian Graham, 29, Milo Ponsford, 25, Jake Skuse, 36, and Sage Willoughby, 21 -- have pleaded not guilty.

To support them, the artist Banksy, who comes from Bristol, announced he would be selling T-shirts to mark the occasion for $33.

"All proceeds to the defendants so they can go for a pint," the elusive graffiti artist wrote on his Instagram page.

The limited-edition grey souvenir tops have a picture of Colston's empty plinth with a rope hanging off, debris and a discarded sign, as well as the word "BRISTOL" written above.

The Black Lives Matter protests have forced Britain into a reckoning with its colonial past, prompting a reassessment of statues, road names and buildings linked to historical figures associated with slavery.

Several Bristol institutions bearing Colston's name have since changed their name to avoid negative associations with him and the slave trade.

The statue, which had stood in the city since 1895, was recovered from the Avon and put on display with placards from the event, along with explanations of what happened and why.

The empty plinth was temporarily replaced by a statue of a female protester from the day, but it was taken down within 24 hours as it did not have local authority permission.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government is pressing ahead with contentious legislation to toughen jail terms for vandalism of historical artifacts.

During the countrywide protests, a statue of Johnson's hero, Winston Churchill, was defaced near parliament, branding the World War II leader a racist.

High-profile protests have also been held in Oxford, calling for the removal of a statue of the 19th century colonialist Cecil Rhodes.
Media tycoon and prominent pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai was sentenced Monday to 13 months in jail for taking part in an unauthorized candlelight vigil commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

Lai and two other activists, lawyer Chow Hang Tung and former reporter Gwyneth Ho, were convicted last Thursday of incitement to knowingly take part in an unauthorized assembly by participating in the event last year. Tung received a 12-month sentence Monday, while Ho was sentenced to six months.

The three were among a total of eight people who were tried for either organizing, participating in or inciting others to attend the June 4, 2020 event. The five other activists also received jail sentences Monday ranging from four to 14 months, among them Lee Cheuk-yan, leader of the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which organized the assembly.

Lai and other pro-democracy activists have been targeted by Hong Kong authorities since China imposed a strict national security law last June in response to the massive and sometimes violent anti-government protests in 2019. The crackdown has transformed the financial hub from a semi-autonomous city to one increasingly under Beijings control.

Lais newspaper, Apple Daily, was forced to close its doors after 24 years, when Lai and other executives were arrested and charged under the security law. The 74-year-old Lai is already serving a 14-month sentence for taking part in several unauthorized rallies in 2019.
An imprisoned Azerbaijani activist says he is now refusing to drink water as he enters his 38th day of a hunger strike to protest what he calls his wrongful imprisonment.

Initially detained on narcotic possession charges, Saleh Rustamov, a government critic and opposition activist, was later sentenced to seven years and three months of imprisonment on additional charges including money laundering and illegal entrepreneurship.

Numerous human rights organizations and international observers view the charges as politically motivated.



Rustamov previously warned authorities that he would continue his hunger strike until death. On Monday, his lawyer, Bahruz Bayramov, told VOA that Rustamov announced that he would start refusing water.

He can no longer walk. He has no strength to walk, Bayramov said. He has lost 17 kilograms in weight. His speech is slurred, and he cannot sleep due to pain.

On Friday, U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price urged the Azerbaijani government to release Rustamov on humanitarian grounds, saying U.S. officials are deeply troubled by reports of his worsening condition.

The rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the monitoring of Azerbaijan raised alarms about Rustamovs condition as early as October.

Mr. Rustamovs case is one of many examples of the lack of independence of the justice illustrated by a long-standing pattern of repression of the governments critics which is a major concern in Azerbaijan, Austrias Stefan Schennach and Britains Richard Bacon said in a statement calling upon the Azerbaijani authorities to review the cases of all alleged political prisoners.

Azerbaijani authorities have not responded to the international calls with regard with Rustamovs case. The request by the European Court of Human Rights for Azerbaijani authorities to report on Rustamovs state of health has gone unanswered.

The Penitentiary Services of Azerbaijans Justice Ministry issued a statement on December 9 calling the reports on social media regarding Rustamovs health untruthful, although it did confirm that he was refusing food.

The statement noted the authorities have facilitated visits to the prisoner by the representatives of the International Red Cross, Ombudsmans Office and civil rights activists.

In recent weeks, dozens of protesters took to the streets of capital city Baku to demand Rustamovs release.

The protests were quickly dispersed as the police detained the activists, severely beating some of them.

Rustamov, who had served in the government during the 1992-93 rule of the Popular Front of Azerbaijan, had been living in Russia since 1997.

Rustamov was arrested in May of 2018 when he returned to Azerbaijan to attend the funeral of a relative.
Kentuckys governor says the death toll remains at 64 from the devasting tornadoes that hit the midwestern U.S. state late Friday and early Saturday, but said the number is likely to rise, with final totals perhaps not be known for weeks.

Speaking to reporters from the state capital, Frankfort, Andy Beshear began a Monday briefing by saying, I know, like the folks in western Kentucky, I am not doing so well today.

He said officials are responding to the worst tornado event in the history of the state, which was hit by at least four tornadoes, one of which stayed on the ground for at least 321 kilometers in the western part of the Kentucky, devastating everything in its path. He said thousands of homes were damaged, if not destroyed.

Kentuckys governor said 64 was the most accurate death they had as of Monday, with 18 victims still unidentified. At least 105 people are still missing. Among those killed were employees of a candle factory in the city of Mayfield.

The governor said he has no precise estimate of the amount of damage that was done in the state, but guessed it was in the hundreds of millions of dollars. He said the state would spare no expense to rebuild those areas affected and said he is working with the federal government as well.

From his Twitter account Monday, Kentucky Senator and Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, on behalf of the entire Kentucky Congressional delegation, thanked U.S. President Joe Biden for his rapid approval of a federal disaster declaration, which will free up money and resources to address the devastation in the state.

The president is scheduled to travel to Kentucky Wednesday to be briefed by officials on the destruction caused by the storms and visit the affected areas.

While Kentucky was hit the hardest, the storm that generated several tornadoes also left destruction in the states of Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. Strong storms of this nature are unusual for December in North America. Meteorologists say record warm air and water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico fueled those storms.

Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters.
In a major victory for sexual minority advocates, Canada last week banned conversion therapy, a widely discredited practice that aims to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.

The law makes it a crime to subject anyone in Canada to conversion therapy, profit from the practice or take a Canadian outside the country to undergo conversion therapy elsewhere.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to Twitter to hail the ban of what he called "a despicable and degrading practice."

University of Ottawa student Jonathan Di Carlo calls himself a conversion therapy survivor, having undergone sessions "primarily in religious settings" for more than a decade starting at age 13.

"They included attempted demon exorcisms in front of people, forced one-on-one counseling where a pastor with no formal psychotherapy training convinced me that homosexuality was caused by an absentee father or that it was caused by being raped at a young age by someone of the same sex such as a father or uncle," Di Carlo told VOA. "Then I was told to 'fast,' a biblical practice where a person doesn't eat or drink except for water. ... I did 40 days [of consuming] only water, twice."

Conversion therapy has been rejected by an array of Western medical groups, including the American Medical Association, which linked the practice to "significant long-term harm" including depression, anxiety and possibly suicidal behaviors.



Last year, a report submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council found that conversion therapy is practiced in 68 countries and that victims may be subjected to "heinous physical and psychological violence." The report added, "Attempts to pathologize and erase the identity of individuals, negate their existence as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or gender diverse and provoke self-loathing have profound consequences on their physical and psychological integrity and well-being."

Di Carlo says he knows the consequences firsthand.

"The torture of conversion therapy only made me more depressed with a lot of thoughts of suicide," Di Carlo told VOA. "I self-medicated with alcohol for several years under the pressure of wanting to be straight but God not making me straight."

Today, the student wells with a different emotion: pride.

"I think the fact that Canada made this move makes the nation stand out," Di Carlo said. "It says that we have an approach to human rights that few other longstanding democracies have. It says that Canada acknowledges that this practice has no basis in science. It is criminal and it is torture."

Canada is already seen as a popular destination for LGTBQ individuals persecuted around the world, hosting a charity aimed at encouraging this migration named the Rainbow Railroad.

LGBTQ stands for lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, questioning. In Canada, "2" is often added to the end of the initials, recognizing some Indigenous people who identify as having both a masculine and feminine spirit.

Some Canadian faith-based groups argued against the ban on the basis of religious freedom. Additionally, an opinion piece appearing in The Globe and Mail newspaper framed the issue as a matter of personal liberty, asking, "should consenting adults be allowed to access services that are harmful to them?"

Canada joins four countries that have legally banned conversion therapy on a national level: Brazil, Ecuador, Germany and Malta. Germany bans the practice for minors or the coerced. It is banned in some U.S. states but not others.

Some worry that, even where it is banned, conversion therapy will continue.

Sexual minority rights advocate Fae Johnstone of Halifax-based Wisdom2Action worries that Canada's ban won't "fully eradicate the practice."

Johnstone noted, "A lot of practitioners don't describe themselves as conversion therapists." She added that conversion therapy likely will continue as an underground practice.

For now, however, ban supporters are taking a victory lap.

"Survivors have been fighting for this day for decades, so seeing that advocacy, that struggle and that resilience finally payoff is overwhelming in the best way," Nicholas Schiavo, founder of No Conversion Canada, told VOA. "This legislation sends a clear message to LGBTQ2 people both here in Canada and around the world that Canada remains a human rights leader and will step up to protect the most vulnerable in our communities."


Queensland Monday opened its state borders to Australias COVID-19 hot spots. Stranded residents and tourists from Australias two most populous states -- New South Wales and Victoria -- are being allowed to enter after being locked out of Queensland for more than five months.

Queenslands reopening came after the northeastern Australian state passed a significant public health milestone. More than 80% of its eligible population has been fully vaccinated, triggering a relaxation of travel restrictions.

Tens of thousands of vehicles are expected to cross the state border with neighboring New South Wales on Monday. Only travelers who have received two doses of vaccine and present a negative COVID-19 test will be allowed in.

Among those crossing into Queensland was resident Kennedy Smalley. He told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that he was desperate to be reunited with his family.

Going home to see my kids. Yeah, got stuck on this side of the border and been waiting this whole time to see them. So, it will be nice to be home. Roughly eight months. Come over here in March to get a job, but it kind of fell through. Stuck around to try and find another one and then when I managed to try to make my way home, I got stuck on this side. It is more or less a surprise. So, yeah, it will be good to see them and (I) cant wait, Smalley said.

The federal government has been highly critical of a series of border closures by Australias states and territories that were imposed to curb the spread of the virus. Ministers have insisted the measures were heavy-handed and have harmed the economy.

Australia closed its international borders to most foreign nationals in March 2020.

Those restrictions are expected to start to ease Wednesday, when skilled migrants, international students and backpackers are scheduled to be allowed to return if they are fully vaccinated.

Many businesses in Australia have complained of severe staff shortages. Tourism companies fear they will lose valuable summer trade because they do not have enough workers because migrants have been shut out of the country.

Australia has had 230,000 diagnosed coronavirus infections since the pandemic began. 2,100 people have died.

Almost 90% of eligible Australians have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Australia is relaxing travel restrictions for travelers despite rising infections and concerns about the effectiveness of vaccines against the omicron variant.
Rescuers were pulling out bodies on Monday from the rubble of houses destroyed by a suspected gas explosion on Saturday in the Sicilian town of Ravanusa, with the national fire service confirming at least seven people had died in the incident.

Sniffer dogs found four bodies in the early hours of the morning, including a nurse that was nine-months pregnant, and firefighters and men from the Civil Protection Department were extracting them from the wreckage, according to a Reuters Witness.

Three bodies were found in the night between Saturday and Sunday and two people are still missing, a spokesman for the national fire service said on RAI NEW24 television.

In the explosion late on Saturday, four houses collapsed and another three were damaged, authorities said, adding the blast was likely triggered by a gas leak from the town's pipes, although an investigation was underway to ascertain the cause.

Ravanusa is a town of about 11,000 people near the southwestern Sicilian city of Agrigento, which is famous for its Greek temples.
Russia has vetoed a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that warns about the security implications of climate change, with its envoy calling it unacceptable for his government.

We are against creating a new area for the councils work which establishes a generic, automatic connection between climate change and international security, turning a scientific and socio-economic issue into a politicized question, Russian Ambassador to the U.N. Vassily Nebenzia said just before casting his veto.

Twelve Security Council members voted to adopt the resolution Monday, while China abstained and India voted no.

The force of the veto can block the approval of a text, but it cannot hide our reality, said Ambassador Abdou Abarry of Niger, who along with Irelands ambassador, penned the draft.

Indias envoy asked what a resolution could achieve that the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) could not.

Why is it that one needs a U.N. Security Council resolution to take action on climate change, when we have commitments under the UNFCC toward concerted climate action? Ambassador T.S. Tirumurti asked.

In a rare occurrence, the text was co-sponsored by 113 countries from the U.N. membership, showing the majoritys belief that the council should consider the link between global warming and security issues.

While the Security Council has considered climate change in some of its work, this would have been the first time it singled out the subject for a resolution of its own.

This resolution is about enabling the U.N. Security Council to address climate change with the tools it has within its mandate, Irelands envoy Geraldine Byrne Nason said before the vote. The council has already taken steps to integrate climate-related security risks into some of its mandated operations.

Among the sponsors were several small island states in the Pacific, who say global warming and rising seas could put their countries underwater, as well as nations in Africas Sahel  Chad, Mali, Niger, Nigeria  where climate events including recurring severe droughts have contributed to intercommunal fighting.

U.S. envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield said climate change is a threat to every person, in every nation, on every continent and clearly within the councils purview.

We categorically reject the notion that Security Council action undermines the Paris Agreement and the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, she said. In fact, it does exactly the opposite. The Security Council can and should complement, support, and reinforce our collective work under the Paris Agreement and the UNFCCC in ways that are necessary to fight this security threat.

China, India and Russia have drafted a resolution of their own focused on the situation in Africas Sahel, where climate has been linked to conflict. Chinas envoy urged council members and the wider U.N. membership to support that text instead.

China, Russia and India have jointly submitted a draft resolution focusing on security issues in the Sahel region, including climate change challenges, Ambassador Zhang Jun told the council. The aim of which is to effectively respond to the specific concerns of the countries in the Sahel region.

No date has been announced for a vote on their text.

Speaking to reporters after the failed adoption, Irish Ambassador Byrne Nason said the Security Council must adjust to a changing world.

This council will never live up to its mandate for international peace and security if it does not adapt, she said. It must reflect the moment we are now living in, the threats to international peace and security which we now face.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been at the forefront of global efforts to mitigate the impact of global warming. His spokesman said the secretariat would continue to integrate climate risks into its political analysis, conflict prevention and peacebuilding efforts.
The Chinese government is promoting Chinese language and culture through Confucius Institute programs worldwide, including in Africa. Some educators say they're concerned about what they say is censorship in Chinese-funded programs.

Steve Wakoli has been working for three years to perfect his skills in kung fu, a popular martial art taught at the Kenyatta University Confucius Institute.

Hes also a teacher at the institute, where hundreds of students are learning about Chinese culture and language at the facility named after the ancient Chinese philosopher whose teachings are a cornerstone of life in East Asia.

There are about 525 Chinese-funded Confucius Institutes worldwide, including 54 in Africa, according to a 2019 U.S. Senate report by the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Jacob Ratemo is one of more than 500 students enrolled here.

He says learning about Chinese language and culture will help him find better work. But Ratemo acknowledges the classes avoid subjects that are politically sensitive in China.

"But the advantage is, especially when you are at the university level, you can access such matters. I can go to VOA News on a regular basis and see what is going on in China. I can go to Google and get that information. So, yes, I can admit there are a few challenges when you ask those questions to the Chinese themselves," Ratemo said.

According to the Senate report, Confucius Institute funding comes with strings that can compromise academic freedom. For example, the Chinese teachers sign contracts with Beijing pledging not to damage Chinas national interests.

Confucius Institute management turned down VOA's requests for comment.

Teacher Steve Wakoli says the institute's syllabus does not allow much time for politically sensitive topics and debate.

But analysts say the Confucius Institutes suppress discussions on topics like Taiwan and Hong Kong to protect their funding from the Chinese government. Martin Oloo is a political analyst in Kenya.

"Indeed, there have been issues around whether or not the institute is being used to propound what would be seen as anti-democracy, anti-human rights, and those concerns are founded in terms of what is the official Chinese policy on Taiwan, on Hong Kong," Oloo said.

China considers Taiwan a wayward province and has not ruled out the use of force to reunite it with the mainland. Beijing imposed a national security law for Hong Kong in 2020 and many forms of dissent are criminalized.

Educator Jonathan Waseya told VOA that the institutes are doing an injustice to students by limiting their learning and exposure to different ideas.

"Yes, the opportunity comes in through the Confucius Institutes funded by China  that is OK. But can you get as an individual to talk about Taiwan, to talk about Hong Kong, talk about Korea, talk about North and South Korea and how the whole bigger picture fits into the geopolitics of today," Waseya said.

With so many signing up for classes at the Confucius Institutes, education experts say it is critical that students find other avenues to learn about topics that Beijing may consider politically sensitive.
Residents of the Ethiopian town of Lalibela, a U.N. World Heritage site, say Tigray rebels have captured the area from federal forces for a second time.

Town residents who spoke to Reuters said the rebel forces captured Lalibela on Sunday, following the exit of Ethiopian troops.

The eyewitnesses say that for reasons that are unknown, government soldiers began to leave Lalibela Saturday night and they heard an exchange of fire from a distance.

Neither the Ethiopian government nor the Tigray forces have commented on the situation in Lalibela.

However, AFP has reported that the TPLF has launched attacks on many towns around Lalibela. TPLF affiliated media also report an engagement with Ethiopian forces around the Gashena area, 59 kilometers from Lalibela.

Ethiopian government troops took over Lalibela, home to 11 ancient rock-hewn churches, two weeks ago, driving out the TPLF forces who had been in control of the town since the beginning of August. The town was freed a week after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed went in to battle to lead the fight against the Tigray rebels.

Lalibela Church, a UNESCO-recognized world heritage site, is a place of pilgrimage for Ethiopian Orthodox Christians. Recently, government run news outlets reported on preparations to celebrate the upcoming Ethiopian Christmas at the site.

Speaking to AFP, residents of the town say the TPLF rebels were tough on residents but treated the holy site well during their months stay.

The Ethiopian government accuses the TPLF rebels of destroying hospitals and basic infrastructures in areas they occupy.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is due to announce $1.2 billion in private sector investments in Central America Monday as part of a program aimed at reducing migration from the region.

The announcement is expected at a meeting Harris is hosting with leaders from 10 companies to discuss investment initiatives in Central America.

The White House said the $1.2 billion includes a five-year $150 million effort from Cargill to expand support for farmers in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, as well as $50 million from CARE International for a Center for Gender Equity in Central America focused on economic empowerment for women, financial inclusion and reducing gender-based violence.

In Honduras, the White House said Parkdale Mills plans to build a new yarnspinning facility that will support 500 employees.

JDE Peets plans to boost its support for farmers in Central America, including help for adapting to the effects of climate change, diversifying income sources and better accessing markets.

These commitments are in response to the Vice Presidents Call to Action, launched in May, for businesses and social enterprises to make new, significant commitments to sustainably address the root causes of migration by promoting economic opportunity, a White House official said ahead of the announcement.

Harris is heading the Biden administrations efforts to stem migration from Central America to the U.S. border, with a focus on addressing the reasons people feel compelled to leave their home countries.
The congressional committee investigating the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol recommended Monday that Mark Meadows, former President Donald Trumps White House chief of staff, be held in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify about his role in trying to overturn Trumps loss in the 2020 presidential election.

The committee, made up of seven Democrats and two Republican Trump critics, voted unanimously to recommend that Meadows face criminal charges. The full House must now vote on the measure. If it passes, the Justice Department would then decide whether to prosecute Meadows.

Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House Select Committee and a Democrat from Mississippi, said in his opening remarks, Whatever legacy [Meadows] thought he left in the House, this is his legacy now. Meadows is a former Republican representative from North Carolina.

Meadows handed over 6,600 pages of records taken from personal email accounts and about 2,000 text messages to the nine-member House of Representatives committee investigating the violence by hundreds of Trump supporters at the Capitol 11 months ago. The trouble happened as lawmakers were certifying that Democrat Joe Biden had defeated Trump in his reelection bid.

Meadows initially agreed to testify about his role before January 6 in trying to help Trump claim a second four-year term in the White House and his actions that day. Protesters, urged by Trump to fight like hell to keep him in office, stormed the Capitol, smashed windows and scuffled with police. Last week, Meadows changed his mind about testifying, citing Trumps assertion of executive privilege to keep documents secret to inhibit the investigation.

The House committee has already held another former Trump aide, Steve Bannon, in contempt of Congress for his refusal to comply with a subpoena to testify. Bannon was later indicted and, if convicted, could face up to a year in prison.

The investigative panel late Sunday issued a 51-page report that showed Meadows was deeply involved in trying to keep Trump in office even though the former president had lost five dozen court challenges in various states contesting his election loss and numerous vote recounts in individual political battleground states all upheld Bidens victories.

State election officials often said there was no appreciable voter fraud, as Trump has alleged to this day, that would have changed the outcome in his favor.

If Meadows had appeared for a deposition, the committee said it would have questioned him about numerous documents he provided.

On Monday, Meadows said through his attorney that the committee's referral was unwise, unfair and contrary to law, according to The Associated Press.

In a November 7, 2020, email, the committee said that just days after Trump lost the election, Meadows discussed an effort to have state legislators in states Trump lost appoint electors supporting Trump rather than the pro-Biden electors a majority of voters had chosen.

In text messages with an unidentified senator, Meadows discussed Trumps erroneous view that then-Vice President Mike Pence had the power to overturn the Electoral College vote count as lawmakers officially certified the state-by-state tally on January 6. Pence drew Trumps ire as he refused to upend the Electoral College vote, which Biden won by a 306-232 margin, the same count Trump won by in 2016.

A day before the riot occurred, Meadows said National Guard troops would be at the Capitol to protect pro-Trump people. Other emails touched on the rioting at the Capitol as it unfolded, with pro-Trump supporters shutting down the Electoral College vote count for hours before Biden was finally declared the winner in the early hours of January 7.

The committee also said it wants to ask Meadows about claims he made in his new book, The Chiefs Chief, about his time in the White House with Trump.

Mr. Meadows has shown his willingness to talk about issues related to the Select Committees investigation across a variety of media platforms  anywhere, it seems, except to the Select Committee, the panel wrote.

In turn, Meadows has sued the committee, asking a court to invalidate two subpoenas that he says are "overly broad and unduly burdensome."

The panel has interviewed nearly 300 witnesses and lawmakers linked in some way to the rioting or contesting of the election results. The committee says it is planning a series of hearings early next year to make public many of its findings.

Some of the more than 600 people charged in the rioting, often identified by boasts on social media accounts of being inside the Capitol, have been sentenced to prison terms of a few months or, in more serious cases, to more than four years. But most of the criminal charges have yet to be adjudicated.

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press.
The United States continues to evacuate Americans, permanent U.S. residents and Afghan nationals who helped the U.S. from Afghanistan following a chaotic withdrawal in August that left an unknown number of Americans in the country.

According to a press release from the State Department released Monday, the U.S., since August 31, has relocated 479 American citizens and 450 permanent residents and their families.

The State Department says it is in touch with fewer than a dozen Americans who want to leave Afghanistan, are prepared to depart, and have the necessary travel documents.

The State Department says it has relocated more than 2,200 Afghan allies and their families.

According to the State Department, the Biden Administration has provided funding to resettle up to 95,000 Afghan nationals in the U.S. Some 74,000 have been resettled already.

Officials say Afghans undergo a rigorous and multilayered screening and vetting process prior to their arrival in the United States and undergo additional screening at their Port of Entry.



Earlier this year, Senate Republicans disputed the quality of the vetting in a memo that they said summarized interviews with government officials overseeing the process.

The U.S. completed the withdrawal of its troops after a 20-year involvement in Afghanistan in August, leaving the Taliban in control of the country. The withdrawal led to chaotic scenes at the Kabul airport as Afghans and others attempted to leave the country.

During the chaos, a suicide bomb attack at an airport gate left 13 American service members dead. Hundreds more were wounded.

The United Nations has appealed for $4.4 billion to assist 23 million Afghans next year  to deal with what has become its largest humanitarian crisis.
Rebellious Tigrayan forces have recaptured the Ethiopian town of Lalibela, witnesses told Reuters on Sunday, less than two weeks after the military and its allies took control of it as part of a broader offensive that pushed back Tigrayan forces on multiple fronts.

Lalibela is a town in the Amhara region bordering the northern region of Tigray that is famed for its churches hewn from single lumps of rock and has been designated a U.N. World Heritage site.

Government spokesperson Legesse Tulu and a military spokesman did not respond to requests for comment on the reported recapture of the town by forces loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

TPLF spokesperson Getachew Reda also did not respond to a Reuters phone call seeking comment. He tweeted a comment saying "our forces are doing very, very, very good!" but gave no details.

One of the witnesses who spoke to Reuters said that Amhara forces, who are allies of the Ethiopian government, began leaving Lalibela on Saturday night.

"The last batch left this morning. We heard gunshots from a distance last night, but the Tigrayan forces recaptured Lalibela without firing guns in the town," the witness, a hotel receptionist, said by phone.

A second witness told Reuters on Sunday that residents had begun fleeing the town. "We panicked, we never saw this coming. TPLF forces are now patrolling the town wearing their uniforms," the witness said.

Tigrayan forces had taken control of the town in early August, as part of a push into Amhara territory that began in July. But the tide turned against the Tigrayans at the end of November after they had threatened to march on the capital.

The government declared a state of emergency and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed went to the frontlines to direct an offensive. On Dec. 1, the Ethiopian military and Amhara forces recaptured Lalibela, a site of enormous religious significance.

The year-old conflict between the federal government and the leadership of Tigray has killed thousands of civilians, forced millions to flee their homes, and made more than 9 million people dependent on food aid.

On Sunday, Ethiopian Minister of Education Birhanu Nega said Amhara would need over 11 billion birr ($220 million) to rebuild 4,000 educational institutions and schools that he said were destroyed by Tigrayan forces.

Ethiopian state television has also published pictures of what it described as the looting of a hospital in the town of Dessie by Tigrayan forces. Footage showed empty shelves and boxes of medicines and equipment destroyed or strewn on the floor.

Reuters was unable to reach the TPLF spokesperson for a comment.
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Jose Antonio Kast is one of the two leading candidates running for the Chilean presidential election. He has long presented himself as the heir to General Augusto Pinochet, but lately he has tried to detach himself from that image.

His family was steadfastly committed to General Augusto Pinochet. His brother, Miguel, was the director of the Central Bank. He himself appeared in the generals campaign video-clip for the 1988 referendum.

On economic issues, his mentor is Milton Friedman. He advocates for an unbridled free market economy and spurns the idea of making the fight against inequalities a social priority. He presents the fight against crime and immigration as the main highlights of his electoral program. He supports the right for civilians to bear arms and the right to shoot down burglars. He is in favor of granting amnesty to those soldiers who were convicted of crimes against humanity committed during the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet.

On December 1, journalist Mauricio Weibel Barahona (La Red, ex-Canal 4) released a document exposing Jose Antonio Kasts father as a member of the Nazi party, the NSDAP, in 1942. Michael Kast emigrated to Chile in 1950 where he made a fortune. The presidential candidate claimed that his father was forced to join the Nazi Party, but all historians agree that no one was ever forced to join.
Courtroom sketch of Jussie Smollett. Illustration: Cheryl Cook/AP/Shutterstock

For almost three years, it has been clear that any prosecutor who wanted to convict Jussie Smollett of a crime could probably do it. We believe he did what he was charged with doing, said Joe Magats of the Cook County, Illinois, states attorneys office in March 2019. The decision to drop felony charges against the actor, Magats emphasized, was not an exoneration.

But the charges were eventually reinstated. And now that a Chicago jury has found Smollett guilty on five counts of disorderly conduct for lying to the police, the matter of his guilt has eclipsed the bigger question of whether he should have been prosecuted at all. Which is a shame, because that question, which consumed Chicago prosecutors in the early months after police announced that Smollett had staged a hoax hate crime against himself, is the real reason were here.

The concept of saying no to a slam-dunk conviction was unthinkable as recently as 2012. Quite the opposite: Law-enforcement officials in Cook County often trampled ethical and legal boundaries to secure them. A 60 Minutes segment from that year documented a pattern of coercive interrogation methods used by the Chicago police. Two instances from the 1990s had landed several teenage boys in prison for rapes and murders they didnt commit.

Anita Alvarez, the Cook County states attorney at the time the segment aired, stood by the polices tactics. There were all kinds of possibilities out there, and what Im saying is that I dont know what happened, she told 60 Minutes. When asked about new DNA testing that implicated other men in the crimes, Alvarez said someone else might have ejaculated inside the corpse after the teens had dumped it.

It was an outlandish theory, but it didnt shock anyone who knew her. Alvarez had a reputation as a ruthless prosecutor and an unscrupulous advocate for the police. In 1999, she approved the four-year solitary confinement of a 16-year-old boy whose eventual murder trial took 45 minutes and ended with his acquittal. Between her election as SA in 2008 and her ouster in 2016, she demanded a similar attitude from the more than 700 attorneys who worked for her  a win-at-all-costs mentality.

Her unwillingness to apply the law to cops did her in. She charged multiple civilians with felony wiretapping for recording interactions with the Chicago police. She prosecuted Dante Servin, the off-duty officer who fired into a crowd and killed Rekia Boyd in 2013, on charges so inconsistent with what he had done that observers were sure she had engineered his acquittal. By the time Officer Jason Van Dyke shot and killed Laquan MacDonald in 2014 and embroiled the mayors and SAs offices in a cover-up scandal, Alvarezs antics had turned her into a rarity: a prosecutor who was electorally vulnerable.

Kim Foxx, who ran against Alvarez in the 2016 Democratic primary, offered an alternative that was as simple as it was unfamiliar. She would aggressively prosecute police abuses, she promised, while civilians in Cook County would be charged according to new standards of public safety. Low-level and nonviolent offenses would be deprioritized in favor of violent felonies; some crimes wouldnt be prosecuted at all. Foxx told Chicago Magazine that her office would give back the discretion that Alvarez had taken away from her prosecutors, letting them choose to be lenient instead.

Foxx beat Alvarez in a landslide in the primary and was elected that fall. Chicago police, who had gotten used to impunity, were predictably upset. If you have laws on the books, and if youre not arresting people and you dont prosecute them, nobody goes to jail, people have the idea that the laws dont mean anything, Kenneth W. Graham, president of the Chicago branch of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), told the New Yorker.

People were still going to jail, of course, and the anarchy that Foxxs critics warned about failed to materialize. But two years of the SA clashing with cops made Smolletts case a natural proxy for their fight with her.

By January 2019, Foxx had made good on many of her campaign promises and overseen dips in crime. An analysis by the Marshall Project that year found that her office had turned away 5,000 cases that her predecessor wouldve prosecuted, mostly concerning low-level shoplifting and drug offenses. Under her stated rubric, these people werent serious threats to public safety. When Smolletts story about getting assaulted by two masked Donald Trump supporters started to fall apart that month, her prosecutors used the same logic.

It was all the opportunity her opponents needed. Chicago cops staged street protests against Foxx, and the FOP called on her to resign. Trump himself accused Smollett of racism on Twitter, and right-wing pundits piled on, calling the choice not to prosecute him a mockery of justice and an example of Black privilege.

The backlash was transpartisan. Foxx was also condemned by the Chicago police superintendent, several bar associations, and then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who had worked alongside Alvarez to withhold details about the MacDonald killing in 2014. The fallout from that incident catalyzed his decision not to run for reelection.

Foxx recused herself from the case, citing familiarity with potential witnesses (she had communicated with Smolletts inner circle when he was considered a victim). But after the outcry, she asked for an independent investigation into her offices handling of it. A judge appointed a special prosecutor, who brought back the charges against Smollett after putting them to a grand jury. He also claimed Foxx had abused her discretion by dropping the charges and may have misled the public about why she had done so, which she denies.

The notion that Foxxs leniency was an abuse of power may have reached a fever pitch with Smollett, but it extends far beyond it. It was also the centerpiece of the unsuccessful campaigns in 2020 to oust her. When the Chicago Tribune hosted an hour-long debate with Foxx and her challengers in the Democratic primary that January, a full 30 minutes was dedicated to her handling of the Smollett case. (She won reelection anyway.) In October, Republicans in the Illinois general assembly introduced a bill backed by several Chicago-area sheriffs that would let them override charging decisions by Foxx that they thought were too lax.

The paradoxical rationale  pushed by local cops, conservative pundits, and the special prosecutor in the Smollett trial alike  is that Foxx is wasting police resources by not charging everyone the cops bring to her. The Chicago police, meanwhile, solve roughly half of the citys homicides in a good year and cost it $524 million in legal expenses stemming from their abuses in the decade before Smollett made his false accusation.

And theyre winning. Their framing of the Smollett case has turned what used to be a local police vendetta into a national cause. The right of prosecutors to be lenient in a region with one of the most barbaric criminal-justice track records in the United States is now being openly disputed by state-level lawmakers. This was always the point, of course. Jussie Smollett was just them getting lucky.
Photo: HBO Max

Ever since And Just Like That  ruthlessly killed off Mr. Big via Chekhovs Peloton, everyone from me to Jonah Hill has been screaming the same question into the void: Why the fuck didnt Carrie call 911??? And then I couldnt help but wonder: Could Carrie have saved Bigs life if she immediately called an ambulance, instead of staring at him for a very long time before low-key drowning him in the shower? The world is owed a real answer, and Im the best detective for the case due to an important combination of factors: my love of pointless internet research and my friend who is a cardiologist.

But first, the specifics: Exactly how long was Big chilling on the floor near the shower, his heart failing, while Carrie listened to some impressive teenage piano music? His heart attack begins in earnest at 38:40 in the episode, just after he gets in a good ride with his instructor Allegra and texts Carrie, Lets go tonight, a reference to the Hamptons trip they postponed so Carrie could attend Charlottes daughters concert. Despite being fully clothed, Big turns on the shower, then drops his phone straight into it. Suddenly, his face contorts in pain and he falls to the floor, grabbing his left shoulder. He reaches for his phone but is too unstable to grab it. Meanwhile, across town at the Manhattan School of Music, Charlottes prodigious daughter finishes her piano recital. At 39:20, Carrie checks her phone and sees Bigs text, tells Stanford she has to go home, then has a bit of trouble hailing a cab. (We dont see her actually grab one, just her biting her lip, looking irritated.)

Big and Carrie live at 1010 Fifth Avenue, which is a 16-minute drive from the Manhattan School of Music on a no-traffic night. This is a Thursday in Manhattan, so it could go either way, but Ill give this one to Carrie. Lets build in the extra time that we didnt see pass between the recital ending and Carrie walking outside, plus the time for her to hail said cab, then to take the elevator up to her apartment, which is the 15th-floor penthouse. We can call it, with extreme generosity to Carrie, a half-hour between Big starting to have the heart attack and Carrie arriving home.

Carrie opens the door at 40:00, pauses to drop her keys and some papers in the hall, walks into the bathroom, sees Big slumped on the floor with his eyes closed, and stops in her tracks. John? she says. HE OPENS HIS EYES AND LOOKS AT HER. For at least ten seconds, they stare at each other open-mouthed and I guess romantically. Time continues to pass. He is still awake. She is still standing there. At 41:17, she finally comes to her senses and races toward him, ostensibly to help him. But instead, she puts him on his side half-under the shower and just sort of drags him around by the torso, yelling his name and kissing him. HIS EYES ARE STILL OPEN. HE BLINKS AND MOVES HIS ARM TO HUG HER.

At 41:51, Carrie pronounces Big dead, despite the fact that they are an eight-minute drive from Lenox Hill Hospital, where Beyonce gave birth.

Even to a non-medical-expert average citizen like myself, the whole thing seems to have been preventable since the advent of the telephone. So I called up my friend Daniel Luger, a cardiologist at Chicagos Rush University Medical Center, to get some conclusive answers about exactly who is responsible for Bigs death  Carrie, Big, Peloton, or Satan himself?

How familiar are you with Sex and the City?

Not particularly. I have watched several episodes with my wife; I know the characters. I would freak out if I saw Jessica Sarah Parker on the street.

Jessica Sarah Parker?

Yeah.

Okay. Do you know the character Big, and are you familiar with his heart history?

I know him, but I am not aware of his cardiovascular history.

So Big has to get an angioplasty in season six because they found a blockage. He recovers. When we revisit him in the first episode of the sequel series, hes taking nitroglycerin pills. What are those for?

Nitroglycerin dilates the coronary arteries and improves blood flow to the heart muscle. Its used in patients who have chronic chest pain.

So its not preventative in terms of heart attacks?

Not routinely. Its just to treat symptoms. If you have stable coronary disease, meaning youre not in serious danger but have recurrent chest pain, you can take it to palliate the symptoms. If you have had a heart attack, you can keep a nitroglycerin at home, and if you have severe chest pain, you can take one. Its not used to prevent a heart attack. It just helps open up the coronary arteries for symptoms  or in the case of acute heart attack, you can give it to help open the arteries a little bit.

So Carrie goes to this concert across town, and as shes leaving, Big is puffing a cigar and talking about going on his Peloton later. And shes like, Oh, a cigar and a Peloton in one night? Sort of pooh-poohing that. Do you think thats a bad combo?

I would say its a great idea to do Peloton. But I would certainly avoid any tobacco products, particularly with a history of coronary artery disease.

Okay, so he gets on the Peloton for a 30-minute ride and hes having a great time. But right after he finishes, he suddenly starts to have a heart attack. And he cant call 911 because his phone falls into the shower. How realistic does that seem as a post-Peloton situation?

There is a phenomenon where, after your exercise, you could have pooling of blood in the legs. Thats usually with running: Your blood pressure and blood flow to the heart can drop. Is this in the morning?

No, at night.

So, if you have a known history of coronary disease, you can have a heart attack at any point. Its not unrealistic that he would exercise and then have a heart attack. Exercise slightly increases your risk of having a cardiac event, but we encourage all patients with coronary disease to exercise, because the risks of having an event are low and the benefits are much higher.

Peloton has defended itself by blaming Big for his extravagant lifestyle of cocktails, cigars, and big steaks. Is that fair, to blame him entirely?

Thats totally fair. I am on the side of Peloton here. Exercise itself does not cause an event. What caused him to have an event is that he had poorly controlled cholesterol, poorly controlled blood pressure, he was clearly using tobacco, and he has a history of coronary disease. All of his risk factors for coronary disease should have been aggressively modified in order to prevent an event.

Okay. So I calculated that he was having a heart attack for roughly 30 minutes before Carrie found him. Is it possible to have a heart attack for that long and still be conscious?

Absolutely. Very much so.

So she gets home, she walks into the bathroom, sees him on the floor, they stare at each other, and she runs toward him and just sort of hugs him until he dies in her arms maybe a minute later. People are aghast that she didnt call 911. If he was still conscious, and she called 911 right away, is there a chance he would have survived? For reference, they are an eight-minute drive from Lenox Hill.

Absolutely. This is her fault. Without trying to point a finger at her, this is absolutely the fault of  whats her name?

Sarah Jessica Parker.

What did I call her before?

Jessica Sarah Parker.

Right. So there are a lot of different ways that you can die from a heart attack, but usually the way that a heart attack kills somebody is the blockage of an artery leading to instability of the electrical conduction system in the heart muscle. If you drop dead suddenly, you probably had electrical complications from a blocked artery. If he was in the hospital or if EMS was at his side when that happened, they could absolutely shock him out of that rhythm. Thats a very treatable problem in the hospital setting. People dont die from heart attacks anymore because were so good at quickly opening up the arteries, treating the sequelae of coronary disease or pump failure  were good at reversing all of that stuff.

Even after he went unconscious and died in her arms, how long would she have had to call EMS and still revive him?

Time is about the brain when it comes to cardiac arrest. Your brain can survive for somewhere up to three minutes without oxygen. What she needed to do was, when he went unconscious and lost a pulse, she needed to immediately start CPR. Feel for a pulse, call for help, and start chest compressions. Because you can absolutely stimulate blood flow to the brain and the rest of the vital organs with CPR, and once EMS came, they could have resuscitated him immediately with medications and defibrillation. So did she just sit there?

She held him and screamed.

She needed to do CPR. This is a PSA: If you see somebody lose consciousness, the first thing you do is feel for a pulse. If theres no pulse, you call EMS and start chest compressions without delay. You can definitely save peoples lives that way. He didnt need to die. This is a goddamn travesty.
Photo: Graeme Hunter/Graeme Hunter

In What It Takes, the sixth episode of Successions third season, the Roys got together with a bunch of megarich, Willa-leering Republican operatives and H-name-droppers and decided who would be the next president of the United States of America. In that installments final minutes, saddest man Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) leaves a meeting with brother-in-law Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong). Tom is full from diner food and room-temperature water, exhausted from diverting stabs in the back, and pent up with cake batter that his wife, Shiv Roy (Sarah Snook), wont accept, and he leaves Kendall with parting lines that are infused with simultaneous pragmatism and melancholy: My hunch is that you are going to get fucked. Because Ive seen you get fucked a lot. And Ive never seen Logan get fucked once.

Those lines took on particular resonance in All the Bells Say, the third-season finale that upended the Monopoly board that is the Roys family drama and the power structure of Waystar Royco. This episode had everything: the potential of a new Roy heir, the emergence of a new No. 1 boy, the suggestion of more Alexander Skarsgard in future episodes, and Logan blowing up the promise of nepotism. My man refers to Kendall and Shiv as Jacobins, but sir, you were the one who just set fire to the concept of inherited wealth and power! Seems a little bit left to me!

Given the topsy-turvy nature of who moved up and down in terms of power and prestige by the end of All the Bells Say, its time to explore the answers to an essential question: Who got fucked the most this episode literally, figuratively, and both? Lets wade in  dont fall off the inflatable on your way.

Shiv

How fucked is she: 10/10, completely fucked

Remember those fake newspaper covers Kendall made as part of his 40th birthday party, and remember what Shivs said? Wife of Tom Wambsgans. Nothing terrifies Shiv more than just being Toms wife, but at the end of All the Bells Say, thats where she seems to be. She tries to lead Kendalls intervention and fails. She tries to lead the coup against Logan and fails. Someone knew what Shiv, Kendall, and Roman were going to do, and that someone was Tom, and Tom told Logan. It seems Tom was sharing information on Shiv with Logan as far back as this seasons second episode, Mass in Time of War (how else did those mystery doughnuts get delivered to Ravas apartment?), and that diverging motivation syncs up with Shivs repeated admissions that none of her plans for rising to power within Waystar Royco prominently feature her husband. Does Shiv end this episode pregnant, and thats why she touched her stomach at seeing Tom appear  in a shot evoking The Godfather  in the hallway of Logans villa? Or is she just reeling from shock? A fourth season of Succession in which both Shiv and Kerry are pregnant would really be too much but also just enough.

Roman

How fucked is he: 7/10, pretty fucked, but at least he has company

The wizard of fuck finally taps his conscience this episode, and per usual, Kieran Culkin is exceptional at balancing all the contrasting emotions playing out in the youngest Roy son. This season has traced Romans ascendence in Logans estimation as he moves closer to his father, edges out Shiv, and goes on the aggressive offensive against Kendall, the brother who once defended him from Logans physical abuse. If there were a person most clearly poised to take over Waystar Royco at this point, its Roman  and so it matters more when he comforts Kendall after his admission about what happened at Shivs wedding, when he agrees to join Shiv and Kendall in the coup attempt, and when he stands up to Logan in defense of Kendall at that final showdown. There might not be much space for sincerity in the Succession universe, and Romans alliance with his older brother certainly isnt beneficial in the childrens attempt to kick out Logan and take the company for themselves. In that way, Roman is in fact very fucked. But the potential is there for Roman and Kendall to grow closer, and for that, my sentimental heart cannot totally mark Roman as completely fucked. Note how in the dusty wedding parking lot, Roman comforts Kendall, while in the room where Logan turns his back on Romans love, Kendall comforts Roman. Parallels! Emotions! Art!

Kendall

How fucked is he: 6/10, still might not know where his kids are

Kendall didnt drown in that pool, and in fact, he might end this episode in his strongest position yet this season? I mean, not in terms of the DOJ investigation, his public persona, or his relationships with his children or exes. But: He realizes via his siblings attempted intervention that they care about him, and he absorbs like a sponge the comfort Shiv and Roman provide when he tells them about what really happened to Shivs wedding waiter Andrew Dodds (Tom Morley). How quickly his siblings start minimizing his involvement in that young mans death! How quickly they are certain that Kendall wasnt at fault! (Question, though: Why didnt Kendall tell them that Logan knew, covered it up, and was basically blackmailing him?) This scene captures everything so simultaneously empathetic and repellent about Succession: the fragility and vulnerability of these deeply fucked-up characters and the cocoon of privilege and accommodation in which they act with very little consequence. So, sure, Kendall is still a mess. But he forged bonds with Shiv and Roman that might continue now that Waystar Royco has slipped out from under them, and at least hes operating from a greater place of honesty. Its fucking lonely. Im all apart, Kendall said through tears, but by the end of the episode, Kendall isnt as ruined as either Shiv (betrayed by her husband) or Roman (who realizes Logan doesnt love him nearly as much as he thought). He still knows Waystar Royco, and now he has his siblings on his side, and its possible Stewy (Arian Moayed), Sandy (Larry Pine), and Sandi (Hope Davis) wont be pleased with the GoJo buy  maybe they can be potential allies through Kendalls connections. Its not the worst situation to be in.

Connor

How fucked is he: 5/10, only getting chump change from these chumps

I proposed to my fiancee, and no one has said congratulations. No one! is one of many complaints Connor (Alan Ruck), the literal eldest son, levels at his half-siblings during their failed intervention for Kendall. Connor has always felt like an afterthought, but between his presidential campaign and his attempt at blackmail in exchange for a job at Waystar Royco, he tried to make some moves this season. They mostly failed! But he got to embarrass and shock Kendall, Roman, and Shiv by sharing his theory that Kerry is trying to get pregnant with Logans baby, and he was able to wear down Willa enough that she said yes to his proposal. There is zero way that actually helps with his presidential campaign or keeps that Politico reporter from looking into Willas past, but thats nice for Connor for as long as it lasts. Certainly nicer than that selection of heavily refrigerated cheeses.

Willa

How fucked is she: 5/10, but maybe Connor has only ten more years to live

Fuck it forever! is certainly not what one would expect a happy fiancee to say. But look, what are Willas prospects, really? She failed as a playwright. If she left Connor, shed have to start all over again. Sometimes the easiest choice is the one right in front of you, and so Im putting Willa at a net neutral here. Shes sort of fucked by tying herself more permanently to Connor, but hes still rich! Hes still mostly nice to her! Their ranch is large enough that she can probably wander away whenever he starts talking about being a maverick thinker forced into a digital gulag! In Willas own words: How bad can it be, right?

Marcia

How fucked is she: 3/10, unbothered in that sublime emerald wedding outfit

I dont quite grasp how Marcia (Hiam Abbass) doesnt know Logan is sleeping with Kerry since she seems to have a certain sixth sense about what her husband is up to at all times. Or maybe the porcupine knows about the skunk and the concubine and just doesnt care? She got a larger financial stake to appear at Logans side again, and she secured bags for her son and daughter. Maybe being able to boss around Kerry, who is still technically the help, is enough? However, some points docked because she asked for an omelet delivered to her room when they are in rural Italy. Get some pasta, Marcia!

Caroline

How fucked is she: 3/10, but at least she has a prenup

Caroline (Harriet Walter) is now married to failed smoked-salmon entrepreneur Peter Munion (Pip Torrens), who wears brightly colored pants in public and clearly pursued a relationship with her because of her proximity to Logan Roy. Not great! But Caroline finalized her and the seat sniffers financial futures by basically screwing over her children, and we can trace this back to when she told Shiv she should have had dogs instead. (And maybe when Caroline seemed to respect Peter for buying his own furniture instead of coming from inherited money.) If Caroline were any other mother, I would think ostracizing her children so much would affect her. Because Caroline is Caroline, though, I think shell just be fine.

Greg

How fucked is he: 3/10, doing okay aside from the Greenpeace-stolen-inheritance thing

Greg (Nicholas Braun), the man who might one day be Europes weirdest king, steps fully into his Sporus era with the promise of no prison time, the lure of future Gregs of his own, and the date ladder that both Comfrey (Dasha Nekrasova) and the Contessa (Ella Rumpf) provide. Literally, Greg isnt having any sex since he and Comfrey are sleeping in separate beds and whatever conversations hes having with Contessa dont seem romantic in the least. Plus Uncle Ewan (James Cromwell) probably still thinks Greg sucks. But Greg is on his way to the bottom of the top, baby!

Logan

How fucked is he: 2/10, fueled by rage at crystal meth and yoga

On the one hand, Logan really relished the opportunity to tell Kendall, Roman, and Shiv to fuck off! all at once; hes having sex with Kerry; and he got to act out with Caroline a dynamic he adores, as she explained: kicking someone over and over to see how much abuse theyll take and keep coming back. On the other hand, as he tells those same kids, his payment for selling Waystar Royco to GoJo will be $5 billion  but does the money even matter to Logan? Its just a big ol pile on top of his preexisting pile. What is Logan going to do with himself all day if hes not sparring with his children or humiliating President Raisin? I refuse to believe raising a child is really an option here! I wonder if losing control of Waystar Royco will matter more to Logan than hes letting on, so he doesnt get a flawless 0/10 score.

Kerry

How fucked is she: 2/10, perhaps more so if Logan gets another personal assistant

Kerry Castellabate (Zoe Winters) has got Logan eating out of her hand, literally; shes confident enough now in her position to stride around in bright, attention-grabbing outfits in bold shades of yellow and pink and patterned prints that are entirely different from the drab blacks she was wearing previously; and shes mocking the Roy children to their faces. The only threats I see against Kerry are a broken blender (how will she make those maca-root-and-almond-butter smoothies to encourage Logans siege engines without one?) and Marcia, who could probably eviscerate her in a moment. Something to consider.

Tom

How fucked is he: 1/10, Nero is a narc!

This is how Shiv describes her marriage to Tom when shes giving her toast to Caroline and Peter: Rich and happy, rewarding and fulfilling, and we all know that not to be the case. It hasnt been the case since Shiv told Tom she wanted an open marriage at their wedding, and it hasnt been the case since Tom admitted to Shiv she doesnt make him feel very happy at the end of season two, and it hasnt been the case at all this season, when Shiv told Tom directly to his face that hes not good enough for her and that she doesnt love him. Shiv could not make it more clear she doesnt consider Tom in her own moves, and so he made some moves of his own. I didnt know Tom had it in him, but he aligns himself fully with Logan in a variety of undercover plays no one around him saw coming, and he picks Greg over Shiv. Note how Greg and Tom are dressed in complementary tan linen suits at Carolines wedding, and note the second arm pat Tom receives from Logan this season. How much further will Tom rise?

Gerri

How fucked is she: 1/10, as if the Roy children could outmaneuver her

Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron) always protects Gerri, and she is always the smartest person in the room. She threw in her lot with Roman when it seemed like the path forward was being laid out for him, but those dick pics didnt play, and neither did Shivs attempt to outsmart Gerri when the pictures came out at the end of Chiantishire. As much as Logan might think Gerri is sexually disgusting, shes also clearly the person whose business acumen he trusts the most  note that he doesnt fire her for whatever was going on between her and Roman. She stays in Italy, he loops her in when he gets that phone call from Karl (David Rasche), and shes in the room where Logan wins. But it doesnt serve my interests. How does it serve my interests? she asks Roman when he begs for her help in their failed attempt to overthrow Logan, and Toms statement about Logan never losing could apply to Gerri too. Laurie probably doesnt deserve her, either!

Frank and Karl

How fucked are they: 0/10, because no one can hurt Frank but Logan

Frank (Peter Friedman) and Karl just swoop in to Europe to help with the deal and further demonstrate their loyalty and usefulness (which probably helps get them good recommendations from Logan when hes weighing in on the new GoJoWaystar Royco board), and they dont have to go to Carolines wedding. Best possible outcome.

Lukas

How fucked is he: 0/10, this slab of gravlax is perfectly cured

Lukas Matsson (Skarsgard) got everything he wanted  literally all of it. Logan came to Lukas at Villa La Cassinella in Lake Como to talk over the deal, a demonstration of weakness (especially since Lukas had sent lackeys to the previous meeting at Waystar Royco headquarters in New York City). Logan had no counters for Lukass statements about Waystar Roycos increasing irrelevance in a changing media landscape. And Logan sold Waystar Royco in a way that hands over significant future power to Lukas and seemingly cuts out the Roy children. I would structure it so fucking nice for you, Lukas said of the deal, and that foreplay certainly worked.

Stewy

How fucked is he: Results inconclusive  we need more data!

Stewy does not get fucked at all this episode because he does not appear. We are the ones who are fucked by the loss of this. Our degree of fuckeditude is off the charts! When will Moayed return for long enough to smell another herb sprig, parsley, sage, rosemary, or thyme  or something? Jesse Armstrong, hear our pleas!
Italy is currently home to more than 600 McDonald's outlets.

American fast-food giant McDonald's plans to open 200 new outlets and hire 12,000 staff in Italy by 2025.

This is what the new chief executive of the McDonald's group in Italy, Dario Baroni, was quoted as saying by the Affari&Finanza business supplement of Italian newspaper La Repubblica on Monday.

Baroni said the McDonald's group sees Italy as "one of the markets with the greatest potential on a global scale."

McDonald's currently has 630 outlets in Italy, with 25,000 staff, reports Reuters. Baroni says the group's goal is to increase this to 800 restaurants and around 40,000 staff by 2025.

The covid pandemic hit McDonald's which saw its 2020 revenue in Italy drop to 1.4 billion from 1.6 billion the previous year.

However Baroni said that McDonald's has begun to see "significant growth", pointing to the Take Away and Drive and Delivery services which have gone from "less than 40 per cent to more than 60 per cent" of total sales.

The first McDonald's in Italy opened near the Spanish Steps in Rome in 1986.
Scuderie del Quirinale takes visitors on a hellish tour inspired by Dante's Inferno.

The exhibition Inferno at Scuderie del Quirinale, open until 23 January, marks the 700th anniversary of the death of Dante Alighieri. Coming shortly after the show on Raffaele, to mark the 500th anniversary of the painter's birth, this is another feather in the Scuderie's cap.

While the Raffaele exhibition had to shut because of the covid-19 lockdown, Inferno was organised during the pandemic. It is an impressive achievement that the curator and French art historian, Jean Clair, together with Le Scuderie del Qurinale, managed to put together 232 works, from 87 collections and 15 countries at a time when the world was effectively still in lockdown, or at least not working at its normal pace.

It is strange therefore that images of plagues and their various manifestations are nowhere to be seen in this exhibition. How many pandemics over the centuries have created their own versions of hell, death, fear, anxiety, loneliness and economic devastation? Perhaps the pandemic is still too close to us, too difficult to understand, to have been included in this exhibition.

Clair first thought up the idea of an exhibition on the subject of hell in happier times, back in 2006. It was turned down when he suggested it to the Prado. Perhaps that was not the right moment, when thoughts of hell and the devil had almost vanished from the public sphere. So it was not until the Scuderie approached the French art historian to mark the 700th anniversary of the death of Dante that the exhibition at the Quirinale came into being.

The Divine Comedy

The anniversary of Dante's death was a good reason to look at the theme of hell. But as Clair himself explains, this exhibition is not only about Dante and the first book of The Divine Comedy. It is about the manifestations of hell on earth. Starting with the portrayal of hell and the devil in the teachings of the Mediaeval Church, it follows through with more recent manifestations of hell, such as war, the dehumanisation of the industrial revolution, genocide, mental illness, terrorism. It is all the more surprising therefore that it completely ignores plague as one of its hells.

The exhibition begins with the silent film Inferno made in 1911 by Francesco Bertolini. Here anyone who has read, or set out to read, the first book of The Divine Comedy will feel at home. Not surprisingly the seats at the top of the first magnificent flight of the Scuderie stairs are occupied mainly by young students, probably well-versed in their Dante. For those who want to move on quickly to the rest of this exhibition there is another chance to see the film on the way out.

Agony and confusion

The first few rooms are dominated by scenes of multitudes of writhing, naked bodies in various states of agony and confusion. One of the first examples is La Caduta degli Angeli Rebelli by Francesco Bertos (1750), carved from a single piece of Carrara marble. Another is a small painting Gli Inferi (1622) by Monsu Desiderio (Francois de Nome) who worked most of his life in Naples. The painting from the Bresancon Museum of Art and Archaeology stands out for its composition, lighting, perspective and sheer complexity of the array of small white bodies writhing their way across the scene.

However it is unquestionably the plaster of Rodin's massive unfinished Gates of Hell inspired by Dante's Inferno that dominates the early part of the exhibition. Its 180 figures were a foundation for much of Rodin's subsequent work, as is evident from some of the smaller figures on display in the exhibition. Rodin worked on the Gates of Hell most of his life but was never satisfied and never finished them completely. Not long before he died in 1917 he gave the drawings and sculptures to the French state but they were not finally cast in bronze until 1928.

Their sheer size acts as both an inspiration for visitors to the exhibition and a barrier. In order to get the correct perspective the Gates are set so far back in the room that it is difficult to manoeuvre around them, especially when they are blocked by a guided group of visitors. The Gates have a fascinating history of their own, but for the purposes of this exhibition it is exciting enough to see the central figure, originally called The Poet, after Dante of course, but which became the model for The Thinker, one of the world's best-loved pieces of sculpture.

Dante in Exile by Domenico Petarlini (1897)

In sharp contrast to Rodin's massive Gates are the paintings of Dante alongside Virgil guiding him through hell. The red of Dante's clothing lightens the unremitting darkness of the exhibition space and his well-known face is comfortingly familiar compared with all the paintings of contorted bodies in the first few rooms. Even the pensive and sorrowful portrait from the Uffizi of Dante in Exile by Domenico Petarlini (1897) is better than the visions of hell that come before it.

A series of sensitive contemporary mixed media works by Miquel Barcelo, who produced 300 illustrations between 2000 and 2002 for the Divine Comedy, lighten the gloom in one of the following rooms. They manage to convey Barcelo's own feeling of just how contemporary The Divine Comedy still is today.

Up the winding stairs to the next floor and the scene of Sicilian puppets brings a welcome relief, well explained in its label:

"Nella cultura popolare l'inferno e il diavolo assumono a volte un carattere meno minaccioso o additura burlesco, che esprime al contempo la paura che ispirano e la possibilita di sconfiggerlo."

The devil

For a moment the prevailing feeling of evil shifts as the emphasis of the exhibition moves away from visions of hell to the devil himself, a character once so feared in religious belief but now dismissed as superstitious nonsense in contemporary society.

Next comes a series of paintings, one by Cezanne, on the Temptations of St Anthony of Egypt. The key to these is not so much the small Cezanne but the work by the Neapolitan painter Domenico Morelli painted in 1878 and probably influenced by Flaubert's prose poem of the same name. Here is a mix of eroticism and mysticism, realism and symbolism, with St Anthony centre stage, clutching his cloak around him, as he stares into the far distance to avoid the temptations of two seductive women clearly enjoying their efforts to drive the desert father to desperation.

Hell on earth

From these temptations in a religious key the exhibition moves to the hell on earth of the 19th and 20th centuries. The subjects make a devastatingly long list; industrialisation, the brutality of two world wars, death and disfiguration, the extermination of the concentration camps, the Holocaust, madness, terrorism. The canvases crowded with desperate bodies are back, pushing up against each other, either in death or trying to avoid it.

The painting by Gaetano Previati, Gli orrori della guerra: lesodo (1917) shows civilians fleeing death in a scene that is all too familiar today, whether of Afghanis pushing in desperation to climb on to get-away planes at Kabul airport or of cold, starving refugees on the Belarus border forced up against the barbed wire across the Polish frontier.

Gli orrori della guerra: lesodo (1917) by Gaetano Previati

One painting stands out among the others, La Matta by Giacomo Balla (1905) from the National Gallery in Rome. The woman illustrates another form of hell, of the inability to control one's body, of loneliness and isolation. The lone woman stands at an open door, alone but not alone, as she desperately attempts to control her movements and to communicate with someone inside the room.

The living dead

From one agony to another, to that of disfigured faces, plaster casts of faces disfigured by the wounds of war, the living dead. Here is the double tragedy not just of the physical pain of the disfigured faces but also of the annihilation of their previous identity.

Moving into the next room the original typescript of Primo Levi's If this is a Man, the testimony to his time in Auschwitz, seems shockingly down to earth. Here are pages familiar to anyone who grew up with typewriters; the crossings out, the additions, the re-writings, the painstaking afterthoughts before a work is finally sent to the publisher. The onlooker cannot help feeling guilty to be looking so dispassionately at this sanitised version of the Holocaust, of what is left of that desperate suffering and subsequent pain.

The Twin Towers in Flames (2003) by British sculptor Raymond Mason doesn't manage to convey the shock of that out-of-the-blue event but it takes the exhibition right up to date and conveys once again the crowding, the lack of space, of bodies pushing up against each other in terror and horror.

Out to the stars

Then finally, in the last section, we are out to the stars, almost as though we were clambering out of that hell-hole ourselves in those wonderful last lines of Dante's Inferno.

E senza cura aver d'alcun riposo

salimmo su, el primo e io secondo,

tanto ch'i' vidi delle cose belle

che porta 'l ciel, per un pertugio tondo --

e quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle.

"And with no rest from the fatigue of it,

We clambered up, he first, till finally I saw the heavenly spheres

Through a round hole, the aperture whence we

Emerged to look once more upon the stars.

Two works by Anselm Keifer end the exhibition but we aren't quite out of hell yet. There is something challenging about Stelle Cadente (1995). Here is a man on his back under the stars, motionless with his eyes shut, as though there were something troubling and challenging him as he lies in a death-like position. Is it wonder of fear?

It is only as we walk down the magnificent final staircase of Le Scuderie, with its view over the roof tops of Rome, off to the dome of St Peter's in the distance, that we are finally able to leave those images of hell behind.

Exhibition review by Mary Wilsey

For visiting information see the Scuderie del Quirinale website. This article was published in the December 2021 online edition of Wanted in Rome magazine.

Cover image: Jose Benliure Gil La barca di Caronte, 1896 olio su tela.  Museo de Bellas Artes de Valencia.
SF: A lot depends on how much the virus changes going forward, and to be honest thats anyones guess. The original expectation that SARS-CoV-2 would not mutate so fast has turned out to be not quite right. Then we have to recognise the fact that the virus is establishing a kind of equilibrium with its hosts (humans and also some animals), and its very possible that the ancestral virus, which started the pandemic, was no where near its peak fitness. And then we have the hosts immune response evolving, putting new pressure on the virus to change. Until this comes to a natural equilibrium  as we have with other coronaviruses, where most infections are mild  we may need vaccine updates.
The many ifs and buts to the valuation may given them pause. Start with the projects closest to generating revenue. The main one is a cream for mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis (often eczema). If phase-one trials reporting next year go well, it could secure a commercial partner. The presence of the former boss of Sanofi on Odysseys team could help find one. The French pharma giants Dupixent drug for more severe dermatitis is generating billions of dollars in sales.
There is a parallel debate going on in a sector tied intimately to Harleys traditional hogs: Oil. Valuation multiples on renewables-related stocks are much higher than those of oil majors, in part because those renewables businesses tend to consume case rather than generate it right now. Like Harley, therefore, some of these companies are weighing ways to capture the excitement around the energy transition  and, thereby, lower capital costs  while keeping it integral to their overall business. Catering to two much different sets of shareholders at once is always a difficult arbitrage that tends to attract the attention of activists, as Royal Dutch Shell Plc is finding with Dan Loebs call to break up. A more nuanced approach, and one directly comparable to Harleys move with LiveWire, is that of Eni SpA. The Italian oil major is set to spin off its retail energy and renewables businesses next year into a new listed entity, Plenitude, in which it will retain a 70% stake. The idea is to tap into ESG excitement while signaling the traditional business also remains committed to net-zero emissions targets.
Jacob Cremers, a sophomore who is the spokesman for the organization, called me last year for advice when he was having trouble finding students willing to write under their real names. On the phone recently, he explained: Just voicing your opinion causes a wave of antipathy toward you in any situation. There is a mob mentality. And with no one to defend you, the wave escalates, he said. There could be possible problems from employers. Perhaps that concern about their future careers explains why only a few other students have copped to editing the new incarnation of the publication.
Representative Devin Nunes announced last week that hes resigning at the end of the month to go to work for former President Donald Trump. In a way, the decision isnt surprising. But it does tell us a fair amount about the House, the Republican Party and, perhaps, Trump himself. So, first, the House. Nunes probably had a route to re-election, and if he returned in 2023 with a Republican majority, he was in line to be chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over large portions of domestic policy. In the past, chairing that committee wouldve been worth sticking around for years, even decades; in some ways, it was a more important position than speaker of the House. But committees have declined in importance as the chamber has become more centralized. Whats more, the relatively frequent turnover of party majorities means were unlikely to see a stretch such as that from 1957 through 1994, in which the committee had only three chairmen over an almost 40-year period. The prize is worth a lot less if it cant be retained for long  and on the Republican side, committee term limits mean that six years is the current maximum anyway.So what does this decision tell us about Republicans? Political scientist Richard Fenno explained in the 1970s that representatives used the committee system for three potential goals: re-election, influence in the House and influence over policy. Heading up Ways and Means should help with all three, but its presumably most valuable to those who care about changing policy  and such members are scarce in the post-policy Republican Party. In the 1990s, when Republicans won a House majority for the first time in four decades, Ways and Means Chairman Bill Archer was certainly someone who had a strong interest in crafting tax policy and had a reputation for knowing the topic thoroughly. Paul Ryan became Ways and Means chairman in 2015 during a second period of Republican majorities. He wasnt exactly known for policy expertise  but he was known for talking a lot about policy, even if there were a lot of questions about whether he was really doing the work. To be perhaps a bit unfair, if in 1995 many Republican politicians still cared about public policy, by 2015 they were impressed by someone pretending to care about policy. Now it appears that even the pretense is gone. Nuness decision might also suggest something about Trump. Suppose that Nunes is mostly interested in being loyal to the former president. Trumps conception of loyalty doesnt have much wiggle room; he expects people to do what he wants, whether its feasible or not. But chairing Ways and Means is a position of responsibility. It could put Nunes in the position of having to vote for things that Trump might not support. In part, thats inherent in any leadership position; one of the real requirements for party leadership in Congress, and for politics in general, is a willingness to absorb blame and shield others from it. But Trump, and Trump-style politics, makes absorbing blame a lot more painful than it normally would be  as can be seen in the former presidents attacks on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell over the debt limit, or, for that matter, in what happened to former Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6. So there are two things going on here. One is that the Republican lack of interest in public policy is becoming institutionalized. The other is that  at least as long as Trump is still influential  there appears to be some serious disincentives for others in the party to take on important leadership roles. Both changes will likely make it even harder for the party to govern effectively.
Richard Hatchett: We already know that omicron at least partially evades the immune response elicited by several of our vaccines. Might this happen again? My bet is that it will. Look, were going to be living with Covid for a long time and our current vaccines are very good, but that doesnt mean we cant develop better ones that provide broad protection against a wide range of SARS-CoV-2 variants, and even against other coronaviruses. Developing such vaccines may take years, because there is a lot of basic virology and immunology work we need to do. Fortunately, there are many groups hard at work chipping away at the problem already. We just need to make sure they are and remain well funded. We need to be thinking about where we want to be with respect to this virus not just next month or next quarter but in five or 10 years.
The Brick Industry Association, a trade group, recommends removing ivy from a test patch, so you can assess whether its feasible to proceed with removing all of it or whether you would be better off keeping it trimmed. For the test area, the association recommends against spraying with chemicals, because that could damage or stain the brick. Instead, it suggests cutting off the vines as close to the brick as possible. Leave rootlets embedded in the mortar or bricks until they dry up and turn dark, a process that the association says should take two or three weeks  not years. Once the remnants are dry, scrub them off with a stiff fiber brush and laundry detergent. Do not wait too long because if the suckers rot and oxidize, they may become very hard and nearly impossible to remove without doing damage to the wall surface, the association recommends in its Ivy on Brickwork document, which you can read by typing that title into the search box at gobrick.com.
Chauvin also had been charged federally with violating the rights of a 14-year-old boy during an arrest in September 2017. In that case, he was accused of holding the boy by the neck and hitting him twice with a flashlight. He had pleaded not guilty to those charges, and it was not immediately clear on Monday whether that case would be resolved as part of Chauvins plea in connection with Floyds death.
In the beginning, Assad may have decided to preserve his best weapons as a kind of insurance policy against the collapse of the regime. But now that Syria has regained control over most of its territory, he said, it makes sense that the Assad regime would want to rebuild its chemical-weapons program to serve once again as a strategic deterrent against its longtime adversary, Israel.
I think with the governor's love for this town, he will do his best to get the funding and other things we need, said Coble, adding that she knew seven of the people among the dead so far. Its going to take a lot to get people back up on their feet because they wont be able to do it out of their own pockets.
The precipitation will bring at least temporary relief to the broader region gripped by drought. The storm is typical for this time of the year, but its the first big snow that is expected to significantly affect travel with ice and snow on the roads, strong wind and limited visibility, Wanless said. Drivers on some mountainous passes on Sunday had to wrap their tires in chains.
The States executive decree clearly interferes with the free exercise of religion  and does so seemingly based on nothing more than fear and anger at those who harbor unpopular religious beliefs, Gorsuch wrote. We allow the State to insist on the dismissal of thousands of medical workers  the very same individuals New York has depended on and praised for their service on the pandemics front lines over the last 21 months  One can only hope todays ruling will not be the final chapter in this grim story.
She added, This is not about us coming in and telling anyone what they should do. It is about being partners and assisting and helping to facilitate the natural desire of the people in these nations. This is important work. This is good work. I think this reflects the best of who we are as the United States recognizing our responsibility as neighbors to these countries in the Western Hemisphere.
In its report, the committee said it seeks more information from Meadows on text messages he exchanged with the organizer of the Jan. 6 rally on the Ellipse that preceded the attack on the Capitol. The organizer texted Meadows that things have gotten crazy and I desperately need some direction. Please. The committee also wants to know more about messages Meadows received regarding apparent efforts to encourage Republican lawmakers in certain states to send alternate slates of electors to Congress in an attempt to undo Bidens win. In texts, a member of Congress told Meadows that the plan was highly controversial, and Meadows texted back, I love it.
Samsung's CES news conference always draws big crowds, but this year's keynote was more subdued than usual. (Chris Velazco/The Post)

This year's chaotic CES conference in Las Vegas raises valuable questions about the future of giant in-person business events.
Starting this week, people are being encouraged to work from home, wear face masks in most indoor venues and show proof of vaccination or a negative test for entrance into places with large crowds. The government also said daily testing would replace quarantines for those who come into contact with someone who has tested positive.
There is broad agreement that the new regime will be an improvement over its almost 50-year-old predecessor. Loading Major activities that threaten Aboriginal heritage now cannot proceed without consultation with the relevant local Indigenous groups. WAs Labor government trumpeted that this change embeds the principles of free, prior and informed consent in its agreement-making processes when the bills final draft was unveiled in November. These fine-sounding words are, with an important change, lifted from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples that calls for Indigenous people to give free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project that affects their land.

The difference is that the UN wants Indigenous consent to development, while the new legislation merely codifies what should be obvious: there is no agreement without Indigenous consent. And crucially, if the two sides do not reach an agreement the decision lands on the desk of the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. And what is the track record for WA Aboriginal affairs ministers putting heritage before development? In the past 12 years, Liberal and Labor ministers considered 1009 Section 18 applications and rejected just four, none of which were for mining. A stunning 99.6 per cent success rate for development. The new legislation instructs the Minister to determine if heritage will be protected by considering what is in the interests of the State.

A 2018 decision by Wyatt to grant Aboriginal heritage approval for a third runway at Perth Airport that will affect Munday Swamp, an area regarded as sacred by the local Whadjuk Noongar People, showed how the criteria works in practice. I appreciate the hurt my decision today may cause a number of Noongar people, Mr Wyatt said. However, my ministerial responsibility to protect Aboriginal cultural heritage must take into account the broader interests of the whole state of Western Australia. It is a logic that could always justify a development if it is economically big enough. The Senate inquiry into Juukan Gorge concluded it was just one example of countless instances where cultural heritage has been the victim of the drive for development and commercial gain.

An earlier draft of the legislation did not leave the final say with the Minister as both proponents and indigenous groups could call for a review by WAs State Administrative Tribunal. However, with proponents historically having a 250 to 1 advantage over Indigenous groups with ministerial decisions, an independent arbiter could only reduce the miners success rate. Indigenous groups were shocked and dismayed at the disappearance of their much-wanted appeal rights. Rio Tinto chief executive iron ore Simon Trott leads its WA operation with a 2020 revenue of $39 billion, more than 60% of the London-based groups total The WA governments documented reason for the change was a word salad that it reflected accepted principles of modern governance, public administration and the recognised responsibilities of the elected government of the day. WA Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Stephen Dawson said major decisions on contentious issues are the elected governments job.

Decisions...do not come to the Minister for authorisation except as the last resort, he said. However, a last resort that historically has overwhelmingly favoured miners severely weakens the hand of Indigenous groups at the negotiating table if they push too hard. Sometimes at that table will be Rio Tinto, which is desperate to revamp its image in the community after Juukan Gorge, especially in WA where its iron ore sales of $62 billion in 2020 made up more than 60 per cent of the mining giants total revenue. Last week, newly installed WA-born iron ore boss Simon Trott fronted a 600-strong business function in Perth to pitch a new, more caring Rio that was applying the lessons learned from Juukan Gorge. However, the crucial question about his companys dealing with Indigenous groups - do you think the minister should have the final say? - was left unanswered.

The process has improved, but the power balance is untouched: without agreement the minister decides, and the track record is clear. Were moving towards a model of co-management of country, developing real partnerships based on respect, Trott said. Of course, a miner can easily embrace cooperation because if it fails the decision ends up with the minister. Well work with whatever legislation comes in, Trott said. Rio Tinto was asked if it would accept the previous version of the legislation that gave both sides the right to appeal. The company did not answer the question.

We support the strengthening of Aboriginal heritage protection in WA, a Rio Tinto spokesperson said. Loading We are determined to make the changes needed to ensure Aboriginal heritage is protected, and to regain the communitys trust. As well as ensuring consultation occurs, the new Act has other benefits for Indigenous people, including no gag clauses in agreements with miners, easier enforcement of heritage protection measures, and the ministers need to document the reasoning behind a decision. The process has improved, but the power balance is untouched: without agreement the minister decides, and the track record is clear.
A multibillion-dollar shopping spree is not what you might expect from a company left battered and bruised by COVID-19 as badly as Qantas.

But fresh from clocking up a $3.72 billion loss over the past two years and being stripped of around $20 billion in revenue, thats exactly what the airline is doing.

Many of Qantas 737s, pictured here grounded at Avalon Airport during the COVID-19 pandemic, are almost 20 years old. Credit:Jason South

Chief executive Alan Joyce and his executive team are closing in on a deal to overhaul its domestic aircraft fleet, preparing to order more than 100 new jets with an estimated price tag of around $5 billion in a decision that will reshape its operations for the next three decades.

Its a huge decision which has impacts far beyond the current management at Qantas, says Matthew Findlay, a director of Ailevon Pacific Aviation Consulting. It will commit Qantas to a path which once you start to take, is very difficult to backtrack or change.
A strong performance from miners amid speculation of renewed stimulus in China and a bidding war between two Australian companies for a Canadian nickel mine helped drive the ASX higher on Monday.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.4 per cent to close at 7379.3 points. The local market had strong leads from Wall Street where the S&P500 closed at new record highs on Friday, buoyed by inflation data meeting expectations at 4.9 per cent year on year. This reduced the likelihood of interest rates rising earlier than expected.

Tribecas Jun Bei Liu says Mondays market movements were all about the resources sector. Credit:Jessica Hromas

The market is dominated by themes at the moment, portfolio manager for the Tribeca Alpha Plus fund, Jun Bei Liu, said.

Today is all about the resources. There are rumours out of China that they will potentially stimulate the economy again, she added.

Ms Liu noted thin trading volumes on the ASX on Monday and selling in over-priced growth stocks.

BHPs share price gained 2.7 per cent to close at a three-month high of $41.04, Rio Tinto gained 2.3 per cent, and Fortescue gained 2 per cent.

Meanwhile, BHP increased its offer for Canadian nickel mine Noront, only to be out-bid a few hours later by Twiggy Forrests Wyloo Metals.

Lithium miners were stronger with Iluka up 5.3 per cent and Pilbara Minerals up 3.9 per cent.

There were some falls among insurance names after analysts warned about higher costs in a summer of high rainfall. IAG fell 3.6 per cent to close at nine-year low of $4.24 a following an analyst downgrade. QBE insurance fell 3.3 per cent, and Suncorp fell 1.1 per cent.

Oil producers had a strong day with Beach Energy up 3.4 per cent, Santos - which now includes Oil Search - up 1.9 per cent, and Worley up 2.7 per cent.

CSL declined 0.4 per cent after it confirmed it was in talks with Swiss company Vifor and Ramsay Health declined by 0.9 per cent after revealing a $1.4 billion bid for UK provider Elysium. Sonic Healthcare hit a new high of $44.78 during trade, but closed slightly lower.

Casino operators and betting companies had a weak session. Crown Resorts closed flat after an investor presentation, while SkyCity gained 0.3 per cent. PointsBet declined by 3.3 per cent and TabCorp fell 0.4 per cent.
Will Ramsay reckons its a good time to sell art. The London gallerist knows art buyers have money in their bank accounts they couldnt spend on restaurants and holidays in recent years.

And those of us looking at blank walls at home are primed to spend it on artists, who can offer something to inspire us, he says.

Antoinette Ferwerda, artist and director of Antoinette Ferwerda Gallery, and her mentee/studio assistant Celina Klohk. Credit:Simon Schluter

The trick is to bring them together. But he knows from experience that can be harder than it sounds.

Thats why hes bringing back one of the art markets most successful modern innovations: the Affordable Art Fair, which returns to Melbourne next year for the first time since 2019, and is to open in Sydney for the first time in a decade.
If pop music is akin to mass-produced lager then The Blues Preachers music is more your craft beer. The duo doesnt aim for a mass market, but a loyal following that appreciates quality and can sniff out affectation; that appreciates the authenticity of records on which Brother John (John Morris: vocals, guitar and banjo) and Captain Bluetongue (Craig Lyons: vocals and harmonica) sound just like they do live. The Blues Preachers, Craig Lyons and John Morris, have established a firm following among music fans who appreciate authenticity. Credit:Edwina Pickles If country blues and vocal harmonies lie at The Blue Preachers heart, their repertoire continually cross-stitches material of both white and African-American derivation. As Morris points out, none of this music was ever pure in the way nutty modern purists would have it. Blues, bluegrass, country, jazz, rockabilly, rock n roll and R&B all resulted from a melting-pot culture, and the finely-woven intersections between them make up one vast, beautiful tapestry. Unlike many artists who blithely play music with African-American roots, Morris and Lyons have confronted the issue of cultural appropriation, and picked their way through the maze. Morris points out if that were all US music completely off-limits, he and Lyons may have been pushed into performing Australian folk with a colonial accent, and thats not a real person, either. Their long-term solution is to concentrate on original material, although their new Shades of Blue album is more of an acknowledgment of some of the great artists whose influence flows through so much contemporary music.

Especially startling is the duos ability to attract a younger audience. What weve noticed over the last few years, Morris observes, is that theres definitely a younger community of people, which I guess you could loosely describe as the hipsters  so they like traditional bluegrass and old-time music, and they certainly like the Blues Preachers. Theyre in that age-group I guess between 30 and 45. They come along, and theyre very knowledgeable about it. These are the sort of people who brew their own beer. They go and find a bit of yeast on a log in Centennial Park and go back to their flat and make beer. Theyre on a mission to dig down and get to something real. Loading I remember one of my students who Id describe as a hipster turned up here with his banjo on his back and sat down, and he had these really nice shoes on. I said, Where did you get those shoes? Theyre great. He said, Oh, I made those. This is what hipsters are like. Theyre really trying to get to the core of something, where things were real and were done well. At festivals the Blues Preachers can attract an even younger age group in their 20s. Theyll come along to the blues tent, and theyre more likely to do that if its acoustic blues rather than electric blues, says Morris, because they associate electric blues with old guys with ponytails and beards, like their parents, maybe. But if its acoustic blues or old-time music, theyll go and have a listen to it.
A joint investigation by The Sydney Morning Herald and A Current Affair reveals that when Adams breathing tube became dislodged, doctors failed to recognise the problem, were unable to fix it and decided against calling for the help of a specialist who could have replaced the tube in minutes and saved Adams life.

Adams life was ripped away by a series of cascading and catastrophic errors in the intensive care unit of one of NSWs leading trauma hospitals.

But as they walked out the doors of Sydneys St George Hospital, the family was oblivious to the horror about to unfold behind them.

The good news meant the chance to trade hospital cafeteria meals for a family lunch out for Adams mother Philippa Fitzpatrick, who had kept a two-week vigil at her sons bedside.

Adam, an exuberant 20-year-old with a quick wit and big dreams, would lose an eye but otherwise fully recover, his family was told.

Adam Fitzpatrick was meant to be one of the lucky ones. After he was pulled from the wreckage of a car crash in the NSW Riverina region last year, plastic surgeons masterfully pieced together the shattered fragments of his face like a jigsaw.

The Fitzpatricks were ultimately vindicated when the hospitals own investigation found Adams death was caused by a delay in recognising the tracheostomy tube was dislodged and replacing it.

The family alleges they were subjected to intimidation and bullying after challenging the hospital, while medical records were withheld before being destroyed.

The Fitzpatrick family alleges hospital staff went into damage control and attempted to cover up what happened. They were told Adams death was unavoidable as the result of a blocked tracheostomy tube, and he received the best care possible.

While the staff floundered, Adam was starved of oxygen for 40 minutes, leaving him brain-dead.

You killed my son. A beautiful boy with his whole life ahead of him, five days before his 21st birthday.

Its basically a life sentence for all of us but what weve lost is nothing compared to what Adams lost, Ms Fitzpatrick says.

When Adam arrived back in his home town of Jugiong, about 120 kilometres north-west of Canberra, between university semesters, locals usually heard him before they saw him.

The Fitzpatricks feel they would never have found out the truth if not for the familys medical background. Adams mum, Philippa Fitzpatrick, is a veterinarian, and Adams sisters Amanda and Emma are a paramedic and a lawyer respectively.

The events raise broader questions around whether enough is done in Australian hospitals to prevent catastrophic incidents involving tracheostomies and whether preventable deaths are covered up due to a lack of accountability.

The report notes the inadequate response to Adams unstable airway in the week before his death due to failures in care co-ordination, handover and tracheostomy management.

There was an ineffective emergency response due to deficiencies in co-ordination, equipment, training and leadership which led to patient death, the report, known as a root cause analysis, says.

As workers arrived at a Hay truck yard on the morning of August 8, 2020, they discovered a ute crumpled underneath one of the trucks, where Adam had been trapped for about seven hours after a crash the night before.

Adam was ambitious, fast-tracking his study so he could work full-time for Local Land Services, a government agency in Hay. Adam planned to buy a block of land there and settle down with his girlfriend, Lucinda Eddy.

Adam Fitzpatrick with his parents Philippa and Peter. The Fitzpatricks feel they would never have found out the truth about Adams death if it was not for the familys medical background.

He was probably the most intelligent person I know with an astonishingly quick sense of humour, Emma recalled. Most of the jokes were at my expense.

His home base was a hobby farm on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River, where Adam would mercilessly tease his older sisters and parents, Philippa and Peter.

Adams passion was his new ute and parts continued arriving in the mail for months after he died.

He would belt out country tunes as he drove down the main street of the historic town with a population of 200.

She was the only person in the room when Adam tossed and turned and his tracheostomy tube broke free from the ventilator.

Adams mother Philippa was the only family member allowed into the ICU due to COVID-19 restrictions. She would reassure Adam when he woke, scared and disoriented.

Adam Fitzpatrick was ambitious and had planned to buy a block of land to settle down with his girlfriend.

A tracheostomy tube was inserted through Adams neck, connected to a ventilator that pumped oxygen into his lungs.

Adam was admitted to the ICU with severe head and facial injuries, and it was decided the bulk of surgery would be delayed two weeks while the swelling subsided.

The Fitzpatricks were relieved Adam ended up in the South Eastern Sydney Local Health Districts flagship hospital, which carries a high load of trauma patients from across NSW.

Due to treacherous conditions, Adam could not be airlifted to Canberra and was diverted to St George Hospital.

Alarms were going off, but nobody came for quite some time and I had to reconnect the ventilator tubes myself, Ms Fitzpatrick said.

I kept thinking, why isnt someone coming? If I had not been present on this day Adam could have died.

The root cause analysis later found Adam was meant to have one-on-one nursing care, but it wasnt provided because his nurse was attending a training session.

No formal handover took place notifying the other nurse on duty she would temporarily have to supervise Adam. The near-miss wasnt logged until after Adams death, the report found.

It was almost like we were questioning God

After the surgery, the Fitzpatricks were relieved to see their son looking like Adam again.

Adam was returned to intensive care, with plans to allow the sedation to wear off gradually. His tracheostomy appeared secure and intact.

However, the next morning Philippa felt uneasy because the tube appeared to be protruding at a strange angle.

She raised this with a nurse, who waved off her concerns. Ms Fitzpatrick had to vacate the room while a physiotherapist attended and alerted a nurse and a doctor as she was leaving.

The doctor was reassuring, Ms Fitzpatrick recalled.

She said, worst-case scenario, if the tube comes out were all trained in replacing the tubes.

While the family was at lunch, a nurse noticed Adam was struggling with mucus build-up and strong fits of coughing, according to the analysis.

After Adam started making gurgling noises his ventilators alarm activated, with doctors and nurses rushing in.

Despite the malfunctioning tracheostomy, Adam was breathing spontaneously on his own and levels of oxygen in his blood were normal.

After the facial surgery, the Fitzpatricks were relieved to see their son looking like Adam again. But the worst was to come.

However, doctors administered a drug that paralysed Adams muscles so a bronchoscope  a camera allowing doctors to see inside the airways  could be passed down the tracheostomy tube to check for blockages.

The analysis found that if the drug had not been administered, there was a possibility Adam could have maintained adequate oxygen levels on his own.

After the bronchoscopy, Adams condition deteriorated and he went into cardiac arrest.

CPR was commenced and doctors tried a variety of methods to restore his airways, but none were successful.

It was only when the ear nose and throat (ENT) medical officer arrived that it was found the tracheostomy tube was dislodged and in the pretracheal space.

The officer immediately placed the tube back into the correct position.

But scans three days later confirmed Adam had suffered catastrophic brain injuries from oxygen deprivation and he was declared dead.

The family returned from lunch to find a huddle of doctors around Adam in the ICU.

Philippa and Peter Fitzpatrick with their daughters Emma (on left) and Amanda, and Adams girlfriend Lucinda Eddy (right) in Jugiong. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

We stood there for an uncomfortable amount of time with no one saying one single word to us, Amanda recalled.

The family allege they were told the tracheostomy tube had become blocked, Adam had been without oxygen and his condition was not good.

It was left to Philippa and Amanda, with their medical backgrounds, to tell other family that Adam was likely to die.

During meetings that followed, the family allege facts kept changing to explain inconsistencies and staff were aggressive and threatening when challenged.

The scene after Adam Fitzpatricks car crash. After he was pulled from the wreckage, plastic surgeons masterfully pieced together the shattered fragments of his face like a jigsaw.

It was almost like we were questioning God, Amanda recalled.

The family say they battled for months to get medical records, only to find they were inaccurate and incomplete.

Two key documents requested on the day of Adams death were not given to the family, who were later told they no longer existed because they were on machines that only stored data for three months. The hospital insisted the documents were not destroyed but overridden.

The family were blindsided to finally learn the true sequence of events when they received an apology and a copy of the root cause analysis in February.

Photos of Adam Fitzpatrick in Jugiong. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

After receiving the news, Philippa was hospitalised with takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also known as broken heart syndrome, where the heart muscle is weakened by an intense surge of stress hormones.

An investigation found that the ENT officer was away from the hospital and was originally told it was not necessary for him or another doctor to return because the situation was under control.

One of two senior doctors rostered on to the ICU was also absent due to a personal issue.

The root cause analysis found there was a lack of clarity as to who was the team leader, equipment was used incorrectly which may have collapsed Adams lungs, safety equipment that should have been used was not and Adams tracheostomy emergency management plan was inadequate.

It also found inconsistent evidence when it examined how recently staff had been trained and assessed in the handling of tracheostomy emergencies.

The original version of the analysis approved by St George Hospital did not identify any root causes of Adams death or make any recommendations.

It was changed after it was sent to executives within the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District for review.

Incredibly confronting and stressful

Over the past decade, pioneering work has taken place within the international medical community to curb the number of adverse events involving tracheostomy patients.

The Global Tracheostomy Collaborative was formed in 2012, spearheaded by doctors from the United States, UK and Australias Austin Hospital in Melbourne.

They developed a five-prong approach to preventing adverse events, that includes co-ordinated team care, standardisation of care protocols, multidisciplinary education and staff allocation, patient and family involvement, and use of data tracking to drive improvement.

More than 50 hospitals from around the world have joined, reducing the severity of major adverse events involving tracheostomies by 54 per cent and improving overall quality of care through safer, swifter recovery.

Adam, Amanda and Emma Fitzpatrick shared a close bond as siblings growing up in the NSW South West Slopes.

Associate Professor Michael Brenner, from the University of Michigan School of Medicine, is the collaboratives president.

He tells the Herald tragic incidents involving tracheostomies are all too familiar for doctors in his field but system-wide improvements can radically reduce their incidence.

Professor Brenner says the accidental dislodgement of a tracheostomy tube is one of the most common adverse events and doctors or other health professionals trying to replace a dislodged tube could often end up pushing it into the soft tissues in the front of the neck instead of successfully placing it into the windpipe.

Sometimes the catalyst for hospitals to improve tracheostomy care is that something terribly unfortunate has happened, he says. Wed really like to get to a place where hospitals preemptively take steps to improve, such as joining the collaborative, before an event happens.

He drew on the swiss cheese model of risk, where a number of holes in the cheese have to line up for a catastrophic event to occur. A multi-prong approach could plug at least some of those holes, Professor Brenner says.

This story of a family member, knowing that somethings not right and trying to sound the alarm and being unheard, thats very pervasive in medicine internationally. So if we can just amplify the voice of the patient, that seemingly small act can transform healthcare.

Dr Stephen Warrillow, director of intensive care at the Austin Hospital, says many of the principles that can reduce adverse events are not overly complicated, but notes individual doctors may not see a patient with a tracheostomy more than a couple of times a year.

If youre called urgently to a crisis and its many years since youve dealt with a patient with a tracheostomy, youre trying to troubleshoot a difficult problem in a situation where you only have minutes to spare, he says.

Dr Warrillow says his first concern is always for patients and their families when adverse events occur but notes preventing such incidents also has a profound effect on the healthcare workers involved.

You come to work to do a good job and look after people, so its incredibly confronting and stressful for healthcare workers watching a patient dying and feeling perhaps nothing youre doing is working.

I feared the next call-out

St George Hospitals intensive care unit was barred from training junior doctors in 2019 amid allegations of bullying and dysfunction among senior staff.

The Fitzpatricks have queried whether a bullying culture in the ICU created an atmosphere where junior staff did not feel comfortable asking for help.

Amanda Fitzpatrick says she was a shadow of my former self returning to work as a paramedic after watching her parents kiss their son goodbye and bury him.

I feared the next call-out, she wrote in a letter to the hospital. I feared blood and trauma.

Most of all I feared making a mistake that would end someones life, just as your team had done to Adam.

Emma Fitzpatrick, a lawyer, has moved into the medical negligence sector since her brothers death to help other families find justice.

Were 15 months down the track and it feels like nothing has been done and we havent gotten anywhere despite hours and hours and hours of heartache, anguish and effort, she says.

Hospital managers admit they have not been able to adequately answer the familys questions arising from the root cause analysis, partly because some clinicians involved no longer work at the hospital.

They promised an external investigation, which was called off last month so as not to interfere with investigations by the State Coroner.

The family is also pursuing legal action, but can only sue for their own nervous shock because, unlike other jurisdictions, the NSW legal system does not recognise wrongful death.

Its not about the money as such, but that his life is valued so little, Philippa Fitzpatrick says.

A St George Hospital spokeswoman acknowledged Adam Fitzpatrick did not receive the care he deserved in August 2020.

The root cause analysis document is also not admissible in court, on the basis this encourages clinicians to be more frank and truthful in their accounts.

Ms Fitzpatrick now struggles with feelings she failed Adam by not doing more to escalate her concerns about the tracheostomy on the day of his death.

Adams death was completely preventable, she says.

We have lost our most precious son, and more importantly he has lost his whole future, and this has happened in completely unacceptable circumstances. We want to ensure that this does not happen to other families.

She says it is frightening to think other preventable deaths may be swept under the rug where families lack medical knowledge to challenge what they are told.

We want people to know these cover-ups do happen.

A St George Hospital spokeswoman acknowledges Adam Fitzpatrick did not receive the care he deserved in August 2020 and the hospital extended a sincere apology to his family.

She says the hospital is fully co-operating with an independent investigation by the NSW Coroner.

St George Hospital is committed to processes that result in learning from incidents and to improving the care we provide to our patients, the spokeswoman says.

WATCH: See the Fitzpatrick familys story on A Current Affair on Monday at 7pm on Channel Nine.

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The moves by ATAGI to recommend bringing forward COVID vaccine boosters to five months, down from six, and to approve Moderna boosters, are refreshing bursts of urgency from our once-sluggish medical regulatory complex.

Coupled with a campaign flagged by the federal government yesterday, this newfound urgency should help instil a sense of importance around boosters among the public. Because the evidence from overseas is clear that driving booster uptake is every bit as critical as anything thats come before.

The evidence is mounting that boosters are essential. Credit:Getty

Around 700,000 Australians have so far received a third-dose booster of a COVID-19 vaccine. We are both booked in to receive a third-dose Pfizer booster later this month. But Australia will have to work hard to achieve the same level of booster coverage as it has with its second-dose vaccination rate, currently at 89.2 per cent of over-16s.

As we noted just over three months ago in these pages, booster shots are critical because the effectiveness of the mRNA vaccines in particular has been found to wane significantly over time. A peer-reviewed study in The Lancet of more than 3 million people has shown effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine against symptomatic infection to decline from 88 per cent during the first month after the second dose to 47 per cent after five months.
Hopes local companies will fill their shortages of skilled workers with migrants could be stymied by the tight global jobs market with new research showing Australian businesses face a tough fight against international competitors.

Data compiled by online jobs site business Indeed suggests it may not be easy to entice skilled migrants away from their home markets or prevent them going to other nations offering larger paypackets.

Australia may find it difficult to woo as many skilled migrants as businesses hope due to global competition. Credit:Jason South

The international border is due to open on Wednesday for skilled migrants and international students in a development the business community is hoping will ease wage pressures and fix worker shortages across a growing number of industries.

International student arrivals are down 99.7 per cent on their pre-COVID levels while skilled visas were down 44 per cent through 2020-21 on the previous year. Those granted visas were almost exclusively in the country before the international border was shut early last year.
Liberal member for Mackellar, Jason Falinski, said independent campaigners were making false claims by arguing that he and others voted with Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce on climate change when they had taken on the Nationals to get the government to endorse a net zero emissions target for 2050. So I think the truth is that Barnaby Joyce votes with me, Mr Falinski said. Jason Falinski holds his seat by more than 15 per cent. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen He said the marriage equality vote in 2017 was another example when he and other moderate Liberals had sided against Mr Joyce and won. While many of the urban independents are being backed by Climate 200, the fundraising vehicle established by Simon Holmes a Court to seek faster action on climate change, regional candidate Rob Priestly said he did not want money from it or political activist group GetUp.

Mr Priestly, who is running against the Nationals in the regional Victorian seat of Nicholls, where incumbent Damian Drum is retiring at the election, said water policy would be one of the key issues if he had to choose which side formed government. Im interested primarily in stable and reliable government thats going to deliver good outcomes for my community, he said. He named the terrible outcomes for the environment and farmers along the Murray Darling river system as the biggest factor in his thinking. Zoe Daniel, the former ABC foreign correspondent who wants to replace Liberal Assistant Minister Tim Wilson in Goldstein in Melbourne, said she had voted for the Liberals at the 2016 election when Malcolm Turnbull was prime minister but not after he was replaced. Tim Wilson will be facing Zoe Daniel. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen, Simon Schluter Obviously Im not going to make a decision now or say who I would support four to six months out from an election based on a hypothetical, she said.

However, standing on the platform Im standing on, with priorities around climate, equality for women, integrity and economic transparency, any conversation with either of the major parties would revolve around their intentions on those issues. Ms Daniel said she wanted greater transparency about the use of taxpayer money after the exposure of rorts in federal programs, as well as more disclosure of political donations and truth in political advertising. Her preferred carbon target is 50 per cent by 2030 and she is backed by Climate 200, which is matching local donations. Loading Ms Daniel needs a 12.7 per cent swing to win Goldstein, while Mr Priestley needs a 20 per cent swing to win Nicholls and Ms Scamps needs 13.2 per cent in Mackellar. These calculations are based on Labor rather than independent campaigns at the last election. Kylea Tink, who needs a 9.3 per cent swing to defeat Liberal MP Trent Zimmerman in North Sydney, said her key issues were climate, integrity and equity for all women.

I would talk to all those with aspirations to be the government and I would be inclined to give certainty to the party which comes closest to meeting the core and key principles of my platform, she said. Allegra Spender, who is contesting the tightest race by challenging Liberal MP Dave Sharma, who holds Wentworth in eastern Sydney by 1.3 per cent, said a key issue in her campaign was a cut in emissions of at least 50 per cent by 2030. In terms of forming government, I will get the best deal for the people of Wentworth and the issues they care about, she said. Allegra Spender is taking on Dave Sharma. Credit:Jessica Hromas, Alex Ellinghausen Ms Spender said she had voted for the Liberals when Mr Turnbull was the local MP but later switched to independent Kerryn Phelps, who won the seat in October 2018 and lost to Mr Sharma in May 2019.

The independent candidate for Kooyong, Monique Ryan, requires a swing of 5.7 per cent to unseat Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. She said her message to voters was on the need for greater action on climate change, economic stability, health care and integrity in politics. Ill negotiate with both major parties for the best outcome for Kooyong, considering each issue on its merits and consulting widely with my constituents, Ms Ryan said. Loading Linda Seymour, who will run as an independent candidate for Hughes in southern Sydney against incumbent MP Craig Kelly, the former Liberal who switched to the United Australia Party in August, named climate change, an integrity commission, political donation reform and a code of conduct for politicians as factors if she had to choose one side or the other in a hung Parliament. Mr Kelly holds the seat by a margin of 9.3 per cent. On climate, many of the independents called for a cut in emissions of 50 per cent by 2030, above the Labor goal of 43 per cent, the Coalition forecast of 35 per cent and formal Coalition target of 26 to 28 per cent. None of those contacted backed the Greens target of 75 per cent.
Building a new house or undertaking a significant renovation comes with its own mixed bag of financial, emotional and physical challenges. Sticking to budgets, committing to timelines, finding alternative accommodation  often in the form of living with extended family  its certainly not for the faint-hearted.

Those courageous enough to embark on this journey during a pandemic and a building boom have faced a challenge that would break even the strongest of wills  specifically, a scarcity in materials that has proven almost catastrophic for many homeowners.

For some builders, the timber shortage has led to the collapse of their business. Credit:Getty Images

Timber supplies were all but stripped bare after the announcement of federal government incentives resulted in a surge in the residential building industry. The shortfall in supply to meet the surge in demand resulted in runaway inflation for timber products, forcing many builders to consider more expensive alternatives such as steel and masonry.

For some builders, the timber shortage has led to the collapse of their businesses as they are forced to make the impossible choice between paying exorbitant material prices or accepting delays and consequential liquidated damages.
When Katie Posten walked outside on Saturday morning to her car parked in her driveway, she saw something that looked like a note or receipt stuck to the windshield.

She grabbed it and saw it was a black and white photo of a woman in a striped sundress and headscarf holding a little boy in her lap.

The photograph found on Katie Postens windshield in New Albany, Indiani, from a tornado-damaged home in Kentucky that landed more than 200 km away in Indiana. Credit:Katie Posten via AP.

On the back, written in script, it said, Gertie Swatzell & J.D. Swatzell 1942.

A few hours later, Posten would discover that the photo had made quite a journey - 209 kilometres - on the back of monstrous winds.
In the last few weeks, Australian, Fijian, New Zealand and Papua New Guinean peacekeepers were deployed to the Solomon Islands to stabilise the situation for a pro-China leader, alleged to have used a Chinese government slush fund to bribe militants to withdraw support from the violent protests in Honiara. CCP-mouthpiece Global Times, approvingly praised the arrival of the foreign forces in the Solomons to restore order.

The situation is invidious, but New Zealand and Australias longstanding timidity on publicly confronting Chinas malign activities in the Pacific meant that it was inevitable they would find themselves using their militaries to protect Chinese interests in the Pacific.

Buildings were set alight in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, amid riots and looting last month. Credit:AP

On December 6, despite a mountain of damning evidence of his unfitness for office going back many years, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare easily survived a non-confidence vote in the Solomons Parliament. All those who voted in support of Sogavare had allegedly been promised money from the Chinese-backed fund.

Just two days after this vote, the New Zealand government published its 2021 Defence Assessment, a comprehensive look at the challenges facing the country from a defence and security perspective. In Australia, there is a perception that New Zealand has been too timid in its approach to China. This new assessment should put an end to that; it will really poke the panda.
CORNWALL  The Little Guild sees cats and dogs coming and going all the time.

The shelter, which places around 200 pets into forever homes a year, has been doing this work for over 60 years now.

But in November, which is celebrated as Adopt a Senior Pet Month, one of the nonprofits more special pet placements.

A 10-year-old cat named Bertha had been at the shelter for 280 days, watching adoptees come in and leave with kittens and other young cats. It wasnt until Bertha went viral on TikTok to the tune of over a million views that her fortune changed.

Mel DeFilippo, a New Haven resident, said they always wanted to adopt an older cat. And when Bertha went viral, they already had an application submitted to the Little Guild. Fortunately, it was the right time to adopt.

I feel very strongly about giving older animals a beautiful home, DeFilippo said. It wasnt until she went viral on TikTok that it was now or never.

Little Guild employee Kelsey Turick made the TikTok video that catapulted Bertha, a cat that came to the shelter from Georgia, to social media stardom.

We all just loved her so much here. Shes meant a lot to all of us, Turick said. It didnt make sense to me that people werent interested in her because we loved her so much. I just wanted to get the word out so we could find her perfect person. It obviously worked.

In the video, Bertha is seen looking out the window of where she was staying, watching people pass.

She was definitely up in that window watching people come in and out, said shelter manager Tiffany Lemelin. They would come in empty handed and leave with another cat, specifically kittens.

The shelter received calls from all parts of the United States, and even Canada and the United Kingdom, asking about adopting Bertha. The shelter happily pointed those callers towards their own local shelters in the hope that they might adopt a senior cat.

It was definitely a surprise, Turick said. We were all really shocked and overwhelmed, not only for the love for Bertha, but for senior cats in general. People were telling stories about how they adopted senior cats. If this TikTok convinced one person to go to their shelter and adopt a senior cat, we did our job. People were so sweet and loving.

Jenny Langendoerfer, the shelters executive director, said she and the staff were overwhelmed by the amount of views Berthas TikTok received.

The staff is invigorated and it feels good that people are looking at the Little Guild, Langendoefer said. It means a ton for myself and the staff. The older animals really break your heart. They have so much love to give and so much life left to give it. It takes a person seeing beyond their age to see that they are these amazing souls. The older animal adoptions are maybe more rewarding in a lot of ways.

DeFilippo said Bertha has quickly grown comfortable in her new home.

I was really anticipating her having a lot of fear and needing to take her time, DeFilippo said. She has her home base in our bedroom. Shes warmed up quite fast. Once she realized she was safe and fed and realized she was being taken care ofshe came out of her shell.

DeFilippo describes a night and day difference between Bertha at the shelter and Bertha at her new home.

Shes been purring a lot, DeFilippo said. She really loves the attention of me, my partner and my roommate. She hasnt exhibited any fear. She meows a lot and is very happy to ask for what she needs, which is dinner at 7:30 (p.m.)sharp. When we visited her she was overstimulated. She wasnt letting us pet her. She was really overwhelmed. Now being here, she hasnt exhibited any of those behaviors. Im so happy she feels comfortable.

DeFilippo, who has created their own TikTok for Bertha, said they hope this adoption story might convince others to consider adopting an older cat.

I would really love to convey how much stability she has, DeFilippo said. A kitten is really young and exciting and cute but they are kind of difficult. They have so much energy and I just knew that wasnt the speed I was ready for. Knowing I can give an excellent home to an animal that really needs it is really important.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP)  An outpouring of legislative opposition and a likely threat of litigation aren't changing Gov. John Bel Edwards' mind about requiring some Louisiana students to get the COVID-19 vaccine during the next school year or file a written opt-out form.

The Democratic governor is facing increasing pushback to his response to the coronavirus outbreak  particularly on issues involving children  as the pandemic nears its two-year mark. Most of the objections and criticism are coming from Republicans, but the student immunization plan also has drawn opposition from some lawmakers within Edwards' own party.

Edwards intends to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the state's immunization schedule for K-12 schools and colleges for the 2022-23 school year  with broad exemptions for parents and students to opt out by submitting a written objection. Already, many of Louisianas colleges have begun requiring the vaccine or an exemption filing.

The House Health and Welfare Committee opposed Edwards' plan in a 13-2 bipartisan vote and on Thursday sent its written objection to the governor and the Louisiana Department of Health.

The committee determined that the proposed rule is not advisable, is unacceptable and is outside the scope of authority granted to LDH by the constitution and laws of this state, the letter says.

Edwards had 10 days from receipt of the letter to overrule that objection and declare he's enacting the vaccination plan anyway. He's expected to announce that decision this week.

Exactly when the lawsuit challenging the governor's immunization plan will be filed appears to be the only remaining question.

Attorney General Jeff Landry and House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, both Republicans, are among the officials who said they don't believe the Edwards administration has the authority to add the coronavirus vaccine to the immunization schedule.

Landry, who is eyeing a run for governor in 2023 and appeared at the House committee hearing with an anti-vaccine activist, has made legal feuds with the Democratic governor a hallmark of his tenure in office and has successfully challenged some of President Joe Biden's vaccine mandates.

Under Edwards' plan, the addition of the COVID-19 vaccine to the state immunization schedule will only apply to age groups for whom the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given full approval for the shots. Currently, thats students 16 and older. But that would broaden to cover younger children if the FDA grants full backing to the vaccine for more age groups.

The governor blames misinformation as the primary reason his plan faces so much resistance, telling an event audience Thursday: There are too many people seemingly on purpose trying to undermine confidence in the vaccine.

Misinformation about the shots and COVID-19 were widespread at last week's day-long House committee hearing, where some elected officials and members of the public downplayed the risks of the coronavirus illness, while inflating the risks of the vaccine.

But while many were spouting widespread inaccuracies, others had a more basic argument, calling the governor's plan governmental overreach that meddles in family decision-making. They noted that local school boards, the state education department and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education weren't involved in crafting the regulation  or supporting it in committee.

Republican lawmakers said they have been inundated with calls and emails from angry parents, and they described concerns for their own children.

As it relates to children, we just don't have enough information, said Sen. Patrick McMath, a Covington Republican who is the father of four youngsters.

Rep. Chris Turner, a Ruston Republican, agreed: I feel like it's being rushed.

U.S. health authorities and leading doctors groups urge vaccination. Even though the virus tends to be more severe in adults than children, COVID-19 is causing plenty of preventable suffering among youngsters.

Edwards' chief public health adviser, Dr. Joe Kanter, stressed that the federal government didn't skip steps in vetting and approving the vaccines for use, and he's expressed frustration that people suggest COVID-19 isn't a significant threat to children.

He said 18 children in Louisiana have died from COVID-19 since March 2020  compared to 10 children who have died of the flu over the last six years  and more than 275 children have developed a serious COVID-19 complication called multisystem inflammatory syndrome. He also noted that children can transmit the infection to vulnerable family members.

This virus does affect children in profound ways, and it's really scary I think when people minimize that, Kanter said.

___

EDITORS NOTE: Melinda Deslatte has covered Louisiana politics for The Associated Press since 2000. Follow her at http://twitter.com/melindadeslatte.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)  Family members of a slain woman and her daughter sat through a gruesome crime scene video that played in a Tennessee courtroom Monday  images of two blood-soaked bodies lying stabbed to death in awkward positions on the floor of their apartment, a knife resting next to the little girls foot.

Just feet away, the man convicted in the fatal stabbings 34 years ago, Pervis Payne, sat motionless as the footage showed the mother lying on her back and her daughter on her stomach, lifeless and awash in red.

The video was entered into evidence during a sentencing hearing in the case of Payne, who received the death penalty for the 1987 killings of Charisse Christopher and her 2-year-old daughter, Lacie Jo, but was removed from death row after court experts found him intellectually disabled.

Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Paula Skahan heard testimony from family and friends of Payne, who will be sentenced to two terms of life in prison by Skahan, the same judge who vacated his death sentence Nov. 23.

Skahan must decide whether Payne, 54, will serve the terms consecutively or concurrently. The distinction is significant. A ruling for the life terms to be served one after the other  or consecutively  would mean Payne would not be eligible for parole until he is 85 years old.

Should the judge decide that Payne can serve the sentences concurrently  or at the same time  Payne would be eligible for parole in just six years.

Essentially, the judge will decide whether Payne is a danger to society, his lawyer, Kelley Henry, told the judge. The hearing was set to continue Tuesday.

Payne was convicted on murder charges and sentenced to death in the deaths of Christopher and Lacie Jo in the Memphis suburb of Millington. Christophers son, Nicholas, who was 3 at the time, also was stabbed but survived.

Payne, who is Black, has always maintained his innocence. He told police he was at Christophers apartment building to meet his girlfriend when he heard the mother, who was white, screaming and tried to help. He said he panicked when he saw a white policeman and ran away.

During his trial, prosecutors alleged Payne was high on cocaine and looking for sex when he killed Christopher and her daughter in a drug-induced frenzy. Shelby County district attorney Amy Weirich has said the evidence overwhelmingly points to Payne as the killer. Her office initially contested the intellectual disability claims, but backed off after he was found mentally disabled.

Executions of the intellectually disabled were ruled unconstitutional in 2002, when the U.S. Supreme Court found they violate the Eighth Amendments ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

But until Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill this summer making Tennessees law retroactive in prohibiting the execution of the intellectually disabled, Tennessee had no mechanism for an inmate to reopen a case to press an intellectual disability claim. Payne's lawyers have said the new law was critical in freeing Payne from death row.

The case has drawn national attention from anti-death-penalty activists and includes the involvement of the Innocence Project, which argues for the use of DNA testing in cases claiming wrongful conviction. DNA tests failed to exonerate Payne.

Payne had been scheduled to be put to death last December, but the execution was delayed after the governor granted him a reprieve because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During Monday's hearing, Paynes supporters testified he was a kind, helpful person who liked to dance with his sister, cut his neighbors grass, give parishioners rides to the church where his father was a pastor, play drums in the church band, and served as a model inmate at the maximum security prison in Nashville where he has been held.

They also testified that Payne was born premature, had trouble reading and was excused from speaking during class and Sunday school because of his learning problems.

Payne's sister, Rolanda Holman, said her brother was just a nice, kind guy, and she recalled that she never saw him get angry. His father, Church of God in Christ pastor Carl Payne, said his son was a bit slow, but he was a hard worker.

He was a person who had the gift of helps, said Carl Payne, 79. He was always helping somebody.

Prosecutor Steve Jones asked Carl Payne if he knew if his son did cocaine. Carl Payne, who lived with his son in the family home until his arrest, said he did not ever see his son high on cocaine.

Before the witness testimony, most people in the courtroom watched the crime scene video in rapt silence. Some of Christopher's relatives closed their eyes and bowed their heads to avoid seeing the graphic footage.
MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP)  The Mayfield Consumer Products factory was the third-biggest employer in this corner of western Kentucky, an important economic engine that churned out candles that lined the shelves of malls around the U.S.

But why its workers kept making candles Friday night as a tornado bore down on the region remains unclear as rescuers continue scouring the factory wreckage for signs of life.

Kentuckys governor said Sunday the ferocity of the storm was so great that there was nowhere safe to hide inside the plant.

It appears most were sheltering in the place they were told to shelter, Gov. Andy Beshear said. "I hope that area was as safe as it could be, but this thing got hit directly by the strongest tornado we could have possibly imagined.

A company spokesperson said Sunday that eight of the 110 workers on the overnight shift Friday are confirmed dead and another eight are missing. More than 90 have now been accounted for, making the death toll lower than some had feared hours earlier.

Many of the employees were gathered in the tornado shelter and after the storm was over they left the plant and went to their homes, said Bob Ferguson, the company spokesperson. With the power out and no landline they were hard to reach initially."

Workers said they had been told to huddle in a central hallway area, the strongest part of the building, as the storm approached. Some had already left earlier in the night following a warning siren, they said.

The factory employs many people in and around Mayfield, a city of about 10,000 in Kentucky's southwest corner. It is Graves County's third-biggest employer, according to the county's website. Even some inmates at the county jail have worked there.

Scented candles made in the plant eventually found their way onto the shelves of prominent retailers like Bath & Body Works. The Ohio retailer said in a statement it was devastated by the horrible loss of life at the Mayfield Consumer Products factory  a long-standing partner of ours.

The company's founder, Mary Propes, in the mid-1990s literally started this in her garage and it grew to one of the largest candle-makers," Ferguson said.

And this was high season in Mayfield for turning out gift candles as Christmas approaches. Shortly before the disaster, the company had posted on Facebook that it was looking to hire more people for 10- to 12-hour shifts involving fast-paced work and mandatory overtime.

Most American candle-makers used to complete their holiday orders by early November, but labor shortages and other economic trends tied to the COVID-19 pandemic have extended crunch time well into December, said Kathy LaVanier, CEO of Ohio-based Renegade Candle Company and a board member at the National Candle Association.

LaVanier said candle-makers around the U.S. are horrified by what happened in Kentucky and are trying to find ways to help. Unlike many manufactured products, most candles sold in the U.S. are American-made, in part thanks to hefty and longstanding tariffs on Chinese-made candles.

All of us in the candle business are reeling, she said. It could have been any of us.

LaVanier said regular disaster drills are important at candle plants, especially to include temporary workers who might have just arrived to fill a demand surge. But the way they are built  rarely with basements, and structured to accommodate long manufacturing lines  makes it hard to avoid damage when a truly devastating storm hits.

If we had enough advance notice and felt it was severe enough you might send people home, she said.

Bryanna Travis, 19, and Jarred Holmes, 20, stood vigil near the rubble of the Mayfield candle factory Saturday where they had worked for months, usually for about $14.50 an hour. The engaged couple wasn't working when the storm hit.

I worked with these people. I talked to these people. I tried to build connections with these people. And I dont know if one of my friends is gone, Holmes said.

Holmes said there had been no drills during their time at the factory to prepare people in case of a storm.

We havent had one since weve been there, he said.

Ferguson, the company spokesperson, said drills were commonplace and workers followed the guidance when they found shelter.

There were regular drills and the employees went to the shelter, which is an interior part of that building, he said. They were there long enough even for attendance to be taken. But, he said, the tornado was of such rare size and strength that it had great destructive power.

The company said in a statement on its website that it had started an emergency fund to help employees and their families.

Were heartbroken about this, and our immediate efforts are to assist those affected by this terrible disaster, CEO Troy Propes, the son of Mary Propes, said in the statement. Our company is family-owned and our employees, some who have worked with us for many years, are cherished.

Kentuckys state safety and health agency website lists a series of 12 safety violations at the factory in 2019, though it doesnt say what they were for. Ferguson said it had to do with a worker's error involving a circuit breaker, which led to extensive safety trainings and a modest fine.

-

O'Brien reported from Providence, Rhode Island. AP writer Bruce Schreiner contributed to this report.
Allentown, PA (18103)

Today

Becoming partly cloudy. There might be a rain or snow shower well north and west, mainly early..

Tonight

Becoming partly cloudy. There might be a rain or snow shower well north and west, mainly early.
Another theatre gets the green light! A second Southwark Playhouse venue is set to open at Colechurch House in London Bridge from 2025.

The 10m purpose-built venue will have two theatre spaces (with 250 seats and 150 seats respectively), a cafe bar and dedicated front and back of house facilities, as part of developer CIT's redevelopment of a 1960s office block.

The new venue is to be the second space to open under the Southwark Playhouse team, with a new building to open in Elephant and castle next year.

Southwark Playhouse artistic director and CEO, Chris Smyrnios, said: "The move back to London Bridge has been a long time in the making, with many twists and turns. This deal with CIT brings us back to the London Bridge area and gives us a brand new venue that provides us with much needed capacity, critical to ensuring the future of our organisation.

"The new theatre and our involvement has been central to CIT's plans for Colechurch House from the beginning. They and their architects Foster and Partners have worked tirelessly to get the space and the deal right for us all through the depths of the pandemic.

"We get a brilliant new theatre that sits right at the gateway to London Bridge Station. It will mark a step change in our artistic output, and also open up exciting new possibilities for our youth and community programmes."

Note: a previous version of this article featured a production image provided to the press by the venue from a recent revival of a hit musical. Foster and Partners have since withdrawn this photo from circulation.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Associated Press sought answers Monday from the Department of Homeland Security on its use of sensitive government databases for tracking international terrorists to investigate as many as 20 American journalists, including an acclaimed AP reporter.

FILE - Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas speaks to reporters at the San Ysidro port of entry, Dec. 7, 2021, in San Diego. The Associated Press sought answers Monday from the Department of Homeland Security on its use of sensitive government databases for tracking international terrorists to investigate as many as 20 American journalists, including an acclaimed AP reporter. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Associated Press sought answers Monday from the Department of Homeland Security on its use of sensitive government databases for tracking international terrorists to investigate as many as 20 American journalists, including an acclaimed AP reporter.

In a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, AP Executive Editor Julie Pace urged the agency to explain why the name of Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Martha Mendoza was run through the databases and identified as a potential confidential informant during the Trump administration, as detailed in a report by Homeland Security's inspector general.

This is a flagrant example of a federal agency using its power to examine the contacts of journalists, Pace wrote. While the actions detailed in the inspector generals report occurred under a previous administration, the practices were described as routine.

The DHS investigation of U.S. journalists, as well as congressional staff and perhaps members of Congress, which was reported by Yahoo News and AP on Saturday. It represents the latest apparent example of an agency created in the wake of the 9/11 attacks using its vast capabilities to target American citizens.

DHS prompted criticism from Congress and elsewhere in July 2020 w hen it deployed poorly or unidentified agents in military-style uniforms to sweep people off the streets of Portland, Oregon, and hustle them into unmarked cars during protests outside the federal courthouse in the city.

This latest revelation prompted Sen. Ron Wyden to call on DHS to immediately turn over the inspector general report to Congress.

If multiple government agencies were aware of this conduct and took no action to stop it, there needs to be serious consequences for every official involved, and DHS and the Justice Department must explain what actions they are taking to prevent this unacceptable conduct in the future, said Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who has long sought more oversight of government surveillance.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, the Mississippi Democrat who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, said, If true, this abuse of government surveillance powers to target journalists, elected officials and their staff is deeply disturbing."

CBP said in a statement over the weekend that its vetting and investigative practices are strictly governed and that the agency doesn't investigate without a legitimate and legal basis to do so.

A DHS spokeswoman, Marsha Espinosa, said Monday that Mayorkas is deeply committed to ensuring the protection of First Amendment rights" and has developed policies that reflect this priority, thought she did not provide details.

We do not condone the investigation of reporters in response to the exercise of First Amendment rights, she said. CBP and every component agency and office in the Department will ensure their practices are consistent with our values and our highest standards.

In the AP's letter, Pace called for assurances that these improper practices and apparent abuse of power will not continue going forward.

That would be in line with recent order from Attorney General Merrick Garland prohibiting the seizing of records of journalists in leak investigations. That followed an outcry over revelations that the Justice Department under former President Donald Trump had obtained records belonging to journalists, as well as Democratic members of Congress and their aide s and a former White House counsel, Don McGahn.

During the Obama administration, federal investigators secretly seized phone records for some reporters and editors at the AP. Those seizures involved office and home lines as well as cellphones.

The DHS inspector general report that revealed the most recent disclosure of investigations of journalists also stemmed from a Trump-era leak investigation.

The IG was looking into the actions of Jeffrey Rambo, a Border Patrol agent who was on temporary duty with a Customs and Border Protection unit in the Washington D.C. area in 2017 when he accessed government travel records as part of a leak investigation involving reporter Ali Watkins, who was with Politico at the time and now writes for The New York Times.

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The inspector general opened its investigation after media reports exposed Rambo and his investigation of Watkins.

In the course of its investigation, the IG learned from Rambo that he had routinely run checks on journalists and others, including congressional staff, while working at the CBP unit, the Counter Network Division.

Rambo told investigators that he queried its databases about Mendoza before trying to establish a relationship with her because of her expertise in writing about forced labor, an area of concern for CBP because it enforces import restrictions. The AP reporter is a known expert on the subject who won her second Pulitzer Prize in 2016 as part of a team that reported on slave labor in the fishing industry in Southeast Asia.

The AP, in a separate statement from the Pace letter, also sought an explanation for the use of the databases to investigate Mendoza and other journalists.

We are deeply concerned about this apparent abuse of power, the AP said. This appears to be an example of journalists being targeted for simply doing their jobs, which is a violation of the First Amendment.

The inspector general referred its findings to a federal prosecutor for possible charges of misusing government databases and lying to investigators, but the Justice Department declined to prosecute Rambo and two other Homeland Security employees.
MADRID (AP)  More than 50 people were evacuated Monday from areas in northern Spain hit by record flooding following heavy rain and snowfall.

People stand beside the border of flooded area near the Ebro River in the small village of Pradilla de Ebro, Aragon province, northern Spain, Monday, Dec.13, 2021. Heavy rain has led to flooding in northern Spain. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

MADRID (AP)  More than 50 people were evacuated Monday from areas in northern Spain hit by record flooding following heavy rain and snowfall.

Spanish authorities blamed the flooding of swollen rivers for the deaths of at least two people since Friday, and the regions of Navarra and Aragon remained under severe weather warnings.

In Novillas, a village of 520 near the borders of both regions, local authorities ordered the evacuation of 55 residents as the Ebro River overflowed. The river's water level had swelled up to 8.5 meters (27 feet) in some areas, breaking a record set during flooding six years ago.

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In the Aragon regions capital, Zaragoza, authorities prepared for floodwaters to hit the city of 680,000 on Tuesday. Upstream, in Navarra, an area known for its vegetable crops, residents appraised their flood-related losses.

The combination of a heavy, dayslong storm and thawing snow brought a surge in the Ebro River and its tributaries, Spanish meteorological services said.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday linked the floods to the growing effects of climate change in the Iberian Peninsula.

He also announced that the Cabinet would issue a catastrophic zone declaration that frees special emergency funds for the areas affected by the storms.

___

Follow AP's coverage of climate change at https://apnews.com/hub/climate
MONTREAL - Gildan Activewear Inc. has signed a deal to buy Phoenix Sanford LLC, the parent company of Frontier Yarns, for US$168 million.

Gildan Activewear Inc. president and CEO Glenn Chamandy poses for a photograph following the apparel manufacturer's annual meeting Thursday, February 5, 2015 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

MONTREAL - Gildan Activewear Inc. has signed a deal to buy Phoenix Sanford LLC, the parent company of Frontier Yarns, for US$168 million.

Frontier is a producer of cotton, polyester and cotton blend yarns.

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It has four facilities in North Carolina employing about 800 employees.

Gildan says it bought about 40 per cent of Frontiers production this year for textile manufacturing in Central America and the Caribbean.

The company says the acquisition of Frontier will allow it to build on its global vertically integrated supply chain.

Chief executive Glenn Chamandy says the acquisition broadens and complements Gildan's existing yarn capabilities and provides additional capacity to support long-term growth.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 13, 2021.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GIL)
LOS ANGELES (AP)  William Shatner's durable role as an avatar of space's promise drew a frenzy of attention when fiction became fact with his rocket ride.

FILE - William Shatner, center, speaks as Audrey Powers, left, and Chris Boshuizen appear during a press availability at the Blue Origin spaceport near Van Horn, Texas, on Oct. 13, 2021. The "Star Trek" actor and the three fellow passengers soared to an altitude of 66.5 miles (107 kilometers) over the West Texas desert in a fully automated capsule, in a flight that lasted just over 10 minutes. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP)  William Shatner's durable role as an avatar of space's promise drew a frenzy of attention when fiction became fact with his rocket ride.

The Star Trek actor says he was as surprised by it as he was gratified by the 10-minute, suborbital jaunt made possible by billionaire Jeff Bezos. The experience is the subject of Shatner in Space, a hour-long special out Wednesday on Amazon Prime Video.

It details last October's flight that made Shatner, 90, the oldest person to reach space and explores what the streaming service called the growing friendship between Shatner and Bezos. The Amazon empire founder credits Star Trek" with igniting his interest in space travel.

Shatner, whose decades-long career includes The Defenders, T.J. Hooker and Boston Legal along with the original Star Trek series and films, wanted to be part of Bezos' Blue Origin launch last July, its first with passengers. Shatner saw joining trip No. 2 akin to being named vice president when the Oval Office was the dream.

He discussed his change of heart and the flight's impact in an Associated Press interview, shifting between philosopher and blunt storyteller who, at one point, invoked 1937s Hindenburg blimp explosion. Remarks were edited for length and clarity.

AP: The zest for adventure can ebb with the years, but it hasn't with you. How do you explain it?

SHATNER: Well, I've been doing a lot of foolish things, according to my wife, in the last many years. I'm probably an adrenaline junkie. A couple of years ago I drove a motorcycle across the country, and I recently went down 60 feet underwater and visited with four tiger sharks. I'm no stranger to thinking, Oh, geez, I can die here. But I didnt feel the necessity of going up into space. Why do I want to put myself in that position? Its uncomfortable. Ive got, my wife calls them velvet sheets, I can just snuggle in. Then I thought a little further about it, the idea of weightlessness and going into space and just the feeling, and (decided) Ill do it. When it caught peoples imagination I was absolutely shocked. I was as shocked about that as I was about the flight itself.

AP: But you're Capt. Kirk.

SHATNER: I know. But thats 55 years ago. There have been other things since then. The acquisition of knowledge was shocking, its popularity was shocking. Everything about it was extraordinary.

AP: Before the flight, you gave interviews in which you fretted about the dangers of the flight. Was that joking or jitters?

SHATNER: Werent you brought up on the Hindenburg burning? Its burning hydrogen. Thats what theyre putting in the (rocket) tank.

AP: You had an emotional conversation with Jeff Bezos immediately after the flight. What touched you so deeply?

SHATNER: I immersed myself in the last 50 years in the connectivity of the Earth and how connected everything is. Everything is beautiful on Earth, and we have destroyed millions of (living) things. And then I saw the Earth giving life and I felt such sadness. I saw how finite the Earth is. And you and me are little dots, not as large as ants. We are insignificant on this insignificant planet. And yet we are aware, we are observers of that insignificance. And thats significant.

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AP: Star Trek depicted advanced human behavior that we've yet to achieve. How do you see the world politically, environmentally?

SHATNER: Human beings resist change, probably part of our indigenous makeup. But change is happening so quickly, and more quickly than we imagined. The tipping points of these changes have happened in the last 50 years, and it takes longer than 50 years, I guess, for mankind to say, My God, the poles are melting.

AP: Are you optimistic about the future?

SHATNER: I interviewed Bezos several times while shooting this documentary, and Im hopeful that some of that will be in there. The last line he told me, which is what reverberates in my head, is, You have to hope. Without hope, what is there? So hes busy trying to get industry up into space, up into geocentric orbit, which we have the technology to do.

AP: Many decades have passed since Star Trek, but people still see Capt. Kirk as part of your public persona. Is that something you wish for or not?

SHATNER: Somebody once said, You get the career you deserve. And to change those words, you get the life you deserve. You made a decision based on what you knew at the time. You liked the guy, you didn't like the guy; you wanted to live in the city. Whatever the instances were that you turned left instead of right. You cant regret having made a decision because it was based on your need, whatever it was.
A Canadian company previously engaged in hydraulic fracturing is pivoting to solar glass production, and has chosen Selkirk as the base of its manufacturing operations.

A Canadian company previously engaged in hydraulic fracturing is pivoting to solar glass production, and has chosen Selkirk as the base of its manufacturing operations.

Albertas Canadian Premium Sands Inc., and the City of Selkirk announced the plans last week.

The move toward solar panel glass production is considered by the city to align with its sustainability mandate, and will create an estimated 300 jobs, while the company said the move toward solar panel development made strong business sense. Selkirk director of sustainable economic development Tim Feduniw called it "potentially the largest single industrial investment in the last 100 years in Selkirk."

When Canadian Premium Sands first received approved quarry leases in Seymourville, located about 160 kilometres north of Selkirk on the territory of Hollow Water First Nation, the company intended to use the silica sand deposits in fracking  a process in which silica sand particles are injected into the earth to extract resources.

Although the First Nations government agreed to the leases with CPS, which had its licence issued and approved by the province in May 2019, there has been opposition from some community members concerned over impacts on nearby bodies of water, air and land, as well as a lack of community consultation by their government or a community-involved environmental review beforehand.

"The silica sand of this unique landscape is central to Ojibwa spirituality," Hollow Waters Marcel Hardisty wrote in a 2019 op-ed for the Free Press. "It is like the stars in the Milky Way. We come from the stars, and we return to them  that is our belief. As a way of honouring that link, sand was used in burial rituals, placed on the ground around the deceased to guide them home to their place among the stars with their ancestors."

Albertas Canadian Premium Sands Inc. announced plans last week to pivot to solar glass production and has chosen Selkirk as the base of its manufacturing operations.

Now, instead of fracking, the publicly traded company intends to use that silica sand to manufacture panelled glass for the solar power industry.

CEO Glenn Leroux says the move makes good business sense. "When the oil and gas sector cratered, and then COVID hit, our original business plan wasnt viable anymore." So the company reconsidered potential uses for the low-iron silica, which is a base component of glass for solar panelling. Market research showed there were no North American solar glass manufacturers, Leroux said; all such product was sourced from China and other countries in the Pacific rim.

"This is a dramatic pivot for us, but every potential customer weve spoken to has growth plans," he said. "Solar is going to be a huge component of (future policy and carbon reduction targets). Its rapidly growing, and lets face it, its where the world is going, so its the right thing to do."

Even with the change in plans, some are skeptical and remain concerned over potential environmental impacts of the proposed operation.

Mary-Jane McCarron, who lived on Hollow Water for years and whose two sons are members, says while fracking is much more detrimental, there are still fears over the potential impact on the water, air, and land surrounding the quarry in Seymourville through extraction for glassmaking. As well, there are concerns the operation will go through the local trap line.

"This looks like a panicky effort to come up with something that looks environmentally responsible in order to get the money out," said McCarron, who is involved in Camp Morning Star, a demonstration set up after CPS was first issued licences in Hollow Water.

Don Sullivan, a research associate for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, wrote in an online article for the CCPA last week that the revamped plan "contains a good deal of greenwashing."

Jim Mone / The Associated Press Files Low-iron silica is a base component of glass used for solar panels.

Leroux disputed that statement, and said the change in direction was not a strategic way of "greening up," but that it made economic sense as solar power installation is anticipated to increase significantly in the next decade. Profit-wise, it was a better option, he said; environmentally, too.

On the environmental front, he said one-tenth as much silica will need to be extracted and processed for patterned-glass making annually as would have been extracted for fracking purposes. He also emphasized the products being made would promote a reduced reliance on carbon and promote renewable energy development. And, they wouldnt be coming from thousands of kilometres away.

"This is green, but we didnt set out to see how we can green this company," he said. "The business opportunity for solar glass was a way better opportunity."

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He also said that quarry leases are granted by the provincial governments mines branch. "CPS has participation agreements with financial benefit elements in place with both Hollow Water and Seymourville, the details of which are confidential," he wrote in an email.

Leroux said the company will need to receive a notice of approval for an alteration of its environmental licences, along with approval of business permits. Plus, the company will have to raise "hundreds of millions" of dollars in funding. Should they be successful in those regards, he anticipates development of the manufacturing facility could begin by the end of 2022.

For the city of Selkirk, that manufacturing facility would create approximately 300 jobs, according to a release from the company, and could potentially spur other developments in the solar energy sector.

A city spokesperson reiterated Selkirks role is as host, not as partner, in the proposed project. "We recognize that there were concerns about a proposed past project that did not go forward," an email read. "What has been presented to us is a very different project with very different environmental outcomes. It is solely about the manufacturing of solar glass."

"CPS in our dealings have demonstrated their belief and commitment to environmental licensing processes as well as respecting and working with (I)ndigenous communities and their associated land rights," the email continued. "It is our view that this project represents a positive transition in the energy sector as it looks to divert resources to greener energy products for the benefit of all."

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca
CALGARY - Suncor Energy Inc. says it expects its production next year to rise about five per cent compared with 2021.

A Suncor logo is shown at the company's annual meeting in Calgary, Thursday, May 2, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

CALGARY - Suncor Energy Inc. says it expects its production next year to rise about five per cent compared with 2021.

The Calgary-based company says it expects production next year to be 750,000 to 790,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

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Suncor says the production guidance comes as it ramps up production at the Fort Hills mine, partially offset by the sale of its stake in the Golden Eagle offshore operations in the United Kingdom.

Refinery throughput is expected to be 430,000 to 445,000 barrels per day in 2022.

The production guidance came as Suncor says it is planning $4.7 billion in capital spending for next year, down from its guidance earlier this year for up to $5 billion in 2022.

The plan includes $3.2 billion to $3.4 billion in sustaining capital, including planned maintenance and tailings optimizations.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 13, 2021.

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WASHINGTON (AP)  The Biden administration released an ambitious federal strategy Monday to build 500,000 charging stations for electric vehicles across the country and bring down the cost of electric cars with the goal of transforming the U.S. auto industry.

President Joe Biden speaks during a visit to the General Motors Factory ZERO electric vehicle assembly plant, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Biden administration released an ambitious federal strategy Monday to build 500,000 charging stations for electric vehicles across the country and bring down the cost of electric cars with the goal of transforming the U.S. auto industry.

"The future of transportation in our nation and around the world is electric,'' Vice President Kamala Harris said at an EV charging facility in suburban Maryland.

The $1 trillion infrastructure law President Joe Biden signed last month authorizes a nationwide network of charging stations and sets aside $5 billion for states to build them, including $63 million for Maryland. The law also provides an additional $2.5 billion for local grants to support charging stations in rural areas and in disadvantaged communities.

Bidens $2 trillion social and environmental policy bill, now pending in the Senate, includes a $7,500 tax credit to lower the cost of electric vehicles.

FILE - Vice President Kamala Harris, left, and Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, (unseen) attend a news conference, Monday, June 7, 2021, at the National Palace in Guatemala City. Harris on Monday, Dec. 13, 2021, is announcing $1.2 billion in commitments from international businesses to support the economies and social infrastructure of Central American nations, as she works to address what the White House terms the root causes of migration to the U.S. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

We want to make electric vehicles accessible for everyone,'' Harris said. Absolutely make it accessible for everyone and easy. Just like filling up your car with gas.

The auto industry already is moving toward electric vehicles, Harris added: "We need to make the shift faster and make sure it is driven by the United States.''

When public chargers are installed in rural, urban or suburban neighborhoods, we make it easier for people to go electric,'' Harris said, adding that the biggest barrier most people cite to buying an electric car is figuring out where and how to charge it.''

People who live in apartments may not have a private driveway where they can install a plug, she said, while rural residents may have to drive miles to the nearest charger.

Harris visited a maintenance facility in Brandywine, just outside Washington, where she received a demonstration of how chargers work and learned about a plan to electrify the government fleet in Marylands Prince Georges County.

Vice President Kamala Harris charges an electric vehicle in one of the charging stations during her tour of the Brandywine Maintenance Facility in Prince George's County, Md., highlighting the electric vehicle investments in the bipartisan infrastructure law and the "Build Back Better Act" Monday, Dec. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Theres no sound or fume! Harris exclaimed as she charged one of the countys vehicles. "How do I know its actually working? she asked with a laugh.

The car is fully charged when the display is a steady green, said Mahidhar Reddy, CEO and founder of SemaConnect, a Maryland company that made the charging station.

The new EV charging strategy establishes a joint electric vehicles office between the federal Energy and Transportation departments; issues guidance and standards for states; and ensures consultations with manufacturers, state and local governments, environmental justice and civil rights groups, tribes and others, the White House said.

The two departments also will launch an advisory committee on electric vehicles that officials hope will be up and running early next year.

Accelerated adoption of electric vehicles for personal cars and commercial fleets would help achieve Biden's goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emission by 2050 while creating thousands of jobs, the White House said.

The effort also is intended to help the U.S. leapfrog China in the plug-in EV market. Currently, the U.S. market share of plug-in electric vehicle sales is one-third the size of the Chinese EV market.

Biden has set a goal that electric cars and trucks account for half of new vehicles sold by 2030.

The LMC Automotive consulting firm expects U.S. sales of new fully electric vehicles to hit nearly 400,000 this year, almost double last years figure. EVs still make up only about 2.6% of sales, but the firm expects sales to grow to more than 730,000 next year and more than 2 million by 2025.

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Even at 2 million, EV sales still would be only about 12% of U.S. new vehicle sales.

Republicans, including some who voted in favor of the new infrastructure law, have criticized Biden for being preoccupied with electric vehicle technology when Americans are contending with a spike in gasoline and natural gas prices.

Republicans and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., also criticize a proposal in the Democratic bill that would offer an additional $4,500 tax credit for a vehicle made at a U.S. plant that operates under a union-negotiated collective bargaining agreement. Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican, called the plan a handout to union bosses that would penalize car makers with non-union workers.

Biden last month ordered a record 50 million barrels of oil released from Americas strategic reserve, in coordination with other major energy consuming nations. Gas prices have fallen in recent weeks as fears grow of another possible economic slowdown from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

___

Associated Press writer Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this story.
Anthony Sinclair was supposed to come straight home after picking up a two-litre of Pepsi on Thursday. Instead, community members spent Sunday evening mourning the father and friend and calling for justice.

Anthony Sinclair was supposed to come straight home after picking up a two-litre of Pepsi on Thursday. Instead, community members spent Sunday evening mourning the father and friend and calling for justice.

Jayme-Lea Sinclair, Anthonys common-law partner, said he left for the corner store by bike at 7:11 p.m. Thursday. The couple had been together for six years and cared for five young boys, all under the age of 14.

Anthony Sinclair (Facebook)

Minutes after leaving home, Anthony Sinclair was shot near the intersection of Stella Avenue and McGregor Street. Police arrived around 7:15 p.m., and Anthony was transported to Health Sciences Centre in critical condition.

Sinclair said two detectives arrived at her home around midnight that night and broke the news of his death.

The shooting appears random, Anthonys family and friends said. The Winnipeg Police Service has not announced any arrests.

Anthony Sinclairs cousin and best friend shares memories about his family member. (Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free Press)

"Of course I want justice for Tony, but still, at the end of the day, that doesnt bring him back," Sinclair said. "Every day, he taught me something new."

He was an "awesome father" who consistently put family before himself and respected women, she said.

"He would make sacrifices for us," she said. "If he had to go without a meal because sometimes money was tight, he would go without a meal to make sure that the kids and I ate."

Sinclair started calling family that Thursday night, when it was clear Anthony, 35, wasnt coming home.

"I was worried maybe it was a bike accident," she said. "That was not like him, to not come back."

Sinclair said she began calling hospitals at 10:30 p.m. She was on the phone with the missing persons unit when detectives knocked on her door.

Theresa Sinclair places a candle for her son, Anthony Sinclair, who was shot near the intersection of Stella Avenue and McGregor Street. (Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free Press)

She and the kids live just down the street from the scene. Theyll be moving to an Indigenous healing centre later this month, planned with the help of community members.

"(Violent people) dont think about the children that are left behind," Sinclair said, adding she feels lost without Anthonys wise words.

Kyle Eisener became close with Anthony at Daniel McIntyre Collegiate Institute, and they remained best friends.

"You just never think that this would happen to your brother that you grew up with," Eisener said.

Anthony would stand up for Eisener in school and "wore his heart on his sleeve," Eisener said.

"He was always a happy-go-lucky guy," he said. "I dont want him to be another statistic. Its so wrong."

Hes hoping Anthonys killer is caught.

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So is Stephanie Sinclair, Anthonys cousin. Stephanies mom raised Anthony; the two were akin to siblings.

"He was my goofy little brother," Stephanie said. "We want justice for my brother. We just want to know that the person isnt out there anymore walking the streets, and able to do that to anybody else."

Anthony wanted to enter school for welding. He has status with Berens River First Nation.

The gathering Sunday night was filled with drums and prayers at the corner of the incident. About 100 people were in attendance.

People with information about the case can call the WPS homicide unit at 204-986-6508 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-8477 (TIPS).

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com
An online forum with tens of thousands of members has become a catalyst for social activism in the Filipino community.

An online forum with tens of thousands of members has become a catalyst for social activism in the Filipino community.

With more than 52,000 members, 204 Filipino Forum and Marketplace is perhaps the largest online network of Filipino Manitobans, administrator and founding member Leila Castro said.

The page is a resource that connects its members with information, goods and community supports.

If a member needs food, emotional support, employment, advocacy or their car boosted during a snowstorm, they need only post and the Filipino community will answer the call, Castro said.

Castro boils the ethos of the group down to one word: bayanihan.

"(It means) helping together without expecting anything in return," she said.

The network of initiatives connected to the online forum extends beyond the province. When calamity strikes at home or abroad, the Filipino community comes together, Castro said.

Castro said she has seen the group rally behind charitable causes and organize vigils or donation drives in the wake of tragedy countless times. In 2018, a plea for aid in search of a missing person mustered more than 200 people overnight, she said.

The page has inspired dozens of its members to form community groups of their own, including Castro, who also founded 204 Neighbourhood Watch, a street safety group that conducts weekly patrols in neighbourhoods across the city.

Similar groups  such as Wolseley Watch and St. James-Deerlodge Neighbourhood Watch  followed suit, Castro said.

Castro started the Filipino forum alongside five others in 2015. Since then, it has far exceeded the groups expectations, becoming what she describes as a birthplace of positive community initiatives.

"We were also amazed at how fast it has grown," Castro said. "I guess that people are seeing the beauty of it. People are feeling the impact, and they feel goodthis group is pioneering a lot of good things, and (Filipinos) feel proud."

At any given time, the forum promotes multiple fundraisers and events. Castro points to fellow member Shiela Redublo as a current example.

Redublo is the president of Sulat-Kamay Charity Inc., which provides poverty relief in Canada and the Philippines. She and a small network of volunteers are in the midst of a donation drive to create 215 kindness boxes for people experiencing homelessness.

Participants are collecting donations of winter wear, hygiene products, snacks and gift cards and packaging them together. Redublo, her family, and volunteers will take to the streets of Winnipeg and distribute the gifts on Christmas Day.

Redublo, who grew up in the Philippines, understands hardship and the profound effect of an act of compassion, she said.

"Its very personal for me, what I do, because I have felt the benefits and the impact of being in a Canadian culture," Redublo said, holding back tears. "Thats the reason we do this. Because we try to make an impact."

This Christmas will mark the second consecutive year Redublo has given out kindness boxes. She is determined to make it an annual tradition, she said.

"There will always be an excuse not to give because you will always have a need," she said. "The real essence of blessing people is not only blessing people that have blessed you the actual gift is providing help to the people who will never be able to return something to you."

People who want to contribute to the kindness boxes can drop off donations at the Tim Hortons on Brookside Boulevard or at Auto Gallery of Winnipeg.

For her part, Castro has opted to give a different kind of gift this holiday season.

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In honour of her 50th birthday on Dec. 12, she asked her friends and community to donate blood to Canadian Blood Services. She hopes to provide blood from 50 donors  one for every year of her life, she said.

In November, Castro and 38 others donated blood for the cause. Of the donors, 34 were Filipino, she said.

She already has the final 12 donors lined up and hopes to have all 50 completed before the end of January.

Castro credits the 204 forum and the Filipino belief in bayanihan for making it possible.

"Its a simple concept, but its quite impactful. (It) cuts across whatever is the need of the community and that desire to do something positive. Not just for fellow Filipinos but for the multicultural community that is bayanihan," she said.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca
A hot meal is never far away for Brandon residents, thanks to Ted Dzogan and Ross Robinson.

A hot meal is never far away for Brandon residents, thanks to Ted Dzogan and Ross Robinson.

They founded Everyone Eats Brandon, a not-for-profit started to address food insecurity and waste. It provides nutritious meals for Brandon residents three days a week on a pay-what-you-can basis.

Ted Dzogan and Ross Robinson founded Everyone Eats Brandon, a not-for-profit started to address food insecurity and waste. (Submitted)

"We wanted to provide (people) with a hot meal to help them stretch their grocery budget," Robinson, 58, says. "That was the genesis of it."

"(If) you want a safe community, you make sure everyone has a meal in their belly," Dzogan, 44, says.

Food Matters Manitoba, another non-profit, defines food security as "when all people have what they need to eat well, all the time."

Before the pandemic, more than 14 per cent of Manitobans and more than one in five children experienced food insecurity. COVID-19 has intensified it.

Everyone Eats two paid employees work alongside volunteers to make more than 200 meals on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Meals can be picked up or delivered for free.

The pay-what-you-can model fosters a sense of dignity and self-efficacy, Dzogan and Robinson say.

"This model allows individuals to both receive and contribute to Everyone Eats, according to their individual means and capabilities," they wrote in an article for Canadian Dimension this year. "Our meals are also not cans of soup. These are healthy, chef-inspired meals typical of a nice restaurant."

The organization has served more than 31,000 meals since June 2020.

"Everyone Eats is a very simple way to show people that theyre loved and cared for," Robinson says.

Dzogan and Robinson, who are both longtime volunteers, are no strangers to giving back to the community.

Dzogan grew up in Winnipeg in a single-parent family and started volunteering as a child at Health Sciences Centre, where his mother worked as a nurse.

He now lives in Douglas, a community east of Brandon. He owns and operates Summus Security, a company that installs and monitors security systems across Canada.

He serves as board president at the John Howard Society of Brandon and is involved with Manitoba ALIVE, a youth leadership program for high school students.

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"I am a capitalist, and I do believe in free enterprise, but that is not the end goal of ones life," Dzogan says. "I want to be a good person."

Robinson is the executive director of the John Howard Society of Brandon and likes to volunteer anywhere he can, from assisting with a 12-step program to helping the United Way.

"Im very fortunate at this stage of life," he says. "Im healthy. Id like to think Im young at heart. My kids have moved on, and so my partner and I are available to do anything we get asked to do."

The two men encourage people to get involved in their community, because society benefits when people work together.

"You support each other by making sure that every time someone falls down, theres someone there to pick them up and get them back on their feet," Dzogan says.

If you know a special volunteer, please contact aaron.epp@gmail.com.
A four-year project is underway to replace the existing criminal-justice system for 11 Manitoba First Nations.

Communities in Treaty 2 territory are part of an effort to create an alternative system of law based on Anishinaabe traditions.

Its the most comprehensive undertaking of its kind in Canada and aims to go beyond restorative justice programs that have already been established in some First Nations communities, said Chantell Barker, who is working on developing the project for the Treaty 2 government. Its based on the Seven Circles teachings and focuses on a peacemaking tradition rather than Western law and order. It involves creating a new legal framework, court tribunal system and crime-prevention programs that are entirely centred on traditional healing.

The time is now for a broader Indigenous peacekeeping system, said Barker, a former provincial probation officer who did advocacy work for other Indigenous-led organizations before being hired by the Treaty 2 government last December.

"This is what I always wanted to do. Instead of just advocating for system change, (we) want to create a new system," she said.

Thirty years after the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry, its recommendations have languished, and countless recommendations and calls to action have not appeared to improve the criminal justice systems treatment of Indigenous offenders, Barker said.

"The overrepresentation of Indigenous people in correctional centres is not improving," Barker said. Neither is the relationship between police and Indigenous communities, she added, something thats only been made clearer when discriminatory incidents are captured on video and shared on social media.

"We need a system thats holistic. We need to have our own court system, our own peacekeeping, also known as policing; something thats going to really support what were trying to do with restorative peacemaking," she said.

The project would need about $17 million to get off the ground, and no federal funding agreements have been secured. Thats the next step, Barker said. Treaty 2 chiefs met with federal justice Minister David Lametti earlier this month and are working on developing an agreement-in-principle with the federal government, she said.

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On Nov. 18, Treaty 2 chiefs passed a resolution on the peacemaking framework, called the Peacemaking Onankonehkawin, from which other laws could flow. Public consultations with band members are expected to follow.

The idea is that the peacemaking system would function, at least initially, in a way thats similar to restorative justice programs  there would be no trials; those accused of wrongdoing would have to accept responsibility for their actions in order to participate. An Indigenous justice agreement has been passed in Yukon, and First Nations in other parts of Canada have been working on similar self-governed justice systems. Barkers research has examined parts of the Navajo Nations legal system in the U.S. to see if a similar approach could be adopted here.

Treaty 2 was signed 150 years ago, and its territory stretches from Dauphin River to Skownan, through central Manitoba and down to its southwestern border.

For the past year, Barker said shes been working on the first phase of the project, describing it as "the year of lawmaking." She acknowledges the project requires widespread recognition of the treaty, and that in the past, resolutions and laws passed by First Nations leadership have not been respected by provincial and federal governments. But she said Treaty 2 nations are not waiting around. Theyre trying to make progress now even in the absence of federal funding.

"Our attitude with Treaty 2 is that were just going to do it. Were just going to move forward," she said. "Part of the problem with our laws not being recognized is that we still have to use the provincial court system so were going to create our own laws and our own courts and tribunals."

katie.may@winnipegfreepress.com
IN the recent throne speech, our provincial government signalled it is not done with its educational interventions, noting that it is revisiting curriculum and student-outcome issues as identified by the K-12 education review.

Opinion

IN the recent throne speech, our provincial government signalled it is not done with its educational interventions, noting that it is revisiting curriculum and student-outcome issues as identified by the K-12 education review.

In doing so, it is still short-circuiting a prior, more fundamental question about education: what do parents and society want, need and expect from sending their children to school for 12 years or more?

In light of events with our southern neighbour, and the ill-advised proposals in the now-deceased Bill 64 to give some parents unfettered power over their childrens educational content, the committee chosen by the minister to review the curriculum framework would be well served to put this question to the public before embarking on its assignment.

If that doesnt happen, all questions about curriculum and its effects remain tentative and suspect at best, and will remain endlessly unresolved, as will those regarding outcomes, which rely on curricular hopes.

As a longtime educator, I have asked hundreds of parents, teachers as parents, and teachers as representatives of society and students, what they want for their children. The usual response, with some variation, is: We want our children to grow up to be happy.

In saying that, they are echoing the sentiments of human beings since the beginning of recorded history, and the ongoing musings of philosophers of education.

Digging deeper, we know theyre not just talking about some superficial, momentary joy or fun, but a deeper sense of personal, moral well-being and harmony with others and the worlds they inhabit. Nevertheless, achieving happiness remains a central aspiration of public policies on schooling.

Early democrats believed the greatest happiness could only be achieved through meaningful personal participation in the governing of society along with others who had the same opportunities. Active citizenship remains on the table as one contributing factor for happiness.

Zealous religious adherents believe happiness arises from an intimate beneficial relationship with a deity, or deities, depending on the religion in question. This usually translates into following literally the doctrines preferred by family adults and their practices, ensuring a divinely sanctioned happiness. It also remains a contender in todays world.

Combining elements of those two is seen by many as happiness resulting from a secure level of wealth and goods through either good fortune or well-paid employment  in other words, beneficial participation in the economy through divine favour or astute choices and judgments. It conceives happiness as coming to people because of personal worth, or reward for personal wisdom for which they are individually responsible.

Our happiness is more complex  not just good fortune, not just religious conformity, and not just power and wealth  we know many openly unhappy politicians, disappointed religionists and unsatisfied rich people.

In short, our happiness does not only depend upon our own dispositions, but also upon those of others with whom we share the world  how can we be happy when others are not? It is not just of our own undertaking, not entirely in our own hands, not just a result of our own choices, but also shaped by the world we live in with its different, sometimes competing, always elusive and fleeting notions of happiness.

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And still, we often treat education for happiness as a simplistic, one-size-fits-all and non-contentious quest to be solved by some partisan political ideology.

How are we, then, to resolve this endless conundrum and fleeting quest for happiness  by ensuring as much as possible that everyone can offer their perspectives, including individuals and groups, and the public as represented by governments.

Moreover, it is democratic governments that have the greatest responsibility to initiate, nurture and sustain the debate, reminding all of us often what we hope to achieve through education of our young for them and ourselves. And reminding us all that part of happiness is being able to participate in the debate on our own terms, always with a view to respecting others as we wish to be respected.

With that in mind, curriculum becomes more than downloading information, producing documents and perpetuating conventional knowledge. It includes the creation of new knowledge  personal, contextual and idealistic  and the ways we encourage this. It includes who teaches, who children live with and their values and dreams, and the other people of their own age.

And outcomes are more than unquestionable right answers on standardized tests  they are judgments about happiness based on real-life experiences. This is the stuff of a necessary, never-ending public educational dialogue.

John R. Wiens is dean emeritus at the faculty of education, University of Manitoba. A lifelong educator, he has served as a teacher, counsellor, work education co-ordinator, principal, school superintendent and university professor.
A parent is calling for rapid testing at schools and daycares after the newest iteration of COVID-19 appeared in the centre her children attend.

A parent is calling for rapid testing at schools and daycares after the newest iteration of COVID-19 appeared in the centre her children attend.

Public health officials identified a case of the omicron variant in a Little Voyageurs Learning Centre daycare this weekend. The preschool program temporarily closed after learning of two COVID-19 cases, one of which was later identified as the omicron variant.

The centre, located inside Ecole Provencher, has shuttered while 18 staff members get tested. They must be cleared before returning to work.

"I wish we had access to rapid tests," a parent, who asked to remain anonymous, said.

"I am upset at the government for not releasing these (rapid) tests and for not providing information on how many have been released They could be being used in daycares and schools for this exact reason."

The parent was "shocked and worried" after receiving an email about the omicron case on Saturday. The daycare, which has space for 48 preschoolers, has been closed since Dec. 5.

All staff members and students in a building should use a rapid test when a COVID-19 case is confirmed, the parent said. The parent also wants to see mandatory negative tests after returning from the holiday break.

Children ages five through 11 became eligible for COVID-19 vaccination in Canada on Nov. 18, with pediatric-sized doses rolling out later that month.

Ontario is sending rapid COVID-19 tests home with its students to use over the winter vacation.

Ten Manitoban doctors, including Dr. Dan Roberts in Health Sciences Centres critical care unit, have signed a letter detailing a crisis facing the provinces hospitals and urging Manitoba to take action.

"Our critical care services are failing," the letter reads. "We will once again have to fly out ventilated patients to other provinces."

It calls on the provincial government to make rapid tests widely available to schools and businesses. It also states COVID-19 vaccination should be mandatory for students who attend in-person classes, barring medical exemptions.

Jodie Kehl, executive director of the Manitoba Child Care Association, said child-care centres should remain vigilant about their safety policies, just as they have throughout the pandemic.

"I guess it was just a matter of time before we unfortunately heard this," she said of the omicron case at Little Voyageurs. "I think its just a really good reminder that this pandemic is not done with us yet."

A notice from the centre Saturday told parents to keep family members home, regardless of their vaccination status, because a case of the omicron variant of concern was identified. People must receive a negative COVID-19 test to stop self-isolating.

"I am extremely happy with how the daycare has handled everything COVID-related, including this potential exposure," another parent, who wants to remain anonymous, wrote in an email.

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"They have always met or exceeded provincial guidelines. Having the dubious honour of the first publicly known omicron exposure is just awful for them They are a great daycare centre, and this just such bad luck."

The site is one of three run by the licensed child-care centre. The other two are located in Marion School and Prince Edward School.

"We are anxiously waiting to get back to what we do best, which we hope will be on Wednesday," the letter to school-age parents states.

New modelling released by the federal government on Friday suggests the omicron variant could lead to a surge in COVID-19 cases.

The province announced five cases of the omicron variant last week. The Little Voyageurs case is the first linked to a publicly identified location. Two of the five infected people had travelled to one of the southern African countries that are currently under a Canadian travel ban. The other three are close contacts of the second announced case.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com
Doctors and scientists are trying figure out why people have such a range of disease reactions and patterns to COVID-19 infections. In a family or living unit the disease can range from asymptomatic to deadly. One such investigative path is seeking prior similar viral infections that could bolster immunity.

The COVID-19 virus, SARS-CoV-2, is not the only coronavirus (CV) in the world. Many people world-wide have had other coronavirus infections that created immune system memories that can re-awaken with a COVID infection and produce some antibodies that cross react with the COVID spike proteins to inhibit it from being as nasty as it could be. Two fairly recent research articles discussed that aspect.

There are 4 common coronaviruses we know about in communities all over the world causing upper respiratory infections that are classed as colds, and are considered harmless, unlike COVID. There are also the 2003 original Asian SARS epidemic and the 2012 MERS-CoV epidemic in the Middle East viruses. There are many known coronaviruses that cause a wide variety of mild and severe infections in domestic and companion animals like livestock, dogs and cats. And lets not forget the ones in wild critters like bats, etc., that have provided us with our epidemic and pandemic viral curses.

One short article in Science News (Jan. 19, 2021) from Northern Arizona University and another from the medical institute of virology at the University of Zurich (USH), Switzerland, (Nov. 2021) discussed this topic. The first study used some new, high-powered research techniques to analyze the antibody response in prior coronavirus infections compared to the antibody response to SARS-CoV-2. They found 2 cross-reactive sites on the spike proteins among the viral varieties.

They wrote that our findings highlight sites where the SARS-CoV-2 response appears to be shaped by previous corona exposures.  The findings could help explain the widely varying reactions COVID-19 patients have to the disease, from mild or no symptoms to severe reactions requiring hospitalization, and often resulting in death.

The Swiss paper researchers used a specially developed assay to analyze antibody levels against the four mild coronaviruses in 825 samples taken before COVID emerged. They also examined 389 samples from donors infected with SARS-CoV-2. They were able to demonstrate that people who caught COVID had lower levels of antibodies against the harmless CVs. Also, people with high levels of antibodies to those harmless CVs were less likely to have been hospitalized after contracting COVID . Our study shows that a strong antibody response to human coronaviruses increases the level of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 infections. This type of immune response is called cross reactivity. It also occurs in the T lymphocyte cellular art or arm of our immunity.

People are only fully protected against COVID after they have had that infection or effective vaccination against, or both. Finding partial immunity from prior related CV infections doesnt explain the original question. Other efforts are underway to uncover people whose genetic make-up doesnt permit them to get infected with the COVID virus, with the idea of trying to utilize that knowledge to artificially create a similar defense.

An Oct. 29, 2021, article from Nature Immunology describes the search by an international team of scientists who are hunting for those genetically resistant to SARS-CoV2. It is another approach, but also another complete topic for another time.

Trying to understand something as complex as our immune system is almost beyond human understanding. But if we can decipher protective mechanisms that nature has already devised and recreate them to prevent disease, like vaccines (Hint!), the search and research is worth it.

In my private musings I keep going back to whether certain foods might help make you immune. Being of Czech heritage, I am a great fancier of poppy seed. If there were a study designed to test poppy seed as being the magic defense, I would join it in a flash. Even if it didnt work, popping all those sweetened poppy baked goods would be worth it if it didnt change my belt size too much. Anything for science.

Dr. Bures, a semi-retired dermatologist, since 1978 has worked Winona, La Crosse, Viroqua and Red Wing. He also plays clarinet in the Winona Municipal Band and a couple dixieland groups. And he does enjoy a good pun.
The Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union held its second annual Coins for a Cause fundraiser on Friday.

The event is a partnership between Affinity Plus, Fox 9, and various food banks in Minnesota. All proceeds from the event go to local food banks.

The event was started because of not only the pandemic, but the national coin shortage that took place last year. But the idea for collecting coins had an extra meaning behind it to Winona branch manager Jamie Baumann.

We knew there was a coin shortage, we had all of the national news and so we thought, whats a way that we can make impactful for our for our communities? said Baumann. (Our members) might not have 20 bucks or 50 bucks that they can donate, but they might have a jar of change.

With the event being a drive-thru, the pandemic didnt have as much of an impact on Coins for a Cause. Community members donate change without having to get out of their cars.

Obviously, there are some people that are still sensitive to the pandemic and we want to be respectful of that, especially if theyre going to be donating to our cause, Baumann said Friday morning. They really just drive up theyll either give us a bag of coins through their window or theyll say Hey, Ive got it in the trunk. Well grab it out. And then we have a little goodie bag for them with some trinkets from Fox 9 and affinity plus, obviously, along with a coupon for the Glow events in the cities, so big lighted glow night events that participants can get a free ticket for that as well.

Baumann was also thankful for having partners in this endeavour, such as Fox 9 and Second Harvest, calling their contributions huge for the success of Coins for a Cause.

But the drive-thru was only a small component of the event. Throughout the week, the credit union collected collecting donations on location.

For Baumann, this event is something that not only is important for Affinity Plus but for her personally.

I think my favorite part is simply the ability to give back, Baumann said. Events like this are exciting because it gets people out and about and we get to see those members that weve missed so dearly, and have these great conversations and its a win win for everybody.

Although the event may be over, there are still ways to donate to the cause. Visit affinityplus.org/coins or visit the Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union at 120 East 2nd Street in Winona to donate. The totals for the event are expected sometime this week.

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Yang was elected to the Dane County Farmers Market board of directors right before COVID-19 hit. Hes the first Hmong person to hold the post. Since the beginning of his tenure, Yang said, he has found it a challenge to convince Hmong vendors to upgrade their business models.

Many Hmong vendors dont accept credit cards nor use mobile payment systems such as Square, Yang said.

Yang said he recently explained the benefits of credit cards to one vendor who refuses to accept card payments. Yang said the vendor worries he will have to pay more in taxes, which is why his stand is cash-only.

On average, about 80% of our sales come through credit cards, Yang said of his bakery. They dont understand what this means to them.

Pandemic costs

Wisconsin is home to the third-largest Hmong population in the United States, according to U.S. census data. Some 6,000 Hmong live in Dane County, according to the 2011-2015 American Community Survey, and farming is a primary or secondary source of income for many.
Thank you, Witsies!

From the Desk of the Wits Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Zeblon Vilakazi: We are stronger because of the diversity of our people and our ideas.

We are on the cusp of our Centenary  our 100-year-old story  which provides an opportune moment for us to reflect on the challenges of our past, and to build on our successes, as we cast our gaze towards #Wits2033.

If we look through our time tunnel, we learn that some things have not changed  the commitment to academic and research excellence on which this University was founded, the search for truth and justice, and the making of decisions based on reason, logic, facts, and scientific evidence.

Looking forward, we need to build on these strong foundations, in order for Wits to become the undisputed global university that will tackle the complex problems of the 21st Century from the perspective of the Global South, using our multidisciplinary strengths. Recent global events have demonstrated that while South Africa may have some of the best scientists in the world, we operate within a challenging context characterised by global asymmetries of power and associated projections, and if we are to secure our own futures, we must address our major societal and planetary emergencies, many of which are still unknown.

We need to remain the reference point in Africa on medicine and be at the forefront of science that ensures better health for all. We need to address the scourge of inequality and gender-based harm, we must ensure our economic sustainability, and address the climate emergency with urgency. We need to integrate the convergence of the digital exponential with the biophysical world and ensure that it benefits society. These are only some of the major challenges on our doorstep.

MMXXI

This moment also allows us to reflect on this year - characterised by change and uncertainty, but filled with stories of progress, resilience, and hope, that enables us to advance as humanity.

We successfully completed the academic programme despite the challenges associated with the pandemic, made great advances in research, and teaching and learning, and put Wits on the map in all aspects related to tackling the global pandemic.

The University also passed the Covid-19 mandatory vaccination policy, which will be implemented from 1 January 2022 (although everyone will have until 1 March 2022 to get vaccinated or apply for reasonable accommodation).

There are hundreds of extraordinary achievements made by Witsies this year, too many to capture in this newsletter, many of whom are ordinary heroes who go beyond the call of duty to change the world for good.

I would like to dedicate this newsletter to all members of the Wits community, and all constituencies who make up our University. We are stronger because of the diversity of our people, our ideas, and our disciplines, and the special place that Wits occupies in the hearts and minds of all Africans.

Allow me to extend my appreciation to every person who has contributed meaningfully to the success of the University - be it through your teaching, research, professional support, or social leadership. Thank you for ensuring that the academic programme is delivered, and that Wits runs smoothly.

A leadership transition

There has been a significant but seamless leadership transition in 2021. I assumed the role of Vice-Chancellor and Principal in January and re-organised the Senior Executive Team (SET) so that there is now better coordination between the strategic, academic, and operational arms of the University, whilst ensuring its overall financial sustainability.

The appointment of Professor Ruksana Osman as the Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic, Professor Lynn Morris as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation, and Professor Ian Jandrell as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Systems and Operations has enabled this integration.

Professor Thokozani Majozi has assumed the role of Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment and Ms Maureen Makole Manyama has been appointed as the Chief Financial Officer as from 1 March 2022 (she will be formally introduced next year). The recruitment and selection process for the appointment of a Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Human Resources, Transformation and Finance will be initiated in 2022.

Given his expertise, I have also redeployed Professor Imraan Valodia from his current post as the Dean of the Faculty of Commerce Law and Management to serve as the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Climate Sustainability and Inequality. This will enable the University to lead a multifaceted and coordinated approach to deal with the twin challenges of climate sustainability and inequality as part of a just transition to a green and sustainable economy. It is envisaged that the Pro Vice-Chancellor will facilitate the academic and organisational coordination in this initiative that crosses faculties and functional units in the Universitys administration to foster cooperation between individuals, groups, research centres, schools, and faculties from the vantage point of the Vice-Chancellors Office. The intention is that the Pro Vice-Chancellor will facilitate the development of concerted research, teaching and policy engagement programmes that build on the existing strengths of Wits academics.

Arrangements are in place for Professor Jason Cohen to serve as the Acting Dean of the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management in the interim. I thank Professor Valodia for accepting this strategic, important assignment.

I must emphasise that the academic stature of all SET members has contributed to the reinforcement of Wits standing as a leading academic institution and provided sound leadership and certainty this year. I thank the newly constituted Senior Executive Team, who are supported by Heads of Schools and Senior Managers, for leading from the front, and for working tirelessly to take Wits into the future.

Towards #Wits100

Finally, on the eve of our Centenary, I would like to celebrate the numerous milestones that we have met this year. We have crafted a new Wits100 Case for Support, made a global appeal to alumni, initiated advancement developments in Australia and strengthened our offices in the US and UK. We also developed new strategic partnerships, including fruitful collaborations with the University of Edinburgh and University College London and initiated meetings with key donors, alumni and friends of Wits.

The #Wits100 year is not only about the Wits Centenary Campaign, or advancement, or fundraising. It is an opportunity for you to celebrate Wits 100th anniversary in your own way. Many schools and divisions have started thinking about their plans for #Wits100  give it some thought, and get involved, so that we can celebrate together.

In conclusion

Wits has an important role to play in the future of South Africa and the continent, and in the global sphere. How do we harness all the talent and the resources that we have at our disposal to craft a new future for Wits, to create hope in society, and to use our centenary to change the lives of people, for good?

I wish you a joyous and safe festive season and if you havent already, please vaccinate.

I look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.

Professor Zeblon Vilakazi

Vice-Chancellor and Principal

University of the Witwatersrand
Triumph for Mandela and Castro medical programme

Wits Covid-19 Heroes support the vision to increase doctors from historically disadvantaged areas.

Pumla Mofokeng is one of the mothers who keeps a caring eye on the 301 medical students some of whom are scattered across facilities in Gauteng and the North West.

It is a job, even when easy, that requires making sure the students of the Nelson Mandela, Fidel Castro (NMFC) medical programme have enough to eat and that there is nothing that will distract them from that goal of being day one ready for their medical internship.

There are times when the job even requires helping a student with their personal problems such as in March last year when everything was turned upside down. Covid-19 struck and South Africa went into a hard lock down.With this came enormous challenges, but through true grit determination and team work the students were able to continue studying towards the goal of graduating and taking up a medical internship.

These medical students that end up at Wits are part of a programme that was born out of an agreement between Mandela and Castro in 1996, that aimed to address the shortage of doctors in South Africas rural areas. Across South Africa qualified students are given the opportunity to study medicine in Cuba, paid for by the government.It is a five year long course and once the students return to South Africa they enter an 18-month programme run by several universities that aims to integrate them into the local health care system. It is a programme that will see them going through short rotations at various health care facilities. With this comes the logistics of paying for and organising transport and accommodation.

Then Covid came along and we had to go into blended learning, explains Mofokeng, the administrator coordinator in the NMFC programme.

Blended learning involves using online teaching with more traditional classroom methods.

But there were also other more immediate problems. As South Africa went into a hard lock down students were asked to vacate their residences.

The staff worked hard to find alternatives that would enable students to study whilst keeping an eye on their wellbeing.

As the other students dispersed across the country the challenge was allowing them to continue to study. They had to be provided with data and those who didnt have tablets or laptops were catered for via the Wits laptop loan bank. Whatsapp became a teaching tool, but for many internet connectivity was a problem.

The varying ICT infrastructure also required open communication between students, administrative and academic staff.

In the front line making it all happen, says Mofokeng was the director of the NMFC programme, Professor Richard Cooke.

When the hard lock down ended and South Africa moved to level two, the students were allowed to return. Now came the task of having to work and learn in a world still gripped by a pandemic. At the various living quarters, Wifi had to be upgraded so that students could now access the internet from their rooms and not in common areas such as computer labs which were now function under Covid regulations.

Bedside learning and classroom learning was now limited to small numbers, says Dr Anastasia Ugwuanyi, a coordinator and lecturer within the NMFC. When it came to assessments we had to try a lot of things, we had to do hybrid examinations, where students would link in with Microsoft Teams, while an examiner was present. There was a lot of innovation.

Both staff and students had to learn to access classes online.

For Ugwuanyi it meant lots of organising and endless meetings. "I literally got to a point where I felt like my butt was stuck to a chair, she laughs.

After a while students and staff got the hang of the new way of teaching. And as South Africa nears the two year anniversary of that first lock down, many of the innovations that were introduced are set to stay. One of these are the online night tutorials, that students can access wherever they are currently stationed in health care facilities across Gauteng and North West.

Online learning does achieve a lot more, students are now able to use resources they would never have been introduced to if this hadn't happened, says Ugwuanyi.

Now that it is the end of the year exams have been written and one class is set to graduate. However, for Mofokeng and Ugwuanyi there are still students to look after as the programme continues to implement the shared vision between the two countries.

The students know that I and Dr A (Ugwuanyi) are mothers to them. They know they can come to us for anything, says Mofokeng.

About Wits Covid-19 Heroes

The Wits Heroes Series celebrates staff and students who went beyond the call of duty at the onset of Covid-19 in 2020. Wits Heroes were nominated by members of the Wits community. Discover other Heroes.
Alumna honoured with the 2021 Outstanding Educator Award

Denise Nicholson recognised for her commitment to intellectual property rights and improving library access.

After nearly 38 years service at Wits, alumna Denise Nicholson (LLM 2012) shows no sign of slowing down as a retiree.

The specialist librarian in copyright and scholarly communication, who retired from Wits at the end of 2020, recently added an Outstanding Educator Award to her long list of accomplishments at the 2021 Unisa Chancellors Calabash Awards.

The accolade was presented at a ceremony held on 26 November 2021 by Unisas Chancellor and former President of South Africa, Dr Thabo Mbeki, in recognition for her contribution to the library and intellectual property worlds. Nicholson has been an advocate for more balanced copyright laws in South Africa and other developing countries.

I am honoured, humbled and very happy to be the recipient of the Calabash Outstanding Educator Award this year, she said during her acceptance speech.

My passion has always been to improve access to knowledge for all. Through conferences, lectures, workshops, webinars, publications and my online newsletter which I started in 1998, I have shared information about access to knowledge, copyright and related matters, open access, scholarly communication and research integrity with thousands of people in South Africa and around the globe.

Nicholson started a small consultancy called Scholarly Horizons to continue her work in copyright, open access and scholarly communications in the broader community. Among her many roles, she has been advocating for the Copyright Amendment Bill to be passed.The Bill was approved by Parliament in March 2019, but is currently still under review.

It will increase access to knowledge, and enhance research, education and creativity in the digital world. It will allow accessible formats for people with disabilities, who have been deprived of such rights in the current copyright law. It will also enable libraries, archives and museums to carry out their statutory mandates, to provide access to information to all, especially for teaching, learning and research, and to preserve our documentary record and cultural heritage. We all need this Bill urgently.

In September this year Nicholson was a presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Library and Information Association of South Africas (LIASA) online conference for her work as a long-serving copyright services librarian and as a scholarly communications librarian at Wits. It was acknowledgment of her lifelong contribution of leadership, commitment, service and achievements.

Some of her previous awards include: LIASAs Academic Librarian of the Year Award in 2001, Unisa Department of Information Science Alumnus of the Year in 2009, LIASA Librarian of the Year in 2010 and the Wits Vice Chancellors Academic Citizenship Award in 2015. Her work was beyond the call of duty and raised the international profile of the University, Professor Andrew Crouch, former Vice-Principal, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science, said at the time.
NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. - The Oneida County Health Department held a vaccination clinic at the Sangertown Square Mall Sunday morning.

The vaccination clinic was held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m for children ages five to 11. Participants who received their shot were given a $100 gift card.

Daniel Gilmore, Director Oneida County Health Department, said the vaccines distributed were not an adult dosage but a smaller dose specific for children.

Gilmore said, "We've been conducting these types of pods in partnership with pediatric groups in the area and at our clinics for children since they became available."

The health department says to be sure to consult with your pediatrician before allowing your child to receive a covid vaccination of any kind.
FLOYD, N.Y. - A Rome man is charged with assault after police say he kicked an end table that struck a person in the face.

Police say last Tuesday, 46-year-old James Newey of Rome was involved in a dispute at a residence on Stearns Road in the Town of Floyd that resulted in the person receiving a broken nose.

Newey is charged with assault and was issued an appearance ticket.
UTICA, NY - The Mohawk Valley was filled with the sound of music Sunday afternoon.

Christmas music.

After being kept silent for the past 18 months due to covid-19, the Mohawk Valley Choral Society returned to the stage bringing the sounds of the holiday season to an eager audience.

They performed a "Christmas Collage" at Our Lady of Lourdes church in Utica. The concert included music from various cultures and composers.

Basically something for everyone to enjoy.

"I've never come to this before", admitted Pat Remington. "My cousin's in this. I just thought they all did a very good job. It was very, very nice."

"Mostly you don't get to hear that music a lot" says Maureen West. "When you see how many talented people we have in the community it's just wonderful to come out and hear them".

The Mohawk Valley Choral Society has been entertaining audiences for 40 years.

Their next concert is scheduled for May 2022.
Data shows that the Midwest to Lower Ohio Valley has averaged a violent to strong tornado episode in December about once per decade since 1950........I will examine 1880s to 1914 soon....

December 3-4, 1916: F3 southwestern Indiana, 4 F3-4 tornadoes alone

December 4-5, 1925: F3 western Kentucky, 3 F3-4 tornadoes alone

December 30, 1946: F3 western Kentucky

December 11-12, 1949: F4 Missouri to Illinois, 3 F3-4 tornadoes alone

December 2-3, 1950: F3 southern Illinois with 2 F3s

December 6-7, 1951: F3 northern Illinois

December 9, 1952: F3 western Kentucky

December 19-20, 1957: F5 southern Illinois with 11 F3-5 tornadoes alone

December 21-22, 1967: F4 tornado eastern Missouri with 5 F3-4 tornadoes alone.

December 15-16, 1971: F3 Missouri with 3 F3s

December 12-13, 1982: F3 south-central llinois with 8 F3s

December 1-2, 2018: EF3 central Illinois with 2 EF3s

December 10-11, 2021: Possible EF4-EF5 Kentucky with preliminary count of 4 EF3s

10 Deadliest Single Tornadoes On Record for the U.S.

695.......March 18, 1925. Tri-State Tornado (Missouri-Illinois-Indiana)

317........May 6, 1840. Natchez, Mississippi

255.......May 27, 1896. St. Louis, Missouri

216........April 5, 1936. Tupelo, Mississippi

203.......April 6, 1936. Gainesville, Georgia

181........April 9, 1947. Woodward, Oklahoma

158.......May 22, 2011. Joplin, Missouri

143.......April 24, 1908. Amite City, Louisiana-Purvis, Mississippi

117........June 12, 1899. New Richmond, Wisconsin

116.......June 8, 1953. Flint, Michigan

_________________________________________________________________

NOW-THURSDAY:

We are dry until Tuesday night when showers return.

After highs today of 45-51, 48-55 is likely Monday, then 52-57 Tuesday. Monday looks mostly sunny to partly cloudy, but clouds increase Tuesday to cloudy skies late.

Some showers arrive Tuesday night with 50s, followed by windy weather & record warmth Wednesday as showers taper in the morning.

A line/band of showers & storms should fire from Wisconsin to Texas Wednesday evening. Parameters suggest MARGINAL (Level 1 of 5) to SLIGHT RISK (Level 2 of 5) unusually far to the north for the time of year (potentially to Wisconsin).

Highs of 62-67 are expected Wednesday with south-southwest winds up to 40 mph.

Line/band of rain & storms should pass Thursday morning with MARGINAL RISK parameters for severe potentially getting into part of the viewing area, depending on how much buoyancy or instability is available.

Highs will run in the 60s in the morning Thursday, then fall rapidly to the 30s & 40s by afternoon with northwest winds up to 40 mph.

Total of 0.50-1" of rainfall is currently expected.

As front stalls, up to 2" of rainfall could occur over southern Indiana.

___________________________________________________________________

FRIDAY-CHRISTMAS EVE:

Friday looks cooler with highs in the 38-45 range with an east to southeast wind & widespread rainfall developing as front stalls & wave of low pressure rides along it.

Rain may end as period of snow for part of the area as the colder air comes in Saturday morning. After 33-38 Saturday morning, temperatures should fall to 28-32 by Saturday afternoon.

North winds may gust to 35 mph.

Total rainfall of 0.75-1.25" is possible. Up to 3" of rainfall could occur over southern Indiana.

It then looks dry until Christmas Eve with highs largely in the 20s & 30s at this point with lows in the teens & 20s.

Rain, icy mix or snow is possible on Christmas Eve-Day. Temperatures are a hair unclear, which will determine dominant precipitation type from storm system.

_________________________________________________________________

EARLY JANUARY:

Coldest of the air should arrive in early January with snowy conditions at times as we stay in solid Phase 7 to 8 MJO, which are cold phases with snow risk.

7 tends to be the snowiest with 8 more of a clipper pattern.

EPO, NAO, AO, WPO & potential more of a Modoki style La Nina after Sudden Stratospheric Warming Event all supports lots of Arctic air invading the area.

Brutal cold with many nights below 0 to even -20 in parts of the viewing area are possible.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP)  A Civil War museum has reopened in the Indiana War Memorial after having to move from its previous site at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in downtown Indianapolis because water leaks endangered the collection.

All the artifacts were moved from Col. Eli Lilly Civil War Museum in 2018 and stored at the Indiana War Memorial a few blocks north of Monument Circle.

Indiana War Memorials Commission director Stewart Goodwin told the Indianapolis Business Journal that work on redesigning the museum took about two years.

It gave us a lot of opportunities to do some things that we probably should have done a long time ago, Stewart said. We are now displaying original artifacts that were never, ever on public display. Weve gone from displaying one or two original Civil War battle flags to where we now have 15 that are on display.

Work is continuing on improvements at the 284-foot-tall Soldiers and Sailors Monument, which was built in 1902 but has been closed to the public for about two years. That includes replacement of the elevator to the upper observation deck and gift shop upgrades.

Goodwin said the observation deck and gift shop are expected to reopen to the public in late January.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, (Ind.)  A survey from resumebuilder.com finds including one's vaccination status on a resume may help to land a job.

There were 1,250 hiring managers surveyed around the country. They were asked about their preferences for seeing vaccination statuses on resumes and the COVID vaccine policies in their workplace.

Of those surveyed, 33% would not consider resumes that did not include vaccination status, 69% are more inclined to hire someone who is vaccinated and 63% of companies are mandating vaccinations for employees.

The survey also found 61% of respondents at companies where employees primarily work remotely still prefer to hire someone who is vaccinated. Kevin Brinegar, president and CEO of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, said this is within their rights.

"[Employers] can, under current state and federal law, require employees to be vaccinated as far as new hires, or become vaccinated to maintain their job," he said.

When asked about fears of vaccination status creating a discriminatory job market, Brinegar said these preferences don't count as discrimination.

"Being vaccinated or not vaccinated is not a protected class," he told News 18. "There are certain things spelled out under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title VII, and being vaccinated or not vaccinated is not one of them."

Brinegar suggested if one has a medical or religious reason for not being vaccinated, be prepared to give your reasoning in an interview setting.
W&Ms Project GO study abroad program aims to build effective military leaders through critical language education

Project GO partners: William & Mary plans to send students to the campus of North Central University in Taiwan over the summer as part of its Project GO study abroad program. It is one of two Project GO partner institutions for W&M, along with European Humanities University in Lithuania. Submitted photo Photo - of - Hide Caption

William & Mary has received a Project Global Officer grant that will allow it to build on its strengths as a leader in foreign language education and study abroad, while also helping the university advance its efforts to further establish itself as a military-friendly and veteran-friendly institution.

Project GO is a nationwide program open to all qualified ROTC students that offers fully-funded opportunities in critical language education, overseas study and cross-cultural experience. Through this program, future military officers develop linguistic and cross-cultural communication skills.

W&M is partnering with European Humanities University in Vilnius, Lithuania, and National Central University in Taoyuan, Taiwan, to offer summer study abroad Project GO programs in 2022 in Russian and Mandarin Chinese.

W&Ms Project GO program is open not only to William & Mary students, but also to students at universities throughout the country with at least second-year-level proficiency in Russian or Mandarin Chinese. Applications will be accepted through Jan. 12, 2022.

Interested students can visit the Reves Center for International Studies website for application information.

William & Mary President Katherine A. Rowe and Provost Peggy Agouris have both emphasized the critical importance to our university of close collaboration with our military and federal partners, said W&M Vice Provost for Academic and International Affairs (VPAIA) Stephen E. Hanson.

They are also strongly supportive of our ongoing efforts to further expand our global reach through partnerships with foreign universities. Project GO thus dovetails closely with W&Ms emerging strategic priorities, giving us the opportunity simultaneously to strengthen our partnerships with military stakeholders as well as institutions of higher education in allied and friendly nations.

W&Ms Project GO program will build effective military leaders in the Army, Navy and Air Force.

While the Project Global Officer opportunity certainly helps our current students, I take the long view that we are helping to build a cohort of U.S. citizens who are committed to public service, said Army Lt. Col. Jason C. Finch, chair of W&Ms Department of Military Science. That service can be overseas but it also might be as a productive citizen in any hometown across the globe.

The intensive eight-week programs will run from early June to mid-August and will follow the model for other William & Mary faculty-led study abroad programs. There will be daily language courses at the host universities, as well as field trips.

Bella Ginzbursky-Blum, senior lecturer in Russian language and culture, and Chun-Ying Lin, Chinese lecturer, will lead student groups to the host universities this summer.

It really speaks to the quality of our teaching staff who are going to put together a wonderful experience for these students, said Michael Hill, associate professor of Chinese studies for the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures (MLL). And hopefully well have some repeat customers because these students can apply and they can come back. Its not limited to one year, so it would be great if we see some of them more than once.

Students will participate in a one-credit introductory course in May where they will be instructed on the cultural and political context for each region.

I think its a great investment in the students careers, said Sasha Prokhorov, Russian studies program director at W&M. It will provide them with opportunities in the future after they graduate with more career choices because they will have a unique expertise in the language and culture of the region.

Valuable skills and experience

Susan Manion, W&Ms Project GO coordinator at the Reves Centers Global Education Office, was a 20-year Army veteran and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the position of deputy brigade commander before making her way to William & Mary. She can attest to the value of foreign language skills for those wanting to be military officers.

There are so many different opportunities or missions that we had where we worked with foreign militaries, with partner nations, especially NATO nations, said Manion, who was stationed in Germany twice.

And yes, there were units that spoke English, but you always felt that there was a barrier there. I think that the language ae culture courses are so important, and I think that the Department of Defense has recognized that, and that's part of why this program has come about. They want to make sure that their military officers are ready to step into this role and understand the countries that we're dealing with and their cultures.

William & Mary is one of 25 universities in the U.S. that offer Project GO programming.

The amount of W&M's Project GO award for the academic year 2021-22 was $529,000. According to Hill, this is the first major federal teaching and training grant for MLL at W&M. Most previous funding received by the department was for faculty research.

Its a very generous scholarship for students, Hill said. It's similar to the Critical Languages Scholarship because it provides airfare, lodging, tuition, meal stipend and other benefits.

While Project GO programming is often offered at other universities during the fall and spring semesters, W&M will tap into its strengths as a leader in study abroad to offer its program in the summer.

William & Mary was the No. 4 public university in the U.S. for undergraduate study abroad participation for the 2019-20 academic year, according to an Open Doors report by the Institute of International Education and the U.S. Department of States Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs.

Year after year, W&M is ranked a top leader in the nation for study abroad, with a commitment to international experiences and opportunities. Nearly 60% of all undergraduates study abroad in their W&M careers.

This program was made possible by W&Ms strong model for operating study abroad programs, as well as the support of the Global Education Office at The Reves Center for International Studies and the universitys Department of Military Science.

The Office of Sponsored Programs and the Whole of Government Center of Excellence were also instrumental in the proposal.

Since 2007, Project GO has provided approximately 6,500 students with opportunities to study culture and 19 languages, both domestically and abroad in 33 countries around the world.

Once we've run the program for the first year, we can make adjustments and improve on student activities and excursions, Hill said. Were hoping to successfully complete the three-year grant cycle and be able to renew that and pursue similar training and educational grants in other areas.
A drawing of Shao Yong and a calligraphic tribute made by Fan Zeng on new stamps [For China Daily]

Shao Yong was a philosopher, historian and cosmologist living in the 11th century whose writings cast a profound influence on neo-Confucianism.

China Post recently issued a collection of stamps to mark the 1,010th anniversary of Shao's birth. It features a drawing and a calligraphic tribute by Fan Zeng, as well as drawings of Shao's birth village and the site of Shao's grave.

A collection of stamps in memory of the 1,000 anniversary of the birth of Wang Anshi [For China Daily]

The company also issued a collection of stamps commemorating the 1,000th anniversary of the birth of Wang Anshi, the noted 11th-century statesman, economist and poet of Song Dynasty (960-1279). Designers have drawn inspiration from the style of books printed in the Song era which were famous for the woodblock printing technology and a format of elegance and refinement.

Drawings in a special stamp calendar [For China Daily]

Collectors will also be enthralled by a special calendar which includes issued stamps that introduce a total of 138 historical figures from different areas. The calendar also features drawings for the stamps that have been issued for traditional Chinese festivals during the entire year, as well as the 24 solar terms and 12 zodiac animals.

(Source: chinadaily.com.cn)
Deng Dong (L), who has launched and hosts the program, discusses in one episode with Zheng Shuguo, director of the Department of Preventive Dentistry at Peking University School of Stomatology. [For China Daily]

For most novice parents, they might feel stressed or worry about the proper way to take care of their children. That makes Shao Er Shou Hu Ren (The Keeper of Children), a 13-episode serial program, a useful option to learn how to be a caring parent.

Now available on China Central Television's digital platforms, the program touches on some of the questions new parents may have, covering issues from vision preservation to common diseases and psychological health.

Spanning 15 minutes in each episode, the program, which is hosted by veteran anchor Deng Dong, invites top experts and doctors, such as Cui Yutao, a celebrated pediatrician, to respond to the questions. Zheng Shuguo, director of the Department of Preventive Dentistry at Peking University School of Stomatology, was also a guest on the show.

Producers said they wish the professional and scientific suggestions from experts could help parents to avoid making mistakes on treating illnesses and obtain a comprehensive system of knowledge to better care for their children.

The program also dives into the most effective and efficient ways to reduce risks of infection and what to keep in mind while taking COVID-19 vaccines.

"Nowadays, qualified parents not only need to ensure their children are fed or kept warm, but also need to update new knowledge, thus capable to help the youth grow healthy and happy," said Deng, who is also the initiator of the program.

Poster of Shao Er Shou Hu Ren (The Keeper of Children) [For China Daily]

(Source: chinadaily.com.cn)
Photo taken on Dec. 9, 2021 shows modern Chinese sculptures on display at the National Museum of Australia (NMA) in Canberra, Australia. [Xinhua/Liu Changchang]

Featuring works by Liu Kaiqu (1904-1993), Xiong Bingming (1922-2002) and Wu Weishan (1962- ) from the National Art Museum of China, "Sculpting the Soul" is exhibited at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra.

CANBERRA, Dec. 10 (Xinhua)  Three modern Chinese sculptures are on display at the National Museum of Australia (NMA) in Canberra until Feb. 28 next year.

Featuring works by Liu Kaiqu (1904-1993), Xiong Bingming (1922-2002) and Wu Weishan (1962- ) from the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC), "Sculpting the Soul" is exhibited in the main showcase of the NMA's Gandel Atrium.

"I am delighted that these sculptures will be the next instalment in our longstanding collaboration with NAMOC," said Mathew Trinca, director of the NMA, on Thursday.

He told Xinhua that the exhibition was inspired by a discussion with Wu Weishan, director of the NAMOC, when they met in July of 2018. Wu suggested that they could share collections backwards and forwards between Australia and China for a longer period of time.

Talking about this exhibition, Dr. Trinca said: "It strikes me that the three works show a great sense of Chinese art, practice and culture and, with some influences that have been drawn from around the world, what a wonderful set of objects to show China and its place in the world today."

Mathew Trinca, director of the National Museum of Australia (NMA), delivers a speech at the launch of the exhibition "Sculpting the Soul" at NMA in Canberra, Australia, Dec. 9, 2021. [Xinhua/Liu Changchang]

At the launching of the exhibition on Thursday, Wu greeted Australian visitors through a video footage.

"Since the 20th century, modern Chinese sculpture has reflected Chinese traditions while also incorporating Western artistic ideas," he said.

"The integration of traditional art, with its emphasis on freehand and linear expression, and Western art, which stresses design and space, has injected life into Chinese sculpture and taken it to the next level."

The Yak was made of marble by Liu Kaiqu, the first director of the NAMOC, in 1960. Liu, who had studied in France in his youth, created many works that are emblematic of the national spirit. He made the Yak based on the observations of the lives in Tibet.

"Liu Kaiqu was regarded as an important pioneer of modern Chinese sculpture," said Wu. "His white marble sculpture Yak is both simple and elegant, placid and timeless  a passionate ode to life."

Photo taken on Dec. 9, 2021 shows modern Chinese sculptures on display at the National Museum of Australia (NMA) in Canberra, Australia. [Xinhua/Liu Changchang]

Xiong Bingming studied in France where he hence lived. He was influenced by Chinese philosophy and freehand brushwork, which could be seen from his Horse of cast bronze. "His bronze Horse  majestic and solemn  transcends time and space," Wu said.

"Following in the footsteps of my seniors, I strive to contribute to a conversation that encompasses both Chinese and Western art and to learn about life through art," he continued. "My sculpture Sleeping Child captures the innocence and happiness of childhood  a moment when a child is asleep that reflects the charm of naivety."

The award-winning Sleeping Child of cast copper depicts a sleeping boy with his mouth slightly open and his head tilted sideways.

"We are lucky to see the exhibition here, which showcases the historical inheritance of Chinese art exchange with the West," said Song Yanqun, minister-counselor for culture at the Chinese Embassy in Australia.

He said that the three works reflected different aspects of Chinese national spirit: yak for fortitude, horse for diligence and child for harmony.

People view modern Chinese sculptures at the National Museum of Australia (NMA) in Canberra, Australia, Dec. 9, 2021. [Xinhua/Liu Changchang]

"They could help visitors deepen their understanding in Chinese art and culture," he said. "They are products of Chinese culture influenced by the Western culture, products of cultural exchanges themselves."

The event follows an exhibition by the NMA, the Red Heart of Australia, which had been shown at NAMOC.

In fact, both institutions have hosted exchanges since 2010. They recently signed a new memorandum of understanding to renew the cultural partnership.

Wang Xining, Charge d'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Australia, noted that the three sculptures came to Canberra before Chinese visitors when Australian national border opens to China.

"So this is a token that art can serve as the vanguard of friendship and people-to-people exchange," he said. "It shows the common aspiration of Australian and Chinese artists and people for more exchanges and deepened understanding."

(Source: Xinhua)
Greek educator and author Eleni Geroulanou poses with the teddy bear that inspired her to write the fairytale "Once upon a time, a bear" at the Benaki Museum of Toys, in Athens, Greece, on Dec. 7, 2021. [Xinhua/Marios Lolos]

"For Maria, this bear was unique. For the bear, Maria was his family. I was touched by this story and I wanted to make it public," the author said.

ATHENS, Dec. 10 (Xinhua)  A humble yellow teddy bear, found thrown in a dumpster half a century ago, is the star among the exhibits of the Benaki Toys Museum in Athens since the museum opened in 2017.

The adventurous bear which inspired one of the most important collections in Europe of items associated with childhood, has also reached China through the pages of a children's book written by Greek educator and author Eleni Geroulanou.

Literature has a wonderful role to play in building bridges, Geroulanou told Xinhua in a recent interview at the Benaki Toys Museum. Books remind us of how much we all have in common, as the emotions and meaning that underlie great stories are universal, crossing cultures and language barriers, she noted.

In the fairytale "Once upon a time, a bear" which has been translated into Chinese and published by Hebei Children's Publishing House, the small teddy bear wanders around the city in search of his home.

He eventually finds a new home and family in the embrace of Maria Argyriadis, the Greek researcher of toys who picked up the bear from the dumpster and since then collected some 20,000 items from all over the world, before donating them to the Benaki Toys Museum. The museum, the teddy bear's home today, is a 19th century fairytale mansion resembling a castle, by the seaside.

Argyriadis passed away in 2018, but was lucky to see the museum opening its doors in 2017, full of children, and the book printed in Greek. The book is based on the true story of Argyriadis and the teddy bear which reminded her of one she had when she was a little girl.

"For Maria, this bear was unique. For the bear, Maria was his family. I was touched by this story and I wanted to make it public," the author said.

Greek educator and author Eleni Geroulanou poses with the Greek and the Chinese editions of her fairytale "Once upon a time, a bear" at the Benaki Museum of Toys, in Athens, Greece, on Dec. 7, 2021. [Xinhua/Marios Lolos]

Geroulanou's father was a good friend of Maria Argyriadis and the family made a small contribution to the collection. "My family had two big toys, special toys for us, this German paper theater and a dollhouse from the 19th century. We donated these two toys to the Museum," Geroulanou told Xinhua.

Geroulanou's passion for toys and Argyriadis' friendship with her family had inspired the author to write this children's book. Since she was 14, Geroulanou wanted to work with kids. She studied Early Childhood Education in Athens, continued her studies in Boston, specializing in Children's Museum Education and returned home to combine museum education and teaching.

As headmistress of the kindergarten in a renowned private school in Athens in recent years, she is constantly close to children. The words "children, books and toys" which hold key roles in her life, all came together in her latest book.

In 2019 at the Bologna Children's Book Fair in Italy, her Greek publisher showed the book to the Chinese publisher, who loved the story and decided to publish it in China.

Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, Geroulanou hasn't been able to visit China yet, but is looking forward to going, when things get better, to meet with Chinese readers of her book.

Meanwhile, she participates in initiatives bringing the two countries, Europe and Asia, closer.

A few days ago, she represented Greece in the 6th EU-China international Literary Festival which was held online, discussing the importance of poetry in education with Chinese poet Lan Lan and Lithuanian writer Evelina Daciute.

Greek educator and author Eleni Geroulanou poses with the Greek and the Chinese editions of her fairytale "Once upon a time, a bear" at the Benaki Museum of Toys, in Athens, Greece, on Dec. 7, 2021. TO GO WITH "Feature: Greek museum's teddy bear travels to China through children's book" [Xinhua/Marios Lolos]

Cultural exchanges are essential to the deeper understanding between people from different counties, Geroulanou told Xinhua. Through the exchange of ideas and stories, we create stronger bonds with each other, become more inspired and creative as we broaden our horizons, she said.

She warmly welcomed initiatives such as the Greece-China Year of Culture and Tourism which is celebrated in 2021-2022 with a series of events.

"Both Greece and China have rich cultures and traditions dating back in ancient times," she said, adding that there are so much to learn from each other.

Geroulanou sent warm wishes to Chinese readers of her fairytale. "I wish the Chinese readers, the young readers, will enjoy my book, my story and travel with our bear all this journey, until he finds his house," she said.

(Source: Xinhua)
A pharmacist of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) dispenses a prescription for epidemic prevention medicine at a TCM hospital in Huai'an City, east China's Jiangsu Province, August 19, 2021. [People's Daily Online/Wang Hao]

In treating COVID-19 patients, China has always adhered to the principle of combining traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine, and adopted TCM throughout the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of COVID-19 to provide the best possible services for patients, according to an official with China's health authority.

Guo Yanhong, an official with the medical administration and supervision department under China's National Health Commission (NHC), made the remarks at a recent press conference held by the State Council joint prevention and control mechanism against COVID-19 in response to the latest waves of outbreaks at home.

In the pandemic responses of Chinese cities including Dalian, Heihe and Lanzhou, TCM has shown its unique advantages and played a key part in ensuring early identification, reporting, isolation and treatment.

After Lanzhou, northwest China's Gansu Province, reported new COVID-19 cases, Zhang Zhongde, vice president of Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in south China's Guangdong Province, hurried to Lanzhou on Oct. 20 to help contain the spread of the virus. It was the ninth time he had been to the front line of the fight against the pandemic.

On the night upon his arrival in the city, Zhang studied and analyzed local cases with other experts.

"Unlike previous cases, few of the newly confirmed ones in Gansu had a fever. But most of them showed symptoms like xerostomia, dry throat and dry cough, and some had symptoms similar to those of a cold, such as headache and runny nose," Zhang said.

TCM that is helpful for nourishing people's energy can effectively alleviate patients' symptoms like dry mouth, dry throat and dry cough, he added.

Taking into consideration the virological characteristics, syndrome, geographical and climatic features of the outbreaks, Chinese experts have adjusted and improved TCM diagnosis and treatment formulas in time and emphasized the importance of tailoring prescriptions for patients according to their respective symptoms.

TCM has once again demonstrated its unique merits and curative effects in China's efforts to cure COVID-19 patients.

Medical workers give traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) decoction to people for free to help them prevent diseases in front of a hospital in Jieji Township, Suqian City, east China's Jiangsu Province, August 1, 2021. [People's Daily Online/Xu Changliang]

TCM has been prioritized in the treatment of mild cases, according to Guo, who said that TCM has been proven effective in easing patients' clinical symptoms including fever, cough, poor appetite, and fatigue.

Close combination of TCM and Western medicine has prevented the condition of mild COVID-19 cases from deteriorating, Guo noted.

As regards critically ill patients, some TCM has been proven effective in reducing high fever and other aspects, Guo added.

TCM emphasizes preemptive prevention of disease. Last year, Wuchang District, Wuhan City, central China's Hubei Province, created a common TCM formula against COVID-19 based on its experience in fighting the pandemic and took the lead in giving out TCM in residential communities, witnessing good results in strengthening people's immunity and reducing COVID-19 infection rate.

TCM decoction, as important preventive means of TCM for thousands of years, is useful for protecting the susceptible population, said Tian Xingjun, head of the Sichuan Provincial Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

To give full play to TCM's role in COVID-19 prevention, Sichuan Province has widely spread knowledge about TCM and anti-pandemic measures and provided the public with guidance on maintaining and improving health, Tian pointed out.

It should be noted that TCM has also helped with patients' rehabilitation. After patients finish their course of treatment, they receive a TCM prescription for further recovery, which is aimed at enhancing their immunity, said Qi Wensheng, director of the emergency department of Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences.

On Nov. 3, the first three cured COVID-19 patients in Gansu's latest outbreaks were discharged from the hospital. They then went through a 14-day rehabilitation and health self-monitoring period, during which TCM decoction, Baduanjin qigong, Taijiquan, and other TCM therapies were employed to help them get back to their normal life as soon as possible.

In the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, TCM is able to play a role in the whole course of treatment, according to Zhang Boli, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering and honorary president of the Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Noting that Chinese and Western medicine have their own strengths and specialties, Zhang said that by inheriting the traditional essence of TCM and continuously seeking innovation in practice, TCM practitioners have made important contributions to safeguarding people's health amid the pandemic.

(Source: People's Daily Online)
Weather Alert

...The National Weather Service in Paducah KY has issued a Flood Warning for the following river in Kentucky...Illinois... Ohio River at Paducah affecting McCracken, Livingston, Pope and Massac Counties. .Rainfall last weekend has caused rises in water levels along the Lower Ohio River Basin this week. This will cause minor flooding near Paducah early next week. For the Ohio River...including Paducah, Olmsted Lock and Dam, Cairo...Minor flooding is forecast. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Motorists should not attempt to drive around barricades or drive cars through flooded areas. Caution is urged when walking near riverbanks. Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. Additional information is available at www.weather.gov. && ...FLOOD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM MONDAY EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING... * WHAT...Minor flooding is forecast. * WHERE...Ohio River at Paducah. * WHEN...From Monday evening to early Wednesday morning. * IMPACTS...At 39.0 feet, Minor flooding occurs affecting mainly bottomland and surrounding low lying areas. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 11:00 AM CST Wednesday the stage was 33.6 feet. - Forecast...The river is expected to rise above flood stage Monday evening to a crest of 39.0 feet Monday evening. It will then fall below flood stage Tuesday evening. - Flood stage is 39.0 feet. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood &&

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM TO 4 PM CST THURSDAY... * WHAT...Snow expected. Total snow accumulations 1 to 2 inches. Locally 3 inches possible parts of west Kentucky. * WHERE...Portions of southwest Indiana, southeast Missouri, western Kentucky and southern Illinois. * WHEN...From 6 AM to 4 PM CST Thursday. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning commute. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Slow down and use caution while traveling. &&
A view from Clwyd Souths Member of the Senedd

Wrexham.com has invited Wrexham & Clwyd South constituency Members of Parliament and Members of the Senedd to write a monthly article with updates on their work in Parliament and the Senedd, and closer to home. (You can view an archive here).

Clwyd South MS Ken Skates writes

Wales remains at Alert Level Zero after First Minister Mark Drakeford said there were no new coronavirus restrictions at the latest Welsh Government review on Friday.

New rules were announced for England last week, bringing the UK Government into line with the simple measures we have seen in Wales for several months. The number of people in hospital in Wales who are seriously ill with Covid-19 has dropped substantially over the last few weeks, and is now at its lowest since the end of August. This is very different to the trend across the rest of the UK.

While the number of confirmed cases of the new omicron variant are, thankfully, currently very low in Wales, it is becoming more and more prevalent in other parts of the UK  and we must be prepared for cases to rise quickly and sharply here too.

The First Minister has urged everyone to have their booster jab as soon as they are invited. Every single vaccination is a small victory against the virus, and Wales leading vaccine roll-out is the key reason we now have fewer restrictions than at any point since March 2020.

In light of the concerns over the new variant, the Welsh Government is strongly advising that people take a lateral flow test before going to Christmas parties or visiting friends or family, and that people wear face coverings in pubs and restaurants when they are not eating or drinking.

As the First Minister said on Friday, we have faced challenges many times during this pandemic and we have learned from each one. We are certainly not back at square one, and with the Welsh Government promising that all eligible adults will be offered their booster jab by the end of January I believe that we can all look forward to 2022 with greater confidence.

Last week marked 12 months since Wales began its hugely successful vaccination campaign, and in that time Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has administered over 1.3m jabs. That works out to a potentially lifesaving vaccine roughly every 12 seconds over the course of a year. It has been a truly incredible effort from teams across our region.

Last week in the Senedd, I asked the Economy Minister Vaughan Gething how the Welsh Labour Government is supporting major events in North Wales and what benefits a successful Capital of Culture bid could bring to Wrexham.

We have some wonderful annual events that the Welsh Government supports in North Wales, including the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Clwyd South.

Major events like the Eisteddfod provide a lifeline for local economies and have the potential to transform communities, with the Minister saying it could prove a catalyst for investment.

Im proud that the Welsh Government is supporting the campaign, along with myself and Lesley Griffiths, and I was pleased to hear the Minister say his department will be happy to explore opportunities to collaborate on showcase events for 2025 should Wrexham be successful.

I also had the opportunity in the Senedd recently to highlight the tremendous work of care homes in Clwyd South over the course of the pandemic and ask the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services how the Welsh Government is helping to recruit more carers locally and how an extra 42m of funding will help local care homes and their residents. You can read the full transcript here.

Ahead of Small Business Saturday on December 4, I visited a number of high street shops and independent businesses in Llangollen to show my support for the campaign.

Its been an incredibly tough year for many small local firms, who have gone above and beyond during the pandemic, and Id urge people to support them in the run-up to Christmas and into 2022. You can read Wrexham.coms report here.

Its fantastic to see work under way on the new changing facilities at Plas Madoc Leisure Centre, following further major funding from the Welsh Labour Government.

I was given a quick look at the progress earlier this month, and took the picture below along with one of the plans of what the completed refurbishment will look like.

I know many local people share my pride at the huge strides Plas Madoc has made in recent years, and the team of staff and volunteers have done  and continue to do  an incredible job.

Im also proud of the financial support the Welsh Government has provided. In addition to the 500,000 grant the centre received in 2016 for key structural work and essential repairs to future-proof the building, it was last year awarded 55,000 from the Economic Resilience Fund.

The brand new changing rooms are being funded through a further 250,000 grant from the Welsh Governments Community Facilities Programme, and are due to open in early February.

Finally, as this is my last column before Christmas, I would like to take the opportunity to wish my constituents and all Wrexham.com readers a happy, peaceful and safe festive period. If you need advice or support over the Christmas, please email ken.skates@senedd.wales and include your home address and a contact number. You can also find regular coronavirus updates on my Facebook page and sign up to my weekly newsletters here.





Wrexham.com has invited Wrexham & Clwyd South constituency Members of Parliament and Members of the Senedd to write a monthly article with updates on their work in Parliament and the Senedd, and closer to home. (You can view an archive here).
All eligible adults in Wales to be offered booster appointment this month, First Minister to announce

First Minister Mark Drakeford will tonight set out Wales aim to offer all eligible adults an appointment for a booster vaccine by the end of December.

Urgent plans are being put in place to further accelerate the booster programme as Welsh Government say new evidence has emerged showing two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine are not enough to offer protection against the new omicron variant adding the booster dose is vital in improving protection against the fast-moving variant.

In the last 24 hours invitations via text have started being sent out to residents across Wrexham with appointments for their boosters.

In a message to Wales via video on social media and to those who can pick up BBC Wales TV, the First Minister will say: We must be prepared for omicron cases to rise quickly and very steeply  just as they have in other parts of the UK.

We are still learning about this new form of coronavirus. All the information we have tells us we are facing a very serious situation. By the end of the month, omicron will have become the dominant form of the virus in Wales, bringing a new wave of infections and illness.

This could then translate into a large number of people needing hospital treatment just at a time when the NHS is already under significant pressure. The Welsh Government will do everything we can to protect peoples health and keep Wales safe.

New evidence has emerged about the effectiveness of our vaccines against omicron. Two doses of the vaccine is simply not enough to give the level of protection against the infection we all need.

We have already increased the speed of the roll-out of our booster programme. New clinics have been opened and operating hours extended. Urgent efforts are now underway to accelerate the programme even further so we can offer all eligible adults an appointment by the end of this year if possible.

Please make getting a booster a priority, as it is the single of the most important things you can do to protect yourself against coronavirus and this new variant.

The First Minister will add: None of us wanted to hear the news of a new omicron variant. After almost two long years of the pandemic, we had all hoped that we could put coronavirus behind us this Christmas.

Unfortunately, we are once again facing a serious and worsening situation. But, we have faced challenges many times during this pandemic.

We can once again pull together to look out for each other  for friends, family and neighbours  to protect each other and keep ourselves safe and well. We have already taken some steps to increase protections in Wales and we may need to take some further steps to keep Wales safe.

Health Minister Eluned Morgan will also provide a further update about the vaccine programme at a press conference tomorrow.
Historic Wrexham pub branded tired and dated could undergo refurbishment

A historic Wrexham pub which has been described as looking tired and dated could be about to undergo a major refurbishment.

The Long Pull, also known as the Old Vaults, has been based on Chester Street in the town centre since the mid-19th century.

The Grade-II listed pub was once featured in a Sky One documentary called The Toughest Pubs in Britain.

However, its fortunes recently took an upturn after it was named the joint-best establishment in town in a competition run by Wrexham MP Sarah Atherton.

The building now looks set be transformed following the submission of a planning application.

The proposals would result in the complete refurbishment of the ground floor of the pub, according to documents entered with Wrexham Council.

Planning agents said it would help to improve the viability of the business, with some structural changes outlined.

In a statement, they said: The purpose of the proposals is clearly to bring what appears to be a tired and dated public house up to modern hospitality standards in order to provide for a secure and viable commercial future.

The principle of the proposals is considered to be acceptable and broadly beneficial in terms of carrying out necessary improvements to a commercial building in order to improve viability.

The proposals are intended to secure the medium-term future of the building.

The proposals are considered to be causative of minor harm, but such harm is decisively outweighed by the overall benefits when considering the buildings comparative significance.

The proposals would result in more space being created for the pubs customers, including a larger bar area, along with the demolition of a structural wall.

New toilets would also be built, with the empty upper floors due to be redecorated and brought back into use as living accommodation.

Meanwhile, repairs will be carried out the buildings roof following significant leaks and the outside of the property will be repainted.

A decision will be made on the application by the local authority at a later date.

By Liam Randall  BBC Local Democracy Reporter
Praise for local apprentice who won bronze medal at World Skills UK Competition

The Member of Parliament for Clwyd South has praised constituent and Raytheon UKs Apprentice on being awarded a bronze medal at the World Skills UK Competition this year.

Adele Hughes underwent a seven month process of regional heats and intensive training before getting to the national finals.

She then competed with 400 other students across 60 competitions and was successfully awarded a bronze medal in the Aeronautical Engineering: Mechanical category.

Mr Baynes also praised Ms Hughes hard work and previous success earlier in the year on winning a gold award in Aeronautical Engineering at Skills Competition Wales.

Raytheon UK Training Manager Lee Edison said: This award is a much-deserved reflection of Adeles hard work and her commitment to learning at Raytheon.

In a peer group of excellent apprentices, it has long been plain to see that Adele has the drive and the dedication to become an exceptional aircraft engineer. Im delighted that her ambitions have been supported by our outstanding team here at Raytheon Broughton and our academic partner Coleg Cambria.

We encourage all young students to look at gaining careers via apprenticeships, everyone has the opportunity to work on exciting opportunities in engineering, and were hugely proud to see Adele continuing to go from strength to strength.

We cant wait to see what shell achieve next.

Simon Baynes MP said: I would like to offer my heartfelt congratulations to Adele on her success being awarded a bronze medal at the World Skills UK Competition this year, and also, for her earlier achievement of winning a gold award in Aeronautical Engineering at Skills Competition Wales.

This is a remarkable achievement and demonstrates her hard work and dedication in the field. And I wish her the very best in her career and for the future.
Welfare centre to provide safe haven to those needing help on a night out during festive period

A welfare centre in Wrexham is gearing up for a busy festive period providing a safe haven to night time revellers.

Hafan y Dref, at the bottom of Town Hill, provides support to those who feel unwell or run into problems while visiting the town centre during the evenings.

The centre is one of several initiatives that are in place to assist anyone who needs help during a night out and they are supported by door staff, police officers, street pastors and of course family and friends.

Operated and staffed by Events Medical Team, the centre can help those who have lost their friends on a night out, have no battery power on their phones to call them or is too drunk to get home safely.

Claire McGrady, T/Inspector with North Wales Police said: The centre is there to help if you need it.

It has a proven record of reducing pressures on the emergency services and of providing immediate assistance to anyone needing help.

They also dont pass judgement  theyre there to help and prevent any unnecessary harm or distress to anyone needing it.

Cllr Hugh Jones, Lead Member for Communities, Partnerships, Public Protection and Community Safety, said, Its good to know that we can still offer such an excellent facility for anyone who needs help during an evening out.

Were all aware of the pressures that are facing our emergency services as we enter the winter period and this centre will help reduce calls to them whilst ensuring the safety of everyone who needs help.

Hafan y Dref was first opened in December 2015 with the aim of providing a safe space where people who have become vulnerable due to consuming too much alcohol or taking drugs can receive medical attention and support.

It provides a combination of medical assessment, supervised recovery and discharge.

The centre also provides other services, such as pastoral care, help for rough sleepers and advice to those who are lost or need to go home. It also can provide a physical base for partners managing the local night time economy.

Hafan y Dref is in part of the toilet block at the bottom of Town Hill  across the way from Atik  and is open Fridays and Saturdays 10pm  4am
The shocking killing of six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes by his father, Thomas Hughes and his partner Emma Tustin, has prompted endless lurid press coverage in Britain. This media sensationalism not only covers over the worsening social crisis that gave rise to the horrific murder but is purposely designed to prevent any broader understanding of it.

Complex social questions about a brutalising society are reduced to stories about evil individuals. The tragedy is presented as inevitable. Nothing can be changed, other than the degree of punishment to be inflicted on the guilty.

Routinely describing his killers as monsters exploits instinctive sympathy for Arthur. Calling him the boy who never stood a chance makes him another inevitable victim of this social degradation. The press deliberately looks no further than the killers themselves. According to the BBCs Phil Mackie, No-one can be blamed for what happened other than the people who were supposed to be looking after [Arthur].

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes (Credit: Family Handout)

No one should accept that premise, which only sanctions the argument that individual monstrosity requires a monstrous state response. The horror manifests in appalling personal stories, but its origin is not individual. It is social. It must be tackled as such.

There is a long history of using such cases for strengthening the state. Millions in the UK will recall the killing of two-year-old Jamie Bulger in 1993. Eleven-year-olds Jon Venables and Robert Thompson were tried and convicted as adults. Any consideration of the tragic circumstances leading up to the killing was dismissed. Publicly identified, they were sentenced to indefinite detention. The European Court of Human Rights subsequently ruled their trial unfair, and the fixing of their sentences by the Home Secretary a breach of their human rights.

In opposition, Labour used the case to prove its law-and-order credentials. Tony Blair, then shadow home secretary, used calls for harsher legal measures to bid for party leadership. When Labour came to power, Chief Inspector of Prisons Sir David Ramsbotham had to apologise unreservedly to Home Secretary Jack Straw for saying the boys should be released when they turned 18. Lynch-mob hysteria won the day. Blair would go on to wage an illegal war in Iraq that cost almost 200,000 lives.

Workers must resist being swept up in this latest disorienting narrative. It is necessary to think critically about society and the changes that must be made.

Arthurs father was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 21 years imprisonment. Thomass partner Tustin was sentenced to life for murder, with a recommended minimum prison term of 29 years. At the beginning of the first lockdown, in March 2020, the couple combined their families in Tustins home in Solihull, with her two children. Arthur was beaten, undernourished and dehydrated, his food and drink poisoned with salt. Doctors said the bruising on his body fell within medical definitions of child torture.

Arthur never returned to school when they reopened on June 8, 2020. Over the weekend of June 12-15, he was forced to stand alone in the hall for up to 14 hours at a time. On June 16, Emma struck Arthurs head against a hard surface repeatedly, causing an unsurvivable brain injury. He was taken to hospital, and life support was switched off the following day.

The press has focused on how the couples lies about Arthur were accepted by social workers and police during lockdown. Combined with narratives of evil individuals to pillory social care providers alerted by other family members, this has been used to condemn the visiting social work team that reported no safeguarding concerns.

But if errors were made then this is because social care, like other health provision, has been slashed to the bone. Emeritus professor of social work Ray Jones told Radio 4s World at One that social care providers are all struggling because of 10 years of cuts to services. The Social Workers Union said, Most social workers just dont have enough time to spend on individual assessments due to work demand and changing workload allocations.

No one should believe this latest tragedy will mean a reversal of such cuts. Conservative MP Tim Loughton hypocritically intoned, Funding for childrens social care has lagged behind and social workers are overstretched and undervalued, when in truth they should be revered as our fourth emergency service. But Loughton was childrens minister in 2010-12, when David Camerons Tory/Liberal Democrat coalition government was imposing austerity measures across all social provision.

The pressure intensified under demands for rapid adjustments to working practices forced by lockdown conditions, for which no additional funding was granted even as big business was subsidised to the tune of billions. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children reported that lockdown saw a 23 percent rise in calls from adults concerned about a childs welfare due to the intense pressures placed on vulnerable and sometimes dysfunctional families. The Department of Education noted a rise in serious injuries and deaths of children during the first half of 2020.

Rather than admitting a failure to provide adequate care provision, this has been presented as an argument against measures to combat the pandemic. Childrens Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, told the BBCs Andrew Marr Show, theres no doubt that lockdown was such a shock to the whole nation that it weakened the system of support, and we must not close schools again.

Social care professionals note that Arthurs was an extremely rare case, but it is not the first. Most recently, sixteen-month-old Star Hobson was beaten to death in September 2020. Her mother, Frankie Smith, admits child cruelty but accuses her partner of the killing. The parents of Lily-Mai Hurrell Saint-George have pleaded not guilty to charges of murder or manslaughter over the death of the 10-week-old in January, with multiple rib injuries.

Such cases are used to generate emotive heat, not light. Previous cases triggered reviews that saw no fundamental changes. They are a well-worn tactic of the British ruling class to evade addressing underlying causes.

In 2000, eight-year-old Victoria Climbie was murdered by her carers in Haringey. The press lamented a crisis in welfare. An inquiry, under Lord Laming, heard damning evidence of social workers stretched to the limit trying to cope. Overwork, insufficient staff, and inadequate training emerged as clear factors, just as they would at the next such review by Laming, in 2009, following the death of 17-month-old Baby P, also in Haringey. The review was held amid public anger whipped up by the pornographic media coverage of the toddlers death. By that time, the Labour government had spent nine years failing to implement Lamings earlier recommendations. Social care provision would be targeted by whichever party came to power at the impending general election a year later.

Little store can be set by the independent review now launched by social services. Such reviews are a standard governmental practice, shifting the blame onto individual care providers who are left shouldering the burden of a collapsing social system.

Of course, better social care systems alone cannot tackle the broader societal collapse indicated here. But it will not even be tried, as the demands for law and order grow ever louder. Comments by Julian Knight, Tory MP for Solihull, at a wreath-laying photo opportunity, summarised the agenda. His priority was to ensure that those who have failed [Arthur] are accountable, before condemning the unduly lenient sentencing scheme.

Arthurs death points to a brutalised society. It is not just that social care has been gutted. All of societys protective measures have been eviscerated. Rising pensioner and child poverty express the total collapse of working-class living conditions. Cuts in Universal Credit welfare payments mean greater immiseration for thousands of the poorest. Foodbank use is soaring. There is a crisis of homelessness.

The inequality gulf is widening. In 2018, United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston reported that one fifth of Britains population lived in poverty, thanks in part to a willful agenda of radical social re-engineering aimed at ripping up every aspect of post-war welfare provision. The British ruling class, forced to adopt such provisions out of fear of a restive working class and the challenge of socialism, have spent the past decades dispensing with them. Margaret Thatchers declaration that There is no such thing as society, only individual men, women and families has become a brutal political reality.

Laming now warns that funding cuts mean social care has become a crisis service, rather than a preventative service. How could it be otherwise when every other social provision has collapsed? Capitalist society stands exposed. It has failed.

Social care provision is required to support the most vulnerable, but an entire society needs to be rebuilt that will prevent that point being reached routinely. The fabulous wealth monopolised by the corporate elite needs to be seized and directed towards providing a decent life for all, with good housing, education, health care and well-paid jobs matched to foundations in which social life and culture is raised to an infinitely higher level so that no individual, no family and above all no child will ever again be left to descend to such degraded conditions. It means that millions must commit themselves to the struggle for socialism.
Fridays British High Court judgment backing Julian Assanges extradition to the United States has provoked widespread outrage, including in Australia, where the WikiLeaks founder was born and holds citizenship.

The Australian Liberal-National Coalition government and Labor Party opposition, however, have given their approval to the show trial ruling, in line with their decade-long participation in the US-led campaign against the publisher and journalist.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne held talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday, and did not mention Assanges plight. Together with Prime Minister Scott Morrison, she has maintained a stony silence in response to journalists requests for comment on the verdict.

Julian Assange in Belmarsh Prison in 2019

The governments Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) declared: Australia will continue to respect the UK legal processincluding any further appeals under UK law. It is for Mr Assange to decide how to respond to the high court decision. Australia is not a party to the case.

The British legal process is a frame-up, aimed at ensuring Assanges destruction for exposing US-led war crimes.

The High Court judges over-ruled an earlier District Court judgment finding that Assanges extradition would be oppressive because of the dire conditions under which he would be held in the US prison system and the likelihood he would commit suicide. The two judges overturned that ruling on the basis of phony US assurances of fair treatment, which even included disclaimers giving the American government the right to do whatever it liked to Assange once he was on US soil.

The appeal verdict was delivered two months after it was revealed by Yahoo News that the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Trump administration had plotted to kidnap or assassinate Assange in 2017.

DFAT would have known what was revealed by Assanges partner, Stella Moris, yesterday, namely that he suffered a minor stroke on the first day of the US appeal hearing in October. DFAT has monitored Assanges circumstances in an effort to minimise the political damage to the Australian government.

Under these conditions, DFATs statement amounts to a declaration that the Australian government is willing to see Assange die behind bars. The governments claim not to be a party to the legal proceedings is a sham. As an Australian citizen persecuted abroad, Assange has a clear right to diplomatic intervention under domestic and international law.

That right has been underscored by a series of recent precedents. These include the Australian governments role in securing the release of journalist Peter Greste from an Egyptian prison in 2015; filmmaker James Ricketson from Cambodian detention in 2018, and academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert from Iranian incarceration last year.

In each of these cases, and a number of others, the Australian citizens were deemed to be the subject of political persecution and action was taken on their behalf.

But the government refuses to take any similar action in defence of Assange. He is viewed as a threat. This is because of the military alliance with the US, including escalating preparations for war with China, and the Australian ruling elites own crackdown on democratic rights amid deepening social and political opposition.

Labors shadow foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, essentially said the same as DFAT. She declared: We respect the UK courts decision and note this will not signal the end of this legal fight with the matter to be referred back to the lower court, and whatever the result there the matter is likely to go to the supreme court.

In other words, Assange can rot behind bars. Labor will do nothing, but declare its respect for the British courts trampling on his rights.

Wong added: However, Labor believes this has now dragged on for too long and has pressed the Morrison government to do what it can to encourage the US government to bring this matter to a close. Labor expects the Australian government to provide appropriate consular support to Mr Assange, as is his right as an Australian citizen.

The reference to consular support is revealing. It falls far short of a diplomatic or political intervention aimed at securing Assanges freedom. Consular support is generally associated with assisting citizens who have misplaced their passports or encountered other minor difficulties abroad.

Wongs comments about the need to draw this matter to a close are a cynical attempt to adapt to popular anger, without committing Labor to anything.

Over the 48 hours since the verdict was announced, Assanges name has been continuously among the top ten trending topics in Australia. Almost 200,000 separate tweets have been posted referencing him, the vast majority supportive.

The popular sentiment has found a pale reflection in the statements of several Australian politicians. Independent federal MP Andrew Wilkie demanded that Morrison end this lunacy by intervening on behalf of Assange.

He is a hero, not a villain, and journalism is not a crime, Wilkie stated. Again the United Kingdom proves its a lackey of the United States and that Australia is delighted to go along for the ride.

Labor backbencher Julian Hill tweeted: Julian Assange, an Australian citizen, is fighting for his life in London, as the USA seeks his extradition to face an effective death sentence. This Australian, who exposed US war crimes, is treated worse than a war criminal. Hes NOT receiving a fair trial.

Greens leader Adam Bandt said: Assanges persecution and our governments inaction are chilling, and should worry everyone who cares about a free press or thinks that governments should protect their citizens. Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson pledged to make Assanges defence a central issue in the forthcoming federal election.

The statements are a reaction to a groundswell of support for the WikiLeaks publisher. But the central question is, how is this sentiment to be taken forward?

The politicians quoted above are members of the Bring Assange Home cross-party parliamentary grouping. It has issued several statements defending the WikiLeaks founder since its formation in 2019, but has held almost no public meetings, initiatives and or mass public campaigns to fulfil its stated aim. Most of its members have yet to utter Assanges name in public.

Labor MP Hill has never publicly challenged his own partys refusal to defend Assange. Instead he promoted a mealy-mouthed party conference resolution that committed Labor to nothing, and touted purported comments made by leader Anthony Albanese, behind closed doors, that Albanese has never repeated in public.

The Greens have rejected calls from among their own ranks for a public campaign to demand Assanges immediate freedom. They have boycotted rallies in defence of the WikiLeaks publisher, and some of their MPs have lent credence to the discredited frame-up allegations of sexual misconduct in Sweden which were used to undermine Assanges mass support.

The record of the past decade, moreover, is very clear. The entire Australian political establishment bears central responsibility for Assanges dire predicament. It was the Greens-backed government of Julia Gillard that in 2010-11 joined the US campaign against Assange, slandering him as a criminal, attempting to cancel his passport and pledging full support for the efforts of the American intelligence agencies to destroy him.

The fight to free Assange is inextricably tied to the broader struggle against massive social inequality, the drive to war and the criminal pandemic policies of the ruling elites that have allowed millions to die so that economies remains open and corporate profits flow. The persecution of Assange is the spearhead of a turn to authoritarianism by the capitalist class in response to rising social and political opposition.

The Socialist Equality Party, which has fought for Assanges freedom for more than a decade, will do all it can to bring the fight for his liberty into the emerging struggles of the working class. That is where the constituency for defending democratic rights exists. The SEP will make the defence of this heroic journalist and publisher, who has exposed historic war crimes, a central issue in the upcoming Australian election.
The new German government wasted no time in revealing its foreign policy priorities.

On her first day in office, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) flew to Paris to meet her French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian. From there, she continued on to Brussels, where she met with EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Josep Borrell and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. A day later, on Friday, she visited the Polish foreign minister in Warsaw.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (Social Democratic Party, SPD) followed on the heels of the foreign minister. On Friday he visited Paris and Brussels, and on Sunday he was received in Warsaw by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

The meetings took place against the backdrop of a growing threat of war and a coronavirus pandemic that is completely out of control. In Europe alone, more than 1.5 million people have died from COVID-19 so far because of irresponsible government policies. But the talks have been dominated solely by the question of how Europe can best advance its own economic and power interests in the escalating conflict between the United States and China and Russia.

The traffic light coalitionGreens, SPD and Liberal Democrats (FDP)regards a strong European Union as a prerequisite for an aggressive, militaristic German foreign policy. This requires close cooperation with France, the EUs sole nuclear power and the second-strongest economic power, following Britains exit. The coalition agreement commits itself to a more capable and strategically sovereign European Union. This is to be achieved by means of foreign, security, development and trade policy.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg

Baerbock brought this message with her on her trip. She expressed delight to have come to Brussels via Paris on the very first day to send a clear signal that a strong German foreign policy needs a strong Europe, she said upon her arrival in the Belgian capital.

After his meeting with President Emmanuel Macron, Scholz also said, Its about how we can make Europe strong, European sovereignty in all the dimensions that go with it. Thats about economic issues, security issues and foreign policy issues.

This is also how the French government sees it. Macron had already promoted the idea of European sovereignty in a keynote speech at the Sorbonne University in 2017. In the field of defense, the goal must be for Europe to be capable of acting independently, complementary to NATO, he demanded at the time.

In Berlin, this had been initially met with reluctance, fearing becoming too dependent on France in foreign policy and military terms. However, under pressure from the conflict with US President Donald Trump, President Macron and Chancellor Angela Merkel eventually worked closely together.

The change of government in Berlin is now seen in Paris as an opportunity to achieve Europes strategic sovereignty more quickly. Relations between Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel got off to a bad start and never really got going, the financial newspaper Les Echos comments. With Olaf Scholz taking office and his three-party coalition yearning for renewal, this could now change.

Macron himself presented his program for the French EU presidencya rotating position that begins on January 1, 2022at a press conference a day before the meeting with Scholz. The goal of the presidency, he said, is that we must move from a Europe of cooperation within our borders to a powerful Europe in the world, fully sovereign, free in its decisions and master of its destiny.

Macron plans new military interventions, trade war measures and the targeting of certain industries to strengthen Europe against its international rivals. He advocated a renewed commitment by the EU in the Balkans, a deepening of relations with Africa, and increased sealing off of European borders against immigrants by sending security forces from other member states.

Macron wants to relax the Stability Pact in order to finance large future investment needs in defense and climate policy. In certain areashydrogen, batteries, space, semiconductors, cloud computing, culture and healthhe wants to create European champions through state funding. Europe should set the standards of tomorrow and catch up with the global leaders, especially in the digital sector, he said.

The French president criticized the heavy dependence on countries like China and thus expressed the aspiration for European sovereignty not only in foreign and security policy, but also in economic policy, writes the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

The traffic light coalition is pursuing similar goals. It counts energy supply, health, raw material imports and digital technology among important strategic areas.

Strengthening the defense industry plays a central role. France is the worlds third-largest arms exporter after the USA and Russia, while Germany is the fourth largest. The Merkel government had already agreed gigantic joint arms programs with France. The Future Combat Air System (FCAS) alone costs between 100 and 500 billion euros.

However, the mutual commitment to friendship and cooperation does not mean that conflicts between Germany and France will disappear. Rather, the struggle for political and economic world power is intensifying the rivalries between the former archenemies.

This is particularly evident in the issue of the Stability Pact, which sets tight limits on the national debt of EU members. Macron declares it obsolete, while the traffic light coalition agreement explicitly acknowledges it. Above all, the FDP, whose leader Christian Lindner is Germanys new finance minister, is insisting on its observance. But Chancellor Scholz, the previous finance minister, is also considered a hawk in this regard.

The issue is explosive because government debt in the euro zone is at an all-time high. While the Stability Pact allows for a total debt of no more than 60 percent of GDP, Germanys debt is more than 70 percent and Frances is nearly 120 percent. New debt in 2021 is also far above the permitted 3 percent, at 5 percent in Germany and 8 percent in France.

With rapidly rising military spending and huge injections of money into the economy, these debts can only be reduced by massive cuts in social spending, which, along with growing opposition to profit-before-life policies in the pandemic, will trigger explosive class conflict.

Macron wants to bring EU interests to bear much more strongly than before on China and Russia, without being subordinate to the United States. Baerbock also advocates an aggressive course against Russia and China. She threatened Russia that it would pay a high political and, above all, economic price for a renewed violation of Ukrainian statehood, and announced a combination of dialogue and toughness toward China.

Chancellor Scholz, who has the final say on German foreign policy, has so far kept a low profile. There is a strong wing in the SPD that believes the confrontational course with Russia is wrong for economic reasons.

There are also open or subterranean conflicts between Berlin and Paris on many other issues. On climate policy, for example, France backs a massive expansion of nuclear power and is demanding the EU classify it as green energy. In Germany, which has decided to completely phase out nuclear power, this would lead to domestic political conflicts.

The Polish government gave Baerbock a cool reception. Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau acknowledged that she had immediately come to Poland for her inaugural visit, but then reproached her in numerous ways and demanded reparations for the damage of World War II.

Poland would never agree to a world divided into spheres of influence by great powers, Rau said, alluding to Franco-German dominance in the EU. The leader of the nationalist ruling PiS party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, is even said to have accused Berlin of trying to turn Europe into a German-dominated Fourth Reich.

Baerbock, who had railed fiercely against the Polish governments violation of the rule of law during the election campaign, was diplomatic. There were major discrepancies here that should be resolved in talks, she said. The EU is currently pursuing a rule of law case against Poland over the systematic subordination of the judiciary to the executive.

Warsaw and Berlin are working closely together despite the public conflicts. For Germany, the largest Eastern European country with 38 million inhabitants plays an important role in expanding its influence throughout that region, the traditional expansion area of German imperialism. Poland serves as a low-wage country for German and European corporations, where they can exploit well qualified workers at a fraction of Western European wages. For example, the cost of labour per hour worked in Poland in 2019 was 10.40 euros, compared with 35.90 euros in Germany.

For the Polish government, EU subsidies and remittances from workers employed in Germany and other Western European countries are an important source of income. That is why, for all its rhetoric against Brussels and Berlin, the PiS has never seriously questioned EU membership; stoking nationalism serves it primarily to mobilize right-wing forces at home.

On foreign policy issues, Baerbock stands close to the PiS. She shares its attacks on Russia and, like the PiS, wants to prevent the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from becoming operational.
This analysis of Chinas response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been submitted as a contribution to the WSWS Global Workers Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic. The WSWS is respecting a request that the authors identity not be publicly disclosed.

***

One of the most striking facts about the pandemic is that China, the country from which SARS-CoV-2 first emerged, has suffered very few cases. Since April 2020, the United States has detected nearly 50 million cases, but China, with four times the population, has detected just over 10,000.

There are two main types of reaction to this fact in the West. The first, increasingly rare, is disbelief. Even major Western media outlets hostile towards China have long since accepted that Chinas case counts are extremely low. If the pandemic has shown anything, it is that ignoring the virus does not make it go away, and any neglected outbreak in China would quickly spiral out of control, particularly in packed metropolises such as Shanghai and Beijing. Such an outbreak would be visible to foreign correspondents, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of foreigners living in China. And as we will see, the measures China takes to combat outbreaks are highly visible and impossible to keep secretindeed, they depend critically on widespread participation of the population.

The second type of reaction is to paint China as a draconian hellscape, in which the citizens live under a constant state of lockdown and siege. This is the approach taken recently by the New York Times in an article titled, Near-Daily Covid Tests, Sleeping in Classrooms: Life in Covid-Zero China. The article focuses on one small (by Chinese standards) city on the border of Myanmar. The picture it paints is grim:

[T]he residents of Ruili  a lush, subtropical city of about 270,000 people before the pandemic  are facing the extreme and harsh reality of living under a Zero Covid policy when even a single case is found.

The article concludes with a chilling statement by a resident of Ruili: The ordinary people, [Li] sighed, have no way to live.

Yet Ruili is one city with 270,000 residents in a country of 1.4 billion people. Is Ruili truly representative of life in Covid-Zero China? The direct answer is that Ruili is an extreme outlier in China: It sits directly on the border of a region of Myanmar controlled by an armed rebel group and is known as a center of cross-border smuggling. Smugglers carry not only illegal goods into Ruili, but, from time to time, the virus as well. Why, then, did two New York Times reporters (stationed in Hong Kong and Beijing), focus their article on this far-flung town?

Map of China. Ruili is a small city on the border of Myanmar, which The New York Times presents as representative of life in Covid-Zero China.

The answer is that the New York Times focuses on Ruili precisely because it is not representative of the situation in the vast majority of China. The Times coverage largely ignores the experience of people in the vast majority of China, including in major cities many times the size of Ruili (270,000 people), such as Shanghai (25 million people), Beijing (22 million people) and Guangzhou (19 million people).

What, then, is life like in the vast majority of Covid-Zero China? What measures are used to maintain zero, or close to zero, cases in the country?

China controlled its initial outbreak in early 2020 using strict lockdowns, particularly in the epicenter of the outbreak, in Wuhan. As cases subsided and Chinese cities came out of lockdown, the government imposed strict quarantine rules on incoming international travelers in order to prevent reintroduction of the virus into the country. A recent negative PCR test is required before even boarding a flight to China. After landing, passengers are again tested and then taken directly from the airport to a quarantine hotel, where they remain for two to three weeks without stepping outside their door. They are tested regularly, and food is delivered directly to the room by workers in full protective gear.

Many travelers have documented their experiences going through this system in quarantine vlogs, such as those of a Canadian YouTuber in a series of videos. This rigorous quarantine system serves as a fairly reliable barrier against the virus, such that life inside the countrys borders has been relatively normal since the end of the first wave in the spring of 2020. Businesses, such as restaurants, bars and movie theaters, have been open throughout China. This is perhaps most strikingly illustrated by images of packed night clubs and massive pool parties in Wuhan in late 2020, or, more prosaically, by interviews with normal people on the streets of Shanghai in the fall of 2020. Yet the quarantine barrier is not perfect, and more than a dozen small outbreaks have occurred in different parts of China over the last year and a half.

Total infections and people in quarantine in China (Data source: China CDC)

The image above shows, in blue, the number of daily infections [1] in China since the end of the first wave in April 2020. It shows, in orange, the total number of people in quarantine. China has seen several small outbreaks, which are typically isolated to one or a few cities, and which are typically controlled within a few weeks. The city or province through which each outbreak entered China is labeled by arrows above. In order to control each outbreak, close contacts of infected people are quarantined, as can be seen above in the spike of quarantined people during each outbreak. Since April 2020, the peak number of new infections detected on a single day was just under 200, and the peak number of people ever in quarantine at any given time was just over 50,000. For comparison, the cumulative number of people quarantined in China during the entire pandemic is slightly larger than the number of people who have died of COVID-19 in the United States.

The following is an example of how the virus can penetrate the quarantine barrier. On July 10, 2021, a plane from Moscow carrying a traveler infected with the Delta variant landed in Nanjing. Workers cleaning out the interior of the cabin became infected. These same workers also cleaned airplane cabins for domestic flights, and therefore spread the virus to people in the domestic terminal. Because their work could bring them into contact with infected international travelers, the cleaners were regularly tested for the virus, and the outbreak was detected 11 days later, on July 21, 2021. However, by that point, the virus had already been carried far beyond the airport. It eventually spread to cities in over a dozen provinces, peaking at nearly 100 new infections detected per day before it was brought under control in mid-August. After this outbreak, changes were made to the operation of airports to reduce the risk of a similar breach recurring.

The Nanjing outbreak demonstrates that border quarantine measures alone cannot completely prevent the spread of the virus. The Chinese government refers to its policy as a dynamic zero policy. This means that the virus will occasionally manage to re-enter the country and cause small clusters of cases (for example, through illegal border crossings by smugglers in Ruili), but that a rapid public health response will ultimately bring cases back down to zero.

Controlling an outbreak in 15 days

In order to see how Chinas epidemic control measures work, we will take a look at how a recent outbreak in one particular city was handled.

With an urban population of over 20 million people, Chongqing may be the largest city that most people outside of China have never heard of. It lies in a mountainous area of Southwest China, at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers. The history of the city goes back over 3,000 years. During the Japanese invasion in the 1930s and 40s Chongqing served as the wartime capital of China because of its position deep in the interior of the country.

The central business district of Chongqing (Credit: Wikimedia, CC-BY-SA 3.0.)

During the initial coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, in January 2020, Chongqing began seeing COVID-19 cases and, like most of China, went into lockdown. The city began easing restrictions in March 2020, and restaurants started to reopen for in-person dining. Schools resumed in-person classes in April and May. After emerging from lockdown, Chongqing detected no new local infections for more than a year. [2]

Chongqings first new substantial outbreak was noticed when a 32-year-old man presented at a hospital with a fever on the afternoon of November 1, 2021. A PCR test came back positive the next day, triggering a massive response by the citys health agencies. The discovery was immediately announced by the city government. By the end of the day, five more people had tested positive and 279 people were in quarantine, including all of the five additional people who would test positive over the next 10 days.

It quickly became clear that the core of the Chongqing outbreak was a group of employees at a local energy company. Contact tracing revealed the original source of the outbreak in Chongqing to be an employee of the company who had recently visited a city in northern China that was experiencing an outbreak. Following his visit, he traveled home to Sichuan, stopping in Chongqing and interacting with coworkers at the energy company. It would later emerge that he was already infected with the virus during his visit to Chongqing: He tested positive on November 2, the same day the first case was discovered in Chongqing.

Within a day of first detection, the city of Chongqing closed off the headquarters of the energy company and other buildings which had been visited by the infected people. The districts of the city in which the infected individuals lived announced mass testing campaigns and gathered samples from 125,000 people within 24 hours.

The patients apartment complexes were strictly locked down, with food and other vital supplies delivered regularly by city health workers (a Canadian YouTuber visited the building where the first patient lived, giving a window into what life for the residents looked like during the lockdown). Various areas of the city were labeled high risk zones, with entry and exit strictly controlled. Throughout the city, mahjong parlors, movie theaters, libraries, museums and other public places where large numbers of people come together were temporarily closed.

In the following days, the number of people in quarantine continued to climb, as more close contacts of the cases were identified. The total number of people in quarantine peaked at close to 1,300 people less than a week later.

Because of the magnitude of the response, only a handful of people ever tested positive, all of whom had been quarantined on the first day. On November 17, with no new infections having been detected outside of quarantine for more than two weeks, the city announced that the outbreak had been controlled. Chongqing was officially declared a low-risk zone. Restrictions were relaxed, and life went back to normal.

It took 15 days to go from the first detected case until the official end of the outbreak.

Genetic sequencing of the virus from the first patient in Chongqing confirmed that this cluster of cases was only a small branch of a wider Delta variant outbreak that began in October in the northern province of Inner Mongolia (the virus most likely entered China from the country of Mongolia). The outbreak was brought to an end in China altogether in mid-November. During this period, cities across China saw small numbers of cases and snuffed out their local outbreaks in much the same way Chongqing did.

Contrary to the common perception in the West, an enormous amount of detailed information about every case is published as a matter of course in China. Public health agencies publish a detailed activity track [3] for each person who tests positive, listing the times at which they visited various places in the preceding days, how they were infected (if known), and even the license-plate numbers of the taxis theyve recently hailed. A typical line from the first patients activity track reads,

October 28th, 9:30: took taxi from home (license plate number: Chongqing AD14574) to Wulidian gas station in Jiangbei district to inspect the charging stations; ate at Sister Huangs Old Hot Pot restaurant in Wulidian with Mr. Ye and Mr. Cao at noon. [4]

One of the purposes of these detailed activity tracks is to alert those who have crossed paths with the infected people. The activity tracks of the cases discovered on November 2 in Chongqing, for example, were all published by the next day. On Chinese social media, activity tracks are widely shared and commented on. Perhaps amused and alarmed by the number of public places the first patient had visited, one Chinese netizen commented, From the afternoon to the evening of the 27th, ate three meals in three different districts. What kind of person is this? So impressive! [5]

The relationships between the cluster of cases detected in Chongqing in November 2021, based on contact-tracing reports published by the city.

The image above shows the relationships between the cluster of cases detected in Chongqing in November 2021. As noted above, the outbreak most likely entered Chongqing when a man living in Sichuan (represented by the gray circle labeled S above) visited Chongqing in late October 2021, and interacted with coworkers at a local energy company. The Sichuan man had recently been in Lanzhou, in northern China, which was experiencing an outbreak at the time. He infected a few of his coworkers, who subsequently infected a number of other people in Chongqing. Eventually, one employee of the energy company, a 32-year-old man (labeled c1 above), developed a fever, went to the hospital and tested positive, setting off a massive public-health response. By the end of the day, all the people represented above were in quarantine. The Sichuan man was later investigated for possibly concealing his recent travel to Lanzhou.

One key to the success of Chongqing (and other cities across China) in ending outbreaks is the ability to quickly identify close contacts of infected people. This is done using smartphone-based contact-tracing apps, cell phone location data and interviews with the patients themselves. After the first patient showed up in hospital and tested positive, his close contacts were rapidly identified and sent into quarantine, where they were regularly tested and their health was monitored.

At the same time, the residents of the neighborhoods in which the first patients lived were tested within just a few days, in order to make sure that the outbreak had not spread more widely. If the outbreak had spread more widely into the population, this mass testing would have identified additional infected people, and contact tracers would have followed up on each individual infection, identifying their circle of close contacts. Through this process, every infection in a city can be rapidly identified, and spread can be brought to a halt.

Chongqing was lucky. Only a small cluster of people had been infected by the time the first patient was identified. Not all Chinese cities have been as fortunate, and over the last year a few local outbreaks in China have taken weeks to completely control.

This short period in early November 2021 is the only time since April 2020 that Chongqing has implemented significant restrictions on daily life. For most of the last 20 months, while virtually every major city outside of China has endured multiple serious waves of infection and death, life in Chongqingas in most of Chinahas been relatively normal.

The dynamic zero policy

As we have seen above, local public health departments are key to the implementation of Chinas dynamic zero policy. If a case appears in a city, contact tracers must immediately be sent to identify close contacts, and testing of close contacts and affected neighborhoods must be carried out as rapidly as possible. In order to end an outbreak, local public health departments must quickly understand the outbreaks scope: Is it a handful of cases, or a wider outbreak that has spread undetected? The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), an organization modeled on the US CDC, has repeatedly emphasized (see here and here) the centrality of community-level public health work (and the need to strengthen it) to the countrys COVID strategy.

This has involved significant investment in the public health system at the local level. For example, the central government requires each city to have the capacity to test its entire population within a short time frame. This means two days for cities with populations under 5 million, and within three to five days for cities with populations above 5 million. This local testing capacity is supported by mobile testing labs, which are deployed to regions that have active outbreaks to speed up the screening of the population.

This testing capacity has been repeatedly deployed to end local outbreaks. In Guangzhou, a metropolis in southern China the size of New York City, 18 million residents were tested in just three days during a Delta variant outbreak in June 2021. The outbreak was successfully contained with limited lockdowns of only a few neighborhoods, aided by mass testing and extensive contact tracing, and was brought to a complete end in less than a month.

Diagram of the entire transmission chain in the Guangzhou Delta variant outbreak of May-June 2020, from a paper in the medical journal, The Lancet. [6]

In the image above, each circle represents one person who was infected during the outbreak, with the arrows showing who was infected by whom. The first detected case, represented above by the red diamond, was infected in a hospital due to accidental exposure to a patient from abroad, represented by the gray circle. The ability to trace every infection and understand entire chains of transmission is central to Chinas ability to control outbreaks.

While local public health agencies are critical; they operate in the context of a larger national strategy to approach the pandemic.

After the end of the initial outbreak in China, in the Summer of 2020, the China CDC laid out its long-term strategy for dealing with the pandemic in an article in the medical journal The Lancet. The China CDC worried that although the first wave had been broken, a strong suppression effort must continue to prevent re-establishment of community transmission within China.

The China CDC laid out two alternative strategies that the country could follow: either containment and suppression (the dynamic zero policy that we have seen above) or mitigation, which accepts some level of spread of the virus, but which seeks to lessen its impact. The China CDC judged that [m]itigation might allow development of herd immunity over a long time, but at a great cost in terms of number of cases, morbidity, and mortality. The China CDC deemed this policywhich has been followed in most countries around the worldas unacceptable, and instead explained that its goal was to protect the population until a vaccine could be developed and widely deployed:

The current strategic goal is to maintain no or minimal indigenous transmission of SARS-CoV-2 until the population is protected through immunisation with safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, at which time the risk of COVID-19 from any source should be at a minimum. This strategy buys time for urgent development of vaccines and treatments in an environment with little ongoing morbidity and mortality. A vaccine response is almost certain to be a global necessity in the COVID-19 pandemic response, preventing infection among those at risk of exposure or medical risk and, ultimately, immunising the population to stop virus importation and transmission.

China has now fully vaccinated nearly 80 percent of its population, reaching this level of population immunity without suffering widespread infection. However, the continued spread of the virus in countries that have vaccinated substantial portions of their populations and continuing high death tolls in those countries have caused the China CDC to warn against abandonment of the Zero COVID strategy.

The China CDC recently published an assessment of the consequences of embracing the mitigation strategy pursued by most countries, concluding that Chinas health care system would be quickly overwhelmed by hundreds of thousands of daily COVID-19 cases, and more than 10,000 severe cases each day. [E]mbrac[ing] certain open-up strategies without reservation, the China CDC warned, would have a devastating impact on the medical system of China and cause a great disaster within the nation.

Dr. Zhong Nanshan, a Chinese pulmonologist known for speaking out about the original SARS outbreak, who has played a leading role in the response to the current pandemic. Credit: Xinhua/Liu Dawei.

Dr. Zhong Nanshan is a pulmonologist who rose to prominence in 2003 during the original SARS outbreak by speaking publicly about the epidemic and developing a treatment regimen for SARS patients. Now at an age of 85 years, he has played a central role in formulating and communicating Chinas response to COVID-19.

In January 2020, Dr. Zhong traveled to Wuhan with a medical team from Chinas National Health Commission to investigate the outbreak, and he was the first major figure to announce that SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted from person to person. In a recent interview, he argued that compared with allowing the virus to spread, the dynamic zero policy is a relatively low-cost approach, and that the back-and-forth lifting and reimposition of restrictions in other countries has a greater psychological impact on the population. Dr. Zhong has suggested that how long Chinas strict border controls remain in place will depend on how other countries around the world manage to control the spread of the virus, and on how effective vaccines, new drugs and treatments are in reducing its severity.

The outlook for China in the pandemic

Dr. Zhongs statements are in stark contrast to calls by Western media for China to abandon its Zero COVID policy and embrace a US-style living with the virus policy. The Financial Times declares that Zero-Covid countries have run out of road and that Chinas self-isolation is a global concern. The New York Times publishes article after article attacking Chinas Zero COVID policy, and even more cynically, attempts to sow fear, uncertainty and doubt about Chinese vaccines. The Guardian asserts that the Chinese people are growing tired of the Zero COVID policy.

The idea that China, which has managed to hold SARS-CoV-2 at bay for the last 20 months while allowing normal life to largely continue, should take advice on epidemic control measures from the Financial Times, the New York Times or the Guardian is clearly absurd. Yet China faces strong pressures to abandon its control policy from other quarters as well. While Chinas Zero COVID policy enables normal life with relatively few restrictions within the countrys borders, the strict quarantine regimen for inbound travelersthree weekshas made international travel difficult. The New York Times has been keen to highlight the difficulty this poses to businesspeople who travel to the country. China also certainly faces the same domestic business pressures as Western countries do, pressing for a lifting of border restrictions and other control measures that could hinder business activity.

With the appearance of the Omicron variant, callsmostly from outside Chinafor an abandonment of the dynamic zero policy (increasingly loud just a few weeks ago) have been exposed as foolhardy. Responding to early news about Omicron, Dr. Zhong Nanshan emphasized that China will wait and see how the new variant behaves, and whether a new vaccine against it will be needed. Because of its dynamic zero strategy, China has the ability to wait and see from a safe distance. In contrast, countries that are living with the virus are flying blind and will not know what sort of risk they are taking with the health of their population until Omicron is already upon them.

Chinas experience through the pandemic demonstrates that with a vigorous public health response, societies can contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2. This may explain the repeated, seemingly irrational, attempts by outlets like the New York Times to attack Chinas Zero COVID policy, as well as their simultaneous failure to explain to their readership how the policy works.

The epidemic control measures that Chinese people have endured pale in comparison to the price in lives and livelihoods that Americans have paid. Since the beginning of the pandemic, for each person temporarily quarantined in China (a country with four times the population of the United States), one American has died. At the same time, the amount of time spent in lockdown in most cities in China since April 2020 has been minimal. Yet the New York Times would rather have its readership believe that a remote town on the border of Myanmar represents the norm in Covid-Zero China, than inform them that over one billion people, in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, have lived for 20 months with few restrictions on daily life and have had virtually zero risk from the virus.

Epidemic control measures in Chongqing and elsewhere in China, based upon basic principles of epidemiology and modern technologies, such as PCR testing and smartphone-based contact tracing, have proved to be effective. It is imperative that scientists, workers, and students push for similar life-saving policies to be adopted around the world.

End Notes:

[1] Daily infections is defined as the number of new domestic infections, whether symptomatic or asymptomatic. China typically reports the daily number of asymptomatic infections, symptomatic cases, and the number of asymptomatic infections converting to symptomatic cases. The daily infection number is the sum of asymptomatic infections and symptomatic cases, minus conversions.

[2] After April 2020, Chongqing did not detect any new local cases until July 31, 2021, when it found two cases. It detected one further asymptomatic infection five days later, on August 5, but no broader outbreak occurred in Chongqing.

[3] In Chinese, 

[4] In Chinese, 1028930D14574

[5] In Chinese, 27

[6] Wang et al., Transmission, viral kinetics and clinical characteristics of the emergent SARS-CoV-2 Delta VOC in Guangzhou, China. The Lancet. 2021. DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.101129 .
A panel of academic experts at the University of Florida (UF) published a report this week on their weeks-long investigation into various issues pertaining to academic freedom on campus, concluding that UF researchers felt pressured to destroy COVID-19 data and avoid criticizing university and state officials over their disastrous policies during the pandemic.

The six-person panel, made up of a faculty senate committee, was convened last month following UFs decision to bar three political science professors from testifying as expert witnesses in an election lawsuit against the state. The committees central finding was that fears of upsetting state lawmakers and politicians was rampant among faculty at UF, pointing to efforts by university administrators to coerce faculty from criticizing Governor Ron DeSantis or UFs policies related to COVID-19 in media interactions.

Florida seniors have their temperatures taken before receiving the second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Jackson Health System in Miami [Credit: AP Photo/Marta Lavandier]

Researchers and academics were warned throughout the past two years not to use their professional titles or school affiliation in written commentary or to give oral presentations to the media. Faculty at UF Health, a network of hospitals associated with the university, expressed concerns over departmental funding being in jeopardy if they did not adopt the states stance on pandemic regulations in opinion articles, according to the panels findings.

The committee received a substantial amount of input from faculty who relayed stories which ranged from attempts to serve as expert witnesses in court cases to other instances that dealt with race and COVID-19 research across disciplines. Members of the panel indicated that outside of the professors who were barred as expert witnesses in November, the committees findings on academic suppression were so alarming that they decided to hasten the investigation, particularly in regards to the suppression of COVID-19 research data.

In an interview with the Miami Herald, Danya Wright, a constitutional law professor and member of the six-person panel, spoke of an added sense of urgency to the allegations related to data destruction. Wright said, COVID research, it is life and death to not be able to do your job. She continued, to have your research that youve trained for so many years to be able to do, to have that research tabled, put on the shelf and ignored and not get it out there to the academic community to get it out there and see if its going to do any good.

Additional allegations in the report detailed how professors and departmental heads were required to restructure course syllabi and change the content of websites to appease UFs administration. Race-related references had to be withdrawn from course materials, which included prohibiting the terms critical and race from appearing together in the same sentence or document, according to the committees report. This restriction specifically targets the teaching of critical race theory, a body of race-obsessed academic writing that Republican lawmakers have sought to ban through fascistic laws aimed at removing divisive concepts from school curricula.

Professor Wright noted an atmosphere of pervasive academic censorship and intimidation that prevailed throughout faculty and research spaces. More problematic, Wright said, than the individual examples of pressure to stifle unpopular viewpoints or restrict research was the palpable reticence and even fear on the part of faculty to speak up on these issues. Wright noted that there was grave concern about retaliation and a sense that anyone who objected to the state of affairs might lose his or her job or be punished in some way. Weve reached a point where many faculty feel that wherever this pressure is coming from, it is interfering with our duty and loyalty and commitment and responsibility to seek the truth and make that knowledge available.

University officials declined to comment on the faculty senate report after being asked on Monday. The faculty report states that the lack of documented rules and procedures made understanding denials of expert participation in activity outside university boundaries more difficult, meaning professors and researchers have been given little to no explanation for the prohibitions.

Meanwhile, three professors involved in the initial controversy over not being allowed to testify along with three other UF professors have filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging a violation of their First Amendment rights. The original lawsuit, filed by political science professors Sharon Austin, Michael McDonald and Daniel Smith was made on November 5. It named UF President Kent Fuchs, Provost Joseph Glover and the schools board of trustees as defendants after the professors were denied requests to serve as plaintiffs witnesses in a challenge to a new elections law, SB 90, that places anti-democratic and onerous limitations on vote-by-mail procedures.

An amended complaint filed last week in federal court added law professors Teresa Reid, Kenneth Nunn and Jeffrey Goldhagen, a professor in the universitys College of Medicine, as plaintiffs. The lawsuit alleges that administrators decisions to prevent faculty members from participating in lawsuits against the state violates First Amendment rights. According to court records, the university told the professors in November that outside activities that may pose a conflict of interest to the executive branch of the state of Florida create a conflict for the university. UF along with a slew of other public universities rely on the state legislature for its funding, while the governor has the ability to veto line items in its budget.

Although it is touted as the states lone flagship university, the political and class allegiances of UFs board of trustees are with the fascistic DeSantis administration and Republican Party. Four of the 13 board members responsible for governing UF have been major donors to DeSantis political campaigns, giving a collective $661,800 the last few years, according to a review by the Herald and Tampa Bay Times. Among them are Anita Zucker, a billionaire CEO of South Carolina-based chemicals manufacturer InterTech Group, who is also the richest person in that state. She gave DeSantis campaign $100,000 two months after the universitys board of governors chose her as a UF trustee in 2019.

Another Republican affiliate on the board is Mori Hosseini, a long-term GOP donor who has given nearly $112,000 to DeSantis political committee, either directly or through his companies ICI Homes and Intervest. Hosseini played a critical role in rubber-stamping and fast-tracking the hiring of DeSantis handpicked surgeon general and head of the states Department of Health, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, into a highly-paid tenured position at UFs medical school.

Dr. Ladapo was appointed surgeon general shortly after becoming a professor at UF in September. Given the personal strings tying UFs board of trustees and DeSantis Republican apparatus, theres a definite political connection behind universitys decision to suppress COVID-19 research data and block criticism of the catastrophic policies DeSantis has enforced throughout the pandemic.

In fact, Dr. Ladapo was tapped as the states leading public health expert in order to provide a veneer of scientific credibility for the homicidal herd immunity pandemic policies that have been carried out by DeSantis and which have allowed the virus to run rampant across the state. Such policies have amounted to a flat-out rejection of lockdowns and closures of non-essential businesses, the resumption of in-person learning in schools and even the prohibition of limited mitigation measures, including county-wide mask mandates and masking within schools.

Despite more than 62,000 deaths and 3.7 million cases, the states COVID-19 dashboard tracker has been dismantled for months and death counts are no longer reported on a daily basis. Commenting on the emergence of the Omicron variant, which threatens to overwhelm hospitals nationwide even as the Delta variant is surging, DeSantis said the state would not change its policies and derided public health measures to stop the virus as Fauci-ism, referring to President Joe Bidens chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Prior to hiring on as a faculty member of UFs College of Medicine, Dr. Ladapo had voiced his opposition to lockdowns and mask mandates. He has made a name for himself since his appointment as surgeon general by promulgating disinformation regarding the safety of COVID-19 vaccines and mask mandates in K-12 schools. Shortly after his appointment, Dr. Ladapo condemned vaccine mandates in workplaces in a news conference by openly doubting the trustworthiness of the health measure and whether the scientific communitys claims about the vaccines were credible.

Employing the rhetoric associated with the far-right, Dr. Ladapo declared, no matter what people on TV tell you, its not true. He said individuals hear these stories, people telling you whats been happening in their livesnurses, pregnant women who are being forced to sort of put something in their bodies that we dont know all there is to know about yet. He remarked further, Well, guess what? Here we are about 10 months afterward. And were finding that the data are showing that in some of these vaccines, the protection from infection is less than 40 percent. And even less than that, for some of them. Instead of taking the vaccines, Ladapo concluded people should stick with their intuition and sensibilities.

This pseudoscientific language runs up against the months-long effort of scientists who have produced countless amounts of empirical evidence and verifiable knowledge on the safety and efficacy of the vaccines. Ladapo cited neither a study nor a credible body of researchers who were also concerned with the health consequences of the vaccine. Instead, he raised skepticism about the stories regarding the health benefits of the vaccines, suggesting the public give extra weight to contrarian anecdotes and conspiracy theories while ignoring the research of public health experts. Moreover, its entirely unclear what Ladapos 40 percent figure is referring to.

The censoring of dissident views relating to Governor DeSantis and his pandemic policies has not been limited to researchers in academia. Rebekah Jones, a geographer and data scientist who helped build Floridas online presentation of its COVID-19 data, was fired in June 2020 after refusing to manipulate the states official figures on the virus and support the elimination of lockdowns and other health restrictions. Jones, who continued to raise doubts about the official figures reported by the health department, was angrily denounced by DeSantis for displaying insubordination and blatant disrespect.

After being terminated Jones launched her own website to keep track of Floridas COVID-19 information and eventually became a target for police-state repression. Law enforcement officers raided her home on December 7, 2020, in a violent and fascistic raid, pointing their guns at Jones husband and children. Police seized all of Jones technology, including her phone, computers, and other equipment she used to update her COVID dashboard tracker. Comparing the experience to a Nazi-style attack, Jones tweeted shortly after, this was DeSantis. He sent the gestapo. This is what happens to scientists who do their job honestly. This is what happens to people who speak truth to power.
As the new Omicron variant spreads through the Asia-Pacific region, Indonesia is proceeding with its pro-corporate reopening agenda and rapidly dispensing with any public health measures to control the virus.

Last Monday, President Joko Widodos government reversed its previous decision to impose more stringent Level 3 social restrictions over the year-end holiday period. The plans were originally prompted by concerns that the variant may have already arrived, and that increased travel would cause an infection spike of the Delta variant, which is still circulating throughout the archipelago.

UNICEF aid workers in Indonesia (Credit: UNICEF)

Chief Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan, who oversees the countrys coronavirus taskforce, announced that the limited Level 2 measures currently in place will continue over the holidays, only to be removed at the earliest possible date. Introduced on November 29, after the emergence of Omicron was publicised, they include minimal mobility restrictions on shopping centres, restaurants, parks, and public transport.

The holidays are expected to see tens of millions of Indonesians travelling from major cities to their hometowns. Movement on important toll roads will be limited, although domestic flights have opened for the vaccinated. Non-essential workplaces and schools will remain open.

Travel bans were initially imposed for anyone travelling from 10 southern African countrieswhere the Omicron variant was first discoveredover the past two weeks. However, the variant has since been detected in countries in the region, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Japan.

Under pressure from medical experts, the quarantine period for international arrivals was extended from 3 to 7 days, and then to 10 days. Minister Luhut informed a press conference that Widodo ordered this extension, adding that it will be evaluated every now and then as we understand and continue digging more information about this new variant.

Senior ministers further confirmed that all public health measures in place will be reviewed every two weeks from now, according to Reuters.

In another reversal, the government junked its earlier calls for schools to cancel their year-end break and for workers not to take leave from December 24 to January 2. It is also allowing Indonesians to travel to Saudi Arabia later this month for umrah, a religious pilgrimage, even though Omicron has been detected in the gulf country.

Any remaining nationwide movement restrictions were also ended last Monday, while those affecting Java and Bali had ended a week earlier. Meanwhile, Indonesia has commenced a policy of quarantine-free vaccinated travel lanes aimed at restarting flights with neighbouring countries, such as Malaysia and Singapore.

As the government pursues its strategy of living with the virus, officials are falsely claiming that the inadequate mitigation measures are sufficient to deal with a potential Omicron outbreak.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said authorities were working to enhance their COVID-19 surveillance to detect and contain Omicron early on. At a press conference on the resumption of air travel, Novie Riyanto from the Transportation Ministry remarked, We have to prevent the third wave.

The governments reckless moves are part of a global drive by financial elites to resume full economic activity, whatever the cost in lives. In reality, the decision to relax restrictions contradicts advice from medical experts on the highly infectious Omicron strain.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has classified the highly-mutated Omicron a high risk, warning on Wednesday that it could have a major impact on the course of the pandemic.

While the Indonesian financial press reiterates the unsubstantiated and reckless claims of ruling classes everywhere that Omicron is milder than Delta, epidemiologists have urged world governments to take drastic preventative measures. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHOs technical lead on COVID-19, emphasised this week that it is too early to conclude that Omicron is less lethal.

So far only 37 percent of Indonesias 273 million population is fully vaccinated, with just 53 percent of the elderly having received one dose alone. The countrys chaotic and delayed vaccine rollout has been further undermined by the spread of misinformation and quack cures by government, media, and religious figures throughout the pandemic, generating much confusion and distrust.

Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto has asked regional authorities to accelerate the vaccination program, so as to vaccinate 70 percent of the population by the end of this year. The target was quickly condemned as unrealistic by health experts. Indonesia began mass vaccinations in January this year.

Testing rates remain extremely low (208,581 tests per million people), placing it at 146th in the world. Additionally, the alarming lack of whole-genome sequencing (WGS)a crucial tool in tracking COVID-19s mutation developmentmakes it possible for Omicron to spread undetected. Indonesia has gathered a meagre 8,906 WGS samples, whereas South Africa, for example, has taken 23,000 samples out of its much smaller 60 million population.

The chronically underfunded and understaffed health care system remains as unprepared now as during previous surges. The WHO said hospitals still lacked critical resources like isolation rooms, oxygen supplies, medical and personal protective equipment, as well as mobile field hospitals and body bags.

Indonesias Delta outbreak from July to September saw the country become the words COVID-19 epicentre. The catastrophic surge was facilitated by government efforts to reopen even as the Delta variant ravaged the population. Epidemiologist Dr. Pandu Riono said at the time, The decision doesnt seem to be related to the pandemic, but to economics.

At the peak of the outbreak, over 700 children died at a rate of 100 per week, with children accounting for one in eight infections. Shockingly, over 150 children died during the week of July 12 alone, with half of these under the age of five.

It took 14 months for Indonesia to exceed the 50,000-death mark at the end of May, and only nine weeks to reach 100,000. Daily cases averaged at 40,000 in July, but had dropped to 400 by Decembera fact authorities used to declare the pandemic over.

In total, official figures stand at over 4.2 million cases and 143,929 deaths, although these are considered vast underestimates. According to LaporCOVID-19, a virus data group, during the first two months of the Delta outbreak, nearly 3,000 deaths occurred in homes, some of which were counted in official figures while others were not.

The social consequences of the pandemic have devastated large sections of Indonesias working class. About 30 percent of the population are officially regarded as living in poverty, soaring from less than 10 percent in 2019.

The Widodo governments pandemic response is characterised by an ever-greater desperation to restart international tourism, a substantial part of Indonesias GDP. In 2019, the tourism sector attracted $US63.6 billion. From November 2, tax incentives have been provided to tourism-related corporations and businesses whose revenues were impacted by travel restrictions.

As with other countries in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is now facing enormous pressure from the imperialist powers and manufacturing conglomerates to follow their lead, reopen borders, and repair global supply chains heading into 2022, regardless of the dangers posed by Omicron.
Doctors have confirmed that Julian Assange suffered a mini stroke inside Belmarsh Prison during a High Court appeal in October, his fiancee Stella Moris revealed over the weekend. She made clear that a pseudo-legal conspiracy by the US and UK governments to secure Assanges extradition is pushing the WikiLeaks publisher to breaking point.

Moris spoke to the Daily Mail on Saturday, just one day after Britains High Court ruled in favour of a US government appeal overturning an earlier bar to extradition on health grounds. Assange faces extradition to the US under the Espionage Act (1917) and a possible 175-year prison sentence for WikiLeaks publications exposing war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Julian Assange's partner, Stella Moris, addresses protesters outside the High Court in London, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Assange suffered what doctors diagnosed as a transient ischaemic attack on the opening day of a High Court appeal on October 27, which he watched from prison via video-link. The Mail reported that Assange believes the mini-stroke was triggered by the stress of the ongoing US court action against him, and an overall decline in his health as he faces his third Christmas behind bars.

TIAs or mini-strokes temporarily block blood supply to the brain. A doctor has reportedly examined Assange, finding evidence of nerve damage. He underwent an MRI scan and has been prescribed blood thinning medication.

Moris spoke of her concern for Assanges survival, telling the Mail, Julian is struggling and I fear this mini-stroke could be the precursor to a more major attack. It compounds our fears about his ability to survive the longer this long legal battle goes on.

She continued, Look at animals trapped in cages in a zoo. It cuts their life short. That's what's happening to Julian. The never-ending court cases are extremely stressful mentally.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is seen in a prison van traveling to Westminster Magistrates Court in London, Friday, Dec. 20, 2019 (Credit: AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

World Socialist Web Site reporter Thomas Scripps covered the High Court appeal hearing on October 27-28. His report noted that Assange looked visibly unwellthin, downcast and struggling to stay awake or to sit up in his chair. Yesterday, Scripps recalled, it took a moment to recognise Assange when he first appeared, adding, many journalists expressed concern in the videolink chat..

According to the Mail s report on Saturday, Assange was left with a drooping right eyelid, memory problems and signs of neurological damage.

Moris told the Mail, It must have been horrendous hearing a High Court appeal in which you can't participate, which is discussing your mental health and your risk of suicide and in which the US is arguing you are making it all up.

She recalled, He had to sit through all this when he should have been excused. He was in a truly terrible state. His eyes were out of synch, his right eyelid would not close, his memory was blurry.

Throughout the two-day hearing the US sought to discredit medical experts who had testified that Assange would likely commit suicide if he were extradited to the United States. Lawyers for the US government argued that US federal prison conditions were not oppressive and that District Judge Vanessa Baraitser had failed to provide an opportunity to hear what are worthless US assurances that he would not be mistreated.

News of Assanges stroke has evoked protest and urgent warnings from doctors and medical experts. It will add to the growing revulsion felt by tens of millions of workers and youth worldwide over Assanges slow-motion assassination in plain sight, sanctioned by the British state.

Nils Melzer, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, who examined Assange with a medical team inside Belmarsh Prison in May 2019, responded on Saturday night, Assanges stroke is no surprise. As we warned after examining him, unless relieved of the constant pressure of isolation, arbitrariness and persecution, his health would enter a downward spiral endangering his life. [The] UK is literally torturing him to death.

Melzer added, As Assange clearly was not medically fit to attend his own trial through videolink, how can they even discuss whether he is fit to be exposed to a show trial in the US, a country that refuses to prosecute its torturers and war criminals but persecutes whistleblowers and journalists?

Doctors4Assange (D4A), representing more than 250 doctors in 35 countries, issued a statement yesterday warning of a dangerous deterioration of Mr. Assanges health. They explained, This latest medical emergency adds to the already dire state of Mr. Assanges health owing to his prolonged psychological torture. This includes eleven years of arbitrary detention, medical neglect, solitary confinement, obstruction of access to his lawyers, and an Orwellian legal prosecution that has violated the rule of law and due process.

Noting CIA plans to kidnap and assassinate Assange, and the CIAs illegal surveilling of his lawyers, Doctors for Assange demanded the WikiLeaks publisher be granted his long overdue freedom.

Bill Hogan, a medical doctor from the United States and a member of D4A told the WSWS yesterday, The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Doctors for Assange warned repeatedly that unless the United States and United Kingdom ended their psychological torture of Mr Assange, his physical health would deteriorate and he is at high risk of death over time.

Dr. Hogan said of Assanges stroke, Fifty-year-old men rarely experience such events, and there is a direct physiological chain of events  This outcome was wholly predictable and preventable. That the US and UK ignored our warnings directly implicates them as responsible and clarifies even further that their intent is to murder Mr Assange.

Dr. Derek Summerfield, honorary clinical senior lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, Kings College,and D4A member, told the WSWS, The Western order demands its sacrificial victim, here the journalist daring to expose its secrets and lies, and in last few years we have witnessed Assange going through a process somehow akin to the hanging, drawing and quartering of medieval executions.

Fridays High Court rulingmade in the certain knowledge of Assanges acute medical deteriorationconfirms there is no line the British state, its judiciary, media and parliament will not cross in securing the courageous journalists destruction. He must not be left in their clutches. The fight for Assanges freedom must be taken to the working class and especially its young generation whose future rests on defeating the growing threat of imperialist war and authoritarianism in the fight for socialism.
On Sunday, the New York Times published a detailed report chronicling the systematic, years-long mass murder of civilians by the United States in Iraq and Syria, carried out by a death squad called Talon Anvil.

US MQ-9 Reaper Drone (Image credit: U.S. Air Force/Paul Ridgeway public domain)

The unit directed air strikes and drone-fired missiles at crowds and residential buildings, killing people who had no role in the conflict: farmers trying to harvest, children in the street, families fleeing fighting, and villagers sheltering in buildings.

Three incidents in particular are recounted by the Times as examples:

Three men all with canvas bags, working in an olive grove near the city of Manbij in the fall of 2016. The men had no weapons, and were not near any fighting, but the strike cell insisted they must be enemy fighters and killed them with a missile.

In early March 2017, Talon Anvil sent a Predator drone over a Syrian farming town called Karama, and the operator claimed all civilians had fled, and anyone left was a legitimate target. The Predator dropped a 500-pound bomb on a house, and when the smoke cleared, The infrared cameras showed women and children staggering out of the partly collapsed building, some missing limbs, some dragging the dead. At least 23 died, with dozens more wounded.

During the US-backed attack on Raqqa, the largest Syrian city held by ISIS, in June 2017, civilians sought to flee the fighting and boarded makeshift ferries to cross the Euphrates River. The cell ordered strikes that hit multiple boats, killing at least 30 civilians, whose bodies drifted away in the green water.

Analysts looking at the footage of the drone-missile strikes began to dispute Talon Anvil claims, such as labeling as ISIS fighters bodies that were clearly those of children. In response, like American cops who turn off their body cameras before shooting or beating someone, Talon Anvil operators started directing drone cameras away from targets shortly before a strike hit, preventing the collection of video evidence, one former officer told the Times.

Talon Anvil also labeled more and more strikes as self-defense, which did not require justification based on intelligence, as opposed to offensive operations, which did.

Talon Anvil was the name of a Delta Force unit within the larger Task Force 9, which coordinated US military operations against the Islamic State (ISIS) forces in Iraq and Syria from 2014 to 2019. The actions of Task Force 9 were exposed by the Times in a previous front-page report, published last month, which included details of an air strike on the town of Baghuz in which at least 80 women and children were incinerated by 500-pound and 2,000-pound bombs.

The account provides so much evidence of deliberate mass killing of civilians that it demands comparison to some of the most notorious war crimes of the 20th century.

GuernicaThis Basque town was laid to waste by Italian and German bombers on April 26, 1937, at the request of Francisco Franco, leader of the fascist uprising against the Spanish Republic. Bombs rained down for nearly four hours, killing 1,654 men, women and children. It was the first test of the new Luftwaffe tactic of saturation terror bombing, soon to be taken up by both sides in World War II. The deliberate mass murder shocked the world and was memorialized in Picassos famous painting.

LidiceThis Czech village was destroyed by the Nazis on June 10, 1942, in reprisal for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, by Czech partisans. Under orders from Hitler and Heinrich Himmler, German forces surrounded the village, killed every male inhabitant 15 years and older and deported all the women and children to concentration camps. A total of 173 men and boys were shot. Some of the women survived years of slave labor, but 82 children were gassed within weeks at the Chelmno extermination camp. Every building in the village was demolished and the land plowed over.

My LaiThis is the US military designation for Song My village, the site of the most infamous US massacre of the Vietnam War. A force commanded by Lt. William Calley surrounded the village on March 16, 1968, and began systematically killing more than 500 men, women and children. Some women were gang-raped and then bayonetted. The exposure of this atrocity in November 1969 caused worldwide outrage and revealed that a democratic imperialist power employed methods as monstrous as those of the Nazis. Only Calley was ever tried, and he offered the same defense as Hitlers officers: He was just following orders.

While the Times claims that the Talon Anvil murders were carried out by rogue or junior-level operatives, the fact was that the systematic promotion of special forces death squads was a central aspect of the Obama and Trump presidencies, with both presidents viewing them as necessary to achieve the United States war aims.

The Times report claims that one factor in the multiplying body count of civilians was the decision by the US commander of the anti-ISIS war to allow lower-level officers to order strikes, without going all the way up the chain of command. This reached the point that the senior enlisted Delta operator on shift in the strike roomusually a sergeant first class or master sergeant could give the go-ahead.

While such accounts may represent an effort by higher-ranking officers to push blame for the mass killings down to lower-ranking figures, or rogue individuals in the ranks, such scapegoating is in vain. The entire operation was in the service of a policy decided at the highest levels of the American government. The Obama administration responded to the sudden crisis of the US puppet regime in Iraq, whose troops fled before an ISIS offensive and abandoned Iraqs second largest city, Mosul, by rushing American troops, warplanes and Special Forces operatives to the region.

It is well-known that Obama participated in weekly meetings at the White House where his counterterrorism team, headed by John Brennan, later CIA director, presented lists of targets for drone missile strikes for the presidents approval. These terror Tuesdays, as they were known, set in motion such attacks as the murder of Anwar al-Awlaki, the US-born Yemeni American who became a fundamentalist preacher, killed in Yemen by a missile fired by a US drone.

It is worth pointing out that the main location of the crimes detailed in the Times account was Syria. The American government and media have waged a 10-year-long campaign to demonize Syrian President Bashar Assad as the new Hitler, an effort which has been supported by the international pseudo-left, including groups like the now-disbanded International Socialist Organization and Jacobin magazine. These groups have supported the US-backed Islamic fundamentalist groups at war with Assad, while remaining silent on the atrocities these forces, and the US military, have carried out against the people of Syria.

Similarly, over the past year, the American media has been full of charges against the government of China, claiming, with no evidence, that Beijing is guilty of genocide because of its repression of Uyghur nationalists in Xinjiang. According to the State Department, China is engaged in the systematic suppression of Muslim culture in Xinjiang. It is worth comparing the number of Muslims killed by China with the number killed by American imperialism in the bloody wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen.

For the ultimate hypocrisy, the Times itself will suffice. Its news pages detail atrocities committed by the American government in Syria. More than 10 years ago, however, Julian Assange and WikiLeaks made public the Iraq and Afghanistan war diaries, internal US military reports that documented countless cases of the American military killing civilians, including the haunting Collateral Murder video that shows an Apache helicopter gunship slaughtering a dozen people in Iraq, including two Reuters journalists.

But the Times says not a word in defense of Assange, who is in imminent danger of extradition to the United States for trial, imprisonment and potential execution by the very government that is responsible for the crimes detailed by the Times.

The two lengthy articles in the Times provide irrefutable evidence of US war crimes. The principal US war criminals are well known: Barack Obama, Donald Trump, George W. Bush, Joseph Biden, Richard Cheney, Mike Pence, John Brennan, Donald Rumsfeld, Leon Panetta, Condoleezza Rice, to name only those civilian officials with the top command responsibility. A future Nuremberg tribunal dedicated to exposing the war crimes in the Middle East and Central Asia would put all of these in the dock.
Last week the new German government was installed and Germanys Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) presented his partys future ministers to the press. The Social Democratic Party is filling seven ministerial posts in the new cabinet, in addition to the Chancellery. In view of the escalation of the coronavirus pandemic, the name of the health minister was a source of considerable public and media interest.

Scholz introduces Lauterbach as minister (Photo: SPD/Twitter)

Scholz has chosen the SPD deputy and health expert Karl Lauterbach as the governments new health minister. Lauterbach is a trained doctor, expert in epidemiology and a professor of health economics, and has gained a certain amount of popularity after warning in many public appearances of the devastating consequences of the pandemicwarnings that have usually proved true.

With his appointment, which remained controversial for some time, Scholz has apparently reacted to growing pressure from the German population. In particular amongst nursing staff, parents and teachers, there is growing anger about the existing official policy that subordinates the lives and health of the population to the interests and profits of the economy. With this nomination of Lauterbach as health minister, the future chancellor clearly hopes to be able to dampen popular anger, without changing his pro-business policies.

Scholz introduced Lauterbach as follows: Im sure most of citizens of this country have wished that the next health minister is a specialist, that he really knows his businessand that his name is Karl Lauterbach. Kevin Kuhnert, the SPD general secretary, wrote on Twitter: Christmas-time is when wishes are granted. You wanted him - youve got him.

The new health minister popped from the wings during the SPD press conference and immediately made several promises. In the next few weeks, he said, the focus will be on lowering the COVID-19 caseload, to the point where we can recommend travel without putting people at risk. He further promised, We will strengthen the health system ... With us, there will be no more cuts in health care services.

Anyone who knows Lauterbach somewhat better knows how little justified such trust is. The traffic light coalition (a coalition of the SPD, the Greens and the neoliberal Free Democratic Party, FDP) needs him as a fig leaf for policies that will have even more deadly consequences than those of the outgoing government.

As minister, Lauterbach is subject to cabinet discipline, and the latter has already shown where it stands on the pandemic crisis. The first decision of the traffic light majority in the new Bundestag was to suspend the countrys national epidemic emergency status.

Lauterbach also voted for the decision, justifying it with the argument that it was legally required. Marco Buschmann (FDP), the future Minister of Justice, cheered the decision to end the epidemic emergency status, saying that henceforth school closures and lockdowns would no longer be possible.

Crucially, the budget of the coming government is in the hands of the FDP. FDP leader Christian Lindner will be able to exercise control over the budget as the countrys next finance minister and ensure that no additional money flows into the health sector. In their coalition agreement, the traffic light coalition partners have committed themselves to reactivating the debt brake, which was suspended at the start of the pandemic in order to keep businesses open and profits flowing.

Lauterbach is a right-wing social democrat who has consistently prioritised the profits of big business and the banks over his scientific expertise. He only joined the SPD in 2001, after quiting the Christian Democratic Union. He continues to maintain close relations with his former political allies and is on friendly terms, for example, with the CDU right-winger Wolfgang Bosbach.

Among the first well-wishers after his appointment was Markus Soder, the premier of the state of Bavaria and leader of the Christian Social Union. He wrote on Twitter, This is a good choice. Congratulations #Karl Lauterbach! Looking forward to good cooperation in serious times. The evening before, Soder already declared on the TV programme Anne Will that Lauterbach would make a good health minister and often shared his own standpoint. The outgoing health minister, Jens Spahn (CDU), also immediately congratulated him. Spahn has been in regular contact with Lauterbach for months.

During the period of the former SPD-Green coalition government (1998-2005) and since, Lauterbach played an important role in dismantling the countrys social systembased on equivalent payments to social funds by the employer and employeeand helped privatise parts of the health system. He was a member of the Council of Experts for the Assessment of Developments in the Health Care System and the so-called Rurup Commission (Commission to Investigate Sustainability in the Financing of Social Security Systems), which advised several federal governments. In the process, he was involved in the development of the fee-per-case system, which has contributed significantly to the decline of the countrys hospitals.

Far from being an opponent of two-class medicine, Lauterbach encouraged such a system in his role on the supervisory board of Rhon-Klinikum AG from 2001 to 2013. When the media revealed that employees of the Rhon Group were paid miserable wages and subject to extreme exploitation, Lauterbach kept silent.The listed company, comprising 54 hospitals and 35 medical care centres, generated a turnover of 2.32 billion euros in 2009.

Two years ago, when the Bertelsmann Foundation called for half of all clinics in Germany to be closed, Lauterbach supported the demand. On June 4, 2019, he tweeted, Everyone knows that we should close at least one third, or even one half of all clinics in Germany.

Lauterbach has also noticeably toned down his criticism of the governments pandemic policy since the SPD emerged as the party with the most votes in Septembers general election. A key experience for parents and teachers was his advocacy of open schools after the autumn break. In mid-November, when schools across the country were opened at the request of the business community and infection figures shot up, he announced, We will manage to keep the schools open, thereby sabotaging parents initiatives and teachers seeking to combat the pandemic.

When he now promises to allow no more cuts in the health care sector, even the fulfilment of this promiseunlikely as it iswould be completely unacceptable. The country is already in a state of emergency, intensive care units are overflowing and the spectre of triage is a deadly reality. In this situation, maintaining the status quo means unprecedented levels of dead.

Despite the appointment of Lauterbach the new government, will quickly come into conflict with broad layers of the population. In his first speeches and interviews after his appointment, Lauterbach insisted that schools will remain open despite the horrific toll of the pandemic. The governments profits before lives policy can only be stopped by the independent mobilisation of the working class.
A foreign ministers summit of the G7 imperialist powers in Liverpool, Britain, ended yesterday with the issuing of a bellicose communique threatening both Russia and China. The foreign ministers of the United States, Germany, Japan, Britain, France, Italy and Canada denounced Russia, warning it of massive consequences for allegedly preparing to invade Ukraine.

Russia should be in no doubt that further military aggression against Ukraine would have massive consequences and severe cost, the summit communique said. It added, We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the right of any sovereign state to determine its own future.

Britain's Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, center left, hosts a plenary session of the G7 summit of foreign and development ministers in Liverpool, England Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021. (Olivier Douliery/Pool via AP)

The communique also denounced China, declaring: On China, we discussed a range of issues and challenges, such as the situations in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, in the East and South China Seas and the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.  We also expressed our concern about coercive economic policies.

The communique is a reckless political provocation amounting to a barely veiled threat of war against Russia and China, which are both major nuclear-armed powers. Over the last weeks, US intelligence agencies have issued wildly varying claims, ranging from 94,000 to 175,000 for the number of troops Russia is supposedly amassing near the Ukrainian border. At the same time, it is arming Ukraine with a large arsenal of missiles that can easily reach Moscow and planning to also admit Ukraine into the NATO alliance.

The G7s posturing as a defender of peace and democracy against Russia is a fraud. Whatever troops Russia is deploying are within its borders, while Washington and its allies are marching a powerful arsenal up to Russias very doorstep that could unleash a devastating attack on Moscow.

As for China, it faces a media slander campaign accusing it of lying about the origins of COVID-19 and carrying out a genocide of Uighurs in Xinjiang while supposedly threatening free navigation of US and allied warships off Chinas coasts. These are, again, politically motivated lies.

China has sought to implement a policy of eliminating the circulation of COVID-19 which has limited the pandemic to 100,000 cases and less than 5,000 deaths. The G7 countries, in contrast, implemented a policy of living with the virus that has led to over 85 million cases and just under 1.4 million deaths of COVID-19. Had the Chinese regime wanted to commit a genocide of the Uighurs, it could have simply used in Xinjiang the policies the G7 countries have implemented, with flagrant contempt for human life, against their own populations.

The Liverpool summit communique served to align the G7 with the violent war propaganda coming from Washington and the NATO alliance, especially against Russia. As COVID-19 deaths mount in the G7 countries, currently running at around 2,500 each day, the denunciations of Russia and China become ever more hysterical and unhinged.

Last week, US Senator Roger Wicker insisted that the United States must be prepared to launch a nuclear war with Russia and a ground assault. Military action could mean that we stand off with our ships in the Black Sea, and we rain destruction on Russian military capability, he said, adding: It could mean that we participate, and I would not rule that out, I would not rule out American troops on the ground. We dont rule out first-use nuclear action.

He added that US troops from the states of California and Mississippi are already in Ukraine.

On Saturday, President Joe Biden said that in a phone call last week, he had made it absolutely clear to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin  that if he moves on Ukraine, the economic consequences for his economy are going to be devastating, devastating. This followed Bidens pledge last week to deploy US troops to NATO countries in Eastern Europe if Russia carries out what Washington declares to be hostile action against Ukraine.

In Liverpool Sunday, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss boasted that the G7 was united around such threats against Russia. What we have shown this weekend is that the worlds largest economies are united, she said. We have sent a powerful signal to our adversaries and our allies. We have been clear that any incursion by Russia into Ukraine would have massive consequences for which there would be a severe cost.

Truss also warned Iran that talks in Vienna are its last chance to come to the negotiating table with a serious resolution, after the Trump administration unilaterally scrapped the 2015 Iranian nuclear treaty negotiated with Washington, the European powers, Russia and China.

Denouncing Chinas allegedly coercive economic policies in Africa and the Middle East, Truss announced a Build Back Better World investment initiative to compete with Chinese trade there. And what we want to do is build the investment reach, the economic trade reach of like-minded, freedom-loving democracies, Truss said. That is why we are stepping up our investment into low- and middle-income countries.

In reality, the conflict over Ukraine is bound up with the deepening crisis both of the G7 powers COVID-19 policies and of their decades-long wars across the Middle East. Chinese trade plays an increasingly central role in the economies of countries including Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria that have been devastated and lost millions of lives in US-led wars. It was after Russia intervened alongside Iran to block US military action to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2013 that Washington backed the February 2014 coup in Ukraine.

This coup toppled pro-Russian Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, bringing to power a far-right regime including the Svoboda Party, which the European Union condemned in 2012 for racist and anti-Semitic views. It pledged to ban the Russian language and murder ethnic Russians. As far-right militias launched raids into Russian-speaking areas of eastern Ukraine, like the Donbass and the Crimea, these regions voted to secede.

As COVID-19 deaths mount across Eastern Europe and in the imperialist powers themselves, the G7 countries are giving a green light to the far-right regime in Ukraine to mount more aggressive action and stoke an explosive political crisis with Russia.

Last month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov categorically denied NATO allegations that Russia is planning a land invasion of Ukraine. Russia doesnt threaten anyone. The movement of troops on our territory shouldnt be a cause for anyones concern, Peskov said. We take measures to ensure our security when our opponents take defiant action near our borders.

At the same time, the Russian defense ministry accused Washington of encouraging the far-right regime in Kiev to again attack eastern Ukraine. Calling US military activity in the Black Sea region around Ukraine a threat to regional security and strategic stability, i.e., actions that could provoke war, it said: The real goal behind the US activities in the Black Sea region is exploring the theater of operations in case Kiev attempts to settle the conflict in the southeast by force.

Urgent warnings are in order. Amid a new surge of COVID-19, after the entire NATO alliance has suffered nearly 2 million COVID-19 deaths, the NATO powers are pressing ahead with a murderous policy to live with the virus. Deeply destabilized, they are at the same time looking for external targets against which to lash out, hoping to turn them into targets of mounting anger. The decisive question under these conditions is to mobilize the working class in an international movement against war and for a scientific policy to eliminate the virus and end the COVID-19 pandemic.
As winter weather sets in, Massachusetts is in the midst of a significant surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Hospitals, hit with a perfect storm of rising COVID-19 cases, delayed care and staffing shortages, are overwhelmed across the state, and Republican Governor Charlie Baker has asked hospitals to reduce certain non-essential, elective services and procedures by 50 percent by Wednesday.

Baker has also said that Massachusetts may join several other statesincluding the New England states of New Hampshire and Maine as well as neighboring New Yorkin calling in the National Guard to assist in hospitals.

Medical personnel wearing personal protective equipment out of concern for the coronavirus remove a person from an ambulance near an entrance to Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston, Monday, April 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

The Boston Globe has noted that COVID-19 case numbers this year have tracked numbers last year with uncanny similarity from the end of October through early December. For example, the seven-day average for December 3, 2020, was 4,462 cases per day, whereas this year it was 4,303. In both years, new cases began moving upward significantly at the end of October, dipped slightly around Thanksgiving, and then skyrocketed after the holiday.

If this trend continues, one can expect cases to stay alarmingly high through the end of the year, when the reported figures will drop due to deceased testing, and then spike again after New Years Day.

Several public health experts told the Globe that it appears that, in terms of cases, the benefits of vaccination are being balanced out by the spread of the Delta variant, the reopening of schools, increasing social mixing, waning immunity and reduced indoor masking. Brigham and Womens Hospital infectious disease physician Dr. Scott Dryden-Peterson said, The benefits of widespread vaccination are apparently being offset by the added risk of a more infectious virus and more time spent together without masks.

Boston University epidemiology and global health professor Matthew Fox told the Globe, To a certain extent, waves follow a very similar pattern, but noted that there is a bit of a coincidence in the numbers lining up so exactly between the years.

While hospitalizations and deaths are rising more slowly than cases in 2021 compared to 2020, the decoupling of cases and hospitalizations long hoped forthat rises in cases would not necessarily mean a rise in hospitalizationswas not as much as we would like to see, in the words of Tufts Medical Center Hospital epidemiologist Dr. Shira Doron.

There were 1,115 COVID-19 hospitalizations in Massachusetts on December 7, 2021 (a seven-day average). For the same day in 2020, there were 1,413.

A similar decreasethat is, significant but certainly not enough to justify last months claims by politicians and the media that the pandemic was essentially overis seen in deaths, with a seven-day average of 18 deaths on December 3, 2021, compared to 40 on the same day last year.

Massachusetts is the US state with the second-highest rate of vaccination, following only Vermont in terms of doses administered per capita. Over 70 percent is fully vaccinated and many have already received third doses commonly known as boosters. Despite the uptake in vaccines, which has decreased the number of people hospitalized due to COVID-19, hospitals are still overwhelmed under the strain of the current wave.

The Baker administration estimates that the states capacity has decreased by 5001,000 hospital beds, including intensive care unit (ICU) beds, largely due to a critical staffing shortage. After nearly two years of working under pandemic crisis conditions, health care workers are exhausted and burnt out, with many leaving the profession. Others have contracted COVID-19 due to inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE), some of whom have died and others of whom are dealing with long-term repercussions.

This has led to a wave of struggles nationally and internationally, including the nurses strike at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester. The strike of hundreds of nurses, which began in March and is by far the longest nurses strike in state history, continues despite the isolation imposed on the workers by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, which has done nothing to oppose Tenet Healthcares hiring of scabs as permanent replacements for the experienced nurses on strike.

Under the pressure of the current conditions, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health issued guidance granting hospitals flexibility on ICU nursing staff ratios, as well as guidance permitting hospitals to create capacity in alternate spaces, in the words of the Globe .

This creates a situation where the increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations, while less extreme than last year, is combining with a staffing shortage and urgently needed care that has been delayed for everything from broken bones and hip replacements to suicidal ideation to tax hospitals and health care workers to an extent not seen in months.

A week ago, UMass Memorial Health in Worcester ran out of ICU beds, according to chief executive Dr. Eric Dickson. Thats as bad as Ive ever seen it.

Steve Walsh, chief executive of the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, said, We are preparing for one of the largest, if not the largest, census weve ever had in hospitals after the new year.

Mass General Brigham, the largest health system in the state, began canceling surgeries even prior to Bakers order.

The above horrors are playing out due to the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, which has been the dominant variant worldwide since the summer. However, the new Omicron variant, which was first detected in southern Africa, has spread rapidly around the world. Evidence so far indicates that Omicron is much more transmissible than Delta and partially evades immunity provided by vaccines or prior infection, and will likely become the dominant variant globally over the coming weeks and months.

Some have prematurely proclaimed that Omicron is milder than Delta, based on preliminary data. Even if that turns out to be true, simply by virtue of spreading more rapidly than Delta, Omicron could take far more lives. For comparison, the SARS-CoV-1 virus, which caused the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak of 2003, had an estimated infection fatality rate of 9 percent and killed about 8,000 people. Estimates vary for the infection fatality rate of SARS-CoV-2, the related virus that causes COVID-19, but are generally less than 1 percent. Despite being one-tenth as lethal on an individual level, COVID-19 has killed more than 800,000 in the United States alone, and well over 5 million globally, according to official figures.

Omicron has already been detected in 30 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including Massachusetts and neighboring New York and Connecticut. Rhode Island announced its first Omicron case Saturday, of a woman who was fully vaccinated and had recently been in New York.
Driven by widespread community transmission of the Delta virus, Papua New Guineas (PNG) biggest urban centres and major provinces have been grappling with a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic for nearly three months.

According to the World Health Organisation, PNG has had 35,835 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 573 deaths. Between November 25 and December 8, 995 cases were recorded with a 7-day average of 66 cases. However, with testing largely scaled back, many more cases and deaths are going unreported.

Medical staff of Papua New Guineas Defense Force received hands-on training on COVID-19 response. (WHO/ Papua New Guinea)

The majority of cases and deaths are in the National Capital District, centred in the shanty towns of Port Moresby, followed by Western province, Western Highlands, Morobe, Eastern Highlands and East New Britain.

At the Port Moresby General Hospital there were 40-50 COVID deaths a day in November, dropping recently to around 10 as people have simply stopped presenting. Already high maternal mortality rates escalated five-fold as the virus has struck pregnant women.

Young people are also dying. Obstetrician Prof Glen Mola told the Conversation: I am 50 years into medical practice but watching young people die from severe COVID disease had a very big impact on me. They literally die from laboured breathing respiratory failure: they just do not have the strength to take another breath.

In August 2020, Prime Minister James Marape ended national lockdowns, instead implementing soft social distancing restrictions allowing markets, schools and restaurants to reopen.

Capital District Governor Powes Parkop recently refused to implement a lockdown of Port Moresby despite the surge in cases. While some regions have re-imposed partial lockdowns, Radio NZ reported in October that the virus has largely been left to fester and spread.

The countrys vaccination rate remains abysmally low. According to the National Control Centre, only 1.7 percent of PNGs population of 8.9 million is fully-vaccinated. Social tensions are escalating over vaccinations, as people working to curb the spread of the virus face mob attacks.

The government does not reveal the number of doses available, but vaccine supply appears not to be the main issue. Three different vaccines are available: AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, and Janssen. Following deliveries from the COVAX vaccine initiative, and donations from Australia and New Zealand, it was reported in June that there were sufficient doses to vaccinate 50 percent of the eligible population.

In September, however, the abject failure of the vaccine roll-out was underscored when the government transferred 30,000 doses from New Zealand on to Vietnam to avoid them being thrown out at their expiry date.

There are considerable logistical difficulties delivering vaccines across the countrys mountainous terrain and to remote coastal villages. Hospitals and aid posts in rural areas, home to 80 percent of the population, do not have the resources to carry out vaccination programs or treat those with COVID-19 infections. Outside Port Moresby, Western Province currently has the highest vaccination rate due to more effective community engagement.

Clement Malau, a public health specialist and former secretary of the PNG health department, has criticised crippling failures in the governments pandemic response. Malau told the Guardian that failure to tailor pandemic campaigns to local conditions risked a disaster if we dont manage it properly. He warned against being bulldozed down the track of just vaccine alone.

The doctors comments were made in response to widespread vaccine hesitancy and misinformation among the general population which is contributing to the extremely low testing and vaccination rates and growing discontent.

The government and media commentary has placed the blame primarily on ordinary people, highlighting the prevalence of religious beliefs and superstition. In an outburst in parliament Marape claimed that instructions had gone out regarding workplace testing for COVID, but people choose not to believe that. East Sepik Governor Allan Bird flatly declared that Papua New Guineans are resistant against all vaccines, not just COVID-19 vaccines.'

Vaccination is not mandatory, but protests over limited COVID protocols and vaccination requirements have escalated in PNGs two biggest cities, Port Moresby and Lae, in defiance of rules disallowing gatherings of more than 20 people.

Port Moresby market vendors held a large rally last month to demand an end to municipal rules restricting access for the unvaccinated. In the second largest city, Lae, clinics were forced to close indefinitely following attacks on health workers who have been subject to stone throwing, verbal abuse and threats. Morobe province has withdrawn mobile clinics conducting vaccination and awareness programs because of attacks.

Opposition to vaccination is widespread among the population, but the causes are rooted in longstanding social and economic crises which have produced a plethora of medical conditions associated with poverty, including polio, tuberculosis and HIV. Illiteracy is a major barrier to scientific understanding. Just 11.7 percent of the population over the age of 25 has some secondary schooling.

Social support has been extremely limited. Tens of thousands of workers, estimated by the World Bank to be as high as 25 percent of the workforce, have lost their jobs. The government has put the onus on individual employers to make decisions about laying off unvaccinated workers. Many families have been left without income earners. The average worker has about six dependents. Meagre government relief measures such as tax deferrals and loan repayment holidays have been woefully insufficient.

Trust in the ruling elite has disintegrated following decades of social deprivation and growing wealth inequality, buttressed by authoritarian military-police measures. Health authorities have consistently ignored warnings about the need to act fast and distribute accessible information to curb falsehoods. There has been no effort to put out messages in the widely spoken Tok Pisin and Motu, or any of the 800-plus local languages.

Anthropologist Fiona Hukula told the Guardian on December 2 that the fear of this vaccine is real. But, in the absence of clear, strategic information, dangerous rumours have run wild. According to Hukula, while social media has supercharged fears, it has been made worse by the absence of accurate information by the government.

Other unsuccessful aspects of the governments response, according to Hukula, include the use of centralised vaccine hubs where people wait many hours and which are not practical for the vulnerable. Fearful people want the reassurance of familiar health workers from their local clinics. They should have gone out to the markets, to explain to people clearly that this is a vaccine thats going to help, she said.

Australian epidemiologist Stefanie Vaccher warned in the Age last week that simply sending vaccines is insufficient. Millions in funding and support are needed for a large-scale behavioural change campaign. Mass vaccination campaigns, such as in Samoa and Fiji, are resource intensive, and require close local organization. Omicron, she declared is a clarion call for Australia to do much, much more to help vaccinate the people of PNG.
The year-long recall campaign against Seattle Councilwoman Kshama Sawant, a member of Socialist Alternative, is coming to a close. The latest results from recall election, which ended December 7, show Sawant with a narrow lead of 50.3 percent opposing the recall. On Friday, Sawant declared an apparent victory.

Sawants lead is a reversal from earlier in the count, which showed 53 percent of ballots for the recall. At the time, only 32,000 ballots had been counted, less than half of the 77,000 potential voters in Sawants district, District 3. Current totals from King County show that now nearly 41,000 ballots have been counted, including many mail-in ballots that hadnt previously been tallied.

Kshama Sawant [Photo: Seattle City Council]

The reversal in the vote count has been attributed largely to late votes coming in from younger voters. During the November general election, voters aged 18 to 34 accounted for only 18 percent of the vote. That number jumped to 32 percent during the recall election, while the second highest age demographic of voters were those 65 years old and above.

Sawant currently leads by only by 232 votes, and there are 709 ballots that have been returned but are being challenged. As with the vote itself, a plurality of the challenged ballots are from those aged 18 to 34.

The final results will only be known on December 17, the day after the deadline for signature challenges to be resolved. At that point, if Sawant retains her lead, she will remain in office. If the recall wins, her replacement would simply be appointed by the Seattle City Council by January 6, 2022. Residents will not have a chance to vote on a new councilmember until general elections next November. There is the potential that either side could request a recount if the margin of victory is below 0.5 percent.

The recall has been led by sections of the political establishment and has targeted Sawants involvement in anti-police violence protests that took place in Seattle in the summer of 2020 and her proposal for a meager payroll tax on Amazons Seattle headquarters.

The Recall Sawant campaign has received major support from the local ruling class, including investors and large landlords, along with other privileged middle-class layers who occupy the wealthier northeastern parts of her district. Initiated by these layers, primarily aligned with a section of the Democratic Party, the recall effort attracted the support of Republicans and other far-right elements who have launched a xenophobic and anti-communist campaign.

Responding to the growth of militancy and interest in left-wing politics among workers and youth, Seattle corporations and politicians are increasingly shifting toward a more conservative, law and order and pro-corporate set of policies. This process lay behind the recent victory of conservative Democrats Bruce Harrell and Sara Nelson against progressives in the Seattle general elections. American bourgeois politics is shifting to the right, led by the Biden administrations support for increased police and military funding, commitment to unity with the fascistic Republicans, and the embrace of herd immunity policies.

Socialist Alternative is itself entirely oriented toward the Democratic Party. While calling the Democrats a failed, rotten party at her press conference on Friday, Sawant has dedicated her entire political career to sowing illusions that progressive Democrats can be pressured to the left.

Referring to Democrats on the City Council, including Teresa Mosqueda and Tammy Morales, Sawant said on Friday, I strongly urge that they and our socialist office act in unity as the City Councils progressive wing, to fight back against big business attacks, and go on the offensive for workers.

She added, If, in fact, the goal of the liberal Democrats was to fight unambiguously for working people, I would happily join them. I would meet them today and the next day to strategize for how we can go on the offensive for rent control, affordable housing, to fight against institutional racism in this city. But the choice is theirs.

She continued with demagogic criticisms of woke progressive liberals, but the message was clear: Sawant aims to extend her relationship with the Democratic Party.

In terms of what she is proposing, Sawant outlined in her speech the small change of reformist measures she has advocated, including the Tax Amazon campaign, which resulted in the imposition of a minor payroll tax of less than 2 percent on Amazon and other corporations, and a proposal to require contractors to pay for construction worker parking.

Sawant did not refer once to the central political issue facing workers and youth: the ruling class response to the pandemic, which has resulted in the death of nearly 800,000 people in the US. The words COVID and pandemic did not appear in her speech. She did not mention the reopening of schools to in-person learning and the ending of all restrictions to the spread of the virus, which in Seattle and Washington has been spearheaded by the Democratic Party.

Sawant herself recently joined the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which functions as a faction of the Democratic Party, boosting Democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman. The DSA National Political Committee last week rejected calls to expel Bowman for voting to finance the Israeli military and visiting with far-right Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

Socialist Alternative represents sections of the upper-middle class, not the working class, and thus depends on its relationships with the union bureaucracies and Democratic Party. Of the just under $1 million donated to her solidarity campaign, the top donors were from unions, including the Service Employees International Union Locals 925 and 6, Washington Federation of State Employees Local 1488, as well as the Seattle DSA.

Whatever the final outcome of the vote, the central task for all workers and youth is the creation of a genuinely independent political movement of the working class, internationally united in a direct struggle against the capitalist system.
Educators and parents along the West Coast region of the US met last weekend to discuss concerning developments in the global COVID-19 pandemic with the spread of the Omicron variant and the urgency to fight for necessary public health measures to stop the spread of the virus. During discussion, attendees voted unanimously to support the Global Workers Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic, which has been initiated by the World Socialist Web Site.

As the death toll from the present surge of the Delta variant continues to rise at staggering levels, more data is emerging that substantiates warnings from public health experts that the Omicron variant threatens to immensely intensify the Delta surge and will lead to further unnecessary mass infection and death under the present course. By opposing any change in COVID-19 policies and prematurely declaring that the Omicron variant is mild, the Biden administration and the corporate media, similar to other capitalist governments internationally, have expressed criminal indifference to the present dangers.

In this Jan. 7, 2021, file photo, registered nurses Kyanna Barboza, right, tends to a COVID-19 patient as Kobie Walsh puts on her PPE at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, file)

Evidence out of South Africa, Denmark and the UK of a rapid, exponential rise in cases and hospitalizations dominated by Omicron infection shows that the variant appears to be highly transmissible, with evidence that it has a high capability of evading prior infection. Cases have skyrocketed in South Africa, rising from around 420 daily new cases to 22,388 daily new cases in a matter of weeks. The Omicron variant has been sequenced in over 68 countries with known community transmission in many major countries including the US. In a few months time it is predicted that Omicron will become the dominant variant globally.

Additionally, children under 5 years old are in the age group with the second highest number of infections in the Gauteng Province of South Africa, second to those over 60 years old. Tied to this increase in cases among children under 5 has been a significant uptick in pediatric hospitalizations as compared to prior waves of infection. This poses immense dangers to a vulnerable population who have yet to have access to vaccines and have been forced back into classrooms with entirely inadequate mitigation measures.

Lastly, a recent press release by Pfizer and BioNTech reports that preliminary studies show a high likelihood of breakthrough infections among individuals vaccinated with two doses of Pfizer vaccine. In other words, not only does Omicron threaten reinfection to millions of unvaccinated individuals who have had prior infection, the variant also threatens millions of fully vaccinated individuals with breakthrough infection.

Though not much is known on the virulence of the variant, the evidence shows its contagiousness and capability to evade immunity through prior infection or vaccination present very real dangers for the global population and should not be taken lightly. The spread of Omicron not only means continued mass infection, death and long-term illness, but also the ability for the virus to further mutate.

These are the catastrophic conditions under which Biden and other world leaders claim there will be no more lockdowns and no significant changes in public health and mitigation measures. Last week, Chief Medical Advisor to the President Anthony Fauci publicly declared his opposition to such measures including mask mandates or vaccine mandates.

Biden also recently presented a new Test to Stay program, which allows close contacts of a COVID-19 infected student to no longer have to quarantine at home. Instead, they will continue learning in-person if they test negative. Close contacts are students who have been identified as being three feet or closer to an infected individual for more than 15 minutes. This policy, which only serves to keep schools open and parents at work, does not take into consideration the airborne character of the virus, let alone the real safety of students and staff.

Educators, school employees and students are facing a situation in which official government policy is to deliberately allow all of them and their families to become infected with the virus. The Biden administration is committed to keeping schools open, regardless of the level of infection or the dangers that new variants pose.

The task of containing the fury of educators and other staff, as they, their students and family members become infected, falls to the unions, which have continuously suppressed the opposition of teachers to unsafe working conditions throughout the pandemic, most significantly in the winter/spring of 2021 with the reopening of schools and now with the more recent isolation and suppression of the Scranton teachers strike in Pennsylvania.

Further mass infection of children is the inevitable outcome of Bidens policies. The latest data from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) shows 133,000 official COVID-19 cases among children were reported in the week ending December 2. Coinciding with the fall reopening of schools, there have been well over 100,000 weekly new cases among children officially reported for 17 consecutive weeks.

Undocumented are the hundreds of thousands of children experiencing Long COVID symptoms as a result of these infections. And of course, these are significant undercounts, given the totally inadequate infrastructure that would be necessary for accurate mass testing in the US. It should be kept in mind that the CDC flatly denied that schools would be sources of infection, and deliberately concocted pseudo-scientific studies to make this claim before the start of the 2021 school year.

It is under these conditions that the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest district in the country with over 650,000 students, is planning to drop its mask mandate for outdoor settings and eliminate weekly COVID-19 testing for vaccinated children. This is despite the fact that the CDC fully admits that vaccines are, statistically speaking, not a reliable means of stopping viral transmission. If the district decides to drop these safety measures, which still are inadequate, then the mass infection of children will proceed more rapidly, beginning in January 2022.

Placing the profit interests of the corporations over human lives throughout the entire course of the pandemic, both the Biden and Trump administrations have deliberately ignored scientists who warned of the catastrophe unfolding internationally. Moreover, both administrations have blatantly lied through the falsification of science. For example, Biden stated as early as July 4 that masks were no longer necessary. From January to March 2020, the Trump administration, alongside the entire political establishment, knowingly downplayed the severity of the virus and kept their knowledge of its airborne nature from the public.

In opposition to the lies of various capitalist governments, we say the pandemic can and must be stopped! Based on the research and expertise of scientists and public health experts, an end to the pandemic requires a globally-coordinated strategy for the elimination of the virus, which includes the distribution of vaccines as well as aggressive public health measures on a global scale to curb spread. This is to be carried out through the closure of schools and workplaces with full social supports for all affected workers, combined with mass testing, contact tracing, the isolation of infected individuals and more.

Our committee fights for the immediate closure of schools and for resources to be provided for the highest quality remote instruction until the pandemic is contained. Until conditions exist for such a struggle to be carried out, we demand the highest possible mitigation measures to protect all staff and students, including high-quality masks for all staff and studentsof an N95 rating or higherproper ventilation and air filtration in all classrooms and buildings, and daily universal testing and reporting of COVID-19 cases.

Associated with this fight is a necessary campaign of mass education on the science behind COVID-19 as well as the nature of the criminal handling of the pandemic by capitalist governments across the world. This is why we, the West Coast Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committees, join in the international support of the Global Workers Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic, an important initiative led by the WSWS.

The Inquest will serve as a means to gather and make available to the public evidence of the disastrous response of governments, corporations and the media to the spread of COVID-19. The Inquest will also interview and collect information from scientists and public health experts as well as reach out to workers and youth for testimony to document the impact of the pandemic on their lives. We pledge to contribute to and share the work of the Inquest widely among educators, parents, families and the broader working class.

The importance of this Inquest cannot be stressed enough, as it expresses the interests of workers and youth around the world in opposition to the devastating impacts of the pandemic. Contact us today to join or build a committee in your area and get involved.
Brad Pitt is teaming with French producer Damien Quintard to revive Miraval Studios, located at the Chateau Miraval in Correns, France. A major renovation, overseen and planned by Miraval co-owner Pitt and Quintard, will see the recording studio reopen in summer 2022.

In 1977, the estates then-owner, French pianist and composer Jacques Loussier, built a state-of-the-art studio on the property which hosted sessions for Pink Floyds The Wall, AC/DC, The Cure, Sting, Sade and The Cranberries, among others. The studio was active into the early 2000s, but has been unused for nearly two decades. Now fully redesigned and updated, Miraval Studios is taking bookings for the summer.

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Quintard first became known in the world of classical music and won a Daytime Emmy Award for his work on the Baku 2015 European Olympic Opening Ceremony. He has also produced artists such as Brian Eno, Arca, Parcels and Teodor Currentzis, among others.

Quintard said of Pitt, When we met in Paris, we immediately clicked. It was an intense moment where we just talked and talked about sound. I was amazed at how sensitive and precise he was in his analysis of music.

Miraval Studios will offer amenities, in and out of the facility. In addition to the original gear, the studio is built around a desk designed by Pitt and Quintard with hybrid analog/digital capacities, a fully integrated Dolby Atmos system and technology to handle pre-mixing for film and television.

With 25-foot ceilings, Studio One has a 100 square meter control room and 320 square meter live room that conserves what Quintard describes as the heritage of the quirky sound of the iconic drum room pioneered by Loussier. Quintard adds, It really is a space where you can produce anything from pop and rock, to hip-hop and classical records.

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Also featured are recording booths, vintage synthesizers and other rare gear, work stations for sound and video editing, a mezzanine overlooking the studio, a swimming pool and a tower to house visiting bands and musicians on the property.

Pitt and ex-wife Angelina Jolie bought the Chateau in 2008. In October this year, Stoli Group subsidiary Tenute del Mondo acquired the latters share in the estate located in the Var region, and the wines it produces.

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Eddy County remained behind the State of New Mexico in COVID-19 vaccination rates as the New Mexico Department of Health (DOH) announced 16-and-17-year-olds were eligible for booster shots.

DOH said the New Mexico Medical Advisory Team reviewed and approved federal guidelines Dec. 9 for scheduling of booster shots for older teenagers in a press release.

The Pfizer booster dose is to be administered at least six months after completion of the primary series. The booster dose for people 16 years and older is the same dosage as the Pfizer primary series, the news release indicated.

More: Carlsbad Municipal Schools reports 47 school-based COVID-19 cases since Thanksgiving break

Teenagers 16 and 17 years old can only get a Pfizer booster, according to the release and adults 18 and older can get a booster dose of any of the COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the United States.

As of Dec. 10, 54 percent of Eddy County residents had both COVID-19 vaccinations and 62 percent had at least one dose, per DOH information.

The State of New Mexico was ahead of Eddy County as 75 percent had both vaccinations and 87 percent had one dose.

Residents wait in line for COVID-19 vaccinations on Dec. 9, 2021 at the Eddy County Public Health Office in Artesia.

Although COVID-19 vaccination remains effective in preventing severe disease, recent data suggest vaccinations become less effective over time  hence the importance of boosters, DOH said in a news release.

Getting boosters on time is especially important given the rise in Delta-related cases in New Mexico and the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant."

More: Eddy County COVID-19 deaths rose to 218 Wednesday

DOH reported a combined 100 new cases in Eddy County during the final two days of last week.

No deaths from COVID-19 infections were cited in Eddy County Dec. 9 and Dec. 10 by DOH.

Fifty-one were noted on Dec. 10 and 49 were reported on Dec. 9 by DOH.

As of Dec. 10, 12,065 COVID-19 cases were in Eddy County with 131,173 total tests and 10,972 total recovered.

Is it the flu or COVID-19

Artesia General Hospital (AGH) said 7,530 Carlsbad residents were impacted by COVID-19 as of Dec. 7 and 3,596 residents in Artesia had COVID-19.

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DOH said 218 Eddy County residents died from COVID-19 complications since March 2020.

Fourteen Eddy County residents were hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms as of Dec. 7 via AGHs website. There was one COVID-19 patient at the northern Eddy County medical facility.

More: NMDOH says three Eddy County residents died from COVID-19 during Thanksgiving holiday

Nine Eddy County residents were on ventilators as of Dec. 7 and none were in Artesia, according to the website.

Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at MSmith@currentargus.com or @ArgusMichae on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Eddy County remains behind New Mexico in COVID-19 vaccinations
Princess Mako

The Image DIrect Kei Komuro and Japan's former Princess Mako

Japan's former Princess Mako and her husband Kei Komuro are exploring their new home.

The couple was spotted on Sunday going for a stroll in New York City, where they relocated last month following their low-key wedding ceremony. Because the law in Japan requires a princess to "leave the imperial family upon marriage to a commoner," Princess Mako gave up her royal titles to marry Komuro. She also turned down a $1.3 million payout from the Japanese government that is traditionally paid to royal women who lose their royal status when they marry.

Mako and Komuro coordinated in green and grey ensembles for the outing, with both wearing face masks.

RELATED: Princess Mako Gave Up Her Title for Kei Komuro: Their Love Story, in Their Own Words

Princess Mako

SHIZUO KAMBAYASHI/AFP via Getty Images Kei Komuro and Princess Mako

Princess Mako and Komuro, both 30, arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City on November 15, just weeks after their wedding. They are renting an apartment in N.Y.C., according to the BBC, where Komuro works at a law firm after graduating from Fordham University's law school. According to reports earlier this month, Komuro failed the bar exam but plans to retake the test.

The couple met while attending a study-abroad event at a restaurant in Shibuya, a district in Tokyo. They were both students at the International Christian University in Tokyo at the time.

"First I was attracted by his bright smile," Mako previously said, according to The Telegraph.

Komuro proposed over dinner in December 2013, and their long-distance relationship quietly continued while Mako studied for her master's degree overseas, graduating in Art Museum and Gallery Studies in January 2016 from England's Leicester University.

The couple first announced their plans to wed in September 2017, but the event was ultimately pushed off following a dispute over money between Komuro's mother and her former fiance concerning his having financed Komuro's education.

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Mako Komuro, Kei Komuro

PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images Former Princess Mako and Kei Komuro

They tied the knot on October 26 without the fanfare that usually accompanies a royal wedding. The Imperial Household Agency (IHA) explained that Mako and her now-husband did not want to have a big wedding "because their marriage is not celebrated by many people."

At a press event in the afternoon, the couple appeared in front of journalists. Princess Mako wore a pastel blue dress with a matching jacket and a pearl necklace, while Komuro wore a striped suit.

Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

princess Mako, Kei Komuro

STR/JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty Princess Mako and Kei Komuro

"I am very sorry for the inconvenience caused and I am grateful for those ... who have continued to support me," she said, according to the BBC. "For me, Kei is irreplaceable  marriage was a necessary choice for us."

The palace announced ahead of the nuptials that Mako was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in the wake of negative media coverage.

"I love Mako. We only get one life, and I want us to spend it with the one we love," said Komuro. "I feel very sad that Mako has been in a bad condition, mentally and physically, because of the false accusations."
The art piece that stands in the middle of the roundabout at the intersection of Gaines Street and Woodward Avenue was created by the FSU Master Craftsman Studio.

Q. Steve writes: This issue may not be within the scope of Street Scene but I wanted to bring attention to it so some preventative measures can be taken before a tragedy occurs.

Steve is duly concerned for the safety of young children sitting on the concrete bridge railing where U.S. 98 crosses over the Wakulla River in Wakulla County. Some of these kids are on the other side of the railing. Steve suggests a fence or some type of barrier be erected.

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A. Any condition which may potentially bring harm to any citizen, young or old, is addressed here Steve. We did notify the Wakulla County Sheriffs Office when we received Steves email, now through this column we respectfully ask our FHP Troopers to join Sheriff Millers Deputies in routinely patrolling this location to help prevent the tragic situation Steve brings forward.

Secondly, we ask the Florida Department of Transportation safety people to take a look at this and recommend a safety project to restrict access to the ledge on the river side of the concrete railing.

Now a confession: my brothers and I could have been part of the group of kids mentioned here.

Although it was a long time ago while living in Michigan, we found a similar bridge over a similar stream where we would, not fall into the water, but after our lookout gave the all clear (no cars coming) we would jump in. At the time, a more fun summer afternoon had not yet been devised or dreamed-up by Walt Disney.

Roundabout education

Q. Craig and others have legitimate concern when navigating a multilane traffic circle. Craig is becoming more aware of the craziness of the design each time he finds himself in one.

A. Education is the only answer for people who, dont understand how to safely navigate traffic circles/roundabouts but the question is how best to educate? Perhaps the traffic safety departments of the city, county and blueprint could mail their little circulars to every household. How about a full or half page tutorial in this newspaper.

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I surely say it enough times, these things can work, in many jurisdictions they do work, but here, as Craig says, they are designed too small for more than a single lane.

However if we take it slow, place our concentration far enough ahead of our current position, and be prepared for more than one trip around we will find driving a roundabout less hazardous. The craziness is not only in the design it is in the vehicle operator.

Tricky proposition

Q. Donna has an idea to relieve traffic congestion at the Thomasville Road/Capital Circle Interchange. Reverse the traffic flow on the south to southwest flyover. AKA dual left turn lane.

A. A bold idea to say the least Donna, an idea that will have heads spinning at the Florida Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration. I could see how to get afternoon Capital Circle northbound traffic onto the thing at the south to southwest dump-off location but getting everyone back into the northbound lanes on Thomasville Road prior to Village Square Boulevard will be, I'll be kind in using the word, tricky.

Merry Christmas to all

Dear Street Sceners, I have some extensive travel plans this year which will keep me busy until after the New Year so I wish one and all a very Merry Christmas and happy and safe New Year. The traffic will be getting a little more hectic from today until after the holidays so please take your best manners and Christmas Spirit with you each time you get behind the wheel.

Relax, listen to your favorite music, dont let yourself be distracted and be ready for out of school exuberant children with their new toys and pets giving chase and taking to our neighborhood streets for various fun play and riding of bicycles.

To borrow a quote, heres a deal you cant refuse, Ill promise not to break my neck on the ski slopes if you promise not to do the same in a vehicle. Done! See you next year.

Street Scene Philip Stuart Guest columnist Retired state trooper Philip Stuart.

Philip Stuart is a retired Florida State Trooper, Traffic Operations Projects Engineer and Forensics Expert Witness. Write to crashsites@embarqmail.com.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Wakulla River bridge could pose a danger for children
Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu is crowned Miss Universe in Eilat, Israel on December 13, 2021. MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images

New Miss Universe Harnaaz Sandhu defended the pageant taking place in Israel amid its conflict with Palestine.

"We come here to unite," she told Insider. "This is not where we should talk about disparities."

Miss Malaysia and Miss Indonesia boycotted the competition due to its location.

The Miss Universe pageant went ahead in Israel on Sunday after months of criticism amid the country's ongoing conflict with Palestine.

But Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu, who won the coveted crown, told Insider that the pageant is "about embracing everyone around the world, especially women."

"We come here to unite and to share cultures," the 21-year-old said. "This is not where we should talk about disparities. It's something which talks about unity and inspiring each other."

"I'm actually enjoying myself and my journey in Israel because it's a beautiful country," she added.

Sandhu being crowned the newest Miss Universe. Benjamin Askinas/Miss Universe

Multiple contestants decided to boycott the 70th Miss Universe pageant  which took place in the resort town of Eilat  while others were called on to drop out.

Miss Malaysia and Miss Indonesia skipped the competition, and South Africa's government publicly encouraged Miss South Africa Lelela Mswane to follow suit.

"By withdrawing, Miss South Africa's reputation and overall standing will be far more advanced in South Africa and internationally in comparison to a once-off event that can prove disastrous to her future and public standing as a young black woman," Nathi Mthethwa, South Africa's minister of sports, art, and culture, said in a statement obtained by CNN.

Contestants of the Miss Universe pageant visit the Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem on November 30, 2021. MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images

Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandla Mandela, the grandson of former South African president Nelson Mandela, also asked Mswane to boycott the pageant in multiple Instagram posts.

"There is nothing beautiful about occupation, brutality, and institutionalized discrimination against the Palestinian people," he said in a statement.

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People protest outside Miss South Africa's head office on November 19, 2021 in Johannesburg. Alet Pretorius/Gallo Images via Getty Images

Mswane ultimately decided to compete in the pageant and took third place on Sunday night.

"If I had not come to Israel to compete in the Miss Universe pageant, I think I would have regretted it for the rest of my life," she told The Jerusalem Post. "Certain people have put me through hell and back. It has not been the easiest thing to deal with, but I choose to be optimistic."

The final three Miss Universe contestants Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane, Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu, and Miss Paraguay Nadia Ferreira pose on stage during the 70th Miss Universe competition on December 13, 2021. MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images

Miss USA Elle Smith, who made it to the top 10 of the competition, also defended Miss Universe before the competition.

"We're here to empower each other as women," she told CNN. "We're just enjoying our time together and I think it's really showing the power of women as a whole."

As for Sandhu, the new Miss Universe told Insider she plans to focus on the pageant's motto of uniting women all around the world, as well as propel her own platform to break the stigma and silence around women's health and menstrual hygiene.

"Women in my community still feel uncomfortable talking about their health because they're taught that their health is not a priority," she told Insider. "Now it's my time to bring differences in society and break the stigma."

Read the original article on Insider
Throughout the pandemic, the trajectory of the virus has led to changes in how we live our lives as health officials respond to a rise or drop in COVID-19 infections. And while access to highly effective vaccines has provided a high degree of protection from the virus, waning immunity over time and the emergence of new variants could mean that extra levels of security are needed to keep the public safe. This week, Scott Gottlieb, MD, former commissioner of the Food&Drug Administration (FDA), explained that COVID surges in some parts of the country mean that certain states should consider bringing back mask mandates to slow the spread of the virus.

RELATED: The CDC Head Just Made This Dire Prediction About Omicron in the U.S.

During a Dec. 12 appearance on CBS's Face the Nation, Gottlieb was asked about the recent decision by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to reinstate a statewide mask mandate in response to rising cases in certain areas. He explained that cases in certain areas were beginning to see 36 cases per 100,000 people per dayup from about 20 daily cases per capita six weeks agoand that action would be necessary to keep the spike under control.

"Most of those cases right now are being driven by very dense epidemics in the Great Lakes region [and] in New England," Gottlieb said. "I think in those parts of the country, it is prudent to start taking steps to try to control the spread."

The former FDA commissioner then got more specific with his recommendations. "There are certain states like New Hampshire and Massachusetts, where the health care systems are beginning to get pressed and mask mandates are the easiest thing we can do, a sort of collective action that put some downward pressure on spread. It would be a temporary measure just to try to preserve the health care systems at this point."

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A recent surge has seen the national daily average for COVID-19 cases rise 119,301 as of Dec. 12, according to data from The New York Times. The spike represents a 43 percent jump over the past two weeks.

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"Most of the country is through the Delta wave, and the reason why you're seeing cases go up so much right now is in part driven by the dense epidemics in these very populated states," he said. "But also, you're seeing some uptick even in states that have gotten through their Delta wave, in part because people are moving indoors because of the colder weather and the holidays."

Gottlieb wasn't alone in his recommendation for using masks to keep the spread of the virus under control. During an appearance on ABC's This Week on Dec. 12, Anthony Fauci, MD, chief COVID adviser to the White House, touted face coverings as a safety precaution in certain situations.

"Follow the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] CDC guidelines, that when you are in an indoor congregate setting and you don't know the vaccination status of the people around you, wear a mask. Masking is not going to be forever but it can get us out of the very difficult situation we're in now," he said.

Fortunately, other top officials have said that even though they may be necessary to fight the pandemic, face coverings won't always be a part of daily life. "Masks are for now, they're not forever," CDC Director Rochelle Walesnky, MD, said in a Dec. 11 interview with ABC News. "We have to find a way to be done with them," adding that the best way to finally move beyond the pandemic was to "lean in" to the proven preventative measures, including getting vaccinated.

RELATED: Dr. Fauci Just Issued Another Major Warning to Vaccinated People.
The Colorado River flowing from the foot of the Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona.

A new report on the declining Colorado River claims that three states in the river's Upper Basin, including Utah, are already using more water from the river than is their legal right, and points specifically to the Lake Powell Pipeline project as "a good example of a bad idea threatening other water users."

If federally approved, the pipeline would bring up to 28 billion gallons of water each year to St. George from Lake Powell, already at historic lows. The project is currently the largest proposed diversion of water from the Colorado River, which serves the needs of more than 40 million people across seven western states, as well as Washington County's primary plan to meet projected demands of future growth.

The 85-page report, titled 'A Future on Borrowed Time,' was released Monday morning by the Utah Rivers Council (URC), a nonprofit organization focused on the conservation and stewardship of Utahs rivers. It takes immediate issue with Utah officials by explaining that the effort was "initiated after hearing claims by some Utah water leaders who have refused to acknowledge that climate change is reducing the flows of the Colorado River."

Do locals even want the Lake Powell Pipeline?:How Washington County residents feel about the Lake Powell Pipeline

Indeed, some Utah leaders have been slow to accept the scientific consensus on climate change: that it is likely causing a long-term aridification, or drying, of the American West that will necessitate a shift in current practices around water management and use in order to meet the demands of a growing regional population.

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Utah Rep. Carl Albrecht, R-Richfield, for example, openly shared his optimism at a legislative hearing in February on the formation of Utah's Colorado River Authority, a new governmental body charged with securing the state's access to the Colorado River, that "climate change is a cycle. And I believe we'll come back [to wetter years]."

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Conclusions reached by the newly-released URC report, that current overall use rates of Colorado River water are unsustainable given warming temperatures and accelerating development, echo those of a white paper produced by scientists at Utah State University's Center for Colorado River Studies (CCRS) earlier this year. At the time, Jack Schmidt, an author of the CCRS study, explained their findings about water use from the Colorado River Basin this way:

The big take-home point is that, under the conditions of future drought or progressively decreasing runoff associated with a warming climate, the system tanks, the system is not sustainable," Schmidt said.

More:Critics oppose creation of a Utah Colorado River Authority that could operate behind closed doors

Both reports also criticize the U.S. Bureau of Reclamations Colorado River projections as not taking into full account current and future water use rates and the likely toll of climate change and an ongoing "Millennium Drought."

In August, following the release of their 24-month report on river conditions, the Bureau of Reclamation did acknowledge shortages on the Colorado River in the form of first-ever cuts to Lower Basin state allocations for 2022. Some saw this announcement as the final nail in the coffin of Utah's Lake Powell Pipeline project, with Robin Silver of the Center for Biological Diversity predicting that "St. George is not going to get their pipeline."

Now, the new URC report claims that three of the four Upper Basin states  Utah, Colorado and New Mexico, but not Wyoming  are "likely already using more water than they are allocated." This calculation is based on long-standing legal agreements that allocated Upper Basin states a percentage, rather than a fixed quantity, of "the leftovers" in the river after delivery obligations to Lower Basin states and Mexico have been met.

As climate change reduces the overall flow, volumes allocated to Upper Basin states will shrink accordingly. But the URC argues that ongoing usage rates have not recognized the shift in supply. The overall current use by Upper Basin states of 4,592,000 acre-feet per year exceeds what its modern climate-adjusted allotment of 4,088,000 acre-feet should be by 504,000 acre-feet, the report says. That's approximately 164 billion gallons of overuse that still does not include some Tribal water rights that have not yet been developed.

Utah has repeatedly justified its pursuit of the Lake Powell Pipeline project by claiming that the state never fully developed its rights to 23% of the Colorado River's Upper Basin flows. The new URC report, however, has calculated Utah's current total Colorado River water usage as already being 151,000 acre-feet  about 49 billion gallons  beyond what 23% of Upper Basin flows actually are under a modern average flow scenario that factors in a 19% climate-driven drop in overall water supply since original allocations were determined a century ago. This water overdraft is nearly twice what the Lake Powell Pipeline would import to St. George.

More coverage:

Consequences of over-usage by Upper Basin states, according to the report, may fall on these states' own existing users because the situation may trigger new curtailments of Upper Basin allocations that could have far-reaching economic and social impacts, such as to Utah's growth or agricultural industry. Because of this, the report again takes aim directly at Utah's plans, concluding that "new proposed water diversions should be abandoned, particularly those that are not truly needed, like the proposed Lake Powell Pipeline."

In a press conference Monday morning, Zachary Frankel, Executive Director of the URC, underscored this point by saying that Utah leaders' support for the Lake Powell Pipeline "endangers current existing water users inside Utah." Instead, the URC has long pushed for Utah to adopt increased water conservation efforts, claiming it has the highest per capita water use rates in the west.

In context of the potential for Colorado River water allocations to be reshuffled among the seven basin states in years to come, it may be relevant to note that Utah experienced the nation's highest rate of population growth  18% between 2010 and 2020. According to a recent analysis by the data analytics group Stacker Studio, nearly 18,000 of those new Utah residents came from California, a Lower Basin state, in 2019 alone. After California, Colorado, an Upper Basin state, exported the second-highest number of people to Utah in 2019 and Arizona, a Lower Basin state, ranked fourth for states sending newcomers to Utah.

Monday's press conference hosted by the URC also included a representative from Mexico, Margarita Diaz, who serves as the Executive Director of Proyecto Fronterizo de Educacion Ambiental, the Tijuana Waterkeeper. Diaz's presence highlighted the fact that the overall needs of water users moving throughout the Colorado River Basin stateside isn't the only concern. Solutions to climate-driven shortages will also need to have an international focus.

"We all depend on the same source: the Colorado River," Diaz said.

Joan Meiners is the Environment Reporter for The Spectrum & Daily News through the Report for America initiative by The Ground Truth Project. Support her work by donating to these non-profit programs today. Follow Joan on Twitter at @beecycles or email her at jmeiners@thespectrum.com.

This article originally appeared on St. George Spectrum & Daily News: Colorado River report takes aim at St. George's Lake Powell Pipeline
If the new round of nuclear talks beginning Thursday in Vienna fails to yield progress, the U.S. and its European allies are likely to take steps to increase the pressure on Iran.

State of play: The U.S. and the E3  France, Germany and the U.K.  accused Iran of taking maximalist positions and failing to negotiate seriously in the last round, which ended on Friday.

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U.S. and European diplomats say Iran has backtracked on certain commitments to roll back its nuclear program made by the previous Iranian government, while increasing its demands on sanctions relief.

U.S. officials have warned that if Iran continues down this path, a return to the 2015 nuclear deal might not be viable in the near future.

The other side: The Iranians have rejected Western criticism and claimed they're showing pragmatism.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Monday that all of Iran's proposals fell within the framework of the 2015 deal and were based on the draft agreement reached in June with the previous Iranian government.

He stressed that Iran had expected the E3 to present initiatives for lifting sanctions last week, which didnt happen.

Driving the news: This is the eighth round of talks this year, and the second since President Ebrahim Raisi's hardline administration took office in Tehran.

U.S. Iran envoy Rob Malley and his team are expected to arrive in Vienna on Thursday and continue to negotiate indirectly through European mediators.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury announced new sanctions against several Iranian officials for their roles in cracking down on protestors.

Irans Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh tweeted in response: "Doubling down on sanctions won't create leverage  and is anything but seriousness and goodwill."

Behind the scenes: European diplomats say an Axios report that Israeli intelligence suggests Iran may be preparing to enrich weapons-grade uranium was discussed in Vienna. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also raised the report in a call with Amir-Abdollahian, who denied it.

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"I frankly told him that this is just an attempt to create media buzz," Amir-Abdollahian said on Monday. "The Islamic Republic continues its enrichment at the level of 20%, and we do not confirm the reports about 90% enrichment. They are total lies."

Whats next: If the new round of talks fails, the U.S. and E3 are likely to convene an emergency session of the International Atomic Energy Agency board by the end of December to pass a censure resolution against Iran, U.S. officials say.

Next steps could include more sanctions against Iran and even the initiation of snapback sanctions at the UN Security Council. The U.K. would support such an approach, E3 diplomats say.

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There is a new Miss Universe, Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu.

The reigning Miss Universe, Andrea Meza of Mexico, crowned her successor at the 70th annual Miss Universe event in Eilat, Israel Sunday night.

The international competition, hosted by Steve Harvey, featured 80 contestants vying for the tiara. But it went down to the final three  Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane, Miss Paraguay Nadia Ferreira and Sandu's Miss India.

Miss South Africa, one of the many contestants pressured by her own government to boycott the controversial pageant to protest Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, was named second runner-up.

When the Bollywood actress Miss India was next announced as the winner, Sandhu fell into joyful tears before taking her first stage walk as Miss Universe.

'The worst week of my life': Steve Harvey recalls 'painful' Miss Universe name mix up

Miss India, Harnaaz Sandhu, is crowned Miss Universe during the 70th Miss Universe beauty pageant in Israel's southern Red Sea coastal city of Eilat on December 13, 2021.

Road to Miss Universe: Miss Kentucky Elle Smith crowned 2021 Miss USA: 'I made that dream reality'

The final Fox telecast minutes Sunday saw some exciting live TV moments. Earlier in the show, Harvey had alluded to his Miss Universe 2015 fiasco in which he had announced the wrong winner. In 2015, Harvey named Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez, who was really first runner-up, as the winner instead of Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, who won the competition.

With Sunday's competition down to the final two, Harvey referred to Miss Paraguay as "Miss Portugal" seconds before announcing the winner. He quickly corrected the mistake.

"They wrote Portugal on the damn sign, they're trying to play me again," Harvey said of the show's producers. "I'm not going for it this year."

Earlier in the competition, Harvey asked Sandu, who had just cracked the top 16 as Miss India, "I hear you do some pretty good animal impersonations. Let's hear your best one."

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Sandhu responded with a cat's meow from the stage that became an instant internet meme, while Harvey received some criticism on Twitter for the question.

Dude.. A cat A CAT  pic.twitter.com/i6QqalezyE  FYI (@loreesminombre) December 13, 2021

Miss USA Elle Smith, 23, a University of Kentucky graduate who works as a broadcast news reporter for WHAS-TV in Louisville, made it into the top 10 Sunday night. But Smith was denied a spot in the top five.

As Miss Kentucky, Smith took home the title of Miss USA 2021 at the annual pageant last month in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Prior to Sunday's Miss Universe pageant, Smith shined the spotlight on the deadly weekend tornados that devastated her home state. "My thoughts and prayers go to those impacted by the tornadoes in western Kentucky. These pictures only show a small part of the damage in this community. Over 70 people are dead, and many more are still missing," Smith wrote on Instagram, directing readers to fundraising efforts.

Elle Smith, Miss Universe USA 2021

Smith graduated in 2020 from the University of Kentucky, where she studied broadcast journalism with a minor in political science, served as vice president of the school's National Association of Black Journalists chapter, and worked as a summer Fox News College Associate in the Washington, D.C. bureau, according to her WHAS-TV bio.

Sunday's contest suffered a last-minute hiccup with the arrival of the omicron variant, which forced Israel to close its borders to foreign tourists late last month.

Most of the Miss Universe contestants were already in the country before the new regulations came into effect. But those who came afterward were given special permission to enter, albeit with a mandatory 72-hour quarantine period.

Throughout the run-up to Sundays contest, all contestants were tested for the coronavirus every 48 hours and required to obey strict mask requirements.

Previously: Miss Universe contestant tests positive for COVID-19, pageant will go on as planned

The contest also drew attention in recent weeks for other reasons.

A grassroots Palestinian-led boycott had urged contestants to skip the event to protest Israels treatment of the Palestinians.

In the end, only Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim country with close ties to the Palestinians, did not send a representative, citing the global COVID-19 situation. The South African government, which also strongly supports the Palestinian cause, withdrew support for the countrys representative over her participation.

In an interview last month, Meza urged contestants to leave politics out of the pageant, saying the gathering was meant to bring together women from different backgrounds. When you are in there you forget about politics, about your religion, she told The Associated Press at the time.

Organizers said Sunday's pageant was expected to reach an estimated 600 million viewers via the FOX network in 172 countries.

Contributing: Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Miss Universe 2021 winner is Miss India, Miss USA makes top 10
Aden Allen, son of Daniella Allen, at home in Shiprock, New Mexico.

This story was originally published by Searchlight New Mexico.

It is easy to get lost in the vast lands of the Navajo Nation, with its mountains, rough terrain, endless desert and long stretches of highway. A quick turn can take a visitor into Utah, New Mexico, Arizona or Colorado.

But in this stretch of land, known as the Four Corners, it is not only the visitors who get lost. This is a place where untold numbers of Navajo students have gone missing from educational systems  their numbers unaccounted for by schools, their attendance records lost to parents and teachers alike.

Hundreds have fallen off the grid since the start of the pandemic, pulled out of schools by parents who feel angry and unsupported. Many have transferred to other districts, sometimes crossing state lines to do so. Others switched over to homeschooling or dropped out of school altogether. The one constant is that the children are considered missing or unaccounted for.

One of those students, Xavier Begaye, lived with his mother in Red Mesa, Arizona, a census-designated place in the Four Corners, and was attending Tiis Nazbas Community School when the pandemic hit. The current school year has been a dreadful one for the 12-year-old boy, who entered seventh grade in September.

Xavier Begaye, awaits enrollment for the seventh grade at home in Farmington, New Mexico.

Earlier in the year, his father died of COVID-19 complications. Xavier began to struggle with his schoolwork. He spent his days home alone, trying to navigate school while his mother, suddenly a single parent, worked as a security guard in a nearby border town.

More from Searchlight: Energy giants Iberdrola and Avangrid accused of bid-rigging, racketeering

Tiis Nazbas Community School issued him a wireless hotspot and a computer, but living in a remote area of the Navajo Reservation made internet access difficult. Each day, he was given his assignments over the phone and was required to call the school and read answers from his homework back to his teacher. The hotspot didnt work well, and Xavier found it difficult to keep up. He fell into a depression. At times, instead of doing his homework, he cried to his mother and clung to an old shirt of his dads.

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It was hard. I didnt want to go to school, he said. While I was doing homework, I cried.

His mother, Lucinda Merritt, said she called the school, which is operated by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) and located in Teec Nos Pos, about 20 miles from their home. Counseling was offered for a few weeks, until suddenly, all contact  including homework assignments  came to a halt.

I was trying, Merritt said. But even the counselor stopped calling. So she took matters into her own hands and transferred Xavier to a school in Utah, 10 miles farther from their home in a different direction. He has since transferred again, this time to a public school off of the reservation in Farmington, New Mexico.

Merritt never notified the school authorities in Arizona. And they never asked.

Lucinda Merritt at home in Farmington, New Mexico, anticipates her son's enrollment at a new school the following day.

Many children go missing

The pandemic has exposed an utter lack of accountability within the Navajo Nations sprawling school system, leaving parents and educators asking what happened. How can Navajo children like Xavier be considered lost in the very place they call home?

In New Mexico, a total of 2,010 students are officially unaccounted for, according to state Public Education Department records. At least 353 of them are American Indian and Alaskan Native schoolchildren, by PED estimates.

In fact, the numbers are likely far higher. In the Central Consolidated School District, a large district that operates on and off the Navajo Nation, a total of 47 students have been reported unaccounted for by PED. But those figures dont include the missing Navajo and other Native students enrolled in schools overseen by the BIE.

More from Searchlight: Haitian migrants in ICE custody face dire conditions at NM detention facility

It is impossible to estimate how many of those children have actually gone missing, since the BIE has ignored repeated requests for data. But educators believe the number is significant.

I know of probably 10 families in the Shiprock area who have basically just kind of given up, said Richard Edwards, former executive director of Shiprock Associated Schools Inc. (SASI), which is part of the BIE system.

Bureau of Indian Education Boarding School in Teec Nos Pos, Arizona.

Edwards was especially critical of SASI, which he said had been inundated with millions of dollars in state and federal relief funds to provide resources for the social, mental and emotional health and well-being of students. Most of it, he said, has gone unused.

SASI got millions, we got millions, in the CARES Act and the American Rescue [Plan] money, and I would say that the majority of that money, the greater portion of that money, has remained unspent, he said. So those resources are there. And I think anybody who tells you those resources arent there is not being truthful.

Not sending my kids back

Daniella Allen is certain that one of her three children is among the unaccounted for in the Shiprock Associated Schools system. Early in the pandemic, she transferred her son, Aden, and middle daughter, Alba, to Atsa Biyaazh Community School in Shiprock. She wanted to keep the kids closer to their home in Shiprock but within weeks decided it may not have been the best decision.

On hearing that SASI lacked certified teachers, she began sitting in on virtual classes, where she often observed a teaching assistant leading the class.

More from Searchlight: CYFD sees another high-profile resignation with departure of deputy secretary

I started questioning things. I called the school and asked what the certification was like for teachers. I was informed that they did not have [certified] teachers, Allen said. I said, OK, Im not sending my kids back.

She transferred her daughter to the Central Consolidated School District and her son to a charter school in Shiprock. But when she requested her sons records, she said the school refused to release them. Her 5-year-old son had misplaced a $100 hotspot  a device about the size of a smartphone  and until the family replaced it, his kindergarten records would remain unavailable, she said she was told.

Daniella Allen at home with son, Aden Allen, in Shiprock, New Mexico.

Shiprock Associated Schools Inc. Executive Director Eudore Camata refused to comment on the specifics, citing privacy concerns. The school is following and encourages its stakeholders to follow the process contained in the schools policy in addressing their concerns, he said.

Schools still failing

Stories like these are almost commonplace on the Navajo Nation, where the school system is rooted in decades of inequity. In 2018, a landmark education lawsuit confirmed that, in the words of the plaintiffs, there now exists an entire generation of children in this state who do not possess the basic capabilities to meaningfully function in modern society.

Wilhelmina Yazzie was one of those plaintiffs, and despite the success of the lawsuit against New Mexico, she believes that little has changed. Its still the same, she said, ever since incorporation of the boarding school era to now.

A lot of our families, they live out in the rural areas, they dont have reliable transportation, the roads are so awful that during bad weather theyre not able to get out, she said. And then of course with the internet and [poor] cell phone service, theres no way to communicate with the schools.

Yazzie holds school administrators and superintendents responsible for New Mexicos missing students.

Daniel Benavidez bristles at the suggestion. As superintendent of Central Consolidated School District, Benavidez oversees one of the largest populations of Navajo students in the country. Throughout the pandemic, hes observed students move in and out of the school system  and he said schools simply do not have the resources to track the untold numbers of missing children.

The problem is homeschooling. Or not sending their kids to school at all, Benavidez said. Parents think that they dont have to register their kids in a district when theyre homeschooled  they just pull them out and just say theyre homeschooled.

More from Searchlight: Locked out: New Mexico landlords filed more than 11,000 evictions during the pandemic

But, he said, school administrators dont actually know if parents are following through in educating their kids at home. And there arent enough resources to find out whats happening. A lot of districts dont have the personnel to go find out where theyre at. Parents arent homeschooling their kids, theyre just letting them do their own thing.

But Edwards, who retired in June, isnt convinced that parents are the ones generally at fault.

I think its a failure at the local level, Edwards said. We missed an opportunity to reenvision education for our Native students and I dont know that were ever going to catch up.

Searchlight New Mexico is a non-partisan, nonprofit news organization dedicated to investigative reporting in New Mexico.

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This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Schools have lost hundreds of students during the COVID pandemic
Steve Harvey presenting the semifinalist Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu during the 70th Miss Universe beauty pageant in Eilat, Israel. MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images

Steve Harvey asked Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu to do her best animal impersonation at Miss Universe.

Harnaaz took the question in stride and meowed in front of millions of viewers.

Many on Twitter criticized the question, as other finalists were asked about their accomplishments.

The 2021 Miss Universe competition started with a bang  and a meow.

Many fans of the international beauty pageant were left bewildered after the host Steve Harvey asked one of the top 16 finalists to do her best animal impersonation onstage  while other women were given the chance to talk about their accomplishments.

Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu seemed taken by surprise as Harvey told her: "I hear you do some pretty good animal impersonations. Let's hear your best one."

Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu presenting herself during the preliminary stage of the 70th Miss Universe beauty pageant. MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images

"Oh, my God, Steve, I was not expecting to do this on the world stage," she told him.

But she took it all in stride.

"I have to do this  I have no other option," she joked.

Sandhu said that since she loved cats she would do her best to impersonate one.

"Brace yourself everyone," she warned, before letting out a few impressive "meows."

It was a moment that stood out to many viewers, who questioned why Sandhu hadn't been given a meaningful moment to share more about herself.

Miss Panama Brenda Smith was able to talk about getting a position at the UN, and Miss Great Britain Emma Collingridge discussed how learning about Medusa's origin story inspired her to fight against gender-based violence.

Sandhu, 21, is a women's-empowerment advocate who has helped her mother teach women's health and hygiene at camps.

The pageant queen works as an actor and told Insider she'd done two Punjabi feature films that would be released soon.

Story continues

Sandhu said she always chose strong characters because she wanted to "break stereotypes of what women are and what they can be."

"I hope I get to inspire people by following my passion and my heart," she added.

Read the original article on Insider
A COVID-19 "yellow" alert for the state of Chihuahua has been extended past Christmas Day until Dec. 26, with residents advised to reduce going out to celebrate the holidays.

Rising coronavirus infections and concerns about hospital capacity has Juarez and the rest of the state on "yellow" after being in the low-risk "green" status for three months.

State health secretary Dr. Felipe Fernando Sandoval Magallanes called on people to celebrate Christmas and New Year's Eve responsibly by limiting going out and avoiding crowded places.

Chihuahua state health officials extended the "yellow" alert that began on Nov. 29 until Dec. 26 after it was set to expire on Sunday.

Nursing students graduate during a ceremony in Juarez last week.

Health officials urge the continued use of face masks, physical distancing and frequent hand-washing. They advised that people should avoid enclosed and crowded places, postpone nonessential travel and recommended that only one person per family go out shopping.

In Mexico's national traffic-light style pandemic awareness system, "green" is considered "low" risk, "yellow" is "medium," while "orange" is "high" and "red" is "maximum" risk.

Chihuahua is among five Mexican states, mostly along the U.S. border, on yellow status. The rest of the nation is in green.

Health: Is it a cold? The flu? Or COVID? How to tell sniffles and chills apart this holiday season

The yellow status includes capacity restrictions, including a limit of 20 people at parties and gatherings at homes and 50% capacity at bars, restaurants, churches and movie theaters.

Government offices, industrial factories and other essential businesses can continue to operate at 100% capacity with health safety protocols.

More than 8,500 people have died of COVID-19 in the state of Chihuahua, according to state health statistics. The actual death toll could be higher due to limited testing for the virus.

Story continues

Daniel Borunda may be reached at 915-546-6102; dborunda@elpasotimes.com; @BorundaDaniel on Twitter.

Borderland: Leaders urge vaccinations, face masks as COVID-19 cases rise in El Paso

More: Juarez woman makes teddy bears from clothes of COVID-19 victims

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Christmas COVID-19 'yellow' alert in Juarez, Chihuahua state
Seoul Tourism Organization operates rental services of wheelchair accessible vehicles and travel assistive devices and recommends barrier-free tourist attractions on the Seoul Danurim Accessible Tourism Center's website.

SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Seoul, the dynamic capital of South Korea where tradition and modernity coexist, turns itself into an accessible tourism city that is convenient for everyone to travel.

Seoul Danurim Accessible Tourism Center located in Jongno district





Seoul Danurim Minivan equipped with wheelchair lift





Portable ramp and wheelchair for the travel assistive devices rental service





Tactile model for people with visual disabilities in Changgyeong-gung palace

Under the slogan of "Accessible tourism environment plan 2018", Seoul Tourism Organization opened the Seoul Danurim Accessible Tourism Center in April 2019 for the disabled, elderly, parents and/or guardians of children in cooperation with the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

Seoul Danurim Accessible Tourism Center offers comprehensive services to ensure that the travel experience in Seoul is a convenient and safe one for all including tourists requiring assistance.

Major services offered by the center include the operation of wheelchair accessible vehicles and travel assistive device rentals, and provision of accessibility information on the Seoul Danurim Accessible Tourism Center's website.

The website will help to facilitate the resumption of travel by ensuring an effective display of the accessibility information. Users can easily grasp the information at a glance with the effective use of pictogram.

The website also allows travelers to draw up their travel plans easily and to find the correct information as they can search information by region and convenient facility they need.

The website offers information about 60 major tourist attractions and wheelchair accessible accommodations certified as "Universal Tourism Facilities" for tourists requiring assistance.

The most recommended tourist spots include 4 palaces of the Joseon Dynasty, notably Gyeongbokgung Palace where BTS delivered their "IDOL" performance, Dongdaemun Design Plaza full of modern inspiration, and Seoul Botanic Park heavily frequented by people as a natural healing place.

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Seoul Danurim Minivans equipped with wheelchair ramps will give tourists easy access to various tourist attractions across Seoul.

Those who made a reservation for "recommended tours" can use the vehicle at no cost, and enjoy a day trip throughout the city by visiting barrier-free tourist spots recommended by Seoul Tourism Organization.

"Self-guided" tourists can rent a minivan at a reasonable price which includes fuel, parking and tolls only.

Airport pickup service is also available for foreign tourists who have a flight ticket.

The capacity of the vehicle is up to 10 passengers including 2 to 4 wheelchair users, but it may vary depending on the vehicle type.

The travel assistive device rental services available free of charge offer 23 equipments including wheelchairs, portable ramps and wheelchair lifts. In addition, the center operates a door-to-door delivery service for more convenient travel experience.

Portable wheelchair ramps are in the highest demand as they can help travelers with mobility difficulties to discover the city without physical limits, especially in old downtown where wheelchair accessibility is a rarity.

The ramps are available in various sizes from 46cm to 165cm, and small-sized ramps are easy to carry on as they can be hung on the wheelchair.

Other rental equipments such as a shower wheelchair and a patient lift are also considered essentials for travelling since only few accommodations have them.

In order to make Seoul a leading city in barrier-free tourism, Seoul Tourism Organization announced that it will continue to make efforts to satisfy the varying needs of all tourists through improved tourism environment.

Contact Information

Seoul Danurim Accessible Tourism Center

www.seouldanurim.net/en

danurim@sto.or.kr



SOURCE Seoul Tourism Organization
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Gergely Gulyas, the prime ministers chief of staff, attended the inauguration of a new access road to a rest area along the M5 motorway, in southern Hungary, on Saturday.

Thanks to the new road, residents in Csengele and other towns in the area will have easy access to the motorway connecting Budapest with the Serbian and the Romanian border.



The project is in line with the governments objectives to provide public services in small towns similar to those in larger cities, the minister said.
Budapests Advent Feast at the Basilica, the annual Christmas market in front of St Stephens Basilica, has been voted the best market of its kind in Europe for the second time in three years.

The Christmas market topped the European Best Destinations travel websites poll with some 25,000 votes from 163 countries, the company told MTI.



A total of 173,620 votes were cast in the ten-day poll, with the Advent Feast at the Basilica even topping the votes from the United Kingdom and the United States.



The Basilica Christmas market came second in last years poll after being voted the best European Christmas market for the first time in 2019.



The 11th annual Advent Feast at the Basilica is open to visitors until Jan. 1.



It features a photo exhibition, an ice rink, a selfie spot, a 3D light show projected onto the facade of St Stephens Basilica and around 100 arts and crafts and culinary exhibitors.



Visitors are required to present their Covid immunity cards before entering.





MTI Photo: Balogh Zoltan
Hungary is hosting a forum for central European tourism professionals, a gastro festival in cooperation with Michelin, and the European finals of the Bocuse dOr competition early next year, the head of the Hungarian Tourism Agency said on Friday.

The Central European Tourism Forum will be held in Budapests Varkert Bazar in February, and will showcase central European innovation and technology in tourism, Zoltan Guller said.



Participants will discuss the challenges of relaunching central Europe after the pandemic, he said.



The event is expected to draw 500-600 professionals from the hotel industry, gastronomy, health tourism and event planning, he said.



Back to back with the forum, Budapest will also host the first gastro-festival co-organised by the Michelin Guide, culminating in the prestigious Michelin award ceremony, he said.



The festival will feature the works of Michelin-star chefs, focusing on locally sourced ingredients, he said.



The European finals of a prestigious gastronomic competition, the Bocuse dOr, will be held in Budapest in March, an event the city last hosted in 2016, he said.



The event will highlight the products and culinary diversity of Hungary, and Hungarian chefs will have the opportunity to learn from the Europes best, Guller said.
French President Emmanuel Macron will meet with Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony on Monday afternoon during his upcoming visit to Budapest, reports HVG. The visit will take place at the French Ambassadorial residence in Budapest.

The news site has also learned that Peter Marki-Zay, the joint prime ministerial candidate for the united opposition, Klara Dobrev, MEP from the Democratic Coalition, and Momentum President Anna Donath will take part in the meeting between the French head of state and the mayor as well.



Macron will arrive in Budapest for a summit between the V4 countries and France on Monday, where he will meet with President Janos Ader and Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and hold talks with the other V4 heads of government.



Ahead of the French Presidents visit to Budapest, Macron said of Viktor Orban on Thursday that the Hungarian prime minister was a political opponent but a European partner, noting that EU member states should work together, even if we have serious differences. And there are, such as on the issue of the rule of law.





MTI Photo: Balazs Szecsodi
Peter is an accomplished and creative business leader possessing multifaceted experience and proven ability to re-energize and restructure organizations, develop strategic initiatives and capture emerging business opportunities.

He is results-oriented, decisive leader adept at forging lucrative relationships with key partners, vendors and clients. Recognized for turning around struggling company operations to achieve sustained growth.



Nowadays he is the CEO of Kifli.hu



1. Where did you grow up?

In a fairly uninteresting city with a fairly interesting cultural background, because a lot of languages are spoken there. Its a four language town historically, as it has been switching back and forth from Slovakia to Hungary over the years. In fact Kosice has the highest density of Hungarian population in Slovakia. That is where I grew up and all my Hungarian knowledge comes from.



It is not easy to define myself since I have been working and living in four different countries in Eastern Europe, and have travelled a lot, so I do not have this super strong feeling of nationality yet I feel very Hungarian. Just as I feel Slovakian, or for that matter Czech, because I lived there for a long time. Overall my feelings are very friendly towards Hungary, and my Mum is Hungarian.



2. If you could be an expat anywhere in the world, where would you choose?

I would definitely go for a location that is very similar to Hungary, where people are also very friendly, very hospitable, and welcoming into their homes. There are still good core values about family here which matters a lot to me. Basically, in Hungary I feel it is ideal but then anywhere further East could still be nice. So if I would not be here I might be in Russia, but not sure, as I would not be anywhere else than here at the moment.



3. What would you miss most if you moved away from Hungary?

I would miss the great food and very friendly people.



4. Friends are in Budapest for a weekend - what must they absolutely see and do?

Depends a lot on which kinds of friends were visiting. I like the part of the city around the Danube River, near the water, so I would definitely take them for a nice ride with some great food. Also I would probably take them for a walk to Citadel to get the view of entire Budapest and its most beautiful parts. Probably also to the Matthias statue by the St Istvan Church by the Castle, and definitely let them have a look at the nightlife in some downtown ruin bars.



5. What is your favourite food?

I am not a foody exactly, but I really value good food. It would be hard to choose one type. Anything that is Asian or that kind of style. I like local dishes of course, like fish soup and chicken paprikas.



6. What is your favourite sport / form of exercise?

Because the job is a bit demanding these days, I have very limited free time, often none, as this is a hyper growing company. So finding time for exercise is a bit tricky but I do walk a lot around the River area just to clear my head, normally I need to do something like that which is very offline. When I have time I like Martial Arts or something where you need to focus a lot on what youre doing so you cant answer the phone.



7. What is your favourite place in Hungary?

I like to go to Balaton, at Tihany there is a nice restaurant on the top of the hill with a good view over the lake, and the food is amazing.



8. What career other than yours would you love to pursue?

I originally studied theology, so I would probably be doing something to help people. Either helping out somewhere physically or just trying to help someone make their dreams come true. I did a bit of consultancy work earlier for some NGOs, but being a priest is not an option.



9. Whats a job you would definitely never want?

I do not have such a specific job in mind, but I would definitely never want do a job that contradicts my moral principles, or just does not fulfil me. Basically if it is not fun for me I wouldnt want to do it, I mean I can do something that is not fun but it has to have some meaning.







10. Where did you spend your last vacation?

Because I like being by water I went to Turkey, it was for the first time there for me, to see something very different. It was during the lock down period, Mosques were only open for tourists, so you had it all for yourself plus lets say twenty Americans.



It was so interesting to see Istanbul without many people around, probably something I will never see again. Turkish people are amazing, well if you are a tourist they are very helpful and so on.



11. Where do you hope to spend your next one?

I would probably go to the sea or ocean, to an island, or somewhere a bit deserted, like the Caribbean, or to Japan, to one of the big islands there.



12. What was your favourite band, film, or hobby as a teen?

Except for folk music I was into everything. My mother is a musician in a classical orchestra, so I heard classical music at home. In my teens I liked Freddie Mercury and his band.



In 79 I remember there were films like Rocky at the cinema, I grew up on Cowboy and Indian movies, they were most shown in those times, and those types of friendships and morals are something that still resonate with me today.



I played chess, also I was doing Martial Arts then, and was jumping from one hobby to another, trying different stuff, as kids do.



13. Apart of temptation what can't you resist?

I think I cannot resist helping people in need, that is a trigger for me to stop and do something to help.



14. Red or white?

I am more into red wine, I really like the Villany region, in terms of spirits probably white types.



15. Book or movie?

Both!



16. Morning person or night person?

Depends on the job!



17. Which social issue do you feel most strongly about?

The way we treat elderly is something that worries me the most. Looking at the changes in Western Europe I think this is why Hungary is still very strongly traditional in a very good way.



18. Buda or Pest side?

For me its one!



19. Which achievement in your life are you most pleased about?

When I get a question like this I do not look at my career, as for me being able to have three kids, and seeing them grow up and being able to contribute, is most important for me.



20. What would you say is your personal motto?

I am a bit of fan of Churchill, so could say, Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts.




It wasnt an Oklahoma land rush or California Gold Rush. It wasnt a rush at all.

Homesteaders showed up steadily for three decades. They took the train.

If the railroad comes to that community in 1877, then homesteading explodes in 1878, said Jonathan Fairchild, historian at Homestead National Historical Park near Beatrice.

Many who boarded those trains didnt arrive thinking that the land would be an heirloom passed down generations. Many planned to profit and then skedaddle.

Most people didnt come to stay, said David Wishart, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln geography professor and editor of Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. You really have to understand the degree of speculation that went on in the frontier.

Taking land, farming it for five years, then selling it at the first opportunity made a mountain of sense to many homesteaders, who often came from desperate circumstances.

Roughly one of five arrived in Nebraska directly from Europe, according to Rick Edwards, retired director of UNLs Center for Great Plains Studies. Many were new Americans, who had moved from, say, Germany to Ohio to central Nebraska in short order.
New Delhi: Twenty years ago, Parliament, which is the supreme legislative body of India, witnessed a dastardly terror attack that shook the conscience of the country to its core.

The horror of the day, December 13, 2001, is still fresh in the minds of the people of the country.

What happened on December 13, 2001?

Five terrorists of the Pakistan-based militant groups Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) infiltrated the premises in a White Ambassador bearing fake stickers of the Home Ministry and Parliament itself.

Carrying AK47 rifles, grenade launchers, pistols and grenades, the terrorists breached through security cordons deployed around the Parliament complex. As they further drove the car inside, one of the staff members, Constable Kamlesh Kumari Yadav, became suspicious of their movement.

Yadav was the first security official to approach the terrorists` car and, realising something suspicious, ran back to her post to seal gate no 1 where she was posted. With their cover effectively blown, the terrorists opened fire on Yadav and fired at her 11 times.

Yadav died on the spot, averting a suicide bomber among the terrorists to execute his plan.

After killing Yadav, the terrorists moved forward, firing indiscriminately.

Horror lasted for about 30 minutes

The horror lasted for about 30 minutes during which a total of nine people were killed and 18 others injured. All the five terrorists were also neutralised outside the building itself.

                                                pic.twitter.com/HyzCyPkxnF  Amit Shah (@AmitShah) December 13, 2021

The anti-terror unit of the Delhi Police -- Special Cell -- which was set up in 1986 to prevent, detect and investigate cases of terrorism, organised crime and other serious offences in the national capital, took charge of the investigation.

Recalling memories of the 20-year-old terror attack, the then Deputy Commissioner of Police Ashok Chand told IANS that he was at the office of the Special Cell when the carnage occurred.

"As soon as we received information, I rushed with my team to Parliament," Chand said, adding that when he reached the spot, the attack was still going on.

"The situation had not normalised, it was still fluid and by that time other teams of Special Cell also reached there," he said.

In the next few minutes, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel neutralised all the terrorists. Notably, the CRPF battalion posted at Parliament during the time of the attack had just returned from Jammu and Kashmir.

"So they were prepared for such unforeseen events and knew how to react," said another officer privy to the development.

My tributes to those brave security personnel who sacrificed their lives during attack on the Parliament House in 2001. The nation will remain grateful for their courage and supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) December 13, 2021

Though it was the extreme bravery of the security forces to quickly contain the situation, the Watch and Ward staff of Parliament, too, played a vital role in saving several lives.

"The Watch and Ward staff immediately after the attack began, closed all the doors of the Parliament building, thus preventing the terrorists from entering the house," said an officer.

The Watch and Ward was renamed as Parliament Security Service in April 2009.

Four arrested including Afzal Guru

Chand said that soon after the attack, the investigation was taken up. In just 72 hours, the Special Cell of the Delhi Police cracked the case and arrested four people -- Mohammed Afzal Guru, Shaukat Hussain, Afsal Guru and SAR Geelani -- in this connection.

Two among them were acquitted, while Afzal Guru was hanged in Delhi`s Tihar Jail in February 2013. Shaukat Hussain served his sentence in jail.

On the eve of the attack`s 20th anniversary, the Delhi Police has also tightened its security arrangements in the national capital.
Srinagar: Two security personnel were killed and 12 injured after a police vehicle was attacked by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmirs Srinagar on Monday (December 13).

Terrorists opened fire on the vehicle near Zewan in Pantha Chowk area in Srinagar, said the police.

As per the initial statement released by the police, 14 injured personnel were taken to the hospital. However, two of them succumbed to their injuries.

#Terrorists fired upon a police vehicle near Zewan in Pantha Chowk area of #Srinagar. 14 personnel #injured in the attack. All the injured personnel evacuated to hospital. Area cordoned off. Further details shall follow, said Kashmir Zone Police in a tweet.

#Terrorists fired upon a police vehicle near Zewan in Pantha Chowk area of #Srinagar. 14 personnel #injured in the attack. All the injured personnel evacuated to hospital. Area cordoned off. Further details shall follow. @JmuKmrPolice  Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) December 13, 2021

"Among the injured police personnel, one ASI and a Selection Grade Constable succumbed to their injuries and attained martyrdom," said the police.

#SrinagarTerrorAttack: Among the injured police personnel, 01 ASI & a Selection Grade Constable #succumbed to their injuries & attained #martyrdom. Further details shall follow. @JmuKmrPolice https://t.co/VPe0Pwoyfy  Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) December 13, 2021

Police sources said the firing lasted for around 5 minutes and terrorists knew about the movement of the bus. Since it was dark the terrorists managed to flee from the spot, they added.

The police have cordoned off the whole area where the attack took place.

Earlier today, there was an encounter between security forces and terrorists in Srinagar's Rangret area. Two Lashkar terrorists were killed in that encounter.

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Varanasi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated phase 1 of Kashi Vishwanath Dham, which has been constructed at a cost of around Rs 339 crores, amid chants of 'Har Har Mahadev'. In his inaugural speech, the PM said, Kashi is a symbol of our spiritual soul! It is a symbol of India's antiquity, traditions! India's energy, mobility.

"It is said in our Puranas that as soon as one enters Kashi, one becomes free from all bondage. Blessings of Lord Vishweshwara, supernatural energy that awakens our inner soul as soon as we come here. Right now, along with Baba, I am also coming after seeing the city Kotwal Kalbhairav Ji, bringing his blessings for the countrymen," the PM, who began his address by chanting ''Har Har Mahadev'', said.

#WATCH | Varanasi: After inaugurating Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, PM Narendra Modi starts his address with the chant of 'Har Har Mahadev' (Source: DD) pic.twitter.com/JlrDIF9adC  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 13, 2021

The PM said that the inauguration of Kashi Vishwanath Dham will give a decisive direction to India, will lead to a brighter future. "This complex is a witness of our capability, of our duty. Nothing is impossible if you are determined, determined,'' the PM said.

Explaining the grandeur of this ancient city, PM Modi said, ''Kashi is Kashi! Kashi is imperishable. There is only one government in Kashi, those who have 'damru' in their hands have their government."

''Kashi is the land of four Jain Tirthankaras, the epitome of non-violence and austerity. Banaras is the city from where Jagadguru Shankaracharya got inspiration from the purity of Sridom Raja, he resolved to tie the country in the thread of unity. This is the place where Goswami Tulsidas ji created a supernatural creation like Ramcharitmanas with the inspiration of Lord Shankar,'' the PM said.

The PM also lauded the UP government and CM Yogi Adityanath for the project. "Along with all this, I also congratulate the UP government, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who united day and night to complete the Kashi Vishwanath Dham project,'' the PM said.

The PM also expressed his gratitude towards every labourer who worked for the construction of this grand complex. "Today, I would also like to express my gratitude towards every labourer who has worked for the construction of this grand complex. Even during COVID19, the work did not stop here,'' PM Modi said at the inauguration of the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project here.

During his speech, the PM said that he wants ''three resolutions'' from the people, ''not for anyone, but for the country - cleanliness, creation & innovation and continuous efforts to create a self-reliant India.''

PM Modi earlier braved the December chill and took a holy dip in the Ganga river before formally inaugurating the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor complex. The Prime Minister reached the Kaal Bhairav temple first and offered elaborate prayers. Kaal Bhairav is known as the first deity of Varanasi and is also known as 'Kashi Ke Kotwal`.

PM Modi then went to the banks of the Ganga river and waded into waist-deep water to take the holy dip. He offered prayers to the Sun God and the Ganga River. He also collected the waters of the holy river for the 'Jal Abhishek' at the temple.

Locals gave a rousing welcome to PM Modi, showering flower petals and raising slogans of Modi, Modi and Har Har Mahadev. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also later inaugurated phase 1 of Kashi Vishwanath Dham, constructed at a cost of around Rs 339 crores.

Varanasi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates phase 1 of Kashi Vishwanath Dham, constructed at a cost of around Rs 339 crores pic.twitter.com/kYN6rcyFRX  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 13, 2021

The buildings will provide a variety of facilities to the pilgrims visiting the temple, including yatri suvidha kendras, tourist facilitation centre, Vedic kendra, Mumukshu bhavan, bhojshala, city museum, viewing gallery, food court, among others.

The project, whose foundation stone was laid by the Prime Minister in 2019, connects the main temple with Lalita Ghat. Grand gateways and ornamental arches have been built in heritage architecture style in four directions, facing the ancient temple at its core.

The project involved the purchase and acquisition of more than 300 properties around the temple. Nearly 1,400 shopkeepers, tenants and homeowners were rehabilitated amicably to pave way for the construction. Around Rs 450 crore was spent on the purchase of buildings.

During the demolition of buildings to pave the way for the project in 2018, over 40 ancient temples were found buried under the layers of concrete and plaster. They have now been conserved and made part of the project.

The project is now spread over a massive area of about five lakh square feet while the earlier premises was limited to just around 3,000 square feet.

The architect of the project is Bimal Patel, who is also in charge of the Central Vista redevelopment project in New Delhi. He said that without tampering with the original structure of the temple, beautification work was carried out and world-class facilities had been put in place.

About 70 per cent of the 5.50 lakh square feet area of the project has been kept for green cover. Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi since 2014, has been decorated ahead of the mega event titled `Divya Kashi, Bhavya Kashi`.

Facades of buildings located on streets leading to the shrine have been painted in uniform light pink colour and illuminated. A grand Kashi will be seen after crores of years now. Ayodhya is progressing with Ram Temple.

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New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said that the Central government has been making constant efforts to achieve `Aatmanirbharta` in the defence sector, that "lagged behind due to lack of investment, innovation, research and development before the current government at the Centre came to power in 2014.

Singh inaugurated several iconic events of the Department of Defence Production (DDP), as part of the Ministry of Defence dedicated week from December 13-19, 2021 to celebrate `Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav` commemorating 75 years of Independence.

A virtual exhibition, `Path to Pride`, public exhibitions, curated museums and a booklet showcasing 75 resolutions of DDP was inaugurated/launched by Singh.

Congratulating DDP for organizing the week-long nationwide events, he said that it will be helpful in spreading information about the efforts towards making India a net defence exporter from a net defence importer.

In his address, Singh also paid rich tributes to the country`s Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and other Armed Forces personnel, who lost their lives in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu on December 8, 2021 and extended his condolences to the family members.

"General Rawat still had a lot to do. Modernization of our Armed Forces and complete self-reliance in the defence sector were subjects close to his heart. Now, it is our responsibility to work tirelessly to achieve the objective even sooner," he added.

Sharing his insights on what freedom means to a nation, the Defence Minister said that freedom is not just a thing to be attained or earned, it is also a thing to maintain, for which one has to strive continuously."

Freedom is not a goal, but a path. To a sovereign nation, freedom means the ability and capacity to take any decision related to defence and socio-economic development. In any situation, we can take a decision only when we are completely self-reliant," he stressed.

Singh was of the view that while India attained freedom in the fields such as agriculture, education and health post-independence, not much attention was paid towards the defence sector.

"Before the government came to power in 2014, the defence sector lagged behind due to lack of investment, innovation and research and development.

This led to a dependency on imports to meet the defence requirements of the country and affected the strategic autonomy," he said.

The Union Minister pointed out that the present government understood the importance of self-reliance in defence and has been making constant efforts to achieve `Aatmanirbharta` in the sector.

"The defence sector has entered into a new era due to the policies, vision and mindset of this government," he added.

Stating that this government does not shy away from taking bold decisions in the interest of the nation, Singh listed out a number of policy reforms aimed at promoting self-reliance in defence manufacturing. He made special mention of the corporatization of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), saying that the move will make OFB more effective and efficient and unleash its true potential.

The minister also appreciated the fact that the private sector has contributed to about 90 per cent of the country`s defence exports. He exuded confidence this active and continued partnership between the government and the private sector will help to soon achieve `Make in India, Make for the World` as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He hoped that the week-long events will generate awareness among people about the progress made in the defence sector, instil national spirit and further strengthen their trust in the country`s defence preparedness.

Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar said that the week-long events will make people aware of the achievements, resolve and vision of DDP. He reiterated the resolve to continue to move forward without any comprise to achieve `Aatmanirbhar Bharat`.

As a run-up to the DefExpo-2022 and with an aim to reach out to a larger audience in India and abroad, a Virtual Exhibition named `Path to Pride` was launched to showcase the journey of 75 years for `Aatmanirbhar` defence manufacturing through 75 stories of growth and evolution across the domains of land, naval, air, missile and electronic systems.

This virtual interactive platform offers a repository of India`s defence capabilities, indigenization efforts, future-readiness and policy reforms, augmenting India`s emergence as the global defence manufacturing hub.

As per the Defence Ministry, this exhibition has virtual events lined up for seven days with seven Ps - Pratigya, Prarambh, Pratishthan, Parivartan, Parakram, Protsahan and Prayas - designed to engage respective stakeholders from the Government, manufacturers, innovators and masses.

Public exhibitions organized by Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) and Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance (DGAQA) at 75 locations across the country were also simultaneously inaugurated through virtual mode showcasing the journey of growth and development of defence manufacturing in the country.

These exhibitions will be displaying an array of indigenous marquee defence products during the week. The exhibitions will offer a unique opportunity to the general public to have a look and feel of modern defence weapons, arms, ammunition and other equipment and on top of it, a proud feeling of nationalism.

Curated museums at Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune, Avadi - Chennai and Goa were also inaugurated through virtual mode with a purpose to inform, educate, and inspire the masses. A booklet listing 75 commitments to the nation to be fulfilled by August 15, 2022, was also unveiled.

The commitments aim to boost defence manufacturing, bring efficiency, facilitate Ease of Doing Business and reduce the regulatory compliance burden across the comprehensive defence production infrastructure.

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New Delhi: Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Monday demanded that the government clarify its stand on cryptocurrency and said the hacking of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Twitter handle in connection with the issue raised serious security concerns.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour in Lok Sabha, Chowdhury said if the prime minister's Twitter handle was not safe, how the Twitter account of a common person can be secure.

At a time when the government is considering a ban on cryptocurrency, the prime minister's Twitter handle is compromised and tweets are posted about government accepting cryptocurrency as legal tender and had purchased 500 Bitcoins for distribution among citizens. This is the biggest security issue before the nation, the Congress leader said.

He demanded that the government clarify in Parliament whether it is planning to recognise cryptocurrency.

Chowdhury also said that the government should make a statement in Parliament to explain how the prime minister's Twitter handle got compromised twice in the last two years.

If the prime minister's Twitter handle is compromised twice in two years, how can we be assured of the security of the nation? India's security is under threat. Government should make a statement in the House, he said.

Chowdhury's remarks came a day after the prime minister's Twitter handle was briefly compromised but restored quickly.

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor today. The corridor directly connects the Ganga ghat to the main premise of Kashi Vishwanath temple.

Zee News Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary on Monday (December 13) discussed the inauguration of Kashi Vishwanath Corridor by PM Modi.

This expansion of Kashi Vishwanath temple has happened after 241 years. The temple, which was demolished by the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb, had to wait for about two and a half centuries for its expansion. Earlier in the year 1780, Rani Ahilyabai of Malwa had rebuilt this temple.

PM Modi had laid the foundation stone of this project on March 8, 2019. The first phase of the project has been constructed at an approximate cost of Rs 339 crore. \

Under this project, four big gates have been installed in the main part of the temple. 22 marble inscriptions have been placed on the parikrama path of the temple, on which the glory of Kashi has been described.

The corridor starts from Lalita Ghat and goes to the main part of the temple. A total of 24 buildings have been constructed as part of the project.

There is a main temple complex, a temple square, a convenience center, a refreshment center and a shopping complex. Apart from this, 5000 lights have been installed in this corridor to show the grandeur of the temple.

Kashi Vishwanath temple is one of those temples in India, which Muslim rulers attacked many times and tried to destroy it.

This temple is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva, hence it is considered one of the biggest centers of faith by the Hindus.

While inaugurating Kashi Vishwanath Dham, Modi called on Indians to make three resolutions for the sake of the country: Swachhta (cleanliness), Srijan (creation) and continuous efforts for Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India).

He also felicitated workers who have been part of the construction of the mega Kashi Vishwanath Corridor by showering flower petals on them during the inauguration of the temple complex.

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New Delhi: An eight-time MLA and a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Harbans Kapoor died at his residence in Dehradun in the early hours of Monday (December 13, 2021).

Kapoor, a former Speaker of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly, was 75.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed that he is saddened by the passing away of his senior Party colleague.

"A veteran legislator and administrator, he will be remembered for his contributions to public service and social welfare. Condolences to his family and supporters. Om Shanti," the Prime Minister said in a tweet.

Saddened by the passing away of our senior Party colleague from Uttarakhand Shri Harbans Kapoor Ji. A veteran legislator and administrator, he will be remembered for his contributions to public service and social welfare. Condolences to his family and supporters. Om Shanti.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 13, 2021

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited Kapoor's residence to pay tribute to the departed leader and console the bereaved family.

Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami paid tributes to former state minister and 8-time MLA, Harbans Kapoor on the latter's residence in Dehradun today morning Kapoor passed away last night at the age of 76 years pic.twitter.com/VjzUwsXIfV  ANI (@ANI) December 13, 2021

"I have received the sad news of the demise of my senior colleague and former Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha, Harbans Kapoor this morning. Soft-spoken Mr Kapoor always lived life with simplicity," he tweeted.

"While imbibing political values, he was always vocal for the development of his constituency. Winning the assembly elections 8 consecutive times proves his popularity," he added.

"I pray to the almighty to grant the virtuous a place at his feet and give strength to his family, supporters and well-wishers in this hour of grief. Peace," he further stated.

(With agency inputs)

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New Delhi: Two TMC MPs on Monday submitted a notice to move privilege motion against former Chief Justice of India and Rajya Sabha member Ranjan Gogoi over his remarks about attending Parliament, sources said.

The notice from Trinamool Congress (TMC) members Jawhar Sircar and Mausam Noor is yet to be admitted by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.

Besides them, several other MPs from various opposition parties are also expected to file notices of privilege motion against Gogoi, the sources said.

Sircar and Noor have filed the notice for privilege motion over Gogoi's remarks about attending Parliament, they said.

In an interview to a news channel, Gogoi reportedly said in the wake of Covid curbs and lack of social distancing, he likes to attend Rajya Sabha when he feels like and when he thinks there are matters of importance on which he should speak, the sources said.

Gogoi also purportedly said he is a nominated member, and not governed by any party whip, the sources said citing his remarks.

MPs from the TMC are also expected to file a complaint against Gogoi with the Ethics Committee, they said.
Lucknow: Twitter has been abuzz with the news about the inauguration of rejuvenated Kashi Vishwanath Dham in Varanasi on Monday (December 13).

The hashtag #KashiVishwanathDham became the top 2nd trend worldwide on the social media platform as PM Modi unveiled the historic temple corridor on Monday (December 13). In India, #KashiVishwanathDham remains the top trend on Twitter throughout the day.

As the hashtag #KashiVishwanathDham became the top trending topic on Monday, it crossed over 7 billion impressions and reached over 350 million people.

It is to be mentioned that here the trend started after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham in his parliamentary constituency, a project that connects the temple town's two iconic landmarks - Kashi Vishwanath temple and the Ganga ghats besides providing various facilities to devotees.

During the grand event, Twitter and other social media platforms were abuzz with comments over the development in Varanasi and Uttar Pradesh with several people hailing the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister for their efforts.

It is noteworthy that the hashtag crossed over 216K tweets and over 8600 tweets in the span of less than an hour.

Significantly, along with the hashtag #KashiVishwanathDham, probably for the first time several other related hashtags such as #ShivaJi, #Ganga, #Varanasi, #Kashi, #HarHarMahadev, #Ganga, #LordShiva, #_, #BabaVishwanath, #, # and # concerning the same event also remained trending on Twitter simultaneously.

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (December 13) inaugurated the mega Kashi Vishwanath Dham in his home constituency Varanasi. The power project, which has been constructed at a cost of around Rs 339 crores, connects the prestigious Kashi Vishwanath Project with Ganga Ghats.

PM Modi who will be remembered as the architect of the new Kashi by future generations as the glory of the ancient town stands restored today, was welcomed by the locals with flowers, and chants of Har Har Mahadev.

The Prime Minister then boarded a cruise ship on Khidkiya Ghat along with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to reach Lalita Ghat where he took the holy dip into Ganga and collected water to perform jalabhishek at Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

Soon after the Rudrabhishek ceremony, PM Modi joined the masons and labourers involved in the renovation of VK Dham in order to honour them and got pictures clicked with them.

Later addressing the gathering on the temple premises, the PM said that Kashi represented Indias rich Sanatan traditions which had weathered several storms that came in the form of attacks by foreigners and continued to thrive on the global stage.

The PM said that the renovation of Kashi Vishwanath Dham was taking place after over two centuries. He said that it happened last time in the 18th century when Rani Ahilyabai Holkar from Maharashtra took the initiative to restore the temples pristine glory.

Emphasising the importance of Kashi and insignificance of geographical distance in Sanatan traditions PM Modi said that Holkars gesture clearly reflected her strong faith in these. He said that Aurangzeb and others did try hard to destroy Indias rich cultural heritage, but could not succeed because of the richness of Sanatan traditions that stayed alive within the people of the land. Today those synonyms of terror are confined to some dark chapters of history. For every Aurangzeb, there was a Shivaji. For Salaar Masood, we had Suhel Dev, he said.

The PM added that during the renovation of the temple premises several old temples that had over the years been subsumed in the multi-storeyed buildings were restored while the total area of Kashi Vishwanath Dham was expanded to around 5 lakh square ft adding to its grandeur.

Modi thanked the people of Kashi; the masons, labourers and civil engineers involved in the construction and those people who had vacated their houses to shift elsewhere in order to allow construction to take place, saying that it was because of Mahadevs will, their contribution and UP Governments effort that devotees also over the world were being witnessed to a historic occasion like this.

PM Modi further pointed out: The rejuvenation of Kashi Vishwanath Dham is symbolic of our attempt to preserve our rich cultural and spiritual heritage while embracing modernity. It reestablishes Sanatan values as our guiding principle to move into the future on the path of development.

He remarked: Today, India is not only building temples in Ayodhya but also millions of houses for the poor; not only renovating Kashi Viswanath Dham but also setting up medical colleges in every district and conducting space missions.

Taking a dig at the opposition parties, the PM said that though inertia has always been alien to Varanasi, which exudes a natural warmth and spiritual energy, the opposition parties when they were in government, never thought of renovation of Kashi Vishwanath Dham for their petty political ends.

Indias soul lives in Kashi and Kashi has only one government led by Mahadev. Whatever happens in Kashi cannot without Mahadevs will, he pointed out.

Prime Minister also remarked that special attention has been given to making temple premises easily accessible for the differently-abled and the elderly during the renovation.

At the end of the speech, PM Modi appealed to people to continue the mission to keep Ganga and the surroundings clean as well as to create and innovate. PM Modi also offered his prayers to Maa Annapurna.

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Monday embark on a two-visit to his parliamentary constituency Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to inaugurate phase 1 of the newly-constructed Kashi Vishwanath Dham constructed at a cost of around Rs 339 crores. PM Modi, chief ministers of BJP-ruled states, deputy chief ministers and other top leaders of BJP will witness the Ganga Aarti being performed on ghats from a cruise boat today.

Taking to Twitter, PM Modi said that the Kashi Vishwanath Dham project will add to Kashi`s spiritual vibrancy. "Tomorrow, 13th December is a landmark day. At a special programme in Kashi, the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham project will be inaugurated. This will add to Kashi`s spiritual vibrancy. I would urge you all to join tomorrow`s programme," PM Modi tweeted on Sunday.

Tomorrow, 13th December is a landmark day. At a special programme in Kashi, the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham project will be inaugurated. This will add to Kashi's spiritual vibrancy. I would urge you all to join tomorrow's programme. https://t.co/DvTrEKfSzk pic.twitter.com/p2zGMZNv2U  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 12, 2021

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath while reviewing the preparation for the inauguration said that this `Dham` will give a new global identity to Varanasi.

"Kashi Vishwanath temple will be presented as a new `Dham` to the nation and world. It will be inaugurated by PM Modi tomorrow, whose vision and guidance have played a key role...This `Dham` will give a new, global identity to Varanasi," said CM Yogi Adityanath.

Shrikant Mishra, Priest at Kashi Vishwanath temple said, "The city is filled with enthusiasm as the temple is ready to become `Vishwanath Dham` after years. PM Modi is going to inaugurate the corridor on December 13."

"Significantly, `Jyotirling` of Kashi Vishwanath temple is considered to be the most important among other twelve Jyotirlingas, that`s why lakhs of devotees come here to offer prayers. Earlier, this temple was only situated 2,000 metres, but now it has been spread over 50,000 square metres," the priest said.

Kashi temple project a vision of PM Modi

As per the PMO, it was the vision of the Prime Minister for a long time, to facilitate the pilgrims and devotees of Baba Vishwanath, who had to encounter congested streets and surroundings with poor upkeep, when they practiced the age-old custom of taking dip in the holy river, collecting Gangajal and offering it at the temple.

To realise this vision, Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham was conceptualised as a project to create an easily accessible pathway to connect Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple to the banks of the River Ganga. To kickstart the work for this pious endeavour, the foundation stone of the project was laid by the Prime Minister on March 8, 2019.

The Prime Minister took a keen and active interest at all stages of the project. Regular briefings, reviews and monitoring was done by the Prime Minister himself, and he constantly gave inputs and insights to improve the project and make it more accessible for pilgrims, including for the disabled.

The project was designed to provide easy access for the disabled and old age people with the provision of ramps, escalators, and other modern facilities, PMO informed.

What all will be inaugurated in Phase-1?

A total of 23 buildings will be inaugurated in phase 1 of the project. They will provide a variety of facilities to the pilgrims visiting Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple, including Yatri Suvidha Kendras, Tourist Facilitation Centre, Vedic Kendra, Mumukshu Bhavan, Bhogshala, City Museum, Viewing Gallery, Food Court, among others.

The project involved the purchase and acquisition of more than 300 properties around Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple. The Prime Minister`s vision to take everyone along was the principle based on which mutual negotiations were done for these acquisitions.

In this endeavour, the rehabilitation of around 1400 shopkeepers, tenants and homeowners were done amicably. The testimony of the success is the fact that there is no litigation pending in any court of the country regarding acquisitions or rehabilitation related to the development of the project.

The Prime Minister`s vision was also to ensure that all heritage structures be preserved during the course of the development of the project.

This foresight came in handy when, during the process of destruction of the old properties, more than 40 ancient temples were rediscovered. These temples have been restored and beautified, while ensuring that there is no change in the original structure.

The scale of the project was such that the project is now spread over a massive area of about 5 lakh square feet, whereas earlier premises was limited to just around 3000 square feet. Despite the Covid pandemic, the work on the project has been completed as per the planned schedule.

Itinerary of PM Modis Varanasi visit

According to Prime Minister`s Office (PMO), at around 1 PM on December 13, PM Modi will visit Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple and offer prayers, after which he will inaugurate phase 1 of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham.

During the visit to Varanasi, the Prime Minister will also visit Kaal Bhairav Temple at around 12 noon and witness Ganga Aarti while onboard a Ro-Ro Vessel at around 6 PM on December 13.

On December 14, at around 3:30 PM, PM Modi will attend the 98th-anniversary celebrations of Sadguru Sadafaldeo Vihangam Yog Sansthan at Swarved Mahamandir in Varanasi.

Who all will attend the event?

During the two-day visit, Prime Minister will also participate in a conclave of Chief Ministers of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, along with Deputy CMs from Bihar and Nagaland.

The conclave will provide an opportunity to share governance-related best practices and is in line with the Prime Minister`s vision of furthering team India spirit.

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New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday (condemned "blatantly misogynist" and "nonsensical" questions in the Class-10 CBSE exam, saying those reflected "extremely poorly" on the standards of education and testing.

In the Class-10 CBSE exam conducted on Saturday, the English paper carried a comprehension passage with sentences such as "emancipation of women destroyed the parents' authority over the children" and "it was only by accepting her husband's way that a mother could gain obedience over the younger ones", and questions based on the passage.

Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi demanded an immediate withdrawal of the said passage, an apology from the government and a review into the "gravest lapse".

"The passage contains atrocious statements such as 'women gaining independence is the main reason for a wide variety of social and family problems' and if 'wives stops obeying their husbands, that is the main reason children and servants are indisciplined'," she said, reading out excerpts from the Class-10 CBSE question paper.

The Congress chief said the entire passage was riddled with such condemnable ideas and the questions that followed were equally "nonsensical".

Seeking clarification from the government on the issue raised by Gandhi, members of the Congress, the DMK, the IUML, the NCP and the National Conference walked out of the House.

"I add my voice to the concerns of students, parents, teachers and educationists and I raise strong objections to such blatantly misogynist material finding its way into an important examination conducted by the CBSE," Gandhi said.

She urged the Ministry of Education and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to immediately withdraw the questions, issue an apology and conduct a thorough review into this "gravest lapse" to ensure that "this is never, never repeated again".

"I also urge that the Ministry of Education must conduct a review of the gender sensitivity standards of the curriculum and the textbooks," the Lok Sabha member from Rae Bareli said.

Rahul Gandhi slams CBSE for controversial passage

Earlier, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also hit out at the CBSE over a comprehension passage in class 10 English paper, terming it as "disgusting" and a "ploy" of the RSS-BJP to crush the morale and future of the youth.

The comprehension passage in the CBSE class 10 English question paper has sparked controversy for allegedly promoting "gender stereotyping" and supporting "regressive notions" prompting the board to refer the matter to subject expert.

In a tweet, Gandhi said, "Most CBSE papers so far were too difficult and the comprehension passage in the English paper was downright disgusting. Typical RSS-BJP ploys to crush the morale and future of the youth". "Kids, do your best. Hard work pays. Bigotry doesn't," Gandhi said.

Most #CBSE papers so far were too difficult and the comprehension passage in the English paper was downright disgusting. Typical RSS-BJP ploys to crush the morale and future of the youth. Kids, do your best.

Hard work pays. Bigotry doesnt.  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 13, 2021

Various excerpts from the passage have gone viral on social media with users calling out the board for supporting "misogynistic" and "regressive opinions" and hashtag "CBSE insults women" trending on the microblogging site Twitter.

CBSE drops passage from Class-10 English exam

The CBSE, however, dropped a comprehension passage and the accompanying questions from the Class-10 English exam and decided to award full marks for it to students, following an outrage over the board allegedly promoting "gender stereotyping" and supporting "regressive notions".

The Central Board of Secondary Education (SBSE) had referred the matter to subject experts on Sunday and sought their feedback.

CBSE Examination Controller Sanyam Bhardwaj is quoted by PTI as saying, "A passage in one set of English language and literature paper of CBSE Class-10 first-term examination held on December 11 is not in accordance with the guidelines of the board with regard to the setting of question papers."

"In this backdrop and on the basis of the feedback received from the stakeholders, the matter was referred to a committee of subject experts. According to its recommendation, it has been decided to drop the passage and the accompanying questions," CBSE Examination Controller added.

He further said, "Full marks will be awarded for this passage to all the students concerned. To ensure uniformity and parity, full marks will also be awarded to students for passage number one for all sets of the question paper."

(With Agency Inputs)

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain the petition filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seeking deployment of Central Forces in the upcoming municipal corporation elections in West Bengal and asked the party to approach Calcutta High Court.

A bench of Justices L Nagesara Rao and BR Gavai told senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the BJP, that it will not entertain the plea and the party can approach the High Court.

Singh then withdrew the petition with liberty to approach the High Court.

During the brief hearing, Singh told the Bench that there were widespread threats of violence and the BJP candidates were being threatened to withdraw from the contest in the municipal elections in Kolkata.

As BJP contended that the top court entertained a similar petition recently for the Tripura election, the Bench said if it starts entertaining petitions then people and political parties from across the country will start filing petitions directly in Supreme Court on panchayat and municipal elections.

On November 25, the top court had directed the Ministry of Home Affairs to provide two additional companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) to secure the polling booths during the Tripura municipal elections after the opposition TMC and CPI (M) approached the apex court alleging that their candidates and supporters were not allowed to cast their votes.

BJP has approached the apex court seeking a direction to the West Bengal government, the state poll panel and other functionaries to prepare a comprehensive action plan and deploy sufficient central police forces to ensure free and fair municipal polls.

The petition submitted that after BJP nominated and finalized the candidates for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections, they have been receiving threats and are being pressurized to withdraw their candidature.

These threats and violence "cast grave infractions on the constitutional mandate of conducting free, fair and democratic election," said the plea.

The BJP, in its plea filed by its state president and MP Sukanta Majumdar, said that BJP finalized its candidates after the West Bengal State Election Commission notified the elections to be held for Kolkata Municipal Corporation on Day 19.

There was a necessity to deploy Central Forces in light of post-poll violence in West Bengal in May 2021, it added.

The petition stated that representations have been filed with the authorities and the Governor seeking deployment of additional forces to ensure a fair and transparent election.

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Mamata Banerjee seems battle ready despite the general elections being more than two years away. She has been trying her best to expand the base of Trinamool Congress in various states, and Goa figures out quite high on her list.

While speaking at an event in Goa on Nonday (December 13), she said, TMC is 'Temple-Mosque-Church'. We fight the BJP. Is there a chance of winning? Do you have the confidence that we can win? If you are confident, then don't take a step back. March ahead.

While addressing the party workers, she said, We are not here to cause vote-splitting but to unite the votes and make TMC alliance win. This is BJP's alternative. If someone wants to support it, it's up to them to make a decision, we've already made a decision. We will fight & die but we won't step back.

READ | CDS Bipin Rawat chopper crash: Mamata Banerjee stops administrative meeting midway

After defeating the BJP by a huge margin in the state assembly elections earlier this year, TMC has been trying to reach out to more voters in different states.

Recently, she also hinted that TMC may look out for a third front sans Congress.

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New Delhi: AIMIM chief Asaddudin Owaisi has asked Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav if he would appoint a Muslim for the post of deputy chief minister of Uttar Pradesh in case his party wins the state Assembly polls.

Owaisi said, "Do not care who will be Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. If Samajwadi Party wins the UP polls, will its chief Akhilesh Yadav appoint a Muslim Deputy CM?"

Addressing a public rally in Kanpur on Sunday, the AIMIM chief said his party will contest 100 seats in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections, adding that AIMIM is open to forming an alliance.

Owaisi further said, "My Masjid (Babri) was demolished. People who demolished it, disrupted the foundation of India and the rule of law...Did anyone from SP, BSP or Congress say anything? They turned a blind eye as my Masjid was demolished but not theirs."

Emphasizing Muslims` representation in the government and policymaking, Owaisi said, "Yadavs formed Mulayam Singh and Akhilesh`s government. Dalits made Mayawati the chief minister. Thakur and Brahmins have formed the current BJP government in Uttar Pradesh. It will no more be decided by touts that where Muslims will cast their votes."

"I tell the Muslims of Uttar Pradesh that they do not need to be afraid and if the Muslims of Uttar Pradesh want to move forward, then no one will be able to stop them," he added.

BJP MLA, expelled BSP legislator join Samajwadi Party

The Bharatiya Janata Party MLA, Digvijay Narayan Chaubey, expelled BSP MLA Vinay Shanker Tiwari and former MP Kushal Tiwari joined Samajwadi Party in presence of party chief Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow on Sunday.

Addressing a press conference, Akhilesh Yadav said, "If the Samajwadi government is formed, then work will be done here to conduct all those examinations whose papers have been leaked and work will be done to give all the jobs which have not been given."

"Today BJP wants to rule by intimidating and killing people as the British did. In the coming times, the public will work to teach a lesson to the BJP. Nowadays, CM is giving advertisements for giving tablets, smartphones in the newspapers. Which tablet were you (BJP government) giving for four and a half years?" the former chief minister asked.

Earlier, Mukhtar Ansari`s elder brother Sigbatullah Ansari and former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Ambika Chaudhary had joined the Samajwadi Party (SP) in August.

Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh is due for early next year. In the 2017 Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP bagged 312 seats out of the 403-seat UP Assembly while Samajwadi Party (SP) bagged 47 seats, Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) won 19 and Congress could manage to win only seven seats. The rest of the seats were bagged by other candidates.

(With Agency Inputs)

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New Delhi: Harnaaz Sandhu made India proud as she won the prestigious Miss Universe 2021 crown and brought glory back home after 21 years. She is the third Indian to win the title after Lara Dutta and Sushmita Sen.

Many celebrities including Lara and Sushmita took to social media to congratulate her and shower praises on her. One of the jury members Urvashi Ratuela even shared a video with Miss Universe 2021 whilst holding high the Indian flag.

After the 21-year-old's big win, comedy actress Upasana Singh, popular for playing bua in the Kapil Sharma Show, revealed that Harnaaz had called her after winning the title. Upasana, in an interview with a leading daily, said that she and Harnaaz were living together before the latter flew to Israel.

Upasana expressed that she was very emotional after Harnaaz's win and revealed that on returning to Mumbai, Harnaaz's first stop would be Upasana's home.

Upasana told India Today, "She was living with me before leaving for Israel. She once cooked rajma chawal for me. During this period, Harnaaz often said - with confidence - that she will win the Miss Universe crown. And now, she has proven her point. I am very happy that the one who brought laurels to our country is a part of my film."

"She called me after winning the crown and shouted that she fulfiled her promise. I could feel her happiness on the phone. In fact, I got really emotional talking to Harnaaz and couldnt stop crying. It felt as if my child had done something. Whenever Harnaaz comes to Mumbai, she stays with me. When her training started after Miss India, we housed her for five days. She was saying that as soon as she comes to Mumbai (from Israel), she will come to my house first, Upasana added. She also revealed that she has signed Harnaaz in two movies already," she added.

While Paraguay's Nadia Ferreira, 22, finished second, South Africa's Lalela Mswane, 24, came third.

The selection committee included actor and Miss Universe India 2015 Urvashi Rautela, Adamari Lopez, Adriana Lima, Cheslie Kryst, Iris Mittenaere, Lori Harvey, Marian Rivera and Rena Sofer.
New Delhi: Miss Universe 2021, Harnaaz Sandhu, who has bagged the crown for India after 21 years, will be treated with 'makki ki roti and sarson da saag' by her parents when she comes back to her hometown, Chandigarh.

"It's a proud moment for all of us. I can't express how happy I am. She has always been very active and determined," Harnaaz's mother, Ravinder Kaur, told the media at her residence in Mohali.

"Makki ki roti and sarson da saag is her favourite and I would love to treat her with it when she comes home. It doesn't increase calories either," added Kaur, a gynaecologist.

Before bagging the crown, a confident Harnaaz had tweeted: "India, tonight we will shine!"

"Finally the great day has come! I feel very fortunate to represent my beloved country, have no doubt that I will do my best to get the crown for India, that is the great goal of all, and today one of us will finally be able to fulfil it. #MissUniverse #MissIndia."

According to her mother, Harnaaz, who hails from a middle-class family, has proved her mettle.

"She's very confident and focused on achieving her goals. We have supported her passion," she said.

Excited over her win, Harnaaz's brother, Harnoor, said: "Harnaaz remains calm and focused most of the time. She was confident from her school days that one day she will clinch this title and she got it."

Punjabi film actress Harnaaz is currently pursuing her Masters' degree in Public Administration.

She has also worked in Punjabi films like the upcoming 'Yaara Diyan Poo Baran' and 'Bai Ji Kuttange'.

After she won the pageant, the family went to a nearby Sikh shrine to pray.

Harnaaz, who started modelling at a young age, had earlier won Miss Chandigarh and Miss Punjab title, among others.

Sandhu's father has 17 brothers, and Harnaaz is the only female offspring in the extended family.

"When she (Harnaaz) was born, we distributed sweets in the hospital," Harnaaz's father, P.S. Sandhu, said, adding that "we all will perform 'bhangra' on her arrival."

Harnaaz's hobbies are singing, cooking, theatre and horse-riding. She has won the Miss Universe crown after Lara Dutta won it in 2000.
New Delhi: Filmmaker Abhishek Kapoor recently opened up on making 'Kedarnath' and revealed surprising details and setbacks he had to face while creating the now-loved film.

The 'Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui' director revealed that investors of the film left the project as they thought Sushant Singh Rajput, the lead actor of the film, wasn't a 'star'.

However, Abhishek fought to make the film and added to the funding with his own money.

Talking about the difficult ordeal, he told India Today, "It is so strange. People were leaving Kedarnath saying Sushant is not a star. I was fighting for that movie. I put money from my own pocket to finish it. I was under so much pressure, but I had conviction so I had to make the film."

The director also said that he observed that late actor Sushant was in pain while filming owing to investors' backing out.

"While making Kedarnath, I knew Sushant was in pain. The thing is, once he passed away, the whole world became his fan. But it was not always like that. There was a system that didnt let him believe how much he was loved. He did not get it. But he passed away, and its like the whole country exploded and declared how much they loved him. Thats the tragedy, he added.

On December 7, Kedarnath had its third anniversary and the film's lead actress Sara Ali Khan had penned a special note for the film and her memories with co-star Sushant Singh Rajput.

She wrote in her Instagram post caption, "3 years ago my biggest dream came true. I became an actor, and my first, and most special film released. I dont know if Ill ever be able to explain how much Kedarnath means to me- the place, the film, the memories, all of it. But today Im really missing my Mansoor. Its only because of Sushants unwavering support, selfless help, constant guidance and compassionate advice that Mukku was able to reach your hearts. From Kedarnath to Andromeda. Miss you forever Sushant."

Abhishek Kapoor launched Sushant Singh Rajput in 'Kai Po Che' and then worked with him again for 'Kedarnath'. The filmmaker's latest project is 'Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui' starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Vaani Kapoor.

For the unversed, Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead at his Bandra residence on June 14, 2020. His sudden death sent shock waves across his family, friends and fans. The 34-year-old star in a short span of time earned all the love of his followers, leaving behind a lasting memory.
New Delhi: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) issues an Aadhaar card, which is one of the most significant documents that every Indian citizen must have. The Aadhaar card is a must-have for everyone, from financial transactions to participating in government-sponsored programmes.

The information on an Aadhaar card is usually written in English, but citizens will now be able to generate their Aadhaar in different regional languages thanks to UIDAI's recent upgrade.

The Aadhaar card will now be available in Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, and Kannada, according to the most recent update.

If you want to alter the language on your Aadhaar card, you can do so by filling out an online form. You can request a change in your Aadhaar number by visiting an Aadhaar Seva Kendra or applying online.

Step 1: Go to https://uidai.gov.in/ to access UIDAI's official website.

Step 2: After that, select 'Update Aadhaar' and then 'Update Demographic Data Online.'

Step 3: The Aadhaar Self-Service Update Portal will now be visible.

Step 4: Enter your unique Aadhaar number and the Captcha security code to access the platform.

Step 5: Fill in the required information and click the 'Generate OTP' button.

Step 6: Login with your OTP.

Step 7: Select 'Update Demographics Data' from the drop-down menu.

Step 8: Choose your favourite regional dialect.

Step 9: Update your demographic information and send it in.

Step 10: After reviewing all of the information, submit the form.

Step 11: Your phone will receive an OTP.

Step 12: Enter the one-time password (OTP). Your application procedure will be completed once you have paid the Rs 50 cost.

Step 13: Download the card once the update is complete, which should take 1-3 weeks.

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New Delhi: Do you want to sign up for the eShram Portal? You can register on the portal by going to the eShram official website and clicking on the link eshram.gov.in, or by going to Common Service Centres (CSC) and State Government field offices in districts/sub-districts. If you are being registered by someone else, you must give all of the necessary permanent address information during the registration procedure. CSC has alerted the public about this by tweeting about it on its official Twitter account.

"What if I told you that Filling out the eShram Registration form with your permanent address... - Inquire about the beneficiaries' permanent addresses. In the ADDRESS panel, uncheck the option 'is permanent address the same as current address?' "According to the tweet, The Common Services Centres (CSCeGov) are a government of India organisation that is part of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

Why you should register on eShram

Unorganized workers receive a PMSBY Accidental Insurance cover of INR 2 lakh after registering. Additionally, all unorganised worker social security benefits will be given through this platform in the future.

All unorganised worker social security benefits will be given through this platform in the future. This gateway will be used to provide critical support to eligible unorganised employees in emergency and pandemic-like conditions.

It's also a good idea to input information only after getting confirmation from the beneficiary. The central government launched the eShram portal for the benefit of unorganised employees, as is well known. It is a consolidated database of unorganised workers that has been seeded with Aadhaar, and unorganised workers can register for free on the portal.

As previously said, you must visit the official website of eShram by clicking on the URL eshram.gov.in to register on the portal. To complete the registration procedure, documents such as an Aadhaar number, an Aadhaar connected mobile number, and a bank account number will be required.

How to register on eShram Portal?

By accessing the official website of the eShram Portal, you can register online. Here's a step-by-step guide.:

Step 1: Visit the eShram portal's official website at eshram.gov.in.

Step 2. On the home page, click on the 'Register on eSHRAM' link.

Step 3. After that, enter your Aadhaar-linked cellphone number and captcha code, then click Send OTP.

Step 4: To finish the registration procedure, follow the on-screen instructions.

Workers who do not have an Aadhaar-linked cellphone number can register using biometric authentication at their nearest CSC.

Who are unorganised workers?

Unorganized workers are those who work from home, are self-employed, or are paid to work in the unorganised sector and are not members of ESIC or EPFO.

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New Delhi: Ace director S.S. Rajamouli has exhorted actor Allu Arjun to aggressively promote the latter's upcoming film 'Pushpa'.

The pre-release function of Allu Arjun's upcoming movie 'Pushpa' saw noted Telugu directors, technicians, and actors. Rajamouli, who was one of the guests on the occasion, had also spoken on the stage.

Rajamouli, who is busy promoting his magnum opus 'RRR' had attended the pre-release event of 'Pushpa', on Sunday. Speaking on the occasion, Rajamouli said, "I am proud that Bunny ( Allu Arjun) is a part of such a homogeneous project."

"But, I want you to promote the movie even harder. See, I had travelled to Bombay recently, where I tried to gather information on what are the projects they are waiting to witness. People are looking forward to watching 'Pushpa'. I want you people to know that this movie has got a decent buzz everywhere," Rajamouli stressed.

"You can't let it go like this. Please push forward even harder, and promote 'Pushpa' even more. As I know the calibre of this subject, I want to see people talking about it," Rajamouli suggested Allu Arjun.

Rajamouli also spoke highly of director Sukumar, who missed the pre-release event, as he wished the entire team of 'Pushpa' for the movie's success.

'Pushpa' will be out in theaters on December 17. Helmed by Sukumar, this movie marks his third collaboration of the director with Allu Arjun. The two-part, sandalwood smuggling-related tale stars Rashmika Mandanna as the female lead.
New Delhi: On Monday's episode of Bigg Boss 15, host Salman Khan entered the BB house to surprise the contestants and had a very special task for them. This task involved the contestants choosing between the prize money and a phone call with their parents.

Khan told the contestants that they could opt to talk to their friends over video call but an amount of Rs 2 lakh would be deducted from the final prize money.

One by one each contestant was asked to make their decision. Rajiv Adatia chose to take the call, reducing the prize money by Rs 2 L. Pratik Sehajpal had also chosen his sister's call over the prize money.

However, Nishant Bhat, Tejasswi Prakash, and Karan Kundrra chose to forego the call and decided to save the prize money.

Shamita and Karan get quite emotional after rejecting their parents' calls. Tejasswi consoled Karan by saying that she was proud of him.

Meanwhile, Rakhi Sawant and Ritesh were seen discussing the contestants' decisions. Rakhi got emotional during the conversation and felt that people should have taken the call as nobody knows what will happen in the future, it could be the last time one sees their parents - she said.

Later, Karan Kundrra and Umar Riaz were seen talking about the latter's relationship with Tejasswi Prakash. Umar expressed that he doesn't trust Teja as she has never sided with him in tasks.

When Karan informed Tejasswi of this conversation, she felt bad about it and confronted Umar about it later.

The episode ended with a brief misunderstanding between Rashami Desai and Tejasswi. Rashami Desai told Tejasswi that she will maintain a distance from Karan as she felt Teja was feeling 'insecure' about their friendship. However, Tejasswi denied feeling that way.
New Delhi: Bollywood superstar and host of 'Bigg Boss 15', Salman Khan recalled the late actor Sidharth Shukla on Sunday's 'Weekend Ka Vaar' episode.

Salman dedicated the entire episode to 'Bigg Boss 13' winner on his birthday on December 12.

During the episode, pictures of the late actor were shown recalling a few moments of him on the sets of 'Bigg Boss' and how he won the trophy defeating Asim Riaz, Shehnaaz Gill and Rashami Desai.

Salman recalled the late actor, saying: "Today is the birthday of a 'Bigg Boss' winner who is no longer among us. So, today's episode is dedicated to you. The irreplaceable Sidharth Shukla. You left us too soon buddy. Missing you and wishing you on this special day."

The official account of the channel was flooded with messages from his fans remembering him on his birthday.

Sidharth died at the age of 40 on September 2.

His chemistry with Shehnaaz garnered a lot of attention in 'Bigg Boss 13'.

Shehnaaz also recalled the late actor by posting his picture on her Instagram account. She appeared with him not only on the show but also in a couple of music videos, including 'Bhula Dunga' and 'Shona Shona'.
Lucknow: Ahead of the inauguration of the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in Varanasi by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former chief minister and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has claimed that the temple project was approved during his term and there is documentary evidence of it.

Akhilesh alleged that the BJP government has lined up a series of programmes to herald the start of the corridor only to deflect people's attention from the PM's failure to double the income of farmers.

"All of you know who made the promise of doubling the income of the farmers. Today due to price rise fertilisers are not available, so how will the income of the farmers be doubled, he said.

"Just so that the public does not ask this question, they are bringing Kashi Vishvanath Corridor. And if there is any cabinet which passed the Kashi Vishvanath Corridor, it was the Samajwadi Party's government," Akhilesh told reporters here.

"We will provide you with the documents. Because this time, we will talk with proof," he said. Later, in a tweet in Hindi, he said, "The chronology of Kashi Vishvanath Corridor: Crores (of Rupees) were allocated in the Samajwadi Party regime. The SP government started acquisition of the buildings for the purpose of the Corridor.

An honorarium was fixed for the temple staff. The 'paidaljeevi' (pedestrians) should tell that why the cleanliness drive of the Varuna river undertaken by the SP government was stopped, and what happened to the Metro (rail)?"

Akhilesh Yadav ruled Uttar Pradesh (UP) from 2012 to 2017 and was succeeded by Yogi Adityanath. The corridor has been built as a mega project and is expected to boost tourism in the ancient city - which is also the PM's Lok Sabha constituency.

The inauguration of the state-of-the-art infrastructure surrounding the historic Kashi Vishwanath Temple near the iconic Dashashwamedh Ghat on December 13 comes ahead of the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh due early next year.

The corridor project is the latest flashpoint between the BJP and the SP locked in a fierce contest. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also attacked the Opposition parties over the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, a megaproject that is expected to boost tourism in Varanasi in a big way.

Addressing the meeting of "booth adhyaksh" of the BJP's Braj region in Etah, CM Yogi Adityanath said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to dedicate the ambitious Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in the heart of Varanasi to the people. Would Congress or "buaa" (apparently referring to BSP chief Mayawati) have built the Kashi Vishwanath Dhaam? And, whether "babuaa" (apparently referring to SP chief Akhilesh Yadav) sung the songs of Lord Shiva?"

His comments came after Akhilesh Yadav claimed the project was approved during his term and there was documentary evidence of it. Yadav in recent weeks has claimed that his government either started or approved projects being inaugurated by the BJP government, including Purvanchal Express and Saryu Canal Nation Project.

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After a wait of more than two decades, Chandigarhs Harnaaz Sandhu finally brought home the Miss Universe crown. The 21-year-old won the title Sunday night at a glittering event held at the Universe Dome in Eilat, Israel.

"I am immensely grateful to the Almighty, my parents, and the Miss India Organisation for guiding and supporting me throughout. Loads of love to everyone who prayed and wished the crown for me. Bringing the glorious crown back after 21 years to India is a moment of great pride," said Harnaaz.

Sandhu beat out 79 contestants to be crowned Miss Universe. Nadia Ferreira, Miss Paraguay was the runner-up and second runner-up was Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane.

The Miss Universe Organisation posted the news on their official Instagram handle, with a clip showing last years winner, Andrea Meza of Mexico, crowning an overjoyed Harnaaz.

The young model will bring home the crown 21 years after Lara Dutta won in 2000.

Sandhu believes that pageants are a platform where women come forward to celebrate sisterhood and womanhood and people across the world celebrate their beauty queens and their successes with great pride.

Indians started searching about various aspects of Sandhus personality after the news of her win broke on Monday morning.

While many searched about her height, past winners, Sushmita Sen and Lara Dutta, a lot of search surge also happened on Chandigarh, the place she hails from. Some also looked up for Mr World and motivational speaker Harnaam Kaur.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Dubai: Dubai has become the world's first government to turn 100 per cent paperless, the Emirate's Crown Prince, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has announced, pointing at savings of 1.3 billion Dirham (USD 350 million) and 14-million-man hours.

All internal, external transactions and procedures in the Government of Dubai are now 100 per cent digital and managed from a comprehensive digital government services platform.

"The achievement of this target marks the beginning of a new stage in Dubai's journey to digitise life in all its aspects - a journey rooted in innovation, creativity, and a focus on the future," said Sheikh Hamdan in a statement on Saturday.

"This accomplishment also reinforces Dubai's status as a world-leading digital capital and its status as a role model in designing government operations and services that enhance customer happiness," he said.

The US, UK, Europe and Canada have expressed plans to digitise government operation on a larger scale, which encompass government procedures and citizen identifications. However, sceptics have argued its vulnerability to cyber-attacks.

The Dubai Crown Prince said the government plans to implement advanced strategies to create and enhance digital life in Dubai over the next five decades.

"The new phase of Dubai's digital journey will enable and empower future governments to meet the expectations of the residents of a thriving smart city and provide them with renewed opportunities for prosperity, sustainable development, and happiness," he said.

The Dubai Paperless Strategy was implemented in five consecutive phases, each of which enlisted a different group of the Dubai Government's entities.

By the end of the fifth phase, the strategy was fully implemented across all 45 government entities in the emirate. These entities provide more than 1,800 digital services and over 10,500 key transactions.

Collaboration and integration among participating entities enabled the automation of processes and services provided to customers, cutting paper consumption by more than 336 million papers, the statement added.

The strategy also helped save more than 1.3 billion Dirham (USD 350 million) and over 14-million-man hours across the Dubai Government.

The complete digital transformation in the Dubai Government will enrich the smart city experience for all residents, entirely removing the need for paper transactions and documents - be they handed out to customers or exchanged between employees across government entities.

Digitalisation will also help provide exceptional experiences for residents through the DubaiNow application, which allows access to more than 130 smart city services in 12 major categories, it added.

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Seoul: Korean researchers have developed molecular diagnostics technology that can detect Omicron variants in just 20 minutes. The technology development has been currently completed, and it is expected to take time for commercialization.

POSTECH announced on the 10th that a research team led by Professor Lee Jung-wook of the Department of Chemical Engineering has developed molecular diagnostic technology that can detect the Omicron variant in just 20-30 minutes and will publish the results online.

Omicron is a variant in which 26-32 mutations in the spike, which is used to infect cells by the COVID-19 virus.

According to the research team, molecular diagnostics technology can distinguish mutations at the single-nucleotide base, so it can detect `Stealth Omicron,` which are difficult to be detected by PCR tests.

Currently, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is using three methods to detect COVID-19 variants: whole-genome analysis, target DNA (mutations such as spike protein) analysis, and PCR test.

In the case of the Delta variant, it can be detected by the current PCR test, but Omicron cannot. The newly developed technology this time is not a sequencing method that reads DNA or RNA sequences, but the molecular diagnostic technology.

The existing technology screens only specific areas of the virus, but the molecular diagnostic technology was designed to cause nucleic acid-binding reactions only when the COVID-19 RNA exists, enabling rapid detection. According to Professor Lee, Omicron has a strong signal for N genes in PCR tests but has a weak signal for S genes.

In the case of `Stealth Omicron,` both N and S genes confirmed positive, making it difficult to distinguish from other variants. The molecular diagnostic technology works in different mechanisms from PCR, detecting the Omicron variant efficiently.

Unlike conventional technology that generally processes up to 96 samples per device, the new technology can process more than 125 in 30 minutes (more than 250 samples per hour).

In addition, this technology does not need specialized equipment, thus can make diagnostic kits simply and easily. As the method can develop the diagnosis kit in 4 days, it is expected to respond quickly even if a new variant of virus occurs in the future.

"I hope the disclosure of this technology will help us return to normal daily life as soon as possible," said Professor Lee. "We will try to quickly diagnose and respond to new variants that may come out after COVID-19."

This technology is currently before commercialization. However, it can be used as an auxiliary in current situations where the PCR test for Omicron has not been developed.

Professor Lee said, "I think this technology will be close to commercialization in the second half of next year after clinical trials. The reason why I disclose the technology is to share it with others to develop better technologies for overcoming COVID-19 and to allow underdeveloped countries also analyze COVID-19 variants."

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ABU DHABI: Prime Minister Naftali Bennett began the first official visit by an Israeli leader to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, seeking to strengthen Gulf ties at a time of heightened regional tension as world powers try to revive a nuclear deal with Iran.

Bennett, a far-right politician who took office as the head of a broad Israeli coalition government in June, plans to hold talks on Monday with the UAE`s de facto leader, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

The diplomatic outreach comes as world powers negotiate with Iran on salvaging a 2015 nuclear deal opposed by Israel and abandoned in 2018 by then-U.S. President Donald Trump.

Since August 2020, the UAE, followed by Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, have moved to normalise ties with Israel under a U.S.-sponsored initiative dubbed the "Abraham Accords" after the biblical patriarch revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims.

Bennett`s UAE trip is the first by an Israeli premier to any of those countries since the accords.

On arrival in Abu Dhabi after a flight from Tel Aviv, Bennett was welcomed by an honour guard and the UAE`s foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed.

A moment for the history books. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett becomes the first Israeli Prime Minister to visit the United Arab Emirates. Heres to a future of peace.

Of cooperation, not conflict.

Of hope, not hostility. pic.twitter.com/GUcJRs0Fpd  Keren Hajioff (@kerenhajioff) December 12, 2021

"What a wonderful reception. I am very excited to be here on behalf of my people (on the) first official visit of an Israeli leader here," Bennett said.

"We are looking forward to strengthening the relationship," he added.

Israel has broached setting up joint defences with Gulf Arab states that share its concern over Iranian activities. Pursuing economic, health and energy ties with its new ally, the UAE has signed dozens of memorandums of understanding with Israel since the Abraham Accords were signed.

Yet the UAE has also reached out to its Iran, sending its senior national security adviser there last Monday to meet his Iranian counterpart and President Ebrahim Raisi.

A flight-tracking app showed Bennett`s El Al Israel Airlines plane overflying Saudi Arabia, which does not have formal ties with Israel, en route to Abu Dhabi. Riyadh agreed last year to allow Israel-UAE flights to cross its territory despite the absence of official ties.

The rapprochement in the Gulf has been condemned by Palestinians, whose diplomacy with Israel stalled in 2014.

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday wished South African President Cyril Ramaphosa a speedy recovery from COVID-19. "Wishing you a speedy recovery my friend, President @CyrilRamaphosa," PM Modi said in a tweet.

Wishing you a speedy recovery my friend, President @CyrilRamaphosa. https://t.co/mYudl71Dmz  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 13, 2021

The South African Presidents office has earlier announced that Ramphosa has been tested positive for the COVID-19 with mild symptoms. Ramaphosa is receiving treatment for mild COVID-19 symptoms after testing positive on Sunday, the office of the presidency said in a statement.

Ramaphosa "started feeling unwell after leaving the State Memorial Service in honour of former Deputy President FW de Klerk in Cape Town earlier today," the presidency statement said.

Ramaphosa was fully vaccinated and he recently returned from a trip to West Africa. He tested negative for COVID-19 upon his return to Johannesburg on December 8, according to his office.

The President is now in self-isolation in Cape Town, according to a CNN report.

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London: Britain faces a "tidal wave" of the Omicron variant of coronavirus and two vaccine doses will not be enough to contain it, Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Sunday, as he accelerated the booster rollout programme.

Speaking hours after government scientists lifted the COVID alert level to 4 on a 5-point scale, Johnson said the booster programme must go faster because scientists did not yet know if Omicron was less severe than other variants.

"A tidal wave of Omicron is coming," Johnson said in a televised statement on Sunday evening. "And I`m afraid it is now clear that two doses of vaccine are simply not enough to give the level of protection we all need."

He added that scientists knew Omicron was much more transmissible and that the National Health Service would struggle to cope with hospitalisations if the variant were to tear through an un-boosted population.

"Everyone eligible aged 18 and over in England will have the chance to get their booster before the New Year," he said.

Last week Johnson introduced "Plan B" COVID-19 measures for England, ordering people to work from home, wear masks in public places and use vaccine passes to slow the spread of Omicron.

With many of Johnson`s own Conservative Party lawmakers set to vote against these measures, Johnson has said there are no plans for further restrictions as cases soar.

The seven-day average of COVID cases by date reported has risen in recent days above 50,000 - the highest since the January peak during the last wave of cases.

With 146,439 fatalities recorded within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test as of Sunday, Britain has Europe`s highest death toll from the virus.

While that damaged the government`s reputation in the depths of the pandemic, officials have been praised for rolling out one of the fastest vaccine programmes, which helped to contain daily death figures.

In recent weeks, however, questions have once again emerged over Johnson`s future as prime minister after a series of scandals, the most damaging being reports that a party was held at Downing Street during a 2020 Christmas lockdown when such festivities were banned.

A Survation poll for the Daily Mirror newspaper published on Sunday found that 77% of Britons said they were less likely to follow COVID rules if government officials had broken them.

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